Rifleman Ernest Bettison (KRRC)

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Aug 152017
 

Rifleman Ernest Bettison, 1st Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps, landed in France on 12th May 1915, one of several local men who served with the unit at that time.

On 29th July 1915 a letter in which he recounted his thoughts on the sights he had seen since arriving on the Western Front appeared in the local press.

“It is but a short time since I left Hucknall to come out here, but in that time I have passed through several terrible experiences; and I thank God with all my heart that He has spared my life so far. How true are the words of that good old hymn, “I need Thee every hour.” If ever one did feel the need of a loving Saviour’s care, it is out here in the trenches. As you know, these are terrible times, all the more so because of the heartless devilish foe we have to face. That is a hard expression to use concerning human beings, but when one sees the remains of their work here one feels quite justified in using it.

To see Ypres – no doubt the scene of the fiercest battles yet fought in this district – is quite enough. The once beautiful city is now nothing but a blackened mass of ruins. I went through the last bombardment, but mere words cannot describe its awfulness. Both sides suffered severed losses, but the Germans suffered far more than we did; there were literally hundreds of them lying dead and dying around us. Imagine if you can what a sight it was, for I cannot describe it.

The sight of one’s comrades lying dead, and dying also, was one I shall never forget. One moment strong and well and full of life – the next dead or dying. Thank God we gained the victory, outnumbered though we were. Sheer British pluck won the day.

“The saddest sight of all as one goes along is to see the simple wooden crosses which mark the last resting place of the brave men who have given their lives for their country and their loved ones. My prayer, like yours, is that it might be well with them in the presence of their Maker. May God be with their loved ones and comfort them in their sorrow and distress.”

Credits to Small Town, Great War, Hucknall 1914-1918

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Sourced from ‘Hucknall Dispatch,’ 29th July 1915.

Rfn. Charles Harrison 8th Bn. Rifle Brigade

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Aug 152017
 

Rfn. Charles Harrison, 8th Battalion Rifle Brigade, left a brief account of his role in the action at Hooge, 30th July 1915.

“All our boys were pleased when we saw the Germans advancing. We waited until they got within 50 yards of us, and after opening rapid fire on them, charged them with the bayonet, mowing them down by the score and then we recaptured the trench they had lost earlier in the day. During that time it was “hell with the lid off”, as our boys say. We lost 400 of our chums but I reckon we shall wipe that score off.” 

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Credits to Small Town, Great War, Hucknall 1914-1918

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 Sourced from ‘Hucknall Dispatch,’ 26th August 1915.

Herbert Radford (KRRC)

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Aug 152017
 

On 29th July 1915, Nottingham Brewery employee, Herbert Radford, was placed on probation for a year and instructed to to avoid alcohol during that time after admitting stealing from his workplace while under the influence.

“TEETOTAL FOR 12 MONTHS.

“Magistrates’ Stipulation in Nottingham Theft Case.

“Herbert Radford, aged 26, a brewer, of Florence-terrace, Nottingham, pleaded guilty at Nottingham Guildhall yesterday 29th July 1915 to stealing three dozen bags valued 9s. 6d., the property of the Nottingham Brewery Company. According to the evidence the bags were missed from the brewery works and found to have been sold by by Radford to a marine store dealer named Killoran in Union-road.

“Detective Officer Johnson said that when arrested Radford stated that he thought the bags were of no value, but admitted that got 4s. 3d. for them.

“Mr. T. F. B. Beck, who appeared for the defence, said that Radford’s explanation was that when he took the he had had a little more to drink than was wise. Mr. Beck suggested that Radford should be put on probation and no conviction recorded against him.

“In adopting this course and putting Radford on probation for 12 months the magistrates (Mr. A. E. Blake and Ald. E. L. Manning) stipulated that he should abstain from intoxicants during that period. “It occurs to me,” said Mr. Blake, “that at your age there is very useful work you might be doing for your country.”

He had served, briefly, with the King’s Royal Rifle Corps in 1906 before buying himself out of the Army.

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Sourced from ‘Nottingham Daily Express,’ 30th July 1915.

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Via Small Town, Great War, Hucknall 1914-1918

The Unknown Warrior Story

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Aug 112017
 

The Unknown Worrior

The idea of a Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was first conceived in 1916 by the Reverend David Railton, who, while serving as an army chaplain on the Western Front, had seen a grave marked by a rough cross, which bore the pencil-written legend ‘An Unknown British Soldier’.

He wrote to the Dean of Westminster in 1920 proposing that an unidentified British soldier from the battlefields in France be buried with due ceremony in Westminster Abbey “amongst the kings” to represent the many hundreds of thousands of Empire dead. The idea was strongly supported by the Dean and the Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

On September 7th 1920, in strictest secrecy four unidentified British bodies were exhumed from temporary battlefield cemeteries at Ypres, Arras, the Asine and the Somme.

None of the soldiers who did the digging were told why. The bodies were taken by field ambulance to GHQ at St-Pol-Sur-ter noise.

There the bodies were draped with the union flag. Sentries were posted and Brigadier-General Wyatt and a colonel gell selected one body at random.

A French honour guard was selected, and stood by the coffin overnight. In the morning of the 8th (a specially designed coffin made of oak from the grounds of Hampton Court, was brought and the unknown warrior placed inside.

On top was placed a crusaders sword and a shield on which was inscribed ‘( a British Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR 1914-1918 for king and country’.

On The 9th of November the unknown warrior was taken by horse drawn carriage through guards of honour and the sound of tolling bells and bugle.

Calls to the quayside. There it was saluted by Marechal Foche and loaded onto HMS Vernon bound for Dover….. the coffin stood on the deck covered in wreaths and surrounded by the French honour guard.

On arrival at Dover the the unknown warrior was greeted with a 19 gun salute, normally only reserved for field marshals. He then traveled by special train to Victoria Station London.

He stayed there overnight and on the morning of the 11th of November he was taken to Westminster Abbey where he was placed in a tomb at the west end of the nave – his grave was filled in using 100 sandbags of earth from the battlefields.

When the Duke of York (later King George VI) married Lady Ellizabeth Bowes Lyons in the Abbey in 1923 she left her wedding bouquet on the grave as a matk of respect (she had lost a brother during the war) Since then all royal brides married in the Abbey have sent back their bouquets to be laid on the grave.

The idea of the unknown soldier was thought of by a Padre called David Railton who had served at the front during the great war and it was the union flag they used as an altar cloth at the front, that had been draped over the coffin.
It is the intention that all relatives of the 517,773 combatants whose bodies had not been identified could believe that the unknown warrior could very well be their lost husband, Father, brother or son.

The arrival of the unknown warrior at the Port of Dover on 10th November 1920
Picture by Dover Mercury.

A haunting picture taken by Horace Nicholls, 2 years after the end of World War One. He was granted special access to Westminster Abbey to photograph the coffin of The Unknown Soldier, an unidentified British soldier killed on the battlefields of Northern France and brought back to the UK to represent the multitudes who died ‘For King and Country’. Horace lost his eldest son on the Western Front.
‘Rest In Eternal Peace and Tranquillity’.
With compliments to Linda Conner.

Sourced from Facebook and Dover Historian.

KRRC at Clipston Camp

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Jul 292017
 

“A GARDEN CITY. “

How the KRRC Soldiers are Beautifying Clipstone Camp. “

Visitors to the Clipstone camp are astonished at the neat way in which many of the men have dealt with the little plots in front of their respective huts. Some prefer horticulture others, designs in stones,

The King’s Royal Rifles, who have not been there many days, have done wonders in this direction already.

“One capital design is that of a black cat done in coal with the words “Good Luck” worked over the top.

Two crossed bugles are skilfully done, and there are ornate designs in the shape of Maltese crosses with “Ypres,” “Mons,” and the names of other Belgian towns worked in pebbles.

Some of the inscriptions are in Welsh, a number of Cambrians being in the battalion. But the sportsmen take the cake for gardening. Their lines are dubbed the “garden city” of the camp.”

Credits to Small Town, Great War, Hucknall 1914-1918

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 Sourced from ‘Nottingham Daily Express,’ 19th July 1915.

Rfn. Kiddy and Oldfield (KRRC)

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Jul 292017
 

On 22nd July 1915 two Hucknall soldiers were reported to be in the town on leave. Harold Oldfield came home after the war. Frank Kiddy did not. “Rifleman Harold Oldfield,  of Hucknall, came home on a week’s leave from a London hospital last Saturday, and during the week he has been visited by his acquaintances, amongst whom he was very popular. He has made good progress so far as the healing of the wounds is concerned, but the injuries have left a lameness in the left leg and a shattered finger on the left hand.

This was due to his having his hand on his knee when the shell burst in the trench. Private Frank Kiddy  is also visiting his parents.”  Cpl. Harold Oldfield, 1st King’s Royal Rifle Corps enlisted on 6th January 1915 and, after training landed in France on 14th April 1915.

He was wounded in the leg on 16th May 1915 at Festubert and, after visiting his father (the station master at the Great Central Railway Station in Hucknall), returned to France after being treated in London on 28th July 1915.

He later transferred to the Labour Corps, where he was promoted sergeant (no. 222048), and was finally discharged from the army on 20th April 1919.  

Rfn. Frank Kiddy landed in France as a reinforcement to 4th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps on 29th April 1915. Wounded shortly afterwards, he was brought back to England for treatment. Arrested as an absentee, he was brought the magistrates at the Shire Hall on 10th November 1915.

Frank Kiddy argued that he had applied twice for leave to visit his father before being sent back to the continent. This being denied he took the decision himself.

He was killed in action serving with 7th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps on 4th March 1916. Buried in Caberet Rouge Cemetery, Souchez, he was the son of John and Lydia Kiddy, living at 108 Derbyshire Lane at the time of the 1911 Census.

Credits to Small Town, Great War, Hucknall 1914-1918

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Sourced from ‘Hucknall Dispatch,’ 22nd July 1915.

Rfn Walter Clayton (KRRC)

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Jul 282017
 

Rfn Walter Clayton,

1st Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps, described his part in an attack upon Delville Wood on 27th July 1916. As he said, “I was in the fighting last year, but it was nothing to this.”

“Dear Sir,

“I am just writing you a few lines, hoping you will be able to find any space in your valuable paper. Firstly, I want to thank all who helped and sympathised with my dear parents and myself at the death of my loving brother. No doubt, many will sympathise with me in not being able to see him laid to rest but I am very happy to know he is laid to rest comfortably beside my other brother in our dear churchyard, which was a great consolation to my dear parents and myself.

“Now, I suppose I had better let you know how I had been faring throughout the big push. I cannot explain the awfulness of the sights there, so shall not try. I am glad to say I got through safely, for which I thank God. The day of the attack I was in was the 27th of July 1916, the bombardment beginning at 5 a.m., and lasted two hours. It was some bombardment, I can tell you. You could not hear one another speak for the roar, whilst pieces of shrapnel were dropping all around. At seven o’clock the order came down, fix bayonets and be ready to go over in five minutes. All was excitement, scarcely was a word spoken. We reached the front line, and took it with many prisoners, easily by the way. It was a wood we were to take, about eight hundred feet deep. My company was then in support, which, after the first part of the advance, brought us into our original front line; another hour’s bombardment and we were to rush forward, push our fellows into the old German front line, and clear the whole of the wood, which was a walk over.

“The next trouble was the German counterattacks, which they tried twice without avail. I might add we pushed them all into the open, meanwhile we were digging ourselves in, but our artillery did not give them a chance to dig in. Our bombers, of which I am one, were sent for and had a somewhat exciting time, as the trench we dug was not connected with those on our right. That is where the Germans tried to catch us weak, but it did not work. I had been there about five minutes when a shell burst about a yard behind me. Strange to say I was not hurt. I got into a shell hole after that and had a hour or so sniping at the German reinforcements, which we caught coming in. I was then beginning to enjoy myself and some of my chums called my attention to a big Bosche advancing very cautiously on my left towards our front line, I thought with the intention of bombing us. However, I looked round, and so did he, and I was spotted. I lost myself then and did not know which to do, as I had very little cover and I fully expected a bomb dropping on me. I looked round and, chancing it, got between two trees which had been blown across one another. This proved worse than the shell hole I had just left, so the next thing I did was to go back, and there I had to lie until it was dusk. Then I was relieved and I was not sorry. I have had a few rough times since, but am still in the best of health. I just missed being recommended, still I was satisfied to get out safely. I was in the fighting last year, but it was nothing to this. I suppose I had better ring off now.

I am looking forward to being in Hucknall again soon.

“Yours sincerely

Rfm. W. Clayton”

Credits to Small Town, Great War, Hucknall 1914-1918

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Sourced from ‘Hucknall Dispatch,’ 12th October 1916.

 

WINCHESTER (WEST HILL) OLD CEMETERY

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Jul 112017
 

WINCHESTER (WEST HILL) OLD CEMETERY

A Peaceful Place to Rest

West Hill Cemetery, Winchester

History

In The Beginning

Writing of the early years of the 19th century Alderman Thomas Stopher recalls that little had been built in the western environs of the City and that the open chalk down was almost devoid of trees. A major technological advance was about to change all this.

The advent of the railway, after an initial reluctance by the citizens to use this noisy, smelly and novel form of transport, brought a new prosperity to Winchester. It was not long before those with an entrepreneurial instinct saw great opportunities for making money. Much speculative building was put in hand (good solid dwellings by any standard that still form a great part of the present housing stock) and the City started to expand beyond its former boundaries. And with the railway and all this development came the trees that are such a feature of the City as we view it today.

The Cemetery

In the 1830’s Winchester did not have a cemetery and the graveyards of the City’s churches were overcrowded and in some cases had reached their capacity to accord burials for the citizens.

Mr. C.W. Benny, a Portsmouth grocer and a man of substance, saw here an opportunity for a sound investment by providing a cemetery. After all, in the natural order of things, people died and had to be buried, cremation not being a popular option at this time. Accordingly in 1839 Mr. Benny formed The Winchester Cemetery Company with a capital of £5,000 in £10 shares. In 1840 the Company was incorporated by Act of Parliament. The Act contained the usual powers for the construction of a cemetery and associated chapels. Two Chapels were built; one for members of the Church of England, the other for “Dissenters”, but were demolished in the 1930’s. Also specified were the maximum charges for interments. For every person buried in the open ground (common grave) the sum of 12/-; for every person buried in a purchased or private grave the sum of two guineas; for every person buried in a vault, catacomb or brick grave the sum of four guineas. One section of the Act, combined with other circumstances, was going to cause problems for the City Council at a later date.

Mr. Benny took a keen interest in the running of the cemetery and amongst other provisions insisted that the Keeper who lived in the Lodge had a large and vociferous dog to protect the graves of recently buried people from the attentions of grave robbers. He was well aware of the problem, as his sister’s body had been taken from its burial place, much to the grief and consternation of her family.

The site chosen was on the southern slope of West Hill with its northern boundary on St. James’ Lane, then known as Barnes Lane. The land belonged to the Dean and Chapter of Winchester Cathedral. Alderman Stopher records that the appointed architect was Owen Brown Carter who designed the Lodge and the two chapels and the perimeter wall with its elegant pillars and railings. The Lodge still stands at the northeast entrance just above the St. James’ Lane railway bridge, but both the chapels have been removed. Although the Cemetery is now closed, occasional burials in family plots and vaults do still take place.

In “The History of Hampshire” the Cemetery is described as “a piece of ground about 7 acres in extent, delightfully situated on the sunny slope of West Hill, and laid out with the greatest taste”. The grounds were, as now, open to the public and “afforded a very agreeable promenade with a charming view of the valley beyond St. Catherine’s Hill and St. Cross as far as Twyford and Brambridge”. It must have been a beautiful sight in those days and even today, in spite of much building and the many mature trees, there are still wonderful views to be had out of the City to the east and southeast.

By the beginning of the First World War the Cemetery was nearly full and by 1918 the Cemetery Company was virtually defunct. At a meeting held in the Guildhall on 28th January 1921 the position of the Company was put before the public and as a result a Committee was appointed to assist the extant directors in the maintenance of the Cemetery. This Committee was known as the West Hill Cemetery Society and they ran the Cemetery from 1924 to 1928.

In the following years matters went from bad to worse and a resolution of the problem became imperative. On the 15th December 1946 the Town Clerk, Mr. R.H. McCall, presented a brief on the matter to the City Council. It was a model of clarity and commonsense and an admirable and lucid explanation of a complex situation.

He explained that in 1924 the Directors had sought Counsel’s advice on the feasibility of transferring the undertaking to Trustees appointed by the Society. Counsel, a Mr. Neville Tebbutt, had made a number of comments. The first was that the Cemetery Company was prohibited from selling or transferring its undertaking or the cemetery to other persons. He further advised that the Cemetery was not one to which the Burial Acts applied, in the sense of requiring the Local Authority to maintain the same when disused. He also drafted a Declaration of Trusts that was adopted by the Cemetery Society. But due to the rule against perpetuities (the Society not being a charity) the Trust was confined to the period of the lives of the issue of His Majesty King Edward VII and for a further period of 20 years from the death of such survivor! In this case the Trust would have expired in 1958 following the death in 1938 of Princess Maud, the wife of King Haakon VII of Norway.

Other relevant facts were that the Company had not held a meeting since 31st December 1920, the last Director of the Company had died on 29th October 1936 and the Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. Alfred Bowker, had died on 18th March 1944. There were other problems too numerous to list here.

In 1948 a further Opinion of Counsel was sought with a view to transferring the Cemetery Company and the assets of the Cemetery Society to the City Council. In this opinion, Mr. J. Mills, agreed with the previous opinion and said that to do this a Private Act would be necessary. He also said that if the Council declined the offer then the Society was under no obligation to continue to maintain the Cemetery. He also stated that if the work of the Society ceased it must remain for local opinion or local effort to prevent the Cemetery from becoming derelict. The Town Clerk advised that it was quite certain that the City Council had no legal power to spend money on a Cemetery that did not belong to them.

He also advised them that if the Council did not take over then the state of the Cemetery might deteriorate and that it was “notorious that any property kept in reasonable repair is less expensive in the long run than letting the same property get into a very bad state and then have to put matters right”. The point was also made that it would be wrong to disregard the fact that pressure on the Council to take responsibility would increase in line with the state of dereliction. It was close to the City centre and would always be regarded as something of importance and that it would be considered as a credit to the City or a disgrace, depending on its state. That opinion would probably hold good today.

Another factor to be taken into consideration was that any contribution by the Local Authority must be measured against the value of the site to the City’s reputation and the maintenance of the rateable value of the surrounding district that would certainly deteriorate if the Cemetery became a place of desolation. Telling words in any age!

In conclusion he advocated a Bill in Parliament so that the Cemetery could be taken over by the Council and in the event the Winchester Corporation Bill, all 64 pages of it, was passed in 1952.

In the Hampshire Chronicle of 12th December 1964, the Town Council gave notice that they intended to remove memorials, tombstones and railings on 200 burial plots. Certain headstones were to be placed against the side-walls of the Cemetery. Objections had to be registered by 18th January 1965, after which the work was to be put in hand. It is not known how many objections, if any, were made but the work was certainly put in hand. In the1980’s the Council, as a matter of policy, commenced the destruction of some of the gravestones to facilitate the work of the gang-mower. They were also using chemical sprays to inhibit growth that the mower could not deal with. After many years of effort by the Landscape Committee of the Trust (then the Preservation Trust) and others, the Council was persuaded to alter its policy of destruction and the use of sprays and to treat the Cemetery as a managed area promoting the proliferation of flora and fauna.

Fauna and Monuments

Fauna and Flora

The population of fauna and flora, with the exception of the trees, is much as it was when sheep grazed there. It is host to a thriving colony of the Marbled White butterfly (Melanargia galathea) that is fairly common on the chalk downs around Winchester and beyond, but this urban colony is probably unique in the British Isles. The flora is composed of many of the species that you would expect to find in chalk grassland with the interesting addition of a number of domestic flowering plants that have self-seeded from the floral tributes placed on the graves over the years. There are one or two fine trees in the cemetery and some modern planting that is far too close together. There are also a number of self-seeded trees that need to be removed together with ivy, and other climbers that are smothering one of the trees and some of the memorials.

Monuments and Archaeology

The boundary wall with its railings and the wrought iron gates are classified as a Grade II listed structures but the lodge is not. Despite past damage to the lodge, this appears to be a serious omission since it is very important to the ambience of the Cemetery, and is by the same architect as the listed wall. The cemetery itself is recorded as an archaeological site.

During the preparatory work on the St. James’ Lane entrance, a cremation and burial site of Roman origin was discovered. Five cinerary urns of coarse workmanship and containing cremated human remains were uncovered, the largest being three feet in diameter. The burials were more numerous and stretched for more than 100 yards east and west “into the adjoining pastures”. The graves had been cut into the chalk and backfilled with a mixture of loam, small stones and fragments of burnt wood. The burials appear to have taken place without coffins and were laid out without any regularity or order. A coin of the usurping emperor, Flavius Magnus Magnentius (350 to 353 AD), was found nearby but cannot be associated with any of the burials. These finds were recorded in the Gentleman’s Magazine 1840 Part II, p.644.

