Boyce Brothers - Renwick Memorial, Marlborough

Marlborough Express, Volume LI, Issue 227, 25 September 1917, Page 4

James and David Strachan Boyce were born in Scotland the sons of Robert and Margaret Boyce.  The family moved to New Zealand at around 1907.  Before enlisting James was employed as a Shepherd in Kaikoura and David as a Labourer in Blenheim.

Being the oldest James enlisted first in August 1914 and embarked with the Main Body on 16 October 1914 as part of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion.  On 1 September 1915 he was wounded receiving shrapnel wounds to the legs and back, afterwards he was evacuated to hospital in Alexandria and declared dangerously ill on 9 September 1915.  He died from his wounds on 17 September 1915 and is buried in the Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt.  He was 22 years old.

News of his death must have been devastating for his parents back in New Zealand especially as their second son David had now enlisted and was at the time in camp at Rangiotu near Palmerston North preparing to embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.

Only weeks after the hearing the news of his brothers death David Boyce embarked on 9 October 1915 headed for Egypt.  After becoming ill in the Middle East he spent some time in Hospital in Alexandria where I like to think he was able to visit the place where his brother was buried.  From Egypt David embarked to France in 1916.  On 15 September 1916 on the Somme at Flers he was killed in action.  I found two conflicting reports on how David Boyce died the first is from his military record where a court of inquiry was held after he had been reported missing at which 2nd Lieutenant Martin stated:

"Rifleman Boyce was my  runner and that during the attack at about 9am I sent him with a message from Brown trench to Battalion HQ.  The message did not reach HQ and Rifleman Boyce has not been seen or heard of since taking the message.  A large number of men were killed near Battalion HQ and were so badly smashed they could not be recognised."

I also found a newspaper report on Papers Past from the Marlborough Express dated 30 October 1917 which told a different story:

As David Boyce is buried at Delville Wood Cemetery, Longueval, France it seems unlikely that the above newspaper report is factual.  However as mentioned in the above article their father Robert Boyce did indeed enlist towards the end of the war serving with the Samoan Relief Force.  He was however invalided home before the war ended.  Robert Boyce was most likely driven to enlist by his grief at the loss of his two sons.   'Doing his bit' may well have given him some comfort and purpose.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, 17 May 1917, Page 4, from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

However the story of the Boyce brothers did not end in 1916 and whilst researching I came across the article below which was printed in the Central Leader in Auckland on 22 September 2010.  The article tells  how Robina Devitt's son found a medal belonging to David Strachan Boyce whilst clearing out some Housing New Zealand Flats in Auckland.  She was hoping to reunite the medal with the Boyce family and trying to locate any living relatives.  I would be very interested to find out if she was successful.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/4151094/Quest-to-return-medal-to-Boyce-family

Murchison Memorial - Nelson

Murchison Memorial was unveiled on 3 June 1923.

Private John Thomas Oxnam - Murchison Memorial

 

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/11863.detail?Ordinal=2&c_serialnumber_search=44146

Private John Oxnam caught my attention because we share the same birth date.  He embarked on 14 March 1917 aboard the Ruapehu with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.  Oxnam's war like many was sadly shortlived he was killed in action on 12 October 1917 at Passchendaele he was 25 years old.

At the time Oxnam was buried in an isolated grave however in 1921 he body was exhumed and laid to rest at Tyne Cot Cemetery.

Evidence of the grief his family felt at his loss is apparent by the notice I found in Papers Past that was publish after his death.

Colonist, 10 November 1917, Papers Past

It must have been a comfort to his family to later know exactly where he was laid to rest. I wonder if any members of his family visited him at Tyne Cot?

 

Private Ernest Bunn - Murchison Memorial and Eltham Memorial

 http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/1920.detail?Ordinal=1&c_surname_search=bunn&c_firstname_search=ernest

Ernest Bunn was born in Murchison in 1892 the son of Elijah and Amy Bunn.  Before enlisting on 25 May 1916 he was a blacksmith in Eltham, Taranaki working for his brother Levi Bunn.   He embarked aboard the Pakeha on 27 September 1916 with the Wellington Infantry Battalion.

On 21 February 1917 he took part in a large dawn raid made by the 2nd Battalion Auckland Regiment at Fleurbaix.  Casualties from the raid were initially thought to be light however it was soon revealed that 22 men had been killed, 107 wounded with 56 missing.  Bunn it turned out was both missing and wounded (grenade splinter to forearm).  He had in fact been captured by the Germans along with several others.  Initially treated for his wounds he was then transferred to a camp in Munster, Germany.  In December 1917 Bunn was transferred to Switzerland under agreements made between the the Swiss Government and the French, British and German Governments that a certain number of wounded prisoners of war would be interned in Switzerland.  Below is a newspaper article with a report from a soldier who was captured at the same time as Bunn.

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 77, 1 April 1918, Page 4, Papers Past.

For Bunn's family back in New Zealand news of his repatriation to Switzerland must have been well received knowing that Ernest was now out of danger and would in time be returned safely.  Bunn himself expressed this hope in a thank you letter he sent to the Eltham Patriotic committee whilst interned in Switzerland noting:

"...having a fairly good time and I hope it will not be very long before I get back to New Zealand, for although this is good there is no place like 'home'."

This hope was short lived as Ernest succumbed to the Influenza epidemic of June 1918.  He died on 7 July 1918 at 5.45am and is buried in Vevey (St. Martin's) Cemetery, Switzerland together with two other NZ soldiers from WW1.

What's Happening

It may look as if my blog has come to a standstill but that is not the intention.  Since the beginning of the year I have lost my father-in-law and now my grandmother.  I am at the moment in the UK for her funeral.  When life gets back to normal it will be 'full speed ahead'.  Unfortunately I am away for Anzac Day but my family will hopefully be attending the dawn parade at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Havelock Volunteers

 Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 187, 11 August 1914, Page 3

While researching the names on a memorial, a standard routine I do is a search on Papers Past to see if any further information can be found on an individual.  I found the above article while researching the Havelock memorial and spotted several names which appear on the Havelock memorial.  I decided to take a quick look at all the men in the article to see how their war panned out.

Edward George Pope enlisted on 15 August 1914 and embarked with the main body on 16 October 1914.  I had already come across Pope while researching the Tasman memorial where I found mention of him in the military record of Sydney Reid Dodson.  Dodson was an orchardist who embarked on 8 January 1916 he was wounded twice before being killed in action on 14 June 1917 in Belgium.  In Dodson's military record there is a note which records how Cpl Pope 6/327 (Edward George Pope) found the dead body of Dodson and removed his identity disc and pay book before burying him.  Pope himself was wounded on 21 September 1916 but recovered.  He was promoted to Corporal in February 1917.  He was the son of George Pope and Edith Twiddle.

Robert John Frost Aldrich enlisted on 7 November 1914 and embarked on 14 December 1914, a traveller by trade he was a married man with 2 children.  Aldrich served throughout the Gallipoli campaign where he was wounded twice.  Firstly on 27 May 1915 receiving a scalp wound and then on 9 August 1915 receiving a wound to the knee and ankle.  Aldrich was shipped back to England in October 1915 with his injuries suffering from shell shock and insomnia.  He was eventually declared medically unfit and returned to New Zealand in July 1917.  He died in 1939 aged 57.

