Showing 169 results

Sinclair, John Percy, son of Percy Walter Sinclair of Cheam, Surrey, and Florence Annette, d. of Michael Hobson of Middlesbrough; b. 31 May 1920; adm. Jan. 1934 (R); left Dec. 1937; Roy. Sig­nals; d. on active service 6 Nov. 1940.

John Percy Sinclair was born at Cheam, Surrey on the 31st of May 1920 the son of Percy Walter Sinclair, a tea taster, and Florence Annette (nee Hobson) Sinclair of “Cooden”, 20, Salisbury Avenue, Cheam. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from January 1934 to December 1937.
He is buried at Cairo War Memorial Cemetery Grave P 277.

Sinclair, Edward Anthony, son of Cdr Edward Wortley Sinclair RN and Edith Monteith, d. of William Bell of Burlington, Ontario; b. 29 Dec. 1918; adm. Sept. 1933 (H), (B) May 1937; left July 1937; enlisted Hampshire Reel Jan. 1940; accidentally killed on an OCTU course 1 Aug. 1940.

Edward Anthony Sinclair was born at Malta on the 29th of December 1919 the only son of Captain Edward Wortley Sinclair RN and Edythe Monteith (nee Bell) Sinclair of “Cintra”, Chislehurst Road, Petts Wood in Kent. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1933 and up Busby’s from May 1937 to July 1937. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A in March 1937. He was a member of the 1st Cricket XI in 1937. On leaving school he continued his studies as a student.
He enlisted as a Private in the Hampshire Regiment in January 1940 and was posted to the Inns of Court Officer Cadet Training Unit for officer training. He was killed in an accident.
He is buried at Chislehurst Cemetery Section A, Grave 94.

Shearman, Philip Montague, brother of John Shearman (adm. 1926, qv); b. 9 May 1920; adm. Sept. 1933 (H); left July 1938; RASC 1941-6 (Capt.); m. 1944 Rachel Monica, d. of William Percy Townsley of Harrogate; d. in a fire on a liner in Hamburg 11 Jan. 1946.

Philip Montague “Phil” Shearman was born at Hampstead, London on the 9th of May 1920 the son of John Shearman OW and Ludmilla Isabelle (nee Davy) Shearman of 45, Devereux Drive, Watford in Hertfordshire. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1933 to July 1938. He was a member of the 2nd Rowing VIII in 1936 and of the 1st Rowing VIII in 1937 where he rowed at No. 2. He was fond of sailing and of bell ringing. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was promoted to Corporal in September 1937. He went on to study at the Institute of Automobile Engineers but did not complete his course before he joined the army. He attended an Officer Producing Centre as a Cadet before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps on the 18th of January 1941.
He was married in Cheshire in 1944 to Rachel Monica (nee Townsley) of Leatherhead in Surrey; they had a daughter, Philippe Ann, born on the 6th of May 1945.
He was killed in a fire while on board a German liner at Hamburg harbour.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at St Nicholas’ Church, West Itchenor in Sussex.
He is buried at Hamburg Cemetery Plot 3A, Row F, Grave 13.

Scott, Charles William Anderson, son of Charles Kennedy Scott, musician, conductor of the Philharmonic Choir, by Mary Donaldson, of Glasgow; b. Feb. 13, 1903; adm. Sept. 21, 1916 (A); left July 1919; served in R.A.F. 1922-7, attaining the rank of Flight-Lieut.; an air mail pilot in Australia; in April 1931 and again in May 1932 he held the record for a flight from England to Australia; A.F.C. 1931; British Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society for winning the England to Australia Air Race 1934; winner of the heavy-weight and cruiser­ weight boxing championships of the R.A.F.; served in Great War II as Lieut. R.N.V.R., taking part in the Dakar landing, as an Atlantic Ferry pilot, and as operation manager of an air observer school; author of an autobiography Scott's Book (1934); d. at UNRRA H.Q., Germany, April 15, 1946; unm.

Charles William Anderson Scott was born on the 13th of February 1903 the son of Charles Kennedy Scott, founder and conductor of the Philharmonic Choir, and Mary (nee Donaldson) Scott of Glasgow. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from the 21st of September 1916 to July 1919. On leaving school he worked on a sugar plantation in British Guiana for a short time but returned to enlist in the Royal Air Force.
He was granted a short service commission as a Pilot Officer on probation in the Royal Air Force on the 9th of December 1922. He was posted to No. 2 Flying Training School based at RAF Duxford for pilot training where he made his first solo flight in an Avro 504. He was confirmed in his rank on the 9th of June 1923 and was awarded his Wings on the 15th of December 1923. He was posted to 32 Squadron based at RAF Kenley and was promoted to Flying Officer on the 9th of July 1924. On the 1st of November 1924 he was posted to the Armament and Gunnery School at Eastchurch but this appointment was cancelled a short time later and he returned to 32 Squadron. He boxed for the Royal Air Force in the Inter Services team Championships of 1923, 1924 and 1925. He was the Royal Air Force heavyweight boxing champion in 1923 and 1924. He transferred to the Royal Air Force Reserve of Officers on the 9th of December 1926 and relinquished his commission on completion of his service on the 9th of December 1930.
In 1927, he emigrated to Australia where he flew for the airline Qantas. On the 4th of September 1928 he took off in bad weather from Parafield Airfield in de Havilland 50 G-AUHI “Hermes”. He was flying in cloud at 1,800 feet some six miles to the north east of the airfield when the aircraft entered a spin, crashed and caught fire. He escaped from the burning aircraft and pulled his injured flight engineer, George Nutson, clear of the wreckage. Nutson died from his injuries in hospital later in the day. A court of inquiry concluded that Charles Scott had made a serious error of judgement by taking off in such poor weather. He returned to flying duties with the airline at the end of January 1929.
He was married at Scots’ Church, Melbourne on the 26th of April 1929 to Kathleen (nee O’Neill) and they had a daughter Rosemary Barbara born on the 9th of February 1930. He broke the solo record for a flight between Brisbane and Melbourne in a de Havilland DH 60 Gypsy Moth in order to be present at the birth of his daughter. The couple returned to England where they lived at “Belle Vista”, St Peters Road, West Mersea in Essex.
In 1931, he established a new record for a solo flight between England and Australia while flying in a de Havilland DH 60 Gypsy Moth. For this feat he was awarded the Air Force Cross: - “In recognition of the distinguished services rendered to aviation by his recent flights between England and Australia”, which was announced by the Air Ministry on the 30th of June 1931. He broke his own record for the flight in the following year.
In 1934 he and Tom Campbell Black were selected to compete in the MacRobertson London to Melbourne Air Race where he flew in one of three purpose built de Havilland DH 88 Comets. He and Black set a new record for a flight from England to Australia of 52 hours and 33 minutes, smashing the old record by more than 100 hours and they arrived at Melbourne in a time of 71 hours. He was awarded the British Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society for winning the race.
His wife filed for divorce on the 21st of January 1935 on the grounds of his adultery with Greta Bremner which had allegedly taken place on more than one occasion at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane from the 14th of December 1934. She was granted a Decree Nisi on the 19th of December 1935.
He was remarried at Caxton hall, Westminster on the 17th of September 1936 to Greta Constance (nee Bremner); she was granted a divorce on the 8th of October 1940.
In September 1936, he entered the Schlesinger Air Race from England to South Africa. He and Charles Guthrie took off from Portsmouth in Vega Gull G-AEKE and landed at Rand Airport, Johannesburg on the 1st of October in a time of 52 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds, winning the first prize of £10,000. They were the only aircraft to complete the race from the fourteen aircraft which started it.
On the outbreak of war he approached the Royal Air Force to offer his services but was offered the rank of Pilot Officer and the opportunity to fly as a ferry pilot which he was insulted by and so withdrew his offer. Instead he worked as an ambulance drive with the Air Raid Precautions Service and later served for a time with the Royal Navy before joining the Atlantic Ferry Service as a pilot. After making seven Trans Atlantic ferry crossings he was forced to stop due to his failing health. He was appointed as the operations manager of No. 10 Observer School, Royal Canadian Air Force based at Chatham, New Brunswick.
He was remarried once again in Montreal on the 28th of August 1941 to Kathleen Barnesley (nee Pritchard).
In May 1942 he was badly injured in the crash landing of an aircraft while he was taking an injured student to hospital, after which he was no longer fit to fly. Following his recovery he went to work for De Havilland in Toronto but after five months he left to join Fairchild Aircraft as an inspector of aircraft at their Montreal factory; he also lectured to Sea Cadets. He suffered a nervous breakdown in early 1944 and returned to Fairchild on his recovery.
He returned to England after the end of the war in Europe and joined the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in November 1945, serving at their Headquarters in Germany. While he was there he took his own life by shooting himself in the chest with his service revolver.
His death is not recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as he was not serving in the military at the time of his death.
He is buried at Mengeringhausen.

