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 Colonel John L. Adams, and of Hermione Agnes Caroline Adams, of Tenby, Pembrokeshire.
H.M. Trawler Stella Capella.
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
'At 02.11 hours on 11 March 1942, HMS Stella Capella was hit by one G7e torpedo from U-701 and sank in 2 minutes 30 seconds about 12 miles southeast of Vattarnes Lighthouse, Iceland. The commander, three officers and 29 ratings were lost. The armed trawler served with the 41st A/S Group based in Iceland and was en route alone to Stornoway in order to carry out urgent repairs to its defective anti-submarine gear.'
uboat.net
Son of Mrs. Bird, c/o Brown, Shipley & Co., 123 Pall Mall.
H.M.S. Exeter. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
Noted Ornitholigist.
Spoke Norwegian and acted as Intelligence Officer during attack on Norway.
Killed in action when H.M.S. Exeter was sunk by Japanese surface craft in the Java sea.
Obituary
Son of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Bone, 5 Hamilton Mansions, Hove.
St John's College, Cambridge.
Husband of Sheelah Bone, of Chelsea, London.
H.M.S. Victory. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Son of Cdr. J. F. Hutchings, D.S.O., R.N., Wake's House, Havant, Hants.
Mod. Lan. V.
'Jim Hutchings had that lively disposition which gets the best out of life, and into his short career he had crammed a variety of enterprise and experience.
Coming to Malvern as an Exhibitioner in 1931, he left early to take advantage of a Scholarship for a year's study at Pomfret School, Connecticut, where he thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the kindness and hospitality with which he was everywhere received. But he was equally pleased, on his return to England, to start in business with a firm of Optical and Naval Instrument Manufacturers, which brought him in touch with the sea. For one of his main interests had always been the Royal Navy, in which his father had served; and in 1938, appreciating the drift towards war, he joined the R.N.V.R.
At the outbreak of war he was called up to complete his training, and then posted to H.M.S. Gurkha, in which he was serving in April, 1940, when she was sunk by enemy air attack in the Kattegat.
It was a tragically short career in the Service, for with his enthusiasm and efficiency there can be no doubt that he had the makings of a first-rate Naval Officer; and all his friends will join us in the deepest sympathy for his parents and his family in their loss. ' (Malvernian, July 1940).
Son of William Gilchrist Fletcher Laurie and Clarissa Mary Laurie, Uplands, Swakeley's Rd., Ickenham, Middlesex.
Bus. VI. School Prefect. Swimming VIII '39, '40 (Capt.). Sergt. in Corps.
H.M.S. Condor. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (Fleet Air Arm).
Temporary Acting Sub-Lieutenant (A) A F Laurie, RNVR and Temporary Sub-Lieutenant (A) G C Morrison, RNVR: report of deaths in an aircraft accident.
Ref: ADM 358/744
Son of Henry Bevington Legge and Edith Blythne Legge, 59 Carlisle Mansions, Carlisle Pl., SW1.
Mod. V. School Prefect. Head of House. Cricket XI, 1921, 22 (Captain).
Brasenose College Oxford. B.A., 1926. Played for Oxford at Cricket, 1925, 26 (Captain). Kent County C.C. Captain, 1928-30. M.C.C. Team, South Africa, 1926. New Zealand, 1929.
In his first year as Captain, when he was the youngest Captain in first class cricket, Kent were second in the County Championship.
Director of H. B. Legge & Sons, Paper Agents (Cannon St.).
Husband of Rosemary Katharine Legge, of Cranbrook, Kent.
H.M.S. Vulture. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
The following personal tribute appeared in The Times:
May I be allowed to add a few words to your notice of Geoffrey Legge? There is little need to say more about his cricket (which owed much to Frank Woolley) except that he went to South Africa with Stanyforth's M.C.C. XI in 1927-28 and to New Zealand and Australia with the M.C.C. XI under Harold Gilligan in 1929-30, and that on that tour he made a brilliant 196 in the Test Match at Auckland. While he was at Brasenose he was a keen motorist. He was indeed selected to represent Oxford against Cambridge in the motor races and was in consequence almost prevented owing to an accident from leading Oxford against Cambridge at Lord's in 1926. When he abandoned the cricket fields for business, Legge became an ardent airman, bought his own aeroplane, secured his own aerodrome, and made many business flights over Europe. The knowledge of Europe which he acquired from the air and his own personal experience he placed at the disposal of the Government at the time of the crisis in 1938, and in 1939 he immediately joined the Fleet Air Arm. Six days before his death he was promoted Lieutenant-Commander. In 1939 he married Rosemary, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James J. Frost—the happiest event of a happy life.
