Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Flanders | Panel 54 | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.130 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 45C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 14th Battalion London Regiment (London Scottish) |
1/14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish) August 1914 : at 59 Buckingham Gate. Part of 4th London Brigade, 2nd London Division. Moved on mobilisation to Abbotts Langley. 16 September 1914 : left the Division and landed at Le Havre. Was engaged at Messines on 31 October 1914 under command of Cavalry Corps. 7 November 1914 : came under command of 1st Brigade in 1st Division. 8 February 1916 : transferred to 168th Brigade in 56th (London) Division. |
| Action : The Battles of Ypres 1914 (First Ypres) |
19 October - 22 November 1914. Following the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan in August and September 1914, both sides engaged in a series of linked battles as they sought to outflank each other. The climax of these manouvres was at Ypres in November 1914 when the might of the German Army attempted to break the much outnumbered British Expeditionary Force. The political importance of Ypres, being the last town of any size in Belgium that remained in allied hands, established its importance for both sides and ensured a series of battles over four years.
The First Battle of Ypres in 1914 is characterised by a series of linked heroic stands by outnumbered British soldiers in conditions of confusion and weary endurance. The Germans never knew how close they had come to winning - at one point just the clerks and cooks were the last line of defence for the BEF. By the end of the battle the magnificent original BEF, composed of professional regular soldiers, had been all but destroyed and already the Territorial battalions were called into battle. From the end of 1914 a 'Regular' battalion was in terms of its compostion little different to a Teritorial or later Service Battalion. The professional soldiers had all but vanished.
Detail :
LANCE CORPORAL WILLIAM MITCHELL MILLAR, 14th COUNTY OF LONDON BATTN. THE LONDON REGIMENT (LONDON SCOTTISH). He was one of three Freemasons in the 1/14th London Regiment (London Scottish) who were killed defending Shrewsbury Forest east of Ypres. Lance Corporal William Mitchell MILLAR, Sergeant Edmund Athelstane SMART, and 2/Lt Reginald Glover KER-GULLAND died defending their position against the last violent assault by the German elite troops trying to break through to Ypres. By 11 November the London Scottish were in the line south of the Menin Road in Shrewsbury Forest. This was the day of the last desperate defence of Ypres by the cooks at Nonne Bosschen, North of the Menin Road. The London Scottish held their positions South of the Menin Road despite considerable German pressure.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Polytechnic No. 2847 E.C. | London |
| Joined : | Old Quintinians No. 3307 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
2nd February 1907 | 2nd March 1907 | 5th October 1907 |
Petitioning and founder member of Old Quintinians Lodge No 3307, joining on the 20th May 1908
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