Tag Archives: Homeboarders

Thomas Reid Swinburne

Thomas Swinburne was born on February 2nd 1898, the only son of Major Thomas Baker Swinburne and Mary Hannah Reid. He was baptised in Darlington, County Durham in March of the same year and the family remained living in the town until at least 1911, when they were recorded in the Census. At some point following this they moved to Finchley and when Swinburne was admitted to Westminster School in January of 1913, he was a Homeboarder and thus would have lived at home. It is perhaps for this reason we have very few records of him while at the school, and all his appearances in school publications concern his presence in the Army or his obituary.

Swinburne attended Westminster for about two and a half years, leaving in July of 1915 and subsequently attending King’s College London, but seems to have been there for only a short amount of time, taking preliminary classes. On June 1st 1916 he enlisted, perhaps intentionally following his father’s footsteps – Major Thomas Baker Swinburne was a recipient of the Volunteer Officer’s Decoration, awarded for 20 years of meritorious service by officers of the UK’s Volunteer force. Swinburne’s own military career took him to the Royal Naval Air Service. He trained in the UK to receive his aviator’s certification and was deployed to France in the middle of May 1917.

Swinburne went missing on June 8th 1917, less than a month after arriving at the Western Front and a year and a week exactly after he first enlisted. His death was assumed in 1918, as described in the March 21st edition of Flight, and later reprinted in The Times:

Flight Sub-Lieutenant T. R. Swinburne, R.N., who has been missing since June 8th and is now presumed by the Admiralty to have been killed on that date, was the only son of Major and Mrs T. R. Swinburne, of Holmwood, Beechwood Avenue, Finchley and formerly of Glassensikes, Darlington. Born in February, 1898, he was educated at Westminster School, and King’s College, London. Joining the R.N.A.S. in June 1916, he went to France in May, 1917.

While UK records only indicated that Swinburne was flying a Sopwith Triplane, number N6293, and was chasing an enemy plane when he disappeared over enemy lines, subsequently married German records note that a German flying ace, Max Ritter von Muller, is recorded as claiming N6293 as a kill at 7:10 near the town of Le Quensnoy in northern France. Swinburne is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial, which lists almost 1000 members of the RNAS, RFC and RAF who were killed on the Western Front and have no known grave. He is also remembered on the headstone of his father, in Darlington West Cemetery.

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Marcel Andre Simon

Marcel Andre Simon was a pupil at the Royal Naval College, Osborne from the age of 12. He was born in Sidcup in March 1899, the son of Dr Alfred Leon Simon, a French-born mining engineer, and his wife Kathleen Simon, the daughter of Sir Philip Fysh, a British-born Australian politician and businessman. In January 1914, he joined Westminster and was a pupil in Homeboarders house for until July. On the outbreak of war, then aged just 14, he tried to join the Naval Cadets but was rejected as he was colour blind (it was essential to be able to differentiate between the red and green lights which indicate port and starboard on ships).

Marcel lied about his age so that he could sign up with the Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment) and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on 19th December,1916. He was later attached to the 2nd Battalion Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry and went out to the western front in February 1917. Two months later he was killed during the Battle of Arras on 29th April.  The place where he fell, near Oppy Wood, was recorded but his body was never recovered. It was not until 1998 that a group out metal-detecting found his badges and pips. He was then given a burial with full military honours at Orchard Dump Cemetery in Arleux-en-Gohelle in 2000.

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Walter Douglas Laidlaw Purves

Walter Purves was the youngest son of William Laidlaw Purves M.D and Elizabeth (née Adie). He was born on the 15th July 1892 and arrived at Westminster in September 1906. He represented his house – Homeboarders – in both fives and the high jump. The Elizabethan captures the following snippet of one of his performances:

 

5– HIGH JUMP. UNDER 15. 

W.D. L. Purves, 1; K. D. Murray, 2. Height, 4 ft. 84 ins. 

There was little to choose between the winners, who both

jumped very nicely… Purves and Murray tied at first

at 4 ft. 84 ins., but were evidently tired, and on jumping it off

after a rest had to have the bar lowered twice before Purves

succeeded in clearing it. This is the third year in succession

in which the Junior High Jump has been above 4 ft. 81 ins.

 

Walter went travelling after he left the school in December 1909. He went to South Africa first, and later to the Malay States.

Back in the UK, he enlisted in King Edward’s Horse in August 1914. He transferred to the 9th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant the following December. He was billeted with them in Eastbourne before moving with them to Seaford in April 1915 and again to Aldershot in June. He was promoted to Lieutenant the day before his regiment landed at Boulogne on the 5th September. From there they travelled to Salonika, arriving 5 November 1915.

