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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.

Bune, John Cuthbert, son of Frank Cuthbert Bune, barrister-at-law, of Beckenham, and Gladys, d. of Henry Collins of Bromley, Kent; b. 17 Apr. 1914; adm. Sept. 1927 (A); left July 1932; St Cath. Coll. Camb., matric. 1933, BA 1936; Roy. Fusiliers 1939, transf. Parachute Regt (Maj.); m. Hilda Dorothy, d. of H. W. Thompson of Sydney, NSW; killed in action at Arnhem 17 Sept. 1944.

John Cuthbert Bune was born at Beckenham, Kent on the 17th of April 1914 the eldest son of Frank Cuthbert Bune, a barrister at law, and Gladys (nee Collins) Bune of 14, Oakwood Avenue, Beckenham, Kent, later of Lucas Grange, Haywards Heath in Sussex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1927 to July 1932. He was a member of the 1st Cricket XI in 1932. He served as a Lance Corporal in the Officer Training Corps and achieved a School Certificate in December 1930. He then attended St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School. He matriculated for St Catherine’s College, Cambridge on the 2nd of November 1933 where he read English and Law and graduated with a BA on the 23rd of June 1936. He won a Half Blue for Swimming in 1936 and was also a member of the University Water Polo team when they played Oxford in 1936. He went on to study law and was called to the Bar in 1941.
He was married at St Clement Danes, Strand on the 25th of November 1939 to Hilda Dorothy (nee Thompson) of Barton-on-Sea in Hampshire. They had two daughters, Susan S. born in 1940 and Alexandra J. C., born on the 9th of September 1943.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) on the 2nd of September 1939 and rose to the rank of Major before transferring to the Parachute Regiment on the 18th of April 1944. By September 1944 he had been appointed as second in command of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment.
At 8pm on the 15th of September 1944 John Bune was called to an officer’s briefing to receive orders for the Battalion’s part in Operation Market Garden, an airborne operation in conjunction with land forces to secure a river crossing across the Lower River Rhine, which was due to begin just 36 hours later. All other personnel were briefed the following day.
On the morning of the 17th of September 1944, the Battalion moved to Barkston Heath airfield where they boarded transport aircraft and took off at 11.30am. They landed at Renkum Heath, to the west of the town of Arnhem, at between 2.03pm and 2.08pm and had assembled by 2.45pm with only three men missing. They moved off from the drop zone at 3.40pm. Twenty minutes later they arrived at a railway station where they were briefed by an officer of the Reconnaissance Corps that there were enemy troops further up the railway line to their east and tanks on the road to the north. Unable to get up the railway line, they set out up the Amsterdamseweg, by which time the enemy tanks had withdrawn. At 5pm R Company attacked strong enemy positions astride the road, inflicting heavy casualties among the enemy troops and forcing them back. The Company then advanced to the Wolfhezerweg junction, where they became heavily engaged with enemy tanks and infantry and were unable to disengage when the rest of the Battalion went around this obstacle. Contact with R Company was lost at 6pm.
At 7.30pm, John Bune was sent back to make contact with R Company, returning at 10pm with the second in command of the Company who reported that, although they had managed to disengage, forward progress was slow as half of his men had become casualties and were in need of evacuation. The Battalion Medical Officer was ordered to take all available jeeps to evacuate the wounded with John Bune joining this party for the return to R Company’s positions. Although the convoy of wounded later reached Oosterbeek and were delivered to the dressing station at the Hartenstein Hotel, John Bune’s group is believed to have run into an ambush in the vicinity of the Dreyenseweg during which he was killed. He was recorded as missing at 3am the following morning. His body was recovered and was buried alongside the Dreyenseweg but was later exhumed and moved to its present location.
The St Catharine’s Society Magazine wrote of him: -
“It has been said that soldiering was among the last professions that John Bune would have chosen, for by instinct he was independent and Bohemian, impatient of routine and of a systematic society; but once in arms he turned the circumstance to glorious account. For the first four and a half years of the war he was in the Royal Fusiliers, and reached the rank of Major. Then, fearing that the years of his training might go for nothing, he transferred and became, in April 1944, second in command of the 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment. And so to Arnhem. Bune came to S. Catharine's from Westminster, and gained his Half- Blue for swimming. Literature was, perhaps, his strongest interest, but, like his father, he turned to law, and in 1941 was called to the Bar. He leaves a widow and two daughters.”
He is commemorated on the war memorial at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.
He is buried at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery Plot 27, Row B, Grave 6.

