The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

• Born: 1875
• Died: 1919
• Grave/memorial: H 097

Policeman and Engineer officer in WW1. Born in Alness, Ross, Scotland the son of a cattleman. Became a police constable with the Metropolitan Police, living in Police Section House, Westminster in 1911. Joined Royal Engineers, becoming Lieutenant; awarded the Military Cross (for gallantry during active operations against the enemy). Died Mar 1919 in Llanelly, Carmarthenshire.

Reference: Buried in Hampstead, Camden History Society 1986,
Additional research by the 2012 project team

• Born: 1896
• Died: 1915
• Grave: H 032

Signaller in WW1. One of 13 children of Alfred Ellerton, chartered accountant; lived at 28 Parliament Hill. Joined Royal Engineers – London Signal Section Training Centre, becoming Corporal. Served in Home theatre; killed in at accident at Aylesbury, Bucks.

Reference: Buried in Hampstead, Camden History Society 1986,
Additional research by the 2012 project team

updated on 29^th June 2014

• Born: 1865
• Died: 1918
• Grave/memorial: G051 WM038

Spice merchant; Rifles officer in WW1. Born in Islington, one of nine children of Daniel Harvest, a spice merchant. After boarding school at Highgate School became a spice/ colonial produce merchant. Married about 1898. Lived (in 1911) at 12 Hampstead Hill Gardens, but also had house in Hove, Sussex. Joined 2nd London Regiment as territorial volunteer; served in France from Jan 1917. Became Major, 5th Battalion (London Rifles); unit disbanded Jan 1918 because of heavy losses. Died of wounds at Steyning, Sussex, leaving wife and two children (ages 11, 17).
The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/9/45776]
(?link to 57 Fitzjohns Ave). ? Link to Daniel Harvest & Gordon Harvest (qv)

Reference: Buried in Hampstead, Camden History Society 1986
Additional research by the 2012 project team and Peter Ginnings

updated on 9^th June 2014

• Born: 1921
• Died: 1940
• Grave/memorial: A 074

Fighter pilot in WW2. Son of Maj-Gen Cyril Ernest Napier Lomax (who served in both world wars, and grandson of Lady Towle, whose husband’s family lived in 1901/1911 at 52 Fitzjohn’s Avenue. Joined RAF in April 1939, becoming Pilot Officer in Oct 1939; posted to 229 Squadron at RAF Digby, Lincolnshire on its formation (the same month). Flew Bristol Blenheim fighters to protect shipping and patrol the east coast. (Guy Gibson was based there at the same time.) Died Feb 1940 at Spilsby, Lincolnshire – his aircraft crashed in poor visibility on night operations. His ashes are buried in his step-grandfather’s family grave (Towle).

Reference: Buried in Hampstead, Camden History Society 1986
Additional research by the 2012 project team

• Date of death: 29^th October 1918
• Age: 26
• Grave: I020 (b)

1. Rank: Captain
2. Unit: Royal Engineers
3. Awards: Mentioned in Despatches

Son of the Rev. Dr. J. J. McClure and Mary McClure (nee Denham). Educated at Capetown and Johannesburg. Served in South Africa and in German South-West Africa with the Transvaal Light Horse. Came to England in 1915, and joined Royal Engineers. Twice wounded.

Reference: CWGC

updated 30^th June 2014

• Born: 1896
• Died: 1941
• Grave/memorial: O 080

Artilleryman in WW2. Born in Hampstead, son of Maurice Piper, stone mason. Lived in 1901 at Campden Buildings, Holly Bush Vale; in 1911 in Gardnor Road. Married in 1922. Joined Royal Artillery, becoming Lance Bombardier; awarded the Military Medal for bravery. Died at Hampstead, leaving a wife and three children (ages 9, 15 and 18), then living at South End Close.

