Remembering Ann’s Relatives

In remembrance of the relatives of Ann Walker who served in the two World Wars.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.”

Descendants of Ann’s cousin Mary Priestley and William Henry Rawson

Many of Ann’s Rawson relatives, all direct descendants of her first cousin Mary Priestley, served during both World Wars. And, as far as we know, all of them survived.

Frederick Philip Selwyn Rawson (1891-1947) – Cousin 3x removed

Son of of John Selwyn Rawson.
Grandson of Frederick Edward Rawson.
Great-grandson of Mary Priestley & William Henry Rawson.

Frederick Rawson was a Lieutenant in the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment^[1]. He was serving in 1914* and was awarded the Silver War Badge***, which was issued to World War I military personnel who had been discharged due to injury or illness.

John Hugh Selwyn Rawson (1915-1966) – Cousin 4x removed

Son of Frederick Philip Selwyn Rawson.

John Rawson was a gunner with the Malayan Defense Corps while working on a rubber plantation in Malaya at the beginning of World War II. His wife, Elisabeth (née Whitaker), was a nurse serving in the VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment). Both escaped the Japanese invasion of Malaya in 1942^[2].

Ann Fenella Rawson  (1921-2015) – Cousin 4x removed

Daughter of Frederick Philip Selwyn Rawson.

Ann Rawson served with the WRNS (Women’s Royal Naval Service, the “Wrens”) in World War II^[3], although her rank is unknown. In 1944 she married Sub-lieutenant Wilfred Watkins, RNVR (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve), who served on an MTB (Motor Torpedo Boat).

Commander Selwyn Gerald Caygill Rawson RN, OBE (1902-1974) – Cousin 3x removed

Son of John Selwyn Rawson.
Grandson of Frederick Edward Rawson.
Great-grandson of Mary Priestley & William Henry Rawson.

He served in the Royal Navy in both World Wars, as a Lieutenant during World War I^[5]; and during World War II he commanded HMS St Albans, HMS Totland & HMS Corinthian. He was awarded the King Haakon VII Liberation Medal “for outstanding services in connection with the Liberation of Norway”^[6].

George Walter Selwyn Lloyd (1913-1998) – Cousin 3x removed

Son of Constance Priestley Rawson and William Alexander Charles Lloyd.
Grandson of John Selwyn Rawson.
Great-grandson of Frederick Edward Rawson.
Great-great-grandson of Mary Priestley & William Henry Rawson.

George Lloyd was a composer and during World War II he served as a bandsman with the Royal Marines^[5]. On 29 March 1942 he was aboard the cruiser HMS Trinidad, part of a North Atlantic convoy which was intercepted by German submarines and three destroyers. During an engagement with one of the destroyers HMS Trinidad was hit by one of its own torpedoes which had suffered a malfunctioning gyro mechanism – and became known as “the ship that torpedoed herself”^[8,9].

Descendants of Ann’s uncle Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley

The Edwards were very much a military family, and lost several members during various British campaigns overseas. At least three of Ann’s Edwards cousins, plus the husband of another, were killed in France during World War I.

Corporal Sir John Henry Priestley Churchill Edwards, 3rd Baronet (1889-1942) – Cousin 1x removed

Son of Henry Coster Lea Edwards.
Grandson of Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley.

“Jack” Edwards was a Corporal with the Royal Fusiliers in World War I, and again served as a Corporal during World War II with the ACMF (Australian Citizen Military Forces) in New Guinea and Queensland. He died on active service in Queensland (cause of death unknown) on 18 November 1942^[10] and is buried at the Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane, Australia^[11].

Captain John Egerton Leigh (1876-1917) – Cousin 2x removed

Son of Laura Maude Edwards and Edward Egerton Leigh.
Grandson of Sir Henry Edwards.
Great-Grandson of Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley..

John Egerton Leigh had been in the 2nd Warwickshire Regiment from from 1897 to 1902, when he resigned his commission. After living for several years in Canada he returned to England and rejoined the army at the beginning of World War I. He served in the 10th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps (the “Greenjackets”), landing in France on 21 July 1915. He was wounded at Ypres in 1916, and again at Guillemont, being mentioned in despatches on 4 January 1917. Three months later Captain Leigh was killed in action on 4 April 1917, aged 41, on the Somme at Metz.

The battle for Metz is described in The History of the Twentieth (Light) Division by Valentine Erskine Inglefield (1921), mentioning Egerton Leigh:

Captain Egerton Leigh was buried at the Metz-En-Couture Communal Cemetery British Extension^[12]**.
There is a memorial to him at St Paul’s Church, Broadwell, Gloucestershire:

Lieutenant Geoffrey Otho Charles Edwards (1876-1916) – Cousin 1x removed

Son of Arthur Hancock Edwards and Eleanor Louisa Pease.
Grandson of Sir Henry Edwards.
Great-Grandson of Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley.

2nd Lieutenant Geoffrey Edwards served in the 9th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding), and went missing in action, presumed killed, on the Somme on 7 July 1916.

He is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, Somme, France**.

Captain Basil John Orlebar (1875-1915)

On 12 September 1912 Basil Orlebar married Barbara Florence Edwards (1879-1952) whose great-grandfather was Henry Lees Edwards, making him, by marriage, Ann’s cousin 2x removed.

During World War I he was a Captain in the 3rd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, and was killed in action on 15 January 1915, aged 39, at Wulverghem, Belgium^[13].

He is buried at the Dranouter Churchyard in Belgium**.

Captain Eric Lea Priestley Edwards (1877-1914) – Cousin 2x removed

Son of cousins Lea Priestley Edwards & Emily Gertrude Edwards.
Grandson of Joseph Priestley Edwards.
Great-grandson of Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley.

Eric Edwards was a Sandhurst-educated career soldier. In 1897 he had fought in India at the Bara Valley, during the Tirah Campaign. At the outbreak of World War I he was a Captain in the 1st Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment and part of the Expeditionary Force – he was killed whilst leading his company near Troyon, at the First Battle of the Aisne on 20 September 1914.

He is commemorated at the La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial, Seine-et-Marne, France^[14].

Descendants of Ann’s aunt Lucy Edwards and John Plowes

Three cousins, all grand-children of Ann’s cousin George Plowes, were born in South Africa and served during World War I. Two of them served in Europe; the youngest of the three was killed in France.

George Arnold Plowes (1895-19??) – Cousin 2x removed

Son of Herbert George Victor Plowes.
Grandson of George Plowes.
Great-grandson of Lucy Edwards and John Plowes.

George Plowes served in the South African Infantry during the German East African Campaign (1915-1916)^[15].

Lieutenant Charles Merrick Plowes (1898-1977) – Cousin 2x removed

Son of Herbert George Victor Plowes.
Grandson of George Plowes.
Great-grandson of Lucy Edwards and John Plowes.

Charles Plowes served in the 1st South African Horse regiment in the German East African Campaign in 1916, and later transferred to the Royal Air Force^[16], which he joined on 28 October 1918, just before the end of the war. He was discharged from the RAF in 1919 and returned to South Africa.

Lieutenant Errol Sidney Plowes (1898-1918) – Cousin 2x removed

Son of Sidney Arnold Plowes.
Grandson of George Plowes.
Great-grandson of Lucy Edwards and John Plowes

Like his cousin George, Errol Plowes served in the South African Infantry (Private, 1916), and later as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, having received his commission on 8 April 1917. He was killed near Amiens, France, on 9 April 1918, aged just 20.

His gravestone at the Bouchoir New British Cemetery, Somme, France is inscribed “BELIEVED TO BE”^[16].

Descendant of Ann’s aunt Harriet Edwards and John Dyson

Private Albert Edward Dyson (1897-1915) – Cousin 1x removed

Son of Thomas Edward Dyson.
Grandson of Harriet Edwards and John Dyson.

In World War I he served as a Private with the 1st/4th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding). Private Dyson was killed in action near Ypres, Belgium, on 21 November 1915, aged just 18, and was buried at Talana Farm Cemetery in Belgium^[17].

Descendant of Ann’s sister Elizabeth Walker and George Mackay Sutherland

Lieutenant Henry William Stansfeld (1896-1969) – Great-great nephew

Son of Captain Logan Sutherland Stansfield.
Grandson of Ann Walker Sutherland and Henry William Stansfield.
Great-grandson of Elizabeth Walker and George Sutherland.

In 1914 he was serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery*. He survived the war and emigrated to Australia in 1927.

Descendants of Ann’s brother-in-law George Mackay Sutherland and Mary Elizabeth Haigh

Colonel George Sutherland Guyon (1875-1916)

Son of Mary Sutherland and Major-General Gardiner Guyon.
Grandson of George Sutherland & Mary Elizabeth Haigh.

Like Eric Edwards, George Guyon was a career soldier. In 1911 he was a Captain in the Royal Fusiliers, stationed in Pachmarhi, India. During World War I he fought at Gallipoli (1915) where he was wounded in the head. On 1 July 1916 as an acting Lieutenant Colonel he commanded the 16th (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (the “Bradford Pals”) and was killed in the opening minutes of the first day of the Battle of the Somme at Ovillers-la-Boisselle, France^[18].

His body was never recovered; he is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme in France^[19].

Lieutenant George Edmund Guyon (1916-2000)

Son of George Sutherland Guyon.

In 1941 George Guyon was commissioned into his father’s regiment, the Royal Fusiliers, later transferring to the Parachute Regiment in 1943. While commanding the Mortar Platoon (HQ Company), 1st Parachute Battalion, he was captured during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 and made a prisoner of war^[20].

Sources:

1. Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, Burke, 1937
2. Halifax Evening Courier – Monday 30 March 1942: The British Newspaper Archive (paid subscription)
3. Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976: Marriage announcement, 2 Sep 1944
4. Coastal Forces Veterans: cfv.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=840#p3917
5. The Navy List, 1920
6. London Gazette, 4 March 1947
7. Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lloyd_(composer)
8. NAVAL-HISTORY.NET: www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Trinidad.htm
9. The Band of his Majesty’s Royal Marines:  www.exroyalmarinesbandsmen.net/lambert/trinidadI.htm
10. National Probate Calendar, England & Wales, 1944
11. Find-A-Grave: www.findagrave.com/memorial/66234285/john-henry-edwards
12. Radley College Archives: radleyarchives.co.uk/people/7711-john-egerton-leigh & radleyarchive.blog/category/commemorating-the-fallen-of-ww1/page/8/
13. British Army, Bond Of Sacrifice: Officers Died In The Great War 1914-1916, accessed via ww.findmypast.co.uk (paid subscription)
14. Imperial War Museums: livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/2428469
15. Plowes family tree: The Visitation of England, volume 21, edited by Frederick Arthur Crisp, 1921
16. South Africa War Graves Project: www.southafricawargraves.org/search/print.php?id=20438
17. The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding) Regimental Association: www.dwr.org.uk/ww1-casualty-list/
18. LEST WE FORGET, Brighton College 2014/15: www.brightoncollegeremembers.com/roll-of-honour/1861
19. Find-A-Grave: www.findagrave.com/memorial/12436266/george-sutherland-guyon
20. World War II Unit Histories: www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html

Additional Resources:

* Forces War Records: www.forces-war-records.co.uk
** Commonwealth War Graves Commission: www.cwgc.org
*** UK census, baptism, marriage, burial and probate records: www.ancestry.co.uk (paid subscription)

Research by Martin Walker.

Thanks to Deb Woolson for newspaper research.