Basil Gwynne Griffiths.

GRIFFITHS, GEORGE HENRY WHITMORE, Private, No. 12946, 25th Battn. Royal Fusiliers Frontiersmen, eldest s. of the late George Summers Griffiths, Barrister-at-Law, Middle Temple, by his wife, Emma Lucy, dau. of the late Henry H. Cowper, H.M.’s Consul-General at Havanah, and grandson of the late Lewis Griffiths, of Marl Hill, Cheltenham, J.P.; b. Handsworth, near Birmingham; educ. Whitby, and Stamford Grammar Schools; at the age of thirteen went to sea as an apprentice in the Merchant Service, and when the South African War broke out joined the 18th Hussars and served through that campaign. He was awarded the Queen’s medal with five clasps, and on his return married and settled down in Wiltshire. When the European War started he immediately tried to rejoin his old regt., but finding that it already contained its full complement he enlisted in the 25th Fusilier Frontiersmen. He was killed in action at the Battle of Bukoba, German East Africa, 22 June, 1915. He had volunteered for a dangerous duty which he fulfilled at the cost of his own life, thereby saving the lives of many of his comrades. Gen. T. wrote: “It will be a consolation to you all to know that he died in such a gallant way.... The War Office ruled some time ago that no posthumous honours, except the V.C. were to be granted during this war, so that many gallant men, including your brave brother, are ineligible for posthumous D.C.Ms. Should at any time the rule be revised, I will remember what your gallant brother did for his country”; and Col. D.: “His company held an advanced position close up to the enemy; they were suffering loss from a machine gun posted on a small hill. Several men volunteered to work round and try to silence this gun. Griffiths was the first to volunteer. The bravery and dash of these volunteers was beyond all praise, but unfortunately most of them were either killed or wounded whilst successfully carrying out what they started to do. They saved many lives of their comrades. He and other brave comrades were buried in Bukoba alongside the Fort, with full military honours. We have marked the spot.” He m. at Lavington, Wiltshire, 8 Oct. 1906, Alice Riddell (Down View, West Lavington, Wilts), dau. of Edwin Burgess, of St. John’s Wood, London, Artist, and had two sons: George Edwin, b. 10 July, 1907, and John Whitmore, b. 15 May, 1913.

George H. W. Griffiths.

GRIGSON, FRANCIS HENRY, 2nd Lieut., 9th (Service) Battn. Royal Warwickshire Regt., only s. of the late Henry Francis Grigson, of Watton, Norfolk, Accountant, by his wife, Gertrude Alma, dau. of William Cooper, of Bury St. Edmunds, M.D.; b. Watton, co. Norfolk, 1 Oct. 1890; educ. Gorse Cliff School, Boscombe, Hants, and Lancing College, Sussex; and on leaving there went to London in Nov. 1908, to learn accountancy. In May, 1910, he went to Ceylon, where he spent several years tea planting, and in the early part of 1913 joined the firm of George Steuart & Co., of Colombo. On the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, he gave up his post with them and returned to England at the end of the year. He was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 9th Warwickshires, 1 Feb. 1915; left for the Dardanelles on 19 June, and was killed in action at Anzac Cove, 9 Aug. 1915, during the fighting for Hill 971 (Sari Bair); unm. One of his officers, Major Gordon, wrote (20 Aug.): “I feel I cannot resist writing to tell you how sadly we all (such as survive) feel the loss of your brother. He was most popular with officers and men alike and was such a capable officer”; and again (Oct. 1): “I made your brother Regimental Transport Officer whilst at Helles, and he was invaluable in managing the pack mules (often under fire) and getting up our water, rations, etc.”; and another (Capt. Agar): “The circumstances of his death were given me by another of my subalterns who had charge of the company after I was ‘knocked out.’ They had been ordered to advance up a hill, which could only be done in single file; the subaltern in charge led the way, when they suddenly came under a heavy fire from machine guns, which made further progress impossible. The subaltern in charge ordered the company down the hill under cover, and whilst doing so was himself badly wounded and left behind. When the men had got back under cover, your brother and the wounded officer’s servant crawled up again and tried to bring him in; they bandaged him up as best they could, when your brother was hit and instantly killed. There is no doubt that if he had not been killed he would have been rewarded for his gallant action.”

Francis Henry Grigson.

GRIFFITHS, JOHN, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9826), 207832, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GRIFFITHS, WALTER HENRY, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./17349, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GRIMBLE, WALTER, E.R.A., 2nd Class, 271598, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GRIMSHAW, CECIL THOMAS WRIGLEY, B.A., D.S.O., Major, 1st Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 6th s. of the late Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw, C.B., M.D., M.A., Registrar-General for Ireland, by his wife, Sarah Elizabeth (The Lodge, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire); b. Dublin, 22 Oct. 1876; educ. Eastmans’ School, Southsea, and Trinity College, Dublin (B.A.); joined the 5th (Militia) Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers in Dec. 1893, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut., 15 May, 1897, and promoted Lieut., 28 Dec. 1898; Capt., 14 July, 1904; and Major, 14 Dec. 1914. He served through the South African War, 1899–1902, being employed with the Mounted Infantry, and was present at the action at Talana and took part in the operations east of Pretoria, July-Nov. 1900, and in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. He was twice mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 10 Sept. 1901, and 29 July, 1902], and was awarded the Queen’s medal with three clasps and the King’s medal with two clasps, and the Distinguished Service Order. In 1903 he took part in the operations in the Aden Hinterland, and on 11 Dec. 1911, was appointed Adjutant of his Battn. He left England with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, 15 March, 1915, took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and was killed in action the same day at Sedh-el-Bahr, being at the time in command, the Colonel, Adjutant and other officers having been shot in the boats. He was shot in the head while leading the remnants of the regt. in a charge up the hill. He m. at St. Mary Abbots, Kensington, 3 Oct. 1906, Agnes Violet (Hawera, Dunsford, Surrey), dau. of George Benton Alderson, of Alexandria, and had three children: Thomas Cecil, b. 6 July, 1907; George Cecil, b. 8 Sept. 1910; and David Cecil, b. 13 Oct. 1915.

Cecil T. W. Grimshaw.

GRIST, ROBERT GEORGE, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 3397), 191485, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GROMETT, CHARLES, Sergt., No. 8713, 1st Battn. East Yorkshire Regt., 2nd s. of Charles Gromett, by his wife, Sarah (Bridge Street, Downham, Market), dau. of Michael Walsh; b. Downham Market, co. Norfolk, 26 June, 1888; educ. there; enlisted 22 Oct. 1907; became Sergt. 20 Aug. 1914; went to France with the Expeditionary Force, 6 Sept.; was wounded in the thigh at the Battle of the Aisne, 20 Sept., and died 26 Sept. 1914, at St. Nazaire Hospital. He m. at St. Mary’s Church, Beverley, co. Yorks, 1 Dec. 1913, Edith (2, Victoria Villas, Queens Gate Road, Beverley), yst. dau. of the late George Marshall Cobb; s.p.

Charles Gromett.

GROOM, WILLIAM SYDNEY, Acting Chief Petty Officer, 165578, H.M.S. Hawke; s. of Charles Groom, of 58, Prospect Place, Woolwich; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

GROOME, FRANK, Private, No. 221, 17th Battn. 5th Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, s. of Frederick Groome, of 7, Queen’s Avenue, Watford West, Herts, Printer, by his wife, Mary Ann Elizabeth, dau. of William Saunders, of Walthamstow, Essex, Bricklayer, and grandson of John Groome, of the City of London, Cordwainer; b. Upper Sydenham, S.E., 21 March, 1895; educ. Sydenham Hill Council School; began life as an assistant at Mudie’s Library and later was assistant operator at the Watford Cinema; emigrated to Australia, 21 March, 1914, and became a farm hand to Mr. John Paton, of Mundarloo, Tumblong. After the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, Feb. 1915; was drafted to Egypt, and from there to the Dardanelles, where he was severely wounded in the head by a bomb; he was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital, Cairo, 9 Sept. 1915, and died there 6 Oct. following; unm.

Frank Groome.

GROOME, STANLEY GEORGE, Corpl., No. 207, 5th Battn. (London Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), 2nd s. of William Groome, of 317, Bethnal Green Road, E., Boot and Shoe Manufacturer, by his wife, Mary Ann, dau. of George William Wilcox; b. London, 10 Feb. 1888; educ. Sir John Cass Foundation School, Minories; was on the Stock Exchange, but on the outbreak of war threw up his position and enlisted in the London Rifle Brigade, 31 Aug. 1914. He went to France on 13 Jan. 1915, and during the spring and summer of 1915 was with his company in the trenches at Plugsteert, St. Eloi, Ypres and Poperinghe. In the autumn of the same year he worked on the lines of communication and it was on returning to the trenches for the first time that he was accidentally shot at Poperinghe, 3 Dec. 1915. He was buried in the soldiers’ cemetery close to the main line between Hazebrouck and Poperinghe. An iron cross sent out from England, subscribed for by the men of his old platoon, and engraved “In memory of a good comrade,” marks the spot. Capt. C. W. Trevelyan, London Rifle Brigade, wrote: “I visited the grave, and when Sergt. Ford came back from leave he took out and placed on the grave a very nice iron cross as a small tribute of affection from some of the members of No. 4 Platoon. We all felt that we had lost one of our best and most trusted friends.” Groome was a good athlete, and was a member of the Leytonstone Rugby and the Albion Rowing Clubs. He was a great lover of Nature and all Nature’s gifts.

Stanley George Groome.

