Aberystwyth War Memorial SWW Surnames A-E

The following men from the Aberystwyth area died in active service. With thanks to Steven John

  • Derek Jones Bates, Flight Sergeant, 1684954, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Henry Walter and Lilian Scandrett Bates, of Hale, Cheshire. Served with 114 Squadron, RAF Volunteer Reserve, based in the Mediterranean 1942-1945 and equipped with the Douglas Boston. The squadron took part in the invasion of North Africa and was in mainland Italy when Derek went missing in action on 21 February 1945, aged 23. Commemorated on the Malta Memorial, Malta.
  • John Lloyd Bebb, Captain, Air Transport Auxiliary. Born 1901, son of William Bruce Bebb and Elizabeth Bebb of Capel Bangor, and husband of Laura Jane Bebb, of Aberystwyth. Obtained his pilot's license in 1932 and went on to serve with the Air Transport Auxiliary, a civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly plants, and transatlantic delivery points. John died at Throckmorton, Worcestershire, on 30 January 1942, aged 40. Buried at Capel Madog Methodist Chapelyard.
  • Ronald John Beck, Fusilier, 834197, Royal Welch Fusiliers. Son of William and Louisa Beck, of Aberystwyth. Served with 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers. The battalion was on the Belgian frontier at the outbreak of war. Ronald died on 31 May 1940, probably while taking part in the retreat of British forces to Dunkirk. He was 28 years old. Buried at Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, England.
  • Herman Benson, Leading Writer, D/MX 67836, Royal Navy. Son of Russell Heber Benson and Elizabeth Benson, of Aberystwyth. Served on the cruiser HMS Charybdis. In October 1943 the ship was part of a force sent to intercept the German blockade runner Munsterlund off the Britanny coast, but during the night of 23 October 1943 a flotilla of German torpedo boats attacked. HMS Charybdis sank with the loss of 30 officers and 432 ratings. Herman was 23 years of age, and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon.
  • William George Boyce, Steward, P/LX 573258, Royal Navy. Born at Aberystwyth in 1909, son of Edward and Mary Ann Boyce. Married Clarice Taylor at Atcham, Shrewsbury, in 1935. William served aboard HMS Pylades, a Catherine-class minesweeper. On 8 July 1944, Pylades was operating off Juno Beach when two explosions rocked her, causing her to sink. William died, aged 34 years old. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire. A dive carried out by Channel 4's programme Shipwreck Detectives indicated the ship had been torpedoed, rather than hitting mines as was originally supposed.
  • Thomas John Brodigan, Fusilier, 859495, Royal Welch Fusiliers. Son of Richard and EA Brodigan, of Penparke. Served with the 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers. Thomas was killed in Burma on 18 March 1943, aged 24. Commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial, Myanmar.
  • Edward Bertie Bull, Lieutenant, Royal Navy. Son of Edward George and Alice Henrietta Bull, husband of Gertrude Mary Vaughan Bull, of Aberystwyth. Served aboard HM Submarine Grampus, a mine-laying submarine. On 24 June 1940, Grampus was laying mines in the Sicily area when spotted by the Italian torpedo boat Circe. After a short fight, Grampus was destroyed and sank with the loss of all hands. Edward was 31 years old, and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire.
  • Kenneth Rees Burbeck, Flying Officer (Pilot), Royal Air Force. Born at Aberystwyth in 1920, son of John Edward Burbeck, DCM, and Frances Emily Burbeck, of Shirley, Birmingham. Kenneth was commissioned as Flight Sergeant on 11 February 1943, joining 100 Squadron, a heavy bomber unit equipped with the Avro Lancaster. On the night of 22 September 1943, Kenneth took off as part of a group of 711 aircraft to bomb Hanover. He died when his Lancaster was shot down over Germany the following morning. Kenneth was 23 years old, and is buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany.
  • Morgan Hugh Garland Coombe, Guardsman, 2738330, Welsh Guards. Son of Edward G and Gwladys Coombe, of Aberystwyth. Served with the 3rd Battalion, Welsh Guards. Morgan was killed during the capture of the town of Hammam Lif, Tunisia, on 23 June 1943. He was 22 years old. Nuried in Enfidaville War Cemetery, Tunisia.
  • William James Daniel, Fusilier, 14320767, Royal Welch Fusiliers. Son of David James Daniel and Mary Alice Daniel, of Aberystwyth. Served with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers. Williams was killed on 3 February 1945 while the battalion took part in the Burmese campaign. He was 20 years old. Buried in Taukkyan War Cemetery, Myanmar.
  • D Davies, Royal Navy.
  • David Aeron Davies, Able Seaman, P/JX 224550, Royal Navy. Served on the destroyer HMS Beverley, which saw service in the North Atlantic. While escorting a convoy south west of Iceland, the ship was damaged in a collision with SS Cairnvalona and as a result went to the rear of the convoy. The ship’s anti-submarine equipment was damaged and two days later, on 11 April 1943, it was hit by a torpedo during a night attack by German submarine U-188. HMS Beverley sank with the loss of 151 men including David, who was 25 years old. Commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire.
  • Gladys Mary Davies, Aircraftwoman 2nd Class, 2078237, Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Daughter of John Llewelyn Davies and Annie Davies, of Penparke, Aberystwyth. She served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, and died on active service in Gloucester on 10 August 1942, aged 19. Her body was taken home for burial at Aberystwyth Cemetery.
  • Ivor Davies, Private, 5628899, Devonshire Regiment. Son of John and Elizabeth Davies, of Aberystwyth, husband of Mary E Davies, of Llanafan. He served with the 11th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment. Killed in Burma on 11 April 1944, aged 33. Commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial, Myanmar.
  • Walter John Davies, Gunner, 1078723, Royal Artillery. Son of William and Annie Elizabeth Davies, of Aberystwyth. He served with 600 (5th Bn. The Duke of Wellington's Regt) Regiment, Royal Artillery. Walter’s unit landed in Normandy in June 1944 and took part in the advance through northern France. On 15 April 1945, the unit took part in an operation to destroy a German garrison on the Channel coast, north of Dunkirk. He was killed that day, aged 37. Buried in Coxyde Military Cemetery, Belgium.
  • George Samuel Achille Didier, Officer Cadet, 798380, Royal Artillery. Son of Achille and Kate R Didier, of Aberystwyth, husband of Lilian Didier. He was an Officer Cadet with the Royal Artillery, and served in North Africa. George died in Egypt on 13 December 1942, aged 27. Buried at Heliopolis War Cemetery, Egypt.
  • Lawrence George Easto, Private, 3967078, Welch Regiment. Son of Arthur Easto (who had died of wounds in France on 3 December 1917), and of Gertrude May Easto, of Aberystwyth. Lawrence served with the 2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment. The battalion served in Crete, North Africa and Italy. Lawrence was wounded at some time during the war and died at home on 6 March 1945, aged 28. Buried in Aberystwyth Cemetery.
  • Brinley Edwards, Lance Serjeant, 984699, Royal Artillery. Born on 4 February 1914, son of Hugh Jenkin Edwards and Anne Marie Edwards (nee Jones), of Aberystwyth. He played football for Aberystwyth FC. Served with 11 (Honourable Artillery Company) Regiment, Royal Artillery, which served in North Africa equipped with Priest self-propelled guns. Brinley was killed in action in November 1942, during the Second Battle of El Alamein. He was 28 years old. Commemorated on the Alamein Memorial, Egypt.
  • Douglas Malcolm Edwards, Private, 147926, Royal Army Service Corps. Born at Aberystwyth in 1914. On 17 June 1940, he was among 4,000 to 8,000 refugees from St Nazaire, a mixture of service personnel and civilians, who embarked on the liner RMS Lancastria. As the ship left for Britain it was hit by three bombs from a German Ju-88. RMS Lancastria sank in 20 minutes, with the loss of thousands of lives. Douglas was 26 years old when he died that day. His body was one of many washed ashore over the following weeks. He is buried in Escoublac-La-Baule War Cemetery, France.
