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Ellissen, Francis Lyon Gordon, son of Arthur Victor Ellissen, member Lond. Stock Exchange, of Richmond, Surrey, and Irene Maude Mary, d. of George Lyon Begbie; b. 26 May 1918; adm. Jan. 1932 (A); left. July 1935; RNVR in WW2; lost in the sinking by enemy action of SS Laconia 12 Sept. 1942.

Francis Lyon Gordon Ellissen was born at Richmond, Surrey on the 26th of May 1918 the son of Arthur Victor Sampson Ellissen MC MP, a barrister at law, and Irene Maude Mary (nee Begbie) Ellissen, an artist, of 6, Cardigan Road, Richmond. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1932 to July 1935. On leaving school he worked as a commercial artist.
Following the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Royal Navy, was trained as a gunner and was attached to the 19,695 ton passenger liner SS Laconia.
The SS Laconia, under the command of Master Rudolph Sharp OBE, sailed from the Middle East bound for Liverpool, and stopped at Capetown before setting sail for Freetown. She was unescorted and was carrying 136 crewmen, 80 civilians, 268 military personnel, including nurses, and 1,809 Italian prisoners guarded by 160 Polish troops; she was also carrying 200 tons of general cargo.
At 10.20pm on the 12th of September 1942, the SS Laconia was sailing some 360 miles to the north, northeast of the Ascension Islands when she was struck by a torpedo which had been fired by the U-Boat U-156, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Werner Hartenstein. The torpedo struck her in the hold on the starboard side, killing many of the Italian prisoners in the explosion. She began to list to starboard and, as Captain Sharp was regaining control of her, she was struck in her Number 2 hold by a second torpedo. With the forecastle now awash, Sharp issued the order to abandon ship with the women, children and the wounded taking to the lifeboats. 32 lifeboats had been destroyed by the explosions. At 11.11pm the ship sank by the bow leaving hundreds of survivors in the water. Although estimates vary, between 1,658 and 1,757 passengers and crew are thought to have lost their lives in the attack.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Memorial Panel 68, Column 1.

Evers, Gilbert Davey, son of Harold Evers of Bromley; b. 11 Jan. 1912; adm. Sept. 1925 (B), (A) Sept. 1926; left Apr. 1929; RAFVR 1939-45 (Flt Serg., flying instructor); PO Jan. 1945; killed in air operations over Germany 28 Jan. 1945.

Gilbert Davey “Pop” Evers was born at Bromley, Kent on the 11th of January 1912 the younger son of Harold Evers, a chartered secretary, and Rhoda Skene (nee Heathcote) Evers of 6, Haven Green, Ealing in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from September 1925 and up Ashburnham from September 1926 to April 1929.
He was granted a short service commission in the Royal Air Force with the rank of Acting Pilot Officer on the 21st of October 1935 and was confirmed in his rank on the 21st of October 1936. He resigned his commission on the 11th of March 1937.
On the outbreak of war he was working as an instrument flying instructor and was lodging at 83, Grand Avenue, Hassocks in Sussex.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1940 where he rose to the rank of Warrant Officer before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 16th of January 1945.
On the 28th of January 1945, Bomber Command dispatched 153 Lancasters for an operation on the Gremberg railway marshalling yards at Cologne. The weather was clear and the target was hit but with some bombs overshooting.
Gilbert Evers and his crew took off from RAF Chedburgh at 10.46am on the 27th of January 1945 in Lancaster Mk I PD296 HA-B, as the Squadron’s lead aircraft for the operation. This was to be his 30th operation, the final one of his tour of operations. While the aircraft was in the target area it was hit by anti aircraft fire and crashed at 2pm at Bergisch-Gladbach, 14 kilometres to the east north east of the centre of Cologne, with the loss of all but one of the crew.
The crew was: -
Pilot Officer Gilbert Davey Evers (Pilot)
Sgt Ernest Noel James Francis (Flight Engineer)
Flying Officer Frederick J. Norton (2nd Navigator) (Wounded) (POW)
Flight Sergeant Anthony Morris (Navigator)
Flight Sergeant David Charles Allen (Air Bomber)
Flight Sergeant Eric Holland (Wireless Operator)
Sergeant Edward Bertram Barradell (Air Gunner)
Warrant Officer John Towns DFC (Air Gunner)
Theirs was one of four aircraft which were lost during the operation, one of which crash landed in liberated France.
The navigator, Frederick Norton, was the only member of the crew to survive. He had been wounded by shrapnel in the arm but landed safely by parachute and was captured. Had Gilbert Evers survived the operation he would have been stood down from further operations.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at the Church of Christ the Saviour, Ealing.
He is buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Plot 31, Row C, Grave 1.

