Sub-Lieutenant
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Born: June 19th 1918
Died: March 1st 1942
Age at Death: 23
Killed in a naval battle, March 1st 1942.
Derek was born on 19 June 1918 to Sydney Jewell and his wife Dorothy (née Stone) of Westhampnett, Sussex. By the time he entered the College he was a local boy, living on Marine Parade, five minutes from the school. Derek’s father gave his occupation at this time as engineer.
Jewell was killed during the Second Battle of the Java Sea, when his ship, the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, was sunk by enemy surface ships. This opened the way for Japan’s occupation of the Dutch East Indies.
The wreck of the Exeter was finally located in Indonesian waters 65 years after the battle, some 60 miles from the estimated sinking position, and she was declared an official war grave. However, when an expedition surveyed the site in 2016, it found that the wreck had been plundered for metal by illegal salvagers.