Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Madras 1914-1918 War Memorial | Face 30. Chennai | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 20D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of Stephen and Mary Beeson. Buried in Roorkee Cemetery.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1st King George's Own Sappers and Miners |
| Action : India & Imperial Policing |
At the start of the war it was important to bring Regular Battalions back from their 'Imperial Policing' role in India and the FarEast. These troops were replaced by Territorial and other Garisson troops.
Detail :
Remembered with honour Madras 1914-1918 War Memorial: Face 30; buried in Roorkee Cemetery, India.
He was Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers, and accidentally drowned in the Ganges Canal at Roorkee 16th February 1918. He appears to have no medals, nor an entry in Soldiers Died in the Great War.
There is an article about Ralph in the West Herts and Watford Observer dated 27 April 1918.
Son of Mary (nee MESSER) and the late Stephen BEESON.
His parents married 2 November 1867 at St Helen’s, Wheathampstead, Herts. Stephen died 26 February 1914 in Rickmansworth, Herts, aged 69, and was buried 3 March at St Mary’s, Rickmansworth; Mary died 11 March 1926 in Rickmansworth aged 77.
Ralph was born 16 February (or 10 January) 1989 in Rickmansworth, and baptised 26 March 1889 at St Mary’s, Rickmansworth. He attended Watford Grammar School from September 1899 to July 1905.
On the 1891 Census, aged 2 he lived in Rickmansworth, with his parents and nine siblings. On the 1901 Census, aged 12 he still lived in Rickmansworth, with his parents and eight siblings. On the 1911 Census, a motor car engineering apprentice aged 22, he was a boarder in Luton, Beds.
Commemorated:
Madras 1914-1918 War Memorial Chennai India
Rickmansworth Herts War Memorial
St Mary's Church Rickmansworth Herts
Watford Grammar School Book of Remembrance
Herts at War
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lodge of Faith, Hope and Charity No. 1285 E.C. | Madras |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
11th December 1916 | 8th January 1917 | 12th February 1917 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley