Major Maurice Charles Marquis, Royal Engineers

Figure 1. Royal Engineers Crest, King Edward VII.
(Image courtesy of Stuart Gase)

Maurice Charles Marquis’s story is of a man who began his military service as a Volunteer Officer at the turn of the 20^th century. He served for 10 years in this capacity and then was called up to serve in the Great War of 1914 to 1918 along with one of his brothers in the Territorial Force. This story of his life and military service is based on research from Army Lists, census documents, military documents, the London Gazette and war diaries from the units in which he served, along with other sources listed in the REFERENCE section. His service papers may be available in The National Archives (TNA) in London or perhaps in the Army Personnel Centre (APC) in Glasgow; however, as of this writing those organizations are all but closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the TNA and/or the APC reopen, an attempt will be made to obtain his service papers and significant additions to his story may be added. Until that happens, every effort has been made here to accurately tell his story based on information currently available.

2. EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

Maurice Charles Marquis was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire on the 1^st of November 1879, the second son of William Marquis (1849-1906) and Elizabeth (“Eliza”) Marquis, née Williams (1855-1929). Prior to Maurice’s birth, William and Eliza already had a son, William Henry (1878-1957).[1] The 1881 Census of England shows the Marquis household as it existed on the 3^rd of April 1881.

Census Place: 89 Charlesville Street, Birkenhead, Cheshire
Name and Surname	Relation	Marital Status	Age	Profession or Occupation	Birthplace
William Marquis	Head	Married	32	Provision and General Broker	Liverpool, Lancashire
Eliza Marquis	Wife	Married	26		Birkenhead, Cheshire
William Henry Marquis	Son		2		Birkenhead, Cheshire
Maurice Charles Marquis	Son		1		Birkenhead, Cheshire
Jane Parry	Domestic Servant	Single	28	Cook	Liverpool, Lancashire
Elizabeth Jane Roberts	Domestic Servant	Single	24	Housemaid	Liverpool, Lancashire

Between the 1881 census and the 1891 census, William and Eliza had another son, John Francis, born on the 9^th of November 1886.[2] The 1891 Census of England, taken on the 5^th of April 1891, shows that the family had moved from the Charlesville Street address and had two new servants.

Census Place: 10 Cearns Road, Oxton,[3] Birkenhead, Cheshire
Name and Surname	Relation	Marital Status	Age	Profession or Occupation	Birthplace
William Marquis	Head	Married	42	General Produce Broker	Liverpool, Lancashire
Eliza Marquis	Wife	Married	36		Birkenhead, Cheshire
William H. Marquis	Son		12	Scholar	Birkenhead, Cheshire
Maurice C. Marquis	Son		11	Scholar	Birkenhead, Cheshire
John F. Marquis	Son		4		Birkenhead, Cheshire
Sarah Cave	Domestic Servant	Single	23	Cook	Birkenhead, Cheshire
Grace Williams	Domestic Servant	Single	23	Housemaid	Birkenhead, Cheshire

Young William Marquis attended Rossall School in Fleetwood, Lancashire from 1893 to 1894. Maurice entered Rossall School in 1894 and left after the 2^nd term in 1896.[4] Rossall School was considered to be in the top 30 public schools by the end of Queen Victoria’s reign, so both boys had the privilege of attending a fine school.

This section may be completed at some later date if the military service papers of Maurice Charles Marquis can be obtained and if his papers provide a physical description of him.

On the 9^th of March 1901 Maurice Charles Marquis was appointed a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 1^st Cheshire Field Company, Royal Engineers (Volunteers), a company that formed part of the Welsh Divisional Engineers. The company’s headquarters was located at 108 Church Street in Birkenhead.[5]

As his appointment was in the Volunteers, it did not constitute full time employment for him. The 1901 Census of England, taken on the 31^st of March 1901, shows him working as a Broker’s Clerk at that time while living with his parents at the Cearns Road address.

Census Place: 10 Cearns Road, Oxton, Birkenhead, Cheshire
Name and Surname	Relation	Marital Status	Age	Profession or Occupation	Birthplace
William Marquis	Head	Married	52	General Produce Broker	Liverpool, Lancashire
Eliza Marquis	Wife	Married	46		Birkenhead, Cheshire
Maurice C. Marquis	Son		21	Broker’s Clerk	Birkenhead, Cheshire
John F. Marquis	Son		14		Birkenhead, Cheshire
Ellen Whittle	Domestic Servant	Single	22	Cook	Birkenhead, Cheshire
Harriet E. Lewesley	Domestic Servant	Single	21	Housemaid	Birkenhead, Cheshire

If 2^nd Lieutenant Marquis attended any military courses after being commissioned in the Royal Engineers (Volunteers), this information probably would be available in his yet to be obtained military service papers. In any case he certainly underwent training with the Cheshire Field Company during its drill session and annual training camps.

