(Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt.), only _s._ and surviving
child of William Denne Waters, of Clarence House, Walmer, co. Kent, by
his wife, dau. of the late George William Gill, of Rochester; _b._
1 Aug. 1892; educ. Sir Roger Manwood’s School, Sandwich, where he was
in the O.T.C., and having passed the Entrance Examination for the
Army in June 1914, was gazetted to a 2nd Lieutenancy 15 Aug. of the
same year. He was sent to France in Jan. 1915, and attd. to the 1st
Battn. of the same regt., being seriously wounded at the Battle of
Neuve Chapelle on 12 March, 1915. An officer of his regt., who wrote
regretting his death, in describing the circumstances said: “He was in
my old Company, which was ordered to charge a breastwork, and he was
up and off, leading his men as he always did, but the whole lot were
practically mown down by maxims.” Lieut. Waters died of his wounds the
same night, and was buried in the Cemetery at Estaires; _unm._
[Illustration: =William Denne Waters.=]
=WATERS, WILLIAM LESLIE=, Lc.-Corpl., No. 10960, Machine-Gun
Section, 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards, 2nd _s._ of Arthur Waters,
of 25, Mill Hill Road, Acton, W., formerly of Herstmonceaux, co.
Sussex, by his wife, Kate Emma, dau. of Ralph Joanes, of Brighton;
_b._ Preston Park, Brighton, 23 Nov. 1896; educ. Stanford Road
School there and Hugh Myddelton Higher Grade School, Clerkenwell;
enlisted, 15 Aug. 1914; was promoted L.-Corpl. end of Nov. 1914; went
to the Front, 17 March, 1915, and died of enteric fever while on
active service, in No. 6 Casualty Clearing Station, Lillers, France,
7 July, 1915. His Commanding Officer wrote: “Ever since he came under
my command he proved himself an excellent non-commissioned officer
in every way and was generally liked by his own men and the whole
Machine-Gun Section.”
[Illustration: =William Leslie Waters.=]
=WATKINS, CHARLES HENRY=, Drummer, No. 8495, 2nd Battn. Coldstream
Guards, 3rd _s._ of William Henry Watkins, Sapper, No. 200567,
R.E. (now on active service), late 2nd Battn. Coldstream Guards (served
in the Egyptian Expedition, 1882), by his wife, Harriet Deborah, dau.
of James Connor; _b._ Caterham, co. Surrey, 21 Dec. 1893; educ.
Winslow and Aylesbury; enlisted in the Coldstreams Dec. 1910; went to
France with the Expeditionary Force 15 Aug., and was killed in action
at the First Battle of Ypres, 10 Nov. 1914, being shot through the head
by a sniper while crossing from one trench to another, and was buried
in a wood near Rentel, Belgium; _unm._
[Illustration: =Charles Henry Watkins.=]
=WATKINS, CHARLES ROBERT=, Private, No. 9986, 5th Battn. (London
Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), elder _s._ of Edwin Robert
Watkins, of Sladmore, Priory Avenue, High Wycombe, Surveyor, Member
of Auctioneers’ and Land Agents’ Institute, by his wife, Henrietta,
dau. of the late Walter Skull; _b._ High Wycombe, 19 Sept. 1891;
educ. Royal Grammar School there (where he won a Major County Council
Scholarship) and matriculated at London University with honours,
subsequently becoming an Artist Designer for W. H. Smith & Sons, of
Kingsway, Publishers. He joined the London Rifle Brigade the day after
war was declared (5 Aug. 1914), went with it to France the first week
in Nov., and was killed in action in the front trenches, outside
Ploegsteert Wood, Flanders, 3 Feb. 1915; _unm._ He was buried on
the side of the Armentières road, south of Ploegsteert Village. At
the time of his death he had been recommended for a commission, and
was shortly to have returned to take up his appointment. “A young man
of great ability, considered by his employers to be a genius and with
every prospect of a highly successful career.”
