King’s Royal Rifle Corps, _s._ of the late Clifford Waterman
Chaplin, of Burrough Hill, Melton Mowbray, co. Leicester, J.P., by his
wife, Rosa, dau. of William Chaplin, M.P.; _b._ Norfolk Square,
Hyde Park, London, 31 May, 1863; educ. Eton and Pembroke College,
Oxford; joined the City of London Regt. in May, 1885, from the Militia,
and was transferred the same month to the “Green Jackets,” and gazetted
Capt. to the King’s Royal Rifles 1894; served with the Chitral Force
under General Low (medal with clasp); and in the South African war as
Special Service Officer for Mounted Infantry; and later, from Aug.
1901, in command of the 1st Regt. of Mounted Infantry, doing excellent
work in the Transvaal and the line of the Orange River (mentioned in
Despatches, medal with five clasps). After the campaign he obtained his
majority in 1903, and was posted to the 2nd Battn. King’s Royal Rifles
at Gharial, in the Punjab; he succeeded to the command of the 3rd
Battn. 18 March, 1908, at Crete, and later took the battn. to Malta,
afterwards returning to India and serving at Umballa. From half-pay in
1912 he retired, and was placed in the Reserve of Officers, being at
the top of the list when mobilisation took place, and was one of the
big batch of officers who were given command on 19 Aug. 1914. He was
killed in action after a 12 hours’ fight, when he and his men had just
captured a trench, being shot through the head at Hooge, in Flanders,
at 3.30 p.m. 30 July, 1915. He was buried at Chateau Hooge, close to
where he fell. The following telegram was sent to the 9th Service
Battn. from Headquarters, 2nd Army, at 1 p.m. on 31 July, 1915: “The
Army Corps Commander wishes you to convey to the officers and men of
the 9th Battn. King’s Royal Rifles his appreciation of the way in which
they carried out the attack on the trenches north of the Menin Road
yesterday afternoon, and maintained themselves under heavy artillery
fire.” Lieut.-Col. Chaplin _m._ at Bombay, India, 29 Sept. 1905,
Gwladys Hamilton (Erbistock House, Ruabon), dau. of Col. Stanley Creek,
late Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and had three sons and a dau.: Clifford,
_b._ 23 Sept. 1906; Nigel Gilbert Forbes, _b._ 9 Jan. 1908;
Patrick Slingsby, _b._ 4 July, 1910; and Zara, _b._ 18 March,
1914.
[Illustration: =Charles Slingsby Chaplin.=]
=CHAPLIN, EDWARD ROBERT=, Stoker (R.F.R., B. 6421), 223109, H.M.S.
Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CHAPLIN, HUMPHREY MARMADUKE=, Lieut. 3rd, attd. 2nd, Battn.
Cheshire Regt., 3rd _s._ of the late Marmaduke Kaye Chaplin, of
Etwall, co. Derby; _b._ Etwall, 8 Jan. 1892; educ. Glyngarth
School, Cheltenham, and Rossall School, and was a scholar of Balliol
College, Oxford, and a member of the O.T.C. He received a commission
as 2nd Lieut. in the 3rd Cheshire Regt. 15 Aug. 1914; was attached to
the 2nd Battn. on its return from India in Jan. 1915, and left for the
Front the same month, being promoted Lieut. Feb. 1915. He was slightly
wounded 13 March, and rejoined a month later (19 April). The battn.
was moved up immediately afterwards to the advanced trenches in the
Ypres salient, from which only a few men returned after the termination
of the second battle for Ypres. Lieut. Chaplin was posted missing 11
May, 1915, and was afterwards reported as having been killed in action
near Ypres on 8–9 May. He was buried by the Germans near St. Julien;
_unm._ Lieut. Chaplin was a Craven scholar, and had gained a first
in Moderations, and was a Charles Oldham Prizeman.
[Illustration: =Humphrey M. Chaplin.=]
=CHAPMAN, ALFRED=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 10042), S.S.
112062, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CHAPMAN, ARTHUR THOMAS=, Capt., 3rd Battn. East Surrey Regt.,
attd. 1st Battn. Hampshire Regt., eldest _s._ of Thomas Chapman,
of Croydon; _b._ Croydon, 20 April, 1873; educ. Whitgift School;
joined the Volunteers (Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regt.) as a Private
in 1888; was Trooper in the Hampshire Carabiniers (Yeomanry) from
1893 to 1897, and 2nd Lieut., to the 3rd Battn. King’s Own Royal
Lancaster Regt. ... 1899, from which he resigned owing to ill-health.
