Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Helles Memorial | Panel 58 to 72 or 218 to 219. | |
| 2. Memorial: | Freemasons VC Memorial | Great Queen Street | |
| 3. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.117 | |
| 4. Book: | Beyond The Five Points | Pgs 176-179 | |
Awards & Titles: | Victoria Cross 1914-15 Star British War Medal Allied Victory Medal Africa General Service Medal Somaliland Clasp | ||
Early Life :
Bromley was born on 19 September 1878 in Hammersmith, London moving to Sutton Corner, Seaford, East Sussex, shortly thereafter.Family :
Son of the late Sir John Bromley, C.B., and of Lady Bromley, of Sutton Corner, Seaford, Sussex.Education & Career :
One of 4 brothers educated at St Paul’s.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Karachi. Returned to England, landing 2 January 1915 and moved to Nuneaton. 2 January 1915 : Attached to 86th Brigade, 29th Division. 16 March 1915 : sailed via Egypt and landed Gallipoli 25 April 1915. Evacuated to Egypt January 1916. Landed at Marseilles March 1916. |
| Action : Naval Campaign |
Naval Campaign is defined as to include all sea operations where attrition rates are in ones and twos and which do not fall within specific naval battles such as Jutland, Coronel, Falklands etc. This includes Merchant Navy losses.
Detail :
Bromley injured his back in the action at W Beach but did not seek medical attention until wounded by a bullet in the knee on April 28.
He was wounded again while in temporary command of the 1st Battalion (with promotion to Major) during the Battle of Gully Ravine on June 28. This time he was evacuated to Egypt to recover, and in August begged his way aboard the troopship Royal Edward to return to the Gallipoli peninsula.
On the morning of 13 August, Royal Edward passed the British hospital ship Soudan, which was headed in the opposite direction. Oberleutnant zur See Heino von Heimburg on the German submarine UB-14 was off the island of Kandeloussa and saw both ships. Von Heimburg, seeing the properly identified hospital ship, allowed Soudan to pass unmolested, but soon focused his attention on the unescorted Royal Edward some 6 nautical miles (11 km) off Kandeloussa. Von Heimburg launched one of UB-14's two torpedoes from a about a mile (2 km) away and hit Royal Edward in the stern. The ship sank by the stern within six minutes. Royal Edward's crew was able to get off an SOS before losing power. Soudan, after making a 180 degree turn, arrived on the scene at 10:00 and was able to rescue 440 men over the next six hours. Two French destroyers and some trawlers that responded were able to rescue another 221. According to authors James Wise and Scott Baron, Royal Edward's death toll was 935 and was as high as it was, they contend, because Royal Edward had just completed a boat drill and the majority of the men were belowdecks re-stowing their equipment. Some other sources report different numbers of casualties, ranging from 132 on the low end, to 1,386, to 1,865 on the upper end. Cuthbert Bromley was one of the dead. His body was never recovered.
Citations & Commemorations :
Bromley was awarded the V.C. for action during the landings at W Beach during the Gallipoli Campaign, April 25, 1915, one of the group known in the press as 'The Six V.C.s Before Breakfast' (the others were Capt. R.R. Willis; Sgts. A. Richards and F.E. Stubbs; L/Cpl. Grimshaw; and Pte. W. Kennealy).Bromley's citation read:
'On the 25th April, 1915, headquarters and three companies of the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in effecting a landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula to the West of Cape Helles, were met by very deadly fire from hidden machine guns, which caused a great number of casualties. The survivors, however, rushed up to and cut the wire entanglements, notwithstanding the terrific fire from the enemy, and after overcoming supreme difficulties, the cliffs were gained and the position maintained. Amongst the many very gallant officers and men engaged in this most hazardous undertaking, Captain Bromley, Serjeant Stubbs, and Corporal Grimshaw have been selected by their comrades as having performed the most single acts of bravery and devotion to duty.'
(The citation for Bromley, Stubbs, and Grimshaw was not issued until March 15, 1917, due to War Office regulations and red tape; the citation for Willis, Richards, and Kennealy, worded identically, had been issued on August 23, 1915.)
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Invicta No. 2440 E.C. | Bengal |
| Joined : | Mooltan No. 1307 E.C. | Bengal |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
19th July 1909 | 16th August 1909 | 20th September 1909 |
Initiated into Freemasonry at Chakrata in 1909, at Invicta Lodge No. 2440. He resigned from Invicta 30th April 1910 and concurrently joined Mooltan Lodge 12th April 1910 and resigned 31st March 1911.
When the Secretary of Mooltan Lodge sent his return to Grand Lodge in London for 1915 he included Cuthbert Bromley at his then known rank of Captain. As Bromley was not awarded the VC until 1917 it seems likely that the Secretary was not aware of the award and when the Masonic Roll of Honour was compiled it included no mention of the VC. He was one of 12 English freemasons who were VC winners and who were killed in the Great War. The others were NORWOOD, CARTER, WATSON, DIMMER, REYNOLDS, McNAIR, COLLINGS-WELLS, LUMSDEN, NELSON, HALLOWES & HARTLEY.
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