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Major
WALTER HENRY LACE, M.C., R.E.
Royal Engineers 

by 

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, P.E., MinstRE
(July 2023)

Figure 1. Major Walter Henry Lace, R.E.
(Image courtesy of sharonwalls69) 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

            Luck can play a significant role in the life of a soldier.  Such was the case in the life of Walter Henry Lace during the Great War of 1914-1918.  Walter did not go to France until the beginning of 1917 and he did participate in three of the major campaigns of the war.  Within three days of the end of the conflict, while the German army was in full flight back to Mons, his luck ran out and he was tragically killed. 

2.  FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

Family Information

            Walter Henry Lace was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 17 December 1887, the son of Edward Lace (1844-1888) and Annie (aka Anita) Jane Van Lace, née Fowinkel (1855-1924).[1]

Early Life 

            Following the death of Edward Lace in 1888, Walter’s mother decided to take her daughter and three sons to England, arriving at Southampton on 7 May 1890.  She then settled with them in Westbury on Trym in Gloucestershire.[2] 

            Walter’s eldest brother, Francis Edward Lace, attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, passing out as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 14^th (King’s) Hussars on 20 January 1900.[3]  He was posted with his regiment to South Africa to serve in the Boer War. 

Figure 2.  Officers of the 14^th (King’s) Hussars in South Africa, circa 1900.
(Image courtesy of the Anglo-Boer War web site)

            A and C squadrons of the regiment arrived at the Cape Colony on 1 January 1900, and were sent on to Durban. B squadron landed in Cape Colony on 10 January.  Since the three squadrons of the regiment were already in South Africa when 2^nd Lieutenant Lace was commissioned, he must have joined the regiment as a replacement officer.

            The two squadrons in Natal were for a time brigaded with the 1^st Royal Dragoons and 13^th  Hussars. They took part in operations between 14 and 27 February, when the relief of Ladysmith was accomplished. In General Buller's despatch of 30 March, 3 officers were mentioned.

            After the relief, A and C squadrons were brought round to Cape Colony and joined B squadron.  The regiment then joined the 4th Cavalry Brigade with the 7^th Dragoon Guards and 8^th Hussars.

            On the march from Machadodorp to Heidelberg, from 12 to 26 October 1900, the 8^th and 14^th Hussars had very stiff fighting on several occasions. On 13 March Major Edward Douglas Brown won the Victoria Cross near Geluk for rescuing, one after another, an officer, a sergeant, and a corporal.  Eight officers and 9 non-commissioned officers and men of the regiment were mentioned in Lord Roberts' final despatch.

Figure 3.  Major Edward Douglas Brown, V.C., 14^th Hussars.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

            In the second phase of the war the 14^th Hussars were chiefly employed in the Eastern Transvaal and about the passes in the Newcastle district, where they frequently had skirmishes; but, as in the first stage, they had the misfortune to be again broken up. During the first half of 1901 a part of the regiment was with Colonel Pulteney in the Western Transvaal. They also acted under General Babington, west of Krugersdorp, in columns which did exceptionally good work.

            On 5 September 1901 2^nd Lieutenant Lace received a wound from the accidental discharge of a revolver at Jackshill’s Post.  It is not known whether he accidentally shot himself with his own revolver or whether he was accidentally shot by someone else.  In any case, he was evacuated to Newcastle, Natal for treatment of his wound, but unfortunately he died on septicemia on 21 October.  The occurrence of septicemia from wounds during the war in South Africa was not that uncommon.  If not treated quickly and properly, the patient was likely to die.[4]  Such was the case with 2^nd Lieutenant Lace.  He had served for a total of one year, nine months and two days and died at the age of 20.

            While Francis Edward Lake was serving in South Africa, his mother and the rest of the family were living at 40, The Strand, in Ryde on the Isle of Wight.[5]  Walter Henry Lace attended Isle of Wight College and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering.  After graduation he took a position with the Egyptian Public Works Department in Cairo and on 21 May 1913 he applied for Associate Membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers.  His application was approved on 13 December 1913.

