Scholars and Soldiers: a history of alumni of St Paul’s School and the 1st World War VOL 1

a

Scholars and Soldiers:

history of alumni of St Paul’s School and the 1st World War

Volume 1: service and commemoration

Graham E Seel 1st Edition, October 2022

Dedicated to the memory of the 511 OPs who fell

Graham E Seel has taught History since 1987. He was Head of History and Head of Faculty Humanities at St Paul’s School, 2012 2021. The author may be contacted on spsworldwarone@btinternet.com

Cover image: SPS OTC Officers and NCOs, 1916. St Paul’s School Archive

Contents Vol 1: service and commemoration

Forewords

Preface

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Part A: those who served the ‘2,914’

Chapter 1. ‘All roads lead to France’: part one

1.1 OP volunteerism

1.2 volunteerism: the cases of Kenneth Gordon Garnett (SPS 1904 1911) and Edward Thomas (SPS 1894 1895)

1.3 Chapel, Classics and Competitive Athleticism i) chapel ii) Classics iii) competitive athleticism

1.4 the case of John Sherwin Engall (SPS 1912 1914)

Chapter 2. ‘All roads lead to France’: part two

2.1 Army Forms

2.2 Volunteer Corps

2.3 the South African War, 1899 1902

2.4 the Officers’ Training Corps (OTC), 1908

2.5 ‘The Corps is Too Much With Us’

2.6 after the War

Chapter 3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

3.1 in which they served: armies

3.2 in which they served: corps / regiments

3.3 in which they served: infantry regiments

3.4 in which they served: battalions

Chapter 4. In which they served: rank

Chapter 5. Gallantry Awards

5.1 awards won

5.2 OP VCs

Part B: those who fell the ‘511’

Chapter 6. Recording the Fallen: the ‘511’

Chapter 7. The ‘511’: an overview

7.1 Scale of loss 7.2 Deaths by year

7.3 Age at death: a Lost Generation?

Chapter 8. Lives lost – some of the fallen by category

8.1 First and Last i) the first to fall ii) the last to fall 8.2. Youngest and Oldest i) The youngest ii) The oldest 8.3 The deadliest day in SPS military history: 1 July 1916 8.4 Pauline Poets 8.5 Fallen Friends 8.6 A Prisoner of war 8.7 1st XI Cricket, 1912: fatalities and survivors i) 1st XI Cricket 1912: service record ii) 1st XI Cricket 1912: biographies 8.8 1st IV Rowers, 1914: fatalities and survivors i) 1st IV Rowers 1914: service record ii) 1st IV Rowers, 1914: biographies

8.9 1st XV Rugby, 1914: fatalities and survivors i) 1st XV Rugby 1914 service record ii) 1st XV Rugby, 1914: biographies

8.10 Brothers in arms i) brothers Harold Drummond Hillier (SPS 1906 1910) and Geoffrey Stewart Drummond Hillier (SPS 1907 1911) ii) the Campbell brothers 8.11 The only Indian fighter Ace of the 1st World War 8.12 Captains of School

8.13 Spanish Flu, 1918 1921

Chapter 9. Masters and Servants

i) Masters’ service record

ii) Masters who fell: biographies

iii) Servants’ service record

iv) Servants who fell: biography

Chapter 10. Cemeteries and Memorials

10.1 criteria for commemoration

10.2 in which they lie: countries

10.3 upon which they are remembered: memorials

Part C: those who lived the ‘2,403’

Chapter 11. Lives lived - some survivors by category

11.1 Brotherly ambulance drivers

11.2 Prisoners of war and Internees

i) prisoners of war: Holzminden

ii) Internees: the ‘Ruhleben eight’

11.3 Soldiers of war 11.4 Artists

11.5 Authors 11.6 the rose grower 11.7 the oenophile 11.8 the great survivor 11.9 a modern Don Juan

Part D: ‘we will remember them’

Chapter 12. Memorialisation and commemoration

12.1 Memorialisation

i) the South African War Memorial, 1906 ii) the Memorial Chapel, 1926 a) fund raising b) the memorial panels c) the new chapel, 1926

iii) the 2nd World War commemorative panels

iv) the War Memorial, 2011

12.2 Commemoration

i) Commemorative items

a) the A J W Pearson cricket ball b) the ‘Lambert’ Boat c) the High House memorial tablet ii) commemorative displays

a) Library sponsored displays b) teacher sponsored displays iii) centenary commemorations a) 2014

b) 2018: ‘First World War Research Project’ and inter Faculty projects c) 2018: making and planting of 490 ceramic crosses for the fallen

Appendix 1: volunteers and conscripts the evolving age criteria Appendix 2: letters from serving OPs published in The Pauline

a. Carpenter, John A, Royal Engineers. John was a Master at SPS from 1910 1919. A description of the attack on Hulluch on 25 September 1915, the first day of the Battle of Loos. The letter is dated 29 September 1915.

b. Shaw, Massey Shaw (SPS 1909 1912) 11th (Service) Bn. Middlesex Regiment. Description of an attack near Pozieres, in the Somme sector in late July 1916.

c. ‘F.G.B’, M.D (This is likely Major Frank George Bushnell (SPS 1882 1885); RAMC.) A description of life in a front line medical unit with the Salonika Force.

d. ‘C.N.B’. ‘News from Italy’. (This is likely Lt Col Charles Norman Buzzard (SPS 1885 1890); Siege Brigade, 94th HAG, Italy.) A description of the experience of retreat while serving with the Heavy Artillery e. News from ‘C.S’. A description of becoming a casualty.

f. Anon. An episode in the experiences of an OP flying a single seater scout with two Vickers guns

g. Spaull, Cecil Meckelburgh (SPS, 1911 1915); 87th Punjabis, Indian Army. A description of fighting at Ad Diwaniyah, one hundred miles south of Baghdad.

h. A report received from Lt Batho, John (SPS 1905 1912) in which he describes the capture of a German prisoner.

i. An anonymous account of the lighter side of life in the trenches.

j. An anonymous letter from an OP serving on board HMS Invincible during the Battle of the Falklands 1914. The letter is dated, 10 December 1914.

k. The extraordinary near death experience of Capper, Athol Harry (SPS 1905 1911).

l. A letter from Brilliant, Leopold (SPS 1909 1914) describing his experience while serving with the Indian Army in East Africa.

m. An anonymous account by an OP in the Royal Flying Corps in which he describes the experience of encountering shells while in flight.

n. An account of an attack on a pill box known as Somme Farm redoubt by St Legier, Gerald William (SPS 1911 1914), 2nd Lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment.

o. Butt, Wheatley Clegg (SPS 1893 1894) recounts his wartime travels.

p. A letter from Lord Esher, referencing an unnamed Pauline who died at Puchevillers on the Somme.

q. A letter from Sams, Hubert Arthur (SPS 1887 1894) referencing OPs in India and describing an OP dinner held in Baghdad

Appendix 3: ‘Letters from the Front’. A curated series of 13 letters from serving OPs published in The Pauline

a. Warner, George Francis Maule (SPS 1910 1913); 1st Bn. Royal Berkshire b. Montgomery, Bernard Law (SPS 1902 1906); 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment

c. Doake, Samuel Henry (SPS 104 10); 55th Howitzer Battery

d. Barnett, Denis Oliver Barnett (SPS 1907 1914); 2nd Bn. Leinster Regiment

e. Batho, John (SPS 1905 1912); 54th Field Company Royal Engineers f. Gaunt, Kenneth MacFarlane Gaunt (SPS 1909 1912); 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment g. Ritchie, Arthur Gerald Ritchie (SPS 1893 1897); 1st Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) h. Woods, Denys (SPS 1905 1907); Army Service Corps, attd. 85th 1/3 London Field Ambulance (Driver)

i. Carlisle, John Edward Gordon SPS 1898 1901); 107th Indian Pioneers, Indian Army j. Scott, Robert H (SPS 1912 1914); Honourable Artillery Company k. Henderson, William Lewis (SPS 1896 1901); 10th (Service) Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment l. Anon.

m. ‘John’

Appendix 4: units, ranks and Order of Battle

Appendix 5: the High Master’s Address 28 Sept 1914

Appendix 6: infantry regiments

Appendix 7: battalions

Appendix 8: an officer’s commission

Appendix 9: summary record of inter Faculty activities during the 2018 centenary commemorations at St Paul’s School

Appendix 10: Armistice Day assembly 2014, composed and delivered to 4th and 5th Form by Simon May (Head of Classics)

Forewords

When Graham Seel speaks directly about his research into the 511 fallen Paulines and others of the 2,500 OPs who volunteered for service in the 1st World War, his passion for understanding and recording accurately the history of both the school and its pupils is evident. His work narrates much fascinating hitherto unknown detail about the generations of OPs who fought and as such it will become a key reference work for those interested in St Paul’s School and the 1st World War. I am proud to be part of an institution that facilitated such work and acknowledge its importance. I also feel privileged to have overlapped with Graham during my time as High Master and to have had the chance to discuss its progress with him and to see this project reach its completion. That it did so during a global pandemic, when another group of young Paulines had their lives impacted by factors beyond their control, only served to emphasise further the need to record our unique experiences for those who will follow us.

Whilst Graham’s work seeks to emphasise the numbers of Paulines who survived the 1st World War and had purposeful lives beyond it, it remains the case that it’s difficult for those of us alive today to imagine what life at the front must have been like for them. However, united as we are by our school, we can feel connected to them and to the past in a special way. Therefore, I am hugely grateful to Graham and to all who supported him in this venture.

Sally Anne Huang, High Master, St Paul’s School 2020

One of the highlights of my time as President of the Old Pauline Club has been the honour of laying a wreath at the St Paul’s School War Memorial on Remembrance Day last year. The sky was the clearest blue and there seemed to be no sound of road, air or river traffic just the silence of over a thousand current Paulines remembering and honouring the 511 Paulines from over a century ago who made the ultimate sacrifice. There was such a sense of unity across generations in the silence.

In these wonderful volumes, Graham Seel chronicles the stories of the 511 OPs who fell and others who survived. It is so important that these tales of gallantry and sacrifice are being told. There is nobody better to do that than Graham given the incredible extent of his research and the quality of his writing. The Old Pauline Club extends its congratulations and enormous thanks to him. Scholars and Soldiers is a hugely important addition to the Pauline Community’s knowledge of OP bravery in the First World War.

Graham describes Pauline sacrifice in what was “the war to end all wars” at a time when there is war in Europe again. His book is timely and poignant. Ed, Lord Vaizey of Didcot, OPC President

One of the great privileges of being a Pauline is the sense of being part of a great continuum of learning and endeavour that has continued over many centuries. As governors and Old Paulines our task is to encourage and enable the new generations to share in the great history and the bright future of the school. So while supporting the future development of the school it is vital that we are alive to its past.

Graham Seel has undertaken a massive research project investigating and chronicling the contribution of so many Old Paulines to the First World War and illustrating for us the great diversity of talent that poured into the trenches. In so doing he helps to slay the myth that the soldiers were all fresh from school and heading directly to a muddy grave. Many of them were in their 20s and 30s, the majority of them survived and they participated in a variety of ways and displayed a range of talents. Many continued to have distinguished careers after the war.

It is important, as we look back over the history of the school, to recognise that the First World War dominated the lives of more than a single generation of Paulines and provided a focus for the school life and work that extended beyond the memorials to the fallen. Any study of the history of the first part of the twentieth century must reflect this as well as recognising the contributions of those Paulines who gave their lives willingly and bravely in the service of their country. Graham Seel’s work provides an invaluable record of this period and continues in the great tradition of St Paul’s history by providing a well written and discursive analysis to enlighten the treasure trove of individual stories. This is a great and invaluable resource for historians and for anyone wishing to understand the school of a century ago.

Richard Cassell, Chair of Governors, St Paul’s School

When I arrived at St Paul’s in 2011 there was no unifying memorial to the Old Pauline fallen and no annual remembrance service. My son had just started at Bishop’s Stortford College, and he rang me on the evening of 11 November to relate how they had heard in their remembrance service of the sacrifice of nearly five hundred Old Paulines in the Great War. Over the next couple of years, a disjuncture between Pauline sacrifice and commemoration was rectified: a small group of staff (notably Richard Girvan, Eugene du Toit and Patrick Allsopp), pupils (notably Joshua Greenberg) and the Old Pauline Association rallied energetically, and soon a whole school service of remembrance was introduced and an inscribed memorial stone unveiled.

But something was still missing. Whenever I looked at those stilted sepia pre war photographs of Paulines, dressed in ceremonial blazers and caps, and whenever I read about their athletic proficiency (and their years in this XI or that XV) in the stiff language of The Pauline magazine, they appeared detached, almost fictional, characters. I related to them as Paulines, but not as human beings.

Not any more. Graham Seel’s painstaking and passionate research rescues 511 Paulines from the anonymity of mass mortality. It replaces sepia with colour. His biographies reveal how various Paulines some irascible, some dubious, some sensitive, some formidable, many courageous wrestled with their conscience and died as a consequence. Graham Seel interweaves their lives with detailed reconstructions of their deaths: in many cases, he can identify where and how they fell, details which were seldom known to their loved ones.

Read in these pages about the Pauline who could throw a cricket ball further than any other, who could hurl grenades clean across no man’s land, who crawled through human detritus in the Hooge crater on a hot August morning, and who died with quiet dignity despite appalling abdominal wounds in a crowded dressing station: in so doing, the fallen are restored as human beings for posterity.

Mark Bailey, Professor of Later Medieval History, University of East Anglia, High Master, St Paul’s School, 2011 - 2020

Preface

The origins of these three volumes lie in a project undertaken by a group of pupils working under the auspices of the History Department in 2014, culminating in the production of the commemorative booklet ‘St Paul’s School and the First World War’. It was clear from this exercise that the school magazine The Pauline was simultaneously an astonishingly rich and remarkably underused repository of many of the stories of OPs who fell in the war. Thus, during the years 2014 to 2018, encouraged by the various national centenary commemorations, periodic further use was made of The Pauline, along with other materials in the St Paul’s School Archive, in order to reconstruct the experiences of some of the OPs who lost their lives. Over the same period the school Act of Remembrance evolved to become a whole school occasion, including St Paul’s Junior School, and several commemorative events took place, notably the planting of 490 crosses at the base of the War Memorial in 2018.1 From all of this it became increasingly clear that there was a requirement for a robust, comprehensive history of OPs who served in the war, for more of their stories to be uncovered and for others to be yet more thoroughly researched, and for their graves / memorials to be identified. What follows is an attempt to fulfil these requirements.

Many colleagues have helped in the production of this work, and I hope that I have duly acknowledged their various contributions in a relevant footnote. During the Summer Term of 2020 my colleagues in the History Department, already squaring up to the peculiar challenges posed by the pandemic, gracefully shouldered most of my teaching timetable to allow me to undertake sabbatical leave. I am particularly grateful to Hilary Cummings and her team in the St Paul’s School Library. Ginny Dawe Woodings, the School Archivist, has been unfailingly helpful. Valerie Nolk has been supportive throughout. Owen Toller, Mike Howat and Simon May read either parts or all of the manuscript and drew my attention to infelicities. Michael Grant and Matthew Smith provided indelible good cheer during visits to Ypres. John Knopp has shown endless patience in dealing with my questions military I am grateful to my family for giving me the space to research and to write and for coining the new verb: ‘to trench’ Finally I wish to thank the Governors, Mark Bailey and Richard Girvan for accommodating my request for sabbatical leave, thereby presenting me with time and resources for the laying of the groundwork for what follows. I appreciate that sabbaticals are increasingly difficult for school authorities to finance and to justify and I hope that the present work goes at least some little way to recompense their faith in me.

1

The figure of 490 is obtained from the number of names of OPs listed as fallen in the first part of the War List. This work revises this number to 511. (See Chapter 6.)

List of Images / Charts / Tables (Photographs of OPs are not listed.)

Volume 1: 'Soldiers and Scholars'. Images, charts and tables.

Part A: those who served - the ‘2,914’

Chapter 1 ‘All roads lead to France’: part one

A.1 Number of OPs who volunteered for service in the 1st World War by the year in which they left SPS

A.2 The grave of Kenneth Gordon Garnett

A.3 Rev Albert Ernest Hillard, High Master 1905 1927

A.4 Rugby Football match taking place on St Paul’s School playing fields. Denis Oliver Barnett is on the right of the picture, to the left of the coated figure

A.5 Trench map showing the section of German trenches attacked by 1/16th Bn. London Regiment (‘QWR’) on 1 July 1916

Chapter 2 ‘All roads lead to France’: part two

B.1 The Woolwich Army Form, winners of the Challenge Shield 1891

B.2 Caricature of Charles Pendlebury

B.3 Randolph Nesbitt pictured wearing his VC on a card inside Ogden’s Cigarettes

B.4 The unveiling of the South African War Memorial, 29 May 1906

B.5 The St Paul’s Shooting Team, Bisley, 1913

B.6 OTC officers 1916

B.7 A battalion parade on the school grounds

B.8 The OTC band during the Annual Inspection

B.9 An OTC Field Day in Richmond Park, 1915

B.10 An OTC Field Day in Richmond Park, 1915

B.11 OTC Field Day in Richmond Park, 1915

B.12 A kit inspection taking place at the Annual Camp in 1914, at Mytchett Farm, Aldershot.

B.13 The OTC Annual Camp, Salisbury Plain, August 1916

B.14 Annual OTC inspection by Brigadier General Broadwood 1915

B.15 The Annual Inspection June 1917. Undertaken by Lt Col W T Bromfield

B.16 SPS OTC Officers and NCOs 1916

B.17 SPS OTC Officers and NCOs 1916

B.18 St Paul’s School OTC badge

B.19 St Paul’s School OTC cap badge

Chapter 3

In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

C.1 Chart showing the proportion of OPs serving in the British Expeditionary Force, Indian Expeditionary Force, Canadian Expeditionary Force and Australian Expeditionary Force

C.2 Table showing the number of OPs who served in each of the main corps / regiments in the BEF

C.3 Table showing Infantry Regiments by army precedence and the number of. of OPs who served in each

C.4 Chart showing the five regiments most patronised by OPs

Chapter 4 In which they served: rank

D.1 Table showing the number of OPs who served in each of the main ranks of the army and the percentage loss in each rank

Chapter 5 Gallantry Awards

E.1 Table showing number of gallantry medals awarded to OPs

E.2 Map dated 8 April showing Rossignol Wood and the trench systems in the associated area

Part B: lives lost the ‘511’

Chapter 6 Recording the Fallen: the ‘511’

F.1 The Pauline, July 1917. ‘Our Roll of Honour’

F.2 Roy (Richard) Hill’s grave at Thornton Dale (All Saints) Churchyard, Yorkshire

F.3 Table summarising methodology for obtaining the total number of OPs who fell

Chapter 7 The ‘511’: an overview

G.1 Percentages killed of those who had attended public schools in which the total number of Old Boys who served was at least 2,000

G.2 Table showing OP death rates in the main Corps of the Army

G.3 Table showing OP death rates in the RFC / RAF and Navy

G.4 Table showing scale of OP and OU deaths by year

G.5 The St Paul’s Shooting Team, Bisley, 1913

G.5 Chart showing the average age of death of OPs by the year in which they fell

G.6 Chart showing the age at death (in five year age categories) of the 511 OPs who fell

G.7 Chart showing the number of OPs who volunteered and the number of OP deaths in each of the annual leaver cohorts, 1890 1918

G.8 Chart showing the proportions of deaths Vs survivors of all OPs who served

Chapter 8 Lives lost – some of the fallen by category

H.1 Charles Bayly’s reconnaissance notes

H.2 Image of the crashed Avro 504 No. 390 with likely Charles’ charred body in the foreground

H.3 Table showing OPs who fell before their 19th birthday

H.4 George Morris’ grave

H.5 Image of an Avro 504J aircraft

H.6 Image of a replica of a DH5

H.7 HMS Furious in 1918

H.8 HM Hospital Ship Glenart Castle

H.10 OPs who fell at the Somme, 1 July 1916

H.11 Map showing trenches F.11.6, F.11.7 and F.11.8 in which 9th (Service) Bn. Devonshire Regiment formed up in the early morning of 1 July 1916

H.12 Map showing the British frontline (blue) and German trenches (red) in front of Mametz

H.13 Panorama (contained in the 20th Brigade) diary looking north from behind Mansel Copse

H.14 Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz

H.15 Table of Pauline poets who fell

H.16 Trench map showing Aps Wood

H.17 Map showing the M1 Sector and Point 127

H.18 Map showing the disposition of Companies of 1/4th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders in front of Cantaing on 21 November 1917

H.19 Map showing the likely location in which Robert Vernede was shot.

H.20 Trench map showing the location of the Strong Point (X.3.a.9.5) attacked by Eyre and Ian

H.21 Gutersloh POW Camp, July 1916

H.22 1st XI Cricket team, 1912

H.23 1st XI Cricket, 1912: service record

H.24 Trench map dated 26 June 1918 showing the German Strong Points Suffolk and Essex

H.25 1st IV Rowers, 1914

H.26 Table showing 1st IV Rowing, 1914 service record

H.27 1st XV March 1914

H.28 1st XV Rugby 1914, service record

H.29 Map showing the position of 23rd Field Company at the time that Caleb Grafton undertook his reconnaissance

H.30 Map submitted with Caleb Grafton’s Report

H.31 Plate IV (Part of Caleb Grafton’s Report)

H.32 Map showing the trench system in the vicinity of the Hohenzollern Redoubt

H.33 A sketch by Harold Hillier of his billet when at Lacouture, 26 June 1916

H.34 Map of trenches in the vicinity of the Boar’s Head

H.35 Map drawn by Harold Hillier showing Geoff Hillier’s final movements

H.36 Harold Hillier’s sketch of four graves

H.37 Table showing the service record of the Campbell brothers

H.38 The distinctive Commonwealth gravestone under which James and Ronald lie with the Campbell of Jura Mausoleum behind the railings

H.39 A sketch by Laddie of a Sopwith Camel

H.40 The commemorative stamp of Indra Lal Roy, issued by the Indian postal service in 1998

H.41 Indra Lal Roy’s Commonwealth grave in Estevelles Communal Cemetery

H.42 Captains of School killed in action

H.43 Trench map showing Haussy / Haussey

H.44 An 18 pounder Field Gun, similar to that in 307th Brigade

H.45 The memorial tablet commemorating Lewis Bryett in St Paul’s Church, Hammersmith

H.46 Map showing Ancona Farm, Adelaide House, Mutual Farm, a short distance north of Menin H.47 Map showing the points of reference used in the battalion report of the action against Ooteghem

H.48 Cross marking Thistle Robinson’s grave H.49 Table listing OPs who were probably victims of Spanish Flu H.50 Reggie Schwartz, bowling, c. 1905

Chapter 9 Masters and Servants

I.1 Masters’: service record

I.2 A postcard of HMS Vanguard at sea I.3 Servants’ service record

Chapter 10 Cemeteries and Memorials

J.1 Table showing numbers of OP graves / memorials in various countries

J.2 The grave of Francis Jack Chown (SPS 1912 1916) in Hooge Crater Cemetery, nr. Ypres

J.3 The family grave of Henry Augustus Mears (founder of Chelsea Football Club) and his son, Flight Lt Henry Frank Mears (SPS 1915 1915) in Brompton Cemetery

J.4 Chart showing the proportions of OPs with a memorial Vs grave

J.5 The Menin Road by Paul Nash (SPS 1903 1906)

J.6 Table listing the memorials and cemeteries in which the greatest concentrations of OPs are found

J.7 The Ploegsteert Memorial.

J.8 The Ploegsteert Memorial.

J.9 Panel 54 on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

Part C: lives lived the ‘2,403’

Chapter 11 Lives lived - some survivors by category

K.1 The image of the School Ambulance sent to the High Master by Captain Fairbank

K.2 The 85th (1/3 London) Field Ambulance on the road near Marseilles, preparing for its move to Egypt

K.3 Image of a Nieuport 23

K.4 A sketch of Ruhleben Camp

K.5 Old Paulines at Ruhleben Camp

K.6 The model of his barrack that Geoffrey Pether built 1915 1916

K.7 Part of a ten page Extract of Messages received and sent, and brief diary of the course of operations 7/8 April 12 April 1917

K.8 A Lamp of Maintenance

K.9 The effigy of Tubby Clayton in All Hallows by the Tower

K.10 A hand drawn map (probably by Colonel Wilcox, Devonshire Regiment) of the North Russian theatre

K.11 1st XV 1906 1907. Monty is Captain, seated in the middle

K.12 List of casualties incurred by the 104th Brigade units fighting on the Somme 19 27 July 1916, signed ‘B. L. Montgomery’

K.13 Portrait of Bernard Law Montgomery by Denis Fildes, 1956

K.14 Claude Ridley pictured in a Morane ‘bullet’

K.15 The blue plaque in Sunderland commemorating Claude Alward Ridley.

K.16 Trench map showing the section of line held by the Kensingtons on 15 December 1914

K.17 The Kensingtons at Laventie

K.18 Poster by Eric Kennington, advertising his exhibition The British Soldier

K.19 Eric Kennington’s Memorial to 24th Division in Battersea Park

K.20 A painting by Paul Nash, Spring In the Trenches, Ridge Wood, 1917

K.21 A ‘Drachen’ type balloon is held steady over HMS Manica, 1915

K.22 The Handley Page O/100 aircraft 1459, in which Paul Bewsher flew

K.23 A trench map showing the section of trench S9A , in the ‘D’ box occupied by Basil Liddell Hart

K.24 Map showing Bazentin le Petit Wood and The Bow / Flatiron Trenches at the southern end of Bazentin le Petit Wood

K.25 Poster for the film Atlantic (1929)

K.26 Map showing Ain Karim, the hill top town that fell to 2/13th Bn. Kensingtons

K.27 The collapsed bridge at Masnieres

K.28 A Caquot balloon ascending near Bruary, 10 July 1916

K.29 Image of the wreckage of the Nieuport A6671 in which Vivian Burbury was flying K.30 Vivian Burbury’s medal group

Part D: ‘we will remember them’

Chapter 12 Memorialisation and commemoration

L.1 The South African Memorial, unveiled by Lord Roberts on 29 May, 1906 L.2 A Norman Wilkinson poster featuring the South African Memorial, commissioned for the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1938

L.3 The memorial panels in the new General Teaching Block, 2020

L.4 A close up of one of the panels, showing the lettering designed by MacDonald Gill L.5 The Old Library before its conversion into the Memorial Chapel L.6 MacDonald Gill’s drawing of the Memorial Chapel L.7 The Memorial Chapel L.8 An image of the Chapel showing the panels, lectern, altar and altar furniture

L.9 The lectern presented in memory of J. C. and H. W Hutchinson. The memorial plaque is just visible

L.10 The lectern praying kneeling stand commemorating the brothers W J Harding and R W F Harding

L.11 The 2nd World War memorial panels hung on a corridor wall in the new General Teaching Block

L.12 The War Memorial located adjacent to the Milton Building

L.13 Joshua Greenberg reading at the Service of Dedication for the new War Memorial, 11 November 2011

L.14 The Pearson cricket ball with attached plaque, most likely used in the match played against the MCC on 25 July 1914

L.15 The ‘C. J. N. Lambert’ boat (at the bottom of the picture) in the Boathouse

L.16 The High House tablet

L.17 Dobbin’s’ Memorial Plaque (also known as the ‘Dead Man’s Penny’)

L.18 Stephen Baldock (High Master 1992 2004) photographed in the Atrium on 11 November 2011 with one of the memorial boards created by Suzanne Mackenzie

L.19 The front cover of St Paul’s School and the First World War, published in 2014 L.20 Images of two of OPs listed in the Roll of Honour, hung on the corridor wall outside the Faculty Humanities Resources Room

L.21 A poster created by Biology students George Langstone Bolt and Milo Taylor L.22 4th Form boys in the process of making the 490 crosses, 2018

L.23 Three of the 490 crosses made by members of the 4th Form, 2018

L.24 Some of the 490 crosses planted at the base of the War Memorial L.25 Framed research into Indra Lal Roy, undertaken by Valerie Nolk

L.26 Two of the crosses, framed and hung in Reception

Chapter

13

Acts of Remembrance

M.1 Front cover of the order of service for the Memorial Service at St Mary Abbot’s, 12 November 1919

M.2 Plan of Founder’s Court detailing the locations in which Tutor Groups were to gather in 2014

M.3 Pupils gather in Founders’ Court ahead of the Act of Remembrance, 2014 M.4 The order of service for Remembrance Day in Founders’ Court, 2014 M.5 The 2018 Remembrance Day Service on Big Side in 2018

Chapter 14 Last Word

Chapter 15 Roll of Honour the 511

Appendices

Introduction

The overall ambition of this work is to provide an accessible record of alumni of St Paul’s School who enlisted during the 1st World War. This material is presented in two volumes, with a supplementary third volume containing maps and photographs of many of the places mentioned. The purpose of Volume 1 (‘Service and Commemoration’) is threefold: 1) to recognise the number of OPs who fought in the 1st World War and to comprehend their reasons for so doing; 2) to identify, quantify and reveal the stories of OPs who served in the war, 511 of whom fell; and 3) to provide a record of the activities and enterprises undertaken by the School to ensure that these OPs are not forgotten. Volume 2 (‘The Ypres Salient and the ‘93’) identifies OPs who fell in the Ypres Salient and uncovers their stories.

The material assumes a broad knowledge of the context of the war the reader who wishes to engage with the historiography of the War will have to look elsewhere.2

Volume 1: Service and Commemoration

Volume 1 is composed of five parts, A E. Part A identifies the total number of OPs who served in the war, the units in which they fought and the ranks and awards they achieved. Of this number 2,914 many were volunteers, encouraged to enlist by the culture of their public school and equipped early with martial prowess by means of a vigorous Officers’ Training Corps (OTC), an institution that became such a feature of many Paulines’ lives that some considered it was ‘Too Much With Us’.3 With the introduction of conscription in January 1916, volunteering ended. Thereafter, everyone who fulfilled certain criteria was obliged to go to war and from this date onwards it becomes impossible to perceive distinctly the extent to which OPs willingly undertook service.4 All that can be said is that the records and the data offer very little indication of recalcitrance and it thus seems likely that most OPs maintained a desire to participate in the war. Harry Waldo Yoxall (SPS 1908 1915, see Chapter 11, Section 11.7) Captain of School in 1915, admitted his discomfort after deciding to stay on to take the Balliol Scholarship before joining up. A keen member of the OTC, he confessed that:

2 Sheffield, G Forgotten Victory The First World War Myths and Realities provides an accessible overview (Headline, 2002)

3 One lunch break a week was given up to an OTC drill parade and part of the margin of the school grounds was grimly decorated with gallows from which hung straw filled sacks into which the novice would be trained to plunge his steel. Wednesday afternoons and sometimes Saturdays were taken up with OTC. See Chapter 2, Section 2.5.

4 See Appendix 1

The Officers’ Training Corps was a partial salve to conscience, and the cadet uniform at least a protection against white feathers. It was difficult to lead a school affected by impermanence, with the elder boys slipping away each week into the HAC [Honourable Artillery Corps] or the Public Schools’ battalion of the Royal Fusiliers.5

Harry’s example is unusual. In numerous cases boys left school earlier than they would normally have done. Most felt that it was their duty to do so; for most, all roads led to France.

Part B revises the generally accepted figure of 490 OPs killed in the war and replaces it with that of 511. This figure represents 17.5 percent of the total number who served, slightly lower than the death rate across all 185 public home and overseas schools.6 After a century of exposure to the ‘pity of war’ poetry of Wilfrid Owen and its associated narrative that the 1st World War begot only death, it comes as something of a shock to learn that for every OP who fell, four survived. The data also encourages a revision of the generally accepted notion that those who fell were by and large very young males composed of a tightly knit cohort who only recently had sat in the school classroom and run on the school playing field. Instances of OPs dying at a very young age exist, but they are few and far between. Their examples evoke a noisy, melancholic sentimentality frequently amplified by the pens of the war poets. In fact, the average age of death of all 511 OPs who fell was 27 years. In 1914 it was as high as 30 years, and never lower than 26 years (in 1917). The data also shows that OPs volunteered from multiple cohorts of leavers stretching back for decades prior to 1914. St Paul’s endured a loss, but it did not suffer a ‘Lost Generation’. Finally, as the stories of the OPs presented here show, there is almost no evidence to support the popular notion that OPs generally fought and fell shoulder to shoulder. Mostly of officer rank and of differing ages, OPs were deployed as leaders across multiple units, a diaspora that thwarted any possibility of a Pauline ‘band of brothers’ stalking the trenches. Indeed, it is of note that OPs often took care to mention in their letters those occasions when they encountered a fellow Pauline at the front, thereby perhaps suggesting the infrequency of such an event.7 The final chapter in Part B identifies the cemeteries / memorials in which the 511 OPs are buried / remembered. The 511 are to be found in all parts of the world, though their greatest concentration is in France and Belgium. It is chilling testimony to the character of the war that 35 percent of OPs who fell have no known grave.

5 Quoted in Mead, A H A Miraculous Draft of Fishes: the history of St Paul’s School (James and James, 1990), p 102

6 See Seldon, A and Walsh, D Public Schools and The Great War The Generation Lost (Pen and Sword, 2013) pp 255 261

Part C narrates the stories of some of the 2,403 OPs who survived the war. Many of these not only had extraordinary wartime experiences but went on to equally extraordinary achievements in their later lives.

Part D details the various projects and activities undertaken by the School to memorialise and to commemorate the 511, and latterly, others who have fallen in later conflicts, from the end of the war in 1918 to the present day. High Master Hillard (1905 1927) reflected upon the process of memorialisation as early as 1916. In his Apposition address of that year he read from a letter of Denis Oliver Barnett (SPS 1907 1914, see Volume 2), Captain of School in 1913 and 1914, killed by a sniper’s bullet at Hooge (in the Ypres Salient) on 16 August 1915, age 20. Denis had written that ‘It is only the selfish part of us that goes on mourning. The soul in us says Sursum Gorda.’8 (Translated as ‘Lift up your hearts’.) Hillard told his audience that he intended to have these words inscribed on the memorial to Old Paulines after the war, an ambition that for whatever reason remained unfulfilled. The reader may consider that this noble sentiment has been achieved nonetheless by the projects and activities herein described, and no doubt by ones yet to be conceived. Part D concludes with the Roll of Honour.

Part E contains ten appendices. Appendices 2 and 3 consist of letters composed by OPs serving in various theatres of the war and published in The Pauline. Together they provide a compelling, if eclectic, insight into OPs’ experiences of the war.

Volume 2: the Ypres Salient and the ‘93’

Volume 2 is composed of two Chapters. Chapter 16 provides a description of the character of the Salient and presents an overview of the 93 OPs who fell in this place. It includes a Roll of Honour of the ‘93’. Chapter 17 narrates in detail the stories of each of these 93 OPs, thereby presenting a compelling case study of the experiences of those of junior officer rank who fought and fell in the Ypres Salient 1914 1918.9 The stories of the 93 OPs are presented in the sequence in which they fell rather than alphabetically by surname. This arrangement means that if the reader chooses to read the material en bloc they will thus gain an outline chronological narrative of the pattern of the war in the Salient.

Volume 3: maps and photographs of the Ypres Salient

8 The Pauline, Vol 34 14 Nov 1916 No. 228 p 157. High Master Hillard’s Apposition Address, 26 July 1916.

9 The number of OPs with no known grave in the Salient is appreciably higher (48 percent) than for all who 511 OPs who fell (35 percent), testimony to the particularly grim conditions that prevailed in the Salient.

This volume contains a series of photographs and maps relevant to the stories of the 93 OPs who fell in the Ypres Salient

A note on the sources

All sources are identified in footnotes. Inter alia, extensive use has been made of the school magazine, The Pauline, and the WO95 war diary material at The National Archives (TNA). I am grateful to the families Hansell and Hillier for allowing me to use material from their respective family archives.

Every effort has been made to identify holders of copyright material. The author would be grateful to hear from any such holder not hitherto contacted.

Part A: those who served – the ‘2,914’

Chapter 1. ‘All roads lead to France’: part one

The war was almost a year old when, on 28 July 1915, nineteen year old Harry Waldo Yoxall (SPS 1908 1915, see Chapter 11, Section 11.7), Captain of St Paul’s School, gathered his notes and strode onto the stage in the Great Hall. In front of him were arrayed the customary gathering of dignitaries and associates parents, OPs and current Paulines, among whom many of the prize winners in this last group were attired in the khaki uniform of the OTC rather than the previously obligatory evening dress. The occasion was Apposition, the school’s anciently instituted Speech Day, the first since the outbreak of the war on 3 August 1914.10 The proud, boastful words of the High Master’s Address still hung in the air. He had told his listeners that :

Many times in his life he had been proud to be a schoolmaster. He was prouder than ever today; prouder still to be a master of an English public school, and proudest of all to be the master of that School. … All the boys who had the stamina to do it were postponing the avocations for which they had been preparing, in order to take up some patriotic service for their country, either in connection with fighting or munition work. About 1,800 old boys were now engaged in fighting.11

Of this number, 83 OPs had thus far fallen in the conflict, their average age 29 years; 36 had no known graves, testimony to the industrial scale character of the war now waging.

12

10

The first Apposition appears to have been held in 1581. McDonnell, Michael F J, A History of St Paul’s School (London, 1909) p 136

11 The Pauline, 33 221 Oct 1915 p 203

12 St Paul’s School Archive

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Harry Waldo Yoxall

Continuing the theme established by the High Master, the Captain of School asserted that:

It is better to read in the papers of Old Paulines joining the forces, mentioned in dispatches, honoured with the various medals and orders, even dying or rather, more than anything, dying than to read of their exploits at Lord’s, or Henley, or Queen’s Club. It is finer to feel that one belongs to a corporate body which has this year sent nearly two thousand of its members to fight for their country than, as in an ordinary year, to one which has produced, say, three Blues, a Craven Scholar, and the bestselling novelist of the year. The war has enabled one to feel the bond between present and past Paulines, not only between those still here and those now fighting for us, but between this generation and men like Marlborough [OP] and still more Milton [OP], very much more nearly than before, and to take an even greater pride in our School. We have indeed always been proud of it, but never so conscious of our pride. And now this year is over, and many of us must go. Most who are leaving are joining one or other of His Majesty’s forces: and it is only the thought that I am going to an even greater school the school of the British Army that can reconcile me to leaving this place and mitigate my regret at saying what I know must be my last word as a scholar of John Colet’s foundation.13

Harry duly enlisted in the 18th (Service) Bn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps, rising to the rank of Captain. He served with distinction, winning the MC. Harry survived the war and became Chairman of Vogue and a renowned oenophiliac. He died in 1984.

What were the influences and pressures that motived Harry and so many other OPs to volunteer? Why was the impulse to fight so powerful that it trumped any contrary sensation? Above all, what formed the sentiment articulated by Harry that the greatest honour was begot by ‘dying or rather, more than anything, [by] dying’.

1.1 OP volunteerism

As shown in chart A.1, the cohorts of Paulines who left the school in each of the years 1914 and 1915 represent the high water marks of Pauline volunteerism. In these two years it seems that practically every leaver volunteered to serve 168 in 1914, and 158 in 1915. The High Master reported at Apposition in 1915 that:

The usual honours in the School had been won. The number of scholarships won at Oxford and Cambridge was seventeen, with two at the hospitals. [However], most of these boys were not going into college, but were taking the King’s commission. All the boys who had the stamina to do it were postponing the avocations for which they had been preparing, in order 13 The Pauline, 33 221 Oct 1915 p

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

to take up some patriotic service for their country, either in connection with fighting or munition work.14

A.1 Number of OPs who volunteered for service in the 1st World War by the year in which they left SPS.

No. of OPs Who Serve By Year of Leaving, 1884 - 1918

160

140

120

OPs

100

80

180 No. 0f

60

40

20

0

Year of Leaving SPS

The decline in numbers of OPs serving from 1916 at first strikes as peculiar, especially considering that conscription became operative from January of that year, obliging all single men to enlist age 18 41 years. (See Appendix 1.) This downward trend is probably best explained by the school population on average becoming younger rather than any recalcitrance to enlist The haemorrhaging of older boys Harry Yoxall had observed ‘the elder boys slipping away each week’ was facilitated by the absence of any legal obligation to remain at school to age 18 and by the established practice of boys departing at the end of any one of each of the three school terms, not only at the end of the summer term as is the current practice. Similarly, many boys who sought a scholarship and had thus traditionally stayed at school beyond the age of eighteen, seem likely to have enlisted directly, perhaps in an ambition to ‘bag’ a temporary commission in a ‘smart’ unit like the Public School Brigade. Indeed, at least in the early stages of the war, there was a palpable sense that a failure to act quickly would mean missing out altogether, either because the war would prove short lived or because of a belief that there were simply not enough commissions to go around. As the official history of the University and Public Schools Brigade put it: ‘So 14 The Pauline, 33 221 28 October 1915 pp 203 204

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

great was the flood of applications for the limited number of commissions available [after Lord Kitchener’s appeal on 5 August for the first 100,000 men for the New Armies] that it soon became apparent that applicants not immediately successful would probably have to wait a long time before they could hope to obtain commissions’.15

Also evident in chart A.1 is the fact that it was by no means only boys who left the school during the war years who volunteered. A majority (81 percent) of the 2,914 OPs who were at one time in the service of His Majesty’s armed forces 1914 1918 presented from each cohort that left the school between 1884 and 1913.16 (In addition, a further 37 OPs who served had been at the school before it moved to Hammersmith in 1884, the oldest of whom Joshua Duke (SPS 1856 1863 was age 67 in 1914.17) Practically all OPs at university, who were physically fit, presented for service.18 The fact that the impulse to serve cut so deeply into the OP community meant that many careers were placed on hold and many retirements abruptly ended; for many OPs, it also meant undertaking a long and difficult journey back to Britain. The High Master reported at Apposition in 1915 that ‘Numbers of [OPs] had come from distant parts of the Empire, from India, China, Canada, the States, Ceylon, the Gold Coast, from sheep farming in Patagonia. There was hardly a part of the world from when Old Paulines had not come home to serve their country.’19

1.2 volunteerism: the cases of Kenneth Gordon Garnett (SPS 1904 1911) and Edward Thomas (SPS 1894 – 1895)

The stark figures presented above suggest that the majority of OPs exhibited an unqualified impulse to volunteer. This was certainly true of Kenneth Gordon Garnett (SPS 1904 1911) and no doubt many others. The response of some, however, such as Edward Thomas, was more circumspect. A small number was actively hostile: George Douglas Howard Cole (SPS 1902 ?) became a conscientious objector and was prominent in the campaign against the introduction of conscription.

15 The History of the Royal Fusiliers ‘UPS’, University and Public Schools Brigade, The Times (London, 1917) p 14

16 The number 2,914 is obtained from the SPS War List. Hillard reported at Apposition in July 1915 that ‘about 1,800 of our old boys were now engaged in fighting’. The Pauline 33 28 October 1915 No. 221 pp 203 204

17 A career soldier, Joshua had served as a medic in the Afghan War of 1878 1880, about which he wrote a memoir. He rejoined the service on 31 December 1914 and served in York Place Indian Hospital in Brighton and, from 31 December 1915, in a hospital in Bermondsey. He died on 13 February 1920, age 72.

18

The Pauline, 33 221 28 October 1915 pp 203 204

19 The Pauline, 33 221 28 October 1915 p 203

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Garnett, Lt Kenneth Gordon MC b. 30 July 1892; d. 22 August 1917

SPS 1904 - 1911 111th Bty RFA Putney Vale Cemetery Age 25

Kenneth Gordon Garnett20

On 30 July 1914 Kenneth Gordon Garnett (known as Ken), the son of Dr William Garnett and his wife, Rebecca, was enjoying his twenty second birthday at the family home in Hampstead.21 A brilliant scholar and a great athlete with a looming presence (he stood six foot and five inches in his socks), he had much to celebrate. After leaving St Paul’s (1904 1911) he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in October 1911 and the following summer obtained a First Class in the First Part of the Mathematical Tripos. The month of August he habitually spent in the Alps, on one occasion summiting the Matterhorn and, on another, climbing the Lyskamm and four peaks of Monta Rosa in a single day. In his second and third years at Cambridge Ken divided his time between rowing and reading for the Mechanical Sciences Tripos. Increasingly impressive on the water, he rowed at No. 5 in the Cambridge

20

SPS Archive Box 296 Kenneth Gordon Garnett Biography (London, 1918). Facing page 30. 21 Ken’s two elder brothers also attended SPS: James Clerk Maxwell Garnett (SPS 1893 1899) and William Hubert Stuart Garnett (SPS 1894 1900). All three brothers attended Trinity College, Cambridge. James did not serve in the war. He went on to become the General Secretary of the League of Nations Union.

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Eight that defeated Oxford by four and a half lengths on 28 March 1914.22 As dusk bled into evening on that 30 July Ken’s future looked sparkling and bright.

About 9.30 pm the convivial birthday party was interrupted by someone who had obtained a copy of the evening paper. No doubt breathless with an excitement tinged with trepidation, they announced that: “Negotiations have been broken off between Austria and Serbia; we shall have war”.

Ken turned to those around him and said unhesitatingly: ‘Of course we must go’.23

Ken was as good as his word and enlisted within weeks of the outbreak of war. Initially he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and engaged for four and a half months (September December 1914) in the arduous duties of mine sweeping, serving on a vessel commanded by his brother, Lt Commander William Herbert Garnett, (SPS 1894 1900).24 Upon receiving a commission, Ken transferred to the Royal Field Artillery in January 1915, serving with the rank of Lieutenant in 111th Battery, 24th Brigade.

Ken sent home a steady flow of letters, their contents on occasion at once whimsical and serious in equal measure. On 1 November 1915 he informed an acquaintance that:

Life is good out here, despite the great depth of mud and the fact that we live in dugouts. … But the mice or rats run all over one’s bed, and face, at night time. I had one that seemed to want to build a nest on my face … Of course, it may have been mere affection for me, or perhaps it was tired and wanted to sit down.25

In a letter of 19 December 1915, that must have caused his mother a good deal of consternation, Ken described related how:

At 5.30 am the enemy machine guns started making a beastly noise, and soon afterwards Blakemore, our Captain, came into my room in a tremendous hurry “gas attack, tumble out quickly [gas] helmets on”. So I shoved on a coat and a pair of gun boots, a helmet and dashed out to the guns. We had already opened fire when I got there, but the sentry had not warned the men that it was a gas attack as a result they all got a dose before they

22 The race was filmed and can be viewed here: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch oxford and cambridge boat race 1914 online

23 SPS Archive Box 296 Kenneth Gordon Garnett Biography (London, 1918) p 21

24 William Herbert Stuart Garnett known as Stuart transferred from the RNV to the RFC and was killed at a flying school on 21 September 1916, age 34. He had attended Trinity College, Cambridge. William known as Stuart is buried in Upavon Cemetery.

25 SPS Archive Box 296 Kenneth Gordon Garnett Biography (London, 1918) p 25

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

returned to put on their helmets. I couldn’t get the beastly tube mouth piece for exhaling to work the rubber had stuck and so I soon got in a bad way. … It was very bad in the [gun] pits … I felt sure we were done in though I was not in a funk I told the men (and I had to shout through the helmet) to trust in Jesus and this was an easy way to die … then just later my helmet started to work and things went better. … Never mind many rats and mice here in the trenches have been slain or rendered inactive bless the Bosch for that! … Yes, it is a great life I really thought my end had come this morning a curious feeling Heaps of love to all.26

On 24 August 1916, in the neighbourhood of Delville Wood on the Somme, Ken suffered wounds that ultimately proved mortal. After spending a day on the parapet of the trench, observing for his battery, he was hit in the neck by a fragment of shell and paralyzed. He returned to England to convalesce, the once great athlete obliged to spend a year lying on his back, initially in the Empire Hospital in Vincent Square, Westminster and latterly in the Hospital for Convalescents (Templeton House) at Roehampton.

Ken died on 22 August 1917, age 25. For his military service he received the MC and, from the French authorities, the Croix de Guerre, the former presented to him in hospital by H M the King. He is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery. His grave is not marked by a Commonwealth War Grave headstone, the family seemingly preferring a private marker.

A.2 The grave of Kenneth Gordon Garnett27

26

19 Dec 1915 27 Author’s photo

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

SPS Archive Box 296 Kenneth Gordon Garnett Biography (London, 1918) p 27. Letter to his mother,

The poet Edward Thomas (SPS 1894 1895, Chapter 8 pp 41 44), famously vacillated for months as to whether to volunteer, torn between the options of either following his friend, Robert Frost, across the Atlantic or crossing the Channel and descending into the trenches. ‘Frankly I do not want to go [to the trenches]’, he confessed, ‘but hardly a day passes without my thinking I should. With no call [conscription had yet to be introduced] the problem is endless’.28 The ‘problem’ was brought to an end when Robert published his poem Two Roads, soon to be rechristened The Road Not Taken. The last verse read:

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.

Edward chose to interpret this as a commentary on his lack of direction, a character trait that he told himself amounted to cowardice. It pricked him into enlisting on 19 July 1915 in 1/28th Bn. London Regiment (Artists Rifles). Yet even now Edward could not explain why he had volunteered. ‘Several people have asked me [why]’, he informed his wife, Eleanor, ‘but I could not answer yet.’29 Shortly afterwards he pronounced in a poem called Roads:

Now all roads lead to France And heavy is the tread Of the living; but the dead Returning lightly dance.

Edward was killed in action, age 39. He is buried in Agny Military Cemetery.

1.3 Chapel, Classics and Competitive Athleticism

A.3 Rev Albert Ernest Hillard, High Master 1905 192730

28

Quoted in Hollis, Matthew Now All Roads Lead to France, The Last Years of Edward Thomas (Faber and Faber, 2011) p 233

29 Quoted in Hollis, Matthew Now All Roads Lead to France, The Last Years of Edward Thomas (Faber and Faber, 2011) p 240

30 St Paul’s School Archive. Image painted by Kennington, Eric (SPS 1904 1908; see Chapter 11, Section 11.4)

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

In a special assembly on 28 September 1914 the High Master offered an explanation for the high rate of volunteerism. He said:

I find scores upon scores of those who recently were our companions here laying aside their careers for the time and risking all, offering their lives for this purpose they have in mind. What are they doing it for? … I answer that they understand the difference between what is worthy and what is mean; that they can distinguish between justice and oppression; that liberty has not become a cant word to them; that they understand what duty to friends is, and that they feel with a sensitiveness which many of the great intellectuals cannot emulate when a choice is presented that involves more than gain or loss, to be calculated in material terms. That is why so many tens of thousands of our public school boys have offered

themselves. … [Reflect upon] the thrill of thanksgiving you must feel that those you lose give their lives in the noblest cause ever championed by a people 31

That so many Paulines developed a ‘sensitiveness’ to which the High Master alluded was because of the school’s rigorous adherence to a well established three course diet of Chapel, a study of the Classics and participation in competitive athleticism. By these means a public school education instilled a spirit of patriotic duty infused with a responsibility to lead when required and to care for those who were duly led. It also fomented a symbiotic relationship between such schools and the armed forces. A presentation to new officers in 1914 by a senior commanding officer assumed a tone not dissimilar to Hillard’s assemblies. The new officers were told: ‘You are responsible for maintaining the honour of England, for doing all you can to ensure the security of England, and of our women and our children after us’.32 This was akin to what the High Master referred to as the ‘sacredness of our cause’.33

Nearly 3,000 OPs took roads that ‘led to France’, some more direct than others. For these OPs, the prevailing national mood of patriotic endeavour, combined with their experiences at St Paul’s, meant that to volunteer to serve in the war amounted to more than a moral obligation; it was a sacred imperative. Ken Garnett had spoken for many when he had said, ‘Of course we must go’

i) chapel

In public schools up and down the land, a spiritual movement known as Muscular Christianity had been gaining momentum since the middle of the nineteenth century. The tenets of this movement were characterized by discipline, duty, self sacrifice, masculinity, celebration of the moral and physical beauty of athleticism and, perhaps above all, by an imperative to act as Christ’s soldiers on Earth.34

31

The Pauline, 32 212 213 Oct 1914 pp 185 190. (See Appendix 5 for the complete text of Hillard’s Address.)

32 The Duties of an Officer: Knowledge and Character. Delivered by a Senior Officer to a School for young Officers in France, republished in The Times.

Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9 p 69+

33 High Master Address to the school on 28 September 1914. The Pauline, 32 212 213 October 1914 pp 185 190

34 Edward Thring, the Headmaster of Uppingham School between 1853 and 1887, defined Muscular Christianity thus: ‘The learning to be responsible and independent, to bear pain, to drop rank and wealth and luxury is a priceless boon … With all their faults the public schools are the cause of this manliness.’ Parkin G R, Life, Diary and Letters of Edward Thring, Vol II p 196

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Alfred Waterhouse’s design for the new St Paul’s School, opened in 1884, rather curiously did not include a chapel amongst its buildings, perhaps bringing into question the extent to which ‘Christian Muscularity’ was inculcated at St Paul’s. 35 Nevertheless, formal prayer occurred each morning in the school, Sunday services were held in the Great Hall at intervals throughout the term and the Bishop of London instituted a special annual confirmation service for Pauline’s at St Paul’s Cathedral. It is impossible to quantify the number of OPs who considered themselves Christ’s soldiers, but it seems likely that this figure was substantial. Kenneth Gordon Garnett was certainly one such. Upon learning of Ken’s death, an acquaintance wrote to his mother to inform her that ‘I for one shall always thank God for such Christian Knighthood as was typified in Ken’.36 Others advertised their affinity with the tenets of Christian Muscularity and Christian Knighthood via the epitaphs on their gravestones. For instance:

Dick, 2nd Lt George Frederick Graeme (SPS 1906 1908) and Johnson, 2nd Lt Harold George (SPS 1912 1915) each lie under gravestones inscribed with the epitaph: I Have Fought A Good Fight I Have Finished My Course I Have Kept The Faith Long Innes, Lt Selwyn (SPS 1891 1894): My Son He Is God’s Soldier Let Him Be I Would Not Wish Him To A Fairer Death R. I. P Pridham, Gunner Hugh Trevor (SPS 1912 1917): His Watchword Was Endure Hardness As A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ Penderel Brodhurst, Bernard Richard (SPS 1906 1908): His Body To Fair France His Pure Soul Unto His Captain Christ Webb Carter, Desmond Patrick (SPS 1911 1914): God’s Brave Young Knight

35 This was rectified with the creation of the Memorial Chapel from a redundant classroom in 1926.

36 Herbert George, a YMCA worker in France. SPS Archive Box 296 Kenneth Gordon Garnett Biography (London, 1918) p 39

37 St Paul’s Archive, Digby La Motte Collection. (Patrick’s brother, Brian Wolsely, also attended SPS (1914 1919). Brian was too young to serve in the 1st World War but he became a career soldier, rising to the rank of Brigadier. He was awarded the DSO and OBE.)

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Desmond Patrick Webb Carter37

The obituaries of OPs published in The Pauline frequently evoke sentiments informed by Muscular Christianity. Ian Osborne Crombie (SPS 1909 1913, see Chapter 8, Section 8.5) was killed in action on the Somme on 30 July 1916, age 21. He is buried in Bouzincourt Communal Cemetery. The epitaph on his grave asserts: As Dying And Behold We Live St Paul. Ian’s obituary reads:

In word, thought, and deed he stood for that which has made the one time English Public schoolboy the noblest type of manhood. He was of those who, knowing the responsibilities of office, neither seek it nor shirk it, yet one to whom great responsibility naturally came. … Crombie had the greatest of ambitions to be of service to his fellow men. There was nothing blind about his enthusiasm; he knew its price: yet there was such gladness in his soul when last he left for the front as was never there during all his years of boyhood. He had earned his place in the great kingdom.38

ii) Classics

In addition to exposure to the tenets of Muscular Christianity, Paulines undertook a study of the Classics, perhaps informed by J W Mackail’s highly popular Greek Anthology, first published in 1890. Boys read Greek and Roman authors whose work worshipped the male athlete, portrayed war as a natural part of a leader’s duty and articulated a belief that a military death was understood to be swift, clean and brave. It was a sentiment that accompanied them to the trenches. Edmund John Soloman (SPS, 1906 1912) was killed on 2 June 1917. A contributor to his obituary in The Pauline remarked that:

I have as a memorial of him, returned to me from the trenches, two battered volumes of Monro’s Iliad, which he and a fellow Oxonian had, as he told me in his last leave, read again

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

with all the old enthusiasm as they worked out together an essay on the Homeric view of death. Only a few days after that leave “the end of death” came to him.39

A study of the Classics encouraged a belief that war was ennobled, and that participation in it amounted to a rite of passage. If death occurred it took a form in which it had lost its sting and instead had become a wondrous thing so much so that it was perhaps, in certain circumstances, to be positively courted. It was no accident that the St Paul’s South African War Memorial, erected in 1906, assumed a classical form, boasting a Latin inscription and a list of names of the fallen. (See Chapter 12, Section 12.1, i.) Standing prominently at the front of the school, it was at once a shrine to noble death and an advert for immortality classically wrought.

Arthur Gerald Ritchie attended SPS from 1893 to 1897. He was the winner of the John Watson and Landscape prizes three years in succession, along with the Shepard Cup in 1897, awarded to the winner of the greatest number of athletic events in the annual sports day. He also played for the 1st XV. After leaving SPS Arthur became a career soldier, serving in the first instance with the 1st Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), in which unit he rose to the rank of Captain. He rejoined this unit in October 1914, two weeks shy of his thirty fifth birthday. Arthur was mortally wounded by a sniper on the night of 29 30 October and died at Boulogne on 22 November. He lies in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.

A.1.4 Front cover of the Army Gazette, composed by Arthur, December 1896. His name is inscribed in the bottom right hand corner. The letter ‘P’ and the prawn on the shield are 39 The Pauline, 35 234 Nov 1917 pp 144 145 40 © IWM HU 124974

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Arthur Gerald Ritchie40

humorous heraldic devices referencing Charles S Pendelbury (SPS 1877 1910), the master in charge of the Army Form. 41

A brilliant wit and artist, Arthur had made good use of these attributes in the production of an issue of the SPS Army Form Gazette in December 1896. In 1926 Maurice McClean Bidder (SPS 1892 1896), who appears to have been in the same Army Form as Arthur, sent a copy of the Gazette to the school accompanied with a letter in which he observed that ‘Ritchie of course was killed in France in 1914, an end which he had always hoped would be his’.42

41 St Paul’s Archive

42 St Paul’s School Archive. Bidder, Maurice McClean (SPS 1892 1897); Letter to The Secretary, SPS, 25 Feb 1926. St Paul’s School Army Form Gazette

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Arthur was by no means the only OP who desired such an end. Cyril Steele Perkins (SPS 1899 1902) was among the very first OPs to fall. A career soldier from a family who had served with distinction in each branch of the armed forces over several generations, he was severely wounded by a shell on 26 August 1914. It was reported that ‘he 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.’43

The work of author Ernest Raymond (SPS 1901 1904, see Chapter 11, Section 11.5), frequently referencing patriotic, noble death is evidently informed by the academic diet he ingested while at St Paul’s and further refined by his experiences at the front. Indeed, the very title of Ernest’s great wartime novel, Tell England: a Study in a Generation (1922), is of Classical derivation, an abbreviation of the epitaph he composed for the dead of the public schools:

Tell England, ye who pass this monument We died for her, and here we rest content.45

These lines are a direct crib of Simonides’ epitaph upon the Spartan dead at Thermopylae: ‘O Stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here obeying orders’.

In August 1914 Ernest was twenty five. Recently ordained, he immediately applied to the Chaplain General for service overseas with the army and duly served as Chaplain to

43 The Bond of Sacrifice, Vol 1. 44 © IWM HU 118514

45 Raymond, Ernest Tell England: a Study in a Generation (1922)

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Cyril Steele Perkins44

the 1/10th Bn. Manchester Regiment and to the 9th (Service) Bn. Worcestershire Regiment. He survived the war, becoming one of England’s most popular authors.

Tell England narrates the stories of three boys Rupert Ray, Edgar Doe and Archibald Pennybet as they make their way through their public school, ‘Kensingstowe’ (a thinly disguised St Paul’s), and thereafter follows them to the beaches of Gallipoli. In one instance Rupert reflects upon the prospects of achieving a noble death, a sacrifice made in patriotic circumstance:

I see a death in No Man’s Land to morrow as a wonderful thing. There you stand exactly between two nations. All Britain with her might is behind your back, reaching down to her frontier, which is the trench whence you have just leapt. All Germany with her might is before your face. Perhaps it is not ill to die standing like that in front of your nation.46

In another instance, Edgar Doe remarks to Rupert:

If I’d never known the shock of seeing sudden death at my side, I’d have missed a terribly wonderful thing. … Tiens, if I’m knocked out, it’s at least the most wonderful death. It’s the deepest death.47

Later in the book, when Edgar is killed, Rupert experiences the following exchange with an army chaplain, Monty:

“Rupert”, [said Monty], “Edgar is dead.... And there’s only one unbeautiful thing about his death, and that is the way his friend [i.e. Rupert] is taking it”. … “There’s no beauty in death and burial and corruption,” I said. “Yes, there is, even in them. There’s beauty in thinking that the same material which goes to make these earthly hills and that still water should have been shaped into a graceful body, and lit with the divine spark which was Edgar Doe. There’s beauty in thinking that, when the unconquerable spark has escaped away, the material is returned to the earth, where it urges its life, also an unconquerable thing, into grass and flowers. It’s harmonious it’s beautiful.”48

Denis Oliver Barnet (known as ‘Dobbin’) (SPS 1907 1914, see Volume 2) was eighteen when war broke out. An accomplished athlete and brilliant prize winning Classicist, Dobbin eschewed his place at Oxford and immediately enlisted in 28th Bn. London Regiment (Artists Rifles). The apparent circumstances of his death on 15 – 16 August 1915 as described at the

46

Raymond, Ernest Tell England: a Study in a Generation (1922)

47 Raymond, Ernest Tell England: a Study in a Generation (1922)

48

Raymond, Ernest Tell England: a Study in a Generation (1922)

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

time evoke sentiments of mortality as portrayed in Homer’s Iliad a warrior winning glory by implacably facing death while simultaneously finding the spirit to fight courageously. One account of Dobbin’s death described how:

[On the night he was killed] Barnett had to start a working party at a place where our trench touched the German trench, with only twenty yards of unoccupied trench in between. He was warned to be careful, as the Germans had a machine gun and several rifles trained on the spot, but with his usual courage he got up on the parapet, and from there directed the working party. A flame showed him up and he was fired at immediately, and one bullet hit him in the body. . . . His men mourned his loss deeply, for they all, like ourselves, loved him.49

Another report evoked a noble death:

I was with [Dobbin] just before he died at the dressing station, and his uncomplaining courage was an object lesson as to the way a brave man should face his end. He was quite conscious all the time. His face looked beautiful in its calmness, as if chiselled in white marble. I only hope I shall meet my end when it comes with half his nobility.50

iii) competitive athleticism

Games existed at St Paul’s long before the outbreak of war in 1914: cricket was played from some point during the first half of the nineteenth century; Rugby Football was introduced to the school in 1867; the Rowing Club appears to have been founded by the mathematical master, Charles S Pendlebury (SPS 1877 1910) in 1881 (though some evidence suggests it may be earlier); a gymnasium and covered fives courts were established on the school site in 1890 and a swimming pool was built in 1900. Lacrosse and hockey were played for a while. Regular competition was undertaken against other schools and in internal competitions. The greatest of all Pauline athletic successes was in boxing, St Paul’s frequently winning in a number of weight categories in the annual Public Schools’ Boxing Competition at Aldershot.

School athletics at St Paul’s much benefitted from the establishment in 1896 of compulsory games on one afternoon a week. In 1899 the school was divided into six permanent clubs (or ‘houses’) which competed against each other in the various athletic disciplines. Following the opening of the new playing fields in October 1908, the school was divided into a senior and a junior division, and on each of the two weekly athletic afternoons one of the divisions was out of school.

49

The Pauline, 33 220 Oct 1915 pp 178 179

50 The Pauline, 33 220 Oct 1915 pp 178 179

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

It was generally recognised that the playing of games conferred the benefits of personal pleasure and bodily exercise; but it was also understood that frequent and well organised games and associated competition were important to establishing and maintaining an esprit de corps that bred sentiments of mutual loyalty, selfless commitment and, for those who captained a team, instilled a culture of command. As Field Marshall Douglas Haig put it, team games required ‘decision and character on the part of the leaders, discipline and unselfishness among the led, and initiative and self sacrifice on the part of all’.51 These attitudes are referenced in Henry Newbolt’s famous poem written in 1892, Vitai Lampada (a quotation from Lucretius, meaning ‘the torch of life’), and likely well known to all Paulines who stepped onto a pitch and latterly paraded in khaki:

The Gatling’s jammed and the Colonel dead, And the regiment blind with dust and smoke. The river of death has brimmed his banks, And England’s far, and Honour a name, But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks: “Play up! play up! and play the game!”

A.4 Rugby Football match taking place on St Paul’s School playing fields. (Denis Oliver Barnett is on the right of the picture wearing a striped shirt, to the left of the coated figure.)52

51 Haig, Douglas, A Rectorial Address Delivered to the Students in the University of St Andrews, 14 May 1919, St Andrews, 1919

52 St Paul’s School Archive

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

The poet Robert Vernede (SPS 1889 1894, see Chapter 8, Section 8.4) was 39 when war broke out and knew his Newbolt. Despite the fact that he was four years beyond the age for volunteering, he did not hesitate to enlist. Robert’s motivation can be gleaned from his poem, The Call, published in The Times on 19 August 1914. It includes the following verse, elevating war as the ‘game of games’:

Lad, with the merry smile and the eyes Quick as a hawk’s and clear as the day, You, who have counted the game the prize, Here is the game of games to play. Never a goal the captains say Matches the one that’s needed now: Put the old blazer and cap away England’s colours await your brow.

Team games bred loyalty: internal House games imbrued fidelity to the House; fixtures against other schools birthed an intense loyalty to the school and its ideals. In the poem K.L.H Died of Wounds Received at the Dardanelles by Paul Bewsher (SPS 1907 1912, see Chapter 11, Section 11.5) K L H likely Kenneth Aislabie Longuet Higgens (SPS 1908 1913) is pictured contemplating the honours boards at his school:

He read the names: and wondered if his own Would ever grace the walls in letters bold. He knew not that he for the School would gain A greater honour with a greater price

The intensity of allegiance to the school and the impulse to uphold its honour by fighting for crown and country thus trumped all, even life itself. As Robert Vernede (SPS 1889 1894, see Chapter 8, Section 8.4) put it: ‘England, for thee to die’.53

1.4

the case of John Sherwin Engall (SPS 1912 – 1914)

John (known as Jack) Sherwin Engall (SPS 1912 1914) had left St Paul’s before the outbreak of hostilities. He did not thus witness the growing influence of the OTC during the war; nor did he experience the collective ‘sacredness of our cause’ sentiment that settled on the school like a miasma from August 1914. The letter he wrote to his parents the day before his death in 1916 thus provides compelling insights into the motivations of an OP volunteer of the pre war cohort.

53 Vernede, R ‘A Petition’, War Poems and other verses p 61

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

At the time hostilities broke out Jack had recently passed the Preliminary Examination of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Age eighteen, Jack’s world lay before him, but, like numerous other OPs, no more than six weeks after the outbreak of the war, he chose to suspend his career and enlisted with 1/16th Bn. London Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles), with whom he undertook training. After completing his training Jack gained his commission (rather unusually in the same unit) and crossed to France on 31 December 1915, one of the 511 OPs destined not to return.

In the early morning of 1 July 1916 2nd Lieutenant Engall, Queen’s Westminster Rifles, attached 169th Machine Gun Company, was making his way up the trenches before Gommecourt, about to play his part in a diversionary assault designed to protect the northern flank of a massive attack directly to the south, later to become known as the Battle of the Somme. Detailed to assist his mother unit in their objective of capturing of the ‘Quadrilateral’ (shown on the map as Quad’l), an excited and apprehensive Jack informed his parents that:

I’m sure you will be pleased to hear that I’m going over with [A Company] the Westminsters. The old regiment has been given the most ticklish task in the whole of the [56th] Division; and I’m very proud of my section, because it is the only section in the whole of the Machine Gun Company that is going over the top; and my two particular guns have been given the two most advanced, and therefore most important, positions of all an honour that is coveted by many. So you can see that I have cause to be proud, inasmuch as at the moment that counts I am the officer who is entrusted with the most difficult task.54

A.5 Trench map showing the section of German trenches attacked by 1/16th Bn. London Regiment (‘QWR’) on 1 July 1916. (The British trenches lie to the south, out of image.)55 54 Housman L (ed), War Letters of Fallen Englishmen (1930), p 115 55 TNA WO 95 2957 1 6

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Fierce German resistance, most especially in the form of a day long barrage, combined with a shortage of ammunition on the British side, meant that Jack fell at the second line of German defences. A report described how:

The Vickers Gun which accompanied A Coy [i.e. Company] got as far as the junction of Etch Feed and Feint [trenches] and was there brought into action by 2nd Lieut J S Engall, who had only one of his team left with him he fought the gun himself [until] he was killed at this spot.

56

The 169th Brigade diary recorded that on 1 July:

56 TNA WO 95 2963 2 Report on 1/16th Bn. London Regiment Attack on Gommecourt, 1 July 1916

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

[At first] all battalions did extraordinarily well, but at the end of the day we held our trenches only. Estimated casualties, 2,000.57

Jack was recommended for a gallantry award but this was never made, most likely because no other officer survived to offer verification of the action. Jack’s body was lost in the fighting, churned and captured by the infamous Somme mud. He lies there still and is one of the 72,333 officers and men commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Jack was two weeks short of his 20th birthday.

Elsewhere in the letter penned on 30 June, Jack explained to his parents that:

I am writing this letter the day before the most important moment in my life a moment I must admit I have never prayed for, like thousands of others, but nevertheless a moment which now it has come, I would not back out of for all the money in the world. The day has almost dawned when I shall really do my little bit in the cause of civilisation. … I took my Communion yesterday with dozens of others. … I placed my soul and body in God’s keeping, and I am going into battle with His name on my lips, full of confidence and trusting implicitly in Him. … Should it be God’s holy will to call me away, and I quite prepared to go and … [if so] I could not wish for a finer death; and you, dear Mother and Dad, will know that I died doing my duty to my God, my Country and my King. I ask that you should look upon it as an honour that you have given a son for the sake of King and Country.58

Jack thus evoked a sentiment articulated in Robert Vernede’s poem, The Call:

Hark once more to the clarion call Sounded by him who deathless died “This day England expects you all.”

Jack was not the only one of the 511 OPs who fell who shouted their patriotism from beyond the grave. Lt Herbert Brereton (SPS 1909 1912) was killed in a plane crash on 21 December 1916. In a posthumous letter to his parents he asserted that:

I have had the honour to fall for England. Do not on any account grieve for me, but rather be proud you were able to have a son to offer.59

Others had their patriotic sentiment carved on their gravestone in epitaphs such as these:

57

TNA WO 95 2957 1 6

58 Housman L (ed), War Letters of Fallen Englishmen (1930), p 115

59 The Pauline, 35 230 March 1917 p 8

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

Hunter, 2nd Lt Percy Talbot Lungley (SPS 1907 1910): He Died For His King And Country Loved By All “Lo, I Am With You”

Johnstone, Lt Alec Leith (SPS 1901 1908): Above And Stronger Than His Wish To Live His Wish To Do His Duty

Moses, 2nd Lt Vivian Sylvester (SPS 1911 1916): An Only Son Willingly Gave His Young Life For His Country

Pocock, Captain Charles Arthur Pearce (SPS 1901 1904): Killed In Action Dulce Et Decorum Pro Patria Mori

Thorp, 2nd Lt Charles Evans (SPS 1915 1916): Vincit Qui Vincit For King, Country And Home He Played The Game

Attendance at St Paul’s thus encouraged many OPs to perceive it as their duty to fight. In addition, through its provision of a Cadet Corps (from 1908, Officers’ Training Corps) and Army Classes, SPS provided Paulines with the experience required to fulfil the responsibilities of an officer.60

60 A recent thesis argues that ‘thousands of ex public schoolboys were unwittingly manipulated from an early age into serving their country in wartime’. Methven, Paul ‘Children ardent for some desperate glory’, Public Schools and First World War Volunteering, MPhil, Cardiff, September 2013 p iii

1. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part one

2. ‘All roads lead to France’: part two

Chapter 1 showed how numerous Paulines volunteered having been exposed to a diet of Chapel, Classics and competitive athletics. This Chapter shows how the newly created Army Forms (1888) and on going development of the Volunteer Corps (from 1908, the Officer Training Corps, OTC) acted as conduits by which a Pauline could join the armed forces.

2.1 Army Forms

In 1888 High Master Walker established the Woolwich and Sandhurst Classes, known latterly as the Army Forms (A, B and C), introduced to cater for a growing demand amongst Paulines intent upon pursuing a military career (some of whom were perhaps mindful of the example set by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, OP.) These classes, populated by boys preparing for the entrance exams for the officer training establishments the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst (for the training of infantry) and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich (for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers) proved increasingly popular. ‘The Army Classes continue to grow’, opined The Pauline in July 1889 ‘and before long we expect the “military” element will form no inconsiderable section of the School’.61

The Army Form was under the charge of the senior mathematical master, Charles S Pendlebury (SPS 1877 1910), known as ‘The Prawn’. Pendlebury remained in charge of the Army Form for twenty years and was undoubtedly very significantly responsible for the increase in numbers proceeding from SPS to Woolwich and Sandhurst.

B.1 The Woolwich Army Form, winners of the Challenge Shield 1891.62

61

The Pauline, 07 37 July 1889 p 198

62 St Paul’s School Archive. The Challenge Shield was an SPS inter form cricket competition.

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

Standing, L to R: Charles Pendlebury; Corry, J B; Willis, H; Alexander, W D; Chalmers, F G; Rich, E T; Willis, G H. Seated (wearing blazers), L to R: King, E O; Schwarz, R O; Hardcastle, E L. Crossed legged, L to R: Franks, C S; Walsh, M R.

B.2 Caricature of Charles Pendlebury drawn by Arthur Gerald Ritchie (SPS 1893 1897) for the Army Gazette, December 1896. The volumes of books refer to Pendlebury’s best selling works on Arithmetic, some of which were published in braille.63

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

63 St Paul’s School Archive, Army Form Gazette, December 1896.

Bernard Law Montgomery (SPS 1902 1906, see Chapter 11, Section 11.3) passed through all three Army Forms i.e A, B and C. He later recalled that:

Insofar as I can remember, the school in those days was organised into four Sides Classical, Science, Mathematics and the Army. … Having declared my intention to be a soldier, I was placed in the lowest Army Class Army C. … The Form Master in Army C was Captain C H Bicknell, who also ran the Cadet Corps which I joined but never rose above the rank of private. I must admit that I did practically no work; my main preoccupation was games, and there I really had the light of battle in my eyes. … In due course I reached Army B, not through any scholastic merit but because a new entry coming in at the bottom pushed me and some others out at the top and I have no doubt Captain Bicknell was glad to see me go. It was the same in Army B; I got pushed up into Army A, the top form of the Army Side. But on leaving Army B I got a very bad report and it was clear to me that if I wanted to pass into Sandhurst it was necessary to do some work. … I owe a great deal to St Paul’s. If you want to work there is no better school. … When I became Commander in Chief of the British Armies for the invasion of Normandy in 1944, I established my headquarters in the school, the boys having been evacuated to Crowthorne. My office was in the High Master’s study, the Board Room. As a boy I had never entered that room. I had to become a Commander in Chief before that could happen!64

The number of OPs winning places at Woolwich and Sandhurst became an important part of the High Master’s annual report to the Governors and a key detail in his speech at Apposition. For instance, in July 1901, during the South African War, High Master Walker boasted that:

During the past twelve months the spirit of patriotism, joined perhaps with the love of adventure, has been one of the most powerful influences at work among present Paulines and past Paulines alike. Seventeen of our boys have been admitted during the year to Woolwich and Sandhurst, of whom 11 were direct from the School; and 67 old Paulines have received commissions in one branch or another of His Majesty’s Forces 39 in the Regular Army and the Imperial Yeomanry, 28 in the Militia and Volunteers.65

To an extent St Paul’s was thus becoming a training ground for military officers well before 1914: in 1896 there were only fifteen OPs who were army officers, either active or retired, who had been educated before the start of Walker’s tenure as High Master in 1877; twenty years later the school had produced 100 commissioned officers. By 1897 a total of fifty two boys had obtained admission to Woolwich, of whom twenty two enlisted in the Engineers, four times winning the Pollock Medal, and twice getting the first and the second places on

64

The Pauline 86 1968 pp 7 9 65 The Pauline 19 120 Oct 1901 p 174

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

the Engineer list simultaneously. In addition, fifty six Paulines entered Sandhurst.66 In 1899 E F J Hill (SPS 1892 1896) won the Queen Victoria Medal, instituted at Sandhurst in 1897 for the highest total marks in military topography, military engineering, artillery, tactics and riding. Meanwhile, St Paul’s was newly able to count one of its own as a winner of the Victoria Cross, its first of three (the remaining two were won during the 1st World War. See Chapter 5, Section 5.2.) Captain Randolph Cosby Nesbitt (SPS 1880 1882) earned the highest award for gallantry for an action on 19 June 1896 during the Mashona Rebellion near Salisbury (now Harare), Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The citation reads:

This officer, on the 19th June, 1896, led the Mazoe Rescue Patrol, consisting of only thirteen men, fought his way through the rebels to get to Salthouses’s party, and succeeded in bringing them back to Salisbury, with heavy fighting, in which three of his small force were killed and five wounded, and fifteen horses killed and wounded.67

Captain Nesbitt’s success was celebrated by Ogden’s Cigarettes, who used his image on one of the ‘Leading Generals of the [South African] War’ cards found inside their cigarette packets. The Pauline called Randolph’s achievement a ‘brilliant success’ and placed his story on the front page of their November 1897 edition.68

B.3 Randolph Nesbitt pictured wearing his VC on a card inside Ogden’s Cigarettes c.190269

66

The Pauline 15 87 Feb 1897 p 22. This trend did not survive the 1st World War. High Master Hillard reported to the Governors on 10 November 1922 that ‘the number of boys who seek to go into the Army from the school has steadily decreased and is now almost negligible’, a trend which he explained by the fact that the Indian Army was less attractive than hitherto and because fees at Woolwich and Sandhurst had gone up. St Paul’s School Archives, Governors’ Minutes, 10 Nov 1922 p 122

67 London Gazette, 7 May 1897 p 2535. In 1909 Randolph became a Native Commissioner for the British South Africa Police. He appears to have served with this unit during the 1st World War. Randolph retired in 1928. He died on 23 July 1956, aged 88. His ashes are interred in the RSA Police Section of the Anglican Cathedral in Harare.

68

The Pauline 15 92 Nov 1897 pp 161 162

69 NAM. 1990 04 129 10

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

By the turn of the century St Paul’s was thus establishing something of a reputation as an officer producing school, although on a much less grand scale than schools like Eton, Harrow and Wellington College. By 1914 there existed a contingent of professional soldiers in the OP community, some of whom were to emerge from retirement in August of that year to volunteer their services. As soldiers in General French’s ‘Contemptible Little Army’, many of these OPs paid a high price for the successful resistance they offered to the Germans in 1914.

2.2 Volunteer Corps

In 1859 the Secretary of State for War, Jonathan Peel, wrote to schools and universities, inviting them to form units of Volunteer Corps. Only after C H Bicknell (who rose to the office of Surmaster, 1913 1915) arrived at the school in 1888 was sufficient energy summoned to form the SPS Cadet Corps sometimes also referred to as the Rifle Volunteer Corps founded in 1890. From its inception it was attached to the 2nd battalion (South) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps and captained by Bicknell, known as ‘the Duke’ because he was tall and sported an aristocratic moustache and a monocle.

70

Captain C. H. Bicknell

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

It was intended that the Corps form a recruiting ground not only for officers in the regular army but also for officers in the volunteer regiments. In the first instance it fired the imagination of a considerable number of boys, 240 of whom expressed an interest in joining the corps after listening to Captain Bicknell describe the new venture. In December 1890 The Pauline reported the institution of the Corps:

The War Office has sanctioned the formation of a cadet corps at the school, to consist of two companies of fifty file each.71 For the last few weeks four sergeant instructors from the 2nd South Middlesex Rifle Volunteers have been drilling squads, four times a week from 1.45 to 2.30, and each cadet has thus put in two drills a week. The progress made has been very satisfactory, so that it is intended to start company drills at the beginning of next term. … Each company will at first elect its own officers, subject to the approval of the Commanding Officer. The Government have not yet provided the corps with rifles; but it is hoped that the range for “Morris Tube Practice” will be ready by next term, when all arrangements have been made to render it absolutely safe.72

71 It appears that in the first instance it was intended to raise ‘half a company of efficient volunteers to be attached ton No. 10 Company in the 2nd battalion South Middlesex.’ The Pauline 9 46 Nov 1890 p 20

72 The Pauline 9 46 Dec 1890, p 46. The Morris Tube was inserted into the ordinary service rifle, making it possible to practice aiming and sighting for long ranges when in fact at short range and with a small cartridge. This allowed for a short range of 25 yards to be fitted up in the school grounds.

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

Those with experience in the Corps, having fulfilled certain criteria, were issued a certificate ‘Certificate A’ of proficiency that permitted the holder more easily to obtain a commission in the army and thus the process of so doing interfered less with their civil life.73

The Pauline described the first time the Corps appeared in uniform:

The cadet corps turned out for the first time in uniform on Wednesday, 18 February 1891. Fog prevented any useful drill, and the few spectators present could see but little of the parade. The time was mainly occupied in inspecting the clothing. The general effect of the uniform was very satisfactory and smart, and few alterations were required. The uniform consists of a Norfolk jacket with red cuffs and collar trimmed with mohair, the school coat of arms, and 2nd [South] Middlesex on the shoulder straps, the bronze buttons of the 2nd South Middlesex; a black patent leather belt with the school arms and motto on the clasp; trousers with red piping, patent leather gaiters, and forage cap. The material used is rough serge, as near as possible in colour to the dark grey of the 2nd Middlesex. The sergeants’ stripes are of black braid on red ground. The officers have swords and plated clasps to the sword belts.74

The key activities of the Corps included twice weekly parades and drill in the school grounds, submitting to periodic reviews and inspections, participation in field days and in association with several other school Cadet Corps annual attendance at the Cadet Corps camp at the start of the summer holidays.75 In addition, shooting was established as an important Corps activity and a miniature range was thus created on the school site, in the basement next to the armoury. When shooting became compulsory throughout the school in 1906 this range was enlarged. Long range rifle practice took place at Caterham, Runnymede and Wormwood Scrubbs with a view to selecting a team for Bisley and the Ashburton Shield.

Notwithstanding the fact that membership of the Corps was voluntary, when enthusiasm for joining gradually waned during the 1890s – its numbers falling from the original strength of 250 to about 140 by 1900 the school authorities placed pressure upon boys to commit to

73 Certificate A was awarded to those who had spent two years as a public school cadet. It gained a recipient four months’ exemption from a requirement otherwise to spend 12 months’ service with a Regular unit before qualifying as a Reserve officer. (Senior OTCs issued a Certificate B which fitted the recipient for a Territorial commission as a platoon leader i.e. 2nd Lt.)

74 The Pauline 47 1891 p 87. Boys had to provide their own uniform at a cost of about 30 shillings

75 The summer camp was held at the following places during the war: 1914, Rugeley; 1915, Aldershot; 1916, Petersfield; 1917, Sunningdale; 1918, Sunningdale

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

its ranks, accompanied by clarion calls to the same purpose published in The Pauline. For instance, in 1896 an anonymous pen pusher calling himself the ‘Corporal’ protested that:

And now I must make a last appeal to all patriotic Paulines. The pleasures of volunteering are by themselves sufficient reward for the slight expense they entail, but of late the more serious aspect of volunteering has become very prominent. It reminds us that our small Cadet Corps, although I am sorry to say it is despised by most Paulines, is a training school for future officers, for the regulars as well as the volunteers …. At the present moment the peace of the world is threatened on every side. … Paulines! Come in your hundreds; learn to shoot, to drill, and to fight, so that in Britain’s trial hour you may face the whole world with quiet minds, knowing that you have done your duty.76

The Pauline regularly banged the drum in the interests of the Corps, seemingly lending its support to calls that it become compulsory. In 1905 it drew attention to an article published in the November edition of The Empire Review in which it was argued that public schools and their pupils should be doing more to prepare themselves for any future conflict:

At present, as everyone knows, almost every Public School has a Cadet Corps, the membership of which is voluntary, and the expenses of which are borne partly by the schools and largely by the parents. … It seems probable that, owing to the enormous cost and the accuracy of weapons used, wars in the future will become increasingly short, and when the crisis comes men will be wanted at short notice. … We all know that there is plenty of patriotism latent in the average Briton. But it is our national weakness that we never concern ourselves with possibilities until the possibility has become a certainty in the shape of a hard and most unpleasant fact. No boy of average pluck would be content to know that a national call to arms would find him helpless; that, however keen his patriotism in the hour of danger, he would have to spend his time in the drill yard and at the butts until the hour for usefulness was past, and the fate of England had been decided without him. It would be no better, worse, indeed, to be hurried up to the front, as a paper soldier, in order to satisfy a populace howling at the War Office, and find himself there a useless encumbrance on the men who had learnt their business betimes. Yet the boy who neglects to learn the rudiments of soldiering at school is either postponing it to a far less convenient period of his life, or secretly making up his mind to shirk his responsibilities altogether.77

The Pauline continued to voice its frustration in 1907 at what it considered insufficient participation in the OTC, then standing at just over 150 recruits:

We must confess to a desire to see at least fifty more boys in the Corps; out of a school of 600 boys surely a third is the smallest proportion that should take on itself the duty of

76

77

The Pauline, 14 80 Feb 1896 p 17

The Pauline, 23 150 Dec 1905 pp 203 204

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

preparation for defence against invasion. The work that the Corps does, is, as Lord Roberts once said, “not playing at soldiers”; and Mr Haldane [Secretary of State for War] has recently shown in a speech in the House of Commons that the Army Council is appreciating at its true value the work done for in future the Public School Cadet Corps are no longer to be more less ornamental appendages to local Volunteer Regiments, but are themselves to be an integral portion of the new Territorial Army and are to perform the important service of supplying officers for the Reserve and for the Auxiliary Forces.78

Despite these concerns, the Cadet Corps was generally considered in rude health Bicknell’s watchful eye and ‘inspiring enthusiasm’ over the course of his 26 years in command saw to that.79 As The Pauline pronounced in 1915, ‘It must be no small gratification to the late Surmaster, in this hour of our country’s need, to recall the number of useful officers who had their first training from him.’80

2.3 the South African War, 1899 1902

The ebb and flow of events in the South African War (1899 1902) animated the entire school. The Pauline reported that when the school met on Monday 26 February 1900:

Boys were handing round before prayers letters from friends or brothers at the war. Everyone in London and Greater London knew that at that moment the utmost strength of England’s army at the Cape was being used to crush into surrender the Boer army under Cronje; while in Natal ten thousand Englishmen were starving in Ladysmith, which might capitulate at any hour. Would [Lord] Roberts or famine win the race? For the first time in our half of the Victorian era every schoolboy would feel that we were waging a war without limited liability. Here in London, so close to the executive centre of the Empire, with news pouring out hourly hot and fresh before everyone’s eyes and ears, where the boys may actually see the “making of history”, from the sending out of a citizen army to the meetings of Parliament and the City Corporation, everyone is peculiarly sensitive to what is actually taking place. Those who hear the daily reports of their friends in Government offices, in business, or the Services, or in London journalism, come to school full of war news, all of it interesting and some of it even accurate. Each morning brings its stock, and the afternoon a supplement. On the Tuesday, the anniversary of Majuba, came Lord Roberts’s message that Cronje and his army had surrendered. The news was known in the School at eleven o’clock, and the expressions of delight with which it was received were renewed most vigorously when, just before three, a wire came from the Governors granting a half holiday. This was

78 The Pauline, 25 159 April 1907 p 53

79 Bicknell left SPS at the end of the Autumn Term 1914 in order to become Headmaster of the Mercers’ School. He was succeeded in January 1915 by Mr H R Pullinger. (Pullinger had gained a commission in the OTC on 2 July 1912.)

80 The Pauline, 33 215 Feb 1915 p 2

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

the occasion, rather than the cause, of a great outburst of cheering, which lasted for half an hour, all the generals being cheered in turn. … On Thursday morning, at eleven o’clock, the news was sent round to the class rooms that Ladysmith had been relieved. The scene at “Break” was worthy of the occasion. All the boys of the Preparatory School opposite were lining the façade and cheering. Some six hundred Paulines swarmed out opposite and shouted in rivalry, climbing railings and gate posts and every conceivable point of vantage, and cheering everything and everybody, from a stray yeoman in khaki to the Union Jacks of the Road Car omnibuses. Scholars in caps and gowns flew down the road, surrounded the newsboys, and whirled off with papers. There was no disorder, and no rowdy demonstration. It was short, but sweet. At 11.30 the sergeant’s bell rang out in the middle of the drive, and we melted into school. By afternoon school everyone was hard at work again, and the only sign of the times was the company of a hundred drilling with rifles in the Close by way of practical commentary on the responsibilities of empire.81

The South African War undoubtedly encouraged yet more boys to pursue a career in the army. In his address at Apposition on 25 July 1900, High Master Walker announced that ‘Since the Army Class, under the charge of the senior mathematical master, Mr. Pendlebury, first began thirteen years ago to train boys for Woolwich [and Sandhurst], 175 of his scholars have entered the commissioned ranks of her Majesty's forces’, 75 of whom had been commissioned in the last four years.82 (The total had grown to 250 by October 1901.)83

In a somewhat tongue in cheek article that appeared in The Pauline of July 1902, the author pronounced that the best choice of profession is a position in the Indian Civil Service; and that the ‘next best profession is undoubtedly the Army.’84 Then, at Apposition on 29 July 1903, High Master Walker announced that:

Of all the professions [entered by Paulines] the military is most popular. Thirty seven commissions were earned last year and thirty one in the present year. I believe if there were scholarships for the Army, as there are for the University, four fifths of the highest forms would elect to become commissioned officers.85

81

The Pauline, 18 108 March 1900 pp 5 6

82

83

84

85

The Pauline, 18 113 Nov 1900 p 173

The Pauline, 19 120 Oct 1901 p 158

The Pauline, 20 126 July 24 1902 Choice of Profession p 138

The Pauline, 21 134 Nov 1903 p 170. The choice of the army as a career appears to have lost some of its appeal by July 1907. At this time, of 380 boys in the higher forms, 135 were preparing for the learned professions, 95 for the army and civil service, 84 for various forms of business and 66 for engineering and architecture. (See The Pauline, 25 161 July 1907 p 110.)

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

In the aftermath of the South African War, public debate as to why it had taken so long for England to prevail sparked an examination of the contribution of the Public Schools to the Army. A component of this reflection was the constitution of a Committee on Military Education and Training in April 1901, to which High Master Walker was appointed. Its brief was to consider what changes, if any, were desirable in the system of training and educating candidates for the British Army at public schools and universities, and in the relationship between these bodies and the military authorities, so as to ensure a supply of better trained candidates for the army. The Committee reported in June 1902, its report brimful with caustic criticism of then current arrangements and drawing attention to the officer requirement of the future anticipated at about 1,000 per annum in number. (At the time Sandhurst produced 175 officers per annum.) In a debate on the Report in the House of Lords on 17 July 1902, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (the Marquess of Lansdown) argued that:

I hope, in regard to what is called antecedent education, that we shall be slow to give up the principle which has hitherto been accepted by successive Governments: that we should endeavour to attract to the Army the best young men from our great public schools. … If the best lads we can get from the public schools are not good enough for us, that suggests to my mind the idea that there is something not quite right with the education given in the public schools themselves; and I trust that the learned headmasters who have given us so much valuable and admirable advice [i.e. High Master Walker and Edmond Warre, Eton], which we shall take to heart, will turn their eyes towards matters nearer home, and consider whether they cannot do something in their own schools to bring up a race of lads better grounded for the great profession of arms.86

Two hundred and twenty OPs took part in the South African War (1899 1901), a larger total than any other public school other than Eton, Harrow and Winchester.87 Of these OPs, all of whom served as either subalterns or captains, thirty were Mentioned in Dispatches for conspicuous gallantry in the field or for valuable services throughout the campaign; fifteen were created Companions of the Distinguished Service Order and three were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Lieutenant G F Boyd (SPS 1890 1894, see Chapter 11, Section 11.3) was the only officer in the war to receive both these awards. Eleven OPs gave their lives. High Master Walker, in his Apposition address of 30 July 1902 said ‘Whatever we feel about their loss, we still remember dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. ’88

Determined equally to memorialise its fallen and to affirm its patriotism and preparedness to serve in the national interest, especially in light of the rumbling debate surrounding the

86

https://api.parliament.uk/historic hansard/lords/1902/jul/17/military education

87 McDonnell, Michael F J, A History of St Paul’s School (London, 1909) p 445

88 The Pauline, 22 127 Nov 1902 p 168. Apposition speech, 30 July 1902.

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

efficacy of the nation’s military wherewithal, St Paul’s erected a memorial to OPs who had fought and fallen in the South African War. (See Chapter 12, 12.1, i.) The classically informed structure was duly planted at the front of the school, prominently located so that it loudly proclaimed its presence to all who crissed and crossed the threshold of St Paul’s.

B.4 The unveiling of the South African War Memorial, 29 May 1906.89

The unveiling ceremony, involving the lowering of the Union Jack, on 29 May 1906 illuminates equally the extent to which St Paul’s had become an officer producing institution and its apparent ambition to remain such. The guest of honour was Lord Roberts (1832 1914), one of the most successful British military commanders of his time, his record covering actions in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Abyssinia, Afghanistan, Ireland, and, of course, the recent victory in South Africa. All pupils were obliged to attend the event, at which the SPS corps, numbering 150, furnished a guard of honour. Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Master of the Mercers’ Company and Chair of Governors, read out the names of the fallen. Thereafter he articulated his expectation that public schoolboys develop a martial prowess:

I trust the spirit which animated those who served in the South African War will be maintained. They showed an example for every boy to equip himself for the service of his

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

King and country and to do his duty nobly, and nobly to die if need be, and they will never be forgotten by their brother Paulines.90

Following an address from Earl Roberts, High Master Hillard proceeded to say that:

At a time when Earl Roberts was doing very much with regard to the country’s defence, he would be glad to know that at St Paul’s School [we] were doing all that it was possible to do, and in a short time no boy, except for conscientious reasons, would leave the School without learning how to shoot in his country’s defence. (Applause.) He believed there was a still lingering impression that they simply taught a little Latin and Greek. It was a great mistake; at any rate, they tried to teach boys at their School to be men like Lord Roberts (cheers) Lord Roberts represented the English schoolboy ideal.91

B.5 The St Paul’s Shooting Team, Bisley, 1913. Each member of the Bisley Shooting Team of 1913 was also a member of the OTC. All of the team of 1913 later volunteered for service in

90

The Pauline, 24 153 June 1906 p 82

91

The Pauline, 24 153 June 1906 pp 83 84. Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts

92

The Pauline, 32 205 Nov 1913 Frontispiece

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

P (SPS 1908 1913); Studdy H (SPS 1906 13); Warner G F M (SPS 1910 1913); Broadbent E R (SPS 1909 1914).

Bisley was the location for the Schools’ Rifle Shooting competition, the winner of which was presented with the Ashburton Challenge Shield. In 1913 fifty five schools competed. St Paul’s appears to have come second on this occasion, their highest finish in the competition. In 1914 the school established a miniature range in the school grounds.

2.4 the Officers’ Training Corps (OTC), 190893

B.6 OTC officers 1916, all of whom were Masters. Left to right: Lt J A Carpenter; Capt H R Pullinger; Capt C H Bicknell, ‘The Duke’ (late C O); 2nd Lt A L Jones; Cadet Officer R A Affleck. (The names of the two boys are not known.)94

The reforms in 1907 of Lord Haldane, Secretary of State for War, included the creation of the Territorial Force and a consequent requirement for an urgent and greater number of officers. The Pauline edition of November 1908, noting that ‘at present not much more than a quarter of the School are members of the Cadet Corps,’ recorded its belief that:

[It] is time that St Paul’s should wake up and show that it is not behind other Public Schools in wishing to do its duty to the country. The main difficulty of the Territorial Force is the dearth of officers, and the military authorities have now recognised that the Public Schools 93 Full title ‘Junior Officers’ Training Corps’ 94 St Paul’s School Archive

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

can and ought to be of service to their country by supplying the officers required for all branches of the Territorial Army and Special Reserve of Officers.95

Haldane’s reforms meant that the Volunteer Corps henceforth evolved into a contingent of the Junior Officers’ Training Corps (OTC).

