The following is a list with biographies of the 249 people who attended Malvern College and died due to the Second World War. There is also a corresponding page commemorating the 459 casualties in the First World War.
The fallen are commemorated at Malvern with the statue of St. George, which is inscribed 'To Our Brothers', and the names themselves are written on a marble memorial in the Ante-Chapel.
After the Phoney war had ended, there was not a month from May 1940 to May 1945, that an Old Malvernian did not lose their life, though unlike the First World War there were not major spikes in losses on a particular day or month.
5 were killed in the Battle of Dunkirk at the end of May 1940, and 4 during the Battle of Britain between July and October 1940.
3 OMs lost their lives during the Blitz between September 1940 and May 1941.
21 lost their lives in the Western Desert Campaign between June 1940 to February 1943 with 5 buried at El Alamein War Cemetery and 6 commemorated at the Alamein Memorial.
4 were killed during the Allied invasion of Sicily between July and August 1943, and 5 at the Battle of Monte Cassino between January and May 1944 with 8 commemorated at the Cassino Memorial And Cemetery.
8 were killed after the D-Day landings during Operation Overlord between June and August 1944, and 2 in Operation Market Garden in September 1944.
In South-East Asia, 2 were killed during the Japanese-Thai occupation of Malaya between Dec 1941 and Jan 1942, 4 were killed during the Japanese occupation of Singapore in February 1942, and 7 were killed during the Burma Campaign between 1942 and 1945.
Most (97) OMs served in the R.A.F. with many in Bomber Command. 22 are commemorated at Runnymede Memorial as they have no known grave.
14 served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, 5 in the Royal Navy, 31 in the Royal Artillery, and 4 in the Royal Tank Regiment, with the remainder disbursed among 75 other units.
George Chesterton in the Remembrance Day Service of 2009, having described the lives and loss of five of his friends, reflected:
'Some of these brave men have no known grave, but we must remember them, along with all the tens of thousands of others, who gave their lives for their homelands and their friends. It is thanks to them that all of us sit in this Chapel, from a wide variety of countries and backgrounds and are able to sit together in security and friendship.'
The information below is based on 'The Malvern College Register, Second Supplement, 1949' edited for the Malvernian Society by F. W. Roberts, the 'The Malvernian' school magazine, and 'Malvern College: A 150th Anniversary Portrait' by Roy Allen.
Further information was also obtained from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, the Unit War Diaries held at the National Archives in Kew, and various online commemorative websites whose links have been provided.
Below is a map showing the locations of the 126 cemeteries where Old Malvernians are buried or commemorated in. The markers are coloured yellow for one casualty, orange for between 2 and 4, and red for 5 or more. The name of the cemetery and number of casualties can be seen by hovering over the marker, and the list of names seen by clicking on the marker. Their full biographies can be seen by clicking on 'Further Info'.
The records can be filtered and/or sorted by surname, house, age, regiment, date, place etc by clicking on the appropriate drop down box and then the 'Search' button below the map.
Son of Sidney and Edith Florence Blaber., Lyecroft, Devizes
Army I. House Prefect.
Woolwich.
Husband of Diana Marion Blaber, of Hove, Sussex.
Cdg. 133 Lt. A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery
Son of Matthew Wright Breckenridge and Winifred Agnes Breckenridge, Caldwell, Irvine, Ayrshire.
Mod. V. House Prefect.
Husband of Rae Isobel Breckenridge, of Troon, Ayrshire.
Chartered Accountant with Matthew Wright & Nephew of Irvine, Ayrshire.
130 Field Regt. Royal Artillery
Unit war diary extract:
'Jan 1st 1943 - 494 Fd Bty en route Maungdaw - Indin (Map Sheet 84 D/11 Burma)
5 Jan - Major Brenckenridge O.C. 494 Fd Bty, Captain Watson, and 4. O.R.s killed in action on Mayu Pen.
6 Jan - 494 Bty fired on Laungchang from Kodingauk in support of 5/8 Punjab.'
Unit war diary: WO 172/2304
Born 16 Jan 1899. Son of C. A. Copland., Tavistock Ho., Chelmsford.
Army VI. Heywood Prize.
Woolwich. R.F.A. 1918. 1st Gt. War (overseas). Retired 1921.
Solicitor 1923.
Rejoined Aug. 1939 and was invalided out in Aug. 1943.
He died at Downsway, Seaford, Sussex
Widow: Eva Beatrice May Copeland
Son of G. F. S. Corser (O.M.), Tilstock Hall, Whitchurch, Shropshire.
