Tag Archives: Rigaud’s

Alexander Marchetti

Alexander was born in 1893, in Salford, the son of Greek-born George, an East India merchant. His mother, Alexandra (n├®e Petrocochino) was born in India to Greek parents. The family eventually settled in Paddington and Alexander joined Rigaud’s House in 1908.

He played an active role in all parts of school life, being academically successful and playing football for the school’s 2nd XI. The Elizabethan notes that he spoke on a debate on the topic of whether human happiness increased with civilization — noting that ‘the doctrine of the weakest going to the wall was the most cruel and most inhumane idea ever conceived of’ but, failing to ‘add anything strictly relevant to the motion’

The Elizabethan notes that whilst ‘he had great natural abilities’, reaching the Seventh Form in the school in which pupils prepared for university scholarships, he did not embark on a university career. In December 1914 he enlisted in the of the Royal Fusiliers before advancing to the role of 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. He died a few days after he reached the western front in March 1916.

He is buried in Rue-du-Bois Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix.

Troops of the 28th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Reserve Battalion Public Schools Brigade) on a march, November 1915, IWM

Troops of the 28th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Reserve Battalion Public Schools Brigade) on a march, November 1915, IWM
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Sir Herbert Archer Croft

(c) National Trust, Croft Castle; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation
Sir Herbert Archer Croft painted posthumously in 1921 by William Carter.
Courtesy of The National Trust, Croft Castle.

Sir Archer Croft was at the School as a boarder in Rigaud’s from April 1882 to Christmas 1884. The Times printed the following notice upon his death:

Captain Sir H. Archer Croft, Bart., 1st Herefordshire Regiment, reported missing on August 10 in Gallipoli, and now believed to have died of his wounds, was born on September 5, 1868. The eldest son of the late Sir Herbert Croft, 9th Bart., of Lugwardine Court, Hereford, and Georgiana Lady Croft, he was educated at Westminster, and joined the 4th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry with a view to entering the Grenadier Guards, but he went out to Australia instead to manage some family property there, sheep farming.

Within three days of the declaration of war he enlisted as a private in the 1st Herefordshire Regiment (T.), offering to raise a company of 150 men, which he did within a week, personally recruiting 100 himself. He was gazetted second lieutenant two weeks later, and Captain in November, 1914.

Sir Archer was a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire, High Sheriff in 1911, and a member of Herefordshire County Council. He gave a great deal of his time to public work in his county, especially in connection with the Herefordshire General Hospital.

As the tenth baronet (creation 1671) of Croft Castle, Hereford, Sir Archer was the head of one of the few families in England who can trace a direct male descent from a time before the Conquest, being descended from Bernard de Croft, who lived in the time of Edward the Confessor. In Domesday Book this same Bernard is mentioned as holding the lands of Croft, which his descendants inherited until the close of the eighteenth century, when the property was sold. Since the days of the Crusades, when Sir Jasper Croft was created a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by Godfrey of Boulogne at the taking of Jerusalem, A.D. 1100, the Crofts have continuously served their king and country as soldiers. Members of the family have fought in most of the English wars, notably, at the Battle of Agincourt, in the Wars of the Roses, in which the Crofts were prominent Yorkists, in the Civil Wars, in which they were staunch Royalists, in the various campaigns in Scotland, France, and Flanders, and more recently at Quatre Bras, where the seventh baronet was wounded and mentioned in dispatches when serving as a Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards.

You can read more about Sir Herbert Archer Croft here: http://www.thetrench.co.uk/page6.html

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Charles Nigel Gordon Walker

Charles Walker was born in Gravesend, Kent and arrived up Rigaud’s in 1905 at the age of 16. He was a half-boarder, and managed to earn himself a tanning in Play 1907 for “ragging [fighting] in the changing room”.

He opted to focus his studies on maths and science, as opposed to the Classics, but it is unknown where he went after leaving the school at Easter 1908.

Charles was 25 when he was made a temporary Lieutenant of the newly formed 10th Service Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment on the 21st of November 1914. He was made an adjutant and attached to the 8th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, which then became part of the 127th Brigade, 42nd East Lancashire Division the following May.

On the 6th of May 1915, Charles was one of the 14,224 who landed at Cape Helles, Gallipoli, where he would have seen action in the attempts to capture the heights around the village of Krithia.

The Battle of Krithia Vinyard, which took place over 6th to the 13th of August 1915. This was an attempt not only to capture ground, but also to divert attention away from Suvla Bay, where a large British landing was to be attempted.

Charles was killed in action on the second day of this battle.

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6th Battalion, Manchester Regiment advancing over open terrain during the Third Battle of Krithia, Gallipoli from the Imperial War Museum’s Collection

 

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Richard Edward John Thomson

Richard Edward John Thomson was in Rigaud’s House from 1906 until 1909. He was interested in a military career from an early stage and joined the school’s Officer Training Corps, taking part in shooting competitions – with mixed success. He left the school after passing his Woolwich qualifying examination and in 1910 joined the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He joined the Indian Army in 1912 as a Double Company Officer for the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs. With this regiment he saw active service at Nowshera and Lorala before joining the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in September 1914. He was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle on 18th May 1915.

The same day, just a few hundred metres away, Lieutenant John Smyth of the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, led ten volunteers on a perilous mission to supply bombs to the front line. Lieutenant Smyth conveyed a supply of 96 bombs to within 20 yards of the enemy’s position over exceptionally dangerous ground, after the attempts of two other parties had failed. Lieutenant Smyth succeeded in taking the bombs to the desired position with the aid of two of his men (the other eight having been killed or wounded), and to effect his purpose he had to swim a stream, being exposed the whole time to howitzer, shrapnel, machine-gun and rifle fire. Smyth was awarded the Victoria Cross, Lance-Naik Mangal Singh the Indian Order of Merit, and every sepoy in the party the Indian Distinguished Service Medal.

Speaking at the 500th Birthday Anniversary of Guru Nanak at Grosvenor House in Park Lane in December, 1969 the then Brigadier the Rt. Hon. Sir John Smythe, Bt. V.C. made the following speech:

56 years ago I joined the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs in Loralai, Baluchistan and at once became embued with the teachings and the life of Guru Nanak. The Sikh Gurus, the Sikh religion, the Gurdwara, the Granth Sahib became part of my life. The British and Sikh officers of the Regiment were convinced that religion was an important factor in the make-up of a good soldier and we fostered that in every way possible.

Many thanks to Souchez Historic Committee who pay tribute to soldiers – such as Richard Edward John Thomson – who are buried in their village, for the supply of the photograph above.

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Ralph Davison

19150509_Davison,R

While he was at Westminster School between 1908 and 1912, Ralph Davison was a keen swimmer, cricketer and footballer. He also took part in the school’s Officers Training Corps, where he was Cadet Lance-Corporal.

After leaving school, he entered an engineer’s office, but in January 1914 he joined the Northamptonshire Regiment. He was attached to the 1st Battalion and went out to the western front in August 1914.

He fought and was wounded at the first battle of Ypres in Nov. 1914. He recovered, however, returned to the front line and was promoted from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant on the 22nd of March 1915. He was killed in the disastrous attempt to take Aubers Ridge during the combined Anglo-French offensive in the Second Battle of Artois. His younger brother, who had followed him into Rigaud’s house, was still at the school at the time of his death.

Ralph Davison was remembered in the June edition The Elizabethan:

We are sure that the whole House tenders its most sincere sympathies to Davison, on the death of his brother R. Davison (Old Rigaudite) who was killed in action on Sunday, May 9. We must also congratulate Davison on being made a School Monitor. A brother Officer wrote: – ‘He was killed gallantly leading his mean in the attack on the German trenches. Out here he always behaved with the greatest pluck. I remember him especially in Ypres in November, when we were so hard pressed.’

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Eric Chasemore Gates

Frankreich, Neuve Chapelle, Schlachtfeld
German postcard commemorating the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.

Eric Chasemore Gates was the elder son of Percy George Gates, M.P. He was a member of Rigaud’s house between1904 and 1908. He went on to pursue a career as a solicitor and was admitted as a Managing Clerk with the firm Pontifex, Pitt & Johnson in January 1914. On the outbreak of war he obtained a Commission as a Lieutenant in the 13th(County of London) Princess Louise’s Kensington Battallion in the London Regiment. He went out to the Western Front in December and was promoted to the rank of Captain by February 1915. He was killed in action near Neuve Chapelle, France, March 12, 1915.

Neuve Chapelle was the first large scale organised attack undertaken by the British army during the war. Although the troops were able to break through the German front line during the offensive they were unable to exploit this success. The battle was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge and possibly as far as Lille. Tactical surprise and a break-through were achieved after the First Army prepared the attack with great attention to detail.

After the first set-piece attack, unexpected delays slowed the tempo of operations, command was undermined by communication failures and infantry-artillery co-operation broke down when the telephone system stopped working. The German defenders were able to receive reinforcements and dig a new line behind the British break-in. A big German counter-attack by twenty infantry battalions took place early on 12th March. Sir Douglas Haig, the First Army commander, cancelled further attacks and ordered the captured ground to be consolidated, preparatory to a new attack further north. An acute shortage of artillery ammunition made a new attack impossible.

19150312_NeuveChapelle
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 1915 by James Prinsep Beadle
Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery

The battle had a big impact on British tactical thinking. The idea that infantry offensives accompanied by artillery barrages could break the stalemate of trench warfare prevailed for the remainder of the war.

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John McAdam Craig

According to The Record of Old Westminsters John McAdam Craig was in Rigaud’s between 27th September 1900 and July 1905. However, following his death an Old Westminster wrote the following letter to The Elizabethan:

Passing through Dean’s Yard the other day, I noticed the Roll of Honour contained the name Lieut. J. M. Craig—followed by his regiment, and then-Rigaud’s. No mention whatever of his being a K.S. Surely the entry in the last column should be K.S. (Rigaud’s). I would not even allow Rigaud’s (K.S.). Any honour there may be in belonging to any particular house, or, indeed, in being an O.W. at all, is nothing compared with that of being a King’s Scholar. I only hope that the mistake was an oversight, but, remembering how the non-resident K. SS. were treated in my day, my hope is not very great. Mr. Craig was elected Q.S. at the last Challenge in Queen Victoria’s reign, and it is as a member of that same election that I make this appeal on his behalf. I am, Sir, Yours faithfully,

QUEEN’S SCHOLAR.

Our records show that Craig was indeed elected a Queen’s Scholar in 1900, but as he opted for a non-residential scholarship he was allocated to Rigaud’s House. Fewer and fewer pupils wished to board in College at this stage in the school’s history and although 40 boys sat The Challenge that year only 12 were prepared to become full Scholars.

As well as being a scholar, Craig was a talented sportsman. An early review of his footballing abilities in The Elizabethan noted that ‘though still very light, [he] playedin excellent style, and ought with care todevelop into a first-class centre half. This clearly was the case as Craig continued to playfootball for the school, earning full pinks and leading the Rigaud’s team to victory in the Inter-House competition two years running. He also played an active role in the Officer Training Corps and joined Sandhurst immediately after leaving the school.

Craig served in India before the war, arriving in Marseilles on 12th October 1914 with the 58th Rifles in the Indian division of the Expeditionary Force. Craig was in France for less than a month when he died from wounds received on 31st October at Bethune.

Craig is seated in the centre of the front row, holding on to the trophy.
Craig is seated in the centre of the front row, holding on to the trophy.
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Albert Alexander Leslie Stephen

Albert Alexander Leslie Stephen spent five terms at Westminster before migrating to Eton. His father was Major James Young Stephen and his maternal grandfather Admiral Sir Cornwallis Ricketts so a military career was perhaps inevitable. At the age of nineteen Stephen became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Scots Guards and remained with that regiment for his military career. He served in South Africa in the Boer War and received the Distinguished Service Order,typically awarded to officers ranked majoror higher, but occasionally awarded to especially valorous junior officers.

Wounded British soldiers being loaded onto an ambulance wagon at Gheluvelt, October 1914 (IWM)
Wounded British soldiers being loaded onto an ambulance wagon at Gheluvelt, October 1914 (IWM)

In August 1914 the 2nd Battalion of the Scots Guard embarked for France, joining the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the British Expeditionary Force. They took part in some of the major defensive battles of the initial few months of the war. Stephen was listed in Sir John French’s Dispatch of 8th October. On 29th October Stephen sustained wounds during the Battle of Gheluvelt and died a few days later in Ypres.

 

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