War Heros

The information in this section has been researched and written by Eric Rowley (lecturer in Economics at the University of Manchester) and Colin Lees (tutor in the Faculty of Education, University of Manchester).

ROLL OF HONOUR

The former pupils of Sparkhill Commercial School who fell in the Second World War, 1939-1945, are commemorated on the Roll of Honour originally displayed in the school on Stratford Road, Sparkhill. It was transferred to its present location at Hall Green School, Birmingham, when the school moved to its new site in Southam Road at the end of 1963.

NOVEMBER 11th

On Flanders field the poppies grow

Reminding those that come and go

Those men once gave their lives

That war on earth may cease,

And we should have an everlasting peace.

Poppies bloom in fields where soldiers bled,

Poppies by the blood of soldiers stained,

Two minutes silence for the honoured dead,

So let the sounds of war decrease

While we have paused to pray for peace.

D.A., 3c

Written by a pupil of Sparkhill Commercial School and published in ‘The Dolphin.’

Vol. 2, No. 15, December 1938, p6.

ROLL OF HONOUR

The Roll of Honour of Sparkhill Commercial School lists thirty-two of those who died either on active service or as civilian casualties during the Second World War. As the inscription itself states, the Memorial is:

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE OLD SCHOLARS OF THIS SCHOOL WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN THE 1939-1945 WAR

With approximately ten boys per class in the 1930’s, these losses amount to the equivalent of an entire September intake of one year. It was inevitable that a school opening in 1931 with a 13+ intake would lose relatively heavily in a world war starting in 1939. The earliest intakes were born around 1918 and were aged 21 in the year hostilities started. Those born in 1927 would have entered Sparkhill Commercial School in 1940, becoming liable for military service in 1945. Young men born between these years would bear the brunt of the fighting and figure significantly in the casualty reserved occupations; this resulted in relatively more of them being exposed to the risks and dangers of front-line service.

The former pupils of Sparkhill Commercial School served in all three services and saw action in all major theatres of the war in Europe and the Far East. Eighteen of the thirty-two casualties recorded on the Roll of Honour served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. This might reflect the attractions of flying to those who had either been in the Air Training Corps whilst at School or who had joined the Volunteer Reserve from 1936 as ‘weekend’ flyers. It might also reflect the particularly heavy casualties suffered by Bomber Command and Coastal Command in the air war against Germany.

Particularly striking are the casualties who served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Over 55,000 aircrew of the Bomber Command alone were casualties in the air war of these years. Such aircrew had approximately a one in two chance of survival. Often teenagers, they were considered lucky to survive for more than a month at certain times of the war. The old boys of Sparkhill Commercial made their contribution to these casualty figures. Those ‘Old Dolphins’ who joined the Army were among the casualties of the great actions of the War; they fell in Arnhem and Monte Cassino as well as in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in 1940. One ‘Old Dolphin’ in the Navy lost his life off the Normandy beaches in 1944. The civilian casualties, as well as the bombing of the school itself, is testimony to the use of air power by the enemy against civilian populations on a scale unparalleled previously in human history.

Commemoration of the Fallen

The following 23 Old Dolphins were remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s Sparkhill. The dates refer to their years at Sparkhill Commercial School.

The 23 names listed above are those of the fallen who were commemorated in the service held in the school on Wednesday 10th April 1946. At that time, these were the names known to the School. The detailed biographies below are of the 32 names commemorated on the Roll of Honour carved in wood and now hanging in Hall Green School. These additional names were in the fullness of time, were made known to the School. The Roll of Honour preserved today includes a death as late as 1948, that of Denis J. Mearns who placed it on the wall. This would have been a list of the 23 and of much lighter construction than the surviving Roll of 32 names listed above. This latter cannot have been placed in position before 1948 and would have required more than one person to lift it.

Walter Reginald Banner

1866392 Sergeant Walter Reginald Banner, 104 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. 104 Squadron was a Middle East based Bomber Squadron.

Walter Banner was born 27th December 1924. He lived at 23, Albert Road, King’s Heath, Birmingham 14. He left Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1939. He was the son of Walter Henry and Leah Miranda Banner of Birmingham. He died on the 13th of May 1944, aged 19. He is commemorated on the Malta Memorial, panel 14, and column 2. This Memorial is for those who have no known grave.

Aircraft F.MF 238 took off on the 12th May 1944 from Foggia Main attack Porto Ferrajo to prevent enemy off loading of war supplies. A second wave went over in moonlight. One aircraft, unable to locate the target, bombed Elba. One aircraft was reported missing from operations. A report was received that the Captain and Bomb Aimer were safe in hospital but it was feared that the remainder of the crew had perished, including Sergeant Banner.

References

1. Name, rank, service number, branch of the services, details of family and where commemorated were supplied by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

2. Home address and details relating to SCS were obtained from surviving school record cards.

3. Details of the mission during which Sergeant Banner was killed were obtained from 104 Squadron’s Operations Record Book, ref: 27/822, Public Office, Kew.

S. W. Beale

The War Graves Commission was only able to supply details relating to one S. W. Beale. This relates to 6008577 Sergeant William Beale, 8th Battalion, Louisa Eliza Beale and the husband of Doris Ethel Beale of Southminster, Essex. He is buried in Cassino War Cemetery, Italy.

If the data on this Sydney Beale are correct, he is too old to have been a scholar of Sparkhill Commercial School. There is no surviving record card for S. W. Beale in the index of former pupils that is preserved at Hall Green School. Therefore, this man seems unlikely to have been an Old Dolphin.

Cadet Kenneth Beech, 2030 Squadron, Air Training Corps. He was born 7th April 1927 and lived at 196, Charlbury Crescent, Birmingham 26. He attended Sparkhill Commercial School from September 1040 until July 1942. He died Sunday, 18th June 1944, as a result of a crash between Service lorries in Leicester. He was the son of James and Mary Ann Beech of Birmingham. He is buried in grave 63826 Yardley Cemetery, Birmingham, adjacent to the grave of Cadet Sergeant Kenneth Harrison, also of 2030 Squadron, killed in the same incident. There is a military headstone on each grave. Beech was employed as a telephone mechanic. He was remembered in School at the service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946.

A.T.C. FUNERAL AT YARDLEY BOYS WHO DIED AFTER ROAD COLLISION

A full parade of boys of Squadron 2030 (Yardley) A.T.C. attended the funeral at Yardley Cemetery to-day of three former comrades who died in Leicester Royal Infirmary following a collision between the lorry in which they were traveling and an Army lorry on Sunday, June 18.

They were undergoing a week’s training in a R.A.F. station. The squadron had been recalled from camp to attend the service.

The three boys were: Sergeant K. J. Harrison (aged 18), of 187, Blakesley Road, Yardley; Leading Cadet K. Beech (aged 17), of 196, Charlbury Crescent, Yardley; and First-class Cadet J. A. Brogan (aged 16), of 138, Norton Crescent, Bordesley Green.

Prior to the interment there had been a service at Yardley Old Church conducted by the Squadron chaplain, Canon E. C. Cochrane, for Harrison and Beech, and another for Brogan in the Roman Catholic Church of Corpus Christi.

About 150 cadets and many officers of the Squadron, besides a contingent of the W. J. A. C., took part in the procession from the church to the cemetery.

After services the cortege, with the three bodies, moved off to the cemetery. The coffins were draped with the Union Jack, and mounting that of Sergeant Harrison was a wreath, in the form of a drum major’s mace, from the Squadron. Sergeant Harrison’s own mace-he was drum major of the Squadron-was laid by the wreath.

At the graveside trumpeters from various R.A.F. stations in the Midlands sounded “Last Post” and “Reveille.”

References

1. Name, rank, service number, branch of the services, details of family and where commemorated were supplied by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

2. Birth, home address and school details obtained from surviving school records.

3. Press cutting giving details of the funeral supplied by 2030 Squadron, Air Training Corps, from their records. The newspaper in which the above account was originally published is not known.

Jack Ernest Benton

Jack Ernest Benton was born 22nd November 1924 and lived at 196, Reddings Lane, Hall Green, Birmingham. He attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1938-1939, leaving in December that year.

His record card at Sparkhill is marked “(missing believed killed 6/45).” He was commemorated in the Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

The War Graves Commission was unable to find a record of the death of Jack Benton when enquiry was made in 1996.

References

1. From the surviving record cards of former pupils of Sparkhill Commercial School.

2. Details obtained from the Memorial Service Programme.

3. Correspondence with the War Graves Commission.

Donald Edward Joseph Boland

1219810 Sergeant Donald Edward Joseph Boland, 103 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died 1st March 1943.

Sergeant Boland was one of seven-man crew who took off at 1953 on the 1st March 1943 from Elsham Woods near Barton-upon-0Humber to attack Berlin. Their Lancaster IW4361 PM-N was lost without trace.

Donald Boland is commemorated on panel 143 of the Runnymede Memorial, England. This Memorial commemorates by name 20,401 airmen lost during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe and who have no known graves.

Donald Boland attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1934-1936. He was one of the twenty-three Old Dolphins remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, except that relating to his last mission, supplied all the information.

2. Details of Sergeant Boland’s last mission were obtained from ‘Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War’ by W. R. Chortley, Midland Counties Publications, 1996, vol. 4, p. 56.

3. Details from the Programme of the Memorial Service.

Michael John Brennan

Michael Brennan was born 22nd June 1922 and lived at 4, Ivor Road, Sparkhill, a few yards from Sparkhill Commercial School. He left SCS in December 1937.

His school record card reveals that he was killed in an air raid in November 1940. The War Graves Commission gave his date of date of death as 11th December 1040. In this an indication that he died of injuries received the previous month”? He was the son of Edward and Kate Brennan of 4, Ivor Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham.

His death certificate due to ‘War Operations’ 12th December 1940, confirms death at 4, Ivor Road. Michael was employed as a ‘Motor Engineer’ as the time of his death.

Michael Brennan attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1936-1937. He was remembered in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Data provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission except for that relating to birth and school.