The same source also records that the finds were sent to “a gentleman in Blandford”. It would seem that he never returned them to Winchester, as they are not in the Museum Collection in the City. The Assistant Curator of the Dorset Museum in Dorchester (there is no museum in Blandford) suggests that `the gentleman’ in question might be either William Shipp, an antiquarian and bookseller (1809-1873), or more likely Henry Durden, another antiquarian and collector (1807-1892). There is no trace of these finds in the Dorset Museum nor are they in The British Museum, where Durden’s Collection is housed. However his Collection does contain a pot found in Winchester described as “red ware” and possibly of Samian origin.

Conservation and the future

The title to the cemetery passed to the City Council in 1953 and it is they who are now responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the site that is an important open green space in the setting of the City’s built environment and valued by those who live in Winchester. A cemetery is first and foremost a place to commemorate the dead and is very important to the living relatives of those who are buried there. At the same time it is a pleasant and peaceful place for leisure and for the study of the natural environment and local history. It is therefore most important that adequate resources are earmarked for its continued care in order to ensure that it remains so.

In 2001 a Parliamentary Select Committee of Inquiry examined the current national provision of burial sites, discussed the question of maintaining existing cemeteries and looked at options for the future. The Government subsequently asked English Heritage and English Nature to provide guidance on the conservation and management of cemeteries. The first such paper entitled ‘Paradise Preserved’ is shortly to be published. It can be found on the English Heritage website (www.english-heritage.org.uk) together with details of much other useful information on the subject. ‘Paradise Preserved’ is well worth a read by those interested in the subject.

At the moment all is well but the pressure on budgets is great and unrelenting. If the citizens of Winchester want to keep the cemetery the way it is then they must take up the matter with their elected representatives if they see things going wrong. In that way it can be brought to the attention of the City Council. It would be a huge bonus if a group of ‘Friends’ could be formed to keep an eye on this wonderful place and act as unofficial wardens.

R / 11700 Rifleman Alfred Amos Bickers

Depot

The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

Thursday 29th April 1915

7438 Rifleman F Boswell

 The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

Tuesday 29th February 1916 

5669 Boy Walter Carter

Depot

The Rifle Brigade

 Sunday 27th August 1916

S/3590 Corporal George Herbert Chappell

The Rifle Brigade

Monday 10th May 1915

R /13129 Rifleman H Clarke

Depot

The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

 Friday 25th June 1915

4733 Rifleman J Collins

17th

County of London

Wednesday 22nd March 1916

4226 CSM W R Croasdale

3rd Bn.

The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

Tuesday 18th February 1919 

2284 Col. Serjt. R.H. Freeborn

The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

 Tuesday 6th June 1916

R /4987 Rifleman D Graven

Depot

The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

Thursday 17th September 1914 

R / 7722 Rifleman H. Guest

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Monday 25th June 1917

12669 Rifleman Robert Hall

2nd Bn.

The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

Saturday 8th April 1916

373052 Rifleman G.L. Hyde

Post Office Rifles

Monday 2nd July 1917

4804 Serjeant F.J. James

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Monday 7th January 1918

S/4943 Rifleman E. Lambourne

The Rifle Brigade

Friday 4th August 1916

 8049 Bugler C.F. Marshall

The Rifle Brigade

Saturday 28th November 1914

41091 Rifleman G.A. Medlicott

Depot

The Rifle Brigade

Wednesday 26th February 1919

R /4431 Corporal F.A. McManus

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Friday 25th December 1914

Captain Montagu Alfred Nixon

The Rifle Brigade

Wednesday 26th September 1917

9206 Rifleman W.J. O’Donnel

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Saturday 21st November 2014

8392 Bugler Wyndhan George Owens

B Coy, 3rd Bn.

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Monday 4th January 1915

5 /236 Corporal W. Quarterman

1st Bn.

The Rifle Brigade

 Saturday 22nd July 1916

S/9147 Serjeant John Harold Reeves

 Depot

The Rifle Brigade

 Monday 15th July 1918

1280 Serjeant J.H. Reid

The King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Friday 30th April 1915

5236 Rifleman J. Rogers

17th BN

County of London

Sunday 16th July 1916

6908421 Bugler H. Roney

5th Bn.

The Rifle Brigade

 Tuesday 26th October 1920

R 15279 Qmr. Serjeant John E. Saunders

The Kings Royal Rifle Corps

Tuesday 24th October 1916

R / 11260 Rifleman Thomas Southern

Depot

The King`s Royal Rifle Corps

Saturday 10th April 1915

S/4992 Albert C. Towell served as Rifleman A. Davis

The Rifle Brigade

Sunday 6th May 1917

 S / 9150 Rifleman Alfred Williams

Depot

The Rifle Brigade

 Thursday 27th July 1916

S/32332  Rifleman W R Woodward

The Rifle Brigade

Wednesday 30th May 1917

(There are also two Victoria Cross graves in this cemetery)

Lieutenant-Colonel Francis David Millet Brown VC

Born 7th August 1837 in in Bhagalpur, India

Died 21st November 1895 (aged 58)

Buried at West Hill Cemetery in Winchester, England

Service Bengal Army, British Army, British Indian Army

Years Of Service 1855 to 1894

Rank Lieutenant-Colonel

Unit 1st European Bengal Fusiliers / 101st Regiment of Foot / Indian Staff Corps

Wars / Battles Indian Mutiny / Umbevla Campaign

Awarded Victoria Cross 

Lieutenant-Colonel Francis David Millet Brown VC (7 August 1837 – 21 November 1895) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Brown was born on 7 August 1837 in Bhagalpur, India. He was educated at Grosvenor Collage, Bath. He was educated from 1852 to 1854 by a private tutor, Brisco Morland Gane, late curate of Honiton.

He was 20 years old, and a lieutenant in the 1st European Bengal Fusiliers (later The Royal Munster Fusiliers) during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed, on 16th November 1857 at Narnoul, India, for which Brown was awarded the Victoria Cross:

For great gallantry at Narrioul, on the 16th November, 1857, in having, at the imminent risk of his own life, rushed to the assistance of a wounded soldier of the 1st European Bengal Fusiliers, whom he carried off, under a very heavy fire from the enemy, whose cavalry were within forty or fifty yards of him at the time

He was again promoted, this time to Captain 23rd August 1864. He returned to the army as Major on 7 December 1875. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel 8 December 1881. He was presented to Queen Victoria at a Levee at St James Palace on 24th April 1860. He later achieved the rank of colonel

Personal Life

Between 1868 and 1873 Brown was employed as Assistant Principal of Thomason Civil Engineering Collage, Roorkee. He married Jessie Rhind Russel. Her date of birth is unknown. They had the following children:

  • Frank Russell Brown (24th March 1872 – 3 April 1900). Frank was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Munster Fusiliers. He was made a Lieutenant 1st August 1895.
  • Claude Russell Brown (born 11 April 1873). Claude was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Engineers 22nd July 1892. He was made a Lieutenant 22nd July 1895.

Brown married Jessie Doris Childs after the death of his first wife. Brown died on 21st November 1895 in Sandown, Isle of White and was buried in Winchester Cemetery, after a service at Winchester Cathedral.

Brig. Charles Calveley Foss V.C. C.B. D.S.O

Brigadier Charles Calveley Foss VC, CB,DSO (9th March 1885 – 9th April 1953) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Foss was born in kobe, the son of Rev. Hugh James Foss, Bishop of Osaka. He was 30 years old, and a captain in the 2nd Battalion the Bedfordshire Regiment of the British Army during the First World War when the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 12th March 1915 at Neuve Chapelle, France, after the enemy had captured a part of one of the British trenches and a counter-attack made with one officer and 20 men had failed (all but two of the party having been killed or wounded in the attempt) Captain Foss on his own initiative dashed forward with only eight men under heavy fire and attacked the enemy with bombs and captured the position and the 52 Germans occupying it.

One of the eight men who accompanied Captain Foss at Neuve Chapelle was William George Peggs, 9822 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment who was awarded the Order of St George 4th Class (Russia) for his part in the attack. Peggs died from wounds received during a later battle on 9th August 1916. Peggs is buried at La Neuville British Cemetery, Albert, France.

Foss later achieved the rank of brigadier. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regimental Collection at the Wardown Park Museum, Luton and Bedfordshire.

Born 9th March 1885 Kobe, Japan

Died 9th April 1953 London

Buried at West hill Cemetery Winchester

Service / Branch British Army

Rank Brigadier

Units Bedfordshire Regiment / Home Guard

Wars / Battles WWI / WWII

Awards Victoria Cross / Order or the Bath / Distinguished Service Order

Memorial at Peninsula Ltd, who are also Hampshire Ambassadors laid wreath`s on 10th Nov 2013 on the above graves as members of the Victoria Cross Trust

Others buried at Winchester West Hill Cemetery

L.Cpl A.E. Alexander – 26115 / Dorsetshire Regiment – 5th July 1918

Gunner F. Appleby – 41074 / Royal Field Artillery – 21st May 1915

Private E. Armstrong –  11932 / Royal Lancaster Regiment – 11th April 1915

Driver C. Attwood – 131986 / Royal Field Artillery – 15th April 1916

Captain F. Bishop M.C. – Cheshire Regiment – 21st Feburary 1919

Serjeant William Blount – 14655 / King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and Royal Welch Fusiliers – 10th December 1915

2nd Private G.A. Bothwell – 294023 / Royal Air Force – 4th October 1918

C.T. Bryen – 275237 /  3rd Air Mech. Royal Air Force – 17th November 1918

Sapper J. Carter – 325815 / Royal Engineers – 2nd May 1919

Pte. Henry John Catley / Of The Royal Fusiliers, died at the Red Cross Hospital, Winchester – 15th March 1917

Private C.H. Clarke – 4264 / 19th B. County of London – 1st June 1916

Corporal F.J. Craig – 25743 / Royal Garrison Artillery – 3rd December 1918

Private H. Critchell – 9514 / Hampshire Regiment – 10th June 1916

Major E.R. Cureton – King`s Own Scottish Borderers – 18th May 1916

Private O.J. Dobson – 9683 / Royal Berkshire Regiment – 10th November 1914

Private Thomas Henry Dolton – 8836 / Hampshire Regiment – 11th Febuary 1915

Rifleman Joseph Michael Dowling – 4073 / London Irish Rifles who Died at North Hill Camp – 6th April 1916

Private E.C. Downer – SE/13031 / Royal Army Veterinary Corps – 9th January 1918

Private W. Dutton – 147334 / Machine Gun Corps (Inf) – 12th February 1919

Private E.A. Farr – 30585 / Essex Regiment – 17th June 1918

General William Charles Forrest C.B. – Colonel 11th (PAO) Hussars and formerly of that Regt and the 4th and 7th Dragoon Guards. “and son of Col William Forrest Bengal Army. He served with the 4th Dragoon Guards in the Crimean Campaign 1854-55, Balaclava, Inkerman, Tchernaya, Sebastopol – 1st April 1902

Gunner S. Forsey – 217 / Gunner Royal Field Artillery – 12th October 1915

Private Edward William Fullford – 9125 / Hampshire Regiment – 18th December 1918

Private P.L. Gillan – 252608 / Durham Light Infantry – 16th March 1918

Private J.A. Goheen – G/93492 / Middlesex Regiment – 3rd December 1918

L.Cpl. P. Graham – 8532 / Royal Irish Regiment – 22nd January 1915

C. Omr. Serjt. J.W. Guerin – 1316 / Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry – 12th December 1914

Private A.H. Holder – 42203 / Hampshire Regiment – 21st November 1918

L. Cpl. E. Howson – 4847 / King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry – 7th January 1915

Cadet G.R. Johnston – 2704 / Australian Flying Corps – 24th March 1918

Sapper W.J. Johnston – 487355 / Canadian Railway Troops – 12th October 1917

Private George Osman Kirkwood – 22847 / Royal Berkshire Regiment – 3rd July 1916

Driver F.B. Lawrence – 98588 / Royal Field Artillery – 3rd December 1914

2nd Lieutenant G.H. Macaskill – Royal Air Force – 4th July 1918

2nd Lieutenant J.R.T. Marsham – Worcestershire Regiment – 27th February 1919

Corporal T.J. McGuire – 24816 / Royal Garrison Artillery – 27th November 1918

Lance Cpl J. McLee – WR/508549 / Royal Engineers – 19th February 1919

Private L.D. Miller – Royal Fusiliers – Buried elsewhere in this cemetery – 12th June 1915

Serjeant James John Mitchell – 3/5226 / Hampshire Regiment – 8th May 1917

Staff Serjeant C.F.G. Molland – F/ 26616 / Royal Army Service Corps – 25th July 1917

E. L. Molland 139649 / Royal Horse Artillery – 25th July 1917

Private E.E. Moore – L /13464 Middlesex Regiment – 31st December 1914

Private D. Moran – 22852 / Royal Dublin Fusiliers – 12th June 1916

Private B.G. Morrell – R /233302 / Royal Army Service Corps – 5th March 1919

Private J. Mountford – 20064 / North Staffordshire Regiment – 10th December 1915

Gunner Charles Munday – 192100 / Royal Field Artillery – 12th March 1918

Serjeant W.J. Newman – 1120 / Army Cyclist Corps – 1st April 1919

Private G.H. Nott – 5095 / 24th BN London Regiment – 13th January 1916

Private J. O’Donoghue – 288259 /  Royal Air Force – 6th October 1918

Private F. O’Neill – SE/28225 / Royal Army Veterinary Corps – 4th July 1917

Corporal J.J. Page – Hampshire Regiment – 27th June – 1918

Sapper W.J. Peel – WR/508548 / Royal Engineers – 17th February 1919

Private A.E. Poppy – 13159 / Royal Fusiliers – 3rd January 1915

Private H. Potter – 10262 / King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry – 28th December 1914 

Private H. Riley – 6160 / Cheshire Regiment – 

W. Sawle – Boy 2nd Cl. Rn J 93962 / HMS Impregnable – 25th February 1919

F.G. Sherman – 3239 / 1st Air Mechanic Royal Air Force – 13th February 1919

Driver H. Sillitoe – 132015 / Royal Field Artillery – 16th May 1916

Serjeant C.F. Southcott – 380126 / Hampshire Regiment – 17th December 1917

2nd Private H. Southcott – 197507 / 2nd Private Royal Air Force – 1st July 1918

Corporal F. Sturgess – 8778 / Hampshire Regiment – 8th August 1916

Private A.D. Swinnard – L/8686 / East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) – 29th January 1915

Lance Cpl. R.S. Tavener – 3401 13 / Kensington Bn. London Regiment – 30th August 1916

T.V. Tee – Stoker 2nd Cl. K /29237 / HMS Victory – 22nd February 1916

Major William Parker Terry – Late (number) battalion Norfolk Regiment which he served 25 years including the Crimea and fall of Sebastopol. – 15th January 1891

Lieutenant A.J. Tremblay – Royal Air Force – 31st August 1918

Private C.H.P. Tuck – 3739 / 13 Kensington Bn. London Regiment – 30th August 1916

A.E. Tucker – Stoker 1st Class RN.309995 / HMS Victory – 7th January 1917

L. Cpl. Frederick Chapman Tyler – 27011 / Hampshire Regiment (died of wounds received in France) William (killed in action in Mespotamia) – 13th June 1917

Colonel Herbert Flamstead Walters – 124th Baluchistan Infantry, India. – 8th October 1916

Lance Cpl H. Woodger – 18793 / Welch Regiment – 29th September 1915

Pioneer G.H. Wright – 25628 Royal Engineers – 10th January 1915

 

Original Source by Gary Heritage

Photos from Billion Grave and Steve Barrett

Heading Sourced from http://www.cityofwinchestertrust.co.uk

For more reading please visit the link above

Prince Arthur at Dover

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Jul 032017
 

Prince Arthur

The Prince at Dover

The headquarters of the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade marched from South Front Barracks at the Western Heights and Fort Burgoyne at Dover to Shorncliffe Camp on the 26th September 1871 headed by the band of the 67th Rifles.

The rest of the 67th departed the next day, along with the bulk of the 2nd Rifles a few days later. Replacing them at the Citadel was the 2nd Buffs who had to share with the 68th at the Western Outworks, the 68th were a rather exhausted regiment which had recently returned from India after 15 years with few rifles and very worn out equipment.

The Grand Shaft Barracks stood empty having been recently vacated in August by the 102nd Royal Madras Fusiliers. Moving into them was the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade under the command of Colonel Edmund M. Manningham-Buller, a total of 34 officers, 712 men and 6 horses.

Liverpool House was immediately established as the head-quarters of the battalion and remained so until early December when it was relocated to the barracks. Prince Arthur was at the time attached to the battalion as a Captain but was in Scotland when the battalion moved to Dover, he being due to follow on in October.

The Prince was to be temporarily given accommodation at the Lord Warden Hotel as more luxurious accommodation at 24 Waterloo Crescent on the seafront was made ready following the departure of Mr and Mrs Hugh Fortescue, the then occupants who voluntarily vacated it.

Waterloo Crescent was one of the most luxurious properties in Dover, built in 1834 it consisted of an arc of high-status apartments and regimental offices with a commanding view of the seafront. The Prince’s apartments had a sea-view balcony and marked the centre of the terrace.

Born on the 1st May 1850 as the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria, HRH Prince Arthur had a lifelong interest in pursuing a military career. He joined the military college at Woolwich at the age of 16 and following the completion of his studies was appointed a commission as a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in 1868. He then transferred to the Royal Artillery at the end of the year. He remained with them until August 1869 when he moved to the Rifle Brigade, forging a distinguished service in Canada later that year and throughout 1870.

During his stay in Canada he met President Ulysses S. Grant in Washington and in May participated in repulsing an attack of 600 of the Fenian Brotherhood from the US at Frelighsburg, Quebec. Arthur had assisted in leading the counterattack by Canadian militia units at the Battle of Eccles Hill forcing the Fenians to retreat. Arthur was subsequently promoted to the rank of Captain on the 14th June 1871 and became Honorary Colonel of the London Irish Volunteers and a member of the Privy Council.

Arthur arrived in Dover on the 27th October and was given a series of rooms at the Lord Warden Hotel. On the 7th December he agreed to attend the annual celebration of the Dover National Sailor’s Home at the Hotel and chair the evening with a rousing speech following dinner. Later in December he moved to 24 Waterloo Crescent as planned and established an office and reception rooms, and even advertised his address for correspondence in the local papers.

His next public appearance was at the Admiralty Pier on the 30th December when he met his sister Princess Louise and her party and accompanied them to Calais on the French mail packet Petrel. Sadly he was prevented from attending the switch-on of the new electric light at South Foreland Lighthouse on New Years Day due to a double-engagement. On Monday 15th January the Prince left Dover to head to Ostend en route for Berlin on leave accompanied by Major Pickard and Sir Howard Elphinstone on a steam yacht.

Following his arrival at Berlin he was appointed as a Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle and entitled Prince Arthur of England, Field Marshall Herwart and General Mannteuffel were similarly invested. Arthur rejoined his regiment at Dover on Wednesday 14th February via the steam paddle yacht Enchantress under the command of Captain Carr. He then rode in his carriage to Waterloo Crescent where he stayed for a few days before departing for London.

He consented to preside at the annual meeting of Palestine Exploration Fund to be held at Dover College Hall on the 4th March. At the meeting Captain Wilson RE who was the officer in charge of the Ordnance Survey of Sinai and Jerusalem, and Walter Morrison MP, gave descriptions of the Society, presented illustrations and displayed relics brought back from the Holy Land. On March 13th at the Garrison Instructors class-room at the Grand Shaft Barracks he presented a lecture entitled ‘The Game of War’ he had written on current military strategy to the Dover Association for the Discussion of Military Subjects, mostly consisting of senior military officers.

Prince Arthur next patronised the Dover Concert on Saturday 16th April at the Wellington Hall. HRH the Duchess of Cambridge landed at Dover on the 18th March 1872 on the steam packet Wave having travelled from Germany via Calais. The weather had been foul and on her arrival it was clear that the Duchess was suffering from sea-sickness and would be unable to continue on her journey to London that night. A Guard of Honour of the Buffs was assembled on the Admiralty Pier and Prince Arthur, resplendent in his green Rifle Brigade uniform stepped on board to escort the nauseous Princess to a carriage where she was driven to the Lord Warden Hotel.

She was greeted by the senior commanding officers of the garrison there and stayed the night, departing the following afternoon under a Guard of Honour of the Buffs commanded by the Prince and the train departing under a Royal Salute of guns from the Castle. The 20th March saw the Prince preside over the Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles and Volunteer Ball at the Town Hall, a prestigious event attended by the Mayor and senior officers of the Garrison.

He left Dover on Good Friday for Brighton to greet Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar and open the new fresh water fish aquarium, under a Guard of Honour of the 1st Sussex Artillery and the band of the 19th Sussex Rifle Volunteers. He remained at Brighton for the Easter Monday Review in which a strong army had supposedly landed between Brighton and Shoreham and were opposed by a strong force of defenders. Arthur was an observer throughout the mock battle which involved thousands of skirmishers, infantry, cavalry and artillery across the Downs. On his return to Dover he continued to be very much involved in local affairs in addition to his daily military and Royal duties.

