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The Roll of Honour (part 13)
PEPYS, REGINALD WHITMORE, Capt., 2nd Battn. Worcestershire Regt., yst. s. of the Rev. Herbert George Pepys, M.A., Hon. Canon of Worcester Cathedral (Florence Court, Torquay) by his wife, Louisa Harriet, dau. of John Whitmore Isaac, of Boughton Park, co. Worcester, and grandson of the Right Rev. Henry Pepys, D.D., Bishop of Worcester [yr. brother of Charles Christopher, 1st Earl of Cottenham]; b. Hallow Vicarage, Worcester, 3 Jan. 1883; educ. Haileybury College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Worcestershire Regt., 18 Jan. 1902, and promoted Lieut., 2 July, 1904, served with the West African Regt. from 19 Sept. 1908 to 12 May, 1913, obtaining his company, 24 May, 1913, in which year he rejoined the Worcestershire Regt., and was appointed to the 2nd Battn.; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Aug. 1914, and died in hospital at Chateau de Vermeil, 21 Sept. following, of wounds received in action the previous day, during the Battle of the Aisne. The Adjutant wrote: “He was shot while leading his men in a very hot corner. He was doing his duty to the full extent: he could do no more. He was shot through the chest, and I eventually carried him to the hospital, badly hit, but quite cheerful. He was commanding A Coy. when he was killed, as Capt. Carr, who came out in command of that company, was killed two days before. He is buried in the beautiful grounds of the Château de Vermeil, which was used as a temporary field hospital”; and Sergt. Hill: “Our first place to go for was an empty trench, which we occupied under heavy gun and rifle fire; but it was an absolute death-trap for anyone to show themselves. During this time, I can assure you that Capt. Pepys gave his orders with the coolness as though he had been at Aldershot. After a time there was a break in the fire, and then came the final order to charge, and the Captain jumped up, revolver and sword in hand, to lead the company forward, and I was with him. His wounds were caused by a rifle bullet hitting him in the chest. We were all pleased to think that we had Capt. Pepys posted to take command of the company after the death of our previous commander, the late Capt. Carr, and the whole company deeply regretted that he had been taken from us so soon.” Capt. Pepys m. at Iffley Church, near Oxford, 27 July, 1914, Maud Mael, dau. of William Foster, of Beechwood Iffley; s.p.
PERCY, HENRY EDWARD, Private, No. 750, Honourable Artillery Company, elder s. of Josceline Hugh Percy, of 49, Talbot Road, Highgate [grandson of the Right Rev. Lord Hugh Percy D.D., Bishop of Carlisle, yr. brother of George, 5th Duke of Northumberland], by his wife, Grace Anne, dau. of Edward Percy Thompson; b. Southampton, 6 Aug. 1893; educ. Darlston Court, Swanage, and St. Bees School, Cumberland; was in Equity and Law Life Assurance Office, Lincoln’s Inn Fields; joined the H.A.C. in Feb. 1913; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France 18 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action near Kemmel, 25 Feb. 1915; unm. Buried at Kemmel.
PERCY, LEONARD SIDNEY, Private, No. 1623, 1st Battn. (Royal Fusiliers) The London Regt. (T.F.), s. of Charles John Percy, of 16, Stuart Road, West Kilburn, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of H. Kent; b. Salisbury, co. Wilts, 13 Aug. 1896; educ. St. Mark’s School, Marleborne; was a Milkman; joined the Royal Fusiliers in 1913; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; trained in Malta for six months; went to France, 10 March, and died in the Australian Hospital, Wimereux, 14 Oct. 1915, of wounds received in action during the Battle of Loos, 26 Sept.; unm. Buried at Wimereux.
PERCY, WILLIAM REGINALD MINSHULL, Private, No. 9755, 5th Battn. (Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), s. of John Henry Percy, of Bod Meurig, Rhyl, by his wife, Catherine, dau. of William Minshull, of Mold; b. Southport, 4 Feb. 1895; educ. Epworth College, Rhyl, and then entered the office of the Prudential Society. On the declaration of war in Aug. 1914, he joined the London Rifle Brigade, and was killed in action near Ypres, 27 Feb. 1915; unm. Buried near St. Julien. His Capt. wrote of him as a great loss, “he was so cheery with a sort of Irish wit about him that made him excellent company.” One of his comrades wrote: “The whole battn. was under heavy shell fire at the time, and you will be glad to know that Reggie behaved magnificently during the whole period. He was in fact one of the most popular fellows in the platoon.” A writer in the Ibis said: “Clean-minded, high-spirited, with a charm of manner that captivated all with whom he came in contact, he was the embodiment of joyous youth. The cruel eclipse of this bright life has cast a shadow which only the years in their course can lighten.” From the Headmaster of Epworth College: “Many old Epworthians will remember the skilful drawings executed by W. R. M. P. His caricatures were the best this school have ever produced. All of us, masters and boys, at one time or another provided him with subjects for his friendly but critical pencil. The men of his company were fortunate in having a comrade so vivacious, and so full of kindly humour. Their testimony and that of the officers of the battn. show the high regard in which he was held, and to this testimony we add our tribute of esteem and affection.”
PERHAM, JOHN, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 14848, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PERKINS, ALEXANDER, Leading Seaman, 227224, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PERKINS, ARTHUR, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 10386), 203819, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PERKINS, CHARLES EDWARD, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9009), S.S. 105825, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
STEELE-PERKINS, CYRIL STEELE, Lieut., 1st Battn. The King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt., only surviving s. of George Chapman Steele-Perkins, of 30, Weymouth Place, Portland Place, W., and Kingsdown, near Deal, M.D., by his wife, Alice, dau. of Edward Chapman, of Sydney, New South Wales; b. Streatham, S.W., 27 Feb. 1887; educ. St. Paul’s School, London University and Sandhurst; from which latter he was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 1st Battn. Royal Lancashire Regt. 8 Feb. 1908, and promoted Lieut. 12 Sept. 1911. On the outbreak of war he went with that regt. to the Front, and was killed in action at Haucourt, between Cambray and Le Cateau, France, 26 Aug. 1914; unm. In an article headed “Our Troops Under Fire,” in “The Times,” 8 Sept. 1914 the writer said: “Then there was Lieut. Steele-Perkins, who died one of the grandest deaths a British officer could wish for. He was lifted out of the trenches wounded four times, but, protesting, he crawled back again and remained there till he was mortally wounded.” The following account appeared in “The Scout,” 26 Sept. 1914, p. 54: “On Aug. 26, 1914, The King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt. was very heavily engaged. One of the greatest heroes of the fight was Lieut. Steele-Perkins. As the German hordes advanced, he—one of the few officers left—walked along the trenches, encouraging the men to do their utmost. No fear had he of danger. What the men could face he was willing to endure. A shell exploded, wounding him severely, and he was carried out of the trenches, protesting loudly. No sooner had he been carried to safety than he crawled back to the trenches; while he could move he would be with his men—they needed his presence to spur them on. ‘Ah,’ said one of his sergeants, ‘he was a proper man, he was. We would do anything for him.’ Four times he was lifted out of trenches, badly wounded, and four times he crawled back again, more feeble each time—nothing but actual physical weakness would keep him from sharing the dangers of his men. Then came the end—from a shell bursting overhead.”
PERRETT, ERNEST, Petty Officer, 206389, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PERRETT, WILLIAM NELSON, Boy, 1st Class, J. 24698, H.M.S. Hawke, s. of Frederick Nelson Perrett, of 265, Dale Street, Chatham; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
PERRY, ALFRED HENRY, Leading Telegraphist, J. 867, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PERRY, ARTHUR THEODORE, Private, No. 3/140, New Zealand Army Medical Corps, s. of Arthur Perry, of Northampton; b. Wellington, New Zealand, 4 May, 1886; educ. at Southampton, England; then returned to New Zealand; joined the New Zealand Army Medical Corps after the outbreak of war, 15 Aug. 1914; left Egypt for the Dardanelles 12 April, 1915; took part in the landing on the 25th April, and was killed in action there, 22 May, 1915; unm. Buried in the English Cemetery, Gallipoli. Lieut.-Col. C. M. Begg, commanding N.Z. Field Ambulance, wrote: “He was a very hard worker and was a general favourite in the company. During the time we have been under fire here, he was indefatigable in his attention to the wounded and never hesitated to expose himself in the course of his duties. May it be some comfort to you to know he died doing his duty;” and a comrade: “He died after a month of the most heroic and unselfish work given for the sake of others. He met this noble end as he had lived—a Christian, and by his patience and unselfish endeavours was loved by us all.”
PERRY, EVELYN WALTER COPLAND, 2nd Lieut., Royal Flying Corps (Special Reserve), only child of the late Walter Copland Perry, Barrister-at-Law, by his wife, Evelyn Emma (29, Thurloe Square, S.W.), sister of Lieut.-Col. Horace Robert Stopford, Coldstream Guards (killed in action at the Modder River, 28 Nov. 1899), and only dau. of the late Robert Stopford [grandson of James, 2nd Earl of Courtown, K.P.]; b. at 5, Manchester Square, London, 4 Dec. 1890; educ. St. David’s (Mr. Joyce’s), Reigate; Ripton, and Trinity College, Cambridge, and on leaving there worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory from Feb. 1911 to Aug. 1912. He obtained his aviation certificate (No. 130) on a Valkyrie monoplane at Hendon, 30 Aug. 1911; was gazetted 2nd Lieut., R.F.C. (S.R.), 21 March, 1913, and obtained his certificate as a First Class Pilot, Upavon, 13 Aug. following. On 1 Aug. 1914, he received orders to join the R.F.C. at Netheravon, which he did on 5 Aug., and attd. to the 3rd Squadron he flew with it to Dover on 12 Aug. The following day 42 aeroplanes flew to Amiens, whence he wrote but one letter, full of his extreme enjoyment in these flights, and adding that he was to keep the fine machine he had been using; but apparently these hopes were not realised and he had to give it up. He was killed instantaneously together with his pilot, H. E. Parfitt, on Sunday, 16 Aug 1914, on leaving Amiens, on a B.E. 8 machine, being the first British officer to lose his life on active service in France in the European War. The machine apparently stalled at about 150 ft., and caught fire on reaching the ground. He was buried in the cemetery at St. Acheuil, the following day; unm. Flight Commander P. Shepherd, R.N., wrote: “I knew your son both at Eastchurch and Upavon, and we have lost from the Flying Corps a most gallant officer.” Lieut. Perry did a considerable amount of flying while on the staff of the Royal Aircraft Factory on their early experimental machines, including testing a hydroplane at Fleet. On leaving the Royal Aircraft Factory he joined Mr. Sopwith at Brooklands, and flew very well on his old “Burgess-Wright” with the “Gnome” engine. He left Mr. Sopwith to take an Avro biplane to Portugal, where he put the machine through its tests for the Portuguese Army. In the course of these tests he flew over Lisbon and eventually, owing to engine failure, made a wonderfully skilful forced landing in the Tagus, without any injury to machine, or himself or his passenger even getting their feet wet. On his return to England Mr. Perry, in conjunction with Mr. Beadle, started building aeroplanes on their own account, and produced a small biplane on Avro-cum-B.E. lines, but with many original points, which flew extremely well (this was afterwards purchased by the Admiralty). Mr. Perry next started aviation works at Twickenham, and produced the interesting and beautifully made flying boat which was one of the features of the last Olympic Show.
PERRY, GEORGE HENRY, Leading Stoker, 1245, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PERRY, GEORGE HERBERT GRESLEY, Capt., 2nd Battn. West Yorkshire Regt., only s. of Brigadier-General Hugh Whitchurch Perry, late R.A., Army Ordnance Department, by his wife, Minna Grace, dau. of Edward Reid Nelson Druce, of Victoria Park, near Dover; b. Plumstead, near Cape Town, 6 Aug. 1893; educ. Hillside, West Malvern, Haileybury College and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., West Yorkshires, 4 Sept. 1912, and promoted Lieut. 14 Aug. 1913; was wounded on 12 March, 1915, during the counter-attack at Neuve Chapelle, and died in No. 7 Stationary Hospital, at Boulogne, 15 March following; unm. He was mentioned for gallantry in the field by F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French, in his Despatch of 31 May, 1915, and his Commanding Officer, Major P. L. Ingpen, wrote of him: “He was hit during the German counter-attack on 12 March, 1915, while pluckily working his machine guns. I need hardly say that he will be a great loss to the regt. and one that cannot easily be replaced. It was owing to his disposition of his guns that the regt. was able to beat off the attack with great loss to the enemy. In my report I mentioned him for special commendation and it was forwarded by the Brigadier.” Although he had been at the Front some months, this was his first engagement.
PERRY, WILLIAM, Private, No. 6668, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Thomas Perry, of 38, Chester Street, Wolverhampton, Foreman Tinsmith, by his wife, Jane, dau. of James Darling, of Birmingham; b. Wolverhampton, co. Stafford, 10 March, 1881; educ. St. Andrew’s School there; enlisted 1905; served three years with the Colours, and six with the Reserve; mobilised 4 Aug. 1914; went to France in Aug., and was killed in action at Poperinghe, during the First Battle of Ypres, 10 Nov. following; unm. Buried in Poperinghe Cemetery.
PERSSE, CECIL DE BURGH, Lieut., 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards (attd. Irish Guards), 4th and yst. s. of the late Henry Sadleir Persse, of Glenarde and Kiltullagh, co. Galway, J.P., by his wife, Eleanor Alice, dau. of Col. Thomas Seymour, of Ballymore Castle, co. Galway, J.P.; b. 17 July, 1875; educ. Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he took his degree. In the South African War (1899–1902) he served with the Warwickshire Imperial Yeomanry, and took part in the operations in the various Colonies, later receiving a commission in the 7th Dragoon Guards. For these services he received the Queen’s medal with three clasps, and the King’s medal with two clasps. When the Boer War was concluded he settled down in Government employment for a while. He received a commission in the Reserve of Officers of the 7th Dragoon Guards, 10 April, 1912, and on the outbreak of the European War rejoined his old regt. but as the infantry regts. were more in need of officers than the cavalry, he volunteered to exchange into the infantry, and was transferred to the Irish Guards, served with them in France and Flanders, and was seriously wounded in the head, in action in Flanders, 18 May, 1915. He was brought home to Netley Hospital, and seemed at first to be making satisfactory progress towards recovery, but some weeks later it was necessary to perform an operation; blood poisoning afterwards supervened and he died there on Monday 19 July; unm. He was buried in the Hospital Cemetery.
PERSSÉ, RODOLPH ALGERNON, 2nd Lieut., Reserve Battn. The Rifle Brigade, attd. 2nd Battn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps, only s. of the late Robert Algernon Perssé, of Creg Clare, co. Galway, J.P., by his wife, the Hon. Eleanor Laura Jane, née Gough (Creg Clare, Ardrahan, co. Galway), only surv. dau. of George Stephens, 2nd Viscount Gough; and grandson of the late Dudley Perssé, of Roxborough, co. Galway. D.L.; b. Roxborough, aforesaid, 12 May, 1892; educ. Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he had just completed his second year when war broke out; obtained a commission in the Rifle Brigade, 26 Aug. 1914, joining the Reserve Battn. at Sheerness; went to France, 16 Oct.; was there attd. to the 2nd Battn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps, and was killed in action at Cuinchy, 1 Jan. following, during a night attack; unm. Buried there. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915. His commanding officer wrote: “He had taken his platoon to attack a position early on the morning of 1 Jan., and after the position was taken it was found to be untenable, and the whole force was ordered back to their trenches. It was here that poor Perssé was killed. He was an exceptionally gallant boy, and we shall miss him very much. I had already submitted his name for his gallant behaviour near Ypres.” A brother officer also wrote: “What a splendid, brave, cool officer he was, he never flinched or wavered in his most gallant spirit, and his absolute fearlessness and pluck were grand, and were of the greatest value to his men. He will, indeed, be sadly missed, for he made himself so popular with all ranks”; and another: “He was without exception the bravest officer I have ever seen, and the best. His men would do anything for him. This is not only my own opinion, for I know that it was shared by every officer in the mess.” He was a fine all-round athlete and a first-rate shot. He played in the Eton eleven in July, 1911. At Oxford he did well in the Freshmen’s sports of 1913; won the Magdalen Grind; rode in the Intervarsity Point-to-Point, and was whip to the Magdalen Beagles. The President of Magdalen wrote of him: “He is indeed a loss to us here, young and old. Among the first and bravest, he has given his all, even himself. His bright, vivid, daring, high-spirited chivalrous personality had endeared him to us all.”
PERYER, ALBERT EDWARD, Stoker, Petty Officer, 306704, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
PESKETT, CHARLES EDWARD, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 4392, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PETER, SAMUEL VICTOR, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1879), 201829, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PETO, CLEMENT HENRY, Capt., 10th (Prince of Wales’s Own Royal) Hussars, 4th and yst. s. of William Herbert Peto, of Dunkinty, Elgin, by his wife, Kate, dau. of Sir Robert Palmer Harding, and grandson of the late Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Bart.; b. London, 8 July, 1884; educ. Harrow and Sandhurst; received his commission in the 10th Hussars, 3 Feb. 1904. and was promoted Lieut. 22 Oct. 1905, and Capt. 17 Sept. 1910, passing the same year the Musketry Course at Changli Sali, also in Telephony and Hindustani, L.S. Pt. II. He served with his regt. in France and Flanders, and was killed in action while in command of C Squadron at the First Battle of Ypres, 17 Nov. 1914. The Germans had made a strong attack and he had allowed them to come within five yards of his trench, before giving the order to fire. He then led his Squadron in pursuit of the retreating enemy and was shot through the head by a sniper. The Colonel of his regt. wrote: “There was no better soldier in the Army or a better fellow than your son. Personally I was very fond of him and so was everyone in the regiment, whether officers or men. All the time he was under me I have never known him cavel, or grumble, at any order, however unpleasant.” The officer commanding the regt. on the 17 Nov. wrote that he met his death commanding his own Squadron which he had trained so well in South Africa, in repelling a fierce attack of the Germans which his Squadron repulsed with heavy loss. Private Sparks, 14th Hussars, wrote to the “Kent Messenger,” 26 Dec. 1914. “We came under a very heavy shell and rifle fire from a very short distance in front. Lord Alastair Innes Ker carried me a long way and must have been almost exhausted when I saw two officers jump out of the trench and run towards us. They dragged me to the trench by the arms. Private Saintsbury, 13th Hussars, caught me as they pushed me into the trench. One of them bound me up as well as he was able in the dark and gave me a drink from his flask. The officers were two brothers, Capt. C. and Lieut. K. Peto, 10th Hussars. Capt. C. Peto, I am sorry to say, has since been killed in the great attack on Ypres. He was a very brave officer. “He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915 [London Gazette, 17 Feb. 1915], for gallant and distinguished service in the field. Capt. Peto was a great hunter and travelled from India through Kashmir and Turkestan to Siberia, accompanied only by natives, and shot splendid specimens of ovis ammion, ovis poli (51½ inches), markhor, ibex, barasingh, etc. He also shot lions in Northern Rhodesia; and rode many winners in regimental races at Rawal Pindi and Mhow (Winning Post, 12 Dec. 1914).” He was unm., and was buried in Ypres Cemetery.
PETTY, FRANK, Gunner, R.M.A. (R.F.R., B. 1171), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PETTY, JAMES RICHARD, Private, No. 3199, 2/6th Battn. East Surrey Regt. (T.F.), only s. of Richard Petty, of 4, Cleveland Road, New Malden, by his wife, Helen; b. New Malden, co. Surrey, 12 June, 1880; educ. Elm Road Boys School there; was a coal porter; joined the East Surrey Territorials, 26 April, 1915; and died in the Military Hospital, Kingston-on-Thames, 31 March, 1916, from pleurisy contracted while on active service. He m. at New Malden Church, 3 April, 1904, Charlotte (87, Northcote Road, New Malden, dau. of William Lambden, Henley-on-Thames, and had three children; Robert James, b. 15 Nov. 1909; Herbert John, b. 25 Nov. 1912; and Dorothy May, b. 20 July, 1906.
PHELAN, JOHN HENRY, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 5716), S.S. 1000695, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PHAYRE, CHARLES FREDERICK, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Royal Munster Fusiliers, 2nd s. of Lieut.-Col. Richard Phayre, of Belganm, Woking, D.L., J.P., late of the Alexandra Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regt., by his wife, Frances Anne, dau. of the late John Jasper Leigh Bayly, and grandson of the late Gen. Sir Robert Phayre, G.C.B.; b. Bangalore, East Indies, 26 May, 1891; educ. St. Clair, Walmer; Repton, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (Sandhurst Coy.); gazetted 2nd Lieut., Royal Munster Fusiliers, 5 Oct. 1910, and promoted Lieut. 22 April, 1914; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Aug. 1914, and was killed in action during the retreat from Mons, on the 27th of the same month. The 2nd Battn. Royal Munster Fusiliers formed the rear guard of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, on 27 Aug., and were cut off during the retreat from Mons. They made a gallant stand and retired fighting for three hours. His Capt., who was taken prisoner, wrote: “I ordered a charge, and the company dashed forward, ‘Dicky’ well in front of the right half. We were met by a blasting fire, and numbers of the men fell. He got within 30 yards of the enemy’s trench and there was shot dead, falling with his head towards the enemy, 10 yards in front of his men. Only two men besides myself reached the trench alive.” He was buried at Etreux, with eight of his brother officers who fell in the same action; unm. His brother, Lieut. Richard Herbert Phayre, was killed in action at Ypres, 26 Oct. 1914 (see following notice).
PHAYRE, RICHARD HERBERT, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Alexandra Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regt., eldest s. of Lieut.-Col. Richard Phayre, of Belgaum, Woking, D.L., J.P., late of Alexandra Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regt., by his wife, Frances Anne, dau. of the late John Jasper Leigh Bayly, and grandson of the late Gen. Sir Robert Phayre, G.C.B.; b. Farnboro’. co. Hants, 31 March, 1890; educ. St. Clair, Walmer; Repton, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Yorkshire Regt., 11 Dec. 1909, and promoted Lieut. 1 April, 1911; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Oct. 1914, and was killed in action during the first Battle of Ypres, on the 26th of the same month; unm. Buried at Gheluvelt. He was gazetted temporary Capt. after his death, 9 Dec. 1914, to rank as from 15 Nov. His brother, Lieut. Charles Frederick Phayre, was killed in action during the retreat from Mons, 27 Aug. 1914 (see preceding notice).
PHILIPPS, IVOR JOHN DOUGLAS, Capt., 16th (Service) Battn. Cheshire Regt., only s. of the late George Gray Stuart Philipps, Chamberlain to the Earl of Moray, by his wife, Mary Frances, 2nd dau. of William Hobson Moubray, of Otterston and Cockairnie, Fife, Commander R.N., J.P., D.L.; b. Portobello, Edinburgh, 8 July, 1882; educ. Ardvreck, Crieff; and Loretto, Musselburgh; joined the Black Watch (Militia) on 31 Jan. 1900, and in 1902 was attd. to the 3rd York and Lancaster Regt. for service in South Africa. He was awarded the Queen’s medal with two clasps, and on his return resigned his commission, but when the European War broke out, at once offered his services, and was gazetted Lieut. in the Reserve of Officers, 19 Aug. 1914. He was for some time Assistant Recruiting Officer at Birkenhead, Cheshire, and was promoted Capt. (temp.), 16th (Service) Battn. Cheshire Regt., 10 Dec. 1914. He caught a chill while on a route march, and died of double pneumonia at Prenton, Cheshire, 8 March, 1915. Letters from his brother officers speak of his intrepid courage, his capability, and the respect and affection he inspired. He m. at St. Mary Cathedral, Edinburgh, 9 July, 1908, Amy Constance Violet, sister of 2nd Lieut. Evan R. H. K. Macdonald (killed in action, 20 Sept. 1914, see his notice), 2nd dau. of Keith Norman Macdonald, of 21, Clarendon Crescent, Edinburgh, M.D., F.R.C.P.E., and had an only child: Reginald Ivor Carew Keith, b. 3 June, 1909.
PHILIPS, JOSEPH DOUGLAS, Lieut., 1st Battn. The Buffs, East Kent Regt., 2nd s. of Major James Joseph Philips, of Rosecourt, Gladstone Road, Broadstairs, late Army Veterinary Corps, by his wife, Elizabeth Mary Charlotte, dau. of James Gould, of South Norwood; b. Woolwich, 3 March, 1886; educ. Selhurst Park College, South Norwood, and by Army coach at Blackheath; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 1st Battn. The Buffs, 20 March, 1907, and promoted Lieut., 1 Sept. 1910; served in the West African Frontier Force in Nigeria from 9 March, 1910, for over four years; was home on leave when war began, and immediately relinquished the remainder and volunteered for field service with his regt.; rejoined at Fermoy, Ireland; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Aug. and was killed in action whilst leading his platoon at Bois Grenier, 20 Oct. 1914; unm. Buried near Radinghem Ridge, about two miles from Bois Grenier. The previous day he had distinguished himself by carrying several wounded out of the trenches under fire.
PHILLIP, HARRY, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R.), Ch. 10503, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PHILLIPS, CHARLES, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3607), S.S. 101254, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PHILLIPS EDWARD ALEXANDER, Leading Signalman (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8614), 199553, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PHILLIPS, EDWARD HAWTIN, D.S.O., Major, 28th Battery Royal Field Artillery, eldest s. of the late John Hawtin Phillips; b. London, 22 Feb. 1876; educ. Wellington College; gazetted 2nd Lieut., R.A., from the Militia, 16 Jan. 1897, and promoted Lieut. 16 Jan. 1900; Capt. 11 March, 1902; and Major March, 1915, when he transferred to the R.F.A. from the R.H.A.; was Adjutant from 4 Dec. 1908 to Nov. 1909; was employed with West African Frontier Force, 22 April to 28 Oct. 1900, and again 23 Jan. 1904 to 16 Nov. 1905; served (1) with Protectorate Expedition during operations in Sierra Leone 1898–9 (medal with clasp); (2) in Northern Nigeria, 1900, with Kaduna Expedition (twice slightly wounded; mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 4 Dec. 1900] clasp); (3) in West Africa, 1900, during operations in Ashanti for Relief of Kumassi (severely wounded; again mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 4 Dec 1900]; medal with clasp; D.S.O.); (4) in South African War, 1901–2; took part in operations in Orange River Colony, Jan. to March, 1902; and in those in Cape Colony and the Transvaal in command of pom-pom Section, March to May, 1902 (wounded; a third time mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 18 July, 1902], Queen’s medal with five clasps); (5) in Northern Nigeria, 1904, during operations against the people of Semolika (medal with clasp); and (6) in command of the 28th Battery with the Meerut Division, Indian Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, 1914; was wounded in action near La Bassée during the 1st Battle of Ypres, 5 Nov. 1914, three days after reaching the front, and died at Chocques the following day; unm. Buried in Bethune Cemetery. The Inspector-General of Artillery (F. Mercer) wrote: “There was no man in all the Artillery which is under my control belonging to this force whom I would have selected before him for any duty which called for all the highest personal qualifications of a soldier; it was the same in India, if I wanted anything done, or tried. I always knew that it could be in no better hands than his. As a most gallant soldier and gentleman, a thorough sportsman, and a true friend, he will be very deeply regretted by the regt.; and you will, I trust, forgive me, a perfect stranger, for intruding on your grief to say how much we shall all feel his loss. It would be selfish to express my own personal sorrow, but I know that all the Artillery in India, as well as in this force, would like you to feel how very deeply we sympathise with you in your very great sorrow, and how much we shall all miss him, the best type of Artillery officer and the finest example to the boys who were fortunate enough to serve under him.” He was a keen and bold rider to hounds, and recently he took his pilot’s certificate at Brooklands for flying, notwithstanding a stiff arm and hand from having been badly mauled by a tiger in 1911, in the Central Provinces, India. His brother, Capt. R. N. Phillips, died of wounds, 27 Dec. 1914 (see his notice).
PHILLIPS, GEORGE HENRY, Private, No. Ch. 17397, Royal Marine L.I., 4th s. of William Henry Phillips, of 61, Blandfields Street, Balham, by his wife, Lucy Jane, yst. dau. of the late James Jewson, of Eau Brink, Norfolk; b. Wandsworth Common, S.W., 15 Nov. 1895; educ. Hearnville L.C.C. School, Balham, S.W.; joined the Royal Marine L.I., 29 April, 1912; went through a course of training at the Royal Marine Barracks, Deal, also Royal Marine Barracks, Chatham, and was lost in H.M.S. Cressy when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. His three brothers, Corpl. William James Phillips, Royal Marine L.I., Gun-Layer, H.M.S. Jupiter; A.B. Eric Wilton Phillips, Gun-Layer, H.M.S. Thunderer, and A.B. Leonard Charles Phillips, Gun-Layer, H.M.S. Foyle, are all (1916) on active service.
PHILLIPS, HENRY, Seaman, R.N.R., 3514 A., H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PHILLIPS, RALPH NOEL, Capt., 2nd Battn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 2nd s. of the late John Hawtin Phillips; b. London, 26 Dec. 1877; educ. Wellington College, and Trinity College, Cambridge; gazetted 2nd Lieut., 1st R.W.F. 24 Jan. 1900, and promoted Lieut. 22 Jan 1903, and Capt. 2 May, 1910; was Adjutant, 7th Cheshire Territorials, 11 April, 1911 to 10 April, 1914, and was attached to the Chinese Regt. at Wei-hai-Wei, 3 Nov. 1904 to 1 Oct. 1906, when it was disbanded; served (1) in South Africa, 1900–2; was for sometime transport officer with Gen. Barton’s Brigade; took part in operations in the Transvaal 30 Nov. 1900 to Jan. 1902, and March to 31 May, 1902, and in those in the Orange River Colony, Jan. to March, 1902 (Queen’s medal with three clasps; King’s medal with two clasps); and (2) with the 19th Brigade, British Expeditionary Force, in France and Flanders, from 12 Aug. 1914; took part in the retreat from Mons; the Battle of the Aisne, and was wounded in action near Fleurbaix, 3 Nov. following, during the First Battle of Ypres, and died of wounds in London, 27 Dec. 1914. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 20 Nov. 1914 [London Gazette, 17 Feb. 1915], for gallant and distinguished service in the field. Capt. Phillips m. at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, July, 1911, Margaret, only dau. of W. H. Farmer, of Gatacre Park, Bridgnorth; s.p. His elder brother, Major E. H. Phillips, died of wounds 6 Nov. 1914 (see his notice).
PHILLIPS, STEPHEN ARLA, Armourer, 340270, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PHILLIPS, THOMAS HAROLD, Private, No. 199, 2nd Light Horse, Australian Imperial Force, eldest s. of the late David Phillips, by his wife, Sarah (Arfyn, Picton Place, Carmarthen), dau. of Thomas Thomas; b. Carmarthen, 14 April, 1889; educ. Carmarthen County School; joined the Territorial Force in 1909, and served three years as Sergt. in the 7th Welsh (Cyclists) Battn., was for five years in the service of the National and Provincial Bank at Barry, co. Glamorgan, after which he went to Australia, and on the outbreak of war enlisted at Brisbane, 2 Sept. 1914; left for Egypt, 22 Sept.; went to the Dardanelles 8 May, 1915, and died 14 May, following, of wounds received in action at Anzac. Buried, Anzac Beach, Gallipoli; unm. His Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. Charles V. Stodart, wrote: “Your son has always been willing and ready to do his share of the work, and has cheerfully put up with our many hardships.”
PHILLIPS, WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I., Ports./15609, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PHILLIPSON, ALBERT, Stoker, Petty Officer, 174277, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
PHILLIS, HENRY JOHN, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 5453, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PHILPOTT, HORACE HENRY, Stoker, 2nd Class, K. 21845, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
PHILPOTT, WALTER, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 5016, H.M.S Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
PHIPPS, WILLIAM HEWETT, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7552), 291888, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
PICKBURN, FRANK, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 15391, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
PICKERING, EDWARD JOHN, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., B. 4551), 293241, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PICKERING, THOMAS GEORGE, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3728), S.S. 101346, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PICKERSGILL, ALBERT EDWARD, 2nd Cooper, 294295, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PIDWELL, CHARLES, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 951), 166221, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PIDWELL, CHARLES JAMES, Chief Shipwright, 340922, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PIGDEN, ARTHUR RONALD, Private, No. 9563, 1/5th Battn. (London Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), s. of George Alexander Pigden, of 23, Albert Road, Stroud Green, Hornsey, Town Councillor, by his wife, Matilda; b. Barnsbury, 25 Feb. 1894; educ. Stroud Green School, Hornsey County School and Clark’s College; joined the Boy Scouts in 1908, the King’s Royal Rifles Cadet Corps, 1911, and the London Rifle Brigade May, 1913. On the outbreak of war he volunteered for foreign service, left England with the L.R.B. 2 Nov. 1914, and within a week was in the trenches, where they remained over Christmas, fraternising with the Saxons who were in the trenches 80 yards in front of them that day. In April, 1915, the Regt. was resting at Armentières, when the Canadians were gassed, and they were rushed up through Ypres to their support, marching 17½ miles with full packs in 4½ hours. Writing home on 28 April, Pigden said, “Threw away all my souvenirs on march, only souvenir am now anxious about is myself,” and the following day: “Am going out to repair telephone wire under fire to-night, so cheer oh!” He was on signalling duty in a dug-out at Fortuin with four others for fifteen days, and though all other parts of the line were being hit, their little dug-out escaped until 2 May, 1915, when he was killed by the bursting of a shell; unm. A comrade wrote: “We were sent up to relieve the Canadians when gassed, there was a heavy bombardment going on which lasted 15 days; as you can imagine our wires were continually being broken by the shelling and it was almost an hourly occurrence for one of our five to run out and repair them, and even deliver the message by hand, we five did this perilous work in rotation, and strange to say none of us were touched while on this task, although other stations were losing heavily meanwhile. Your son was hit by a shell in the left hand on the last day before retirement, and in the afternoon another shell burst among us, I was only stunned, and ran for stretcher-bearers, but it was too late, they declared your son dead on arrival.”
PIGOTT, GERALD WELLESLEY, 2nd Lieut., 127th Battery Royal Field Artillery, only child of Lieut.-Col. Wellesley George Pigott, of Blackmore House, co. Essex, J.P., commanding 12th Battn. Rifle Brigade (now on active service), by his wife, Helen Louise, only dau. of the late Capt. Thomas Donaldson, 3rd K.O. Hussars, by his wife, Helen Louisa Elizabeth, eldest dau. of Richard Andrew Hyacinth Kirwan, of Bawnmore, co. Galway, J.P., and grandson of the Rev. Wellesley Pigott, M.A., Rector of Fugglestone-cum-Bemerton [4th s. of Sir George Pigott, 1st Bart.]; b. South Weald, co. Essex, 3 Sept. 1890; educ. West Downs, Winchester (1905–10), Wellington College (1910–13), and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (Feb. to July, 1914); gazetted 2nd Lieut. 3rd Battn. Essex Regt. 15 Aug. 1914; transferred to the Royal Field Artillery, 15 Jan. 1915, and posted to the 127th Battery at the Front in March; served in France and Flanders, and was wounded at Brielen, during the 2nd Battle of Ypres, 13 May, 1915, by shrapnel, which struck him in the head. He was taken to the dressing station and from there conveyed to No. 2 Clearing Station at Bailleul, where he died, 14 May, 1915. Buried in the British Officers’ Cemetery, Bailleul; unm. The Officer Commanding the 29th Brigade, R.F.A., wrote: “He was such a good lad, and had the making of a most capable officer, and he will be greatly missed”; and the Officer Commanding 127th Battery: “I am sure if your boy had lived he would have made a very good soldier; he was very keen and had plenty of pluck.”
PILBEAM, LEWIS, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2074), 212013, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PILCHER, THOMAS PERCY, Lieut., 2nd Battn. The Rifle Brigade, 2nd s. of Major-Gen. Thomas David Pilcher, C.B., now (1916) commanding the 17th Division, by his 1st wife, Kathleen Mary, dau. of Col. Thomas Goune, 17th Lancers; b. Farnborough, co. Hants., 25 Oct. 1893; educ. Wellington College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., The Rifle Brigade, 4 Sept. 1912, being then the youngest officer in the Army, and was promoted Lieut. 16 Nov. 1914; joined his regt. in Rawal Pindi, India, in Nov. 1912; served with the Expeditionary Force in France from Oct. 1914 until he was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 12 March, 1915, while leading his platoon; unm. Buried in the Cemetery there. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May, 1915, for good reconnaissance work, and gallant leading of his platoon. His commanding officer, Lieut.-Col. Stephens, his Brigadier, Brig.-Gen. Lowry-Cole (since killed in action) and his Divisional Commander, Major-Gen. F. J. Davies, C.B., all bore tribute to his ability, courage, high sense of duty and his popularity with both his brother officers and his men.
PILLAR, SAMUEL, Private, No. 9437, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, 3rd s. of the late William John Pillar, by his wife, Bessie (Hughenden House, Queen Street, Dawlish, co. Devon), dau. of George Henry Collings; b. Dawlish, 13 Jan. 1894; educ. there; enlisted, 11 Jan. 1912; went to France, 14 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action at Rentel, 8 Nov. following; unm.
PILLAR, WILLIAM HENRY, A.B., 224285, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PILLING, WALTER, A.B., 214963, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PINCHIN, JOHN HERBERT, Sergt., No. 5235, 1st Battn., The Wiltshire Regt.; b. Devizes, co. Wilts, 12 May, 1882; educ. Market Lavington and Easterton Elementary Schools, enlisted in Dec. 1898; promoted Sergt., July, 1914; served in the South African War, 1899–1902 (Queen’s medal with three clasps and King’s medal with two clasps), and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 16 Aug. 1914 to 22 Sept. 1914, on which latter date he was mortally wounded during the Battle of Mons, and died in the 1st Northern General Hospital, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 23 Oct. following; unm.
PINLDEBURY, WALTER, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 5415), 180820. H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PINK, JOSEPH, Gunner, R.M.A. (R.F.R., B. 501), late R.M.A. 5791, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PINK, SIDNEY EDWARD, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 12242, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PIPER, EDWARD JAMES, E.R.A., 1st Class (Pensioner), 148209, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PITHER, JAMES HERBERT, C.E.R.A., 1st Class (Pensioner), 160538, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PITKIN, STANLEY, Private, No. 8/462, 8th Southland Coy., Otago Infantry Battn., New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 5th s. of Edwin Pitkin, of Whaddon, Bucks, Agricultural Stockman, by his wife, Annie, dau. of Robert Reynolds; b. Whaddon, co. Bucks, 8 Sept. 1894; educ. National School there; went to New Zealand in 1911, and settled at Dipton, Southland, N.Z., as an Agricultural Worker; joined the New Zealand Territorials in 1912; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of the European War in Aug. 1914; left for Egypt; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and died on H.M. Hospital Ship Dongola, 7 May, 1915, of wounds received in action in a bayonet charge there on the 2nd.
PITT, GEORGE ROBERT, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 16457, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PITT, JOHN, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5268), 203612, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PLATER, WILLIAM JOHN, Private, No. 8980, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, 3rd s. of William John Plater, of Ichnield Cottage, Little Kimble, co. Bucks, Cowman, by his wife, Jane; b. Great Kimble, 2 July, 1891; educ. there; enlisted 27 Jan. 1911; went to France, 12 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action, 4 Oct. following; unm. Lieut. Beckwith Smith, D.S.O., wrote: “I knew Private Plater well, as practically throughout his soldiering he was under my command. He was in my platoon throughout, and I can only say that I wish every man in my platoon and in the British Army had been like him. During the retreat from Mons he suffered the most frightful blisters on his feet, but I never once heard him grumble and he never fell out. He was one of the 50 men I took with me on the night of 4 Oct. 1914, when I was told off to try and take two German trenches at the point of the bayonet. These two trenches were one behind the other, and the first one was not more than 100 yards from our own. This first was unoccupied, but the second one was full of Germans, and Private Plater was killed on reaching the parapet of this trench. We got into the trench and killed all the Germans in it, but were unable to hold it, as there were a lot more Germans coming up. I tell you all this because I did not see Private Plater killed myself, and as we retired we were unable to bring his body away with us. The men who were actually next to him both stopped to make sure he was dead before leaving him. Will you please convey to Private Plater’s sister my own personal grief at the loss of such an excellent soldier. The company, the regt., and, in fact, the whole army feel the loss of such men, as they are hard to replace. He died a death of which every soldier and every Coldstreamer is proud. Every man who took part in that charge that night was worthy of a D.C.M.”
PLAYFAIR, LAMBERT, Lieut., 1st Battn. Royal Scots, attd. 1st Squadron Royal Flying Corps, only s. of Harry Playfair, of Siloni Bari Tea Estate, North Lakhimpur, Upper Assam, India, by his wife, Jessie, dau. of the late A. P. Sandeman, and grandson of the late Lieut.-Col. Sir Robert Lambert Playfair, K.C.M.G., LL.D., by his wife, Agnes (18, Queen’s Gardens, St. Andrew’s, Fife), dau. of Major-Gen. Thomas Webster, of Balgarvie, co. Fife; b. Dibrugarh, Assam, India, 7 Dec. 1893; educ. at Oakham, and passed into Sandhurst with a Prize Cadetship, 14 Jan. 1912; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Royal Scots, 5 Feb. 1912, joined the 2nd Battn. in March, and afterwards the 1st Battn. at Allahabad; left India with his Regt. for England in Oct. 1914, and in March, 1915, entered the Royal Flying Corps as observer on active service. On 6 July, 1915, when engaged in signalling to our guns the positions of the enemy’s batteries, his aeroplane was assailed first by one German machine and then by another. These were driven off in turn whenever they ventured to approach, Lieut. Playfair in the intervals resuming his observation duties—then the two German machines which had the great advantage of superior speed, made a combined assault but rather than give way he ordered an attack on the two, although he had only five rounds left. He was shot through the heart and his body was skilfully brought back to our lines by his pilot, 2nd Lieut. O. D. Filley, who afterwards received the Military Cross for this engagement. He was buried in Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery, Belgium; unm. His Colonel wrote that he was an unusually capable officer, that his death was heroic, and that it was indeed an honour to have had such an officer under one’s command. His Major reported that he was extraordinarily brave, feared absolutely nothing, loving fighting in the air, and was such an example of grit and ability that his death was a great loss to the squadron, and added that he “knew of no one who could gather so much information from a single reconnaissance as Lieut. Playfair.”
PLAYFAIR, HON. LYON GEORGE HENRY LYON, Capt., 126th Battery, 29th Brigade, R.F.A., only s. and h. of George James, 2nd Baron Playfair, C.V.O., Brigadier General and Hon. Col. 2nd Highland Brigade, R.F.A., by his 2nd wife, Augusta Mary, dau. of Henry Thomas Hickman, of Chorlton House, Leamington; b. London, 19 Oct. 1888; educ. St. Andrew’s, Eton and the Royal Military Academy (where he passed in second); gazetted 2nd Lieut. R.F.A. 18 Dec. 1908, Lieut. 18 Dec. 1911, and Capt. 18 Dec. 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and was killed in action near Zonnebeke, while acting as observing officer for his battery, in a trench close to the German lines, 20 April, 1915; unm. One of his gunners wrote of him: “A finer officer or better gentleman, it would be hard to find.”
PLEACE, WILLIAM GEORGE, Corpl., R.M.L.I., 12239 (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1553), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PLUMB, ARTHUR EDWARD, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R.), Ch. 9435, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PLUMB, WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 12774, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
PLUME, GEORGE, Master-at-Arms (R.F.R., Ch. A. 1814), 350101, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
MANSEL-PLEYDELL, EDMUND MORTON, of Whatcombe, co. Dorset, Lieut., 3rd (Reserve) Battn. Dorsetshire Regt., attd. 3rd Battn. Worcestershire Regt., elder s. of the late Lieut.-Col. Edmund Morton Mansel-Pleydell, of Whatcombe, co. Dorset, J.P., D.L., 12th Lancers (died 13 Oct. 1914), by his wife, Kathleen Emily (Croft House, Botley), 4th dau. of the late Sir Thomas Francis Grove, 1st Bart.; b. Bangalore, India, 23 Dec. 1886; educ. Wellington, and Sherborne; was for some time a Lieut. of the Royal Agricultural Contingent, Senior Division, O.T.C. (T.F.), and on the outbreak of war was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Dorsetshire Regt., 30 Nov. 1914; trained at Wyke Regis until 25 Jan. 1915, when he was ordered to Rouen, and there transferred to the Worcestershire Regt.; proceeded to the front, 2 March, and was killed in action at Kemmel, during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, on the 12th, while leading his platoon in a charge against the German trenches; unm. Buried there. His Col. wrote: “He was my most promising officer, and would have, had he lived, I am certain, distinguished himself.” He was a well-known footballer, forward member of the London Devonians, Lennox, Richmond, Trojair and Stund Clubs; a good rider to hounds, and polo player, a successful cricketer and shot, and a pig sticker while in Morocco.
PLUMMER, ARCHIBALD ALFRED, Private, No. 8652, 2nd Battn. Lincolnshire Regt., s. of William Plummer, Labourer; b. Bungay, co. Suffolk, 9th May, 1892; enlisted in the 3rd Battn. Norfolk Regt. 28 Jan. 1909, was transferred to the Lincolns and was killed in action with the Expeditionary Force in France, 10 March, 1915; unm.
PLUMMER, ARTHUR HENRY, 2nd Lieut. 5th Battn. The King’s Liverpool Regt. (T.F.), 3rd. s. of the Rev. Francis Bowes Plummer, Rector of Halewood and Hon. Canon of Liverpool, by his wife, Edith Mary, dau. of Rev. Canon Barker, Rector of Hexham; b. Walton-on-the-Hill, 5 Nov. 1891; educ. Trent College, Derbyshire, (Jan. 1901 to July, 1910, holding a scholarship for the last five years), and Trinity College, Oxford (Oct. 1910 to June, 1914), where he studied medicine and gained the first place in the 2nd Class Honours List of the Final School of Physiology. After the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, he tried to secure some position in the Army where he could make use of his medical knowledge. Failing to realize his hopes, he applied for a commission in the 5th Battn. Liverpool Regt. (T.F.), and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 19 Oct. After four months at Blackpool, with the reserve unit, he was, in Feb. 1915, transferred to the Service Battn. at Canterbury, and shortly afterwards (21 Feb.) left England to join the First Army in France. For four months he was engaged in hard fighting in the trenches near Bethune and, to use his own words, “was often as nearly blown to pieces as possible.” He was killed in the late afternoon, 17 May, 1915, in action near Festubert. Writing to his father, the Commanding Officer said: “He was killed whilst occupying with his platoon our foremost trench, doing his duty gallantly and fearlessly. In addition to his military command, he was throughout the long battle indefatigable in his attention to the wounded, and his medical skill brought timely relief to many a stricken comrade. His fine manly character and kindly disposition had already endeared him to all of us.” Capt. H. K. S. Woodhouse, commanding C Coy., wrote: “After a very hard morning, my company was told to go in support of another regt. and your son accompanied me with his platoon. I left him to go to some other duties, and did not see him again alive.... He was shot in the neck while he was directing some men to their places, and the bullet must have touched his spine, for he fell and was unconscious for an hour before he died.... He was buried in the rear of the English fire trench, alongside his platoon sergeant, who was killed earlier in the day.” While at Trent he was a member of the O.T.C. (1906–1910), Senior Prefect, Gold Medallist and Captain of Cricket and Football (1909–1910).
PLUNKETT, GERALD, B.A., Barrister-at-Law, Sub-Lieut., A Coy., Collingwood Battn. Royal Naval Division, yst. s. of Patrick Joseph Plunkett, of 14, Palmerston Road, Dublin, and grandson of the late Walter Plunkett, of Bryne House, co. Meath; b. Dublin, 11 Aug. 1887; educ. Belvedere College (S.J.), Dublin (where he took honours each year in Intermediate Examinations), and New College, Oxford (B.A.); was called to the Irish Bar, 1910, and was a member of the North-West Circuit; joined the Trinity College O.T.C. on the outbreak of war, and was given a commission, 20 Oct. 1914; served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at the Dardanelles, and was killed in action there, 4 June, 1915. He was Platoon Commander and gallantly led his men in the attack on the Turkish position that day, cheering them on to the last. He was emptying his revolver into the Turks when he was shot in the head, and killed instantly; unm.
POCOCK, FRANK WILLIAM, Sergt., No. 1851, 13th Battn. (Princess Louise’s Kensington) The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of Frank Pocock, of 14, Tadema Road, Chelsea, by his wife, Rose Hannah, dau. of John Vickers; b. Chelsea, 11 Sept. 1891; educ. Harwood Road Council School, Fulham, was a Timber Merchant’s Salesman; joined the Kensingtons 24 Feb. 1909; completed his term of service 23 Feb. 1914, but on the outbreak of war in Aug. following rejoined his regt. on the 6th; volunteered for foreign service; went to France on 3 Nov., was wounded in the ear at Neuve Chapelle on 16 March, and was killed in action at Festubert, 9 May, 1915, while leading his platoon from one German trench to another; unm. Buried there. Lieut. Penn wrote that he “faced the enemy unflinchingly and died a noble soldier’s death.”
POCOCK, WILLIAM JONATHAN, Stoker. 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4447), S.S. 103463, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PODD, JOHN EDMUND, Sergt., No. 106, 4th Battn. Suffolk Regt. (T.F.), 2nd s. of Henry Podd, of 23, Wykes Bishop Street, Ipswich, by his wife, Mary Ann, dau. of Daniel Button; b. Ipswich, 13 Oct. 1885; educ. Cavendish Street School, St. Clement’s, Ipswich; was a Machinist at Stoke Foundry, Ipswich; joined the Suffolk Territorials, 2 Sept. 1902; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; went to France, 8 Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 12 March, 1915. He m. at Butley Church, co. Suffolk, 12 May, 1913, Kate Edith Elizabeth (15, Cobbold Street, Ipswich), dau. of David Mayhew, of Butley, and had a son: John Edmund, b. posthumous 10 June, 1915.
POINTER, WILLIAM, A.B., 220380, H.M.S Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POLING, CHARLES WILLIAM, Bombardier, R.M.A. (R.F.R., I.C. 32), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
POLLARD, CLIFFORD, Boy, 1st Class. J. 23543 (Ports.), H.M.S. Hawke; s. of William Pollard, of 15, Greenfield Road, Holmfirth, near Huddersfield; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
POLLARD, EDWARD BRANCH, Lieut., 8th (Service) Battn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers, attd. 176th Coy. Royal Engineers, yst. s. of George Richard Macintosh Pollard, of Burns Cottage, Moffat, co. Dumfries, M.D., by his wife, Grace, dau. of the Rev. J. Macfarlane. LL.D.; b. Clapham, co. Surrey, 1 March, 1883; educ. Royal School of Mines, and on finishing his mining and metallurgical course went to the Mundydroog mines, Mysore, in Oct. 1907, where he was in the Mounted Rifles Coy. of the Kola Gold Fields Volunteers. When war was declared in Aug. 1914, he was in Northern Nigeria. As soon as practicable he threw up his mining appointment, returned to England in Nov. 1914, and was given a 2nd Lieutenancy in the 8th Battn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers, 6 Dec. 1914, being promoted Lieut. 27 Jan. 1915. He was for some time Transport Officer at Borden Camp, but on 17 April, 1915, was seconded to the 176th Coy. R.E., and sent to do mining operations in the North of France. On 7 July six of his men were entombed in a tunnel by the explosion of a German shell. He immediately organised a rescue party under heavy fire, and his men were subsequently saved by a brother officer. In order to get at some timber which had to be moved, he himself got up on the top of the debris, thereby exposing himself to the snipers, and was shot in the forehead, from which wound he died at Abbeville, on the 26th; unm. Buried in Moffat Cemetery. His Adjutant wrote: “His conduct in this necessary but dangerous work was beyond all praise. I reported the whole incident, and trust his conduct will receive due award.” In 1905 he gained the Remanet Scholarship, and in 1907 won the Edward Matthey Prize; obtained his A.R.S.M. in the same year, and was also a M.Inst.M.M. In 1907 he was selected by the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy for Post-Graduate Course in various parts of the world.
POLLARD, GEOFFREY BLEMELL, Lieut., 119th Battery. R.F.A., elder s. of Alfred William Pollard, Assistant Keeper of Printed Books, British Museum, by his wife, Alice, dau. of George Francis Gloyns England, of Crediton; b. Kensington, 5 April. 1888; educ. King’s College School, Wimbledon, and St. Paul’s School, Hammersmith, where he was head of the Army Side, Captain of Shooting, Lieut. of the Cadet Corps, and Captain of his House. Passed 2nd into Woolwich in 1906 (thereby gaining an exhibition from his school), joined the 146th Battery, R.F.A., in 1908, transferred subsequently to 40th and 119th. Qualified as a 1st Class Interpreter in French, 1910. During the retreat from Mons, between Elouges and Dour, “he was in the very hottest on the very first day and behaved splendidly” (letter from Brigadier-General Headlam), helping Major E. W. Alexander and Capt. Francis Grenfell (both of whom obtained V.C.’s for their work that day) to manhaul the guns of the 119th when it was impossible to get the horses to them. He was killed while on observation duty in advance of his battery, 24 Oct. 1914, and buried the following day in the Churchyard at La Couture. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915. His war-letters “printed for friends” 1915, under the title: “On Active Service.”
POLLARD, HOWARD, Proby., 2nd Cook’s Mate, M. 7798, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POLLEY, ALFRED CHARLES, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2949), 179128, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
POLLEY, HARRY, Private, No. 941, 15th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, eldest s. of David Polley, of Woodstock, Brambletye Road, Earswood, co. Surrey, Gardener, by his wife, Lucy Rebecca, dau. of Shadrach Fairs; b. Redhill, co. Surrey, 13 Feb. 1875; educ. St. Matthew’s Schools there; was for some time a Grocer’s Assistant at Home and Colonial Stores, Edgware Road; went to Australia in 1909, and settled at Lismore, New South Wales, working as a Cowman and General Hand; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of European War in Aug. 1914, and joined the 15th Battn. A.I.F.; left for Egypt in Dec.; went to the Dardanelles 1 June, 1915, and died on the Hospital Ship Maheno, 29 Aug. following, of wounds received in action at Suvla Bay the previous day; unm.
POLLOCK, FREDERICK ROBERT, Lieut., 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, elder s. of the late Robert Erskine Pollock, of Avening Court, co. Gloucester, K.C., J.P., Barrister-at-Law, by his wife, Mary Viner, only dau. and heiress of Frederic Carl Playne, of Avening Court, aforesaid, Capt. 1st Battn. Rifle Brigade (who served through the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny), and grandson of Robert John Pollock, Barrister-at-Law, Lieut. 8th Madras Cavalry [2nd son of the Right Hon. Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Bt.]; b. 74, Queens Gate, S.W., 24 Oct. 1885; educ. Eton College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Coldstream Guards, 13 Aug. 1904, promoted Lieut. 15 June, 1907, and from 29 Dec. 1909 to Feb. 1914, served with the West African Frontier Force. On the outbreak of the European War he went to France with the Expeditionary Force, and served through the retreat from Mons, the Battles of the Marne and the Aisne, and was killed while leading his men in an attack near Langemarck, Belgium, 23 Oct. 1914; unm.
POLLOCK, MARTIN VINER, LL.B., Barrister-at-Law, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. South Wales Borderers, 2nd and only surviving s. of the late Robert Erskine Pollock of Avening Court, Avening, co. Gloucester, and 74, Queen’s Gate, K.C. (see preceding notice); b. 74 Queen’s Gate, S.W., 15 May, 1888; educ. Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge; was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in Nov. 1910, and went to the Oxford Circuit. He was given his commission in the 3rd (Reserve) Battn. of the South Wales Borderers, 15 Aug. 1914, and afterwards transferred to the 2nd Battn. He left with his regt. for the front in March, 1915, and was killed in action while leading his men in an attack near Richebourg St. Vaast, France, 9 May, 1915; unm.
POLLOCK, WALTER, Private, No. 2160, 3rd Battn. Australian Imperial Force, s. of James Pollock, of Port Glasgow; served in Egypt and in the Dardanelles; killed in action, 20 May, 1915.
POLSON, GEOFFREY WILLIAM, Lieut., 1st Battn The Black Watch, only s. of the late Daniel Maclean Polson, of Paisley, by his wife, Ethelle Beatrice (Invervar, North Berwick), dau. of the late Lieut.-Col. Joel Blades, R.A.; b. Paisley, 16 Sept. 1890; educ. St. Ninians, Moffat; Charterhouse, and New College, Oxford; gazetted 2nd Lieut., The Black Watch, 19 Aug. 1913, to rank as from 21 Sept. 1911, and promoted Lieut. 2 June, 1914; went to France, 13 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action during the Battle of the Aisne, 15 Sept. following, while temporarily in command of his company; unm. Buried in the Cemetery at Moulins, Canton of Craonne, France. Dr. W. A. Spooner, Warden of New College, Oxford, wrote: “Geoffrey Polson was one of the best, if not the best, undergraduate I can remember at his college. Understanding that he came to Oxford to learn, he stuck always manfully to his work, and succeeded in taking a fore place in the Honour History School, for which he finally entered. But study formed but a small part of his College activities; in games, particularly in all games bearing on military life, he was an expert and a natural leader; in social life he had the art of attracting and winning friends and was deservedly one of the most popular and most influential men in College. When he left us we all expected him to make a first-rate officer; and our expectations were filled during the short period of his military career. His friends and the whole College heard with profound regret of his death, but they felt that he had died as he had lived, and that his death was the worthy crown of his life.” While at Charterhouse he won two scholarships, and during his last year, when he was head of the school, was presented with a copy of “Forty Years of My life in India,” by the late Lord Roberts, for being the best all-round boy at school, and at sport. At New College, he took 2nd class honours in History; was a keen golfer and played for his College.
POND, BERTIE, Private, No. 7112. 1st. Battn. Lincolnshire Regt., 2nd s. of Henry Pond, of 212, King Street, Norwich, by his wife, Rose Hannah, dau. of John Richardson (and Mary Ann) Fox; b. Norwich, co. Norfolk, 20 Nov. 1888; educ. Carrow School, Norwich; enlisted in the Army, 25 July, 1904; went to France in Aug. 1914, and died of wounds received in action at Ypres, 25 Oct. 1914. Buried in Bethune Cemetery. He m. at Norwich, 1909, Alice Jane (36, Eagle Walk, Newmarket Road, Norwich), dau. of the late Josiah William (and Anna Maria) Larkman, and had three children: Donald Bertie; b. 15 Sept. 1909: Norman Henry, b. 23 Oct. 1910; and Phyllis Alice, b. 31 Dec. 1914.
PONSFORD, alias JONES, THOMAS EDWARD, Private, No. 57662, 20th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, only s. of Thomas Edward Ponsford (died 24 March, 1907), by his wife, Alice (8, Prospect Place, Barnsbury, Islington, N.), dau. of (—) Jones; b. Clerkenwell, E.C., 24 June, 1890; educ. Wilmington Street School there; went to Canada in April, 1910, and settled at Toronto, and was engaged on farm work; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of the European War in Aug. 1914, and joined the 20th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force; came over in June, 1915, and died in hospital at Shorncliffe, 8 Sept. 1915, while training; unm.
PONTEFRACT, ROBERT, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 17262, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
POOK, RICHARD THOMAS, Driver, No. 2268, 1/3rd Coy. Kent Fortress R.E., eldest s. of James Pook, of Noman’s Wood, Wadhurst, Carter, by his wife, Ruth, dau. of Richard Muggridge; b. Beanford Farm, Battle, co. Sussex, 15 April, 1883; educ. Battle School; was a Coal Carman at Tunbridge Wells; enlisted 31 May, 1915; left England for the Dardanelles, 12 Oct. 1915, and was drowned in the collision of H.M.S. Hythe, 29 Oct. 1915, when she was wrecked in the Ægean Sea, off Cape Wells. He m. at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Wadhurst, Sussex, 14 Dec. 1907, Florence Edith (4, Hill Street, Tunbridge Wells), dau. of George Benge Gardener, and had two children: Francis Norah, b. 16 Sept, 1908; and Edith Margaret Elsie, b. 20 Nov. 1912.
POOLE, EDWARD BRUCE, Private, No. 2262, 5th (Cinque Ports) Battn. Royal Sussex Regt., s. of Frederick Poole, of 9, Hill Street, Hastings; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action, 9 May, 1915.
POOLE, FREDERICK, Private, No. 2518, 2nd Home Counties Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (T.F.); served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action, 13 May, 1915; m.
POOLE, HUGH EDWARD ALGERNON, 2nd Lieut., 11th (Prince Albert’s Own) Hussars, 2nd s. of Major Arthur Edward Poole, a Military Knight of Windsor, late 10th Hussars, by his wife, Mary, dau. of James Dunbar Smith; b. at the Cavalry Barracks, York, 7 Jan. 1889; educ. Christ’s Hospital, Horsham; enlisted in the 14th Hussars in 1906 and served in India. Being home on leave when war broke out in Aug. 1914, he was attached to the 20th Hussars, going to the front with them as a corpl.; mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 8 Oct. [London Gazette, 19 Oct.] 1914, he was promoted for gallantry in the field and gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 11th Hussars, as from 1 Oct. 1914; served in the trenches through the winter of 1914–15, and was wounded for the third time at Zillebeke, by a shell while guiding his squadron from the trenches in the early dawn of the 24 May; he was taken to Boulogne and died there of tetanus, 2 June, 1915, unm. He was buried at Windsor with full Military honours. On 1 Sept, at a place called Mary at the junction of the Marne and the Ourcq, he and two other men of the 20th Hussars returned three times under fire to try and save a mortally wounded comrade. The 20th Hussars were acting as rearguard at the time and were attacked at 2 p.m. His Commanding Officer wrote: “He had done excellent work ever since he had been with the regt. and was very popular with officers and men; he is a great loss to us.”
POOLE, WALTER, Private, No. G. 3554, 1st Battn. East Surrey Regt., s. of Freeman Poole, of Witcham, near Ely; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action, 5 May, 1915.
POOLE, THOMAS LUKE, Private, No. 8947, 2nd Battn. Scots Guards, s. of J. C. Poole, of 35, West Street, Berwick-on-Tweed; b. Berwick: enlisted 29 April, 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France; killed in action, 20–26 Oct. 1914.
POOR, ALBERT HENRY, Sergt., No. 9099, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Walter Poor, of 14, Union Terrace, St. Sidwell’s, Exeter, Gardener; b. Exeter, 27 Sept. 1893; educ. there; enlisted 1 May, 1911; went to France with the Expeditionary Force; was promoted Sergt. at the Front, 23 Nov. 1914; served through the retreat from Mons, the Battles of the Aisne, the Marne, Landrecies, La Bassée, St. Julien, Festubert, etc.; was home on leave in July, returning to the Front on the 28th, and died near Vermelles, at 2 a.m., 27 Sept. 1915, of wounds inflicted by a stray bullet. He was buried in Vermelles Cemetery. 2nd Lieut. E. Platt wrote: “I had an intense admiration for the smart way he performed all his military duties. This view I may say was shared by Capt. Darell who was commanding his Coy. in the early stages, and afterwards by Capt. Longueville.”
POPE, CYRIL MONTAGU, B.A., B.C.L., Lieut., 2nd Battn. Worcestershire Regt., eldest s. of the late Reginald Barrett Pope, of 41, Sussex Square, Brighton, LL.B., Solicitor, by his wife, Mary Richardson (4, The Cliff, Blackrock, Brighton), dau. of Alexander Reid; b. Brighton, Sussex, 6 Aug. 1888; educ. Brighton; Temple Grove, East Sheen (now Eastbourne), and won a scholarship for Winchester College, where he won an Exhibition for Brasenose College, Oxford (1907), taking there a second class in “Mods,” and “Greats,” second class in Jurisprudence, the Senior Hulme Exhibition in 1912, and finally, in 1913, his B.C.L.; and was in the second year of his articles with Messrs. Stuckey, Pope & Carr. In 1910 he obtained a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 5th Battn. Oxford and Bucks L.I. In March, 1914, was gazetted Lieut. to the 5th (Special Reserve) Worcester Regt. He went to France, 13 Aug 1914, attd. to the 2nd Battn.; served through the retreat from Mons, and was seriously wounded in a charge through the Polyon Wood, near Ypres, 24 Oct. 1914, dying on his way to the 22nd Field Hospital. He was buried in the cemetery on the Hollebeke Road, just past the junction of the Menin Road; unm. Major Sweetman, of the 2nd Battn. Worcestershire Regt., wrote: “I saw him just after I was hit leading on his men most gallantly against a strong position of the enemy.” At Brasenose he stroked the first Torpid in 1912 and was a member of the Association football team.
POPE, ERNEST RICHARD, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9964), S.S. 2589, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POPE, FREDERICK WILLIAM, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 111165, H.M.S. Hawke, s. of Henry Richard Pope, of 2, Hampton Road, Hanworth; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
POPE, HENRY JAMES, Private, No. 2292, 5th (Cinque Ports) Battn. Royal Sussex Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of Henry Pope, of High Street, Burwash, Platelayer on the S.E. & C.R., by his wife, Emma Annie, dau. of the late John Isted, of Burwash; b. Burwash, co. Sussex, 28 July, 1883; educ. National School there; was a Gardener; joined the 1st Cinque Ports Rifle Volunteers in 1899 for three years and in 1912 became a member of the National Reserve. On the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, he rejoined his old corps, went to France, 18 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Richebourg, 9 May following. He m. at Burwash Parish Church, 7 July, 1910, Alice Elizabeth (Sketrick, Etchingham, Sussex), dau. of Jabez Munday, of Faringdon, Berkshire, and had a dau., Alice, b. 28 Oct. 1912.
POPE, HERBERT, Private, No. 631, 10th Battn. Australian Light Horse (Western Australia), s. of William Pope, of Henrietta Street, Waterford, Merchant, by his wife, Elizabeth (Brook House, Moss Lane, Pinner), dau. of Richard Harieey, of Killoteran House, Waterford; b. Tower Hill, Ferry Bank, co. Waterford, 11 April, 1893; educ. privately and at Waterford. About four years before his death he went to Western Australia and acquired a farm there. On the outbreak of war he enlisted, and was killed in action in the charge of the Australians at Suvla Bay, 7 Aug. 1915; unm.
POPE, REGINALD THOMAS BUCKINGHAM, Lieut., 1st Battn. Welch Regt., 2nd s. of the late Reginald Barrette Pope, of 41, Sussex Square, Brighton, LL.B., Solicitor, by his wife, Mary Richardson (4, The Cliff, Blackrock, Brighton), dau. of Alexander Reid; b. Eton Place, Brighton, 29 July, 1891; educ. Junior House, Brighton College; Rottingdean School, near Brighton; Bradfield College, where he won an exhibition, and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Welch Regt. 20 Sept. 1911, and joined at Cairo in Nov., was promoted Lieut. 16 July following; proceeded to France with his regt. in Jan. 1915, and was killed in action, 16 Feb. 1915. His Major wrote: “We had a most terrible time.... Your brother thought he had seen a sniper and got up with a rifle to try and shoot him, when almost immediately he was hit right through the forehead. He died at once without any suffering at all. When night fell I managed to get his body back and had him sent out of the trenches. He is buried at Chateau Rosenthal, Ypres, between Capt. Lloyd and another officer.” Lieut. Pope was a very keen sportsman, played football and cricket for his school, and went big game shooting in the Soudan in Jan. 1914. His elder brother, Cyril Montagu Pope, Worcester Regt., was fatally wounded near Ypres, in Oct. 1914 (see his notice).
POPE, WALTER GEORGE HENRY, M.A.A., 165439, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PORT, HARRY, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3905), 191709, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PORTEOUS, DICK MACDONALD, D.S.O., Capt. 1st Battn. Princess Louise’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, only s. of Col. John James Porteous, of 7, Sloane Street, S.W., late R.A.; b. Dublin, 15 June, 1883; educ. Wellington College and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (the old 91st), 22 Oct. 1902, Lieut. 19 Oct. 1907, and Capt. 13 Sept. 1913; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, greatly distinguishing himself; was awarded the D.S.O. for conspicuous gallantry on many occasions throughout the campaign [London Gazette, 15 April, 1915], the official record stating that “His very great daring and total disregard of danger on reconnaissance duty, especially at St. Eloi on 19 Feb. 1915, were noticeable,” and was mentioned again in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June, 1915], for distinguished service in the field. He was killed in action, being shot through the head in the trenches near Ypres, 10 May, 1915; unm.
PORTER, FREDERICK CHARLES, Rifleman, No. 1551, 1/18th Battn. (London Irish Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.); s. of the late Edward Porter, Plasterer, by his wife, Alice (now wife of Benjamin William Hatine, of 1, Ferndale Road, Forest Gate, E.), dau. of Edward Jackson; b. Childs Hill, London, N., 28 July, 1896; educ. Manse Road School, West Ham; was a Clerk in an Assurance Office, 110 Cannon Street; joined the London Irish Rifles in July, 1913; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France, March, 1915, and was killed in action at Festubert, 29 Aug. following. Buried in Hazebrouck Cemetery.
PORTER, GEORGE HENRY, Petty Officer 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2455), 169078, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PORTER, HARRY, Private, No. 3617, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards; b. Codford St. Mary, co. Wilts; educ. there; enlisted in the Coldstreams, 14 June, 1900; was called up from the Reserve on mobilisation in Aug. 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and was killed in action at St. Julien, 24 Oct. 1914. He m. at Wellow, co. Somerset, Elizabeth Ann (The Batch, Wellow, Somerset), dau. of (—), and had three children: William George, Frederick Robert, and Florence Gertrude.
PORTWAINE, HARRY, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 16678, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
POSTLETHWAITE, JOHN JOYCE, Trooper, No. 336, 11th, attd. 5th, Light Horse, Australian Imperial Force, 2nd s. of Frank Postlethwaite, of Brentnor, Tavistock, co. Devon, M.R.C.S., by his wife, Emma Elizabeth, dau. of the Rev. H. M. Joyce, Vicar of Penton; b. Stapleton, co. Cumberland, 11 June, 1893; educ. King’s College, Taunton, and Tavistock Grammar School; went to Australia in March, 1911, and settled at Burrowa, New South Wales, and later at Winton, Queensland, as a Station Hand; joined the Australian Light Horse at Brisbane in Jan. 1915; left for Egypt in March; went to the Dardanelles, Aug. 1915, and was killed in action there, 2 Nov. following, while serving his machine gun; unm. Buried in Shell Green Cemetery, Anzac, Gallipoli. His company officer wrote: “Your son had recently been transferred from my squadron to the machine-gun section of this regt. (5th Light Horse), a position which he quickly learnt. At all times he proved himself to be a good soldier, as able and willing to perform the many fatigue duties as he was resourceful in the firing line”; and a comrade: “There were a good many of the men rolled up to see him buried: fellows from his own regt. and also from the one to which he was posted. From the Major downwards, your son was tremendously popular, and the men are very cut up at his loss. A cross, bearing his name, regt., age, and date of death, was erected by his regimental comrades.”
POTTER, BERT, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2622), 284614, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POTTER, FRANK WILLIAM, Private, No. 9478, 3rd Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, s. of Henry Potter, of 198, Bedford Hill, S.W., member of the firm of Henry Potter & Co., West Street, Charing Cross, Army Musical Instrument Makers, by his wife, Mary Ann, dau. of George Lash; and a great grandson of the late Samuel Potter, of the Coldstream Guards, who compiled and published in 1815 the authorised Bugle, Drum and Fife Calls, including the Last Post, a revised edition of which is now in use in the Army and Navy; b. Sidcup, Kent, 19 Aug. 1887; educ. Cheltonia College, Streatham, S.W. (where he won the prize for “High Character”); went to Canada about 1903 and was in Dakota when war was declared; went to Toronto and volunteered for Imperial service Aug. 1914; came over with the first Canadian contingent in Oct.; went to France early in Feb., served through the Second Battle of Ypres, and the various engagements during the early part of 1915, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 16 June, 1915; unm. Buried near Givenchy, behind trench No. 19, 500 yards east of the “Ducks Bill.”
POTTER, MAURICE HENRY, L.-Corpl., No. 11182, 1st Battn. Sherwood Foresters, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt., 4th s. of Elijah William Potter, of Six-Mile Bottom, Newmarket, co. Cambridge, Goods Porter on the Great Eastern Railway at Six-Mile Bottom Station, by his wife, Jane, dau. of James Cook; b. Six-Mile Bottom, 1 May, 1891; educ. Council School there; enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters, 2 March, 1909; served in India, Sept. 1911 to Oct. 1914, and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, Nov. 1914 to 1 Feb. 1915, on which latter date he was killed in action near La Bassée, and was buried 30 yards west of the Estaires-La Bassée Road; unm. He gained the 2nd Class Certificate of Education 19 Dec. 1909, and a 1st Class Certificate of the same, 27 March, 1913; he also gained four good conduct badges, and the swimming certificate at Bombay, 17 Jan. 1914. His three brothers are all now (1916) on active service.
POTTER, VICTOR JAMES, Boy, 1st Class, J. 25352 (Ports.), H.M.S. Hawke, s. of William Henry Potter, of 23, George Street, Sutton, co. Surrey; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
POTTER, WILLIAM FREDERICK, Bugler, No. 1255, 1/21st Battn. (1st Surrey Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), s. of Reuben Potter, of 33, D’Eynsford Road, Camberwell, London, S.E., Pensioner, by his wife, Jane, dau. of the late John Faux, of Leatherhead; b. King’s Cross, London, N., 1 Aug. 1895; educ. Grove Lane Board School, Camberwell; was employed by Warner & Sons, 3 and 4, Newgate Street; joined the 1st Surrey Rifles, 20 Dec. 1911; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France, 16 March, 1915, and was killed in action at Festubert, 25 May following; unm. Buried there.
POTTER, WILLIAM JOHN, Leading Seaman (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8288), 207367, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POTTERTON, LEWIS JOHN, A.B., S.S. 618, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
POTTS, GEORGE, L.-Corpl., No. 15741, 15th (Service) Battn. Durham L.I., eldest s. of Thomas Farrar Potts, of 17, Grosvenor Street, Southwick-on-Wear, Shipyard Labourer, by his wife, Mary Ellen (died 1910), dau. of Joseph Rooney, of Southwick; b. Southwick, 14 March. 1895; educ. Board School there; was employed at Hylton Colliery; enlisted 7 Sept. 1914, trained at Halton, Yorks; was promoted L.-Corpl. and was killed in action at the Battle of Loos, 26 Sept. 1915; unm. He was buried in Loos Cemetery.
POUGHER, WILLIAM ANDREW, Corpl., No. 8395, 2nd Battn. Leicestershire Regt., eldest s. of Samuel Thomas Pougher, and nephew of A. D. Pougher, the famous Leicestershire cricketer; b. Leicester, 1889; educ. Holy Trinity Schools there; enlisted in the 2nd Leicestershires, March, 1908, and served in India for six years, being drafted direct to France on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, and was killed in action, 27 July, 1915; unm. Sergt. W. Andrews wrote that “Corpl. Pougher was his best scout, and right-hand man.”
POUGHER, WILLIAM HENRY, 2nd Yeoman of Signals (R.F.R., B. 647), 164970, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POULTNEY, HARRY, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3125), S.S. 100753, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
POULTON, JAMES, Private, No. 6493, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Joseph Poulton, of Ladywood, Birmingham, by his wife, Annie; b. Birmingham, 10 July, 1888; enlisted 9 Dec. 1905; served three years with the Colours, and then joined the Reserve for nine years; called up on mobilisation, 5 Aug. 1914, and was reported missing after the fighting at Soissons, 14 Sept. 1914, and is now assumed to have been killed in action that day. He m. at All Saints’ Church, Birmingham, 8 Oct. 1911, Florence Ann (200, Bolton Road, South Heath, Birmingham), dau. of Thomas Chater, and had two children: Thomas James, b. 8 May, 1914; and Irene May, b. 9 Oct. 1912.
POULTON, WILLIAM MITCHELL, A.B., 213679, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
POVEY, GEORGE, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 3752), 186391, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POWELL, ARTHUR CHARLES, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1720), 124746, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POWELL, ARTHUR THOMAS, Gunner, R.M.A., 10190 (R.F.R., I.C. 40), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
POWELL, CHARLES VICTOR, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 111772, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
POWELL, GEORGE, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 113461, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POWELL, GEORGE EDWARD, Private, No. 7183, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, only s. of the late Frank Powell, Postman, by his first wife, Winifred, dau. of Joseph Tracey, of Gloucester; b. Longdon, near Tewkesbury, co. Gloucester, 29 Nov. 1889; enlisted 21 Feb. 1907; went to the Front with the first Expeditionary Force, and was killed in action at St. Julien, 21 Oct. 1914. He m. at St. Michael’s Church, Stonebridge Park, Willesden, 22 Feb. 1914, Emily Annie (106, Goldhurst Terrace, South Hampstead), eldest dau. of David Harper, of 31, Winchelsea Road, Harlesden, N.; s.p.
POWELL, HAROLD OSBORNE, 2nd Lieut., 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, only s. of Hubert John Powell, of Hill Lodge, Lewes, Land Agent, by his wife, Mabel, dau. of Charles Francis Trower, Barrister-at-Law; b. Lewes, co. Sussex, 20 Aug. 1888; educ. Winchester; was a Land Agent in his father’s office in Lewes; joined the Sussex Yeomanry in 1908, and the Inns of Court O.T.C. in 1912; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war, and was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. 15 Aug. 1914; gazetted as attd. to the 4th Reserve Regt. of Cavalry on the 22nd; went to France 8 Oct. 1914, and was killed in action at Messines, during the First Battle of Ypres, 31 Oct. following; unm. Buried in a cottage garden at Messines. His commanding officer at Tidworth, where he went through his training, wrote: “I considered him one of the smartest and quite the most able of the young officers here, that was the reason why I selected him as the first of his class to go to the Front. He had a charming personality and was always full of energy.” His commanding officer at the Front also wrote: “He was fighting in the town of Messines guarding a barricade at very close quarters with the enemy. I sent him with a message to the Queen’s Bays on my left, and while carrying the message he was shot by a sniper”; and the officer commanding his squadron: “I had many opportunities of seeing your son’s behaviour under fire—it was in the highest sense praiseworthy. He showed himself in this his first and only action to be a very cool and efficient officer.” At Winchester he was a member of the Commoner football XV, 1903–06, and captain of Commoner VI, 1905–06.
POWELL, JOHN, A.B., S.S. 1861, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
POWELL, RHYS CAMPBELL FFOLLIOTT, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Highland L.I., only child of Major-Gen. Charles Herbert Powell, of the Lower House, Wickham, co. Hants, C.B., Indian Army, by his wife, Alice, dau. of the late James Mackenzie, of Auchenheglish, co. Dumbarton, and grandson of Capt. Williams Wellington Powell, 9th Regt.; b. Dharamsala, Punjab, 24 July, 1892; educ. St. Clare, Walmer; Winchester College, and Trinity College, Cambridge; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Highland L.I., 3 Sept. 1912; went to France, 13 Aug. 1914, with the Expeditionary Force, and was killed in action at Verneuil, 14 Sept. 1914, during the Battle of the Aisne; unm.
POWELL, WILLIAM ARCHIE, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 3821, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
POWELL, WILLIAM JOHNSON, Stoker, Petty Officer, 284603, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
POWER, HERBERT, Capt. and Adjutant, 2nd Battn. Northamptonshire Regt., s. of the late Lieut.-Col. Frederick Edward Power (died Sept. 1915), late Northamptonshire Regt., by his wife, Ellen Matilda (7, Newsteine, Brighton), dau. of the late Charles James Barnett, of 12, Chichester Terrace, Brighton, J.P. and D.L. for Gloucestershire; b. Northampton, 14 March, 1886; educ. Victoria College, Jersey, and St. Paul’s School, London (Scholar); gazetted 2nd Lieut., Northamptonshire Regt., 24 Jan. 1906, and promoted Lieut. 1 Dec. 1908, and Capt. 15 June, 1913; appointed Adjutant, 20 Nov. 1911; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 12 March, 1915; unm. Buried just outside Neuve Chapelle. Capt. Power was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 5 April [London Gazette, 22 June], 1915.
POWER, JOYCE, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., B. 9324), 308879, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
POWNALL, GEORGE HARLEY, Lieut.-Commander, R.N., only s. of the late Frank Pownall, of 7F, Bickenhall Mansions, W., Barrister-at-Law, Registrar of the Royal College of Music, by his wife, Helen Augusta, yst. dau. of Sir William Henry Stephenson, K.C.B.; b. London, 30 Aug. 1883; educ. Evelyns, and Cheltenham College, and subsequently went to the Britannia, passing in third on the list and first out; became Midshipman 15 Sept. 1899, Sub-Lieut. 1902, Lieut. 1903, and Lieut.-Commander 1912; served in China as Midshipman, H.M.S. Terrible, under Sir Percy Scott, and on coming home took his “five firsts.” He chose the submarine branch of the service, and after serving in B.1, and having the charge of the A boats at Fort Block House and serving in C.9, he was eventually appointed to the Onyx at Plymouth and finally 1st Lieut. to the Egmont, with command of the Malta Submarine Flotilla. He was second in command of landing operations at V Beach, Gallipoli, during the landing at the Dardanelles on 25 April, 1915, and was struck while giving orders from his picket boat. He was carried on board a transport where he died in a few hours, being buried at sea. He m. at St. Paul’s, Knightsbridge, 17 Dec. 1910, Vera, dau. of Henry Chichester, of Verbeer, Cullompton, Devon.
POWRIE, THOMAS, Private, No. 2852, 17th Battn. (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of Thomas Powrie, Private, No. 9754, 4th Battn. Royal Fusiliers (now on active service in France), by his wife, Emily (58, Canal Road, Mile End, London), dau. of the late Edwin Beard; b. Mile End, London, 18 Dec. 1896; educ. Harford Street L.C.C. School there; was employed in the firm of Messrs. Remington, typewriter manufacturers, as a mechanic; enlisted after the outbreak of war, 21 Aug. 1914; went to the Front, 25 March, 1915; was in the actions at La Bassée and Neuve Chapelle, and died in No. 13 General Hospital, Boulogne, 14 Nov. 1915, of a bullet wound in the head, received at the Battle of Loos. He was buried in the Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne (Grave No. 2771).
POYNTER, JOHN JACK, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./16550, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRATLEY, ELISHA, Stoker, 1st Class, 238572, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PRATT, ALFRED MASON, Corpl., No. 3/614, New Zealand Medical Corps, s. of James Pratt, Member of the Mounted Armed Constabulary, New Zealand, formerly Sergt. in the Donegal P.W. Artillery; b. Wyndham, New Zealand, 1886; joined the Staff of No. 1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital at Wellington, 20 March, 1915, with which he went to Egypt, and after some months in Cairo, proceeded to Salonika, and was lost on H.M. Transport Ship Marquette, when that ship was torpedoed in the Ægean Sea, 23 Oct. following.
PRATT, GEORGE, Stoker, 1st Class, 287482, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRATT, GEORGE WILLIAM, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 5284), S.S. 100034, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRATT, LIONEL HENRY, 2nd Lieut,. 18th Battn. (London Irish) The London Regt. (T.F.), yst. s. of Edward Roger Pratt, of Ryston Hall, Downham, co. Norfolk, J.P., D.L., by his wife the Hon. Louisa Francis, née Mulholland, dau. of John, 1st Baron Dunleath; b. Ryston Hall aforesaid, 17 Dec. 1889; educ. Uppingham School, and on leaving there in 1904 entered Lloyd’s Bank. He joined the London Irish on the outbreak of war, and volunteered for foreign service; went to France with his regt. in March, 1915, and was killed in action at Loos, 25 Sept. 1915. On this occasion the London Irish formed part of the 47th Division, and referring to them F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French said in his Despatch of 15 Oct. 1915: “The 47th Division occupied the southern outskirts of Loos. Thence it pushed on, and by taking possession of the cemetery, the enclosures and chalk pits, succeeded in forming a strong defensive flank. This London Territorial Division acquitted itself most creditably. It was skilfully led, and the troops carried out their task with great energy and determination.” He was buried at the cross roads between the cemetery and South Maroc; unm. His Major wrote: “He was so absolutely reliable as an officer, so conscientious, so calm. If he said he had been up to the German wires, they all knew he had been—he was so absolutely fearless. His loss was a disaster to the regt.”; and the Sergt. of D Coy.: “It was D Coy.’s particular task to take the cemetery, just outside the village. We got there all right, and going on splendidly. A party of Germans commenced firing on some of the Scots following us. A sergt. sent a message for an officer to come along. Mr. Pratt immediately volunteered and walked along the top of the trench and got a bullet. When he was lying there wounded he displayed his usual great bravery, and was a wonderful example to his men. Everybody loved and esteemed him, he was the Battalion’s greatest loss in the battle. A better officer we could not have had, his work out here has been invaluable.”
PRATTEN, HERBERT, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 5720), 284931, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PREECE, FREDERICK JOHN, Private, No. 17016, 9th (Service) Battn. Worcestershire Regt., s. of George Preece, of Newland Post Office, Coleford, Glos., by his wife, Alice, dau. of John Grazier; b. 30 June, 1896; educ. at Clearwell C. Schools; was in the employ of Mr. C. T. Palmer, of Newland House, J.P.; volunteered and enlisted, 29 Aug. 1914; served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at the Dardanelles from 20 June to 10 Aug. 1915, on which date he was killed in action there; unm. He was a member of the choir at All Saints’ Church, Newland.
PRENTICE, JOSEPH, Acting Sergt., No. 7673, 2nd Battn. The Essex Regt., 4th s. of the late Charles Prentice, by his wife, Sarah, dau. of James Patient; b. Springfield, co. Essex, 19 May, 1885; educ. there; was a member of the Essex Constabulary, and later an employee at the Chelmsford Golf Club; enlisted 5 Oct. 1903; served three years with the Colours, and then joined the Reserve; rejoined his old regt. the day after war was declared, 5 Aug. 1914; went to France, 22 Aug.; served during the winter of 1914–15, and died in No. 18 General Hospital, Etaples, 29 May, 1915, of wounds received in action at Ypres on the 26th. Buried at Cainers. He was recommended for the D.C.M., for conspicuous bravery in the field, 14 March. Sergt. Prentice m. at Shelly Church, Ongar, 1910, Alice (Well Lane, Galleywood, Chelmsford), dau. of William Tarling, of Ongar, and had three children: Joseph Charles, b. 29 April, 1911; Sydney Reginald, b. 5 Feb. 1913; and Gladys Evelyn, b. 18 April, 1915.
PRESCOTT, FREDERICK JOHN, Private, No. 12628, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, 2nd s. of John Prescott, of Budleigh Hill, Allerford, co. Somerset, Game Keeper to Sir Thomas Acland; by his wife, Mary, dau. of Samuel Burgess; b. Selworthy, co. Somerset, 11 May, 1890; educ. Allerford; was a Gardener in the employ of Sir Thomas Acland, at Allerford, for five years, and then for 1½ years in the employ of Sir Ian Amory, at Tiverton; enlisted in the Coldstreams, 17 Sept. 1914; went to France 9 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at Cuinchy, on the 25th of that month; unm. Buried in the churchyard there.
PRESTON, ARTHUR JOHN DILLON, Capt., 2nd Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, only s. of Major Arthur John Preston, of Swainston, co. Meath, late Duke of Wellington’s Regt., B.A., Trin. Coll., Dublin, J.P. cos. Durham and Meath, by his wife, Gertrude Mary, dau. of Richard Knight, of Bobbing Court, co. Kent; b. Luther House, Huddersfield, 16 Nov. 1885; educ. Malvern College; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 3rd (Militia) Battn. of the Durham L.I., 5 Oct. 1904, posted to the 1st Battn. Dublin Fusiliers, 2 March, 1907, promoted Lieut. 15 Dec. 1909, and Capt. 2nd Battn. 7 June, 1914; served with the 1st Battn. in Egypt, where he joined the Mounted Infantry, winning at Cairo the Lloyd Lindsay prize. At the outbreak of the European War he was ordered to Naas and afterwards to the Curragh to raise the 6th Service Battn. of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, with which he proceeded to the Gallipoli Peninsula on 9 July. He took part in all the heavy fighting at Suvla Bay until 15 Aug. when he fell in the moment of victory. The Colonel of his battn. writing to his widow, remarked: “I am sure all Ireland will soon hear of the charge of the Dublins and Munsters on that (15th) afternoon. Your husband (Capt. Preston, second in command) was responsible for it and organised it splendidly, and in conjunction with Capt. Whyte he brilliantly led it. It was a magnificent sight considering they charged up a hill through a hail of bombs and bullets. Capt. Preston got safely on the hill (capturing the trench), but in the counter-attack was fatally wounded in the right breast. I was the last officer to speak to him, and told him how splendidly he had done. Personally, I feel his death very much. No man could have helped his colonel more than he, the success of the regt. was greatly due to him.” Capt. Whyte, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, wrote: “We closed on the Munsters, and all collected on some dead ground about 100 yards from the crest; I was sitting beside John, and he was in his usual spirits, laughing and joking. When the word came that we were to clear the ridge we fixed bayonets, then we all started together, Dublins and Munsters, John shouting ‘Come on boys.’ They (the Turks) threw bombs and opened fire upon us as we neared the top, but we went straight on and rushed the trench. The Turks put up their hands. I saw John stop his men who were just going to bayonet a Turkish officer. As you know, he was my best friend, and was loved by every one in the regt., officers, N.C.Os, and men. The only consolation is that he died a glorious death, leading his men to victory, the death I am sure he would have chosen.” Capt. Preston wrote to his wife on that fatal 15 Aug., remarking: “I have had six hours sleep and am full of buck and life.” Also to his father a five-page letter. The battle had even then commenced in the valley below. It was written under strenuous circumstances, no change of clothes for five nights, and only six hours sleep, no chance of a wash, and exposed to the heat of a tropical sun, yet his last written words were “Love to you all; I am very fit and quite happy.” He and the Adjutant, Capt. Richards, who fell at the same time, were buried side by side in the same grave close to the sea shore at Suvla Bay. A flat gravestone covers them with their names engraved upon it under the words “In Victory.” He was mentioned for gallant and distinguished service in the field by Sir Ian Hamilton in his Despatch of 11 Dec. 1915. While in Egypt he and Lieut. Crozier sailed some hundreds of miles up the White Nile from Khartoum, in a rough native boat, on which occasion they secured a fine bag of big game, including lion, buffalo, elephant, hippo, and various specimens of antelope, deer, etc. He was a keen sportsman, well known with the Kildare and Meath hounds, and a fine cricketer and tennis player, and the best shot with revolver and rifle (tied) in his battn. Capt. Preston m. at St. Mary-le-Bone Church, London, 24 March, 1914, Sylvia, dau. of Arthur James Billin, of Tadworth, co. Surrey, and had a son: John Nathaniel, b. 27 Jan. 1915.
PRESTON, GEORGE FRANCIS, Private, No. 365, 3rd Battn. 1st Infantry Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, s. of James Preston, of Milton, Hampshire (who served as a gunner in the R.G.A. for 12 years, and is one of the few survivors of Lord Roberts’ march from Kabul to Kandahar), by his wife, Florence Alexandra, dau. of the late Capt. F. Bunyer, R.H.A.; b. Harda, Central Province, India, 20 March, 1893; educ. National School, Milton; went to Australia in July, 1913, and settled at Milton, New South Wales, to learn farming; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of war, and joined the 3rd Battn. Australian Imperial Force; left for Egypt with the main force; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915; was wounded in the right arm, shortly afterwards, and was killed in action there, 7–12 Aug. 1915; unm.
PRESTON, GEORGE THOMAS, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2520), 202274, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PRESTON, THOMAS ARTHUR, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./17074, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRETT, JESSE, Stoker, Petty Officer (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2123), 165403, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRICE, ALFRED, 2nd Yeoman of Signals (R.F.R., B. 3715), 133963, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PRICE, CHARLES LEMPRIÈRE, D.S.O., Capt. and Adjutant, 2nd Battn. The Royal Scots, only child of Col. Thomas Charles Price, of 8, Inverness Gardens, Kensington, W., late R.A., by his wife, Amy Earle, dau. of Chas. Monteiro D’Almeida Lemprière, and gdson. of Col. Thomas Smith Price, H.E.I.C.S. (who received the Punjab medal with clasps for Mooltan and Googerat); b. Alderney, C.I., 17 Sept. 1877; educ. St. Paul’s School; privately, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Royal Scots, 8 Sept. 1897; and promoted Lieut. 29 June, 1899, and Capt. 3 Nov. 1903; served (1) in the South African War, 1899–1902; took part in operations in Cape Colony, south of Orange River, 1899; operations in the Orange Free State, Feb. to May, 1900; operations in the Transvaal, east of Pretoria, July to 29 Nov. 1900, including actions at Belfast (26–27 Aug.) and Lydenberg (5–8 Sept.); operations in Orange River Colony, May to 29 Nov. 1900; operations in the Transvaal, 30 Nov. 1900 to Dec. 1901, and Feb. 1902 to 31 May, 1902; operations in Orange River, Dec. 1901 to Feb. 1902; was acting Provost Marshal, Komati Poort, and afterwards Station Staff Officer (twice mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 20 Aug. and 10 Sept. 1901], Queen’s medal with three clasps, and King’s medal with two clasps; awarded D.S.O. “for gallantry in leading an attack on the Boer position at Bermondsey, East Transvaal 16 May, 1901”; and (2) with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from — Aug.; was appointed Adjutant at the Front, and was killed in action at Vailly on 16 Sept. following, during the Battle of the Aisne, while in command of the regt.; unm. A brother officer wrote: “I was present at the Battle of Mons with him and also at Le Cateau, and in the trying retreat almost as far as Paris, during the whole of which he was indefatigable, cheery, doing the work of ten men, full of resource, regardless of danger, the bravest and finest man I have ever known or wish to know; in losing him we have lost our best, a great sportsman and staunch friend. He will be mourned by the whole regt., by whom he was respected and beloved”; and Private P. Clancy, in describing his experiences during this time, said [“Dundee Advertiser”]: “We met the Germans on 23 Aug. On the 26th we were nearly annihilated at Cambray owing to the French reinforcements not coming up. About 7.30 o’clock that morning one of our airmen descended and reported that the French were advancing about 20 miles off, and would be able to reinforce us about mid-day. We waited anxiously, but 12 o’clock came and no French, and 5 o’clock and still no French. Half-an-hour later Major Butler gave the order ‘Retire, men, for God’s sake; every man for himself.’ Shells were flying thick about us, and it was an awful order to give. We got the order alright, but, with a few exceptions, it did not reach the Gordons, with disastrous results to them. So we began the never-to-be-forgotten retreat, with shells and bullets flying about everywhere. We got into Einecourt. When we got between a church and a farmhouse we came across two women and a child. Pipe-Major Duff said he would stay behind and look after them. This he did, and we saw no more of them. Our Adjutant, Capt. Price, who was one of the finest and most popular of the officers, and who was on horseback, said to us ‘Keep your heads, men. There are no marked men here. If the bullets are going to hit you they will hit you.’ The Gordons, 18th Royal Irish and 2nd Royal Scots were all together on the retreat, falling back as fast as they could. The last fight on the retreat was at St. Quentin, and then we fell back to Hams, within 24 kilometres of Paris. We blew up all the bridges and the roads as we retreated except one bridge, and upon that solitary bridge and for five miles beyond it 150 guns of the outer defences of Paris were trained. On came the massed forces of the Germans and started to cross the bridge. Out blazed the guns and the bridge was blown to bits, along with the Germans who were approaching and crossing it. Their losses were awful. But for us it was a terrible retreat, and I shall never forget it. Then came the turning movement. We were seventeen days and nights in the trenches at the Aisne without being relieved. It was a time of artillery duels. Here we lost Capt. Price, who had saved thousands of men at Cambray. He lost his life trying to save another’s. One of our N.C.O.’s was wounded and began to yell. Capt. Price was in his bomb-proof dug-out when he heard the shouting, and he called out to the man, ‘Alright man, I will be with you in a few minutes.’ Just as he got out of the trench he was hit by a bit of shell, and died a few hours afterwards. His loss was deeply regretted, because he was beloved by everybody.” At Mons, when the troops were in full retreat, men of many regts. hurrying down the road, and getting hopelessly mixed and out of hand, under heavy shell-fire, he noticed some guns on a ridge and succeeded in rallying some of his men in all that ghastly confusion, and holding the ridge for over an hour, while the guns were removed. Capt. Price was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 8 Oct. 1914, “for gallant and distinguished service in the field.” He had the Coronation medal and was Past Grand Sword Bearer of England. In a speech at the Annual Dinner of the Royal Scots, Edinburgh Association (29 March, 1902), Col. Douglas described how, during the Boer War, Capt. Price was recommended for the V.C. They attacked the Boers, said Col. Douglas, in a very strong position at Bermondsey, their flanks being protected by precipices. It was a difficult position to turn. He sent Lieut. Dalmahoy with E Coy. to the left and they were round the Boer’s right in no time. The guns were in action at 1,600 yards. But E Coy. made the Boers bolt. Major Moir and Lieut. Dalmahoy went after them. Then the Boers took up a rearguard position, and it was here that Major Moir got hit in five places. He (Col. Douglas) sent Lieut. Price with a message to the firing line. When he reached it Corpl. Paul was in command. Lieut. Dalmahoy, Private Sheddon and another man were lying wounded about 50 yards in front of the firing line, which was 400 yards from the Boers. The men had two of the small intrenching implements with them, and with these each scraped up a little earth in front of them. This was the only cover they had. Lieut. Price ran out, picked up the nearest of the three wounded men, and carried him in. He found it heavy work and called for three volunteers. Three young L.-Corpls., M’Gill, Miller and Smith, at once responded. He made them take off their equipment and coats, and did the same himself, and then unarmed and in shirt sleeves they ran out. Nevertheless, the Boers at once turned a heavy fire on them, and, in bringing in the wounded, one of the bearers was hit. Lieut. Dalmahoy was again hit in the head, and Private Sheddon was killed. Lord Kitchener promoted Corpl. Paul to Sergt. for his gallantry, and recommended Lieut. Price for the V.C., and the three young L.-Corpls. for Distinguished Conduct Medals.