2. School data from surviving record card of Sparkhill Commercial School.

3. Death certificates reference, Birmingham, vol. 6d. p. 875.

4. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Kenneth Rees Burbeck

51326 Flying Officer Kenneth Rees Burbeck, 100 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force. He died 23rd September 1943. He was the son of John Burbeck DCM and Emily Burbeck of Sollihull, Birmingham. Flying Officer Burbeck was commissioned from the ranks.

The seven-man crew of Lancaster III E0883 HW-V took off at 1838 on 23rd September 1943 from Grimsby to attack Mannheim. He is buried in Rheinburg War Cemetery, Germany, coll, grave 18.A 9-12.

Most of the casualties in this cemetery were airmen who died throughout the war years in bombing attacks on Germany. Their graves were bought from the cemeteries in Düsseldorf, Krefeld, München-Gladbach, Essen, Cologne, and Aachen, Dortmund and many other places in the area. Some were first buried in isolated graves where their aircraft crashed, by a roadside, a riverbank, in a garden or a forest.

Kenneth Burbeck attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1934-1935. He was remembered in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. All information, except for the last mission, supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Details of Flying Officer Burbeck’s last mission were obtained from ‘Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War’ by W. R. Chorley, Midland Counties Publications, 1996, vol. 4, p. 331.

3. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Alfred Raymond Clouston

956851 Sergeant Alfred Raymond Clouston, 53 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. This was a Coastal Command Squadron flying Hudson aircraft on anti-submarine duties. He died on the 17th April 1942, aged 20. He was the son of Horatio and Frances Clouston of Shirley, Warwickshire. He is commemorated on the Runny Memorial, England.

Sergeant Clouston’s Hudson PZ/V took off from North Coates at 2210 on 17th April 1942 on a recco. Mission. The Squadron’s Operations Record Book simply states “aircraft failed to return.”

Alfred Clouston attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1934-1936. He was one of the twenty-three Old Dolphins remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Details of the mission during which Sergeant Clouston died where obtained from 104 Squadron’s Operation Record Book, ref: Air 27/505, Public Record Office, Kew.

3. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Henry Allen Eaton

1583178 Sergeant Henry Allen Eaton, 7 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Henry Allen Eaton was born 27th November 1921. He lived at 9, Ravensdale Road, Small Heath and Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1937. He died 4th September 1943, aged 21. He was the son of Henry and Winifred Eaton of South Yardley, Birmingham. His school record is marked in red ink “(Believed killed in action 1939-1945).”

The seven-man crew of Lancaster III JA713 MG-V took off at 2012 on 3rd September 1943 from Oakington to attack Berlin. Homebound, they were shot down by a nightfighter and crashed at 0230 in the sea of the Danish Island of Tuno.

Sergeant Eaton is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

Henry Eaton attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1934-1936. He was one of the twenty-three Old Dolphins remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

Over fifty years later, a friend wrote the following words about Sergeant Eaton. “Harry Eaton was a very good friend because with the alphabetical seating we adopted in Science we always sat together, and on one memorable occasion when Rawlingson (science teacher) went ‘bonkers’, and physically attacked me, Harry went for him and was chased out of the school by him. I would never forget him, because he had guts. How sad to reflect.”

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Address and school details were supplied by Henry Eaton’s surviving school record card.

3. Details of the mission during which Sergeant Eaton was killed were obtained from ‘Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War’ by W. R. Chorley, Midland Counties Publications, vol. 4, and p. 307.

4. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

5. Letter written by Fred Crowton, 20th June 1997.

Frank Seymour Griffiths

Frank Seymour Griffiths was born 16th October 1926 and lived at 784, Alum Rock Road, Birmingham 8. He attended Sparkhill Commercial School 1940-1941. He appears not to have completed the first term, leaving in October 1040, aged just 14 years. His record card is marked in red ink, “Killed in Action 1939-1945.”

Frank Griffiths left Sparkhill Commercial at the earliest legal opportunity after completing little more than the first year of normal two-year course to age fifteen. The minimum school leaving age had raised to 14 years by the Education Act in 1918. Perhaps the attraction of readily available well paid war work or fed up with the long journey from home to school.

The War Graves Commission was unable to find any record of Frank Seymour Griffiths in 1996. He was remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details surviving school record card.

2. Correspondence with the War Graves Commission, 1996.

3. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Douglas Ernest Marshall Hall

2735262 Guardsman Douglas Ernest Marshall Hall, 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards. He died September 23rd 1944, aged 26. He was the son of Ernest and Alice Hall and husband of Norah Gwendonline Hall of Shirley, Warwickshire. He is buried in Grave 11.C.15 in Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, Holland.

In September 1944, there were five bridges to be taken by airborne assault as part of Operation Market Garden. The fifth at Arnhem was to prove ‘a bridge too far.’ In the nine days of Market Garden casualties amounted to 7,578 out of a total force of 10,005. Guardsman Hall was one of these casualties.

References

1. Personal details supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. The Arnhem details were take from Cornelius Ryan. ‘A Bridge Too Far.’ Coronet Books, 1974. P. 539.

Kenneth Harrison

132157 Flying Officer Kenneth Harrison, 612 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was born 23rd December 1921 and left Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1937. He lived at 7, Croft Road, Birmingham 26. He died 15th August 1943, aged 21. He was the son of Edward and Annie Harrison of Yardley, Birmingham. His brother, Edward, also died on service. Kenneth Harrison is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, England.

The Squadron’s Operations Record Book records take-off from RAF Chivenor in Wellington Q MP760 on the 15th August 1943 at 0846, weather fair to fine. P/O Harrison in Q failed to return to base and no signals were received from this a/c (aircraft). The ORB records details of the flight as follows: ‘Muskery O.T.U.5. “O-A” signal followed by “SOS.” Intercepted by another A/C. nothing further heard.

Their crews as Wimpeys knew the Wellington bombers of every mark and modification from la to IV. This war derived from J. Wellington Wimpey, the character in the Popeye strip.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. School details and home address from Kenneth Harrison’s school record card.

3. The details of the final mission were obtained from 612 Squadron’s Operations Record Book, re: Air 27/2115, Public Record Office, Kew. In the information supplied by the War Graves Commission he is listed as F/O Harrison but P/O Harrison in the Squadron’s ORB.

4. Ralph Barker, ‘The Thousand Plan: The Story of the First Thousand Bomber Raid on Cologne,’ Airlife book 1992, p. 89.

Douglas Edward Herring

789967 Trooper Douglas Edward Herring, 1st Lothian and Border Horse. He died 17th June 1940, aged 21. He the son of Arthur Edward and Caroline Herring of Birmingham.

The British Expeditionary Force was evacuated mainly from Dunkirk but also from ports as far as south as Bordeaux. The overall casualties were regarded as surprisingly light, amounting to 68,111 in May/June 1940. The exception was the sinking of the liner Lancastria off St. Nazaire. Of the 5,800 troops embarked, 3,000 perished. Douglas Herring was one of these casualties. It is alleged that Churchill, emerging six weeks later in the United States suppressed the news of the sinking. One of the most tragic losses! Douglas Herring is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial, France.

Douglas attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1934-1936. He was one of the twenty-three Old Dolphins remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

Many for example on the damaged Aronsay had a horror-stricken view as the 20,000 tonne Lancastria sank in Quiberon Bay. An unknown Yorkshire private described the scene in his diary. “Jerry hit the Lancastria. Terrible to see bodies in the water. Wish it was all over.”

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Information on the Lancastria incident and the alleged concealment of this at the highest level was provided by the often controversial historian David Irving, ‘Churchill’s War,’ Veritas Publishing Co. Australia, 1987, p. 187.

3. John Hamilton, ‘War at Sea 1939-1945,’ Blandford Press, 1986, p. 33.

4. A. J. Watts, ‘The Royal Navy: an Illustrated History,’ Arms and Armour Press, London, 1995

5. A. J. P. Taylor, ‘English History 1914-1945,’ ‘Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1965, p. 487.

6. Details taken from the Memorial Service Programme.

7. Horror View letter of Frank Sage, a British soldier on the Aronsay, Daily Mail, 17th July 1997.

8. Diary in the possession of the Russians 1997. Reported in the Express on Sunday, 21.09.1997.

Alfred Victor Hinks

1184450 Leading Aircraftman Alfred Victor Hinks, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was born 16th October 1922 and lived at 53, Lyncroft Road, Hall Green, Birmingham 28. He left Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1937. He died 3rd November 1941, aged 19. He was the son of Frank and Mabel Hinks of Hall Green. He is buried in Grave 42778, Yardley Cemetery, and Birmingham.

L. A. C. Victor Hinks died at Long Cricel, Blandford, and Dorset. The cause was described on his death certificate as ‘accidental death caused by multiple injuries and burns when an airplane which he was in crashed. No P.M.’

Alfred Hinks attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1934-1936. He was one of the twenty-three Old Dolphins remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. School and home details supplied by the school record cards of Sparkhill Commercial.

3. Death certificate reference Blandford, vol. 5a, p. 875.

4. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

D. G. Hooper

The surname and initials were sent to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Details were received of 2613846 Denis Walter George Hooper, Grenadier Guards. He died 18th June 1944, aged 33. He was the son of Bertie and Louisa Hooper of West Kensington, London. He is too old to have been at Sparkhill Commercial. The extra initial also points to this soldier not being an Old Dolphin.

There is a school record card for a Denis George Hooper born 11th July 1924. This man lived at 46, Grafton Road, Birmingham 11 and left Sparkhill Commercial in July 1939 after completing the two-year course. Denis George Hooper’s card states “killed at Haifa 22.3.1948 Palestine Police.”

It is interesting that this appears to be the man commemorated on the Roll of Honour. He died in 1948, three years after the end of hostilities in Europe and the period to which the inscriptions on the Roll of Honour relate. The reason appears to be outside the period 1939-1945. See, in this context, the notes relating to the death of Harry Malcolm Langston in 1947.

References

1. Data on Denis Walter George Hooper supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Data on Denis George Hooper obtained from his surviving school record card at Sparkhill Commercial School.

