Gates, Terence Horatio, brother of Ralph Charles Gates (qv); b. 17 Nov. 1908; adm. Jan. 1923 (A); left. Dec. 1925; Selwyn Coll. Camb., matric. 1928, BA 1931; RA 1940-4 (Lieut.); m. 18 Jan. 1936 Margery Helen, d. of Col. Sir Henry George Lyons RE, Fellow and Treasurer Royal Soci­ety; killed in action (Burma) 1944.

Terence Horatio Gates was born in Italy on the 17th of November 1908 the younger son of Dr Edward Alfred Gates MD OBE OW, Medical Officer at Westminster School, and Mary Elizabeth (nee Fowler) Gates of 9, Cambridge Square, Paddington in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1923 to December 1925. He matriculated for Selwyn College, Cambridge in 1928 and was awarded a BA in 1931.
He was married on the 18th of January 1936 to Margery Helen (nee Lyons) of York Terrace, Regent’s Park; they lived at Flat 2, 28, Cleveland Square, Lancaster Gate in London. They had two daughters, Christine Mary, born on the 24th of May 1937 and Hester, born on the 3rd of July 1939.
He attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on the 2nd of November 1940. He transferred to the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and was later appointed as Battalion Intelligence Officer.
In March 1944 the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment formed No. 16 and No. 61 Columns of the Chindit operation code named Operation Thursday. The operation was to penetrate deep behind Japanese lines and was made up of 45 columns, each of 400-450 men and 60 mules. They were to attack Japanese supply lines, cutting roads, bridges and railway lines and to attack their troops at every opportunity. The leading elements of the Chindit force began its long march into enemy territory on the 5th of February 1944 with the last column following on the 22nd of February. They created air strips in the jungle to allow resupply and to evacuate casualties.
Terence Gates left his column on the 18th of June 1944 with two Kachin policemen and headed for Chaungwa where they were to recruit and organise small parties of Kachins to use for scouting. Three days later he was recruiting in a village when he learned from the villagers that there was a large party of Japanese troops in the area. He then set out for the village of Mapyin and, as he was approaching it, he saw two Japanese soldiers sitting on a tree trunk outside the village and opened fire on them. He immediately came under fire from Japanese troops hidden in nearby bushes and was shot in the stomach. He died a short time later.
He is buried at Taukkyan War Cemetery Plot 7, Row D, Grave 23.

Edwards, John Oswald Valentine, brother of Edward Cecil Theodore Edwards (qv); b. 14 Feb. 1912; adm. Jan. 1926 (A), (B) Sept. 1926; left July 1930; Keble Coll. Oxf., matric. 1930, BA 1933, MA 1937; 2nd Lieut. E. Surrey Regt Jan. 1932, Lieut. Jan. 1935, Capt. Jan. 1940, attached Burma Defence Force; killed in action at Paungde, Burma, 10 Apr. 1942.

John Oswald Valentine Edwards was born at Oxford, Oxfordshire on the 14th of February 1912 the third and youngest son of the Reverend Robert Stephen Edwards, Vicar of Westcote Barton, and Anne Rosalie Tannatt (nee Pryce) Edwards of Westcote Barton, Rectory, later of 25, St Margaret’s Road, Oxford and of 56, Elsham Road, Kensington in London. He was christened at the Church of St Mary and St John, Cowley on the 9th of March 1912. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford from May 1918 to 1919 and returned as a boarder from May 1922 to 1925. He went on to Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1926 and up Busby’s from September 1926 to July 1930. He rowed for his House in 1928, winning House Colours the following year, and was a member of the 1st Rowing VIII in 1930 where he rowed at bow and won his School Colours in the same year. The Elizabethan wrote the following of his 1930 season: - “He carried out the rowing tradition of his family in spirit if not in bulk. He hunched his shoulders and ducked his head coming forward, which is not good for breathing, nor for getting a swift beginning –and his finish tended to be awkward with the same hunch, but he was an effective oar through his good blade work, and his knowledge of how to drive.”
He was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was promoted to Lance Corporal in September 1930.
He matriculated for Keble College, Oxford in 1930 and was awarded a BA in 1933 and a MA in 1937. He rowed for his College while he was at Oxford, winning the Challenge Pairs with E.L. Dams in 1932. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant as a University Candidate on the General List on the 7th of July 1931. He was elected as a member of the London Rowing Club in 1932.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant to the East Surrey Regiment from the General List on the 28th of October 1933, with seniority from the 28th of January 1932. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 28th of January 1935. He served in India from 1935 to 1937 and then at Khartoum in the Sudan. He was seconded to the Burma Defence Force and was transferred to the Special Employed List. He served as the second in command of the Myitkyina Battalion, Burma Frontier Force from the 11th of July 1938 and was drafted to Rangoon where large scale riots were taking place that month. He was promoted to Captain on the 28th of January 1940.
Towards the end of 1940, the Regiment was reorganised and he was transferred to Frontier Force 2 (F.F.2), Burma Frontier Force. These were mobile detachments of troops made up of independent columns, which were to engage the enemy until such time as they could be joined by regular forces. F.F.2. was responsible for the defence of the Southern Tenasserim Coast and for special missions up to the border with Thailand. John Edwards was appointed to the command of No. 1 Column. In June 1941 and the unit began looking for a suitable base in the area of the village of Thawbawleik from which to operate. The new camp was constructed and when the men moved into it John Edwards and Captain Booker began a reconnaissance of the area, with John Edwards exploring the area on foot as far as the border with Thailand. In October 1941, the unit was relieved after which it spent its time watching the tracks into Burma in case of hostilities. At this time John Edwards and No. 1 Column were based at Lenya from where they reconnoitred the tracks which ran across the Thailand/Burma border. A short time later No. 1 Column received orders to move to Hnohng Hin where they were to demolish a bridge in the event of a Japanese invasion.
The Japanese invaded Burma on the 8th of December 1941 when John Edwards reported to Headquarters that he had seen unidentified aircraft flying high over the Maw Daung Pass. The following day he received orders to move to investigate reports of Japanese forces at Prachaub Khirikhan but was ordered not to engage with any enemy forces he found there. On the 10th of December the Columns were ordered to implement the destruction of the bridges as they had planned. No. 1 Column continued towards Prachaub Khirikhan and during the night of the 12th of December heavy firing was heard from the direction the Column had taken. A short while after this, two of Edward’s men arrived back at base to report that No. 1 Column had been attacked by a large number of Japanese troops and that there had been heavy casualties amongst the Burmese. By the 15th of December John Edwards and his remaining men were back at the main camp where he reported the loss of his wireless section, along with their messages and ciphers. It was decided to cancel the operation to destroy the bridges. On the 17th of December 1941, F.F.2 left the camp and on the 21st of December a patrol from the unit was sent to investigate reports of enemy landings at Bokpyin.
With the Japanese now arriving in Burma in strength it was decided to evacuate the Burmese troops from Mergui and to concentrate them at Tavoy. F.F.2 was to cover the evacuation. On the 19th of December it was decided that Tavoy was under such a threat from the advancing Japanese that the men would be evacuated to Rangoon instead. F.F.2 was evacuated between the 20th and 22nd of January 1942. When it reached Rangoon it was sent to Pyawbwe to reorganise.
Once they had rested, John Edwards was given command of No. 2 Column which was attached to the 17th Indian Division on the 10th of February where it began its new role as a Divisional Reconnaissance unit. It was to patrol the area between the road from Kyaikto to Thaton and on the coast from Kyaikto to a track running from Theinzeik to Kadaik as far as the Bilin River. It was also to support the coast watching detachments of the Burma Auxiliary Force and of the Burma Military Police and to report immediately of any Japanese landings. John Edwards had three platoons of the Burma Military Police under his command to assist with patrolling and with the general defence of the area.
On the 16th of February 1942, the Japanese began attacking the area of the Bilin River and on the 18th of February John Edwards was ordered to seek out the enemy and to attack them. By the following day the 17th Division had begun a general withdrawal and ordered F.F.2. to protect its northern flank while it did so. At 2.30pm on the 21st of February No. 2 Column was heavily engaged by enemy forces. In spite of reports that his unit had been surrounded, John Edwards managed to extricate his men and lead them towards the Sittang River, engaging enemy troops near Mokpalin on the way during which his Column became scattered. They rejoined the Division at Pegu where the Column commanders reported that their men were totally demoralised. The stragglers arrived at Pegu to rejoin the column over the next several days.
On the 10th of March 1942 he was at Tharawaddy when he and his remaining 90 men were merged with F.F.6. and were attached to the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment where they were to form a rearguard in defence of the Division’s continuing withdrawal. They followed the 17th Division’s withdrawal themselves during which time they ambushed a number of Japanese troops at Letpadan on the 18th of March causing heavy casualties amongst them. They rejoined the Division on the 30th of March at Prome. John Edwards was killed during a Japanese attack on the town of Paungde, just to the south of Prome.
A friend wrote: - “I always thought that Oswald was a great character and a most entertaining and interesting man, one of the few I really regarded as a friend. How well I remember his decided views on life and the arguments we used to have together!”
His brother, Wing Commander Edward Cecil Theodore Edwards OW, 53 Squadron, Royal Air Force, was killed in action on the 31st of August 1940.
He and his brother are commemorated on a stone in the churchyard at Westcote Barton and on the war memorials at the Dragon School and at Keble College, Oxford. He is also commemorated on the war memorial at the London Rowing Club.
He is commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial Face 13.

