James P. S. Warren.
WARREN, JOHN ALEXANDER, Private, R.M.L.I., Po./16653, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
WARREN, PATRICK, Private, No. 11041, 1st Battn. Scots Guards; b. Killarney, co. Kerry; enlisted 14 Sept. 1914, aged 30; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; killed in action, 12 March, 1915. Buried at Le Touret and the spot marked by a cross.
WARREN, REGINALD DOUGLAS, Trooper, No. 2058, 1/1st Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles, 1/1st South Eastern Mounted Brigade, s. of Edward George Warren, of 32, Lyndhurst Road, Hove, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Walter Sharp, of Kilnsea, Yorkshire; b. Cambridge, 20 Jan. 1895; educ. Berkhampstead and Brighton Grammar Schools; was on the staff of Messrs. Lloyds Bank at Cliftonville, Margate; enlisted in Sept. 1914; went to the Eastern front 25 Sept. 1915, and was killed in action at Gallipoli, 7 Dec. following, being buried in Y Ravine there; unm. Major A. Leach Lewis wrote: “The lad died fighting and in the best of spirits. It was about 8.15 a.m. on Tuesday last that he was endeavouring to hit a periscope in the Turkish trench, when a sniper shot him from another part of the line. Your son had made himself extremely popular being always keen, cheerful and amusing. We have lost a good comrade, whose loss we all regret.”
Reginald D. Warren.
WARREN, ROBERT, Boy, 1st Class, J. 25515, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
WARREN, SYDNEY CHAS., A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2789), 205935, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
WARREN, WALTER, Sergt., No. 294, 1/28th Battn. (Artists’ Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), 2nd s. of the late Henry Warren, of Stevenage, co. Herts, by his wife, Clara, dau. of Thomas Phillips; b. Sloane Square, Chelsea, S.W., 11 July, 1877; educ. City of London School; was a member of the Baltic Exchange; joined the Artists’ Rifles in 1900; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; went to France with the 1st Battn., 26 Oct. 1914, and was killed in action at Neuve Eglise, 27 Nov. 1914; unm. On that morning the left half battalion had marched out to dig trenches in the artillery beaten zone, and shortly after commencing work came under fire of heavy German guns. Sergt. Warren and a comrade were killed by practically the first shot. His Colonel wrote: “The loss is ours as well as yours.... Your son was splendid and had the goodwill and affection of every man in the Corps”; and a fellow Sergt.: “There was no one but spoke well of him, and those of us Sergts. who were privileged to know him best feel the loss more than we can express. He was beloved by everyone, was always cheery, and always doing somebody a good turn.” Walter Warren.
Walter Warren.
WARRENDER, ANDREW ROBERTSON, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 6334), 286718, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WARTH, EDWIN FREDERICK, B.Sc., Sapper, No. 864, 1st Field Coy., R.N. Divisional Engineers, yst. s. of Hugo F. Warth, D.Sc., sometime Deputy Director Geological Survey of India; b. Mussoorie, U.P., India, 12 Aug. 1888; educ. privately, King Edward VI School, Birmingham (1899–1905); and Birmingham University (1905–10), where he graduated B.Sc. in Civil Engineering (1st Class). On leaving there he was from 1910 to 1913 with Messrs. Nuthall & Co., engaged in the construction of a pipe line from Thirlmere for the Manchester Water Supply. In 1913 he went to the Grand Canary and was there at the outbreak of war, surveying for the New Las Palmas Water Supply. He had to undergo an operation before he could offer himself for military service and did not reach England till Nov. Having been a member of the Birmingham University O.T.C. (1905–10), he applied for a commission, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 24 March, 1915, but having in the interval enlisted as a Sapper in the R.N.D.E. and left for the Dardanelles, he was unable to take it up. He was wounded in action in the Gallipoli Peninsula 16 May, 1915, and died in hospital at Alexandria, 25 June following; unm. He was buried there.
Edwin F. Warth.
WARTON, ROBERT INNYS BAKER, Sapper, No. 5233, 1st Field Coy., Canadian Engineers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, 4th s. of the late Matthew Henry Warton, of London, Solicitor, by his wife, Mary (Portsdown, Darley Road, Eastbourne), dau. of the late Capt. John Fenwick; b. Loughton, co. Essex, 19 Feb. 1879; educ. Marlborough, and afterwards passed law examinations for Solicitor; went to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1903, there qualified as a Barrister and practised later at Atlin, going to Prince Rupert in 1910, where he went into partnership with Mr. W. E. Fisher, the firm employed by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Co.; joined the Canadian Engineers immediately on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914 at Vancouver; came over with the first contingent in Oct.; went to the front in Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at the Second Battle of Ypres, 24 April, 1915, while guarding a bridge over the Yser Canal, north of Ypres; unm.
Robert Innys B. Warton.
WASSON, HENRY, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7875), S.S. 103313, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; m.
