Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 58B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Mentioned in Despatches | ||
Education & Career :
Stewart went to Bradfield College Berkshire from 1902, being appointed a Prefect in 1908, and even going on to write the book "Rules for Prefects" for the school.
Probate record confirmed by address in the records at United Grand Lodge of England: STEWART, Humphrey of 10 Berkeley Gardens, Campden Hill, Kensington, Middlesex - Captain Royal Berkshire Regiment - died 3rd July 1916 in France. Probate London 8th September to Henrietta Stewart, widow. Effects £45 10s. 7d. Resworn £163 16s. 7d.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 5/Royal Berkshire Regiment |
5th (Service) Battalion Formed at Reading on 25 August 1914 as part of K1 and attached to 35th Brigade in 12th (Eastern) Division. Moved initially to Shorncliffe and on to Folkestone in January 1915. Moved to Malplaquet Barracks at Aldershot on 1 March 1915. 31 May 1915 : landed in France. 6 February 1918 : transferred to 36th Brigade in same Division |
| Action : The Battles of the Somme 1916 |
The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.
Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 11 D)
Detail :
The 5th Berkshires were serving in the line as part of 35th Brigade / 12th (Eastern) Division. Stewart was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme during the attack on Ovillers.
Citations & Commemorations :
He was Mentioned in Dispatches.Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Old Bradfield No. 3549 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
25th February 1914 | - | - |
In the register of the lodge, at the United Grand Lodge of England it shows that Humphrey "Stuart" is a 23 year old resident at 10 Berkeley Gardens, London at the time of his initiation in 1914. He advances no further than that of Entered Apprentice, and mistakes in transcriptions show him as Humphrey E A Stewart - the EA referring to his first step.
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