Sub-Lieutenant, RNVR
Born: August 1st 1920
Died: August 19th 1942
Age at Death: 22
Killed, August 19th 1942
Brian Sargent was born on 1 August 1920 to Stanley Sargent, a jobber on the London Stock Exchange, and his wife Kate (née Ablitt). After boarding at Bristol House, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and became an acting sub-lieutenant. We do not know anything about his war service until the battle in which he died: the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, when Allied troops launched an attack on the German-occupied French port, partly to gather intelligence but mostly to learn lessons ahead of a full-scale invasion of France. Sargent was serving on HMS Glengyle, a cargo ship converted into a landing craft. The ship was sunk by enemy fire, along with 32 other landing craft, and he was killed. He is commemorated at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.