Aris, Jack Biddulph, brother of George Biddulph Aris (qv); b. 27 June 1915; adm. Apr. 1929 (A); left Mar. 1933; RAFVR 1942-3 (FO); m.; killed in action 1943.

Jack Biddulph Aris was born at Edenbridge, Kent on the 27th of June 1915 the younger son of Thomas Biddulph Aris, an Executive Advertising Assistant for the London Passenger Transport Board, and Janet Elsie (nee King) Aris of 21, Purley Rise, Purley in Surrey. He was the twin of his sister Mary Biddulph.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from April 1929 to March 1933. On leaving school he went to work as a buyer’s assistant for a biscuit manufacturers.
He was married at St John’s Church, Shirley, Surrey on the 27th of April 1940 to Joan Elizabeth “Joey” (nee Potter, later Aston), a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he rose to the rank of Sergeant before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 7th of March 1942. He and his crew attended No. 10 Operational Training Unit before becoming operational when they were posted to 158 Squadron based at RAF East Moor on the 9th of July 1942, and flew on their first operation together to Nantes on the 21st of July 1942. They took off from RAF East Moor on the night of the 31st of July/1st of August 1942 in Halifax Mk II W7777 for an operation on Dusseldorf. While over the target their aircraft was hit by anti aircraft fire which put aircraft into a loop and caused a loss of control. The pilot, Charles Sparke, put the aircraft into a dive at 330 mph before he managed to regain control and return to East Moor where they landed safely in the early hours of the morning with no injuries to the crew reported.
He was promoted to Flying officer on the 1st of October 1942.
On the night of the 10th/11th of December 1942 Bomber Command dispatched 48 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters, 8 Stirlings and 6 Wellingtons for an operation on Turin. More than half the force was forced to turn back before they reached the Alps due to severe icing conditions but twenty eight crews went on and claimed to have bombed the target. The city reported that only three high explosive bombs had landed on the city of which two had failed to explode.
Jack Aris and his crew took off from RAF Rufforth at 4.45pm on the 10th of December 1942 in Halifax Mk II DT579 NP-V for the operation. The aircraft came down at 8.45am the following morning near the village of Villeneuve-en-Montagne, eight kilometers to the east of Le Creusot, just thirty meters from a farm building owned by Monsieur Monneret, with the loss of the entire crew.
The crew was: -
Flying Officer Jack Biddulph Aris (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Denis Ralph Collyer (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant Ronald Edlington (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant John William Furniss (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flying Officer Harry Middleton (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant Charles Lionel Sparke (Pilot)
Flying Officer Rayden Frederic Watson RCAF (Air Bomber)
Thiers was one of 4 aircraft which failed to return from the mission.
The crew was buried in the local cemetery in a ceremony which was led by the Mayor, Monsieur Bourogoyne, and was attended by all of the people of the town, in spite of the presence of the Germans.
A stone memorial was placed at the crash site in 1992.
He is buried at Villeneuve-en-Montagne Communal Cemetery, Collective Grave

Bailey, Francis Robert, brother of James Albert Norman Bailey (qv); b. 10 June 1913; adm. May 1927 (A); left July 1931; New Coll. Oxf., matric. 1931, BA 1935; articled to a solicitor; RA 1940 (Lance-Sgt); accidentally killed on active service 19 Oct. 1940.

Francis Robert Bailey was born in London on the 10th of June 1913 the youngest son of John Norman Bailey, a solicitor, and Agnes Elizabeth (nee Harrison) Bailey of 97, Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, later of 4, Brunswick Gardens, Kensington in London and of “Westmead”, Avondale, Fleet in Hampshire. He was christened at St Peter’s Church, Cranley Gardens, on the 6th of August 1913.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from May 1927 to July 1931 and he matriculated for New College, Oxford in 1931 from where he achieved a BA in 1935. On leaving university he worked as an articled clerk for a firm of solicitors.
He was killed in an accident near to his base of RAF Harwell in Berkshire. His funeral took place on the 23rd of October 1940.
He is buried at Christ Church, Shamley Green.

Béranger, Stewart Charles Walsh, son of Henri Lucien Béranger of Paris, and Marguerite Louisa Minnie, d. of Lionel George Lawrence Walsh; b. 19 June 1917; adm. Sept. 1930 (A); left Apr. 1935; enlisted in 206th Infantry Regt, French Army; p.o.w.; killed while attempting to escape 21 May 1944.

Stewart Charles Walsh Béranger was born at Kensington, London on the 19th of June 1917 the only son of Henri Lucien “Harry” Béranger, an architect, and Marguerite Louisa Minnie (nee Walsh) Béranger of 62, Philbeach Gardens, Earls Court in London. He was christened at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton on the 30th of July 1917. He was educated at Westminster School on an Exhibition where he was up Ashburnham from September 1930 to April 1935. He played of part of Sidney Gibson in the farce “The Private Secretary” at the Westminster Theatre on the 29th of July 1933. He was a member of the Chess team and of the 1st Football XI from 1932 to 1935, where he played as goalkeeper and continued to play in the same position for the Old Westminsters XI. The Elizabethan wrote the following on his 1932/33 football season: - “Emerged from obscurity and from his very first game showed high promise of becoming a great goalkeeper. He has a fine sense of position, good hands and is very reliable. Does not yet punt the ball very well.”
On leaving school he moved to Paris as a student and lived at 89, Rue de Lille.
On the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the 206th Infantry Regiment, French Army in 1939 and was captured at the fall of France in June 1940.
He was interned in a labour camp at Bruck sur la Mur where he was shot and killed while attempting to escape.
His father donated £100 towards the Westminster School war memorial appeal in his memory.
His place of burial is unknown.

Ellissen, Francis Lyon Gordon, son of Arthur Victor Ellissen, member Lond. Stock Exchange, of Richmond, Surrey, and Irene Maude Mary, d. of George Lyon Begbie; b. 26 May 1918; adm. Jan. 1932 (A); left. July 1935; RNVR in WW2; lost in the sinking by enemy action of SS Laconia 12 Sept. 1942.

Francis Lyon Gordon Ellissen was born at Richmond, Surrey on the 26th of May 1918 the son of Arthur Victor Sampson Ellissen MC MP, a barrister at law, and Irene Maude Mary (nee Begbie) Ellissen, an artist, of 6, Cardigan Road, Richmond. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1932 to July 1935. On leaving school he worked as a commercial artist.
Following the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Royal Navy, was trained as a gunner and was attached to the 19,695 ton passenger liner SS Laconia.
The SS Laconia, under the command of Master Rudolph Sharp OBE, sailed from the Middle East bound for Liverpool, and stopped at Capetown before setting sail for Freetown. She was unescorted and was carrying 136 crewmen, 80 civilians, 268 military personnel, including nurses, and 1,809 Italian prisoners guarded by 160 Polish troops; she was also carrying 200 tons of general cargo.
At 10.20pm on the 12th of September 1942, the SS Laconia was sailing some 360 miles to the north, northeast of the Ascension Islands when she was struck by a torpedo which had been fired by the U-Boat U-156, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Werner Hartenstein. The torpedo struck her in the hold on the starboard side, killing many of the Italian prisoners in the explosion. She began to list to starboard and, as Captain Sharp was regaining control of her, she was struck in her Number 2 hold by a second torpedo. With the forecastle now awash, Sharp issued the order to abandon ship with the women, children and the wounded taking to the lifeboats. 32 lifeboats had been destroyed by the explosions. At 11.11pm the ship sank by the bow leaving hundreds of survivors in the water. Although estimates vary, between 1,658 and 1,757 passengers and crew are thought to have lost their lives in the attack.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Memorial Panel 68, Column 1.

Evans, David Christopher, son of Charles Evans, publisher, of Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, and Rose Elizabeth, d. of William Callaghan of Leytonstone, Essex; b. 28 Mar. 1922; adm. Sept. 1935 (G); left July 1940; PO RAFVR Mar. 1942; killed in action in a raid on Bremen June 1942.

