Family :

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 :

Richard Frederick Ince Currie stands out as one only five members of the Lodge who enlisted in the Army rather than be commissioned, and one of only two of those who were not later commissioned.
Currie went to Wellington in 1896 and was in Bevir's House, now the Benson. He, like Stephenson, went up to Trinity, Cambridge, before becoming a wine merchant for a brief spell and then a tea planter in Ceylon.

He was a founder of the Lodge in 1909, and had been initiated into Rosemary Lodge No 2851, the lodge associated with the Artists Rifles and today the special forces.

During his time as a tea planter in Ceylon he joined Nuwara Eliya Lodge No 2991, a local English lodge warranted a few years before the OW Lodge in 1903. Nuwara Eliya is named after its hill station home in the heart of Sri Lankan tea country. The lodge still exists, one of ten English Constitution lodges in Sri Lanka and still meets at the Hill Club.

Currie served in the 10th Royal Fusiliers, a territorial battalion raised in 1914 and nicknamed the Stockbrokers.

He died at the battle of the Somme on 15th July 1916, and lies in Pozieres British Cemetery, Ovillers-La Boisselle. He was 36.

Masonic :

Joined Nuwara Eliya Lodge No. 2991 in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on 19th October 1907 from Rosemary Lodge No. 2851. He further joined Heroum Filii (Old Wellingtonian) Lodge No. 3404 as a petitioner and founder member at its consecration 9th October 1909.

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 : Old Wellingtonian (Heroum Filii) Lodge No. 3404
• Researcher : Tom Hawley