AITCHISON, OSWALD ('07)
N , joined the forces soon after the outbreak of
war as a Private in the 16th Commercial Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers He was
wounded in 1915, and was again wounded in the attack on
Thiepval on July 1st, 1916. He died a week later and lies
buried in Doullens Cemetery. |
|
ALLAN, ALEXANDER HUGH ('93), joined the forces on March
1st, 1915, in the A.S.C., went to Rouen in November of the
same year, and was there until September, 1917, when he was
transferred to the Artists' Rifles. He was killed in the
battle for the Passchendaele Ridge on October 30th, 1917. |
|
ALLEN, ROBERT ('97), volunteered on the outbreak of war
for service in the Navy, and early in November, 1914,
received his commission as Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.V.R., and was
appointed to the Tyne Patrol. He was later transferred to
the Nore Forces and there engaged in mine-laying and patrol
work. Early in 1918 he was lent to the Dover Patrol and was
engaged in the English Channel and on the Belgian coast.
During the operations against Zeebrugge on St George's Day,
1918, he was one of the four mine-layers of Captain Collins'
unit which directed the Vindictive and screened her while
she was alongside the Mole. After these operations he
returned to the Nore Patrol. Late in November, 1918, while
on patrol he contracted a severe chill which developed into
pneumonia, and on November 23rd, 1918, he died in the R.N.
Hospital, Chatham. " Kindly, unaffected and straight in
every act, Robbie Allen won the love and respect of all who
knew him." |
|
ANDERSON, FRANCIS WILLIAM ('95), served with the forces
through the South African War and the campaign in East and
West Africa. He died at the Military Hospital, Durban, on
April 26th, 1917. |
|
ATKINSON, F. P. ('06), enlisted as a Private in the 9th
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers He has been officially reported as missing since
the Somme Battle of July, 1916. |
|
BAILES, FRANK G. ('04), Lieutenant, D.L.I., died of
wounds after the fight at Ypres. |
|
BARNES, HARRY SCOTT ('06), received his commission as
Second-Lieutenant, 16th Northumberland Fusiliers in September, 1914, and served
with the battalion until it left for France in November of
the following year, when he was transferred to the training
camp at Hornsea. In January, 1917, he was sent to France to
join the 1st Batt., and on Easter Monday of that year he was
killed in action at Arras, and was buried in the cemetery
there, aged 19 years. |
|
BARTRAM, FRANK ('08), enlisted in the Public Schools'
Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, and went to France with them on
July 23rd, 1916. Serving first as a Bomber, he became later
a Lewis-gunner, and was wounded whilst attacking the German
lines on April 16th, 1917. He died of his wounds and was
buried at Fontaine-les-Croiselles. |
|
BASTOW, NORMAN ('09), had served his apprenticeship at
Wallsend Slipway. He obtained a commission as
Second-Lieutenant in the 3rd West Yorks and went to France,
where he was attached to the French Mortar Battery. He went
to the front in June, 1915, being temporarily attached to
the Northumberland Fusiliers He was killed in action, December 23rd, 1916. His
Commanding Officer writes : " He was leading his
section, and, utterly regardless of his personal safety, got
out of the trench the better to supervise operations, when
he was shot through the heart and died immediately." |
|
BELL, WILLIAM MARCUS ('09), enlisted in the Sherwood
Foresters, April 15th, 1917, and after two serious illnesses
left Dover for France on August 23rd, 1918. He was wounded
and gassed at the battle of Cambrai on October 25th, 1918,
and died on the following day in the General Hospital at
Etaples, aged 19 years. |
|
BLENKINSOP, WILLIAM M. ('05), joined the Durham
University O.T.C. in October, 1914, and was gazetted
Second-Lieutenant in the 12th D.L.I. before the end of the
year. In January of the following year he was serving with
his regiment as Transport Officer at Aldershot. Promoted
Lieutenant he was sent to France, and after a year's service
there, proceeded to Italy. He was twice mentioned in
despatches. On October 29th, 1918, he was severely wounded
in the head and died ten days afterwards. He lies buried at
Carita, near Treviso, in Italy. |
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BOOKLESS, ALEXANDER FREDERICK ('10), joined as a Private
in the 7th Northumberland Fusiliers in August, 1917, went overseas in April,
1918, and was taken prisoner near Rheims a few weeks later.
He died of dysentery in the Trelon Hospital on September
10th, 1918, aged 19 years. |
|
BROWN, GEORGE RUSSELL ('09), enlisted in September,
1914, received his commission in the Northumberland
Fusiliers a month later, and
in November, 1915, was ordered to join a battalion of his
regiment at the Dardanelles. After serving for some time on
the Suez Canal, he was in France in 1916 with a Trench
Mortar Battery, and during the attack at Mouquet Farm was
wounded and invalided home. In the following year he was
again in France and served with his regiment in the fighting
at Passchendaele Ridge and Cambrai. He attended a Lewis-gun
course at the base, and returning to his regiment served
with it near Arras until February 11th, 1918, when he was
killed while in command of his company. He was in charge of
a working party engaged by day at a spot under distant
observation of the military lines. They had to take cover
from shell fire several times during the afternoon, and,
according to the account of one of the men, Lieutenant
Brown, having given orders to cease work for the day,
ordered the men under cover, and waited to see them in their
places before taking cover himself. He was hit by a bursting
shell and was killed instantaneously. " He was a jolly good
pal," an officer writes, " one of the very best, with ever a
cheery word and a smile when the ` dumps ' were prevalent."
His soldier servant relates that among the men he was best
known as " Old Cucumber," on account of his coolness when
under fire. |
|
BULLEN, HARRY STANLEY T. ('06), received his commission
in the Northumberland Howitzer Brigade, R.F.A., in
September, 1915, and went to France a few months later. He
was promoted Lieutenant in March, 1917, and was killed at
the battle of Arras, April 14th, 1917, aged 20 years, and is
buried in Beaurains Cemetery, near Arras. |
|
BURKE, WILLIAM H. ('08), joined the 6th Northumberland
Fusiliers on June
26th, 1916. He was soon in France and wrote on October 6th,
1916, from the base that he was ready to leave for the
trenches at any moment. He died on December 7th, 1916, from
wounds received November 15th, in the battle of the Somme. "
He was a brave and plucky lad," writes the Q.M.S., " and
even when he was hit displayed the greatest courage. After
being attended to by the Medical Officer he walked to the
advance clearing station; in fact he came back to the
Sergeant-Major's dug-out and squared everything up, even to
putting into good order some effects of other poor lads who
had paid the full penalty." Private Burke showed much
promise as a scholar, and had been reading for Classical
Honours at Armstrong College. He had qualified by
examination for the B.A. degree, taking the prize for
French. Of a modest and retiring disposition he had
exercised much influence for good and had won the respect of
both dons and undergraduates. |
|
BURN, JOHN CULBERTSON ('09), enlisted in the 2/1st
Northumberland Hussars when 18 years of age, and proceeded
to France in March, 1917. He was gassed at Ypres on July
13th, and on his recovery was posted to the 9th N.F., with
which battalion he served until a few days after the
evacuation of Armentieres, when on April 18th, 1918, he was
wounded and invalided home. He was again drafted to France
about the end of July when he joined the 12/13th N.F., and
was killed in action on August 22nd, 1918, on Beaucourt
Ridge. |
|
BURTON, REGINALD COOKSEY, B.Sc. ('05), gained a Science
Research Scholarship while at Armstrong College, and was
later appointed Deputy Superintendent of the Indian
Geological Survey. Eight months after the outbreak of war he
was permitted to join the Indian Army, and proceeded to
Mesopotamia. On April 7th, 1916, a month after he had
obtained his Second-Lieutenancy, he was shot in the head by
a Sniper, and died after remaining unconscious for two days.
His brother officers and also the Chief of Survey in India
bore testimony of his brilliance and foresight in whatever
he did. |
|
BUY, KENRIC E. G. ('04), joined the Northumberland
Hussars and went to France in 1917. He obtained a commission
as Second-Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion Border Regiment. He
fell " while gallantly leading his men into action," and
died on the field near Bellenglise, on the Hindenburg line,
October 1st, 1918. |
|
CAMPBELL, IAN STUART ('06), joined the 16th (Commercial)
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers on its formation in August, 1914, and was
commissioned as Second-Lieutenant in the 23rd Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Scottish) in the following October. He went to the
front with his regiment in the early part of 1916, and was
killed on Thursday, June 29th, during a night raid, planned
anticipatory to the big attack of July 1st, 1916. He was
seen lying in " No Man's Land," but next day he was missing,
and nothing has been heard of him except an unconfirmed
report that he had been buried near Albert. |
|
CHAPMAN, JOHN CLIFFORD ('06), was an aviation pupil and
was killed while on a trial flight for his certificate as
Pilot. On May 10th, 1916, he was flying on a Hall-Cauldron
at Hendon when his machine touched the wing-tips of a
biplane which was undergoing a test by Mr Courtenay, the
newly-appointed instructor. The two machines fell from a
height of about two hundred and fifty feet and Chapman was
killed. |
|
CHAPMAN, WILLIAM A. ('91), joined up in September, 1914,
and went to France with the 5th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers in April of the
following year, when that battalion went straight into
action at Ypres. He was invalided home towards the end of
the year, but returned to France two months later. He was
killed during the fight on the Somme on September 15th,
1916. |
|
CHAPPY, ATHOL I. ('11), Royal Military College,
Sandhurst, was commissioned Second-Lieutenant May, I917, in
the Essex Regiment, and served in Egypt (February, 1918). He
returned to France in June of that year, and was killed on
September 24th, 1918, while his regiment was attacking a
strong and intricate point which was eventually captured. |
|
CHRISTOPHER, RICHARD ('07), enlisted in the 27th N.F.,
and was gazetted Second-Lieutenant in November, 1916, in the
Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Section) for service in the Tanks.
Later he was promoted lieutenant and attached to the 16th
Battalion Tank Corps, and served in France on the Cambrai, on
the St Quentin front, and on the Hindenburg line. He was
killed in action on September 29th, 1918. |
|
COULL, JAMES C. ('98), Second-Lieutenant in the 3/1st
Northumberland R.F.A., was promoted Lieutenant July, 1917,
and later posted to the R.F.A. signalling training centre.
He died of pneumonia on February 13th, 1919, at the Gosforth
War Hospital. |
|
CURRY, PERCY J. ('00), was a Lance-Corporal in the 16th
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers He was reported missing on July 1st, 1916, and
the authorities have sent the information that he was killed
in action on that day |
|
CURTICE, FREDERICK RUSSELL ('05), joined the R.F.A. soon
after the outbreak of war and served eighteen months in
France. He held the rank of Lieutenant in 1916, and died on
November 17th of that year of wounds received three weeks
previously just before the last advance on Beaumont Hamel. A
brother officer stated that he left the gun position in
order to go to the observation post where he was to register
the battery's guns for the bombardment. The road was a very
dangerous one and stretched across a mile and a half of
country so thick with mud that one had to keep above the
trenches and not in them as they were simply running rivers
of clay and water. For at least two hundred and fifty yards
he was under direct observation from the German side, and it
was while crossing this most dangerous part of the road that
he received the shell wounds that unfortunately proved
fatal. |
|
DAVIDSON, ROBERT CHRISTOPHER ('04), went to France in
1915 as a Sapper in the R.E. From May, 1916, he was attached
to the 35th Division R.E., and was engaged in the Somme
battle of 1916, the German retreat, 1917, and the Ypres to
Renaix offensive, 1918. He died in France on March 14th,
1919. |
|
DAVISON, CHARLES MONTAGUE ('09), finished a creditable
career at school as a prefect and Company Sergeant-Major in
the O.T.C. He early answered the call to military service,
and obtained a commission in the 4th Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers in March,
1917. In the Army he was eminently successful, and at the
front was loved and trusted by his men as he had been by the
boys at school. By his kindly nature, his sympathy with and
his interest in others, his courage and consistency, he won
on the battlefield the reputation as an officer of sterling
qualities and a gentleman.
He went to the front in May, 1917, and died on April 10th, 1918, of
wounds received that day in action. The chaplain of his
battalion writes : " He was one of the most loved of our
officers, partly for his boyishness, partly for his
delightful personality and manners—some of us called him the
Prince '—but chiefly for his fine soldierly qualities. Few
officers were more courageous in the line." |
|
DAWSON, WILLIAM ATKINSON ('06), was training with the
6th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in September, 1914, and went to France with
the 50th Division in April of the following year. He was
wounded at the battle of St Julien, and during the second
advance on the Somme he was killed at High Wood, September
15th, 1916. " I see him now," said a friend, " as he was
then, calmly binding up the wounds of the injured (he was a
stretcher-bearer), and unselfishly helping them under that
awful death-hail. He always did his work well and was indeed
a brave man." |
|
DITCHBURN, W. ('05), Private, 6th N.F., reported
missing, presumed killed in action, April 27th, 1915. |
|
DIXON, CHARLES JOHN ('08), on leaving school Commenced
the study of music in which he attained some success. On
returning to Newcastle he obtained a commission as
Second-Lieutenant in the D.L.I. on May 8th, 1917. He went to
France in the following June, and a fortnight later, on June
22nd, was killed by a bomb while in the trenches with a
working party. |
|
DIXON, GEORGE ('92), was manager of collieries in
Nottingham, but enlisted immediately after the outbreak of
war in the Coldstream Guards, and was in France early in
1915. His abilities were soon recognised, for in the April
following, he held a commission as Second-Lieutenant, R.E.,
in the Second Division, 1st Army Corps. He was killed in
action at Cuinchy, August 6th, 1915, and was buried in the
Military Cemetery at Cambrai. " No matter how hard the work
to be done," says one who knew him, " he always went
straight on with it—thoroughness characterised all his
work." " He was greatly beloved, a gallant gentleman who
humbly and nobly did his duty." " He was one of the most
unselfish men I have known," said another, " and he was
always ready to help others and do them a good turn." |
|
DIXON, JOHN G. ('10), served at first as a Private in
the 6th Battalion N.F., and on the completion of his training
was sent to Lichfield Cadet School. He obtained his
commission in the 3rd Battalion N.F., but was afterwards
attached to the 13th Battalion He was killed while leading his
company in an attack on Fontaine-les-Croiselles on June
16th, 1917. " It was his first time of leading and his
behaviour was that of an old soldier." |
|
DOBSON, SYDNEY ('05), joined the forces as a Private and
was soon promoted Sergeant Instructor in the M.G.C. He was
drafted to France in July, 1917, and was reported missing on
March 21st, 1918. For some time it was thought that he was a
prisoner of war in Germany, but in November his parents
received word that he had been killed. He had been captured
along with others, and as they were being marched away a
German machine-gun opened fire and Sydney was mortally
wounded. |
|
DODDS, JOHN H. ('94), enlisted as a Private in the 23rd
N.F., and was killed in action on July 1st, 1916, at the
battle of the Somme. |
|
DOUGLAS, LESLIE HALL ('95), after leaving school became
an assistant surveyor of shipping, and was one of the first
to volunteer his services when hostilities commenced,
enlisting as a private in the 2nd Field Co., Northumberland
Div., R.E. In September, 1914, he held the rank of
Second-Lieutenant, and went to France in April, 1915 He was
later promoted Lieutenant, but on July 9th, 1915, he was
killed in action near Dranoutrè, Belgium. |
|
DOUGLAS, ROBERT ('04), joined the 15th Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers in
1915. He was twice wounded at the battle of the Somme. Later
he served with the British troops at the crossing of the
Piave river. On the night of October 26th, 1918, the
Northumberland Fusiliers were engaged in action, and during the advance on the
following morning Corporal Douglas was one of the first to
fall—shot through the heart. |
|
DOUTHWAITE, ERNEST E. ('92), joined the forces in Canada
where he had been living for several years, and was attached
to the 27th Canadian Battalion of Infantry. He was killed in
action on April 10th, 1917. An officer writes : " We
captured a trench on Vimy Ridge quite close to Farbus, a
small village in Farbus Wood. The trench was our objective
on the 9th, and we held it until the 11th when we were
relieved. The trench was furiously shelled for five hours,
and the enemy had the exact range; consequently we lost a
lot of then. Douthwaite was killed during those five hours.
Before he was killed the boys saw him do a very fine piece
of work with a rifle grenade. He put out of action a German
machine-gun which had been very troublesome, and so saved
many of our men's lives." |
|
DOWNIE, PHILIP ('03), served as a Private in the 16th
Northumberland Fusiliers He was officially reported missing on July 1st, 1916,
and in June, 1917, he was reported as having been killed on
that day in the Somme Battle. He lies buried at Lonsdale
Cemetery, north-east of Albert. |
|
DRYDEN, NORMAN MCLEOD ('95), obtained his Commission as
Second-Lieutenant in the old 3rd (Vol. Batt.) Northumberland
Fusiliers On the
outbreak of war this battalion became part of the 6th Battalion N.F., and he was then Captain of " A " Company. The 1/6th
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers will always be remembered for its glorious work
when first in action in April, 1915. On the 24th of that
month they were moved up to the Ypres salient to hold what
had become at that time a serious situation. On the morning
of the 25th, the 6th and other N.F.'s, together with the
D.L.I. and Yorkshire Regiments, went into action at St
Julien. Captain Dryden was severely wounded in this
engagement. Later in 1915 he was appointed to the signalling
section of the Farnley Park Bombing and Signalling School at
Otley. He died of meningitis, contracted at Otley, on
November 23rd, 1915, while on a visit to his brother at
Selby, and was buried there with full military honours. |
|
DUNFORD, ROY CRAIG ('96), became a chartered accountant
on leaving school and later acted as secretary to various
companies. Being an old volunteer he obtained a commission
in the Northumberland Fusiliers at the outbreak of war. He went to France in
May, 1915, was wounded slightly, but returned in the January
following. In September, 1916, he was engaged near High
Wood, and on the 15th got his company out of an awkward
predicament, showing wonderful courage and resource. For
this he was awarded the D.S.O.-" For three days prior to an
attack he directed the digging of assault trenches under
heavy shell fire. During the attack his personal direction
of his company resulted in heavy losses to the enemy and the
capture of a hundred and fifty prisoners. Finally he was
shot through the body whilst organising his defences." On
November 10th, 1916, he succumbed to these wounds in the
spine. |
|
DUNN, ARTHUR GIBSON, M.D., B.S. ('95), had had a most
promising career at the Medical College, Newcastle, and
having qualified as M.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P. he became resident
Medical Officer at the Newcastle Dispensary. After being for
some time at the Northumberland War Hospital, he joined the
R.A.M.C. in 1917 and was attached, as Lieutenant, to the
129th Field Ambulance. He was killed on September 5th, 1917,
at Alonette Farm, near Langemarck, by a shell bursting near
the dug-out door. Only one hour before his almost
instantaneous death he had taken the post of a Medical
Officer wounded in action. |
|
DUNN, FREDERICK 0. ('98), joined the forces immediately
after war was declared, and was commissioned in the 4th
Battalion Tyneside Scottish (23rd N.F.). Early in March, 1916, he
attained his First-Lieutenancy and was appointed Brigade
Bombing Officer. On March 19th, 1916, while engaged on a new
test with a trench catapult and a percussion bomb, the
latter exploded prematurely and killed him instantaneously.
He lies buried at Erquinghen, France. |
|
DYSON, NORMAN R. ('97), served as a Gunner in the West
Lancashire Regiment R.F.A. early in 1916, and went to France
in February, 1917. Later he was attached to the 315th
Brigade R.F.A. and saw much active service in many parts of
the western front. He was offered a commission but preferred
to remain as a Private. His influence for good was much
appreciated by the men of his regiment, and his officers had
the very highest regard for him. He was killed in the
Cambrai sector on September 10th, 1918. |
|
FARTHING, ALFRED ('09), joined the 31st Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers in
November, 1915, and proceeded to France on July 3rd, 1916,
where he was transferred to the 1/4th Battalion K.O.Y.L.I.
(Signalling Section). He took part in the first battle of
the Somme, and during the fight at Nieuport on July 22nd,
1917, he was gassed, and died two days later while being
conveyed to hospital. He lies buried in Le Treport Military
Cemetery, France. |
|
FLETCHER, JAMES NEVILLE ('98), enlisted in the 6th
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in September, 1914, and went to France as Corporal in
April of the following year. He was wounded in the head at
St Julien, and died at Chatham on May 28th, 1915. |
|
FOGGIN, GEORGE W. D. ('10), trained for an infantry
commission and later transferred to the R.A.F. He was
gazetted Second-Lieutenant in September, 1917, and attached
to the 48th Squadron. Killed in action in France, July 14th,
1918, aged 19 years. |
|
FOTHERBY, REGINALD S. ('07), Driver, 2nd Field Company
R.E. (Northumberland Division). After eighteen months'
service in France he was wounded in September, 1916, at the
battle of the Somme. He was sent to Mesopotamia in April,
1917, and died of dysentery at Basra on March 16th, 1918,
aged 25 years. |
|
FOX, CEDRIC EARLE ('05), Flight Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.
Born December 27th, 1894. Drowned January 7th, 1918. Cedric
Fox was a law student and had passed his intermediate
examination when he joined the University and Public
Schools' Batt.-2Ist Royal Fusiliers in September, 1914. He
went to France in 1915, and was recommended for a commission
in April, 1916. After having trained at Trinity College,
Cambridge, he was gazetted to the N.F., but transferred to
the R.N.A.S. which he had long been keen to join. He took a
first class certificate as pilot and was attached to H.M.S.
Manxman—a sea-plane carrier. Later he was loaned to the 6th
Wing, stationed at Taranto, Italy.
