Middlesex Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of James Harrison Brockbank,
by his wife, Nettie Carpenter (the distinguished violinist known as
Madame Nettie Carpenter), dau. of Dr. Wesley M. Carpenter, of New York;
_b._ Highgate, 4 Feb. 1895; educ. Westminster Cathedral Choir
School, and after spending five years there went to St. Edmund’s as
a church student in Sept. 1908. He was placed in the 2nd School of
Rudiments, but showing more than average ability, was promoted to the
1st School of Rudiments at the beginning of the spring term, 1909. At
the end of the year, feeling that he had no vocation to the priesthood,
he left the college and returned to the Choir School, where he remained
for about a year. In Oct. 1910, he entered the Civil Service, but
only remained there 18 months, as by that time a position in a London
bank was offered him, which he accepted. In this profession he was
making rapid progress when the war broke out. Cheerfully sacrificing
all future prospects, he was among the first to join the New Army,
enlisting in the 7th Middlesex Territorials on 10 Aug. Owing to
previous experience in the Civil Service Cadet Corps, where he had
obtained the rank of colour-sergt., he was dispensed from preliminary
training, and on 2 Sept. he left England to take up garrison duty at
Gibraltar. After six months spent at the Mediterranean fortress, he
returned to London about the middle of Feb., and on 12 March left for
active service in France. In a letter dated 27 May, 1915, he wrote:
“Before the scourge, as we call the attack we made or helped to make
on the 9 May, I had been feeling rather seedy for some time back, but
I recovered just in time, and was luckily feeling fit. On the 7th I
took part in what ‘Eye-witness’ in The Times of the 13th describes as
a brilliant little affair of outposts, which took place in front of
our trenches. The next platoon to us was holding the head of a sap, a
sort of trench that ran from our lines slant-wise up to within 30 yards
of the German trench. On the night of the 7th some Allemands raided
the head and got in, but were speedily put to flight. We had sustained
a few casualties, but they left four dead on the spot. While it was
going on a wounded fellow of ours rushed up and said that the Germans
were inside the sap. You can imagine the feelings with which I, one
of the first to reinforce, went up to this sap in the pitch darkness,
expecting every moment to find the Germans in possession. Luckily it
was all over, except for an anxious all-night watch. The next evening
was filled with preparation for the attack. Wire-cutting parties,
ladder carrying parties, grenadiers, and lastly the assaulting troops
coming in at night. We were moved a little in rear occupying a redoubt.
After our bombardment we saw our fellows going over the parapet, their
bayonets gleaming in the lovely sunshine--a stirring sight. We heard
they had carried three lines of enemy trenches. Then the Germans
shelled us, being the supports, and I think the strongest of us got
terrified as the shells burst all around us. We were all heartily glad
when in the evening the order came to man the trenches, and we found
our fellows had been beaten back. The trench (our firing trench) was
full of the remnants of the battns., and the whole air alive with
hubbub. The Germans turned a heavy machine gun fire on to us, and the
artillery started sending red-hot shells across the black sky. Morning
revealed many painful sights, but we were glad to hear that the French
had advanced considerably at the same time as we made our attack. We
had drawn their reinforcements to us. I do not think our casualties
were over heavy, as very many wounded crawled back under cover of
night, and they will mostly recover. I have taken on a job the nature
of which I must not mention, which precludes me from the trenches for
a little while.” This it afterwards transpired was to learn grenade
throwing, some 200 yards behind the firing trenches. On 5 June, the
enemy finding the range of the French headquarters by means of their
aeroplanes, subjected them to heavy shell fire. He fell covered with
wounds, and expired a few minutes later from shock without regaining
consciousness. Writing to his mother, his Capt. said: “He was always
bright and cheerful and a thoroughly good soldier, and was liked and
respected by officers and men alike. His company put a small wooden
cross on his grave with I.H.S. upon it, which they took from a ruined
church near by, knowing he was a Catholic.”
