Part 32

=BUCKNILL, JOHN CHARLES=, 2nd Lieut., 4th Battn. Hampshire Regt. (T.F.), elder _s._ of John Townsend Bucknill, of Thomfield, near Bitterne, co. Hants., Lieut-Col. late R.E., by his wife, Catharine Raworth, only surviving child of William Rudkin Morris, of Luffenham, co. Rutland, and grandson of the late Sir John Charles Bucknill, M.D., F.R.S.; _b._ Ditton Hill, Surrey, 19 Oct. 1879; educ. Wellington College, and Emmanuel College, Cambridge (B.A.), and became an architect, studying in London and Italy. He practised at Southampton. At the outbreak of the war he applied for a commission, and finally obtained one, 12 Sept. 1914, in the 4th Battn. (T.F.) of the Hants Regt., and with it left for India, Oct. 1914: going to Mesopotamia in March, 1915. During the summer the battn. was quartered at Basrah, and the damp heat, often 110° F. in the shade, killed seven men by sunstroke, the older men and officers, including the subject of this memoir, his age being 36, only being able to stand it. Later the battn. took part in the advance up the Tigris and Euphrates, and in the affair at Gurma Safha and the engagement at Nasiriyeh, where only five officers of the battn. got through unwounded; Bucknill was one of them. Soon afterwards they were brought back to Kurna and sent up the Tigris, a party of the 4th Hants being employed on river work and assisting to clear the barrage, Bucknill as a yachtsman being usefully employed. At Amara they rested for some time to garrison this base, and for seven weeks he acted as paymaster, and subsequently as quartermaster. In the advance on Baghdad under Gen. Townshend one company took part, and the rest of the battn. went up with Gen. Aylmer’s relief force, and fought at the Battle of Filahey in support of the attack by the Black Watch and Seaforths. These battns. and the 4th Hants lost most of their officers and men killed and wounded, among whom Lieut. Bucknill was first reported as missing, 21 Jan. 1916, but on 12 April he was officially reported in England as “killed in action” 21 Jan. 1916. He was a most useful and keen officer, and much appreciated in his battn. He was mentioned in Sir John Nixon’s Despatches of 1 Jan. [London Gazette, 6 April, 1916] for services on Euphrates, 26 June-25 July, 1915, and on 17 April, 1916, it was announced that he had been granted the Military Cross by His Majesty the King. He _m._ at Bitterne, 22 Sept. 1908, Margaret Maria Mary, dau. of Clement Lister; _s.p._

=BUCKNILL, LLEWELLYN MORRIS=, Major, Royal Field Artillery, yr _s._ of John Townsend Bucknill, of Thomfield, near Bitterne, co. Hants, Lieut.-Col. late R.E., by his wife, Catharine Raworth, only surviving child of William Rudkin Morris, of Luffenham, co. Rutland, and grandson of the late Sir John Charles Bucknill, M.D., F.R.S; _b._ Notting Hill, London, 20 June, 1881; educ. Wellington College and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the R.F.A. 12 May, 1900, and promoted Lieut. 3 April, 1901, Capt. 13 Feb. 1910, and Major 30 Oct. 1914. He served in Northern Nigeria on special work, April, 1907–June, 1908, and with the 22nd Brigade in South Africa, Sept. 1912–Aug. 1914. The Brigade returned to Europe in August, and mobilised for war in the New Forest, forming part of the 7th Division which embarked for Belgium 5 Oct. 1914. He was promoted Major on the 30th, and soon after was appointed to command of the 105th Battery. On 16 May he was severely wounded in the spine. His signaller most gallantly carried him back under heavy fire, but early on the 18th he died in hospital at Bethune. He was buried in the town cemetery there. Major Bucknill was twice mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatches, first on 17 Feb. 1915, for his services during the early fighting at Ypres, and again on 1 Jan. 1916. Col. Alexander, V.C., Officer commanding 22nd brigade R.F.A., wrote: “Your husband was severely wounded whilst performing his duty in his usual fearless manner,” and Major H. W. Hill, R.F.A., wrote: “During the early part of the war I had the privilege of commanding the 105th Battery, and Major Bucknill was then my Capt. On all occasions he proved himself a most capable and conscientious soldier, full of dash and resource, and a very loyal comrade. His magnificent bravery at Ypres, and in the early days of November, near Gheluvelt, did not happen to be officially recognised, but was known and appreciated by his brother officers.... Major Bucknill will long be remembered by those who served with him.” Many other letters of a like nature from his brother officers and men were received by his widow and his father. Major Bucknill was a fine horseman, and when his Brigade went to Ireland in 1911 he became master of the regimental pack of harriers at Cahir. He was also a good shikar and captured some fine heads in N. Nigeria, although game was scarce. He was a scientific collector of coleoptera and lepidoptera, and able to interest professors at the British Museum. He _m._ at St. Michael’s Church, Hathersage, co. Derby, 24 Sept. 1913, Mary Ashton, dau. of the late Col. Ashton John Shuttleworth, of Hathersage Hall, co. Derby, R.A.; _s.p._

