Philip
Firstname
Russell
Middle Name
Pells
Surname
Date of Birth
School Years:
Date of Death:
Family
Father: Arthur George Pells (Brewer's Manager) and mother Florence (nee Martin) who died in 1930 at the family home 43 Bolton Road Ipswich
School Record
Branch of Service:
Army Royal Armoured Corps
Service Number:
308253
Rank:
Decorations:
Service Record
Second Lieutenant
Campaign Medals
Post War Career
He was in the 3rd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment and died of his wounds on 25th July 1944 (Casualty List No 1507). Following the Normandy Landings, his Regiment took part in Operation Goodwood, the attempted break out through Caen. After initial successes, the assault was rebuffed by superior German Forces and large casualties were suffered.
Burial Information
His final resting place is unknown but there is a memorial at the Bayeux Memorial at Calvados in Normandy and he is named under Panel 8 Column 2.
Additional Information
He was at School with David Hewitt and Colin Harrison who both served during WW2. David, having heard of Philip's's death, named his son after him and, when David received the Legion D'Honneur in 2016, he dedicated it "to his best friend Phil who died in a tank at the battle of Caen in the summer of 1944" Colin Harrison has written an autobiography of his experiences during the war and between September 1942 and February 1943 he was in Newcastle on a six month's potential officers course. One of the other members of his group Was Philip Pells "from my old School and was to be killed shortly after D -Day."
The most poignant memory can be found on on the Ipswich War Memorial site in a personal memory provided by Pat Wootton in April 2017 which reads:- " I first met Philip when we were both six years old at the Ipswich High School, which was then located in Westerfield Road and we formed a close childhood friendship. I was the only girl at his party in Bolton Lane together with ten boys.. I remember him quite seriously asking me to marry him. He reminded me of that when he sought me out as a young adult.He went to Ipswich School and I continued at the High School and our meetings were intermittent. We started seeing each other again more seriously in the sixth form but circumstances prevented us meeting too often. I went off to College and he went to Sandhurst and very soon he was off to France.
Philip was a lovely boy, kind, thoughtful and very dedicated to help win the war and to do his duty for his country. He wrote to me from France and said that he was doing what he wanted to do and was enjoying it. He said please don't worry about me because if I get killed you will know that I died doing what I wanted to do and felt was right.
A few weeks later I heard that he had been killed. He was only twenty.
I thought this was a terrible waste of a life and ever since have been a peace lover and am a Life Member of the United Nations Association which supports the United Nations which is our only, if not very successful, instrument to try and secure peace in the world and prevent the terrible waste of life which war causes."
Other Pictures
The Sherman Tank.