Bedford School Remembers

BEDFORD SCHOOL REMEMBERS

Introduction As we draw closer to Remembrance Sunday and the Centenary of the Armistice I feel privileged to be invited to say a few words of introduction to this publication. Although ‘remembrance’ is very personal, I believe that there is a time and place for shared acts of remembrance and welcome the opportunity to appropriately honour our fallen.

You cannot help but be touched by diaries and letters from the battlefield, and it is always particularly poignant to see the family links between current boys, Old Bedfordians and former staff that have served, been injured or made the ultimate sacrifice in war. Having visited many cemeteries with groups of Old Bedfordians in recent years, both in the UK and overseas, I am aware how moving each and every individual story is, and how important it is that we do our very best to keep the memories alive.

There are many significant buildings on the school estate, but when it comes to remembrance and reflection the focus for many generations has been the School Chapel and Memorial Hall. The latter was dedicated in July 1926 having been given to the School by the Old Bedfordians Club to provide a permanent memorial to the First World War. On the northern interior the names of the 481 fallen of this war are listed, and sadly the 275 fallen of the Second World War have also been added on the southern interior.

In the recent Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games in Australia, the Duke of Sussex spoke about the “selfless duty of those in uniform”. This year in 2018, the focus will be on the one-hundred-year anniversary of the end of the First World War. At the same time, in the coming days, we will remember all those caught up in conflicts over the years, either as servicemen and women or as civilians, and we will acknowledge the huge impact it had on their lives, their families’ lives and, indeed, our own lives.

Richard Garrett Director Bedford School Association

John Neville Beeman Rank: Lieutenant, 6th Battalion Middlesex Regiment Born: 2 June 1898 School years: 1911 Killed in action: 29 September 1918 (aged 20) at Viller Hill, Gouzeaucourt (Somme) Buried: St Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent Remembered by: Alex Aellen (Lower Sixth) Ben Aellen (Remove Form) his first cousins three times removed

Lieutenant John Neville Beeman, son of Mr and Mrs H N Beeman and grandson of Mr H Beeman of Broomhill Bank was born on 2 June 1898 in London. He was educated at The Grange Crowborough, at Bedford School and in Dresden where he spent three years.

He joined the Universities and Public School Training Corps as a Private in October 1914 and was sent to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in April 1915. On passing out of Sandhurst he was gazetted to 6th Battalion Middlesex Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant and was sent out to France at the age of 19 in June 1917. He served with his battalion on the Somme front and was awarded the Military Cross.

Tragically, John was killed in action just months before the end of the Great War, and in fact, his family have just commemorated the 100th anniversary of his death on the weekend of 29 - 30 September. He was just 20 years old.

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Military Cross citation: 1918 London Gazette

Notification of John’s death sent to his Grandfather

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Richard Napier Wall Rank: Flying Officer, 105 Squadron RAF Born: 25 August 1914 School years: 1927 to 1932 Killed in action: 28 February 1941 (aged 25), France Buried: Noyes-Pont-Maugis French National Cemetery, Ardennes, France, Grave 515 Remembered by: Aaron Berman (Year 8) his great-nephew

Flying Officer Richard Napier Wall was the son of Charles William and Dorothy Wall, and husband to Lillian Asunta Wall of 10 Oaklands Road, Bedford. While at Bedford School, Richard was a fine sportsman, representing the school in athletics (running) and rowing, and was named as the school’s most promising rugby player in the 1st XV in 1932.

Richard served with the Advanced Air Striking Force in France, however did not join the Bomber Command until June 1940. Richard was flying an obsolete Fairey Battle* MK1 L5238 GB and had taken off from Villeneuve-les-Vertus at 15:40 hours.

Tragically, he was never seen again and the circumstances of his loss are still unknown. The Bedfordshire Times reported him as missing believed killed on 28 February 1941.

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* The Fairey Battle Aircraft was rather like an elongated Spitfire. With a single engine it was capable of about 250 mph (with a tail wind), which was very slow compared to the modern German aircraft, such as the Messerschmit, that it was pitched against. The aircraft also carried, externally, four 250lb bombs, but had slow fire power.

In actual fact, the Fairey Battle was obsolete and should never have been used in the war as it was far too slow; but at the beginning of the war, Britain was ill-equipped and RAF soldiers were required to fly in these ancient aircraft.

It was only towards the latter end of the war that the Spitfire was used. During the Battle of Britain, 19 Spitfire squadrons succeeded in shooting down 521 enemy aircraft – an average of 27 per Spitfire.

