Major Robert Cecil Lord, MC, R.E.

by
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, PE, MInstRE
Ó 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 1. Major Robert Cecil Lord, MC, R.E., c. 1925.
(Photograph courtesy of Mrs. Court Munzer)

The principal references used in the preparation of this narrative were from a number of sources. They include census records, official registries in the United Kingdom, medal rolls, family trees, army lists, and The London Gazette. Two primary sources of information regarding the military service of Major Lord were Lieutenant M.R. Caldwell’s History of the 12^th Company Royal Engineers and a book compiled from war diaries of two companies of Indian Sappers and Miners that served in Mesopotamia. This book is titled A Short History of the 17^th and 22^nd Field Companies, Third Sappers and Miners, in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918. Nine pages of this book are devoted to the actions of then Captain Lord in the 17^th Field Company. In addition, the movements and actions of the company are presented in detail in the book and have been transcribed verbatim in this narrative. All sources are contained in the REFERENCE section at the end of the narrative and are cited throughout in the ENDNOTES. Every effort has been made to accurately portray the life and military service of Major Lord.

2. EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

Robert Cecil Lord’s grandfather was Robert Henry Lord (1830-1895), a Master Cotton Spinner, of Chorley, Lancashire. Chorley was a Lancashire market town, with its wealth coming primarily from the cotton industry. As a Master Cotton Spinner, Robert Henry Lord undoubtedly was the manager of a cotton mill.

Robert Cecil Lord’s father was Robert Lord, VD, (1857-1909), who also was a Cotton Spinner and who probably worked for his father (R.C. Lord’s grandfather). Robert Lord was born in Bolton, Lancashire. A holder of the Volunteer Decoration, Robert Lord probably served in Lancashire Volunteer regiment. The Volunteer Officers' Decoration post-nominal letters VD, and colloquially known as the Volunteer Decoration, was instituted by Queen Victoria's Royal Warrant on the 25^th of July 1892. The decoration was awarded to efficient and thoroughly capable officers of proven capacity for long and meritorious service in the part-time Volunteer Force of the United Kingdom.

The main character of this narrative, Robert Cecil Lord, was born on the 21^st of February 1885 at Breeze Hill, Heaton, Bolton, Lancashire.[1] His mother was Alice Maude Lord, née Cannon. Robert was baptized at Dean, Lancashire on the 28^th of March 1885.

In addition to Robert Cecil, the Lord’s had three daughters who were all born in Bolton, Lancashire. The girls were Alice Mary Lord (1887-1974), Ethel Winifred Lord (1890-1968) and Barbara Millicent Lord (1897-1986).

The 1891 Census of England provides the following data regarding the Lord family:

Census Place: 11 Breeze Hill Road, Heaton, Bolton.
Name	Relation	Marital Status	Age	Trade or Occupation	Birthplace
Robert Lord	Head	Married	34	Cotton Spinner	Bolton, Lancashire
Alice M. Lord [Maude]	Wife	Married	28		Bolton, Lancashire
Robert C. Lord [Cecil]	Son		6		Heaton, Lancashire
Alice M. Lord [Mary]	Daughter		3		Heaton, Lancashire
Ethel W. Lord [Winifred]	Daughter		5 mos		Heaton, Lancashire
Annie Lloyd	Servant	Single	25	Cook (Domestic)	Montgomery, Wales
Harried H. Hughes	Servant	Single	22	House Maid (Domestic)	Carnarvon, Wales
Harriet Harrington	Servant	Single	29	Nurse (Domestic)	Lancashire

It is evident from the number of servants in the household that Robert Lord had done very well in his occupation as a Cotton Spinner. By 1891 his father, a Master Cotton Spinner, may have retired and his son Robert may have taken his position as manager of the cotton mill, or at least second in line for the position. There were 163 mills in the Bolton ward. The great majority were spinning mills and some were weaving sheds. In 1884 a cotton mill known as the Gaskell Street Mill was established under the name of Lord, Hampson and Lord, Limited. This was a mill of 83,000 spindles by 1891 and the Lord mentioned in the title may well have been Robert Henry Lord, or perhaps his son, Robert Lord.

By 1901 the Lord family had moved to a new address as shown in the census below:

Census Place: 100 New Stead, Heaton, Bolton.
Name	Relation	Marital Status	Age	Trade or Occupation	Birthplace
Robert Lord	Head	Married	44	Cotton Spinner	Bolton, Lancashire
Alice M. Lord [Maude]	Wife	Married	37		Bolton, Lancashire
Alice M. Lord [Mary]	Daughter		13		Heaton, Lancashire
Ethel W. Lord [Winifred]	Daughter		10		Heaton, Lancashire
Barbara M. Lord [Millicent]	Daughter		4		Bolton. Lancashire
Sarah A. Ridden (or Redden)	Visitor	Widow	69		Newport Pagnell, Bucks.
Edith E. Wright	Servant	Single	28	House Maid (Domestic)	Walgrave, Northants
Jane E. Dowell	Servant	Single	20	Cook (Domestic)	Dawley, Shropshire
Hetty Graver	Servant	Single	20	General (Domestic)	Hale, Cheshire

Robert and Alice Lord still retained three servants in 1901. His business appears to have continued to do very well.
3. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Since Major Lord’s military service papers were not available at the time of this research, no physical description of him can be provided. The image of him in Figure 1 was extracted from a group photograph taken in Burma, circa 1925. In Figure 5 below he appears to have been rather short, perhaps about 5-feet-6 inches tall, about the same height as the women in the photograph. If the other two men in the photograph were very tall, then Lord may have been about 5-feet 8-inches tall. He appears to have been of average build.