He afterwards joined the 1st Battn. Surrey National Reserve as Lieut.
in 1910, was promoted Capt. ... 1912, and after the outbreak of war
in 1914 volunteered for foreign service. After a period of training
with the 3rd East Surreys, he was attached as a Lieut. (13 Sept.
1914) to the 1st Hampshires, and spent the winter with them in the
trenches, being promoted Capt. 2 Feb. 1915, and was killed in action
near Zonnebeke, during the second Battle of Ypres, 26 April, 1915. His
commanding officer wrote: “He won for himself a place in the hearts of
his men and of the officers in the regt. during the few short months he
was with us, that made his loss one of the worst blows we have received
during the war. His solicitude for his men exceeded anything I have
ever seen before.... All through the winter in the Plug Street trenches
he was simply indefatigable, and withal as cheery as a sandboy--rain,
mud, cold and German snipers were individually and collectively
unable to subdue his good spirits. I was not with his regt. when the
fighting in the Ypres Salient took place, but I have heard the story
of that particular day’s fighting in which he was killed. The regt.
was ordered to support the 28th Division, which had become exposed by
the retirement of the Canadians. It reached a position an hour before
dawn, and dug itself in. A small post in a house on the left flank
of the line was rushed by Germans, who were thereby able to enfilade
our trenches. It was thus we lost Capt. Sandeman, your husband and
many men.... He set an example of devotion to the highest ideal of
duty which is possible for any one to do in giving his life for his
country, when only his own unbending sense of duty was there to urge
him forward.” Capt. Chapman was one of the founders of modern Coulsdon.
Going there nearly a dozen years ago he purchased the land which now
forms the Smitham Downs Estate, and proceeded to at once develop it.
He took an active interest in the formation of St. Andrew’s district
in the year 1906, and became one of the first churchwardens of the
temporary church. At the time of his death he was still serving as
sidesman. He was married, but had no issue.
[Illustration: =Arthur Thomas Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, CLEMENT=, Sailmaker’s Mate (R.F.R., B. 3220), 169201,
H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CHAPMAN, EDWARD HENRY=, Lieut.-Col., 6th (Service) Battn.
Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regt., 1st _s._ of
Edward Henry Chapman, of Cobrey Park, Ross, co. Hereford, by his late
wife, Elizabeth Eden, dau. of James Walker, of Airy Hill, Whitby;
_b._ Budleigh Salterton, co. Devon; educ. Aysgarth School,
Yorkshire, United Services College, Westward Ho! and Sandhurst;
obtained his commission in the 2nd Yorkshires, 20 Feb. 1895; and was
promoted Lieut. 18 Aug. 1897, Capt. 29 Sept. 1901, Major 11 Feb. 1911,
and Lieut.-Col. 19 Aug. 1914. He served in India and Burmah; took part
in the Tirah Campaign, 1897–8, including the capture of the Sampagha
and Arhanga Passes, the action at Saran Sar, and the operations round
Dwatoi and against the Khani and Khel Chamkanis, and received the Tirah
medal with two clasps. When war was declared in Aug. 1914, he was in
charge of the Richmond Depôt, and undertook the raising of the 6th
Battn., which formed part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. He
was killed in action, 7 Aug. 1915, at the capture of the hill at Lalla
Baba. The Chaplain of the 32nd Brigade, writing to his father, said:
“He died as he would have wished to die--a gallant soldier leading
his men, himself at the very front of the regt., on the summit of
Lala Baba. As you have perhaps since learned we were to make a fresh
landing on the night of the 6th inst. There were urgent reasons why we
should capture the hill in silence, at the point of the bayonet without
firing a shot. The moment we landed we were met with a very hot and
accurate fire, which accounted for many casualties before our task
was accomplished. Our advance, however, was irresistible, and despite
the hail of bullets and the shower of shrapnel which had now got the
range, the Yorkshires pushed forward to the Turkish trenches on the
crest of the hill. There it was that the colonel’s gifts of leadership
made themselves felt. ‘Come on the Yorkshires,’ he cried, and at their
head with fixed bayonets, the lads he trained so well swept forward
with irresistible force and the hill was ours. This brilliant little
initial victory was, however, very dearly bought, for on the summit
lay our colonel dead, and scattered all around a mass of wounded, dead
and dying. With dawn we were able to estimate our losses. The losses
among the men were heavy, but by no means proportional to the officers.
The officers are young men who have received their commissions since
the formation of the New Army. I go to see them in the firing line
as often as I can. Their wonderful confidence and courage pass all
belief. Confronted with a task that would try the nerve and test the
skill of the most experienced soldier, commanded by a junior captain
of 24 years, this little band of lads (for they are little more)
with a wonderful courage, inspire with confidence and hope the men
so unexpectedly committed to their care. It is a fresh and glorious
page to be written in the history of the ‘Green Howards.’ Your son
died instantaneously, shot through the neck. I was by his side not
long afterwards, and so was able to prepare roughly for his burial.
We buried him the same day in the same grave as his cousin, Wilfred
Chapman, and two other officers, and have since erected a rough cross
over the grave. At the moment of the accomplishment of the task he had
been ordered to perform, with a quiet happy smile upon his face, he met
his end as I know he would have chosen had the choice been his--the
end of an English gentleman and a very gallant soldier.--P.S.--I am
writing this under shell fire, so you must excuse its many errors.” He
was _unm._ A tablet to his memory was placed in Richmond Parish
Church, Yorkshire.
[Illustration: =Edward Henry Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, FRANK JAMES ALBERT=, Private, No. 2856, 5th Battn. The
Royal Sussex Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Frank William Chapman, Driver
A.S.C. (now on service in France), by his wife, Elizabeth Eliza (Dale
Hill, Ticehurst, Sussex), dau. of James Francis; _b._ Frimwell,
co. Sussex, 9 Sept. 1895; educ. Ticehurst Council School; enlisted
about 18–19 Nov. 1914; went to France, 20 Feb. 1915, and was killed in
action there, 12 July, 1915, being shot by a sniper; _unm._ His
brother, Driver Walter Reginald Chapman, No. 092582, A.S.C., is now
(1916) on active service in Egypt.
=CHAPMAN, FRED CHARLES=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8421),
294415, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CHAPMAN, FREDERICK=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 9954), S.S.
107663, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CHAPMAN, GEORGE ERNEST=, Private, No. 9073, 3rd Battn. Coldstream
Guards, 2nd _s._ of Henry Chapman, of Thorpe Salvin, Worksop,
Farm Horseman, by his wife, Harriett, dau. of William Good; _b._
Thorpe Salvin, co. Nottingham, 29 Nov. 1889; enlisted 10 April, 1911,
and served three years with the Colours, then passing into the Reserve
and joining the Nottingham County Constabulary. He was stationed at
headquarters during his brief service with the force, and his superior
officers spoke highly of him. On the declaration of war in August
following, however, he was called up and was killed in action at
Rentel, Belgium, 29 Oct. 1914; _unm._
[Illustration: =George E. Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, GEORGE MARTIN=, M.A., M.B., M.R.C.S., Lieut., R.A.M.C.,
attached 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays), 2nd _s._ of the
Hon. Mr. Justice Frederick Revans Chapman, a Judge of the Supreme
Court of New Zealand, by his wife, Clara, dau. of George Cook, of
Dunedin, Barrister, and gdson. of the late Hon. Henry Samuel Chapman,
also a Judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand; _b._ Dunedin,
New Zealand, 26 March, 1887; educ. Waitaki High School, Oamaru, New
Zealand, and the Otago University Medical School, and on leaving
there went to London to study medicine and passed the conjoint Boards
Examination, under which he subsequently became M.R.C.S. In 1907,
however, he decided to go to Cambridge, where he remained until 1910,
studying medicine and graduating in Arts. He then returned to the
London Hospital and went through all the appointments held by the
Junior Staff. When war broke out he was House Physician, but was
already appointed House Surgeon. Owing to shortage he had to hold
both appointments until he went to Shorncliffe in Sept. 1914. He
was gazetted a Lieut., R.A.M.C., on the 11th of that month, went to
the Front, and was attached to the 2nd Dragoon Guards in Feb. While
serving in No. 11 General Hospital at Boulogne, a small vessel was
wrecked in a gale on 7 Dec. All but the skipper got away from her.
