Three Husbands & Four Brothers - A First World War Story

My family got away relatively lightly during the First World War.  A number of them served, including my maternal grandfather, Frank Saunders, who trained as an RAF Observer and qualified just as the Armistice was signed. Imbued with stories from the Canadians and Australians whom her served with, Frank emigrated to Canada where he spent a halcyon few years enjoying the delights that North America had to offer. Frank had nine brothers and sisters, and one of his siblings - Dorothy - wasn't so lucky. She lost one husband in action, another - a veteran - through ill health and her third (and last) husband was the only one of five brothers to have survived.

Dorothy Francis Saunders

Dorothy 'married well' on 2nd July 1910 at the age of twenty. Her  husband was a young naval officer - Stephen Brown, a man with the prospect of a good maritime career ahead of him. Stephen was a gifted amateur artist and a number of his paintings are still in the possession of my family including one of Dorothy which he painted whilst on home leave in 1915.

Sadly, Lieutenant Engineer Stephen Brown was killed in action on 17th October 1917. HMS Strongbow, on which Brown was serving, was on convoy duty en-route to the Shetland Islands. Two German cruisers were mistaken for friendly ships. Strongbow was engaged at 3,000 yards by the SMS Brummer and suffered catastrophic damage. After two further attacks she sank with the loss forty seven lives - all of whom are commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

Stephen Brown and his painting of Dorothy

Family legend has it that Dorothy was 'consoled' in her loss by a senior naval commander who later took her hand in marriage. Whatever the truth of this story, Dorothy 'married well' again. Her second husband was Engineer Rear Admiral William Jordan Deans - affectionally known as 'Jumbo' Deans. Jumbo enjoyed a very successful naval career and a measure of his status can be found in the fact that a head and shoulders photograph of him  hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (click here to view). Dorothy was obviously proud of her second husband's career progression. There is a photograph of her wearing Jumbo's service jacket and cap. She is holding what looks like a stick of chalk and is clearly of a happy disposition.

Dorothy Francis Deans

In the 1930s Jumbo had served on Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, which was then a working relic of the Battle of Trafalgar in Portsmouth Harbour (family legend has it that one of HMS Victory's bell once served domestically in the porch of the family home). Rear Admiral Deans  was placed on the Reserve List in 1936 'to facilitate the promotion of junior officers' and was retired in 1941. he died five years later in 1947.

Dorothy's 'social ascendency' continued after Jumbo's death, when she married Noel Sutton of Suttons Seeds - a large-scale commercial enterprise located in Reading, Berkshire. Suttons and the Huntley-Palmer biscuit manufacturers dominated commercial life in the town during the early 20th Century. Noel, was one of five brothers but, incredibly the other four were all killed in the First World War leaving him as the only survivor - and Leonard Sutton's only male heir to the family firm. 

Lieutenant Alex Sutton, 7th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment was killed in action on 2nd Jan 1918 at the age of 19. Lieutenant Eric Sutton of the Royal Berkshire Yeomanry, who had won the Military Cross in 1915, was killed in action on the 8th April 1917 - at the age of 21. The third brother, Lieutenant Victor Sutton of the Royal Engineers was killed in action on the 13th November 1917 and is buried in the Ramleh War Cemetery in Israel. Lieutenant Eustace Sutton of the Rifle Brigade was killed in action on the 24th March 1918. Their stories can be viewed here and in Andrew Tatham's fascinating book 'I Shall Not Be Away Long: The First World War Letters of Lt Col Charles Bartlett'. Also Richard Van Emden dedicated his excellent book 'The Quick and the Dead' to the Sutton brothers. 

The only surviving brother, Leonard Noel Sutton (known as Noel), came very close to death also. Noel served with the 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry - operating in the the Western Desert of Egypt in 1916 and then moving to the Suez sector in December of that year. From 1917 onwards he was involved in the advance into Palestine. Captain Noel Sutton, along with his fellow Berkshire Yeomen, was on board the SS Leasowe Castle en-route to Liverpool on the night of the 26th / 27th May 1918 when the ship was sunk by the German submarine UB51 off the coast of Tunisia, south of Gibralter.

Noel Sutton - 1915 & 1936

Noel, whose father was the Deputy Mayor of Reading, recounted his ordeal in a letter home which was subsequently published by the Reading Standard (now in the Reading Borough Libraries Collection). After describing the impact of the torpedo and the way in which the men aboard were evacuated, Noel recounted the ship "going down in a rush" and the efficient recovery of 1,100 survivors. He regretted leaving 400-500 photographs in his cabin but was thankful that he could swim.

"We've now had a taste of nearly every form of war, bar gas and liquid fire, but we shall not make a fuss. We've never done that. The auxiliary ship which picked us up had two torpedoes loosed off at her while she was getting us on board, but both were misses, thank God. We have a lot to thank God for really. I was thankful I had no relations on board".

