Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Powerscourt (St. Patrick) Church Of Ireland Churchyard | D. 39. | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 59C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
YOUNGER and only surviving son of the late Ven. Henry Galbraith, Arch deacon of Glendalongh, and of Mrs. Galbraith, of Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.Education & Career :
Harrow School and Trinity Cambridge.
Civil Servant, Colombo (1908) - a Second Assistant Colonial Secretary of Ceylon, Clerk to the Legislative Council
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps |
| Action : Accident |
Accidents were a minor factor in the casualty list. Our definition is deaths resulting from activities that were not directly associated with 'active service'. We have excluded Naval Accidents which are seperately identified because of their numbers and impact. Many accidents involved the aviators, operating at the the limits of technology.
As an indication of his keenness, it is said of him, that, except when out of the Island, he did not miss a single annual Camp, and he also had the reputation of being an excellent rifle shot.
When the question of raising a Ceylon Contingent for active service in the War was first mooted, Captain Galbraith was one of the first, if not the first, to send in his name. He went with the Ceylon Contingent to Egypt in November, 1914, and was attached to the Headquarters of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in January, 1915.
Detail :
He was fatally injured in a motor-car accident on his way to attend a court martial, on January 22nd, 1915, and died in Citadel Hospital, Cairo, on February 15th, 1915. He was buried at Powerscourt Church, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, on March 18th, 1915.
It was unusual for a body to be taken back to Britain for burial and we are researching this.
Citations & Commemorations :
Mr. Stubbs, Colonial Secretary and Acting Governor of Ceylon, writes:"Galbraith, as you know, was my private secretary for nine months, while I was administering the Government of Ceylon, an d was invaluable to me. His wide knowledge of the Island and the people, his sound judgment and great powers of work, and his sympathetic insight, combined to make him an ideal person for such a position. Subsequently as my principal assistant in the Secretariat he continued to do most valuable work, and I looked forward wi th confidence to a time when the Secretary of State would offer him a more important post elsewhere. He was
always ready to take any amount of trouble for other people, and was one of the most unselfish men I have ever known. I know of nobody whose death will be so widely and deeply regretted."
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | St George No. 2170 E.C. | Sri Lanka |
| Joined : | Kurunegala No. 3629 E.C. | Sri Lanka |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
30th July 1908 | 24th September 1908 | 14th October 1908 |
Petitioning and Founding member of Kurunegala No. 3629, it being consecrated 11th January 1913.
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