2nd Gt. War, Capt., R.A. M.C.
He was commissioned into the Shropshire R.H.A. and served with the British Expeditionary Force in France, North Africa, Italy and Germany.
M.C. Citation 'For services on the Italian Front': This officer has throughout the campaign distinguished himself by his courage and tenacity in his duties with forward troops and in his gun areas. He has done duty as forward observation officer in all the major battles of the Fifth Army up to May, and was again forward observation officer during the Cassino battle where he accompanied Canadian infantry in the breaking of the Hitler Line. On more than one occasion he has been responsible for the breaking up of enemy counter-attacks and his manner of handling the fire of the regiment is outstanding in its speed and accuracy. Under fire he invariably displays great coolness and courage which is of utmost value to his men, and he is in all branches of his activities a very outstanding Troop Commander.
MC Citation WO-373_11_231
In late 1945 he contracted an illness which caused him to be invalided home. He never fully recovered and died in May 1949 at Vale of Clwyd Sanatorium, Ruthin; his ashes were interred in the family grave at Bourton-on-the-Water.
Biography at TracesofWar
Son of Theodore Stuart Crosbie Cronhelm and Mary Helen Cronhelm, of 9 Cravenhill Gardens, Lancaster Gate, Westminster, London.
House Prefect. XI Football and Cricket. Athletic and Boxing Colours. Lance-Corporal in Corps.
Royal Artillery. Accidentally shot, June 1940. (Malvernian, July 1940).
262 Bty., 84 H.A.A. Regt.
Gravestone photo
Son of Henry James Dent and Christiana Dent, Perton Ct., Stoke Edith.
House Prefect. Football XXII.
With Agricultural Dept., Imp. Chem. Industries Ltd.
Husband of Kathleen S. Dent, of Hereford.
Cdg. 110 Lt. A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery
'Joined a Territorial Brigade of the R.A. in 1924. Was in action with the B.E.F. in 1940 and evacuated his arm of the Regiment from Dunkirk with the loss of only two men.' (Malvernian, Dec 1944)
'Lt Col O.W.R. Dent TD R.A. Killed by mine at 903319 at approx 0900hrs. Clecy.'
Unit war diary: WO 171/1129
Son of Dr. Thomas Hanson Crossfield Derham and Edith-Hannah Derham, Gasrtang Rd., Preston.
Sci V.
Husband of Margaret Irene Derham, of Clapham Common, London.
64 Field Regt. Royal Artillery
Unit war diary: WO 169/9488
Son of Capt R. H. W. Empson, 119 Piccadilly, London.
Army VI. House Prefect. Sixth Form. Football XXII. Cricket XL. Fives Cols.
R.M.A. Woolwich 1938, '39.
Son of Richard and Winifred French, of Torquay, Devon, and of Steaperton Park rd., Clevedon, Somerset.
Hist. VI. School Prefect. Head of House. Football XXII. Cricket XL.
Exhibitioner and State Scholar of Exeter College, Oxford.
73 Anti-Tank Regt. Royal Artillery
'Few boys at Malvern can have had more friends than "George" French, and he never had an enemy in his life. His genial solidity and reliability were obvious at once, but he was what is often called a slow developer, so that it was only gradually that one came to realize how much ability and positive determination lay behind it. For instance he was the last on the list of Scholarship winners when he entered Malvern, but before he left he had not only won an Open Exhibition in History at Exeter College, Oxford, but also a State Scholarship—and these are very hard to get.
At games too, especially football, he seemed at first to be slow and clumsy, but he grew to be good enough to miss a School XI by only a narrow margin, and he did at least as much as more brilliant players to win the Football Cup for his House.
He was the ideal Head of House, combining vigour and enterprise with wisdom and humour in just the right proportions, and spreading round him the atmosphere of his own cheerful enthusiasm.
Such men as he run the greatest risks in war, especially in such fighting as the Libyan Campaign where individual courage and determination count for so much: for one can imagine that a Commanding Officer, called upon to choose a subaltern for a difficult and dangerous task, would naturally turn to him. All who remember him at Malvern would wish to offer their deepest sympathy to his parents in their great loss.' (Malvernian, March 1942)
Unit war diary: WO 166/1645 (Not found in this war diary - 73rd anti-tank regiment at Godalming in Dec 1941)
Son of Col. W. A. Gale, R.E.
Army 1. House Prefect. Ledbury Cap.
Woolwich 1900. Ran 2 miles, etc. for Woolwich. Sandhurst 1901-1902.
R.A. 1902. Capt. 1914. Major 1916. Lieut.-Col 1932.
