Ionides A C Lt 15th Attd 9th Kings Royal Rifle Corps
LIEUTENANT AMBROS CONSTANTINE IONIDES, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, was the second son of the late Alexander Ionides, Consul-General for Greece. He was born in 1878 and educated at Eton.
After leaving school he became a member of the Stock Exchange in 1900.
On the outbreak of war he joined the Inns of Court O.T.C. and obtained his commission in the following January in the 15th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps.
He went to the Front in August 1915 and was drafted to the 9th Battalion of his Regiment.
He was killed on 16 October, whilst out with a wiring party in front of the trenches. The mist, under cover of which they had been working, suddenly lifted. Lieutenant Ionides ordered his men to lie down, but remained standing himself till all his men had got the order. In so doing he himself was seen by the Germans.
His colonel wrote: “Although he had only been with us for a few months he was extremely popular, and had proved himself an excellent soldier. We all liked him and are proud to have had him as a brother officer.”
The sergeant of his platoon wrote: “He was loved by his men for his kindness, his bravery and his many soldierly qualities. He set us a good example of coolness under fire, and his platoon was willing and ready to follow him anywhere.”
Lieutenant Ionides married in 1911, Effie, daughter of the late D. M. Spartali, and left a son and a daughter.
Source : The Stock Exchange War Memorial 1914-1918