=BUCKNOLE, WALTER SAMUEL=, Seaman, R.N.R., 4239A, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BUCKTROUT, HORACE=, Stoker, 2nd Class, K. 19976, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BUDD, WRINCH JOSEPH CHARLES=, Lieut., 2nd Battn. South Wales Borderers, 2nd _s._ of Ebenezer Budd, of 84, Melrose Avenue, Norbury, co. Surrey, by his wife, Mary Maria, dau. of William Bristow, of Chelsea; _b._ 23 Sept. 1877; educ. United Westminster Schools; and in Feb. 1904 was appointed Chief Clerk in the employ of the Shanghai Municipal Council Electricity Dept. He was with the Queen’s Westminsters from 1894 to 1900, and passed for sergt., and served with the City of London Imperial Volunteers (M.I.) in South Africa, 1900. From 1905–8 he was a member of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, and served with the reserve company from 1908 to 1914. At the outbreak of war he volunteered and was granted a commission in Shanghai on 14 Dec. 1914. On his arrival in England he was promoted Lieut. 22 Feb. 1915, and was attached to the 9th Battn. South Wales Borderers stationed at Pembroke Dock and left home with a draft for the East, at the end of May. He landed at the Dardanelles, 10 June, 1915, and was killed on 28 June following; _unm._ He won several prizes for shooting, and formed one of the Shanghai team at Bisley in 1901, and was a Freemason.

=BUHAGIAR, CARMELO=, Officers’ Steward, 1st Class, 360408, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BULL, ALFRED GEORGE=, A.B., 221911, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BULL, ARTHUR EDWARD=, Fitter, No. 42616, 118th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, eldest _s._ of Edward Bull, Steward at the Bishop’s Stortford Golf Club, late Sergt.-Major, Rifle Brigade, by his wife, Annie Maria, dau. of Mathew Barnard; _b._ Farnham, co. Surrey, 27 Aug. 1890; educ. Army Schools; joined the Army, 5 March, 1906, and was trained as a fitter at the Ordnance College, Woolwich; he went to France with the Expeditionary Force in Aug. 1914, and was at first reported missing, and later killed in action. From one of the only two survivors of the two gun sections of the 118th Battery, who was exchanged as disabled in Feb. 1915, it was learnt that Bull was knocked over and killed on 27 Aug. 1914, as he was taking out a round from the ammunition boxes to hand up to the gun at Etreux during the retreat from Mons; _unm._

=BULL, BERNARD WILLIAM=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 10511), 214140, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BULL, GODFREY JOHN OSWALD=, Lieut., 2nd East Lancashire Field Co., R.E., 3rd _s._ of Col. William Henry Bull, F.R.C.S., K.H.S., V.D., J.P., Assistant Director of Medical Services, South Midland Division, by his wife Emma Elizabeth Cherry, dau. of the late Edward Hoare Garole, of Ballinacurra House, Midleton, co. Cork; _b._ St. Oswald’s House, Stony Stratford, co. Bucks, 3 Aug. 1890; educ. Wellington College and Magdalen College, Cambridge (B.A. 1st class honours). On leaving Cambridge he became a pupil at the Westinghouse Works, Manchester, and joined the East Lancashire R.E. (T.F.) as a 2nd Lieut. 10 June, 1913, and was promoted Lieut. 7 Jan. 1914. He left for Egypt in Sept. 1914, and proceeded to the Dardanelles in the following May, was slightly wounded in the leg during the fighting that month, and was killed in action there 8 July following; _unm._ His Commanding Officer wrote: “He met his death early in the morning whilst surveying the work his men had been engaged upon during the night in order to send in his report which is called for each morning. Death was instantaneous, being shot through the brain by a sniper. Your son was a noble lad and a good soldier, and an untiring worker; if any man ever served his country well as a junior officer it was your son and our comrade.” His two brothers are now (1916) on active service, Capt. W. E. H. Bull with the Mounted Brigade, Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C. (T.F.), and Capt. H. C. H. Bull with the 8th Battn. King’s Own Yorkshire L.I.

