Part 135

=MITCHELL, ARTHUR JAMES=, Officer’s Steward, 3rd Class, L. 3202 (Dev.), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MITCHELL, AUGUSTUS JAMES=, A.B., J. 3087, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MITCHELL, BERTIE FREDERICK=, Leading Seaman (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8923), 200567, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MITCHELL, FREDERICK EUGENE HOBART=, A.B., J. 3975, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MITCHELL, GEORGE JOHN=, Carpenter’s Mate (Pensioner), 157320 (Ports.), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MITCHELL, JAMES BANNERMAN=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8054), S.S. 103779, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MITCHELL, JOHN MONFRIES=, Capt., 1/7th Battn. Royal Scots (T.F.), yr. _s._ of the late Alexander Mitchell, Senior Partner in the firm of John Mitchell & Co. Timber Merchants, Leith, by his wife, Annie (101, Trinity Road, Edinburgh), dau. of Alexander Alexander, of Leith; _b._ Leith, 24 Sept. 1882; educ. Royal High School Edinburgh, and Blairlodge School, Polmont, and was a partner in his father’s firm. He was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 7th (then the 5th Vol.) Battn. Royal Scots, 18 Feb. 1905, and was promoted Lieut. 31 March, 1908, and Capt. 17 April, 1912. On the outbreak of war he volunteered for foreign service, but was killed on his way to the Front in the railway disaster at Gretna, 22 May, 1915; _unm._

=MITCHELL, WILLIAM ALEXANDER=, Corpl., No. 8/437, 8th Southland Coy. Otago Battn. New Zealand Expeditionary Force, yst. _s._ of David Mitchell, of Southland, New Zealand, Manager, Ocean Beach Freezing Works there, by his wife, Ann, dau. of William Crabb, of Laverock Hall, Carmyllie, Scotland; _b._ Invercargill, New Zealand, 29 Sept. 1891; educ. Bluff Public School and the Southland Boys’ High School; was on the staff of the mercantile firm of J. G. Ward & Co., but on the outbreak of war immediately volunteered and joined the 8th Southland Coy. 12 Aug. 1914. He was wounded in the fighting at the Dardanelles, 2 May, 1915, and died at Alexandria, 29 May following; _unm._ He was buried in the Military Cemetery there. L.-Corpl. J. McLeary wrote: “When I was wounded on Sunday night (May 2) I had to crawl back to the Red Cross, and on my way I met Alic Mitchell. He said ‘I will see you up this rise,’ but he had no sooner spoken than he was moaning on the ground, shot in the mouth and arm. He seemed very bad, but we managed to get back without further injury, though the bullets from Turkish rifles and machine-guns were ploughing up the dirt all around us.” Corpl. Mitchell was a keen Territorial and a prominent athlete. For many years he represented Southland at Association football as half back. He was also a Rugby and tennis player and a member of the Bluff Cricket Club.

=MITTEN, THOMAS HENRY=, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 15477, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MOFFAT, ARCHIBALD SKIRVING WOOLERY=, Lieut.-Col., 2nd Battn. Border Regt., 4th and yst. _s._ of James Moffat, of Ken Ervie, co. Kirkcudbright, by his wife, Mary, dau. of Capt. Robert Skirving of Croys; _b._ Castle Douglas, co. Kirkcudbright, 14 Nov. 1867; educ. Craigmount, Edinburgh, and in Switzerland; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to 2nd Border Regt. from the Militia, 10 Nov. 1888; and promoted Lieut. 9 July, 1890; Capt. 26 Aug. 1896; Major, 20 Oct. 1909, and Lieut.-Col. (posthumous) 22 June, 1915, to rank as from 3 May, 1915, and from June 1899, to June, 1903 was Adjutant. He served in the Waziristan Expedition of 1894–95, and received the medal with clasp. At the end of 1909 he joined the 1st Battn. of his regt. in India, and shortly afterwards proceeded to Burma, where he was second in command when war broke out. The battn. was ordered home and arrived in England in Jan. 1915, when he proceeded to France, and rejoined the 2nd Battn. as second in command. He was killed in action whilst leading a charge, during the Battle of Festubert, 16–17 May, 1915, and was buried near the spot where he fell. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatches of 30 Nov. 1915. Lieut.-Col. Moffat excelled in all outdoor games and sports, and did much to encourage athletics among the men of his regt. Almost all his leaves were spent in big game shooting, and he had a fine collection of trophies. He _m._ at Newara-Eliya, Ceylon, 27 April, 1912, Marjorie Armstrong, dau. of Arthur Jadick Just, of Morireby, Newara-Eliya, Ceylon, and had a son: Archibald James, _b._ (posthumous), 18 Aug. 1915.