1st Gt. War (overseas),D.S.O. with Bar, Despatches (2).
2nd Gt. War, Brigadier. Died of illness on active service, August 1944.
'ARCHANGEL COMMAND. AWARDED A BAR TO THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER.
Maj. Henry
John Gordon Gale, D.-S.O., R.A.
Throughout the operations on the Kodish front
between 28th and 30th August, 1919, he showed great gallantry. He carried out
the duties of F.O.O., and, without any regard to his personal safety, remained
near the enemy's wire, so as to be able to ensure the accuracy of the artillery
fire. (D.S.O. gazetted 3rd June, 1918.)'
London Gazette
Edinbugh Gazette
Lived at Ouychas, Netherhampton Road, Salisbury
Widow: Mabel Elizabeth Gale
Biography at Wikipedia
Son of Norman and Dorothy Hall, of Cold Ash, Berkshire, and Woodleigh, Bryan Rd., Edgerton, Huddersfield.
Football XI 1929,1930.
Artificial Silk Manufacturer.
Husband of Marigold Hall, of Filey, Yorkshire.
196 Bty., 65 Lt. A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery
'He was a Yorkshireman by birth, who might have appeared at first to strangers as shy and unforthcoming, but behind this apparent diffidence there was a real strength of character and a keen almost anxious enthusiasm: to his intimates he gave a simple, loyal and disinterested friendship. As a leading member of the School Football team for two years, particularly of the 1930 team with its brilliantly successful record, he was given a prominence which never in the least affected his natural modesty. He left School at seventeen and started at once on a successful business career in the North. Always a good son and a good brother, he had married recently and it was his ambition that his young son should follow him to his old School. F.S.P.' (Malvernian, March 1942)
Son of Robin Percy and Margaret E. Hamp, of Forest Row, Sussex, and 19 Russell Rd, W14. Solicitor.
Hist VI. Burke Military Prize. School Prefect. Head of House. Cadet Officer. Cricket XI. Boxing Colours '33, '34 (Capt.). Ledbury Cap.
3 H.A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery
Previously reported P.O.W., Malaya, now reported died.
'On two separate occasions, at BATU PAHAT (in Malaysia) on 15 Jan 1942 and at AYER HITAM from 6 - 21 Jan, this officer displayed outstanding leadership in keeping his four gun section in action under heavy bombing and machine gun attacks by hostile aircraft. Later his section on its final position at ANSON ROAD sustained repeated heavy and accurate bombing attacks, which caused casualties to both men and equipment. Lt. Hamp kept his guns in action and firing accurately up to the last moment,
The high morale of this section was due in very large measure to the example of courage and steadiness under fire shown by this officer.'
MC Citation WO-373_47_185
Son of Geoffrey Wyville Home and Ethel Constance Home, Fig Street House, Sevenoaks, Kent.
House Prefect.
445 Bty., 65 Field Regt. Royal Artillery
Son of Ernest Joseph and Emma Hubbard, of Stoneygate, Leicester, and Stoughton Lodge, Stoughton Rd., Leicester.
Football XL.
115 Field Regt. Royal Artillery.
He was listed as being in 134 I.B.G.H (Hospital) in February and May 1945.
Unit war diary: WO 172/7416
Son of Arthur Mitchell Hughes, and of Emily Hughes, of Hale, Cheshire, and Holmside, St. Margaret's Rd., Bowdon, Cheshire.
House Prefect.
With Manchester Ship Canal Co.
3. H.A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery
Captured by Japanese, November, 1942. Died in hospital in Rangoon after being released from P.O.W. camp.
Eldest son of Frederick Bernard Jacomb (§ 01) and Mary E. G. Jacomb, of Eastbury Manor, Hallow, Worcester.
House Prefect.
Solictor's Articled Clerk.
19th Field Regt. Royal Artillery
'After leaving school he became articled to a solicitor and joined the 6th South Midland Brigade of Territorial Artillery, in which he proved himself a keen and efficient officer.' (Malvernian, July 1940).
Died from illness contracted during service in France
Only son of Howard Frederick and Madeleine Hall Jeavons, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, and 62 Cotton Lane, Moseley, Birmingham.
Bus VI. School Prefect. Head of House. Cricket XXII.
Queen's College, Cambridge.
77 Lt. A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery attd. 7th Bn. Worcestershire Regiment
He was killed during the attack on the village of Dawete in Burma along with 2 other officers and 15 men.
Unit war diary: WO 172/7676
Son of Ernest Louis and Agnes Mary Lee, Moor Park Farm House, Rickmansworth.