WATERFIELD, FREDERICK CHARLES, Capt. 45th Rattray’s Sikhs, attd. 15th Sikhs, Indian Army; yst. s. of the late Major-General Henry Gordon Waterfleld, C.B., 45th Rattray’s Sikhs, by his wife, Emily Scott (Harbledown, Canterbury), dau. of the late Edmund Scott Barber; b. Dulwich, 22 Sept. 1878; educ. Bedford Grammar School, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the unattached list, Indian Army, 22 Jan. 1898; was attached to the 1st Gordon Highlanders, 7 April, 1898; joined the 45th Rattray’s Sikhs, 7 April, 1899; promoted Lieut. 22 April, 1900, and Capt. 22 Jan. 1907; took part in the China Expedition, 1900 (medal); served on the N.W. Frontier of India, 1908; took part in the operations in the Zakka Khel country, and those in the Mohmand country (medal with clasp); was in England on leave when war broke out, and served for three months with the 6th (Service) Battn. Royal West Kent Regt.; was attached to the 15th Sikhs, then in France, early in Nov. 1914; was wounded at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 12 March 1915; and again near Richebourg l’Avoué on 18 May following, and died in Bethune Hospital, 21 May, 1915. He was buried in the Town Cemetery there. A brother officer wrote: “I have known Charlie for fifteen years—we went to China together and were intimately associated in our work and our play, and linked by a friendship which distance and time could never affect. He was the very best type of English officer, as brave as a lion; of strong character, indomitable energy, and popular everywhere, without ever seeking popularity. A splendid soldier in every way.” In 1912–13 he accompanied the late Capt. Pritchard, 83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry, in a journey of exploration beyond the frontier of Northern Burma. Capt. Pritchard was drowned while crossing one of the rivers and Capt. Waterfield brought the party back alone showing great courage and endurance under very difficult and dangerous conditions. He was awarded the MacGregor Memorial Silver Medal for his expedition, the honour coming a month after his death. Capt. Waterfield m. at Clayton, Sussex, 9 Jan. 1915, Ethel (Royston, Hassocks, Sussex), only dau. of the Rev. George Edward Roberts, of Royston, Hassocks, Sussex; s.p.
Frederick C. Waterfield.
WATERING, WILLIAM ERNEST, Coy. Sergt.-Major, No. 6717, 2nd Battn. The Royal Scots, 2nd s. of the late Arthur Fergerson O’Connor Watering, by his wife, Harriet (2, Roynham Street, North Heigham, Norwich), dau. of the late Arthur Fergus O’Connor, Sergt., 2nd Battn. The Royal Scots; b. Norwich, 17 April, 1881; educ. Heigham School there; enlisted in the Royal Scots, 17 April, 1899; became L.-Corpl. 19 Jan. 1901; Corpl. 20 June, 1902; Sergt. 29 Dec. 1906; Colour-Sergt. 1 Oct. 1913; and Coy. Sergt.-Major, 1 Oct. 1913; served in the South African War, 1899–1902 (Queen’s and King’s medals), and with the British Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, Aug. to 15 Oct. 1914, on which latter date he was killed in action at Croix Barbée, and was buried at Vieille Chapelle, France. He m. at Newlands, Glasgow, 26 Dec. 1911, Elizabeth (died 15 Oct. 1913), dau. of John Burt, and had a son, William Burt Paterson, b. 15 Oct. 1913.
William Ernest Watering.
WATERMAN, LEONARD GORDON, Ordinary Seaman, J. 16648, H.M.S. Pathfinder, lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
WATERMAN, ROBERT ALBERT, Boy, 1st Class, J. 26355, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
WATERS, ARTHUR DAVIS, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 111853, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WATERS, GEOFFREY ERNEST, Private, No. 245, 1/5th Battn. (London Rifle Brigade) The Loudon Regt. (T.F.), 4th s. of the late John Waters, of Wimbledon, co. Surrey, by his wife, Alice (St. Denis, Parkwood Road, Bournemouth), dau. of John Freeman; b. Wimbledon, 12 Jan. 1896; educ. Merton Park C.E. School, where he gained a scholarship for Rutlish Science School (Sept. 1907 to July, 1912), and on leaving there entered the Banking Department of Messrs. T. Cook & Son, of Ludgate Circus, Tourist Agents. After the outbreak of war he joined the L.R.B. 24 Aug. 1914; went to the Front, 27 March, and died in No. 13 General Hospital, Boulogne, 9 May, 1915, from wounds received in action; unm. He was buried in the Military Cemetery at Boulogne. From Merton Park School he gained a scholarship to Rutlish, obtaining a first place for all Surrey. He won the Surrey County Junior Scholarship (1907–11), the Senior ditto (1911–12), and the John James School Scholarship (1910–12), and passed the London University Junior School Exam, with honours, July, 1910; the same Senior Exam, July, 1911, and the same Exam, with additional subjects again in 1912.
Geoffrey Ernest Waters.
