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Kenelm William Edward Edgcumbe F/Mc Married Married Married Married Married Married Married Lilian Agnes Arkwright F/Mc | |||||
| Piers Richard Edgcumbe [CFT #2378] Born: 1914 Died: 1940-May-27 |
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| b d Killed in action, Wormhout, France Memorial Notice from The Eton College Chronicle, July 25th 1940 Piers Edgcumbe came to Eton from Sunningdale in May 1928. Blessed with considerable gifts both intellectual and athletic, he was in Sixth Form and Captain of his house in the autumn of 1933, had his House Colours for four years, and for three years rowed in the Boats. After continuing his education at Trinity, Cambridge, and in America, in 1938 he entered his father?s electrical engineering works at Hendon. Early in 1939 he joined the Supplementary Reserve of Officers to the 12th Royal Lancers, and in February 1940 was sent to France on a Special Mission. Of his work there his Commanding Officer wrote: ?I have seldom met an officer who was so cool and brave under fire; he was adored by his men who would have followed him anywhere.? On May 27th he was killed instantaneously in action against a heavy German tank. It is impossible in a short memorial notice to give, to those who did not know him, any impression of his modesty, his charm of manner, his lovable nature, or his consideration for all whether old or young. Those who did know him will feel, as one of them wrote, that ?something shining and very dear has left us.? Of him it may truly be said that ?whatsoever things are true and noble, whatsoever things are pure and generous, honourable and of good report,? these things with his whole heart he constantly pursued. His Squadron Commander?s letter to Piers? parents included the following paragraphs. ?On the evening of May 27th our squadron was at a village called Wormhout which was in the sector of the 145th Infantry Brigade. The Brigadier, Nigel Fitzroy Somerset, was anxious to know as far as possible the positions of the enemy forward elements before darkness fell. Accordingly, he detailed Piers? troop to reconnoitre a certain part of the Sector and report back the results. About half an hour later Piers wirelessed back to say that his sector was clear of Enemy but that he was going ahead to see if any Enemy were moving up a main road about half a mile further up in front. Before doing this, he ordered his leading car to fall in behind the column and he took the lead himself in his own car. They proceeded in this formation when round a bend in the road the leading car came face to face with a large German tank which was stationary on the road. Owing to the size of the guns in this tank, and the heaviness of its armour you must understand that the fight was a very one-sided affair. The first shot from the tank blew Piers? Armoured car to pieces ? in point of fact it would appear that the shell pierced it and burst inside. As it did so it exploded the ammunition magazine ? for the only eye witnesses state that the car suddenly blew up and was never seen again since it vanished with all its occupants into thin air.? His Squadron Commander goes on to say how splendid Piers had been during all these days of the Allied retreat, when difficult and very dangerous reconnaissances had to be made; how he was always to be found in the forefront whenever there was a risky bit of work to be done and how his courage and light heartedness made him beloved and respected by all who served under him. An Aside These biographical notes were transcribed by me, Anthony Cobbold in June 2022. When I told my parents that I was going to marry Jill #541 and that he grandfather?s name was Edgcumbe #793 he knew immediately that he was the proprietor of Everett Edgcumbe & Co and said that, as an electrical engineer equipping 2 new factories for W D & H O Wills in Glasgow and Newcastle he had always specified Everett Edgcumbe electrical instrumentation as it was the best and Wills? philosophy was always to buy the best and only the best. Coincidence! |
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