The Battle of the River Plate, which took place in the South Atlantic in 1939, was the first naval battle of the Second World War. During its engagement with the Graf Spee, the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter suffered severe damage; luckily, Reginald James Laxton escaped unscathed. Fortune, however, did not shine on his younger brother.
Brian Eric Prentice Laxton enlisted in Devonport on 26th July 1937. After spells of training and serving on different ships, he joined HMS Jaguar a week after our country had declared war on Germany. The following year, his ship was assisting in the Dunkirk evacuation. During the operation, she was attacked by German dive-bombers and, after several near misses, one bomb exploded close to the port side, killing 12 and wounding 30 men. On arrival back in Dover, Brian was taken to Shorncliffe Military Hospital in Kent, but his wounds were too severe and he died the following day.
His body was returned to Lustleigh for a funeral during which his coffin was draped in the Union Jack and the whole village turned out to show its sympathy.
On Friday 30th May, Lustleigh Bell Ringers will sound a half-muffled peel in his honour.
A more detailed biography will be included in a book to be published by the Lustleigh Society later this year recounting various aspect of the village during WW2.