Figure 4. Artist’s Rendition of Robert Cecil Lord.
(Drawing courtesy of Mr. Andrew Parkinson)

In the artist’s rendition shown in Figure 4 is accurate, he appears to have had a receding hair line, with no sideburns, and a pyramidal mustache. His facial features were rather sharp, with a trim nose, rounded chin and deep-set eyes.

Figure 5. Robert Cecil Lord in Pegu, Burma, circa 1925.
(Photograph courtesy of Mrs. Court Munzer)

NOTE: This photograph was taken when Lord was the Pegu Division Executive Engineer in the Public Works Department. In the photograph Lord is the central figure in the group. He also is the eldest of the males. One may assume that he was senior in rank to the two younger men based on his position in the photograph. It also appears that the little girl is hanging onto his left arm and that she is being held by the woman seated to Lord’s left. That woman may be his wife, Elizabeth. Robert and Elizabeth are not known to have had any children, so who the little girl is remains a mystery.

Following his graduation from Repton School, Robert Cecil Lord entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. On the 1^st of October 1905 Gentleman Cadet Lord was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers.[3] He reported for his initial period of training to the School of Military Engineering at Chatham. During the Young Officers’ Course which he attended at Chatham he would have received training in field fortifications, military construction, surveying, military topography, submarine mines, telegraphy and signalling, chemistry and military law.[4] This course would have been about 20 to 24 months in duration.

Upon completion of his training at Chatham he was posted to Aldershot with the 5^th Field Company. 2^nd Lieutenant Lord was one of 27 subalterns of the Royal Engineers assigned to Aldershot at that time, serving in 14 units of the Corps of Royal Engineers. His duties consisted primarily of training with his company in support of the divisional troops stationed at Aldershot.

Under the Army reorganization of 1905, the Army Corps System was abolished, except at Aldershot, and the United Kingdom was divided into seven Commands, each under a General Commanding-in-Chief, who was responsible for the administration of the Command and the efficiency and training of the troops stationed therein. In each of these Commands the majority of the field troops of the Regular Army were organized in divisions and brigades, or detailed for employment as Army Corps Troops, or on the line of communication in time of war. Under these new regulations, the duties of division officers were more clearly defined than previously. Engineer officers such as Lieutenant Lord, attached to regimental units, were given distinct duties as Division Officers, and were not usually employed on general engineer services or works in the districts.

After a short period with the 5^th Field Company, Lord was posted to the Balloon School at South Farnborough near Aldershot. During the period of his assignment the Balloon School was experimenting with a glider, configured as a biplane, with its wings set back like an arrowhead. It was considered that this unique design, if successful, would be of vital military importance, so it was decided to conduct the experiments in a remote place where secrecy could be preserved. Experiments with the glider were conducted at Blair Athol during the summer months of 1907 and 1908.

2^nd Lieutenant Lord received his promotion to Lieutenant on the 27^th of March 1908 and continued his work at the Balloon School. Concurrently with the experiments on the glider, other work was being done with an aeroplane, known as the Dunne biplane. This was a pusher-type biplane somewhat similar to the Wright brother’s pattern. This machine was tested on the 16^th of May 1908 and was the first recorded aeroplane flight in Great Britain.

Despite the tremendous amount of activity associated with military aeronautics at South Farnborough, Lieutenant Lord found some time to get away from the Balloon School and take part in the Royal Engineers Rifle Association Competition of 1908. He fired in the Class I (Home) Competition, placing first in his class with an aggregate score of 93 out of a possible 100 points. In the Team (Home) Competition the Balloon School placed third with an aggregate score of 706. Other competitor’s from Lord’s team that year included Captain A.D. Carden,[5] Company Sergeant Major J. Graham and Sapper F.W. Phillips. Captain Carden was the Balloon School’s Experimental Officer and had been involved with the test flights of “Nulli Secundus” and the Dunne biplane.

On the 1^st of November 1908 Lieutenant Lord was posted to the 12^th Field Company at Moore Park, Kilworth, Fermoy, Ireland. Kilworth is a village in north County Cork, located about 1.5 miles north of Fermoy near the river Funcheon. Moore Park was a large estate around which the town of Kilworth grew and the estate was the location of the headquarters of the 12^th Field Company. The company was quartered in the mansion which had been the old family seat of the Earls of Mountcashel. The property had been purchased a short time before becoming a training area for the British military in Ireland. The estate, some 900 acres in extent, was situated on the River Funcheon (or Funshion) and was well suited for bridging training.

Figure 8. The 12^th Field Company Bridging in Moore Park.
(From a postcard in the author’s collection)

The following officers were serving in the 12^th Field Company at the time that Lord was with the unit:[7]

Lord’s unit was employed on the usual peace-time company, brigade and divisional training, and under the Division Officer for works and road construction. The company was employed extensively in preparing camps for training and maneuvers. In 1908, on the formation of six divisions at home, both the 12^th and the 38^th Field Companies were allotted to the 6^th Division, the headquarters of which was located at Cork.

In December of 1908, shortly after Lord’s arrival, a fire occurred at Moore Park and the mansion was almost entirely destroyed, leaving practically nothing by the walls standing. No water was available close by so that the only method of dealing with the fire was a chain of buckets from the river, which proved quite inadequate. Lieutenant Lord and the men of the company had quite a harrowing experience. The fire originated near the main staircase of the mansion and many of the men had to exit the building from windows using knotted sheets. Almost nothing of their personal possessions or equipment could be saved. When the fire was out the men presented a somewhat motley appearance with one of the officers (possibly Lord) describing them as follows:

“It was quite the exception to see any of them properly dressed. I distinctly remember seeing one man wearing an officer’s Wellington boot on one foot and a carpet slipper on the other. Many others were on par.”

