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Whiskard, Richard Geoffrey, son of Sir Geoffrey Granville Whiskard KCB KCMG, UK High Commissioner to the Commonweath of Australia, and his first wife Cynthia Salome Caroline, d. of Edmund Whitelock Reeves; b. 31 Mar. 1920; adm. Sept. 1933 (H), KS May 1935; left July 1938; Univ. Coll. Oxf., matric. 1938; Welsh Guards 1940-4 (Lieut.); killed in action (Normandy) 2 Aug. 1944.

Richard Geoffrey Whiskard was born at Kensington, London on the 21st of March 1920 the elder son of Sir Geoffrey Granville Whiskard KCB, KCMG, MA, High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of Australia, and Lady Cynthia Salome Caroline (nee Reeves) Whiskard of 156, Sloane Street in London and of 13, Mill Street, Mildenhall in Suffolk. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1933 to July 1938 and was a King’s Scholar from May 1935. From the beginning of his time at Westminster he took an intense interest in the School and in the Abbey and was already a considerable authority on their history and antiquities. He matriculated for University College, Oxford in 1938 but left before graduating for military service.
He attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Welsh Guards on the 2nd of November 1940. He was posted to the 2nd (Armoured Reconnaissance) Battalion of his Regiment on the 8th of September 1943.
The 2nd (Armoured Reconnaissance) Battalion, Welsh Guards landed in Normandy in late June 1944 and fought in a number of engagements during the following few weeks.
On the evening of the 1st of August 1944, the 2nd (Armoured Reconnaissance) Battalion, Welsh Guards moved to a position just to the north of the village of St Martin des Besaces. At first light the following morning Nos. 1 and 3 Squadrons moved through the village to La Tourneur and then to Catheolles where the two Squadrons split with No. 3 Squadron by-passing Courteil and Montchamp before reaching the village of La Marvindiere. No. 1 Squadron, which had been unable to leave the roads, lost two tanks early in the advance. In the evening all three of the reconnaissance Squadrons moved into the area of La Marvindiere where they were under heavy shelling, mortar and sniper fire throughout the night. They held these positions until the 5th of August when they were withdrawn at 5am. They had suffered casualties during this period of three officer and even other ranks killed with twenty other ranks wounded. Richard Whiskard was among the dead.
His commanding officer described his death as: - “One of our major losses.”
His father wrote the following after the death of his son: -
“My son was killed, early in August in Normandy. A fellow officer sent me a sketch map of the spot where he was buried. I sent this to a niece of mine, who is a nursing sister with the British Army, and two months after his death, she was able to visit the place. She found that at the foot of the grave where he and the driver of his tank, who was killed by the same shell, were buried, a flowering shrub had been planted and was in full blossom. At the head of the grave, under each of the two crosses, was a vase of fresh flowers. This had been done by the French family who lived nearby. When they saw my niece, they came to the grave and brought her back with them to the farm house and gave her tea. They told her that they would always, as long as they themselves were there, tend the grave. I feel that this may, perhaps give comfort to some of your readers. Other French people, no doubt, have done, and will do, the same.”
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Mildenhall and on the memorial at University College, Oxford.
He is buried at St Charles de Percy War Cemetery Plot I, Row G, Grave 14.

Waterfield, Horace Clare, son of Sir Henry Waterfield (q.v.), by his first wife; b. April 1, 1876; adm. Sept. 26, 1889 (R); left April 1894; Brown Scholar, Royal Agricultural Coll. Cirencester 1894; Gold Medallist 1896; a land agent in England, and Canada where he had an apple ranch at Nakusp, British Columbia; Lieut. British Columbia Regt. Canadian In­fantry Oct. 25, 1916; went out to the western front May 1917; m. June 25, 1906, Margaret Elspeth, daughter of Col. Edward William Creswell, R.E.; d. at Etaples May 5, 1918, of wounds received in action April 26, 1918.

Walker, Ian Patrick Goold, son of Maj. George Goold Walker DSO MC FSA, secretary HAC, and Lilian Sophie, d. of F. C. P. Clarke of St Helier, Jersey; b. 15 Feb. 1914; adm. Sept. 1927 (G); left Apr. 1932; film industry; Northants Yeomanry Dec. 1940, transf. Queen's Bays (Capt.), served El Alamein; d. 6 July 1945 of wounds received in Italy Oct. 1944.