Fisher, Herbert Paul Greenwood, brother of John Greenwood Fisher (qv); b. 25 June 1908; adm. Sept. 1922 (A); left July 1926; dir. Benhams (Engineering) Ltd; PO RAFVR Apr. 1940; m. 5 Sept. 1931 Joyce Margaret Applin, d. of Frank Edwin Bennett of Streatham; killed in action over Libya 28 July 1940.

Herbert Paul Greenwood Fisher was born at Hampstead, London on the 25th of June 1908 the younger son of Herbert Fisher, an importer of clocks, and Josephine Hilda (nee Williamson) Fisher of 8, King’s Gardens Hampstead in London. He was christened at St James’ Church, West Hampstead on the 22nd of July 1908. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1922 to July 1926. On leaving school he became a director of Benhams (Engineering) Ltd and was later the Company Secretary to Dunbrik & Company Ltd, brick manufacturers.
He was married on the 5th of September 1931 to Margaret Joyce (nee Applin) and the couple lived at 115, Gaywood Road, King’s Lynn in Norfolk.
He enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve where he trained as an observer and rose to the rank of Sergeant before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 7th of April 1940.
On the 27th of July 1940, Herbert Greewood and his crew were one of eight aircraft from 30 Squadron which flew to from Iningi Maryut to Maaten Bagush where they were to operate under 202 Group in carrying out operations over the Libyan border.
Herbert Fisher and his crew took off from Maaten Bagush at 6.10am on the 28th of July 1940 in Blenheim Mk IF K7178 HY-B with one other aircraft from the Squadron to escort a Blenheim Mk IV aircraft from 113 Squadron which was undertaking a reconnaissance mission at 6.000 feet over the Italian lines at the border between Libya and Egypt. At 6.30am the other escort fighter entered cloud and became separated from Herbert Greenwood’s aircraft and from the Blenheim they were escorting. The two aircraft continued on their mission alone and were flying between Sollum and Bardia when they were intercepted by five Fiat CR42 fighters of 84 and 90 Squadriglia. During the ensuing combat their aircraft was shot down with the loss of the entire crew. The victory was shared by Sergente Scaglioni and Tenete Franco Lucchini of 90 Squadriglia. Franco Luchini’s aircraft had been so badly damaged by the return fire from the Blenheims that it tipped over on landing and was written off; he was killed in action on the 5th of July 1943. The Blenheim from 113 Squadron, although very badly damaged, managed to return to base alone.
The crew was: -
Flight Lieutenant Ian Cheesman Swann (Pilot)
Pilot Officer Herbert Paul Greenwood Fisher (Observer)
Sergeant John Young (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
The crew was buried close to the wreckage of their aircraft but their bodies were exhumed and mover to their present location in 1948.
He is buried at Knightsbridge War Cemetery Collective Grave 8D 8-9.

Gates, Terence Horatio, brother of Ralph Charles Gates (qv); b. 17 Nov. 1908; adm. Jan. 1923 (A); left. Dec. 1925; Selwyn Coll. Camb., matric. 1928, BA 1931; RA 1940-4 (Lieut.); m. 18 Jan. 1936 Margery Helen, d. of Col. Sir Henry George Lyons RE, Fellow and Treasurer Royal Soci­ety; killed in action (Burma) 1944.