On the 10th April the Grocer’s Company presented him with the freedom of their order at their hall at Princes Street. The next day he cut the first sod in the construction of the new branch of South-Eastern Railway between Hythe and Sandgate. Five days later a delegation of the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club met him at his residence to propose he should accept the first Commodoreship of the Club, this was an offer he eagerly accepted.

The 19th saw him preside over the 17th Annual Dinner of the St. John’s Foundation School for Sons of Poor Clergy in St. James’s Street. Prince Arthur was proving a very popular person in Dover and it was the opinion of the council and the public in general that the town was fortunate to have such an enthusiastic patron. For his continual services in supporting Dover, its societies, charities and in local matters, Mayor Dickeson then conveyed a special meeting for the public to attend on the 22nd April to discuss how the Prince’s 22nd birthday on the 1st May should be celebrated.

At the meeting a committee was formed principally consisting of councillors, magistrates, clergy and notable persons to organise events. Within a few days it was resolved to decorate the sea front with flags draped on Venetian masts, to actively involve the local school children and end on a grand firework display. Music was to be provided by the Dover Volunteer Cadet Band on its first outing, and various school drum and fife bands heading a procession through the centre of the town.

Upon learning of preparations at Dover, the Prince abandoned his plans to spend the day at Windsor and elected to remain. In the event, the gala was a resounding success. The band of the Rifle Brigade assembled on the seafront outside 24 Waterloo Crescent with a 60-strong choir and every street was bedecked with flags, banners and streamers. Following a reception at the Town Hall, 3,000 schoolchildren assembled on the seafront centred on his residence and together sung the National Anthem as the Prince acknowledged the crowds from his balcony and bowed to the band and conductor.

In the evening a Ball was held at the Apollonian Hall and a gigantic bonfire fuelled by twenty barrels of tar was lit at the Water Works on Castle Hill, it was so massive it continued to burn for a couple of days afterwards. Following the day Queen Victoria wrote of her gratification at the demonstrations made by the inhabitants of Dover. The next day, the 2nd May, saw the Empress of Germany arrive on the Maid of Kent steamer.

The 1st Rifle Brigade, along with Prince Arthur, and the other local regiments, lined the pier from the landing stage to the Lord Warden Hotel. She was received by Lord Sydney, Viscount Torrington and other senior staff of the South Eastern district. Salutes were fired from the Castle and Western Heights and the national Anthem was played. She was then driven by carriage to a Royal train and, accompanied by Prince Arthur, made her way to Windsor.

The 13th saw the string section of the band of the Rifle Brigade play a concert at the Wellington Hall again under the patronage of Prince Arthur. A trip to Liverpool came next on the 17th where he opened a new hospital before returning a few days later. A military inspection of all the troops of the Dover Garrison took place on the 25th May by HRH the Duke of Cambridge with the Rifle Brigade, Buffs, 38th Regiment, 17th Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and the Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles all assembled on a flat field just outside Dover Castle.

The Duke rode through the assembled columns as the military bands played followed by a demonstration of artillery practice. That evening the Duke stayed with the Prince at his sea-front residence. The 1st June was a long day for the Prince. He had been present at a Ball at the Castle until the early hours of the morning the previous night, but had to get up a few hours later to meet the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Pier and then be on duty with the regiment at 9am, commanding his Company in a march-past. In the afternoon he travelled to London and dined with Gladstone at a meal celebrating the Queen’s birthday and afterwards had to attend a formal reception.

He returned to Dover the following night. The next weekend, on the 9th, the Prince travelled to Chatham in his yacht Rosebud in rough weather to inspect the Garrison before returning to his Regiment. The next event was the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club regatta on the 22nd consisting of boat displays and races off the harbour. The Prince took out Rosebud for much of the day accompanied by Colonel Manningham-Buller, Lieutenant Fitzgerald and several officers of the Rifle Brigade.

In the evening he distributed prizes to the winners at the Club House. The 20th July saw a brief departure from the Regiment to London to chair a conference at the Society of Arts, this was followed by a presentation of medals for academic achievement at Dover College on the 30th, the band of the Rifles playing in the College grounds on his arrival. The next day he departed on Rosebud to London and on to Osbourne, prior to taking part in the autumn manoeuvres at Aldershot.

Although he was not present, Dover and Cinque Ports Regatta under the patronage of the Prince was held on Bank Holiday Monday 5th August 1872 and included sailing competitions, a race of coast guard boats and many other competitions culminating in a grand firework display. He returned to Dover and rejoined the Rifle Brigade on the 17th October following the conclusion of the army exercises and a tour of the country as far as Scotland.

He was temporarily accommodated at Lord Warden Hotel again as Waterloo Crescent was occupied and would not be ready until early November. During the first week of November the Rifle Brigade performed three public concerts including overtures, selections, clarinet and choral pieces and all were attended by Arthur. On the 11th November he took part in a somewhat less formal gathering, he drew a prize at the private house in Bench Street of Mr Austin, local resident Mr Smith, the winner, receiving an oil painting entitled ‘The Charge of Balaklava’.

The 27th November Colonel Manningham-Buller hosted a Ball at the Grand Shaft Barracks and attended by Prince Arthur, and officers of the Buffs, the 38th, the Royal Engineers and Royal Artillery as well as many of the wealthier residents of the town.

The following week he departed Dover for Sandringham to visit the Prince of Wales, returning on the 2nd December. The week before Christmas saw the Prince attend further military lectures at the Lord Warden Hotel and attend another Ball as Guest of Honour, this time hosted by his neighbour, a Mr Beaumont of Number 25 Waterloo Crescent. He departed Dover again for Christmas and returned on the 31st, just in time to attend the New Year’s Ball at the Apollonian Hall.

The officers of the 1st Rifle Brigade hosted another Ball on the 10th January at the Barracks and although invited, neither the Prince nor Major Dickson attended due to news of the death of Napoleon III the evening before. Accompanied by Lieutenants Lane and Hartopp, the Prince left Dover again on the 10th, this time bound for Germany and Italy on goodwill visits. During his trip he visited Rome, met the Pope, toured Naples and elsewhere before returning to his regiment on the 16th March. Following his tour of the Vatican, his next public engagement was somewhat less auspicious, that of formerly opening the Dover Poultry, Pigeon and Cat show on the 22nd at the Wellington Hall.

The Prince was then given a tour around a room full of chickens, pigeons, ducks and tabby cats. The Duke of Edinburgh arrived at Dover on the 6th April en route to France and the Prince greeted him on the Admiralty Pier prior to his departure.

In the meantime discussions were taking place as how to celebrate the Prince’s birthday as per the previous year but Sir Howard Elphinstone informed the committee by letter that the Prince would be absent this year. Instead he, and the officers of the Rifle Brigade, were invited to a Ball at the Town Hall on the 21st . The annual Military Review took place on Easter Monday, April 14th. This involved thousands of regular and volunteer soldiers arriving at Dover to stage a huge mock battle to give the volunteers training and their commanding officers practice in commanding large bodies of men in the field.

Umpires kept score and ammunition was powder only; nonetheless they were not only extremely useful exercises but a huge tourist draw; thousands of people arrived in Dover to watch the troops manoeuver and the shop keepers made a roaring trade. The 1873 review took place on the fields and slopes in the direction of Deal on the approach to Dover Castle, also involving artillery at Fort Burgoyne.

The operations were devised by Major-General Sir Alfred Horsford, KCB, with the concept of an invading force landing at Deal and marching on Dover with the intent of seizing the Castle and Burgoyne. The forces were split into two, the attacking force advancing from the Deal direction consisting of the Royal Marines and field artillery pieces from Walmer under the command of Colonel Rodney.

The defenders, stationed at the fort, Castle and plains in front consisted of cavalry of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, field artillery and infantry of the 2nd Buffs, 3rd 60th Rifles, 1st The Rifle Brigade, 38th Regiment and 17th Royal Artillery under the command of Colonel Macdonald and many Volunteer Rifle and Artillery units under Colonel Gall. Approximately 15,000 public turned up and lined the roads to watch the spectacle.

Prince Arthur attended as aide-de-camp to Colonel Macdonald throughout the day, riding a light bay horse and wearing the dark green uniform of his regiment. At the signal of the start of the review the Rifles despatched a few hundred skirmishers and a small force of cavalry in the Deal direction who fanned out over a wide area to look for the enemy whose exact approach direction was uncertain.

Soon the enemy was spotted advancing across open land, three columns of Marines flanked on the left with field artillery. One column of Marines was deployed in skirmishing order which was met by a mass volley from the front rank of the Rifles. As the exchange of fire took place, a single artillery piece from the Castle opened fire on the attackers. The attackers then took command of the road towards Guston and attempted to engage the out-lying defenders.

The enemy now sent two columns straight into the defenders towards the Castle forcing the Rifles to fall back towards the regular infantry whilst whilst keeping up a steady fire. Both parties disappeared into a grassy hollow, but after much exchanging of volleys, the Marines began to fall back to the cover of their artillery. There was no pursuit as the defenders had suffered enough imaginary casualties.

The Marines then engaged the Rifle Volunteers towards Burgoyne, forcing them to retire to the fort. The defenders then deployed their cavalry to harass the Marines who adopted defensive square formations, as they galloped around them, they were marked as suffering from high casualties due to volley fire. As this was happening, the attack from the Guston Road towards Burgoyne took place but was successfully repulsed by the main body of Rifle Volunteers supported by artillery from the fort. A reserve of defending artillery was brought up forcing the attackers to begin a general retreat. A cessation of hostilities was then called and the defenders declared victorious.

The entire force then drew up for inspection and a march past as the regimental bands played on. On the 23rd April the Prince inspected the station of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, of which the Queen was patron. Colonel Fitzroy Clayton explained how the boat carriage worked and the Prince agreeing to go aboard wearing a cork life jacket. The boat bobbed about in the harbour for an hour as Clayton explained rescue procedures and demonstrating discharge valves in the hull should the boat become swamped. The Prince was reportedly very impressed and gratified by the demonstration.

A visit to Austria followed at the end of April. The Prince had missed an unusual event in his absence, the annual training on the 17th of the Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles, of which the Prince was Honorary Colonel. The training fell under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Commandant the Earl of Mountcharles of the 1st Lifeguards. The various troops gathered in a field at Ewell near the railway station, were inspected by the Earl, and headed by the Volunteer band, marched into Dover.

Despite inclement weather the roads were lined with spectators. Special entertainments were laid on and concerts in the halls for the men over the next couple of days. The Prince returned to Dover on the 20th May onboard the Maid of Kent steamer from Calais and was greeted by a Guard of Honour of a hundred men of the Rifles, the usual entourage of senior officers and dignitaries, a band and a 21 gun salute from the Castle.

The 1st Rifle Brigade left Dover on the 5th June 1873 for Aldershot, Colonel Manningham-Buller hosting a farewell dinner at the Grand Shaft Barracks. The barracks were taken over by the 38th Regiment which united there, having transferred from the Fort Burgoyne and South Front Barracks. The Prince remained as Commodore of the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club and paid numerous visits to Dover over the rest of his military career. The Prince was appointed a Royal Peer on 13th March 1874 and was formerly titled the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade in 1876 and Colonel in 1880.

Waterloo Crescent Dover

24 Waterloo Road

Prince Arthur`s Balcony

 

The Artists Rifles

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Jun 282017
 

The Artists Rifles

The Artists Rifles is a Regiment of the British Army Reserve. Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regiment saw active service during the Second Boer War and WWI, earning a number of battle honours. It did not serve outside Britain during WWII, as it was used as an officer training unit at that time. The regiment was disbanded in 1945 but in 1947, it was re-established to resurrect the Special Air Service Regiment. Today, the full title of the Regiment is 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) (21 SAS(R)) and with 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) (23 SAS(R)), it forms the Special Air Service (Reserve) (SAS(R)).

Formation and The 19th Century

The regiment was formed in 1859, part of the widespread volunteer movement which developed in the face of potential French invasion after Felice Orsini`s attack on Napoleon III was linked to Britain. The group was organised in London by Edward Sterling, an art student, and comprised various professional painters, musicians, actors, architects and others involved in creative endeavours; a profile it strove to maintain for some years. It was established on 28 February 1860 as the 38th Middlesex (Artists’) Rifle Volunteer Corps, with headquarters at Burlington House. Its first commanders were the painters Henry Wyndham Phillips and Fredric Leighton. The unit’s badge, designed by J. W. Wyon, shows the heads of the Roman gods Marts and Minerva in profile. Until 1914 the regimental full dress uniform was light grey with white facings, silver buttons and braid. This distinctive uniform dated from the regiment’s foundation as a volunteer unit. After World War I standard khaki was the normal dress.

In September 1880, the corps became the 20th Middlesex (Artists’) Rifle Volunteer Corps, with headquarters at Duke’s Road, off Euston Road, London (now The Palace, home of the Contemporary Dance Trust). It formed the 7th Volunteer Battalion of The Rifle Brigade from 1881 until 1891 and the 6th Volunteer Battalion from 1892 to 1908. During this period, The Artists Rifles fought in the Second Boer War as part of the City Imperial Volunteers.

After the 1860s the voluntary recruitment basis of the regiment gradually broadened to include professions other than artistic ones. By 1893 lawyers and architects made up 24% of the unit, doctors followed with 10% and civil engineers 6%. Sculptors and painters totaled about 5%

20th Century

Following the formation of the Territorial Force, the Artists Rifles was one of 26 volunteer battalions in the London and Middlesex areas that combined to form the new London  Regiment. It became the 28th (County of London) Battalion of The London Regiment on 1 April 1908.

The Artists Rifles was a popular unit for volunteers. It had been increased to twelve companies in 1900 and was formed into three sub-battalions in 1914, and recruitment was eventually restricted by recommendation from existing members of the battalion. It particularly attracted recruits from public schools and universities; on this basis, following the outbreak of the first World War, a number of enlisted members of The Artists Rifles were selected to be officers in other units of the 7th Division.

 This exercise was so successful that, early in 1915, selected Artists officers and NCOs were transferred to run a separate Officers Training Corps, in which poet Wilfred Owen trained before posting to the Manchester Regiment; the remainder being retained as a fighting unit. Over fifteen thousand men passed through the battalion during the war, more than ten thousand of them becoming officers. The battalion eventually saw battle in France in 1917 and 1918. Casualties suffered by both members of this battalion and amongst officers who had trained with The Artists Rifles before being posted to other regiments were 2,003 killed, 3,250 wounded, 533 missing and 286 prisoners of war. Members of the Regiment won eight Victoria Crosses (though none did so while serving with the Regiment), fifty-six DSO`s and over a thousand other awards for gallantry.

In the early 1920s, the unit was reconstituted as an infantry regiment within the Territorial Army, as the 28th County of London Regiment. In 1937, this regiment became part of The Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade.

The regiment was not deployed during the Second World War, functioning again as an Officers Training Corps throughout the war.

It was disbanded in 1945, but reformed in The Rifle Brigade in January 1947 and transferred to The Army Air Corps in July as the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists Rifles). The number 21 SAS was chosen to perpetuate two disbanded wartime regiments 1 SAS and 2 SAS, with the 1 and the 2 being reversed into 21. The unit was active during the Malayan Emergency and in many subsequent conflicts. In 1952, members of The Artists Rifles who had been involved in special operations in Malaya formed 22 SAS Regiment, the regular special forcers regiment – the only time a Territorial Army unit has been used to form a unit in the Regular Army.

For much of the Cold War 21 SAS’s role was to provide stay-behind parties in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe, forming (alongside 23 SAS) I Corps` Corps Patrol Unit.

21st Century

During Operation Herrick the reservists were involved in the training of the Afghan National Police. Following a review of the unit’s operational capability they were withdrawn from front line operations and the task handed over to a “regular” infantry unit.

During the Cold War, the Reserve SAS Regiments had a clearly defined and understood role but since then, the requirement for them appears to be less clear and more difficult to articulate. A number of reviews have been conducted over the years and included the prospect of a merger or disbandment which was considered to be presentationally unpalatable. A review was conducted of the unit’s operational capability and role in 2009/10, it was found that the SAS Reserve lacked a clearly defined role, and also stated that the reservists lacked the capability, equipment, and skills to serve alongside the regular Special Forces. As an outcome of this review, on 1 September 2014, 21 SAS was placed alongside 23 SAS under the command of 1st Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade, a brigade under Force Troop Command which provides combat specialist support to the British Army’s Reaction and Adaptable Forces.

Organisation

21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) currently consists of:

‘HQ’ Squadron (Regent’s Park)

‘A’ Squadron (Regent’s Park)

‘C’ Squadron (Basingstoke/Cambridge)

‘E’ Squadron (Newport/Exeter)

Battle Honours

Battle honours

Boer War: South Africa 1900-1901.

The Great War (3 battalions): Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Arras 1918, Ancre 1918, Albert 1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914–18.

War memorial

The unit’s war memorial in the entrance portico of the Royal Academy at Burlington House commemorates the 2,003 men who gave their lives in the Great War with a second plaque to those who died in World War II.

Victoria Cross

The following soldiers, who were members of the regiment at one time, were awarded the Victoria Cross in the Great War (none won the VC while serving with the Artists Rifles):

2nd Lt Rupert Price Hallowes, 4th Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambrige`s Own)

2nd Lt Arthur James Terence Fleming-Sandes, 2nd Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment

Capt The Rev Edward Noel Mellish, Royal Army Chaplins` Department

Lt Geoffrey St George Shillington Cather, 9th Battalion, The Royal Irish Fusiliers

Lt Eugene Paul Bennett, 2nd Battalion, The Worcestersdhire Regiment

2nd Lt George Edward Cates, 2nd Battalion,The Rifle Brigade (PrinceConsort`s Own)

Lt Donald John Dean, 8th Battalion, The Queen`s Own Royal West Kent Regiment

Lt Col Bernard William Vann, 1/8th Bn, Sherwood Foresters.

Officers of the Artists Rifles

B

Patrick Baty (born 1956) is a British Historian of Architectural paint and colour, who works as a consultant in the decoration of Historic buildings.

Charles Vyner Brooke (26th September 1874 – 9th May 1963) was the third and last White Rajah of Sarawak

D

Alfred Gardyne de Chastelain (1906–1974) was a British-Canadian businessman, soldier, and secret agent

E

Robert William Edis (13th June 1839 – 23rd June 1927) was a British architect.

F

Ranulph Fiennes (born 7th March 1944), commonly known as Ranulph “Ran” Fiennes, is an English Explorer

G

Morris Gelsthorpe (26th February 1892 – 22nd August 1968) was the first Bishop in the Sudan.

Godfrey Douglas Giles (9th November 1857 – 1st February 1941) was a painter of horses, military scenes and battles

H

Percy Heming (6th September 1883 – 11th January 1956) was an English operatic baritone singer and actor

Gurth Hoyer-Millar (13th December 1929 – 6th March 2014) was a Scottish sportsman

Robert George Spencer Hudson (17th November 1895 – 29th December 1965) was a Geologist and Paleontologist

L

Frederic Leighton (3rd December 1830 – 25th January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was an English painter and sculptor

M

Henry Allan Roughton May (23rd August 1863 – 10th April 1930) Commanding Officer (1912 and 1920)

Michael Maybrick (31st January 1841 – 26th August 1913) was an English composer and singer

John Everett Millais (8th June 1829 – 13th August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator

P

Charles Edward Perugini (1st September 1839 – 22nd December 1918), originally Carlo Perugini, was an Italian-born English painter of the Romantic and Victorian era

Henry Wyndham Phillips (1820 – 1868) was a British portrait painter

Rowland Plumbe (2nd February 1838 – 2nd April 1919) was an English Architect

Valentine Cameron Prinsep (14th February 1838 – 11th November 1904) was a British Painter of the Pre-Raphaelite school

R

Edward Rigby (5th February 1879 – 5th April 1951) was a British character actor

Robert Tor Russell (1888-1972) was a British architect

T

Brandon Thomas (24th December 1848 – 19th June 1914) was an English actor, playwright and songwriter, best known as the author of the farce Charley`s Aunt

W

Henry Woods (painter)

David Wilkie Wynfield (1837–1887) was a British painter and photographer.

