Armoured Cars, formerly Lieut., Royal Scots, 2nd _s._ of the late
Alexander Cunningham Boothby, of St. Andrews, by his wife, Madeline
(now wife of Alexander Rigaud Wilson Wood, of 7, Abbotsford Crescent,
St. Andrews), dau. of Frederick Lewis Maitland Heriot, of Ramornie,
co. Fife; _b._ Springfield House, Cupar, Fife, 17 Jan. 1883;
educ. St. Salvators, St. Andrews, and Glenalmond College, Perthshire.
In May, 1900, he joined the Fife Artillery Militia. He served in the
24th Battn. Imperial Yeomanry during the South African War, receiving
medal with five clasps. He rejoined the Fife Artillery in 1903 and was
subsequently appointed to the Royal Scots and served in India. When the
regt. came home he resigned owing to temporary ill-health and went to
Vancouver. On the outbreak of war he returned to England and obtained
a commission in the Armoured Car Division. He was killed in action on
1 May, 1915, at Gallipoli, the day after landing at Gaba Tepe. His
commanding officer wrote: “I can only say this, that every officer and
man in the Armoured Car Force simply loved Jim Boothby. I never want
a more loyal, good-hearted and good-natured second in command than he
was. His own men saw that he had, what perhaps few out there got, a
proper burial.” He was _unm._
[Illustration: =James Robert Boothby.=]
=BOREHAM, CHARLES WILLIAM=, Stoker, 1st class (R.F.R., B. 4450),
S.S. 103462, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the
coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=BOSANQUET, LIONEL ARTHUR=, of Cleddon Hall, co. Monmouth,
Lieut.-Col., 9th Battn. The Sherwood Foresters (Notts, and Derby
Regt.), eldest _s._ of the late Arthur Bosanquet, of Cleddon Hall,
J.P., I.C.S., Judge, Bombay Presidency, by his wife, Matilda, dau. of
Col. Andrew Crawford, and grandson of Augustus Henry Bosanquet, of
Ossidge, Southgate, H.E.I.C.S.; _b._ Southgate, co. Herts., 29
Jan. 1862; educ. Mr. Rose’s private school, Ramsgate, and Harrow; and
the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted Lieut. to the Sherwood
Foresters, 10 March, 1883, and promoted Capt. 8 May, 1892, and Major
9 May, 1903. He served in the Tirah Campaign 1897–8, took part in the
operations in the Bazar Valley (25–30 Dec. 1897), the action at Dargai,
and in the capture of the Sampagha and Arhanga Passes, receiving the
medal with two clasps; and retired in 1911. On the outbreak of war
he rejoined and was given command of the 9th (Service) Battn. of
his regt., 26 Oct., 1914. He went out to the Dardanelles and was in
action from the 23 July to 22 Aug. 1915. He was wounded on 9 Aug.
but rejoined in a week and was killed in action 22 Aug. 1915. Col.
Bosanquet was killed (believed by machine guns) in Dead Man’s Gully,
while leading his battn. To quote from a General’s letter, whose
brigade found and buried his body: “He must have done well, for he was
close up to the enemy, ahead of most of his men, who were stretched
out behind him, never a one with his back turned, and all in perfect
alignment.” He was mentioned in Sir Ian Hamilton’s Despatch of 11 Dec.
1915 [and published in the Supplement to the London Gazette dated
28 Jan. 1916], for gallant and distinguished service in the field.
Col. Bosanquet _m._ at Crockham Hill, Kent, 31 Aug. 1892, Alice
Emily (7, Springfield Place, Bath), 2nd dau. of the Rev. John Erskine
Campbell-Colquhoun, of Killermont and Garscaddon, co. Dumbarton,
M.A., J.P., D.L., formerly Vicar of Southwold and Crockham Hill, and
granddaughter of the late John Campbell-Colquhoun, of Killermont and
Garscaddon, by his wife, the Hon. Henrietta Maria, née Powys, dau.
of Thomas, 2nd Lord Lilford, and had issue: Cicely Alice Colquhoun,
_b._ 25 Nov. 1893; and Eveline Louise Emmeline, _b._ 11 Jan.
1899.
[Illustration: =Lionel A. Bosanquet.=]
=BOSANQUET, SIDNEY COURTHOPE=, 2nd Lieut., 5th Battn. The
Middlesex Regt., elder _s._ of Charles John Bosanquet, of
Stokesay, Kidbrook Park, Blackheath, Electrical Engineer, by his
wife, Edith, elder dau. of the Rev. John Lloyd, of Llanvapley, co.
Monmouth, and grandson of the late Rev. Edward Stanley Bosanquet,
Rector of Bolingbroke, co. Lincoln, and great nephew of the late Samuel
Richard Bosanquet, of Forest House and Dingeston Court, co. Monmouth,
J.P., D.L.; _b._ Belvedere, co. Kent, 15 July, 1894; educ. St.
Lawrence’s College, Ramsgate; received his commission 1 Sept. 1914,
and was killed in action at Houplines, near Armentières, 16 Dec. 1914;
_unm._
[Illustration: =Sidney Courthope Bosanquet.=]
=BOSEMAN, JOHN=, Private, No. 631, 1st Light Horse, Australian
Imperial Force; a native of co. Armagh, Ireland; volunteered on the
outbreak of war; killed in action at the Dardanelles, 7 Aug. 1915.
=BOSHER, CHARLES WALTER=, Corpl., No. 2446, 1/7th Battn. The
London Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of Walter John Bosher, of 8, High
Street, Egham, by his wife, Winifred Birkett, dau. of Henry Channing;
_b._ Egham, co. Surrey, 2 Sept. 1884: educ. at Cranleigh School,
Surrey; was in business with father as a corn and coal merchant; joined
the 1/7th City of London Regt. early in Sept. 1914, and after training
at Watford during the winter, went to the Front, 17 March, 1915. He
came safely through the Battle of Loos (25 Sept.), and was killed in
action three weeks later at Hulluch, 19 Oct. 1915, by the explosion
of a trench mortar; _unm._ His cousin, Corpl. R. F. Bosher, who
joined the Colours the same day was killed by the same explosion (see
following notice).
=BOSHER, RONALD FREDERICK=, Corpl., No. 2449, 1/7th Battn. The
London Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Ellington Bosher, of Lewes, Sussex,
by his wife, Alice, dau. of Arthur Garratt; _b._ Lewes, co.
Sussex, 24 March, 1893; educ. at Lewes Grammar School; was a farmer’s
assistant; joined the 7th City of London Regt. early in Sept. 1914,
and after training at Watford during the winter, went to the Front, 17
March, 1915. He came safely through the Battle of Loos (25 Sept.), and
was killed in action at Hulluch, 19 Oct. 1915; _unm._ His cousin,
Corpl. C. Bosher, who joined the Colours the same day, was killed at
the same time (see previous notice).
=BOSWELL, BENJAMIN=, Private, No. 5784, 1st Battn. Coldstream
Guards, _s._ of Benjamin Boswell, Blacksmith; _b._ Small
Heath, Birmingham, 25 Dec. 1886; educ. Ada Street Council School there;
enlisted in the Royal Warwickshire Regt., purchasing his discharge from
it in 1902. On 4 Oct. 1903, he joined the Coldstream Guards, and died
of wounds received in action at the Battle of the Aisne, 15 Sept. 1914.
He _m._ at Christ Church, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, 16 April, 1911,
Lily, dau. of William Herrick, of Small Heath; _s.p._
[Illustration: =Benjamin Boswell.=]
=BOSWELL, JOSEPH NORMAN=, Boy, 1st Class (Dev.), J. 29552, H.M.S.
Formidable; lost when that ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English
Channel, 1 Jan., 1915.
=GARNETT-BOTFIELD, ALFRED CLULOW FITZGERALD=, Lieut., 1st Battn.
South Wales Borderers, yr. _s._ of the late William Egerton
Garnett-Botfield, of Decker Hill, and The Hut, Bishop’s Castle, co.
Salop, J.P., F.G.S., by his wife, Elizabeth Clulow (Decker Hill,
Shifnal, etc.), dau. of John Howard-McLean, of Aston Hall, co. Salop,
and gdson. of the late Rev. William Bishton Garnett-Botfield, of Decker
Hill, co. Salop, and Haughton Hall, co. Chester, M.A., J.P.; _b._
Bishop’s Castle, 16 June, 1892; educ. Eton (Mr. Churchill’s House),
and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was up at Cambridge for the Long
Vacation when war was declared. He volunteered the same day, and was
given a commission in the Rifle Brigade, 15 Aug. 1914. After a course
of training at Sheerness he was sent to the Western Front in Nov., and
on arrival there was attached to the South Wales Borderers, and was
subsequently (22 Jan. 1915) transferred to that regt. He served through
the fighting at Festubert, Givenchy, La Bassée and Neuve Chapelle,
where he several times had his clothes pierced with bullets but escaped
unwounded, and was killed in action at Richebourg L’Avoué, 9 May, 1915;
_unm._, and was buried there. He had been promoted Lieut. in
March. Writing to his mother, his company officer, Capt. A. C. Lloyd,
said: “Your very gallant son fell in action on the 9th (Sunday). His
platoon was ordered out to an advanced trench under protection of our
artillery fire. The order was given to advance from there, and though
heavy maxim gun fire was coming from the German lines, he at once and
without any hesitation gave the command, ‘Prepare to advance.’ I was
myself hit and just saw him leap out of the trench, only to fall at
once instantaneously killed. I have recommended him for his gallant
conduct, and only hope that an official recognition of his qualities
as a soldier will receive due mention.... A more efficient subaltern
than your son could not be found, always ready for any work however
hazardous, and always most cheerful. The men all loved him, and would
have followed him anywhere, as they always knew he could lead them.”
And his commanding officer, Major A. I. Reddie, wrote: “On the 9th
an assault in the early morning had been attempted on the enemy’s
trenches. This was unsuccessful, so another was made in the afternoon,
when our battn. were detailed to carry it out in one part of the line.
Your son’s platoon during the artillery bombardment had to crawl along
an old trench in front of the breastwork in order to get nearer the
enemy’s lines. This they had to do under heavy fire, but succeeded so
far. When the time came for the assault your son jumped up to lead his
men, and was shot at once before he got any distance. Several attempts
were made at night to recover his body, but owing to the enemy’s fire
it was found impossible to do so before we were relieved at midnight;
but it is still hoped to do so, and we had arranged to bury all the
officers in an orchard near a place called ‘Windy Corner.’” His body
was afterwards recovered and “buried on the 10th in the evening by
being carried across our trench on one of the bridges used for the
ditch ... about 300 yards on the left of the cinder track. The ditch
between our line and the German line is the most permanent guide. This
ditch, about 4 feet deep and 16 feet wide, runs parallel to our line,
then at right angles to this into the German. The spot would be about
250 yards to our left of this junction and 40 yards from this point
back in the direction of the Rue du Bois.” At Cambridge he was in the
first Third Trinity boat. He stroked the winning University Trial Eight
two years in succession, and with Mr. A. Drewe won the Foster-Fairbairn
Pairs in the record time of 8 min. 35½ secs. He was also a keen tennis
and hockey player. He was intensely musical, much of his spare time
being spent at the organ. He was a member of Third Trinity, Leander
and Viking Rowing Clubs, and but for the war would more than possibly
have stroked the University boat in 1915. One who knew him very
intimately at Cambridge as an engineering student wrote to his mother
of him: “Your son was one of the best types produced by Eton and
Trinity College, Cambridge, a type we can very ill afford to lose....
He was much honoured, respected ... and loved by all oarsmen, and many
hoped he might in his last year have obtained the coveted ‘Blue.’
As engineer he displayed a great ability in practical things and a
thorough understanding of machines and men. An untimely end through his
fearless bravery has robbed us of one of the very finest of the coming
generation.”
[Illustration: =A. C. F. Garnett-Botfield.=]
=GARNETT-BOTFIELD, CHARLES SIDNEY=, Capt., Bedfordshire Regt.,
elder _s._ of the Rev. Charles Ramsey Garnett-Botfield, M.A.,
Vicar of Moreton, Oswestry, co. Salop, by his wife, Ida Mary, dau.
of Thomas Aldersey of Aldersey, co. Chester, and gdson. of the Rev.
William Bishton Garnett-Botfield, of Decker Hill, co. Salop, and
Haughton Hall, co. Chester, M.A., J.P.; _b._ Rochdale, 5 Oct.
1887; educ. Rossall and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd
Lieut. Bedfordshire Regt. 8 Feb. 1908, and promoted Lieut. 5 March,
1910, and Capt. 2nd Battn. 15 Sept. 1914. He died at Boulogne, 14 Dec.
1914, from wounds received in action at Ypres, 30 Oct. 1914, and was
buried at Moreton; _unm._ Capt. Garnett-Botfield was mentioned
in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915, for gallant and
distinguished conduct in the field.
[Illustration: =Charles Sidney Garnett-Botfield.=]
=BOTHWELL, WILLIAM=, Private, No. 18312, 13th (Service) Battn.
Royal Scots (Lothian Regt.), _s._ of William Bothwell, of 10,
Bogside Place, Easter House, Lanarkshire; served with the Expeditionary
Force in France; died in the Canadian General Hospital, Camiers, 4 Oct.
