Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Tyne Cot Memorial | Panel 106 to 108. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.132 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 35D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | British War Medal Victory Medal | ||
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Dublin. Part of 13th Brigade in 5th Division. 15 August 1914 : landed at Le Havre. December 1917 : moved with Division to Italy. Returned to France April 1918. |
| 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.
Detail :
L/4490 Warrant Officer. Commissioned and was promoted to the the rank of Captain, Royal West Kent Regiment.
The war diary of the 1st Royal West Kent Regiment reports the battalion was in the area of Ridge Wood: 27th October "On relief the Bn proceeded to BEDFORD HOUSE. The Bn carried out this attack under extremely unfavourable conditions. The weather had been very bad for the preceeding three weeks, and the mud in places was thigh-deep. Rifles and Lewis guns became choked with mud owing to the men falling down during the advance. The 7th Div on the right flank did not capture and hold the group of pill boxes on the MENIN RD, about J.21.d.80.75., and consequently the assaulting coys of the Bn were enfiladed by M.G. and rifle fire from there. 335 O/Rs became casualties and the following Officers killed. CAPT GW PRESS, 2LT RD LOVELACE..."
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Military Jubilee No. 2195 E.C. | East Kent |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
27th January 1915 | 24th February 1915 | 31st March 1915 |
34 year old Company Sergeant Major stationed at Dover at the time of initiation in 1915.
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