It's a family tradition that Leonard asked for his son, Noel, to be returned to the UK after Eustace (the last of his four brothers to have been lost) had been killed. (I would really like this 'Saving Private Ryan' type story to be true, but suspect that it isn't).

Note: The Suttons Seeds War Memorial (now in the Museum of Rural Life Museum Archive, Reading) lists three of the Sutton brothers. Eustace is not shown which could mean the memorial pre-dates his death on the 24th March 1918. 

After discharge Noel Sutton rejoined the Berkshire Yeomanry in 1921. In 1922 the Berks Yeomanry was paired with the Buckinghamshire Hussars to form the 99th (Bucks and Berks) Yeomanry Brigade R.F.A. (TA). Later Noel transferred to the 395 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Battery in Reading (see photo above). He finally resigned from service on 1st March 1937. Thanks to Andrew French of the Berkshire Yeomanry Museum for this information. Andrew has no record of Noel serving in the Second World War but says that he might have served in the Home Guard.

Upon his retirement Noel presented the Officers Mess with a piece of silver which is still on display in the Guildhall at Windsor.

Silverware gifted by Major Noel Sutton

Dorothy and Noel married at the Parish Church of St George in Hanover Square, London on the 26th April 1949. The couple enjoyed 16 years of marriage prior to Noel passing away in 1965. Dorothy lived to be over 100 years of age and spent much of her later life at the family home 'Sutherlands' in Reading. I have many happy memories of visiting the house where Dorothy's housekeeper, Emma, would be obliged to keep my sister and I entertained whilst the adults 'took' afternoon tea with Dorothy in her very posh drawing room. 

I recently took a trip to Reading and rediscovered the Sutton family plot tucked away in a corner of the Reading Old Cemetery. The last time I was there, was for Dorothy's interment in 1992. The names of Noel's four brothers are inscribed on the headstone - Eric, Eustace, Victor and Alexander Killed in Action 1916-18.

My thanks to Jeremy Banning, Andrew Tatham, Richard Van Emden, Reading Museum and the Museum of Rural Life archive in Reading. Also to Hilary Sutton for access to the Sutton family papers.

The 82nd Airborne on the Cotentin Peninsula (June 1944)

The population of the South-West of England, including Bristol, were saved the trauma of V-Weapon attacks by the success of Operation Overlord - the huge scale amphibious attack on German occupied Normandy by Allied forces on 6th June 1944. The loss of the Cotentin Pensula over subsequent weeks put paid to German plans to activate launch sites in the Cherbourg area. 

Last month I spent a week in Normandy exploring parts of the battlefield. The weather was glorious and conditions were perfect for hiking. I started by exploring the ground covered by Major General Matthew Ridgeway's 82nd 'All-American' Airborne Division to the west of Sainte-Mère-Église in the vicinity of La Fière and Eteinville. Landing by parachute and glider the 82nd Airborne were to assist with the capture of Sainte-Mère-Église, secure the approaches to the Utah Beach landing areas and push westwards to capture a couple of crossing points over the River Merderet.

'Iron Mike' statue at La Fiere

Using Paul Reed's excellent book 'Walking D-Day' as a guide, I parked up in the car park near the church in Sainte-Mère-Église where a dummy parachutist representing John Steele of the 505th Parachute Regiment, 82nd Airborne is suspended from the church tower. Steele's parachute was caught on one of the pinnacles of the church tower and he hung there for two hours before being cut down and taken prisoner by the enemy (he escaped a few hours later). Walking due west from the centre of town brings one to the site of the river crossing at La Fière, easily discernible because of the striking 'Iron Mike' statue overlooking the bridge.

Sainte Mere Eglise - John Steele Dummy & Parachute

Nowadays the river runs in an orderly fashion underneath the bridge and the causeway beyond offers a raised roadway over green fields. On the 6th June 1944 the river valley had been deliberately flooded so the causeway offered the only real way of getting men and material across - so as to cut the Carentan / Cherbourg road and railway routes. The bridge was secured on D-Day but was recaptured by the Germans shortly thereafter. The battle to secure the area raged for four days and the situation was finally resolved on the 10th June with the help of the 90th Division which had landed on Utah Beach during the original assault.

Memorial Area on Utah Beach

Following Paul's advice I walked over the bridge to La Chapelle de Cauquigny on the other side. The church and the surrounding buildings were taken by men from the 507th PIR under Captain Robert Rae on the 10th June, an attack by men from the 325th Glider Regiment having been repulsed 24 hours earlier.

There is a memorial plot outside the church and a rather striking stain glassed window to the 82nd inside. From the 10th June the causeway was open and available for traffic but the fight at La Fière had taken a heavy toll - more than 250 American lives. From the church I struck out across the fields to the right where many of the gliders from the 82nd Airborne landed during the initial assault. Today the paths are rarely trodden and the surrounding countryside is a peaceful place. One can only imagine the impact that the 'All-American' airborne assault had on the area all those years ago.

Bridleway near La Fiere

Following the path through the fields one passes the apple trees which mark what is known as 'Timmes Orchard'. Colonel Charles Timmes held on here from D-Day to the 9th June with a mixed force of men from 325th GIR, and 507th and 508th PIRs until linking up with the troops who had managed to get across the nearby causeway. Further on one comes to the outskirts of Amfreville where on the Rue de la Rosiere there is a large barn that was used as a German field hospital in June 1944.

Timmes Orchard

The walk continues past the entrance to a private road leading to what the Airborne troops called 'The Grey Castle', a chateau visible across the fields. The nearby church at Amfreville was used as an opbservation position until the tower was destroyed by naval gunfire from a US battleship anchored off Utah Beach. I followed the rest of Paul's walk up on to the high ground known as 'Hill 30' and then on to the site of the second contested river crossing at Chef du Pont. Again, at the time of the battle much of the river valley in this area was flooded.

Unexpected encounter near Amfreville

After returning from the walk, I would definitely recommend the American Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église. I'm not one for museums generally - preferring to walk the ground, but this one is definitely worth visiting - picking up, as it does, the linked actions of both the 82nd 'All-American' Airborne Division and the 101st 'Screaming Eagles' Airborne Division 

The American Airborne Museum - Normandy

The museum houses a C47B Dakota and a Waco CG04 glider - the two main workhorses of the airborne assault. In addition there are hundreds of contemporary artefacts including weapons and uniforms. The displays are complemented by compelling film footage and a vast array of letters and personal documents. 

For my full portfolio of photographs taken during this trip to Normandy (including this 82nd Airborne walk) click here. 

Clevedon's Own Lancashire Lads

One day in May 1915,  twenty or so young women from Clevedon took an excursion to Tidworth in Wiltshire.  Their trip was not without purpose, for it is no coincidence that men from the 56th Infantry Brigade had moved to Tidworth to complete their military training having spent three months in Clevedon from January of that year. It is very likely that one of the day-trippers was Rhoda Cooper of Old Street. After a whirlwind romance, Rhoda had married Private John Stainton of the 7th King's Own, Royal Lancaster Regiment just a few weeks before. Sadly, as will be come apparent as this story unfolds, Rhoda's new found happiness was to be short lived.

7th L.N. Lancs, Clevedon - (Phil Curme Collection)

The 56th Infantry Brigade was raised in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. It's four Battalions - each about 800 strong - were composed of 'Kitchener' volunteers from Lancashire (mainly) and the North of England, part of the second tranche of 100,000 green recruits known for obvious reasons as 'K2 men'. Many of the men had joined with their workmates -  a typical example being Company D of the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment who were colloquially known as the 'Preston Businessmen & Clerks' Company).  On the reverse of the photo above, which was taken at the bandstand on Clevedon seafront in April 1915, the sender has written "do you rcognize Cecil on the front, he is bound to be in it?". 

Photo from 'Clevedon's Own' by Rob Campbell

Given that the population of Clevedon was approximately 6,000 in 1915 the arrival of almost 4,000 Lancashire lads in the town will have made quite an impact. The Brigade HQ was set up at No.2 Bellevue Terrace - until recently an HSBC bank branch. The Battalion HQs were all within a short walking distance from this main hub - the 7th East Lancs at St Gabriel's Convent on Marine Hill, the 7th South Lancs at 'Caer Leon' in Princes Road, the 7th North Lancs at Duncan House on Chapel Hill and the 7th King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment at 'Hawkesbury' in Linden Road (all of these properties still stand, albeit some have different names now). The men were billeted in households across the town - often four or five in a single property.

Kings Own Regiment Museum Archive, Lancaster

Kings Own Regiment Museum Archive, Lancaster

The top picture above, shows four officers outside the Brigade HQ at No.2 Bellevue Road. As the sign says, part of the building served as the Officer's Mess. The photo was taken by 2nd Lieutenant Charles Roberts of the 7th Battalion, Kings Own Loyal Lancashire Regiment. The four officers pictured are all Captains - Openshaw, Nunn, Bradbury and Dawson. Training in Clevedon consisted of various exercises such as live firing at The Butts, bridging and trench construction on the Land Yeo and route marches up to Cadbury Camp or through the surrounding villages. The bottom picture shows machine gun practice on what looks like Wain's Hill (given the ship visible on the horizon).

The Triangle - Clevedon - Imperial War Museum Archive

When the Brigade departed Clevedon by train for Tidworth Camp and then onwards to the Western Front in May 1915, the town must have seemed very quiet. Happily, the Brigade's departure was captured on a Pathe News film which has been digitised by the Archive team at the Imperial War Museum and is available online here. One of the Lancashire lads remains in Clevedon though; that is Rhoda Cooper's husband John Stainton who is buried in the consecrated ground at St Andrews Church in the shadow of a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone - albeit mysteriously showing the initial 'T' instead of 'J'. 

Private John Stainton (CWGC) - Phil Curme Collection

Men of the King's Own (Lancs) in Clevedon - Phil Curme Collection

John Stainton was born in Ambleside Westmoreland and enlisted in the 7th King's Own, Royal Lancaster Regiment at Barrow-in-Furness on 31st August 1914. The 1911 census shows him to have been married to a woman called Mary. Stainton was an agricultural labourer and he and his then wife were lodging with a workmate and his family in Barrow. Intriguingly, when asked whether he was married when he signed-up, Stainton answered "no". It's not known whether he was a widower or whether he was being 'economical with the truth'! Private Stainton's service record also shows that he had served in the 2nd Battalion of the same Regiment during the Second Boer War and had seen action at the Battle of Spion Kop in 1900. It seems that Private Stainton was a bit of a rogue - he was pulled up three times during his training for 'dereliction of duty' and in one baffling incident was accused of 'losing' a pair of handcuffs.

La Boisselle - German Defences

Private Stainton's date of death is recorded as 11th August 1916 by which time his Regiment had been overseas for over a year. So why is he buried in Clevedon? The answer, of course, lies in his love for Rhoda Cooper in that Stainton's mother was insistent that her son should lie in the town where he had married fourteen months previously. 

7th East Lancs in Hill Road, Clevedon (Bob Turner)

A lovely example of the ways in which the Lancashire lads connected with local girls can be found in an autograph book originally owned by Miss Catherine Horwood (now in the Clevedon Pier & Heritage Trust Community Archive). Private R.G. Burton (7th Battalion, East Lancs) wrote "Wherever I may always be, my thoughts shall always be with thee'. 

Pte Burton's entry in Catherine Horwood's autograph book

After completing training at Tidworth the 56th Brigade were transported to France - as part of the 19th (Western) Division (known as the Butterflies on account of their rather pretty Divisional emblem). The Brigade's War Diary (National Archives - WO/95/2075) records that 'Clevedon's Own Lancashire Lads' were active on the Western Front from the 24th July 1915. The Brigade saw some involvement in a diversionary action during the Battle of Loos in September 1915 but the real baptism of fire came on the 4th July 1916 where the 19th Division were asked to take the strongpoint of La Boisselle. The 34th Division had failed to take the village on the 1st July, and sustained massive losses trying to do so despite the detonation of two huge mines under the German defences. The crater left by the larger mine known as 'Lochnager' is still very evident today and its eastern lip served as a jumping off point for some of the men involved in the 4th July attack. The 19th Division took the ruins of La Boisselle that day - with the 7th King's Own on point. 

Lochnager Crater, La Boisselle

John Stainton suffered a fatal wound a couple of months later. The Somme Battle had developed slowly and by the end of July the Battalions of the 56th Brigade were rotating in and out of the lines near High Wood. Like the majority of First World war battlefield casualties, Stainton was hit by the burst of an artillery shell which left him wounded in the shoulder, face and thigh. Treated in a Casualty Clearing Station he was transferred to a base hospital on the coast before being repatriated to the English General Hospital in Cambridge. John Stainton succumbed to his wounds on the 11th August 1916 and now lies to the north west of St Andrew's Church. A poignant reminder of the lads from Lancashire who spent three months in the town readying themselves for their participation in what was then known as the Great War.

Main Sources: The National Archives, Kings Own Regiment Museum, The imperial War Museum Archives, The British Newspaper Library, 'Clevedon's Own: The Great War 1914-18' by Rob Campbell.

Yanks in Clevedon: 1943-44

 In December 1943 an U.S Army jeep appeared on the Six Ways interchange in Clevedon. The occupant, Major Barney Oldfield, and his driver, Corporal Max Shepherd, were scouting for 'a village site in the West Country' which would take about 700 men. 

Right in front of the GPO exchange on Six Ways stood a man in a top hat and tails wearing a morning coat - rather formal for a vacation type seaside town thought Oldfield who nevertheless stopped his vehicle and approached the man in question.

"I'm from a an American town about the same size as Clevedon, called Tecumseh, so landlocked you have to go half way across the united States to smell salt water."

The Clevedonian listened, stiff as a board before asking "what sort of unit are you bringing to OUR town?".

In recounting this meeting in the Tecumseh Chieftain newspaper in the early 1990s, Colonel Oldfield remembered the apprehension in his tone. 

"I told him they were media people, that they would form the press facilities and support for the American and Canadian field armies when Europe is invaded - no convoys of lorries, Just the odd two and half ton truck".

 

Major Barney Oldfield - Public Affairs Alumni Association 

The unit which arrived in Clevedon following Oldfield's recce, was pretty unique. The Publicity and Psychological  Warfare Battalion consisted of several hundred journalists, photographers, PR men, linguists, radio operators and drivers. The unit had been set up by Jack M.Redding a newspaper man from Chicago, who had obtained a commission in the Air Corps. Oldfield remembers his boss as 'having a ferocious scowl, which he wore in various styles for various occasions'. 

Oldfield's conversation with the smartly dressed man on Six Ways brought the required result. 

"He faced down each of the streets, punched his clenched fists in the air and lo, the streets were full of ladies - some with babies in prams, a-wheeling kids or scooters. He had a village map of housing available showing the number of rooms in each building suitable for offices and lodgings."

" We were taken down to the Pier and Ma Cole's pub (Note: this was the bar of the Pier Hotel). There were nearly 200 locals down there with great smiles and I was introduced as 'a fine American chap'.  I told them I was bringing a lot of new neighbours from all over America - one of them a little odd. Roy Wilder from North Carolina who wrote for the New York Herald-Tribune. You'll have to put up with a lot of strange smells when he gets care packages from his homefolks containing things called chitlins (Note: a delicacy made from the intestines of domestic animals). There was another, a fellow named Lt James W Campbell who was a Tennessee bureau chief for the United Press. Newspaper people tended then, to write with a cigarette butt lip-clenched, the smoke coming up in to their eyes. I told how he'd licked that by using a 14 inch cigarette holder which took the acrid smoke well beyond his nostrils".

The unit was in town for almost six months, and by all accounts made quite an impression. Oldfield felt that as a result of the incursion, Clevedon 'became a highly sophisticated - even intellectual - centre'! When the press camps left to join their First and Third Armies on the eve of D-Day Clevedon apparently became 'a ghost town'.

Local resident Val Seeley remembers the American soldiers. "Some of them were billeted in the Walton Park Hotel and they used to walk past our house on Wellington Terrace. We quickly learnt to say 'got any gum, chum?' and they always had sweets for us kids. Lovely guys". 

So where did this eclectic mix of characters go when the war moved onto the European continent? 

Major Barney Oldfield - Nebraska State Historical Society

Major Oldfield had understood that airborne troops would be at the forefront of the fighting and he therefore arranged for a number of the press corps to be trained for parachute jumps. Colonel James M.Gavin was sceptical of the need for imbedded journalists but nevertheless acquiesced to the training that Major Oldfield was suggesting.

The men of The Publicity and Psychological Warfare Battalion were to serve their cause with distinction throughout the remaining period of the European war. With the invading troops on D-Day, through to the liberation of Paris, onwards into Holland (Oldfield with the Ninth Army) and then reaching Berlin after hostilities had ended - prompting some interesting interactions with the Red Army.

Colonel Barney Oldfield (since promoted) recounted his exploits in his book 'Never A Shot in Anger' published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce in 1951. He dedicated his book to 'all the correspondents, all the military public relations crews, and all the brave men they knew, whether they like it or not'. Oldfield had access to the senior Allied commanders and his observations on their leadership and relationships make fascinating reading. The short stay in Clevedon obviously left a strong impression on him and he spoke of the town in glowing terms.

After his wartime service had ended, Oldfield worked closely with General Eisenhower in the early days of NATO before resuming his career as a Hollywood agent working with many big name stars including Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Janis Paige and Elizabeth Taylor. 

Oldfield & Reagan - Public Affairs Alumni Association

Colonel Oldfield returned to Clevedon for a visit in 1951. He was working in London on a NATO project and decided to call Ma's Pier pub (The Pier Hotel). 

"Ma started to cry and she said over and over - Barney you get on the next train at Paddington Station and come on down here. My son Jack will meet you at Bristol Temple Meads Station. So I went. Jack met me in a top hat and morning coat and a chauffeured 1926 Rolls Royce. The whole town was there to meet me when I reached Clevedon and I was showered with 'what happened to' questions."

"Late that evening a stood at the big window with Ma Coles, watching ships outbound from or inbound to Bristol, Cardiff and Newport. Ships always blacked out before, sparkled like a country fair. 'Ah Barney' said Ma Coles. 'I come here every night and think I'd even put up with a war if I could you and all my boys back again. You were a lovely lot. Remember how the others drank stouts, ales, beers and sometimes the hard stuff? But only you drank orange squash!'." 

Barney's Book

Barney Oldfield died in April 2003, aged 93. In his obituary he was described as Variety's Nebraska correspondent, a Hollywood press agent and a retired USAF colonel.  He was the first journalist to become a paratrooper and served as press aide to General Dwight D. Eisenhower. On D-Day Oldfield was assigned to write Allied communiques about the invasion before joining 12th Army Group in France. In 1945, he organised and established the Berlin Press Club in the home of former Hitler finance minister Walter Funk.

Note: I came across this story by chance having picked up a copy of 'Never A Shot in Anger'. The post war recollections from the Tecumseh Chieftain newspaper were collected by David H Wood, a volunteer at the now defunct Clevedon Heritage Centre. Happily, his research is now preserved by the Clevedon Pier & Heritage Trust.

As an aside, the British Army had a similar outfit - the British Army Film and Photography Unit. At the 'We Have Ways' military history festival in July 2022, I was lucky enough to spend time with the living history team who are reenacting what they did, what they wore and what they carried. They operate as part of the 'Monty's Men' group and pride themselves on total authenticity. The group have recently acquired one of the original movie cameras used on the front line from D-Day through to the end of the Second World War.

Living History - the BAF&PU 

Original BAF&PU Camera

To hear Barney Oldfield talking about his wartime experiences here. 

Local historian Mike Horsfield interviewed Maisie Coles in the 1980s. Maisie had a lot to say about the Yanks in Clevedon and you can read a transcript here.

Tom Neal - From the Navy to the RAF (1939-40)

 On the night of the 14th and 15th November 1940, my cousin once removed, Tom Neal, was killed in action whilst at the controls of a Whitley Mk V bomber over Berlin. Tom was serving with the Royal Navy so how could this be? The answer is that having taken a short service commission in the Fleet Air Arm a year earlier, Tom had volunteered to serve with Bomber Command at the height of the Battle of Britain. During this critical time, Bomber Command had lost over a thousand aircrew - approximately 800 killed and 200 taken prisoner. Short of qualified personnel, the RAF had sought temporary replacements from the Fleet Air Arm. Sub Lieutenant Thomas Alfred Neal was one of sixty pilots who had offered their services. He had already flown a number of missions before the one in which he was killed - hence his position as pilot and status as the senior officer aboard. 

Tom Neal - Royal Navy

Tom was just 21 years old when he was killed, and the impact on his family was profound. He left a younger brother, Jim Neal, who wrote about Tom in his unpublished autobiography 'Foot slogging, Pen Pushing and Publishing'. Jimmy was a journalist by trade and by the end of his career was the editor of the Yorkshire Post. During the war years Jimmy served in North Africa and Italy - a story for another day.

Tom Neal in a Toy Car - 1925

The Neal boys were born in Alton Hampshire. Their father, Thomas, was an Assistant Manager at the local branch of lloyds Bank. His wife (my Great Grandmother) is described by Jimmy as being a 'wonderful, almost saintly woman'. Jimmy recalls Tom 'discovering everything' before he did and had an early memory of making bows and arrows. He remembers Tom buying an elderly Austin Seven having saved his wages from a job at the GPO. In his spare time, Tom was studying for a degree in engineering. He also remembers Tom playing a rather elaborate joke on a posh neighbour using an imitation dog turd!

Jimmy Left, Tom Right

Tom learnt to fly with a friend called Charles Tate, whose father was the Tate of Tate and Lyle, the sugar manufacturers. Jimmy remembers that 'the two of them had just taken off from an aerodrome near Oxford when the plane crashed at Wallingford - neither were seriously hurt but there were plenty of cuts and bruises'. Tom shared his three golden rules: 'If the engine stalls don't turn, if the engine stalls don't turn and if the engine stalls don't turn!'. Not long after that Tom accepted a short service commission in the Fleet Air Arm. He completed his training at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, and became a Fleet Air Arm sub-lieutenant. As was mentioned earlier, Tom volunteered for Bomber Command and was posted to 77 Squadron at Topcliffe, nr Thirsk in Yorkshire - flying Whitley Mk Vs. 

Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt's 'The Bomber Command War Diaries: An Operational Reference Book 1939-45' records that on the night of 14/15th November 1940, 82 Wellingtons Hampdens and Whitleys raided Berlin, hamburg and various airfields. 50 targeted Berlin but only 25 reached the city. 10 aircraft were lost - 4 Hampdens, 4 Whitleys (including Tom's aircraft) and 2 Wellingtons. It was the heaviest loss of the war so far. 

Berlin CWGC Cemetery

Tom Neal

Jimmy recalled the moment he heard of his brothers loss in his autobiography: 

Father had left our Haslemere home furnished and had moved to a private hotel in Petersfield, Hants. I joined him there on a seven-day leave pass and was expecting Tom to be with us when we received a telegram to the effect that he had failed to return from a bombing mission over Berlin and had been posted as missing. I was glad that I was with my father at this sad time and we both lived through anxious days hoping against hope that better news would arrive. Sadly, it didn't and many months passed before Tom's death was confirmed and the Admiralty sent my father a picture of his son's grave in East Berlin.'

Jimmy went on to write the following, before moving to active service with the British 8th Army shortly thereafter:  

Tom had been, not only my brother, but my best friend. The loss was devastating, and I could only resolve, if I got the chance, to fight the enemy even more strenuously than i might otherwise had done. The war was becoming a rather more personal battle.

Tom and his crew are buried in the main Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Berlin (quite near the 1936 Olympic Stadium). His all RAF crew lie with him - Pilot Officer G.D. Bailey, Sergeant J.C. Steel (19 years old), Sergeant R.W.Toomey and Sergeant V.H.Louis (air Gunner). Tom's grave acknowledges that he was a Royal Navy pilot seconded from HMS Daedalus. 

Swavesey Roll of Honour (The Great War)

Sometime in the mid 1990s I decided to find out more about the men on the local war memorial in Swavesey, Cambridgeshire - which is where I was living at the time. It was pre-internet so my starting point was the local phone book and microfiche newspaper records. When the internet did arrive, I learnt to write HTML and published my findings online. This opened up a whole new world for me - leading to many friendships, loads of battlefield walking and, eventually, a Masters in Military History at the University of Birmingham. Having cleaned up my old website I thought I'd make my findings available through my blog. 

The Roll of Honour of Swavesey Men who were Killed in Action, or who Died from Wounds or Disease in the Great War, 1914 - 1919

"Their name liveth for evermore"

The Memorial Hall, Swavesey, Cambridgeshire

1.

George Brooks	1st East Lancashire Regt.	Killed in Action 14 Nov.,1914
Henry Beaumont	7th Canadian Infantry	Missing, believed Killed 24-26 April,1915
Jonas Dodson	11th Suffolk Regt.	Missing, believed killed 1 July,1916
James William Prior	11th Suffolk Regt.	Missing, believed killed 1 July,1916
Wilfred Hepher, D.C.M.	Royal Engineers	Killed in Action 15 Sep.,1916
Walter Neal	1st Bedford Regt.	Died of Wounds 12 Sept.,1916
George Henry Norman	7th R.W.Kent Regt.	Died of Wounds 3 Oct.,1916
Alfred Aaron Linford	11th Suffolk Regt.	Killed in Action 28 April,1917
James William Hepher	11th Suffolk Regt.	Missing, believed killed 28 April,1917
James Harold Parish	11th R.W.Kent Regt.	Killed in Action 1 Aug.,1917
Samuel John Froment	10th Queen's (R.W.S.) Regt.	Killed in Action 5 Aug.,1917
Walter Metcalf	11th R.W.Kent Regt.	missing, believed killed 20 Sept.,1917
Henry George Graves	Royal Garrison Art.	Died of Wounds 25 March,1918
George Beaumont, MC	13th East Surrey Regt.	Died of Wounds 9 April,1918
Harold Charles Howlett	11th Suffolk Regt.	Missing, believed Killed 9-19 April,1918
William Harden	5th Shropshire L.I.	Died (Bronchitis) 29 april,1918
James William Goad	Royal Army Service Corps	Died (Dysentry) in Italy, 28 July,1918
Walter Coulson	Royal Engineers	Died of Wounds 2 Oct.,1918
Joseph Barker Parish	1st East Kent Regt.	Died of Wounds 11 Nov.,1918
Cyril George Hepher	7th East Yorks. Regt.	Died of Wounds 30 Nov.,1918
Alfred Large	1/1st Yorkshire Dragoons	Died (Pneumonia) 29 April, 1919

2.

Watson Trundley	1st Royal Scots Fusiliers	Killed in Action 25 September.,1915
Herbert James Martin	2nd Suffolk Regt.	Killed in Action 30 Sept.,1915
Alfred Charles Dodson	2nd Essex Regt.	Killed in Action 15 Aug.,1918
Arthur George Ding	4th Rifle brigade	Died of Wounds when Prisoner of War in Bulgaria,16 Aug.,1918
James William Wright	2/7th W.Riding Regt.	Killed in Action 1 Nov., 1918

The Swavesey Chronicles

Stories from a Fenland village during the 1914-1918 War

•  John Symonds - An interesting account of  life in a POW camp following  Lance Corporal Symonds' capture on the 22nd March 1918 at the start of the Ludendorff Offensive. 

• Arthur Beaumont - Arthur's own account of his wartime experiences. A fascinating supplement to "The Beaumont Boys".

• Gunner G.E. Canham - A Swavesey man's experience with the guns in Mesopotamia.

• The Memorial Hall - The story of how the Swavesey community viewed the war. Includes an analysis of developing media attitude and the response of various local institutions.

• A series of recollections by F.C.Wood B.A.  Cantab. (now deceased). The writer was the son of Charley Wood, the school master. The family lived in the school house opposite the village playing field.

Victory Day - 9th May - Reflections from a Brit

One of the saddest consequences of Putin's war in Ukraine is the enmity that is building between erstwhile friends and allies. On the 9th May, as the Victory Day parades that will take place in virtually every Russian city and town unfold, the false narrative which has been so assiduously propagated by unscrupulous politicians and media commentators will manifest itself in overt displays of anti-Western sentiment.

Twenty years ago today (9th May 2002) I attended the Victory Day parade in the city of Volgograd. In the Winter of 1942 / 43 the city, then known as Stalingrad, had been reduced to ashes in an encirclement battle which ended in the comprehensive defeat of an entire German Army. A great many veterans were still alive and as they marched from Victory Square down to the shores of the River Volga, local children pressed bunches of flowers into their arms. Joining hundreds of thousands of jubilant people making their way up the highest point in the city, the Mamayev Kurgan, was an incredibly moving experience. At the top, in the shadow of the awe inspiring 'Motherland' statue veterans basked in the atmosphere of joy and adulation - happy to tell their stories to curious locals.

Red Army Veterans - Rossoschka - 9 May 2002

Later that day I sat near the newly constructed German cemetery at Rossoshka with a couple of women who had fought with the Red Army. Whilst sipping vodka, I asked them to write down their thoughts in my notebook. Polina Ivanovna Batayeva, who had experienced the battle in the city centre wrote:

The people of Russia and England have always been friends. Thank-you to the British for their help in rebuilding our home city of Stalingrad.

Polina Fyodorovna Yatsenko (previouly Chekhlova), who had driven trucks from Tehran to the eastern bank of the Volga in the war years, wrote:

I had the great honour of receiving a gift from Her Majesty the Queen during the Great Patriotic War 1941-45. Heartfelt thanks to the British nation for their help in the struggle against fascism. We remember everything - the clothes, medicine and food. You saved us in a difficult time. We wish you health, happiness, peace and success. We bow our greying heads to her majesty, may her memory live for ever.

Over the last two decades I have attended eight Victory Day parades in as many different towns and cities, including one in Sevastopol, Ukraine. Over that period much has changed, and I fear that the biggest transformation of all will come this year when a new generation will speak for the veterans, delivering a message that many of them would have been saddened by. The two friends whom I spent time with on the Soldier's Field at Rossoshka would certainly not have recognised the narrative that Putin and his cronies have inculcated into the minds of many Russian people.

Leningrad Siege Survivors - 9th May 2006

Perhaps as many as 24 million lives were lost in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Four in every five German soldiers killed in combat, died on the Eastern Front. No wonder then, that the legacy of the conflict should still be alive. The city of Leningrad (now St Petersburg) endured a 900 day siege during which tens of thousands of civilians died of hunger and cold in an episode that shames the civilised world. Victory Day in St Petersburg has a special poignancy and I will never forget the sight and sound of siege survivors marching with linked arms - singing patriotic songs, on the Nevsky Prospect. Video clip here. Such stoicism in the face of evil.

Russia & Ukraine - Crimea - 9th May 2004

A couple of years later I attended the Victory Day celebrations in Sevastopol, Crimea. Volgograd had offered up a day of celebration, St Petersburg was a veneration of the siege survivors but in Sevastopol the day was a purely military affair. I stood on the empty streets watching the rehearsal on the 8th May and it was quite surreal seeing large formations of sailors and marines marching under Russian and Ukrainian flags. Somehow more impressive than the actual event the following day.

There will be no blue and yellow flags on Grafskaya Wharf this year.

Veterans - Sevastopol - 9th May 2004

Now the veterans are fewer and less mobile. They no longer join the parade, but sit on podiums awaiting the crowds that flow into the main thoroughfares and city squares. In May 2016 I was able to experience two very different Victory Day parades in the Kursk region. The first was in the small town of Bolkhov and the second in the nearby major city of Orel. The contrast was striking.

In Bolkhov, it seems that the whole town had turned out. What seemed like the entire population paraded down the main street before congregating in front of the main Government building to pay respects to the veterans and listen to patriotic speeches from local politicians. Unlike Victory Parades I'd seen elsewhere virtually all of the young people were in uniformed groups - reminiscent of the days of the Soviet Komsomol organisation.

Bolkhov - Parade - 9th May 2016

Bolkhov - Veterans - 9th May 2016

The scenes in Orel were truly awe inspiring. The public buildings were draped in huge images of the Great Patriotic War and the streets were thronged with excited onlookers. Myself and a small group of friends stood on the main street for three or four hours watching a constant stream of people walking by and singing. The vast majority were carrying pictures of relatives who served in the Great patriotic War and many children were dressed in 1940s era uniforms. Video clip Orel. A truly monumental demonstration of national pride and patriotism.

Orel - The Big Parade - 9th May 2016

So, what are my main impressions? Firstly, the difference between the way in which the Russian people mark the end of the Second World War and the way we, in Britain, do so. For the Russians, it is a celebration of victory and a day to honour those who survived. For us, in the west, the annual 11th November Remembrance Day is a sombre commemoration of those who were lost. Secondly, the way that Victory Day events have changed over the years - as the veterans have faded away so pride in family members who have served has come to the fore (see below).

Orel - Four Generations - 9th May 2016

 Finally - this year - the usurping of history to fit a narrative that will do nothing but disrespect those who fought as allies to defeat Nazi Germany in the Second World War.