Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.130 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 6A GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/6 Hampshire Regiment |
1/6th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Battalion August 1914 : in Portsmouth. Bn was Army Troops attached to Wessex Division, later attached to Devon and Cornwall Brigade. 9 October 1914 : sailed for India, landing Karachi 11 November 1914. 16 September 1917 : landed at Basra and remained in Mesopotamia for the rest of the war, attached to 52nd Brigade, 17th Indian Division. |
| Action : Mesopotamia |
At the outbreak of war the British, together with Indian troops, resolved to protect oil supply in the region by occupying the area around Basra at Abadan. This evolved into a series of campaigns towards Baghdad against the Turkish forces as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of the Ottoman Empire. Meetings in late 1914 and into 1915 led the Viceroy and Indian government at Simla to reconsider the limited involvement of troops and they decided to order further advances with a view to securing the Shatt-al-Hai, a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates river and potentially capturing Baghdad. The British government disagreed and wished to conserve forces for the Western front. The Viceroy was given permission to act as it wished, but told in no uncertain terms that no reinforcements should be expected.
The initial success experienced by the British and Indian forces quickly disintegrated in the face of Ottoman opposition. The Siege of Kut-Al-Amara began on 7th December with the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. These campaigns produced few tactical benefits, indeed the catastrophic defeat at Kut in 1916 was a major setback. Badhdad was eventually taken in March 1917.
The conditions in Mesopotamia were dreadful. The climate, sickness and disease produced large losses in addition to battle casualties. About as many men died of disease as were killed in action. The Mesopotamia front was part of a strategy hoping for success at lower cost than the Western Front but no decisive victory was achieved.
Detail :
40624 Private Jack Mourant. 1st/6th Hampshire Regiment. Died from Dysentery in Mesopotamia.
His death was reported in the Jersey Evening Post, Monday 27th January, 1919. "Roll of Honour. News has been received in the Island of the death which occurred at Basra on 9 November last from dysentery of Private Jack Mourant of the Hampshire Regiment. The deceased, who was 31, was the only son of Mr & Mrs Mourant of Dorking Villas, Apsley Road. He was formerly employed at Messrs Noel & Porter as a carpet fitter and was very popular with his fellow employees. He went out to Mesopotamia about 16 months ago. He was a member of the Jersey Mechanics Institute and also a member of the Yarborough Lodge Freemasons. We tender our sincere sympathy to the bereaved father & mother and other members of the family and also Miss L Carter, the deceased's fiancee."
See also: Channel Islands and the Great War.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Yarborough No. 244 E.C. | Jersey |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
13th September 1916 | 11th October 1916 | 8th November 1916 |
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