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O'Malley, Derek Keppel Coleridge, 1910-1940

  • GB-2014-WSA-13237
  • Person
  • 1910-1940

O'Malley, Derek Keppel Coleridge, son of Barrett Leonard Albemarle O'Malley, barrister-at­ law, of Richmond, Surrey, and Lorna Josephine, d. of John Coleridge of Snettisham, Norfolk; b. 7 Nov. 1910; adm. Sept. 1923 (G), non-res. KS 1925; left July 1929; Ch. Ch. Oxf., matric. 1929, BA 1932; called to the Bar (Inner Temple) Jan. 1933; PO RAFVR Nov. 1938, FO May 1940; m. 21 Oct. 1939 Rachel, d. of Andrew MacDonald of Hilton House, Inverness; killed in action Sept. 1940.

Derek Keppel Coleridge O’Malley was born at 14A, Northcote Avenue, Ealing on the 7th of November 1910 the only child of Barrett Lennard Albemarle O’Malley, a barrister at law and a correspondent for the Morning Post, and Lorna Josephine (nee Coleridge) O’Malley later of 24, Montague Road, Richmond in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1923 and was a non resident King’s Scholar from 1925 to July 1929. He was appointed as a Monitor in 1928. He was a member of the 2nd Rowing VIII in 1927, where he rowed at bow, and was a member of the 1st Rowing VIII in 1928 where he rowed at No. 3 and won School Colours in the same year. The Elizabethan wrote the following on his 1928 season: - “Another oarsman who improved during practice. He is beginning to use his leg drive effectively, but the blade work must become more accurate. At present rather liable to lose the rhythm in rowing, and to lose his steadiness forward. The only cure for this is to get the feet on the stretcher at the recovery, and to keep them there by not letting the knees rise too easily at any time on the swing forward.”
He was away from the school for a period of time due to illness and when he returned he was a member of the 2nd Rowing VIII in 1929, where he rowed at stroke. He was a member of the 1st Rowing VIII in the same year where he rowed at No. 4. The Elizabethan wrote the following on his 1929 season: - “With only two days to in the boat before the race at Henley, he settled quickly into the swing of the crew, although he was not as fit as the others, after a long absence from the School, and only six days’ rowing in the Second Eight. He has lengthened his swing, and acquired more control and spring, and is likely to improve into a sound oarsman.”
He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford in 1929 on a Westminster Scholarship where he read History and rowed for the College boat. He was a member of the Oxford University Air Squadron from 1929 to 1932. He was awarded a BA in 1932. On leaving university he studied for the Bar examinations and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in January 1933. He worked from chambers at 5, Paper Buildings, Temple.
He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 1st of November 1938, trained as a pilot and was mobilised for active service on the 18th of September 1939.
He was married at Henley-on-Thames on the 21st of October 1939 to Rachel Mary Genevieve (nee Macdonald) of Wharfe House, Henley-on-Thames; they had a son, Stephen Keppel, born on the 21st of July 1940.
He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 1st of May 1940 and was posted to 264 Squadron on the 22nd of May 1940.
At 4pm on the 24th of August 1940 Derek O’Malley was taxiing his aircraft, Defiant Mk I L6996 at RAF Hornchurch for a Squadron scramble during an enemy air raid. A bomb burst close to the aircraft and the dust cloud obscured his vision. In the confusion his aircraft collided with Defiant Mk I L7006. He was unhurt but his air gunner, Pilot Officer Anthony O’Connell, was slightly injured.
On the night of the 4th of September 1940, 264 Squadron was scrambled due to a report of an enemy aircraft in the area. Derek O’Malley took off from RAF Kirton-in- Lindsey at 10pm in Defiant Mk I N1628 PS- with his air gunner, Sergeant Lauritz Andrew Woodney Rasmussen RNZAF, for the night interception patrol. After takeoff the aircraft remained at a very low level before crashing near Northorpe, some three miles to the west of the airfield at 10.05pm, killing both men.
His mother received the following telegram dated the 5th of September 1940: -“Deeply regret to inform you that your son Flying Officer Derek Keppel Coleridge O’Malley is reported as having lost his life as the result of air operations on Sept 4th /40. Letter follows. The Air Council express their profound sympathy. His wife not informed. Address not available. Repeat not informed.”
His funeral took place on the 8th of September 1940.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Christ Church, Oxford.
He is buried at Kirton-in-Lindsey Cemetery Block A, Grave 181.