Reference: Buried in Hampstead, Camden History Society 1986
Additional research by the 2012 project team

• Date of death: 13th February 1915
• Age: 18
• Grave: G095-97 (b)

1. Rank: Second Lieutenant
2. Unit: Seaforth Highlanders 3rd Bn. attd. 1st Bn. Gordon Highlanders
3. Wounded in Flanders, died in London

Son of Charles Edward James and Mary Greer Rose, of 23, Daleham Gardens, Hampstead, London. Joined Aug., 1914 (Inns of Court O.T.C.).

Reference: CWGC

updated 30^th June 2014

• Date of death: 27th July 1918
• Age: 22
• Grave/memorial: E093

1. Rank: Lieutenant
2. Unit: The King’s (Liverpool Regiment), 10th Bn. attd. 1st/6th Bn. Seaforth Highlanderse
3. Burial place: St Sever Cemetery, Rouen, Officers, B.6.23

Son of the Rev. John Henry and Sophia Ridgway Astley, of St. Mark”s Vicarage, Dunham Massey, Altrincham.

Reference: CWGC

updated 30^th June 2014

• Date of death: 22nd September 1917
• Age: 38
• Grave/memorial: I098-99

1. Rank: Lance Corporal
2. Unit: Middlesex Regiment 23rd Battalion
3. Service No: G/26812
4. Memorial: Tyne Cot Memorial Panel 113 to 115

Son of Beaumont E. Atkinson, of Hampstead, London

Reference: CWGC

• Date of death: 27th September 1916
• Age: 21
• Grave/memorial: H076

1. Rank: Captain
2. Unit: Northamptonshire Regiment 6th Battalion Action: Somme
3. Monument: Thiepval Memorial, Pier and Face 11 A and 11 D

Son of M. H. Batty, of 294, Worple Rd., Wimbledon, London, and the late Herbert Batty (I-C.S.)

Reference: CWGC

• Date of death: 28 April 1917
• Age: 42
• Grave/memorial: WM002 CH033

1. Rank: Lieutenant
2. Unit: Lancashire Fusiliers (5th Bn, attd 35th MGC)
3. Action: Arras
4. Burial place/Memorial: Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais (Bay 5)
5. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/2/329549]

Son of the late Alfred and Jane Bell, stained glass artist, of Bayford House, Hampstead. Came from Australia to serve. Enlisted in Artists’ Rifles (28th London Regt) as Private 3618. Promoted in the field. Commemmorated on plaque in Hampstead Parish Church, together with John Bell-Hughes (?cousin)

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014

• Date of death: 20^th September 1917 Near Ypres
• Age: 19
• Grave/memorial: CH033

1. Rank: 2nd Lieutenant
2. Unit: Middlesex Regiment attd. 2nd/5th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers
3. Burial place/Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL Panel 113 to 115

Son of Otto Joseph Bell and Sybil Ormond Bell, of “Whitehall,” Ormond Avenue, Hampton-on-Thames. Educated at Elstree and Harrow.

Reference: CWGC record

Research by Margaret Willmer
updated on 9^th June 2014

• Date of death: 18^th July 1918
• Age: 27
• Grave/memorial: E086

1. Rank: Private
2. Unit: Australian Machine Gun Corps, 2nd Battalion
3. Service No: 504
4. Burial place/Memorial: Crucifix Corner Cemetery, Villers, Brettonneux
5. Grave Reference: IX. A. 9.
6. Killed in action at Villers, Brettonneux

Son of George Isaac Bridge, of 4, Harwood Terrace, Fulham, London England. When joining up, was in service with Assistant Governor General.

Reference: CWGC

updated 18^th June 2014

• Date of death: 25^th September 1918
• Age: 23
• Grave/memorial: J030-31

1. Rank: Lieutenant
2. Unit: Royal Air Force 110th Squadron
3. Buried: Bad Bergzabern Cemetery, South end of civil cemetery.

Note: Son of Leslie and Sybil Brooke, of 14, Marlborough Hill, St. John’s Wood, London. Gazetted to King’s Royal Rifle Corps in March, 1915. Served in France with Army Cyclist Corps Nov., 1915-March, 1917. Born in London.

