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/