Faulkner, Gilbert Faulkner, son of Edmund William Abram, of Hampton, Middlesex, by Lucy, daughter of William Thomas Ashton, of Soulton Hall, Salop; b. June 23, 1897 (R); adm. May 4, 1911; left Easter 1914; 2nd Lieut. unattached July 19, 1916; Indian Army 2nd Lieut. Nov. 12, 1916 (acting Capt. July 2-13, 1917); Lieut. July 19, 1917 (acting Capt. Nov. 9, 1919 - July 18, 1920); Capt. July 19, 1920; served in Mesopotamia 1917, Mahsud 1919-20, and Waziristan 1920-2; Major July 19, 1934; acting Lieut.-Col. 8th Punjab Regt.; assumed the name of Faulkner in lieu of Abram July 12, 1936; m. Nov. 29, 1929, Santa Muriel, daughter of Major Frederick William Lillicrap, of Sutton, Surrey; killed on war service in Waziristan, Dec. 7, 1940; the Faulkner History Prize was founded in his memory by his brother officers.

Gilbert Faulkner Abram (later Faulkner) was born at the Inner Temple, London on the 23rd of June 1897 the son of Edmund William Abram, a journalist and author, and Lucy (nee Ashton) Abram of “Sylvans”, Peaslake in Surrey.
He was educated at Godstone School and at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from the 4th of May 1911 to Easter 1914.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the Unattached List for the Indian Army on the 19th of July 1916 and was attached to the 42nd Deoli Regiment on the 8th of November 1916. He was promoted to Acting Captain from the 2nd to the 13th of July and to Lieutenant on the 19th of July 1917, while serving in Mesopotamia.
In 1919 and 1920 he served at Mahsud and was promoted to Acting Captain from the 9th of November 1919 to the 19th of July 1920, being promoted to Captain from the latter date. He served in Waziristan from 1920 to 1922 and was promoted to Major on the 19th of July 1934.
He was named in a divorce petition which was filed by Ronald St George Cole on the 24th of August 1923. It was alleged that during the month of June 1923 Gilbert Abram and Mrs. Santa Muriel Cole had committed adultery on several occasions at the Central Hotel, 123, Cromwell Street. Cole was granted a decree nisi on the 15th of April 1929.
He was married on the 29th of November 1929 to Santa Muriel (nee Lillicrap formerly Cole) of Haslemere in Surrey but the marriage ended in divorce. He changed his name by deed poll to Faulkner on the 12th of July 1936. He was later promoted to Acting Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed to the command of the 5th Battalion, 8th Punjab Regiment.
He was killed in action in Waziristan.
His medals were sold at auction on the 5th of March 2020.
The Faulkner History Prize was founded in his memory by his brother officers in 1945.
He is buried at Karachi War Cemetery Plot 12, Row D, Grave 13.

Kiralfy, Dennis Maurice Gerald, son of Gerald Archibald Kiralfy MBE and Margaret Milner, d. of John Milner Harker; b. 19 Mar. 1913; adm. Sept. 1926 (H); left Dec. 1930; Pembroke Coll. Camb., matric. 1932, BA 1935; swam and played water polo against Oxford 1936; Brit. Avia­tion Insurance Co. 1936-9; Dept. of Civil Aviation Air Ministry 1939; FO RAFVR 1938; killed on active service 1 Jan. 1941.