Frederick Herbert Hull

755799 Sergeant Frederick Herbert Hull, 206 Squadron, Coastal Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. His service number indicates that he was a ‘weekend’ flyer with the Volunteer Reserve before September 1939. He died 5th August 1940, aged 22. He was the son of Frederick and Laura Hull of Acocks Green, Birmingham. He is buried in grave 51, section A4 north, Solihull Cemetery.

At this time, 206 Squadron was flying Ansons and Hudsons from Bircham Newton, Norfolk. 206 Squadron’s Operations Record Book for 5th August 1940 reported that 1815, “Reports received that P/Os Kean and Rustom had crashed in flames near Syderstone-crew of four all killed. Weather poor-thick haze-fog in patches.” Hudson aircraft P588 had taken off on search duties at 1505 and came down at 1805. Frederick Hull was one of the four-an crew lost.

A School source suggested that the bombs on board exploded on crashing. Although this is not directly confirmed in the ORB, a number of other crashes around this time do involve bomb loads exploding on crash landings by Hudsons.

Syderstone, Norfolk, is very close to Bircham Newton: they almost made it back!

His service career paralleled in some respects that of Percy Prosser. Both joined the Volunteer Reserve before the outbreak of the war. This would mean that they would be among the first into combat and among the first to be lost. They both died in missions from Bircham Newton, Norfolk, flying as sergeant aircrew in Coastal Command Squadrons.

Fred Hull attended Sparkhill Commercial from 1932 to 1933 but was an active member of the Old Dolphins’ Dramatic Society. He played the part of Samuel Sweetland in ‘The Farmer’s Wife’ on Saturday, May 13th 1939 in a cast that included his friend, Percy Prosser. Fred was remembered in the service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. The details of the last mission of Sergeant Hull were obtained from the Squadron’s ORB.

3. “The Dolphin, vol. 2, no. 16. May 1939. P. 14.

William Vinton Jarvis

C/MX 564834 Leading Motor Mechanic William Vinton Jarvis, Royal Navy. He was born 10th August 1925 and lived at 93, Russell Road, Hall Green, Birmingham 28. He left Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1940. He was lost in H.M.S. Magic on the 6th July 1944 and is commemorated on panel 78, column 2 of the Chatham Memorial.

On the night of 5th/6th July 1944, the Germans used ‘one-man’ or ‘human’ torpedoes for the first time off the Normandy beaches. 26 of these ‘one-man’ torpedoes left Trouville and their attack on ships off Sword Beach opened at 030 on the 6th July and lasted until 0630 hours. The only British losses were the minesweepers Magic and Cato. William Jarvis was a member of the crew of the Magic.

William Jarvis attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1934-1936. He was one of the twenty-three Old Dolphins remembered in a service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. School and home details supplied by William Jarvis’ record card at Sparkhill Commercial School.

3. The account of events off Sword Beach on the 6th July 1944 are taken from ‘The Campaign in North-West Europe, June 1944-May 1945.’ London, HMSO, 1994, p. 5.

4. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

David Walter Jennings

748740 Sergeant David Walter Jennings, 57 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. David Jennings’ service number indicates that he had prewar service as a ‘weekend’ flyer with the Volunteer Reserve. He was trained as an observer. He died on the 15th October 1941. He was the son of Samuel and Charlotte Jennings of Hall Green, Birmingham.

Sergeant David Walter Jennings was one of the six aircrew of Wellington IC Bomber X9978 DX that attacked Cologne on the night of 15th October 1941. They took off from Feltwell near Thetford, Norfolk at 1835. They were shot down by a nightfighter and crashed at 2117 at Grevebbicht (Limburg) on the east bank of Maas, 8 kms northwest of Sittard, Holland.

The kill is attributed to Feldwebbel (Sergeant) Maier of 1. /NJG 1 Night Fighter Squadron. All six were initially buried at Venlo but, after 1945, their bodies were reburied in Jonkerbos War Cemetery. Sergeant Jennings is buried in grave reference 24.G.5. A total of at least 18 airmen from Feltwell were killed that night in the raid on Cologne.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by War Graves Cemetery Commission.

2. The 700000 block of service numbers indicates membership of the Volunteer Reserve before the outbreak of the war in 1939.

3. Details of Sergeant Jennings’ last mission were obtained from ‘Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War’ by W. R. Chorley, Midland Counties Publications, vol. 2, and p. 162.

4. NJG=Nachtjägdgeschwader=Night Fighter Squadron.

John Kenneth Kimberley

1581438 Sergeant Wireless Operator/Air gunner John Kenneth Kimberley, 630 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was born 21st November 1922 and lived at 15, Norman Road, Northfield, Birmingham. He left Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1938. He died 22nd June 1944, aged 21. He is buried in Eindhoven Woensel General Cemetery, Holland.

His school record card is marked “Killed on ‘ops’ June 1944”. He died in Lancaster LM118 during the Wesseling raid 21st/22nd June 1944. It is believed that the plane fell victim to a nightfighter and crashed some 4 kms south of Boxtel in Holland.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. School and home details were obtained from the surviving school record cards of Sparkhill Commercial School.

