Radley College Archives

Menu

  • Commemorating the Fallen of WW1
    • Commemorating the Fallen of WW1 – Winning the Victoria Cross
    • A surgeon’s story – from The Old Radleian, 2008
    • The WW1 cartoonists featured in the collection at Radley College
  • Lest we forget
  • War Memorials
    • Commemorating WW2 – D-Day 6th June 1944
    • The South African War Memorial, 1899-1902
      • Letter proposing a War Memorial, 1902
      • Radleians serving in the Boer War, 1899-1902
        • Obituary Calverley Trevelyan Hancock (B Social 1893)
        • Obituary George Lockhart Greenshields (G Social 1890)
        • Obituary Alexander Nelson Hood (D Social 1887)
        • Obituary Charles Westrow Hulse (1872)
        • Obituary Archibald Ronald Armadale Macdonald (C Social 1894)
        • Obituary Hugh Robertson (D Social 1894)
        • Obituary Harold John Stanton (G Social 1892)
        • Obituary Edward Robert Prevost Woodgate (1855)
      • The Boer War – letters from South Africa sent to The Radleian magazine
        • The Boer War – letters from South Africa sent to The Radleian magazine. No. 2
        • The Boer War – letters from South Africa to the Radleian magazine. No. 3
        • The Boer War – letters from South Africa sent to The Radleian magazine. No. 4
        • The Boer War – letters from South Africa sent to The Radleian magazine. No. 5
        • The Boer War – letters from South Africa sent to The Radleian magazine. No. 6
  • Visitors and enquiries
    • Introduction
      • Books and articles about Radley College and Radley Hall Estate
    • Book launch 30 November 2019
  • Handlist
    • Detailed handlist
  • History of the College
    • Virtual School – introduction
    • A brief history of Radley College
    • Historical Background
      • Singleton, Sewell and the ideal of a school: St Columba’s College, Stackallan and St Peter’s College, Radley
      • The Stonhouse and Bowyer families, and Radley Hall estate
      • Radley Hall School, 1819-1844
        • Radley Hall examination paper, 1837
      • 29th May, 1847 (Saturday) – Extract from The Oxford Chronicle
      • The Fellows of St Peter’s College, Radley
      • The Fellows of St. Columba’s College, Stackallan
      • The servitors
      • Decimals
      • Description of the Organ
    • The arms of Radley College
    • Henry Taunt’s photographs of Radley College
    • The College Statutes
      • The College Statutes
      • Silence in the dormitory / Sileatur in dormitorio
      • Crimes and punishments
    • Warden Singleton’s Diary
      • About Robert Singleton
      • The Diary Blog
      • 1847
        • March 1847
        • April 1847
        • May 1847
        • June 1847
        • July 1847
        • August 1847
        • September 1847
        • October 1847
        • November 1847
        • December 1847
      • 1848
        • January 1848
        • February 1848
        • March 1848
        • April 1848
        • May 1948
        • June 1848
        • July & August 1848
        • September 1848
        • October 1848
        • November 1848
        • December 1848
      • 1849
        • January to December 1849
    • The Radley Psalter
    • William Wood’s Diary
      • Wood’s diary excerpts
    • The Inventories
    • Bibliotheca Sewelliana
    • Biographies
      • William Sewell
      • Captain William Haskoll
      • Henry Sewell
      • Edmund Savory
      • Edward Howard
      • George Melhuish
      • Edwin Monk
      • Rev. William Bedon Heathcote
      • Samuel Reynolds
      • Mrs Burky
      • New boys, 1849
      • New boys: August – December 1848
      • New boys: January – July 1848
      • Nugent Wade
  • Books, Manuscripts and Letters
    • World Book Day
    • The Cartoon Collection
      • The cartoonists featured in the collection at Radley College
      • The WW1 cartoonists featured in the collection at Radley College
    • Music manuscript
    • Early printing / incunabula
    • Buffon’s Natural history
    • The Silver Book
    • The Gold Book
    • Nomina Palmam Ferentia
    • The Godley Letters
    • The Talbot Letters
    • The Wrinch papers
    • “Turkish manuscript”
    • Autographs: letters, albums and signed copies
  • Activities & Alumni
    • 100 years of rugby at Radley, 1914-2014
    • Radley at the Olympics
    • Fencing
    • A brief history of Fives at Radley
    • Cadet Corps
      • The Cadet Corps, 1909-2009
      • OTC photograph
      • The G.H.Q. line near Radley
    • Poetry
      • Radley and poetry
      • Jonathan Griffin
      • Harold Monro (D Social, 1892)
      • The Newdigate Prize
    • Drama at Radley
      • 150 years of drama at Radley
      • Shakespeare at Radley
      • List of Productions at Radley
    • Music at Radley College: a reconstructed history
      • A choral gallery: photos of Radley College choir
    • Natural History
      • Natural History Society
      • British moths and their transformations
      • A study of the genus paeonia
  • School website
  • 100 Radley Objects
  • Radley Digital Archive
  • Latest news …
    • Book launch 30 November 2019
    • Latest additions
    • Recent Events
    • Recent articles
  • Virtual School

Commemorating the Fallen of WW1

The shield of Geoffrey Adams, still hangs in Radlege College Dining Hall

The shield of Geoffrey Adams, still hangs in Radlege College Dining Hall

Today we remember …

Battle of the Somme

1st November, 1916. Geoffrey Adams. Senior Prefect. F & C Socials, 1909. 2nd Lt, 4th Bn, Suffolk Regt. Killed in action at Lesboeufs.

The death of Geoffrey Adams on All Saints Day, 1916, traditionally the school’s most important festival, was greeted with profound grief. He was the second of five Senior Prefects to fall in the War, and the first who had been known to all the boys and Dons currently at the school. He was an outstanding Classical scholar, who had just won the 2nd Classical Demyship to Magdalen College, Oxford, which he never took up. He began his career at Radley as a Junior Scholar, and ended it as winner of the Richards Gold Medal, and the Greek and History Prizes. He was Captain of Cricket for two years and played for the Fives and Rackets teams. He took a leading role in the Literary and Debating Societies. After his death the Warden, Gordon Selwyn, oversaw publication of a book of his poetry.

His father, Arthur Adams, became Chair of the War Memorial Committee, speaking for all those parents whose sons had no known grave: ‘Mr A Adams spoke in favour of the larger expenditure on a visible War Memorial. Other parents who had subscribed felt as he did. He wanted a Memorial which the boys would in their hearts connect with the idea of self-sacrifice and resort to for inspiration in difficulties, and he appealed to all members to endeavour to make the memorial welcome to and venerated by the school.’

Geoffrey is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. His shield still hangs in Hall. Aged 20

Geoffrey Adams. 2nd Lt, 9th Bn, Suffolk Regt. kia Battle of the Somme

Geoffrey Adams. 2nd Lt, 9th Bn, Suffolk Regt. kia Battle of the Somme

Related

Posted in Commemorating the Fallen of WW1 and tagged 1st Battle of the Somme, 2nd Lieutenant, C Social, F Social, Flanders & France (Western Front), killed in action, scholar, Senior Prefect/ Head Boy on 1 November, 2016 by archives602.

Post navigation

← Commemorating the Fallen of WW1
Commemorating the Fallen of WW1 →

Search

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Top Posts

  • Handlist
    Handlist
  • Jonathan Griffin
    Jonathan Griffin
  • Crimes and punishments
    Crimes and punishments

Blogs

Radley in the Great War

1st Battle of Messines 1st Battle of the Somme 1st Battle of Ypres 2nd Battle of Cambrai 2nd Battle of Kemmel 2nd Battle of Kut-al-Amara 2nd Battle of the Aisne 2nd Battle of the Somme 2nd Battle of Ypres 2nd Lieutenant 2nd South African War (Boer War) 3rd Battle of Ypres - Passchendaele 1914 accident Actions of Hooge African Campaign aisne Ambulance driver ANZAC Army Service Corps Artist A Social Aubers Ridge Australia/Australian Imperial Force Battle of Albert Battle of Amiens Battle of Arras Battle of Canal du Nord Battle of Jutland Battle of Loos Battle of Messines Ridge Battle of the Aisne Battle of Valenciennes boxing British East Africa (Kenya) British Red Cross/ French Red Cross B Social Canada/Canadian Expeditionary Force Captain career serviceman Chaplain Chevalier legion d'honneur College Staff Corporal cricketer Croix de Guerre C Social died after the Armistice died of wounds Died on active service Distinguished Service Order/ DSO drowned D Social East Africa (Tanzania) Egypt & Suez Canal E Social executed farmer/rancher Festubert Flanders & France (Western Front) footballer F Social Gallipoli gardener German Retreat to the Hindenberg Line Gheluvelt Greece G Social Hill 60 Hockey H Social illness Indian Army Intelligence Officer journalist killed in action La Bassee Lance-Corporal Lance-Serjeant lawyer Le Cateau Lieutenant Lieutenant-Colonel Major Malta Marching in Memory for Combat Stress July 2015 medic Menin Gate mentioned in despatches merchant Mesopotamia Campaign (modern Iraq) Middle East Campaign / Mesopotamia Campaign / Iraq / Egypt / Palestine Military Cross Military Medal missing Mons Musician Neuve Chapelle Neuve Eglise New Zealand Expeditionary Force non-combatants Olympian Palestine & Gaza Pandemic Ploegsteert Wood pneumonia/Spanish flu Priesthood Prisoner-of-War Private Radley's first Rugby team Red Cross Relief of Kut-al-Amara Richebourg l'Avoue Rifleman RMA Woolwich Royal Army Medical Corps Royal Defence Corps/ Home Front Royal Engineers Royal Field Artillery Royal Flying Corps/RFC/RAF Royal Garrison Artillery Royal Marines Royal Naval Air Service Royal Navy Russian Order of St Anne Sandhurst scholar Schoolmaster Schoolmaster/Academic Senior Prefect/ Head Boy Sergeant Shanghai Volunteers somme South African Forces St Julien Tank Corps Trooper Vimy Ridge Virtual School

Recent Posts

  • My Virtual School – rain 5 June, 2020
  • My Virtual School – coronavirus changed it 27 May, 2020
  • My Virtual School – bored 22 May, 2020
  • My Virtual School – letters 21 May, 2020
  • My Virtual School – a boarding school, not a school with boarding 19 May, 2020

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 310 other followers

How to find us

The Archivist, Radley College, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 2HR
archives@radley.org.uk 01235 543041
School term only, by appointment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×