As they were now practically without accommodation, two huts were hurriedly removed from Clogheen and re-erected at Moore Park. After being re-clothed and re-equipped, the company once more resumed its normal appearance.

In 1908 and 1909 the 12^th Field Company prepared camps at Aglish in County Waterford, for the divisional training exercises that were carried out there. In the spring of 1909 and the spring of 1910 the company was assembled under canvas at Moore Park, having been dispersed under Division Officers during the winter owing to the lack of accommodation. In 1910 the company was joined by the 17^th and 59^th Field Companies from the Curragh and the 33^rd (Fortress) Company and 38^th Field Company from Cork, which came to Fermoy for the Field Works Course. Lord underwent extensive training during this course in experimental methods of crossing wire entanglements. This training was prescient in that it would prove very useful to all concerned in a few short years.

During the autumn of 1910 Lieutenant Lord and his company took part in the Irish Command maneuvers in the Wexford area. This was his first experience with a large scale tactical exercise with the 5^th Division fighting against the 6^th Division.

In the spring of 1911 the 12^th and 38^th Field Companies, after practicing pontooning at Baltray on the River Boyne near Drogheda, prepared the camp for, and took part in, the large review of troops in Dublin on the occasion of the visit of His Majesty King Edward VII. After the review the company returned again to Moore Park where it resumed annual training. These were Lieutenant Lord’s last official duties with the 12^th Field Company.

It appears that Lord had received orders for posting to India, but was granted a rather long period of leave before departing Ireland. In March of 1911 he left the 12^th Field Company. On the 6^th of February 1912 he married Ruth Alice Mary Becher (1886-1947) in Castle Lyons Church, Fermoy. Ruth had been born in West Bengal, India and her father was Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan Edward Becher (1840-1887), Bengal Infantry.[13] Ruth also had a brother, Major Henry Sullivan Becher (1876-1914) serving in the Indian Army.

At the time of their marriage, Ruth and her mother Constantina Ann Becher were living with Ruth’s brother-in-law, James Hugh Christie, in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland. The 1911 Census of Ireland shows that Ruth and her mother were members of the Church of England.

Sometime in or after April of 1912 Lieutenant Lord, presumably with his wife Ruth, left for India for a posting with the Bombay Sappers and Miners at Kirkee.[14] He had been on orders for reassignment to India since February of 1912. The December 1912 issue of The Royal Engineers List shows him as the Garrison Engineer at Barrackpore in western Bengal Province. The name Barrackpore appears to have originated from the English word barracks, as it was the site of the first cantonment of the British East India Company. Historically, the town was a military and administrative center under British rule and was the scene of several acts of rebellion against Britain during the 19th century, including the Barrackpore Mutiny of 1824 and the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

As the Garrison Engineer (G.E.), Lord was responsible for overseeing the planning, construction and maintenance of structures and roadways in Barrackpore, to include cost estimates, as well as providing utility services such as water, sewage disposal and electricity to the military garrison. This posting put him under the control of the Military Works Service. Two of the structures that existed at Barrackpore during the time that Lieutenant Lord served there as the Garrison Engineer are shown in the photographs below.

When the Great War broke out the 3^rd (Bombay) Sappers and Miners were a particularly happy family. The officers and British and Indian Other Ranks pulled well together and the espirit de corps was very strong. The four field companies stationed at Kirkee along with an improvised bridging train were mobilized in the first few weeks of the war. The 20^th and 21^st Field Companies went to France in August of 1914 with the 3^rd (Lahore) Division. The 17^th Field Company under Captain A.D.S. Arbuthnot, R.E. and the 22^nd Field Company under Captain E.K. Twill, R.E. went to Mesopotamia with the 6^th (Poona) Division, and the Bridging Train went to East Africa. Later the remaining existing companies of the Corps and many newly raised units took part in the war, but the first four field companies bore the brunt, and it is a proud fact that apart from individual distinctions, all four were mentioned for gallantry in the body of a despatch by the Commander-in-Chief of the forces with which they were deployed. The 17^th and 22^nd Field Companies had the misfortune to become, with the rest of the Poona Division, prisoners of war in April of 1916, but they certainly had a brilliant share in winning the Royal title for their Corps, which later became known as the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners.

The detailed descriptions of the actions of the 6^th (Poona) Division, and specifically the actions of the 17^th Field Company, that follow in this section of the narrative have been taken from A Short History of the 17^th and 22^nd Field Companies, Third Sappers and Miners, in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918. This book was privately published by members of the Corps in 1932. The Order of Battle of the 6^th (Poona) Division is presented below to assist the reader in following the course of events as it unfolded in Mesopotamia from November of 1914 to August of 1915, the period of time that Lord was there before being invalided to India because of wounds he received.

In addition to the 17^th and 22^nd Field Companies, 3^rd Sappers and Miners, the engineer troops of the 6^th Division included the 48^th Pioneers. Strictly speaking, Pioneer Battalions were infantry with a secondary mission of performing field engineer work. Sappers and Miners, on the other hand, were engineer troops with a secondary mission of fighting as infantry.

This division was more fortunate than most Indian divisions in that all its engineer troops were stationed together at Kirkee with the engineer commander designate, the Commandant of the 3^rd Sappers and Miners. Consequently these troops had excellent opportunities to train together and were all known to the divisional commander and his staff at Poona, which was only a few miles away.

