Notes
Edward Guy Simonds was born in Kensington in London on 19 March 1914, the eldest son of Major Maurice Simonds of the Berkshire Yeomanry, and Constance (née Seaton). He was educated at Wellington College, where he was a Dormitory Prefect. He entered Worcester College, Oxford on 7 October 1932 and graduated with a pass degree in 1936. During his time in Oxford he served as an officer cadet in the Oxford University Officer Training Corps. After leaving University he worked for Barclays Bank.
Edward Simonds was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 99th (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Brigade, Royal Artillery on 30 January 1937 and transferred to the Royal Air Force with the rank of Pilot Officer on 24 January 1942. On 20 May 1943 Edward Simonds and his crew from No. 1 Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit took off from RAF Portreath in Cornwall in a Blenheim aircraft for a ferry flight to Gibraltar. During the flight they were incepted and shot down by a German fighter with the loss of the entire crew. Flying Officer Edward Simonds was aged 29.
His commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial and the war memorials at Wellington College and Worcester College, Oxford.