3. Details of the final mission of Sergeant Kimberley were supplied by W. R. Chorley from his researches into Bomber Command losses of the Second World War.

Harry Malcolm Langston

2393364 Signalman Harry Malcolm Langston, Royal Corps of Signals. He was born 9th August 1926 and lived at 116, Beaumont Road, Bournville, and Birmingham. He left Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1942.

He died 27th March 1947 whilst on Army service in Austria. He is buried in St. Nicholas Churchyard, King’s Norton, Birmingham, grave 26 and row A.

Before joining the Army for national service. Harry Langston was employed as an Audit Clerk. He died from pulmonary tuberculosis on 27th March 1947 at 153 Yardley Green Road, Birmingham. The school record card is misleading in reporting that he died on Army service in Austria. It seems likely that he was take ill while in the Army and returned for treatment in Birmingham where he subsequently died.

References

1. Details of name, rank, and service number supplied by the War Cemetery Graves Commission.

2. School, home details and where died supplied from the surviving school record cards of Sparkhill Commercial surviving at Hall Green School.

George Henry Lloyd

1234511 Warrant Officer George Henry Lloyd, 62 Squadron, South East Asia Transport Command flying Dakotas, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died 25th June 1945, aged 22. He was the son of George and Florence Mabel Lloyd and husband of Florence Betty Lloyd of Sheldon, Birmingham.

By this time in the War, 62 Squadron was involved in supplying troops in the Rangoon area. On the 25th June 1945 Flying Officer Basso and crew (Aircraft “J”) failed to return from operations. A SOS was received, repeated once, but was of too short duration to provide a bearing. F/Lt. Hamilton and crew carried out a search for the missing aircraft but could find no sign of “J”. Warrant Officer Lloyd was one of the crew lost. He is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial.

In the Far East at Singapore, the Singapore Memorial bears, on its columns, the names of over 24,000 soldiers and airmen of the British Commonwealth and Empire who have no known grave. The airmen whose name is inscribed on the Memorial died during operations over the whole of Southern and Eastern Asia and the surrounding seas and oceans.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission. The WGC also provided the description of the Singapore Memorial.

2. Details of 62 Squadron and Warrant Officer Lloyd’s final mission were obtained from the Squadron’s ORB, ref: Air 27/585, Public Record Officer, Kew.

Joseph Raymond Longstaff

3001464 Aircraftman 2nd Class Joseph Raymond Longstaff, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was born 15th December 1925 and lived at 34, West Park Avenue, Northfield, and Birmingham 31. He left Sparkhill Commercial School in December 1940. He had been a member of the Air Training Corps.

He died 10th March 1946, aged 20. His school record card is marked “(Killed in action 1939-1945).” He was the son of Thomas and Elsie Longstaff of Northfield, Birmingham. He is buried in Delhi War Cemetery, India.

The Delhi War Cemetery contains the Dual Memorial to 25,000 men of the Army and Air Force of Undivided India while on service in non-operational areas.

Joseph Longstaff attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1939-1940. He was commemorated in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. School and home details from the record cards of Sparkhill Commercial School.

3. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Geoffrey Alan Mirams

2598664 Signalman Geoffrey Alan Mirams, Royal Corps of Signals. He died 13th May 1944, aged 23. He was the son of Herbert Frederick and Emily Mirams of Mosley, Birmingham and husband of Norah Isabelle Clarke Mirams of Mosely. He is buried in grave XII.C.14, Cassino War Cemetery, and Italy.

An entry in the Army War Records of Deaths, 1939-1948, relates to Geoffrey Alan Mirams. It simply states that he ‘Died of Wounds in Italy’ on the above date. The battle for Monte Cassino claimed the life of this Old Dolphin.

Geoffrey Mirams attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1939-1936. He was commemorated in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Return of Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men of Royal Signals Killed in Action or who have died whilst on Service Abroad between 3rd September 1939-30th June 1948 inclusive as inclusive as registered under the Registrations of Births, Death and Marriages (Special Provisions) Act 1957.

3. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Arthur Mitchley

754174 Sergeant Pupil Pilot Arthur Mitchley, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Arthur Mitchley’s service number indicates that he was a ‘weekend’ flyer before 1939 with the Volunteer Reserve.

It seems likely that he was killed at a Service Flying Training School whilst on advance instruction as the rank of sergeant was usually confirmed after the completion of basic flying training. He died 3rd August 1940, aged 21. He was the son of John and Ellen Mitchley of Birmingham. He is buried in grave 47942, Yardley Cemetery, Birmingham.

Arthur Mitchley lived at 15, Circular Road, Birmingham. His death certificate describes him as Sergeant in the R.A.F. (Civil Occupation Clerk). His death on the 3rd August 1940 occurred at Banbury Meadow in the Parish of Plouton RD The clause of death is given as ‘comminuted fractures of all bone of the body including the skull as a result of the aircraft he was actually flying accidently colliding with another and crashing there.’

Arthur Mitchley attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1932-1933. He was commemorated in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Other details in discussion with W. R. Chorley.

3. Death certificate reference Cirencester 6a, p. 987.

4. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Roy Victor Charles Pleasance

51285 Pilot Officer Air Gunner Roy Victor Charles Pleasance, 9 Squadron Bomber Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Pilot Officer Pleasance was commissioned from the ranks. He died 11th April 1943, aged 22. He was the son of William and Dorothy Pleasance of Tilbury, Essex.

The eight-man crew of Lancaster III ED501 WS-R took off from Waddington 10th April 1943 to attack Frankfurt. The plane crashed near Mainz. Roy Pleasance is buried in grave B.A.12 Rheinburg War Cemetery, Germany.

Roy Pleasance attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1935-1938. He was commemorated in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Details of Pilot officer Pleasance’s final mission supplied from ‘Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War’ by W. R. Chorley, Midland Counties Publications, 1996, vol. 4, p. 100.

3. In conversation with Bill Cooke, a contemporary at Sparkhill in the 1930’s.

4. Details listed in the Memorial Service Programme.

Percy Rollo Prosser

755800 Sergeant Percy Rollo Prosser, 235 Squadron, Coastal Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. His service number indicates that he joined the Volunteer Reserve prior to the outbreak of hostilities and initially served as a ‘weekend’ flyer. He died 16th December 1940. He was the son of P. J. and Lillian Prosser of Quinton, Birmingham. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1933-1935. He was commemorated in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

Along with P/O Coggins and P/O Sadley, Sergeant Prosser took off from Bircham Newton at 1535 on 15th December 1940 to act as Escort for Minelayers. The Squadron’s Operations Record Book reports that “P/O Coggins crashed in sea at 1815 cause unknown.” Sergeant Prosser was one of those lost. Unofficially, contemporaries report the likelihood of loss due to enemy action.

Percy Prosser is remembered by his schoolmates as an exceptionally smartly turned out pupil with an early keen interest in aviation with copies of Flight magazine often to be seen on his desk. Miss Doris Skews remembered him for his involvement in the construction of ‘flats’ for the musicals presented in the School Hall at Sparkhill during the 1930’s.

His service career paralleled in some respects that of Frederick Hull. Both joined the Volunteer Reserve before September 1939. This would mean that they would be among the first into combat and among the first to be lost. They both died in missions from Bircham Newton, Norfolk, flying as aircrew in Coastal Command Squadrons.

Percy Prosser was in Hill House and, in 1935, played the part of the judge in “The Bracelet.” “Prosser, as the judge, took the part very well.” Along with Fred Hull, Percy Prosser was a member of the Old Dolphins’ Dramatic Society. He acted the role of George Smirdon in a production of “The Farmer’s Wife” in May 1939.

Nearly 60 years later, in recalling these events, Bill Cooke, a school friend, would say, “Rollo Prosser was my pal!”

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. The details of the last mission of Percy Rollo Prosser were obtained from the Squadron’s ORB, ref: Air 27/1442, Public Record Office, Kew.

3. Conversation with Bill Cooke and correspondence with Doris Skews.

4. “The Dolphin,” Vol. 1, No. 6, July 1935, p. 6.

5. “The Dolphin,” Vol. 2, No. 16, May 1939, p.14.

Henry John Alfred Rogers

15793663 Flight Sergeant Navigator Henry John Alfred Rogers, 70 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. 70 Squadron was Middle East based Bomber Squadron.

Henry Rogers was born 23rd March 1922 and lived at 5, Bertram Place, Main St., Birmingham 11. He attended Sparkhill Commercial School, 1935-1938, leaving in July that year. He died 10th August 1944, aged 22. He was the son of Henry and Winifred Rogers of Sparkhill, Birmingham.

During the night of 9th/10th August 1944, Flight Sergeant Rogers was the navigator of aircraft “O” LN, 963, one of eleven that took off from Foggia Tortorella in Italy to attack the Americana Oil Refinery at Ploesti in Romania. The object of the attack was to destroy the vital cracking and distillation plant. The Squadron’s Operations Record Book for this raid states “Foggia Tortorella-Aircraft missing-nothing heard after the take-off from base.”

Flight Sergeant Rogers is buried in Bucharest War Cemetery, Rumania. His school record card is marked “(NB Reported “MISSING” from ops, 7/45).” He was remembered in the School Memorial held 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

Listed in “The Dolphin’ as Top Boy in the Second Year prizes for July 1937, Henry Rogers was a keen cricketer and debater during his time at Sparkhill Commercial School. As a member of the 1st XI Cricket Team in 1938, he was described as “a useful all-rounder, an attacking bat and successful slip fielder. Has been an efficient hard is working sports secretary.” In 1938, he opposed the motion “That the League of Nations is useless,” and opposed a motion proposing “The Abolition of the Death Penalty.” He helped to win the motion “That the Government should cease its Re-arrangement Policy.” He obviously had faith in the ability of international organizations to maintain the peace! He was for some time one of the assistant editors of the school magazine, ‘The Dolphin.’

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Home and school details supplied from the school record cards.

3. Details of the mission during which Flight Sergeant Rogers was killed were obtained from the Squadron’s Operations Record Book, ref: Air 27/617, Public Office, Kew.

