Guards, 2nd _s._ of Ernest Harry Coles, of Arnolds, Holmwood,
co. Surrey, by his wife, Adela Caroline, dau. of James Heslop Powell;
_b._ Caterham, co. Surrey, 13 May, 1889; educ. Hazlewood
(Limpsfield), Marlborough, and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, whence,
having taken his degree, he entered the Army as a University candidate,
being gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 3rd Dragoon Guards, 23 Feb. 1910. He
was promoted Lieut. 28 March, 1911, and Capt. 18 Nov. 1914; was with
his regt. in Cairo for two years, returning to England in the summer of
1914, when he went to Aldershot to learn signalling. On the outbreak
of war he left with his regt. for the Front, served in France and
Flanders, and was killed in action in the trenches near Hooge, late
on the night of 12 May (the eve of his twenty-sixth birthday). He was
buried at Witte Poort Farm, two miles east of Ypres; _unm._ Capt.
Coles was mentioned in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 14 Jan.
1915, for exceedingly good work in carrying messages and maintaining
communication under heavy shell fire at Zillebeke in Nov. 1914. His
commanding officer, Major Burt, wrote: “His gallantry had already been
recognised by the authorities, and his splendid example and comradeship
will be greatly missed by all ranks in the regt.” Lieut. Holt, Acting
Adjutant, 3rd Dragoon Guards, said: “His gallantry was an inspiration
to his men,” and his soldier servant, Private Harvey, who had been with
him ever since he joined the Army: “He was one of the coolest officers
that was ever under fire.”
[Illustration: =Edgar Ralph Coles.=]
=COLES, EWART JOHN=, Private, No. 876, 1/6th Battn. East Surrey
Regt. (T.F.), attd. D. Coy. 2nd Battn. Norfolk Regt., _s._ of the
late William Coles, House and Church Decorator [_b._ Cheddar,
co. Somerset], by his wife, Eliza Ellen (7, Wilton Avenue, Richmond,
Surrey), dau. of James Summerhayes; _b._ Paddington, London, 9
Aug. 1893; educ. Holy Trinity Church School, Richmond, Surrey, and was
in the employ of the Pearl Assurance Co. He had joined the East Surrey
Territorials in March, 1908, and on the outbreak of war volunteered for
foreign service; mobilised 4 Aug. 1914; went to India 29 Oct. 1914,
and in Sept. 1915, left with the British Expeditionary Force for the
Persian Gulf, and was killed in action at Ctesiphon, 22 Nov. 1915;
_unm._ Writing to Mrs. Coles, Lieut.-Col. A. P. Drayson said: “I
have known your son for a good many years, and have always looked upon
him as the right stamp of soldier, always willing, smart and keen in
any work he had to do,” adding that he felt that by his death they had
“lost one of the best men in the regt.”
=COLES, ROBERT=, L.-Corpl., No. 7043, 2nd Battn. Coldstream
Guards, _s._ of William Coles, of Eton Place, High Street,
Crediton, by his wife, Emma, dau. of the late William Williams, of
Llanvihangel, near Monmouth; _b._ Shobrooke, Crediton, co. Devon,
26 Jan. 1887; educ. there; enlisted 1907, and was killed in action
at the Battle of the Aisne, 18 Sept. 1914, being buried in Soupir
Cemetery; _unm._ He was well known as a crack shot, having taken
part in the Army Competition at Bisley on several occasions, and had
won a number of cups and medals.
