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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Anthony Eden


Guest sanekiwi

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From what I have been told he got shot on the front line and it was my grandfarther that went out and carried him back...my grandfarther (james wattie simpson or wattie james simpson) got a medal for this.

when tony eden became prime minister he made a visit to new zealand were james had a private meeting with him in the Grand hotel in Invercargill....sadly after that meeting james walked out of that hotel and gave his medal to the first kid he seen on the street...he was never the same again....refusing to talk about the war...spending hours and even days in his wee shed he had in the back yard he slowly withdrew from his family and all those that loved him....my bond with my grandfarther is strong and I hope to tell his story someday....hes been forgotten and its time for him to stand up and be counted.

thankyou for any help that you can over on this....even just a point in the right direction would help

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You may find it useful to read "Another World" one of Eden's autobiographies, in which he describes his early life, including his experiences during WW1.

Myrtle

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I have always thought that he served with Anthony in same regiment...but maybe not as there must have been total kaos on the front lines....I feel for every person that was there and how it must of been.

Anthony Edens books give no refference to him being shot which I find abit strange.

any clues on where this infromation might be kept.

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I have always thought that he served with Anthony in same regiment...but maybe not as there must have been total kaos on the front lines....I feel for every person that was there and how it must of been.

Anthony Edens books give no refference to him being shot which I find abit strange.

any clues on where this infromation might be kept.

Not quite sure what you mean by the first statement? What unit did your relative serve with then? RAMC?

I am pretty sure Eden wasn't wounded in the Great War, but it is a while since I read his book.

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my mother has always told me that he saved the live of his commander and that he was a rifleman.

I have just come accross some medal lists but cant be sure if he is there untill I can get his regiment number....will have to go back to my family for more info

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I think Anthony Eden received the Military Cross for saving a wounded officer, but I have not heard of him being wounded himself.

Tony.

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Anthony Eden doesn't appear to have been shot during WW1 but while he was adjutant in the summer of 1917 he was at the battalion headquarters crowded with soldiers of the relieving battalion, when it was shelled. Many were killed and wounded. Anthony Eden said in his autobiography that when the runners and signallers who had been on duty came back they helped those that were able to return to their support line. He talks about everything being carried out in a daze, but doesn't mention concussion.

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Try the UK website "documentsonline" --for World War I Medal records.

Do you know what unit he was with and Regimental service number?

Note-searching the catalogue is free-but to download the record is 3.50 English Money.

Note-he was award medal--try the "London Gazette" online

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  • 5 months later...

Anthony Eden's brother was killed at First Ypres:

Name: EDEN, JOHN

Initials: J

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Lieutenant

Regiment: 12th (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers

Age: 26

Date of Death: 17/10/1914

Additional information: Son of Sir William and Lady Sybil Frances Eden, of Windlestone Hall, Ferryhill, Co. Durham. Older brother of Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1955 to 1957.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: IV. D. 6.

Cemetery: LARCH WOOD (RAILWAY CUTTING) CEMETERY

Can anyone tell me more about the events surrounding his death?

Regards

David

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David,

Bond of Sacrifice gives,

"Killed while on patrol duty near Wervecq on the 8th of October 1914.

He was buried near the small village of America"

Hope this is of help.

Bob.

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Anthony Eden wrote that "these were miserable months for my mother. My brother Jack (John) was killed on a cavalry patrol near Ypres in October1914; my father died in the following February, and her brother, Robin Grey, had been shot down in his aeroplane and taken prisoner. He tried repeatedly to escape, once almost reaching the Dutch frontier. He was recaptured and was soon to suffer solitary confinement for being a cousin of Edward Grey, then Foreign Secretary. "

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His brother Nicholas, aged sixteen was killed on board the HMS Indefatigable during the Battle of Jutland.

(see page 82 'Another World' Anthony Eden)

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Guest Simon Bull
Anthony Eden's brother was killed at First Ypres:

Name: EDEN, JOHN

Initials: J

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Lieutenant

Regiment: 12th (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers

Age: 26

Date of Death: 17/10/1914

Additional information: Son of Sir William and Lady Sybil Frances Eden, of Windlestone Hall, Ferryhill, Co. Durham. Older brother of Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1955 to 1957.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: IV. D. 6.

Cemetery: LARCH WOOD (RAILWAY CUTTING) CEMETERY

Can anyone tell me more about the events surrounding his death?

Regards

David

I find the additional information section of this entry intriguing. I though that this was compiled from information the family gave at the time. However, unless they were using their crystal ball, they could not have know that Eden would become Prime Minister. Was it normal to change information in this way?

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I find the additional information section of this entry intriguing. I though that this was compiled from information the family gave at the time. However, unless they were using their crystal ball, they could not have know that Eden would become Prime Minister. Was it normal to change information in this way?

Could it have been added by the poster( David_Blanchard)?

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From what I have been told he got shot on the front line and it was my grandfarther that went out and carried him back...my grandfarther (james wattie simpson or wattie james simpson) got a medal for this.

when tony eden became prime minister he made a visit to new zealand were james had a private meeting with him in the Grand hotel in Invercargill....sadly after that meeting james walked out of that hotel and gave his medal to the first kid he seen on the street...he was never the same again....refusing to talk about the war...spending hours and even days in his wee shed he had in the back yard he slowly withdrew from his family and all those that loved him....my bond with my grandfarther is strong and I hope to tell his story someday....hes been forgotten and its time for him to stand up and be counted.

thankyou for any help that you can over on this....even just a point in the right direction would help

Absolutely - get him remembered, even if these men cleaned shoes. They were there!

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  • 2 years later...
His brother Nicholas, aged sixteen was killed on board the HMS Indefatigable during the Battle of Jutland.

(see page 82 'Another World' Anthony Eden)

Jack Eden was out on patrol on October 17th 1914 he met his death while covering the retreat of his men.His body was found two days later by a squadron of the 20th Hussars,and was buried by the officers themselves just outside the wood near a small village called America, four miles from Wervicq in Belgium.

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In his 1986 authoritative biogrpahy of Eden Robert Rhodes James makes no mention of Eden being wounded. On the contrary Eden later often remarked on the extraordinary number of near misses he had faced in his near 29 months in the fighting. As well as his MC he was recommended for a DSO twice.

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Is there any chance that family memories have been clouded over time (as is often the case) and you've got the wrong prime minister? Harold macMillan was wounded at both Loos and the Somme.

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