[Illustration: =Siegfried H. Brockbank.=]
=BROCKELBANK, LAURENCE SEYMOUR=, Lieut., 3rd, attached 1st,
Battn. King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regt., _s._ of George Seymour
Brockelbank, of Elm Lodge, Blackheath, member of the London Stock
Exchange, by his wife, Julia, dau. of the late Henry Turner, of Court
Lodge, Knockholt, Kent; _b._ Eliot Park, Blackheath, 21 Sept.
1892; educ. Lindesfurn, Lee and Tonbridge School; entered the army as
2nd Lieut. 3rd Battn. King’s Own, 5 May, 1914, and is believed to have
been killed at the Battle of Cambray, 26 Aug. 1914, being reported
missing from that date. Lieut. Douglas C. Robinson wrote, 1 Nov. 1914:
“On 26 Aug. all the young officers had been accounted for except your
boy. Some of the Lancashire Fusiliers told me when they went up to
clear away the wounded that they saw a very young-looking officer,
the description of which tallied with your son, lying dead absolutely
next to our Colonel (Col. Dykes). Unfortunately we could not get up to
them afterwards.” From a statement made to the Rev. Gabin McFadyeen,
of Saltash, by Private Copperwhaite, who had for some time acted as
Lieut. Brockelbank’s servant, it appears that the “King’s Own” had
been surprised by the German machine guns and lost heavily. Lieut.
Brockelbank led his men heroically after he had been wounded, but a
retreat became necessary, and while that was in progress he was killed
instantaneously by the bursting of a shell. According to the list
compiled by Capt Davy, R.A.M.C., he was buried at Hautcourt, between
Cambray and Le Cateau. He was gazetted Lieut. 2 Feb. 1915; _unm._
[Illustration: =Laurence S. Brockelbank.=]
=FITZHERBERT-BROCKHOLES, THOMAS JOSEPH=, Capt., 2nd Battn. Rifle
Brigade, eldest _s._ of William Joseph Fitzherbert-Brockholes, of
Claughton Hall, Garstang, co. Lancaster, J.P., D.L., C.A., by his 2nd
wife, Blanche Winifred Mary, dau. of the late Major-Gen. the Hon. Sir
Henry Hugh Clifford, V.C., K.C.M.G., C.B.; _b._ London, 4 May,
1887; educ. The Oratory School, Edgbaston, and New College, Oxford;
gazetted to 3rd Battn. Rifle Brigade, then in England, 24 June, 1908,
but exchanged in July, 1910, to the 2nd Battn. then at Calcutta; was
promoted Lieut. 15 Feb. 1911, became Adjutant 21 Feb. 1914. On the
outbreak of war he returned with his battn. to England (Oct.), and went
with it to the Front early in Nov., and was promoted Capt. on the 15th
of that month. He was wounded on 20 Dec., but not seriously, and was
able to remain on duty, and was on constant service with his battn. in
the trenches (with the exception of a short leave of seven days) until
the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, when the 2nd Battn. was given a leading
part in the attack, and was the first to get through the village on 10
March and entrench themselves on the far side of it. Two days later he
was shot through the head while directing the fire of a machine gun
in beating off a violent counter-attack, and died 14 March without
recovering consciousness. Capt. Fitzherbert-Brockholes was mentioned
for his services in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 31 May. When
in India he secured a special certificate at the School of Signalling
at Kasauli, and a First Class at the School of Musketry. He was very
keen and good at games and all kinds of sport, did excellent work in
the cricket field for the Oxford University Authentics and the Green
Jackets, and played polo for his regiment. All who came in contact with
him spoke in the highest terms of his efficiency as a soldier, of his
absolute fearlessness, and of his consideration for others.
[Illustration: =T. J. Fitzherbert-Brockholes.=]
=BROCKIE, DAVID=, Private, No. 75230, A Coy., 29th (Vancouver)
Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, elder _s._ of the late
Thomas Brockie, of Hawthornside, Hawick, co. Roxburgh, Farmer, by his
wife, Anne Henderson, dau. of the late William Renwick, of Byrecleuch
and Chapel Mains, co. Berwick; _b._ Hawthornside afsd., 1 Dec.
