Major, 8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Died 31 August 1918. Son of Henry Alfred and Francis A.E. Cursham, of Holme Pierrepont. Buried North of the church in HOLME PIERREPONT (ST. EDMUND) CHURCHYARD, Nottinghamshire.

Extract from Nottingham Evening Post Thursday 05 September 1918:

THE LATE MAJOR CURSHAM.

MILITARY FUNEBAL AT HOLME PIERBEPONT.

The funeral of Major Francis George Cursham, Sherwood Foresters, son of Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Cursham, Holme Pierrepont, who was accidentally killed while on duty at Aldershot, took place with full military honours at Holme Pierrepont this afternoon. It appears that deceased was riding on motor lorry, and in passing a loaded timber waggon he was caught by a projecting piece of wood and thrown out, the wheel of the lorry passing over him. He succumbed to his injuries in the Waverley military hospital.

The coffin, which was covered with the Union Jack, was borne to the church on a gun carriage supplied by the A.S.C., and was preceded by a detachment of soldiers from a training battalion at a Midland camp, and a military band playing the Dead March in Saul. Officers of the Machine Gun Corps acted as bearers. The principal mourners were: Mr. and Mrs. A. Cursham, Lieut. R. S. Challands (brother-in-law) and Mrs. Challands, Rev. John Orr, Great Glen Vicarage, Leicester (uncle) and Mrs. Orr, Mr. W. Cursham, Thrumpton Manor (uncle), Mrs. Sydney Raynor, Middleham, Yorks. (aunt). Rev. B. Williams, Rector of Bilborough (uncle), and Lieut. Kenneth Raynor, the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders).

Amongst those who gathered at the church to pay a last tribute to Major Cursham's memory were Brigadier-General Le Marchant, Col. G. S. Foljambe, Col. W. Birkin, C.M.G., and Mrs. Birkin, Captain C. E. Kirby, Captain J. M. Gray and Lieut. H. R. Peerless, Sherwood Foresters, Lieut. J. Pell, Rev. Canon Morse, Rev. H. R. M. Hutt, Mr. R. M. Knowles, Mr. James Forman, Mr. T. B. Forman, Mr. H. A. Dowson. Mr. G. S. Dowson, Mr. Harry Wyles, Mr. B S. Wright., Mr F. Perry, Mr. R. Bradley, Mr. W. H. P. Morris, Mr. F. N. Ellis, Mr. J. W. Danby, Mrs. Hales (Cotgrave), Mr. M. James, Mr. J. James, Mr. A. B. Oliver (representing the Radcliffe-on- Trent Golf Club), and Mr. W. V. Wilding.

The service was of an impressive character, and was conducted by the Ven. Archdeacon E. Hacking, assisted by the Rev. F. C. Cursham, and the Rev. W. T. Saward (rector Holme Pierrepont). The special hymns were "Onward. Christian soldiers," and "For all the Saints," and at the close of the service Mr. F. G. Perkins (the organist) played Chopin's March Funehre. Following the pronouncement of the committal sentences, the firing party fired three volleys, and the bugles sounded the Last Post.

The wreaths included emblems from Lieut.-Col. G. A. Wigley and officers the Sherwood Foresters. Lt.-Col. and Mrs. Western (Aldershot), the Officers Syndicate, C4; officers of Maplaquet Mess, Senior Officers'' School, Aldershot, and the Commandant and Staff of the Senior Officers' School, Aldershot; The Staff, Weekday Cross, Nottingham; the servants, The Firs, Holme Pierrepont; and members of the Notts. Amateur Cricket Club.

Captain, Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (South Nottinghamshire Hussars). Drowned when the troopship he was travelling on, H.M.S. Leasowe Castle, was torpedoed by U-boat 51, north-west of Alexandria, and sank 27 May 1918. Aged 33. Son of Robert Goodall Hanson and Mary Ann Hanson, of Cloverlands, Kimberley, Nottingham. No known grave. Commemorated on CHATBY MEMORIAL, Egypt.

Extract from Nottingham Evening Post - Saturday 01 June 1918:

LOCAL YEOMANRY OFFICERS.

REPORTED MISSING, BELIEVED DROWNED.

