Recent research has indicated that the names of at least twenty Tenby people who were Killed In Action or Died On Active Service during World War Two have been omitted from the Tenby War Memorial.

The Tenby Town Council has approved a Project to research and positively identify as many of these persons as possible with a view to adding their names to the War Memorial to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day in 2018.

The following names have been have been identified as potentially eligible for inclusion on the War Memorial:

Acting Lt/Col James William Douglas Armstrong

Acting Lt Col James Armstrong was born in London circa 1912, the son of Leslie Douglas and Mary Anne Armstrong.

In 1943 he married Gwendoline Edna Vere who was born in Tenby in 1907, the daughter of Percy Walter and Mary Vare of Gas Lane, Tenby. Later the Vare family moved to Penally.

He was serving with the East Surrey Regiment when he was killed in action on February 21, 1945 and buried in a CWG at Malden

He is commemorated on the St Mary’s Church Roll of Honour and on Penally War Memorial.

Capt Hugh Anthony Stapleton Cotterill, Captain 13th Frontier Rifles

Captain Hugh Cotterill was born in 1919 the son of Major Hugh Cotterill MC and Florence M Cotterill nee Buckle.

He was commissioned into the Indian Army on the 13th January 1940 and served with the 13th Frontier Rifles. He fought in the Burma Campaign and was killed on March 7, 1942 and is commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial, Myanmar. His Service Record indicates that his parents were from Tenby and he is commemorated on the St Mary’s Church Roll of Honour.

Lieutenant Jack Garner Jones MID 42 Commando, Royal Marines

In 1944 Jack Garner Jones married Legarde De C John a Nursing Officer at Tenby Cottage Hospital, she was earlier registered in that position in the 1939 Register.

Jack G. Jones served as a Lieutenant in 42 Commando, Royal Marines and was Mentioned in Dispatches. He was killed on January 31, 1945 and was buried in a CWG in Taukkyan War cemetery, Burma.

Comment:

It has not been possible to identify Jones more positively but he is commemorated on the original St Mary’s Church Roll of Honour.

Police Constable William George Davies Glamorgan Constabulary

William George Davies was born on June 21, 1903, the third son of James and Elizabeth Davies of The Quay, Tenby. He was raised in Tenby but by the outbreak of World War II he was living in Llwynypia near Tonypandy and he enlisted as a Police War Reserve Constable in the Glamorgan Constabulary.

On April 29, 1940 the nearby town of Cwmparc fell victim to a German Air Raid which led to the deaths of 27 persons. George Davies who had attended the scene to assist was among those killed.

He is commemorated on the Police Roll of Honour Trust and on St Mary’s Church Roll of Honour.

Sergeant Harry Gilbert Tonks, Sergeant (WO/AG) Royal Air Force

Harry Gilbert Tonks was born on the May 29, 1919, the son of Mr. and Mrs. S. Tonks of South Yardley, Birmingham. In 1940 he married Phyllis D Lewis, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Lewis of Bridge Street, Tenby and the sister of Sammy Lewis of Tenby United fame in the thirties.

He was serving with 83 Squadron when he was killed on August 31, 1940 and buried in a CWG at Heverlee War Cemetery.

He is not commemorated in Tenby.

Private Charles Henry Burman King, Pioneer Corps

Charles King was born in Cardiff in 1907 and apparently served in the Pioneer Corps after its formation in 1940. He died in August 1942 and was buried in a CWG in Tenby Cemetery.

Comment:

Aside from the fact that he was buried in Tenby Cemetery, no direct connection to Tenby can be established – His birth record, service record and his CWG record give no indication as to his family if any.

Craftsman Ellis Thomas Skyrm REME

Ellis Thomas Skyrm was born in 1917, the son of Richard Skyrm and Priscilla Skyrm née Brown, of Penally. He was educated at Tenby Council School and in 1941 he married Mary M. Beams of Bootle, Lancashire.

In November 1942 he was serving with the REME Corps in Northumberland when he died and was buried in a CWG in Penally Cemetery.

He is commemorated on the Tenby Council School War Memorial and on the Penally War Memorial.

Comment:

There is precedent for being remembered on two Memorials – Stubbs on Penally and Tenby; the Badham brothers on Saundersfoot & Tenby.

If anyone has any comment/observation/ information about the foregoing would they please contact Andrew Davies, the Town Clerk or John H. T. Griffiths (telephone 01824 842033).