WATERS, GEORGE ALEXANDER, Fleet Surgeon, R.N., s. of the late Eaton William Waters, of Tramore, co. Waterford, M.D., by his wife, Mary, dau. of William Edwards; b. Tramore, 28 Sept. 1862; educ. Tramore Boarding School and Waterford High School, and Queen’s (now University) College, Galway (1880–84, Exhibition in Mathematics), and having completed his medical studies in Dublin at the Carmichael College of Medicine, the Richmond, Whitworth and Hardwick Hospitals, and the Coombe Hospital, he graduated M.D., M.Ch., at the Royal University of Ireland in 1884. After a voyage to India in the Clan Matheson, he spent some 18 months in the Melrose plying between Cape Town and East African ports, and entered the Royal Navy, 17 Aug. 1887, being bracketed second place. He was promoted Staff Surgeon, 17 Aug. 1899, and Fleet Surgeon 1905, and served in the R.N. Hospital, Haslar, and H.M. ships Hearty (engaged in fishery protection in the North Sea, 1890); Boomerang (on Australian Station, 1891–94); Caledonia (Queensferry); Cockatrice (Danube, 1899); Psyche (West Indies); Illustrious (Channel, present at Brest fêtes, 1905), and Drake (accompanied Admiral of the Fleet Sir E. H. Seymour to the Hudson-Fulton celebration in New York, 1909), and was then appointed P.M.O. at Whale Island (H.M.S. Excellent), where he was when war broke out. He was appointed to H.M.S. Goliath (battleship, 12,950 tons, Capt. Thomas Shelford), Aug. 1914; early in Nov. she took part in the operations against the German light cruiser Königsberg, blocking her into the Rufigi River, where she was later destroyed; and on 1 Dec. with the light cruiser Fox, in the bombardment of Dar-es-Salaam, the capital of German East Africa, when she successfully disabled the many vessels in the harbour. Ordered to the Dardanelles in April, 1915, she helped to cover the landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and on 13 May, 1915, while engaged in protecting the right flank of the French Army, was struck by three torpedoes and sunk in two minutes. Only 166 survivors were picked up, Fleet Surgeon Waters being among those lost; unm.
George Alexander Waters.
WATERS, THOMAS ROBERT, Chief Armourer, 341363, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WATERS, WILLIAM DENNE, 2nd Lieut., 3rd Battn. Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt.), only s. and surviving child of William Denne Waters, of Clarence House, Walmer, co. Kent, by his wife, dau. of the late George William Gill, of Rochester; b. 1 Aug. 1892; educ. Sir Roger Manwood’s School, Sandwich, where he was in the O.T.C., and having passed the Entrance Examination for the Army in June 1914, was gazetted to a 2nd Lieutenancy 15 Aug. of the same year. He was sent to France in Jan. 1915, and attd. to the 1st Battn. of the same regt., being seriously wounded at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle on 12 March, 1915. An officer of his regt., who wrote regretting his death, in describing the circumstances said: “He was in my old Company, which was ordered to charge a breastwork, and he was up and off, leading his men as he always did, but the whole lot were practically mown down by maxims.” Lieut. Waters died of his wounds the same night, and was buried in the Cemetery at Estaires; unm.
William Denne Waters.
WATERS, WILLIAM LESLIE, Lc.-Corpl., No. 10960, Machine-Gun Section, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, 2nd s. of Arthur Waters, of 25, Mill Hill Road, Acton, W., formerly of Herstmonceaux, co. Sussex, by his wife, Kate Emma, dau. of Ralph Joanes, of Brighton; b. Preston Park, Brighton, 23 Nov. 1896; educ. Stanford Road School there and Hugh Myddelton Higher Grade School, Clerkenwell; enlisted, 15 Aug. 1914; was promoted L.-Corpl. end of Nov. 1914; went to the Front, 17 March, 1915, and died of enteric fever while on active service, in No. 6 Casualty Clearing Station, Lillers, France, 7 July, 1915. His Commanding Officer wrote: “Ever since he came under my command he proved himself an excellent non-commissioned officer in every way and was generally liked by his own men and the whole Machine-Gun Section.”
William Leslie Waters.
WATKINS, CHARLES HENRY, Drummer, No. 8495, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, 3rd s. of William Henry Watkins, Sapper, No. 200567, R.E. (now on active service), late 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards (served in the Egyptian Expedition, 1882), by his wife, Harriet Deborah, dau. of James Connor; b. Caterham, co. Surrey, 21 Dec. 1893; educ. Winslow and Aylesbury; enlisted in the Coldstreams Dec. 1910; went to France with the Expeditionary Force 15 Aug., and was killed in action at the First Battle of Ypres, 10 Nov. 1914, being shot through the head by a sniper while crossing from one trench to another, and was buried in a wood near Rentel, Belgium; unm.
Charles Henry Watkins.
WATKINS, CHARLES ROBERT, Private, No. 9986, 5th Battn. (London Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), elder s. of Edwin Robert Watkins, of Sladmore, Priory Avenue, High Wycombe, Surveyor, Member of Auctioneers’ and Land Agents’ Institute, by his wife, Henrietta, dau. of the late Walter Skull; b. High Wycombe, 19 Sept. 1891; educ. Royal Grammar School there (where he won a Major County Council Scholarship) and matriculated at London University with honours, subsequently becoming an Artist Designer for W. H. Smith & Sons, of Kingsway, Publishers. He joined the London Rifle Brigade the day after war was declared (5 Aug. 1914), went with it to France the first week in Nov., and was killed in action in the front trenches, outside Ploegsteert Wood, Flanders, 3 Feb. 1915; unm. He was buried on the side of the Armentières road, south of Ploegsteert Village. At the time of his death he had been recommended for a commission, and was shortly to have returned to take up his appointment. “A young man of great ability, considered by his employers to be a genius and with every prospect of a highly successful career.”
Charles Robert Watkins.
WATKINS, ILTYD EDWIN MAITLAND, Capt., 2nd Battn. The Monmouthshire Regt. (T.F.), only s. of John Maitland Watkins, of Castle Parade House, Usk, Monmouthshire, Solicitor; b. Usk, 25 March, 1890; educ. Downside School, near Bath, and King’s College, Cambridge; B.A. (Law Tripos) 1911, LL.B. June, 1911, and passed Solicitor’s Final Examination in June, 1914. He joined the 2nd Battn. Monmouthshire Regt. as 2nd Lieut. 25 March, 1909, and was promoted Lieut. 8 Feb. 1912, and Capt. 15 July, 1914, and was Signal Officer, Welsh Territorial Division Signal Coy. On the outbreak of war he volunteered for Imperial service; went to France, 2 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action near St. Julien, during the Second Battle of Ypres, 7 May, 1915; unm. His Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. E. B. Cuthbertson, C.M.G., M.V.O., wrote: “He was killed in the morning of the 7th, just at the end of the German attack, and his death was instantaneous and painless. Of his qualities as a soldier and a gentleman I cannot speak too highly; cheerful, gallant and unselfish, he died as he would have chosen to die with his face to the enemy and in the middle of the men whom he loved and commanded so well. We buried him on the battlefield [at La Brique St. Jean, north of Ypres]. His loss is deeply deplored by all ranks.”
Iltyd E. M. Watkins.
WATKINS, WILLIAM JOHN, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1636), 200436, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
WATSON, ALEXANDER, Private, No. 16999, C Coy., 13th (Service) Battn. The Royal Scots, s. of Thomas Watson, by his wife, Esther; b. Strathaven, 10 June, 1886; educ. Ballgreen Public School; was a Tailor; enlisted in the Royal Scots, 4 Jan. 1915; went to France, 10 July, 1915, and was killed in action at the Battle of Loos, 26 Sept. 1915. He m. 3 June, 1910, Annie (18, Ballgreen, Strathaven), dau. of Robert Orr, and had two children: Thomas, b. 5 May 1912; and Jeanie, b. 3 Aug. 1910.
WATSON, ALFRED JAMES, Gunner, R.M.A., 8439 (R.F.R., I.C. 46), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
WATSON, CEDRIC GORDON, Lieut. 2nd Battn. Princess Charlotte of Wales’ Royal Berkshire Regt.; only s. of Gilbert Watson, of the End House, St. Andrews, Fife, by his wife, Eva, dau. of Henry Minchen Chase, I.C.S.; b. Kenilworth, co. Warwick, 30 Aug. 1895; educ. Haileybury College and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Berkshires, 25 Feb. 1914, was promoted Lieut. 5 Jan. 1915, and for a time attd. to the East Surrey Regt. but had rejoined his own regt. at the time of his death. He was killed in action while gallantly leading his platoon in a frontal attack under “terrible conditions” at Fromelles, 9 May, 1915; unm.
WATSON, DAVID GALLOWAY, M.A., M.B., Ch.B. (Edin.), Lieut., R.A.M.C., attd. 2nd Battn. Bedfordshire Regt., s. of John Watson, of 19, West Mayfield, Edinburgh, Headmaster Broughton Higher Grade School and Junior Student Centre, Edinburgh, by his wife, Agnes, dau. of David Galloway, of Edinburgh; b. West Calder, Midlothian, 18 Nov. 1889; educ. at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, where he was dux, in a brilliant year, and at Edinburgh University, where he first studied with a view of entering the Church, but eventually turned aside to medicine. After graduating in 1913, he became House Surgeon to Mr. Alexis Thomson at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, and later Senior House Surgeon at King Edward VII Hospital, Windsor, which he left to join the R.A.M.C. on the outbreak of war. He was gazetted temporary Lieut. 10 Aug. 1914, and went to the Front immediately thereafter. He was wounded by fragments of high explosive shell, 17 May, 1915, when bringing in wounded men from the trenches taken from the Germans at Festubert and died very suddenly at the Duchess of Westminster’s Hospital at Le Touquet, Paris-Plage, 5 June, 1915; unm. He was the first officer buried in the British Cemetery at Etaples. Dr. Watson was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatches of 30 Nov. 1914, for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field at Neufchatel and Festubert. At his university, as well as taking a uniformly high place as a student, he was well known in the Union, and as a President of the Dialectic Society, but even better as a prolific contributor to the University Journalism; he was Joint-Editor of The Gambolier when that light-hearted weekly was in the heyday of its first success, and he was for a year or two a member of the Editorial Committee of The Student, acting as Deputy-Editor (and frequently as Editor) in 1912–13. He used to devote much of his time (for a considerable period at least two evenings every week) to social work in the University Settlement, delighting especially in playing with the children and telling them stories. One of his most successful efforts, a popular exposition of Physical Methods in Therapeutics, is included in a volume published by Messrs. T.C. & E.C. Jack. Another little work entitled “Waiting Night Sketches” with a memoir and a Personal Impression was printed for private circulation at the Darien Press, Edinburgh, 1916.
