Clergymen enlisting as combatants

[Audax]

I just added details of this chap to my Somme site, Rev. S.F.Hutton, who died as a Private in the 8th Royal Fusiliers on the Somme:

http://www.somme-1916.com/soldier011.htm

Paul,

Excellent, Thanks.

I have come across the statment 'hundreds of Anglican clergymen chose to volunteer for combat as well as non combatant service during the First World War'.

It would be worthwhile to test the validity of this sweepeing statement.

[SteveE]

Hutchings, Rev H.W. (temp. Chapl. 4th Class) -

The War of 1914-19. - Wounded twice. M.C.

I would think he was attached to Royal Fusiliers as a Chaplain. Did you have a note of the award of the M.C.?

Audax

Thanks for that, I had missed the award for the MC, off to check the Gazette for the entry now......

Thanks again

Steve

[Audax]

Lt Colonel Bernard William Vann was awarded the VC, MC & Bar, Croix de Guerre (France)

http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/casualty_...casualty=238721

His epitaph reads " A Great Priest who in his days pleased God"

Peter, Thanks.

Seems that he was an Assistant Master at Wellingborough Grammar School before enlisting; but was also in Holy Orders.

[SteveE]

Thanks for that, I had missed the award for the MC, off to check the Gazette for the entry now......

If you're interested the link for his MC award is Here

Steve

[Audax]

If you're interested the link for his MC award is Here

Steve

Steve, May I say thanks for the link also.

From 'Crockfords Clerical Directory 1939-4. From Crockfords Clerical Directory

Hugh William Hutchings. – Em. Coll. Cam. BA (2nd Cl. Th. Trip.) 1909, M.A. 1926 Ridley Hall Camb. 1909 M.C. 1918 d 1910 p 1911 St Alb. C of St Sav Westcliff, 1910-14; served in London Scottish 1914-16 Temp C.F. 1916-20 C.F. 1920 Rhine Army 1922-25 Beachley 1925-29 Catterick 1929-34 Bulford 1934-38, Aldershot from 1938.

and from the Army List 1918

Temporary Chaplain to the Forces (4th Class) Church of England

Hutchings. Rev H W M.C. Date of Commission 17 Mar. 16

-

[SteveE]

Audax

Thanks for the extra details for Hugh William Hutchings.

I've got another one for you......Father William DAVISON, Chaplain, again attached to the Royal Fusiliers.

Do you have any details for this man?

Steve

[Audax]

Audax

Thanks for the extra details for Hugh William Hutchings.

I've got another one for you......Father William DAVISON, Chaplain, again attached to the Royal Fusiliers.

Do you have any details for this man?

Steve

There is a file for Captain (Chaplain) W Davison at the National Archives, Kew. Reference No. W0374/18648.

A note says it covers 1918-21 and 1929.

Crockfords (The Church of England) 1939 has William Davison who served as Temp Chaplain to the Forces 1918-19. Hon C.F. 1919. Do these dates fit with R.Fus. chaplain? A look at the file in TNA should confirm wether it is the right man.

The 1918 Army List has a Rev. W. Davidson - Church of England T.C.F. 4th Cl. Date of Commission 3.5.1918.

[SteveE]

Do these dates fit with R.Fus. chaplain?

No, unfortunately not. Realise my error in that this is not the man I'm after.

My man is Father DAVAISON according to the battalion war diary and he's attached to the Royal Fusiliers as the R. C. Chaplain in July 1916.

Regards

Steve

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

This also happened in the AIF,

I have many Clergyman joinning the ranks as soldiers and serving during the war as soldiers while others later were commisioned as Chaplains.

One man by the name of William Charles Francis served as Pte with the 13Bn AIF winning the DCM and MID at Gallipoli he later relisted as Capt Chaplain 4th class and served with the ALH in Egypt and Palestine.

Cheers

S.B

[daggers]

Reviving this old thread, but is there a later one?

I have come across Captain Edward Stanley Russell, a former assistant and minister at Ullet Road Church, Liverpool (Unitarian).

Having enlisted in the ranks he was commissioned, served in the Dardanelles and France, was wounded, won a MC and was buried at Beersheba. (Times, 20/11/17)

Googling produces tantalising snippet glimpses of an interest in psychic matters, and some recognition as a war poet.

Is anything published?

D

[michaeldr]

He is appears in the Appendix to Tim Cross' 'The Lost Voices of World War I'

but alas, no published work is cited

[daggers]

Looking more closely at the Google books entry, it refers to "For Remembrance: soldier poets who have fallen in the Great War", by Arthur St J. Adcock. Russell's papers are lodged at his old college.

I shall have a go in another part of the Forum in case anyone has this.

D

[stephen p nunn]

When Great War clergy are ever mentioned, I always think of the one time vicar of a church not far from here - at Mersea Island. His name was the Rev. Charles Pierrepont Edwards, MC and he became vicar of West Mersea in 1898 and stayed there for 50 years. He was ordained deacon in 1887 I know he served as an Army Chaplin in Gallipoli and was know locally as "the fighting parson" and "Old Spiery". When a Zeppelin (L33) came down at Wigborough on 23/9/16, the crew were taken to him and he locked them in a barn on the island prior to them being transferred to Colchester Garrison. He joined the Territorials in 1913, serving with the 1/5 Suffolks and went to Gallipoli in July 1915. He was evacuated in the December of 1915, went to Egypt and then back to Mersea. He was also involved in investigating the fate of the Sandringham 5th Norfolks for the King (he found the remains of 122 members of the Battalion in a mass grave in 1919).

Regards.

SPN

Maldon

[michaeldr]

From the LG

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 4 MARCH, 1915. 2233

1st Battalion, The Herefordshire Regiment;

Edward Stanley Russell to be Second Lieutenant.

Dated 26th February, 1915.

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 22 NOVEMBER, 1915. 11575

ATTACHED TO HEADQUARTER UNITS

Staff Captains—

Second Lieutenant E. S. Russell, The

Herefordshire Regiment, Territorial Force,

vice Captain A. S. Davies, The Royal Welsh

Fusiliers, Territorial Force, from 16th September,

1915, to 6th October, 1915.

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 3 JULY, 1917.

2nd Lt. (actg. Capt.) E. S. Russell to be

Lt. (actg. Capt.), with precedence as from

1st June 1916. 4th July 1917.

Regret as yet no trace of his MC

[daggers]

Thanks, Michael.

I may not be able to ack any postings for a few days...

D

[CGM]

A bit more about the Rev. Charles Pierrepont Edwards. While searching the East Anglian newspapers I came across an article about a talk he gave at St Peters Church Sudbury, about his experiences in Gallipoli and Egypt.

The talk lasted about 2 hours and then a collection was made, for the Suffolk Prisoners of War Fund, which amounted to over £7.

The date of the talk was September 18th 1916.

I've inserted the paragraph breaks, to make it a bit easier to follow on the screen.

From the Essex County Standard, West Suffolk Gazette and Eastern Counties Standard September 23rd 1916.

THE REV. C. PIERREPONT EDWARDS, M.C., ON HIS EXPERIENCES IN GALLIPOLI AND EGYPT.

INTERESTING ADDRESS AT SUDBURY.

On Monday evening, September18, a large congregation assembled at St. Peter's Church, Sudbury, to hear an address by the Vicar of West Mersea, the Rev. C. Pierrepont Edwards, M.C., Chaplain to the 5th Battalion Suffolk Regiment, on his experiences in Gallipoli and Egypt, the offertory being devoted to the Suffolk Prisoners of War Help Fund.

The Rev. Pierrepont Edwards said that what they had gone through in Gallipoli taught them that all shams disappeared when they were face to face with death. It is a glorious page, he said, in the history of your town, your county, and our common heritage, and our Imperial heritage. He commenced his narrative from the time the 5th Suffolks joined up with the 4th and 5th Norfolks and the 8th Hampshires to form the 163rd or the Norfolk and Suffolk Brigade. When Colonel Armes, one of the best, with joy in his voice and brightness in his eyes, told the news that at last they were going out, all was excitement. On the huge ship there were eight battalions, besides the various staff – practically 8,000 men on one ship.

He described the landing, the taking of a line of outposts, and how the accidental discharge of a rifle wounded three men and one of the officers. The spirit of the East Anglian soldiers was shown in many ways. He described how, when under heavy shell fire, they calmly went to a well to fill their water-bottles; and how the Suffolks went out to take an important village – they stepped out as if on parade. Many fell; still they pushed on, some of them under Col. Armes reaching the village. But they had to fall back into a shallow, deadly trench, 14 inches deep. He described the bravery, the fortitude of our men in spite of sickness and suffering, want of food, in spite of the heat and flies. Still they held on.

