9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0081
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
| Transcription |
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 81 John Eden. 1....u.|.:n-.-:.-.' 12.”. D'nym' .'.mnu.r,. umm uUL‘uxl-JK Sun. Jul. ICZ'J =n nu PKITRDL UCL‘L‘BEH Ink. I.” must- J mar-11¢" : Mril my mum mm erv.:q 2-1 B" _u- m. mm 131! Emu: 3; : gnu-u. mum and - fur-val null-mar. Front cover of Memona/ Sew/Ge sheet from the chape/ at W/nd/estone Lt Eden’s troop was sent out to clear up a very difficult situa- tion near Americas, and was ambushed6 as they entered a vil- lage. The Germans allowed the first two riders to enter the vil- lage and engaged the patrol at very close range with a Maxim Machine Gun7. Lt Eden and one of his soldier’s Pte Fred Hartx were killed instantly. The rest of the patrol escaped by jump- ing fences.g Pte Wilmot‘° was captured, but the Germans, after taking everything from him that we had, chased him awayfi. The remainder of the patrol were collected together and returned home under somewhat difficult circumstances with Cpl Branch“. For this action and an act of personal gallantry at Wytschaet the following month he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.‘2 After much rumour as to the fate of Lt Eden, a patrol of the 20th Hussars eventually found John’s body, the Germans hav- ing already removed his boots, cap and coatfi. The Hussars buried him where he lay. Memorial services were held by both the Regiment in the field and by his family at the chapel at Windlestone. All the Eden children were to serve their country during its hour of need. Timothy served with the Diplomatic Service in Germany. John served as a Captain in the Yeoman Rifles 7 King’s Royal Rifle Corps (the 12th Lancers no longer holding any attraction after John’s death) and was awarded the Military Cross as a Brigade Major in 1917. While Marjoric served as a nurse and the young Nicolas joined the navy as a Midshipman. Sadly, John was not the only Eden casualty of the War. John’s father died in February 1915. John’s Uncle Robin Grey (Royal Flying Corps) was shot-down and made a prisoner of war and after several attempt escapes put into solitary con- finement because of his relationship to the British Foreign Minister. Younger brother Nicholas was killed on HMS Indefatigable, which was sunk at the Battle of Jutland, aged only sixteen. John’s fiancee married later in the war, but her Lt John Eden’s Dommonwea/th War Grave husband was also killed. Pamela herself died during the flu epidemic of 1918. Had John survived the War and left the Army one could spec- ulate to what his future would have been. The Eden family had strong political links. John’s mother Sybil Eden (nee Grey) was the daughter of Sir William Grey, the Governor of Bengal and she was the cousin of Edward Grey the then Foreign Secretary. With Anthony’s becoming Prime Minister, maybe this is where John’s future would have also been. What would the future of world politics have been had John lived and Anthony died? By Capt P A Watson 9/12L Now 7 Windlestone Hall, Bishop Aukland, County Durham. Buried Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery leper, West- Vlaanderen. D.6 Diary of Captain Charrington. Tinbriele. Amerika - 4.5kms NE of Houthem. Regimental History 7 Stewart. Diary of Cpl Snelling. Pte Frederick Joseph John Hart. Gillingham, Kent Son of William and Mary Hart, Gillingham, Kent. Enlisted Shoreham (New Brompton) Buried Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez. Pas de Calais XVII.F.37. Aged 26. 9 Diary of Pte Lawrence DCM. 10 Either 2858 Pte TF Willmot or 132 Pte JC Willmot. ll Commissioned into the 4th Middlesex Regt - 28th October 1915. 12 969 Corporal A Branch. 7 London Gazette 3rd June 1915. For conspicuous gallantry on 1st November 1914, at Wytschaete, when he went forward voluntarily and succeeded in killing eight of the enemy himself. On the 17th October near Houthem, he took charge of a patrol after his Officer had been killed, and brought his men back under difficult circumstances. N WNOm-ka |
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