In many respects the new Corps was similar to its predecessor. The OTC at St Paul’s remained affiliated with the same regiment as before the Middlesex Regiment though it was now associated with the new 1/13th Bn. County of London (Kensingtons) and 2/13th Bn. County of London (Kensingtons) and its commanding officer remained the popular Captain C H Bicknell.96 However, the grey uniform was replaced with khaki, costing £1.13s 6d if bought new and £1 if second hand. The annual subscription was set at 10s 6d. Each Cadet was entitled to ten rounds of ammunition a week at the school range, in addition to what he must shoot under the scheme for compulsory shooting, introduced in 1906. Each week in the Summer Term the Corps engaged one or more targets at the open ranges at Staines. Following the outbreak of war the sourcing of munitions became problematic, forcing the use of fake rifles. In March 1915 The Pauline reported that:

The dummy rifles arrived on Wednesday, 17 February [1915]. They are 264 in number, and are housed in the old changing room. The first time they were used they occasioned a certain amount of merriment, but members have rapidly grown used to them, and the majority are agreed that their appearance is really remarkably good. They are modelled on the short service rifle, and look quite like the genuine article even at a comparatively short distance, while in weight they are identical. Though a few of the slings have given way under rough usage, most of the rifles show no signs of succumbing, but look very strong.97

Battalion parades were held during the Lent Term at lunch time on Wednesdays, and drills for recruits were held after school on two evenings a week, lasting for half an hour from 5 o’clock to 5.30 pm. In 1915 an annual march from London to Brighton was instituted for senior boys.

95 The Pauline, 26 170 Nov 1908 pp 177 178

96 In 1908, as part of the Haldane Reforms, the 2nd (South) Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps amalgamated with the 4th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps to form newly minted units, the 1/13th (County of London) Battalion (Kensingtons) and the 2/13th (County of London) Battalion (Kensingtons). The headquarters and drill hall of the Kensingtons were at Iverna Gardens (accessed via Adam and Eve Mews), High Street, Kensington, just a mile from SPS.

97 The Pauline, 33 216 March 1915 p 61

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

98

B.7 A battalion parade on the school grounds

By the summer of 1915 an OTC band had been formed, prompting The Pauline to remark that:

We are not experts in military music, and so far we have had little opportunity of studying its points at St. Paul’s. But we cannot conceal the deep impression of tremendous effectiveness made upon us by the performances of the newly formed corps band. It is really splendid to listen to. We venture to suggest to the military censorship that the names of the performers should be published, for they have done a very good thing.99

B.8 The OTC band during the Annual Inspection, 1915100

98 St Paul’s School Archive 99The Pauline, 33 218 June 1915 p 103 100 St Paul’s School Archive

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

In order to develop further an esprit de corps there were now three or four field days per year. Field days, or field work as it was sometimes known, usually took place with OTC contingents from other schools, frequently Dulwich, Merchant Taylors’, Epsom and K C S Wimbledon. On these occasions operations were devised in order to practice fighting. The usual locations were either Wimbledon Common or Richmond Park. Descriptions of these events were afforded generous space in The Pauline. (For example, see The Pauline, 219 July 1915 pp 164 66.)101

B.9 An OTC Field Day in Richmond Park, 1915. The hat bands were most likely coloured in order to denote one the respective forces. The rifles are dummies. As the war went on elements of the OTC seem to have participated in shooting on the range at Runnymede.102

101

The Pauline, 33 219 July 1915 pp 164 66

102 St Paul’s School Archive

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

B.10 An OTC Field Day in Richmond Park, 1915.103

B.11 An OTC Field Day in Richmond Park, 1915.104

103 St Paul’s School Archive

104 St Paul’s School Archive

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

The first ten days of the Summer Holiday were dedicated to the Annual OTC Camp. On these occasions the OTCs of several schools camped together and participated in many activities familiar from field days, but with the added challenges of living under canvas. In addition, boys attended lectures on discipline, camp sanitation, bombing and gas, the last being followed at the 1915 camp by a most realistic gas attack with gas helmets and the blowing up of a small mine. In that year some difficulty was encountered in finding a suitable site because all the usual training centres were required for the New Armies. Eventually the Aldershot Command authorities provided a camping ground at Heath Farm, just outside Petersfield, Hampshire. A total of about 130 Paulines seem to have attended, though ‘As notice was so very short on this occasion, a larger attendance could not have been possible, but under ordinary conditions all seniors will be expected to be present’.105 In 1916 the camp was held at Broomhall Farm, Sunningdale (Weds 28 July to Friday 4 August.) It was attended by 6 officers and 248 cadets, very nearly twice the previous best attendance. In 1917 the camp was again at Sunningdale (25 July 3 August). Other schools present at the same camp were Merchant Taylors’, Dulwich, and Cranleigh. This was the first year in which the annual OTC camp was officially recognized by the War Office, and officers were detailed to assist in the training. Unfortunately, on this occasion, all involved had to endure rather challenging weather, as reported in The Pauline:

105 The Pauline, 33 221 Oct 1915 pp 231 2

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

In one sense the camp will probably be one of the best remembered for many years to come, as we were unfortunate enough to be under canvas for what was in many ways a record rainfall, having four days and nights of consistently heavy rain almost without a break. The camp became a quagmire and the floor of the recreation tent a lake with the piano standing on a small wooden island; while we had to do our best to improvise drying apparatus. Though a programme very similar to that of last year had been arranged, no training was possible during these four days. Fortunately our first four days and the last day of camp were fine, and some good work was done.106

B.12 A kit inspection taking place at the Annual Camp in 1914, at Mytchett Farm, Aldershot. Note the bayonets presented at the front of the kit.107

B.13 The OTC Annual Camp, Salisbury Plain, August 1916108

106

The Pauline, 35 235 Nov 1917 pp 171 174 107 St Paul’s School Archive 108 St Paul’s School Archive

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

Of equal importance to the Annual Camp was the annual Inspection, performed by a military figure of some importance. This took place on the school grounds in the Summer Term.

B.14 Annual OTC inspection by Brigadier General Broadwood 1915. (He is emerging on the left from the two lines of cadets.)109

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

St Paul’s School Archive

Like its predecessor, the OTC was voluntary. Increasingly, however, this was in name only; the pressure to join was great and growing. Moreover, following Haldane’s reforms it came under direct control of the War Office, thereby introducing an accountability that had not existed hitherto. At Apposition in 1913 the High Master suggested to parents ‘that it would be advisable to urge their sons to join the Officers’ Training Corps.’111

In September 1914 he told boys that:

Your morning prayer may well be, “Help me to day to make myself more fit, that when my country wants me I may be ready to obey and ready to command.” And as to the extra military training that you can get here, let me remind you of what I said on the first day of term. You need not concern yourself with what is others’ duty. Fix your thoughts on what is your duty, having regard to your circumstances, age, and capacity. And that fortunately is clearly marked. Every communication we receive from the War Office warns us that we are expected to keep up during the next two or three years a steady stream of men who have had their first military discipline and training and can be fitted quickly to take command. That is why they have not called up any OTC officers, badly though they are wanted, to train

110 St Paul’s School Archive

111 The Pauline, 32 212 213 October 1914 p 194

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

B.15 The Annual Inspection June 1917. Undertaken by Lt Col W T Bromfield.110

troops elsewhere. They attach greater importance to their service here. And this purpose of theirs you must help. You are not wanted prematurely, but they want you to be ready.112

The number of boys joining the school’s OTC thus witnessed a significant uptick upon the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. In October of that year The Pauline reported that:

The war has caused a great increase in our numbers, and, all told, about two thirds of the School have joined. These have been divided into two corps, those over sixteen years of age and those physically capable of standing the rather arduous work into one [corps], and those from fourteen to sixteen into the other. Both corps parade every day, the juniors in the dinner hour and the seniors at 5pm. Saturday mornings are spent in route marches and field work, and later on we hope to spend all Saturday out.113

At Apposition in 1915 the High Master reported that:

The Officers’ Training Corps had gone up to something like, 400, which meant that every boy of age and physically fit had joined. He congratulated the officers, commissioned and non commissioned, on the extremely effective force they had been able to turn out. They would keep up a constant stream from that School of young officers for the Army. Of those leaving this term 44 had been given commissions. As long as the war lasted the School would provide about eighty young officers for the Army each year. It would also send out a constant stream of young men for the constructive work after the war.114

The pressure on boys to join the OTC was thus relentless. In part this was a result of general circumstance but it was also perhaps because the extent to which a Junior OTC was seen to be successful seems to have been increasingly regarded as a measure by which the health of a school was calibrated, evidenced by the ever growing number of pages dedicated to it by High Master Hillard in his annual Summary Statement of the School Year, presented to the Governors each February. These reports show that during the course of the war the OTC was some 350 400 in number, the second of these figures amounting to two thirds of the total number of pupils in the school at any one time. St Paul’s School OTC thus appears to have been fulfilling its primary function of producing officer material for the army: by March 1915, it had provided a total of 220 officers, 148 of whom were commissioned after the outbreak of war.115

112

113

114

115

The Pauline, 32 212 213 October 1914 The High Master’s Address, 28 Sept 1914

The Pauline, 32 212 213 Oct 1914 212 213 pp 209 10

The Pauline, 33 221 28 October 1915 pp 203 204

Haig Brown, A The O.T.C and The Great War, London 1915. See Appendix A

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

The longer the war went on ever greater became the demands of the OTC. In February 1917 Hillard reported that:

Most of the usual activities of the school have necessarily been subordinated to the work of the OTC. The War Office now requires that all boys over 18 shall give not less than 10 hours a week to work bearing on military preparation. The number of hours devoted to this already was sufficient to meet this requirement with the addition of 2 hours of school time and the necessary adjustment has been made.116

At the same meeting, the High Master reported that:

About 70 Cadets devoted four weeks of their summer holidays to Government Service by felling timber for pit props. Over 4,000 trees were felled. The camp was 15 miles inland from Aberystwyth and much difficulty was experienced in the matter of food and transport.117

By 1918 the Corps as a whole paraded three times a week, the total time taken being 7 to 8 hours. The senior cadets those aged over 17 ½ years (about 90 in all in 1917) were required to join the Special Class. Each week this class spent ten hours in activities such as bayonet work, map reading, studying loading and firing positions, prismatic compass work, musketry, close study of rifle parts, and received instruction in the Mills Hand Grenade and semaphore. The Special Class was no doubt responsible for the digging of trenches in the school grounds that appeared by the school baths. In 1915 it erected a barbed wire entanglement with a trip wire, and its bayonet work ensured that ‘part of the margin of the school grounds was grimly decorated with gallows from which hung straw filled sacks into which the novice would be trained to plunge his steel’.118 Boys in this Class had to sit exam papers to demonstrate their knowledge of these subjects, as well as exhibit good work in the field days.

2.5 ‘The Corps is Too Much With Us’

Unsurprisingly, not all of those who joined the OTC did so willingly and resentment existed at the ever growing demands that it placed upon a boy’s time. The Pauline editorial of April 1917 was unusually critical:

The prevailing attitude towards the [OTC] Corps is to regard it as profitable but unpleasant. There are, however, exceptions. The recruit on his first march out has a sense of patriotic valour; the large concourse moving in more or less orderly formation with moderately

116

117

St Paul’s School Archive, Governors’ Minutes, 9 Feb 1917 p 9

St Paul’s School Archive, Governors’ Minutes, 9 Feb 1917 p 11

118 Picciotto, C M St Paul’s (Blackie and Son, 1939) p 107

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

regular step impresses him; the gaze of surrounding onlookers stirs him profoundly; he is awed by the pompous solemnity of military proceedings; even the band awakens martial feelings. But that sentiment soon wears off, and is succeeded by a vague spirit of mutiny. The rudeness of N.C.O.’s begins to rankle, and the romance of playing at soldiers to pall and wane. The disillusioned private feels the thorn beneath the rose. He now looks upon the Corps as a monster who robs him of his leisure hours, dresses him in uncomfortable clothes, and tears him away from happy pursuits in order to smother him in Barnes mud, choke him with the dust of Priory Lane, or afflict his tender flesh with the thorns and brambles of Wimbledon Common. ….119

In July 1916, The Pauline published the following verse.

The Corps is Too Much With Us (With Apologies to Wordsworth.)

The corps is too much with us; late and soon, Drilling and marching, we lay waste our powers: Little we have of time that’s really ours; We have sold ourselves away, a sordid boon!

We have no space to watch the beauteous moon; We have to spend the pleasant summer hours Encamped in tents which crush the lovely flowers; We march to bands that play quite out of tune.

It moves us not Great God! I'd rather be A slacker, standing in a suit outworn; So might I, resting underneath a tree, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; See the whole corps come marching late for tea, Or hear old Caborne blow his wreathed horn.120

The sentiment is somewhat whimsical and perhaps anti authority rather than anti war, but it evokes a sense of antagonism to any notion of a righteous cause. It also calls into question the general perception that, after two years of fighting, public schools and public schoolboys heeded unquestioningly the clarion call of self sacrifice, ‘dulce et decorum est pro patria

119

120

The Pauline, 35 231 April 1917 p 31

The Pauline, 34 226 July 1916 p 112. The verse was authored by ‘J.A.G’ and ‘reprinted by kind permission of the U.V.M.) A year later, at Apposition on 25 July 1917, the High Master chose to open his remarks by reading out this verse, in so doing perhaps seeking to diffuse any resentment. See The Pauline 35 235 13 Nov 1917 pp 153 155

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

mori.’ Nor should it be forgotten that The Pauline editions that published these critical sentiments also included as their frontispiece the latest additions to the Roll of Honour. The same edition that published ‘The Corps is Too Much With Us’ thus also listed a further twelve OP casualties. In these instances the school magazine was simultaneously honouring its dead while also offering criticism of the increasing militarisation of life at school, a remarkable and surprising freedom of expression in the general context of creeping wartime censorship by the authorities.

B.16 SPS OTC Officers and NCOs 1916. Front row seated, L to R: Sgt Smith; Sgt Willis; C S M Manson; 2nd Lt Chamier (OP); Cadet Officer R M Whitaker; 2nd Lt L C Smith; Lt J A Carpenter, Commanding No. 1 Coy; Capt H R Pullinger, Commanding; Capt C H Bicknell (late C O); 2nd Lt A M Jones, Commanding No 2 Coy; Cadet Officer R Affleck; Sgt Roberts; Sgt Newman. NB: Bicknell ceased to serve on 29 Dec 1914; Henry R Pullinger went on to be Headmaster of RGS Worcester.121

B.17 SPS OTC Officers and NCOs 1916. 2nd Row, L to R, seated: 2nd Lt R M A Whitaker; 2nd Lt A M Jones; Capt H R Pullinger; 2nd Lt L C Smith; 2nd Lt C G Botting (standing). 3rd row, L to R, standing: 2nd Lt L S Dawe (second on left); 2nd Lt T Picton (third on left); (Note that the photograph is taken in front of the South African War Memorial.)122 121 St Paul’s School Archive 122 St Paul’s School Archive

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

B.18 St Paul’s School OTC badge. (A cadet would wear this badge on each of his shoulder lapels.)123

St Paul’s School Archive

B.19 St Paul’s School OTC cap badge, worn by most of those in the above images. It carries the school motto.124

2.6 after the War

After the Armistice in 1918 the calling up of cadets was suspended by the government, though ten hours’ military work a week was still required and the general conditions of training continued for the present. The Pauline, reverting to its positive view of the corps, provided a summary comment on the OTC during the war:

All ranks are to be congratulated on the extraordinarily steady way in which the training has been carried out during the past four years. Though that training has come almost entirely out of games periods, it has been performed with the utmost willingness, and the keenness shown during the last year has been greater, if anything, than that of the previous three years. The efficiency of the contingent has been best seen by the record of those cadets who have gone straight from the OTC to officer cadet units. Of these, as far as is known, less than half a dozen out of the large number accepted have failed to obtain commissions. In each case the cadet failed not through lack of knowledge of his work, but through lack of self confidence. At the certificate examinations for cadets entering the regular army for the past few terms all our candidates have qualified.125

124

St Paul’s School Archive

125 The Pauline, 36 243 Dec 1918 pp 193 94

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

The OTC continued to exist until 1948, at which date it evolved into the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). In 1966 the CCF was dissolved by High Master Howarth, in part because apparently many of its members ‘were unenthusiastic and resentful and not always from the wrong motives’ and in part because the move of the school to its new site in Barnes required ‘cuts in the accommodation schedule’. 126

126 Letter from the High Master to the Clerk of the Governors, 4 February 1966. St Paul’s School Archive

2. ‘All Roads Lead to France’: part two

Chapter 3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

3.1 in which they served: armies (see Appendix 4)

Chart C.1 shows that a majority (2,600) of the 2,914 OPs whose names feature in the War List served in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).127 Much smaller numbers served in other of the Expeditionary Forces: 176 enlisted in the Indian Expeditionary Force (IEF); 64 in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) and 21 in the Australian Expeditionary Force (AEF). The small remainder served in the African, Italian, Egyptian, New Zealand, American, Italian and Russian armies. (It is not known in which armies 24 OPs served.)

C.1 Chart showing the proportion of OPs serving in the British Expeditionary Force, Indian Expeditionary Force, Canadian Expeditionary Force and Australian Expeditionary Force

Many of the OPs who served in the IEF were career soldiers. Attracted by tours of duty in one of Britain’s imperial territories and by the fact that service in the Indian Army was better remunerated than the same in the BEF, a number of this element had already crafted distinguished military careers before the outbreak of war in 1914.

An anonymous OP, resident in India in 1902, proferred the following advice to Paulines considering a career in the Indian Army:

Tinker? Tailor? Soldier? Sailor? … Undoubtedly the most favoured [profession] in India is the Indian Civil Servant. … The next best profession is undoubtedly the Army; but this has so many branches, that an injudicious selection of a corps may lead to ruin unless ample private

127 These figures do not include E H Evans (SPS 1888 1892)

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

Armies in which OPs served

BEF IEF CEF AEF Other

means are available. The Royal Engineers are much better paid than any other branch of the service, and a subaltern can live on his pay in this branch. The Royal Artillery is marked by the moderate charges which obtain in the various messes. This is due to these messes being permanent in the various stations, and the expenses of living have been fixed at a fair sum, whereas, when an infantry or cavalry regiment arrives in the country, the natives take every advantage of their inexperience. Moreover, they form a sort of trades union to keep up prices for those who are supposed to be well off. In the British Infantry a subaltern rarely sees any of his pay, it being entirely swamped by his mess and other regimental bills, while as often as not he has to pay money in. He should, therefore, have not less than £120 per annum of his own. British Cavalry is still more expensive. … If I were entering the Staff Corps, and were able to choose, I should place them in the following order Sikhs or Gurkahs, Punjabis, Bengal, Bombay, Madras.128

OPs who served in the CEF and AEF seem to have been of rather different stock, many having emigrated to Canada and Australia to pursue farming or other business enterprises.

3.2 in which they served: corps / regiments

C.2 Numbers of OPs (where known) who served in each of the main corps / regiments in the BEF129

Infantry regiments 1250 Royal Engineers 190 Medical 185 Royal Field Artillery 168 Royal Garrison Artillery 145 Army Service Corps 141 Navy 116 RAF 112 Cavalry 59 Other 55 Staff 42 Navy Air 30 Machine Gun Corps 26 Chaplain 23 Royal Flying Corps 17 Labour Corps 12 Tank Corps 12

128 The Pauline, 20 126 24 July 1902 pp 138 139 129 These numbers are obtained from the War List. They represent the ‘home’ corps / regiment of an OP rather than that in which he may have been attached at the time he fell.

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

Ordnance 6

Cyclist Corps 4

Veterinary Corps 4 Red Cross 2 Unknown 2

An army constituted a number of different corps / regiments, each of which consisted of a grouping of soldiers with a common area of specialist expertise, such as skills associated with infantry (organised in regiments), medicine, engineering, artillery, cavalry and even cycling.130 A volunteer attesting for service was expected to indicate his corps / regiment of choice on his Attestation Form. A pecking order of corps / regiments existed, and a potential officer’s choice was significantly determined by his social and financial background, combined with his personal qualities and abilities. In the army, infantry regiments which had their own order of precedence (see below, 3.3) were considered in the upper half of the corps / regiment pecking order. Of the other corps in the army, the Royal Field Artillery enjoyed middling status, with the Royal Garrison Artillery and Royal Engineers well below. At the bottom of the pecking order existed the Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps and Army Pay Department, all of whom were regarded by many regimental officers as having the status of ‘trades’. For potential officers in the technical corps, such as the Royal Engineers and Army Ordnance Corps, technical qualifications were required. In the case of the Royal Engineers, it was generally the case that a qualified engineer of good health and physique, combined with practical experience in supervising some form of engineering project, already possessed four fifths of the qualifications required to be an engineer in combat.

3.3 in which they served: infantry regiments

(see Appendix 6)

More than 53 percent of OPs who served in the BEF did so in infantry regiments, by far the most popular of the corps / regiments among OPs. (This proportion does not seem unusual: at both Winchester and Uppingham, for example, approximately half of old boys who served appear to have done so in the infantry.131) Table C.3 shows that 1,143 OPs served in varying numbers in 81 of the 86 regiments that existed in 1914.132 The remaining 108 OPs

130 Two OPs served in the Cycling Corps: Charles Herbert Mackelcan Johns (SPS 1898 1901) and Charles Leslie Baden Powell (SPS 1899 1902), each of whom survived the war. (The primary roles of the cyclists were reconnaissance and communications (message taking). They were armed as infantry and could provide mobile firepower if required.)

131 Halstead, T A School in Arms Uppingham and the Great War (Helion, 2017) p 84

132 There is no evidence that OPs served in any of the following five Territorial regiments: Herefordshire Regiment; Northern Cyclist; Highland Cyclist; Kent Cyclist and Huntingdon Cyclist.

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

served in infantry formations that are not recognised as discrete regiments of these, the most popular amongst OPs was the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, in which 71 OPs enlisted. (Despite its name, volunteers in this corps served as infantry after numbers seeking to join the navy proved greater than requirements.)

C.3 Infantry Regiments by army precedence and the number of OPs who served in each. (The Guards regiments prefixed with a letter ‘a’ are considered to have precedence over and above the other regiments; the inverse applies for the Territorial only regiments, prefixed with a letter ‘b’.)

Regiment (short title) Precedence No. of OPs

Grenadier Guards a1 6 Coldstream Guards a2 3 Scots Guards a3 2 Irish Guards a4 2 Welsh Guards a5 2 Guards Machine Gun Regiment a6 1 Royal Scots 1 6 Royal West Surrey 2 14 Buffs, East Kent Regiment 3 17 Royal Lancaster Regiment 4 13 Northumberland Fusiliers 5 14 Royal Warwickshire 6 18 Royal Fusiliers 7 82 Liverpool Regiment 8 7 Norfolk Regiment 9 7 Lincolnshire Regiment 10 4 Devonshire Regiment 11 13 Suffolk Regiment 12 19 Somerset Light Infantry 13 11 West Yorkshire Regiment 14 12 East Yorkshire Regiment 15 10 Bedfordshire Regiment 16 14 Leicestershire Regiment 17 11

Royal Irish Regiment 18 5 Yorkshire Regiment 19 9 Lancashire Fusiliers 20 16

Royal Scots Fusiliers 21 11 Cheshire Regiment 22 15 Royal Welsh Fusiliers 23 10 South Wales Borderers 24 7

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

King's Own Scottish Borderers 25 6 Scottish Rifles 26 12

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 27 6 Gloucestershire Regiment 28 16 Worcestershire Regiment 29 13 East Lancashire Regiment 30 6 East Surrey Regiment 31 31

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 32 6 West Riding Regiment 33 9 Border Regiment 34 12 Royal Sussex 35 17 Hampshire Regiment 36 14 South Staffordshire 37 6 Dorsetshire Regiment 38 12 South Lancashire Regiment 39 8 Welsh Regiment 40 6 Black Watch 41 4

Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry 42 14 Essex Regiment 43 14 Sherwood Foresters 44 12

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment 45 9 Northamptonshire Regiment 46 11 Berkshire 47 16

Royal West Kent Regiment 48 18 King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 49 10 King's Shropshire Light Infantry 50 11 Middlesex Regiment 51 92 King's Royal Rifle Corps 52 27 Wiltshire Regiment 53 10 Manchester Regiment 54 11 North Staffordshire Regiment 55 9 York and Lancaster Regiment 56 6

Durham Light Infantry 57 7

Highland Light Infantry 58 6 Seaforth Highlanders 59 7

Gordon Highlanders 60 5

Cameron Highlanders 61 3

Royal Irish rifles 62 4 Royal Irish Fusiliers 63 3

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

Connaught Rangers 64 4

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 65 13

Leinster Regiment 66 5 Royal Munster Fusiliers 67 6 Royal Dublin Fusiliers 68 5 Rifle Brigade 69 23

Honourable Artillery Coy (TF) b1 33 Monmouthshire (TF) b2 2 Cambridgeshire (TF) b3 4 London (TF) b4 182

Inns of Court OTC (TF) b5 15 Hertfordshire (TF) b6 1

Unsurprisingly, the top five regiments most favoured by OPs were all London based and counted in total 38 percent of all OPs who served in an infantry regiment. Of these five regiments, the London Regiment was by far the most favoured, attracting 16 percent of all OPs who enlisted in an infantry regiment. (See C.4)

C.4 Chart showing the five regiments most patronised by OPs

The five most favoured regiments by OPs

A Territorial only regiment, the London Regiment was considerably less prestigious than the Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) and the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), respectively the second and third most popular choices of regiment amongst OPs. (The Royal Fusiliers in particular was considered a ‘smart’ regiment, the result of 229

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

London Regiment (TF) Middlesex Regiment Royal Fusiliers

Honourable Artillery Company (TF)

East Surrey Regiment

years of distinguished service in every campaign, from Namur in 1695 to the Relief of Ladysmith in the South African War.) Despite this, the London Regiment contained more than twice as many OPs as the Royal Fusiliers. This is partly explained by the fact that the London Regiment was of much greater scale than the Royal Fusiliers, but is also likely a manifestation of the relatively lowly social status of some OPs. A study of the St Paul’s School Registers indicates that the occupation of most parents was ‘professional’, with a number identified as ‘trade’; hardly any can be described as landed or existing on an unearned income stream. A number of OPs were thus circumscribed in their choice of regiment because of their social status it is certainly of note that so few OPs joined the Guards: 15 OPs in total, representing only 1.3 percent of all who joined an infantry regiment.

Eric Kennington (SPS, 1900 1904, see Chapter 11, Section 11.4) was among the 16 percent who joined the London Regiment. In August 1914 he took himself down to the recruiting office of the 1/13th Bn. (Kensington), his choice informed by the fact that the Kensington’s recruiting office at Iverna Gardens, High Street, Kensington was close to his studio, and also perhaps because St Paul’s had established an association with the Kensingtons as part of the Haldane reforms in 1908.

Prior to Haldane’s reforms St Paul’s Corps was affiliated with the Middlesex Regiment, an historic arrangement that undoubtedly goes some way to explain the large number of OPs who served in this regiment. The point was clearly made in a letter from an OP, published in The Pauline in 1921. Arthur Walter White Row (SPS 1904 1910) reflected that:

In the old Volunteer days [i.e. prior to Haldane’s reforms], the [St Paul’s] School Corps was part of the 2nd [battalion] South Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps. When the Territorial Force was raised, the 2nd South Middlesex became the 1/10th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, and the School Corps became a separate unit of the OTC. But the connection of previous years was continued by many OP’s who received commissions in the 1/10th Battalion.133

While many OPs joined a London based regiment, it remains the case that a majority served in regiments whose depot was outwith the capital, a phenomenon most likely explained by an appreciation that many OPs were no longer resident in London when they volunteered. Amongst this element were OPs who acted upon sentiment, newly developed or revived, which informed an affinity to a particular region outside the sway of the capital. In some instances these affinities were stiffened by impulses of familial loyalty, local social dynamic and tradition. These impulses are in some part illustrated by the experiences of the four Campbell brothers, sons of Colin Campbell (SPS 1851 1933), Laird and owner of Jura, an 133 The Pauline, 39 258 Feb 1921 pp 31 32

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

island on the west coast of Scotland. All four brothers attended SPS (see Chapter 8, Section 8.10, ii):

James Archibald Lochell Campbell (SPS 1893 1897)

Charles Graham Campbell (SPS 1894 1899)

Colin Richard Campbell (SPS 1899 1902)

Ronald Walker Francis Campbell (SPS 1902 1906)

Two of the brothers, James Archibald Lochell Campbell (SPS 1893 1897) and Colin Richard Campbell (OP 1899 1902), attested for service in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, a regiment that recruited in western and central Scotland and in which their father had served. Loyalty to the region in which their family held considerable social influence was thus perhaps the main explanation of choice of regiment for James and Colin.

Charles Graham Campbell (SPS 1894 1899), who possessed sight in only one eye, eventually obtained a commission in the Royal Field Artillery in which he was posted to East Africa. The youngest of the brothers, Ronald Walker Francis Campbell (SPS 1902 1906), joined the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), a regiment far more socially prestigious than the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Not only was Ronald’s choice of regiment perhaps determined by considerations of social ambition but also, it may be speculated that as the youngest son, he may have sought to tread a different path from that of his two elder brothers.

James and Ronald did not survive the war and, in death, familial loyalty to region appears to have trumped all: both are buried in the family vault in Kiels churchyard on Jura.134

Some OPs were denied a free choice of corps / regiment. Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie (SPS 1894 1900, see Chapter 11, Section 11.5) was born in Hartlepool on 17 January 1883 but developed a great love for Scotland, in which he set some of his later novels such as Whisky Galore and Monarch of the Glen. (He later became Scottish Co founder of the National Party of Scotland in 1928, and was elected rector of the University of Glasgow in the same year.) When war broke out Edward, age 31, had sought a commission in the Seaforth Highlanders, hoping to achieving his goal with the help of a friend. Frustrated in this ambition, he proceeded to employ the help of other friends to try and find some way into the army. He recounted his experience in the book, Gallipoli Memories:

134 James was a professional soldier who had fought in the South African War. He died on 19 March 1915 of wounds received at Neuve Chapelle, age 36. Ronald rose to the rank of Captain. He was wounded on the Somme on 16 August 1916. He died in a military hospital in Manchester.

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

In the morning I went up to London to see what could be done about getting myself into the thick of events. I interviewed a soldier friend at the War Office who was frankly contemptuous of my plan to join a territorial battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders. “You’d be no earthly good to us”, he assured me. “I was an officer in the 1st [Bn.] Hertfords when I was seventeen. It’s not as if I had never had any military experience”. “Go back to your work. You’ll be doing more good by keeping us cheerful with your novels. We really do not want married subalterns of thirty one.” So I went back to Iver, crestfallen; and there I sat up all night and every night for two months, writing the last three hundred pages of ‘Sinister Street’. … In October [1914] I decided to try again for a commission; but this time doctors were the discouragement. I should never pass a medical examination I was assured, and the only climate where I was likely to be of any use would be somewhere like Egypt. An admiring and hopeful friend told me that Sir John Maxwell would welcome my services on his Staff, and one afternoon at the Savile [Club] another friend offered to introduce me to Mr H J Tennant, who was having tea in the Club. A personal interview with the Under Secretary of State for War seemed in my mood at this date the kind of magical good fortune that happened to poor fishermen in The Arabian Nights. Alas, the Under Secretary was not so powerful as I had supposed he must be. All he could do for me was to tell me that the 42nd Division consisting of Lancashire Territorial battalions was in Egypt, and that if I wanted to reach Egypt the only way it could be managed was by applying for a commission in one of those battalions through the Lord Lieutenant or some such Lancastrian dignitary. As a child I had supported the Red Rose against the White, but my personal interest in Lancashire did not extend beyond that. … I waited in London for a while, trying to find some way of getting to the war without a medical examination. None presented itself, and at the end of October while the desperate battle of Ypres was at its height my wife and I went back to Italy. … On the boat crossing the Channel I saw my friend of the War Office in khaki and told him I was going back to Capri to write. “The best thing you could do. We don’t want all these amateurs.”135

Eventually Edward became a lieutenant in the Royal Marines in 1915, a result of the patronage of General Ian Hamilton, an admirer of Edward’s work.

Edward was not the only OP who was denied membership of his first choice of corps / regiment. After leaving St Paul’s in 1906, Bernard Montgomery (SPS 1902 1906, see Chapter 11, Section 11.3) proceeded to Sandhurst. Recognising that a commission in the Indian Army was well paid, he had set his sights on achieving infantry officer status in that unit. However, as he recalled in his Memoirs:

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

135 Compton Mackenzie, Gallipoli Memories (1929)

Army life was expensive and it was not possible to live on one’s pay. It was generally considered that a private income or allowance of at least £100 [about £8,000 in 2018] was necessary, even in one of the so called less fashionable County regiments. In the cavalry, and in the more fashionable infantry regiments, an income of up to £300 or £400 was demanded before one was accepted. … The pay in the Indian Army was good, and one could even live on one’s pay in a British battalion stationed in that country. I therefore put down my name for the Indian Army … [but] when the results [of competition for commissions in the Indian Army] were announced, my name was No. 36. I had failed to get the Indian Army. I was bitterly disappointed. All cadets were required to put down a second choice. I had no military background and no County connection; but it was essential to get to India where I could live on my pay in a British battalion, so I put my name down for the Royal Warwickshire Regiment which had one of its two Regular battalions in that country. I have often been asked why I chose this regiment. The first reason was that it had an attractive cap badge which I admired; the second was that enquiries I then made gave me to understand that it was a good sound English County Regiment and not one of the more expensive ones. My placing in the final list at Sandhurst was such that once the Indian Army candidates had been taken, I was certain of the regiment of my choice, provided it would accept me. Accept me it did … I have never regretted my choice.136

Even if a volunteer was successful in gaining membership of his corps / regiment of choice, it was not uncommon to be transferred from one regiment to another, especially once commissioned. Some OPs experienced multiple transfers. Edmund John Soloman (SPS 1906 1912, see Volume 2) enlisted in the Royal West Kent regiment in 1914, in which he was allocated to a Territorial battalion for a period of training. Upon obtaining a commission, he was transferred to the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1915. After a period of time he was obliged to resign his commission ‘for reasons of physique’ and returned to his studies at Oxford in the autumn of 1915.137 Almost immediately, he enlisted again, this time in the Royal Fusiliers, joining one of the Public School Battalions of that regiment with whom he saw four months’ service in France. Recommended a second time for a commission, Edmund came back to an officers’ training camp. Having obtained his commission he returned to the front in October 1916, this time serving with the South Lancashire Regiment with whom he saw nine months’ service with the 1st Bn. At the time of his death he was attached to the 8th (Service) Bn. South Lancashire Regiment.

3.4 in which they served: battalions (see Appendix 7)

Rupert Ray, the protagonist in Ernest Raymond’s (SPS 1901 – 1904, see Chapter 11, Section 11.5) post war novel, Tell England, relates how:

136 Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery (1958)

137 The Pauline, 234 Nov 1917 pp 144 145

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

Five days [after the outbreak of war] it was decided that I should not return to school, but should go at once into the army. So it was that I never finished up in the correct style at Kensingtowe [a thinly veiled St Paul’s School] with an emotional last chapel, endless good wishes and a lump in my throat. I just didn’t go back. Instead, an influential friend, who knew the old Colonel of the 2nd [Bn.] Tenth East Cheshires, a territorial battalion of my grandfather’s regiment, secured for me and, at my request, for Doe, commissions in that unit. His Majesty the King (whom, and whose dominions, might God preserve in this grand moment of peril) had, it seemed, great faith in the loyalty and gallantry of “Our trusty and well beloved Rupert Ray,” and as also of “Our trusty and well beloved Edgar Gray Doe,” and was pleased to accept our swords in the defence of his realm.138

From time to time, OPs did happen to serve simultaneously in the same battalion. For instance, George Ernest Beaty Pownall (SPS 1890 1895, see Volume 2) and Edward Randall Chetham Strode (1906 1909, see Volume 2) served together in the 2nd Bn. Border Regiment, the former as Lieutenant Colonel and the latter as Captain. Whether they were mutually aware of their common Pauline provenance can only be guessed at, their differing rank and age perhaps militating against any old school infused ‘band of brothers’ sentimentality.139 When Edward fell on 1 October 1917, age 26, he was attached to the 2nd Bn. Border Regiment; George fell on 10 October 1918, age 41, attached to the 1st Bn. the King’s Own Scottish Borderers.

In another instance, an OP recalled his experience of serving alongside three other OPs in the Drake Battalion, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve:

The greatest Paulines I am ever likely to know I had the honour to serve with in my battalion [Drake Battalion, RNVR]: the Commanding Officer, Commander Sterndale Bennett [SPS 1907 1908, see Volume 2], D.S.O., the Padre, Rev. W. J. Harding [SPS 1899 1900, see Volume 2], M.C., and the Doctor, Surgeon Lieut. F. P. Pocock [SPS 1905 1909], D.S.O., M.C., R.N. They all fell during the war. The night before Sterndale Bennett was killed he talked a good deal about the School to me … [The Padre was always visible during the times of greatest danger.] The last of the trio was the ‘Doc’ who, like the other two, was a wonderful soldier. … I loved him particularly; he was the first Drake [Bn.] officer I saw when I landed at Imbros four years ago, and the last to see me in France, when he bandaged me and gave me all his water bottle to drink when I was badly hit in August 1918. We were mostly a ‘band of brothers’ in the Drakes, but I cannot help thinking the fact that these three were such friends

138 Raymond, Ernest Tell England, A Study in a Generation. iBooks. pp 388 89

139 On occasion a common alma mater may even have stoked animosity in the trenches, viz. the relationship between Raleigh and Captain Stanhope in R C Sheriff’s 1929 play, Journey’s End.

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

and were greater individually because of it was because they were all Paulines. We could not help, in the battalion, worshipping ‘greatness passing by’, and ourselves were great because of it.140

This reminiscence is as touching as it is rare. Where OPs did serve shoulder to shoulder it was almost certainly begotten by happenstance rather than intent. The experience of the majority of OP volunteers was other than that of those just recounted . Commissioned as officers, OPs were deployed on a ‘needs must’ basis. Some were sent to units whose officer element had become casualties, others to newly raised battalions in need of officer material. The unit in which an officer OP served was thus significantly determined by the drift of an army administrator’s pen rather than by familial influence or the patronage of a local worthy. Consequently, while numbers of OPs might and did serve together in the same regiment, these same OPs tended to serve in multiple different battalions belonging to that regiment. This dynamic commits some violence to a commonplace representation of the 1st World War which imagines cohorts of recruits officers and other ranks fighting in the same battalion and falling together, a ‘band of brothers’. This impression is principally derived from the sentimentality associated with the so called ‘Pals’ battalions, recruited from 1914 as part of Kitchener’s New Army and raised by nearly all infantry regiments. (The Guards Regiments and London Regiment were two of those which did not raise Pals battalions). These battalions were locally raised units sponsored by either individuals or municipalities, the aim being that friends and those with a common background or employment should be allowed to join up together, fight together, and, if needs be, fall together. While volunteer OPs sometimes joined up together, hardly ever was it their destiny to fight and fall as one. The following examples evidence these dynamics, likely commonplace to the majority of OPs.

Robert Ernest Vernede (SPS 1875 1917, see Chapter 8, Section 8.4) and his great friend Frederick Gurney Salter (SPS 1889 1895) were both overage when they successfully enlisted together as Privates in the University and Public Schools (UPS) Brigade, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment.) (‘Brigade’ is the collective reference to the University and Public Schools Pals battalions, 18th to 21st, Royal Fusiliers.) Advised to take a commission at this early stage, neither man did so and instead undertook several months of training in the UPS Brigade. When the training was complete both men applied successfully in May 1915 for commissions in the Rifle Brigade and for the time being were placed together in the 5th (Reserve) battalion of that regiment. They crossed to France in November 1915. While awaiting news of their posting, Robert informed his wife that:

Apparently there is no chance of arranging our Bn., so if F[rederick] and I get together it will be pure luck. … I am much afraid that F and I won’t get together [in the same battalion], but

The Pauline, 38 253 June 1920 p 50. Anonymous account

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

you never know. … Am appointed and go off to night. Of course F [is in] the 2nd [Bn. Rifle Brigade]. Never mind.141

Robert was posted to the 12th (Service) Bn. Rifle Brigade. Split up from his friend, it remained a bitter disappointment to him that he and Frederick did not serve together in the same unit. His story shows that an officer was deployed where he was needed, a dynamic that trumped any other consideration.

Even if Robert and Frederick had been by chance allocated to the same battalion it was unlikely that they would have remained together for any period of time. The temporary attachment of an officer to another unit, either because the officer element of the destination unit had been depleted or because the officer in question was undergoing a further period of training, was frequent and commonplace. In a letter home Denis Oliver Barnett, known as ‘Dobbin’ (SPS 1907 1914, see Volume 2), then 2nd Lt in 2nd Bn. Leinster Regiment, reported that:

The day before yesterday in the afternoon, as I was sitting in my dug out, who should come along the trench but Wilfrid [Carne] Adams [SPS, 1907 1913]. He was attached for 24 hours as a part of his instruction, just as I was. Wasn’t it splendid getting him? Of course he got our brigade, and then two of his lot were to go to the Leinsters, so he came, and asked for A Company. I took him on and showed him all there was to see. In the afternoon we had a

141 Vernede, Robert Letters To His Wife, London (1917): 21 Nov 1915, p 4; 23 Nov 1915, p 5; 24 Nov 1915, p 5. Frederick was invalided out of the war in 1916, a gunshot wound to his knee necessitating amputation of a leg. Upon recovery he transferred to MI5. After the war he worked for the Treasury, from which he retired in 1943. He died in 1969.

142 Public domain

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

Frederick Gurney Salter142

trench mortar duel with the Allymans which should have delighted the heart of a new man.143

Dobbin had successfully enlisted initially as a Private in his corps of choice, the 1/28th (County of London), London Regiment, Artists Rifles. (The London Regiment did not officially raise any Pals battalions, but the 1/28th, 2/28th, and 3/28 (County of London) battalions of that regiment (collectively known as the ‘Artists Rifles’) particularly attracted recruits from public schools and universities and each of these may thus be considered as not unlike a Pals battalion.) Dobbin’s success was at least partly brought about by the influence of his friend, ‘K’, a reference to Kenneth Aislabie Longuet Higgens (SPS 1908 1913), already a member of the Artists Rifles. Denis’ sister informed a family friend that: ‘Dob’ went off to the Artists’ [Rifles] having heard yesterday that there was a chance for him through Kenneth’s influence although there is a waiting list of over a hundred! But K[enneth] has told them all about him and they seem to think he sounds nice! He is frightfully pleased about this chance of the Artists everybody says it is by far the best corps.144

The Artists was not the corps to which Denis belonged when he fell. Upon gaining his commission, he was transferred from the Artists Rifles in January 1915 to a battalion in another regiment, the Leinsters. He had no free will in the matter, as he told his parents:

By the way, I’m posted to a regiment, and I’m an officer now, but I don’t know the regiment which constitutes rather a comic turn. Don’t you think so?145

As the war progressed the dual effects of officer ‘wastage’ and the huge growth in the size of the army created an urgent and desperate need for officers. This meant that some corps patronised by public school alumni metamorphosed into officer training depots, through which a public school volunteer would pass en route to his commission. The Artists Rifles for this reason had become a Training Corps even before the end of 1914. (The unit was not active in the front line until July 1917). Earl French, Commander in Chief, BEF, remarked that ‘from [the end of 1914] they became the model for, and an example to, that large

143 Barnett, Denis Oliver In Happy Memory, Letters From France and Flanders (1915) Letter to his parents, 19 May 1915 pp 141 142. Wilfrid Carne Adams served in the Royal Berkshire Regiment and won an MC. He survived the war.

144 St Paul’s School Archive. Exhibition Material SPS BARNETT/7, The Barnett Family, St Paul’s and The First World War p 7. Kenneth was one of Denis’ best friends at SPS.

145 Barnett, Denis Oliver In Happy Memory, Letters From France and Flanders (1915) Letter to his parents, 7 January 1915 p 36. The regiment was The Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians),

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

number of training establishments all over France, which to the end of the war turned out officers with the utmost speed and the utmost efficiency.’146 By the end of the war the Artists Rifles had furnished over 10,000 officers, replacing those killed and staffing newly raised units in the Territorial Forces and Kitchener’s New Armies.147

The fact that OPs only occasionally served alongside each other did not wholly atomise their experience of fighting. Indeed, there is a sense in which the esprit de corps he experienced during his time at St Paul’s continued to live on with an OP once he was in the trenches, evident in the following letter sent to The Pauline by Captain John Edward Gordon Carlisle (SPS 1898 1901):

Dear Sir, I thought you might like to hear of the following OPs I met during the last few days. Went up to the trenches with machine guns and found OC Section was Captain Ainsworth (Gurkhas), and the next day the gunner observation officer who came up was Rutherford both about my time. When I got back to “billets” [I] found The Pauline. waiting for me; also found that Major S B Watson, I.A., at present attached to my own regiment, had been at the School. Was extremely sorry to see the obituary notice of Mr S Bewsher in The Times.148

146 Quoted in Artists Rifles 1914 1919, Roll of Honour and War Record of the Artists’ Rifles (London, 1922) p xi

147

Artists Rifles 1914 1919, Roll of Honour and War Record of the Artists’ Rifles (London, 1922) p ix

148 The Pauline, 33 217 June 1915 p 90. Letter dated 5 May 1915. John served with the Indian Army. He was wounded on 9 May and died at the Military Hospital at Bethune on 11 May 1915.

3. In which they served: armies, corps / regiments and battalions

Chapter 4. In which they served: rank

In the army of 1914 1918 there existed two distinct tiers, Officers and Other Ranks. The former held positions of authority conferred through a commission, a formal document signed by the monarch. (See Appendix 8.) The lowest rank conferring officer status was that of 2nd Lieutenant. Soldiers with ‘Other Rank’ status might still hold positions of authority of which Corporal and Lance Corporal were the most lowly but any such authority was not conferred by commission, hence holders of such positions are known as Non Commissioned Officers (NCO’s.)

The vast majority of commissioned officers in the army were supplied by the public schools. Attendance at one of these institutions was generally regarded as broadly sufficient to satisfy the army’s requirements in educational and social terms for someone who was to be an officer and a gentlemen, though training had to be undertaken before officer status was conferred. Of the 2,914 OPs who volunteered, 90 percent of the 2,503 whose rank can be definitively pronounced served as officers. Of the remainder, 7 percent served as Privates and 3 percent as NCOs. More than half (54 percent) served as subalterns i.e. either Lieutenants or 2nd Lieutenants.

There were five main routes to a commission in the regular army before 1914. The most well trodden was via competitive examination for places at either the Royal Military College, Sandhurst or the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. The former provided entry to the Indian Army, Army Service Corps and cavalry and infantry regiments; the latter to the Royal Engineers (RE) and Royal Artillery (RA). In 1913, 99 percent of officers in these last two corps were graduates of Woolwich; in the same year, 67 percent of all officers recruited into the Indian Army, Army Service Corps and cavalry and infantry regiments were graduates of Sandhurst. Before the introduction of Army Forms at SPS in 1888 (see Chapter 2, Section 2.1) the school appears to have sent small numbers periodically to Sandhurst and Woolwich; following the introduction of Army Forms, by 1905 the school had obtained 94 admissions to Woolwich and 105 admissions to Sandhurst.149

The remaining three routes to a commission were pursued mostly by those seeking commissions in other than the RE or RA. The third and fourth routes each of which supplied 15 percent of officers in 1913 involved either joining the Senior Division of the Officers’ Training Corps (OTC) at one of the universities or the Inns of Court, or seeking a commission having undertaken training in a unit in the Special Reserve, Territorial Force or a

4. In which they served: rank

Junior Division of the OTC. The remaining 2 percent, were commissioned directly from Other Ranks.150

The number of OPs who obtained a commission by means of admission at either Woolwich or Sandhurst was a small minority of the 2,914 who volunteered. It thus seems certain that most OPs who became officers did so by pursuing either of routes three or route four. One who pursued the latter route was James Alfred Dixon OP (SPS 1906 1908.) With a record of service in the OTC at SPS, James obtained a commission as Lieutenant in the 6th (Service) Bn. Border Regiment on 8 September 1914, age 23. Upon leaving St Paul’s, James had engaged upon a career as an Egyptologist, in which profession he had readily demonstrated an uncommon ability through the power of his draughtsmanship a skill that had found demonstrable expression at school in his caricaturing of masters and prior to the war was being put to good use on Mr Wellcome’s Sudan expedition, and also at Jebel Moya, near Sennaar. James’ obituary, published in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, described how, upon the outbreak of war:

Dixon took up the sword. There was a question, after he had been gazetted, of his being appointed successor to Ayrton in the headship of the Archaeological Department in Ceylon. He felt, however, that it was impossible for him to leave the army in the midst of the great war in order to take up a civilian post. … He would wait until the war was over. Then, if he were spared, he could honourably take it up. That he would have been appointed eventually there is little doubt. But fate willed that he should not. We can only mourn his loss.151

James was killed in fighting at Sulva Bay, Gallipoli on 9 August 1915, an action in which his battalion of 716 men suffered 413 casualties, comprising 36 killed, 245 wounded and 132 missing. His grave is in Green Hill cemetery in Turkey.

150 See Beckett, Ian F W and Simpson, K (eds), A Nation In Arms, (London, 1990) Chapter 3, The Officers pp 64 96

151 Journal of Egyptian Archaeology III p 49

4. In which they served: rank

James Alfred Dixon

As the war progressed the requirement for officers became ever greater, firstly because of the extraordinary expansion of the army under Kitchener’s recruitment campaigns and secondly because of the dreadful attritional losses of officers who served at the front. Thus, from the end of 1914, a public schoolboy who wanted a commission could barely fail to obtain one, especially if he sought one in the Special Reserve, New Army or Territorials, and especially if he had OTC experience.

When a soldier gained his commission it was published in the London Gazette, a government publication listing all such appointments hence the term ‘gazetted’. Denis ‘Oliver Barnett OP (SPS 1907 1914, see Volume 2) thus wrote to his sister on 7 March 1915 remarking: ‘Do you see I’m gazetted? I haven’t seen it yet but Clarke has told me: also that I appear as Barrett (or something between that and Balaam)’.152

As Table D.1 shows, a perhaps surprisingly large minority of OPs (10%) served in the armed forces without having achieved officer status. This is in part explained by an appreciation that not all public schoolboys sought commissions. The ambition of some who may otherwise have sought a commission was perhaps thwarted by a lowly social status; yet others did not seek a commission, at least in the first instance, for personal reasons. This latter was true of Denis, a scholar and an athlete rather than a soldier but one who, having been Captain of School for two years, nevertheless had the attributes of a leader. With a scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford but seemingly without experience of the OTC, Denis gained admission to the Artists’ Rifles in August 1914. Clearly of officer potential, he came under immediate pressure to undertake training so that he could apply for a commission. In the short term he refused to pursue any such course, as reported in a letter by his sister:

Dob [i.e. Denis] says they wanted him to train for a commission, but he has declined – wisely I think. He says his brain work lies in other directions, so he is just joining as a private.153

Nonetheless, after five months with the Artists’ Rifles, Denis was considered to have sufficient experience to equip him for a commission. On 9 January 1915 he sent his parents a telegram informing them that he had received a commission in the 2nd battalion Leinster Regiment. Ten days later he wrote home again, saying that:

152 Courtesy of St Paul’s School Archive. Exhibition Material. SPS BARNETT/7, The Barnett family, St Paul’s and the First World War. Letters. p 16

153 Courtesy of St Paul’s School Archive. Exhibition Material SPS BARNETT/7, The Barnett Family, St Paul’s and The First World War p 7. Undated, but probably August 1914. To train for a commission would require aptitude in scientific and mathematical subjects. Barnett’s classical education did not suit him to this.

4. In which they served: rank

I’ve bought A. Coy. No. 4 Platoon. Met the padre a dear thing. … Got an awfully good dug out, where I met my Captain, who rejoices in the sterling name of Murphy. … Very much impressed with good organisation and discipline throughout. As there was not much room in the dug out I went out as soon as it got dark, and spent the night in a so called building, only held together by the draught, which blew my blanket about. At 4 a.m. I went the round of the Coy. … The German guns were shelling a village behind us, but they did not give us any. Our guns are going too. … It is some game being an officer.154

On 6 February 1915, in casual tone, Denis informed his parents that:

By the way, our probation is over, and we are satisfactory. The papers went in yesterday, so I shall get my gazette soon.155

Other OPs of officer rank were career soldiers who had obtained a commission before the outbreak of the war. A number of these OPs, such as William M C Crowe (SPS 1885 1889,see Volume 2) and Frank Fairlie (SPS 1892 1893, see Volume 2) emerged out of retirement in 1914 to engage in the new struggle; others assisted with training new recruits. Captain Felix William Henry Ricketts (SPS 1890 1894), age 36, wrote to The Pauline in 1914 stating that ‘I was on leave and was cornered to help with the [training of] the New Army. I have never seen such a keen and fine lot of youngsters.’156 Felix had attended Sandhurst in 1896. On the outbreak of war he was attached to the 5th (Service) battalion Wiltshire Regiment. Felix fell age 37 at Gallipoli on 10 August 1915. His body was lost and he is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Panel 256.

154

Denis Oliver Barnett, His Letters from France and Flanders October 1914 August 1915, privately printed 1915, p. 40

155 Denis Oliver Barnett, His Letters from France and Flanders October 1914 August 1915, privately printed 1915, p. 64

156 The Pauline, 32 214 December 1914 p 222

157 St Paul’s School Archive

4. In which they served: rank

Felix William Henry Ricketts157

D.1 Table showing the number of OPs who served in each of the main ranks of the army and the percentage loss in each rank158

Rank Unit Approx no. of men under command

OPs by rank across all corps No. of OPs who fell by rank

Percentage loss

Field Marshal Army Group 2,000,000 0 0 0 General Army 300,000 0 0 0 Lt General Corps 60,000 0 0 0 Major General159 Division 12,000 4 0 0

Brigadier General160 Brigade 3,500 7 0 0

Lt Colonel Battalion 1,000 97 8 8.2 Major Bn. second in command 229 35 15.2

Captain Company 200 558 107 19.1 Lieutenant Platoon 50 715 122 17 2nd Lt Platoon 50 639 148 23.1 Sergeant Major / Sergeant

31 4 12.9 Corporal / Lance Corporal Section 12 51 12 23.5 Private 0 172 36 20.9

Platoon second in command

158 This table does not show the ranks of all 2,914 in the War List. Of some of these others, 78 were of Cadet status; 33 served as Chaplains and 32 were Surgeons. Others held ranks such as Driver, Paymaster and Pioneer. The ranks of 64 are unknown.

159 The following OPs rose to the rank of Major General: Boyd G. F. (SPS 1890 1894; see Chapter 11, Section 11.3); Dawson, Hon. B. E. (SPS 1877 1879); Irwin, Sir J. M. (temp.) (SPS 1867 1872); Maurice, Sir F. B. (SPS 1884 1889; see Chapter 11, Section 11.3)

160 The following OPs rose to the rank of Brigadier General: Collyer, Hon J J (SPS 1884 1887); Gay, Hon Sir A (SPS 1872 1880); Hildyard, Hon H C T (SPS 1884 1887); Seligman, Hon H S (SPS 1885 1888); Bowman Manifold, Bt Sir M G E (SPS 1883 1888); Maynard, Sir C C M (SPS 1882 1889, see Chapter 11, Section 11.3); Fuller, Bt C G (SPS 1886 1888)

4. In which they served: rank

In addition to the data shown in Table D.1, nine OPs obtained the rank of Colonel, used mainly for honorary rather than operational purposes.161 One of these nine, Bertram Hopkinson, CMG, FRS Deputy Controller of the Technical Department of the Air Service (SPS 1886 1891), registered as a casualty on 26 August 1918, killed in a plane crash, age 44. His obituary describes the circumstances of this death thus:

On the morning of the 26th August, 1918, the weather was threatening and the clouds low, but Hopkinson was anxious to get to London. He started in a Bristol Fighter from Martlesham Heath, but as he approached London the clouds got lower and it is supposed that he lost control in descending through them, and had not height enough to recover; he fell near Hainault Farm, and must have been killed instantly.

162

During the war Bertram had selected the sites and developed the plans of the great Air Stations at Orfordness and Martelsham Heath. Holding a Chair in Mechanics and Applied Mechanics at Cambridge University, he was especially fitted to cope with all problems connected with the technical side of the Air Service, such as the invention of improved planes, engines, and bombs. It is a mark of the respect in which Bertram was held that he was buried with full military honours in St Giles’ Cemetery, Cambridge, following a service at King’s College Chapel.

161 The nine OPs who became Colonels: Hopkinson, B (SPS 1886 1891); Chaplin, Bt J G (1886 1888); Cooper, E S (SPS 1877 1879); Duke, J (SPS 1856 1863); Espeut, C V A (SPS 1891 1893); Livingstone, Bt Guy (SPS 1894 1896); Palmer, H I E (SPS 1872 1880); Tarver, Bt A L (SPS 1884 1887); White, A T (SPS 1884 1890).

162 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: obituaries (1919)

4. In which they served: rank

Chapter 5. Gallantry Awards

5.1 awards won

During the course of the 1st World War a wide variety of medals were awarded to members of the British armed forces who distinguished themselves with either a notably courageous deed and / or meritorious service. The highest honour of all the Victoria Cross was awarded to 627 individuals between 1914 and 1918. In instances where a large body of men had collectively performed an act of bravery the VC could be awarded by ballot, the officers engaged selecting one of their rank and the non commissioned officers doing likewise. Certain gallantry medals, such as the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Military Cross (MC) were available only to those of officer class. (A total of 37,081 MCs were awarded 1914 1918.)

Other gallantry medals existed for men below the rank of officer (i.e. NCOs), from the Distinguished Conduct Medal to the lowest form of recognition, a Mention in Despatches. Particular categories of service awarded their own gallantry medals, such as the Distinguished Flying Cross awarded to those in the Royal Flying Corps.

E.1 Table showing number of gallantry medals awarded to OPs

Gallantry medals in order of precedence awarded 1914 1918. No. awarded to OPs163

Awards for officers:

Victoria Cross (VC), instituted 29 January 1856 (could also be awarded to other ranks) 2

Distinguished Service Order (DSO), instituted 25 November 1886 105

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), instituted October 1914 (awarded to those who served in the navy) 8

Military Cross (MC), instituted 28 December 1914 173

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), instituted 3 June 1918 8 Air Force Cross (AFC), instituted 3 June 1918 4

Awards for NCOs and lower ranks: Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) 2

Gallantry Awards

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) 0 Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) 0

Military Medal (MM) 4

Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) 0 Air Force Medal (AFM) 0 Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) 0 Mentioned in Despatches (MID) Multiple Citation for a Gallantry Award 0

Foreign awards 125

Major General Sir Frederick Barton Maurice (SPS 1884 1889, see Chapter 11, Section 11.3) likely received the greatest number of the most distinguished foreign gallantry awards of any OP. His awards are listed here:

• Croix de Commandeur, Legion d’Honneur (A French gallantry award instituted in 1802; Commandeur is the third most distinguished rank.)

• Croix de Guerre, Legion d’Honneur (A French gallantry award, instituted in 1915.)

• Medaille Militaire (A French gallantry award, first established in 1852.)

• Order of St Stanislas, 1st Class (with Swords). (A Russian gallantry award instituted in 1832.)

5.2 OP VCs

A total of 627 men were awarded the VC for acts of gallantry in the 1st World War, 163 of whom are known to have been educated in British and Dominion public schools.164 Two OPs won Victoria Crosses in the 1st World War. (The first OP to have won a VC is Randolph Cosby Nesbitt (SPS 1880 1882, see Chapter 2, Section 2.1.)

Bromley, Major Cuthbert VC b. 19 Sept 1878; d. 13 August 1915 SPS 1890 1895 1st Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers Helles Memorial Age 36

(One of the famous ‘six VCs before breakfast’)

164 Seldon, A and Walsh, D, Public Schools and The Great War (Pen and Sword, 2012) p 243

5. Gallantry Awards

Cuthbert Bromley

Cuthbert was born on 19 September 1878, the son of Sir John Bromley and his wife Marie Louise. He was one of four brothers educated at St Paul’s School. (Only one other of his siblings Lancelot Bromley (SPS 1898 1903) features in the War List. Lancelot served in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He survived the war.) Cuthbert did not present as academic during his time at St Paul’s, his last school report in July 1895 summarising his efforts thus:

Science: weak; fair worker. French: very moderate … General remarks: good in Divinity and England, only moderate in other subjects.166

In seems that in the early stages of his school career Cuthbert had intended to pursue a career in medicine or the civil service but instead he joined the army, gaining a commission in the Lancashire Fusiliers in May 1898. In 1896 he was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant and promoted Lieutenant later in the same year. He was then promoted Captain on 15 June 1901 at barely 22 years old, he is said to have been one of the very youngest Captains in the British Army. He took part in the South African War.

165 De Ruvigny, Roll of Honour p 53 166 St Paul’s School Archive

At the time he won his VC, Cuthbert was Acting Major in the 1st battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (86th brigade, 29th Division), engaged in the attacks in Gallipoli in 1915. On 25 April he led his Company onto ‘W’ Beach near Helles Point in the Dardenelles Straits. Cuthbert received a bullet wound in his back during this attack and, three days later, sustained a bullet injury to his knee. After suffering a further wound on 28 June this time, to his ankle when leading his men into battle at Gully Ravine, he was evacuated to Egypt.

The deed for which Cuthbert was (posthumously ) awarded the VC is described as follows:

On the 25 April, 1915, Headquarters and three Companies of the 1st battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in effecting a landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula to the West of Cape Helles, were met by very deadly fire from hidden machine guns, which caused a great number of casualties. The survivors, however, rushed up to and cut the wire entanglements, notwithstanding the terrific fire from the enemy, and after overcoming supreme difficulties, the cliffs were gained and the position maintained. Amongst the many very gallant officers and men engaged in this most hazardous undertaking, Captain Bromley, Serjeant Stubbs and Corporal Grimshaw have been selected by their comrades as having performed the most signal acts of bravery and devotion to duty.167

The Pauline reproduced the following account of Cuthbert’s actions, initially published in The Times:

It was the wonderful spirit fostered by Bromley during years of camaraderie and fine example in the regiment which brought success at Cape Helles on the early morning of 25 April, 1915. His personal influence was immeasurable. He had made the Lancashire Fusiliers the champions in all India in military training, boxing, football, and cross country running. Those men who followed him ashore under hellish fire had true discipline. Bromley was with the men, a leader and a comrade. Nothing that the enemy could do would have stopped the effort of any individual to win while it was possible for him to go on. And half the battalion won through that morning. The others died or fell wounded in the boats, in the water, on the beach, on the cliffs, or on the high ground gained and held while reinforcements were landed to push the advantage won. Three days later, on 28 April, when the Brigade Major of the 86th Brigade led the attack on the Krithia Wood, Bromley went forward with him. Another Brigade had had to withdraw; Bromley and the men who loved him went forward and won. When the successful survivors reorganized under cover, Bromley went forward to reconnoitre with the Brigade Major and three other ranks, up to the ground rising to the outskirts of Krithia itself, when he was wounded in the knee. He was got back by Sergeant Burtchell, of the Lancashire Fusiliers, and his wound was dressed; it was then discovered that he had also a bullet in his back which he had received three days before and never spoken of 167

Gallantry Awards

except to the man who had bandaged the wound. Before his wounds were really healed Bromley was back, and found himself in command of the battalion, fresh from the fierce fighting of 4 June. How he was welcomed! The battalion shook itself and readjusted those surviving to make the fighting machine efficient. The spirit of the regiment was infused into the reinforcements. Bromley made them feel that these events were those their ambition had desired; they were fighting on the same glorious plane as their ancestors at Minden. The battalion looked and behaved as if it was thoroughly happy, and it was happy. Then came 28 June. The battalion was ordered to leave its trenches in daylight and attack across the open. Bromley led it. He was hit in the foot just over the parapet. Two stretcher bearers bandsmen, only lately band boys jumped to him. He made them carry him on to direct the attack, and, when it failed, against all chances, he was carried back alive. Only ten of the original battalion were left unwounded. The wound was serious and Bromley was sent to Alexandria. When able to hobble he begged his way on board the Royal Edward to come back to the Peninsula. She was torpedoed, and it was like Bromley to stay on board and go down with her while any men remained unplaced in the boats. Fine swimmer as he was he had once swum from Gozo to Malta he was drowned before he could be picked up; it is believed that he was struck by a piece of wreckage. Thus he died; to live now in the memory of England, placed among the great men who have deserved, and won, the cross of a soldier's self sacrifice.168

Following a period of recuperation, Cuthbert was returning to Gallipoli on board the troopship, the Royal Edward, when the ship was torpedoed on 13 August 1915 by German U Boat 14 and consequently sank. An Admiralty casualty list, published in The Times in September 1915, named 13 officers and 851 troops as missing believed drowned, a total of 864 lost, including Cuthbert.169 According to one account:

Major Bromley had not been well that morning, having a touch of fever and was the last to jump overboard. He was injured in the head by wreckage and rendered partially unconscious, and but for that would undoubtedly have had strength to swim to the Hospital Ship Sudan. His fate was the more tragic as from boyhood he had always been such an expert swimmer.170

Cuthbert was 36 at the time of his death. His body was lost at sea. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial in Turkey. Cuthbert is one of the famous ‘Six VCs before breakfast’ six men of 1st Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers who received the VC for their actions on 25 April 1915: ‘before breakfast’.

168 The Pauline, 35 232 June 1917 pp 59 60

169 ‘Deaths’. The Times [London, England] 6 Sept. 1915: 8. The Times Digital Archive. 170 De Ruvigny, Roll of Honour p 53

Watson, (Acting) Lt Col Oliver Cyril Spencer, VC DSO b.7 Sept 1876; d. 28 March 1918 SPS 1888 1895

2/5th Bn. King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and 5th Bn. KOYLI Arras Memorial Age 41

Oliver Cyril Spencer Watson

171

Oliver was born on 7 September 1876 in London, the son of William Spencer Watson and his wife Georgina Mary Jane Mair. During his time at SPS (1888 1895) Oliver proved a keen sportsman he rowed, boxed, played cricket and rugby. His obituary published in The Pauline described him as:

A splendid wing forward in an exceptional School XV, fast enough to have played outside, and never sparing himself a moment right up to no side.

The same pen judged that:

Though inclined to be idle in school hours, [Oliver] was very far from unintelligent; indeed, his abilities were decidedly above the average, and he could be a distinct thorn in the flesh of 171 St Paul’s School Archive

5. Gallantry Awards

certain masters who mistook him for a fool. Popularity and success did not spoil his modest and manly disposition.172

Upon leaving St Paul’s, Oliver proceed to Sandhurst. Passing out with Honours in 1897 he was given a commission in the Green Howards and served with that regiment in India. In the Tirah campaign in 1897 he was severely wounded while assisting a fellow officer who was mortally wounded. In the Boxer campaign of 1900 in China, Oliver served as Transport Officer. He was again wounded in 1904 and invalided home. A period of illness meant that Oliver left the army and took to farming. Upon the outbreak of war in 1914 he volunteered for service with the London Yeomanry (Westminster Hussars) and served with this unit in Egypt. Promoted Major, Oliver accompanied the Hussars to Gallipoli. On returning from Gallipoli he was posted to 2/5th Bn. KOYLI, this battalion arriving in Le Havre on 14 January 1917.

After his namesake, Lieut Col W Watson became a casualty on 3 May 1917 during an attack upon the Hindenburg Line near Bullecourt several miles south east of Arras, Oliver organised a second attack and:

Succeeded in reaching [the] enemy wire but again [was] held up by MG fire. Troops took up line of shell holes opposite [the] enemy trench which held throughout the day.173

Oliver was awarded the DSO for his action on 3 May, the citation reading:

On 3 May, during the attack near Bullecourt, Lieut Colonel W Watson commanding the battalion was killed. Major O C Watson was sent up to take his place. On arriving at the railway cutting he found men of all units of the Brigade who had returned there after the first unsuccessful attack. Displaying the highest soldierly qualities, he organised these men, inspired them with his own coolness and confidence, and personally led them forward to a second attack. This attack was eventually brought to nothing by machine gun fire, but Major Watson continued to advance alone, in an endeavour to reach the men still holding on in front, until he was badly wounded. All units of the Brigade are talking about his great gallantry and fine leadership.174

Oliver was severely wounded during this attack. He was obliged to lie overnight in No Man’s Land and was not brought in until dusk the following day; he carried one arm in a sling from this time.

172 The Pauline, 36 239 June 1918 p 71

173 TNA WO 95 3091 3

174 TNA WO 95 3091 3, 2/5th Bn. King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Honours and Rewards

5. Gallantry Awards

At the time of his death on 28 March 1918 Oliver was commanding 5th Bn. KOYLI, a newly formed unit referred to as the ‘5th Bn.’ composed on 2 February 1918 of an amalgamation of 1/5th Bn. and 2/5th Bn (187th Brigade, 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division). In March 1918 it was charged with holding up the advance of Germany’s forces in the Somme sector, a short distance south east of Gommecourt. The Regimental History described 5th battalion’s position thus:

Before daybreak on 28 March the men [of 5th Bn. KOYLI] began to make use of the available cover, for they were in a tangle of old trenches; the officers took stock of their position and judged that they were approximately in the appointed line. Rossignol Wood was on the left (they were facing south east), and the slope of the ground on which it stood formed the other side of a slight depression, with a road and a light railway lying between. There was higher ground to the front which dominated the position and the ground to the right was dead ground, for the crest of the slope in that direction hid the view. The parapets of the old trenches had long ago fallen in; there was an old traverse here and there, but there was one long stretch of trench dead straight and in the centre of the position. There was a communicating trench which cut into the line from the left rear, and there were also in front two British tanks which had apparently been abandoned on this ground the night before. There was no sign of the Australian troops who were known to be endeavouring to link up with them. Altogether it would have been hard to discover a more desperate position.176

E. 2. Map dated 8 April 1918 showing Rossignol Wood and the trench systems in the associated area.177

175 Courtesy Lives Of the First World War

176 Bond, R C, The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry In The Great War, Vol III, (Bradford, 1929) p 937. 187th Brigade diary tersely states that on 28 March ‘Three Companies 5th KOYLI surrounded by enemy’. TNA WO 95 3089 1 4

177 National Library of Scotland

Gallantry Awards

Oliver Cyril Spencer Watson175

It was in this location that the following deed took place on 28 March 1918, for which Oliver was posthumously awarded the VC on 8 May 1918. The citation reads:

At Rossignol Wood [see E.2] on 28 March 1918, for most conspicuous bravery, self sacrificing devotion to duty, and exceptionally gallant leading during a critical period of operations. His command was at a point where continual attacks were made by the enemy in order to pierce the line, and an intricate system of old trenches in front, coupled with the fact that his position was under constant rifle and machine gun fire, rendered the situation still more dangerous. A counter attack had been made against the enemy position, which at first achieved its object, but as they were holding out in two improvised strong points, Lt Col Watson saw that immediate action was necessary, and he led his remaining small reserve to the attack, organising bombing parties and leading attacks under intense rifle and machine gun fire. Outnumbered, he finally ordered his men to retire, remaining himself in a communication trench to cover the retirement, though he faced almost certain death by so doing. The assault he led was at a critical moment, and without doubt saved the line. Both in the assault and in covering his men’s retirement, he held his life as nothing, and his splendid bravery inspired all troops in the vicinity to rise to the occasion and save a breach being

made in a hardly tried and attenuated line. Lt Col Watson was killed while covering the withdrawal.178

Oliver’s obituary published in The Pauline remarked that:

The official account of [Oliver’s] end is certain to arouse among those who knew him the frequent comment: ‘Just the sort of thing Watson would do!’ an epitaph to be envied, surely.179

Oliver’s body was lost and he is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, listed under the Middlesex Hussars (Yeomanry), his parent unit.

178

The London Gazette, 8 May 1918

179

180

The Pauline, 36 239 June 1918 p 71

Courtesy Green Howards Regimental Museum. Artist unknown.

5. Gallantry Awards

Oliver Cyril Spencer Watson180

Part B: lives lost the ‘511’

Chapter 6. Recording the Fallen: the ‘511’

The SPS War List shows that 2,914 OPs served in some capacity in the war, of whom the names of 490 are listed in the Roll of Honour. The more likely total number who fell is 511.

Calculating the number of OPs killed in the 1st World War is by no means a straightforward task. In some instances news of the death of an OP was not reported to the school authorities; in other instances a name was reported only after the Roll of Honour had been finalised and published, likely in the period 1919 1920; and in some cases it was not immediately obvious that an OP who died was in fact a casualty of war, perhaps succumbing several years after the hostilities had ceased but of wounds received during the conflict. (Casualties who died after 11 November 1918 as a result of the war were officially counted as members of the fallen up to, and including, 31 August 1921, the date when the 1st World War officially ended.)

The most commonly cited number of OPs who fell in the 1st World War is 490. This number is derived from a study of the Roll of Honour, published as a component of the SPS War List It is inscribed on the school War Memorial erected in 2012.181 In the aftermath of the war a majority of schools and workplaces published a War List detailing, in alphabetical order, the names of all of those from their establishment who fought, as well as the rank they obtained and any gallantry awards won.182 At the front of each War List is published the ‘Roll of Honour’, an alphabetical list of the names of those who fell.

An alternative total number of SPS war dead of 506 has been asserted by C M Picciotto (SPS 1900 1905) in his work titled St Paul’s School, published in 1939. This number is repeated by A H Mead in A Miraculous Draft of Fishes, published in 1990. The same figure is referenced by the Imperial War Museum.183 F R Salter, a Governor of SPS from 1954 to 1967, describes the total number of OPs who fell as ‘over 500’.184 The likely total would

181 St Paul’s School War List was published by Burrup, Mathieson and Sprague Ltd. There is no date of publication.

182 The preliminary Roll of Honour published to accompany the Memorial Service held at St Mary Abbot’s on 12 November 1919 listed 485 OPs who fell. It did not include: B. A. Millar; W. T. Milne; C. R. Perry; G. T. Riddle and E. H Evans.

183 See Picciotto, C. M, St Paul’s School (1939) 108; Mead, A.H, Miraculous Draft, (James and James, 1990 p101. For the Imperial War Museum see https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/58875

184 Salter, F. R, St Paul’s School 1909 1959, 1959, p 29

6. Recording the Fallen: the 511

seem to be 511, obtained by the methodology described below. (See Chapter 15 for the Roll of Honour.)

The extraordinarily complex and demanding task of compiling the SPS War List was the responsibility of the editorial board of the school magazine, The Pauline. On the first page of each of the wartime editions of The Pauline appeared not only the names of the most recently fallen in the in form of a black bordered list ‘Our Roll of Honour’ but also, lists of wounded, missing, prisoners, commissions obtained and, elsewhere in the magazine, obituaries, some of which provide very great detail. The Pauline obtained information about OPs on active service via a variety of means, principally the London Gazette and letters from OPs and their families. In the case of an OP who fell, The Pauline was significantly reliant upon the family sending details of the fatality. These details were frequently accompanied with a report from an officer in the unit in which the OP was serving. Often formulaic and sometimes anodyne, these reports nevertheless on occasion provide vivid colour and detail about the circumstances of death of an OP. This process of composition necessarily produced something of an uneven outcome. In the summer of 1917 the editors were prompted to place a notice in their magazine under the title ‘Our Obituary Notices’, chastising OPs who had not sent in details of friends who had fallen:

Ever since the autumn of 1914 successive editors must have wondered why Old Paulines did not send memories of their friends who died in the war. … Those who have the power of supplying such deficiencies can do the School some service. If, as seems very unlikely, we should be overwhelmed by an amount of matter too great to print, it would still be of value for the permanent record which is to be made after the war.185

At the same time as registering OP casualties of the war, commissions achieved and gallantry awards won, the editors were charged with recording the time honoured events of a public school. Thus, space was provided in its pages for the recording of Apposition, prize winners, plays performed, sports fixtures played etc, and the sharing of some everyday correspondence. This compositional methodology on occasion produced a juxtaposition of record that to a modern reader borders on the distasteful. For instance, in the July 1917 magazine the editors published this indulgent ode to the pleasures of cricket, ‘The Queen of Games’:

The Summer is always a blithe and cheery term, in pleasant contrast to its foggy predecessor, breeder of colds and inertia. Work itself seems easy then, when a poetic lustre, born of the soft, heavy air, steals over the dull pages; facts are rosy hued, and even figures have magic associations. … Now is not the time for ferocious bursts of energy, or sudden applications of tremendous zeal followed by complete relaxations; of such kind are the

185

The Pauline, 35 232 June 1917 p 57

6. Recording the Fallen: the 511

qualities of the winter games: the sustained fury of football, the tireless pertinacity of fives, the sharp, dazed agony of boxing. But in these languorous months a more even progress is demanded, and a less strenuous, more continued exertion. One of the greatest virtues of cricket is that there is no hurry or worry about it; three days are taken for one match under the best conditions: play begins when the players feel inclined, and terminates when the game has reached a suitable conclusion. … Cricket inculcates humanity and gentle manners, and is a great help to the imagination; for being more obviously futile than any other pastime, it therefore requires a more exuberant fancy or a more paradoxical reasoning in the mind that would attend to it. … Cricket thus affords a perfect rest, for a perfect rest consists not in having nothing, but in having something restful to do.186

This edition also published the following light hearted correspondence:

Dear Sir, Has your attention been drawn to the fact that the colours of the Old Paulines (red, white, and black) are those of the German nation, and I believe of the Prussian Guard? I have only recently become an OP, but since I have worn the colours, quite a number of people have drawn my attention to it. I hope some way will be found of remedying this.

Yours truly, A N O.P.

[Editorial response.] This unfortunate ambiguity had escaped us. The remedy seems to lie in persuading the German nation to change their colours along with their Kaiser and their Kultur.]187

Yet the same edition added thirteen names to the Roll of Honour, carried the obituaries of sixteen OPs killed in the fighting (see F.1), listed a further eighteen reported as wounded, four as missing and three as prisoners. While the decision to publish collectively such a miscellany of material may appear abrasive to modern sensitivities, it should be observed that The Pauline audience was broad and varied current pupils, Masters, parents and OPs and that its fundamental purpose was to advertise the on going vigour and good health of the school: in short, to document the activities that made up its warp and weft. During the great crisis of the war years this purpose was more important than ever, and that it was achieved would at least in part seem to be evidenced by accounts of OPs serving at the front who wrote of how much they enjoyed receiving a copy of The Pauline.188

186

187

The Pauline, 35 233 July 1917 pp 88 89

The Pauline, 35 233 July 1917 pp 118 19

188

For example, see Appendix 3, Letters from the Front, No. II, Bernard Law Montgomery (SPS 1902 1906)

6. Recording the Fallen: the 511

The publication of a finalised was an expensive undertaking and it appears that the SPS iteration ran to only one edition, likely published 1919 1920. The singular, and early, publication of this document has thus resulted in the figure of 490 OPs as the apparently definitive number who lost their lives in the war.

The scale and complexity of the task of recording the details of OPs who fought and fell inevitably resulted in some errors and omissions. The decision to record the names of the fallen on twelve Memorial Panels produced in 1923 (see Chapter 12, 12.1, b) for the new Memorial Chapel presented an opportunity to rectify any errors published in the Roll of Honour. Thus, the names of the following three OPs, although listed Roll of Honour, are absent from the Memorial Panels.

Vesey A Davoren OP (SPS 1903 1904) was recorded in The Pauline edition of February 1916 as having been ‘killed by a shot from a machine gun’.190 In the June 1916 edition, however, The Pauline corrected the record:

We have never been so pleased to find ourselves in the wrong as when we received a letter from Lieutenant Vesey A. Davoren, whose death at the front was recently announced. “I was

189

190

The Pauline, 35 233 July 1917 Frontpage

The Pauline, 34 223 February 1916 p 13

6. Recording the Fallen: the 511

badly wounded”, he writes, “on 13 October 1915, in the attack on Hulluch, but managed to pull through all right and am now nearly well.” We are glad to find he bears us no ill will.191

Despite the fact that The Pauline acknowledged that an error had occurred, Vesey’s name had not been removed from the Roll of Honour and so he was thus considered as one of the 490 by the printers of the War List. Only after the war did the reason for the confusion become clear when The Pauline reported that ‘the Lieutenant V A Davoren, whose death was recorded in The Pauline and the War List, is not the Old Pauline of that name’.192

A second name that features as one of the 490 in the Roll of Honour but is not present on the Memorial Panels is that of Ernest Haines Evans OP (SPS 1888 1892). The record offers very little detail about this OP. He is at best a ghostly presence. There appears to be an absence of record as to any unit in which he served and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission holds no material to indicate the death of a soldier of his name. Although a career soldier who fought in the South African War, Ernest was approaching forty in 1914 and it is thus possible that he did not see active service in the period 1914 1918. Whatever the reason, a decision was taken not to inscribe his name on the Memorial Panels.

A third name found amongst the 490 in the Roll of Honour but which does not similarly feature on the Memorial Panels is that of Major Roy (Richard) Hill (SPS 1897 1900). Major Hill died of pneumonia at Hartlepool on 17 February 1915 and is buried in a family grave at Thornton Dale (All Saints) Churchyard, Yorkshire. Deaths of this kind the solider neither falling at the Front nor registering as a casualty of a generally accepted war wound are difficult to categorise definitively as ‘fallen’. Nevertheless, at the time of his death Roy was serving in the 3/1st Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry (Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own) and it is surely the result of an error that his name is not on the Memorial Panels.

191

The Pauline, 34 225 June 1916 p 67 192

The Pauline, 40 259 March 1921 p 35 193 Author’s photo

6. Recording the Fallen: the 511

F.2 Roy (Richard) Hill’s grave at Thornton Dale (All Saints) Churchyard, Yorkshire.193

Meanwhile, despite the fact that he was killed in action at Loos on 14 July 1916 and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, James Henry Skene (SPS 1891 1895) does not appear in either the Roll of Honour or on the Memorial Panels.194 The absence of James’ name from the Roll is curious considering that he was one of four OP brothers who fought, one of whom Robert Reginald Skene (SPS 1904 1908, see Chapter 8, Section 8.1, i) was the first OP to fall (12 August 1914). (Robert is correctly registered in the Roll of Honour and on the Memorial Panels, as well as receiving a brief obituary in The Pauline.)195

If it is accepted that Vesey A Davoren (SPS 1903 1904) and Ernest Haines Evans (SPS 1888 92) did not fall, that Roy (Richard) Hill (SPS 1897 1900) continue to be acknowledged as one of the fallen, and that James Henry Skene (SPS 1891 1895) is newly awarded that status, a total Roll of 489 OPs is obtained. Yet this does not acknowledge four OPs whose names are inscribed on the Memorial Panels but not listed in the Roll of Honour. These names are: E. D. Beamish (SPS 1902 03); G.H. Chappell (SPS 1896 98); M. J. W Johnson (SPS 1906 09) and R. H. Mitton (SPS 1892 95). Their absence from the Roll of Honour is likely a result of their deaths not being reported to The Pauline before the printing of the Roll. Johnson and Chappell died in 1919, on 18 February and 20 December respectively. Thus, it seems that for whatever reason Johnson’s death was reported with no great alacrity and Chappell’s demise was not sufficiently early to be recorded in the Roll. Beamish and Mitton fell during the war, in 1917 and 1916 respectively. The fact that the former had emigrated to Australia and the latter to Canada resulted in these OPs serving in the Expeditionary Forces of the countries in which they resided, perhaps making it more difficult for news of their deaths to reach SPS in a timely fashion. It is also worth noting that all four of these OPs had relatively short careers at SPS, and thus their families may have felt little obligation to report their son’s death to his alma mater. Whatever the reason for their absence in the Roll of Honour, news of the death of these four OPs was nevertheless received in sufficient time to be registered for inscription upon the Memorial Panels in 1923, indicating in this way that a total of 493 OPs fell.

In addition to the 493 OPs who fell should be added the names of a further eighteen OPs, news of whose deaths only reached SPS after the completion of the initial set of twelve

194 After leaving SPS James had become a professional pianist, performing under the name Hener Skene. On 14 December 1905 The Times reported a concert at Leighton House the previous day: Mr Hener Skene played on the piano Rubinstein’s G minor barcarolle and Chopin’s C minor study, with the prominent part for the left hand. His quiet demeanour at the keyboard calls for commendation, but a more demonstrative manner would easily have been forgiven in the etude if a larger proportion of right notes had been played, as they might have been at the pace more usually adopted.

195 The Pauline, 32 212 213 Oct 1914 p 173

6. Recording the Fallen: the 511

Memorial Panels in 1923, necessitating the production of a further panel at some point after 1925.196 These eighteen names are presented on this additional Memorial Panel headed Desideratus Adnumerentur (‘Let their number be added to those who are missed’).

In summary, according to this methodology the total number of OPs who fell is thus 511.

F.3 Table summarising methodology for obtaining the total number of OPs who fell: Number of OPs published in the Roll of Honour

Number of OPs published erroneously in the Roll of Honour

Number of OPs who fell but who do not appear either in the Roll of Honour or Memorial Panels

Number of OPs not published in the Roll of Honour but whose names are inscribed on the original Memorial Panels

Number of OPs not published in the Roll of Honour but whose names are inscribed on the additional, thirteenth, Memorial Panel

Total number of OPs who fell 490 2 1 4 18 511

196 The 18 names are: Barrett, J F B (SPS 1894 1901); Belfield, E (SPS 1905 1906); Burridge, R A (SPS 1912 1916); Fowler, F G (SPS 1882 1889); Fullerton, W F H (1903 ?); Halford, E (SPS 1905 1906); Hewetson, C H (SPS 1889 1890); MacFarlane, W B (SPS 1910 1910); Morris, G M (SPS 1915 1915); Kemp, K R F (SPS 1910 1910); Last, R E (1907 1909); Montefiore, G V B (SPS 1900 1903); Redhead, L L (SPS 1908 1909); Reeves, H C (SPS 1893 1897); Riddle, G J (1907 1910); Sim, Louis St (1906 1909); Southgate, L M (SPS 1906 1907); Wickham, J S D (SPS 1907 1910). The names are presented in two lists, suggesting that the four names in the second list R. A. Burridge, F. G. Fowler, L. G. L. Sim and L. M. Southgate were received only after the first fourteen names had been inscribed. This panel also list three names of OPs who fell in other conflicts: P W D Curwen (Korean War); H. B. Keeler (Vietnam War) and S. G. W. A. Alexander. (Afghanistan War).

6. Recording the Fallen: the 511

Chapter 7. The ‘511’: an overview

7.1 Scale of loss

Recent research into the casualty rates of 164 public schools in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland has determined ‘an average death rate of between 18 and 19 percent of those who served.’197 Of the 2,914 OPs known to have served in one of the branches of the armed forces, 511 17.5 percent were killed, a scale of loss that is broadly commensurate with that suffered by alumni of other public schools from which at least 2,000 Old Boys served.

(See Table G.1)

G.1 Percentages killed of those who had attended public schools in which the total number of Old Boys who served was at least 2,000.198

School No. of pupils in 1914 No. who served % killed Harrow 504 2,917 22.1 Bedford School 675 2,200 21.5 Marlborough 590 3,418 21.4 Rugby 555 3,244 21.1 Winchester 445 2,418 20.9 Haileybury 475 2,825 20.8 Eton 1,028 5,656 20.5 Wellington College 526 3,500 20.2 Charterhouse 579 3,500 19.6 George Watson’s 1,209 3,102 19.5 Cheltenham 584 3,540 19.1 Clifton 594 3,063 18.8 Tonbridge 436 2,225 18.7 Malvern 424 2,481 18.4 Uppingham 450 2,500 18 Glasgow High School 1,000 2,700 17.7 St Paul’s School199 574 2,914 17.5 Christ's Hospital 765 2,058 17.4 Dulwich 742 3,036 16.7

197

Seldon and Walsh, Public Schools and the Great War (Pen and Sword, 2013) p 240

198

Seldon and Walsh, Public Schools and the Great War (Pen and Sword, 2013) pp 256 260

199 The figures in the second and third column are from my computation. Seldon and Walsh assert 2,917 and 16.8 percent respectively, the latter computed from a total of 490 killed rather than 511.

7. The ‘511’: an overview 1

Royal Hospital School 800 2,750 16.1 George Heriot’s 1,400 2,637 15.6 Manchester Grammar School 1,023 3,506 14.9

Significant and complex debate surrounds the statistics relating to the number of officers and other ranks killed.200 One authority concludes that 14 percent of the officer corps as against 6 percent of the rank and file were killed in the first year of hostilities, ‘a surplus of officer deaths that continued, although at a slightly lower level, throughout the war’.201

Alternative sources suggest that around 17 percent of officers were killed and that the figure for ‘other ranks’ was around 12 percent. Whatever their differences, it is generally agreed that a soldier serving as a junior officer was more likely to be killed than ‘other ranks’; and also that he was also more likely to be killed than senior officers who tended to serve at some distance from the front line.

This scale of loss is significantly explained by two factors. Firstly, a majority of ex public schoolboys enlisted in the infantry, the corps that suffered proportionately the greatest number of casualties. In a letter home, George Francis Hansell (SPS 1908 1909) reflected upon the varying degrees of danger to which a soldier was exposed according to the corps / regiment in which he served:

There is a good deal of indignation out here amongst the infantrymen, at the great rush there has been at home to join the motor transport the ASC [Army Service Corps] the RAMC [Royal Army Medical Corps] & the heavy Artillery [i.e. RGA]. All these are more or less safe jobs and there are very few casualties amongst them but the infantry are losing men every day and they are always in need of recruits. There is no love lost between the infantry and the ASC. The motor transport never come within several miles of the front line and I doubt if 90 percent of them have ever come under shell fire.202

George’s observations are supported by a study of the distribution of OP deaths across the various corps. (See Table G.2)

200 The usual starting place for any such investigation in the Statistics Of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914 1920, London, H M Stationery Office, 1922. One of the explanations for the varying statistics relates to whether all officer ranks or only subalterns have been considered.

201 Winter, J M The Great War and the British People, (Macmillan, 1986) p 86

202 Hansell, 2nd Lt George Francis (SPS 1908 1909) East Yorkshire Regiment. Letters Home 1915 1919, G F Hansell p 42. Private publication. I am grateful to the Hansell family for permission to use this extract.

7. The ‘511’: an overview 2

G.2 Table showing OP death rates in the main Corps of the Army No. Served No. Killed Percentage Killed

Infantry 1250 304 24.3

RFA 167 31 18.5 RE 190 30 15.7

MGC 26 4 15.3 Cavalry 59 9 15.2 RGA 143 13 9.0 ASC 140 9 6.4 RAMC 176 10 5.6

The most dangerous branch of services for an OP to have enlisted in was the Royal Flying Corps, though it should be noted that the figure of 100 percent death rate is derived from a statistically small number. (See Table G.3.)

G.3 Table showing OP death rates in the RFC / RAF and Navy No. Served No. Killed Percentage Killed

RFC 17 17 100 NAVY 111 13 11.7 RAF 112 8 7.1

Secondly, a majority of OPs served as a subaltern i.e. as a junior officer, either 2nd Lieutenant or Lieutenant. The rank of subaltern was the most perilous in which to serve. Officers of this rank were not only disposed in the trenches but were obliged to lead from the front, to be with, and among, the men they commanded. Newly commissioned officers passing through training were told: ‘You are responsible for the successful leading of your men in battle; you are responsible for their health, for their comfort, for their good behaviour and discipline.’203 Denis Oliver Barnett’s (SPS 1907 1914, see Volume 2) letters home offer powerful insight into the extent to which a junior officer felt responsible for the men under his command. Shortly after gaining his commission in the 2nd Bn. Leinster Regiment, Denis wrote home, telling his parents that:

We’re all very Irish here, and I like the men awfully, especially my platoon sergeant. Got three days out of the trenches resting. ….. Everything going very nicely. I’ve been hard at work since we came down, inspecting my bhoys’ rifles and seeing that they shaved, etc. I

203 The Duties of an Officer: Knowledge and Character. Delivered by a Senior Officer to a School for young Officers in France, republished in The Times. Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9 p 69+

7. The ‘511’: an overview 3

censored the Company’s letters this morning, and they amused me a lot. These chaps write very touching letters of varying quality, but all gems of their of their kind. Some are extraordinarily funny. Apparently about half the regiment is called Paddy, and the other half Micky, and they all write to Bridget. They are real performing Irishmen from Tipperary, Cork, and so on. About 95 per cent, are from the Emerald Isle somewhere. They are very good men, and keep their rifles very well, and get themselves and their billets decent very quickly. I’ve got a first rate platoon sergeant and section commanders. I had to pay about half the Company to day, which I found very amusing. … I’ve censored such heaps of letters that I can’t find it in my heart to write any more. I hate the very sight of my own writing, having signed my name about 500 times since I have been here. They’ve got a good way of finishing a letter Your Loving Micky, always.204

One of the purest expressions of an officer’s paternal love for his men flowed from the pen of 2nd Lt Ewart Alan Mackintosh (SPS 1909 1912, see Chapter 8) in his poem In Memoriam, Private D Sutherland in which he compared his role with that of the fathers’ of his men:

Happy and young and gallant, They saw their first born go, But not the strong limbs broken And the beautiful men brought low, The piteous writhing bodies, They screamed ‘Don’t leave me, sir’, For they were only your fathers But I was your officer.205

A subaltern did not thus experience the war some distance away from the front line; instead, they lived and fought at the head of the men they commanded. These officers were not expected to court mortal danger but it was certainly their role to confront it, whether reconnoitring, raiding or just holding the line.206 Denis’ letters frequently describe his close encounters with mortality while in the trenches with his platoon. This letter of 2 August 1915, two weeks before his death, is typical:

204 Denis Oliver Barnett, In Happy Memory, His Letters From France and Flanders October 1914 August 1915. Privately printed, 1915. Letters 18 19 January 1915 pp 41 42.

205 Quoted in Royle, Trevor (ed.), In Flanders Fields: Scottish Prose and Poetry of the First World War p. 79

206 In addition, recipients of a better diet than most of those who constituted the ‘other ranks’, officers were on average five inches taller than their men, and, until the rules were changed in 1916, were also attired distinctly. Thus, the German sniper could better take his aim.

7. The ‘511’: an overview 4

I went into the dug out and began eating, but a shell burst near my platoon, and I went to see. While I was there a shell came through the roof of the dug out and smashed every single article of furniture we had, and all the things on the table. No one was inside, but there was a mix up. Your last parcel, which I had not yet opened, lay in rags all over the place. The tin of herrings was twisted fantastically, and the contents much in evidence on everything else. A lot of cigarettes someone sent me looked as if they’d been systematically chewed and put back again. A table, half a dozen chairs, and all our mess stock in trade, were pulverised. Gott strafe Deutschland had the pioneer sergeant to mend the place up, and we’ve made some more chairs, etc., and now were happy again. I’ve done a lot of wire [i.e. placing barbed wire defences] and odd things outside, and I’m really very cheery. My nerves are better than they ever were.207

According to one account, Denis fell when he was struck by rifle fire, when, ‘with his usual courage he got up on the parapet, and from there directed the working party.’208 Another states that ‘Barnett got a bullet through the stomach when he was guiding a working party of the 1st Bn. North Staffords along the Menin Road.’209 Whatever their differences, both accounts agree that Denis fell while leading his men at the front, a fate that undoubtedly befell numerous other OPs who served as subalterns.

7.2 Deaths by year

Table G.4 shows the distribution of OP deaths over the course of the war and beyond, up to 31 August 1921, the date from which a soldier who succumbed to wounds or some affliction concomitant with the years of hostilities, was no longer eligible to be counted as a war death. To provide some contextualisation, G.4 also shows the percentages of Old Uppinghamians (OUs) who fell, an educational establishment similar in size to St Paul’s School.

G.4 Table showing scale of OP and OU deaths by year210

No. Killed

Percentage of all OPs Killed

Percentage of all OUs killed.

1914 32 6.2 6.4

1915 104 20.3 20.3 1916 133 26.0 26.5 1917 131 25.6 25.7

207 Denis Oliver Barnett, In Happy Memory, His Letters From France and Flanders October 1914 August 1915. Privately printed, 1915 p 217

208 The Pauline, 33 220 Oct 1915 pp 178 179

209 Hitchcock, Captain F C, ‘Stand To’: A Diary Of the Trenches (1936) p 77

210 Halstead, Timothy A School In Arms, Uppingham and the Great War (Helion, 2017) p 93

7. The ‘511’: an overview 5

1918 100 19.5 (1918 1921) 20.9 1919 1921 11 2.1

The small percentage of deaths in 1914 is in part explained by the limited extent of hostilities in that year, war having broken out in August; for the larger part it reflects that SPS, like Uppingham, was not a traditional army school. (The Army Classes at both schools were a relatively recent phenomenon, instituted for the first time at SPS in 1888). The majority of alumni deaths in traditional army types of schools occurred earlier in the war than in schools like SPS and Uppingham. For example, Eton, with a long tradition of sending boys into the army, had suffered 19 percent of its deaths by the end of 1914 and as early as February 1916 had already suffered about half its losses.211

7.3 Age at death: a Lost Generation?

In the Introduction to a collection of poems by Ralph Ernest Vernede (SPS 1889 1894, killed in action on 9 April 1917 age 41; see Chapter 8, Section 8.4) Edmund Gosse told his readers that:

Too much can never be said in praise of the generous beauty of the gesture with which the youngest generation of Englishmen, just emerging on the golden threshold of life, have greeted the sacrifice of their hopes and ours.212

The narrative that the war was fought by the ‘youngest generation’ has been loudly articulated by numerous poets and novelists.213 Leading the way was Robert Laurence Binyon (SPS 1881 1869, see Chapter 11, Section 11.5.) At an early stage of the hostilities he offered praise for those who marched to war. In his view, they:

….. went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow … 214

After the war, Ernest Raymond (SPS 1901 1904) composed a scene in his novel Tell England (1922) in which the eighteen year old protagonists, Rupert Ray and Edgar Gray Doe, present themselves to be commissioned as officers. Upon learning of their ages, the ‘Colonel of the 2nd Tenth’ exclaims:

211 Gregory, A The Last Great War p 124 (CUP, 2008)

212 Vernede, R R, War Poems and Other Verses, Heinemann (1917) p 7

213 Inter alia, see Sheriff, R C Journey’s End

214 Binyon, For The Fallen (1914)

7. The ‘511’: an overview 6

“Eighteen, by Jove! You’ve timed your lives wonderfully, my boys. To be eighteen in 1914 is to be the best thing in England. England’s wealth used to consist in other things. Nowadays you boys are the richest thing she’s got. She’s solvent with you, and bankrupt without you. Eighteen, confound it! It’s a virtue to be your age, just as it’s a crime to be mine. Now, look here” the Colonel drew up his chair, as if he were going to get to business “look here. Eighteen years ago you were born for this day. Through the last eighteen years you’ve been educated for it. Your birth and breeding were given you that you might officer England’s youth in this hour. And now you enter upon your inheritance. Just as this is the day in the history of the world so yours is the generation. No other generation has been called to such grand things, and to such crowded, glorious living. Any other generation at your age would be footling around, living a shallow existence in the valleys, or just beginning to climb a slope to higher things. But you” here the Colonel tapped the writing table with his forefinger “you, just because you’ve timed your lives aright, are going to be transferred straight to the mountain tops. Well, I’m damned. Eighteen!”215

Sentiments and stories such as these have fomented a popular impression of the 1st World War bequeathing a ‘Lost Generation’, four years of fighting wiping out a cohort of eighteen year olds even as they were ‘on the golden threshold of life’.216 It is a thesis stiffened by numerous school sports team photographs, populated with endearing sepia images of schoolboys seemingly incapable of ageing. Above all, it is a thesis invigorated each Remembrance Day by the ritualistic incantation of the words of Laurence Binyon (SPS 1881 1888) that those who fell:

Shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.217

And yet it is a thesis for which the data associated with the 511 OPs killed in the war provides little support: the majority of these OPs were not eye catchingly young; and their deaths do not easily compute collectively to a ‘Lost Generation’.

Firstly, the average age of death of all 511 OPs who fell is 27 years. In an age when the life expectancy for men was 50 years no doubt somewhat higher for the better fed middle class public schoolboy the majority of the 511 OPs killed in the 1st World War are not instantly identifiable as the ‘youngest generation’. Indeed, as Chart G.5 shows, the average age of death of OPs who fell in 1914 was 30 years, declining to 26 years in 1917 before rising

215 Raymond, Ernest. Tell England / A Study in a Generation (1922) iBooks. p 392

216 When the Bishop of Malvern dedicated the War Memorial at Malvern College he told the congregation that the loss of schoolboys in the war ‘can only be described as the wiping out of a generation’. Quoted in Kernot C F, British Public Schools War Memorials (1927), p 136

217 Binyon, Robert Laurence, For the Fallen

7. The ‘511’: an overview 7

to 28 years in the final year of the war these ages are appreciably higher than the generally held view that the 1st World War was the occasion for the slaughter of mostly very young males.

G.5 Chart showing the average age of death of OPs by the year in which they fell218

Average Age of Death of OPs By Year In Which They Fell

Age at death (Figs in ()s is no. of OPs who fell

31 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918

30 (32) 27 (104) 27 (133) 26 (131)

28 (100)

The anticipated downward trajectory of the average age of death of an OP in the early period of the war is best explained by an appreciation that the bulk of the fighting at this time was undertaken by the established regular force of the BEF, General French’s ‘Contemptible Little Army’.219 Populated with professional, career soldiers, many of whom had served in India and / or fought with distinction in the South African War, and some Reservists returning to the fray, the ‘Old Contemptibles’, while certainly not ‘Contemptible’, were relatively ‘Old’. Of the thirty two OPs who fell in 1914, most were career soldiers possessed of experience obtained in one or both of the aforementioned theatres; almost half (15) were age 30 years or more. The BEF of 1914 was no army of callow faced 18 year old volunteers. The obliteration of these regular forces during the course of the early months of the conflict, combined with significant and on going casualties in the Territorial Force, obliged the authorities to continue the fight from 1915 with younger soldiers, the majority of whom enlisted to serve in Kitchener’s New Armies. Meanwhile, the upturn in the 218 A further 11 OPs fell in the period 1919 1921 219 On 10 August 1914 the Kaiser had supposedly dismissed the BEF as ‘General French's contemptible little army ’

7. The ‘511’: an overview 8

average age of death in 1918 is perhaps a consequence of the character of the war at that time, the great German offensive initiated in that Spring necessitating an urgent ‘all hands on deck’ response.220 As Haig put it in his Special Order issued on 11 April 1918 to all troops: Three weeks ago to day the enemy began his terrific attacks against us on a fifty mile front. His objects are to separate us from the French, to take the Channel Ports and destroy the British Army. … There is no other course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause each one of us must fight on to the end. The safety of our homes and the freedom of mankind alike depend upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.221

It thus seems probable that officers of rank above that of a subaltern, and thus likely of greater age, were newly obliged to fight with units at the front. Among the OP casualties in 1918 were four of rank Lieutenant Colonel, the same number of OPs of this rank as had been lost in all of the fighting since the outbreak of the war.222

G.6 Chart showing the number of OPs who served and the number of OP deaths in each of the annual leaver cohorts, 1890 1918 220 The Kaiserschlacht, also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, 21 March 18 July 221 British Library Add MS 45416 222 The four Lieutenant Colonels were: Acklom, S (SPS 1896 1900. Age 35); Beaty Pownall, G E (SPS 1890 1895. Age 41. See Volume 2); Watson, T H (SPS 1906 1911. Age 25); Watson, O C S (SPS 1888 1895. Age 41. See Chapter 5, Section 5.2)

No. of OPs Who Volunteered and No. of OPs Who Died In Each Annual Leaver Cohort, 1890 - 1918 No. Serve No. Deaths

7. The ‘511’: an overview 9

NB: Data is shown from 1890 because the upper age limit criteria of 41 years meant that this was earliest year from which an OP could volunteer to serve, and then only perhaps for 1914 15.

G.7 Chart showing the age at death (in five year age categories) of the 511 OPs who fell

Age At Death of All OPs Who Fell By 5 Year Age Categories

No. Who Fell Age Categories At Death

Secondly, as the data in charts G.6 and G.7 reveal, the experience of St Paul’s provides no substantial support to the well established belief that the years of fighting bequeathed a ‘Lost Generation’. Chart G.6 shows that particular annual cohorts of leavers suffered more than others, but also that no cohort suffered a loss of more than 30 percent and only three suffered losses of more than 25 percent (1911, 25 percent; 1907, 27.5 percent and 1912, 28.3 percent). Chart G.7 shows that whichever bloc of twenty years is selected the collective number of deaths never amounts to a devastating generational loss (though the data confirms that the younger age groups suffered disproportionally.) The two five year age categories with the highest losses i.e. those aged 21 25 and 26 30 amount to 51.8 percent of all OP deaths (commensurate with the experience of Uppingham which lost 265 OUs age 20 – 29, amounting to 57.2 percent of all OU deaths.)223

Above all, encouraged by the ‘pity of war’ poetry, attention has understandably focussed on the fallen and the tragic circumstances in which so many of them died. As a counter to this it should be noted that most of those who enlisted, survived. In the case of St Paul’s, 82.5 percent of those who served returned home. (See Chart G.8.) 223 Halstead,

7. The ‘511’: an overview 10

Timothy A School In Arms, Uppingham and the Great War

G.8 Chart showing the proportions of deaths Vs survivors of all OPs who served

Proportions of Deaths and Survivors Of All OPs Who Served

Killed 17.5 percent Survive 82.5 percent

On a whole, therefore, rather than demonstrating the existence of a ‘Lost Generation’, the example of St Paul’s better supports a conclusion that the war damaged and diminished cohorts whose earliest representatives left St Paul’s around 1890. The war did not collapse in its entirety a single generation of OPs, nor is it likely that it did so for ex public schoolboys more generally, as the pens of so many poets and other commentators would have their readers believe. There is no Lost Generation waiting to be found. Contrary to Binyon’s famous incantation, most OPs who fought in the war did grow old. (For examples, see Chapter 11.)

7. The ‘511’: an overview 11

Chapter 8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category

8.1 First and Last

i) the first OP to fall

In his Address to the school on 28 September 1914 the High Master made reference to OPs who had fallen in the early stages of the war. He asserted that:

We have already begun to pay our toll of precious lives. Among whom, because he is known to some of you, I name with all honour [Charles George] Gordon Bayly [OP, SPS 1905 1909]. He had a good, brave, bright life and a death worthy of his kinsman, General Gordon.224

Bayly, 2nd Lt Charles George Gordon b.30 April 1891; d.22 Aug 1914 SPS 1905 1909 No.5 Squadron RFC Tournai Communal Cemetery Allied Extension

Grave epitaph: Who Stands If Freedom Fall? Who Dies If England Live? Age 22

224 The Pauline, 32 212 213 Oct 1914 pp 185 190

225 Public domaine. Provenance unknown.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 1

Charles George Gordon Bayly225

Charles George Gordon Bayly (SPS 1905 1909) was the grand nephew of General Gordon of Khartoum. He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in July 1911. After a spell in 56th Field Company Royal Engineers he joined the RFC, No.5 Squadron on 30 June 1914. The RFC was then tasked with confirming a rumour that German troops in large numbers were advancing through Brussels south west towards Mons. Flying as an Observer in Avro 504 No. 390, Charles took to the skies to confirm the rumour by observation. The Operations Record Book for his unit records that on 22 August:

No 5 Squadron was unconsciously to be involved in an incident of some importance. At 10.20 a.m [actually 10.16 a.m] two officers set out from Maubeuge on reconnaissance. They were Lieutenants V. Waterfall and C G G Bayly, and they failed to return. The reconnaissance report, so far as it had been written, [was] picked up near the wreckage of the machine by some Belgian peasants, eventually reached the War Office in London. It transpired later that Waterfall and Bayly had played [a] prominent part in confirming the rumoured presence of the British Expeditionary Force on the enemy’s second Army Front. The Avro [504 No 390] had been shot down by 5th Jaegar Division, near Brighieux.226

The Captain of the German unit responsible for the kill described how:

Suddenly a plane flew over us … I ordered two groups to fire at it … The plane started a half turn … but it was too late. It went into a dive, spun around several times then fell like a stone about a mile from here.227

H.1 Charles Bayly’s reconnaissance notes, frantically scrawled at 11.00 hrs, moments before the fatal crash, were recovered and given to the Military Governor of East Flanders.228

226 TNA AIR 27 63 1

227 Walter Bloem. Vormarsch, The Advance from Mons. 1914: The Experiences of a German Infantry Office 1916 http://www.rebecq memorial.eu/bayly.php

228 Raleigh, Walter The War in the Air Vol 1, (OUP 1922) p 302

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 2

The extraordinary survival of Charles’s notes, and the fact that they reached high command, helped shape the unfolding narrative of the war since they confirmed the presence of enemy troops moving along the great Chaussee on Soignies ‘cavalry, 4 columns infantry, other group of horses and column turning left to Silly’. Moreover, the incident provided the Germans with their first assurance of the presence of the BEF.

The charred bodies of both pilots were placed in zinc lined coffins and hidden in a cellar. Charles was reburied after the war and lies in Tournai Communal Cemetery Allied Extension. He was age 23.

H.2 Image of the crashed Avro 504 No. 390 with likely Charles’ charred body in the foreground.229

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category

Courtesy Alan Seymour Archives

Charles was the second OP to die in the war; the first was Robert (Robin) Reginald Skene (SPS 1904 1908).

Skene, Lt Robert (Robin) Reginald b.6 Aug 1891; d 12 Aug 1914

SPS 1904 - 1908 No. 5 Squadron RFC Send, St Mary Churchyard Guildford Age 23

The sad distinction of being not only the first OP to be killed in the war but also the first casualty of the RFC, belongs to Lieutenant Robin Reginald Skene (SPS 1904 1908). Robin, like his contemporary Charles Bayly, served in No. 5 Squadron, posted to this unit from No. 3 Squadron in early August 1914. He was killed in an aeroplane accident at Netheron, Salisbury Plain on 12 August 1914, age 23. The South Wiltshire Coroner’s Inquest reported that:

Two members of the Royal Flying Corps were killed by the fall of an aeroplane near Netheravon, on Wednesday morning. About a quarter past five o’clock Second Lieutenant Robin B Skene, of the Third Squadron, accompanied by Raymond Keith Barlow, a first air mechanic in the corps, ascended from Netheravon sheds in a Bristol monoplane which was ready for active service. That the aeroplane was not loaded to a dangerous extent is shown by the fact that several other machines left the school carrying similar weights without accident. The monoplane had not proceeded far on its journey when the pilot in taking a left handed turn banked sharply. The result was that the machine lost speed and dived vertically to the ground. Lieutenant Skene was found under the wrecked monoplane, while Barlow was pitched clear of it. Both died before medical aid could be obtained.230

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 4

Robin Reginald Skene231

Robin is buried near the family home at Send, St Mary Churchyard, Guildford. He was one of four brothers to attend SPS. All four volunteered: G A Skene (SPS 1894 1897) and W F Skene (1888 1891) survived; J H Skene fell on 14 July 1916, though he is not recognised as a casualty in the SPS War List.

ii) the last to fall

Burridge, Lt Richard Arthur b. 11 Jan 1899; 27 Dec 1921 SPS 1912 1916 Indian Army Royal Memorial Chapel, R M A Sandhurst Age 22

The name of Richard Arthur Burridge (SPS 1912 1916) features on the thirteenth memorial panel (see Chapter 12.1, ii, b)) as a fatality in the 1st World War. He was killed in action on 27 December 1921 in South Kurdistan, age 22. Richard was a Lieutenant in the Indian Army and at the time of his death appears to have been attached to the Iraq Service as an Assistant Inspecting Officer. This present work has registered his death as one of the 511 OPs who fell, but strictly speaking he should not be counted among this number since his death occurred on 27 December 1921 and therefore lies beyond the last qualifying dates as set out by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission i.e. 31 August 1921. Arthur is memorialised in the Royal Memorial Chapel, R M A Sandhurst.

Montefiore, Driver Gilbert Barrow b. 31 Jan 1887; d. 21 June 1921

SPS 1900 – 1903

Driver, 1st Australian Siege Battery Sydney New South Wales Waverley Cemetery Age 34

The last OP to fall prior to 31 August 1921 i.e. the date prescribed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was Gilbert Vita Barrow Montefiore (SPS 1900 1903). Gilbert died in Sydney, Australia on 21 June 1921. After leaving SPS he went on to University College, London, where he studied Engineering and afterwards emigrated to Australia, where, at the time of his death he was in the service of the British Imperial Oil Company. At the outbreak of the War he joined the Australian Expeditionary Force and served as a Driver in France with the 1st Australian Siege Battery, Ammunition Column. He was gassed, and although he returned after the war to his family in Sydney, he never really recovered from its effects upon his lungs, and his death from haemorrhage on 21 June 1921 was the result. Gilbert is buried in Sydney New South Wales Waverley Cemetery.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 5

8.2 Youngest and Oldest

The age criteria for enlisting evolved during the course of the war. (See Appendix 1.) Despite the lower age limit of 19 years appertaining until 1916 (when it was lowered to 18 upon the introduction of conscription), it was by no means unusual for young men successfully to enlist despite not having attained the legal age.232

i) the youngest

Four OPs fell in the war before they had reached their 18th birthday; a further seven were killed before attaining the age of 19 and had thus perhaps lied about their age when enlisting. (See H.3.) Others lied about their age only to be discharged from service when their dissembling was discovered. (For example, see the case of Herbert Reginald Harries Scupham (SPS 1913 1915, see Chapter 8.)

H.3 Table showing OPs who fell before their 19th birthday

Surname Initials Rank Corps / Regiment Age at Death Date of Death SPS

Millar A B Apprentice Merchant Navy

15 yrs, 11 mths 17 Jun 17 1915 1916

Bunnett W G Private No.1 Coy HAC 16 yrs, 8mths 20 Sep 15 1913 1914

Morris G M 2nd Lt 17th (Service) Bn. King's Liverpool

16 yrs, 9 mths 07 Sep 16 1915 1915

Cheers D H A 2nd Lt RAF 17 yrs, 6 mths 17 Apr 18 1914 1915

Girard G M E 2nd Lt 7th (Service) Bn. Leinster 18 yrs, 4 mths 16 Nov 17 1912 1915

Woolf H L Pioneer 1st Bn. Special Bde RE

18 yrs, 6 mths 26 Jun 16 1911 1913

Williams R V 2nd Lt No. 32 Sqdn RFC 18 yrs, 9 mths 05 Jun 17 1911 1915

Foster F H 2nd Lt No 45 Sqdn RFC 18 yrs, 9 mths 03 Jun 17 1914 1915

Mears H F Flight Lt HMS Furious Royal Navy 18 yrs, 10 mths 29 Apr 18 1915 1915

Pope H A Lt 2/10th Bn. Middlesex 18 yrs, 10 mths 16 Aug 15 1911 1914

232 Perhaps as many as 250,000 recruits were under age when they enlisted.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 6

Hojel J G 2nd Lt No. 210 Sqdn RAF 18 yrs, 10 mths 21 Aug 18 1914 1915

Millar, Apprentice Allan Bertram b. 24 June 1901; d. 17 June 1917 SPS 1915 - 1916

Naval Transport (Mercantile Marine), SS Don Arturo Tower Hill (Mercantile Marine) Memorial Age 15 years, 11 months

Allan Bertram Millar

233

The youngest OP to lose his life in the war was Allan Bertram Millar (SPS 1915 – 1916.) At the time of his death he was age 15 years and 11 months. While serving as an Apprentice on the Naval Transport (Mercantile Marine), SS Don Arturo, the ship was torpedoed on 17 June 1917 by German submarine UC 62 and sunk ninety miles west south west from the Scilly Isles. Allan is presumed drowned, along with all other thirty three crew members. Although Allan was a civilian and had not enlisted in the services (for which reasons the age criteria referenced above did not apply) he was serving on a naval transport vessel and is thus remembered on the Tower Hill (Mercantile Marine) Memorial.

Bunnett, Private William George b. 21 Dec 1898; d. 20 Sept 1915 SPS 1913 – 1915 1st Bn. HAC

Brandhoek Military Cemetery Age 16 years, 8 months

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 7

Ancestry

William George Bunnett (SPS 1913 1914, see Volume 2) enlisted in the Honourable Artillery Company on 19 April 1915 and was enrolled in 1st battalion HAC aged 16 years, 3 months. He was killed near Ypres on 20 September 1915, age 16 years and 8 months. William is buried in Brandhoek Military Cemetery.

Morris, 2nd Lt George Mackelvey b. 24 Nov 1899(?); d. 7 September 1916 SPS 1915 1915

17th (Service) Bn. King’s Liverpool Regiment Brompton Cemetery Age 17 years, 6 month

George Mackelvey Morris (SPS 1915 1915) was born on either 23 October or 24 November or 1899 in Norwalk, Huron, Ohio, USA, the only son of Mr David Morris of Youngstown, Ohio, USA and Mrs Letitia Mackelvey Morris.234 Using the later of his possible dates of birth, George was age 16 years and 9 months when he fell. He had moved to London with his mother, arriving in August 1914. It appears that, like Allan and William, George lied about his actual age (15 years and 7 months) when he joined the Inns of Court O.T.C. on 31 May 1915, perhaps choosing this regiment judiciously because he knew that he was likely to be taken on even though he was underage. Shortly after the war, the historian of the regiment described the challenges it faced in May 1915:

In the Spring of this year the recruiting question began to give us great anxiety. Recruiting was going down all over the country … Before the war we confined our recruiting to the greater public schools, but early in the war this particular source ran dry. As boys from these schools received their commission direct on the strength of their training in the School OTCs, complaints were made to the War Office that we were excluding various schools … . Finally it was arranged that there should be no school test, but that our principle of selection should be the possession by the candidate of such qualifications as we thought necessary for his training as an officer. … Notwithstanding, however, the widening of our area, recruiting was diminishing … . The question had to be faced whether we should die genteelly of inanition, or advertise and live. Very unwillingly, but greatly influenced by the example of the War Office in advertising for young officers at the beginning of the war, we chose the latter alternative. Having chosen it, we took no half measures.235

234 The former date is provided in St Paul’s School Register; the latter by his mother. George attended SPS for only the Spring Term 1915

235 Errington, F H L, The Inns of Court Officer Training Corps during The Great War, (London, 1922) pp 20 21

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 8

After a period of training in the OTC, on 21 April 1916 George gained a commission in the 17th (Service) battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant. George was one of 130 wounded in his battalion during an attack on the village of Guillemont on 30th July 1916, part of the ongoing Somme offensive that had begun on 1 July in that year. The unit diary states that:

[In] very thick mist the attack was pushed home to the objective in places but in the main was held up by machine gun fire from hidden machine guns.236

Brigadier General Stanley George of 89th Brigade, writing after the war, explained that:

The fog was [so] intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey. It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.237

George was brought back to London and became a patient in the Empire Hospital in Vincent Square, Westminster where died from his wounds on 7 September 1916. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery at 2.45 pm on Tuesday 12 September, rather curiously amongst a number of non military graves rather than in the area set aside for those killed in conflict.238 George’s mother provided the following information, published in the Salem News (an Ohio newspaper) on 12th September 1916 under the heading ‘Youngstown Boy is Killed in War Zone’:

London, 12 Sept. [1916] A German explosive bullet wound caused the death here of the American, Second Lieut. George Mackelvey Morris of the King’s Liverpool Regiment. He was the only son of David Morris of Youngstown, Ohio. He was shot down at the head of his men in a charge on Guillemont on 30 July. It was not known until his mother, who was at his bedside when he died, told the lad’s colonel yesterday that his real age was only 17 years. [In fact, his real age was 16.] He entered a training Corps at 16 years, giving his age as 18 so as to gain admission. Mrs. Morris said that ... she chose Brompton Cemetery because a number of American officers are buried there.239

236

TNA WO 95 2334 1 1

237 Stanley, F C, The History of the 89th Brigade (Liverpool, 1919)

238 The cost of the burial was £29.14s.6d about £1,700 in 2017 value 239 Courtesy www.liverpoolpals.com

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 9

Cheers, 2nd Lt Donald Heriot Anston b. 3 August 1900; d. 17 April 1918 SPS 1915 – 1915 RAF Edinburgh (Comely Bank) Cemetery Age 17 years, 6 months

The youngest OP to volunteer was Donald Heriot Anson Cheers (SPS 1915 1915), age 15 years and 3 months. He was the son of Henry (Harry) Arthur Cheers, the prolific and successful architect. After attending SPS during the Spring and Summer terms 1915, Donald enlisted with the 30th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), giving his age as 19 years. His parents discovered Donald’s misstatement and he was released from the army and sent home. At this point he became a student at Westminster Polytechnic (later, the University of Westminster), where he joined the Polytechnic Cadet Corps, from which he was commissioned into the 3rd (Reserve) battalion East Surrey Regiment. Based at Dover throughout the war, this unit undertook garrison duties and acted as a training and draft

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 10

H.4 George Morris’ grave (bottom left hand corner) in Brompton Cemetery. The headstone carries no epitaph.240

finding unit. (During the period of the war 911 officers served with the battalion and 19,040 men passed through its ranks.) Donald transferred to the RFC / RAF in March 1918, a favoured destination for those passing through the 3rd (Reserve) battalion. He was killed on 17 April 1918, age 17 years and 6 months, whilst flying an Avro 504J (Number B4206) a training aircraft at East Fortune (no. 2 Training Depot Station) near Edinburgh, crashing after getting into a stall while making a flat turn. He is buried at Edinburgh (Comely Bank) Cemetery. His grave epitaph reads: ‘A Noble Brave Boy and Son Greatly Beloved’.

H.5 Image of an Avro 504J aircraft.241

The following seven OPs were killed age 18 years:

Girard, 2nd Lt Geoffrey Marcus Erskine b. 17 July 1899; d.16 Nov 1917 SPS 1912 1915 7th (Service) Bn. Leinster Regiment Croisilles Railway Cemetery Age 18 years, 4 months

Geoffrey Marcus Erskine Girard (SPS 1912 1915) was born on 17 July 1899. In May 1915, shortly after leaving SPS he joined the 1/28th Bn. (Artists Rifles) London Regiment, from which he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 7th (Service) Bn. Leinster Regiment. Geoffrey’s death on 16 November 1917, age 18 years and 4 months, was the result of an

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 11

241 Courtesy BAE Systems / Ron Smith

accident while in the front line opposite Tunnel Trench, a heavily defended part of the German Hindenburg Line south east of Arras. The battalion diary records that on that day:

Under the most unfortunate circumstances 2nd Lt G M E Girard accidentally met his death whilst firing a rifle in the front line.242

Geoffrey is buried in Croisilles Railway Cemetery.

Woolf, Pioneer Harold Lewis b. 24 Dec 1897; 26 June 1916 SPS 1911 - 1913 1st Bn. Special Brigade, Royal Engineers Thiepval Memorial Age 18 years, 6 months

Harold Lewis Woolf (SPS 1911 1913) was born on 24 December 1897. He was killed in action in the Somme sector on 26 June 1916, age 18 years and 6 months while serving as a Pioneer in the 1st Bn. Special Brigade, Royal Engineers. Harold’s body was lost and he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.

Williams, 2nd Lt Roland Vaughan b. 24 August 1898; d. 5 June 1917 SPS 1911 - 1915 No. 32 Squadron RFC Red Cross Corner Cemetery, Beugny Age 18 years, 9 months

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 12

Harold Lewis Woolf243

Courtesy British Jews In The First World War

Roland Vaughan Williams (SPS 1911 1915) was born on 24 August 1898. He joined the 1/28th Bn. (Artists Rifles) London Regiment in September 1915, directly after leaving SPS. A year later he transferred to the RFC and quickly gained his pilot’s Wings. At the time of his death on 5 June 1917 he was 18 years and 9 months old and was serving with No. 32 Squadron RFC. This unit operated closely with the Cavalry Corps, undertaking observation and photographic sorties for the Artillery. Roland appears to have been killed in an accident while flying in DH5 A9366 within a week of reaching the front. (The DH5 was a single seat biplane fighter aircraft. Several of its operating features resulted in it proving unpopular with the RFC.) Roland is buried in Red Cross Corner Cemetery, Beugny.

H.6 Image of a replica of a DH5244

Foster, 2nd Lt Frank Hawley b. 13 August 1898; 3 June 1917 SPS 1914 1915 No. 45 Squadron RFC Arras Flying Services Memorial Age 18 years, 9 months

Frank Hawley Foster (SPS 1914 1915) was born on 13 August 1898; he was killed age 18 years and 9 months. At the time of his death on 3 June 1917 he was serving as a 2nd Lieutenant with No. 45 Squadron RFC. This unit was a fighter reconnaissance squadron equipped with Sopwith 1 ½ Strutters. It had formed at Gosport on 1 March 1916 and moved to France in October of that year. Frank’s body was lost in an operation in the Arras sector and he is thus remembered on the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 13

244 Courtesy Oren Rozen

Mears, Flight-Sub Lt Henry Frank b. 22 June 1899; d. 29 April 1918 SPS 1915 1915

HMS Furious, RAF Brompton Cemetery Age 18 years, 10 months

Henry Frank Mears (SPS 1915 1915) spent three terms at SPS in 1915. He enlisted with the RFC in July 1917, only a month after his eighteenth birthday. Henry was attached to HMS Furious at Rosyth on 3 April 1918, transferring from the Royal Naval Air Service at East Fortune in Lothian. HMS Furious was the world’s first aircraft carrier, upon which Henry was training to become a combat pilot.

H.7 HMS Furious in 1918, probably in the Firth of Forth. Notice the large catching rig behind her funnel and her ‘dazzle’ camouflage.245

This was a dangerous, high risk undertaking, displacement currents and hot furnace gases from the vessel’s funnel ensuring that landing a canvass and wood craft on her deck was notoriously challenging. (The first successful flight of a two seater from any British warship had taken place on 4 April only eleven landings were ever made on the rear deck of HMS Furious, just three of which were judged a complete success.) On 29 April 1918 Henry was killed when the plane he was flying a Pup Camel 1&1/2 Strutter crashed. Captain J M McCleery kept a detailed diary at the time, in which he mentions Henry:

Monday, 29 April: Very nice day, but a good deal of wind. … Observer Lieut. Miller and F/S L [Flight Sub Lieutenant] Mears killed at Donibristle [RNAS airfield by the Firth of Forth] in a

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 14

245 Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command

1½ Strutter crash. Mears was one of the best chaps imaginable and Miller a very fine maths and theoretical man. Both a great loss to the Squadron. Arranged a rough house in the gunroom after dinner to try and buck up the younger pilots and observers. It seemed rather callous but was the best thing to do in my opinion. …

Tuesday 30 April: Very windy day. … Had to go to RN Hospital, South Queensferry, in the afternoon in staff motorboat … Had to get all details re. procedure for funerals. They were both fearfully smashed up. Caused by stalling on a climbing turn to the left. Machine hit ground from 200 feet on her nose with full engine. It must have been awful to have to get them out. Mears was such a fine young man. …

Thursday, 2 May: Went ashore with funeral party to Dunfermline. Acted as pall bearer. Miller only was buried up here; Mears went home. After lunch ship got under way and did full calibre firing shooting poor.246

Henry was brought to London and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, in the same grave as his father, Henry Augustus Mears (d. 1912) the founder of Chelsea Football Club. (See Chapter 10 for an image of the grave.)

Pope, 2nd Lt Herbert (Hubert) Arnold b. 14 September 1896; d. 16 August 1915

SPS 1911 1914 2/10th Bn. Middlesex Regiment Helles Memorial Age 18 years, 10 months

Herbert (Hubert) Arnold Pope (SPS 1911 1914) was born on 14 September 1896. He enlisted shortly after leaving SPS, initially serving in the 1/9th Bn. Middlesex Regiment with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. On 17 December 1914 he was promoted Temporary Lieutenant and transferred to 2/10th Bn. Middlesex Regiment. He fell on 16 August 1915 age 18 years and 10 months while serving with this unit in Gallipoli. Herbert’s body was lost and he is remembered on the Helles Memorial.

Hojel, 2nd Lt Jonathan George b. 29 Sept 1899; d. 21 August 1918

SPS 1914 1916 No. 210 Squadron RAF Dunkirk Town Cemetery Age 18 years, 10 months 246 Captain

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 15

J M McCleery, Diary

Jonathan George Hojel (SPS 1914 1916) was born in Washington, USA on 29 September 1899. (The record is confused as to the date he left SPS: whereas the SPS Register records that he left in December 1916, his Air Record states December 1917. Other details in this latter record suggest that December 1917 is likely the correct date. He enlisted on 3 October 1917.) Jonathan was accidentally killed age 18 years and 10 months on 21 August 1918 while flying a Camel Scout with No. 210 Squadron RAF, having crossed to France on 7 August. He was of rank 2nd Lieutenant, undertaking coastal defence duties when his aircraft crashed. An eyewitness account stated that:

We were just going off the ground prior to going over the German lines, and he was one of the first in the air. He was flying round the aerodrome about seventy feet up, and apparently was climbing the machine too fast; it fell in a spin, and, thank God he, felt no pain.247

Jonathan is buried in Dunkirk Town Cemetery.

ii) the Oldest Kirwan, Rev Robert Mansel b. 13 March 1861; d. 21 May 1916 SPS 1874 1875 Chaplain Indian Expeditionary Force Hanwell (Kensington and Chelsea) Cemetery Age 55 years, 2 months

Robert Mansel Kirwan

248

247 The Pauline, 36 241 Nov 1918 p 131 248 Provenance unknown

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 16

The oldest OP to fall is the Reverend Robert Mansel Kirwan (SPS 1874 1875), age 55 years and 2 months.

After leaving SPS in 1875 Robert went to Forest School, from whence he proceeded to Keble College, Oxford. He took his degree in 1885, and was ordained in 1888, and in 1891 became a chaplain in the Indian Army and a senior chaplain in 1904. He acted as a Chaplain to the 1st Division of the Tirah Expeditionary Force in 1897 1898, for which he received the India medal and two clasps. He also acted as Chaplain to the Viceroy’s escort in the first Durbar at Delhi in 1902, and as chaplain to the Commander in Chief’s encampment at the King’s Durbar in 1911 1912. Robert went as chaplain with the Indian Expeditionary Force to Mesopotamia in November 1914, and for six months was the only Chaplain with the Division. After four months’ sick leave in India he was sent home in November 1915 in bad health and died on 21 May 1916 after a severe operation. He was buried with military honours in the Kensington Cemetery, Hanwell. Robert was a keen sportsman and a good cricketer, playing in the MCC and Incogniti matches.

Kelsey, Captain Arthur Edward b. ? March 1865; d. 26 Feb 1918

SPS 1875 1883

Hospital Ship Glenart Castle Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton Age 52 years, 11 months

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 17

Arthur Edward Kelsey249 249 Courtesy Historic Collections of the Institute of Naval Medicine

The oldest OP to be killed in action is Captain Arthur Edward Kelsey (SPS 1875 1883), age 52 years and 11 months. Arthur had been an Exhibitioner of Trinity College, Cambridge. At the time of the outbreak of war he had retired from the Navy with the rank of Fleet Surgeon, but soon after August 1914 he gave his services for two years to the Red Cross hospitals in France. He gained a commission in the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1917 and volunteered for service on a hospital ship. On 26 February 1918 he was serving on the Hospital Ship Glenart Castle, travelling from England to France when it was torpedoed at 4 am west of Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. The ship sank in seven minutes in seas so rough that only seven lifeboats could be launched, and these with the greatest difficulty. A survivor provided the following account:

The order [for lifeboat drill] was scarcely given when came the muffled sound of an exploding torpedo far below the waterline, followed by a shock, which told us that the boat was done for. … Almost everybody aboard was asleep at the time, and most of the men tumbled to the deck in the scantiest attire. Few saved more than trousers and shirt, and probably nine men out of every ten were barefooted. The men assigned to the starboard lifeboats found them useless, either the boats or the davits being smashed by the shock of the explosion. Meanwhile great difficulty was experienced in launching the lifeboats on the port side owing to the peculiar tilt the vessel was taking as it prepared to go down, stern foremost. … A large number of the men were compelled to jump into the sea with lifebelts, and few of these survived, for the sea was so rough that it was impossible to rescue them from the lifeboats. … Waves twenty feet high, churned up by the nasty cross current, dashed over our [life]boat continuously and we bailed for our lives.250

HM Hospital Ship Glenart Castle251 250 Account by Quartermaster Shitler, published in The New York Times, 28 Feb 1918. 251 Unknown provenance

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 18

H.8

Along with 152 others, Arthur went down with the ship. He is remembered on the Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton.

8.3 The deadliest day in SPS military history: 1 July 1916

Eleven OPs fell in the Somme sector on 1 July 1916, each drawing their final breath on that first day of the Somme campaign, a battle which claimed during its first twenty four hours nearly 60,000 British casualties, 19,240 of whom were killed. The average age of the eleven OPs who fell on that day is 24: the youngest, age 20, is Oliver Edwin Saltmarshe (SPS 1909 1912); the eldest, age 39, was was Cyril Harry Shepard (SPS 1893 1894). Cyril’s biography is presented below.

H.9 OPs who fell at the Somme, 1 July 1916. (For biographies of J S Engall and A J W Pearson see Chapters 1 and Chapter 8 respectively.)

Surname

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 19

Pearson A J W Lt 1909 14 Royal Fusiliers 21

Saffery L H 2nd Lt 1906 11 Royal Dublin Fusiliers 23

Saltmarshe O E Lt 1909 12 Royal West Surrey 20

Shepard C H 2nd Lt 1893 94 Devonshire Regiment 39

Spatz W R C 2nd Lt 1907 11 Middlesex Regiment 22

Telfer H A Lt 1904 09 Yorkshire Light Infantry 23

Shepard, 2nd Lt Cyril Harry b. 20 Dec 1877; d. 1 July 1916

SPS 1893 1896 9th (Service) Bn. Devonshire Regiment Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz

Grave epitaph: I Am The Resurrection And The Life Age 39

Cyril Harry Shepard252

Cyril was born on 20 December 1877, the son of Henry D Shepard, an architect, and his wife, Harriet. The record does not betray Cyril’s chosen profession after attending SPS (1893

252

British Army, Lloyds Of London Memorial Roll 1914 1919

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 20

1896) but at the time he volunteered to serve he was employed as an Underwriter’s Clerk at Lloyds of London. The 1911 Census records him living with his sister and one servant at 41 Blackheath Park, London. In February 1915 he rejoined the Inns of Court OTC, in which he had formerly served for four years with the rank of Private.

Cyril’s younger brother, Ernest Howard (b. 10 December 1879), also attended SPS (1894 1896.) Ernest volunteered to fight and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 105th Siege Battery, RGA. He was awarded the MC in 1917 when his unit was in action at Arras. The citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. As forward Observation Officer he continued to observe and send back valuable information, in spite of heavy shell and machine gun fire. His courage and coolness were conspicuous.253

Ernest survived the war and developed his career as an artist, a profession in which he achieved fame as the illustrator of A A Milne’s Winnie the Pooh material.

On 4 May 1915 Cyril was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the 9th (Service) Bn. Devon Regiment with whom he served in France from 22 May. In the early morning of 1 July 1916 the 9th (Service) Bn. Devonshire Regiment were in the frontline trenches (referenced as F.11.6, F.11.7 and F.11.8) at Mansel Copse, a short distance to the south of Mametz.

H.10 Map showing trenches F.11.6, F.11.7 and F.11.8 in which 9th (Service) Bn. Devonshire Regiment formed up in the early morning of 1 July 1916.254

253

The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 July 1917 p 7244 254 TNA WO 95 1653 1 4

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 21

The objective of the battalion was to establish a new line: from “B” in ‘B. M.90’ [see map below], thence along sunken road to [the] junction of Orchard Trench North with Orchard Alley and then Orchard Alley to [the] junction with Apple Alley.255

H.11 Map showing the British frontline (blue) and German trenches (red) in front of Mametz. Mansel Copse is shown in the middle bottom, under the ‘B’ and ‘R’ of ‘British’.256

255

TNA WO 95 1656 1 1 Provision Operation Orders By Lieut Colonel H I Storey, Commanding 9th Battalion Devonshire Regiment 256 TNA WO 95 2015 1 3

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 22

Men were instructed to carry into battle:

I. Rifle and equipment less pack, II. 2 bandoliers of SAA in addition to ammunition carried in his equipment, III. Haversack on back containing two tins of meat and eight hard biscuits, and canteen pack with emergency grocery ration, IV. Mackintosh sheet with jersey rolled inside fixed on to waistbelt in small of the back by supporting straps from the pack, V. Three sandbags carried under the flap of the haversack, VI. Two Mills Grenade bombs carried in lower jacket pockets, VII. Two smoke helmets.257

H.12 Panorama (contained in the 20th Brigade) diary looking north from behind Mansel Copse, the top of which can be observed directly above ‘4 degrees’.258

257

TNA WO 95 1656 1 1 Provision Operation Orders By Lieut Colonel H I Storey, Commanding 9th Battalion Devonshire Regiment 258 TNA WO 95 1653 1 4

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 23

By 9.30 am it was clear that the attack was not proceeding according to plan.

A Report in the 20th Brigade diary states that:

The 9th [Bn.] Devonshire Regiment had advanced at 7.27 am in touch with 2nd Border Regiment [on the right], but on reaching our front line in the vicinity of Mansel Copse came under a heavy artillery and machine gun barrage, and suffered severely. … The battalion moved on steadily at first, but the leading companies losing all their officers soon after entering the hostile trenches, and having to pass over trenches completely wrecked by beyond recognition by shell fire, became somewhat disorganised and remained in the vicinity of Tirpitz Trench and Shrine Alley, collected in small parties, and engaging the enemy in front and behind them wherever met. They undoubtedly did great service in keeping the enemy engaged, and in clearing the trenches, and sent back many prisoners. They did not however succeed in getting into touch with the battalions on their right and left, and failed to carry out the task of clearing the ‘dug outs’ in the wooded bank west of the railway.. At 7.40 am the reserve Company of this battalion had been ordered forward by the CO to reinforce his attenuated lines in front, but losing all officers before reaching the front German line, this Company also became disorganised in the difficult terrain in which it found itself. … [At 1pm] the enemy continued to hold out strongly, and heavy machine gun fire [was] reported to be coming from the direction of Fricourt, Fricourt Wood [and] Mametz. … The situation of the 9th Devonshire Regiment was confused, but it was certain that … they had been heavily engaged in difficult ground, that they were hanging on well, but were not advancing, and

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 24

that their numbers were very much reduced. … [Nevertheless] at 4.05 pm Mametz Village was in our possession.259

The battalion diary, seemingly composed in real time, states that ‘the right is being held up and bombed back by parties of the enemy from Mametz.’260 Upon further investigation it was found that:

No 4 Coy had been held up by heavy machine gun fire and that all officers and senior NCOs of this Coy had become casualties. One Lance Corporal was found and sent forward with some men from Mansel Copse to collect the remainder of the Coy who were lying in the low ground in front of the Copse. He was given orders to take then forward …. [Later in the day it became clear] that all officers of the battalion except G E Porter had become casualties.261

By 9.30 pm on 3 July total casualties of 9th (Service) Bn were listed as: killed 8 officers and 133 other ranks; wounded 9 officers and 259 other ranks; missing 55 other ranks.262 During 2 3 July parties were sent out to collect the dead and convey the bodies to Mansel Copse for burial, in trench F.11.7. Cyril’s body was recovered and he was duly buried with one hundred and twelve others from 9th (Service) Bn. On 4 July a ceremony was held and a wooden cross erected with the following words inscribed upon it: ‘The Devonshires held this trench; the Devonshires hold it still’.

H.13 Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz263

259

TNA WO 95 1653 1 4. From Report on the Operations of the 20th Infantry Brigade in the vicinity of Mametz 1 3 July 1916. Appendix A 260

TNA WO 95 1656 1 1 261

TNA WO 95 1656 1 1 262

TNA WO 95 1656 1 1 263 Courtesy CWGC

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 25

8.4 Pauline Poets

Four Pauline poets of note fell in the war. Their average age was 30. The youngest to fall was Henry William Hutchinson (SPS 1910 1916), age 19; the oldest to fall was Robert Ernest Vernede, age 41.

H.14 Table of Pauline poets who fell Surname Initials Rank Award Yrs at SPS Regiment / Corps Age at death

Hutchinson H W 2nd Lt 1910 1916 Leicestershire Regiment 19

Mackintosh E A Lt MC 1909 1912 Seaforth Highlanders 24

Thomas P E 2nd Lt 1894 1895 RGA 39 Vernede R E 2nd Lt 1889 1894 Rifle Brigade 41

Hutchinson, 2nd Lt Henry William b. 16 June 1897 ; d. 13 March 1917 SPS 1910 – 1916 2/4th Bn. Leicestershire Regiment Asservillers New British Cemetery

Grave epitaph: Translated From the Warfare Of The World Into The Peace Of God Age 19

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 26

Henry William Hutchinson264

Henry was born on 16 June 1897, the middle of three sons to Sir Sidney Hutchinson, Kt., (Director General of Telegraphs in India, retired) and Lady Margaret Hutchinson of 22 Edith Road, West Kensington. All three brothers attended SPS and served in the war: Henry’s elder brother, John Cayley Hutchinson (SPS 1907 1910), served as a Lieutenant in the Indian Army. He was killed on 5 August 1915, age 22 and is buried at Rue Du Bacquerot No 1 Military Cemetery, Laventie. Henry’s younger brother, Arthur Sidney Hutchinson (SPS 1909 1916), served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Middlesex Regiment. He survived the war.

Henry attended SPS from 1910 to 1916. A Prefect, he frequently addressed the Union and was developing into a speech maker of some ability. Henry played for the 2nd XV 1915 1916 and his literary prowess equipped him well in his role as an Editor of The Pauline. He appears to have been highly popular and one of the most interesting of friends. In his final year at St Paul’s he had won an Exhibition at New College, Oxford. He twice won the Milton Prize with his poems The Crossing and Zopyrus. He is assuredly ‘H.W.H’, the author of the following verses published in The Pauline:

Sonnets [1]

I see across the chasm of flying years

The pyre of Dido on the vacant shore, I see Medea’s fury and hear the roar Of rushing flames, the new bride’s burning tears; And ever as still another vision peers Thro’ memory's mist to stir me more and more, I say that surely I have lived before And known this joy and trembled with these fears. The passion that they show me burns so high; Their love, in me who have not looked on love, So fiercely flames; so wildly comes the cry Of stricken women the warrior’s call above, That I would gladly lay me down and die To wake again where Helen and Hector move.

Sonnets [2]

The falling rain is music overhead, The dark night, lit by no intruding star, Fit covering yields to thoughts that roam afar And turn again familiar paths to tread, Where many a laden hour too quickly sped In happier times, before the dawn of war,

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 27

Before the spoiler had whet his sword to mar

The faithful living and the mighty dead.

It is not that my soul is weighed with woe, But rather wonder, seeing they do but sleep. As birds that in the sinking summer sweep Across the heaven to happier climes to go, So they are gone; and sometimes we must weep, And sometimes, smiling, murmur “Be it so!”265

In Memoriam (H.C.D Field and others ) by ‘H W H’

H C D Field does not appear in the St Paul’s School Register. The initials may perhaps reference both Howard Field (SPS 1907 1912) and his brother Cyril Decimus Field (SPS 1909 1914). The brothers served in the Worcestershire Regiment and both were killed in Gallipoli in 1915, Cyril on 4 June age 19 and Howard on 6 August age 21. The bodies of both were lost. Howard and Cyril are remembered on the Helles Memorial.

Cyril Decimus Field photographed with the 1st XV 1912 1913266

265

The Pauline, 35 231 April 1917 p 42

266 St Paul’s School Archive

267

The Pauline, 38 251 Feb 1920 pp 13 15, originally published in The Upper Fifth Magazine, No. 10, vol. iii, July 1915

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 28

In Memoriam (H.C.D Field and others)267

Where in the meadows, and across the sea

The Nations’ death cry echoes down the wind Where all the powers of hellish tyranny Combine to wreck the peace of human kind, Where light is darkness and the living blind!

Where in the midst of universal war Of long lament and never ending fears, Heart stricken Nature listens to the roar Of clashing armies, and with idle tears Sees fall in ruin the work of countless years

Where plague and panic move across the earth And Death pursues his unresisted way; Where every fleeting moment sees the birth Of prodigies undreamt, and dull decay Extends from hour to hour his sullen sway

Hither they came, there fell, and in the cause Of justice, life, their best possession, gave, And where the anger of the ocean roars Along the barren coast and many a wave Mourns in the night, they hold a lonely grave.

So has it ever been, and so shall be For ever, and the destiny that spares The shallow heart, descends unansweringly Upon the best and worthiest, and bears The corn away, and leaves us but the tares.

They speak of the nobility of war “How grand a thing the battle is!” they cry. Fools, who have never heard the cannons’ roar Or marked the long drawn cry of them that die, Or looked upon the strong man in his agony!

Not in the might of murder and shed blood Will those that seek find out nobility, But in the strength that stands against the flood Of fury and the rage of tyranny, And strikes for honour and for liberty.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 29

Not in the lust of conquest and desire

Of subjugation is true honour found, Not in the licence born of sword and fire And noble cities stricken to the ground And cry of conquered peoples all around.

Not in the undue thirst for rule and power, That oftentimes hath turned this earth to hell, Not in the rage that makes life’s fleeting hour A little shorter, and with hideous spell Works deeds of horror such as none may tell.

Not here is honour or nobility, Not here the glory of the well fought fight But they who stand against it, they shall be Deemed noble, who the standard rear of right, And strive against the bloody law of might.

And such were these, who now have passed away Such in the honour of a noble end, Such in the strength that strove against the sway Of tyranny and ever rose a friend

The cause of truth and justice to defend. Enough! there is no cause for sorrow here! Enough! the Muse allows us but to shed The mournful tribute of a single tear, And smiling cries, yet with averted head “With tears ye honour not the mighty dead !”

Weep not for these, they need not you should weep, Nature hath made their sepulchre, they lie Lulled by the murmurs of the sobbing deep That lifts its voice to all that journey by: “PEACE IS WITH THEM, AND DEATH IS TURNED TO VICTORY.”268

Directly upon leaving SPS, Henry joined the army and served as 2nd Lieutenant in 2/4th battalion Leicestershire Regiment. After a period of service in Ireland the unit arrived in 268 The Pauline, 38 251 Feb 1920 pp

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 30

France for the first time on 25 February 1917 and was thrown into the trenches four and a half miles south west of Peronne. Henry had been in the front line trench in front of Berny en Santerre for only two days when he was shot by a sniper on 13 March and killed instantaneously, thereby achieving the unwelcome distinction of becoming the first soldier in his unit to fall since it moved to France.

The battalion diary states that Henry was killed while in the front line trench that runs through Aps Wood at T.4.a.8.4.

H.15 Trench map showing Aps Wood. (The blue line is the British front; the red lines represent German trenches.)269

Henry was initially buried at 62C. N.27.c.3.6, a short distance south of Belloy en Santerre. His body was exhumed after the war as part of the concentration of burials process and newly interred at Asservillers New British Cemetery.

Mackintosh, Lt Ewart Alan MC b. 4 March 1893; d. 21 November 1917

1/5th (The Sutherland and Caithness) Bn. Seaforth Highlanders

SPS 1909 – 1912

Orival Wood Cemetery, Flesquieres Age 24 269 WO 95 3022 4. Map, National Library of Scotland

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 31

Ewart was born on 4 March 1893 in Brighton, the only son of the late Alexander Mackintosh and his wife Lilian Rogers, the daughter of Guinness Rogers, an intimate friend of William Gladstone, after whom Ewart was named. In his early years he attended Brighton College, from where he won a scholarship to SPS. After attending SPS (1909 1912) Ewart proceeded to Christ Church, Oxford as a Classical Scholar. The outbreak of war interrupted his studies and in December 1914 he enlisted with 1/5th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders, initially having been rejected because of deficient eyesight. (Despite his southern birthplace, Ewart had high regard for his Scottish ancestry, epitomised by his learning to play the bagpipes and to speak Gaelic.) He crossed to France with his unit in July 1915.

Ewart was awarded the MC for a raid undertaken on 16 May 1916. The citation reads: 2nd Lt. (temp. Lt.) Ewart Alan Mackintosh, 1/5th Bn., Sea. Highrs., T.F. For conspicuous gallantry. He organised and led a successful raid on the enemy’s trenches with great skill and courage. Several of the enemy were disposed of and a strong point destroyed. He also brought back two wounded men under heavy fire.271

The raid Operation Order stipulated that on the night of 16 May:

Two parties, A and B, will carry out the raid under Lieuts. Mackintosh and Mackay. Three RE [i.e. Royal Engineers] will accompany each party and will be provided with explosives, fuzes and detonators with a view to destroying any mine shirt, emplacements, or ammunition which it may be possible to deal with. … Lieut E A Mackintosh will be in charge of A Party and in command of the whole raid. … At X.15 the rading [sic] parties will move into the craters

270 Image from For Remembrance: soldier poets who have fallen in the war, facing p 160, (1920)

271 LG:29637/24 June 1916(C)

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 32

Ewart Alan Mackintosh

which are their jumping off positions. At X.25 exactly the Artillery on the salient will lift and the raiding parties will immediately rush forwards. The Artillery will not cease firing; they will merely lift, and the Infantry must distinctly understand that they start off at X.25 exactly. The time X. will be notified to all concerned later. Lieut Mackintosh will give the Signal for the return of the party by means of a syren whistle, but it is not anticipated that the raid will take more than 10 minutes.272

The operation is described thus in the battalion diary:

Bn. [battalion] employed in working parties. In the evening at 8.10pm after an artillery preparation 2 raiding parties under Lts Mackintosh and 2 Lt Mackay entered German lines on both sides of Salient at Pt 127. 7 Germans were killed by being either shot or bayonetted and 5 dug outs full of Germans were bombed. Also 1 dugout was blown up by RE [Royal Engineers]. All our party returned except one man who was left dead in German lines. It is estimated that German casualties must have been between 60 and 70. Our casualties were 2, Lt Mackay slightly wounded, 2 men killed and 14 wounded. Two of the wounded have since died.

The precise location of the attack was in the salient in M1 Sector at 51B NW A.22.a.9.9, close to Roclincourt, about three miles north of Arras.

H.16 Map showing the M1 Sector and Point 127.273 (Green line: German line; Red line: GB front line; Red dotted line: new GB line under construction; Blue line: main GB support line.)

272

TNA WO 95 2861 1 6 Copy of Operation Order Issued by OC 1/5th Seaforth Highlanders [Lt Col A H Spooner] for the Raid on enemy’s trenches on night of 16 17 May.

273 TNA WO 95 2861 1 6

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 33

Accompanying the Order is a narrative of the raid by the CO of the battalion, Lt Col A H Spooner, in which he describes how:

Both parties rose from their respective craters at 8.10 pm and rapidly crossed the open space to the German trench without opposition. On dropping into the [German] trench Dug Outs were found under the parapet, 3 on the Southern face of the salient, 2 on the Northern. Two Germans were bayonetted in the trench and 5 were shot. The Dug Outs were heavily bombed until the shouts and then the cries of their occupants ceased, and finally a specially big Dug Out at the point of the Salient had a land mine thrown down into it and was completely blown up. A sentry box very strongly fortified with wood and sandbags was also blown up. 7 Germans were killed in the trench by bullet or bayonet and 5 Dug Outs full of men were effectively bombed. … [During the raid we suffered] one man killed and his body was left owing to the difficulty of getting the wounded away. … Our morale has undoubtedly

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 34

been raised by the raid and the men were full of enthusiasm on returning. I consider the whole raid was well handled and executed by Lieut Mackintosh.274

A somewhat alternative narrative is provided by Ewart in a letter he composed to his sister, describing how he won his MC. It reads as follows: You will probably have noticed in the official report that a raid was made on 16th [May] on the trenches at . That, my dearest, was me and I don’t want to do another. We killed seven Germans in the trench and about thirty or forty more in their dug out. I should say they would have lost about thirty more by our artillery. Our losses were slight, but three of my men had their legs blown off in the Boches’ trench and we had to pull them out and get them back. I and Charles M and Sergeant G were alone, and I can tell you it was no joke pulling a helpless man a yard, and then throwing a bomb to keep the Boches back then pulling him another yard and throwing another bomb. Charles was guarding our left while Sergeant G and I got our man up on the parapet with both his legs pulped. Then I went back for the next. Poor devil! He screamed, ‘Ma airm and ma leg’s off’ to me again and again. I was wasting no sympathy just then. Said I, ‘Crawl on your other arm and leg, then,’ and lugged him up. Sergeant M had got back to our own trench, but he returned to us and helped me get my man up into the open. We went back for the next man and he said, ‘Leave me. I’m done.’ Both his legs were off, so I said, ‘None of that, my lad, you’re coming with us.’ He died on the Boche parapet and we had to leave him. We got the other two home. Sergeant M and Charles got wounded, but they both came back to us again until the men were in. I just gave myself up. The shrapnel was bursting right in my face and the machine guns ugh! I wasn’t touched except for a hole in my hose top. I didn’t stop swearing the whole time, except when I was praying but I’d promised the men that I wouldn’t leave the Boche trench while there was a man alive in it and I kept my word. One poor devil was a Catholic; he started confessing to me, thinking I was a priest I meanwhile praying, ‘O God, let us get these poor beggars in.’ All the men I have brought in have died. I believe I’ve been recommended for the Military Cross, but I’d rather have the boys’ lives. If I get one, I'll get home on special leave soon. I’ve had my taste of a show. It’s not romantic. It’s hell.275

One of the two men listed as killed on the day of this raid and whose body was lost is Private David Sutherland. In his capacity as a junior officer, Ewart will have come to know David well, especially through his duty of reading for censorship reasons letters home penned by

274 TNA WO 95 2861 1 6 Raid Carried Out on Evening of 16 May 1916

275 Ewart to his sister in a letter published in War, The Liberator, Mackintosh, E A (London, 1918), A Voice From the Front by Coningsby Dawson. Ewart also references his experience on 16 May 1916 in his short story A Raid, published in War, The Liberator, Mackintosh, E A (London, 1918),

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 35

men in his platoon a realisation that explains some of the detail in the poem In Memoriam, composed by Ewart in memory of the David.

In Memoriam

So you were David’s father, And he was your only son, And the new cut peats are rotting And the work is left undone, Because of an old man weeping, Just an old man in pain, For David, his son David, That will not come again.

Oh, the letters he wrote you, And I can see them still, Not a word of the fighting, But just the sheep on the hill And how you should get the crops in Ere the year get stormier, And the Bosches have got his body, And I was his officer.

You were only David’s father, But I had fifty sons When we went up in the evening Under the arch of the guns, And we came back at twilight O God! I heard them call

To me for help and pity That could not help at all.

Oh, never will I forget you, My men that trusted me, More my sons than your fathers’, For they could only see The little helpless babies And the young men in their pride. They could not see you dying, And hold you while you died.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 36

Happy and young and gallant, They saw their first born go, But not the strong limbs broken And the beautiful men brought low, The piteous writhing bodies, They screamed “Don’t leave me, sir”, For they were only your fathers But I was your officer.276

In August 1916 Ewart was wounded when his battalion was serving in High Wood in the Somme sector. He duly penned a short story about his time in this Wood In The Wood published posthumously in War, The Liberator and Other Pieces. An extract from that story references a ‘Subaltern’, surely autobiographical in its status:

The Subaltern felt that he ought to get out, but somehow he couldn’t. What if the barrage started again and caught him in the open? He climbed out and stood on the edge ready to jump down again if another shell came. From the next trench stretcher bearers moved towards him looking for wounded. Almost beside him a man lay in a dabble of blood; you would have thought him asleep until you saw half his head lying beside him cut neatly off by a big piece of shell. Farther over they had dug out the buried men, but only one was alive. The Corporal, who had worked so gallantly in the bombardment, collapsed suddenly with twitching hands and staring, frightened eyes, proclaiming the shell shock he had held off while the work had to be done. Stretcher bearers came, carrying broken moaning wounded. The Subaltern, shamed by their calm, braced himself and stepped into the open.277

On 4 August 1916 Ewart was treated in Casualty Clearing Station No. 34, his wound described as ‘J C J, Knee (L)’. 278 He was transferred to CCS No. 30 on 4 August and returned to England for a period of eight months convalescence, during which time he was based at Cambridge.

Ewart returned to the front in October 1917, attached to the 1/4th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders.279 On the morning of 21 November the battalion moved past Flesquieres towards the frontline at Cantaing. (See map H.17.)

276 Published in Mackintosh, E A War, The Liberator (London, 1918) 277 Published in Mackintosh, E A War, The Liberator (London, 1918) 278 MH 106/749

279 TNA WO 95 2888 1. 3 Oct 1917.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 37

H.17 Map showing the disposition of Companies of 1/4th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders in front of Cantaing on 21 November 1917. Fontaine Notre Dame is shown at the top of the map.280

The advance was halted when it encountered machine gun fire from the Cantaing Line and Anneux, resuming only after the arrival of tanks. After successfully taking Cantaing the advance continued, along with the tanks, and captured Fontaine Notre Dame. It was at some point during these operations that Ewart was killed, apparently while observing enemy movements under heavy fire.

Ewart was cut down in his poetic prime. In response to the publication of A Highland Regiment in 1917 a correspondent to The Times said:

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 38

When a few months ago ‘A Highland Regiment’ was published by the Bodley Head, literary men on both sides of the Atlantic were quick to recognize that the war had created a new heroic poet. His poem ‘Cha Till Maccruimein’, written on the departure of a battalion of the Camerons, is amongst the most valuable contributions to Scottish literature of the past fifty years.281

The Daily Graphic considered the collection ‘One of the most notable poetic harvests of the war.’ An anonymous review in The Pauline assessed the work of E. A. Mackintosh thus:

The list of Old Paulines contains several of the most distinguished names in current literature. And now another has adorned it by his genius, though not yet by his fame. It is not long since E. A. Mackintosh left the school, and he is remembered by some still with us. One gathers from this volume (‘A Highland Regiment’ by Lieutenant E. A. Mackintosh, MC) that he has for long been a poet, and indeed some of the poems were first printed in our pages, but his inspiration dates entirely from the outbreak of the war. His pre war pieces bear the stamp of the minor poet, that is to say of the mere poet. Clever they are and at times musical, but they have too much of the air of being written in the clouds, where earthly conditions are imperfectly understood; they amuse the mind, but fail to touch the heart. Before the war everything was becoming vague, misty, and indeterminate; and these poems share the general unreality.

But the war seems to have worked a complete change in his nature, so that the simple intellectual is roused into a man of action, and the devotee of peace and opponent of militarism, fighting like a hero wins the Military Cross. And he is no longer a minor poet. The stirring atmosphere apparently affected him even before he entered the Army. ‘The Last Meeting’ and ‘Ave atque Vale’ deal with a theme that had often occupied him before, but the spirit of them is entirely different. The haze and the faltering indefiniteness are gone; we see instead the sure hand of the master of words who is also in touch with facts. But these are not his supreme efforts. He is seen at his best in the poems that he wrote under the direct influence of the war. One of the finest of them is entitled ‘Cha Till Maccruimein.’ The second stanza is as follows:

And every lad in his heart was dreaming Of honour and wealth to come, And honour and noble pride were calling

To the tune of the pipes and drum; But I was hearing a woman singing On dark Dunvegan shore, ‘In battle or peace, with wealth or honour,

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 39

MacCrimmon comes no more.

Here surely emerges the true poet. The straight simplicity coupled with infinite suggestion, the ease coupled with command of effects, the brooding melancholy expressed throughout, and in the very sound of the name Dunvegan, show a rare quality of art. Remarkable too is ‘Miserere Domine’, in which the pain and agony of warfare is described with such intensity that it moves delight, and the horror with an unsparing realism that renders it beautiful. The only one of his war poems that approaches failure is ‘In No Man's Land,’ where the humour is too recondite to be successful. But there is no doubt about the success of that addressed to his sister, which contrasts the joy of death in battle with the sadness of those who are left behind. It is probably the greatest that he has produced, and it depicts the glory of heroism in a manner to be expected from a man who begins a statement of his creed with:

Out of the womb of time and dust of the years forgotten, Spirit and fire enclosed in mutable flesh and bone, Came by a road unknown the thing that is me for ever, The lonely soul of a man that stands by itself alone.

But perhaps the most affecting of his poems was written in memory of certain of his men who were killed in a German trench. Here is the conclusion of it:

Oh, never will I forget you, My men that trusted me, More my sons than your fathers’, For they could only see The little helpless babies And the young men in their pride. They could not see you dying, And hold you while you died. Happy and young and gallant, They saw their first born go, But not the strong limbs broken And the beautiful men brought low, The piteous writhing bodies, They screamed, ‘Don't leave me, sir,’ For they were only your fathers But I was your officer.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 40

There is nothing mediocre about this. How direct it is, and how moving! How effortless, and how the words seem to have dropped into their places! None but a true born son of the Muses could have spoken so.282

Thomas, 2nd Lieutenant (Philip) Edward b. 3 March 1878; d. 9 April 1917 SPS 1894 1895 244th Siege Battery, RGA Agny Military Cemetery Grave epitaph: Poet Age 39 (Philip) Edward Thomas

Edward was born on 3 March 1878, the son of Philip Henry Thomas and his wife Mary Elizabeth. Robert Francis Cholmeley, a Master at St Paul’s School from 1886 to 1909 recalled Edward thus:

In 1894 there came into the History Eighth a tall, fair, shy boy of sixteen, whose immediate ambition was to win a scholarship and go to Oxford. Family reasons compelled him to leave school in April 1895, and that particular ambition was not realized until three years later,

282

The Pauline Vol 35 April 1917 No 231 pp 40 41

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 41

when he became a scholar of Lincoln. Probably few of his contemporaries knew him at all: and yet no one who caught a glimpse of that delicate genius is likely ever to forget it.283

After leaving SPS (1894 1894) Edward proceeded to Lincoln College, Oxford to read History. After Oxford Edward was determined to live his life by the pen: by the outbreak of the war he was receiving an income from his work as a literary critic and biographer, and revenues from a novel The Happy Go Lucky Morgans, published in 1913. Edward’s last book before joining the Army in 1915 was a study of the distinguished OP, John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough.284

Edward enlisted in the 1/28th (County of London) Bn. (Artist’s Rifles) London Regiment July 1915, age 37. In November 1916 he was commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery as 2nd Lieutenant and served in 244th Siege Battery, RGA.

After joining up Edward published some poems under the name of Edward Eastaway in a volume put together by Mr R C Trevelyan. (At the time of his death another volume was going through the press.) Edward is considered to have produced only one war poem per se This Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong but much of his poetry is shaped by the influence of war on the natural order.

This Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong

This is no case of petty right or wrong

That politicians or philosophers Can judge. I hate not Germans, nor grow hot With love of Englishmen, to please newspapers. Beside my hate for one fat patriot My hatred of the Kaiser is love true: A kind of god he is, banging a gong. But I have not to choose between the two, Or between justice and injustice. Dinned With war and argument I read no more Than in the storm smoking along the wind Athwart the wood. Two witches’ cauldrons roar. From one the weather shall rise clear and gay; Out of the other an England beautiful And like her mother that died yesterday. Little I know or care if, being dull,

283 The Pauline, 35 232 June 1917 pp 67 68

284 Thomas, E The Life of the Duke of Marlborough (1915)

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 42

I shall miss something that historians Can rake out of the ashes when perchance

The phoenix broods serene above their ken. But with the best and meanest Englishmen I am one in crying, God save England, lest

We lose what never slaves and cattle blessed. The ages made her that made us from dust: She is all we know and live by, and we trust She is good and must endure, loving her so: And as we love ourselves we hate our foe.285

On 9 April 244th battery was located in a disused quarry pit a few hundred yards south of the village of Achicourt, a short distance south of Arras. The following account of Edward’s death was penned by Major Franklyn Lushington, C O 244th Siege Battery, RGA:

[On 8 April] a 5.9” [shell] plunged into the ground a foot from [Edward], and failed to explode, though the wind of its passing knocked him down. That night in the mess somebody said, “Thomas, you were evidently born to live through this war,” and they all drank to his health. At 7 o’clock the next morning he was killed at the O.P. [i.e. Observation Post] by a direct hit through the chest.286

Edward’s commanding officer wrote to Edward’s wife, Helen, informing her that:

We buried [Edward] in a little military cemetery [ now known as Agny Military Cemetery ] a few hundred yards from the battery … As we stood by his grave, the sun came up and the guns round seemed to stop firing for a short time.287

Edward’s obituary published in The Pauline opined that:

It is customary, when such a man is so cut off in his prime, to speak of the loss to English literature, and it is a real loss, for he wrote well and truly of things that are worth writing about; but he would have been the last to admit that any one ought to think of him in that way; whatever he had, or was, or could be, was quite naturally and ungrudgedly at the service of his fellows, and it is as one to whom that view of life was a constant inspiration that he ought to be remembered. Though he wrote in prose, he had the soul of a poet; and

285 The poem was composed on 26 December 1915, at which time Edward had been in the army for six months though had yet to cross to France.

286 Severn, M, The Gambardier: Giving Some Account of the Heavy and Siege Artillery in France 1914 1918 pp 128 9

287 Quoted in Hollis, M, Now All Roads Lead to France (Faber and Faber, 2011) p 333

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 43

perhaps it is only the poet who can be to the fullest extent a Happy Warrior; at any rate Edward Thomas was both, and as both he deserves to be reckoned among those to whom we owe a special debt of affection and gratitude.288

Edward is commemorated in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Vernede, 2nd Lt Robert Ernest b. 4 June 1875; died 9 April 1917 SPS 1889 1894

5th (Reserve) Bn. Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), attd. 12th (Service) Bn. Rifle Brigade Lebucquiere Communal Cemetery Extension Grave epitaph: Poet And Author Age 41

To Our Fallen

Ye Sleepers, who will sing you? We can but give our tears

Ye dead men, who shall bring you Fame in the coming years?

Brave souls . . . but who remembers

288

The Pauline, 35 232 June 1917 pp 67 68

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 44

Robert Ernest Vernede

The flame that fired your embers? . . .

Deep, deep the sleep that holds you Who one time had no peers.

Yet maybe Fame’s but seeming And praise you’d set aside, Content to go on dreaming, Yea, happy to have died

If of all things you prayed for All things your valour paid for One prayer is not forgotten, One purchase not denied.

But God grants your dear England

A strength that shall not cease Till she have won for all the Earth From ruthless men release, And made supreme upon her Mercy and Truth and Honour Is this the thing you died for? Oh, Brothers, sleep in peace!289

Robert was born in London on 4 June 1875, the second of three sons of Oscar Vernede and his wife Annie.290 He was French by descent, his branch of the Vernede family being Huguenots who had fled from France upon the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Fellow Pauline and pen pusher, G K Chesterton (SPS 1887 1892) recalled that:

[Robert] had in everything, even his very appearance, something that can only be called distinction; something that might be called, in the finer sense, race. This was perhaps the only thing about him, except his name and his critical temper, that suggested something French. I remember his passing a polished and almost Meredithian epigram to me in class: it was, I regret to say, an unfriendly reflection on the French master, and even on the French nation in his person; but I remember thinking, even at the time, that it was rather a French thing to do.291

289

290

Robert Ernest Vernede. These verses first appeared in The Times, 28 December 1914

Arthur Henry (b. 30 September 1872) and Charles Oscar (b. 6 June 1877) both attended SPS

291

The Pauline, 232 June 1917 pp 67 69

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 45

During his time at SPS (1889 1894) Robert won the Milton Prize in 1893 for his poem Christopher Columbus and in the following year took an Exhibition at St John’s College, Oxford.292 Upon graduating he married Caroline Howard Fry in 1902 and assumed writing as a profession, in the first instance composing novels and short stories: inter alia, he was the author of The Pursuit of Mr Faviel (1905); Meriel of the Moors (1906); The Judgment of Illingborough (1908) and The June Lady (1911). He produced two books of travel sketches, An Ignorant in India (1911) composed while staying with his brother Arthur, Assistant Magistrate and ‘Collector in Bengal’ and a book on Canada, The Fair Dominion (1911). Meanwhile, he contributed to Black and White and the Bystander. Latterly, Robert turned his hand to poetry, the first of which was England to the Sea, published in The Times on 7 August 1914.

In 1914 Robert was age 39 and thus four years beyond the upper age limit for volunteering, a circumstance that appears to have thwarted his initial attempts to enlist. Eventually, on 4 September 1914, he was accepted by the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) with the rank of Private and was allocated to 19th (Service) Bn. (2nd Public Schools). After several months of training, Robert became convinced that he would be more useful as an officer and duly applied for a commission. Along with his great friend, Frederick Gurney Salter (OP 1889 1895), he was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade on 13 May 1915; however, his delight at the prospect of soldiering alongside Frederick turned to despondency when he learned that he was allocated to the 5th (Reserve) Bn. Rifle Brigade, later attached to the 12th (Service) Bn, and Frederick to the 2nd Bn.293

Robert first arrived in France on 19 Nov 1915. He was wounded in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and returned to England. In a letter dated 2 September he told Caroline his news:

A pleasing Blighty one at last, and almost before you get this I shall, with luck, be in Angle terre with you a coming to see me. It’s shrapnel through the thigh, and hasn’t been pronounced on yet by the medical authorities who have to extract a bit of iron that didn’t go quite through. But as I plunked through the trenches knee deep in mire for six hours afterwards, more or less, it can’t be very bad. … I got it in another show suddenly forced upon us, in which I was in charge of the Coy [i.e. Company] with C [the] only subaltern. A shell plumped neatly between six of us, killed Sgt. Oliver and hit the rest in divers ways. … C Coy, when I last heard of it, is without officers: three platoon sergeants knocked out, two killed both awfully nice fellows, and A rather badly hit. … Advanced to the attack in the full

292 Christopher Columbus is published in its entirety in The Pauline, 11 64 Oct 1893 pp 208 211

293 Frederick served in 2nd Bn. Rifle Brigade. He lost a leg in the course of the war (MH 106/1663. 26 April 1916: ‘ampt, GSW [i.e. Gun Shot Wound] knee’.)

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 46

height of an attack of sickness and a temperature up. All the troops are that, but I never expected to be.294

While convalescing in Sheppey, Robert completed Before the Assault, first published in the Observer on 17 December 1916. He returned to France on 30 December 1916, newly attached to 12th (Service) Bn. Rifle Brigade. It was while serving with this unit that he received his mortal wound in the early morning of 9 April 1917 in the vicinity of the newly established outpost line close to the south western corner of Havrincourt Wood, about six miles south west of Cambrai. The 12th (Service) Bn. diary records that Robert was in the Company ordered to push forward the outpost line and that at 11 pm on 8 April:

The patrols work their way gradually forward. No opposition is met and our right post is established just south of the cross tracks at P.18.b.3.7. At the same time three other posts were pushed forward on to the road running North and South through P.12.a. 2nd Lieut R E Vernede, whilst going out to find his right picquet [post] came under M G [i.e. machine gun] fire and was wounded in the stomach. This would prove fatal, and he died on the way to the Field Ambulance [no. 62].295

H.18 Map showing the likely location in which Robert Vernede was shot. The blue dotted line is the location of the outpost line on 8 April. The brown line represents the British main line of resistance; the solid blue line shows the British second line of resistance. The map shows the ‘cross tracks at P.18.b.3.7’. (The dotted green line is the Brigade boundary).296

294 Vernede, R E, Letters to His Wife (London, 1917) pp 174 175 295 TNA WO 95 2121 296 TNA WO 95 2096 1 4

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 47

Captain Spurling, Rifle Brigade, wrote to Caroline describing the circumstances of her husband’s death. He stated that:

[Robert] was in charge of his platoon on our advance and went forward with a Yorkshire officer, who was in charge of the Company on his right, with his Sgt and Cpl and a couple of his men, and as far as I can gather, came right on top of an enemy machine gun and was very seriously wounded. His men got him back to the Aid Station, but he did not survive the journey on from there. I did not see him personally after he was hit, but his Corporal, who looked after him, said his last words to him were: “Send my love to my wife”. … His grave is in the French cemetery of Lechelle, and yesterday we put up a new cross, and put stones round the grave and planted out a large bowl of daffodils which we had flowering in the mess when we were here together some days ago.297

Fellow Pauline G K Chesterton (SPS 1887 1892) submitted the following obituary to The Pauline:

The death of Robert Ernest Vernede, who fell fighting as a Lieutenant of the Rifle Brigade in the great advance on the Western Front, while so heavy a loss for those of us who loved him, may well be felt by the many more who admired him as something almost like a gain; an addition or completion to that new and shining company of poets whose patriotism turned them into soldiers, and gave them a life and death more worthy of a legend; those poets who have become poems. He had indeed other strings to his lyre, or labours for his pen; his books of travel and criticism had already revealed his appetite for adventure both material and mental; his novels had embodied romances other than his own. Tragedy itself cannot eclipse the gaiety of that farce in the grand style ‘The Pursuit of Mr Faviel’, the reading of which was like a holiday, not to say a honeymoon. It was perhaps the one work of our generation which was genuinely full of the April foolery of ‘The Wrong Box.’ But his poetry will necessarily be the note that vibrates longest in the memory, especially for those most affected by his end. … There was a certain noble contradiction in his life and death that there was also in his very bearing and bodily habit. No man could look more lazy and no man was more active, even physically active. He would move as swiftly as a leopard from something like sleep to something too unexpected to be called gymnastics. It was so that he passed from the English country life he loved so much, with its gardening and dreaming, to an ambush and a German gun. In the lines called ‘Before the Assault’, perhaps the finest of his poems, he showed how clear a vision he carried with him of the meaning of all this agony and the mystery of his own death. No printed controversy or political eloquence could put

297 Quoted in Vernede, R E, Letters to His Wife (London, 1917) pp xii xiii. (The reference to ‘Lechelle’ is inconsistent with the records held by the CWGC.)

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 48

more logically, let alone more poetically, the higher pacifism which is now resolute to dry up at the fountain head the bitter waters of the dynastic wars, than the four lines that run:

Then to our children there shall be no handing, Of fates so vain, of passions so abhorr’d . . .

But Peace .. . the Peace which passeth understanding .. . Not in our time . . . but in their time, O Lord.298

The last line of Robert’s final letter to Caroline read thus: I think it will be summer soon, and perhaps the war will end this year and I shall see my Pretty One again.299

Robert is buried in Lebucquiere Communal Cemetery Extension and commemorated in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. Caroline, reported that ‘His poems brought him appreciation from all parts of the world, and since his death I have had many other kind letters which show his influence was far greater than we knew.’300

8.5 Fallen Friends

It is evident that many Pauline friendships forged and fashioned in the classroom and on the playing field continued to flourish beyond the portals of the school buildings. Many of these friendships were carried forth into the same regiment or corps, but very few OPs served simultaneously in the same battalion, and, of those who did it is uncommon to discover evidence of on going friendship.

Ian Osborne Crombie (SPS 1909 1913) and Eyre Massey Shaw (SPS 1909 1912) served in the 11th (Service) Bn. Middlesex. ‘Two of the best fellows I have ever met’ was the common epitaph from one who knew the intimate life of both. The anonymous observer went on:

A fairer combination of strength; and grace, cemented by mutual respect and elevated by a common ideal seldom have withstood to the end the onslaught of base tyranny. A very warm friendship that had its roots in comradeship at school and the House bound Crombie to Shaw, and the link was never severed.301

298

299

The Pauline, 35 232 June 1917 pp 67 69

Vernede, R E, Letters to His Wife (London, 1917) p 219

300 Vernede, Letters To His Wife, (London, 1917) p viii

301

The Pauline, 34 227 Nov 1916 pp 150 51

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 49

The battalion diary makes several references to these two friends fighting side by side. For instance, on 7 July in the Somme sector:

[At] 7.45 pm. B Coy. Under Capt Crombie, Lt Shaw and 2nd Lt Tatham [and] 50 other ranks crossed [No Man’s Land] to captured trenches without being fired on. Our machine guns covered their advance. Each man carried 20 bombs. …..302

Ian and Eyre fell within hours of each other in an attack on a German Strong Point in the Somme sector located near Pozieres 29 30 July 1916. (See map H.19.)

H.19 Trench map showing the location of the Strong Point (X.3.a.9.5) attacked by Eyre and Ian.303

Shaw, Lt Eyre Massey

b. 15 July 1895; d. 30 July 1916 SPS 1909 1912

5th (Reserve) Bn. attd. 11th (Service) Bn, Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) Warloy Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension, I.D.15

Grave epitaph: There Is No Death Age 21

302 TNA WO 95 1856 2 1(1) 303 NLS. Map 57D.SE, 28 April 1916

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 50

Eyre Massey Shaw

Eyre was born on 15 July 1895, the son of Bernard Vidal Shaw and Gertrude Wynne Shaw of Queen’s Gate, London. (He was the grandson of Sir Eyre Massey Shaw, KCB, the first Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.) After attending SPS (1909 1912) he emigrated to farm in South Africa. After a year he returned to England and entered a shipping office in the City. At the outbreak of war Eyre enlisted with the 5th (Reserve) (Service) Bn. Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment), and had not been long at his new duties when a serious motor bicycle accident laid him on his back for many months. After a successful convalescence he was drafted to the front, to the very Company B Company, 11th (Service) Bn. Middlesex Regiment commanded by his friend, Captain Ian Osborn Crombie.

Eyre was mortally wounded on 29 30 July. At this time the 11th (Service) Bn. Middlesex Regiment were in the front line west of Pozieres. In conjunction with 7th (Service) Bn. the Royal Sussex Regiment, the Middlesex were ordered to undertake an attack on an enemy Strong Point (located at 57D SE X.3.a.9.5, roughly half way between Ovillers la Boisselle and Pozieres) and 100 yards of enemy trench on the left flank of the Strong Point. A party of Middlesex led by Eyre thus made a frontal attack from the south while the Royal Sussexes sought to divert the enemy’s attention by undertaking a diversionary attack on the northern flank. According to the Royal Sussex unit diary, ‘the frontal attack lost direction and entered our own trench 150 yards north of where they started from [and] the attack was therefore a failure.’305 Moreover, the Germans, alert to the attack, responded with a ‘bomb barrage’ i.e. a hail of hand grenades. This was the attack during which Eyre was mortally wounded, struck by a piece of flying metal. He was extracted from the line and died the following day. He is buried at Warloy Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension, several miles to the west of Albert.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 51

Shortly before his death, Eyre had written to his parents. The Pauline published the following extracts from this, his last letter home:

We are indebted to Mrs Shaw for the following extracts from a letter written to his parents by Eyre Massey Shaw, Lieutenant, Middlesex Regiment, a few days before his death from wounds received in action on 30 July, 1916, at the age of twenty one. They give an idea of his experiences from the time he went to the front, and will doubtless be read with interest by all who follow the careers of Old Paulines, especially of those who have died in the service of their country.

[Eyre reported that …]

“When I first came out I went, as you know, to an entrenching battalion, which was attached to the Canadians, up by Neuve Eglise (between Armentieres and Bailleul). I worked on trenches and emergency roads. Later I was told to join this battalion ( th Middlesex), as they had had rather a large number of casualties. I joined them in the Hohenzollern, which is supposed to be one of the worst parts of the line no end of mines, etc. No night ever passed while I was there in which either a German or an English mine was not put up. From there we went into reserve and trained for the big push [i.e the attack on the Somme, 1 July 1916]. Moved down south to Albert. We took part in the shove. My brigade [i.e. 36th Brigade, 12th (Eastern) Division] won Ovillers. I am now in this region. The village that my brigade took has been stormed by 70,000 French troops at various times previous to this offensive, and since this offensive by two divisions and two brigades of English troops without success, so we are rather proud of ourselves. Our losses were pretty large, in fact they would rather surprise you if you knew them; but considering that it is a matter of men v. machinery it was jolly good. When we attacked from our trenches we went over ground over which the other brigades had attacked, and we found men lying out there who had been wounded in the first shows and not been able to get in; some had arms completely blown off, and they had been out there in the mud and rain (it was beastly weather) for five days, and were still alive. We could not stop, but I believe some were rescued by the stretcher bearers that night after we had advanced and driven Boche back. The Boche trenches were battered to smithereens by our artillery, and the only remaining traces were some deep dug outs, where they had evidently retired whenever our artillery started to bombard. Even some of these dug outs, which were about 40 feet deep, had their supporting props cracked, which will give you some idea of the force of our large shells. With regard to the village itself, I did not see a single brick anywhere to show where a house had stood, and the ground had been so thoroughly ‘trumped’ by shells that you wallowed knee deep in thick mud. We captured a few prisoners (Prussian Guards). I had a chat with one or two. They seemed thoroughly fed up. Our artillery are splendid, and they give the Boche more than he can ever hope to return. We sometimes think we are having a rotten time of it when we get badly shelled, but Heaven only knows what he must feel like when our artillery begins. Our losses are bound to

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 52

be fairly large to begin with, especially getting through his first system of defence, but we are undoubtedly doing splendidly, as are the French.”

The letter closes with “visions of a lovely little smoking room with some large easy chairs, a pipe, and some decent ‘baccy, a few large mats and a nice big fireplace, and you two sitting next to me. (Peut etre apres la guerre.)” Alas, there was to be no “apres la guerre” for him, poor boy.306

This extraordinary letter seems likely to have been an ‘in the event of my death’ composition, sent to Eyre’s parents along with other possessions of their son after 30 July. The village of Ovillers la Boisselle (commonly shortened to Ovillers) was partly gained and fully cleared on 7 July and 17 July respectively.

Crombie, Captain Ian Osborne b. 21 Dec 1894; d. 30 July 1916 SPS 1909 1913 11th (Service) Bn. Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) Bouzincourt Communal Cemetery Extension II.F.5 Grave epitaph: As Dying And Behold We Live St Paul Age 21

306 The Pauline, 35 235 Nov 13 1917 pp 156 157 307 St Paul’s School Archive

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 53

Ian Osborne Crombie307

Ian was born on 21 December 1894, the son of Dr James Crombie and his wife, Mary Marshall Crombie.308 During his time at SPS (1909 1913), according to The Pauline, Ian proved a ‘good all round athlete, a very useful forward in the 1st XV, a sound bat in the 2nd XI, and a very fair fives player.’309 After St Paul’s, Ian proceeded to Wadham College, Oxford as an open scholar, where he spent one year. He obtained his commission from the Oxford OTC as a Lieutenant, later promoted Captain, in the 11th (Service) Bn. Middlesex Regiment and arrived in France in September 1915. He was wounded on two occasions. In the first instance he suffered a broken arm and, in the second, he was heavily gassed while striving to save some Engineers from the result of back fire from a mine.

The day after his friend, Eyre, was mortally wounded, Ian led a renewed attack on the same trench. The 36th Brigade diary describes events thus:

At 10.25 pm [on 30 July] a party of 11th Middlesex, consisting of two officers [one of whom was Crombie] and 48 men advanced from [the] trench about X.3.b.2.2 across the open to attack [the] enemy trench about X.3.a.9.5. From the start the party met with rifle and MG [i.e. Machine Gun] fire but got to within 25 yards of [the] enemy trench and then charged. [The] enemy now added to his fire a barrage of bombs, smoke and otherwise, in consequence of which only a scattered remnant reached the objective, which was found to be wired. The attack thus failed even though only ten yards from its objective; and a second attack met with a similar fate.310

It appears that Ian survived this assault but was killed in its immediate aftermath.311 His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Pargiter, wrote the following to his parents:

I think you would like some particulars about the death of your son. He was killed instantaneously by several bullet wounds in the head and chest on the night of the 29 30th July. The exact time was 01:30 am on the 30th July. He was engaged at the time in putting up a mark on the parapet of the trench his Company was holding.312

Ian’s bodied was extracted from the line and he is buried at Bouzincourt Communal Cemetery Extension, north west of Albert, about four miles from where his friend, Eyre, lies.

308 Ian was one of three sons, the only one to attend SPS. His younger brother, James, also signed up; he fell on 2 July 1917. His elder brother, William, fought with the RAMC and died of Spanish Flu.

309 The Pauline, 34 227 Nov 1916 pp 140 41

310 TNA WO 95 1854 1 3

311 According to the battalion diary, Ian fell at X.3.b.2.8. TNA WO 95 1856 2 1(1) 312 https://www.mertoncourthistory.com/the crombie brothers

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 54

8.6 A prisoner-of-war

Hepworth, Capt Laurence Frederic b. 6 Oct 1882; d. 9 March 1917 SPS 1896 1900 2nd Bn. Suffolk Regiment Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel Age 34

Laurence Frederic Hepworth (SPS 1986 1900) is singularly distinguished as the only OP to die in a prisoner of war camp.

After leaving St Paul’s, Laurence appears to have pursued a career in the army. He joined the Suffolk Regiment from the Militia in May 1905, and became Captain in 1914, having served with the West Africa Frontier Force between 1909 and 1913.

Laurence died from an unknown cause on 9 March 1917. He was initially buried in Gutersloh Cemetery in Germany, the same location as the prisoner of war camp in which he was incarcerated. The German Commandant and a large number of German officers of the Staff attended the funeral, which was conducted by Captain the Rev Zilken, Chaplain to the Canadian Forces. The Commandant placed a beautiful wreath on the grave. French, Russian, and Belgian officers and soldiers took part, as well as English, Canadian, African, and Australian officers and soldiers.

On 8 November 1923 Laurence was exhumed and re buried in Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel. This cemetery was begun by the Germans in 1915 for the burial of prisoners of war who died at the local camp. During the war almost 3,000 Allied soldiers and civilians, including French, Russian and Commonwealth, were buried there.

H.20 Gutersloh POW Camp, July 1916.313

313 [Bovill, Charles (1863 1920)], Photograph of Gutersloh Prisoner of War Camp, Digitus Online Exhibitions from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, accessed March 21, 2022, https://fisherdigitus.library.utoronto.ca/document/6454.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 55

1st XI 1912. Back row, L to R: Kerry (Pro); Sclacht A G; Street, B H; Riddle, J T A; Ward, M A; Hind H (Pro, see Chapter 9.) Middle row, L to R: Crebbin, W A; Skeet, C H F; Wainwright F L

(Capt); von Winckler, M W; Pearson, A J W. Front row, L to R: Fearnside Speed, R H F; Hayne, M L

All members of the 1st XI Cricket team in 1912 enlisted and all were commissioned as officers. (See Table H.22). Of these eleven, four fell. Amounting to a death rate of 36 percent, this is considerably higher that the 17.5 percent death rate of all 511 OPs who fell. On balance, this does not mean that elite cricketers per se were somehow more likely to die than OPs of other ilks. Albeit a small sample from which too many conclusions should not be drawn, it nevertheless seems likely that elite sportsmen, serving as subalterns in (mostly) infantry regiments, ‘playing up and playing the game’, perhaps exposed themselves to danger on a more regular basis than some others.

i) 1st XI Cricket 1912: service record

H.22 1st XI Cricket, 1912: service record

Surname Initials Rank Award Yrs at SPS Regiment / Corps D of d Age at death

Crebbin W A Captain MC 1908 13 Rifle Brigade 04 Apr 18 23

Hayne M L Lt 1910 14 HAC and Indian Army

Hind (Pro) H Private Kerry (Pro)

Pearson A J W Lt 1907 12 Royal Fusiliers 01 Jul 16 21 Riddle J T A Captain MC 1907 13 Gloucestershire

Schacht (later, Dutton) A G Lt MC 1911 12 RFA

Skeet C H F Lt 1909 14 Royal Fusiliers

Speed R H C N Fearnside Lt 1912 13 Middlesex Regiment Street B H Lt 1907 12 Welsh Regiment 06 Aug 18

von Winckler M W Lt 1907 12 Middlesex Regiment 01 Aug 17 23

Wainwright F L Major MC 1906 13 Lancashire Fusiliers

Ward M A Captain MC 1908 13 Lancashire Fusiliers 10 Apr 18 21

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 57

ii) 1st XI Cricket 1912: biographies

Crebbin, Captain William Arthur MC b. 12 September 1894 ; d. 4 April 1918. SPS 1908 1913

8th (Service) Bn. Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own) Pozieres Memorial Age 23

Characters of the XI: W A Crebbin (1911 12). The best bat in the team, as he was always to be relied upon. An excellent field at cover. Will be extremely useful next year.315

William was born on 12 September 1894 in Kidderpore, India, the son of Captain William James (Master Mariner) and his wife, Clara. During his time at SPS (1908 1913) William lived with his aunt and uncle’s family at 78 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park, London. His obituary published in The Pauline considered him:

One of the best all round athletes at St. Paul’s School … He played in the Cricket XI and the XV, and was prominent in all sports. He was a fine bat and useful change bowler, a strong forward, and quite in the front rank as a middle weight boxer, winning the Public Schools championship [at Aldershot] in 1913; and was placed second in the long jump and the weight putting at the sports.316

A talented all rounder, William was perhaps at his best in the boxing ring. P G Wodehouse observed William’s victory at Aldershot in 1913 and described it thus:

The Middle weight final was quite like old times, being won by a typical St. Paul’s boxer, W. A. Crebbin. Last year Crebbin was the victim of a doubtful decision, but this year his luck was in, and he went safely over the full course. He had a very soft job in the semi final, Waterton (Stonyhurst) being no match for him. In the final Crebbin met Mothersill (Bedford), one of last year’s welters. Both were slow, but Crebbin was a good deal the stronger. … Crebbin has an ugly style, and Mothersill rather an attractive one; but Crebbin has the Jerry Driscoll idea of perpetual aggressiveness, and he was always the man who was doing the work. Mothersill stuck to him well, however, all through.317

315

316

The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

The Pauline, 36 240 July 1918 p 96

317 Wodehouse, P G, The Captain, (May 1913) https://www.madameulalie.org/captain/Aldershot_1913.html

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 58

After leaving SPS William proceeded to University College, Oxford where he continued his athletic success, competing in the Middle Weight boxing trials, playing forward in the Freshmen’s Rugby match, and was to the fore in cricket and other games for his College. By all accounts he was well in the running for his Blue in more than one sport. William also served in the University OTC. Upon the outbreak of war he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 8th (Service) Bn. Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), rising to Captain (of B Company). William won the MC while serving with this unit. The award was published in the London Gazette on 4 June 1917 but carries no citation.318 It was likely made for action in fighting when the battalion was in line in the vicinity of Cherisy (to the south west of Arras) in early May 1917.

Shortly after 4 am on 4 April 1918 the 8th (Service) Bn. assumed a position in the front line to the north west of Warfuss Abancourt. The unit diary relates that:

At 5 am the enemy put down an extremely heavy barrage on the front line which lasted about one and [one] half hours. At 6.30 am he repeatedly attacked, but was driven off. Eventually he succeeded in penetrating our position and reached Bn. HQ in the Quarry [62D SE P.20.a.5.5]. Here a stand was made and the held up for about 1&1/2 hours, a line being established about 200 yards in [the] rear of Bn. HQs.319

This was the action in which William fell. His body was lost in the fighting and he is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, no small distance from where he was killed.

Hayne, Brigadier Maurice Leslie Peter KStJ, CBE b. 15 April 1896; d. 20 April 1971 SPS 1910 – 1914 2/1st Bn. HAC and Indian Army

Characters of the XI: M. L. Hayne (1912). A stylish little bat and a useful change wicket keeper. Promises well for next season.320

Maurice was born on 15 April 1896, the son of Frederick U S Hayne. During his time at SPS (1910 1914) he was a boarder at High House and proved to be an impressive athlete. He played for the 1st IV in Fives, The Pauline describing him as:

318 LG:30111/4 Jun 1917(C) 319 TNA WO 95 1895 1 320 The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 59

A very good player on his day, especially in singles. His placing is excellent, though he occasionally throws away points by indulging too much in pretty shots. Was the cleverest player of the team, though he could not always last. Will be most useful next year.321

Maurice enlisted with the Honourable Artillery Company on 2 September 1915, transferring to the Indian Army on 16 April 1915. After the war Maurice pursued a career in the army, rising to the rank of Brigadier in the 37th (Prince of Wales’s Own) Dogras, an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. In 1946 he received the CBE, awarded for service in Burma. The recommendation reads thus:

From 1 July 1945 to 1 January 1946 Maurice was General Officer Commanding 404 Lines of Communication Area, Burma

Maurice’s recommendation for the award of a CBE in 1946 reads as follows:

During the period under review [16 February 1945 to 15 May 1945] Brig Hayne has commanded the Area in which have been established the main air bases for the supply of troops in Burma. Working always against time the Comd and his staff have mastered the problems of transport, engineering and labour involved in the construction and stocking of the adv base ports of Akyae and Kyaukpyu taken from the enemy in a devastated condition, and from them have supplied the troops in Burma and mounted a great part of the force for the operation of Pangon. That all this has been successfully accomplished is mainly due to his direction, organising ability and hard work.322

Maurice retired on 19 June 1947. He died on 20 April 1971.