Newman, Charles Edward, 1921-1941

  • GB-2014-WSA-12968
  • Person
  • 1921-1941

Newman, Charles Edward, son of Kenneth Edward Newman (qv); b. 7 Sept. 1921; adm. Sept. 1935 (G); left July 1938; Sgt RAFVR, killed in action (Libya) 7 Dec. 1941.

Charles Edward Newman was born at Shanghai, China on the 7th of September 1921 the son of Kenneth Edward Newman, a solicitor, and Phyllis Louise (nee Budd) Newman of 593-11, Amherst Avenue, Shanghai, China and of 9, Maxwell Road, Northwood in Middlesex. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from September 1935 to July 1938.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as a wireless operator/air gunner and rose to the rank of Sergeant.
Charles Newman and his crew took off from Kabrit on the 9th of December 1941 in Wellington Mk II Z8333 to bomb enemy motor transport at Derna Landing Ground in Libya. The aircraft failed to return from the raid.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Hyman Freeman (Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Derek Lahee Skinner DFC (Pilot)
Sergeant Norman Maddox (Observer)
Sergeant James Marsland (2nd Pilot)
Sergeant Charles Edward Newman (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Sergeant Richard Malcolm Douglas McLeod (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Hyman Freeman’s body was found on a beach between Derna and Mrassa Wells, some seven miles from Tobruk in February 1942. He was buried there but the grave site was subsequently lost.
He is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial Column 243.

May, John Seaburne, 1896-1945

  • GB-2014-WSA-12056
  • Person
  • 1896-1945

May, John Seaburne, son of John May, of Kensington by Lucy Mary, daughter of John Hey­wood, of Manchester; b. Feb. 26, 1896; adm. Sept. 22, 1910 (G); left Easter 1911; served in Great War I; Lieut. R.F.A. March 14, 1914; resigned his commission on account of ill health Jan. 29, 1916; secretary of Phyllis Court Club, Henley-on-Thames; served in Great War II as Lieut, R.N.V.R., in command of a trawler; wounded; acting Lieut.-Cdr. (Admn.) Dover; invalided for a disability contracted in Great War I; m. June 8, 1944, Evelyn Betty, daughter of Henry Chapman, of Wetherby Mansions, South Kensington; d. of disabilities contracted on active service Dec. 15, 1945.