GROVES, FRANCIS NEVILLE, Lieut., 3rd Battn. Monmouthshire Regt. (T.F.), s. of John Francis Groves, of 5, Llanthewy Road, Newport, Monmouth, F.R.I.B.A., Architect to Lord Tredegar, by his wife, Frances Matilda, dau. of Albert Gill, of Blandford; b. Newport, Monmouth, 7 July, 1889; educ. Intermediate School there; obtained his commission in the 3rd Battn. Monmouthshire Regt., 9 Sept. 1914, joining it at Northampton and afterwards going to Cambridge. He was promoted Lieut., 23 Nov. 1914, and in Feb. 1915, was sent with his regt. to Flanders, and was killed in action at Frezenberg, near Ypres, 8 May, 1915; unm. The division in which the Monmouthshire Regt. was placed assisted very materially in defeating the furious attack of the German forces on 8 and 9 May, in which all battns. of the regt. suffered so heavily. Major W. S. Bridges, now Lieut.-Col., the senior officer left after the battle, wrote that he met his death whilst holding, with his company, a trench under the most terrific shell fire, and in a letter to his father, said: “I did not know him for long, only since my joining the battn., but long enough to have realised his value as an officer and that he had a high opinion of his sense of duty.” Col. H. Worsley Gough, who was wounded early in the action, stated that he fell doing his duty very gallantly, and that he could not speak too highly of his work as an officer of his battn., and that his untimely death was a great loss to the regt. and was deeply deplored by all who were privileged to serve with him.

Francis Neville Groves.

GROVES, GEORGE, Private, No. 9432, 2nd Battn. The Royal Scots, s. of George Groves, Office Porter, H.M. Office of Works, Windsor Castle, by his wife, Fanny, dau. of Henry Deaton, of Eton; b. Clewer, near Windsor, 12 March, 1888; educ. Windsor National School; enlisted 22 Nov. 1904; served 10 years; went to France, 12 Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at Petit Bois, near Kemmel, France, 14 Dec. 1914; unm.

George Groves.

GROVES, GEORGE, Leading Seaman, 211975, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

GRUBB, WALTER BOUSFIELD WATKINS, Lieut.-Commander, R.N., and Gunnery Lieut., s. of Lieut.-Col. Alexander Grubb, of Elsfield House, Hollingbourne, Kent, late Royal Artillery, by his wife, Sara Mary, dau. of the late Rev. Henry George Watkins, Vicar of Potters Bar, Middlesex; b. Knockrobin, co. Wicklow, 1 July, 1879; educ. The Grange, Cowes (Rev. A. Watson), and H.M.S. Britannia, 1892–95, and appointed Midshipman, H.M.S. Trafalgar, 1895, and promoted Sub-Lieut. July, 1898, Lieut. Jan. 1901, Gunnery Lieut. 1 Jan. 1907, and Lieut.-Commander, Jan. 1909. He was appointed to H.M.S. Cressy as gunnery officer, March, 1914, and was lost in the North Sea when that ship was torpedoed by a German submarine, 22 Sept. 1914. He had King Edward’s Coronation medal. He m. at St. James’ Church, Clapham Park, 22 April, 1914, Marguerite Evelina Fairlie, only child of Dr. J. J. McWhilter Dunbar, of Hedingham House, Clapham Common, S.W., and had a son, Walter Dunbar Watkins, b. 3 June, 1915.

Walter B. W. Grubb.

GRUCHY, ARTHUR GORDON, B.A., Private, No. 74040, Machine Gun Section, 28th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, 3rd s. of Charles Gruchy, of Jersey, now farming at Strassburg, Saskatchewan, Canada, formerly of the firm of Redfern’s, of Paris, by his wife, Mary A..., dau. of (—) Hicks, of London; b. Asnières, Seine, France, 16 Jan. 1889; educ. first at Asnières, then in England, and in 1905 went to Canada with one of his brothers. He entered the University of Saskatchewan in 1912, and became a member of the affiliated Presbyterian College, taking the Arts course preparatory to his theological training. During the long summer vacations he performed valuable services on various mission fields, and he obtained his B.A. degree in May, 1915. He had enlisted in Oct. 1914, and left Canada with the second contingent, and was accidentally drowned, 7 July, 1915, while bathing near Shorncliffe, where his battn. was in training. Lieut. Manville, Commanding Officer, Machine Gun Section, wrote: “Your son, Sir, was a splendid soldier, and I had just some few days ago appointed him to the most important post on the section. I feel his death creates a vacancy that cannot be replaced, for his work and personality were such that he endeared himself to all of us.”

Arthur Gordon Gruchy.

GRUNDY, GEOFFREY STEWART, Private, No. 1362, No. 1 Coy. Honourable Artillery Coy., only s. of George Graham Stewart Grundy, of Whernside, Headingley, Leeds, Iron and Steel Merchant, by his wife, Joanna, only dau. of George Taylor, of Leeds and Ripon, and grandson of the late Edmund Grundy, of Bridge Hall, Bury; b. Leeds, co. York, 1 Dec. 1886; educ. Rugby, and on leaving there was articled to Messrs. Barr, Nelson & Co., Solicitors, of Leeds. He was admitted a Solicitor in Jan. 1911, and at the time war broke out was with Messrs. Spyer & Sons, Austin Friars, E.C. He immediately volunteered and joined the H.A.C., 6 Aug. 1914; went to France, 19 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action near Ypres, 11 April, 1915; unm. He was buried in the grounds of the Château Elzenwalle, Voormezeele. His Platoon Commander, Capt. M. M. Schiff, wrote: “He was a great favourite, as he was always so cheerful and bright, under the worst conditions. He was on guard at the time, in the trench, that is, standing with his head above the parapet, keeping a look-out against the Germans. Unfortunately, a shot caught him, and his death was practically instantaneous. He suffered no pain at all. He was taken down by the stretcher bearers, and was buried next evening in the grounds of a chateau, some distance behind the line”; and a comrade (Private M. Phillips, who was killed exactly one month later, 14 May): “We had a most terrible time on the above-mentioned night, the Huns mined a trench on our left, and that started it, rifles, machine guns, artillery, trench mortars and a few other atrocities, and for about three-quarters of an hour we were very lively. It died down after a bit; but, unfortunately, during that time poor old Grundy went under (my special chum, of whom I was very fond, and I have mentioned him many times to you in my letters); he was on the ‘look-out’ and took a bullet straight through the head, dying instantaneously; it was perfectly awful, as he was next to me in the trench, and was joking and laughing up to the very minute. He was such a topping good fellow.”

Geoffrey Stewart Grundy.

GRUNDY, GEORGE EDWARD, Lieut., 9th (Service) Battn. Royal Warwickshire Regt., yr. s. of the late Rev. William Grundy, Headmaster of Malvern College, by his wife, Margaret (School House, Abingdon), dau. of Adam Mitchell, of Heathcot, Kincardineshire; b. School House, Warwick, 26 Feb. 1883. He was educ. at Malvern College, where he got his cricket colours. He won a Classical Scholarship at Brasenose College, Oxford, and took a second class in Classical Moderations. He was captain of his College cricket and football elevens and represented the University at golf for three years, being captain of the team in 1906. He played cricket for the Authentics. For a year he was a master at Pocklington School, and while there he played cricket for the Yorkshire Gentlemen. In 1908 he was appointed to Haileybury College and became House master of “Batten.” He was appointed 2nd Lieut., Haileybury College O.T.C., 16 Nov. 1910, and, volunteering on the outbreak of war, was gazetted Lieut. to the 9th Warwicks, 4 Sept. 1914. He left for Dardanelles in H.M.S. Royal Edward, June, 1915, and was killed in action in the front trenches at Gallipoli, 22 July, 1915; unm. He was buried in Trolley Ravine, on the edge of the Ægean Sea. A wooden cross was put up by the men of his regt. Col. Palmer, who was killed two days later and buried beside him, wrote: “He was one of my best officers. He was always thinking of the welfare of his men and was much loved by his comrades, who could not fail to appreciate his unselfish devotion to their interests.” Major Gordon, who succeeded Col. Palmer in command of the regt., wrote: “Mr. Grundy was a splendid officer, energetic, capable, cheerful and brave.” His influence with his men is illustrated by the following extract from a letter: “He does everything for us and we would do anything for him.” A brother officer concludes his letter: “Let it be some consolation that his end was worthy of his life and that he left behind him an example that we should like to follow.” The Master of Haileybury College wrote of him: “He was a keen scholar; he was a fine athlete; but what we loved him for was the boyish laugh, the unfailing cheeriness, the constant goodness of his heart. He had that real charm of ‘personality’ which is given to but few men; but it is perhaps the best of God’s good gifts. I cannot put my feelings better than in the words one wrote to me: ‘All the sunshine seems to have gone out with Grundy’s death.’”

George Edward Grundy.

GRUNDY, THOMAS, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1442), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GRYLLS, DESSE EDGAR, Stoker, R.N.R., 1849U, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GUERNSEY, HENEAGE GREVILLE FINCH, LORD, Capt., 1st Battn. Irish Guards, eldest s. and h. of Charles Wightwich, 8th Earl of Aylesford, by his 2nd wife, Ella Victoria, widow of Capt. James Wingfield Linton, of Hemingford, Hunts, yst. dau. of John Ross, of Benena Abbots; b. 2 June, 1883; educ. Eton; joined the Militia, Aug. 1901; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Irish Guards, 4 June, 1902, and was promoted Lieut. 1 Sept. 1904; served in St. Helena during South African War, 1901 (Queen’s medal); was A.D.C. to Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar, 1 Sept. 1905; retired 1906, became Capt. Warwickshire Yeomanry, Aug. 1910; and Capt., Reserve of Officers, 15 April, 1914; rejoined the Irish Guards on the outbreak of war; went to France, 12 Aug. 1914, and was killed while leading his coy. into action at Soupir, 14 Sept. 1914. He m. at St. Michael’s, Chester Square, London, 11 June, 1907, the Hon. Gladys Cecil Georgina, née Fellowes (9, Sussex Square, W.), 2nd dau. of William Henry, 2nd Baron De Ramsey, and had a son, Heneage Michael Charles, Lord Guernsey. His brother-in-law, Major Eustace Crawley, 13th Hussars, was killed in action, 2 Nov. 1914.

Lord Guernsey.

GUEST, RICHARD THOMAS, Acting E.R.A., 4th Class, M. 1103, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

GUEST, SUNNY FRANK, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 10259), 239771, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GUILL, RAYMOND JAMES, Petty Officer Telegraphist, J. 269, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.