Soldiers of the Artists Rifles

A

A. V. Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough (1st May 1885 – 11th January 1965)

Cuthbert Alport, Baron Alport (22nd March 1912 – 28th October 1998)

Martin Armstrong (writer) (2 October 1882 – 24 February 1974)

Maxwell Ayrton (1874–18 February 1960)

B

Joseph Ridgard Bagshawe (1st July 1870 – 1st November 1909)

William Swinden Barber (29th March 1832 – 26th November 1908)

Geoffrey Barkas (27th August 1896 – 3rd September 1979)

Joseph Barnby (12th August 1838 – 28th January 1896)

John Barraclough (RAF officer) (2nd May 1918 – 10th May 2008)

Cyril Henry Barraud (1877-1965)

Herbert Rose Barraud (24th August 1845 – 1896)

William Barribal (1874–1952)

James Basevi (21st September 1890 – 27th March 1962)

James Bateman (artist) (22nd March 1893 – 2nd August 1959)

Eugene Paul Bennett VC (4th June 1892 – 6th April 1970)

Edwyn Bevan (15th February 1870 – 18th October 1943)

Charles Bell Birch (28th September 1832 – 16th October 1893)

Eric Blore (23rd December 1887 – 2nd March 1959)

George Price Boyce (24th September 1826 – 1897)

Thomas Brock (1st March 1847 – 22nd August 1922)

Clive Brook (1st June 1887 – 17th November 1974)

Ford Madox Brown (16th April 1821 – 6th October 1893)

Guy Brunton (1878 – 17th October 1948)

John H. Buckeridge (1857–1934)

William Burges (2nd December 1827 – 20th April 1881)

John Bagnold Burgess (21st October 1829 – 2nd November 1897)

Edward Burne Jones (28th August 1833 – 17th June 1898)

A. M. Burrage (1889 – 1956)

Edward Henry Busk (10th February 1844 – 4th November 1926)

C

Philip Hermogenes Calderon (3rd May 1833 – 30th April 1898) 

William Frank Calderon (1865 – 21st April 1943)

Henry Caldwell Cook (1886–1939)

John Tiplady Carrodus (20th January 1836 – 13th July 1895)

George Edward Cates VC (9th May 1892 – 8th March 1917)

Geoffrey Cather VC (11th October 1890 – 2nd July 1916)

Philip Lindsey Clark (1889–1977) was an English sculptor.

Geoffrey Hornblower Cock (7th January 1896 – 16th February 1980)

Frederick Pepys Cockerell (March 1833 – 4th November 1878)

Jack Cohen (businessman founder of TESCO) (6th October 1898 – 24th March 1979)

George Vicat Cole (17th April 1833 – 6th April 1893)

Josiah Conder (architect) (28th September 1852 – 21st June 1920)

Edward Dutton Cook (30th January 1829 – 11th September 1883)

Arthur Stockdale Cope (2nd November 1857 – 5th July 1940)

Stephen Courtauld (1883 – 1967)

Noël Coward (16th December 1899 – 26th March 1973)

John Crocker (4th January 1896 – 9th March 1963)

William Hayman Cummings (22nd August 1831 – 10th June 1915)

William Cusins (14th October 1833 – 31st August 1893)

D

David Davis (British politician)  (23rd December 1948)

Donald John Dean VC (19th April 1897 – 9th December 1985)

George Devey (1820–1886)

Lowes Cato Dickinson (27th November 1819 – 15th December 1908)

Frank Dicksee (27th November 1853 – 17th October 1928)

Herbert Dicksee (14th June 1862 – 20th February 1942)

Frank Dobson (sculptor) (18th November 1886 – 22nd July 1963)

John Charles Dollman (1851–1934)

Charles Henry Driver (23rd March 1832 – 27th October 1900)

E

Reginald Engelbach (9th July 1888 – 26th February 1946)

F

George Eric Fairbairn (18th August 1888 – 20th June 1915)

Roger Fenton (28th March 1819 – 8th August 1869)

Luke Fildes (3rd October 1843 – 28th February 1927)

Bernard Fleetwood-Walker (22nd March 1893 – 30th January 1965)

Arthur Fleming-Sandes VC (24th June 1894 – 24th May 1961)

Charles Folkard (6th April 1878 – 26th February 1963)

Eric Forbes-Robertson (1865 – 1935)

Johnston Forbes-Robertson (16th January 1853 – 6th November 1937)

Fougasse (cartoonist) (17th December 1887 – 11th June 1965)

Charles Edwin Fripp (4th September 1854 – 1906)

G

William Gale (painter) (1823–1909)

Sidney Gambier-Parry (9th January 1859 – 17th November 1948)

Montague Glover (May 5th 1898 – 1983)

Frederick Goodall (17th September 1822 – 29th July 1904)

Michael Goodliffe (1st October 1914 – 20th March 1976)

Andrew Carrick Gow (15th or 18th June 1848 – 1st February 1920)

Edward John Gregory (19th April 1850 – 22nd June 1909)

B. F. Gribble (10th May 1872 – 21st February 1962)

Bear Grylls (7th June 1974 –

Herbert James Gunn (30th  June 1893 – 30th December 1964)

H

Carl Haag (20th April 1820 – 24th January 1915)

Rupert Price Hallowes VC (5th May 1881 – 30th September 1915)

Herbert Hamilton (30th April 1895 – 13th June 1918)

William Lee Hankey (1869 – 1952)

Vincent Harris (26th June 1876 – 1st August 1971)

Percy Heming (6th September 1883 – 11th January 1956)

Roy Henderson (baritone) (4th July 1899 – 16th March 2000)

Hubert von Herkomer (26th May 1849 – 31st March 1914)

Albert Hodge (17th July 1875 – 31st December 1917 or 27th January 1918)

John Evan Hodgson (1831 – 1895) 

Henry Holiday (17th June 1839 – 15th April 1927)

Frank Holl (4th July 1845 – 31st July 1888)

Charles Holroyd (9th April 1861 – 17th November 1917)

Roy Horniman (1874–1930) 

Victor Horsley (14th April 1857 – 16th July 1916)

Arthur Hughes (artist) (27th January 1832 – 22nd December 1915)

John Pyke Hullah 27th June 1812 – 21st February 1884)

William Holman Hunt (2nd April 1827 – 7th September 1910)

I

John William Inchbold (29th August 1830 – 23rd January 1888)

J

Charles Sargeant Jagger (17th December 1885 – 16th November 1934)

Charles Holloway James (1893–1953)

Leander Starr Jameson (9th February 1853 – 26th November 1917)

Edmund John (27th November 1883 – 28th February 1917)

Horace Jones (architect) (20th May 1819 – 21st May 1887)

George W. Joy ( 7th July 1844 – 28th October 1925)

John Junor (15th January 1919 – 3rd May 1997)

K

Charles Keene (artist) (10th August 1823 – 4th January 1891)

Richard Kerrin (4th July 1898 – 4th November 1988)

Edward King-Harman (3rd April 1838 – 10th June 1888)

George Kruger Gray (25th December 1880 – 2nd May 1943)

L

Stanley Lane-Poole  (18th December 1854 – 29th December 1931)

Wilfrid Lawson (actor) (14th January 1900 – 10th October 1966)

John Leech (caricaturist) (29th August 1817 – 29th October 1864) 

Alfred Leete (1882 – 1933)

Peter Lewis (British Army officer) (11th August 1918 – 12th December 2008) 

Desmond Llewelyn (12th September 1914 – 19th December 1999)

George Edward Lodge (3rd December 1860 – 5th February 1954)

Hugh Lofting  (14th January 1886 – 26th September 1947) 

Edwin Long (12th July 1829 – 15th May 1891)

Horatio Walter Lonsdale (1846 -1919) 

John Seymour Lucas (21st December 1849 – 8th May 1923)

M

Robert Walker Macbeth (30th September 1848 – 1st November 1910)

Arthur Cruttenden Mace (17th July 1874 – 6th April 1928)

John Eric Miers Macgregor (4th October 1890 – 31st January 1984)

Philip Magnus (7th October 1842 – 29th August 1933)

Howard Marion-Crawford (17th January 1914 – 24th November 1969)

Henry Stacy Marks (13th September 1829 – 9th January 1898 )

Walter Marsden (1882–1969)

Robert Braithwaite Martineau (19th January 1826 – 13th February 1869)

Nevil Story Maskelyne (3rd September 1823 – 20th May 1911)

William McMillan (sculptor) (31st August 1887 – 25th September 1977)

Noel Mellish VC (24th December 1880 – 8th July 1962)

Albert Joseph Moore  (4th September 1841 – 25th September 1893)

Cedric Morris (11th December 1889 – 8th February 1982)

Philip Richard Morris (4th December 1836 – 22nd April 1902) 

William Morris (24th March 1834 – 3rd October 1896)

Charles James Mott (1880 – 22nd May 1918) 

David Muirhead (30th December 1918 – 3rd February 1999)

N

John Nash (artist) (11th April 1893 – 23rd September 1977) 

Paul Nash (artist) (11th May 1889 – 11th July 1946) 

William Eden Nesfield (2nd April 1835 – 25th March 1888)

O

Dermod O’Brien (10thJune 1865 – 3rd October 1945)

Malcolm Osborne (1st August 1880 – 22nd September 1963)

Walter William Ouless (21st September 1848–1933) 

Wilfred Owen (18th March 1893 – 4th November 1918)

P

Sidney Paget (4th October 1860 – 28 thJanuary 1908)

Ambrose Macdonald Poynter (26th September 1867 – 31st May 1923) 

Edward Poynter (20th March 1836 – 26th July 1919)

E. W. Pugin (11th March 1834 – 5th June 1875)

Tom Purvis (12th June 1888 – 27th August 1959)

Q

Bernard Alfred Quaritch (1870 – 1913)

R

Douglas Reed (11th March 1895 – 26th August 1976)

Sims Reeves (21st October 1821 – 25th October 1900)

Oscar Gustave Rejlander (1813 – 18th January 1875)

Brian Reynolds (RAF officer) (4th June 1902 – 6th December 1965)

William Blake Richmond (29th November 1842 – 11th February 1921)

Edgell Rickword (22nd October 1898 – 15th March 1982)

Horatio Ross (5th September 1801 – 6th December 1886)

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (12th May 1828 – 9th April 1882)

S

Edward Shanks (11th June 1892 – 4th May 1953)

Byam Shaw (13th November 1872 – 26th January 1919)

R. C. Sherriff (6th June 1896 – 13th November 1975)

Lance Sieveking (19th March 1896 – 6th January 1972)

Camille Silvy (18th March 1834 – 2nd February 1910)

Abraham Solomon (7th May 1823 – 19th December 1862)

Simeon Solomon (9th October 1840 – 14th August 1905)

Guy Standing (9th February 1948 –

John Roddam Spencer Stanhope (20th January 1829 – 2nd August 1908)

William Ernest Staton (27th August 1898 – 22nd July 1983)

Adrian Scott Stokes (1854 – 1935)

Marcus Stone (4th July 1840 – 24th March 1921)

John Melhuish Strudwick (6th May 1849 – 16th July 1937)

Algernon Charles Swinburne (5th April 1837 – 10th April 1909)

T

Lance Thackeray (1869 – 1916)

Bert Thomas (13th October 1883 – 6th September 1966) 

Edward Thomas (poet) (3rd March 1878 – 9th April 1917)

Percy Thomas (13th September 1883 – 19th August 1969)

Hamo Thornycroft (9th March 1850 – 18th December 1925)

