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Brigadier
LESLIE INNES JACQUES, C.B., C.B.E., M.C.
Royal Engineers 

by 

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, P.E., MinstRE
(May 2024) 

Figure 1.  Brigadier Leslie Innes Jacques.
(Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)[1] 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

             “Jacko,” as he was known to friends in the Corps of Royal Engineers, was not endowed by nature with a strong physique or athletic or equestrian ability, the gifts so valuable to a regimental officer.  This handicap he overcame by his physical and moral courage, by perseverance and by enthusiasm.  Those of his friends who saw him when he nearly lost an eye at Cambridge or when he lost a finger in the block of a Weldon tackle at the bridging camp at Nanjangud, were astonished at his fortitude in physical pain.  His ready wit and quiet sense of humour made him always an entertaining companion.[2]   

2.  FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

Family Information

            Leslie Innes Jacques was born on 11 December 1897 at Bristol, Gloucestershire.  He was the son of Herbert Innes Jacques (1866-1923), a Mechanical Engineer, and Ada Mary Jacques, née Platford (1865-1955).  The 1901 Census of England provides the following information regarding the Jacques Family. 

NOTE: William’s given names are William Alan Innes.[3]  

Figure 2. The Jacques Residence at 152 Coronation Road, Bristol.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth) 

NOTE: The Jacques residence is the building with the black door to the right of the red door.

            By 1911 the Jacques family had moved to a new address as shown in the Table below. 

 Early Life

            In 1914 Leslie Innes Jacques entered Clifton College, Student Number 7659.[5]  He left Clifton in 1915 and entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, where after about a year he earned a commission in the Royal Engineers.[6] 

NOTE: His brother William Alan Innes Jacques followed him into Clifton College in May 1916, student number 7945.  His nephew Christopher Alan Innes Jacques also entered Clifton College in September 1946, student number 12442, as did his nephew, Anthony Innes Jacques in September 1951, student number 13167.  Both of his nephews were sons of William. 

3.  COMMISSIONING AND TRAINING 

Commissioning 

            Jacques was appointed a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 19 February 1916.[7]  He was given eight days leave, presumably in order to get his personal affairs in order and to outfit himself with uniforms and kit required by a new 2^nd Lieutenant.  On 27 February he reported to the School of Military Engineering (S.M.E.) at Chatham for his Y.O. (Young Officer) course of instruction.  Thus, he began his Army career, which would last for almost 38 years.[8]   

Training 

            Jacques service papers indicate that his training at the S.M.E. would be “Short Course” or “War Course.”  The Great War had been well underway since August 1914 and officers were sorely needed in the field; hence, an abbreviated course for 2^nd Lieutenant Jacques.[9] 

His training at the S.M.E. probably consisted, at a minimum, of the study of field fortifications, construction, surveying, telegraphy, military law and tactics.  The courses devoted to electric lighting, photography and chemistry surely would have been deleted from his “War Course” as these were not critical for a new officer who would soon be at the Western Front.  His course would be of about 10 months duration, rather than the normal 24-month course. 

Not all of his training took place at Chatham.  On 31 July 1916 he reported to Aldershot where he was engaged in the Mounted Duties course.  He returned to Chatham on 3 September to continue his Y.O. course and then returned to Aldershot on 16 September where he was posted to the Royal Engineers Mounted Training Depot.  His training continued there until December when he left for the Western Front.[10]           

4.  POSTINGS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

France and Flanders (1916-1919) 

Arrival in France

            2^nd Lieutenant Jacques embarked at Southampton, bound for France, on 27 December 1916.  Upon his arrival he was posted to No. 4 General Base Depot for Engineers at Rouen.  Base Depots were established at the Channel Ports in France and at other places on the lines of communication. Depots were used as transport hubs for goods arriving in bulk by ship and then broken down into wagon-loads and sent on by rail.  Depots also were used for organizing arriving soldiers and were the centers for collecting, sorting and dispatching reinforcements to units in the field.  No. 4 was used exclusively for Engineer goods and personnel.[11]

With the 280^th Army Troops Company

            Jacques stay at the Depot was a short one.  He quickly received orders posting him to a field unit, and on 6 January 1917 he reported to the 280^th Army Troops Company, R.E. near Bernafay Wood.  Army Troops Companies worked primarily in the rear area on water supply, corps defence lines, observation posts for artillery, gun positions for heavy artillery, trench tramways, road-screening, Corps engineer dumps and workshops and erection of hangars for the Royal Flying Corps.  Army Troops Companies were smaller than divisional field companies.  They were established with three Officers and 139 Other Ranks, but they were provided with mechanical transport which was an advantage they had over the divisional companies.[12] 

            When Jacques arrived at the company, the unit was employed on railway work.  Specifically, two sections of the company were working on plate laying, packing and ballasting on the Combles Line and one section was employed as a loading party in Trones Station.  Another section was tracklaying and preparing the foundation for a shed in Trones Station.[13]

            It appears that Jacques may have been given command of one of the company’s sections upon his arrival at the unit, specifically the mounted section.  On 2 February 1917 he left Bernafay Wood with his section for Hermaville in the Third Army area.  On the following day, the remainder of the company proceeded to Hermaville from Plateau Railhead.[14]

            Although Jacques’s company was normally located in the Third Army rear area, it frequently got close enough to the front line to receive enemy artillery fire and even direct fire from small arms.  Proof of this was made clear to him when on 11 March 1917, 141787 Sapper Fred Nias was wounded by a bullet in the groin from a machine gun.  He subsequently died of this wound.  Less than a month later, on 7 April, 159274 Sapper John Richard Rooks also died of wounds received in action.[15]

            2^nd Lieutenant Jacques’s first major action with the 280^th Army Troops Company took place from 9 to 14 April 1917 at the Battle of the Scarpe.  During this action, the company was under the control of British XVII Corps.[16]  The action at the Scarpe continued on 23 and 24 April and the company lost 145867 Sapper Richard Vine, who died of wounds received in action on 26 April.[17]  These battles along the River Scarpe were parts of the Second Battle of Arras, an  offensive involving British troops attacking German defences near the French city of Arras. The British achieved the longest advance since trench warfare had begun, surpassing the record set by the French Sixth Army on 1 July 1916. The British advance slowed in the next few days when the German defence recovered. The battle became a costly stalemate for both sides and by the end of the battle, the British Third Army and the First Army had suffered about 160,000 casualties and the German 6^th Army about 125,000.  The 280^th Army Troops Company continued in support of British XVII Corps through the Battle of Arleux, during the period 28 to 29 April 1917.

            On 1 May 1917, the 280^th Company’s War Diary, while the company was at St. Nicholas, reported the unit strength as 4 Officers and 149 Other Ranks – 1 Officer and 20 Other Ranks over strength.  The company officers were listed as:[18]

·         Captain C.T. Madigan, R.E., Officer Commanding (twice wounded in action during the war)

·         Lieutenant W.H. Blackburn, R.E. (later awarded the Military Cross and bar for a second award)

·         2^nd Lieutenant L.I. Jacques, R.E.

·         2^nd Lieutenant J.S. Burns, R.E. (later Major, Mentioned in Despatches)

·         Acting Company Sergeant Major E. Fennelly

            During 3 and 4 May the company continued its support of British XVII Corps at the River Scarpe.  2^nd Lieutenant Jacques was tasked with replacing a broken transom under the St. Nicolas bridge on 5 May.  The following day he and Captain Madigan inspected another bridge as ordered by the Chief Engineer, Third Army.[19]  These entries in the company War Diary appear to indicate that Jacques may have been noted for his expertise in bridge construction and repair, perhaps an indication of some school or work experience that he had prior to entering the Army. 

