Identity of 7th South Staffs Officers

[Guest]

William Briant Cooper Williams (1883-1957) - war service -May 1918 Captain, 7 Bn.

[ddycher]

Nick

 

If you are still out there ping me. Your grandfather comes up in my research into the 5th Devons. He served with them between 1906 and 1914 before returning to the South Staff's.

 

Regards

Dave

[Simon_Fielding]

On 30/08/2018 at 00:34, Guest said:

Gentlemen,

 

I have only recently seen this particular blog, having been sent the link by a descendant of one of the officers in the photograph. Since then a number of things have come together, all detailed below.

 

Andy Johnson mentioned that one of the officers - the Adjutant - might be Captain J A Baillon. This was Joseph Aloysius, or Jo, Baillon and I am in touch with his grandson. Jo Baillon survived the war and finished WW2 as a major general. He died in 1951 at the age of 56. His son, Peter Baillon, also went in to the South Staffords but transferred to the Parachute Regiment in the late 1950s, finishing his service as a brigadier. He died last year at the age of 92. I only have a photograph of Jo Baillon when a general but pretty certain he is the officer on Lt Col Harry Carter's right (ie, our left). I am checking with the grandson, Richard.

 

Second from the left, as we look at it, is Captain Frank James Dermot Lindner, known as Jim. Jim's son, Gerald, is alive and well and also followed his father in to the South Staffords. I will be seeing Gerald in a couple of weeks and might be able to find out more.

 

Another officer in the photograph might be Bertram Florey. I am checking this out with his great grandson but he does not think Captain Florey is here. However, there is an earlier photograph of the officers of the Battalion, taken in either late 1914 or early 1915 before they left England. The CO here is Lt Col A H Daukes, killed, as were many of his officers, at Suvla Bay in August 1915.

 

Could I ask Andy or someone to send me a high resolution image of the 1917 group and I will give a copy to Gerald Lindner.

 

Just caught this great thread - I think one of these very young officers must be JA MOORE - perhaps on the left second row standing - what do you think?

 

Simon

 

Lieutenant John Aubrey MOORE

 

7th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment

 

Killed in action 9^th August 1915

 

John Aubrey Moore was another of the men on the Bewdley Memorial to be killed in the abortive Allied landings at Gallipoli on the Dardanelles peninsula

in Turkey. Not only was he one of the town’s serving officers, he was also the only son of the Herbert Moore, the vicar of St. Anne’s.

 

John Aubrey Moore was born on the 29^th April 1893 at 5 Princes Street, Cavendish Square, London. He was the son of Herbert Augustine Moore, a clergyman in the Church of England, who was 32 at the time of his son’s birth, and Edith Elizabeth Moore.^[1] His family’s clerical background is suggested by his baptism, by his Grandfather, which took place at Holy Trinity Paddington, on Sunday, 4 June. ^[2]

 

By the time of the 1901 census, the family are living are living at 30 Blessington Road, Lewisham. The family’s two children are Mary, 9, and John 7. Herbert Moore moved to Bewdley in 1905, and in May 1908, John was sent to Felsted School, where he was a pupil until July 1912. During this time he was a member of the school OTC for at least four years.

 

At the outbreak of war in August 1914, John Moore was a student at Oxford University. He joined the New Army on 12^th August 1914, aged 21. His attestation form gives his height as 70’’, his chest measurement as 35 ½ inches, and his weight as 137 Ilbs. He gave his permanent address as ‘The Rectory, Bewdley, Worcestershire’. He was formally gazetted as a Second Lieutenant on August 26^th 1914, and was promoted to full Lieutenant on the 28^th January 1915.

 

The 7^th Battalion South Shropshire Regiment was formed at Lichfield, part of the 33^rd Brigade, together with the 6^th Lincolnshire Regiment, the 6^th Border Regiment, and the 9^th Sherwood Foresters. Together with 32^nd Brigade and 34^th Brigade, the 3^rd formed part of the 11^th (Northern) Division. The division began to concentrate for training at Witley and Frensham, and was inspected by King George V on 31^st May 1915. The division began to embark at Liverpool for the Dardanelles on 30^th June 1915, aboard the Empress of Britain and the Aquitania. The 7^th South Staffs landed at Alexandria on July 14^th 1915, and the division as a whole was finally present at Imbros on 28^th July 1915. ^[3] By the time of the battalion’s deployment to the Dardanelles, John Moore was commanding one of the platoons of ‘B’ company.

 

The 11^th division was part of Lt-General Sir Frederick Stopford’s IX Corps’ early August landings at Suvla Bay, designed to outflank the stalemated front line across the southern tip of the peninsula which had moved little since the earlier landings at Cap Helles in April. These controversial operations were hampered from the outset by Stopford himself, who, as a recent historian of the Gallipoli campaign indicates, ‘denied the offensive potential of Suvla’, and who was ‘content to advance very cautiously’. ^[4]

 

On the night of the 6-7^th August 1915, the battalion took part in the landing at Suvla Bay, supported by attacks from the Anzac positions further south. The landing itself was characterised by great confidence, as complete surprise was achieved, and very little Turkish resistance initially encountered. 33^rd brigade dug in on a line from the south west of the Salt Lake to the sea, with the Sherwood Foresters on the left, and the 7^th South Staffordshire on the right. Some disquiet began to be felt at the lack of contact with the enemy, and a feeling that full advantage was not being taken of the surprise achieved. There was also some feeling that despite the high morale of the battalion, it was a very inexperienced unit, yet to face its baptism of fire.

