Part 195

=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._

=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.

=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.

=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.”

=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.

=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._

=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.”

=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.”

=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._

=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).

=WEBB, CHARLES ELIJAH JAMES=, Probationary 2nd Cook’s Mate, M. 7800, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WEBB, CHARLES FREDERICK=, Sergt., No. 11428, 1st Battn., King’s Royal Rifles, yr. _s._ of Arthur Stuart Webb, the well-known professional cricketer, etc. (see above notice); _b._ Newport, Isle of Wight, 3 Feb. 1896; educ. Southampton Secondary School; enlisted in Sept. 1914, was promoted Sergt. March, 1915, a week after his brother’s death, and died from wounds received in action at Givenchy, 16 May, 1915, succumbing while on his way to the Field Ambulance; _unm._ His Qr.-Mr. Sergt. G. Knaggs, wrote to his father, at the request of Section Officer Major Barton Frere: “His Battn. attacked the German trenches on the night, 15–16 May, and captured them. Your son was seen to fall wounded, and although his wounds may then have been slight ones, it is possible that he was more severely hit on proceeding to the rear. In any case it is only too evident that he did not reach the Field Ambulance.”

=WEBB, EDGAR DORRINGTON=, Sergt., No. 1164, 21st Battn. (1st Surrey Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Walter Edward Webb, Capt. 14th Battn. (London Scottish), The London Regt., late King’s Own Scottish Borderers by his wife, Annie Elizabeth, dau. of Charles Powell; _b._ Devonport, 5 June, 1891; educ. Dumfries Academy, and Dulwich College, London; was a clerk in the Bank of England, May, 1910, to Aug. 1914; joined the 1st Surrey Rifles in June, 1910; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; went to France, 15 March, 1915; and was killed in action at Brewery Post Trench, near Rue de l’Epinette, Pas de Calais, 5 May, 1915. Buried in British Cemetery, Rue du Bois, near Bethune. Sergt. Webb _m._ at St. Leonard’s Church, Streatham, London, S.W., Annie Florence, dau. of Arthur Henry Cornish; _s.p._

=WEBB, EDWARD CHARLES HARRY=, 2nd Lieut., 3rd (Reserve), attd. 1st Battn. Lincolnshire Regt., only _s._ of Edward Webb, of Cosham House, Cosham, co. Hants and Hindugalla, Peradeniya, Ceylon, Tea Planter, by his wife, Mary Quarry, dau. of William Charles Whitham, of Warangalla, Ceylon; _b._ Hindugalla, 18 Dec. 1894; educ. Haileybury College; passed into Sandhurst in Aug. 1914, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Lincolns, 10 Nov. 1914. He was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 10 March, 1915, and buried in an orchard with other officers and men of the regt.; _unm._

=WEBB, JAMES=, E.R.A., 2nd Class, 270880, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WEBB, JOHN BOYER=, Lieut., 4th Battn. Prince of Wales’ North Staffordshire Regt., attd. 1st. Battn. The Bedfordshire Regt., only _s._ of Capt. Charles Boyer Webb, of Elford House, Tamworth, late 4th Battn. North Staffordshire Regt. (died 26 Feb. 1916), by his wife, Adela Dorothy, dau. of Colonel Arthur Blundells, 3rd East Kent Regt., and grandson of the late Colonel Charles John Webb, who for some time commanded the same regt. (4th N. Staffs); _b._ near Tamworth, 8 June, 1894; educ. Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was gazetted to the 4th Battn. North Staffordshire Regt. 7 Aug. 1914, being quartered at Guernsey till 16 March, 1915, when he was attached to the 1st Bedfords, and promoted Lieut. 1 April following. He was killed in action at Hill 60, near Ypres, 21 April, 1915; _unm._

=WEBB, JOSEPH=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2556), 199206, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WEBBER, CHARLES HENRY=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3852), 197166, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WEBBER, EDWARD CHARLES=, Clerk, Royal Navy, H.M.S. Good Hope, only _s._ of Edward Samuel Webber, of 18, Taswell Road, Southsea, M.B. Cantab, by his wife, Edith, dau. of Dr. John Brickwell; _b._ Sutton Valence, co. Kent, 13 May, 1894; educ. Portsmouth Grammar School, where he was Captain of the Games, 1910 and 1911, and Sergt. in the O.T.C.; entered the Navy, 15 July, 1911; appointed Clerk, 15 July, 1912; appointed to the staff of Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock, 25 Feb. 1913; and went down in H.M.S. Good Hope in the Battle off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914; _unm._