Buckinghamshire L.I., _s._ of Major Francis Beaufort, Royal
Artillery, by his wife, Adela Hastings, dau. of Edward Divett, of
Bystock, near Exmouth, M.P. for Exeter (1832–64); _b._ Camberley,
Surrey, 27 July, 1883; educ. St. David’s, Reigate, Stone House,
Broadstairs, Wellington College, and Christ Church, Oxford (B.A.
1904); while still at Oxford he was attached to the Devonshire Regt.
for military training (1904); was nominated by the University for a
commission, and was gazetted to the 1st Battn. of the Oxford and Bucks
Regt. as 2nd Lieut., 16 Aug. 1905; served in India and Burmah, being
promoted Lieut., 10 Aug. 1907, and Capt. 2nd Battn., 18 April, 1914.
He was present at the action near Richebourg L’Avoué on 15–16 May,
1915, when the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire L.I. and Inniskillings
captured some German breastworks, came unharmed out of the terrific
fighting during the night, but was shot in the morning by a sniper
while trying to reach his Commanding Officer. He was buried in an
orchard about two miles west of Richebourg L’Avoué. Capt. Beaufort
_m._, Bamburgh, co. Northumberland, 31 Dec. 1913, Charlotte
Gwendoline Frances, 3rd dau. of the late Charles Hope, of Shorestone
Hall, near Bamburgh, _s.p._ Capt. Beaufort was descended from
François de Beaufort, a Captain in the Dutch service, and afterwards
“Chancelier de la Cour à Lippe-Detmold,” who migrated from France on
the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and was by letters
patent dated at Vienna, 4 Mar. 1710, which recognised his antecedent
French nobility, cr. by the Emperor Joseph I., a noble of the Holy
Roman Empire for himself and all his descendants. His fourth son,
Daniel Cornelis de Beaufort (_b._ Wesel, 29 July, 1700), took Holy
Orders, and was naturalised in Great Britain by Act of Parliament,
15 April, 1742, and died Archdeacon of Tuam and Rector of Clonenagh
Queen’s Co., 1788.
[Illustration: =Francis Hugh Beaufort.=]
=BEAUFORT, OSTCLIFFE HAROLD=, 2nd Lieut., 1/6th Battn. North
Staffordshire Regt. (T.F.), 2nd _s._ of John William Beaufort,
Managing Director of Messrs. Elliott & Fry, Ltd., of 55–56, Baker
Street, W., by his wife, Lucy Anne, dau. of John Ostcliffe; _b._
Birmingham, 20 Oct. 1893; educ. Wellington College, Salop, and
Birmingham University where he was for several years a member of the
O.T.C.; gazetted as 2nd Lieut. to the 1/6th Staffords, 26 Aug. 1914,
went to the front Feb. 1915, was wounded in Aug. 1915, and afterwards
appointed Brigade Grenade Officer, and was killed in the fighting for
the Hohenzollern Redoubt, 13 Oct. 1915; _unm._ Writing to his
brother on the previous day, he said: “We attack to-morrow afternoon,
hold the new trenches all night and get relieved the next night. If
I see these three days through all will be well, and leave will be
granted.” His Colonel wrote: “He was a very good and reliable officer,
never sparing himself, and doing everything to the best of his
ability”; and his Major: “He came to the regt. a stranger, but very
soon endeared himself to everyone. He was a most efficient officer, and
any duty given him was done in a most satisfactory manner.” A brother
officer, writing to his father, gave the following interesting account
of the fighting that day: “He, Beaufort, was killed in the trenches
2½ miles N.E. of Bethune, 6 miles south of La Bassée. As you know,
he was Brigade Grenade Officer, and he was in charge of the bombing
party, whose job it was to turn the Germans out of a trench known as
‘Big Willie,’ which runs south from the Hohenzollern Redoubt. He and
his party were in part of ‘Big Willie,’ which our division held, and
he commenced bombing it simultaneously with the charge. They made good
headway, but the attack was driven back. Harold commenced to go back
along a communication trench to issue further orders to the N.C.Os.
in charge of the Brigade Store, when a high explosive shrapnel shell
burst close beside him. The brass nose cap and time fuse, a piece of
metal about the size of a cricket ball, hit him in the right breast
and came out of the left shoulder blade, killing him instantaneously.