Scorer, Paul Geoffrey, only son of George Oakley Scorer, F.R.I.B.A., of Kensington, by Amy Lock; b. May 3, 1905; adm. Sept. 26, 1918 (H); left Easter 1922; manager of a Colonial import and export firm; Pilot Officer, R.A.F.V.R. April 1, 1942; Flying Officer Dec. 1, 1942; m. Feb. 26, 1939, Natasha, daughter of Prof. Simon Frank, of France; killed in action Aug. 27, 1943.

Paul Geoffrey Scorer was born at Kensington, London on the 3rd of May 1905 the only son of George Oakley Scorer FRIBA, an architect, and Amy (nee Lock) Scorer of 21, Warwick Gardens, Earle Court in London. He was christened at St Mark’s Church, Marylebone on the 7th of June 1905. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from the 26th of September 1918 to Easter 1922. On leaving school he became the manager of a Colonial import and export firm, dealing and shipping cocoa and sugar. He was married on the 26th of February 1939 to Natalie (nee Frank, later Norman) and they lived at 46, Corringham Road, Golders Green in Middlesex. They had two sons, Michael, born in 1940 and Peter, born on the 15th of October 1942.
Following the outbreak of war he volunteered as an Air Raid Warden.
He was commissioned as an Acting Pilot Officer on probation in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 1st of April 1942 was confirmed in his rank on the 1st of June 1942. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 1st of December 1942. He was posted to Y Service on board the sloop HMS Egret (L75), under the command of Lieutenant Commander John Valentine Waterhouse DSO RN, which was made up of Royal Air Force personnel who were monitoring the German’s use of an anti ship radio controlled missile system, the Henschel 293 glide bomb, which had been mounted on enemy aircraft and was being deployed against Allied shipping with some success. Paul Scorer and his team of two signallers were using the Enigma machine to intercept German signals in an attempt to give early warning of an attack. His commanding officer on board was Squadron Leader Cuthbert William Prideaux Selby, who acted as the coordinator between the ships and Coastal Command.
On the 27th of August 1943, HMS Egret was one of two sloops, two destroyers and three frigates which arrived in the Bay of Biscay, some 30 to the west of Vigo, to relieve ships of the 40th Support Group. Later in the day the group was attacked by eighteen Dornier 217 aircraft carrying the Henschel 293 bombs damaging the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan and scoring a direct hit on HMS Egret which was virtually cut in half and sank very soon afterwards. The destroyer HMS Grenville was also attacked but managed to out-turn the bomb and was not damaged.
In addition to Paul Scorer and Cuthbert Selby, one hundred and ninety four officers and ratings from the Royal Navy were lost when the ship went down. Thirty two survivors were picked up by HMCS Athabaskan.
He was Mentioned in Despatches, which was announced by the Air Ministry on the 14th of January 1944.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial Panel 129.

Ryan, Lionel Ernest Norwood, eldest son of George Norwood Ryan, of Teddington, Middx, by Isabella, daughter of James Anderson, of Aberdeen; b. July 16, 1888; adm. as (non­ resident) K.S. Sept. 25, 1902; went into College 1903; left (with Triplett) July 1907; Ch. Ch. Oxon., matric. Michaelmas 1907; sometime in the shipping office of M. Samuel and Co., London, and of Samuel Samuel and Co. Ltd., Yokohama, Japan; agent, Canadian Pacific Railway Co., Shanghai, China, April 1916 - May 1919; chief asst. Hong-Kong, July 1920-5; agent 1926; d. in the Japanese Internment Camp at Hong Kong Feb. 27, 1945; he bequeathed a share of his residue, amounting to about £6,000, to the Westminster School Society.

Lionel Ernest Norwood Ryan was born at Kingston, Surrey on the 16th of July 1888 the eldest son of George Norwood Ryan, a ship broker, and Isabella “Bella” (nee Anderson) Ryan of 21, Gwendolyn Avenue Putney in Surrey, later of “St John’s”, Somers Road, Reigate in Surrey. He was christened at Surbiton on the 23rd of October 1888.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was a non resident King’s Scholar from the 25th of September 1902 and was up College from 1903 to July 1907. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he was promoted to Sergeant on the 9th of August 1906. He was a member of the Shooting VIII in 1906 and 1907 and competed for the school in the Ashburton Shield Competition in the latter year. He was a member of the Debating Society in 1907. He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford in 1907 and was awarded a Triplett Exhibition.
On leaving university he went to work as a shipping agent’s clerk for the office of M. Samuel & Company of London and of Samuel and Samuel & Company Ltd of Yokohama. He moved to China where he worked for the Canadian Pacific Company at Shanghai from April 1916 to May 1919 before transferring to their Hong Kong office as a Superintendant Assistant from July 1920. He was a member of the Hong Kong Club and of the Civil Defence Service.
He was captured and interned in a camp by the Japanese at the fall of Hong Kong on the 25th of December 1941. He was a Canadian national and the Canadians in the camp were released and repatriated to Canada in August 1943. Lionel Ryan and a Mr. Drummond were not among those who were released. A diary, kept by Franklin Gimson noted in August 1943 that: -“In the evening, Drummond and Ryan, two Canadians whose names had been excluded from the list (repatriation) came to see me and took the matter very calmly. All they asked was that they might be included on the list if vacancies occurred."
He died at The British Civilian Internment Camp at Stanley in Hong Kong from pneumonia brought on by a brain tumour.
He left the sum of £6,000 to the Westminster Society in his will.
His brothers, 2nd Lieutenant Warwick John Norwood Ryan, Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry died on the 5th of September 1916 and Captain Edward St John Norwood Ryan MC, 12th (Service) Battalion East Surrey Regiment, was killed in action on the 22nd of October 1918.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Christ Church, Oxford.
He is buried at Stanley Military Cemetery.

Russell, Henry John Dashwood, son of Henry Alexander Russell of Leatherhead, Surrey, and Ada Emily, d. of Henry Dashwood of Gosport, Hants; b. 7 Nov. 1906; adm. Sept. 1920 (R); left July 1923; farming in NZ 1925; Govt Monopolies Dept. Malacca 1931-42, transf. Singapore 1942; m. 21 Nov. 1931 Evelyn Millicent Violet, sister of Egerton Shelley Walter Hanbury Leigh­ Hunt (qv); killed in action (Malaya) 13 Feb. 1942.

Henry Neville Dashwood Russell was born at Clapham, South London on the 7th of November 1906 the son of Henry Alexander Russell, a civil servant, and Ada Emily (nee Dashwood) Russell of 29, Deauville Mansions, Clapham Park in London. He was christened at St Saviour’s Church, Pimlico on the 15th of December 1906.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from September 1920 to July 1923. He was a noted swimmer while he was at the school. In 1925 he moved to New Zealand where he worked as a farm hand and lived at 6, Baretta Street, Canterbury. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the East Surrey Regiment, Supplementary Reserve of Officers, on the 26th of June 1929. He was appointed as Probationary Assistant Controller for the Straits Settlements on the 12th of December 1929 and he served with the Government Monopolies Department at Mallacca from 1931 to 1942 and as King’s Harbour Master at Malacca.
He was married at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Singapore on the 21st of November 1931 to Evelyn Millicent Violet (nee Leigh-Hunt) and they had two daughters, one of which was Charmain Anne, born in 1932, and a son, born on the 23rd of February 1935. He was a member of a Malay Volunteer Regiment but following the Japanese invasion of Malaya he rejoined his old Regiment whose 2nd Battalion was serving in the colony. The Battalion was involved in heavy fighting following their invasion of Malaya on the 7th of December 1941 and throughout the retreat which followed. They suffered very heavy casualties during the campaign. On the 20th of December 1941 the survivors of the Battalion were merged with the remainder of the 1st Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment to form the composite British Battalion. After further heavy fighting The Battalion withdrew to Singapore Island where Japanese forces began landing on the 8th of February 1942. Having come under a series of enemy attacks on the 12th of February, on the following day, the 13th of February 1942, the Battalion came under bombing and shelling with the unit protecting its left flank being forced to withdraw during the afternoon. During the day two groups of survivors were detailed to escape by boat from the colony but Henry Russell was not in either group and his fate is unknown.
When the Singapore surrendered two days later, the remaining 265 officers and men of the British Battalion passed into captivity.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Gray’s Inn.
He is buried at Kranji War Cemetery Collective Grave 34 D 15-17.

Rogers, Patrick Heron Thorold, son of Arthur George Liddon Rogers (qv); b. 17 Oct. 1909; adm. Sept. 1923 (R); left July 1927; Balliol Coll. Oxf., matric. 1928, BA 1931 (1st class hons Jurispru­dence), LLB 1932; called to the Bar (Middle Temple) Jan. 1933 (1st class hons and cert. of hon­our Bar finals; BCL 1937; PO RAFVR Oct. 1941; m. 29 July 1937 Jacqueline, d. of Percy A. Sweetinburgh of Hampstead; killed in action Mar. 1942.