[Illustration: =Robert Coles.=]
=COLLES, ARTHUR GROVE=, Capt., 4th Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers,
only _s._ of Alexander Colles, of 3, Elgin Road, co. Dublin,
Inspector, Registrar of Petty Sessions Office, Dublin Castle, by his
wife, Georgina, dau. of Robert George Cullin; _b._ Dublin, 12
Feb. 1891; educ. St. Andrew’s College, Dublin; joined the 4th (Extra
Reserve) Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 11 Nov. 1910, and was gazetted
Lieut. April, 1912, and Capt. Dec. 1914. He was attached for a year to
the Connaught Rangers at the Curragh. Shortly after the outbreak of war
he was sent to the Front with the 1st Battn. Royal Irish Rifles, to
which regt. he was gazetted 2 March, 1915. Capt. Colles fought at Neuve
Chapelle, 10–12 March, 1915, and was killed in action in the village
of that name on the last-mentioned date. He was buried in the orchard
of the château at Neuve Chapelle; _unm._ Letters from his brother
officers and the men of his battn. all bear testimony to his great
capabilities and his fearlessness in the face of danger. A brother
officer says that the last he saw of him was “charging for all he was
worth at the head of his men.”
[Illustration: =Arthur Grove Colles.=]
=COLLET, CHARLES HERBERT, D.S.O.=, Lieut., Royal Marine Artillery,
and Flight Commander, Royal Naval Air Service, 2nd _s._ of James
Francis Herbert Collet, of Millbrook, Southampton, late of the Public
Works Department of the Government of India, Engineer, by his wife,
Teresa, dau. of Francis (and Teresa) Pilley; _b._ Calcutta, 4 Feb.
1888; educ. Elizabeth College, Guernsey, and Dulwich College, London,
S.E.; joined the Royal Marine Artillery, 1 Sept. 1905, and was promoted
Lieut. 1 July. 1906, and transferred to the Naval Wing of Royal Flying
Corps in 1913, in which he was gazetted Flight Commander 23 Feb. 1915.
On the outbreak of war he served on the Western Front, taking part in
the defence of Antwerp until the evacuation, and subsequently at the
Dardanelles. On 23 Sept. British aeroplanes of the Naval Wing delivered
an attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Düsseldorf. Conditions were rendered
very difficult by the misty weather, but Flight Lieut. Collet, as he
then was, flying a Sopwith tractor biplane, made a long flight, and
dropped three bombs on the Zeppelin shed, approaching within 400 ft.
His machine was struck by one projectile, but he returned safely to his
point of departure. For this exploit, which was the pioneer exploit
of its kind, he received the Distinguished Service Order, and the
Director of the Air Department of the Admiralty, in a memorandum dated
11 Oct., described the “feat as notable--gliding down from 6,000 ft.,
the last 1,500 ft. in mist, he finally coming in sight of the airship
shed, when at a height of 400 ft., and when only a quarter of a mile
distant”; adding “The importance of this incident lies in the fact
that it shows that in the event of further bombs being dropped into
Antwerp or other Belgian towns measures of reprisal can certainly be
adopted, if desired, to almost any extent.” He was twice brought down
in France, but managed to escape; on the first occasion being forced
to alight between the firing lines. On the second occasion, his engine
being damaged by shrapnel over the German lines, he had to volplane,
just managing to reach the Belgian lines, and coming under fire from
both sides, as the Belgians mistook him for a German and seized him as
a prisoner. In the Dardanelles he participated in the landing on the
Gallipoli Peninsula, 25 April, 1915, and engaged in several combats
with hostile aeroplanes. He lost his life in the Eastern Mediterranean
while on patrol duty, by an accident to his aeroplane resulting
from engine failure, 19 Aug. 1915; _unm._ For his gallantry in
endeavouring to rescue Capt. Collet, Michael Sullivan Keogh, Chief
Petty Officer, H.M.S. Ark Royal, received the Albert Medal (2nd Class),
the official record [London Gazette, 14 Jan. 1916], being as follows:
“On 19 Aug. 1915, an aeroplane, piloted by the late Capt. C. H. Collet,
D.S.O., R.M.A., was ascending from Imbros Aerodrome, and had reached
a height of 150 ft. when the engine stopped. The machine was upset by
the powerful air currents from the cliffs, and fell vertically to the
ground, while the petrol carried burst into flames, which immediately
enveloped the aeroplane and pilot. Chief Petty Officer Keogh, upon
arriving at the scene of the accident, at once made an attempt to save
Capt. Collet by dashing into the midst of the wreckage, which was
a mass of flames. He had succeeded in dragging the fatally injured
officer nearly clear of the flames when he was himself overcome by the
burns which he had received from the blazing petrol.” Capt. Collet
was regarded as one of the best naval airmen, having first attracted
attention by his flying on the big biplane bought by the Admiralty
from the Deutsche Flugzeug Werke of Leipzig in 1913. Early in 1914
he had this machine equipped with a huge petrol tank in place of the
passenger’s seat, and started from Plymouth on a non-stop flight to
John o’ Groats. He was brought down by engine trouble at Grimsby, but
the flight stood as a British “record” for distance across country.