  • Francis Joseph Edwards, Sergeant, 1316995, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Joseph and Elizabeth Edwards, of Aberystwyth. Served as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner with 427 Squadron, assigned to No 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron was a Bomber Command squadron, flying Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster bombers. Francis was 23 years old when he was killed in action over France. Buried in Clichy Northern Cemetery, France.
  • Jemuel Richard Edwards, Flight Sergeant, 1286856, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Owen and Ellen Ann Edwards, of Aberystwyth. Served with 296 Squadron. On 8 September 1942, Jemuel was aboard Whitley Serial BD436. As he climbed out of the front hatch, he walked into the airscrew, which was still turning, and was fatally wounded. He was 24 years old. Buried at Aberystwyth Cemetery.
  • Meirion Edwards, Private, 4923315, South Staffordshire Regiment. Son of John Griffyth Edwards and Alice Gwendolen Edwards, of Penparke, Aberystwyth. Served with the 1/6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, attached to the 59th (Staffordshire) Division. The division landed in Normandy as part of the Second Army on 26 June 1944, and fought against elements of the 12th SS Panzer Division. Meirion was killed in Normandy on 7 August 1944, aged 30. Buried in Ryes War Cemetery, Bazenville, France.
  • WR Edwards, Royal Air Force.
  • William Glynne Edwards, Lieutenant, Royal Navy. Son of William and Mary Lloyd Edwards, of Aberystwyth. Served on the destroyer HMS Harvester. In March 1943, while escort an Atlantic convoy, the ship forced German submarine U-444 to the surface before ramming it. Shortly after, on 11 March 1943 HMS Harvester was attacked by U-432 and broke in half. Among the 145 men who died was William, who is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, Kent.
  • Edward Symon Ellis, Lieutenant, Royal Naval Reserve. Son of David and Mary Rachel Ellis, husband of Dorothy Ellis, of Holywell, Flintshire. Served on the light Anti-Aircraft Cruiser HMS Bonaventure, torpedoed near Crete by an Italian submarine on 31 March 1941 while escorting a convoy from Greece to Alexandria. Edward was 32 years old when he died that day. Commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon.
  • Eric Glynn Evans, Major, 67683, Royal Artillery. Son of Ivor and Elizabeth Evans, of Aberystwyth. Served with the 146th (The Pembroke Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. The regiment landed in Suez in September 1942, joining the Eighth Army in time for the battle of El Alamein, forming part of the 7th Armoured Division. Eric was killed during the final stages of the Tunisian Campaign, on 26 April 1943. He was 25 years old. Buried at Enfidaville War Cemetery, Tunisia.
  • Linus Evans, Captain, 217383, Royal Welch Fusiliers. Son of John and Eleanor Evans, husband of Margaret Magdalen Elizabeth Evans, of Aberystwyth. He played football for Aberystwyth FC. Commissioned into the 6th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers. The battalion landed on the Normandy beaches at the end of June 1944, attached to the 53rd (Welsh) Division, and took part in the break-out from the Normandy beach-head. Linus was killed while fighting in the Reichswald Forest area on 8 February 1945. He was 32 years old. Buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany.
  • Thomas Edward Evans, Leading Aircraftman, 1419519, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Evan Richard and Emmie Elizabeth Evans, of Aberystwyth. He served with the Royal Air Force and died at Aberystwyth on 6 January 1943, aged 19. Buried at Aberystwyth Cemetery.
  • John Roger Eyton-Morgan, Flying Officer (Pilot), 162004, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Thomas and Nellie White Eyton-Morgan, of Fronhyfryd, Aberystwyth. Served as a Pilot with 144 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. The squadron was a Coastal Command unit, equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter. On 26 April 1945, John, aged 21, was flying his Beaufighter during an operation over Feda Fjord, Norway, when it crashed. John and his navigator are buried at Feda Churchyard, Norway.