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The Prebendal School’s Quest for Remembrance

Tom Bromfield, Head of Humanities, the Prebendal School Chichester

2nd

Lt. Bernard Penfold

The First Six

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Prebendal School is the Chichester Cathedral choir school that can list its Head Masters back

as far as 1170. Of those 83 Head Masters at least three went onto greater things, teaching a

king and starting a new school in Winchester. John Holt, who was a friend of Thomas More

in the household of Archbishop Morton, was appointed Head Master of the school and then

head hunted to teach the young Prince Henry. Two years later, on his death, the next Head

Master, William Hone was appointed tutor to Henry and his sister Mary. Earlier, in 1384,

Romsey had moved from Prebendal to Winchester College to become the second

Wykehamist Headmaster.

It would seem, therefore, out of character for a well-established school to lack any significant

memorial to former pupils who gave their lives in the Great War. In the early 1920s a

memorial was erected in the Canons’ Vestry that was then the song school in the Cathedral.

The Canons’ Vestry wall is also the site where boys would sign their names in pencil as high

up as they could reach, whilst being lifted by other choristers. The one name that is clear to

read is C.J.Howard. Cyril James Howard attended the school from 1905 to 1909, joining the

Sussex Yeomanry in 1914. He was killed 8 November 1915 and is buried at Twelve Tree

Copse in Gallipoli. Curiously, the school history records that a former master of the school

was an army padre who was shelled whilst conducting a funeral on the Gallipoli peninsular;

after the benediction he helped bandage the wounded among the mourners.

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The memorial in the Canons’ Vestry and C.J.Howard’s graffiti.

In 2010 we started to research the evidence on the memorial, using the Commonwealth War

Graves Commission database (CWGC) and the Head Masters’ book. The latter is a register

that has been kept of every boy (girls from 1971) who attended the school. The book gives

key information of their full name, date of birth, date of entry, date left and their next of kin.

This book helped us identify the correct individual in the CWGC database because it gave the

full name and on occasions the next of kin matched as well.

It was also possible to track the Chichester Observer archives for these six boys as a number

were well known in Chichester and there were letters to the paper at the time.

The Head Masters’ book showing Penfold’s name.

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Penfold and St. Peter’s, Selsey

During this research process, the Head Masters’ book was on my desk during a lesson. A girl

called Matilda came to ask a question and enquired after the book. On hearing what the book

had been for she asked if she could look and read aloud a couple of names.

“Penfold, Bernard Hugh”. (135 Penfold, Bernard Hugh – Entered September 20th

1890 –

Born February 17th

1880 – Mr. Hugh Penfold of Selsey – left August 7th

1891).

This name instantly struck me as I attend St. Peter’s, Selsey on a Sunday and always sit

below a brass plaque commemorating, 2nd

Lt. Bernard Penfold of the Worcestershire and

Sherwood Foresters, killed on 22nd

October 1917.

The plaque in St. Peter’s, Selsey.

In addition, I was able to track down the St.Peter’s Parish News from December 1917 that

pays tribute to a valued member of their community.

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This meant that only the choristers are remembered on the Cathedral plaque in the Canons’

Vestry. Boys who had attended the school, who were not choristers had no memorial to their

name, only the Memorial Garden for all the fallen of the two World Wars. This garden was

donated to the school after the Second World War.

Using a group of pupils who were taught how to access information through the CWGC

website, we were able to take names from the Head Masters’ book to research the

Prebendalians more thoroughly. George Percy Edwards MC was the first find, killed 2

October 1918 with the Royal Field Artillery. As he was awarded the Military Cross there was

a strong likelihood that there may be a citations in the London Gazette. After a considerable

amount of searching through many Edwards in the London Gazette a lucky guess came up

with a perfect match in the Edinburgh Gazette. Further research would possibly indicate that

Percy won the Military Cross twice, yet this does need confirming.

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A considerable contribution to the Great War

All the initial research had relied on the use of the CWGC website, yet this in turn relied on

the individual being killed during the Great War. It was now necessary to use a website that

gave information of service. By putting every name into a number of search databases the

staff and pupils of Prebendal were able to establish that 74 boys served in the Great War, of

that number 19 lost their lives– this is an ‘attrition rate’ of 26%. The Prebendal School has

former pupils serving in nearly all theatres of the conflict on land, sea and in the air.

