Part 10

=BANKS, PERCY D’AGUILAR=, Capt., Queen Victoria’s Own Corps of Guides, attd. 57th Wildes Rifles, only _s._ of Col. Samuel Henry O’Brien Banks, of 9, Eaton Place, Brighton, by his wife, Katherine Rosa, dau. of the Rev. John Burton D’Aguilar, late Senr. Chaplain of H.M. Forces; _b._ Bath, 9 May, 1885; educ. St. Peter’s, Weston, and Cheltenham College and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 2nd Battn. Wiltshire Regt., 10 Oct. 1903; joined 16 Nov. following, and left for India to join the 1st battn. in April, 1904. He was appointed to the Guides the following year; promoted Lieut. 10 Jan. 1906, and Capt. 10 Oct. 1912. He was A.D.C. to the Hon. A. D. Younghusband, C.S.I., Commissioner in Sind during the visit of the King, then Prince of Wales, to India in 1906, and afterwards served as transport officer with the Chitral Relief Force in Aug. 1907. He was killed 26 April, 1915, during the second Battle of Ypres only 50 yards from the German lines; _unm._ On this day Wilde’s Rifles were in the front line of the Ferozepore Brigade. Capt. Banks’ double company guides formed centre, and he, the only English officer, led them. The position to be assaulted was an extremely strong one, and the assaulting force laboured under heavy disadvantages. It had been impossible to reconnoitre the ground in a satisfactory manner, and little was known of the exact position of the German line beyond the fact that it was somewhere on the opposite ridge about 1,500 yards distance. The ground was devoid of cover, and rose slightly for the first 500 yards, then dipped and ended in a gradual upward slope towards the German position which commanded the whole line of advance. On crossing the first ridge the regt. came under an absolute tornado of fire of every description--shrapnel, machine-gun, rifle, and, last but not least, high explosive shells filled with asphyxiating gas. From this point onwards the men began to fall rapidly, but still the gallant regt. pushed on. The murderous nature of the fire can be gauged by the fact that when the bottom of the slope was reached, at a point some 900 yards from the start, the Commanding Officer, Major Willams, and four of his colleagues had been severely wounded. Still the attack was pressed to a point about 80 yards from the German trenches. Here Major Duhan, Capt. Mackie and Capt. Banks were all killed, as were also two of the Indian officers. Capt. Banks’ orderly, a Sikh named Bhan Singh, had been severely wounded in the face early in the action. In spite of this he insisted in following Capt. Banks till he was killed. As soon as darkness set in, in the face of the appalling fire, and severely wounded as he was, his one thought was to bring back the body of his officer. Weak as he was from loss of blood, he staggered along carrying the body until he fell from exhaustion. They were both brought in, and Capt. Banks was buried near a farm house two miles north-east of Ypres. For this act of devotion and gallantry Bhan Singh received the Indian D.S.M. and later a Russian decoration. Col. Egerton wrote: “We were all very fond of him in the Guides, and he had a great many other friends besides who will feel his loss very keenly I am sure. His men were also very fond of him, and were following him bravely when he fell. His name was, of course, brought to notice by Col. Gray, and I was proud and glad to endorse his mention, and I know that it was passed on by the next higher authority, the Divisional Commander.” A brother officer also wrote: “Many of the Eusafzai Pathans who were with him, and actually in the advance in which he was killed, are back here wounded or invalided, and I have spoken to many of them, the Subadar, one Afzal Khan, in particular. The very genuine love they had for him and their admiration for his great personal pluck and power as a leader is apparent in everything they say about him, and the Subadar broke down altogether when telling me of him. He says that not the smallest detail relating to the men’s comfort was overlooked, and that in fact they really had a father to command them. I’ve never seen any native express such genuine sorrow at the loss of one of their sahibs.” Capt. Banks was mentioned for conspicuous bravery in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s despatch of Jan. 1, 1916. He was a good all-round athlete and sportsman. At Cheltenham he won the school rackets and fives, and he was in the eleven both there and at Sandhurst. After making a score of 131 for the Somerset Colts, he played for the Somerset County Eleven. He also played cricket for the Army against the Rest at Lahore in 1904. A fine polo player, he twice in 1913 led the Guides to victory, and also the same year took part in a tour in Germany, playing for the Frankfurt team, which won three events--the Challenge Cup, Champion Cup, and Ladies’ Cup.