Lord’s company, the 17^th, was mobilized on the 9^th of September 1914. The war establishment of the company was as follows:

Figure 14. Men of the Bombay Sappers and Miners with a Pack Mule.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

The men were organized in four sections, each about 45 strong and each with four equipment mules carrying tools and explosives and lead by Sapper Drivers. The rest of the company’s engineer equipment normally was carried in Army transport carts.

The class composition of all companies of the 3^rd Sappers and Miners was officially:

However, in 1914 this class composition had only recently been adopted. The Sikh section of the 17th Field Company was mostly composed of Rajputs and one section had a mixture of Hindus and Mussalmans, chiefly from the United Provinces. The actual composition of the 17th Field Company on mobilization was:

The roll of the 17th Field Company upon mobilization including the following officers and non-commissioned officers:

On the 30^th of October 1914, during the period when the company was preparing to embark for Mesopotamia, Lieutenant Lord was promoted to the rank of Captain. The 17th Field Company left Kirkee on the 5^th of November 1914 and embarked on H.T. Aronda at Bombay the following day. The company’s mules embarked separately on H.T. Eurinpura. They sailed on the 7^th of November and anchored off the bar of the Shatt-Al-Arab at 0630 hours on the 13^th. The next day the transports went upstream to Sanniya and at 1600 hours the right half company disembarked and bivouacked. Lord, with the other half company and the mules, landed on the 15^th. During the remainder of the day and on the 16^th they assisted the disembarkation of the other division troops (33^rd Cavalry, 10^th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, 18^th Infantry Brigade and 48^th Pioneers.

On the 16^th of November 1914 Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Barrett,[20] the Divisional Commander, decided to move the camp upstream to a better position to safeguard the Shaikh of Mohmmerah, the British ally on the opposite bank of the Shatt-Al-Arab. The whole force moved out from Sanniya towards the northwest at 0515 hours on the 17^th, marching clear of the thick belt of date palms fringing the river.

Map 1. The Battle of Sahil, 16-17 November 1914.
(Map from 17^th Field Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners History)

Figure 15. General Townshend in Kut, September 1915.
(Fourth from left: Colonel U.W. Evans, C.R.E.)[21]
(Source: MILLAR, R. Death of an Army)

For this operation the division’s Commander Royal Engineers (C.R.E.), known as the Divisional Engineer Commander in Indian divisions, Lieutenant Colonel U.W. Evans, R.E.[22] allotted the 17th Field Company to the 18^th Brigade and the 22^nd Company to the 16^th Brigade. Evan’s instructions were that whenever sapper companies were allotted to brigades during an offensive action a sapper officer and a section should always be well up front so that the ground might be studied and places chosen for rallying points. The sapper officer should also coordinate other defensive measures to be taken in cooperation with the brigade staffs before the main body of the company, held back in the rear of the column, arrived. However, by the time any assault was made, the sappers were in the front line.

This was an excellent use of the sappers in such an operation. Having an officer of the Royal Engineers up front in the column would allow him to assess the ground to determine how to best facilitate the movement of the advancing force and how to obstruct or delay advances on the part of the enemy. When the assault was to be made there would be a requirement for engineer support for the advancing troops; hence, the need to have the bulk of the field company in the front line, or at least close at hand.[23]

Captain Lord marched with the 17th Field Company at the head of the main guard with his sappers carrying cutting tools. After passing the old Turkish position at Sahain, the cavalry found the enemy holding trenches on the edge of the groves, their line, about two miles long, being parallel to the river (see Map 1). The march continued until the advanced guard was about opposite the enemy’s right, when both brigades (16^th on the right and 18^th on the left) faced to their right and swung in to attack covered by the artillery. The ground in front of the position was dead flat and entirely devoid of cover. An intense rainstorm had fallen during the march and continued at intervals during the action. As a result the muddy condition of the ground made advancing across it very difficult. It was almost impossible for the men to drag their feet out of it and the field artillery could only move at a walk.

On the left the 18^th Brigade attacked with the Norfolks leading and the 7^th Rajputs in support. At first the 17th Field Company was used to escort the mountain guns at to assist in moving them, but before the attack developed the company was moved up into line with the infantry, the left half with Captain Arbuthnot and Captain Lord on the left of the Norfolks, and the right half under Campbell on the left of the Rajputs. The enemy, Arab levies at this point in the line, opened fire at about 1,500 yards and the Rajputs, with Campbell’s half company, came up on the left of the Norfolks. The advance continued for about 800 yards during which Captain Arbuthnot and four sappers were wounded, Arbuthnot seriously.[24] Captain Lord and the remainder of the company continued through the hail of fire. At this point the 16^th Brigade attack had driven the Turks out of their position on the right, and the Arabs in front of the 18^th Brigade quit en masse, affording an excellent rapid fire target for Lord’s company.

The use of the 17^th Field Company in line in the attack in an infantry role was questionable on the part of the 18^th Brigade commander. He was risking the trained assets of an engineer company to do what infantry soldiers were very well trained to do. The addition of less than 100 more men (a half-company) in the firing line on the brigade’s left flank does not seem justified in this case and it seemed to be even less justified to have Lord’s half-company take up a position on the left flank of the attacking infantry force where, if they were not successful in the assault could have risked the Turks turning the British left flank. It is a credit to Captain Lord’s leadership and tactical know-how that he was able to handle this situation so well.[25]

By 1500 hours the whole of the Turkish position had been occupied and the force was withdrawn into bivouac at Sahil. The sappers were put to work as soon as they reached the bivouac site at about 1700 hours. The 17th Field Company was employed on a road through the bivouac area, the chief work being filling in irrigation channels. Captain Lord and his men finished this work at about 1930 hours. The men then settled down for a well deserved rest for the remainder of the night, although the bitter cold made everyone uncomfortable.