On January 7th, 1918, an enemy submarine was sighted and
Sub-Lieutenant Fox took out a machine with an observer in
pursuit. He left the station about 2 p.m., and a wireless
message was received from them about an hour later. They
must have had mechanical trouble about 3.45 p.m. when they
had to make a forced landing which they did in spite of a
heavy sea. A pigeon was liberated with this message : " Down
on surface seven miles S.S.W. Saseno." Unfortunately, owing
to the storm or darkness the pigeon did not land at the
station, forty miles away, until the next morning. When the
boats reached the spot they found nothing but wreckage,
which, however, was identified. |
|
FUTERS, NORMAN RATCLIFFE (' 10), on the outbreak of war
was a first year's engineering student at Armstrong College.
He joined the Durham University O.T.C., and was commissioned
on November 26th, 1915, to the 3rd Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers (Reserve of
Officers). In July, 1916, he was in France attached to the
16th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers He was wounded during the attack on Nieuport
in July, 1917, and for some time was in the Military
Hospital at Glasgow. Recovering he returned to France in the
following November, and was posted to the loth Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers and promoted Acting Captain. The break up of the battalion,
however, saw him reduced to the rank of Lieutenant once more
with the 18th Pioneer Battalion Later he served with the 1st
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers where he commanded " W " Company, being gazetted
Acting Captain on September 17th, 1918. He was killed whilst
leading his company in the
advance on Ribecourt on September 27th, 1918. A
fellow-officer writes : " He was commanding " W " Company at
the time, and his company contributed very materially to the
magnificent success which the battalion achieved on that
day." |
|
GANDY, CLEMENT JOSEPH, M.C. ('00), received a commission
in the Special Reserve of Officers on October 1st, 1914, and
later joined the Royal Engineers. After special preparation
at Chatham he was sent to France. In December, 1916, he was
awarded the Military Cross for work thus described in the
London Gazette—" He led his section and working party by
compass bearing all night through heavy fire to the newly
captured line. He and his party worked hard throughout the
night consolidating the trenches won." He was killed on July
31st, 1917, by a shell, while reconnoitring in the Steenbeck
Valley, near St Julien. |
|
GIBB, JOHN HARDIE ('08), joined an O.C.B. in 1916,
received his commission in the King's Royal Rifles, and went
to the front in May, 1917. He took part in the battle for
Messines Ridge, and was killed on July 31st, 1917, when
leading his men in an attack on the village of Hollebeke.
Aged 19 years. |
|
GIBSON, GEORGE H. ('05), went to sea as an engineer and
was off Constantinople when war broke out. After reaching
home he took the first opportunity of entering the Naval
Service (December, 1914) as an Engineer Sub-Lieutenant,
R.N.R. on H.M.S. Vicknor, an auxiliary cruiser, which, it is
feared, was lost on January 25th, 1915, in the Irish Sea. |
|
GIBSON, JOHN ('97), on leaving school took up motor
racing. In 1912 he had a serious accident while racing in
the Isle of Man. At the outbreak of war, however, he
enlisted in the 2/7th Devon Cyclist Corps as a despatch
rider, and served with that regiment for over eight months,
being present at the Hartlepool bombardment. He was then
gazetted Second-Lieutenant in the same regiment, serving as
Transport Officer. He was next transferred to the R.A.F.,
and early in 1916 was sent to France where he was
accidentally killed on June 19th, 1916. He was commencing a
flight and on leaving the ground his machine collided with a
hay-mower. The aeroplane was completely smashed, the
observer sustained only a few bruises, but Lieutenant Gibson
was so injured that he died almost immediately. |
|
GILCHRIST, FRANK ('90), Private in the Canadian
Infantry, killed in action. |
|
GRAY, J. MARSHALL ('01), enlisted as a Private on
September 3rd, 1914, in the 16th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers He proceeded
with his battalion to France in November, 1915, and was
killed by a bomb on March 21st, 1916, while his battalion
was holding the line in front of Albert. |
|
GREEN, CHARLES ARTHUR, M.C. ('06), only son of the late
Arthur Green, M.B., B.S., of Gateshead, was born on April
28th, 1897. He became a member of the school O.T.C. on its
inception, and a few years later obtained a scholarship to
Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire. When war broke out he was
a classical scholar of Worcester College, Oxford. He joined
the Royal Horse Guards, O.T.C., in February, 1916, and was
gazetted Second-Lieutenant Special Reserve of Officers on
August 11th, and attached to the R.G.A. after two months'
training at Shoeburyness.
He was in France in January, 1917, attached to the Lowland Heavy Battery
as forward Observation Officer, and during the battle of
Arras in April and May gained great distinction and was
awarded the Military Cross. The London Gazette for June
26th, 1917, says : " Charles Arthur Green, Second-Lieutenant
Royal Garrison Artillery, Special Reserve : For conspicuous
gallantry and devotion to duty whilst forward Observation
Officer with Infantry during attack. Four times he came back
with valuable information through the heavy enemy barrage
and, at a critical moment when our attack was strongly held,
once more returned through the barrage, and informed the
Infantry Brigade Commander that reinforcements were urgently
required, thus relieving a very serious situation."
Seventeen days later (July 13th, 1917) he fell in action at
Arras. He and others belonging to his battery were a little
way from their guns when a German shell burst close to them,
killing him and two of his men, and seriously wounding
several others. His Colonel wrote : " He was our best
Observing Officer, and did excellent work in all the
operations near Arras in April and May, 1917. He displayed
great gallantry on several occasions for which I am glad to
see that the Military Cross was awarded. Cheerful at all
times and willing to undertake any work, he was much
respected by both men and officers and we all regret his
loss. He has been buried close to the spot where he was
killed." |
|
GUTHRIE, HERBERT ('97), joined up as a Private in the
R.M.L.I. on January 4th, 1917. He was killed at
Passchendaele, October 26th, 1917, aged 33 years. |
|
HALL, CHARLES EDW. RUSSELL ('09), when war broke out was
at the Bank of Montreal in British Columbia: He immediately
enlisted, then eighteen years of age, in the Medical Corps
of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. He suffered from two
attacks of trench fever, and was subsequently transferred to
the 3rd Battalion Field Ambulance for service in France and
Flanders. In this work of succouring the wounded he
sacrificed his life near Cambrai on September 27th, 1917,
aged 22 years. |
|
HALL, GEORGE HANNAY ('06), joined the London Scottish in
1912. When war was declared he volunteered for service and
went to France with the 1st Battalion in September, 1914. In
September, 1915, he was wounded at Loos, and on recovery was
given a commission as Second-Lieutenant in the 24th
Middlesex Regiment. He joined, however, the Indian Army
Reserve of Officers, and in May, 1917, was ordered to India,
being attached to the 1/39th Garhwal Rifles. On the outbreak
of trouble on the North-West Frontier he was sent there with
the 4/39th Battalion Garhwal Rifles, and remained there till
ordered to proceed to England for demobilisation. He
unfortunately contracted enteric and died on board the S.S.
Manora in the Red Sea on December 6th, 1919. His rank was
then that of Captain. |
|
HALL, PERCY GEORGE ('04), on leaving school joined the
Merchant Service, and was at sea when war broke out. On his
return he obtained his commission in the Tyneside Scottish
in 1915, and went to France with them in January, 1916. In
the early part of June the Brigade was moved to the front
line trenches at La Boisselle in contemplation of the Somme
offensive. On June 28th, 1916, it was found that German wire
entanglements in front of their lines had remained untouched
by our artillery fire owing to the formation of the ground.
Engineers were detailed to go out at midnight to clear the
ground of these obstacles, but previously a raid on a large
scale was conducted by Tyneside Scottish troops which raised
the German fire and activity. Volunteers were called for, to
act as a covering party to the Engineers. Second-Lieutenant
Hall immediately offered and was accepted, and the men of
his platoon were eager to go with him. He made his
dispositions so well that the operation was successfully
accomplished, but while leading his men Lieutenant Hall was
shot by a Sniper and died a few minutes later. His comrades,
officers, and men paid a high tribute to his skill, courage,
and care. As an instance of his fearlessness in leading, his
Company Commander subsequently reported that, in the
dispositions for the opening of the battle on July 1st, the
4th Batt., being close to the German lines, was ordered to
lead the Brigade into action, with Lieutenant Hall's platoon
(the nth of " C " Company) in the van, for his men would
follow him anywhere. |
|
HALL, WILLIAM B. ('06), joined the D.U.O.T.C. in the
early part of 1915 and was gazetted to the 3rd Battalion Tyneside Scottish. He was transferred to the Army Cyclists'
Corps for the 34th Division when it was first formed, went
to France in January, 1916, and was with this corps till it
was disbanded in March, 1918, when he was Captain and
Lewis-gun Instructor. He was severely wounded on August 22nd
when he was serving with the 24th Battalion London Regiment, and
died on August 25th, 1918. |
|
HALL, WILLIAM GASTON DUVAL ('06), enlisted in the 6th
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers a few days after war was declared and served in
France until March 23rd, 1918—a very disastrous day for the
6th Northumberlands. He was engaged as a runner and after
having taken despatches, had returned and taken more. It is
officially presumed that he was killed on that day. |
|
HAMER, ARTHUR DERRICK ('04), on leaving school,
proceeded to Queens' College, Cambridge, where he was
reading for the theological tripos with a view to ordination
and work in the foreign mission field, when war broke out at
the end of his first year. He offered his services on the
day war was declared and soon afterwards received his
commission in the Northern Cyclists' Battalion. He was
gazetted Captain in June, 1917, and went with the Manchester
Regiment to France three months later. His Commanding
Officer writes : " He was killed in an attack on the morning
of November 6th, 1918, near Maubeuge, leading his company
with unequalled bravery. He showed an absolute disregard for
his own safety, his one thought being to lead his men and to
gain his objective, and as a soldier and a Christian he was
an example to all of us." |
|
HANSON, JOHN ('05), was a Private in the 6th Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers in August, 1914, and died of wounds
received during the attack on St Julien, in the second
battle of Ypres, April 28th, 1915. He was buried at Bailleul
in France. |
|
HARKER, GEORGE ERNEST ('03), became a mining engineer
after leaving school. He obtained a commission in the R.F.A.
in October, 1914, and was promoted Lieutenant in February,
1916. He went to the front in January, 1915, and was wounded
on February 16th, 1917, and again two months later. On May
19th, 1917, he was killed in action, aged 24 years. |
|
HARKER, GEORGE ALFRED ('88), joined the Northumberland
Fusiliers on October 6th, 1916, and was transferred on
November 16th following to the Yorkshire and Lancashire
Regiment. He went to France in January, 1917, and was
reported missing at Bullecourt on May, 3rd, 1917, aged 44
years. |
|
HARRISON, EDWARD ('09), obtained a commission in the R.E.,
afterwards being transferred to the R.A.F. In May, 1918, his
squadron, the 24th, was stationed in the Somme district.
