BAILEY R.C. F/Sgt., R.A.F.
Flight Sergeant 1297999 Reginald Charles Bailey D.F.M. joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve when he was eighteen. He was a member of a seven man crew who flew Lancaster bombers of the No 83 Pathfinder Squadron stationed at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
His parents were Charles and Rose Bailey.
Reg was married to a former wireless operator in the W.A.A.F. and they were expecting their first child when he took part in a raid on Weoseling near Cologne. It was his 44th bombing raid, had they completed one more they would have been transferred to ground duties.
Lancaster 'V'ND551 took off at 3218 hrs on 21st June 1944 with its seven man crew, including Navigator/Air-Gunner Reg Bailey and his friend and 'Skipper', Flt/Lt. Ronnie Walker.
The official record states; Missing - nothing heard of after take off.
Their aircraft had been shot down by a German night fighter about 15 miles south of Eindhoven in Holland. Reg and five members of the crew were killed but it was not until five months later that the Red Cross were able to inform the families that six bodies had been buried near the town. The day before the news confirming Reg Bailey's death was received, his wife Hilda Constance gave birth to their son. His grave is in Eindhoven Cemetery, plot KK.77.
BASEVI B. F/Sgt., R.A.F.
Flight Sergeant 923222, Bernard Athelstan Basevi, 83 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Joined the R.A.F. in September 1940, Age 21.
He was trained in Canada under the 'Empire Air Training Scheme' before being attached to Bomber Command. His plane crashed into the North Sea in December 1941 on his first operational flight.
Bernard was a member of the four man crew of a Hampden bomber of 83 Squadron based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. The pilot was F/Lt., A.L. Parsons and the other crew members were F/Lt., D. Jacobs and Sgt., G. Winscombe. Their Hampden call sign AE191OL-Z took off at 0213 hrs on the morning of the 8th December 1941 to attack Aachen in west Germany. Shortly after take off they were forced to ditch in the North Sea - they were adrift for over 24 hours in a small inflatable dingy in the freezing sea. Bernard's feet were badly frost bitten and both he and Sgt Winscombe died - their comrades put their bodies over the side into the sea. Eventually the two survivors were picked up by the German Navy and sent to the POW camp, Stalag Luft Sagan for the rest of the war.
Only a fortnight earlier, when he was on leave with his parents, Mr and Mrs E.E. Basevi at their home in the High Street, Bernard announced his engagement to Miss Jean Iles of Little Somerford.
Without a record of his grave, Bernard's name has been included with the 20,000 names carved on the R.A.F. Memorial at Runnymede. The names are carved on stone panels set around a colonnade, the airmen and woman are listed in the years of the war in which they were reported missing.
The Memorial is built on Cooper's Hill overlooking the River Thames with magnificent views of Windsor Castle and, in good weather, seven counties.
Bernard Basevi's name is on Panel 39 with that of his comrade.
BEUTELL R.G. F/Lt R.A.F.
Flight Lieutenant 139631, Robert Gerald Beutell, 518 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Gerald and his brother, Victor served in the R.A.F.V.R., both in meteorological reconnaissance. Victor, survived and returned to Malmesbury, but Gerald lost his life in a blizzard just south of the Faeroe Islands.
On the 21st of January 1945, whilst on vital weather reconnaissance duties over the North Sea, his plane came down in the water and Gerald was drowned. His last act was to send the important report to High Command. He was 26 years old.
His name is carved at the Runnymede Memorial on Panel 265.
The brothers' parents, Alfred William and Ida Augusta Beutell lived at The Beeches. Alfred W. Beutell was the inventor of the filament strip light, and the founder of the Linolite Company. The London factory was demolished in an air raid in 1941 and relocated to Malmesbury in the old 'Luce Mill' in Burnivale, where they were engaged in production for the war effort.
BROWN G. L/S R.N.
Leading Seaman George Brown had served in submarines and had applied for a transfer to a 'surface ship'. He had just joined the Destroyer H.M.S. Tiger which was taking part in manoeuvres in the North Sea when it was involved in a collision with another warship and George was killed.
CARTER N. 2/Lt R.W.Y.
Second Lieutenant Nigel Keevil Carter T.D., died of 'Sand Fly Fever' whilst on Active Service in the Middle East, he was 34. From the age of 18 he had been in the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, becoming Squadron Quartermaster and receiving his commission just before the outbreak of war.
He was the only son of William Benjamin and Annie Carter who lived at Arches Farm. Educated at Dean's Close School, Cheltenham, Nigel then trained with a firm of local auctioneers later taking over a large farm near Tetbury. He was very popular in his Squadron and in Malmesbury, being always to the fore in social events and was the organiser at the Squadron's annual ball.
Before going on active service he was married at Chippenham to Mrs Lilian "Bunny" Phillips, daughter of Mr and Mrs George King of Derriads Farm, Chippenham.
His widow went to live near Croydon Surrey.
Nigel Carter is buried in the Ramleh War Cemetery in Israel. (12 kms south-east of Jaffa).
CHURCHOUSE D. Sgt R.A.F.
Sergeant 575146 David John Kenneth Churchouse was a Flight Engineer in 207 Sqdn., Royal Air Force. He died on Tuesday, 23rd May 1944, aged 21 years. His parents, Archibald Henry and Dorothy Mary Churchouse lived in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
He is buried in Hanover War Cemetery. Ref. 15.K13-16. Many of the graves in this cemetery were moved from prisoner of war camp cemeteries. There are 2,451 graves of United Kingdom subjects in the Hanover cemetery.
CLARK H.L. Gnr R.A.
Gunner 1533362 Harold Leslie Clark, 153 Battery, 51 H.A.A. Regt., Royal Artillery died Monday, 14th April 1941. Aged 21 years.
He was the youngest son of Thomas and Sarah Clark of St. John's Street. Thomas Clark was a cattle drover, which he managed to do in spite of having a wooden leg.
Harold was killed in Cyrenaica, Libya, and is buried in the British Military War Cemetery at Knightsbridge. Ref., 10.A.16.
The defence against Rommel's drive across North Africa towards the Suez Canal consisted of a number of irregular spaced strong points or 'boxes' linked by deep minefields. The main 'box' was called 'Knightsbridge' because it was around a junction of desert tracks some 12 miles west of Tobruk.
Fierce tank battles were fought in the desert, those who were killed were buried in scattered locations or small battlefield burial grounds, later all these graves were gathered together at Knightsbridge.
CRAIG D.L.C. Lt/Cmdr. R.N.
Desmond Lisburn Curtis Craig served in both wars.
His parents lived in the Old Brewery House, his father had been MP in County Antrim for many years and his uncle, Lord Craigavon had been the Premier of Northern Ireland. Desmond joined the Royal Navy as a cadet and served in both World Wars. He had a brilliant career in the Navy, entering Osborne Naval Training College in September 1917. He was appointed Midshipman in H.M.S. Hawkins, flagship of Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson on the China Station. After passing his examination for Lieutenant, in which he gained five "firsts", he was appointed to H.M. yacht Victoria and Albert, in which he served for one year, and was promoted Lieutenant in November 1926.
In 1927 he joined the destroyer H.M.S. Wishart on the China Station, this is his second commission in the East. In 1929 he was appointed to the Shotley Training Establishment for Boys at Harwich, but had to relinquish this post through illness at the end of a year. After his recovery he was appointed Lieutenant in H.M. Walker, and spent the next two years in the Mediterranean. He was promoted Lt./Commander in 1934. and in that rank served for two years in H.M.S. Rodney. He was then given command of H.M.S. Ambuscade, and in 1937 was appointed to command H.M. Gunboat Seamew, attached to China Station, and spent the next two years on the West River and at Hong Kong.
In 1940 he was given command of a destroyer, H.M.S. Venetia. The Venetia was badly damaged while taking part in the evacuation of troops from Boulogne. Whilst he was waiting for his ship to be repaired, the British Army was being driven out of France. Lt/Cdr Craig crossed the English Channel to Dunkirk to help organise the safe embarkation of our troops.
The remnants of our forces were driven back onto the beaches at Dunkirk where desperate attempts were made to rescue them.