PRICE, EDWARD, Stoker, Petty Officer, 307395, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PRICE, EDWARD, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3876), 188494, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PRICE, PHILIP FRANCIS, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 2434), 297773, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PRICHARD, FREDERICK GILES, Lieut., 2nd Battn. East Yorkshire Regt., 3rd s. of the Rev. Charles Collwyn Prichard, M.A., Rector of Alresford, co. Essex, by his wife, Margaret Jane, dau. of William McConnel, of Manchester, and Knockdolian, Ayrshire; b. Whalley Vicarage, co. Lancaster, 23 Aug. 1891; educ. Heswall (Miss Gore); Lindley Lodge, Nuneaton; Marlborough College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., East Yorkshire Regt., 4 March, 1911, and promoted Lieut. 13 Aug. 1914; served one year in England, and subsequently three years in India at Tezpur, Fyzabad, Kailana, and Kamptee; returned to England on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France, 15 Jan. 1915; was invalided home, suffering from frostbite, 19 Feb. following, but rejoined his regt. at the end of April; was severely wounded in the head and in six places in limbs and body as he was leading a platoon to the trenches on 3 May, within a week of his rejoining, and died in the Military Hospital, Millbank, London, S.W., 9 Aug. 1915; unm. His brother, Lieut. R. G. Prichard, was killed in action, 27 April, 1915 (see following notice).
PRICHARD, ROWLAND GEORGE, Lieut., 3rd, attd. 1st Battn. The Suffolk Regt., yst. s. of the Rev. Charles Collwyn Prichard, M.A., Rector of Alresford, co. Essex, by his wife, Margaret Jane, dau. of William McConnel, of Manchester, and Knockdolian, Ayrshire; b. Thornton-le-Moors Rectory, co. Chester, 23 Sept. 1895; educ. Lindley Lodge School (Mr. R. S. Lea, M.A.), and Hereford Cathedral School (where he was for three years in the O.T.C.), and had been accepted for matriculation at Brasenose College, Oxford, but war breaking out, obtained a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 3rd (Reserve) Battn. The Suffolk Regt., 15 Aug. 1914. He joined his regt. at Felixstowe, and was promoted Lieut. 2 Feb. 1915; went to France the same month attd. to the 1st Battn.; took part in the heavy fighting to the north of Ypres, for 11 days, and was then ordered to join the composite brigade of survivors, and was killed in action near St. Julien, 27 April following, while gallantly leading his men against some German trenches. Buried near St. Julien, in the rear of the trenches along the Zonnebeke-Ypres Road. When Sir H. Smith-Dorrien inspected his regt., a few weeks before his death, Lieut. Prichard was temporarily in command of a company, and his men were highly commended. His brother, Lieut. F. G. Prichard, died of wounds, 9 Aug. 1915 (see preceding notice).
PRICHARD, THOMAS LEWIS, Capt., 2nd Battn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 2nd s. of the Rev. Thomas Prichard, Vicar of Amlwch, Anglesey, and Rural Dean of Twrcelyn, by his wife, Jane; b. Penmachno, co. Carnarvon, 1 Oct. 1881; educ. Friar’s, Bangor; and Trent College, Nottingham; was made an Hon. Lieut. in the Army, 18 Oct. 1900; gazetted Lieut., 3rd Battn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 23 Feb. 1901; served in the South African War, 1901–02, taking part in the operations in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, Oct. 1901 to 31 May, 1902, and received the Queen’s medal with four clasps. After his return he joined the Reserve of Officers, and in 1907 became an Inspector under the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, but on the outbreak of war rejoined his old regt.; was gazetted Capt., 2nd Battn., 9 Sept. 1914; went to France, 12 Aug. 1914, and died at the Allied Forces Base Hospital, Boulogne, 9 Nov. following, of wounds received in action on 27 Oct. Buried in Boulogne Cemetery. Capt. Prichard m. at the Parish Church, Waltham St. Lawrence, co. Berks, 26 Aug. 1908, Dorothy (Cae Synamon, co. Carnarvon), elder dau. of Leopold McKenna, of Honeys, Twyford, co. Berks, and niece of the Right Hon. Reginald McKenna, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and had two children: Leopold Owen, b. 22 July, 1912; and Cicely Gwladys, b. 18 May, 1909.
PRIDMORE, GEORGE WILLIAM, Sergt., No. 7017, 1st Battn. Northamptonshire Regt., eldest s. of John Pridmore, of Montreal, Canada, by his wife, Sarah, dau. of George Mason; b. Gretten, co. Rutland, 14 May, 1885; educ. there; enlisted in the Duke of Cornwall’s L.I. in 1901; served with them in the South African War for one year; transferred into the Northamptonshire Regt. in 1903, and after being with the Colours for six years, passed into the Reserve, and became a Warder at H.M. Prison, Hedon Road, Hull. He was called up on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France, 1 Nov., and was killed in action at La Bassée 22 Dec. following, while endeavouring to save the life of his officer. Buried there. He was mentioned in Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June], 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field. Sergt. Pridmore was one of the East Hull Fanciers, showing pigeons and cavies. He m. at the Baptist Church, Hull, 26 Aug. 1911, Mabel (Grindell Street, Hedon Road, Hull), dau. of John Priestman, of Hull, and had two daus.: Miriam May, b. 13 Jan. 1913; and Florence Edna, b. 22 July, 1914. His three brothers are now (1916) all on active service; one in the Scottish Rifles, one in the Border Regt., and another with the Canadian Contingent.
PRIMMER, GEORGE WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./15993, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRIMO, JOHN JAMES, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8281), 293992, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRING, WILLIAM HENRY, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 5035, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
PRINGLE, LEONEL GRAHAM, M.V.O., Capt., 1st Battn. Highland L.I., 4th s. of the late Commander James Thomas Pringle, of Torwoodlee, co. Selkirk, R.N., D.L., J.P., by his wife, Ann Parminter (Southdean, Colinton Road, Edinburgh), only child of the late Col. Black, 53rd Regt.; b. Ilkley, co. York, 27 April, 1880; educ. Vitzthum Gymnasium, Dresden; Sunningdale School; Radley College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Highland L.I., 12 Aug. 1899, and promoted Lieut. 1 Aug. 1900, and Capt. 24 June, 1908; joined the 2nd Battn. Highland L.I. in Oct. 1899, and transferred to the 1st Battn. on receiving his captaincy; left India for France 22 Aug. 1914, but stopped to guard the Suez Canal, arrived in France 4 Dec., was seriously wounded in action at Givenchy on the 19th of that month, and died a prisoner of war in Lazaret 111, St. Sauveur, Lille, 29 Dec. following; unm. Buried with military honours in the Southern Cemetery. Lille. Capt. Pringle had qualified as an interpreter, and was awarded the M.V.O. (5th Class) in 1903.
PRIOR, JAMES, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./10711, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRISMALL, ARTHUR, Capt., 13th Battn. (Princess Louise’s Kensington) The London Regt. (T.F.); b. 3 Jan. 1862; educ. privately; was for over 30 years with the banking firm of Glyn, Mills, Currie & Co.; joined the 4th Middlesex R.V.C. (West London Rifles) in 1881, receiving a commission in 1897; retired in 1905, but on the formation of the Territorial Force in 1907, rejoined, and was gazetted Capt. 10 Dec. 1907; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France with his Battn. in Nov., and was killed in action during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 14 March, 1915. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May, 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field. He m. in 1890, Sarah Russell Thomson (65, Loxley Road, Wandsworth Common), and had two sons and one dau.
PROCTER, CECIL, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3377), S.S. 101179, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PROCTER, MIDGLEY, A.B., (R.F.R., B. 3906), 163930, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PROCTER, THOMAS, A.B., 224748, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRODRICK, ALFRED, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8007), S.S. 103747, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PROWSE, ARTHUR ROWLAND, A.B., J. 3470, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
PRYCE, HUGH BEAUCLERK MOSTYN, Capt., 4th Battn. Rifle Brigade, only s. of Edward Stisted Mostyn Pryce, of Gunley Hall, Chirbury, co. Salop, J.P., Montgomeryshire, by his wife, Henrietta Mary, yst. dau. of Charles William Beauclerk, of Winchfield House, Hants, D.L., and granddau. of the Right Hon. and Rev. Lord Frederick Beauclerk [4th s. of Aubrey, 5th Duke of St Albans]; b. at Belmont, near Christchurch, Newport, co. Monmouth, 26 Oct. 1881; educ. Eton, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. unattd. List, 8 Jan. 1901, and posted to the Rifle Brigade, 9 March following; promoted Lieut. 12 April, 1904, and Capt. 18 Jan. 1911; served in the South African War, 1902; took part in the operations in the Transvaal, from Jan. to 31 May, 1902, and in those in the Orange River Colony and Cape Colony, Jan. 1902 (Queen’s medal with four clasps); and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 26 Jan. to 19 March, 1915, on which latter date he died at No. 2 Casualty Clearing Station, Bailleul, of wounds received in action on the 16th during the Battle of St. Eloi. He was shot by a German sniper after gallantly storming the trenches there. Buried in the Cemetery of Bailleul; unm. Capt. Pryce was a good rider to hounds and a keen shot, and very popular in his regt. At Eton he was known as cox. of the Thetis and Prince of Wales boats on the river.
PRYKE, EDGAR, E.R.A., 1st Class, 269721, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PRYOR, ROBERT SELWYN, Lieut., 3rd, attd. 1st, Battn. King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt., eldest s. of Selwyn Robert Pryor, of 19, Park Crescent, London, W., Merchant, in the firm of Messrs. Cotesworth & Powell, of 148, Leadenhall Street, E.C., by his wife, Margaret, dau. of Charles Lloyd Norman, of Bromley Common, Kent; b. 13, Devonshire Street, Portland Place, London, W., 25 Oct. 1895; educ. 13, Somerset Street, London, W. (Mr. Egerton); Northaw Place, Potter’s Bar (Rev. F. J. Hall); Eton, where he was in the O.T.C., and Trinity College, Cambridge, and on the outbreak of war was given a commission as 2nd Lieut., King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt., 15 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 2 Feb. 1915; went to France, 4 Dec. 1914, and was killed in action at St. Julien, near Ypres, 1 May following, by a sniper; unm. Buried there.
PUCKLE, CHARLES EDWARD MURRAY, 2nd Lieut., 11th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, eldest s. of Charles Murray Puckle, of Upton Grey, Toorak, Melbourne, Australia, Pastoralist, by his wife, Caroline Amelia, dau. of the late Charles Shuter, Police Magistrate, La Cote, Greendale, Victoria; b. St. Kilda, near Melbourne, 19 Feb. 1887; educ. Melbourne Grammar School; and was a Pastoralist in West Australia. On the outbreak of the European War in Aug. 1914 he at once volunteered and enlisted in the 1st Australian Division as a Private, leaving for Egypt in Oct. After five months there and in Lemnos, he took part in the memorable landing at Anzac Cove, 25 April, 1915. He was promoted 2nd Lieut. on the field in July, and was killed in action on the night of 31 July, 1915, leading an attack on the Turkish trenches. His Col. wrote: “By the dash and gallantry of this storming party the position was won, although not without many casualties, and Lieut. Puckle was unfortunately killed while bravely leading his men across the fireswept zone. I extremely regret the loss to the Battn. of such an efficient and promising young officer. He was universally respected and popular with all ranks, and his loss is keenly felt by all of us.” Lieut. Puckle was mentioned in Despatches by Sir Ian Hamilton. He was unm.
PUGH, WILLIAM JAMES THOMAS, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./13366, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
PULLEN, ALFRED JAMES, Plumber’s Mate, M. 6553, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PULLEN, GUY HARPER, 2nd Lieut. Royal Horse Guards, The Blues, 2nd s. of Hugh Charles George Pullen, of Messrs. Davidson, Pullen & Co., Rua de Quitanda, 145, Rio de Janeiro, Merchant, and gdson. of the late Capt. T. C. Pullen, R.N.; b. Rio de Janeiro, 26 Feb. 1889; educ. Bedford Grammar School, and St. Francis Xavier’s College, Bruges; was afterwards engaged in business in the city of San Paulo, Estado de San Paulo, Brazil, being well known in the business circles of both Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo as a thorough sportsman, and a member of the big clubs of both cities. On the outbreak of war he came over from Rio to join the Army, and obtained a commission in the Royal Horse Guards, 10 Nov. 1914. He served with his regt. in France and Flanders, and was killed in action at the Second Battle of Ypres, in the charge of the Royal Blues, at Verlorenhoken, 13 May, 1915; unm.
PULLEN, PERCY LESLIE, 1st Class Stoker, K. 13489 (Ports.), R.N., 5th s. of James Pullen, of Bowley Farm, Farm Carter, by his wife, Charlotte; b. Kirdford, co. Sussex, 10 Feb. 1894; educ. North Mundham, near Chichester; joined the Navy 19 Dec. 1912, and was lost on H.M.S. Cressy when that ship was sunk in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914; unm.
PULLINGER, GEORGE, Private, R.M.L.I., Po. 15500, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PULSFORD, FREDERICK THOMAS GEORGE, Rifleman. No. 2338, 12th Battn. (The Rangers) The London Regt. (T.F.), only s. of Frederick Luke Pulsford, of 10, Tradescant Road, South Lambeth Road, S.W., by his wife, Blanche Bertha, dau. of George Hawke; b. London, 26 June, 1897; educ. Westminster City School; volunteered and joined the Rangers after the outbreak of war, 8 Sept. 1914; went to France, 9 March, 1915, and was killed in action at Zonnebeke, 21 April, 1915. Buried at the back of the trenches there. 2nd Lieut. H. H. Bentley wrote: “On 21 April your son and his friend Elvin were in a dug-out at Zonnebeke tending to the pressing wants of a comrade who was dreadfully wounded. As they busied themselves with him, a German shrapnel fell into the dug-out and burst. The violence of the explosion and the deadly hail of shrapnel bullets annihilated all the occupants of the dug-out, and The Rangers lost two fine soldiers in the painless heroic deaths of your son and his friend Elvin. It gives me great pain to have to break this sad yet heroic news to you, because he was always a great friend of mine and one who always did the utmost of his duty.”
PUMPHREY, JOHN LAURENCE, B.A., Trooper, No. 2263, Northumberland Hussars, Imperial Yeomanry, yr. s. of Joseph Pumphrey, of Hindley Hall, Stocksfield-on-Tyne, Colliery Owner, by his wife, Frances, dau. of Jonathan Priestman; b. Shotley Bridge, co. Durham, 27 April, 1891; educ. Sedbergh School and Trinity College, Oxford (graduated B.A. in 1914); volunteered and joined the Northumberland Hussars after the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to Belgium with them in the 7th Division early in Oct., and died in hospital at Ypres, on the 25th of that month, of wounds received in action during the first Battle of Ypres the previous day; unm. The Hussars were dismounted and advancing to attack when he was shot through the head. Buried in Ypres Cemetery. His Major wrote: “He was one of the best and was enormously liked by officers and men alike. He always did his bit and a bit extra.” While at Sedbergh he was head of the school, and in the O.T.C. both there and at Oxford, where he took a 3rd class in Moderates and a 3rd in Greats. He played Rugby for his College and was President of the College Athletics in 1913.
PUNCHARD, EDMUND ELGOOD, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Bedfordshire Regt. (21st Brigade, 7th Division), 2nd s. of the Rev. Elgood George Punchard, D.D., Honorary Canon of Ely, by his wife, Catherine Mary, dau. of Joseph Johnson; b. Luton, co. Beds, 21 Oct. 1890; educ. Haileybury (1902–08) and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst (1909–10); gazetted 2nd Lieut., Bedfordshire Regt., 5 Oct. 1910, and promoted Lieut., 11 June, 1912; left Southampton, 4 Oct. 1914; returned to Dover, because of submarines, 6 Oct.; left again and arrived at Zeebrugge, 7–8 Oct.; Bruges (St. Croix), marched from 4 to 8 p.m., 8 Oct.; left for Coq-sur-Mer, arriving at 2.30 p.m., bivouac at Uytkirke, 9 Oct.; left for Ostend, 5 a.m., 4 p.m. ordered back to Bruges, arriving 8 p.m., 10 Oct.; retreated to Beernem, 4 to 8 p.m., 11 Oct.; to Coolscamp, 7.30 a.m., 12 Oct.; to Roulers, 13 Oct.; to Ypres, 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., 14 Oct.; entrenched at Halte, on Menin-Ypres road, 15 Oct.; skirmish with Uhlans, at Gheluvelt, 16 Oct.; Gheluvelt, Battle of Ypres begun, 17 Oct.; left at 4.30 a.m. for Baecleare, arriving 7.30 p.m., advanced to Terhand, 18 Oct.; Terhand, retired to Gheluvelt, 19 Oct.; under heavy fire till dusk, moved out towards Baecleare, and entrenched, 20 Oct.; returned to Gheluvelt, in trenches, 21 Oct.; under heavy fire, worst at 3.30 p.m., 22 Oct.; shelled from 8 p.m., two Bedford officers killed, first Army Corps expected, 23 Oct.; fusilade, 6 a.m., seventh day of battle, third in trenches (night and day) unrelieved, 24 Oct.; reinforced by Highland L.I. and King’s Own Scottish Borderers, 25 Oct.; brigade hard pressed, retired to Hooge, 26 Oct.; advanced again towards Gheluvelt, bivouac at Kruiseck, 27 Oct.; shelled all day in trenches from 9 a.m., opposed by three German Army Corps, 28 Oct.; shelled at dawn, Yorks and Gordons retreated on Zandvorde-Gheluvelt road, trenches recovered, 29 Oct.; fight on Menin-Gheluvelt road and in the woods, 30 Oct.; trenches shelled from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m., ordered out of trenches at 4 p.m., advanced up the hill, over turnip field, by wood of Zandvorde, the ridge won, 31 Oct. He was killed in this attack, being shot at the head of his platoon; unm. The following day 300 survivors from the battn. mustered under the one officer left. Lieut. Punchard was buried at Kruiseck, near Gheluvelt. He was mentioned in Field-Marshal Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. [London Gazette, 18 Feb.] 1915 for distinguished service in the field.
PUNSHON, HAROLD FINLAY, Corpl., No. 2126, 8th Battn. Durham L.I. (T.F.), 2nd s. of Thomas Punshon, of Ashley Terrace, Chester-le-Street, co. Durham, by his wife, Agnes Kershaw, dau. of the late Richard Finlay; b. Chester-le-Street, 23 Feb. 1892; educ. Higher Grade School, Gateshead; was employed at the Priestman Colliery Office; joined the Durham L.I. Territorials in April, 1912; was in training in camp when war was declared in Aug. 1914, and volunteered for foreign service; went to France, 19 April, 1915, and was killed in action near Ypres on the 26th, being shot by a sniper; unm. Buried about half a mile S.E. of St. Julien. Capt. John Turnbull in a letter to his brother wrote: “I regret very deeply to have to inform you that your poor brother Harry was killed on Monday the 26th. I was not with him when he met his death, but saw him an hour before, when, I am sure you will be proud to know, he was doing his bit in a splendidly cool manner, under most trying circumstances. I got separated from the body of men with whom he was, but have since learned that he with two or three other N.C.Os., and a few men were cut off by a large body of Germans. Some of our chaps had to surrender, but Harry and a few others made a dash for it and got clear. He was killed soon after this, while going between trenches with ammunition.”
PUNTER, HENRY, Private, No. G. 282, 2nd Battn. Royal West Surrey Regt., s. of Frederick Punter, of Send Road, Send, near Woking; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action at Ypres, 2 Nov. 1911.
PURCHASE, FREDERICK WILLIAM, Sergt., No. 4204, 2nd Battn. The Essex Regt., s. of the late (—) Purchase; b. 20 Feb. 1876; enlisted in the Essex Regt., 8 May, 1894; served in the South African War, 1899–1902 (Queen’s medal with four clasps), and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 22 Aug. 1914 to 1 Nov. 1914, on which latter date he was killed in action. Buried at Armentières. Sergt. Purchase had the Long Service and Good Conduct medal, and was mentioned in Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 8 Oct. [London Gazette, 19 Oct.] 1914. He was also awarded the French Medaille Militaire for conspicuous bravery. He m. at St. Thomas Church, Brentwood, 25, Jan. 1913, Alice Elizabeth (32, Alfred Road, Brentwood, co. Essex), yst. dau. of Henry Matthews, of Hutton, co. Essex, and had a son, Frederick Henry, b. posthumous, 16 Nov. 1914.
PURDON, JOHN, Private, No. 11029, 2nd Battn. Scots Guards; b. Whiston, co. Lanark; enlisted 14 Sept. 1914, aged 29; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; wounded and admitted to No. 23 Field Ambulance, 8 April, 1915; discharged to duty, 14 April; killed in action 16 May following. He m. at Glasgow, 19 April, 1912, Grace. (16, Moir Street, Glasgow), dau. of (—) Suttons, and had a dau.: Grace Catherine, b. 10 Dec. 1914.
PURDY, RICHARD, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 8444), S.S. 104630, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
PURNELL, FREDERICK DAVID, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 6455), 183408, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea. 15 Oct. 1914; m.
PURSER, JOSEPH, Private, S/7043, 4th Battn. Middlesex Regt., s. of F. J. Purser, of 24, Balmore Street, Highgate; died in Chelsea Hospital, 18 Jan. 1915, of tetanus, contracted while mobilised for service.
PURVIS, LIONEL, Sergt., No. 17, F. Coy., 14th Battn. (The London Scottish) The London Regt. (T.F.), yst. s. of John Prior Purvis, of 16, The Grove, Blackheath, S.E., Surgeon, by his wife, Frances Mary, dau. of William Vaughan; b. Greenwich, S.E., 19 July, 1873; educ. Roan School there; was a Furniture Manufacturer; joined the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers, 7th Middlesex, 12 Nov. 1894; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France 14 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Messines, 1 Nov. following; unm. He won many prizes at Bisley and elsewhere, and was 7th in the King’s Prize Competition at Bisley in 1904; he was also twice a member of the winning team for the Daily Telegraph Cup.
PUTTERGILL, RICHARD, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5206), S.S. 1844, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
PUTTICK, JAMES FREDERICK, A.B., J. 8750, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
PYE, OSCAR GEORGE, Trooper, No. 3080, 1st Life Guards, 3rd s. of William Pye, of Jeskyns Court, Cobham, Gravesend, Farmer and Landowner, by his wife, Mary, dau. of the late William Miskin; b. Cuxton, Rochester, co. Kent, 12 Aug. 1892; educ. Thanet College, Margate; was a Manager of Farms at Cuxton and Cobham, but after the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, joined the 1st Life Guards, 5 Sept. following; went to France, 1 Nov. 1914; took part in the fighting during the winter of 1914–15, and was killed in action in the advance trenches near Ypres, 13 May, 1915; unm. He was buried on the battlefield about 1½ miles from Ypres, on the Ypres-Menin Road. An officer wrote: “Your son was in my troop from the time he came up from the base, and I have never known any man who was more liked and respected by all his comrades, myself included. He was always an example to everybody by his cheerfulness and the way he did his work, and the troop feel his loss very much”; and a comrade: “He was an exceedingly brave man, he never showed any sign of fear, and was always one of the first to volunteer for any dangerous or disagreeable job.”
PYE, REGINALD EBE, Rifleman, No. 3847, 1/18th Battn. (London Irish Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), 2nd s. of Ebenezer Clayton Pye, of 8, Britten Street, Chelsea, S.W., by his wife, Elizabeth Emma, dau. of William (and Elizabeth) Allsup; b. Chelsea, 8 Oct. 1896; educ. Marlborough Road L.C.C. School there; was Page to the Hon. Mr. Gathorne Hardy, of Cadogan Square, then to Dr. McConnell, of Hampstead; when 17 years old he was apprenticed to motor trade, and got his licence for driving the Saturday before war broke out; joined the London Irish Rifles in March, 1914; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in the Aug. following; went to France, 1 Sept. 1915, and was killed in action during the Battle of Loos, 25 Sept. 1915.
PYEFINCH, LEONARD THOMAS, Private, No. 7861, 1st Battn. East Kent Regt. (The Buffs); served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action, 20 Oct. 1914.
PYMAN, JAMES, Capt., 3rd Battn. The Border Regt., attd. 2nd Battn. King’s Own Yorkshire L.I., yr. s. of the late James Pyman, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, Shipowner, by his wife, Emily, dau. of the late John Sutcliffe, of Stallingbro’ Manor, Lincoln; b. Newcastle-on-Tyne, 12 Aug. 1883; educ. Mill Hill and Hamelin, near Hanover; gazetted Lieut. 3rd (Militia) Borderers, 20 May, 1903, and Capt., 19 May, 1906; later joined the Reserve of Officers, but on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, rejoined his regt.; went to France, 14 Oct. 1914, attd. to the 2nd Battn. King’s Own Yorkshire L.I., and was killed in action near Hooge, 18 Nov. following, by a high-explosive shell; unm.
QUEGAN, JOHN, Private, No. 2009, 11th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, 2nd s. of William Quegan, of Kinnitty, King’s County, Labourer, by his wife, Mary, dau. of Terence Higgins; b. Kinnitty aforesaid, 20 Oct. 1890; educ. Kinnitty National School; went to Australia in April, 1912, and worked on the Trans-Australian Railway; volunteered after the outbreak of war and joined the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force in Dec. and died on board H.M. hospital ship Sicilia, 6 Aug. 1915, from wounds received in action at Lone Pine, Gallipoli; unm.
QUICK, ROBERT GEORGE, Private, No. 2197, 4th Battn. (Royal Fusiliers) The London Regt. (T.F.), only s. of Robert Ernest Quick, L.-Corpl. No. 20592, Oxford and Bucks L.I., by his wife, Leonora (5, Stirling Road, Higham Hill, Walthamstow), dau. of George Bush; b. Higham Hill, Walthamstow, 30 Aug. 1896; educ. Higham Hill Council and the Higher Elementary (Scholar) Schools, there; was an apprentice to the wood machining; volunteered and joined the 4th City of London Royal Fusiliers, 10 Aug. 1914; sailed for Malta, 4 Sept. following; went to France from there early in 1915, and was killed in action at Ypres, 27 April, 1915; unm. Sergt.-Major Birch wrote speaking highly of him.
QUIGLEY, HUGH DOMINIC, S.B.A., M. 5012, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
QUIN, JAMES EDWARD, Private, No. 24640, 13th Battn. (5th Royal Highlanders of Canada), Canadian Expeditionary Force, elder s. of James Quin, of Corbally House, Limerick, J.P., Merchant, head of the firm of John Quin & Co., of Limerick, by his wife, Marian Frances, dau. of Nicholas James Lalor, of 33, FitzWilliam Place, Dublin, J.P.; b. 70, George Street, Limerick, 24 Nov. 1888; educ. Stonyhurst College and Louvain University (where he obtained his degree “faculté de droit”), and went to Canada in April, 1912; was a Salesman with Lindsay & Co., Montreal. On the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, he immediately proceeded to Valcartier, and joined the 5th Royal Highlanders of Canada; came over with the first contingent in Oct. 1914; trained on Salisbury Plain, and went to the Front in Feb. 1915. He was reported missing after the Second Battle of Ypres, 22 April, 1915, when his battn. defended the cross-roads at Ypres, refusing to surrender, in spite of nearly all their number being killed, badly wounded, or taken prisoners, and he is now officially stated to have been killed in this action; unm. A comrade wrote: “I don’t think I ever met a more good-natured, generous hearted and unselfish fellow.... No words of mine would fit tribute to his memory.... I know he was thought a lot of by his superiors”; and another: “He was always given the most dangerous tasks to perform, and to my knowledge he always performed them ably and well.”
QUIN, SIDNEY JOHN, 2nd Writer, 347163, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
QUIN, THOMAS, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 5827), S.S. 100714, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
QUINN, HENRY, Private No. 2013, 9th Battn. Durham L.I. (T.F.), s. of the late Charles Quinn, by his wife, (—) (45, Renforth Street, Dunston), dau. of (—); b. Teams, 27 Aug. 1893; educ. St. Philip’s R.C. School, Dunston; enlisted July, 1914; went to France, April, 1915, and was killed in action, 5 July, following; unm.
QUINN, JAMES, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8259), 293970, R.N., s. of Michael Quinn, Sugar Boiler in McFies, Liverpool; b. Liverpool, 10 April, 1878; educ. St. Joseph’s School, Liverpool; served 12 years in the Royal Navy, including the operations in China at the time of the Boxer rebellion, and lost his life in H.M.S. Cressy, when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. He was well known as the sailor “Handcuff King,” being a popular exponent of the trick of freeing himself from handcuffs and leg irons; he on several occasions demonstrated before Dover audiences, jumping from the Prince of Wales Pier Head while manacled at the wrists and legs, and in a few seconds coming to the surface entirely free from all encumbrances. He was a bearer at King Edward’s Funeral and received a memorial medal from King George V. He m. at Liverpool, 5 June, 1905, Mary Ellen (36 Boundary Street East, Liverpool, N.), dau. of Arthur Quinn, and had two sons: Arthur William, b. 21 Jan. 1909 (d. young); and James, b. 14 Jan. 1914.
QUINN, JAMES, Private, No. 1726, 3rd Battn. Durham L.I., s. of Joseph Quinn, of Sunderland, by his wife, Jane, dau. of Carry Plunkett; b. Ryhope, co. Durham, 1885; educ. Ryhope Elementary School; enlisted in the D.L.I. about 1903; served eight years with the Colours and then joined the Reserve; mobilised 4 Aug. 1914; went to France in Oct., and was killed in action by a hand grenade, 4 June, 1915, while on guard at Ypres. He m. at St. Patrick’s Church, Sunderland, 5 Feb. 1908, Elizabeth (17, Sussex Street, Sunderland), dau. of John Cassidy, and had three children: Patrick James Cassidy, b. 16 June, 1912; Joseph Cassidy, b. 14 Dec. 1914; and Elizabeth Jane Cassidy, b. 17 Feb. 1909.
QUIRK, ROBERT, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9517), S.S. 106877, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
QUOGEN, VICTOR WILLIAM, Stoker, R.N.R., U. 1368, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
QUY, TERENCE EDWARD DANIEL, Rifleman, No. 2447, 12th Battn. (The Rangers) London Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of Daniel Arthur Quy, of 4, Formosa Street, Paddington, Grocer, by his wife, Mary Charlotte, dau. of Thomas (and Mary) Helier, of Woolwich; b. Paddington; educ. Longford House School, Margate, and the Polytechnic, Regent Street; enlisted in The Rangers on the outbreak of war, Aug. 1914; went to the Front with them in Dec., and was killed in action at Zonnebeke, 18 April, 1915; unm. Writing to his father, Capt. A. H. Arbuthnot said: “The Poly. Company went up to the trenches on the night of the 17th. and the next morning it was our duty to support by our fire a small attack that was being carried out by the battn. on our left. Your son was doing his part nobly when I deeply grieve to say, as he was firing over the parpapet, a bullet from the enemy struck him in the head. Death was instantaneous, so I am thankful to say he suffered no pain. That same night we buried him with three other comrades of his company in a little cemetery about 100 yards behind the trenches, and the spot is marked by a neat plain wooden cross.”