From the 18^th to the 21^st of November the 17th Field Company remained in camp at Sahil. It was employed on roads in the camp and on landing arrangements at the river.

News that the Turks had evacuated Basra was received on the 20^th of November and on the 21^st British gunboats steamed up and put a stop to looting by the Arabs in the city. Part of the 18^th Brigade followed them by river on the 22^nd. The main body marched from Sahil at 2000 hours on the 21^st with the 17th Field Company near the head of the column. During this march of 32 miles the company was busy making roadways across the numerous irrigation channels encountered along the route. The company arrived at the south west outskirts of Basra at noon on the 22^nd and bivouacked at 1400 hours (see Map 2). The company immediately got its pumps into action as started improving communications (trails and roadways) in the camps.

Map 2. The Occupation of Basra by the 6^th (Poona) Division.
(Map from 17^th Field Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners History)

On the 23^rd of November a ceremonial entry was made into Basra, one section of the 17th Field Company and the whole of the 22^nd Company taking part in the parade. In the afternoon the two companies moved into billets at the German Consulate at Ashar. On the 26^th they again moved to the Turkish Commodore’s House. This building remained the headquarters of the Royal Engineers at Basra throughout the war and the inscribed stone originally over the gateway was later relocated to the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners’ Mess at Kirkee.

From the day of arrival engineer work proceeded continuously in Basra. The base had to be put into a state of defence, communications improved and landing facilities of all kinds provided. The work allotted to the 17th Field Company by the C.R.E. consisted of assisting the infantry in defense works (principally wiring and overhead cover), bridging across the numerous creeks and work on piers and jetties. The 17th Field Company’s initial period of work in Basra lasted from the 22^nd of November to the 2^nd of December with one section continuing to work in the area until the 15^th of December. The following is a list of projects accomplished by the company during this period:

One can see by examining the above list of projects that had the 17^th Field Company suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Sahil when employed as infantry in an assault, there would have been far fewer men to accomplish these tasks.[26]

All this work was accomplished in an excellent manner by highly skilled tradesmen in the company. This was the result of very thorough training and testing of tradesmen at Kirkee prior to mobilization. Unfortunately in Mesopotamia, as in France, many highly skilled men would be killed in action in 1914 and 1915 and could not be readily replaced. The trade skill of the company declined constantly with each draft of replacements.[27]

The 17th Field Company lived in tents. The hours of work were long. There were no holidays and it was only possible to let off a section or so at a time to wash themselves and their clothes. Discipline in the company was excellent despite these conditions. Rations on the whole were good, although meat was not of very good quality and vegetables were scarce. The men’s health was very good during the winter and spring, but as the summer came on the intense heat, long hours and lack of time off undermined the health of all ranks and made them easy prey to malaria. Mesopotamia as a whole was not badly infected with malaria. The rain came in the cold weather, and by the time the temperature was high enough for the cycle to take place in the mosquito the water had dried up. This did not apply to areas where flooding took place from the swollen rivers in March and April. In the creeks and irrigation channels around the date palms anopheles breed in enormous numbers and malaria was prevalent. Enteric fever was prevalent throughout the campaign and was one of the principal causes of severe illness and death.[28]

The officers and non-commissioned officers of the company noted that the troops seem to enjoy their new surroundings. The work was hard, but was full of interest for everyone. It was no longer a case of training work for the 17th Field Company, work that was only valuable as a practice exercise, only to be destroyed or dismantled upon completion. The men felt that they were doing something worthwhile and contributing to the success of the military operation.

Captain Lord thoroughly enjoyed the facilities of the European Club during his stay in Basra. Although it was a small establishment he found a good deal of refreshment under its roof. He also was able to make use of the available outboard motors found in the city for trips up the numerous creeks in the area, both on or off duty. He always found these trips to be a delightful experience. In the evenings Lord would often ride out on the desert and outskirts of Basra exploring paths and waterways. His charger became quite good at crossing the water channels on very narrow planks or logs as it generally was not possible to jump them owing to the boggy state of the ground.

Lord celebrated St. Andrew’s Night, 1914 at the R.E. Mess in great style. “Tipperary,” a new and welcomed song imported from the Western Front, was handed out and sung by all. The after effects of consuming a great deal of liquor were hardly noticed the next morning on parade beyond a discreet grin or two among the sappers of Lord’s section.

Qurna, the traditional site of the Garden of Eden, is about 40 miles above Basra in the fork between the Tigris and the old bed of the Euphrates. It was held by about 1,200 Turkish infantry with four guns. Part of the 18^th Infantry Brigade moved against them by steamer on the 3^rd of December. These troops were accompanied by the Mejidie, which had been fitted by the 17th Field Company to take field guns, and by the right half of the company which embarked on the Malomar and took with it light adjustable trestles and superstructure to make piers.

The force landed early on the 4^th of December on the left bank of the Tigris, just above the inflow of the Shwaiyib, six miles south of Qurna. The sappers made ramps for guns over two creeks and then joined the column advancing on Mazera. They proceeded at the head of the main body carrying their tools, as no pack animals had been landed. The Turks were found holding a line of trenches from the Shatt-Al-Arab to Mazera. The British advance was in the direction of the village, and the 110^th Mahratta Light Infantry, which had been the advanced guard, attacked it. The sappers were moved up in support of this attack and when the Turks were driven out of the village they came up into line between the Norfolks and the 110^th Mahratta Light Infantry. The whole force then advanced through the plantations on the river bank and began to fire across the water at the Turks who had escaped across the river and were lining the opposite bank (see Map 3).

