shaunhullis Posted 15 December , 2005 Share Posted 15 December , 2005 (edited) I am researching this officer as part of a long-term project on Winchester College's war dead. The CWGC records Lewis as being attached to the Manchester regiment from the Devonshire Regiment; he died of wounds on 09/09/1917 and is buried in the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery. Does anyone know which battalion he was commanding at the time of his death? College records state that he died of wounds from shell-fire but I do not know when and where he was wounded. In return I can provide biographical information (and often photographs) of any one of over five hundred officers and men who attended Winchester College and died in WWI. Thank you. Edited 15 December , 2005 by Shaun Hullis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 15 December , 2005 Share Posted 15 December , 2005 Shaun Welcome to the Forum. Col Lewis isnt a name I recall coming across so am unable to help directly. However, I would have thought the Regimental Museum should have the details - phone is 0161 342 3078. There are other Forum member swith a particular interest in the Mancs who may have the answer. No doubt, they'll be along in due course. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 15 December , 2005 Share Posted 15 December , 2005 not sure if this helps -just in case you missed it THE LONDON GAZETTE,2 FEBRUARY,1917.1163 War Office, 2nd February,1917. REGULAR FORCES. •COMMANDS AND STAFF. The undermentioned appts.are made:— .SPECIAL APPOINTMENTS. .(Graded for purposes of pay as Staff Lts.,1st d.).—Bt.Col.R.W.Sherard,ret.pay, Ind.Army.17th Jan.1917. 18th Jan.1917. Maj.-Gen.J:G-.Turner,Ind.Army. Maj.T.S.Barton,ret.pay,Ind.Army. .(Graded for purposes of pay as a Staff Lt.,3rd Cl.).—Edwyn Gordon Boyd,and to be temp. 2nd Lt.28th Jan.1917. ATTACHED TO HD.QR.UNITS. JBrig.-Majors.—Maj.R.P.Lewis,Devon.R., vice Capt.I.M.Smith,Som.L.I.4th Nov.1916.(Substituted for the notifica- tion in the Gazette of 2nd Dec.1916.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunhullis Posted 16 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 16 December , 2005 (edited) Many thanks to you both. I hadn't seen the LG reference, so thanks for that (our records only state that he served as a Brigade Major, but not from when). Shaun Edited 16 December , 2005 by Shaun Hullis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernardmcilwaine Posted 17 December , 2005 Share Posted 17 December , 2005 shaun.all i have on him is this. major/act Lt col richard,percy lewis Lt in devonshire regt 1903 served in the south african war with the kings african rifles. capt devonshire regt. intelligence officer in cairo. acting Lt col commanding.batt of manchester regt. wounded. KILLED in action 7th sept 1917.at ypres attended winchester college,1887-1892 he was in the 17th devonshire regt during the war. bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunhullis Posted 18 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Bernard- Many thanks. That all confirms what we have in the school archives. Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike.brass Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Bernard- Many thanks. That all confirms what we have in the school archives. Shaun Shaun I believe Lewis was attached 1/9th Manchesters as CO from May 1917, before wounded on 7 September, dying the same day. Previously he'd served in South Africa with the City of London Volunteers and in Egypt. He'd been with the Manchesters at Gallipoli, but didn't seemingly see much fighting himself. I'll have a photo of his grave headstone, if it's of interest. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunhullis Posted 19 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2005 Mike Thank you so much for the news of his unit. Certainly what you say about the rest of his career matches what I've got: After leaving Oxford he acted for a short time as editor of the "London Review", but on the outbreak of the Boer War he joined the City of London Imperial Volunteers. He served with them from February to May 1900 in the Orange Free State, seeing action at Poplar Grove and Dreifontein. In October 1900 he obtained a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment, serving in the Transvaal. In 1904 he was appointed to 1st (Central Africa) Battalion of the King’s African Rifles and took part in the Nandi Expedition of 1905-1906, being mentioned in despatches. In August 1908 he was appointed to the Egyptian Army, and was detained in Egypt for some time after war broke out as an intelligence officer at Cairo. The photo (bigger version available on request) presumably shows him in this period: Your information that he was with the Manchesters in Gallipoli is new to me, and fills in the gap between Cairo and his stint as Brigade Major in late 1916-early 1917. The date of May 1917 for taking over 1/9th Manchesters would also fit well. I'd be enormously grateful to be e-mailed the photo of his headstone. He was one of the finest wicket-keepers of his generation, by the way (played for Oxford University, Surrey and Middlesex). Thanks once again; is there anything I can do for you in return? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernardmcilwaine Posted 19 December , 2005 Share Posted 19 December , 2005 shaun,i have the nominal roll of the CIV,R.P LEWIS is amongst them,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 19 December , 2005 Share Posted 19 December , 2005 Shaun Now I've been pointed int he right direction, I've found him in 42nd Division History. He was 1/10th Manchesters. The reference is only "Among the casualties of these ten days were Lieut-Col R P Lewis, 10th Manchesters, killed by shellfire......" John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 19 December , 2005 Share Posted 19 December , 2005 And from the Bn history "Amateur Soldiers" by K W Mitchinson "It was during one such bombardment that Lt-Colonel Lewis was killed.Battalion HQ was housed in a cellar of a ruined farm house known as Kit and Kat. The position lay on what in more peaceful times had been the minor road running between Frezenberg and Westhoek. Lewis was hit by a shell splinter when giving orders to a runner and died shortly afterwards. His body was taken back to Ypres and buried in the burgeoning cemetery near to the tumbled central square. Significant though it might have been to the officers, the death of the colonel probably had little effect upon the general morale of the battalion. Having only recently joined the unit, most of the men would have recognised him but would have had little to do with him. Wynne thought initially Lewis' methods had seemed harsh but later considered that he was a"thoroughly efficient soldier" who had been "very much misunderstood". Bradbury believed that lewis' one object inlife was to kill germans and that he expected everyone else to hold a similar creed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunhullis Posted 19 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2005 Thanks once again for your superb help; that's exactly the information I was looking for, and it's lovely to have comments on his personality and motivation, making him a person and not just a statistic. Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 19 December , 2005 Share Posted 19 December , 2005 Shaun No other mention of him in Amateur Soldiers, except stating that he was in command in early June. Pity. I'd have liked to see some indication of what his "harsh methods" were. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike.brass Posted 20 December , 2005 Share Posted 20 December , 2005 Shaun Try this photo, taken June 2000. Shaun Try this photo, taken June 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonsstar Posted 20 December , 2005 Share Posted 20 December , 2005 Hi Shaun I have look at the army lists. He shows up on the 9th Batt in July 1917 as a Acting Lt Col back dated to 8th May 1917. Other then what John says for the book the Amateur Soldiers hes not in the army lists for the 10th Batt. Cheers Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunhullis Posted 20 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 20 December , 2005 Many thanks to you all. I'm rather confused now as to whether he's 9th or 10th Manchesters, as Roy and John say different things, both with the evidence to back them up! You would have thought that the Army List would be right, though the 10th Battalion would surely know who their CO was... But given that both battalions were in 126 Brigade I guess that they'd have been roughly in the same place. I'll have to wait until someone comes up with the war diary for one or both battalions to find out for certain. Mike, the phot seems to have got corrupted; I can only read it down to 7th September. Any chance that you could e-mail me another copy? Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonsstar Posted 21 December , 2005 Share Posted 21 December , 2005 Hi Shaun John is right with the book. But in the Army lists hes down as the 9th Batt. Cheers Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 21 December , 2005 Share Posted 21 December , 2005 Shaun Forgot to mention earlier - in 42nd Division history, he's recorded in the Roll of Honour appendix also as 10th. Might mean he was officially 9th but attached to the 10th? The extract above from Amateur Soldiers seems pretty conclusive regardless of official records. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harribobs Posted 21 December , 2005 Share Posted 21 December , 2005 The extract above from Amateur Soldiers seems pretty conclusive regardless of official records. John John, are you seriously saying Bills book carrys more weight than the Army Lists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 21 December , 2005 Share Posted 21 December , 2005 John, are you seriously saying Bills book carrys more weight than the Army Lists? On the one hand, I've met Bill and know how thorough his research is. On the other, I've never met the civil servant who complied the Army Lists. But I used to be a civil servant. I rest my case, m'lud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 21 December , 2005 Share Posted 21 December , 2005 Army Lists are far from accurate in the case of RWF, even in peace-time. Errors, once made, tended to be perpetuated: all officers knew where they were [one hopes] and their relative seniority, and reading the AL was hardly a gripping pastime. I have one officer down as 1 RWF in UK for years, but he keeps appearing in group photos of 2RWF in India! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harribobs Posted 21 December , 2005 Share Posted 21 December , 2005 On the one hand, I've met Bill and know how thorough his research is. On the other, I've never met the civil servant who complied the Army Lists. But I used to be a civil servant. I rest my case, m'lud. hmmm well so have I, as you know, but a lot of that research is of.................. Army records Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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