Arnold Edward Wells, a farmer, embarked with the main body on 16 October 1914. He served through the Gallipoli campaign with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles.  He was killed in action at Ypres on 5 August 1917 at an age of 23 years old and is remembered on the Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial, Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Belgium.

 http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/16625.detail?Ordinal=1&c_surname_search=wells&c_firstname_search=arnold 

Cecil Frank Twidle was one of four brothers who served in World War One.  Cecil, also known as 'Mack', embarked with the main body on 16 October 1914.  He was killed in action on 19 June 1915 at Gallipoli.  I found a letter in the Marlborough Express sent by Edward Pope (same as above) describing how 'Mack' died:

"He was on duty when it happened and was on a bank arranging sand bags when the Turkish snipers saw him.  You will be consoled in knowing that he passed away instantaneously.  He could never have known what had happened or felt any pain.  He was buried the same night and there were twenty-five at the burial.  All were very much cut up as 'mack' was most easily the most popular man in the section"            Taken from the Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 191, 14 August 1915, Page 5, Papers Past National Library of New Zealand

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/16052.detail?Ordinal=2&c_surname_search=twidle

Of the other Twidle brothers, James Victor Twidle died of his wounds received in Belgium in August 1917,  Roy Oscar Twidle survived and Lea Onslow Twidle tried to enlist in 1916 but was found to be underage. He eventually embarked towards the end of the war on 2 October 1918 and he too survived.

Arthur Amos Vorbach was the eldest of those at the public meeting at an age of  32 years.  Vorbach had served in the Boer War and was obviously keen to do his duty again. He howver did not enlist until September 1917 embarking in October 1918.  He was now a married man and his first child was born in December 1917.  He served briefly in the Suez before returning to New Zealand in July 1919.  He died in 1954.

Alfred John Anderson also embarked with the main body on 16 October 1914. Before enlistment he had been a farmer for D.O'Dwyer at Mahakipawa in the Malborough Sounds.  Anderson was wounded at Gallipoli on 27 August 1915 and after he recovered he was appointed 'cook' in May 1917.  He returned to New Zealand at the end of the war and continued farming in Mahakipawa.

Wilfred Andrew Warner embarked with the main body on 16 October 1914. He survived the war and returned to New Zealand. I have little information on Warner as his military record has not been digitalised.

Charles Henry Glover enlisted with his brother Alfred Harris Glover on 27 April 1914. They embarked on 14 December 1914 with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles.  On 21 August 1915 the Otago and Canterbury Mounted Rifles were part of an attack on Hill 60 which it was hoped would be captured from the Turks.  The assault was a disaster, ill-planned, conducted in daylight with very little reconnaincense beforehand.  British historian Robert Rhodes James wrote  'For connoisseurs of military futility, valour, incompetence and determination, the attacks on Hill 60 are in a class of their own.'  For the Glover brothers this certainly boar true.  During the attack Alfred was killed in action and Charles was wounded in both thighs.  Once he recovered Alfred joined the NZ Field Ambulance Corp.  He served in France and returned to New Zealand on the troop ship Willochra in April 1919.  His brother Alfred is remembered on the memorial to the missing on Hill 60.  A younger brother William Moir Glover enlisted on 23 August 1915 two days after the death of his brother.  William survived the war.

Charles Valentine Kear embarked with the main body on 16 October 1914. He was wounded at Gallipoli and was invalided returning to New Zealand before the end of the war.  Kear's return to New Zealand was marred with his imprisonment for crimes committed in 1917.  See link to Papers Past for details  http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19170519.2.23&l=mi&e=-------10--1----0--.
Many men returned from World War One with what we today call Post Traumatic Disorder Syndrome which could well have accounted for Kear's behaviour.

George Massey Brown  embarked with the main body on 16 October 1914.  As his military record is yet to be digitalised I have little information on him.  He married Agnes Helen Schroder on 6 March 1918 in New Zealand so we can assumed he was invalided home before the end of the war.

Stanley Richard McIssac also embarked with the main body in October 1914. He survived Gallipoli only to die of his wounds on 11 October 1916.  He is buried in the Etaples military cemetery, France.

 http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/9536.detail?Ordinal=10&c_serialnumber_search=6/307

 John Marr embarked on 16 October 1914 with the main body but as his military record has not been digitialised again I have little information.  He did survive the war.

