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Jacobs, Derek, brother of Bryan Sydney Jacobs (qv); b. 20 Dec. 1917; adm. Sept. 1931 (A); left Dec. 1932; a cane merchant; PO RAFVR Oct. 1941, killed in action Dec. 1941.

Derek Jacobs was born at Brighton, Sussex on the 20th of December 1917 the son of Sydney Jacob, a gentleman, and Ella Bonham (nee Collins) Jacobs of “Rosebriars”, 441, Woodham Lane, West Byfleet in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1931 to December 1932.
On leaving school he worked as a traveller for a general merchant. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner and rose to the rank of Sergeant before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 31st of October 1941.
On the night of the 7th/8th of December 1941, Bomber Command dispatched 130 aircraft for an operation on Aachen. The headquarters building of the local Nazi party was to be used as the aiming point for the bombers. Weather conditions were difficult with only 64 aircraft having claimed to have dropped their bombs on the target. The Aachen railway goods yards were hit by three bombs during the raid with 7 houses being slightly damaged. There were no casualties on the ground.
Derek Jacobs and his crew took off from RAF Scampton at 2.13am on the 8th of December 1941 in Hampden Mk I AE191 OL-Z for the operation. It was to be his sixth operation. Having dropped its bombs the aircraft was leaving the target area at a height of 17,000 feet when it was hit in the port engine by anti aircraft fire. Derek Jacobs was instructed by the pilot to send an SOS call and received a “fix” from RAF Heston. With flames coming from the damaged engine Anthony Parsons, the pilot, throttled the engine back and stopped the propeller, in an attempt to let the fire extinguisher put the fire out. When the fire was extinguished, but with only one engine still working, the aircraft began to yaw and was in danger of entering a flat spin. In order to prevent this Parsons shut down the starboard engine and stabilised the stricken bomber but, when he attempted to restart it, it failed. The crew had made two radio distress calls, one at 5.30am and the second at 6.08am, before they were forced to ditch in the North Sea near Walcheren Island at 6.40am.
Air Sea Rescue boats were dispatched to look for them but found no trace of the missing aircraft and its crew.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Bernard Athelstan Basevi (Observer)
Pilot Officer Derek Jacobs (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Anthony Leslie Parsons (Pilot) (POW No. 39646 Stalag Luft III)
Sergeant George Wiscombe (Air Gunner) (POW No. 24785 Stalag Luft III)
The four members of the crew had all managed to climb into the dinghy but it was four days before they were rescued, during which time Bernard Basevi died from cold and exposure during the night of the 10th of December and was buried at sea the next morning. Derek Jacobs died on the 11th of December and the two surviving crew members also buried him at sea. The two survivors were picked up by a German convoy escort ship “Wuppertal”, some 15 miles to the south west of Heligoland at 1.45pm the following day and were taken to Cuxhaven Military Hospital where they were treated for frost bite and exposure.
His father received the following letter dated the 23rd of December 1941: -
“Sir, I am commanded by the Air Council to express to you their great regret on learning that your son, Pilot Officer Derek Jacobs, Royal Air Force, is missing as the result of air operations. Your son was wireless operator/air gunner of a Hampden aircraft which set out at 2.13am for action over Aachen, Germany, and has failed to return. Two wireless signals were received from the aircraft, one at 5.30am and the second, an S.O.S. call, at 6.08am. The Air/Sea Rescue Services were put into operation and searching continued throughout the day, but no trace could be found of any of the crew. Enquiries will now be made through the International Red Cross Society and if any news is received you will be at once informed. If any information regarding your son is received by you from any source you are requested to be kind enough to communicate it immediately to the Air Ministry. The Air Council desire me to convey to you an expression of their sincere sympathy with you in your present anxiety.”
George Wiscombe wrote the following to his wife from prisoner of war camp in a letter dated the 16th of January 1943: - “..... engine trouble made us crash in the sea, the four of us getting away in the rubber dinghy unhurt apart from shock ..... Navigator Basevi died the third night and Jacobs as you know the following day. Saw land on morning of fifth day but were blown away soon after. P/O Parsons and myself picked up by German boat after 104 hours afloat. Treated very well and taken into Cuxhaven Military Hospital.”
Anthony Parsons wrote the following letter to the Air Ministry from Dulag Luft dated the 3rd of May 1942: -
“Dear Madam, I regret to say that P/O Jacobs, 112160, died on the night of Dec. 11th 1941 from shock, exposure and lack of fresh water. Sgt. Basevi passed away through the same causes, the previous night. They both died quietly and without pain, being unwounded. Please convey my sympathies to their families, and say that I did the little that I could for them, without avail.”
Theirs was one of two aircraft lost during the raid.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial Panel 33.

Instone, David Simon Theodore, brother of Ralph Bernard Samuel Instone (qv); b. 7 May 1921; adm. Sept. 1933 (H); left Dec. 1937; Ch. Ch. Oxf., matric. 1940; lntell. Corps (Corporal), d. on active service (Italy) Mar. 1945.

