Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Cambrai Memorial | Panel 5. Louverval | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 55D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Herbert Ward Milligan was born on 14th January 1884. He lived with his parents, Alice and James, the company secretary of a pen-making business, and his two brothers at 12, Beaufort Road, Edgbaston.Education & Career :
Milligan was admitted to King Edward’s School in January 1896 as a Foundation Scholar.
At School, Herbert was very academic, placing first in his class in French in 1900 and forming part of the Chess Team. The 1901 Census reveals that Herbert left KES in 1900 in order to board at Bromsgrove School. In November 1907, Herbert sailed for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on the ship Sumatra, a voyage which then took fifty days. He took up residence in Ceylon for the remaining years before the war.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Karachi. Returned to England, landing 2 January 1915 and moved to Nuneaton. 2 January 1915 : Attached to 86th Brigade, 29th Division. 16 March 1915 : sailed via Egypt and landed Gallipoli 25 April 1915. Evacuated to Egypt January 1916. Landed at Marseilles March 1916. |
| Action : The Cambrai Operations and associated actions |
20 November - 30 December 1917. As the Battle of Third Ypres closed down the opportunity presented itself for a short but rapid attack on the German positions near Cambrai. Drawing on the considerable lessons learnt at Ypres the battle plan concentrated on better ground the combined resources of infantry, artillery, tanks and air support in what was in part a blueprint for the combined operations that are now a normal part of military thinking and planning. It was at first spectacularly successful but again the German ability to reorganise and counter attack was demonstrated to such an extent that by the end of the battle virtually all gains were lost. British casualties were about 45,000.
Detail :
Herbert was killed at Noyelle on 21st November 1917.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Uva No. 3429 E.C. | Sri Lanka |
| Joined : | Grant No. 2862 E.C. | Sri Lanka |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
7th March 1908 | 7th March 1908 | 7th March 1908 |
Herbert is listed against the 1940 scroll for Uva Lodge. He joined 23rd September, 1911 recorded as a Civil Servant and resident in the area of Badulla, Ceylon, joining from Grant Lodge No 2862. In this former lodge, located at Galle, Ceylon he is listd again as a 24 year old Civil Servant, resident in the capital, Colombo. He joined this former Lodge 7th March, 1908.
The records of this lodge do not show a trace back to his mother or any other former lodge, so at this time not possible to say if he came in from another constitution or not.
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