Lieutenant The Hon. Archer Windsor-Clive
Cambridge University
3rd Bn Coldstream Guards
Died 25 August 1914
Aged 23
Left-handed Bat/Left-arm Medium Bowler
‘A man of so much promise’
‘The first of the first-class cricketers to die’
Archer Windsor-Clive was born on 6 November 1890, at Hewell Grange, Redditch, Worcestershire, the third son of the 1st Earl and Countess of Plymouth. Educated at Eton he was in the first XI between 1907–09. In the former season he scored 10 and 38 against Harrow and a solid 105 against Winchester. Going up to Trinity College, Cambridge, he scored 12 and took seven wickets for 49 during the Freshmen’s match in 1910.
Clive-Wilson made seven first class appearances for Cambridge University between May 1910 and June 1912. His first match was against Essex on 9 May 1910 at the Fenner’s Ground, Cambridge (Fenner’s has hosted first-class cricket matches since 1848 and many a great player has cut his cricketing teeth there. The ground was established on land leased for the purpose by Francis Fenner after whom the ground is named). He scored 13 and 15 and took three wickets for 56 runs off 23 overs. Essex won by an innings and 89 runs. He also played against Surrey, Kent, Free Foresters, Sussex and Hampshire. His final first class match was played on 27 June 1912 against H. D. G. Leveson-Gower’s XI, played at the Saffrons, Eastbourne, Windsor-Clive scoring 2 and 22 and taking no wickets. The match was drawn. During his first-class career he made 108 runs, his highest score being 22 against Leveson-Gower’s XI on 27 June 1912. He also took three wickets for 217 runs, his best figures being 3 for 56 against Essex on 9 May 1910. He took one catch. Between 1908 and 1912 he turned out for Glamorganshire, then a minor county side. He also represented the Perambulators (1910), B. H. Holloway’s XI (1911) and the Household Brigade in 1914.
Commissioned as second lieutenant into the Coldstream Guards, with effect from 8 September, 1911, on 12 August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the war, he left Chelsea Barracks, London, for France with No. 2 Company, 3rd Battalion. Promoted to lieutenant, he moved with his battalion to Southampton, where he crossed to France with his company on the SS Cawdor Castle. On arrival in France the Guards moved forward to Harveng, and on the 23rd formed a defensive position.
The Retreat from Mons began the following day. The 3rd Battalion Coldstream fell back via Malgarni to Landrecies, arriving there during the late afternoon, being positioned to defend the north-west section of the town. Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Ross-of-Blandensburg, records that No. 2 Company fired on advancing enemy patrols, driving them back from the le Quesnoy road. Around dusk, a column was seen moving up the road. The men were singing French songs and, when challenged, an officer replied that they were friends. However, although the troops at the front were wearing French and Belgian uniforms, it was noticed that those at the back were German. The order to open fire was given, but not quickly enough and the Germans managed to rush the Coldstream position, killing one man.
The battle continued along the streets into Landrecies. During the night, the Germans launched repeated attacks down the two roads from the north-west, all of which were held and driven back by 3rd Coldstream. The position of a farm building at the right end of the British line enabled the Germans to enfilade the Coldstream with a machine gun. The Germans were supported by a field gun, firing up the road. This gunfire set a haystack on fire close to the Coldstream positions. The sudden blaze illuminated the British troops, and made them easy targets for the German Infantry. Private 5854 G. H. Wyatt rushed forward and put out the blaze, under fire from the Germans, who were within twenty-five yards of the Coldstream position. Once again the stack was ignited, and again Wyatt put the flames out. For his actions on this day Wyatt was awarded the Victoria Cross.
One of the German attacks, infiltrating round the left flank of 3rd Coldstream, reached as far as the railway station, where it was repelled by the Grenadiers of Number 2 Company, commanded by Major Lord Bernard Gordon-Lennox.
The Grenadiers’ machine-gun section, commanded by Lieutenant Cecil, moved forward and provided additional support to the 3rd Coldstream, who were suffering from the fire of the single German field gun, directed down the street.
Lieutenant Colonel Fielding, Commanding Officer of 3rd Coldstream, brought up a howitzer from the supporting RFA battery. The howitzer was manhandled up to the level-crossing and opened fire on the German gun. The third round put the German gun out of action. Unfortunately, sometime between 7.00 and 8.00pm, Archer Windsor-Clive, together with his batman Frank Lethbridge, were killed by a shell.
Relieved the following morning, 26 August, 3rd Coldstream withdrew to Etreux. Their casualties amounted to two officers (including Archer’s close friend and another member of the British aristocracy Lieutenant The Viscount Hawarden) and ten other ranks killed, 108 wounded and seven missing.
Archer is buried in Landrecies Communal Cemetery B. 1, close to the grave of his servant Frank Lethbridge.
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Lieutenant Colonel Sir Evelyn Ridley Bradford Bart
Hampshire
Commanding Officer 2nd Bn Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-Shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s)
Died 14 September 1914
Aged 47
Right-handed Bat/Right-arm Fast Bowler
‘He led in everything’
Evelyn Ridley Bradford was born in Goonah, India on 16 April 1869. He was the son of Sir Edward Ridley Colborne Bradford, 1st Baronet, former Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police and extra Equerry to His Majesty the King, and Lady Bradford (nee Knight). Educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Bradford was commissioned into the Seaforth Highlanders on 22 August 1888.
Promoted to lieutenant on 11 June 1890, five years later, on 3 July 1895, he became a captain and received his majority on 26 June 1902. He was appointed brevet lieutenant colonel on 10 May 1913 and confirmed in that rank on 10 June. Bradford served in the Sudan Expedition of 1898 being present at the actions of Atbara and Khartoum. During the Second Boer War, 1899–1902, he served on the staff, taking part in operations in the Orange Free State including the actions at Poplar Grove, Driefontein and Witteberier. During this time he was Mentioned in Despatches twice.
Upon his father’s death in 1911, Bradford assumed the title of 2nd Baronet. In 1909 he married Elsie Surrey, third daughter of Colonel James Clifton Brown of Medstead Manor, Alton, Hampshire. They had three children: Sir Edward Montagu Andrew, was born on 30 November 1910 and, aged only 4 years, became the 3rd Baronet on his father’s death in 1914; Ridley Lewkenor, born 11 April 1912, and Donald Clifton, born 22 May 1914. Bradford’s father had married twice, his first wife being a daughter of Edward Knight, of Hampshire and Kent, and his second a daughter of William Nicholson, of Harrow and the MCC. Through his grandfather, Colonel Bradford was thus related to a host of famous cricketers, including the Jenners, Normans, Nepeans, Barnards, Bonham-Carters, Wathens, and Dykes.
Bradford made eight first-class appearances for Hampshire between July 1895 and May 1905, all but one in the County Championship. His first-class debut came for Hampshire in the County Championship against Somerset on 1 July 1895 at the County Ground, Southampton. He scored 12 and 9 and failed to take a wicket, Somerset winning by 183 runs. Bradford also played against Surrey, Essex, Australia, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. His final first-class appearance came on 25 May 1905 against Surrey played at the Officers’ Club Service Ground, Aldershot, in which he scored 60 and 2 and caught Walter Scott Lee off the bowling of Henry Persse (KIA 28 June 1918) for 130. Surrey won by seven wickets. During his first-class career Bradford made 311 runs, his highest score being 102 against Leicestershire on 10 August 1899. He also took 20 for 328 runs, his best figures being 6 for 28 against Essex in August 1896. He made five catches.
During his brief career, Bradford’s bowling action was not approved of by several first-class umpires and he was no-balled on numerous occasions. While playing for Hampshire in 1899, he was no-balled by White and Pickett in the match with the Australians at Southampton, and by A. F. Smith at Leicester. In military matches he was a heavy run-getter, and as recently as May 1913, had played an innings of 251 for Shorncliffe Garrison against Folkestone. For Aldershot Command versus Incogniti in May 1895 he scored 248.
At the outbreak of the First World War Bradford was in command of the 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders which went to France as part of 10 Infantry Brigade. His battalion covered the retirement of the Expeditionary Force on Cambrai. Positioned in the middle of the line 2nd Seaforth helped break up the front of the German pursuit suffering heavy casualties as I and II Corps fell back. Bradford was killed at the Battle of Aisne by a shell on 14 September 1914. He was Mentioned in Despatches by Sir John French for his services in the earlier part of the war (London Gazette, 8 October, 1914).
He was buried in Crouy-Vauxrot French National Cemetery, Crouy, Grave B. 11.
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Captain Arthur Maitland Byng
Hampshire and Jamaica
4th Bn Royal Fusiliers
Died 14 September 1914
Aged 41
Right-handed Bat
‘No man could have done more’
Born in Southsea on 26 September 1872, Arthur Maitland Byng was the son of Major A. H. Byng, late of the Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) and formerly lieutenant Royal Navy. He was also related to the Viscount Torrington. Byng was educated at The Grange, Cowes, and by an Army tutor at Caen. In September 1895 he was gazetted into the West Indian Regiment. Promoted captain in June 1900 he continued to serve with the regiment until March 1901 when he transferred to the 4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). He served in the South African (Boer) War in 1901 and 1902 with the mounted infantry, taking part in operations in the Transvaal, Orange Free State and Cape Colony. Between 1903 and 1905 he was employed by the Egyptian Army and was adjutant in the Special Reserve from 1908 to 1912.