            Company strength of 4 Officers and 135 Other Ranks was reported in the War Diary on 1 August 1917.  The officers were as listed above with the exception of 2^nd Lieutenant Burns who had been replaced by 2^nd Lieutenant E.A. Attleborough, R.E.  Acting Company Sergeant Major Fennelly is shown as a Warrant Officer Class 2 (probably Acting).[20]

            Jacques had gone on leave about the first of the month and he rejoined his company on 7 August 1917.[21]  His service papers also indicate that he attended a Bridging School in France at about this time, so the entries regarding his leave and the school are somewhat contradictory.  On 19 August Jacques was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

Office of the Chief Engineer, Third Army

            The 1 November 1917 head-count of the 280^th Army Troops Company indicated that the unit had 4 Officers and 136 Other Ranks present for duty.  Officer strength was the same as it was on 1 August, but while Lieutenant Jacques was assigned to the company at this point, he was attached to the office of the Chief Engineers, Third Army, Major General Edward Ranulph Kenyon, C.B., C.M.G., pending a transfer to a field company.[22]   Records do not show if this transfer was at Jacques’s request (to get closer to the action at the front line) or whether his performance of duty and capabilities had shown that he would be better utilized in a field company.  It may also be that although his Army Troops Company was able to remain at or over authorized strength, the field companies were suffering greater losses of officer personnel and replacements were needed.  Since the 280^th Army Troops Company was one officer over strength, it could afford to give one up.

Figure 4.  Major General Edward Ranulph Kenyon, C.B., C.M.G.[23]

Chief Engineer, British Third Army, 1916-1917.

(Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

            Jacques was now well behind the front line as he awaited his orders.  While he waited at the office of the Chief Engineer, Third Army, the 280^th Army Troops Company was engaged in the Battle of Cambrai from 20 November to 3 December 1917.[24]  Meanwhile, Jacques was put to work as the Chief Engineer’s Stores Officer, responsible for the maintenance of maximum and minimum stocks, maintaining inventory of records, preparation of material orders, and the receiving, inspecting and storing of supplies disbursed on job orders and material transfers.  He was also responsible for operating and maintaining an effective engineering spare parts storage system.  These were significant responsibilities for a young Lieutenant, since the R.E. units in the field were very dependent on the efficiency of his work.  

            While he was working for the Third Army Chief Engineers, his company was involved in a number of critical actions, all in support of British V Corps.  These included:[25]

·         The Battle of St. Quentin, 21-23 March 1918

·         The Battle of Bapaume, 24-25 March 1918

·         The Battle of Arras, 28 March 1918

·         The Battle of Ancre, 5 April 1918

            Orders for Jacques finally came through on 25 April 1918 assigning him to the 233^rd Field Company, under the command of Major E. Moore, R.E., in the 41^st Division.  The 2^nd in Command of the company was Captain E.T.G. Carter, R.E., who had just joined the company on 24 April.  The company at that time was located near Ypres.  Jacques was replaced as the Third Army’s Engineer’s Stores Officer by Lieutenant R.G. Roberts, R.E.

Life in a divisional field company near the front line would be very different from life in the Third Army or Corps rear areas.  The field company at full strength consisted of 5 Officers and 212 Other Ranks, a much larger unit than an army troops company.  The field company was organized as shown below.  The work typically assigned to field companies is as shown in ANNEX A.

Organization of a Royal Engineers Field Company, circa 1918

·         A major in command of the company.

·         A captain second in command of the company.

·         Three Lieutenants (or Second Lieutenants), one each commanding a section.

·         23 non-commissioned officers (company sergeant-major, company quartermaster sergeant, farrier sergeant, six sergeants, seven corporals, and seven 2^nd -corporals [a rank peculiar to the Royal Engineers and the Army Ordnance Corps].

·         186 other ranks (one shoeing smith, one trumpeter, one bugler, 138 sappers, 37 drivers, and eight batmen).

·         Two attached privates of the Royal Army Medical Corps for water duties and one attached driver of the Army Service Corps (not counted into strength as officially he was part of the Divisional Train).

            Jacques joined the 233^rd Field Company just in time for the Battle of Scherpenberg, which began on 29 April 1918.[27]  The day after his arrival he was placed in command of No. 4 Section of the company and was given the mission to prepare crossroads and a culvert at Menin Gate (trench map grid coordinates I.8.b.0.9. and I.8.b.1.8., respectively).  Then, from 5 to 10 May he and his section went into the line to guard demolitions and to do canal work.  This type of work surely put him and his men in a much more precarious position.[28]

            On 11 May 1918, the 233^rd Field Company had moved to a location known as “Dirty Bucket Camp” (grid coordinates A.30.a.5.4.).  From 13 to 31 May 1918 Jacques’s No. 4 Section worked on the construction along the 41^st Division’s Green Line, the line from Vlamertinghe to Elverdinge.  Jacques’s section of the line included the defences the town of Vlamertinghe proper, defences which consisted chiefly of machine gun and Lewis gun emplacements.  The village was frequently shelled while this work was undertaken and on two occasions the working parties had three or four men wounded.  

            The company was relieved of its duties at “Dirty Bucket Camp” by the 436^th Field Company under a Major Rhodes on 3 June 1918, and except for a small detachment under Major Moore and Lieutenant Jacques, it proceeded to Kinderbelc [sic].  Moore and Jaques and the detachment entrained at Proven Station and proceeded by rail to St. Omer.   

            During the period from 23 to 26 June 1918 the company passed through Bayenghem,  and Kinderbelc, arriving at Arneke on 27 June.  On 28 June Major Moore and Lieutenant Jacques went forward to take over a sector from the French 4/1 Company of Engineers in the French 7^th Division.  The company was then on the La Clyte – Scherpenberg sector of the line (grid coordinates Sheet 27, L.36.a.22.).

            Although from these descriptions in the company War Diary it might appear that Jacques may have been the 233^rd Field Company’s Second-in-Command, as he was accompanying Major Moore during these moves, this was not the case.  Captain H.L. Butterworth had joined the company at Bayenghem on 24 June as Second-in-Command.

            While working in the La Clyte – Scherpenberg sector during July and August 1918 the 233^rd Field Company suffered a number of fatal casualties.  These included the following men killed in action or died of wounds:[29]

·         131075 Sapper William John Edney (died of wounds on 31 July).

·         496508 Sapper James Campbell (died of wounds on 8 August).

·         478330 Sapper George Downend (died of wounds on 8 August).

·         140432 Corporal Walter John Williams (died of wounds on 10 August).

·         108616 Sergeant Richard Fletcher, M.M. (killed in action on 11 August).

·         276997 Sapper John Chalker (killed in action on 11 August).

            During the early part of August 1918 Lieutenant Jacques was on leave, so he may not have been with the company during this rather active period at the front.  He returned from leave on 16 August and took over the work on the left half of the Scherpenberg Line together with strengthening the machine gun pill box in the redoubt at grid coordinates M.6.a.9.3.

Figure 7. Work Being Done by Lieutenant Jacques Section on the Scherpenberg Line.[30]

(Image from the War Diary of the 233^rd Field Company, 17-22 August 1918)

            On 14 September 1918, the 233^rd Field Company lost 154900 Lance Corporal Henry W. Price, killed in action.  This occurred just prior to the company becoming engaged in the Battle of Ypres (28 September – 2 October 1918).  Following the action at Ypres, the unit saw action in the Battle of Courtrai (14 – 19 October 1918).  On 19 October Lieutenant Jacques, along with Lance Corporal Telling and Lance Corporal Martin, made a complete reconnaissance of all the River Lys crossings from Courtrai on the whole divisional front.  The company stood by, prepared to make a raft on the west side of Courtrai near a railway bridge, which had been completely demolished on the night of 17 October.  The plan also called for putting a medium pontoon bridge across on the east side of the town at coordinates H.21.c.2.6.  The company was just about to proceed with this work when the orders were cancelled, as the 35^th Division had crossed on the west and the 29^th and 9^th Divisions on the east.  Courtrai had been enveloped and a frontal attack was not necessary.

