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Major Derek John MAYALL (113631)
A Company, 1/4th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Date of birth: 29th November 1919 Date of death: 16th August 1944 Died of wounds aged 24 Buried at La Delivrande War Cemetery Plot V Row D Grave 5
Derek John Mayall was born at Birmingham on the 29th of November 1919 the son of the Reverend John Bardsley Mayall MA MC and Muriel O'Neill (nee White) Mayall of Risby Rectory in Suffolk, later of St Mark’s Vicarage, Tunbridge Wells. He was educated at Mowden School, Hove from 1929 to July 1933 and at Lancing College where he was in Seconds House from September 1933 to July 1938. He was a member of the Athletics Team in 1937 and 1938 and held the Half Mile record in 1938. He was a member of the Running Team from 1935 to 1938 being Captain in 1937 and was a Sergeant in the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A in 1937. He was appointed as a House Captain in 1938 and as Secretary of Toc H in 1936. He went on to Sidney Sussex College Cambridge in 1938. At the outbreak of war he was living at Tunbridge Wells where his father was Vicar of St Marks’s Church at Broadwater Down. Following the outbreak of war he volunteered for officer training and was posted to 164th Officer Training Unit at Colchester in Essex in November 1939 where he trainied until January 1940. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1/4th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on the 14th of January 1940 and joined the battalion on the 10th of February 1940 where he was attached to A Company. On the 11th of April 1940, the battalion embarked at Glasgow on board the SS "Empress of Australia" bound for Norway, which the Germans had recently invaded. On the 15th of April, they arrived in Namsen Fjord and transferred to the MV "Chrobry" the next day. At 3am on the morning of the 17th of April they disembarked at Namsen. On the 21st of April, the battalion received orders to move to cut off the advancing the Germans but after a sharp engagement they were forced to fall back. On the 23rd of April Derek Mayall and 2nd Lieutenant G.P. Roberts were detached from their platoon with orders to make contact with the 4th battalion Lincolnshire Regiment. While they were away their platoon was surrounded by the Germans who killed or captured all of them. The two officers arrived back in time to watch the surviving members of their platoon being marched off into captivity. It was the 27th of April before they managed to rejoin the battalion. On the night of the 2/3rd of May the exhausted Yorkshiremen re-embarked at Namsos and arrived at Scapa Flow on the 4th of May 1940. In July 1940 he was posted with his battalion to Iceland where they served until April 1942 when they returned to England where they were based in Hertfordshire. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 14th of July 1941. From February 1942 he attended a Battle School where he was seriously injured in an accident in November 1942 and spent a long period in recovery. He was promoted to temporary Captain on the 7th of November 1942. The battalion later moved to Durham until June 1944. The 1/4th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry landed at “Gold” Beach in Normandy on the 10th of June 1944. On the 16th of June they were involved in the capture of Cristot where they suffered casualties of eleven men killed, two missing and fifty three wounded. On the 25th of June they were involved in the Brigade assault and capture of Fontenay-le-Pesnel and Tessel Wood. At 9pm on the 13th of August 1944 the 1/4th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry moved to relieve the 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment at the village of Chicheboville. They were shelled during the handover. The following day there was a heavy bombing attack by Allied aircraft on the enemy who were trying to escape encirclement. During the day, the village came under occasional shelling and it was during one of these bombardments that Derek Mayall was mortally wounded at 7.30pm and died of his wounds two days later at the British General Hospital. At the time of his death he was the longest serving officer still with the battalion. He was replaced as Commanding Officer of A Company by Major A.J.H. Rutherford on the 18th of August. At the time of his death he was engaged to Miss Muriel Bullen. He is commemorated on the war memorial at Sidney Sussex College Cambridge and on the memorial at St Mark’s Church, Broadwater Down, Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He is also commemorated on the memorial at Mowden School.

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