=BANNAN, JAMES CHARLES=, Private, No. 79897, 31st Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of Joseph Cope Bannan, of Kilkenny, Ireland, ex-Sergt. Royal Irish Constabulary, by his wife, Mary, dau. of Edward McElveny, ex-Insp. M.D. Police; _b._ Kilkenny, 24 Feb. 1894; educ. Model National School there. Went to Canada 10 March, 1913, and after the outbreak of war enlisted at Calgary in Oct. 1914; came over with the 2nd Canadian Contingent; went to France 14 Sept. 1915, and was shot by a sniper 6 Nov. 1915; _unm._

=BANNER, FREDERICK SIDNEY=, Private, No. 2515, 10th Battn. (Liverpool Scottish) The King’s Liverpool Regt. (Gun Section), eldest _s._ of William Banner, of 113, Bridge Road, Litherland, Liverpool, by his wife, Emma, dau. of the late Thomas Oswald Rudge; _b._ Litherland, near Liverpool; educ. at St. Philip’s and afterwards at Seaforth High School; enlisted 1912; killed in action at Ypres, 1 April, 1915; _unm._ Buried in an enclosed burial ground 700 yards west of Verbranden Molen.

=BANNER, JOSIAH=, Private, No. 4138, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, _s._ of William Banner, of Birmingham, Wheelwright, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of (--) Herbert; _b._ Birmingham, 29 Oct. 1879; educ. at St. Anne’s Boys’ School, Duddeston, Birmingham; enlisted in the Coldstream Guards, 12 March, 1901, and served in Egypt, Sept. 1906–Jan. 1909, and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders 1914, and was killed in action at St. Julien, 3 Nov. 1914. He is believed to have been buried in the Rentel Woods, close to St. Julien. He _m._ at Birmingham, 24 April, 1909, Bertha Elizabeth Charlotte Sophia (4, County Terrace, Pears Road, Hounslow), dau. of James Kingston Merrick, of Hounslow, and had two sons, Joseph James, _b._ 29 April, 1910, and William Albert Kingston, _b._ 26 Oct. 1913.

=BANNER, SYDNEY ALFRED=, Private, No. 1501, 13th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, _s._ of Alfred James Banner, of 17, Francis Road, Hay Hill, Birmingham; _b._ Small Heath, Birmingham, 25 Nov. 1893; educ. at the Red Hill Road Board School there; went to Australia; enlisted towards the end of 1914; killed in action at the Dardanelles during a night attack, 2 May, 1915; _unm._

=BANNERMAN, ORIEL WILLIAM ERSKINE=, Capt., 15th Lancers (Cureton’s Mulatnis), Indian Army, 2nd _s._ of the late Gen. William Bannerman, C.B., 104th Wellesley’s Rifles [great-grandson of Sir Patrick Bannerman, 3rd _s._ of Sir Alexander Bannerman, of Elsick, 1st Bt.], by his wife, Louisa Constance (6, Lansdowne Crescent, Cheltenham), dau. of Robert Goddard, of Monkstown; _b._ Bombay, 13 Dec. 1877; educ. Cheltenham College and Sandhurst; joined the Indian Army, 27 July, 1898, was promoted Lieut. 27 Oct. 1900, and Capt. 27 July, 1907, and from Oct. 1903–07 was A.D.C. to Major-Gen. G. Henry, Divn. Commander at Meerut. He was severely wounded in action at Givenchy, 20 Dec. 1914, and _d._ in hospital at Boulogne, 3 Feb. following. He was buried in the cemetery there. He _m._ at Mussoorie, 14 Sept. 1907, Emilie Henriette, 2nd dau. of the late Capt. Charles Lousada, of Shelburne Hall, Cheltenham; _s.p._

=BANNING, PERCY STUART=, Capt., 2nd Battn. Royal Munster Fusiliers, only child of Lieut.-Col. Stephen Thomas Banning, of 50, Kensington Mansions, Earl’s Court, LL.D., late Royal Munster Fusiliers, by his wife, Isabel Margaret, dau. of the late Rev. Denis Moriarty; _b._ at Yorktown, co. Surrey, 22 June, 1887; educ. Westward Ho! Bath College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and received his commission in the Munsters, 19 Sept. 1908, being gazetted Lieut. 19 March, 1910, and Capt. (posthumously), 30 Aug. 1914. He went to the front with the first Expeditionary Force as battn. transport officer, and was killed in action at Ypres, Belgium, 4 Nov. 1914, while attached to Sir Douglas Haig’s staff. Capt. Banning was an all-round athlete and a good cross-country runner. While at Sandhurst he won the two miles in the Woolwich and Sandhurst Sports in record time. He was also a first-rate horseman, and won the point-to-point race at the Mounted Infantry School in Jan. 1911. He _m._ 25 March, 1913, Mona Mary, only dau. of the late Alfred Chaplin, of Henfield, Sussex; _s.p._

