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Remembrance
- The Yorkshire Regiment, First World War Lieutenant Richard WALMESLEY Close window to return to main page |
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A photo of Richard Walmesley (aged 15?) from the Malvern
College First World War Casualty website is shown beneath the biographical
information.
A photo of the 2nd Battalion Officers in October 1914 is also shown, in which
Lieutenant Walmesley is identified.
Lieutenant Richard WALMESLEY
2nd Batallion the Yorkshire Regiment.
Son of John Walmesley, of Lucknam, Chippenham, Wilts.
Killed 21 October 1914, aged 23.
Buried in AEROPLANE CEMETERY, BELGIUM.
Lieutenant Richard Walmesley was the first Officer of the Yorkshire Regiment to be killed in action in the First World War.
Richard Walmesley was born on the 21st November, 1890, in London.
He was the son of John Walmesley, Esq., of The Hall of Ince, Lancashire, and
of Lucknam, Chippenham, Wilts, and the grandson of the late Colonel B. B.
Haworth-Booth of Haworth Hall, Hull, and, Rolston Hall, Hornsea, Yorks.
He was gazetted to the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment
on the 13th August, 1910, being promoted Lieutenant in May, 1912
(Ref : Bond of Sacrifice: Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1915, Volume
1, page 426.)
He was educated at Eton School (leaving in 1904, - aged 13).
(Ref : "Old
Etonians Who Fought in the Great War")
After Eton he was at Malvern College in 1906 (aged 15).
( Ref. "Malvern
College First World War Casualty")
He entered Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1908 (aged 17).
The following biographical information is taken from Robert
Coulson's Biographies
of Officers of the Yorkshire Regiment;-
"Richard Walmesley was born in London on November 21st 1890.
He was educated at Eton School and from there entered Magdalene College at
Cambridge in 1908. His great loves were horses and hunting and in 1912 he
was master of the Cambridgeshire Harriers and hunted with the Quorn, Belvoir
and Cottesmore hunts.
He was first gazetted in August of 1910 and received his promotion to Lieutenant
on March 1st 1912 with the 3rd Battalion.
At the onset of war Lt Walmesley was attached to the 2nd Battalion and sailed
with them from Southampton, landing at
Zeebrugge on October 6th 1914. By way of Bruges the battalion made their way
to Ypres arriving in the salient on October 14th. Five days later the 1st
Battle of Ypres opened with Lt Walmesley and the battalion in the front line
close to Gheluveldt.
On October 21st Lt Walmesley with “D” company were subjected to
a terrific enemy shrapnel bombardment when, “He was shot through the
head, death being instantaneous, the first of his regiment to fall”.
Lt Richard Walmesley was killed in this action on October 21st 1914 aged 23,
being buried close to where he fell by his comrades.
After the war when smaller burial grounds were brought in, Lt Walmesley’s
body was moved and today lies in Aeroplane Cemetery at Potijze, close to Ypres.
He was the only son of John Walmesley of Halls of Ince near Wigan in Lancashire."
The Malvern School website provides additional biographical
information on Lieutenant Walmesley on
http://www.stanwardine.com/cgi-bin/malvernww1.pl?id=431
Richard Walmesley (aged 15?) at Malvern College
Select the above image for a larger sized one which opens in a new window
Officers of the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, October 1914. Lieutenant
Walmesley is 2nd from the right in the rear row.
Select the above image for a larger sized one which opens in a new window.
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