Instone, David Simon Theodore, brother of Ralph Bernard Samuel Instone (qv); b. 7 May 1921; adm. Sept. 1933 (H); left Dec. 1937; Ch. Ch. Oxf., matric. 1940; lntell. Corps (Corporal), d. on active service (Italy) Mar. 1945.

David Simon Theodore Instone was born at Kensington, London on the 7th of May 1921 the younger son of Captain Alfred (formerly Einstein) Instone JP, a ship owner and coal exporter, and Phyllis Hilda (nee Goldberg) Instone of 4, Cottesmore Court, Kensington in London and of Corner Cottage, Smock Alley, West Chiltington in Sussex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1933 to December 1937. He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford in 1940 where he spent a year before enlisting for military service.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Christ Church, Oxford.
He is buried at Cesena War Cemetery Plot II, Row H, Grave 13.

Jacobs, Derek, brother of Bryan Sydney Jacobs (qv); b. 20 Dec. 1917; adm. Sept. 1931 (A); left Dec. 1932; a cane merchant; PO RAFVR Oct. 1941, killed in action Dec. 1941.

Derek Jacobs was born at Brighton, Sussex on the 20th of December 1917 the son of Sydney Jacob, a gentleman, and Ella Bonham (nee Collins) Jacobs of “Rosebriars”, 441, Woodham Lane, West Byfleet in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1931 to December 1932.
On leaving school he worked as a traveller for a general merchant. 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 before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 31st of October 1941.
On the night of the 7th/8th of December 1941, Bomber Command dispatched 130 aircraft for an operation on Aachen. The headquarters building of the local Nazi party was to be used as the aiming point for the bombers. Weather conditions were difficult with only 64 aircraft having claimed to have dropped their bombs on the target. The Aachen railway goods yards were hit by three bombs during the raid with 7 houses being slightly damaged. There were no casualties on the ground.
Derek Jacobs and his crew took off from RAF Scampton at 2.13am on the 8th of December 1941 in Hampden Mk I AE191 OL-Z for the operation. It was to be his sixth operation. Having dropped its bombs the aircraft was leaving the target area at a height of 17,000 feet when it was hit in the port engine by anti aircraft fire. Derek Jacobs was instructed by the pilot to send an SOS call and received a “fix” from RAF Heston. With flames coming from the damaged engine Anthony Parsons, the pilot, throttled the engine back and stopped the propeller, in an attempt to let the fire extinguisher put the fire out. When the fire was extinguished, but with only one engine still working, the aircraft began to yaw and was in danger of entering a flat spin. In order to prevent this Parsons shut down the starboard engine and stabilised the stricken bomber but, when he attempted to restart it, it failed. The crew had made two radio distress calls, one at 5.30am and the second at 6.08am, before they were forced to ditch in the North Sea near Walcheren Island at 6.40am.
Air Sea Rescue boats were dispatched to look for them but found no trace of the missing aircraft and its crew.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Bernard Athelstan Basevi (Observer)
Pilot Officer Derek Jacobs (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Anthony Leslie Parsons (Pilot) (POW No. 39646 Stalag Luft III)
Sergeant George Wiscombe (Air Gunner) (POW No. 24785 Stalag Luft III)
The four members of the crew had all managed to climb into the dinghy but it was four days before they were rescued, during which time Bernard Basevi died from cold and exposure during the night of the 10th of December and was buried at sea the next morning. Derek Jacobs died on the 11th of December and the two surviving crew members also buried him at sea. The two survivors were picked up by a German convoy escort ship “Wuppertal”, some 15 miles to the south west of Heligoland at 1.45pm the following day and were taken to Cuxhaven Military Hospital where they were treated for frost bite and exposure.
His father received the following letter dated the 23rd of December 1941: -
“Sir, I am commanded by the Air Council to express to you their great regret on learning that your son, Pilot Officer Derek Jacobs, Royal Air Force, is missing as the result of air operations. Your son was wireless operator/air gunner of a Hampden aircraft which set out at 2.13am for action over Aachen, Germany, and has failed to return. Two wireless signals were received from the aircraft, one at 5.30am and the second, an S.O.S. call, at 6.08am. The Air/Sea Rescue Services were put into operation and searching continued throughout the day, but no trace could be found of any of the crew. Enquiries will now be made through the International Red Cross Society and if any news 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.”
George Wiscombe wrote the following to his wife from prisoner of war camp in a letter dated the 16th of January 1943: - “..... engine trouble made us crash in the sea, the four of us getting away in the rubber dinghy unhurt apart from shock ..... Navigator Basevi died the third night and Jacobs as you know the following day. Saw land on morning of fifth day but were blown away soon after. P/O Parsons and myself picked up by German boat after 104 hours afloat. Treated very well and taken into Cuxhaven Military Hospital.”
Anthony Parsons wrote the following letter to the Air Ministry from Dulag Luft dated the 3rd of May 1942: -
“Dear Madam, I regret to say that P/O Jacobs, 112160, died on the night of Dec. 11th 1941 from shock, exposure and lack of fresh water. Sgt. Basevi passed away through the same causes, the previous night. They both died quietly and without pain, being unwounded. Please convey my sympathies to their families, and say that I did the little that I could for them, without avail.”
Theirs was one of two aircraft lost during the raid.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial Panel 33.

Johnston, Patrick Henry, brother of William Franklin Johnston (qv); b. 16 Jan. 1911; adm. Sept. 1924 (R); left July 1928; shipping business Peru 1930-5, Venezuela 1935-8, Trinidad 1938-42; 2nd Lieut RIASC Feb. 1944, served India, Burma and Malaya; d. at sea on his way home to be demobilised 4 Nov. 1946.

Patrick Henry Johnston was born at Santiago, Chile on the 16th of January 1911 the younger son of William Johnston, an engineer, and Ethel Gertrude (nee Turpie) Johnston of 19, Courtfield Gardens in London, later of “The Warren”, 223, Harefield Road, Uxbridge in Middlesex.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from September 1924 to July 1928. On leaving school he entered the shipping business and was based in Peru from 1930 to 1935, in Venezuela from 1935 to 1938 and in Trinidad from 1938 to 1942. He was married at Hammersmith in 1938 to Marjorie A.L (nee Hall later Betts); they had two children one of which was Carolyn Jean, born on the 6th of November 1939.
He was in the army from February 1944 and served in India, Burma and Malaya. He was returning home to be demobilised when he died and was buried at sea.
He is commemorated on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial Panel 25, Column 3.

Kidner, Richard Daymond, brother of Roger Wakely Kidner (qv); b. 20 Dec. 1920; adm. Sept. 1933 (A, non-res. KS); left July 1939; Ch. Ch. Oxf., matric. 1939; RA 1941-6 (Capt.); d. after a traffic accident in Trieste 15 Feb. 1946.

Richard Daymond Kidner was born at Bexley, Kent on the 30th of December 1920 the son of Arthur Richard Kidner, Director of Postal Services at the Royal Mint, and Mabel (nee Wakely) Kidner of “The Oaks”, Station Road, Bexley in Kent, later of “Starfell”, Southdown Road, Seaford in Sussex. He was christened at Holy Trinity Church, Bexley on the 15th of February 1921.
He was educated at Merton Court School, Foot’s Cray and at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham as a non resident King’s Scholar from September 1933 to July 1939. He won both the Ireland Prize for Latin Verse and the Ireland Prize for Greek Verse in 1938. He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford in 1939 on a Weston Exhibition and was there for two years. He was awarded a BA. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on the 18th of October 1941.
On the 15th of February 1946, Richard Kidner left the Regiment’s base at Gradisca by car to attend a course at Perugia. During the journey he was seriously injured in a traffic accident at San Giorgio. He was taken to the British General Hospital in Trieste where he died from his injuries during the evening.
His funeral took place the following day.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Christ Church, Oxford and on the memorial at Merton Court School.
He is buried at Udine War Cemetery Plot III, Row D, Grave 12.

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.

Knowles, Ralph David, brother of Geoffrey Churton Knowles (qv); b. 25 June 1920; adm. Sept. 1933 (R); left Dec. 1937; articled to an accountant; RA (TA) 1938-44 (Capt.); MC (posth.) June 1944; killed (Italy) 20 Mar. 1944 while unloading a blazing truck full of high explosives.

Ralph David Knowles was born at Croydon, Surrey on the 25th of June 1920 the son of Ralph Geoffrey Knowles, an insurance official, and Winifred (nee Jackson) Knowles of “Nutscombe”, Detillens Lane, Limpsfield in Surrey, later of St Giles in Buckinghamshire.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from September 1933 to December 1937. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A in March 1937 and was promoted to Sergeant in September 1937. He was a member of the 4th Rowing VIII in 1935 and of the 3rd Rowing VIII in 1936 where he rowed at No. 5. He was a member of the 2nd Rowing VIII in 1937 where he rpwed at bow. On leaving school he was articled to a firm of accountants. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in the Territorial Army on the 24th of July 1938 and was mobilised for war service on the 24th of August 1939. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 1st of January 1941 and to temporary Captain on the 1st of February 1941.
He was awarded the Military Cross which was announced in the London Gazette of the 29th of June 1944. The citation read: - "From the night 18th/19th January 1944 until midday 22nd January Capt. Knowles was Forward Observing Officer in continual support first of 1 Green Howards and later of 3 Coldstream Guards. At dawn on 19th January he advanced under a barrage with B Coy. 1 Green Howards into Minturno where he established an observation post on the roof of a house. From here he directed accurate concentrations on to enemy infantry and mortar positions. During this time his observation post was under heavy mortar and MG fire and was finally rendered untenable. Captain Knowles therefore advanced further into town to another house from which he continued to direct fire all that night in spite of continual mortar fire and sniping. On 20th January he again advanced with C Coy, 1 Green Howards under a barrage to Trimonsuoli, a further carry of wireless equipment of 4,000 yds. He then established his observation post within 300 yds of the enemy positions and with complete disregard for his own exposed and precarious position he directed the fire of his own and a medium regiment for the rest of the day. On 21st January he succeeded in maintaining his observation post in spite of fierce counter-attacks by enemy infantry and tanks. During the whole of this day he directed accurate fire on the enemy counter-attacks and was largely instrumental in breaking them up. For over 72 hours he was without rest or sleep, and showed complete disregard of personal safety. By his cool and gallant behaviour under heavy fire he rendered invaluable support to the infantry in the most difficult circumstances."
At 3pm on the afternoon of the 4th of March 1944, 92 Field Regiment embarked on ships at Pozznoli bound for Anzio. They landed there at 10am the following day where they began unloading their guns and equipment. On the 20th of March 1944 they were deployed in the Anzio beachhead and spent the morning firing on enemy batteries in the area. At 3.40pm E Troop's position was shelled which set an ammunition lorry on fire. This was successfully emptied but during this time more shells fell near the lorry killing two officers and one other rank and wounding two officers and six other ranks. Ralph Knowles was among the dead.
He was Mentioned in Despatches, which was announced in the London Gazette of the 11th of January 1945. His medals were sold at auction in London on the 19th of September 2003.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Limpsfield.
He is buried at Beach Head War Cemetery Plot VIII, Row D, Grave 8.

Laurie, Anthony Roger, son of Albert Stevenson Laurie of Amendas, S. Rhodesia, and Kathleen Komareck, d. of Bretton Priestley of Wrotham, Kent; b. 22 July 1918; adm. May 1932 (G); left July 1934; Wye Agricultural Coll.; enlisted RAF Sept. 1940; Sub. Lieut. (A) RNVR 1941, Lieut. (A) Aug. 1942; DSC (Arctic Convoy) 1942; lost in HMS Avenger, torpedoed after North African landings Nov. 1942.

Anthony Roger Laurie was born at Kodiakanal in South India on the 22nd of July 1918 the son of Albert Stephenson Laurie, an engineer, India Public Works Department, and Kathleen Komareck (nee Priestley) Laurie of 62, Vanburgh Park, Blackheath in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from May 1932 to July 1934. He went on to Wye Agricultural College after which he worked as a representative. He was awarded a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 18891) at Horton Kirby Flying Club on the 28th of June 1939 while flying a DH Moth aircraft. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force in 1940 but transferred to the Fleet Air Arm and was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant (A) in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1941. He was posted to 802 Naval Air Squadron based on board the escort carrier HMS Avenger (D14) and was promoted to Lieutenant (A) on the 15th of August 1942.
On the 2nd of September 1942, HMS Avenger left Loch Ewe to provide an escort to Convoy PQ-18 as the first escort carrier to escort an Arctic convoy. The convoy sailed to Seidisfiord in Iceland where it was joined by more vessels, swelling its numbers to forty merchantmen accompanied by a large number of escorts. On the 6th of September an enemy Focke Wulf 200 Condor attacked HMS Avenger with bombs but missed. British Naval Intelligence identified the enemy forces ranged against the convoy as consisting of twenty U-Boats, ninety two torpedo bombers and one hundred and twenty bombers, the largest force assembled against an Arctic convoy at that point in the war. Over the next week, the enemy threw great numbers of bombers and torpedo bombers against the convoy during which time Anthony Laurie was credited with the destruction of two Heinkel 111s and with damaging one other. The bulk of the surviving ships from PQ18 arrived at Archangel on the 21st of Spetember 1942.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his work on Arctic convoys, which was announced in the London Gazette of the 1st of December 1942.
On the 16th of October 1942, HMS Avenger, under the command of Commander Anthony Paul Colthurst RN, left Scapa Flow for Greenock with Sea Hurricane Mk IIb aircraft from 802 Squadron and 833 Squadron on board and with three Swordfish aircraft from B Flight, 833 Squadron. She was tasked with providing air cover for one of the convoys carrying troops and supplies for Operation Torch, the Allied landings at Algeria. When the ship arrived off the Algerian coast on the 8th of November her aircraft supported the landings by flying some sixty missions over the bridgehead. Aircraft from the carrier attacked enemy coastal defences as well as the airfields at Maison Blanche and at Blida.
The following day HMS Avenger was attacked by a Heinkel III which made a torpedo attack which narrowly missed the ship. On the 10th of November she transferred her aircraft to the escort carrier HMS Argus before docking at Algiers for repairs to be made to her engines. On the early morning of the 12th of November she set sail, joining Convoy MKF-1A, which was comprised mostly of empty ships which had taken part in the operations and were heading home. The convoy reached Gibraltar on the morning of the 14th of November and set sail once again at 6pm that evening bound for the UK.
At 3.05am on the 15th of November 1943, HMS Avenger was sailing some 45 nautical miles to the south of Cape Santa Maria, to the west of Gibraltar when the convoy received orders to make an immediate turn to starboard as a U-Boat had been detected in the area. Shortly afterwards the convoy was attacked by the U Boat U-155, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Adolf Piening, which fired three torpedoes. The first one hit the American transport ship USS Almaack with the second hitting the passenger transport ship HMTS Ettrick. The third torpedo hit HMS Avenger amidships on the port side at 3.20am which struck the bomb room and caused the ammunition stored there to explode. This secondary explosion broke the back of the ship and she sank in under five minutes
Anthony Laurie was one of five hundred and sixteen men who died when the ship sank. Only twelve members of her crew were rescued by the destroyer HMS Glaisdale (L44) after searching all night.
Lieutenant Commander N.F. Kingscote, Commanding Officer of the infantry landing ship HMS Ulster Monarch, wrote the following in a letter to the Admiralty: -
"At 0315, a vivid reddish flash appeared on the starboard side of Avenger stretching the whole length of the ship and lasting for about 2 seconds. This flash made a perfect silhouette of the ship, and was followed by a pall of black smoke. After the flash, nothing more was seen of Avenger but one or two small twinkling lights were observed in the water, obviously from floats. HMS Ulster Monarch passed over the position of Avenger within 3 minutes and nothing was seen...."
He is commemorated on the Lee-on-Solent Memorial Bay 3, Panel 7.

Leeman, Patrick Ian, son of Percival Garmany Leeman MC MB, of Derby, and Clare Grace Ellen, d. of Robert MacGregor of Durban; b. 8 Apr. 1922; adm. Sept. 1935 (R); left Apr. 1939; Sgt Pilot RAFVR, killed in action 8 Nov. 1941.

Patrick Ian “Paddy” Leeman was born at Derby, Derbyshire on the 22nd of July 1922 the son of Dr. Percival Garmany Leeman MC, MB and Clare Grace Ellen (nee Macgregor) Leeman of 100, Douglas Street, Osmaston Road, Derby, later of “The Lawn”, Burton Road, Littleover in Derbyshire.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from September 1935 to April 1939. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1940 where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Sergeant.
On the night of the 7th/8th of November 1941, Bomber Command dispatched 101 Wellingtons, 42 Whitleys, 17 Stirlings and 9 Halifaxes for an operation on Berlin. The weather forecast over the North Sea was very poor with storms, thick cloud, icing and hail. This led the commanding officer of No. 5 Group to insist that his crews be sent to Cologne instead of Berlin but his request was ignored. 73 aircraft reached Berlin where were unable to observe the results of their bombing but they reported seeing a number of fires on the outskirts of the city. The authorities in Berlin reported widespread damage with 1 industrial building, 2 railways, 30 houses and 2 public buildings being damaged or destroyed. A gasometer at Saaken was burnt out. 11 people were killed on the ground with 44 injured and 637 people were bombed out of their homes.
Patrick Leeman and his crew took off from RAF Mildenhall at 5.26pm on the 7th of November 1941 in Wellington Mk IC X9878 OJ-A for the operation. Having completed their mission they were on the return leg of their journey and were in the area of Essen when they were hit by anti aircraft fire but were able to continue. A short time later the aircraft was flying at 8,000 feet near Wesel when it was hit again, twice in the nose and in the rear turret. It was then attacked and shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf110 night fighter flown by Oberfeldwebel Wilhelm Engel of 7./NJG1. The aircraft crashed near to Isselburg at 12.47am local time with the loss of all but one of the crew. Theirs was one of an eventual 18 victories for Wilhelm Engel who survived the war.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Herbert Roy Crowe RCAF (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Stanley William Dane (Pilot)
Sergeant Albert Charles Arthur Davis (Observer)
Sergeant Patrick Ian Leeman (2nd Pilot)
Sergeant John Charles Pengelly (Air Gunner)
Sergeant Frederick Jenkinson (Rear Gunner) (POW No. 6439 Stalag Luft VII)
Thiers was one of twenty one aircraft which were lost during the raid.
The crew was buried at North Cemetery, Dusseldorf but their bodies were exhumed in July 1946 by No. 4 Missing, Research and Enquiry Unit, Royal Air Force and moved to their present location.
The only survivor, rear gunner Frederick Jenkinson, later reported that he managed to get out of the damaged rear turret with great difficulty after using an axe. He related that he saw no one in the fuselage and that he and William Dane were both onboard when Dane crash landed the aircraft. Dane was killed in the crash with Jenkinson being injured and taken prisoner.
Due to the heavy losses it would be another fourteen months before Bomber Command launched another raid on Berlin.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Littleover.
He is buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Joint Grave 11 B 7-8.

Lewis, Clive, son of John Thomas Lewis of Cape Town and Lilian Blanche, d. of Charles Street of Hadley Wood, Herts; b. 18 Apr. 1914; adm. May 1928 (H); left Dec. 1932; Pemb. Coll. Camb., matric. 1933, BA 1936; Scots Guards 1940-3 (Lieut.); m. 15 July 1939 Anne Allison, d. of J. Douglas Stewart of Woking; killed in action (N. Africa) Apr. 1943.

Clive Lewis was born in South Africa on the 18th of April 1914 the only son of John Thomas Lewis and Lilian Blanche (nee Street) Lewis of Southern Rhodesia and of 24, Campden House Chambers, Kensington in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from May 1928 to December 1932. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was promoted to Lance Corporal in September 1931. He was a member of the 2nd Rowing VIII in 1931, where he rowed at No. 3 and of the 1st Rowing VIII in 1932 where he rowed at No. 2. The Elizabethan wrote the following on his 1932 season: - “One of the most improved oars of the crew, and very quick at learning anything suggested to him. Next year he should aim at a longer draw.”
He matriculated for Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1933 and graduated with a BA in 1936. He received a Trial Eights Cap for rowing in 1935.
He was married at Worplesdon Surrey on the 15th of July 1939 to Anne Allison (nee Stewart) of Hook’s Heath, Woking, Surrey and they honeymooned in the South of France. They had a daughter, Gillian, born on the 14th of May 1941.
He attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Scots Guards on the 21st of September 1940.
On the 26th of February 1943, the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards embarked on board the passenger liner RMS Samaria at Gourock in Scotland bound for North Africa. They set sail from the Clyde on the 1st of March and landed at Algiers on the 9th of March.
At 10pm on the night of the 22nd of April 1943, the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards marched forward from a wadi behind Grenadier Hill in preparation for an attack the following morning. Their objective was the capture and clearance of a series of enemy strong points to the south of the Gab-Gab gap in Tunisia. These were known as Points 150, 145, 151 and 187 and their capture was part of a wider assault to break through the German front lines which ran from Grich el Oued on the banks of the Mejerda River.
At 3.30am on the 23rd of April 1943, 550 guns opened fire in support of the attack and at dawn the Left Flank Company attacked what they thought to be Point 150. In fact they had attacked Point 156, but had strayed to their right in the darkness. In spite of heavy casualties and assisted by the Right Flank Company, they carried the enemy position after heavy fighting and were eventually relieved by C Company later in the day. The Right Flank Company then disengaged and made for the objective which they occupied without loss. This too was the wrong position and they were overlooked by Point 168, which was still held by the enemy. At around noon Clive Lewis was killed. The Regimental history records: - “A grievous loss. He had given excellent service during the night march and had served the Brigade well in passing back vital information.
He is buried at Massicault War Cemetery Plot IV, Row B, Grave 18.