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Jeffrey Bryan Rank: Flight Lieutenant Pilot, RAF VK, 76 Squadron Born: 16 January 1921 School years: 1934 to 1937 Killed in action: 5 September, 1942 (aged 21) on the island of Crete Buried: Suda Bay War Cemetery, Crete, Greece Remembered by: Fred Dickson (Year 7) his great-grandson

Flight-Lieutenant Jeffrey Bryan was the elder son of Stanley and Jessie Bryan of 100 Chaucer Road, Bedford, and husband to Rita Bryan. Jeffrey came to Bedford School in 1934 on a junior scholarship from Rushmoor School. In 1940, he passed the intermediate examination of the Institute of Chartered Accountants before joining the Officer Training Corps (OTC). He married his longterm love, Corporal Rita Edmondson at St. Martin’s Church, Bedford on 13 May, 1942.

Shortly after their marriage, Jeffrey joined the joined the RAF VK, 76 Squadron as a fighter pilot. A mere four months later, he was reported missing. However, it was another twelve months before Rita learned the grave news; her beloved husband had been killed in action.

Rita received a letter from Stanley Robinson held at Stalag VIII B, a prisoner of war camp in Germany. It appeared that four members of the crew had jumped from the aircraft after it had been hit and caught fire.

The remaining two members, one of whom was Jeffrey, stayed with the plane until it crashed – both were killed instantly.

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They were buried where the plane went down in Mokhos, near Heraklion Bay on the island of Crete.

Local residents marked their graves with a cross inscribed in pencil in Italian. Jeffrey’s wife Rita had since given birth to Jeffrey’s son, Michael Jeffery Bryan Cave (51-59), who was born on 3 February 1943 – maternal grandfather to Fred.

Three and a half years later, the graves were exhumed and the two men were reburied in Suda Bay War Cemetery. A further letter was sent to Rita from the Air Ministry in November 1943 with an extract from a letter sent by one of the surviving crew members, Sergeant W.E. Young, which read; “If you are still writing to Mrs Bryan please tell her that the four of us that are still alive undoubtedly owe our lives to the cool, courageous way Jeff behaved after we were hit and caught fire, and express my deepest sympathy that he lost his life making it easy for us.”

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Anthony Le Fanu Rank: Sergeant, 2nd Battalion, Beds and Herts Regiment Born: 8 August 1919 School years: 1927 to 1936 Killed in action: 3 March 1944 (aged 24), Monte Cassino, Italy Buried: Cassino War Cemetery, Italy 19 B 15 Remembered by: Joshua Markham (Lower Sixth) his great-nephew

Sergeant Anthony Le Fanu was born in Ireland to a Huguenot family, who had escaped France during the Edict of Nantes. The family moved to Bedford for the schools, after his father had to retire from the Navy as a captain for health reasons.

Anthony and his two brothers attended Bedford School, while his sister went to the High School.

In 1939, at the age of 21, Anthony was engaged to Margaret Joyce, a farmer’s daughter from Renhold in Bedford. They soon married and had two sons, Joseph and Anthony – both of whom also attended Bedford School.

Anthony was called up to serve in the Army at the outbreak of the Second World War, and was initially promoted to Sergeant Instructor at a training camp in Bury St. Edmunds. He had turned down a Commission because he wanted to be with the men that he had trained.

As part of the Beds and Herts Regiment, Anthony’s war started in 1942 when he was sent to North Africa. Then, in 1944, he was sent to fight in what was to become known

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as “the bitterest and bloodiest battle of the Second World War”, the Battle for Monte Cassino in Italy.

They landed at Anzio, Italy on 22 January and formed a bridgehead on the Garigliano Ridge.

It was on 3 March 1944, after weeks of stalemate and almost First World War conditions, that a thick mist with heavy rain dispersed upon the area. Anthony led an assault on a group of German soldiers who had been about to attack their positions.

Along with Corporal Cox they managed to kill most of the enemy, but both were mortally wounded by heavy machine gun (Spandau) fire. A medic, Private Riscom, tried to help them but was also shot and killed by sniper fire.

An extract from the book ‘Cap Badge; The story of Four Battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment’ by R H Medley: “Number 18 Platoon Sergeant, Sergeant Le Fanu, waited for the mist to come down and with Corporal Cox ran up to the

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crest and surprised a group of Germans preparing to attack our sangers. They engaged the enemy, killing some before being killed by Spandau (machine gun – MG42) fire.

A stretcher bearer, Private Riscom, who went to see if he could help was also shot by a sniper.”

Anthony is buried alongside his fellow soldier Corporal Cox in The British and Commonwealth War Cemetery in Monte Cassino, Italy.

Anthony’s older brother and Old Bedfordian, Sir Michael Le Fanu, also fought in the war and went on to become First Sea Lord and later Admiral of the Fleet – perhaps spurred on by the loss of his baby brother, Anthony.