He was buried in the rear of the trenches, along with four other brave
officers who fell. The time was about 2.20 p.m. on Wednesday, 13
Oct. 1915. The arrangement for the supply of bombs and grenades was
excellent, but Harold had not reckoned with the attack failing. His
orders were for the Brigade Store to be transferred to ‘Big Willie’
when the German front line was taken. It was not taken, and Harold was
afraid that all the bombs would be brought up, as in the excitement is
was very difficult for everyone to know what had happened, and probably
his storekeeper would imagine that we had succeeded. If the bombs had
been sent up it is very likely that a German grenade would have dropped
on them and detonated the lot. To save this loss, which could not
have been replaced under at least an hour, Harold went back and met
his death. He had done a very good work; he was in front of his men,
throwing bombs and encouraging the others, and without a doubt was the
means of keeping the bombers together. Only three of his party got out
safely, and they cannot say anything good enough about him; they say
he was marvellous. Enclosed is a rough map of the trenches. Harold was
at A bombing to the left. The battalion were in the trench marked B,
and they charged across the open to ‘Big Willie.’ I was at C with the
machine guns covering Harold’s party. We two were isolated from the
battalion during the attack, so I don’t think there is another officer
who could tell you more than I can, except N. C. Joseph, who was the
battalion bombing officer, and he lies now at the Bournbrook Hospital
with a broken jaw and a bullet in each leg. We have heard from him, and
he writes it will be about ten weeks before he is able to speak, but he
could write you and give fuller particulars, as he was with Harold all
the time. By 4 p.m. Thursday, 14 Oct. the Hohenzollern Redoubt and ‘Big
Willie’ were entirely in our hands, at the cost of about 170 officers
and 4,000 men.”
[Illustration: =Ostcliffe H. Beaufort.=]
=BECHER, HENRY OWEN DABRIDGCOURT=, Capt., 1st Battn. (Scottish
Rifles) Cameronians, elder _s._ of the Rev. Harry Becher, Rector
of Rosscarbery, co. Cork, by his wife, Zoê Louisa, dau. of the late
R. M. Hudson, of Oak Lea, Sunderland; _b._ Curate’s House,
Houghton-le-Spring, co. Durham, 15 Aug. 1889; educ. Grammar School,
Haverfordwest, Marlborough and Sandhurst; was gazetted to the 1st
Battn. Cameronians, 20 April, 1910, and promoted Lieut. 15 Feb. 1913,
and Capt. 11 March, 1915. On the outbreak of war he went to the Front
with the first Expeditionary Force, and served continuously through
the winter of 1914–15, including the retreat from Mons, etc. He was
killed in action at Bois Grenier, 13 March, 1915, two days after he
had obtained his company, and was buried with four brother officers
behind the police barracks at Bois Grenier; _unm._ Major Oakley,
in command of the regt. at the time, wrote that he was killed “about 9
a.m. He was going his company trenches and was talking to some men. He
stood right up, but only just showing, when he was shot dead. He was
in command of C Coy. at the time, and had been ever since Capt. Jack
left sick. You know how highly we all thought of him. As for myself,
I feel it impossible to write all I think. He has been my constant
companion and right-hand man in the company ever since the regt. came
home from S. Africa--so hard working, reliable, clever, good with the
men and beloved by all on this campaign. What we all thought of him
in peace has been more than proved in war.” And Brig.-Gen. F. Gordon:
“As Commander of the 19th Infantry Brigade, I wish to express to you
my heartfelt sympathy in the death, in the trenches, of your dear son,
Capt. H. O. D. Becher, 1st Cameronians. He was a very gallant and
valuable young officer, of the type that can ill be spared at such a
time. He was not only a particularly efficient and capable officer, but
was a general favourite.”
