Family :

Education & Career :

Back went to Marlborough College and from there up to Brasenose College, Oxford. He was initiated into the Apollo whilst he was up. After coming down he became a Solicitor, practising principally in Cairo, Egypt.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

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

The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.

Detail :

Back was sent to France on 28th August and then subsequently killed in action (medal card) on 22nd September 1916.

Probate confirms: BACK, Horace Aubrey of 6 St. Helens Place, London died 22 September 1916 in France on active service. Probate London, 31 January to Howard Chaplin Back, Merchant and Ralegh Buller Phillpots, Solcitor. Effect £732 14s. 6d.

Citations & Commemorations :

Masonic :

Listed in the 1921 book as H.A. BUCK. Assessing the records of the Old Malburian, it is found that this is actually Horace Aubrey BACK, who as a petitioning and founding member of this lodge, died 22nd September 1916 (war service is not recorded in Grand Lodge register). He joined Old Malburians at its consecration on 26th April 1911.

He joined Old Malburians from Grecia Lodge No. 1105, but his mother Lodge was Apollo Lodge No. 357 and was initiated in 1902 whilst an undergraduate at Brazewell College, Oxford University. He resigned from Apollo Lodge on 17th October 1906. He moved out to Egypt and was joined to Grecia Lodge No. 1105 on 3rd November 1908, resigning "after 1914".

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
• Website : Oxford & Cambridge Club Roll of Honour