Monthly Archives: August 2017

Lancelot Tudsbery

Lancelot Tudsbery was born on 14th February 1898. His father was John Henry Tudsbery DSc, of Westminster, and his mother was Ruberta Emeline, daughter of John McMurdo Cannon, of Rock Ferry, Cheshire. His brother Marmaduke Tudsbery had spent a brief time in Ashburnham for between 1907 and 1908, and their family home was 100 St George’s Square, SW.

Lancelot arrived at the school in September 1910 and studied on the Classical side. He represented Ashburnham in the OTC, being promoted to Corporal in Lent 1915. During the athletics season in Election 1916 he won the Hammer Throwing with a distance of 1,87ft, and “owed his success to his strength”. He was on the Town Boys’ Tug of War team vs. the King’s Scholars and is recorded as weighing 12st 0 lbs.

In Lent 1916, the Ashburnham House Ledger records “Tudsbery, L. has managed to pass an examination, we know not what, but the mere passing is sufficient glory without its name. He also went through touching farewells to us twice, but each time reappeared.” This exam was apparently the Civil Engineers’ Exam and The Elizabethan wryly congratulates him “on his success in deceiving the examiners”. He was a student of the Institute of Civil Engineers from 4th of April 1916, and he did actually leave the school in July 1916.

On the 13th January 1917, Lancelot joined the Royal Field Artillery (Special Reserve) as a 2nd Lieutenant, and went out to the western front on 30th March 1917. He was part of the ‘B’ Battery, 70th Brigade RFA, which was, at this time, a six-gun battery. His Brigade saw action at the First and Second Battles of the Scarpe (including the capture of Guemappe during the Arras Offensive). They went on to Flanders, where they were in action at the Battle of Pilckem (31 July-2 Aug) and the Battle of Langemarck in August 1917.

Lancelot was killed in action at the age of 19 near Ypres on the 22nd August 1917. He is buried at Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No. 3.

Two men of the RFA sleeping on a limber on a road near Hooge, August 1917.
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Arthur Cecil Estall

Arthur Cecil Estall was born on 3rd October 1890. His father was Thomas Estall of Kensington, a Senior General Manager of the National Provincial Bank of England and a Master of the Worshipful Company of Turners. His mother was Emily, daughter of George Tilly, of Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey. Arthur had one sister, Murriel Hilda Estall (subsequently Gould).

Arthur was admitted to Westminster, as a Homeboarder on 26th April 1901. Between July 1902 and September 1905, e temporarily left the school. From then until he left, he was a keen sportsman. He represented the school at rowing, played for his house football team, and came third in the half-mile with hurdles Open Challenge Cup in 1909. He was in the same Tug of War as Thomas George May – on the winning side – and weighed 11st 6lbs.

After leaving the school in July 1909, Arthur followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a clerk in the Bank of England. He subsequently went into the bill broking business.

He had joined the Honourable Artillery Company upon leaving school, and was promoted to Corporal in 1914. He went out to the western front in September 1914 but was invalided home the following January.

He became a 2nd Lieutenant with the Army Service Corps on 22nd March 1915, and had risen to Lieutenant by September 1915 and to Captain by May 1916. He returned to the front on 18th September 1916.

In March 1917, a note in The Tatler announced Arthur’s engagement to Miss Brenda Sells (pictured), the youngest daughter of Mrs Perronet Sells of Beechwood, Highgate.

On the 6th August 1917, he was wounded in action north of Ypres and died two days later at the 7th Stationary Hospital, Boulogne.

Arthur’s father died only a few years later in 1920. His mother published a memorial in The Times to her son every year until her death in 1947. In 1935, she gave £1,000 to the school’s War Memorial Fund, the interest to be used in assisting in the education of boys at the school.

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Thomas George May

May joined Homeboarders’ in May 1906 but migrated up Rigaud’s during his time at the school. He was athletic and was awarded pinks in his final year at the school, following a football match against Winchester. We know he weighted 11st 3lb at that time was he also took part in the final of the Inter-House Tug of War, losing to his former house. He left school in July 1909.

He started his career as a tea and rubber planter in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and on the outbreak of war enlisted with the Ceylon contingent. He served in Egypt and Gallipoli and went to France in 1916. He returned to England that year and was appointed a temporary 2nd Lieutenant in the newly created Machine Gun Corps.

The experience of fighting in the early clashes and in the First Battle of Ypres had proved that the machine guns required special tactics and organisation. The Machine Gun Corps was formally established in October 1915.

In February 1917 May went out again to France. He was killed in action near Ypres, Flanders during the Battle of Passchendaele.

Two machine gunners of the 33rd Battalion Machine Gun Corps siting a barrage position with a prismatic compass and a range finder, Battle of Passchendaele, 1917. (IWM)
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Alfred Grahame Cartwright

Alfred Grahame Cartwright followed his elder brother to Westminster School, starting in 1871. We do not know which house he was in, but it was probably Homeboarders’. He left in August 1875 and joined the army, gradually advancing through the ranks and serving in the Nile Expedition 1884-5, the Sudan Frontier Field Force 1885-6 and the Tirah Expedition 1897-8. He was promoted to the rank of Major in the Yorkshire Regiment in 1896 and then retired from the forces in 1906.

On the outbreak of war he volunteered for service once more, then aged fifty-six. He was made second in command of the 7th service battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment in September 1914 and served in France in 1915. He was mentioned in despatches on 30th April 1916.

St. Mary’s Church, Richmond, Yorkshire

Cartwright was then made Lieutenant-Colonel of the 14th Reserve battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. New recruits were allocated to these reserve battalions for basic training, before being posted to an active service unit. In September 1916 this system was reorganised. With the introduction of conscription, the regimental system simply could not cope with numbers. The local nature of recruitment for infantry regiments was abandoned and the entire system centralised. Regimental distinctions disappeared and the reserve units of the regiments were instead redesignated as battalions of the Training Reserve. Cartwright’s battalion was renamed the 81st Training battalion.

He retired due to ill health on 31st May 1917 and died on 5th August that year. His wife, Julia, arranged for a plaque to be placed in St. Mary’s Church, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

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Leonard Davies Looker

Leonard Davies Looker was the only son of William Looker, of Westminster, and Katherine, daughter of John Price Davies, of Knighton. He was born on 16th September 1888 and was admitted up Grant’s in September 1900.

In 1902, Leonard came second in the U13 120 Yards Race, and gave a good performance at the high jump. He was tanned “for messing in dormitory, not owning up and lying” and “for sending John round to Master’s when he had been fagged to go himself.” He gave a strong performance against the much older W.T.S. Sonnenschein in a game of racquets: “Looker started with a long lead in spite of all his physical disadvantages, but Sonnenschein gradually wore him down.”

He left the school in December 1906 and became a member of Lloyd’s in 1911. On the 21st September 1916 Leonard married Molly, the elder daughter of Richard John Davies, of Poynder’s Road, Clapham Park. Soon afterwards, he joined the army.

He enrolled as 2nd Lieutenant, 5th Battalion, Royal West Surrey Regiment on 19th December 1916 and went out to the western front in January 1917. He was killed in action at Klein Zillebeke, near Ypres, on 1st August 1917.

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