Part 28

=BROCKBANK, SIEGFRIED HARRISON=, Private, No. 2559, 7th Battn. Middlesex Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of James Harrison Brockbank, by his wife, Nettie Carpenter (the distinguished violinist known as Madame Nettie Carpenter), dau. of Dr. Wesley M. Carpenter, of New York; _b._ Highgate, 4 Feb. 1895; educ. Westminster Cathedral Choir School, and after spending five years there went to St. Edmund’s as a church student in Sept. 1908. He was placed in the 2nd School of Rudiments, but showing more than average ability, was promoted to the 1st School of Rudiments at the beginning of the spring term, 1909. At the end of the year, feeling that he had no vocation to the priesthood, he left the college and returned to the Choir School, where he remained for about a year. In Oct. 1910, he entered the Civil Service, but only remained there 18 months, as by that time a position in a London bank was offered him, which he accepted. In this profession he was making rapid progress when the war broke out. Cheerfully sacrificing all future prospects, he was among the first to join the New Army, enlisting in the 7th Middlesex Territorials on 10 Aug. Owing to previous experience in the Civil Service Cadet Corps, where he had obtained the rank of colour-sergt., he was dispensed from preliminary training, and on 2 Sept. he left England to take up garrison duty at Gibraltar. After six months spent at the Mediterranean fortress, he returned to London about the middle of Feb., and on 12 March left for active service in France. In a letter dated 27 May, 1915, he wrote: “Before the scourge, as we call the attack we made or helped to make on the 9 May, I had been feeling rather seedy for some time back, but I recovered just in time, and was luckily feeling fit. On the 7th I took part in what ‘Eye-witness’ in The Times of the 13th describes as a brilliant little affair of outposts, which took place in front of our trenches. The next platoon to us was holding the head of a sap, a sort of trench that ran from our lines slant-wise up to within 30 yards of the German trench. On the night of the 7th some Allemands raided the head and got in, but were speedily put to flight. We had sustained a few casualties, but they left four dead on the spot. While it was going on a wounded fellow of ours rushed up and said that the Germans were inside the sap. You can imagine the feelings with which I, one of the first to reinforce, went up to this sap in the pitch darkness, expecting every moment to find the Germans in possession. Luckily it was all over, except for an anxious all-night watch. The next evening was filled with preparation for the attack. Wire-cutting parties, ladder carrying parties, grenadiers, and lastly the assaulting troops coming in at night. We were moved a little in rear occupying a redoubt. After our bombardment we saw our fellows going over the parapet, their bayonets gleaming in the lovely sunshine--a stirring sight. We heard they had carried three lines of enemy trenches. Then the Germans shelled us, being the supports, and I think the strongest of us got terrified as the shells burst all around us. We were all heartily glad when in the evening the order came to man the trenches, and we found our fellows had been beaten back. The trench (our firing trench) was full of the remnants of the battns., and the whole air alive with hubbub. The Germans turned a heavy machine gun fire on to us, and the artillery started sending red-hot shells across the black sky. Morning revealed many painful sights, but we were glad to hear that the French had advanced considerably at the same time as we made our attack. We had drawn their reinforcements to us. I do not think our casualties were over heavy, as very many wounded crawled back under cover of night, and they will mostly recover. I have taken on a job the nature of which I must not mention, which precludes me from the trenches for a little while.” This it afterwards transpired was to learn grenade throwing, some 200 yards behind the firing trenches. On 5 June, the enemy finding the range of the French headquarters by means of their aeroplanes, subjected them to heavy shell fire. He fell covered with wounds, and expired a few minutes later from shock without regaining consciousness. Writing to his mother, his Capt. said: “He was always bright and cheerful and a thoroughly good soldier, and was liked and respected by officers and men alike. His company put a small wooden cross on his grave with I.H.S. upon it, which they took from a ruined church near by, knowing he was a Catholic.”