While stationed at the Royal Naval Flying School at Eastchurch, Collet
was the first officer in the Naval Air Service to loop the loop. A
General officer with whom he served for a time on observation duty
at the Dardanelles, wrote of him to his father in the highest terms.
He held several trophies for boxing and shooting; he was a winner of
the Navy and Marine light-weight boxing championship, and was in the
final for the Army and Navy light-weight championships. He received
the Distinguished Service Order 21 Oct. 1914, and was twice mentioned
in Despatches: first by the Admiralty [London Gazette, 21 Oct. 1914],
and again by F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French [London Gazette, 17 Feb.
1915]. He was _unm._
[Illustration: =Charles Herbert Collet.=]
=COLLETT, FREDERICK WILLIAM=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 4691), S.S. 1669,
H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of
Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=COLLIER, ALFRED ERNEST=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2529), 215083, H.M.S.
Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov.
1914.
=COLLIER, FREDERICK HENRY=, Private, No. 9986, 1st Battn. East
Kent Regt. (The Buffs), _s._ of Charles Collier, of 3, Beach
Street, Dover; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.;
killed in action, 25 Oct. 1914.
=COLLIER, GEORGE=, Private, No. 9822, 1st Battn. Royal West Kent
Regt.; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in
action, 5 May, 1915; _m._
=COLLIER, THOMAS=, Private, R.M.L.I., 10587, H.M.S. Hawke; lost
when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _unm._
=COLLINGE, WILLIAM=, Private, No. 9986, 1st Battn. Scots Guards;
_b._ Leyland, co. Lancaster; enlisted 2 Sept. 1914, aged 20;
served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; reported missing
after the fighting on 25 Jan. 1915.
=COLLINGS, WALLACE=, Private, No. 1627, 2nd Battn. South
Lancashire Regt., 6th _s._ of Henry Bence Collings, of 16, Stour
Street, Kirkdale, by his wife Helen, dau. of John Rowe, of Exeter;
_b._ Liverpool, 20 July, 1895; educ. Council Schools there;
enlisted 4 Oct. 1911, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 27
Oct. 1914; _unm._
=COLLINGWOOD, WILLIAM=, Private, No. 6540, 2nd Battn. King’s
Own Scottish Borderers, 3rd _s._ of the late John Collingwood,
of Denton Burn, Scotswood, Northumberland, Coal Miner, by his wife,
Eleanor, dau. of William Millar; _b._ Newburn, co. Northumberland,
25 Nov. 1876; educ. Denton Burn, and was afterwards employed at the
Montagu Colliery, Denton Burn; enlisted in the King’s Own Scottish
Borderers at Berwick-on-Tweed, 31 Oct. 1898, and served with them
through the South African War, being present at operations in
Paardeberg, Johannesburg and Cape Colony, for which he received the
Queen’s and King’s medals and five bars, also a certificate for good
services in the Mounted Infantry, 26 May, 1903. On the outbreak of the
European War he was called to the Colours 4 Aug. 1914; left with the
2nd Battn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers for France 15 Aug.; was in the
Battle of Mons and the retreat to Compiègne, after which he returned
home for a time on sick leave. He left again for the Front at the end
of Oct., and was in the First Battle of Ypres and several subsequent
engagements in Belgium, and was killed in action by shrapnel shell
bursting in trench at the Second Battle of Ypres, 5 March, 1915. He
was buried at Zillebeke, near Ypres. Private Collingwood _m._ at
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 6 March, 1909, Mary Jane (98, Delaval Road, West
Benwell, Newcastle), eldest dau. of Jacob Heslop, and had a son and two
daus.: George Heslop, _b._ 13 Nov. 1911; Winifred, _b._ 11
Oct. 1909; and Eleanor, _b._ 1 April, 1914.