[Illustration: =Charles Robert Watkins.=]
=WATKINS, ILTYD EDWIN MAITLAND=, Capt., 2nd Battn. The
Monmouthshire Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of John Maitland Watkins,
of Castle Parade House, Usk, Monmouthshire, Solicitor; _b._
Usk, 25 March, 1890; educ. Downside School, near Bath, and King’s
College, Cambridge; B.A. (Law Tripos) 1911, LL.B. June, 1911, and
passed Solicitor’s Final Examination in June, 1914. He joined the
2nd Battn. Monmouthshire Regt. as 2nd Lieut. 25 March, 1909, and was
promoted Lieut. 8 Feb. 1912, and Capt. 15 July, 1914, and was Signal
Officer, Welsh Territorial Division Signal Coy. On the outbreak of
war he volunteered for Imperial service; went to France, 2 Feb. 1915,
and was killed in action near St. Julien, during the Second Battle of
Ypres, 7 May, 1915; _unm._ His Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. E.
B. Cuthbertson, C.M.G., M.V.O., wrote: “He was killed in the morning
of the 7th, just at the end of the German attack, and his death was
instantaneous and painless. Of his qualities as a soldier and a
gentleman I cannot speak too highly; cheerful, gallant and unselfish,
he died as he would have chosen to die with his face to the enemy and
in the middle of the men whom he loved and commanded so well. We buried
him on the battlefield [at La Brique St. Jean, north of Ypres]. His
loss is deeply deplored by all ranks.”
[Illustration: =Iltyd E. M. Watkins.=]
=WATKINS, WILLIAM JOHN=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 1636), 200436, H.M.S.
Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov.
1914.
=WATSON, ALEXANDER=, Private, No. 16999, C Coy., 13th (Service)
Battn. The Royal Scots, _s._ of Thomas Watson, by his wife,
Esther; _b._ Strathaven, 10 June, 1886; educ. Ballgreen Public
School; was a Tailor; enlisted in the Royal Scots, 4 Jan. 1915; went
to France, 10 July, 1915, and was killed in action at the Battle of
Loos, 26 Sept. 1915. He _m._ 3 June, 1910, Annie (18, Ballgreen,
Strathaven), dau. of Robert Orr, and had two children: Thomas,
_b._ 5 May 1912; and Jeanie, _b._ 3 Aug. 1910.
=WATSON, ALFRED JAMES=, Gunner, R.M.A., 8439 (R.F.R., I.C. 46),
H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1
Nov. 1914.
=WATSON, CEDRIC GORDON=, Lieut. 2nd Battn. Princess Charlotte of
Wales’ Royal Berkshire Regt.; only _s._ of Gilbert Watson, of the
End House, St. Andrews, Fife, by his wife, Eva, dau. of Henry Minchen
Chase, I.C.S.; _b._ Kenilworth, co. Warwick, 30 Aug. 1895; educ.
Haileybury College and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Berkshires, 25
Feb. 1914, was promoted Lieut. 5 Jan. 1915, and for a time attd. to the
East Surrey Regt. but had rejoined his own regt. at the time of his
death. He was killed in action while gallantly leading his platoon in a
frontal attack under “terrible conditions” at Fromelles, 9 May, 1915;
_unm._
=WATSON, DAVID GALLOWAY=, M.A., M.B., Ch.B. (Edin.), Lieut.,
R.A.M.C., attd. 2nd Battn. Bedfordshire Regt., _s._ of John
Watson, of 19, West Mayfield, Edinburgh, Headmaster Broughton Higher
Grade School and Junior Student Centre, Edinburgh, by his wife,
Agnes, dau. of David Galloway, of Edinburgh; _b._ West Calder,
Midlothian, 18 Nov. 1889; educ. at the Royal High School, Edinburgh,
where he was dux, in a brilliant year, and at Edinburgh University,
where he first studied with a view of entering the Church, but
eventually turned aside to medicine. After graduating in 1913, he
became House Surgeon to Mr. Alexis Thomson at the Royal Infirmary,
Edinburgh, and later Senior House Surgeon at King Edward VII Hospital,
Windsor, which he left to join the R.A.M.C. on the outbreak of war.