Richard Tomlinson (13th January 1963 – 

Walter Tyndale (1855–1943)

V

Bernard Vann VC (9th July 1887 – 3rd October 1918) 

Edwin Campion Vaughan (30th November 1897 – 8thJune 1931)

 Rex Vicat Cole (1870 – 1940)

W

Frederick Walker (painter) (26th May 1840 – 4th June 1875)

Barnes Wallis  (26th September 1887 – 30th October 1979)

Leslie Ward (21st November 1851 – 15th May 1922)

John William Waterhouse (6th April 1849 – 10th February 1917)

Ernest Waterlow (24th May 1850 – 25th October 1919) 

John Millar Watt (14th October 1895 – 13th December 1975)

George Frederic Watts (23rd February 1817 – 1st July 1904)

Thomas Robert Way (1861 – 1913)

Aston Webb (22nd May 1849 – 21st August 1930)

Christopher Webb (1886-1966)

Henry Tanworth Wells (14th December 1828 – 16th January 1903)

William Whitaker (geologist) 

Bruce White(4th May 1836 – 15th January 1925

Frederick Whymper (20th July 1838 – 26th November 1901)

Alfred Wigan  (24th March 1814 – 29th November 1878)

Theodore Blake Wirgman (29th April 1848 – 16th January 1925)

William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936) 

Wilfrid René Wood (1st December 1888 – 18th February 1976)

Thomas Woolner (17th December 1825 – 7th October 1892)

Sourced from Wikipedia

Pictures from Google

The Shorncliffe Trust

 Articles  Comments Off on The Shorncliffe Trust
Jun 152017
 

Sir John Moore statue outside the Library

The Shorncliffe Trust is a registered charity, originally called The Shorncliffe Redoubt Preservation Society, set up by Christopher Shaw in 2006, changing to The Shorncliffe Trust in 2013. 

Every donation that comes to the Trust, is used to promote our aims. We are a ‘work in motion’, striving to find innovative ways of raising funds and awareness, whilst promoting education.  With your donation we can begin to secure the future of the heritage now.

As a registered charity our aims include the preservation and conservation and development and improvement of features of historic interest at Shorncliffe with public amenities and the preservation of a site of historic interest.

We also aim to educate the public, in the history of the military and the social impact of military history by the provision and maintenance of a museum.

Why we began this mission

The site encompasses over 200 years of military, social and cultural history.  The Trust intends to tell the story of Shorncliffe (and the men and women who trained and lived there) from its earliest days defending Britain against invasion, to its role in the birth of the modern army through the role of Sir John Moore, it’s extension through the Victorian period to the Edwardian and the First and Second World war and beyond to the modern day role of The Brigade of Ghurkha’s.  We aim to mark this year, 2014, being the centenary of the commencement of the First World War, by securing the Shorncliffe Redoubt and begin the task of regenerating the site into a world class heritage and education centre.

Developments

In 2013 the Ministry of Defence moved forward their plans to sell off part of Shorncliffe Camp and training grounds. Their preferred purchaser is Taylor Wimpey who are planning to build up to 1200 homes on the site, as well as demolish the original military buildings that are not listed by English Heritage or the redoubt which is an ancient scheduled monument Therefore the Trust has stepped up its campaign to take over the management and redevelopment of the site. A Board of Trustees was set up and patrons recruited to the cause. The time has now come for the current owners, developers and stakeholders to make a decision on the future and legacy of the heritage and park land.

Next Steps

The Trust wants to utilise existing military buildings to convert them into an education centre, museum, heritage reference library, café, craft centre and open the park land to be accessible to visitors. Its goal is to protect the archaeology on the site which includes the 200 year old Napoleonic redoubt, Victorian pistol & rifle range, WW1 trenches used for training and WW2 defences such as spigot mortar post, pillboxes and underground bunkers.

The Shorncliffe Trust is currently working towards creating the UK’s first Heritage Park & Education Centre dedicated to the history and legacy of the modern British Army.

Shorncliffe has been on the frontline of this country for over 200 years and has a unique history that is tied into world history events from the Napoleonic wars through to World War II. It is rare to find one military site in the world that has influenced and changed so much about the way today’s soldiers fight and operate on battlefields in the 21st century.

The centre at Shorncliffe will examine its military history and the impact (both social and cultural) the army camp made over the centuries both locally and internationally.

Shorncliffe has welcomed different nationalities from around the world and, in this corner of Kent, hosted royalty and leaders from a variety of nations.

To achieve their goal, the Shorncliffe Trust is working on plans to regenerate the old training grounds and set up a dedicated Heritage Park and Education Centre on redundant ex-MOD land, incorporating neglected heritage assets and bring them to life for the local community, and attracting visitors from around Britain and overseas.

The Shorncliffe Trust aims to raise £3 million through donations, grant applications, as well as through specific high profile events. Shorncliffe needs to raise an initial fund to secure the leasing of the land, set-up expenses and short-term operational costs.

The Future

Without your help there might not be a future. Support us in any way you can to save this important site – Make History, Save History.

We are approaching patrons and supporters of British Military history and heritage to become donors to the charity. We are currently working with commercial stakeholders such as tourism and travel companies who are promoting and creating income for the Trust.

‘Shorncliffe is a precious piece of the larger “mosaic” that makes up British History.  Anyone that values history must see the importance of preserving Shorncliffe. It’s about heritage and it’s about respecting the efforts of those who toiled tirelessly- and continue to toil tirelessly- on  our behalf, preserving, not only our nations “present” but also its “past”.’

Christopher Summerville – Historian and Author of “March of Death”

Heritage Consultancy

The Shorncliffe Trust is regularly sought after on a consultancy basis and have many projects they have assisted on.

The Kingdom of Jordan Tourism Board  

Sandgate Parish Council Sir John Moore Information Boards.

The Belgian Tourist Board.

To hire us as consultants or for enquiries about hiring historical interpreters in the first instance contact:

Chris Shaw chris.shaw@shorncliffe-trust.org.uk

For research enquiries or to enquire about the purchase of copies of images in the first instance contact:

Sue Law secretary@shorncliffe-trust.org.uk

Trustees

Christopher Shaw – Chairperson

Chris has a background in audio-visual, but has dedicated himself to the preservation of Shorncliffe since 2005, in the process becoming an acknowledged expert on Shorncliffe and the Napoleonic Wars, joining the prestigious Peninsular War 200 Committee.  He is consulted internationally on military subjects, both academic and in organising events.

chris.shaw@shorncliffe-trust.org.uk

Des Mullaney – Treasurer

Des is a Qualified Accountant who runs his own practice in Ramsgate in Kent. Prior to running his own business he worked for several large organisations in London in various Accounting roles. Des also has a BA in Archaeology from the University of Kent and is currently finishing his MA in 20th Century Conflict Archaeology.

treasurer@shorncliffe-trust.org.uk

Susan Law – Secretary

Sue was Secretary of initially The Shorncliffe Redoubt Preservation Society, now The Shorncliffe Trust since 2007 to the present, and a Trustee since early 2013, helping maintain communications, carrying out research and supporting the Chairman and Trustees in the day to day running of the Trust.

Interested in history since childhood, educated to degree level obtaining a BA (Jt) Hons. Applied Social Policy and Sociology in 1992, and also an experienced family historian achieving the Higher Certificate in Genealogy awarded by the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies Canterbury 2012.

secretary@shorncliffe-trust.org.uk

Vincent Law – Membership

Vince was treasurer of the Shorncliffe Redoubt Preservation Society from 2007-2013, currently supporters organizer and Trustee of the Shorncliffe Trust. Educated to degree level with a B.Sc. in mathematics 1996 and Senior Database analyst, expertise in Information Technology.

members@shorncliffe-trust.org.uk

THE SHORNCLIFFE TRUST PRESENTS

95th Rifles Song Book

Traditional Tunes from the 1800’s

“The Rifle Corps were skirmishers in every sense of the word
a sort of Wild sportsman, and up to every description of good humour.

Nothing came amiss the very trees responded to their merriment,
scraps of their sarcastic rhymes passed current through all the camps and bivouacs. “

Over the Hills and Far Away
Maj Sharpe’s Song

Here’s forty shillings on the drum
To those who volunteer to come,
To ‘list and fight the foe today
Over the Hills and far away.

Chorus

o‘er the hills and o’er the main
Through Flanders, Portugal and Spain.
King George commands and we obey
Over the hills and far away.

Then fall in lads behind the drum
With colours blazing like the sun.
Along the road to come what may
Over the hills and far away.

Chorus

If I should fall to rise no more,
As many comrades did before,
Ask the pipes and drums to play
Over the hills and far away.

Chorus

Though kings and tyrants come and go
A soldier’s life is all I know
I’ll live to fight another day
Over the hills and far away.

Chorus

Old Wellington, he scratched his bum.
He SéyS, “Boney lad, thee’s had thee fun.”
My riflemen will win the day
Over the hills and far away.

Chorus

________________________

The Rambling Soldier

I am a soldier, I will say,
That rambles for promotion.

I’ve laid the French and Spaniards low
Some miles across the ocean.

So now me jolly boys, I’ll bid you all adieu:
No more to the wars will I go with you;

But I’ll ramble the country through and through…
And I’ll be a rambling soldier.

The king he has commanded me
To range this country over.

From Woolwich up to Liverpool,
From Plymouth back to Dover.

A courtin’ all the girls, both old and young
With me ramrod in me hand, and me flattery tongue;

To court them all, but marry none…
And I’ll be a rambling soldier.

And when these wars are at an end,
I’m not afraid to mention.

The King will give me my discharge,
A guinea and a pension.

No doubt some lasses will me blame,
But none of them will know my name;

And if you want to know the same…
It’s – the rambling soldier!

_________________________

South Australia

In South Australia I was born
(All) heave away. haul away
In South Australia round Cape Horn
(All)We’re bound for South Australia

Chorus
Haul away you rolling kings
(All) heave away. haul away
Haul away, you’ll hear me sing
(All) We’re bound for South Australia

As I walked out one morning fair
(All) heave away, haul away
‘Twas there I met Miss Nancy Blair
(All)We’re bound for South Australia

Chorus
I shook her up and I shook her down
(All) heave away, haul away
I shook her round and round the town
(All)We‘re bound for South Australia

Chorus
I run her all night and I run her all day
(All) heave away, haul away
And I run her until we sailed away
(All)We’re bound for South Australia

Chorus
There ain’t but one thing grieves me mind
All) heave away, haul away
To leave Miss Nancy Blair behind
(All)We’re bound for South Australia

Chorus
And as we wallop around Cape Horn
All) heave away, haul away
You‘ll wish to God you`d never been born
(All)We’re bound for South Australia.

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