=COLLINS, CHARLES JAMES=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1175), 194403, H.M.S.
Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov.
1914.
=COLLINS, CHRISTOPHER=, Able Seaman, No. 4727, R.N.R., 3rd and
yst. _s._ of Christopher Collins, of 5, Ulster Lane, Drogheda,
Sailor, by his wife, Mary; _b._ Drogheda, 27 May, 1886; educ.
Christian Brothers’ School there; joined the Navy in 1906, and was lost
in the North Sea, when H.M.S. Cressy was torpedoed, 22 Sept. 1914;
_unm._
[Illustration: =Christopher Collins.=]
=COLLINS, DAVID=, P.O., 1st Class, 208619, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in
action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=COLLINS, EDWARD=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 3932), S.S.
101811, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of
Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=COLLINS, EDWARD WILLIAM ELGER=, Private, No. 7077, 1st Battn.
Coldstream Guards; _b._ co. Sussex; served with the Expeditionary
Force in France, etc.; killed in action 25 Oct. 1914; _unm._
=COLLINS, ERNEST GEORGE STEPHEN=, Gunner, R.M.A., 11488, H.M.S.
Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=COLLINS, HARRY=, Sqdn. Sergt.-Major, No. 2358, Lord Strathcona’s
Horse (R.C.), Canadian Expeditionary Force, only _s._ of the
late John Collins, Staff-Sergt., Royal Marine Artillery (who saw
service in New Zealand war, and was champion shot of the British Army
in 1877), by his wife, Clara Ann (14, St. Philip’s Terrace, Gratton
Road, Cheltenham), dau. of William Minnell, of Fratton, Portsmouth;
_b._ Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth, 22 April, 1877; educ. Amersham
(Bucks) Commercial School; enlisted in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, July,
1896, and served 12 years. He was through the South African War (medal
with two clasps), 1900–2, and after retiring, emigrated to Canada in
1908. There he was for some time in the North-West Mounted Police, and
in May, 1912, joined Lord Strathcona’s Horse as a Corpl. He was made
Sqdn. Sergt.-Major in June, 1914; volunteered for Imperial service on
the outbreak of war in Aug.; came over with the first contingent, went
to the Front in April, 1915, and was killed in action at Neuve Eglise,
26 July, 1915, by a shell as he was leaving the trenches. He was buried
with full military honours in Neuve Eglise churchyard, “just over the
wall near the tree”; _unm._
[Illustration: =Harry Collins.=]
=COLLINS, HARRY=, Private, No. 2631, 1/4th Battn. Queen’s Royal
West Surrey Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Charles Collins, of 53, Stretton
Road, Addiscombe, Decorator; _b._ East Grinstead, co. Sussex, 28
May, 1892; educ. Croydon Council School; enlisted 24 Oct. 1914; and
_d._ in Amarah Military Hospital, 26 Oct. 1915, while serving
in the Persian Gulf, and was buried in the British Cemetery there;
_unm._
=COLLINS, HENRY SILVESTER=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 4458, I.C. 238),
233478, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of
Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=COLLINS, HERBERT CHARLES=, Boy, 1st Class, J. 25469 (Dev.),
H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15
Oct. 1914.
=COLLINS, JOHN=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 5107), 199840, H.M.S. Good Hope;
lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=COLLINS, RICHARD=, Corpl., No. 9882, 1st Northumberland
Fusiliers, _s._ of the late (--) Collins, and nephew of Mrs.
Collins, of 7, Tower Street, Harrogate; _b._ Brentford, co.
