King Edward’s School and the Great War

Memorial Roll of Honour 1914 - 1918

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Jacot, Conrade William

Flying Officer ▪ Royal Flying Corps

Conrade William Jacot, born on 29th October 1899, was admitted to King Edward’s School in September 1915, having transferred from King Edward’s Aston. He was the third son of Louis and Isabella Jacot, members of a family of Swiss watch manufacturers based in the Jewellery Quarter. Conrade lived with his parents and three brothers, who were also Old Edwardians, at ‘The Hill’, Wellington Road, Perry Bar. His eldest brother, Emile, saw action on the Somme, sustaining serious injuries during the war and eventually dying of these wounds in 1928, so ending his promising career as a sculptor, but his other two brothers, Bernard and Paul, did not serve during the war. His sister attended King Edward’s High School, and his aunt, Cecile, taught at King Edward’s Handsworth.

At School, Conrade was a talented linguist, and also a Prefect, a House and School Swimming Captain, a holder of full swimming colours, and a 1st XV player. He was also a member of the School Officer Training Corps along with all three of his brothers.

Conrade joined the Royal Flying Corps immediately after leaving school, and as a Second Lieutenant trained at Castle Bromwich. His great niece, Claire Chesneau, records that: “There was a family story about Conrade flying over from the airfield at Castle Bromwich, circling the family home in Perry Bar and throwing his dirty washing down, which landed in the garden.” He was killed tragically on 23rd June 1917 in a flying accident, having very recently been made Flying Officer. The inquest reported that Conrade, acting as navigator, and Lieutenant Villiers, the pilot, had climbed to 3,500 feet, looped once and were preparing to loop again when the controls jammed and the machine fell. The military Casualty Card suggests that Lieutenant Villiers’ wicker pilot’s seat collapsed, thereby jamming the controls and making it impossible for him to land the machine safely. He tried to break the fall by pulling into two trees, but failed; Conrade’s neck was broken in the crash but Lieutenant Villiers escaped with only shock and minor injuries. Conrade is buried in the graveyard of the Church of St Nicholas and St Peter, Curdworth, Warwickshire. As he had not served in action as a qualified pilot, he did not receive any medals.