=BECHER, MAURICE ANDREW NOEL=, Capt., 1st Battn. King’s Own
Scottish Borderers, only _s._ of Brig.-Gen. Andrew Cracroft
Becher, of Howbury, St. Andrews, Fife, late Norfolk Regt., and now
commanding the .... Division, by his wife, Frances Maude, dau. of the
late Maurice Johnson, of Ayscough Fee Hall, co. Lincoln; _b._
Lowestoft, 30 Dec. 1884; educ. Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge;
gazetted to the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, 28 June, 1905, promoted
Lieut. 24 July, 1907, and Capt. 15 May, 1914. On the outbreak of war
he returned with his battn. from India in Oct. 1914, and proceeded to
the Dardanelles with the 29th Division. He was killed, 26 April, 1915,
the morning following the landing at Y Beach, Gallipoli, conspicuous
to the last, as the few survivors relate, by his coolness and daring.
He _m._ at St. Andrews, 18 Dec. 1912, Violet Isabel, yr. dau.
of Charles Todd, of St. Andrews, and left two daus.: Frances Isabel,
_b._ 16 Dec. 1913; Anne Violet, _b._ 26 Sept. 1915.
[Illustration: =Maurice Andrew Noel Becher.=]
=BECK, ARTHUR=, Private, No. 13356, 4th Battn. Coldstream Guards;
3rd _s._ of John William Beck, of 119, Latimer Road, Eastbourne,
by his wife, Alice, dau. of David Styles, of West Hoathly, co. Sussex;
_b._ Turner’s Hill, co. Sussex, 22 Oct. 1894; educ. there;
enlisted 31 Oct. 1914, and _d._ at Caterham Military Hospital, 7
Feb. 1915, of spotted fever and meningitis contracted while on active
service; _unm._
=BECK, JOSEPH=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3130), S.S. 506, H.M.S. Good
Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov.
1914.
=BECK, ROBERT LEONARD=, Acting Leading Stoker, K. 11017, H.M.S.
Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BECKETT, RICHARD=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 693), 125116, H.M.S.
Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BEDDOW, RICHARD CHARLES=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 4338),
S.S. 102882, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the
coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=BEDFORD, CONRAD THOMAS=, Private, No. 9499, 1/5 Battn. (London
Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of Thomas Arthur
Bedford, Clerk in the London Joint Stock Bank (_d._ 24 Nov. 1899),
by his wife, Clara, dau. of Walter W. Roberts, of Upper Holloway;
_b._ Bowes Park, N., 8 Aug. 1891; educ. Seaford College (Col.
Savage), Sussex, where he was for four years in the College Cadet Corps
(attached to the Royal Sussex Engineers) and left with the rank of
corpl. On leaving school in 1909, he became a clerk in the London Joint
Stock Bank, and in Feb. 1913, joined the London Rifle Brigade. On the
outbreak of war he volunteered for foreign service, went to the front
with the L.R.B., 4 Nov. 1914, was slightly wounded by a gunshot in the
right shoulder at Ploegsteert at 2 a.m. on 27 Feb. 1915, and died at
the American Women’s War Hospital, Paignton, South Devon, 15 March,
following, of blood poisoning; _unm._ A comrade wrote: “May I say
how keenly his death was felt by the men who knew him and liked him, as
we all did. He was one of the cheery ones always, and always ready to
do everything he could to help anyone.”
[Illustration: =Conrad Thomas Bedford.=]
=BEDFORD, HAROLD=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 4821), S.S. 1709, H.M.S. Good
Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov.
1914.
=BEDFORD, HERBERT=, Gunner, R.M.A. (R.F.R., B. 532), late R.M.A.,
5559, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BEE, HARRY=, Leading Seaman, J. 5226, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in
action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BEECH, ALBERT=, Private, No. 10385, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards,
_s._ of James Beech, of Blyton, Gainsborough, Lincoln, by his
wife, Rhoda, dau. of John Warriner; _b._ Blyton, 3 March, 1893;
enlisted Aug. 1913, went to the front with the Expeditionary Force, and
was reported missing after the Battle of the Marne, 29 Oct. 1914, and
is now supposed to have been killed on that date; _unm._
=BEECHAM, ARTHUR ROBERT=, Sergt., R.M.A., 5645, H.M.S. Good Hope;
lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=BEECHING, JOHN=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 6257), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in
action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BEECHING, LUKE=, A.B. (Ports.) 208406, R.N., _s._ of John
Beeching, by his wife, Eliza; _b._ Hastings, 1 Sept. ...; educ.
there; joined the Navy in 1901, and was lost when H.M.S. Cressy was
torpedoed in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. He _m._ Portsmouth,
27 July, 1908, Mary Ann Elizabeth (C.G. Station, Walmer, Kent), dau.
of George William Good, R.N., and left one son and two daus.: Henry
Alexander, _b._ 30 July, 1910; Dorothy Cecilia, _b._ 10
April, 1913; Hilda Cressy, _b._ 2 Nov. 1914.
=BEECROFT, GEORGE=, Private, No. 8998, 1st Battn. Suffolk Regt.,
_s._ of William Richard Beecroft, Private, No. 9866, 8th Battn.
Suffolk Regt., by his wife, Ellen (25, Rope Walk, Ipswich), dau. of
Samuel Cracknell (late of Bradfield, co. Essex); _b._ Chiswick, 2
Jan. 1897; educ. Clifford Road School, Ipswich; enlisted 21 July, 1914,
and was killed by a sniper in trying to get some water for a wounded
comrade at the Battle of Ypres, 18 Feb. 1915; _unm._
[Illustration: =George Beecroft.=]
=BEER, FREDERICK JAMES=, Private, No. 8251, 2nd Battn. Coldstream
Guards, _s._ of James Beer, of 18, Kinsman Dale, Moretonhampstead,
co. Devon, steam crane driver in granite quarry, by his wife, Eliza
Ann, dau. of John Underhill Ford; _b._ Moretonhampstead, 20 June,
1890; educ. Pound Street Boys’ School there; enlisted 9 Jan. 1909;
served three years with the colours, and then passed into the Reserve,
joining the Tiverton Police Force. On the declaration of war he was
called up, left Windsor on 26 Aug. 1914, arrived at Southampton at
9.30 p.m., and went on board the Lake Michigan, sailing at 3.30 on
the morning of the 27th. Extracts from his diary state: “Arrived at
Havre 4 o’clock on the 28th, and went into camp; distance seven miles.
Left camp Monday afternoon about 3 o’clock, and embarked on board the
Minneapolis, and after a rough voyage arrived at destination and went
into camp about three miles west of St. Nazaire, about 18,000 in camp.
Left St. Nazaire on 18 Sept. by train, passing through Segre. Took
part in the battle of Chevonne. On 25 Sept. took up our position in
trenches. Could hear the band of the Germans playing. 5 Oct. went out
sniping, got shelled, and brought in a wounded comrade from a wood to
the trenches, a distance of 200 yards. A shell exploded injuring five.
On 4 Oct. attacked the Germans to the left of the town of Boeschebe and
drove them off; 26 Oct. saw an aeroplane burned at 3 o’clock.” He was
killed in action at Rentel Woods, Belgium, 5 Nov. 1914; _unm._
[Illustration: =Frederick James Beer.=]
=BEER, GEORGE HENRY=, Boy, 1st Class, J. 23495 (Devon.), H.M.S.
Hawke; lost in action in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
=BEER, HARRY=, Private, G. 30, 2nd Battn. East Kent Regt. (The
Buffs), _s._ of Frederick Beer, of 40, Chapel Street, Ramsgate;
served with Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action, 29
Sept. 1915.
