Eccles J V W 2nd Lt Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment
L IEUTENANT JOHN VIVIAN WILLIAM ECCLES, King’s Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment, the eldest son of the late John Lamont Eccles of Trinidad, was born in 1879 and educated at St. John’s College, Hurstpierpoint.
At the age of seventeen he joined the firm of Price Bros. and became a member of the Stock Exchange in 1904. A member of Coombe Hill and Acton Golf Clubs, he was a keen golfer and won many prizes in competitions. On the outbreak of war he immediately enlisted in the H.A.C. and obtained his commission in the 8th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancasters in the December following. He went out to Egypt and Salonica in January 1916, being attached to the 9th Battalion of his regiment. In November of that year he was transferred to G.H.Q., Salonica.
He came home on leave in April 1917, and on his return to Salonica in H.M. Transport Transylvania, the vessel was torpedoed on 2 May. Lieutenant Eccles was among those reported “Missing.”
“Both I and my Staff are deeply shocked at the news,” wrote his Chief at G.H.Q., Major-General Webb Gillman. “I miss him greatly, as he was so reliable. His work, though perhaps tedious, was one of great responsibility and he never betrayed the trust that was imposed on him.”
An officer who served with him at home and in Egypt and Salonica wrote: “After he came down from the line (where his job, I know none of the easiest, was well done) he became a frequent and always welcome visitor. . . . We all feel his loss personally and keenly, and all are absolutely sure that he died gallantly and consistently with his quality, which, by some considerable experience, we have found to be of the finest.”
Source : The Stock Exchange War Memorial 1914-1918