GUMBRELL, CHARLES EDWARD LEOPOLD, A.B. (B. 1630), 206977, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

GUMMER, FRANK EDWARD, A.B. 232154, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

GUNN, FREDERICK, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 8687), 206529, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

GUNN, JOHN ANGUS, Private, No. 3781, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, eldest s. of Peter Gunn, of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, by his wife, Alice dau. of James Ridley; b. ——; enlisted 18 Sept. 1900, and served 12 years; re-enlisted 17 Feb. 1915; went to France 7 May following, and was killed in action at Cambrin, 21 June, 1915, while on sniping duty. He m. Mary Ellen (26, Washington Street, Sunderland), dau. of (—). His 3rd brother, Peter, was killed in action, 29 Oct. 1914 (see his notice), and his 2nd brother, James, is now (1916) on active service with the R.F.A. The yst. brother, Albert, Durham L.I., was wounded at Ypres, 28 June, 1915, and invalided home.

GUNN, JOHN HEDLEY, Corpl., No. 3160, 13th Battn. (Princess Louise’s Kensington Battn.) The London Regt. (T.F.), only s. of James Hedley Gunn, of 54, Solent Road, West Hampstead, one of the Head Office Staff of the Prudential Assurance Company and retired Colour-Sergt. of the original 4th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Kensington Rifles), with long service (24 years) medal, by his wife Sarah Jane, dau. of the late James Downer, of Alum Bay, Isle of Wight; b. West Hampstead, 23 Aug. 1890; educ. privately and at the Haberdashers’ School, passed the Students’ and Intermediate Examinations, becoming an Associate of the Auctioneers and Estate Agents’ Institute, and was in business as Managing Clerk of a firm of auctioneers and surveyors. After the declaration of war he joined the Kensingtons, 3 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Aubers Ridge, Fromelles, 9 May, 1915; unm. He was last seen leading his platoon and calling out, “Come on, boys of A Coy.—let them have it!”

John Hedley Gunn.

GUNN, PETER, Private, No. 7007, 1st Battn., Coldstream Guards, 3rd s. of Peter Gunn, of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, by his wife, Alice, dau. of James Ridley; b. Sunderland, 12 June, 1886; educ. Garden Street School there; enlisted 2 Nov. 1906; went to the Front with the first Expeditionary Force, and was reported missing after the heavy fighting at Ypres on 29 Oct. 1914. Later his widow was advised from Geneva that he was on the German list as dead, and he is now assumed to have been killed on the above date. He m. at All Saints’, Clapton, 15 Jan. 1910, Margaret (86, Bayston Road, Stoke Newington, N.), dau. of John Simons, and had two sons: Peter, b. 18 June, 1911; and John, b. 23 April, 1913.

Peter Gunn.

GUNTER, HENRY THOMAS, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 7275, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

GURDEN, WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./17119, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GURNEY, BERNARD FRANK, Private, No. 1536, 3rd Battn. Australian Imperial Force, 5th s. of James Gurney, of Chalfont St. Giles, F.S.I., by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of the late James Stratton, of Princes Risborough; b. Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks, 16 March, 1890; educ. Selhurst Park College, Norwood, and on leaving there was articled to an elder brother, R. G. Gurney, P.A.S.I., Ledbury; emigrated to New South Wales in 1910, and took up farming; volunteered on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, and joined the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force; left for Egypt with the main Force in the 1st Brigade; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25–26 April, 1915, and was killed in action there three days later, on the 29th; unm. Buried at Anzac.

Bernard Frank Gurney.

GURR, JOHN HENRY, Ship’s Corpl., 1st Class, No. Ch. 190332, Royal Navy, 3rd s. of John Gurr, of 2, Galley Hill Road, Northfleet, Kent, General Dealer, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of William Bullock; b. College Street, Northfleet, Kent, 20 Jan. 1881; educ. Board School there; joined the Navy, 7 Aug. 1896; was promoted ship’s Corpl., Sept. 1907, and was lost in the North Sea when H.M.S. Cressy was torpedoed by a German submarine, 22 Sept. 1914. He m. at St. Mark’s Church, Gillingham, Kent, 13 Aug. 1905, Eva (14, Melbourne Road, Chatham), dau. of Arthur Robert Sutcliffe, of Rochester, and had three children: John Arthur, b. 30 Sept. 1906; George Herbert, b. 27 Sept. 1908; and Thelma, b. 17 Oct. 1910.

John Henry Gurr.

GURR, STEPHEN, Second Cooper, 296892. H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.

GUTHRIE, WILLIAM CAMPBELL, Petty Officer, 156609, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GUTTRIDGE, DAVID WILLIAM, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./15789, H.M.S. Cressy, lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GUY, ARTHUR CHARLES JOHN, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2606), 181667, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GUY, HARRY ALBERT, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 6191), 181815, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

GUY, WILLIAM, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 109628, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.