=BROCKELBANK, LAURENCE SEYMOUR=, Lieut., 3rd, attached 1st, Battn. King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt., _s._ of George Seymour Brockelbank, of Elm Lodge, Blackheath, member of the London Stock Exchange, by his wife, Julia, dau. of the late Henry Turner, of Court Lodge, Knockholt, Kent; _b._ Eliot Park, Blackheath, 21 Sept. 1892; educ. Lindesfurn, Lee and Tonbridge School; entered the army as 2nd Lieut. 3rd Battn. King’s Own, 5 May, 1914, and is believed to have been killed at the Battle of Cambray, 26 Aug. 1914, being reported missing from that date. Lieut. Douglas C. Robinson wrote, 1 Nov. 1914: “On 26 Aug. all the young officers had been accounted for except your boy. Some of the Lancashire Fusiliers told me when they went up to clear away the wounded that they saw a very young-looking officer, the description of which tallied with your son, lying dead absolutely next to our Colonel (Col. Dykes). Unfortunately we could not get up to them afterwards.” From a statement made to the Rev. Gabin McFadyeen, of Saltash, by Private Copperwhaite, who had for some time acted as Lieut. Brockelbank’s servant, it appears that the “King’s Own” had been surprised by the German machine guns and lost heavily. Lieut. Brockelbank led his men heroically after he had been wounded, but a retreat became necessary, and while that was in progress he was killed instantaneously by the bursting of a shell. According to the list compiled by Capt Davy, R.A.M.C., he was buried at Hautcourt, between Cambray and Le Cateau. He was gazetted Lieut. 2 Feb. 1915; _unm._

=FITZHERBERT-BROCKHOLES, THOMAS JOSEPH=, Capt., 2nd Battn. Rifle Brigade, eldest _s._ of William Joseph Fitzherbert-Brockholes, of Claughton Hall, Garstang, co. Lancaster, J.P., D.L., C.A., by his 2nd wife, Blanche Winifred Mary, dau. of the late Major-Gen. the Hon. Sir Henry Hugh Clifford, V.C., K.C.M.G., C.B.; _b._ London, 4 May, 1887; educ. The Oratory School, Edgbaston, and New College, Oxford; gazetted to 3rd Battn. Rifle Brigade, then in England, 24 June, 1908, but exchanged in July, 1910, to the 2nd Battn. then at Calcutta; was promoted Lieut. 15 Feb. 1911, became Adjutant 21 Feb. 1914. On the outbreak of war he returned with his battn. to England (Oct.), and went with it to the Front early in Nov., and was promoted Capt. on the 15th of that month. He was wounded on 20 Dec., but not seriously, and was able to remain on duty, and was on constant service with his battn. in the trenches (with the exception of a short leave of seven days) until the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, when the 2nd Battn. was given a leading part in the attack, and was the first to get through the village on 10 March and entrench themselves on the far side of it. Two days later he was shot through the head while directing the fire of a machine gun in beating off a violent counter-attack, and died 14 March without recovering consciousness. Capt. Fitzherbert-Brockholes was mentioned for his services in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 31 May. When in India he secured a special certificate at the School of Signalling at Kasauli, and a First Class at the School of Musketry. He was very keen and good at games and all kinds of sport, did excellent work in the cricket field for the Oxford University Authentics and the Green Jackets, and played polo for his regiment. All who came in contact with him spoke in the highest terms of his efficiency as a soldier, of his absolute fearlessness, and of his consideration for others.