Terence Horatio Gates was born in Italy on the 17th of November 1908 the younger son of Dr Edward Alfred Gates MD OBE OW, Medical Officer at Westminster School, and Mary Elizabeth (nee Fowler) Gates of 9, Cambridge Square, Paddington in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1923 to December 1925. He matriculated for Selwyn College, Cambridge in 1928 and was awarded a BA in 1931.
He was married on the 18th of January 1936 to Margery Helen (nee Lyons) of York Terrace, Regent’s Park; they lived at Flat 2, 28, Cleveland Square, Lancaster Gate in London. They had two daughters, Christine Mary, born on the 24th of May 1937 and Hester, born on the 3rd of July 1939.
He attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on the 2nd of November 1940. He transferred to the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and was later appointed as Battalion Intelligence Officer.
In March 1944 the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment formed No. 16 and No. 61 Columns of the Chindit operation code named Operation Thursday. The operation was to penetrate deep behind Japanese lines and was made up of 45 columns, each of 400-450 men and 60 mules. They were to attack Japanese supply lines, cutting roads, bridges and railway lines and to attack their troops at every opportunity. The leading elements of the Chindit force began its long march into enemy territory on the 5th of February 1944 with the last column following on the 22nd of February. They created air strips in the jungle to allow resupply and to evacuate casualties.
Terence Gates left his column on the 18th of June 1944 with two Kachin policemen and headed for Chaungwa where they were to recruit and organise small parties of Kachins to use for scouting. Three days later he was recruiting in a village when he learned from the villagers that there was a large party of Japanese troops in the area. He then set out for the village of Mapyin and, as he was approaching it, he saw two Japanese soldiers sitting on a tree trunk outside the village and opened fire on them. He immediately came under fire from Japanese troops hidden in nearby bushes and was shot in the stomach. He died a short time later.
He is buried at Taukkyan War Cemetery Plot 7, Row D, Grave 23.

Halse-Hearne, William Edward, son of William Frederick Halse-Hearne, RN stores officer, and Esther, d. of James Alexander Crofton; b. 22 July 1917; adm. Apr. 1931 (A), (B) Jan. 1933; left Dec. 1933; Drummond's Bank; 2nd Lieut. Wilts Regt 1943, transf. Commandos (Capt.); m. 18 June 1940 Margaret Horner; d. of wounds (Burma) Nov. 1944.

William Edward Halse-Hearne was born in North London on the 22nd of July 1917 the only son of William Frederick Halse-Hearne RN, a naval stores officer, and Esther (nee Crofton) Halse-Hearne of 17, King’s Road, Wimbledon in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from April 1931 and up Busby’s from January 1933 to December 1933.
He joined the staff of Drummonds Bank in London in 1934 where he worked as a clerk. He enlisted in the Honourable Artillery Company in 1938 where he served with B Battery and he was mobilised for war service in September 1939.
He was married in Surrey on the 18th of June 1940 to Margaret Gertrude (nee Horner).
He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Wiltshire Regiment on the 4th of June 1943 and was later attached to No. 1 Commando where he was appointed to the command of No. 4 Troop.
In November 1944, No 1 Commando was based at Teknaf in the Maungdaw Hills of Burma from where they were carrying out patrols against Japanese troops in the area. On the 11th of November 1944, No. 4 Troop, No. 1 Commando was briefed for a patrol to investigate a report of the presence of Japanese troops in the area of the village of Ywathitke. The patrol was to consist of eighteen other ranks, commanded by William Halse-Hearne, accompanied by Lieutenant Paterson and by an Intelligence Officer. It was to take a route on the outward journey of Nurutlapara –Chiradan West - Ywathitke to Thavengonbaung and return by the same route. The patrol set out at midday and was due to return at 6pm.
They advanced down the main road to a river crossing where they received updated information that enemy troops were in Thavengonbaung and in a another village to the north of it. On receiving this information they split into two groups, one under Lieutenant Paterson and the other under William Halse-Hearne, with one advancing towards through the villages towards Thavengonbaung and the other continuing down the main track where the two groups were to rendezvous. Both groups reached the rendezvous point without incident where they were informed by a native boy that the Japanese were in the village where they were commandeering millet from the locals. They continued their advance towards the village in open order with C Section, under Lieutenant Paterson, on the left and with D Section, under William Halse-Hearne, on the right. They reached the south end of the village where they found the approach to it was across 100 yards of scrub with a further 100 yards of forward slope and then 800 yards of open paddy fields beyond. Having covered the 200 yards to the village they came under fire from an enemy light machine gun and from rifle fire from their right and from snipers on their left. The two sections took cover but William Halse-Hearne had been wounded and was lying on the open ground. He was brought in by his men under heavy fire who were then forced to fall back when they were brought under 2 inch mortar fire. C Section also withdrew having kileld three enemy snipers. William Halse-Hearne was carried to Thavengonbaung and then taken on an improvised stretcher to Chiradan West. He died from his wounds during the journey when the party was approximately a mile from Thavengonbaung.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at the Royal Bank of Scotland branch at 36, Andrew Square, Edinburgh
He is buried at Taukkyan War Cemetery Plot 3, Row G, Grave 4.

Hare, John Edward, son of Lieut.-Col. John Hare OBE RAMC FRCS, ENT specialist, and Kathleen Dora, d. of Edward Rowe of Cape Town; b. 30 Dec. 1919; adm. Sept. 1933 (A); left July 1938; Univ. of London; MN radio officer in WW2; d. 1942 of exposure after his ship was torpedoed.

John Edward Hare was born at Simonstown, South Africa on the 30th of December 1919 the eldest son of Lieutenant Colonel John Hare OBE FRCS, Royal Army Medical Corps, and Kathleen Dora (nee Rowe) Hare of 22, Elm Park Gardens, Chelsea in London, later of “Ormidale”, Clevedon in Somerset. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1933 to July 1938. He was a noted pianist while he was at school. He went on to the University of London.
In March 1941, the 3,767 ton cargo steamer SS Umona, under the command of Master Frederick Arthur Baden Peckham, set sail from Durban bound for London carrying a cargo of 1,549 tons of maize, 50 tons of pulses and 47 tons of jam. She was also carrying 14 passengers, of which 7 were sailors who had survived pervious sinkings. She called at Walvis Bay on the 20th of March before setting sail alone for Freetown in Sierra Leone where she was to join a convoy.
At 11.01pm on the 30th of March 1941, the SS Umona was sailing some 90 nautical miles to the southwest of Freetown when she was struck underneath the aft mast on the port side by a G7e “Gnat” torpedo which had been fired by the U Boat U-124, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schultz. She was hit by a second torpedo two minutes later and sank six minutes after that. During that time John Hare, the radio officer on duty at the time, stayed at his post transmitting distress messages before jumping into the sea. Only one lifeboat of the six on board, had managed to launch before she sank. The lifeboat was commanded by Fourth Officer Edwin Clarke who was captured when U-124 surfaced and took him on board before submerging again. He was never seen again. John Hare managed to pull himself on board a small life raft which was also carrying a badly wounded naval gunner, E.G. Elliot RN and a passenger, Frank Brothers. After drifting for four days they spotted a U Boat on the surface which they managed to signal to by using the reflection of a tobacco tin. The submarine came alongside and gave them fresh water before sailing away. The next day the weather worsened and John Hare died from exposure during the afternoon. The two remaining men were picked up by the cargo ship SS Lorca on the 12th of April and were landed at Freetown. Three other survivors had been picked up by the destroyer HMS Foxhound (H69) on the 7th of April but the other 101 passengers and crew had perished when the ship had gone down.
His date of death is given as the date of the sinking of the ship but a number of other sources record that he died on board the life raft a few days later.
He was posthumously awarded the King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct, which was announced by St James’s Palace on the 28th of April 1942.
He is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, Panel 113.

Harston, Michael George Sirdefield, son of Maj. Sir Ernest Sirdefield Harston CBE, Chairman Brit. Commonwealth Ex-Service League, and Ruth Barbara, d. of Sir George Shirtcliffe KBE, of Wellington, NZ; b. l 2Jan. 1920; adm. Sept. 1932 (A); left July 1938; Peterhouse, Camb., matric. 1938; RNVR 1940-3 (Lieut.), lost in HMS Beverley (Atlantic) 11 Apr. 1943.