Byng played in eight first-class matches between September 1896 and July 1905, five for Jamaica and three for Hampshire. His debut first-class match took place on 10 September 1896 against British Guiana at Bourda, Georgetown, Jamaica. He scored 13 and 32, took 3 wickets for 53 off 19 overs and caught Charles Chandler off the bowling of George Garnett for 11. British Guiana won by an innings and 45 runs. In addition, he played against Barbados and A. Priestley’s XI. On returning to England Byng joined Hampshire, playing for them in three first-class matches, the first against Kent and the others against Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. His final first-class match for Hampshire was played against Northampton at the County Ground, Northampton, on 10 July 1905 in the County Championship. Byng scored 6 and 4 and failed to take a wicket; Northampton won by 231 runs. During his first-class career Byng made 252 runs, his highest score being 70 against British Guiana on 12 September 1896. He also took 7 wickets for 168 runs, his best bowling figures being 3 for 53, once again against British Guiana, on 10 September 1896.
Arthur Byng also played for the Hampshire Hogs against the Royal Navy at Portsmouth in July 1905, when he scored 204 runs in a partnership with D. A. Steel; the two actually put on 335 runs for the first wicket. An established batsman for the Army, he made hundreds of runs for the Royal Fusiliers.
Byng travelled to France with his battalion, landing in le Havre on 13 August 1914. The battalion was soon in the thick of the fighting, winning the war’s first two Victoria Crosses (Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Private Sidney Frank Godley) on 23 August 1914.
Captain Byng was killed at Vailly, at the Battle of the Aisne, on 14 September 1914 while looking through his field-glasses; shot in the throat he was killed instantaneously.
A brother officer gave the following account of him and his work during the early part of the war: ‘He has done very well with his Company; no man could have done more … He was our great interpreter, being very good at French’ and ‘He was always taking risks and leaving the trenches with a rifle to walk about in front.’
Byng has no known grave and is commemorated on the la Ferté-sous-Jouarre Memorial, Seine-et-Marne, France.
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Captain Leonard Slater
Gentlemen of the South
2nd Bn Royal Sussex Regiment
Died 14 September 1914
Aged 38
Right-handed Bat
‘Never gave up until the last ball was bowled’
Leonard Slater was born at Instow, North Devon, on 11 October 1875, the son of the Reverend Francis and Mrs Harriet Slater. Educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was gazetted to an unattached second lieutenancy in August 1895 and joined the Indian Staff Corps in 1896. Promoted to lieutenant in November 1897 and then captain in August 1904, he served with the 22nd Cavalry, Punjab Frontier Force, for eight years in Waziristan (North-West Frontier) before returning home in 1904 and joining the Royal Sussex Regiment and being appointed adjutant of the 5th Battalion (Cinque Ports) from 1909. He married Constance Dorothy daughter of Colonel F. Pridham of Instow, Devon, in 1901. They had three children, Francis, born in 1902, Helen Elizabeth, born 1903, and finally John Frederick, born 1909, who would have a very distinguished military career, winning a DSO and Bar and being credited with forming the Army’s first commando unit during the Second World War.
While serving in India, Leonard played for Peshawar and Northern Punjab at a time when neither team had first-class status. He played for both teams in the 1902–03 season. Returning to England, he played a single Minor Counties Championship match for Devon against Glamorgan and, five years later on 9 September 1909, played his only first-class match when he represented the Gentlemen of the South against the Players of the South at the Central Recreation Ground, Hastings. He scored 15 and 0; the Players of the South won by 228 runs.
Slater crossed to France with the 2nd Bn Royal Sussex in August 1914. He was involved in heavy fighting before being killed on 14 September 1914, together with six other officers of his battalion during the early part of the Battle of the Aisne. His commanding officer had a very high opinion of Captain Slater’s capacity as a company commander and leader of men. ‘Slater was full of energy and fond of games and sport of all kinds. He was a very keen cricketer, and played for the MCC, the Gentlemen of Sussex, and other good teams.’
His body was laid to rest at the Vendresse British Cemetery, grave I.C. 12, and his name was engraved on several memorials following his death, including the War Memorial at Instow. The south side of the nave of St John the Baptist Church in Instow is also dedicated to him while his name is included on the Godalming War Memorial in Godalming, Surrey.
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Captain William Thomas Payne-Gallwey MVO
Army/Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
2nd Bn Grenadier Guards
Died 14 September 1914
Aged 33
Right-arm fast
‘The old son of a distinguished family, he laid down his life for his country’
William Thomas Payne-Gallwey was born on 25 March 1881 at Blackrock, County Dublin, the only son (although he did have four sisters) of Sir Ralph William Frankland Payne-Gallwey 3rd Baronet (who wrote several books on military and sporting history, the best known being The Crossbow (1903), which was re-published in 2007, by Skyhorse Publishing) and Edith Alice Usborne. He was educated at Eton College where he was in the XI. As a right-arm fast bowler, was second in the bowling averages in 1900 with 27 wickets for 18.37. In the same year he played for the Yorkshire Second XI against Surrey at the Oval in the Minor Counties Championship. He was a regular with the Household Brigade.
He played in two first-class matches in 1912. The first took place on 6 May 1912 when he turned out for the MCC against Yorkshire at Lords, he scored 16 and 9 and took one wicket for 20. He also caught David Denton off the bowling of Hesketh Vernon Hesketh-Prichard for 21. Yorkshire won by 2 wickets. His next first-class match also took place at Lords, for the Army against the Navy, on 30 May 1912, he scored 0 and 12 and took one wicket for 35. The Army won by 161 runs.
A career soldier, he served with the Grenadier Guards during the South African (Boer War) of 1899 to 1902. In 1908 he was awarded the MVO (5th Class). He travelled with 2nd Grenadier Guards to France on 15 August 1914 and was reported missing in action only a month later on 14 September. In January 1915 his parents were given some hope when it was reported that he was a prisoner of the Germans. However, this proved to be untrue and his death was assumed to have taken place on the 14th.
His body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the la Ferté- sous-Jouarre Memorial in France.
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Lieutenant Mark Kincaid Mackenzie
Oxford University
King’s Royal Rifle Corps
Died 25 September 1914
Aged 26
Left-arm-fast-medium
‘Forward, Come, come’
Mark Kincaid Mackenzie was born on 22 August 1888 in New Town, Edinburgh, Scotland. The son of the Honourable Charles Kincaid Mackenzie LLD and Lady Mackenzie (née Young) of Wester Shian, Gullane, East Lothian, he was educated at Horris Hill, Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford. Whilst at Winchester he was a house prefect and second captain of Lords in his last year. He was gazetted to The King’s Royal Rifle Corps in July 1911, joining the 4th Battalion in India. When war broke out, Mackenzie was on home leave and was seconded to the 3rd Bn Rifle Brigade.
He played for the Winchester XI in 1905, 1906 and 1907 and was a Harlequin while at Oxford. In 1910 Mackenzie played three first-class matches, all for Oxford University. His debut came against Kent on 12 May 1910 at The University Parks, Oxford. He scored 15 in his one innings and took a wicket for 8 off 4 overs; Oxford won by 8 wickets. His second appearance was on 26 May 1910 against Surrey, once again at the University Parks, Oxford when he scored 0 and 1, taking one wicket for 28 off 12 overs in the first innings and 1 for 21 off 6 overs in the second. He also managed to catch George Platt off the bowling of John Lowe for 0; Surrey won by 116 runs. Mackenzie’s final first-class appearance was on 30 June 1910 against the Gentlemen of England at The Saffrons, Eastbourne. He scored 48 not out and 1, taking one wicket for 36 off 13 overs during the first innings and 2 for 65 off 18 overs in the second. The Gentlemen of England won by 113 runs. In 1914 he played for Marylebone Cricket Club, as well as the Rifle Brigade.
On 25 September 1914, during the battle of Aisne, Mackenzie was involved in a dawn attack on a line of German trenches near Soupir, north-east of Soissons. During this attack he was seen to fall, badly wounded. Pulling himself to his feet he continued to lead his platoon in the attack. The fire was withering from German machine-gun and infantry positions and Mackenzie was wounded for a second time, this time close to the enemy trenches. Despite being mortally wounded, he still called out to his men and was heard to shout, ‘Forward, Come on, come on!’ He was never seen alive again.
Mackenzie played cricket for and was a member of the MCC and I Zingari and he was also a keen hunter, hunting with the Duke of Buccleuch’s Hounds. An outstanding golfer, he was also a member of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.
He is buried in Montcornet Military Cemetery, grave H.6.
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Second Lieutenant Wilfred Methven Brownlee
Gloucestershire
3rd Bn Dorsetshire Regiment
Died 12 October 1914
Aged 24
Right-handed Bat/Right-arm Fast Medium
‘A great loss to the game of cricket,
died before he could serve’
Wilfred Methven Brownlee was born on 18 April 1890 at Cotham, Redland, Bristol, Gloucestershire. Steeped in cricket from an early age, his father was William Methven Brownlee, who played cricket for Gloucestershire and wrote a biography of W. G. Grace.
Brownlee was educated at Clifton College, Bristol, where he was in the XI between 1906 and 1909, being head of the batting averages with 23.57 in 1908, in which season he also took 49 wickets. In 1909 he was made captain and during that season took 34 wickets. He was selected for the Public Schools XI to play against the MCC at Lord’s and took 8 wickets for 61. A free-hitting batsman and fast-medium bowler, he was also quick in the field and went on to play, like his father before him, for Gloucestershire.
He made thirty-three first-class appearances between July 1909 and June 1914, all but one for Gloucestershire and the other for The Players of the South. He made his debut for Gloucestershire on 29 July 1909 in the County Championship against Worcestershire at the County Ground, New Road, Worcestershire. He made 1 and 64 and took a wicket for 20 off 4 overs. Worcestershire won by a wicket. His final match came on 4 June 1914 against Hampshire, again in the County Championship, this time played at the United Services Ground, Portsmouth, Brownlee scoring 11 and 4 and failing to take a wicket. The match was eventually drawn.
During his first-class career Brownlee made 773 runs including three fifties, his highest score being 68 against Northamptonshire on 22 August 1910. He also took 46 wickets for 1251 runs, his best figures being 6 for 61. He made 26 catches.
The Times said of him:
all the gifts of the gods were his, among them tireless energy, intellect, Grecian good looks, a fundamental kindness and charity, (and) a Christian soul beyond his years.
It was said of Brownlee that his greatest challenges in life were to be his future direction: should he be captain of the England cricket team or, perhaps, prime minister. A brother officer later said ‘he might equally have played either role, or possibly both, with distinction’.
During the war he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Dorsetshire Regiment but, before he had chance to serve abroad, he died of meningitis on 12 October 1914.
He is buried in Bristol (Arnos Vale) Cemetery, grave reference G 437. Always worth a visit and a few flowers.
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Lieutenant Walter Evelyn Parke
Army
2nd Bn Durham Light Infantry
Died 13 October 1914
Aged 23
Left-handed Bat
‘Small in size but a giant in his heart’
Walter Evelyn Parke was born on 27 August 1891, the second son of Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Parke and Mrs L. Parke, of Moreton Heath, Moreton, Dorset. Educated at Mr Pellat’s school at Langton Matravers and Winchester College (1905–09), his obituary in Wisden described him as ‘very short, but one of the best batsmen turned out by the College for many years’.
Parke played in the Winchester XI between 1907 and 1909, becoming captain in his last year. He played at Lord’s in his second year and was largely responsible for the victory over Eton that same year, scoring 49 and 46 not out and striking the winning hit. In 1909 he batted for four and a half hours on a difficult wicket, scoring 33 and 30 not out and almost carrying his bat through both innings, certainly saving his side from defeat. He played golf for the school in 1908 and 1909 and in his last year was appointed a commoner prefect.
Deciding on a career in the Army he continued to play cricket and became a prolific scorer. In 1913, playing for Dorset at Lord’s against the MCC, he knocked up an impressive 111 and 103. He played in one first-class match for the Army against Cambridge University on 11 June 1914 at Fenner’s Ground, Cambridge, scoring a not very impressive 11 and 7, although he did manage to catch R. B. Lagden off the bowling of Yates. Despite Parke being under par, Cambridge still managed to come out on top by an innings and 80 runs.
At the outbreak of war he was serving with the 2nd Bn Durham Light Infantry and proceeded to France in September 1914. He died while trying to lift a machine gun over a hedge near les Fermes at approximately 2.00pm on 13 September whilst in command of the machine-gun section. In January 1915 he received a posthumous mention in Sir John French’s Despatches for his bravery in the field.
Parke was buried initially at the Vieux Berquin crossroads (there is a famous photograph of two very young French girls tending his original grave, see attached). After the war his remains were moved and he now lies in grave I.E.10 of Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul.
His elder brother, Lieutenant John Aubrey Parke, Durham Light Infantry, was also killed in action on 25 September 1915.
Bowling averages
Captain William Miles Kington
Europeans (India)
1st Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Died 20 October 1914
Aged 38
Not Known
‘Always made people laugh, even in the most trying circumstances’
William Miles Kington was born on 25 April 1876 at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, the eldest son of Colonel Kington, formerly of the 4th Hussars. He was educated at Glenalmond College and the RMC Sandhurst before taking a commission in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in September 1896.
He was promoted lieutenant in January 1899 and took part in the Second Boer War, being on the staff as a brigade signalling officer from November 1899 to December 1900. He was Mentioned in Despatches on four occasions, and was present at the relief of Ladysmith and the Battle of Colenso, as well as operations in Val Krans, on the Tugela Heights and in the action at Pieter’s Hill. In 1902 he was awarded the DSO for his actions. Between February 1902 and May 1904 he served with the South African Constabulary before serving as an adjutant to Volunteer and Territorial battalions.
He played one first-class match for the Europeans (Indians) during the Bombay Presidency match, which was played on 14 September 1911 at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground, Poona. Kington scored 3 and 1 but, despite his poor showing, the Europeans went on to win by 140 runs. He was also a member of the MCC, I Zingari and the Free Foresters. As well as being a first-class shot, he was able to play any musical instrument.
At the outbreak of war Kington rejoined the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, travelling to France with them in August 1914. At 8.00am on 20 October, while attacking a German position near Zonnebeke, which was found to be stronger than they had realized, Captain Kington was hit by a shell and killed instantly.
A brother officer later wrote to his wife:
For three days we remained in the trenches firing and being fired at without food or water. Lieutenant Hoskyns, who commanded my platoon, was killed by a sniper, and about three hours later Captain Kington DSO was killed. He was a fine officer, and would crack a joke in the trenches, which would set us all laughing our sides out. It made us mad to avenge his death.
Captain Kington was married to Edith, daughter of Mr F. Soames, Bryn-Estyn, Wrexham. They had one son.
His body was never recovered or identified and he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Panel 22.
Bowling averages
Lieutenant Harold Edwin Hippisley
Somerset
1st Bn Gloucestershire Regiment
Died 23 October 1914
Aged 24
Right-handed Bat
‘Without his bravery the situation would have been hopeless’
Harold Edwin Hippisley was born on 3 September 1890 at Wells in Somerset, the youngest son of William John and Mary Hippisley of Northam House, New Street, Wells. Educated at King’s School, Bruton, in Somerset, where he was captain of cricket, in 1909 he headed the batting averages at 62.90, his highest score being 113. He also shone at both hockey and football. After leaving school, Hippisley continued with his hockey and cricket careers, playing hockey for Somerset and the West of England, and in 1913 he tried out for England, although he never won a cap.
Hippisley played in seven first-class matches, all for Somerset, between August 1909 and July 1913. He made his debut on 23 August 1909 in the County Championship against Worcestershire at the County Ground, New Road, Worcester, scoring 40 in his only innings, a score that turned out to be the highest of his first-class career. He also caught Henry Knollys Foster off the bowling of Albert Lewis for 7. The match was drawn. His longtime friend Leonard Sutton was also selected to play for Somerset at the same time. He was to lose his life in 1916; Oswald Samson who also played for Somerset that day was killed in action in 1918. Hippisley’s final first-class match for Somerset came on 14 July 1913 against Derbyshire once again in the County Championship and played at the County Ground, Derby. He scored 0 and 2, but, despite this poor showing, Somerset still managed to win the match by 59 runs. During his first-class career Hippisley scored 114 runs, his highest score being 40 against Worcestershire on 23 August 1909. He never bowled in a first-class match but did take two catches
Harold attended the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester in 1911 to study Estate Management and Forestry, gaining the National Diploma of Agriculture; he was also a Professional Associate of the Surveyors Institution, playing both cricket and hockey for them. While there he was also a member of the Officers’ Training Corps and was appointed to the Special Reserve and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Gloucestershire Regiment on 10 August 1912. Over the next two years he continued with his military training and was called up at the beginning of the war on 5 August 1914, being posted to the 1st Bn Gloucestershire Regiment, based at Bordon Camp.
Posted to No.4 Platoon A Company he travelled with his battalion to land in le Havre on 13 August as part of 3 Brigade in 1st Division. The day before he went overseas, however, he found time to marry his longtime girlfriend, Ivy Gwendoline Cooper, at Portsmouth.
After taking part in much of the heavy fighting during August and September 1914, including the Retreat from Mons, the regiment marching 200 miles in thirteen days they travelled by train to Poperinghe. On 21 October they marched to Langemarck. On arriving, 3 Brigade was immediately ordered to attack in the area of Poelcapelle. The battalion’s objective was the farm at Koekuit, which was taken later that day after much fighting. The battalion was then withdrawn to billets near Pilckem for rest, but at 9.00am on 22 October it received an immediate message to stand to after a major German breakthrough in the Langemarck area. At 7.30am the battalion spotted masses of German infantry advancing down the Koekuit-Langemarck road. An artillery barrage then bombarded the front-line trenches, along with sustained rifle fire as the Germans advanced on Langemarck. Some of the enemy managed to get within fifty yards of A Company’s trenches but were eventually beaten back. Lieutenant Hippisley was killed on the 23rd whilst gallantly holding his trench, along with many of his platoon. Although the Glosters lost 60 per cent of their number, the Germans were still forced to retreat, largely due to the vigorous actions of elements of A and C Companies. Without their bravery the situation would have become impossible. Hippisley was shot in the middle of the forehead at about 10.30am. A fellow officer wrote back to his family:
He was attended by his servant, Private Brown, who was under the impression that if he kept the brain from oozing out of the hole he would be alright. After a time he was convinced that the wound was fatal.
Hippisley’s body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Panels 22 and 34. After his death Ivy moved to Wells, ‘to feel closer to him’.
