In 2014 to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of WW1 I produced a booklet about those men who had a connection to Hook Norton who lost their lives. One of those men was Lawrence Percy Grey who had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
The DCM was a British military decoration awarded to Warrant Officers, Non Commissioned Officers and soldiers for “distinguished, gallant and good conduct” in the field. Established in 1854 during the Crimean War it was the second highest award for gallantry for “other ranks” below the Victoria Cross. It was discontinued in 1993 and was replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross which is awarded to all ranks.
During the Great War concern arose that the high number of medals being awarded would devalue its prestige. The Military Medal was instituted in March 1916 as an alternative and lower award with the DCM reserved for more exceptional acts of bravery. Around 25,000 DCMs were awarded during WW1 and around 1,900 in WW2.
Lawrence Percy Grey was born in 1888 in Kensworth, Hertfordshire the son of Ellis John Grey and his wife Jane, nee Hall. The 1891 census recorded the family living at the Red Lion public house in the village. As well as being the publican Ellis was described as a farm labourer. The household comprised Ellis and Jane and five children including Lawrence. The youngest, Septimus, was 9 months when the census was taken. The name implies that he could have been the seventh child however, a family tree observed on Ancestry reveals that there were nine children which rules out that theory! Jane was born in Hook Norton in 1848, the daughter of James Hall and Elizabeth Borsberry. The Halls and Borsberrys were common village names at that time. I would have expected Ellis and Jane to have been married in the village but they tied the knot in Hemel Hempstead in 1869.
In time the family moved to Hook Norton perhaps life as a publican did not suit Ellis as when the 1901 census was taken he was a widower farming on his own account living on Netting. Jane had died in 1897. Ellis was living with two of his sons, Ellis, aged 25, a carter on a farm and Lawrence, a 14 year old ploughboy. The other siblings had no doubt moved away by then. Ellis senior died on 28 July 1907 with administration of his estate being granted in favour of his eldest child, Elena Maria, who had married Francis Woodcraft in 1889. The value of Ellis’ estate was £151 10s. Following the death of their father it is entirely possible that Ellis jnr and Lawrence had to leave the farm, perhaps it was tenanted rather than owned. The next census finds Ellis jnr living on Horse Fair, Sibford Road. Married to Caroline nee Grimmett with two children, Ellis John aged 2 and 3 month old Caroline Maria.
Lawrence meanwhile had perhaps tired of farm work and decided to join the army, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry to be precise. The 1911 census reveals him to be in India with the 1st battalion in Wellington Barracks, Nilgiris. This was near Coonoor and Oooty where the climate was much cooler compared with other parts of the sub continent. Four other Hooky lads were in the battalion with Lawrence, Frank Hopkins, Robert Heritage, George Painting and Frederick Phipps. Phipps may well have joined up before the others as he was a lance corporal. Painting also died during the conflict, but the other 3 survived.
At that time the British Empire was still very much in existence, however, that, of course, would change dramatically in the years to come.
A few months after the declaration of war in August 1914 the battalion was mobilised and embarked for Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq. The aim was to protect, in the main, British interest in the oilfields that were found in that region. Initially it was a success as there was little opposition from the Ottomans. However, the tide turned when trying to capture Baghdad the British troops failed and they were forced to retreat to Kut-al-Amara and were under siege for nearly five months. I had hoped to locate the battalion War Diary on the The National Archives website but despite a search of the catalogue I have been unable to locate it. The diaries for the period before and after the end of the siege are available to read. The weather conditions in Kut were harsh, summer temperatures reached 50°C, certainly something that many of the troops had never experienced. Disease and illness did not help and many died in this manner as well as from starvation. In all probability more were lost from these causes rather than in battle. Several rescue attempts were made without success. Airdrops of supplies were also tried but to no avail. The garrison at Kut finally surrendered with 300 being taken prisoner. However, only 90 of those captured survived the war.
What of Lawrence Grey? In addition to being awarded the DCM he was also Mentioned in Dispatches. The latter was recorded in the London Gazette of 13 July 1916 some 3 months after his death. The lack of being able to view the War Diary prevents the details of his actions to win the awards being noted here. Lawrence died from natural causes on 16 April 1916 and is buried in the Kut War Cemetery which is just one of the many around the world under the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This cemetery holds the remains of 420 men.
Baghdad finally fell to the British in 1917.