Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookuc. Stubbington House (Mr. M. Foster), and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 1 May, 1892; promoted Lieut. 1 May, 1895; Capt. 19 Jan. 1900, and Major, 15 Feb. 1913; served in Chitral, 1895, with the Relief Force (medal with clasp); and in the South African War, 1900-2, attd. to the Transport Department; took part in the operations in the Orange Free State, Feb. to May, 1900; operations in the Transvaal in May and June, 1900, including actions near Johannesburg and Diamond Hill; operations in the Orange River Colony, May to 29 Nov. 1900, including action at Wittebergen; operations in the Transvaal, 30 Nov. 1900 to March, 1902, and those in the Orange River Colony, March to 31 May, 1902 (mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 17 Jan. 1902], Queen's medal with four clasps and King's medal with two clasps, D.S.O.); was Instructor at the Royal Military Academy from 1 Jan. to 11 Sept. 1904; Commander of a company of Gentleman Cadets there from 12 Sept. 1904 to 31 Dec. 1908, and Staff Capt. School of Gunnery, Shoeburyness, Nov. 1910 to Aug. 1914; went to France with the Expeditionary Force, 9 Oct. 1914, and died in the Field Ambulance, near Ypres, 15 Nov. following, of wounds received in action on the 13th, when in command of the 26th Battery, Heavy Artillery. Buried in Ypres Cemetery. Major Massie _m._ at Southsea, co. Hants, 3 Sept. 1903, Maria Margaret, elder dau. of Major-Gen. Ernest Archibald Berger, late 10th (The Lincolnshire) Regt.; _s.p._ [Illustration: =John Hamon Massie.=] =MASTER, CHARLES LIONEL=, Capt., 2nd Battn. Royal Irish Rifles, _s._ of the late William Edward Master, of Kotmalie, Ceylon, Tea Planter, by his wife, Jeanette, dau. of Samuel Newson Gissing, nephew of Harcourt Master, of Rotherhurst, Liss, co. Hants, grandson of Lieut.-Col. Harcourt Master, 1st Dragoon Guards, and 4th Queen's Own Light Dragoons, and great-grandson of Lieut.-Col. Harcourt Master, 52nd Foot; _b._ in Ceylon, 24 March, 1881; educ. Bradfield College; joined the Royal Irish Rifles from the Louth Militia, as 2nd Lieut. 5 Jan. 1901; promoted Lieut. 28 March, 1905; Adjutant, 25 Jan. 1908; and Captain, 28 June, 1908; served in the South African War, taking part in the operations in the Orange Free State and Transvaal, Aug. 1901-May, 1902 (Queen's medal with five clasps). On the outbreak of the European War, he went out with his regt. to France, took part in the retreat from Mons, and the subsequent engagements prior to meeting his death in action at La Couture, on 12 Oct. 1914, from a shrapnel shell, when leading his coy. in the attack. He was buried at Vielle Chapelle; _unm._ He was mentioned for distinguished conduct in the field in Field-Marshal Sir John French's despatch of 8 Oct. 1914. Capt. Master was much beloved by both officers and men, as will be seen from the following extracts from letters received since his death. The wife of his late Colonel wrote: "As Capt. Master was my husband's Adjutant, we got to know him so well, and he was invaluable to my husband being such a dependable, able soldier"; and an officer: "His death was a dreadful blow to me, as it was to us all, and we shall miss him terribly, and mourn him always. It is no exaggeration to say that he was beloved by officers and men alike, for we recognised his great ability and worth, and I know that Col. Bird thought very highly of him as a thoroughly sound and reliable soldier. Had he lived, I am sure he would have done particularly well in this war, and he has already been mentioned in despatches." Capt. Master was a keen sportsman, being a member of his football eleven at school, and after joining his regiment kept up his interest in the game, and did his utmost to inculcate the love of pure sport amongst his men. It was owing in a large measure to his tuition and untiring efforts that the Royal Irish Rifles turned out a team which was a tower of strength for several years in regimental contests, and had the proud distinction of winning the Army Cup. He was also devoted to hunting, and whenever the opportunity occurred he might be seen out with the various packs in the neighbourhood in which his regt. happened to be quartered. [Illustration: =Charles Lionel Master.=] =MASTERS, TREVOR MONRO HOARE=, Midshipman, R.N., eldest _s._ of the late Lieut. Charles Monro Masters, R.N., late H.M.S. Cressy (died 21 Aug. 1902), by his wife, Susan (now wife of Capt. William Firth Slayter, R.N.), dau. of (--), of New Zealand, and gdson. of Canon James Hoare Masters, of The Close, Chichester; _b._ Sydney, N.S.W., 13 May, 1895; educ. privately (Rev. C. Royle, Stanmore Park, near Harrow); entered the Navy, became Midshipman in Jan. 1911, was appointed to H.M.S. Formidable, Nov. 1914, and was lost when that ship was sunk in the English Channel, 1 Jan. 1915; _unm._ =SMITH-MASTERS, GEORGE ARTHUR=, 2nd Lieut., 6th (Service) Battn. The Bedfordshire Regt., yst. _s._ of the Rev. John Ernest Smith-Masters, M.A., Vicar of South Banbury, formerly Vicar of Stewkley, Bucks, and Rural Dean of Mursley, by his wife, Eliza Margaret, dau. of Samuel Swinton Melville, I.C.S., and grandson of the late Rev. Allan Smith-Masters, of Camer, Kent, J.P.; _b._ Kidmore End, co. Oxon, 29 Dec. 1894, and after receiving his early education at Eversley School, was elected to a scholarship at Haileybury College. He matriculated at Keble College, Oxford, in Jan. 1914, intending to prepare for Holy Orders, but on the outbreak of war applied for a commission, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. from the Oxford University O.T.C. on 21 Aug. 1914, and left England with his regt. 30 July, 1915. He had always taken a great interest in the Church Lads' Brigade, and had been appointed Lieut. in the 5th Oxford Cadet Corps (C.L.B.) in July, 1914. In the early days of the war he was, with his father, in charge of the lads of the Stewkley Coy. of C.L.B. in their work of guarding bridges on the main line of the London & North Western Railway by day and night. He went out near midnight on 19 Aug. 1915, along with a Sergt. to endeavour to locate shots which were endangering the lives of his men employed in digging trenches, and was shot through the heart by a sniper. His Colonel wrote to his mother: "Your dear son was a favourite with us all, and there was not an officer or a man who stood with me round his grave who did not feel they had lost a personal friend. He was such a charming boy, a God-fearing, straight-living English boy. An English gentleman, he died doing his duty, a very brave action. Col. des Vœux, who commands the operations there, said that nobody but one of the best and bravest would have attempted to do what your son wished to do." His company officer wrote: "One thing you will be proud to know is that he died doing his duty in an exceptionally brave manner, not in broad daylight, when it is easier to be brave, but in the dead of night, a mile behind the firing line. The whole of his company was able to attend his last parade, when we laid |