=BANON, HAROLD OLIVER=, Private, No. 77982, 7th (British Columbia) Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, 3rd _s._ of Capt. A. T. Banon, of the Manali Orchards, Kulu, Punjab, India, late Bengal Staff Corps; _b._ Manali, Kulu, afsd., 2 June, 1890; went to Canada, 1 March, 1910; volunteered from the Canadian Naval Volunteers, and enlisted after the outbreak of war; came over with the second contingent, 14 Feb. 1915; went to France, 29 April, 1915, and was killed by a shell in the trenches near Petit-pond, Ploegsteert, near Messines, 19 Oct. 1915; _unm._ Buried at the Canadian Cemetery, Chateau Rosenberg. He was wounded on 23 May, 1915, at Festubert when 60 men volunteered to attack the Germans with bombs. Of these 58 were killed or wounded, and only two returned unwounded. Capt. W. Holmes, who led the party, got the Military Cross for leading on this occasion.

=BARBER, ALFRED EDWARD=, A.B. (R.F.R., 8817), 205320, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BARBER, CYRIL FREDERIC=, Major, Royal Marine L.I., 3rd _s._ of the late Ven. Edward Barber, Archdeacon of Chester, and Canon of the Cathedral, and Rector of St. Bridget with St. Martin’s, Chester, by his wife, Edith Sarah (St. Bridget’s, Hall Place Gardens, St. Albans), dau. of the Rev. Thomas Evetts, Hon. Canon of Christchurch, Oxford, and Rector of Monk’s Risboro’, Bucks; _b._ Radley Vicarage, Abingdon, co. Berks., 18 Oct. 1876; educ. New Brighton (Miss Staley’s), Rossall and Greenwich, where he gained the Sword of Honour, being gazetted to the R.M.L.I. 1 Sept. 1895, and promoted Lieut. 1 July, 1896, Capt. 27 May, 1901, and Major 11 April, 1915. In his examination for company officer he received special certificates with distinction in fortification and topography. He was appointed to the Naval Intelligence Department 1 Aug. 1906, and Intelligence Officer at Gibraltar in Aug. 1910. He also qualified as a first-class gunnery officer. He joined the Goliath 2 Aug. 1914, and was lost when that ship went down on 13 May, 1915. A fellow officer wrote: “I worked a great deal with your husband in the Goliath. He and I were together in the control top all day long during the majority of days in action since we came to the Dardanelles. I have made careful inquiries concerning your husband’s actions on the night of the accident, and there appears no doubt that he went from his cabin straight on to the marines’ mess deck and endeavoured to save the lives of his men by calling to them to keep quiet and not panic, and not to scramble for the ladder. He then, according to Sergt. Thorne, went still further along the mess deck. I imagine he was going to X3 casemate to try and get his men out. Anyhow he must have known by the heel the ship had on that he was going away from his own personal chance of safety. I heard yesterday when in London from the Capt. of Marines there that on the day of the accident or the day following your husband had received his promotion, and that Gen. Paris, in command of the Naval Brigade, has specially asked for him. I think it is to your husband that we all owe our escape from several sure disasters when on the East African coast. I have such a deep and lasting admiration for your husband, as we all had in the Goliath, and he was a real good friend to me. It was only the day before the loss of the Goliath that your husband went ashore into the French trenches on the right flank to confer with the officer in command concerning the position of some enemy snipers that were worrying them. He went there at considerable risk to his own life, but someone had to go, so he went without any hesitation, and ascertained what was wanted. This great war is taking its hourly toll of brave men, and your husband was one of the best, and he had done his share and more than his share for the country ere he too was called.” Major Barber _m._ in Spain, 5 March, 1912, Satunina Josepha, dau. of Manuel Morales; _s.p._

=BARBER, JAMES WILLIAM=, Petty Officer, 183362, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BARBER, ROBERT=, Seaman, R.N.R., 4186A, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BARCLAY, ALEXANDER=, Private, No. 158, 1st Battn. 1st Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, only _s._ of Alexander Barclay, of 38, Braemar Place, Aberdeen, by his wife, Kate, dau. of John Davidson, M.A.; _b._ Aberdeen, 13 Feb. 1895; educ. Ashley Public School. He went to Australia in May, 1914, having previously served nearly four years in the Royal Engineers (T.F.), and at the outbreak of war volunteered, joined the Australian Imperial Force, and was killed in action at Gabe Tepe, 29 May, 1915; _unm._

=BARCLAY, ALLEN=, 2nd Lieut., 170th Coy. R.E., eldest _s._ of Henry James Barclay, of Wapella, Silverdale, Sydenham, by his wife, Mary Allen, dau. of the late Allen Stoneham, Financial Secretary, Board of Trade; _b._ Penge, S.E., 17 Feb. 1887; educ. The Hall, Sydenham, Dulwich College and Birmingham University. On leaving Dulwich the master wrote: “He is a sound chemist. He works well and systematically; his conduct and industry have always been excellent.” He matriculated at Birmingham in 1905, and took the B.Sc. degree three years later, studying geology, on which he was particularly keen, under Prof. Lapworth. On going down from the University, “to which he has been a credit,” wrote Prof. Redmayne, he was granted a Post-Graduate scholarship, and went out to the Transvaal, where he spent three years as sampler, assistant surveyor and head surveyor to the Consolidated Langlaagte and the new Primrose Gold Mines, doing his work throughout in that thorough manner which was characteristic of his labours. “He has carried out his onerous and responsible duties in a manner very satisfactory to his employers, as well as to the Government Mines Department. Mr. Barclay is a man of high integrity, and is thoroughly capable and experienced. He is leaving at his own request in order to extend his mining experience beyond South Africa,” wrote the manager in 1912. He afterwards went to Burmah, Norway, Spain, etc. On the outbreak of war he applied as an old member of the O.T.C. for a commission, and while waiting for this enlisted in the Royal Engineers. He was soon promoted, quickly becoming L.-Corpl., Corpl. and Sergt. On 16 Nov. 1914, he was gazetted 2nd Lieut., and at the request of his commanding officer was appointed to the regt. in which he was serving. From this he was transferred to the Mining Corps on its formation in Feb. 1915, as an expert. Lieut. Barclay was killed by the exploding of a mine on 24 April, 1915; _unm._ His commanding officer, Capt. Preedy, in announcing his death, wrote as follows: “At the time of his death he was working underground with some of his men. The Germans exploded a mine, killing him and one of his N.C.Os. instantaneously. His men were very anxious to extricate his body to bury him, but having inspected the spot I was reluctantly compelled to forbid them to do so, as it would not have been possible without a very grave risk of losing further lives in the attempt. His body lies buried under about 15 feet of earth half-way between our trenches and the German trenches in the orchard just east of Givenchy.” Canon King, who had known him all his life, wrote: “A more unsullied boy I never came across, and though so retiring and humble, he had, and must have known he had, great gifts.”

=BARCLAY, KENNETH=, Private, No. 1547, G Coy., 1/14th Battn. (London Scottish) The London Regt., 3rd _s._ of Henry James Barclay, of Wapella, Silverdale, Sydenham, S.E., by his wife, Mary Allen, dau. of the late Allen Stoneham, Financial Secretary, Board of Trade; _b._ Sydenham, 31 Dec. 1892; educ. The Hall, Sydenham, and Dulwich College; joined the London Scottish, May, 1911; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war, took part in the charge at Messines and the first battles of Ypres, and was killed in action, 12 Nov. 1914; _unm._ His colonel, writing, says: “No commanding officer could have had under his command a braver or more gallant soldier.” The bell of St. Philip’s Church, Sydenham, suitably inscribed, commemorates him, and a beautiful memorial in bronze and hammered ironwork was placed in the chancel of that church, where for years he sang in the choir. His elder brother, Lieut. Allen Barclay, was killed in action, 24 April, 1915 (see preceding notice).

=BARCLAY, RAFE HEDWORTH MYDDELTON=, 2nd Lieut., King’s Royal Rifle Corps, only _s._ of Hedworth Trelawny Barclay, Major 2/1 Leicestershire Yeomanry, formerly member of the Jockey Club and Clerk of the Course at Hurst Park [a cadet of Barclay of Urie], by his wife, Agnes Mary, yr. dau. of Richard Myddelton, of Chirk Castle, co. Denbigh; _b._ 31, Lennox Gardens, London. S.W., 14 Nov. 1892; educ. Rugby and Army College, Aldershot; joined the 3rd Battn. Wiltshire Regt. 1910, and was promoted Lieut. 2 Aug. 1913. He was gazetted to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps 10 June, 1914, accompanied the first Expeditionary Force to France, went through the retreat from Mons, and was killed in action at the Battle of the Aisne, 14 Sept. 1914, having previously been reported missing; _unm._

