Malcolm was born in 1874, the youngest son of Frederick Charles Pawle of "Northcote", Reigate, Surrey, and educated at Marlborough College. At school he was a member of the Shooting Eight and in 1891 he made the second best score for the school at Bisley.

He had been a member of the Stock Exchange since 1900, and on the outbreak of war he enlisted in the University and Public Schools Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. He was a good deal older than many of his fellow recruits but completed the training and was commissioned in a Norfolk Battalion. He was next sent with an Essex battalion to Mudros and Gallipoli and was afterwards stationed at Ismailia on the Suez Canal

Never of very great physical strength he suffered from the climate and was invalided home due to illness. On recovery he returned to duty in England, but soon volunteered for foreign service again and was sent to India as a Captain in a 2nd Garrison Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment.

 The excessive heat at Hydrabad, Scinde where he was stationed overpowered him and he died in hospital at Lahore of septic pneumonia on the 27th of June 1917.

(My thanks to John Hamblin for the bio and photo)

Lt-Colonel William Barrington PIERS, Commanding Officer of the 10th Battalion

William was born in April 1859. At the age of 19 he joined the 15th Regiment of Foot transferring to the Indian Army and taking part in the Afghan Campaign of 1878-1880 whilst serving with the 24th Bombay Native Infantry. He transferred to the Bombay Staff Corps in 1881 and was promoted to Captain in 1889, Major in 1898 and Colonel in 1904. In 1914 having completed 35 years of service he was still officially on the strength of the Staff Corps by then he was living in England at Overton Lea, Parabola Road Cheltenham.

He married Miss Mary Catherine Emily Price-Morris of Plas Court, Denby and Oak Manor, Hales Road Cheltenham. Their son - Williams Price Barrington Piers – was born in 1905.

William was secretary of the East Gloucester Tennis and Badminton Club and had been a very fine player winning the Veterans Cup. He was also an organiser of the West of England Hockey Championships. He started the Cheltenham Corps of the National Reserve whilst waiting for his appointment in the army.

At the outbreak of war, aged 55, he volunteered and on the 7th of November 1914 was appointed to command the 10th (Reserve) Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment formed at Dovercourt and later in training at Colchester.

William died suddenly of a heart attack on the 27th of June 1917 having recently retired at the age of 58. He is buried at Cheltenham Borough Cemetery

(My thanks to John Hamblin for the bio and photograph)

Training Depot Officers in July 1915

John Wainwright was very kind in sharing this photo of the Officers attached to the Regimental Training Depot in July 1915. They are:

Back row left to right; QM and Hon Lt JC Hooper, 2/Lt RDJ Hodgson, 2/Lt FA Sansom, 2/Lt EEA Collisson, Lt F Sloan, 2/Lt KL Mallett, 2/Lt A Lang, 2/Lt AC Thom-Postlethwaite, 2/Lt RE Oakley.

Front row left to right; Capt RH Gretton, Capt Hon M St John (attached from Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Major GB Young, Major FAD Stevens (Second in Command), Major A Nelson (Adjutant), Major AO Lyon, 2/Lt T Tanqueray (attached from RW Surrey Special Reserve).

There is a new book available on the Ampthill Park training Depot, written by Ian Church, who has been sifting through the Woburn archives for some years. Contact me for his details.

This is the 1st battalion's famous 'Mons Drum', which, as you may expect, has a story attached to it!

Drums were an important element to any battalion's existance. In times of battle they used to be one of the rallying points amidst the smoke and confusion of the battlefield, services were held around it, the battalion's battle honours were emblazened on it and they were one of the focal points to all men who served in the unit. The story that goes with this drum goes that after the Battle of Mons in August 1914, the battalion were forced to leave their treasured drum with a Belgian lady who promised to keep it safe until they returned to reclaim it. The house in question spent over four years in German occupied territory but late in 1918 an Officer knocked on her door. He was one of the very few 1st battalion officers to have survived the entire war and expected to find it had been found and captured as a war prize by the occupying forces.

Much to his surprise, the lady disappeared into the back and returned clutching the drum, still in perfect order as she had hidden it away until they could hold to their promise and return to claim it! So it was gratefully collected, paraded in front of the battalion and held a proud position in the Kempston Barracks after the war.

I brought this from the infamous Ebay but when it arrived, it was a mere photocopy (probably from 'the Wasp') and the detail was less than perfect so this is the best I can do with it. (A larger copy is available on request). Therein lies a lesson ...

However, this is the 3rd battalion Officers sometime in 1915. From the prescence of several of the names along with the short-ish shadows, I estimate it to be late spring / early summer, although any evidence confirming or contradicting this would be helpful!

• Left to right and back to front, they are:
• Back Row: 2/Lt C Hayward, Lt W Sherviton
• Next Row: 2/Lts C Verner, RB Beevor, WE Hart, A Topley, AM Watt, AC Croskell
• Next row (standing): 2/Lt HC Phillips, Lt FT Whittimore, 2/Lts AW East, LT Coe, FCW Newman, RJ Hay, MA Steward, RO Goulden.
• Seated: Cpt WEC Wood, Cpt S Tabor, Major WC Roper-Caldbeck, Cpt Sir FWF Frankland BT., Major HS Windham, Lt-Colonel Lord Ampthill GCSI, GCIE, Major HS Poyntz (Adjutant), Major H Thorpe (Quartermaster), Cpt WP Druce (Asst. Adjutant), Cpt EC Grune, Lt I Boyde RAMC
• Seated (on ground): 2/Lts RM Barwell, S St. G Hare, HA Bird, OT Scholte, LAL Fink, RC Green, BEL Heale, M Newfield