He was gazetted temporary Lieut. 10 Aug. 1914, and went to the
Front immediately thereafter. He was wounded by fragments of high
explosive shell, 17 May, 1915, when bringing in wounded men from the
trenches taken from the Germans at Festubert and died very suddenly
at the Duchess of Westminster’s Hospital at Le Touquet, Paris-Plage,
5 June, 1915; _unm._ He was the first officer buried in the
British Cemetery at Etaples. Dr. Watson was mentioned in F.M. Sir
John (now Lord) French’s Despatches of 30 Nov. 1914, for gallant
and distinguished conduct in the field at Neufchatel and Festubert.
At his university, as well as taking a uniformly high place as a
student, he was well known in the Union, and as a President of the
Dialectic Society, but even better as a prolific contributor to the
University Journalism; he was Joint-Editor of The Gambolier when that
light-hearted weekly was in the heyday of its first success, and he was
for a year or two a member of the Editorial Committee of The Student,
acting as Deputy-Editor (and frequently as Editor) in 1912–13. He
used to devote much of his time (for a considerable period at least
two evenings every week) to social work in the University Settlement,
delighting especially in playing with the children and telling them
stories. One of his most successful efforts, a popular exposition of
Physical Methods in Therapeutics, is included in a volume published by
Messrs. T.C. & E.C. Jack. Another little work entitled “Waiting Night
Sketches” with a memoir and a Personal Impression was printed for
private circulation at the Darien Press, Edinburgh, 1916.
[Illustration: =David Galloway Watson.=]
=WATSON, GEORGE JOSEPH=, Leading Stoker, 298094, H.M.S.
Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off
the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.
=WATSON, GEORGE WILLIAM=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8159),
293612, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=WATSON, JAMES WILLIAM=, Private, R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 1978),
H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=WATSON, JOHN ROBERT=, Seaman, R.N.R., 4751A, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost
in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=WATSON, LOUIS TALBOT=, Capt., 1st Battn. Worcestershire Regt.,
3rd _s._ of Col. Richard Talbot Watson, of Honeybrook House,
Franche, Kidderminster, V.D., J.P., and formerly O.C. 1st Vol. Battn.
Worcestershire Regt., by his wife, Harriet Elizabeth, dau. of James
Morton; _b._ Kidderminster, 7 March, 1881; educ. Clifton College,
and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. unattd. 8 Jan. 1901; posted to the
3rd Battn. Worcestershire Regt. 9 March following, and promoted Lieut.
26 April, 1902 and Capt. 22 Jan. 1909; served in the South African
War, 1901–2, being employed with the Mounted Infantry; took part in
the operations in Cape Colony, Orange River Colony and the Transvaal
(Queen’s medal with five clasps). He then transferred to the 2nd
Worcesters and served with this battn. in Africa, Ceylon and India,
re-transferring to the 1st Battn. on 22 Jan. 1909. He left for France
early in Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at the Battle of Neuve
Chapelle, 11 March, 1915. He _m._ at Arreton, Isle of Wight, 28
Sept. 1911, Margaret Amy, 2nd dau. of William Hartshorne Shorthose, of
Stickworth Hall, Arreton, and had a dau., Diana Marion, _b._ 12
June, 1912.
[Illustration: =Louis Talbot Watson.=]
=WATSON, ROBERT=, a Private, No. 2083, 1/4th Battn. Royal
Scots (T.F.), yst. _s._ of Robert Watson, of Gilmerton Dairy,
Midlothian, Dairyman, by his wife, Catherine, dau. of Alexander
Anderson, of Lanarkshire; _b._ Midlothian, 20 Jan. 1890; educ.
Public School there, and was afterwards employed as an assistant
ironmonger. He enlisted on the outbreak of war, and was killed in
action at the Dardanelles, while assisting a wounded comrade into
safety, 28 June, 1915; _unm._
[Illustration: =Robert Watson.=]
=WATSON, THOMAS=, Private, No. 2333, 4th Battn. The Royal Scots
(T.F.), _s._ of the late Thomas Watson (died March, 1916), Law
Clerk, by his wife, Lillias Barrie (19, India Street, Edinburgh), dau.
of William Walker; _b._ Edinburgh, 4 Dec. 1890; educ. Daniel
Stewart’s College there; served his apprenticeship as a Chartered
Accountant with Messrs. Carter Greig & Co., C.A., Edinburgh, and after
being admitted a member of the C.A. Society received an appointment
with Messrs. Price, Waterhouse & Co., Accountants, London. He joined
the 4th (Territorial) Battn. of the Royal Scots in 1909, and served
with it until he left Edinburgh, but on the outbreak of war returned,
and rejoined his old regt. and volunteered for foreign service; went to
the Dardanelles in May, 1915, and was killed in action there, 28 June
following; _unm._
[Illustration: =Thomas Watson.=]
=WATSON, TOM=, A.B., J. 7935, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off
Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=WATSON, WILLIAM EDWARD=, Ordinary Seaman, J. 27778, H.M.S.
Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=WATT, GEORGE HIMPHILL=, A.B., 220630, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when
that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
=WATT, GEORGE MURTAGH=, Private, No. 1422, 1/7th Middlesex Regt.
(T.F.), 2nd _s._ of George Watt, of 11, The Grove, Crouch End,
late Sergt. 2nd King’s Liverpool Regt., now a Customs Watcher, by
his wife, Adelaide Nuletta, dau. of the late John Parsons, of Leek;
_b._ Colchester Barracks, 15 April, 1895; educ. Crouch End Council
School, and was an employee on the G.N.R.; joined the Middlesex
Territorials, 12 Dec. 1911; volunteered for foreign service on the
outbreak of war; went to France, 11 March, 1915, and was killed in
action at Neuve Chapelle, 26 March, 1915; _unm._ Buried in the
field adjoining Madame Surchelle Descamps’ farm at Sailly.
[Illustration: =George Murtagh Watt.=]
=WATTS, ALFRED GEORGE BERTRAM=, Boy, 1st Class, J. 23432, H.M.S.
Hawke, _s._ of Alfred Watts, of Farndish Road, Irchester,
Wellingborough; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15
Oct. 1914.
=WATTS, FRANK WILLIAM=, Private, No. 8854, 1st Battn. Bedfordshire
Regt., yr. _s._ of Thomas Watts, of Langridge Farm, Nazeing, by
his wife, Lucy, dau. of John Wright; _b._ Sherington, co. Bucks,
23 June, 1887; educ. Nazeing Schools; enlisted in the 2nd Battn. of
the Bedfords, 7 Jan. 1907, served seven years with the Colours, then
passed into the reserves, but, war breaking out a few months later, he
was recalled and attd. to the 1st Battn. He went to France with the
First Expeditionary Force, served in France and Flanders during the
winter of 1914–15, and was shot by a sniper as he was going on duty at
a listening post, 16 March, 1915; _unm._ The bullet entered just
below the heart and he only lived 15 minutes. He was buried in the
woods about 1½ miles from Ypres and about half a mile from the Chateau
de Rosendale. A cross with his name marks the spot.
[Illustration: =Frank William Watts.=]
=WATTS, JAMES=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 7920), S.S.
103428, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=WATTS, JAMES ROBERT=, Private, No. 2458, 1/2nd Battn. The
Monmouthshire Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Aldwyn Watts, of 26, Railway
Terrace, Griffithstown, co. Monmouth, Haulier in the employ of the
Panteg Urban District Council, by his wife, Sarah, dau. of John
Thornton, of Gladestry, Herefordshire; _b._ Kings Pyon, co.