GWYDIR, THE VERY REV. CANON ROBERT BASIL, O.S.B., Acting Chaplain, R.N., Rector of St. David’s, Swansea, only child of the late Robert Clarke Gwydir, of Cartron, Longford, by his wife, Sarah Annie (20, Quex Road, West Hampstead), dau. of Benjamin Jackson; b. Cartron aforesaid, 20 Jan. 1867; educ. Breewood, co. Stafford, and the English College, Douay (1878–87), and on leaving there went to Belmont Monastery, Hereford. After spending four years here he returned to Douay, where he distinguished himself as a clever professor in classics and English, and by his exceptional intellectual gifts. In 1899 he started his career as a mission priest at St. Augustine’s, Liverpool, and after some time there he was moved to St. David’s, Swansea, and later became Rector, and in 1914 was made a Canon of the Diocese of Newport. When war began Canon Gwydir immediately offered his services as a Naval Chaplain, these were accepted, and he left Swansea in Sept., and after serving in several ships, was appointed to H.M. Hospital Ship Rohilla, and was drowned when that ship was wrecked off the Yorkshire coast, 30 Oct. 1914, when on her way to Belgium to bring back wounded soldiers. It is stated that when the impact came Canon Gwydir was on deck. He realised the danger immediately and hurried below to the sick-bay where a man (Naval Gunner) lay helpless with a fractured leg. He had hardly gone below when a huge wave struck the vessel and damaged her so severely that the infirmary was flooded. The Canon being drowned before he could complete his noble task. His body was recovered same day when the ship finally broke up. He was buried in the Benedictine Priory at Belmont. An eloquent preacher and a brilliant scholar, he read a paper at the National Catholic Congress at Cardiff in July, 1914, and had also read one before the International Eucharistic Congress at Vienna.

Robert Basil Gwydir.

GWYNNE, JOHN FITZGERALD, M.B., Ch.B., Capt., Royal Army Medical Corps, elder s. of the late Charles Nelson Gwynne, M.D., M.A. (Trinity College), Senior Surgeon of Christ Hospital, Sheffield, by his wife, Grace Maunsell (11, Prince of Wales Mansions, Battersea Park, S.W.), dau. of Samuel Hanna, Resident Magistrate, co. Wicklow; b. Sheffield, 29 Aug. 1888; educ. Stancliffe Hall, co. Derby (1899–1901), Loretto, Musselburgh (Choral Scholarship, 1901–6), and Sheffield University (Scholar M.B. 1906–11); was House Surgeon at Sheffield Royal Infirmary, 1911–13, and afterwards Assistant Medical Officer of the Southwark Union Infirmary, East Dulwich. He first served in the Territorial Force, in which he was gazetted Lieut. 3 June, 1912, being transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps 3 Feb. 1914, and was promoted Capt. 30 March, 1915. On the outbreak of war he served with Field Ambulance in Flanders, and was attached to 1st Hampshire Battn. at Ligny, 2 Sept. 1914. He was killed in action in the execution of his duty at Ypres, 9 July, 1915; unm.; and was buried in Division IV Cemetery, Bosinghe. The “Hampshire Regimental Journal” (Aug. 1915), says: “We have to record another heavy loss to this battn., which has suffered so many. Our ‘doctor,’ Capt. Gwynne, was shot through the head by a sniper when on an errand of mercy. On the night of 8–9 July, the battn. was relieved ... in the trenches captured by the brigade from the Germans on the 6th. Capt. Gwynne went up to the trenches shortly after daybreak, to ascertain whether all the wounded had been evacuated. Several had not been observed in the dark, and he attended to each of them. He was informed that a bomber of the Rifle Brigade was lying with his hand blown off in a shallow trench, which was not approachable in daylight. Reckless as ever of his personal safety when a wounded man was in question, he proceeded there and had accomplished his task, when a sniper shot him through the head. Capt. Gwynne, with one exception, was the senior member of the battn. in point of service out here, he having joined us at the Chateau de Fontenelles, near Ligny, during the retreat. We all considered him as one of the battn., and for a long time he had been performing the thankless task of Mess President. A friend of all, with the true sympathy to suffering, as all doctors have, we regarded his death as our last and one of our greatest sacrifices to the Ypres salient.” A brother officer wrote: “Gwynne seems to have made an enormous reputation for his courage. The whole district round here resounds with his name. The men who knew him here will talk of him to their dying day. I’ve heard of him all along the Front now. Everywhere he has been excellent at his work, and made a tremendous reputation for courage. And it requires courage to do the things he has done.” Capt. Gwynne was mentioned in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915, and was awarded the Military Cross. The incident which won him this decoration was the rescue of a soldier under heavy shell fire, whose leg he saw was shot off by a “Jack Johnson,” whilst his comrade was blown to pieces. Capt. Gwynne instantly rushed out and carried the man to safety. His yr. and only brother, Lieut. Owen Perrott Gwynne, 92nd Punjabis, was killed on active service at Mesopotamia six months later at the age of 25.

John Fitzgerald Gwynne.

