Fevez, Robin Lewis Gronow, brother of David Grunow Eugene Fevez (qv); b. 7 Nov. 1920; adm. Sept. 1934 (G); left Dec. 1937; King's Coll. Lond. 1938, enlisted Aug. 1939; The Queen's Regt, served Iraq 1942, Eighth Army 1943 (Capt.); killed in action (Italy) Sept. 1943.
Robin Louis Gronow Fevez was born at “Eversleigh”, Addlestone, Chertsey, Surrey on the 7th of November 1920 the younger son of Eugene Leon Fevez OW, a director of a wholesale textile company, and his second wife, Ethel Gronow (nee Oliver) Fevez of Radley Cottage, Church Road, Addlestone, Chertsey, later of 24, Woodville Road, Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex. He was educated at St George’s College, Weybridge and at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1934 to December 1937. He went on to the Faculty of Science at King’s College, London University from 1938 to 1940 where he was a member of the London University Officer Training Corps. He had planned to become a research chemist but the outbreak of war intervened.
He enlisted as Private 6464127 in The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) on the 25th of September 1939 and was posted to No. 162 Officer Cadet Training Unit on the 22nd of November 1940. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Regiment on the 15th of March 1941. He was posted to the 2/5th Battalion of his Regiment and served in Iraq in 1942. He served as Acting Adjutant and as Battalion Itelligence Offier before being appointed to the command of D Company
On the 9th of September 1943, the 2/5th Battalion, The Queen’s Royal Regiment was in the leading wave of the Allied landings at Salerno for the invasion of Italy. The troops were loaded onto assault landing craft just after midnight and they headed for shore under a curtain of supporting fire from the naval guns offshore. The enemy returned fire and as the two leading landing craft approached the shore both were hit and damaged. Although there were a number of casualties in Robin Fevez’s boat, he was unhurt and landed on the beach shortly after 4am. The Battalion’s task was to land on the right of the 4,000 yard stretch of beach, to secure the beachhead and to advance a further 3,000 yards inland by first light. D Company, on the left of the Battalion’s attack, crossed bogs and ditches as they made their way inland where they secured their objective, a large agricultural college at Piccola a mile behind the beach. They had taken the position with few casualties and were in high spirits when a German tank was spotted some 300 yards to their front which heralded a counterattack by the 16th Panzer Division. C Company, which was the lead Company, suffered heavy losses but, with support from the other Companies the enemy attack was eventually driven off. At midnight on the 9th/10th of September the Battalion’s commanding officer received orders to resume the advance in order to attack before the Germans were able to reorganise.
A and D Companies began the advance in darkness with D Company moving up a road on the left. They moved forward for about an hour before they saw what looked in the gloom like an enemy tank in the middle of the road. A PIAT was ordered forward and knocked out what turned out to be an enemy self propelled gun and its half-track. A Platoon was then dispatched to investigate a nearby house on their right when the whole line came under heavy fire. Robin Fevez met Lieutenant Whitfield at a cross roads where the two men had to shout to hear each other due to the noise of the gunfire and of the tracer bullets whipping over their heads. He was ordered to dig in and to hold his position in preparation for an expected counterattack at first light. As daylight came it became clear that the Battalion was sited in the middle of an encampment of enemy tanks and the noise of their engines starting, coupled with heavy fire in all directions added to the confusion. Robin Fevez quickly realized that he and his men were about to find themselves in a desperate position with tanks attacking them from short range. He ordered his men to break out “as best as they could” but they were almost completely cut off from the rest of the Battalion. Only 20 men managed to get back to the Battalion with Robin Fevez being killed during the fighting withdrawal. The Battalion was relived the following day.
His brother, Pilot Officer David Gronow Eugene Fevez OW, 26 Squadron Royal Air Force was killed in action on the 5th of June 1940.
He is commemorated on the London University Roll of Honour
He is buried at Salerno War Cemetery Plot III, Row A, Grave 10.
