Framlinghamian 2019 - Single Pages 72dpi - Flipbook - Page 168
GUS AGAR
Jonathan with his father, Nigel Agar
CENTENARY COMMEMORATION OF
AUGUSTUS AGAR (02-03) BEING AWARDED VC
A special Chapel service was held at
Framlingham College on the morning of
Monday 17th June to commemorate the
extraordinary and courageous acts of Old
Framlinghamian Lieutenant Augustus Agar
RN VC DSO. Exactly 100 years ago to that
day, 17th June 1919, Agar was responsible
for sinking the Russian Cruiser, The Oleg,
during the Russian Civil War with a single
Coastal Motorboat (CMB). Lieutenant
Agar was awarded the VC in August 1919
for this brave act carried out in extremely
challenging conditions.
narrated the story of his ancestor’s virtually
single-handed attack, whilst acting undercover for the Secret Service, on the Russian
fleet seized by the Bolsheviks in Kronstadt,
Russia. He torpedoed and sank a cruiser,
and two months later led another attack
which sank two battleships. In WWII his
command HMS Dorsetshire was sunk within
8 minutes by a Japanese bomber. Agar
kept his 650-crew treading water, warding
off sharks, with the injured in the centre and
the rest in the outer ring, for 30 hours until
rescue arrived.
Framlingham College has always been
extremely proud of its heritage and the
school community is forever grateful to
those past students who gave their lives in
the ultimate sacrifice for their Country. The
school is honoured to have three Victoria
Crosses awarded to past students; Hewitt,
Flowerdew and Agar.
Lt. Colonel Martin Myers-Allen laid a
wreath on the Agar memorial in the
Chapel, and College Chaplain Brynn
Bayman closed the service by quoting the
eternal lines from R.L. Binyon’s poem. After
the service, two interviews were conducted
on Radio Suffolk, one aired before the
service with Paul Taylor, followed by a
longer interview with the family at 2:40pm
on the Leslie Dolphin Show. Coffee was
provided in Paul’s Court for guests after the
service.
Richard Sayer writes: Having established
contact with the descendants of OF Gus
Agar, VC, DSO, the SOF proposed, and
both Paul Taylor and the Agar family
agreed to commemorate Agar’s heroism
on the centenary of his VC action, Monday
17th June, with a short service in the
College Chapel.
Headmaster, Paul Taylor, welcomed a full
chapel of over 250 pupils, six members of
the Agar family, members of College staff,
Governors, and a dozen OFs. Following
a stirring rendition of ‘I Vow to Thee My
Country’, Jonathan Agar, great nephew,
166
THE FRAMLINGHAMIAN 2019
It was a pleasure to welcome Agar’s family
to the service and in particular to welcome
his Great Nephew, Jonathan Agar, who
addressed the school, recounting Agar’s
most significant accomplishments in his
naval career and painting a picture of the
extraordinary man himself:
ADDRESS TO COMMEMORATE THE
SINKING OF THE OLEG, 17TH JUNE 1919
BY LIEUTENANT AUGUSTUS AGAR RN
VC DSO
It is a great honour to be here today on the
anniversary of the sinking of the Russian
Cruiser, The Oleg, by Lieutenant Augustus
Agar – Gus, as he is affectionately known;
my great uncle, exactly 100 years ago
today. We are commemorating a littleknown action by the Navy’s Costal Motor
Boats – CMBs – vessels just over 40 or 55
feet long that carried one or two torpedoes
mounted between two fuel tanks and the
men who served in them were known as the
“Suicide Club”!
On 17th June 1919 the Russian Bolshevik
cruiser, the Oleg, was bombarding the
White Russian town of Kronstadt, located
at the head of the Gulf of Finland marking
a strategically significant point. In an
audacious attack the Oleg was sunk by a
single CMB under the command of Gus
who was awarded the Victoria Cross for this
brave action.
His citation published in the London
Gazette in August 1919 reads: “In
recognition of his conspicuous gallantry,
coolness and skill under extremely difficult
conditions whilst in action.”
One-hundred years on, it is almost
impossible to imagine the pressures and
dangers that were overcome to execute
such an attack combined with the sheer
professional skills and nerve required to
carry it out. In an era long before GPS,
Satnav and Gore-Tex the sheer courage
and determination shown is truly humbling.