1878; educ. Hobkirk Public School, and Teviot Grove Academy, Hawick,
and after a business training went to India, where he was for seven
years with Whitaway, Laidlaw & Co. After a brief visit home he went
to Vancouver about 1911, and after the declaration of war volunteered
and joined the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada in Oct. 1914.
He was transferred to the 29th Battn., came over with the second
Contingent, went to France, 17 Sept. 1915, and was mortally wounded on
4 Nov. following, and died two days later in No. 2 Clearing Station at
Bailleul. He was buried in the cemetery there; _unm._ For going
to his assistance when he fell wounded and carrying him to a place of
safety while under heavy fire, L.-Corpl. Alfred J. Hourston was awarded
the D.C.M.
[Illustration: =David Brockie.=]
=BROCKLEHURST, EDWARD HENRY=, Capt., 6th (Rifle) Battn. The King’s
Liverpool Regt. (T.F.), 5th _s._ of the late Henry Brocklehurst,
of Sefton Park, Liverpool, by his wife, Ellen, dau. of William
Hutchings; _b._ Waterloo, near Liverpool, 15 May, 1878; educ.
Harrow, and became a chartered accountant. He joined the volunteers
in 1900 and was made Capt. of the 6th Battn. King’s Regt. 22 June,
1910, when he secured the certificate of proficiency qualifying him
for higher rank. He was on the Special Reserve of officers, and had
been gazetted as regimental instructor of musketry a short time before
war broke out. He immediately volunteered for foreign service, and was
killed while leading a charge at Hill 60, near Ypres, 5 May, 1915;
_unm._
=BROCKLESBY, DENNIS=, Armourer’s Crew, M. 6674, H.M.S. Good Hope;
lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=BROCKWELL, WILLIAM JAMES=, Stoker, Petty Officer, K. 2386, H.M.S.
Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BRODIE, EWEN JAMES=, 11th of Lethen and Coulmony, co. Nairn,
D.L., Capt., 1st Battn. Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, 2nd and only
surviving _s._ of the late James Campbell John Brodie, 9th Laird
of Lethen and Coulmony, Lord Lieut. of co. Nairn, by his wife Fanny
Sophia Constance, dau. of Edmund Thomas Wedgwood Wood, of Henley
Hall, co. Salop; _b._ at Lethen, 17 July, 1878; educ. Harrow and
Trinity College, Cambridge; gazetted as 2nd Lieut. from the Militia
to the 2nd Battn. of the Cameron Highlanders, 26 May, 1900, and was
promoted Lieut. 22 Jan. 1902, and Capt. 3 May 1911. He served in the
Mediterranean, Africa and China, and from 1909 to 1913 was Adjutant to
Lovat Scouts (T.F.), when he rejoined the 1st Battn. of the Camerons
at Edinburgh Castle. On the outbreak of war, in Aug. 1914., he went
to the Front with the Expeditionary Force, took part in the Battle of
the Aisne, and all the fighting preliminary to the First Battle of
Ypres, and fell in action, in the encounter with the Prussian Guards at
Ypres, 11 Nov 1914. At the time of his death he was acting as Adjutant
of his battn. and was one of the only three survivors of the officers
of the regt. who had left Edinburgh Castle ten weeks before. He was
buried near some men of his regt., close to the spot where he fell. He
_m._ 4 Jan. 1911, Marion Louisa, eldest dau. of William Stirling,
of Fairburn and Monar, co. Ross, and had three children, David James,
_b._ 27 Oct. 1911; Peter Ewen, _b._ 6 May, 1914; and Helen
Charlotte, _b._ 22 June, 1913.