Pearson, Lt Angus John Williams b. 11 June 1895; d. 1 July 1916. Age 21 SPS 1909 – 1914

14th (Reserve) Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) attd. 1st Bn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers

Auchonvillers Military Cemetery

Grave epitaph: Justum Et Tenacem Propositi Virum

In Mem. ‘A.J.W.P’. (St Paul’s, 1909 – 1914) by RML

Oh, that wond’rous Knight of schoolboys We shall dream of in our future,

321

The Pauline, 32 209 June 1914, Characters of the [1st Fives] IV, p 90

322 TNA WO 373/81/122

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 60

Of the beauty of his nature, Of the splendour of his actions, And at last when he departed, Of the glory of his exit!323

Angus John Williams Pearson324

Characters of the XI: A J W Pearson (1911 12). His bowling was the mainstay of the team, although he was very hard worked. A very difficult batsman to dismiss and a safe field.325

Angus was born on 11 June 1895 in Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada, the son of Ernest and Jessie Pearson. In 1906 the family moved to London and in 1911 was resident at 66 Brook Green, Hammersmith.326 During his time at SPS (1909 1914) Angus proved an exceptional talent: he was a Foundation Scholar; member of the 1st XI (1911 12 13 14) and Secretary of Cricket (1914); member of the 1st XV (1913) and Fives IV (1914). In the instance of the last The Pauline pronounced in June 1914 that:

323 A verse from the poem In Mem. ‘A.J.W.P’ (St Paul’s, 1909 1914 by RML printed in The Pauline, 38 251 Feb 1920 pp 11 13

324

Courtesy of the Digby La Motte Collection, St Paul’s Archives

325 The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

326 Angus’ younger brother Colin also attended SPS (1912 1918). He served as School Captain 1917 1918 and was Captain of Fives. In addition, he played for the 1st XI and XV. Colin enlisted in 5th Bn. Guards Machine Gun Regiment. He became a distinguished lawyer, rising to Lord Justice of Appeal and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Colin died in 1980.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 61

[Angus] came on wonderfully and was without doubt the most reliable of the team; he did not “kill” enough in singles, but his strong guard easily made up for his weak attack.327

Angus was also Captain of Swimming and a Prefect. He won a scholarship to Pembroke College, Oxford (though he never matriculated).

Angus enlisted in the Public Schools’ Brigade in September 1914, obtained his commission in the following month, and was sent to Gallipoli in July with a draft for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. His unit was the 14th (Reserve) battalion Royal Fusiliers, but at the time he fell he was attached to the 1st battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The battalion diary entry for 1 July states that:

Our own barbed wire was cut only at intervals of about 40 [inches] and by this time the Germans had Machine Guns trained on these gaps, the result being that our casualties were very heavy and only a few of our men got through our own wire, and still fewer of these succeeded in advancing more than 50 or 60 feet before being shot down.328

According to a citation in the Oxford University Roll of Service, Angus ‘was hit by shrapnel in the lungs and died almost immediately.’329

The Pauline makes abundantly clear Angus’ cricketing prowess:

It was in 1911, when he had played as a colt for most of the season, that he won his School colours. It was then prophesied of him that he might become a very good slow bowler indeed. He became of a different class from anything we have produced among schoolboy bowlers; he established a record in wickets in 1913, and broke his own record in 1914. We have forgotten how young he was when he was tried for the Middlesex Colts; he played in the Public School matches at Lord’s in 1913 and 1914, and on the latter occasion he had something of a triumph. It was he, and his close friends who made up the school teams with him, that raised our cricket for a couple of seasons to a new level; an authority on School cricket could say of our 1914 team that it could hold its own with any school in the country. One who watched his bowling with appreciation writes “he had the gifts of the natural slow bowler, the control and flexibility of arm and fingers; but he also studied and thought over his bowling as an art, and because he loved his art something should be written to its memory. We may still play with the fancy of an old world poet ‘that the care and the thought that each man had of his sport shall abide with him in Elysium.’ He was, in the general way, a slow leg break bowler; his break was a big one, and had the quality necessary to the good leg break, that of rising quicker from the pitch than it fell. He quite often fairly

327

The Pauline, 32 209 June 1914, Characters of the [1st Fives] IV, p 90 328 TNA WO 95 2301 1 1 329 Oxford University Roll of Service

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 62

beat the bat and bowled his man; he also played a good deal to the wicket keeper, by whom he was well served in his school teams, while one of his best balls pitched near enough to the wicket to require playing, and then went away to one of the two short slips that he favoured. The ‘googlie’ proper he bowled rather less than once an over; he did not often get wickets with it, and, was never quite master of its pitch; but he found it served a valuable end in surprising and discomposing the batsmen. He had real judgement, in getting value from the variety of his bowling. A certain number of his balls were deliberately pitched on the short side, with a definite purpose of inducing the batsmen to back play; then followed what was perhaps his deadliest ball, quite straight and rather well up, with a big over spin which brought it quick and rather low off the pitch. Indeed, he bowled with his head almost as much as with his hand. If he had lived he would not have rested without devising new means of getting wickets. Play is sometimes an index to character, and worth dwelling on as such. It was so with Pearson; his success came from unsparingness of self. This was clearer when victory came hardly than when it came easily. He was a useful, but not a brilliant, bat, and his batting cost him effort; but he went, if quietly enough, through pain to nerve himself for a crisis, and when runs were needed he was one of the best of a good side.330

Angus is commemorated by the preservation of a cricket ball used against the MCC in July 1914, to which is attached an engraved plaque. (See Chapter 12 )

Riddle, Captain John Terence Ashley MC b. 9 Nov 1894; d.? SPS 1907 1913 10th (Service) Bn. Gloucestershire Regiment

Characters of the XI: J. T. A. Riddle (1911 12). A disappointing bat and a rather slack field. His bowling improved towards the end of the season and should be useful next year.331

John was born in Russia on 9 November 1894, the son of the Rev A J Riddle, a priest in Russia. (John’s elder brother, Galfrid Julian Riddle also attended SPS (1907 1910). Galfrid fell in the Ypres Salient on 6 November 1917. See Volume 2.) John boarded at High House during his time at SPS (1907 1913). In addition to playing in the 1st XI, he was also Captain of Fives. Upon the outbreak of war he initially joined the 2nd battalion Life Guards, from which he was commissioned in the Gloucestershire Regiment with whom he served in France from 8 August 1915, rising to the rank of Captain. Although the award is not recorded in the War List, John won the MC in 1918. The citation published in the London Gazette reads:

330

331

The Pauline, 34 227 Nov 1916 pp 146 148

The Pauline 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 63

He displayed great courage and powers of handling men during an advance. Having made his dispositions quickly and thoroughly, he thus gained all objectives, killing and capturing many of the enemy.332

The course of John’s career after the war is not known. The last reference to him in the record reveals that in 1919 he was living at Arncot, Alexandra Rd, Watford with Mary Riddle.

Schacht (from 1916, Dutton) Lt Alfred Guy b. 25 Jan 1896; d. ? SPS 1911 1912 RFA

Characters of the XI: A. G. Schacht (1912). His bowling at the beginning of the season was good, but it lost its sting towards the end. A bad field, and does not like fast bowling.333

The record reveals little of Alfred’s story, in part because he changed his name in 1916 from the Teutonic ‘Schacht’ to Dutton in 1916. He attended SPS 1911 1912, during which time he excelled on the cricket pitch. When war broke out, Alfred joined the Royal Field Artillery. Not listed in the Roll of Honour, it appears that he survived the war.

Skeet, Lt Challen Hasler Lupkin (See Chapter 8, section 8.9) b. 17 Aug 1895; d. 20 April 1978 SPS 1909 1914 12th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers

Characters of the XI: C. H. L. Skeet (1911 12). A good bat, who generally came out just when he appeared to have got set. His fielding in the out field saved us innumerable boundaries, and was the best on the side. He has made a keen and efficient secretary.334

(Fearnside) – Speed, Captain Robin Henry Capel b. 22 September 1895; d. 28 April 1970 SPS 1912 – 1913

Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment), 5th (Reserve) Bn. attd. Egyptian Army

Characters of the XI: R H F Speed (1912). A moderate bat who does not know when to play back. A fair field, but on the whole his form was disappointing.335

332

333

334

335

London Gazette: 30997/7 Nov 1918(C)

The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 64

Robin was born on 22 September 1895, the son of Major Henry Fearnside Speed and his wife Florence Kathleen. Robin attended SPS for one year only (1912 1913), the youngest of three brothers who attended the school. (Digby Geoffrey William (SPS 1901 1905) served as Captain in the Royal Fusiliers; Ronald de Dissicen (1902 1907) served as a Lieutenant in the 7th (Extra Reserve) Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). He was killed at Loos on 26 September 1915, age 26.)

Upon the outbreak of war Robin appears to have joined the West Yorkshire Regiment, transferring to the Middlesex Regiment in January 1915, in which he was commissioned 2nd Lt 5th (Reserve) Bn. He was promoted to Lieutenant in April 1917. In August of the following year he was attached to the Egyptian Army and rose to the rank of Captain.

After the war it appears that Robin continued to serve in the Army, in the first instance with the 2nd Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment in India. In July 1928 he took over the post of Adjutant to the 1/4th Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment.

Robin died on 28 April 1970.

Street, Lt Brooks Henry b. 16 Aug 1894; d. 6 Aug 1918. SPS 1907 1912

2/7th (Cyclist) Bn. Welsh Regiment attd. No. 34 Squadron RAF Montecchio Precalcino Communal Cemetery Extension Grave epitaph: Beloved And Only Son Of Jessie and Francis Street Colombo, Ceylon Age 24

Characters of the XI: B H Street (1912). A fair bat who usually three away his wicket through carelessness. A moderate change bowler, but slack in the field.336

Brooks was born on 16 August 1894 in Colombo, Ceylon, the only son of Francis, a tea merchant, and his wife Janet. By 1911 the family had moved to London and were living comfortably the household had three domestic servants at 1 Elm Grove Road, Ealing. Upon the outbreak of war Brooks joined the Welsh Regiment and served in France from 24 February 1917. At some point he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, in which he served in No. 34 Squadron. This unit was formed at Castle Bromwich on 7 January 1916. After a period of service in France it transferred to the Italian front in November 1917, where it undertook bomber and reconnaissance missions until the end of the war. Brooks appears to have joined No. 34 Squadron after training as a pilot in January 1918. He was killed whilst 336 The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 65

flying RE8 C2616 in an operation that took place on 6 August 1918; his fellow airman, 2nd Lt C G Stanley was unhurt.

Von Winckler, Lt Myles William (known as ‘Vonny’) (See Volume 2) b. 10 June 1893; d. 1 August 1917 SPS 1907 - 1912

Duke of Cambridge’s Own 2nd Bn. (Middlesex Regiment) Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Age 23

Characters of the XI: M W von Winckler (1911 12). A very useful and stylish bat. His fielding was good, but at slip he was inferior to his last year's form.337

Wainwright, Major Frederick Leonard MC b. 28 Feb 1894; d. 25 Dec 1958 SPS 1907 1913

17th (Service) Bn. (1st South East Lancashire) Lancashire Fusiliers

Characters of the XI: F. L. Wainwright (1911 12). Captained very well ; a difficult team to manage. A forcing batsman who was unlucky in not making more runs. A fair change bowler and a wicket keeper quite above the average. He will again captain the team next year.338

Frederick was born in London on 28 February 1894, the only son of Leonard Dart Wainwright and his wife Annie Lavinia.339 While at SPS (1907 1913) Frederick proved an outstanding athlete: Captain of Cricket in 1912 and 1913; Captain of Rugby 1912 1913 (where he was by all accounts superb as a three quarter both in attack and defence) and the best Fives player the School had produced for many years. In 1912 he won the Shepard Cup and in 1913 he set up School records for the Hurdles and the Long Jump.

After leaving SPS Frederick joined the Shanghai Municipal Police in 1914. When war broke out he returned home and gained a commission in the Lancashire Fusiliers, promoted Captain (October 1917) and Major in 1918. He was awarded the MC in 1918. The citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a raiding party. He led his men in the most gallant manner, and finding the wire uncut he withdrew his party,

337

338

The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

339 Leonard was a Master and Surmaster at SPS, 1892 1928

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 66

superintended the destruction of the wire, and then led his men into the enemy’s trench. He secured an identification and carried in a wounded officer under heavy machine gun fire.340

After the war Frederick returned to Shanghai and resumed his career with the Municipal Police. A serious lung disease perhaps contracted by an incident in the trenches in May 1918 when it seems probable that he was a victim of gassing by shellfire forced his retirement in 1936, whereupon he returned to Britain. During the Second World War he served in the Ministry of Information. Frederick died at his home, Briar Cottage, Corton Denham, Sherborne in Dorset on Christmas Day 1958.

Ward, Captain Maurice Arthur MC b. 5 Dec 1894; d. 10 April 1918 SPS 1908 1913 11th (Service) Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers Haverskerque British Cemetery

Grave epitaph: As In Adam All Die Even So In Christ Shall All Be Made A Live 1 Cor.15.223 Age 21

Characters of the XI: M A Ward (1912). A rash bat who occasionally made runs when they were wanted. His bowling was very disappointing. His fielding might have been better.341

Maurice was born at Lucknow, on 5 December 1894, the son of Dr A W Ward and his wife Annette Mary Isabel. He attended St Paul’s from 1908 until 1913. He was a boarder at Colet House, for his first term with Mr. Loane, and for the rest of his time at School with Mr. Wainwright. He was on the Modern Side and left from the Science VIII.

The Pauline published the following obituary of Maurice in its June 1918 edition: Most people at School knew [Maurice] as an athlete. He was a fair fives player, and at one time boxed, but did not care for it. He was in the XI in 1912 13, and made about 300 runs in his two seasons. He hit very hard, but had not enough restraint, and could have been a better bat than he was. He bowled fast and rather erratically, and in 1913 was second in the averages to Pearson. But the game he loved was football. He was in the XV in 1911 12 13. Possessed of great height and weight, he used both to the utmost, and fully deserved what was written of him in 1913: “The forwards were all equally good, with the exception of Ward, who was better than the rest.” His last Captain writes of him as “the best School forward I ever saw.” And he could play elsewhere. In a Shield game, when the whole Houses’ three quarter line was out of action through injuries, he played three quarter and was

340 London Gazette: 15 March 1918. 30583, p 3433

341 The Pauline, 30 198 Oct 1912 pp 146 147

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 67

largely instrumental in winning the game. On the whole he had a very large share in Houses’ monopoly of cricket and football success from 1909 to 1913. He did not make many friends at School, being both blunt and nervous, but those he made stuck to him to the end, and others recognized his good qualities better after they and he had left School. He regretted later that he had not made more of his opportunities in one or two ways, although he always delighted to talk of how he worried those he did not like. But he was an excellent companion, partly because of his love of opposition. His House Master and other masters who sat near him at meals always found him an interesting and suggestive talker, even if he was hotly defending some such doctrine as Protective Coloration, in which he probably believed as little as they did. He disliked discipline for himself, but kept it with a heavy hand in his dormitory, and his training of a slacker was a revelation. He took rather a pride in not showing his feelings for any one especially any one in authority but in later years one discovered how deep and genuine an affection he had for many who had little idea of it. He had a good brain, too, and would have done well in history and literature if he had taken to them earlier, but for most of his School work he did not care.342

Maurice was working for the Indian Police when war broke out, and was gazetted to the Lancashire Fusiliers in September 1914, obtaining his captaincy the following June. He first arrived in France on 30 September 1915 with the 11th (Service) Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers

He won his MC for ‘conspicuous good work’ in the sector immediately north west of Messines during the attack on the Messines Ridge on 7 June 1917.343 The award appeared in the London Gazette in November 1917, the citation stating that:

[Maurice] led his company with great ability during an attack and capture of an enemy position. He showed great dash and determination during the assault.344

During the afternoon of 9 April 1918 the enemy was reported in Bac St Maur, three miles south east of Steenwerck in French Flanders. Maurice’s unit was ordered into line and took up a position parallel with the Croix du Bac L’Hallobeau road, with its right flank on the Croix du Bac Le Sequemeau Road. At 8.30 pm the battalion attacked from this position and pushed its line forward towards the German Strong Points (Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex), to the south and south east of Croix du Bac. During the course of this operation Maurice was mortally wounded and died the following day at a Clearing Station close to where he is buried at Haverskerque.

342 The Pauline, 239 June 1918 pp 70 71

343 TNA WO 95 2246 2

344 London Gazette: 30234/16 Aug 1917(C)

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 68

H.23 Trench map dated 26 June 1918 showing the German Strong Points Suffolk and Essex. The unnamed Strong Point on the left is likely Norfolk.345 345 National Library of Scotland

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 69

Scupham

H R H Midshipman 1913 15 Royal Fusiliers

ii) 1st IV Rowers, 1914:

biographies

Broad, Lt Arthur Maurice b. 13 June 1895; d. 12 July 1916 SPS 1908 1914

Royal Fusiliers 15th (Reserve) Bn. attd. MGC Peronne Road Cemetery, Grave epitaph: RIP Age 20

Arthur was born on 13 June 1895, the son of Arthur and Augusta Broad of 53 Elsham Rd, Kensington, London. During his time at SPS (1908 1914) Arthur was one of the committee of A club and secretary of the Field Club in the years 1913 and 1914. His particular hobby was the formation of a good collection of dragon flies, but he was also a fisherman and an all round sportsman, especially accomplished at rowing. Arthur was captain of the Rowing Club during the year 1913 14, during which time The Pauline records that ‘his unselfish work and cheery self possession in moments of stress helped largely to our successes.’

348 The Pauline edition of July 1913 described his rowing prowess thus:

347 St Paul’s School Archive

348

The Pauline, 34 227 Nov 1916 p 139

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 71

Arthur Maurice Broad347

Generally neat, a hard worker, and good time keeper. At times lost his balance and his head in practice, but, like all the Four, was always at his best in a race.349

The Pauline edition of July 1914 provides this account of the Winchester and Cheltenham Race, held on 13 June. The School IV was at that time thus constituted:

G. Hoyland (bow), 10 st. 4 lb., E Club

W. P. Harwood (2), 10 st. 7 lb., E Club

A. M. Broad (3), 10 st. 12 lb., A Club

C. J. N. Lambert (str.), 10 st. 12 lb., D Club

H. R. F. Scupham (cox), 6 st., D Club

[The SPS IV], on the Middlesex station, got the toughest water, but, keeping a better length than the others and rowing a far quicker stroke, went right away at once, and were never in danger. After being last all the way, Cheltenham just beat Winchester in a fine finish. The verdict was: St Paul’s beat Winchester by 5 lengths; St Paul’s beat Cheltenham by 5 lengths; Cheltenham beat Winchester by a length. The tide was good, two hours before low tide, but an up stream wind made the first quarter mile rough. The President started the crews from a launch; he and Mr. Reed (Cheltenham) umpired, Mr. Meldrum judged the finish, while Mr. Worster, Johnson, and Burke manoeuvred in skiffs at the corners to guide the coxswains.

This is our first victory over Winchester on home waters, our previous two wins having taken place at Winchester. Winchester were hampered by the rough water and by their morning journey, but they had not got our speed. Cheltenham, being better together than the other crews, could spurt well at the finish. Of our crew, Hoyland, whose time had been shaky in practice, owing to slow recovery and heavy hands, rose to the occasion, and rowed better than ever before. His time was well nigh perfect in the race. Harwood, whose fault is a tendency to get short at the beginning and finish, rowed admirably in the race, and backed up stroke as well as he stroked last year. Broad, keenest of captains, is perfect as timekeeper and worker, and, when his blade work and watermanship improve, will do great things at Cambridge. He can race with the best, and has done so in all his races. Lambert, both for rhythm, length, and racing, is above praise. If he goes up to Oxford he will train into a Varsity stroke; on this point his coach is prepared to stake his reputation as rowing prophet. Scupham, steering his first important race, obeyed absolutely all his instructions. O si sic omnes!

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 72

After the Winchester and Cheltenham race all the crews, coaches, etc , lunched together at the School, and at night Mr. and Mrs. Broad kindly entertained the School crew, “and so,” as Pepys would say, “to bed”, after a red letter day.350

After leaving SPS in 1914 Arthur attended Caius College Cambridge, proceeding there with a Science exhibition from the School and a scholarship. Upon the outbreak of war he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the 15th (Reserve) Bn. Royal Fusiliers. He was later attached to the Machine Gun Corps and travelled to France in the Spring of 1916. Arthur’s last report, reproduced in The Pauline, is as follows:

Yesterday, early morning, we bombed the Germans out of their strong point and moved a gun in. We also had a German gun in position. We had a little bomb scrapping through the day, but were quite firmly established. I myself shot three Germans with a rifle. In the early night, the Boches strongly attacked; we were standing to and exchanging bombs with them. Also we peppered the valley through which his reinforcements came pretty warmly, with his own gun which fired splendidly. We were ordered to move back, which we did successfully, but much to the men’s disgust the infantry were too busy carrying away bombs, and there was no time for a second journey, so we could not take the German guns, but we took all their locks. We only took two prisoners yesterday morning, but we left a legacy of about two dozen dead Boches in the strong point, just to encourage them. It's good fun, only a little shelling, but plenty of rifle potting and bombing. The men are all in good spirits.351

Arthur rests in Peronne Road Cemetery, Maricourt, the result of a concentration exhumation and reburial that took place during a clearing of the battlefield in 1919. He was originally buried at Briqueterie East Cemetery, on the east side of the brick works on the Longueval Maricourt road.352 This was a small frontline battlefield containing a total of twenty three graves. It must be assumed that this is very close to the location at which Arthur fell on 12 July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme.

Harwood, Colonel (Hon Brig) William Parker CBE, MC b. 26 September 1896; d. 19 July 1957

SPS 1910 – 1914 Royal Garrison Artillery

350

The Pauline, 32 210 July 1914 pp 120 121

351

352

The Pauline, 34 227 Nov 1916 p 139

The location of the original burial was at map reference 62C. A.4.b.6.5. See CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find records/find war dead/casualty details/310711/arthur maurice broad/#&gid=2&pid=1

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 73

William was born on 26 September 1896, the son of William Charles Einey Harwood and his wife, Louise. After attending SPS (1914 1918) William joined the Royal Garrison Artillery and crossed to France with his unit on 2 October 1915. He rose to Captain during the war and thereafter pursued a successful career in the armed forces. William was awarded the MC in 1918. The citation reads thus:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. A gun pit caught fire, severely burning the gun detachment and setting alight the cartridge boxes. At great risk he succeeded in extinguishing the fire just before it reached a large quantity of 18 pr [i.e. powder] ammunition.354

Hoyland, Captain Godfrey Algernon

b. 5 July 1896; d. 3 October 1918 SPS 1910 1914

36th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery Grevillers British Cemetery Age 22

353 St Paul’s School Archive

354 Supplement to the Edinburgh Gazette, 8 April 1918 p 1301

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 74

William Parker Harwood353

355

Godfrey Algernon Hoyland

Godfrey was born on 5 July 1896, the son of the late Godfrey Mainwaring Hoyland and his wife, Ethel. During his time at SPS (1910 1914) Godfrey was a member of the OTC. Upon leaving SPS he enlisted in the Special Reserve in July 1914 and obtained a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in 36th Brigade, RFA (2nd Division). Godfrey crossed to France in April 1915. He was awarded the MC on 17 September 1917. The citation reads thus:

When his battery was heavily shelled he organised a rescue party to dig out some buried men under very heavy shell fire and set a fine example to those around him.356

In November 1917 Godfrey was invalided home, suffering from ‘mustard gas burns ’357 He returned to the front in August 1918.

In late September 1918 Godfrey’s Battery was involved in an attack upon the Germans (Battle of the Canal du Nord) as they retired over the ridge north of Mt Sur L’Oeuvre, a short distance to the north of Rumilly. At this time Godfrey’s Battery was located immediately northwest of Marcoing, behind Nine Wood. The 36th Brigade diary states that on 3 October it encountered:

Stubborn resistance by [the] enemy who got round our flanks in [a] counter attack very little success.358

355 De Ruvigny, The Roll of Honour p 89

356 London Gazette, 17 September 1917

357 TNA WO 95 1325 4

358 TNA WO 95 1325 5 (1)

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 75

Rumilly was nonetheless taken on that day, during which Godfrey received his mortal wound. He died at a Casualty Clearing Station and is buried at Grevillers British Cemetery.

Lambert, Lt Cyril / Cecil John Noel (known as ‘Bertie’) MC b. 19 July 1897; d. 2 September 1918

SPS 1910 - 1916

130th Battery, 40th Brigade Royal Field Artillery Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux

Grave epitaph: Until The Day Breaks And The Shadows Flee Away Age 21

Cecil John Noel Lambert359

359

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 76

St Paul’s Archive. 1916 photograph of the Prefects.

Cecil ‘Bertie’, as he was known was born on 19 July 1897, the son of Hugh Lambert and his wife Stella of 83 Castelnau, Barnes, London. During his time at SPS (1910 1916) his athletic career was remarkable, including Captaincy of Boxing, membership of the 1st XV and prowess in Club Cricket. In addition, he was also a Prefect. Above all, rowing was the sport in which he excelled.

Bertie’s obituary in The Pauline detailed some of his achievements on the river, lamenting that:

Space does not allow a full account of his career on the river. In brief he stroked the 2nd IV in 1913 and the 1st IV in 1914, 1915, and 1916, and never lost a school race. In 1913 his crew beat Toubridge and Beaumont, in 1914 Winchester and Cheltenham, in 1915 Winchester and Haileybury, in 1916 Tonbridge, Winchester, Westminster, and Kingston, winning the Thames Public Schools cups. The comradeship and unselfish courage required in ‘training’ appealed strongly to him. He was elected to Leander Club, an honour hitherto only granted to distinguished Varsity oars and a few competitors in first class events at Henley. No other schoolboy, apart from a few Etonians and Radleians, had ever won that distinction. His future on the river would have been brilliant. In normal times he would have been marked out for a Blue; after the war we had hoped to see him stroke and Captain of the Old Pauline Rowing Club, and possibly stroke of Leander, if international events revived. Lambert's loyalty, keenness, and strength gave him an influence in the School probably unexampled in a day school, and rare among boarders. His work for the Corps [i.e. OTC], School Boxing and Football, and for D club was only excelled by his work for the Rowing Club. … There has never been a Pauline who more thoroughly deserves to be remembered with love and honour, and to be looked up to as an ideal.360

His MC citation reads: When a large ammunition dump was set on fire by enemy shelling, with the assistance of another officer, he at once extinguished the fire under heavy shelling and prevented a serious explosion.361

Bertie was killed on 2 September 1918 while acting as a Forward Observation Officer for his Battery during 3rd Division’s attack upon Vaulx Vraucourt and Lagnicourt. The attack involved severe fighting, although slow progress was made towards Lagnicourt. Bertie was initially buried in the cemetery at Hamelincourt Communal Cemetery Extension, close to

360 The Pauline 36 241 Nov 1918 p 133

361 Bertie was five times Mentioned in Despatches for brave and useful work as Forward Observation Officer or liaison officer with the infantry.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 77

where he fell.362 His body was exhumed during the concentration of graves process in 1919 and now lies in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux, five and a half miles south of Arras.

Scupham, Midshipman Herbert Reginald Harries b. 3 May 1899; d. ?

SPS 1913 – 1915

24th (Service) Bn. (2nd Sportsmen’s) Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Herbert was born in Leeds on 3 May 1899, the son of Herbert and Helen. During his time at SPS (1913 1915) the family home was 46 Castelnau Mansions, Barnes, London. On 6 July 1915 Herbert attested for service in the 24th (Service) Bn. (2nd Sportsmen’s) Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), as Bugler. He had lied about his age, declaring that he was 17 years and 9 months whereas he was in reality only 16 years and 2 months. When Herbert’s dissembling was discovered he was discharged on 2 November 1915 with a service total of 120 days. It is not clear how he spent 1916 1917 but by 1918 he is listed as serving on a Hospital Ship with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve with the rank of Midshipman. Herbert survived the war and it seems as though he pursued a career at sea.

362 CWGC map reference: 57C (NW).A.5.b.9.2

363 St Paul’s School Archive

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 78

Herbert Reginal Harries Scupham363

Griffiths W J H Captain 1908 14 King's Royal Rifle Corps

Hansen G E Captain 1909 14 Indian Army

Jones C K C ? 1912 14 Middlesex

Pearson A J W Lt 1909 14 Royal Fusiliers 01 Jul 16 21

Plenty E P Major 1911 14 RAF 22 Nov 18 21

Roberts C G Lt MC 1910 15 Royal Engineers

Samson H W Captain 1910 14 Royal Scots Prisoner Shoobert W H Lt 1908 14 Rifle Brigade

Skeet C H L Lt 1909 14 Royal Fusiliers Prisoner

ii) 1st XV Rugby, 1914: biographies

Ainsworth, Private Cecil Cuthbert Melvyn b. 15 Jan 1897; d. 23 April 1968

SPS 1910 – 1914 1st Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)

1st XV Characters 1913 1914: C. C. M. Ainsworth (1913 14). Forward. The cleverest forward in the pack with his hands and feet, but cannot tackle; works hard when in the mood.365

Cecil has left frustratingly few tracks in the sand for those seeking to follow him. He was born on 15 January 1897, the son of A H Ainsworth and his wife Laura. In 1911 he lived with his family at Bankfield House, 41 Upper Richmond Road, East Putney. After attending SPS (1910 1914), Cecil obtained an offer of a position in the Office of the High Commissioner of the Union Government of South Africa.366 Upon the outbreak of war he decided instead to join the army and enlisted on 2 March 1915. Cecil served as a Private (G/51001 and PS/6562) with the 1st Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), first arriving in France on 14 November 1915. At some point he was badly wounded and discharged from the army on 8 December 1917, age 20. Whatever the character of his wound, Cecil survived until 23 April 1968.367

Baker, 2nd Lt George Morgan b. 17 May 1896; d. 30 Oct 1949

365

366

The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

The Pauline, 32 214 Dec 1914 p 223

367 P. 392 xvi. King’s Regulation Para 2 (a) (I) Army Order 265 dated 10/8/17. Wounds.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 80

SPS 1909 1914 Indian Army

1st XV Characters: G. M. Baker (Capt.) (1911 12 13 14). Forward. A splendid forward; he uses his weight well and is always up in the loose. His defence is very sound, and as a place kick he was always to be relied on and often brilliant. A good Captain.368

The record reveals very little about George’s career, during his time at SPS (1909 1914) and beyond. During the war he served in the Indian Army with a rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Aft the conclusion of hostilities, he pursued a career in the Nigerian Admin Service. George died at Jos, Northern Nigeria on 30 October 1949.

9.3 Barnett, Lt Denis Oliver (known as ‘Dobbin’) (See Volume 2) b. 30 April 1895; d. 16 August 1915. Age 20 SPS 1907 1914 2nd Bn. Leinster Regiment

1st XV Characters: D. O. Barnett (1912 13 14). Three quarter left wing. Goes very hard and has a magnificent hand off; is very difficult to stop near the line. Should learn to go for the corner instead of cutting in. Gets across well to defend and can kick well.369

Dardier, Lt Cyril Esmond b. 17 Jan 1896; d. 15 Jan 1977 SPS 1910 – 1913 1/10th Bn. Middlesex Regiment

1st XV Characters 1913 1914: C. E. Dardier (1913 14). Wing three quarter. Could not be relied on, either in defence or attack. Could do both, but was hardly fast enough for a wing. Must learn to go for his man.370

Cyril was born on 17 January 1896 in Whitehaven, Cumbria, the son of Samuel Victor Aseph Dardier, an Armaments Engineer, and his wife, Nora Kathleen Dardier. After the war Cyril appears to have followed the same career as his father. The 1939 Register describes him as ‘Superintendent of Gun Range, Vickers Armstrong Ltd for Proof of Ordnance and Ammunition’; it also records him as ‘Major, Royal Artillery. Retired. Last unit 52nd London A

368

The Pauline, 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

369

370

The Pauline, 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 81

A [i.e. Anti Aircraft] Bde, RA’.371 His address at this time is given as Monk Moors Eskmeals Bootle, Middleton Place, Millom, Cumberland.

Cyril’s brother Leonard Henry Dardier (SPS 1906 1909) served as a 2nd Lt in 30th Battery, RGA. He was killed on 4 October 1915.

Field, 2nd Lt Cyril Decimus b. 13 Nov 1895; d. 4 June 1915. Age 19 SPS 1909 - 1914

5th (Reserve) Bn. attd. 4th Bn. Worcestershire Regiment Helles Memorial

1st XV Characters: C. D. Field (Hon. Sec.) (1912 13 14). Forward. Has made a keen and very energetic secretary. Breaks up quickly from the scrum and follows up hard. Is always on the ball, and has learnt to tackle well.372

Cyril was born in 1896, the son of William and Kate Field. During his time at SPS (1909 1914) Cyril made a significant contribution to the life of the school: he was a school prefect, platoon sergeant in the OTC, Secretary of Shooting, Secretary of Rugby Football 1913 14, Captain elect of Rugby Football 1914 15, and Captain of A club. Cyril left SPS in September 1914, receiving his commission on 22 September 1914, the same day his eldest brother, Captain Clifford Field, R.M.L.I., lost his life in the sinking of the Aboukir.373 Cyril served with the 4th Bn. Worcestershire Regiment. He fell in Gallipoli on 4 June 1915. His body was lost and he is commemorated on the Helles Memorial. He is the subject of In Memoriam (H. C.D field and others), a poem composed by his contemporary, Henry William Hutchinson (SPS 1910 1914). (See Chapter 8, Section 8.4.)

Gadsden, Captain Geoffrey Holrryd MC b. 12 March 1896; d. 9 June 1944 SPS 1909 – 1914

6th (Service) Bn. Northamptonshire Regiment

371 Ref: RG101/3085J/002/35 Letter Code: HCRJ

372 The Pauline, 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

373 Two of Cyril’s four brothers also lost their lives in the war. Captain Clifford Field, Royal Marine Light Infantry, was the eldest brother of Cyril. Age 31, he was one of the 526 killed when HMS Aboukir was torpedoed and sank on 22 September 1914. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Lieutenant Howard Field (SPS 1907 1912) was two years older than Cyril. He served in the same battalion as his brother and was killed in Gallipoli on 6 August 1915, age 21. Like Cyril, he is commemorated on the Helles Memorial. Howard was also a talented rugby player, and had played for the 1st XV.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 82

1st XV Characters: G. H. Gadsden (1912 13 14). Has played wing forward and centre three quarter equally well. Hands off well and goes hard. Better in attack than defence.374

Geoffrey was born in India on 12 March 1896, the son of E H Gadsden, Gaol Superintendent, of Coimbatore, India. During his time at SPS (1909 1914) Geoffrey obtained his 1st XV Colours in 1912, and his 1st VIII rowing Colours in 1913. He entered Sandhurst in January 1915 and was commissioned in the Northamptonshire Regiment, with whom he fought in France from 12 April 1916. Geoffrey suffered a gunshot wound to the head while fighting on the Somme in 1916, treatment for which he received at Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital at Millbank from 25 July to 19 August 1916. He was awarded the MC in the 1918 New Year Honours. (As a New Year award, there is no citation beyond the generic ‘soldiers who have distinguished themselves in service’.)

Geoffrey remained in the Northants regiment after the war, and was stationed at Northampton. He played for the Northampton R.F. Club, and thrice for the East Midlands, greatly impressing his juniors. He left for India late in 1921. He left the army in 1923 and went into business in Bombay, where he remained till his death. He took an active part in Territorial Training, and was also well known in athletic circles. He wrote regularly for the Times of India on rugby matters. He died in India on 9 June 1944.

Griffiths, Captain William John Horsly b. 16 August 1895; d. 8 July 1976 SPS 1908 1914 374 The Pauline, 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51 375 St Paul’s School Archive

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 83

Geoffrey Holrryd Gadsden375

3rd Bn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps

1st XV Characters 1913 1914: W. J. H. Griffiths (1913 14). Three quarter. Rather slow for his position, but made clever openings sometimes. Fair in defence, but must learn to give better passes and to go straighter.376

William was born on 16 August 1895. It appears that shortly after the outbreak of the war he enlisted with the 3rd battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps, rising to the rank of Captain. He went to France with this unit 29 September 1915. William played an active part in the 1st XV and brought the Old Pauline Football Club back to life in the early 1920’s as three quarter or as full back. The record betrays little of his life thereafter. William died on 8 July 1976.

Hansen, Captain Gordon Ericksen b. 6 Oct 1895; d. 1968 SPS 1909 1914 Indian Army 52 Sikhs attd. 59th Rifles

1st XV Characters 1913 1914: G. E. Hansen (1913 14). Back. A player of moods. Tackles hard, but stands too far back, and must learn to come away from the touch line to kick. Does not like forward rushes.377

Gordon was born on 6 October 1895, the son of A S Hansen, a River Surveyor. After leaving SPS (1909 1914) Gordon gained a commission in the Indian Army on 15 November 1915 and was attached to 52nd Sikhs. After the war Gordon became a dental surgeon. In 1939 he was resident at 702 Beatty House, City Of Westminster. He died in 1968.

Jones, C K [C] Dates not known; did not fall in the war SPS 1912 – 1914 Middlesex Regiment

1st XV Characters: C. K. [C] Jones (1913 14). Fly half. A very clever and quick half, has a good head for the game and opens up the attack well. Generally defended well, but did not mark his man tight enough.378

C K C Jones receives plentiful mention in The Pauline editions of 1913 1914, in particular for his prowess on the rugby pitch. Despite this, the St Paul’s School Register does not

376

The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

377

378

The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

The Pauline, 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 84

appear to include his name and associated details and thus it is not possible to construct his biography. All that is known is that that after attending SPS (1912 1914) he served in the Middlesex Regiment and that he survived the war.

Pearson, Lt Angus John Williams (See Chapter 8, Section 8.7) b. 11 June 1895; d. 1 July 1916. Age 21 SPS 1909 1914

14th (Reserve) Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) attd. 1st Bn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers

Auchonvillers Military Cemetery

Grave epitaph: Justum Et Tenacem Propositi Virum

1st XV Characters: A. J. W. Pearson. Scrum half. Rather slow in getting the ball away, but perfectly sound in defence ; goes down to rushes beautifully.379

Plenty, Major Edward Pellew b. 6 July 1897; d. 22 Nov 1918. Age 21 SPS 1911 1914 96th Sqn. RAF Newbury (Newtown Road) Cemetery 1612

Epitaph: He Did His Duty To The End

Edward Pellew Plenty380

1st XV Characters: E. P. Plenty (1913 14). Forward. A hard working forward, pushes hard in the scrum and breaks up quickly.381

379

The Pauline, 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51 380 http://www.fnrcnewbury.org.uk/persondetails.asp?PersonID=2146

381

The Pauline, 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 85

Edward was born on 6 July 1897, the son of Edward Pellew Plenty and Jessie Adelaide Plenty, of Hill House, Wash Hill, Newbury. He joined St Paul’s in the Spring Term 1911, coming as a boarder to the High House. According to one report ‘It was characteristic of him to walk up and down his dormitory on his hands, but never once was he out of bed at “lights out”. He undertook to do 20 minutes French translation each day he did not like French for some three months, and learn all the difficult words; he never missed a lesson, he never missed a word.’382 Edward not only displayed prowess on the rugby pitch but he was also a fine boxer.

After attending SPS (1911 1914) Edward began a career as an engineer but this was interrupted by the outbreak of war when he joined a Public Schools Battalion in September 1914, lying about his age. (Age 17, he had claimed to be 18 years and 6 months.) His talent as a potential officer was quickly spotted and he received a nomination for Sandhurst, entering there in November 1914. After passing out of Sandhurst, Edward was gazetted to the Manchester Regiment with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Having expressed an interest in flying, Edward was sent instead to Farnborough for instruction as a pilot. Thus, in April 1915 he joined the Royal Flying Corps and, after gaining his flying certificate on 2 June, crossed to France on 9 September serving with No 1 Squadron, a unit significantly responsible for reconnaissance work. In April 1916 he was made Flight Commander, age eighteen. Edward was a highly skilled and accomplished pilot. An unnamed officer contributed the following to Edward’s obituary published in The Pauline. He recalled that:

Something I shall never forget, and most certainly one of the finest things I have ever seen, was when the Major prevented the honour of one of his stations from sinking dangerously low by giving a wonderful exhibition on a certain type of machine, which had only a few hours before proved faulty in the air, and caused the death of the pilot. His courage and optimism on this occasion was only what one would expect of him, but from few others.383

Edward returned to England for a short period (May October 1916) during which time he helped to train a new squadron (No. 46) then being formed at Huntingdon and with whom he served in France after the Squadron crossed the Channel in October. Edward was drafted back to England in May 1917 for a period of leave (and perhaps also to receive treatment for syphilis.) From 23 November he served as a flying instructor in Norfolk and latterly in York as Brigade Examining Officer to the Northern Training Brigade. Edward accomplished many flying hours and was Mentioned in Despatches on two occasions.384 He was gazetted Major (Flying) on 6 May 1918 and from 27 September was given command of No. 96 Squadron,

382

The Pauline, 37 244 March 1919 p 16 383

384

The Pauline, 37 244 March 1919 p 16

London Gazette. MIDs: 30 Oct 1916 and 14 June 1918

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 86

RAF, one of the special squadrons then being formed to give Germany the final blow, though the war ended before it was deployed.

Edward was admitted to the Voluntary Aid Hospital in Wyton, Huntingdon on 16 November 1918, where he died on 21 November, age 21, a casualty of Spanish Flu. He is buried in Newbury (Newtown Road) Cemetery.

Roberts, Lt Caleb Grafton MC (known as ‘Ca’) b. 31 Jan 1898; d. 23 Nov 1965 SPS 1910 1915

23rd Field Company, Royal Engineers

1st XV Characters 1913 1914: C. G. Roberts (1913 14). Forward. Very good out of touch, if he would learn to keep his head. Rather clumsy, but a very useful tackle.385

Caleb ‘Ca’ was born on 31 January 1898 in Balmain, Sydney, Australia, the son of Thomas William Roberts, and his wife Elizabeth. The family moved to Putney in 1903. During his time at SPS (1910 1915) Ca proved a talented athlete, shining as brightly on the Fives Court as he did on the rugby pitch. The Pauline said of his prowess in the former:

A very sound player, whose play in doubles has been better than in singles. He is equally good with either hand and has a nice variety of shots, though inclined to hit rather too high. Has made an admirable captain and should be invaluable next year.386

After attending SPS, Ca proceeded to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. On 26 August 1916 he was commissioned in 23rd Field Company, Royal Engineers and served in Palestine (1917), on the Western Front (1917 1918) and in the northern Russia campaign (1919), the last under the command of fellow Pauline, Major General Sir C. Maynard (See Chapter 11, Section 11.3.)

Ca gained his MC for action near Maissemy on 18 19 September 1918, helping to secure a good jumping off position by taping out assembly areas for troops forming up for the infantry attack launched at 5.30 am on 18 September and immediately thereafter working on bridges crossing the River Omignon near Vermand.387

On 29 October 1918 Ca was charged with undertaking a reconnaissance of the Oise Sambre Canal opposite Hautreve, near La Groise, as part of an intelligence gathering

385

386

The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

The Pauline, Characters of the [1st Fives] IV 32 209 June 1914, p 90

387 London Gazette LG:31158/1 Feb 1919(C)

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 87

exercise by IX Corps. The opposite bank of the Canal was held by the enemy and thus the mission was perilous.

H.28 Map showing the position of 23rd Field Company at the time that Ca undertook his reconnaissance.388

Ca’s Report on the mission reads as follows:

…. I proceeded with three sappers to platoon H Qtrs at (1).[See Map, H.29.] Thence with one sapper and a guide, to our posts behind the hedge at (2). From there with the sappers to the embankments this side of the canal at (3) … Returning, I proceeded northwards to (4) and southwards to (5). The following information was obtained: The ground as far forward as the stream or ditch running through (4), (6), (3), (2), (7), (5) is quite firm. This stream or ditch is 12’ 15’ wide between (6) and (5). Northwards of (6) and southwards of (5) its width lessons to 6’. It can be crossed at (3) by individuals on a few old planks left by the enemy. Its banks vary from 18’ – 30’ in height above the water level. At (3) this stream runs close up against the embankment. Attached are rough sketches of the Western face… and a sketch of the barge which is sunk in the canal at the bend. … There is a belt of wire about 6ft thick running southwards from (3) for about 30 yards. A machine gun could be seen firing at (8) but apparently could see nothing on top of the western embankment below three feet high. … Sketches referred to are given on Plate IV, Figs 1, 2 and 3.389

H.29 Map submitted with Ca’s Report 390 (The numbers to which Ca refers are circled in red.)

388

TNA WO 95 1234 1 6

389 TNA WO 95 1246 1 7

390 TNA WO 95 1246 1 7

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 88

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 89

H.30 Plate IV. Sketches by Ca incorporated in his Report391

After the war Ca gained an Engineering degree from the University of London and emigrated to Melbourne in August 1925 where he enjoyed a distinguished career as a road engineer, promoted Chief Engineer on 30 October 1944.

Ca played an important role in the Australian war effort during the Second World War. He was gazetted as Acting Major on 25 September 1939 and in November of that year was transferred to the Australian Intelligence Corps. He was promoted Director of Military Intelligence in February 1942 and, on 1 July 1942, became Controller of the Allied Intelligence Bureau at Douglas MacArthur’s General HQ, South West Pacific Area, responsible for propaganda, espionage and guerrilla operations in enemy held territory.

Ca died in Kew, Victoria, Australia, of coronary vascular disease on 23 November 1965.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 90

Samson, Captain Hamish Weir MC b. 8 Nov 1896; d. 8 Sept 1971 SPS 1910 1914

9th (Service) Bn. Royal Scots, attd. 1st Camerons and 6th (Service) Bn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers (C Company)

1st XV Characters: W. H. Samson (1913 14). Forward. A hard working forward always on the ball ; improved a great deal during the term. Gave and took his passes well.392

Hamish was born on 8 November 1896 in Craigston Square in Lugar, the son of John Samson, Coal master, and his wife Catherine. After attending SPS (1910 1914), Hamish was determined to fight. Ultimately he served in the 6th (Service) Bn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers (C Company) with the rank of Captain. He first arrived in France on 17 May 1916.

On 1st May the 6th (Service) battalion was in a captured German trench called ‘Obermayer’, located about one mile north east of Arras. The battalion was preparing to participate in an attack scheduled for 3 May near Oppy Wood. This assault proved unsuccessful, the battalion diary recording that:

392 The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51 393 Courtesy https://www.dng24.co.uk/family kept the faith over fate of wwi soldier/

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 91

Hamish Weir Samson393

Casualties were unnaturally heavy 15 officers (including the C O) and over 400 OR [i.e. Other Ranks]. Of the 13 officers who went ‘over the top’ only 2 returned and they were wounded.394

In the first instance it was believed that Hamish had died during this attack. His parents were thus duly informed on 22 July 1917 that their son had been killed. In fact, Hamish had been captured during the fighting on 3 May 1917. He wrote to his family on 27 July 1917, telling them that he had been wounded in his arm and side and that he was being held in prisoner of war in a camp in south west Germany. Hamish spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. He was repatriated in December 1918 and awarded the MC in the New Year’s list, January 1920.395

After the war Hamish attended King’s College, Cambridge (1919 1921) and then pursued a career with Lloyds Bank. During World War Two he served with the Home Guard in Inverness. Hamish died in Hove, Sussex, in 1971, age 76.

Shoobert, Sir Wilfred Harold (known as ‘Boots’), CIE, ED, S.PK b.7 June 1896; d. 6 Nov 1969 SPS 1908 1914 7th (Service) Bn. Rifle Brigade

1st XV Characters 1913 1914: W. H. Shoobert (1913 14). A hard working forward and a good lock man. Fairly fast, and dribbles well, better in the tight than in the loose. Will be useful next year.396

Wilfred was born in Dulwich on 7 June 1896, the son of Joseph Cornelius Shoobert. In 1911 his family was living in Hermitage House, Warrington Road, Richmond, Surrey. During his time at SPS (1908 1914), in addition to playing in the 1st XV 1913 1914 (in which sport he was Secretary in the latter year), he was a Prefect and Captain of Boxing. He won the School lightweight competitions in 1912, 1913 and 1914 and boxed for the school in the Public School’s competition at Aldershot in each of these years. In 1914 he reached the final. Wilfred won a classical scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford but upon the outbreak of war he joined the Inns of Court Rifles, from which he was commissioned into the 7th (Service) Bn. Rifle Brigade on 18 January 1915. He arrived in France with this unit on 18 September of that year. Wilfred served as 2nd Lieutenant, rising to Lieutenant and was wounded on two occasions. After the war Wilfred attended Oxford and consequently pursued a distinguished career in the Indian civil service, serving in several offices and rising to Director General of 394

TNA WO 95 1772 2 395 London Gazette MC LG:31759/30 Jan 1920 396 The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 92

Posts and Telegraphs (1941). From 1948 he served as Secretary to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Government of Pakistan, establishing the Pakistan Agri Horticulture Society. He was awarded the CIE in 1943 and was Knighted in 1946. Wilfred died on 6 November 1969 and is buried in the churchyard in Holmbury St Mary, near Dorking.

Wilfred’s elder brother, Neil attended SPS 1903 1906 and was killed on 31 July 1917 while serving in the Ypres Salient. (See Volume 2.) Neil had also played in the 1st XV.

Skeet, Lt Challen Hasler Lupkin b. 17 Aug 1895; d. 20 April 1978 SPS 1909 1914 12th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers

1st XV Characters: C. H. L. Skeet (1912 13 14). Three quarter left centre. His long absence from the team has been a great loss. In the few matches in which he played he showed a great deal of improvement. Is a good drop kick.397

Challen was born on 17 August 1895 in Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, the only son of Robert and Cecilia Stewart. At some point the family moved to London and in the 1911 Census is recorded as living at 3 Palliser Court, West Fulham. Challen attended SPS 1909 1914. 397 The Pauline, 1st XV Characters 32 208 March 1914 pp 50 51

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 93

Challen Hasler Lupkin Skeet

A talented rugby player (he was a member of the 1st XV for two years 1912 1914), Challen was a most distinguished all round athlete at school: a member of the 1st Fives in 1914 and winner of the Shepard Cup in 1914, awarded for running, long jump, and throwing the cricket ball. As a rugby player, The Pauline described him as:

A pretty player, though occasionally somewhat leisurely. He showed exceptionally fine form towards the latter end of the term.398

Challen was perhaps at his best on the cricket pitch. He was a member of the 1st XI for four years (1911 1914). In 1914, when he was Captain of Cricket, his side enjoyed the most successful season to date in the School’s history, and his was the highest batting average at 57.78; he was also a good bowler and a brilliant fieldsman, especially at cover or in the outfield.

Upon the outbreak of the war Challen joined the 1/28th (County of London) Bn. (Artist’s Rifles) London Regiment with the rank of Private (2342). At some point he was commissioned as a Lieutenant and transferred to the 12th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers. At 5 am on 25 September this unit was in a recently taken German trench system at the Hohenzollern Redoubt, a short distance south of Auchy les la Bassee. The battalion had only recently arrived in France and this was to be their first experience of hostile shell fire, an encounter that later became known as the Battle of Loos.

The battalion diary states that: The trenches we occupied were almost continuously shelled from the time we entered them until the time we returned on the morning of the 28 September. The Germans attacked these trenches on the mornings of the 26 and 27 September, but all these attacks were beaten off. On the morning of the 28 September, after a tremendous bombardment of our position, the Germans attacked in force and gained a footing in the trenches occupied by the 7th Northants Regiment on the left flank and by the 7th [9th?] Royal Sussex Regiment on the right flank. The Germans then proceeded to bomb the Fusiliers out of their trenches from both flanks, so that they had to retire, and this they did under heavy shell and machine gun fire. It was during this retirement that most of [our] losses occurred. During the whole of the time we occupied the trenches we were without rations and water, and owing to the continuous shell fire sleep was impossible. The Fusiliers went into action without any bombs so that they were unable to meet the attack of the Germans on the morning of the 28 September. … At the time of writing all the officers of No. 2 Company are missing.399 398 The Pauline, Characters of the [1st Fives] IV 32 209 June 1914, p 90 399 TNA WO 95 2208 1

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 94

H.31 Map showing the trench system in the vicinity of the Hohenzollern Redoubt.400

During this fighting Challen was taken prisoner likely one of the missing officers from No. 2 Company and remained such for the remainder of the war. He was interned in Holland on 19 April 1918 and repatriated on 18 November of that year.

After the war Challen proceeded to Merton College, Oxford for one year. He gained his cricket Blue in 1920 before going on to play first class cricket for Middlesex (1920 – 1922). Wisden states that:

After the University match, [Challen] became a regular member of the Middlesex side [1920 – 1922], but fifteen innings had produced only 168 runs when it came to the second innings of the last match (Sir Pelham Warner’s last county match for Middlesex) against Surrey at Lord’s, on which the championship hung. Middlesex were 73 behind on the first innings, and, when Skeet and Lee went in on the second evening with forty awkward minutes to play out time the odds against Surrey losing must have been considerable. In fact both batsmen made centuries, Skeet 106; the first wicket did not fall till after lunch next day, when the

400 Weetman, W C C, 1/8th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters In The Great War 1914 1919 (Nottingham, 1920). Facing p 94

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 95

score was 208, and Middlesex won a sensational victory and the Championship. … Of one catch in particular Sir Pelham used to talk. At Edgbaston G. A. Rotherham hit Lee higher than Sir Pelham had ever seen a ball hit: he thought it must rival the famous blow off which G. F. Grace caught Bonner at The Oval in 1880, and the Rev. E. F. Waddy felt sure there must have been snow on the ball when it descended. Skeet had to run twenty yards and then wait almost half a minute before it arrived safely in his hands. … [Challen] was one of the great fieldsmen of his time. 401

The Cricketer Magazine of Saturday, 26 August 1922 carried a large front page photograph and article about Challen.

Challen’s cricketing career with Middlesex was cut short by his decision to serve the British government civil service in Sudan, rising to Governor of Equatoria Province in 1942. He was granted the Order of the Nile in 1931. Challen died on 20 April 1978 at West Tytherley, Hampshire, England.

8.10 Brothers-in-arms

There are multiple instances of OP brothers serving in the 1st World War. The Hillier brothers are somewhat unusual in that, for at least some of the time, they served together in the same battalion; the Campbell brothers are worthy of report in that they are four in number.

i) brothers Harold Drummond Hillier (SPS 1906 – 1910) and Geoffrey Stewart Drummond Hillier (SPS 1907 1911)

Hillier, Captain Harold Drummond MC b. 19 June 1892; d. 1988 SPS 1906 – 1910

13th (Service) Bn. (Forest of Dean) Pioneers, Gloucestershire Regiment

Harold Drummond Hillier402

401 Wisden 1979, Obituary, 1978 pp 1086 87 402 © IWM HU 115639

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 96

Hillier, Captain Geoffrey (Geoff) Stewart Drummond b. 27 Feb 1894; d. 30 March 1918 SPS 1907 – 1911

13th (Service) Bn. (Forest of Dean) Pioneers, Gloucestershire Regiment Pozieres Memorial Age 24

Harold and Geoffrey (known as Geoff) Hillier were born on 19 June 1892 and 27 Feb 1894 respectively, the only sons of Harry Mason Hillier and Margaret Edith Mary (nee Drummond) Hillier. Their earliest years had been spent in Hong Kong, their father at that time acting as the Chinese Customs Commissioner at Kowloon. When the family returned to England both boys attended SPS, Harold from 1906 to 1910 and his younger brother from 1907 to 1911. Harold was a talented artist, an attribute which manifested itself in the many

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 97

Geoffrey Steward Drummond Hillier403

endearing sketches he produced during his time at the front. In the John Watson Competition of 1910, in which he won a prize, Harold’s landscapes were judged to be ‘an improvement on his previous work, his pencil work from the cast and painting of still life groups being very capable’. 404

H.32 A sketch by Harold of his billet when at Lacouture, 26 June 1916.405

The brothers were keen and talented sportsmen, both of whom played in the 1st XV during the 1910 1911 season. The Pauline considered this team ‘one of the most successful the School has ever had’ and went on to describe the contribution of the Hillier brothers thus:

H. D. Hillier (1909 10 11). Three quarters. Very fast, but did not run with sufficient determination. Has a baffling swerve, but cut in too much instead of making for the corner. His defence varied.

G. S. Hillier (1910 11). Forward. Worked hard, and his hooking improved. Dribbled fairly well, but was clumsy. Fairly good in defence.406

By all accounts Harold and Geoff were not only siblings, but also the best of friends. The Hillier family history records that they were ‘the closest of friends’ and that Harold felt ‘a strong protective feeling’ for his younger brother.407

404

405

The Pauline, 28 183 Oct 1910 p 149

The Hillier Family at War p 31 Family record. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

406

407

The Pauline, 29 188 June 1911 p 83

The Hillier Brothers (Harold and Geoffrey) and the Great War. Family record, p 4. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 98

After leaving St Paul’s Harold joined the London branch of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and Geoff gained employment at the City offices of John Swire and Son. Geoff had been a member of the St Paul’s OTC during his entire time at the school and decided to maintain his interest in the army after leaving SPS by joining one of the London Territorial regiments. Thus on 17 February 1913 he enlisted with the 1/14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish) with the rank of Private (No. 2136). On 8 August 1914, four days after Britain’s declaration of war, he was joined in the same unit by Harold, also serving with the rank of Private (No.2210).

The 1/14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish) entrained for Southampton on 15 September 1914, and embarked for Le Havre on the SS Winefredian. In late October the unit was rushed into the line north of Messines, in which place on 31 October 1 November it became the first Territorial unit to participate in front line fighting. The unit diary records that ‘from 9 pm [on 31 October] to 2 am [on 1 November] the Germans made continuous attacks against our lines, all of which were unsuccessful.’408 The price of this successful resistance was substantial, the fighting strength of the unit diminished from 26 officers and 786 Other Ranks to 15 and 519 respectively. The Hillier brothers were fortunate to have survived, though Geoff was invalided home in November suffering from dysentery.

From 21 December 1914 the battalion was in the front line trenches at Givenchy, a part of the line that witnessed the Christmas Truce. Although no mention of this event is found in the battalion diary, Harold notes in his memoirs that on Christmas Day ‘the extraordinary happened both sides climbed on to their parapets, waved to each other and sang in unison’.409 The following day the battalion was relieved by the 1st Bn. Coldstream Guards. Harold recalled that:

Not long before dawn, when life felt at its very lowest, and the prospect of attacking anyone ludicrous, a message came through that the Coldstream Guards were relieving us .…They came up through the morning mist and as one of them jumped into my hole, he was shot and fell on top of me .…We were moving back so I got out to let in another Guardsman and walking next to me one of my friends threw up his arms and fell to the ground, hit in the back. I felt it must be my turn next but I got safely down to the road below .… The Quarter master who had come up from behind called out to me that my leave permit had come through and that if I walked down to the main road, I would possibly get a lift to the railhead. Incredibly, I reached London that evening and dirty and gory as I was, dined with my sister, Dots, and her brother in law just off his ship in the Navy, at the Savoy…. After the 408 TNA WO 95 1266 2 409 Hillier, Harold Vita Mea,p 37

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 99

few days of comfort and happiness with my parents at Burnt Oak, my leave was over and I went back with a heavy heart to the mud and squalor of Givenchy.410

On 16 March 1915 the brothers were commissioned as officers, detailed to serve with the rank 2nd Lieutenant in the newly raised 13th (Service) Bn. (Forest of Dean) Pioneers, Gloucestershire Regiment, also referred to as 13th (Service) Bn. Glosters. That both brothers should serve in the same regiment was not wholly unsual; that they should serve in the same battalion considerably more so. This unusual state of affairs came about because of the solicitations of the boys’ uncle, W. Herbert Drummond, for whom Harold had been acting as private secretary. In 1914 Herbert was the prospective Conservative candidate in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and was to be gazetted Captain and Major in the new battalion. Following the call for local dignitaries to raise battalions to serve in Kitchener’s new army, Herbert resolved on so doing in the Forest of Dean parliamentary constituency. In February 1915 it was reported that:

[Recruiting for the new battalion] is from one point of view fairly satisfactory, inasmuch as each day sees an addition to our numbers, yet in another point of view it is not so satisfactory inasmuch as the number at present coming in are not sufficiently large to warrant us to hope that the battalion as a whole will be able to become efficient at the same time.411

In particular, after the devastating losses in the fighting of 1914, there existed a serious deficit of officer material. Thus, already bloodied in battle, Harold and Geoff presented as obvious choices to assume positions as junior officers in the new battalion.

As a pioneer battalion 13th (Service) Bn. Glosters main role was to undertake work constructing Strong Points, reclaiming old trenches, building dug outs, laying barbed wire and making breast works in the vicinity of the front and rear lines. It remained in England for its first twelve months, during which time Harold and Geoff assisting in training the raw recruits. The battalion proceeded to France in March 1916, attached to the 39th Division as Divisional Troops, and was at first deployed in the La Laventie sector. Geoff described its activities in a letter home:

At the present moment we are not actually in the trenches but go up there in night and day shifts to work on them and are billeted about 1 ½ miles away in a large house which though devoid of all furniture except a Royal Grand piano we have managed to make very comfortable. I am very much afraid, however, that brother Bosch has discovered our lair as

410 Hillier, Harold Vita Mea, p 35

411 Major H Webb MP and Captain Herbert Drummond, 13th (Service) Bn. Letter published in The Gloucester Journal, 13 Feb 1915

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 100

he almost daily puts a few shells over the roof into the field about a hundred yards in front of us. It’s most extraordinary that he has never altered his range, though he tries various kinds of shells; one day he will and I hope I shall be out then as it won’t be comfortable for a bit.412

In early April 1916 a sniper’s bullet hit Geoff in his shoulder. Unfortunately the unit diary for the first few days of April is missing but it seems that the battalion at this time was engaged in establishing barbed wire in the defence system at Belle Rive, about five miles north of Bethune. The last diary entry for March is 28 March records that:

The battalion began the construction of a barbed wire entanglement from Gorre Le Hamel Les Choquax to the La Bassee Canal. This work was carried out under the direction of the Chief Engineer, XI Corps, and was supervised by the Anglesey Coy, R E.413

Geoff was apparently unlucky to have been hit, the unit diary noting in its final entry for April 1916 that:

Casualties were very slight up to the end of this month; only 1 officer (Lt G S D Hillier) and three Other Ranks being wounded, none seriously except the officer.414

The wound was indeed serious. Geoff was transported back to England and hospitalised in Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital in Millbank from 4 April 1916 to 5 May 1916. He was then transferred to King Edward VII Hospital.415 Geoff had recovered sufficiently to return to France in September, attached with the rank of Captain to the 1st Bn. Gloucestershire Regiment. He served in this unit until early in 1917, at which point he returned to 13th (Service) Bn. Glosters.

Meanwhile, promoted Captain, Harold had remained in 13th (Service) Bn. Glosters. On the night of 29 30 June 1916 he was in command of a party consisting of 9 officers and 285 other ranks instructed to undertake pioneer work involving the digging of communication trenches in the rear of assaulting units of the 116th Infantry Brigade detailed to attack part of the German front near Richebourg St Vaast, north east of Bethuen, known as the Boar’s Head. The objectives of men under Harold’s command were as follows: A Coy, with 50 men to connect saps at S.16.a.7.2; B Coy to extend Vine St communication trench; C Coy to extend Bond St communication trench; and D Coy to make a breast work at S.10.d.0.2.

412 The Hillier Brothers (Harold and Geoffrey) and the Great War. Family record. Letter p 4. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

413 TNA WO 95 2577 1

414 TNA WO 95 2577 1

415 MH 106/1663

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 101

H.33 Map of trenches in the vicinity of the Boar’s Head. (The German trenches are shown in red; the British in blue.) The grid references for the work to be undertaken by the contingents under Harold’s command can be observed on this map.416

The attack was initially successful but the German trench could not be held and troops under Harold’s command had to withdrew to their original positions, suffering 88 casualties. A Report noted that:

The detachment of 13th [Service] Bn. Gloucestershire Regiment (Pioneers) carried out their work in a most gallant manner. The construction of the communication trench almost completely across No Man’s Land under very heavy fire is worthy of the greatest praise.417

For his action Harold was recommended for the immediate award of the Military Cross. The recommendation read:

His parties did splendid work and displayed throughout the action, great gallantry and devotion to duty. I consider that Capt. Hillier as the organiser of the work and leader of the

416

417

TNA WO 95 2575 1 5

TNA WO 95 2563 1 3. Report On Operations Against The Boar’s Head, 29 June and 30 June by Major General Robert Dawson

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 102

party which achieved such results deserves recognition and I recommend him for the Military Cross.418

(In the event, the award was made in the 1918 New Year’s Honours List.)

All units involved in the attack on the Boar’s Head suffered huge losses and the episode ranks as arguably one of the most disastrous of the entire war. The Divisional Commander’s Report described the attack thus:

The first troops to enter the hostile trenches were at once engaged in hand to hand fighting. Both [of the] attacking battalions [i.e. 12th and 13th (Service) Bns. Royal Sussex] lost heavily during the advance to the font line and also between the front and support lines from Machine Gun fire, both enfilade and direct.419 From present reports it appears that the troops were subjected to very heavy shell and machine gun fire while in the captured position, were unable to maintain their position owing to losses, and subsequently both battalions withdrew to our front line, after having been in the enemy trenches for over two hours. The losses, it is feared, have been heavy estimated at between 200 and 300 in each battalion.420 … [Our total] casualties amount to 950 but some of these will no doubt turn up tomorrow, as invariably occurs. Of this number 611 are actually now in our casualty clearing stations or on their way down to the base. Of these 611,[many] are ‘sitting down’ cases, so that our losses are not so heavy as might at first appear. … Although the troops were unable to maintain possession of the German trenches, the enterprise looked upon as a raid was I consider highly successful.421

Harold’s record of the attack was somewhat understated:

After an excellent breakfast of fried eggs and bacon in my comfortable billet I turned in. I could not help feeling the almost humorous contrast of a few hours before and felt v. thankful to be through a v. nasty night.422

418 LG:30450/1 Jan 1918

419 So great were the losses of these battalions that this day became known as ‘the day Sussex died.’

420 TNA WO 95 2563 1 3. Report On Operations Against The Boar’s Head, 29 June and 30 June by Major General Robert Dawson. A second Report considered total casualties to number 48 officers and 1153 Other Ranks.

421 TNA WO 95 2563 1 3 39th Division Preliminary Report On Operations Against The Boar’s Head. Major General Robert Dawson

422 The Hillier Family At War. Family record. Letter p. 33. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 103

In January 1917 Geoff was transferred from the 1st Bn. Gloucestershires back to the 13th (Service) Battalion, apparently a result of Harold’s solicitations. Geoff rejoined on 20th February, initially with the rank of Lieutenant, latterly Captain, commanding C Company.423 The brothers were thus reunited and served together for the next few months, no doubt the only battalion to enjoy a surfeit of ‘Captain Hilliers’.

In August 1917 Harold received treatment the reason for which appears unknown in Casualty Clearly Station 21, from which he was discharged on 17 September.424 On 31 October he was sent home to England where he undertook the training of newly raised battalions despite the fact that he had orders to rest for six months. Harold returned to France in April 1918, by which time the loss of soldiers in the 13th (Service) Bn. Glosters had been so great that the unit had ceased to exist. Among the fallen was Geoff.

The entry in the unit diary for 31 March 1918 records Geoff as one of four officers reported ‘Missing’ during action on 30 March near Aubercourt, about eleven miles south east of Amiens. On that day the:

[Battalion] moved to a wood NW of [its] last position [and] occupied a line N of Hangard. During the day the [battalion] was involved in an attack and one counter attack and held the line until relieved in the morning of [31 March] when it assembled at Longueau and marched thence to Bovelles.425

The 117th Brigade (39th Division) diary includes the following details about the action in which Geoff was killed:

About 7 am [on 30 March] heavy shelling was heard in the neighbourhood of Aubercourt. Units were warned to prepare to counter attack. Shortly afterwards troops were seen withdrawing from the Aubercourt Marcelcave Road. [The] 13th Gloster Regt. Were therefore ordered to take up a line on the spur in U.23.a and b. and the remainder of the Brigade lined the ridge from about U.24.b.5.3 U.13.d.0.0 … About 11 am the whole line was seen withdrawing but they were stopped, re organised and took up the general line U.24.a.0.0 U.24.a.7.9 U.12.d.9.6. About 1 pm it was decided to counter attack and regain the ridge S E of the wood in U.18 and V.13 [i.e. Morgement Wood]. Verbal orders were issued and the whole line advanced in a S E direction … [but] shortly after this our troops were again seen withdrawing. They were re organised and again sent forward but were

423

TNA WO 95 2577 1

424 MH 106/499

425 TNA WO 95 2577 1. The ‘last position’ was ‘north of Demuin, on line Aubercourt Marcelcave’.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 104

unable to advance so far as before. … [Eventually] the remnants of the Brigade were re organised and collected about U.12.a. Total strength about 88 all ranks.426

The 39th Division was ordered to withdraw and arrived at billets at Longeau about 6 am on 31 March.

Harold did all that he could to try and locate the body of his brother, to whom he had been so close. On 22nd May 1918, Geoff’s father, Harry, wrote to the War Office requesting help in this process:

Can you possibly trace the fate of my son after he fell wounded. He was leading his men in the attack on the 30 March and they came under the fire of an enemy machine gun post at the junction of roads leading to Hangard and Aubercourt. With a machine gun officer and sergeant and one man of his own Company named Private Long, they rushed forward to show the men the way and they were immediately caught by this machine gun at the road junction. Three of the four who went forwards are said to have been killed, one of them being my son. No [further] news of any kind has been received by us since this occurrence, which seems to indicate that he must have been killed. I should be much obliged if you will kindly help us to solve this matter.427

Harold’s research resulted in the strong suggestion that Geoff had indeed been killed. In particular, he learned that Geoff’s ordinary had stated that he was with him when: [Geoff] was badly hit in the stomach and that he dragged him down [the hill], behind the bank, where according to his report, he died.

Harold further discovered that six months after Geoff had been recorded as ‘missing’ ‘a British grave was found on the actual spot, with four crosses’, one of which was ‘to an ‘Unknown British Soldier, Gloster.’428 It seems that Harold at some point visited the location, suggested by the hand drawn map and several detailed sketches he composed, one of which is a rendering of a grave ‘with four crosses,’ the second from the left being the grave of the ‘Unknown British Soldier, Gloster’.

426

427

TNA WO 95 2585 1 8

The Hillier Family at War 1914 1918. Letter from Harry Hillier to the War Office, 22 May 1918 p 41. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

428

The Hillier Family at War 1914 1918. Undated notes composed by Harold p 56. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 105

H.34 Map drawn by Harold showing Geoff’s final movements.429

H.35 Harold’s sketch of the four graves, that of Geoff’s is perhaps the second on the left.430

429 The Hillier Family at War 1914 1918. p 56. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

430 Harold Drummond Hillier MC, WW1 Sketches and Watercolours. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 106

In 1919 the British Red Cross obtained a report from a Private in 13th (Service) Bn. Glosters. The Private stated that:

Capt Hillier was killed on 30 March some 10 kilos in front of Amiens. I had just handed him a message when I saw him fall, I think hit by several machine gun bullets. I am sure he was killed. We were retiring at the time and the body would be left.431

Geoff’s body was never found, and the four graves appear to have been lost in the final months of fighting. When the brothers’ father, Harry, died in 1924, Harold placed on his gravestone in the churchyard of St Mary’s, Wimbledon, the following additional inscription: ‘Also of Captain Geoffrey Stewart Drummond Hillier, born 27th February 1894, missing in action 30th March 1918.’ Meanwhile, Margaret (Daisy) Middleton, to whom Geoff had become engaged in December 1917, never gave up hope that he would return. She never married and kept a photograph of Geoff on her table until she died and in 1987. Geoff is

431 The Hillier Family at War 1914 1918. Letter from the British Red Cross, 8 March 1919 p 64. I am grateful to the family for allowing me to use this material.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 107

remembered on the Pozieres Memorial. Harold survived the war and became a businessman.

ii) the Campbell brothers

H.36 Table showing the service record of the Campbell brothers Surname Initials Rank Award Yrs at SPS Regiment D of d Age

Campbell J A L Captain 1893 97 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

19 Mar 15 36

Campbell R W F Captain 1902 06 Royal Fusiliers 11 Aug 16 28

Campbell C G Lt 1894 98 RFA

Campbell C R Lt 1899 1902 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Colin Campbell (10th Laird of Jura) and his wife Frances Monteath (nee Sidey) had four sons, all of whom attended SPS, played in the 1st XV and served in the armed forces. The Admissions Register of St Paul’s School describes Colin as a ‘tea merchant’; census data shows that when he was in London the family lived comfortably at 10 Edith Rd, West Kensington, a stone’s throw from SPS. (The 1901 census records that a nurse, parlour maid, cook and housemaid were all resident.)

The eldest and the youngest James and Ronald fell in the war. Unusually, they lie together in the same grave in front of the Campbell of Jura Mausoleum in Kiels Old Cemetery on the island of Jura, off the west coast of Scotland.

H.37 The distinctive Commonwealth gravestone under which James and Ronald lie with the Campbell of Jura Mausoleum behind the railings.432

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 108

Campbell, Captain James Archibald Lochnell b. 16 March 1879; d. 19 March 1915.

SPS 1893 – 1897 1/6th Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Kiels Old Cemetery, Jura Age 36

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 109

James Archibald Lochnell Campbell433

St Paul’s School Archive

James Archibald Lochnell Campbell was born on the island of Jura, Scotland on 16 March 1879. After attending SPS (1893 1897), where he distinguished himself playing with the 1st XV, James joined the 1st Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1900 and served in South Africa, Northern Nigeria and Malta. James gained his commission from the Militia in 1900 and was promoted Captain in 1910. He was station staff officer in the South African War, and obtained the Queen’s Medal with three clasps and the King’s with two. From April 1903 to October 1907, and again for three years from December 1908, James served with the West African Frontier Force. He was appointed Adjutant in the 1/6th Bn. Gordon Highlanders in 1912. In 1914 he went to France with this unit and was mortally wounded on 13 March at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915. A Report in the unit diary described events thus:

Friday 12 March. Battalion subjected to heavy artillery fire from 4.30 am … Saturday 13 March. Battalion moved off at 4.15 am to attack which was ordered to commence at 9.30 am. While moving forward to take up position before daybreak subjected to artillery fire and lost several men. … Colonel McLean, who had gone out in front to obtain information, was killed when about to enter a trench occupied by the 2nd Gordons. This would be about 7.30 am and about the same time the Adjutant (Capt J A L Campbell) was wounded.434

James was extracted from the line and died at Boulogne on 19 March 1915, three days after his 36th birthday. Unusually, his body was returned across the Channel and he is buried in Kiels Old Cemetery on Jura, in the same grave as his younger brother, Ronald. (See below.)

Campbell, Captain Ronald Walker Francis b. 14 June 1888; d. 11 August 1916 SPS 1902 1906

10th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Kiels Old Cemetery, Jura Age 28

Ronald Walker Francis Campbell435

434 TNA WO 95 1657 1 Report as to part taken by 1/6th Gordon Highlanders in operations from 10th to 14th March 1915.

435 St Paul’s School Archive

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 110

Ronald was born on 8 July 1888 in Richmond, Surrey the youngest of four brothers to attend St Paul’s. During his time at SPS (1902 1906) he played forward in the 1st XV. On leaving St. Paul’s he went up to Cambridge, where he rowed for his college (Pembroke), and took his Historical Tripos in 1909, and Law Tripos (2nd Class) in 1910. The following year he passed his final Bar Exam. (Class II, placed 4th in order of merit ) In January 1913 he was called to the Bar.

On the outbreak of war he was in camp with the Inns of Court OTC which he had joined on coming down from Cambridge. He immediately volunteered for active service, and received a commission in the 10th (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers. Soon afterwards he was promoted Lieutenant. In July 1915 he went to France with his battalion, and took part in the advance on Pozieres Contalmaison on the Somme, where he was wounded three times while leading his Company (of which he was then in temporary command). Ronald’s obituary published in The Pauline described him thus:

Always a keen sportsman and an enthusiastic lover of life in the country, he was never happier than when out on the moors in his home in the Highlands, or rowing round the rugged coast in search of seals or rock pigeon, and his letters home from the front were ever recalling days thus spent. Readers of Country Life may sometimes have come across short articles by him describing a day’s stalking or winter shooting such as he delighted in. Old Paulines will remember that his eldest brother, Captain J. A. L. Campbell, A. and S.H., suffered the same fate so lately as March 1915, succumbing to wounds received in action at Neuve Chapelle. He was mentioned in General French’s dispatch for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field. The remaining two brothers are also serving. His commanding officer wrote: “Did I ever tell you how extraordinarily gallant your son was some days before the attack on Pozieres when he made a splendid and daring reconnaissance towards the chalk pit on the Contalmaison Pozieres road, and sent us most valuable information? He was so disappointed that he was not allowed to remain there and have reinforcements sent to him. As it was, he remained there for over an hour alone, having shown great nerve and pluck in venturing there at all. The General was immensely pleased. It

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 111

was a very gallant act. He was a dear, plucky fellow.” He was promoted Captain just before his death.436

Ronald was mortally wounded on 15 July 1916 when the battalion advanced up Sausage Valley (to the south of La Boisselle), detailed to support the attack of the 112th Brigade on Pozieres. The unit diary for that day makes for grim reading:

… The enemy’s machine guns, carefully concealed and untouched by our bombardment, maintained a fire so deadly that it was eventually found necessary to fall back to a line of trenches … at varying distances from 200 to 300 yards from the village [i.e. Pozieres]. …. [Following a renewed attack at 5 pm] the enemy’s machine guns opened an even more destructive fire than that which had taken place in the morning. After many gallant attempts to establish themselves in the village the troops were forced to regain cover and remained in those positions where they had passed the afternoon.437

Ronald was extracted from the line and removed back to Britain. He died in hospital in Manchester, from where his body was taken for burial on Jura.

Campbell, Lt Charles Graham (11th Laird of Jura) b. 3 June 1880; d. 1971 SPS 1894 1898

R.F.A. attd. East African Expeditionary Force

After leaving SPS (1894 1898) Charles served an apprenticeship with James Simpson and Co of Pimlico, after which he was proposed for membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. After successfully gaining membership the following years saw him travelling to Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. During some of this time he undertook gold digging (in Alsaka), as well as farming. He eventually became an engineer to the first successful fruit cannery in the Chilliwick Valley in British Columbia. After a short period in Scotland he returned to Australia where he purchased a territory and raised horses at Kooringarro, New South Wales.

Upon the outbreak of war Charles returned to Britain where he sought to enlist, though in the first instance he was not accepted for military service as he had only one eye. Eventually he joined the Royal Field Artillery with whom he served from 13 June 1918.

After the war Colin resumed his travels and undertook an expedition that took him to Australia, Canada, Java and New Zealand, returning home via the South Sea Islands and the 436 The Pauline, 34 227 Nov 1916 p 140 437 TNA WO 95 2532 1

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 112

Panama Canal. Charles sold the last of the Campbell’s Jura estate in 1938 to William Riley Smith of Tadcaster, Yorkshire and purchased a small estate in Melrose, where he lived with his wife, Deborah Sylvester (nee Lambarde), whom he had married in 1930.

Charles died in London in 1971.

Campbell, Lt Colin Richard b. 24 April 1885; d. 1963 SPS 1899 - 1902

3rd Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders attd. Seaforth Highlanders

Colin Richard Campbell438

Colin Richard Campbell attended SPS from 1899 1902.439 He appears to have served in France from 18 March 1917, initially as 2nd Lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders and Dorsethire regiments before transferring to the 3rd Bn. Argyll and Sutherland regiment, attached to the Seaforths, with the rank of Lieutenant.

8.11 The only Indian fighter Ace of the 1st World War440

Roy, 2nd Lt Indra Lal (known as ‘Laddie’) DFC b. 2 Dec 1898; d. 22 July 1918 SPS 1911 – 1917 No 40 Squadron RAF Estevelles Communal Cemetery

Grave epitaph: He Died For The Ideals He Loved Age 19

438 St Paul’s School Archive 439 St Paul’s School Archive 440 A flying ‘ace’ is a fighter pilot credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 113

Indra known as ‘Laddie’ was born in Calcutta on 2 December 1898, the son of Piera Lal Roy and Lolita. Piera was a barrister and Director of Public Prosecutions in Calcutta; Lolita was active in multiple social and activist associations for Indians. (She played a role in the suffragette movement and worked actively for women’s right to vote in India and Britain.442) Laddie was the fifth of six children he had three older sisters and one older brother, Paresh Lal Arthur Roy (SPS 1908 1912).443 From 1901 the family lived in London, though the father appears to have remained in India. In 1911 the family was resident at 77 Brook Green, Hammersmith, a mere hop and a skip from SPS.

441 St Paul’s School Archive. 1916 Swimming and Waterpolo Team

442 Lolita’s date of death appears uncertain. Her image features on a plinth at the base of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square in London.

443 Paresh enlisted within a few weeks of the outbreak of war and served throughout as a Private in the HAC. Upon the conclusion of hostilities he returned to India where he became a prominent amateur boxer and is considered the ‘father of Indian boxing’. He died on 28 Dec 1979. Lolit Kumar Roy (SPS 1912 1918) went to Sandhurst after attending SPS. He died on 1 Dec 1920.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 114

During his time at St Paul’s (1911 1917) Laddie excelled at games as well as in the classroom. He gained his 3rd XV Colours and emerged as a talented boxer and an even better swimmer, occupying in his final year the office of Captain of Swimming. Laddie also exhibited an extraordinary capacity for mechanical invention one such scheme involving improved railway signalling was apparently adopted by the government. He was active in the OTC. A winner of the Bedford Prize in 1916, Laddie was an impressive historian. His obituary in The Pauline asserted that:

In History he not only had the power of “getting up” a subject, but took a lively interest in it, and showed great critical ability in forming and expressing independent judgements.444

Perhaps influenced by the example of his elder brother, Paresh, Laddie left SPS as soon as he reached military age (i.e. 18) in April 1917, determined to join the RFC. Despite prejudice against his Indian heritage acting as a significant impediment to obtaining a commission, and suffering poor eyesight, Laddie’s ambition to gain a commission in the RFC was singular:

To obtain his commission he left no stone unturned. He was at first rejected for defective eyesight, but, refusing to abide by this decision, he obtained two other opinions, one from the leading oculist of the day, at his own expense, selling his motor bicycle for the purpose, and was ultimately accepted.445

Laddie was regarded as:

One of the first Bengalees to knock at the door of the Empire and demand the right to do his duties as a citizen, that through unflinching zeal and indomitable perseverance he had gained admission into the most distinguished service in the whole Army, namely, the Flying Corps.446

After a period of time with a number of different Cadet units, Laddie undertook flying training in July 1917 at Vendome in France and on 5 July 1917 was appointed to a temporary commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the RFC. On 30 October he joined No. 56 Squadron. This unit was the first to operate the Royal Aircraft Factory SE5. While flying in France with ‘A’ Flight under Richard Maybery, Laddie was badly injured when he crashed his SE5a (B567) on the morning of 6 December. Knocked unconscious, Laddie was rescued from capture. Taken for dead, he was placed in a morgue at Etaples British Military Hospital with others deemed of that condition. Miraculously, Laddie regained consciousness and summoned sufficient

444

The Pauline, 36 241 Nov 1918 pp 134 35

445 The Pauline, 36 241 Nov 1918 pp 134 35 446

Englishman’s Overland Mail, 11 October 1918

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 115

strength to bang on the door of his nightmarish place of incarceration, thereby alerting the startled morgue attendant. Obliged to undertake a period of convalescence back in England, Laddie spent some of this time composing numerous sketches of aircraft. (See H.38.)

H.38 A sketch by Laddie of a Sopwith Camel447

Upon recovering from his accident, Laddie was sent for remedial training and thereafter reassigned to No. 40 Squadron (now part of the RAF), joining his new unit in France on 19 June 1918. His new Flight Commander was George McElroy, with whom he collaborated well: over the course of two weeks 6 July to 19 July Laddie shot down ten enemy aircraft, two of which he shared with McElroy. The most sparkling spell during this time was on 8 July, when Laddie shot down three aircraft in four hours, one of which was a Fokker DVII, considered one of the best iterations of German combat aircraft of the war.448

On 22 July 1918 Laddie was shot down while flying in formation with two other SE5a’s, fulfilling a dawn patrol operation over Carvin, about six miles north east of Lens. At the time he was reported missing, his commanding officer wrote to his family describing how Laddie: ent up on a patrol with three other fellows, and they met four German aeroplanes [Fokker DVIIs]. Two of these were seen to fall, and one of our own, which was the machine your son

447 Indian Air Force Museum / The Wire

448 A judgement evidenced by the fact that in the Armistice Agreement it was specifically mentioned that machines of this type were to be surrendered to the Allies.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 116

was flying. From the time he came to the squadron his one aim in life was to shoot down Huns, and through his skill as a pilot and wonderful dash he succeeded in bringing down nine [ten?] enemy machines. For the time he was here that is a wonderfully fine record.449

Laddie was awarded the DFC posthumously on 21 September 1918. The citation reads: A very gallant and determined officer, who in thirteen days accounted for nine [ten?] enemy machines. In these several engagements he has displayed remarkable skill and daring, on more than one occasion accounting for two machines in one patrol.450

Laddie’s body was recovered and he is buried in Estevelles Communal Cemetery.

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of Laddie’s death in December 1998, the Indian postal service issued a commemorative stamp.

H.39 The commemorative stamp issued by the Indian postal service in 1998

H.40 Laddie’s Commonwealth grave in Estevelles Communal Cemetery451

449

The Pauline, 36 241 Nov 1918 pp 134 35 450 London Gazette, 21 September 1918 p 11254 451 Courtesy CWGC

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 117

8.12 Captains of School

i) Captains of School killed in action

Three Captains of School fell in the 1st World War: Thistle Robinson (SPS 1904 1911; Captain 1911); Denis Oliver Barnett (SPS 1907 1914; Captain 1913 and 1914) and Lewis Henry Frederick Bryett (SPS 1911 1917; Captain 1917). Remarkably, the first and last of these fell on the same day: 25 October 1918, within touching distance of the cessation of hostilities.

H.41 Captains of School killed in action

Surname Initials Rank Award Yrs at SPS Regiment / Corps Age at death

Barnett D O Lt 1907 1914 Leinster Regiment 20 Bryett L H F 2nd Lt 1911 1917 RFA 19 Robinson T Lt MC 1904 1911 Royal Fusiliers 26

ii) biographies of Captains of School killed in action

Barnett, Lt Denis Oliver (See Volume 2) b.30 April 1895; d. 16 Aug 1915 SPS 1907 1914; Captain of School 1913 and 1914

2nd battalion The Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), A Company Poperinghe New Military Cemetery I.E.16

Grave epitaph: Captain of St Paul’s School, Scholar-Elect of Balliol College, Oxford Age 20

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 118

Bryett, 2nd Lt Lewis Henry Frederick b. 10 November 1898; d. 25 October 1918 SPS 1911 – 1917; Captain of School, 1916 – 1917 RFA A Bty 307th Brigade Delsaux Farm Cemetery, Beugny II.C.15

Grave epitaph: I Thank God Upon Every Remembrance Of You Mother Age 19

Lewis Henry Frederick453

Lewis was born on 10 November 1898, the only son of Mr and Mrs F E Bryett, of 43 High Rd, Chiswick, London. He attended SPS 1911 1917. Rather surprisingly for one who was 452 St Paul’s School Archive 453 St Paul’s School Archive

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 119

Denis Oliver Barnett in his final year at SPS.452

Captain of School (1916 1917), Lewis receives few mentions in The Pauline. He played cricket for the 2nd XI, and was something of an athlete and occupied the office of Treasurer and Secretary of the Athletics Committee 1916 1917. He also participated in debates sponsored by the Union, although The Pauline was seemingly little impressed by his contributions:

Unquestionably the best debate of the year was that on a motion brought forward by the President, urging the total prohibition of alcoholic drinks during the War. There was a large attendance, and the debate lasted fully an hour and a quarter. The President spoke at great length on the pressing need and the supposed objections; Mr Rutter, in a brief maiden speech, held that the British nation owed everything to beer and that Prohibition would be the death knell of Britain. Mr C M White, OP, attacked the President’s speech, as he said, “in a spirit of carping criticism.” Mr. Bryett, who reached a coherence and eloquence hitherto unheard in him, used a vivid parable to show the encouraging properties of beer.454

Lewis was undoubtedly clever and scholarly and enjoyed a brilliant career on the Classical Side. He won the Kynaston Prize in 1915 while a member of the LVIIIth, beating all the members of the Upper VIIIth in Greek and Latin grammar. The following year he won the Thruston Prize and High Master’s Elegiac Prize. In the Spring of 1917 he achieved a scholarship to New College, Oxford but placed his academic career on hold in order to enlist. After leaving SPS in June 1917 Lewis enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery. Age 19 and 2 months, he arrived in France on 22 January 1918, serving with A Bty 307 Brigade (61st Division). He was mortally wounded on 22 October 1918 at Haussey, north east of Cambrai.

H.42 Trench map showing Haussy / Haussey. Lewis’s unit was at the base of the hill in the vicinity of the ‘1’ of the number ‘12’ when he was mortally wounded.455

454 The Pauline, 35 231 April 1917 p 49

455 Courtesy National Library of Scotland. Map 51A.SE, 12 October 1918

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 120

The unit diary states that on that day:

Forward Sec[tion] of A [Battery] 307 Brigade at V.12.a.8.0 received two 5.9s on [their] position causing heavy casualties to the detachments and fatally wounding 2nd Lieut L H F Bryett. 1 man killed; 5 OR wounded.456

Wounded in both legs and one arm, Lewis survived for three days. He died in 46th Casualty Clearing Station at Delsaux Farm, near Beugny, several miles to the east of Bapaume, two weeks short of his twentieth birthday.

H.43 An 18 pounder Field Gun, similar to that in 307th Brigade457

456

TNA WO 95 3044 1 3

457 Wilson, H W (ed), The Great War Volume 10 p 520, published 1918. This image is the 14th Battery of Australian Field Artillery, 5th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Division in action near Bellewaarde Lake, in the Ypres Sector, 1917.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 121

Delsaux Farm was a point on the German defensive system known as the Beugny Ytres line. After their advance in March 1918, the Germans made a cemetery (Beugny Military Cemetery No.18) at the cross roads, and in it buried 103 Commonwealth and 82 German dead. The site was extended in October November 1918 by the 29th and 46th Casualty Clearing Stations, which were based at Delsaux Farm and made the present cemetery. Lewis is buried in the cemetery established at the Clearing Station in which he died.

The Major of Lewis’ unit composed the following, published in The Pauline:

With regard to the personal loss it is to me and the battery, I can assure you that it is a very great one, and that [Lewis] was really popular with the men and the officers. He always took such interest in the battery, and was in every way a most capable, lovable, and useful subaltern. I have on several occasions been alone with him and learnt what a valuable character he possessed, and I had a great affection for him. In a most unselfish way he volunteered to do a risky job in place of another who was due for leave, and I only met him on the morning of the day on which he was wounded, when he was reconnoitring his position. This was a most noble death, and at a most trying period of the war.458

458 The Pauline, 37 244 March 1919 p 14

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 122

On 13 November 1919 a memorial service for Lewis took place in St Paul’s Church, Hammersmith during which occasion a memorial tablet was unveiled.

H.44 The memorial tablet commemorating Lewis in St Paul’s Church, Hammersmith. (Notice the cap badge of the Royal Regiment of Artillery above, and the Arms of Dean Colet at the base.)459

The West London Observer described the service thus:

At half past five on Thursday evening [13 November 1919], the Bishop of Manchester [Edmund Arbuthnott Knox], a Governor of St Paul’s School [1904 – 1928], and an Old Pauline [SPS 1857 1865], dedicated and unveiled a white marble tablet, fixed on the wall in the south aisle of Hammersmith Parish Church, in memory of Second Lieutenant Lewis Henry Bryett, Royal Field Artillery, who died of wounds received in action in France. … Amongst those who attended [the service] were the Rev D A E Hillard, High Master of St Paul’s School, a number of the masters and pupils and friends … The service opened with the singing of the hymn “O God, our help in ages past.” The prayers and Lesson were read by the Rev G N Walsh, Vicar of Hammersmith. During the signing of the hymn, “Jesu, Lover of my Soul”, the 459 Author’s photo.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 123

choir, clergy and the Bishop of Manchester proceeded to the south aisle. After unveiling the tablet, which was covered with the Union Jack, the Bishop of Manchester said: “On the faith of Jesus Christ we dedicate this monument to the glory of God, and in memory of His Servant, Lewis Henry Frederick Bryett, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. … The service concluded with the signing of the National Anthem.460

Robinson, Lt Thistle MC b. 21 Dec 1891; d. 25 Oct 1918 SPS 1904 1911; Captain of School 1911 26th (Service) Bn. A. Coy Royal Fusiliers Heestert Military Cemetery

Grave epitaph: Ante Diem Periit Sed Miles Sed Pro Patria Age 26

Thistle was born in Whitby on 31 December 1891, the fourth son of Sir Richard Atkinson Robinson, leader of the London County Council 1907 1908, and Lady Jeanie Robinson. He attended SPS for seven years, 1904 to 1911, in his final year rising to the office of Captain of

460 West London Observer, 21 November 1919 461 NPG x120579

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 124

Edmund Arbuthnott Knox (SPS 1857 1865)461

School. One of his brothers, Captain Reginald Robinson (SPS 1894 1897), was killed at Suvla Bay in August 1915; the two others undertook active service as officers in the RAMC and HAC, the second of whom, Henry Robinson, attended St Paul’s 1889 1896. After leaving St Paul’s, Thistle proceeded as a Scholar to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Upon arrival he joined the University OTC. When war broke out he had obtained his First in Moderations, and was showing every promise of repeating his success in Greats. He enlisted promptly in one of the University and Public Schools battalions of the Royal Fusiliers, from which unit he was commissioned Lieutenant in 26th (Service) Bn. A. Coy Royal Fusiliers. During his service at the front Thistle was twice wounded. After his second wound he was employed as an instructor in England, but at his own wish gave up this position and went abroad again in the autumn of 1917 and, in the early months of 1918, spent a short time on the Italian front.

The 26th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers (124th Brigade, 41 Division) took part in the great Allied push in the autumn of 1918 that led to the final defeat of the Germans. As part of this operation Thistle won an MC for action near Menin on 14 October. The citation reads:

On 14 October, 1918, during [the] advance north of Menin, when his platoon had become disorganised owing to the thick fog, he collected forty men and led them to the final objective. Hearing an enemy battery firing at close range through the fog, he took forward a small party, silenced the guns with Lewis gun fire, and, working round a flank, captured them intact with a gunner who had been left behind to remove the breech blocks. His fearless and able leadership enabled the line to advance.462

Very unusually, Thistle’s action elicited comment from the C O of the 41st Division. Lieutenant General Lawford stated that:

I wish to place on record my appreciation of the gallant conduct of Lieut T. Robinson, R.F., on 14 October 1918, during the advance north of Menin, when he silenced and captured some enemy guns, thus enabling the line to advance.463

The operation is described thus in the battalion war diary:

During the advance [which began at 0525] … a thick fog rendered all supervision of units larger than a section or half platoon impossible. Officers and senior NCOs, however, took command of the nearest body of men to them, and, collecting stragglers of all units on the war, marched by compass bearing on to the second [objective] … Several small parties under officers had worked right forward and covered by the fog had entered pillboxes and farms

462 London Gazette, 4 October 1919 p 12330

463 Quoted in The Pauline, 244 March 1919 pp 16 17

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 125

immediately on top of [our] barrage and taken prisoners and machine guns. … Strong resistance was met with from Ancona Farm, Adelaide House, Mutual Farm and other strong points. The advance was also checked by enemy batteries firing at point blank range through the fog. Patrols were sent forward to locate these, but progress was slow until after 0800 when the fog began to lift. The enemy at this stage attempted to limber up his guns and get away, but was forced by close pressure and strong Lewis Gun and rifle fire to abandon several guns, the Right Company capturing one battery intact with the gunners who had been left to remove the breach blocks. … [Thereafter] the Right Company came under very heavy artillery fire at close range from the direction of Menin … but by 1100 had succeeded in establishing a post at Radish Farm. … [In all] fifteen Field Guns, and at least 100 prisoners, including six officers, were taken.464

H.45 Map showing Ancona Farm, Adelaide House, Mutual Farm, a short distance north of Menin.465

Thistle fell on 25 October during an action against Ooteghem, a village to the east of Contrai. The battalion diary is fragmentary but contains the following remarkably detailed report on events of that day, permitting the action to be closely tracked on the appropriate trench map. Thistle is not mentioned by name but several references to ‘officers’ occur throughout the report. Losses to A Company (to which Thistle belonged) were clearly significant, necessitating the formation of a composite Company. In all probability it seems likely that Thistle fell in the vicinity of the windmill.

