Cyril Raikes
Encyclopedia
Cyril Probyn Napier Raikes was awarded the Military Cross in the 1st World War Mesopotamian Campaign
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...

 flying in the British army's Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

 monitoring the oil pipelines there. He had previously fought in the Boer War.

Cyril Raikes was born 12 November 1875 in Swanmore
Swanmore
Swanmore is a small rural village and civil parish situated in the Meon Valley, Hampshire, England. It is very near to Bishop's Waltham.Swanmore houses the schools Swanmore Primary School and Swanmore College of Technology which is the secondary school for neighbouring towns and villages. The...

, Hampshire, England the son of General Robert Napier Raikes. He was a Lieutenant in the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 1900-1902 gaining a medal and four bars. Before the 1st World War he developed water services in Egypt and married Dora Roberts 1 February 1905. In the 1st World War he gained the Military Cross and three other medals.

He became the Overseas Director of the British Oxygen Company traveling extensively throughout the Middle East, Europe, South Africa and South America to develop business there. He lived at The Mount, Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...

, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

. During the 2nd World War while still working for the British Oxygen Company and staying at the Thatched House Club, St James's, he served as a fire watcher in London, for instance on the top of St Pauls Cathedral. He then lived in Rolle Cottage, Sidbury
Sidbury
Sidbury is a village north of Sidmouth on the A375 road in East Devon, England.It is situated on the River Sid, which rises at Ottery St Mary and runs for to Lyme Bay at Sidmouth...

 and finally Sidmouth
Sidmouth
Sidmouth is a small town on the English Channel coast in Devon, South West England. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid in the East Devon district, south east of Exeter. It has a population of about 15,000, of whom 40% are over 65....

 both in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 until his death 16 January 1963. He had two daughters Iris Mary Raikes (born 1 March 1909) and Daphne Veronica Raikes (born 29 January 1911, and living to age over 100 in Beccles
Beccles
Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 Blythburgh and A12 road, northeast of London as the crow flies, southeast of Norwich, and north northeast of the county town of...

, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

).
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