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Byam Shaw, George, eldest son of John Byam Liston Shaw, of Kensington, artist, by Caroline Evelyn Eunice, daughter of John Nott Pyke-Nott, of Bydown House, North Devon; b. Oct. 6, 1900; adm. April 30, 1914 (H); left July 1917; R. M.C. Sandhurst 1919; 2nd Lieut. Royal Scots Dec. 23, 1921; Lieut. Dec. 23, 1923; Capt. Nov. 9, 1934; Major, Dec. 23, 1938; killed in action in France May 1940; unm.

George Byam-Shaw was born at Kensington, London on the 6th of October 1900 the eldest son of John Byam Liston Shaw, an artist, and Evelyn Caroline Eunice (nee Pyke-Nott) Byam Shaw, an artist, of 62, Addison Road, Kensington. He was christened at St Barnabus’ Church, Kensington on the 1st of November 1900.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from the 30th of April 1914 to July 1917. He went on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst where he boxed for the College at featherweight against Woolwich in 1921. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Scots (Royal Regiment) on the 23rd of December 1921. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 23rd of December 1923 and to Captain on the 9th of November 1934. He was promoted to Major on the 23rd of December 1938.
Following the outbreak of war the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots deployed to France on the 21st of September 1939. On the 10th of May 1940 the Germans invaded France and the Low Countries. That morning the Battalion was at Lecelles and, as a number of officers were away on leave, George Byam-Shaw was appointed as the second in command of the Battalion. The day was spent packing to leave and the bulk of the Battalion departed for Overysche at 9.15pm with George Byam-Shaw leading the remainder of the men away at 11.10pm that night.
By the 20th of May, the Battalion was at Froidmont when it received orders to make a reconnaissance of the banks of the River Escaut near Calonne, to the south of Tournai where they were to relieve the 8th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment that night. The handover was made at around midnight and was carried out under shell and mortar fire with several casualties being suffered. On the 21st of May 1940, the Battalion was heavily shelled and mortared throughout the morning by the end of which their flank was exposed. D Company carried out several counterattacks which eased the situation but the shelling continued through the afternoon. George Byam-Shaw was killed outright while pausing to have a cigarette during the fighting. By the end of the day the Battalion had suffered 150 casualties but had held their ground. The Padre buried some of dead during the night and buried George Byam-Shaw the next morning.
Only a handful of men from the Battalion were eventually evacuated from Dunkirk.
He is buried at Bruyelle War Cemetery Plot II, Row A Grave 1.

Calway, Frank Ferguson, son of Frank Hugh Ferguson Calway, silk throwster, of Duddlestone, Somerset, and Susan Dorothy, d. of Joseph B. Harcombe of Cape Town; b. 3 Feb. 1921; adm. Sept. 1934 (B); left July 1939; RN (Ord. Seaman); d. on active service 31 Aug. 1941.

Frank Ferguson Calway was born at Taunton, Somerset on the 3rd of February 1921 the only son of Frank Hugh Ferguson Calway, director of a silk mill, and Susie Dorothy (nee Harcombe) Calway of “Quoits Field”, Duddlestone in Somerset. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from September 1934 to July 1939. He was a member of the 1st Cricket XI from 1937 to 1939 and was Captain in the latter year. He was a member of the 1st Football XI in 1938 and 1939, where he played as goalkeeper. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps, where he was promoted to Lance Corporal in September 1937 and later rose to the rank of Sergeant. He was appointed as Head of House in 1938 and was amember of the Debating Society where he was elected as President in 1938.
On leaving school he travelled to Canada on the 5th of August 1939 where he played cricket for a public schools side but following the outbreak of war, he returned home on board the SS Duchess of Atholl, landing at Liverpool on the 6th of October 1939. On his return he joined his father’s firm for a period of nine months and was one of the first members of the Corfe Home Guard. He played for the Taunton Cricket Club in 1940 and for the Y.M.C.A Football XI in 1939. He enlisted in the Royal Navy and was posted to HMS Quebec, the naval training establishment at Inverary in Argyll. He contracted a pulmonary abscess and died from pneumonia at Drymen Hill Hospital near Loch Lomond.
His funeral took place on the 4th of September 1941 in a service conducted by the Reverend T.L.T. Fisher. A guard of honour was provided by the Corfe Home Guard.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Corfe.
He is buried at St Nicholas’ Church, Corfe Grave 369.

Cameron, Frederick John Alistair; b. 15 Oct. 1916; adm. Jan. 1931 (G); left Apr. 1931; PO RAFVR Apr. 1940; d. 19 August 1940.

Frederick John Alastair “Freddy” Cameron was born in London on the 15th of October 1916 the only son of Alastair Cameron and Mary Addison (nee Pudney) Cameron of 2, John Street, Mayfair in London, later of Bourne End in Buckinghamshire. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from January 1931 to April 1931. He worked for Phillips & Powis Aircraft Ltd of Reading and gained a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 11499) at Phillips & Powis on the 1st of May 1933 while flying a DH Moth. He was married to Helen (nee Curtiss) (before 1939) and they lived at “Wayside”, High Street, Weston-Super-Mare.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Sergeant. He was serving as a pilot with No. 5 Air Observer Navigation School, based at Weston Airport, Weston-Super-Mare in 1939 and was lodging at Quarry Close, Winscombe in Somerset. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 1st of April 1940.
Freddy Cameron and his crew took off on the 19th of August 1940 in Anson Mk I N5132 for a navigational training exercise. At the time he had accumulated 2,634.50 hours of total solo flying time on all aircraft types of which 439.50 were on Anson aircraft. During the flight the starboard engine failed and Frederick Cameron attempted to make a forced landing at Littleton Lane, Wellow, some three miles to the south of Bath. As it came in to land the aircraft hit a tree which ripped off the starboard wing and caused it to swing into some trees and tip headfirst into a stream. It turned over onto its back with the tail plane resting on a tree. All but two of the men on board were killed.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Frederick John Alastair Cameron (Pilot)
Leading Aircraftman Raymond Thomas Howard (Observer Under Training)
Leading Aircraftman Joseph Asquith Hodgson (Observer Under Training)
Leading Aircraftman William Henry Howard (Observer Under Training)
Leading Aircraftman Ian Macinnes (Seriously injured)
Mr H. P. Wigg (Civilian Wireless Operator) (Seriously injured)
The injured were admitted to Bath Royal United Hospital later in the day.
His wife received the following letter dated the 21st of August 1940: - “Madam, I am commanded by the Air Council to express to you their great regret on learning that your husband, Pilot Officer Frederick John Alastair Cameron, Royal Air Force, lost his life as the result of an aircraft accident near Wellow, Bath on 19th of August, 1940. The Air Council desire me to convey their profound sympathy with you in your bereavement.”
He is buried at the Church of St Mary the Less, Chilbolton.

Carless, Hugh Dobbie, younger son of Albert Carless, M.B., F.R.C.S., of London, Professor of Surgery at King's Coll., London, and temp. Lieut.-Col. R.A.M.C., by Ada Bridger, daughter of General George Staple Dobbie, of the Madras Army; b. May 13, 1897 adm. Sept. 22, 1910 (A); exhibitioner 1911; non-resident K.S. 1912; left Dec. 1914; Trin. Coll. Camb. (adm. pensr. Michaelmas 1916); enlisted in the 14th Batt. the London Regt. (London Scottish) in Nov. 1914; 2nd Lieut. 3rd Batt. (Reserve) the Gordon Highlanders June 26, 1915; was attached to the 2nd Batt. and went out to the western front May 29, 1916; wounded at High Wood in the battle of the Somme July 21, 1916; returned to the front after his recovery Jan. 10, 1917, and was attached to the 7th Batt.; d. April 24, 1917, of wounds received in action on the Scarpe the previous day; unm.

CARTWRIGHT, ALFRED GRAHAME, brother of Arthur Babington Cartwright (qv); b. 29 Jul 1858; adm. 22 Sep 1871; left Aug 1875; 2nd Lieut., 19th Foot, from Militia, 1 Jan 1879; Lieut., Yorkshire Regt., 11 Feb 1880; Capt., 1 Sep 1886; Maj., 16 Dec 1896; second in command 16 Feb 1906; ret., 29 Jul 1906; served Nile Expedition 1884-5, Sudan Frontier Field Force 1885-6, Tirah Expedition 1897-8; Brigade-Maj., South Lancs. Territorial Brigade, 1907; volunteered for service Aug 1914; second in command, 7th (service) battn., Yorkshire Regt., 15 Sep 1914; served in France 1915; Lieut. -Col., 14th (Reserve) battn., Yorkshire Regt., 20 Apr 1916; commanding 81st Training Reserve Battn. until retirement from ill health 31 May 1917; despatches 30 Apr 1916, also on Secretary of State for War’s list of those who had done good service in the War; m. 22 Dec 1891 Julia, dau. of Charles [George?] Plumer, Madras Civil Service, Chief Justice of Madras [check]; d. 5 Aug 1917.

