Eric Thomas Graham Horne
| Rank: | Captain |
| Regiment: | Hampshire Regiment, 2/4th Battalion |
| Country: | Italy |
| Service Number: | 193774 |
| Cemetary/Memorial: | Cesena War Cemetary (II.F.13.) |
| Awards: | War Medal 1939-1945 1939-45 Star |
Born 29th January 1922 in Jamaica, Captain Horne died 8th November 1944, aged 22 in Italy.
He was the son of Brigadier G. T. W. Horne, RAOC, CBE, OBE (also a former Saint Ronan’s pupil) and Mrs Horne, and brother to Sheila.
Eric was a pupil at St Ronan’s from 1931 to 1936 where he was a Prefect in 1934 and 1935. He was also confirmed at the school.
In 1936 he was appointed Head Prefect. He played cricket and was Captain of rugby. It was said that: “Horne had a most disappointing last term, in that, owing to an appendix operation in the Christmas holidays, he was not allowed to play rugger at all. Still, he never let that fact worry him. He is an outstanding personality not only in games but in the life of the School, and we shall seriously miss his leadership.”
He won a number of prizes, including for Mathematics, Gardening (with Colin Fergusson) and Form Prizes. He appeared in a number of the school’s dramatic productions, including “Campbell of Kilmohr”. This was described in The Ronian: “A good play and a tragic one. The standard of acting here was very high, in fact I doubt whether I have ever seen better acting than Horne and Bonham-Carter produced.”
E. T. G. Horne and P. G. Whitfield as Hindustani servants, 1935
He returned to visit the school in 1937.
He went on to study at Repton (May 1936-July 1940) where he was in Cross and Priory boarding houses. He became a House Prefect and Captain of House Football. He won his boxing weight and was sixth in the School Steeplechase. He also got his 2nd XI. Football Colours.
He was given his commission in 1941. In January 1943 the battalion was dispatched to North Africa. After the end of the war in North Africa the battalion landed at Salerno, Italy in September 1943, suffering very heavy casualties. After fighting up through Italy the battalion was taken out of the line in February 1944, and taken to Egypt where reinforcements were taken on. In August 1944 the Hampshire Brigade was back in action in Italy and it is believed that Captain Horne was lost in battle at this time.