Ian Patrick Goold Walker was born at Kensington, London on the 15th of February 1914 the only son of Major George Goold Walker DSO, MC, FSA, Secretary of the Honourable Artillery Company, and Lilian Sophie (nee Grant) Walker of 29, Westbourne Terrace in London and of L’Etacq, Jersey in the Channel Islands. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1927 to April 1932. On leaving school he entered the film industry and he enlisted in the Honourable Artillery Company in 1939, serving with their anti aircraft battery.
He attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry on the 7th of December 1940. He was attached to the Queen’s Bays and served with them in the North African campaign from El Alamein to Tunis. He was selected for a Staff training course but refused the offer as his Regiment was under orders to move to Italy.
He was wounded on the 13th October 1944 during the fighting for the Gothic Line and died from his injuries nine months later.
He is commemorated on the Coveney Roll of Honour.
He is buried at Almorah Cemetery, St Helier Grave 22/13F.

Walker, Charles Nigel Gordon, son of Frederick Alexander Walker, of Gravesend, Kent; b. July 3, 1889; adm. Sept. 28, 1905 (R); left Easter 1908; temp. Lieut. 10th (Service) Batt. the South Staffs Regt. Nov, 21, 1914; Adjt. Nov. 21, 1914, attached 8th Batt. Manchester Regt.; killed in action Aug. 7, 1915.

Waite, Peter Wilfrid, son of Wilfrid Fabian Waite, barrister-at-law, and Dorothy, d. of Edward James Ebden ICS; b. 18 June 1922; adm. Jan. 1936 (H); left. Apr. 1941; Lance-Cpl The Queen's Regt; killed in action (ltaly) 9 Sept. 1944.

Peter Wilfrid Waite was born at Chelsea, London on the 18th of June 1922 the only child of Wifrid Fabian Waite, a barrister at law and Counsel to the Board of Trade, and Dorothy (nee Ebden) Waite of 201, Hood House, Dolphin Square, Westminster in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from January 1936 to April 1941. On leaving school he enlisted as a Private in The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) on the 5th of May 1941 and was later promoted to Corporal.
On the afternoon of the 8th of September 1944, the 2/6th Battalion, The Queen’s Royal Regiment was detailed to make an attack on the left of their Brigade to clear the village of Poggio of its German defenders and to capture a hill, codenamed “Soldier” to the west of Gemmano. At the same time, the 2/7th Battalion was to make an attack on the right to capture the village of Gemmano and the adjoining hamlet of Borgo. The 2/7th Battalion moved into the attack at 2.30pm with the 2/6th Battalion following a short time later.
As the 2/6th Battalion climbed the first hill towards their objective they came under very heavy enemy fire from the wooded slopes rising up to Gemmano village. In spite of this C Company captured Poggio, losing their company commander and two other officers in the process. As night fell the Battalion waited in the area around Poggio for news of progress of the 2/7th Battalion. The area was lit up by the light from burning haystacks which enabled enemy snipers to bring them under fire.
After nightfall D Company advanced and captured “Soldier” hill but they too lost their company commander in the attack. The Germans immediately counterattacked with A and B Companies being ordered forward to reinforce the defenders. As they moved up the hill they came under intense enemy fire and were forced to go to ground. D Company held onto its gains throughout the following day and during the fighting they captured forty enemy prisoners and badly mauled a party of enemy troops who were bringing up supplies using mules and wheelbarrows. By the afternoon of the 9th of September, D Company was almost completely surrounded and was ordered to fight its way out and back to the lower slopes. By the end of the night the survivors had rejoined their comrades on the slopes below to the south and east of their objective.
Peter Waite was killed during the fighting: -“The only remaining member of his section, he died attacking a German position, alone in a vital and successful action in which he played an important part.”
He is buried at Coriano Ridge Cemetery Plot XX, Row E, Grave 6.

Wade, Richard Thomas Christopher, son of Richard Ramsden Wade DM, of Hampstead; b. 24 Oct. 1921; adm. Sept. 1935 (R); left July 1939; PO RAF Regt Dec. 1941, FO Nov. 1942, temp. Flt Lieut. Sept. 1942; d. 27 Aug. 1944 after a road accident on active service.

Richard Thomas Christopher Wade was born in North London on the 24th of October 1921 the younger son of Richard Ramsden Wade, a commercial clerk, and Constance Irene (nee Lord) Wade of Lavender Cottage, Grayshott near Hindhead in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from September 1935 to July 1939. He enlisted as Aircraftman 2nd Class 1154480 in the Royal Air Force Regiment in December 1941 and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 20th of March 1942, with seniority from the 24th of December 1941. He was promoted to Flying officer on the 1st of October 1942.
He was killed in a road accident in Italy.
His brother, Officer Cadet Patrick Armigel Wade, Royal Armoured Corps, died on the 29th of July 1940.
He is buried at Biguglia War Cemetery Plot 2, Row C, Grave 1.