Two British soldiers attempted without success to rescue this man and
had themselves to be put under treatment. Lieut. Chapman swam out and
gripped the old skipper as he was drowning, and both were dragged
ashore. For this he was awarded, by the French Government, the Gold
Medaille de Souvetage, inscribed “pour courage et dévouement,” and was
commended in a British Routine Order. The two privates received silver
medals. He was killed in action at the Second Battle of Ypres, 13 May,
1915, when his regt. was holding the trenches on the Zonnebeke Road,
a little east of Ypres. He and the men who were standing by him were
killed instantaneously by a shell while attending the wounded machine
gunners, and was buried with two other officers of the same regt. in
the grounds of the Chateau of Potijge; _unm._ The Major of the
Bays wrote: “We were in the trenches under a very severe shell fire.
Your son was most gallantly attending to the wounded when a shell
killed him instantly, as well as two men who were standing by him. We
took his body back and buried him in the grounds of a chateau just
east of Potijge cross roads, a small village east of Ypres. I cannot
tell you what a loss he is to this regt.; he had only been with us
two months, but was most popular with officers and men. Please accept
the sympathy of the entire regt. with your great loss, and you have
the great consolation that he died doing his duty very gallantly as
a soldier should”; and the Col. of the 1st Cavalry Division: “I, in
common with all who knew your son, would like to express our sincere
condolence to his family. His gallant conduct throughout the engagement
won him the admiration of officers and men alike; he died a noble death
attending wounded in the trenches under a murderous fire. His death
deprives me of one of the best officers that ever served under me, and
I again tender you my deepest sympathy in your great bereavement.”
When at Cambridge he was a noted athlete, taking his blue in Rugby
football in 1907, and subsequently his half-blue in boxing. In both of
these sports he upheld the name of his hospital when in London, and
also played for other clubs, notably, for the Harlequins. One of his
teachers, writing in the British Medical Journal, 29 May, 1915, said:
“Perhaps at his age it is inevitable that his athletic gifts should
attract more attention than his high mental abilities and sterling
moral sense, which in later years would have readily won him a new
renown. He was cast in a heroic mould, and, while it is no doubt true
nothing became him more than the manner of his death, it is but cold
comfort to many who mourn the early end of so admirable a life--the
sudden quenching of so much vital and kindly force.”
[Illustration: =George Martin Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, HARRY REYNOLDS=, Major, 10th (Service) Battn. Durham
L.I., eldest _s._ of the late Capt. Abel Henry Chapman, formerly
19th Hussars, and chairman-director of Messrs. Clarke, Chapman & Co.’s
Works, Gateshead-on-Tyne, by his wife, Mary (Colinton, Midlothian),
dau. of John Fraser; _b._ Benares, India, 27 April, 1868; educ.
Uppingham. On leaving school in 1891 he entered his father’s works and
became a director in 1893. He was keenly interested in a volunteer
corps of Royal Engineers raised in the works, of which he became Major.
On the outbreak of the war he offered his services and received a
commission in the 10th Service Battn. of the Durhams. Major Chapman was
killed in action in France, 27 June, 1915. He _m._ Elinore Phyllis
(Wingfield, Eagle Lane, Snaresbrook, Essex), dau. of John Larkin,
and left three daus.; Elinore Mary, _b._ 15 Feb. 1899; Dorothy
Harriet, _b._ 5 Aug. 1900; and Phyllis Agatha, _b._ 8 May,
1904.
[Illustration: Harry R. Chapman.]