Maurice was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on the 5^th of November 1904. By 1907, when its civilian administration teetered on the brink of insolvency, the Volunteer Force had become indispensable to British defence planning, as well as an enabler of the Regular Army drawing its own forces away from home defence stations. Consequently, the government passed the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, which merged the Volunteer Force with the Militia and Yeomanry to form the Territorial Force in 1908.

By January of 1910 the 1^st Cheshire Field Company, Royal Engineers, then part of the Territorial Force, had moved its headquarters to 79a Harrowby Road in Birkenhead and consisted of the following officers:[6]

This contingent of officers must have surely brought the company up to full strength with a commanding officer, a second-in-command, an adjutant, four section leaders,[9] a quartermaster and perhaps a transport officer.

Lieutenant Marquis was promoted to Captain on the 16^th of May 1911 and by January of 1912 the company officers had been much reduced in strength to the following:[10]

Both of Maurice’s brothers also joined the Volunteer Force. Their service will be discussed in Section 11 of this narrative.

Figures 2 and 3. Front and Back of a Players Cigarette Card
of the Cheshire Field Company, R.E.
(Images courtesy of Wikipedia)

On the eve of the Great War of 1914-1918, Captain Maurice Charles Marquis was still residing in his family home at 10 Cearns Road, Birkenhead. When the Great War started in August of 1914, Marquis’s unit was not immediately called up. However, by the 1^st of December 1914 the 1^st Cheshire Field Company was at Northampton with Captain M.C. Marquis as its commanding officer. It was now known by the designation 1/1^st Cheshire Field Company, R.E. The company remained at Northampton until the 7^th of December where it underwent organization, equipping and training.[11]

Figure 4. The Le Havre Area and British Rest Camps.
(Map courtesy of the Long, Long Trail)

Captain Marquis and his company entrained for Southampton on the 8^th of December and upon arrival there it went into a temporary camp prior to sailing for France. One officer, a Captain Machin, was left behind at Northampton due to ill health. The company embarked on S.S. Glenarm Head on the 9^th of December and landed at Le Havre on the 10^th. Immediately upon disembarking the company marched to Rest Camp Number 1 outside of Le Havre. As shown in the map above, Rest Camp Number 1 was located near Saint Adresse, about 2 miles northwest of the Le Havre railway station (see map above).[12]

The company remained at Rest Camp Number 1 for three days and on the 13^th of December it entrained for St. Omer. The company detrained on the 14^th of December and marched to billet at Renescure. Captain Machin rejoined the company there on the 16^th of December.

On the 20^th of December Captain Marquis received orders to march his company to Croix de Poperinghe by way of Hazebrouck and Bailleul. The company marched in column of route on the 21^st and billeted at Hazebrouck for the night. They left Hazebrouck the following day and arrived at Poperinghe where they joined the 3^rd Division and its other two field companies, the 56^th and 57^th.[13] On the 23^rd of December the company was split up with one section (No. 1 Section) going to the 56^th Field Company, R.E. and one section (probably No. 2 Section) to the 57^th Field Company, R.E. Apparently two sections and company headquarters remained in the vicinity of Poperinghe. Sending two sections to work with the veteran Regular Army field companies was undoubtedly an attempt to orient portions of the company to the terrain and the work to be done. On the 24^th of December No. 1 Section of the company went to Kemmel with the 56^th Field Company, R.E. for duty in the trenches and supporting lines. On Christmas day all units stood down.[14] The map below shows the general area through which the company traveled and in which it worked during this period.

On the 27^th of December Nos. 3 and 4 Sections of the 1/1^st Cheshire Field Company relieved the 56^th Field Company, R.E. at Kemmel. This was an opportunity for these two sections to become acquainted with the terrain and work being done in the area just as Nos.1 and 2 Sections had previously done.

During the period from the end of December 1914 to the 20^th of September 1915, when the sections were not at Kemmel with the 56^th and 57^th Field Companies, they were in the vicinity of La Clytte repairing roads, fabricating hutting and instructing Infantry Pioneers in brushwood revetting and the placement of wire entanglements.