            On 21 October 1918, No. 4 Section of the company, under the command of Lieutenant Jacques did extraordinarily good work throughout the day in putting across an infantry foot bridge, which helped to evacuate the wounded.  Jacques displayed “marked gallantry and devotion to duty at Knocke [sic], on this day, when he carried out a reconnaissance of the Canal[31] crossing and constructed a bridge in the face of very heavy rifle and machine-gun fire.  Throughout the operation he showed great coolness and determination and set a high example to his men.”  This quote is from his Military Cross citation published in the London Gazette on 8 March 1919.  See Figure 8 below for details of Lieutenant Jacques’s Trestle Bridge at Knokke (correct spelling).

            Lieutenant Jacques was admitted to hospital with the flu on 1 November 1918.  As the Spanish flu pandemic began in 1918, it is possible that Jacques was one of its early victims.  Fortunately, he did not succumb to this potentially fatal disease.  However, during the remainder of November 1919, there were a number of deaths in the company from either enemy actions or from disease.  The men listed as having died were:[32]

·     131199 Sapper Frederick William Hellyer (died of disease on 9 November)

·     524537 Sapper H.W. Rhodes (died of disease on 10 November)

·     108606 Sapper Henry Johnston (17 November)

            Just when Jacques returned to his company from hospital is not known, however on 25 November he was present at a parade at Bois de Lessines, Belgium to receive the Military Cross ribbon from the Division Commander.  This is where the 233^rd Field Company was located when the war ended on 11 November 1918.

            On 23 December 1919, the London Gazette published a Mention in Despatches (M.I.D.) for Jacques from Sir Douglas Haig.  The M.I.D. is for his services with the 233^rd Field Company for the period February to September 1918, dates incorporating the retreat on the Somme in March, the fighting at La Bassee Canal and the Battle of Lys.  See Figure 9 below for the condition of the La Bassee Canal in 1918.

Figure 8. Details of Lieutenant Jacques’s Trestle Bridge at Knokke.[33]

(From the Company War Diary)       

Figure 9.  The La Bassee Canal, circa 1918.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

            On 25 January 1919, the 233^rd Field Company went into billets at Wahn Barracks in Cologne and demobilization of the company was begun.  Jacques did not go home immediately.  He first was attached to the staff of the Commander Royal Engineers in the Liege Sub-Area as a Garrison Engineer.  On 13 October 1919 he was on leave and awaiting orders.  In late October or early November he attended a Field Engineering and Building Construction Course and on 12 November he started a Heavy Bridging Course, both courses conducted in France.

Egypt (1919-1920)

            Finally, in December 1919, he received orders.  But instead of going home he embarked for Egypt on 15 December and on 16 January 1920 he joined the 16^th Field Company, the 2^nd Queen Victoria’s Own (Q.V.O.) Madras Sappers and Miners with the 10^th Indian Division.  His stay in Egypt was a short one.  In August 1920 he embarked at Port Said for the U.K.  However, he would see the 10^th Indian Division again and would spend quite a bit more time with the Madras Sappers and Miners in years to come.[34]

Home Service (1920-1930)

Supplementary Training (1921-1923)[35]

            Lieutenant Jacques was posted to Chatham in on 20 August 1921 in preparation for attending the No. 8 Supplementary Training Course for engineer officers.  This course must have been designed to teach advanced subjects in military engineering to those officers who attended the short or “War Course” after commissioning.  Although the course probably was deemed necessary for young officers, Jacques had had plenty of experience with the real thing during the war in France.

            He began the course on 4 October 1921 at Cambridge University, where he nearly lost an eye in a training accident.  This part of the course may have been taught by the Cambridge University Officers Training Corps (CUOTC) and may have been necessary for Jacques as he had not been with an OTC prior to getting his commission.  He then returned to the School of Military Engineering at Chatham on 19 August 1922 and remained there until 12 September 1923.  The successful completion of the No. 8 Supplementary Training Course qualified him to perform duties as a Commander Royal Engineers.

            On 29 November 1922 he received his British War Medal and Victory Medal.  He also passed the “a” level examination for promotion to Captain.  He completed his training at Aldershot where he attended the Mounted Duties Course on 23 September 1923. 

Bulford (1923-1925)

            Jacques next posting was to the 17^th Field Company at Bulford on 21 November 1923.  While at Bulford he passed the “b” level examination for promotion to Captain in April 1924 and the “f” level examination for promotion to Major on 12 June 1925.  Also in 1925 he attended the Rifle and Light Automatic Course at the Small Arms School (or School of Musketry) at Hythe in Kent and became a Qualified Instructor with these weapons.[36]

50^th Northumbrian Divisional Engineers (1925-1929)

            Lieutenant Jacques next joined the 50^th Northumbrian Divisional Engineers at Newcastle-on-Tyne as the Regular Army advisor to this Territorial Army unit.  On 1 November 1925 he was appointed Adjutant and was granted the temporary rank of Captain in the Territorial Army (with pay and allowances of Lieutenant) while holding that appointment.  In this capacity, Jacques would be the link between the engineers of this Territorial Army division and the regular forces of the Royal Engineers.  He would advise the Commander Royal Engineers of the division and the commanders of subordinate units with regard to current engineer doctrine of the Corps of Royal Engineers as they pertained to operations in the field.  His rank of Lieutenant in the regular forces was not impressive enough for him to function in this capacity, when one considers that the 50^th Northumbrian Divisional Engineers at this time had one Lieutenant Colonel (with war service), two Majors (one with war service), three Captains, four Lieutenants (one with war service) and four Second Lieutenants (one with war service).[37]  It was necessary, therefore, to elevate Jacques to the rank of Temporary Captain (T.A.) to perform his work more properly.

            The Commander Royal Engineers of the 50^th Division was Lieutenant Colonel E.W. Tasker, M.C., with headquarters at the Drill Hall at Barras Bridge in Newcastle.[38]  The wartime establishment of the 50^th Division consisted of the 446th (1st Northumbrian) Field Company, the 447th (2nd Northumbrian) Field Company, the 7th Field Company and the 50th Divisional Signals Company.[39]  The 7^th Field Company, being a Regular Army unit, probably was not with the division during this postwar period.  The 446^th and 447^th Field Companies and the 50^th Divisional Signal Companies were most likely the units that Jacques had to work with, in  addition to the R.E. Headquarters of the division. 

Figure 10.  50^th Division Engineers Drill Hall at Barras Bridge, Newcastle. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).

            Lieutenant Colonel Tasker had been the C.R.E. of the 32^nd Division during the Great War, so he had quite a bit of experience in this capacity.  Major W. Wallin had served in the 233^rd Field Company during the war and was probably well-known to Jacques.  The Lieutenant with war service was W.M. Spires, an officer who would rise to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by the Second World War and the 2^nd Lieutenant with war service was C.F. Byers.

            Jacques did not remain a Temporary Captain in the Territorial Army for very long as he performed his duties with the 50^th Division.  On 9 November 1925 he was promoted to the substantive rank of Captain in the regular forces.[40]  Jacques served as the divisional engineers Adjutant for exactly four years and on 1 November 1929 he relinquished the position and was attached to the staff of the C.R.E. Northumbria at Catterick.  This appears to have been a temporary posting as he awaited orders for assignment to India.