Official news reached Nottingham yesterday that three well-known Yeomanry officers, Captain Fredk. Wm. Piggin, M.C., Captain Sydney Hanson, and Lieut. J. C. G. Warwick, are missing and believed drowned. Telegrams conveying the sad message were received by the parents from the authorities at York, and in a fourth case, that of Captain F. P. Holmes, a similar intimation was happily followed by a telegram containing reassuring news that he was a survivor. Further information to the missing officers is being awaited with keen anxiety.

Captain Piggin is the eldest son of Mr. R. S. Piggin, and has served in the Yeomanry for 23 years. He went through the Boer war, and was wounded, and on the outbreak of the present war, was given a commission in the unit with which he had been so long actively identified. He proceeded on active service early 1915, and served in the Dardanelles, Salonika, and Egypt, being awarded the Military Cross a few months ago in recognition of gallantry in capturing some Turkish guns. Captain Piggin has had the good fortune during the war to miss no fewer than three boats which intended to sail, and which all met with disaster.

Captain Sydney Hanson is the son of the late Mr. R. G. Hanson and Mrs. Hanson, Cloverlands, Kimberley, and prior to the war was partner in the firm of Messrs. G. R. Long and Co., maltsters, of Nottingham. He is 33 years of age, and was educated at Repton, joining the Yeomanry some years ago. He has served in the Dardanelles operations, in Salonika, and Egypt.

Lieut. J. C. G. Warwick, who is 23 years of age, is the third son of Mr. J. F. Warwick, Upton Hall, Newark. He was given a commission in the Yeomanry immediately after the outbreak of war, and after service in Salonika, was invalided home for about a year. Upon his recovery he spent some time in Ireland, and then proceeded to Egypt.

Captain F. P. Holmes is the only son of Sir. G. H. Holmes, of Radcliffe-on-Trent. and volunteering in August, 1914, served with the Sherwood Foresters in France for 15 months. He was wounded in October last, and proceeded to Egypt in January of this year.

Chaplain 4th Class, Army Chaplains' Department. Died 14 January 1918. Aged 45. Son of the late Rev. Frances Staunton, of Staunton Hall, Nottingham Rise, and of Mrs. L. A. Staunton Lees, of 5, The Mount, St. Leonards-on-Sea. Educated Bromsgrove School. Buried in BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY, Iraq. Plot XX. Row J. Grave 7.

Extract from Nottingham Evening Post - Wednesday 23 January 1918:

A NOTTS. BATSMAN.

DEATH OF REV. H STAUNTON IN MESOPOTAMIA.

LINK WITH SAXON DAYS.

A large circle friends in Nottinghamshire will read with very great regret the sad news of the death, in Mesopotamia, from pneumonia, of Rev. Harvey Staunton, who was curate at Pleasley from 1898 to 1900, and at Plumtree from 1901 to 1902, chaplain of the Notts. County Lunatic Asylum from 1902 to 1907, and rector of Broughton Sulney from the latter year until 1911.

To Notts, people he was perhaps best known, apart from his spiritual activities, as a member of the County cricket team, for whom played fairly regularly from 1903 to 1905, inclusive. A batsman of the punishing type, his highest innings was against Middlesex at Trent Bridge in 1904, when he scored 78, and one of the notable features of his brief career in county cricket occurred at Gravesend in a match with Kent. More than one of the Notts. batsmen had had a blow on the body from the fast, bowling of Fielder, and Mr. Staunton was violently struck on knee by an extra speedy delivery. His revenge was to despatch the four succeeding deliveries to the boundary.

Born in November, 1870, Harvey Staunton he was the son of the Rev. Francis Staunton Hall, whose family association with the hall and its surrounding demesne dated bark to Anglo-Saxon days. It was Sir Mauger Staunton who defended Belvoir Castle against William the Conquerer and, according to Thoroton, made his composition and contract for his lands, and had the strongest fortress therein, ever since called by the name "Staunton's Tower.” The late Mr. Staunton's father was also lord of the manor and principal owner of the soil. His son was educated at Selwyn College Cambridge, ordained deacon in 1895, and priest in 1897. He was curate of Boxford, Berkshire, for two years, and successively aU Pleaslev and Plumtree, till he took over the chaplaincy at the County Asylum, while, at the close of his stay at Broughton Subney, he became a chaplain of the Assistant Clergy Society in the diocese of Nagpur Reigntana. Since the outbreak of war he had acted as a chaplain to the forces, and, in that capacity, contracted the illness which has brought about his death, A fine type of the manly Christian, Mr Staunton was much beloved and respected by all who knew him.