Brackenridge, Robert Robertson, son of James Hastie Brackenridge, textile manufacturer, of Wimbledon, and Margaret, d. of Robert Robertson of Larkhall, Lanarkshire; b. 23 Feb. 1918; adm. Sept. 1931 (A); left July 1935; RA 1940-4 (Capt.); d. of wounds in ltaly 30 May 1944.

Robert Robertson Brackenridge was born on the 23rd of February 1918 the younger son of James Hastie Brackenridge, a company director of a textile manufacturer, and Margaret (nee Robertson) Brackenridge of Lanark, Lanarkshire later of 9, Inner Park Road, Wimbledon Common in Surrey. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy where he was in Mackenzie House from 1929 to July 1931, and at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1931 to July 1934. On leaving school he was employed as an apprentice surveyor with Knight, Frank & Rutley, Estate Agents.
He enlisted in the Royal Signals in November 1939 and attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on the 26th of October 1940. He served with Heavy Anti Aircraft and Light Anti Aircraft units in the UK, North Africa and in Italy and was promoted to Captain on the 3rd of January 1944.
On the 19th of May 1944, 75 Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery left the area of Trocchio and crossed the Rapido River the next day where it arrived at its new positions at 5pm. On the 21st of May 1944, the Regiment spent its time in reconnaissance and in ranging its guns in preparation for a planned attack on the Hitler Line which was due to begin two days later. During the afternoon the enemy began shelling the Cassino area and a shell struck the truck in which Robert Brackenridge was travelling, severely damaging it and badly wounding him. He was taken to hospital where he died from his wounds nine days later.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Edinburgh Academy.
He is buried at Naples War Cemetery Plot I, Row O, Grave 16.

Bird, Alan Curtis, brother of John Henry Benbow Bird (qv); b. 20 Jan. 1910; adm. Jan. 1924 (A); left Apr. 1928; Roy. Ulster Rifles 1939-45 (Maj.); MC 5 Apr. 1945; killed in action (Germany) 26 Apr. 1945.

