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1915 |
| April 1915 : Fred is commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd battalion of The Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry. |
| Easter 1915 : Fred is posted to France. Shute rides the Rudge Multi from Falmouth to Holy head in 4 days and in 1953 couldn't say why it took so long. |
| June 13 1915 : Shute's loved and admired brother Frederick Hamilton Norway, (1895 - 1915), aged 19, is wounded at Epinette near Armentierres and evacuated to Wimereux where he dies on Sunday 4 th July with his parents at his side. He is buried at Wimereux Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. |
 Fred's Obituary. (The Times 1915. Image Research 2006: Steve van Dulken)
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 | Fred Norway's gravestone LM |  | Wimereux Cemetery, near Boulogne LM |
| Autumn 1915 : Shute holidays with his parents in Italy at Capri and Naples. His parents have given up the house at Blackrock. Shute travels back alone by train through wartime France. This trip builds his confidence. |
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1916 |
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The burnt out shell of the Dublin Post Office after the 1916 Rebellion. Luckily, Shute's father was absent when the rebels took the Post Office. ( OU ) |
| Nevil was 17 at the time and volunteered to serve as a Red cross ambulance orderly during the "Rising". He was awarded a Certificate of Honour by the St John's Ambulance Brigade. |
| De Valera, one of the rebel leaders, under arrest. Shute later named the lovable Dev the Dog in Requiem For A Wren after De Valera. ( OU ) |
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The Royal Hibernian Hotel in Dawson St, Dublin, where Shute's parents were living at the time of the 1916 Easter Rebellion. They had left South Hill after Fred was killed. 1946 Photo. ( NLI ) |
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Christmas 1916 : Shute attends a London cramming school for 6 months study for the Army exams. He is living with his parents who have moved to Kensington. His parents buy him the roll top desk on which Shute writes all his novels. |
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1917 |
| April 1917 : The Royal Air Force is formed and requires new medical tests. Shute fails his test because of his stammer. |
| Summer 1917 : Shute passes into Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. |
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1918 |
| 1918 : Shute enlists in the First Reserve Battalion of The Suffolk Regiment at The Isle of Grain at The mouth of the Thames. The war ends before he can see active service. |
October 1918 :
A photo of Part of a letter written by Nevil Shute's father to the Master of Balliol College Oxford |
| November 11 1918 : World War One ends. |
| November 1918 : Shute is interviewed for Balliol College, Oxford and is admitted. His Army service excuses him from matriculation and the interview is the only requirement for his admission. |
| Winter 1918 : Shute is part of a permanent military funeral party for victims of the worldwide influenza pandemic. 20 million people died worldwide. |
| December 1918 : Shute is trained to be a de-mobilisation clerk at the Shornecliffe base at Folkestone and then promptly demobilises himself behind Dover Castle near the Bleriot monument. |
| While awaiting demobilization in 1918, Shute sits in and studies a disused Sopwith Camel. 40 years later he has Johnnie Pascoe flly one in "The Rainbow and The Rose". Pictured is a similar Sopwith Camel from WW1. ( OU ) |
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1919 |
| February 1919 : Shute attends Oxford and is at Balliol College. He rows in the college 2nd Eight. |
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In 1919 Shute studies mathematics in Balliol College at Oxford University. This photo shows the members of Balliol College in 1919. Circled in blue is Keith Lorenz, whose son John contributed this photo. ( JL ) |
| Shute, aged 20 in 1919 from the Balliol College members group photograph. ( JL ) |
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The Broad Street facade of Balliol College. ( JA ) |
| The Front Quadrangle of Balliol College.( JM ) |
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| This is the 1st of 2 photos that show Shute as a member of the Balliol 2nd VIII (Rowing Eight) of 1919. Photo courtesy of Balliol College, Oxford. Photo numbers PHOT 34.21 and 34.23 ( (Image research JA) ) |
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The Jenkins Building at Oxford where Shute would have studied engineering. ( JA) |
| This photo also shows Shute as a member of the Balliol 2nd VIII (Rowing Eight) of 1919. In this photo he looks appreciably older so possibly the 2 photos are from the beginning and the end of the year. Curiously the earlier photo of Shute in the large group photo which is also dated 1919 shows a Shute who looks considerably older still. 1919 may have been a tough year for Shute. Photo courtesy of Balliol College, Oxford. Photo numbers PHOT 34.21 and 34.23 (Image research: JA ) |
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Car manufacturer William Morris's garage in Oxford is mentioned in Stephen Morris. (JM ) |
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While at Oxford University from 1919 to 1922, Shute buys a Morgan 3 Wheeler. This is a Morgan catalogue photo. ( OU ) |
| Old Dashwood Hill now runs parallel to new Dashwood Hill. Situated on the London side of Oxford on the A40, Shute would have regularly climbed it going to and from Oxford. Mentioned in several early novels, Dashwood Hill is not huge but would have been significant to an early low powered car. Shute said that you had never really left London till you had climbed Dashwood Hill. He climbed it at 20mph. I presume it was as beautiful an avenue then. (Photo: RM 2001) |
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