[Illustration: =Ewen James Brodie.=]
=BROMLEY, CUTHBERT=, Major and Adjutant, 1st Battn. Lancashire
Fusiliers, _s._ of the late Sir John Bromley, C.B., J.P., formerly
of the Exchequer and Audit Department, Somerset House, afterwards
Accountant General of the Board of Education, by his wife, Marie Louise
(Sutton Corner, Seaford, Sussex), dau. of the late Richard Bowman,
of Maidenhead; _b._ Earl’s Terrace, London, W., 19 Sept. 1878;
educ. St. Paul’s School and received a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the
Lancashire Fusiliers from the Militia, 4 May, 1898, and was promoted
Lieut. 28 Dec. 1898. In Sept. 1899, he was sent from Aldershot to Malta
and received his company, 15 June, 1901. It is interesting to note
the fact that when he received his company he was barely twenty-two,
and he and a junior Subaltern (Gaspard de Coligny Le Marchant) are
said to have been the two youngest captains in the British Army. While
in Malta, the South African War broke out, and in order to be fully
qualified he and Capt Le Marchant joined the Malta Mounted Infantry,
but as his Commanding Officer (Capt. Hamilton) fell ill, he had to
remain behind in Malta temporarily to take his place. In 1901–3 Major
Bromley was seconded for service with the West African Frontier Force,
and took part in the punitive expedition in the Aro country, and had
the West African (S. Nigeria) 1901–2 and Aro medals with clasps. While
in Southern Nigeria he gained the Royal Humane Society’s Certificate
for saving a native’s life from drowning, by holding him up 8½ hours
in the water. During 1906–7, he was Superintendent of Gymnasia, Irish
Command, but resigned this post to rejoin his own regt. the Lancashire
Fusiliers, and in 1909 went with it to India, serving for some time as
Transport Officer. He was appointed Adjutant, 4 May, 1914, and took
keen interest in the regimental sport and in organising the men’s
games. His regt., with others from India, arrived in England 13 Jan.
1915, and started on the Dardanelles Expedition on 15 March, 1915; he
was in the 29th Division and his Brigade (the 86th Infantry) was the
first to land on W. Beach (Lancashire “Landing”) on that memorable
25 April, their duty being to cover the disembarkation of the rest
of the Division. An officer who was there said, “Bromley and Needham
were always forward, leading and cheering on; all were good, but then
were splendid.” On 28 April, Major Bromley was wounded in the thigh,
and when examined by the doctors was found to have been wounded in
the back on the day of the landing. After three weeks in hospital, he
rejoined his regt. on the Gallipoli Peninsula and was again wounded by
shrapnel in the foot on 28 June. An officer wrote: “He was wounded at
the beginning of the charge from our trenches. When he was picked up
he made the men help him forward to lead the attack.” After six weeks
in hospital at Cairo and at Troodos, he started from Alexandria for
Cape Hellas on the ill-fated Royal Edward, with a draft of sixty-four
men, as senior military officer “Commanding the troops on board.” The
ship was torpedoed in the Aegean Sea and sank in about 4½ minutes, on
14 Aug. 1915. Major Bromley had not been well that morning, having a
touch of fever and was the last to jump overboard. He was injured in
the head by wreckage and rendered partially unconscious, and but for
that would undoubtedly have had strength to swim to the Hospital Ship
Sudan. His fate was the more tragic as from boyhood he had always been
such an expert swimmer, and when at Malta swam five miles, from there
to the Island of Gozo. His Commanding Officer wrote: “So passed one
of the bravest officers I have known, my friend for years, and one of
the most popular men in the regt.” He was mentioned in Gen. Sir Ian
Hamilton’s Despatch of 20 May [London Gazette, 5 Aug.], 1915, and had
been gazetted temporary Major [London Gazette, 3 Aug. 1915] to rank as
from 6 June. He was _unm._
[Illustration: =Cuthbert Bromley.=]
=BROMLEY, HERBERT ASSHETON= (Jett), Lieut., No. 3 Coy., 7th Battn
(1st British Columbia Regt.), Canadian Expeditionary Force, yst.
