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Humphries, Clifford Stuart, son of Stanley Humphries of Blackheath and Gertrude, d. of John Johnson of Banstead, Surrey; b. 18 May 1911; adm. May 1924 (H); left July 1929; Trin. Coll. Camb., matric. 1929, BA 1932, MA 1937; St Thom. Hosp. Med. Sch., MRCS LRCP 1935; MB BCh 1937; gen. med. practice Blackheath; RAMC 1939-41 (Capt.); d. of wounds (Middle East) 1941.

Clifford Stuart Humphries was born at Greenwich, London on the 18th of May 1911 the only child of Stanley Humphries, a school master, later an assistant manager at the Royal Ordnance factory, and Gertrude (nee Johnson) Humphries of 37, Dombey Road, Tulse Hill, later of Beckenham in Kent and of Parville Alsager, Stoke on Trent. He was christened at Holy Trinity Church, Tulse Hill on the 18th of June 1911. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from May 1924 to July 1929.
He matriculated for Trinity College, Cambridge as a pensioner on the 9th of October 1929 and graduated with a BA in 1932. He attended St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School and achieved MRCS and LRCP in 1935. He achieved MB BCh in 1937 and was awarded a MA in the same year.
He served as House Physician at the Royal Berkshire Hospital before entering general practise at a surgery at 75, Maxted Road, New Cross in London.
He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps on the 4th of September 1939 and was promoted to Captain in 1940. He served in France, Greece and Crete.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Trinity College, Cambridge and on the St Thomas’s Hospital Roll of Honour.
He is buried at El Alamein War Cemetery Plot XXXII, Row C, Grave 9.

Hicks, Richard George Vyvyan, son of Vyvyan George Hooper Hicks, solicitor, and Winifred Heyhoe, d. of Rev. Richard Warcup Pitt, Rector of Saxlingham, Norfolk; b. 28 Mar. 1923; adm. Jan. 1937 (H); left July 1941; Corpus Christi Coll. Camb., matric. 1941, BA 1944; REME 1944-5 (Lieut.); d. of typhoid fever (Bombay) 3 July 1945.

Richard George Vyvyan Hicks was born in Norfolk on the 28th of March 1923 the only son of Vyvyan George Hooper Hicks, a solicitor, and Winifred Heyhoe (nee Pitt) Hicks of “The Grove”, Scarning in Norfolk He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from January 1937 to July 1941. He matriculated for Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1941 and achieved a BA in 1944.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers on the 12th of February 1944.
He died of typhoid fever at the British Military Hospital, Bombay.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Scarning and on the memorial at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
He is buried at Kirkee War Cemetery Plot 2, Row K, grave 9.

Green, Anthony Lovering, son of Arthur Reginald Green FSAA, of Hampstead, and Gladys Eve­lyn, d. of John William Pryce of Chiswick; b. 17 Dec. 1919; adm. Sept. 1933 (H); left July 1936; articled to an accountant; RAOC 1940, transf. REME, later 1 Troop 5 Commando (Private); killed in action (Burma) 15 Mar. 1944.