In fact the dramatic rescue of 385,000 British and French troops in those nine days in the summer of 1940 seemed to many, little short of a miracle. Cockle fishermen, lifeboatmen, yachtsmen, and members of the Royal Navy put to sea in anything that would float and they braved the 'E-boats' and the Luftwaffe. Of the 'little ships' 240 of the 860 were sunk, six destroyers were sunk and 19 badly damaged.
It was due to men like Lt/Cdr Desmond Craig, who went out onto the beaches to get some order into the withdrawal that so many men were saved.
Back in command of his ship the Venetia, she was sunk by enemy action in October 1940, Desmond lost his life with many of his officers and crew.
Married, his wife Josephine lived in Crewkerne.
His name is recorded on the Royal Naval Memorial at Plymouth, Devon, his home port. The memorial is situated centrally on The Hoe which overlooks directly towards Plymouth Sound. panel 36, Column 1.
FRAYLING W.L. Gnr R.A.
Gunner 1148602 William Lot Frayling, 172 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, died on Wednesday, 22nd September 1943. Age 37. His parents lived on the Bristol Road.
In September 1943, British and American forces landed in Italy near Salerno. In the week after landing the Allies were still unable to break out of their shallow beachhead. The Italians announced an armistice and the Germans realising that they would be cut off fought with great ferocity, the Allies were nearly driven from the beaches, but with the massive extra air support of the whole Mediterranean air force and Allied reserves from North Africa the Germans were forced back.
William Frayling is buried in the Salerno War Cemetery, Grave Ref. IB48.
GOVE H.W. LAC. R.A.F.
Corporal 542976 Harold Walter Grove, 59 Sqdn., Royal Air Force, died on Friday, 26th March 1943 of complications after pneumonia, aged 22 years.
He is listed on the war memorial as Leading Air Craftsman but was a Corporal at the time of his death.
His parents, Walter James and Ethel Blanche Gove were Bakers and Confectioners in a tiny shop at No 3 Oxford Street. All who remembered them referred to their famed Christmas cakes. Harold worked with his parents in their little bakery before he joined the R.A.F. At the time of his death they moved to Withycombe Raleigh, near Exmouth in Devon. As Harold died in this country, his parents were able to ask for him to be buried in the Churchyard of St. John in The Wilderness at Withycombe Raleigh.
His headstone was provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the commission pay towards the upkeep of his grave, and as with all the graves in their care, regularly visit to clean and ensure it is in good condition.
HISLOP J.K. Lt R.A.
Lieutenant 253625 Joseph Kerr Hislop, 62 Anti-Tank Regt. Royal Artillery, died Sunday, 9th July 1944, Age 31. Three Hislop brothers fought in the war, Victor served in the R.A.F. and John in the Army, they both returned home safely. Lieutenant Joe Hislop was killed in action in France. he served in the 245 Battalion of the 62nd Anti-Tank Regiment.
Their parents were Albert James and Amy Hislop. Joe's wife was Mollie Marian Hislop of Cambridge.
A month after the D-Day landings in Normandy there was a major battle at Caen to breakout from the beachhead. Joe was killed by enemy fire the day Caen fell to the Allies. British and Canadian casualties in this one operation were over 5,000 men.
This is the letter written by his Commanding Officer;
245 Battery
62nd Anti-Tank regiment
Royal Artillery. B.W.E.F.
13 July 1944
Dear Mrs Hislop,
May I convey mine, and all the Battery's deepest sympathy to you on your terrible loss.
On the 8th July we supported an attack on a village and Joe led his troops in to take up positions. Whilst he was on reconnaissance with Sgt. Thompson, a hidden machine gun opened fire on them and they were both killed. Later we were able to recover them and they were buried in the Military Cemetery at Beny-sur-mer by our own Padre. By his quiet steadiness and absolute reliability Joe had found a place in all our hearts and his loss will be deeply felt throughout the Battery, and particularly by 'A' troop, which he had led so well since he joined us.
May God give you strength to bear this terrible loss.
Yours sincerely
Frank Bullivant (Major)
A fellow officer wrote the next day;
14/7/44 62nd ATK Regt. B.W.E.F.
Dear Mrs Hislop,
I cannot say how terribly grieved I was at Joe's death in action. He was such a grand chap, and we all of us, officers and men thought the world of him. He died leading his guns into action at a very critical moment. He walked round the corner of a house and came under the direct fire of a German machine gun, and was killed instantly. His face when we picked him up later was very peaceful. His troop, later went on to win a great battle over the German tanks. It was entirely due to Joe's leadership and former training that they did this. Had Joe been there, their victory would have been even greater I am sure. It would be an impertinence for me to sympathise with you, for there are some things beyond sympathy. The loss of people like Joe seems such a hard price to have to pay, and I can only feel proud that he served in this regiment, and I think enjoyed it.
Yours sincerely
Dick Bethell.
P.S. If there is anything we can do would you write to my wife at 129 London Road, Camberly.
Lt Joe Hislop now lies in the Bayer War Cemetery, Calvados, Grave No B 25 There are over 4,000 casualties in this one cemetery.
HULSE H. Cpl WILTS REGT.
Corporal 5569945, Horace Edward John Hulse, 5th Batt., Wiltshire Regiment died at Maltot on Saturday, 22nd July 1944. Aged 24 years.
Maltot is one of the Battle Honours of the Wiltshire Regiment. It was here that some of the fiercest fighting took place.
The Normandy landings, D-Day, took place on 6th June 1944. The Wiltshire Regiment was part of the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Montgomery.
After 16 days of desperate fighting they had only got 20 kilometres from where they first set foot on French soil. Horace was killed in the battle for Normandy, he has no known grave, it may be that he is buried as an 'unknown' soldier at Rynes Cemetery, his body was never identified.
Horace's name is carved on the wall of the Bayer memorial, Calvasdos, with 1,800 others who died on advance to the River Seine and have no known grave. It is on Panel 16, Column 3.
His parents were John and Jess Hulse.
Horace was married just before he was sent overseas, his young wife, Freda who came from Crudwell worked in the E.K. Cole factory at Cowbridge making 'wave-guides' for Radar equipment. Freda along with hundreds of young women worked all shifts making and repairing vital communications equipment in this factory hidden away amongst the trees.
The girls sang to keep happy and pass the time as they wired and soldered the small components.
Everyone knew when a policeman cycled from the town down to the factory it was bad news. Receiving telegrams was the same. All girls stopped singing and waited to hear what the news would be. Freda was called to the manager's office where she was told her husband had been killed. Someone went to the workbench, picked up her bag, and she was taken home.
Remembering Horace
LUCE C. Cmdr., R.N.
Commander Alfred Cecil Luce R.N. was killed in action at sea on the 20th October 1941. He was 38 years old. He was serving on H.M.S. Norfolk when he was killed and subsequently buried at sea. While he was with H.M.S. Norfolk, Cecil Luce had been mentioned in despatches for his actions when the Norfolk took part in the battle to find and sink the Bismark.
There had been nothing in naval history to compare with the hunt for the German battleship, Bismark. There had never been a warship like the Bismark, she was a sixth of a mile long, over 120 feet wide, armed with 15" guns and carried six aircraft. She symbolised not only the resurgent German Navy, but the whole resurgent German nation.
The Bismark, the largest warship in the world, had sunk the British battle-cruiser, H.M.S. Hood with the loss of 1,416 lives. There was not a town in Britain that did not mourn the loss of a sailor on what had been the pride of the British Royal Navy. No efforts were spared to seek out and destroy the Bismark, it could outgun and sink every ship in the Royal Navy. In the next four days and three thousand miles of hunting on the high seas by 8 battleships, 2 aircraft carriers, 11 cruisers, 21 destroyers and 6 submarines, found and sunk the giant ship.
Reporting on the funeral of Commander Luce, the Chaplain of H.M.S. Norfolk said that their memory of Cecil was one of shining character.
Wherever he was, he brought life. In work or in leisure, in leadership or friendship, he drew others to his own high standard; they thought clearer, worked harder, lived more finely, simply because he was there. To all who knew him life would be different, since he had shown its many sided richness.
For him that richness was only released by death. As he lay dying on the Norfolk, he spoke the words from Henley's poem. "Invictus".
"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll;
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul".
The son of Admiral John Luce, C.B., and Mary Dorothea Luce, he was married to Mary Constance Luce.
As with most naval casualties, his grave is the sea, and his name is carved on the memorial at his home port, Plymouth. The Memorial is on the Hoe, between the Armada Memorial and the Drake statue. Plaques around the memorial record the names of those who died in both world wars. Cecil Luce's name is on Panel 44, Column 2, one of 15,926 who died in the Second World War.
ODY V.W. Stwd., M.N.
Steward Vivian Ody, Merchant Navy. Died Thursday, 13th August 1942. Age 24. Vivian was a steward on S.S. Waimarama, registered at Southampton. His name is on Panel 116 of the Tower Hill Memorial which stands on the south side of the garden of Trinity Square, London.
The Memorial bears this inscription;
1939 - 1945
THE TWENTY- FOUR THOUSAND OF
MERCHANT NAVY AND FISHING FLEETS
WHOSE NAMES HONOURED
ON THE WALLS OF THIS GARDEN
GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY
AND HAVE NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA
SHRUBSOLE G.M. Gnr., R.A.
Gunner 895171 Geoffrey Mark Shrubsole, 99 (The Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, died on Thursday, 20th of April 1944. Age 28.
Son of Mark and Alice Marian Shrubsole, his wife was Margaret Ianthe. They had a son who died in tragic circumstances.
Geoffrey Shrubsole's grave is in the Kohima Cemetery, India. (Ref.3A.15)
Kohima, the capital city of Nagaland State in some 220 kilometres from the Burmese border. Here in April 1944, the Japanese advance into India was halted, and Garrison Hill, a long wooded spur on a high ridge was the scene of perhaps the most bitter fighting of the whole Burma campaign. A small isolated force held out against repeated attack by a Japanese Division.
The fiercest hand to hand fighting took place in the garden of the Deputy Commissioner's bungalow around the tennis court; but the heaviest casualties on both sides occurred after relieving forces reached the Garrison, in driving the enemy off the ridge and so opening the road to Impal. It is on the battlefield of Garrison Hill that Geoffrey Shrubsole lies.
No trace remains of the bungalow, it was completely destroyed in the fighting, but white concrete lines mark out the historic tennis court. At the edge, appropriately stands the Cross of Sacrifice, a reminder of the Christian homes those young men would see no more.
Their memorial consists of a large "Naga stone", such as the Nagas themselves use for commemorating their dead. The stone chosen was too difficult for modern machinery to move but it was positioned by scores of the Naga tribesmen using their own strength.
It bears the inscription;
'When you go home
Tell them of us and say
"For your tomorrow
We gave our today"'
THOMPSON M. Cpl., BEDS & HERTS.
Cpl George Maurice Thompson 6028601 was in the 2nd Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment, part of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, he was killed on 16th May 1944, aged 29. His wife Marjorie and his parents, George and Emily Thompson lived in Bath.
He is buried in Cassino War Cemetery in Italy.
82 of the 2nd Battalion were killed during the battle to capture the Monastery at Monte Cassino.
THORNBURY G. Cpl., R.A.S.C.
No information found. See notes
WOODMAN L. L/Bdr R.A.
Lance Bombardier 1555770, 21 Light A.A. Regt., Royal Artillery, died Monday, 29th November 1943. Age 29.
Son of Private Edgar Woodman, The Gloucestershire Regiment, (killed in action in France, 24th April, 1918), and of Lily Ethel Woodman of Foundry Road.
Leslie's father, Edgar had been the County Court clerk and was an active member of the United Reform Church before he enlisted for service in the First World War, serving first in the Wiltshire Regt., later he was transferred to the Gloucesters.
Leslie was killed in Malaya. He has no known grave. His name is carved on the Singapore Memorial, Column 11. The memorial bears the names of 24,000 soldiers and airmen of the British Commonwealth and Empire who have no graves.
The Singapore Memorial is in the Kranji War Cemetery, it is in the shape of a great pylon 24 metres high, surmounted by a star. Around the foot of the pylon are inscribed these word;
1939 - 1945
ON THE WALLS OF THIS MEMORIAL ARE
RECORDED THE NAMES OF TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND SOLDIERS AND
AIRMEN OF MANY RACES UNITED
IN THE SERVICE TO THE BRITISH CROWN
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN MALAYA AND
NEIGHBOURING LANDS AND SEAS
AND IN THE AIR OVER SOUTHERN AND EASTERN ASIA
AND THE PACIFIC BUT TO WHOM THE
FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED THE CUSTOMARY
RITES ACCORDED TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH
WOODWARD A. L/Cpl R.T.R.
Lance Corporal 1514716 Arthur Frederick Woodward, 44th, Royal Tank Regiment, R.A.C., died on Thursday, 27th November 1941. Age 23.
His parents were Edward George and Florence Emily Woodward of Gastons Road. Arthur was killed in a tank battle in Cyrencia, Libya. He was buried in a roadside cemetery with a simple cross and his helmet as the grave marker. Later Arthur was reburied at the British Military Cemetery at Knightsbridge, where his grave in row 2.A.8., carries the inscription;
"Goodnight - until we meet again".
Knightsbridge was the 'nick-name' given to the area of desert, inland some way from Tobruk, which was a junction of several rough tracks.
WOODWARD W.H. Pte WILTS REGT.
Private 557316 William Henry Woodward, 5th Batt., Wiltshire Regiment died on Sunday, 23rd July 1944. Age 29.
His parents were Edward George and Florence Emily Woodward of Gastons Road, and Arthur Woodward, killed in North Africa three years earlier, was his younger brother.
Sam Slade, of Chippenham, a regular soldier who had joined the Army in 1930, recalled those violent days;
"We were in the big bloody battle, Maltot - we started with a thousand and fifteen men and the next day we'd a hundred and twenty-two killed or wounded. I picked up Bill Woodward, he'd a shrapnel wound in his neck and all down here. a gaping wound. Bill was a bloody lovely bloke, he was dying when I picked him up. We'd been out looking for stragglers from 'D' company and I found Bill lying by the roadside. He was out all that Saturday night you see - I tried to get him to an Aid Station but he died.
The Padre came up, he got killed soon after, I said; 'Don't worry about identity here Sir, I know him, he's Bill Woodward from Malmesbury - used to work on the aerodrome'. Bill was a lovely bloke, came up late he did - bloody wicked that was - how many children did he leave when he went? I got wounded at Cleaves - you know Anne of Cleaves? - Maltot and Cleaves are on our battle honours. I went to see Bill's mother and his wife, told them how I picked Bill up, we lost a lot of good men there - I don't want to have any more of that again.......".
William Woodward was married to May Lilian and left two little girls.
His grave is in the Ryes War Cemetery, Bazenville, Calvados. Row IVF4.
The cemetery is not far inland from the beaches at Arromanches where the landings were made on 6th June 1944.
50 of the 600 casualties buried there have not been identified.
Remembering William
* * * * * * * *
NOTES
Any attempt to record the events of the Second World War as it affected the men of Malmesbury who lost their lives is doomed to failure, but it is a story that must be told, however poorly. These men deserve to be remembered, they are always in the thoughts of their relatives, and I am grateful to them for their help and for allowing me to use their private documents.
When the Appeals Committee of Malmesbury hospital suggested that their proposed new building should be a 'war memorial' for the whole area, they seemed to have forgotten that the main hospital itself is in fact a 'war memorial'. The building was given to the community by the Countess of Suffolk in 'ever living memory' of her husband, Major Henry Holyneux Paget, the 19th Earl of Suffolk and 12th Earl of Berkshire who was killed in action in Iraq on the 21st April 1917. Age 39 years.
Four of the men of Malmesbury who are named on the Memorial Gates are also remembered in their Church. There is a beautiful stained glass window dedicated to their memory in the United Reform Church in St. Mary's Street.
The window shows St. George kneeling, his head bowed, he holds the standard of England, whilst he kneels before the figure of Christ, who is giving a blessing while placing a victor's laurel on the Saint. The two figures are in a field of tall white lilies. Mounted on the wall beneath is a brass plaque with the following inscription;
IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF
HAROLD W. GOVE
LESLIE H. WOODMAN
ARTHUR F. WOODMAN
WILLIAM H. WOODMAN
WHO FELL IN THE 1939 - 45 WAR
AND OF THOSE
WHO SAFELY RETURNED
Much of the work and encouragement to build this window came from the late Mrs Lily Woodman. She had lost her husband Edgar in the First World War, her son Leslie lost his life in the Far East, her son Horace returned home safely.
The Woodward brothers, Arthur and Leslie, were two of seven brothers from Malmesbury to serve in the Second World War. Brothers Jack, Cecil, Reg, Norman and Eric returned home.
When I was working in the library of the Imperial War Museum, I left a draft of my notes with the Co-ordinator of the National Inventory of War memorials, Catherine Moriarty. Later General Derek Boorman included my notes on the Malmesbury War memorials in his book "For Your Tomorrow". Included in the book is a colour photograph of this Memorial Window.
Commander Cecil Luce is also remembered on the Luce family memorial in Malmesbury Abbey. His father was an Admiral, his three brothers, David and twins, Edward and William all had brilliant service careers. Admiral Sir David Luce won the D.S.O. for his part in the Dieppe raid and was made Chief Staff Officer to the Naval Forces at the 'D-Day' landings. Sir William Luce was in the Sudan Political Service during the war and afterwards Governor of Aden, whilst Brigadier Edward Luce commanded the 4th Battalion, the Wiltshire Regiment throughout the war.
Two of the men named on the Memorial Gates, Corporal Horace Hulse and Private Bill Woodward served under Lt.Col., (Later Brigadier) Edward Luce in Northern France.
I failed to obtain further information about Corporal Thornbury. Thornbury is an old local name, with several unrelated families living in Malmesbury but he was not a member of an existing family.
Although it has no connection with my fruitless search, I did find that at least two men called 'Thompson' had enlisted, fought and died under the name 'Thompson', which they had assumed as an alias.
Soldiers were no different from any other cross section of our society, many found life away from home very exciting. I remember Jack Woodward telling me that when he was on a train to Canada for training in the early days of the war, two men 'jumped train' in the United States and were never seen again.
There are no rules to say who is named on a local war memorial or who should not. There is always a local 'committee'.
The record of local men serving in the forces during the war was kept by the local police. They had the duty of informing next of kin of casualties and in tracing men who had missed their trains back to their units or went AWOL (Absent without leave). These lists were amended when casualties occurred.
Not all men who joined up from Malmesbury had local family connections.
There could well have been one more name on the Memorial Gates. Before the war, a young orphan boy from Dr Barnardo's home in Bristol, Reuben Ling, was given a home by the Weaver family of Whychurch farm, Reuben became part of the family. His only relative was an elder brother living in London. Kathleen Blanchard (née Weaver) told me when she was very young she thought he was a brother. A devout Christian Reuben attended Services in the Abbey every Sunday. At the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Navy and became a Stoker First Class, P/KX 103727.
He served on H.M.S. Dunedin, a 'D' class cruiser. On the 24th November 1941 the German submarine, U-124 torpedoed and sunk the Dunedin in the South Atlantic.
Reuben's name is on the Portsmouth Navy Memorial, Panel 55, Column 2, with the rest of his ship mates. He was not thought to be a Malmesbury boy. When we visited this Memorial, my wife and I laid a Poppy wreath on behalf of the Weavers. They never forgot him.
Each year at the Remembrance Service in Malmesbury Abbey, his name is read out with the others.
The piece of land that the Town Council thought would be a playing field in memory of the Second World War Dead, Conygre Mead, was soon unable to provide the water needs of the town and the Council turned it into a 'Tip' for household refuse, the waste material was spread over the surface.
This could not last and with reorganisation the refuse collection was taken over by the District Council. The land was eventually bought by a local body, The Malmesbury River Valleys Trust who have turned the area into a Wildlife Sanctuary. It will never be built on and is part of the River Walk which now encompasses the town.
Bernard Basevi wanted the town to have a swimming pool. He was a very keen entertainer, he placed an advertisement in the North Wilts Herald in August 1939, just before the war started, it read;
HAVING A PARTY THIS YEAR?
CONJURING, VENTRILOQUISM
MOVIES (SOUND OR SILENT)
1/2-2 HOUR PROGRAMMES
BASEVI MALMESBURY
PHONE 74
He put on small shows with the help of his friends to raise money for a swimming pool in Malmesbury. One of his hair-raising stunts was to be thrown in chains into the River Avon. (The river was wider and deeper before the present water extraction schemes). Bernard had previously thrown sawdust onto the surface of the water, then plunging under the surface he would escape from his shackles and wait concealed under the bridge until the crown could bear it no more, then he would slip back and reappear up through the sawdust surface!
One of his fellow entertainers was Peter Dickenson from Sherston, they both worked hard to raise funds for a swimming pool. Peter, like Bernard as we have seen, died in December 1941, Peter died in December a year later, when his ship H.M.S. Bramble was sunk.
After the war, Malmesbury's annual Carnivals raised money to build the open air swimming pool. At the opening ceremony, tributes were paid to the two boys who did not live to see their dream.
I met Sam Slade in the road outside his home in Chippenham. When he spoke to me of those terrible days in Normandy, his eyes full of tears as he told me how he held the dying Bill Woodward, when he said; "they came up late - wicked that was..." he was saying that the soldiers had not had the training he expected, and when he said; "I don't want to have any more of that again.........", you could see the horror in his face.
I have recorded the loss of Reg Bailey over Holland, His friend and the 'skipper' of the Lancaster was Flt./Lt. Ronnie Walker D.F.C. They had flown together for 44 missions and were more like brothers than fellow crewmen. The other crew members of the Lancaster were; Flt./Sgt. H.E. Holdsworth D.F.M., Flt./Lt. N.J. Cornell D.F.C., Flt./Lt. J.H. Wells D.F.C., Flt./Sgt. C.R. Taylor D.F.M. and Flt./Sgt. D.R. Kelly D.F.M.
Their plane was shot down by a German night fighter, the crew were killed but the Pilot Ronnie Walker parachuted unconscious from the stricken bomber. He was found by members of the Dutch Resistance, and for 17 days was taken from house to house with other Allied airmen, always in fear of being found by the Germans. Ronnie Walker together with an Australian and a Canadian Pilot were being hidden by a sixty year old spinster, Jacoba Pulskens.
On the morning of the 9th of July they were betrayed and found by the Gestapo. They were taken into the yard of her home at 49 Diepenstrad in Tilberg, and although unarmed, the three airmen were murdered there by the Gestapo.
Ordered by the Germans to find a sheet to cover the bodies, the old lady bravely covered them with the Dutch flag she had hidden in the hope of the liberation from the Nazis. Jacoba Pulskens was arrested and died in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbrook. There is a memorial on the side of the house old 'Aunt Coba' Pulskens in Tilberg.
After the war four Germans were sentenced to death for their part in these war crimes.
The graves of the six crewmen are at Woesnel, a suburb of Eindhoven. Each year on the 4th of May. the Dutch Liberation day, the children of Woesel, led by the Burgomaster lay flowers on their graves. The inscription on Reg Bailey's stone reads;
You will be forever in our memory till the end of time - from your wife and son.
In 1993, my wife and I visited Coningsby in Lincolnshire, where the R.A.F. Lancaster's were based during the war. At the vicarage we were given the keys to the Church of St. Michael's. We entered the Church to find what we had travelled to see, the Dutch Flag belonging to old 'Aunt Coba' set in a place of honour by members of the Dutch Resistance.
Inside the church we found a Chapel dedicated to the memory of R.A.F. No 83 (Pathfinder) Squadron who flew from the nearby camp. Displayed each side of the Altar are the Ensign of the old R.A.F. Station and the Dutch Flag, A wooden plaque mounted on the wall reads;
THIS CHAPEL WAS FURNISHED BY MEMBERS AND
FRIENDS OF No 83 PATHFINDER SQUADRON AND IS
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE AIRMEN WHO
LOST THEIR LIVES ON FLYING OPERATIONS FROM
ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION CONINGSBY IN WORLD WAR II
Beside the Dutch Flag is an engraved plaque with the story of the Flag;
THE FLAG OF THE NETHERLANDS HANGS HERE TO HONOUR THE MEMORY OF
JACOBA MARIA PULSKENS
OF
TILBERG - HOLLAND
WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT
DURING THE ENEMY OCCUPATION OF HER COUNTRY IN
WORLD WAR II. HER HOUSE WAS BEING USED BY ALLIED
AIRMEN IN THE ESCAPE NETWORK
IN JULY 1944 WHILST HIDING THREE ALLIED AIRMEN