David Galloway Watson.
WATSON, GEORGE JOSEPH, Leading Stoker, 298094, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
WATSON, GEORGE WILLIAM, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8159), 293612, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WATSON, JAMES WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1978), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WATSON, JOHN ROBERT, Seaman, R.N.R., 4751A, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WATSON, LOUIS TALBOT, Capt., 1st Battn. Worcestershire Regt., 3rd s. of Col. Richard Talbot Watson, of Honeybrook House, Franche, Kidderminster, V.D., J.P., and formerly O.C. 1st Vol. Battn. Worcestershire Regt., by his wife, Harriet Elizabeth, dau. of James Morton; b. Kidderminster, 7 March, 1881; educ. Clifton College, and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. unattd. 8 Jan. 1901; posted to the 3rd Battn. Worcestershire Regt. 9 March following, and promoted Lieut. 26 April, 1902 and Capt. 22 Jan. 1909; served in the South African War, 1901–2, being employed with the Mounted Infantry; took part in the operations in Cape Colony, Orange River Colony and the Transvaal (Queen’s medal with five clasps). He then transferred to the 2nd Worcesters and served with this battn. in Africa, Ceylon and India, re-transferring to the 1st Battn. on 22 Jan. 1909. He left for France early in Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 11 March, 1915. He m. at Arreton, Isle of Wight, 28 Sept. 1911, Margaret Amy, 2nd dau. of William Hartshorne Shorthose, of Stickworth Hall, Arreton, and had a dau., Diana Marion, b. 12 June, 1912.
Louis Talbot Watson.
WATSON, ROBERT, a Private, No. 2083, 1/4th Battn. Royal Scots (T.F.), yst. s. of Robert Watson, of Gilmerton Dairy, Midlothian, Dairyman, by his wife, Catherine, dau. of Alexander Anderson, of Lanarkshire; b. Midlothian, 20 Jan. 1890; educ. Public School there, and was afterwards employed as an assistant ironmonger. He enlisted on the outbreak of war, and was killed in action at the Dardanelles, while assisting a wounded comrade into safety, 28 June, 1915; unm.
Robert Watson.
WATSON, THOMAS, Private, No. 2333, 4th Battn. The Royal Scots (T.F.), s. of the late Thomas Watson (died March, 1916), Law Clerk, by his wife, Lillias Barrie (19, India Street, Edinburgh), dau. of William Walker; b. Edinburgh, 4 Dec. 1890; educ. Daniel Stewart’s College there; served his apprenticeship as a Chartered Accountant with Messrs. Carter Greig & Co., C.A., Edinburgh, and after being admitted a member of the C.A. Society received an appointment with Messrs. Price, Waterhouse & Co., Accountants, London. He joined the 4th (Territorial) Battn. of the Royal Scots in 1909, and served with it until he left Edinburgh, but on the outbreak of war returned, and rejoined his old regt. and volunteered for foreign service; went to the Dardanelles in May, 1915, and was killed in action there, 28 June following; unm.
Thomas Watson.
WATSON, TOM, A.B., J. 7935, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
WATSON, WILLIAM EDWARD, Ordinary Seaman, J. 27778, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WATT, GEORGE HIMPHILL, A.B., 220630, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
WATT, GEORGE MURTAGH, Private, No. 1422, 1/7th Middlesex Regt. (T.F.), 2nd s. of George Watt, of 11, The Grove, Crouch End, late Sergt. 2nd King’s Liverpool Regt., now a Customs Watcher, by his wife, Adelaide Nuletta, dau. of the late John Parsons, of Leek; b. Colchester Barracks, 15 April, 1895; educ. Crouch End Council School, and was an employee on the G.N.R.; joined the Middlesex Territorials, 12 Dec. 1911; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; went to France, 11 March, 1915, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 26 March, 1915; unm. Buried in the field adjoining Madame Surchelle Descamps’ farm at Sailly.
George Murtagh Watt.
WATTS, ALFRED GEORGE BERTRAM, Boy, 1st Class, J. 23432, H.M.S. Hawke, s. of Alfred Watts, of Farndish Road, Irchester, Wellingborough; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
WATTS, FRANK WILLIAM, Private, No. 8854, 1st Battn. Bedfordshire Regt., yr. s. of Thomas Watts, of Langridge Farm, Nazeing, by his wife, Lucy, dau. of John Wright; b. Sherington, co. Bucks, 23 June, 1887; educ. Nazeing Schools; enlisted in the 2nd Battn. of the Bedfords, 7 Jan. 1907, served seven years with the Colours, then passed into the reserves, but, war breaking out a few months later, he was recalled and attd. to the 1st Battn. He went to France with the First Expeditionary Force, served in France and Flanders during the winter of 1914–15, and was shot by a sniper as he was going on duty at a listening post, 16 March, 1915; unm. The bullet entered just below the heart and he only lived 15 minutes. He was buried in the woods about 1½ miles from Ypres and about half a mile from the Chateau de Rosendale. A cross with his name marks the spot.
Frank William Watts.
WATTS, JAMES, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 7920), S.S. 103428, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WATTS, JAMES ROBERT, Private, No. 2458, 1/2nd Battn. The Monmouthshire Regt. (T.F.), s. of Aldwyn Watts, of 26, Railway Terrace, Griffithstown, co. Monmouth, Haulier in the employ of the Panteg Urban District Council, by his wife, Sarah, dau. of John Thornton, of Gladestry, Herefordshire; b. Kings Pyon, co. Hereford, 4 Oct. 1896; educ. Griffithstown Council School; was employed at the Panteg Steel Works; enlisted after the outbreak of war, 8 Sept. 1914; went to France in Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at Le Bizet, Belgium, 12 March, 1915; unm. Col. Cuthbertson, commanding the 2nd Monmouthshires, wrote: “Your son was killed on the 12th of this month, and a more gallant soldier never lived. He is buried in a soldiers’ cemetery not very far from the trenches where he met his death, and a careful record of his place of burial is being kept. A small cross with his name has been put up to his memory:” and one of his comrades wrote: “We all found him a jolly and good-hearted lad, and a very brave soldier. He feared nothing, but always thought of his duty to his country, of which he carried out to the last.”
James Robert Watts.
WATTS, VICTOR KERRIDGE, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9418), 203441, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WAUGH, DAVID, Private, No. 9246, 2nd Battn. Royal Scots (Lothian Regt.); s. of Thomas Waugh, of 2, Salisbury Square, Edinburgh; served with the Expeditionary Force in France; killed in action at Voorstraat, 28 March, 1915.
WAUD, LIONEL DOUGLAS, Lieut., D Coy., 1st Battn. East Lancashire Regt., 2nd s. of Major Williams Henry Waud, late Royal Fusiliers, by his wife, Denise Caroline (sister of Baroness de la Bori de la Batut), dau. of the late Charles Maire, of Mantoche Haute Farm, France, and niece and adopted dau. of Pierre Francois, 1st Count Maire; b. Cranleigh Court, Guildford, 5 June, 1895; educ. at The Army School, Holyport (Maidenhead), and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from which he passed out first and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the East Lancashires, 8 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 1 Nov. 1914. He joined his regt. on the 19th and went with it to France on the 27th of that month; served through the subsequent fighting on the Aisne and the Marne, and was killed in action near Armentières, 8 Nov. 1914, being buried in Le Gheer Road, Ploegsteert Wood. Lieut. Waud was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. [London Gazette, 17 Feb. 1915], for gallant and distinguished conduct at Le Gheer. Writing to Major Waud, Capt. Melville Richards, of the 1st East Lancashires, said: “His only fault was he would take risks. He was too tall for the trenches, and wouldn’t trouble to stoop. He was very brave, and his action—which I remember well—of running along knocking down the rifles of his men, to make them fire low, was one of the finest things I have seen out here.” It happened that a Morning Post correspondent, some time after the incident referred to, was able to get a description of the circumstances from a German officer who was wounded on that occasion. It happened at Le Gheer. Respecting the assault made by the Guard on the English lines (wrote the correspondent) here is what I was told by one who took part in the action: “Towards evening we were ordered to advance. We marched forward without taking cover, confident enough, because not a shot came from the British trench. We thought it had been abandoned after the terrible bombardment to which it had been subjected all day long. Shouting ‘Hurrah,’ we rushed forward to seize it, but we had not gone more than 100 metres before our whole front is stricken down by a volley from a point much nearer than the trench we had been shelling and in addition to this terrible infantry fire the British quick-firing guns are brought into play, and simply mow our men down. We had been shelling an unoccupied trench, and had done no damage to the place where the enemy actually was hidden. Hence it is not surprising that our ‘assault’ should have proved to be—for us—a veritable massacre.” It was here that the late Lieut. Waud distinguished himself. When the mitrailleuse fire from the German attack began and there was a momentary loss of fire-control of his own company, Lieut. Waud, to regain control, sprang from the trenches, and ran in front of them, with the flat of his sword, struck down the men’s rifles, and so prevented the Germans finding out where the trenches really were. A brother officer wrote that his men “trusted him as a good and a brave leader,” adding: “He and I held an advanced trench before his end, and though he was younger than myself, I can say he was a great moral support to me. In conversation on the day of his death, he told me he was prepared to give the utmost for his Country, and that his one regret if that were required was that it would be a great shock to his parents.” He represented the Royal Military College in revolver shooting, for which he held the record score. He also represented Sandhurst in the bayonet competition at the Royal Military Tournament at Olympia, for which he obtained third prize.
Lionel Douglas Waud.
WAUDLEY, HARRY, Driver, No. T/3/026409, Army Service Corps, s. of John Waudley, Ganger Platelayer on Hull and Barnsley Railway, by his wife, (—), dau. of Isaac Hornby, Roos, Holderness; b. Preston-in-Holderness, 26 June, 1891; educ. Anlaby National School, Hull; was a Farm Labourer with Mr. Richardson, Swanland; enlisted in the A.S.C., 12 Oct. 1914; went to Egypt in March, and died in No. 15 General Hospital, Alexandria, 30 June, 1915, of disease contracted while on active service; unm. Buried in Chatby Cemetery there (Grave No. 1125).
WAY, FRANCIS MAXWELL, Trooper, No. 7/772, 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry), New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 3rd s. of George Edward Way, of Christchurch, New Zealand, F.P.A.N.Z., F.I.A.N.Z., by his wife, Emma Kate, dau. of the late Richard James Strachan Harman, one of the founders of, and for some years Deputy Superintendent of, Canterbury Province, and nephew of the Rev. John Pearce Way, D.D., late Headmaster of Rossall, and for two years stroke of the Oxford eight; b. Christchurch, New Zealand, 22 Dec. 1895; educ. Christ’s College there, and then engaged in farming pursuits, first for eighteen months in the Back Blocks, Kaitieke, King Country, and then for eight months on Mount Torlesse Sheep Station, Canterbury, where he was when war broke out. He immediately enlisted, left for Egypt with the second reinforcements, 15 Dec. 1914; went to the Dardanelles, June, 1915, and died on Anzac Beach, 8 Aug. 1915, of machine gun wounds received in action on Bauchop’s Ridge, Gallipoli; unm.
Francis Maxwell Way.
WAYTH, SIDNEY ALFRED, Private, No. 2342, 7th Battn. London Regt. (T.F), only s. of the late Edward Wayth, Mining Engineer, by his wife, Beatrice Elizabeth (now wife of Edward Steeles, of 54, Oxford Road, Harrow), dau. of James Spinks; b. Stoke Newington, N., 3 April, 1896; educ. Greenhill Council School, Harrow, gained a certificate for the London School of Economics and Political Science on “The Law of Carriage of Railway”; was a Clerk in the Great Northern Railway at King’s Cross; joined the Territorial Force after the outbreak of war, 8 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Festubert, 16 May, 1915. His Coy. Sergt.-Major wrote: “I can assure you he was liked by all and was a good soldier.”
Sidney Alfred Wayth.
WAYLING, THOMAS, Private, No. G. 1902, 2nd Battn. East Surrey Regt.; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action, 25 March, 1915.
WEAKE, ERNEST ALBERT, Private, No. 8340, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards; b. co. Warwick; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; died at No. 5 Stationary Hospital, Le Mans, France, 10 Nov. 1914, of wounds received in action; unm.
WEARMOUTH, ISAAC NORMAN, Private, No. 8434, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of Joseph Wearmouth, of James Street, Stanhope, Durham; b. co. Durham; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; died in No. 13 General Hospital, Boulogne, 6 Nov. 1914, of wounds received in action. Buried Boulogne Cemetery.
WEATHERILL, EDWARD THEAKER, 2nd Lieut., 7th (Service) Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, yr. s. of Capt. John Weatherill, of 6, Ailesbury Road, Dublin, Shipowner, by his wife, Margaret, dau. of Archibald Mackenzie; b. Dublin, 19 March, 1887; educ. at St. Andrew’s College, Dublin; Fettes College, Edinburgh; and Armstrong College (Durham University), Newcastle-on-Tyne, where he obtained at the age of 20 his B.Sc. degree in Naval Architecture and Engineering, and, after serving his time as a Marine Engineer, gained his First Class Certificate, and subsequently became a Partner in his father’s firm of Shipowners. At its formation in Sept. 1914, he joined the “Football” Coy. of the 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers (having previously been a Member of the Monkstown and Lansdowne Football Clubs), and was elected by the Coy. to be Sergt. of the Machine Gun Section. On his being gazetted 2nd Lieut. in March, 1915, he was transferred from “D” Coy. to “B” Coy. of the same Battn. He left for the Dardanelles 9 July, 1915, and in the last letter received from him, dated 14 Aug. 1915, said: “We got here a week to-day, and I expect you will have heard by now all we have done so far. We landed under a very heavy shrapnel fire. Russell and I were left behind on the boat to load the stores of the Battn., and before we landed our first wounded started to come back. Then an old Taube flew over, dropped a bomb—which just missed us by inches—and gave those on shore the range, so we got shelled before we even got into the lighter. They did not hit us, however. We then landed and had to unload the boat on the beach. They got the range of us all right and we had some very narrow shaves. My water bottle was hit. Luckily we had no casualties. I will not tell you any more till I get home, except that all my fellows have behaved splendidly, and one, P. Quinn, has been mentioned. He was out sniping with me from an advanced trench on Thursday, and we got four of their snipers, so I recommended him this morning.... I am fit and well, and so far have been very lucky.” He was killed in action at Suvla Bay 16 Aug. 1915; unm. Letters received from officers and men alike testify to his gallant conduct. Capt. J. Lucie Smith, B Coy., wrote: “He bore himself in a most gallant manner, and at ‘Chocolate