Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Flanders | Panel 3 | |
| 2. Website: | Household Brigade Lodge No. 2614. | ||
| 3. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.137 | |
| 4. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 42A GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of Hector Stewart Vandeleur and Charlotte Vandeleur of Kilrush and Cahiracon, Co. Clare; husband of the Hon. Violet Ethel Meysey-Thompson, eldest daughter of 1st Baron Knaresborough (now the Hon. Mrs. A. H. S. Howard, of Thornbury Castle, Glos.).Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 2nd Life Guards |
| 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 :
Captain Alexander Moore Vandeleur born 1883, 2nd Lieutenant 1903, Lieutenant 1903, Captain 1909, General Reserve of officers 1913, rejoined 14 August 1914 and was killed in action at Zandvoorde on 30th October 1914 The Indian Corps in France (30th October 1914) states: ...The 2nd Cavalry Division fought hard to hold its position. A squadron of the lst Life Guards under Lord Hugh Grosvenor, and another of the 2nd Life Guards under Captain Vandeleur were surrounded in their trenches by the Germans. Scorning surrender, they fought to the last, and were absolutely wiped out in hand-to- hand fighting against hopeless odds. . The 30th October 1914 saw the deaths in action at Ypres of three Brethren who served in the Life Guards. Lieutenant John CLOSE-BROOKS and Captain Lord William Hugh GROSVENOR of the 1st Life Guards; Captain Alexander VANDELEUR of 2nd Life Guards. In addition Lieutenant Lord C S WORSLEY of the Royal Horse Guards Machine Gun Section also fell. Grosvenor and Vandeleur were members of the HOUSEHOLD BRIGADE LODGE No 2614 and died together fighting against hopeless odds in a moment that no doubt led them to contemplate their inevitable destiny.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Household Brigade No. 2614 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
25th June 1907 | 27th January 1908 | 24th February 1908 |
See also: Household Brigade Lodge No. 2614.
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