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Lieutenant William Stanley Yalland
Gloucestershire
1st Bn Gloucestershire Regiment
Died 23 October 1914
Aged 25
Right-handed Bat
‘Not one step back’
William Stanley Yalland was born on 27 June 1889 at Fishponds, Bristol, the youngest child of Thomas King and Mary E. Yalland of The Manor House, Manor Road, Fishponds, Bristol. He had an older sister, Mary, and a brother, Robert. At first he was educated privately before going up to Clifton College, Bristol in 1903. A good all-round sportsman he played rugby for Clifton RFC and later for his regiment. He made one first-class appearance for Gloucestershire against Somerset on 1 August 1910 at the Ashley Down Ground, Bristol, in the County Championship. Playing in the lower order he scored a single run. The match was drawn. It was to be his only appearance in first-class cricket.
On 24 December 1910 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 3rd (Reserve) Bn Leicestershire Regiment, being promoted to lieutenant on 16 February 1912. He requested a transfer to the Gloucestershire Regiment, which was granted and on 16 December 1912 he made the move to become a second lieutenant, in the 3rd (Reserve) Bn (having lost his rank as lieutenant due to the transfer). The next two years were spent in military and officer training. On 5 August 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War he was called up and posted to the 1st Bn Gloucestershire Regiment based at Bordon Camp.
The battalion was part of 3 Brigade in 1st Division. On landing at le Havre on 14 August 1914 Yalland was given command of No. 15 Platoon of D Company. He was promoted back to lieutenant on 18 August and moved with the Glosters to battle positions at Mons. The Glosters were not heavily engaged at Mons and on the 24th withdrew with the rest of the Expeditionary Force. The division moved south-west, crossing the river Aisne at Soissons before crossing the Marne a few days later. The Glosters reached Mouroux on 6 September, having marched 200 miles in thirteen days. On 9 September they re-crossed the Marne at Nogent during an Allied counter-offensive. They also re-crossed the Aisne to the east of Soissons before reaching the Chemin des Dames ridge on 14 September. The battalion remained in the area of Troyon, Bourg, Moulins and Pargnan until relieved on 15 October.
On 21 October 1st Division moved by train to Poperinghe before marching to the Langemarck sector. As soon as they arrived they were ordered to attack in the area of Poelcapelle. The battalion’s objective was the farm at Koekuit, which they eventually took after much heavy fighting. The battalion was sent to get some rest at a camp near Pilckem, but their ‘rest’ didn’t last long and at 9.00am on the 22nd they received information that the Germans had broken through in the Langemarck area. The battalion stood to. At 7.30am the following day a large formation of German infantry was spotted advancing down the Koekuit-Langemarck road towards them. The battalion then came under fire from German artillery as well as accurate rifle fire as the Germans stormed forward towards Langemarck. Such was the power of the assault that the enemy managed to get within fifty yards of the battalion’s forward trenches before being beaten back. Lieutenant Stanley Yalland was shot through the head and killed whilst defending his trench, along with many members of his platoon. Eventually the Germans were pushed back and forced to retreat.
William Yalland’s body was never discovered or identified and he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Panels 22 and 34.
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9576 Rifleman John Thomas Gregory
Hampshire
1st Bn King’s Royal Rifle Corps
Died 27 October 1914
Aged 27
Left-handed Bat/Slow-left-arm Orthodox
‘Always cheerful’ The first ‘other rank’ first-class cricketer to be killed in the war
John Thomas Gregory was born on 13 July 1887 at Forest Lane, Sutton-in-Ashfield, the son of Thomas and Eliza Gregory of Station Road, Sutton. Thomas started his life as an errand boy before becoming a miner. He played cricket for St Modwen’s, where he was a choirboy, and Sutton Town Cricket Club. Between 1905 and 1907 he was on the ground staff at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, although he never played for Nottinghamshire. He also played cricket for Hucknall Colliery. In February 1876 he married Eliza Kendall at St Mary’s, Sutton-in-Ashfield.
During the war he served as Private 9576 in the ranks of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, a regiment that recruited strongly in the East Midlands. While serving in the Army his talent for cricket was quickly recognized. Gregory, a slow left-arm bowler took many wickets in military matches and came to Hampshire’s notice when playing for his regiment at Aldershot. He took all 10 wickets of the 2nd Worcestershire Regiment for only 15 runs, an impressive display. On the strength of this he was selected to play for Hampshire against Oxford University at the County Ground Southampton on 30 June 1913. He scored a duck in his first innings and failed to bat in his second. He also took no wickets for 87. It was his only first-class match.
He also played football at inside right for his regiment and represented the Army against the Amateur Internationals.
Rifleman John Thomas Gregory was killed in action on 27 November 1914 near Zonnebeke, Belgium, the same day that Prince Maurice Victor Donald Battenberg KCVO, grandson of Queen Victoria, serving with the same battalion, also fell.
Ray Westlake’s book British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914 gives an idea of the circumstances surrounding Gregory’s death.
OCTOBER – To Polygon Wood during the afternoon (25th). Advanced early morning (26th) – D Company followed by C and with A and B in support …. The attack was held up, the Battalion holding its positions until relieved by 1st Irish Guards about 5am (27th)…. Withdrew to a farm in valley south of Zonnebeke. Advanced again about 9am – A Company followed by B Company. Lieutenant Colonel Northey records that the Battalion, having crossed the Paschendale-Becelaere, road came under terrific shell and rifle fire. Casualties – Captain W. Wells (3rd Buffs attached), Lieutenant H. H. Prince Maurice VD of Battenburg, and 24 other ranks killed, Second Lieutenants T. N. Horne, H. Sweeting and 130 other ranks wounded, 19 missing. Dug-in about 800 yards east of the road and held positions under heavy shell fire…
His body was never recovered or identified and he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Panel 51 and 53.
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Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lawrence Anderson
Europeans (India)
9th Bhopal Infantry (Indian States Forces)
Died 29 October 1914
Aged 47
Right-handed Bat
‘Would do anything for his men’
Henry Lawrence Anderson was born on 2 June 1867 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and was probably named after the famous leader of the defence of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. He was the son of General R. P. and Mrs Anderson of Holland Road, Kensington.
Educated at Dulwich and gazetted to the Yorkshire Light Infantry in August 1888, he was promoted to lieutenant in March 1890 and the following month transferred to the Indian Staff Corps. Promoted to captain, Indian Army, in August 1899, in 1903–04 he saw active service in Tibet. In August 1914, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became second in command of the 9th Bhopal Infantry (Indian States Forces).
Anderson made two first-class appearances for the Europeans (India) in 1892 and 1893. He made his debut on 19 September 1892 in a Bombay Presidency Match at the Poona Gymkhana Ground, Poona, against the Parsees. He scored 10 and 1 and failed to take a wicket. Parsees won by three wickets. His second first-class match was played on 23 August 1895 at the Gymkhana Ground, Bombay, Anderson failed to bat in either innings but took a wicket for 13 off 7 overs in the first innings. He also managed to catch D. E. Modi off the bowling of R. M. Poore, the Europeans finally winning by 9 wickets.
During the First World War, the 9th Bhopal Infantry were despatched to France in 1914 as part of the Ferozepore Brigade, Lahore Division. The regiment suffered heavy losses at the Battles of Neuve Chapelle, Festubert, Givenchy and Second Ypres. It was during the chaotic fighting of 1914 that Lieutenant Colonel Anderson was killed by a shell near la Gorgue while the battalion was entrenching under heavy fire.
He left a widow, Ethel A. A. Anderson. Anderson is buried in Pont-Du-Hem Military Cemetery, la Gorgue, VI. F. 2.
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Captain Stuart Ronald Gordon
Europeans (India)
57th Wilde’s Rifles (Frontier Force) Indian Army
Died Between 29 and 31 October 1914
Aged 37
Right-handed Bat
‘He did the most gallant thing I have ever seen’
Ronald Stuart Gordon was born on 24 November 1876, the fifth son of the late John Lewis Gordon, of West Park, Elgin, Scotland and Colombo, Ceylon. He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, Perthshire before attending RMC Sandhurst in July 1895. Whilst at Sandhurst he won the bronze medals for cricket, rugby and association football. He was also a fine shot and keen fisherman as well as being a member of the Caledonian Club, London.
In January 1897 he became a second lieutenant in the Indian Army, at first attached to the 61st Pioneers before being transferred to the 57th Wilde’s Rifles. He served as the regimental adjutant and was promoted captain in 1906. While in India he helped to win many cups for polo, football, golf and cricket. He played his one and only first-class match on 11 August 1899 when he played in the Bombay Presidency Match 1899–1900 for the Europeans against the Parsees at the Gymkhana Ground, Bombay. Gordon scored 8 in his only innings and caught Hormasji Kanga off Lionel Deas for 48. The match was drawn.
Gordon served in the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900 and also on the North-West Frontier of India in 1908, taking part in operations in the Mohmand country, and engagements at Kargha and Malta. For these actions he was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette, 14 August 1908). On 6 August 1914 Captain Gordon married Ruby Mary, eldest daughter of Henry Byron Moore, Melbourne, Australia, at St Peter’s, Melbourne. The following day Gordon and his wife returned to India.