You may be proud, he said, of what our boys did there. Four solid months they stuck it, though attacked with dysentery. The spirit and self-sacrifice of the sick and wounded men were splendid. Major Dixon was one of those brave spirits; who held on to duty long after he should have been in hospital, and he paid the penalty of his courage with his life. The rev. gentleman traced the movements and related the fortunes of the Suffolks from time to time. Sergt. Hunt, another brave soldier, was buried forty or fifty yards from the front line trench. They were never out of the danger of bullets and shells; communion and confirmation services were held on the side of a hill, close to the Turkish trenches, and the services had to be spoken in a whisper.

He conducted the funeral of a son whose father was the chief mourner – what a lesson to some of the men who had claimed exemption. He acknowledged the kindness of Colonel Armes and all the officers of the division to which he was chaplain. When food was short, and the health conditions were about as bad as they could be, nobody complained, and everybody was cheerful, and only when it was impossible to bear it any longer did the men give in and allow themselves to be taken to hospital.

Then there was the experience in Egypt, with the repetition of the hardships, with the addition of sandstorms and worse flies. He gave some advice to those at home – home that was continually in the thoughts of the boys far away. Send them long, chatty letters, with all the details possible, for they hungered for the news for home and devoured it when they got it.

In conclusion he said:- "As long as my life shall last, the kindness, the goodness, the loving consideration, and the sympathy of my own dear boys in the 163rd Brigade will be a sweet memory to me."

The address lasted about two hours. The collection amounted to over £7.

---~---

CGM

[Derek Robertson]

Andrew Stewart was the Minister of Isle of Whithorn church but was commissioned as an infantry officer.

Name: STEWART

Initials: A

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Regiment/Service: Northumberland Fusiliers

Unit Text: 10th Bn.

Date of Death: 20/09/1917

Awards: M C

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: III. E. 6.

Cemetery: LARCH WOOD (RAILWAY CUTTING) CEMETERY

See: http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic....warmemscot#7208

There was also a local Minister in Hawick who chose to serve as a munitions worker from 1915 onwards.

[Tunesmith]

6'2" Presbyterian minister George Brander joined the Scots Guards on 9^th September 1914, and was commissioned into the 11^th Royal Scots in December 1914 He was wounded at Haisnes during the battle of Loos. Here's his account of the action:

'On the morning of the 25^th September 1915, the 11^th Royal Scots D Coy … were ordered to advance on the village of Haisnes to support the 26^th Brigade. D Coy advanced and encountered no enemy, receiving MG and Artillery fire. Ultimately we reached strong wire entanglement, which was crossed (Capt Bell, Lt M.R.Brown and myself of D coy and Lt Lemmie (now Capt.) of C Coy. We entered a trench on the other side of the entanglement which surrounded the village of Haisnes, and from which a short communication trench led to the village.

A very few men followed us, the remainder, I presume, being held up on the wire. We held this trench against various attacks by the Germans for more than three hours. The Germans by this time had worked round our flanks. A small party of men on our left from 26^th Bde retired. We were left in a cul-de-sac, and endeavoured to retire. As soon as I mounted the parapet, I was shot through the left thigh. Later I was shot through the right forearm - the Germans reoccupied the trench in rear of me and cut off any hope of escape. I was taken on the morning of the 26^th.'

Lt Brander spent the rest of the war as a POW in Cologne, Mainz and Ingolstadt, and was repatriated in December 1918. After the war he resumed his profession and was minister at the Presbyterian church in Highgate, North London.

If anyone has any more info about the Rev. George Brander in the 11^th Royal Scots or at any of the three prison camps, I'd be very grateful for it.

Tunesmith

[Wesley Wright]

Another Ulsterman

KERR, DANIEL Initials: D Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Lieutenant Regiment/Service: Cheshire Regiment Unit Text: 14th Bn. Secondary Regiment: South Wales Borderers Secondary Unit Text: attd. 2nd Bn. Age: 23 Date of Death: 06/07/1915 Additional information: Son of Mrs. Kerr, of Craignamaddy, Stranocum, Co. Antrim, and the late Mr. S. J. Kerr. Formerly a Presbyterian Minister in Canada. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial

Wesley Wright

[johnny_doyle]

Richard Skilbeck Smith MC (1891-1969), author of "A subaltern in Macedonia and Judæa, 1916-17" and son of Reverend John Thomas Smith. Definitely a clergyman after the war but not sure yet if he was ordained before the war.