464 TNA WO 95 2644 2 Report On Operations 14 and 15 October 1918, dated 19 October 1918.

465 Courtesy NLS. Map 28 NE, 5 December 1917

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 126

At 09.00, on the commencement of our barrage, the whole line closed under the barrage and moved forward at 09.04. The enemy appeared to have withdrawn his front posts to a depth of about 400 yards on our immediate front, and relied upon a barrage to break up our advance. Heavy casualties were suffered on passing through the barrage, four officers being wounded in the first five minutes. There was also fairly heavy machine gun fire from both flanks, which increased as the advance continued, Machine Guns coming into action from the Farms and High Ground around P.7.c and P.7.d. The Windmill [shown as a blue triangle with diagonal lines protruding] at P.7.d.2.4 especially causing casualties as the Battalion entered the village round P.7.c.6.4. To silence these enemy Machine Guns the right front coy worked round to the Right Flank into dead ground along the road from P.7.c.6.4 to P.13.a.7.9, passing into 20th Bn. Durham Light Infantry front for this purpose, and two Vickers guns attached to the Battalion brought fire to bear from the right flank, while the left flank pushed steadily ahead over the Kassselerybeek up the higher ground in P.7.d. There were three more casualties to Officers and several to men, but by 10.30 the village and windmill had been taken; from the windmill itself one enemy machine gun and sixteen men were captured.

From 10.30 to 12.30 re organisation wherever possible took place in dead ground, and the line held by the Battalion was a s follows:

“A” Company around Farm at P.13.a.7.6 and along round running North of it.

“C” Company in dead ground in P.7.d.2.4.

“B” and “D” Companies along crest In P.7.b. and P.7.d. This was a line approximately 1000 yards short of the first pause line, but enemy Machine Gun fire was very accurate and casualties had been severe. It was necessary, therefore, to reorganise before pushing forward.

At 12.30 the advance was recommenced. On the right a composite company was made out of “A” and “C” Companies owing to the casualties to Officers and men, and a determined effort was made to penetrate enemy positions by means of infiltration on both sides of the windmill took place. At the same time “B” and “D” Companies attempted to work forward into P.8.a and c. This attack on the left flank penetrated as far as Ooteghem, but the casualties were too heavy to admit further progress. At the same time the Camerons on the left were ordered to retire, and in conformity with them, the Left Companies of the Battalion swung back and eventually took up their positions along the road at the forward crest at P.7.d.9.3 to P.6.e.7.7

On the Right Flank the Composite “A” and “C” Company were also met by extremely accurate Machine Gun fire in their attempt to move forward. The sections sent around the left of the windmill were unable to move forward and were withdrawn and sent around the right flank to rejoin their platoon, and together these sections penetrated as far as P.13.a.5.5, beyond which point further progress was impossible. As the point reached by the

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 127

Battalion was on the 20th Bn. D.L.I. front and machine gun fire from P.14.a and [P.] b began to die down, the Officer Commanding “A” and “C” Company ordered his Company to sidestep a distance of 300 yards, and at 15.30 this was carried out by sections and a position at P.13.b.8.8 was occupied. In doing this Machine Gun fire was drawn from the left i.e. the Eastern slopes of Ooteghem, and the men commenced to dig in.

At this point the Commanding Officer was wounded while re organising the line of the left flank, and Captain A SPOTTISWOODE took over command of the Battalion. This was at about 16.00 and at dusk the 10th Bn. “Queens” R.W.S. Regt. passed through the 20th Bn. D.L.I. and by dark had reached P.13.b.6.6 with their left resting on P.7.d.6.0. “A” and “C” Company were then ordered to withdraw and move forward to fill the gap between P.7.d.9.3 and the “Queens” left flank at P.7.a.6.0 a continuous line being established.

Casualties

Killed: 1 Officer; 14 Other Ranks Wounded 7 Officers; 72 Other Ranks466

H.46 Map showing the points of reference used in the battalion report of the action against Ooteghem. The direction of attack was from north west to south east; the blue lines represent the Brigade boundaries; the red line, battalion boundaries.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 128

Thistle’s Commanding Officer informed his parents that:

He was killed whilst leading his men in an attempt to clear an enemy post that was holding up the advance of his company. The men who were with him are loud in their praises of his gallantry and unselfish devotion to duty, and I know from my long association with him they do not overestimate his qualities of leadership. We were all proud of him, and I assure you that the loss that you must feel deeply is shared by all his brother officers and men who knew and served under him. … He had a very trying time earlier on, and I thought in this attack he would not be able to face the line again; but he was most persistent and anxious that he should come. How well he did, and what an example through all the fierce fighting which led to the Armistice, through those who saw him can know. I sent in his name for the

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 129

M.C. before his last battle no one ever carried it better. Those of us who fought will never forget the names and deeds of men like your son, who made this peace possible 467

Thistle’s body was recovered, along with others from his unit who fell, and buried in Heestert, a short distance to the south of Ooteghem. This was probably not the initial location in which Thistle was interred since Heestert Military Cemetery was formed in about February 1919 when the Burgomaster issued instructions for the creation of a military cemetery when the farmers of the Commune cleared their fields of war dead. (The cemetery also contains 57 German war graves.)

H.47 Cross marking Thistle’s grave, along with NCOs and Privates from his unit who most likely fell in the same action.468

8.13 Spanish Flu, 1918 1921

Towards the end of the war an influenza pandemic broke out that became known as the ‘Spanish Flu’.469 The total number of deaths resulting from the outbreak is not known, although a figure of 25 50 million is generally accepted. About 10 percent of the 110 OPs who fell in the period 1918 1921 appear to have been victims of the Spanish Flu; their

467 Likely author would seem to be Captain A Spottiswoode, (temporary) Lt Col 26th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers 468 Courtesy Returned From the Front blog.. 469 Wartime censors suppressed the news of the pandemic in belligerent countries but newspapers freely reported the outbreak in neutral Spain, resulting in the ‘Spanish Flu’ misnomer.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 130

average age at death was 28. Their details are presented in H.48. The oldest victim was Reginald Oscar Schwarz (SPS 1888 1893), a rugby international and famous cricketer.

H.48 Table listing OPs who were probably victims of Spanish Flu.

Surname Initials Rank Award Yrs at SPS Regiment / Corps D of d Age at death

Arnould D C Lt 1910 12 Royal Fusiliers 07 May 18 22

Bartlett H J Capt OBE 1889 94 ASC 01 Dec 18 43

Browett T N Lt 1904 05 King's African Rifles

30 Oct 18 29

Culling V J Pte 1909 14 London Regiment 28 Oct 18 23

Dennison H G 2nd Lt 1899 1901 RGA 24 Feb 19 34 Dipple T D Lt 1911 13 Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry

30 Nov 18 22

Edwards B W Lt 1910 14 RAF 10 Nov 18 23

Hepworth G P Capt 1904 07 RFA 27 Oct 18 28

Perry C R Lt 1909 15 ASC 24 Oct 19 23

Plenty470 E P Maj 1911 14 RAF 22 Nov 18 21

Pridham H T Gunner 1912 17 RFA 15 Jul 18 20

Robinson John S Instructor MA 1902 07 Royal Navy 13 Nov 18 30

Schwarz R O Maj MC 1888 93 King's Royal Rifle Corps

18 Nov 18 43

Sneyd D G T Maj MC 1896 99 RGA 07 Apr 19 36

Schwarz, Major Reginald (known as Reggie) Oscar MC b. 4 May 1875; d. 18 Nov 1918

SPS 1888 1893

6th (Reserve) Bn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps attd. HQ DAQMG 47th Division Etaples Military Cemetery Age 43

470 See Chapter 8, Section 8.9

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 131

471

Reginald ‘Reggie’ was born on 4 May 1875 in Blackheath, London, the son of Robert George Schwarz, a merchant from Breslau in Germany who had become a naturalised British citizen, and his wife, Florence.472 During his time at SPS (1888 1893) Reggie proved a talented schoolboy athlete. He was captain of the 1st XV in 1893 and played three years for the 1st XI, which he also captained in 1893. The Pauline seems to have been unconvinced of Reggie’s real capacity, and rather misjudged his potential as a bowler:

A good captain and thorough cricketer. He is a vigorous and sometimes brilliant bat, but mainly owing to excessive eagerness to score has failed to do quite what was expected of him this year. An excellent field and moderate bowler. Has left.473

Reggie as Captain of Cricket, 1893474

471 Courtesy London Stock Exchange Memorial Roll 1914 1915

472 Reggie’s elder brother, Robert Morison Schwarz also attended SPS, 1887 1891; upon leaving school he appears to have emigrated to California.

473 The Pauline, 11 64 Oct 1893 p 217 474 St Paul’s School Archive

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 132

Reginald Oscar Schwarz

After attending SPS Reggie proceeded directly to Christ’s College, Cambridge. Leaving after six terms in order to enter business life, he became a Member of the London Stock Exchange from 1899 to 1902. In 1902 Reggie emigrated to South Africa where he was employed on the Staff of the Central S.A. Railway, Johannesburg (1902 1904), after which he became a Member of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for seven years and worked as personal secretary to Sir Abe Bailey, a notable diamond tycoon and politician. In 1911 he returned to England and again became a Member of the London Stock Exchange and acquired a job as a partner in the firm of Parsons and Henderson.

Impressive as an athlete while at SPS, Reggie became even more so as he grew older. While at Cambridge he played for the University rugby team, earning his Blue in 1893 and becoming one of the great half backs of his time. He went on to play for England, winning three caps: one against Scotland in 1899 and the others against Wales and Ireland in 1901. During this time he represented Middlesex and played for the Barbarians.

Reggie was yet more accomplished on the cricket pitch. During his time in South Africa, he played cricket for Transvaal and twenty Test matches for South Africa. He played in four

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 133

series against England between 1905 and 1912. In all he took fifty five Test wickets at an average of just over twenty five. In 1908 he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He is best remembered on the cricket pitch as a bowler and a dazzling progenitor of the googly, as his obituary in the London Stock Exchange Memorial Roll makes clear:

One of the most famous slow bowlers in the history of the game, for to him was due, as much as to anyone, the development of that method of concealing the break on a ball, known as ‘Googly’ bowling. When at his best he was the most consistent and least punished of all the bowlers of his type.475

H.49 Reggie bowling, c. 1905476

Reggie’s obituary published in The Times, and reprinted in The Pauline, was similarly effusive about his cricketing prowess:

475 London Stock Exchange Memorial Roll 1914 1915 476 Courtesy George Beldam

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 134

Major Schwarz was famous at one time as a slow bowler. Few men did so much to establish the reputation of South African cricket. He learnt the game in England and played for Middlesex before going to South Africa. In those early days, however, he did not make any great mark. His fame began when he returned to this country with the South African team of 1904. Studying very carefully the method of B J T Bosanquet, he acquired, and afterwards carried to a high standard, the art of bowling off breaks with, to all appearance, a leg break action. He did very well in 1904, but his success that year was only a foretaste of far greater things to come. In the brilliant tour of 1907 he and Vogler and G A Faulkner raised South African cricket to the highest pitch it has ever reached. He was less successful than his two comrades in the Test Matches against England, but for the whole tour he was easily first in bowling, taking 143 wickets at a cost of 111 runs each. He proved rather disappointing in Australia, and in the Triangular Tournament in this country in 1912 he failed.477

At the start of the war Reggie enlisted as a Staff officer in the South African Army and served in German south west Africa for a year. During this time he appears to have participated in the quashing of the Maritz Rebellion and was wounded in the hand. At some point thereafter he returned to England and joined the 6th (Reserve) Bn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps. On 3 May 1916 he was gazetted to the Staff of 47th Division as DAQMG (Divisional Assistant Quarter Master General responsible for supplying equipment and materials to units in the field). The 47th Division History records that over the course of the year in which Reggie served on the Staff he ‘made many friends in the Division, and his unfailing cheerfulness and winning personality was a considerable asset to the hard worked Q staff.’478 On 1 January 1917 Reggie was awarded the MC for his work as DAQMG.479 On 14 February 1917 he was admitted to hospital suffering from bronchitis. Released on 3 March 1917, in early 1918 Reggie was transferred to the Salvage Corps though ill health.

Reggie died on 18 November 1918, one week after the Armistice, a victim of the ‘Spanish Flu’. He is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery.

477 The Pauline, 36 243 Dec1 918 pp 181 182

478 Maude, A H (Ed), The 47th (London) Division, By Some Who Served With It In the Great War, (London, 1922) p 83

479 It was customary for awards made in the New Year’s List to carry no citation.

8. Lives lost some of the fallen by category 135

Chapter 9. Masters and Servants

In all, twelve Masters and eight Servants in the employ of St Paul’s School served in the war, of whom, three Masters and one Servant fell. All Masters who enlisted received commissions while all Servants were either Privates or NCOs, a robust manifestation of prevailing class divisions.

i) Masters’ service record

I.1 Masters’ service record

Surname Initials Rank Award Yrs at SPS Regiment / Corps D of D

Affleck R Maj 1912 1924 Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Bewsher (OP) F W Capt DSO, MC 1898 1905 and 1910 1919

London Rifle Brigade

Carpenter J A Lt 1910 1919 Royal Engineers

Chessex R E A 2nd Lt 1914 1915 Royal Naval Volunteer Regiment. HMS Vanguard.

09 Jul 17

Fennemore G C ? Royal Engineers 03 Nov 18

Holden John ? 1934 Royal Army Medical Corps

Pearson A H Lt MC 1911 1920 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, attd Machine Gun Corps

Penny G S Rev Capt 1910 1919 Intelligence Corps

Phillips J L Capt 1905 1919 Army Ordnance Department

Stickland J R 2nd Lt 1910 1919 Cambridgeshire Regiment

Whitaker R M A Capt 1910 1919 Dorsetshire Regiment

Worster F C Capt MC 1911 1915 Worcester Regiment 30 May 18

The citation for the award of the MC to Lt Arthur Harold Pearson in 1916 reads thus: For conspicuous gallantry. During an assault he led his men with great dash and skill. He and his party were almost the last to leave the enemy’s trenches, and then only when his bombs

were exhausted. He himself descended an enemy mine shaft and brought up four prisoners.480

ii) Masters who fell: biographies

Chessex, Lt Robert Ernest Aini b.1878; d. 9 July 1917 SPS 1914 - 1915 HMS Vanguard, RNVR Chatham Naval Memorial Age 39

Robert Ernest Aini Chessex (SPS 1914 1917), Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves, lost his life in 1917 when he sank with his ship, HMS Vanguard, at Scapa Flow on 9 July 1917. Shortly before midnight on that date the HMS Vanguard suffered a series of explosions. She sank almost instantly, killing 843 of the 845 men on board. The sinking was not a result of enemy action, but the tragic outcome of an on board detonation, the cause of which an investigation could not discover.

I.2 A postcard of HMS Vanguard at sea481

The Pauline recorded that:

480 LG 18 August 1916 pp 8229 8230 481 Public domain. Provenance unknown.

9. Masters and Servants

Mr. Chessex had been just a year at St. Paul’s, and had won golden opinions from everyone. He was indeed, as the High Master said in announcing his death at the end of last term, “a delightful man”. But as the war continued he could not stay happy at peace work, and his former connection with the Royal Navy led naturally to his taking a commission in the R.N.V.R.482

Robert’s body was lost. He is remembered on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

Fennemore, 2nd Lt George Charles b.1886; d. 3 Nov 1918

SPS (dates not known) Royal Engineers Basra War Cemetery Age 32

2nd Lt George Charles Fennemore, Royal Engineers, died on 3 November 1918, aged 32, just a week short of the Armistice. George’s grave is in Basra War Cemetery, Iraq. The Pauline published a letter from George’s commanding officer describing how George had been:

In charge of a chlorinating system at the Base, and his work took him to many places where any one may contract disease. His case was diagnosed as smallpox, and he had it in its worst form, viz, internal smallpox. … I am sure his loss would be keenly felt by the boys at School; yet at the same time they must feel very proud that one of their Masters gave his life for King and country in a manner worthy of the finest traditions.483

Worster, Captain Frank Copeland MC b.1889; d. 30 May 1918

SPS 1911 1915

1st Bn. Worcestershire Regiment

Terlincthun British Cemetery

Grave epitaph: A Very Gallant Gentleman Age 29

Frank Copeland Worster484

482

483

The Pauline, 35 234 Nov 1917 p 130

The Pauline, 37 245 April 1919 p 36 484 St Paul’s School Archive

9. Masters and Servants

Frank Copeland Worster (SPS 1911 1915) was a rather dashing Classics Master who served in the 1st battalion Worcestershire Regiment (24th Brigade, 8th Division) from October 1915. During his time at St Paul’s his contributions to plays, rowing and the OTC ensured that he was well known to boys. Perhaps playing up to the schoolboy element of his audience, Frank penned a message to The Pauline in 1916. The editor duly published the story, describing how:

Mr. Worster has had a lucky escape. He was out in front of our line at night, laying down the plan of a new trench. “The Hun”, he writes, “should have been 400 yards away, for I had myself reconnoitred his position the previous day and night. But by bad luck, or perhaps because he had knowledge of our intentions, he had that same evening advanced his own line 250 yards an hour or so before I went out. I blundered close up to his wire and was fired at twice by a sentry. The first shot missed, and I turned and tried to drop into a shell hole. Just as I dropped he fired again. The bullet, meant for the small of my back, went clean through my helmet, blowing it off my head with a noise like a dinner gong. I lay still with my pistol out, waiting for Fritz to come on and pick up the pieces, but he didn't come; so when his excitement had died down and the Verey lights weren’t so frequent, I began to crawl home. The first part of the journey was rather open, so I decided to roll. The inevitable result was that I described a half circle, and found myself again quite close to the wire. By this time I was quite lost, so I lay doggo, and worked out my direction by the stars before starting again for home.” We are glad to hear that Mr. Worster has quite recovered from the scalp wound which was the only ill result of his exciting experience.485

Shortly before he was killed in May 1918, Frank sent another message detailing his derring do. He informed his readers that:

The second show last month was just a considerable bombardment. Five shells pitched within four yards of me during one vivid day, and I was never scratched. But I got a dose of gas which spoilt my complexion and upset my digestion for a fortnight. . . . Owing to the intermingling of units under the new system of centralized command I have lately had some dealings with the French, and have found them a most charming crowd. The attention to detail, the cordiality and the real friendliness of the French soldier of all ranks is a real discovery for our insular type of officer. . . . There is something about their use of the word ‘sentinel’ that strikes back at once to the Middle Ages.486

Frank was either killed or mortally wounded while fighting in the vicinity of Roucy, a small village south of the River Aisne, several miles north west of Reims. The 24th Infantry Brigade diary, and all associated papers were lost in the attack. Nevertheless, the Brigade Major composed a Report, in which Frank is mentioned.

During the afternoon of the 26 May, the Brigade was warned by telegram from Division [HQ] that a prisoner had stated that the enemy intended to attack along the Chemin des Dames Front and the front held by the IX Corps. Battalion commanders were warned and ordered to maintain strong officers patrols along the whole front until daylight. … The bombardment of

486 The Pauline, 36 240 July 1918 pp 92 94, Letter dated 26 May 1918 487 St Paul’s School Archive, Digby La Motte Collection

Frank Worster in army uniform487

[our] front system was carried out by heavy trench mortars. It is also thought that Gas was projected on to this system. Large quantities of Gas shells were used in the bombardment of the second system and back areas. Tanks do not appear to have been used on the front of this Brigade. … At 5.45 am [on 27 May] large numbers of the enemy were see approaching the line of the Miette and from the Bois de Bosche [to the south east of La Ville aux Bois] …

At about 6 am a party of about 50 Germans approached Brigade Headquarters from the rear, bombed the rear entrances to Brigade Headquarter Dug outs, calling upon those inside to surrender. The Signalling Officer, Intelligence Officer and several of the Brigade Headquarters personnel succeeded in fighting their way through. … At about 9 am all men of the 24th Infantry Brigade who could be collected (3 Officers and 68 OR) were ordered to hold a trench on the N E side of Roucy. This party was under the command of Capt Worster, 1st Bn. Worcestershire Regiment and were in touch with a Battalion of the 25th Division on the right and [a] party of the 23rd Infantry Brigade on the left. They held this line until about 5 pm suffering heavy casualties from field guns firing at them direct over the sights from the southern bank of the Aisne. They then withdrew in conjunction with troops on either flank to the high ground above Roucy, being reduced to about 1 officer and 20 OR. Shortly after arrival in this position, they were attacked on the left flank from the direction of Moulin de Roucy. Casualties were inflicted on them by the enemy with machine gun fire, the officer being wounded. The remaining men became mixed up with units on their flanks.488

This was likely the action for which Frank was awarded posthumously his MC. The citation reads thus:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in command of a company during an enemy attack. When fighting during a gradual withdrawal from position to position he showed great cheerfulness and skill in handling his men, and maintained a firm front to the enemy at important points against which they were directing their efforts. He set a fine example to all around him.489

Frank was the subject of a double exhumation and concentration burial. It is not clear where he was first buried, but at some point in 1923 1924 it seems that his body was newly interred in Epernay French National Cemetery, a consequence of the on going clearing of battlefields and the concentration of graves.490 Epernay French National Cemetery in turn appears to have been cleared in 1964, necessitating exhumations and reburials.491 As a

488 TNA WO 95/1718/4 Report On Operations Carried Out By 24th Infantry Bde. From 27 to 30 May. Brigade Major, 6 June 1918 489 London Gazette, 24 Sept 1918 p 11313

490 CWGC. Frank Copeland Worster. Graves Registration Report Form. Report No. 6 491 In the Reburial Return Frank’s regimental particulars are listed as ‘2/Worcesters’. This is erroneous. Moreover, 2nd Bn. Worcestershires at the end of May 1918 were out of the line

9. Masters and Servants

consequence, Frank’s body was exhumed and re buried for a second time and now lies in Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille.

Frank’s obituary in The Pauline runs across three pages. 492

iii) Servants: service record

I.3. Servants’ service record

Surname Initials Rank Role at SPS Yrs at SPS Regiment / Corps D of D

Barr L E Sergt School Carpenter ? Royal Air Force

Brown G H Pte Gardener ? Essex Regiment Driscoll J Petty Officer Swimming and Boxing Instructor

Hind H Pte (No. 1635)

? Royal Navy, HMS Royal Sovereign

Cricket Professional ? Middlesex Regiment 15 Sep 16

Key F W Sergt Maj School Sergeant ? Royal Fusiliers

Sayers W Sergt Gymnastic Instructor ? Royal Defence Corps

Thorne G Lce Cpl Junior Clerk ? Military Mounted Police

Wood A Sergt Maj Gymnastic Instructor ? Middlesex Regiment

iv) Servants who fell: biography Hind, Private Horace b. 1884; d. 15 Sept 1916 SPS ? 1915 23rd (Service) Bn. Middlesex Regiment Age 33

in the area south west of Houtkerque, six miles west of Poperinghe. See CWWG. Reburial Return. Serial No.NR/2212/93/R. 492 The Pauline, 36 240 July 1918 pp 92 94

9. Masters and Servants

The War List also records the names of eight school servants who fought, one of whom Horace Hind fell. Horace was employed at St Paul’s as the school cricket professional. On 29 June 1915 he joined the 23rd (Service) battalion Middlesex Regiment, and was fighting with this unit when he was killed in the vicinity of Flers Wood at the Somme on 15 September 1916. His body was lost and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

Horace Hind493

Paul’s School Archive

10. Cemeteries and Memorials

10.1 criteria for commemoration

As defined by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the criteria for commemoration of a soldier serving in the 1st World War are that their death was a) the result of wounds inflicted or accident occurring during active service or disease contracted or commencing while on active service or disease aggravated by active service and b) that death occurred during the official war period, 4 August 1914 31 August 1921. (These dates are prescribed on the basis that the former is the occasion upon which GB declared war; the latter is the official end of the war as per the Order in Council that declared the war ended.)

10.2 in which they lie: countries

The 511 OPs who fell are buried / memorialised in 273 different cemeteries / memorials in 24 countries. Fifty percent of OPs are buried / memorialised in France; 21 percent in Belgium and 13 percent in GB. (See Table J.1).

J.1 Table showing numbers of OP graves / memorials in various countries

Country Total no. of OPs buried / memorialised France 258 Belgium 105 GB 67 Turkey 26 Iraq 14 Egypt 6 India 5 Israel and Palestine 5 Greece 3 Italy 3 Tanzania 3 Australia 2 Canada 2 Germany 1 Hong Kong 1 Ireland 1 Lebanese Rep 1 Malta 1 Mozambique 1 Nigeria 1

Cemeteries and Memorials

South Africa 1 Sudan 1

Syria 1 Yemen 1 Unknown 1

Even before the war had ended, the War Graves Commission led by Fabian War, had established two key principles. First, there was to be no repatriation of remains. The dead were to be buried in the location where they fell, or, if the subject of an exhumation and reburial during the clearing of the battlefields after the war, in a concentration cemetery close to where they fell. Second, rather than a cross, a standard headstone fashioned from white Portland stone was to be used to mark graves. It was agreed that a headstone proclaim the name of the soldier with details such as age and date of death, along with the regimental badge and perhaps an epitaph. In these ways all were to be equal in Death.

J.2 The grave of Francis Jack Chown (SPS 1912 1916) in Hooge Crater Cemetery, nr. Ypres (See Volume 2)494

10. Cemeteries and Memorials

Table J.1 shows that 67 OPs were interred / memorialised in GB. In instances where an OP is buried at home it is usually a consequence of him having returned wounded to GB and consequently dying in that place; and on those occasions where an OP is memorialised in GB it is often because he served in the Navy and his body was lost at sea. The families of OPs buried at home were not obliged to mark their son’s grave with a standard Portland stone headstone. Instead, if they wished, they could elect to erect a privately commissioned headstone and / or bury / commemorate their son in an established family grave / vault.

J.3 The family grave of Henry Augustus Mears (founder of Chelsea Football Club) and his son, Flight Lt Henry Frank Mears (SPS 1915 1915, see Chapter 8, Section 8.2, i) in Brompton Cemetery. The inscription reads: ‘In Loving Remembrance of Henry Augustus Mears, Founder of Chelsea Football Club … Also In Proud And Loving Memory Of The Younger Son Of The Above, Flight Lieut Henry Frank Mears, Killed 29th April 1918 Whilst On Active Service, Aged 18 Years.)495

10. Cemeteries and Memorials

Author’s photo

10.3 upon which they are

remembered:

the memorials

Of the 511 OPs who fell, just over one third do not have a grave. These OPs 178 in number lie lost in the broken landscapes begotten by this first industrial war, powerfully evoked in the paintings of Paul Nash (SPS 1903 1906, see Chapter 11, Section 11.4), such as his painting titled The Menin Road.

J.4 Chart showing the proportions of OPs with a memorial Vs grave J.5 The Menin Road by Paul Nash (SPS 1903 – 1906). 496

Proportions of OPs: memorial Vs grave

10. Cemeteries and Memorials

The names of OPs whose bodies were lost are inscribed on memorials of varying design and location. Whereas no cemetery contains more than seven graves of OPs indeed, of the 236 cemeteries in which OPs lie, 90 percent contain no more than one or two OPs eight different memorials are inscribed with the names of at least seven OPs. (See Table J.6). This reality is in part a result of memorial structures being far fewer in number than cemeteries and also because most are placed in locations soaked in the blood of several campaigns during the course of war. Consequently, many of these memorials proclaim a staggering number of names.

J.6 Table listing the memorials and cemeteries in which the greatest concentrations of OPs are found.

Name of memorial / cemetery No. of OPs Total no. of names

Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium 32 54,593

Thiepval Memorial, France 30 72,333 Helles Memorial, Turkey 16 20,960 Loos Memorial, France 14 20,639 Arras Memorial, France 11 34,805

Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium 11 34,991

Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium 8 11,392

Le Touret Memorial 7 13,479 Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium 7 (graves) 10,124 (graves) Etaples Military Cemetery 6 (graves) 11,517 (graves)

J.7 The Ploegsteert Memorial. (The names of the fallen are inscribed on the inner side of the wall panels.)497

497 Author’s photos.

10. Cemeteries and Memorials

10. Cemeteries and Memorials

J.8 The Ploegsteert Memorial. (The names of the fallen are inscribed on the inner side of the wall panels.)

J.9 Panel 54 on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial upon which is inscribed the name of Vernon Hall (SPS 1903 1907), one of 32 OPs whose names are found on this memorial. Vernon was killed on 9 August 1915, age 26. (See Volume 2.)

10. Cemeteries and Memorials

Part C: lives lived – the ‘2,403’

Chapter 11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category

11.1 brotherly ambulance drivers

Woods, 2nd Lt Denys b. 3 May 1891; d. 21 June 1960

SPS 1905 1907

Army Service Corps, attd. 85th 1/3rd London Field Ambulance (Driver)

Woods, 2nd Lt Rex b. 14 August 1894; d. 2 August 1974

SPS 1907 - 1911

Army Service Corps, attd. 85th 1/3 London Field Ambulance (Assistant Driver)

Brothers Rex and Denys Woods498

Robbins, Lt Frank Hubert (Herbert) MC b. 21 May 1887; d. 25 Dec 1951

498 Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 1

SPS 1899 1905

In November 1914, following an action by The Times, the High Master issued an appeal to Paulines and their parents for £400 to present on behalf of SPS a motor ambulance for use in the war. (Many schools did the same.) On 23 November it was announced that a total of £525 had been received and that the ambulance had been ordered and was to be ready in a fortnight. (The total amount collected was £607 2s. 5d., of which £444 4s. was spent on the purchase of a Vauxhall chassis and equipping it as an ambulance. The remainder was sent to the Red Cross Society for the running expenses.) By the direction of the Red Cross Society the ambulance was one of several (usually seven) motor ambulances in 85th 1/3rd (City of London) Field Ambulance, attached to the Divisional Troops in 28th Division.501 A brass plate bearing the name of St Paul’s School was affixed to the ambulance and it was agreed, that if the vehicle should survive the war, it was to be returned to the school as a memorial of the

499 St Paul’s School Archive

500 Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9

501 By the end of 1914 each Field Ambulance a mobile front line medical unit; it was not a vehicle included seven motor ambulances. The unit diary is at TNA WO 95 4910.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 2

RAMC, attd. 85th 1/3 London Field Ambulance (Driver)

Frank Hubert (Herbert) Robbins499

Frank Hubert (Herbert) Robbins500

school’s share in the struggle. Upon arrival at the front, the unit was to be responsible for establishing and operating a number of points along the casualty evacuation chain, from the Bearer Relay Posts which were up to 600 yards behind the Regimental Aid Posts in the front line, through to taking casualties rearwards to an Advanced Dressing Station and onto the Main Dressing Station.

The unit crossed to France on 15 January 1915, enduring a difficult passage at sea:

Talk about nightmares! The ship was heeling right over all the time, and all the kits, food, etc., were flung about all over the place. Once it went so far over that we went rolling over and over down the deck, and I’m not exaggerating. In the first sixteen hours we did fourteen miles, so you can imagine what it was like. Even the dogs were sick.502

In the March 1915 edition, The Pauline published some news of the School Ambulance: We continue to get a little news occasionally from the Ambulance, yet even that little gives some indication of the difficulties encountered in taking a load` of wounded at night. We cannot do better than quote from a letter of R. Woods, who is one of the drivers with the car. “All our work has to be done at night. We work in one of two shifts; the first goes out at 6 o’clock and 2, the second at 7.45 and 3.45. What we have to do is to take the stretcher bearers down to the Field Dressing Station, wait for the wounded, and bring them back here. We had our first experience last night. We are allowed one side lamp through the town, but after that we are not allowed any light whatever. You cannot imagine what it is like. The roads are paved for the most part and for one long stretch the pavement is only just big enough to take the car. If you go over the side, down you go into the mud, the car heeling over at an angle of about 35 degrees, and it is no joke getting it out either. When we got up to the Dressing Station we stopped behind it as cover. The stretcher bearers then went off, and we reversed and waited about two and a half hours for the patients. There were hardly any last night, as it happened. One gets some very pretty effects from the star lights, which are sent up from both sides. They light up all round, but make it rather rotten for driving, as the road is suddenly brilliantly lit up and then becomes pitch dark again. It is absolutely wonderful how cheerful the wounded are. Nothing seems to make them despondent.”503

A further letter dated 20 March 1915, penned by Denys Woods, was published in The Pauline of June 1915:

502

503

The Pauline, 33 215 Feb 1915 p 4. Anonymous letter.

The Pauline, 32 216 March 1915 pp 39 40

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 3

I hear that you would like to know what we have been doing with the School Ambulance since we arrived in France and Belgium, so I must try to do my best with a rather uninteresting story. No doubt you will expect to hear that we are undergoing untold hardships and deprivations, but, as a matter of fact, we are having an extraordinarily good time, comparatively little work, and, thanks to a little private store, more than is good for us to eat. Indeed, such luxuries as pork chops and baked potatoes are not unknown, while poached eggs on toast are almost a commonplace.

As I think you know, we arrived in France about the middle of January, after a most painful crossing, which proved the most unpleasant experience that we have had to undergo either before or since. We all of us expected to go down at any moment, and very few of us would have cared. From the coast we came up country by easy stages in our own A.S.C. [Army Service Corps] convoy we did not join our unit until sometime later until we got within sound, but not within range, of the guns. Here we were continually supplied with rumours of immediate departure to various interesting destinations, until one day a certain distinguished officer arrived to inspect our cars. Indeed, he went so far as to make a trial trip in one of them, but unfortunately on being told to drive faster the driver went round a corner at such a speed that the gallant officer fell off the stretcher on to the floor. After this he decided that we required certain internal modifications, and we lost some little time while the alterations were being made. However, some three weeks or a month after landing we joined our own unit the 3rd City of London Field Ambulance at their hospital [i.e. the Red Asylum, Ypres], which we found to be in a magnificent block of buildings, badly damaged by shells earlier in the war, and well in the centre of things.

We were allowed one night to settle down, and the following evening our activities commenced. Imagine a car some five feet wide on a road seven feet wide bordered by deep mud out of which, once you are well in, it is a herculean labour to extricate yourself: take away all lights, throw in a pitch black night and a number of shell holes in the road, and you will have some idea of what we have to contend with. My first night out was an absolute nightmare, but we are gradually getting used to it, and when there are a few stars about we find it almost easy. It only shows what one can become accustomed to. Of course, the stretcher bearers can only come out of the trenches after dark, so that all our work has to be done at night.

I am sure that you would like to hear of hair breadth escapes with the ambulance, but I am afraid that at present we cannot provide any. The authorities evidently consider us too expensive to go very near to the firing line, and we have to be content with going up to within a mile or so and waiting for the wounded to be brought back to us. Of course we sometimes get a few shells they are most unpleasant even when they burst some way off and one of our ambulances even got so far as to have a bullet through the canvas, of which

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 4

its drivers are quite proud, but I am afraid we do not run any very grave risk apart from the perils of the road. When I first came out I think I had a vague idea that one would have shells flying about in a haphazard sort of way in all directions, but I soon learnt that a battery does not usually fire unless it has some fairly definite object to fire at. If you happen to be that object so much the worse for you. If not, you can watch the shells bursting a few hundred yards away with a reasonable amount of comfort and safety.

Even if it were allowed I am afraid that I could not give you any news that you had not already heard. Most of our own news comes second hand from England. Of course we get all sorts of wonderful rumours, and one night some ingenious spirit even went so far as to circulate a yarn that troops were coming cheering from the trenches and that peace had been declared, but we are not very credulous now of anything that is not strictly official.504

In the meantime, the High Master received a letter from Harold Arthur Thomas Fairbank (Old Epsomian).505 Harold was a Captain in 85th 1/3rd London Field Ambulance. His letter to the High Master commented upon the Woods brothers, and another OP in the same unit, Frank Hubert Robbins (SPS 1899 1905), who it seems was directly responsible for the SPS Ambulance.506 Harold also sent a photograph of the Woods brothers (see K.1), standing in front of the SPS Ambulance. In his letter he said:

I send you a snap shot photo of the ambulance so generously provided by the boys of your School for the use of this Field Ambulance at the front. The photo was taken several weeks ago at Ypres, the car standing in front of the Asylum of the Sacred Heart. The drivers are, I think, recognizable as the brothers Woods, Old Paulines. The car has been doing excellent work in their hands. I cannot speak too highly of the courage, devotion, and tireless energy of the drivers of the motor ambulances out here. Our particular drivers had a very trying time during the so called second battle of Ypres [22 April 25 May 1915]. It was wonderful the way the Woods, together with the other younger drivers, kept their nerve through this trying time. [And of another Old Pauline, Lieutenant Frank Hubert Robbins] that he is extremely capable and reliable you no doubt, sir, know. But with me he has gone far beyond the calls of duty and efficiency. On one occasion when we were shelled out of a dressing

504 The Pauline, 33 217, June 1915 pp 88 90

505 Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9 12. At some point after the war Harold composed a diary from several contemporaneous notebooks, enriched with photographs, maps, sketches and newspaper clippings. See the Fairbank Papers http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/fairbank/1

506 The Pauline, 70 438 Feb 1952 p 52. Obituary: ‘For part of his service in France, he was in charge of the motor ambulance presented, equipped and staffed by the School and Old Paulines.’

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 5

station, and after we had removed all the patients to comparative safety, he insisted on returning to the house, which was still being shelled, to bring away the water cart and a quantity of dressings. . . . I hope you will see your way to letting your boys see the photograph I send you, and telling them how useful the car has been out here.507

K.1 The image of the School Ambulance sent to the High Master by Captain Fairbank. The photograph is taken in front of the Asylum of the Sacred Heart in Ypres, at some point in 1915. The plaque on the wall reads ‘Headquarters 3rd London Field Amb XXVIII Div’. Rex and Denys are standing alongside the vehicle. 508

K.2 The 85th 1/3rd London Field Ambulance on the road near Marseilles, preparing for its move to Egypt.509

507 The Pauline, 33 219 July 1915 pp 136 137. Frank was awarded the MC, published in the London Gazette on 3 June 1918. There is no citation. LG:30719/3 June 1918

508 Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9. All Field Ambulance crews were photographed in front of this same vehicle. It is thus unlikely that this ambulance is actually that provided by SPS. See Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9 12

509 Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 6

Harold’s diary entry for 26 April 1915 mentions Frank Hubert Robbins and gives an insight into the wretched experience of the Second Battle of Ypres:

At 7.30 pm on the 26th I went up to the dressing station beyond Ypres which had now been moved back nearer the city and not far from the cemetry [sic]. … The French and the English had been attacking and retaking the lost ground NE of Ypres and the casualties were very many. … High explosives fell alternatively in or near the graveyard i.e. the corner of the Menin road, and at the NE corner of the town. … The roads all round were swept continuously by shrapnel which usually did no harm. … Robbins was out with the [stretcher] bearers, and I had 6 men to carry on the dressing station with. … Cases poured in all night as we drained everything on the Zonnebeke road. Cases were carried in by bearers from the trenches, in our cars [i.e. ambulances], in empty limbers, walked in and crawled in. We filled every room and out house, filled the next estaminet, filled the houses one by one towards the city, breaking open the doors with the butt end of a rifle. Had great trouble in finding cases that could be lifted on to [the] floor so that their stretchers could be sent up to the front again. Spent all night in and out of the various houses, closing the cases up and cramming more in. A terrible night for all concerned. … Altogether we had about 400 cases through our hands.510

At the end of 1915 the 85th 1/3rd London Field Ambulance travelled with 28th Division to Salonika to join a combined Franco British force which had arrived in October 1915 at the request of the Greek Prime Minister. The objective was to help the Serbs in their fight against Bulgarian aggression but the expedition arrived too late, the Serbs having been beaten before they landed. Nevertheless the Division remained in place for deployment in

510 Fairbank Papers MS Add.10082 MS Add.10082/9

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 7

future operations but after December 1915 there was little action except for occasional air raids on Salonika.

All three OPs associated with SPS Field Ambulance survived the war sadly, there is no evidence that the Ambulance did likewise.511

11.2 Prisoners-of-war and Internees

i) prisoners of war: Holzminden

Buried on pages 65 66 in The Pauline edition of June 1918 is the following snippet of news, extraordinary and sarcastic in equal measure:

An Old Pauline writes from Holtzminden [sic], Germany, 3 March 1918: “A good run before breakfast to keep fit, then a cold bath, breakfast, a walk, then perhaps a little cooking, a light lunch, a game of hockey, or may be orchestra practice, tea, cooking, dinner, and then a rubber or two of bridge, and finally bed. Of course, there are one or two diversions, such as concerts or one or two new arrivals, but that is a very typical day here. Walks here now make a vast difference seven or eight miles make us enjoy a meal, which is quite a change. There are six Old Paulines here now: A. V. Burbury [see Chapter 11, Section 11.9], A. P. Mitchell, Inge, Edwards, Mussared and myself. We had an OP lunch, which was quite good sport.”512

Holzminden was a German prisoner of war camp located in the place of that name in Lower Saxony. The camp contained approximately 120 huts, and was surrounded by a perimeter fence dominated by watch towers. It is best remembered for the daring escape in July 1918 of twenty nine officers who tunnelled their way out of the camp the original ‘Great Escape’. Whether any of the OPs listed above numbered among the twenty nine the evidence does not admit, though it is otherwise possible to offer some biographical detail on each (apart from that of the author), all of whom were members of the Royal Flying Corps / RAF and survived being shot down.

Burbury, Lt Arthur Vivian MC (SPS 1908 1914) Vivian entered the camp after being captured when his plane crashed in April 1917. (See Chapter 11, Section 11.9.)

511 After the war Denys pursued a career which included Bursar at Rossall School (1919 1930) and Shrewsbury School (1937 1947). He finished his career as Warden (1956 1957) of Kingham Hill High School, having been a House Master since 1947.

512 The Pauline, 36 239 June 1918 pp 65 66. It is not apparent who authored this piece.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 8

Edwards, 2nd Lt Geoffrey Richard OBE b. 13 July 1891; d. 10 December 1961

SPS 1905 1910

RFC / RAF

During his time at SPS Geoffrey was known as an excellent pianist, scholar and oarsman; he stroked the winning Rowing IV in the Club races of 1910.

The son of Richard Edwards, Geoffrey was born in 1891 and educated at St. Paul’s School and St. John’s College, Cambridge. In 1913 he joined the Imperial Forest Service of India and was a pilot in the RFC and the RAF from 1915 to 1920. On 15 September 1917 Geoffrey was posted to 59 Squadron. He is listed as ‘missing’ on 21 October 1917 and described as a ‘prisoner of war in German hands’.513 Geoffrey was repatriated on 23 January 1919. In 1920 he was with the Inter Allied Aeronautical Commission of Control to Germany, before serving as assistant to the secretary of the National Physical Laboratory from 1921 to 1925. His long period as secretary of the Royal Society of Medicine, of which he was made an honorary fellow, extended from 1925 to 1951. He also edited the Catholic Medical Guardian from 1938 to 1942. During the Second World War Geoffrey directed the committee overseeing the composition of detailed profiles of interred aliens, covering medical competence and loyalty to the British war effort. For four years after his retirement from the Royal Society of Medicine he was director of the Institute of Travel Agents. Among his other responsibilities was that of membership of the board of governors of St. John’s School, Apethorpe, Northamptonshire. He was made O.B.E. in 1949. Geoffrey married in 1924 Margaret Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the first Viscount Simon, P.C., G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O. They had two sons and one daughter.514

Geoffrey died in 1961, age 71.

Inge, Lt Ronald Moritz (Morrice/Morice) Paul b. 22 Jan 1898; d. 23 July 1974 SPS 1912 – 1913

RNAS

Ronald joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as an ordinary seaman in 1914, and latterly was commissioned in the Royal Naval Air Service. At some point he was captured and spent two years as a prisoner in Germany and Holland, after which he took a degree at Jesus

513

TNA AIR 76 147 79

514 The Pauline, 80 467 March 1962 p 34

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 9

College Cambridge. Ronald then entered the teaching profession and spent thirty years at Campbell College Belfast, as Housemaster and head of the English Department, with a break only to rejoin the RAF in the second World War. On retiring in 1963 he went to live in Suffolk with two sisters, and there immersed himself in work as a Lay Reader, and as organiser of Lay Readers in the area, as well as working for the RAF Benevolent Fund and the Samaritans. The Pauline records that ‘He was very proud of being an Old Pauline’.515 He died in 1974, age 76.

Mitchell, Lt Andrew Park CMG b. 23 August 1894; d. 6 June 1975 SPS 1908 1913 Middlesex Regiment attd. RAF

Andrew Park Mitchell516

During his time at SPS Andrew excelled as a runner. In the Athletic Sports of 1913 he won the 100 yards, the quarter mile, the half mile and the mile, a performance he repeated the following year in a match for the Imperial College of Science. In the 1st World War he served in the RAF, and at some point was captured by the Germans. After the war Andrew spent his life overseas as a Surveyor. He was with the Survey Department of Egypt from 1919 to 1927, in Transjordan till 1940, in Palestine till 1948 and in Nigeria till 1951. From 1951 to 1953 he held the position of Inspector General, and after that had special appointments with Uganda 1954 57, Malaya 1957, Cyprus 1958 and the Seychelles 1959. For his services in Transjordan Andrew was awarded the Order of Istiqlal 2nd Class. He died on 6 June 1975, age 80.517

Mussared, 2nd Lt William John

515

The Pauline, 92 505 Dec 1974 p 100

516 St Paul’s School Archive

517

The Pauline, 93 508 Dec 1975 p 230

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 10

b. 28 August 1899; d. 19 May 1952 SPS 1912 1915 RFC

William was 17 years and 3 months of age when he enlisted in No. 1 Squadron Royal Flying Corps on 25 April 1917. Underage, he had lied about his date of birth and had given his date of birth as 28 August 1898. On 9 June 1917 he is reported as ‘missing’ and as a ‘prisoner of war’.518 On that day No. 1 Squadron RFC were heavily involved in support of the British offensive at Messines. At around 0825 a patrol led by Lt William Charles Campbell in Nieuport 23 (B1700) (see K.3) encountered six aircraft from Jasta 8 between Oosthoek and Gheluwe. Lt Campbell claimed to have shot down two out, but his wingman 2nd Lieutenant William John Mussared was set upon by three enemy aircraft, shot down and taken prisoner. William later reported:

That damned Nieuport machine is to blame. I got into a fight at about 3000 meter altitude and tried to get away because I had 3 machines against me. But the Germans circled around me and were firing all the time. I got cut off, got an engine failure and had to go down till several hundred metres, where I received extensive machinegun fire. As I lost control of the machine, I crashed on landing. I was uninjured and only a bit shaken up.519

K.3 Image of a Nieuport 23

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 11

William was repatriated in March of 1919. He died in 1952, age 52.

ii) Internees: the ‘Ruhleben eight’

In November 1914 Germany took the decision to intern all British male citizens of military age then resident in Germany. To this end a civilian detention camp was established on the site of a racecourse at Ruhleben near Berlin. Those detained in this camp created clubs, teams and associations that helped them overcome the challenges of incarceration in a foreign land. Over the course of the war the camp was home to more than 5,500 British male civilians between the ages of 17 and 55, eight of whom were OPs. These eight are listed below.

K.4 A sketch of Ruhleben Camp. On the left is the Grandstand in which the classes and entertainments were held. The text in the bottom right reads: ‘stables utilised as barracks where British are interned’. Also shown is a building labelled as ‘casino’ . 520

520 Sladen,

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 12

D (ed), In Ruhleben: letters from a prisoner to his mother (London, 1917) p 15

The Pauline edition of July 1917 published a photograph of the ‘Ruhleben Eight’ and a letter from Robert Barrett (SPS 1895 1902) in which he described the activities undertaken in the Camp by these OPs.

K.5 Old Paulines at Ruhleben521

L to r, standing: Pether, G; Paget; Gilbert, J; Boyd, W; Barrett, R. L to r, sitting: Ettinghausen, M; Woodward; Heather, A.

The Pauline editors stated that: We commend to the sympathetic notice of our readers the very interesting letter which we have received from Ruhleben. There is not a grumble in it, and yet it does not need much imagination to realize some of the mental not to say physical strain of such weary waiting in an enemy’s land. We notice that Lt. G. L. Barrett, the writer, was also one of the

521 The Pauline, 35 234 Nov 1917. Frontispiece

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 13

contributors to the diverting Christmas number of the Ruhleben Camp Magazine. We should like him and his brother Paulines to know that they are not forgotten.522

Englandererlager Ruhleben, 30 May, 1917. [A letter to The Pauline from Ruhleben by Robert Guy Lionel Barrett OP (SPS 1895 1902)]

Dear Sir, The accompanying group [photo, see K.5] shows St. Paul’s in Ruhleben. We have all been here from the beginning [of the war], but it was only a few months ago that we realized we were eight, and therewith, except Eton, the most liberally represented school in the camp. That we should have taken two years to make this discovery is due to our having one and all refrained from affixing to the boiler house a challenge to Old Paulines to meet in some box [i.e. an old horse box, from Ruhleben’s previous existence as a racecourse] and declare themselves. On the contrary, we left it to the casual course of camp life to reveal us to each other: a process of recognition which wanted time, as very few of us knew one another a priori, that is, from previous acquaintanceship. Only G. C. Pether [Geoffrey Charles, SPS 1910 1913] and Stuart H. Paget [Stuart Harold, 1911 1912] had been contemporaries, and Ettinghausen [Maurice Leon, SPS 1895 1901] and myself; otherwise our periods at School form an almost unbroken sequence from 1893 1913, one man’s entry coinciding approximately with another’s exit.

The place of honour in the group is occupied by F. C. H. Woodward [Francis Hadden Clutton, SPS, 1893 1894], who some twenty years ago surprised J. Gilman [SPS 1891 1898], then or soon to be a running representative of Cambridge, by beating him in the O.P.’s quarter mile. In 1915, at the only athletic sports held in Ruhleben, Woodward showed conclusively that he was “still running,” and added to the two hundred cups he had won since leaving School. Another O.P. who shines in camp athletics is J. B. Gilbert [John (Jack) Brian, SPS 1901 1903]. Among the pick of the camp at Norkey, at cricket a slow and wily left handed bowler in the champion team, namely Barrack X, at tennis he is second only to G. K. Logie, a youth not unknown to international fame. Pether excels in the use of foil and sabre, and being as interested in teaching as he has been successful in appropriating the art, it is he as much as anyone who has helped to found the Ruhleben School of Fencing, which was initiated a fortnight ago under the auspices of our Arts and Science Union. Of Paget I know little, save that he reads a good deal, and that he would dearly like to continue his medical studies in the world outside. J. Boyd [William Stuart Jackson, SPS 1894 1896] is a prominent member of the Watch and Works Committee: he has a small but constant gang of workers at his disposal, and is responsible for the making and maintaining of roads, paths, and surface drains. The biggest boon he has recently conferred on us is a sleeper ribbed corduroy road leading for three hundred yards from the western and more residential half of our 522

The Pauline, 35 233 July 1917 p 90

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 14

fenced city to first and second kitchens. Returning to those seated in the photograph: on Woodward’s left is A. G. F. Heather [Aubrey George Forster, SPS 1893 1895], whose golf is not equal to his teaching of Spanish in the Camp School, but that is saying quite a little. From Heather and the Camp School it is an easy transition to Dr. Ettinghausen on Woodward’s right and the Camp University. If the last phrase be a misnomer, Carlyle may have been wrong in stating that “the true University in these days is a collection of books,” or perhaps what was true in his days is, as Mr. Elam [SPS Master, Rev H D, SPS 1884 ] would say, “an inadequate statement of the truth”, in ours. Be that as it may, we have a goodly collection of books in the Reference Library, and over this institution Dr. E. presides. The library numbers more than 5,000 volumes and nearly 800 members, about a quarter of the present inhabitants of the camp. We expect to reach four figures before the gates are opened a date for which most of us look well into the future. Having next to nothing but conflicting reports to build conjectures on, we stop at a date like 1919, which has an arresting sound, and hope that the annus mirabilis may be earlier. The 5,000 volumes mentioned are not all in one room, but there are daughter libraries in the various departments of the school, which we feed, as occasion offers, with duplicates, with schoolbooks, and with scientific works of a more learned and special character than most of our readers look for. As Assistant Librarian to Dr. E., may I take this opportunity of asking for an opus or the opera of some Old Paulines? not the poetical works of Milton, please, unless it were an admirably annotated edition, but his prose writings would be welcome, as, too, the Diary of Pepys, of which we have only one tantalizing volume. With Milton’s verse our shelves are not merely stocked but stacked; is it that England appreciates her poet so greatly and wishes Ruhleben to have every chance of doing the same, or has the Old Country so many copies of his works to spare? Jowett would be read by many: his translation of the “Republic” we have, but that is all. Nor should we despise the books of G. K. Chesterton [Gilbert Keith, SPS 1887 1892]. To the librarianship Dr. E. adds the captaincy of Bar. 13, and it is only fitting that his assistant, who once captained the Colts against Haileybury, should now lead the members of Stall 7 to the cricket field. Yesterday the Golf Club finished its Spring Meeting; to morrow we dig the shallow trench, lay clinkers, and roll them to a pitch. Next week the matting will be spread and matches start. Wishing you a good season on the green grass and in every way, with respectful greetings to the High Master, and with united kind regards to any who may remember us, believe me, in the name of us all, Yours sincerely, Robert Guy Lionel Barrett.523

Pether, Geoffrey Charles b. ?; Aug 1970

SPS 1910 – 1913 523 The Pauline, 35 233 July 1917 pp 119 120

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 15

Geoffrey was at Heidelberg College when war broke out. In a series of fascinating letters home Geoffrey provides a perspective on hostilities from the German point of view. In a letter dated 17 September 1914, Geoffrey writes:

As I said in my other letters, people between the ages 17 45 are considered possible soldiers and are not allowed out. Had I been 6 months younger I could have gone home but I don’t intend to cry over spilt milk and endeavour to amuse myself. Your [letter telling me to return home] on 1 August reached me the 8 August . War was declared by England on 4 August so had you telegrammed I should have got out perhaps. All letters which I sent off by the number of about 8 between 31 July and 4 August inclusive came back with a fortnight. I also forgot to say that an inquiry about me came through from the American Consul of S H Galler, which I answered. I think the war will be over by the end of November, as for Sir [Edward] Grey’s 20 years or 1 year even that is all rot and he knows it. To my mind the Liberal government is responsible for the blackest stain in our history that there is. Russians, Germans, Frenchmen, Austrians whom I have met, all blame England (i.e. Sir E Grey). If Allan goes on active service I hope he’ll keep a whole skin. I hear that the Govt are trying to raise a “Volunteer” army by means which practically amount to compulsion. We ought to have had National Service long ago to my mind, as it is the war [will] be decided before these “Volunteers” can be got into shape. A lot of news comes over Holland referring to the “white feather campaign” etc to induce men to join. It’s all rather disgusting I think. The Govt keeps the people in the dark in order to save its face.524

In a letter dated 28 September 1916, Geoffrey references a meeting of OPs, and makes a request for copies of The Pauline: We had an O.P. meeting in Ettinghausen’s room some days ago. There were there Gilbert, Ettinghauser, Barrett, Paget, Heather, Woodland & self. There was another man Boyd who could not turn up. I have not received any [copies of The] Paulines now for months so wish you would enclose with rock cakes. That is much safer I think.525

Conditions in the camp do not appear to have been particularly harsh internees were even permitted to play golf, evident in a letter Geoffrey sent to his father on 12 January 1917: Dear Dad, Have arranged to start golf and have been nominated to be a member of the club. Barrett an

524

Courtesy Geoffrey C. Pether, Letters from Geoffrey Pether to his family 1914 1917. South Petherton Information. 25 July, 2015. http://www.southpethertoninformation.org.uk

525 Courtesy Geoffrey C. Pether, Letters from Geoffrey Pether to his family 1914 1917. South Petherton Information. 25 July, 2015. http://www.southpethertoninformation.org.uk

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 16

O.P. has given me 3 clubs and that is all I need or can use here. Could you send me a few balls. There is some restriction regarding the export of rubber and a large number are not allowed. Gray recommends the “Chemico” ball price 1/0. Do not buy anything dearer. If new balls are not allowed used ones will do.526

In addition, it appears that Geoffrey took very seriously his entry in the Ruhleben Arts and Craft Exhibition in June 1916, producing a meticulous 1:12 scale model of his barrack.

K.6 The model of his barrack that Geoffrey built 1915 1916. It shows the form of his bedroom, located in what was previously a horse box.527

526 Courtesy Geoffrey C. Pether, Letters from Geoffrey Pether to his family 1914 1917. South Petherton Information. 25 July, 2015. http://www.southpethertoninformation.org.uk

527 Courtesy Maurice Ettinghausen Collection of Ruhleben Civilian Internment Camp Papers, 1914 1917. olvwork483923

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 17

Upon repatriation Geoffrey followed a career in medicine. He died on 12 August 1970.

Paget, Stuart Harold b. 30 May 1896; d. 7 April 1945 SPS 1911 1912

During the Second World War Stuart served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Service No. 102777. He died on 7 April 1945, age 48. Stuart is buried in Golders Green Jewish Cemetery. The cause of death appears unknown.

Ettinghausen, Maurice Leon b. 25 January 1883; d. 14 Nov 1974 SPS 1895 1901

Maurice was born in Paris on 25 January 1883. He proceeded from St Paul’s to Queen’s College, Oxford. In 1905 he obtained a doctorate in Sanskrit from the Sorbonne. At the start of the war he was employed with the Munich firm of Ludwig Rosenthal, ‘the founder of the modern school of antiquarian bookselling’, as Maurice called him in his memoirs. In the obituary published in The Times Maurice was described as: ‘A passionate bookman of great erudition and versatility, [whose] career not only reflected, but also shaped a great epoch of collecting and bookselling. His dominant role in dealings with the great European and

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 18

Maurice Leon Ettinghausen528

528 Courtesy Chaim Todros Rubinstein's photos

American collectors and institutions during his 20 years with Maggs Brothers has become bookselling history.’

During his time as an internee at Ruhleben, Maurice was in control of the Reference Library, containing 5,000 volumes of up to date works on all branches of knowledge.

Maurice died in 1974, age 91.

Woodward, Francis Hadden Clutton b. 5 October 1877; d. 1951 SPS 1893 1894

It appears that little is known about Francis beyond his time as an internee at Ruhleben.

Gilbert, John (Jack) Brian b. 17 July 1887; d. 28 July 1974 SPS 1901 1903

John usually known as Jack became a top flight tennis player. He reached the Wimbledon semi finals in 1922 and competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. In the same year he partnered Kitty Godfree (nee McKane), (St Paul’s Girls’ School) to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles Finals.

John (Jack) Brian Gilbert at Eastbourne in 1925529

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 19

Boyd, William Stuart Jackson b. 18 April 1879 d. 23 January 1953

SPS 1894 - 1896

It appears that little is known about William beyond his time as an internee at Ruhleben.

Heather, Aubrey George Forster b. 21 March 1879; d. ? SPS 1893 1895

It appears that little is known about Aubrey beyond his time as an internee at Ruhleben.

Barrett, Robert Guy Lionel b. 2 Jan 1884; d. SPS 1895 1902

After the war Robert attended Magdalen College Oxford and thereafter appears to have worked as a translator. Little is known about him, except that in 1922 he translated Alice in Wonderland into German and published English translations of Rainer Maria Rilke’s cycle of poems, Das Marienleben and The Life of the Virgin Mary.

11.3

Soldiers of war

Bewsher, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick William DSO, OBE, MC b. 6 Aug 1886; d. 26 September 1950

SPS 1898 – 1905 and History Master SPS 1910 1919

1/5th Bn. London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) attd. Staff 51st (Highland) Division

Frederick Fred, as he was generally known was born in Headley, Hampshire on 6 August 1886, the only son of Samuel Bewsher, Bursar of SPS. (Samuel was Bursar from 1884 until his death in 1915. He was instrumental in the development of the new preparatory school, for which accommodation was especially built and opened as Colet Court in 1890.530 Samuel’s brother, James, was Headmaster of Colet Court for forty years 1889 1929. For reasons that are obvious, Colet Court was generally known as ‘Bewshers’.)

At SPS (1898 – 1905) Fred was an impressive athlete, playing for the 1st XV in 1904 and the 1st XI in 1905 before proceeding to Merton College, Oxford. One who knew him well writes:

530 This building still stands today, half way along Hammersmith Road.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 20

He was, in Wakeling’s XI, “the hardest hitter in the team” and “an excellent field,” in Bolter’s “a good lusty bat” and “very safe in the outfield,” in Just’s XV a three quarter who “runs strongly and kicks well”; he was Head of the High House when it won the three inter House cups, and Club Captain when Houses regained the Club Championship after three years.531

After Oxford, Fred returned to SPS in 1909 to become an Assistant Master in 1909. In this role he found time to publish, including a collection of documents in a work titled The Reformation and The Renaissance (1485 1547) in Bell’s English History Source Book series published in 1912.533 Intimating a sense of the flavour of the work, Fred wrote in the Introduction that:

While most of the more important historical events are dealt with, an attempt has been made to introduce the student to the Tudor Atmosphere, and to reproduce as much as possible, both the mental and bodily energy, the prosperity, and the general virility of the period.534

531 Geoffrey Holryd Gadsden (SPS 1909 1914), The Pauline, 69 435 Feb 1951 p 47

532 St Paul’s School Archive

533 In the same year he published Aids To the Writing of English Composition For Boys In The Lower Forms of Public Schools, published by Bell.

534 Bewsher, Fred W, The Reformation and the Renaissance (1485 1547), (London, 1916, second edition)

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 21

Fred William Bewsher with the 1st XV, 1904 1905532

In the same year that Fred became an Assistant Master he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1/5th Bn. London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade), spending his weekends upon endeavours such as leading the LRB on the 52 mile London to Brighton march. Upon the outbreak of war he was called to the war effort by his regiment, though it was recognised that his real strength lay in wielding the pen rather than the sword and he was thus employed at home on the operational staff and training duties during the first part of the war. Nonetheless, as Fred’s friend and schoolfellow, R F Johnson (SPS 1902 1904), observed ‘There was a momentum about Bewsher’s military career which set one gasping’.535

In July 1916 Fred was posted Brigade Major in 152nd Brigade (51st (Highland) Division), in which role he was in frequent contact with the front line troops and was responsible for planning Brigade operations. He was quickly adopted as an honorary Scotsman. Fred played an important part in the formulation of 152nd Brigade’s successful attack on 13 November 1916 upon Beaumont Hamel at the Somme. An examination of the unit diary reveals page upon page of granular detail mastered by Fred. He was awarded the MC (for which there is no citation) on 4 June 1917. For the remainder of the war Fred was steadily promoted,

535 The Pauline, 69 435 Feb 1951 p 47 536 © IWM HU 113790

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 22

Frederick William Bewsher536

ending this period of his career as GSO 2, 51st (Highland) Division. He was awarded the DSO on 3 June 1919.

K.7 Part of a ten page Extract of Messages received and sent, and brief diary of the course of

TheNationalArchives'reference

After the war Fred did not return to his life as a rugby playing, book writing schoolmaster; instead, his heart was now in soldiering. In the post war years he was founder and first Commander of the Palestine Gendarmarie and later he commanded the Transjordan Frontier Force (1926 1928), as well as acting as training adviser to the Egyptian Army. During the Second World War he commanded the Alexandria Area.

In 1921 Fred published the official Divisional History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914 1918. In the Preface to this work Fred remarked that: The ‘History’ is now presented with every consciousness on the part of the author that full justice has not been done to its great subject. Indeed, it is doubtful if full justice can be done to the part played by the British Army in the Great War until a generation not intimately involved in it has arisen and has come to regard the burdens sustained for over four years by the British soldier in the true perspective.538

537 TNA WO 95 2862 2 1 538 Bewsher, F W The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914 1918 (Blackwood and Sons, 1921)

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 23

Considering the challenges in which this history was composed it nevertheless provides a compelling and detailed narrative of the actions of the 51st (Highland) Division and ranks among the more impressive of the available Divisional histories.

The author of Fred’s obituary published in The Pauline reflects that:

To many who watched Bewsher’s career it was a matter of wonder that he did not rise higher, even, than he did. There was, no doubt, an element of luck, as there is in most military careers. More significant, perhaps, he was (as the phrase goes) “a little old for his seniority.” Had this brilliant soldier found his lifework just a little earlier, he might have been numbered among our foremost military leaders.539

Fred died on 26 September 1950, age 64.

Boyd, Major-General Sir Gerald Farrell, KCB, CMG, DSO, DCM b. 19 Nov 1877; d. 12 April 1930 SPS 1890 - 1894

Gerald failed to gain entry to Sandhurst from Army A Form in 1895 and instead enlisted as a Private in the Devonshire Regiment in October of that year, from which rank he rose to the

539 The Pauline, 69 435 Feb 1951 p 48 540 St Paul’s School Archive

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 24

Gerald Farrell Boyd540

office of General hence his moniker: the ‘Ranker General’. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the East Yorkshire Regiment in May 1900. He served with distinction in the South African War, winning both the DCM and the DSO, at the time the only officer to hold both simultaneously. Thereafter his promotion was rapid, rising to temporary Brigadier General and Chief of Staff of the Vth Corps: in less than two years he had risen from Captain to Brigadier General. On 4 September 1918 Gerald was promoted to temporary Major General and given command of the 46th (North Midland) Division.

Under Gerald’s command 46th Division achieved in September 1918 what many historians view as the finest feat of arms by British troops of the entire war, the storming of the Hindenburg Line’s main position at Bellenglise. The attack, which involved the crossing of the steep sided St Quentin Canal using lifebelts borrowed from channel steamers, cork rafts, and the like, was completely successful, as were subsequent operations to consolidate the success and force the Germans out of their last prepared positions: 4000 prisoners and 70 guns were captured.541

Gerald continued his career in the army after the war, serving in Ireland and India. He died suddenly on 12 April 1930, age 52. His funeral was held in the Chapel of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea on 16 April, at which full military honours were accorded. Brig. General G. Trotter represented the Prince of Wales, and Commander Campbell the Duke of York, Colonel in Chief of the East Yorkshire Regiment. Gerald was buried at Putney Vale cemetery. He is known as the ‘Ranker General’.

Clayton, Philip Thomas Byard (Tubby) CH, MC, DD, FSA b. 12 December 1885; d. 15 Dec 1972 SPS 1897 – 1905

Garrison Chaplain of Poperinghe attd. 141st (East Ham) Heavy Battery, RGA

Tubby Clayton in 1937542 541 Andy Simpson https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/98158 542 © NPG x10844

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 25

Philip Thomas Byard Clayton ‘Tubby’ was born on 12 December 1885 at Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. The following year the family returned to England and Tubby attended SPS 1897 1905, following in the footsteps of his brother, Hugh (SPS 1890 1896). Upon leaving SPS Tubby proceeded to Exeter College, Oxford and thereafter trained as a cleric, beginning his clerical career in 1910. At the start of the war he volunteered as an army chaplain and worked in hospitals in France, his first posting was to No. 16 General Hospital on the cliffs above Le Treport.

As the war progressed it became clear that there was an urgent need for a rest house behind the lines in the Ypres Salient. Neville Talbot, Senior Chaplain of the 6th Division, interested Tubby in the task of establishing such a sanctuary and together they found an empty property in Poperinghe (at Gasthuisstraat 43, B 8970 Poperinghe, Belgium) to the west of Ypres and transformed it into Talbot House, named in memory of Gilbert Talbot (son of Edward Talbot, Bishop of Winchester) recently killed in action at Hooge. The House became known as ‘TH’, or more usually, ‘Toc H’. (‘Toc’ signifying the letter ‘T’ in the signals spelling alphabet used by the British Army.)

Upon the foundation of Toc H Tubby assumed the responsibility of Garrison Chaplain of Poperinghe, a role he played out as genial host and inn keeper at Talbot House until after the Armistice. At the same time he visited units in the field he was attached to the 141st (East Ham) Heavy Battery, RGA delivering communion in places to which travel was neither easy nor safe and for which gained the MC in 1917. In 1919 he published Tales of Talbot

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 26

House, containing ‘the memoirs of a parson publican, written as a peace offering for those who have visited the inn’.543 In this work Tubby provides the following description of Toc H:

So far as possible, [Talbot] House took no interest in the war. On its walls were great maps, not of the front, but of England, Canada, and Australia. On the great map of England, London and Liverpool are worn away by much digital discovery, and a scientific spy could tell the territorial locality of the successive divisions by the superimposition of the finger prints. In all things so far as possible the House maintained a civilian standpoint, not out of any disloyalty to the Cause, or to the distinguished soldiers who made the House possible, but because its whole raison d’etre was always to be an Emmaus Inn, a home from home where friendships could be consecrated, and sad hearts renewed and cheered, a place of light and joy and brotherhood and peace. The discipline of the House was therefore not enforced by Army orders, but by light hearted little notions, that arrested the reader’s attention and won his willingness on the right side, e.g. …. TO PESSIMISTS, WAY OUT. … . Over the door of the chaplain’s room was a legend, invented by a beloved physician who for more than a year was treasurer of the House. This scroll ran “All Rank Abandon Ye Who Enter Here” . 544

After the war Tubby established a Talbot House in London and began the Toc H movement. Its guiding principles were presented in what became known as the Four Points of the Toc H Compass:

Friendship (“To love widely”) Service (“To build bravely”) Fair mindedness (“To think fairly”) The Kingdom of God (“To witness humbly”)

In 1923 the Prince of Wales lit a lamp in the Royal Albert Hall and this duly became the symbol of Toc H, known as the Lamp of Maintenance. Each branch of Toc H throughout the world had such a lamp and it was lit at the beginning of each Toc H meeting, commemorating the fallen in the 1st World War. The Lamps are decorated with the double cross, a feature in the arms of the city of Ypres. It bears a Latin inscription which reads, In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen (We will see the light in Your Light). A lighted Lamp thus symbolises the ‘Torch’ of adventurous sacrifice passed on by those who have ‘gone forward’.

543 Clayton, P B, Tales of Talbot House, Everyman’s Club in Poperinghe and Ypres 1915 1918 (London, 1919) p 2

544 Clayton, P B, Tales of Talbot House, Everyman’s Club in Poperinghe and Ypres 1915 1918 (London, 1919) pp 36 38

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 27

K.8 A Lamp of Maintenance

Tubby now undertook several gruelling fund raising tours which saw the movement flourish so that Toc H numbered a thousand branches in Britain and hundreds overseas. He also established a Toc H Women’s Association that grew to almost equal strength. Tubby continued this work until his death on 15 December 1972, age 87. He was cremated and his ashes placed in an urn in the crypt of All Hallows by the Tower, Toc H’s Guild Church, of which Tubby had been incumbent for 40 years. He is commemorated in an effigy sculpted by Cecil Thomas and placed in the church.

K.9

The effigy

of Tubby in All

Hallows

by the Tower546 545 Courtesy British Museum. CC BY NC SA 4.0 546 Courtesy John Salmon

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 28

Maurice, Major-General Sir Frederick Barton KCMG, CB b. 19 Jan 1871; d. 19 May 1951 SPS 1884 1889 Staff Officer; Director of Military Operations

Frederick Barton Maurice, 1951547

Frederick was born in Dublin on 19 January 1871. He was the eldest son of Major General Sir John Frederick Maurice (1841 1912).

After leaving St Paul’s in 1889 Frederick proceeded to Sandhurst and thus began a military career which very much followed in his father’s footsteps, at one point even serving with him in the Tirah campaign of 1897 1898. In 1892 he was commissioned in the Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment), in which unit he rose to captain and saw active service in the South African War, 1899 1900. From 1902 he entered the Staff College at Camberley (the senior department of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst), in which place in 1913 he was appointed as an instructor in military history at the Staff College. Upon the outbreak of war in August 1914 he served as staff officer with the 3rd Division and was briskly promoted to head its general staff as GSO 1, responsible for that unit’s training, intelligence, planning operations and the directing of military operations as they occurred. Following further promotions in 1915 Frederick was transferred to London in December 1915 and assumed the role of Director of Military Operations in the War Office with the rank of Major General. In this capacity Frederick was a supporter of concentrating resources against Germany on

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 29

the Western Front, a strategy that went largely unchallenged in 1916, no doubt in part because of the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. This changed in 1917 under the leadership of the new prime minister, David Lloyd George, whose sponsorship of a variety of initiatives away from the Western Front led to the removal of Frederick on 21 April 1918 in the middle of the mighty German offensive, the Kaiserschlacht (also known as the Ludendorff Offensive), 21 March 18 July 1918.

The early successes of the Kaiserschlacht encouraged general criticism of Lloyd George and his strategy, including charges that he had ordered a reduction in the numbers of troops on the Western Front and an extension of the line held by the British. Not only did Lloyd George deny these charges but he also produced material that purported to show that Haig’s army in France had been increased in number, not diminished. In turn, Frederick wrote to the press on 6 May, asserting that the statements issued by the government were misleading Parliament and the nation. He wrote that:

My reasons for taking the very grave step of writing this letter are that the statements quoted [by the government] are known to a large number of soldiers to be incorrect, and this knowledge is breeding such distrust of the Government as can only end in impairing the splendid moral of our troops at a time when everything possible should be done to raise it.548

Frederick’s action led to the issue being debated in parliament. Meanwhile he let it be known that he fully realised the consequences to himself an officer was forbidden from communicating with the press but it was his firm belief that ‘my duty as a citizen must override my duty as a soldier.’ When Lloyd George decided to make his reply a question of confidence, and won support for his position, it marked the end of Frederick’s army career. As Frederick’s obituary in The Times put it, ‘Major General Sir Frederick Maurice … came under popular notice in somewhat sensational fashion during the 1914 1918 war when, in 1918, he challenged in all sincerity the good faith of the Prime Minister and by this act ended his own military career.’549

Frederick now became military correspondent for several newspapers and after 1918 he authored a large volume of works, mostly focussed on the 1914 1918 conflict. He also developed a successful career in education, including holding a chair of military studies at London University from 1927, becoming Principal of what was to develop as Queen Mary College of the University of London and delivering the Lees Knowles lectures on military history at Cambridge in 1925 1926. Frederick also helped to found the British Legion in 1920, an organisation of which he became President (1932 – 1947) and which aims to

548 Nottingham Evening Post, 7 May 1918

549 The Times, reprinted in The Pauline, 64 437 Nov 1951 p 189

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 30

promote the welfare of current and former members of the British Armed Forces. It is perhaps best known for its organisation and sponsorship of the annual Poppy Appeal and Remembrance Services.

Frederick’s son in law, Sir Edward Spears, remembered him as being:

As imperturbable as a fish, always unruffled, the sort of man who would eat porridge by gaslight on a foggy morning in winter … just as if he were eating a peach in a sunny garden in August. A very tall, very fair man, a little bent, with a boxer’s flattened out nose, and a rather abrupt manner. A little distrait owing to great inner concentration, he simply demolished work, never forgot anything, was quite impervious to the moods of his chief [Sir William ‘Wully’ Robertson] … and [was] his most efficient if not outwardly brilliant second.550

Frederick died on 19 May 1951, age 80.

Maynard , Major-General Sir Charles Clarkson Martin K.C.B, C.M.G, D.S.O b. 15 Sept 1870; d. 28 June 1945

SPS 1882 - 1889

Colonel of The Devonshire Regiment (1930 1943)

550 Spears, E, Prelude to Victory (1939) pp 35 36 551 © NPG x66386

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 31

Charles Clarkson Martin Maynard551

Charles Clarkson Martin Maynard, son of Foster Fowler Martin Maynard, L.R.C.P, M.R.C.S., was born at Rangoon on 15 September 1870. Following his education at St Paul’s (SPS 1882 1889), Charles proceeded to Sandhurst, passing out with honours into the Devonshire Regiment in October 1890. After a period of service in India he was promoted Captain and transferred to the 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment with which he embarked for the South African War in October 1899. Charles fought at Colenso, Spion Kop, Vaal Krantz, and Pieter’s Hill. He was awarded the DSO in 1901. After returning to England he fulfilled a series of administrative roles in the War Office.

When the BEF went to France in August 1914 Charles rejoined the Devonshire Regiment and commanded the 1st Bn. Devonshires at the fighting at Givenchy and Festubert during the Battle of La Bassee in October 1914. The obituary published in The Times remarks that:

The history of the regiment contains nothing finer than the magnificent resistance offered to the German onslaughts during these days, and Maynard proved the ideal leader.

In the first half of 1915 Charles was appointed to a number of important administrative posts. In August of that year he received the command of the 13th Brigade (5th Division). The upward trajectory of Charles’ career was however impeded when illness struck. On 6 December 1915 he was admitted to Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital at Millbank in London, suffering from phlebitis.552 It seems that he did not recover sufficiently until August 1916, when he was sent to Gallipoli, again fulfilling administrative duties. In January 1917 Charles was appointed to command the 82nd Brigade (27th Division). After a year’s service in the Struma Valley (a territory in north eastern mainland Greece) he was invalided home and again became a patient in Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital, suffering from the same complaint as before.553

Recurring illness did not prevent Charles from accepting leadership of one of the most challenging operations of the entire war: command of the Murmansk theatre of the Northern Russian Expedition, 1918 1919. Following the revolution in Russia in 1917 and the subsequent collapse of that country into a state of civil war, there developed amongst the Allies the fear that, if the Reds prevailed, Russia would drop out of the war. This in turn would provide the Germans with the opportunity to concentrate their forces on the Western Front and to establish submarine bases in the ports of Murmansk and Archangel. Britain thus decided to send a task force to Russia, the element destined for Murmansk to be led by Charles. In an account composed in 1928, Charles recalled that: 552 MH 106/1662 553 MH 106/1677

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 32

The month of May 1918 found me in England invalided from the Salonika front. I had reached a stage of comparative convalescence, and was awaiting anxiously the time when a medical board would pass me as fit once again for service in the field. On Empire Day I chanced to be lunching at my club, where I ran across Colonel Richard Steel, an old friend then employed at the War Office. Steel greeted me by informing me that I was the very man he wanted to meet, and asked me to accompany him to the War Office, as he had been authorised to lay before me a proposition for my employment which he believed would be after my own heart. … “Ever heard of a place called Murmansk?” he asked. … I had learnt, then, my intended destination, and the attractions it had to offer did not appear to me outstanding.554

Charles’ mission was two fold: firstly, to organise a unit composed of officers and NCOs, with experience as instructors, to make its way to Archangel as soon as the White Sea was ice free in order to undertake the training of a nascent White force; secondly, to lead a small expeditionary force the ‘Syren Force’ to Murmansk in order to ensure that neither that port nor Petchenga should fall to the Germans, or to the Finnish troops cooperating with them.555 If this second aspect of the mission failed it would likely result in the ports becoming German U boat bases (Murmansk was ice free in winter) and thus expose to great danger the crowded transport ships full of American soldiers even then crossing the Atlantic.

K.10 A hand drawn map (probably by Colonel Wilcox, Devonshire Regiment) of the North Russian theatre.556

554 Maynard, C The Murmansk Venture, (1928, Arno Press) p 14

555 The expeditionary force was indeed small. As described by Charles it ‘was to consist of a meagre 600 men, almost all of whom would be of physical category so low as to render then unfit for duty in France; whilst 400 Royal Marines, a few Royal Engineers, a battalion of Serbian infantry, and some French artillery would come under command on arrival.’

Maynard, C The Murmansk Venture, (1928, Arno Press) p 17

556 © Keep Military Museum

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 33

On 18 June, in circumstances of great secrecy, both contingents embarked from Newcastle on board the City of Marseilles and began the perilous journey across the U boat infested North Sea. Several days into the journey, crew and men were afflicted by an outbreak of Spanish Flu. Charles recalled that:

One after another, officers and men were stricken; but most serious of all was the violence of the epidemic among the Indian stokers. Within twenty four hours of its outbreak, the captain informed me that so many stokers were sick that his speed was reduced already to a little more than half the number of knots prescribed him a disquietening statement, seeing that we were due to meet our escort into Murmansk at a given spot at a given hour.557

This challenge was eventually overcome only to be replaced by a new foe: a slow moving band of dense fog. Ultimately, the fog was safely navigated and, rendezvous with the escort achieved, the expedition finally arrived safely in Murmansk.

557 Maynard, C The Murmansk Venture, (Arno Press, 1928) p 21

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 34

Assisted by the advice and expertise of Ernest Shackleton, the newly arrived force adapted as best it could to the extreme weather, though there is no denying the wretched conditions were made yet more intolerable by the impracticality of home leave. Nonetheless, at least in the short term, Charles’ leadership proved effective against the German commander in the region, Rudolf von der Goltz, and the force he commanded, some 100,000 strong. Charles’ obituary published in The Times remarked that:

Many troubles and anxieties beset [Charles] and were steadily mastered in an atmosphere of treachery, sabotage, and lethargy and in a miserable region and climate. His brilliant conduct of the operations for a time wrested some 10,000 square miles from hostile influence and he captured many prisoners and much booty.

The threat from Germany evaporated following the signing of the Armistice in November 1918 but was replaced by that posed by the increasingly secure Red / Bolshevik regime. Nonetheless, benefitting from reinforcements, Charles:

penetrated the country southward [from Murmansk] and to the flanks, establishing systems of defences which served to sustain his few, ill trained, and partially unfit troops. He proved able to control his long and disaffected line of communication and even moved out mobile columns although the demands of Archangel compelled him to send reinforcements there. 558

Success was short lived. Diminishing support at home for British involvement in Russia led to the evacuation of Archangel and Murmansk, a process completed on 12 October 1919. Upon his return, Charles was once again hospitalised, this time with indigestion.559

Charles was gazetted substantive colonel in the Devonshire Regiment in 1919. His last appointment was that of brigadier general in charge of Administration, Western Command, which he held from February 1920, until May 1923. He had been promoted Major General in January 1923. Charles retired from the Army in 1925.

Charles died on 28 June 1945, age 74.

Montgomery, Field Marshal the Rt. Hon. Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, Bernard Law KG, GCB, DSO b. 17 November 1887; d. 24 March 1976 SPS 1902 – 1906 558 The Times obituary 559 MH 106/1714

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 35

Bernard Law Montgomery ‘Monty’ was born on 17 November 1887 in London, the fourth child of nine to Henry Montgomery, a Church of Ireland minister, and his wife, Maud. He entered St Paul’s in January 1902, having previously been educated at home in Tasmania by tutors brought over from England. In a letter written for publication in The Pauline in 1968, he reflected upon his time at the school (1902 1906), concluding that ‘I owe a great deal to St. Paul’s. If you want to work there is no better school. I have no idea what happens now if you don't work. Maybe you are pushed out!'560 (See Chapter 2, Section 2.1 for a fuller extract of this letter.) In his Memoirs, Monty declared that ‘I was very happy at St Paul’s school.’561

K.11 1st XV 1906 1907. Monty is Captain, seated in the middle.562

Back row, l to r: R N D Fearnside Speed; R O Chamier; S H White, R O Beit; H Chesterton; P T Onraet. Middle row, l to r: J A Child; H C Whittal; B L Montgomery; H H Gresham; A C Vincent. Front row, l to right: W H Child; H Vickers; H P Freeman

Monty entered Sandhurst in January 1907. During his time there only the intercession of his mother prevented him from being rusticated for setting fire to the shirt tails of an unpopular cadet. In September 1908, he joined the 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment, a choice determined in part by the fact that this battalion was serving in India where rates of pay were more substantial than service at home. In December 1908 Monty thus joined this unit

560 The Pauline, 86 485 March 1968 pp 8 9

561 Montgomery, B L The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery (1958) 562 St Paul’s School Archive

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 36

at Peshawar on the North west frontier of India, later moving to Bombay and Deolali. On 11 December 1912 the battalion embarked for England.

At the outbreak of war in 1914 the 1st Bn. Warwicks (at that time stationed at Shorncliffe) was called to the Western Front, arriving in France on 22 August 1914 before moving to the Le Cateau area, though arriving too late to participate in the Battle of Mons, the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force. After a fire fight at Aucourt on 26 August which claimed the lives of seven officers and 40 other ranks, companies of the unit became separated from each other. Monty’s company was left to fend for itself in the confused British retreat, eventually rejoining the battalion on 28 August at Compiege before moving to Rouen to refit. Monty recalled that:

We were left behind when the retreat began and for three days we marched between the German cavalry screen and their main columns following behind, moving mostly by night and hiding by day.563

After the retreat had stabilised somewhat the battalion was ordered to take part in an operation at Meteren a short distance to the west of Baillieul on 13 October, part of what later came to be known as the ‘race to the sea’. The Germans had disposed themselves in the buildings and trenches around Meteren, ensuring that the operation to remove them involved hand to hand bayonet combat. The unit diary entry for 13 October read thus:

10 pm. Meteren was taken during the night. Our casualties [were] 42 killed, 85 wounded … Lt Montgomery, (badly wounded).564

Monty later recalled:

Our task [was] to clear the Germans from the village [i.e. Meteren]. During these encounters amongst the houses I got wounded, being shot through the chest. But we did the job and turned the Germans out of the village. It was for this action at Meteren that I was awarded the DSO.565 I was still only a lieutenant. My life was saved that day by a soldier of my platoon. I had fallen in the open and lay still hoping to avoid further attention from the Germans. But a soldier ran to me and began to put a field dressing on my wound; he was

563 The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery by Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1958) 564 TNA WO 95 1484 1

565 The citation reads: ‘Conspicuous gallant leading on 13th October, when he turned the enemy out of their trenches with the bayonet. He was severely wounded’. London Gazette December 1914.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 37

shot through the head by a sniper and collapsed on top of me. The sniper continued to fire at me and I got a second wound in the knee; the soldier received many bullets intended for me … When it got dark the stretcher bearers came to carry us in; the soldier was dead and I was in a bad way … The doctors reckoned I would not live and … a grave was dug for me. But when the time came to move I was still alive; so I was put in a motor ambulance and sent back to hospital. … I was evacuated to hospital in England and for some months I took no further part in the war. I had time for reflection in hospital and came to the conclusion that the old adage was probably correct: the pen was mightier than the sword. I joined the Staff.566

Bernard Law Montgomery in 1915567

In early 1915 Monty agitated to be readmitted to active service. In February he was graded as fit for home service and posted as the Brigade Major (Senior Staff Officer) of 112th Brigade in Manchester, shortly to be re designated as the 104th Brigade, 35th Division. He remained with 104th Brigade until January 1917, participating in the Great Push in the Maricourt sector on the Somme in July 1916 during which the Brigade suffered heavy casualties.

K.12 List of casualties incurred by the 104th Brigade units fighting on the Somme 19 27 July 1916, signed ‘B. L. Montgomery’.

566 The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery by Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1958) 567 NAM. 2000 06 19 1

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 38

On 22 January 1917 Monty left the 104th Brigade to take up the appointment of GSO2, 33rd Division, followed by a swift promotion to GSO2 of IX Corps in July 1917. Following this latest elevation, Monty came under a New Army commander, exchanging Sir Douglas Haig for General Sir Herbert Plumer. In his new position he was charged with establishing the battle training programme of IX Corps. To this end he issued a sixty page training manual, arranging preliminary rehearsal of all troops behind the lines and integrating artillery and engineer support, designed to secure strategic objectives with a minimum of casualties a characteristic that has allowed some historians to judge him the outstanding British field commander of the twentieth century. After serving throughout the Spring of 1918 on the Western Front in the battles of the Lys and Chemin des Dames, combatting the Ludendorff offensive, Monty was again promoted, becoming on 16 July 1918 chief of staff of a division, the 47th (London), as a temporary Lieutenant Colonel, age thirty.

Montgomery remained in the army after 1918. In the Second World War he played a decisive role in the defeat of Rommel in the El Alamein campaign and, as Commander in Chief of the British Armies during the invasion of Normandy in 1944, he was key to the success of D Day, the details of which were determined in a series of important meetings held in the Board Room at SPS, the pupils having been evacuated to Crowthorne. On a visit to Apposition on 4 July 1946, Monty unveiled a plaque in the Board Room, telling his audience that:568

568 The plaque, created from oak, was designed by Eric Kennington OP (SPS 1900 1904). It was placed above the fireplace at the western end. It was inscribed as follows: ‘IN THIS SCHOOL WHERE HE HAD BEEN AS A BOY GENERAL SIR BERNARD MONTGOMERY PLANNED THE INVASION OF EUROPE 1944 & IN THIS HIS ROOM THE FINAL TOUCHES TO THOSE PLANS

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 39

It is with great pleasure that I unveil this plaque in commemoration of the planning for the invasion of North West Europe which took place in this room during the early months of 1944. When I returned to England to become the land force Commander for the coming invasion, I found the H.Q. of 21 Army Group already set up in this building. This was a pleasant surprise for me as I had been to school at St. Paul’s and was therefore well acquainted with it. It was in this room, which was my office, that I received my Staff and gave out my decisions and orders. It was in this building that all the numerous details for that historic expedition were examined, so many decisions taken, and so many problems overcome. It was in the lecture hall upstairs that I gave out the final plan to the General Officers of the Allied Armies. It was in that same lecture hall that His Majesty the King, and Mr. Churchill, wished us soldiers, sailors, and airmen, Godspeed in the great adventure. It is with a proud heart, therefore, that I return here to day to commemorate those stirring days days which I hope will be for all time an inspiration to this great school, of which I am so proud to have once been a member.569

Monty’s final command before retirement was Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1948 1951).

K.13 Portrait of Bernard Law Montgomery by Denis Fildes, 1956570

WERE GIVEN IN THIS BUILDING ALSO WAS HELD ON MAY 15TH THE BRIEFING CONFERENCE OF ALL THE SENIOR ALLIED COMMANDERS IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING AND OF THE PRIME MINISTER THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL. In war, fury; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity; in peace, good will.’ 569 The Pauline 64 422 July 1946 pp 50 51. The Board Room was re furbished in 1956, it being felt that the room did not adequately reflect its historic significance. As part of this re furbishment a second plaque was installed. It read: BERNARDO LAW MONTGOMERY DUCUM DUCI CONCLAVE ORNATU DIGNO REFECTUM PAULINO PAULINI OB CAPTA

IBIDEM BELLI CONSILIA DEVICTAMQUE AD MCMXLV GERMANIAM GRATO AMMO DEDICAVERUNT

AD MCMLVI, which may be translated as ‘In honour of Bernard Law Montgomery, leader of leaders, this room, worthily re adorned, Paulines honouring a fellow Pauline, in respect of his warlike designs made therein and of the final conquest of Germany 1945, have dedicated with thankful heart, 1956.’ It was unveiled by Montgomery on 2 October 1956. A portrait of Montgomery hung in the room at this time was specially commissioned from the artist Commander Denis Fildes. The Pauline, 74 452 Nov 1956 p 110. 570 Ibid

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 40

Monty died on 24 March 1976, age 88. Following a state funeral in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, he was buried under a simple granite gravestone in Binstead churchyard, near Alton, Hampshire.

Ridley, Wing Commander Claude Alward DSO, MC b.15 Nov 1896; d. 27 June 1942 SPS 1911 1912 Royal Fusiliers, attd. RFC/RAF

Claude Alward Ridley571 571

Courtesy of St John sub Castro

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 41

Claude was born on 15 November 1896 at Mere Knolls House in Sunderland, one of seven children. His father, Louis, was a solicitor. Claude attended SPS for two years, 1911 1912. Upon the outbreak of war he obtained a temporary commission in the Royal Flying Corps, although he resigned from this position when offered a full commission at RMC Sandhurst. After passing out of Sandhurst, Claude joined the Royal Fusiliers and then, after gaining his Royal Flying Corps certificate at Farnborough on 9 July 1915, age 18, was attached to No. 3 Squadron RFC. While flying over France on 6 September 1915 in Morane L1863, accompanied by 2nd Lt Charles Thornton Weaver, Claude became a casualty, suffering what his hospital record describes as a ‘G.S.W. [i.e Gun Shot Wound] and fracture, right foot’.572

Following a successful convalescence, Claude was posted to the London Defence Airfield at Joyce Green, near Dartford. During the night of 31 March 1916 a group of seven Zeppelins set forth on a mission to bomb London. After crossing the Suffolk coast the group split up, Zeppelin L15 travelling to London on a route that took it close to Joyce Green. Claude pursued the L15 in his BE2c and gained sufficient distance to open fire with his machine gun, though the L15 drifted from his view. When it was over Purfleet it was picked out by a searchlight and, damaged by anti aircraft battery fire, crashed into the sea about fifteen miles north of Margate. As a result of his involvement in actions such as this, Claude was awarded the MC, the citation reading:

‘[For] conspicuous gallantry and good work during Zeppelin raids’.573

In June 1916 Claude transferred to the newly established No. 60 Squadron (13th Wing, 3rd Brigade RFC). It was during his time with this unit that he became accomplished at flying spies under the cover of darkness into German occupied territory having previously reconnoitred suitable places to deposit his cargo. On 3 August 1916 Claude’s aircraft the French Morane LA A143 developed engine trouble that led to a series of adventures so extraordinary that the High Master described them to his listeners at Apposition on 25 July 1917 and about which the Official Histories of the RAF and No. 60 Squadron devote discrete pages.574 The account in the Official History of the RAF reads thus:

On the day it was withdrawn No. 60 Squadron lost a pilot who had some amazing adventures before he was to see a Flying Corps mess again. Second Lieutenant C. A. Ridley, who set out to land a French agent, was forced down with engine trouble near Cambrai. For weeks the two moved discreetly about enemy country picking up what military information they could. Towards the end of August they crossed the frontier into Belgium. Here, for part

572 MH 106/1660. Claude was treated at Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital at Millbank 573 London Gazette, 16 May 1916, p 4930 574 See The Pauline, 35 235 13 Nov 1917 p 153

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 42

of the time, Ridley, who spoke neither French nor German, painted his cheeks with iodine, bandaged his head, and went about as one deaf and dumb. So disguised, he was arrested on a tram car near Mons, but escaped by punching the military policeman who was taking him, and jumping from the car which was moving at the time at fifteen miles an hour. He lost touch with his agent comrade after this adventure but, ultimately, in company with a Belgian from Hal, carried a ladder to the frontier and climbed over the electrified wire into Holland, setting foot on Dutch soil in the early hours of the 8th of October. A week later he was back on the Somme front with a mine of information on the enemy ammunition depots, aerodromes, and billets, which he had patiently compiled, under conditions of difficulty and extreme personal danger, during his two months of wandering behind the German lines.575

K.14 Claude pictured in a Morane ‘bullet’576

The account provided by the historian of No. 60 Squadron offers at once similar and yet different details:

On 3 August, 1916, Claude Ridley had a forced landing near Douai through engine failure when dropping a spy over the lines. His adventures were remarkable. His spy got out, told Ridley to hide for a little, and presently, returning with civilian clothes and some money, told him that he must now shift for himself. Ridley did so with such address that he eluded capture for three months on the German side of the line, and eventually worked his way via Brussels to the Dutch frontier and escaped. This was a good performance, none the worse

575 Jones, H A, The War in The Air, Being the Story of The part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force, Vol II (Oxford, 1928) p 265

576 Scott, A J L, Sixty Squadron, RAF. A History of the Squadron from its Formation (London, 1920) facing p 8

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 43

because he could speak neither French nor German. The method he adopted was a simple one he would go up to some likely looking civilian and say, “I am a British officer trying to escape; will you help me?” They always did. He had many interesting adventures. For example, he lay up near the Douai aerodrome and watched the young Huns learning to fly and crashing on the aerodrome. Here he saw one of our B.E.s brought down, and the pilot and observer marched past him into captivity. Later the conductor of a tram in the environs of Brussels suspected him, but, knocking the man down, [Claude] jumped into a field of standing corn and contrived to elude pursuit.577

Claude is recorded as present in England by 13 Oct 1916, some two months after his aircraft failed in France. His successful escape transformed his status into that of a spy, meaning that if he were to be captured again he was likely to be shot rather than treated as a POW. For this reason Claude rejoined the London Defence as commander of B Flight, No. 37 Squadron at its new base at Stow Maries in Essex. In this capacity Claude was several times Mentioned in Despatches in defending the south and east of England against attack from Gotha bombers and Zeppelins. In one instance, his Sopwith Pup was confused with enemy aircraft by anti aircraft batteries located along the Thames Estuary and resulted in Claude’s aircraft being hit; the damage was sufficient (the engine cowling was blown off at 14,000 feet) to oblige Claude to make an emergency landing at Rochford.

After the war Claude remained with the RAF and was promoted to Squadron Leader in January 1925. In the same year he married Lillias Elizabeth McAlpine and thus became a member of that family famous for its achievements in construction. At the outbreak of the Second World War Claude was recalled to service and held a number of positions, including Wing Commander of Leeds University Air Squadron.