Patrick Heron Thorold Rogers was born at Barnet, Middlesex on the 17th of October 1909 the elder son of Arthur George Liddon Rogers OW, a civil servant for the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and Emily Norah (nee Miller-Hallett) Rogers of “Mount Skippet”, Ramsden in Oxfordshire and of 17, Barkton Gardens, Earls Court in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Rigaud’s from September 1923 to July 1927. He matriculated for Balliol College, Oxford in 1928 and was awarded a First Class BA in Jurisprudence in 1931. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in January 1933 having won First Class Honours and a Certificate of Honour in the final examinations for the Bar in 1937. He worked from chambers at 4, Paper Buildings, Temple and lectured at the Faculty of Law at King’s College, London University and at the Police College, Hendon.
He was married at Temple Church, Marylebone on the 29th of June 1937 to Bertha Jacqueline Alice (nee Sweetinburgh) of Berkley Court. He was the author of “Roger’s Questions and Answers on Criminal Law” and “The Effect of War on Contract”, published in 1940. He co-wrote “The Solicitor’s handbook of War Legislation” with Stanley Marks Krusin.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as an Observer and rose to the rank of Leading Aircraftman before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 4th of October 1941.
Patrick Rogers and his crew took off in Beaufort Mk II AW272 for an operational flight off the coast of Caithness. When it returned to base the aircraft was low on fuel and the crew was having trouble locating the airfield. The aircraft struck the Hill of Stemster near Achavanich at 10.30pm and crashed killing Patrick Rogers and injuring the rest of the crew.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Anthony Edgar Buchanan Barnard (Pilot) (Shock and an injured right arm) (Killed in action 13th April 1943)
Pilot Officer Patrick Heron Thorold Rogers (Observer)
Sergeant E. W. Hill (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) (Slightly injured, shock and minor abrasions)
Sergeant William Henry Parsons (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) (Seriously injured, fracture and dislocation of the spine)
William Parsons was taken to Stracathro Hospital where he died from his injuries at 7.40 on the 12th July 1942.
His mother received the following telegram dated the 14th of March 1942: - “Deeply regret to inform you that your son Pilot Officer Patrick Heron Thorold Rogers is reported to have lost his life as the result of air operations on 12th March 1942. The Air Council express their profound sympathy. His wife has been informed.”
His funeral took place on the 18th of March 1942.
A friend wrote of him: -
“In Patrick Heron Thorold Rogers, the Bar has lost one of its most brilliant young practitioners, and Westminster one of its most promising alumni. He was up Rigaud’s from 1923 to 1928, and was joint winner of the Vincent Prize in the latter year. Thence he passed on to Balliol, where he not only achieved a First in the School of Jurisprudence and another First in the postgraduate School of Civil Law, but also won the Winter Williams Scholarship. He obtained a First again in his Bar Examinations, and was awarded the Certificate of Honour for the Middle Temple. He also won the Barstow Scholarship, and was one of the Harmsworth Law Scholars for 1933. In practice he was well-known for his clear-headed advocacy; and for his keen grasp of the subtleties of his profession; though only 32 at his death he had been appointed Lecturer in Law at Kings College, London, and at the Police College, Hendon, and had written three books on legal matters connected with the war. No one would have cared to set any limit on his ultimate achievement. Believing that it was for him to share whatever danger might be the price of victory, he volunteered for flying duties with the R.A.F. On Thursday, March 12th, he was killed while returning from an operational flight. His loss is a public one, but to us, his friends and schoolfellows, it is all the more poignant for our memories of a character as striking as it was sincere. He was blessed with kindliness and courage, and he reaped his reward in success in his profession and complete happiness in his marriage. A life so richly lived and “So generously laid down” calls for no further epitaph.”
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Balliol College, Oxford and on the memorial at King’s College, London University. He is also commemorated on the memorial at the Middle Temple.
He is buried at St James’ Church, Ramsden.

Reed, Roland Anthony, brother of Richard Gordon Reed (qv); b. 29 Dec. 1920; adm. Sept. 1934 (G); left Dec. 1938; RMC Sandhurst, 2nd Lieut. Roy. Tank: Regt May 1940, Lieut. Nov. 1941; killed in action (Libya) 31 Dec. 1941.