1915.
=BOTLEY, ALBERT WICKSTEAD=, A.B., Ch. J. 10692, H.M.S. Formidable;
lost when that ship was torpedoed in the English Channel, 1 Jan. 1915.
=BOTTGER, ABBIN ERNEST HENRY=, Private, No. 7774, 1st Battn.
Highland Light Infantry; served with the Expeditionary Force in France,
etc.; killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, between 11–18 March, 1915.
=BOTTING, EDWARD CHARLES=, Private, No. G. 915, 6th (Service)
Battn. East Kent Regt., _s._ of John Botting, of 12, Wheatley
Terrace, Erith, Kent; _b._ Battersea, S.W., 20 July, 1893;
enlisted 4 Sept. 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France,
etc.; killed in action, 13 Oct., 1915.
=BOTTING, GEORGE=, Private, No. G. 71, 7th (Service) Battn. East
Surrey Regt., _s._ of Joseph Botting, of Cowdry Cottage, Midhurst,
Sussex; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in
action, 8 Oct. 1915.
=BOTTOMLEY, ALBERT=, Private, No. 2010, 4th Battn. Manchester
Regt.; was employed at Messrs. Platt Brothers & Co.’s Works, Oldham;
enlisted early in 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France,
etc.; killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 14 March, 1915, aged 25.
=BOTTOMLEY, THOMAS REGINALD=, B.A., Lieut., 1st Battn. East
Yorkshire Regt., eldest _s._ of Thomas Bottomley, of 25, Norman
Road Thornton Heath, co. Surrey, formerly of Ripponden, Halifax, by
his wife, Ellen, eldest dau. of the late Peter Whiteley, of Liverpool;
_b._ Ripponden, co. York, 17 Oct. 1887; educ. Rishworth Grammar
School, and St. John’s Training College, Battersea, and from the latter
was appointed as a teacher by the Croydon Educational Committee in
1909. He was connected mainly with the Oval Road Boys’ School, and
with his boys he was a great favourite and an intimate friend, joining
in all their sports and gaining their confidence in every way. As an
internal student of London University he graduated Bachelor of Arts
in 1913 and had intended to take the Honours Degree examination in
1915. It was while at London University that he entered the Officers’
Training Corps, in which he spent three years until April, 1914, when
he accepted a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 1st East Yorkshires. He
entered barracks in June, left for the Front the beginning of Sept. a
few days after his marriage, and was killed in action at the Battle of
the Aisne, 23 Sept. 1914. He was elected to membership of the South
London Harriers in 1911, and was known mostly to the cross-country
members, having been a regular attendant at headquarters. He avoided
racing not being keen on it, nevertheless he finished 26th in the match
against the Ranelagh Harriers in 1912. He _m._ at Cambridge, 29
Aug. 1914, Eveline Mary, only dau. of William Henry Gibson, of The
Hollins, Sowerby Bridge; _s.p._
[Illustration: =Thomas R. Bottomley.=]
=BOUCHER, HAROLD ERNEST=, Private, No. 7065, 3rd Battn. Coldstream
Guards, _s._ of the late Arthur Boucher, by his wife, Helena, dau.
of James Whitehouse; _b._ Birmingham, 17 Aug. 1886; enlisted in
1st Battn. 28 Dec. 1906, and exchanged into the 3rd Battn. when he went
to Egypt, serving seven years with the colours. On the outbreak of war
he was called up from the Reserve, and died at Viviers, Landrecies,
2 Sept. 1914, of wounds received in action. He _m._ at Windsor,
4 Dec. 1912, Gertrude Annie (4, Park View, Winson Street, Dudley
Road, Birmingham), dau. of George Hawkins, and had two children:
Frances Annetta Gregson, _b._ 11 Oct. 1913; and Kathleen Gertrude
Magdalen, _b._ (posthumous) 27 April, 1915.
[Illustration: =Harold Ernest Boucher.=]
=BOUGHTON, ERNEST GEORGE=, Rifleman, No. 3226, No. 2 Platoon,
1/17th Battn. (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) The London Regt., 3rd
_s._ of Horace John Boughton, of 15, Auckland Road, Bow, E., by
his wife, Ann, dau. of George Parrot; _b._ Bow, London, E., 22
May, 1896; educ. Chisenhale Road Council School; was a Shop Assistant;
enlisted 11 Sept. 1914; went to France, 9 March, 1915, and died in
hospital at Bethune, 15 May, 1915, of wounds received in action at La
Bassée the previous day; _unm._ Buried in Bethune Cemetery. His
Platoon Officer, Lieut. W. A. Piercey, wrote: “He was wounded to-day.