Dennis Maurice Gerald Kiralfy was born at Kensington, London on the 19th of March 1913 the only son of Gerald Archibald Kiralfy MBE, an architect, and Margaret Milner (nee Harker) Kiralfy of 9, Addison Crescent, London, later of Oak Grove, Churt in Surrey. He was christened at the Church of St John the Baptist, Kensington on the 3rd of June 1913. He was educated at Linton House School from 1921 to July 1926 and at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1926 to December 1930. He matriculated for the City and Guilds Engineering College at South Kensington in September 1931 and was accepted as a student member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on the 17th of November 1931. He resigned his membership on the 2nd of January 1933.
He matriculated for Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1932 where he achieved a BA in 1936. He represented Cambridge University at swimming at Wembley against Oxford University on the 27th of June 1936 and also was also a member of the University at Water Polo team in 1936. He was on the staff of the British Aviation Insurance Company from 1936 to 1939 when he left to join the Department of Civil Aviation Department at the Air Ministry where he was appointed as a Junior Operations Officer in the Directorate of Operational Services.
He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Reserve of Air Force Officers on the 22nd of September 1936 and was promoted to Flying Officer on the 22nd of March 1938. He resigned his commission in order to accept a commission on the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve with the rank of Pilot Officer on the 20th of October 1938 and was promoted to Flying Officer from the same date, with seniority from the 22nd of March 1938.
Dennis Kiralfy took off from RAF Bircham Newton in Hudson Mk I T9287 for a transit flight to a satellite airfield where the aircraft was to drop off three airmen and then continue on for an orientation flight of the general area. The aircraft was flying at low level near to the satellite airfield when its port wing hit a barn at Barn Field, North Street, Longham in Norfolk. The aircraft crashed into a ploughed field at 2.48pm where it caught fire, killing all on board.
The crew was
Flying Officer Henry Edward Middleton Featherstone (Pilot)
Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Charles George Gilder (Air Gunner)
Leading Aircraftman William Arthur Meller (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Robert Arthur Plowright (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Roy McKenzie Mansell (3rd Pilot)
Pilot Officer John Buttemer Allen (2nd Pilot)
Flying Officer Dennis Maurice Gerald Kiralfy (4th Pilot)
Aircraftman 1st Class George Alexander Meridew (Air Gunner)
His father received the following telegram dated the 2nd of January 1941: - “Deeply regret to inform you that your son Flying Officer Dennis Maurice Gerald Kiralfy is reported to have lost his life as the result of an aircraft accident on January 1st 1941. Letter follows. The Air Council express their profound sympathy.”
An inquiry into the accident concluded that: -“All the occupants were killed and the exact cause of the accident will never be fully established. The pilot was very experienced and had a reputation for steadiness and reliability, the error of judgement that he made with such tragic results is in this case almost inexplicable. The pilot’s instructions were to drop 3 airmen at the satellite aerodrome to work on an aircraft which was urgently required, then to take 2 new pilots round the district to show them various landmarks, the situation of the satellite and the orientation of the aerodrome generally.”
His funeral took place on the 7th of January 1941.
He is buried at St Alban’s Church, Hindhead.

Harston, Michael George Sirdefield, son of Maj. Sir Ernest Sirdefield Harston CBE, Chairman Brit. Commonwealth Ex-Service League, and Ruth Barbara, d. of Sir George Shirtcliffe KBE, of Wellington, NZ; b. l 2Jan. 1920; adm. Sept. 1932 (A); left July 1938; Peterhouse, Camb., matric. 1938; RNVR 1940-3 (Lieut.), lost in HMS Beverley (Atlantic) 11 Apr. 1943.