The twelve men mentioned in the article 'Havelock Volunteers' had a variety of experiences through World War One.  Some never returned and most survivors were without doubt emotionally and physically scarred for life.  I am sure all originally expected the war it to be a great adventure.  Arthur Vorbach no doubt talked about his experiences in the Boer War to the young men with him at the meeting that evening.  But as we now know the Boer War cannot be compared to the horrors of World War One and I am certain none thought of the horrors that would greet them and of the enormous loss of life that would ensue during the years of World War One.  Their families would no doubt have been proud to see their loved ones keen to do their bit so early on and only later would they wish that their boys could have remained safe with them in New Zealand.

The Marlborough Express newspaper is still running today.

Alfred George Glastonbury - Havelock Memorial

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/5583.detail?Ordinal=1&c_surname_search=glastonbury

Alfred Glastonbury (known as Jack) was a father of three and married to Minnie Leeks when he embarked from Wellington aboard the Devon on 25 September 1916.   The Devon arrived in the United Kingdom on the 21 November 1916.  Most likely Jack Glastonbury was already sick with gastritis. He died shortly after disembarking on 5 December 1916, aged 34 at Codford Military Hospital, where he is buried.

Jack volunteered to enlist most likely as a knee jerk reaction to the death of his younger brother Frank Glastonbury who was killed in action at the Somme on 14 July 1916. Frank a member of the Otago Infantry Battalion was most likely one of two hundred men from the Otago's who on 13/14 July 1916 went on a raid of German lines.  Of the two hundred men only six returned unhurt, fifty four were killed and one hundred and four were wounded.  Frank's name is not recorded on the Havelock Memorial.

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/5584.detail?Ordinal=3&c_surname_search=glastonbury

Frank's death was reported in the Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 180, 1 August 1916, Page 5 (taken from Papers Past)

As the article above mentions the Glastonbury Family's contribution to the war effort was immense with a further three brothers serving Leonard, William Henry and Andrew Glastonbury all returned safely to New Zealand.

Havelock Memorial Marlborough

Havelock memorial was unveiled on 30 June 1921.

Tasman Memorial

 

The Tasman War Memorial is outside the Tasman Primary School.  Many of the names on the Memorial are also recorded on the Mapua Memorial.

 Mapua Memorial Plaque

I have very little information on both these memorials.  If anyone can shed some light on when the memorials were unveiled I would be most grateful.

Lieutenant Robin Howell Deck - Tasman Memorial

 http://www.anzacs.org/pages/AOdeck.html

Robin Howell Deck was born on 6 September 1890.  He was the eldest son of Major Henry O'Brien Deck and Ethel Deck.  His father a doctor had served in the Boer War and during WW1 held a medical position at several military hospitals in NZ. 

Lt. Deck had served with the 10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles (his father had commanded this unit) before enlisting in December 1914.   He embarked with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles as part of the 3rd Reinforcements on 14 February 1915 only days earlier on 27 January he had married Mabel Skinner.

Lt. Deck was killed in action on the fraught attack on Hill 60 in the Dardanelles on 29 August 1915.  He has no known grave and is remembered on the Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial, Hill 60 Cemetery in Turkey.

His young wife must have been heartbroken having spent only days with her new husband before he left for war.  I found a letter printed in the 'Colonist' by Lt. Deck written to his wife Mabel the day before he was killed in action.  The letter gives a first hand account of the terrible conditions that the troops suffered.  The report also gives an account of an act of bravery performed by Lt Deck just before he was killed, which may have given some comfort to his grieving family.

OFFICER'S LAST LETTER.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 13936, 16 November 1915, Page 7

Sourced from Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/3837.detail?Ordinal=1&c_surname_search=deck

"Fighting Families" Otorohanga Memorial

While researching the Otorohanga Memorial on Papers Past I came across the expression 'Fighting Families". This was generally used in the newspapers of the time to describe those families who had several sons serving in the forces in WW1.   One such family was the Clarke family from Otorohanga.  William Henry and Agnes Clarke saw six of their sons embark for WW1.