Extract from Wisden: Obituaries during the war 1918:

STAUNTON, REV. HARVEY (Chaplain to the Forces), of Staunton Hall, Notts, died on service in Mesopotamia, January 14, aged 45, Selwyn Coll., Camb., XI; Notts County XI, 1903-4-5. To Notts people he was perhaps best known as a member of the county cricket team, for whom he played fairly regularly from 1903 to 1905, inclusive. A batsman of the punishing type, his highest innings was against Middlesex at Trent Bridge in 1904, when he scored 78, and one of the notable features of his brief career in county cricket occurred at Gravesend in a match with Kent. More than one of the Notts batsmen had had a blow on the body from the fast bowling of Fielder, and Mr. Staunton was violently struck on the knee by an extra speedy ball. His revenge was to despatch the four succeeding deliveries to the boundary!

Second Lieutenant, 8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Died on service 15 October 1915. Born Born December 15, 1877, Foden Bank, Sutton, Macclesfield, Cheshire. Played for Nottinghamshire as Right-hand Bat. First Class Career lasted from 1903-1905. No known grave. Commemorated at LOOS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France. Panel 87 to 89. Also commemorated on Notts County Cricketers memorial. See also Cricinfo for his Nottinghamshire statistics and details

Extract from Nottingham Evening Post - Thursday 15 June 1916:

LIEUT. R. C. HEMINGWAY.

Lieut. Ralph Custance Hemingway, 8th Sherwood Foresters, of Nottingham, who was killed France October 14th, youngest son of the late James Hemingway, of Foden Bank, Macclesfield, and Mrs. Hemingway, of Stoke Bishop, Bristol, has left the gross value £8,231 14s., the net personalty being £7,504. Probate is granted to Mr. Chas. Robert Hemingway, of 16, South-parade, Doncaster, railway contractor, brother.

Captain, 1st/7th (Robin Hood) Battalion (Territorial), Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Killed in action 1 July 1916. Aged 21. Son of Thomas Charles and Helena Maud Leman, of 12, Arthur St., Nottingham. Buried in FONCQUEVILLERS MILITARY CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France. Plot III. Row D. Grave 10.

Extract from Nottingham Evening Post - Thursday 15 June 1916:

CAPTAIN T. H. LEMAN MISSING.

Mr. T. C. Leman, of Nottingham, received a telegram from the War Office yesterday stating that his only son, Captain Thomas Leman Leman, is missing, and is believed to have been killed on July 2nd. the second day of the great offensive.

Captain Leman, who was only 21, was at Chigwell School in Essex until he was 19, and was then articled to his father's firm, Messrs. Leman and Sons, Chartered accountants. After the outbreak of war he was for a time with the Officers' Training Corps at the University College. It is a melancholy coincidence that three officers who have commanded the same company this battalion at the front (Major Hind, Captain J. G. Mellers, and Captain Leman) have all lost their lives.

Major, 1st Base Park Company, Royal Engineers. Died on service 26 January 1919. Aged 38.Baptised 28 June 1880 in St Peter'c Church, Nottingham. son of James William and Maria Elizabeth McCraith, of 49 Dryden Street, Nottingham. Son of Sir James W. and Lady McCraith, of The Park, Nottingham. Buried in LES BARAQUES MILITARY CEMETERY, SANGATTE, Pas de Calais, France. Plot VII. Row A. Grave 1.