India (1930-1936)

            The orders that he received at Catterick, which posted him to India, would begin for him a long association with the Indian Army.  He embarked at Southampton on 10 January 1930 and disembarked at Bombay on 1 February.  On 8 February 1930 he was posted again to the 2^nd Q.V.O. Madras Sappers and Miners at Bangalore.  This unit was very familiar to him as he had served with them in Egypt just after the Armistice.[41]

            His initial posting was as an Assistant Superintendent of Instruction.  Then on 5 March 1930 he was appointed Quartermaster of the 2^nd Q.V.O. Madras S&M.  His appointment as Quartermaster appears not to have removed him from the business of training.  In April 1930, while practicing bridging at Nanjangud on the River Kapila, 23 kilometers from the city of Mysore. Jacques lost a finger in an accident, his second training accident![42]

            From July 1930 through July 1931, Captain Jacques served as the Quartermaster of the Madras S&M Corps.  In January 1931 he also was assigned responsibilities as an Assistant Superintendent of Park, and on 19 April he was granted 14 days leave in India.  Presumably he spent these 14 days sightseeing in country.

            On 1 August 1931 Jacques was appointed Commanding Officer of No. 12 (Field) Company, 2^nd Q.V.O. Madras S&M at Bangalore.  Officers who served under him at the company were Lieutenant William Scott Cole, R.E. and Lieutenant W.J. Cardale, R.E.  In later years Lieutenant Cole rose to the rank of Major General, C.B., C.B.E. and served with distinction in Palestine and in the Second World War.  Cardale rose to the rank of Brigadier, O.B.E.

            While commanding No. 12 Company, Captain Jacques passed the “c” level examination for promotion to Major.  In addition to his company command responsibilities he also continue to serve as an Assistant Superintendent of Instruction.

            Jacques was granted one month privilege leave in India on 1 September 1932.  He rejoined his unit from leave on 30 September and on 27 November he assumed command of the Training Battalion at Nilsandra Lines in Bangalore.  He relinquished this command on 28 February 1933 and on 14 March he took No. 12 company to Razmak, a distance of about 624 miles from Bangalore.

            Razmak was a British Indian Army camp, established there to accommodate the main British garrison of Waziristan at a strategic location on the North West Frontier. Its establishment followed the Waziristan campaigns of 1919–1920 and 1921–1924. The self-contained cantonment was capable of holding 10,000 men, and eventually contained gardens, sports pitches, a cinema, and a bazaar. New roads linking the garrisons and camps in the area were constructed to permit speedier troop movements around the area. The camp would be an important location for the British in terms of pacifying the surrounding region, and in the Waziristan campaign of 1936–1939.[43]

            On 21 July 1934 Jacques was finally able to take some home leave.  He was granted three months privilege leave (ex-India) and returned to India on 22 October, going directly to Razmak to resume command of his company.

            Jacques passed the “d” level examination for promotion to Major in 1934 while at Razmak and on 22 November 1934 he was promoted.  Major Jacques now held the appropriate rank for a commanding officer of a field company.  While in command of the No. 12 Company at this point in time, Jacques had the following officers serving under him:[44]

From October 1932 to July 1933

Lieutenant John Evelyn Marsh, R.E. (later Colonel, D.S.O., O.B.E.).

Lieutenant Malcolm Duperier Maclagan, R.E. (later Lieutenant Colonel, deceased 5 August 1997).

From October 1933 to January 1934

Lieutenant W.S. Cole, R.E. (Lieutenant Maclagan rejoined the company in April 1934).

From July 1934 to January 1935

Captain E.A. Gough, R.E. (later Lieutenant Colonel).

Lieutenant M.D. Maclagan, R.E.

Lieutenant A.M. Field, R.E. (later Colonel O.B.E., M.C., deceased 2 January 2006).

            On 24 March 1935 Major Jaques brought his company back to Bangalore.  Captain Gough, Lieutenant Maclagan and Lieutenant Field were still with the company at this time, although Gough left the company in July.  On 5 October 1935 Major Jacques was assigned duties as the Officer in Charge of Workshops in Bangalore.  He gave up command of No. 12 Company, but then his service papers show that he vacated the Workshops position and resumed command of the company on the same day.  No doubt there had been a personnel problem that required these actions.  His service papers also show that in 1935 his proficiency with the Urdu language was “lower standard,” but by 1936 he had improved his proficiency to “upper standard.”   

 Figure 11.  A Havildar of the

2^nd Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers and Miners.

(Image courtesy of the National Army Museum).

            Major Jacques returned to England on leave on 21 July 1936.  He sailed on the Bibby Line SS Yorkshire[45] from Rangoon by way of Cochin, Colombo, Port Sudan, Port Said, Marseilles, Palma, Gibraltar, Plymouth and London.[46]

Figure 12.  SS Yorkshire.

(Image courtesy of Uboat.net)

            In 1936 there was a newspaper announcement of the engagement of Leslie Innes Jacques to a woman by the name of Frances Isobel Panton.[47]  There is no indication that the marriage took place, so it appears that it was called off.  Frances had been born on 1 December 1906 in Tynemouth, Northumberland and she appears to have been a Chartered Masseuse.  As Jacques had served in Northumberland from 1925 to 1929, it is possible that he met Frances at that time.  When he left for India in 1930 she would have been 24 years old.  Perhaps they had decided to wait to get married until after he returned from India, but his extended service there may have caused Frances to call off the wedding when he returned to India in 1937.

            Jacques returned to India and was appointed 2^nd in Command of the 2^nd Q.V.O. Madras S&M Training Battalion at Bannu on 28 January 1937.  Bannu was used as the base of operations for all punitive expeditions undertaken by detachments of the British Indian Army to the Tochi Valley and the Waziristan frontier. A military road led from the town of Bannu toward Dera Ismail Khan.

            On 4 August 1937 Major Jacques was appointed the Officer Commanding the Training Battalion at Bannu.  This does not appear to have been a permanent appointment, as during the next two years he relinquished this position only to be appointed again, indicating that the actual O.C. had either gone on leave or was temporarily away from the unit.

            Jacques went to Bangalore on 16 December 1937 to attend a course of Anti-gas Training with the Training Battalion at the Corps home depot.  Then on 3 January 1938 he attended a senior officer course at Belgaum in Mysore, about 500 kilometers to the north west of Bangalore.  The course lasted until 26 March, when he returned to Bannu.  Between March 1938 and October 1939 Major Jacques served alternately as 2^nd -in – Command and OIC of the Training Battalion at Bannu, assuming command of the battalion on three occasions.  On 5 September 1938 he was appointed C.R.E. Peshawar as an additional duty, but his service papers do not indicate whether he was actually stationed there.

            On 13 July 1939, while serving as the O.C. of the Training Battalion, Jacques was granted two months leave, ex. India.  Presumably, he went home to England.  He rejoined his unit in India on 15 September and on the next day he vacated his appointment as O.C. of the Training Battalion and took command of  the 2^nd Q.V.O. Madras S&M Workshops in Bangalore.

10^th Indian Division (1940-1942)

            Apparently Major Jacques performance of duty in India had been recognized as superior in many regards, so much so in fact that on 17 April 1940 he was appointed the Acting Commandant of the 2^nd Q.V.O. Madras Sappers & Miners.  It was a temporary appointment as on 6 September he left Bangalore for Lucknow to take up an appointment as the Commander Royal Engineers of the soon to be formed 10^th Indian Division, arriving at the division’s proposed headquarters on 9 September as an Acting Lieutenant Colonel.  On 12 December he was appointed a Temporary Lieutenant Colonel, a rank commensurate with his new position.  World War 2 had entered the life of Leslie Innes Jacques.

            The 10^th Indian Division was formed in January 1941 at Ahmednagar, out of the 20^th, 21^st  and 25^th  Indian Infantry Brigades. The first General Officer Commanding the division was Major-General W.A.K. Fraser.  

            The division landed in Basra in April for the Anglo-Iraqi War. On 16 May 1941 Major General William "Bill" Slim took over command of the division and moved up the Euphrates, capturing Baghdad and the oilfields of Mosul. When Iraq's ally Nazi Germany relocated its aircraft to Vichy French Syria, the 10^th Division invaded Syria from Iraq in June.  