Michael George Sirdefield Harston was born at Wellington, New Zealand on the 12th of January 1920 the only son of Major Ernest Sirdefield Harston CBE, Chairman of the British and Commonwealth Ex Service League, and Ruth Barbara (nee Shirtcliffe) Harston of 12, Wyndham Place in London W1. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1932 to July 1938 and was a distinguished athlete while he was at the school. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A in November 1936 and was promoted to Corporal in September 1937. He matriculated for Peterhouse College, Cambridge in 1938 but did not graduate as he left the College for military service.
Following the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant on the 12th of January 1940. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 12th of July 1942. He was posted to the destroyer HMS Beverley (D64), under the command of Lieutenant Commander Rodney Athelstan Price RN.
On the 4th of February 1943, HMS Beverley and the destroyer HMS Vimy (D33) were escorting Convoy SC118 on route to Londonderry, when they attacked the U Boat U-187, under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Ralph Münnich. They sank her with depth charges and t The U Boat sank with the loss of nine men from her crew of fifty four; her Captain was among the dead.
At 6pm on the 1st of April 1943, HMS Beverley was sailing off Rankin Island, County Antrim when she joined the convoy ON-176, which consisted of forty one merchant ships. She was to act as one of its escorts on its journey to Canada and on to the United States. At 10.10pm on the 9th of April, she was seriously damaged in a collision with the British steam merchant SS Cairnvalona while in fog. She was holed in the forward starboard side and took station at the rear of the convoy while the damage was being repaired.
At 5.49am on the morning of the 11th of April 1943, the German submarine U-188, under the command of Korvettenkapitän Siegfried Ludden, fired a torpedo at the convoy, which was to the southwest of Iceland at the time. He observed a hit on a tanker after 1 minute 34 seconds, which finally sank 45 minutes later with a broken back. At 5.50am, two more torpedoes were fired at the convoy and after 1 minute 58 seconds and 2 minutes 11 seconds hits on two ships were heard. At 5.52am two more torpedoes were fired which, after 1 minute 58 seconds, hit a fourth ship which began to settle by the bow. However, Allied records later indicated that only HMS Beverley was actually hit, between the forward and aft boiler rooms. The explosion on board the destroyer was followed by a complete power failure and a severe lurch to port, after which the ship sank by the stern about a minute later at the position of 52º19'N, 40º28'W. As she slipped beneath the surface there was a large underwater explosion. She was lost with one hundred and fifty one of her crew from a ship's complement of one hundred and fifty five officers and men. Michael Harston was among the dead. Although seven of her crew were picked up over the next hour, three of these were either already dead, or died a short time later.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth naval Memorial Panel 81, Column 1.

Horton, John Corbett, son of Henry Beavan Horton, of Blackheath, Kent, by Jean May, daughter of Thomas Spurr, of King's Lynn, Norfolk; b. Sept. 4, 1899; adm. April 30, 1914 (A); left March 1918; 2nd Lieut. 3rd Batt. R. Sussex Regt. Oct. 30, 1918; a timber merchant, director of B. Horton and Son, Ltd.; Capt. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, Feb. 26, 1940; transferred to Durham Light Infantry; Major; m. Aug. 22, 1931, Eileen Mary Dowman, daughter of William Edward Riley, F.R.I.B.A., of Blackheath, Kent; d. on active service Dec. 3, 1944.

John Corbett Horton was born at Blackheath, London on the 4th of September 1899 the eldest son of Henry Beavon Horton, a timber merchant, and Jean Mary (nee Spurr) Horton of 15, Eliot Vale, Blackheath in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from the 30th of April 1914 to March 1918. He was a member of the 2nd Football XI in 1916 and of the 1st Football XI in 1917 and 1918. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he was promoted to Lance Corporal in September 1916, to Corporal in November 1916 and to Company Sergeant Major in November 1917.
He enlisted into the army at Whitehall as Private 60564 on the 5th of April 1918 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment on the 30th of October 1918. After the war he joined the firm of B. Horton and Son Ltd, timber merchants, where he was later appointed as a director. He retired to the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers and was promoted to Lieutenant in the 20th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich) on the 23rd of December 1928. He was promoted to Captain on the 13th of June 1934.
He was married on the 22nd of August 1931 to Eileen Mary Dowman (nee Riley) and they lived at 16, Blackheath Rise, Lewisham and later at 11, Oakcroft Road, Lewisham in London. They had a son, Richard John, born on the 23rd of January 1934.
Following the outbreak of war he was mobilised in 1940 and was appointed as a Captain in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on the 26th of February 1940. He transferred to the Durham Light Infantry at the same rank on the 13th of June 1940 where he was appointed as second in command of No. 41 Infantry Training Company based at Brancepeth Castle, County Durham.
He died there following a short illness.
He is buried at St Brandon’s Church, Brancepeth.

