CANFORD SCHOOL ROLL OF HONOUR INTRODUCTION To Paul, accidentally killed on training, May 1942. The hard- mouthed one had said: There is nothing to be sorry for, he died at once And without pain. And without pain? Would I have feared pain for you, You, so large of heart, so gently strong? But to leave life quickly in summer - One morning quite suddenly while birds sang And before the bluebells in the woods Had flooded the banks of their blue lakes - To go without leave- taking From a May morning before the mist had left the turf; I had sorrow in your death, not for the pain, For you could bear all pain who walked alway Hand in hand with life as with a long- tried friend, But this brief summons from wet grass and trees In early days before the fields were high in green, Before the birds had sung the summer in - This unwonted haste away from us, From laughter and from happiness and, aye, from pain, For this I sorrowed, and for this within my heart I wept while working in the year's first smile. So wrote Captain Richard Spender of his friend Eric Paul Nelson, Old Canfordian, who was killed in an accident with a Mortar whilst serving as an instructor at a Battle School. And these words can serve to commemorate all the O.Cs who died on active service during the Second World War. They were all young: Captain Benjamin Pulvertaft, Royal Tank Regiment was the first O.C. to pass out of Sandhurst and he was killed in East Africa in 1941 , aged only 33 . Many were even younger - David Barnwell, the second of two brothers, both of whom were killed flying with the R.A.F., was only 19. Canford had been open for just 16 years at the beginning of the war and fewer than 1 ,500 pupils had passed through the school at that time. Nearly a thousand served and 140 were killed - almost 10% of the total past population. For the R.A.F. the figures are even more daunting: 192 O.Cs served in the Air Force during the wa r of whom 50 were killed. What follows is a list of those who died, giving their ranks and the units in which they served and, where possible, a few details of their war service and the place and date of death. I hope and intend later to record many more details of their services but I trust that this current pamphlet will be a suitable accompaniment to the dedication of the new War Memorial. I apologise for any errors that may appear in these accounts and will be most grateful for any corrections or further information. Henry Baynham October 1994. - 1 - THE ROYAL NAVY Gerald A. Alderson <SH 28) Lieutenant (A), R.N.V.R. Commissioned as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm , he served for a time in 753 Squadron at Arbroath. He sailed tor the West Indies in the Almeda Star to take up a flying appointment in H.M.S. Goshawk, then the Royal Naval Air Station on Trinidad. Whilst crossing the Atlantic, the Almeda Star was sunk on January 17th 1941 with the loss of all 166 crew and 194 passengers. He is commemorated on the Fleet Air Arm Memorial at Lee-on ­ Solent. Leslie Ayres (C 38) R.N.V.R. Listed in the School Roll of Honour for Winter 1941 , it seems probable that he was commissioned as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant (Air) and was killed in an air accident when flying from H.M.S. Illustrious in the Mediterranean on August 16th 1940. Michael S.T. Broadwood (M 32) Lieutenant (A) , R.N. Commissioned as an Observer in the Fleet Air Arm in 1938, he joined 718 squadron and served in H.M.S. Berwick. He then joined H.M.S. Exeter operating in a Walrus Flying Boat. He was killed in a flying accident on June 27th 1941 . He is commemorated on the Fleet Air Arm Memorial at Lee-on -Solent. · Richard A.L. Combes (W 36) Ordinary Seaman, R.N. He joined the Navy on the outbreak of war and, after basic training, was drafted to H.M.S. Hood. On May 24th 1941 only three sailors out of a crew of a thousand St:Jrvived the destruction by the Bismarck of the Royal Navy's prized Battle Cruiser. Richard Combes was not one of the three. He is commemorated on the Royal Naval Memorial at Portsmouth. Bryan A. Cooper <SH 38) Lieutenant, Royal Marines. 