=BULL, HERBERT=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2165), 215077, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BULL, PHILIP=, Stoker, 1st, Class, K. 1422, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BULL, WILLIAM ALFRED=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 548), 280624, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BULLER, FREDERICK DERICK EDWIN=, Volunteer, East African Mounted Rifles, British East Africa, 3rd _s._ of Rev. George Buller, Rector of Oakford, Devon, by his wife, Margaret Mildred, dau. of Sir John William Hamilton Anson, 2nd Bt.; _b._ Burrough Green, Cambs., 14 July, 1891; educ. Eton, and Trinity College, Oxford. On going down from Oxford in 1913 he bought a large farm in British East Africa, and on the outbreak of the European War immediately volunteered his services and joined the King’s Mounted Rifles. He was killed in the fighting on 25 Sept. 1914 in the Ingito Hills between the Magadi Railway and the frontier. It appears that a German force of about 35 Europeans and 150 natives, with two Maxim guns, attacked a body of the East African Mounted Rifles (C Squadron), only 30 in number, commanded by Capt. Chapman. After one hour’s severe fighting in thick bush country the enemy were repulsed, and retired hastily towards Longido. At Eton Buller rowed in his house fours, and at Oxford he stroked the winning trial eight in his first year. He was _unm._

=BULLINARIA, HENRY WILLIAM=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 3766), 188856, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BULLOCK, GEORGE WILLIAM=, Gunner (R.F.R., Immed. Class 14), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BULMAN, THOMAS=, Carpenter’s Crew, M. 4701, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BULPITT, WILLIAM ARTHUR=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 6089), S.S. 682 (Chat.), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BUNCE, CHARLES HENRY=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 1123), 158786, H.M.S. Hawke; lost in action in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=BUNCE, CHARLES RALPH THOMAS=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7195), S.S. 102156, H.M.S. Hawke; lost in action in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=BUNCE, EDWARD=, Chief Stoker (R.F.R., A. 1987), 163524, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BUNCE, JOHN HENRY=, Private, No. 2418, 15th Battn. (P.W.O. Civil Service Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), 2nd _s._ of Samuel Bunce, of 21, Dyson Road, Leytonstone, by his wife, Alice Amilia, dau. of Henry Allen; _b._ Forest Gate, co. Essex, 24 Aug. 1894; educ. Swaffield Road and Wadsworth Technical Institute; joined the Civil Service Rifles in Aug. after the outbreak of war and died of wounds received accidentally at a bomb instruction near Bethune, 24 July, 1915. He was buried in the cemetery Noeux des Mines; _unm._ His Capt. wrote: “Your son was a universal favourite--cheerful, willing, and a hard worker, and a very promising soldier”; and his platoon sergt.: “In the Army the best that can be said of any man is that ‘he is a good soldier.’ Without any hesitation I can say that your son had fully qualified for this high standard. He was well disciplined, obedient, and always ready to do anything he was called on to undertake; the mere fact that he was selected for instruction in bomb throwing shows that his superiors had a thorough confidence in his abilities.”

=BUNN, GEORGE=, Seaman, R.N.R., 5222B, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BUNYAN, BENJAMIN JAMES=, Ship’s Steward, 340125, H.M.S. Hawke; lost in action in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=BURBRIDGE, WALTER=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 794), S.S. 103586, H.M.S. Hawke; lost in action in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=BURCH, ARTHUR THOMAS=, Private, No. 27, 8th Battn. (90th Rifles) Canadian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of George Burch, of Woodnesborough, co. Kent, Agricultural Labourer, by his wife, Mary Jane, dau. of the late William Oldfield; _b._ Woodnesborough, 20 Dec. 1887; educ. there; emigrated to Canada in July, 1910; enlisted on the outbreak of the war, Aug. 1914, and was killed in action at Ypres between 24–30 April, 1915; _unm._ He was at first reported missing, then in Aug. to have died, and finally (2 Dec. 1915) was officially stated to have been killed between the dates given above.