Figure 5. Map of the La Clytte-Kemmel Area Where the 1/1^st Cheshire Field Company was Employed.
(Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

The following is a chronology of the work performed by the company during this period as it appears in the company war diary. All the last pages of entries in the diary are signed by:

Figure 6. Marquis Signature from War Diary.
(Image courtesy of The National Archives)

Marquis was probably a Temporary Major during the time that he commanded the 1/1^st Cheshire Field Company, as records indicate that he was not promoted to the substantive rank of Major until later in 1915.

Dated	Tasks
31 Dec 1914	No. 2 Section with the 57^th Field Company at Kemmel.
1-3 Jan 1915	No. 2 Section with the 57^th Field Company at Kemmel worked on trenches and supporting points, revetting and draining. Nos. 1 and 2 Sections worked on road repair.
4-7 Jan 1915	No. 1 Section with the 56^th Field Company at Kemmel worked on trenches and supporting points. No. 2 and 3 Sections worked on road repair.
8-11 Jan 1915	No. 3 Section at La Clytte worked on trenches and the second line. No. 2 Section at Kemmel worked as before with No. 1 Section repairing roads.
12-15 Jan 1915	No. 1 Section to La Clytte. Nos. 1 and 3 Sections worked on 8^th Infantry Brigade line. No. 2 Section at Kemmel worked as before.
16 Jan 1915	No. 2 Section joined up with Nos. 1 and 3 and the company was once more united. NOTE: Field companies normally had only three Sections. The 1/1^st Cheshire Field Company war diary notes on 27 December 1914 state that it had a Number 4 Section. Nowhere else in the diary is No. 4 Section mentioned. It may be assumed that the company might have been over strength on its arrival in France and that the fourth section subsequently was removed from the company, although the diary does not mention this.
17-31 Jan 1915	Work of various kinds was carried on in trenches and supporting lines K, L and M sections by alternating Sections. The Sections remaining at La Clytte worked on building a laundry bath house, drainage of fields and cleaning of billets.
1-28 Feb 1915	Company working on trenches, building huts, stables and Brigade laundry at La Clytte. Also working on huts at Scherpenberg. Figure 7. The La Clytte – Scherpenberg Area. (Map courtesy of Michelin Illustrated Guides to the Battlefields (1914—1918)
1-31 Mar 1915	Company continues work as above. Also repaired a bridge at the R.A.M.C. Park. Building knife rests.
1-30 Apr 1915	Company works on a bed for a heavy gun, wire entanglements and water supply. 21 Apr: 191 Acting 2^nd Corporal Joseph Guy Cunningham died of wounds.[15] 23 Apr: Captain Andrew Tucker Squarey MacIver wounded and dies of wounds (see Annex A). 24 Apr: Captain MacIver, aged 37, buried in La Clytte Military Cemetery (1.B.6), Belgium.[16] 25 Apr: Lieutenant B.A. Duncan and 30 Other Ranks arrived in the company.

The entries in the company war diary for April 1915 appear to be the last made by Captain Marquis. The war diary entries for May through July are signed by Lieutenant L.A. Halsall, Acting O.C., Cheshire Field Company. Major J. Wayne-Morgan took command of the company in August of 1915.[17]

On the 3^rd of July 1915 Marquis was transferred from the Cheshire Field Company, Welsh Divisional Engineers to the Territorial Reserve as a Major, with the date of rank of the 5^th of August 1915.[18] This is a rather curious notice because the Cheshire Field Company had been serving with a Regular Army Division, the 3^rd Division since December of 1914. Marquis’s original commission had been with the Cheshire Field Company when it was part of the Welsh Divisional Engineers. This may explain the London Gazette notice. On the 20^th of September 1915, the 1/1^st East Riding Field Company, R.E. joined the 3^rd Division in place of the 1/1^st Cheshire Field Company.[19]

Without access to his military record there is no way to know what Major (or Captain) Marquis was doing between the end of April 1915, when apparently he relinquished command of the Cheshire Field Company, and the 3^rd of July 1915 when it appears that he may have left the company. Similarly, there is no way to know what he was doing or where he was between the 3^rd of July 1915 and the date when he was posted to the 22^nd (Labour) Battalion of The Cheshire Regiment. During this period of 18 months he may have been on leave for part of the time, but surely not for the entire time.

Since he was only an Acting Major while he commanded the Cheshire Field Company, it is possible that during May, June and July of 1915 he was on leave and the company was in the hands of Lieutenant Halsall while it awaited the arrival of Major Wayne-Morgan, who was a Regular Army officer. Wayne-Morgan may have arrived in August and assumed command of the company and Marquis returned from leave at about the same time, but then in his substantive rank of Captain. He may then have served as Second-in-Command of the company until his posting to the Cheshire Regiment.

22^nd (Labour) Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment (21 Nov1916 – 12 Apr 1917)

Captain Marquis was posted to the 22^nd (Labour) Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment as a Temporary Captain on the 21^st of November 1916.[20] Marquis must have considered this to be a slight or perhaps an insult that he, a Major in the Royal Engineers Territorial Reserve would only hold the rank of Temporary Captain in an Infantry Labour Battalion. No specific information was found during this research to indicate where he went or what he did between April of 1915 and November of 1916. This 18 month-period remains a mystery that can only be resolved if Marquis’s military records can be located. He may have been on a temporary assignment with some other unit in France after leaving the Cheshire Field Company, or more likely, he was given an extended leave at home. By 1915 he was 36 years of age and perhaps was not fit enough to remain with a front-line unit. In any case, his posting to the 22^nd (Labour) Battalion of The Cheshire Regiment came only 10 days before the battalion was formed in Chester on the 1^st of December 1916. Marquis probably joined the battalion on or soon after the date if its formation. A labour battalion posting would seem to have been most appropriate for a 36-year old officer of Engineers with experience in France. The battalion moved to France in the same months as its formation.[21]

The 22^nd (Labour) Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment entrained at Middleton Junction Station, Lancashire in two groups of two companies on the 15^th of December 1916. At the time, the battalion consisted of a headquarters and four companies, A, B, C and D made up of 10 officers and 988 Other Ranks. The officers included:[22]

The battalion detrained after the short trip to Southampton and boarded S.S. Archimedes on the same day. On the 16^th of December 1916 the battalion disembarked at Le Havre and marched to Rest Camp No. 2 (see Figure 3 above). The following day the battalion was inspected by the camp commandant.

On the 18^th of December the battalion marched to the Le Havre Dock railway station where it entrained for movement to the front. It detrained on the following day at Blaringhem where it was billeted. At Blaringhem the battalion awaited work orders until the 23^rd of December. Then, from the 23^rd to the 31^st of December the battalion worked on double-tracking the railway from Arques to Berguette under the supervision of Captain H. Whitley, R.E. who was located at Aire. (This probably was Captain H.S.B. Whitley, later Major, Engineer and Railway Staff Corps). The following is a chronology of the work performed by the battalion during the period that Captain Marquis was with it and as it appears in the battalion’s war diary.

Dates	Tasks
1-6 Jan 1917	Battalion continued track work.
7 Jan 1917	Battalion rested.
8-26 Jan 1917	Battalion continued track work. 10 Jan: 54605 Private William John Thomas died as a result of accident or disease. Thomas was from Brecon, Wales and formerly had served in the South Wales Borders (33678 Private).[23]
27 Jan 1917	Battalion entrained at Blaringhem Station for Wanquetin, via Arque and Warlincourt.
28 Jan 1917	“C” Company detrained at St. Pol. Train proceeded with the remainder of the battalion but was held up for about 13 hours owing to a breakdown on the line.
29 Jan 1917	Battalion [minus “C” Company][24] detrained at Wanquetin Station and proceeded to billets.
30 Jan 1917	Battalion awaiting orders to work.
31 Jan 1917	Battalion [minus “C” Company] commenced work on railway construction under the supervision of O.C., 10^th (Railway) Company, R.E.
1-9 Feb 1917	Battalion at work. A, B and D Coys at Wanquetin. C Coy at St. Pol.
10 Feb 1917	At 10 a.m. Battalion [minus “C” Company] entrained at Wanquetin for Authieule (via Warlincourt and Pas). Detrained at Authieule at 2:15 pm and proceeded to hutments.
11 Feb 1917	A, B, and D Coys commenced on cutting Doullens-Arras line under the supervision of the O.C., 110^th (Railway) Company, R.E. at St. Pol.
12-27 Feb 1917	Battalion at work. A, B and D Coys at Authieule; C Coy at St. Pol.
28 Feb 1917	Battalion at work. A, B and D Coys at Authieule; C Coy at St. Pol. Lieutenant W. Owens Williams reported to battalion and was posted to D Coy.
1-24 Mar 1917	Battalion at work. A, B and D Coys at Authieule; C Coy at Fleury.
25 Mar 1917	A, B and D Coys rested.
26-31 Mar 1917	Battalion at work. A, B and D Coys at Authieule; C Coy at Fleury.
1-6 Apr 1917	Battalion at work. A, B and D Coys at Authieule; C Coy at Fleury. 1 Officer and 105 Other Ranks of C Coy left Fleury for Doullens and were billeted there.
7 Apr 1917	A and B Coys at work under 113^th Company, R.E. Part of C Coy commenced work under 110^th Coy R.E. 1 Officer and 52 Other Ranks of C Coy on detachment at Fleury. D Coy moved from Authieule to Doullens and commenced work for 110^th Company at Doullens.
8 Apr 1917	Battalion at rest.
9-12 Apr 1917	A and B Coys at work at Authieule. Part of C and D Coys at Doullens. C Coy detachment at Fleury.

Figure 8. Royal Engineers and Labour Battalion Troops Working on Railway Construction in France.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Figure 9. Map of Authieule Showing the Railway to the West of the Town.
(Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

On the 13^th of April 1917 Major M.C. Marquis (Territorial Force Reserve) was posted from the 22^nd Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment to the Labour Corps with the pay and allowances of the rank of Captain.[25] The 22^nd (Labour) Battalion of The Cheshire Regiment formed the 64^th and 65^th Labour Companies of the Labour Corps. An entry stating this is recorded for the 13^th of April 1917 in the war diary of the battalion. It is actually the battalion’s last war diary entry. The diary also indicates that the two companies formed No. 34 Labour Group.

The Labour Group Headquarters was defined in Army Council Instruction 611 of 1917. It was composed of the following personnel:[26]

1 Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding
1 Adjutant
1 Quartermaster
1 Medical Officer attached from Royal Army Medical Corps
1 Acting Sergeant Major
1 Quartermaster Sergeant
1 Orderly Room Sergeant
2 Clerks (one a Corporal)
2 Orderlies for Medical Officer (one a Lance Corporal)
4 Other ranks (one a Lance Corporal)
4 Batmen
1 motor car Driver if authorized

Marquis is not listed in the personnel of the group headquarters, so it appears that he had been posted to one of the companies in the group. It is not known to which company Marquis was assigned, but if he served in one of the companies it probably was as Officer Commanding, since he had seniority. His service records, if obtained, would shed light on this.

The Labour Corps company was defined in Army Orders when the Labour Corps came into existence in 1917. Its standard composition was defined in Army Council Instruction 611 of that year. Each company was composed as follows:[27]

461 Privates (of which 6 were appointed to Lance-Corporal)6 officers’ batmen (normally Privates).

The company was structured into a Company Headquarters, four Platoons (under a Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant), each of two Sections (under a Sergeant). Each Section made up of two Sub-Sections (under a Corporal). The company was provided with three carts and four General Service wagons and a total of 13 draught and heavy draught horses.
The officer commanding would be provided with a riding horse or bicycle at his discretion.[28]

According to the 34^th Group War Diary, on the 14^th of April 1917 the 64^th Company was at Authieule. Beyond this there is very little mention again of this company in the diary. The war diary was maintained by Captain Webster, but it is almost like a personal diary of the Group O.C.; that is, it appears that Webster followed Lieutenant Colonel Callender around to various units and job sites and recorded what Callender had to say and much of it appears to heap praise on the units, as if Callender is patting himself on the back. The diary contains no mention of officers’ names, so it is not possible to follow Marquis’s actions if he was in one of the companies. A good deal of the diary is devoted to the Prisoner of War Labour Companies in the Group, more in fact than appears to be devoted to the British Labour Companies. Since Webster wrote the diary entries in pencil, many are difficult if not impossible to read. A search was made in The National Archives for war diaries of the 64^th and 65^th Labour companies, but none could be found. Apparently only the 34^th Group was required to keep a war diary of activities. Only one mention is made of the 65^th Labour Company in the group diary and that was on the 24^th of May 1917 stating “65 Coy left 34^th Group.” The diary does not indicate to where the company was transferred.

