On this day 31st August
On this day in 1921 the First World War ended. Although many consider that the First World War ended with the Armistice on 11 November 1918, it did not end officially until almost three years later…
On this day 30th August
On the 30th August 1963 the first message was transmitted over the Moscow–Washington hotline.
On this day 29th August
On this day in 1897 one of Royal Signals’ most successful operational signallers Major General C M F White was born.
On this day 28th August
On this day in 1941 Derek Baynham—schoolboy gallantry earns a George Medal.
On this day 27th August
On this day in 1933 John Agar died. Heroically ‘He died that others might live.’
The Agar Memorial Prize is awarded to the best Royal Signals officer cadet from each intake at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; is has been awarded since 1934.Lieutenant John Agar was born on 13 January 1910. He was educated at Eton and was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in January 1930. After his qualifying course at Catterick, he joined 3rd Divisional Signals at Bulford, where he quickly made his reputation as an excellent regimental officer commanding ‘E’ Section, supporting one of the division’s artillery regiments. He was an athlete and a mainstay of the regimental athletics team as a middle distance runner.
On 27 August 1933, Lieutenant Agar was with four of his soldiers at Studland Bay, Dorset. Two men, Drivers T. Brown and J. H. Castle, got into difficulty in deep water 100 yards from shore and Lieutenant Agar went to their rescue. He managed to save Brown but in attempting to rescue Driver Castle he was drowned; Castle was later brought in by others. Lieutenant Agar was buried with military honours in Tidworth Military Cemetery. His sacrifice was recognised by the Royal Humane Society In Memoriam Testimonial on Vellum and the Certificate of the Carnegie Hero Trust Fund. Later that year his parents donated a silver ‘victor ludorum’ cup to 3rd Divisional Signals that was to be competed for annually at the regimental athletics meeting; it was first won the following year by Lance Corporal J. Etchells, a fellow runner in the athletics team and a well-regarded Corps rugby player and all-round sportsman. The first Agar Memorial Prize was presented to Gentleman Cadet B. H. P. Barnes (later Colonel B. H. P. Barnes OBE).
On this day 26th August
On the 26th August 1873 Lee de Forest was born. De Forest was an American inventor, self-described ‘Father of Radio’ and a pioneer in the development of sound-on-film recording.