Anthony Lovering Green was born at Caterham, Surrey on the 17th of December 1919 the younger son of Arthur Reginald Green FSAA, an incorporated accountant, and Gladys Evelyn (nee Pryce) Green of 959, Finchley Road, Golders Green in Middlesex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1933 and July 1936. On leaving school he was articled to a firm of accountants.
He enlisted in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in 1940 and transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers before being attached to No. 1 Troop, No. 5 Commando.
At 9.30am on the 14th of March 1944, Nos. 1 and 2 Troops, No. 5 Commando embarked on board landing craft at St Martin’s Island in Burma and landed at the mouth of the Ton Chaung at 11am where they formed a beachhead. A short time later they were followed by Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 Troops who arrived with the equipment. At 11.20am Nos. 1 and 2 Troops moved inland where they advanced to Dodan where they arrived at 11.50am and linked up with the 81st West African Division reconnaissance team to form a defensive perimeter around the town to protect the men bringing up the heavy equipment from the beachhead. At 12.20pm the two Troops moved forward again to Kanyindan, arriving there ten minutes later, where they met more West African troops, and continued on to Alethangyaw where they had established Battalion Headquarters by 1.30pm. At 1.50pm they came under Japanese mortar fire from the surrounding hills. At 2.30pm a section of No. 1 Troop was sent out to patrol towards Maugtula and returned without making contact with the enemy. At 4pm the rest of No. 5 Commando arrived there and began digging in with No. 1 and No. 2 Troops moving to a new position known as Commando Beachhead at 4.30pm. Having established themselves in their new positions they came under mortar and 75mm artillery fire from Hill 211 at 8pm that night.
At 9.30am on the 15th of March 1944, a small group from No. 1 Troop was sent out to clear a village to the west of Commando Beachhead and at noon Nos. 1 and 3 Troops were pushed forward for an attack on Hill 211. A request for an air attack on the hill in support of their attack had been denied. Having arrived in front of the hill, No. 3 Troop began advancing towards the north east over open ground at 1.30pm. They moved through a wood and found themselves facing the enemy positions on the other side of it. No. 1 Troop joined them five minutes later and took up positions in front of them. They immediately came under heavy shell fire during which Anthony Green was killed. The two troops suffered further casualties of one other rank dying of wounds and fourteen more wounded. The wounded were evacuated at 4pm and the survivors withdrew back to their base at 5.30pm.
He is commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial Face 19.

Fisher, John Malcolm, elder son of the Rev. William Fisher, of Norwood, by Anna Maria Isabella, daughter of John Edward Hunt, of Douglas, Isle of Man; b. June 7, 1890; adm. Sept. 24, 1903 (H); left July 1908; 2nd Lieut. 5th Batt. York and Lancaster Regt. Aug. 14, 1914; temp. Lieut. April 1915; Capt. June 1, 1916; served on the western front April 13, 1915; - Nov. 11, 1918, on the staff Feb. 1, 1917 - Nov. 11, 1918; mentioned in despatches L. G. March 15, 1916; Dec. 11, 1917 and July 5, 1919; M.C. March 15, 1916; D.S.O. June 3, 1919; Major Feb. 16, 1928; Lieut.-Col. Feb. 16, 1933; T. D.; Brevet Col. Feb. 16, 1937; (Middle East) L. G. Dec. 15, 1942 and June 24, 1943; m. Nov. 13, 1919, Alice, youngest daughter of Sir William James Bell, D. L., of Godstone, Surrey; d. on active service in North Africa, May 18, 1943.

John Malcolm Fisher was born at Leeds, Yorkshire on the 7th of June 1890 the elder son of the Reverend William Fisher and Anna Maria Isabella (nee Hunt) Fisher of 24, Lunham Road, Norwood in Surrey, later of Kingham Rectory, Oxford. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from the 24th of September 1903 to July 1908.
Following the outbreak of the Great War he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment on the 14th of August 1914 and he joined them at their base at Rotherham. The Battalion was designated as the 1/5th Battalion and on the 13th of April 1915 they left York in two trains bound for Folkestone where they embarked later in the day and arrived at Boulogne at 11.30pm that night. They disembarked at 5am the following morning. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 9th of October 1915.
At 5.25am on the 19th of December 1915 the Battalion was in trenches near the canal bank at Ypres when the Germans began shelling their positions with heavy artillery fire. This lasted until 9am and continued intermittently throughout the day. Gas was released on the Battalion’s positions but no enemy infantry attack followed. Those of the enemy who showed themselves were shot by the Battalion snipers. Although the trenches only suffered minor damage from the shelling, three officers and six other ranks were killed by the gas with a further four officers and eighty seven other ranks suffering from the effects of it. Five other ranks were killed by bullets and shell fire with one officer and twenty three other ranks wounded. That night they were relieved by the 1/7th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding) and they marched to a rest camp.
For his actions that day John Fisher was one of three officers from the Battalion to be awarded the Military Cross, which was announced by the War Office on the 15th of March 1916. The citation for his award read: - “For conspicuous good service. During an enemy attack, when his senior Officer was incapacitated, he assumed command of his battalion, organised the ammunition supply, arranged for the relief for the night, sent in clear reports to Headquarters, and carried on generally in a manner to inspire confidence.”
He was promoted to temporary Captain on the 1st of June 1916 and to Captain on the 26th of June 1917, with precedence from the 1st of June 1916. He was appointed as a General Staff Officer 2nd Grade in early 1918 and served on the Staff of 49th Division.
He was Mentioned in Despatches on three occasions, which were announced in the London Gazette of the 15th of March 1916, the 11th of December 1917 and of the 5th of July 1919. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the King’s Birthday Honours List of the 3rd of June 1919. He applied for his medals on the 5th of January 1920.
He was married at All Souls Church, Marylebone on the 13th of November 1919 to Ailie (nee Bell) of Faygate, Sussex. Following the end of the war he remained in his old Battalion and was promoted to Major on the 16th of February 1928. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on the 16th of February 1933 when he was appointed to the command of his Battalion. He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration of the Territorial Army in February 1934 for his services in training anti-aircraft personnel. He was promoted to Brevet Colonel on the 16th of February 1937 and continued to the command his Battalion when it became the 67th (The York and Lancaster Regiment) Heavy Anti Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (Military Division) in the King’s Birthday Honours List, which was announced by St James’s Palace on the 9th of June 1938.
During the Second World War he was appointed to the command of the 13th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment and went with them to the Middle East in October 1940 where he saw action in Libya and at the siege of Tobruk. He served on the General Staff from April 1943 where he was involved in planning the defence of Egypt and was twice Mentioned in Despatches.
On the 18th of May 1943, John Fisher was at Tripoli and was entering his car when he died suddenly from heart failure.
He was created as a Commander of the British Empire, which was announced by St James’ Palace on the 14th of October 1943. The recommendation for the award read as follows: - “During the period under review Col. Fisher in addition to his normal A.A. defence duties which he has always carried out most efficiently, has had to organise the special precautions connected with the French Fleet. This for various reasons has required clear thinking, and decisions and untiring energy, all of which Col. Fisher has displayed. During the period of Eighth Army operating he maintained an efficient AA cover over Alexandria Harbour for which he received the thanks of and congratulations of RN.”
A friend wrote of him: - “We all knew him very well in Alexandria and were delighted when he came back the other day as our Brigadier. He will be greatly missed as he was not only our Brigade Commander but a warm friend to every one of us.”
He is buried at Tripoli War Cemetery Plot 6, Row G, Grave 12.

Eyre, Philip Colmer, brother of Ambrose Wright Eyre (qv); b. 24 Oct. 1920; adm. Sept. 1934 (H); left July 1938; Pearl Assurance Co.; Sgt Pilot RAFVR, killed in action while returning from a raid over Germany 7 Sept. 1941.