Units scouted daily, making bomb attacks on Chaulnes, at
that time about twelve miles within the enemy lines. On the
17th, Lieutenant Harrison and eight others, were attacked by
enemy machines while returning to their base. They rose to
seventeen thousand feet when Lieutenant Harrison was shot
down, near East Vermando Villas. |
|
HARVEY, WILLIAM ('09), was commissioned as
Second-Lieutenant 3rd Northumberland Fusiliers on October
12th, 1915. He had been in France about four months and had
been engaged in some of the heaviest fighting on the Somme
front when he was severely wounded on October 12th, 1916.
Writing a few days later his Commanding Officer says : " It
is with great regret that I have to write and tell you of
the death of your splendid boy. On the evening of the 12th
inst. he was one of four officers and a hundred men detailed
to make a raid on the enemy trenches. He went
off in most splendid spirits and it was due to his fine
example that the party did so well. He was badly wounded
just above the knee, and his Sergeant who was also wounded,
brought him out into ' No Man's Land,' and then our Padre
went out and fetched him in. He was taken to the hospital at
Armentiers and next day sent to the Australian hospital at '
Trois Arbres,' Steenwerck. I went over to see him on the
13th but was not able to do so. I regret to say he died the
same night. I saw the poor lad laid to rest alongside many
another good fellow who had made the supreme sacrifice for
his country." |
|
HASLAM, ARTHUR DIXON ('03), was Captain both of the
school cricket and football teams and on leaving was awarded
the Collingwood prize. When war was declared he was holding
a science scholarship at Armstrong College. He was gazetted
Second-Lieutenant in the 8th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers on September 15th, 1914, and a week later was
transferred to the 9th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers He
gained his Lieutenancy June 1st, 1915, and went to France
with the 9th N.F.. in July, 1915. He was wounded in
February, 1916, while fighting in the International Trench
at " The Bluff." After being in hospital at Boulogne he was
invalided home but returned overseas in September, 1918. He
was severely wounded in October of that year and died on
November 2nd, 1918, aged 26 years.
An Old Boy writes : " ' Kiddy '—we shall always remember him
by that name. At its every mention we recall the little
interesting scenes of our school-boy life. It was chiefly
upon the playing fields that we knew him and watched the
development of his manhood. There he was an example of
self-forgetfulness, and we never knew him hesitate to
sacrifice, that we might gain. Not of strong physique, he
possessed something greater which we call ' pluck.' But the
secret of the nature which made us love ' Kiddy,' and which
made him the confidant of many a schoolboy secret, was his
quiet reserve. We can fully believe from our knowledge of
him that in a critical time he would serve for duty and
usefulness rather than ` showiness.' We accept the mystery
of his call to a Higher Service in the knowledge that he
would humbly make the great sacrifice with the highest sense
of duty." |
|
HAVELL, ERIC TUNBRIDGE ('09), entered the service of the
London County Council in 1913, and soon after the
declaration of war, on October 9th, 1914, joined the loth
Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment. Some time was spent in
training at home and it was not until the end of August,
1915, that he was sent to France. At the battle of Loos, on
the 25th of the following month, the 9th Royal Sussex was
one of the battalions in reserve, and in the early afternoon
was moved up into the trenches. In the evening the battalion
received orders to take part with the rest of the Brigade to
which it belonged in relieving the troops who had taken "
Fosse Eight " near the Hohenzollern Redoubt. On the
following morning the Brigade was heavily bombarded by the
Germans, and just before midday Private Havel was hit by a
bursting shell. He was instantly killed, September 26th,
1915, aged 22 years. |
|
HAVELL, REGINALD BEAUMONT ('08), after leaving school
went as a farm pupil in Cumberland and then to Uckfield,
intending subsequently to settle in New Zealand. He joined
the Middlesex Regiment in June, 1916, and went to France in
the November following, just after his nineteenth birthday.
He returned home in April, 1917, suffering from blood
poisoning, but was back again at the front in August. He was
posted as a bomber in the 2nd Middlesex Regiment. After
being in the heavy fighting at Passchendaele with the 8th
Division he spent four months in hospital in France. He
rejoined his regiment in May, 1918, and became a
Lewis-gunner. He fell mortally wounded in the German attack
near Rheims on May 28th, 1918. |
|
HEDLEY, JOHN RALPH, D.S.O. ('84), was born in Berkshire
and came to the Grammar School on coming to live in
Gateshead. On leaving school he entered the firm of Messrs
Anderson & Lee, autioneers, and finally became a partner in
the firm. About 1896 he obtained a Lieutenancy in the 3rd
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers (volunteers). He left
Newcastle in 1910 to take up an important government
appointment at Hull but still kept up his connection with
his old regiment. The outbreak of war found him a Captain in
the 6th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers He was soon made
Major and went with them to the front, and was with them
when they went so gallantly into action at the second battle
of Ypres in April, 1915. " In that action outside St Julien
the territorials lost their Commander, Brigadier General
Riddell, and the story of the battle is one which will
always redound to the credit of the fighting sons of
Northumbria." After surviving the dangers of the Ypres
salient, Hooge and Vimy Ridge, he obtained his
Lieutenant-Colonelcy and was attached to the 5th
(Cumberland) Battalion Border Regiment. He had been four
times mentioned in despatches, and in June, 1916, he was
awarded the D.S.O. He returned to France with the Borderers
and a year later, on July 15th, 1917, laid down his life in
the service of his country. " To his friends he had
qualities of kindness, loyalty, straightforward speech and
thought, which secured him unalloyed regard, even when we
failed to acquiesce in all his views," says his friend the
Right Honourable Walter Runciman. " He loved the open air,
whether on a cricket field or on a golf course, on
horseback, or with a gun. He hated crooked methods and low
standards and everything unclean, and he has left with his
friends the memory of an upright, wholesome man." |
|
HENDERSON, FRANK ('12), enlisted at the age of seventeen
in the R.M.S.M. and trained at Aberdeen, Cromarty Bay and
the Tyne, and then transferred to the R.M.L.I., training at
Plymouth and Deal, He applied for a commission in the Navy
and while waiting to know the result of his application he
volunteered for the naval raid on Zeebrugge. He was killed
during the raid, April 23rd, 1918, aged 19 years, and now
lies in the family burial ground at Wallsend. |
|
HERBERT, CHARLES STANLEY, M.C. ('IO), was gazetted
Second-Lieutenant in the D.L.I. in January, 1915 ; proceeded
to France, October 1st, 1915, and was transferred to the
15th Battalion D.L.I. He was mentioned in despatches July
1st, 1916, and won the Military Cross on Passchendaele Ridge
on October 5th, 1917, being promoted to Captain on the same
day. On October 9th, 1918, he obtained a Bar to the Military
Cross on Kemmel Hill. He was killed in action on May 27th,
1918. |
|
HOGG, ROBERT WALLACE ('11), Northern Cyclists' Batt.,
served in Lincolnshire until December, 1916. He then joined
the M.G.C. (Heavy Brigade)—afterwards the Tank Corps—and
went with it to France on July 22nd, 1917, being for a few
months on the Ypres section and then in the Cambrai front
where he was engaged in the big attack in November of that
year. He attained the rank of Sergeant, and was engaged as a
Gunner in the heavy fighting near Bray-sur-Somme. He was in
action from March 21st, 1918, till the afternoon of the 25th
inst. when he was killed. |
|
HOLDSWORTH, ERNEST ('12), served in a cadet unit of the
R.A.F. in October, 1916, and received his commission as
Second-Lieutenant in February, 1917, gaining his wings three
months later. He went to France in July and was killed while
engaged in an air-fight in Flanders on September 23rd, 1917.
He had been mentioned in despatches, and his Commanding
Officer wrote : " He was a very efficient officer, and did
excellent work whilst at the front. Upright in character,
noble-minded and generous-hearted, pure and bold in purpose,
devoted to his duty, he was found faithful unto death in his
country's cause." |
|
HOLDSWORTH, WESLEY COPE ('07), received his commission
as surgeon probationer when he had passed his second
examination as a medical student of Glasgow University. He
joined H.M.S. Begonia on September 19th, 1917, and wrote on
the 27th of that month that he had returned to port, and
that all had gone well. On October 15th information was sent
from the Admiralty that the Begonia was missing—feared lost
with all on board. A sailor in a sister-ship informed
Lieutenant Holdsworth's father —the Rev. J. Forster
Holdsworth—that they were in search of the Begonia for
several weeks, and all they could learn was that she was "
spoken " in mid-Atlantic on October 6th. Six months later,
word was sent from the Admiralty that Lieutenant Holdsworth
was killed on or about October 6th, 1917. |
|
HUGHES, JOHN, B.A., B.Sc. ('01), joined the Northern
Cyclists' Battalion in 1915, was drafted to France, attached
to the 25th Battalion N.F., and took part in the actions
near Albert. On the night of September 8th, 1916, he was
sent out with a covering party to a position near
Contalmaison, on the Somme. It was a brilliant moonlight
night, but they had to go forward. The Germans waited till
they got within range, and then let go a hail of shell-fire
for twenty minutes. The Lieutenant signalled his men to
retire, sending Lance-Corporal Hughes and another to bring
up stragglers. Neither ever returned. The war office records
: " Lance-Corporal Hughes, presumed killed in action
September 8th, 1916." An officer of his battalion says : "
He has proved himself an Englishman in every sense of the
word. He had the respect of every one of us in " D "
Company, officers and men alike." He was a teacher under the
Newcastle Authority, and had devoted much time to voluntary
work among the children. |
|
HUNTER, ARNOLD COLTMAN ('94}, decided on leaving school
to take up work in Canada. After a period on a farm he
joined the Royal North-West Mounted Police for three years.
When the King's proclamation reached Canada he enlisted in
the 152nd Battalion Canadian Infantry and was promoted
Sergeant. He reached France on the 16th February, 1917. His
last entry in his diary states : " 28th March, 1917.
Practising going over to-day and left for trenches at 6
a.m." He was killed next day, March 29th, 1917, near Villers-au-Bois.
His Commanding Officer writes : " Although he had been with
the company but a little time " (he had been transferred to
the 46th Canadians), " I had come to regard him very highly.