=MOFFET, JOHN LEESON=, B.Sc. (Hons.), A.M.I.E.E., 2nd Lieut., 3rd Battn. Royal Scots Fusiliers, elder _s._ of Thomas Moffet, of Ingleside, Kingsfield Road, Watford, Assistant Estate and Land Agent to the London & North-Western Railway Co., Chairman of the Watford Public Library and a member of the Watford Urban District Council, by his wife, Elizabeth Ann, dau. of the late John Leeson, of Rugby; _b._ Watford, co. Herts, 17 May, 1888; educ. Watford Grammar School, City and Guilds of London Technical College, Finsbury, and Manchester University, where he graduated B.Sc. (Engineering) with honours. On leaving there he became an Engineering Assistant at the Horwich Locomotive Works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Co. and in 1913 left there to take a position as Electrical Expert to the Chloride Electrical Storage and Battery Co., Clifton, Manchester. At Manchester University he had been in the O.T.C. for four years and a half, and had obtained certificates A and B; on the outbreak of war he applied for a commission and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 3rd Royal Scots Fusiliers, 5 Sept. 1914, and at this date was at Portland in charge of electrical work on a submarine. He went to France on 26 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 10 March following; _unm._ His Commanding Officer wrote: “He was a most promising officer, keen and anxious to learn. He had a high sense of duty and had plenty of confidence in himself”; and another officer: “I last spoke to your son on the morning of March 10 while we were waiting for the artillery bombardment to cease. He was then quite cheery, and certainly not as nervous as a good many of us.” “I was in the same company as your son,” wrote another officer, “and only ten yards away when he was killed. We had been advancing in extended order just after the capture of the German first line of defence, when we suddenly struck some heavy rifle fire. Your son was in front of me with his platoon, and had just given the order to his men to lie down, when he was struck by a bullet through the left lung and died at once, without speaking. He died a noble death, leading his men into action, and it was through turning round himself to warn his men to take cover that he himself was hit.” Lieut. Moffet was an Associate Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and while in training at Greenock received a unanimous invitation to accept the Chairmanship of the Manchester Students’ Section of the Institution. He was awarded the Premium Prize of the Institution for a paper on “Possibilities of Electrical Traction on Railways.” His younger brother, Lieut. Thomas Arthur Moffet, King’s Liverpool Regt. is now (1916) a Railway Transport Officer with the Expeditionary Force in France.

=MOGG, FREDERICK HARRY=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 7907), S.S. 103585, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MOGGRIDGE, ROBERT=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./16964, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=MOHR, JOHN CARL BERNHARDT=, No. G. 1420,2nd Battn. Sussex Regt. s. of Charles Mohr, of 91, Sumner Road, Peckham; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action, 4 Feb. 1915.

=MOIR, ARCHIBALD GIFFORD=, Lieut., 7th Battn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (T.F.), elder _s._ of Archibald Patrick Moir, of Marshill, Alloa, by his wife, Margaret, dau. of Robert Gifford, of London; _b._ Alloa aforesaid, 17 March, 1890; educ. Edinburgh Academy, Banstead Hall, Surrey, and Fettes College, Edinburgh, and on leaving there studied law, qualifying in 1914, with the intention of joining his father in business. He was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 12 May, 1914, and promoted Lieut. 7 Sept. following; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of war in Aug.; went to France in Dec., and was killed in action at Ypres, near Hill 60, 25 April, 1915; _unm._ Buried near St. Jean. Col. Carden, who was killed shortly afterwards, wrote: “He was the most popular officer in the regt. and the best at his work;” and one of his men: “You were asking about Mr. Moir, he was the finest officer in the Battn., everybody liked him. When he fell he was leading us. I have been to his grave, it is behind the firing trench. Everyone of us miss him. We have had other officers, but none like him. All he thought of was his men.” Lieut. Moir was mentioned in Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June], 1915. At Banstead Hall he was captain of the School, and gained all the important athletic prizes; at Fettes College he gained the gold medal in 1908, as the best athlete of his year; was captain of the Cricket XI; was also a brilliant three-quarter back at football, and seemed to be marked out for International honours, but an accident to his knee while playing for the Edinburgh Academicals stopped his football career. He played for his county regularly at cricket, and had many brilliant innings.

=MOIR, JAMES=, Private, No. 1794, 11th Battn. Australian Imperial Force; served in Egypt, and at the Dardanelles; killed in action, 8 Aug. 1915.