Army I. Heywood Prize, School Prefect, Head of House. Cricket XL. Football XL. Cadet Officer.
Woolwich.
R.G.A 1913. Captain 1917. Major 1932.
Husband of Barbara A. A. Lee, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
'Brig. E. A. Lee, C.C.M.A. Anzac Corps. This officer commanded the Amyntaion Detachment during its early stages. He also commanded the Domokos Detachment which held a very important rearguard position during the withdrawal to the Thermopylae Line. No sooner was this task finished, than he was appointed Commander Peloponnese and finally he found himself organising yet another rearguard at Monemvasia under cover of which the final evacuation was successfully carried out.
To all these tasks he addressed himself with untiring energy and his cool judgment under heavy air and occasional ground attack was largely responsible for the success of the operations he was engaged in.'
DSO Citation WO-373_27_385
Son of Melling and Beatrice Lever, of Penrhyn Bay, Llandudno, Caernarvonshire, and Copleydene, Ebberston Rd., Colwyn Bay.
116 Lt. A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery
Mentioned in Despatches
'He had been detailed to give close support to an Infantry Battalion engaged in clearing the town of Hertogenbosh, and after three days of very successful fighting he was killed by machine-gun fire. His Colonel writes:— "A more gallant death could not be imagined . . . And his work in those last few days was outstandingly brilliant."
Killed on Oct. 30th, 1944, while commanding a troop of Light A.A. Battery in Holland.' (Malvernian, Mar 1945)
Unit war diary: WO 171/1133
Son of Leonard and Adele Mager, of Hoxne, Suffolk, and of Tilehurst, Furze Hill, Purley, Surrey.
Baldwin Geog. Prize. House. Prefect. Swimming Cols. F.XL
Insurance Broker (Lloyds).
Husband of Meriel Townshend Mager, of Tiverton, Devon.
165 Field Regt. Royal Artillery
He was killed in a traffic accident along with a fellow officer when their Scout car overturned near Castiglione in Sicily.
Unit war diary: WO 170/975
Son of R. Mills, 29 Liverpool Rd., Chester.
House Prefect. Football XXII. Cricket XL.
Son of Trevor Llewelyn Mort and Ethel Mary Mort, Fernhill, Treherbert, Glamorgan.
Hist V. House Prefect.
Selwyn College, Cambridge. B.A. (Law Tripos) 1935.
Husband of Pamela Evelyn Beatrix Mort, of Sketty, Swansea.
23 Field Regt. Royal Artillery. Mentioned in Despatches.
He was in charge of 90 Bty and was killed in action when the forward area near Thala in Tunisia was shelled.
Unit war diary: WO 175/329
Son of James Herbert and Ethel May Paton, Lethangie, Kinross.
Printer.
Husband of Jane Donnan Paton, of Glasgow.
418 Bty., 56 Searchlight Regt. Royal Artillery
Son of Colonel Thomas Leslie Rogers, O.B.E., and Dorothy Frazer Rogers, of Rusholme, Manchester, and Glenarthur, Netley St., Farnborough, Hants.
Army VI. School Prefect. Head of House. Cricket XI 1934-36. Football XXII. Fives Cols.
Woolwich.
Royal Artillery attd. 51 Sqdn. Royal Air Force
Accidentally killed whilst flying on duty, March 1942.
'Contemporaries of F. L. Rogers will mourn the loss of a staunch friend and cheery companion. From his early days at Malvern he showed promise as a cricketer and was in the XI in his second year while still a junior. A useful bowler, a bat to send in when the game needed pulling round, it was in the field that he made his mark, where—as first slip—he combined an appearance of sleepy boredom with the ability to connect with any ball within reach. But his ability was not limited to cricket, and in addition to three successive years in the XI, he was Head of House, College Prefect, a C.S.M. in the Corps, and gained his XXII at Football and a Fives Colour. From Malvern he went on to Woolwich and was gazetted (R.A.) in 1938.
He was in France in the first month of the War and remained there until his safe return from Dunkirk. "Thereafter he became interested in the bearing of air observation upon artillery, and it was while engaged on this specialised work that he met his death accidentally while flying. So ends a career of promise, and so departs one whose quiet good humour and sound common sense endeared him to his many friends. To his parents and sister we would extend our deepest sympathy.' (Malvernian, Jul 1942)
Son of Sir Edwin Savill, and Lady Savill, Howe Green, Hertford.
Woolwich.
R.F.A. 1915. R.H.A. 1918.