Under the heading Labour Corps, the London Gazette of 30 September 1919 indicates that on the 10^th of April 1919 Major M.C. Marquis (T.F. Res.) ceased to be employed with the Corps and was granted the rank of Captain in the Army. The London Gazette of 29 May 1919 stated that “Temporary Captain M.C. Marquis relinquishes his commission on completion of service and retains the rank of Captain.”

The following sections are presented in tabular form to summarize Marquis’s promotions, appointments, military training and 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 marriage, personal information and post-service life.

Maurice Charles Marquis received the following promotions during his time in service:

Date of Promotion or Appointment	Rank or Position
9 March 1901	Appointed a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Cheshire Field Company, Welsh Divisional Engineers (an appointment in the Volunteer Force).
5 November 1904	Promoted Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers Volunteers.
January 1910	Transferred as a Lieutenant to the 1^st Cheshire Field Company, R.E. (Territorial Force).
16 May 1910	Promoted Captain.
5 August 1915	Promoted Major.
21 November 1916	Posted to the 22^nd (Labour) Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment as a Temporary Captain.^(*)
13 April 1917	Posted to No. 34 Labour Group with the rank of Captain.^(*)

Military Training: As previously mentioned, no record of any formal military training was uncovered for Major Marquis during this research. He surely received training as a member of the Cheshire Field Company when he served in this unit as a Volunteer Officer. His service record, if found, may provide more information on any training that he may have received.

Qualifications: Major Marquis earned the following qualifications during his time in service.

Figure 10. The Medal of Major M.C. Marquis, Royal Engineers
(Photograph from the author’s collection)

Major Marquis relinquished his commission on the 10^th of April 1919. His total service was reckoned as shown in the tables below:

Maurice and Elizabeth Marquis moved to Lower Gate Farm in Battle, Sussex after their marriage, where apparently he took up farming. On the 28^th of September 1924 he applied for his Great War medals.[31] From 1930 to 1934 the couple resided at 3 Ferry Street, Hunter’s Hill in New South Wales, Australia. The 1934 Electoral Roll in Australia shows his occupation as “Gardener,” but in fact he may have been a farmer.

Apparently Maurice and Elizabeth had enough of life in Australia and on the 23^rd of April 1934 the couple arrived at Southampton from Brisbane aboard S.S. Jervis Bay.[32]

By 1938 Marquis had retired to Broad Platts at Rotherfield Greys, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. The 1939 Register of England shows the couple residing at the Keeper’s Cottage, Broad Platts, Oxfordshire. Apparently a Keeper’s Cottage was a small building on a large estate that was used to house the grounds keeper of the estate. It must have been a modest dwelling that Marquis rented. The 1939 Register shows him as a Major, R.E., Territorial Army Reserve and his occupation as “Retired Clerk.” Apparently, after trying his hand at farming, he returned to his pre-war civil occupation.

Maurice Charles Marquis died on the 21^st of September 1958 at The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. At the time, he and his wife were residing at The Caravan, Broad Platts, Rotherfield Greys, Henley-on-Thames.[33] The probate of his will took place on the 29^th of October 1958 leaving his effects to Lloyds Bank Limited in the amount of £2729-19s-1d, or about $86,400 US in 2020 currency.

Figure 12. Entrance to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

Maurice Charles Marquis married Elizabeth Morris Jones (? – 1967) on the 2^nd of December 1919. According to family genealogists, Maurice and Elizabeth did not have any children. Elizabeth Marquis passed away on the 23^rd of July 1967. Probate of her will took place in Oxford on the 16^th of November 1967 with her effects going to Guy Stewart Blaker, solicitor. Her estate amounted to only £344, or about $8,500 US in 2020 currency. It would seem that Elizabeth did not get much of the £2,729 left to Lloyds Bank Limited when her husband died. Most of it may have gone to pay outstanding bills and debts. She passed on only about one tenth of what Maurice left upon his death, and the money she passed on went to a solicitor.

Maurice Charles Marquis’s father, William Marquis, was born in Liverpool, Lancashire in 1849. His mother, Eliza Marquis, née Williams, was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire in 1855. William died on the 25^th of September 1906 at the age of 57. Maurice was serving as a Lieutenant in the Cheshire Field Company, R.E. Volunteers in Birkenhead at the time. Eliza Marquis passed away on the 27^th of December 1929 while Maurice and his wife were living in Battle, Sussex. She was 74 years of age.