Michael George Sirdefield Harston was born at Wellington, New Zealand on the 12th of January 1920 the only son of Major Ernest Sirdefield Harston CBE, Chairman of the British and Commonwealth Ex Service League, and Ruth Barbara (nee Shirtcliffe) Harston of 12, Wyndham Place in London W1. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1932 to July 1938 and was a distinguished athlete while he was at the school. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A in November 1936 and was promoted to Corporal in September 1937. He matriculated for Peterhouse College, Cambridge in 1938 but did not graduate as he left the College for military service.
Following the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant on the 12th of January 1940. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 12th of July 1942. He was posted to the destroyer HMS Beverley (D64), under the command of Lieutenant Commander Rodney Athelstan Price RN.
On the 4th of February 1943, HMS Beverley and the destroyer HMS Vimy (D33) were escorting Convoy SC118 on route to Londonderry, when they attacked the U Boat U-187, under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Ralph Münnich. They sank her with depth charges and t The U Boat sank with the loss of nine men from her crew of fifty four; her Captain was among the dead.
At 6pm on the 1st of April 1943, HMS Beverley was sailing off Rankin Island, County Antrim when she joined the convoy ON-176, which consisted of forty one merchant ships. She was to act as one of its escorts on its journey to Canada and on to the United States. At 10.10pm on the 9th of April, she was seriously damaged in a collision with the British steam merchant SS Cairnvalona while in fog. She was holed in the forward starboard side and took station at the rear of the convoy while the damage was being repaired.
At 5.49am on the morning of the 11th of April 1943, the German submarine U-188, under the command of Korvettenkapitän Siegfried Ludden, fired a torpedo at the convoy, which was to the southwest of Iceland at the time. He observed a hit on a tanker after 1 minute 34 seconds, which finally sank 45 minutes later with a broken back. At 5.50am, two more torpedoes were fired at the convoy and after 1 minute 58 seconds and 2 minutes 11 seconds hits on two ships were heard. At 5.52am two more torpedoes were fired which, after 1 minute 58 seconds, hit a fourth ship which began to settle by the bow. However, Allied records later indicated that only HMS Beverley was actually hit, between the forward and aft boiler rooms. The explosion on board the destroyer was followed by a complete power failure and a severe lurch to port, after which the ship sank by the stern about a minute later at the position of 52º19'N, 40º28'W. As she slipped beneath the surface there was a large underwater explosion. She was lost with one hundred and fifty one of her crew from a ship's complement of one hundred and fifty five officers and men. Michael Harston was among the dead. Although seven of her crew were picked up over the next hour, three of these were either already dead, or died a short time later.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth naval Memorial Panel 81, Column 1.

Horton, John Corbett, son of Henry Beavan Horton, of Blackheath, Kent, by Jean May, daughter of Thomas Spurr, of King's Lynn, Norfolk; b. Sept. 4, 1899; adm. April 30, 1914 (A); left March 1918; 2nd Lieut. 3rd Batt. R. Sussex Regt. Oct. 30, 1918; a timber merchant, director of B. Horton and Son, Ltd.; Capt. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, Feb. 26, 1940; transferred to Durham Light Infantry; Major; m. Aug. 22, 1931, Eileen Mary Dowman, daughter of William Edward Riley, F.R.I.B.A., of Blackheath, Kent; d. on active service Dec. 3, 1944.

John Corbett Horton was born at Blackheath, London on the 4th of September 1899 the eldest son of Henry Beavon Horton, a timber merchant, and Jean Mary (nee Spurr) Horton of 15, Eliot Vale, Blackheath in London. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from the 30th of April 1914 to March 1918. He was a member of the 2nd Football XI in 1916 and of the 1st Football XI in 1917 and 1918. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps where he was promoted to Lance Corporal in September 1916, to Corporal in November 1916 and to Company Sergeant Major in November 1917.
He enlisted into the army at Whitehall as Private 60564 on the 5th of April 1918 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment on the 30th of October 1918. After the war he joined the firm of B. Horton and Son Ltd, timber merchants, where he was later appointed as a director. He retired to the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers and was promoted to Lieutenant in the 20th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich) on the 23rd of December 1928. He was promoted to Captain on the 13th of June 1934.
He was married on the 22nd of August 1931 to Eileen Mary Dowman (nee Riley) and they lived at 16, Blackheath Rise, Lewisham and later at 11, Oakcroft Road, Lewisham in London. They had a son, Richard John, born on the 23rd of January 1934.
Following the outbreak of war he was mobilised in 1940 and was appointed as a Captain in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on the 26th of February 1940. He transferred to the Durham Light Infantry at the same rank on the 13th of June 1940 where he was appointed as second in command of No. 41 Infantry Training Company based at Brancepeth Castle, County Durham.
He died there following a short illness.
He is buried at St Brandon’s Church, Brancepeth.