Philip Colmer Eyre was born at Bristol, Gloucestershire on the 24th of October 1920 the son of James Colmer Eyre, a wholesale stationer and bookbinder, and Annie Margaret (nee Gardner) Eyre of 142, Kensington Park Road, Kensington in London, later of 1, Landsdown Place, West Bath in Somerset. He was christened at the Wesleyan Church, Whiteladies Road, Bristol on the 12th of December 1920. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1934 to July 1938. He was a member of the Cricket XI in 1937 and 1938. On leaving school he accepted a post on the staff of the Secretarial Department of the Pearl Assurance Company.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and was posted for pilot training to No. 2 Service Flying Training School. On completion of his training he joined 78 Squadron for operations in July 1941 and was transferred to 102 Squadron later the same year.
On the night of the 6th/7th of September 1941, Bomber Command dispatched 41 Whitleys, 18 Hampdens and 27 Wellingtons for an operation on the synthetic rubber plant at Huls, Krefeld in Germany. The weather was clear and good results were reported by the returning crews.
Phillip Eyre and his crew took off from RAF Topcliffe at 9.05pm on the 6th of September 1941 in Whitley Mk V Z6970 DY-R for the operation. The aircraft was carrying two 500lb general purpose bombs, six 250lb bombs and one hundred and forty 4lb incendiaries. The aircraft was flying to the south of Nijmegen, Holland when it was attacked by two night fighters, one flown by Unteroffizier Schienbein of 2./NJG1 and one by Oberfeldwebel Wilhelm Willi Schmale of III./NJG1. The aircraft was shot down and crashed at Sambeek near Vortum-Mullem, Noord Brabant, 26 kilometres to the north east of Helmond in Holland at 1.07am with the loss of the entire crew. Wilhelm Willi Schmale was credited with the victory, his third of an eventual eleven.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Phillip Colmer Eyre (Pilot)
Sergeant Leonard Albert Stock RCAF (Observer)
Sergeant Kenneth Pearson Withyman (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Thomas McGill (Air Gunner)
Theirs was one of eight aircraft which failed to return from the raid.
His mother received the following telegram dated the 2nd of October 1941: - “Regret to inform you that information just received through the International Red Cross states that your son Sergeant Philip Colmer Eyre previously reported missing is now reported missing but believed to have lost his life as the result of air operations. Any further information received will be immediately communicated to you.”
The crew was buried on the 9th of September 1941. Their bodies were exhumed for identification purposes by No. 2 Missing Research and Enquiry Unit, Royal Air Force on the 10th of May 1947 and were reburied at the same location.
One of his flying helmets was sold at auction on the 30th of January 2018.
He is commemorated on the Pearl Assurance war memorial.
He is buried at Woensel General Cemetery, Eindhoven Plot JJ, Grave 37.

Elliston, Francis Albert Neville, son of Sir George Sampson Elliston MC MP, barrister-at-law, of Elmsett, Suffolk, and Alice Louise, d. of Joseph Causton DL of Bickley, Kent; b. 10 Mar. 1907; adm. Sept. 1920 (H); left July 1923; St Catb. Coll. Camb., matric. 1923, BA 1926, MA 1930; sec. Public Dental Assn of Gt Britain 1939; E. Lancs Regt 1940-3, Parachute Regt 1943 (Capt.); m. 22 Oct. 1935 Mary Muir, d. of Robert James Muir Wilson of St Helen's, Lancs; killed in action (Normandy) 8 June 1944.

