Wakeley, JES
(1896 - 1916)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
26th January 1896
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1907 - 1909
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
16 Alleyn Road, West Dulwich
REGIMENT
1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
FINAL RANK:
2nd Lieutenant
DATE OF DEATH:
9th September 1916
AGE AT DEATH:
20
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Heilly
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-L'Abbe IV F 3
2nd Lieutenant John Eric Stanley Wakeley
Eric was born in Rainham, Kent, on January 26th 1896, the sixth child of merchant Percy Wakeley and his wife Mary. He began his education at the King’s School, Rochester, before the family moved to Camberwell, and in September 1907 Eric joined Dulwich. The Wakeley family became very connected to the College during this period, as not only did he join alongside his two elder brothers, but also four younger brothers would go on to attend the College, and even one of their sisters, Mary, would marry a fellow OA – Norman Wallace! Eric’s time as an Alleynian lasted just two years, as he left in the summer of 1909; less than two years later, despite his young age, he was already working in the City as a clerk with a firm of grain merchants.
At the outbreak of war in 1914 he enlisted as a Private in the Artists Rifles, and was sent out to France that December. Not long afterwards he was recommended for a commission, and as a result spent a period in the Cadet Training School at St. Omer, before, on June 11th 1915, being gazetted to the Gloucestershire Regiment. Eric was appointed as Sniping and Scout Officer with his new unit, and went on to see service at Loos, for which he was mentioned in despatches, as well as at Festubert, and during the early stages of the Somme. It was during the Battle of the Somme that he was severely wounded, whilst on a scouting mission near Albert, passing away as a result of his injuries on September 9th 1916.
