Geoffrey Robert Bensly Back was born at Worstead Rectory on the 22nd February 1894, the youngest son of the Reverend Arthur James Back and his wife Ellen (nee Bensly). There were four children born to the couple, all whilst they were in residence at Worstead – the first two were daughters, Margaret (born in 1887) and Hilda (born in 1888), followed by Hatfeild in 1890 and then Geoffrey just over three years later. The family moved to the Rectory in Carleton Rode in 1895 when Arthur took over as vicar following the death of the previous incumbent.
The Backs were a well-connected Norfolk family. Arthur was the son of the squire of Hethersett and had been born at Hethersett Hall – there is an impressive restored tomb and group of graves in St Remigius’s Churchyard in the village. His wife, Ellen, nee Bensly, was the daughter of a prominent Norwich lawyer and staunch pillar of the Cathedral community – one of her sisters married a cleric who went on to become the Bishop of St Edmundsbury. There was probably an expectation that the Back children, growing up in a staunch Anglican family, would continue with that tradition in their own lives.
Geoffrey, followed in his brother’s footsteps and in 1903, at the age of eight, was sent to board at South Lodge Preparatory School situated on Kirkley Cliff at Lowestoft. Originally founded in 1862, it had been bought in 1890 by the Rev W Richmond Phillips and under whom it developed further.
In March 1903 an article and letter in the EDP describe South Lodge as a ‘school for gentlemen’s sons’ and many boys were the sons of clergymen.
The school relocated in 1936 to Old Buckenham Hall in South Norfolk and was renamed to reflect its new site. However, it was on the move again following a devastating fire in early December 1952 when 85 boys escaped their beds – luckily there was no loss of life – and then the school eventually moved to its current site in Brettenham, south of Bury St Edmunds, although it is still known as Old Buckenham Hall School.
The current school website details the history of the school and includes the memoirs of a former pupil, Stefan E Cooke, who was a pupil at South Lodge from 1903-1908, a direct contemporary of Geoffrey’s and therefore gives us an excellent insight into school life during this period.
The Rev Phillips expanded the school purchasing Claremont House, opposite to the similarly named pier, which was used for senior boy’s dormitories and classrooms. He also added a gymnasium, along with a carpentry shop – he clearly wanted boys to be practical as well as fit! The school’s cliff top position was so close to the shore that the boys often experienced the excitement of a shipwreck and seeing the Pakefield lifeboat in full action.
The following is transcribed from the EDP for the 4th November 1902 and is typical of many such accounts printed in the local press.
Disastrous Shipwreck – Six Lowestoft Fishermen Drowned
The Lowestoft fishing boat Defender drove ashore on the Lowestoft South Beach on Tuesday evening, and she was speedily battered to pieces by the heavy seas. Three of the crew managed to reach the shore but six others were not seen again, and as the vessel broke up immediately after sinking, there is unhappily no doubt but that they were all drowned.
The disaster happened within a stone’s throw of the Empire Hotel on the South Cliff. Crowds of people witnessed the spectacle and listened horror-stricken to the cries and shrieks of the poor fellows who were being swept away by the angry waves.
Academic work at the school was keen and several good scholarships were won at the leading Public Schools, mostly in Classics. Sport and Games were much encouraged by the masters, particularly football and cricket. Chief events of the year were the Sports, the summer outing either on the Denes or on the river steamer – and the Christmas supper party.
There were also occasional trips for the privileged few on Rev Philips yacht, ‘Oulton Broad’ – click here for excellent pictures of yachting at this time – and other amusements such as fishing after tea or on half holidays on the Claremont Pier. Less enjoyed by the boys were the twice daily walks on Sundays to St John’s church attired in their Eaton collars and bowler hats (emulating the more famous public schools of the day and as worn by Winston Churchill in the picture below).
Geoffrey spent four years at the school and during those years, he would have seen and experienced much of the excitement – and danger – of a life on the water. This must have played a huge part in his future as he does not follow in his father’s or brother’s footsteps into an academic career at Oxford or Cambridge but joins Osborne College as a Naval Officer Cadet.
Geoffrey was admitted to the college at the beginning of 1907 just before his thirteenth birthday. It had only recently been established on the royal estate at Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, and which had formerly been the summer residence of Queen Victoria. Part of the estate was given for the purpose of training young naval recruits by King Edward VII in 1903. (The main house was retained by the royal family as a private museum.)
Prospective cadets had to pass an entrance examination, in which they were tested in English, history and geography (with special reference to the British Empire), arithmetic, algebra, geometry (practical and theoretical); French or German, with written and oral examinations; and Latin, with set translations and simple grammatical questions. A boy who passed the entrance examination was then appointed as a cadet for the two-year training until they progressed to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.
Cadets were housed in the converted Old Stable Block where Geoffrey would have lived for the two years. There is a photograph of King Edward VII together with the Prince and Princess of Wales (future George V and Queen Mary) taken at the college with their son, Prince Edward, who would have been a contemporary of Geoffrey’s.
After successfully completing his cadet training, Geoffrey progressed to the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth where he spent two years from 1909 as a midshipman in college and then training at sea on HMS Cumberland. This armoured cruiser was the Britannia Royal Naval College’s cadet sea training cruiser.
Amongst her trainees (and at the same time as Geoffrey) was Cadet HRH Prince Albert RN, (seen here on the right) King George V’s second son and later to become King George VI.
So, during the six years that Geoffrey was receiving his extensive training in the Royal Navy, he would have been alongside both Princes at different times.
Geoffrey was appointed acting sub-lieutenant in January of 1914. He was mentioned in dispatched at the start of the First World War and had his rank confirmed. He served aboard HMS Drake and HMS Dreadnought, evacuating ANZAC troops from Suvla Bay and by the end of the war, he had been promoted to Lieutenant. Tragically, his older brother, Hatfeild, was the chaplain aboard HMS Vanguard when it was accidentally blown up in Scapa Flow in 1917. Hatfeild was one of 843 men who drowned that day – only two survived.
Towards the end of the war, in September 1918, Geoffrey married Olive Maitland, daughter of the Fleet Surgeon. The couple went on to have three children, a son and two daughters, and lived in Emsworth, Hampshire.
During the years following the First World War, Geoffrey’s career in the RN went from strength to strength. He was promoted to Commander in 1929 and Captain in 1936.
It was in March of 1941, as Commanding Officer of the cruiser, HMS Orion, that he was feted in the national and international press for his bravery during the Battle of Cape Matapan.
The Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park had intercepted, and decoded, signals sent by the Italians. As a result, Captain Geoffrey Back had received orders that his ship was to act as decoy and draw the Italian fleet (which lacked radar) into the range of the more highly armoured Allied ships in the Mediterranean. HMS Orion was heavily shelled in the ensuing battle, but although damaged, she was instrumental in the naval battle being a decisive victory for the British navy. The Regia Marina – the Italian Fleet – lost three heavy cruisers and two destroyers were sunk, causing over 2,000 casualties and capturing over 1,000 prisoners.
The damaged HMS Orion headed to Alexandria for repairs and – astonishingly – we found that Life Magazine carried a full double page account written by Captain Geoffrey Back and with photographs that had been taken during the Battle of Matapan. Amazingly, there is also Pathe film footage of Captain Back on board the Orion as she is being repaired.
Tragically, by the time that the magazine appeared on the newsstands, Captain Geoffrey Robert Bensly Back RN had been killed at the helm of his ship as he and his crew were part of the fleet engaged in the effort to evacuate 22,000 troops from the coast of Crete after the German invasion. He died on the 29th May – just two months after his success in the Battle of Matapan. We believe that the Pathe newsreel, which was shown in cinemas in October of the same year, combined footage taken in Alexandria (which features Capt Back) and footage which was taken later in June/July when the ship was docked in California undergoing further repair. We have taken a still from the newsreel of Captain Back standing on the deck of the Orion and compared it to the photograph of him contained in the obituary published in the EDP in June 1941 – they are clearly one and the same man.
Captain G R B Back is commemorated on many memorials; a plaque inside Carleton Rode church, his name is remembered in the parish church of St James in Emsworth where he lived for many years, there is also a Bus Shelter erected in the town after the Second World War and recently restored (the only one of its kind according to my research!) as well as a more recent memorial garden where the names of the war dead are inscribed into plaques lining the pathway to the garden’s central sculpture. His name is also inscribed on the chapel wall in Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and on the Plymouth Naval Memorial to the missing.
Last, but not least, Geoffrey’s name is now inscribed on our War Memorial.
I read this information about my grandfather Geoffrey Back with great interest. Many thanks to those responsible