John Seaburne May was born at 8, Kensington Court Place, Kensington, London on the 26th of February 1896 the son of John William Freckleton May, a gentleman, and Lucy Mary (nee Heywood) May of 8, Kensington Court Place, Kensington, later of 59, West Cromwell Road, Kensington. He was educated at Wykeham House School, Worthing and at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from the 22nd of September 1910 to Easter 1911. He went on to Bloxham School where he served as a Private in the Officer Training Corps until the 24th of December 1912. On leaving school he went to work as an apprentice engineer at the Vickers Ltd Works at Erith.
He applied for a commission in the 4th Home Counties (Howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery on the 13th of November 1913, in an application which recorded that he was 5 feet 10 inches tall and that he weighed 140lbs. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery on the 14th of March 1914. He was mobilised on the outbreak of war and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 17th of October 1914. In December 1914 he was posted to the 5th Kent Howitzer Battery based at Sheerness. On the 7th of December 1914 he applied for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps but, receiving no response, he wrote again on the 7th of March 1915. He was attached to the Royal Flying Corps and was posted to South Harrow on the 5th of May 1915. He obtained a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 23699) at the Military School, Ruislip on the 8th of July 1915 while flying a Maurice Farman biplane. He was involved in an aircraft accident the following month in which he sprained his right wrist. A Medical Board, which sat at Caxton Hall reported that he had undergone an examination at Ruislip on the 30th of July 1915 which had revealed that he had a very enlarged heart and a double murmur which had been aggravated by his service in the Royal Flying Corps.
He was released from the Royal Flying Corps on the 14th of August 1915 and returned to his unit as it was considered that he would not make a suitable pilot on account of his health.
A Medical Board, which sat at Sevenoaks on the 15th of December 1915, reported that he had been examined at Woolwich Hospital on the 11th of August 1915 and had been diagnosed with hypertrophy and that he had a pulse rate of 120. He was also suffering from anaemia and they concluded that he was “totally unfit for service at home or abroad.” He resigned his commission in the Royal Artillery on the grounds of ill health on the 29th of January 1916.
He was commissioned as a Flight Sub Lieutenant the Royal Naval Air Service on the 18th of June 1916. He was attached to HMS President II on the 8th of July 1916 and was posted for flight training to Chingford on the same date. His appointment was terminated on the 9th of October 1916 as he had lost his nerve for flying and he left HMS President II the following day. He applied to be reinstated but this was declined on the 30th of October 1916.
He applied for a regular commission in the Royal Garrison Artillery on the 11th of November 1916. He was commissioned in the Royal Garrison Artillery on the 5th of December 1916 and was seconded for service with the Tank Corps in June 1917. He served as a workshop officer at Woolwich in October 1917 and with J Battalion at Bovington Camp in November 1917. He embarked for service in France at Portsmouth on the 24th of December 1917, landing at Rouen on the 26th of December where he joined the 10th Battalion, Tank Corps in the field. He was based at Bapaume when he was taken ill on the 7th of April 1918 suffering from chronic endocarditus.
He left his unit on the 8th of April and was evacuated back to England from Calais on the 12th of April, landing at Dover later the same day. He was admitted to Kitchener’s Military Hospital at Brighton the following day where a Medical Board sat on the 11th of June 1918 to report on his case: - “Began with severe diarrhoea – followed by constipation, headache, pains in limbs, no joint involvement. Also shortness of breath. Admitted KMH April 13th 1918. No fever or diarrhoea since. Heart enlarged to left fingers breadth one beyond left nipple line. Evidence of sortie incompetence with possibly mild grade of stendosis as well, also at apex – a soft blowing systolic transmitted to axills. Patient kept at rest for some weeks iv Digitalia and symptoms subsided.”
A later Medical Board, which sat on the 14th of August 1918, found him to be fit for military service and was released from hospital on the 20th of August. On leaving the army he returned to work as an engineer and later became a salesman.
He was married at Preston Parish Church, Sussex on the 15th of March 1919 to Helen Olga (nee Morris) of Hove and they lived at 4, Lyndhurst Corner, Hove and later at Grenville Cottage, Keymer in Sussex. They had a son, Ivan Heywood, born on the 4th of December 1921. They lived together until September 1926 when he left the marital home on the grounds that she was converting to Roman Catholicism. She later moved to Villa Botticelli, Via Cortivallo, Lugano Baso from where she filed for divorce on the 25th of May 1928 on the grounds of his regular cohabitation with Hilda Hahn at 79, King’s Head Road, Brighton and at the Peacehaven Hotel, Peacehaven between June 1927 and February 1928. She was granted a Decree Nisi on the 19th of November 1928 and a Decree Absolute on the 4th of June 1929. He had paid no maintenance or child support to her since he had left and she was awarded a sum of £200 per annum by the court on the 13th of November 1929; he was employed by Frigidaire Ltd of King’s Road, Brighton at the time.
He was re-married at Steyning Registry Office on the 18th of June 1929 to Hilda Theresa (nee Hahn) of Brighton. They lived at 56a, Ship Street, Brighton and had a daughter Mary Ann, born on the 17th of July 1930. By 1935 he was workings as a commission salesman for Louis J. Ford Ltd, builders merchants, of 69, Church Road, Hove.
On the 13th of May 1937, his wife filed for divorce on the grounds of his adultery with an unknown woman at the Hotel Victoria, Westminster on the 26th of February 1937. The divorce was granted later that year. He was married once again, on the 8th of June 1944, to Evelyn Betty “Boo” (nee Chapman) and they had son, John Derek Seaburne, born on the 28th of May 1945.
He was recalled for service on the outbreak of the Second World War and was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was placed in command of a Trawler and was wounded in action. He was appointed as an Acting Lieutenant Commander in administration at Dover but was invalided out of the service by a disability contracted during the Great War.
He died at in a train corridor at Cambridge and was cremated at Cambridge on the 19th of December 1945.
His death is not recognised by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission as he had left military service at the time of his death.

Laurie, Anthony Roger, 1918-1942

  • GB-2014-WSA-10813
  • Person
  • 1918-1942

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

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

Hunter, Colin Havard, 1912-1944

  • GB-2014-WSA-09777
  • Person
  • 1912-1944

Hunter, Colin Havard, brother of Francis Trevor Hunter (qv); b. 27 Aug. 1912; adm. Apr. 1926 (G); left July 1930; an aeronautical engineer, AFRAeS 1933; RAFVR 1940-4 (acting Sqdn Ldr), killed in action 8 May 1944.

Colin Havard Hunter was born at Briton Ferry, Neath, Wales on the 27th of August 1912 the son of His Honour Judge Trevor Havard Hunter KC and Ethel Ruth (nee Griffiths) Hunter of 6, Hereford Mansions, Hereford Road, Paddington in London. He was christened at Briton Ferry on the 29th of September 1911. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from April 1926 to July 1930.
On leaving school he became an aeronautical engineer and qualified AFRAeS in 1933. He was awarded a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 10534) at the Herts and Essex Aero Club on the 7th of June 1932 while flying a DH Moth aircraft.
He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 14th of September 1940 and was promoted to Flying Officer on the 14th of September 1941. He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 14th of September 1942. He trained at No. 1654 Conversion Unit prior to becoming operational.
On the night of the 7th/8th of May 1944, Bomber Command dispatched 58 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos for an attack on an ammunition dump at Salbris as part of ongoing operations in preparation for the planned invasion of France. It was to be his eighteenth operation and he had completed 133.48 hours of operational flying up to that time.
Colin Hunter and his crew took off from RAF Dunholm Lodge at 9.46pm on the 7th of May 1944 in Lancaster Mk III ND741KM-K for the operation. Shortly after midnight the aircraft was attacked by a Messerschmitt Bf110 night fighter flown by Leutnant Fred Hromadnik of 9/NJG4 and it caught fire. The crew abandoned the aircraft at low level but only Flight Engineer Fred Cooper’s parachute deployed in time, with the remaining six crew members being killed when they hit the ground. The aircraft crashed at 12.30am into the village of Herbilly, a few kilometres to the west of the River Loire and some twenty kilometres to the north east of Blois. It exploded when it hit the village, destroying several buildings and killing thirteen civilians in their homes. Theirs was the fourth of an eventual six victories for Fred Hromadnik.
The crew was: -
Squadron Leader Colin Havard Hunter (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Richard Colton Alexander (Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Alfred Greenwood (Navigator)
Pilot Officer George Robert Miles (Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Frederick Arthur Salmon (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Flying Officer Gordon Keith Willis RCAF (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Frederick Stanley Cooper (Flight Engineer) (POW No. 13 Dulag Luft)
Theirs was one of seven aircraft which failed to return from the operation.
While Colin Hunter was fighting to control the aircraft to give his crew time to bail out, Fred Cooper escaped from the aircraft out of the top hatch and was the first member of the crew to get out. His parachute opened just in time and he hit the side of the roof of a house before sliding off and landing on a green house where he suffered cuts to his head. He was taken into hiding by locals but when the Germans threatened to begin shooting the villagers he gave himself up and was taken prisoner. He was later taken by the Germans to the crash site where he was able to identify the bodies of George Miles, Colin Hunter and Alfred Greenwood.
He is buried at Orleans Main Cemetery Plot 1, Row A, Collective Grave 16-27.

Holmes, Robert Edward Ingram, 1898-1945

  • GB-2014-WSA-09458
  • Person
  • 1898-1945

Holmes, Robert Edward Ingram, son of J. W. Holmes, of Wallington, Surrey; b. Dec. 7, 1898; adm. Jan. 18, 1912 (G); left April 1917; 2nd Lieut. 5th (Res.) Batt. Grenadier Guards; Ch. Ch. Oxon., matric. Michaelmas 1919; B.A. 1922; silver medallist, R. Academy of Drama­tic Art; an actor; frequently appeared on the London stage and was a regular member of the Repertory Players; 2nd Lieut. R. A. Sept. 21, 1939; d. of wounds July 10, 1945.

Robert Edward Ingram Holmes was born at Wallington, Surrey on the 7th of December 1898 the second son of James Wallace Holmes, an East India merchant, and Edith Mary Annie (nee Ingram) Holmes of “Cotleigh”, 5, Stanley Park Road, Wallington in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from the 18th of January 1912 to April 1917. He was appointed as Monitor in January 1917.
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Grenadier Guards during the Great War and served overseas. He matriculated for Christ Church, Oxford in 1919 and graduated with a BA in 1922. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he won a Silver Medal, and became an actor with frequent appearances on the London stage as well as being a regular member of the Repertory Players. He played Laertes in the modern dress version of Hamlet at the Kingsway Theatre, London in 1925. He appeared in the film drama “The Rosary”, directed by Guy Newall in 1931, in the part of Concannon in the comedy film “Hyde Park Corner”, directed by Sinclair Hill in 1935 and in the part of d’Allery in the comedy film “The Gay Adventure” also directed by Sinclair Hill in 1936.
Following the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Royal Artillery and rose to the rank of Lance Bombardier before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the 21st of September 1939. He was dismissed from the army on the 16th of December 1942 following a Court Martial.
He died at “'Houghton”, Petworth Road, Wormley, Godalming, Surrey
His death is not recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as he was no longer in the army at the time of his death.

Gwilt, Charles Evelyn, 1858-1940

  • GB-2014-WSA-08382
  • Person
  • 1858-1940

GWILT, CHARLES EVELYN, eldest son of Charles Gwilt, Icklingham, Suffolk, solicitor, and Frances, dau. of Edward Thompson; b. 12 Oct 1858; adm. 23 Sep 1871 (G); left Aug 1875; adm. solicitor Apr 1882; practised in London; m. 15 Jun 1904 Florence Fraser, youngest dau. of George Pimm, Wandsworth, Surrey, miller; d. 25 Oct 1940.

Charles Evelyn Gwilt was born at Chelsea, London on the 12th of October 1858 the eldest son of Charles Gwilt, a solicitor, and Frances (nee Thompson) Gwilt of 18, Markham Street, Chelsea and of Ickenham in Suffolk. He was christened at the Church of St Mary’s Le Strand on the 4th of December 1859.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from the 23rd of September 1871 to August 1875. He qualified as a solicitor in April 1882 and practiced in London. He was initiated as a Freemason and as a member of the Old Westminster’s Lodge on the 1st of February 1893. He was married at St Luke’s Church, Battersea on the 15th of June 1904 to Florence Fraser (nee Pimm) and they lived at 39, Dryburgh Road Putney and later at 42, Park Hill Road, Wallington in Surrey. He was killed when his house was hit by a bomb during an air raid.
His place of burial is not known.

