Wood, Richard Humphrey Vellacott, son of Richard Benjamin Wood, architect, of Ealing, and Eleanor Duidge, d. of Humphrey Vellacott of Upminster, Essex; b. 26 June 1916; adm. May 1930 (A); left July 1933; Wadham Coll. Oxf., matric. 1934; taught English in Prague and worked for Brit. Council in Palermo; Intell. Corps in WW2 (Lieut.); killed in action on special duty (Med.) Sept. 1943.
Richard Humphrey Vellacott “Pat” Wood was born in Middlesex on the 26th of June 1916 the only son of Richard Benjamin Wood, an architect, and Eleanor Doidge (nee Vellacott) Wood of 4, Charlton Gardens, Ealing in Middlesex, later of Creech St Michael in Somerset. He was christened at St John’s Church, Ealing on the 12th of October 1916. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Ashburnham from May 1930 to July 1933. He matriculated for Wadham College, Oxford in 1934 where he was awarded a BA. On leaving university he taught English in Prague. He worked for the British Council at Palermo and was later appointed as a Doctor of the Institute of Palermo. Following Italy’s entry into the war in June 1940 he returned to England where he attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps on the 7th of June 1941.
In September 1943 he was specially selected for an operation in Italy during which he went missing and was later reported to have lost his life.
He is commemorated on the Cassino Memorial Panel 23.