In 1914 the 57th Rifles, a one-battalion regiment, sailed with the Lahore Division to France where it fought until December 1915 when it was despatched to Egypt. On the voyage to France the regiment had converted from an eight- to a four-company unit but retained the class composition of one rifle company each of Sikhs, Dogras, Pathans and Punjabi Mussulmans. Gordon was killed in action at Messines on 31 October 1914. A brother officer sent the following account of his death to his wife:
He did the most gallant thing I have ever seen, he took a platoon and went forward to check the advance of the Germans to cover the retirement of the rest of his company, though he must have known it was certain death. While advancing he was shot through the head and died instantaneously.
Another officer also wrote to his family:
He was the best officer I have ever known. He was extraordinarily popular with the men, and I have never seen them so cut up about anything as they were when they came in.
His body was never recovered or identified and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, West-Vlaanderen, Panels 1A and 2.
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Lieutenant Ralph Escott Hancock DSO
Somerset
2nd, attd 1st Bn Devonshire Regiment
Died 29 October 1914
Aged 26
Right-handed Bat
‘Non braver or more selfless’
Ralph Escott Hancock was born on 20 December 1887 at Llandaff, South Wales, the son of Mr and Mrs Frank Hancock of Ford, Wiveliscombe, Somerset. His father was Frank Hancock, the managing director of the Cardiff Brewing Company and a pioneering rugby union international for Wales. His uncles were Froude Hancock and William Hancock, both of whom played rugby union for England, William also playing cricket for Somerset in 1892.
Ralph was educated at Connaught House Preparatory School Portmore, Weymouth, and Rugby School. At Rugby he played for the Cricket XI in 1905 and 1906 and from Rugby went to the RMC Sandhurst in August 1906. In January 1908 he was gazetted to the 2nd Bn Devonshire Regiment, becoming a lieutenant in February 1911. Between 1909 and 1912 he served in Crete, Malta and Alexandria. In September 1913 Ralph married Mary Hamilton Broadmead, younger daughter of the Reverend P. P. Broadmead, of Olands, Milverton, Somerset.
A good all-round sportsman, Hancock played polo, won the regimental cup whilst stationed in Malta and captained the Army polo team versus the Navy. He also won several prices for shooting. An excellent horseman, he won the East Devon Hunt heavyweight Point to Point in 1913 and 1914.
Ralph Hancock was a right-handed middle-order batsman and a sometime bowler. He made nine first-class appearances for Somerset between August 1907 and May 1914. He made his debut against the visiting South Africans on 29 August 1907 at the Recreation Ground, Bath. Hancock scored 15 and 6, the South Africans winning comfortably by 358 runs. He played two further first-class matches in May and July 1908 against Lancashire and Kent, losing both. Hancock then disappeared from first-class cricket for four seasons but reappeared in four games during the 1913 season playing against Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Sussex and Kent. He made two further appearances in May 1914 against Surrey on 21st and Sussex on 25th which was to prove to be his final first class appearance. Hancock scored 25 and 0 Sussex winning by 85 runs. Hancock scored a total of 206 first-class runs, his highest score was 34 against Sussex on 11 August 1913.
After two years stationed at the depot in Exeter, he left for France on 30 August 1914 as part of the reinforcement for the 1st Battalion. He was awarded the DSO (London Gazette, 1 December 1914), a very high award for a junior officer. His citation read:
On October 23rd displayed conspicuous gallantry in leaving his trench under very heavy fire and going back some sixty yards over absolutely bare ground to pick up Corporal Warwick, who had fallen whilst coming up with a party of reinforcements. Lieutenant Hancock conveyed this non-commissioned officer to the cover of a haystack, and then returned to his trench. (since Killed in Action).
Ralph was killed on 29 October 1914 and was subsequently mentioned in Sir John French’s Despatches on 11 January 1915.
His body was never recovered or identified and he is commemorated on the le Touret Memorial, Panels 8 and 9.
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Lieutenant The Hon. Gerald Ernest Francis Ward MVO
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
1st Life Guards
30 October 1914
Aged 36
Right-handed Bat/Right-arm Fast Bowler
‘Could mix with officers and men alike’
Gerald Ernest Francis Ward was born on 9 November 1877 at Himley Hall, Staffordshire, the son of the 1st Earl of Dudley, and Lady Evelyn Ward, of 52 Danes Street, London. Educated at Eton, where he played in the First XI, he was the most successful bowler of the 1896 season, taking 35 wickets for just over 11 runs each. However, despite this, he failed to impress against Harrow at Lord’s. As well as Eton, he played cricket for the Gloucestershire XI, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Household Brigade. He made one first-class appearance for the MCC against Oxford University on 29 June 1903 at Lord’s, scoring 8 in his first innings and failing to bat in the second. The match was eventually drawn.
He took a commission as a second lieutenant in the Gloucestershire Regiment before transferring into the 1st Life Guards. Promoted to lieutenant, he saw service during the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902. He was also invested as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). Ward married Lady Evelyn Selina Louisa Crichton, daughter of John Henry Crichton, 4th Earl of Erne, of Crom Castle, County Fermanagh.
At the outbreak of war the Life Guards were based at their barracks in Hyde Park. On 8 October 1914 Ward crossed to Belgium with his regiment. Apart from the first two weeks when the Life Guards were used in the traditional cavalry role for mobile reconnaissance, it fought most of the war as a dismounted force.
The regiment was heavily involved at the First Battle of Ypres (October–November 1914), during which, on 30 October, Lieutenant Gerald Ernest Francis Ward was killed at Zandvoorde, Belgium. The book Troop Horse and Trench describes Ward’s loss in more detail.
Both A and D Sqns had sustained losses but C Sqn had with the exception of Charlie Wright and six or seven men been absolutely wiped out. Charlie and his little bunch were not in the same section of line with their Sqn, but in close touch with D Sqn. When the order to retire was given, it did not reach the main body of C Sqn owing to its position being slightly detached from, and in front on the left of, the rest of the Regiment. Lord Hugh Grosvenor, C Sqn leader was not the man who would retire without orders, so they just fought it out and died where they stood. No trace of Lord Hugh and his hundred odd men was ever found ….
Four officers of the Life Guards died that day. In addition to Major Hugh Grosvenor, son of Lord Grosvenor, they were Lieutenant The Hon. Gerald Francis Ward, son of the 1st Earl of Dudley, Captain Edward Denis Festus Kelly and Lieutenant John Charles Closebrooks.
The war diary of the 1st Life Guards also mentions the action.
Heavy bombardment of position opened. At 7.30am position was attacked by large force of infantry. This attack proved successful owing to greatly superior numbers. Regiment retired in good order about 10.00am except C Squadron on left flank from which only about ten men got back. Remainder of Squadron missing. Also one machine gun put out of action.
Lieutenant Ward’s body was never discovered or identified and he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Panel 3.
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Lieutenant William Hugh Holbech
MCC/Warwickshire
2nd Bn Scots Guards
Died 1 November 1914
Aged 32
Right-handed Bat
‘In him we have lost a gallant soldier and a great friend’
William Hugh Holbech was born on 18 August 1882 at Murray Bay, Quebec, Canada, the son of Mary Holbech, of The Cottage, Farnborough, Banbury, Oxfordshire and Lieutenant Colonel W. H. Holbech, formerly of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps; his father, who died on 6 March 1901, was also one of HM’s Hon. Corps of Gentlemen at Arms and served in the Red River Expedition, 1870; was a brigade major in the Egyptian Campaign of 1882, and was Mentioned in Despatches).
Educated at Eton, he failed to get into the XI. On leaving Eton he decided to make a career in the Army and entered the RMC Sandhurst and was appointed second lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards in 1902, being promoted lieutenant in March 1904. Holbech was in the Sandhurst XI and played on four occasions during the 1901 season, against the Household Brigade, Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Charterhouse School and the MCC. Between 1902 and 1905 he represented the Household Brigade against the MCC on four occasions. He joined the MCC in 1903. Holbech retired from the Army in 1907, joining the reserve of officers.
Between June 1908 and July 1910 he played in three first-class matches, the first two for the MCC and one for Warwickshire against Hampshire in the County Championship. He made his first-class debut appearance on 25 June 1908 against Cambridge University at Lord’s where he made 7 and 0 and caught Kenneth Macleod off the bowling of Charles Llewellyn for 21. Cambridge University won by two wickets. His second first-class appearance for the MCC was against Oxford University on 10 June 1909 at The University Parks, Oxford. Holbech scored 0 and 21 and the match was drawn. He made his final first-class appearance for Warwickshire against Hampshire on 11 July 1910 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, making two ducks; Hampshire won by an innings and 119 runs.
At the outbreak of the war Holbech joined the 3rd Bn Scots Guards, later transferring to his old battalion on 2 October 1914, that unit being based at the Tower of London. In September 1914 the battalion was attached to 20 Brigade in 7th Division. The division assembled in the New Forest and landed in Zeebrugge during the first week of October 1914. Holbech, together with his battalion, arrived at the front line on 18 October during the First Battle of Ypres. Between 19 October and 22 November 1914, the division fought the advancing Germans to a standstill. As a result of this gallant action, 2nd Scots Guards, together with many other regiments, suffered heavy losses.
During this action rapid British rifle fire cut the German advance to pieces and prevented a German breakthrough. After this the division became known as the ‘Immortal Seventh’. On 25 October Holbech was severely wounded at Kruseid and was evacuated to England. Although he arrived back safely, he finally succumbed to his wounds at the Herbert Hospital, Woolwich on 1 November.
