Ivor Parry

Bank: Parr's Bank

Place of work: London Bartholomew Lane office

Died: 17 October 1915

Ivor Vaughan Parry was born in Penmaenmawr, Caernarvonshire, in 1895, the son of John and Mary Ann Parry. He began working for Parr's Bank in about 1913, serving at its Bartholomew Lane office in London. He was also a member of the bank's staff sports club.

Outside work Parry was a territorial soldier, a Private in the Middlesex Hussars. When war was declared at the beginning of August 1914, Parry was away with his regiment on manoeuvres. He was immediately mobilised for active service, and after training in England was posted to Egypt. In letters home he expressed his disappointment at not being sent to France where, he felt, the real action was going on.

In August 1915 Parry's regiment left Egypt for the Dardanelles. During an advance there on 21 August, Parry was hit in the chest by a bullet. He kept himself hidden for two hours, but the bushes near him caught fire, forcing him to leave cover and drag himself to a Red Cross station about a quarter of a mile away. He was treated there, and eventually transferred to hospital in Egypt, where he died of his injuries on 17 October 1915, almost two months after being wounded. He was 20 years old.

His obituary in the bank's staff magazine noted, 'in spite of the fact that Parry was with us only a short time before he went on military service, he was greatly liked by all who knew him. His death is keenly felt by many'.

Ivor Parry is commemorated on a bank war memorial held at NatWest Group Archives.