Part 9

=BALDWIN, ANTHONY HUGH=, Brig.-Gen. Comdg., 38th Infantry Brigade, late Manchester Regt., only _s._ of James Baldwin, of Smithies Bridge, Clitheroe, co. Lancaster, by his wife, Ann, dau. of James Part; _b._ Stratford-on-Avon, co. Warwick, 30 Sept. 1863; educ. Clitheroe Grammar School and Giggleswick; obtained his first commission as Lieut. in 1st Manchester Regt. from the Militia, 14 May, 1884, being promoted Capt. 3 Feb. 1892; Major 15 Dec. 1900; Lieut.-Col. 17 Feb. 1908; substantive Col. 4 Oct. 1911; Col. 13 Aug. 1914; and Brig.-Gen. 24 Aug. 1914. He joined the 2nd Battn. in India in 1888, served with it at Agra, Meerut and Dinapore, and was Adjutant from 5 July, 1891, to 4 Aug. 1895 when he returned to England. From 14 Nov. 1898, to 13 Nov. 1903, he was Adjutant of the 6th (Militia) Battn., and was at the depôt at Ashton-under-Lyne until July, 1902, when he went out with this battn. to South Africa, and took part in the operations in the Orange River Colony, March to 31 May, 1902, receiving the King’s medal with three clasps. On his return in Sept. he served with the 2nd Battn. at Aldershot, Cork, Alderney, Portsmouth and Mullingar, and in 1910 returned to India to command the 1st Battn. He was present at the Delhi Durbar (medal), and 1 June, 1914, retired on half-pay. On the outbreak of the European War he offered his services and was given the command of the 38th Infantry Brigade, 13th Division, 5 Sept. 1914, which he trained at Tedworth, Winchester and Blackdown, and took to the Dardanelles on 14 June, 1915. He was killed at its head on 10 Aug. 1915, in an attack on Chanak, about a month after landing. The Brigade after his fall were forced to retreat, and his body was not recovered. The A.D.C. to the Divisional General wrote: “He died in the front line leading his Brigade--he died as a gallant English gentleman, beloved, honoured, respected and mourned by all. He met his death as I am sure he must have wished, absolutely in the front line of his splendid Brigade.” And the Brigade Machine Gun Officer: “In General Baldwin the Brigade has lost a wonderfully capable leader, cool and collected in the moment of danger, always ready with a cheery word and a smile to help those who, not having his nerve, were not so collected as he. In quiet times a more charming and considerate officer could not be found. His kindness and consideration for the junior members of his staff, and indeed for everybody, down to the merest drummer boy, were wonderful, and he held the heart and affection of every man he commanded.” Gen. Baldwin _m._ in London, Emily Seabrooke, dau. of the late Thomas Dyson, of the Bank of Bengal, and had issue: Mary Violet, _d._ 25 June, 1913; and Betty, _b._ 1 Sept. 1899.

=BALDWIN, JOSIAH=, Stoker, R.N.R., 2537T, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BALL, ALBERT RANSOME=, Lieut., A Coy., 10th Battn. 2nd Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of William Lee Ball, of 155, Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg, by his wife, Nellie Lenore, dau. of William M. Ransome; _b._ Richmond, P. Quebec, Canada, 21 April, 1891, removing with his parents to Winnipeg in 1903, and was educ. there and at Trinity College School, Port Hope, Ontario. He was engaged in commercial pursuits, but on the declaration of war felt it his duty to join the Colours, and enlisted in the 106th Winnipeg L.I., which was united with the 103rd Calgary to compose the 10th Battn. They left Quebec with the first Canadian Contingent in Oct. 1914, and after training on Salisbury Plain during the winter, went to France in Feb. 1915. At the Battle of St. Julien the 10th Battn. was assigned the post of honour, and led the memorable charge on the night of 22–23 April, which is said by Sir John French “to have saved the situation.” In the action Lieut. Ball was mortally wounded, and he died in No. 7 Stationary Hospital at Boulogne on the 29th of that month; _unm._ His body was taken back to Canada for burial.