Reference: CWGC

updated 29^th June 2014

• Date of death: 10^th July 1918
• Age: 20
• Grave/memorial: WM007 G054

1. Rank: Lieutenant
2. Unit: Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regt (3rd Bn attd 8th Bn)
3. Action: Burial place / Memorial: Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais (VF5)
4. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/3/1010556]

Son of Harry Bernard and Margaret Agnes Calkin, of 33, Heath Drive, Hampstead (res until after 1921). Joined Inns of Court OTC. Commemmorated on ABG grave G054

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014

• Date of death: 30^th October 1915
• Age: 35
• Grave/memorial: WM010 F095

1. Rank: ? Captain
2. Unit: Royal Engineers
3. Burial place / Memorial: Hampstead Parish Church, Additional Burial Ground F095
4. The National Archives Reference: [?Medal card TNA ref WO 372/4/785145]

1911 s/o Geo E Chandler, butcher, of 8 South Hill Park; 1921: same, also possibly at 9 Parliament Hill). Tombstone refers to sister Edith Blanche Amy Chandler, d Aug 1938, aged 62

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014

• Date of death: 29^th April 1917
• Age: 36

1. Rank: 2nd Lieutenant
2. Unit: Royal Fusiliers 7th Bn
3. Grave: Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun III. H. 34
4. Grave No: XC 007

Son of Thomas Henry Cooper, M.R.C.S., and Emma Eliza, his wife. B A. of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Reference : CWGC

• Date of death: 15^th March 1915
• Age: 21
• Grave/memorial: J002

1. Rank: 2nd Lieutenant
2. Unit: King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 6th Bn. attd. 4th Bn. Rifle Brigade
3. Buried: Voormezeele Enclosure No.3, II.E.2

Son of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. Step-son of Sir J.M. Barrie, Bart, Model for Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Reference: CWGC

updated on 29^th June 2014

• Date of death: 9^th March 1915
• Age: 49
• Grave/memorial: I bay

1. Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
2. Unit: 3rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers
3. Burial place/Memorial: KEMMEL CHATEAU MILITARY CEMETERY Grave Reference: L.4

Killed in action Flanders. Son of George and Emma du Maurier; husband of Gwendolen du Maurier, of 111, Church St., Chelsea, London. Served in the Burmese and South African Campaigns. Born in London.

Reference: Lives of the First World War project for Guy Louis Busson Du Maurier

Research by Margaret Willmer
updated on 9^th June 2014

• Date of death: 09^th July 1916
• Age: 26
• Grave/memorial: WM034 CH041 CH042

1. Rank: 2nd Lieutenant
2. Unit: Royal Field Artillery (149th/ 151st Bde)
3. Action: Somme
4. Burial place/Memorial: Cerisy-Gailly Mil Cemetery, Somme (II.M.7)
5. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/8/195108]

Son of Frederick and Evelyn Haeffner, of 22, Netherhall Gardens, Hampstead (until after 1921). Joined 28th London Regiment as a Private – 1180. Memorial window in HPC from parents & sisters.

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014

• Date of death: 2^nd July 1916
• Age: 31
• Grave/memorial: G001-3

1. Rank: Second Lieutenant
2. Unit: Wiltshire Regiment 6th Bn
3. Action: Somme
4. Burial Place: Gordon Dump Cemetery, Ovilliers La Boiselle, X.C.2.