Hill’ brought in five wounded men under fire, for which deed I believe he has been mentioned in despatches.” Lieut. R. Douglas, Machine Gun Officer: “From the moment we landed he was splendid. He was in the thick of all the worst fighting round Hill 53 (the original position taken by our Battn.), he was seen one day carrying five different wounded men of ours under terrible fire, leaving his own trench each time to do so. It was on the early morning of Monday last, the 16th, that he was killed during a bomb attack by the Turks. At the time he was hit he was rallying some men of another battn. who were breaking up. He succeeded in getting them back, and so saved the position for us, but in doing so he was killed. No praise could be too high for the manner in which he fought, lived and died out here; he was wonderful.” L.-Corpl. Fraser, Machine Gun Section, now Lieut. in Connaught Rangers: “We had a very severe shelling on landing, and your brother distinguished himself on several occasions for bravery, leaving the trenches and bringing five wounded men under fire. On other occasions he displayed his fearlessness of danger also. I need hardly say his deeds have commanded the admiration and respect of everyone”; and Sergt. Charles E. Sawyer, B Coy.: “He was a fearless leader and a good friend to us all. The event of Lieut. Weatherill’s death needs some explanation. We were ordered to take up a position on a long ridge overlooking the sea, and ‘B’ Coy., with Engineers, had to dig a fire trench from the top down to the sea, and occupy it in the front line. In going towards this position in firing line formation No. 2 platoon became detached from the remainder of the Coy., the night being so dark. Mr. Weatherill then ordered us under cover while he went out to look for our Coy. He went to the top of the ridge, where the Royal Irish Fusiliers were keeping the right flank and found they had lost all, except one wounded, of their officers, and the men in a state of depression. Lieut. Weatherill returned to us and told me to go with him to where the Royal Irish Fusiliers were posted, and ordered me to find their N.C.O.’s and rouse the men as much as possible. I found they had only one L.-Corpl., and after some persuasion got the men to keep a look-out to ensure their own and our safety. We were thanked by their poor wounded officer and were returning to our platoon when Mr. Weatherill stopped and told me he felt it was his duty to stay with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and ordered me back to take command of No. 5 and join up with the Coy. as soon as possible. He wished me good-bye and to do our best, and left me. That was the last I saw of him alive. Next morning the fighting was very great and I heard the Royal Irish Fusiliers were being badly pressed and I went to the top of the ridge and learned from one of their men that Mr. Weatherill had been killed at daybreak (only a few yards from his great friend Lieut. Russell). I must say I was with Mr. Weatherill from the moment of landing in that terrible advance round Salt Lake and other places, and can truly say that a more brave and cool officer never took men into action in that awful Peninsula, and he fell in the knowledge that he was doing his duty and died as only a gentleman and a British Officer can die.”
Edward T. Weatherill.
WEAVER, ALBERT, Leading Stoker, 308507, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
WEAVER, GEORGE, Stoker, 1st Class, 312062, H.M.S. Laurel; killed in action in the Heligoland Bight, 28 Aug. 1914.
WEAVER, WALTER, Private, No. 8655, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, s. of the late John Weaver, of Child Pitt, Newport, Shropshire, by his wife, Mary (Oak Cottage, Bicton Heath, near Shrewsbury), dau. of the late Edward Broome, of Hill End Farm, Lydbury, Salop; b. Crudgington, co. Salop, 12 Oct. 1890; educ. Lilleshall Public School, Newport, co. Salop, was a Porter, Rowton House, Newington Butts, London; enlisted in the Coldstreams in March, 1910; went to France 12 Aug. 1914, and was reported missing during the Battle of the Aisne, 14 Sept. 1914, and is now assumed to have been killed in action on that date; unm.
Walter Weaver.
WEBB, ALBERT, Private, 846, 11th Battn. Australian Imperial Force; served in Egypt and at the Dardanelles; killed in action, 15 May, 1915.
WEBB, ARTHUR STUART, Sergt., No. 11533, 1st Battn. King’s Royal Rifles, elder s. of Arthur Stuart Webb, the well-known Hampshire and Glamorgan professional cricketer, by his wife, Ethel E. (45A, Mersham Road, Thornton Heath); b. St. Helier’s, Jersey, 31 March, 1894; educ. Southampton Grammar School; enlisted on the outbreak of war, and was promoted Sergt. 1 Feb. 1915. He went with his regt. to the front, served in France and Flanders, and was killed in action, at Neuve Chapelle, 10 March, 1915; unm. Sergt. Webb, who was himself a keen cricketer, belonged to a well-known sporting family; one of his uncles played for Kent, and another was Fred Webb, the ex-jockey, who won the Derby in 1873. His father is now (1916) on service with the Royal Fusiliers. A comrade wrote: “I was present at Neuve Chapelle when your eldest son got killed. He was a brave fellow, and led his platoon until he got to the German’s barbed wire. We were unable to get him into our trenches; but he died like a hero.” His younger brother, Sergt. C. F. Webb, was killed 16 May, 1915 (see his notice).