Glamorgan Lovelucks

M.C., M.A. Cantab District Officer Tanganyika (E. African Dist. G Officer (?) Later school master

Notes from Richard Loveluck: Eric was born in a charming hill station in Madras state, Kadaikanal. Eric went to Sherborne School and thence to Selwyn College Cambridge. He served in the BEF(British Expeditionary Force?) in early WW2, being recommended for a VC but turning it down in favour of a MC (Military Cross). After WW2, he joined the colonial service and was posted to Tanganyika. Returned to England with the family in 1960 to live in Sherbourne, Dorset. Eric became a French teacher, occasionally teaching German too. Died in 1982.

Extract from obituary in Daily Telegraph 21 Nov 1998, obtained from Northern Light Web site:

Title: Obituary of Eric Loveluck Officer who dissuaded his CO from recommending a VC for his conduct during the Battle of France

Summary: ERIC LOVELUCK, who has died aged 79, was awarded an MC in 1940 when taking part in the Battle of France; later he became a colonial administrator in Tanganyika and, after retirement from Africa, a schoolmaster. On May 28 1940, Loveluck was commanding a section of "C" Troop, 238 Field Battery, which had become separated from 115 Field Regiment in the general confusion of the retreat from Belgium. Loveluck and his men had therefore been ordered by HQ 2 Division to attach themselves to the 6th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment, which at that time was likely to be forced out of Merville by a strong force of German tanks.

From http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9812b&L=wwii-l&T=0&F=&S=&P=20948

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 14:13:33 +0200 Reply-To: ility@sci.fi Sender: World War II Discussion List WWII-L@LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU From: Cris Whetton ility@SCI.FI Subject: Obituary: Eric Loveluck, MC Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Eric Loveluck, who has died aged 79, was awarded an MC in 1940 when taking part in the Battle of France; later he became a colonial administrator in Tanganyika and, after retirement from Africa, a schoolmaster. On May 28 1940, Loveluck was commanding a section of "C" Troop, 238 Field Battery, which had become separated from 115 Field Regiment in the general confusion of the retreat from Belgium. Loveluck and his men had therefore been ordered by HQ 2 Division to attach themselves to the 6th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment, which at that time was likely to be forced out of Merville by a strong force of German tanks. The Commander of the King's Own asked Loveluck to bring down fire on the village of Le Saar, where German tanks were concentrating. Loveluck did so with such accuracy that the tanks hastily retreated. He then positioned two of his 18-pdr guns by the main bridges of Merville, and when first one, and then two more German tanks appeared, destroyed them all with well-aimed shots. A further two German tanks soon appeared and, although visibility was poor owing to the smoke and the haze, the cupola was knocked off one and the other was set on fire. The effect of this sudden and unexpected destruction of five of their leading tanks threw the advancing German forces into confusion, and caused them to abandon their attempt to cross the canal at this point and break into Merville. Had they been able to do so, they would have severely threatened British plans to make an orderly retreat to Dunkirk. In the entire action Loveluck's section had lost only one man killed and four wounded. They left the area with the last of the infantry and, in spite of attempts to cut them off, reached Dunkirk, from where they were evacuated. Loveluck's CO was so impressed by his performance with the section when totally isolated and unsupported that he originally suggested recommending him for a VC. But Loveluck persuaded him that an MC would be more than adequate. Eric Burton Loveluck was born in 1918 in India, where his father was serving with the Indian Police. Aged four, Eric was sent back to England and subsequently educated at Sherborne and Cambridge University. He joined the Army in 1939 and after Dunkirk served in West, South and East Africa as well as Ceylon, India and Burma, although seeing little further action. In 1946 he joined the Colonial Service and was posted to Tanganyika, where he served for the next 16 years, mostly as a District Commissioner. A gifted linguist, Loveluck could pick up languages with little or no formal study. His Swahili, learnt on the coast, where the best Swahili is spoken, astounded the people inland as he often spoke the language better than they did. When he returned from Africa in 1962, he taught French and German, with remarkable success, at Sherborne, Clifton and Bilton Grange. He worked for many charitable organisations, and was a passionate enthusiast for sport. In his seventies he recorded a hole in one at Tavistock. He and his wife, who predeceased him, had three sons and a daughter.