Middlesex, 24 May, 1885; enlisted in 1904, and after serving in the
Northumberland Fusiliers for eight years, joined the East Riding
of Yorkshire Constabulary in Sept. 1912. On the outbreak of war, 5
Aug. 1914, he was recalled to his regt. and went to France with the
Expeditionary Force, 9 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Ypres,
6 Nov. 1914; _unm._ Corpl. Collins had served with his regt. in
India, and had taken part in some frontier fighting, for which he had a
medal. He was one of the best shots in the regt.
[Illustration: =Richard Collins.=]
=COLLINS, SAMUEL=, Ordinary Seaman, J. 23622 (Dev.), H.M.S.
Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=COLLINS, STANLEY BERTRAM=, Naval Schoolmaster, M. 4740, H.M.S.
Hawke, _s._ of William Collins, of 46, West Side, Wandsworth
Commons, S.W.; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15
Oct. 1914.
=COLLINS, THOMAS=, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 106440, H.M.S.
Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off
the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
=COLLINS, WILLIE GEORGE=, Leading Signalman (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1562),
115537, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=COLLISSON, CEDRIC HAZLEDINE=, Sergt., No. 16846, 7th Battn. (1st
British Columbia Regt.), Canadian Expeditionary Force, 3rd _s._
of the late Rev. Sydney Garbett Collisson, Vicar of Bradford-on-Avon,
and Minor Canon of Bristol Cathedral, by his wife, Sophy (8, Westfield
Park, Bristol), dau. of the Rev. William Hazledine, Vicar of The Temple
Church; _b._ Bristol, 24 Aug. 1887; and was educ. Warminster
Grammar School (1 Jan. 1898–July, 1906) and Bristol University.
He entered the teaching profession, was a Lieut. in the Devon
Territorials, and in 1910 proceeded to Canada, where he joined the
staff of the University School at Victoria. There he was offered and
accepted a Lieutenancy in the 88th Victoria Militia Regt., in which he
served until the outbreak of the European War, obtaining his Captain’s
certificate. In order that he might at once proceed to England with
the first Canadian Contingent, he resigned his commission and enlisted
in the 7th Battn. British Columbia Regt., and was immediately promoted
Sergt. He came over with the first contingent in Oct. 1914; went to
France in Feb. 1915, and was mortally wounded in action at Hill 60 on
24 April, 1915, and died two days later. He was _unm._
[Illustration: =Cedric Hazledine Collisson.=]
=COLSON, WILLIAM JOHN=, Sergt., No. 6285, 1st Battn. (West Ontario
Regt.), Canadian Expeditionary Force, eldest _s._ of Corpl.
John Colson, R.F.A., by his wife, Ellen, dau. of George Weller, of
Wilmington; _b._ Erith, co. Kent, 25 Nov. 1878; educ. Erith Board
School; enlisted in the R.F.A. 1 Dec. 1896; served 16 years--seven
years with the Colours and nine years with the Reserve--including
four and a-half years abroad; obtained his discharge, 30 Nov. 1912;
went to Canada, 30 Oct. 1913; was employed at Ford’s Motor Works,
Windsor, Ontario; on the outbreak of war joined in the West Ontario
Regt., and was appointed Sergt.; came over with the first contingent
in Oct. 1914, and was stationed at Bustard Camp, Salisbury, during the
winter of 1914–15; went to the Front, 6 Feb. and was killed in action
at Ypres, 24 April, 1915, when the Canadians so gallantly “saved the
situation.” He was buried in a grave with 16 others on the east side of
the Ypres to Pilkem Road, near the shrine about 400 yards from where
the pontoon bridge crosses the road. He _m._ at All Saints’
Church, Belvedere, Kent, 5 Aug. 1905, Emily (32, Upper Grove Road,
Belvedere, Kent), yst. dau. of Richard Spicer, of Belvedere, and had
five children; Cyril Arthur, _b._ 27 March, 1906; Albert William,
_b._ 10 April, 1913; Kathleen Adelaide, _b._ 13 Dec. 1907;
Winifred Emily, _b._ 10 Aug. 1909; and Margaret Ellen, _b._
21 July, 1911.
[Illustration: =William John Colson.=]