Three of the Clarke brothers are sadly remembered on the Otorohanga war memorial.  They are James Reid Clarke, William John Clarke and Henry Wilfred Clarke.  James and William enlisted together embarking with the 8th Reinforcements as part of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade from Wellington on 23 September 1916.  James was killed in action on 8 June 1917 at Messines. He is remembered on the Messines Ridge (NZ) Memorial.  William was killed in action just over a year later at Le Cateau and only a month before the war ended in France on 8 October 1918. He is buried at the Naves Communal cemetery.

Henry Clarke embarked with the 4th Reinforcements attached to the Canterbury Mounted Rifles (eventually he was transferred to the Auckland Mounted Rifles) he would have spent the war serving in the Middle East.  Henry survived the war but died en route back to New Zealand on 19 December 1918.  I found a death notice which shed light on how he died:

 

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 17463, 7 January 1919, Page 5, Papers Past

Exactly the circumstances of his drowning are unknown however further research down the track and a look at his military record (which is not at present digitalised) should reveal more.

The remaining three brothers Frederick Arthur Clarke, Robert Allen Clarke and Samuel Bertram Clarke survived the War.

Frederick embarked with the Main Body on 16 October 1914 and served with the Auckland Infantry Regiment.  Robert embarked 14 August 1915 with the Auckland Mounted Rifles (AMR) shortly after his brother Samuel who embarked with the AMR on 13 June 1915.

Samuel had a distinguished service record with the AMR being awarded a Military Medal "for bravery in the Field. (Sinai) on 12 March 1917.  He was then Mentioned in Dispatches in July 1917  "For Galliant and distinguished conduct in the field or for other valuable services" per Gen A J Murray's despatch dated 1 March 1917.

I would love to hear from any descendants of the surviving brothers of the Clarke family to hear more about the Clarke brothers WW1 service. 

The Horsman Brothers - Otorohanga Memorial

"Brothers give their Lives" 

In the Poverty Bay Herald on 16 January 1917 the deaths of two sets of brothers were reported from the Front.  One set of these brothers were Sergt-Major Arthur W.C. Horsman and Private Gordon C. Horsman.

The brothers originally from South Canterbury worked with their father on bush land at Otorohanga before enlisting.

Arthur had been a keen military man before enlisting being a member of the Legion of Frontiersmen, he was also reportedly a skill axeman.  He embarked on 8 January 1916 as part of the  3rd Reinforcements 1st Battalion, E Company.  He was killed in action on the 15th September 1916 at the Battle of Flers on the Somme, he was 24 years old

Gordon embarked prior to his brother on 14 February 1915 with the 3rd Reinforcements attached to the Canterbury Infantry Battalion (CIB).  Whilst serving at Gallipoli Gordon received shrapnel wounds to the head and contracted Enteric fever causing him temporary memory and speech loss.  After a long period of convalescence in England he rejoined the CIB at the Front.  He too was killed in action at the Battle of Flers on 16 September 1916, aged 22.

Both brothers are remembered together on the Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial.

Their parents Christopher and Amy Horsman would have been devastated to have lost both their sons in the same battle.  The Battle of Flers on the 15 September 1916 incurred the greatest loss of the New Zealand life so far in WWI.  Passchendaele would eventually hold that unenviable record.

71 Memorials visited so far....

Just updated my memorial list looking forward to getting down to researching them all.  Roll on March.

More South Island Memorials

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I had a short visit to the Nelson region in December and visited four more memorials:

Tasman, Havelock, Rai Valley and Mapua, making the total memorials visited so far 58.

At the moment I am in Wanaka, Central Otago and in a couple of days we leave for the 7 day drive back to Auckland via the West Coast of the South Island and up the North Island via the Hawkes Bay.  No doubt we will be stopping at many more memorials.

My research will start again in earnest in March when my children return to school and university.

What's next...

I was very excited today to get my copy of 'The Volunteers', the Military Historical Society Journal where they publish an article I wrote on my project. 

Tomorrow I am off to Wellington to attend the launch of the Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War at Massey University.  On Friday I am paying a visit to Nelson for 3 days where I am hoping to visit several memorials.  (hopefully the rain will have stopped)

I am still have a great deal of research to do on the Otororanga Memorial.  So a busy time leading up to Christmas.

Thomas Douglas Baillie - Otororanga Memorial

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/578.detail?Ordinal=20&c_surname_search=baillie

Thomas Douglas Baillie enlisted on 21 August 1916 and enlisting alongside him was his only son, Arthur Douglas Baillie.  On Thomas Baillie's military record I noticed a note which mentioned how he had left all his property equally to his wife, daughter and son.  Besides the son's name was a military number 34324 (his father's number was 34325) which I traced to Arthur Douglas Baillie.  I was initially stunned to find that father and son had enlisted together I imagine there would have been very few cases of this during WW1.  At enlistment Arthur gave his date of birth as 22 March 1896.   His father stated that Arthur's date of birth was 1897 while in fact Arthur was born in 1898.  Lying about his age made him eligible for overseas service.

Father and son embarked on the Apawa on 2 January 1917 as part of the Auckland Infantry Regiment.  One can only imagine the sadness Thomas's wife, Alice Baillie felt when both her son and husband departed together for war.

On 4 October 1917 Arthur Baillie was promoted to Lance Corporal on the very same day his father Thomas was killed in action at the Battle of Broodseinde.   He was 45 years old and he is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

On 9 September 1918 Arthur was badly injured after receiving a gun shot wound to the head and was sent back to England where he received treatment until finally returning to New Zealand on 18 January 1919.   Despite his injury he recovered sufficiently to return to the England where he joined the RAF becoming an officer.  I found a record of an Arthur Douglas Baillie from Otorohanga who unfortunately was killed in a flying accident over Eastchurch, Kent on 13 September 1924 aged 26 years. 

Further research into the Baillie family revealed that the family had a rich military history.  Thomas's father Colonel W.D.H. Baillie had served in the Punjab Campaigns in India of 1848–49 and his grandfather Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Baillie had been a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo.  In fact Colonel W.D.H Baillie led a full life and below is a link to more information on his life.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/baillie-william-douglas-hall/1

Second Lieutenant Evan Scott Innes-Jones - Kihikihi Memorial

Evan Innes-Jones was one of five brothers who served in World War One and the son of Herbert and Mary Innes-Jones.  Originally born in Nelson in 1889 the family moved to Kihikihi where they farmed.  Evan embarked with the Main Body on 16 October 1914 as part of the Auckland Mounted Rifles.  At Gallipoli he was wounded on 22 August 1915.  I found a detailed account of how he was rescued in a letter from Evan printed in the Colonist Newspaper.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 13915, 22 October 1915, Page 4,

Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand, Wellington

The wound was serious enough for him to be sent back to New Zealand to convalesce.  However as soon as he was able, he reported for duty again after gaining a commission and being promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in May 1918.  He embarked on the 1 August 1918 with the 42nd Reinforcements.  Sadly shortly after disembarking in England on 4 October 1918  he fell sick.  He was transferred to Channock Chase military hospital on 2 November 1918 and died of pneumonia on 8 November 1918.  He is buried in the Channock Chase military cemetery.   Evan Innes-Jones story has a tragic end after serving his country at the beginning of the war at Gallipoli he was keen to serve again towards what would be the end of the war only to be struck down by disease as were so many in November 1918.

 

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 14947, 18 December 1918, Page 2

Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand, Wellington

The other four Innes-Jones brothers survived the war:

Howard Innes-Jones embarked on 14 February 1915 with Auckland Mounted Rifles
Melville Innes-Jones embarked on 14 February 1915 with Auckland Mounted Rifles

 

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, 19 August 1915, Page 5 

Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand, Wellington

Herbert Innes-Jones embarked 25 January 1916 on the 'Maheno' Hospital ship No.1
Howard Innes-Jones embarked 14 February 1916 with the Auckland Infantry Regiment.

The Innes-Jones family made a significant contribution to World War One and one the family I am sure were rightly proud of despite the loss of Evan Scott Innes-Jones.