=CHAPMAN, HERBERT ALFRED=, Private, No. 2221, 4th Suffolk Regt.,
_s._ of William Chapman, of Norwich, Carpenter; _b._ Norwich,
9 March, 1870; educ. Boys’ Model School there; was in the employ of
Messrs. Cowell, Ltd., as a Compositor for over 20 years; volunteered
and enlisted 1 Sept. 1914; went to France, was wounded in action
there, 16 May, 1915, and died at the Dover Military Hospital, 21 May
following. Capt. E. L. Brown wrote: “I consider him a man of the
highest rank. No officer could want a more willing soldier, no soldier
could desire a better comrade.” Lieut. A. Brunzee also wrote saying
what a splendid example he set his younger companions. He _m._
at St. Nicholas’ Chapel, Ipswich, 21 Aug. 1898, Priscilla Jane,
dau. of Thomas Pizzy, of High Street, Ipswich, Greengrocer, and had
seven children: Arthur Frederick, _b._ 4 March, 1907; Millicent
Bertha, _b._ 9 Jan. 1900; Dorothy May, _b._ 11 Feb. 1902;
Ruby Cecily, _b._ 20 March, 1905; Marjorie Florence, _b._ 5
Aug. 1908; Winnifred Laura, _b._ 7 June, 1910; and Ellen Mary,
_b._ 27 May, 1913.
[Illustration: =Herbert Alfred Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, JOE=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8437), 294702,
H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=CHAPMAN, PERCEVAL CHRISTIAN=, Capt., Royal Artillery, attd. 26th
(Jacob’s) Mountain Battery, 2nd _s._ of the Rev. Theodore Charles
Chapman, M.A., Secretary of the Church Pastoral Aid Society, and late
Vicar of Christ Church, Clifton, by his wife, Alice Barr, dau. of the
late Patrick Keith, of 26, Queen’s Gate Gardens, S.W.: _b._ Laxey
Parsonage, Isle of Man, 10 March, 1884; educ. Clifton College and Royal
Military Academy, Woolwich, where he was Tombs Memorial scholar. He was
gazetted to the Royal Garrison Artillery, 15 July, 1903, and promoted
Lieut. 15 July, 1906. On the outbreak of war he volunteered for
Imperial service, was promoted Capt. 30 Oct. 1914. From July, 1907, he
had served with the 26th (Jacob’s) Mountain Battery of the Indian Army.
He died at Alexandria, 1 May, 1915, of wounds received in action during
the landing at Gaba Tepe on 25 April, 1915; _unm._
[Illustration: =Perceval C. Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, PHILIP GEORGE=, Private, No. 1742 (Pioneer), B Coy., 4th
Battn. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Australian Imperial Force, 4th _s._
of Philip George Chapman, of 3A, Franche Court Road, Tooting, S.W.,
Coachbuilder, by his wife, Eliza, dau. of the Rev. Charles Carter,
Baptist Minister; _b._ Tostock, co. Suffolk, 13 Feb. 1884; educ.
Waldron Road L.C.C. School, Wandsworth; left England for Australia in
Aug. 1911, and was for some time in the bush, afterwards working in
Blackbutt, Queensland, and then going to Sydney. He enlisted in Jan.
1915, and was wounded in the charge of the Australians at Lone Pine, 14
Aug. 1915, dying the day following at Alexandria; _unm._ He had been
ordered a rest because of his eyes being weak, but would not go upon
hearing of the impending charge. Chapman was a keen athlete, holding
many medals for swimming, gymnastics and football.
[Illustration: =Philip George Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, RICHARD KEPPEL GEORGE SUTTON=, Midshipman, R.N.,
yst. _s._ of Francis Hay Chapman, Commander R.N. (retired), of
12, Foster Road, Alverstoke, Hants, by his wife, Amy Georgiana, 2nd
dau. of the late Capt. Frederick Sutton, 11th Hussars, and granddau.
of Capt. Robert Nassau Sutton, 7th Fusiliers, A.D.C. to Sir Ralph
Abercrombie in Egypt [3rd son of Sir Richard Sutton, 1st Bart., M.P.];
_b._ Blackheath, S.E., 26 Oct. 1898; educ. Shirley House School,
Old Charlton, Weymouth College, and the Osborne and Dartmouth Royal
Naval Colleges; joined H.M.S. Bulwark, 3 Aug. 1914, when the Fleet
mobilised for war. He was killed at Sheerness in the explosion on board
that ship, 26 Nov. 1914. Chapman was a general favourite and a keen
sportsman. A former tutor wrote: “May the thought that no finer or
more upright lad ever wore naval uniform in some small measure be your
consolation,” and another wrote: “No one that had anything to do with
Dickie could help loving him.”
