Holmes, Robert Edward Ingram, son of J. W. Holmes, of Wallington, Surrey; b. Dec. 7, 1898; adm. Jan. 18, 1912 (G); left April 1917; 2nd Lieut. 5th (Res.) Batt. Grenadier Guards; Ch. Ch. Oxon., matric. Michaelmas 1919; B.A. 1922; silver medallist, R. Academy of Dramatic Art; an actor; frequently appeared on the London stage and was a regular member of the Repertory Players; 2nd Lieut. R. A. Sept. 21, 1939; d. of wounds July 10, 1945.
Robert Edward Ingram Holmes was born at Wallington, Surrey on the 7th of December 1898 the second son of James Wallace Holmes, an East India merchant, and Edith Mary Annie (nee Ingram) Holmes of “Cotleigh”, 5, Stanley Park Road, Wallington in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from the 18th of January 1912 to April 1917. He was appointed as Monitor in January 1917.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Grenadier Guards during the Great War and served overseas. He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford in 1919 and graduated with a BA in 1922. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he won a Silver Medal, and became an actor with frequent appearances on the London stage as well as being a regular member of the Repertory Players. He played Laertes in the modern dress version of Hamlet at the Kingsway Theatre, London in 1925. He appeared in the film drama “The Rosary”, directed by Guy Newall in 1931, in the part of Concannon in the comedy film “Hyde Park Corner”, directed by Sinclair Hill in 1935 and in the part of d’Allery in the comedy film “The Gay Adventure” also directed by Sinclair Hill in 1936.
Following the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Royal Artillery and rose to the rank of Lance Bombardier before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the 21st of September 1939. He was dismissed from the army on the 16th of December 1942 following a Court Martial.
He died at “'Houghton”, Petworth Road, Wormley, Godalming, Surrey
His death is not recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as he was no longer in the army at the time of his death.