Iago, John Martindale, son of George Martindale Iago FCA, of Harrow, and Beatrice Mary, d. of George Waldron Bowen of Knighton, Radnor; b. 16 Jan. 1916; adm. Jan. 1930 (A); left Dec. 1933; Imperial Coll. of Science, BSc 1938; RNVR 1939-41 (Lieut. (E)); lost in HMS Hood 24 May 1941.

John Martindale Iago was born at Northwood, Middlesex on the 16th of January 1916 the son of George Martindale Iago FCA, an accountant, and Beatrice Mary (nee Bowen) Iago of “Gerrans”, Crofters Road, Northwood. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from January 1930 to December 1933. He played the flute solo from the First Movement from Sonata No. 4 by J.C.F. Bach at an informal concert in the Michaelmas term of 1932 and the flute solo “Gavotte” by Gossec at an informal concert in early 1933.
He went on to the Imperial College of Science from where he graduated BSc (Eng) in 1938 and also qualified as ACGI.
He was commissioned as an Electrical Sub Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the 29th of August 1939 and was posted to the crew of battlecruiser HMS Hood on the 14th of September 1939. He was promoted to Electrical Lieutenant on the 16th of January 1941. He was engaged to Dorothy Castle of Belsize Gardens in London.
At 1am on the 22nd of May 1941, the battleship HMS Hood set sail from Scapa Flow in company with the newly built battleship HMS Prince of Wales. They were escorted by the destroyers HMS Achates, HMS Antelope, HMS Anthony, HMS Echo, HMS Electra and HMS Icarus and were bound for Hvals Fjord in Iceland following reports that the German battleship Bismarck and the cruiser Prinz Eugen had left Bergen in search of merchant shipping to attack.
By the evening of the 23rd of May they were to the south of Iceland when they received a report from the destroyer HMS Suffolk that they had sighted the Bismarck in the Straits of Denmark and at 7.39pm they increased their speed and changed course to intercept the enemy ship.
Due to the pounding seas and the high speed of the two larger ships, the escorting destroyers struggled to keep up and were given permission to drop back at 4am on the 14th of May as the two capital ships continued the hunt on their own.
The enemy ships were sighted and at 5.52am HMS Hood opened fire on Prinz Eugen at a range of 25,000 yards. Prince of Wales fired its first salvo one minute later. HMS Hood received five salvos in reply from the two enemy ships, the second and third of which bracketed the ship causing a fire to break out on the port side.
At 6am she was hit by the fifth salvo in the aft magazine, blew up, and sank in three to four minutes with the loss of 1,415 of her crew of 1,418.
His sister Beatrice “Bee” (later Kenchington) published a book of his letters called “...and Home There’s No Returning: Letters of Lieutenant John Martindale Iago RNVR from HMS 'Hood', 1939-41”
He is commemorated on the Roll of Honour of Electrical Engineers and on the memorial at the Hood Chapel at the Church of St John the Baptist, Boldre, Hampshire.
He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Panel 60, Column 3.

Jacobs, Derek, brother of Bryan Sydney Jacobs (qv); b. 20 Dec. 1917; adm. Sept. 1931 (A); left Dec. 1932; a cane merchant; PO RAFVR Oct. 1941, killed in action Dec. 1941.

Derek Jacobs was born at Brighton, Sussex on the 20th of December 1917 the son of Sydney Jacob, a gentleman, and Ella Bonham (nee Collins) Jacobs of “Rosebriars”, 441, Woodham Lane, West Byfleet in Surrey. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from September 1931 to December 1932.
On leaving school he worked as a traveller for a general merchant. 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 before being commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 31st of October 1941.
On the night of the 7th/8th of December 1941, Bomber Command dispatched 130 aircraft for an operation on Aachen. The headquarters building of the local Nazi party was to be used as the aiming point for the bombers. Weather conditions were difficult with only 64 aircraft having claimed to have dropped their bombs on the target. The Aachen railway goods yards were hit by three bombs during the raid with 7 houses being slightly damaged. There were no casualties on the ground.
Derek Jacobs and his crew took off from RAF Scampton at 2.13am on the 8th of December 1941 in Hampden Mk I AE191 OL-Z for the operation. It was to be his sixth operation. Having dropped its bombs the aircraft was leaving the target area at a height of 17,000 feet when it was hit in the port engine by anti aircraft fire. Derek Jacobs was instructed by the pilot to send an SOS call and received a “fix” from RAF Heston. With flames coming from the damaged engine Anthony Parsons, the pilot, throttled the engine back and stopped the propeller, in an attempt to let the fire extinguisher put the fire out. When the fire was extinguished, but with only one engine still working, the aircraft began to yaw and was in danger of entering a flat spin. In order to prevent this Parsons shut down the starboard engine and stabilised the stricken bomber but, when he attempted to restart it, it failed. The crew had made two radio distress calls, one at 5.30am and the second at 6.08am, before they were forced to ditch in the North Sea near Walcheren Island at 6.40am.
Air Sea Rescue boats were dispatched to look for them but found no trace of the missing aircraft and its crew.
The crew was: -
Sergeant Bernard Athelstan Basevi (Observer)
Pilot Officer Derek Jacobs (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner)
Pilot Officer Anthony Leslie Parsons (Pilot) (POW No. 39646 Stalag Luft III)
Sergeant George Wiscombe (Air Gunner) (POW No. 24785 Stalag Luft III)
The four members of the crew had all managed to climb into the dinghy but it was four days before they were rescued, during which time Bernard Basevi died from cold and exposure during the night of the 10th of December and was buried at sea the next morning. Derek Jacobs died on the 11th of December and the two surviving crew members also buried him at sea. The two survivors were picked up by a German convoy escort ship “Wuppertal”, some 15 miles to the south west of Heligoland at 1.45pm the following day and were taken to Cuxhaven Military Hospital where they were treated for frost bite and exposure.
His father received the following letter dated the 23rd of December 1941: -
“Sir, I am commanded by the Air Council to express to you their great regret on learning that your son, Pilot Officer Derek Jacobs, Royal Air Force, is missing as the result of air operations. Your son was wireless operator/air gunner of a Hampden aircraft which set out at 2.13am for action over Aachen, Germany, and has failed to return. Two wireless signals were received from the aircraft, one at 5.30am and the second, an S.O.S. call, at 6.08am. The Air/Sea Rescue Services were put into operation and searching continued throughout the day, but no trace could be found of any of the crew. Enquiries will now be made through the International Red Cross Society and if any news is received you will be at once informed. If any information regarding your son is received by you from any source you are requested to be kind enough to communicate it immediately to the Air Ministry. The Air Council desire me to convey to you an expression of their sincere sympathy with you in your present anxiety.”
George Wiscombe wrote the following to his wife from prisoner of war camp in a letter dated the 16th of January 1943: - “..... engine trouble made us crash in the sea, the four of us getting away in the rubber dinghy unhurt apart from shock ..... Navigator Basevi died the third night and Jacobs as you know the following day. Saw land on morning of fifth day but were blown away soon after. P/O Parsons and myself picked up by German boat after 104 hours afloat. Treated very well and taken into Cuxhaven Military Hospital.”
Anthony Parsons wrote the following letter to the Air Ministry from Dulag Luft dated the 3rd of May 1942: -
“Dear Madam, I regret to say that P/O Jacobs, 112160, died on the night of Dec. 11th 1941 from shock, exposure and lack of fresh water. Sgt. Basevi passed away through the same causes, the previous night. They both died quietly and without pain, being unwounded. Please convey my sympathies to their families, and say that I did the little that I could for them, without avail.”
Theirs was one of two aircraft lost during the raid.
He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial Panel 33.