David Simon Theodore Instone was born at Kensington, London on the 7th of May 1921 the younger son of Captain Alfred (formerly Einstein) Instone JP, a ship owner and coal exporter, and Phyllis Hilda (nee Goldberg) Instone of 4, Cottesmore Court, Kensington in London and of Corner Cottage, Smock Alley, West Chiltington in Sussex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1933 to December 1937. He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford in 1940 where he spent a year before enlisting for military service.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Christ Church, Oxford.
He is buried at Cesena War Cemetery Plot II, Row H, Grave 13.

Imroth, Leslie, only son of G. Imroth, of Kilburn; b. Jan. 17, 1897; adm. as exhibitioner Sept. 22, 1910 (G); left Dec. 1910; 2nd Lieut. 8th Batt. Hampshire Regt. Dec. 27, 1915, and became Lieut.; served in Great War I and was wounded in action Nov. 30, 1917; d. of his wounds at Johannesburg, S. Africa, Nov. 7, 1918.

Iago, John Martindale, son of George Martindale Iago FCA, of Harrow, and Beatrice Mary, d. of George Waldron Bowen of Knighton, Radnor; b. 16 Jan. 1916; adm. Jan. 1930 (A); left Dec. 1933; Imperial Coll. of Science, BSc 1938; RNVR 1939-41 (Lieut. (E)); lost in HMS Hood 24 May 1941.

John Martindale Iago was born at Northwood, Middlesex on the 16th of January 1916 the son of George Martindale Iago FCA, an accountant, and Beatrice Mary (nee Bowen) Iago of “Gerrans”, Crofters Road, Northwood. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1930 to December 1933. He played the flute solo from the First Movement from Sonata No. 4 by J.C.F. Bach at an informal concert in the Michaelmas term of 1932 and the flute solo “Gavotte” by Gossec at an informal concert in early 1933.
He went on to the Imperial College of Science from where he graduated BSc (Eng) in 1938 and also qualified as ACGI.
He was commissioned as an Electrical Sub Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the 29th of August 1939 and was posted to the crew of battlecruiser HMS Hood on the 14th of September 1939. He was promoted to Electrical Lieutenant on the 16th of January 1941. He was engaged to Dorothy Castle of Belsize Gardens in London.
At 1am on the 22nd of May 1941, the battleship HMS Hood set sail from Scapa Flow in company with the newly built battleship HMS Prince of Wales. They were escorted by the destroyers HMS Achates, HMS Antelope, HMS Anthony, HMS Echo, HMS Electra and HMS Icarus and were bound for Hvals Fjord in Iceland following reports that the German battleship Bismarck and the cruiser Prinz Eugen had left Bergen in search of merchant shipping to attack.
By the evening of the 23rd of May they were to the south of Iceland when they received a report from the destroyer HMS Suffolk that they had sighted the Bismarck in the Straits of Denmark and at 7.39pm they increased their speed and changed course to intercept the enemy ship.
Due to the pounding seas and the high speed of the two larger ships, the escorting destroyers struggled to keep up and were given permission to drop back at 4am on the 14th of May as the two capital ships continued the hunt on their own.
The enemy ships were sighted and at 5.52am HMS Hood opened fire on Prinz Eugen at a range of 25,000 yards. Prince of Wales fired its first salvo one minute later. HMS Hood received five salvos in reply from the two enemy ships, the second and third of which bracketed the ship causing a fire to break out on the port side.
At 6am she was hit by the fifth salvo in the aft magazine, blew up, and sank in three to four minutes with the loss of 1,415 of her crew of 1,418.
His sister Beatrice “Bee” (later Kenchington) published a book of his letters called “...and Home There’s No Returning: Letters of Lieutenant John Martindale Iago RNVR from HMS 'Hood', 1939-41”
He is commemorated on the Roll of Honour of Electrical Engineers and on the memorial at the Hood Chapel at the Church of St John the Baptist, Boldre, Hampshire.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Panel 60, Column 3.

Hunter, Godfrey Jackson, youngest son of Herbert Hunter, of Streatham, Asst. Solicitor to the London County Council, by Ellen, daughter of Henry Shayer, of Guernsey; b. July 3, 1889; adm. from Merchant Taylor's School Sept. 22, 1904 (H); left July 1907; Trin. Hall, Camb., matric. Michaelmas 1907; B.A. 1910; LL. B. 1911; adm. to Lincoln's Inn Nov. 2, 1907, called to the bar Nov. 17, 1911; Inns of Court O. T. C.; 2nd Lieut. 5th Royal Irish Lancers (Special Reserve) Aug. 15, 1914; Machine Gun Officer 1915; killed in action against the Sinn Feiners in Charles Street, Dublin, while in command of an escort to ammunition, April 26, 1916; unm.

Hunter, Colin Havard, brother of Francis Trevor Hunter (qv); b. 27 Aug. 1912; adm. Apr. 1926 (G); left July 1930; an aeronautical engineer, AFRAeS 1933; RAFVR 1940-4 (acting Sqdn Ldr), killed in action 8 May 1944.