He was struck twice by a German sniper while out of the trench under
my orders. Rifleman Gowers, who was with him, acted in a very cool and
soldierly way in assisting his comrade under fire, and your son bore up
most bravely under the pain and discomfort inevitable in being brought
in under such circumstances. We have every reason to be proud of them
both.”
[Illustration: =Ernest George Boughton.=]
=BOULDEN, REUBEN WILLIAM HENRY=, Leading Seaman, 237607, H.M.S.
Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BOULOGNE, JORDAN=, Stoker (Native), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the
action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=BOULT, THOMAS=, Corpl., No. 1639, Princess Patricia’s Canadian
Light Infantry; a native of Seaham Harbour, Durham; went to Canada
from West Hartlepool about 1910; volunteered on the outbreak of war
and joined Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry; was severely wounded at
Ypres, where he had a leg shot off, and died in hospital at Boulogne,
15 May, 1915. Three of his brothers are on service, two in the Army and
one in the Navy.
=BOULTON, JAMES FORSTER=, Midshipman, R.N., H.M.S. Monmouth, yr.
_s._ of Alexander Claude Forster Boulton, of 28, Ranelagh Avenue,
Barnes, J.P., Barrister-at-Law, Inner Temple, formerly M.P., North
Hunts, by his wife, Florence Marion, dau. of Henry Harmes; _b._
Putney, 3 April, 1899; educ. Willington School, Putney, and the Osborne
and Dartmouth Royal Naval Colleges. He was appointed to H.M.S. Monmouth
on the outbreak of war, as a Naval Cadet, and was advanced to the rank
of Midshipman only a few days before he was lost in the sinking of
H.M.S. Monmouth, while in action off the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
Entering Willington School as its youngest boy in May, 1905, he left
it as head boy at Christmas, 1911, after being head of Form V and
prize-winner the previous July. Having entered Osborne Royal Naval
College in Jan. 1912, he was second of his year at Easter and first
of his year at Midsummer. He was top in bookwork in the Christmas
term, and third in the final order for the year. He played for the
Soccer XI in various “forward” positions. In the following year he won
the fly-weight boxing, and passed out second of the 70 Cadets of his
“year.” In Jan., 1914, he entered Dartmouth College, where he was also
first in bookwork in his first term. His aggregate position at both
colleges was generally second--a highly creditable record when one
remembers the number of Cadets.
[Illustration: =James Forster Boulton.=]
=BOURGES, JOHN (JEAN)=, Private, No. 67214, 25th Battn. Canadian
Expeditionary Force, _s._ of Gabriel Bourges, of Cancale, Ille et
Vilaine, France; _b._ Cancale, 3 May, 1890; educ. there, and left
France on a French fishing vessel in 1904 for Canada, and on account of
ill-treatment remained there and worked as a sailor, and never returned
to France until he came with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. On the
outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, he at once volunteered, crossed to France
in Sept., and was killed in action 27 Dec. 1915, by the bursting of a
shell in his trench; _unm._ He was buried in the cemetery of the
25th Battn. by the Rev. Father Doyen, of the 5th Brigade.
[Illustration: =John (Jean) Bourges.=]
=BOURKE, BERTRAM WALTER=, Capt., 5th, attd. 2nd, Battn. Royal
Dublin Fusiliers, only surviving _s._ of the late Major William
Henry Bourke, of Heathfield, Ballina, co. Mayo, Connaught Rangers, by
his wife, Sarah Louisa, dau. of James John Young; _b._ 9 Dec.
1882; educ. in Saint Servant, France; served with the Royal Engineers
(Militia) from which he exchanged into the 5th Battn. Royal Dublin
Fusiliers in 1904; passed the school of instruction for employment with
the Regular Forces, and obtained the rank of Capt. 24 Feb. 1912. He
left for the Front on 2 May, 1915, was attached to the 2nd Battn. Royal
Dublin Fusiliers, and was killed in action while gallantly leading his
men near Ypres, just a week later, 9 May, 1915. Capt. Bourke _m._
at Stapletown, Carlow, 19 April, 1913, Eileen, dau. of George Neville
Usher, of Carlow, and had two daus.: Vivienne Neville, _b._ 29
Jan. 1914; and Patricia Bertram, _b._ 4 Nov. 1915.