Robert Hamilton Bernays

Memorial: Pucklechurch - Memorial Shields

Regiment: Royal Engineers

Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945

Rank and number: Lieutenant 136061

Parents: Revd. Prebendary Stewart Frederick Lewis Bernays, O.B.E. MA, CF, and Lillian Bernays

Marital status: Married

Home address: Home Address: 18 Allington Court, Allington Street, London Lived: Winterbourne

Pre-war occupation: Member of Parliament

Date of birth: 06/05/1902

Place of birth: Middlesex

Date of death: 23/01/1945

Buried/Commemorated at: No known grave but commemorated on the Cassino Memorial, Italy and on Pucklechurch War Memorial

Age: 42

Further information:

Robert was educated at Rossall School from 1916 to 1920 then went on to study at Worcester College, Oxford where he was president of the Oxford Union in 1925. He was MP for Bristol (North) 1931-1945; Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Health, 1937-1939 and Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Transport, 1939-1940.

He joined the Royal Engineers in 1942 and married Nancy, the same year. She was a Senior Commandant in the ATS and daughter of the Mayor of Bristol. They had 2 sons and the youngest was 3 months old when Robert lost his life. On 23rd January Robert, along with another MP, took a flight from Rome to Brindisi to visit troops at the front. However, the plane never reached its destination and no trace of it was ever found. It was assumed it came down in bad weather and Robert was presumed dead along with everyone else on board.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
http://www.glosgen.co.uk/
Liverpool Daily Post 27 January 1945
https://www.rossall.org.uk/robert-hamilton-bernays/