RACKHAM, ERNEST, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7267), 291149, H.M.S. Hogue, lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RADCLIFF, HERBERT TRAVERS, Capt., 5th (Reserve), attd. 1st, Battn. Leinster Regt., 2nd s. of the late George Edward Radcliff, of Wilmount, Kells. co. Meath, by his wife, Emma May Alexandria, dau. of John Travers Madden, of Inch House, Balbriggan; b. Kells, 11 Aug. 1882; educ. Royal School, Armagh; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Leinster Regt., 27 Oct. 1906; promoted Lieut. and Capt. 10 Feb. 1913; went to France, 6 March, 1915, attd. to 1st Battn., and was killed in action at St. Eloi, 15 March following; unm. Lieut.-Col. A. B. Prowse, commanding 1st Leinster Regt., wrote: “He was holding a trench which had a garrison of 30 men, and which was attacked by 100 Germans at, or soon after, dawn. He was killed instantaneously by a bullet which struck him in the head, and could have suffered no pain. I may add that the Germans were beaten off with a loss of 34 killed alone. During the few days he has been with us he has proved himself a brave and gallant officer, and we deplore the loss of a good comrade, and offer you a whole-hearted sympathy”; and Lieut. C. I. Mackay, of the 5th Battn.: “I was with him when he was killed. He was my company commander both here and in Passage, and, like all the men of the company, I would have done anything for him. He always thought of the men first and afterwards himself, and it was through this unselfishness he met his death. Some one said the Germans were leaving their trench to attack, and no one looked out, so he looked over and was hit. He suffered no pain whatever. He was buried on Monday night, and we have handed all his things to the Quartermaster, who will send them to you in a few weeks. I only know too well how useless it is to express sympathy, but I have taken this opportunity of expressing not only my own sympathy, but that of all the men of the company, who had grown to love him, even in the few days under his command.”
RADCLIFFE, JOHN, Private, No. 12647, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, eldest s. of Thomas Craine Radcliffe, of Roslyn Boarding House, Isle of Man, Joiner, by his wife, Mary, dau. of George Towle, of Derby; b. Ramsey, 11 June, 1893; educ. Wesleyan Day School there; was a clerk in the office of Messrs. Dickenson, Cruikshank & Co., Advocates; enlisted 15 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Cuinchy, 25 Jan. 1915; unm.
RADCLIFFE, SAMUEL, Gunner T., H.M.S. Laurel; killed in action in the Heligoland Bight, 28 Aug. 1914.
WILSON-RAE, REGINALD, Lieut., 3rd Battn. East Surrey Regt., eldest s. of William Wilson-Rae, of The Warren, Strawberry Vale, Twickenham, Landed Proprietor, by his wife, Felicia Benigna Iza, dau. of Felician Faleçki, a Baron of Poland; b. London, 12 Jan. 1891; educ. Mostyn House, Parkgate (Ches.) and Liverpool University; was attd. to the Statistical Department of the firm of Magniac Williamson & Co., Stockbrokers, London; joined the London University O.T.C. in 1913; gazetted 2nd Lieut., in the 3rd East Surrey Regt., 15 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 2 Feb. 1915; went to France, 19 Dec. 1914, and was attd. to the 1st S. Staffordshire Regt.; served with them until 22 March, when he rejoined his own regt., and was killed in action 2½ miles south of Ypres, on the 30th of that month, while leading a bombing party; unm. Buried at Voormezeele. He had been specially recommended by his commanding officer for his conduct in charge of night patrols and in the firing line. He was a fine all-round athlete, being a member of both the Vesta Rowing Club and Twickenham Football Club, and had won many prizes for rowing, cycling and shooting.
RADMALL, STUART, L.-Corpl., No. 10009, 1st, attd. 2nd Battn. Wiltshire Regt., yst. s. of John Henry Radmall, of Chingford, by his wife, Edith Anna, dau. of Josiah Griffin, of Blackheath; b. Chingford, co. Essex, 7 March, 1896; educ. Forest School, where he was in the O.T.C.; enlisted after the outbreak of war, 24 Aug. 1914; was promoted L.-Corpl., and went to France, 27 Nov. following; served in several engagements with the 1st Battn. till 27 Jan., when he was taken ill and sent to the Base Hospital at Rouen, where he remained for six weeks; on recovery joined the 2nd Battn., and was killed in action at Givenchy, 15 June, 1915; unm.
RAILSTON, SPENCER JULIAN WILFRED, Lieut., 18th King George’s Own Lancers, Indian Army, attd. 4th Dragoon Guards, 1914, yr. s. of Col. Henry Edward Railston, of Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, late Cameronians, by his wife, Magdalen, dau. of the Rev. Charles Edward Oakley, Rector of Wickwar, co. Glos., and subsequently of St. Paul’s, Covent Garden, by his wife, Lady Georgina, née Moreton, eldest dau. of Henry George Francis, 2nd Earl of Ducie; b. Hamilton, co. Lanark, 8 Jan. 1889, and was educ. at Radley College, from where he passed direct into Sandhurst at the age of 17, and passed out tenth in 1907. He won the Champion Cup for gymnastics at his Public School, and represented it in the Boxing Competition at Aldershot, and both at his Public School and at Sandhurst he was in the cricket XI. He was gazetted 2nd Lieut. unattd. Indian Army, 17 Aug. 1907, and was attd. for his first year to his father’s regt., the Cameronians. Soon after joining, while in India, he entered without any training for the Lightweight Boxing Championship of India, and won it. At the expiration of a year he was appointed to the 18th K.G.O. Lancers, and played in their polo team. He was a good big game shot and a good steeplechase rider. When riding a steeplechase at Jubbulpore, a few months before his death, his girths broke after the first fence. He managed to pull the saddle and weight cloth from under him and rode the remaining 2¼ miles bareback, carrying them on his arm, and notwithstanding the horse falling once, he finished the course. He was promoted Lieut. 17 Nov. 1909, and after going through the cavalry course at Sangor came home on a year’s leave in 1914, and played polo through the London season in Count de Madre’s team (The Tigers). He was to have become Adjutant of his regt. on the expiration of his leave, but the European War broke out, and he at once volunteered for active service, and was attd. to the 4th Dragoon Guards, with whom he went to the Front and served with them through the battle of Mons, and all subsequent actions till he was killed at Messines, Belgium, on 1 Nov. 1914. The Major-General Commanding the 1st Cavalry Division sent the following account of Lieut. Railston’s death to his father: “I am deeply grieved at the death of your gallant boy, who on every occasion of this war has so distinguished himself. He is a great loss to his regt. He lost his life by a gallant act. His regt. was holding one-half of the village of Messines, south of Ypres, and the Germans the other half for 24 hours. In front of his troop a poor woman was lying wounded, and your boy left his cover to bring her in. He was struck by many bullets and killed. Had he lived he would certainly have been mentioned in despatches.” Another officer wrote: “His loss will be felt by the whole Cavalry Brigade, as he has been simply splendid through all these trying times, always cheery, and full of go, and ready to take on anything. Surely when the war is over, there will be no more gallant act than that to write of, and we are all so proud of him.” A memorial tablet was erected to his memory in Tortworth Parish Church. Gloucestershire.
RAILTON, ARTHUR TEMPLE, Lieut., 1/4th (Ross Highland) Battn. Seaforth Highlanders (T.F.), elder s. of Joseph Arthur Railton, of Woodburn, Buxton, by his wife, Alice Temple, dau. of James Mawson; b. 29 Nov. 1890; educ. Denstone College, Oundle School, and Glasgow University (where he obtained his B.Sc. degree in naval architecture, and served five years in the O.T.C.); volunteered on the outbreak of war and was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 4th Seaforth Highlanders, 2 Sept. 1914; went to the Front 5 Nov following, his Battn. being attd. to the Meerut, and then to the Lahore, Indian Division, with which latter he served through the Battle of Neuve Chapelle; was wounded in the attack at Aubers Ridge, France, 9 May, 1915, and killed by a shell a few hours later while lying helpless near the German trenches. Buried in the orchard at Vieille Chapelle, between two of his brother officers; unm. His commanding officer wrote; “He was as brave and gallant as anyone who has ever worn a uniform, and he simply did not know what fear was.... Had he been spared he would have gone very far in his profession as a soldier. He fell, as I am sure he wished, at the head of his men, who may and probably did equal him in bravery and gallantry, but who could not possibly surpass him in either.” His promotion to the rank of temporary Lieut. to rank as from 1 Nov. 1914, was announced the day before he fell.
RAINBIRD, JOHN, Private, No. 6365, 2nd Battn. Royal Irish Rifles, s. of John Rainbird, of 9, Ravensdon Street, Kennington; b. Fulham, 15 Jan. 1883; educ. North End Road Board School there; enlisted 11 June, 1901, served seven years with the Colours and then passed into the Reserve; was called up on mobilisation 5 Aug. 1914; went to France, 14 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action near Kemmel, 2 May, 1915. Buried at Dickebusch. He m. at St. Pancras, 6 April, 1910, Clara Frances (37, College Place, Camden Town, N.), dau. of William Gibaud, and had two children: Hilda Kathleen, b. 26 July, 1911, d. 18 April, 1914; and Edith Pansy, b. 31 Oct. 1912.
RAINES, CHARLES FREDERICK, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4733), 296016, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
RAINHAM, JOHN THOMAS, Trooper, No. 9/747, 5th Otago Mounted Rifles, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, yst. s. of Henry Rainham, of Otago, Central N.Z., Miner; b. Otago, N.Z., 24 Jan. 1871; was employed by the Dunedin Drainage Board as a licensed Drainer; was a member of the Dunedin City Guards, serving with them till they disbanded; volunteered and joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 22 Oct. 1914; left for Egypt with the second reinforcements, and was killed in action at the Dardanelles, 27 Aug. 1915. He m. at Roxburgh 13 June, 1892, Mary, dau. of Patrick (and Margaret) Galvin, and had two sons; John, b. 18 Sept. 1893; and William, b. 8 Sept. 1894, who both volunteered for Imperial service. The elder was severely wounded at Anzac Cove, and the younger met with an accident while in camp which prevented his accompanying his battn. to the Front.
RALEIGH, GEORGE HEBDEN, Brevet Major, 1st Battn. Essex Regt., and Commander, 4th Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, yr. s. of William Thorp Raleigh, of Goronga, Pakenham Upper, Victoria, by his wife, Matilda Jane, dau. of George Hebden; b. Melbourne, Australia, 30 June, 1878; educ. C.E. Grammar School, Geelong, and Melbourne University; and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 15 Nov. 1899, and promoted Lieut. 11 March, 1900, Capt. 8 Jan. 1908, and Brevet Major 22 June, 1914. He served in the South African War, 1899–1902; took part in the operations in Cape Colony, south of Orange River, 1899–1900, including actions at Colesberg (1–29 Jan.); the advance on, and relief of, Kimberley; in the operations in the Orange Free State, including operations at Paardeberg (17–26 Feb.); actions at Poplar Grove, Dreifontein, where he was dangerously wounded; Vet River (5–6 May) and Zand River; operations in the Transvaal in May and June, 1900, including actions near Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Diamond Hill (11 and 12 June); operations in the Transvaal, east of Pretoria, including actions at Frederickstad (17–25 Oct.); operations in the Transvaal and Cape Colony, 30 Nov. 1900, 31 May, 1902; during which actions he was with the Mounted Infantry, and received the Queen’s medal with six clasps and the King’s medal with two clasps. He then served with his regt. in India, Burma and Baluchistan for about eight years. On his return to England he did duty at Warley with the 3rd Essex Regt. (the old Essex Rifles Militia), where he gave great attention to flying, and was attd. to the Air Battn. R.E., 10 April-12 May, 1912, at Farnborough, and later was appointed to command the 4th Aeroplane Squadron at Durrington on Salisbury Plain. He went to the Front about 13 Aug. 1914; carried out air work at Mons, the Marne, the Aisne and Ypres, and was killed at Dunkirk, 20 Jan. 1915, by the falling of his aeroplane, after his return from a raid on Ostend on the night of the 19th; unm. Buried in Dunkirk Cemetery. While on Salisbury Plain Major Raleigh flew from there, in two stages, to France, and many of his flights were exceptional both for speed and altitude. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 8 Oct. [London Gazette, 19 Oct.], 1914, and again after his death in that of 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June], 1915.
RALPH, CHARLES WILLIAM, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 7430), S.S. 102654, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RALPH, FREDERICK GEORGE, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4812), 296311, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
RAMBERG, KARL ANDRES, A.B., J. 14096, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
RAMSAY, ALEXANDER, Lieut., 5th Battn. Royal Fusiliers, attd. 1st Battn. Royal Warwickshire Regt., elder s. of the Rev. Alexander Ramsay, B.D., Minister of the Highgate Presbyterian Church, London, N., by his wife, Ella Euphemia Barbara, dau. of the Rev. William Clark, of Barshead; b. Coatbridge, co. Lanark, 9 Aug. 1887; educ. City of London School, and Caius College, Cambridge, and on leaving there entered the Board of Education as a Junior Examiner; gazetted 2nd Lieut. in the Reserve of Officers, 10 June, 1912, promoted Lieut. 25 March, 1915; was attd. to the 5th Royal Fusiliers on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France with the 1st Warwickshires, 21 Oct.; served in the trenches at Houplines, St. Yvon and Messines, and died a prisoner of war in a German Field Hospital, at Roulers, 28 April following, from wounds received in action at St. Julien, on the 25th, during the Second Battle of Ypres. Buried at Roulers. His Col. wrote: “He died gallantly leading his men against the German trenches on 25 April. He had done many gallant deeds since he has been with us, and we have all learnt his value as a man and as an officer”; and his Capt., who was wounded in the same engagement: “I had the luck to have him as one of my subalterns, and got to know him intimately since 1 Feb. I liked him immensely, and so did everyone else in the Battn. There was no one who looked after his men or got to know them like he did. I did not see him killed, but I feel sure he died a gallant death, leading his men in the attack in which we all suffered so.” A fellow officer, now (1916) on Headquarters Staff, also wrote: “Ramsay came to me when he first joined the Royal Warwicks, my regt., and I have no words to express the admiration I have always felt for him. He has been splendid out here, and I know all my men loved him, and we are all feeling his death as a personal loss. When I left my regt. and came to the Brigade Staff he asked me to write to you if anything happened, and that is how I know your address. He was thought highly of by everyone, and I know that his name has already gone forward in the honours list made up by the General some weeks ago.” While at Cambridge he took a double first (classics and history), was President of the Union, and obtained the Winchester Reading Prize.
RAMSAY, LEWIS NEIL GRIFFITT, M.A., B.Sc., 2nd Lieut., 3rd (Special Reserve), attd. 2nd Battn. Gordon Highlanders, 2nd s. of Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, of 41, Braid Avenue, Edinburgh, formerly Professor of Humanity in Aberdeen University, Professor of Classical Archæology in Oxford, Victoria Gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society, Medallist of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and one of the original Fellows of the British Academy, by his wife, Agnes Dick, 2nd dau. of the Rev. William Marshall, of Kirkintilloch; b. Aberdeen, 3 Feb. 1890; educ. Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh; Aberdeen University; Christ’s College, Cambridge, and the Imperial College of Science. He graduated M.A. at Aberdeen in 1910 and B.Sc. in 1913, with special distinction in Botany, and was about to submit a piece of research work for his Cambridge B.A. During 1914 he acted as Assistant to the Professor of Natural History at Aberdeen, and shortly before the outbreak of war he had been made a Beit Memorial Fellow and had begun work at the Imperial College. He had been a keen Volunteer and Territorial, and applied for a commission on 11 Aug. 1914; rejoined his old unit, the 4th Battn. Gordon Highlanders (T.F.), as a Private early in Sept. 1914, and was at once promoted to his former rank of Colour-Sergt. In reward for his services in drilling he was (18 Nov.) given a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battn., and early in Dec. was sent to France to the 2nd Battn., then at the Front. He was killed in action on Sunday, 21 March, 1915. His Battn. had taken part in, and suffered loss at, the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, and were engaged in consolidating the position after the battle when he was shot by a sniper. He became engaged a few weeks before war began to V. Grace, dau. of the late Major Ferguson, I.M.S., and of Mrs. Ferguson, Aberdeen, and granddau. of Colonel Hunter, C.B., C.S.I. His orderly wrote: “On 21 March, about noon, I placed out in the sun a chair for him to write a letter while I was making his lunch, and about ten minutes after a man of our company was struck on the head at a low part of our trench, so Mr. Ramsay jumped up at once and went and dressed him. That was what caused his death. He knew it was a very dangerous part, but that was always his first thought, the safety of his men. So Mr. Ramsay gathered together all sandbags which were lying about, and started to put them up. It was while doing that that he was struck by a sniper. As soon as he fell I was beside him, for he was only working at about a few yards from me at the time. I got out his field dressing and bandaged him up the best I could, then I sent for the Doctor, who arrived a few minutes after; but he was beyond all aid. We made him as comfortable as possible until the end. He was unconscious the whole five hours and passed away peacefully. It was a great blow to his platoon for they thought the world of him, and myself I knew had lost a great friend and good master. He was taken away at night by the stretcher-bearers and buried in Estaires with full military honours, and laid to rest beside our dear old Col.” [Grave No. 524.] He had been a devoted student of field Zoology, and especially ornithology, from his earliest childhood, and had amassed a great amount of data regarding the ornis of Aberdeenshire. On the more technical side may be mentioned his notes on the moult of the herring-gull and on the collections made by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. He himself had travelled considerably, and had made valuable collections not only of birds but also of mammals, insects, and botanical specimens in various places, notably in Asia Minor in the summer of 1907. In addition to his work on birds, Mr. Ramsay left unfinished a “Revision of the Nereidac,” a piece of work which was expected by competent judges who knew its substance to become a classical paper on that group of marine worms. Latterly he had turned to entomology with a view to studying it from the economic side. A list of his published work appears in “British Birds,” IX, 1, 1915, p. 17 f., prepared by his friend, Lieut. A. L. Thomson, A. and S.H. He played the Highland pipes well, and was a member of the Aberdeen Pipers Society. He represented Aberdeen University for several years in long distance running and in swimming.
RAMSDEN, ARTHUR, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 6557), 186587, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RANCE, WILLIAM JOHN, Petty Officer, 201566, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RANCOMBE, MARCUS ERNEST WILLIAM, Private, No. 1593, 1/3rd Battn. Monmouthshire Regt. (T.F.), only s. of William John Rancombe, of 15, Cwm Cottages, Abertillery, co. Monmouth, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Amos Buckle, of Waddesdon, Bucks; b. Abertillery, 14 April, 1895; educ. there; joined the 3rd Monmouthshire’s Territorial Regt., 25 June, 1913, and prior to the outbreak of the war was engaged at the Six Bells Colliery. He volunteered for foreign service; went to the Front, 16 Feb. 1915; was badly wounded in action near Messines Ridge, 16 March, 1915, and died at Bailleul, on Easter Monday, 5 April following; unm. He was buried in Bailleul Cemetery. His Company Officer wrote that he was one of his most reliable and useful men, a thorough good shot, signaller and despatch rider, one who could ill be spared.
RANDALL, GEORGE EDWARD, Private, No. 2093, 14th Battn. (London Scottish) The London Regt. (T.F.), yr. s. of Charles William Randall, of Barton Bendish, Alderton Hill, Loughton, co. Essex, Merchant, by his wife, Emma, dau. of Edward Witton, of South Lopham, co. Norfolk; b. Norwich, 29 Feb. 1892; educ. Sidcup College; was engaged in his father’s business as Managing Director of Hamburg (German) branch and Director of C. W. Randall & Co., Ltd., London; joined the London Scottish, 15 June, 1914; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug., went to France 15 Sept. with the first batch of Territorials to leave for the Front, and was killed in action at Messines, 1 Nov. following, during the famous charge of the London Scottish; unm. Buried there. A window was erected to his memory in Woodford Parish Church.
RANDALL, WILLIAM ARTHUR, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 6831, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RANDELL, CHARLES WESTLEY, Petty Officer, 1st Class, 196243, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RANDLE, DONALD, Rifleman, No. 2916, 21st Battn. (1st Surry Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), yst. s. of the late George Beavis Randle, W.G., Manufacturers’ Agent, by his wife, Sarah (Shandwick, Hazelwood Lane, Palmer’s Green, N.), dau. of the late John Mitchell, of Dorking, Norfolk; b. Wood Green, 13 March, 1894; educ. there; was a Clerk with Messrs. Kirwan & Co., Hatton Garden; volunteered after the outbreak of war, and joined the Surrey Rifles in Sept. 1914; went to France, 15 March, 1915, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 25 May following; unm. Four of his brothers are on active service; the eldest an officer in A.S.C., another in R.F.C., and two in Royal Bucks Hussars.
RANGECROFT, WILLIAM EDWARD, Acting Chief Stoker, 283745, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
RANDS, WILLIAM FREDERICK, Rifleman, No. 3057, 1/16th Battn. (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), only s. of William Rands, of 108, Florence Road, Wimbledon; b. Battersea, 12 Feb. 1892; educ. Queen’s Road School, Wimbledon, and on leaving there in 1906 entered the shipping firm of Messrs. McEwan & Co., of 97, Cannon Street, E.C., in whose employ he was when war broke out in Aug. 1914; volunteered and joined the Queen’s Westminsters, 4 Sept. 1914; went to France with the first draft; was wounded in action at Armentières 3 May following, and died two days later in No. 8 Casualty Clearing Station; unm. Buried in the Bailleul Annex (Grave No. 816).
RANKEN, HARRY SHERWOOD, V.C., Capt., Royal Army Medical Corps, elder s. of the Rev. Henry Ranken, B.D., Minister of Irvine, by his wife, Helen, dau. of Mathew Morton; b. Glasgow, 3 Sept. 1883; educ. Irvine Royal Academy and Glasgow University, where he graduated M.B., Ch.B. “with commendation” in 1905, and became M.R.C.P., London, 1910; was for some time House Physician and House Surgeon, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, and Assistant Medical Officer, Brook Fever Hospital, Metropolitan Asylums Board; gazetted Lieut., R.A.M.C., 30 Jan. 1909, and promoted Capt. 30 July, 1912; transferred to Egyptian Army, Aug. 1911; Member of the Sudan Government Sleeping Sickness Commission, and in charge of the Sleeping Sickness Camp at Yei, Western Mongalla, 1911–14; came home on leave, July, 1914, and volunteered for war service, and was restored to British establishment, Aug. 1914; went to the Front, 12 Aug. 1914, attd. to the 1st King’s Royal Rifle Corps; created a Knight of the Legion of Honour by the President of the French Republic “for gallant conduct from 21 to 28 Aug. 1914,” and decorated with the Victoria Cross [London Gazette, 16 Nov. 1914] “for tending wounded in the trenches under rifle and shrapnel fire at Hautevesnes on 19 Sept. and on 20 Sept., continuing to attend to wounded after his thigh and leg had been shattered”; died of his wounds at Braisne, 25 Sept. 1914; unm. The Times History of the War, Pt. 41, p. 44, says: “It is a safe statement that no man ever won the Victoria Cross more nobly than did Capt. Harry Sherwood Ranken, R.A.M.C. Capt. Ranken was severely wounded in the leg whilst attending to his duties on the battlefield. He arrested the bleeding from this, and bound it up, and then continued to dress the wounds of his men, sacrificing his chances of salvation to their needs. When finally he permitted himself to be carried to the rear, his case had become almost desperate. He died within a short period.” Col. Northey, commanding 1st Battn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps, wrote to his parents of his personal loss and the loss the whole Battn. has sustained. Several other of his brother officers wrote in the same strain. The P.M.O. of the Egyptian Army regarded his death as a great loss to science. Sir William Leishman deplored the loss of a friend, and wrote of him as a man who thought nothing of doing three men’s work. In collaboration with Dr. H. E. Plimmer and Capt. Fry he prepared a series of “Reports on the Experimental Treatment of Trypanosomiasis.”
RANKEN, JOHN, Corpl., No. 1839, A Coy., 1/4th Battn. The Royal Scots (T.F.), 3rd s. of William Ranken, of 11, Spence Street, Edinburgh, Glass Manufacturer, surviving partner of John Ford & Co., of Edinburgh, by his wife, Pauline Catherine, elder dau. of the late William Ford, of Ferreyside, Liberton, Midlothian; b. Edinburgh, 13 March, 1881; educ. George Watson’s College there (1886–98); was apprenticed to Messrs. Belfrage & Carfrae, C.E., Edinburgh, later seeking further professional experience in the west of Scotland and in the north of England, and eventually became Director and Joint Manager of the firm of Firth, Dunlop, and Ranken, Leeds, one of the largest steel stock firms in the north of England. He joined the Queen’s Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade, Royal Scots, on 16 Nov. 1899; served with them till 6 Jan. 1904, and on the outbreak of war, rejoined his coy. on 5 Aug. 1914; went to the Dardanelles 13 June, and on 28 June brilliantly led a bombing party in a successful attack on the Turkish trenches, and for his conduct was mentioned in Gen. Ian Hamilton’s Despatch [London Gazette, 5 Nov. 1915]; wounded in this attack he might, with honour, have sought hospital shelter, but he hung on and subsequently died before reaching the Hospital Ship, 29 June, 1915; unm. The following passage occurs in “The Story of the Royal Scots” (p. 243), “Bomb-throwing played an important part in the action, and is shown by the account of Private Herbert T. Grant, of B Coy.: ‘I noticed a communication trench at right angles to the one we held, and a little further down choked with Turks, so I grabbed the bag of bombs again and went down to the place. Fortunately Corpl. Ranken (Grenade Corpl.) was there, and we threw them at the Turks as fast as I could light them. There was an explosion which sent me flying. I managed to crawl up the trench a bit, and a fellow bandaged me up.’” Buried in Gulley Beach Cemetery. As a school boy he was a keen cyclist; captained his school club, and carried off its chief awards at the sports, under the auspices of that club, held at Powderhall in 1898. He was a well-known International runner in Scottish cross-country championships; captained the first Scottish cross-country International team, and represented his country on five or six different occasions; twice won the Scottish cross-country championship, and several times ran for Scotland in the International athletic championship against Ireland in the one mile and four miles events.
RANKIN, JAMES, Officer’s Steward, 1st Class, L. 4351 (Dev.), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RANKING, JAMES GABRIEL LANCASTER, Capt., Assistant Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Indian Political Department, late Indian Army, elder surviving s. of Lieut.-Col. George Speirs Alexander Ranking, late I.M.S. now R.A.M.C., (T.F.), Administrator, 3rd Southern General Hospital, Oxford, by his wife, Elizabeth Maunsell, yr. dau. of the late John Duncan, Assistant Inspector General, Royal Irish Constabulary, Commandant of the R.I.C. Depôt, Phoenix Park, Dublin; b. Tunbridge Wells, 14 Oct. 1883; educ. Tunbridge and Aldenham Schools, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. (unattd.) Indian Army, 21 Jan. 1903; served his first year with the 2nd East Lancashire Regt.; posted to 46th Punjabis, 23 April, 1904; and promoted Lieut. 21 April, 1905, and Capt. 21 Jan. 1912; selected as probationer, Indian Political Department, 17 Dec. 1908; confirmed as Political Assistant, 5 Oct. 1911; appointed H.M. Consul at Ahwaz, and Assistant to Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, 26 April, 1914; killed in action there, near Bushire, 12 July, 1915; unm. On that day, information having been received at the Residency that a concerted attack was to be made on the Residency that night, a reconnoitring party of 26 Sepoys and 6 Sowars, under the command of Major Oliphant, 96th Infantry, and Capt. Ranking, set out to verify the report. The cavalry party under Capt. Ranking came suddenly upon a strong body of the enemy (Tangistanis) in a garden, who opened fire at close range. The horse ridden by one of the Sowars was brought down. Capt. Ranking pulled up and dismounted to extricate the Sowar who lay pinned beneath his fallen horse. This he did, but it cost him his life, as he was shot down and killed. Major Oliphant coming to his rescue was also shot dead. The bodies of the two officers were recovered on the following day and brought into Bushire, and buried in the Telegraph Cemetery at Sabzabad. The Foreign Secretary to the Government of India wrote to Lieut.-Col. Ranking: “His Excellency desires me to say that the Political Department of which he is the Head, have lost in your son a most keen and promising officer, and one who had already done much good work for the Empire in remote and isolated parts of Persia,” and Major Trevor, Resident, Persian Gulf: “Your son and I went through some stormy times together in Arabistan at the beginning of the year, and then we both came here, and found things getting very lively. In the circumstances. I got to know your son very well and felt his loss a very great deal myself. I found him a most excellent assistant, and think that in addition to your having lost a dear son, his friends have lost a good friend and gallant gentleman. The Government has lost a very valuable officer.”
RANSOM, WILLIAM GEORGE, Officers’ Steward, 1st Class, L. 2595, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RATCLIFFE, GIBSON, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 4848), 300320, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RATE, RICHARD AUSTIN, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 7516), S.S. 102766, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RATTENBURY THOMAS ERNEST, Corpl., No. 1413, 18th Battn. (London Irish Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of Thomas Charles Rattenbury, by his wife, Annie (4, Besborough Place, London, S.W.), dau. of Henry Abrams; b. Westminster, S.W., 13 Sept. 1893; educ. St. Matthews School, Westminster; was engaged as a Clerk with Pathé Frères; joined the London Irish Rifles in 1913; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; trained at St. Alban’s; went to France in March, 1915, and was killed in action during the Battle of Loos, 25 Sept. following, while gallantly advancing with his platoon to the attack on the German trenches; unm.
RAVEN, JOHN ROBERT, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3923), 184171, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
RAWLINGS, CECIL GEORGE SANDBROOK, L.-Corpl., No. 1784, 12th Battn. (The Rangers), The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of George Rawlings, of Rosemont, Salisbury, by his wife, Ida, eldest dau. of William Sandbrook, of The Mount, Market Drayton, co. Salop; b. Salisbury, co. Wilts, 11 June, 1894; educ. Salisbury School and Denstone College, where he was a member of the O.T.C.; was employed with Messrs. Story & Co., at Kensington, and later with Messrs. Waring & Gillow; joined the Rangers, Oct. 1913; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France on the following Christmas Eve, and was killed in action near Ypres, 15 Feb. 1915; unm. Capt. Arbuthnot in sending the news to his parents, wrote: “Just as it was getting light on the morning of the 15th, two platoons under Major V. Hoare were sent out to obtain information for the Brigade Gen., and to act as supports to some troops in front. It was not an easy task to move across the open in daylight, but Major Hoare’s leading was skilful, and he found the way into the shelter of a trench. When he had got about three-quarters of the men in the trench a shell burst right in the trench, and I most deeply regret to say killed Major Hoare and three men, one of those killed I grieve to say was your son. He was killed in action doing his duty. When darkness came on in the evening we buried him about 30 yards behind the trench. A Capt. of the King’s Royal Rifles read the burial service, abbreviated, by the light of an electric torch, while we stood round in a half-circle to prevent the Germans seeing the light and firing on us. I can assure you that your son’s death is a real loss to the company; he always did his work so calmly and efficiently, and at the same time he was a great favourite with the whole platoon.”
RAWLINGS, FRANK HENRY, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3848), 190362, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RAWLINGS, JOSEPH EASTOE, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 8926), S.S. 105702, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RAWLINS, CLIFFORD ARTHUR, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 9107, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RAWLINSON, CURWEN VAUGHAN, 2nd Lieut., 3rd (Reserve), attd. 1st, Battn. Dorsetshire Regt., only s. of the late Charles William Rawlinson, of Court House, Winchfleld, a Master of the Supreme Court, by his wife, Amy Vaughan (Shapley Heath, Winchfield, Hants), dau. of the late Alfred Fowler, of Down Hall, Kent; b. Kensington, 19 Aug. 1890; educ. Rugby; was reading Law with Messrs. Buck, Mellor and Norris, of 45, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, but after the outbreak of war joined the Inns of Court O.T.C. in Nov., and obtained a commission, 16 Dec. 1914. He was killed in Flanders in the front trenches at Hill 60, 21–22 May, 1915; unm.
RAWORTH, WILLIAM ALFRED, Private, No. 2414, 13th Battn. (Princess Louise’s Kensington) The London Regt. (T.F.), s. of William Raworth, R.N. (now serving in a monitor off the Belgian Coast), by his wife, Marion Helen (21, Pear Tree Cottages, James Street, Hounslow), dau. of the late Alfred French; b. Notting Hill, London, 17 Nov. 1894; educ. Spring Grove Council School, Isleworth; after the outbreak of war enlisted in the Kensingtons, 1 Sept. 1914, served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, including the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, and was shot by a sniper while leaving a dug-out for the trenches, 10 April, 1915; unm. He was buried in the churchyard at Fleurbaix.
