No.127049, Pilot Officer, Hugh Thomas WELLER-POLEY
Aged 20
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Hugh Thomas Weller-Poley was born in 1922 (1st qtr 1922 Westbourne 2a:646) son of Edward Hallifax and Ursula WELLER-POLEY (née HALIFAX)
The Poley family as Lords of the manor go back several hundred years in Boxted and have Boxted Hall as the family home and the church, Holy Trinity, traces much of their history |
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He was with No.1 Glider Training Squadron at Thame from 13th May 1942 as an NCO pilot, and commissioned the following month. Taking off on 15th September 1942 from RAF Kidlington at 01:55 on a single circuit night exercise. Tug was Hector K9706 and glider was Hotspur BT505. Weller-Poley was pilot in command of the glider. Combination took off at 02.00 into low cloud. Sergeant Alistair William Allen, RNZAF was pilot of the Hector I tug, Pilot Officer Hugh Thomas Weller-Poley was instructor pilot of the Hostpsur II glider BT505, with Corporal Hugh Walter Charles Corke, Glider Pilot Regiment, Army Air Corps the student. 5 minutes after take-off the weather deteriorated earlier than forecast and in thick cloud, at about 600 feet they crashed into the ground near Wytham, 4 miles SSW of RAF Kidlingtom. All three men were killed.  
Inside the church, the East window is a memorial to Hugh Weller-Poley The three lights window depicts on the left, the church, on the right a village scene, and in the centre a radiant Christ, all above the words "I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME" The dedication on the lower right hand light reads- IN PROUD & LOVING MEMORY OF HUGH THOMAS WELLER-POLEY WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS COUNTRY SEPT.15th 1942 AGED 20
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
