 1910 - 1944 (34 years)
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| Name |
Whitty Lt Col. John Henry Hamlyn |
| Birth |
7th Feb 1910 |
NSW, Australia  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
23 Oct 1944 |
Monte Cassino, Italy |
| Person ID |
I10 |
My Genealogy |
| Last Modified |
2 Dec 2023 |
| Father |
Whitty Henry Hamlyn, b. 30 May 1872, Tarramia Station, Corowa, NSW d. 18 Oct 1938, Heathfield, Sussex (Age 66 years) |
| Mother |
Hampton Marguerite Louise, b. 7 Jul 1881, Mile End, London d. 1958, Tonbridge, Kent (Age 76 years) |
| Marriage |
1904 |
New South Wales |
| Family ID |
F123 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Event Map |
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 | Death - 23 Oct 1944 - Monte Cassino, Italy |
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| Photos
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 | Col. John Whitty with sons Ham & Kenneth, May 1942
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 | Lt Col John Whitty obituary, The Times, 9th Dec 1944
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 | Florence War Cemetery, kept by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, where Lt Col John H H Whitty is buried
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 | The MC is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members, of any rank in Our Armed Forces..."
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 | The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) was awarded to commissioned officers for distinguished service, normally in positions of command but also, and much less frequently, for individual acts of gallantry
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 | DSO medal recommendation for John Whitty, for his actions during an attack at Romagnoli.
"...lt-col Whitty went forward over an area swept by heavy machine gun and mortar fire, co-ordinated supporting weapons, and by deliberatly exposing himself to enemy fire set such an example that his men were encouraged...his leadership and complete indifference to danger inspired his unit throughout the action.." |
 | Military Cross medal recommendation for Lt John Whitty, for his action under fire during a night advance on Tanra, Palestine, on 13th May 1938
"...he went forward with the attack of 'A' company and set a very fine example by his coolness and courage. When a report reached him that Private Moyes was missing, he together with Captain Kelleher and Private Parkin went forward in front of the leading troops under considerable fire to search for him, found him, and helped to carry him back to a covered position" |
 | 2nd page of a description John Whitty wrote of his experiences of the retreat of the BEF to Dunkirk in May 1940
"...at that moment I was hit by what appeared to be a heavy calibre bullet, it knocked me out for the moment and I must say I thought I had been finished..." |
 | 1st page of a description John Whitty wrote of his experiences of the retreat of the BEF to Dunkirk in May 1940
"...that was an epic night for the Regiment and I'll lay the Hun will not forget the crack we gave him..." |
 | 3rd page of a description John Whitty wrote of his experiences during the retreat of the BEF to Dunkirk in May 1940
"...After about twenty minutes the driver of my ambulance came to me and said "Captain, we're ____ well lorst! What shall we do now?" Frankly I'd given up worrying any more..." |
 | 4th page of a description John Whitty wrote of his experiences during the retreat of the BEF to Dunkirk in May 1940
"...those shells were as unpleasantly near as I can ever imagine and the chances of getting away seemed to be slipping away..." |
 | Photo of John Whitty alongside the medals he won, donated by the family to the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum, housed within Maidstone museum in Kent.
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 | John HH Whitty playing golf
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 | A photo of John Whitty during the war, probably in Italy
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 | Memorial to John Whitty and his Cousin Noel Irwin, who also died in WW2, on the wall of St Peters and St Paul's Church, Wadhurst in East Sussex.
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 | 1910 Baptism for John HH Whitty in Wadhurst, Kent, although born in Australia
John was baptised on 29th August 1910 in Wadhurst, where his Whitty grandparents lived.
He was born on 4th Feb 1910 in Australia. |
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| Notes |
- SUMMARY:
John was born in Australia on 10th Dec 1910, to parents Henry Whitty and Margeurite (Nee Hampton). He had an older sister Marguerite and a younger sister Mary. He spent his childhood in Australia, and it would have been a comfortable one since the two previous generations of the Whitty family had become wealthy through being successful cattle and sheep farmers. Aged about 12 he moved to Bristol and went to Clifton College for his secondary education where he excelled in all sports.
After school he decided on a career in the army, and after a stint in the Supplementary Reserve, he joined Royal West Kent Regt in 1931 (aged 21).
He saw action in Palestine, France, North Africa and Italy, and won two awards for bravery. He was obviously a very good soldier - Monty described him as 'the best commander in the 8th army'.
As a Lieutenant in the 2nd Battallion Royal West Kents, he served in Palestine in 1938-9, where the regiment was based at Haifa. Their job was to counter attacks by Arab 'gangs' on Jewish colonies. This was during the 1936-9 Arab uprising in the British Mandate of Palestine which was against the British military control (for allowing continuous Jewish immigration since 1917) and the Jewish settlers. British policy at the time was generally supportive of the Jewish settlers and concentrated on countering the armed Arab uprising, working in unofficial partnership with the 'Haganeh', a Jewish militia which generally restricted itself to defending Jewish settlements. On 13th May 1938, John Whitty won the Military Cross (MC) for rescuing wounded comrades under fire, while taking part in a battle against Arab gunmen near the village of Tamra, 15 miles East of Haifa.
John Whitty had married Sheila Hope Grant, the daughter of an Indian Army officer, in 1937. The first of their two sons was born in 1939 in Haifa.
At the starts of World War 2 his regiment was part of the British Expeditionary Force to France, which ended with defeat, and despite being wounded managed to make his way to Dunkirk to get evacuated. He commanded a Battalion at the large battle of El Alamein in North Africa, and then went on to take part in the Allied advance through Italy. He won the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 30th November 1943 for his actions during an attack on the town of Romagnoli, by which time he was a Lieutenant Colonel. Two convoys came under attack, and his citation reads "Whitty went forward over an area swept by heavy machine gun and mortar fire, co-ordinated supporting weapons, and deliberately exposing himself to enemy fire set such an example that is men were encouraged to leave cover and resume the advance which was finally successful... His leadership and complete indifference to danger inspired his unit throughout the action". He was known for being a good commander of men, and always made sure the Battalion took a honky tonk piano with them wherever they were to keep up morale between battles.
Just over a year after winning the DSO, John was killed by a landmine he stepped on, on 23rd Oct 1944, in the town of Vicchio. He was described in his obituary as 'an outstanding Battalion Commander - Possessing unbounded enthusiasm, determination and courage - he was above all a happy warrior'.
He was survived by his wife Sheila Grant, and his two sons Hamlyn and Kenneth.
Sheila went to on to marry a second time in 1949 to George Coldstream, and they both lived into their 90s.
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Wikipedia entry:
John Henry Hamlyn Whitty DSO MC (4 February 1910 ? 23 October 1944) was an Australian-born English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. Enlisting in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1931, Whitty served with the regiment during the 1936?1939 Arab Revolt, during which he was awarded the Military Cross. He later served during the Second World War, during which he was wounded in action at Dunkirk. Later in the war he served in North Africa, where he was considered by Field Marshal Montgomery as the best field commander in the Eighth Army. Following service in North Africa, Whitty fought in the Italian Campaign, during which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, before being killed in October 1944 after stepping on a landmine. During his military career, he also played first-class cricket for the British Army cricket team.
Early life
Whitty was born in Sydney to Hamlyn Henry Whitty and his wife, Marguerite. In December 1922 he moved with his parents to England, where he was educated at Clifton College. While at Clifton he was a member of the Clifton College contingent of the Officers' Training Corps.
Military career
After leaving Clifton, he decided upon a career in the British Army, but was placed on the Supplementary Reserve, where he held the rank of second lieutenant.