_s._ of the late Sir Henry Bromley, 5th Bt., by his wife, Ada,
only child of Westley Richards; _b._ Stoke Newark, 16 Oct. 1879;
educ. Farnborough and Eton, was Private Secretary to his brother,
Sir Robert Bromley, Bt., Administrator of St. Christopher and Nevis
(1905–6) and afterwards to the Hon. James Dunsmuir, Lieut.-Gov.
of British Columbia; joined the 88th Fusiliers at Victoria, B.C.,
when that battn. was formed three years ago; on the outbreak of war
volunteered for service overseas, was gazetted Lieut. on formation of
Canadian Expeditionary Force, 21 Sept. 1911, and was killed in action
at the second Battle of Ypres, 24 April, 1915; _unm._ Describing
his death, a comrade said: “He was badly wounded in the trenches, but
leaped out and led his men in a magnificent charge, calling out ‘we
have got to win, follow me.’ He was quite alone away in front of his
men and died a glorious death.” His Company Commander, Major R. C.
Cooper, wrote to the Editor as follows: “I would, as the late Lieut.
H. A. Bromley’s Company Commander, like to express my very high
appreciation of him, both as an officer with the welfare of his men at
heart, and as a personal friend. Mr. Bromley was invaluable to me in
France with his intimate knowledge of the language and customs. His
men were devoted to him and missed him greatly when wounded in the
head on the 16 March at Fleurbaix. He returned to us on 27 March and
remained with the battn. up to ‘Our Day’--doing duty in the trenches
from the 14 to the 19 April, two days in billets and then the gas
and subsequent heavy fighting. In Victoria, B.C., he was a member of
the 88th Victoria Fusiliers, some time as a Company Officer and the
remainder as Adjutant. He served with the regt. in the coal strikes
at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, 1913–14. On the outbreak of war he was
one of the first officers selected for Active Service, being posted
to my company, left for Valcartier, 28 Aug. 1914, and for England, 27
Sept. 1914, arriving at Plymouth, 15 Oct. 1914--four months of rain at
Salisbury Plain and then to France. We all mourn ‘Brom.’ as a pal and
soldier. His last idea, and his was a forlorn hope, was to charge and
scupper some of the Boches before going under himself. His platoon on
21 April lost twenty-one killed, sixteen wounded, three prisoners and
eight wounded and prisoners. This record tells of his work.”
[Illustration: =Herbert Assheton Bromley.=]
=BROOKE, JAMES ANSON OTHO=, =V.C.=, Capt., 2nd Battn. The
Gordon Highlanders, eldest _s._ of Capt. Harry Vesey Brooke, of
Fairley, Countesswells, co. Aberdeen, J.P., D.L., late 92nd Gordon
Highlanders, by his wife, Patricia, only child of James Gregory Moir
Byres, of Tonley, co. Aberdeen, and gdson. of the late Sir Arthur
Brinsley Brooke, of Colebrooke Park, co. Fermanagh, 2nd Bt., M.P.;
_b._ Fairley, Aberdeenshire, 3 Feb. 1884; educ. Wellington and
Sandhurst, and received his commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Gordon
Highlanders, 11 Oct. 1905, and joined the 1st Battn. at Cork in
November. The following year he was promoted Lieut. (5 Aug. 1907) and
transferred to the 2nd battn. in India, where he served till 1913. He
was present at the Delhi Durbar and as Senior Subaltern he was one of
the officers who received new colours from King George, and was awarded
the Durbar medal. In 1913, the regt. went to Egypt and were stationed
there till the outbreak of war, when (Oct. 1914) they were ordered
to the Front. Lieut. Brooke was the Senior Subaltern and acting as
assistant Adjutant. The 2nd battn. of the Gordons landed at Zeebrugge
and after many days’ severe fighting, the regt. along with the rest
of the Division found themselves on 29 Oct. attacked by very superior
forces at Gheluvelt. Here it was that Lieut. Brooke was killed, having,
as his Col. wrote, by his gallantry “saved the situation.” The Germans
having broken through, he changed the formation of the line three
times and finally led an assault on, and captured an important trench
at a most critical moment. For this he was mentioned in Despatches
and awarded the Victoria Cross, the official record stating: “For
conspicuous bravery and great ability near Gheluvelt on 29 Oct. in
leading two attacks on the German trenches under heavy rifle and
machine-gun fire, regaining a lost trench at a very critical moment.