Francis Albert Neville Elliston was born at Paddington, London on the 10th of March 1907 the second son of Sir George Sampson Elliston MC, MP, MA, DL, JP, barrister at law, and Lady Alice Louise (nee Causton) Elliston of 1, Warrington Crescent, Lancaster Gate, later of 40, Heathcroft, Golders green in Middlesex. He was christened at Christ Church, Lancaster Gate on the 11th of April 1907.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1920 to July 1923 and rowed for the 2nd IV in 1923.
He matriculated for St Catharine’s College, Cambridge as a pensioner on the 23rd of October 1923 where he read History and Law. He rowed for the College at stroke in the second May Boat in 1925 and graduated with a BA on the 29th of June 1926. During his time at Cambridge he was a regular contributor of “witty and clever articles” to the Cambridge University student magazine, the “Granta”. He was also a keen member of the Oxford Group. He qualified as a barrister and worked at Lincoln’s Inn. He was awarded a MA on the 13th of June 1930.
He was married at The Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge on the 22nd of October 1934 to Mary (nee Muir-Wilson) of Windle Grange, St Helens in Lancashire; they had a son, Robin, born on the 13th of October 1936.
He enlisted as a Private in the 1/7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment in the Territorial Army in 1939 and rose to the rank of Corporal before attending the 168th Officer Cadet Training Unit from where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the East Lancashire Regiment on the 10th of February 1940. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 1st of June 1943. He volunteered for airborne training and attended Course No. 72 at RAF Ringway from the 12th to the 23rd of July 1943. The instructors noted that Francis Elliston was a: - “Fine type of officer and a good parachutist”.
The 13th Battalion, Parachute Regiment landed at Drop Zone N, to the north of the village of Ranville, in Normandy at 12.50am on the 6th of June 1944. The Battalion assembled and moved off from their rendezvous point on the drop zone at 2.30am with Ranville reported as having been cleared of the enemy by 3am. The Battalion was still holding the area around Ranville on the 8th of June when Francis Ellison was shot in the chest and killed at 11.30am.
His Colonel wrote: - “All of us, officers and men, have lost one of our best friends and a most able and efficient comrade.”
The Westminster school magazine, the “Elizabethan”, wrote of him: - “At one time he was actively engaged in the services of the Oxford Group, in which, as indeed in all his work, his cheerful disposition and capacity for friendship won for him the deep affection of a wide circle.”
The St Catharine’s College magazine wrote: -
“He was educated at Westminster before coming to S. Catharine's where his cheerfulness and determination proved a potent force in College rowing. But at heart he was a crusader, and as one he went into the war. For a time he held a commission in The East Lancashire Regiment, then recruited mainly from his father's constituency, but he transferred to the Parachute Regiment and led the Normandy invasion. Less than forty eight hours after dropping he was killed.”
He is commemorated on the St Helens Roll of Honour and on the war memorials at Lincoln’s Inn and at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.
He is buried at Ranville War Cemetery Plot IA, Row E Grave 12.

Elliot, Herbert Hugh, son of Hugh Samuel Roger Elliot, author, of Chislehurst, Kent, and Rose Maud, d. of N. Chesterfield; b. 3 June 1909; adm. Sept. 1921 (H); left 1927; Trin. Coll. Camb., matric. 1927, BA 1930; PO RAFVR June 1942; m. 1939 Kate Marjorie, d. of Rev. Vernon Iles of South Marston, Wilts; killed in an air accident in Kenya 13 July 1942.

Herbert Hugh Elliot was born at Hove, West Sussex on the 3rd of June 1909 the only son of Hugh Samuel Roger Elliot, an author, and Rosa Maud (nee Chesterfield) Elliot of 15, Bede House, Manor Fields, Putney. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1921 to 1927 and was a member of the Chess team in 1925 and 1926. He matriculated for Trinity College, Cambridge where he was admitted as an Entrance Exhibitioner on a Westminster Exhibition on the 1st of October 1927. He was awarded a BA in 1930.
He was married in south London in 1939 to Kate Marjorie (nee Iles) of “Abbots Cot”, Bourne End in Buckinghamshire. He was elected as a member of the London Rowing Club in 1932. He was elected as a member of the committee in 1938 and rowed in the Thames Cup in 1937, 1938 and 1939.
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 12th of October 1941.
Herbert Elliott and his crew took off on the 13th of July 1942 in Blenheim Mk IV V5869 with two other Blenheims from the unit to practice low level attacks. They had been briefed that they were not to fly below 50 feet. The aircraft was making a mock attack on a vehicle on the Isiolo to Marsabit road, near Nanyuki in Kenya when it struck a tree and crashed at 10.45am killing all on board.
The crew was:-
Sergeant Lyndley Dawson Craven RAAF (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Herbert Hugh Elliott (Observer)
Flying Officer Eric Arthur Main (Pilot)
A telegram was sent to D, H. Hopgood dated the 15th April 1942: - “Deeply regret to inform you that Pilot Officer Herbert Hugh Elliott is reported to have lost his life as he result of an aircraft accident on 13/7/42. The Air Council express their profound sympathy. His wife has been informed.”
The accident was attributed to pilot having disobeyed his orders as the aircraft was seen to descend below 50 feet while making its dummy attack. As a result of the accident the unit was ordered not to fly below 100 feet during future exercises of the same type.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Trinity College, Cambridge and on the memorial at the London Rowing Club.
He is buried at Nanyuki War Cemetery Row 1 Grave 34.