David Christopher Evans was born at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey on the 28th of March 1922 the fifth and youngest son of Charles Seddon Evans, a publisher, and Rose Elizabeth (nee Callaghan) Evans of Bilders Farm, Ewhurst in Surrey.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1935 to July 1940. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Leading Aircraftman before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 7th of March 1942. He was posted to No. 15 Operational Training Unit as an instructor.
On the night of the 26th/26th of June 1942, Bomber Command dispatched 472 Wellingtons, 124 Halifaxes, 96 Lancasters, 69 Stirlings, 51 Blenheims, 50 Hampdens, 50 Whitleys, 24 Bostons, 20 Manchesters and 4 Mosquitos for an operation on Bremen. The force was intended to be a “1,000 bomber raid” but, in the event, 960 aircraft were sent, which included some aircraft from Operational Training Units to make up the numbers. The force was to attack the Focke Wulf factory, the A.G. Wesser shipyard, the Deschimag shipyard as well as other areas of the town and its docks. 572 houses were destroyed during the raid with a further 6,108 damaged, the vast majority of which were in the southern and eastern quarters of the city. 85 people were killed on the ground with another 497 injured and 2,378 were bombed out of their homes. Six buildings at the Focke Wulf factory were seriously damaged and one assembly shop was completely destroyed. Damage was also caused to buildings at the Atlas Werke, the Vulcan shipyard, the Norddeutsche Hutte and the Korff oil refinery.
David Evans and his crew took off from RAF Harwell at 10.41pm on the 25th of June 1942 in Wellington Mk IC DV737 for the operation. While flying in the target area at a height of 7,000 feet at 1.45am the aircraft was hit by anti aircraft fire and exploded, killing the entire crew. Parts of the wreckage fell on to the house of Frau Hoeber at 37, Stoeversand Strasse in Sebaldsbruck with the rest falling into the garden of the house where it burned out.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer David Christopher Evans (Pilot)
Sergeant Ronald Idris Coffin (2nd Pilot)
Sergeant Thomas Phillip Morgan (Observer)
Sergeant Alfred George Leyland (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Michael Sweeney (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant John McRewin Kennedy (Air Gunner)
Theirs was one of forty eight aircraft which failed to return from the raid.
His father received the following telegram date the 25th of September 1942: - “Deeply regret to inform you that according to information received through the International Red Cross Committee your son Pilot Officer David Christopher Evans is believed to have lost his life as the result of air operations on 26th June 1942. Letter confirming this telegram follows. The Air Council express their profound sympathy.”
David Evans’ body and those of two of his crew were found on the road in front of the house, with another being recovered from the bottom of the garden. Another body was found near to the air raid shelter. The bodies of the crew were collected by the local undertaker, Herr Stubbe.
The crew was buried with full military honours at Waller Cemetery near Bremen on the 2nd of July 1942. Their bodies were exhumed by No. 4 Missing Research and Enquiry Unit, Royal Air Force on the 23rd of January 1947 and were moved to their present location.
He is commemorated on his parent’s grave
He is buried at Becklingen War Cemetery Plot 26 Row G Grave 13.

Evers, Gilbert Davey, son of Harold Evers of Bromley; b. 11 Jan. 1912; adm. Sept. 1925 (B), (A) Sept. 1926; left Apr. 1929; RAFVR 1939-45 (Flt Serg., flying instructor); PO Jan. 1945; killed in air operations over Germany 28 Jan. 1945.