Alan Curtis “Dicky” Bird was born at Richmond, Surrey on the 20th of January 1910 the third son of Sidney Arthur Bird OW, director of a public company, and Norah Agnes Sarah Jane (nee McClory) Bird of “Longfield”, Christchurch Road, East Sheen in Surrey, later of East Molesey in Surrey. He was christened at St Matthias’ Church, Richmond on the 9th of April 1910. He was educated at Westminster school where he was up Ashburnham from January 1924 to April 1928. He was a member of the 2nd Rowing VIII in 1927, where he rowed at No. 2. He was a member of the Colts Football XI in 1925 and 1926 and of the 1st Football XI, where he played at right back, in 1926, 1927 and 1928. The Elizabethan wrote the following on his 1927/28 season: - “Has shown more consistent good form than any other member of the team. We have scarcely seen him play a poor game. A relentless tackler, and a beautiful kick with either foot. He is always in the right place, and he should, we think develop into a great player. The side owes to him a very great deal of any success they may have had.”
He attended the 163rd Officer Cadet Training Unit (Artists Rifles) from where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Ulster Rifles on the 10th of November 1939. He was posted to the 2nd Battalion of his Regiment based at Lezennes in March 1940 where he joined D Company as a Platoon Commander. He was evacuated from Dunkirk. He was later appointed as the second in command of A Company.
On the 4th of June 1944, the 2nd Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles left their base at Waterlooville and proceeded to Southsea where they embarked on boats for the invasion of Normandy the following morning. They moored off Southsea that night and, after an uneventful crossing of the Channel, they landed on the beaches at noon on the 6th of June 1944. Following the death in action of Major John Richard St Leger Aldworth on the 10th of June Alan Bird was appointed to the command of D Company.
On the 30th of November 1944, the Battalion was ordered to make an attack on German positions between the villages of Blitterswijk and Helling. The attack began at 5am, with C Company leading the attack on the right and with D Company on the left. They were held up for a time by thick barbed wire entanglements which had been booby trapped with mines. These were quickly cleared by the Pioneer Platoon and the advance continued. At 5.45am the leading Platoon from C Company was advancing along the Wanssum road when it came under heavy enemy machine gun fire from an orchard on their left and from houses in Helling on their right, which proved to be more strongly held than had first been thought. Another Platoon was ordered forward but this also came under heavy fire and both Platoons were ordered to fall back while artillery and mortar fire was called on to bombard the enemy stronghold. C Company had suffered casualties of six men killed, with four wounded and twelve missing.
Meanwhile D Company, under the command of Alan Bird, began moving forward from Blitterswijk at 4.15am and passed through the enemy barbed wire at 5.45am. Their first objective, an enemy machine gun post, brought the leading Platoon under fire but, when they rushed forward, they found that the Germans had abandoned it, leaving a machine gun and a Panzerfaust behind them. The second Platoon also came under fire from an enemy position in some woods. They threw a grenade at it and rushed it but found the enemy position had also been abandoned. Alan Bird then ordered a third Platoon forward which advanced without opposition and took the Company’s first objective. The advance continued and the second objective, a wood to the north west of a windmill, was taken without casualties in spite of enemy fire. Two or three German machine gun positions were located and attacked with 2” mortars and PIATs before a frontal attack was made and these were all destroyed. The Germans then began falling back in the face of D Company’s attack but remained in a perimeter around Wanssum. Helling was also still strongly held. D Company remained in their new positions throughout the day from where they brought the enemy under sniper fire while the commanding officer of the Battalion was planning a second attack to take place that night. D Company remained in their positions until they were withdrawn to rest on the afternoon of the 2nd of December.
The attack began at 1am on the morning of the 1st of December 1944 in “brilliant” moonlight. B Company began the advance by passing through the enemy wire but quickly found themselves on flat, open ground and, with the bright moonlight, the Germans had no trouble in bringing them under heavy fire. D Company suffered the same fate as they joined the attack by crossing the Wanssum to Blitterswijk road and soon became pinned down and leading the Battalion commander to call off the attack.
For his actions during the attack on Wassum and Helling Alan Bird was awarded the Military Cross which was announced by the War Office on the 5th of April 1945. The recommendation for his award read as follows: -“On 1 Dec 1944 operations to mop up a pocket of enemy in the Wanssum area were started. In connection with these, D Coy, 2 RUR, commanded by Major A.C. Bird was ordered to attack and capture a strongly held enemy position between the villages of Blitterswijk and Helling. This position was in an area of high ground and commanded the approaches from the two villages. In front of the position ran a wire obstacle which was booby trapped. At 0500 hrs the leading platoon breached the wire but immediately came under heavy machine gun fire. Major Bird urged his Company through the gap and then dealt methodically with each enemy post. By his splendid example of coolness and determined leadership, he succeeded in establishing his Company on the objective and drove the enemy off. The enemy withdrew in disorder, leaving behind six Spandaus, six Bazookas, and a considerable amount of small arms ammunition and equipment. The enemy brought down intensive artillery, mortar and machine gun fire but Major Bird conducted the consolidation of the position without any regard for his own safety. By his drive and skilful leadership, Major Bird was largely responsible for the success of the attack on this position which was the key to the whole of the German pocket in the Wanssum area. During the following two days the objective was continuously shelled, mortared and machine gunned, and at night strong enemy patrols attempted to enter the position but were beaten off every time. During these two days, Major Bird was continually round his men encouraging them to stand firm in this exposed position to which it was not possible to approach in daylight without drawing heavy enemy fire. He never spared himself, and had no sleep until the enemy withdrew two days later. Throughout the operation Major Bird acted with great bravery and determination and his strong fighting spirit was an inspiration to all ranks.”
In April 1945, the Battalion was involved in the capture of Bremen. After the town had been cleared and the fighting had died down Alan Bird and other men from D Company were killed by the explosion of a sea mine which had been planted by the retreating Germans. They were buried in a meadow close to an inn later that evening but their bodies were later exhumed and moved to their present location.
The Battalion historian wrote of him: - “..... in the many attacks and actions he seemed to bear a charmed life. Wherever danger threatened or he was most needed, Dicky was always to be found, cheering and encouraging his men with no thought to spare himself. Dicky had seen the thing through from beginning to end. He had died in the hour of triumph, and has probably missed the disillusionment of post-war years. To his friends he will be a memory of a well known figure, pipe in mouth, up with the leading platoon working his Company forward, or the centre of a party, seated at the piano, playing the old tunes he loved so much.”
He is buried at Becklingen War Cemetery Plot 8, Row G, Grave 11.