Groves, Louis Grimble, son of Keith Grimble Groves, barrister-at-law, and Dorothy, d. of Louis Herbert Moore; b. 1 Apr. 1921; adm. Jan. 1935 (R); left Dec. 1938; Univ. of Glasgow; RAF in WW2 (Serg. Met. Air Observer); killed on operational duties 10 Sept. 1945.

Louis Grimble Groves was born at Chelsea, London on the 1st of April 1921 the only child of Major Keith Grimble Groves, a barrister at law, and Dorothy (nee Moore) Groves of 4, York House, Kensington in London, later of “The Varrey”, Kirk Maughold on the Isle of Man. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from January 1935 to December 1938. He went on to the University of Liverpool where he was studying naval architecture when the war broke out.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, trained in Canada and rose to the rank of Sergeant. On his return to the UK he was based at the Metrological Office at RAF Brawdy.
Louis Groves and his crew took off from RAF Brawdy on the 10th of September 1945 in Halifax B (Met) Mk III RG380 X9-N on an “Epicure” sortie, to gather information on the weather over the North Atlantic. On their return to base, they were diverted to RAF Weston Zoyland due to bad weather. There was fog over Weston Zoyland when they arrived there and the aircraft was seen to pass over the airfield but, due to radio interference, communications were poor and it turned away. The aircraft was flying at a height of 1,000 feet when it crashed in dense fog into an escarpment in the Quantock Hills above Crowcombe Hall, to the south west of Williton in Somerset at 7.54pm, killing all on board.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Keith Gordon Proverbs (Pilot)
Flying Officer John Joseph Frederick Hobden
Flying Officer Lindsay George McMillan
Flying Officer Patrick Alfred Bee
Warrant Officer Roy Donald Cartwright
Flight Sergeant Dennis Norman Everett
Sergeant Louis Grimble Groves (Metrological Observer)
Sergeant John Macilrick Bryce Gordon (Metrological Observer)
Flight Sergeant Robert William Vinton
His funeral took place on the 15th of September 1945.
A Correspondent wrote of him: - “Louis Grimble Groves was a fine young man, a fine sportsman and extremely popular with all who knew him. He spent all his holidays in the Isle of Man and his many friends here and elsewhere will deeply regret his untimely death.”
The L. G. Groves Award was established in his memory by his parents in September 1946. The award is made to recognise those who work to improve safety in the aviation industry. A memorial was placed at the crash site in 2016.
He is buried at St Maughold’s Church.

Halsall, David Richard, son of Leslie Albiston Halsall, East India merchant, of Bombay, and Gwynedd May, d. of William Llewellyn Preece; b. 30 Oct. 1920; adm. Sept. 1934 (KS); left Dec. 1938; RMA Woolwich; RE 1940-2 (Lieut.); killed in a bomb disposal accident (Middle East) Sept. 1942.

David Richard Halsall was born at Bombay, India on the 30th of October 1920 the only child of Leslie Albiston Halsall, an East India merchant, and Gwynedd May (nee Preece) Halsall of Bombay, later of “Gwyn”, Rances Lane, Wokingham in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School, where he was admitted as a King’s Scholar, from September 1934 to December 1938. He was a member of the Photographic Society and won its First Prize in 1938.
He left school early when he accepted a place at the Royal Military College, Woolwich from where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on the 18th of February 1940. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 18th of August 1941. He worked in bomb disposal in the UK but by January 1942 he had been posted to the 4th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers in the Middle East.
He was killed in a bomb disposal accident in Egypt.
He is buried at El Alamein War Cemetery Plot XXVII, Row G, Grave 6.

Namias, Richard Henry, son of Lea Namias of Streatham and Hilda, d. of Robert Diaz of Paris; b. 29 Oct. 1921; adm. Jan. 1935 (A); left July 1939; RAFVR 1941 (Flt Lieut.); killed in action 20 Sept. 1941.