On hearing of his death his commanding officer, Colonel Bolton, wrote:
From the time Willie joined us at Southampton until he was mortally wounded, he was one of the most cheery, unselfish, capable, and keenest of the officers in my battalion. We all deplore his loss more than I can say. I look back on both him and poor young Cottrell Dormer, as two of the best officers in every way.
A brother officer, Major Cator, also wrote to the family:
He defended his trench all night at Kruseik when the Germans got through our line. He and Capt. Paynter had the Germans all round them and defended their trenches most gallantly – I only wish I could tell you more; in him we have lost a gallant soldier and a great friend.
He is buried against the north side of the tower in St Botolph Churchyard, Farnborough, Warwickshire.
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Major Eustace Crawley
Cambridge University
12th (The Prince of Wales’s Royal) Lancers
Died 2 November 1914
Aged 46
Right-handed Bat
‘The finest truest officer I ever met’
Eustace Crawley was born on 16 April 1868 in Highgate, Middlesex, the third son of Baden Crawley. Educated at Harrow, he played for the Harrow XI (1885–86) before going up to Trinity College Cambridge. He made seventeen first-class appearances for Cambridge University between May 1887 and July 1889, his first class debut being on 12 May 1887 for Cambridge against C. I. Thornton’s XI at Fenner’s. He made 24 in his one innings; Cambridge University won by ten wickets. He went on to play against A. J. Webbe’s XI, Yorkshire, Sussex, MCC, Oxford University, Gentlemen of England and Surrey. He made his final first-class appearance on 1 July 1889 against Oxford University at Lords. Crawley scored 54 in his one innings, Cambridge University winning by an innings and 105 runs. During his first-class career Crawley scored 424 runs, his highest score being 103 against Oxford University on 4 July 1887, and made eight catches. He also turned out for Hertfordshire (1885–1889), Worcestershire (1887–1892), the Army (1892), I Zingari (1892–1893) and Marylebone Cricket Club (1893).
Crawley made his career in the Army and joined 12th Lancers in August 1889 as a second lieutenant; he was promoted to lieutenant in 1891 and captain in November 1897. Between 1880 and 1890 he took part in operations in Sierra Leone and in 1899 was in command of the Bula Expedition in Nigeria, for which he was Mentioned in Despatches for his leadership.
Crawley also commanded the Nigeria Company Constabulary. In the years 1900 to 1902 he was a Special Service Officer in the South African War. He was DAAG (Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quarter Master General) of Ridley’s Corps of Mounted Infantry from April to December 1900 and took part in General Ian Hamilton’s march. Present at the actions of Diamond Hill, Johannesburg, and Wittebergen, he was on operations in Cape Colony under General French, served as Intelligence Officer to Capper’s Column at the end of 1901, and Staff Officer to Doran’s Column from December 1901 to May 1902. For his services, Lord Roberts mentioned him in despatches on 4 December 1901.
From May to November 1902 Captain Crawley was DAAG on the staff of Colonel Hickman, commanding the troops at Middelburg, Cape Colony. In 1902 and 1903 he again saw service in Nigeria, being in command of a column in the Kano Expedition. He commanded Mounted Infantry in India in 1903 and obtained the substantive rank of major in July1905 before, in 1906 and 1907, he became officiating Brigade Major of the Amballa Cavalry Brigade and ADC to the Inspector General of Cavalry in India. Major Crawley married Lady Violet Ella Finch, eldest daughter of the eighth Earl of Aylesford in December 1904, and they resided at 5 Lancaster Gate Terrace, London.
Eustace Crawley was killed by a shell at Wytschaete, Hollebeke, Belgium on 2 November 1914. His body was never recovered or identified and he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Panel 5.
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Captain Bruce Edward Alexander Manson
61st King George’s Own Pioneers
Europeans (India)
Died 4 November 1914
Aged 35
‘The King spoke very well of him’
Bruce Edward Alexander Manson was born on 7 December 1878, the son of F. B. Manson (Indian Forest Service) and Emily Manson. On passing for the Indian Army he was gazetted to an unattached second lieutenancy in July 1898 before being appointed to the Indian Staff Corps in October 1899.
In 1900 Manson saw service in China during the Boxer Rebellion, for which he was awarded the Military Order of the Dragon. It was also in 1900, in October, that he was promoted lieutenant in the Indian Army, obtaining his company in July 1907. He married Mable Manson and was ADC to HM King George V at the Delhi Durbar in 1911.
Manson played one first-class match for the Europeans against the Parsees on 21 September 1903 during a Bombay Presidency Match. The match was played at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground, Poona. Manson scored 1 and 7 and took three wickets for 54, Parsees eventually winning by an innings and six runs.
At the outbreak of war Manson found himself in Tanga, East Africa. The British resolved to capture German East Africa with an amphibious attack on Tanga but, although the plan looked good on paper, the attack turned into a debacle. On 2 November 1914 Captain Francis W. Caulfeild, commander of the British cruiser HMS Fox, gave the German garrison in Tanga one hour to surrender. After three hours the German flag was still flying and Fox attacked with a force of fourteen troop transports. Unfortunately, the time given by Caulfeild for the garrison to surrender was used to strengthen their positions and bring up reinforcements, eventually numbering about 1,000 in six companies. It also gave time for one of Germany’s most able commanders, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck to get back to Tanga.
By evening on 3 November the invasion force was ashore. At noon on 4 November the troops were ordered to march on the city. Well concealed defenders quickly broke up the advance. The fighting then turned to jungle skirmishing and bitter street fighting. The harbour contingent pushed on and entered the town, capturing the customs’ house and the Hotel Deutscher Kaiser and running up the Union Jack. Unfortunately, poorly trained and equipped battalions of the Imperial Service Brigade scattered and retreated under an intense German fire and ran from the town. To make things worse the 98th Infantry were attacked by swarms of angry bees and also ran. The battle was a disaster for the British who were forced to evacuate back to the transport. British troops left behind nearly all their equipment. As a result Lettow-Vorbeck re-equipped three Askari companies with the latest rifles, together with 60,000 rounds of ammunition. He also captured sixteen machine guns and several field telephones. The British Official History of the War said it was ‘one of the most notable failures in British military history’.
Casualties included 360 killed and 487 wounded on the British side; the Schutztruppe lost sixteen Germans and fifty-five Askaris killed, and seventy-six in total wounded. Among the British dead was the unfortunate Bruce Edward Alexander Manson.
Bruce Manson is commemorated in the Tanga memorial Cemetery, Tanzania.
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Captain Arnold Stearns Nesbitt
Worcester
Worcestershire Regiment
Died 7 November 1914
Aged 36
Right-handed Bat/Wicket-keeper
‘Refused to retreat even when his life was in danger’
Arnold Stearns Nesbitt was born on 16 November 1878 at Walton-on-Thames. The son of Mr and Mrs William Henry Nesbitt of Oatlands Drive, Weybridge, Surrey, he was educated at Bradfield College, Berkshire where he played for the First XI. On leaving school Arnold decided to make a career in the Army and, leaving the Militia, took a commission in the 3rd Bn Worcestershire Regiment as a second lieutenant. He was promoted lieutenant later that year before being promoted to captain in 1904. As Adjutant of the 6th Battalion from 1911 to 1914 at the depot at Norton Barracks, Worcester, he organized a Military Tournament at the Skating Rink which, owing to his energies and foresight, as well as his tact and courtesy, was a great success. He also played for his regiment in 1900. He was employed with the Egyptian Army between 1907 and 1908.
Nesbitt made one first-class appearance for Worcestershire against Middlesex on 27 May 1914 at Lord’s, making 2 not out and 3. He also caught John Hearne off the bowling of Robert Burrows for 104. Middlesex won by an innings and 56 runs. He was a member of Incognito, the Worcestershire County, and the Gentlemen of Worcester Cricket Clubs and was also a very keen hunter.
Arnold Nesbitt was killed in action on 7 November 1914. The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War by Captain H. F. Stacke (1928) describes what happened:
November 6th 1914 saw the low-lying valley of the Lys blanketed by a thick fog. The fog lasted all day, great shells hurtling through the air while the men in the waterlogged trenches stared ahead. In the darkness between 3 and 4 a.m. on 7th November a very heavy shellfire was opened on the British line east of Ploegsteert Wood. Around 5 a.m. masses of German infantry came plunging through the fog. Losses were heavy with over 200 soldiers killed including Captain Nesbit. A brother officer said of Nesbitt, ‘He was one of the best officers the regiment had ever had.’
He was also mentioned for his gallant service in Sir John French’s Despatches of 14 January 1915.
His body was never recovered or identified and he is commemorated on the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial, Panel 34.
Nesbitt was also a prominent Mason being a member of Lodge of Erin No. 2895, London.
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Major Lord Bernard Charles Gordon-Lennox
Middlesex
2nd Bn Grenadier Guards
Died 10 November 1914
Aged 36
Right-handed Bat
‘As brave as anyone I have ever seen’
Lord Bernard Charles Gordon-Lennox was born on 1 May 1878 in Westminster London, the third son of the seventh Duke of Richmond and Gordon KG by his first wife Amy Mary, daughter of Percy Ricardo, of Bramley Park, Guildford. He was educated at Eton College, but failed to make the College’s First XI. However, on entering Sandhurst he did make the First XI and played a memorable innings against Woolwich, scoring 80 runs. He made one first-class appearance on 25 May 1903, for Middlesex against Gloucestershire at Lord’s in the County Championship. He scored 0 in his only innings and caught Frederick Roberts off the bowling of John Hearne for 6. Middlesex won by an innings and 118 runs. He later became a member of the MCC and I Zingari. In 1914 he toured Egypt with I Zingari, scoring an impressive 119 against an All-Egyptian side at Alexandria. Gordon-Lennox also turned out for the Household Brigade where he was a prolific scorer.