BeuteII, Robert Gerard, son of Alfred William Beutell MIEE, of Streatham, and Ida Augusta, d. of Augustus Combe Locke; b. 1 Mar. 1918; adm. Sept. 1931 (A); left July 1934; a lighting engi­neer; RAFVR 1943 (Flt Lieut.), met. branch; lost on air operations (N. Atlantic) 21 Jan. 1945.

Robert Gerard Beuttell was born in London on the 1st of March 1918 the younger son of Alfred William Beuttell MIEE, an electrical engineer and inventor, and Ida Augusta (nee Locke) Beuttell of 42, Prince of Wales Mansions, Battersea Park in London and of Malmesbury in Wiltshire. He was christened at St Paul’s Church, Chiswick on the 11th of May 1918.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1931 to July 1934. He won the Junior Toplady Prize for Scripture in 1932.
On leaving school he attended the Royal College of Science where he gained a degree in 1937 after which he went to work as a lighting engineer.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and by September 1941 he was serving as a Corporal based at the Meteorological Office at RAF Dishforth.
He wrote the following in a letter to his father on a flight he had taken in a Whitley aircraft: - "Had a wonderful flip the other day in the front turret of a Whitley, you get a wonderful view from there. Across the Pennines to the Isle of Man, up to Prestwick in Scotland and home, a 3.5 hour trip. I don't envy the AG his job, sitting in one position for hours on end, and next time I shall put on two pairs of undies, it was a bit draughty. It was a wonderful trip all the same, the high spot being when we "shot up" the beach at Prestwick. Of course it's strictly forbidden, but having experienced the thrill and irresistible amusement of it, I'd really have to forgive any culprit. Of course you are connected to all the crew the whole time by the intercommunication system, by which everybody speaks to everybody else. For the fun of coming along the shore at about 1000 ft, stuck right in the nose of the machine, then swooping to about 150 ft off the sands, then soaring up again, with the wit and cross-chat of the crew thrown in, a switch-back just doesn't compare. Then round again, "We might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. - Just one more", nose down, the sands streaking up to meet you, people gaping, scattering, ducking, - scooting along at about 50 ft, then pressed into your seat with the climb, almost aching with laughter, it was grand. Then the rather chilly trip home, though mostly in bright sunshine."
He transferred to the High Altitude Flight at Boscombe Down later the same year and collaborated with A.W. Brewer in inventing the integrating nephelometer.
He was accepted as a Metrological Observer and was commissioned with the rank of Flying Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 6th of March 1943, which was followed by two months of training. He was appointed as Meteorological Air Observer Leader and served briefly with 517 Squadron before being attached to the 25th Bomb Group at RAF Watton. He then joined 518 Squadron, based at RAF Tiree in Scotland and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 20th of January 1944.
Robert Beutell and his crew took off from RAF Tiree at 11.53pm on the 20th of January 1945 in Halifax Mk V LL123 517/C for a long range “Bismuth” meteorological mission. Wing Commander Norman Morris, the Squadron commanding officer, was to fly as 2nd pilot and had personally selected the crew for the mission. The aircraft was to fly a triangular route to the north of RAF Tiree in order to find the depth of a deep depression. Having taken off, the aircraft flew at a height of 1,800 feet until it reached a position some 250 nautical miles to the west of Tiree where it took its first meteorological observation at 3.28am and reported its findings at 4.44am. Having flown another 350 nautical miles further out to sea, the aircraft climbed to 18,000 feet and turned to the northeast.
Due to poor reception, nothing further was received until 7.12am when the next transmission reported that the aircraft was flying at 10,500 feet and that there was a problem with the starboard engine. At 8.08am a SOS message came in from the aircraft followed by another at 8.18am, which ended suddenly after which nothing further was heard. The aircraft crashed into the sea with the loss of the entire crew.
The crew was: -
Wing Commander Norman Foster Morris (2nd Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Arthur John Bacon (Pilot)
Flight Lieutenant Robert Gerard Beuttell (Meteorological Observer)
Flight Sergeant William Douglas Stone (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Robert Kiddle (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Rennie Arthur Loader (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Albert Howard Andrews (Flight Engineer)
Warrant Officer Anton David Anderson RAAF (Navigator/Air Bomber)