=BURCH, WILLIAM JOHN=, Petty Officer, 2nd Class (R.F.R., B. 229), 153490, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BURCHELL, FRED=, Private, R.M.L.I. (Ports.), 11716, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BURCHELL, FREDERICK HUGH=, A.B., J. 9672, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BURCHETT, ARTHUR=, Sergt., No. 7882, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, _s._ of the late William Burchett, Labourer, by his wife, Eliza (Peal Common, Elstead), dau. of George Pullen, Farmer; _b._ Peal Common, Elstead, co. Surrey, 3 March, 1890; educ. National School there; enlisted 10 June, 1908, and served in Egypt 1909–11, and afterwards became a postman at Elstead. On the outbreak of war he was called up, went to France 12 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action at the Battle of the Aisne, 14 Sept. following, being buried at Soupir; _unm._ His brother, Private Thomas Burchett, No. 7285 (sometime a postman at Godalming), was officially reported missing, 30 Aug. 1914, and is (1916) a prisoner in Germany.

=BURCHILL, THOMAS=, Leading Stoker, 276152 (Dev.), H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BURDEKIN, GEOFFREY ERIC=, 2nd Lieut., 3rd Battn. Notts and Derby Regt. (Sherwood Foresters), attd. 1st Loyal North Lancashires; yst. _s._ of Benjamin Thomas Burdekin, of Sheffield and Baslow, co. Derby, Solicitor, by his wife, Emily Jane, dau. of the Rev. Jeremiah Stockdale, Vicar of Baslow; _b._ Sheffield, 29 March, 1893; educ. Bramcote, Scarborough, Rugby and Woolwich. He was gazetted to the 2nd Battn. Dorsetshire Regt. 20 Sept. 1911, and served with it in India for two years. In 1913 he resigned his commission owing to ill-health, and was articled to his father as a solicitor. At the outbreak of the European War he applied for a commission, and was given one in the 3rd Reserve Battn. of the Sherwood Foresters, and was afterwards attached to the 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regt. with which he was serving when he was killed in action at Beuvry, 26 Jan. 1915. He was buried at a farm near Beuvry; _unm._ His Capt. wrote: “The circumstances under which your boy and many other valuable men lost their lives were perhaps the most unfortunate that can be imagined. We were some four miles distant from the firing line at the time, and it was one of three shells that happened to strike us when the battn. orderly room was being held in the morning. Being in temporary command, I was taking orderly room myself and was only some six or seven yards distant from the spot where the shell burst, and how I and the Adjutant, who was standing beside me, escaped I really don’t know, for men within a couple of yards of us were killed instantaneously. What I remember was a deafening crash, a blackness, and the noise of broken glass falling. As soon as the air had cleared of débris we saw the fearful havoc that had been caused. You have one great consolation, however. Your son was spared all pain and suffering, for death was absolutely instantaneous; also that he was buried. The inability to bury one’s dead owing to their having been killed on the ground between the opposing trenches has, I think, been one of the most horrible features of the war. It is, I think, unnecessary for me to assure you that your son maintained to the end the high traditions of a British officer and gentleman. We were together during the night attack on 31 Dec., and his coolness under a heavy fire was very marked. Although he did not belong to the Loyal North Lancashires but to his own county regt., yet he always took an interest in his men and was a zealous officer. On the very morning that he was killed, I had picked him out to take command of a company because I had the greatest confidence in him. He was always cheerful, and had endeared himself to us all. We feel the loss greatly.”

=BURDISS, WILLIAM=, Stoker, R.N.R., 2985T. H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BURDON, EDWARD=, Pioneer. No. 110982, Royal Engineers, 3rd _s._ of Edward Burdon, of Southwick-on-Wear, Joiner, by his wife, Margaret, dau. of Richard Wake, of Southwick; _b._ Southwick, 26 Dec. 1873; educ. Southwick Board School, and was a miner. He enlisted for the period of the war, 29 July, 1915; went to France the following week; was invalided home, 16 Sept. 1915; and died on active service, 13 Oct. 1915, following an operation for appendicitis. He _m._ at St. Columbus, Southwick, 7 June, 1887, Isabella (18, Edward Murdis Street, Southwick, Sunderland), dau. of James Turnbull, of Southwick, and had seven children: Edward, _b._ 19 Sept. 1888; James, _b._ 28 Aug. 1889; Sidney, _b._ 2 May, 1903; Nicholas, _b._ 29 Dec. 1908; Thomas, _b._ 28 Dec. 1910; Mary, _b._ 7 May, 1905; and Jenny, twin with Thomas.