Son of the late Rev. John Hunter, D.D

Reference: CWGC

updated 30^th June 2014

• Date of death: 12^th January 1918
• Grave/memorial: E093

1. Rank: Lieutenant Commander
2. Unit: Royal Navy HMS ‘Opal’
3. Memorial: Portsmouth Naval Memorial Panel 28

Reference: CWGC

updated 30^th June 2014

• Date of death: 10^th October 1918
• Age: 27
• Grave/memorial: WM054 I084

1. Rank: Private
2. Unit: Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry
3. Service No: 38963
4. Drowned on active service
5. Burial place/Memorial: Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin (CE New Plot 751)
6. The National Archives Reference: [?Medal card TNA ref WO 372/14/76060]

Notes: Son of Temple Lushington Moore and Emma Storrs Moore of 28 Downshire Hill (1911 & 1921: 46 Well Walk – mother widowed by later date). Commemmorated on ABG grave I084Ax

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 9^th June 2014

• Date of death: 1918
• Grave/memorial: H006, I 7

A pioneer of aeroplane engines, he sacrificed his life for his duty

• Date of death: 30^th January 1917
• Age: 19
• Grave/memorial: WM059 CH034

1. Rank: 2nd Lieutenant
2. Unit: Middlesex Regiment (23rd Bn)
3. Action: Flanders
4. Burial place/Memorial: Dickebusch New Military Cemetery, Belgium (M 40)
5. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/14/195347]

Youngest son of Henry Paul Joseph and Eliza Negretti, of The Manor House, 57 Frognal, Hampstead; brother Noel succeeded to house by 1921. Joined as Private, Inns of Court OTC – 5712. Commemmorated on plaque in HPC.

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings

updated on 6^th June 2014

• Date of death: 25^th September 1915
• Grave/memorial: J027

1. Rank: Captain
2. Unit: Royal Welsh Fusiliers 9th Bn.
3. Memorial: Loos Memorial, panel 50 to 52

Son of Mrs. M. E. Payne and the late Edward Stableford Payne, of 45, Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, N.W.3

Reference: CWGC

updated 30^th June 2014

• Date of death: 15^th August 1917
• Age: 24
• Grave/memorial: WM062 M064

1. Rank: Private
2. Unit: Middlesex Regt (1st/ 7th Bn)
3. Service No: TF/203881, Regt 7/1219
4. Action: 3rd Ypres
5. Burial place/Memorial: Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium (Panel 49 & 51)
6. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/16/119431]

Son of Frederick M. and J. A. Pymont, of 8 Holly Mount, Hampstead (1911 & 1921); husband of Ellen Pymont. Commemmorated on ABG grave M064

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014

• Date of death: 15^th April 1918
• Age: 30
• Grave/memorial: WM067 E056

1. Rank: Captain
2. Unit: South Lancashire Regt (B Coy, 2nd Bn)
3. Burial place / Memorial: Haringhe (Bandaghem) Mil’y Cemetery, Flanders, Belgium (II. C. 4)
4. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/17/96506]

Son of George Charles and Adeline Ross, of London (?1911: 32 Avenue Mansions, 499 Finchley Road). Commemmorated in ABG on grave E056

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014

• Date of death: 27^th January 1916
• Age: 26
• Grave/memorial: WM071 G029

1. Rank: Private
2. Unit: Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)(10th Bn)
3. Service No: 8977
4. Action: Loos
5. Burial place / Memorial: Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais (Panel 57 to 59)
6. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/17/198150]

Son of Henry and Mildred Scoates; husband of Katie Scoates (formerly Morgan), of 16 New Buildings, Flask Walk, Hampstead, London. Commemmorated on ABG grave G029

based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014

Henry was born about 1906 in Poti, Georgia (GRO Consular Births 1906-10, vol 12, page 2801), the third of five children of Oscar Julius Siewert, a merchant, and Mabel Eleanor Tarsey (born 28 Sep 1870, Reading 2C, 325, one of four children of a dairy farmer). She lived in Egham until after the 1901 Census, and she and Oscar married in Batoum, Georgia about 1902 (GRO Consular marriage Index 1901-1905, vol 11, page 1433). At this date Poti was a growing city on the eastern Black Sea coast, with a railway inland to Tbilisi and a major modern port. It would have made a good trading base for Oscar. (No records have been found for Oscar before or after 1923; he died before 1944 and is commemorated on his wife’s grave. From the family name it is possible that he was German).

