Talk:Philip Meldon

Latest comment: 1 year ago by Charles Matthews in topic Disputed death and WWII service details

Disputed death and WWII service details edit

To have died as he did in German captivity in 1942, he surely would have qualified for commemoration by the CWGC but so far I have been unable to google him on their website. Perhaps someone with more time than I might take up the search as I used simple criteria that may not have been enough. It may not have necessarily followed that, having been an artillery officer in two previous wars, that he was in the Royal Artillery in WWII. A CWGC entry if such could be found would make a citation in this article. His death at 67 would have given him distinction as the oldest British football international to die serving in WWII. Cloptonson (talk) 22:00, 18 November 2020 (UTC)Reply

According to Cricinfo he died in Marylebone. https://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/17521.html Muchclag (talk) 22:28, 18 November 2020 (UTC)Reply
That would seemingly cast doubt on the uncited assertion he was in continued enemy captivity. It is plausible he may have been repatriated given his age and possible health.Cloptonson (talk) 05:54, 19 November 2020 (UTC)Reply
His fulsome Cricket Europe biography only says of his time in WWII he was an Intelligence Officer with the Home and Foreign Office, no reference to any service abroad or being captured.Cloptonson (talk) 18:30, 19 November 2020 (UTC)Reply
Struggling with this one a bit! - A search of The Times archive gives various social events he was at, but no Obit/death notice. All references I have found say he died in London. Muchclag (talk) 22:07, 19 November 2020 (UTC)Reply
It is questionable any British army personnel became prisoners of the Germans on 1 April 1940 (as Meldon allegedly was) as the German offensive against France (the only country Britons were then deployed as an expeditionary force) and the Low Counties did not commence until 10 May.Cloptonson (talk) 06:48, 14 May 2021 (UTC)Reply

Two references added, one saying he had a Foreign Office role, the other for his death in London. The onus now is on referencing that he was a German prisoner. Charles Matthews (talk) 09:35, 15 August 2022 (UTC)Reply