Dugdale, Joseph, son of Joseph Dugdale, cotton manufacturer, of Blackburn, Lancs, and Edith Berry of Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire; b. 7 Jan. 1914; adm. Jan. 1928 (H); left Dec. 1928; North­ampton Engineering Coll., Islington; PO RAF July 1937, FO Feb. 1939, Flight Lieut. Sept. 1940, Temp. Sqdn Ldr Dec. 1941; DFC May 1942 for night attacks on German base at Trondheim; killed in action 26 July 1943.

Joseph Dugdale was born at Blackburn, Lancashire on the 7th of January 1914 the only son of Joseph Dugdale, a cotton manufacturer, and Edith (nee Berry) Dugdale of Park House, 2 East Park Road, Blackburn.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from January 1928 to December 1928. He went on to the Northampton Engineering College, Islington. He was commissioned as an Acting Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force on the 7th of September 1936 and was confirmed in his rank on the 13th of July 1937. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 13th of February 1939 and was transferred to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 13th of July 1940. He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 3rd of September 1940 and to Squadron Leader on the 1st of December 1941.
He was serving with 97 Squadron when he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in two night attacks on an enemy naval base at Trondheim. His award was announced by the Air Ministry on the 29th of May 1942 and the citation read: - “This officer has completed numerous operational missions, including 2 attacks by night on the German naval base at Trondheim in April, 1942. On the latter occasion, he commanded a formation of bombers and he played a large part in the success achieved. Recently he successfully carried out a minelaying mission in extremely unfavourable weather. This officer has performed excellent work and has contributed materially to the high standard and efficiency of his flight.”
He later transferred to 90 Squadron.
On the night of the 25th/26th of July 1943, Bomber Command dispatched 294 Lancasters, 211 Halifaxes, 104 Stirlings, 67 Wellingtons and 19 Mosquitos for an operation on Essen. The operation was considered to have been a success with heavy damage being achieved in the industrial areas in the eastern part of the city with the Krupps works received its most damaging raid of the war. 51 other industrial buildings were destroyed with a further 81 being damaged. 2,852 houses were destroyed with 500 people being killed on the ground. A further 12 people were missing and 1,208 were injured.
Joseph Dugdale and his crew took off from RAF West Wickham at 11.37pm on the 25th of July 1943 in Stirling Mk III EE904 WP-S for the operation. The aircraft is believed to have crashed into the North Sea in the area of Great Yarmouth.
The crew was: -
Squadron Leader Joseph Dugdale DFC (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant James Ferguson Bowman RNZAF (Rear Gunner)
Flying Officer Patrick Hector Conroy (Navigator)
Flying Officer Henry Alington Disbrowe (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant David Geoffrey Evans RAAF (2nd Pilot)
Sergeant Desmond Frank Augustus Hobbs (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant James Hamilton Keeley RNZAF (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Norman Albert Young (Mid Upper Gunner)
Theirs was one of twenty six aircraft which failed to return from the raid.
It is believed that the aircraft collided with Halifax Mk II JD169 from 102 Squadron over the North Sea but it is not known whether it was during the outward or inward leg of their journey. The bodies of three of the crew were recovered from the sea some 15 miles off the coast near Yarmouth; the bodies of four of the crew from the 102 Squadron aircraft were recovered at the same time.
Norman Young’s body was washed ashore at Southwold, Suffolk with those of James Keeley and Henry Disbrowe also washing ashore on the English coast.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Blackburn.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial Panel 158.