Gilbert Davey “Pop” Evers was born at Bromley, Kent on the 11th of January 1912 the younger son of Harold Evers, a chartered secretary, and Rhoda Skene (nee Heathcote) Evers of 6, Haven Green, Ealing in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from September 1925 and up Ashburnham from September 1926 to April 1929.
He was granted a short service commission in the Royal Air Force with the rank of Acting Pilot Officer on the 21st of October 1935 and was confirmed in his rank on the 21st of October 1936. He resigned his commission on the 11th of March 1937.
On the outbreak of war he was working as an instrument flying instructor and was lodging at 83, Grand Avenue, Hassocks in Sussex.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1940 where he rose to the rank of Warrant Officer before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 16th of January 1945.
On the 28th of January 1945, Bomber Command dispatched 153 Lancasters for an operation on the Gremberg railway marshalling yards at Cologne. The weather was clear and the target was hit but with some bombs overshooting.
Gilbert Evers and his crew took off from RAF Chedburgh at 10.46am on the 27th of January 1945 in Lancaster Mk I PD296 HA-B, as the Squadron’s lead aircraft for the operation. This was to be his 30th operation, the final one of his tour of operations. While the aircraft was in the target area it was hit by anti aircraft fire and crashed at 2pm at Bergisch-Gladbach, 14 kilometres to the east north east of the centre of Cologne, with the loss of all but one of the crew.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Gilbert Davey Evers (Pilot)
Sgt Ernest Noel James Francis (Flight Engineer)
Flying Officer Frederick J. Norton (2nd Navigator) (Wounded) (POW)
Flight Sergeant Anthony Morris (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant David Charles Allen (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant Eric Holland (Wireless Operator)
Sergeant Edward Bertram Barradell (Air Gunner)
Warrant Officer John Towns DFC (Air Gunner)
Theirs was one of four aircraft which were lost during the operation, one of which crash landed in liberated France.
The navigator, Frederick Norton, was the only member of the crew to survive. He had been wounded by shrapnel in the arm but landed safely by parachute and was captured. Had Gilbert Evers survived the operation he would have been stood down from further operations.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at the Church of Christ the Saviour, Ealing.
He is buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Plot 31, Row C, Grave 1.

Fisher, Herbert Paul Greenwood, brother of John Greenwood Fisher (qv); b. 25 June 1908; adm. Sept. 1922 (A); left July 1926; dir. Benhams (Engineering) Ltd; PO RAFVR Apr. 1940; m. 5 Sept. 1931 Joyce Margaret Applin, d. of Frank Edwin Bennett of Streatham; killed in action over Libya 28 July 1940.

Herbert Paul Greenwood Fisher was born at Hampstead, London on the 25th of June 1908 the younger son of Herbert Fisher, an importer of clocks, and Josephine Hilda (nee Williamson) Fisher of 8, King’s Gardens Hampstead in London. He was christened at St James’ Church, West Hampstead on the 22nd of July 1908. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1922 to July 1926. On leaving school he became a director of Benhams (Engineering) Ltd and was later the Company Secretary to Dunbrik & Company Ltd, brick manufacturers.
He was married on the 5th of September 1931 to Margaret Joyce (nee Applin) and the couple lived at 115, Gaywood Road, King’s Lynn in Norfolk.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as an observer and rose to the rank of Sergeant before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 7th of April 1940.
On the 27th of July 1940, Herbert Greewood and his crew were one of eight aircraft from 30 Squadron which flew to from Iningi Maryut to Maaten Bagush where they were to operate under 202 Group in carrying out operations over the Libyan border.
Herbert Fisher and his crew took off from Maaten Bagush at 6.10am on the 28th of July 1940 in Blenheim Mk IF K7178 HY-B with one other aircraft from the Squadron to escort a Blenheim Mk IV aircraft from 113 Squadron which was undertaking a reconnaissance mission at 6.000 feet over the Italian lines at the border between Libya and Egypt. At 6.30am the other escort fighter entered cloud and became separated from Herbert Greenwood’s aircraft and from the Blenheim they were escorting. The two aircraft continued on their mission alone and were flying between Sollum and Bardia when they were intercepted by five Fiat CR42 fighters of 84 and 90 Squadriglia. During the ensuing combat their aircraft was shot down with the loss of the entire crew. The victory was shared by Sergente Scaglioni and Tenete Franco Lucchini of 90 Squadriglia. Franco Luchini’s aircraft had been so badly damaged by the return fire from the Blenheims that it tipped over on landing and was written off; he was killed in action on the 5th of July 1943. The Blenheim from 113 Squadron, although very badly damaged, managed to return to base alone.
The crew was: -
Flight Lieutenant Ian Cheesman Swann (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Herbert Paul Greenwood Fisher (Observer)
Sergeant John Young (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
The crew was buried close to the wreckage of their aircraft but their bodies were exhumed and mover to their present location in 1948.
He is buried at Knightsbridge War Cemetery Collective Grave 8D 8-9.