He accepted a commission into the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment as a lieutenant in February 1931, having been on the Supplementary Reserve. In 1936, he made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the British Army cricket team against Cambridge University at Fenner's... An all-round sportsman, beside playing cricket for the army, he also played football, golf and rugby union for the army. He married Sheila Hope [Grant] in 1937, with the couple having two children and residing at Seaford, Sussex.
He was posted to Palestine on peacekeeping duties in 1938 and saw action there during the Arab Revolt. On 14 May 1938, he was slightly injured in a car accident during a night advance on Tamra. Despite this, he remained on the front line and led an advance during the early afternoon on the same day. When he received word that a private was missing, Whitty, alongside Captain Kelleher and Private Parkin, searched for the missing private under heavy enemy fire and eventually found him, returning him safely to cover. For these actions he was awarded the Military Cross in August 1938. He was promoted to the rank of captain in February 1939.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Whitty was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force, as part of the 132nd Infantry Brigade. During the retreat to Dunkirk, he was wounded in the chest and shoulder. Shortly thereafter he was picked up by an ambulance and taken to a makeshift hospital in Dunkirk, before being evacuated to a hospital ship and returned to England, where he spent 21 days recovering from his wounds in hospital at Dover. Upon recovering, he returned to service and was later sent to North Africa, where he took part in the Battle of El Alamein. During his service in North Africa he was placed in command of the 5th (Territorial Battalion) within the West Kent Regiment, at which point he was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. He was described by Field Marshal Montgomery as "the best field commander in the Eighth Army".
After North Africa, Whitty received further training, before taking part in the Italian Campaign. Within one month of being posted to Italy, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order during an attack on Romagnoli in November 1943, in which he led from the front while being exposed to significant enemy fire.
Whitty was killed on 23 October 1944 when he stepped on a mine in the Italian town of Vicchio. He was buried at the Florence War Cemetery. Whitty was survived by his wife and their two children.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whitty_(cricketer)
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Due to some meticulous record keeping by cricket enthusiasts online, we can see his score in some cricket matches;
August 1934
Band of Brothers V Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment
JHH Whitty bowled for 0 in first innings
But he redeemed himself by single handedly taking every wicket when bowling - 8 bowled by Whitty, 1 lbw by Whitty, 1 boweled and caught by Whitty.
source: http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/256/256569.html
May 23rd 1936
Cambridge University V Army
Whitty bowled 13 overs, 5 of which were Maidens, and he was responsible for 2 wickets. His batting on the other hand wasn't so good, 10th batsman he was run out for 1 run.
In the second innings he took 2 wickets as a bowler and got a more respectable 22 runs.
source: http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/15/15766.html
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1910 record of birth:
Henry H Whitty, mothers name Margeurite L, registration at Mosman, NSW, Australia
8th Dec 1922 Passenger List
On board the 'Benalla' from Melbourne, arriving in London were Henry Whitty (grazier aged 50), Margurite Whitty (wife, aged 39), Margurite Whitty (scholar aged 17), John Whitty (aged 12) and Mary H whitty aged 9.
their home address is Dewhurst Lodge, Wadhurst, Sussex
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5th Battalion, Queens Own royal West Kent Regiement, WW2 record of action:
1939: The Battalion was part of 132nd Infantry Brigade
1940: It was sent to France attached to the 44th (Home Counties) Division and was part of the British Expeditionary Force.
May 1940: Evacuated from Dunkirk and returned to the UK
July 1942: Had arrived with the 4th Battalion in Egypt. They joined the 8th Army and fought at the Battles of Alam Halfa and Alamein.
1943: Joined the 6th Battalion in the Italian campaigns;
1944: In action at Casino and up the Peninsula to Florence, the Gothic Line and finally entering Austria
source: http://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/Unit-Info/3554
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Commonwealth War Graves record, Florence War Cemetery:
Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Hamly Whitty
Service Number: 41622
date of death 23/10/44
Commanding 5th Battalion, Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment
Awards - DSO, MC
Grave reference IV.B.4
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