Claude died of natural causes on 27 June 1942, at which time he was staying in the Dorchester in London.578 At his request, Claude is buried in the churchyard of St Mary and St Margaret in Stow Maries, Essex within sight of the southern end of the aerodrome from which he had commanded B Flight, No. 37 Squadron.

K.15 The blue plaque in Sunderland commemorating Claude Alward Ridley. It was unveiled in November 2016.579

577 Scott, A J L, Sixty Squadron, RAF. A History of the Squadron from its Formation (London, 1920) p 9

578 McAlpine had begun construction work on the Dorchester in 1929.

579 Courtesy Creative Commons

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 44

Andrew was born on 8 April 1889. He attended SPS 1902 1906. Thereafter, following a period in the University of London Contingent, Senior Division OTC, he was appointed Captain in 1/10th (County of London) Bn. London Regiment. This unit sailed from Plymouth for Gallipoli in late July 1915, landing at Sulva Bay in Gallipoli on 11 August 1915. Yet it seems that Andrew did not travel with his home unit, instead arriving ahead on 25 June attached to the RFC as Observer (having gained his Aviator’s Certificate in September 1914).

In his role as Observer, Andrew’s first operation was to effect a reconnaissance of Sulva Bay on 4 August, prior to the landings in the following days. He thus made sketches of all the existing trenches and gun emplacements in the sector. Later in the year (13 October 1915) Andrew was lucky to escape with his life when his plane crashed in front of enemy lines. He later recalled:

[W]e had an unpleasant experience I remember it well. Newton Clare [Flight Lieutenant Walter Shackfield] and I were flying over a place called Teursten Keui [Turchen Keui, a large Ottoman camp a few miles south of Ejelmar Bay, today Beşyol] when suddenly our Maurice Farman began to spin, lateral control being entirely lost. Something had locked or destroyed the aileron control. We came down in a slow flat spin and eventually crashed on the Salt Lake without damage to ourselves. The Salt Lake is almost dry and hard in summer, and even at this time it was only slightly boggy; but it lay in front of our lines. Soon after we touched the ground, the Turkish batteries opened fire from all directions, but probably owing to the fact that they were all firing from a semi circle simultaneously, and were thus unable to spot their own shots accurately, they made very poor shooting. We did not, however, know this as we moved laboriously through the mud towards our trenches. I never worked so hard in

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 46

my life, and when we fell exhausted into our trenches both Wally Newton Clare and I were violently sick.581

An observer of the forced landing described the Turks’ response, providing corroborative details:

As we are up at Brigade H.Q., we noticed one of our aeroplanes swoop down on to the Salt Lake, obviously having to make a forced landing. A short pause, during which we noticed the pilot and observer climb out, when suddenly shrapnel burst over the machine and very near. It is quickly followed by another and another, and later high explosive shells, when the pilot and the observer scurry away pretty quickly. They are wise, for the Turkish artillery are now well on to the machine, which is rapidly becoming a helpless wreck. I should think they put a hundred shells on that machine before they stopped.582

On 21 October 1915 Andrew was appointed Flying Officer and the following May embarked for France with No. 4 Squadron RFC. The duties of this unit were to observe artillery fire, take photographs, undertake close reconnaissance and effect the bombing of German Kite Balloons. Andrew later described his experiences with this unit during the Somme offensive in 1916:

On 1 July the Somme offensive started. It was an extraordinary sight to see our men go over the top. At first the attack seemed to be a success; but we could see that Thiepvaal [sic] was causing a lot of trouble and that our men were being subjected to a great deal of artillery fire. In the afternoon, we had a scrap with three Roland scouts near Bapaume and very nearly got into serious difficulties. … On 7 July, I was up on artillery patrol at the same time as my Flight Commander, Burney. We were observing for different batteries and he was flying some way below me. Suddenly I looked for him and found he had disappeared entirely. On my return to the aerodrome I heard that Burney’s machine had been hit and almost cut in half by one of our 8in shells, and both he and his observer had fallen into Thiepvaal [sic] Wood.583

It was during this tour that Andrew was especially successful in his role of spotting for the 13th and 33rd Siege Batteries, his prowess in this regard becoming legendary (he was

581 Memories of Gallipoli, 1915, Squadron Leader A. A. Walser MC DFC, Cross & Cockade

International, 2014, Volume 45, Number 4, pp 237 238.

582Graham Gillam, John Graham DSO, Gallipoli Diary (London : George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1918) p 246.

583 Walser wrote this account while at the RAF Staff College 1923 1924. TNA AIR 1/2386/228/11/23

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 47

nicknamed by the gunners ‘The OK King’) and for which he earned the MC, the citation stating:

For conspicuous gallantry in action. He carried out a most valuable artillery reconnaissance under very heavy fire, displaying great courage and determination. He has, on many previous occasions done fine work.584

In January 1917 Andrew was appointed Officer Commanding No. 52 Squadron RFC, with whom he was active on the Western Front. It seems that Andrew returned for a brief period beginning on 30 November 1917 to his home unit, 1/10th Bn. London Regiment, before pursuing once again his career with the airforce. He was commissioned in the RAF upon its formation in April 1918. On 7 February 1919 he was awarded the DFC for his exceptional command of No. 52 Squadron. The citation reads:

A brilliant and exceptionally able Squadron commander who, by his unsparing efforts and his fine personal example, has raised the morale of his Squadron to a very high level. The comprehensive and detailed information obtained by Major Walser in the large number of low reconnaissances he has conducted has proved of the greatest value to his corps.585

After the war Andrew remained in the RAF. He commanded several different Squadrons in the early 1920s before being promoted Wing Commander, No. 1 Indian Wing on 1 October 1924. He then served in a number of Staff roles at the end of the 1920s early 1930s. On 1 October 1932 he became a Group Captain with the Directing Staff at the RAF College. On 1 July 1935 he was promoted to Air Commodore and was posted as Senior Air Staff Officer, HQ RAF Middle East on 4 January 1936.

Andrew retired on 21 September 1941, but was recalled and assumed voluntarily the rank of Group Captain from 14 July 1941 to 6 November 1945. He died on 26 February 1966, age 76. Andrew is buried in St Nicholas Churchyard in Cholderton (Wiltshire), the village in which he lived at the time of his death.

11.4 Artists

Kennington, Private Eric Henri b. 12 March 1888; d. 13 April 1960

SPS 1904 1908

1/13th (County of London) Bn. London Regiment (Kensingtons)

584 London Gazette 14 November 1916 p 11070

585 London Gazette 8 February 1919 p 2048

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 48

Eric was born on 12 March 1888 in Liverpool. His father, Thomas Benjamin Kennington, was a well known portrait artist. At the age of twelve Eric was sent to St. Paul’s School (1904 –1908), where the artist Paul Nash OP (SPS 1903 1906) remembered him drawing, ‘knocking off likenesses of the plaster casts and whistling tunelessly the while’.587 According to The Pauline, Eric ‘was generally at the bottom of his class owing to neglect of his studies in favour of carving and scratching figures of navvies and costers on his desk. When he was sixteen his father wisely removed him’.588 After St Paul’s Eric proceeded to Lambeth School of Art and London’s City of Guilds Art School and was making his way as an artist with increasing degrees of success when war broke out. In 1914 he joined the 1/13th (County of London) Bn. London Regiment, referred to as the ‘Kensingtons.’ The unit arrived in France in November 1914.

Eric became a casualty on 18 January 1915, by which time the 1/13th Bn London Regiment had been rotating in and out of the trenches opposite Aubers, just north of Neuve Le Chapelle, since 14 November 1914. Each battalion in the Brigade endured three days in the front line trenches followed by three days in Brigade reserve billets in and around La Laventie, interspersed with periods of time in Divisional Reserve near Estairs. According to the Brigade diary, the shelling of Laventie with high explosive and shrapnel shells was a fairly regular occurrence.

586

587

© NPG x1952

Nash, P Outline, 1949, p 70

588 The Pauline, 78 462 July 1960 p 69

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 49

Eric Henri Kennington

K.16 Trench map showing the section of line held by the Kensingtons on 15 December 1914. Laventie is shown on the left edge of the map. The British frontline and communication trenches are shown in red and pencil lines running north south on the right of the map; the dotted red lines demarcate the sections of line held by each of the battalions in 25th Brigade.589

The trenches in this sector were narrow and deep, and in some places the German front line was only 50 yards distant. There were regular casualties from German snipers. The land here was low lying, resulting in the trenches becoming water filled. The poor conditions ensured that a large percentage of rifles became clogged with mud, for resolution of which the Brigade diary recorded on 16 November 1915 that: 589 TNA WO 95 1724

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 50

Parafin [was] found useful as a remedy. It is also proposed to try wrapping an old sock or something around the bolt when not in use.590

The incidence of trench foot was also reported as a problem:

Men are suffering very much from their feet. Frost has quite gone and weather is really mild, but if anything more men have been admitted to hospital than during the cold weather. Understand there are 800 men of the Division in hospital from so called frost bite in feet.591

Eric’s battalion remained in this sector during Christmas 1914 and he thus experienced the ‘Christmas Truce’ that occurred in this part of the line when the sound of the guns was replaced by carol singing and illuminated Christmas trees appeared on the parapets of the German trenches. According to the Brigade diary:

[At 8 pm on 24 December] the Germans came out of their trenches and said they would not fire on Christmas Day provided we did not fire. They illuminated their trench all along and lit big fires in [the] rear of them. Strict orders [were] issued forbidding men to hold any communication with [the] Germans. 25 December. No firing of any kind on front occupied by the Brigade. Our men and Germans walked about round their respective trenches within 100 yards of each other in some place[s]. The absence of firing enabled us to look round our position in a way quite impossible at ordinary times.592

After Christmas and the first part of January the trenches became so waterlogged that it was decided to order the men to exit the trenches and to defend the line behind the breastwork; to undertake supporting works in orchards just behind the line which were higher and better drained than the areas in which the trenches were located; and to allow 50 to 75 percent of the men in the front line battalion to occupy the houses on Rue Tilleloy, a short distance to the rear of the communication trenches.

On 18 January Eric received a gunshot wound to his foot. He was thus removed from the line and taken to 2nd General Hospital for two days treatment, after which he was moved to HMHS Asturias. Having convalesced, Eric set to work on a representation of his experience with his battalion: The Kensingtons at Laventie was completed in the first part of 1916.

590

TNA WO 95 1724 591

TNA WO 95 1724, 30 Nov 1914 592 TNA WO 95 1724

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 51

K.17 The Kensingtons at Laventie

Eric placed The Kensingtons at Laventie at the disposal of the committee of the British Women’s Hospital for the benefit of the Star and Garter Building Fund. It went on exhibition at the Groupil Gallery, Regent St in June 1916. The image shows No. 7 Platoon of C company, 1/13th Bn. London Regiment, pausing to re group in Laventie (the Brigade Reserve) before withdrawing further to the rear, most likely Divisional Reserve near Estaires. It represents a scene from November 1914 mid January 1915, when Eric was wounded. (He has painted himself into this composition: he is in the rear, on the left wearing a black balaclava and moustache.) The composition of the picture provides a visceral sense of the impact of the war upon the rank and file, no soldier looking either at another or back at the viewer. Instead, each man, surrounded by the detritus of conflict broken buildings, smashed furniture, and even an empty shell gazes into space. All are seemingly unaware, or perhaps indifferent to, the soldier prostrate on the ground and from

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category

593

whose snow white countenance stare unblinking eyes empty of spirit. A collective sense of weariness and resignation inhabit the picture; most of these faces evince the pallor of death.

The Pall Mall Gazette remarked that:

To Mr Eric Kennington full credit should be given for having produced the first really important and significant picture inspired by and dealing with the great war. … It combines the qualities of a noble work of art with the interest of a historical record of heroism.594

The Kensingtons at Laventie was too stark an image for the Ministry of Information, who initially baulked at appointing Eric as an official war artist. Nevertheless, he was eventually granted that role in May 1917 and went on to produce 170 charcoal, pastel and watercolours before returning to London in March 1918. In the summer of that year he composed an exhibition ‘The British Soldier’ that was hosted at the Leicester Galleries in London. The Pauline offered the following about the exhibition:

Under this title an exceptionally vivid head in a tin hat has been for some time informing the metropolis that Eric H. Kennington’s war pictures are on view at the Leicester Galleries. Good authorities speak very well of them, and the Daily Mail writes: “He is a draughtsman of very exceptional power, with a Pre Raphaelite passion for detail. At times he can command an effect almost mystical in its intensity.” The Times feels that his talent is “threatened by his power of succeeding with the commonplace whenever he will. He might become the best, the most successful, of Academicians, brainlessly painting healthy brainless Englishmen according to their own taste”; and it argues from his undoubted successes that he needs to be powerfully moved to exercise his talent to the greatest advantage.595

K.18 Poster by Eric, advertising his exhibition The British Soldier.596

594 Pall Mall Gazette, 11 May 1916

595 The Pauline, 36 240 July 1918 p 94 596 Courtesy V and A Museum

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 53

In the 1920s and 1930s Eric developed as a sculptor, producing a number of well regarded public sculptures such as the memorial to 24th Division in Battersea Park, London.

K.19 Eric Kennington’s Memorial to 24th Division in Battersea Park597

597 Courtesy Edwardx.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 54

In 1927 Eric was commissioned to paint High Master Hillard’s portrait (see Chapter 1, Section 1.3). About this time Mr Thomas Lytte Martin (SPS 1906 1912) having fought in the war as a Captain in the Cheshire Regiment and then returned to SPS as Director of Music (1923 1957) recalled this encounter with Eric:

I had the pleasure of meeting Eric Kennington first in 1927, when the Old Pauline Club Committee decided to ask him to paint Dr. Hillard’s portrait, and it fell to me to discuss terms with him. He invited me to lunch at his home near Goring Heath, and met me in an aged car at Reading station: he was kindness itself, full of pleasant memories of the School; we exchanged anecdotes of members of the staff, true and imaginary, not least of “Uncle Bob” Harris and the Holden brothers. Some weeks later he telephoned me to go along to his Chiswick studio and tell him what I thought of the portrait, which nobody else had seen, not even Dr. Hillard. He explained that he did not paint his sitters “direct”, but met them in congenial surroundings and chatted with them so as to get to know them well: at the same time, he made sketches, partly to occupy his hands and partly to make himself observe their physical features; then he went home and painted the men as he knew them. He had completely formed his picture of Hillard as a personality; the only physical detail he had forgotten to notice was the hands, and he must see Hillard again because the hands were a most important part of any full or three quarter length portrait. I was glad to tell him that his impression was very like my own, and I had known and worked under Hillard for twenty one years.598

Eric fulfilled the role of official war artist in the Second World War, undertaking portraits of officers and men of the Army at home and the RAF.

Eric died on 13 April 1960 age 72 and is buried in the churchyard at Checkendon.

Nash, 2nd Lt Paul b. 11 May 1889; d. 11 July 1946

SPS 1903 1906

1/28th Bn. London Regiment (Artists Rifles) attd. 2nd Lt in the 15th (Service) Bn. Hampshire Regiment

Paul Nash599

598 The Pauline, 78 462 July 1960 p 72. Thomas saw active service with his regiment at Gallipoli, in Egypt and in Palestine.

599 © National Portrait Gallery, NPG x4088

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 55

After leaving St Paul’s (1903 1906) Paul attended Chelsea Polytechnic School of Art (1906 1908) and the Slade School of Art (1910). On 10 September 1914 he enlisted in the 1/28th Bn. London Regiment, better known as the Artists Rifles. He served in this unit with the rank of Private before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 15th (Service) Bn. Hampshire Regiment. After a period of further training Paul crossed to France in February 1917 and joined his new unit on 15 March, in the St Eloi sector to the south of Ypres. He was immediately fascinated by the torn landscape, its broken trees and chewed earth. He wrote lengthy descriptions of the scene in letters to his wife, Margaret. In one instance he exclaimed:

Oh these wonderful trenches at night, at dawn, at sundown. Shall I ever lose the picture they have made on my mind.600

Paul’s first experience of the front was of relatively short duration. In a letter to his wife dated 31 May 1917, he relates how he accidentally fell into a trench on 25 May (almost certainly while working in the forward area of the sector on preparations for the forthcoming offensive on 7 June) and was ‘packed off to the Casualty Clearing Station with a dislocated 9th rib’, proceeding hence to No. 14 General Hospital in Wimereux. Comparing his condition with others around him, Paul considered that ‘I stand the least chance of Blighty’.601 Nevertheless, his injury was considered sufficiently serious for him to be transferred to The Swedish Hospital, London.

600 TGA 8313/1/1/141, 6 April 1917

601

TGA 8312/1/1/148. Letter from Paul Nash to Margaret Nash, 31 May 1917

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 56

During his time at the front Paul had composed drawings which he now proceeded to exhibit at the Groupil Gallery in London. The positive reception to these led to his appointment as an official war artist and he returned to the Ypres Salient in November 1917. From April 1918 until early in 1919 Paul was engaged on paintings commissioned by the Department of Information for the recently established Imperial War Museum. This was the period during which he produced The Menin Road (see Chapter 10, Section 10.3), one of his most famous paintings, as well as the image below, Spring In the Trenches, Ridge Wood, 1917.

602

During the inter war years Paul’s output was prodigious. He experimented with surrealism, grew into an accomplished wood carver and began to use a camera, as well as to author books and essays. During the Second World War he became an official war artist to the Air Ministry.

Paul died on 11 July 1946 and is buried in Langley church in Buckinghamshire. (Paul’s younger brother, John Northcote Nash (1893 1977) was also an official war artist. John did not attend SPS.)

602 IWM ART 1154

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 57

K.20 A painting by Paul, Spring In the Trenches, Ridge Wood, 1917

Authors

Bewsher, Captain Paul DSC b. 12 November 1894; d. 18 January 1966 SPS 1907 1912 RNAS and RAF Paul Bewsher603

The younger son of Mr James Bewsher (for forty years, 1889 1929, Headmaster of Colet Court) and cousin of Fred Bewsher (see Chapter 11, Section 11.3), Paul attended St. Paul’s from 1907 to 1912. (Paul’s elder brother, Robert known as Robin (SPS 1903 1908), served in the 85th RGA. He survived the war and became Vicar of St Peter’s, Hammersmith. Robin died on 9 March 1974.) A poem composed by Paul and published in The Pauline in 1917 reveals that he enjoyed his time at the school:

To My School

The happiest hours I have ever spent Were those I passed your leafy walls between Those placid hours, quiet and serene, Of Childhood’s freedom from the turbulent And noisy World, when I was e’er content To sit by open windows whence the green And level grass could easily be seen, Where Colet sat in stately monument.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 58

I bent no more above my ink stained book: No Greek or Roman chained my wandering thought. His poem faded. I had but to look Upon the London sunshine, and it brought Such happy dreams of youth and summer ease, My soul soon drowsed among the shadowy trees.604

In 1914 Paul enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service, and was made a Sub Lieutenant in the Kite Balloon Division, first active in the form of H M Kite Balloon Ship Manica in Gallipoli in 1915. Later, as a Captain, Paul took part in many bombing raids and was awarded the DSC.

K.21 A ‘Drachen’ type balloon is held steady over HMS Manica, 1915.605

Paul writes thrillingly about his experience as a deck handler of the balloon: This kite balloon of ours is the first ever used by the British, and this magnificent achievement [i.e. the successful sinking by the Queen Elizabeth of a large enemy transport ship packed with a thousand men and considerable cargo of supplies, whose coordinates had been relayed to gunners on the Queen Elizabeth by the observers in the balloon] which I have

604 The Pauline, 35 232 June 1917 p 75 605 © IWM HU 66626

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 59

just seen recorded is the biggest triumph it has accomplished. It is naval history in the making. I walk away across the hot raised balloon deck feeling strangely small, strangely unimportant in an age of huge strength and mighty possibilities.606

Paul’s book of verse, The Dawn Patrol and Other Poems of an Aviator, was published in 1917. (Some of this material, with other early poems, had already appeared in The Pauline in 1916 and 1917.) The publication was met with critical acclaim. The Daily Graphic pronounced that:

The ‘Dawn Patrol’ marks so notable a departure in English literature that it will in after years be eagerly sought by collectors.... Mr. Bewsher’s most considerable triumph is to have been the first airman poet to regard humanity from the detached standpoint of the sky.607

The Times considered that:

The fable of Pegasus is come true.... Mr Bewsher never strains for effect.... The strongest impression his poems leave is of a sincere and ingenuous nature devoted to duty, but of keen sensibilities.608

The following anonymous review of The Dawn Patrol appeared in The Pauline:

To shine simultaneously in the R.N.A.S. honours list and in the publishers’ ever lengthening list of war poets is a double distinction not to be ignored by those who watched with hopeful auguries the ascent of The Dawn Patrol in these pages. The poet who dropped bombs on Ostend (we are officially informed) caused a fire “which continued to burn as long as it was under observation”; the aviator who dropped poems on The Pauline is sufficiently possessed of divine flame to merit observation and gratitude. Although one is loth to disparage any school of military melodists, who learn in suffering what they teach in song, our ears have been rather surfeited by trench ditties in violent vernacular and by patriotic dithyrambs in elaborate metres. There is no echo of Mr. Masefield or Dr. Bridges and but little trace of other contemporary influence in these singularly pure and spontaneous lyrics. The author has contrived to keep and convey the atmosphere in which they were born, or by which at any rate they were prompted, at a lonely and lofty height, far above the blood and mud of

606 Bewsher, Paul Green Balls: The Adventures of a Night Bomber (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1919)

607 Published as the Frontispiece to The Dawn Patrol and Other Poems of an Aviator (London, 1917)

608 Published as the Frontispiece to The Dawn Patrol and Other Poems of an Aviator (London, 1917)

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 60

Flanders. Yet he does not palliate or omit the ghastly effects of bomb dropping. In such poems as The Crash, The Night Raid, and The Horrors of Flying, enough detail is suggested for vividness but stress is laid rather on the will to murder than murder itself, as in the lines:

Each man beneath me now detests my race

With iron hate; Each tiny light I see must shine Upon some grim, unfriendly face, Who curses England’s name and mine.

As a rule, however, this poet that flies by night is not given to moralizing on the war, which conditions his activity, but merges the war itself in concepts of beauty and duty. Alone with the stars and racing against death, he etches pigmy pictures of the earth below, or steeps his soul in rapturous proximity to the sun:

Kind is the God who lets me fly

In sweet seclusion through the sky.

In communicating thus simply and directly his emotions, half pious, half aesthetic, this inspired aviator admits his readers to a new world. If he would keep us there, or mount higher in a second journey, certain flaws and faults in his “Pegasus of wood and steel” may be remedied on prosaic grounds. The sonnet To Carlton Berry is marred by contiguous, similar endings (“child” and “pride” in the octet) and by “Thou denied” (Rahtz forbid!); “cruel” shrinks at times to one syllable, while “do” and “does” are often less emphatic than “expletive.” These are careless defects which any mechanic can remedy: they do not lessen our confidence or dim our gratitude for the bold yet modest climbing power of The Dawn Patrol. We are raised by it through sheer force of pictorial imagination and emotional candour to an altitude but rarely attained in a “solo flight.”609

One poem in the collection, K.L.H Died of Wounds Received at the Dardanelles, written while Paul was on HMS Manica in 1915, is almost certainly dedicated to Kenneth Aislabie Longuet Higgens (SPS 1908 1913), killed in action at Gallipoli on 2 May 1915, age 18:

Where stern grey busts of gods and heroes old Frown down upon the corridors’ chill stone, On which the sunbeam’s amber pale is thrown From leaf fringed windows, one of quiet mould Gazed long at those white chronicles which told 609

The Pauline, 35 236 Dec 1917 pp 189 90

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 61

Of honours that the stately School had known. He read the names: and wondered if his own Would ever grace the walls in letters bold.

He knew not that he for the School would gain A greater honour with a greater price That, no long years of work, but bitter pain And his rich life, he was to sacrifice Not in a University’s grey peace, But on the hilly sun baked Chersonese.610

Kenneth Aislabie Longuet Higgens611

During his time at SPS Kenneth played for the 1st XV, rowed for the School IV, and won many prizes for running. He was a Foundation Scholar and won the Lupton Prize in 1912. On leaving school in 1913, he became a member of the London Rifle Corps and the Artists OTC. He obtained a commission in the Royal Marine Light Infantry shortly after the outbreak of war and was gazetted lieutenant on the 27 March 1915. After his death Kenneth’s body was not recovered and he is commemorated on Chatham Naval Memorial. Kenneth’s two elder brothers also attended SPS and served in the war: Major John Edmund Longuet Higgens OBE, MC (SPS 1900 1905) and Rev. Henry Hugh Longuet Higgens MC (1898 1904). Both survived.)

610 Bewsher, Paul The Dawn Patrol And other Poems of an Aviator, London, 1917 611 St Paul’s Archive. Digby La Motte collection

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 62

In the second phase of his service career from April 1918, Paul served with the newly formed RAF, No. 215 Squadron. He was among the first to fly across the Channel in the Handley Page, the newly devised night bomber aircraft:

When I arrived at the Handley Page aerodrome [in Andover] I realised that, for the second time in the war, I was to have the good fortune to be attached to a pioneering branch of the Air Service, and that, instead of going to a cut and dried task, I was to assist in operations which had been untried and were entirely experimental. I had been, as a second class air mechanic, a balloon hand on the very first kite balloon used by the British, and had accompanied it to the Dardanelles on a tramp steamer early in 1915. Now I was to be the first observer on the huge night bombers, which were to prove of such tremendous value to the British. … I soon had my first flight in a Handley Page, standing on a platform in the back, looking below as though I were on a high balcony. In front of me the two little heads of the pilot and observer protruded from the nose; on either side were the two great engines between the wings; behind me was the thirty foot of tapering tail, with the great double tail plane vibrating at the end.612

K.22 The Handley Page O/100 aircraft 1459, in which Paul flew.613

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 63

612 Bewsher, Paul Green Balls: The Adventures of a Night Bomber (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1919)

In 1918 Paul published a further collection of poems collectively titled The Bombing of Bruges.614 The following anonymous review of this material was published in The Pauline:

Those who were thrilled by Captain Paul Bewsher’s high spirited discourse on Night Bombing will find in The Bombing of Bruges the same fascination of buoyant, pictorial exactitude. But if his address was a poem in prose, there is rather too much prose in the poem. Nothing is left to even a sluggish imagination. Accompanying the heroic bomber through one hundred and forty nine heroic couplets, we are spared no detail of physical or mental circumstance. All is there: the painter becomes photographer. Some who prefer Byron to Keats will forgive hasty and faulty workmanship for the sake of the lava like emotion, which is copiously sincere; others, remembering the finer and daintier melodies of The Dawn Patrol, will regret the substitution for the flute of the trombone. But it would be hypercritical to demand mastery at first trial of a metre which has taxed the resources of established poets. In light lyrics our author remains invariably sure and tuneful. Flying at Dusk and A Night Hymn, for instance, are rich in sweetness and charm. As soon as the necessity of dropping topical bombs has passed with the war, we shall expect fulfilment of the promise contained in the opening lines of a poem which expounds The Real Love of London:

O judge me not by flight inspired verse!

It is a farthing found inside my purse, Where azure silk is filled with magic gold.

The gold is there, and the magic: it remains for their possessor to make the most of his treasure by patient and fastidious labour.615

In 1919 Paul published Green Balls the Adventures of a Night Bomber, a vivid and compelling account of his wartime experiences. In this extract he provides a breath taking description of his experience of a night bombing raid over Metz in 1918:

I was very excited as I lay face downwards in my heavy flying clothes on the floor, with my right hand on the bomb handle in that little quivering room whose canvas walls were every now and then lit up by the flash of a nearer shell. Through the quick sparks of fire I tried to watch the blast furnace below. Just in front of me the pilot’s thick flying boots were planted on the rudder, and occasionally I would pull one or the other to guide him. The engines thundered. The floor vibrated. Below the faint glow of the bomb sights the sweep of country seemed even darker in contrast with the swift flickering of the barrage, and here and there I

614 Bewsher, Captain Paul DSC RAF The Bombing of Bruges (Hodder and Stoughton, 1918)

615 The Pauline, 36 243 Dec 1918 p 185

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 64

could see the long beam of a searchlight moving to and fro. Then I pressed over my lever, and heard a clatter behind. I pressed it over again and looked back. Many of the bombs had disappeared a few remained scattered in different parts of the bomb rack. I looked down again, and pressed over my lever twice more, my heart thumping with tremendous excitement as I felt the terrific throbbing of power of the machine and saw the frantic furious bursting of the shells, and realised in what a thrilling midnight drama of action and force I was acting. I looked back and saw by the light of my torch that one bomb was still in the machine. I walked back to the bomb rack, and saw the arms of the back gunlayer stretching forwards, trying to reach it. I put my foot on the top of it and stood up. It slipped suddenly through the bottom and disappeared. In a moment I was beside the pilot. “All gone, Jimmy! Let's be getting back, shall we?”

On a night raid 11 12 April 1918 Paul was lucky to escape with his life when, after making an attack on the Zeebrugge Mole, the aircraft was forced to ditch in the sea owing to engine failure. The plane sank and Paul was picked up in a semi conscious condition by a British vessel. Paul’s account of the incident is memorable:

CRASH! Crack splinter hiss there is a sudden, swift, tremendous noise and splash of water, and I feel myself whirling over and over, spread eagle wise, through the air. I hit the water with a terrible impact ... there is a white jagged flash of fire in my brain, I feel the sudden agony of a fearful blow ... and sensation ends. I become conscious of an utter fear. In sodden flying clothes, now terribly heavy, I find myself being dragged under the water as though some sea monster were gripping my ankles and pulling me under the water. My head sinks beneath the surface, and, inspired by an absolute terror, I frantically beat out my hands. I realise in a swift vivid second that I am going to die that this is the end. As my head rises again I become conscious of the oil glittering surface of the sea, shining strangely in the light of the three flickering parachute flares which hang above me like three altar lamps of death. Here, in the irresistible weight of these soaked clothes, only semi conscious and quite hysterical, I begin a ceaseless, piteous wail. “Help! Help!...” Now does reason whisper to me to leave go. You have got to die one day, it says, and if you sink down now and drown you will suffer scarcely at all. Since you have suffered such agony already, why not drift away easily to dim sleep and the awakening dreams of the new life. Leave go, it whispers, leave go. Tempted, I listen to the voice, and agree with it. Shall I leave go, I ask myself; and then instinct, the never absent impulse of life, cries out, “No! Hang on!” and I hang on with renewed strength inspired by the dread of approaching death.616 616

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 65

Bewsher, Paul, Green Balls: The Adventures of a Night Bomber (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1919)

After the war Paul lectured on air warfare in the United States, and in 1920 joined the staff of the Daily Mail, where he remained for the rest of his career. For a time he was Paris correspondent of the paper, and later he covered the Spanish Civil War and Second World War, being the last English correspondent to leave France in the withdrawal through Dunkirk. Paul’s obituary in The Pauline remarks that:

During his long service with the Daily Mail he became as much a legend as the most eccentric master in a school; though in person small and mild, he was quite the reporter of fiction, revelling in the excitement and possible danger of his work and especially in later years positively enjoying the strain of constant night work. His devotion to his profession was recognised by all who knew him, and he was greatly loved in Fleet Street. 617

Paul died on 18 January 1966, age 71. He is buried in Margravine Cemetery (Hammersmith Old). Paul’s brother, the Rev Robert (known as Robin) Bewsher OP (SPS 1903 1908), vicar of St Peter’s, Hammersmith, for 30 years, came out of retirement to preside over Paul’s memorial service in the Church of St Bride, Fleet St on 15 February.

Binyon, (Robert) Laurence b. 10 August 1869; d. 10 March 1943 SPS 1881 1888

Volunteered to assist at Hopital Temporaire, Arc, France (Robert) Laurence Binyon618

617 The Pauline, 84 479 March 1966 p 38

618 Portrait by William Strang, 1901

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 66

Laurence was born on 10 August 1869 in Lancaster, the second of nine children of Frederick Binyon, vicar of Burton in Lonsdale, and his wife Mary. In 1881 he won a scholarship to St Paul’s where he remained a pupil until 1888 before proceeding to Trinity College, Oxford. In 1893 Laurence joined the staff of the British Museum, where he was to spend the rest of his career. Laurence was keenly interested in Asian art, in which he became expert but his first love was always poetry.

One who knew him wrote to The Pauline at the time of Laurence’s death recalling:

Many years ago, when astounded by his knowledge of art, I said to him, ‘I suppose you know all the manners of all the artists who ever lived ? ‘He replied, ‘That is the minimum expected in the British Museum.’619

Laurence was a week shy of his 45th birthday when war broke out and was thus too old to enlist. Instead, he volunteered at a British hospital for French soldiers, the Hopital Temporaire at Arc, and wrote about his experiences in For Dauntless France (1918), as well as in his poems Fetching the Wounded and The Distant Guns. In the former of these he described the hospital at Arc thus:

The Hopital Temporaire at Arc is under the direction of a Worcestershire lady who had originally intended to take out a small party to nurse in a French hospital; but so many good workers joined the group that it soon grew into a complete unit of the St. John’s Ambulance Association. The staff was approved by the Anglo French Committee and the unit accepted by the French Government. The large rooms of the chateau made excellent wards on two floors but there is no hot water laid on, no gas or electricity, no system of heating, and the same difficulties had to be overcome as in similar cases already described. All sorts of hospital furniture, such as the little tables which the patients like to have by their beds to keep their belongings on, as well as cupboards, fracture beds, splints, etc., were made by amateur carpenters among the orderlies (all, in this case, English volunteers). An out of door ward, with a penthouse against the southern wall of the chateau, was also made, for the medicine of fresh air has been used … The Hospital of Arc served for a long time the Third Army, the army of the Argonne, where hard fighting was pretty continuous during 1915, while the Crown Prince was vainly endeavouring to break through and join up with the armies on his left. During the following year it was kept extremely busy by the tremendous battles of Verdun.620

619 The Pauline, 61 412 413 July 1943 p 62. Mr. John Masefield.

620 For Dauntless France p 145

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 67

Only weeks after the start of the war, The Times carried on 21 September 1914 what would become Laurence’s most famous poem: For the Fallen. The four lines of the fourth stanza the poem contains seven in all have been adopted for annual ceremonies of Remembrance:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

Laurence composed the poem while sitting on the cliff top at Pentire Point, north of Polzeath in Cornwall, no doubt cogniscent of the huge number of casualties from the early encounters of the war, the Battle of Mons (23 August), the Battle of Le Cateau (26 August) and the First Battle of the Marne (5 9 September).

Laurence died on 10 March 1943, age 73. He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s, Aldworth, Berkshire.

Liddell Hart, Captain Sir Basil Henry b. 31 October 1895; d. 29 January 1970

SPS 1911 – 1913

6th (Service) Bn. King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

621

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 68

Basil Henry Liddell Hart

Basil was born in Paris on 31 October 1895. After his family returned to England in 1901 he attended several schools before St Paul’s, at which he first became a pupil in 1911. Basil recalled in his Memoirs that:

At St Paul’s my interests increasingly became outside of the school curriculum. The main one was aviation … . In other ways my time at St Paul’s was colourless not unpleasant, but not inspiring… . Among the masters at St Paul’s there was only one who made a strong impression on me. This was Elam, an eccentric who is brilliantly depicted in Compton Mackenzie’s (SPS 1894 1900, see Chapter 11, Section 11.5) ‘Sinister Street’, and in Ernest Raymond’s recent novel ‘Mr Olim’. … Being bored with school, I obtained my parents’ agreement to leave a year and a half earlier than I should otherwise have done and go to Corpus Christi College at Cambridge … and there take the History Tripos.622

In December 1914 Basil was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. After a period of training (January to August 1915) with the 11th (Service) Bn. KOYLI, Basil was posted to Ypres with the 6th (Service) Bn. KOYLI. The unit diary of that battalion records that on 5 November 1915 ‘Lt B. H. Hart arrived and was posted to D Company’.623 In his autobiography Hart says that ‘It was very depleted when I joined it with companies reduced to half strength, and in all only ten officers out of thirty five’.624 (On 18 November the battalion strength was described as 15 officers and 772 other ranks).

On 12 November the battalion proceeded from quarters in the canal bank north of Ypres to:

A part of the 2nd line close to Highland Farm. … The communication trenches to these trenches were full of water and one had to go out in the open in view of the enemy to get there the dugouts had also fallen in and there was only accommodation for 18 men! Also the trench was too deep to fire out of. In front of this line was another trench which was more defensible. The two platoons under Lieut Hart went into this trench in the evening. It was filthy from old refuse and required considerable work to make it habitable one casualty, but the man was able to return to duty.625

On 18 November the battalion moved into frontline trenches near St Jean, north west of Ypres. D company took over trench S9A. The unit diary recorded that:

622

Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) pp 8 10

623 TNA WO 95 1906 1 2

624

Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) p 14

625 TNA WO 95 1906 1 2

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 69

The condition of the trenches as taken over are absolutely deplorable, both from a point of view of defence and accomodation [sic]. They will require considerable working parties to make any impression on them. They are in a serious state of collapse and the rain and frost will soon cause further landslides. … All the communication trenches are absolutely impassible from water, consequently the firing line can only be reinforced over the open in full view of the enemy. The trenches are from one to three feet deep in water, in places they are even five feet [deep]. No attempt has been made to drain the trenches. The water is merely kept down by pumping and damming up the small cuts leading out of the trenches. The water is in places about 3 ft higher outside the trench than inside. There are practically no dugouts and the only protection in most cases is a sheet of corrugated iron stretching from parapet to parados.626

In his autobiography, Basil recalled that: Flanders mud’ was the most gluey I have ever known, while it felt all the more so when caught in the light of a flare or star shell, and the consequent burst of fire. All through the hours of darkness such flares rose in the sky, fired in frequent succession by one side or the other, and to anyone in the Salient this cord of flickering light felt like an encircling noose. … Ypres itself looked like a ghost city, when moving through it at night, for at that period of the war most of its buildings were still standing, but had been turned into tall skeletons by months of bombarding fire.627

K.23 A trench map showing the section of trench S9A , in the ‘D’ box occupied by Basil. (The trenches shown in red are German.)628

626 TNA WO 95 1906 1 2 627 Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) pp 14 15 628 TNA WO 95 1864

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 70

On 20 November the battalion diary recorded that ‘2nd Lieut B H Hart went down sick’.629 Basil later recalled that:

My stay in the Salient was terminated when, during a bombardment, a shell exploded above the doorway of a shallow dug out into which I had stepped, bringing the sandbags down on top of me and leaving me concussed. Although feeling very groggy, with bouts of nose bleeding and vomiting, I went up to the forward trenches again with the company on the following night, but became worse and was carried back when darkness came again.630

On 24 November 1915 Basil was admitted to Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital at Millbank in London, suffering from ‘indigestion’.631 He was discharged on 13 December and proceeded to Meynell Hospital.

After convalescing Basil was transferred to the 3rd Bn. KOYLI based in Hull, the draft finding unit for Regular battalions in the Regiment. When he was considered fully recovered, he was sent back to France, this time with the 9th (Service) Bn. KOYLI (64th Bde, 21st Div), destined to take part in the attack at the Somme in July 1916 in the sector between Fricourt and La Boiselle. As Basil explains, he did not take part in the initial ‘Great Push’ initiated at 7.30 am on 1 July 1916 ‘because officers who were second in command of companies, as I was, were kept in immediate reserve [at Buire]’ to provide a nucleus upon which the battalion could be reformed if casualties were substantial in the main assault.632 Such was the scale of loss in all, fewer than 70 men of the 800 strong battalion survived, including four officers that Basil appears to have been detailed to take command of the battalion.633

Three days later Basil set out on a mission to try and discover information about the status of the renewed attack. The unit diary records that:

[At] 11 am [on 3 July] Lt B H L Hart went with two bombing squads to reconnoitre portions of the old German trenches in the neighbourhood of Sausage Redoubt to clear out any small parties of Germans that might still be there [and] also to ascertain [the] position of the right and left flanks of the 21st and 34th Divisions.634

629

TNA WO 95 1906 1 2

630

Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) pp 15 16 631 MH 106/1661

632 Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) p 21 633 TNA WO 95 2162 1 1

634 TNA WO 95 2162 1 1

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 71

Basil recalled that ‘everywhere was an arid waste of tumbled earth, with here or there a limb or face protruding of men who had been buried by our shells.’635

The seriously depleted battalion was thus brought out of the line and filled with 566 other ranks, very few of whom belonged to the KOYLI regiment. This composite unit was in reserve during the successful attack of 110th Brigade upon Bazentin Le Petit Wood on 14 July. The following day the unit moved to the south side of Mametz Wood where, as described by Basil, ‘we lay amid rows of the decaying and strong smelling corpses of men who had fallen in capturing it’ during the fighting of the previous few days.636 At 8 pm on 16 July Basil was ordered to lead C Company to occupy the old German trench The Bow / Flatiron Trench (see K.24) at the southern end of Bazentin le Petit Wood, during which operation he became a casualty. A victim of phosgene gas, Basil was extracted from the line and taken once more to the Duchess of Westminster’s Hospital at le Touquet, from whence he was removed to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London. The success of the attack upon Bazentin Le Petit Wood, formulated by General Rawlinson and consisting of a night assault preceded by a hurricane bombardment of only a few minutes’ duration, left a lasting impression upon Basil: ‘it deeply influenced my future military thinking.’637

K.24 Map showing Bazentin le Petit Wood and The Bow / Flatiron Trenches at the southern end of Bazentin le Petit Wood.638

635

Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) p 22

636

637

Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) p 25

Liddell Hart, Basil The Liddell Hart Memoirs 1885 1938 Part 1 (1965) p 24

638 TNA WO 95 2130

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 72

After convalescing, at the end of January 1917 Basil rejoined the 3rd Bn. KOYLI near Hull but since he had been passed fit only ‘for light duty in an office’ he was posted to York as assistant to the Colonel in Charge of Infantry Records. Following this experience, he assumed the role of Adjutant to an Australian squadron of the Royal Flying Corps based at Harlaxton aerodrome near Grantham.639 Then, in April 1917, after the War Office decided to develop the Volunteer Force (a form of Home Guard), Basil was given the role of Adjutant, and a promotion to the rank of Captain in a new Volunteer Force battalion raised in the Gloucestershire Regiment. In January 1918 he moved to a similar training post at Cambridge, publishing guides to training and discipline. In particular, he produced at this time a booklet called ‘An Outline of the New Infantry Training’ which was widely adopted not only in the Volunteer Force but also by the Army’s officer producing units and most of the public school OTCs.

After the war Basil was selected for the Royal Tank Corps but left in 1924, invalided out of the service after suffering mild heart attacks in each of 1921 and 1922. He retired from the army in 1927 and became military correspondent of The Daily Telegraph (1925 1935) and The Times (1935 1939). He published prolifically on military theory and history and was regarded as the foremost military theorist in Britain. He charged the British army leadership during the 1st World War with incompetence. In 1939 his calls for a compromise peace with Hitler clashed with public opinion and he was accused of having Nazi sympathies.

639 No. 2 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (No. 68 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps).

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 73

Nevertheless, by the end of the 1950s Basil’s star had risen again and he won many admirers: on a visit to Israel in 1960 he received more attention than any other foreign visitor save Marilyn Monroe. He regularly took an annual holiday after Christmas with Bernard Law Montgomery (See Chapter 11, Section 11.3.)

Basil died suddenly on 29 January 1970, age 74. He is buried in the church cemetery in Medmenham.

Mackenzie, Captain Sir Edward Montague

Compton OBE b. West Hartlepool 17 Jan 1883; d. 30 Nov 1972

SPS 1894 1900 Royal Naval Division Intelligence Department

Edward Montague

as he became known attended SPS for six years, 1894 1900. He proceeded from SPS to Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating in History in 1904 with an ambition to train for the law. This was supplanted by a determination to pursue a career in prose fiction. As early as 1913 1914 Monty had become a literary celebrity with the publication of his novel, Sinister Street Upon the outbreak of war he attempted to enlist with the Seaforth Highlanders (see Chapter 3, Section 3.3 ) When this came to nothing he was eventually gazetted Temp Lieutenant on 18 April 1915

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 74

Anthony

(Edward Montague Anthony) Compton Mackenzie640

Anthony Compton Mackenzie ‘Monty’,

in the Royal Naval Division Intelligence Department, in which

role he was posted from 5 October 1915 to GHQ on Tenedos (an island off the western coast of Turkey, to the south of the Gallipoli). On 28 July 1916 he was promoted to Temporary Captain RND Intelligence Department, based at Chatham. Monty continued in this role until his commission was terminated on account of physical unfitness on 31 December 1918. He was awarded his OBE on 12 September 1919 ‘for valuable services during the war’.

Monty published four volumes of memoirs describing his experiences as an Intelligence Officer. In this extract from Gallipoli Memories, written in 1929, he reflects upon the historical reputation of the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915, the unfolding of which he witnessed directly:

At Gallipoli the casualties of the Royal Naval Division commanded by General Paris were 332 officers and 7,198 other ranks killed and wounded. On the Western Front afterwards their casualties were 1,603 officers and 32,242 other ranks killed and wounded. Their total casualties throughout the war were over six times as heavy as they were at Gallipoli; but it would be equally true to claim that they never gained their objective on the Western Front, for unless America had come in our side we would never have beaten the Germans in the West. At the time of the Dardenelles Campaign the entry of America was a far less likely contingency than the entry of Greece, Roumania, and Bulgaria on our side, and that quite soon, could we but demonstrate that we really were determined to take Constantinople. There is no doubt that, with more guns or even with more ammunition for the guns we had, we should have swept up the Peninsula, and there is equally no doubt that, if we had achieved such a sweeping advance, the war could have been and probably would have been over by the end of 1915.641

The publication of Greek Memories (1932) led to Monty’s prosecution at the Old Bailey under the Official Secrets Act, supposedly for making use of secret documents and for which he was fined.

Monty’s output of novels, essays, criticism, history, biography and travel writing was prodigious, amounting to a total of 113 published titles. He is perhaps best remembered for his novel Whisky Galore (1947), made into a film by Ealing Studios in 1948.

Monty died age 89. He is buried in St Barr’s churchyard cemetery at Eoligarry on the Isle of Barra, where he had built a house in 1935, Suidheachan (‘the sitting down place’).

FRSL

641 Mackenzie, Edward Gallipoli Memories, (1929) pp 152 153

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 75

Raymond, Ernest OBE,

b. 31 December 1888; d. 14 May 1974 SPS 1901 1904

Chaplain to the 1/10th Bn. Manchester Regiment and to the 9th (Service) Bn. Worcestershire Regiment

642

Born on 31 December 1888 in Argentieres, France, the son of William Bell Raymond, Ernest was educated at Colet Court and St. Paul’s School (1901 – 1904). From 1908 to 1911 he taught Classics at Glengorse School, Eastbourne and then from 1911 to 1912 at St Christopher’s, Bath. Whilst at Bath Raymond became religiously motivated and enrolled at Chichester Theological College and thereafter Durham University. He was ordained in 1914. At the outbreak of the war, Raymond immediately applied to the Chaplain General for service overseas with the army. He duly served as Chaplain to the 1/10th Bn. Manchester Regiment and to the 9th (Service) Bn. Worcestershire Regiment. Remarkably, he served on five fronts: Sinai, France and Belgium, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Russia.

After the war Ernerst began to lose his faith, concluding that ‘while not firmly doubting the dogmas and miracles, I could no longer say in the words of Newman’s hymn, “Firmly I believe and truly.”643 Henceforth he picked up his pen and began to write.

Ernest’s output was prodigious, amounting to something in the order of one novel each year, as well as a number of plays. The first of these, Tell England: a Study in a Generation (1922), remains the work for which he is best known. A semi biographical account in which Ernest is portrayed by the character called ‘Monty’, it follows a group of pupils from ‘a great public school … Kensingtowe’ (a thinly disguised St Paul’s) to the beaches of Gallipoli in

642 © NPG x26680

643 Raymond, E, The Story of My Days: An Autobiography 1888 1922 (London, 1968), p 170

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 76

Ernest Raymond

1915. In a scene that anticipated the opening of the Memorial Chapel at SPS in 1925, the book concludes with the narrator pronouncing that:

In a letter just arrived from my mother … we find Monty’s last word his footnote to this history. She describes a ceremony which she attended at Kensingtowe, the unveiling of a memorial in the chapel to the Old Kensingtonians who fell at Gallipoli. Monty, as an old Peninsula padre, had been invited to preach the sermon. My mother writes in her womanly way: “He preached a wonderful sermon. We all thought him like a man who had seen terrible things, and was passionately anxious that somehow good should come of it all. … All you who have suffered, you fathers and mothers, remember this: only by turning your sufferings into the seeds of God like things will you make their memory beautiful.”

In the first instance Tell England was rejected by thirteen publishers. Eventually it was published by Cassell and reprinted twenty times in its first two years. By 1939 it had sold 300,000 copies. In 1931 it was made into a successful film by Anthony Asquith, the son of the wartime Prime Minister.

Tell England was not the only work of Ernest’s to transfer to the silver screen. His play, The Berg (1929), based on the sinking of the Titanic, had a short run in the West End before being adapted for film under the title Atlantic.

K.25 Poster for the film Atlantic (1929)

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 77

In the 1930s Ernest authored a cycle of novels that came to be grouped as ‘The London Gallery’. One of these, We The Accused (1935), was eventually adapted for both TV and the large screen. Of his later works, Mr Olim (1961) a novel centred on the study of the eccentric and brilliant Rev Horace Dixon Elam (SPS Master 1884 1916) in the days of High Master Walker was serialised on BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime in October 1990.644

During the Second World War, Ernest was an Air Raid Warden and a member of the Home Guard (1940). He died on 14 May 1974 and is buried in Hampstead Cemetery.

11.6: the rose grower

Kisch, Captain Ernest Royalton MC b. 17 May 1886; d. 17 July 1967 SPS 1899 1905 2/13th Bn. (Kensington) London Regiment

Ernest Royalton Kisch645

644A contributor (probably Paul Bewsher) to Elam’s obituary published in The Pauline, 34 225 June 1916, p 71 offered this verse:

The Old Master He was St. Paul’s to those who heard his voice Droning away a winter afternoon; And Paulines, met in Asia, would rejoice Round him to build their memories, till soon They seemed to sense the old School’s dusty smell, And hear its bell.

PB 645 St Paul’s School Archive

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 78

Ernest was born in Australia on 17 May 1886. During his time at SPS (1899 1905) he played violin in the orchestra and took an active part in boxing and running; he played for the 1st XV rugby team 1904 1905. Ernest proceeded from SPS to Clare College, Cambridge, having won an Exhibition in History. In 1911 he qualified as a solicitor and was employed by Adler and Perowne. Upon the outbreak of war in 1914 Ernest joined the London Regiment and in December was commission 2nd Lieutenant in 2/13th Bn. (Kensington) London Regiment (179th Brigade, 60th Division), promoted Lieutenant and Captain in June 1915 and June 1916 respectively. For the first part of the war this unit was employed in England and Ireland, arriving in France on 22 June 1916. Following a tour of duty in Salonika (November 1916 June 1917) the battalion moved to the Egyptian theatre, joining the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. In early December 1917 Ernest played an important part in what the Official History considers ‘one of the most dramatic incidents of the war’: the surrender of Jerusalem on 9 December 1917.646 For his actions on this occasion Ernest received the MC.

By late 1917 the Allies had mustered sufficient force in Palestine to undertake an offensive against the Ottoman forces in that region. On 9 December, under the leadership of General Allenby, this force won the great prize of Jerusalem, ‘a Christmas present for the British people’.647 An essential preliminary to the main scheme was the seizing from the enemy of the high ground immediately to the west of Jerusalem, a task that was allotted to 2/13th Bn London Regiment. In difficult terrain, made even moreso by persistent rain, roads that barely deserved the name and the fact that the operation took place under the cover of darkness, Ernest successfully led his Company towards their objective, the hill top town of Ain Karim. A near contemporary account described it thus:

The preliminary moves for the attack were made during the night [of 7 8 December]. … The right column [of 179th Brigade] was preceded by an advance guard of the Kensington battalion [i.e. 2/13th London Regiment] … which left the brigade bivouacs behind Soba at five o’clock on the afternoon of the 7th to enable the pioneers and engineers to improve a track marked on the map. For the greater part of the way the track had evidently been unused for many years, and all traces of it had disappeared, but in three hours’ time a way had been made down the hill to the Wadi es Sarar, and the brigade got over the watercourse just north of Setuf a little after midnight. As a preliminary to the attack on the first objective it was necessary to secure the high ground south of Ain Karim and the trenches covering that bright and picturesque little town. At two o’clock, when rain and mist made it so dark it was

646 Falls, C, Military Operations Egypt and Palestine Part 2 (London, 1930), p 252 647 A phrase used by David Lloyd George upon the appointment of Allenby as commander of the EEF. The Prime Minister was desperate to deliver some good news to the British people after the setbacks of the 1917 campaigns on the Western Front, particularly Passchendaele.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 79

not possible to see a wall a couple of yards ahead, the Kensingtons advanced to gain the heights south of Ain Karim in order to enable the 179th Brigade to be deployed. A scrambling climb brought the Kensingtons to the top of the hill, and, after a weird fight of an hour and a half in such blackness of night that it was hard to distinguish between friend and foe, they captured it and beat off several persistent counter attacks. The 179th Brigade thus had the ground secured for preparing to attack their section of the main defences.648

K.26 Map showing Ain Karim, the hill top town that fell to 2/13th Bn. Kensingtons649

Ernest’s actions were important to the success of the attack. First, he had undertaken reconnaissance on each of several previous nights when he had made small landmarks unlikely to be noticed by Ottoman patrols to guide himself along the route chosen; second, he had offered the enemy stern resistance in the night fighting. His contribution is made plain in the citation that accompanies his MC:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. For six nights prior to the advance he reconnoitered the road to be followed by the brigade, and it was due to his efforts that the brigade reached the position of deployment in schedule time. He then led his company to the assault with marked ability and courage in the face of heavy fire, and having gained his objective drove off three hostile counter attacks with complete success.650

648 Massey, W T, How Jerusalem Was Won, Being the Record of Allenby’s Campaign in Palestine (New York, 1920) pp 177 178. William Thomas Massey was the official correspondent of the London newspapers embedded with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. He had completed the above account by April 1919.

649 Falls, C, Military Operations Egypt and Palestine Part 2 (London, 1930), p 350

650 London Gazette

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 80

After the war Ernest made important contributions to the Jewish Lad’s Brigade, an endeavour he had undertaken before 1914. He was one of the earliest members of the Halcyon Lodge of Freemasons, a lodge mainly composed of men interested in the work of boys’ clubs, and later a member of other lodges as well as a Past Officer of Grand Lodge. For a long time also he was Secretary to the Jewish Education Aid Society for helping with scholarships for the Arts. Ernest developed a passionate interest in roses, in which he grew expert. He was thus frequently called upon to judge at shows occupied the office of President of the National Rose Society.

Ernest fulfilled the role of Honorary Colonel of the 13th Battalions London Regiment until he reached the age limit in 1936. He died on 17 July 1967, age 81.

11.7 the oenophile

Yoxall, Captain Harry Waldo OBE, MC, JP b. 4 June 1896; d. 5 May 1984 SPS 1908 1915 18th (Service) Bn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Harry was born on 4 June 1896, the son of Sir James Yoxall, the Liberal MP for Nottingham West from 1895 to 1918. After a vigorous SPS career which included sporting achievements in rugby, swimming, rising to the rank of Sergeant in the OTC and occupying the position of School Captain in 1915, Harry postponed taking up his place at Balliol College, Oxford in order to enlist. (He ‘went up’ after the war to purse a short course.)

651

Harry Waldo Yoxall

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 81

Harry joined the 18th (Service) Bn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps (122nd Brigade, 41st Division), newly raised in June 1915. After a period of training the unit embarked for France on 2 May 1916 and went into the trenches near Ploegsteert, at the southern end of the Messines Ridge. In August 1916 the battalion moved to the Somme and took part in the attack on Flers on 15 September, in which the unit suffered significantly: before the attack the battalion contained 17 officers and 624 Other Ranks; after the assault these numbers were reduced to 14 and 313 respectively.652 Harry was awarded the MC on 1 January 1917. As a New Year award there is no accompanying citation. Harry is not mentioned by name in the relevant war diaries for his part in any particular action. The award is reflective of a period of sustained gallant performance which seems likely in part to reference his participation in the attack upon Flers.

At the end of 1916 Harry was promoted to Captain and from October of that year until July 1917 he fulfilled various Staff appointments at Brigade and Divisional levels, none of which 652 TNA WO 95 2632 2 2, September 1915, Appendix A

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 82

he appears to have found particularly taxing, reporting that during this period his responsibilities permitted him to do ‘just enough work to keep one awake during office hours: living comfortably and feeding luxuriously’653 This changed when he returned to 18th (Service) Bn. KRRB in August 1917, promoted as Adjutant , and was thus fully involved in the series of operations that became known as the battle of Passchendaele (31 July 10 November 1917). It was in this role that he was awarded a Bar to his MC.

After a short period with a Trench Mortar Battery, at the end of October 1917 Harry was nominated as an instructor in Trench Mortars and sent with the British Military Mission to the United States, setting forth from Liverpool on 8 November. On arrival at Washington, he was posted to Camp Sharman, Chillicothe, Ohio, the headquarters of the 83rd American Division.

In 1921 Harry joined Conde Nast Publications and started the English edition of Vogue magazine. He became managing director in 1934 and chairman from 1957 till 1964, staying for a total of forty three years.

During the Second World War there occurred a rise in the number of accidents involving women working in factories, in part because it was the fashion for hair to be worn long and for it to be caught up in machinery. Harry was thus approached by Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour and National Service, and received the request that, as editor of Vogue, he should do what he could to make long hair unfashionable. In the national interest it was agreed that the magazine would emphasise the trend towards shorter hair observable in France and the United States. According to Harry, ‘within a few months Absalom type accidents had disappeared from our workshops.’654

Harry undertook a wide range of civic and charitable work, including that of Governor of the Star and Garter Home for Disabled Servicemen, Richmond, from 1943 until 1976, for which he was appointed an OBE. He entertained generously and was regarded as an imaginative gourmet and an expert on wine, his subject for frequent articles in the Daily Telegraph. Harry developed particular knowledge and expertise of Burgundy and its wines, about which he wrote a well regarded and unpretentious guide shot through with an attractive humour and style:

Halfway through the 15th century some Côte d’Or wine was evidently reaching the French court, for Louis XI praised the 1447 vintage of Volnay. (I liked the 1947).655

653 IWM Diary 4 July 1917 654 Yoxall H, Fashion, p 153 655 From Yoxall, H W Wines of Burgundy (Pitman, 1978)

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 83

Burgundy is a big wine, but not a rough or overpowering one. It is what Horace called ‘Totus, teres atque rotundus’ entire, smooth and round. Nothing better promotes the sense of well being than a well selected burgundy. It increases the enjoyment of food, and facilitates digestion. Its drinking releases bonhomie. (Burgundy, I think, from an impudent young Beaujolais to a mellow cru of the Cote de Nuits, evokes good humour; whereas the more ascetic claret is apt to induce a sardonic wit.) And though not cheap, it is still far less expensive than numerous less satisfying indulgences. I have paid out little money to better end than that which I have spent on sound burgundy.656

Harry composed an important wartime diary (November 1916 to December 1917) and penned nearly 400 letters home during the war. Together, ‘the collection is very useful for a young civilian in uniform’s attitude to the war and Army and for comments on trench conditions, morale, the staff and the American war effort’.657

Harry died on 5 May 1984.

11.8 the great survivor

Ballard, 2nd Lt Arthur Hunter b. 29 July 1896 d. 9 September 1950 SPS 1911 1914

F Battalion Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Branch)

Alfred Hunter Ballard nuturing his pet lemur c.1945658

656 Yoxall, H W Wines of Burgundy (Pitman, 1978) p 155

657 TNA Yoxall Collection

658 Courtesy Alain Truong

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 84

Alfred Hunter Ballard was born on 29 July 1896 in Shanghai, China, the second son of James Adams Ballard and Mary Margaret, neé Jessup Clarke. The family moved to England and Alfred attended St Paul’s from 1911 to 1914. Alfred enlisted on 20 September 1915 with the Lincolns Inn regiment and was posted to the Machine Gun Training Centre at Bisley Camp. He was called up on 11 August 1916 and finally embarked from Southampton on 14 May 1917 for Le Havre as part of F Battalion Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Branch). In November 1917 Alfred took part in an extraordinary episode during the Battle of Cambrai. At this time he was a member of the crew of Flying Fox II (F22), a Mark IV tank detailed to clear the bridge over the Canal de Saint Quentin at Masnieres and thereby prevent its destruction by the Germans. During this action the bridge collapsed and Alfred’s tank fell into the canal, producing a hair raising experience which Alfred detailed in a letter published in The Pauline titled ‘Submarining In a Tank’:

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 85

Thinking that possibly it might be of interest to you to hear something of the happenings in the Cambrai “do” of [20] November last, from one who took part, I will tell of one incident which was more exciting at the time than it will probably appear on paper. We had been driving our Tank all night up to the line, and fighting all day from 6.20 in the morning (and doing considerable execution by the way), when we eventually arrived at the village of Masnieres, five or six miles behind the Boche lines. This village is split into two parts by an important canal. There were one or two buses [i.e. tanks] before us in the village, but we managed to come in for a bit of the “mopping up” of the western half thereof. As soon as we had cleared that portion, the villagers came out of their cellars and fell on our necks (quite a courageous performance, considering our greasy state), bringing with them their small stores of liquid refreshment. The Boche, however, was still holding out in considerable numbers in the other half of the village, making it so unhealthy for those infantrymen who tried to rush the canal bridge that the attempt had to be abandoned. We waited some time for the Cavalry to come up to rush this bridge, as, not knowing whether it had been weakened or mined, it did not seem advisable to send Tanks across. However, something had to be done, and so one of the buses of my company, claiming precedence, started across. The bridge was in two parts; one span across a tributary of the canal, then the stretch of road over the neck of land, and after that came the massive span of reinforced concrete, across the canal itself about 80 feet long, each successive portion of the road bending slightly to the right. This Tank started across, but before it had crossed the first span all the crew were wounded chiefly splinters of explosive bullets. Our crew Commander then volunteered to make the attempt to force the bridge, and so we hitched a cable on to the other bus (or rather a Major of our battalion did that job), and we towed it clear.

We then started across, our guns delivering the goods as fast as we could slap the shells into the breaches. I was laying the right gun, and it was great houses full of the swine at about fifty yards range one couldn’t miss. We placed a shell slap into each window of the houses within the traverse of the guns, and knocked the sheds of the canal bank all to blazes. We got safely across the first span, and swung to the right and crawled down the bit of road. The noise inside was terrific: the barking of the 6 pounders, the rattle of the machine gun, and the continuous patter of enemy bullets on the plating, added to the usual roar of the engine and road vibration, which was greatly increased by the fact that we were using “spuds” on a cobbled road.

We then had the big span to face, and swinging to the right again we started across going strong; and no one hurt, except odd splinters. We had almost got across when qrruff!! Crash!! the Boche blew the far end of the span in, and we dropped smack into the canal. We thought the end of the world had come at least, but had the presence of mind to fling open all exits, and the water started to pour in from all directions, squirting in through the ports, etc., like a shower bath, and through the doors in a cataract. The air inside was thick

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 86

with ammunition boxes and shells which had broken loose from their holders with the shock of landing and flew about in all directions. Something outside hit the muzzle of my gun, and as the traversing arm was under my armpit, it lifted me up, bringing my head into violent contact with the steel plating of the roof. I was thankful that I was wearing a steel helmet at the time, you may depend. Luckily, the end of the span at our tail had lodged on some masonry, and so held the rear end of the Tank out of water. I was delayed a few seconds by the tap I had received on the head, and in the meantime the others had “shot” out of every exit, and jumped and scrambled until they gained the road, down which they “beat it!” in great style, taking care not to bunch. I was not long in following their example, you may depend, and although I never shone at school as a sprinter, I imagine it would have taken a good man to catch me on that occasion, as one Boche machine gun in particular was knocking chunks off the road all round; but the bullets were noticeably fewer than when we started to cross.

Like all good stories, this ends happily, as every man of the crew got away unhurt and the Commander received the M.C., but we shall always remember the day we dived about 25 to 30 feet through a bridge into 22 feet of water in a Tank, and even then cheated the Boche.659 K.27 The collapsed bridge at Masnieres (over topped with a temporary structure) showing Flying Fox II, the Mark IV tank from which Alfred had made his escape.660 659 The Pauline, 36 240 July 1918 pp 101 102 660 © TANK100 (The Tank Museum) website (http://tank100.com/cambrai/st quentin canal/)

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 87

Wounded on 10 January 1918, Alfred was transferred home. After a period of convalescence, he was posted to the Royal Flying Corps to join the Officer’s Cadet Wing. He seems not to have stayed with the RFC for long, his record stating that he was demobilized on 31 March 1919 as No. 201228 Private in the Tank Corps.

After the war Alfred completed his training as a Chartered Accountant and on 12 August 1920 married Annie Davies. In 1925 he was made a Freeman of the City of London and in 1933 he gained his Royal Aero Club certificate. He and Annie had three sons but Alfred was not a man who thrived with a quiet home life and a rather staid professional existence and he left his wife and young family, before marrying for a second time in July 1938. In January 1940 he enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve, having lied about his age, as a probationary temporary Lieutenant. It was not long before he was once again in the thick of things and in September and October 1940 he was mentioned in dispatches for his part onboard HMT Gaul, firstly during the landing of troops in Norway and secondly during the withdrawal of troops from that place on 1 May 1940, sometimes referred to as ‘the first Dunkirk’. After recovering from injuries sustained, Alfred commanded the anti submarine trawler HMS Danemen from 25 June 1940 to 8 July 1941, on two occasions rescuing survivors of vessels sunk by U boats.

By early April 1942 Arthur had been transferred to HMS Monck, the Combined Training Headquarters, commissioned at Largs, Ayrshire. On 5 May he was Joint Principal Beach Master for Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Madagascar. He described a part of his experience in this operation thus:

The assault craft [in which I travelled] behaved like a fractious mule; in the rougher weather it did almost everything except sit up and beg. Twice it bucked me into the sea, and on the second occasion I was hauled out the worse for a couple of cracked ribs sustained by striking against the hull on falling overboard. However, there was neither time nor opportunity to get treatment until two days later, when a naval surgeon applied a strapping.

Alfred was eventually to become acting temporary Lieutenant Commander in charge of a Tank Landing Ship. He was further decorated on 14 Nov 1944 with a DSC for gallantry, skill, determination and devotion to duty during the D Day landing of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy and again on 22 Dec 1944 when he received a Bar to his DSC for gallantry, skill, determination and devotion to duty in the assault and capture of the Island of Walcheren.661

661 With thanks to uboat.net for many of these details.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 88

Alfred died on 9 September 1950 from pulmonary tuberculosis and exposure and injuries incurred during the 1939 45 war. He was one of very few who served in all three branches of the armed forces in both World Wars and the only OP thus far discovered who enjoyed the companionship of a pet lemur.

11.9 a modern Don Juan

10.34 Burbury, Lt Arthur Vivian MC b. 20 May 1896; d. 8 November 1959 SPS 1908 - 1914

2nd Bn. Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) attd. RAF

Arthur Vivian Burbury662

When all this purgatory Is over, and its story Becomes as faint with time As half forgotten rhyme After this grief and pain When I’m alive again To all that may remain, I shall return to thy red walls, Splendid Saint Paul’s!663

662 St Paul’s School Archive

663 A verse from a poem written by Vivian and published in The Pauline, 38 253 June 1920 pp 56 58

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 89

Arthur Vivian known as Vivian Burbury was born at 32 Campden Hill Gardens, Kensington on 20 May 1896. During his time at SPS (1908 1914) he excelled in Latin and Greek literature and modern languages. He made memorable contributions to the Union Society, The Pauline remarking that on ‘several occasions … [he] delighted the House with most interesting speeches’.664 Vivian was an enthusiastic player of sport and in particular gained a fearsome reputation as a heavy weight boxer. In June 1914 The Pauline reported that:

[In the heavy weight class] A. V. Burbury (C) beat T. G. R. Jones (Houses). Jones was heavier, but though Burbury is probably the youngest heavy weight we have ever had, he is one of the best. Both were content to confine themselves to left leads and counters, and not much enterprise was shown. It was in fact a rather slow affair, and though Burbury is quite quick on his feet, he seemed to lend an air of sleepiness to the bout. By continually leading, Burbury, in his usual style, which caused such delight at Aldershot, soon broke through Jones’s guard and won easily on points.665

Vivian’s plans for further study at Cambridge were interrupted by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914. A stalwart of the OTC, he was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th (Extra Reserve) Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) a training unit on 15 August 1914 and on 14 July 1915 transferred to 2nd Bn. Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), from which unit he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps as a Staff Lieutenant. Despite gaining a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 1555), he was gazetted a Balloon Officer with 13th Balloon Company 3rd Kite Balloon Section on 1 October 1915, arriving in France on 19 November that year.

664

The Pauline, 32 206 December 1913 p 233

665 The Pauline, 31 202 June 1913 p 88 666 St Paul’s School Archive, Digby La Motte Collection

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 90

Arthur Vivian Burbury666

On 15 September 1916, while observing 6th Division’s assault in the Guillemont sector on the Somme at an altitude of 3,000 feet, Vivian’s balloon drifted into the line of fire of a Royal Artillery battery. Vivian was warned of his dangerous predicament but, but given that he was ideally located for observing the battle, decided to maintain his position. Minutes later, a shell severed his cable and he began drifting towards enemy lines.

K.28 A Caquot balloon ascending near Bruary, 10 July 1916.667

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 91

His balloon was a Caquot, a new type unknown to the enemy at that time its discovery by the Germans could have been disastrous.668 Thus, rather than immediately abandoning his

668 In 1914 Albert Caquot designed a new sausage shaped dirigible equipped with three airfilled lobes spaced evenly around the tail as stabilisers and moved the inner air

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 92

post by parachute, Vivian used the emergency rip panel to deflate the balloon and prevent it falling into enemy hands, taking the added precaution of destroying his maps and papers. Vivian landed safely by parachute near Maricourt, inside the British lines, while the balloon came down on the British front line. For his presence of mind he received an immediate M.C. and French Croix de Guerre. The citation for the former read:

For conspicuous skill and gallantry. When observing from a balloon at a height of 3,000 feet, the cable was cut by a shell. He destroyed his papers, ripped the balloon, a most difficult operation in the air, and then got down in his parachute.669

Vivian then commenced Pilot Training and was gazetted Flying Officer on 16 March 1917, assigned to No. 1 Squadron. On 26 April 1917, while flying Nieuport A6671, he was assigned the special mission of attacking enemy balloons near Houthem. The combat report states that Vivian destroyed one enemy balloon, then disappeared from view while heading for a second. He was reported as having been wounded, shot down by anti aircraft fire. (The wreckage of his aircraft was photographed. See K.29.) Vivian was taken prisoner and incarcerated for the rest of the war in Holzminden, joining five other OPs already prisoner in this camp located in Lower Saxony. (See Chapter 11, Section 11.2, i.)

K.29 Image of the wreckage of the Nieuport A6671 in which Vivian was flying.670

balloonette from the rear to the underside of the nose, separate from the main gas envelope.

669 London Gazette 14 November 1916

670 Courtesy theaerodrome.com

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 93

Repatriated after the Armistice, Vivian was next posted to the North Russian Expeditionary Force, serving on the Archangel front as a Pilot and Staff Officer 4th Class from June to September 1919. He also served briefly in Ireland.

In 1919 Vivian resigned his commission and was admitted to King’s College Cambridge where he studied Modern and Medieval Languages. After graduating he resumed duty with the 2nd Bn. Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards). In 1923 he transferred to the Diplomatic Service and passed top of his cohort, with fluency in French, Russian, Finnish and modern Greek. He received promotion to 2nd Secretary in 1927, and went on to become Secretary of Legation in six countries. In this role he appears to have engaged in Soviet intrigues. Vivian’s report on one suspect Soviet agent, Svetoslav Roerich, read thus:

As to possible sources of information about Roerich his connection with Russia, Thibet … Theosophists … and various ‘secret’ organisations […] leads me to think that information as to him might be obtained from an (undesirable) Englishman who has had curiously intimate knowledge of all these things. His real name is Aleister Crowley […] I could endeavour privately to have him sounded [out] if it were thought desirable. He is a rascal and dare not show his face in England: but his knowledge of oriental evil is very deep.671

In 1938 Vivian joined the South Kensington Labour Party, becoming its Publications Officer. At the beginning of the Second World War, he was translator to the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau in an astonishing 24 languages. He served throughout the conflict as the Ministry of Information’s foreign press censor, dealing with important news telegrams. He held numerous honorary posts including a fellowship of the Institute of Linguistics, membership of the Royal Society of Literature, and appointment to the Council of the Poetry Society. The 1945 General Election saw him elected as Labour Councillor for the Norland Ward, North Kensington. He was also a Justice of the Peace and the Chairman of the North Kensington branch of the British Legion.

The thrice married Vivian appears to have been famously promiscuous. (He used his literary skills to provide an English translation of Aberrations Of Sexual Life by the Austro German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft Ebing (1840 1902).672 An old Cambridge friend, Lance Sieveking, recalled that:

671 Quoted in Churlton, T, Aleister Crowley: The Biography Spiritual Revolutionary, Romantic Explorer (Watkins) p 298

672 This was one of the earliest books about sexual practices to cover the subject of homosexuality, albeit in a negative way.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 94

Looking back [Vivian] seems to have changed very little, and the man at all stages could be recognised, in all characteristics save one, as the boy he had been. This one particular was that, as a youth, and up to the age of 23, when in 1919 he at last came up to King’s, he had a traditionally idealistic attitude towards sex and women. This changed, and in a short space of time he ceased to imitate Sir Galahad, and adopted the attitude of Don Juan. A Don Juan with a mission: to bring love and physical satisfaction into the lives of as many women as possible who might otherwise be deprived … At his funeral, the church was full of women of all ages, dating back to his youth and coming right up to the newest loves of his last year. I was the only man.673

Vivian died on 8 November 1959 in Germany, age 63.

K.30 Vivian’s medal group. L to R: Military Cross; 1914 15 Star; British War and Victory Medals; 1939 45 Star; Defence and War Medals 1939 45; Croix de Guerre 1915 1918.674

673 https://spink.com/lot/20001000734

674 Courtesy Spink/BNPS. The medals sold at auction in 2020 for £5,500.

11. Lives lived some of the survivors by category 95

Part D: ‘we will remember them’

Chapter 12. Memorialisation and commemoration

12.1 Memorialisation

i) the South African War Memorial, 1906

In the immediate aftermath of the 1st World War there existed a powerful sentiment to commemorate and memorialise the fallen. St Paul’s had recent experience of this, erecting a memorial in the school grounds in 1906 to the 11 OPs who had lost their lives in the South African War.675 Foreshadowing a process followed upon the conclusion of the 1st World War, a committee of the Old Paulines Club invited subscriptions from past and present Paulines and their parents for a proposed war memorial. Names of subscribers were published in The Pauline. Following a slow start in March 1903, it was lamented that ‘the number of Old Paulines who have so far contributed is distinctly disappointing’.676 Nonetheless, the target of around £600 was duly met and the committee held meetings with the subscribers to agree the form of the memorial. Meanwhile, the High Master affirmed that:

The great event of the last few years, as far as the school is concerned, is the share that Paulines have taken in the South African war. Two hundred of our boys, or thereabouts, have been engaged in active service, eight [the final figure was eleven] of whom have given their lives to their country’s cause. Whatever we feel about their loss, we still remember dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. … This is a great record for a school in which Army Classes are a thing of recent growth and … it deserves to be commemorated in some permanent form as a landmark in the long history of St Paul’s.677

It was initially agreed that the intended memorial should ‘consist of an obelisk only, to be erected in a conspicuous position in the school grounds.’678 However, following the submission of various designs judged by Sir Edward Poynter, the chosen form was a monumental drinking fountain designed by F S Chesterton, (SPS 1889 1893 and one of the ‘511’).679 It consisted of a circular ‘tempietto’ resting on a base of three steps surmounted

675

676

A total of 220 OPs had fought in this war

The Pauline, 21 130 March 1903 p 34

677 Apposition speech, 30 July 1902. The Pauline 20 127 Nov 1902 p 168

678

The Pauline, 21 130 March 1903 p 34

679 Chesterton, F S served as 2nd Lt in the RFA and fell at the Somme on 11 November 1916.

12. Memorialisation and commemoration

by seven columns of the Tuscan order, topped with an entablature with a panelled and ribbed copper dome. On the frieze was the inscription ‘Paulinorum virtutis in Africa spectatae recordentur posteri’, while copper panels which surrounded the drinking fountain in the centre bore the names of the eleven Old Paulines who are commemorated.

The use of Latin and classical form was designed to evoke a linking of the memory of the fallen to a classical heritage and notions of noble death. It was a clear statement about the school’s self image and the sacrifices of its alumni, in essence an advert for the patriotism and sense of duty engendered by the institution and the honour bestowed upon it by the preparedness of its old boys to die a noble death. Images of the official unveiling ceremony, showing the fountain wreathed in a Union Jack and a large crowd dressed in their Sunday best, are reminiscent of the atmosphere of a summer afternoon at Henley this was a moment of institutional celebration and validation rather than an episode of collective grief, a validation amplified by the fact that the guest of honour was Lord Roberts, the Commander in Chief who had led the British forces to success in South Africa. In a speech punctuated by cheers and applause, the High Master informed his listeners ‘that at St Paul's School they were doing all that it was possible to do [in the defence of the country], and in a short time no boy, except for conscientious reasons, would leave the School without learning how to shoot in his country’s defence.’680 Memorialisation had become a metric by which an institution judged itself, and more importantly, by which it was judged by others.

L.1 The South African Memorial, unveiled by Lord Roberts on 29 May, 1906.681

St Paul’s School Archive

The eye catching memorial was successfully relocated to the Barnes site in 1968, the removal costs met by Leslie Sydney Marler (SPS 1913 1917).682 Re erected at the western extent of the school grounds, where it was considered that ‘its classical lines will stand out

682 Marler served as a 2nd Lt in the HAC during the 1st World War.

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 3

L.2 A Norman Wilkinson poster featuring the South African Memorial, commissioned for the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1938. (A copy of this poster hangs in Reception at SPS).

in isolated delicacy’, the position chosen was somewhat removed from the main buildings and, located close to the river, was vulnerable to those with malign intent.683 Sadly, it was duly vandalised and in 1974 was described as existing in ‘an unhappy state …. the cross and part of the copper roof had been taken and it was beginning to look shabby and derelict’.684 (In fact, the memorial already lacked friends. As early as 1946, perhaps having suffered during the course of the 2nd World War, The Pauline articulated ‘a plea for the memorial as it is to day. This fountain, now derelict, will soon have survived four decades, and it would indeed be a fitting tribute to grant it that respect which comes from utility.’685) No school funds were available for its restoration and it faced the prospect of demolition. The OP Club thus resolved to endeavour ‘to preserve it at the school or, if necessary, elsewhere.’686 It was saved by an OP who purchased the memorial and erected it in the grounds of his home in Sussex.

ii) the Memorial Chapel, 1926

a) fund raising

Even before the War had concluded in November 1918 thought was being given to a memorial. In 1917 Hillard told the Governors that:

I shall be glad if you can take into consideration a question which is now being frequently put to me, viz., in what way the School can best commemorate those of its members who have lost their lives in the present war. You are aware that Eton, Rugby, Marlborough and some other schools have already started schemes which in most cases comprise two objects, viz., 1) the erection of some permanent memorial at the school, 2) the provision of funds for helping the education of the sons of the fallen at their father’s schools …. I am particularly anxious to be able to say something definite to parents who express a desire to erect at the School something which will be a permanent memorial of lost sons …. I suggest therefore that the matter be referred to a Committee … and that in the meantime the High Master be instructed to collect as far as possible the opinions of masters and others concerned as to the best form of memorial.687

683

684

The Pauline, 86 486 July 1968 p 64

The Pauline, 92 504 July 1974 p 57. 15 May 1974 Old Pauline Club AGM, Under Any Other Business

685

686

The Pauline, 64 421 March 1946 p 32

The Pauline, 92 504 July 1974 p 57. 15 May 1974 Old Pauline Club AGM, Under Any Other Business

687

St Paul’s School Archive. Governor’s Minutes 11 May 1917

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 4

In April 1918 The Pauline announced that ‘It has been felt that Old Paulines and friends of the School will desire to commemorate the part taken by Paulines in the War, and in particular to provide a permanent Memorial of those who have given their lives.’688 To this end a Committee had been appointed by the Governors and ‘considered various proposals for a Memorial with a view to selecting objects which shalt at once form an appropriate commemoration and be of real value in the life of the School.’689 After further consultation at a General Meeting it had been decided to appeal for subscriptions to a fund in order to provide a Memorial Chapel, decorated with panels listing the names of the fallen, and also to establish a fund to assist the education at St Paul’s and beyond of the sons (or other dependants) of the fallen. Perhaps because of difficulties in communicating the appeal, the process of providing a memorial did not get off to the most auspicious beginning, leading The Pauline to announce that ‘it is unthinkable that the Pauline War Memorial should not be worthy of our founder, our history, and our dead.’690 Nevertheless, by July 1920 the fund was beginning to look rather more healthy (the amount received at that point totalled £4,113) and the committee formally sought the sanction of the Governors for its proposal to convert the Old Library into a chapel.691

b) the memorial panels

Leslie (‘Max’) MacDonald Gill (1884 1947) was commissioned to produce the panels and to carry out the fitting and decoration of the new Chapel. At the time of this commission MacDonald Gill was a leading figure likely the leading figure among those working on memorialisation projects. In particular, he was known for having devised the font used for the standard military headstones of the Imperial (later, Commonwealth) War Graves Commission, perhaps his most enduring legacy. This very same font is the one that he used on the panels listing fallen Paulines. The twelve fumed oak panels were completed in 1923 at a cost of £685 (about £28,000 in 2017) and temporarily hung in the Great Hall from Easter

688

The Pauline, 36 238 April 1918 p 36 689

The Pauline, 36 238 April 1918 p 36. L H S Mathews OP occupied the position of Secretary.

690

The Pauline, 37 224 March 1919 p 8 691

The Pauline, 38 254 July 1920 p 111. By 1910 the Old Library had become inadequate to Pauline needs and had been replaced by the Walker Library in 1914, housed in the old chemistry lab. It was designed by OPs F S Chesterton and G Bailey, the former having designed the South African War Memorial. The vacated space in the Old Library was used as a classroom during 1919 1920. Interestingly, the school had been built without a chapel, an omission that the Bishop of London at Walker’s last Apposition had suggested be addressed.

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 5

of that year. At some point a thirteenth panel was commissioned recording further names of the fallen and was inscribed with the heading ‘Desideratis Adnumerentur’.692

The names on the panels are carved in gold, arranged under the year in which each individual entered the school, the year heading each group. Directly under each name, carved in slightly smaller lettering, is recorded the rank, regiment and, where relevant, award. The abbreviations used are official abbreviations approved by the War Office. When the school moved to Barnes in 1968 the panels were carried to the new site. In their new home they were not hung in the chapel, apparently finding a home on the walls of the theatre.693 Not later than the 1980s they were hung in the centre of the school, on the wall outside the High Master’s office in the General Teaching Block. When that building was demolished in 2017 2018 they were temporarily hung in the Sports Hall Corridor, awaiting the completion of their new home on the full height wall outside the Monty Room, in which place the overall effect of a spectator looking up from the ground floor is nothing other than to stand before a great waterfall of names.

L.3 The memorial panels in the new General Teaching Block, 2020694

692 These names were presumably submitted after the publication of the Roll of Honour since none so listed on the panel are also listed in that document. It seems likely that this panel hosted in the first instance 18 names to which a further 3 were added separately, suggested by the fact that the letteration of the latter differs from that of the former, and by the fact that these latter are separately alphabetised.

693 Shortly after the opening of the new school, The Pauline reported that: ‘Old Paulines who visit us seem to appreciate the disposal of visual reminders of former glories—the Colet bust and foundation inscription near the main entrance; the High Masters’ busts in a row down the main corridor; their armorial bearings brilliantly illuminated in the theatre, which also contains the war memorial panels.’ High Master’s Letter, The Pauline, 86 487 Dec 1968 p 92 694 Author’s photo

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 6

L.4 A close up of one of the panels, showing the lettering designed by MacDonald Gill.695 695 Author’s photograph

c) the new chapel, 1926

In February 1925 The Pauline reported that ‘we are glad to see the Chapel begun in real earnest. … Mysterious sounds of muffled knocking reverberate through the building, and it is rumoured that a rich deposit of plaster of Paris may daily be found on the floor of C Club room, whose windows are conveniently placed to view the operations of an amateur crane.’696 (The memorial fund was spared the expense of these alterations, the Governors agreeing that these costs were to be met by the school.)

12. Memorialisation and commemoration

L.5 The Old Library before its conversion into the Memorial Chapel697

L.6 MacDonald Gill’s drawing of the Memorial Chapel698

L.7 The Memorial Chapel699

Printed in Richards A N G, St Paul’s School, (London, 1968). Plate 20

The chapel had a wood block floor and oak seating, with stalls on either side. It was panelled all round, the panels at the east end on either side of the altar being the memorial panels, united by the chosen inscriptions running above them: one in Greek, asserting that ‘But though they have died they are not dead’ and the other in Latin stating that ‘Here are commemorated the names of Paulines who died in the War, 1914 1919.’ Like the names of the fallen, these inscriptions were carved in letters of gold. Golden too, were the small columns supporting the front of the altar, the carved laurel leaves surmounting the reredos, and a similar piece of carving at the top of the organ case. All the woodwork was of unstained oak, except the panels in the front of the altar and the edges of those in the reredos, which were of black wood. The altar cross and candlesticks were of ebony, inlaid with silver. At the north east corner stood a carved oak lectern, presented by their family in memory of J C and H W Hutchinson (SPS 1907 1910 and SPS 1910 1916 respectively; see Chapter 8, Section 8.4.)700 Three old oak chairs were placed within the altar rails for the clergy. All the windows (except that at the south west corner, which had always been plain) remained filled with the original stained glass when the space was used as the Old Library. The whole chapel was illuminated by six electric light pendants of simple design. The vacant parts of the ceiling were studded with groups of red and gold stars, which relieve the bareness without irritating the eye. The chancel was slightly raised, with an inlaid floor and oak rails.

L.8 An image of the Chapel showing the panels, lectern, altar and altar furniture. The inscription in Greek is evident.701

700 A reference to the brothers Hutchinson, John Cayley (SPS 1907 1910) and Henry William (SPS 1910 1916). John fell on 5 August 1915, age 22. He is buried at Rue Du Bacquerot Cemetery, Laventie; Henry William was killed on 13 March 1917, age 19. Their brother, Arthur Sydney, served as 2nd Lt Middlesex Regiment. Arthur survived the war.

701 Fide, No 2. December 1954. The Magazine of St Paul’s School Chapel. St Paul’s School Archives

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 10

L.9 The lectern presented in memory of the brothers J C and H W Hutchinson The memorial plaque is just visible. It reads: ‘To the Glory of God and in ever loving memory of John Caley Hutchinson Lt 3rd Gurka Rifles and Henry William Hutchinson 2nd Lt Leicestershire Regiment. This lectern is dedicated by their father, mother and brother’.702

As the conversion of the Old Library neared completion in 1925 the decision appears to have been made that an organ be installed in time for the opening. Although the memorial fund had been ‘amply sufficient’ to cover all of the costs of MacDonald Gill’s scheme, it fell short by £350 of covering the cost of a small organ, estimated at about £1,250.703 The committee therefore agreed to make a further appeal to Old Paulines and others to raise this fund ‘so that the memorial [chapel] may now be completed without delay.’704

The chapel was dedicated in 1926 by the Bishop of London on Tuesday 11 May at 6 pm. He told the congregation that even ‘though eight years had passed by, the memory of their [i.e. the fallen] sacrifices still lived with us, and we looked back upon it, not with sorrow, but with

702 Author’s photo

703 The organ was built by Rushworth and Draper to a specification drawn up by Dr Henry G Ley.

704 The Pauline, 42 284 November 1924 p 163

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 11

admiration, pride, love and hope.’705 The chapel was used for the first time on Ascension Day 1926 (13 May), when there was a celebration of Holy Communion at 8.15 am. According to The Pauline, the overall impression of the finished space (which accommodated about 150 people) ‘was one of peace and meditation. The design … produces that atmosphere which one associates with some eighteenth century college chapels, such as Emmanuel, Trinity (Oxford) and Brasenose.’706

At some point after 1926 a lectern praying kneeling stand was presented commemorating the Harding brothers. The attached plaque reads: ‘AMDG. In memory of W J Harding, Priest, MC, MA, Chaplain RND and R W F Harding, Captain, London Irish, who gave their lives 1914 1919.’

L.10 The lectern praying kneeling stand commemorating the brothers W J Harding (SPS 1899 1900, see Volume 2) and R W F Harding (SPS 1900 1903.)707

705

The Pauline, 44 294 June 1926 p 65

706

707

The Pauline, 44 294 June 1926 pp 66 67

Author’s photo. Sadly, this piece of commemorative furniture has been relegated to a storage shipping container, resident on the school car park.

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 12

Reginald William Fowler Harding (SPS 1900 1903) served as a Captain in 2/18th (County of London) Bn. (London Irish Rifles) London Regiment. He was killed on 7 November 1917, age 30. He is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial. Wilfrid John Harding (SPS 1899 1900) served as a Chaplain, attached to the Drake Bn. RNDVR at the time of his death. He was killed on 31 October 1917, age 31 and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial. (See Volume 2.) A younger brother, Henry Norman Harding MC (SPS 1908 1910), also served. Henry rose to the rank of Captain in the Westminster Dragoons and was awarded the MC in 1918. The citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Though wounded he continued to direct his squadron under shell and machine gun fire with great gallantry and resolution. He set a splendid example to his men.708

Henry died in 1987.

iii) the 2nd World War commemorative panels

In the aftermath of the 2nd World War a committee of OPs decided that it was desirable to record the names of the fallen on a new series of panels to be hung in the Chapel and to establish a War Memorial Fund with a main purpose of providing in needy cases ‘for the education, maintenance, advancement in life, or otherwise the benefit’ of sons and daughters of OPs who had died in the 1939 1945 War.709 The Fund aimed to raise £25,000 and was duly launched in 1946 by an appeal from Sir Lancelot Graham, the President of the OP Club. In the short term, the committee appears to have struggled to fulfil its goals. In 1950 S L Marwood, the Honorary Secretary of the Memorial Fund, lamented that ‘We regret that the response to the appeal for funds has been, in the main, disappointing, and unworthy of the traditions of a public school such as ours. The total receipts since the appeal was launched in 1946 have still not reached £5,000.’710 Eventually, sufficient funds were mobilised and nine new memorial panels hung. Inscribed with the names of the 253 OPs who fell 1939 1945, the newly installed panels continued the series established after the 1st World War. On 15 March 1951 the panels were dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury,

708

709

London Gazette 8 July 1918 p 2380

The Pauline, 86 485 March 1968 p 27. Over 30 children were helped. In 1964 the last payment of grants was made.

710 The Pauline, 68 432 Feb 1950 p 1

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 13

Dr W L. Anderson (SPS 1905 1911) and unveiled by Field Marshal Lord Montgomery.711 The Pauline described proceedings thus:

The brief service of unveiling took place at 3 pm in the presence only of near relatives of the fallen, and a very few specially invited guests, including the two previous High Masters under whom the great majority of those commemorated had spent their years at St. Paul’s, Mr John Bell and Mr Walter Oakeshott. Prayers were said by the Chaplain, the Rev. A C Heath, and the Lesson (from 1 Corinthians xv), was read by the High Master. Before and after the ceremony, organ music was played by Mr T L Martin. At 3.30 a Memorial Service was held in the Great Hall, in the presence of a very large congregation consisting of relatives, Old Paulines, members of the Staff and boys. The platform had been suitably furnished for the occasion; crimson velvet curtains veiled the lower part of the organ case, before which was placed a gold fronted altar. A built up extension on the west side was occupied by a choir of forty voices, under the direction of Mr Ivor Davies. When the congregation had been joined by those who had witnessed the unveiling, the National Anthem was sung. In the service the prayers were said by the Chaplain, the Lesson (from Revelations vii) was read by Lord Montgomery, and the sermon was preached by the Bishop of Salisbury. After the Lesson the choir sang the twenty third Psalm, and the hymns were “O God, our help in ages past,” “Turn back, O Man,” and “For all the Saints.” It would be out of place to attempt any description of ceremonies whose moving character and simple dignity struck all who were present. It is enough to say that in conception and realisation they were worthy of the occasion. We were fortunate in having the only really fine day of the term, so that the smartness and precision of the CCF Guard of Honour, under Major L F Robinson, DSO, MC, which Lord Montgomery inspected on his arrival, could be admired by a large number of visitors.712

L.11 The 2nd World War memorial panels hung on a corridor wall in the new General Teaching Block713

711 W L Anderson had fought in the Royal Naval Air Service in the First World War, winning a D.S.C

712 The Pauline, 69 436 May 1951 pp 58 59

713 Photo courtesy of Matthew Smith

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 14

iv) the War Memorial, 2011

The most recent memorial to OPs who have fallen in conflict was dedicated on 11 November 2011.714 It is located at the north eastern corner of the Milton Building. This rather removed location was intended to be temporary, a holding position because of the imminent re building of the large part of the school. Thereafter, upon the completion of the re building project, it was planned to move the Memorial to what is now known as Founder’s Court but this never came about. Following the decision from 2018 onwards to gather the whole school on Big Side for the Act of Remembrance, happenstance has ensured that the Memorial is felicitously located. L.12 The War Memorial located adjacent to the Milton Building715

714 Correspondence at the time refers to the memorial variously as ‘The Cenotaph’ and ‘War Memorial’.

715 Author’s photo

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 15

The installation of this memorial in 2011 was substantially the achievement of Joshua Greenberg (SPS 2008 – 2013), assisted by support from the then Vth Form Undermaster, Eugene de Toit. Following his recent participation in the annual 1st World War Battlefields trip run by the History Department, Joshua at that time a member of the 5th Form (5D)

12. Memorialisation and commemoration

began to agitate for the installation of a war memorial.716 The original idea was to erect a memorial somewhere in France / Belgium, but following discussions with some senior OPs and the then High Master, Martin Stephen, it was decided to establish a memorial in the school grounds and that this memorial should commemorate not only OPs who fell in the 1st World War but also those who fell in the 2nd World War and other conflicts.717

The design of the Memorial was in part based on some rough ideas put forward by Joshua which were then passed on to Boden and Ward, a stonemason firm with experience of crafting memorials and who had been recommended to the School. The Memorial was funded by private donations to which Joshua’s family contributed, as too did a number of OPs. The total cost was £13,170. The Old Pauline Club was involved in choosing the wording for the memorial, in consultation with Joshua. This issue was also discussed at the OP AGM, as well as at various fundraising dinners.718 Dick Jaine, the Surmaster, was responsible for the logistics of the project.

On Friday 11 November 2011 an Act of Remembrance was held in the Atrium, including a two minute silence at 11 am. This was followed by a Service of Dedication (11.10 11.40 am) in front of the Memorial. Those present included OPs, a small number of current Paulines acting as representatives of each year group, High Master Mark Bailey and Chaplain Patrick Allsop. Among the first of these groups was Admiral Sir John Treacher (SPS 1938 1942). Also present was Serena Alexander, whose son, Sam Giles William Alexander MC (Royal Marine), fell in Afghanistan on 27 May 2011. Sam was killed by an Improvised

716 During the trip to the battlefields, Joshua was inspired by a visit to St George’s Church in Ypres, the walls of which are covered in plaques memorialising the fallen from British public schools though not (yet) St Paul’s.

717 243 OPs fell in the 2nd World War; in addition, three OPs have fallen in ‘other conflicts’: Curwen, Philip Warton Downes (SPS 1936 1939; killed in the Korean War, Oct 1951); Keeler, Harper Brown (SPS 1950 1952, killed in the Vietnam War, 30 Jan 1969) and Alexander, S G W A (killed in Afghanistan, 27 May 2011).

718 The inscriptions on the four sides of the memorial are as follows:

1) They shall grow / Not old / As we that are / Left grow old: / Age shall not / Weary them, / Nor the years / Condemn. / At the going / Down of the sun / And in the morning / We will / Remember them. Laurence Binyon (OP 1881 – 1881);

2) World War 1 / 1914 1918 / In memory of / 490 / Old Paulines / Who laid down / Their lives / During / The Great War / Their name liveth / For evermore

3) In memory of / All / Old Paulines / Who have given / Their lives / For their / Country / In conflicts / Past and present / Their name liveth / For evermore

4) World War II / 1939 – 1945 / In memory of / 243 / Old Paulines / Who gave / Their lives / During / The second / World war / Their name liveth / For evermore

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 17

Explosive Device while on patrol in the Nad e Ali district in Helmand province. He was age 28. The citation for his MC stated that he carried out his duties ‘Despite being completely exposed to heavy and accurate enemy fire’.719

L.13 Joshua Greenberg reading at the Service of Dedication for the new War Memorial, 11 November 2011. (High Master Mark Bailey and Chaplain Patrick Allsop are on the right.)720 719 Courtesy

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 18

Sam Giles William Alexander

London Remembers

Reproduced with permission of Joshua Greenberg

12.2 Commemoration

i) Commemorative items

a) the A J W Pearson cricket ball

Angus John Williams Pearson (SPS 1909 1914, see Chapter 8, Section 8.7) was an accomplished cricketer, among the very best that St Paul’s has produced. After taking 9 wickets for 38 runs against the MCC in July 1914, the ball used in that game was preserved as a memento. For several years in the early twentieth century it was taken on the annual SPS History Department 1st World War Battlefield Trip, led by Mike Howat (VIth Form Undermaster, ex Head of History and ex county cricketer). It was deployed as a visual aid by Mike when the party visited Angus’ grave at Auchonvillers Military Cemetery. Angus was killed on 1 July 1916, age 21.

L.14 The Pearson cricket ball with attached plaque, most likely used in the match played against the MCC on 25 July 1914. The bronze plaque reads: ‘St Paul’s School V MCC, 25 July 1914, A J.W. Pearson, 9 Wickets (Including Hattrick), For 38 Runs.’ (The match was in fact won by the MCC by 10 wickets, though Pearson was the most successful bowler.)721

St Paul’s School Archive

Angus photographed with the 1912 cricket XI, a young looking 15/16 year old.722

b) the ‘Lambert’ Boat

The Boat Club marked the start of centenary of the war in 2014 by purchasing a new boat at a cost of £15,915 and naming it after Cecil John Noel Lambert, MC (SPS 1910 1916, see Chapter 8, Section 8.8.)723 Cecil ‘Bertie’, as he was known was killed by a shell on 2nd September 1918, age 21.

L.15 The ‘CJN Lambert’ boat in the Boathouse724

c) the High House memorial tablet

At least one of the boarding Houses The High House commemorated fallen OPs who had passed through the House by erecting a monument. The Pauline reported that on 30 October 1924:

722 St Paul’s School Archive

723 C J N Lambert is also commemorated on the Boards in the Boathouse. The cost of purchasing the boat was funded from School Funds 2013 2014. (Parental and OP donations to the Boat Club only started to be received in the financial year 2014 2015.)

724 Author’s photo

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 20

An interesting ceremony took place when Mr Armitage, in the enforced silence of the High Master, [because of ill health], unveiled a memorial tablet which he has presented to his old House, containing the names of those members who fell in the Great War. The present members gave a fine wreath of evergreens. The company present also included the High Master, the Captain of the School, some of the Masters, and some former members of the House and parents. The tablet is a beautiful work of bronze and enamel, as permanent and suitable a memorial as could be.725

L.16 The High House tablet.726

725 The Pauline, 42 284 Nov 1924 p 156. A total of 29 OPs were commemorated: Benison R B, Brereton H, Campbell R W F, Chown F J, Coy J C, Crombie I O, Erskine F A, Farmer J D H, Frankland J C, Goldsworth D W, Griffin C C, Ground E G, Henderson M L, Jackson A M, Johnston P A, Keigwin H D, Mackintosh E A, Milne W T, Payne Gallwey M, Plenty E P, Pollard G B, Pollard R T, Roberts W A, Robinson J S, Sandys W E, Shaw E M, Smalley R F, Vincent A C W, Woolf H L. 726 Author’s photo. St Paul’s School Archive

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 21

ii)

commemorative displays

a) Library sponsored displays

The St Paul’s School Library has helped to maintain the memory of fallen OPs by curating displays of materials from the Archives relating to the 1st World War, the frequency and character of any such displays apparently shadowing the status in which Remembrance Day was held at any one time. One such display in 1986 was an exhibition named The Barnett Family, St Paul’s and the First World War curated by the then Assistant Archivist, Laura Curtis. To accompany the exhibition Laura produced a pamphlet containing edited extracts from the letters exchanged between Denis Oliver Barnett (known as ‘Dobbin’, SPS 1907 1914, see Volume 2) and his sister, Charis Barnett.727 (The latter’s letters were made available through collaboration with the Imperial War Museum.) Their correspondence offers ‘a clear picture of London life in the early days of the First World War and the bustle of a capital where preparations for War were made alongside parties with friends.’728 It also provides an unusually compelling impression of the life of an officer in the 1st World War. In his letters to his parents, Dobbin was concerned to mitigate their concern for his safety and thus his tone is generally rather light hearted and often up lifting. Some of his letters to his sister tell a rather different story, one dated 4 February 1915 somehow managing to evade the censor’s eye. Writing from ‘Billets’, Dobbin told his sister that:

We had 20 6 inch explosive shells into this place yesterday afternoon. We had amazing luck with them. I heard the first and went out to see, and found a quaking sentry man up against a wall. He said “Any orders, sir?” I said, “Yes, lie down, quick” as I heard the next one coming. We fell down pretty expeditiously and it went through the wall of one of the billets about 5 yards away and burst inside. Five minutes before that the whole Coy [i.e. Company] had been in the room where it burst and then there was nobody! I had my platoon out, turned out and make themselves scarce. They left us after a bit and shelled the town, killing a lot of civilians and setting our house on fire. Our cookhouse was on fire and burnt merrily all night. We did what we could but it was not much. Some Res [i.e. Royal Engineers] next door to us got it in the neck 2 shells right into a crowded room, which luckily only killed two and wounded 3, but there was a beastly mess. In the middle of the mix up I ran into A. M. Jackson, an OP, [1906 1911] who is a Sapper officer.729 I’m glad to say it did not put the wind up me at all, but I don’t want it to happen again. Don’t tell Mum any of this, and burn the

727 Charis attended St Paul’s Girls’ School

728 St Paul’s School Archive. Exhibition Material SPS BARNETT/7, The Barnett Family, St Paul’s and The First World War p 4

729 Major Alexander Mclean Jackson, MC, 4th Field Company, Royal Engineers. He was killed in action on 27 April 1917, age 24.

letter when you’ve read it, as it is very confidential and keep it absolutely to yourself. You may mention the general facts to real friends, but tell ‘em it is not for publication. We had no casualties, thank God. Cheerio old dear, ever yours DOB.730

L.17 ‘Dobbin’s’ Memorial Plaque (also known as the ‘Dead Man’s Penny’), almost certainly a display item in the 1986 exhibition.731

The exhibition ran from 1 – 18 December 1986, with a private viewing on 2 December, to whom 26 persons were invited. The pamphlet was offered to boys and visitors at the cost of 30p each, with the proceeds dedicated to Library funds. Dobbin died of wounds on 16 August 1915, age 20.

For many years Dobbin was commemorated by the award of the Denis Oliver Barnett Memorial Prize established in 1927 by his father, ‘to be awarded annually to the [two] boys who get the highest marks in a History examination [with the stipulation that] it shall be essential that the examination therefore should include a separate paper on Economic History.’732 Sadly, the Prize is no longer awarded, the original funding of £250 perhaps having been expended.

730 St Paul’s School Archives. Exhibition Material SPS BARNETT/7 The Barnett Family, St Paul’s and the First World War, p 15 731 St Paul’s School Archives. Exhibition Material SPS BARNETT/7. These Plaques were issued to all next of kin of all who fell in the War 732 St Paul’s School Archive. Exhibition Material SPS BARNETT/7

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 23

b) teacher sponsored displays:

Digby La Motte (SPS 1886

1934) photographs

From time to time individual teachers have created commemorative material. Perhaps the most moving example in this regard is the Digby La Motte collection of photographs of OPs who served in the 1st World War, some of whom fell. La Motte was a teacher at SPS from 1886. At the occasion of his retirement in 1936 he gifted his collection of photographs to the Walker Library. In 2020 this material remained on display for a fortnight, giving time for individual visits and particularly for any tutor groups who wished to discuss Remembrance.

Accompanying the gift was the following note penned by Digby:

This collection of photographs of Paulines who took part in the War of 1914 was made by me. They were given to me personally, by the boys or their parents. I now hand them over into the keeping of my old pupil the Revd I[van] Mavor, and to his successors as Librarian.733 It would give me great pleasure if on Armistice Day (11 Nov) or in that week, they could be taken out and exposed to view in a classroom, as for many years I have shown them to my different Forms and the boys present have always been interested in seeing these likenesses of Paulines who took part in the war, and of whom many gave up their lives. I should like a simple bunch of violets in a glass and a few poppies placed among them when they are exhibited. I hold them, one and all, in the most hallowed regard and in sacred affection as these boys have all been in my different forms: the Upper Classical VIIth, the Army B French Form [and] the Mathematical VIIIth.734

Happily, it has become practice in recent years for this collection ‘to be taken out and exposed to view’ in the Library.

Suzanne Mackenzie’s display panels:

As part of the quincentennial commemorations in 2009, Susanne Mackenzie, a member of the History Department, created a series of display boards consisting of photographs held in the SPS Archives of OPs who had fallen in each of the World Wars. Accompanying these images was a list of all OPs who fell in service to their country. These boards were made of good quality plasticised material with the intention that they should be kept and reused. For several years after 2009 they were hung in the Atrium at the time of the Remembrance Day

733 Mavor was an OP (SPS 1899 – 1903). He returned to teach at SPS, 1915 – 1946. 734 St Paul’s School Archive. Digby La Motte Collection

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 24

commemoration in that location. (Sadly, these boards appear to have been lost during the rebuilding programme.)

L.18 Stephen Baldock (High Master 1992 2004) photographed in the Atrium on 11 November 2011 with one of the memorial boards created by Suzanne Mackenzie735

iii) centenary commemorations

a) 2014

As the centenary of the First World War approached in 2014 the History Department led by Graham E Seel brought together a small group of pupils interested in excavating the wartime editions of The Pauline, 1914 1918.736 The outcome of their endeavours was the production of the booklet St Paul’s and The First World War737. It was published to coincide with Remembrance Day 2014 at which time the school paid for every boy then in the school to receive a copy. Dan Snow (OP) wrote a Forward to the publication, stating that ‘To read it

735

Reproduced with permission of Joshua Greenberg and Stephen Baldock 736 The boys involved in this project were: Oilver Hirsch; Joe Millard; Carter Cortazzi; Archie Foster and Nico Hedegaard. They were directed by Graham E. Seel 737 The booklet can be viewed here: https://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/wp content/uploads/2019/10/First World War Research Project.pdf

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 25

is to be taken on a whirlwind tour of the First World War and the people who were caught up in it. It is a very fine piece of scholarship.’738

L.19 The front cover of St Paul’s School and the First World War, published in 2014. The cover shows Major Cuthbert Bromley, VC, (SPS 1890 1895, see Chapter 5, Section 5.2.)

b) 2018: ‘First World War Research Project’ and inter Faculty projects (see Appendix 9.)

In 2018 a group of around 100 pupils, including pupils from the Junior School led by Valerie Nolk, formed the ‘First World War Research Project’. Working under the direction of Graham E Seel, and with the help of Hilary Cummings and her team in the Kayton Library, the project unearthed some of the hitherto forgotten biographies of OPs who fell in 1918. Several of their stories were written up, framed and hung on the walls outside the Faculty Humanities Resources room in the new General Teaching Block. Work was also begun on populating a website hosting short biographies of each of the fallen.739

738 St Paul’s and The First World War, p. 3 739 https://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/about st pauls/history archives/st pauls and ww1/

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 26

L.20 Images of two of OPs listed in the Roll of Honour, hung on the corridor wall outside the Faculty Humanities Resources Room.740

As part of the commemorations in 2018 Linda Johnson in the SPS Geography Department directed a group of boys using G.I.S (Geographic Information System Mapping) to map electronically the location of the place of internment or commemoration of each of the fallen list in the Roll of Honour.741 Meanwhile, the school witnessed a remarkable number of collaborative inter Faculty projects. Inter alia, in Music pupils focused on songs from the First World War; in Geography they used the augmented reality sandbox to recreate 1st World War landscapes of the Messines Ridge; in Biology pupils made posters about the Spanish Flu; in Drama students performed a homage to the fallen Paulines (utilising the 740 Author’s photograph 741 Their findings can be viewed here: https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=a59698cc987246c2a509d8f 5c17a0a8a&extent= 56.3179, 3.2769,106.2797,67.8655

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 27

findings of boys who had worked on the Research Project) and the Head of Chemistry, Matthew Smith presented a talk on Fritz Haber and gas warfare.

L.21 A poster created by Biology students George Langstone Bolt and Milo Taylor. It hangs in the main corridor in the Biology Department and summarises the impact of the Spanish Flu.

c) 2018: making and planting of 490 ceramic crosses for the fallen742

Borrowing from the national commemorative event involving the planting of ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London, each one of which represented a fallen British or Commonwealth soldier, the History and Art Departments conceived an enterprise in which a ceramic cross for each fallen OP was planted at the base of the SPS War Memorial. The crosses were manufactured by all boys in the 4th Form, each boy in that year group participating in the process during their Art lessons. Michael Grant, the Director of Art oversaw the project. The character of these crosses was devised by Jon Williams, another 742 The number 490 was used since this is the number in the Roll of Honour and the number engraved on the 2011 War Memorial. The more correct number is in fact 511. See Chapter 6

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 28

member of the Art Department, each cross impressed with the name of an OP killed in the war, his date of death, and embossed with the school crest and a poppy glazed in red.743

L.22 4th Form boys in the process of making the 490 crosses, 2018744

743 Jon Williams also created a video that was played to all year groups in their assemblies, showing how the crosses had been made. https://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/about st pauls/history archives/st pauls and ww1/#gallery_19368

744 Photo courtesy of Umbreen Khan

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 29

L.23 Three of the 490 crosses made by members of the 4th Form, 2018745

Over the course of the several weeks directly preceding Remembrance Day in 2018 every Tutor Group from the Junior School and SPS was scheduled to gather around the School War Memorial where they participated in a short ceremony in which a teacher read out one of the stories of the 490 and then several boys from each Tutor Group separately planted a cross at the base of the Memorial. Thus, over the course of several weeks the number of crosses around the Memorial grew incrementally, so that all 490 had been planted by the time of Remembrance Day.

L.24

12. Memorialisation and commemoration

Some of the 490 crosses planted at the base of the War Memorial746

courtesy of Umbreen Khan

Photo courtesy of Umbreen Khan

As part of this commemorative project, the Thomas Gresham Bursary Committee Remembrance Appeal was launched. The five pupils on the Committee requested donations of £50 or more to support their wholly pupil led bursary fund, the payee receiving one of the crosses in return for making a payment. When the appeal closed, a total of 246 supporters had raised £26,340 sufficient to provide a 100% bursary to the highest performing boy at 11+ in need of financial support: a fitting memorial to the memory of the 490.

As part of her involvement in the ‘First World War Research Project’ (see below), Valerie Nolk (Head of French and Archivist, SPJ) researched the story of Indra Lal Roy (Colet Court 1908 1911 and SPS 1911 1917, see Chapter 8, Section 8.11), India’s flying ‘ace’. Valerie’s research is impressively framed and is hung in the Junior School, in the corridor leading to the SPJ Archives Room.

L.25 Framed research into Indra Lal Roy, undertaken by Valerie Nolk. The display includes a cross made by members of the 4th Form in 2018.747 747 Author’s photo

12. Memorialisation and commemoration

L.26 In August 2021 two more of the crosses of the fallen, randomly selected, were framed and mounted in a permanent display in SPS Reception.748

748

12. Memorialisation and commemoration 32

Photo courtesy of Matthew Smith. The two OPs commemorated are Hoyland, Godfrey Algernon (SPS 1910 – 1914) and Gloster, Henry Colpoys (SPS 1908 – 1913).

Chapter 13. Acts of Remembrance

Hostilities between Britain and each of the Central Powers were concluded at various different times between 1919 and 1921 In 1921, although a treaty with Turkey had yet to be ratified, it was decided that 31 August 1921 should mark the date of the termination of what later came to be known as the Great War. Hostilities between Britain and Germany were formally concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, though the guns had fallen silent at 11 o’clock on 11 November 1918 a day that initially was known as Armistice Day and latterly, after the Second World War, as Remembrance Day or Poppy Day. On 7 November 1919 George V issued a proclamation for a two minute silence at 11 o’clock on 11 November during which ‘all locomotion should cease’. The absence of any commentary in The Pauline as to whether St Paul’s abided by the proclamation in 1919 rather suggests that the school did not do so, though there was perhaps local practice in classrooms.

Boys at SPS may not have been directly affected by the first Armistice Day but the school did organise a memorial service in 1919 for Old Paulines who fell in the War. This was held at St Mary Abbot's Church, Kensington, at 12 noon on Wednesday, 12 November and, though not evident, it seems likely that the service included a two minute silence.

M.1 Front cover of the order of service for the Memorial Service at St Mary Abbot’s, 12 November 1919749

In 1920 St Paul’s did respect the two minute silence, as reported in The Pauline:

The second anniversary of the Armistice was observed by a memorable ceremony. Instead of morning prayers the whole School assembled in the Great Hall shortly before eleven o’clock. In a short address the High Master reminded us that while the day of the Armistice would probably take its place among the great days of our national calendar, different thoughts would naturally be uppermost in our minds as that day came round in different years. This year it was the King’s especial desire, that we should think of the Unknown Warrior, then on his way to the Abbey [i.e. Westminster], and of his comrades that lie in France and elsewhere. A great part of the work of the world was done (he said) by men who, like the Warrior, remained unknown, but whom none the less we ought not to forget. Mr Martin then rendered on the organ the Dead March from Saul, the last notes of which dying away on the stroke of eleven rendered more impressive the two minutes’ silence which followed. At the end of the two minutes the National Anthem was sung, and the School dispersed for the break.750

This first whole school commemoration of Armistice Day seems to have established the pattern of the service at St Paul’s, at least for the remainder of the 1920s. In 1926 The Pauline described events on 11 November 1926 thus:

Remembrance Day was fittingly observed by a celebration of the Holy Communion in the Memorial Chapel at 8 am Our Lamp of Remembrance was burning there, and the Chapel remained open all day. At 10.45 am the School assembled in the Great Hall, where the High Master delivered a brief address. Armistice Day, he said, was not a day of mourning, but rather its message was “Sursum corda”. It was called a Day of Remembrance so that people might think more of the glory of the dead and of what they had intended to do with their lives, had they not been cut off, than of their own private loss or sorrow. It was for the young to remember what the dead would have done, and to pray in the silence that they might be found fit successors to the work. After this address Attwood’s Dirge, composed for the funeral of Nelson, was played on the organ till the clock struck eleven. At the end of the silence the National Anthem was sung, and the School dispersed.751

Thereafter the record remains silent on whether and in what ways the character of the service evolved in the run up to the Second World War, though it seems likely that services included a reading of For the Fallen by Robert Laurence Binyon (SPS 1881 1888, see

750

The Pauline, 38 257 Dec 1920 p 161 751

The Pauline, 44 298 Dec 1926 p 181

13. Acts of Remembrance

Chapter 11, Section 11.5) and a rendition of the Last Post, thereby replicating the form of the service at The Cenotaph in Whitehall.752

After the school moved to Barnes in 1968 the record continues its silence as to the manner in which Remembrance Day was acknowledged, if at all.753 In 1967, a nation wide feeling that support for an Act of Remembrance on 11 November was declining and would eventually die out had fomented a debate. Lord Fraser of Lonsdale, a founding member of the Royal British Legion, disagreed with any attempts to broaden the appeal of Remembrance Day, saying ‘Let it be hallowed for what it was, and let it die out if it’s going to die out.’754 For many the noisy narrative of the day was associated with peace and disarmament, not remembrance of past conflicts. The relevance of traditional commemorative rituals was being questioned; the number of people with personal connections to the 1st World War growing ever smaller. Nonetheless, from 1992 (possibly earlier) the school did mark the two minute silence at 11 am on 11 November. On these occasions lessons were halted by instructions piped into every classroom over the tannoy. In the virtual service that followed, boys and staff were asked to stand while the Chaplain led a short reflection, followed by observance of the two minute silence at 11 am.

Around the turn of the century the mood again began to alter somewhat and it seems that one or two teachers took it upon themselves to address assemblies or to speak in chapel on the theme of Remembrance and OPs who had fallen in conflict. One of these teachers was Simon May, Head of Classics. In 2021 he recalled that:

I first asked to do it [i.e. deliver an address on Remembrance Day] in 1998 when there was always a deafening silence at that time of year and I was determined that the precise 80 years [since the end of the War] should not go through unmarked, and then I was always invited back until 2014 when I delivered it for the last time.755 [See Appendix 10.]

752 Its central quatrain is carved on cenotaphs and tombstones worldwide and recited at annual Remembrance Day commemorations: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old / Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn / At the going down of the sun and in the morning / We will remember them.

753 (Until the early 1980s there was a compulsory Sunday morning service for boarders which seems likely to have adopted some form of Remembrance Service on those Sundays which fell on, or close to 11 November.

754 Lord Fraser of Lonsdale. BBC News, 20 December 1967

755 Simon May. Email communication, 18 May 2021, 10.28 am

13. Acts of Remembrance

In 2003 the theme of Remembrance was addressed by 5th Formers, recently returned from the 1st World War battlefields trip organised by the History Department.756 In 2011 a service was held for the first time in the Atrium, including the holding of a two minute silence at 11 o’clock followed by a Service of Dedication for the newly installed War Memorial (see Chapter 12, Section 12.1, c, iv.) The event was not compulsory (space not allowing); instead Undermasters had been asked to send year group representatives.757 In 2012, at 8 am on Monday 12 November, the Act of Remembrance service again took place in the Atrium, followed by a wreath laying at the War Memorial. Staff and boys were informed that they were ‘very welcome to attend this short ceremony should they wish’.758

In 2013 Staff were informed that:

From 10.55 am this morning (during period 3), Patrick Allsop [School Chaplain] will lead the whole school Act of Remembrance over the tannoy, which will include a period of silence. Classes will be suspended during this time and boys and staff will be asked to stand in classrooms and common rooms as we remember those who have lost their lives in conflicts. Classes will be instructed to resume at the end of this tannoy transmission. Following the Act of Remembrance, there will be a short service during which wreaths will be laid at the cenotaph [i.e. War Memorial]. The service will be attended by representatives of the staff and student bodies of St Paul’s and Colet Court, as well as members of the Old Pauline Club.759

With the approach of the centenary in 2014, the character of the forthcoming four year long commemoration was determined by Prime Minister David Cameron in a speech on 11 October 2012. Standing in front of The Menin Road by Paul Nash (SPS 1903 1906, see Chapter 11, Section 11.4 and Chapter 10, Section 10.3), Cameron revealed that £50 million would be made available for the centenary of the 1st World War, with national commemorations on specific anniversaries such as the outbreak of war, major battles and Armistice Day. In all, the aim of the commemorations, said Cameron, was ‘to capture our national spirit in every corner of the country, [to achieve] something that says something about who we are as a people.’ This was the context in which the then 5th Form Undermaster, Eugene du Toit, agitated for a whole school Remembrance event.

756

The Pauline 2003 2004 p 35

757 Email from A. Mayfield (Lower 8th Form Undermaster), 8 November 2011, 00.19am

758 Email from HM, Remembrance 2012, 9 November, 8.19 am

759 A whole school email headed ‘Act of Remembrance’ sent by Richard Girvan, Surmaster, 11 November 2013, 8.05 am

13. Acts of Remembrance

In a timely development, the completion of the new Science Block in 2014 meant that a convenient space in the form of Founder’s Court now became available in which the school could meet to participate in a collective Act of Remembrance. Thus, staff were issued with detailed instructions (see M.4) of a service which was more elaborate than those of the 1920s, including a reading of an extract from Robert Laurence Binyon’s Men of Verdun and a rendition of the Last Post, played by George Pedlow from a position outside the Wathen Hall. Boys stood with their Tutors facing a raised dais erected under the portico on the south side of Founder’s Court (see M.3) and members of the Support Staff and teachers without responsibility for a tutor group were ‘very much encouraged to attend’.760 Similar services were held in Founder’s Court 2015 2017. In 2016 the Junior School joined proceedings. In 2017 (after the completion of the new Dining Hall) the dais was placed on the north side of the Quad with the Junior School taking up position directly at the foot of the dais.

M.2 Plan of Founder’s Court detailing the locations in which Tutor Groups were to gather in 2014761

760 Email headed ‘Act of Remembrance Instructions’ from Richard Girvan, Surmaster, 7 November 2014, 11.50 am

761 Sent as an attachment in an email headed ‘Act of Remembrance Instructions’ from Richard Girvan, Surmaster, 7 November 2014, 11.50 am

13. Acts of Remembrance 5

M.3 Pupils gather in Founders’ Court ahead of the Act of Remembrance, 2014762

M.4

763

762 Photo courtesy of Umbreen Khan 763 Sent as an attachment in an email headed ‘Act of Remembrance Instructions’ from Richard Girvan, Surmaster, 7 November 2014, 11.50 am

13. Acts of Remembrance 6

The order of service for Remembrance Day in Founders’ Court 2014. (The Kontakion for the Dead has been sung at each of the services since 2013, the choice of the Director of Music, Mark Wilderspin.)

When Founder’s Court became unavailable in 2018 because of the demolition of the General Teaching Block, the Remembrance Service was held for the first time on Big Side, the available space readily accommodating the Junior School. Boys vacated their classrooms in silence prior to 11 am while the names of the ‘490’ OPs listed in the Roll of Honour were

read out over the tannoy, a process that took 20 minutes.764 A raised dais was erected in front of the Boathouse and boys stood facing north with their Tutors in Tutor Groups, in which position they participated in a two minute silence at 11 am.

M.5 The 2018 Remembrance Day Service on Big Side in 2018. (Boys from SPJ are in arranged in rows at the front.)765

The onset of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 meant that significant changes had to be made to the Remembrance Day arrangements of that year in order to adhere to government regulations. Tom Killick, Deputy Head Co curricular, thus wrote to staff informing them that: These very challenging and unusual times [mean that] … this year’s commemoration will have a number of special arrangements … Rather than a single school wide service, there will be a number of short commemorative events taking place [on Big Side] in front of the school’s Cenotaph [i.e. War Memorial] throughout the day. These will be organised in year group bubbles, with sets of pupils socially distanced from each other during the event. In addition there will be a school wide 2 minute silence at 11 am, which will be announced over the Tannoy.766

764 Their names had been pre recorded by pupils in Graham Seel’s Tutor Group.

765 Photo courtesy of Umbreen Khan

766 Email from Tom Killick, ‘Act of Remembrance’, 6 November 2020, 9.44 am

13. Acts of Remembrance

In practice this meant that the Chaplain, Matthew Knox, presided at nine separate but identical services, four of which were delivered to year groups in the Junior School and five to year groups in the Senior School. In his address to each group he referred to the recent national Lockdowns and told his listeners that:

When we humbly seek with others to re commit to peace, then we enact St Paul’s instructions heard earlier: to live in harmony with one another, to be willing to associate with all sorts of different people, not to repay evil with evil or seek revenge, but to live at peace with everyone. These Lockdowns make us realise how we must not take our freedoms for granted; the ban on gatherings makes us realise how important they are. Perhaps in the two minutes silence that follow this Binyon verse, we might ponder those two things: gratitude for freedom, and re commitment to work for peace together.767

Covid restrictions did not permit any accompanying music, though it was considered safe for the Bugler to play the Last Post while standing alone on the roof. 767 Email correspondence Matthew Knox to Graham Seel, 9 June 2021

13. Acts of Remembrance

Chapter 14. Last word

The following was published as the editorial address in The Pauline, December 1918:768

Very few of us can realize that the end of the war has come. For four years and four months we have witnessed the convulsion of Europe and a large part of the world; we have sent fathers, brothers, relatives, friends into the great furnace of war, and many and grievous have been our losses through it; we ourselves have been faced with the prospect of taking part in the conflict, and much of our training has been directed to that end; our whole mental attitude has been altogether dictated, strive against it how we would, by the all powerful thought of War; and now, almost without warning, we must adjust ourselves to the new and unaccustomed environment of Peace. Perhaps our first emotion is one of joy that so many of those we know and love will, after all, be spared to us and to their parents and friends; but it is a joy sobered by the remembrance of the many hundreds of Old Paulines, amongst them many of those whom we knew as friends, who have laid down their lives. Their memories may be preserved by the School for posterity in some noble piece of architecture or in some fund for providing for the education of their sons, but for us surely they will always be present as inspirers to a life worthy of such a sacrifice, that they may not have died in vain. ‘And some there be which have no memorial’, says Ecclesiasticus, but there cannot be one who will lack this tribute of gratitude and veneration from those who were his friends. 768

Chapter 15. Roll of Honour: the 511

Surname Initials Rank At SPS Award Regiment / Corps Date of Death Age

Abrahams H A Pte 1909 14 London Regiment 09 May 15 19

Acklom S Lt Col 1896 1900 DSO, MC Highland Light Infantry 21 Mar 18 35

Ainsworth H L Capt 1894 99 Indian Army 30 Dec 16 34

Alderson A R Lt 1899 1903 Royal Engineers 22 Mar 16 30

Aldridge D J Lt 1899 1901 Royal Marine Light Infantry 26 Oct 17 33

Allard P H Capt 1908 11 RFA 23 Jun 17 23

Anderson M A Maj 1900 06 MC Royal Engineers 09 May 17 29

Arbuthnot W J Capt 1899 1904 Indian Army 09 Jan 17 31

Arnold A D 2nd Lt 1909 11 Royal Warwickshire 09 Apr 16 21

Arnould D C Lt 1910 12 Royal Fusiliers 07 May 18 22

Arnould L A Capt 1893 98 Royal Army Medical Corps 18 Dec 16 36

Atkinson O D Maj 1908 11 MC Royal Engineers 27 Oct 18 24

Bales K 2nd Lt 1910 11 Border Regiment 16 May 15 20

Ball G H 2nd Lt 1907 09 MC Machine Gun Corps 12 Apr 18 24

Ballinger H J 2nd Lt 1910 14 Monmouthshire Regiment 15 Oct 16 19

Bannerman K M Pte 1886 87 Lancashire Fusiliers 26 Sep 16 32

Barnes E E Capt and Fl Comdr 1905 07 Royal Engineers 07 Nov 17 26

Barnett D O Lt 1907 14 Leinster Regiment 16 Aug 15 20

Barr W A 2nd Lt 1897 99 RGA 27 Aug 18 36

Barrett J F B Rifleman 1894 1901 London Regiment 28 Mar 18 45

Barter A E Leading Seaman 1902 03 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 01 Dec 15 30

Bartlett H J Capt 1889 94 Royal Army Service Corps 01 Dec 18 43

Barton A T L 2nd Lt 1907 10 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 07 Nov 14 20

Barton R M Pte 1896 99 Canadian Expeditionary Force

20 Apr 17 33

Batho J Lt 1905 12 Royal Engineers 30 Sep 15 22

15. Roll of Honour: the 511

Bayly C G C Lt 1905 09

Royal Flying Corps 22 Aug 14 23

Beamish E D Pte 1902 03 Australian Expeditionary Force

11 Oct 17 30

Bean H Capt 1908 12 Seaforth Highlanders 19 Sep 18 23

Beaty Pownall G E Lt Col 1890 95 DSO Border Regiment 10 Oct 18 41

Beaty Pownall T T Capt 1896 99 Border Regiment 27 Mar 17 35

Beit R O Capt 1902 07 London Divisional Engineers 28 Jul 17 27

Belfield E Capt 1905 06 Middlesex Regiment 31 Jul 17 26

Bell H R Maj 1895 98 Tank Corps 02 Sep 18 39

Benison R B Lt 1907 10 Connaught Rangers 20 Sep 14 23

Bennett (Sterndale) W Cmdr 1907 08 DSO Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 07 Nov 17 24

Bevan R V Rifleman 1905 10 London Regiment 12 Dec 14 21

Bishop C J Lt 1909 11 Army Service Corps 22 Apr 18 23 Boddy G G D 2nd Lt 1904 07 Royal Fusiliers 27 Mar 16 26

Bolter C A 2nd Lt 1900 05 Machine Gun Corps 12 Apr 18 31

Bonnella D C Cpl 1911 13 London Regiment 13 May 17 20

Bourne R H 2nd Lt 1912 16 Army Service Corps 24 Oct 18 19

Bowlby G E L Capt 1905 08 Lincolnshire Regiment 15 Mar 16 25

Bowman C H 2nd Lt 1910 16 Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry 16 Aug 17 20

Bransbury J E C 2nd Lt 1909 14 RGA 01 Apr 16 20

Brereton H Lt 1909 12 Royal Flying Corps 21 Dec 16 22

Brighten R D J 2nd Lt 1907 09 Bedfordshire Regiment 15 Aug 15 22

Broad A M Lt 1908 14 Royal Fusiliers 12 Jul 16 21

Broad H F Lt 1897 99 Leinster Regiment 25 Oct 18 35

Brocklesby A R Pte 1912 14 London Regiment 10 Sep 16 19

Brodhurst Penderel R B 2nd Lt 1905 09 Royal Engineers 01 Oct 18 27

Bromley C. Maj 1890 95 VC Lancashire Fusiliers 13 Aug 15 36

Brotchie R T Surg 1901 05 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 26 Nov 14 29

Browett T N Lt 1904 05 King's African Rifles 30 Oct 18 29

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 2

Brown C S Capt 1903 07 Border Regiment 01 Jul 16 26

Brown I M Capt 1902 04 Royal Army Medical Corps 15 Nov 16 28

Bruce J E L Maj 1885 86 RGA 29 May 15 45

Bryett L H F 2nd Lt 1911 17 RFA 25 Oct 18 19

Buckworth A B 2nd Lt 1913 15 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 16 Aug 17 19

Bull H S Maj 1901 03 DSO East Lancashire Regiment 30 Jul 18 31

Bullard E G Lt 1898 1900 Indian Army 01 Aug 15 31

Bullock A E Capt 1901 08 MC, MB Royal Army Medical Corps 26 Sep 15 26

Bunnett W G Pte 1913 14 HAC 20 Sep 15 16

Burrell (formerly Isaacs)

S W Lt 1904 07 Royal Army Medical Corps 22 Jul 16 25

Burridge R A Lt 1912 16 Indian Army 27 Dec 21 22

Burton C V Other 1881 84 DSC Royal Aircraft Factory 03 Feb 17 49

Bushell R H C 2nd Lt 1909 13 Royal Fusiliers 27 Jul 16 19

Butcher C G Capt 1907 09 Dorsetshire Regiment 02 May 15 23

Calthrop E F Lt Col 1889 93 GSO RFA 19 Dec 15 39

Cameron R D Lt 1905 06 Cameron Highlanders 26 Sep 15 23

Campbell J A L Capt 1893 97 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

19 Mar 15 36

Campbell R W F Capt 1902 06 Royal Fusiliers 11 Aug 16 28

Capell B L 2nd Lt 1911 15 MC RGA 07 Jun 18 21

Carew C J T 2nd Lt 1903 05 East Yorkshire Regiment 29 Apr 15 26

Carlisle J E G Capt 1898 1901 Indian Army 11 May 15 29

Carter W L Lt 1889 93 Royal Engineers 04 Jul 17 40

Case L T E Capt 1909 12 East Surrey Regiment 30 Nov 17 23

Challoner A C 2nd Lt 1904 11 Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry

30 Jul 15 23

Chambers R S B Capt 1898 1902 King's Royal Rifle Corps 24 Dec 17 31

Chappell G H Lt 1896 98 Army Service Corps 20 Dec 19 37

Cheers D H A 2nd Lt 1915 15 Royal Air Force 17 Apr 18 17

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 3

Chester G F G Pte 1887 93 London Regiment 29 Sep 17 40

Chesterton Cecil E Pte 1892 96 Highland Light Infantry 06 Dec 18 39

Chesterton F S 2nd Lt 1889 93 RFA 11 Nov 16 39

Chetham Strode E R Capt 1906 09 Border Regiment 01 Oct 17 26

Chibnall G W R Lt 1909 11 West Riding Regiment 26 Aug 18 20

Chibnall R S Lt 1909 13 Suffolk Regiment 31 Jul 17 20

Child G J Lt 1906 10 Yorkshire Light Infantry 18 Apr 15 23

Chisholm K J Lt 1908 12 Northamptonshire Regiment 18 Aug 16 23

Chown F J 2nd Lt 1912 16 Royal Flying Corps 20 Sep 17 19

Clarke G d'Almaine C

Lt 1901 02 RFA 11 Jan 16 29

Coburn Charles I 2nd Lt 1896 03 King's Royal Rifle Corps 31 Jul 17 32

Collison Morley H D Lt Col 1890 95 Buffs, East Kent Regiment 25 Sep 15 37

Cope G Q 2nd Lt 1910 13 Manchester Regiment 24 May 17 19

Corcoran W J Maj 1898 99 Middlesex Regiment 25 Oct 14 30

Corry J B Maj 1888 91 DSO Royal Engineers 05 Nov 14 40

Cosens H S F Lt 1904 07 East Yorkshire Regiment 27 Oct 14 25

Cowtan F S Capt 1900 03 Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry 24 Apr 17 31

Cox Cecil Pte 1889 93 Army Ordnance Corps 13 May 17 40

Cox H E L Capt 1902 03 London Regiment 01 Jul 16 29

Coy J C Capt 1904 08 Northumberland Fusiliers 27 Sep 18 27

Creagh R S M Lt 1899 1900 Rifle Brigade 05 Dec 17 32

Crebbin W A Capt 1908 13 MC Rifle Brigade 04 Apr 18 23

Cristol H S Pte 1912 14 Scottish Rifles 22 Jul 18 21

Crombie I O Capt 1909 13 Middlesex Regiment 30 Jul 16 21

Crowe W M C Capt 1885 89 Royal Warwickshire 11 Nov 14 42

Cruickshank H T Capt 1899 1904 King's Own Scottish Borderers 25 Sep 15 29

Culling H W 2nd Lt 1910 14 West Riding Regiment 07 Jul 16 19

Culling V J Pte 1909 14 London Regiment 28 Oct 18 23

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 4

Cummings E Capt and Adjt 1898 1901

Indian Army 26 Apr 16 31

Cushny D Lt 1905 07 Dorsetshire Regiment 14 Apr 15 22

Cutler E T 2nd Lt 1899 1904 Essex Regiment 09 Aug 17 31

Dale T L Sergt 1894 97 South African Mounted Rifles 24 Sep 14 34

Danby C D Capt 1901 03 MC Royal Engineers 18 Jul 18 31

Daniell H J Staff Capt 1903 05 Indian Army 19 Aug 16 28

Dardier L H F 2nd Lt 1906 09 RFA 04 Oct 15 22

Dathan J D Rev 1881 82 Royal Navy 07 Jan 18 51

Davies F C Capt 1898 1903 MB Royal Army Medical Corps 17 Oct 17 33

Davies O G 2nd Lt 1909 14 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

15 Nov 16 21

Davison H J G 2nd Lt 1903 04 West Yorkshire Regiment 04 Jun 15 27

Davy W E Lt and Adjt 1907 09 Cheshire Regiment 07 Jul 16 23

Dawson J L 2nd Lt 1909 12 Bedfordshire Regiment 07 May 16 20

De Mersan / Mersan Raoul / Ralph Pte 1895 96 Dragoon Guards 24 Feb 19 37

De Salis G R F 2nd Lt 1913 16 Middlesex Regiment 21 Jun 17 19

De St Legier A S Lt Cmdr 1897 98 Royal Navy 21 Dec 16 34

Deacon W W Lt 1902 05 MC King's Own Royal Lancaster 23 Aug 18 30

Del Mar Rene 2nd Lt 1908 13 Italian Army 08 Aug 16 22

Dell L M 2nd Lt 1903 07 King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 14 Jul 16 25

Dennison H G 2nd Lt 1899 1901 RGA 24 Feb 19 34

Dick G F G 2nd Lt 1906 08 Sherwood Foresters 09 May 15 23

Dickson A G Maj 1892 93 Royal Horse Artillery 18 Jun 17 40

Dipple T D Lt 1911 13 Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry 30 Nov 18 22

Dixon J A Lt 1906 08 Border Regiment 09 Aug 15 24

Doake S H Maj 1904 10 DSO RFA 30 Mar 18 25

Dobbie R S 2nd Lt 1906 10 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Dobson W J Capt (temp Maj)

1890 97 Canadian Expeditionary Force

12 Apr 17 25

09 Jul 16 38

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 5

Dolamore A W Capt 1908 13 Middlesex Regiment 14 Apr 17 22

Douglass A H Capt 1901 05 East Surrey Regiment 08 Apr 18 30

Dunlop J F L Lt 1908 12 RGA 07 May 18 23

Dupuis A 2nd Lt 1910 12 Lincolnshire Regiment 08 Aug 16 20

Durlacher E A O Capt 1910 12 MC Worcestershire Regiment 20 May 17 22

Dyer L C Lt 1903 04 Buffs, East Kent Regiment 19 Apr 17 27

Dyson H A Capt 1905 12 Buffs, East Kent Regiment 18 Nov 16 23

Eales White H H Capt 1903 05 Royal Scots Fusiliers 27 Sep 15 27

Earle C E Maj 1881 83 Cheshire Regiment 11 Aug 17 48

Eccles Hilton B Pte 1899 1901 Canadian Expeditionary Force

Eccles V J L Capt 1897 1900 Canadian Expeditionary Force

01 Oct 16 29

27 Sep 16 33

Edwards B W Lt 1910 14 Royal Air Force 10 Nov 18 23

Elliot C H Capt 1892 96 Indian Army 27 Apr 15 35

Engall J S 2nd Lt 1912 14 London Regiment 01 Jul 16 19

Erskine F A 2nd Lt 1908 14 Royal Marine Light Infantry 15 May 15 19

Evans D L Capt 1910 13 Northamptonshire Regiment 26 Sep 16 21

Evans H N Lce Sergt 1887 91 Norfolk Yeomanry 03 Jun 18 43

Fairclough R T 2nd Lt 1895 97 Australian Expeditionary Force

07 Aug 15 31

Fairlie F Capt 1892 93 Royal Scots Fusiliers 22 Oct 14 36

Farmer J D H 2nd Lt 1906 11 RFA 04 Nov 14 21

Fearnside Speed R N de D Lt 1902 07 Royal Fusiliers 26 Sep 15 26

Fellowes R C B Capt 1910 13 Coldstream Guards 21 Aug 18 24

Fergusson N R Lt 1900 01 Royal Navy 26 Nov 14 27

Field C D 2nd Lt 1909 14 Worcestershire Regiment 04 Jun 15 19

Field Howard Lt 1907 12 Worcestershire Regiment 06 Aug 15 21

Figgis L P Capt 1906 11 MC Buffs, East Kent Regiment 27 Aug 18 25

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 6

Finch H A I Pioneer Sergt 1891 97 Canadian Expeditionary Force

28 Apr 16 37

Fink L A L Capt 1905 06 MC Bedfordshire Regiment 05 Oct 17 26

Firmin J E R Lt 1906 11 Wiltshire Regiment 10 Aug 15 23

Firmin M H C Lt 1901 06 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

26 Feb 16 28

Fitch C W Lt 1909 12 Royal West Surrey Regiment 03 Jul 16 20

Fitch A C 2nd Lt 1907 10 Royal West Surrey Regiment 02 Apr 17 22

Folingsby T G 2nd Lt 1910 12 RFA 22 Jun 16 20

Ford A W Lt 1912 17 MC RFA 18 Sep 18 19

Foster F H 2nd Lt 1914 15 Royal Flying Corps 03 Jun 17 18

Foster N K Capt 1895 98 Royal Army Medical Corps 02 Dec 18 37

Foulsham A P 2nd Lt 1911 16 RGA 20 Jul 17 19

Fowler F G Pte G 1882 89 Royal Fusiliers 27 May 18 47

Frankland J C 2nd Lt 1914 15 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

Fraser A P Cpl 1906 07 Canadian Expeditionary Force

10 Jan 17 19

15 Oct 15 24

Fullerton W F H 2nd Lt 1903 04 Royal Flying Corps 22 Oct 16 27

Gardner M L 2nd Lt 1900 03 Royal Flying Corps 19 Jan 15 28

Garnett K G Lt 1904 11 MC RFA 22 Aug 17 25

Garnett W H S Lt 1894 1900 Royal Flying Corps 21 Sep 16 34

Gaskell L N 2nd Lt 1911 17 Royal Flying Corps 01 Mar 18 19

Gaunt K M 2nd Lt 1908 12 Royal Warwickshire 25 Sep 15 19

Gilbert B T C Lt 1897 99 Leicestershire Regiment 22 Apr 17 33

Gill C T 2nd Lt 1902 08 Manchester Regiment 01 Jul 16 26

Girard G M E 2nd Lt 1912 15 Leinster Regiment 16 Nov 17 18

Gloster H C Lt 1908 13

Gordon Highlanders 13 Mar 15 20

Glyn G G Lt 1892 96 Royal Engineers 16 Aug 15 36

Goldsworth D W Lt 1907 11 South Lancashire Regiment 26 Sep 15 21

Goodale A W 2nd Lt 1908 13 King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 09 Aug 15 20

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 7

Goodeve T E Capt 1890 94 Royal Engineers 26 Jan 19 43

Goodman J E 2nd Lt 1913 16 Royal Flying Corps 14 Aug 17 19

Gowar L J 2nd Lt 1911 14 Royal Flying Corps 01 May 17 19

Graham A F 2nd Lt 1908 10 RGA 11 Nov 15 22

Graham G H I Maj 1886 91 Indian Army 07 Feb 16 42

Green E M Capt 1901 05 Hampshire Regiment 03 Sep 16 27

Greenwell Lax A W Capt 1906 10 RGA 11 Oct 16 23

Gregson A H 2nd Lt 1909 14 Royal West Kent Regiment 19 Apr 17 22

Griesbach C W 2nd Lt 1910 15 Royal Berkshire Regiment 23 Oct 16 19

Griffin C C 2nd Lt 1912 14 Sherwood Foresters 07 Apr 15 19

Grogan R L R 2nd Lt 1902 05 Royal Engineers 30 Jan 17 27

Ground E G Lt 1898 1904 London Regiment 15 Aug 15 29

Gulbenkian K 2nd Lt 1905 08 Middlesex Regiment 20 Sep 17 22

Haigh A Gordan 2nd Lt 1899 1900 Royal Engineers 15 Feb 16 30

Haines E A 2nd Lt 1901 01 East Surrey Regiment 03 Sep 16 28

Haldane D Pte 1908 12 Royal Fusiliers 04 Jan 16 20 Haldane J O 2nd Lt 1891 92 Rifle Brigade 09 Aug 16 37

Halford E Lt 1905 06 Royal Engineers 10 Oct 18 30

Hall Veron Rifleman 1903 07 London Regiment 09 Aug 15 26

Hannon T J 2nd Lt 1910 13 King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 01 Dec 17 20

Harding R W F Capt 1900 03 London Regiment 07 Nov 17 30

Harding W J Rev 1899 1900 MC Army Chaplain's Department 31 Oct 17 31

Hards J F S Lce Cpl 1893 95 London Regiment 12 Apr 15 36

Harriss A R Pte 1913 15 London Regiment 03 Sep 18 19

Harte I W Bagot [sometimes Bagot Harte]

Maj 1897 01 Indian Army 21 Jun 17 33

Hayward C B Capt 1911 13 Royal Fusiliers 27 Jul 16 20

Hazeon C S Capt 1897 1900 Royal Marines 05 Jun 16 32

Heathcote J S Lt 1901 05 Coldstream Guards 28 Aug 17 30

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 8

Heathcote M A 2nd Lt 1904 08 MC Royal Fusiliers 18 Jul 16 23

Henderson W L Capt 1896 02 West Yorkshire Regiment 03 May 16 32

Hepworth G P Capt 1904 07 RFA 27 Oct 18 28

Hepworth L F Capt 1896 1900 Suffolk Regiment 09 Mar 17 34

Hersee C P A 2nd Lt 1910 13 Royal Fusiliers 02 Mar 16 19

Hewetson C H Major 1889 90 Gloucestershire Regiment 23 Jul 16 43

Hill Roy / Richard Maj 1897 1900 Yorkshire Regiment 17 Feb 15 37

Hillier G S D Capt 1907 10 Gloucestershire Regiment 30 Mar 18 24

Hills M A 2nd Lt 1904 10 Buffs, East Kent Regiment 15 Sep 16 25

Hinde K J 2nd Lt 1907 09 Australian Expeditionary Force

Hoare J T Lce Cpl 1908 13 Canadian Expeditionary Force

Hoare E B Pte 1901 04 Australian Expeditionary Force

05 May 15 23

24 Jan 15 20

08 Nov 14 27

Hodgson C A R Capt 1889 90 Royal Warwickshire 18 Dec 14 41

Hojel J G 2nd Lt 1914 16 Royal Air Force 21 Aug 18 18

Hopkinson B Col 1886 91 CMG War Office attd. RAF 26 Aug 18 44

Hopkinson R C Lt 1904 10 Royal Engineers 09 Feb 17 25

Howell G C Pte 1902 05 Australian Expeditionary Force

07 Aug 15 25

Hoyland G A Capt 1910 14 MC RFA 03 Oct 18 22

Hudson E D B Pte 1902 05 Royal Fusiliers 05 Aug 16 27

Hulm W O Lt 1901 03 Devonshire Regiment 25 Sep 15 27

Hunter P T L 2nd Lt 1907 10 London Regiment 19 Jul 16 23

Hutcheson N H Lt 1897 99 Royal Irish Rifles 12 Mar 15 30

Hutchinson H W 2nd Lt 1910 16 Leicestershire Regiment 13 Mar 17 19

Hutchinson J C Lt 1907 10 Indian Army 05 Aug 15 22

Hyman R L 2nd Lt (acting Capt)

1905 06 Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry

22 Aug 17 25

Ide T Norman 2nd Lt 1908 10 Essex Regiment 02 Jul 16 23

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 9

Jackson A M Maj and Adjt 1906 11 MC Royal Engineers 27 Apr 17 24

Jackson Noel B 2nd Lt 1899 1902 Sherwood Foresters 06 Dec 17 31

James E S P K Capt 1901 06 King's Royal Rifle Corps 17 Mar 15 27

James J S H 2nd Lt 1908 11 King's Royal Rifle Corps 16 May 15 21

Jennings F S W Pte 1895 1900 Canadian Expeditionary Force

06 Jul 15 33

Jepson A G L Capt 1909 12 London Regiment 15 Sep 16 21

Johnson H G Lt 1912 15 Grenadier Guards 07 Aug 17 20

Johnson M J W 2nd Lt 1906 09 RFA 18 Feb 19 26

Johnson P J Viner Capt 1889 90 Wiltshire Regiment 12 Mar 15 39

Johnston A L Lt 1901 08 King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 22 Apr 16 26

Johnston P A Fl Comdr 1911 14 Royal Naval Air Service 17 Aug 17 19

Johnstone J D Lt 1913 15 Royal Lancaster 31 Jul 17 19

Joseph W F G 2nd Lt 1895 01 Royal Berkshire Regiment 27 May 18 35

Judd Rev A C Capt 1898 1905 AC, MC Army Chaplain's Department 21 Mar 18 31

Juler G C Lt 1900 03 Royal Irish Lancers 31 Aug 14 27

Kaye (formerly Karpf)

S Gunner 1911 14 MM RFA 18 Oct 18 20

Keigwin H D 2nd Lt 1894 1900 Lancashire Fusiliers 20 Sep 16 35

Keller F F Lt 1902 07 London Regiment 22 May 17 28

Kelsey A E Capt 1875 83 MB Royal Army Medical Corps 26 Feb 18 53

Kemp K R F 2nd Lt 1910 10 Army Service Corps 18 Oct 18 23

Kerrick J H Maj 1886 91 Welsh Regiment 14 Sep 14 40

Killik C M Pte 1905 07 Army Service Corps 20 Feb 17 24

King Rev B W Rifleman 1902 07 King's Royal Rifle Corps 23 Oct 18 30

King Stephens L E 2nd Lt 1894 96 Sherwood Foresters 20 Dec 16 37

Kirby W E 2nd Lt 1895 01 Indian Army 10 Jul 15 33

Kirwan R M Rev 1874 75 Indian Army 23 May 16 54

Knight H M Rifleman 1908 09 London Regiment 11 Jan 15 21

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 10

Krauss D H 2nd Lt 1908 11 North Staffordshire Regiment

07 Apr 17 22

Lambert C J N Lt 1910 16 MC RFA 02 Sep 18 21

Lan Davis C F Flight Lt 1898 1904 Royal Naval Air Service 14 Oct 15 28

Lane S B Lce Cpl 26616 1896 97 Royal Dublin Fusiliers 20 Sep 18 35

Langworthy W S 2nd Lt 1910 12 Devonshire Regiment 04 Oct 17 22

Large R M Capt 1911 12 Royal Fusiliers 04 Nov 18 21

Lascelles H L Lt 1906 07 Yorkshire Regiment 11 Mar 17 25

Last R E Capt 1907 09 MC King's Liverpool Regiment 24 Mar 18 24

Last B H 2nd Lt 1901 04 Middlesex Regiment 23 Apr 17 23

Lawder A W C 2nd Lt 1910 14 RFA 15 Apr 17 21

Legge G F Pte 1913 14 Australian Expeditionary Force

04 Oct 18 21

Leon E J 2nd Lt 1906 14 London Regiment 07 Oct 16 21

Ley G A H 2nd Lt 1905 08 Devonshire Regiment 31 Jul 17 26

Long Innes S Lt 1891 94 Royal Lancaster 04 Aug 15 37

Longuet Higgens K A L Lt 1908 13 Royal Marine Light Infantry 02 May 15 19

Lucas F G B Capt 1907 13 MC Bedfordshire Regiment 10 Aug 17 23

Lyle G S La Warre 2nd Lt 1905 09 Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry 29 Apr 17 24

Macalaster A C B Lce Sergt 1911 14 London Regiment 09 Apr 17 20

MacDonald P B Capt 1894 97 Yorkshire Regiment 19 May 17 37 MacFarlane W B 2nd Lt 1910 10 Middlesex Regiment 10 Mar 15 19

Mackay G L F Lt 1911 14 Leinster Regiment 12 Apr 17 19

Mackenzie A von Schoor Lt 1909 11

Royal Flying Corps 01 Apr 17 23

Mackintosh E A Lt 1909 12 MC Seaforth Highlanders 21 Nov 17 24

Mack Jost N R Lt 1909 11 Canadian Expeditionary Force

03 Jun 16 20

Macmillan S A Lt 1896 1900 Indian Army 09 May 15 33

Maidlow J S Maj 1889 92 RFA 23 Aug 14 39

Mair E M 2nd Lt 1899 1905 Cameron Highlanders 03 Sep 16 29

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 11

Maitland W R 2nd Lt 1910 13 Middlesex Regiment 18 Nov 16 20

Manning G A Lt 1904 09 MC Royal Engineers 26 Sep 17 26

Manson C C E 2nd Lt 1912 12 MC Indian Army 04 Dec 15 20

Manson G P Capt 1912 13 MC Somerset Light Infantry 24 Aug 17 20

Marsden G Capt 1889 91 DSO Cheshire Regiment 24 Sep 16 42

Marsh G H M Capt 1887 92 Indian Army 01 Nov 14 32

Marshall K E D Lt 1905 07 Australian Expeditionary Force

12 Oct 17 26

Martin D B 2nd Lt 1912 17 RFA 09 Oct 18 20

Martin S S Cpl 1907 12 Middlesex Regiment 11 Aug 17 24

Matteson L Maj 1896 98 Army Service Corps 11 Apr 16 33

Matthew W J 2nd Lt 1897 1900 London Regiment 19 May 18 33

Maurice S Lt 1902 05 Royal Engineers 11 May 15 28

McEntire J V 2nd Lt 1893 94 London Regiment 03 Aug 15 36

McIlwaine A A 2nd Lt 1890 96 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

05 Mar 16 36

Mears H F Flight Lt 1915 15 Royal Navy 29 Apr 18 18

Mellor D (Harold) W Capt 1906 11 Royal Fusiliers 26 May 18 25

Merritt C M Capt 1890 95 Canadian Expeditionary Force

23 Apr 15 37

Middleditch A M 2nd Lt 1911 12 Essex Regiment 01 Jul 16 19

Mignon J G Lt Col 1886 88 Leicestershire Regiment 16 Jul 16 46

Millar A B Apprentice 1915 16 Naval Transport 17 Jun 17 15

Miller F S 2nd Lt 1890 96 Royal Engineers 07 Jun 17 39

Miller F W J M Lt 1907 08 Grenadier Guards 23 Oct 14 22

Mills C C Cpl 1905 08 London Regiment 11 Feb 16 23

Milne W T Rifleman 1912 16 Rifle Brigade 22 Mar 18 19

Misquith J C Lt 1905 09 RFA 04 Feb 17 26

Mitton R H Pte 1892 95 Canadian Expeditionary Force

Moilliet J L Lce Cpl 1897 1900 Canadian Expeditionary Force

03 Jun 16 36

28 Jun 17 35

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 12

Montagu H G Pte 1906 09

Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry 25 Nov 16 24

Montefiore G V B Driver 1900 1903 Australian Expeditionary Force

21 Jun 21 34

Morant W H 2nd Lt 1902 08 Northumberland Fusiliers 25 Oct 16 28

Morris G M 2nd Lt 1915 15 King's Liverpool Regiment 07 Sep 16 16

Morris S 2nd Lt 1889 92 Yorkshire Regiment 07 Aug 15 41

Moses V S 2nd Lt 1911 16 RFA 04 Jun 17 19

Mosse P G 2nd Lt 1903 07 Royal Warwickshire 18 Apr 16 25

Murdock L F Mc G C 2nd Lt 1884 88 Scots Guards 19 Sep 16 45

Nash F O C Maj 1891 96 Northumberland Fusiliers 27 Apr 15 37

Norman John Sub Lt 1906 11 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 04 Jun 15 22

Norway F H 2nd Lt 1908 09 Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry

04 Jul 15 19

Orton W T Rifleman 1911 14 London Regiment 09 Oct 16 19

Owen R F 2nd Lt 1909 12 Hampshire Regiment 30 Apr 17 21

Page F T 2nd Lt 1905 07 Royal Munster Fusiliers 09 May 15 25

Parry W N M Lt 1907 14 London Regiment 19 Aug 17 20

Parsons A O 2nd Lt 1915 16 Durham Light Infantry 26 Mar 18 21

Pattrick J H 2nd Lt 1908 10 Middlesex Regiment 30 Nov 17 24

Paull A D Pte 1908 12 HAC 12 Dec 14 20

Payne Gallwey M H F Lt 1904 06 Grenadier Guards 25 Sep 16 27

Pears M L Lt Col 1886 87 CMG Northumberland Fusiliers 20 Oct 16 26

Pearson A J W Lt 1909 14 Royal Fusiliers 01 Jul 16 21

Pedder E B 2nd Lt 1904 07 Hussars 17 Jan 16 26

Perry C R Lt 1909 15 Army Service Corps 24 Oct 19 23

Perry L H 2nd Lt 1913 17 MC Gloucestershire Regiment 05 Oct 18 19

Pitts G F Pte 1905 07 London Regiment 25 Dec 14 24

Plenty E P Maj 1911 14 Royal Air Force 22 Nov 18 21

Pocock C A P Capt 1901 04 Royal Warwickshire 08 May 17 30

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 13

Pocock F P Surgeon Lt 1905 09 DSO, DSC, MC

Royal Navy 29 Sep 18 27

Pollard G B Lt 1903 06 RFA 24 Oct 14 26

Pollard R T Lt 1905 10 Royal Berkshire Regiment 13 Oct 15 24

Pollock D W Capt 1885 89 Worcestershire Regiment 06 May 15 42

Pope H A Lt 1911 14 Middlesex Regiment 16 Aug 15 18

Popham J F W Capt and Adj 1903 07 Leicestershire Regiment 03 Oct 16 27

Porter N Uloth Lce Cpl 1907 10 HAC 28 Mar 18 25

Potter W R 2nd Lt 1906 07 Machine Gun Corps 24 Apr 17 25

Pottinger C E R Lt 1903 08 MC Royal Engineers 11 May 15 25

Power Herbert Capt 1898 1904 Northamptonshire Regiment 12 Mar 15 28

Price C L Capt and Adjt 1890 91 DSO Royal Scots Fusiliers 16 Sep 14 37

Pridham H T Gunner 1912 17 RFA 15 Jul 18 20

Priestley A B Capt 1896 1900 Dorsetshire Regiment 12 Sep 14 32

Prout D W 2nd Lt 1907 08 Royal Berkshire Regiment 03 Sep 16 25

Ramsay H C Lt 1901 09 Northamptonshire Regiment 22 Apr 18 27

Ray J Maxwell Lce Cpl 1901 07 Middlesex Regiment 03 May 17 28

Rayner John 2nd Lt 1910 15 Middlesex Regiment 06 Jul 16 20

Raynes A H Lt 1906 13 Essex Regiment 26 Sep 15 21

Reacher S W Capt 1907 09 Rifle Brigade 04 Jul 16 23

Redhead L L Lce Cpl 1908 09 London Regiment 09 Oct 16 21

Reeves F P Flight Lt 1908 15 Royal Naval Air Service 06 Jun 17 21

Reeves H C Major 1893 97 RGA 29 Jan 15 35

Regan E C 2nd Lt 1914 16 Royal Sussex Regiment 21 Mar 18 20

Reynolds G G Rifleman 1910 13 London Regiment 20 Sep 17 21

Rich C S Maj 1895 98 Royal Flying Corps 22 Mar 15 33

Richards F G Maj 1885 90 Royal Army Medical Corps 05 Mar 15 40

Ricketts F W H Maj 1890 94 Indian Army 10 Aug 15 37

Riddle G J Pte 1907 10 Canadian Expeditionary Force

06 Nov 17 25

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 14

Rinder C H B 2nd Lt 1911 13 London Regiment 16 Aug 17 20

Ritchie A G Capt 1893 97 Scottish Rifles 22 Nov 14 35

Roberts W A 2nd Lt 1910 15 Royal Fusiliers 20 Aug 17 20

Robertson E C Maj 1887 93 York and Lancaster Regiment

29 Sep 15 40

Robinson A A Lt 1908 12 RGA 20 Jul 16 21

Robinson John S Naval Instructor 1902 07 MA Royal Navy 13 Nov 18 30

Robinson R W Capt 1894 97 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 15 Aug 15 35

Robinson Rev G B Chaplain 1884 87 Royal Navy 01 Jan 15 44

Robinson Thistle Lt 1904 11 MC Royal Fusiliers 25 Oct 18 26

Robinson W C Lt 1910 12 Hampshire Regiment 22 Mar 18 22

Rose L St V Maj 1887 91 Royal Engineers 27 Nov 14 39

Rose R H W Capt 1893 97 Scottish Rifles 22 Oct 14 34

Rosier J E R Lt 1907 12 RFA 20 Sep 16 23

Roy I L Flight Lt 1911 17 DFC Royal Air Force 22 Jul 18 19

Royal Dawson O S Capt 1896 1903 Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry 25 Aug 17 32

Rushton C G Capt 1896 1901 Royal Air Force 16 May 18 35

Rutherfoord D G C Capt 1898 1902 RFA 17 Apr 16 31

Rutherfoord T C Maj (acting Lt Col)

1892 97 TC, MB Indian Medical Service 18 Oct 18 39

Saffery L H 2nd Lt 1906 11 Royal Dublin Fusiliers 01 Jul 16 23

Salaman E A 2nd Lt 1885 88 RFA 18 Feb 16 44

Saltmarshe O E Lt 1909 12 Royal West Surrey Regiment 01 Jul 16 20

Samuel C V Lt 1903 05 Royal Warwickshire 04 Oct 17 28

Sandys W E Lt 1908 09 Royal Flying Corps 05 Sep 17 24

Schooling P H 2nd Lt 1910 12 MC East Surrey Regiment 30 Mar 16 20

Schwarz R O Maj 1888 93 MC King's Royal Rifle Corps 18 Nov 18 43

Scott R M C Lt 1907 10 Royal Engineers 25 Dec 18 31

Scott T H Capt 1897 1900 Indian Army 26 Apr 15 31

Scratton G E H Lt 1908 11 MC Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

01 Aug 17 24

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 15

Seale R G Lce Cpl 1911 14 HAC 15 Mar 17 21

Sewell N O Lt 1907 10 London Regiment 09 May 15 22

Sharp V K Sapper 1905 08 Royal Engineers 20 Jun 15 24

Shaw E M Lt 1909 12 Middlesex Regiment 30 Jul 16 21

Shelton C Capt 1907 11 MC Norfolk Regiment 21 Oct 16 22

Shepard C H 2nd Lt 1893 94 Devonshire Regiment 01 Jul 16 39

Shipp R C Lt 1895 98 Army Service Corps 11 Jan 18 35

Shoobert N Lt and Asst Adjt 1903 06 Middlesex Regiment 31 Jul 17 27

Short F L Capt 1906 10 Royal West Kent Regiment 03 Jun 16 24

Shuffrey G Lt 1904 08 South Lancashire Regiment 09 Aug 15 24

Sifton W A 2nd Lt 1908 12 South Staffordshire Regiment

25 Dec 15 20

Sim L St G L 2nd Lt 1906 09 Black Watch 20 Dec 15 24

Skene J H 2nd Lt 1891 95 Royal Berkshire Regiment 14 Jul 16 38

Skene R R Lt 1904 08 Royal Flying Corps 12 Aug 14 23

Slater J C 2nd Lt 1890 97 London Regiment 06 Jul 17 38

Smalley R F Lt 1890 95 South Staffordshire Regiment

14 Apr 18 41

Smart E H Lt 1909 15 London Regiment 30 Nov 17 20

Sneyd D G T Maj 1896 99 MC RGA 07 Apr 19 36

Solomon E J 2nd Lt 1906 12 South Lancashire Regiment 02 Aug 17 23

Southgate L M Pte 1906 07 Canadian Expeditionary Force

22 Apr 15 22

Sowinski J L Lt 1905 06 MC RFA 28 Nov 17 27

Spatz W R C 2nd Lt 1907 11 Middlesex Regiment 01 Jul 16 22

Spencer S G Capt 1905 11 Royal Berkshire Regiment 13 Oct 15 23

Spencer R M 2nd Lt 1907 11 Royal Warwickshire 22 Jan 16 22

Squires F C Capt 1898 1903 Indian Army 07 Jul 15 30

Stafford A D Lt 1905 07 Royal Warwickshire 20 May 18 27

Standbridge A C Capt and Adj 1902 04 North Staffordshire Regiment

18 Nov 16 25

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 16

Stansfeld F N Capt 1912 14 Middlesex Regiment 01 Dec 17 23

Stanyon T G 2nd Lt 1908 12 Welsh Regiment 23 Jul 16 22

Stead B D H Lt 1911 15 East Lancashire Regiment 21 Mar 18 21

Steadman W M Capt 1892 95 Royal Engineers 10 Oct 17 39

Steele Perkins C S Lt 1899 1902 Royal Lancaster 26 Aug 14 27

Stevens T Sergt 1905 07 Royal Air Force 08 Jul 18 27

Stewart A D 2nd Lt 1907 10 Royal Sussex Regiment 19 Sep 15 21

Stimson M A 2nd Lt 1909 11 East Surrey Regiment 30 Sep 16 21

Stokes J H Capt 1900 04 MC Royal West Kent Regiment 22 Mar 15 28

Strahan G B 2nd Lt 1896 97 RBA London Regiment 31 Jul 15 32

Stratton B A Pte 1903 04 Canadian Expeditionary Force

17 Oct 16 27

Street B H Lt 1907 12 Welsh Regiment 06 Aug 18 24

Striegler H W 2nd Lt 1907 14 East Surrey Regiment 12 Aug 16 24

Struthers K 2nd Lt 1900 05 London Regiment 07 Oct 16 29

Sturdy A C Capt 1896 1901 MC Royal Army Medical Corps 01 May 19 36

Symons C L 2nd Lt 1912 17 Royal Engineers 23 Apr 18 19

Tatlow R D Trooper 1897 97 South African Horse 22 Jun 16 32

Telfer C W Lt 1910 12 Yorkshire Light Infantry 08 Nov 18 22

Telfer H A Lt 1904 09 Yorkshire Light Infantry 01 Jul 16 23

Thomas P E 2nd Lt 1894 95 RGA 09 Apr 17 39

Thomas S E B Lt 1909 12 Royal Sussex Regiment 03 Sep 16 21

Thomas W S Lt 1904 05 Essex Regiment 15 Oct 16 25

Thornton J McL Lt 1902 07 Royal Engineers 20 Jan 16 26

Thorowgood L V Fl Comdr and Capt 1906 10 Royal Flying Corps 22 Mar 18 23

Thorp C E 2nd Lt 1915 16 Royal Air Force 30 Aug 18 19

Thwaites Guy Maj 1892 96 DSO Army Service Corps 30 May 17 39

Torrens G C E Capt 1894 95 Machine Gun Corps 24 Dec 16 36

Tovey Harry T Major 1892 96 RFA 22 Apr 18 37

Treglown C H Lt and Adjt 1909 13 RFA 30 Mar 17 21

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 17

Troup S H Lt 1906 11 Royal Berkshire Regiment 02 Dec 17 25

Tytheridge A B Sergt Maj 1891 95 Canadian Expeditionary Force

18 May 19 40

Underhill H C 2nd Lt 1904 07 Indian Cavalry 08 Aug 15 24

Vaughan Jones E Lt 1894 97 Royal Welsh Fusiliers 11 May 18 38

Vaughan Jones G Lt 1904 10 Royal Engineers 26 Feb 17 25

Vernede R E 2nd Lt 1889 94 Rifle Brigade 09 Apr 17 41

Vickers H G M Lt 1898 1900 Indian Army 30 Oct 18 32

Vickers Noel Lt 1910 15 East Yorkshire Regiment 24 Mar 18 21

Vincent A C W Capt 1901 08 Dorsetshire Regiment 26 Sep 16 26

Wade G S 2nd Lt 1906 08 Middlesex Regiment 13 Nov 16 24

Wakefield I M Cadet 1912 16 RFA 27 Feb 17 19

Walker A L Maj 1899 1904 DSO, MC Canadian Expeditionary Force

09 Aug 18 31

Walker A V Pte 1889 93 Grenadier Guards 18 Apr 16 39

Walsh F W 2nd Lt 1910 11 Gloucestershire Regiment 10 Jul 16 21

Walsh G P Lt 1907 11 Sherwood Foresters 09 Aug 15 22

Ward C C B Lt 1904 07 East Yorkshire Regiment 11 Jan 17 25

Ward C G B Flight Sub Lt 1909 12 Royal Naval Air Service 23 Jan 16 20

Ward M A Capt 1908 13 MC Lancashire Fusiliers 10 Apr 18 21

Ward P D Capt 1903 10 Lancashire Fusiliers 11 Oct 16 25

Watson G Pte 1894 96 London Regiment 01 Nov 14 34

Watson O C S Lt Col 1888 95 VC, DSO Yeomanry 28 Mar 18 41

Watson T H Lt Col 1906 11 DSO, MC Worcestershire Regiment 23 Mar 18 25

Watson V C Capt 1903 09 RFA 11 Apr 17 27

Webb N W W Capt 1910 15 MC Royal Flying Corps 16 Aug 17 20

Webb Carter D P Lt 1911 14 Royal Engineers 12 Dec 16 19

Wesche E B Capt 1899 1901 South Lancashire Regiment 19 Oct 14 28

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 18

Wharton F H 2nd Lt 1904 09 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

25 Sep 15 25

White A B Capt 1901 04 London Regiment 17 Aug 17 29

White G L Pte 1912 13 Royal Fusiliers 17 Feb 17 19

Whitelegg H C Lt 1903 07 Border Regiment 08 Nov 16 25

Whiteman O C Capt 1899 1903 Royal Fusiliers 22 Nov 17 31

Whittam M J G Lt 1908 12 West Riding Regiment 11 Aug 15 21

Wickham J N(S) D 2nd Lt 1907 10 King's Own Royal Lancaster 31 Jul 17 25

Williams H O 2nd Lt 1911 14 Middlesex Regiment 21/01/17 20

Williams R V 2nd Lt 1911 15 Royal Flying Corps 05 Jun 17 18

Williams M H 2nd Lt 1914 15 London Regiment 19 Sep 17 33

Willis R Lt 1899 1906 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

15 May 16 28

Willis T H E A 2nd Lt 1898 1902 London Regiment 08 Dec 17 33

Wilmer H G Maj 1895 97 Indian Army 05 Jul 15 35

Wilson F S Maj 1896 1900 Royal Marine Light Infantry 24 May 15 32

Winckler von M W Lt 1907 12 Middlesex Regiment 01 Aug 17 23

Woods T Pte 1908 12 Australian Expeditionary Force

03 Sep 16 21

Woolf C N S Lt 1900 06 Hussars 29 Nov 17 30

Woolf H L Pioneer 1911 13 Royal Engineers 26 Jun 16 18

Wooster C D H Capt 1904 07 MC Royal West Surrey Regiment 09 Aug 18 27

Wooster R J Capt 1900 03 Royal Army Medical Corps 15 Sep 16 29

Wootton D H Capt 1907 08 London Regiment 25 Aug 18 26

Wright A K T 2nd Lt 1911 12 London Regiment 10 Dec 17 21

Wyand E H Capt 1890 95 King's Royal Rifle Corps 30 Jan 16 37

15. Roll of Honour: the 511 19

Part E: Appendices

Appendix 1: volunteers and conscripts - the evolving age criteria

August 1914: 19 30 years

10 Sept 1914: 19 35 years

23 Oct 1914: 19 38 years (extended to 45 for former soldiers); minimum height for recruits was reduced to 5ft 4in, and to 5ft 3in in November.

May 1915: 19 40 years; minimum height standard reduced to 5ft 2in.

July 1915: National Registration Act (‘Derby Scheme’). Devised to register men aged 19 40 ‘not required for munition or other necessary industrial work, and therefore available, if physically fit, for the fighting line’.

27 Jan 1916: Military Service Act conscripts all single men and childless widowers 18 41 years

25 May 1916: Military Service Act (Session 2) conscripts all men i.e. married 18 41 years. This Act also made provisions that, contrary to the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act of 1907, that a man serving in a Territorial corps could, without his consent, be transferred to another corps or to the regular army or to any unit within the same corps. The latter was also made applicable to Territorial officers

April 1918: The Military Service (No. 2) Act conscripts all men 41 50 years, and allows for extension of age limit to 56.

Between August 1914 and the introduction of the first Military Service Act as many as three million men volunteered for military service. From January 1916 until the close of the war a further 2.3 million men were formally conscripted into service.

Appendix 2. letters from serving OPs published in The Pauline

1. Carpenter, John A, Royal Engineers. John was a Master at SPS from 1910 1919. A description of the attack on Hulluch on 25 September 1915, the first day of the Battle of Loos. The following letter is dated 29 September 1915

2. Shaw, Massey Shaw (SPS 1909 1912; see Chapter 8, Section 8.5) 11th (Service) Bn. Middlesex Regiment. Description of an attack near Pozieres, in the Somme sector in late July 1916.

3. ‘F.G.B’, M.D (This is likely Major Frank George Bushnell (SPS 1882 1885); RAMC.) A description of life in a front line medical unit with the Salonika Force.

4. ‘C.N.B’. ‘News from Italy’. (This is likely Lt Col Charles Norman Buzzard (SPS 1885 1890); Siege Brigade, 94th HAG, Italy.) A description of the experience of retreat while serving with the Heavy Artillery

5. News from ‘C.S’. A description of becoming a casualty.

6. Anon. An episode in the experiences of an OP flying a single seater scout with two Vickers guns.

7. Spaull, Cecil Meckelburgh (SPS, 1911 1915); 87th Punjabis, Indian Army. A description of fighting at Ad Diwaniyah, one hundred miles south of Baghdad.

8. A report received from Lt Batho, John (SPS 1905 1912) in which he describes the capture of a German prisoner.

9. A report received from Batho, John (SPS 1905 1912) in which he describes the capture of a German prisoner.

10. An anonymous account of the lighter side of life in the trenches.

11. An anonymous letter from an OP serving on board HMS Invincible during the Battle of the Falklands 1914. The letter is dated, 10 December 1914.

12.The extraordinary near death experience of Capper, Athol Harry (SPS 1905 1911)

13. A letter from Brilliant, Leopold (SPS 1909 1914) describing his experience while serving with the Indian Army in East Africa.

14. An anonymous account by an OP in the Royal Flying Corps in which he describes the experience of encountering shells while in flight.

15. An account of an attack on a pill box known as Somme Farm redoubt by St Legier, Gerald William (SPS 1911 1914) 2nd Lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment.

16. A Butt, Wheatley Clegg (SPS 1893 1894) recounts his wartime travels.

17. A letter from Lord Esher, referencing an unnamed Pauline who died at Puchevillers on the Somme.

18. A letter from Sams, Hubert Arthur(SPS 1887 1894) referencing OPs in India and describing an OP dinner held in Baghdad.

Part E: appendices for Volume 1

1. Carpenter, John A, Royal Engineers. John was a Master at SPS from 1910 - 1919. A description of the attack on Hulluch on 25 September 1915, the first day of the Battle of Loos. The following letter is dated 29 September 1915.769

Dear Sir, Just a line or two to give you some idea of things out here now. Life has been very varied, and contains both unpleasant and very pleasant things. But trench life is very boring. One longs to have a look all round, instead of inspecting the various shapes and colours of sandbags, frogs, and mice. Why there are so many mice, I don’t know ; but you can’t walk down a communication trench without slaying about three or four dozen. And when it rains, as it seems quite capable of doing, one wonders where the soles of one’s boots are and what is their breaking strain.

Without going into the thousand and one journeys and jobs of August, one’s tours of duty, joy rides, etc., let us start with the middle of September. I had charge of some arrangements with a division, and after being fed and wined by the G.O.C., who was, or rather is, one of the finest fellows out here, I took a half company of four sections down to Vermelles. We had a very merry little mess of five officers, and also had about one hundred men. Our billets we discovered in a particularly lively and exposed corner near a fortified place called a “keep”. Now, two days previously I had noticed this place getting it rather hot from 5.9 howitzers, and it was with a certain amount of trepidation for my fellows that I took them over. Our officers’ mess had been used by the th’s [Censor’s pen], who had left a vase of flowers and some very sporting pictures on the walls, as well as two mattresses on the floor, for which we praised Heaven. We had day and night work to do, so a great deal of sleep was not obtainable. In addition, there was a battery of 18 pounders tucked away within a few yards, and whenever we were just going to doze by day, one of the beastly things would give its ear splitting crack and nearly blow the roof off (or what was left of it).

On Sunday, the 19th, my birthday, we were just sitting down to an excellent tea composed of cakes and dainties sent from home, when a 5.9 [inch shell] landed 100 yards back, then another 100 yards on, and another level to the right with fatal results to some of the tiles. We thought it nearly time to get into our friendly dug outs, and then the fun started in earnest and continued for over an hour. What a sight there was on coming up! Our men’s billets had suffered two direct hits and had vanished, leaving a few bricks to mark the spot. But the men, with excellent sense, had taken to the cellars, and not a single casualty had we had other than a revolver and ammunition pouch. Thus passed a few more days with lulls and storms and ourselves in and out of the trenches.

I think Thursday, the 23rd, was the star night. There wasn’t much cramping by the Germans, but imagine a thunderstorm, vivid flashes and inky darkness, deluges of rain, lakes and mud, and ourselves, wet through, going up two miles of communication trench to the front line, with heavy things and with mud under us never less than 18 inches thick. Oh, why weren't those trenches planked?

But Saturday, the 25th, one cannot forget. That was the day on which the big show started. When we gave signs of advancing at dawn, we were crumped with coal boxes, and unfortunately, the shooting was accurate. There were many sights and scenes which cannot be described on paper, particularly in the communication trenches, which might have been narrower, curlier, and deeper, but these we will pass over. At 6.30 the time was due for the infantry to go over, and they were magnificent. We lost a good many brave men, but the three lines of German trench were taken right up to Hulluch. Our own business after the attack was to go back, but under the circumstances it was quite impossible to collect a Company so some of us filled in the time before they filtered back in helping wounded men into the dressing station. The old Boche wouldn't leave us alone back there, and as he thought reserves were coming up, he fairly plastered the area east of the town with shrapnel. Several men were killed in front of me, and some bullets even managed to touch me, but luckily only bruised my leg. However, it made it deuced stiff. Later on we could see the British army on the move, and it really was a fine sight. Meanwhile another corps had taken Loos, with its twin towers. … Since then some of us have made frequent trips to the line for various purposes, and it is curious to see all the trenches by day from on top; but it is still very risky, for there are plenty of shells about even if the rifle and machine gun fire does not reach so far back. What is in the future, we don’t know; we hope the great French attack further south will help us to get the Germans on the run and have some real open fighting according to the old text books. …

On Saturday and Sunday last there were thousands of prisoners marched in along the Loos, Suilly Labourse, Bethune road. Some looked absolutely washed out, others thin, some happy, others dejected, but all covered with mud, as indeed we all were. One or two officers, however, were very smart looking fellows; the Boche officer seems to spend a lot of time on his boots and his toilet for some reason. Poor old Boche, he’d had a concentrated crumping for nearly a week; the large fountains of earth rising from what used to be the Hohenzollern redoubt [on the Somme front] were magnificent, and shaped like the Welsh feathers. I am afraid I must stop now; in due course I hope to be able to send a few more notes.

Wishing every kind of good luck to all in S.P.S. and in particular to the 0.T.C. I remain, truly yours, John A. Carpenter, Lt. R.E.770

770 John survived the war and remained in the army thereafter

2. Lieutenant Eyre Massey Shaw (SPS 1909 1912; see Chapter 8, Section 8.5), 11th (Service) Bn. Middlesex Regiment. Description of an attack near Pozieres, in the Somme sector in late July 1916.771

We are indebted to Mrs. Shaw for the following extracts from a letter written to his parents by Eyre Massey Shaw, Lieutenant, Middlesex Regiment, a few days before his death from wounds received in action on 30 July, 1916, at the age of twenty one. They give an idea of his experiences from the time he went to the front, and will doubtless be read with interest by all who follow the careers of Old Paulines, especially of those who have died in the service of their country.

“When I first came out I went, as you know, to an entrenching battalion, which was attached to the Canadians, up by Neuve Eglise (between Armentieres and Bailleul). I worked on trenches and emergency roads. Later I was told to join this battalion ( th Middlesex), as they had had rather a large number of casualties. I joined them in the Hohenzollern, which is supposed to be one of the worst parts of the line no end of mines, etc. No night ever passed while I was there in which either a German or an English mine was not put up. From there we went into reserve and trained for the big push. Moved down south to Albert. We took part in the shove. My brigade won Ovillers. I am now in this region. The village that my brigade took has been stormed by 70,000 French troops at various times previous to this offensive, and since this offensive by two divisions and two brigades of English troops without success, so we are rather proud of ourselves. Our losses were pretty large, in fact they would rather surprise you if you knew them; but considering that it is a matter of men v. machinery it was jolly good.

When we attacked from our trenches we went over ground over which the other brigades had attacked, and we found men lying out there who had been wounded in the first shows and not been able to get in; some had arms completely blown off, and they had been out there in the mud and rain (it was beastly weather) for five days, and were still alive. We could not stop, but I believe some were rescued by the stretcher bearers that night after we had advanced and driven Boche back. The Boche trenches were battered to smithereens by our artillery, and the only remaining traces were some deep dug outs, where they had evidently retired whenever our artillery started to bombard. Even some of these dug outs, which were about 40 feet deep, had their supporting props cracked, which will give you some idea of the force of our large shells. With regard to the village itself, I did not see a 771 The Pauline, 35 235 13 Nov 1917 pp 156 157

Part E: appendices for Volume 1

single brick anywhere to show where a house had stood, and the ground had been so thoroughly ‘trumped’ by shells that you wallowed knee deep in thick mud.

We captured a few prisoners (Prussian Guards). I had a chat with one or two. They seemed thoroughly fed up. Our artillery are splendid, and they give the Boche more than he can ever hope to return. We sometimes think we are having a rotten time of it when we get badly shelled, but Heaven only knows what he must feel like when our artillery begins. Our losses are bound to be fairly large to begin with, especially getting through his first system of defence, but we are undoubtedly doing splendidly, as are the French.

[The Pauline editor adds that] the letter closes with “visions of a lovely little smoking room with some large easy chairs, a pipe, and some decent ‘batty, a few large mats and a nice big fireplace, and you two sitting next to me. (Peut etre apres la guerre.)” Alas, there was to be no “apres la guerre” for him, poor boy. Sometime before proceeding to the front, while engaged on active service at home, he sustained a compound fracture of his leg in a collision with a cart while riding his motor bicycle. In referring to the accident, his then commanding officer described him as “quite one of the most promising young officers that I have had”.”

3. ‘F.G.B’, M.D (This is likely Major Frank George Bushnell (SPS 1882 - 1885); RAMC.) A description of life in a front line medical unit with the Salonika Force.772

Life is quiet enough in Macedonia, and we hope that the daily round of routine work and the consideration we give to perfecting our sanitary and medical arrangements will bear fruit in due course. Outside our usual duties with a field ambulance we have established clinics in the neighbouring villages, and thus got in touch with the Greek and Turkish natives, note the occurrence of any serious disease, such as cholera, malaria, typhus, or small pox among the population, and take measures according to prevent our men being attacked. Then we are experimenting with modes of transport for sick and wounded in mountainous districts, by various contrivances known as litters, travors, cacolets, wheeled stretchers, etc. We fight flies and lice with the utmost vigour and determination, and they are foes worthy of our incinerators and disinfectors; no loss appals them, and, like Boches, they die en masse. Brigades with a section of a field ambulance go frequent marches into the mountains, so that we retain mobility in action as well as in word. The country has a beauty of its own, not unlike our lake districts on a large scale, with less vegetation. At present, though the sun is quite hot by day, the night breezes are cool, and the plains and plateaux are green. We have had no prolonged rain and no fog since our arrival in January, and I claim that it is for the winter and spring, at any rate, a fine open air climate, and quite healthy. Yesterday Olympus

772 The Pauline, 35 235 13 Nov 1917 p 157

and its satellites were snowy from their summits to half way down their slopes, and while the land was under a burning sun the land was still beautifully cool.

4. ‘C.N.B’. ‘News from Italy’. (This is likely Lt-Col Charles Norman Buzzard (SPS 1885 1890); Siege Brigade, 94th HAG, Italy.) A description of the experience of retreat while serving with the Heavy Artillery.773

I suppose I am the worst Old Pauline in existence, that is to say, I receive and read with avidity every number [of The Pauline] that comes out, and this is the first time that I have ever acknowledged the receipt of the School periodical. I offer no excuses, but should like to mention that the perusal of even the minor details of cricket matches have given me enormous pleasure during the war. The Pauline used to reach me in a hot and dusty [Out Post] in Gallipoli. It used to arrive in a bedraggled condition at a muddy apology for a farm in Flanders, and I found it waiting for at my destination after the recent and most tragic retreat of the Italian Army.

Fate and a kindly War Office have ordained that for me war should be a variety entertainment, or Cook’s Tour. During my various travels I have met Paulines galore in all sorts of unexpected places. Some of them appear as actors in more than one scene, but mostly they disappear after a few brief moments of conversation. W. A. V. Thomas [SPS 1906 1912], who joined me at Gibraltar at the beginning of the war, came out with me to Gallipoli, where, I remember, his tall figure surmounted with brilliantly auburn hair used to attract the attention of the Turkish snipers when we walked the trenches. He turned up again in this country, but I have lost sight of him. Manifold [Michael Graham Egerton SPS, 1883 1888], a contemporary of mine, and D. E. Forman [Douglas Evans, SPS 1885 1889] I saw in Gallipoli. The latter was hit, but was soon back again, and I last saw him reading Lavengro in a tent.

War experiences are boring to the modern reader. I long to join a club where war conversation is barred, but, not being a conscientious objector, I see no chance of doing so. I wonder if one might become an honorary member of a C.O.’s club without sharing their views!

I shall sadly miss macaroni and risotto if ever I leave this country. If I survive this war I shall probably be found in a state of senile decay in a certain Italian restaurant I know of, in Soho, with a most untidy plateful of long and limp macaroni, a flask of chianti, and grated cheese. But perhaps the restaurant is gone? Who knows ?

War is tragic enough anywhere, but to a lover of Italy the recent retreat was unspeakably pathetic. Belonging as we do to an Italian Army that had overcome apparently unsurmountable difficulties, and while yet contemplating further advances, to be told to quit all through strategic necessities was positively heart breaking. Whatever may have been the cause of the disaster in the North, our army, at any rate, was hanging on to recent gains with great fortitude, well established, organized and equipped. No wonder that one saw patriotic Italian officers shed tears when the order came.

But I must not bore the reader with stories of a retreat, though I might, say much of British and Italian endurance. A retreat is not all bliss, and I will neither dwell on its causes nor on the details of its execution. The military critic, a hundred years hence, will mainly dwell on the strategic problem, which was to withdraw the unshaken armies before their communications were cut, and to defend a new line. Mackensen [i.e. August von Mackensen, German general] has only completed a small phase in his task, which was to smash the Italian army en bloc. To break up part of the force and allow the rest to get back and take up a new line was a minor gain, unless he succeeds in pursuing his advantage. Will he do this? To judge from the resistance he has met in both north and south one would say no!

It was refreshing to hear the sound of our guns again after the retreat, and here we are banging away. After all, the German is a bad ally in a wine country, and to judge from reports from Austrian prisoners large numbers of Germans are exercising their drunken proclivities a good way back.

I wonder how far up the creepers [on the St Paul’s School building] will have reached, towards the clock, by the time the war is over. I suppose the Food Controller does not control the creepers, and the great red brick building should be less red now than when I last saw it. One’s mind reverts to trivial thoughts such as these at the front. Any serious thinking is constantly interrupted by that curse of modern warfare the telephone!

774

5. News from ‘C.S’. A description of becoming a casualty.

To the Editor of The Pauline

2nd Western General Military Hospital, Manchester

I hope my postcard reached you before you saw my name in the casualty list; it was written about six hours after I got hit. I am happy to say that my wounds are slight and cushy ones. I have about six one in the left hand, two in the right calf, one in the right thigh and two in

774 The Pauline, 36 243 Dec 1918 pp 186 87

the left. They are shrapnel wounds, and though a little painful, will soon heal up. However, I think it was worth being wounded in such a show, although I did not get much of it myself, as I was put out of Action shortly after we started.

We went into action about 4.20 a.m. in a dense fog: we were all very bucked and quite confident. We had tanks. a tremendous artillery barrage, and plenty of reserves. It was not quite a surprise on our front, as Fritz knew something was up, and got us twice under shell fire before we had reached our assembly trenches. More by good luck than good management, we managed to scrape through both with about half a dozen casualties. When we went over the top it was impossible to see three yards in front of us, and in the terrific noise we could not make ourselves heard. You had to look cheerful and trust to luck to find your objective. I had not got very far, about three quarters of a mile, when I heard a terrific explosion behind me, and a sort of sharp stinging in my hand, leg, and back. I turned round to see what had happened and found myself the only visible member of the platoon. Two or three had been killed outright, whilst many were badly wounded. I tried to get the rest together, but they had most of them scattered, and it was impossible to do anything in the fog. Then I came over dizzy myself and crawled over to a bank nearby, where I waited for something to turn up, as I discovered I was unable to walk without assistance. It seemed ages before anybody did turn up, and that battlefield was the nearest thing to hell I hope I shall ever come across.

Then, out of the mist, a figure loomed up, and I discovered one of my company runners, who bound up my hand and went to inform my company commander of what had happened. Things were getting very unpleasant, and Fritz had got my part of the world taped, so, as I could not do anything to help, I tried to crawl back to the forward aid post.

I had only gone a short distance when I crawled into six Boches, who promptly put up their hands and said “Kamerad!” and kindly assisted me back to the dressing station. I confess they put the wind up me at first, as they could easily have done for me without any one being the wiser. But they were unarmed, and also extremely anxious to be taken prisoners. When I got to the aid post I nearly fainted, but a steaming hot cup of cocoa soon pulled me together, and, with the aid of a sportsman who had just had a bullet through his cheek, I managed to get to the dressing station. There my wounds were dressed, and I had to walk, assisted by two Tommies, about four and a half miles to the nearest ambulance, as stretchers were only used for serious cases. It was not a pleasant walk; Fritz was shelling the back areas to prevent reserves coming up; two or three shells dropped within three yards of us. However, the mist was clearing and we could see things nasty shapeless things that might have been horses or men at one time. That’s the awful part of war, when the battle’s over. When you are in the thick of it, nothing worries you. I can honestly say that I was not a scrap afraid when I went over the top (I didn't dare to be); in fact, it sounds foolish and trivial

enough, I expect, but I went over smoking a cigarette and wearing an eyeglass, just to let the men see that I didn't (apparently) care a hang. However, I was not sorry when I got out of it, although I should have liked to have had a chance of doing something. We appear to have got on top hole, but I am afraid we shall have a nasty job when their resistance stiffens.

As far as I can make out, none of my old “7th” friends have come to grief. You might let me know if you recognized any names in the Casualty lists.

We are quite “comfy” here, and they treat us very well; we had quite a reception when we got to Manchester: crowds lined the streets and cheered.

6. Anon. An episode in the experiences of an OP flying a single-seater scout with two Vickers guns.775

I was in an offensive patrol, and my old Flight Commander led formation up to some Huns over the lines. As my engine was missing on one cylinder I turned west, and on the way back to the lines I saw another machine of ours being chased down by two Huns. I went to help him, got one Hun and then in turn was chased down myself. I carried on in same direction, compass reading NW. By bad luck, sun was in and compass incorrect, and I was in strange country, and I was going east! I discovered my mistake twelve miles over the lines when the sun came out and one Hun was still after me. I was only about ten feet up then, hedge hopping as we say. Next I got my pressure tank shot through, and I switched over to gravity, risking catching alight. I eventually got back with an engine that only just kept me up and over sixty holes in my machine, no petrol, six holes through my tanks, and a spent shot just cut into my shoulder. Quite record luck I seem to have. At one time my engine cut out. I had started to land in Hunland when it picked up. It was very funny coming back to see the Hun on the ground bolting for dugouts, etc. I managed to stampede some horses towing a gun, with my machine guns. It was rotten luck getting in such a position. The Hun did not trouble; it was from the ground that I got shot about so. Much love to all.

7. Spaull, Cecil Meckelburgh (SPS 1911 1915); 87th Punjabis, Indian Army. A description of fighting at Ad Diwaniyah, one hundred miles south of Baghdad.776

We started off from Bagdad on July 7th to relieve a place called Rumaitha on the Euphrates, about 160 miles from Bagdad, where the Arabs had risen, cut the railway, and surrounded a small garrison. We reached Diwaniyeh, 115 miles from Bagdad, only to get cut off ourselves. We, however, went back and repaired the line and re opened communication. A strong

775

The Pauline, 36 241 November 1918 p 126 776

The Pauline, 39 258 Feb 1921 pp 11 12

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 10

brigade then concentrated just below Diwaniyeh, and finally marched for Rumaitha. We had a stiff fight before we got in, but the regiment did not get many casualties on that day. Next day we relieved the garrison, and on the following day started back for Diwaniyeh. We did rearguard, and before we had gone half a mile we were cut off from the main body. We had very heavy casualties, including three British officers and over one hundred I.O.R. in about a quarter of an hour, when two other regiments were sent back to get us out. We were on the march fighting a rearguard action from 0.4 till 19.30 without any food or water, on a very hot day, and were absolutely exhausted on arrival in camp. The Arabs attacked us all night, and we got no rest ; in fact, they had done so every night from the 8th till now, when we are at last at rest. I had over forty casualties in my company that day, including nineteen killed. How any British officer got out alive I can't understand. I killed two Arabs with my revolver not 15 yards away from me ; they came right into us from all sides. When we got back to Diwaniyeh we found ourselves cut off from Bagdad. We spent days in trying to get the railway through, but it was always destroyed again at night. I had one narrow escape of being cut off in the desert. I was out with a construction training [squad], mending the line, with one hundred rifles and six Lewis guns, when we were attacked on all sides by about one thousand Arabs. They started pulling up the line behind us, so we had to get out quickly. We killed about twenty or thirty of them, but they got six of my men, and " outed " one Lewis gun with a hit on the barrel mouthpiece. We were in open iron trucks, and the splinters off the trucks were flying all over the place. The brigade finally came back from Diwaniyeh, mending track for the trains as we went, by tearing up the track passed over and relaying it in front. It was dreadful work, so slow, and meant our being out all day in the sun, scrapping, and at night we got norest, for snipers and small attacks on the picquet line. When we finally got back to Hillah we found it cut off, and away we went again on the very next day. The regiment did some good on this last show, though it suffered several casualties again the first day out from snipers. The second day we had to attack a large bund, and lost a few men. The third day we had a nasty job. There was a large town in a thick palm grove, with a large bund running along our flank, and we had to advance over 1+ [miles] of open country, with the bund full of snipers enfilading us. We did [not] suffer heavily on the whole. But about four days ago we bumped into a hornets' nest. I command two companies now, as we are so short of officers, only four British left. My two companies were doing advance guard. We were going through high grass towards a band supposed to be held by the enemy. We got within 1,000 yards, and very heavy fire was opened on us from the bund. We advanced and took it, when the companies were suddenly fired into from their left rear, and we were finally charged from that quarter and in front by about 4,000 to 5,000 of them. The men behaved splendidly, one company facing rear about and charging to meet the enemy from this direction, while the other beat off the front attack by rifle fire. They held their fire till the Arabs were less than 100 yards off, and we mowed them down. The other company got in with the bayonet. Some cavalry and another company of infantry came up at this point, and the guns got on to them and absolutely scattered them, but my two companies stood the

brunt of the whole show, and I am sorry to say have suffered heavily. I had had fever about this. time, and finally went sick next day, so do not know what the actual casualties were, but there are fifty wounded in hospital with me here, and they tell me a large number were killed outright. I know this, as I saw ten dead lying about.

8. A report received from Batho, John (SPS 1905 1912) in which he describes the capture of a German prisoner.777

Last night when I was in the trenches a German soldier deserted, walked over to our trenches and gave himself up. I happened to be talking to some of the company officers when he was brought in. He was searched, but nothing much was found on him. When he made a remark in German, a Tommy said, “He’s asking for a fag,” and immediately about a dozen cigarettes were thrust into his hands by the surrounding Tommies. I wonder how the Germans would have treated one of our prisoners in similar circumstances.

9. An anonymous account of the lighter side of life in the trenches778

Two of my lads got fed up with each other in the trenches, so in broad daylight they got up on the parapet and fought. After a quarter of an hour one was knocked out, but all the time the Germans were firing in the air and cheering to encourage the combatants. Who says the Germans are not sportsmen ? . . . Apparently half the regiment is called Paddy, and the other half Micky, and they all write to Bridget. . . . Some Scotchmen on our left started playing bagpipes, and the Germans were so exasperated with this dastardly method of warfare that they turned a Maxim gun on, and the noise ceased. Then they stopped firing.

10. An anonymous letter from an OP serving on board HMS Invincible during the Battle of the Falklands 1914. The letter is dated, 10 December 1914.779

HMS Invincible anchored at Spithead in 1909780

777

The Pauline, 33 216 March 1915 p 40

778

779

The Pauline, 33 216 March 1915 p 40

The Pauline, 33 219 July 1915 pp 146 152

780 National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Part E: appendices for Volume 1

No doubt the news of our action has, by the time you read this, become ancient history. This is the first letter I have had the opportunity of writing since we left England, so I will begin at the beginning.

The Invincible and Inflexible left Plymouth about a month ago with the object of hunting down the German cruiser squadron operating round the coasts of South America, the squadron being that which sunk the Monmouth and Good Hope. This squadron consisted of the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Nurnberg, Dresden, Leipsic, with attendant colliers. Everything possible was done to keep secret the departure and destination of the two battle cruisers. We had already on the South American coast the [following ships]: Kent, Cornwall, Bristol, Carnarvon, and Glasgow. The success of secrecy was complete, as you will see.

We steamed from Plymouth, passed the Canaries to Cape Verde Islands, where we coaled. Then we went on south to the Abrollos Islands, where we coaled again. Crossing the line was great fun, everybody being initiated into the wonders of the deep by the usual ceremonies. It was amazing how few in the ship had crossed the line before. We had deck hockey and a bath rigged up so as to get some exercise in the dog watches. At Abrollos we met the rest of our squadron and the armed merchant cruiser Macedonia, and all continued south together, making for the Falkland Islands. All this time of course we had continued evolutions, exercise action, etc. . . . We had 12 inch firing practice and calibrating one day.

We arrived at the Falkland Islands on the 7th. They are very barren, but the harbour is good and deep. The Canopus was there. She had been moored in a reach of the harbour, her

marines landed with several guns, and had been turned, more or less, into a kind of coast defence fort. For a long time they had expected the islands to be attacked by the enemy squadron. We got shore leave in the afternoon, the first for a month, and three of us climbed a mountain, getting a splendid view of the whole place. Next morning at 5 a.m. we started to coal ships from a collier alongside. By breakfast we had 160 tons in and 1,200 tons to come in.

During breakfast the news came from the signal station that two ships had appeared on the horizon. A few minutes later the German squadron hove in sight, five of them, the Scharnhorst and Nurnberg, appearing first. We were well hidden by the hills around the harbour. They had no idea that the Inflexible and Invincible were there. They thought that our smaller cruisers were there and had decided to attack them and take the island. We were in a tremendous bustle. The engine room were overhauling and we had little steam up. They must have worked wonderfully down below, for they had steam for 24 knots in under an hour and a half. Meanwhile we stopped coaling, got rid of gear, unrigged jiggers and derricks, and cast off collier in less than a quarter of an hour. General quarter stations was sounded off immediately after; we cleared away for action and tested everything through. Everything was ready, and so we had to wait till they had steam up. Many of us managed to get a bit of coal off during this time, but the majority were in coaling rig during the action.

The two German cruisers had waited in the offing for the other three to come up. The Canopus fire being directed from the top of a hill let off two of her 12 inch guns, but fell far short, being out of range. We heard slight desultory firing, but apparently the enemy had drawn off a little. The Kent left harbour first, followed by the Glasgow, with orders to observe the enemy’s movements but not to get within range. We feared at first the enemy might have got an idea of what they were up against and drawn off, but this was not so. The Inflexible left harbour next, followed immediately by us; then the Carnarvon, and lastly the Cornwall. We then formed single line ahead, steaming south at 20 knots. The enemy was observed to be in a similar formation, steaming on a parallel course some 15 miles distant on the starboard bow. We continued thus for about one hour, when they altered course to port. Meanwhile we went down, one watch at a time, to lunch.

After lunch [the enemy] had taken up a formation in line abreast and were about 12 miles ahead and slightly on the starboard bow. We did not cross their track, so as to avoid the danger of mines. By this time we had increased to 24 knots and now led, with the Inflexible just on our starboard beam. The Kent was on the port quarter, the rest astern. We soon worked up to 27 knots. The weather was simply perfect for us, being clear and smooth. The sun was also in the enemy’s eyes, a position reversed on them by the experience of the Monmouth and Good Hope. They tried to manoeuvre for this position, but we had the advantage in speed and so they failed.

The Invincible and Inflexible are ships of the same class. We have four turrets, two 12 inch guns in each, one forward, one on either side, and one astern. We can fire six on a broadside, and in certain cases all eight guns can bear. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had eight 8.2 inch guns and some 6 inch, so you see we had great advantage in guns. We also had much better armour and greater speed, so we were up all round. My position was in A turret, the foremost one. One of their light cruisers began to drop astern, and at one o’clock the Inflexible opened fire. We opened fire soon after, but the range was too great and we held fire again.

I will first describe the action in brief and then the doings of my turret in particular. Doubtless all the details of the action have been given in the papers, so personal experiences will be more interesting. The light cruiser opened fire, but her shells fell far short.

We now waited till the range had decreased, when we opened fire on the Gneisenau. The action continued for some time, one shot striking us on the stern and shaking us up considerably. The Gneisenau and Scharnhorst now turned to port in an endeavour to close on us. We altered to port to avoid this. The smoke by this time was blowing in a way to obscure our sights, so we drew off; this lull lasted for about half an hour. By this time the admiral signalled for our light cruisers to engage the three enemy’s light cruisers, which had drawn off. This part of the action was soon out of sight. Apparently the Kent caught up with the Nurnberg and sank her, while the Glasgow eventually sank the Leipsic. The Cornwall could not keep the speed and consequently did little in the action. The Bristol could not leave harbour with us, owing to having no coal in her bunkers. This was a stroke of luck, for we heard later that two German colliers were lying off the island, and the Bristol, after coaling, sunk these. However, you no doubt know more about that than I do at the moment.

We now concentrated on their two armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. We opened fire again at 14,600 yards, and the action became general. We, as flag, led and incidentally did the majority of the useful firing, but that is a matter of opinion. I will not weary you with tactical details, but you must remember that all the time we were trying to get the better of each other, by manoeuvring, and the enemy always altered course zigzagging about, so as to put our ranges and deflections out. It was a long action, as you no doubt have read. At 4 o’clock we shot away the after funnel of the Scharnhorst. Soon after she listed more and more heavily. She caught fire also and capsized, her screws pounding the water up as she turned over. Finally she sank by the stern, and we concentrated on the Gneisenan, which was firing splendidly. We had had some heavy hits during this period, but nothing vital was damaged.

At 5.30 A turret landed a lyddite on the fore bridge, carrying it away, and dropping the fore funnel overboard. Another lyddite struck her fore turret, which was a good thing, as it was the turret doing most of the work, as could be seen by the flashes. About a quarter to six she had a heavy list to starboard and soon after lay over on her side. We then ceased fire and made towards her, but she sank, going down slowly by the bow. We picked up some eighty survivors, seven officers. The Inflexible has about the same. The Inflexible has suffered less than us, although she had one killed and three wounded. We have only the commander who is slightly wounded in the heel and face. The absence of casualties is gratifying and speaks much for having every man jack under armour.

We have a shot hole below water in the bows. A shot which struck just forward of A turret, passing through the deck and exploding, wrecked the warrant officers’ “flat”. A shell struck A turret right between the guns and only set our blast aprons on fire. An armour piercing shell struck a 4 inch gun in the superstructure, severing the muzzle, passing through two decks in the superstructure, through the main deck, and into the admiral’s pantry without exploding. A lyddite struck the starboard tripod of the fore mast, tearing the mast to bits for a length of 10 feet. It was lucky for those in the fore top that they had two more legs of the mast supporting them. A shell passed through the commander’s cabin and exploded by the funnel casing. A lyddite hit us in the starboard side, entered the ward room and exploded, wrecking everything and reducing the tables, piano, chairs, etc., to matchwood. It also stove a 5 foot hole in the deck. Splinters of shell and deck passed through all the bulkheads for yards around. I have one splinter that passed through five steel plates, so you can imagine the force of the explosion of these shells. The steel mast, decks, etc., are simply twisted and torn like paper. Another shell passed through the poop deck and exploded in the sick bay, making a colossal mess and setting it on fire. A shell hit us below water, abaft of the port turret, filling the bunkers there with water. Another came through the side into the ship’s canteen, and exploding, made the funniest mess on earth. Another wrecked the ward room pantry and a cabin near. Splinters have made holes in every bulkhead on the main deck. None of the armour has suffered any damage, however. The electrical store caught fire, but was put out pretty quickly. In the turret everybody worked well. We had great difficulty with the right gun, the breech having closed on the shot guide and jammed. The lock in the latter part of the action was continually causing misfires. The air blast tubes carried away, but these were patched up and we were hardly ever out of action. When one shell struck, jamming the training rack, we were shaken up considerably but that was all. Shells dropping round us chucked up large quantities of water on the turret which poured down the hatch. This last item on the programme was far the most unpleasant.

The Gneisenau sank about a mile ahead. We made for the spot, everybody being now on deck after “Cease fire” had sounded and “Way lifeboats” piped. As we approached we saw the place where she had sunk covered with wreckage and men hanging on, and elaborate

life saving gear. We got the cutter and whaler out, and they saved a good many; we got several on board by having lines, and a man going over in a bowline secured the line round the chap’s body. The whaler, however, had several splinter holes, so she partially filled. It was rather painful seeing the poor devils floating past, too far to reach. Scores, however, were dead, and we made mistakes now and again, by getting these instead of the ones that wanted it. However, a curtain is best drawn over this latter part. I have a piece of the mast, which shows what a shell can do. We do not know what we shall do now, but we are going into the Falkland Islands to morrow morning. As you know, the Dresden has escaped, but her shrift is short, for she cannot have much coal.

I don't suppose I shall be back for Christmas, but with luck it won’t be long after, and then I may get leave to refit. Things are awfully uncomfortable just now. We have to sit anywhere, on boxes, etc., in the ward room now, though “Nuts” have the remains of a table. The gun room is alright, but filled with our prisoner survivors, so we wander round the ship, when not working, like the Lost Tribe. I hear they have wrapped up the flags we flew during the action and are sending them home. We had four ensigns up, in case of one or other being shot away. The old bus looked absolutely ripping when we steamed out of harbour, mighty great clouds of black smoke pouring from her funnels, dense enough to sit on. Half way through the action it came on to rain and blow, and afterwards, when I was on watch on the bridge, it was blowing half a gale and icy cold. The ship had a list to port, due to the water in the bunkers, and everything was swishing about in water. Added to this the additional ventilation all over the place let the wind come in, and a large hole in our “flat” fairly soaked my gear and hammock. I am longing to get in the tropics again for a warm up, though it would be great to meet the Dresden first.

It was a nice experience seeing flying fish and albatrosses, but we have not yet seen an iceberg, though it feels as though I was sitting on one.781

11.The extraordinary near death experience of Capper, Athol Harry (SPS 1905 1911).

782

One of the most thrilling war stories is the narrow escape of Lieut. A. H. Capper, OP, of the 1st Buffs. He was seriously wounded last October [i.e. October 1915] in the back of his head, and though he made an unexpected recovery after being unconscious for three days, the injury to the nerve centres left him blind. In November he was sent home on the ill fated Anglia, where he was laid in the bed previously occupied by the King. Within two miles of Dover she struck a mine, and we may imagine his feelings as he lay unable to move and the water began to flow over his cot. A nurse put on his life belt, though he implored her to take

781

782

The Pauline, 33 219 July 1915 No pp 146 152

The Pauline, 34 223 Feb 1916 p 6

it for herself, an orderly pulled him up the ladder, and he was told to jump into a boat which he could not see and consequently missed fortunately, as it proved, for the boat afterwards sank. The keel passed over him, wounding his side. For about ten minutes he floated, shouting for help. Then his hands were seized, and he was hauled on board a gunboat, and before long he was in Dover. For a flash of time his sight returned, and he could see the harbour. He is now in the Empire Hospital; his sight is gradually returning, and there is a fair chance that he may completely recover.783

12. A letter from Brilliant, Leopold (SPS 1909 1914) describing his experience while serving with the Indian Army in East Africa.784

Ruwu Camp, German East Africa, 21 May, 1916.

Sir, I must apologize for not having written to you since I left the School in December 1914, but perhaps when half of the intervening time has been spent in a Military College I will be excused. As you no doubt know, I left England for Quetta in April of last year, and on passing out of the College in November I was commissioned and posted to the 129th Duke of Connaught’s Own Baluchis, and not as appeared in the last number of The Pauline, just to hand.

I was lucky, as my regiment was at that time on service in France, and when the Indian Army left France the regiment was sent to East Africa. Instead of joining my regiment at once I went to the Depot in Karachi, where I remained till the end of March, and then came on here.

On joining Regimental Headquarters I found them having a well earned rest, after three months of exceedingly hard work, in which the Huns with their native troops found themselves hopelessly outclassed. You will no doubt have read of the great doings of the South African Forces, but nothing of those of the Indians; well, though I who am in the Indian Army say it, all the work was done by the Indians! [I hope this passes the Censor, for I am putting the stamp on myself.]

Two days ago we received our marching orders, and are now at this camp on our way to Tanga (200 miles away) to strafe the Germans. When I reach my destination I will once again write you, but I think the chances are few, as I am in charge of my Double Company

783 Athol survived the war. He became a successful poultry farmer, author of Poultry Breeding For Egg Production, published in 1931 and running to five editions. He died on 21 March 1958.

784 The Pauline, 34 226 July 1916 p 126

Machine Guns, and they use up a lot of men and officers; still, I hope to return soon to see my old School, and tell them there many things of interest.

At present, au revoir and good luck to those about to take commissions. Yours sincerely, L. Brilliant785

13. An anonymous account by an OP in the Royal Flying Corps in which he describes the experience of encountering shells while in flight.786

Dodging Shells.

Since I last saw you I have been spending most of my time dodging shells and taking photographs. At first, dodging shells is rather amusing, but after a while it becomes a much overrated pastime; in fact, one generally leaves it to the shell to do the dodging. Often a shell will come along and keep pace with the machine for some seconds; then it disappears downwards. Sometimes one comes along just underneath: at such times the machine is lifted bodily and deposited with a nasty jar about 50 yards to a flank. Most exquisite sensation! Another interesting occupation we have is playing ‘oranges and lemons’ under the barrages. There is no mistaking the area of the barrages; the air is simply black with flying bits of steel.

14. An account of an attack on a pill-box known as Somme Farm redoubt by St Legier, Gerald William (SPS 1911 – 1914) 2nd Lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment.787

A Pill box

We have received the details of a gallant action by Lieutenant G. W. De St. Legier. In an attack his objective was Somme Farm redoubt, or “pill box.” Following our barrage, when the smoke lifted, he saw a Hun peeping round the redoubt, and he determined to rush through the barrage and surprise the enemy, telling his platoon to follow. A private, named Heaver, volunteered to go with him. Both were knocked over by one of our shells, but not hurt, and they got round the pill box. De St. Legier, who was dressed as a “Tommy,” bayoneted an officer at the entrance and shot the six machine gunners who were working two guns, while Heaver held up about 30 men in an adjoining chamber. The survivors of his platoon, about 13 men, now arrived, and disposed of the Germans. He immediately set

785

The Pauline, 34 226 July 1916 p 126

786

787

The Pauline, 36 237 Feb 1918 p 5

The Pauline, 36 237 Feb 1918 pp 4 5

Part E: appendices for Volume 1

about fortifying the place, ran about the battlefield, and got together 11 Lewis guns from wounded and killed gunners. While doing this he intercepted about 130 men who were retiring to our lines, and made them connect the shell holes near the pill box by digging hard all the morning. Meanwhile he rendered first aid to many wounded men, there being no stretcher bearers available. At dusk the enemy sent over a bombing party, which was completely destroyed. Later the Huns put up a barrage, and made a counterattack with about 1,200 men, but the Lewis gunfire decimated them. A tank had come along, and supplied De St. Legier with five drums of ammunition. After holding his post for 48 hours he was relieved by his brigade, who had no idea of his exploit, and regarded him as missing. His runners had been killed on the way back. He was cheered on his return to his battalion, and recommended with Heaver for the V.C. Our line was thus permanently advanced several hundred yards.788

789

Wheatley appears to have acted as an Intepreter during his time with the Ministry of Munitions. He survived the war.

Dear Mr Editor Having just been demobilized, I wondered whether fellow Paulines would like to hear my experiences, as to my relations and friends they seem rather strange.

When war broke out, I was serving in the American Army (Lieutenant, 62nd Co. C.A.C.), and as the Yanks were so slow coming in, I resigned my commission in October 1915, and came across the States from Seattle New York, 4,000 miles, and I came straight through London to Johannesburg, S.A., 12,000 miles from New York, as I had some business to attend to in South Africa. Then back to London, 7,000 miles, and obtained a commission in the Royal Marine Artillery. Served ten months, and then had to resign owing to continued bad health, on 17 October, 1916.

[I] Was then seconded to Ministry of Munitions, and sent to White and Poppe’s engineering works at Coventry. Left there after the Armistice, and have just received a letter of thanks from Ministry of Munitions for services rendered. So you see that I travelled 23,000 miles to fight, and also had commissions in both American and Allied forces. Perhaps my experiences are worth retailing to some of the readers of The Pauline, as I have had to tell them to some of the members of the Overseas Club.

788

The Pauline, 36 237 Feb 1918 pp 4 5

789 The Pauline, 37 244 March 1919 pp 30 31

Part E: appendices for Volume 1

15. A Butt, Wheatley Clegg (SPS 1893 1894) recounts his wartime travels.

Yours faithfully, W. Clegg Butt OP, Life Member.790

16. A letter from Lord Esher, referencing an unnamed Pauline who died at Puchevillers on the Somme.791

The Thanks of Parliament. Lord Esher has sent to the Morning Post the following extract from his journal:

Amid these seas of mud it was difficult to find a resting place for the stretchers. The ambulances were filled slowly, as the wading stretcher bearers had to be careful. I spoke to the man I had noticed. He was a Territorial, and when I mentioned my name he remembered our evening at ‘An Englishman’s Home’ in the early days of the Territorial movement. Although his eyes were extraordinarily bright, the poor lad could not stir, and I feared he was mortally injured. His principal anxiety was about the fight and its progress, and the number of prisoners I had passed on the road. He had been through many phases of the Battle of the Somme, and it was hard to be knocked out now in the hour of victory. “But they have never thanked us,” he said. I asked what he meant by “they”. “Why, Parliament,” he replied; “Parliament, of course. They thanked Wellington and his army many times over for fights not in the same street as ours, and then that place on the Gold Coast they thanked Wolseley for that. I suppose they don’t call this show a battle, still less a victory.” He was a St. Paul's School boy, so he told me. I heard that he died that evening at Puchevillers, unthanked by Parliament.792

17. A letter from Sams, Hubert Arthur (SPS 1887 1894) referencing OPs in India and describing an OP dinner held in Baghdad.793

8 March, 1918.

Dear Editor, 790

The Pauline, 37 244 March 1919 pp 30 31 791 The Pauline, 35 230 March 1917 pp 6 7 792

The only OP buried in Puchevillers British Cemetery is Kenneth James Chisholm (SPS 1908 1912). Kenneth is recorded as having served in 5th (Service) Bn. Northamptonshire Regiment. Thus, either Lord Esher’s assertion that Kenneth ‘was a Territorial’ is inaccurate, or the OP referenced in this account is not in fact Kenneth James Chisholm and was buried in a place other than Puchevillers.

793 The Pauline, 36 240 July 1918 pp 99 101

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 21

Last time I wrote was from some verdant and peaceful highland of Central India. Now, as you will see, it is from the khaki and warlike city of the plains pulsing with martial ardour and red tabs.

There is much to tell of 0Ps in Mesopotamia, but before doing so, I will hark back for a bit to India. Of the 0Ps in the Central Provinces and thereabouts, C. A. Clarke [SPS 1885 1891, Charles Agacy] is (or was in August) still Deputy Commissioner of Nagpur. He is now, much to his own amusement and that of his friends, a private in the Indian Defence Force (off. Indian Defence Force, vulg. I Don’t Fights, vel I Don’t Finks). By the way, your correspondent has the honour of being a Second Lieutenant in that distinguished corps. Padre R. Ledgard [SPS 1889 1895, Ralph Gilbert] left Nagpur some time ago for the cooler climes and climbs of Rani Khet of the Himalayas. Blenkinsop [likely Edward Robert Kaye, SPS 1882 1889] is, I believe, still Commissioner of the Chhatisgarh Division. I stayed with him at Raipur in April last to talk shop about Cash Certificates. But we got in some 0.P. shop as well. Up at Mount Abu, in May and June, I met Prothero Thomas [SPS 1899 1904, Bernard Gordon] (U.P. Police). He joined the 0.P. Association soon after! R. L. Argles [SPS 1889 1893, Ernest Edward] (R.A.M.C.) was, I think, at Pindi when I last heard from him. In August I went to Calcutta and there stayed with the ever hospitable Willson [SPS 1890, Walter Stuart James], who has for so long and so ably carried on the duties of Hon. Secretary of the 0.P. Association in India. One evening he gathered quite a few OPs together to dinner: Houseman [SPS 1886 1891, Edward Albert], who is now in private practice with Caddy [SPS, 1891 1896, Adrian]; H. A. Lindsay [SPS 1893 1900, Henry Alexander Fanshaw], then Director of Criminal Intelligence, and still perhaps so; Bland [SPS 1896 1901, Charles Roxberry], who was about to come out here in E. and M. Section, R.E.; Willson, our host, me, and an Old Paulina, Miss Willson. There were other good men and true, but, unfortunately for them, not 0.P.'s. During my visit Willson intimated that he was getting somewhat fed up with the duties of Hon. Secretary, and in a heroic moment of impulse I offered to relieve him of them. I took away with me all the books and papers a formidable lot to Nagpur, and was about to get down to them, when I got orders for the Garden of Eden. I therefore shot them back to Willson, and he, very nobly, again became Hon. Secretary. But very shortly afterwards he threw the mantle on to the willing shoulders of R. D. Whitehorn, who is now the Hon. Secretary.

On the way over from India I met E. T. Holland [SPS 1892 1895, Edward Torriano] (Captain, R.A.M.C.). As a matter of fact, we met on the ship every day up to the last before mutually discovering we were 0.P.’s, though I knew him at School. The next time I saw him was at the Convalescent Depot near Mohammerah, where he was 0.C. of the British Section. The next time was at the Base Isolation Hospital, Basra, where I was in with Hun [i.e. German] measles, and he with I know not what, except that he was pretty bad. I had a letter from him the other day from Delhi, where he is staying with brother. I am sorry to hear that he is still

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 22

not as fit as he might be. At Basra I was immediately made welcome by an 0.P., C. Wills [SPS 1892 1894], the barra sahib of Messrs. Gray Mackenzie, and my host at Basra of the end of 1913. He is the Gulf and Mesopotamia Secretary of the Association. He had most kindly arranged for me to be billeted in his house, and both he and the other two partners at once made me feel at home. I was really in luck’s way in dropping into such a cumfy ‘ole. I had not been at Gray Mackenzie’s for an hour before I met another 0.P., Parsons [OP, dates unknown], also of the same firm. So at Gray Mackenzie's at lunchtime three 0.P.'s forgather, Wills, Parsons, and I. Wills, by the way, had some exciting times during the British advance on Basra at the end of ‘14. He was actually a prisoner of the Turks at one time. Later on I met another 0.P., R. M. Philby [SPS 1898 1899, Ralph Montague], of the I.W.T., who joined the Association. I also saw F. C. Cowtan [SPS 1902 1905, Frank Cunningham] (Captain, R.A.M.C., and A.D.M.S., Basra), but it was only recently that I knew he was an 0.P. That comes of being lazy, and of not getting Wills to put a notice in the Basra Times, as he has done since.

Now for the historic dinner at Baghdad, or as much of it as the censor will leave. I had heard of several 0.P.’s up here, and put a feeler in the Baghdad Times asking OPs to communicate with me. I also asked the Deputy Adjutant General to put a notice about it in General Routine Orders. The notice duly appeared in G.R.O.’s of February 20th. It will, I think, be an interesting addition to the War Museum of the School. By the same token, I am sending you one of the menus. Ribbon is scarce in Baghdad, except for ‘decorative purposes,’ but, as you will see, the Secretary of the Officers’ Club has done what he could. Fourteen OPs forgathered on the night of the 1st March, and were soon deep in soup and 0.P. shop. Some OPs had come very long distances to be present. I am not allowed to mention regiments or names. There were no speeches thank goodness! But there was plenty of talk, especially among the Arab boys, who imagined that fourteen hungry OPs were not athirst. After “The King,” we drank to “The Old School,” God bless it. The dinner was voted a great success, and we all said we would have another.

It was good to talk over the old days, the masters, the porters, big and little, the groundman, and the tuck shop. I had letters and wires of good wishes and regrets at absence from seven other OPs. This letter has now run into several pages and must come to a close.

With best of good luck to the Old School in next season’s playing and, fighting, Yours reminiscently, H A Sams.

Appendix 3: ‘Letters from the Front’. A curated series of 13 letters from serving OPs published in The Pauline

1. Warner, George Francis Maule (SPS 1910 1913); 1st Bn. Royal Berkshire

2. Montgomery, Bernard Law (SPS 1902 1906); 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment

3. Doake, Samuel Henry (SPS 104 10); 55th Howitzer Battery;

4. Barnett, Denis Oliver Barnett (SPS 1907 1914); 2nd Bn. Leinster Regiment

5. Batho, John (SPS 1905 1912); 54th Field Company Royal Engineers

6. Gaunt, Kenneth MacFarlane Gaunt (SPS 1909 1912); 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment

7. Ritchie, Arthur Gerald Ritchie (SPS 1893 1897); 1st Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

8. Woods, Denys (SPS 1905 1907); Army Service Corps, attd. 85th 1/3 London Field Ambulance (Driver)

9. Carlisle, John Edward Gordon SPS 1898 1901); 107th Indian Pioneers, Indian Army

10. Scott, Robert H (SPS 1912 1914); Honourable Artillery Company

11. Henderson, William Lewis (SPS 1896 1901); 10th (Service) Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment

12. Anon.

13. ‘John’

I. Letters from the Front794

Lieutenant George Francis Maule Warner (SPS 1910 1913) served in the 1st Bn. Royal Berkshire Regiment, 6th Brigade, 2nd Division. This letter is dated 23 September 1914, at which time the battalion was in the vicinity of Oeuilly. George survived the war.

My Dear , I expect you will be rather anxious to hear how things are going with me, and of my first impressions of active service. Well, I am as fit as can be expected; I can fairly safely say that hardly any one is in the fittest of condition after six nights of ‘sleeping’ in the open in trenches when it's bitterly cold, and four of those nights drenched through to the bone. My feet to day are dry and warm for the first time after eight days.

I'll begin at the beginning, and try to tell you as much as I can think of, and am allowed to. When we arrived at our destination we stayed two nights at the Casino, and did nothing for two days, ‘waiting for orders’; finally we shoved off on Sunday morning at 6.30 a.m., having slept the night at a filthy station, on the floor, with wounded groaning the other side of the partition, and the having no end of a time. We arrived at our final destination, at least at the railhead, the same time the following morning. There we cooked some stuff, and in a couple of hours were off to the 1st line transport base in motor lorries, and then we began seeing

794 The Pauline, 32 212 213, October 1914 pp 190 192

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 24

things graves, unburied bodies, dead horses, etc., awful smells. On the way we met a lot of German prisoners, and wounded of all regiments, coming back; the most of them seemed to be glad they had been wounded, just to get out of it for a bit; it seems wonderful to me that more of us aren’t laid out, apart from bullets, etc.

That night we did a ten mile march, and arrived at the Headquarters of the Battalion at 11.30 p.m. about, absolutely shivering with cold.795 The place was a biggish farm, and the owners had gone off; we had some rum and went to sleep dog tired, on the stone floor. The next morning at 2 a.m we had to take up our position in the trenches. Not many shells came over that day, and we did not see any of the enemy till five days after, when we advanced, but the next day the trenches were shelled like anything with these 16 in. high explosive shells (by the way, they have twenty four of these guns), and they dropped all round the trenches, one which fell in [and] blew off both [of] one fellow's legs, and one of another's. They (the shells) make holes in the ground of about 10 to 15 feet diameter, and about 3 ft. 6 in. deep. You can hear these shells burst sometimes about twelve miles off, they do make a row; their effect is fairly local, but it’s the tremendous moral effect they have on troops that does more harm than anything, and they almost make one deaf; it will show you how local the effect is when I tell you that one which blew our unfortunate corporal to pieces pitched at the very most not more than ten yards from me, and another twenty; one which fell about eight or ten yards from me didn't burst, but went straight into the ground luck!

The very first thing I saw (I don't think you will believe me), when I arrived, was four field ambulances shelled by these ‘Weary Willies’, as we call them. I don't think it was mistake, because they said the same thing had happened the day before. They put a couple of shells into the middle of them, and killed eight men and a horse, and wounded a number. Their artillery is perfectly wonderful; it isn’t so much the damage done by each shell as the number they manage to pump in one after another on the same spot so accurately. They have got some shrapnel high explosive shell that does very little harm; four burst over us the other day one after another, and the only damage done was one man wounded, though I must say that trees all round us were scarred and had lumps of metal in them; they seem to clash fire all round you without doing any harm.

The other day I was put in charge of a machine gun section, and as I was going to take up my position a bullet whizzed past snipers; but I had my revenge, and told off a couple of snipers, who afterwards told me they got about half a dozen between them. Yesterday we

Probably La Mets Ferme in the vicinity of Oeuilly. TNA WO 95 1361 1 1

left the position at about 2.30 a.m., as we were relieved by the 60th, and at present we are having a couple of days’ rest in billets, of which we are most needful.796

We are getting quite good news in every now and then; this morning typed and translated copies of letters found on killed German officers were issued, and showed that they were all very demoralized, and actually wanted the knock to get it over quickly, and some go to prove that after all our artillery fire is so accurate that they suspect the inhabitants of their area of spying, and are keeping a vigorous look out for spies. Of course, as you, too, might have, I expected the officers believed it was all a ruse on the part of the Germans, but since we have had some Staff Officers here, and they say it is quite genuine.

‘Weary Willie’ has begun shelling this town now, which is about four miles to the rear of the line of resistance, so if it keeps up I expect we shall have to shift before we get orders for anything definite elsewhere. The Germans have vacated a portion of their line in rather a hurry, leaving, it is said, a number of dead and wounded and material behind.

Please send this round to everyone in England whom you think it might interest, if you can read it, and then would you mind sending it on to India?

(Signed) G. F. M. Warner.

II. Letters from the Front797

Bernard Law Montgomery (SPS 1902 1906; see Chapter 11 pp 35 41) served in the 1st battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 10th Brigade, 4th Division. This letter is dated 5 October 1914, at which time the battalion was in the front line north of Le Moncel. Bernard survived the war and went on to occupy the highest military office in the Second World War.

Bernard in the 1st XV, 1905 1906798

796 The unit diary records that the battalion was relieved by the 1st battalion Rifle Brigade and the Berkshires were in billets at Oeuilly 23 September to 26 September. TNA WO 95 1361 1 1

797 The Pauline, 32 214 December 1914 pp 238 241 798 St Paul’s School Archive

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 26

Dear , I am at present taking part in the battle of the Aisne; it is a long drawn out affair, and some days we rest idle, while on others we fight hard.

I left England on the 22nd of August with my regiment, and on landing in France we were at once trained up to the front. We were just in time for the end of the big battle which began at Mons on 23 August and ended at Cambrai on 26 August. We came in for some heavy fighting on the latter date and lost heavily. If you look in The Times of 26 September you will see a long article headed ‘A Subaltern's Diary’; it was written by a young fellow in my regiment. He was invalided home with asthma, about 6 September. It describes how a party of 300 got cut off and marched day and night through the German lines. I was one of the party, and it describes our wanderings very well. I will assume that you have read it and will go on from there.

We joined up with our brigade on 5 September, and from there onwards we marched hard every day; the Germans were retiring and we were chasing them. We started at 3 [a.m] every morning, and would stop to bivouac for the night about 5 or 6 p.m. Long and tiring days, as you can imagine, and it was very wet at times. It is extraordinary how fit you get on a show of this kind; we sometimes got wet through on the march, and on getting to the field where we were to spend the night, we just lay down in our wet clothes in the wet grass and slept like logs. And in the morning I hadn’t even a cold in my head. We have no tents or blankets, etc., but just sleep in the open fields. But it is getting very cold now, and if it develops into a winter campaign they will have to give us blankets.

As we marched on after the Germans, we passed every day signs of a retreating army dead horses and Uhlans, discarded stores, etc. We would get to a place in the evening and find

that the Germans had left it that morning. This went on till 13 September, when we came up with them on the River Aisne. We had some hard fighting on the 13th and 14th, and here we are still at the same place.

I am writing this in the trenches. The German trenches are only 900 yards away, and if you put your head up over the parapet too conspicuously a hail of bullets whistles by you. But we do our own share of sniping too, and this morning I bagged one man and one horse off my own bat, though the officers don’t as a rule fire themselves. They made a night attack against us the other night; we beat them off easily, and I should think they must have suffered heavily. I have so far come through without a scratch, and hope to have the same luck all through. They bombard our trenches all day long, and we have to sit pretty close under; but we are well dug in, and their shells do not do much damage, unless one bursts actually in the trench. I have twice had the men on each side of me killed. They are very good with their artillery and direct their fire from aeroplanes; their infantry fire is poor. Their shells are not nearly so well made as ours; if they were, our losses would have been much greater.

I suppose you are hard at football now; what will the XV be like this year? We value letters here at the front very much. And the latest copy of The Pauline would be very acceptable, as I should like to know the latest School news.

I must stop now and get some sleep, as I shall be up to night digging. We have to dig a new trench, and the German snipers won’t allow us to do it by day. It is a nuisance, but we shall get our own back next time we get to close quarters, with them.

Yours very sincerely, B. L. Montgomery

[Editor: Those who read The Times of September 26th will remember the sober and vivid narrative of the retreat of the 300. Captain Montgomery does not remind us that when the party at last got behind the British cavalry screen, their numbers had sunk to 100].

III. Letters from the Front799

Major Samuel Henry Doake OP (SPS 1904 1910) R.F.A, 55th Howitzer Battery, 37th Brigade, 4th Division. This letter is dated 16 November 1914, at which time the 4th Division held the line in the southern section of the Salient, in the vicinity of Ploegsteert. Samuel was killed on 30 March 1918, age 25 years old. His Captain wrote: ‘The Major was standing with a cigarette in his mouth beside his men at the guns as they were firing a barrage when a shell

799 The Pauline, 32 214 December 1914 pp 240 241

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 28

struck the ground twenty yards away, and a big piece hit him in the chest and killed him instantaneously.’800 Samuel is buried in La Targette British Cemetery, Neuville St Vaast.801

Dear , I was very pleased to receive a [copy of The] Pauline with the mail this morning, especially as I had run out of all kinds of literature; one soon gets through anything to read when not on the move, with ten hours of daylight to pass away in a gun pit or observing station. I am quite glad at times now that I did not get into the Sappers, especially when they have to put up barbed wire entanglements in front of our trenches, which in places are less than 50 yards away from the German trenches. I have succeeded in dodging the German shells and bullets for nearly three months now, and hope to continue to do so, though they have been much too close to be pleasant at times. Their bark, however, is much worse than their bite; one shrapnel shell that burst beside us one day at tea was filled with marbles!

Another day they put just on a hundred ‘Whistling Willies’ into a small field in which we were, and never scratched a gun. Their action is extraordinarily local, although they dig holes in the ground large enough to bury a horse in. We measured one [shell] that did not explode, it was 2 ft. 11 in. long and 8.2 in. in diameter.

I was awfully sorry to see C. G. G. Bayly [SPS 1905 1909, see Chapter 8, Section 8.1, i] got killed so early in the war. Our airmen have been doing splendidly. The other day one, observing our fire and signalling the results, had seventy one shells burst in the air all round him from German anti aeroplane guns, and never seemed to mind a bit.

The inhabitants out here have been awfully kind to us, showering fruit upon us in the hot weather, and hot coffee, etc., now that it is getting cold. One old woman who lives in the cellar of her house, which is quite near the fighting line, sends me out a large bowl of hot soup every day. I must stop now and get my tea before the Germans start their usual unsuccessful (from their point of view) night attack.

I am very glad to see that the School Corps [i.e. OTC] has reached such record numbers, and that so many OP's have received commissions in ‘Kitchener's’ Army.

With best wishes to yourself and all at the School. Yours sincerely,

[Samuel] Henry Doake

IV. Letters from the Front802

800

The Pauline, 36 239 June 1918 p 68

801 Henry’s brother, R. L. V Doake (SPS 1903 1909) also served. He survived the war.

802 The Pauline, 33 215 February 1915 pp 25 27

Lieutenant Denis Oliver Barnett OP (SPS 1907 1914). This letter is dated New Year’s Eve 1914. At the time of writing Denis was serving in 1/28th (County of London) battalion, Artist’s Rifles. The battalion was in Bailleul at this time. Denis was about to be transferred to the Leinster Regiment, in which he had been commissioned as an officer. He was killed on 16 August 1915 age 20. He is buried in Poperinghe New Military Cemetery.

Dear , Here begins (a long dull letter) a New Year, and a new order of things for me and about 50 Artists [i.e Artist’s Rifles]. We’re off to morrow for the machine gun course, and when that's over, we go on straight to our new regiments, without coming back to this jolly old hole again, so we’ve done with this corps, worse luck!803 I feel much more sentimental than I did when we left England, as I couldn’t get myself properly impressed with things at all then. I’ve just come back from the last lecture, which was an exhortation from our Panjandrum (a staff major) who bade us be good officers, which we now proceed to be. We push off to morrow morning in motor buses for the base, where our General Headquarters are. We shall have a chance of getting clean and buying things of general interest, like nail scissors and infernal machines of that kind, which we haven’t seen since England.

It has been very nice on this picnic, playing at Tommies, but it will be nice to be civilized again. The only thing that has been able to make me homesick has been the comfortable smell of the officers’ quarters, whenever I’ve been in. You can’t think how bored you get of not living in a real house, and eating out of a mess tin on the floor or an empty box, and sleeping on the ground. Anyway, that is over to a great extent. Officers always seem pretty comfy whenever I’ve studied them in their native haunts. Of course, the trenches are very much the same for everyone, but that’s quite all right, and I love it, even when the parapet falls in and you see a dead German looking at you. (Did I say I loved that? Let me make that an exception. It's beastly.)

By the way, you probably don’t know what a village looks like when it has caught it in the neck. It is a wonderful sight. Each house has chosen its own way of sitting down, and the whole place is all huge pits where the big high explosive contact shells 'Black Maria's’ and her relatives have burst. It's an extraordinary experience marching through a place like this for the first time at night! Perhaps you don't know the two sorts of shells, which are absolutely different. There's the big brute, full of lyddite or melinite, or some high explosive, which bursts when it hits the ground and makes a big hole blowing out in every direction, but chiefly upwards, so that if you are lying down you are all right, unless the thing bursts on you. This chap does not have any bullets in him; but does his business in big jaggy bits, which

803 The unit diary states that on 1 January 1915 ‘forty five probationary officers left for St Omer to undergo [a] machine gun course’. TNA WO 95 128 4

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 30

you hear flying round bzzzz! and may kill you some hundreds of yards off if you are exceptionally unlucky, by dropping on your top crust. He is generally a heavy shell, fired from a howitzer, and goes dead slow. A Black Maria comes trundling along, whistling in a meditative sort of way, and you can hear her at least four seconds before she gets to you.

The other sort is really much more dangerous, as it is full of bullets and is timed to burst in the air, when the bullets carry on forwards and downwards in a fan shape. He is almost always on express, and comes up not unlike an express train, only faster. The crescendo effect is rather terrifying, but if you are in a trench and can get your head down, he can’t get at you seriously.

The Germans have got a little motor battery of 3 inch guns (which gave me my first taste of shrapnel) which is very unpleasant. The shells come in with a mad and ferocious squeal, and burst with a vehemence that is extraordinary for their small size. They have got very small bullets in them, about S.G. size, and lots of them.

Anyway, we’re getting guns up here hard, all sorts. We’ve got one big chap communing with a cross road ten miles off. There is not much doubt that we’re getting a superiority in artillery, and the German gunnery is going off, also their ammunition is often badly finished and doesn’t burst.

I hope you aren’t bored with all this rubbish, which you must have heard heaps of times. And then there's the Censor!

We are going to have a top hole time at this place we’re going to, and they'll probably give us a decent billet to prepare us by degrees for our coming translation.

Yours, D. O. Barnett

V. Letters from the Front804

Lieutenant John Batho (SPS 1905 1912). This letter appears to have been written in late December 1914. John served in the 54th Field Company, Royal Engineers, 7th Division. He died on 30 September 1915 age 22 years old, from wounds received three days earlier. He is buried in Chocques Military Cemetery.

John Batho805

804 The Pauline, 33 215 February 1915 pp 27 29

805 St Paul’s School Archive, Digby La Motte Collection

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 31

My Dear The trenches are very bad in some places, while in others they are quite dry. It all depends on the situation, and on the regiment occupying them. Some will take a lot of trouble to make themselves as comfortable and dry as possible, while other battalions seem to prefer wallowing in the mud while they are in, trusting to get dry while they have their spell out. The following are some of the many different kinds of work we (the R.E.) are carrying on and supervising, either with our own sappers or with infantry placed at our disposal: (1) The erection of barbed wire entanglements in front of our trenches; (2) digging new fire trenches, and making existing ones as proof against shell and rifle fire as possible; (3) drainage, removal of mud from, and flooring of the trenches; (4) digging and roofing dug outs for the men to live in; (5) manufacture of bombs, and instruction of infantry in their use; (6) sapping, and various other things so you see that we are rather indispensable here, and they are always inventing new ways of using us.

Things are pretty dull here in the fighting line. The infantry stand in their trenches and fire off occasional rounds at the enemy, who in turn do likewise. The guns do the same, although as a matter of fact most of the firing seems to be done by our side, except for firing at aeroplanes, as the Germans never seem to go up, while ours are always flying in all

weathers. Since I have been here I have only seen one German aeroplane, and that was on a very fine day. It dropped a few bombs but did no damage; that was on one of the few calm days we have had. The Germans, however, always fire at our aeroplanes, but never by any chance get anywhere near them.

The last night I was out at barbed wire work, we had done about 150 yards over the worst part of the line, where the trenches were 150 yards apart, when suddenly the Germans sent up several star shells and opened a heavy and rapid fire. We all lay flat on the ground and could hear the bullets whizzing overhead and plunking into the ground behind us. After about three minutes the firing ceased as suddenly as it had started; none of us were hit, so we got up again and finished the job off. That was when I smashed my watch. One gets plenty of amusement in a way out here, as humorous incidents are always occurring. One that beats almost all is connected with the barbed wiring of one of our companies, at a place where the trenches are not very far apart. The sappers put up part of the entanglement one night, but for some reason were unable to complete it the next night. On the following morning it was found that the Germans had completed it.

The men are all very cheery, and always see the lighter side of everything. There is remarkably little sickness, and everyone is well clothed and well fed. I am afraid it will be a long time before the war will be over, if only military considerations are taken into account. The human element plays a much smaller part than it used to do, although it still counts to a certain extent. The whole war is one of machinery and invention, and the side that can keep up its supply of men to use them will win. . . .

On Christmas Day I went off to work at 7.30 a.m. and returned to lunch at 2.30 p.m. I had to supervise and start one hundred infantry clearing out the main dyke or stream of the neighbourhood, and then reconnoitre for obstacles some two miles lower downstream.806 There was, however, one difference from other days it froze hard in the night, and everything had a very seasonable appearance. . . .

On Christmas Eve one of our wiring parties had a most satisfactory night. The Germans opposite them had a Christmas tree hung with Chinese lanterns and some lanterns on the parapet. It being a bright moonlight night, they could see our fellows working, but did not molest them, as they wished to dance round their tree, which they proceeded to do in full view of our trenches. When our party knocked off work the dancing was still going on, accompanied by singing and much merriment. As a parting shot they yelled across to our sappers, in English, ‘Why don’t you come over here?’ . . . An unofficial armistice was

806 The ‘main stream’ is a reference to the River Des Layes, a tributary to the River Lys. TNA WO 95 1645.

arranged for about a couple of hours on Christmas afternoon, along a portion of the trenches I have to deal with, ostensibly to bury some of our dead who had fallen in an unsuccessful attack some days previously, but probably to have a quiet afternoon. However, some of our men went out and strolled about between the lines; the Germans did likewise, and before long were shaking hands and talking with our men. . . . I have received The Pauline, which is very welcome.

John Batho

VI: Letters from the Front807

2nd Lieutenant Kenneth MacFarlane Gaunt (SPS 1909 1912). This letter appears to have been authored in late December 1914, at which time Kenneth was serving in the 1/16th (County of London) battalion Queen’s Westminster Rifles, 18th Brigade, 6th Division. The battalion was in front line trenches, a short distance to the south east of Armentieres. Kenneth was killed in action on September 1915. His body was never found and he is commemorated on Loos Memorial.

Sir, I have been at the front for two months with the Queen’s Westminster Rifles. We spent Christmas Day in the trenches. We arranged to hold an unofficial armistice with the enemy; we both left our trenches, and exchanged greetings and souvenirs, and they were very generous with their cigars, which were top hole. A party of ours and theirs linked arms and had their photographs taken by a German officer.808

It seems most weird, conversing amiably one day and killing each other the next. We have had appalling weather, and the trenches have been in a terrible condition. I unfortunately struck a part of the trench where a natural spring flowed in, consequently I lived in a foot of water for ten days. We put boards on the floor of the dug out and floated about on them. A side of the dug out fell in and buried my puttees, which made me extremely uncomfortable, walking about in mud and water, sort of ‘cafe au lait’; however, a nice frost has set in now.

I was very glad to see the School beat Bedford and Dulwich, and heartily congratulate Gadsden and the rest of the XV.

Yours faithfully, K. M. Gaunt.

807

The Pauline, 33 215 February 1915 pp 29 30

808

The unit diary entry for 25 December 1914 records ‘No war today. Much conversation with enemy between trenches.’ TNA WO 95 1616 2 1

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 34

VII. Letters from the Front809

The Pauline of March 1915 carried the following extracts from letters of Captain Arthur Gerald Ritchie OP (SPS 1893 1897; see Chapter 1, Section 1.3, ii.) Arthur served in the 1st Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 19th Brigade, 6th Division. The letters were written when the battalion was in the front line trenches in the vicinity of La Boutillerie, to the north of Fromelles in October November 1914. Arthur died age 35 years old at the Allied Forces Base Hospital, Boulogne, of a wound received on 30 October 1914. He is buried at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.

25 October 1914

I am right in the thick of it, writing this actually in the trenches. I am in command of our most advanced trench and very proud and happy; proud of the men and the way they fight.810 I’d rather have them than any other men, when the fighting begins.

We have lost a lot the last day or two. Some splendidly gallant men brought in one of our wounded yesterday evening. He had been lying in front of the Germans all one afternoon and another day.

I love the way they chaff, and their jolly spirit, when other regiments are getting excited. The man next [to] me in the trench is delightful. He quite forgets any differences of rank, and to day I found him with his arm round my neck pointing out a German whom I was trying to snipe at 700 yards’ range.

I have sat here three days and two nights already whizz, whizz, wooorrrk, bash, bang, etc., etc. Glaring farms and haystacks, tapping of Maxims, and sudden rave of musketry, but my men don’t fire unless they can see something to shoot. It is all very, very jolly. The bother is want of sleep. Of course, I have to be awake all night, otherwise the men would never think it necessary to keep awake. To day I managed a couple of hours’ real undisturbed sleep behind a haystack. Often and often I find myself tumbling down as I stand, asleep for a second, and then I have to get someone to promise to wake me up in half an hour. But of course this is an exceptional time. Of course I never have a bath, or take my boots off, or have anything but very rum meals.

11 am, 26 October 1914

809 The Pauline, 33 216, March 1915 pp 52 53

810 Arthur succeeded Captain Ronald Hugh Walrond Rose (SPS 1893 1897), killed in action on 22 October.

Another night, a very trying one, pouring with rain. Enemy very active. But I managed to crawl out in front 300 yards with two jolly fellows and set light to a haystack with bundles of straw saturated with paraffin so as to light up all the ground in front and keep the enemy from advancing. It was gloriously exciting more so than stalking buffalo, as the German sharpshooters were all about. But we must have surprised them, and though they may have been actually sleeping behind the haystack, they never spotted us. I am caked with mud from head to foot; rifle, glasses, everything clotted with clay. If I never see another day, nothing can take away the glory of these crowded hours. Dirt, wet, want of sleep, tremendous strain of continually driving, driving, driving men. But health and splendid life. Everything is done by passing orders along the line. In the midst of it all a parcel came up from the supports in the rear cigars and chocolate. “Pass it along. Who says a choice cigar?” was the cheery message I heard being sent along, and we were soon puffing away.

2 November 1914

It was in the early morning of 30 October, and they were doing a night attack. I had my little post to hold, and kept them off all right, but I got hit in the left thigh, just below the groin, by a bullet which hit the bone. It was splendid the way they brought me down, the stretcher under fire. Motor, ambulance train, more motor, and then blessed peace in the Allied Forces’ Base Hospital, Boulogne. I had my little show all to myself, and my own company and subalterns, and my own arrangements, and they all did so well the men, I mean. I thought I was dying, but when I came to my senses the fight was still going on, and they had put me under shelter, and my subaltern was holding my hand and shouting orders at the same time, and it was very jolly but only a little bit of a thing.

VIII. Letters from the Front811

2nd Lieutenant Denys Woods (SPS 1905 1907), Army Service Corps Army Service Corps, attd. 85th 1/3 London Field Ambulance (Driver). This letter is dated 20 March 1915, at which time the ambulance was operating in the vicinity of Neuve Chapelle as part of 3rd City of London Field Ambulance, a unit in 1st Division (until 34 August 1915). Denys survived the war, as did his brother Rex Woods (SPS 1907 1911), the ambulance driver.

My Dear , I hear that you would like to know what we have been doing with the School Ambulance since we arrived in France and Belgium, so I must try to do my best with a rather uninteresting story. No doubt you will expect to hear that we are undergoing untold hardships and deprivations, but, as a matter of fact, we are having an extraordinarily good

811 The Pauline, 33 217 June 1915 pp 88 90

time, comparatively little work, and, thanks to a little private store, more than is good for us to eat. Indeed, such luxuries as pork chops and baked potatoes are not unknown, while poached eggs on toast are almost a commonplace.

As I think you know, we arrived in France about the middle of January, after a most painful crossing, which proved the most unpleasant experience that we have had to undergo either before or since. We all of us expected to go down at any moment, and very few of us would have cared. From the coast we came up country by easy stages in our own A.S.C. convoy we did not join our unit until sometime later until we got within sound, but not within range, of the guns. Here we were continually supplied with rumours of immediate departure to various interesting destinations, until one day a certain distinguished officer arrived to inspect our cars. Indeed, he went so far as to make a trial trip in one of them, but unfortunately on being told to drive faster the driver went round a corner at such a speed that the gallant officer fell off the stretcher on to the floor. After this he decided that we required certain internal modifications, and we lost some little time while the alterations were being made. However, some three weeks or a month after landing we joined our own unit the 3rd City of London Field Ambulance at their hospital, which we found to be in a magnificent block of buildings, badly damaged by shells earlier in the war, and well in the centre of things.

We were allowed one night to settle down, and the following evening our activities commenced. Imagine a car some five feet wide on a road seven feet wide bordered by deep mud out of which, once you are well in, it is a herculean labour to extricate yourself: take away all lights, throw in a pitch black night and a number of shell holes in the road, and you will have some idea of what we have to contend with. My first night out was an absolute nightmare, but we are gradually getting used to it, and when there are a few stars about we find it almost easy. It only shows what one can become accustomed to. Of course, the stretcher bearers can only come out of the trenches after dark, so that all our work has to be done at night.

I am sure that you would like to hear of hair breadth escapes with the ambulance, but I am afraid that at present we cannot provide any. The authorities evidently consider us too expensive to go very near to the firing line, and we have to be content with going up to within a mile or so and waiting for the wounded to be brought back to us. Of course we sometimes get a few shells they are most unpleasant even when they burst some way off and one of our ambulances even got so far as to have a bullet through the canvas, of which its drivers are quite proud, but I am afraid we do not run any very grave risk apart from the perils of the road. When I first came out I think I had a vague idea that one would have shells flying about in a haphazard sort of way in all directions, but I soon learnt that a battery does not usually fire unless it has some fairly definite object to fire at. If you happen to be that

object so much the worse for you. If not, you can watch the shells bursting a few hundred yards away with a reasonable amount of comfort and safety.

Even if it were allowed I am afraid that I could not give you any news that you had not already heard. Most of our own news comes second hand from England. Of course we get all sorts of wonderful rumours, and one night some ingenious spirit even went so far as to circulate a yarn that troops were coming cheering from the trenches and that peace had been declared, but we are not very credulous now of anything that is not strictly official.

Yours ever, Denys Woods

IX. Letters from the Front812

Captain John Edward Gordon Carlisle (SPS 1898 1901). This letter is dated 5 May 1915, at which time John was serving in the 107th Pioneers, 7th Indian (Meerut) Division. He was mortally wounded while in the assembly trenches at St Vaast on 9 May 1915 and died at the No. 4 Military Hospital, Bethune two days later, age 29 years old. He is buried in Bethune Town Cemetery.

Dear Sir, I thought you might like to hear of the following OP’s I met during the last few days. Went up to the trenches with machine guns and found O.C. Section was Captain Ainsworth (Gurkhas) [SPS 1894 1899], and the next day the gunner observation officer who came up was Rutherford [1898 1902] both about my time. When I got back to ‘billets’ [I] found The Pauline waiting for me; also found that Major S. B. Watson [SPS 1888 1892], Indian Army, at present attached to my own regiment, had been at the School. Was extremely sorry to see the obituary notice of Mr. S. Bewsher in The Times. Wishing Captain Bicknell every success in his new appointment.

I am, yours sincerely, J. E.G Carlisle, Captain, Indian Contingent.

X. Letters from the Front813

2nd Lieutenant Robert H Scott OP (SPS 1912 1914) served in the Honourable Artillery Company. This letter is dated 2 April 1915, at which time Robert appears to have been undergoing training at the School of Instruction. Robert survived the war.

School of Instruction, C/O Artists Rifles, B.E.F

812

The Pauline, 33 217, June 1915 p 90

813 The Pauline, 33 217 June 1915 p 90

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 38

Dear Sir, It may interest you to know that the following Paulines are here preparatory to taking up commissions in [the] regular army: Corporal Harold L. Gilks [SPS 1901 1905], Bombay Light Horse, attached Lahore Division Signal Service; E. D. Conran [SPS 1901 1904], Artists Rifles (School, 1902); E. A. M. Williams [SPS 1908 1912], Artists Rifles, and self.

Yours faithfully, Robert H. Scott. H.A.C.

XI. Letters from the Front814

This letter is dated 9 August 1915 and signed ‘W. L. H’. It was almost certainly authored by Captain William Lewis Henderson (SPS 1896 1901). As Captain of C Company, William served in the 10th battalion West Yorkshire Regiment, 50th Brigade, 17th (Northern) Division. He was mortally wounded on 3 April 1916, dying exactly one month later, aged 32 years old. He is buried in Etaples Military.

Behind the firing line, somewhere in Belgium.

My Dear , I write at 5 a.m. in a dug out with shrapnel bursting all round me. Some silly fools yesterday made much smoke with fires, just when a German aeroplane was passing, and the result is that whizbangs and shells have been coming over here steadily. Aeroplane sentries are posted everywhere, and the men scuttle into their dug outs the moment they appear.

It’s very nice running a Company. We're autonomous. Most of the Companies have six officers, but we've only got four, but we all pull together. Mind you, we’re quarrelsome, irritable, argumentative, and occasionally abusive, but for all that we're the best of friends and officially they all obey me splendidly. Last night we had to make a feint attack on the Germans. All our men were warned and the artillery thundered at ‘Fritz’ for two hours, starting to time, 2.30 a.m exact. (It was nice to hear our guns for once.) Meantime our chaps were to rush a certain sector of trenches. I’ve not heard yet whether we gained them. At present the Germans are very much cleverer at trench warfare, sapping, sniping, etc., than we. They blew up two big traverses and an officer’s dug out I had occupied, the night after I had been there. My motto is ‘Keep smiling’. It's better to be shot than hanged.

Rain is frequent and the state of the trenches indescribably muddy. I can’t think what they must be like in the winter. Alas, all the villages about here are ruined heaps with no inhabitants. The sight is awful. The other night I had to take a working party of 100 men out 814 The Pauline, 33 221 28 October 1915 p 216

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 39

to dig new trenches in a very exposed place. We had to pass ‘Bus House’, where bullets were humming and one had to double 100 yards.815 The Germans pour in so much lead stray bullets every night.

Bang! Shrapnel has just knocked off the top of my sentry’s bayonet, so I must go.

W. L. H.

XII. Letters from the Front816

Anonymous letter from an OP who served in either the RFC or RAF. Undated.

Yesterday I had a real adventure, and came through an experience which few have had. It was a very cloudy day, and we were supposed to be acting as escort to a reconnaissance of some hundred miles of the enemy’s country; the machine we were escorting got lost in the clouds, but we were luckier, .. . and I decided, as it was clear over the Hun lines, we would do the reconnaissance. We got through all we could, and were making for home when I ran into a huge cloud bank. We were at 7,500 feet, and it extended far above us, nearly down to the ground and for miles on either side. The only thing to do was to fly through it. Now when you fly into clouds you have to watch your compass very carefully to ensure keeping straight. If you get on to a turn you may find yourself upside down. .. . We got on splendidly for about ten minutes, when suddenly the machine seemed to go ‘mad dog’, and the speed rushed up to over ninety miles per hour. I was on , so was not in the least alarmed . . throttled the engine off and sat tight doing nothing. By this time we were doing somewhere about one hundred and fifty miles per hour, and it was plain we were driving [diving?] to earth at an appalling velocity. I also realized that the machine was not going to right herself, and as I did not know what we were doing I could not try and right her. . . . Suddenly we shot out of the cloud, and there was the earth vertically below me and spinning like a teetotum. To look at that was fatal, as one would be giddy in a second, so I looked back at my instruments. . .. We were only 1,500 feet from the ground, so I decided to take a hand. Very gingerly I felt the control lever, and the wild scream of our wires decreased at once, and the speedometer fell to one hundred miles per hour. I knew we were all right, so very gently I flattened her out to sixty miles per hour and opened up the engine again. .. . If one pulled hard and flattened out fast at that terrific speed the wings would certainly have collapsed. We were now safe again, but did not know whether we were in our lines or the enemy's. We soon found out. A fairly hot rifle fire was opened on us, and a machine gun chipped in from our left it was plain all we had to do was to go west. .. . So twisting, turning, and climbing to avoid the fire we flew

815 Bus House is to the south east of Voormezeele, a short distance to the south of Ypres. 816 The Pauline, 33 221 December 1915 pp 263 264

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 40

along, and in a minute or two were over ‘the line’, helped by the French gunners, who sportingly opened fire to disconcert the enemy and give us a chance to cross. Half an hour later we were home at the aerodrome. The machine was hit in a few places. . . . We are repairing it. . . . The whole thing was over in thirty to forty seconds, and was about as bad an experience as one can have in its way, and looked like certain death, but . . . I was able to think quietly and calmly, and thank God there was no sense of fear. . . . I slept like a top no dreams, and am as fit as a fiddle to day.

XIII. Letters from the Front817

Signed by ‘John’. He describes his experience at Gallipoli from 5 August 1915.

No. 3 General Hospital, Mudros, 1 October 1915

My Dear , I am going to try and give you a short account of my doings since I left Egypt. After we had been in Egypt seven days, we were told to get ready to go to the Front, and we all very eagerly got our gear down to carrying dimensions and left the rest in camp. We marched down to the station and took train for Alexandria, which we reached about four o’clock in the evening, and straight aboard the transport the most gentlemanly troopship I have ever heard of. We went down to our mess deck and found the tables already spread for us with nice white cloths and a beautiful cold meat tea, with pickles and new bread and butter and jam! It made our eyes sparkle I can tell you! We sailed that night, and arrived off Anzac, and within sound of rifle and gun fire two and a half days later.

Our Brigade had been in rest camp doing heavy fatigues for some weeks previously, and had not been in the firing line proper for all that time. Our reinforcements, and the 7th reinforcements, which arrived shortly afterwards, increased the strength of our battalion to fighting strength. Although we were in this Rest Gully, a number of shells would visit us daily, and we were always losing a few men. After about ten days of this we were told to stand ready for the historic advance on the left, on the night of 5 August. We left Anzac Gully about eleven o’clock at night, and crept along the beach for about three or four miles; when we got thus far we had the word to fix bayonets, and we turned directly inland. We were all the time losing one or two men from stray bullets coming over the hills, although the Turks were quite unaware at this time that we were coming. We went at a great pace in single file through the hills, and we could hear the New Zealanders and Maoris, who were in advance, cheering as they routed the Turks off the near hills. We were given the order to charge. We

817 The Pauline, 34 224 April 1916

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 41

proceeded about a mile and a half inland, receiving no opposition, and about this time it started to get light.

During this charge I and about sixty others got separated from the battalion, so we took possession of a ridge as close as possible to the Hill 971 which you have heard so much about. [Hill 971 was the highest point on the Sari Bair Ridge, Gallipoli.] I and nine others were sent out by an officer (who had just come up) to take possession of the farthest point of this ridge. When we got out there the Turks, who were now beginning to offer resistance, turned their attention to us at a range of about 400 yards, and things got very warm. I was the first to go down, but the bullet only hit my rifle, though the bang was sufficient to knock me head over heels. The man next me got hit in the head, and while I was fixing him up with bandages the man on the other side of me was killed, and also a Gurkha whom we had got mixed up with. I looked round and found I was the only one left unhit, so I decided to get back to the rest if I could. I crawled along like a snake and got back all right, and found that one other had got back beside myself out of the ten who went out, although two more got back wounded later. We entrenched ourselves and held this position, quite separated from our battalion, for a fortnight. The Gurkhas, whom we had joined up with, are great little fighters, and they have a great admiration for the Australians. The officer (Mr Curlewis) and the sixty men with him were mentioned in dispatches for this little job, but although all our names were taken I don’t expect they will appear except in bulk. We then shifted to an outpost farther on the left quite a home of a position, but having very few men we could only get one night’s sleep in seven, and as the flies were terribly bad we could not get much sleep in the daytime. After about ten days here we went farther on the left still to a brute of a position, where we got enfiladed by shrapnel fire and lost a lot of men. We came away after holding this position about a fortnight or a little more to Mudros. We were all very glad to get away, as we were all worn out and had lost a lot of men.

Much love to all, John

Appendix 4: units, ranks and Order of Battle

The constitution of the BEF Unit Composition

Commanding Officer Army Group Composed of several Armies Field Marshal Army Composed of several Corps, varying in number General Corps Composed of several Divisions, varying in number

Lieutenant General Division c. 18,000 men in total (12,000 infantry and 4,000 artillery plus the Divisional troops.)

Composed of several Brigades, usually 3.

Brigadier

Major General Brigade Composed of several Battalions, usually 4.

General

Battalion c.1000 men Composed of 4 Companies

Lieutenant Colonel, assisted by a Major Company c.250 men Composed of 4 Platoons. Captain Platoon c.50

Lieutenant or 2nd Lieutenant, assisted by a Sergeant Section c. 12 men Privates Corporal or Lance Corporal

Composed of 4 Sections

In order better to understand the experiences of a soldier it is important to appreciate the form and structure of the military force in which the majority of OPs served, the British Expeditionary Force.818

At the outbreak of the war in 1914 the British army was composed of three main elements, each of which was staffed by volunteers: i) a small force composed of regular, professional, soldiers; ii) a Territorial Force, principally designed for home defence, constituted of part time soldiers; iii) and three forms of Reserve soldiers. In 1914 only the first of these, numbering about 250,00, was obliged to undertake foreign service. (It was the first of these elements that the Kaiser Wilhelm II allegedly referred to as ‘General French’s contemptible little army’ in a command supposedly issued on 19 August 1914.) By 1918 the British Expeditionary Force had expanded to over five million men, in part because many Territorial and Reserve soldiers agreed to serve overseas, in part because of the extraordinary 818 The C.E.F and Indian Corps were similarly organised.

response to Kitchener’s appeal for volunteers and in part because of the introduction of conscription in 1916.

The B.E.F thus consisted of a number of discrete but mutually connected military groups known as ‘units’. The modular nature of the army meant that these units could be moved around according to need, though for the large part units once placed within a Division tended to remain in that place apart from short lived periods when they were perhaps ‘attached’ to another unit in need of support. Each unit was referenced by a name and number. For this purpose, those of Corps and above made use of Roman numerals e.g. ‘IX Corps’ while Divisions and below chose to employ Arabic numerals e.g. ‘9th Division’. A Division was composed of several Brigades, each of which was composed of several battalions. Thus 9th Division was constituted in part by 26th Brigade, that Brigade in turn in part constituted by 7th Bn. the Seaforth Highlanders (Regiment).

When an offensive action was planned, an Order of Battle was composed i.e. a number of Divisions (and their associated units) were brought together to form a Corps. The composition of a Corps was therefore reasonably fluid over the course of the war.

The smallest unit in the army was referred to as a Section (c. 12 men), the next smallest referred to as a Platoon (c. 50 men). These units were commanded by commissioned officers ranked 2nd Lieutenant and Lieutenant respectively. Experience of this level of command was by far the most common amongst OPs who served.

Appendix 5: the High Master’s Address 28 Sept 1914819

We have met this term in circumstances which prescribe a good deal of what I must say this morning. I find it impossible, even if it were desirable, so to abstract my thoughts from the public affairs of to day as to devote the minutes at my disposal to any of the ordinary topics of school life. It is doubtless the part of the preacher in speaking of the present war to avoid all vehemence of words. But with this condition the preacher has his place in dealing with these questions, and I venture to say that if a war could not be brought to church, and be the subject of our prayers and religious meditations, then there would be something wrong with the war. In the present war I think that there is going to be more room than usual for the preacher and the speaker. In a short, sharp war the first impulse may see a people through it to the end. But according to all who have authority to speak, this is likely to be a long war and to demand great tenacity of purpose to counterbalance the inevitable weariness and loathing; the losses that will touch all, the distress that is bound to accumulate and grow. Tenacity of purpose through a long period of loss is impossible if you are inspired only by motives of aggrandizement or revenge. And therefore those of us who can only lend our country our tongues will do well to make and keep abundantly clear, what I do not hesitate to describe as the spiritual motives underlying this war, and the spiritual issues that will depend upon its end. This is really what was meant by the statement which I read at the beginning of the war, that “the psychological factor was going to have more power in it than cannon” it meant that with material powers so evenly matched, the side would win which had the supreme conviction which makes victory a solemn duty. There is no duty in fighting on for one’s own gain one may compromise it as soon as one is weary but one is in a different position when one is fighting for things that can’t be compromised. Much the same was meant by a Frenchman, who on the day when Belgium was invaded said to a friend of mine, “If England joins us every Frenchman becomes two”. He did not then mean that our big fleet and little army would make the difference. He meant that the deliberate judgment of another free people gave them such confidence in the justice of their cause that it doubled the might of their hands. And again it was what was meant by a working man orator whom I heard the other night end up an eloquent passage with the phrase, “France has found her soul again”. He did not mean that Frenchmen saw at last their chance of revenge for the provinces lost in 1870; nine out of ten Frenchmen had in forty years made up their minds to put up with the grief of that for the sake of humanity and their homes. He meant rather that France felt herself called again to take a manful part in a great cause. Perhaps France is not the only nation which will find its soul again in this sense. From lesser politics, from making of careers, from gathering of wealth, from adding to the comforts and pleasures of life, we have all been suddenly called to judge a higher issue. If all

The Pauline, 32 212 213Oct 1914 pp 185 190

that is sane and healthy in us gains the day, as we believe it is doing, over all that is inert and ease loving and selfish, then our nation too may be said to have found its soul again.

If a man or a nation is to be tenax propositi for a long period, the first condition then is, as I am sure we all know and feel, that his purpose should be rooted and grounded in something that he can’t give away, and he must be in no two minds about it. It is not for me at this time to set to and prove that there is such a thing in our present national effort. I leave that to your reading and your thinking, and I leave it with some confidence. Someone said to me the other day, that as boys did not understand politics he feared they were not moved in such things by a reasoned or conscientious consideration of duty. This sort of statement amazed me. I look at our [War] Lists, and I see two thirds of the School living very laborious days for this purpose they have in mind, and I find scores upon scores of those who recently were our companions here laying aside their careers for the time and risking all, offering their lives for this purpose they have in mind What are they doing it for? If I am told that they do not understand politics, I answer that they understand the difference between what is worthy and what is mean, that they can distinguish between justice and oppression, that liberty has not become a cant word to them, that they understand what duty to friends is, and that they feel with a sensitiveness which many of the great intellectuals cannot emulate when a choice is presented that involves more than gain or loss, to be calculated in material terms. That is why so many tens of thousands of our public school boys have offered themselves. We have laboured to keep alive in them this spiritual insight. Can we do other than rejoice to see that when the opportunity came they leaped to show their choice? Can we do other than rejoice to see that our own boys have fallen short of none? And that, too, though we have already begun to pay our toll of precious lives. Among whom, because he is known to some of you, I name with all honour [Charles George] Gordon Bayly [SPS 1905 1909, see Chapter 8, Section 8.1, i.]820 He had a good, brave, bright life and a death worthy of his kinsman, General Gordon.

But besides the sacredness of our cause and the greatness of the issues involved there are one or two other thoughts that I would like to have constantly in our minds in the months to come, if we are to hold to our purpose not spasmodically, but with ever increasing firmness. I will only say a word or two about them and ask you to bear them in mind. The first I will put this way. Did you not feel a glow of pride when from every corner of this big empire came the voice of approval and the promise of help? They are free peoples, and need not follow where we lead. Not least I think of India, who offers her hundreds of thousands of men and all her resources. Truly our ancestors have built better than we thought, and great is the debt we owe to the great line of patient administrators to whom we owe it that, whereas our histories always speak of India conquered, we can now discard the phrase and

820 Bayly was the grand nephew of General Gordon of Khartoum.

speak of India won. Nor less do I think of South Africa, where facts have triumphantly vindicated the great risk we ran a risk never faced in the world’s history before when within three years of a bitter war we gave self government to our aforetime enemies. Ask yourselves what these things mean. They are all with us, and clearly we stand at the present moment for something that is dear to all alike, Briton and Boer and Hindu, I say this not to stir pride, but that in the months to come, when things grow weary, in face of all ill news and sacrifice, we may be encouraged to be true to the work of our fathers, and not to fail a world which looks to us to take the lead in defending the rights of all.

Another thing we must bear in mind a thing for which we are sometimes blamed. I spoke a moment ago of a great risk we ran. We have for years been running another greater risk. In order that none might suspect us of aggression we have resolutely refused to arm like the rest of Europe. In so far as this was done to maintain the principle of peace it was nobly done, and this is not the time to question it. But we must remember that, having acted thus, we are in the position of men who have not thought it worthwhile to pay the premiums of insurance. Now that the disaster has come, because things are not ready, our men must needs suffer many privations and hardships that on another principle might have been avoided, and perhaps we shall lose many whose precious lives might have been saved. For this, because we are responsible as a nation, we should as a nation shoulder the burden. As fast and as completely as possible we must make up that which is lacking, but the debt does not end there. It has been truly said that it is right for a patriot to give his all for the rest, but not right for the rest to take it; and I should like to think that no orphan or widow of this war should ever go without that which father or husband would have found for them. Let our purpose, nobly enough begun, be carried out with generous completeness through years and years of attention; and perhaps, by the blessing of God and an increased sense of responsibilities for one another, there may come from this present trouble a more Christian way of dealing with some social problems.

The next point is this, and it more intimately concerns the boys. Everybody feels a certain amount of difficulty in keeping himself in an ordinary frame of mind for common work. We must not underestimate the values of our own work for our country because it is limited by our age, and is confined within the walls of this school. Restlessness is not a sign of patriotism but of weakness. It would be a very great pity and a very great loss if, owing to excitement and the feeling that friends and former comrades are “doing something more active”, there should be a kind of interval in your effort in the education of yourselves. Every time that you make a bigger effort to understand, let us say, a process of Algebra in order that you may be more fully equipped for the future, you perform a patriotic act. Your morning prayer may well be, “Help me to day to make myself more fit, that when my country wants me I may be ready to obey and ready to command”. And as to the extra military training that you can get here, let me remind you of what I said on the first day of

term. You need not concern yourself with what is others’ duty. Fix your thoughts on what is your duty, having regard to your circumstances, age, and capacity. And that fortunately is clearly marked. Every communication we receive from the War Office warns us that we are expected to keep up during the next two or three years a steady stream of men who have had their first military discipline and training and can be fitted quickly to take command. That is why they have not called up any 0.T.C. officers, badly though they are wanted, to train troops elsewhere. They attach greater importance to their service here. And this purpose of theirs you must help. You are not wanted prematurely, but they want you to be ready.

I want to end with one word equally for parents and for boys. Some have already been bereaved many may be bereaved ere long. Our faith in a future life to perfect this life will be their stay. But to any such who have to endure separation from those they love I want to say, though it is not easy to put it into words, how much we who have no sons or brothers who can serve feel our debt for the sacrifice you make which falls so unequally on us. It is a sacrifice for our sakes that our sons in years to come may be free from these things. We join you humbly in the thrill of thanksgiving you must feel that those you lose give their lives in the noblest cause ever championed by a people. We will join you too in your prayers and hopes that God will make their sacrifice avail for all the peoples of the earth. For in spite of all the hatred let loose just now, some of us venture to hope from the present effort the dawn of a nobler and more peaceful age. I myself feel that this may be so, and that we may leave to our children’s children a legacy of long peace if neither in the contest nor in the settlement we plant seeds of future hatred, keeping faith with our purpose and counting vengeance a, lesser honour than mercy in due season. Of those whom we have sent out to fight, the line of the poet is true: “He links all nations while he serves his own”. And for us who stay at home the word of the sacred poet must be equally true: “He shall not be afraid of any evil tidings, for his heart standeth fast and believeth in the Lord.”

Appendix 6: infantry regiments

A infantry regiment was in essence an administrative agency based in towns and cities around the country. It undertook recruitment and organised training. It was not itself a unit in the line of battle but a ‘parent’ of a number of fighting units called battalions (see Appendix 7), each of which had a nominal strength of around 1,000 men. In most cases a regiment recruited volunteers from the region in which it was based, usually apparent in its name, for example the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry Regiment (whose depot was based at Copthorne Barracks in Shrewsbury), the Devonshire Regiment (whose depot was ‘The Keep’ at Dorchester) and the Border Regiment (whose depot was at Carlisle Castle in Carlisle).821 The regimental arrangement was such that it could readily be expanded by recruiting, or ‘raising’, additional battalions. From August 1914 most regiments were composed of three types of battalion: regular, territorial and service.

The 86 regiments that existed in 1914 assumed one of three forms: 1) the majority sixty nine were ‘line’ regiments, so called because they consisted at their core of two battalions of professional career soldiers (Regulars), one battalion serving overseas as a ‘line’ while the other formed a ‘line’ at home and undertook to supply trained recruits to the overseas battalion; 2) eleven regiments, including the enormous London Regiment, were Territorial Force only regiments. Newly established on 1 April 1908 as part of the reforms of the British Army carried out by Secretary of State Richard Burdon Haldane, the Territorial Force was constituted of part time soldiers with no obligation to serve abroad (though most chose to do so); 3) the remaining six regiments were the Guards Regiments.

By 1914 most of the ‘line’ regiments had developed affiliations a sort of franchise with two or more battalions Territorial Force battalions. Upon the outbreak of war in August 1914 the new Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, disparaging of the Territorials whom he regarded as ill trained diletanttes ‘Saturday afternoon soldiers’ determined upon forming a New Army composed, in the first instance, of 100,000 volunteers. The infantry formations in this New Army, the ‘Service’ battalions, were duly affiliated to most of the existing regiments. Thus, before the end of 1914 nearly all of the existing ‘line’ infantry regiments were tripartite in hue, with Regular battalions at their core alongside affiliations with or ‘parenthood’ of Territorial and New Army (‘Service’) formations. Meanwhile,

821 Only a small group of regiments /corps recruited nationally (or more accurately, had no formal recruitment ‘territory’ allocated to them): the Foot Guards; King’s Royal Rifle Corps and Rifle Brigade; Household Cavalry; Cavalry of the Line (i.e. non Yeomanry); Royal Engineers; artillery RFA and RGA; RFC; and the various support corps i.e. the ASC; RAMC; AOC; RMP; Army Pay Corps; and Army Veterinary Corps; and lastly, for the duration of the War, the Army Cyclist Corps.

none of the Guards Regiments developed any such affiliations and thereby sought to maintain their pre war standards with battalions constituted only of Regulars.

Each regiment, many of whom boasted origins reaching back to the seventeenth century, espoused a distinctive ethos and tradition, a result of its age, patron and any historic campaign in which it had participated. Regiments thus developed a bespoke esprit de corps that found expression metaphysically and materially, the former sometimes manifesting itself in a moniker, such as ‘the Diehards’ (the casual name by which the soldiers in the Middlesex Regiment became known) and the latter in such things as regimental music, mascots, insignia, characterful uniform (for example, the wearing of kilts) and, perhaps above all else, in the form of a flag, or standard, known as the Colours.822 Characteristics such as these meant that a regiment assumed its place in a recognised (if somewhat fluid) order of precedence within a hierarchy in which the six Guards regiments resided at the top and the Territorial Force only regiments at the bottom. OPs served in all except five regiments, in some instances as Regulars, in others as Territorials and yet others as ‘Service’ soldiers i.e. with the status of soldiers in the New Army whose service was to last for the duration of the war only.

822 The moniker originated from the regiment’s participation in the Peninsular War. When the commanding officer of the 1st battalion, Colonel William Inglis, was struck down during the Battle of Albuera in May 1811, he instructed his men to hold their position exclaiming, ‘Die hard … die hard!’

Appendix 7. battalions

Battalions were units of about 1,000 men, each of which was affiliated to a regiment. Some 1,761 battalions participated in the war 1914 1918.823 Most soldiers viewed their battalion as their ‘home’; the regiment, meanwhile, was considered the ‘parent’.

Before the outbreak of the war most regiments possessed three battalions, designated thus:

1st battalion <name of regiment>; 2nd battalion <name of regiment>; 3rd (Reserve) battalion <name of regiment>824

These battalions were constituted by regulars, that is, volunteers who had joined the army for aspirational, career reasons and were in effect ‘professionalised’. Before 1914, one or other of either the 1st or 2nd battalion would be based in the colonies (usually India, Africa, the Caribbean or the East) while the other the ‘linked’ battalion remained at home in Britain supplying the one abroad with drafts. In turn, the 3rd battalion composed of Reservists was expected to bring the 2nd battalion up to strength in time of war. This outward looking disposition of the regular army meant that there was a need for a second force to serve at home, charged with thwarting invasion and putting down insurrection. In 1908 government reforms had constituted this second group as the Territorial Force (T.F.) Men who joined the T.F did so on a volunteer, part time basis and thus their experience, and indeed, wherewithal to fight, was not as developed as that of the regulars. Territorial battalions, although different in quality to regular battalions, were nevertheless similar in that they were recruited by region and were thus affiliated to the same regiments as the regular battalions. A regiment that was composed of three regular battalions and successfully recruited c.3,000 territorials, would have the capacity to form three Territorial Force battalions and would designate them thus:

1/4th battalion <name of regiment>;

1/5th battalion <name of regiment>;

1/6th battalion <name of regiment>;

823 This figure is from James, E A, British Regiments 1914 1918, (1976) Introduction to Part II

824 Some regiments had more than 3 regular battalions. For instance, The King’s Royal Rifle Corps, in which E.S.P.K James (kia 17 March 1915) served in 4th battalion, had a total of 6 regular battalions.

Part E: appendices for Volume 1

As the war became protracted the vast majority of this first contingent of TF battalions i.e. those designated ‘1/’ moved overseas and the government therefore authorised the formation of a second contingent of the T.F. This necessitated a further designation so that these second contingent (known as ‘Second Line’ TF battalions) were referenced by a number ‘2’ followed by a diagonal / fractional slash thus:

2/4th battalion <name of regiment>; 2/5th battalion <name of regiment>; 2/6th battalion <name of regiment>;

In turn, as some of these ‘Second Line’ battalions proceeded overseas, a third line of battalions was established thus:

3/4th <name of regiment>; 3/5th <name of regiment>; 3/6th <name of regiment>;

Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, possessed such disdain for the T.F he considered them ‘Saturday night soldiers’ that he was driven to sponsor a new recruitment drive following the outbreak of hostilities. These new recruits were to form a New Army rather than simply to be used as replacements (or additions) to the existing regular and T.F units. Nevertheless, recruitment remained on a regimental basis, and so these new battalions took a yet different designation, numbered in sequence from the highest number used to designate the last formed T.F. battalion. Thus, following from the sequence above, the first New Army battalion, and its successors, in this particular example (i.e. in succession to 3/6th <name of regiment>) would be designated thus:

7th (Service) battalion <name of regiment>; 8th (Service) battalion <name of regiment>; 9th (Service) battalion <name of regiment>.

In the great rush of volunteering that took place following Kitchener’s famous appeal, regiments found that they had sufficient recruits to form several new Service battalions. During this phase of recruitment a growing realisation that existing but localised camaraderie could be used for national gain led to the recruitment of cohorts of volunteers who lived in the same region and worked in a specific occupation or business and whose common ties would be maintained by serving in the same battalion. These battalions became known as ‘Pals battalions’ and invariably carried a meaningful secondary title in the battalion designation such as the ‘Grimsby Chums’ and ‘Accrington Pals’.

Latterly, as volunteering slowed, there was clearly no need to create new battalions, but instead to try and populate those that already existed with the smaller number of volunteers and, from 1916, conscripts.

Appendix 8: an officer’s commission

Most OPs served in the rank of officer i.e. 2nd Lieutenant and above. The award of officer rank was obtained by the process of applying to the Army authorities for a commission, whereupon, if successful, the applicant received a document issued by the monarch formally bestowing a command ‘carefully and diligently to discharge’ authority in the role of an officer. The award of a commission was published in the London Gazette, hence the term ‘Gazetted’.

The commission of James Alfred Dixon OP (SPS 1906 1908), a large stiff piece of paper upon which is the text appointing him to the rank of (temporary) 2nd Lieutenant in the Land Forces.825

James’ commission document was of standard wording. It reads:

George by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the seas, Kind, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India etc. To our trusty and well beloved James Alfred Dixon greetings. We reposing especial trust and

825 Courtesy of St Paul’s School Archive. Box 295. Photographs of James Dixon SPS MSS/9

confidence in your loyalty, courage and good conduct do by these presents constitute and appoint you to be an officer in our Land forces from the fourth day of September 1914. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge your duty as such in the rank of 2nd Lieutenant or in such higher rank as we may from time to time hereafter be pleased to promote or appoint you to of which a notification will be made in the London Gazette and you are at all times to exercise and well discipline in arms both the inferior officers and men serving under you and use your best endeavours to keep them in good order and discipline. And we do hereby command them to obey you as their superior officer and you to observe and follow such orders and directions as from time to time you shall receive from us or any your superior officer according to the rules and discipline of war in pursuance of the trust hereby reposed in you. Given at our court at Saint James’s the Fifth day of September 1914 in the fifth year of our reign. By his Majesty’s command.

Appendix 9: summary record of inter-Faculty activities during the 2018 centenary commemorations at St Paul’s School

Such was the significance of this project that it manifested itself in a substantial of activities for all members of the St Paul’s Community. An outline of this work is below.

Activity Staff initials Department

Creation of 490 Crosses by the Fourth Form JCJW Art Dept Planting of crosses by all Tutor Groups at SPS and SPJ. UMs & Chaplain leading small Act of Remembrance/silence around memorial

All

All All Whole School Remembrance Service MSK, TNRK & SLG

RAF 100: 100 Years of People Pushing Technology Talk and Flight Simulator BS Physics and Partnerships Paulines in the First World War Drama Production

AJK Drama 1WW with Michael Grant and Graham Seel GES, MRG History/Art How did the First World War End? Prof Hew Strachan GES, CLJ History/ ER Professor Dominic Lieven: 'Russia and the First World War' (Historical Society) AAW History

SJH Engineering 4th form lesson on the Italian front and language exercises on an Italian war poem by Giuseppe Ungaretti

Poppy making

ATLT Italian Annual 4th Form unit of work on researching a French region will focus exclusively this year on areas affected by trench warfare.

DJMH French Chemistry Society Talk: three stories about Fritz Haber MJPS Chemistry Creation of posters of 7 men who fell in 1918 MRG Art Dept Remembrance Assembly presented to SPJ SM History Assembly to IVth Form JCJW Art Dept Plotting of location of graves / commemorative tablets using GIS (with GeogSoc talk); Using the augmented reality sand box to re create landscape pre and post war with 4th form

APDI Geography IVth Form to undertake research into those who fell and publish findings on a school hosted website

Support for IVth Form research. Creation of 1WW display and digitization of team photographs from the period; visits from Forms prior to Remembrance service; opening of Archive allowing boys to handle artefacts.

appendices for Volume 1

GES and AJK History

HKC and Librarians Kayton Library

Creation of WW1 display for Governor’s Meeting December 2018 HKC and Librarians Kayton Library

Digitisation of the 1919 War List to support research now and in the future (underway)

HKC and Librarians Kayton Library 4th form one off lesson on Songs in 1WW MDW, TE, WJF Music Music Society Talk on Impact of the War on classical music TE Music Assemblies to IV, V and VI GES Humanities

Teaching of WW1 poems in 4th and L8 All English Posters by the L8th on the epidemiology & biology of Spanish 'flu SJR, JRB Biology

A lesson or part of a lesson looking at German reactions to WW1, including Kollwitz/Dix/Marc/Remarque

Junior History Society, 7/11: IVth Form presentation on experiences gleaned from original research into the '490'

DEBP German

RAE History

Understanding howitzer trajectories AJM Maths Song lyrics about 1WW, 2WW and contemporary interventions in emerging nations DJMH General studies Vocab translations of 1WW terms GCL French Vth Form Drama Group dramatic reconstruction of the bios of some of the OPs who fell in 1918

AJK 8th Form Assembly Representations of the 1WW through paintings CJG IV Form Assembly

Visit from group of SPJ boys to view display (AJG)

HKC & Librarians Kayton Library Visits from tutor groups/classes to view display (AGW/NB/GES) HKC & Librarians Kayton Library

Assembly to L8th & U8th on how would you like to be remembered (whilst also practising "We will remember them")

Remembrance Chapel for 4th & 5th on Remembrance (whilst also practising ‘We will remember them’, and hymn of ‘O God our help in ages past’)

MSK Chaplain

MSK Chaplain

Theatre visit to see The Trench by Les Enfants Terrible. This is their show commemorating 1WW JPB SPJ Drama

Appendix 10. Armistice Day assembly 2014, composed and delivered to 4th and 5th Form

by Simon May (Head of Classics)

Went the day well? We died and never knew. But well or ill, Freedom, we died for you. Yesterday we commemorated those who fell in what even after ninety six years is often and despite later conflicts called The Great War. Over eight million men were killed of whom roughly eight hundred thousand were British. The originator of the Imperial War Graves Commission calculated that if the dead were to march down Whitehall to the Cenotaph it would take four days and four nights. Five hundred and six Paulines were lost, a sixth of all who served a horrifying proportion of total British casualties. A list of Pauline war dead ran to eighteen pages in the post war list published in 1919. If I read out the names of the fallen it would take me no less than twenty minutes, and although I am not going to do that, and although it was missing yesterday, that is exactly what I should like to do, because then we would have some sense of the scale of the slaughter and a sense of the tragic and ongoing human dramas that lay behind each name. We all have our own family memories: mine is of my great grandmother, whom I knew, who visited her husband as he lay dying from a wound sustained on the Somme (obscenely he died in the same year as his own great grandmother) and who then survived him by fifty five years .

The recent trend to reinstitute the two minute silence and corporate acts of remembrance is in my view entirely salutary, for the Great War should prompt so many questions in us: is peace in the world guaranteed? Is Europe secure? What does it mean to be British? What would my response be in the event of a real national crisis? Do I have any idea of what is meant by that powerful phrase “the pity of war?” The Imperial War Museum has an excellent collection which enables you to confront these matters. I was especially impressed with their computer which allowed you to tap in the name of any fallen soldier known to you. I tried the name of a great great uncle who family tradition said had actually died on the last day of the war. I now know he in fact died on the ninth; I discovered the name of his wife, his address, his elderly parents’ name and address, as well as the number of the grave in which he is buried. These are bald details indeed, but they are all I have, but they are powerful and evocative in their very sparseness. I also discovered a deeply sad use of Latin, in a soldier’s pocket book, where he jotted down his ideas and drew pictures. Inside it said “qui hunc librum reperiet, ad uxorem meam mittat. pro hoste idem facere velim.” “Whoever finds this would he please send it to my wife. I would do the same for an enemy.” How poignant that Latin, the universal language of Europe was being pressed into service to foster humanitarian feeling in the breast of a fellow European who was there to kill him.

There was a widow’s diary showing that even in 1918 there was a feeling that memory was limited. “Never a joke, never a look, never a word to add to my store of memories. The book is shut up forever and as the years pass I shall remember less and less till he becomes a vague personality, a stereotyped photograph.” Several exhibits at the Museum refer to Paulines, in particular the official war artists Paul Nash and Eric Kennington, some of whose work is on display. The Pauline war poet Edward Thomas’ diary is a chilling reminder of sudden extinction: meticulously kept up until the day he was killed in 1917. The whole book is creased because of the blast of the bomb which killed him, and his watch is there too, stopped at the fatal minute on that ninth of April. But if you would like to get inside the minds of the generations involved, consult the wartime numbers of the Pauline magazine, which in large measure began to be given over to war news. The High Master Dr Hillard began his school assembly on 28 September 1914 with a masterful understatement: “We have met this term in circumstances which prescribe a good deal of what I must say this morning.” Predicting a long and distressing war, he went on to calm the boys. “You are not wanted prematurely, but they want you to be ready.” Telling them to get on with their algebra, he offered them the prayer: “Help me today make myself more fit that when my country wants me I may be ready to obey and ready to command.” We have the idea today that all soldiers and the country immediately thought the war wasn’t worth fighting, but reading from the 1917 Pauline you would doubt it. Speaking at Apposition in that year the High Master, though he had to report that 304 Paulines had “made the great sacrifice” and that the first of the Masters, a Mr Chessex, had fallen in battle, was nevertheless applauded when he reported the School’s proficiency at producing war poets, when he announced that 2550 Paulines had joined up and when he reported that one old boy had managed to escape from prison in Germany, walking the length of the Rhine via neutral Holland to British Headquarters in Northern France. The High Master went on, “Curiously for a Pauline he did not know a word of German so he pretended to be dumb and put red ochre in his ears to make people think he had some terrible disease.” One gets the distinct impression of a community smiling through the tears, though not disdaining the struggle. Tears there certainly were. Listen to this from a Pauline’s letter of 1915: “I love it even when the parapet falls in and you see a dead German looking at you. Did I say I loved that? Let me make that an exception...it’s beastly”. This from Christmas 1914 shows the ordinary in the face of the utterly horrific: “Unofficial armistice for a couple of hours on Christmas afternoon along a portion of the trenches I have to deal with, ostensibly to bury some of our dead who had fallen in an unsuccessful attack some days previously, but probably to have a quiet afternoon. However some of our men went out and strolled about between the lines; the Germans did likewise and before long they were shaking hands and talking with our men...I have received The Pauline, which is very welcome.” The School Archives contains one box of documents dealing with one particular boy, Denis Barnett, who was Captain of

the School from 1912 4. You can read about him in the booklet published yesterday.826 Praised by his Club President for “complete moral and physical courage, unfailing good humour and absolute straightness”, he had a promising Oxford career in front of him when he enlisted in August 1914. He died in Flanders a year later. Perhaps for St Paul’s he sums up in his own short life that loss of an entire generation. A letter survives which he wrote to a master:

I am enjoying this most awfully and feel I am learning no end of things. I’m glad to find I am not afraid of bullets more than another man. I want to tell you this frankly. The said bullets are sometimes very much in evidence here as [the Germans] have a way of turning a machine gun on to the road after dark. Last time they did that the first bullet grazed the collar of my Burberry and I was in the ditch pretty well before the next one arrived. I should think that some people would have been rather winded but a saving sense of humour prevents anything more than a moment of tense funk after when the balance seems to right itself.

I was very moved to read what a brother officer wrote of him:

I was with him just before he died, at the dressing station, and his uncomplaining courage was an object lesson as to the way a brave man should face his end. He was quite conscious all the time. His face looked beautiful in its calmness as if chiselled in white marble. I only hope that I shall meet my end when it comes with half his nobility.

In 1927 a prize was founded in Denis Barnett’s memory, which even today is awarded at Apposition. In the Archives there exists a letter from Sir Louis Gluckstein to Barnett’s sister. It is dated 1967:

DOB [i.e. Denis Oliver Barnett, see Volume 2] has remained in my memory for over fifty years as the perfect type of schoolboy and young man who ought now to be leading this country but who was alas so cruelly sacrificed in the First War over fifty years ago.

Although we live in an age which has no use for mass citizen armies, we flatter ourselves if we think that the era of war is over. I hope that over the next few days you will pray for the peace of the world and for justice in it. Those young men who fell were not so very different from yourselves; and it is their absence from our family stories and traditions which is a constant reminder to us to live our lives to the full, not sacrificing our own

826 A reference to the commemorative booklet published in 2014 authored by a group of pupils working with the History Department.

Part E: appendices for Volume 1 60

opportunities, mindful of others both at home and abroad. To do anything less would be a travesty of the sacrifice they made, and the peace they won.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.