GWYNNE, OWEN PERROTT, 2nd Lieut., 92nd Punjabis, Indian Army, s. of the late Charles Nelson Gwynne, M.D., M.A., Senior Surgeon, Christ Hospital, Sheffield, etc., by his wife, Grace Maunsell (11, Prince of Wales’ Mansions, Battersea Park, S.W.), dau. of the late Samuel Hanna, Resident Magistrate, co. Wicklow; b. Sheffield, 19 May, 1890; educ. Lorretto, Musselburgh (1903–7) and afterwards had five years’ training in engineering at the Sheffield University Technical School and with Vickers, Maxim & Co., Sheffield. On leaving there in 1913 he was appointed Engineer to the Dunsinane Tea Plantation, Ceylon. On the outbreak of the European War he joined the Ceylon Planters’ Rifle Corps, 7 Sept. 1914, and was sent to Suez. He was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 92nd Punjabis, 7 Jan. 1915; accompanied the relief Expedition sent to Mesopotamia, 11 Dec. 1915, and was killed in action there, 7 Jan. 1916, being shot through the head while in charge of two machine guns at Sheik Saad, on the Tigris; unm.

Owen Perrott Gwynne.

HABBLETT, HAROLD, Private, No. 396, B Coy., 16th Battn. 4th Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, 2nd s. of the late George Habblett, of Goole, Platelayer on North Eastern Railway, by his wife, Hannah, dau. of Anson Bowskin, of Barrow-on-Humber, Lincolnshire; b. Goole, co. York, 1 March, 1892; educ. Skelton; emigrated to Western Australia in 1911; worked in the bush; volunteered on the outbreak of war; left for Egypt with the second contingent; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and died at sea on board H.M. Hospital Ship Gascon, 4 May following, of wounds received in action there.

HACK, CHARLES EDWARD, Capt., 1st Battn. Connaught Rangers, 2nd s. of the late William Lionel Frederick Hack, of Silk Willoughby, by his wife, Emily Elizabeth Louisa (The Cottage, Thruxton, Andover), dau. of the Rev. Jacob Montagu Mason, Rector of Silk Willoughby (by his wife, Louisa Maria, eldest dau. of Sir Joseph Burke, of Glinsk, 11th Bart.); b. Silk Willoughby, co. Lincoln, 29 Aug. 1877; educ. Bedford School, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to 1st Connaught Rangers from the Sligo Artillery (Militia), 1 Dec. 1897; and promoted Lieut. 9 April, 1900, and Capt. 17 May, 1904. He served in the South African War, 1899–1902, took part in the advance on and relief of Ladysmith, including the action at Colenso; the operations of 17–24 Jan. 1900, and action at Spion Kop; operations of 5–7 Feb. 1900, and action at Vaal Kranz; operations on Tugela Heights (14–27 Feb. 1900, including the assault of Hart’s Hill, when the Connaughts’ casualties were over 600), and action at Pieter’s Hill, operations in Natal, March to April, in Cape Colony, April; in the Orange Free State, May; and in the Transvaal, May and June, and east of Pretoria, July to Dec. 1900, including action at Riet Vlei; also in those in Cape Colony and the Orange Free State, Dec. 1900 to June, 1901, and in Cape Colony, June, 1901, to 31 May, 1902, and was mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 10 Sept. 1901], and awarded the Queen’s medal with five clasps and the King’s medal with two clasps. From June, 1911, to 1914, he was Adjutant of his battn. in India, and had the Delhi Durbar medal, and on the outbreak of war left for France with the Indian Expeditionary Force, under Lieut.-Gen. Sir James Willcocks, in Sept. 1914. He was killed in action while leading an attack on the German trenches near Laventie on the night of 4–5 Nov. following; unm. He fell in the enemy’s trench, and his body was not recovered. His commanding officer, Lieut.-Col. Ravenshaw, C.M.G., wrote: “No braver or more well-liked officer ever served in the Connaught Rangers, and though personally I only knew him for a short time, there was no officer in the regt. of whom I had a higher opinion.” And the Acting Adjutant wrote: “It is useless to try and express what we feel, to all of us as it were he represented the battn.”

Charles Edward Hack.

HACKER, ARTHUR ALFRED, Trooper, No. 13/487, 3rd Auckland Mounted Rifles, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, s. of Thomas Hacker; b. Swindon, co. Wilts, 29 Dec. 1886; educ. Sandford Street School there; went to New Zealand; volunteered and joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the autumn of 1914; left for Egypt in Oct., took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and was killed in action there, 19 or 26 May following; unm.

HACKETT, JOHN HENRY, 2nd Yeoman of Signals (R.F.R., B. 2433), 205808, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

HADFIELD, WILFRID JOHN MACKENZIE, Lieut., 2nd Battn. (Prince of Wales’ Volunteers) South Lancashire Regt., only s. of Major-Gen. Charles Arthur Hadfield, by his wife, Florence Elizabeth, dau. of the late Rev. Octavius Bathurst Byers, Vicar of Christ Church, Croydon; b. Southsea, 11 Jan. 1889; educ. Norman’s Preparatory School; “The New Beacon,” Sevenoaks; Repton School; “Army School,” Stratford-on-Avon, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the South Lancashire Regt. 6 Nov. 1909, and promoted Lieut. 17 April, 1912; went to France with his battn. as Battn. Transport Officer, and was seriously wounded in the Battle of the Marne on 6 Sept., dying in the Civil Hospital at Angers, France, four days later, 10 Sept. 1914; unm. Buried in cemetery at Angers the following day, the French garrison attending and rendering full military honours. Lieut.-Col. C. Wanliss, commanding his battn., wrote: “He was a splendid officer, and his loss to the regt. is irreparable. He worked day and night with the transport, and had he lived would certainly have received special recognition”; and Lieut.-Col. G. Ashworth, who succeeded to the command, declared: “Whenever he was ordered to do anything he did it thoroughly, and put all his energies into it.” Brig.-Gen. D. G. Prendergast, who had previously for four years commanded the battn., wrote from Cairo: “Wilfrid was a splendid soldier and an English boy. I took the greatest interest in him because I could see he meant to go ahead and rise to the top of his profession if possible.” Lieut. Hadfield was a keen rifle shot, and winner of the first prize at the Officers’ Competition, Salisbury Rifle Meeting, in July, 1914.