But his friends will remember him first and foremost not for his cricket or for his airmanship but for his personality. Though probably not technically good-looking, there was something about his presence which arrested attention—slim, debonair, invariably neat, and with a merry twinkle in his eye, he lent grace to any society in which he found himself. He was of equable temperament, but always knew his own mind and had the strength of character to act upon his own judgment. Quiet and undemonstrative, he never revealed so much of his inner self but that you wanted to know more. His silences were more companionable than the loquaciousness of most other men. He never wore his heart on his sleeve. He did not make friends easily or lightly, but I doubt whether he ever lost a friend once he had made one. Punctilious in keeping all his engagements, loyalty was the keynote of his character. After he had served some months with the Fleet Air Arm he declared: "The Navy are 100 per cent fine men." The Navy on their part must have welcomed Geoffrey to their fellowship as a recruit who would uphold the highest traditions of their Service. But his loss will be most sorely felt by those who knew him longest.
(Malvernian, Dec 1940).
Son of H. Marston, Blue Border, Mudeford, Hants.
House Prefect. Ledbury Cap.
H.M.S. Poulmic. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
'He was for some years in India with the Burma Shell Company and later in business in England. His most conspicuous activity at school was swimming, for which he also won several prizes in India. Always fond of the sea, at the outbreak of War he joined up as A.B. on a minesweeper, was promoted to Lieutenant and was in charge of several sweepers when his boat was sunk.' (Malvernian, Mar 1941).
Son of Sydney and Ethel Nicholls, of Lugano, Powell Rd, Buckhurst Hill.
In business.
Husband of Renee S. Nicholls, of Epsom Downs, Surrey.
H.M.S. Patia. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Son of Thomas Millett Rickards (O.M.) and Mary Leburn Rickards, of Wentworth, Surrey, and Lockside, West Byfleet, Surrey.
Sci VI. School Prefect. XL Football. Sergt. in O.T.C.
H.M.S. "Xmas" Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
'On leaving School he joined the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co., and the R.N.V.R., in which he received a commission when war was declared. He saw service in the Mediterranean and was killed in action in Feb. 1942. ' (Malvernian, March 1942)
Son of Professor Sidney Russ, C.B.E., and Mary Russ, Foxella, Matfield, Kent.
Mod. Lan VI. House Prefect. Hansell French. Hansell German. Chance Prize.
New College, Oxford.
Husband of Rosamund Ursula Mary Russ, of Matfield, Kent. M.A.
H.M S. Rajaliya, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Son of N. M. Scholfield, 75 South Croxted Rd., Dulwich.
Hist. VI. Moore-Bayley, Lea Shakespeare Prizes. Junior Chapel Prefect.
St Edmund Hall, Oxford.
H.M.S. Hurworth, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
H.M.S. Hurworth was lost to a mine in the Aegean Sea. The explosion split the ship in two. Both halves sank within 15 minutes. 113 men died, there were 85 survivors. Hurworth lies in 102 metres (335 ft) of water at 36.59N 27.06E in Greek territorial waters.
Wikipedia
Son of Harold Alexander Sloan and Mabel Fitzgerald Sloan, of Bray, Co. Wicklow, and 7 Iona Pk., Glasnevin, Dublin.
Dublin University (School of Physics and Dentistry). (Hockey and Tennis Cols.). B.A. 1936, M.B., B.Ch.(Dublin).
Sir Patrick Dun's Hosp.
H.M.S. Javelin, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
'Leaving Malvern young he went to Dublin University (School of Physics and Dentistry). Hockey and Tennis Colours. Later he worked at Sir Patrick Davis' Hospital.
Posted as "Missing, Presumed killed."' (Malvernian, Mar 1941).
At the end of November 1940 the 5th Destroyer Flotilla, consisting of HMS Jupiter, Javelin, Jackal, Jersey, and Kashmir, under Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten, was operating off Plymouth. The flotilla engaged the German destroyers Hans Lody, Richard Beitzen, and Karl Galster. Javelin was badly damaged by torpedo and artillery hits from the German destroyers and lost both her bow and her stern. Only 155 feet (47 m) of Javelin's original 353 ft (108 m) length remained afloat and she was towed back to harbour.
Wikipedia
Son of Oscar Henry and Grace Evelyn Smalley, of The Elms, St. Andrew's Rd., Malvern.
Math. VI. House Prefect.
H.M.S. Sparrowhawk, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Son of Norman Duguid Walker and Ada Walker, of The Grove, Ryton-on-Tyne, Co. Durham.
Math. VI. House Prefect.
Trinity College, Cambridge. (2nd Cl. Mech. Sci Trip. 1936).
H.M.S. Bluebell, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
'He served with much distinction with the R.N.V.R. and received the D.S.C. after some operations in Norway earlier in the war. The corvette, Bluebell, which he commanded, was sunk with only one survivor when acting as escort to an important convoy on 17th Feb., 1945, but "the convoy got through". In civil life he was a very successful turbine designer.' (Malvernian, July 19145).
H.M.S. Bluebell was torpedoed and sunk by U-711 under the command of Hans-Günther Lange in the Kola Inlet on 17 February 1945 while escorting the convoy RA-64 from Murmansk. She sank in less than 30 seconds at 69°24'N 33°42'E. From her crew of 86 ratings and officers there was only one survivor.
Wikipedia