Cherry, John Conrad Hazlehurst, son of Edward Hazlehurst Cherry and Macie Gwladys, d. of Samuel Smiley of Nazeing, Essex; b. 7 Sept. 1914; adm. Sept. 1927 (H); left July 1933; BNC Oxf., matric. 1933, BA 1938; rowed against Cambridge 1936-8, pres. OUBC 1937-8; Leander crew in the Berlin Olympic Games 1936; RNVR 1939-43 (Lieut.), despatches (posth.) June 1943; m. 22 Nov. 1940 Glory, d. of George Rowe; lost in HM Minelayer Welshman (Med.) 1 Feb. 1943.

John Conrad Hazlehurst “Con” Cherry was born at Paddington, London on the 7th of September 1914 the son of Edward Hazlehurst Cherry MBE , Deputy Manager of the Navy, Army and Air Forces Institutes, and Macie Gwladys (nee Smiley) Cherry of 261, Lauderdale Mansions, Maida Vale, later of “Harbourside”, Bruenell Road, Parkstone in Dorset. He was christened at St Stephen’s Church, Rochester Row on the 3rd of January 1915.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1927 to July 1933. He was appointed as a member of the Monitorial Council in September 1931 and was appointed as a School Monitor and as Head of Homeboarders in September 1932. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was promoted to Lance Sergeant in September 1931. He was a member of the 3rd Rowing VIII in 1929, where he rowed at No. 3 and of the 1st Rowing VIII from 1930 to 1933 where he rowed at No. 7 and later at No. 5.
The Elizabethan wrote the following of his 1930 season: - “A good seven, who is steadily improving as he puts on weight. With a fine natural length, he works smoothly and he can row hard. Apart from some unnecessary movement in his shoulders and head coming forward, he form and effectiveness is excellent. Like all oarsmen, he must go on working for more ease and quickness at the beginning.” They wrote of his 1931 season: - “He was hindered at first by an appearance of a new fault at the beginning of the season, of a hunching and poking action, with the inside arm bent. But towards the end of the season he opened out well, and developed much better length. At 7 he is an excellent timekeeper, but he needs to develop a longer and more powerful leg drive.”
He was appointed as Head of the Water in 1932. The Elizabethan wrote of his 1932 season: - “One of the “grand old men” of the crew, whose rowing is almost without blemish. For this reason he will have to work hard next year to maintain his present very high standard.” At the end of the 1933 season they wrote: - “A tower of strength to the boat; he kept the swing of the crew going, and his puddles showed how he was helping the boat along. Improvement for him lies, first in avoiding bent arms; this will give him the full advantage of his reach; secondly, in coupling up the whole body with his drive straight through from the stretcher to the finish. If he gets this, he will be a great oarsman. He has been an exceptionally able Head of the Water. He has done work and left a standard which will live after him.”
He matriculated for Brasenose College, Oxford in 1933 which he entered on the Heath Harrison Minor Exhibition. He was the President of the Brasenose Junior Common Rom and was a member of the Phoenix Common Room. He rowed for the College VIII from 1934 to 1938 and for the Oxford University VIII from 1936 to 1938. He was President of the Oxford University Boat Club in 1937 and 1938. He rowed for the Great Britain Rowing VIII in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games in which they finished in fourth place. He served as the Captain of the Leander Club from 1938 to 1943 and was a member of Vincent’s Club.
He was a member of the Entertainments Committee of the Elizabethan Club in 1937.
On the outbreak of war he was an administrative trainee with an aircraft manufacturer. He was married on the 22nd of September 1940 to Iris Glory (nee Rowe) of Deancroft House, Cookham Dean, Berkshire; they had a daughter, Susan, born in 1942.
He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the 10th of November 1940 and served as Torpedo Officer at the Royal Naval shore establishment HMS Spartiate from the 3rd of January to the 31st of March 1941. He served on board the minelayer HMS Manxman (M70) from the 1st of March 1941 to the 29th of December 1942.
He joined the crew of the cruiser- minelayer HMS Welshman (M84) on the 30th of December 1942, which had served in the Mediterranean from May 1942 where she took part in Operation Harpoon, Operation Pedestal and Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942.
