Home  |   The Great War  |   Second World War  |   Other Conflicts  |   Useful Links  |   Contact Us

 

Flight Lieutenant John Neville SHAW (83133)
Royal Air Force Date of birth: 10th July 1915 Date of death: 22nd November 1946 Died aged 31 Buried at St Andrew’s Church, West Stoke, Sussex
John Neville Shaw was born at Hambledon in Surrey on the 10th of July 1915 the third son of the Reverend William Arnold Shaw, Rector of West Stoke, and Blanche (nee Hall-Hall) Shaw of West Ashling, near Chichester in West Sussex. He was educated at Lancing College where he won a Tritton Scholarship and was in Olds House from May 1929 to July 1933. He gained his School Certificate in 1932. He was a member of the Athletics team in 1933 and was appointed as a House Captain in 1933. He was a Corporal in the Officer Training Corps, achieving Certificate A in 1932. He went on to St Edmund Hall, Oxford where he achieved a BA and took part in the Watkins Fund Expedition to Finland in 1933. On leaving university he joined Morgan Grenfell and Co in 1934 and was a member of the RAC Club. He took a Teaching Diploma at Oxford and a Physical Education Diploma at the English College of Physical Education at Fredensborgh in Denmark before joining the teaching staff at Bloxham School in September 1938 where he was known to the other masters as "Artie" and lived at Headmaster’s House. He resigned his position at Bloxham in July 1940 and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the 26th of July 1940. He was posted to a station which was only twenty miles from Bloxham where he was in command of physical training during which time he made frequent visits to the school and found time to coach pole vaulting. The following appeared in the April 1941 edition of the school magazine, the Bloxamist: -“With the loss of Mr. Shaw, the P.T. has felt, what I imagine the Army of the Nile would feel if they lost General Wavell. If he is one of the men upon whom the R.A.F. are depending for their physical fitness then I cannot see why the Luftwaffe (" Goering's much vaunted Luftwaffe " is I believe the correct term) doesn't say " What's the use? " and give up the struggle; perhaps they will, soon when the news gets through. We have, however, cut our losses and carried on despite the weather, which we feel we can now reveal as having been most inclement for the last four or five months. But there have been days when doing P.T. was a real joy, with pleasant sunshine and the winter birds singing. Too often, however, as is usual in winter much has had to be missed and the less satisfactory indoor P.T. (with windows wide open) resorted to. Nevertheless, you cannot keep summer away and soon we shall have the competition upon us again. We should like Mr. Shaw to come and judge it for us if only for the right of extolling his merits to the public without him being able to protest.” He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 26th of July 1941 and, by early 1942, he was serving in Rhodesia with the Empire Training scheme. He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the 1st of September 1942 and by the spring of 1944 he was stationed in South Africa; he also spent time in the Belgian Congo. He returned to England in early 1945 and spent some time in Germany shortly after which he was diagnosed with leukaemia. He returned to England where he received treatment at Westminster Hospital and returned to Bloxham in September 1946 where he was appointed as House Master of Wilson House and as Chairman of the Arts Club. He relinquished his commission on the grounds of medical unfitness on the 15th of November 1946. He was living at Hambrook Lodge, Ashling near Chichester at the time of his death. He died at Chichester. A fellow Bloxham master wrote the following in the April 1947 edition of the Bloxamist: - “It is my privilege to write this little tribute to our beloved colleague, and when I say beloved, I feel I am understating our true feelings about John Neville Shaw. The strength of his appeal lay in that he was able to get the best out of us, and young and old came to recognise this sooner or later, and to bless him for it. His death created a profound sensation in the School and genuine sorrow was expressed everywhere. He had come here after Lancing and St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. He held the Diploma of the English College of Physical Education at Fredensbourg, Denmark, and his school subjects were Geography, English, Latin and Physical Education. He will be remembered especially for his coaching in athletics and swimming. When the war came he was immediately taken by the Royal Air Force, who found him invaluable to their Physical Education in the Empire Training scheme in Rhodesia. Here he remained for most of the war. On his return to England he was sent to Germany for a short time, and shortly afterwards was taken ill with leukaemia. After a period in the Westminster Hospital he was partially cured, and resumed his work at the School, becoming Housemaster of Wilson House in September. It was a great joy to have him back with us, and his pleasure in taking over the House was a delight to see. In the short time that he was there, he made it clear that Wilson were very fortunate in their new Housemaster.” A requiem service was held at Bloxham School in his memory on the 25th of November 1946. His will contained the following legacy, "Twenty-five pounds to the Headmaster of Bloxham School, Banbury, for the benefit of All Saints School, where I have made many friends and where I have spent two of the most enjoyable years I could ever have wished." (Special thanks to Bloxham School Archives)

Olds House