No task was too unpleasant, and everything he did was done
cheerfully." |
|
HUNTER, ARTHUR LAWRENCE ('03), volunteered as a Private
in August, 1914, in the 9th Battalion N.F., and went to the
Ypres front in July, 1915. After a short training at home he
was gazetted Second-Lieutenant, February, 1918, in the 9th
Battalion Royal Fusiliers and again went overseas. He was
killed on August 8th, 1918, in the advance near Morlancourt. |
|
HUNTER, GEORGE EDWARD ('96), became an architect on
leaving school. Later he joined his father's firm, and in
1913 became a partner in the business of Hunter & Henderson,
Stockbrokers of Newcastle. He received his commission in the
6th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in 1904 and was
gazetted Captain in 1908. He went overseas with that
battalion, and was killed in action near St Julien in the
second battle of Ypres, April 26th, 1915. A brother officer
writes : " He led his men with great courage and a total
disregard for himself, and was right in front of the enemy's
position when he was killed by a shell fired at short
range." |
|
HUNTER, HOWARD TOMLIN, M.B., B.S. ('96), became a
medical student on leaving school. He qualified for the M.B.,
B.S., in 1910, and afterwards studied surgery at St
Bartholomew's, London, and in Vienna. He received his
commission in the 6th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in
1906 and was gazetted Captain in 1912. A writer in the
Durham College of Medicine Gazette says : " We have all
heard with pride and aching heart of his entry into action.
The first torrent of bullet and shell only seemed to
increase his absolute indifference to danger, and his
example and courage infected the whole company. He led his
men through a crossfire of machine-guns and shrapnel, trying
to reach the German trenches by a series of rushes. When
close to his objective he was struck on the leg but stuck to
his job, gamely cheering on his men. We can imagine his
bitter disappointment when he had to fall out so near the
end of his task. While being helped to the rear he was
struck again in the chest and almost immediately dropped
dead." This was in the action near St Julien on April 26th,
1915, at the second battle of Ypres. |
|
HUTCHINSON, GEOFFREY D. ('08), served in the 2lst Battalion
King's Royal Rifle Corps as a Corporal. He was wounded on
September 15th, 1916, and died three days later in hospital
at Amiens, aged 20 years. |
|
HUTTON, ANDREW DONALD, M.A. ('01), was a student of
Glasgow University when he was sixteen years of age, and
showed much promise of being an unusually able man. His arts
course was just completed when war broke out, and it was
while he was in training as a soldier in 1915 that he
graduated M.A. He intended to practise law at the Scottish
bar, and in addition to his successes in arts he had been
equally successful in the work for his LL.B. degree. He went
to France in November, 1915, as a Subaltern in the 15th Battalion
Highland Light Infantry. There he attained the rank of
Captain, and while leading his company on the morning of
July 3rd, 1916, he was killed at Thiepval on the Somme. He
lies buried in the Military Cemetery at Bouzincourt. |
|
IRVIN, THOMAS WILLIAM ('97), soon after leaving school
commenced to study for the ministry in the Presbyterian
Church of England, but gave it up for a business career and
became a director of Richard Irvin & Sons, one of the
largest fishing-vessel firms in England. In Deoember, 1914,
he obtained a commission as Second-Lieutenant in the 5th
Battalion Gordon Highlanders and was promoted Lieutenant in
May, 1915. In the January following he crossed to France,
and was in the front line till his death on May 10th, 1916.
The circumstances which preceded his death were tragic. His
company had to go to a rest camp for a week, but the
relieving company was short of officers and Lieutenant Irvin
volunteered to remain. Some of his men were wounded by a
trench mortar, and while attending to them he was himself
wounded. While being carried out of the trench he begged his
bearers to look after those who were worse off than himself.
This was on May 15th. He died five days later. An officer
wrote : " So pure in life and lofty in ideal, he has lived
and died for those great aspirations which he cherished." |
|
JACKSON, HERBERT WM. ('09), joined the D.U.O.T.C. in
1915, was commissioned to the 3rd Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers as Second-Lieutenant in August, and went to France
in May, 1916, attached to the 13th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers Towards the end of the year he was promoted
Lieutenant, and posted to the 97th Field Company R.E. He
served with his battalion until January 10th, 1918, when he
was killed in action while under shell fire in the Cambrai
district. An officer writes : " He had done splendid work
with the R.E. We shall all miss him, for in addition to
being a most gallant leader, he was a true comrade dearly
loved by both officers and men. He always
did his best for the regiment of which he thought so much.
He died as he has lived a brave and gallant representative
of the Fifth Fusiliers." |
|
KNOTT, ROBERT CECIL ('07), enlisted in the 9th Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers on September 6th, 1914, and
received his Second-Lieutenancy in the 19th Battalion three
months later, being placed in charge of the Signalling
Company. He was promoted Lieutenant in April, 1915, and
Captain on June 15th of that year. On his recovery after an
operation for appendicitis he went to France on July 11th,
1916, and was attached to the 20th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers (Tyneside Scottish). He was killed in action on
August 14th, 1916, and was buried with military honours at
Cabaret Rouge near Souchez. Captain Knott had a very lovable
disposition, and was a favourite with all who knew him. His
Colonel wrote : " I loved him as if he were my own son." |
|
LITTLEFAIR, JOHN JAMES ('10), enlisted as a Private in
the 7th N.F., and was killed at Ypres on April 26th,
1915. |
|
LONG, ARTHUR WM. EMMANUEL ('10), joined the colours on
December 24th, 1914, as a Private in the i5th Battalion
Royal Warwickshire Regiment and received his commission in
the 8th Battalion Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment in
September, 1915. In June, 1916, he proceeded overseas and
was killed in action on the Somme, near Albert, on August
24th, having served with his regiment in France less than
two months. The Chaplain wrote : " In the great attack he
raced over the open, followed by his platoon and was killed
instantaneously by a shell. His gallant conduct largely
helped to make the attack a great success. He impressed
every one with his singular courage and devotion to duty." |
|
LONGHURST, ROY CRESSY ('97), was a member of the
D.U.O.T.C. in August, 1914, and a few months later received
his commission in the 23rd Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers (4th Tyneside Scottish). He was promoted Captain
while undergoing preliminary training at Alnwick, and went
to the front in January, 1916. He was engaged in the heavy
fighting at Arras, Albert, and La Boisselle, and was
gazetted Major on the field and subsequently acting
Lieutenant-Colonel. In October, 1917, he was granted six
months' leave of absence in England and appointed Commandant
of the Training School for the Durham Auxiliary Volunteer
Forces being attached to the 3rd Batt Northumberland
Fusiliers He had been mentioned in Sir Douglas Haig's
despatch of November 13th, 1916, and during his Colonel's
illness was personally complimented by Sir Douglas Haig for
his work. He was accidentally killed on March 8th, 1918,
whilst on military service, by colliding with a tramcar,
when travelling on his motor-cycle from Newcastle to Benton
during a snowstorm at night. His Colonel said : " I need not
tell you how I appreciated and valued Major Longhurst as a
comrade at the front, but far beyond that was his splendid
loyalty and affection for his regiment, and all ranks of the
4th Battalion Tyneside Scottish have lost one of their very
best friends. You perhaps do not know how he devoted his
spare time to the men's comfort and well-being and what
valuable work he did in this way. |
|
LUNN, HERBERT CHARLES, B.A. (Cambridge) ('98), was a
Private in the Public Schools' Battalion in September, 1914,
and rose to the rank of Sergeant. He obtained his commission
in the Tyneside Scottish in 1915 and at the beginning of the
following year was transferred to the 3rd Battalion Royal
Scots Regiment. He proceeded to France, attached to the 11th
Batt., was wounded at the battle of the Somme in July, 1916,
being mentioned in despatches for his work at this time, and
was reported wounded and missing in a raid near Arras on
March 21st, 1917—nothing has since been heard of him. He was
twenty-four years of age. |
|
MCARTHUR, WILLIAM ('05), joined the R.F.A. and was
killed at Arras during the night of August 21st/22nd, 1918.
He was then serving in the 123rd Brigade, 37th Division, and
held the rank of Bombardier. |
|
MACLAGAN, JAMES G ('07), was at the Armstrong College
when he applied for a commission. Failing to obtain it he
joined the ranks and was drafted to the R.A.M.C. at
Aldershot, being at that time unfit for foreign service. In
January, 1916, he was gazetted Second-Lieutenant in the
King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment and beink passed fit was
sent to France attached to the 4/5th Battalion Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment in February, 1917. In the following
autumn he was promoted Lieutenant, working hard and gaining
the esteem and affection of officers and men alike by his
cheerful evenness of temper and devotion to duty. Recovering
from an attack of trench fever, he was again sent into the
front line, and was killed instantaneously by the bursting
of a shell while leading his company in an attack near Arras
on August 1st, 1918. |
|
MARKS, JAMES ALBERT ('07), was sent to the East soon
after receiving his commission as Second-Lieutenant in the
loth (now 7th) Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment. While
in Mesopotamia he was twice wounded, at the attempt to
relieve General Townsend, besieged at Kut, and subsequently
contracted enteric fever. He spent several months at Bombay,
in India, and was afterwards ordered again to Mesopotamia
where, gallantly leading his men in some of the severest
fighting, he met his heroic death before Baghdad on February
25th, 1917. |
|
MARKS, JOHN ('08), trained with the D.U.O.T.C. and was
commissioned as Second-Lieutenant in the D.L.I. in May,
1917. He was wounded during the German offensive on March
21st, 1918, and went overseas again immediately after his
recovery at home. He was killed in action on October 23rd,
1918. |
|
MARKS, LEONARD GEORGE ('07), joined the 12th Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers and was transferred to the 17th
Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment. He was a Corporal when he
went to France in August, 1917, and was killed in action
while serving near Armentiers on October 10th, 1918. |
|
MERSON DAVID ('00), served as a Private with the
Australian Imperial forces and was killed in action April
16th, 1918. |
|
MERSON, JAMES LESLIE ('97), joined the Australian forces
and attained the rank of Sergeant. He was killed in action
on August 31st, 1916. |
|
METCALFE, FRANK, M.B., B.S. ('00), joined the 1st
Northumbrian Field Ambulance in September, 1914, as a
Lieutenant, and was promoted to the rank of Captain six
months later. He went to Flanders in April, 1915, and was
mentioned in despatches for his splendid work. In September
of the following year he was invalided home and was treated
at Newcastle. He made an apparent recovery, and although he
knew he had not long to live, he returned to France at his