Map 3. 6^th (Poona) Division Advance to Qurna.
(Map from 17^th Field Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners History)

At 1300 hours the 104^th Wellesley's Rifles came up on the left of the 110^th Mahratta Light Infantry and endeavored to establish fire superiority to cover a crossing. The 17th Field Company was ordered to assist in the operation. This project was shortly abandoned and the whole force fell back to their bivouac near the landing site. The company had lost one man killed and three wounded. The whole force was back at 1700 hours, after which the sappers unloaded stores and helped to dig a defensive perimeter.

On the 5^th of December the 17th Field Company worked to strengthen the force’s defensive perimeter. Captain Lord and 10 men arrived on the 6^th of December with material for a flying bridge. Lord had been with the left half of the company and had not participated in the attack on Mazera. Now back with the company he began work in the camps making a bridge and repairing ramps. The enemy made a demonstration towards the camp on the 6^th but was driven back.

On the 7^th of December the whole force attacked the Mazera position again, which was now held by 2,000 infantry. The 17th Field Company acted as rear guard and took no part in the fighting. The action ended in much the same manner as that on the 4^th and the British force camped in the palm groves northwest of Mazera.

It was decided to construct a flying bridge over the river one mile north of Qurna. At 1000 hours on the 8^th of December the company marched out to the selected point. At 1130 hours three men of the company, volunteers, swam across the river with a log line. The Turks opened up a desultory fire on the work party, but a flying bridge tackle was successfully rigged up. At 1320 hours the first batch of men of the 110^th Mahratta Light Infantry was ferried across, and eventually the entire battalion plus a section of the mountain guns completed the crossing. The British force advanced on Qurna but was unable to capture the Turk’s prepared position that evening. The force retired to the flying bridge head only to receive the surrender of the Turkish force in Qurna during the night.

On the 10^th of December the men of the 17th Field Company collected their kit from the landing camp and move to Qurna. On the 11^th they moved up the right bank again to just north of the flying bridge where the brigade was to camp and where they remained until the 5^th of January 1915. On the 12^th of December Captain Lord had gone down to Basra and returned on the 14^th with the rest of the company. The work at the new camp site at first consisted of improvement of camp communications and unloading facilities for river steamers.

On the 15^th of December the G.O.C. of the Poona Division, with the C.R.E., arrived at Qurna. The C.R.E. drew up a plan for an entrenched camp in the angle between the Tigris and Euphrates consisting of four strong points connected by trenches. For the remainder of the month the 17th Field Company was employed on this task, receiving sniper fire from Arabs in the vicinity.

Captain E.J. Loring, R.E.[29] joined the company on the 28^th of December and took over the command. Despite Captain Lord’s time with the company and his experience thus far in Mesopotamia, it appears that he did not have the seniority to command the company. This must have been disappointing to him to have another Captain brought in from outside the company. On the 1^st of January half the company went out with a reconnaissance in force towards Muzaibila and worked on the construction of two small bridges.

The company moved back to Qurna on the 5^th of January and Lord and the other company officers were placed in charge of various sections of work on defensive positions for the garrison at Mazera. They were employed on the construction of entanglements and overhead cover along the position during the remainder of January. They also erected a high level and low level pier of palm log cribs on the Mazera bank as well as bridges on various roads. The company also constructed a boom of spars across the Tigris to catch Turkish floating mines.

On the 13^th of January Number 1 and Number 3 Sections moved across to camp at Mazera. The remainder of the company stayed at Qurna. On the 20^th of January the 17th Field Company accompanied a reconnaissance in force to the Turkish position on the Ruta Canal, seven miles north of Mazera. One section of the company moved with the advanced guard and the remainder with the main body. During the retirement of this reconnaissance in force the company was ordered to destroy the village of Hala, including a mud fort with round towers at the corners that were about 12 feet in diameter. The towers came down using gun cotton charges buried, frontier fashion, in the floor. The curtain walls were demolished by pulling them down after undercutting them with picks. The village huts were destroyed by fire. There was some slight enemy opposition at Hala and one sapper was wounded during the day.

Captain Lord was ordered out on the 30^th of January with a party of sappers to accompany a small force and to assist in similar demolitions at the villages of Jala and Alloa on the right bank. This mission was carried out without any difficulty.

On the 7^th of February His Excellency the Viceroy of India visited Qurna and the company had the first holiday since landing (with the exception of Christmas Day) in Mesopotamia. Throughout the remainder of the month the 17th Field Company continued work on the Qurna and Mazera defenses. The half company in Qurna was busy on observation posts, emplacements for searchlights, engine rooms and living rooms for searchlight detachments, various bridges and wharves and a 100-foot high observation tower from which the Turkish camps and steamers beyond Ruta were well visible. On the Mazera side the half company was chiefly employed in wiring and overhead cover. However, on the 16^th of February the river rose and the area began to flood. All the troops were then employed on raising roads and strengthening banks, but it became a losing battle. On the 25^th the Shwaiyib joined forces with the Tigris and the whole area was flooded up to the trench line. It was decided to abandon Mazera except for a battalion post, and on the 28^th the whole of the 17^th Field Company was concentrated at Qurna. Captain Lord and the right half company moved at once to Shaiba on the 3^rd of March and the other half, after completing work in hand at Qurna, moved to join them on the 13^th of March.