He was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards in February 1898 as a second lieutenant being promoted to lieutenant in October 1899 and served in the Second Boer War, being present at operations in the Orange Free State, including the actions at Poplar Grove and Driefontein. Between 1904 and 1906 he was seconded for service with the Chinese Regiment at Wei-hai-Wei. Promoted captain in 1909, he was an ADC from November 1907 to July 1909, and Assistant Military Secretary from August 1909 to November 1911 to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command.
Gordon-Lennox married Evelyn, daughter of Henry Loch, 1st Baron Loch in 1907. They had two sons, George, later Lieutenant General Sir George Gordon-Lennox, and Alexander, later Rear Admiral Sir Alexander Gordon-Lennox. Promoted to major in 1913, he was a member of the Guards and Turf Clubs.
The 2nd Battalion landed at le Havre on 13 August 1914 as part of 4 Guards Brigade in 2nd Division with Major Lord Gordon-Lennox commanding No. 3 Company. Gordon-Lennox served at Mons on 23 August and the subsequent retreat, taking part in the battles of the Marne and Aisne. In October 1914 the battalion moved north, arriving at Hazebrouck on the 14th. The battalion arrived in the Ypres sector, going into trenches at St Jean, north of Ypres on the 20th. Lieutenant Stocks of the Grenadier Guards wrote:
Marched off at 6 a.m. to Ypres, through which we marched. Crowds of people in the streets to see us march through, and there seemed to be a tremendous lot of priests and nuns. Rather a nice old town with narrow, cobble-stoned streets, and some fine buildings. We marched through to St Jean where we took up a position and entrenched facing north-east.
On 28 October, the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards moved to Nonne-Bosschen Wood. Lieutenant Stocks wrote home, describing the action on 10 November 1914:
After a quiet night terrific shelling started soon after daybreak and lasted practically without intermission throughout the day. Our trenches on the right where the line was thrown back were taken in enfilade and badly knocked about, and as they (German artillery) have now located us pretty well there were a few direct hits and consequent casualties. The trees too were knocked down.
One of those casualties was Lord Bernard Lennox-Gordon, killed by a high explosive shell. He was mentioned in Sir John French’s Despatches for his war service (London Gazette, 14 January 1915).
He was buried in Zillebeke Churchyard, Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery, Grave reference E. 3.
Lady Bernard Gordon-Lennox remained a widow until her death in June 1944, aged 67, when a V-1 flying bomb hit the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks.
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Major The Hon. William George Sydney Cadogan MVO
Europeans (India)
10th, The Prince of Wales’s Own Royal Hussars
Died 12 November 1914
Aged 35
Unknown
‘Always stood his ground’
William George Sydney Cadogan was born on 31 January 1879 at Chelsea, London, the fifth son of the fifth Earl Cadogan and Countess Cadogan, fourth daughter of the second Earl of Craven. Educated at Eton, he turned out for their First XI, scoring 16 and 2 against Winchester in 1897 (Eton lost by 51 runs) and the same year against Harrow when he scored 5 and 10 in a drawn match. A talented player, he turned out for I Zingari, Vice Regal Lodge, Eton Ramblers, and the Lord Chief Justice’s XI, all in 1896.
In February 1899 he took a commission in the 10th Hussars as a second lieutenant becoming a lieutenant in January 1900. He served in the Second Boer War, being present at the Relief of Kimberley, operations in the Orange Free State and Paardeberg, including the actions at Driefontein, Poplar Grove, Houtnek (Thoba Mountain) Vet and Zand rivers in the Transvaal, 1900 and 1901, and in Cape Colony in 1901 and 1902.
In 1906 he was invested as a member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) and also received the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Crown of Wurtemberg. He was promoted captain in March 1904, major in January 1911 and, between 1912 and 1914, was Equerry to HRH The Prince of Wales. Prior to this he was ADC to His Royal Highness during his Indian Tour in 1905 and 1906. Cadogan also accompanied the Prince of Wales, who travelled as the Earl of Chester on a visit to Germany (see above photograph).
Cadogan made his one and only first-class appearance on 24 August 1904 for the Europeans (India) against the Parsees at the Gymkhana Ground, Bombay. He made two ducks. He did, however, catch D. C. Daruwala off the bowling of Ernest Coombs for zero, Parsees eventually winning by 180 runs. Cadogan was a member of the Turf and Whites Clubs.
Major Cadogan left with his regiment for the front on 5 October 1914, crossing the channel on the SS Bosnia. He was officer commanding C Squadron, which comprised of six officers and 150 other ranks, 153 riding horses, fourteen draft horses, three general service wagons, and four bicycles.
Major William Cadogan was killed in action while in command of his regiment on 14 November 1914. He was mentioned in Sir John French’s Despatches for his services during the war. An account of his death and the events leading up to it was later published:
This force under the command of Major Shearman was subjected to heavy enemy artillery fire throughout the following day resulting in the wounding of 4 Other Ranks. To add to the misery of the attentions of artillery fire, on commencement of relief at 7.00pm heavy rain started to fall. In this rotation 3 Troops of B Squadron of the Hussars with 40 men from the horse lines plus 2 Squadrons of the 1st (Royal) Dragoons attached now proceeded into the trenches whilst A and C Squadrons of the Regiment took their place in support positions.
As the rain continued to fall the trenches became untenable with the position occupied by A Squadron being completely ‘washed in’. The prevailing conditions necessitated a movement of fifty yards towards the rear at dawn under constant harassing fire by the enemy. In particular, sniping from close range resulted in several casualties as the firing line assisted in the completion of this manoeuvre by opening a rapid fire on the positions held by the enemy. In addition to being subjected to rifle fire, the German artillery kept up a steady bombardment throughout the day resulting in the mortal wounding of Major The Hon. W. Cadogan who was hit in the groin.
He is buried in Ypres Town Cemetery, E1. 17
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Captain Geoffrey Percy Robert Toynbee
Hampshire
1st Bn The Prince Consort’s Own (Rifle Brigade)
Died 15 November 1914
Aged 29
Right-handed Bat
‘Never dull always fun’
Geoffrey Percy Robert Toynbee was born in Paddington, London on 18 May 1885, the only son of Percy Toynbee of 92 Westbourne Terrace, London and Mrs Francis Raitt of Brookfield Hall, York.
Educated at Winchester College where he played in the First XI in 1902 and 1903, averaging 18.25 in 1902 and 24.30 in 1903, he was also in the Rugby XV and in the Sixes. Moving onto the RMC Sandhurst, he not only became the captain of the Sandhurst XI, but also one of the most prolific batsmen Sandhurst had ever had through their college, averaging 70.71 in 1904 and 42.33 in 1905. In 1911 Geoffrey played for the Rifle Brigade against Aldershot Command and scored a remarkable 115 and 101. He also represented Sandhurst at Golf. Toynbee was a member of the United Service Club, Pall Mall, of I Zingari and the MCC.
Geoffrey Toynbee made three first class appearances in 1912. He made his first-class debut for the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s on 9 May 1912 against Kent. He scored 4 and 0, the MCC winning by 73 runs. This was Toynbee’s only appearance for the club. He then went on to play for Hampshire in two first-class matches in the County Championship. The first match was against Gloucestershire on 29 July 1912 at the County Ground, Southampton, he made 14 in his only innings, the match being drawn. His final first-class appearance came on 19 August 1912, again in the County Championship, against Sussex at the United Services Ground, Portsmouth. He failed to bat and the match was drawn.
Toynbee joined the Rifle Brigade in August 1905 as a second lieutenant before being promoted to lieutenant in May 1909 and captain in February 1914. He travelled to France with the 1st Battalion, landing in le Havre on 23 August 1914 as part of 11 Brigade in 4th Division in time to provide infantry reinforcements at the Battle of le Cateau. Toynbee saw action at the Battles of the Marne, the Aisne and at Messines in 1914 but was killed on 15 November 1914 at Ploegstraete, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ploegstraete Memorial, Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium, Panel 10.
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Captain George Arthur Murray Docker
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
Royal Fusiliers, attd 1st Bn King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
Died 17 November 1914
Aged 37
Right-handed Bat/Right-arm Fast
‘An Australian who became a perfect English Gentleman’
George Arthur Murray Docker was born on 18 November 1876 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the eldest son of Arthur Robert Docker and Florence Lucy Docker of Sydney. Educated at the Highgate School, he was in the school XI in 1895 when he scored 312 runs with an average of 18.35 and took 44 wickets for 14.43 runs each. He went up to Oriel College Oxford where he read Law.
However, Docker was unable to finish his studies as he volunteered for the 3rd (Militia) Battalion King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) and went to South Africa in 1900 to take part in the Boer War. During the war he commanded a section of mounted infantry at Zand River and fought in the engagement there on 14 June 1900. He also took part in the action at Ladybrand between 2 and 7 September 1900 and was involved in the pursuit of De Wet in the Orange Free State and the action at Balmoral on 19 November 1900. Eventually, in June 1903, he was invalided home, suffering from rheumatic fever. He received a commission in the King’s Liverpool Regiment in 1900, becoming a lieutenant the same year. He transferred to the Royal Fusiliers in 1901 as a lieutenant, being promoted to captain in 1908.
Captain Docker married in 1903, Anna Louisa Maud Josephine, daughter of the late Louis Arthur Goodeve, barrister-at-law, and they had four children, Arthur Guy, born November, 1904, Peter Goodeve, born June, 1908, Michael Lee, born November, 1911, and Alison Everilda Josephine, born February, 1914. He became a member of the MCC in 1898.
Docker played in eleven first-class matches between May 1911 and May 1914, all for the MCC, making his debut against Middlesex on 18 May 1911 at Lord’s. Docker scored 4 and 3 and caught Edward Mignon off the bowling of Claude Buckenham for 0; Middlesex won by eight wickets. He travelled with the MCC during their visit to the West Indies in 1913, playing on seven occasions against Barbados (twice), Trinidad (twice), West Indies and British Guiana (twice). On his return he played against Kent and Oxford University. His final appearance was against Yorkshire on 13 May 1914 at Lords when he scored 0 and 4, Yorkshire winning by an innings and 119 runs. Docker made a total of 185 first-class runs, his highest score being 29 against Kent on 9 May 1912 at Lord’s; took 5 wickets, his best figures being 2 for 66; and made three catches. He also played for the Oxford University Authentics and the Free Foresters. He was also a fine polo player and won many prizes for athletics and golf.
Between 16 April 1907 and 31 July 1911 he was Instructor of Military Law and Administration to F Company at the RMC Sandhurst. He became Adjutant of the 10th Battalion Middlesex Regiment in April 1912 and, in October 1914, shortly after the outbreak of war the 10th Middlesex Regiment was ordered to India. However, at the very last minute, Captain Docker received orders to take out a draft of the 3rd King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) to France to help reinforce the 1st Battalion.
He left England on 8 November 1914 reaching the King’s Own on 15 November, and went into the front line on the 16th. Early the following morning, Captain Docker was killed at le Touquet, near Armentières. He was initially buried close to where he fell.
His remains were later re-interred in le Touquet Railway Crossing Cemetery, grave reference A 11.
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Lieutenant Hervey Robert Charles Tudway
Somerset
2nd Bn Grenadier Guards
Died 18 November 1914
Aged 26
Unknown
‘His life for his country, his soul to God’
Hervey Robert Charles Tudway was born on 23 September 1888 at 17 Lower Berkeley Street, Westminster, London, the eldest son of Charles Clement Tudway, of Wells by his second marriage with Alice, daughter of the late Sir Frederick Hervey Bathurst, third Baronet. Educated at Evelyns and Eton, where he won the School Fives in 1907, he was captain of his house in the sixth form, and a member of the Eton Society. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards in February, 1910, he became a lieutenant the following September and served with his regiment until summer 1914.
Tudway was appointed ADC to Viscount Buxton, Governor-General of South Africa, and arrived there to discover that war had broken out in Europe. He resigned his post immediately and returned to England, rejoining his regiment at the front on 2 November 1914.
Although a fine cricketer, Tudway made only one first-class appearance, representing Somerset against Hampshire on 9 June 1910 at the Officers’ Club Service Ground, Aldershot. Batting number eight, he made 6 runs in both of his innings. Hampshire won by an innings and 36 runs. He also represented Marylebone Cricket Club in 1911 and the Household Brigade between 1908 and 1914.
Tudway was a member of a long-established family from Wells, Somerset. Three family members had served as MP for Wells from 1754 to 1830, with a further member holding the seat from 1852 to 1855.
Lieutenant Tudway died of wounds to the head at Boulogne on 18 November 1914; he had been injured on 9 November at the First Battle of Ypres. He was buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery 11. B. 13 and a brass tablet was erected to his memory in the North Choir Aisle of Wells Cathedral, the inscription concluding with ‘His life for his country, his soul to God’.
Tudway was a member of the Guards’ and Pratt’s Clubs. He was also a member of the MCC and I Zingari. His brother, Lieutenant Lionel C. P. Tudway DSO RN, was taken prisoner at Kut.
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Lieutenant Norman Seraphio Hobson
Eastern Province
Graaff-Reinet Commando
Died 25 November 1914
Aged 29
Not Known
‘The first generation to fall for his country’
Norman Seraphio Hobson was born on 7 May 1885 at Graaff-Reinet, Cape Province, and was educated at St Andrew’s College, Grahamstown. His family had settled in South Africa in 1829 and introduced cricket to other farmers. They were also founder members of Harefield County Cricket Club in 1881. In 1905, while playing for Harfield Cricket Club, Port Elizabeth, Hobson scored 241 against Cradock. This score remains a club record to this day.
Hobson played one first-class game, on 20 February 1906, for Eastern Province against the MCC at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth. He scored 6 and 5, the MCC winning by 10 wickets.
Hobson was killed in action at Rooidam while serving with the Graaff Reinet Commando in East Africa on 25 November 1914. At the time his next of kin was given as J. E. Hobson, of Shirlands, Kindrew, Graaf Reinet District. He is buried in the Ebenezer Farm Cemetery, Pearston, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
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2491 Private Charles (Buster) Gerrard Deane
Somerset
5th Bn Devonshire Regiment
Died 14 December 1914
Aged 29
Not Known
Right-handed Bat/Right-arm Medium
‘A big strong chap’
Charles Gerrard Deane was born on 8 March 1885 at Oakhill, Somerset, the son of Doctor Edwin Deane LRCP and Annie Mary Elizabeth Deane of Bronshill House, Torquay. He was educated at Taunton School. A right-hand bat and right-arm medium bowler, he normally played in the middle to lower order. He played thirty-six first-class matches for Somerset between May 1907 and June 1913, all but one in the County Championship; the other was against South Africa on 29 August 1907. He made his debut against Sussex on 27 May 1907 at the County Ground, Taunton. Deane scored 12 and 19 and made two catches, Herbert Chaplin off the bowling of Albert Lewis for 1 and George Leach, once again off the bowling of Lewis for 24. Somerset won by 6 wickets. His final first-class appearance was on 30 June 1913 against Yorkshire at the Park Avenue, Cricket Ground, Bradford; he scored two ducks Yorkshire winning by an innings and 25 runs.
Deane made a total of 753 first-class runs, his highest score being 78 against Hampshire at Southampton, on 11 May 1911. He also took 8 wickets for 206 runs, his best figures being 2 for 36. He made 25 catches. As many first-class cricketers seem to be, he was also a good all-round sportsman, playing centre half for Torquay and Devon, rugby for Torquay and was a fine water polo player. He was described, not surprisingly, as a ‘Big strong chap’.
He was serving with the 5th Bn Devonshire Regiment at the outbreak of war and was sent with his battalion to Karachi, India (now Pakistan), arriving there on 11 November. He was later deployed to Multan where he died of fever on 14 December, aged 29.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Karachi War Memorial, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Later a local headstone was organized by his friends from the Devon and Somerset Territorials. This was thought to have been placed on his grave the following April.
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Major Edmund Peel Thomson
MCC
2nd Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers
Died 21 December 1914
Aged 40
Right-handed Bat
‘Always the First into the Action’
Edmund Peel Thomson was born on 22 April 1874 in Moss Side, Manchester, Lancashire, the son of William Thomson. He was educated at the Reverend E. W. Hobson’s private school in Southport before going up to Fettes College (Carrington House) Edinburgh, where he played for the First XI from 1889 to 1892 and was captain of the XI for two years. Deciding to make a career in the Army, he entered the RMC Sandhurst where, once again, he played in the First XI. He was commissioned in the Royal Munster Fusiliers as a second lieutenant in October 1893 before becoming a lieutenant in February 1896. Between May 1899 and May 1903 he was adjutant of his battalion, being promoted to captain in July 1901.
He took part in the Second Boer War, being present during operations in the Transvaal in 1902 and was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette, 29 July 1902). Between March 1906 and June 1909 he was Staff Captain, Pretoria Sub-District, South Africa, before being promoted major in February 1912. On 18 July 1912 he played for Wiltshire, then a minor county team, against a Surrey Second XI at the Kennington Oval. Between May 1913 and June 1914 he played six first-class matches, his debut being for the MCC against Kent on 15 May 1913 at Lords where he made 25 and 2 and caught Edward Dillon off the bowling of Francis Tarrant for 30. The MCC won by six wickets. He went on to play against Hampshire and Yorkshire and represented the Free Foresters against Oxford University. His final first-class match was for the Army against Cambridge University on 11 June 1914 at F. P. Fenner’s Ground. Thomson scored 41 not out and 7, Cambridge University winning by an innings and 80 runs. He made 201 first-class runs including one 50, his highest score being 53 against Hampshire at Lords on 23 May 1914; he also made one catch.
Thomson was appointed Brigade Major, Middlesex Infantry Brigade, Eastern Command in April 1912, an appointment he held until October 1914, when he re-joined his battalion, the 2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Major Thomson was killed in action on 21 December 1914 while gallantly leading an attack on German trenches at Festubert near la Bassée, France. His body was never found or identified and he is commemorated on the le Touret Memorial, Panels 43 and 44.
He was a member of the Army and Navy Club, the Free Foresters and the MCC.
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