Part 203

=WORSLEY, CHARLES SACKVILLE PELHAM, LORD=, Lieut., Royal Horse Guards (The Blues), eldest _s._ and heir of Charles, 4th Earl of Yarborough, P.C., by his wife, Marcia Amelia Mary, _suo jure_ 7th Baroness Fauconberg, and 13th Baroness Conyers; _b._ London, S.W., 14 Aug. 1887; educ. Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 5 Oct. 1907, and promoted Lieut. 6 Oct. 1908; was extra A.D.C. to Gen. Sir Douglas Haig, K.C.B., G.C.B., Aldershot command, from 1912 to 1913, when he rejoined his regt.; went to France with the Expeditionary Force in one of the special brigades, and was given the command of the machine-gun detachment, for which work he had been specially trained; and was killed in action at Zandvoorde, Flanders, 30 Oct. 1914. On this day the Germans attempted a general offensive on the whole front from Nieuport to Arras, and there was severe fighting to the south of Ypres, in which region Zandvoorde was one of the Allies’ _points d’appui_. After the engagement Lord Worsley was reported missing, and for some time was believed to be a prisoner, but later evidence of his death in action this day was received. He was gazetted Capt. after his death, 15 Nov. 1915. He _m._ at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, 31 Jan. 1911, the Hon. Alexandra Vivian, dau. of Hussey Crespigny, 3rd Baron Vivian P.C., G.C.M.G.; _s.p._

=WORTABET, JOHN CECIL=, Private, No. 1625, 9th Battn. 3rd Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, only _s._ of Emin Whiting Wortabet, of Babbacombe, Torquay, co. Devon, formerly an Official of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, by his wife, Emma Elizabeth (Marie), dau. of Michael Constantinidi, of Liverpool and Nicosia, Cyprus, and grandson of the late Dr. John Wortabet; _b._ Nicosia, Cyprus, 1 Nov. 1886; educ. The High School, Glasgow, and Bath College; and on leaving there in 1904, joined the Cairo Branch of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, but in 1909 went to Australia and settled in Queensland as an Assistant in a Station; volunteered for Imperial service on the outbreak of war, and joined the 9th Battn. A.I.F., left for Egypt with the third reinforcements, 13 Feb. 1915; went to the Dardanelles, 29 April, 1915, and died on the hospital ship Gascon, 14 May following, of wounds received in action at Gaba Tepe on the previous day; _unm._ He was a good shot and an accomplished horseman.

=WORTH, JOHN ALFRED=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9273), S.S. 106472, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WORTHINGTON, ARTHUR TOM=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1316), 203289, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WRATTEN, WILLIAM HENRY=, Boy, 1st Class, J. 24625, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=WRAY, HERBERT JOHN=, Leading Seaman (R.F.R., B. 1647), 191296, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WRIGHT, ALBERT GEORGE=, Petty Officer, 2nd Class (R.F.R., B. 2091), 173141, H.M.S. Hawke, _s._ of James Wright, of Canewdon, near Rochford, co. Essex; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=WRIGHT, ALLAN O’HALLORAN=, Capt. and Adjutant, 1st Battn. Royal Irish Rifles, yst. _s._ of the late Frederick Wright, Consul at Adelaide, by his wife, Frances Jane (Clanferzeal, Redhill, Surrey), dau. of the late Major Thomas Shuldham O’Halloran, 97th Regt.; _b._ Adelaide, South Australia, 27 April, 1886; educ. St. Peter’s College, Adelaide, and Bedford Grammar School; served some time in the Bedfordshire Royal Engineers (Volunteers), and joined the Sussex Royal Garrison Artillery (Militia) in 1903, was promoted Lieut. 1905, and entered the regular army as 2nd Lieut., 1st Royal Irish Rifles, 29 May, 1907, being promoted Lieut. 22 Jan. 1909, and Capt. 15 Nov. 1914; was Adjutant from 1 Jan. 1913; served in the South African War, 1899–1900, with the Mounted Rifles (Queen’s medal with three clasps); and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from Oct. 1914 to 13 March, 1915, on which date he was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle; _unm._ He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June], 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field. Gen. A. Lowry Cole wrote of him: “We have all lost a dear comrade and a good soldier, who met his death assisting his Col. to lead his Battn. against the enemy.” He was Scout Officer of his Battn., also Instructor of Musketry, Signalling and Gunnery. Went in extensively for polo and all sports, and for music, and composed Military marches and other compositions. He was in action before 14 years of age in the Boer War.