=BEER, WILLIAM EDWARD=, Drummer, No. 8113, 1st Battn. East
Kent Regt. (The Buffs), _s._ of William Beer, of The Green,
Littlebourne, near Dover; served with the Expeditionary Force in
France, etc.; killed in action, 11 Nov. 1914.
=BEERLING, THOMAS WILLIAM=, A.B., J. 6394, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in
action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BEESLEY, DICK=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 8589), S.S. 104951,
H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BEGG, ALEXANDER=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., B. 2583), 282446
(Ports.), H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BEGLEY, DENIS FRANCIS=, Gunner (Immed. Class, R.F.R., 96), H.M.S.
Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1
Nov. 1914.
=BEHENNA, WILLIAM HENRY=, Private, No. 1311, 3rd Battn. Australian
Imperial Force, _s._ of William Henry Behenna; _b._ Blackheath, co.
Kent, 23 Jan. 1889; educ. there; went to Australia, and joined the
Commonwealth Expeditionary Force in Sept. 1914; killed in action at
Lone Pine, Gallipoli, 7 Aug. 1915; _unm._
=BEHRENS, ROBERT PHILIP=, Lieut., 2nd Battn. South Wales
Borderers (24th Regt.), eldest _s._ of George Benjamin Behrens,
of Vron Yw, Denbigh, J.P., by his wife, Helen Elizabeth, dau. of John
Morgan Davies, of Froodvale, Carmarthen, D.L., J.P.; _b._ ...
4 Dec. 1893; educ. at Cordwalles, Maidenhead, under the Rev. C. R.
Carter, from 1905–07 at Winchester (Mr. Nowell Smith’s, afterwards
Mr. Irving’s house), and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 5 Feb. 1912,
being temporarily attached to the 1st Battn. South Wales Borderers
till Sept., when he went out in charge of a draft to Tientsin to join
the 2nd Battn.; promoted Lieut. 17 Sept. 1914, and was present with
his regiment at the capture of Tsing-tau that autumn. He was shot at
the landing at de Totts’ Battery, in Gallipoli on Sunday, 25 April,
1915, and was buried at sea at the entrance to the Dardanelles from
H.M.S. Cornwallis; _unm._ His Colonel wrote that, even as he lay
mortally wounded, he continued to encourage his men to press forward.
At Winchester, Behrens rowed stroke in his house-boat in 1910, and
was champion middle-weight boxer, and at Sandhurst he was head of his
company in riding and one of the Sandhurst representatives in the
sabreing competition at the Royal Military Tournament in 1912.
[Illustration: =Robert Philip Behrens.=]
=BELCHER, ALBERT=, Private, No. 9781, 2nd Battn. Royal Scots
(Lothian Regt.); served with the Expeditionary Force in France and
Flanders; killed in action near Ypres, 3 June, 1915; _m._
=BELCHIER, FRANK ELLIOT, M.C.=, Capt., 1st East Lancashire
Regt., yst. _s._ of the late Henry Nathaniel Belchier, of the
London Stock Exchange, by his wife, Mary Helen (Elm Lodge, Surbiton
Hill Road, Surbiton), dau. of John Allenby, of Naburn, co. Yorks;
_b._ Surbiton, 24 June, 1891; educ. Wellesley House, Broadstairs,
Marlborough, and Sandhurst; entered the Army, 4 March, 1911, promoted
Lieut. 27 Dec. following, and Capt. 15 Nov. 1914, and was for some time
Acting Adjutant of the battn., resigning that position, 23 Dec. 1914.
He was killed in action at Ypres, 20 May, 1915; _unm._, and was
buried at the Irish farm near that place. Capt. Belchier was mentioned
in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch [London Gazette, 17 Feb. 1915],
and was awarded the Military Cross in recognition of his services in
the field in Feb. 1915. A fellow officer wrote: “As Adjutant he had
special work and did splendidly all through the retreat on Paris and
afterwards.”