=MOIR, JOHN ANDREW ALEXANDER=, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, elder _s._ of Andrew John Moir, of 15, Clive Row, Calcutta, Merchant and Skipper; _b._ London. 1 Dec. 1897; educ. in Germany, and at Southport Modern School, and St. John’s College, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, where he was a Prefect, and on the outbreak of war, at once volunteered and joined the London Scottish (14th London Regt.), 28 Aug. 1914; went to the Front with them in 28 Nov. following; served in the trenches during the winter of 1914–15, and was selected for a commission and gazetted 2nd Lieut. 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5 April, 1915. He fell leading an attack on a small party of Germans in the early morning of 16 June, 1915. His Col., Lieut.-Col. Gore, wrote of him: “I cannot tell you how sorry I am to have lost him. He was a most promising young officer and brave almost to recklessness, and, though he had been with us only a short time, was much liked and esteemed by all his comrades.” He was buried in Ration Farm Cemetery (Bois Grenier), near Armentières. He was an excellent horseman, motor cyclist and swimmer, and founded and managed the Thamesmouth Football Club until it was disbanded on the outbreak of war.

=MOLE, HERBERT=, Sergt., No. 6067, 1st Battn. Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regt., _s._ of Henry Mole, of Charlecote, Warwick; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; died 27 Oct. 1914, of wounds received in action.

=MOLESWORTH, ERNEST KERR=, Major, Royal Engineers, attd. 2nd Queen Victoria’s Own Sappers and Miners, Indian Army, 3rd _s._ of Lieut.-Col. Anthony Oliver Molesworth, of 3, Priory Street, Cheltenham, and of Cruicksfield, Duns, Berwickshire, late R.A., by his wife, Ann Elizabeth, yst. dau. of Major William Hope Smith, H.E.I.C.S., and gdson. of Capt. Anthony Oliver Molesworth, R.A., [brother of Richard Pigott, 7th Viscount Molesworth]; _b._ Montrose, 28 March, 1878; educ. privately and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; gazetted 2nd Lieut. R.E. 23 March, 1898, and promoted Lieut. 14 Feb. 1901; Capt. 23 March, 1907 and Major 30 Oct. 1914. He took part in the Tibet Expedition of 1903–4, and was present at the Delhi Durbars (medals). In 1907 he was attd. to the 2nd Queen Victoria’s Own Sappers and Miners, Indian Army, with headquarters at Bangalore, being appointed Company Commander, April, 1911. He left with the Indian Expeditionary Force for France, 16 Oct. 1914, and was accidentally shot at St. Hilaire, on 31 Dec. following. Major Molesworth _m._ in London, 31 May, 1905, Hilda Rosalie, dau. of Lieut.-Gen. Henry Alexander Brownlow, R.E., and had two children: Brownlow David, _b._ 10 Feb. 1913; and Mollie Rosalie, _b._ 11 March, 1907.

=MOLINEUX, GEORGE KING=, Capt., 2nd Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, elder _s._ of Major Harold Parminter Molineux, of The Cottage, Isfield, Sussex, late Essex (56th) Regt., by his wife, Ross Eugenie Katherine, 2nd dau. of the late Henry King, of Isfield Place, Sussex; _b._ Eastbourne, co. Sussex, 15 April, 1887; educ. Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford; after serving two years in the 3rd Battn. South Staffordshire Regt. he was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 2nd Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, 11 Dec. 1909, and served in England with his Regt. until Sept. 1913, when he proceeded with it to India, being promoted Lieut. 1 Nov. 1913, and Capt. 16 Jan. 1915. He was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, then Viceroy of India, in Aug. 1914, but resigned this appointment in Nov. 1914 in order to accompany his regt. to France on active service. He landed in France in Jan. 1915, and was engaged in transport work for a short time previous to going into the trenches in the Ypres district. On the 7 and 8 May, the Germans concentrated their guns on the salient held by the Brigade in advance of Ypres, the bombardment of the trenches being exceptionally severe. In the assault by the enemy which followed, owing to the giving way of a unit on the right of the Northumberland Fusiliers, the right flank of that regt. was overwhelmed, and Capt. Molineux was last seen wounded and unconscious in his trench, between Wieltje and Frezenberg, by the survivors who retired. He was most popular in his regt. and was beloved by all who knew him. He was _unm._ At Winchester he was in the cricket eleven in 1906, and was captain of Commoner Football. He gained his Harlequin colours at Oxford, and played in several matches for the University, also for Gentlemen of England against Oxford University and for the M.C.C. He was a first-class cricketer, shot, horseman, fisherman, and a good naturalist.