Mayer Henry Richard “Dickie” Namias was born at Streatham, London on the 29th of October 1921 the only son of Lea Namias, manager of the Argonaut Marine Insurance Company, and Mathilda (nee Diaz) Namias of 27, Woodfield Avenue, Streatham, London SW16. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1935 to July 1939. He was a member of the 1st Rowing VIII in 1939.
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 13th of April 1941.
On the 28th of August 1941, 18 aircraft from 21, 88, 110 and 226 Squadrons were dispatched for a low level attack on enemy shipping in the docks at Rotterdam.
Mayer Namias and his crew took off from RAF Wattisham at 5.20pm for the attack. One of the Blenheims from his Squadron crashed on takeoff. Two squadrons of Spitfires joined them a short time after takeoff to act as their fighter escort. The formation crossed the Dutch coast and came under heavy anti aircraft fire as it approached the Nieuwe Waterweg, the canal leaving to the docks at Rotterdam. Having passed through the flak they were attacked by enemy fighters but these were chased away by the fighter escort. The Blenheims reduced their height to between 20 and 50 feet as they approached the docks, flying just above the rooftops in line abreast, all the time under machine gun fire and fire from light flak guns. Mayer Naimias dropped a bomb on a 10,000 tom ship which missed, bounced off the dockside and exploded under its stern, sinking it.
Seven aircraft failed to return from the raid.
On the 20th of September 1941, Bomber Command dispatched 48 Blenheims and 6 Hampdens for a series of daylight sweeps across the sea and for escorted attacks on targets just behind the French coast.
Mayer Namias and his crew took from RAF Wattisham on the 20th of September 1941in Blenheim Mk IV Z7310 with seven other aircraft from the Squadron for an anti shipping patrol. The aircraft was carrying two 500lb bombs and four 25lb incendiaries. During the mission they were flying off the coast of Holland when they spotted an enemy convoy of fourteen merchant ships, flying protective barrage balloons. Mayer Namias was the second aircraft to make its attack, the first having been lost when it was destroyed by the explosion of one of its own bombs. As the aircraft made its run towards one of the enemy ships, and was a quarter of a mile from the vessel, it was hit in the starboard engine by anti aircraft fire and it caught fire. Despite this, he dropped his bombs before ditching the aircraft into the sea. Although the aircraft appeared to make a “good landing” on the sea, and floated for a while, none of the crew or the aircrafts dinghy was seen.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Kenneth Frederick Hood (Observer)
Flight Lieutenant Mayer Richard Henry Namias (Pilot)
Sergeant John Joseph Robson (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
When the six remaining aircraft left the scene four of the merchant ships were seen to be emitting smoke with one having broken its back.
Theirs was one of three aircraft which were lost during these operations.
His father received the following letter dated the 27th of September 1941: - “Sir, I am commanded by the Air Council to express to you their great regret on learning that you son, Acting Flight Lieutenant Mayer Richard Namias, Royal Air Force, is missing as the result of air operations on 20th September, 1941. The only information available is that your son was captain of a Blenheim aircraft which was engaged by the enemy whilst over the sea off the coast of Holland and has failed to return. This does not mean that he is killed or wounded, and if he is a prisoner of war he should be able to communicate with you in due course. Meanwhile enquiries will be made through the International Red Cross Society and as soon as any definite information 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.”
The bodies of Kenneth Hood and John Robson were recovered from the sea later that day and were buried at Crooswijk Cemetery, Rotterdam.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 29.

Newman, Charles Edward, son of Kenneth Edward Newman (qv); b. 7 Sept. 1921; adm. Sept. 1935 (G); left July 1938; Sgt RAFVR, killed in action (Libya) 7 Dec. 1941.

Charles Edward Newman was born at Shanghai, China on the 7th of September 1921 the son of Kenneth Edward Newman, a solicitor, and Phyllis Louise (nee Budd) Newman of 593-11, Amherst Avenue, Shanghai, China and of 9, Maxwell Road, Northwood in Middlesex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1935 to July 1938.
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.
Charles Newman and his crew took off from Kabrit on the 9th of December 1941 in Wellington Mk II Z8333 to bomb enemy motor transport at Derna Landing Ground in Libya. The aircraft failed to return from the raid.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Hyman Freeman (Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Derek Lahee Skinner DFC (Pilot)
Sergeant Norman Maddox (Observer)
Sergeant James Marsland (2nd Pilot)
Sergeant Charles Edward Newman (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Richard Malcolm Douglas McLeod (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Hyman Freeman’s body was found on a beach between Derna and Mrassa Wells, some seven miles from Tobruk in February 1942. He was buried there but the grave site was subsequently lost.
He is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial Column 243.