[Illustration: =Frank Elliot Belchier.=]
=BELDHAM, ARTHUR=, A.B., J. 5870, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the
action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=BELDOM, GEORGE NOAH=, Private, No. 2390, 2nd Battn. East Surrey
Regt.; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; was
reported missing, 9 May, 1915, and is now assumed to have been killed
in action on that date; _m._
=BELL, ALAN ROBERT=, Private, No. 77438, 7th (British Columbia)
Battn., Canadian Expeditionary Force, yst. _s._ of the late Thomas
Best Bell, of Netherall, Sidcup, General Manager and Secretary of the
Lion Fire Insurance Company, of London, by his wife, Mary (St. John’s
Lodge, Sevenoaks), dau. of Robert Williams Soady, of Lincoln’s Inn,
Barrister-at-Law; _b._ Surbiton, 11 April, 1885; educ. Shrewsbury
House School, Surbiton, and Bradfield College, Berks; was for three
years with the Royal Exchange Assurance, London, and afterwards
studied poultry farming and went to Alberta, and from there to Duncan,
Vancouver Island, where he took up land surveying. He enlisted in the
30th Battn. of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Sept. 1914, left for
England 14 Feb. 1915, and was drafted into the 7th Battn., crossing
to France on 2 May, 1915. He was killed in action in the attack on
the position known as K5, at Festubert, 24 May, 1915, and was buried
there in the rear of the first British line. The Chaplain, the Rev. Wm.
Barton, wrote that his “company was in the reserve trench, which was
subjected to a pitiless hail of high explosives and shrapnel for nine
hours on 24 May, and the casualties were heavy. The marvel was not that
many were killed and wounded, but that any of them came out alive.” And
the sergt. of his platoon, Sergt. J. H. Cleland, wrote of him: “He was
a splendid fellow, greatly liked by us all, and became a good soldier.
His calmness and fortitude under a very heavy shell fire at Festubert
were splendid, and when I look back and realise that they were all with
the sole exception of myself new to active service, I can only say I am
very proud to have been in charge of such a splendid lot of fellows.”
[Illustration: =Alan Robert Bell.=]
=BELL, ALBERT HENDERSON=, Assistant Paymaster, R.N.R., H.M.S.
Goliath, yr. _s._ of the late Frederick Bell, of Itchen, Hants, by
his wife, Louisa Maud (Woolston, Southampton), dau. of Henry Dampier,
late of Winchester; _b._ Itchen, 29 Aug. 1886; educ. Woolston
College; was a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and was
associated with the firm of Messrs. Deloitte Plender, Griffiths & Co.,
of London; joined the R.N.R. in 1910, and was lost in the Goliath at
the Dardanelles, 12 May, 1915; _unm._
=BELL, ALBERT WILLIAM=, Private, No. 19001, 1st Battn. King’s Own
Scottish Borderers, _s._ of Joseph Henry Bell, of 40, Fountas
Street, Leeds, Drayman, by his wife, Mary, dau. of (--) Dobson, of
Scarborough; _b._ Leeds, 30 May, 1891; educ. Park Lane Council
School there; was a goods porter in the service of the London &
North Western Railway; enlisted 5 Jan. 1915; left England for the
Dardanelles, 25 May, 1915, and died 11 Aug. 1915, from wounds received
in action there. He _m._ at Leeds, 28 July, 1914, Lilly (35,
Fountain Street, Leeds), dau. of Fred Hartley, and had a son, James,
_b._ 18 Sept. 1914.
=BELL, ALEXANDER=, Private, No. 14162, Royal Scots (Lothian
Regt.), _s_. of Alexander Bell, of Bridgeton, Glasgow; served with
the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in action near Ypres,
25 Sept. 1915.
=BELL, ALEXANDER MURRAY-MACGREGOR=, Capt., 1st Battn. Royal
Scots Fusiliers, 2nd _s._ of William Bell, of 26, Albert
Place, Stirling, Lieut.-Col. late 56th Regt. (now 2nd Essex and
Army Pay Dept.), by his wife, Isabel Margaret, dau. of Major-Gen.
Evan Murray-MacGregor, Bombay Cavalry; _b._ Weymouth, 4 Sept.