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Name DOB Rank Regiment Awards Place of Burial

Heather, Cecil Henry 10/04/1918

Royal Garrison Artillery

Northern France

Benham, Reginald Reuben

S/Sgt RAMC MID

Wilson, Walter Cecil

MC

Sadler, Robert

RNR

Bayley, James

Lt/Commander

Charles, Richard

Maj RAMC? OBE/MID

Hawes, Thomas Mitchell

Lt/Commander

Penfold, Bernard Hugh 22/10/1917 2nd Lt

Worcester and Sherwood

For.

Ypres, Tyne Cot

Baker, Archibald Samuel

Lt Col (or 2nd

Lt) ROAC (Royal Suffolk)

St M/St. G

MID

Sadler, Henry

2nd Lt Royal Sussex Regt. MC

Charles, RW

RAMC MID

Lloyd, Graham Eyre

2nd Lt (Capt) Tank Corps (RAMC) (MC)

Jefferey, Alfred Ernest

Guardsman

Silver

badge

Shippam, Wilfrid 04/03/1919 Pt

Influenza

Acton, Reginald George 09/05/1915 2nd Lt South Lancashire Regt 5Bn

Horscroft, Alfred Charles

Michael 12/03/1917

HMS Q19

Whiting, Walter Edward

C/Sgt Royal Marine Artillery

Skaife, Arthur Frederic 01/11/2014 Capt 1st Bn Middlesex Regt

Rue-David Cemetery,

Fleurbaix

Skaife, Eric Ommaney

A/Lt Col Royal Welch Fusiliers OBE/MID

Hubbert, Francis Stanley [W] 23/4/1915 2nd Lt East Yorkshire Regt

Ypres

Martin, Algernon 05/11/2018 L/Cpl Royal Sussex Regt. 7Bn

Moore, Arthur Gordon Wens[ley]

Lt. Col

Lemmon, Montague Hague 08/06/1915

Honourable Artillery

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Company

Edwards, George Percy 02/101918

MC

Ferris, Eric William George

Army Chaplain

Wheeler, Leonard Michael

RSN 4BN

Jerusalem

Stickels, Charles 08/11/1917

Cole CH

2nd Lt

DSM

Caffyn, Leslie John

Sgt

MSM

Coomber, Archibald Bertram

RAMC

Younghusband, Edward Walter

T/Lt Machine Gun Corps MID

Trowell, William Thomas

2nd Lt RSR 7BN

Willard, Alfred [E]

MIA

3/7/17 Lt RSR 7BN

Herrington, Cecil EE

Surgeon Lt

Ford, Colin Frederick

Flt. Sgt. RAF MSM/MM

Hayden, William Benjamin

RFC/6th Reserve sqn

Montrose (Sleepyhillock)

Angus

Arnell, Stuart Burton

2nd Lt Royal Hampshire Regt

Howard Cyril James 08/11/1915 L/Cpl Sussex Yeomanry

Kent, Keith Robert

Herrington, Percy Godfrey 15/02/2017 2nd Lt Royal Welch Fusiliers 8BN

Amara, Iraq

Jordan, Victor

2nd Lt

Suffolk Regt or Royal Field

Artillery (Gunner)

Thorowgood, Roland William

Theodore 07/08/1918 T/2nd Lt Royal Warwicks. Regt. MC Lys, Pas-de-Calais

Stone, Cyril Hurburt

?

Port of London authority

Royal Army Medical Corps

MC

MC/MID

Harris, George Gale 26/07/2017 T/2nd Lt Royal Field Artillery MC

Sheen, Harold Joseph

2nd Lt Royal Sussex Regt.

Lake, Cyril Dalton

Gunner Royal Garrison Artillery MM

Rands, Leslie Samuel

Flt Sub Lt Royal Naval Air Service

Manners, Herbert John 26/10/1917 Private Royal West Surrey Regt

Ypres, Tyne Cot

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2nd Bn

Manners, Frank Neal

Rifleman King's Rifle Corps 10Bn

Adam, William John

A/Lt Col

Major

DSO

Goff, Arthur Francis George

Ordinary

Seaman

Pierce, Percy John Emmerson 13/08/2018 Lt. RAF 19 Sqn

Martin, Leon

Fl Sub Lt Royal Naval Air Service

Osmand, William

Private Buffs

Catt, Philip Herbert

2nd Lt Scots Guards

Coutts, [Jan] George

2nd Lt RAF 84th Sqn MID

Paige, Edward

Private RAF labourer

Chitty, Denis Charles 24/08/1919

Royal Field Artillery

North Munden churchyard

Richards, Ronald Sendall 06/11/2017

1/4 Royal Sussex Regt.

Egypt

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Furthermore, during the initial research it was surprising that the boys were mainly in the

ranks, whereas an assumption could have been drawn that as most boys went onto public

schools, more officers would have been in the list. As is now apparent, many were officers,

including two Lieutenant Colonels. Moreover, considering the number of gallantry awards

that were won in the Great War, the initial six were not listed with any. However, as the story

unfolded, the awards started to trickle in and then almost cascade, if you include those

mentioned in despatches.

Remembering not just the dead.

Remembrance often focusses on those who lost their lives, yet in this research it was felt to

be of equal or even more importance to focus on those who came back. The many family

losses of the Great War; the hope of the interwar years; the struggles of the Second World

War and finally the creativity hopes and dreams of the post war era.

For this, one family embodies the spirit of 1914. Arthur and Eric Skaife were the sons of a

physician who lived in North Street House in Chichester. The boys attended Prebendal

School in January 1893, aged 10 and 9 years old respectively, before going on to Winchester

College. Both boys volunteered in 1914, Arthur for the Middlesex Regiment and Eric in the

2nd

Btn, Royal Welch Fusiliers. These regiments were among the first among the BEF to be

sent to France and Belgium. Then tragedy struck the family when they were informed that

both boys had been killed in action. Eric was posted as killed in action, reported in the ‘North

Wales Chronicle and Advertiser’ on Friday 30 October 1914. Arthur had been killed fighting

in the Aubers and Fromelles area on 1 November.

Skaife – Killed in action on the 19th

inst. Captain Eric Ommanney Skaife, Royal Welsh

Fusiliers, aged 30, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Skaife, Chichester. (North Wales Chronicle

and Advertiser)

Then by 5 August 1915 the Flintshire Observer reports an article entitled ‘Prisoners better lot

in Germany’ in which Capt. Eric Skaife has turned up again, alive. He had been wounded and

taken prisoner and was to spend the next three years as a POW.

Sir Eric Skaife originally joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1903, rising to the rank of

Captain by 1914. After being wounded in October he spent time in a German military

hospital and then served out the war as a prisoner in Germany, where conditions were

reported in the Welsh provincial papers. The officers were making the best of it, filling their

hours with theatre and study. Eric, pursued his passion for languages by improving his Welsh

and learning Russian. These two languages would be invaluable to him during the inter-war

years and beyond.

At the end of the war he was promoted to Major and awarded the Order of the British Empire

(OBE), to add to his ‘mention in despatches’. He then served in the war office and

Waziristan, returning to his regiment in 1929 as Lieutenant Colonel. Because Eric was

proficient in Russian he was appointed as military attaché to Moscow from 1934 to 1937.

This raises the question, did he ever meet Joseph Stalin? He then served in the Russian

department of the Foreign Office from 1941 to 1944. He published A short history of the

Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1929. During retirement, Sir Eric was a keen eisteddfodwr,

becoming vice-president in 1942. He died in 1956 during the Scottish Mod, and he is buried

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in Brithdir, Wales. His headstone reads ‘ My heart was in Wales- and in her soil are my

remains’.

Conclusion

The aim of the project was to establish the war record of Prebendalians. It was suspected

from the outset that there would be more than just the initial six. However, in this ongoing

research, it is becoming clear that Prebendal School conforms to the model cited by John

Lewis-Stempel, in ‘Six Weeks’ who maintains that the contribution by Independent school

volunteers during the Great War was considerable, yet this should not be measured by the

number of names on the school war memorial, but also through the lives of those who

returned and their contribution to the ‘new world’ that emerged from the tragedy and sorrow,

adventure and ultimate victory of 1918.

We as a school intend to continue this research to fill in the gaps that are clear through the

Second World War and through the twentieth century.