Although the wireless operator had been transmitting for ten minutes before the aircraft crashed, he did not report its position. A fix was obtained on the position where the aircraft was likely to have ditched as being approximately 59N 11-13 W. Aircraft were dispatched by 281 Squadron who searched the area for the next three days in the hope of finding survivors but, with the weather conditions being very poor, the search was abandoned at 11.14am on the 24th of January.
Robert Beuttell had written a letter to his father shortly before he was killed in which he said that he did not expect to survive the war.
A friend wrote of him: - “Gerard was an extremely gifted scientist whose important work on instruments of visual range was posthumously recognised and published. His death was a serious blow to his father, who never quite recovered his formidable drive and energy afterwards”.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Malmesbury.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial Panel 265.

Béranger, Stewart Charles Walsh, son of Henri Lucien Béranger of Paris, and Marguerite Louisa Minnie, d. of Lionel George Lawrence Walsh; b. 19 June 1917; adm. Sept. 1930 (A); left Apr. 1935; enlisted in 206th Infantry Regt, French Army; p.o.w.; killed while attempting to escape 21 May 1944.

Stewart Charles Walsh Béranger was born at Kensington, London on the 19th of June 1917 the only son of Henri Lucien “Harry” Béranger, an architect, and Marguerite Louisa Minnie (nee Walsh) Béranger of 62, Philbeach Gardens, Earls Court in London. He was christened at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton on the 30th of July 1917. He was educated at Westminster School on an Exhibition where he was up Ashburnham from September 1930 to April 1935. He played of part of Sidney Gibson in the farce “The Private Secretary” at the Westminster Theatre on the 29th of July 1933. He was a member of the Chess team and of the 1st Football XI from 1932 to 1935, where he played as goalkeeper and continued to play in the same position for the Old Westminsters XI. The Elizabethan wrote the following on his 1932/33 football season: - “Emerged from obscurity and from his very first game showed high promise of becoming a great goalkeeper. He has a fine sense of position, good hands and is very reliable. Does not yet punt the ball very well.”
On leaving school he moved to Paris as a student and lived at 89, Rue de Lille.
On the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the 206th Infantry Regiment, French Army in 1939 and was captured at the fall of France in June 1940.
He was interned in a labour camp at Bruck sur la Mur where he was shot and killed while attempting to escape.
His father donated £100 towards the Westminster School war memorial appeal in his memory.
His place of burial is unknown.

Balfour, Ronald Egerton, son of Brig.-Gen. Sir Alfred Granville Balfour, K.B.E., C.B., of Chelsea, by Frances Elizabeth, only daughter of Surgeon-General Sir Benjamin Simpson, K.C.I.E.; b. Aug. 24, 1896; adm. Jan. 19, 1911 (A); left Easter 1914; served in Great War I; temp. Sub-Lieut. R.N.V.R. Sept. 1, 1916; Lieut. Aug. 24, 1918; hydrophone officer; Lieut. ­ Cdr.; d. after a motor accident April 17, 1941.