=MOLLOY, CHARLES=, Chief Petty Officer (R.F.R., B. 2975), 171847, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=MOLONEY, JOHN LAWRENCE=, Sergt.-Major, Warrant Officer (1st Class), No. 68888, 22nd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, _s._ of Michael Moloney, Sergt. Sussex Regt., by his wife, Mary; _b._ Chichester, co. Sussex, 17 June, 1873; enlisted, 24 Sept. 1888; served in the South African War (wounded at Lindley; Queen’s medal with two clasps); and with the 7th Division of the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 5 Oct. 1914, and was killed in action near Gheluvelt, Belgium, 29 Oct. following. An officer wrote: “We were in a position near the village of Gheluvelt and were being heavily shelled. The Brigade Staff horses were in a farm shed behind our position, and as a shell set it on fire, Mr. Moloney ordered the horses to be taken out. He saw all safely out and led out the last one himself. Before he was ten yards away from the building, another shell burst near him killing him almost instantly. As you will see from this he died doing his duty; he is buried near where he fell, and the spot is marked by a cross bearing his name. You have all our sympathy, and his loss was deeply felt by all ranks.” Sergt.-Major Moloney was an all-round sportsman and had won many cups and medals for riding and jumping, tentpegging and shooting. He had the Silver Medal for best Man-at-Arms, Bombay Army, won at Poona, 1903, and was for many years a successful competitor at the London Military Tournament. He had the Good Conduct medal. He _m._ at Wimborne, Dorset, 17 Jan. 1905, Janet Christine (14, New Boro’, Wimborne), twin dau. of Samuel and Isabella Foster, of Homeleigh, Wimborne; _s.p._

=MOLLOY, MICHAEL VALLANCEY=, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Sherwood Foresters, elder _s._ of the Rev. Eben Molloy, Vicar of Shenstone, B.A., by his wife, Harriet Rachel Emily, dau. of the late Rev. Thomas Maule Wetherall, Rector of Pelham Parva, M.A. [gdson. of Lieut.-Gen. Vallancey, R.E.]; _b._ Keyston Rectory, co. Huntingdon, 29 Sept. 1894; educ. Mr. Strahan’s School, Hythe, and Rossall School (Mr. Furneaux’s House), where he was in the O.T.C., and obtained Certificate “A”; later joined the Birmingham University O.T.C., and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Special Reserve of Officers, 15 Aug. 1914, being at his own request attd. to the 3rd Sherwood Foresters; went to France early in Jan. 1915, attd. to the 2nd Battn., as Machine Gun Officer, and in April was given a commission in the regular Army; and was killed in action at Hooge, 9 Aug. 1915, while attending to his guns in a captured German trench; _unm._ Buried in Sanctuary Wood, Hooge. Gen. Congreve, V.C., wrote: “I knew him better than almost any of the young officers. I don’t quite know how, and feel I have myself lost a friend. He was an excellent officer--chosen because he was so, for the machine gun command, and he was killed when looking after the guns in a battle in which his brigade did everything it was asked to do”; and Major C. I. D. Hobbs, the commanding officer: “He is a great loss to the regt., as, in addition to being such a keen young officer, full of pluck, he was universally popular with officers and men. He was shot by a bullet through the heart while leading his men against the enemy, and must have been killed instantaneously.” Capt. Chidlow-Roberts, officer commanding C Coy., also wrote: “Everybody is most awfully cut up about it, as he was a top-hole fellow and a jolly good soldier. He was a great friend of mine. The word of it was he was too brave, and shouldn’t have gone down to see about the gun”; and Capt. Noel Chance, R.A.: “Mollie (as we all called him) was to me as dear as a younger brother. No loss has affected me so much in this war, and it has caused a gap that cannot be filled. You must, indeed, be proud to have such a son; brave, extraordinarily courteous, and always anxious to help and be a pleasure to others. He died a death we should all prefer, and he could have felt nothing. I have had two short letters from the regt., and in each case (one from Major Hobbs, the commanding officer, and one from Roberts), the outstanding comment is the loss of ‘Mollie.’ I have never known a boy of his age have so many friends among both senior and junior officers.”