 

‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ companies were in the front line with ‘C’ company in reserve. The 7^th of August was spent passively, with some casualties from snipers. On the night of the 7^th and 8^th August, the battalion moved to Hill 50, a quarter of a mile east of Chocolate Hill. (These operations were taking place on an area that would also see the wounding later in August of Trooper Frederick Harvey Brown as discussed above) again, the 8^th of August was spent passively. That evening , orders were received that the brigade, minus the Sherwood Foresters, were to rendezvous northwest of Chocolate Hill and attack Turkish positions on Anafarta Ridge from point 112 to Anafarta Village. The 6^th Border Regiment were to be on the right, the 7^th South Staffordshire in the centre ‘directing on Hill 70’, and the 6^th Lincolnshire on the right. Each battalion was given 500 yards frontage.

 

New orders were issued at midnight, giving 0400 as the rendezvous hour, and indicating that Hill 50 would be relieved by units of the 10^th Division at 0300 on the 9^th August 1915. As the 7^th South Staffordshires arrived at their rendezvous point, they discovered the Lincolns had moved too far south, and the Borders were too close to them. At 0500 they realised they were overlapping. As the battalion arrived at Hill 70 at about 0600 hours, they came under a terrific hail of shrapnel and rifle fire. Delays in exploiting the Suvla landings had allowed the Turks to reinforce their previously lightly held positions. Every single officer in ‘A’, ‘D’ and ‘B’ companies was either killed or wounded. At about 1000, reinforcements from 10^th Division began to arrive, but even with their numbers, the attack could make no progress. Artillery support was delivered onto prearranged targets, and in most cases fell harmlessly on Anafarta Ridge rather than the Turkish forces engaged with 11^th Division’s attack. The Staffords and the Borders held an old Turkish communication trench for three days before being relieved by 32^nd Brigade on the 14^th of August. They had lost over 400 men in the attack on the 9^th August. Among the dead was John Moore, who has no known grave and is commemorated on the Helles memorial, panel 134 to 136.

 

John Aubrey Moore was a member of Bewdley Institute from 1914, and is commemorated on the Institute memorial. His family also founded a prize for patriotic verse in his memory at Felsted School. ^[5] Herbert Augustine Moore led the service of dedication of the St Anne’s Memorial in 1920. He was vicar of St Anne’s until 1922.

 

NB main image from War Illustrated (Album de Luxe) Volume V p.1794

 

Kidderminster Shuttle 28th AUG 1915 p.7

 

Public Record Office document WO 339 / 11827

 

Ashcroft, A. H. The History of the Seventh South Staffordshire Regiment. London: 1919.

 

---

^[1]  The Reverend Herbert Augustine Moore was born at 13 North Terrace, Camberwell, on Saturday, 8 September, 1860. He was baptized at Camden Church, Camberwell, on the 21^st October 1860. He was educated at St. Paul's School and at University College, Oxford, where he matriculated on the 16^th October 1880, aged 20. He graduated with a B.A. (Honours: 4 Hist.) in 1884, and an M.A. 1887. He was the Vicar of St Anselm, Davies Street (formerly Hanover Church, Regent Street), London, 1890-96, Curate of St. Andrew's, Peckham from 1897-99, of St. Margaret’s, Lee, in Kent from 1899-1904. He was the Rector of Ribbesford since 1904, and Vicar of St, Anne's Bewdley, from 1905 to 1922. He later become Vicar of Woolhope from 1922 to 1931, chaplain to the Bishop of Hereford, 1927-1930, Reader in Divinity at Hereford School from 1928; Canon and Treasurer of Hereford and prebendary of Moreton and Whaddon in Hereford Cathedral from 1929. Vicar of Woodmancote and Popham, and East Stratton, Hants from 1947. (Howard, Joseph Jackson and Crisp, Frederick Arthur Visitation of England and Wales Private printing 1906; Crockford’s Clerical Directory 1932)

 

^[2]  Jackson and Crisp p.150

^[3]  Westlake Ray

 

^[4]  Travers, Tim Gallipoli 1915 Tempus Stroud 2004 p. 179

^[5]  Alumni Felstedensis, April 1890 to September 1950: I am grateful to Dick Flory for this reference. Edith Moore died in 1928, and John’s sister Mary died in 1965. (London Times 29 4 1965) HA Moore retired 1933 due to ill health. (London Times 13 3 1933 )

 

 

 

[AndyJohnson]

Hi Simon

Just bumped into this thread by chance, not having visited for a while, and noted your recent addition re Lt John Aubrey Moore.

I agree with you, the man second from left on the first standing row looks very similar to the photo of Moore that you posted. The shape of the face looks very similar, especially the chin.

Looks a very decent bet.

regards

Andy

Edited 19 April , 2021 by AndyJohnson

[dawnyowl]

Can I add to this post

Recently discovered my gt uncle Benjamin bona 2nd battalion injured in festebert recovered in England, left with the 7 battalion to gallipoli then to eygpt..