Maurice had two brothers, both of whom also served in the Army. His older brother, William Henry Marquis was originally commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 1^st Volunteer Battalion of The Cheshire Regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 22^nd of August 1900[34] and to Captain on the 26^th of November 1904.[35] On the 1^st of April 1908 William was transferred from the 1^st Volunteer Battalion to the 4^th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Territorial Force). At the start of the Great War, his battalion was called up and assembled in August 1914 in Birkenhead. It formed part of the Cheshire Brigade of the Welsh Division. The battalion moved immediately on mobilisation to Shrewsbury and Church Stretton and by the end of August 1914 had moved to Northampton. In December of 1914 it moved again to Cambridge and by March of 1915 was at Bedford.

On the 13^th of May 1915 the Cheshire Brigade became 159th Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division. It sailed in July of 1915 from Devonport, going via Alexandria to Gallipoli where it landed on the 9^th of August 1915. In December of 1915 the brigade was withdrawn from Gallipoli and moved to Egypt. Marquis’s battalion left the 53^rd (Welsh) Division on the 31^st of May 1918 and moved to France. On the 1^st of July 1918 it was attached to the 102^nd Brigade in the 34^th Division.[36]

William served in the Great War and was awarded the Territorial Decoration on the 14^th of January 1920.[37] Although he served in the war, his Medal Index Card shows no awards of the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal or Victory Medal.

Figure 13. The Medal Index Card of Captain William Henry Marquis, The Cheshire Regiment
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Captain W.H. Marquis, T.D. resigned his commission on the 22^nd of December 1920. He retained the rank of Captain and was granted permission to wear the prescribed uniform on special military occasions.[38]

William Henry Marquis died on the 19^th of March 1957 at 3 Woodland Rise, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Probate of his will took place in Peterborough on the 4^th of July 1957 to Lloyds Bank Limited. His effects amounted to £53380-19s, or about $1,736,800 US in 2020 currency.[39]

Major Marquis’s younger brother enlisted as a Private in the 4^th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment (T.F.) on the 5^th of November 1909. His enlistment was for four years of service in the United Kingdom. When he enlisted he was in the same battalion as his brother William Henry Marquis, who was a Captain at the time. John’s service papers contained the following information regarding him at the time of his enlistment:[40]

Regimental Number:	918
Age:	22 years and 11 months
Occupation:	Cotton Salesman
Employer:	Lionel Peel and Sons, Liverpool
Marital Status:	Single
Prior Service in His Majesty’s Forces:	None
Height:	5 feet 7¼ inches
Chest Measurement:	36 inches
Range of Chest Expansion:	2½ inches
Vision:	Good
Physical Development:	Good

Private Marquis’s service papers show that he attended annual training at Abergavenny, Wales from the 15^th to the 29^th of May 1910 and again from the 11^th to 25^th of May 1913, both periods of two weeks, which appear to have been the regular requirement for annual camps attended by men in Territorial Force units.

On the 4^th of November 1913, 918 Private John Francis Marquis was discharged from the Territorial Force. He was 26 years and 11 months old and when the Great War started he was only about 28 years old, yet it appears that he was not recalled for service with the Colours.[41] John Francis Marquis died on the 3^rd of September 1955 at 12 Hornsey Lane, Islington, London, N.6. His residence at the time was 85 Woodlands Rise, Muswell Hill, London N.10. The probate of his will took place in London on the 9^th of November 1955 with his effects going to The Public Trustee and Evelyne Bithiah Grant (wife of George Allan Grant) in the amount of £14485-9s-4d (about $507,600 US in 2020 currency).

Figure 14. Commonwealth War Graves Certificate for Captain A.T.S. MacIver.
(Image courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

This is a list of fatalities that occurred during the period that Major Marquis may have been serving with the Cheshire Field Company. This period extends from the 1^st of December 1914 to the 20^th of November 1916. He may have left the company as early as the 30^th of April 1915 or perhaps as late as the 20^th of November 1916. Without his service papers his period of service with the company in uncertain.

Except for 446051 Acting Lance Corporal Frederick William Sandbach, whose regimental number indicates he was a late replacement, all the other men were with the original company when it went to France and Flanders. Most of them were probably known to Marquis from the pre-war period. Marquis surely was with the company when A/2^nd Corporal Cunningham was wounded and subsequently died.

