Capt. Geoffrey Gould Remington Hickes
Portrait of Geoffrey Hickes
Geoffrey was one of four brothers. As a young man he trained as a lawyer, like his father Arthur Gould Remington Hickes. In January 1940 following conscription for WWII, Hickes enlisted as a gunner in the 12th Honourable Artillery Company. He went on to do officer training and became Lieutenant Geoffrey Hickes of the 13th Horse Artillery Company (HAC). Whilst in training and service he wrote regularly to his then girlfriend Cynthia Bush in Wantage. Their relationship developed over the following years and they were married at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Wantage on the 17th January 1942.
At War
Halted outside Caen, rearming before moving on to L’Aigle, June 1944
On the 6th June 1944, Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious invasion in history took place. Allied forces landed by boat on the beaches of Normandy, known as the D-Day landings. Hickes landed in France with the 13th HAC on the 15th June 1944 and was quickly in battle around Caen, heading up communications from a modified Cromwell tank.
Watch original footage of the 11th Armoured Division Advance through Northern France on 1st September 1944 by visiting the Imperial War Museum website.
At Home
Christening of Peter, 7th January 1945
Whilst in action Geoffrey continued to write to Cynthia who was living with her family at Greystacks (now 18 Denchworth Road) in Wantage. Sometimes this was to ask for things like powdered milk and egg, crosswords and newspapers, but occasionally the exchange contained bigger news. On the 3rd October 1944 Cynthia wrote to Geoffrey who was in action in the Netherlands at the time: “We have a son, a dear little mite, very like you…he arrived at 1:10am this morning and weighed 7lb 2ozs”. Hickes returned from war on leave to attend the christening of his son Peter Gould Remington Hickes which took place on the Sunday 7th January 1945 at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Wantage.
The End of the War
By the end of the war Hickes had achieved the rank of Captain and had been appointed Adjutant to his Commanding Officer. He was awarded 4 medals for his service including the oak leaf pin for Mention in Dispatches – being named by his commanders in official communications for his exceptional service. In 1946 Hickes left the Army, eventually settling in Eastbourne with Cynthia and Peter, working as a Lawyer for Langhams and in time becoming a senior partner. Hickes died in 1988 at the age of 71.
A small display of items belonging to Geoffrey Hickes are on display in the Barn Gallery in the museum.
Thank you to Mr Peter Gould Remington Hickes for his generous donation of these objects in to our care.