Ellis, Roland Hubert Wyburne

Date of birth:: June 30th, 1913 (Cookham Dean/Berkshire, England)
Date of death:: September 27th, 1944 (Sint Anthonis/North Brabant, Netherlands)
Buried on:: Commonwealth War Graves Sint Anthonis
Grave: 1.
Service number:: 117242
Nationality:: British

Biography

Age: 31. Son of Bertram W. Ellis, and of Winifred D. Ellis (nee Mackinnon) of Cookham Dean, Berkshire. B.A., LL.B. The awards of Capt. Ellis were donated to the village council of St. Anthonis by his cousin on 28 September 2019.

Roland joined the Inns of Court Regiment as an officer before joining the 15/19th The King's Royal Hussars in Yorkshire in 1942 after the withdrawal from Dunkirk. The regiment was reformed in northern England, where he served as assistant adjutant.
At the age of 27, Roland was quickly promoted to captain before the regiment landed in France in 1944. He served briefly as a liaison officer with General Sir Brian Horrocks' division before returning to the regiment as assistant adjutant with the 15/19th The Kings Royal Hussars. This post meant that he became close to the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) Peggy O'Neil, who, like him, was a great runner.
In August 1944, he returned to his regiment and was appointed 2nd in Command of B Squadron. On 25 September, the regiment entered Sint Anthonis in the Netherlands, coming from the Eindhoven and Gemert area. After the regiment recaptured Sint Anthonis with the 4th Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry Regiment, it was decided to move B Squadron further east. On 27 September, during a reorganisation and an attack on Stevensbeek, a stray mortar shell hit the turret of Roland's tank, killing him just before the Radioweg.

Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!