=BALL, JAMES=, Sergt., 11659 (Plym.), H.M.S. Hawke; lost in action in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=BALL, SOLOMON=, Stoker, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BALL, WILLIAM ORMSBY WYNDHAM=, M.B., Lieut., R.A.M.C., _s._ of the late Henry Wyndham Ball, of the Registry of Deeds Office, Dublin; _b._ Dublin, 27 Sept. 1889; educ. St. Andrew’s College and Dublin University; obtained his colours on the Hockey XI. two years in succession, and represented Ireland in six international hockey matches. Gazetted Lieut. R.A.M.C., 24 Jan. 1913, and on the outbreak of war was attached to the 2nd Battn. S. Staffords, and proceeded to the Front with them 13 Aug. He was killed by a shell at Sonpir on the Aisne, 26 Sept. 1914, when attending the wounded there, being buried at Sonpir Farm; _unm._

=BALL, WILLIE=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 10509), 226180, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BALLAM, GEORGE=, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 6060, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BALLANTYNE, DANIEL=, Private, No. 4264, 2nd Battn. Royal Scots, _s._ of the late Daniel Alexander Ballantyne, of 38, India Place, Edinburgh, Watchmaker, by his wife, Jane, 3rd dau. of Angus Kennedy; _b._ Stockbridge, Edinburgh, 18 March, 1878; educ. Hamilton Place School, Edinburgh; enlisted in the Royal Scots, 1 Oct. 1896, and spent six years in India and eight years in the Reserve. He joined the National Reserve, and transferred about 1912 to the Kames Gunpowder Works (Messrs. Curtis’s & Harvey, Ltd.), and raised branches of the National Reserve in Kames, Tighnabruaich and Millhouse. On the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, he got up rifle competitions in aid of the local Red Cross Society, and received the thanks of the Society for the sum of money he thereby raised. He re-enlisted in his old regt. in Sept., and while at Glencorse did good recruiting work. He went to the Western Front in Jan. 1915, and died 27 April of wounds received in action at Hill 60, and was buried at La Clytte Reninghelst, Belgium. He had been in the trenches on Thursday, the 26th, until midnight, when he left to have a cup of tea, and while partaking of it a bullet entered his left shoulder passing across the back and injuring his spine. He was taken down to the hospital, but only lived a few hours. His letters from the trenches were published in “The Buteman and West Coast Chronicle.” In the last one written on the 21st, just five days before his death, he said: “You were asking how we could be so cheery in the trenches. Well, it’s like this. There is no use in being sad, and the cheerier you are the better, for one never knows when it may be his turn to stop laughing for a long, long time. We do not think on half the things those at home bother about, and consider our duty our ordinary course of work, as it certainly is; and there you are! Some may not come back, but we get accustomed to that thought, and think nothing of it. It may be our turn next, but we know that if it does come we have tried to the best of our ability to do our duty to our people at home and King and country.” Ballantyne _m._ at Edinburgh, 16 Oct. 1906, Mary Jane (187, Gala Park Road, Galashiels), dau. of the late James Donaldson, and had a son and five daus.: Daniel, _b._ 23 Oct. 1911; Jane Kennedy, _b._ 29 March, 1908; Alice Weddell, _b._ 24 April, 1909; Mary Alexandrina, _b._ 17 July, 1910; and Margaret Inglis, _b._ 19 Jan. 1913.

=BALLANTYNE, THOMAS=, Private, No. 7114, 1st Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, _s._ of Thomas Ballantyne; _b._ Dunston-on-Tyne, 28 Feb. 1886; educ. St. Dominic’s Schools, Newcastle-on-Tyne; joined the 5th Battn. Northumberland Fusiliers, 22 June, 1905, and re-enlisted 2 Aug. 1908. On the outbreak of war he was drafted to the 1st Battn. at the Front, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 1 March, 1915. He _m._ at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 6 June, 1906, Margaret Nathans (44, Byron Terrace, Shieldfield, Newcastle), dau. of C. H. Dagg, and had issue two sons and two daus.: Thomas Hubert, _b._ 28 Jan. 1907; Edward, _b._ 3 Nov. 1912; Sarah Elizabeth, _b._ 16 Aug. 1910; and Margaret Alina, _b._ 12 Dec. 1914. Private Ballantyne held several certificates for service.

=BALLARD, CHARLES FREDERICK=, Commander, R.N., yr. _s._ of the late Lieut.-Col. John Fane Ballard, Duke of Cornwall’s L.I., by his wife, Mary (The Grove, Kingston Blount, Oxford), dau. of Arthur Henry Clerke Brown, of Kingston Blount, Oxford; _b._ Rock, Washington, co. Sussex, 23 March, 1879; educ. Herbert Bull’s, Westgate-on-Sea, and Littlejohn’s, Blackheath. Joined the Britannia in 1892, passing in eighth; became Midshipman, Jan. 1895; Sub-Lieut., July, 1898; Lieut., Nov. 1900, and Commander, June, 1913. Served in China, 1900, as Sub-Lieut. on the Aurora, and was present at the taking of Tientsin, being mentioned in Despatches and specially promoted. He was appointed to the Formidable in Aug. 1913, and was lost in that vessel 1 Jan. 1915. Commander Ballard was last seen on the bridge of the Formidable with Capt. Loxley. He had previously superintended getting the boats out, and had ordered as much wood as possible to be thrown overboard for the men to cling to. A survivor narrates that he met the Commander, who told him to tell everybody to keep cool. He then gave the command to get the boats out. He _m._ at St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington, 15 July, 1913, Violet Hazel, dau. of Admiral Sir Cecil Burney, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., and had one dau., Margaret Charley, _b._ 29 Dec. 1914.

=BALMAIN, JOHN=, Officer’s Steward, 3rd Class, L. 4470, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.

=BAMFORD, EDWIN SCOTT=, Capt. and Adjutant, 1st Battn. York and Lancaster Regt., yst. _s._ of the late Arthur Bamford, of Misterton Hall, Lutterworth, by his wife, Annie (who re-_m._ Capt. the Hon. Harold Brooke Hawke), dau. of John Nash, of Chicago; _b._ Bromborough, co. Chester, 23 April, 1885; educ. Uppingham and afterwards in Switzerland, and joined the 3rd (Militia) Battn. Leicestershire Regt., from which he passed into the York and Lancaster Regt. 6 July, 1907, becoming Lieut. 1 Feb. 1909. In that year he passed the Signalling Course at Poona, and obtained a certificate for Field Telephoning; in 1911 he took the Musketry and Machine Gun Course at Satara, and in 1912 the Physical Training and Swordsmanship at Poona, where he was Gymnastic Superintendent for eight months, serving altogether seven years (1908–14) in India. On 12 March, 1913, he was appointed Adjutant of his battn. with which he joined the Expeditionary Force in France in Jan. 1915. He had been promoted Capt. 5 Sept. 1914, and was mortally wounded in action on his birthday, 23 April, 1915, during a charge at the second Battle of Ypres, and _d._ at the Poperinghe Clearing Station the following day. The following abbreviated account of the circumstances attending his death was received from a brother officer: “On the morning of April 22 the battn. was resting--the men playing football--when the French troops came hurrying back completely overcome by asphyxiating gases. Immediately, on their own initiative without any command, our men fell in and moved off by companies from trenches near St. Jean, with fixed bayonets, across open country in broad daylight, with only two guns to support them, to fill in the gap left by the French, which the Canadians were unable to protect with their flank. They made the attack through a hail-storm of high velocity shell fire and machine guns at short range, which nearly wiped out the whole battn., leaving 300 out of the original 1,200. In spite of the heavy casualties, they pushed on, as a Canadian officer remarked: ‘As if they were on parade,’ and eventually reached a field which was under still heavier fire. At the top of the field was a hedge on which the enemy’s fire was concentrated; very few of the battn. got past it. It was here that the Colonel was killed outright and Capt. Bamford, having done magnificent work during the whole attack, was mortally wounded. Some days after, Gen. Plumer came to see the few survivors and congratulated them on their gallant attack. Had it not been made the Germans would have broken through. To use the General’s own words: ‘They had saved the situation.’” Capt. Bamford was a keen sportsman and a first-class shot. He _m._ London, 1 Jan. 1913, Lulu, only dau. of the late Edwin Whitney Smith, of Bath; _s.p._

