Family :

Education & Career :

Attended St. Aldate's, Sevenoaks before going on to the Tonbridge School - Ferox Hall 1905 to 1908.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

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

Actions in Spring 1916 covers a number of non specific actions on the Western Front in the period February to the end of June 1916. Much of this period concerned the build up to the Battle of the Somme, particularly the acclimatisation of the Service Battalions (Kitchener Volunteers) to trench routine. As the Battle of the Somme occupied the plans for 1916 no significant efforts were made in other sectors. Many of the casualties could be considered 'routine'. During the period December to June 1916 5845 British soldiers died in 'minor trench operations'.

Detail :

From Tonbridge School:

LIEUT. DOUGLAS BLATSPIEL STAMP, 3RD BATTN. EAST YORKSHIRE REGT. (S.R.), ATTD. 1ST BATTN. KILLED IN ACTION NEAR ELVERDINGHE, APRIL 10TH, 1916. AGED 25. At the School 1905—8 (Ferox Hall). Douglas B. Stamp was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest B. Stamp, of Norvalia, Sevenoaks, born at Uddingston, Lanarkshire, October 14th, 1890, and came to Tonbridge in 1905 from Mr. W. H. Counsell's, St. Aldate's, Sevenoaks. On leaving School he elected to gain foreign experience and, after three years spent in France, Germany and Russia, spoke French and German fluently and Russian fairly well. In 1912 he joined his father in the fur trade in London and Glasgow, residing mostly in Glasgow. Being born free of the City of London and the Skinners' Company, he was admitted to the Livery of the Worshipful Company of Skinners, April 2nd, 1912, and later admitted a member of the Pellipar Lodge, No. 2693.

A particularly fine horseman across country, he was well-known with the West Kent and latterly with the Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Foxhounds. He had been in the Cadet Corps, as it then was, here, and in 1913 he joined the Inns of Court O.T.C. Squadron, and, being in training on Salisbury Plain when war was declared, at once signed on for foreign service. He was given his commission, dated August 15th, 1914, and was posted to the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards (S.R.) and attached to the 1st Reserve Regiment of Cavalry for training at Aldershot, but transferred to the Infantry and was gazetted to the Special Reserve Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regt. October 17th, 1914. He joined this Battalion at Hedon, was promoted Lieutenant February 2nd, 1915, and in March went out to join the 1st Battn. in France.

He was wounded in the left hip during the attack on Hooge, August 9th, 1915, and later in the day was buried in the debris caused by a bursting shell, only being dug out with difficulty and at great risk. His Colonel wrote that his conduct " was particularly gallant, and, though wounded quite early in the morning, he continued doing his work and looking after his men till 3 p.m. before going to the dressing station." "I sincerely hope," he added, " that he will make a good and speedy recovery, as he is such a capital officer and a great loss to the Battalion." He returned to light duty at Hull in November. Whilst there he became engaged, in March, 1915, to Madeline, only child of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hare, of Rydal Lodge, The Park, and was to have been married in May, when he hoped to come home on short leave. He was invited and urged to negotiate a transfer to the East Riding Yeomanry, but this was not carried out, and he returned to France in January, being posted once more to the 1st Battn. of the East Yorkshires. He was shortly afterwards attached to the 10th Entrenching Battn. and given command of a company, but after a week or so became Adjutant to the Battalion.

On the morning of April 10th their camp was heavily shelled, and he had just been round with his CO. to see that the men were all as safe as possible and was standing with the Chaplain outside their huts, when a large shell landed some sixty yards away and he was hit, and died before he could be conveyed to the adjacent field ambulance. Close examination revealed a very small wound, and showed that a tiny splinter must have pierced the heart. He was buried the same day in a cemetery by the road from Elverdinghe to Poperinghe. "He will be missed," wrote the Chaplain, " more than any man in camp : in fact, he was regarded by everybody with a happy affection such as I have not seen in any of the many camps that I have known. . . . He was as brave and lovable a man as there was in the British Army. His friendship and interest and help in my work as Chaplain drew me very near to him." His Commanding Officer wrote of him:— "Personally I miss his help more than I can say. He had recently taken over the Adjutant's work and was doing extraordinarily well, and I hoped to be able to keep him with me for the remainder of the war."

Citations & Commemorations :

Masonic :

Douglas only took his 1st Degree with Pellipar Lodge and although no war service is recorded in the ledgers at United Grand Lodge of England, it shows that he was "Killed in Action 10 April 1916".

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
• Website : Pellipar Lodge