Chartered Surveyor.
Husband of Rene Savill, of Windsor, Berkshire.
116 Field Regt. Royal Artillery
The following notice is taken from The Times:— Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Cecil Savill, D.S.O., M.C., Royal Artillery, who died at Windsor on September 17, gained high distinction in the field both in this war and in the last. At the age of 19 he was reputed to be the youngest major in the British Army and during the years he served in France he won the M.C. and bar and was three times mentioned in despatches. In the present war he was again mentioned in despatches and was awarded the D.S.O. for his gallantry in the retreat to Dunkirk. The youngest son of Sir Edwin and Lady Savill, he was born on December 22, 1897, and was educated at Malvern and at Woolwich. In April, 1915, he obtained his commission in the Royal Field Artillery and went to France a few months later. His progress was rapid. In December of the same year he became adjutant to the 122nd Brigade; by the end of 1917 he had been promoted to be acting-major; in 1918 he commanded his battery.
He was wounded in France. After the armistice he was awarded his "jacket" and on his retirement was placed on the reserve with the rank of brevet major. He then qualified as a chartered surveyor, and during the whole of the inter-war period he practised as a member of his father's firm, Messrs. Alfred Savill and Sons, in which capacity he advised many City companies. In June, 1939, he returned to the Army and became attached to the 30th Field Regiment, R.A., and went to France during the first few days of the war. In July, 1940, after Dunkirk, he was promoted Lieutenant Colonel on taking command of the 53rd (Worcester Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment. Finally, he was given command of the 116th Field Regiment, which he held until a few weeks before his death.
He married in 1921 Irene Dawson, by whom he had a son and two daughters.
A correspondent writes:—"Alfred Savill had many qualities, but outstanding was that of leadership. He had an almost uncanny power of inspiring with his own superb confidence those who worked at his side. If ever there was a 'born soldier' it was he. And to him in his heart the years between the wars were but the interval between the two great acts of his life: acts in which he was called to play so great a part and thus, with every ounce of his energy and strength, to serve the country that he loved so well."
Son of Capt Rowland Holroyd-Smyth and Alice Holroyd Smyth, of Ballynatray, Youghal, Co. Cork, Irish Republic.
Planter.
66 Lt. A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery
'Killed in action at Athens, 13th Dec., 1944, shortly after a single-handed act of gallantry, which "had prevented enemy forces from getting close enough to H.Q. to use dynamite." (Malvernian, Mar 1946).
Unit war diary: WO 170/1239
Son of Mr. and Mrs. George Stainton, of Glengorse, Battle, Sussex.
Army VI. House Prefect.
16 Field Regt. Royal Artillery
Unit war diary: WO 172/4642
Son of William Glen Stares and Gertrude Grace Stares, Manor House, Upham, Hants.
House Prefect.
3 Field Regt. Royal Artillery
'16th June 1942. El Adem. Enemy shelling early fairly heavy. CO - Lieut Col P.H. Teesdale wounded but refuses to leave.
15:00 - Brigade is to hold the box to the last man and the last round.
21:30 - Orders received to evacuate at 15 minutes notice. No preparations had been made and transport is fatally short.
17th June - Regiment re-assembled at Kennels East of Libyan Frontier. 5 guns only saved.
Captains G.R.D. Stares and another officer believed killed, with 4 officers believed P.O.W.'
Unit war diary: WO 169/4574
Son of Brigadier William Arthur Scales Turner, M.C., and Elsie April Turner, of 13 Catharine St., Westminster, London.
Army VI. House Prefect. House Football Colours. Corporal in O.T.C.
Woolwich.
11 Bty., 1 Field Regt. Royal Artillery.
Son of Robert Withycombe, O.B.E., and Gladys Withycombe, of Darjani, Dunster, Somerset.
Mod. Lan. VI. School Prefect. Head of House.
Pembroke College, Cambridge (3rd Cl. Med. and Mod. Lan. Trip.) M.A.
124 Field Regt. Royal Artillery.
Mentioned in Despatches.
'Fought at Sidi Barani and Karen; was wounded; rejoined and fought from El Alamein onwards till he was killed in Sicily in July.' (Malvernian, Dec 1943).
He was killed in an explosion on a recce near Carlentini.
Unit war diary: WO 169/9515
Son of Capt. Marwood Yeatman, and of Mary Yeatman, of Knocklong, Co. Limerick, Irish Republic ,and Holwell Manor, Dorset.
Army V. House Prefect. Ledbury Cap.
Woolwich R.A.
12 Coast Regt. Royal Artillery