In 1920, Mabel Eleanor Siewert (identified as the wife of Oscar Siewert), then living at 76 Southampton Street, Reading, was registered as the leasehold proprietor of land and buildings at 7 Steele’s Road, Hampstead (HM Land Registry title 165481)(source: London Gazette 29 June 1920 page 7021).

Henry became a Naturalised British Citizen on 31 July 1923 (London Gazette 3 August 1923 (page 5328) along with his father and three surviving siblings. (His mother was English, which is probably why the births of Henry and his siblings could be registered at a British Consulate.) The family then lived at 28 Fellows Road, Hampstead.  

His siblings were:

Sybelle Catherine: born about 1903 in Poti, Georgia (GRO Consular Birth Index 1901-1905,  2371/11/34); she died as an infant in Poti (GRO Consular Death Index 1901-1905, 11/1925).

John George: born 18 Nov 1903 (based on his death registration) in Poti (GRO Consular Birth Indices 1910-1905, 2373/11/33); he married (1) Dorothy Agnes Dienst (born 25 Oct 1912) in 1947 in Calcutta, Bengal (Parish register transcripts, Bengal 1713-1948). John joined up, and was promoted to Acting Sergeant on 6 March 1942 (London Gazette 12 June 1942, issue 35594). In the 1939 Register Dorothy lived alone at 189 Maida Vale Paddington in a house divided into four units, and worked as a saleswoman; she died second quarter 1957 in Hove Sussex (Brighton 5H, 398). John married (2) Ann Eyers in second quarter 1981 (Hove 18, 0604), and died on 22 July 1994 in Hove (GRO Deaths 4571/72C/041/0794)(Probate Death Index 1858-2019).

Evelyn Luboff: born about 1907; she married quarter 2, 1930 to Eric E Henley, property surveyor (Hampstead 1A, 1694); and died December 1930 (Marylebone); Eric was born 9 March 1906 (1911 Census), and he died quarter 1, 1984 (Westminster).

Beatrice Eleanor: born 5 Nov 1909 (based on the 1939 Register); she married (1) quarter 3 1933 to George William Axtell (born 1907, Colchester) (Hampstead 1A, 1890); he died quarter 1 1937 (aged 32) (Pancras 1B, 138). In the 1939 Register, Beatrice (b 5 Nov 1909) lived with her mother Mabel (b 28 Sep 1876) in Billie Oaklands Avenue, Saltdean, Brighton. She married (2) George Avgherinos in first quarter 1944 (Kensington 1A, 387). She died quarter 4, 1953 (Hendon 5E, 484).

Henry played rugby for the UCS Old Boys (The Sportsman newspaper, 29 Sep 1923 and 3 Nov 1923; and The Gower (school magazine), 11 Oct 1924 and 6 Dec 1925); whereas John played soccer for The Casuals (The Sportsman, 5 Jan 1924, 15 Oct 1924). (This suggests that they may have attended different schools.)

Henry (aged 30) worked as an assistant for Bosanquet & Skrine, tea planters, of Galle Face Court in Colombo, Ceylon and is included in a List of English Speaking Jurors and Assessors published in the Ceylon Government Gazette (part 2) on 18 Sep 1936 (issue 8244)(National Digital Library of Sri Lanka). He appears not to have married.

He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve (Service number 101607):

9 Feb 1941 Pilot Officer on probation (London Gazette 15 Aug 1941, page 4733)

1942 Temporary Flying Officer (London Gazette, vol. 2 1942, page 2557)

1943 Flying Officer – War service, Substantive rank

1943 Acting Flight Lieutenant (14 Squadron) See https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk

Henry’s Service record is still closed but the Squadron’s general war experience during the period he served with it in the Sudan, Egypt/ Libya and in Algeria (the Battle of North Africa) is summarised below.

However, on 10 March 1943, the 14 Squadron Operations Book (AIR 27/194/7/2 – Summary of Events) records that two aircraft took off from their base in Telergma, Algeria carrying an advance party for the Squadron’s planned move some 300 miles west to Blida, just outside Algiers at the base of the Atlas Mountains. Only one arrived safely. Although the weather was reported as “very adverse” it was not thought to be the cause of one aircraft crashing into the Bay of Algiers at approximately 11.45am. It was only about 15 minutes out from its destination, and there were no reports of it being in trouble. All six crew members and three passengers were killed and only two bodies recovered. Henry was one of the passengers – described as an Intelligence Officer.

The B26 was a fast medium bomber, with a crew of a bombardier in the nose, a pilot and co-pilot, radio operator/ navigator, and three gunners when on bombing missions and with one less when on reconnaissance.  It required a high standard of training, but the pilot was an experienced officer, a Squadron Leader, and the B-26 apparently gave a high level of operational protection to its crews unmatched by any other similar aircraft.  a href=”http://www.b26.com/page/b26_history.htm”>http://www.b26.com/page/b26_history.htm

Whether this was a flight accident or a combat loss was then, and remains today, unclear.

Henry’s death is recorded on 10 March 1943 in Egypt, aged 37 (GRO War Deaths RAF All Ranks 1939-1948 (1943, page 176), and he is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial (column 267)(CWGC).

He is also commemorated on a memorial plaque to UCS Old Boys in the Rugby Football section who died in the Second World War, originally placed in the pavilion at Osterley Park (The Gower magazine, Dec 1946, vol 23, number 1, page 40).

And he is commemorated in the Hampstead Parish Church additional burial ground on grave LO65 – which is the grave of his sister Evelyn and of his sister Beatrice’s widowed mother-in-law Harriet Axtell (she was born 23 Oct 1872, married Henry Axtell in first quarter 1894 (Pancras 1B, 29); he died third quarter 1939 (Barnet 3A, 638). Harriet lived at 25 Fairfax Road Swiss Cottage in the 1939 Register and at 21 Arkwright Road at the time of her death, and died Feb 1947 Marylebone 5D, 463 (see 1911 Census to support the family relationship – 28 Clabon Mews, Cadogan Square, Chelsea).

Probate for Henry’s estate was granted on 16 July 1953 in London; the record shows Henry Morgan Siewert of Colombo, Ceylon died in the Bay of Algiers. Theodore Magnus Wechsler (1906-87), a London solicitor and local politician, of Gouldens, 16 Byward Street, EC3, was appointed Executor on behalf of William Walter Berry. Henry’s estate was valued at £496/2/2 (Probate Death Index 1858-2019) (London Gazette, 5 June 1953, issue 39881).

[The delay between date of death and probate was because Henry’s body was never recovered and there was a statutory bar on proceeding sooner. But who was Walter William Berry?]

Henry’s mother Mabel (then a widow) died on 29 July 1944, age 72. Although she lived at Flat 5, 1 Linden Gardens, Bayswater W2 (Probate Death Index 1858-2019) she died at the Portland Nursing Home in Buxton Derbyshire (Chapel-en-le-Frith 7B, 754; High Peak BD/G1-3/084). She was buried in Hampstead Parish Church’s additional burial ground (grave K051) in August 1944. Although Oscar is named on the marble kerb of her grave, there is no evidence that he is buried there.

Probate on Mabel’s estate was granted at Llandudno on 9 Nov 1944 to Beatrice Eleanor Avgherinos (her daughter). The estate was valued at £3,314/16/1.

Peter Ginnings
17 Nov 2020

Extract from The History of 14 Squadron, Royal Air Force in the Second World War

[https://www.14sqn-association.org.uk/14_Squadron_Association/History.html]

During the period that Henry Morgan Siewert was with it, the Squadron was engaged in operations in the Mediterranean, Egypt and Libya, and in the invasion of Sicily.