The First Battle of Dorian commenced on the 22nd April 1917. Walter was made acting Captain on the 24th, but he was killed in action on the 28th April. He is buried Karasouli military cemetery.

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Vivian Ernest John Bristowe

Vivian Bristowe was one of ten children – five boys and five girls. They lived at 11 Old Burlington Street, with their father, John Syer Bristow, and mother, Miriam Isabella Bristowe (née Stearns). All five of the boys were sent to Westminster, and their father, a physician specialising in the nervous system, was also physician to the school.

Vivian was the youngest son. He was born on the 12th of June 1874, and arrived as a Homeboarder in September 1885. He represented his house in the football, and The Elizabethan includes the following account of a game that Homeboarders won 9-1: “The ground was very heavy and slippery after the recent thaw, and towards the end of the game the players were covered with mud” Saturday March 12th 1892.

There is not a lot of information about Vivian or his time at the school, but we do know how much he weighed!

After leaving the school in July 1892, he became a stock jobber – a market maker on the London Stock Exchange, and continued playing football on the OWW team. He went out to South Africa shortly before World War I, where he worked as secretary to his eldest brother, Leonard Syer Bristowe – by then Hon. Mr Justice Bristow – in Pretoria.

He enlisted in the South African Medical Corps in November 1915, and joined the East African Expeditionary Force in January 1916. While on active service at Rug, Rufigi River, East Africa, he contracted dysentery and died on the 14th of April 1917.

His Colonel wrote of him: “he did excellent work, and never fell out in the most arduous treks imaginable… His pals miss him, and I miss a steady and trustworthy man, who was never known to shirk his duty.”

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Nevil Ford Furze

Nevil Furze was born on 30th April 1897. He was the youngest son of Herbert Furze, of South Kensington, and Mary Ford, daughter of Edward Tidswell, of Chigwell, Essex. He was admitted to the school in April 1912, where he joined Homeboarders’ house.

During his time at the school, Furze threw himself into the Football and Cricket scene, earning House Colours in both sports. The Elizabethan contains some congratulatory comments about some of his performances:

“The start of the second half was sensational; the Visitors pressed; Carless cleared and sent out to Furze, who ran through the whole defence and scored with a beauty (2-1).” (1st November 1914 against Old Wykehamists).

He left the school in July 1914 and, in September, enlisted in the 18th (Service) Battalion (1st Public Schools) the Royal Fusiliers. He became a 2nd Lieutenant with the 3rd Battalion (Reserve) The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment in June 12, 1915, and went out to the western front attached to the 2nd Battalion in September 1915.

Furze was involved in the operations at Bucquoy in March 1917. He was killed while leading a night attack there on 14 March 1917. Following the unsuccessful British attacks, the Germans retired from Bucquoy.

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James Wilkie Dunlop

James Wilkie Dunlop was a member of Homeboarders house from 1903-1906. We do not know any details about his time at the school, but six years after leaving, when he was twenty-two, he went out to Argentina. He worked in the service of the Buenos Ayres Western Railway until the outbreak of war in 1914. James then returned home and enlisted in the London Scottish, which then formed the 14th (Co. of London) Battalion of the London Regiment.

He went out to the Western Front in September 1914 and was wounded at Messines on 31st October before being invalided home. He rejoined the army in 1915 and was attached to 5th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers) of the Royal Irish Regiment in October. James then travelled out to Salonika in November, but once more was invalided home in December 1916. In January he was forced to resign his commission on account of his health.

James had been wounded badly in the arm at the Battle of Messines, and although he was later sent out to Salonika and eventually died of a cancer of the spine, he was always said to have died of wounds, since he never really recovered from this injury and its complications. When he returned to England he was cared for in Netley Hospital was a large military facility near Southampton. However, his family managed to bring him home as he reached the end of his life.

Patients receiving visitors at the Netley Hospital at Southampton, 1917. Copyright: ┬® IWM.
Patients receiving visitors at the Netley Hospital at Southampton, 1917. Copyright: ┬® IWM.
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James Montague Edward Shepherd

19170215_Shepherd,JMEJames Montague Edward Shepherd was born on the 2nd December 1895. He was the only son of Montague James Shepherd and Therese Louise, daughter of V. Cazabon, of Paddington.

He was admitted to the school in April 1910, and started off in Home Boarders, but switched to Grant’s at the beginning of Play 1911.

He elected to take the ‘Modern’ subjects instead of the ‘Classics’, and was an active participant in the Debating Society. In March 1914 he argued, alongside R. R. Turner, that “the man of science is of more use to the community than the man of letters” — a motion that was lost by 10 votes to 9.