=BARDEN, JOHN=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 5332), S.S. 100101, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BARDSLEY, LEONARD=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3163), S.S. 100826, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BARKER, CECIL MASSY ARBUTHNOT=, 2nd Lieut., 6th (Service) Battn. Princess Victoria’s Royal Irish Fusiliers, 3rd and yst. _s._ of Samuel Lindsey-Bucknal Barker, of Belfast and Dublin, by his wife, Catherine Maude, dau. of the Rev. Moses Leatham, Rector of Langfield; _b._ Belfast, 21 Sept. 1895; educ. Campbell College, Belfast, and Trinity College, Dublin; a candidate for Holy Orders, he was gazetted from Dublin University O.T.C. to be 2nd Lieut. 6th Battn. Royal Irish Fusiliers, 22 Sept. 1914; left with his regt. for the Dardanelles, and was killed in action “when bravely leading his men in a splendid attack on a difficult position” at Sulva Bay, Gallipoli, 10 Aug. 1915; _unm._ His brother, the Rev. E. L. B. Barker, is now (1916) serving as Chaplain to the Ulster Division.

=BARKER, ERNEST=, Leading Seaman, Collingwood Battn., Tyneside, 6/213, R.N.D., R.N.V.R., 2nd _s._ of John Barker, Lifton House, Newcastle, Assistant General Secretary of the Boilermakers’ Society and Iron and Steel Shipbuilders’ Society, a member of the Newcastle City Council, by his wife, Laura Jane, dau. of John Leeson, of Crewe, Chester; _b._ Horwich, near Bolton, Lancs., 13 May, 1895; educ. Council schools, Bolton and Newcastle; joined the Tyneside Naval Volunteers, Jan. 1914; killed in action in the Dardanelles, 4 June, 1915; _unm._ Seaman Barker was formerly in the employment of Messrs. R. Robinson & Co., Ltd., wholesale stationers, Clavering Place, Newcastle. His elder brother is now (1916) serving in France with the 19th (Commercial Battn.) Northumberland Fusiliers.

=BARKER, GODFREY=, Major, Royal Marine L.I., Drake Battn., R.N.D., 4th _s._ of Col. Sir Francis Barker, of Essex Lodge, Folkestone, late R.A., by his wife, Jessie, only child of the late John Foster; _b._ Malta, 13 Jan. 1883; educ. King Edward’s School, Birmingham, privately, and Royal Naval College, Greenwich; gazetted 2nd Lieut. R.M.L.I., 1 Sept. 1901, and promoted Lieut. 1 July, 1902, and Capt. 1 Sept. 1912. He served successively on board H.M.S. Firequeen, Magnificent, Exmouth, Victory, Europa, Powerful, Eclipse, Terrible, Hampshire, Prince George, Royal Arthur, and Prince of Wales, and received excellent certificates from his commanding officers. He had qualified as an instructor in physical training. At the outbreak of the war he was appointed Major and Adjutant of the Drake Battn., R.N.D., and was killed in action at Gallipoli, 28 April, 1915; _unm._

=BARKER, HERBERT=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 4600), S.S. 1379, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BARKER, NOAH=, Private, No. 4467, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, yst. _s._ of the late William Barker, by his wife, Elizabeth; _b._ Ketley Sands, Wellington, co. Salop, 22 July, 1881; educ. Board School there; enlisted 21 Nov. 1901; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 26 Aug. 1914, and _d._ at Rentel, 11 Nov. 1914, of wounds received in action. He _m._ at Denaby, near Rotherham, Yorks, 12 Nov. 1905, Rose (10, Albert Street, South Kirkby, near Wakefield), dau. of Samuel Alfred Hodgetts, and had a dau.: Edith Florence, _b._ 13 Feb. 1906.

=BARKER, WILLIAM=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7987), S.S. 102800, H.M.S. Hawke; lost in action in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=BARKS, HERBERT=, Private, No. 7281, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, only child of Abraham Barks, Wales Bar, co. York, by his wife, Emily; _b._ Clowne, co. Derby, 7 July, 1888; educ. Wales School, Wales Bar, Yorks; enlisted 3 June, 1907, and was killed in action at the Battle of the Aisne, 14 Sept. 1914. He _m._ at Hampstead, 27 Sept. 1913, Elizabeth Florence (48, Junction Road, Highgate, N.), dau. of Thomas Rumble, and had a posthumous child: Kathleen Elizabeth, _b._ 24 Sept. 1914. Two of his brothers-in-law, Private Charles Rumble and Gunner Fred Rumble, were killed in action.

=BARKS, ISAAC=, Private, No. 14293, 4th Battn. Middlesex Regt., _s._ of Isaac Barks, of 91, Pembroke Road, New Southport; served with the Expeditionary Force; killed in action at Kemmel, 28 Dec. 1914.