Extract from De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1918, Volume 5, page 116:

McCRAITH, BERNARD, Major, 1st North Midland Field Coy., Divisional Engineers, Royal Engineers (T.F.), 2nd s. of Sir James McCraith, of The Park, Nottingham, by his wife, Maria Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Dickinson ; b. Nottingham, 2 May, 1880 ; educ. Clifton College, and the Royal Engineering College, Cooper's Hill ; served in the Public Works Department, India, from 1901 to 1908, when he retired, on account of ill-health, and subsequently became an Auctioneer and Estate Agent at Nottingham ; was a Fellow of the Surveyors' Institution and a Freemason (P.M.) ; volunteered for active service on the outbreak of war, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. Royal Engineers in Sept. 1914 ; promoted Lieut. ; Capt. in Dec. 1915, and Major in June, 1916; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from Feb. 1915 ; was severely wounded at Neuve Eglise in the following April and invalided home ; rejoined his unit in France in Nov. of the same year, where he saw much fighting, taking part in the battles of the Somme, and in many other engagements ; was appointed Second-In-Command at a NM park near Calais in 1917, and died at No. 30 General Military Hospital, Calais, 26 Jan. 1910, of influenza, contracted while on active service ; unm.

Second Lieutenant, 10th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Killed in action Friday 7 July 1916, on the Somme. Aged 19. Born 3 February 1897, baptised 17 April 1897 at St. James, Nottingham. Son of George and Alice Mary Parr, of Cliff House, The Park, Nottingham; brother of Edgar (below). Attended Bedford Modern School 1908-13. In 1901 he was aged 4, resident with his parents at Cliff House, Lenton Road, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. No known grave. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 10 C 10 D and 11 A. See also Bedford Modern School

EXtract from Nottingham Evening Post - Saturday 15 July 1916:

MISSING.

Second-Lieutenant D. F. Parr.

Mr. George Parr, of Cliff House, Lenton-road, The Park, has received information that his youngest son, Second-Lieutenant Dennis Fillingham Parr, of the Sherwood Foresters, has been missing since July 7th. Educated at Bedford Modern School, and subsequently articled to a solicitor, he volunteered for service when 17 years of age, and received a commission in the Sherwoods in August, 1914. He proceeded to the front about two months ago.

Lieutenant Temporary Captain, 7th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment. Died of wounds 4 November 1918. Aged 24. Son of William Henry and Emma Tonkin, of 13, George Rd., West Bridgford, Notts. Awarded the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) [London Gazette 11 January 1919] and the Military Cross (M.C.). Buried in FOREST COMMUNAL CEMETERY, Nord, France. Row C. Grave 34.

Extract from London Gazette 11 January 1919:

TONKIN, FREDERICK CUTHBERT, M.C., Temporary Lieut. (Temporary Capt.), East Yorkshire Regt., attached 7th Battn. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during an attack. He led his men with great skill and determination, and personally under heavy machine-gun fire reconnoitred the only crossing across a canal, after which he led his company across and covered the crossing for the remainder of the battalion. Throughout the whole of the operations he displayed great initiative and energy.

[Listed as H C F WALKER on memorial] Second Lieutenant, 1st Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Died 12 March 1915. Aged 21. Son of Major W. Eaton Walker and Mrs. Eaton Walker, of Scarrington House, Scarrington, Notts. In the 1911 census he was a boarder, aged 17, born Ilkeston, Derbyshire, a college student, resident Denstone College, Staffordshire. Buried in ARRAS ROAD CEMETERY, ROCLINCOURT, Pas de Calais, France. Plot II. Row J. Grave 1.

Extract from Bond of Sacrifice: Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1916, Volume 2, page 490:

2nd LIEUTENANT HARRY CULLIS STEELE WALKER, SPECIAL RESERVE, attd. 1st BATTN. THE SHERWOOD FORESTERS (NOTTINGHAMSHIRE AND DERBYSHIRE REGIMENT), who was born at Ilkeston, Derbyshire, on the 13th September, 1893, was the second son of Major W. Eaton Walker, V.D., and Mrs. Walker, of Old Basford, Nottingham.
He was educated at Nottingham High School and Denstone College, Staffs., where he was a member of the O.T.C. He left school in 1912, and in November of that year he was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the Special Reserve of the Sherwood Foresters. For active service in the War with Germany he was attached to the 1st Battalion of his Regiment and joined it at Salisbury on its arrival in England from India. He went out to France with the Battalion early in the autumn of 1914 and was in the trenches during the whole of the winter. He was killed while leading his men against a German counterattack on the 12th March, 1915, at the battle of Neuve Chapelle and was buried near the La Bassée Road, close to where he fell.
The Officer commanding the 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters, wrote concerning his death: " I much regret to have to inform you that your son was killed on the morning of March 12th. The Germans attacked us early in the morning, and succeeded for a time In driving us back, but rallying, we drove them away in disorganised flight. It was in this advance that your son was killed. I was quite close to him : so peaceful was his death that I thought at first he was simply waiting his time to rush on. Later. I found he was dead. He was a very gallant boy. He had borne himself with great gallantry' on one or two previous occasions and his loss is a great blow to us all, to whom he had endeared himself."

Lieutenant, 7th (Robin Hood) Battalion Territorial), Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Killed in action 15 June 1915. Aged 31. Son of Arthur and Mary Williams. Buried in KEMMEL CHATEAU MILITARY CEMETERY, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Row A. Grave 63.

Extract from De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1918, volume 1, page 379:

WILLIAMS, ARTHUR MONTAGU, Solicitor, Lieut. Machine Gun Section, 7th (Robin Hood) Battn. Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt.) (T.F.), only s. of the late Arthur Williams, of 109, Forest Road, Nottingham, Solicitor, by his wife, Mary, dau. of the late Thomas Morley, of 48, Addison Street, Nottingham ; b. Nottingham, 21 Dec. 1883 ; educ. Nottingham Boys' High School ; served his articles with Capt. J. A. H. Green, admitted a Solicitor in 1905, and was in practice in Nottingham and had lately been a partner in the firm of Messrs. Browne, Son & Williams. He had joined the Robin Hoods as a private on leaving school in 1900, and became a 2nd Lieut. when the Territorial Act came into operation, and Was gazetted Lieut. 8 June, 1913. On the outbreak of war he volunteered with the Battn. for foreign service, went to France, 25 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Kemmel, 15 June, 1915; unm. He was buried in Kemmel Churchyard. One of his men (Private T. Linney, 1867) wrote : "On the night of 15 June, 1916, at about 9.30 p.m. the Germans thought to make a surprise attack on our trenches south of Ypres, by first of all blowing up our trenches and then by violently bombarding our position by artillery and hand grenades. The 8th Battn. Sherwood Foresters, were in the trenches at the time, and were expecting to be relieved that night by the 7th Battn. Sherwood Foresters, this accounting for the officers of the 7th being in the trenches in the afternoon to view the positions. After the violent bombardment the Germans tried to charge the trench, and this being the first severe attack the 8th Battn. had been in they did not know which way to turn or what to do ; already they had lost a large number of men and officers and were naturally panic stricken, when Lieut. Williams came to the rescue. Already he had been to fetch a wounded officer, Lieut. Dobson, in, and seen him safe ; when the Germans stormed the trenches, he gathered the men together, and by his cool manner and words made a desperate stand against the coming onslaught ; the Germans had got as far as the barbed wire, when Lieut. Williams shouted to the men " Come on men, if we've got to die, we will die fighting," this put new life into the men and by desperate fighting the Germans were driven back, but Lieut. Williams, who had saved the situation at such a critical time, was killed instantaneously, by part of a shell fracturing his skull " ; and Capt. G. H. Stubington: ''It was after dark and he had just gone into the trenches which the Robin Hoods were taking over from the 8th Battu. when Lieut. Dobson of the 8th Battn. was wounded by a shell. Arthur went to help him when another shell exploded and killed them both instantly. He died on duty and I need not tell you how much we feel his loss. He was a most efficient officer and also in my case a close personal friend ; I have, as you are aware, known him for years and as far as Machine Gun work is concerned, I feel that I have lost my right hand man. . . . The Officer Commanding desires me to add that the Battn. has suffered a great loss by his death, and he will be very much missed by all ranks to whom he had endeared himself, and especially by his brother officers." Lieut. Williams, who was a Freeman of the City of Nottingham by birth, had taken his Musketry and Machine Gun Course and had qualified as an Instructor of Musketry. He was a member of, and played for, the Notts. Amateur Cricket Club; was for some time Secretary of the Nottingham Children's Hospital and Hon. Secretary of the Red Cross for Notts, and was a member of the Newstead Lodge of Freemasons.

Extract from Nottingham Evening Post - Friday 25 June 1915:

THE LATE LIEUT. A. M. WILLIAMS.

MEMORIAL SERVICE AT ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH.

A memorial service for the late Lieut. Arthur Montagu Williams, the first commissioned officer the 7th (Robin Hood) Battalion Sherwood Foresters to be killed in action, was held this afternoon at All Saints’' Church. There was a very large congregation, including a contingent of officers and about 150 men of the 3rd line unit Robin Hoods, and representatives of the legal profession, of which the deceased officer was a member, of the Nottingham Red Cross Society, the Children's Hospital Committee, the Freemasons, and the Nottingham High School Cadet Corps.

Prior to the service, which was a deeply impressive character, the organist (Mr. Arthur Richards) played the Angel’s Farewell from the “Dream of Gerontuis,” and at its conclusion the Dead March in “Saul.” The special hymns were “Brief life is here our portion,” "Jesus Lives,” "Let Saints on earth in concert sing,” and "Now the labourer’s task is o’er.”

The officiating clergy were the Rev. Canon Gem, Rev. H. Lovell Clarke, Rev. H. T. Haymann (chaplain to Robin Hoods), and the Rev. E. Banting. In the course of a brief address the Rev. H. T. Haymann paid an eloquent tribute to the courage and sacrifice of Lieut. Williams and to the splendid work he performed in connection with the Red Cross movement during his residence in the city. When they realised he went out because he loved his country, did it not stand out as a solemn rebuke to the shirker and the man who was willing share in all the advantages and blessings that would accrue to this country from a successful warfare, but allowed other people to bear the burden and heat of the day while they refused to make sacrifice.

The service closed with the “Last Post,” sounded by the Robin Hood Bugle Band, and the singing of the National Anthem.

In letter written to one of Lieut. Williams’ sisters conveying an announcement of the death and a description of the circumstances under which fell, Capt. G. H. Stubington observes: “It was after dark, and he had just gone into the trenches which the Robin Hoods were taking over from the 8th Battalion when Lieut Dobson, of the 8th was woundedby a shell. Arthur went to help him when another shell exploded and killed them both instantly. He died on duty, and I need not tell you how much we feel his loss. He was a most efficient officer, and a close personal friend of mine, and as far as machine gun work is concerned, I feel I have lost my right hand man. . . The commanding officer desires me to add that the battalion has suffered great loss by his death and he will be very much missed by all ranks to whom he had endeared himself, and especially by his brother officers.”

He appears on the cover of this book

Flying Officer 119349, 600 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 14 May 1943. Aged 20. Son of Percy Thomas Bastow and Mabel Hilda Bastow, of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire. Buried in BONE WAR CEMETERY, ANNABA, Algeria. Plot VIII. Row D. Grave 1.

Combat reports for the incidents in which Dicky Bastow took part - he was only 20 when he died
125 Sqn 27 June 1942	125 Sqn August 1942	600 Sqn 29 November 1942
	600 Sqn ORB May 1943 Summary

See Elizabeth Halls website detailing Richard Bastow for more details.

'Flying Blind: The Story of a Second World War Night Fighter Pilot' was written by ex-Flt Lt Bryan Wild and Elizabeth Halls, and is published by Fonthill Media 2014

Richard Bastow is front left, next to Bryan Wild. On my Bryanr's left is Bernard Wills, who survived the war and remained in the RAF, becoming Group Captain, DSO DFC. He died in the 1970s aged only 56. Jimmy Ward on the right also stayed in the RAF but was killed in 1952 when his Gloster Meteor exploded in flight. Bryan Wild died aged 90 in 2012.

