Gunner Rudolph Dolmetsch was a soldier of the British Army who died during the Second World War.
He was born on 8 November 1906, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Arnold and Mabel Dolmetsch. His French-born father was a renowned musician and instrument maker, who was prominent in the revival of baroque and pre-Baroque music. The family left the United States in 1911, settling first in France, then England.
Under the tutelage of his father, Dolmetsch himself developed an interest in music and became a skilled keyboard player.
He enlisted in the Home Guard on the outbreak of war and was later called up to the Royal Regiment of Artillery, serving in 138 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. Dolmetsch died on 7 December 1942 when the German U-boat U-5151 torpedoed the ocean liner SS Ceramic, in which he was embarked, in the Atlantic Ocean. He had been sent on his first overseas deployment and was one of 655 who perished in the freezing waters (only one passenger survived).
Dolmetsch, who was survived by his wife Millicent, has no known grave and is commemorated by the Brookwood Memorial.
References[]
- Dolmetsch, Rudolph, cwgc.org. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- Dolmetsch Online - Rudolph Dolmetsch, dolmetsch.com. Retrieved 30 July 2013.