Pilot Officer, RAF
Born: June 17th 1924
Died: March 24th 1945
Age at Death: 20
Killed, March 24th 1945
House Prefect 1941
Robert was born on 17 June 1924 to Harry Scrase, a poultry farmer, and his wife Ethel (née Sinfield). His father had served in the Great War, and seems to have been badly affected by it – by the outbreak of the Second World War he is recorded as living apart from his wife and son, at a nursing home run by his two unmarried sisters in Burgess Hill. Robert spent three years at the College, becoming a school prefect.
During the war Scrase joined the Glider Pilot Regiment. After training in Canada, he took part in his first combat mission on 24 March 1945: Operation Varsity, the successful attempt to land 16,000 paratroopers to assist with the crossing of the Rhine and Allied entry into the heart of Germany. Although mortally wounded, he landed his load safely, probably saving the lives of many men. Scrase is buried at the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany.