HMS Conway (school Ship) - Famous Alumni

Famous Alumni

Cadets over the years included:

• Captain Matthew Webb (at Conway 1860–1862), the first man to swim the English Channel from England to France
• John Masefield (1891–94), Poet Laureate 1930–1967
• Lionel "Buster" Crabb (1922–1924), the Royal Navy frogman who disappeared in mysterious circumstances while on a diving mission near a Soviet warship in 1956
• Vice Admiral Sir David Brown (1927–2005)
• Ian Fraser (1936–38), awarded the Victoria Cross for commanding a midget submarine attack on the Japanese cruiser Takao in Singapore harbour.
• Iain Duncan Smith (1968–1972), leader of the Conservative Party 2001–2003
• Sir Clive Woodward (1969–1974), rugby union player and England coach
• Francis Haffey Brooke-Smith (1934–36), awarded the George Cross for bomb disposal.
• Harold Kyrle Money Bellew (1869), 19th century stage actor
• James Paul Moody (1901,1902), sixth officer on the RMS Titanic

The Conway Club for ex-alumni still thrives, numbering some 1,600 Old Conways. Several affiliated overseas clubs also exist in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.