=WRIGHT, CHARLES=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 7555), 189743, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=WRIGHT, EDWARD=, A.B., 213768, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WRIGHT, EDWIN=, Capt. Prince of Wales’s, 3rd Dragoon Guards, only surviving child of James Walker Wright, M. Inst. C.E., London, late Chief Engineer Public Works Department, Assam, India, and Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam, by his wife, Catherine, dau. of Joseph Hodgson, of Crofton Mills, Blyth, Northumberland; _b._ Jalandhar, Punjab, 27 Nov. 1879, came to England, 1883; educ. Bedford Grammar School and Greenwich Naval College, entered the Royal Marine Artillery, as 2nd Lieut., 1 Sept. 1897, promoted Lieut. 1 July, 1898, and left Greenwich, 30 June, 1899. He passed his torpedo course (H.M.S. Vernon), in 1900, and was appointed to H.M.S. Repulse (Channel Fleet), 22 Dec. 1900, till Dec. 1901. On leaving this ship he became Assistant Adjutant in his branch, Jan. 1902, a post he gave up on his promotion to the rank of Capt. 3 Dec. 1904. In the following year (1 Aug.) he took up the Adjutancy of the South-East of Scotland Royal Garrison Artillery Militia, a post for which his big-gun training fitted him. He resigned the Adjutancy 11 Aug. 1908, was placed on half-pay and served as A.D.C. to Admiral Sir Day Bosanquet, Governor of South Australia, from Feb. 1909 to Jan. 1911. Returning to England he took the opportunity offered him of going into the cavalry at the foot of the captains’ list in the 3rd Dragoon Guards at a time when the training of cavalry was exercising the minds of the authorities. He served with the regt. at Aldershot and Hounslow and subsequently at Cairo, till sent to join the Expeditionary Force in France after the outbreak of war. He was killed in action at Ypres, 17 Nov. 1914. His death is thus described in a letter from a comrade: “The Prussian Guard were attacking and some of them rushed into some cottages between Wright’s trench and the next squadron trench; he rushed out of his trench with some men, and killed them all in the cottages, accounting for five himself. He then went back to his trench and took up a rifle and started shooting at the Germans in front, but a piece of bullet took a piece of his left thumb away, and damaged the rifle. This misfortune was followed by the bursting of a shell which killed him.... His squadron took the brunt of the attack, and he was responsible for a splendid piece of work in repulsing it....” His body was taken to Ypres that night and buried in the churchyard there the following day. Splendid testimony of his devotion to his men is given in a letter from Private O’Brien, who writing to his wife said: “There are many instances of bravery I saw myself. One in particular was that of Capt. Wright of my squadron who crept out under a heavy artillery and rifle fire to try and bring in two wounded men. He succeeded in bringing back to the trench Jack Lavery, who had been shot. He also bandaged up and placed in safety L.-Corpl. Fraser, who had the back of his head blown off by a shell.” Capt. Wright _m._ at Adelaide, South Australia, 21 Sept. 1910, Christine Margret, dau. of Thomas Elder Barr-Smith, of Birksgate, Glen Osmond, Adelaide; _s.p._ He was well known as a polo player and at Hurlingham was on the “four” mark.

=WRIGHT, HARRY THOMAS=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5706), 203886, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WRIGHT, HUGH STAFFORD NORTHCOTE=, Capt., 2nd Battn. 8th Gurkha Rifles, 2nd _s._ of the late Frederick Wright, for many years senior superintendent and later Inspector General of Police in Berar, India, by his wife, Frances Louisa (Kilcor Castle, Fermoy, co. Cork), dau. of the late Henry Edmund Goodhall, of Sherwood Lodge, Upper Norwood; _b._ Akola, Berar, India, 14 Dec. 1877; educ. Chigwell School, Chigwell, Essex (Rev. Canon R. D. Swallow), and later at Heidelberg College. He was on plague duty in India, when the South African War broke out, and enlisted in Lumsden’s Horse, sailing from Calcutta 27 Feb. 1900. He obtained his commission in the Army Service Corps, 9 Aug. 1900. Col. Lumsden, in writing to his mother, said: “The pleasure was mine in recommending your boys [Capt. Wright’s younger brother enlisted at the same time] for their commissions. They turned out excellent troopers and fought loyally for Queen and Country; I have no doubt they will do equally well in the future. They are much indebted to General Tucker, who strongly supported my recommendation at Headquarters.” He was promoted Lieut. 1 Nov. 1901, and Capt. 15 Sept. 1909; took part in operations both in the Transvaal and the Orange Colony; entered Pretoria with Lord Roberts, receiving the Queen’s medal with three clasps, and the King’s medal with two clasps, and returned to England in Nov. 1902. After a course at Aldershot, he was sent on duty to Cork, and from there to India for five years, arriving at Bombay 22 Jan. 1904; in 0ct. 1905, he went to Rawal Pindi for manœuvres in connection with the Prince of Wales’ visit; and from 1906–1908 he commanded 13th Mule Corps at Poona, returning to England in Jan. 1909, when he commanded the 15th Coy. A.S.C. at Bulford Camp, Salisbury, till 1912. On 19 April, 1912, he exchanged into the Indian Army, and left England for India the same month, joining the 2nd Battn. 8th Gurkha Rifles at Lansdowne, Himalayas. While here he passed for his Majority, and also in Kushura, the Ghurka language. On 22 Aug. 1914, he left India, embarking at Karachi for France on the S.S. Erinpura, and wrote: “We are now a convoy of 42 transports, all travelling two cables length of each other, H.M.S. Dartmouth in charge. It is really a most impressive sight, and at night looks like a white city.” They arrived at Marseilles 12 Oct. 1914, and were attached to the Meerut Division under Major-General Keary. The regt. went into action at Ypres on the night of the 29th Oct. and Capt. Wright was killed in action on the following day; _unm._ His Commanding Officer sent the following account of the engagement: “At 10 p.m. on the 29th he (Capt. Wright) got his Coy. in the advanced trench, next to that occupied by Capts. Hartwell and Hayes-Sadler. During the night his trench was attacked twice to my knowledge as I was with him during one attack, and with his Double Company Commander Major Wake, in the supporting trench during the other. He did all that man could do to keep his Command in hand, and acted with the greatest courage and coolness. During the very trying shell fire to which these trenches were subjected from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the 30th Oct., he did all it was possible to do. During this time he was wounded, but continued to command his men. When the furious attack developed, it was mainly directed on to his trench and that held by Capt. Sadler. He repelled line after line of the enemy, and held on till a very large proportion of his men had been killed or wounded, and till he himself was killed. What could a man do more? A soldier can do no more than die at his post--game to the last!” General Sir George Richardson wrote: “I had the honour of knowing your boy at Poona, when I was G.O.C. 5th Division, and formed the very highest opinion of him, socially and officially. We all loved him as a first class sportsman and a first class soldier”; and Major-General H. D. Keary, Commanding Meerut Division, wrote: “Professionally I was astonished at the rapidity with which he picked up his profession as an officer in a Gurkha Regt. in surroundings entirely foreign to anything he had previously seen, his previous service having been mostly in the Army Service Corps. I did, in fact, make a special note in the first Annual Confidential Report I wrote of him of my appreciation of the aptitude he had shown in this respect. Throughout the time he served under me, he showed the greatest zeal and capacity, and was an officer in whom I had the greatest confidence, and acknowledge that whatever work he had to do would be well and conscientiously done. He was a good soldier and died a soldier’s death, fighting against fearful odds and under every possible disadvantage.” Capt. Wright was far above the average both at polo and tennis, and played tennis for his Corps (A.S.C.) in Regimental Tournaments at Queen’s Club, twice being in the final; he also had the reputation of being an excellent shot. Once in Central India, while on a shooting expedition, he was walking with his elder brother and a few natives single-file along a narrow path through a thick jungle, when they came face to face with a huge tiger. Capt. Wright shot the animal dead, and saved what might have been a catastrophe; the skin of the tiger, after being cured, was found to measure from end to end, 12 feet.

=WRIGHT, JOHN=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 3267), 187388, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WRIGHT, JOHN HUTTON=, Private, No. 11431, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, _s._ of Albert Henry Wright, of 25, Grange Road, Small Heath, Birmingham; _b._ co. Warwick; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; died at Bethune, 10 Jan. 1915, of wounds received in action. Buried in town cemetery there; _unm._

=WRIGHT, LAWRENCE WILLIAM=, Eng. Lieut. R.N., only _s._ of the late Lawrence Wright, of Orwell, Coatham, by his wife, Mary Livingstone (Orwell, Coatham, Redcar, Yorks), dau. of John Whyte; _b._ Middlesbrough, 4 Oct. 1880; educ. Coatham Grammar School, La Chatelaine College, Geneva, and the Durham College of Science; was an Engineer and volunteered his services after the outbreak of war and was gazetted Eng. Lieut. (temp.) and appointed H.M.S. Bulwark, 11 Sept. 1914; and was lost when that ship was blown up off Sheerness, 26 Nov. 1914; _unm._

=WRIGHT, LEONARD FREDERICK HALL=, Stoker, 2nd Class, K. 19544, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WRIGHT, SYDNEY=, L.-Corpl., No. 2610, 9th Battn. (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.); joined the Queen Victoria Rifles 14 Sept. 1914; went to France 3 Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at Hill 60, 20 April, 1915; _unm._ Buried Larch Wood, 1, 29, Reference Map Belgium, 28, 1/40,000.

=WRIGHT, THOMAS=, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Royal Berkshire Regt., eldest _s._ of Stephen Wright, of Ruskington, Lincolnshire, Farmer, by his wife, Agnes, dau. of J. Christian, of Barrow House, Rutland; _b._ Ruskington, 6 July, 1889; educ. Christ’s Hospital School, Lincoln, and King’s College London (Associate; B.Sc.; A.I.C.); was a Demonstrator in Chemistry; joined King Edward’s Horse in Feb. 1913; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 2nd Berkshires, 24 Dec. 1914; left for France 29 Mar. 1915; and was killed in action 2 May, 1915, in the neighbourhood of Fauquissart, near Laventie, while on a reconnoitring patrol; _unm._ Buried in the Fauquissart Cemetery. His Commanding Officer, Major R. P. Harvey, wrote: “He was on duty in the trenches with his platoon and had taken out a sergt. and a man to reconnoitre a trench half way between the opposing lines. At 8 p.m. he returned to report that he had seen footmarks leading to the enemy’s trench. About 10 p.m. he asked permission to go on the next patrol as this was a duty which he particularly liked, and was allowed. While peering in the darkness, both he and the sergt. who was with him showing their heads above a flimsy parapet, a volley from the enemy was fired and your son was struck through the head, heart and wrist. He fell dead without a sound. The sergt. was unable to move him, but returned and reported. A brother subaltern and three men at once set out to find his remains which they brought down to headquarters by midnight. He was laid to rest in the little cemetery of Fauquissart where some 30 men of his Battn. lie. Having trained your son at Portsmouth when he joined this battn., I can testify personally to the loss the regt. has sustained in the death of a most promising young officer. One who was always willing, quite reliable, and of a most placid and cool temperament in danger.”

=WRIGHT, THOMAS=, Private, No. 20061, 4th Battn. East Kent Regt. (The Buffs) (T.F.), eldest _s._ of William Worley Wright, of Bexhill, by his wife, Ellen; _b._ Bexhill, 19 April, 1854, enlisted in Oct. 1915, and died at Faversham, 30 Dec. 1915, of pneumonia, contracted while in training. He _m._ at the Baptist Church, Erith, 6 July, 1890, Fanny (60, Kingsley Road, Maidstone), dau. of William Town; _s.p._

=WRIGHT, WILLIAM=, L.-Corpl., No. 8820, 4th Battn. Middlesex Regt.; served with the Expeditionary Force in France; killed in action, 17 Jan. 1915.

=WRIGHT, WILLIAM=, E.R.A., R.N.R. 425EB, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WRIGHT, WILLIAM=, Leading Stoker (Coastguard), 306457 (Dev.), H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=WRIGHT, WILLIAM HENRY=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 17936, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.

=WROUGHTON, MUSGRAVE CAZENOVE=, 2nd Lieut., 12th (Prince of Wales’s Royal) Lancers, only _s._ of William Musgrave Wroughton, of 77, Chester Square, London, S.W., and of Creaton Lodge, co. Northampton, by his wife, Edith Constance, dau. of Henry Cazenove, of Lilies, Aylesbury, and nephew of Philip Wroughton, of Woolley Park, co. Berks, M.P., J.P., D.L. (see The Plantagenet Roll, Mortimer-Percy, Vol. 1. p. 203); _b._ in London, 1 Oct. 1891. He was educ. at Harrow and at Christchurch, Oxford, and during his school and college vacations was a keen follower of the Pytchley Hounds, of which pack his father was master for many years. On leaving Harrow he received a commission in the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, and in 1912 he accompanied Sir Robert Baden-Powell as A.D.C. on his world tour in connection with the Boy Scouts’ movement. After serving for four years in the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, he was given a commission in the Special Reserve, 12th Lancers, as 2nd Lieut. (on probation) in Oct. 1913; the appointment was confirmed after his death, to date from 29 Oct. 1914. In Aug. 1914, he accompanied his regt. to the Front, and was mentioned in Sir John French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field. He was killed in action near Ypres, 30 Oct. 1914, and was buried in Kemmel Churchyard, Belgium; _unm._

=WYATT, ERNEST JOHN=, Stoker, 1st Class, 307234, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WYKES, WILLIAM=, Private, No. 2912, 2/10th Middlesex Regt. (T.F.), 3rd _s._ of Henry Wykes, of 29, West View Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, Builder’s Manager, by his wife, Henrietta Adela Louisa, dau. of Laurance Rose; _b._ Hemel Hempstead, 16 May, 1892; educ. Council School there; was a Draper; volunteered and enlisted in Oct. 1914; went to the Dardanelles in July, 1915; took part in the landing at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, and died in Hospital at Alexandria, 1 Nov. 1915, of dysentery contracted in the trenches. Buried in Chatby Military Cemetery; _unm._

=WYLD, GEORGE RICHARD=, Capt., 3rd (Reserve) Battn. Wiltshire Regt., attd. 1st Berkshire Regt., only _s._ of the Rev. Edwin George Wyld, Vicar of Melksham, Wilts, Canon of Salisbury, by his wife, Mary Caroline, eldest dau. of Sir Hungerford Pollen, 3rd Baronet; _b._ Woodborough, co. Wilts, 8 July, 1879; educ. Marlborough, and on leaving there entered the Stock Exchange. He served through the South African War, 1899–1902, with the 13th Middlesex V.R.C. (now the Queen’s Westminsters) and received the Queen’s medal with four clasps, and was appointed an Hon. Lieut. in the Army, 1 July, 1901. When the European War broke out he was on the Reserve of Officers and immediately volunteered for foreign service, and after being attached to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 19 Aug. 1914, was gazetted Capt. 3rd Wilts Regt., 7 Oct. following. He went to France with the 7th Division, attd. to the 1st Berkshires, Oct. 1914, and was killed in action at Givenchy 24 Dec. 1914; _unm._ The Chaplain wrote: “He was most popular with his brother officers of the Berkshire Regt., and was considered very efficient in his duty, and it was whilst bravely doing his duty in trench at Givenchy that he was mortally wounded by a bullet.”