As has become usual, Woking District and Surrey Scouts were in attendance for the November Last Post. There were an estimated 250 people including Leaders, Explorers, Scouts, Cubs and Beavers on parade.
We welcomed the Woking Mayor, Cllr Louise Morales as well as senior members of Scouting including County Commissioner Joe Rogerson and Kath Ashworth, District Commissioner of Woking. Will Forster MP also attended.
We remembered three individuals today: Captain Arthur Steele, Sergeant Lawrence Edgar Eddie and Second Lieutenant Alexander Vass.
Captain Steele commenced his training at SOE’s preliminary training school, STS 5, at Wanborough Manor, just 6 miles away from Brookwood. He was parachuted into enemy-occupied France on the night of 19th/20th June 1943 and served as the radio operator to the MONK circuit in and around Marseille until captured by the Gestapo in March 1944. He was transferred to Paris the following month for further interrogation and deported to Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Germany in August 1944. He was murdered there on 11th September 1944 and has no known grave, his body having been disposed of in the crematorium of the concentration camp. He is therefore commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing 1939-1945, Panel 21, Column 3, here in Brookwood Military Cemetery.
Captain Arthur Steele was first remembered at the Brookwood Last Post of 2nd June 2019 and is remembered again today on the occasion of the visit of family and friends, including his son, Ivan.
80 years ago today Sergeant Lawrence Eddie of the Royal Canadian Air Force was an Air Gunner in the crew of Stirling aircraft LJ444 of 1653 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU), Royal Air Force. During a night cross-country and practice bombing exercise both port engines failed. Sgt. Eddie was killed when the aircraft crashed at Stradishall, Suffolk on 3rd November 1944. He was 28 years old.
Second Lieutenant Alexander Vass was a secret agent of the SOE. He was born in Kömlő, Heves county, Hungary and later emigrated to Welland, Canada. Parachuted into Hungary on the night of 3rd/4th July 1944 as part of SOE’s DEERHURST mission of four agents. Dropped off target and captured immediately after landing. Imprisoned in Budapest in July and sent to a Prisoner of War camp in Germany in November. On 23rd December 1944 Mosquito aircraft of the Royal Air Force carried out a bombing raid in the area of his PoW camp at Linberg, two bombs fell on the camp and one killed Vass and all in the same quarters. He was aged 32.
The Exhortation and Kohima Epitaph were both said by Scouts.
Wreaths were laid by the Mayor, by scouts on behalf of Woking District and Surrey Scouts, by Steve Whitmore of the Surrey Chapter UK remembering Lance Corporal James Hill , by Gail Anderson of the American Battle Monuments Commission, on behalf of the Secret World War Two Learning Network remembering Captain Arthur Steele, F Section S.O.E. and Will Forster MP.
There were 24 standards on parade with 18 of those from Scout Groups around Woking.
The entire ceremony was recorded and the excellent footage may be watch here.
Thank you to Woking Scouts for providing the sound today, Alan Meeks for the video and Mike Hillman for the photographs.
Brookwood Last Post 