He earned himself a Shooting Pink in 1912-13 and was made Captain of Shooting. In Election Term 1914, according to The Elizabethan, he “won the Brinton Medal with the fine score of 61; considering the wind, it was a praiseworthy performance”.

His behaviour at the school was not wholly positive, however, as the Grant’s House Ledger records in 1914:

“A distinctly unpleasant incident occurred at the end of this term, when Shepherd who had been ragged a good deal during the term, suddenly lost his temper and broke Hodgson’s jaw. As it was considered to have been done in a fit of blind rage and with no premeditated malice, no steps were taken and the matter was allowed to drop. Hodgson’s Jaw next term had completely recovered.”

Shepherd left the school in 1914 “desirous of entering the Royal Flying Corps”, and matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge. In January 1915, he enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 15th (Service) Battalion Rifle Brigade and went out with them to the western front the following September. He was promoted to Lieutenant in November 1915, and then to Captain a year later. He achieved his aim of joining the RFC as a Flight Commander on the 6th December 1916.

He was reported missing in action at Bixschoote, near Ypres, on 15th February 1917 at the age of 21. By July, he had been confirmed dead.

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William Penn-Gaskell

19161012_PennGaskell,WWilliam Penn Gaskell, belonged to a well-known Irish family, and in 1905, upon his father’s death, he inherited the Shanagarry estate, County Cork. He was a descendant of the famous Quaker, William Penn, who founded the state of Pennsylvania.

William came to the school from Rugby and was admitted in 1886 to Homeboarders’ House. He left the school in July 1889 and travelled to Chile. His maternal grandfather was from Peru so his interest in South America was not surprising. William lived in Iquique and Antofagasta, eventually becoming manager of a nitrate works in the town.

On the outbreak of war he made the decision to give up his job and return to England to serve in the Army. He was made a Captain in the 18th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment in February 1915 and proceeded to France in August 1916.

He was killed in the action at Flers on the Somme front. He went over the parapet to the attack in support of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, who were held up for a time by intense machine-gun fire. Notseeing any Officers of the Scots Fusiliers, he decided to push on, and he rallied the line when he was shot in the arm. While his servant was dressing the wound, a shell burst near and both were instantly killed.

His Colonel wrote :-

‘I admired his pluck and energy very much indeed in setting to work at his age to fit himself for the Front, and I always considered him a magnificent example to all of us and a pattern of everything an Officer and a gentleman should be. His fine example and gallant death, while he rallied his men, made the greatest impression upon all his comrades. His influence on his men was most inspiring.’

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Horace Montague Gundry

19160926_Gundry,HMHorace Gundry was a member of Homeboarders house from September 1898 until July 1901. He played cricket for his house. Upon leaving the school he entered an architect’s office, but by 1908 he had decided to emigrate to Canada. During the early-twentieth century, emigration from Britain reached unprecedented levels, with approximately 3.15 million people leaving between 1903 and 1913. The most popular destination during these years was Canada, drawing almost half of Britain’s emigrants.

Early in 1915 Gundry enlisted as a Private in the 7th Canadian Infantry Battalion (British Columbia Regiment). The Regiment travelled first to England and then on to France on 10th Feburary 1915 becoming incorporated into the 1st Canadian Division. Gundry probably lost his life in the Battle of Thiepval, one of the Battles of the Somme. The 7th Battalion losses were estimated at 250 men after the first day of fighting, on which Gundry was killed in action.

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Edward Whinney

Edward Whinney was the sixth son of Frederick Whinney and Emma Morley. He was born in London on the 31st August 1870 and was admitted to the school as a Homeboarder in September 1884. During his time at the school, he was a keen cricketer. Even after he left, he continued to represent the school in the Old Westminsters XI.

After leaving school in July 1887, Edward and became a member of the London Stock Exchange. On the 7th October 1987, he married Maude Clementine Louise, who was the elder daughter of John Crow, of Hampstead.

He had already served in the army, and following the outbreak of war, he rejoined his old former regiment, becoming a Captain of the 2/7th Battalion (Territorial Force) Middlesex Regiment on the 23rd October 1914. He was promoted to Major just over a month later, and was transferred to the 12th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regtiment. He served with them at Gibraltar and in Egypt, before going out to the western front in June 1916.

He was killed in the action at Thiepval on the 26th Sept 1916, at the age of 46, leaving behind him his wife, three sons and a daughter.

19160923_Whinney,E
Maj. E. Whinney, during operations against the Senussi. ┬® IWM (Q 15706)
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