            The 21^st Brigade advanced north towards Aleppo, while the 20^th and 25^th Brigades guarded the communication lines and the Mosul oilfield, respectively.  The 21^st Infantry Brigade Group with the 9^th Field Company, Indian Sappers and Miners, moved on Raqqa along the Euphrates in which movement the company had to build several bridges while the rest of the 10^th Indian Divisional Engineers under Jacques, to which the 31^st Field Squadron, Indian Sappers and Miners was attached, advanced on the extreme right flank from Mosul to the Syrian-Turkish frontier.[49]   

            Following the French surrender on 11 July, the division returned to guard duty in Mosul. In August, the division took part in the joint Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. At the conclusion of the Iranian operation, it returned to Iraq, where it underwent additional training and undertook security duties until May 1942. In March 1942, command of the division had passed from Slim to Major General Thomas Wynford ("Pete") Rees when Slim was ordered to India to take command of Burma Corps, the kernel that would eventually become the British Fourteenth Army.[50]  

            The division’s engineer units under the control of Temporary Lieutenant Colonel Jacques were:

·         5^th Field Company, King George’s Own, Bengal Sappers and Miners.

·         9^th Field Company, Indian Sappers and Miners.

·         10^th Field Company, Queen Victoria’s Own, Madras Sappers and Miners.

·         61^st Field Company Queen Victoria’s Own, Madras Sappers and Miners.

·         41^st Field Park Company, King George’s Own Bengal Sappers and Miners.

·         31^st Field Squadron, Indian Sappers and Miners (attached to the 10^th Division).

            Jacques left Ahmednagar on 19 April 1941, two and a half months after the division was formed, and went to Bombay where he embarked on 30 April headed for Basrah, Iraq.[51]  Upon his arrival he took part in the Anglo-Iraq War as described above and was promoted Lieutenant Colonel on 24 September 1941 while doing so.[52]  

XXI Indian Corps (1942-1943)

            Lieutenant Colonel Jacques was appointed Chief Engineer of XXI Indian Corps, Persia on 6 June 1942 following the operations of the 10^th Indian Division in Syria and arrived to assume his duties on 15 June.  Shortly after arriving at the corps headquarters he was appointed an Acting Brigadier to hold the rank commensurate with the position.  

            XXI Indian Corps was re-raised in Persia on 6 June 1942 as a formation of the Indian Army. The corps was commanded throughout its existence by Lieutenant General Mosley Mayne and was part of the Tenth Army. The corps, composed of the 8th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Dudley Russell) and the British 56th Infantry Division (Major-General Eric Miles), was created as part of the Allied buildup of forces in Persia and Iraq to create Persia and Iraq Command in order to prevent a German invasion of the Caucasus. The invasion never occurred and the corps was disbanded on 24 August 1943.[53] 

 XV Indian Corps (1943-1944).

            Brigadier Jacques remained with XXI Indian Corps until just prior to the time it was disbanded.  On 29 June 1943 he was posted to attend No. 14 Tactical School, Middle Eastern Force, a course that he successfully completed on 1 August.  On 1 October 1943 he was appointed Temporary Brigadier, Chief Engineer of XV Indian Corps in Burma.

            When Japan entered the war and drove British, Indian and Chinese forces from Burma in early 1942, XV Indian Corps was formed from the Assam and Bengal Presidency District HQ on 30 March 1942, to defend Bengal, under the command of Eastern Army, which in turn was controlled by GHQ India. The Corps badge was an arrangement of three "V"s (signifying fifteen in Roman numerals) in white on a red background. Its first commander was Lieutenant General Noel Beresford-Peirse.

            On 9 June, Beresford-Peirse was appointed to command India's Southern Command (an army-level administrative HQ) and Lieutenant General William Slim, former commander of the disbanded Burma Corps, took over XV Indian Corps. At this point, XV Indian Corps HQ was at Barrackpore near Calcutta. The corps had the multiple roles of defending Bengal and Orissa from Japanese invasion, maintaining internal security over a wide area of eastern India and training its raw units. In July, Eastern Army took over direct control of operations in the Burmese coastal province of Arakan (a move which in hindsight proved to be unwise), and XV Indian Corps HQ was transferred to Ranchi in Bihar, with a training and internal security role.

            On 5 April 1943, XV Indian Corps was hastily summoned to Chittagong to resume control of operations in Arakan, where a Japanese counter-attack had driven back the British and Indian troops. It proved too late to restore the situation with the exhausted troops, and the corps fell back to the Indian frontier before the monsoon halted operations.

            On October 15, Slim was promoted to command Eastern Army (which subsequently became British Fourteenth Army). His replacement was Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Christison. Under Fourteenth Army, XV Indian Corps resumed the advance in Arakan towards the end of the year. In the early months of 1944, the corps gained the first significant success against the Japanese in South East Asia, when they defeated a Japanese offensive in an engagement which came to be known as the Battle of the Admin Box. After capturing the defended area of the Mayu Range, operations in the Arakan were curtailed to allow resources to be concentrated on the central front in Assam.

            Fourteenth Army subsequently concentrated on the advance into Central Burma. XV Indian Corps was removed from Fourteenth Army and directly subordinated to Allied Land Forces South East Asia so that the corps could conduct an independent campaign through Arakan and down the coast of Burma. When the general offensive began in late 1944, XV Indian Corps captured Akyab Island (with a vital airfield), launched amphibious flanking moves to intercept and defeat the retreating Japanese troops, and subsequently captured the Burmese port of Taungup and the islands of Ramree and Cheduba.

            Finally, units of the corps mounted Operation Dracula, an amphibious assault on Rangoon, the Burmese capital. Rangoon was found to have been abandoned by the Japanese.  Following the capture of Rangoon, XV Indian Corps was again subordinated to Fourteenth Army and was withdrawn from Burma to prepare for Operation Zipper, an amphibious assault to recapture Malaya. However, the operation was overtaken by the Japanese surrender, and XV Indian Corps was disbanded on 1 October 1945. Its headquarters was redesignated HQ Netherlands East Indies Command. The Netherlands East Indies Command went on to conduct operations in Java, including the Battle of Surabaya.

            As a result of his fine work with XV Indian Corps, Temporary Brigadier Jacques was recommended to be a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) by Lieutenant General Alexander Frank Philip Christison, 4^th Baronet, G.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., M.C. and bar, General Officer Commanding XV Indian Corps.

Figure 21.  Lieutenant General Christison. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia) 

The recommendation for the award of C.B.E. is shown in Figure 23 below.  As shown on Army Form W-3121 below, there appeared to have been some controversy with regard to the award to be made.  Jacques is shown as a substantive Lieutenant Colonel, War Service Colonel and Temporary Brigadier at the time that the recommendation was submitted at Arakan on 10 June 1944.  The recommendation covers the period in the Arakan from 16 November 1943 to 15 May 1944 when Brigadier Jacques was the Chief Engineer XXI Indian Corps from 1942-1943 before being appointed Chief Engineer XV Indian Corps from 1943-1945.   

            Jacques had been with XV Indian Corps for the operations in Arakan during the winter of 1943/44.  He and his Corps Engineers had advanced from Cox’s Bazaar,  southward along the Mayu peninsula.  The 7^th Indian Division (C.R.E. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Wright)[54] captured Goppe Pass, east of the  Bawli Bazaar, and Ngakyedauk Pass farther south.  Much work had to be done on roads to make them passable for jeeps under observation from enemy posts.  A Class 12 road was opened after the engineers did a considerable amount of blasting and the construction of several timber bridges.  The 5^th Indian Division (C.R.E. Lieutenant Colonel E.C.R. Stileman)[55] moved south on the western side of the Mayu ridge, while the 7^th Indian Division advanced on the eastern side along the valley of the Kalapanzin River.  The 81^st West African Division (C.R.E. Lieutenant Colonel William Woodney Boggs)[56] moved down the Kaladan River valley farther to the east.[57]

Figure 22. Eastern India and Burma.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

            At the beginning of February 1944 XV Indian Corps  was battering against Japanese positions on the Tunnel road between Maungdaw and Buthidaung.  Engineer units involved in these operations included the 24^th Indian Engineer Battalion, the 17^th Bridging Section, I.E., and the 26^th Field Company, I.E.  Many of the Indian Engineer units had no previous experience with fighting, but they took their places in sectors of the defence and held their positions in spite of the constant attacks and attempted infiltration of the enemy.  Much damage was done by the Japanese to roads and bridges, XV Indian Corps engineer units soon repaired the damage. 