own request in the Autumn of 1917. He went through the
fighting of the following winter and also the German
offensive of March, 1918, but was again invalided home. He
died at Framlington House, Newcastle, on July 10th, 1918. A
writer in the Durham College of Medicine Gazette says : "
Metcalfe was of a very retiring disposition, but the quiet
exterior concealed a strength of character that he only
revealed to his intimate friends. He was kind, genial, and
possessed of considerable moral courage and grit and staying
power; yet his outstanding characteristic was his strict
sense of honour. No man played the game better than Francis
Metcalfe." |
|
MILLER, HERBERT ('96), received his commission as an
Assistant Paymaster R.N.R. in November, 1914, and after a
few weeks spent at Portsmouth was sent to the Lowestoft
Naval base. In July, 1917, he was promoted
Paymaster-Lieutenant, and early in the following year was
appointed secretary to Commodore Alfred A. Ellison, C.B.,
R.N., Senior Naval Officer at Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth
naval bases. He died of pneumonia supervening a bad attack
of influenza on December 6th, 1918. |
|
MILVAIN, CHARLES EDWARD FRANCIS ('97), took up the
profession of an electrical engineer and in April, 1912,
went out to Canada. On the outbreak of war he joined the 1st
Canadian contingent. On reaching England he received a
commission as Sub.Lieutenant in the R.N.V.R. and was
attached to the " Hawke Battalion " which sailed for
Gallipoli in May, 1915. He, after some weeks of severe
fighting, was wounded on June 19th while leading his men in
a night attack on the Turks. During the whole time they were
under heavy shell fire and only one Officer of the company
was left. Lieutenant Milvain was removed to Ras-el-Tin
hospital, Alexandria, where he arrived on his thirty-first
birthday, and died on the following day, June 25th, 1915. A
brother Officer wrote: " During the time he was with us we
had learned to appreciate him, to value his efficiency as an
Officer and to esteem him as a good comrade. |
|
MOFFAT, WILDON DAVID ('04), joined up at the 62nd
Casualty Clearing Station, R.A.M.C., on March 10th, 1915,
and proceeded to France on January 9th, 1917. He was
promoted Sergeant, and appointed senior and confidential
clerk to his Colonel. Whilst he was stationed at the 62nd
Casualty Clearing Station, near Haringhe, Belgium, the
hospital was bombed by enemy aircraft on November 29th,
1917, and he was mortally wounded. His Colonel wrote: " The
death of your son is a personal loss to me; his work in life
requires no praise, and his death is beyond all praise." |
|
MORLAND, ALBERT ('12), joined the 3rd Battalion
Coldstream Guards as a Private on February 15th, 1917. He
was drafted to France in the October following after
training at Windsor. While taking part in the Cambrai action
of November, 1917, he was wounded in the head. He fell in
action to the east of Cambrai on October 9th, 1918. |
|
MORRISON, EDWARD FITZHENRY ('99), after leaving school
went out to New Zealand where he joined the forces. He was a
Corporal in Lord Liverpool's Own Regiment when he was sent
to France in 1917. After being transferred to the Rifle
Brigade he was employed as a stretcher-bearer. While engaged
in his duty he was hit in the head by a bursting shell and
died fourteen days later. |
|
MORTON, WILLIAM A. ('05), enlisted in the Ist Life
Guards in December, 1915, and was trained at Windsor. He
went to France in November, 1916, and was killed in action
on December 10th of that year. |
|
MURRAY, ARTHUR ERNEST ('07), was a medical student when
he joined the D.U.O.T.C. in 1914. He served in France with
the 2/8th Battalion London Regiment and was killed near St
Julien on September 5th, 1917. |
|
NESBITT, FRANK WALLACE ROWLANDS ('10), was commissioned
as Lieutenant in the 7th Battalion D.L.I. He was wounded on
the morning of April 12th, 1918, while in action near
Melville on the Lys and was taken prisoner. According to a
report received seven months later he died in the
Polytechnic Hospital, Lille, on April 19th, 1918. |
OLLIFF, WILLIAM ('98), volunteered in the Victoria
Rifles, in British Columbia in 1914, and came to England in
the following year, being one of a hundred picked men for
Princess Patricia's Light Infantry. Drafted to the Canadian
Scottish (Gordon Highlanders) he went with them to France in
1915 and was killed by an explosive shell on the night of
April 26/27th, 1915. |
|
ORD, B. PAGET ('05), Private in the 9th Battalion N.F.,
was killed in action on October 2nd, 1915, at " Hill 60 "
whilst rescuing a wounded comrade whose life he saved but
lost his own in so doing. A comrade writes : " He was a
splendid fellow, always cheery and a real help. His death
was a fine one-he went to help another man who was wounded
and was shot whilst helping him." Another comrade says : "
This was a bad day for the Quaysiders as early in the
morning we lost a couple of men. Paget Ord, who was held in
high esteem by all, was said to be ' the little man with the
big heart,' and quite true, as he had no fear whatever when
in the trenches." |
|
PARK, ANDREW ('01), joined as a Private in the Tyneside
Commercials (16th Battalion N.F.) on September 8th, 1914,
and proceeded to France with the rank of Second-Lieutenant.
He was killed in action at Ovillers on July 14th, 1916, aged
25, after only eight months' service in France. |
|
PAXTON, SAMUEL T. ('12), joined up in the 6th Northumberland
Fusiliers in November, 1914, when only 17 years of age. In
January, 1916, he obtained his Second-Lieutenancy in the 9th
Battalion D.L.I. He went to France with them five weeks
later and was killed in action at Butte de Warlencourt on
November 5th, 1916. |
|
PIRRIE, ROBERT BOURN ('04), was gazetted
Second-Lieutenant in August, 1914, and attached to the 1st
Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry. He was posted to
the 3rd Battalion Border Regiment and obtained his
Lieutenancy. A few weeks later he was serving in France, and
during an assault on the Hooge trenches on August 10th,
1915, he met his death, aged 21. A writer in the College of
Medicine Gazette says : " His keen sense of humour, his warm
responsive nature, his great love of all true sport, and
above all, his unfailing cheerfulness endeared him to us,
and earned for him the wide popularity which he enjoyed from
the time of his entrance into the College. No one was keener
to do his duty, no one more determined to fight than ` young
Pirrie ' as we always called him." |
|
PRESTON, WALTER ('12), joined the forces in the early
part of 1917, and after training at Hornsea was posted to
the 9th Battalion D.L.I. He went overseas in January, 1918,
and was engaged in the battle of the Marne in July of that
year. He was killed whilst fighting with the Durhams at La
Maisonette on July 23rd, 1918. " Always bright and cheerful
he endeared himself to all who knew him," said one who knew
him well. |
|
PRINGLE, GEORGE ('07). A few weeks after leaving school
in February, 1914, he joined the 6th Battalion N.F., and was
called out on mobilisation, becoming attached to the
machine-gun section. He left England with the Northern
Division in April, 1915, and went straight into the fighting
of the second battle of Ypres. In September, 1916, he was
prevailed upon to take a commission, and was about to return
to England for training. On November 14th he was engaged,
being then Sergeant, in a heavy charge near Butte de
Warlencourt. Twice on that day he was seen to be wounded,
but was able to attend to his wounds. Nothing has since been
heard of him. |
|
PRITCHARD, RALPH BROOMFIELD, D.S.O., M.C. ('02),
enlisted as a Private in the 16th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers in September, 1914, and was commissioned to the
27th Battalion in May of the following year. He was promoted
Captain in February, 1916, and Acting-Major in October,
1917. He took part in the " Big Push " on the Somme front in
July, 1916, and was awarded the Military Cross for his
gallantry and good work on July 1st, being also mentioned in
Sir Douglas Haig's despatch of the 4th January following.
While engaged in the hard fighting near Ypres on April 16th,
1918, he was severely wounded and died ten days later. He
was at this time attached to the 2nd Lincolnshire Regiment,
and for his work was awarded the D.S.O. in May, 1918, and
mentioned in Sir Douglas Haig's despatch of December 27th,
1918. The London Gazette says : " When the battalion was
ordered to fill a gap in the front line, this officer, in
charge of the advance guard, acted with such dash that it
was mainly through his fine work that his battalion was able
to do so. Later he advanced again and occupied the old line,
getting in touch with the flanks, and capturing three men of
an enemy patrol. He held the line for the next four days
while under heavy fire, and was severely wounded when
leading his company in a counter-attack when it gained its
first objective. |
|
PRITCHARD, WILLIAM ALWYN ('02), enlisted as a Private in
the 3rd Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in January, 1916.
He was wounded at the battle of the Somme in July, 1916, and
in November, 1917, was gazetted Second-Lieutenant in the 3rd
Battalion D.L.I. After the fight at Mont Kemmel on April
26th, 1918, the day on which his brother, Major Pritchard,
died of wounds received in action, he was missing, and the
authorities have concluded that he was killed on that day.
He was at that time attached to the 1st Wiltshire Regiment. |
|
PROCTER, CHARLES GORDON ('08), joined the Royal Air
Force, and was gazetted Flight-Lieutenant. On Sunday,
February 20th, 1916, he was taken up twice, on the first
occasion for half an hour's instruction in flying, and
afterwards for instruction in landing. He had full control
of the machine the whole time, framed well and was very
promising. Being considered proficient he then went up
alone, and rose to the height of three hundred feet, when
going round the aerodrome the second time, the machine
nose-dived to the ground. Lieutenant Procter must have
fallen out as the machine turned over in mid-air, for he was
picked up fifty yards from the wrecked machine. He was
buried on February 24th in Benton Churchyard. |
|
RAYNES, ROBERT ('07), joined the Duke of Wellington's
Regiment as a Private in August, 1914, and obtained his
commission in the 14th Battalion D.L.I. in January, 1915. In
the following September he proceeded to France, and within
ten days of landing was engaged in the attack on Loos, when
he was shot in the head. A fellow-officer carried him to the
shelter of a haystack where he remained for thirty hours. He
died at Le Treport, near Loos, on September 28th, 1915. |
|
RICHARDSON, ARTHUR ('02), joined the R.A.F. in Canada
and was accidentally killed in Deseronto on October 4th,
1918. |
|
RIDLEY, PATTISON REAY, M.C. ('93), joined the Northern
Cyclists' Battalion in 1912, and volunteered for service
overseas with the 62nd Division in July, 1916, having
attained the rank of Lieutenant. He was later on attached to
the 2/5th West Riding Regiment (Duke of Wellington's), and
while with them was awarded the Military Cross. " On the
evening of the 27th/28th February, 1917," says the Gazette
announcement, " he was in charge of three officers' patrols,
of one officer and one hundred and fifty ranks, detailed to
rush Orchard Valley from Gudgeon Trench. Lieutenant Ridley
was responsible for maintaining the direction, marching on a
compass bearing for five hundred yards across unknown and
difficult country. This officer led his party with great
dash, shooting one German and capturing another on entering
the trench. He showed considerable coolness and ability in
the attack and in organising the defence of the trench." The
Commanding Officer heartily congratulated him on being the
first officer of the battalion to be awarded an honour for
distinguished service in the field.
On May 3rd, 1917, Lieutenant Ridley was reported wounded and
missing, and since that date no further news has been
received. |
|
ROBINSON, ARTHUR ('05), entered the accountants'
department of the North Eastern Railway after leaving
school, and on November 10th, 1915, enlisted as a Private in
the Argyll and Sutherland Regiment. After training at
Edinburgh he went to France on Good Friday, April 21st,
1916. He was posted to the 2nd Batt., and went into action
near High Wood on the Somme. On August 18th, 1916, he made
the supreme sacrifice. He went into action on that day, and
was last seen crossing " No Man's Land." Many letters
received from his associates in the Army testify that he had
earned their good will to a very high degree. |
|
ROBINSON, GEORGE ('05), Quartermaster-Sergeant, Army
Cyclist Corps, died. |
|
ROBSON, ERNEST WEATHERSTONE ('97), was a resident
student at the Hartley Primitive Methodist College and
Victoria University, Manchester, when, with twenty-five
others, he enlisted in the 135th Division, Field Ambulance,
R.A.M.C., in October, 1915. He went overseas on June 1st,
1916, and died of wounds received while acting as
stretcher-bearer in the battle of Cambrai, November 24th,
1917, aged 25. Many letters have come to hand since his
death which reveal how greatly he was admired and loved. |
|
ROSS, JOSEPH ('09), Private in the 15th Welsh Regiment
in 1917, was later on promoted Lance- Corporal. He was
killed in action May 10th, 1918, and was buried near
Martinsart, north of Albert. |
|
ROUTLEDGE, JOHN FREDERICK ('94), joined the Duke of
Lancaster's Yeomanry when war broke out and was afterwards
gazetted Second-Lieutenant in the 13th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers Later he was attached to the Nigerian Regiment and
served in the Cameroons. He proceeded to France early in
1917, and was killed in action on September 3rd of that
year, aged 34 years. |
|
SAUNDERS, KENNETH ('99), obtained a commission as
Second-Lieutenant in the 16th Northumberland Fusiliers
(Commercial Battalion) and was in training at Alnwick. On
New Year's Eve, 1914, he went out with a fellow Officer on a
motor-cycle, and when returning in the early evening from
Newton-on-the-Moor, the cycle, after skidding several times,
eventually overturned. Lieutenant Saunders was found dead
beneath the machine on the road side. He was buried at St
Andrews' Cemetery, Newcastle-on-Tyne. |
|
SELLERS, JOHN HARRISON ('09), held a scholarship at
Armstrong College, had passed his 1st B.Sc. examination and
was at Messrs Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson's works when
war broke out. He was one of the first of the D.U.O.T.C. to
apply for a commission, which he obtained on August 15th,
1914. He had joined the 3rd Battalion N.F., but was attached
to the 2nd Battalion and left England for France on May
12th, 1915. He was killed on May 24th, 1915, on the eve of
the eighteenth anniversary of his birthday. |
|
SHACKLETON, WILLIAM LAUNCELOT COLLIER ('97), received a
commission as Second-Lieutenant 26th Northumberland
Fusiliers (3rd Tyneside Irish) in December, 1914, and was
promoted Lieutenant in April, 1915. He proceeded with his
battalion to France in January, 1916, was wounded, and
returned to England in May of the same year. On his recovery
he resumed duties at Hornsea, and then went to France again
in October, 1916. He was again wounded on April 23rd, 1917,
and, after having his wounds dressed, rejoined his men, and
fell mortally wounded on the following day. |
|
SHUTTLEWORTH, WILLIAM M. ('12), joined the forces as a
Private in the 15th Battalion D.L.I. From June to September,
1918, he had seen much fighting. On September 9th, 1918, he
was killed while going over the top during an attack on
Chapel Hill, near Villiers Guislain, aged 19 years. |
|
SMALLWOOD, ROBERT (ROBIN) HENRY ('07), joined the 16th
Northumberland Fusiliers (1st Commercials) as a Private in
October, 1914. He received his commission in the 16th Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers in September, 1915, and went to
France in May of the following year. He was engaged in the
great attack against Thiepval on July 1st, 1916, when he was
slightly wounded, but remained on duty. Before the end of
the month he was suffering from trench fever and was sent
home. He was gazetted Lieutenant on March 18th, 1917, and
went overseas in the following September attached to the 4th
Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers Later he was
Acting-Captain with the 5oth Division, and while engaged at
the Chemindes-Dames on May '27th, 1918, he was severely
wounded, and died after being taken prisoner. Writing of
him, the Chaplain says : " He was a man of real capacity and
force of character, and soon won and sustained his place." |
|
SMITH, WILLIAM DAVIDSON, B.A. ('03), being rejected for
a fighting unit, enlisted in the R.A.M.C. on Whit Monday,
1915, was promoted Corporal and proceeded to France with the
92nd Field Ambulance. He was engaged in hospital work in
Albert and was sent with his unit to the advanced
dressing-station on July 1st, 1916, when the great advance
on the Somme began. About eleven p.m. on that day he was
killed by a piece of German shell while engaged in dressing
the wounds of a soldier in the open field. He lies buried at
Bouzincourt, near Albert. |
|
SPENCER, HARRY JOHN ('86), joined the 16th Northumberland
Fusiliers (Commercial Batt.) in September, 1914, and a few
weeks later was promoted Sergeant. He obtained his
commission as Second-Lieutenant in the D.L.I. in November,
1914. In July of the following year he went overseas and
served in the Ypres salient. He was severely wounded in
June, 1916, whilst fighting in the neighbourhood of Kemmel,
and was sent home. He returned to France in September, 1916,
and was promoted Captain, being transferred to the 15oth
Brigade, Trench Mortar Battery, Northumbrian Division. He
was killed while fighting near High Wood on the Somme on
November 17th, 1916, aged 42 years. |
|
STEPHENS, LINDSAY NELSON ('05), was one of the first to
commence training under Colonel W. H. Ritson on the outbreak
of war. He joined up in the Quaysiders Company of the 9th
Northumberland Fusiliers and went to France with that
battalion. On Saturday, May 6th, 1916, he was out in charge
of patrol, putting out wire in front of the trenches, when
he was shot and instantly killed. His Captain says of him :
" I had hoped that he might get his commission any day, and
no one deserved to get one more than he. He did
extraordinarily well when in the trenches and I knew his
sterling worth. No one worked harder than he for the welfare
of the battalion and I owe a great debt of gratitude to him
for his help. His was indeed a splendid disposition and a
fine character." |
|
STEPHENSON, ROBERT BREWIS, M.C. ('10), enlisted as a
trooper in the Northumberland Hussars before the outbreak of
war. He went to France in January, 1915, and was transferred
in August, 1916, to an Officers' Cadet Battalion He obtained
his corn-mission as Second-Lieutenant in the N.F., returned
to France and was wounded on June 6th, 1917. He won the
Military Cross on October 10th, 1917, and shortly afterwards
was reported as dangerously wounded. A few days later his
death in hospital was announced. The Gazette announcement of
the M.C. is as follows'; " Second-Lieutenant R. B.
Stephenson for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in
leading his men to the attack at Passchendaele. As soon as
the objective was reached he pushed forward with his
platoon, harassing the enemy as they retired, and inflicting
heavy casualties. He afterwards, on his own initiative,
organised two bombing posts and beat off a counter attack." |
|
STEWART, VERNON F. ('07), joined the D.L.I. shortly
after war broke out and was for a time Battalion Bombing
Officer. He transferred to the R.A.F. in May, 1916, and
obtained his wings in a little more than two months. Before
going to the front he was in the London Night Flying
Squadron. By November, 1916, he was Second-Lieutenant, R.A.F.,
and in France. He took part in the heavy aerial fighting
during the May offensive of 1917, and was brought down on
several occasions with damaged machine. He was killed in
action on May 13th, 1917, aged 24. His Commanding Officer
writes : " He was always keen and thorough, and has done
splendid work during the eight months he has been with the
squadron. I could always rely on his carrying out
efficiently any duty which I gave him, and in many cases he
succeeded in his work in the face of hostile opposition
which would have justified him in abandoning all attempts." |
|
STOPHER, F. C. ('12), joined the D.U.O.T.C. and then
volunteered for the R.A.F., but on being sent to Hastings
for training for a commission, was rejected on account of
ear defects. He was transferred, first to the 19th, and
later to the 29th, London Regiment. He died of pneumonia in
Colchester Military Hospital, December 17th, 1918. |
|
STROUD, HENRY CLIFFORD, B.A. (Cambridge), B.Sc. (Durham)
('05), spent two years in the D.U.O.T.C. and was then
gazetted Second-Lieutenant in the Northumbrian Division, R.E.,
in June, 1912. On the outbreak of war he volunteered
immediately for foreign service. He went to France with the
1st Field Company, N.R.E., and was severely wounded on
February 8th, 1915. He was in hospital at Versailles until
April 3oth, 1915, when he was sent to Birmingham and thence
to Newcastle. On his recovery he acted as Instructor in
field engineering, and from November, 1915, to July, 1916,
was engaged in the Northern Command Bombing School, and was
promoted Captain, June, 1916. As his wounds prevented his
engagement in active field work he felt it his duty to join
the R.F.C. This he did in July, 1916, and by September 22nd
he had qualified for his wings and been gazetted Pilot. In
the early autumn of 1917 he joined the defence of London,
and was stationed at Rochford Aerodrome. He was engaged in
practically every raid till the penultimate one, on the
moonless night of March 7/8th, 1918, when he was killed in
action. |
|
TANNER, ARTHUR EDWARD ('09), was a Lance-Corporal in the
6th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers on August 4th, 1914,
and was engaged on defence work between Newcastle and the
coast. He went to France as Company-Sergeant-Major in April,
1915, and took part in the second battle of Arras. Invalided
home in July, 1915, he returned to Franoe as
Second-Lieutenant in September, 1916, and was attached to
the 16th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers He served in the
Beaumont Hamel and Serre districts, afterwards taking part
in the advance on St Quentin. He fell mortally wounded on
June 10th, 1917, during the heavy attack on Nieuport. |
|
TAYLOR, RONALD WOODHOUSE ('04), was a medical student
when war broke out. He was gazetted Second-Lieutenant in
March, 1915, to the 11th Battalion N.F., and went to France
a few months later,
From that time onward he was engaged in much fighting, not
only through the autumn, but through a long and trying
winter. At length, on July 7th, 1916, in the battle of the
Somme, he went over the top for the last time in the third
wave of a direct attack upon the German lines. He was struck
by machine-gun bullets in the chest, and as he lay dying,
just before losing consciousness, he said to a companion who
survived, " Anyhow, we have taken the trench." It was thus
he gave his life for his country. His Commanding Officer
wrote : " He was a gallant lad and died a gallant death. He
was a great favourite with everyone." He had taken the
Collingwood prize on leaving the school. |
|
TELFORD, HILTON R. ('02), went to France with the
Northumberland Hussars in October, 1914. He was transferred
to the Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Scottish) and
received his commission as Second-Lieutenant, acting as
Transport Officer to the battalion. Twice he was invalided
home but again went overseas in February, 1917, and took
part with the Northumberlands in their brilliant attack on
September 8th, 1917, when he was fatally wounded. Captain
Telford lies buried in the British Cemetery at Tincourt. |
|
TELFORD, ROBERT BERNARD ('88), volunteered for France in
1917 as a surveyor of road construction, being attached as
Second-Lieutenant to the D.L.I., and was transferred to the
R.E. with the rank of Lieutenant. He came home on February
16th, 1919, and died five days later of pneumonia caused by
exposure during an eleven days' journey from Spa. |
|
TELFORD, WILLIAM ('93), served as a Private in the
Gordon Highlanders, and was killed in France, September
10th, 1917. |
|
THOMPSON, ARTHUR ('05), joined the 16th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers in September, 1914, and on obtaining a commission
was gazetted to the 24th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
He had attained the rank of Captain when he was killed in
France on July 1st, 1916, at La Boiselle. |
|
THOMPSON, WILFRID TAYLOR ('07), was in the D.U.O.T.C.
when war broke out, and was soon after commissioned to the
14th Battalion D.L.I. During the following winter he was
promoted Lieutenant, having come under the notice of the
General commanding the division while drilling his men. He
crossed to France on September i Ith, 1915, and the division
was rapidly brought forward to the firing line prior to the
great attack upon Loos and " Hill 70." In spite of hardship
and privation the division fought magnificently, though
advancing more or less in the open. At dawn on Sunday,
September 26th, Wilfrid Thompson shared command of the first
line reserves, and led his men to the charge with great dash
and courage. There was no holding him back. He was seen
rallying his men after three successive assaults in the last
of which a ridge of Hill 7o was taken. Unhappily, when
firing over the parapet of the captured trench he was shot
in the head and instantly killed. One who met him speaks of
him as " A fine fellow, dignified, reserved, always a
gentleman, and an example of what a man and a soldier should
be." A brother officer says: " He had sound judgment and
winning ways, with brains and will power enough to do well
and wisely in any circumstances." |
|
THWAITES, HARRY HUTCHINSON ('97), joined the
Northumberland Hussars Yeomanry on the declaration of war,
and went with them to the front as a Trooper. He was in the
thick of the fighting in the vicinity of Ypres, and it was
not far from that town that he met his death on November
6th, 1914, through the bursting of a shell whilst having
their first night's rest after nineteen days hard fighting. |
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TRIMMER, E. H., M.C., B.Sc. ('10), on leaving school
entered Armstrong College. He obtained a commission as
Second-Lieutenant in the East Lancashire Regiment, and was
subsequently promoted Lieutenant. He was mentioned for his
good work in Sir Ian Hamilton's despatch of February, 1916,
and was subsequently given the Military Cross. He died of
wounds received in action. |
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VINCENT, THOMAS ARUNDEL COLLIER (' 10), was a Private in
the 14th Leicestershire Regiment before he was seventeen
years of age. He was killed on October 13th, 1915, in an
attack led by the 4th Leicesters on the Hohenzollern
Redoubt. |
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WALLER, HERBERT WILLIAM, M.C. ('00), obtained his
commission as Second-Lieutenant in the 21st Northumberland
Fusiliers (2nd Tyneside Scottish) on March 8th, 1915. He
went to France in January of the following year, having
attained the rank of Captain, and took part in the memorable
battle of the Somme. In January, 1917, he was awarded the
Military Cross. Concerning the attack on Vimy Ridge, General
Ferna says : " Captain H. W. Waller, who had returned to
duty with the 2nd Battalion as a Company Commander, on one
of those occasions (i.e., when an attempt was made to drive
us off the ridge) greatly distinguished himself both by the
excellence of his dispositions and by his gallantry and
initiative in a personal encounter which had disastrous
results for the Huns." At the battle of Arras on April 10th,
1917, he had taken his men into action and had gained his
objective. Of the battle General Ternon writes : " To my
extreme regret, among the officers killed, alas, was Captain
H. W. Waller, a serious loss indeed not only to his
battalion, but to the Brigade. Owing to his being from time
to time attached to the Brigade Staff one had got to know
him well and to value his sterling qualities. Always deeply
interested in his work, high principled, greatly liked and
respected by his superior officers and his subordinates as a
brave and thoroughly efficient officer, he had made his mark
and his advancement was assured. He met his death while
engaged in hunting down an enemy Sniper who had been giving
trouble on the top of the ridge, after the enemy had retired
and the battle was over."
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WALLER, THOMAS WILLIAM ('09), was a Private in the N.F.,
and after serving twelve months in France was drafted to
Italy where he was killed in action on October 27th, 1918.
He had become a Signaller, and during the advance on the
Piave, an Austrian gun, hidden behind a house, opened fire,
and he was shot through the head. |
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WARRENER, G. V. ('05), joined the Australian Army
Medical Corps in September, 1914, and three months later was
sent to Egypt. He served in the Dardanelles, and in
November, 1916, was attached to the 4th Australian Field
Ambulance in Belgium and later in France. He was killed at
the battle of Messines, June 7th, 1917, while carrying a
wounded comrade. |
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WATSON, NORMAN OCTAVIUS ('08), joined the 16th Battalion
Northumberland Fusiliers (Commercials) in August, 1914, and
was drafted to France in 1915. He was killed in action on
March 3rd, 1916, and was buried at Millencourt, near Albert. |
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WATSON, RAYMOND VICTOR (' 10), was in the D.U.O.T.C.,
but decided to join the ranks. He was later transferred from
the 6th Northumberland Fusiliers to the West Yorkshire
Regiment, and went with them to France in August, 1916. He
was gassed at Thiepval, and returned to England towards the
end of the year. At the beginning of 1917 he was gazetted
Second-Lieutenant and attached to the 8th Battalion Northumberland
Fusiliers On June 24th he left with a draft for France, and
fell in action at St Julien on August 16th, 1917. " Your son
was killed," says a fellow-officer, " while leading his men
into action. All who were with him when he fell are either
killed or wounded. He was a good soldier and a good comrade;
always keen and eager to do his best, he worthily upheld the
traditions of his regiment and his country—even unto death." |
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WEST, H. M. PELHAM ('07), carried with him the
Collingwood prize when he left school for Hertford College,
Oxford. When war broke out he applied for a commission, and
in November, 1914, was gazetted Second-Lieutenant in the Northumberland
Fusiliers In the June following he was promoted Lieutenant,
and went with his battalion to France in August, 1915. He
was later invalided home with trench fever, but returning,
was wounded during the battle of the Somme. He again
rejoined his battalion at the front, holding then the rank
of Captain. On September 10th, 1917, his battalion was
called upon to attack a very strong position. During the
fight he was twice wounded, but refused to go back. He
gained his objective, but was fatally hit soon after. |
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WILKINSON, MAURICE HEWSON, M.C. ('87), was engaged in
mining work in China at the outbreak of the war. He returned
home and obtained a cornsion in the South Wales Borderers,
afterwards transferring to the R.E. He went to the front in
June, 1915, and after two years' service, during which he
was wounded and gassed, had attained the rank of Major, and
had won the Military Cross. He fell in action on July 31st,
1917. |
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WILKINSON, THOMAS HERBERT ('09), joined the Army
Cyclists' Battalion when he was 18 years of age, and was
afterwards transferred to the Loyal North Lancashires with
whom he went to France. He died of wounds received at
Messines on June 7th, 1917. |
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WILSON, JOHN BRADY ('98), served with the Royal Scots
and with them went to the front. He was killed in action on
September 20th, 1917. |
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WOOD, THOMAS CHARLTON ('98), left his farm in Canada in
March, 1915, and joined the 191st Battalion Canadians. He
went overseas, attached to a reserve of the 50th Battalion
While acting as stretcher-bearer after the great fight for
Passchendaele Ridge he was wounded in the head and died a
fortnight afterwards at Carniers Hospital, and was buried in
Etaples. |
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WOODMAN, W'. E. ('00), joined the Northumberland
Fusiliers as a Private and was recommended for a commission.
Before he was gazetted he was ordered to proceed to
France—he was then Lance-Corporal. Six days after leaving
England, he fell in action at St Julien, on April 26th,
1915, while carrying a message to his General during heavy
rifle and machine-gun fire, for which he was subsequently
mentioned in despatches. His Captain wrote : " He was a
gallant soldier and one who was always the first to do any
work that was required." |
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WOOLF, BERTIE GORDON ('00), was with the 2nd Brigade
Canadian Field Artillery prior to going to the front in
September, 1916. He was wounded in April, 1917, and had just
rejoined his battery when he was killed in action at Vimy
Ridge on May 9th, 1917. |
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YEAMAN, DENIS JOHN (' 10), was gazetted Second-
Lieutenant in the Northumberland Fusiliers in June, 1915,
and in the following autumn was transferred to the 21st
King's Royal Rifles. He went to France in September, 1916,
and three weeks later, on October 6th, was killed in action
at Flers, north-east of Albert. |
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We record with much regret the loss of those old boys
of the School, whose names follow. They lost their lives
subsequent to leaving the Army or after the close of the
War, but in most cases from sickness engendered by the War. |
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BELL, WILLIAM ('03), M.B., B.S., joined in February,
1915, as Surgeon, R.N., being attached to H.M.S. Victory at
Haslar Hospital, Portsmouth. Two months later he was
transferred to the light cruiser, H.M.S. Talbot, and left
for the Dardanelles. He returned to England in October,
1916, and after serving eighteen months at Portsmouth,
joined H.M.S. Thunderer in the Grand Fleet, till demobolised
August, 1919. He then went through a special medical course
at Oxford, but his health had been so undermined that he
succumbed to an attack of pneumonia January 6th, 1922. |
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BATES, JOHN ('93), enlisted in the Northumberland
Yeomanry but was discharged as unfit for further service. He
emigrated to Australia, where he was accidentally killed on
the railway at Culcairn, N.S.W., on May 3oth, 1919. |
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FINNEY, HENRY GEORGE R. ('I I), was a Sapper in the
Northumberland Division, R.E., but was discharged as unfit
for further service. He died June IIth, 1918. |
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GIBSON, CHARLES ('68), M.D., J.P., was Physician at the
Royal Baths Hospital at Harrogate. During the war he
organised the Medical Board at Ripon, was Consulting
Physician at the Furniss Auxiliary Hospital for Officers,
and Honorary Secretary of the local Medical War Committee.
He died at Harrogate on October 1st, 1921. |
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KENT, GORDON ('05), obtained a commission as
Second-Lieutenant in the Northumberland Fusiliers and went
to France in June, 1916, being attached to a trench mortar
battery. He resigned in May, 1917, on account of ill health,
and died on July 8th, 1918, from pneumonia. |
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LISTER, G. D. ('86), youngest son of the late Canon
Lister, chose the army as a career. He was gazetted
Second-Lieutenant in the 3rd D.L.I. Militia in November,
1892, and in 1896 was transferred to The Queen's Own (Royal
West Kent) Regiment. He fought through the campaign in South
Africa, and proceeded to France as Captain with his regiment
on August 23rd, 1914. He was badly wounded and taken
prisoner at Mons. After suffering severely at the hands of
the Germans he returned to England in June, 1918. He was
given command of the battalion, and proceeded with it to
Calcutta in February, 1920. There he had two severe
illnesses, and on returning to England Lieutenant-Colonel
Lister died at Netley Hospital, on November 21st, 1921. |
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The School deeply regrets the loss of one
member of the staff. |
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MACKENZIE, B. S. M., Second-Lieutenant in the Queen's
Royal West Surrey Regiment, was killed in action on March
28th, 1918. |
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