Head's Newsletter 26 November 2021

Remembrance

The Tiffin Memorial was put up in 1919, and initially listed 117 names of Tiffinians known to have died. Since then, more ex - pupils names have been discovered and a further 11 names have been added. There are a further 115 names of those who died in World War Two. Many of these students who died in the wars were barely any older than students in the Sixth Form. Each year we specifically pick out and remember an individual name from each of the two war memorials. These names are engraved on the tablets.

This year, from the first World War we remembered Arthur Charles Bennett 1899 - 1918 (Tiffin 1912 - 1914) who lived in Kingston Road, Merton Park and his journey to school was by tram from Wimbledon to London Road in Kingston. He left Tiffin in July 1914 aged 15 and became a clerk, working at the rapidly expanding Sopwith aircraft factory in Canbury Park Road, round the corner from the present Tiffin School. The remains of the factories can still be seen today. By 1917 Charlie had reached enlistment age and in March of that year wrote to the Commanding Officer of the Royal Flying Corps to ask about becoming a pilot. Shortly after his birthday in 1917 he was accepted for training in the RFC on Salisbury Plain. By early 1918, he was sent to Egypt where the British army was involved in a campaign against the Ottoman Turks, who were Germany ’ s ally. During the battle of Megiddo , north west of Jerusalem, on 17 September 1918 Charlie ’ s plane was hit by Turkish ground fire. Although wounded he managed to land his plane but died of his wounds on the 23 September, 6 weeks before the end of war, aged just 19. He was buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery and besides being commemorated in the School Hall is also remembered on a plaque in Raynes Park Methodist Church.

The Original Tiffin School in 1912

Jerusalem War Cemetery