It was equipped with Vickers Wellesley aircraft in 1938: a monoplane with retractable undercarriage and a variable-pitch propeller, which was a quantum leap in performance and capability over the previous biplanes.  Before the war it was involved in counter-insurgency operations during the Palestine rebellion of 1938-39.  On the declaration of the Second World War, the Squadron was deployed briefly to Ismailia in north-east Egypt before returning to Amman, Jordan.  It was then sent to Port Sudan in eastern Sudan in readiness for operations against Italian forces in Abyssinia and the Red Sea.  On 11 June 1940, the day after war was declared by Italy, the Squadron carried out a raid on the Italian air base at Massawa, Eritrea.  Over the next 10 months (during which Henry joined them) the Squadron was engaged in convoy protection duties over the Red Sea, interdiction against Italian installations at Massawa and Asmara, and close support of 4th Indian Division’s advances against Kassala and Keren (on the Sudan/ Eritrea border).  During these operations the Squadron also converted from the Wellesley to the twin-engined Bristol Blenheim MkIV.  After the successful conclusion of the Abyssinian campaign, 14 Squadron was sent to the Western Desert of Egypt, the site of the Squadron’s first operations in 1915.

During the months of May and June 1941, 14 Squadron was heavily involved in direct support firstly of Operation Brevity and then Operation Battleaxe, two unsuccessful attempts by the army to break through the Axis front line near Sollum (on the Egyptian/ Libyan border).  These operations were interspersed by long-range missions over Crete following the German invasion, and two months of hard operational flying took its toll: of the sixteen crews and twenty aircraft with which the Squadron had deployed to Egypt, by June 1941 only four crews and three serviceable aircraft remained.  The Squadron was withdrawn from the desert and dispatched to Iraq, where it was involved in demonstrations of force, including long-range leaflet-dropping raids, over Persia.

14 Squadron returned to operations in the Western Desert in October 1941, arriving in time to participate in the Operation Crusader advance into Libya towards Benghazi.   Unfortunately the success of the British ground offensive was short-lived and the Squadron found itself caught up in the mass retreat eastwards into Egypt towards El Alamein.  In May 1942 the Squadron was once again withdrawn from operations, this time to convert to the Martin B26 Marauder.  Although the original intention was to resume tactical bombing operations in the new aircraft, the Squadron instead found itself carrying out armed torpedo reconnaissance and naval mine-laying sorties over the Mediterranean.  On 21st February 1943 nine Marauders led by Maj Eric Lewis SAAF attacked shipping in the harbour of the Greek island of Melos but, despite the success of this action, this operation was the last time that the Squadron used torpedoes.  The Squadron’s role was now low-level coastal reconnaissance in an area of responsibility which covered the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas.  (It was during this period that the B26 aircraft in which Henry was a passenger came down in the Bay of Algiers.) In April 1943, 14 Squadron was amongst the thirty RAF squadrons to be awarded a Standard by King George VI, although the standard itself would not be presented for another twelve years.

• Date of death: 5^th November 1917
• Age: 19
• Grave/memorial: J040

1. Rank: Private
2. Unit: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) 16th Bn.
3. Service No: 242194
4. Memorial: Tyne Cot Panel 99 to 102 and 162 to 162a

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Thody, of 22, New End Square, Hampstead, London.

Reference: CWGC (Listed as Edward William Thody)

updated on 30^th June 2014

• Date of death: 25^th April 1917
• Age: 29
• Grave/memorial: WM079 L077

1. Rank: Bombardier
2. Unit: Royal Field Artillery (D Batt, 187th Bde)
3. Service No: L/36653
4. Action: Flanders
5. Burial place/Memorial: Dickebusch New Military Cemetery, Belgium (BB.7)
6. The National Archives Reference: [Medal card TNA ref WO 372/20/29024]

Notes: Husband of Ethel Tidd, of 6 Campden Buildings, Hampstead. Commemmorated on ABG grave L077

Reference: based on CWGC record, Commercial Directories of Hampstead 1910 & 1921, 1911 Census

Research by Peter Ginnings
updated on 6^th June 2014