=MOLSON, ERIC ELSDALE=, Lieut., 3rd Battn. The Royal Scots, 2nd _s._ of Major John Elsdale Molson, of Goring Hall, Worthing, and 3, Morton Terrace, Gainsborough, J.P., R.A.M.C. (T.F.), by his wife, Mary, dau. of Dr. Arthur Edmund Leeson, M.A., M.D., Trinity College, Dublin; _b._ Chelmsford, co. Essex, 26 March, 1894; educ. Cheltenham College, and Pembroke College, Cambridge; gazetted 2nd Lieut., Royal Scots, 15 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 2 Feb. 1915; went to France, 21 Dec. 1914, and was killed in action in Flanders, 1 April, 1915, while on duty in a gap between two trenches; _unm._ Buried behind the trenches where he fell. His Colonel wrote: “I had a great admiration for the boy. He was universally popular. We should have considered ourselves very fortunate to get him to come into the regt. permanently. He was such a delightful type of an English gentleman, I often used to think when I looked at him”; and another: “He was very popular with everyone in the battn. and especially with his own platoon. Although he was a strict disciplinarian and insisted on things being thoroughly done, he always did the most dangerous work himself, such as going in front of his trench to put up the barbed wire, with the result that his men had absolute confidence in him. He did some particularly daring sniping work, which resulted in his being twice grazed by the German snipers, once in the head. For this work his name was sent in to the General.” While at Cheltenham he was captain of the College Football XV, 1912–13, a Prefect of the College and winner of the Hornby Prize. His father is (1916) on active service at Newhaven, attached to Military Hospital and Garrison, and his two brothers are (1916) Harold Elsdale Molson, 2nd Lieut., King’s Royal Rifles, who has been wounded, and Gerald Elsdale Molson, Sub-Lieut. in the Royal Navy.

=MONCK, THE HON. CHARLES HENRY STANLEY=, Capt., 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, elder and only surviving _s._ of Henry Power Charles Stanley, 5th Viscount Monck, late Capt., Coldstream Guards, by his wife, Lady Edith Caroline Sophia, née Scott, dau. of John, 3rd Earl of Clonmell; _b._ London, S.W., 9 Nov. 1876; educ. Eton; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Coldstream Guards from the Militia, 15 May, 1897, and promoted Lieut., 9 Nov. 1898, and Capt., 21 Nov. 1903; served in the South African War, 1899–1902; took part in the advance on, and relief of, Kimberley, including actions at Belmont, Enslin, Modder River and Magersfontein; operations in the Orange Free State, Feb.-May, 1900, including actions at Paardeberg, Poplar Grove, Dreifontein, Vet River and Zand River; operations in the Transvaal in May and June, 1900, including actions near Johannesburg, Pretoria and Diamond Hill; operations in the Transvaal, east of Pretoria, July to Oct. 1900, including action at Belfast; operations in the Transvaal, west of Pretoria, Nov. 1900; in Cape Colony, south of Orange River, 1900; in the Transvaal, Nov. to Dec. 1900; and those in Cape Colony, Dec. 1900, to 31 May, 1902; receiving the Queen’s medal with seven clasps and the King’s medal with two clasps; went to France with the British Expeditionary Force, 12 Aug. 1914; was wounded in the thigh, 8 Sept., but rejoined his regt. on the 24th, and was killed in action at St. Julien, 21 Oct. 1914. Buried there. He _m._ at Wellington Barracks Chapel, London, 16 Feb. 1904, Mary Florence, 2nd dau. of Sir William Wyndham Portal, of Laverstoke, 2nd Bart., and had three children: Henry Wyndham Stanley, _b._ 11 Dec. 1905; Elizabeth Noel, _b._ 25 Dec. 1908; and Mary Patricia, _b._ 22 June, 1911.

=MONCKTON, MARMADUKE HENRY=, 2nd Lieut., Royal Garrison Artillery, attd. Royal Flying Corps, elder _s._ of Commander Henry Grant Monckton, by his wife, Maud Lilian, dau. of the Rev. John W. Hallowell; _b._ Clifton, Bristol, 31 May, 1891; educ. Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; gazetted 2nd Lieut., R.G.A., 23 Dec. 1910; went to France, 1914, in charge of an anti-aircraft gun, and was attached to the Royal Flying Corps, 19 March, 1915. He was killed in action on 9 July, 1915, while flying over the enemy’s line near Bailleul. Buried at Bailleul; _unm._ His commanding officer wrote: “He was killed at mid-day to-day, while flying over the enemy’s lines. The attendant circumstances will never be accurately known, but it seems probable from evidence of onlookers that the machine, a Bristol scout, was hit by a fragment of shell and became uncontrollable from about 4,000 feet. Your nephew’s death was instantaneous. He was a gallant pilot and a fine, fearless soldier”; and in a later letter he spoke of his faithful and loyal services to himself.