            XV Indian Corps engineers next took part in the corps offensive operation in Arakan from December 1944 to January 1945.  The engineers of the corps were kept busy improving  and maintaining the main axis road down the Mayu Peninsula from Cox’s Bazaar, south of Chittagong (see map above) to Maungdaw and the roads leading from it over the Mayu Ridge into the Kalapanzin River valley.  Jacques’s engineer units were once more put into action.    

            Returning now to the recommendation for Jacques’s award of the C.B.E., the award recommendation was downgraded to the O.B.E. by Lieutenant General Slim as G.O.C. Fourteenth Army, but Slim’s recommendation was overturned by General Sir George Giffard, Commander-in-Chief 11th Army Group, and Jacques was awarded the C.B.E.[58]

Figure 23.  Recommendation for Jacques’s Award of the C.B.E.
(Image from War Office file WO 373/80/302) 

            Surely Jacques’s command of the XV Corps’ engineer assets had been worthy of the C.B.E. What caused Slim to downgrade Jacques’s recommendation to receive the C.B.E. from General Christison?  Did ill-will exist between Slim and Jacques?  When Jacques was the 10^th Indian Division C.R.E. he worked for Slim in Iraq in 1941 and 1942, so Slim surely was aware of Jacques’s competence as an engineer officer.  It is of interest to note, however, that Jacques received no award from Slim for his service while working for him in the division.  It is also of interest to note that Slim apparently took little notice of Christison’s comment in his recommendation regarding Jacques’s: 

·         Having to control additional engineer units without an increase in staff.

·         Being a good adviser and an accurate planner.

·         Producing favorable result in Arakan.

·         Being part of the success of the campaign by improving communications. 

            One of Slim's chief characteristics was his quite outstanding determination and inability to admit defeat or the possibility of it: also his exceptional ability to gain and retain the confidence of those under him and with him, without any resort to panache. Success did not inflate him or misfortune depress him.  He was a fine manager of men and able to get soldiers to do his bidding. In return, Slim's men regarded him as one of them. He was, above all, a soldier's soldier.[59]  He demanded of his officers absolute loyalty to the Army and to duty. He often placed himself in difficult or painful circumstances and he faithfully asked not what is smart or expedient, but what is right? And then, he had it done without flinching, and without regret. He applied only one test to those who served the Fourteenth Army and that was: does this man do his job? If so, he was OK with the general, whether he liked him or not. If the man did not do his job, he was relieved!  Given these traits, it is difficult to see Slim as a vindictive commander, one who would hold a grudge against a subordinate.  Had Jacques not done his job in the 10^th Indian Division or XV Corps, he would have been removed. Since this had not happened, Slim may just not have been aware of Jacques’s accomplishments when the C.B.E recommendation was put forward to him and this may explain why he initially approved the O.B.E instead.

            On 20 July, while serving as Chief Engineer XV Indian Corps, Jacques was promoted to the substantive rank of Colonel.[60]  On 24 September 1944, having reached the three-year limit for service in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he was retained on the Army List, initially in a supernumerary capacity. 

            Jacques proceeded on leave to the U.K. on 8 April 1945 and relinquished his appointment as Chief Engineer.  His appointment to the rank of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for “gallant and distinguished service in Burma and on the Eastern Frontier of India” was approved on 12 September 1945 and antedated to 8 February 1945.  In addition to this honour, he was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Burma Star, Defence Medal and 1939-45 War Medal for his service during the Second World War. 

            Following his leave Jacques returned to India where he was posted to work in the office of  Reconstruction and Demobilization, Army Headquarters, India.  On 9 May 1946, the London Gazette published a Mention in Despatches for him for “gallant and distinguished service in Burma.”   

            Fellow officers, who knew and had served with Jacques, considered him to be a “morally and physically courageous man.”  As a division C.R.E. and as a corps Chief Engineer, he undoubtedly visited his subordinate units in the field when they were engaged in active operations.  This had been the customary modus operandi of most senior officers in the Corps of Royal Engineers since the Great War.  These visits surely took him to dangerous areas in the field where he may have come under both enemy artillery fire or small arms fire; therefore, the word “gallant” as used in his C.B.E. recommendation and Mention in Despatches would have been more than just boilerplate language.   

Home Service (1946-1948). 

            Jacques arrived at Liverpool on 7 June 1946 and was posted as the Chief Engineer Northumbrian District at Didcot.  By this time he had reverted to this substantive rank of Colonel. 

West Africa (1948-1950) 

            On 21 July 1948 Colonel Jacques enplaned for West Africa after he received orders appointing him as Chief Engineer, West African Command (W.A.C.).  He was to be retained on the Active List, supernumerary to Establishment upon reaching the time limit in the rank of Colonel on 31 December 1949.[61]  The General Headquarters of the W.A.C. was located at Achimota College at Accra in the Gold Coast.  This is the most likely location from which Jacques operated as the Chief Engineer.

             The West Africa Command consisted of four Areas/Districts: Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia.  As the Chief Engineer of the W.A.C., Jacques was responsible for the training and operations of the West African Engineers stationed there.  The organization of the West African Engineers changed considerably over the years prior to Jacques service there, but generally it consisted of field companies, field park companies, artisan works groups, forestry companies and road construction sections. 

            An engineer training centre was established at Bukuru, Nigeria to train Africans in all branches including purely military work.  A Training Battalion (West African Engineers) was established at Kaduna, Nigeria.  Army Trade Training Schools also were established at Enugu, Nigeria and Elmina, Gold Coast. 

            In addition to the companies and training establishments discussed above, a Royal Engineers Works Organization was established in Freetown, Sierra Leone.  Stores for the West African Engineers initially were provided by the Public Works Department, but later R.E. Stores were set up in Lago, Takoradi and Freetown. 

            The chief work of interest performed by the West African Engineers was an all-season road from Maiduguri in Northern Nigeria through Dikwa, Nigeria to the frontier at Ngala where it connected up with a similar road built by the French. 

            It should be noted that most of the organizations and operations described above had already been established at the time that Jacques took over as Chief Engineer in 1948.  The information is provided here to indicate the type of work that he would have been involved with during his tenure.

            On 30 March 1950 he was granted three months home leave, rejoining from leave on 26 June 1950.  He remained in West Africa for about five months and then on 22 November he embarked at Takoradi, Ghana aboard the Elder Dempster Lines, Ltd ship MV Apapa for the voyage home via Freetown and Las Palmas.[62]  Upon his departure he relinquished his appointment as Chief Engineer (Colonel) at Headquarters, West African Command.

Figure 26. MV Apapa.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Antwerp (1950-1953)

             After a short period of home leave, Colonel Jacques was appointed on 16 February 1951 to serve as Commander of the Engineer Services Liaison Staff with the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in Antwerp, Belgium.  He arrived at Antwerp on 13 April and joined the War Office Planning Team.  On 1 June 1953 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Coronation Honours list and he also received the Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.

Figure 27. Formation Sign of the British Army of the Rhine.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia) 

            On 1 October 1953 Jacques was appointed Commander Royal Engineers for the Low Countries with  the Engineer Services Liaison Staff.  He retained this position until 7 November 1953 when he was ordered home and subsequently retired from the Army.