The area between Basra and Shaiba was already becoming flooded. The troops at Shaiba were occupying an entrenched camp and the 17^th Field Company was busy for the next month on these fortifications. The work included overhead cover, machine gun emplacements, placing of land mines, improving all existing wire entanglements, constructing cookhouses, latrines and dressing stations, cleaning out several wells and digging two new ones and erecting water troughs. Captain Lord was putting the knowledge he had acquired in the Field Works Course at Fermoy in 1910 to very good use at Shaiba. Of course the terrain and soil conditions in Mesopotamia were much different from those in Ireland, but his application of the basic principles would have been the same.

Lord also had the opportunity to use his tactical training from the School of Military Engineering on many occasions since arriving in Mesopotamia. At Shaiba he was to get another opportunity as the company had been allotted a section of the defensive line to hold in case of attack. The 17^th Field Company was to get even more chances to fight as infantry in the near future. While this work at Shaiba was going on the left half of the company arrived from Qurna on the 15^th of March.

Early in April news of a Turkish advance from Nasiriyeh reached the British force at Shaiba. The garrison at Shaiba had about completed its defensive position, which took on the appearance of an irregular horseshoe of posts and trenches. On the 11^th of April the enemy began to make his presence felt to the west, and on the night of the 11^th/12^th of April the defences were manned with the 17^th Field Company holding the south salient. The Turkish attack materialized about 0500 hours from the south and southwest and was supported by artillery as soon as it became light. The British artillery was soon able to silence the Turkish guns and the attack failed by about 0800 hours. It was revived at 1430 hours and again at dusk, continuing through the night. The Turks finally ended the fight at 0330 hours on the 13^th.

All these attacks fell primarily on the positions held by the 17^th Field Company and the 48^th Pioneers. Captain Lord found himself deeply involved in repelling the Turkish infantry assaults all through the action. His company had no difficulty in repelling them by fire. With the 17^th Field Company were some small acetylene searchlights from the Searchlight Section. Lord wondered whether these lights were more efficient in attracting the enemy’s fire or directing that of the British force. The sergeant in charge of the Searchlight Section kept the light going throughout the action and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

During the night attack the Turks got up to the wire in front of the 17^th Field Company on more than one occasion. Captain Lord certainly took an active part in the defense, with pistol in hand, shouting orders and directing the fire of his men. During the latter part of the night the Turks were heard collecting their wounded, and when day broke, several dead Turkish soldiers were found in the wire. The company lost a few wounded during the night; however, the prepared defensive positions and the wire entanglements had certainly paid off for Lord and his sappers by keeping casualties light and by enabling the company to inflict many losses on the enemy.

On the night of the 12^th of April the 17^th Field Company remained in its position in the south salient. The Turks on this flank made a somewhat feeble attack and a number of them dug in about 500 yards from the salient. In the afternoon of the 13^th they tried to retire, but the accurate fire of the sappers, aided by a machine gun of the Norfolks, accounted for every man who left the trench. Eventually the survivors, five officers and about 120 men, came out and surrendered to the men of the 17th Field Company. Lord’s experience as a competitive shooter materially assisted the performance of his company. They prided themselves on their musketry and had won the Royal Engineer Rifle Association shield for two successive years before their mobilization, undoubtedly under the coaching of then, Lieutenant Lord.

At 0900 hours on the morning of the 14^th of April the 6^th Division moved out to attack the enemy. The 17th Field Company was allotted to the 18^th Brigade and marched to the left behind the 110^th Mahratta Light Infantry. The sappers soon after starting, slung their rifles and carried the entrenching tools taken off the mules.

The sappers had spent a considerable amount of time during the operations at Shaiba doing infantry work. Fighting against great odds required that every rifle come into action.[30] In the fights at Shaiba the British force only had some 4,000 men against a larger Turkish force that was aided by 10,000 or more Arab irregulars.

The British force advanced and occupied South Mound when it became clear that the enemy was occupying a position in front of Barajasiyeh Wood with its right flank west of the watch tower. The 16^th Brigade was to attack frontally with the 18^th Brigade being employed to turn the enemy’s left. The 17th Field Company accompanied the 18^th Brigade (see Map 4).

Map 4. The 6^th (Poona) Division Attack on the South Mound.
(Map from 17^th Field Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners History)

At 1130 hours the force commenced its advance against the enemy and the 18^th Brigade become hotly engaged at 1220 hours on the right of the line. The attack was brought to a standstill by the enemy’s severe fire and although the brigade deployed all its infantry, the 17th Field Company received definite orders not to reinforce the firing line.[31] However, the company came under very heavy fire from the flanks and had a few casualties, including Captain Loring who was hit in the thigh. Later the company took up a position on the right of the 23^rd Mountain Battery.

The fire fight continued and slow progress was made as the firing line worked forward to about 200 yards from the enemy’s trench. The enemy’s resistance gradually weakened and at 1600 hours the Turkish guns ceased firing. Both British brigades pushed forward to the trenches, which were wholly occupied by 1700 hours. A large number of enemy prisoners were taken.

Now there remained the Turk’s second position. As preparations for attacking it were being made the enemy abandoned the position and bolted. The division was ordered to retire and did so, with the 17th Field Company covering the retirement on the 110^th Mahratta Light Infantry on the right of the line. The company reached Shaiba at about 1930 hours having lost Captain Loring and six men. Jemadar Muhammed Din was awarded the Indian Order of Merit for his gallant conduct throughout the fighting.

On the 17^th of April a new position was selected at Darhamiyeh, near Zubair, as a substitute for the Shaiba camp. There the 17th Field Company was employed on field defences and water supply until the 29^th when it went into Basra. Captain Loring recovered from his wound and rejoined the company on the 30^th of April.

