F.A.V. Wervill (Midshipman "Lost at Sea" WWI)
The tragic story of the owner of a 1912 copy of “Shakespeare’s stories of the English Kings” who was lost at sea during WWI at just 16 years of age The book is bound in red buckram with the gilt crest of the Merchant Navy school ship H.M.S. Conway on the front cover. HMS Conway, anchored on the Mersey, was established to train boys to become officers within the Merchant Navy. The book-plate on the inside cover reads: H.M.S. “Conway” School Ship Quit Ye Like Men: Be Strong Awarded to F.A.V. Wervill Frederick Arthur Vladimir Welvill was born on 4th September 1900 to parents Arthur and Irene (Millard), at Rice Lane, Walton on the Hill. Frederick’s father was a bank manager. Frederick joined the Navy on 15th January 1916, based on the training ship HMS Conway , anchored on the Mersey. He was discharged from the vessel on 1st may 1917 and proceeded to Dartmouth, where he won the King's prize for general efficiency, and obtained his place for a...
