Past pupils and staff of Fonthill School, Saint Hill, East Grinstead who served in the First World War. Fonthill was first established in 1808 as a rectory-based school for young gentlemen in Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire. It was owned by the Radcliffe family, first known as Radcliffe's before becoming Fonthill in ca 1820, and remained in Wiltshire until a death in the family meant the living in Wiltshire had to be given up. A new location was found at Rockwood Park in East Grinstead, and the school moved there in 1886. Fonthill was a prep school for the children of the aristocracy and wealthy landowners, professional families and industrialists. It sent many pupils to Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Wellington, Rugby, Charterhouse and other public schools. It also prepared boys for careers in the Royal Navy and Army and sent a number of boys to the naval colleges. Fonthill had many well-decorated and well-known pupils who fought in WWI. Of these, many survived to have successful careers in public life. Sadly, more than sixty men died. These included young men who had foregone university studies or early careers to serve their country. The youngest to die was Vernon Hector Corbyn, a naval midshipman who was 16 when he died on HMS Cressy in September 1914. Lord Rothermere's sons Vere and Vyvyan, whose deaths are commemorated on a tablet inside the entrance to IWM London, and their close friends Neville Woodroffe and the Hon. Henry Palmer Howard were four poignant young deaths. The Radcliffes lost three family members, as did the Selwyns. This community brings together some school-related information about as many Old Fonthillians as possible in the hopes that this will be of interest to family researchers. Fonthill Lodge, the surviving school in the Fonthill educational trust, closed in 2011. Fonthill School had already closed in 1985. If you would like information about family members who attended Fonthill, contact me at [email protected]
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Born 1884
Died 1916
British Army Captain Hussars
Born 1880
Died 1918
British Army Captain Royal Engineers
British Army Major Royal Engineers
Born 1892
Died 1939
British Army Second Lieutenant North Staffordshire Regiment
British Army Captain North Staffordshire Regiment
Born 1860
Died 1940
British Army Major Remount Service
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Temporary Brigadier General Remount Service
Born 1892
Died 1978
British Army Captain Royal Horse Artillery
British Army Major Royal Field Artillery
Born 1880
Died 1957
British Army 8607 Private London Regiment
British Army 762616 Private London Regiment
Born 1880
Died 1959
British Army Lieutenant Guards Machine Gun Regiment
British Army Captain Coldstream Guards
British Army Major Coldstream Guards
Born 1896
Died 1966
British Army Temporary Lieutenant King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
British Army Temporary Lieutenant New Armies attached General List 35th Sikhs
British Army Captain New Armies attached General List 35th Sikhs
Born 1895
Died 1978
British Army Lieutenant East Surrey Regiment
Born 1880
Died 1918
British Army Captain Coldstream Guards
British Army Battery Lieutenant Colonel Coldstream Guards
Born 1893
Died 1966
British Army Second Lieutenant Coldstream Guards
British Army Captain Coldstream Guards
Born 1877
British Army Major Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
Born 1887
Died 1919
British Army Captain Royal Flying Corps
British Army Brigadier General Royal Flying Corps
Born 1897
Died 1962
British Army Lieutenant Royal West Surrey Regiment
Born 1876
Died 1946
British Army Major Cheshire Regiment
British Army Major Lieutenant Colonel Chinese Labour Corps
Born 1890
Died 1960
British Army Temporary Lieutenant Staffordshire Yeomanry
British Army Captain Staffordshire Yeomanry
Born 1897
Died 1945
Royal Navy Commander
Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander
Born 1877
Died 1927
Royal Navy Commander
Born 1885
Died 1947
British Army Second Lieutenant Coldstream Guards 1st Battalion
British Army Lieutenant Coldstream Guards 1st Battalion
British Army Captain Coldstream Guards 1st Battalion