Regimental Number	Rank	Name	Date of Death	Cause of Death
191	A/ 2^nd Corpl.	Joseph Guy Cunningham	21 Apr 1915	DOW
529	A/Lance Corpl.	Thomas Harthen	14 Jun 1915	KIA
151	Sapper	Thomas Broxton	25 Sep 1915	KIA
446051	A/Lance Corpl.	Frederick William Sandbach	25 Sep 1915	KIA
1150	Sapper	James Callaghan	11 Feb 1916	Died
421	Lance Corporal	William Harvey	28 Mar 1916	DOW
1106	Sapper	Alexander Haggart	14 Jul 1916	KIA
1309	Sapper	Edward Victor Hatch	24 Jul 1916	DOW
1439	Sapper	John Arthur Passey	4 Nov 1916	KIA
1368	Sapper	Frederick William Cumpsty	9 Nov 1916	DOW

These fatalities occurred in the 34^th Labour Group while Marquis was serving with the unit.

Soldiers Died in the Great War. The Naval & Military Press, Heathfield, East Sussex, Version 1.1.

Biographical Data Sheet (BDS), Westchester Medal Verification and Research Service (Richard Crawford).

[1] Ancestry.com Family Tree (janet1283).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Oxton is a suburb of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Originally a village in its own right, it became part of the Municipal Borough of Birkenhead upon its creation in 1877.

[4] Rossall School Secretary, 14 July 1977.

[5] Royal Engineers List, 1905.

[6] Royal Engineers List, 1910.

[7] Later to receive a Mention in Despatches while serving with the company in the Great War.

[8] Philip Quixano Henriques, Mentioned in Despatches in the Great War. Died, 22 October 1940.

[9] The company may have had only three sections.

[10] Royal Engineers List, 1912.

[11] 1/1^st Cheshire Field Company War Diary.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] All notes pertaining to casualties have been extracted from Soldiers Died in the Great War and except for the entry for Captain MacIver they do not appear in the war diary of the company.

[16] Son of David and Edith Eleanor MacIver, of Birkenhead; husband of Florence Mabel MacIver, of 28, Bidston Rd., Birkenhead.

[17] Ibid.

[18] London Gazette, 2 July 1915.

[19] The Long, Long Trail.

[20] London Gazette, 23 March 1918.

[21] Long, Long Trail.

[22] Battalion War Diary.

[23] From Soldiers Died in the Great War. Not a war diary entry.

[24] Italics by author, not in the unit diary.

[25] London Gazette, 23 March 1919 and 30 September 1919, substituted for Gazette notification of 23 March 1918.

[26] The Long, Long Trail.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Ibid.

[29] These medals are in the author’s collection.

[30] Information supplied by Harry Brook, via the Great War Forum on the internet.

[31] Medal Index Card.

[32] Ship passenger list.

[33] Probate calendar, 1958.

[34] The London Gazette, 21 August 1900.

[35] The London Gazette, 25 November 1904.

[36] The Long, Long Trail: The Cheshire Regiment.

[37] The London Gazette, 14 January 1920.

[38] The London Gazette, 21 December 1920.

[39] Probate Calendar, 1957.

[40] His service papers were located in the burnt records files of The National Archives.

[41] This is based on the fact that no MIC or services papers could be locate for him at The National Archives after his service ended in 1913.

Date	Qualification
9 March 1901	Company Officer, Royal Engineers Field Company
16 May 1911	Officer Commanding, Royal Engineers Field Company.
15 December 1916	Staff Officer or Company Officer, Infantry Labour Battalion
13 April 1917	Officer Commanding or Company Officer, Labour Corps Company.

Location	Period of Service⁽¹⁾
Birkenhead, Cheshire	9 March 1901 to 30 November 1914 (Service with the Royal Engineers Volunteers and Territorial Force)
Home (preparation for embarkation)	1 – 9 December 1914
France	10 December 1914 – 11 November 1918
Home Service	12 November 1918 – 10 April 1919

Location	Period of Service
Home Service (V.F. and T.F)	13 years, 8 months and 22 days
Abroad	3 years, 11 months and 2 days
Home Service (Active)	5 months and 9 days
Total Service:	18 years and 26 days

113150	Private Formerly 19895	Robert Storr Cheshire Regiment	18 May 1917	Died
41584	Private Formerly 30925	Thomas Holmes Cheshire Regiment	11 Sep 1917	DOW
53521	Private Formerly 47861	Albert Carter Cheshire Regiment	18 Aug 1918	KIA

2. EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

Date of Promotion or Appointment

Date

Location

Location

Home Service (Active)

Total Service: