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Some of the local boys who attended
Wellingborough Grammar School
and who gave their lives in WWII

Francis Causebrook of Rushden
Harold Cheasman of Higham Ferrers
Peter Felce of Higham Ferrers
Frederick Furr of Bozeat
Ronald Hales of Higham Ferrers
John Loake of Rushden
Brian Peck of Rushden
Colin Penness from Rushden

Extracts from the Roll of Honour in "Memories of Wellingborough Grammar School" by D & G Tall
Francis Causebrook (WGS 1931-34) played for the school 1st XV. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps when the war began and served in the Far East. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese in 1941 and died in a prison camp on the borders of Thailand (then called Siam) on 31st August 1943, aged 23. His death was not reported until after the war.
Harold Cheasman (WGS 1932-36), from Higham Ferrers, volunteered for the RAF in 1941, and flew with 102 Squadron as a Sergeant Observer. He was reported missing, later killed, aged 21, on 14 February 1943, and was buried in the Nijmegen (Jonkerbos) British war cemetery in Holland.
Peter Felce (WGS 1932-36), of Higham Ferrers, was called up on 1st September and joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in June 1939. He was promoted successively to Pilot Officer, then Flying Officer and, as a Flight Lieutenant, he was posted missing after his 37th operational flight on 16th September 1942. His death was confirmed the following month.
Frederick Furr (WGS 1930-34), of Bozeat – (member of the school 1st XV and 1st XI) - joined the Navy in 1934, and was posted to China in 1935. After returning home in 1938, he was posted to the Mediterranean in 1939 as a telegraphist. His ship, HM Submarine Unbeaten was lost on patrol on 11th November 1942 in the Bay of Biscay, where he died aged 24.
John Loake (WGS 1935-38), of Rushden, joined the Royal Lancers in November 1942 and served as a driver in the armoured section until he was killed in the Italian campaign on 28th May 1944 aged 20. He was buried in the Naples military cemetery.
Ronald Hales (WGS 1935-37), of Higham Ferrers, volunteered for aircrew service in 1942 and served as a rear gunner in Lancasters, reaching the rank of Sergeant. He was killed on 8th June 1944 on an operational flight over France aged 20, two days after the D-Day Normandy landings. He was buried in a communal grave at the Viroflay Cemetery at Bonnalles, near Paris.
Raymond Norman (WGS 1933-37) volunteered for the RAF and went to Canada to train, becoming a Sergeant Pilot. He was reported missing on 11th March 1943 aged 22; his body was subsequently recovered and buried in St Mary's Churchyard, Wilby.
Brian Peck (WGS 1939-42) joined the Northamptonshire Regiment in June 1944 and transferred to the Royal Scots in 1945. He was killed, aged 18, during the crossing of the Rhine into Germany on 24th March 1945 and buried in the Reichswald Forest British Military Cemetery.
Colin Penness (WGS 1935-40), from Rushden, joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in March 1943. From September 1943 to March 1944 he served in North Africa and then took part in the allied invasion of Italy, where he was killed, aged 20, on 3rd September 1944 in the battle of the Gothic Line. He was buried in the British war cemetery at Montecchio in Northern Italy.


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