Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Trois Arbres Cemetery | I. J. 62. Steenwerck | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.128 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 14D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Military Cross & Bar | ||
Early Life :
Son of the late Richard James Larking and Ethel Maud Larking, of Melbourne, Australia.He attended Melbourne Grammar School from 1901 to 1910. He was in the school's rowing First VIII and football First XVIII, On 29th October, 1909, competing for Melbourne Grammar in the annual athletic sports meeting of the Public Schools' Association, he won the open mile race by more than ten yards, slowing down; he broke the previous record for the event by almost ten seconds. He held the record until 1916.
He entered King's College, Cambridge on 1 October 1910, graduating (BA) in 1914, and (MA) in 1917. He won a half-blue for boxing, in the middleweight division, in 1911; and in 1912, he was elected president of the university's Boxing and Fencing Club.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 38th Div. Signal Company |
| Action : The First Battles of the Somme 1918 and associated actions |
21 March - 4 July 1918. The Battles of the Somme in 1918 were mostly concerned with stemming the German advance which started in March 1918 and which made considerable gains in the Somme/Arras sector. Utilising surplus troops which had become available following the surrender of Russia after the October Revolution, the Germans gambled on a massive campaign that could win the war in the west before the USA could bring its resources to bear. Initial gains were in places spectacular but eventually dogged resistance coupled with supply problems and sheer exhaustion closed down the battle. Other attacks were launched along the front to probe the Allied defences but the same pattern of initial gains followed by stalemate prevailed. British casualties were almost 345,000.
Detail :
His name appears in The Times 12th April, 1918.
"He enlisted, on the outbreak of the war, in the Despatch Riders' Corps [of the Royal Engineers Signal Service] as a corporal, and was in the retreat from Mons. He was given his commission in the field in September, 1914, and, with the exception of ten months in England, training dispatch riders, was continuously on active service. At Pozières in 1916, while attached to the Australians as a signal officer, he was awarded the Military Cross, and at Messines in 1917 he gained his bar. His colonel wrote:— "He had only been with us three days, yet in that short time it was easy to see what a splendid fellow he was, and also what a capacity he had for getting things done in the right way. Apart from that, he came to us with a great reputation for courage and capacity."
Probate LARKING Ronald Guy of Melbourne Victoria Australia and 121 Victoria-street Middlesex captain R.E. died 1 April 1918 in France Administration (with Will) London 2 December to Ethel Maud Larking widow. Effects £615 5s. 2d.
Dec 1928 Melbourne Argus noted that Melbourne Grammar School offered a Ronald Guy Larking Scholarship http://www.mgs.vic.edu.au/about/mgs_history.php
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Isaac Newton University No. 859 E.C. | Cambridgeshire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
7th March 1911 | 25th April 1911 | 28th May 1911 |
Ronald was a 20 year old undergraduate of King's College, Cambridge when initiated into Isaac Newton University Lodge No. 859 in 1911. His contribution record shows 4 years of war service before the final annotation shows that he was "Killed in Action May 1918."
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