Colin Havard Hunter was born at Briton Ferry, Neath, Wales on the 27th of August 1912 the son of His Honour Judge Trevor Havard Hunter KC and Ethel Ruth (nee Griffiths) Hunter of 6, Hereford Mansions, Hereford Road, Paddington in London. He was christened at Briton Ferry on the 29th of September 1911. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from April 1926 to July 1930.
On leaving school he became an aeronautical engineer and qualified AFRAeS in 1933. He was awarded a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 10534) at the Herts and Essex Aero Club on the 7th of June 1932 while flying a DH Moth aircraft.
He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 14th of September 1940 and was promoted to Flying Officer on the 14th of September 1941. He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 14th of September 1942. He trained at No. 1654 Conversion Unit prior to becoming operational.
On the night of the 7th/8th of May 1944, Bomber Command dispatched 58 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos for an attack on an ammunition dump at Salbris as part of ongoing operations in preparation for the planned invasion of France. It was to be his eighteenth operation and he had completed 133.48 hours of operational flying up to that time.
Colin Hunter and his crew took off from RAF Dunholm Lodge at 9.46pm on the 7th of May 1944 in Lancaster Mk III ND741KM-K for the operation. Shortly after midnight the aircraft was attacked by a Messerschmitt Bf110 night fighter flown by Leutnant Fred Hromadnik of 9/NJG4 and it caught fire. The crew abandoned the aircraft at low level but only Flight Engineer Fred Cooper’s parachute deployed in time, with the remaining six crew members being killed when they hit the ground. The aircraft crashed at 12.30am into the village of Herbilly, a few kilometres to the west of the River Loire and some twenty kilometres to the north east of Blois. It exploded when it hit the village, destroying several buildings and killing thirteen civilians in their homes. Theirs was the fourth of an eventual six victories for Fred Hromadnik.
The crew was: -
Squadron Leader Colin Havard Hunter (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Richard Colton Alexander (Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Alfred Greenwood (Navigator)
Pilot Officer George Robert Miles (Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Frederick Arthur Salmon (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Gordon Keith Willis RCAF (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Frederick Stanley Cooper (Flight Engineer) (POW No. 13 Dulag Luft)
Theirs was one of seven aircraft which failed to return from the operation.
While Colin Hunter was fighting to control the aircraft to give his crew time to bail out, Fred Cooper escaped from the aircraft out of the top hatch and was the first member of the crew to get out. His parachute opened just in time and he hit the side of the roof of a house before sliding off and landing on a green house where he suffered cuts to his head. He was taken into hiding by locals but when the Germans threatened to begin shooting the villagers he gave himself up and was taken prisoner. He was later taken by the Germans to the crash site where he was able to identify the bodies of George Miles, Colin Hunter and Alfred Greenwood.
He is buried at Orleans Main Cemetery Plot 1, Row A, Collective Grave 16-27.

Hunt, Arthur George, youngest son of Frederick William Hunt, of St. Marylebone, architect, by Mary Louisa, daughter of the Rev. Edward Vinall, Vicar of Hildenborough, Kent; b. April 23, 1881; adm. Sept. 27, 1895 (H); left Aug. 1899; emigrated to Canada in 1901; joined the Seaforth Highlanders at Vancouver on the outbreak of Great War I, and came to England with a draft of that regiment in 1916; 2nd Lieut. in the Irish Guards; went out to the western front in 1918, attached the Guards Machine Gun Regt.; m. Katherine Isabel Bingham Powell; killed in action near Villiers Pol and Le Quesnoy Nov. 4, 1918.

Humphries, Clifford Stuart, son of Stanley Humphries of Blackheath and Gertrude, d. of John Johnson of Banstead, Surrey; b. 18 May 1911; adm. May 1924 (H); left July 1929; Trin. Coll. Camb., matric. 1929, BA 1932, MA 1937; St Thom. Hosp. Med. Sch., MRCS LRCP 1935; MB BCh 1937; gen. med. practice Blackheath; RAMC 1939-41 (Capt.); d. of wounds (Middle East) 1941.

Clifford Stuart Humphries was born at Greenwich, London on the 18th of May 1911 the only child of Stanley Humphries, a school master, later an assistant manager at the Royal Ordnance factory, and Gertrude (nee Johnson) Humphries of 37, Dombey Road, Tulse Hill, later of Beckenham in Kent and of Parville Alsager, Stoke on Trent. He was christened at Holy Trinity Church, Tulse Hill on the 18th of June 1911. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from May 1924 to July 1929.
He matriculated for Trinity College, Cambridge as a pensioner on the 9th of October 1929 and graduated with a BA in 1932. He attended St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School and achieved MRCS and LRCP in 1935. He achieved MB BCh in 1937 and was awarded a MA in the same year.
He served as House Physician at the Royal Berkshire Hospital before entering general practise at a surgery at 75, Maxted Road, New Cross in London.
He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps on the 4th of September 1939 and was promoted to Captain in 1940. He served in France, Greece and Crete.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Trinity College, Cambridge and on the St Thomas’s Hospital Roll of Honour.
He is buried at El Alamein War Cemetery Plot XXXII, Row C, Grave 9.