Roland Anthony Reed was born at Clifton Campville, Staffordshire on the 29th of December 1920 the second son of the Reverend Roland William Reed and Claudia Mary (nee Poore) Reed of The Rectory, Clifton near Tamworth in Staffordshire. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1934 to December 1938. He entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1939 before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Tank Regiment on the 11th May 1940. He was posted to the 8th Royal Tank Regiment and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 11th of November 1941.
On the 30th of December 1941, the 8th Royal Tank Regiment was in camp at Bir Bu Tabel when they received orders at 6pm to make an attack on Bardia Fortress the following morning in support of the 3rd South African Infantry Brigade. A, B and C Squadrons left camp a short time later in three columns and arrived at their assembly point at 8.45pm that night.
The supporting artillery barrage began at 4.15am on the morning of the 31st of December 1941 with C Squadron arriving at the forward assembly area at 5.15am. Their tanks began moving forward though gaps in the minefields, which had been cleared by the Royal Engineers, at 6.30am. A short time later they received a message from B Squadron reporting that the infantry were being held up by enemy machine guns and were requesting assistance. Two tanks, those of Richard Reed and Major Peter Norman Veale, went forward to attack the enemy positions but when they arrived there the enemy appeared to have withdrawn and they returned to rejoin the Squadron. At 9am, it was reported that two of the three main enemy strong points had been silenced but that a third was still active and the infantry could not locate its exact position. A soon as Richard Reed’s tank went forward to assist it received a direct hit from the enemy strong point and caught fire. The tank commanded by Sergeant Barrett met the same fate immediately afterwards. Sergeant Barrett ran across to Richard Reed’s burning tank and managed to rescue the driver and the radio operator before making for cover. The rest of the crew perished. The enemy gun position was knocked out by Peter Veale a few minutes later. With no infantry support available from the South Africans, the rest of C Squadron withdrew.
The Regiment’s objectives were taken by noon but an enemy counterattack began at 12.40pm, which was driven off by 5pm after heavy fighting. The surviving tanks from the Regiment withdrew for the night at 11.30pm.
He is buried at Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery, Joint Grave 3 E 9.

Plaistowe, Ralph Cuthbert, son of Cuthbert Plaistowe of Ealing and Christine Lilian, d. of Ralph Callard of Ealing; b. 6 Dec. 1911; adm. Sept. 1925 (H); left July 1930; Queens' Coll. Camb., matric. 1930, BA 1933; a chartered accountant, ACA 1937; practised in London and Leamington Spa; Sgt RAFVR, killed in action 1 Sep. 1941.

Ralph Cuthbert Plaistowe was born at Ealing, Middlesex on the 6th of December 1911 the elder son of Cuthbert Plaistowe, managing director of a fruit preserve and confectionary manufacturer, and Christine Lilian (nee Callard) Plaistowe of “Mansfield”, Elgin Road, Weybridge in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Homeboarders from September 1925 to July 1930. He matriculated for Queens’ College, Cambridge in 1930 where he graduated with a BA in 1933. He went to work as a chartered accountant and qualified ACA in 1937. He practiced in London and at Leamington Spa. He was awarded a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 16362) at Brooklands Flying Club on the 1st of October 1938 while flying a Tiger Moth aircraft. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a pilot and rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant.
On the 1st of September 1941 Bomber Command dispatched 34 Wellingtons and 20 Hampdens for an operation on Cologne. The weather was clear and returning crews reported that they saw a number of fires on the ground but many of these were German decoy fires. The German authorities reported that one house was damaged in the city and that there were no casualties on the ground.
Ralph Plaistowe and his crew took off from RAF Scampton at 8.13pm on the 1st of September 1941 in Hampden Mk I AE187 OL-L for the operation. They crossed the English coast at Orfordness. The aircraft was shot down by an enemy night fighter flown by Oberleutnant Wilhem “Willi” Dimter of 3./NJG1 and crashed at Deurne, Noord Brabant, 9 kilometres to the east south east of Helmond in Holland at 11.47pm with the loss of the entire crew. Theirs was the fourth victory of an eventual eight victories for Willi Dimter before he was killed in action on the 7th of September 1942.
The crew was: -
Sergeant James Hughes (Wireless Operator)
Sergeant Adrian John Somerville-Woodiwis (Navigator)
Sergeant Ralph Cuthbert Plaistowe (Pilot)
Sergeant Robert Buist Scott (Air Gunner)
Theirs was the only aircraft which failed to return from the raid.
The crew was buried at the Military Cemetery, Eindhoven on the 2nd of September 1941. Their bodies were exhumed for identification purposes and were reburied on the 23rd of April 1947.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Queens’ College, Cambridge and on the 1939-1945 Roll of Honour of Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Articled Clerks.
He is buried at Woensel General Cemetery, Eindhoven Plot JJ, Grave 35.