Speyer, FWH

2nd Lieutenant Frederick William Hendrik Speyer

Eric was born on November 12th 1894, the only son of Frederick Speyer, the London-born son of German immigrants, and his Dutch wife, Francina. He came to Dulwich at the beginning of 1909 and during his three and a half years at the College was a boarder in Elm Lawn. After leaving in the summer of 1912 he went to Sandhurst, passing out in early 1914 and being granted a commission in the Suffolk Regiment. Shortly after this however he resigned his commission to go and join his parents, who were at that point resident on the island of Java, in modern-day Indonesia; once in Java he gained employment on a tea plantation.
Not long after Eric arrived in Java war broke out; he originally intended to return to England, but received a letter from the War Office informing him that his services were not, as yet, required. He eventually travelled back to England in the summer of 1916, shortly after the death of his father. Upon his return he resumed his commission in the Suffolk Regiment with whom he was sent to France for the first time in April 1917. Two months later, on June 14th 1917, he was killed in action, at Monchy-le-Preux, near Arras.