40 RM Commando. He was one of very few Canfordians to join the Royal Marines. After training in England, he joined 40 Royal Marine Commando in Italy and was killed on October 6th 1943 following the Commando landings at Termoli. He is buried in the Sangro River War Cemetery. Desmond W. Jeffery (F 30) Signalman, R.N.V.R. He was killed whilst serving in coastal convoys on March 7th 1941 in H.M.S. Sheldrake, a corvette. He is commemorated on the Royal Naval Memorial at Chatham. David J. Lias <C 43) Ordinary Seaman, R.N .V.R. The son of a distinguished judge, after basic training he was drafted to H.M.S. Slinger, an Escort Carrier which had been built in the U.S.A. under the Lend-Lease scheme. Serving in the Far East in the "island" battles against Japan, he was killed off Okinawa on 6th April 1945. He is commemorated on the Royal Naval Memorial at Plymouth. - 2 - Michael P. O'Brien (8 41} Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.V.R. After being commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant, he was appointed to H.M.S. Blackwood, a frigate being built at Boston in the U.S.A. Following service on Atlantic convoys, H.M.S. Blackwood was protecting the western approaches to the D-Day landings when she was torpedoed by U.794, one of the new 'Schnorkel' boats. Attempts to salvage H.M.S. Blackwood failed and he died when the ship sunk under tow on June 15th 1944. He is commemorated on the Royal Naval Memorial at Plymouth. John A. Osborn (8 35} Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.V.R. Having joined the R.N.V.R. before the war, he was appointed to H.M.S. Orion, a Leander Class Cruiser, on September 1st 1939. He served with her in the Mediterranean where she played a key role in the Battle off Cape Matapan. He was killed on May 29th 1941 when H. M.S. Orion was hit by German dive-bombers whilst evacuating troops from Crete. He is commemorated on the Royal Naval Memorial at Plymouth . Kenneth S. Rogers (M 38} Sub-Lieutenant (A), R.N.V.R. Commissioned as an Observer in the Fleet Air Arm in 1941 , he was appointed to H.M.S. Mafagas, the Royal Naval Air Station at W'fngfield in South Africa. On November 4th 1942, his Albacore, failed to return from a night navigation exercise. An extensive search on the following day revealed, only what was suspected of being, an Albacore wheel, tar out to sea. He is commemorated on the Fleet Air Arm Memorial at Lee-on-Solent. T. Stanley Winton (C 33} Lieutenant R.N.V.R. After a successful career at Cambridge, he was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant and joined H. M.S. Cumberland, being present when the Graf Spee was scuttled in the mouth of the River Plate. After serving in H.M.S. Watchman on convoy duty, he was appointed Navigating Officer of the Destroyer H. M.S. Harvester. On March 11th 1943, whilst escorting Convoy HX228, the Harvester rammed and sank U-444. However, this seriously damaged the ship and as she lay helpless, she herself was torpedoed and sunk by another German submarine, U-432, which in turn was sunk by the French Corvette Aconit. He is commemorated on the Royal Naval Memorial at Chatham. - 3 - THE ARMY Adolph Bleichroder (SH 40) Private, Parachute Regiment. After being treated as an "enemy alien" and sent to Australia, he returned to Britain and enlisted as Private T.A.Bieach. Having trained for operation "Market Garden" he was reported "Missing , presumed killed" at Arnhem in September 1944. He is commemorated on the War Memorial at Arnhem. Peter J.E. Boolds (8 31) Warrant Officer 1st Class, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He served throughout the war in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, being promoted to Warrant Officer, First Class. He was posted to India and was killed on February 14th 1945 and is buried in the lmphal War Cemetery. David H. Brand M.C. (W 35) Major, Royal Sussex Regiment. A regular soldier, he fought with his regiment in France, North Africa and Italy but was wounded at Monte Cassino. On rejoining his regiment he was killed in the 8th Army's drive for Florence on July 12th 1944. He is buried in the Cemetery at Arezzo. David G. Brodhurst-Hill (8 40) Major, Queen's Royals (West Surrey). A Cambridge wartime Hockey Blue, he joined the Queen's Royals , his !ather's old regiment, and served with the regiment from Iraq to Tripoli to Tunis to Italy where he was killed on January 27th 1944. Although only 21 he was already a Major in Command of his Company. He is buried in the Minturno War Cemetery. George C. Burder, M.C. (F 42) Lieutenant, Rifle Brigade. Commissioned from an O.C.T.U . into the Rifle Brigade, he was killed in Germany on April 17th 1945, just three weeks before the end of the war in Europe.