Ronald Egerton Balfour was born at Hamilton, Lanarkshire on the 24th of August 1896 the youngest son of Brigadier General Sir Alfred Granville Balfour KBE and Agnes Frances Elizabeth (nee Simpson) Balfour of 7, Durham Place, Smith Street, Chelsea. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from 1911 to 1914.
He enlisted as an Able Seaman in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the 6th of May 1915 for the duration of hostilities. He was appointed as a Midshipman on the 21st of July 1915 and was posted to the depot ship HMS Vivid for service with Rear Admiral Grant at Pembroke Dockyard. He was recommended for promotion in May 1916 when he was described as “A very talented young officer”, but this was not approved as he had not reached the required age of 20. It was also noted by a superior that: - “He is of great assistance to me, clear headed, keen on his work, but not very strong physically. Has had no training in seamanship or any experience afloat but is of great use in this office.”
He was promoted to Sub Lieutenant on the 1st of September 1916 and was posted to HMS President at Southampton as a Coding Officer on the 21st of June 1917. On the 13th of April 1918 he was posted to the battleship HMS Venerable for hydrophone duties and he transferred to Gibraltar on the 25th of June 1918 where he served on the Staff as a Hydrophone Officer on special duties.
He was demobilised from the Navy on the 20th of February 1919 and went to work as an artist and illustrator, being known too as a dress and costume designer.
In 1920, the publishers Constable & Company produced the “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” which was illustrated by Ronald Balfour and met with great critical acclaim. The Sphere magazine edition of the 20th of November 1920 carried the following: - “Mr Ronald Balfour, who has given us the newest edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, is, I am told, a cousin of Mr Arthur Balfour. What is of more importance, he is a very brilliant artist. In some of his pictures one suspects the influence of Beardsley, but then I am informed he had never seen Beardsley’s work when he made them. They are altogether a very charming interpretation of Edward FitzGerald’s great poem.”
The Scotsman edition of the 25th of November 1920 wrote: - “Mr Balfour’s designs are fancifully Oriental in character, touched with a considerable suggestion of Aubrey Beardsley, and it is possible that his rather lank divinities might not have entirely appealed to the imagination of the Persian poet. The designs, however, display a remarkable lightness and grace of line, and some of the little line drawings, printed upon the brown paper which is also employed for the letterpress, are extremely dainty, while the more elaborate designs in black and white, or in colour, printed on plate paper, are quite brilliantly executed.”
The Illustrated London News of the 27th of November 1920 wrote: - “Some of Mr Balfour’s illustrations to Omar Khayyam were done when he was little more than seventeen. Those most resembling the Aubrey Beardsley style were done before he had ever seen any of Beardsley’s”
The Times of the 9th of December 1920 wrote: - “The Rubaiyat” can be had with new illustrations by Mr Ronald Balfour (Constable, 21s. net), who, in spite of the influence of Beardsley on his drawing, gives us in a few colour plates and in many black and white drawings (some of them just touched with colour) a vision of the poem which is original and sincere if at times surprising. Even the audacity of showing us in one place a young man and woman in modern evening dress is carried off without shocking us too deeply, because it is what Mr Balfour honestly sees.” In 1928 and 1929 he participated in an expedition to the Himalayas which was chronicled in the book “Thin Air” by Constance Bridges published by Brewer and Webster of New York in 1930, and was illustrated by Ronald Balfour.
He was married at Westminster Cathedral on the 24th of April 1930 to Deirdre Phyllis Ulrica (nee Hart-Davis, later Wolfers, Brand and Inman); they lived at 24, Wellington Square, Chelsea and at Gadds Meadow, West Chiltington, Pulborough in Sussex. They had two daughters, Susan Mary, born in 1931, and Annabel Clare, born on the 20th of October 1935.
In 1934 he was appointed as the Art Director of Fox British Productions at Wembley and designed at least one costume for the actress Anna May Wong for the 1934 production “Java Head”.
On the outbreak of war he was recalled to the service with the rank of Acting Lieutenant Commander and he worked in the Map Room at the Admiralty.
His wife and daughters sailed from Liverpool to New York on board the SS Britannic on the 21st of July 1940.
On the night of the 16th/17th of April 1941 he was driving to his home in Sussex after a long day at the Admiralty. While he was driving on the Kingston bypass at Surbiton, Surrey he is thought to have fallen asleep at the wheel and was killed when his car left the road and crashed.
His brother, Major James Alfred Balfour, 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, was killed in action on the 11th of January 1917.
He is not currently commemorated on the war memorial at Westminster School.
He is buried at St Mary’s Church, West Chiltington.

Bailey, Francis Robert, brother of James Albert Norman Bailey (qv); b. 10 June 1913; adm. May 1927 (A); left July 1931; New Coll. Oxf., matric. 1931, BA 1935; articled to a solicitor; RA 1940 (Lance-Sgt); accidentally killed on active service 19 Oct. 1940.

Francis Robert Bailey was born in London on the 10th of June 1913 the youngest son of John Norman Bailey, a solicitor, and Agnes Elizabeth (nee Harrison) Bailey of 97, Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, later of 4, Brunswick Gardens, Kensington in London and of “Westmead”, Avondale, Fleet in Hampshire. He was christened at St Peter’s Church, Cranley Gardens, on the 6th of August 1913.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from May 1927 to July 1931 and he matriculated for New College, Oxford in 1931 from where he achieved a BA in 1935. On leaving university he worked as an articled clerk for a firm of solicitors.
He was killed in an accident near to his base of RAF Harwell in Berkshire. His funeral took place on the 23rd of October 1940.
He is buried at Christ Church, Shamley Green.

Aris, Jack Biddulph, brother of George Biddulph Aris (qv); b. 27 June 1915; adm. Apr. 1929 (A); left Mar. 1933; RAFVR 1942-3 (FO); m.; killed in action 1943.

Jack Biddulph Aris was born at Edenbridge, Kent on the 27th of June 1915 the younger son of Thomas Biddulph Aris, an Executive Advertising Assistant for the London Passenger Transport Board, and Janet Elsie (nee King) Aris of 21, Purley Rise, Purley in Surrey. He was the twin of his sister Mary Biddulph.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from April 1929 to March 1933. On leaving school he went to work as a buyer’s assistant for a biscuit manufacturers.
He was married at St John’s Church, Shirley, Surrey on the 27th of April 1940 to Joan Elizabeth “Joey” (nee Potter, later Aston), a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he rose to the rank of Sergeant before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 7th of March 1942. He and his crew attended No. 10 Operational Training Unit before becoming operational when they were posted to 158 Squadron based at RAF East Moor on the 9th of July 1942, and flew on their first operation together to Nantes on the 21st of July 1942. They took off from RAF East Moor on the night of the 31st of July/1st of August 1942 in Halifax Mk II W7777 for an operation on Dusseldorf. While over the target their aircraft was hit by anti aircraft fire which put aircraft into a loop and caused a loss of control. The pilot, Charles Sparke, put the aircraft into a dive at 330 mph before he managed to regain control and return to East Moor where they landed safely in the early hours of the morning with no injuries to the crew reported.
He was promoted to Flying officer on the 1st of October 1942.
On the night of the 10th/11th of December 1942 Bomber Command dispatched 48 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters, 8 Stirlings and 6 Wellingtons for an operation on Turin. More than half the force was forced to turn back before they reached the Alps due to severe icing conditions but twenty eight crews went on and claimed to have bombed the target. The city reported that only three high explosive bombs had landed on the city of which two had failed to explode.
Jack Aris and his crew took off from RAF Rufforth at 4.45pm on the 10th of December 1942 in Halifax Mk II DT579 NP-V for the operation. The aircraft came down at 8.45am the following morning near the village of Villeneuve-en-Montagne, eight kilometers to the east of Le Creusot, just thirty meters from a farm building owned by Monsieur Monneret, with the loss of the entire crew.
The crew was: -
Flying Officer Jack Biddulph Aris (Navigator)
Pilot Officer Denis Ralph Collyer (Rear Gunner)
Sergeant Ronald Edlington (Flight Engineer)
Sergeant John William Furniss (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flying Officer Harry Middleton (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flight Lieutenant Charles Lionel Sparke (Pilot)
Flying Officer Rayden Frederic Watson RCAF (Air Bomber)
Thiers was one of 4 aircraft which failed to return from the mission.
The crew was buried in the local cemetery in a ceremony which was led by the Mayor, Monsieur Bourogoyne, and was attended by all of the people of the town, in spite of the presence of the Germans.
A stone memorial was placed at the crash site in 1992.
He is buried at Villeneuve-en-Montagne Communal Cemetery, Collective Grave