[Paul Nixon]

The Reverend Thomas Harry Lee Jellicoe of Chailey in Sussex, having been the focal point of the parish during most of the war years, still felt that there was something lacking. In January 1918 he wrote to his parishioners:

"For a long time I have felt that I ought to be taking part directly in the activities of these stirring times. The need is more urgent now than ever and we are called upon, as you will readily agree, to make sacrifices to further the special calls to service that come to some of us. I have accepted a Chaplaincy on H M Hospital Ship, “St Margaret of Scotland” stationed in the Mediterranean, and I am commanded to be in readiness to repair to it on Jan 28th. I am severing myself for the time from much that is very dear to me… "

You can read more about him on my Chailey 1914-1918 website - link in the signature.

Paul

[kildaremark]

On a slight variation of this theme, Jephson Byrne O'Connell served with the Royal Army Chaplaincy Corps during the war serving in France from January 1918. In 1922, he was in Kinsale, Co. Cork as commander of the 59th Battalion of the Irish Free State Army during the Irish Civil War.

Mark

[stephen p nunn]

Some years ago I stayed at Farnborough Abbey. I recall some gravestones to Benedictine Monks who served and were killed I think??

SPN

Maldon

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

I have a number of Clergy who joined as a Pte soldier during the war.

These I have served in the ALH'

AXELSEN Edmund 16842 Pte ACFA to Sgt 5 LHFA

DUNBAR William James 1889 Pte 12 LHR 11R prom Capt Meth Chaplain (4th class) 4 LH Bde HQ att 12 LHR 5-17 att 11 LHR (1 IR to 3 IR CMF) buried Gaza War Cemetery Palestine

FISHER Edward 1878 Pte 6 LHR 13R to AIF HQ (baptist)

FRANCIS William Charles 851 Pte 13Bn HCo to Cpl DCM MID (G) relist AACD Capt Chaplain 4th class (Meth) to 4 LH Bde HQ att 12 LHR 7-18

HUGHES George Thomas 201 L/Cpl 8 LHR B Sqn (G) killed at the Nek NKG listed on Lone Pine Memorial Gallipoli

NICHOLAS Albert Stanley 21792 Pte AAMC R to 1 LHFA 11-18 prom Capt Chaplain 4th class 12-18 to 5 LH Bde HQ 1-19

PEART William Charles Joshua 3127 Pte 04 LHR 24R to Gnr 31Bty/8 FAB prom Capt Chaplain Meth 4th class F&B (8 LH 1908 CMF 4 years)

PHILLIPS William Thomas 1436 Pte 05 LHR 11R to ? Sqn 2-16 to S/Smith 1-18 to T/S/Smith Cpl 11-18 (BSqn CMF 2 years) related F Phillips

SPENCER Frederick Augustus Morland 18474 Pte AAMC June 1917 R to Capt CoE 4th class Chaplain 2 LH Bde HQ att 7 LHR

WATSON Isaac 16949 Pte ACFA to Cpl 5 LHFA 7-18

WELLINGTON William Pascoe 2896 A/Cpl 02 LHR 20R to 1 LH MGS 12-16 to L/Cpl 6-18 att AIF HQ 2-19 disch to work for YMCA

Cheers

S.B

[Formosa]

Hi my great great grandfather was a vicar in the first world war he served from 1914 -1917 with the

7th field ambulance

4th suffolks

1st Middlesex

18th Middlesex

3rd division bef

He wrote complete war diary which i have 50 pages in all about the size of a4 paper.

He did mention sharing a train with a vicar who won a VC i dont know if this diary is of any use to anybody or not?

He was one of the first drafts of kictheners's army Conversation like this used to take place

Pte A ''Who is that bloke over there''?

Corporal B ''Oh he's a parson

Pte A ''Not a pucca parson?

Corp B ''oh yes''

Pte A ''What pucca C of E?

Corp B ''Yes''

Pte A ''Blimey''