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 William Kennedy Chalmers and Jean Chalmers, of Invershin, Sutherlandshire, and of Fern Point, Inverary, Argyll.
H.M.M.T.B. 732 Royal Navy
It was a motor torpedo boat accompanying a convoy, and was sunk by gunfire from the French escort destroyer La Combattante in the English Channel.
Details at wreck site
Son of Charles Algernon and Eva Mary Godwin, of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
House Prefect. Cricket XXII. Football XL.
H.M.S. Quebec. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
'Reported missing from Commando raid, Norway, May, 1943. Captured by Germans; interned Concentration Camp till February 2nd, 1945, when he and others were taken out and shot, "because he was English and the English were winning the war." (This news is from his twin brother Peter, Lieutenant Royal Tank Corps, who lost one leg and had the other badly smashed in action in N. Africa in '42, but is recovered and now ranching in S. America.) ' (Malvernian, Mar 1946).
Son of Capt. Arthur J. Ross and Baroness de Ros, of Old Court, Strangford, Co. Down, Northern Ireland.
H.M.S. Liverpool, Royal Navy.
The following personal tribute from Viscount Bangor is taken from The Times:
'No one who knew Peter Ross can have read the notice of his having given his life in the service of his country without feelings of the deepest regret. He had such a friendly and lovable disposition, and was beloved universally. Few men can have been so popular among people of all classes. He was especially popular among those of his old home in Ireland, who all adored him. Ross was educated at Malvern College, and then he entered the Royal Naval Engineering College, Keyham. He had a good share of foreign service in the Mediterranean and China and also at Bermuda and on the Pacific Coast of North America. His last ship was H.M.S. Liverpool, and he took an active part in her fitting out on the Clyde before proceeding in her to the East Indian Station, and subsequently to the Mediterranean.
Peter Ross enjoyed his life to the full, and his enthusiasm for that branch of his profession in which he served was unbounded. He was never happier than when tuning up motor engines for racing, and he was a very fine mechanic. At the same time he was quite at home in a sailing boat, and had a good share of success racing in the smaller classes. He was very clever at drawing and sketching, and his work showed that he must have spent many hours of study to obtain so high a standard. Whatever his hand found to do he did with all his might, but his profession came first, and it may be safely said that he would rather have lost his life doing his duty for his King and country than in any other way. Peter Ross was in many respects unique. His loss will leave a blank in the lives of his many friends who knew and loved him.'
Son of Edward Leaf Smeeton and of Charlotte Mildred Smeeton (nee Leighton), Barklye Wood, Heathfield, Sussex.
School Prefect. Shooting VIII, 1925-26. Special Entry R.N.
Cadets Engineering, Devonport and Greenwich.
Husband of Enid Mona Smeeton (nee Brockman), of Ivybridge, Devon.
He was on H.M.S Glorious, which was an aircraft carrier, carrying Swordfish, and was sunk by the Scharnhorst at approximately 6.10pm on the 8th June 1940 off Norway.
Map
Detailed Wikpedia article
Son of Edmund Collins Taylor and Evelyn Mary Dorlisa Taylor, of 4 Eddisbury Rd., West Kirby, Cheshire.
Army VI.
Served for 2 years in a Battleship, volunteered for submarines.
H.M. Submarine P.222, Royal Navy
Most likely sunk off Capri, 12 December 1942 by Italian torpedo boat.
Wikipedia