Cyril Probyn Napier Raikes (1875–1963) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who was awarded the Military Cross in the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

flying in the British army's Royal Engineers monitoring the oil pipelines there. He had previously fought in the Boer War. Cyril Raikes was born 12 November 1875 in Swanmore,

Hampshire, England Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire is ...

the son of General Robert Napier Raikes. He was a Lieutenant in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

1900-1902, gaining a medal and four bars. Before World War I, he developed water services in Egypt. He became the Overseas Director of the British Oxygen Company traveling extensively throughout the Middle East, Europe, South Africa and South America to develop business there. He lived at The Mount, Godalming, Surrey. During the 2nd World War while still working for the British Oxygen Company and staying at the Thatched House Club, St James's, he served as a fire watcher in London, for instance on the top of St Paul's Cathedral. He then lived in Rolle Cottage,

Sidbury Sidbury is a large village north of Sidmouth on the A375 road in Devon, England. In 2011 the built-up area had a population of 457. In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 2,507. It is situated on the River Sid, which rises at Crowpits C ...

and finally

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 12,569 in 2011, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town h ...

, both in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, until his death on 16 January 1963. Raikes married Dora Roberts in 1905, and they had two daughters.''Pedigree of Raikes'' compiled by Duncan Raikes, published 1980, and ''Pedigree of Raikes'' privately published 1930 by Phillimore & Co, 120 Chancery Lane, London

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raikes, Cyril Probyn Napier 1875 births 1963 deaths People from Swanmore British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War