  3.  COMMISSIONING AND TRAINING

Commissioning 

            Walter Henry Lace apparently joined the Territorial Force (T.F.) either before the start of the Great War or shortly thereafter.  On 20 August 1915 he was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 1^st Field Company of the 1^st London Divisional Engineers.[6]  This company had been formed in 1908 and was based in Bethnal Green in East London.[7] 

Training

As officers were badly needed at the front by the end of 1916 and the beginning of 1917, it is almost certain that Lace received the short course of training, lasting from nine to twelve months,[8] at the School of Military Engineering (S.M.E.) at Chatham. His training at the S.M.E. would have consisted of the study of field fortifications, construction, surveying, telegraphy electric lighting and tactics.  The additional courses of the curriculum in photography, chemistry and military law would have been omitted.[9]  This short course, plus whatever training he might have received in his T.F. unit, would have been considered to be adequate for his deployment to France.

4.  POSTINGS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

            Upon the completion of his training, 2^nd Lieutenant Lace was posted to France in January 1917.[10]  On 1 July 1917 he was promoted to Lieutenant with precedence from 1 June 1916.[11]  It appears that he was serving in a field company at this time (although which one is not known) and on 10 August 1917 he was appointed an Acting Captain while in 2^nd in command of the company.[12]  

            The company to which he was ultimately assigned was the 2/1^st Cheshire Field Company, which had been serving with the 53^rd Division in Syria.  On 4 February 1917 the company was redesignated the 439^th (Cheshire) Field Company and on 9 April 1918 it joined the 74^th (Yeomanry) Division from the 53^rd Division.[13]  Lace appears to have joined the 439^th (Cheshire) Field Company some time after 11 April 1918. 

            Other units in the 74^th Divisional Engineers at the time that Lace was posted to the division included: 

·         5^th Royal Monmouth Field Company

·         5^th Royal Anglesey Field Company

·         74^th Divisional Signal Company 

            The 1/12^th Battalion, the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment joined the 74^th Division as its Pioneer Battalion on 10 April 1918.  Acting Captain Lace would have interacted with this battalion since Pioneer Battalions were used on a large scale on the Western Front. Because of its largely static nature, there was a much heavier reliance on field defences and the provision of mobility support to get troops, weapons, ammunition, rations and stores up to the front and casualties out.  Roads and railways needed to be built maintained and repaired.  While these were also engineer tasks, engineers alone could not meet the heavy demand, while riflemen were always needed at the front. Therefore, Pioneer Battalions were raised to meet the needs of both and trained to support both engineers and infantry.

            The first major action that Lace saw with the 439^th Field Company was the Second Battle of Bapaume.  This battle lasted from 21 August 1918 to 3 September 1918.  It was a continuation of the Battle of Albert and is also referred to as the second phase of that battle. The British and Dominion attack was part of what was later known as the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. The Second Battle of Bapaume was carried out over a period of two weeks after heavy fighting in the days prior, the British occupied Bapaume as the defending Germans withdrew. It then pushed onto the Bancourt Ridge, to the east of Bapaume.  On 8 September 1918, Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Walter Henry Lace was appointed Acting Major and was given command of the 439^th Field Company.[14] 

            Next came the Battle of Epéhy on 18 September 1918. The battle of Epéhy was a short battle fought in preparation for the great Allied attack on the Hindenburg line. At the end of the battle of Amiens, the British had reached that line on the northern half of the line, but had fallen short to the south. The attack was launched by the Fourth Army and one corps from the Third Army, on a seventeen mile front around Epéhy. The Germans were forced back three miles, losing 12,000 prisoners and 100 guns in the process. The battle achieved its main objective, putting the Fourth Army in place in preparation for the upcoming attack on the Hindenburg Line. German resistance was more determined than at Amiens, but not as stiff as it had been earlier in the war.

            On 25 September 1918 the units of the 74^th Division entrained from Tincourt and Peronne and left for Villers Bretonneux and by 28 September the division was in the area of Norrent Fontes preparing to pursue the retreating German army back to Mons.  On 1 October the 74^th Division relieved the 19^th Division in the line.[15] 

