Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Tyne Cot Memorial | Panel 96 to 98. | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 10B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Mentioned in Despatches | ||
Ceylon Planter
Family :
Son of Edward S. and Evelyn J. Neave, of 5, Warwick Rd., Ealing, London.Education & Career :
Captain Gerald Vansittart Neave, Oxford and Bucks. L.I., reported killed on August 16th, at the age of 32, was the second son of Mr. Edward S. Neave and Mrs. Neave, of Ealing.
Educated at Bedford School, and in H.M.S. Conway, he served his apprenticeship for the mercantile marine on a sailing vessel, and later became engaged in tea and rubber planting in Ceylon.
He came to England in January, 1915, to join the Army, received his commission in February, and went with his battalion shortly afterwards to the Front. He became lieutenant in 1916 and captain in 1917, was mentioned in despatches, and had been once slightly wounded.
Beds, Standard.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 2/1 Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry |
2/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion Formed at Aylesbury in September 1914 as a second line unit. Record same as 2/4th Bn. 22 February 1918 : disbanded at Germaine, troops going to 25th Entrenching Battalion. |
| Action : The Battles of Ypres 1917 (Third Ypres, or Passchendaele) |
31 July - 10 November 1917. By the summer of 1917 the British Army was able for the first time to fight on its chosen ground on its terms. Having secured the southern ridges of Ypres at Messines in June, the main attack started on 31st July 1917 accompanied by what seemed like incessant heavy rain, which coupled with the artillery barrages conspired to turn much of the battlefield into a bog. Initial failure prompted changes in the high command and a strategy evolved to take the ring of ridges running across the Ypres salient in a series of 'bite and hold' operations, finally culminating in the capture of the most easterly ridge on which sat the infamous village of Passchendaele. The Official History carries the footnote ?The clerk power to investigate the exact losses was not available? but estimates of British casualties range from the official figure of 244,000 to almost 400,000. Within five months the Germans pushed the British back to the starting line, which was where they had been since May 1915.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | St John's Lodge of Colombo No. 454 E.C. | Sri Lanka |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
- | - | - |
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