Ethelston, Alfred Peel
Regiment: Royal Navy
Rank: Commander, HMS Powerful
Service No:
Boer War service: 11 Oct 1899 until his death on 25 Nov 1899
Date of enlistment: 27 Oct 1877
Date of discharge: 25 Nov 1899
Reason for discharge: Killed in Action
Other information: Commander Ethelston is commemorated on memorials in HMS Britannia Naval College, Dartmouth, Devon, Victoria Park, Portsmouth and St. Alkmund’s Church Whitchurch. His brother Edmund instituted the Commander Ethelston Charity Cup as a memorial in the 1908/9 season which is competed for to this day. The cup is on display in Whitchurch Civic Centre, Shropshire.
Born: 31 December 1862 in Hinton, Whitchurch, Shropshire and baptised on 28 January1863 in St. Alkmund’s Parish Church, Whitchurch.
Family: He was one of six children born to Robert Peel and Louisa Philippa Ethelston. No marriage can be traced for Alfred.
Residence: He lived at the family home of Hinton Hall, Hinton, Whitchurch until he joined the Navy in 1875 as a boy cadet. Thereafter he was serving on naval vessels.
Employment: He joined the Navy straight from school
Death: 25 November 1899, killed in action at Grasplan, Enslin, Cape Colony, South Africa and was buried close to Enslin Station.
Other information: He rose rapidly through the ranks and was appointed Commander, HMS Powerful in 1897.