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News > Capture 150 Moments > Capture 150 Moments: The Eve's

Capture 150 Moments: The Eve's

Chris Eve's reached out to share his family's incredible history, with prior generations all attending the Lower School of John Lyon.

Chris’ late father, Denis Eve (OL 1941), grandfather, William Francis Eve (OL 1910), and great-uncles Jack, Hubert, and Gerald all attended John Lyon.

Denis Eve attended the Lower School of John Lyon from 1935 to 1941 and was in North House. In 1938, Denis became editor of the 'Form IIIA Magazine', and in 1940 he became the History clerk for Form IVA. Reminiscing his time at School, his son wrote:
"I remember Dad telling me about the times in class when the boys, sitting behind their wooden desks, would roll up pieces of paper, dip them in the desk ink wells and flick these projectiles all around the class. Desk lids were utilized as defences. Severe punishments were
meted out on boys caught by masters.
"

Whilst still at school, Denis joined the ATC, which prepared him for entry into the RAF, where he trained to become a bomber pilot. Following World War II, he retrained and became a civil airline pilot for British European Airways (BEA) and later British Airways.

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Denis’ father, William Francis Eve, attended the Lower School of John Lyon from 1906 to 1910. Shortly after leaving John Lyon, William enlisted in 1914 and served with the Queen's Westminster Rifles, seeing action in the trenches during the First Battle of Ypres.

Throughout the war, William kept a ‘Trench Diary’. His diary included an entry describing one of the most iconic moments of WWI — the Christmas Truce of 1914:
"Christmas Day. Friday 25 December - At beginning of day respect for Xmas shown. On both sides fellows stood on the parapet & struck matches & shouted across greetings to each other. When it got light everybody strolled about conversed with the Germans, exchanged souvenirs, played football, & not a shot fired all day or night. Beautiful day, white frost."

By 1916, William had become a 2nd Lieutenant in the City of London Regiment and Battalion Signal Officer. After the war, he was awarded three medals: the 1914 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. All three of William’s brothers also survived the Great War.

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