Bett R St G L/Cpl S/18078 Gordon Highlanders

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BETT, RODERICK ST. GEORGE, L.-Corpl., Gordon Highlanders, only s. of Lieut. Col. James Bett, of Craigielea, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Officer Commanding Corps of Commissionaires (Newcastle-on-Tyne Division), by his wife, Mary, dau. of John Johnstone; b. Tillicoultry, co. Clackmannan, 19 July, 1898; educ. privately; enlisted in the R.G.A., and was transferred to the Gordon Highlanders 29 May, 1916; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and subsequently proceeded to Italy; was recommended for a commission, after which he joined the Cadet Battn. at Ripon in Oct. 1918, and died at Aberdeen 21 Feb. 1919, of influenza and pneumonia, contracted while training. Buried at Newcastle-on-Tyne. His Commanding Officer, Lieut. Col. H. A. Ross, on recommending him for a commission, wrote: “This N.C.O. is very well educated, keen and capable. I would be willing and pleased to have him as an officer in my battalion. His work, in and out of the line, has always been excellent.” Unm.

Source De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Bethune N M Tpr 341 8th Light Horse Australian Imperial Force

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BETHUNE, NORMAN MCLEOD, Trooper, No. 341, 8th Light Horse, Australian Imperial Force, 2nd and only surv. s. of the late Joseph Robert Douglas Bethune, by his wife, Sibella Maria, dau. of Alexander Paterson; and nephew to the late Magnus Paterson, of Sale, and brother to Corpl. A. D. Bethune (q.v.); b. Cluny Ouse, Tasmania, 1 April, 1886; educ. Toorak Grammar School, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; was for a time employed in a bank, but subsequently took up Farming; volunteered for Imperial Service, and joined the 8th Light Horse 12 Sept. 1914, after the outbreak; served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli until Aug. 1915, when he was invalided to England, and admitted to Lewisham Military Hospital 1 Sept., suffering from enteric; returned to duty 5 May, 1916, when he served with the Anzac Mounted Division in Egypt and Palestine, and died at Gaza 19 April, 1917, from wounds received in action there. Buried at Aseifiyeh. His Colonel wrote: “It is to his kind the regiment is indebted for the name it bears of courage and devotion to duty.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Bethune A Pte 8/29762 4th Seaforth Highlanders

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Bethune A Pte 8/29762 4th Seaforth Highlanders

BETHUNE, ALICK, Private, No. 8/29762, 4th (Territorial) Battn. Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s), eldest s. of Donald N. Bethune, of Corriegarth, Inverness, by his wife, Bessie, dau. of Murdoch MacKenzie; b. Tomalin, co. Inverness, 22 Sept. 1900; educ. Raigbeg School there, and Inverness Royal Academy; joined the Seaforth Highlanders 30 Sept. 1918, and died at Craigleith Military Hospital 13 Nov. following, of broncho-pneumonia. contracted while training. Buried in Drumtemple Churchyard, Stratherrick, Inverness. His schoolmaster ter wrote: “Alick was a favourite pupil of pupil of mine, and I can say, with the utmost sincerity, that I never met a more uniform and consistent character than his, who gave himself to all his school-work with such whole-hearted devotion and singleness of aim that I had splendid hopes of him, and that a great future awaited him.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Bethune A D Cpl 234 8th Light Horse Australian Imperial Force

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Bethune A D Cpl 234 8th Light Horse Australian Imperial Force

BETHUNE, ALEXANDER DOUGLAS, Corpl., No. 234, 8th Light Horse, Australian Imperial Force, elder s. of the late Joseph Robert Douglas Bethune, of Westbury, and Cluny Ouse, Tasmania, by his wife, Sibella Maria, dau. of Alexander Paterson, of Vic-toria and nephew of the late Magnus Paterson, of Sale, and brother to Trooper N. McL. Bethune (q.v.); b. Cluny-on-Derwent, Tasmania, 16 Aug. 1879; educ. Hutchins School, Hobart, and Gippsland College, Sale (Victoria); was an Assayer by profession, later engaged in Irrigation Farming served in the South African War, 1900-2, with Roberts’s Horse and the Imperial Bushmen (Medal), also with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at the Dardanelles, 1915, and was killed in action there in the famous charge of the Light Horse at Walker’s Ridge 7 Aug. 1915. A comrade wrote: “Douglas Bethune was a grand man in a grand troop, not one of whom returned from the charge,” and another: Each man knew it was certain death, and anyone could have sprung back into the trench, but to their everlasting credit not one man drew back.” He formed one of the Australian Guard of Honour at the Coronation of King Edward VII., and had the Coronation Medal; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Bethell H E Pte 27127 Army Veterinary Corps

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Bethell H E Pte 27127 Army Veterinary Corps

BETHELL, HERBERT EDWARD, Private, No. 27127, Army Veterinary Corps, s. of the late Henry Bethell, by his wife, Helen Mary (-); b. Clapton, London, E., Oct. 1888; educ. London; was a Carman; volunteered for active service, but was rejected seven times; enlisted 10 May, 1916; discharged as medically unfit 27 Sept. 1917, and died at All Saints’ Hospital 27 June, 1918, from illness contracted while on military service. Buried in the Tottenham Cemetery. London, N. He m. at Tottenham, N., in 1913, Martha (12, Albert Road, St. Anne’s Road, Tottenham, N.), dau. of Edward George Thomas Thorpe, and had two daughters: Elizabeth Rose and Violet Maud.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

 

Best W H Pte 135929 Army Service Corps

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BEST, WALTER HENRY, Private, No. 135929, Army Service Corps, eldest s. of Walter Henry Best, of 6. Tottenham Road, Kingsland, Dalston, N., by his wife, Annie, dau. of Cornelius Murphy; b. Islington, London, N.; educ. Tottenham County Council School; enlisted in Aug. 1915; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and was killed in action 1 Sept. 1918. Buried eight miles west of Arras. Major H. J. M. Howard wrote: “Your boy was a great favourite with all, and it was doing his duty so well, thinking of others, that he laid down his life.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Best A J AB Z/78397 HMS General Wolfe Royal Navy

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BEST, ALFRED JAMES, Able Seaman, No. Z. 78397, H.M.S. General Wolfe, Royal Navy, s. of the late George Best, of 43, Perry Street, Chatham, Skilled Dockyard Labourer, by his wife, Susan, 6th dau. of Alfred Clout; b. 23 April, 1900; educ. St. John’s Church of England School there joined the Royal Navy 30 Aug. 1917; served on H.M.S. Wolfe from 20 Dec. following, and died at the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham, 8 Nov. 1918, of pneumonia, following influenza, contracted while on active service. Buried in Chatham Cemetery. His Commander wrote: “We regret to inform you of the death of your son who, together with his gun team, displayed gallantry in serving the gun in face of heavy shell fire from shore batteries off the Belgian coast in Oct. last, and who has been recommended accordingly.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Berryman S Lt New Zealand Expeditionary Force

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Berryman S Lt New Zealand Expeditionary Force

BERRYMAN, STANLEY, Lieut., 10th (Nelson) Regt., Canterbury Mounted Rifles, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, s. of Henry Giles Berryman, of Stanley Downs, Nelson. New Zealand, Pastoralist, by his wife, Mary Redman, dau. of John Jones Bowles, of Kent: 5. Waimate, Canterbury, New Zealand, 8 Sept. 1590; educ. Boys’ High School. Ashburton, New Zealand; was Manager of his father’s estates, Mount Noble and Stanley Downs (sheep stations); enlisted 5 Ang 1914, left New Zealand with Main Body Sept. following: served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli from April to Sept. 1915, was twice seriously wounded during that campaign, and invalided to England on recovery took a course of musketry and machine gunnery at Hythe; passed out top of the list with 95 per cent, marks, and awarded a Distinguished certificate; was offered a commission in the Gloucestershire Hussars, which he refused, preferring to rejoin his New Zealand regiment, and was sent back to New Zealand in Sept. 1016; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 10th Canterbury Mounted Rifles 14 Nov. 1916; promoted Lieut. 1 Oct, 1917; served with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Egypt and Palestine from 9 Aug. 1917, and was killed in action at Amman, Palestine, 30 March, 1918.

Buried on the Hills of Moabh, about 1,000 yards south of Amman Hill. Lieut. Col. John Findlay wrote: “He did remarkably well, and was a very capable officer”, and the officer in charge of his squadron: “Although he had already been wounded, he refused to leave his post.. His behaviour was splendid,” and another officer: “He was just the same ame dear happy boy until the last; as soldier he was splendid, always the same bright, happy smile and winning way, and very popular with his men.” His Chaplain also wrote: “He was a son to be proud of, possessed of fine character, and setting to others the example of devotion to duty and clean living. He bore the hardships and faced the danger at Gallipoli as a true Britisher, and was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him.” Lieut. Berryman was a keen sportsman; his chief hobby was horses, and his hunters and troop-horses won the championships at the Agricultural and Pastoral Shows in Nelson and Marlborough for seven years in sucensalon (1911 to 1917). He was a good cricketer, frequently selected for first-class matches unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Berry W T Pte 22826 8th York And Lancs Regiment

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Berry W T Pte 22826 8th York And Lancs Regiment

BERRY, WILLIAM THOMAS, Private, No. 22826, 8th (Service) Battn. The York and Lancaster Regt., eldest s. of William Thomas Berry, of 69, Midland Road, Royston, by his wife, Sarah Jane (-); b. West Bromwich, co. Stafford, 13 May, 1898; educ. at the Elementary Schools, Great Bridge Road Great Bridge, co. Stafford. was a Miner; enlisted 5 July, 1915; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 7 April, and was reported missing after the fighting on the Somme 1 July, 1916, and is now assumed to have been killed on that date. Buried in a cemetery near Albert; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Berry T Sergt DCM 3305 Royal Field Artillery

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BERRY, THOMAS, D.C.M., Sergt., No. 3305, Royal Field Artillery, s. of William Berry, of 62, Evelyn Street, Liverpool, by his wife, Margaret, dau. of John Tunstall; and brother to Gunner R. Berry (q.v.); b. Liverpool, co. Lancaster, 3 Oct. 1890; educ. All Souls’ R.C. School there; volunteered for active service, and enlisted in the R.F.A. in March, 1915; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from the following Nov., and was killed in action at Vimy Ridge, 28 March, 1917. Buried in the Military Cemetery, near Mont St. Eloi. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field. His Commanding Officer wrote: “He was most popular both with officers and men, and will be greatly missed by all.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5