In Hamburg Cemetery, Germany is the Commonwealth War Grave of Surgeon Lieutenant Arthur Charles Shelford serving on H.M.S. Express with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve who died 01/09/1940.
He was the son of Percy William and Ethel Shelford, of Alnwick, Northumberland.
Dorothy Hall has submitted the following:-
The Berwick Advertiser 12/09/1940 reports:-
NAVAL SURGEON MISSING
Official notification has been received Mr and Mrs P. W. Shelford, of the Duke’s School, Alnwick, to the effect that their younger son. Surgeon-Lieutenant A. C. Shelford, R.N.V.R., is missing on active service. He graduated at Edinburgh University three years ago and took up duty at Sunderland Royal Infirmary after being appointed assistant to a Sunderland practitioner.
The Scotsman 07/08/1941 reports:-
NAVY AND R.A.F. CASUALTIES
Edinburgh Graduate Killed
Word of the death in action of Surgeon-Lieut. Arthur Charles Shelford R.N.V.R., a graduate of Edinburgh University, and previously a pupil at the Duke’s School, Alnwick, Northumberland where his father is headmaster, has been received by his parents. A confirmatory message from the Admiralty reads: “The German authorities have informed H.M. Government that Surgeon-Lieut. Arthur Charles Shelford, R.N.V.R. was interred at Pellworm on September 26 1940.” The affair in which he lost his life was in the North Sea on September 1 1940. Pellworm is an island to the east of Heligoland between it and the Danish coast of Schleswig-Holstein .
The Duke’s School Book of Remembrance A11.53 recalls:-
Arthur Charles Shelford, son of Mr. and Mrs P. Shelford (Headmaster) Duke’s School, Alnwick. Born 16 August 1914, private school then Duke’s Preparatory then Grammar 15 September 1924 to 29 July 1932. Edinburgh University – Medicine – M.B.A., Ch.B., then Royal Navy. Date of death, 31 August/1 September 1940, aged 26.
Arthur was a keen cricketer, playing for the Cricket XI 1931/32 and an able scholar – he won the Old Boys’ Prize 1932/33. On leaving school he studied medicine at Edinburgh and joined the R.N.V.R. as a Surgeon-Lieutenant on board H.M.S. Express. This was a destroyer of 1350 tons, built by Swan Hunter in 1934. In 1940 the ship was in the 20th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet when, at sea off the coast of Holland, North West of Texel on the night of 31 August/1 September 1940, part of the Flotilla steamed into a German minefield. H.M.S. Esk and H.M.S. Ivanhoe were sunk and Express was severely damaged. Arthur was 26 years old.
H.M.S. “Express” was a destroyer which had taken part in the evacuation from Dunkirk. On 31st August 1940 she left Immingham to set mines off the Dutch coast. She struck a mine and was towed back, having lost 4 officers and 55 ratings. She later returned to the fleet and was finally broken up in 1955.
Acknowledgements: R.C. Fenwick
Arthur Charles Shelford is remembered at Alnwick on A11.01, A11.17, A11.37 and A11.53. and on our List of Ships’ Crews.
He is also named on the University of Edinburgh Roll of Honour.