=BAMPTON, WILLIAM=, 2nd Ship’s Steward, 347283, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BANBURY, CHARLES WILLIAM=, Capt., Coldstream Guards, only _s._ of the Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick George Banbury, of Warnford Place, Highworth, co. Wilts., 1st Bt., M.P. for the City of London, by his wife, Elizabeth Rose, dau. and co-heir of the late Thomas Barbot Beale, of Brettenham Park, co. Suffolk; _b._ 19, Grosvenor Street, London, W., 11 Feb. 1877; educ. Eton and University College, Oxford; gazetted to the Coldstream Guards, 9 Aug. 1899, and promoted Lieut. 16 Feb. 1901, and Capt. 27 March, 1909. He served in the South African War, receiving the Queen’s medal with three clasps, and the King’s medal with two clasps. From March, 1909–Aug. 1910, he served as A.D.C. to the General Officer Commanding 1st Division, Aldershot Command, and from March, 1912, to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command. He _d._ at Soupir, near Soissons, 16 Sept., 1914, from wounds received in the Battle of the Aisne two days previously, and was buried at Soupir. He _m._ at the Guards’ Chapel, 29 April, 1913, Joseph Marguerite (Wadley Manor, Faringdon, Berks), dau. of Jose Reixach, and had a son and a daughter: Charles William, _b._ 18 May, 1915, and Mary Heritage, _b._ 28 March, 1914. Capt. Banbury won the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown, riding Capt. Christie Miller’s Sprinkle Me two years in succession, 1909 and 1910, and also the Grand International Steeplechase on the same. He won the Aldershot Gold Cup, and the United Service Hunter’s Cup both twice on horse Noble Roy, and the Coldstream Plate twice (1903 and 1904) on his own horse Casino, and once (1911) on Noble Roy, besides many other races. He rowed in the University College four and in the eight, and played polo for the Coldstream Guards.

