Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Basra War Cemetery | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.136 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 5D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
He was one of three sons of the Rev. Richard Tahourdin Hon. Chaplain to the King, of 62, Evelyn Gardens, S.W., who died a year ago, and of Mrs. Julia Elizabeth of 41, Queen's Gate Gardens, S.W. Born at the Cloisters, Windsor, in 1875.Education & Career :
Tahourdin went to Eagle House, the prep school associated with Wellington College and then on to Malvern College, in No 2 between 1889 - 1891.
"He was a boy of considerable ability and showed marked originality. He left Malvern rather young, otherwise he would certainly have played a prominent part in the life of the School."
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 12th Indian Cavalry |
| Action : Mesopotamia |
At the outbreak of war the British, together with Indian troops, resolved to protect oil supply in the region by occupying the area around Basra at Abadan. This evolved into a series of campaigns towards Baghdad against the Turkish forces as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of the Ottoman Empire. Meetings in late 1914 and into 1915 led the Viceroy and Indian government at Simla to reconsider the limited involvement of troops and they decided to order further advances with a view to securing the Shatt-al-Hai, a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates river and potentially capturing Baghdad. The British government disagreed and wished to conserve forces for the Western front. The Viceroy was given permission to act as it wished, but told in no uncertain terms that no reinforcements should be expected.
The initial success experienced by the British and Indian forces quickly disintegrated in the face of Ottoman opposition. The Siege of Kut-Al-Amara began on 7th December with the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. These campaigns produced few tactical benefits, indeed the catastrophic defeat at Kut in 1916 was a major setback. Badhdad was eventually taken in March 1917.
The conditions in Mesopotamia were dreadful. The climate, sickness and disease produced large losses in addition to battle casualties. About as many men died of disease as were killed in action. The Mesopotamia front was part of a strategy hoping for success at lower cost than the Western Front but no decisive victory was achieved.
He passed out of Sandhurst at the head of the candidates for the Indian Army in the summer of 1895, obtaining his first commission, unattached, in August of that year, and joining the Indian Staff Corps at the end of 1896.
He served the whole of his 20 years in India with the 12th Cavalry, with two short breaks — the first when he was employed from January 1904 to August, 1906, with the King's African Rifles, and the second when he was employed for a period as adviser to a young native rajah.
Major Tahourdin's brother, Captain V. R. Tahourdin of the Cheshires Regiment and an Old Wellingtonian, has been a prisoner of war in Germany since the battle of Mons, and his other brother was in the Indian Civil Service, but died after only two years' service.
Detail :
SPENCER MAXWELL TAHOURDIN. Major, 12th Cavalry, Indian Army. Died of Wounds in Mesopotamia, February 8th, 1916.
Reported to have been wounded at the Siege of Kut 7th of February and having died of wounds the next day.
A Memorial Service was held at St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, by the Rev. Canon Sheppard, D.D. Besides the family, Cols. Carleton, Lynch and Myers, Lady Duckworth and Mrs. Whitelaw Reid were present. Bugles and Drums of the 5th Grenadier Guards sounded the Last Post.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lodge of the Nine Muses No. 235 E.C. | London |
| Joined : | Mooltan No. 1307 E.C. | Bengal |
| Joined : | Lodge of Independence with Philanthropy No. 391 E.C. | N.W. Provinces |
| Joined : | Nipal No. 2018 E.C. | N.W. Provinces |
| Joined : | Light in Adjoodhia No. 836 E.C. | Uttar Pradesh |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
10th April 1906 | 8th May 1906 | 6th June 1906 |
Initiated in Lodge of the Nine Muses No. 235
Joined Mooltan Lodge No. 1307 9th October 1906, resigned 29th May 1909
Joined Lodge of Independence with Philanthropy No. 391 at Allahabad 19th October 1909
Joined Lodge Nipal No. 2018 at Gorakhpur on the 4th January 1911 and resigned 1st April 1912.
Joined Lodge of Light in Adjoohia No. 836 on 25th April 1914
Past District Grand Warden (Bengal)
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley