Family :

Education & Career :

Shelley went to Wellington College, the youngest of three brothers in the Beresford 1885—1888.

He went out to Ceylon as a Tea planter in 1892 at East Holyrood, Talakawelle.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

"The Battle of Loos (25 September to 18 October 1915) was the major battle on the Western Front in 1915, surpassing in every respect all that had gone before in terms of numbers of men and materiel committed to battle. The preliminary bombardment was the most violent to date and the battle was charaterised by the committment of Regular and Territorial battalions on a large scale, in which the Territorials performed just as well as the Regulars. As the battles on the Western Front in 1915 increased in size and violence, so the casualties increased in proportion: Neuve Chapelle 12,000, Aubers Ridge/Festubert 29,000 , Loos 60,000. 1916 was to take the casualty cost to another level. Loos was intended as a minor role in support of French efforts around Arras but circumstances reduced the French effort. It marked the first use of poison gas by the British. Once the initial assualt had failed the battle continued in a series of actions mostly focused on the northern sector around the tactically important Hohenzollern Redoubt."

Detail :

He was killed near the Hohenzollern Redoubt during a bomb attack.

The Unit War diary reads:

17.10.15
4am The Bn stood to arms and moved into position ready for the attack. G Coy moved up the communication trench ready to move into the front line as the attack progressed. The 4th Bn Grenadier Guards also formed a chain down the communication trench to pass up supplies of bombs and sandbags.

5am The attack commenced. F Coy attacked down BIG WILLIE; LF Coy attacked from BIG WILLIE down towards point 42. RF Coy attacked from just SOUTH of point 60 EAST towards point 42 to meet LF Coy. From the time the attack commenced there was a steady stream of bombs and stores of all kings being passed down the communication trench. Lieut WARDE was wounded in the leg early in the attack but got his wound dressed and returned and continued directing the attack of the bombers.

8am Orders were received from the Division to consolidate the ground gained.
There was a noticeable lack of artillery fire on the part of the enemy throughout the operation. F Coy had gained about 150 yards of BIG WILLIE; LF gained about 100 yards; RF gained about 50 yards but were forced to fall back again on the original position. By 10am we had consolidated the ground gained. During the afternoon we improved the gained portions of trench and prepared for a counter attack that evening but it did not come off.

Our casualties were: 3 officers killed [Captain A ORR, Lieut N LECHMERE and Lieut SHELLEY] and 2 wounded [Lieut WARDE and Lieut E CLARKE]. Other ranks 20 killed, 66 wounded and 16 missing.

Masonic :

He was initiated into Nuwara Eliya Lodge No 2991 in the Ceylon, now Sri Lanka hill country, the same lodge as fellow planter and OW Richard Frederick Ince Currie, who would be killed less than 9 months later.

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
• Researcher : Tom Hawley