=BURGES, WILLIAM ARMSTRONG=, Lieut., 1st Battn. Royal Irish Rifles, 2nd _s._ of the late Francis Lockie Burges, of Irwin House, Irwin, Western Australia, Squatter, and grandson of the late Francis Carleton Burges, of Fethard, co. Tipperary, M.D.; _b._ Irwin aforesaid, 3 June, 1889; educ. Campbell College, Belfast; Armagh Royal School, and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 2nd Battn. Royal Irish Rifles, 20 April, 1910, transferred to the 1st Battn. 20 April, 1911, and promoted Lieut. 15 Oct. 1914; killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, while leading a charge of his platoon, 10 March, 1915; _unm._ Rifleman James Scott of this regt. wrote that in the attack on the German second line they “were met with a murderous fire from a machine gun which for an instant made our men waver. An officer, Lieut. Burges, leading our platoon, No. 8, B Coy., dashed into a stream of water which reached to his neck, and which ran parallel to the second German line wire entanglements. He called out as he plunged into the water: ‘Follow me, No. 8; be quick and we will capture that machine gun.’ Straight away every man followed this gallant officer. Once across the stream, ‘Form up, No. 8,’ and away we went towards the machine gun like hounds after the hare. We followed this officer over the German third line of trenches, and away in full cry towards the village of Neuve Chapelle, in our efforts to capture the accursed machine gun, which was playing the deuce with our men. Dashing forward to a wood on our right where the gun was concealed, our gallant officer received a bullet wound in the neck, which ended in his death.... As our Colonel said, by his dash and contempt of death, he brought victory to our arms and credit to our regt. At 12 noon our regt. found itself close up to the village, more advanced than any other regt. of the division, thanks to the gallant lead of a gallant officer.” Lieut. Burges was mentioned in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 5 April [London Gazette, 22 June], 1915, for gallant and distinguished conduct in this action.

=BURGESS, HERBERT WILLIAM=, 1st Class Stoker, Ch/SS. 103633, R.F.R., B. 7981, R.N.R., _s._ of Charles Henry Burgess, of 2, Gills Cottages, Wouldham, Rochester, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of the late John Callhoming; _b._ Wouldham, 25 Jan. 1890; educ. National School there; joined the Navy 2 April 1906, and was lost on H.M.S. Cressy, 22 Sept. 1914, when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea; _unm._

=BURGESS, JOHN DONALD=, Volunteer, King’s East African Mounted Rifles, 3rd _s._ of Rev. Samuel Burgess, of 10, Holly Road, Edgbaston, by his wife, Annie, dau. of the late John Peed, of Whittlesey, Solicitor; _b._ Guilsborough, Northampton, 23 March, 1876; educ. Eastman’s Royal Naval Academy, Southsea. At the outbreak of the European War was the Engineer of the Magadi Soda Co., but immediately joined the King’s Mounted Rifles, and was killed in action at Ingito Hill, British East Africa, 25 Sept. 1914. His commanding officer wrote: “He was one of a party of 30 men who had followed up what was said to be a smaller party of Germans, but when they came up with them were found to consist of about 150 men with two maxims. The Germans opened fire at once, and for a time there was some little confusion. The four men of the Magadi Force, one of whom was your husband, stood fast, however, and returned the fire, and then our men rallied. This lasted for about 10 minutes, when the Germans started to advance. The officer in command decided that our men could not hold out, so he ordered a retirement, and Burgess and three others were told off to cover it. They lay down, taking cover as best they could, and when next day our men went out (the Germans having retired) all four were found dead, just as they had laid down; and if ever men gave their lives to save others, it was those four.” He _m._ at Christ Church, Woburn Place, London, 21 Oct. 1902, Ethel M., 2nd dau. of the late W. J. Roseby, of Doncaster, and left two daus.: Kathleen Constance and Joyce Averil.

=BURGESS, RICHARD=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 10674), 238875, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BURGESS, WILLIAM=, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 111339, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BURGESS, WILLIAM HENRY GEORGE=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3611), 185552, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.