4. “The Dolphin,” vol. 2, No. 13, p.7, April 1938.

5. “The Dolphin,” vol. 2, No. 14, p. 15,July 1938.

6. Ibid. p. 16.

Reginald Elston Sturdy

234855 Corporal Reginald Elston Sturdy, Royal Corps of Signals. He died 1st February 1945, aged 24. He was the son of Sam Elston and Edith Sturdy and husband of Milfred Leslie Sturdy of Huddersfiel. He is buried in the Schoonselhof Cemetery, Belgium.

Reginald Sturdy attended Sparkhill Commercial School 1933-1935. He was one of those remembered in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. School details take from the memorial service Programme supplied the school.

Victor Henry Twining

1210421 Sergeant Victor Henry Twining, 102 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died 30th July 1942, aged 20. He was the son of William M. and S. J. Twining of Birmingham.

Sergeant Twining was one of the six man crew who took of at 2306 25th July 1942 from Topcliffe near York to attack Saarbrüken. Their Halifax II Bomber R9442 DY-R was shot down by a nightfighter flown by Oberleutnant Reinhold Eckhardt, of 7/NJG 3. The Halifax crashed at 0300 on 30th July at Corbais (Brabant), 35 kms southeast of Brussels. All are buried in Corbais Genera Cemetery. Oblt. Eckhardt was himself shot down by return fire and, in baling out, his parachute entangled in the tail of the plane of his Messerschmidt 110 and he was killed.

Some 52 airmen were lost that night in the raid on Saarbrüken. Willy Felix describes the events of this night in ‘Le Dernier Raid’.

Victor Twining attended Sparkhill Commercial School 1935-1937. He was one of those remembered in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Details of Sergeant Twining’s last mission are published in ‘Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War’ by W. R. Chorley, Midland Counties Publications, 1996, vol. 3, p.168.

3. NJG=Nachtjägdgeschwader=Night Fighter Squadron.

4. Details from the Memorial Service Programme.

Eric Shirley Walker Watts

159127 Leading Aircraftman Eric Shirley Walker Watts, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died 23rd February 1943, aged 22. He was the son of Shirley and Elsie M. W. Watts of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. He is buried in Killed (St. Catherine) Church of Ireland Churchyard, United Kingdom.

LAC Watts the u/t Navigator aboard Anson Mark I, Serial No. EG460, of No. 1 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit, Wigtown, No. 29 Group, RAF Fighter Command. Flying Accident. Aircraft flew into cloud covered hillside at Bracknaughs-Lievegallion near Moneymore, County Londonderry, at approximately 10.20 am. On 23/2/1943. Cause of crash unknown.

Eric Watts attended Sparkhill Commercial School 1933-1935. He was one of those remembered in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Details of the accident in which Eric Watts died supplied by Air Historical Branch, Ministry of Defence, London.

3. Details taken from the Memorial Service Programme.

James William Whittingham

10547047 Private James William Whittingham, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He died 2nd March 1942, aged 20. He was the son of Willie and Clara Whittingham and the husband of M. Whittingham of Acocks Green, Birmingham. He was cremated at Birmingham Municipal Crematorium, England.
References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

John Rex Whittingham

14836561 Private John Rex Whittingham, 1st Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment. He died 15th September 1946 and is buried in the Tel El Kebir War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. Aged 20, he was the son of Leonard and Catherine Mary Whittingham of Shirley, Warwickshire. His school record card at Sparkhill Commercial gives his birthday as 17th August 1926. He lived at 23, Union Road, Shirley and left Sparkhill Commercial in December 1941. His card is marked “(died o.a.s. Cairo 15.9.46).”

This Old Dolphin is not commemorated on the Roll of Honour. Perhaps an oversight? The War Graves Commission supplied this man’s details after an enquiry based on his surviving school record card.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. Other details from the surviving school record cards.

Alan Frederick William Wood

1448751 Flight Sergeant Pilot Alan Frederick William Wood, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died 4th August 1944, aged 23.

He was the son of Percival Frederick William and Eva Elizabeth Wood and husband of Brenda Olive Wood of Sheldon, Birmingham. He is buried in grave 63261, Yardley Cemetery, Birmingham.

Flight Sergeant Wood-Instructor aboard Master Mark III, Serial No. W9027, of No.5 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit, Ternhill, No. 21 Group, RAF Fighter Command. Flying Accident. Aircraft was circling the Birmingham area at between 500-1000 feet, when it stalled and crashed into the ground, at Parksons Stove Works, Stetchford, Birmingham, at 19.20 hours on 4/8/44.

Alan Wood attended Sparkhill Commercial School 1934-1937. He was one of those remembered in the Memorial Service held on Wednesday, 10th April 1946, conducted by the Rev. S. Tetley, Vicar of St. John’s, Sparkhill.

References

1. Details of name, rank, service number and family supplied by the War Graves Commission.

2. The Air Historical Branch, Ministry of Defence, London, supplied details of the incident in which Flight Sergeant Wood was killed.

3. Details taken from the Memorial Service Programme.