Boggon, Michael Gordon, son of Nicholas Gordon Boggon of Hampstead, and Ruth, d. of John Henry Morgan of Northfield, Birmingham; b. 19 Mar. 1922; adm. Jan. 1936 (R); left July 1939; RAFVR 1941-2 (FO); m. 20 Dec. 1941 Yvonne Patricia, d. of Maj. Raymond Hartmann; killed in action Apr. 1942.

Michael Gordon “Mike” Boggon was born at Richmond, Surrey on the 19th of March 1922 the eldest son of Nicholas Gordon Boggon, a company director, and Ruth (nee Morgan) Boggon of “Linkwood”, Radlett in Hertfordshire, later of 11, Constable Close, Hendon in Middlesex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from January 1936 to July 1939.
He was married at St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London on the 20th of December 1941 to Yvonne Marion Patricia (nee Hartman) of Grovesnor Square, London.
He enlisted in the Royal Air force Volunteer Reserve where trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Leading Aircraftman before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 10th of April 1941. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 10th of April 1942.
Michael Boggon and his crew took off from RAF North Coates at 12.20pm on the 21st of April 1942 in Hudson Mk V AM782 TR-O with other aircraft from the Squadron for a special training flight over the North Sea, codenamed “Exercise Strike”. The aircraft was carrying four 250lb general purpose bombs. At 2.05pm a message was received from Michael Boggon’s aircraft that it was under attack by enemy aircraft. His aircraft had been attacked by a Messerschmitt Bf110 flown by Oberleutnant Helmut Woltersdorf of 7./NJG 1 (on attachment from II./NJG 2) and was shot down into the sea to the west, northwest of Texel Island with the loss of the entire crew. Theirs was one of an eventual twenty four victories for Helmut Woltersdorf before he was killed in action on the 2nd of June 1942.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Nathaniel White RAAF (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant John Edgar Howell (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Squadron Leader John St. John Thomson (16 Group attached to 59 Squadron)
Pilot Officer Joseph Alexander St Ours RCAF (Observer)
Flying Officer Michael Gordon Boggon (Pilot)
When the aircraft failed to return to base an aircraft from 59 Squadron and others from 53 Squadron took off to search for it. At 5.07pm they spotted an enemy Junkers 88 some 80 miles off the Lincolnshire coast and saw it again at 5.29pm. That evening, a German radio broadcast reported that one of their aircraft had attacked and shot down a Coastal Command aircraft and that its crew had dropped a dinghy to the RAF crew who had ditched in the sea.
Michael Boggon’s body was washed ashore at Hensby Gap, near Caistor-on-Sea, Lincolnshire on the 28th of April and that of Joseph St Ours was recovered from the sea at Hemsby near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on the 29th of April.
His wife received the following telegram dated the 29th of April 1942: - “Deeply regret to inform you that further information received states that your husband Pilot Officer Michael Gordon Boggon previously reported missing is now reported to have lost his life as the result of air operations on 21st April 1942. The Air Council express their profound sympathy, Letter confirming this telegram follows. His father is being informed.”
His cremation took place on the 4th of May 1942 and his ashes were scattered four days later.
He is commemorated at the Norwich and Norfolk Crematorium

