Flying Officer Hubert Stanley Sheals (61116) served in the Royal Air Force during World War Two. He was the eldest son of Hugh Townley Sheals and Frances Sheals (née Timbey) of Belfast, Co. Antrim.
As a child, Hubert lived with his parents and siblings Ashley Timbey Sheals and Francis Eric Sheals. For a time, they lived with a windowed grandmother Eliza Timbey in Ballyfinaghy, Belfast, Co. Antrim. They later lived at ‘Arden’, Balmoral, Belfast, Co. Antrim. Hubert and his brother attended Royal Belfast Academical Institution, Belfast, Co. Antrim. He also worked for a time at Harland and Wolff Shipyard Ltd.
Hubert Sheals was already serving in the Royal Air Force when he married Ethel Winifred Milliken at Helen’s Bay Presbyterian Church, Co. Down on 17th April 1941. The couple lived at “Roseville”, Craigavad, Holywood, Co. Down.
Sheals was a member of Malone Golf Club and was a +1 golfer. He represented Ireland and Ulster in tournament play. The Belfast Telegraph on 21st January 1942 refers to Hubert as a “golfer of international status”. On 27th March 1942, the Ballymena Weekly Telegraph published an article on sports stars at war. It mentioned Sheals as an “Ulster and international golfer”.
Sheals at War
Flying Officer Sheals enlisted in the Royal Air Force in late 1940. He served in Singapore and fled to Indonesia after the fall of Singapore in February 1942. He died on 6th March 1942 aged 37 years old during the evacuation of Tjilatjap (now Cilacap), Java, Indonesia. His cause of death is unknown. Several events including the ambush of a train, the blowing up of a bridge, and the Japanese massacre of wounded airmen all took place at this time.
The Belfast Telegraph published on 2nd January 1946, contains an article where Aircraftman 1st Class Wesley Waugh talks of the evacuation of Singapore. He states that he survived an ambush in which Flying Officer Sheals died. Intimation from the Royal Air Force of the Co. Down airman’s death came on 1st October 1945.
Hubert Stanley Sheals has no known grave. His name is on Column 413 of the Singapore Memorial, Singapore. His name also features on a memorial at Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church, Bangor, Co. Down. His name appears in records of those who served from Helen’s Bay Presbyterian Church, Co. Down and Royal Belfast Academical Institution, Belfast, Co. Antrim. Hubert’s brother Francis Eric Sheals (1486508) died on 4th January 1942 while serving in North Africa.