RAY, GEORGE, Sergt., R.M.A. (R.F.R., A. 0761), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RAY, JAMES HENRY, Stoker, 2nd Class, K. 22054, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
RAYNER, CHARLES ALFRED, A.B., (R.F.R., B. 6901), S.S. 1083, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
RAYNER, FRANK, Boy, 1st Class, J. 26354 (Dev.), H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
RAYNER, WILLIAM THOMAS, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 5071), 179317, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RAYNES, ALBERT BRAINERD, 2nd Lieut., 3rd Battn. Royal Sussex Regt., attd. 2nd Battn. Royal Berkshire Regt., eldest s. of Albert Edward Raynes, of 201, Denman Street, Nottingham, by his wife, Alice Mary, dau. of the late Anthony Terzza, of Nottingham; b. New York City, U.S.A., 21 Nov. 1894; educ. High Pavement School, Nottingham, and Nottingham University College, where he was in the O.T.C., and on the outbreak of war was given a commission in the 3rd Royal Sussex Regt., 15 Aug. 1914; went to France, 5 Nov. 1914, attd. to the 2nd Royal Berkshires, and was killed in action during the bombardment preceding the attack at Neuve Chapelle, 10 March, 1915; unm. He was struck by a shell towards the end of the bombardment and wounded, and shortly afterwards was killed instantly by another shell. A brother officer wrote: “I very much enjoyed his company during the time we were together.... He died like a British officer and a gentleman.” He was very fond of music and a good amateur photographer.
RAYNOR, HERBERT, Private, No. 2805, 1st Battn. The Loyal North Lancashire Regt., s. of John Raynor, by his wife, Eliza (now wife of William Cardwell, of 13, Cowel Street), dau. of George Fish; b. Blackburn, 9 Dec. 1894; educ. St. Paul’s School there; enlisted 9 Aug. 1914; went to France, Dec. 1914, and was killed in action at Ypres, 9 May, 1915; unm.
READ, FREDERICK WILLIAM, Stoker, R.N.R., 1618U, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
READ, WILLIAM, Stoker, Petty Officer, 312525, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
READER, HENRY FRANK, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 6719), 186352, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
READING, WILLIAM ERNEST, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1389), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REARDON, GEORGE HERBERT, A.B., 236287, H.M.S. Arethusa; killed in action in the Heligoland Bight, 28 Aug. 1914.
REARDON, SAMUEL MICHAEL, Stoker, Petty Officer, 156685, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REASON, PATRICK EDWARD, 2nd Writer, 345759, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REDDOCK, SAMUEL ALLAN, Lieut., 3rd Battn. (Toronto Regt.) Canadian Expeditionary Force, s. of —— Reddock; b. Toronto, Canada, 5 April, 1885; educ. Dutferin School, and the Central Business College, Toronto; joined the 2nd Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada as a Private in 1906, and became successively Corpl., Sergt., Colour-Sergt.; volunteered for Imperial Service after the outbreak of war; came over with the first contingent, Oct. 1914; went to France, Feb. 1915; was promoted Lieut., 12 May, 1915, after the battle of St. Julien, and died in No. 7 Stationary Hospital, Boulogne, 26 May, 1915, of wounds received in action at Festubert; unm. Buried Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne.
REDHEAD, THOMAS, Stoker, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REDMAYNE, JAMES, Sergt., No. 2017, 7th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, 2nd s. of William Redmayne, of 7, Cecil Street, Barnoldswick, co. York, Farmer, by his wife, Isabella Jane, dau. of Thomas Parker; b. Kirkby Malham, near Bell Busk, co. York, 2 June, 1879; educ. Wigglesworth, near Settle, co. York; was employed with Messrs. Bateman, Wholesale Provision Merchants, of Colne, co. Lancaster, for several years, but went to Australia in Jan. 1908; settled at Kyogle, and worked at a Sawmill for Messrs. Munro & Lever; volunteered for Imperial Service on the outbreak of the European War in Aug. 1914, and joined the Australian Imperial Force in Jan. 1915; left for Egypt in April; went to the Dardanelles in the beginning of June, and died on Hospital Ship Gascon, 11 July following, of wounds received in action there; unm.
REDMOND, WILLIAM, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8209), S.S. 104015, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REDPATH, JAMES THOMAS, 2nd Lieut., 1st Battn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers, eldest s. of the late James Alexander Redpath, Northumberland Constabulary, by his wife, Hannah (now wife of Police Supt. Robert Henry Taylor, of Hexham), adopted dau. of Thomas and Hannah Mattison, of South Lodge, Blagdon, Northumberland; b. Haddon-on-the-Wall, co. Northumberland, 15 July, 1887; educ. Morpeth; enlisted in Feb. 1903; promoted Sergt. in 1906, and was given a commission, 11 Feb. 1915, in his own Battn.; served in Egypt and India, and with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, and was killed in action at Y. Beach the following day. A commanding officer wrote: “His was a promising young life cut down. He had the brains and ability to rise to anything he wished”; and a comrade: “He was one of the best and died like a soldier. Twice he was wounded, had his wounds dressed and returned to the firing line between the time of landing on Y. Beach, on 25 April and 26 April, when he was killed gallantly leading his men. He behaved most coolly and well all through.” He was for two years running the Battn. shot, and held certificates for efficiency; took a keen interest in shooting, and hunting big game. He m. at Rothbury. 19 Oct. 1906, Agnes McMillan (16, Comely Bank, Edinburgh), dau. of William Macdonald, of Edinburgh, and had two children: Alexander William, b. 4 Sept 1909; and Rosalind Constance, b. 27 Feb. 1915.
REED, ERNEST WILLIAM, Chief Stoker, 295282, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REED, JAMES McGREGOR, A.B., 233483, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REED, JOHN ARTHUR, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5263), S.S. 1916, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REED, JOSEPH JOHN, Private, No. 10903, No. 3 Coy., 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, only s. of Joseph Reed, of 30, Cleaveland Street, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, Brass Dresser, by his wife, Comfort Thurza, dau. of John Miles, of Deepfields; b. Wolverhampton, co. Stafford, 28 Oct. 1893; educ. St. Mark’s Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton; was a Grocer’s Assistant at Burges & Coulbourn’s, Team; enlisted on the outbreak of war, 8 Aug. 1914; went to France on 26 Nov. 1914, and died in No. 4 Clearing Hospital, 26 Dec. following, of wounds received in action at Givenchy, on the 21st; unm. Buried in cemetery at Lillers.
REED, OLIVER, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3790), S.S. 1028, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REED, REGINALD JOSEPH, Leading Seaman, 234667, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REED, WILLIAM ELLIS, Private, No. 8571, 1st Battn. The Bedford Regt., eldest s. of William Reed, of The Mount, Royston, co. Herts, formerly of Whaddon, by his wife, Alice, dau. of Ellis (and Jane) Smith, of Whaddon; b. Whaddon, co. Cambridge, 9 Oct. 1887; educ. National School there; enlisted 3 July, 1906; served five years in Gibraltar, Africa and Bermuda, and passed into the Reserve, 13 March, 1913; was called up on mobilisation, 5 Aug. 1914; landed in France on the 13th of that month; took part in the retreat at La Bassée, and round Ypres, also in various other engagements during the winter of 1914–15, and was killed in action near Ypres, 30 March, 1915; unm.
REEVES, GEOFFREY FREDERICK JOHN, 2nd Lieut., 3rd, attd. 2nd Battn. The Hampshire Regt., only s. of Edward John Reeves, of The Cottage, Chandler’s Ford, co. Hants, Civil Engineer, by his wife, Erica Mary, dau. of the Rev. F. Young, of South Sheen; b. St. Leonards-on-Sea, 12 Oct. 1894; educ. Victoria College, Jersey, and Jesus College, Oxford (Scholar); gazetted 2nd Lieut., 3rd Hampshires, 15 Aug. 1914; joined his regt. on the 31st, and was attd. to the 2nd Battn.; landed at the Dardanelles, 26 May, 1915, and was killed in action there, 6 June following; unm. Buried near Krithia. An officer of the 12th Royal Warwickshire Regt. wrote: “The Hampshires were fine and stuck to the trench. The position of the trench in which your son was, was in low ground so that he could not see the enemy advancing on the left; so kneeling on the parados he was directing their fire with good effect; I was passing just underneath him when he fell with a bullet through the head, death being absolutely instantaneous and just as he was in the middle of an order. It was due to officers like your son that the regt. stood firm in a very critical situation, and we also had a hand in recapturing the lost trenches.” During his last year at Victoria College he was head prefect, won the King’s Gold Medal for classics, was Colour-Sergt. of the Corps, Capt. of the shooting eight, and shot for the Oxford University during the summer term of 1914.
REGAN, EDWARD, Petty Officer, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2224), 157652, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REID, FRANCIS JACKSON, Private, No. 19765, 10th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, yst. s. of Surgeon-Gen. Sir Adam Scott Reid, of 10, Zetland House, Chenistan Gardens, Kensington, W., K.C.B. M.B., M.Ch., I.M.S. (ret.), late P.M.O. Punjab Command, by his wife, Sidney Vaughan, dau. of Sidney Vaughan Jackson, of Ballino, co. Mayo; b. Hounslow, 11 Nov. 1881; educ. Bedford Grammar School; went to Canada about 1906; and was employed on the Canadian Pacific Railroad in Ontario and Winnipeg; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of the European War in Aug. 1914, and joined the 10th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force; came over with the first contingent, went to France in Feb. 1915, and was killed in action near Ypres, on the night of 24–25 April following, while attempting (with some of the survivors of his Battn., which, with the Canadian Scottish, had charged through a wood during the night), to dig himself in; unm. Buried there. A comrade wrote telling of his death, and added how much he had been liked by the officers and men of his Battn.
REID, GEORGE, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5348), 184847, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
REID, GEORGE WHITELEY, Capt. and Adjutant, 2nd Battn. Hampshire Regt., elder s. of the late George Reid, of Oporto, Portugal, by his wife, Alice Georgina (Oporto), dau. of the late Rev. Edward Whiteley, M.A.; b. Campo Alegre, Oporto, 20 Sept. 1879; educ. Charterhouse, and Oriel College, Oxford; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 2nd Battn. Hampshire Regt., 4 Dec. 1901, and promoted Lieut., Sept. 1904, and Capt., 17 July, 1909, and appointed Adjutant, 21 March, 1912; served in the South African War (Queen’s medal with four clasps) 1902, and with the 88th Brigade, 29th Division, at the Dardanelles, 1915; landed at V Beach from the River Clyde on the night of 25 April, and took part in the subsequent capture of Sedd-el-Bahr village and Hill 141, and was killed in action during the advance on Krithia on the night of 1 May, 1915; unm.
REID, JAMES, L.-Corpl., No. 652, 1/8th Battn. The Royal Scots (T.F.), eldest s. of John Reid, of Forth View, Preston, Prestonpans (who served with the Cameron Highlanders in the Nile Expedition, 1884–5; operations in Upper Nile, 1885–6, and in the South African War, 1900–1), by his wife, Margaret, dau. of John Sutherland; b. Tranent, East Lothian, 16 July, 1894; educ. Tranent Public School; was employed as an Engineer with the Edinburgh Collieries at Bankton Colliery; joined the Royal Scots (T.F.) in March, 1911; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war, in Aug. 1914; trained at Haddington; went to France, 2 Nov. following, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 11 March, 1915; unm. Buried there, about 400 yards S.W. of Picantin. His Capt. wrote: “I many a time admired your son’s coolness and courage, and had always the utmost confidence in him. He was very keen on his duty, and let nothing come between himself and it; in fact, I can sum him up no better than by saying ‘he was a true soldier.’ He was a favourite with his comrades, and admired and much esteemed by myself and other officers of the Prestonpans Company.”
REID, ROBERT LOGAN, 2nd Lieut., Royal Engineers, 2nd s. of Robert Logan Reid, of 3, Newark Drive, Pollokshields, Glasgow, Teacher of Music, by his wife, Agnes Hood, dau. of James Pattison; b. Pollokshields, aforesaid, 21 Jan. 1890; educ. High School there, and Glasgow Royal Technical College; served his apprenticeship with Messrs. Underhill & Ritchie, Electrical Engineers, and was for some time their travelling representative, subsequently being in the employ of Messrs. Allan Arthur & Ure, as manager of their North Berwick Depôt; joined the Glasgow Territorials in Jan. 1908; served with them four years and after the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, obtained a commission in the 35th Signal Coy., Royal Engineers, 14 Oct. following; went to the Dardanelles, 3 June, 1915, unattd., and was there connected chiefly with the 29th Division, and was killed in action 8 Aug. 1915; unm. Three of his brothers are now (1916) on active service.
REID, WILLIAM BRAMICH, A.B., J. 1591, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REID, WILLIAM LEONARD, Capt., 2nd Battn. The Dorsetshire Regt., 2nd s. of the Rev. John Reid, M.A., Minister of Foulden Parish, co. Berwick, by his wife, Martha Craig, dau. of John G. Gilchrist, of San Francisco; b. Foulden, 28 May, 1889; educ. St. Mary’s School, Melrose; Celle, Hanover, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Dorsetshire Regt., 6 Nov. 1909, promoted Lieut. 4 Jan. 1912, and Capt. 23 Jan. 1915; joined his regt. in Madras, India, 5 Jan. 1910; qualified for, and obtained, an interpretership in German while home on furlough in 1912; appointed Station Staff Officer, and Cantonment magistrate at Deolali, Bombay, on his return to India, but resigned this position on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, and, rejoining his regt., went to the Persian Gulf with the Indian Expeditionary Force; took part in the fighting at the Shat-el-Arab, and the capture of Basra, subsequently being appointed German Interpreter to the Force, in which capacity he proved himself of the greatest use to the Expedition. During March, 1915, when a large body of Turks were concentrating round Basra, at his own request and that of his Col., he was permitted to leave the Indian Government Office, where he had been engaged, and return to his regt. The Turks were attacked and completely routed at Shaiba, but it was during this attack that he was wounded, 14 April, 1915, and he died the following morning; unm. Buried there. The Adjutant in describing his death wrote: “Reid was about 50 yards to my right, and I saw him directing his men very cool and collected, and about two o’clock when Cushing was mortally hit, Reid went over and attended to him. Later I had occasion to go over past him, and he asked me to send along more ammunition. About 4 p.m. the long desired artillery support began, and we started forward again. Reid was about the first to dash on with some few men. Then I saw him come back for more. I kept seeing him at intervals in the rushes till we were about 200 yards from the enemy, when we fixed bayonets. After the trench was taken I asked where he was, and was told he had been shot through the body in the last rush just before bayonets were fixed. Fortunately the regimental doctor was close up, and seeing he must be in considerable pain at once gave him some morphia. We put him in a cart with another wounded officer, and he died in the Field Hospital at Shaiba early next morning. I have been a very close friend of Reid’s for the last three years, and he makes a great gap here, though we cannot but be proud of the manner of his death. He was the most fearless man I’ve known.”
REILLY, RALPH ALEC, Lieut., 31st Punjabis, attd. 58th Vaughan’s Rifles (Frontier Force), yst. s. of Col. Bradshaw Lewis Phillips Reilly, of Oak Grange, Pangbourne, Indian Army, by his wife, Eleanor, dau. of Thomas White, of Eastry, Kent; b. Jubbulpore, Central Provinces, India, 7 Jan. 1889; educ. Bedford Grammar School; Cheltenham College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. unattd. Indian Army, 9 Sept 1908; served his first year with the Sherwood Foresters, being posted to the 31st Punjabis in Dec. 1909, and promoted Lieut. 9 Dec. 1910; was appointed Quartermaster 10 Oct. 1912; served at Fort Sandeman, and received high commendation from general officer commanding Quetta District for his services in that appointment; went to France with the Expeditionary Force, landing at Marseilles, 12 Oct. 1914, attd. to the 58th Vaughan’s Rifles, and was killed in action near La Bassée, 23 Nov. following, while attempting, with only six sepoys, to stop the attack of the 112th German Infantry Regt. Buried in Bethune Cemetery; unm. Major C. E. D. Davidson Houston, Commanding 58th Rifles, wrote: “I write on behalf of the officers of the regt. and myself to express our very great sympathy with you in the death of your son about noon on the 23rd inst. His loss will be very keenly felt by us all, for I have seldom seen a young officer so thoroughly keen and efficient and so dependable. I have had many opportunities of seeing his work as he was in my double company till I succeeded to the command on Col. Venour’s death, and I should have been only too glad to have had him with us permanently. Early on the 23rd, I heard rumours of the line away to our left being very hard pressed, so I sent up your son to the trenches with extra ammunition, and to bring back any reports he could from our officers of the exact situation. He arrived there safely, but, unfortunately, the crisis developed very rapidly, and as he was returning along the covered way a mass of Germans swept over the regt. on our left and reached the covered way. The last seen of your son alive was leading the half-dozen men he had with him against an overwhelming number of Germans—as honourable a death as is possible for a soldier”; and Major Thomson: “I would like to say how sorry we all were to have lost your son. In the short time he was with us we were able to see how good an officer he was. It will be some consolation to you to know that he died in a most plucky attempt to stop the enemy with a handful of men.”
RENDEL, REGINALD DACRES, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire L.I., yr. s. of the late Leopold Joseph Rendel, Engineer at Elswick, and English Manager of Armstrong’s Works at Potzzuoli, Italy (died 1896), by his wife, Gertrude Maria (Arverne, Crowborough, co. Sussex), dau. of the Rev. Frederick Fleming Beadon; b. Potzzuoli aforesaid, 3 May, 1896; educ. Crowborough; Summerfields, Oxford; Wellington College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Oxford and Bucks L.I., 12 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 15 Nov. following; went to France, 25 Nov., and was killed in action at Richebourg St. Vaast, 16 May, 1915; unm.
RENNIE, JOHN, Private, No. 9891, 1st Battn. Royal Scottish Fusiliers; accidentally drowned while on active service with the Expeditionary Force, 18 Aug. 1914.
RENTON, HARRY NOEL LESLIE, Lieut., 9th (Service) Battn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 2nd s. of James Henry Renton, of Aspley Guise, co. Beds, formerly of Colombo, Ceylon, F.R.C.I.; b. Colombo, Ceylon, 18 Dec. 1894; educ. The Knoll, Woburn Sands, and Harrow School, matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford, in April, 1913, and was to have entered into residence in Oct. 1914, but, on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, obtained a commission in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 23 Sept. 1914; was promoted Lieut. 13 Feb. 1915; went to France 20 May, and was killed in action near Hooge 30 July, 1915, during the capture of a German trench; unm. Buried there. Major Hennessy, of the 9th Battn., wrote: “I think you know what affection I had for your son, and the high esteem in which I held him. He was a real soldier through and through, absolutely fearless, painstaking, trustworthy, and his men loved him. He was my right hand in everything, and however difficult the task set him I could always be absolutely sure he would see it through all right”; and Capt. Young: “All through the day Noel behaved with the greatest coolness, and I do not know what we should have done without him, as there were only three of us. He never paid the slightest attention to danger, and he was tremendously pleased when I ordered the charge. Not only his own platoon but the whole company were devoted to him, and would have followed him anywhere—as they did. As you know he and I were great friends since last Sept., and there is nothing I can say except how fond we all were of him, and that he died as well as a man could.” At Harrow he was a monitor of the School, head of his house; house cricket and football captain, a member of the school cricket XI. He was a fine cricketer, and kept wicket for the School in the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s in 1914.
RENVOIZE, ALBERT JOHN, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 9562), 212151 Chatham, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REVELEY, EDWARD, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 11753, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
REVITT, ALFRED, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 111883 (Ports.), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REYNELL, CAREW, Lieut.-Col., 9th Imperial Light Horse, Australian Imperial Force, eldest s. of Walter Reynell, of Reynella, South Australia, Vineyard Proprietor, by his wife, Emily, dau. of William Bakewell, of Shirley, Payneham, South Australia, and gdson. of John Reynell, of co. Devon (in male descent from Sir Richard Reynell, temp. Henry II.), who settled in South Australia in 1838, and planted the first vineyard in that State, and great nephew of Sir Thomas Reynell, K.C.B. (who served through the Peninsula and at Waterloo); b. Reynella, near Adelaide, 16 Sept. 1883; educ. St. Peter’s College, Adelaide, and on leaving there joined his father in the management of the vineyard. He joined the 16th Australian Light Horse as a Private, and after passing through the various non-commissioned ranks was gazetted Lieut. to the 7th Light Horse. Two years later he qualified for the rank of Capt., and was posted to the 22nd Light Horse. The same year he was promoted Major, and when the European War broke out he immediately volunteered for Imperial service. He went to Egypt as second in command of the 9th Light Horse, and on the death of Lieut.-Col. Miell succeeded to the command. He was killed in action at Anzac, 28 Aug. 1915. He had led three charges, within the space of two hours, against the Turks, and it was on the occasion of the fourth charge, while encouraging his men, that he fell, shot through the heart by a bullet. General Russell, writing to General Hughes, said: “Had I had any idea that he would have taken charge of the assault himself I would not have let him go. Anyway, we have lost as fine an officer as ever came from Australia. It is the luck of war, I know, but it is very hard luck when it means losing a man like Reynell;” and the latter, in a letter to Mrs. Reynell, wrote: “His regiment was temporarily detached, and sent over to Gen. Cox to do some special work. Gen. Cox is in command of the Indian Forces, and he told off one of the 9th Regt. Squadrons to take an important trench and, as they always do, they did their work magnificently. But it is now evident that your fine husband was too keen—if such is possible—and instead of leaving the work to the Capt. of the squadron, he went out himself. Gen. Cox and none of his Staff knew of this or they would have certainly stopped him.” General Birdwood, commanding the Australian Expeditionary Force, also wrote to a relative: “Col. Reynell turned out a first-class soldier. I had hoped so much from his command, for I knew how much he would have looked after his regt., and how well they would all have followed him. Such indeed proved to be the case during his very brief command. I am sure you know how deeply I do sympathise with you about this, more especially as I had seen a good deal of Reynell since he came here, and had taken such a fancy to him, for I at once recognised in him a really good, straight, fearless soldier. I think that perhaps almost anyone but him would have been content with the trenches already taken, and would not have decided to go on further to turn the enemy out of another position, as he did, and we can only admire his fearless courage and example in leading his men on in spite of everything.” Col. Reynell was mentioned in Sir Ian Hamilton’s despatch of 26 Aug. to 22 Sept. 1915 [London Gazette, 5 Nov. 1915]. He was a fine horseman and a prominent polo player, and for three years was Master of the Adelaide Hounds. He m. at Hahndorf, South Australia, 6 May, 1910, May Mabel, dau. of Douglas John Byard, M.A., and had two children: Richard, b. 19 Jan. 1912; and Lydia, b. 9 Feb. 1911.
REYNOLDS, EMANUEL, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3251), 302684, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REYNOLDS, FRANK, E.R.A., 3rd Class, M. 1404, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
REYNOLDS, HENRY CLENDON COLLIS, Capt., 3rd, attd. 1st, Battn. Wiltshire Regt., only s. of Thomas Collis Reynolds, of 92, Cambridge Gardens, North Kensington, W.; b. London, 1883; educ. Linton House School and Bradfield College; joined the Wiltshire Regt., and became Capt. 19 May, 1906; served in the South African War, 1901 (Queen’s medal), later going with his Regt. to St. Helena, to guard the Boer prisoners; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Aug. 1914; took part in the retreat from Mons, and was killed in action during the Battle of the Aisne, 20 Sept. 1914; unm. Buried at Vailly. Capt. Reynolds had King George V.’s Coronation medal.
REYNOLDS, HERBERT JOSEPH, L.-Corpl. No. 595, 5th Battn. King’s Liverpool Regt. (T.F.), 3rd s. of Edward Lee Reynolds, of 66, Milman Road, Walton, Liverpool, by his wife, Sarah Elizabeth, 2nd dau. of Edward Davis, of Holywell; b. Tranmere, 5 July, 1890; educ. Arnot Street Council School, Liverpool; was Manager of the Star Engineering Works, Southport; joined the Territorials in 1908; volunteered for active service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to France in Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 17 July following; unm. He was buried in an orchard farm, south of Givenchy.
REYNOLDS, JOSEPH, Petty Officer, Ch. 164729, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
REYNOLDS, LOUIS VICTOR, Ordinary Telegraphist, J. 14432, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RICARD, FRANK, M.A., LL.B., Barrister-at-Law, Inner Temple, 2nd Lieut., 1st Battn. Royal Warwickshire Regt., eldest s. of Charles Ricard, of 97, Westbourne Terrace, London, W.; b. Amsterdam, 8 Jan. 1888; educ. Harrow, and King’s College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. Jan. 1913, LL.B., Nov. 1912, and was called to the Bar, Inner Temple, April, 1913; gazetted 2nd Lieut., 4th (Special Reserve) Battn. Royal Warwickshire Regt., 24 Oct. 1914, and posted to the 1st Battn. 15 March, 1915; went to France 6 March, 1915, and was killed in action near St. Julien, during the Second Battle of Ypres, 25 April, 1915; unm. He was a fine linguist, and exceptionally musical, being an excellent violin player.
RICHARDS, HUGH LIDDON, Lieut., 14th (South Otago) Regt., New Zealand Expeditionary Force, s. of the Ven. Isaac Richards, Archdeacon of Invercargill, and Vicar of St. John’s there, Graduate of Exeter College, Oxford, by his wife, Gertrude, dau. of Robert (and Emma) Oxland; b. Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand, 14 July, 1891; educ. Lawrence High School, Otago, New Zealand; joined the New Zealand Field Artillery, 1909; gazetted Lieut., 14th Infantry Regt. (N.Z.T.F.), 25 March, 1912; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; left for Egypt 16 Oct. following; took part in the repulse of the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal in Feb., and was in the landing at the Dardanelles on 25 April, 1915; and was killed in action on Pope’s Hill 4 May following; unm. Buried in Beach Cemetery, Anzac Cove, Gallipoli. An elder brother, Lieut. R. Richards, died of wounds on 23 May (see his notice).
RICHARDS, JOHN, Stoker, 1st Class, 304400, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
RICHARDS, ROBERT, Lieut., Field Artillery Brigade, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, s. of the Ven. Isaac Richards, Archdeacon of Invercargill, and Vicar of St. John’s there, Graduate of Exeter College, Oxford (see under Lieut. H. L. Richards); b. Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand, 20 July, 1886; educ. Christ’s College, Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Merchant Venturers’ College, Bristol; joined the Warwickshire Territorial Artillery Brigade, 1907; gazetted Lieut., New Zealand Field Artillery Brigade, 7 June, 1912; volunteered with it for Imperial service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; left for Egypt 16 Oct. following, took part in the landing at the Dardanelles 25 April, and died in hospital at Alexandria, 23 May, 1915, of wounds received in action at Cape Helles, Gallipoli; unm. Buried in Chatby Military Cemetery, Alexandria.
RICHARDSON, GEORGE, Private, No. 1426, 3rd Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, s. of William Richardson, of Monkwearmouth, Master Mariner (lost at sea), by his wife, Harriet, dau. of William Healia; b. Monkwearmouth, 30 May, 1875; educ. Colliery Schools there; was employed at Hylton Colliery; enlisted, 1 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action “somewhere” in France, 29 March, 1916. He m. at Sunderland, 30 Aug. 1902, Sarah Jane (5, Varna Street, Southwick-on-Wear), 1st dau. of Joseph Gray, of Sunderland, and had five children: Thomas, b. 22 May, 1906; George, b. 10 Dec. 1910; Joseph, b. 22 Feb. 1914; Catherine, b. 8 May, 1904; and Gladys, b. 25 Jan. 1916.
RICHARDSON, HENRY CHARLES, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 13853, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
RICHARDSON, HERBERT JAMES, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3881), 184244, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
RICHARDSON, JOHN WILLIAM, Private, No. 10904, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of John Richardson, of the Banks, Dunchurch; b. co. Warwick; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; died at Bethune, 11 Feb. 1915, of wounds received in action at Cuinchy the same day. Buried Bethune Town Cemetery.
RICHARDSON, JOHN THEODORE, E.R.A., 3rd Class, M. 2837, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RICHARDSON, RUSSELL, Ordinary Signalman, J. 25607, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
RICHARDSON, WALTER FAIRFAX, Capt., 2nd Battn. East Lancashire Regt., s. of Major-Gen. John Soame Richardson, C.B. (who commanded the Australian Contingent in the Sudan Campaign); b. Sydney, New South Wales, 17 Sept. 1873; educ. there; gazetted 2nd Lieut., East Lancashire Regt., from the Local Military Forces, N.S.W., 2 June, 1894; promoted Lieut. 19 Nov. 1897, and Capt. 21 Nov. 1901; was Adjutant of his Regt. from 23 Dec. 1904 to 22 Dec. 1907; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, and was killed in action at Rouge Bancs, 9 May, 1915; unm. Buried at Rouge Croix.
RICHARDSON, WILLIAM, E.R.A., 1st Class (Pensioner), No. 9651, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RICHARDSON, WILLIAM JOHN, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 69), 173718, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RICHES, ROBERT JAMES, Petty Officer, 1st Class, 173426, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
RICHES, THOMAS, Corpl., No. 2117, 5th Battn. Royal Sussex Regt. (T.F.), s. of Samuel Riches, of Waldron, Sussex, by his wife, Louisa, dau. of David Rolph, of Cambridge; b. Clerkenwell, S.E., 25 Jan. 1887; educ. Waldron, Sussex; was a Bricklayer; volunteered and enlisted, Sept. 1914; went to France, 19 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Richebourg, 9 May following; unm.
RICKARD, HENRY, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 7254), S.S. 102184, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RICKMAN, STUART HAMILTON, Major, 1st Battn. The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), s. of the late Lieut.-Col. Albert Divett Rickman, Rifle Brigade (with which he served 24 years), by his wife, Helen Burns-Fulton (now wife of Edward Dunn, of Childrey Manor, Wantage); b. Chatham, 11 May, 1872; educ. Eton; was gazetted to his father’s old regt. from the Militia on 29 Nov. 1893, became Lieut. 18 March, 1896, Capt. 27 July, 1900, and Major 16 Dec. 1911; served on the N.W. Frontier of India (Tochi medal with clasp), 1897–8, and in the South African War, 1899–1900, including the Relief of Ladysmith, the action at Colenso; operations of 17 to 24 Jan. 1900, and action at Spion Kop; operations of 5 to 7 Feb. 1900, and action at Val Kranz; operations on Tugela Heights (14 to 27 Feb. 1900), and the engagement at Pieter’s Hill; also during the operations in Natal, March to 22 April of that year (twice mentioned in despatches [London Gazette, 8 Feb. and 10 Sept. 1901], (Queen’s medal with three clasps). He was subsequently employed with the West African Frontier Force (25 May, 1907, to 23 Nov. 1908), and in India; came home on leave from the 2nd Battn. in May, 1914, and on the outbreak of war was appointed second in command of the 1st Battn., with which he went to France on 21 Aug. During the retreat from Mons he was mortally wounded in the Cambray Le Cateau action on 26 Aug. while in command of the rearguard, and died the next day and was buried at Fontaine-au-Pire; unm. Gen. ... wrote to a friend: “None saw Major Rickman dead. He was dangerously wounded gallantly commanding the rearguard of our retirement on the afternoon of 26 Aug. and he was left, of course, where he fell.... By his excellent arrangements in placing his companies, and by his quiet confident manner in command of the supports to the most dangerous and important parts of our line, he did more than anyone to enable us to maintain our positions in that part of our line. I put him first in the list of officers mentioned in my report of the battle that day”; and a Staff Officer wrote: “The Rifle Brigade did splendidly, and Major Rickman’s conduct was magnificent, but we could not expect anything else from him. We brother officers have lost a fine soldier and the regt. has sustained a terrible loss and a real friend. One consolation is he fell fighting in the ranks of the regt. he loved so well. He will live in the annals of the regt.” He was mentioned for gallant and distinguished service in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s despatches of 8 Oct. [London Gazette, 19 Oct.] 1914 and 14 Jan. [London Gazette, 17 Feb. 1915].