He was killed on that day. By his marked coolness and promptitude on
this occasion Lieut. Brooke prevented the enemy from breaking through
our line at a time when a general counter-attack could not have been
organised.” At Sandhurst he was Capt. of the Shooting Eight, was senior
Colour-Sergt. of the College, won the Sword of Honour, tied for the
Saddle, etc. He was _unm._
[Illustration: =James Anson Otho Brooke.=]
=BROOKE, VICTOR REGINALD, C.I.E., D.S.O.=, Major, 9th (Queen’s
Royal) Lancers, 5th _s._ of the late Sir Victor Alexander Brooke,
of Colebrooke, 3rd Bt. by his wife, Alice Sophia (Villa Ballenia, St.
Jean de Luz, B.P., France), 2nd dau. of Sir Alan Edward Bellingham, 3rd
Bt.; _b._ 53, Eaton Square, London, 22 Jan. 1873; educ. at Pau,
Basses Pyrénées and at Storrington, and obtained his commission as 2nd
Lieut. in the 9th Lancers, 12 Dec. 1894, and became Lieu. 29 April,
1896, Capt. 6 May, 1901, Major 7 June, 1905, and temporary Lieut.-Col.
1 June, 1907. He served in the South African War, 1899–1902, where he
greatly distinguished himself. He took part in the advance on, and
relief of, Kimberley, including the actions at Belmont, Enslin, Modder
River and Magersfontein, and in the operations in the Orange Free State
from Feb. to May, 1900, including the actions at Paardeberg, Poplar
Grove, and Karee Siding, and was A.D.C. to the Lieut.-Gen. commanding
the Headquarters staff in South Africa from Nov. 1901 to Sept. 1902.
He was wounded in the Transvaal, and was twice mentioned in despatches
[16 April, 1901, and 31 May, 1902], and was awarded the Distinguished
Service Order, the Queen’s medal with four clasps and the King’s medal
with two. From 1902 to 1907 he was A.D.C. and then Assistant Mil.
Secretary to Lord Kitchener, and was sent by him to Kabul in 1904,
and afterwards became Mil. Secretary to the Viceroy of India (Lord
Minto), and was made a C.I.E. in 1910. He returned with Lord Minto Dec.
1910, and served with his regt. at Canterbury and Tidworth. On the
outbreak of the European War he went to France with the Expeditionary
Force and died in hospital at Compiègne of wounds received in action
during the retreat from Mons, 29 Aug. 1914; _unm._ The following
appreciation by “A Friend” appeared in the Daily Telegraph of 12 Sept.
1914: “It was a fine ending to a fine life, Victor Brooke was known,
if only as Military Secretary in India, to thousands; but it was by
tens of thousands that he was liked and loved. He was almost the first
man wounded in the South African War. The writer picked up the diary
of a wounded Boer, in which was set down the enemy’s regret that so
good a friend and fighter had been as they thought killed. Upon my
conscience, I believe that the Boers who wounded him in 1899 will take
an intentional and bitter revenge for his death in 1914, when they
came to grips with the Germans in South West Africa. As to the manner
of his death and burial, there is something to be recorded. He died on
the night of 29 Aug. and he was buried early next morning at Chateau
d’Annel, near Compiègne. The house had been turned into a hospital by
Mrs. Depew, to whom most men who speak English will be glad to pay in
full a willing debt of gratitude whenever and wherever the claim is
presented. They left at eleven on the same day. I now quote the words
of others: ‘The estate carpenter made his coffin, and one of the old
men on the estate dug his grave. After the burial the old man said to
Mrs. Depew, “Regardez, Madame.” He pointed out a gravestone to the
north of the grave, which had the inscription underneath the date,
1870, “Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.” It belonged to one of the
family which owned Chateau d’Annel in those days, all of whom were
buried there. Beside them the old grave-digger thought it right to lay
Victor Brook--Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur indeed.”