Grosvenor, Randolph Lea, 1867-1940

  • GB-2014-WSA-08327
  • Person
  • 1867-1940

GROSVENOR, RANDOLPH LEA, eldest son of George Fox Grosvenor MD MRCS, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London, and Eliza Frances, eldest dau. of Thomas Lea, London; b. 29 Jul 1867; adm. (G) 27 May 1880; left May 1884; Clare Coll. Cambridge, adm. 10 Oct 1805, matr. Mich. 1885; BA 1888; St. Mary’s Hospital; MRCS LRCP London 1896; practised in London; killed in air raid 14 Sep 1940.

Randolph Lea Grosvenor was born at Notting Hill, London on the 29th of July 1867 the eldest son of Dr George Fox Grosvenor MD and Eliza Frances (nee Lea) Grosvenor of 121, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill in London. He was christened at the Church of St John the Evangelist, Notting Hill on the 2nd of November 1867. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from the 27th of May 1880 to May 1884. He matriculated for Clare College, Cambridge on the 10th of October 1885 where he achieved a BA in 1888 and a MA in 1926. He attended St Mary’s Hospital, Chelsea and achieved MRCS LRCP in 1896. He practised medicine at 75, Oakley Street, Chelsea.
On the 14th of September 1940 the Luftwaffe continued operations against London at was by now the height of the Battle of Britain. A number of separate raids, made up of small formations, crossed the south coast of England during the later afternoon flying at heights of between 17,000 and 20,000 feet. Although many were turned back by Royal Air Force fighters in a running battle, some got through and were able to drop their bombs on London.
Randolph Grosvenor had heeded the sound of the sirens as the enemy raiders approached the city and, having no air raid shelter in his own house, he and his brother Edward and their housekeeper, Mrs. Elizabeth Parke, walked to 5, Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea. It was the home of Mrs. Mabel Price-Jones and her daughter where she had constructed a small air raid shelter in the basement which was strengthened with sandbags. At around 6.30pm a high explosive bomb struck the house and passed through all of its floors before exploding in the basement. All five of those sheltering there were killed instantly.
Those who died were: -
Randolph Lea Grosvenor
Edward Moberley Grosvenor
Elizabeth Sarah Parke
Mabel Edith Price-Jones
Eileen Price-Jones
His place of burial is not known.

Gammon, Frederick David, 1921-1940

  • GB-2014-WSA-07623
  • Person
  • 1921-1940

Gammon, Frederick David, son of Sidney Gammon, HM Penge CS, Kent, and Olive Mary Gam­mon; b. 12 Nov. 1921; adm. May 1935 (G); left Mar. 1940; killed in an air raid Oct. 1940.

Frederick David Gammon was born in Northamptonshire on the 12th of November 1921 the only son of Sidney Gammon MA, Headmaster of Beckenham County School for Boys, and Olive Mary Ulph (nee Woollard) Gammon of 9, Foxgrove Avenue, Beckenham in Kent. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from May 1935 to March 1940.
Following the outbreak of war he served as a member of a First Aid Party in the Civil Defence. He and both of his parents were killed when their home was hit by a high explosive bomb during an enemy air raid.
A memorial service w held in their memory on the 28th of October 1940.
He is buried at Beckenham Cemetery.

Forbes, Peter Fraser Lestock, 1918-1943

  • GB-2014-WSA-07275
  • Person
  • 1918-1943

Forbes, Peter Fraser Lestock, son of Sidney Lestock Forbes of Putney; b. 20 Mar. 1918; adm. May 1932 (G); left Dec. 1934; 2nd Lieut. Rajputana Rifles IA 1942; d. of wounds in Burma Feb. 1943.

Peter Fraser Lestock Forbes was born at Bournemouth, Hampshire on the 20th of March 1918 the younger son of Sidney Lestock Forbes, an engineer, and Edith Lizzie (nee Goodwin) Forbes of Putney, later of “Beggars Roost”, Seven Hills Road, Cobham in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Grant’s from May 1932 to December 1934. He won the Pancake Greaze in 1933.
He enlisted in the army where he rose to the rank of Lance Corporal before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Indian Army on the 28th of May 1942.
His funeral took place on the 27th of February 1943.
He is buried at Kirkee War Cemetery Plot 8, Row K, Grave 15.

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