Casper, Alexander Carl Peter, son of Lieut.-Col. Emil Hans Casper and Una Margaret, d. of Sir Edward Parrott MP LLD, of Edinburgh; b. 23 Aug. 1923; adm. Jan. 1937 (A); left Apr. 1941; RM 1942-5 (Lieut.), 45th Commandos BLA; killed in action at the crossing of the Weser 6 Apr. 1945. Castellain, Geoffrey Charles, son of E. L. F. and Anne Castellain of Chelsea; b. 19 Feb. 1920; adm. Sept. 1933 (KS); left July 1938; Ch. Ch. Oxf., matric. 1938; 2nd Lieut. 16th/5th Lancers 1941, transf. SASR Apr. 1944; killed in action (W. Europe) Oct. 1944.

Alexander Carl Peter Casper was born on the 23rd of August 1923 the son of Lieutenant Colonel Emil Hans “Bill” Casper, Royal Artillery, and Una Margaret (nee Parrott) Casper of 11, Acacia Grove, Dulwich, London SE21. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1937 to April 1941.
On leaving school he was commissioned in the Royal Marines and was posted to No. 45 Royal Marine Commando.
At 4.30am on the morning of the 6th of April 1945, No. 45 Commando assembled at Stolzenau where they were briefed for an assault crossing of the River Weser where they were to pass through a weakly held bridgehead on the far side of the river and were to push on to capture the village of Leese, one and half miles inland. Once they were across the river a bridge was to be constructed across it to allow more British forces to cross the river. At 1.15pm, nine assault landing craft began crossing the river supported by artillery and machine gun fire. Although the landing craft were under continuous enemy fire during the crossing they suffered no casualties. Once they had landed on the far side the Commandos advanced south along the river bank under the cover of its steep banks. The German positions, which were held by the 12th SS Training Battalion, were set back some one hundred yards from the river bank across open ground which made it impossible to make a direct attack on them. After hand to hand fighting the men of D Troop gained a foothold in the enemy trenches nearest to the river after which A Troop passed through them and pressed on against “fanatical” opposition. At the same time, B Troop, with a Section of E Troop, made their way towards the cover of a nearby railway embankment but, by 4pm, the bulk of the Commandos were still pinned down and forward progress was painfully slow. It was decided to recall the men of B and E Troops from their forward position and to consolidate the positions on the river bank to await reinforcements. They came under heavy fire through the evening and into the night when they were told that there would be no fresh troops coming forward to support them. After midnight they received orders to fall back to the bridgehead area but while they were doing this they came under an attack from the SS at 3am which they drove off with heavy casualties among the enemy. They held the bridgehead for the remainder of the 7th of April.
Captain John Day of No. 45 Commando later wrote: - "At one of our brief pauses as we moved along the river bank I found myself crouching beside a young subaltern, Peter Casper, whose men were endeavouring to provide us with some covering fire. During a lull in the firing we heard shouting from the German positions. Peter said "They want to surrender", leapt to his feet, took off his beret, and waved it at the enemy. Two or three bullets cracked at us and Peter Casper fell dead at my feet."
He is buried at Hanover War Cemetery Plot 7, Row K Grave 7.

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.

Challis, Arthur Bracebridge, eldest son of Charles Edward Challis, of Brixton, Surrey, by Jane Alice Ellen, daughter of Edward Ledger Bracebridge, of London; b. March 1, 1872; adm. Jan. 22, 1885 (R); left Dec. 1888; adm. a solicitor June 1897; practised at Rochester, firm Hayward, Smith and Challis; served in the Queen's Westminster Volunteers 1900-2, and in the West Kent Yeomanry 1902-14, retiring with the rank of Sergeant in March 1914; 2nd Lieut. Home Counties (Kent) Heavy Battery R.G.A. Aug. 29, 1914; Lieut. June 1, 1916; temp. Capt. May 1, 1915; temp. Major March 17, 1916, commanding the 2nd H. C. (Kent) Heavy Battery; went out to the western front in Dec. 1917, where he commanded the 133rd Heavy Battery R.G.A.; mentioned in despatches L. G. Dec. 23, 1918; killed in action at Agincourt, near Cambrai, Sept. 21, 1918; unm.