1880; educ. Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Kingston, and Stirling
High School; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 3rd (Militia) Battn. of the Argyll
and Sutherland Highlanders, 30 Dec. 1901, served with them in South
Africa, 1 Feb.-23 Sept. 1902, receiving the South African medal with
two clasps. He was gazetted to the Royal Garrison Artillery, 4 Feb.
1903, and was transferred to the Dorset Regt., 6 May, 1905. On 8 Jan.
1907, he was promoted Lieut. and posted to Royal Scots Fusiliers, and
became Capt. 28 May, 1912. From May, 1904, to May, 1905, was A.D.C. to
the Governor of Natal, and Superintendent Gymnasia, Scottish Command,
Feb. 1913–Nov. 1914, when he rejoined his regt. in Flanders, and was
appointed Adjutant of the 1st Battn., Dec. 1914. He died in London,
28 April. 1915, of wounds received in action near Ypres, 19 Feb.
preceding; _unm._ The officer commanding his Battn. wrote: “The
regt. was moving across some open ground under heavy shell fire, and
your son and I were together at the moment we were both knocked over.
He was hit on the back and right arm. I can only assure you that his
gallantry and devotion to duty has been most marked.” Capt. Bell was
mentioned in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 31 May, 1915.
[Illustration: =A. Murray-MacGregor Bell.=]
=BELL, (ALFRED) RAY LANCASTER=, 2nd Lieut., 5th. attd. 2nd. Battn.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers, only child of Alfred Bell, of 23, Morehampton
Road, Dublin, formerly of Ardcarne, Ballinasloe, co. Galway, by his
wife, Annie Ray Bell, dau. of James Bell, Lieut., 3rd Buffs, nephew
of the late Major Lancaster Bell, R.A., and grandson of Capt. James
Bell, of the 64th Regt.; _b._ Ballinasloe, 10 Feb. 1896; educ.
at St. George’s and Rosse Colleges, Dublin. He entered the Army on
the outbreak of war; was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 5th Battn. of
the Royal Dublin Fusiliers 15 Aug. 1914, and was attached to the 2nd
Battn. then at the Front, May, 1915. He reached the firing line on 15
May, was wounded by shrapnel in the lung at the second Battle of Ypres
on the 17th, and d. four hours later in the 12th Field Ambulance,
near Vlamertynghe. He was _unm._ and was buried in the military
cemetery there.
[Illustration: =(Alfred) Ray Lancaster Bell.=]
=BELL, CEDRIC MOLESWORTH=, Private, No. 9215, 5th Battn. (London
Rifle Brigade) The London Regt., _s._ of Angus Alger Bell, of 120,
Wightman Road, N., Chief Accountant at the Royal Academy of Music,
and Sergt.-Major 5th London Brigade, R.F.A., by his wife, Agnes,
dau. of Thomas Bell Weeks; _b._ Harringay, 22 May, 1893; educ.
Owen’s School, Islington; joined the London Rifle Brigade in 1911, and
volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war. He went to the
Front in Nov. 1914, and on 4 Dec. was wounded in action by shrapnel and
invalided home. He rejoined his regt. in France in March, 1915, was
wounded by shell fire on 26 April, 1915, during the attack on Hill 60,
and died before reaching the casualty clearing station; _unm._ He
was buried in Bailleul Cemetery.
[Illustration: =Cedric Molesworth Bell.=]
=BELL, CHARLES OCKLEY=, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Bedford Regt.,
_s._ of Alfred F.... Bell, of Deansgate, Grimsby, by his wife,
Sarah Susanna, dau. of John Ockley; _b._ Grimsby, 10 Dec. 1891;
educ. Collegiate, Grimsby, and Alford Grammar Schools; enlisted in the
South Staffordshire Regt. Jan. 1910; was given a commission 20 May,
1914, and transferred to the 2nd Bedfordshire Regt. He was killed by
shrapnel at Ypres, 18 Oct. 1914; _unm._