RIDDELL, JAMES FOSTER, Brigadier-Gen., Commanding Northumberland Infantry Brigade, late 5th Northumberland Fusiliers, only s. of the late John Riddell [5th in descent from the Rev. Archibald Riddell, 3rd s. of Sir Walter Riddell, 2nd Bart. of Riddell, co. Roxburgh], by his first wife, Jane, dau. of William Peppercorn; b. 17 Oct. 1861; educ. Wellington and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 1 July, 1881, Capt. 18 Nov. 1889, Major 10 Jan. 1900, Lieut.-Col. 15 Aug. 1904, Col. 15 Aug. 1907, substantive Col. 10 Feb. 1909, Brigadier commanding Northumberland Infantry Brigade, 3 July, 1911, and Brigadier-Gen. 5 Aug. 1914; served in the Hazara Campaign of 1888 (mentioned in despatches, medal with clasp); in the South African War, 1899–1900 and 1902, including the operations in Cape Colony, south of the Orange River, 1899–1900, and in the Orange Free State Jan. to May, 1902 (Queen’s medal with three clasps), and with the Expeditionary Force in France, 21–26 April, 1915. During the South African War he raised the 3rd Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers (which he afterwards commanded), and on the battn. being disbanded after the war, was given the command of the 2nd Battn. with whom he finished his term of command in the regt. having served with it for about 30 years. His next command was in 1911 when he was made Brigade Commander of the Northumberland Infantry Brigade. On the outbreak of war in 1914 he was one of the first colonels to be gazetted Brigadier-General. Throughout the winter of 1914–15, Gen. Riddell guarded the important part of the north-east coast behind which lay the vast military resources of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and he further prepared his Brigade for service abroad. On the night of 20–21 April he crossed with his Brigade to France, and on 26 April—not a week later—was killed in the Second Battle of Ypres. It had been intended, as are, of course, all large units at first to quarter the Northumberland Brigade at a base in France. Billets were actually taken, but on the 22nd the Germans delivered their first gas attack and the Brigade was rushed up in all haste to help to fill the great gap torn in our line. By Sunday, after a forced night march without food or rest, except the men’s emergency rations, the Brigade was in touch with the enemy. All that day and the night before, Gen. Riddell was moving about among his men where the fire was hottest, inspiring the men with his extraordinary cheerfulness and absolute coolness. Men and officers alike speak of his example of absolute fearlessness. Next day, April 26, orders were received at Brigade Headquarters that the Brigade was to attack and retake at all costs the village of St. Julien—a frontal attack over open ground swept by fire of all kinds. At about three o’clock, Gen. Riddell decided he must go forward into the firing line. His Brigade Major did all that he could to stop him, as in that officer’s words, “There was a very murderous fire going on over the ground he had to cross. But he was much too brave a man to be deterred by anything I said.” He reached his men, and wearing the marks of his rank exposed to every sniper, he stepped out before them, a stick in his hand. An eyewitness wrote: “It was only a question of time.” The bullet entered the cap close to the fatally conspicuous gilt flap, and Gen. Riddell fell, killed apparently instantaneously. Field-Marshal Sir John French afterwards addressed the Brigade (depleted within a week from leaving England of more than half its officers and men), and speaking of Gen. Riddell, said: “He fell at the head of his Brigade while leading you to attack the village of St. Julien. I deeply deplore the loss of one of the most gallant officers that ever lived and one of the best leaders.” He m. at St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington, 17 April, 1912, Margaret Christabel (Lesbury House, Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland), dau. of the late Sir Henry Hall Scott, well known in Northumberland and of Eilanreach, co. Inverness. An old brother officer, who had known Gen. Riddell all his life wrote in the “Regimental Gazette”: “Throughout his life he was a master soldier, no finer company officer ever lived or one who understood his men better ... no truer hearted or more loyal comrade ever breathed. Always a fine horseman and a very bold one, he was well known in the Cattistock country and in all the hunting fields of the Northumberland he knew and loved so well.”
RIDDLE, ERNEST ALFRED, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9548), 296897, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RIDDLE, FRANCIS EDMUND LANGTON, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire L.I., 2nd surviving s. of the Rev. Arthur Esmond Riddle, Rector of Tadmarton, Banbury, by his wife, Edith May, dau. of Major-Gen. James Don Kennedy, I.A. (ret.); b. Tadmarton Rectory, Banbury, co. Oxon, 10 June, 1893; educ. Bloxham; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Special Reserve of Officers Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire L.I., 1 Oct. 1913; received a commission in the 2nd Battn. 1 Sept. 1914; was assistant recruiting officer at Cowley Barracks, Oxford, for two months, doing useful work during that period; went to France, 25 Nov.; was continuously in and out of the trenches (save for a brief leave, 20–28 March) during the winter of 1914–15, and was killed in action at Richebourg l’Avoué during the Battle of Festubert, 16 May, 1915; unm. Buried near breastworks N. of the Rue du Bois. His former commanding officer wrote: “He gave his life—fighting gallantly—for his King and Country, and helping to add to the reputation of the regt. with all his might. They, for their part, have lost a brave, cheery gentleman, and one who, from my experience when he was under my command, found no duty too much for him, and whose one idea was to help”; and a brother subaltern: “He will be missed by his company and men more than I can say, who always relied on him and looked up to him in any emergency. The regt. will miss him as an extremely brave officer, and still more as a friend that was always willing to help.” While at school he was successful athlete, winning the Sports Championship both in 1910 and 1911.
RIDER, JOB ARTHUR, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7963), 292920, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RIDGEWAY, LEONARD PERCY, Corpl., No. 14404, 1st Battn. The Bedfordshire Regt., 4th s. of William Ridgeway, of 83, Queen’s Road, Watford, Grocer, by his wife, Millicent, dau. of J. Davis, of Watford; b. Watford, co. Hertford, 9 Aug. 1893; educ. Victoria Council Schools there; was a Butcher by trade; enlisted in the Bedfordshires after the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; trained at Dovercourt; went to France in March, 1915, and was killed in action at Hill 60, during the Second Battle of Ypres, 18 April, 1915; unm. Buried at Ypres. His brother, Rifleman R. S. Ridgeway, was killed in action 27 Feb. 1915 (see following notice).
RIDGEWAY, RALPH STANLEY, Rifleman, No. 2879, 9th Battn. (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), yst. s. of William Ridgeway, of 83, Queen’s Road, Watford, Grocer; by his wife, Millicent, dau. of J. Davis, of Watford; b. Watford, co. Hertford, 26 Feb. 1895; educ. Watford Grammar School; was a Clerk in the Accountant’s Office, Euston Station; joined Queen Victoria’s Rifles on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; trained at Crowborough, Sussex; went to France end of Oct. 1914, and was killed in action near Wulverghem, 27 Feb. 1915; unm. Buried in Wulverghem Churchyard. His brother, Corpl. L. P. Ridgeway, was killed in action at Hill 60, 18 April, 1915 (see preceding notice).
RIDGLEY, THOMAS ANGUS, Driver, No. 4/232A, No. 1 Coy., Royal Field Engineers, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, only s. of the late Thomas Ridgley, of Townsville, Queensland, M.B.C.M. (Edinburgh, 1881), by his wife, Phœbe (13, Warrender Park Crescent, Edinburgh), dau. of Angus Gregorson, of Oban, Argyleshire, Banker; b. Townsville aforesaid, 23 March, 1884; educ. George Watson’s College, Edinburgh; went to the Argentine in Aug. 1906, and at the time war was declared in Aug. 1914, was managing an estancia in Entre Rios; returned to England at the end of Oct., and joined the New Zealanders; went with them to Egypt; proceeded to the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and died 26 May following, of wounds received in action there; unm. Buried there. His Capt. wrote: “I feel I cannot pass over the death of Driver Ridgley without telling you how much we all appreciated him as a member of our company, and how keenly we feel the loss his death has caused us. He was one of our best. Though a driver he came ashore to do sapper’s work. Horses being of no use here, drivers were temporarily not required, and he wanted to be of use.”
RIDGWAY, ISAAC ALTHORP, M.Sc., A.M.I.C.E., Lieut., 6th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, yst. s. of Thomas Joseph Ridgway, of Wildersmoor, Lymm, Cheshire, J.P., Registrar of Warrington County Court, by his wife, Emily, dau. of Robert Dawbarn; b. Lymm, 24 Aug. 1886; educ. Mostyn House School, Parkgate, Brighton College, and Victoria University; was articled as a pupil to Mr. Anthony G. Lyster, Engineer-in-Chief of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board in 1907, and in 1913 was appointed Government Engineer for Queensland in the Federal Lighthouse Service. When the European War broke out in Aug. 1914 he was in the extreme north of Queensland, and with great difficulty obtained permission to volunteer for Imperial service with the Commonwealth Imperial Force. He was given a commission in the 6th Battn. in Dec.; left for Egypt, Jan.; went to the Dardanelles, April, 1915, and died at sea 12 May following, from wounds received in action during the advance on Krithia on the 8th; unm. Letters from the Gen., and many officers, speak of his great courage and wonderful bravery, and of his power with the men, and state how greatly his death was deplored by one and all. He became M.Sc. in 1910, and A.M.I.C.E. in 1911, and was a member of several Engineering and Geological Societies both at home and abroad.
RIGBY, ERNEST, Corpl., No. 28519. R.E. Motor Cyclists, 3rd Signal Coy., attd. 15th Hussars, yr. s. of John Rigby, of Greenheys, Aigburth, Liverpool, Cotton Broker, by his late wife, Janie, dau. of the late I. Powell, of Liverpool; b. 17 Nov. 1888; educ. Liverpool College High School; was established in business in London as a Merchant; but volunteered his services as a motor scout and express rider, 5 Aug., the day following the declaration of war; went to France early in Sept.; proceeded to the firing line, 15 Oct., attd. to the A Squadron, 15th Hussars, and was killed in action at Veldoek, near Ypres, 12 Nov. following, being shot through the heart; unm. Buried there in the garden of a ruined chateau. He wrote only three days before that his commanding officer had offered him a commission. The Sergt.-Major of A Squadron, 15th Hussars, who first announced his death wrote offering the sympathy of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men, and added: “He had won the esteem of us all by his pluck, unassuming manner, and the happy knack he had of overcoming every hardship with a smile, and he died as he had lived through the campaign, bravely, for whenever or whatever danger threatened he was always a volunteer, and had done splendid work as a cyclist on many an occasion.”
RIGG, JOHN, Private, No. 12821, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, eldest s. of George Rigg, of Milford Lodge, Cloghans Hill, Tuam, and Race Park, Headford, co. Galway, Clog Block Manufacturer, by his wife, Martha Ann, dau. of Richard Blackburn; b. Outgate, Hawkeshead, co. Lancaster, 25 July, 1887; educ. Hawkeshead School and privately; was a Clog Block maker; enlisted 18 Sept. 1914; went to the Front, 7 April, 1915; was mortally wounded at Cambrin, 11 July, 1915, by a shell while on sentry duty, and died in No. 3 British Military Hospital, Le Treport, France, 9 Aug. following; unm. He was buried in the British Military Cemetery, Le Treport. Capt. Byng Hopwood wrote to a friend: “I went on to the second battn. yesterday and inquired about Private John Rigg. He was in the trenches with his company at Cambrin and was on sentry, when a German shell exploded in the trench, killing two of his comrades and seriously wounding him. I know those trenches well, and in some places you are only 15 yards from the Germans. Rigg was popular with his comrades and always did his duty willingly and well. I wish there were more like him.”
RIGGALL, EDWARD GORDON, Flight Lieut. Royal Naval Air Service, 2nd s. of Frederick William Riggall, J.P., Mayor of Grimsby (1895–6), Partner in the firm of Dickinson, Riggall & Davy, Louth, Grimsby & Brigg, Auctioneers; b. Grimsby, 21 Aug. 1895; educ. Humberstone Foundation School, Old Clee (1904–12); and on leaving there was apprenticed to an Aeronautical Engineer and Aeroplane Manufacturer. He obtained his pilot’s certificate from the Royal Aero Club, and after the outbreak of war was gazetted Sub-Lieut, R.N.A.S., 18 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. (for good work), 1 Jan. 1915. He flew over the English Channel from Dover to Calais on an aero biplane, 11 Feb. following; was commended for a daring reconnaissance over the Belgian littoral, made during a great storm in Jan., and for a flight over Zeebrugge on 12 Feb., when bombs were dropped which damaged the German Submarine works and power house, and took part in the great raid by the combined French and British Air Fleet of 48 aeroplanes on Ostend and district, 16 Feb. From this he did not return, and after exhaustive enquiries the Admiralty reported that he had been shot down and killed while returning from this exploit. He was captain of his school, and had passed the senior Cambridge Local Examination with honours and with matriculation exemption.
RILEY, CHARLES LEONARD, A.B., 223545, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RILOT, JOSEPH CHARLES, Private, No. 1619, 3rd Battn. 1st Infantry Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, s. of Frank Hammond Rilot, of 29 Haldon Road, Exeter, by his wife, Ellen, dau. of Charles Lee; b. Harrow, co. Middlesex, 17 Aug. 1891; educ. Tottenham High School, and after seven years’ experience of farming in different parts of Devonshire, went to Australia in 1912 with a view to settling there. He had acquired some knowledge of Australian farming at Laxa, Waaia and elsewhere in Victoria when war broke out. He enlisted at Sydney, 15 Dec. 1914; left Australia for Egypt Feb. 1915, took part in the landing at the Dardanelles in April, 1915, and after four months continuously in the trenches there was killed in action at Lone Pine, between the 6–12 Aug. 1915; unm.
RINTOUL, DAVID WYLIE, M.B., Ch. B., Lieut., R.A.M.C., attd. 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, elder s. of David Rintoul, of 26, College Road, Clifton, Bristol, M.A. (St. Andrews and Cantab.), House Master of Clifton College, by his wife, Catharine Barclay, dau. of W. W. Yool, J.P.; b. Clifton, 23 May, 1889; educ. Clifton College, and St. Andrews University, where he graduated as M.B. and Ch.B., in June, 1912; was House Physician at Bristol General Hospital from Nov. 1912, to Nov. 1913, after holding a temporary appointment at the Royal Infirmary, Dundee; and subsequently Medical Officer, Claybury Asylum; received a Lieutenancy in the South Midland Field Ambulance (T.F.), 1 June, 1913; and was gazetted to the R.A.M.C., 30 Jan. 1914; joined the 5th Field Ambulance, 2nd Division, on mobilisation, 4 Aug. 1914; was transferred as Medical Officer to the 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, and later to the 3rd Battn.; went to France, 18 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action near St. Julien, during the first Battle of Ypres, 21 Oct. following; unm. The commanding officer of the Battn. wrote; “He was brave and fearless, and most gallant. He had no idea what fear was—his one idea being to assist the wounded.”
RIORDAN, JOHN, A. B. (R.F.R., Ch. A. 1465), 134738, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
RIPLEY, CHARLES ROGER, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. York and Lancaster Regt., 3rd s. of the late Sir Frederick Ripley, 1st Bart., of Acacia, by his wife, Katherine (63, Earl’s Avenue, Folkestone), dau. of David Little, of Mount Royal, co. York, and grandson of the late Sir Henry William Ripley, 1st Bart., of Rawdon, M.P.; b. Scarborough, 13 Nov. 1888; educ. Scarborough School, and Cheltenham College; obtained a commission as Lieut. 3rd (Special Reserve) Battn. of the York and Lancaster Regt., 13 June, 1913; posted to the 2nd Battn., 5 Aug. 1914; went to France, 8 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action in the trenches near Lille, 22 Oct. following, in a night attack; unm. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 20 Nov. 1914 [London Gazette, 17 Feb. 1915], for gallant and distinguished service in the field.
RIPPER, ALLAN GILBERT, L.-Corpl., No. 2159, 1/5th Battn. King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of Charles Ripper, A.R.C.A. (Loud.), Head Master Municipal School of Art, Lancaster, by his wife, Eveline Matilda, dau. of the late Herbert (and Maria Jane) Gilbert, and nephew of Professor William Ripper, D.Eng., D.Sc., M.Inst.C.E., and Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science; b. Quernmore, Lancaster, 26 April, 1895; educ. Royal Grammar School there (Scholar) and Sheffield University (Storey Exhibitioner), where he had been for 12 months when war broke out. He at once left the University and joined the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt. (T.F.) in Sept. 1914; went to France, Feb. 1915, was promoted L.-Corpl in April, and was killed in action near Verlorenhoek, 8 May, 1915, while attempting to remove a wounded comrade to a place of safety. Buried on the battlefield. Major Bates, 2nd in command of the regt., at a Public Recruiting meeting at Lancaster, said “There was no man braver than any other, all were equally brave, but he would like to mention one gallant little chap from the Lancaster Grammar School, L.-Corpl. Ripper, a cheery fellow, always smiling and the pluckiest lad he had ever met. He went up to his mate to try to succour him, but in so doing he also ‘went West.’ He had not left his country poorer but richer.” In 1911, he won the “Grey” Gold Medal for chemistry, and in July of the following year obtained his matriculation certificate, passing the Oxford and Cambridge Higher Certificate Examination in 1913.
RIPPER, THOMAS WILLIAM, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 169635, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
RIPPON, WILLIAM ROBERT, Gunner, R.M.A., 12206, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RISHTON, GEORGE, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4400), S.S. 103387, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
RISK, ROBERT, Private, No. 8/278, 14th South Otago Coy., Otago Infantry Battn., New Zealand Expeditionary Force, s. of David Risk, of Kelso, Farmer; b. Kelso, Otago, New Zealand, 25 Sept. 1893; educ. Public School there, and Tapanui High School; joined the 14th Otago Territorials in 1912; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of the European War in Aug. 1914; left for Egypt, 16 Oct. following; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and was killed in action there, 2 May following; unm. Buried there. Two of his brothers are now (1916) on active service. He was interested in all sport, and was a member of the Kelso Football and Athletic Clubs.
RIXON, FREDERICK ERNEST, A.B., J. 14975, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
RIXTON, GEORGE, Petty Officer, 187637, Chatham, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBATHAN, DOUGLAS PARKER, Capt., 1/5th Battn. The Welsh Regt. (T.F.), 5th s. of the late George Beckett Robathan, of The Gove, Risca, Monmouth, M.R.C.S., Eng., by his wife, Frances Elizabeth (Ovid House, Radyr), dau. of the late John Paull, of Brockley, Somerset; b. Risca, 28 Jan. 1888; educ. Llandaff Cathedral School and Cranbrook School, Kent; was a Mining Engineer at “Insoles” Colliery; joined the Monmouth Volunteers as a 2nd Lieut, in Jan. 1908; transferred to the 5th Welsh Territorials, April, 1908; passed the School of Instruction and obtained his certificate as a Musketry Instructor, 1909; became Lieut. 7 April, 1909, and Capt. 1 July, 1914; volunteered for foreign service after the outbreak of war; left England with the 53rd Welsh Division, 18 July, 1915, for the Dardanelles; took part in the landing at Suvla Bay, 9 Aug., and was killed in action there the following day. His Col. wrote of him as “devoted to his duty and always to be relied on,” and a brother officer said that when wounded “lying on the ground he still cheered his men on—‘Stick it, Welsh,’ he shouted, and kept on shouting until another bullet came along and got him in the lung. He died the best death any man could die, and as game as possible. His lot did wonderfully well and fought like ‘good ’uns,’ and it was a hot shop they were in.” A private also wrote: “He led his men into one of the fiercest fights that has ever been fought on Gallipoli Peninsula. He was loved by his men and admired by all. He fought as gallantly as any as long as he was able to lead, and I am expressing the thoughts of all the Battn. when I say it has lost one of its best soldiers.”
ROBBINS, WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R.), Ch. 9916, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
ROBERTS, BERTRAM, Private, No. 2802, 1/15th Battn. (Prince of Wales’s Own Civil Service Rifles), The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest s. of the late Robert Roberts, Stationmaster at Coedpoeth, near Wrexham, G.W.R., by his wife, Mary Jane (43, Talbot Road, Wrexham), dau. of the late Edward Jones, of Glanravon, Wrexham, Farmer; b. Southsea, near Wrexham, co. Denbigh, 25 June, 1890; educ. Victoria Council School and Grove Park Secondary School there; entered the Civil Service in 1907; joined the Civil Service Rifles following the outbreak of war, 1 Sept. 1914; went to France, 17 March, 1915; and was killed in action at Festubert, 30 May following; unm. Buried near Festubert. His platoon sergt. wrote: “We feel we have lost in him a comrade who could ill be spared; his absolute indifference to danger did much to inspire confidence in those around him. He was killed by a shell that fell right in the trench and death was instantaneous.”
ROBERTS, CECIL HARRY, Acting Stoker, Petty Officer, K. 3377, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBERTS, CLIFFORD EDWARD, E.R.A., 3rd Class, 271333, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
ROBERTS, FRANK, Private, No. 383, 1st Newfoundland Regt., 4th s. of Samuel Roberts, of 120, Hamilton Street, St. John’s, Newfoundland, by his wife, Julia; b. St. John’s, aforesaid, 27 March, 1892; educ. Springdale Street Commercial School; was an employee in the Boot and shoe Factory of Mr. F. Smallwoods, later entering the Dry Goods Department of Marshall Bros.; joined the Red Cross Division, 1st Newfoundland Regt., after the outbreak of the European War, 31 Aug. 1914; was at his own request transferred to the Army; served in Egypt and at the Dardanelles, and died 23 Oct. 1915, from wounds received while on patrol duty the previous day; unm. Buried at Mudros Island. He was a keen athlete, being the Champion Bantam-Weight Wrestler of Newfoundland, winning three gold medals and one silver one. He also won many prizes on the parallel bars.
ROBERTS, FREDERICK WILLIAM, L.-Corpl., No. 8666. 2nd Battn. The Hampshire Regt., 7th s. of Robert Roberts, of 19, Clarendon Road, Havant, Labourer, by his wife, Louisa, dau. of the late George Maxwell; b. Havant, co. Hants, 22 Feb. 1892; educ. St. Faith’s School there; enlisted 18 April, 1910; served in India; returned to England in Dec. 1914; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and was killed in action there on the 28th; unm. His half-brother, Chief Petty Officer Bertram Jessie Maxwell, was killed in action in the Battle of Jutland, 31 May, 1916, and another brother, A.B. Leonard Roberts, was drowned off the S.S. Highland Corrie, 5 May, 1916.
ROBERTS, GEORGE BRADLEY, 2nd Lieut. Indian Army, attd. 1st Battn. Manchester Regt., yr. s. of the late Major Henry Bradley Roberts, R.E., by his wife, Alice, dau. of the Rev. G. J. Banner, M.A.; b. Chatham, 23 Aug. 1895; educ. Bedford Grammar School; Liverpool College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut, unattd. list. Indian Army, 15 Aug. 1914; went to France attd. to the 1st Manchester Regt., 11 Jan. 1915, and died in No. 7 Stationary Hospital, Boulogne, 7 May, 1915, of wounds received in action, near St. Julien, during the second Battle of Ypres on the 26th of the previous month; unm. Buried at Boulogne.
ROBERTS, GEORGE WILLIAM, Boy, 1st Class, J. 26650, H.M.S. Hawke, s. of Henry Roberts, of 38, Choubert Square, Choubert Road, Peckham, S.E.; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
ROBERTS, HENRY GEORGE LLOYD, Clerk, R.N., only s. of Charles Lloyd Roberts, of Victoria, B.C., by his wife, Mary (142, Bishop’s Mansions, Bishop’s Park, S.W.), dau. of the late John Byrne, of Birr, King’s Co.; b. East Molesey, co. Surrey, 11 July, 1896; educ. Millington School, Upper Richmond Road, Putney, and Christ Hospital, Horsham; entered the Navy, 15 July, 1913, served a year on H.M.S. Bellerophon, and was lost in H.M.S. Hogue when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. The Chaplain, who was saved, wrote: “Your son was standing on the aft bridge and he and four Midshipmen were throwing wood overboard; then as the Hogue was sinking I told him and all who could swim to strip off boots, coats, etc. (he was fully dressed), and jump off and swim to something that would float, and that was the last I saw of him—your boy was not afraid, he was as cool as any one I saw, and I believe every piece of wood he threw over saved some lives.”
ROBERTS, HERBERT EDWIN, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R. B. 7504), 102749, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
ROBERTS, JAMES RHODERIC TRETHOWAN, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Suffolk Regt., elder s. of William Roberts, of Errington, 18, King’s Avenue, Clapham Park. S.W., and Bridgestone House, Sheppey, Author and Journalist, a member of the literary staff of The Times since 1895; by his wife, Adelaide Rodder, dau. of the late James Trethowan, of Truro, Cornwall; b. London, S.W., 4 March, 1896; educ. St. Olave’s Grammar School, London, and the Royal Military College. Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., 2nd Suffolks, 1 Oct. 1914; went to Ypres, 1 Dec. following, and was killed in action near Ypres, 3 March, 1915, being shot near his trench by a sniper; unm. Buried Locre Churchyard.
ROBERTS, JOHN ALFRED, Private R.M.L.I., Ports. 14951, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBERTS, JOSEPH BALDWIN, Petty Officer (R.F.R., Ch. B. 3178), 183890, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROBERTS, OSWALD HENRY, Private, No. 2670, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, eldest s. of James Casimer Roberts, of 15, Ormiston Road, New Brighton, by his wife, Elizabeth, 2nd dau. of William Bate, of Worthenbury, Flintshire; b. New Brighton, co. Chester, 15 April, 1878; educ. St. Francis Xavier’s College, Liverpool; was a Collector and Agent; enlisted 17 Sept. 1914; went to France, 25 Oct. 1914, and was killed in action at Ypres, 2 Nov. 1914; unm.
ROBERTS, THOMAS, Gunner, R.M.A. (R.F.R., B. 968), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROBERTS, THOMAS, Gunner, R.M.A. (R.F.R., I.C. 25), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBERTS, THOMAS, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 13029, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBERTS, WILLIAM CLIFFORD, Leading Seaman, 222351, H.M.S. Liberty; killed in action in the Heligoland Bight, 28 Aug. 1914.
ROBERTS, WILLIAM JAMES, L.-Corpl., No. 2271, A. Coy., 1/4th Battn. (Royal Fusiliers), The Loudon Regt. (T.F.), 2nd s. of James Roberts, of Ashford, co. Middlesex, late R.N., by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Archibald Clarke, of Barna, co. Galway, Ireland; b. Costello Bay, co. Galway, 6 Sept. 1889; educ. Chapeltown, co. Kerry, and Clacton-on-Sea, co. Essex; held a responsible position in a large clothing firm in London but, on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, volunteered for foreign service and joined the Royal Fusiliers that month; went to Malta in Sept., trained there until Jan. 1915, when he went to France; took part in several engagements, being promoted L.-Corpl. while in the trenches and was killed in action during the second Battle of Ypres, 26 April following; unm. His Capt. wrote expressing his regret at losing such a good man, saying: “He was away from the company doing special duty at the time of his death, which duty had he come through would have gained him distinction and promotion.” He also said he was proud to have had such a man under his command.
ROBERTSON, EDMUND JOHN MACRORY, Lieut., Royal Field Artillery, s. of Lieut.-Col. John Robert Stevenson Robertson, of Ellarona, Hayling Island, co. Hants, R.A.M.C. (T.F.), by his wife, Elizabeth Manisty, dau. of the late Edmund Macrory, K.C.; b. London, 29 May, 1891; educ. Parkfield, Haywards Heath, and Bradfield College, co. Berks; gazetted 2nd Lieut., R.F.A., 23 Dec. 1910, and promoted Lieut. 23 Dec. 1913; went to France with his Battery (70th) in the 2nd Division in Aug. 1914; was wounded at Mons, Sunday, 23 Aug., and was killed in action at Festubert, 22 May, 1915, by a shell, while mending the telephone wire at the observation station; unm. Buried at Beuvry, near Bethune. A former Major of the battery wrote: “I shall never forget the way he stuck it out at Givry (Mons) on 23 Aug. 1914, when we got such a gruelling. Although he was hit in the leg and head, he carried on and I never knew it till afterwards, setting the most magnificent example to the men. I also admired his grit in getting away from hospital as soon as he could, and rejoining the battery. Wherever there was anything to be done I never found him wanting, and I knew I could rely on him. He did his duty right gallantly.” His Major also wrote: “It was a beautiful moonlight night and the guns were thundering all the time—it was a true soldier’s funeral in the field. There were many tears shed for we all felt what a sad loss we had all sustained. I never knew a better soldier. He was, indeed, one of the ‘salt of the earth’ and loved by us all”; and a letter written on behalf of the N.C.O.’s and men said: “If you could have heard the utterances of condolence and sympathy which I heard when the sad news was circulated, then you would have realised what a splendid and noble officer your dear son was. No one in the service was loved and respected more than Mr. Robertson was by every man in the battery. Even his horses loved him; he died as he would like to die, fighting for his country and loved ones at home. He was a fine example to the men under him, and always brought out what was best in a man.” He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 17 Sept. [London Gazette, 19 Oct.], 1915.
ROBERTSON, FRANK, Capt., 12th (Service) Battn. Worcestershire Regt., attd. 2nd Battn. Royal Fusiliers, yst. s. of the late James Robertson, of Newtown Lodge, Waterford. Draper, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of the late William Gall, of Middle-Hyttie, Muitlaw; b. Waterford, 23 Sept. 1885; educ. Diocesan School there (Rev. George Ennis); was in the Drapery Business; went to London in 1911 to take up a position with Dent, Alcroft & Co.; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war and joined Queen Victoria’s Rifles, 7 Aug. 1914; was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Worcestershire Regt. 29 Oct. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 29 Nov. following, and Capt. 1 Feb. 1915; went to the Dardanelles early in May, 1915, attd. to the 2nd Royal Fusiliers, and died at the Deaconess Hospital, Alexandria, 25 June, 1915, of wounds received in action at Achi Baba on the 4th; unm. Buried in Chatby Military Cemetery, Alexandria (Grave No. 477). His Col., Sir Edward Clarke, after he was wounded, wrote to his brother; “Capt. Robertson is one of my best officers, and I have a great personal regard for him as a friend and comrade. In fact, the whole battalion waits anxiously for more news of him,” and again later: “Your brother was a born soldier, and I looked forward to a distinguished career for him. He is a great loss to his country. His brother officers and all ranks of the Battn. deplore the loss of a good friend and comrade.”
ROBERTSON, JAMES, Private, No. 21144, 11th (Service) Battn. Royal Scots, s. of James Robertson, by his wife, Janet, dau. of William Walker; b. West Calder, co. Midlothian. 27 Feb. 1881; educ. West Calder; was a Shale Miner; enlisted in 11th Royal Scots, 20 April, 1915; went to France, Oct. 1915, and was killed in action at near Sansertes Wood, 14 Nov. 1915, being shot by a sniper while carrying sandbags to the trenches. Buried in Sansertes Wood. He m. at West Calder, 1903, Margaret, dau. of Terrance Dolan, of West Calder, and had a son and four daus.: Peter, b. 16 Sept. 1906; Elizabeth Steele, b. 9 Oct. 1903; Janet Walker, b. 23 Aug. 1909; Margaret Dolan, b. 14 Oct. 1911; and Annie, b. 30 Aug. 1915.
ROBERTSON, JAMES, Private, No. 6735, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, 2nd s. of William Clow Robertson, Labourer, by his wife, Isabella; b. Galashiels, 20 Jan. 1887; educ. Burgh School there; enlisted 12 April, 1906; went to France with the Expeditionary Force, 12 Aug. 1914; was wounded in the arm at Chavonne, 25 Sept, following and invalided home, 2 Oct.; returned to duty, 24 Feb. 1915, and died in No. 4 Clearing Hospital, 30 May, 1915, of wounds received in action at La Bassée. He m. at Galashiels, 23 Dec. 1910, Bessie (16. Hall Street, Galashiels, Selkirk), dau. of Thomas Broad, and had two children; Robert Tom, b. 18 Aug. 1912; and Margaret, b. 7 Dec. 1914.
ROBERTSON, JAMES, Armourer Corpl., No. 27006, 15th Battn. (48th Highlanders), 3rd Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force, eldest s. of William Edmonstone Robertson, of Lilybank, Burntisland, Fifeshire. Warehouseman, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of William Wilson, of Millerhill, Farmer; b. Portobello, near Edinburgh, 17 Oct. 1884; educ. Portobello and Burntisland Public Schools; was for some time a Clerk in the Locomotive Department of the North British Railway at Burntisland and Cowlairs, and while there was a member of the Fifeshire Artillery Volunteers; left for Canada, 18 April, 1908; worked for a short while on a freight elevator, afterwards entering the Carpet Warehouse of T. Eaton & Co., Toronto; joined the 48th Canadian Highlanders in 1913, and on the outbreak of war volunteered for Imperial service; came over with the first contingent in Oct.; went to France in Feb., and died 28 April, 1915, of gas poisoning received in action at Langemarck two days previously. He was a keen athlete and a clever swimmer and diver, and while a member of the Fife Artillery Volunteers gained many first and second prizes for shooting. He was a member of the Broadview (North) Presbyterian Church, Toronto, and a prominent Freemason. He m. at Burntisland, March, 1908, Jessie (15, Arundel Avenue, off Danforth Avenue, Toronto), dau. of the late J. Dick, of Burntisland, Scotland, and Toronto, Canada, and had two children: William, b. at Toronto, 1909; and Effie, b. at Toronto, 1912.