The following sections are presented in tabular for to summarize Jacques’s promotions, appointments, military training, qualifications and the medals that he was awarded during his time in the Army. They are provided to give the reader easy access to these aspects of his military career. The tables are followed by sections dealing with his family and post-service life.

5.  PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

Promotions:  Brigadier Jacques received the following promotions during his time in service: 

Appointments:  Brigadier Jacques received the following appointments during his time in service: 

6. MILITARY TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

Military Training

 Qualifications 

            Based on information found in Examination of Army Officers for Promotion, 1932, the following are the subjects covered in some of the examinations that Jacques passed between 1923 and 1934:

• “b” level: Military History, Organization, Regimental Duties in Peace and Military Law, Imperial Military Geography, Administration of Troops in the Field, Map Reading and Field Works (Lieutenants).

• “c” level: Artillery Material, Gunnery and Employment (Lieutenants).

• “d” level: Organization, Regimental Duties in Peace and Military Law, Development and Constitution of the British Empire, Imperial Military Geography, Tactics, Administration of Troops in the Field, Map Reading and Field Works and Military History (Captains).

7. MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

            Brigadier Jacques’s medals consist of a collection of awards for the Great War of 1914-1918 and for Africa and Burma Operations during the Second World War.  In addition, his medals consist of a “Coronation” 1953 medal, a C.B., Second World War “Arakan” C.B.E., and a Great War Military Cross group of eleven medals.   

            His Great War Medal Index Card is shown in ANNEX B.  The card indicates that he was a Lieutenant at the conclusion of the war and that the theatre of the war in which he first served was Egypt.  Oddly, the card shows that he first entered the war on 16 January 1920, completely ignoring all of his service in France and Flanders.  Finally, the card shows that he was issued the British War Medal and Victory Medal (with emblems) on 29 November 1922, the emblems being his Mention in Despatches oak leaf. 

The following is a detailed description of each medal shown in Figure 28 below: 

• The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel

• The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) Commander’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel

• Military Cross, GVR (unnamed as issued)

• British War Medal (named to Lieut. L.I. Jacques)

• Victory Medal with Mention in Despatches oak leaf (named to Lieut. L.I. Jacques)

• 1939-45 Star (unnamed as issued)

• Africa Star (unnamed as issued)

• Burma Star (unnamed as issued)

• Defence Medal (unnamed as issued)

• 1939-45 War Medal with Mention in Despatches oak leaf (unnamed as issued)

• Coronation 1953 Medal (unnamed as issued)  

Figure 28.  The Medals of Brigadier Leslie Innes Jacques, C.B., C.B.E., M.C.
(Image from the author’s collection) 

8.  RELEASE FROM SERVICE 

            Brigadier Jacques was released from service (the Reserve of Officers) on 11 December 1955, having attained the age for continued service.  His total service was reckoned as shown in the tables below: 

 
NOTE: Some of the dates above have been estimated based on the lack of precise and/or conflicting information contained in Jacques service papers.   

(*): This long period of service abroad may very well be the reason that he never married. 

9.  POST SERVICE LIFE 

            On 12 December 1953 Colonel Jacques, late Royal Engineers, left the Army on retired pay, was granted the honorary rank of Brigadier, and was posted to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers.[67]  On 11 December 1955 he was released from the Regular Army Reserve of Officers when he reached the age limit for service (58 years). 

            Leslie Innes Jacques suffered from ill health in his later years.  He never married and lived quietly with his younger sister, Mary Sheila Jacques (1903-1985) at 7 North Way in Pinner, Middlesex, a suburb in the London Borough of Harrow, historically in the county of Middlesex.  Jacques died at his brother William’s home at 17 Blenheim Road in Bristol, Gloucestershire on 28 December 1959 at the age of 62.  His brother was the informant of his death.[68]   

            Brigadier Jacques’s death certificate indicates that he died of: 

1a. Acute ventricular failure

  b. Myocardial degeneration

  c.  Hypertension

  2.  Bronchogenic carcinoma

            Probate of his will took place in London on 10 March 1960.  His Effects went to Frank Spencer Crawford, solicitor, in the amount of £12,337, 13 shillings and 3 pence (about $458,800 US in 2024 currency).  This is quite a sum of money when one considers that he had been a full-time Army officer for most of his life.  There is no indication that he had worked in a professional capacity either before entering the Army or after leaving it.  He had lived for only six years after his retirement, so it seems unlikely that he could have amassed that much money by working for those six years.  As a bachelor he may have saved his money and invested it while he was in the Army or he may have inherited a considerable sum from his father when he died in 1923.  This seems unlikely, as his father’s Effects on his death amounted to only £1,190 or about $114,200 US in 2024 currency and that money went to his widow.  She in turn left her money in 1958 to her son, Leslie Innes Jacques, in the amount of £2,167 (about $81,900 US in 2024 currency).  The difference between Jacques’s effects of $458,800 US, and the $81,900 US left to him by his mother, leaves a balance of $376,900 US unaccounted for.[69] The only logical answer is that his house in Pinner was sold and makes up the greater part of his estate and that this money ultimately went to his sister Mary after all his bills were paid. 

10. FAMILY MEMBERS[70] 

            Leslie's brother, William Allan Innes Jacques (1901-1970) married in India in 1931 and had twins Christopher Alan Innes and Victor Innes in London in 1933, and another son, Anthony Innes in London in 1938. By 1969 Christopher had emigrated to Australia. He married Virginia (family name unknown) and died in Sydney in September 2023. Anthony also went to Australia and he died in Sydney in November 2022 leaving a wife and children. Victor died soon after birth. 

            Christopher had children, Patrick and Martin, and when he died he was grandfather to William, Alexander and Charles. Patrick Jacques married Shiara Mutukisna.  Martin is married to Samantha (family name unknown). 

Figure 31.  Patrick and Shiara Jacques, c. 2022.
(Image courtesy of Shiara Jacques, via Linkedin.com) 

            Leslie’s sister, Mary Sheila Innes Jacques, never married.  She died in Bristol on 26 September 1985.   Her estate was valued at £78,007 ($441,600 US in 2024 currency).  The Probate Calendar for 1985 does not indicate to whom this money was left. 

11. AUTHOR’S NOTES 

            Leslie Innes Jacques devoted his life to the Army and to King and Country.  He saw action during the Great War in France and Flanders and then again in the Second World War in Africa and Burma.  He lived through dangerous times and in very unpleasant countries where many dangerous diseases were prevalent.  This story of his service can never fully describe the stresses, both mental and physical, that he suffered while performing his duties.  Since these stresses do not seem to have been evaluated during his time in service, it may just be that the hypertension and ultimately the heart failure that killed him at an early age of 62 years, may have been brought on by these stresses.  Looking his story over now that I have just about completed it, I find it difficult to understand why he was never promoted to the substantive rank of Brigadier.  To my mind, he deserved it.

ADDENDA NO. 1-3

Addendum No. 1

            Major General Sir Sydney Turing Barlow Lawford was the father of Hollywood actor Peter Lawford.  At the age of 14, Lawford severely injured his right arm in an accident when it went through a glass door. Irreversible nerve damage severely compromised the use of his forearm and hand, which he later learned to conceal. The injury resulted in his being unable to follow a military career as his parents had hoped.

Figure 31a.  Peter Lawford.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia) 

Addendum No. 2

            When Jacques was posted to the 17^th Field Company at Bulford, the company was part of the 3^rd Division in the U.K. home command.

Addendum No. 3

            In the paragraph describing the whereabouts of the 7^th Field Company at the time that Jacques was posted as Adjutant of the 50^th Northumbrian Divisional Engineers, it should be noted that the company remained in Germany with the Occupation Forces following the Great War and that it was part of the British Army of the Rhine at the time.

ANNEX A

Work of a Royal Engineers Field Company in France and Flanders during the Great War of 1914-1918

            As required by tactical considerations in the field, the following is a list of activities in which a field company might be employed:

• Destruction of building to deny their use to the enemy.

• Taping out proposed trench lines.

• Supervising Infantry work parties for trench construction.

• Providing tools and materials for trench construction.

• Revetting of trenches.

• Bonding in sandbags on top of parapets.

• Building dugout and shell-proof shelters.

• Repairing blown-in trenches.

• Making and supplying wood pickets for barbed wire aprons.

• Providing wood, sandbags, stone and other building materials to front line troops.

• Making X-frames for barbed-wire belts.

• Digging saps forward of front line trenches for listening and observation posts.

• Preparing defensive positions in buildings.

• Supervising labour forces (military and civilian) for road construction and repair.

• Digging wells and providing pumps for water supply.

• Acting as sanitation advisers to front line troops.

• Making huts in rear areas.

• Making slatted trench boards for trenches and for forward trench-board tracks.

• Clearing fields of firing for infantry defensive positions.

• Bridging small dikes and streams.

• Making sketch maps of trench systems.

• Preparing design drawings of trenches and weapons emplacements.

• Pontoon bridging operations.

• Construction and repair of trestle and girder bridges.

• Drainage on roads and in trenches.

• Making anti-gas-cloud boxes.

• Timber cutting and sawmill operations.

• Improving craters for listening and observation posts.

• Minor tunnelling operations.

• Making dressing stations.

• Making new artillery and machine gun emplacements.

• Making screened approach tracks.

• Construction of “keeps” and “strong points.”

• Making, testing and using Bangalore Torpedoes against enemy wire obstacles.

• Preparation of “bomb stops” at traverses in trenches.

• Following infantry assaults to consolidate captured trenches.

• Fight in the line as infantry when required.

• Reconnaissance of enemy trenches.

• Preparation and/or removal of obstacles.

• Searching for and clearing booby-trap mines and delay action mines.

• Opening up road and track communications over deep mud and shell-torn ground in advance of the infantry.

• Preparation of R.E. dumps to supply tools and materials as required.

ANNEX B

The Great War Medal Index Card  of Lieutenant Leslie Innes Jacques, R.E. 

Figure 32.  Front of the Medal Index Card.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com) 

Figure  33.  Reverse of the Medal Index Card.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

REFERENCES: 

Army Lists 

1. The Half-Yearly Army List, December 1922, Part II, War Services.

2. The Monthly Army List, June 1926, pp. 329b and 347a.

3. The Monthly Army List, November 1927, p. 347.

4. The Monthly Army List, November 1934, p. 328a.

5. The Monthly Army List, October 1935, p. 323b.

6. The Monthly Army List, April 1938, p. 323a.

7. The Monthly Army List, August 1949, pp. 157 and 213c.

8. The Annual Army List, 1953, p. 207.  

Books 

1. COUNCIL OF CLIFTON COLLEGE.  Clifton College Register, 1862-1962. J.W. Arrowsmith, Ltd., Bristol, 1962.

2. McLYNN, F.  The Burma Campaign: Disaster Into Triumph, 1942-45.  Yale University Press, New Haven, 2010.

3. The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Volume V.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952.

4. PAKENHAM-WALSH, R.P.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, 1938-1948.  Volume VIII.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1958.

5. PAKENHAM-WALSH, R.P.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, 1938-1948.  Volume IX.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1958.

6. SLIM, W.  Defeat Into Victory.  David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1961.

7. Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-19. J.B. Hayward & Son, Polstead, 1989.

8. Who Was Who, 1951-1960.  

Civil Documents 

1. 1911 Census of England and Wales.

2. Probate Calendar, 1960, p. 78.

3. General Register Office, Certified Copy of a Certificate of Death, DYE 686023.  

Family Tree 

Leslie Innes Jacques (by Nicola Priestley Priestley). 

Internet Web Sites 

1. Ships Nostalgia

https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/threads/apapa.1322/

2. SS Yorkshire. uboat.net

https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/72.html

3. Wikipedia: Leslie Innes Jacques.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Innes_Jacques

4. Wikipedia: XXI Corps (India)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XXI_Corps_(India)

5. Wikipedia: 10^th Indian Infantry Division

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Indian_Infantry_Division

6. Wikipedia: XV Corps (British India)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XV_Corps_(British_India)

7. The Long, Long Trail: British Base Depots in France

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/other-aspects-of-order-of-battle/british-base-depots-in-france-1914-1918/

8. Wikipedia: Battle of Arras (1917)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arras_(1917)

9. The Long, Long Trail: 50^th Northumbrian Division

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/50th-northumbrian-division/ 

London Gazette 

1. The London Gazette, 18 February 1916, pp. 1818 and 1819.

2. Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 February 1918, p. 1810.

3. Supplement to the London Gazette, 23 December 1919, pp. 15025 and 15038.

4. Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 March 1919, pp. 3236 and 3242.

5. Supplement to the London Gazette, 4 October 1919, p. 12304.

6. The London Gazette, 11 December 1925, p. 8200.

7. The London Gazette, 26 January 1926, p. 618.

8. The London Gazette, 10 December 1929, p. 8026.

9. The London Gazette, 23 November 1934, p. 7532.

10. Third Supplement to the London Gazette, 23 September 1941, p. 5501.

11. Supplement to the London Gazette, 26 September 1941, p. 4423.

12. Second Supplement to the London Gazette, 29 September 1944, p. 4475.

13. Supplement to the London Gazette, 21 November 1944, p. 5321.

14. Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 February 1945, p. 792.

15. Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 May 1946, p. 2209.

16. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 January 1950, p. 277.

17. Supplement to the London Gazette, 26 May 1953, p. 2942 and 2943.

18. Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 December 1953, p. 6725.

19. Supplement to the London Gazette, 16 December 1955, p. 7059.  

Military Documents 

1. Mention in Despatches card, Lieutenant, 233^rd Field Company, London Gazette, 23-12-1918, p. 15088.

2. Recommendation for C.B.E., 15 Corps, 10 June 1944.

3. Medal Index Card for Egypt. Erroneously listed as Leslie Ennis Jacques.

4. Royal Engineers Medal Roll, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

5. War Diary, 233^rd Field Company, Royal Engineers, 1918-1919.

6. War Diary, 280^th Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers, 1916-1919.  This War Diary was virtually illegible.  Jacques name was found on pages 45, 49, 67, 81, 90, 94 and 110.

7. Examination of Army Officers for Promotion, HMSO, London, March 1932.  

Passenger Lists 

1. Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960: Lagos to Liverpool, M.V. Apapa, 4 December 1950.

2. Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960: Rangoon to London, S.S. Yorkshire, 21 July 1936.  

Periodicals 

1. Memoirs. Royal Engineers Journal, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, March 1960, p. 102.

2. Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers.  Royal Engineers Journal, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.

3. The Royal Engineers List, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, January – December 1930.

4. The Royal Engineers List, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, January – October 1931.

5. The Royal Engineers List, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, January – October 1932.

6. The Royal Engineers List, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, January – October 1933.

7. The Royal Engineers List, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, January – October 1934.

8. The Royal Engineers List, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, January – October 1935.

9. The Royal Engineers List, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1943.  

Service Papers 

1.      Service and Casualty Form (Army Form B. 103-I).

2.      Service and Casualty Form (Army Form B. 103-II).

3.      Educational Qualifications (Army Form B-199A).

4.      Particulars of Service, Record of Movements, Appointments (8 sheets).

5.      Record of Service – Officers (Army Form B199A) (3 sheets).

6.      Appointments and Movements (Army Form B199A) (4 sheets).

ENDNOTES: