In no time he was flying reconnaissance and
photography missions over France, including the
Somme. On one occasion, a forced crash landing into
a shell hole earned the terse entry in his log book,
‘damned uncomfortable’. After a squadron change,
he went on to rack up hundreds of hours in low-level
strafing missions. Average life expectancy for his
fellow pilots was 17.5 hours, and the missions clearly
took their toll on his health as he was eventually
transferred back to England as a trainer. After the
war he entered on a distinguished career in the
Foreign Office, was knighted by King George VI,
and died aged 89.
Not all were so lucky, of course, and the casualties
began to mount. “The death toll was especially high
among those who left public school between 1908
and 1915,” Lord Gough reminds me, “They were
the junior officers and flyers who often assumed
the most dangerous roles.”
Ever since the Headmaster, Montague Rendall,
put up War Cloister in 1922-4, generations of
Wykehamists have walked past the names of the
513 fallen several times a day. However, this is the
information age, and the details of their sacrifice
can now reach a wider audience.
34 The Wykeham Journal 2014
Enter Rachel Wragg, the College’s Museum
Development Manager, who conceived of a public
website with the photograph and biography of each
name in War Cloister. Thanks to the generous support
of Lord Gough, the website became a reality in 2014.
“The names in War Cloister are a great tribute to the
men,” Lord Gough explained. “Had my father lived
to see me at Winchester College, he would have found
the same magic in War Cloister as do I, and now the
website allows the individual stories to be told as
never before”.
Anyone can now mine a host of fascinating details
from its comprehensive search functions. For example,
on 23 August 1914 (less than three weeks after war
was declared), four Wykehamists lost their lives in
action: Cecil Smith (D, 1897-1903), John Wilkinson
(F, 1901-05), Herbert Holt (B, 1902-07), and Joseph
Mead (G, 1905-10). This amazing website now means
that researching the Winchester war dead and finding
connections such as these has never been easier.
Perhaps just as pleasingly, it has also brought fresh
flows of information to the School.
For instance, when Michael Smith (D, 1955-60)
found himself at St Symphorien cemetery in August
2014 to visit the graves of his uncle and other fallen
Wykehamists, it was straightforward for him to get
in touch with Suzanne Foster, the College Archivist,
and share a treasure-chest of fascinating personal
letters from witnesses and officers. On