            During October and into November 1918 the 74^th Division continued its advances to the east.  The 439^th Field Company took up a position at Trieu Mazurelle on 1 November.  On 8 November units of the division approached the River Escaut [Scheldt] in the center of Tournai.  All the bridges across the river had been destroyed by the retreating German forces and the eastern bank of the river was lined with machine guns to prevent or to delay crossings by advancing British units.  At 0600 hours on 8 November orders were received by Major Lace to construct a bridge over the river.  He ordered No. 1 and No. 2 Sections of the company to move toward La Marmite (map coordinates O 21 a – see map below) with bridging equipment.  Lieutenant W.G. Davies and seven Other Ranks went on reconnaissance of the proposed bridge site with infantry patrols from the Welsh Fusiliers.  Major Lace accompanied the reconnaissance force leading sections of company headquarters and Sections 3 and 4 of the company  The remaining company transport remained at Trieu Mazurelle.  Lieutenant Davies and one of his men was wounded during the reconnaissance and Lieutenant H. Crookshank[16] was sent up by Major Lace to replace Davies.  As Lace neared the western bank of the river he was killed, probably by German machine gun fire from the eastern bank.  Captain G.H. Davies than took command of the company.[17] 

            Walter Henry Lace’s luck ran out near Tournai on 8 November 1918, just three days before the Armistice that ended the Great War.  Not only was the date of is death unlucky, but he was one of only nine officers in the entire 74^th Division to be killed or wounded during the month of November 1918.  In fact, Lace and Davies made two of the nine or 22.2% of the division’s total officer casualties during the month.

            By 0900 hours the company had put a foot bridge across the river at map coordinates (O 22 b 9.8) and another foot bridge later in the day at  (O 22 b 10.06.) (see map below).[18]

Figure 4.  Trench Map in the Tournai Area.
(Image courtesy of British Military Badges)

            Major Walter Henry Lace was buried in the Tournai Communal Cemetery.  In the London Gazette of 1 January 1919 his name appears in the New Years Honours list for the award of the Military Cross. 

            On 28 October 1919 his will was probated in London, in Belgium Administration.[19]  His effects amounting to £282, 8 shillings and 5 pence (about $20,700 US in 2024 currency) were left to his widow at Harpenden House in Sandown on the Isle of Wight.

5. MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

            For his service during the Great War, Major Lace was awarded the Military Cross, British War Medal and Victory Medal.  His wife applied for the latter two medals on 9 September 1921 and they were sent to her on 19 December 1921.[20]  In addition to the medals shown in Figure 5, she would have been sent a Memorial Plaque to commemorate his death during the war (see Figure 6 below).  His name would have appeared in the rectangle above the lion’s head.

Figure 5. Left to Right: The Military Cross, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
(Image from the author’s collection) 

NOTE: The medals and plaque in Figures 5 and 6 are not those of Major Lace.  The images are presented here for illustrative purposes only.

Figure 6.  The Memorial Plaque.
(Image from the author’s collection)

Figure 7.  The Great War Medal Index Card of Major Walter Henry Lace, M.C., R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com) 

REFERENCES:

Books 

1. DUDLELY WARD, C.H.  The 74^th (Yeomanry) Division in Syria and France.  John Murray, London, 1922.

2. MAURICE-JONES, K.W.  The Shop Story, 1900-1939.  The Royal Artillery Institution, Woolwich, 1954.  

Census 

1901 Census of England (RG 13/1025). 

Civil Documents 

1. Application for Membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1913.

2. Probate Calendar, 1919, p. 1.  

Family Trees 

1. Walter Henry Lace (by sharonwalls69).

2. Francis Edward Lace (by shiningstar34).  

Internet Web Sites 

1. Wikipedia: 74^th (Yeomanry) Division.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/74th_(Yeomanry)_Division#cite_note-21

2. Memorials and Monuments on the Isle of Wight.

http://www.isle-of-wight-memorials.org.uk/people_l/lace_wh.htm

3. Anglo-Boer War.

https://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/imperial-units/499-14th-kings-hussars

4. Wikipedia: 1^st London Field Company, Royal Engineers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_London_Field_Company_Royal_Engineers

5. British Military Badges.

https://www.britishmilitarybadges.co.uk/products/belgium-and-france-tournai-cysoing-lille-area-trench-map-120000---37-sw-1916.html 

London Gazette 

1. Supplement to the London Gazette, 19 August 1915, p. 8267.

2. Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 October 1917, p. 10398.

3. Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 November 1917, p. 11290.

4. Supplement to the London Gazette, 10 October 1918, p. 11941.

5. Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1919, pp. 23 and 27.  

Military Documents 

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Certificate. 

National Archives 

 War Diary 

439^th Field Company War Diary Page: 7 – 16 November 1918.

ENDNOTES:

[1] Ancestry.com: Lace family tree by sharonwalls 69.