At 5.45pm on the 1st of February 1943, HMS Welshman, under the command of Captain William Howard Dennis Friedberger DSO RN, was transporting stores and personnel from Malta to Tobruk when she was struck by two torpedoes from of a spread of four which had been fired by the U Boat U-617, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Albrecht Brandt. The main deck area flooded and she capsized and sank two hours later with the loss of 152 of her crew and 13 passengers. Several of the casualties were cause by exploding depth charges as she sank. 118 survivors were picked up after five hours in the water by the destroyers HMS Tetcott and HMS Belvoir and were taken to Alexandria. A further 6 survivors were rescued by small craft which had sailed out from Tobruk.
His wife received the following telegram: - “From Admiralty. Deeply regret to inform you that your husband Lieutenant J.C. Cherry RNVR has been killed on active service.”
He was Mentioned in Despatches “For courage and skill and enterprise”, which was announced by the Admiralty on the 1st of June 1943.
His obituary in the Times newspaper reads; - “..... Here was a No. 7 of unusual merit. The next year he at seven and Sturrock at six were the backbone of the first winning Oxford crew in 14 years, and in 1938, as President, he was the keystone of another winning crew. Cherry rowed at 14 stones. He was one of the best heavyweight oarsmen of all time, but he will be even better remembered for his absolutely faultless style, so rare in a big man. Rowing at No. 7 he could give a crew the quality that usually needs a stylish No. 7 and a thrusting No. 5, and those who saw him row realise what the orthodox style could be at its best. His easy style of rowing, so deceptive of its power, was seen to even greater advantage in a four than an eight, and in 1937 he rowed No. 3 in the fine Leander four that won the Steward’s Cup at Henley.”
The Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, Dr. W. T. S. Stallybrass, wrote: - “There have been, I believe, more O.WW. at Brasenose than at any other Oxford College (Christ Church always excepted), but none of them can have stood out amongst his contemporaries more than Conrad Cherry. He was far more mature than the normal Freshman. Like so many O.WW. He was possessed of an easy self-confidence and plenty of savoir faire, and he was quite exceptionally business-like. His capacity for business was recognised when he was elected President of the J.C.R. But it is as an oarsman that Cherry's name will always be remembered. As a Freshman his style was so good that some thought that he did little work in the boat. But the same men in the end considered him the best Seven there has ever been. The revival of Oxford rowing was due more to Cherry than to any other one man, alike as oar and as President. His word went. If a knot of men were arguing and asked Con for his opinion, he would give them a decision, not an opinion, and that would settle the matter. When the war came, Con soon took a commission in the R.N.V.R., and there earned golden opinions not only as a man but also for his technical ability. His Commanding Officer wrote: "Con was easy to talk to and make friends with for he was so simple in all his faiths and had such a kindly philosophy. Before he'd been with us three months I would not willingly have exchanged him for any R.N. Officer."Cherry was always a devoted Westminster-we used often to talk of our old School together. Westminster laid the foundations well and truly, but I think he developed whilst he was at Oxford more than most. He became a personality, though he was somewhat aloof in manner and never acquired that hail-fellow-well-met bonhomie which wins an easy and wide popularity. Nor was he easy to know intimately. As was said of Isaac Walton, he "would be seen twice in no man's company he did not like, and liked none but such as he believed to be very honest men." Water was his element. At Westminster, at Oxford, yachting in the holidays and during the war he spent his life on the water, and it is as he would have wished that in the water he should find his last resting-place.
A memorial service was held in his memory on the 20th of December 1946.
He is commemorated on the Chatham naval Memorial 73,3.

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.