[Illustration: =Victor Reginald Brooke.=]
=BROOKE, VIVIAN CYRIL=, Private, No. 98, A Coy., 12th Battn.,
3rd Infantry Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, 2nd _s._ of the
late Robert Parkinson Brooke, of Tasmania, formerly of India, Indigo
Planter, by his wife, Amy (Rialannah, Swanston Street, New Town,
Hobart, Tasmania), _b._ New Town, Tasmania, 19 June, 1887; educ.
Queen’s College and Friend’s High School, Hobart, Tasmania; was a
cashier in the Commonwealth Bank, Hobart, but on the outbreak of war
volunteered and enlisted 20 Aug. 1914. He left for Egypt with the first
Expeditionary Force; took part in the landing at Gaba Tepe on 25 April,
1915, when the 12th Battn. held the post of honour as covering party;
was wounded and taken prisoner on that occasion and died a prisoner of
war in the Turkish Military Hospital at Biga, Asia Minor, 9 May, 1915;
_unm._
[Illustration: =Vivian Cyril Brooke.=]
=BROOKE, WALTER=, Sergt., 6506, 26 Coy. R.E., _s._ of Alfred
Brooke, of Oxford Road, Mistley, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of George
Scott, of Sutton; _b._ Lawford, co. Essex, 3 Feb. 1885; educ.
Mistley Wesleyan School; enlisted in the R.E. in 1899, and was killed
in action by a shell, 10 Nov. 1914; _unm._
[Illustration: =Walter Brooke.=]
=BROOKER, HORACE BRIAN=, Rifleman, 9th (Queen Victoria’s Rifles)
London Regt., only _s._ of Horace Sidney Brooker, of Queen’s Road,
Weybridge, Draper and Outfitter, by his wife, Kate, dau. of John Jonas
Couzens; _b._ Weybridge, 20 June, 1888; educ. St. James School
there, and enlisted in the 9th London Regt. 21 Aug. 1914, going into
camp three days later. He was home only once subsequently, for a few
hours, immediately preceding his departure for the front on 2 Nov.
After a fortnight’s training in France, he went with his regt. straight
into the firing line, and there he remained, with intervals of relief,
right up to the memorable fight for possession of Hill 60, where he was
killed in action, 21 April, 1915; _unm._ In his last letter, dated
14 April, he referred to a visit of Zeppelins which had dropped 11
bombs within 200 yards of the regt., making holes 24 ft. in diameter.
A comrade (Rifleman Barry) wrote: “I have been closely associated with
Brian since we came out in November last, and during the dreary months
of bad weather in the trenches his cheery influence did much to keep us
going. There is not the slightest doubt that the hill would have been
lost but for the timely arrival of our regt. and the courage shown both
by officers and men, who were determined to hang on like grim death,
even when some men of other regts. were beginning to give way. No. 1
platoon had to get out of the trenches and charge across the open and
occupy a small German trench in front, and it was while doing this that
Brian was killed.” Brooker was a well-known Surrey athlete, he had
captained the Weybridge Football Club for several seasons, and achieved
international A.F.A. honours, thrice accompanying representative teams
to the Continent.
[Illustration: =Horace B. Brooker.=]
=BROOKER, WILLIAM JAMES=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1282), 199598, H.M.S.
Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov.
1914.
=BROOKING, CHARLES WILLIAM=, Leading Seaman, 234617, H.M.S.
Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=BROOKS, ALFRED HAROLD=, Private R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1888),
late Ch./12955 H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept.
1914.