=BROCKIE, DAVID=, Private, No. 75230, A Coy., 29th (Vancouver) Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, elder _s._ of the late Thomas Brockie, of Hawthornside, Hawick, co. Roxburgh, Farmer, by his wife, Anne Henderson, dau. of the late William Renwick, of Byrecleuch and Chapel Mains, co. Berwick; _b._ Hawthornside afsd., 1 Dec. 1878; educ. Hobkirk Public School, and Teviot Grove Academy, Hawick, and after a business training went to India, where he was for seven years with Whitaway, Laidlaw & Co. After a brief visit home he went to Vancouver about 1911, and after the declaration of war volunteered and joined the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada in Oct. 1914. He was transferred to the 29th Battn., came over with the second Contingent, went to France, 17 Sept. 1915, and was mortally wounded on 4 Nov. following, and died two days later in No. 2 Clearing Station at Bailleul. He was buried in the cemetery there; _unm._ For going to his assistance when he fell wounded and carrying him to a place of safety while under heavy fire, L.-Corpl. Alfred J. Hourston was awarded the D.C.M.

=BROCKLEHURST, EDWARD HENRY=, Capt., 6th (Rifle) Battn. The King’s Liverpool Regt. (T.F.), 5th _s._ of the late Henry Brocklehurst, of Sefton Park, Liverpool, by his wife, Ellen, dau. of William Hutchings; _b._ Waterloo, near Liverpool, 15 May, 1878; educ. Harrow, and became a chartered accountant. He joined the volunteers in 1900 and was made Capt. of the 6th Battn. King’s Regt. 22 June, 1910, when he secured the certificate of proficiency qualifying him for higher rank. He was on the Special Reserve of officers, and had been gazetted as regimental instructor of musketry a short time before war broke out. He immediately volunteered for foreign service, and was killed while leading a charge at Hill 60, near Ypres, 5 May, 1915; _unm._

=BROCKLESBY, DENNIS=, Armourer’s Crew, M. 6674, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BROCKWELL, WILLIAM JAMES=, Stoker, Petty Officer, K. 2386, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BRODIE, EWEN JAMES=, 11th of Lethen and Coulmony, co. Nairn, D.L., Capt., 1st Battn. Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, 2nd and only surviving _s._ of the late James Campbell John Brodie, 9th Laird of Lethen and Coulmony, Lord Lieut. of co. Nairn, by his wife Fanny Sophia Constance, dau. of Edmund Thomas Wedgwood Wood, of Henley Hall, co. Salop; _b._ at Lethen, 17 July, 1878; educ. Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge; gazetted as 2nd Lieut. from the Militia to the 2nd Battn. of the Cameron Highlanders, 26 May, 1900, and was promoted Lieut. 22 Jan. 1902, and Capt. 3 May 1911. He served in the Mediterranean, Africa and China, and from 1909 to 1913 was Adjutant to Lovat Scouts (T.F.), when he rejoined the 1st Battn. of the Camerons at Edinburgh Castle. On the outbreak of war, in Aug. 1914., he went to the Front with the Expeditionary Force, took part in the Battle of the Aisne, and all the fighting preliminary to the First Battle of Ypres, and fell in action, in the encounter with the Prussian Guards at Ypres, 11 Nov 1914. At the time of his death he was acting as Adjutant of his battn. and was one of the only three survivors of the officers of the regt. who had left Edinburgh Castle ten weeks before. He was buried near some men of his regt., close to the spot where he fell. He _m._ 4 Jan. 1911, Marion Louisa, eldest dau. of William Stirling, of Fairburn and Monar, co. Ross, and had three children, David James, _b._ 27 Oct. 1911; Peter Ewen, _b._ 6 May, 1914; and Helen Charlotte, _b._ 22 June, 1913.

=BROMLEY, CUTHBERT=, Major and Adjutant, 1st Battn. Lancashire Fusiliers, _s._ of the late Sir John Bromley, C.B., J.P., formerly of the Exchequer and Audit Department, Somerset House, afterwards Accountant General of the Board of Education, by his wife, Marie Louise (Sutton Corner, Seaford, Sussex), dau. of the late Richard Bowman, of Maidenhead; _b._ Earl’s Terrace, London, W., 19 Sept. 1878; educ. St. Paul’s School and received a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Lancashire Fusiliers from the Militia, 4 May, 1898, and was promoted Lieut. 28 Dec. 1898. In Sept. 1899, he was sent from Aldershot to Malta and received his company, 15 June, 1901. It is interesting to note the fact that when he received his company he was barely twenty-two, and he and a junior Subaltern (Gaspard de Coligny Le Marchant) are said to have been the two youngest captains in the British Army. While in Malta, the South African War broke out, and in order to be fully qualified he and Capt Le Marchant joined the Malta Mounted Infantry, but as his Commanding Officer (Capt. Hamilton) fell ill, he had to remain behind in Malta temporarily to take his place. In 1901–3 Major Bromley was seconded for service with the West African Frontier Force, and took part in the punitive expedition in the Aro country, and had the West African (S. Nigeria) 1901–2 and Aro medals with clasps. While in Southern Nigeria he gained the Royal Humane Society’s Certificate for saving a native’s life from drowning, by holding him up 8½ hours in the water. During 1906–7, he was Superintendent of Gymnasia, Irish Command, but resigned this post to rejoin his own regt. the Lancashire Fusiliers, and in 1909 went with it to India, serving for some time as Transport Officer. He was appointed Adjutant, 4 May, 1914, and took keen interest in the regimental sport and in organising the men’s games. His regt., with others from India, arrived in England 13 Jan. 1915, and started on the Dardanelles Expedition on 15 March, 1915; he was in the 29th Division and his Brigade (the 86th Infantry) was the first to land on W. Beach (Lancashire “Landing”) on that memorable 25 April, their duty being to cover the disembarkation of the rest of the Division. An officer who was there said, “Bromley and Needham were always forward, leading and cheering on; all were good, but then were splendid.” On 28 April, Major Bromley was wounded in the thigh, and when examined by the doctors was found to have been wounded in the back on the day of the landing. After three weeks in hospital, he rejoined his regt. on the Gallipoli Peninsula and was again wounded by shrapnel in the foot on 28 June. An officer wrote: “He was wounded at the beginning of the charge from our trenches. When he was picked up he made the men help him forward to lead the attack.” After six weeks in hospital at Cairo and at Troodos, he started from Alexandria for Cape Hellas on the ill-fated Royal Edward, with a draft of sixty-four men, as senior military officer “Commanding the troops on board.” The ship was torpedoed in the Aegean Sea and sank in about 4½ minutes, on 14 Aug. 1915. Major Bromley had not been well that morning, having a touch of fever and was the last to jump overboard. He was injured in the head by wreckage and rendered partially unconscious, and but for that would undoubtedly have had strength to swim to the Hospital Ship Sudan. His fate was the more tragic as from boyhood he had always been such an expert swimmer, and when at Malta swam five miles, from there to the Island of Gozo. His Commanding Officer wrote: “So passed one of the bravest officers I have known, my friend for years, and one of the most popular men in the regt.” He was mentioned in Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton’s Despatch of 20 May [London Gazette, 5 Aug.], 1915, and had been gazetted temporary Major [London Gazette, 3 Aug. 1915] to rank as from 6 June. He was _unm._

=BROMLEY, HERBERT ASSHETON= (Jett), Lieut., No. 3 Coy., 7th Battn (1st British Columbia Regt.), Canadian Expeditionary Force, yst. _s._ of the late Sir Henry Bromley, 5th Bt., by his wife, Ada, only child of Westley Richards; _b._ Stoke Newark, 16 Oct. 1879; educ. Farnborough and Eton, was Private Secretary to his brother, Sir Robert Bromley, Bt., Administrator of St. Christopher and Nevis (1905–6) and afterwards to the Hon. James Dunsmuir, Lieut.-Gov. of British Columbia; joined the 88th Fusiliers at Victoria, B.C., when that battn. was formed three years ago; on the outbreak of war volunteered for service overseas, was gazetted Lieut. on formation of Canadian Expeditionary Force, 21 Sept. 1911, and was killed in action at the second Battle of Ypres, 24 April, 1915; _unm._ Describing his death, a comrade said: “He was badly wounded in the trenches, but leaped out and led his men in a magnificent charge, calling out ‘we have got to win, follow me.’ He was quite alone away in front of his men and died a glorious death.” His Company Commander, Major R. C. Cooper, wrote to the Editor as follows: “I would, as the late Lieut. H. A. Bromley’s Company Commander, like to express my very high appreciation of him, both as an officer with the welfare of his men at heart, and as a personal friend. Mr. Bromley was invaluable to me in France with his intimate knowledge of the language and customs. His men were devoted to him and missed him greatly when wounded in the head on the 16 March at Fleurbaix. He returned to us on 27 March and remained with the battn. up to ‘Our Day’--doing duty in the trenches from the 14 to the 19 April, two days in billets and then the gas and subsequent heavy fighting. In Victoria, B.C., he was a member of the 88th Victoria Fusiliers, some time as a Company Officer and the remainder as Adjutant. He served with the regt. in the coal strikes at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, 1913–14. On the outbreak of war he was one of the first officers selected for Active Service, being posted to my company, left for Valcartier, 28 Aug. 1914, and for England, 27 Sept. 1914, arriving at Plymouth, 15 Oct. 1914--four months of rain at Salisbury Plain and then to France. We all mourn ‘Brom.’ as a pal and soldier. His last idea, and his was a forlorn hope, was to charge and scupper some of the Boches before going under himself. His platoon on 21 April lost twenty-one killed, sixteen wounded, three prisoners and eight wounded and prisoners. This record tells of his work.”

=BROOKE, JAMES ANSON OTHO=, =V.C.=, Capt., 2nd Battn. The Gordon Highlanders, eldest _s._ of Capt. Harry Vesey Brooke, of Fairley, Countesswells, co. Aberdeen, J.P., D.L., late 92nd Gordon Highlanders, by his wife, Patricia, only child of James Gregory Moir Byres, of Tonley, co. Aberdeen, and gdson. of the late Sir Arthur Brinsley Brooke, of Colebrooke Park, co. Fermanagh, 2nd Bt., M.P.; _b._ Fairley, Aberdeenshire, 3 Feb. 1884; educ. Wellington and Sandhurst, and received his commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Gordon Highlanders, 11 Oct. 1905, and joined the 1st Battn. at Cork in November. The following year he was promoted Lieut. (5 Aug. 1907) and transferred to the 2nd battn. in India, where he served till 1913. He was present at the Delhi Durbar and as Senior Subaltern he was one of the officers who received new colours from King George, and was awarded the Durbar medal. In 1913, the regt. went to Egypt and were stationed there till the outbreak of war, when (Oct. 1914) they were ordered to the Front. Lieut. Brooke was the Senior Subaltern and acting as assistant Adjutant. The 2nd battn. of the Gordons landed at Zeebrugge and after many days’ severe fighting, the regt. along with the rest of the Division found themselves on 29 Oct. attacked by very superior forces at Gheluvelt. Here it was that Lieut. Brooke was killed, having, as his Col. wrote, by his gallantry “saved the situation.” The Germans having broken through, he changed the formation of the line three times and finally led an assault on, and captured an important trench at a most critical moment. For this he was mentioned in Despatches and awarded the Victoria Cross, the official record stating: “For conspicuous bravery and great ability near Gheluvelt on 29 Oct. in leading two attacks on the German trenches under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, regaining a lost trench at a very critical moment. He was killed on that day. By his marked coolness and promptitude on this occasion Lieut. Brooke prevented the enemy from breaking through our line at a time when a general counter-attack could not have been organised.” At Sandhurst he was Capt. of the Shooting Eight, was senior Colour-Sergt. of the College, won the Sword of Honour, tied for the Saddle, etc. He was _unm._