Elizabeth writes "I'm in a position to start the process again and wonder if you can help. I can furnish you with further information about Dicky to go on the website entry, including photographs (I think there's at least another one of him in my possession - I'd have to check). I'd love it if a member of his family could read my Dad's book and remember Dicky, passing down what happened to him, and being proud of his war record - he shot down several aircraft before the end. For Dad, he always wanted his memoirs to be published in order to remember those pals he lost, so I'd love for this to happen." If you have relevant information please mail her at: elizabethjhalls@gmail.com

Lieutenant 88677, III Corps Signals, Royal Corps of Signals. Killed in action 19 May 1940. Aged 20. Born Leicestershire, resident Nottingham. Son of Charles Evelyn and Doris Blake, of Nottingham. Buried in PONT-DE-METZ CHURCHYARD, Somme, France. Plot 4. Row A. Grave 27.

Extract from Nottingham Journal - Friday 25 September 1942:

Death of 2nd Lt. J. E. Blake Confirmed

Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Blake, of 34, Magdala-road, Nottingham, whose son, 2nd Lieut. J. E. Blake. Royal Corps of Signals, was reported missing in May, 1940, have now been officially notified that he was killed in action on or shortly after 19 May, 1940, and is buried in the military cemetery about two miles from Amiens.

Mr. C. E. Blake is the manager of Barclays Bank, Ltd., St Peter's Gate, Nottingham, and his son was articled to Messrs. J. and A. Bright, solicitors, and passed the intermediate examination in law in 1938. He was educated at Oakham, Wellingborough, and Cheltenham, and was a member of Beeston Fields Golf Club and Notts. Amateur Cricket Club.

Lieutenant 95598, 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment. Missing presumed killed in action by the Japanese during the invasion of Malaya and Singapore 15 December 1941. Aged 21. Born 9 May 1920, and resident, Nottingham. Son of Henry Hill Bradfield and Maude Elizabeth Bradfield, of Nottingham. Second Lieutenant 3 July 1939, Lieutenant 20 January 1940, Acting Captain 25 May to 6 July 1940 and 15 August to 1 October 1940, temporary Captain 2 October to 4 November 1940 and 21 December 1940 to 12 February 1941 (confirmed dead). No known grave. Commemorated on SINGAPORE MEMORIAL, Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore. Column 63.

Leading Airman FX85272, H.M.S. Condor, Royal Navy. Killed in a flying incident 1½ miles due west of the Aerodrome at Arbroath 10 December 1941. Aged 19. Born 12 November 1922 in Nottingham. Son of Frank and Sarah Rachel Piggin, of Nottingham. Buried in NOTTINGHAM CHURCH CEMETERY, Nottinghamshire. Rock Section. Grave 6820.

Note: H.M.S. Condor was a former Royal Naval Air Station, at Arbroath, near Dundee. The base was first constructed as a Fleet Air Arm base in 1938, when it was known as RNAS Arbroath (HMS Condor). It was opened on 19 June 1940. From the outset it was a training base, primarily involved in the training of naval aviators. A purpose-built 'aircraft carrier' sized landing area was constructed on the airfield and it, along with another similar facility at nearby East Haven, Angus, HMS Peewit was used to train aircrew in deck landing operations. In October, 1940, the base was attacked by Luftwaffe He-111 bombers, operating from Norway, which resulted in minor damage (then valued at £1,000) being sustained to some Squadron buildings. Throughout the war years the base was additionally used as a rest area. Operational Squadrons from aircraft carriers would take it in turn to spend rest periods whilst their ships were undergoing maintenance at Scottish Naval ship repair facilities. [Source: Wikipedia - RM Condor]

Captain 179730, Royal Engineers attached to 105 Corps Bridge Company, Royal Army Service Corps. Killed in action 12 May 1943. Aged 23. Son of Bernard Conder Whitty and Lavinia Duke Whitty, of Bramcote, Nottinghamshire. Buried in MEDJEZ-EL-BAB WAR CEMETERY, Tunisia. Plot 15. Row A. Grave 11.

Extract from Nottingham Evening Post - Friday 04 February 1944:

NOTTS. RUGRY PLAYER KILLED IN ACTION.

The War Office announce that Capt. R. M. Whitty, son of Mr. B. Conder Whitty, of Fields-drive, Bramcote, was killed in action, and not accidentally killed, as previously reported, and that the casualty record has been amended accordingly. Capt. Whitty was well known member of Notts. Amateur Cricket Club and Notts. Rugby Football Club, and an old boy of Trent College