=BANFIELD, GEORGE=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4170), S.S. 102835, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BANKES, EDWARD NUGENT=, Capt., 3rd Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 5th and yst. _s._ of the late Henry Hyde Nugent Bankes, of Wraysbury, co. Bucks, by his wife, the Hon. Lalagé, née Vivian, dau. of Richard Hussey, 1st Lord Vivian, P.C., G.C.B., and grandson of the Right. Hon. George Bankes, of Kingston Hall, Dorset, M.P.; _b._ Wraysbury, 3 Oct. 1875; educ. Charterhouse. During the South African War he served in the ranks with Lumsden’s Horse, and was afterwards employed with Imperial Yeomanry; took part in the operations in the Orange Free State and Transvaal, May, 1900, including action near Johannesburg, and in those in the Transvaal, March, 1901, to Jan. 1902, and was mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 20 Aug. 1901], and awarded the Queen’s medal with five clasps. He was given a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 2nd Dragoon Guards (the Queen’s Bays), 25 Dec. 1901; became Lieut. 25 Dec. 1902, and Capt. 12 Sept. 1908, and was Remount Officer in South Africa, 29 Sept. 1905, to 12 March, 1907, and Staff Officer there, 13 March, 1907. He retired 4 Dec. 1912, and joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battn. of the Dublin Fusiliers. On the outbreak of the European War he was called up, and joined the 2nd Battn. in France on 16 March, 1915, and was killed in action near St. Julien, 26 April following. He was buried close to a farm about 500 yards on the Ypres side of St. Julien. His commanding officer wrote: “He came safely through our big action of 25 April against the village of St. Julien, some 3 miles north of Ypres. He was with me throughout the day of the 25th, while we dug in on the ground gained on that day. I left him in command of the battn. on the night of the 25th, as I was slightly wounded myself. He was instantaneously killed by a rifle bullet on April 26th, during an attack made by another Brigade sent up to our assistance. He behaved with the greatest gallantry on 25 April, leading his men all the time.” He _m._ at Pietermaritzburg, Natal, 19 Feb. 1906, Lettice Adelaide, eldest dau. of Charles Wriothesley Digby, of Meriden Hall, near Coventry [great-great-great-grandson of William, 5th Lord Digby], and had issue a son and two daus.: John Digby Hyde, _b._ 16 Nov. 1906; Adelaide Margery Dora, _b._ 21 Feb. 1908; and Lettice Monica, _b._ 12 April, 1909.

=BANKS, FRED LAKEMAN=, Corpl., No. 370, 5th Battn. (London Rifle Brigade) The London Regt., 2nd _s._ of Frederick Seymour Banks, of 4, St. John Street, Bedford Row, W.C., Commission Agent, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of (--) Belsham; _b._ Doughty Street, Mecklenburgh Square, London, 20 Jan. 1874; educ. Whitgift Grammar School, and on leaving school entered his father’s business. He joined the London Rifle Brigade in 1892, and served all through the South African War in the C.I.V. Mounted Infantry, receiving the medal with four bars. On the outbreak of the European War he rejoined the Brigade with his old schoolfellow, J. L. Hampton, and arrived in the trenches about the middle of November. He was shot and died on 13 May 1915, near Ypres. Writing to his parents, the officer commanding his company stated that Hampton (who met his death ten days before Banks did) and he well helped to maintain a fine tradition by their spirit and experience, and that it was almost impossible to write any sort of appreciation of what those two men were to their company. They many times gave their officer comfort and courage in difficult times, and he adds, “When we get into the tight places again I know that many of us who had been taught by him will think of Freddy Banks and his cheery confidence, and take courage.” On more than one occasion he was offered a commission, but preferred to remain in the ranks alongside his comrades. At the Whitgift Grammar School athletic sports he won the mile on three occasions, 1889, 1890 and 1891. A fourth win was obtained in 1893 when he secured the Old Boys’ mile. He joined the Cadet Corps, and won the Spencer Cup for the champion shot of the Public Schools at Bisley in 1891, scoring 33 out of a possible 35 at 500 yards. He also won the Easty silver medal. He won the Whitgift Veterans in 1896. In 1892 he made a brave attempt to rescue a boy who had fallen into the river at Rainham. He was competing for his Regimental Bronze Badge at the time, and was waiting his turn to fire, when he plunged into the river and, after diving repeatedly, recovered the lifeless body of the boy. He afterwards resumed his shooting, and obtained second place, being beaten by only one point. He received the Royal Humane Society’s certificate on vellum and a bronze medal, being also complimented by Lord E. Pelham Clinton (at an inspection by the Duke of Cambridge) on his deed. Corpl. Banks won the D Coy. Waldegrave Challenge Cup three times, when it became his, as also did the Moger Cup similarly thrice won. He shot in the winning team for the “Daily Telegraph” Cup in 1897 and 1898. On his return from the South African War the late Sir Walter Gilbey, Bt., presented him with a massive silver cup “as a token in appreciation of services rendered to his country.”

=BANKS, GEORGE EDWARD=, Stoker, P.O., 287551, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.