Wilfrid John M. Hadfield.

HADLEY, ALFRED THOMAS, S.P.O. Stoker, P.O., 305457, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

HAGGARTY, PATRICK, Private, No. 16717, A Coy., 11th (Service) Battn. The Royal Scots, s. of John Haggarty; b. Greenock, 2 Nov. 1885; educ. St. Mary’s Public School there; enlisted 24 Dec. 1914; and was killed in action at Ypres, at 8 a.m., 4 July, 1915, by a shell. “He had just drawn his breakfast and was on his way back to his part of the trench, when a high explosive shell came over and struck him in the mouth, killing him and the Sergt. of his Coy. They were both buried beside the Headquarters about 30 yards from where they were killed.” His commanding officer, Capt. R. Wemyss-Campbell, wrote that “he was a good soldier and did his duty to the last.” He m. at Greenock, 17 Feb. 1911, Helen (34, Shaw Street, Greenock), dau. of (—) (and Mary, née McIntyre) Sweeney; s.p.

HAGUE, JAMES, Private, No. 10890, 2nd Battn. Durham L.I., s. of the late George W. Hague, of Newcastle, by his wife, Katie; b. Newcastle, 4 June, 1884; educ. Gateshead; was a Miner; served six years in the Army; re-enlisted 3 Oct. 1914; went to France 24 Nov. 1914, and was killed in action 12 June, 1915. He m. at Mount Pleasant, Gateshead, 4 June, 1904, Jane (21, Derwent View, Rowlands Gill, Newcastle), dau. of the late John (and Isabella) Holmes, and had five children: John, b. 8 Feb. 1907; Katie, b. 2 Oct. 1905; Florence, b. 29 July, 1909; Maud, b. 18 Sept. 1912; and Jenny Armentières, b. 4 June, 1915.

HAGUE, OWEN CARSLEY FREDERIC, Lieut., 7th Battery, 2nd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, eldest s. of Frederic Hague, of Montreal, Advocate, by his wife, Mary, dau. of Samuel Carsley, of Montreal; b. Montreal, 23 Feb. 1889; educ. High School, Montreal, and McGill University, where he took the degree of B.Sc. in 1909, and M.Sc. in 1914. He was an electrical engineer, and practiced his profession in Montreal. He joined the 2nd Brigade, Field Artillery, in 1912, and with the rest of that Brigade volunteered for active service as soon as the first Canadian Contingent was formed, going to the Front with the 7th Battery. His brigade took part in the severe fighting in April and May, 1915, near Ypres. It was on 2 May he was killed. On the morning of that day he was near his battery on the bank of the Yser Canal, St. Julien, with Lieut. Helmer, of Ottawa, when a German heavy shell burst near them. Lieut. Helmer was killed instantly, and Lieut. Hague died that evening. He was buried at Hazebrouck; unm. Col. J. J. Creelman, commanding the 2nd Brigade, wrote as follows: “It is with extreme regret that I write with regard to the death of your son, and let me express my sincere sympathy with you in your great loss. Between 22 and 28 April, when I went into hospital, Owen had done really wonderful work as Section Commander and Forward Observing Officer. His work was splendid, and he showed an absolute disregard of personal safety at those times when his duties required that he expose himself. When in hospital at Rouen I took occasion to write to General Burstall calling attention officially to your son’s excellent services and marked bravery during the first six days of the fight at Ypres.”

Owen Carsley F. Hague.

HAIGH, JOHN HARRY, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4803), S.S. 104151, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

HAINES, ALEXANDER CRICHTON COOPER, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, only s. of John Crichton Haines, of St. James’s Gate, Dublin, London Manager, Messrs. A. Guinness, Son & Co., Ltd., by his wife, Caroline Anne, elder dau. of Austin Damer Cooper, of Drumnigh House, St. Douloughs, co. Dublin, J.P.; b. Dublin, 9 Dec. 1894; educ. Cholmeley House, Eastbourne, and Elstow School, Bedford; volunteered as a motor despatch rider in Sept. 1914, and after a week at Chatham and another at Aldershot, went straight to the Front. He was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 1 Nov. 1914, and was promoted Lieut. in April, 1915; was dangerously wounded at St. Julien during the Second Battle of Ypres, 25 April, 1915, and was put into a “Jack Johnson” crater by some men of his platoon and lay there many hours before being picked up by the ambulance. He died of wounds at No. 7 Base Hospital, Boulogne, 8 May following, and was buried in the military cemetery there; unm.