September 1917 was a very difficult month for Wellington School. Three Old Boys were taken followed very soon afterwards by 2nd Lieut. Victor Tarbet’s death on October 4th. All were involved in the fighting in Belgium.
Gunner Frank Eric Kent was just 19 when his gun post was hit by a gas shell. There had been no time to put on the gas mask and he struggled very quickly, never regaining consciousness. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Private Edward George James Knight and Private Herbert Thomas Manley were killed within days of each other in the fighting on the Menin Road Ridge. Very little is known about the deaths of either man but we can assume they were brutal. Both Knight and Manley are Remembered with Honour on the Tyne Cot Memorial. Their bodies were never recovered.
The Tyne Cot Memorial is also where 2nd Lieut. Victor Tarbet is Remembered with Honour. Again, little is known about his death but a friend recounts how on the 4th October they helped each other with their packs, shook hands at 5am and both led their troops into battle. Tarbet was never seen again.