Louis James Lipsett Rank: Major General, Royal Irish Regiment Born: 14 June 1874 School years: 1887 to 1892 Killed in action: 14 October 1918 (aged 44), Saulzoir, France Buried: Quéant Communal Cemetery, France

Major General Louis Lipsett was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal in Ireland, the youngest son of Richard and Etty Lipsett.

Louis was raised in Merthyr, Wales, and then Bedford where he was educated at Bedford School. Against the wishes of his tutors, Louis took the Sandhurst entrance examination and upon graduation was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Regiment. He served on the Northwest Frontier in India for the next five years, participating in the Tirah Campaign against the Afridi. During these campaigns he conducted himself with distinction, and gained promotion to Lieutenant.

In February 1901 Louis achieved his captaincy before studying French and German to qualify as a secondclass interpreter in French. In 1903 he entered the Staff College at Camberley, Surrey, placing second among the infantry candidates.

After a deployment to South Africa he was posted to Canada to help standardise training among Britain and its dominions. In 1911, Louis took up the appointment of General Staff Officer, Western Canada, with the local rank of Major. His tact, sense of humour, and enthusiasm for sport made him popular and, unlike some British officers, he seemed determined to like the country and the people of Canada. He helped train, influence, and inspire many of the officers who would lead the brigades and battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

With the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914, Louis was handed command of the 90th Winnipeg Rifles (referred to as ‘The Little Black Devils’) in the Canadian Expeditionary Force’s 8th Battalion, and transformed it into one of the finest battalions in Canada. His unit was the mainstay of the Canadian defence against the German assault on 24 April 1915 at the Second battle of Ypres - the first occasion on

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which the Germans used chlorine gas on the Western Front. Louis is credited with ordering men to urinate on their handkerchiefs to provide primitive but successful protection against the gas.

He was appointed commander of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade and placed at the head of the 3rd Canadian Division in June 1916, following the death of its commander. He led his men through the Battle of the Somme in 1916, to success at Vimy Ridge in France in April 1917, through a tough struggle at Passchendaele in Belgium in October 1917 and, finally, to a shrewdly planned victory at Amiens, France, in August 1918.

He remained with the 3rd Division until September 1918.

In September 1918 he transferred back to the British Army, in command of the 4th Division. The following month, on 14 October 1918, crawling along a bank overlooking the River Selle with several officers of his own staff and some of the 49th Division, the party came under fire from across the river. The party went to ground but a single bullet struck Louis in the face.

He made it back to his own lines but collapsed from massive blood loss and never regained consciousness.

Louis was the last British general to be killed during the First World War, just one month its end.

Louis was remembered by his men as being “essentially a man of affairs, methodical and clear thinking.” His troops took pride in the fact that he shared their dangers when other generals led seemingly more sheltered lives. In turn, Louis understood the need to set an example of fearlessness and disregard of danger to those under him at all times and in all places; in fact to lead and not to follow was the ideal which he set for himself and lived up to the end.

His wartime honours included the Order of the Bath (CB), the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG), the French Legion d’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre.

Remembering all OBs Inscribed on the walls of the school’s Memorial Hall are the names of 756 Old Bedfordians who lost their lives in the two World Wars. Shockingly, the total number lost in World War I equates to nearly twice the number of boys who left Bedford School during those years of terrible war, and in World War II, exactly one third.

Five of these men were awarded the Victoria Cross, the very highest and most respected military award in the British honours system, only awarded for exemplary bravery shown ‘in the face of the enemy’ – in most cases awarded posthumously. The five men were; Second Lieutenant Montagu Moore, Sub Lieutenant Arthur Tisdall and Major George Wheeler, killed in action during World War 1, and Major Henry Foote and Acting Captain Frederick Peters killed in action during World War 2.

Second Lieutenant Montagu Moore

Sub Lieutenant Arthur Tisdall

Major Henry Foote

Acting Captain Frederick Peters

Major George Wheeler

Aftermath Have you forgotten yet?...

For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged days, Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city-ways: And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts that flow Like clouds in the lit heaven of life; and you’re a man reprieved to go, Taking your peaceful share of Time, with joy to spare.

But the past is just the same--and War’s a bloody game...

Have you forgotten yet?...

Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you’ll never forget.

Do you remember the dark months you held the sector at Mametz-The nights you watched and wired and dug and piled sandbags on parapets?

Do you remember the rats; and the stench Of corpses rotting in front of the front-line trench-And dawn coming, dirty-white, and chill with a hopeless rain?

Do you ever stop and ask, ‘Is it all going to happen again?’

Do you remember that hour of din before the attack-And the anger, the blind compassion that seized and shook you then As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men?

Do you remember the stretcher-cases lurching back With dying eyes and lolling heads--those ashen-grey Masks of the lads who once were keen and kind and gay?

Have you forgotten yet?...

Look up, and swear by the green of the spring that you’ll never forget.

Siegfried Sassoon