William Howarth Vestey
Person details
| Forename(s) | William Howarth |
|---|---|
| Surname | Vestey |
| Rank | Captain |
| Regiment | Scots Guards |
| Age | 32 |
| Death | Killed in action |
| Place of Death | Western Europe > Italy |
| Date of Death | 26/06/1944 |
| Year of Entry | 1925 |
| House Letter | D |
| School Notes | Modern Languages Scholarship |
| Comments |
Winner of the Australian Amateur Squash Rackets Championship and the Gold Rackets Single Championship. Winner, with Van der Gucht, of the Public Schools Rackets Championship at Queen's, 1930. The first time Radley won this contest 'Moreover, while the Left Flank were consolidating their position on the plateau they were subjected to constant and heavy mortar fire, during which the Battalion suffered a grievous blow. The bombs killed the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, and Captain the Hon. W. H. Vestey, who was commanding Left Flank in the place of Major Harvey ' http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/general/21402-british-aristocracy-losses-ww2-6.html |
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission Link | https://www.cwgc.org/find-record... |
| Unit | 1st Battalion |
| Prefect | School Prefect |
| Military Decorations | |
| Album Number | 23 |
| Battle | Trasimene Line |
| Previous Regiment | |
| Burial or Cemetery | Italy > Bolsena |
| Citations | |
| Archives | Correspondence file in OR files in Radley Archives |
| Post School | Christ Church, Oxford; Oxford Half-Blue for Squash Rackets, Rackets, Real Tennis; Radley Rangers; Radley War Memorial Committee; Married |
| Prep School | |
| Prisoner of War | |
| Radlein Obituary |
November 19 1944.Killed in action in Italy in June 1944, The Hon. William Howarth Vestey, Captain, Scots Guards (E) (Stevenson's, D, 1925-30). Bull Vestey had a most versatile career at Radley. He was an outstanding athlete, representing the School at Cricket, Football (of which he was the Captain), Rackets and Shooting, and was Victor Ludorum in 1930. His crowning achievement was when he and Van der Gucht won the Public Schools Rackets Championship at Queens' in 1930, the only time this cup has come to Radley. He was a School Prefect and had the distinction of winning all the Modern Languages prizes in his last year. At Oxford he continued to prove his athletic ability, representing the University in the Relays, Royal Tennis, Rackets and Squash Rackets. Later when he was in Australia on family business he won the Australian Amateur Squash Rackets Championships and the Gold Rackets Singles Championship. After he had left Radley he was one of the moving spirits in a new era of the Radley Rangers Cricket Club, and no one who had the good fortune to pay for the Club at Stowell Park in the nineteen thirties will ever forget the forget hospitality and kindness of Bill and his family. In fact he was the leading light in more than one Old Radleian Club and had already made his mark as a vigorous and wise member of the Society's committee. Shortly before he left this country for Italy he took an active part in the launching of the new War Memorial Fund and gave it both material and moral support. With all his success in so many spheres, Bill remained delightfully modest and unassuming. He had the happy gift of being able to help in an unobtrusive way others less fortunate tan himself, and his spontaneous acts of kindness will be remembered with gratitude by many of his friends. The death of this big-hearted personality leaves a great gap in the lives of the many who knew and loved him. February 25 1945. We must apologise for two unfortunate misprints which occurred in the obituaries in the Radleian of last November. Those who knew Vestey will have realised, we hope, that the first word 'of the main paragraph should have been "Bill", while in Downing's notice the words "In France 1944" should have read "In June 1944". The final sentence of the notice implied, what actually happened, namely that his death occurred on service in Italy. |
| Service Number | 138626 |
| Place of Birth |
