Evelegh R C Captain 2nd Oxford And Bucks Light Infantry
CAPTAIN R. C. EVELEGH
2ND BATTALION THE OXFORDSHIRE AND BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LIGHT INFANTRY
ROSSLYN CURZON EVELEGH was the elder son of Col. Frederick John Evelegh, of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, and of Moriet Frances his wife.
He entered the School in 1899, and left for the R.M.C., Sandhurst, in 1902.
He was gazetted to the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and joined them on their return from India in November, 1903. He was A.D.C. to his uncle, Major-General Creagh, in Mauritius, 1906-08. After returning home invalided from Mauritius, he joined his Regiment in England in 1909, and was promoted Captain in April, 1914.
He went to France in 1914 with the First Expeditionary Force, and fought in the Retreat from Mons and the battles of the Marne and the Aisne. He was wounded on September 16th, but continued on duty, and was killed at Soupir, near Vailly, on the Aisne, on September 19th, being struck over the heart by a piece of shell while seeing his men into shelter in a cave. Age 29.
His brother Officers all spoke of his “splendid courage, and of his disregard of danger and neglect of self in caring for his men.” Two days before he was first wounded he saved sixteen wounded Germans from being burnt alive in a farmhouse which had been set on fire by German shells. The danger was so great that leave was refused for more than two or three of his own men to accompany him.
His Colonel wrote:-
“He had set a splendid example to men and Officers by his great courage and devotion to duty, especially in continuing to command his Company and look after his men, when wounded in five places. The Battalion lost in him one of its most useful Officers and a dear comrade and friend.”
Source : Memorials Of Rugbeians Who Fell In The Great War Vol 1
Evelegh R C Captain Oxford And Bucks Light Infantry
CAPTAIN ROSSLYN CURZON EVELEGH,
OF THE 52nd (OXFORDSHIRE & BUCKINGHAMSHIRE) LIGHT INFANTRY.
HERO in the highest sense of the word was Captain Rosslyn Curzon Evelegh, of the 52nd (Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire) Light Infantry, for at the imminent peril of his life he obeyed that most difficult command “love your enemies.” In all the history of the world it is certain that no war has been conducted in a manner more opposed to the tenets nor only of Christianity but also of humanity, then that of which the Germans have been proved guilty since their legions burst upon devoted Belgium, in August 1914.
The world is aghast with horror at instances of War frightfulness which have been testified to by statesmen like Lord Bryce, formerly ambassador at Washington so appalling have been some of these acts that one might have partnered if not condoned the allied armies had they retaliated in kind and that abstinence does indeed we down to their eternal gloryIn all the history of the world it is certain that no war has been conducted in a manner more opposed to the tenets nor only of Christianity but also of humanity then that of which the Germans have been proved guilty since their legions burst upon devoted Belgians in August 1914 the world is aghast with horror at instances of War frightfulness which have been testified to by statesmen like Lord Bryce formerly ambassador at Washington. So appalling have been some of these acts that one might have pardoned, if not condoned, the allied armies, had they retaliated in kind and their abstention does, indeed, redound to their eternal glory.
To the high spirit of humanity with which Captain Evelegh and five of his Company were imbued, no fewer than sixteen of the enemy owe their lives. It was a few days before his death that Captain Evelegh, hearing the cries of wounded Germans who were imprisoned in a burning farm, entered the burning building with five of his men, and, at imminent risk of life, and with infinite pain, contrived to save sixteen lives. Surely there is no finer example extant of the heroism which counts no cost.
The Eveleghs have ever been a fighting race, and for five generations have served their country with distinction and renown. Captain Evelegh’s great-great-grandfather, General John Evelegh, served through the Siege of Gibraltar during the Napoleonic wars; while his son, General Henry Evelegh, of the Royal Horse Artillery, was with Sir John Moore during that great soldier’s Homeric Retreat upon Corunna, and received the Peninsular medal with the Benvenuto clasp. Distinguished indeed was the career of Captain Evelegh’s grandfather, who served both in the Crimea and the Mutiny, being three times thanked by Parliament and awarded the C.B. and the Legion of Honour.
Captain Evelegh was born at Eccles, Manchester, on May 13th, 1885, and was the elder son of the late Colonel Frederick John Evelegh, of the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Light Infantry, by Moriet Frances, his wife, niece of Field-Marshal Garnet Joseph Viscount Wolseley, K.P., G.C.B., G.C.M.G. From a preparatory school at Wellingborough, Captain Evelegh went to Rugby and thence to Sandhurst, being appointed a Second-Lieutenant in his father’s old regiment in 1905, joining at Chatham on the day it arrived back from India, whence he had gone with it seventeen years before.
In 1906 he was appointed A.D.C. to his uncle, General Arthur Gethin Creagh, C.B., commanding in Mauritius, and here he remained until 1909, when he was invalided home.
A fine sportsman, Captain Evelegh was an excellent polo player, and he also won many races in Mauritius on his own ponies. He was a keen man to hounds, swam well and played a good game at Rugby. He was fond of travel, and, in addition to his journeys to India and Mauritius, had also visited France, Germany, Malta and Tunis.
The Oxfordshire Light Infantry were among the first units of the Expeditionary Force to leave England, and they figured heroically during the retreat from Mons, and in the great battles of Le Cateau, the Marne and the Aisne.
It was in this latter protracted engagement that Captain Evelegh met his death-a death as heroic as his life.
On September 16th, 1914, he was wounded, and might, with honour, have retired to hospital. But his sense of duty triumphed over his physical ills and he refused to leave the trench, continuing to direct and care for his men, until, together with two brother-officers, he was killed by shell fire on September 19th.
“By continuing after being wounded,” wrote his Colonel, “he set an example of courage and devotion to duty of great value to Officers and men.”
He was buried in the churchyard of Soupir, near Vailly, close to the battlefield upon which he laid down his life for his country.
Evelegh R C Captain Oxford Bucks Light Infantry
Source : The Illustrated London News 24th Oct 1914