Hereford, 4 Oct. 1896; educ. Griffithstown Council School; was employed
at the Panteg Steel Works; enlisted after the outbreak of war, 8
Sept. 1914; went to France in Nov. 1914, and was killed in action
at Le Bizet, Belgium, 12 March, 1915; _unm._ Col. Cuthbertson,
commanding the 2nd Monmouthshires, wrote: “Your son was killed on the
12th of this month, and a more gallant soldier never lived. He is
buried in a soldiers’ cemetery not very far from the trenches where he
met his death, and a careful record of his place of burial is being
kept. A small cross with his name has been put up to his memory:” and
one of his comrades wrote: “We all found him a jolly and good-hearted
lad, and a very brave soldier. He feared nothing, but always thought of
his duty to his country, of which he carried out to the last.”
[Illustration: =James Robert Watts.=]
=WATTS, VICTOR KERRIDGE=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9418), 203441,
H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.
=WAUGH, DAVID=, Private, No. 9246, 2nd Battn. Royal Scots (Lothian
Regt.); _s._ of Thomas Waugh, of 2, Salisbury Square, Edinburgh;
served with the Expeditionary Force in France; killed in action at
Voorstraat, 28 March, 1915.
=WAUD, LIONEL DOUGLAS=, Lieut., D Coy., 1st Battn. East
Lancashire Regt., 2nd _s._ of Major Williams Henry Waud, late
Royal Fusiliers, by his wife, Denise Caroline (sister of Baroness de
la Bori de la Batut), dau. of the late Charles Maire, of Mantoche
Haute Farm, France, and niece and adopted dau. of Pierre Francois,
1st Count Maire; _b._ Cranleigh Court, Guildford, 5 June, 1895;
educ. at The Army School, Holyport (Maidenhead), and the Royal Military
College, Sandhurst, from which he passed out first and was gazetted
2nd Lieut. to the East Lancashires, 8 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 1
Nov. 1914. He joined his regt. on the 19th and went with it to France
on the 27th of that month; served through the subsequent fighting on
the Aisne and the Marne, and was killed in action near Armentières,
8 Nov. 1914, being buried in Le Gheer Road, Ploegsteert Wood. Lieut.
Waud was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of
14 Jan. [London Gazette, 17 Feb. 1915], for gallant and distinguished
conduct at Le Gheer. Writing to Major Waud, Capt. Melville Richards,
of the 1st East Lancashires, said: “His only fault was he would take
risks. He was too tall for the trenches, and wouldn’t trouble to stoop.
He was very brave, and his action--which I remember well--of running
along knocking down the rifles of his men, to make them fire low,
was one of the finest things I have seen out here.” It happened that
a Morning Post correspondent, some time after the incident referred
to, was able to get a description of the circumstances from a German
officer who was wounded on that occasion. It happened at Le Gheer.
Respecting the assault made by the Guard on the English lines (wrote
the correspondent) here is what I was told by one who took part in the
action: “Towards evening we were ordered to advance. We marched forward
without taking cover, confident enough, because not a shot came from
the British trench. We thought it had been abandoned after the terrible
bombardment to which it had been subjected all day long. Shouting
‘Hurrah,’ we rushed forward to seize it, but we had not gone more than
100 metres before our whole front is stricken down by a volley from a
point much nearer than the trench we had been shelling and in addition
to this terrible infantry fire the British quick-firing guns are
brought into play, and simply mow our men down. We had been shelling an
unoccupied trench, and had done no damage to the place where the enemy
actually was hidden. Hence it is not surprising that our ‘assault’
should have proved to be--for us--a veritable massacre.” It was here
that the late Lieut. Waud distinguished himself. When the mitrailleuse
fire from the German attack began and there was a momentary loss of
fire-control of his own company, Lieut. Waud, to regain control,
sprang from the trenches, and ran in front of them, with the flat of
his sword, struck down the men’s rifles, and so prevented the Germans
finding out where the trenches really were. A brother officer wrote
that his men “trusted him as a good and a brave leader,” adding:
“He and I held an advanced trench before his end, and though he was
younger than myself, I can say he was a great moral support to me.
In conversation on the day of his death, he told me he was prepared
to give the utmost for his Country, and that his one regret if that
were required was that it would be a great shock to his parents.” He
represented the Royal Military College in revolver shooting, for which
he held the record score. He also represented Sandhurst in the bayonet
competition at the Royal Military Tournament at Olympia, for which he
obtained third prize.
[Illustration: =Lionel Douglas Waud.=]
=WAUDLEY, HARRY=, Driver, No. T/3/026409, Army Service Corps,
_s._ of John Waudley, Ganger Platelayer on Hull and Barnsley
Railway, by his wife, (--), dau. of Isaac Hornby, Roos, Holderness;
_b._ Preston-in-Holderness, 26 June, 1891; educ. Anlaby National
School, Hull; was a Farm Labourer with Mr. Richardson, Swanland;
enlisted in the A.S.C., 12 Oct. 1914; went to Egypt in March, and died
in No. 15 General Hospital, Alexandria, 30 June, 1915, of disease
contracted while on active service; _unm._ Buried in Chatby
Cemetery there (Grave No. 1125).
=WAY, FRANCIS MAXWELL=, Trooper, No. 7/772, 1st Mounted Rifles
(Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry), New Zealand Expeditionary Force,
3rd _s._ of George Edward Way, of Christchurch, New Zealand,
F.P.A.N.Z., F.I.A.N.Z., by his wife, Emma Kate, dau. of the late
Richard James Strachan Harman, one of the founders of, and for some
years Deputy Superintendent of, Canterbury Province, and nephew of the
Rev. John Pearce Way, D.D., late Headmaster of Rossall, and for two
years stroke of the Oxford eight; _b._ Christchurch, New Zealand,
22 Dec. 1895; educ. Christ’s College there, and then engaged in farming
pursuits, first for eighteen months in the Back Blocks, Kaitieke, King
Country, and then for eight months on Mount Torlesse Sheep Station,
Canterbury, where he was when war broke out. He immediately enlisted,
left for Egypt with the second reinforcements, 15 Dec. 1914; went to
the Dardanelles, June, 1915, and died on Anzac Beach, 8 Aug. 1915, of
machine gun wounds received in action on Bauchop’s Ridge, Gallipoli;
_unm._
[Illustration: =Francis Maxwell Way.=]
=WAYTH, SIDNEY ALFRED=, Private, No. 2342, 7th Battn. London
Regt. (T.F), only _s._ of the late Edward Wayth, Mining Engineer,
by his wife, Beatrice Elizabeth (now wife of Edward Steeles, of 54,
Oxford Road, Harrow), dau. of James Spinks; _b._ Stoke Newington,
N., 3 April, 1896; educ. Greenhill Council School, Harrow, gained a
certificate for the London School of Economics and Political Science
on “The Law of Carriage of Railway”; was a Clerk in the Great Northern
Railway at King’s Cross; joined the Territorial Force after the
outbreak of war, 8 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Festubert,
16 May, 1915. His Coy. Sergt.-Major wrote: “I can assure you he was
liked by all and was a good soldier.”
[Illustration: =Sidney Alfred Wayth.=]
=WAYLING, THOMAS=, Private, No. G. 1902, 2nd Battn. East Surrey
Regt.; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; killed in
action, 25 March, 1915.
=WEAKE, ERNEST ALBERT=, Private, No. 8340, 2nd Battn. Coldstream
Guards; _b._ co. Warwick; served with the Expeditionary Force
in France and Flanders; died at No. 5 Stationary Hospital, Le Mans,
France, 10 Nov. 1914, of wounds received in action; _unm._
=WEARMOUTH, ISAAC NORMAN=, Private, No. 8434, 1st Battn.
Coldstream Guards, _s._ of Joseph Wearmouth, of James Street,
Stanhope, Durham; _b._ co. Durham; served with the Expeditionary
Force in France and Flanders; died in No. 13 General Hospital,
Boulogne, 6 Nov. 1914, of wounds received in action. Buried Boulogne
Cemetery.