[Illustration: =Richard K. G. S. Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, WILFRID HUBERT=, Capt., 6th (Service) Battn. Alexandra
Princess of Wales’ Own Yorkshire Regt., 4th and yst. surviving
_s._ of the late Joseph John Chapman, of St. Hilda’s Terrace,
Whitby, by his wife, Fanny, dau. of Henry Simpson, and gdson. of
Joseph Barker Chapman; _b._ Goudhurst, co. Kent, 13 Dec. 1879;
and went to Eton (Mr. Hale’s in 1894, and afterwards with his brother,
Harold, in 1895 to Mr. Somerville’s). Here he soon became known as a
boy of independent, original character, and a promising athlete. In
1897 he was first Whip of the Beagles and second Captain of the Boats;
he won the school steeplechase, mile and half-mile, and rowed bow of
the eight which won at Henley. In 1898 he won the Steeplechase again,
and for the second time rowed bow of the eight which won the Ladies
Plate at Henley. From Eton he went to Trinity College, Cambridge,
and in 1899 rowed bow of the eight which beat Oxford for the first
time for 10 years. At the time of the South African War he was given
(10 July, 1900) a commission as Lieut. in the 4th (Militia) Battn.
of the Yorkshires, and served through that campaign, being promoted
Capt. 25 Feb. 1901, and receiving the Queen’s medal with three clasps.
At the end of the war he retired, returned to Cambridge, and was in
the winning Cambridge crews of 1902 and 1903, and was president of
the Cambridge University Boating Club in the latter year. On leaving
Cambridge he went into business in London, but still kept up his
rowing. He was in the Third Trinity eight which won the Grand Challenge
Cup at Henley in 1902, and the four that won the Stewards’ Challenge
Cup the same year, on both occasions beating Leander in the finals. In
1903 for Third Trinity, which won the Stewards’ Challenge Cup. This was
said to be the best four ever seen at Henley up to that date. In the
Grand Challenge Cup Third Trinity were only beaten by six feet after a
most exciting struggle, in which each boat took the lead alternately.
In 1904 he was in the Leander eight which won the Grand Challenge Cup,
and in the Third Trinity four which won the Stewards’ Challenge Cup. In
1905 he went to India as an assistant in the Bombay Co., and when war
was declared he was manager of the company in Karachi. He immediately
joined the Sind Volunteer Field Artillery, but being desirous of going
to the Front and failing to get permission from the company, he threw
up his appointment, came home and rejoined the Yorkshires as Capt.
in June, 1915. The regt. left England for the Dardanelles early the
following month, and Capt. Chapman was killed in the landing at Suvla
Bay, 6 Aug. 1915. He _m._ at Barkway, co. Herts, 5 Aug. 1909, May
Campbell, dau. of Alexander Sinclair, of 5e, Montagu Mansions, Portman
Square, W., and had two daus.: Elizabeth Mary, _b._ 22 April,
1911; and Annie Wilfrida Sinclair, _b._ 31 Dec. 1913. His elder
brother, Percy, Lieut., 21st Lancers, died of enteric in the Sudan in
1905; another brother, Harold, a Capt. in the Yorkshires, was wounded
in Gallipoli a day or two after his brother was killed.
[Illustration: =Wilfrid Hubert Chapman.=]
=CHAPMAN, WILLIAM ALFRED=, Private, No. 16431, 2nd Battn.
Grenadier Guards, _s._ of William George Chapman, Police Sergeant,
Herts Constabulary, in charge of the police station at Royston;
_b._ Weston, co. Herts, 24 Nov. 1894; commenced his career in the
engineering works of the Dacre Motor Car Co. at Letchworth, and after
a short time in the Heatly Gresham Works, enlisted in the Grenadier
Guards, 24 April, 1913. He left England with his regt. on or about 12
Aug. 1914, was in the retreat from Mons, and in the various subsequent
engagements, being taken prisoner in Nov. but managed to escape. He
was killed in action near Béthune, while carrying a despatch from the
firing line to Headquarters. A comrade wrote that when the bullet
struck him he smiled and fell down dead. Chapman was recommended in
F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915, for gallant and
distinguished service in the field.
[Illustration: =William Alfred Chapman.=]
=CHAPPLE, JOHN HENRY=, Corpl., R.M.L.I., Ch. 14863, H.M.S.
Pathfinder, lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off
the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.