On this day in 1915, Alfred Bishop (1890-1915) died in Devonport Military Hospital while serving in the Great War as a corporal in the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. The Devon and Exeter Gazette reported that he had had been home ‘recuperating from a wound received on Hill 60’ (a … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 25, 1915: Alfred dies in Devonport Military Hospital
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ON THIS DAY…June 17, 1940: David dies as Lancastria is bombed at Saint Nazaire
On this day in 1940, David Leslie Jones (1916-1940) died in the worst maritime disaster in British history – the sinking of the troopship Lancastria in the Second World War. David, aged 23, a lance-bombardier in the Royal Artillery, was among at least 4,000 men, women and children who lost their … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 17, 1940: David dies as Lancastria is bombed at Saint Nazaire
ON THIS DAY…June 15, 1941: Cecil dies in hospital in London
On this day in 1941, Cecil Sharland (1917-1941) was a sergeant in the Royal Artillery when he died in hospital in London during the Second World War. Newlywed Cecil was 23 when he died on June 15, 1941 in Woolwich after an operation for goitre (a swelling of the thyroid gland). He was buried … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 15, 1941: Cecil dies in hospital in London
ON THIS DAY…June 15, 1918: Herbert dies as prisoner of war in Germany
On this day in 1918, Herbert Walter Kingdom (1899-1918) was just 19 when he died as a prisoner of war in Germany. Herbert was a private in the 1/5th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry when he lost his life on June 15, 1918. He was buried in Cologne Southern Cemetery in Germany … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 15, 1918: Herbert dies as prisoner of war in Germany
ON THIS DAY…June 14, 1917: David dies of heart failure in Mesopotamia
On this day in 1917, David Powell (1878-1917) died of heart failure while serving in Mesopotamia (Iraq) during the Great War. David, a driver in the Army Service Corps, died at the British Military Hospital in Basra on June 14, 1917. He was 38 His service records show that he was suffering … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 14, 1917: David dies of heart failure in Mesopotamia
ON THIS DAY…June 13, 1945: Soldier shot himself after killing his wife and two young children
On this day in 1945, Philip William Rayment (1913-1945) took his life in the final months of the Second World War – after killing his wife and two young children. Philip, aged 32, shot his family with a German pistol he had borrowed from his soldier cousin before turning the gun on himself on … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 13, 1945: Soldier shot himself after killing his wife and two young children
ON THIS DAY…June 10, 1916: Samuel dies from lung illness in Egypt
On this day in 1916, Samuel John Raymont (1898-1916) died from a lung illness in Egypt in the Great War. Samuel, a private in the 2/4th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, was just 18 when he died of empyema – almost certainly caused by pneumonia – at the British Army’s 17th General Hospital in … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 10, 1916: Samuel dies from lung illness in Egypt
ON THIS DAY…June 8, 1940: William killed as HMS Glorious is sunk by two German battleships
On this day in 1940, William John Elston (1916-1940) died in a devastating attack on the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious in the Second World War. Twenty three-year-old William was a stoker in Glorious when she was sunk by two German battleships in the North Sea on June 8, 1940, with the loss of … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…June 8, 1940: William killed as HMS Glorious is sunk by two German battleships
ON THIS DAY…May 31, 1916: David killed as HMS Invincible explodes
On this day in 1916, David Stephen Penny (1897-1916) was killed in the Battle of Jutland – the largest naval confrontation of the Great War. David Stephen, an 18-year-old ordinary seaman, was one of more than 1,000 officers and men who died in the British battlecruiser HMS Invincible when she was … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…May 31, 1916: David killed as HMS Invincible explodes
ON THIS DAY…May 30, 1915: John dies after Battle of Aubers Ridge
On this day in 1915, John ‘Jack’ Roberts (1894-1915) died of wounds sustained in or after the Battle of Aubers Ridge in France in the Great War. Jack, a private in the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, was among thousands of British troops taking part in the battle, which got under way at … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…May 30, 1915: John dies after Battle of Aubers Ridge