ROBERTSON, JOHN, Capt., 1/4th Royal Scots (T.F.), s. of the late Alexander Robertson, of Holmiry, Glenisla, Alyth, by his wife, Annie, dau. of John Mackenzie, of Alrick, Glenisla; b. Holmiry aforesaid, 6 June, 1874; educ. Glenisla Public School, and Harris Academy, Dundee; was a Banker by profession, and was Agent, Blenheim Place Branch Office of the National Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh; served for a few years with the 5th (Vol.) Battn. of the Black Watch, and joined the Queen’s Edinburgh Rifles (4th Royal Scots) in Jan. 1893; received a commission in the same Battn., Jan. 1910, and was promoted Capt. Nov. 1913, succeeding to the command of the well-known Bankers Coy.; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; left for the East, landed at the Dardanelles, 11 June, 1915, and was killed in action there, 28 June, 1915, “gallantly leading his men.” Buried at the Base. He had the Long Service medal. Capt. Robertson m. in Edinburgh, 16 Sept. 1913, Janet Ritchie (151, Bruntisfield Place, Edinburgh), dau. of Fergus Robertson, of Glenshee, Perthshire; s.p.
ROBERTSON, JOHN EDMOND, Coy. Sergt.-Major, No. 9072, 1st Battn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers, 2nd s. of George Robertson, of Old Aberdeen, Baker, by his wife, Isabella Milne, of Aberdeen; b. Aberdeen, 5 Nov. 1884; educ. King Street Public School, and Central Higher Grade School, Aberdeen; enlisted in King’s Own Scottish Borderers, 8 Dec. 1904, and served in Egypt and India, and with the Mediterranean Force; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles (Beach Y), 25 April, 1915; was promoted Coy. Sergt.-Major for gallant conduct in this and the subsequent fighting and was killed in action there, 28 June, 1915. He m. at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bombay, 19 Dec. 1911, Bella, 3rd dau. of the late Alexander Rothnie, of the Caledonian Railway, Aberdeen, and had a son and dau.: Ian Alexander, b. 18 Sept. 1912; and Audrey Elizabeth, b. 11 Sept. 1914. He combined a strong interest in literature with an all-round proficiency in sports, and his exceptionally happy and cheery nature won him great popularity alike among officers and men.
ROBERTSON, ROBERT, Private, No. 4205, 1st Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, s. of the late Robert Robertson, Tobacco Spinner, by his wife, Annie (3, Back Hedley Street, Newcastle), dau. of David Patton; b. Bishop Auckland, co. Durham, 19 Aug. 1882; educ. St. Mary’s, Newcastle-on-Tyne; enlisted in 1900; served in the latter part of the South African War, 1901–02; was 12 years with the Colours, being afterwards employed at Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Elswick Shipyard; re-enlisted in the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers on the outbreak of war, and was transferred to the 1st Battn.; went to France in Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at Ypres, 28 Feb. following; unm. Buried there. His brother, Driver David Robertson, is now (1916) on active service with the Royal Field Artillery.
ROBERTSON, ROBERT HORSBURGH, Corpl., No. 2309, 14th Battn. (London Scottish) The London Regt. (T.F.), 2nd s. of Robert Holmes Robertson, of Stonelaw House, Rutherglen, by his wife, Jessie, dau. of Robert Horsburgh, and nephew of John Horsburgh, of the Hele Paper Co., Ltd., of Cullompton, co. Devon; b. Rutherglen, 11 Oct. 1884; educ. Stonelaw School and Glasgow Academy, was in business with his uncle at the Hele Paper Co., Ltd., but on the outbreak of war immediately joined the London Scottish, and was early drafted to France. He quickly rose to be a corpl., and was on the eve of being gazetted to a commission when he was shot by a bullet at dawn on 6 May, 1915; unm. His Capt. wrote: “He was a splendid fellow, and had done so well that he was offered and had accepted a commission in the regt. He was greatly loved by his comrades.” He was buried at Richebourg in an orchard by the remainder of the “five inseparables,” of whom he had been one, and a cross marks the spot.
ROBERTSON, ROBERT JOHN CHARLES, Private. No. 1423, 4th Battn. (Royal Fusiliers) The London Regt., s. of Robert John Robertson, by his wife, Annie; b. Hackney, 27 Nov. 1894; joined the Royal Fusiliers, Aug. 1910; accompanied his regt. to France and was killed in action, 27 April, 1915; unm.
ROBERTSON, THOMAS, Stoker, 2nd Class, S.S. 115087, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBERTSON, WILLIAM, Corpl., No. 5470, 3rd, attd. 1st, Battn. East Yorkshire Regt., s. of William Robertson, of 170, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne; b. Newcastle-on-Tyne, 14 Nov. 1884; educ. All Saints’ School there; was employed as a Riveter at Armstrong, Whitworth & Co.’s Shipyard; enlisted in the 3rd East Yorkshires, and after serving his time with the Colours, joined the Reserve; was called up on mobilisation, 5 Aug. 1914; went to France, where he was attd. to the 1st Battn., and was killed in action, 8 April, 1915, being shot by a sniper. Corpl. Robertson was well-known in sporting circles, being several times successful in boxing competitions; also competing with success in running events as Joe Coe; and in 1913 he won the regimental gold medal for running at Beverley. He m. at Newcastle-on-Tyne, Mary Jane, dau. of (—), and had a son, Alexander, b. 8 April, 1909.
ROBERTSON, WILLIAM JAMES, Private, No. 173, B Coy., 3rd Battn. Australian Imperial Force, 2nd s. of Laurence Henry Robertson, of Aywick, East Yell, Shetland, Seaman and Carpenter, by his wife, Margaret, dau. of William James Jamieson; b. East Yell aforesaid, 24 Sept. 1892; educ. Public School there; went to Australia in Nov. 1911, and settled at St. Mary’s, Sydney, and was employed in a leather factory; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of the European War, and joined the 3rd Battn. Australian Imperial Force; left for Egypt, Nov. 1914, and died at Cairo, Egypt, 9 March, 1915, of pneumonia, contracted while on active service; unm.
ROBERTSON, WILLIAM JOHN, of Mounteagle, Fearn, Ross-shire, Major, 4th Battn. Seaforth Highlanders (T.F), eldest s. of the late John Robertson, of Mounteagle, by his wife, Alexandrina Mary, dau. of Robert Matheson of Edinburgh; b. Edinburgh, 18 June, 1868; educ. Tain Royal Academy; was an old Volunteer and Territorial officer; obtained a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 1st Seaforth Volunteers (afterwards the 4th Territorial Battn. of the Seaforth Highlanders), 10 March, 1897, and became Capt. 4 Jan. 1905, and Major 10 May, 1914: volunteered with his Battn. for foreign service on the outbreak of war; went to France, 5 Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 10 March, 1915. Buried at Vieille Chapelle. He was a member of the Ross County Council, and had the Volunteer decoration and the Long Service medal. He m. at Tain, 30 July, 1902, Minnie Henderson (Mounteagle, Tain), dau. of Andrew Fraser, of North Glastullich, Tain, and Balaldie, Fearn, and had a son: John Andrew Fraser, b. 1 Oct. 1908.
ROBERTSON, WILLIAM KEITH, Private, No. 81751, 5th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, yr. s. of David Robertson, of Court Lodge, Caterham, by his wife, Edith, dau. of Dr. William May; b. Warley, co. Essex, 26 Feb 1893; educ. Tonbridge School; went to Canada in March, 1914, and settled in Saskatchewan on a ranch; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of the European War; came over with the second contingent in Feb. 1915; went to France, 1 May, and was killed in action at Festubert, 24 May, 1915; unm. Buried at Festubert (K5 Illirs, Voilanies).
FORBES-ROBERTSON, KENNETH, Capt., 2nd Battn. Seaforth Highlanders, elder s. of the late Farquhar Forbes-Robertson, of Slead Hall, co. York, by his wife, Laura (2, Keynsham Bank, Cheltenham), dau. of C. H. Macaulay, of Slead Hall, Yorks; b. Slead Hall aforesaid, 17 April, 1882; educ. Cheltenham College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 1st Seaforth Highlanders, 11 Aug. 1900; promoted Lieut. 10 May, 1902, and Capt. 6 April, 1911; served (1) in East Africa, 1904; took part in the operations in Somaliland, and action at Jidballi (medal with two clasps); (2) on the North-West Frontier of India, 1908; took part in the operations in the Zakha Khel country; also in operations in the Mohmand country and the engagement of Matta (medal with clasp); and (3) with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, from 5 Oct. to 7 Nov. 1914, on which latter date he was killed in action in Ploegsteert Wood while leading a reconnoitring party; unm.
ROBINS, FREDERICK JOHN, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 2796), S.S. 100030, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBINS, HENRY GEORGE, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3365), 191262, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBINSON, ABRAHAM BURCHELL, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 14971, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROBINSON, ALBERT EDWARD, Blacksmith, 341124, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBINSON, ALBERT VENIS, E.R.A., R.N.R., 862 E.A., H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
ROBINSON, ALFRED, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 10255), 204049, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROBINSON, ALFRED ELLIOT SOMERS, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Royal Scots Fusiliers, 3rd s. of William George Robinson, of Kelvinside, Glasgow, late Sergt.-Major R.E., by his wife, Clara; b. Bermuda, 5 Sept. 1878; educ. Garnethill School, Glasgow; enlisted 10 Sept. 1894; served in the Tirah Campaign, 1897–98 (medal with three clasps); was given a commission in the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers, 9 April, 1915; went to France, 24 May, 1915, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 16 June, 1915. Gen. Gough, in a letter to his wife, said he could not express too deeply his opinion of this officer’s gallantry, and enclosed an extract of his report as follows: “At Givenchy, 16 June, showed very gallant conduct in leading his platoon to the attack of a strongly entrenched enemy. He was well ahead of his men, and had reached the enemy’s wire, when he was killed.” He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 30 Nov. 1915. He was a very good shot, was in the regimental team for several years, and in the army sixty in 1909, when stationed in Dublin. He m. at Leyton Parish Church, 5 Aug. 1905, Elise Esther (37, Sister’s Avenue, North Side, Clapham Common, S.W.), dau. of Jean La Bastie, of Pau (who served in the Franco-German War, 1870), and had two children: Adele Velma, b. 27 Sept. 1907; and Violette Marie, b. 5 Dec. 1909. His yr. brother, Wilfred Gower Robinson, was killed in action at Ypres, 25 April, 1915.
ROBINSON, FRANK, Sergt., No. 1362, 5th (Cinque Ports) Battn. The Royal Sussex Regt. (T.F.), 4th s. of James Robinson, of George Hill, Robertsbridge, Chauffeur, by his wife, Alice, dau. of Charles Laurence; b. George Hill, Robertsbridge, co. Sussex, 5 July, 1894; educ. Salehurst School, there; was Sawyer at the Robertsbridge Timber Mills; joined 5th Sussex Territorials, 13 May, 1911, and rose to the rank of Sergt.; volunteered for Imperial Service on the outbreak of war; left for France, 18 Feb. 1915, and died at No. 1 Casualty Clearing Station 9 May, 1915, of wounds received the previous day at Festubert. Buried, New Cemetery, Chocques; unm. He had been recommended for a commission, and would have received one in a few days.
ROBINSON, FRANK, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 3228), 191640, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROBINSON, FRANK STANLEY, L.-Corpl., No. 9257, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of the late (—) Robinson, by his wife, Catherine (now wife of (—) Sainty, of 1, Baptist Lane, Broad Street, King’s Lynn); b. Tilney All Saints, co. Norfolk, 29 Dec. 1891; educ. Tilney All Saints Public School; enlisted 18 Sept. 1911; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and was killed in action at Festubert, 24 Dec. 1914; unm. His commanding officer, Lord Northland (since killed), writing to his mother, said: “You have indeed lost a gallant son and the regt. a promising non-commissioned officer.”
ROBINSON, FREDERICK, Private, No. 11024, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, only s. of William Robinson, of Egmanton, near Tuxford, co. Nottingham, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Henry (and Ann) Taylor; b. Egmanton aforesaid, 28 March, 1896; educ. there; was engaged on farm work; enlisted in the Coldstreams after the outbreak of war, 15 Aug. 1914; went to France 23 Nov. following, and died of wounds 25 Jan. 1915; unm. Buried near the Church at Cuinchy.
ROBINSON, JOSEPH COOPER, Private, No. 21021, 9th (Service) Battn. Lancashire Fusiliers, yst. s. of John Robinson, of Sunderland, Driller in Shipyard (d. 1895), by his wife Margaret (13, Brougham Street, Southwick-on-Wear), dau. of Michael Hedley, of Sunderland; b. Monkwearmouth, co. Durham, 28 Nov. 1889; educ. Board School, Southwick; was employed in the Sunderland Bottle Works; enlisted, 24 Aug 1914; trained at Grantham, and was killed in action at Chocolate Hill, Gallipoli, 21 Aug. 1915; unm. The same day his great friend and school fellow G. Hepinstall, with whom he had been brought up, enlisted and gone to the Front, was killed some distance away.
ROBINSON, JOSEPH ROBERT, Private, No. 10947, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Robert Robinson, of East Barkwith, co. Lincoln (now on active service with the 3rd Lincolnshire Regt.), by his wife, Jane, dau. of Joseph Tuxford; b. Welton, co. Lincoln, 20 April, 1889; educ. East Barkwith; was a Guard on Great Central Railway at Lincoln; enlisted in the Coldstreams after the outbreak of war, 11 Aug. 1914; went to France 24 Nov. following, and was killed in action at La Bassée 14 June, 1915; unm. Buried there. His three brothers are all now (1916) on active service.
ROBINSON, LAUNCELOT ALEC (LANNIE), Assistant Paymaster, R.N.R., yst. s. of Capt. John Charles Robinson, of Armadale, Parkstone, late Union Castle Steamship Co., by his wife, Mary Ann, dau. of Alexander Bell; b. Acton, 28 July, 1885; educ. Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, High Barnet, and Banister Court, Southampton; was a purser in the Union Castle Steamship Co.; appointed Acting Assistant Paymaster, R.N.R., 25 Aug. 1914; joined H.M S. Bulwark 24 Sept. following, and was killed on active service when that ship was blown up off Sheerness, 26 Nov. 1914; unm.
ROBINSON, LAWRENCE LEONARD, A.B., J. 1445, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
ROBINSON, LESLIE JOHN, Capt., 2nd Battn. Northamptonshire Regt., only s. of the Rev. William Robinson, Vicar of East Haddon, co. Northants, by his wife, Hannah, dau. of Jonathan Hall, of Hud Hey, Haslingden, Lancs.; b. Holme Vicarage, Westmoreland, 7 Oct. 1883; educ. Kelly College, Tavistock; and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Northamptonshire Regt., 22 April, 1903, and promoted Lieut. 28 Jan. 1905, and Capt. 1 Dec. 1910; as Assistant Adjutant and Musketry Instructor at Colchester from 1908 to 1911; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from Nov. 1914 to 12 March, 1915, on which latter date he was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle. While at Kelly College he was in the Cadet Corps; won the shooting cup three times, and shot at the Devon County Volunteer meeting in 1901, when his college won the Public Schools’ Challenge Shield. At Sandhurst he was in the athletic team against Woolwich, and when with his regt. in Malta he won the Officers’ Cup for shooting. He m. at St. Giles’, Oxford, 21 Aug. 1913, Louisa Sophia, dau. of the late Walter Merivale, M.I.C.E., and had two children: Anthony Leslie and Diana Merivale, twins, b. 6 March, 1915.
ROBINSON, REGINALD WILLIAM, Capt., 5th (Service) Battn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 3rd s. of Sir Richard Atkinson Robinson, of 59, Hazlewell Road, Putney, S.W., J.P., D.L., Chairman of the London County Council (1908), by his wife, Jane Wilson, dau. of Thomas Thistle; b. South Kensington, 15 June, 1880; educ. St. Paul’s School, and the Royal School of Mines, South Kensington; was for a time a member of the London Scottish Volunteers; joined the C.I.V. in 1901, and served with them in the South African War (medal); and was later a Lieut. in the Rhodesian Volunteers; obtained a commission as temporary Lieut. in the Inniskilling Fusiliers after the outbreak of war, 4 Oct. 1914, and was appointed Capt., 5th Service Battn., 3 Dec. following; left for Gallipoli, July, 1915; took part in the landing at Suvla Bay, and was killed in action there 15 Aug. 1915; unm.
ROBINSON, THOMAS WILLIAM, A.B. (R.F.R., I.C. 329), 194399, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBINSON, WILLIAM HENRY, Corpl., R.M.A. (R.F.R., A. 0580), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROBSHAW, THOMAS ARTHUR, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 4429), S.S. 1494, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
ROBSON, JAMES HERBERT, Private, No. 4620, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Robert Robson, of 68, High Street, Langley Moor, co. Durham; b. co. Monmouth; enlisted 11 March, 1902; obtained his discharge, 22 Sept. 1905; re-enlisted after the outbreak of war, 13 Aug. 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; killed in action, 25 Oct. 1914.
ROBSON, JASPER LEEMING, Private, No. 6567, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of the late Matthew Jasper Robson, of West White Hill, Kirkwhelpington, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Farmer; b. Hunmanby, co. York, 22 April, 1887; educ. County Council School, Felling-on-Tyne, and privately; enlisted 18 Jan. 1906; served in Egypt 29 Sept. 1906 to 12 Feb. 1909, and with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc., from 12 Aug. 1914, and died a prisoner of war in No. 1 Reserve Hospital, Hanover, Germany, 14 Oct. 1914; unm. Buried there.
ROBSON, OLIVER AUGUSTUS, Private, No. 12396, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, eldest and only surviving s. of Oliver Robson, of 9, Colchester Road, Leyton, co. Essex, Postal Servant, by his wife, Louise Harriett, dau. of Augustus Bourlet; b. Bristol, 20 Oct. 1894; educ. there and in London; was employed in the Post Office Telephone Department; volunteered on the outbreak of war, and enlisted in the Coldstreams, 15 Sept. 1914; went to France to join his Battn., 9 Jan. 1915; was reported missing after the fighting at Cuinchy on the 25th of that month, and is now assumed to have been killed in action on that date; unm.
ROBSON, RICHARD ERNEST, Coy. Sergt.-Major, No. 2448, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Richard Robson, of Howden, Northumberland, Coal Trimmer; b. Howden, 2 March, 1880; joined the 1st Durham R.E. (Vol.), 2 Feb. 1896; and served in that corps until 31 Jan. 1899; being returned as an efficient in the years, 1896–97–98; enlisted in the Coldstream Guards, 10 Feb. 1899; appointed L.-Corpl. 27 July, 1899, Corpl. 30 Aug. 1901, L.-Sergt. 2 July, 1902, Sergt. 5 Aug. 1905, Coy. Sergt. 7 Nov. 1907, Coy. Q.M. Sergt. 21 Oct. 1913, and Coy. Sergt.-Major 1 April, 1915; served in the South African War, 18 March, 1900, to 6 Oct. 1902 (Queen’s medal with five clasps, “Johannesburg,” “Diamond Hill,” “Belfast,” “Cape Colony,” “Orange Free State,” and King’s medal with two clasps, “S.A. 1901,” “S.A. 1902”); and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, 12 Aug. 1914 to 27 Sept. 1915, and was mortally wounded in the Battle of Loos, and died the same day. Buried, at La Rutoire, north of the Loos Road, one mile S.E. of Vermelles. He m. at Christ Church, Victoria Street, Westminster, 25 Feb. 1905, Lilian, dau. of Joseph Filderby, of Ladywood, Birmingham, Scales Fitter, and had a son and a dau.: Richard, b. 3 Nov. 1907; and Margaret Lilian, b. 30 Aug. 1906.
ROBSON, THOMAS, Private, No. 8170, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, only s. of Thomas Robson, of Newcastle, by his wife, Mary Anne Elizabeth; b. Shieldfield, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 9 June, 1891; educ. Gateshead; enlisted in the Coldstreams at Newcastle, 23 Nov. 1908, went to the Front with the Expeditionary Force, and was killed in action at Landrecies a few days later, 25 Aug. 1914. “Many splendid things were done that night at Landrecies,” wrote Corpl. G. Gilliam (“Penny Magazine,” 28 Nov. 1914), “but there was nothing finer than the work of our Maxim gunner Robson, who was on our left. Our machine guns were by now at our end of the town, and they had a solid mass of Germans to go at. Robson was sitting on his stool, and as soon as the officer ordered ‘Fire’ he pressed the two buttons and his Maxim hailed death. It literally was a hail of fire that met the packed Germans, and absolutely swept down the head of the column, so that the street was choked in an instant with the German dead. In spite of this absolute hail, a few Germans managed to break through their walls of dead and wounded. One of them disguised as a French Officer, and wanting us to think he had been a prisoner, but had just broken away from the Germans, rushed up to Robson and patted him on the shoulder and said; ‘brave fellow’; and with that he whipped round his sword and killed our Maxim gunner on the spot; but he himself was instantly shot down by our enraged fellows. I suppose he did not mind taking his chance.” He m. at St. Mark’s, Kennington, Annie Francis (32, Werhum Street, Kennington, S.E.), dau. of John Gosling, and had a dau., Annie, b. 29 Nov. 1913.
ROBSON, THOMAS WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./17824, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
ROCKLEY, ERNEST, Ordinary Seaman, J. 16809, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
RODDAM, ROBERT COLLINGWOOD, Capt., 3rd, attd. 1st Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, only s. of Lieut.-Col. Roddam John Roddam, of Roddam, co. Northumberland, J.P., B.A., late commanding 3rd Northumberland Fusiliers, now commanding 15th Northumberland Fusiliers, by his wife, Helen Fredericka, yst. dau. of Capt. Alexander Taubman Goldie, of The Hermitage, Isle of Man, late R.N.; b. Roddam Hall, near Alnwick, 10 Jan. 1890; educ. Wellington College; joined the 7th Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers (T.F.) as 2nd Lieut. in Aug. 1908; transferred to the 3rd Special Reserve, commanded by his father, in 1910, and was promoted Lieut. 2 Dec. 1912. He was in Ceylon when war broke out; returned to England at once and joined his Battn. in Sept., went to France in Dec. as a Lieut., and was then attd. to the 1st Battn., and promoted Capt.; and was killed in action at Hooge, 16 June, 1915, gallantly leading his Company in an attack on the German trenches; unm. Buried there. His Col. (now Brig.-Gen. Ainslie) wrote: “He will be a great loss as an officer, in fact I know of no one who shaped better or showed more soldierlike qualities. Over and over again he has been in very nasty situations and every time he has come out smiling, and kept his end up splendidly. It will be a consolation to you to know what a tip-top officer he was.” Capt. Roddam was awarded the Military Cross [London Gazette, 23 June, 1915] for gallantry with the handful of men in the advanced trench left capable, after having had their trench mined at St. Eloi, 14 April; and was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June, 1915], for gallant and distinguished service in the field.
RODDIS, CHARLES HENRY, Private, No. 3071, 1/5th Battn. Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regt. (T.F.), only s. of Joseph Charles Roddis, of 13, Fieldhouse Lane, Leeds Road North, Huddersfield, Stone Machinist, by his wife, Ellen, dau. of Henry Wheeldon, of Sheffield; b. Sheffield, 6 Feb. 1897; educ. Parson Cross School, Wadsley Bridge, near Sheffield; was apprenticed as a tool fitter at David Brown & Sons, Motor Engineers, Lockwood, Huddersfield, but, on the outbreak of war, volunteered for foreign service and joined the 5th West Riding Regt.; went to France in April, 1915; volunteered as a bombthrower, and was killed in action at Fleurbaix, 25 June following; unm. Buried at La Croix, near Fleurbaix. Major G. P. Norton wrote: “Private C. Roddis was mortally wounded by a shell about 4.45 yesterday afternoon, and he died in the first-aid post the same evening. The enemy was shelling our trenches, and your son was in a dug-out, about the last shell they fired hit on the top of the dug-out and burst inside.... He was such a nice lad and a splendid soldier. His heart was in his work; he took up bombing and turned out one of the best bombers in the Brigade. He was doing a turn in the trenches to make room for others to be trained as bombers, and it is very hard that he should have been killed before he could use the bombs on the Germans. His is a great loss to me personally, and all the officers and his comrades.”
RODGER, WALTER WASHINGTON BUCHANAN, Lieut., 5th Battn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (T.F.), yst. s. of the late Walter Washington Buchanan Rodger, Ex-Provost, of Greenock, C.E., J.P., by his wife, Emma Amelia (Bagatelle, Greenock), dau. of William Clark Rodger, of New York; b. Greenock, 13 May, 1895; educ. Trinity College, Glenalmond; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 20 Oct. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 1 Nov. 1914; went to the Dardanelles, 1 June, 1915, and was killed in action near Krithia, 8 July following; unm. Buried there. He was a member of Glenalmond O.T.C. for four years, and one of the Bisley team two years.
RODGERS, GEORGE, Leading Seaman, R.N.R., 1780C, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROE, HENRY GRAEME, Private, No. 2020, 2nd Battn. 1st Infantry Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, s. of the late Colin Graeme Roe, of Allestree House, Chesterfield Road, Sheffield, Artist, by his wife, Caroline Louisa, dau. of James Andrews, and grandson of Robert Henry Roe, Animal Painter; b. Brincliffe Edge, Sheffield, 24 July, 1889; educ. Abbeydale School there; displaying a great taste for engineering he entered the works of the Hardy Patent Pick Co., where he remained over four years. In Nov. 1908, he went to an uncle in New Zealand, continuing his engineering work there, after three years he went to Sydney, and finally became 2nd Engineer on the S.S. Koonokarra (Lever Bros.), which was employed collecting the products of the Solomon Islands. Arriving at Sydney on a return voyage at the end of 1914, he enlisted in the Commonwealth Expeditionary Forces in Jan. 1915, and after a short period of training in Liverpool Camp, N.S.W., left for Egypt with the fifth reinforcements in April. He was killed in action at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, between 7 and 14 Aug. 1915; unm.
ROGERS, ALBERT SAMUEL, Stoker, 1st Class, 301451 (Ports.), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROGERS, ALFRED SIDNEY, Seaman, R.N.R., 4758A, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROGERS, ARTHUR, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9129), 203989, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
ROGERS, ERNEST JOHN, Boy, 1st Class, J. 27386, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
ROGERS, HAROLD HILDRED, Driver, 1st Sussex Battery, R.F.A., only s. of the late William Rogers, of Felixstowe (who served five years in the Navy and was invalided out), by his wife, Rosa Catherine (now wife of George Dancy, of 2, Ivanhoe Terrace, Ham Road, Broadwater, Worthing), dau. of George Wadey, of Cold Waltham, Pulborough, Sussex; b. Felixstowe, co. Suffolk, 24 Oct. 1894; educ. Washington, Pulborough, Sussex; was a Market Garden Labourer; had joined the Worthing Territorials about April, 1913, and on the outbreak of war, volunteered for foreign service; went to India, Oct. 1914. and was drafted from there in Nov. 1915, to the Persian Gulf; and was drowned in the River Tigris, 25 Dec. 1915: unm.
ROGERS, HENRY MILWARD, Capt., 5th Battn. Manchester Regt. (T.F.), only s. of the late William Rogers, of The Grange, Coppull, Lancashire, Mining Engineer, some time Mayor of Wigan, by his wife, Helen (The White House, Parbold), dau. of Richard (and Catherine) Procter; b. Southport, 27 Sept. 1879; educ. Bilton Grange and Radley College; was a Mining Engineer, and a partner in the firm of Messrs. Kellett, Walker & Rogers, Mining Experts, and was largely interested in South Wales and Lancashire collieries. He joined the old Vol. Battn. (now the 5th Territorial Battn.) Manchester Regt., 3 Aug. 1899. and after passing the School of Instruction for field service, obtained his commission as Capt. 17 June, 1905. On the outbreak of the European War he volunteered with his regt. for foreign service; left England 6 Sept. 1914 for Egypt; landed at the Dardanelles, 3 May, 1915, and died on board H.M. Hospital Ship Reindeer, 26 May, 1915, from wounds received in action there a few days previously. He m. at Horwick Parish Church, 3 Sept. 1903, Muriel (Alderbrook, Parbold, Lancashire), 5th dau. of Col. Charles Frederick Ainsworth, of Lower Brazley, Horwick, V.D., and had three sons: Charles William Milward, b. 12 Sept. 1904; Martin Milward, b. 17 March, 1908; and David Milward, b. 25 March, 1911.
ROGERS, JOSEPH, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 20073, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
ROGERS, MAURICE CROSTON, 2nd Lieut., 59th Field Coy. R.E., only s. of John Croston Rogers, Senior Inspector of National Schools, Ireland; b. Dublin 29 March, 1894; educ. at Campbell College, Belfast, where he won both a Junior and a Senior Scholarship and the McNeill Gold Medal, which is awarded to the best Mathematical Scholar of the year. He early selected the Army as his Profession and, when a branch of the O.T.C. was started at the college, he at once joined it and, after some time, became its Senior Sergeant. While connected with the Corps he passed the test in Signalling, being the first Irish schoolboy to obtain this distinction. He also passed the test in Musketry and obtained Certificate A. In June, 1912, he entered the R.M.A., Woolwich, direct from school. At the end of the first term, his name appeared second on the list of his class and, in a subsequent term, it appeared first. Passing out of the Academy he obtained second place, and was awarded the Armstrong Memorial Medal and the French Prize. He received his commission in the Royal Engineers, 17 July, 1914, and when war was declared was at once summoned to Chatham, where he remained until the 23 Jan. 1915, when he was sent to France and posted to the 59th Field Coy. He died of wounds received in action at Wulverghem, 25 Feb. following, and was buried in the Churchyard of Neuve Eglise, where his men erected an oak cross and kerb over his grave. His commanding officer wrote: “Although he had been with the Company only a short time he was greatly liked by us all, both officers and men, and we deeply regret his death, not only as the death of a very promising young officer, but because it means to us the loss of one for whom, in the short time he had been with us, we had learned to feel a great personal regard and liking.
ROGERS, RONALD JOSEPH, Capt., 14th Battn. The Rifle Brigade, attd. 1st Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, only s. of Joseph Rogers of River Mead, Keynsham, Bristol, formerly of Weston-super-Mare, by his wife, Jane, dau. of Henry Lovebond, of Bridgwater; b. Sandford, Banwell, co. Somerset, 18 Dec. 1883; educ. St. Peter’s School, Weston-super-Mare, and Blundells School, Tiverton; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 4th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 16 Jan. 1901; promoted Lieut. 1903, and Capt. April, 1908; served in the South African War, 1902, taking part in the operations in Cape Colony and Orange River Colony, March to 31 May, 1902 (Queen’s medal with three clasps). He retired in 1908 and went to the Malay States, where he held an appointment as Manager of a rubber estate; but after the outbreak of the European War offered his services and was appointed Capt. in the 14th Rifle Brigade, 20 March, 1915; went to the Dardanelles 21 May, 1915, attd. to the 1st Battn. of his old regt., and was killed in action at Saghir Dere Ravine, 28 June following, during the great advance on Krithia. Buried there. Capt. Rogers was a famous Rugby football player; played for Somerset, and was chosen by the Rugby Football Union as forward in the British team, 1904, against Australia and New Zealand. He also held the Vellum Certificate of the Royal Humane Society for saving his own father’s life at sea at Newport, Pembrokeshire, 2 Oct. 1897. He m. at Plymouth, 7 Nov. 1911, Hilda May, eldest dau. of Col. Alfred Lionel McNair, of Merrifield House, Plympton, South Devon, and had a son, Geoffrey Ronald, b. 16 Nov. 1912.
ROGERS, VALENTINE WILLIAM, A.B. (R.F.R., I.C. 541), 200458, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
COXWELL-ROGERS, RICHARD HUGH, of Dowdeswell Court, Trooper, No. 2234, Royal Gloucestershire Yeomanry (T.F.), only s. of the late Godfrey Hugh Wheeler Coxwell-Rogers, of Dowdeswell Court, and Ablington, co. Gloucester, by his wife, Aileen Emma (Donegal Cottage, Carrigaloe, co. Cork), dau. of Richard Hugh Smith Barry, of Bally Edmond, co. Cork; b. Leckhampton, near Cheltenham, 10 May, 1884; educ. Cheltenham College; went to British Columbia in 1900; returned to England in 1914, and on the outbreak of war in Aug. of that year, volunteered and joined the Royal Gloucestershire Yeomanry as a trooper, went to the Dardanelles, Aug. 1915, and was killed in action at Suvla Bay, 21 Aug. following; unm.
ROGERS, WILLIAM ALFRED, Seaman, R.N.R., 5294 B., H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.