Michael Gordon “Mike” Boggon was born at Richmond, Surrey on the 19th of March 1922 the eldest son of Nicholas Gordon Boggon, a company director, and Ruth (nee Morgan) Boggon of “Linkwood”, Radlett in Hertfordshire, later of 11, Constable Close, Hendon in Middlesex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from January 1936 to July 1939.
He was married at St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London on the 20th of December 1941 to Yvonne Marion Patricia (nee Hartman) of Grovesnor Square, London.
He enlisted in the Royal Air force Volunteer Reserve where trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Leading Aircraftman before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 10th of April 1941. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 10th of April 1942.
Michael Boggon and his crew took off from RAF North Coates at 12.20pm on the 21st of April 1942 in Hudson Mk V AM782 TR-O with other aircraft from the Squadron for a special training flight over the North Sea, codenamed “Exercise Strike”. The aircraft was carrying four 250lb general purpose bombs. At 2.05pm a message was received from Michael Boggon’s aircraft that it was under attack by enemy aircraft. His aircraft had been attacked by a Messerschmitt Bf110 flown by Oberleutnant Helmut Woltersdorf of 7./NJG 1 (on attachment from II./NJG 2) and was shot down into the sea to the west, northwest of Texel Island with the loss of the entire crew. Theirs was one of an eventual twenty four victories for Helmut Woltersdorf before he was killed in action on the 2nd of June 1942.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Nathaniel White RAAF (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant John Edgar Howell (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Squadron Leader John St. John Thomson (16 Group attached to 59 Squadron)
Pilot Officer Joseph Alexander St Ours RCAF (Observer)
Flying Officer Michael Gordon Boggon (Pilot)
When the aircraft failed to return to base an aircraft from 59 Squadron and others from 53 Squadron took off to search for it. At 5.07pm they spotted an enemy Junkers 88 some 80 miles off the Lincolnshire coast and saw it again at 5.29pm. That evening, a German radio broadcast reported that one of their aircraft had attacked and shot down a Coastal Command aircraft and that its crew had dropped a dinghy to the RAF crew who had ditched in the sea.
Michael Boggon’s body was washed ashore at Hensby Gap, near Caistor-on-Sea, Lincolnshire on the 28th of April and that of Joseph St Ours was recovered from the sea at Hemsby near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on the 29th of April.
His wife received the following telegram dated the 29th of April 1942: - “Deeply regret to inform you that further information received states that your husband Pilot Officer Michael Gordon Boggon previously reported missing is now reported to have lost his life as the result of air operations on 21st April 1942. The Air Council express their profound sympathy, Letter confirming this telegram follows. His father is being informed.”
His cremation took place on the 4th of May 1942 and his ashes were scattered four days later.
He is commemorated at the Norwich and Norfolk Crematorium.

Bone, Alexander Drummond, son of Drummond Bone of Buenos Aires and Jane Johnstone, d. of David Hume of Enniskillen, co. Fermanagh; b. 22 Dec. 1914; adm. Sept. 1928 (B); left July 1929; re-adm. Sept. 1931 (H); left July 1933; Univ. of Lond., MB BS MRCS LRCP 1939; RNVR 1940-3 (Surg. Lieut.); served in HMS Dorsetshire at the sinking of the Bismarck, torpedoed in HMS Lively; DSC (Med.) Nov. 1942; lost with HMS Dulverton 13 Nov. 1943.

Alexander Drummond Bone was born at Battersea, Surrey on the 22nd of December 1914 the only son of Drummond Bone, a consulting engineer, and Jean Johnston (nee Hume) Bone of 64, Prince of Wales’ Mansions, Battersea, later of 122, Sloane Street in London. He was christened at St Mary’s Church, Wandsworth on the 3rd of March 1917.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from September 1928 to July 1929. He was readmitted in September 1931 when he was up Homeboarders until July 1933. He went on to the St Thomas’ Hospital, University of London from 1933, achieving MB BS MRCS and LRCP in 1939. On the outbreak of war he was working as a House Physician at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. He was commissioned as a Surgeon Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the 14th of May 1940.
He was serving on board the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire when she was involved in the sinking of the Bismarck in May 1941. He was serving with the destroyer HMS Lively when she was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean on the 11th of May 1942. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross: - “For bravery and devotion to duty while serving in HM Ship Lively in the Mediterranean.” which was announced in the London Gazette of the 17th of November 1942.
He was later posted to the destroyer HMS Dulverton (L63).
In October 1943 HMS Dulverton, under the command of Commander Stuart Austen Buss MVO DSC RN, formed part of a force which was supporting the capture the islands of Kos and Leros from the Germans. On the 22nd of October she fired on shore targets at Levitha and she transported troops and stores to Leros on the 27th of October when she came under sustained attack from enemy aircraft and E Boats before she returned to Alexandria.
On the 12th of November HMS Dulverton returned to the area to support the garrison on Leros, which had just been attacked by German paratroopers. At around 1.45am on the 13th of November 1943, she was some five miles off the coast of Kos when she was attacked by Do217 aircraft of KG 100 which were using Hs 293 glider bombs. During the attack she was hit abreast of the bridge by one of the bombs, which blew off her bow section and started a number of fires on board. While the destroyer HMS Echo (H23) began rescuing the survivors, the escort destroyer HMS Belvoir (L32) continued firing on the enemy aircraft. By 3.20am the now abandoned destoyer was burning fiercely and orders were given to HMS Belvoir to scuttle her with a torpedo. HMS Dulverton was hit by the torpedo and sank at 3.33am. Six officers and one hundred and fourteen ratings had been rescued but three officers and seventy five ratings had been lost in the attack. Alexander Bone was among the dead.
He is commemorated on the St Thomas’ Hospital Roll of Honour
He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial Panel 84, Column 2.

Castellain, Geoffrey Charles, son of E.L.F. and Anne Castellain, of Chelsea; b. Feb. 19, 1920; adm. as K.S. Sept. 21, 1933; elected to Ch. Ch. Oxon. July, matric. Michaelmas 1938; 2nd Lieut. 16th/5th Lancers March 8, 1941; transferred to 2nd S.A.S.R. April 22, 1944; killed in action in West Europe Oct. 1944.

Geoffrey Charles Castellain was born at Windlesham, Surrey on the 19th of February 1920 the only son of Ernest Frederick Castellain, a cotton broker, and Annie Ethel (nee James) Castellain of The Gale House, Fritham, near Lyndhurst in Hampshire. He was educated at Temple Grove School, Eastbourne and at Westminster School where he was admitted as a King’s Scholar and was up College from September 1933 to July 1938. He played the part of Crito in the school production of “Epilogus in Andriam in 1935. He was a member of the 2nd Rowing VIII in 1937 and 1938 where he rowed at No. 4 and was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A in March 1937 and was promoted to Lance Corporal in September 1936.
He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford on a Classical Scholarship in 1938 and graduated with a 2nd Class in Classical Moderations in 1940. He attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst from where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 16/5th Lancers, Royal Armoured Corps on the 8th of March 1941. He transferred to the 2nd Special Air Service in April 1944 and was attached to A Squadron.
In September 1944, fifty one men of the 2nd Special Air Service were briefed for Operation Pistol. This was to involve the parachuting of four small teams into the Vosges Highlands, in the north of the Alsace-Lorraine area of France, where they were to disrupt road and rail communications between Metz and Nancy and on the approach to the Rhine Plain in support of the American advance in the area. They were to operate in an area roughly bounded by Saverne, Metz, Saarbrucken and Dieuze Due to the unsuitability of the terrain for forming a base of operations the men were to carry out their missions and then to find somewhere to lay up before making a next one. They were split into four groups, A, B, C and D and were to be dropped by parachute at four different drop zones. After landing, they were to split into smaller sub teams with each one being given a set of specific missions to achieve after which they were to head back towards the American lines in the west. Geoffrey Castellain would operate with B Group in the area of Sarreguemines.
The men took off from RAF Keevil in Stirling aircraft on the night of the 15th/16th of September 1944. One group was unable to jump due to thick fog but and, although B Group was able to jump from a height of 800 feet, they passed through low cloud and landed some seven miles from their drop zone.
When on the ground they split into their sub groups with Geoffrey Castellain leading sub group B2, which was made up of Corporal J. Laybourne, Private F. Wrobel, Private H.W.C. Arnold, Private J. Stainton and Private Christopher Ashe. Sub group B1 headed for the area of Ingwiller
B2 is known to have blown up a railway line near Sarreguemines
On the 2nd of October the men of B2 joined another SAS team who were part of an earlier operation code named Operation Loyton. Ten days later Geoffrey Castellain died of wounds. The rest of the group made their way to the American lines some time later.
Christopher Ashe had been captured by the Germans on the 23rd of September and was executed by them at Gaggenau on the 25th of November 1944.
Casualties for the operation had been four officers, five NCOs and five other ranks. When the Americans advanced through their area of operation they found one officer, one NCO and three other ranks from Operation Pistol still operating.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Christ Church, Oxford and on the Special Air Service, SOE, GHQ Liaison Regiment war memorial at the National Arboretum.
He is buried at Moussey Churchyard, Grave 7.