Viney, Cecil Henry, only son of Cecil Thomas Viney, of Bromley, Kent, by Ada Maude, daugh­ter of G. H. Smith, of Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex; b. May 24, 1891; adm. Sept. 28, 1905 (G); left 1907; Royal Academy Painting Schools; 2nd Lieut. 3rd Batt. Northants Regt. Aug. 15, 1914; went out to the western front March 1915; killed in action at Fromelles May 9, 1915.

Vernham, Noel Marshall, only son of James Marshall Vernham, of Wimbledon, by Mary, daughter of Frederick Giles, of the Stock Exchange, London; b. Dec. 22, 1896; adm. April 28, 1910 (R); left July 1914; enlisted in P.S. Batt. Middlesex Regt. Sept. 4, 1914; 2nd Lieut. 4th Batt. East Surrey Regt. March 9, 1915, attached 1st Batt.; went out to the western front March 19, 1916; killed in action at Longueval July 28, 1916.

Usher, Philip Charles Alexander, son of Thomas Charles Usher, of Melksham, Wilts, by Constance Emma, daughter of Alexander Bell, of Highbury, London; b. March 18, 1899; adm. Sept. 26, 1912 (G); elected to Ch. Ch. Oxon. July 1917, matric. Trin. 1919; B.A. 1922; M.A. 1925; 2nd Lieut. R.G.A. (S.R.) Feb. 25, 1918; served at Salonika 1918-9; ordained 1923; Domestic Chaplain to the Bishop of Gloucester 1923-4; Chaplain of the Collegiate Church of St. George the Martyr, Jerusalem, 1924-5, of H.M. Legation at Athens 1926-30; domestic Chaplain to the Bishop of Gloucester 1930-7; Warden of Liddon House, London, 1937; Sqdn.-Ldr. (Chaplain) R.A.F.V.R. Nov. 12, 1940; d. on active service at Jerusalem June, 1941.

Philip Charles Alexander Usher was born at Trowbridge, Wiltshire on the 18th of March 1899 the only son of Thomas Charles Usher, of the Wiltshire Brewery, and Constance Emma (nee Bell) Usher “Sunny Croft”, Trowbridge, later of Seend Green House, Seend, Melksham in Wiltshire. He was christened in Wiltshire on the 25th of May 1899. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from the 26th of September 1912 to July 1917. He was a member of the Debating Society from 1916 and was appointed as a Monitor in January 1917. He had won a place at Christ Church, Oxford but deferred it, instead he attended an Officer Cadet Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery on the 25th of February 1918. He served overseas and relinquished his commission on the 1st of April 1920.
He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford on a MAM Scholarship in 1919 and was awarded a BA in 1922. He was ordained in 1923, was appointed as Assistant Curate of All Saints Church, Gloucester and also served as Domestic Chaplain to the Bishop of Gloucester at the same time. He was awarded a MA in 1925. He was appointed as the Chaplain to St George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem in 1924 and, from 1928 to 1930, he served as Chaplain to HM Legation in Athens where he ministered to the British Community there. He was fluent in Greek and could converse with people of: - “every class, occupation and type of culture”. He became a great student of Greek life, its language and of the Greek Orthodox Church.
He invalided home to England in 1930 where, on his recovery, he once again became Domestic Chaplain to the Bishop of Gloucester. He chaired the Committee on Relations with Episcopal Churches and was appointed as an Honorary Secretary to the Council on Foreign Relations in 1932. A short time later he was appointed as Warden of Liddon House, where Orthodox clergy would stay while in London, from where he led large Anglican delegations abroad including to Romania in 1935 and to Bulgaria in 1940. He served as the Editor of the “Church Quarterly Review” for nine years. In 1937, he was appointed as the Chaplain of Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street.
After war broke out in 1939 he worked for the Interior Ministry as an advisor on the Eastern regions. However, having become - “increasingly dissatisfied with staying at home', he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he had hoped to serve in Greece. He was commissioned as a Squadron Leader in the Chaplains Branch of the Royal Air Force Reserve on the 12th of November 1940 and was posted to Palestine.
He died from a cerebral haemorrhage in a hospital at Jerusalem.
A memorial communion service was held in his memory at the Grosvenor Chapel at 11am on the 13th of June 1941. The Philip Usher Memorial Fund was established in his memory to - “Give others an opportunity of living in an Orthodox country in order to absorb its ideological atmosphere”.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Christ Church, Oxford.
He is buried at Ramleh War Cemetery Row P, Grave 1.