On his return to Basra after the Shaiba operations Captain Lord was principally involved in preparing for the second battle of Qurna. The Royal Engineers work allotted to the 17th Field Company in these preparations included:

The 17th Field Company at first lent some men to the 22^nd Field Company to assist in cutting steel plates for the armoured gun barges. From the 13^th of May to the end of the month the men were employed on the barges.

The advance on Qurna began at 0515 hours on the 31^st of May 1915. The 17th Field Company, however, was left at Basra. The British force under General Townshend moved, primarily by water, to Qurna and then on to Amara. It was then decided that before any advance from Amara could be made it would be necessary to occupy Nasiriyeh on the Euphrates, some 70 miles west of Qurna.

Major General Townshend had replaced Major General Barrett as commander of the 6^th (Poona) Division by this time. He had been unsuccessful in his attempts to get the 17th Field Company back to the division for the advance on Amara. The company remained in the camp at Basra working on the development of the base. Captain Lord did not find this work particularly exciting since his comrades in the 22^nd Field Company were off with the division taking part in active operations. However, a change was in store for him. He was shortly to embark on an operation, the results of which would be most painful for him, and would change the course of his life forever.

On the 16^th of July the 17th Field Company received orders to embark for an unknown destination without the company mules. The men embarked at 1600 hours, arrived at Qurna the next day, and at Asani Camp on the 20^th at 1500 hours.

The river journey was a pleasant interlude. The only incident was that the men of the company had to tow the steamer and its barges through the cut in the Akaika dam using four ropes for each vessel.

Map 5. Operations at Nasiriyeh by the 6^th (Poona) Division.
(Map from 17^th Field Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners History)

No. 1 Section was left in camp with Captain Lord. The remainder of the company moved up the right bank of the river to join the 30^th Brigade (1/4^th Hampshires, 24^th and 76^th Punjabis and the 2/7^th Gurkha Rifles) who were holding a position from Sixteen Palms to Shukhair, about two miles above the camp. Here for the next two nights the company worked on the position. On the 23^rd of July the company collected and loaded bridging material in an iron barge for the next day’s operations.

The Turks, about 4,000 in number with 15 guns, were holding both banks of the river about seven miles below the town. On the left bank the attack was to be made by the 12^th Brigade and on the right by the 30^th Brigade, with the 18^th Brigade in reserve. The Turks on the right bank were in trenches about 700 yards from the British trenches and about 150 yards from their front line ran the Majanina Creek. This creek was about 60 feet wide and was believed to be unfordable. The plan was for the 17th Field Company and a company of the 48^th Pioneers (only 40 strong) to bridge this creek to allow the infantry to assault. No reconnaissance was made for the bridge as the operation was to be a surprise.

At 0530 hours the West Kents opened the attack on the left bank and by 0640 hours the 12^th Brigade had carried the advanced Turkish trench system on the left bank. The 17th Field Company and the 40 men of the 48^th Pioneers under a Captain Hewtt and a covering party 30 strong of the Hampshires were in the bridging barge, which was towed by the Sumana. As soon as it was seen that the 12^th Brigade attack had succeeded, the Sumana and her tow moved up the river covered by three gunboats. Every available Turkish gun and rifleman opened up on them. Both vessels were hit numerous times, but the Sumana pushed its barge into the creek mouth at about 0730 hours and the bridging parties leapt into the water. Captain Lord and some of the sappers jammed the barge across the creek and the remainder threw the bridging material overboard. Here the bank gave the sappers cover and the Hampshire detachment lined the far bank in preparation for a Turkish counter attack. In about an hour three bridges were across. Trestles had been made beforehand and the road bearers prepared for fixing and Sapper Hari Tingre got up on the road bearers and put on the planks fully exposed to the enemy’s close range rifle fire. He was wounded only once and completed the job before taking cover. Jemadar Mohammad Din was also conspicuous, as always, for gallantry and his entire disregard of danger.

The bridging, which was finished by 0830 hours, was not completed without loss. Jemadar Chowharja Baksh Singh was killed by a bullet through the head while speaking to Captain Loring about the roadway of the central bridge. Captain Lord was shot through the leg while completing the unloading of the barge. Captain Loring and Sergeants Toleman and Baker were slightly wounded and fifteen Indian other ranks were wounded.

After the creek position had been carried the 17th Field Company advanced behind the infantry and spent the rest of the day collecting the enemy’s arms and ammunition. The men passed the night on the battlefield and continued collecting the next day and in the evening embarked and were towed to Nasiriyeh.

The strength of the company on the 24^th of July 1915 was 55 all ranks, or less the 30 percent of its establishment strength. This number clearly indicates how arduous the operations and the climate had been to the company. Numerous casualties had been suffered during the military operations, and difficult weather conditions and diseases had accounted for many of the losses. Enteric (typhoid) fever was the principal cause of severe illness and death during the campaign. Dysentery, cholera, malaria, typhus, jaundice, diphtheria, heat stroke, sand-fly fever and sores, scurvy, beri-beri and even bubonic plague also affected European and Indian troops to varying degrees during the campaign.[32] Given the nature of their work, moving and lifting heavy loads and equipment, injuries from accidents also caused some losses among the engineer troops on active service. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand how Turkish bullets and shells, diseases and accidental injuries could have caused losses of more than 70 percent in the 17^th Field Company in such a short period during the campaign.

On the 26^th of July the company went back to Asani, where it fitted up a barge for use as a hospital and collected and loaded up all the R.E. stores in camp or on the battlefield. On the 29^th, when this work was completed, the men of the company were towed up to Nasiriyeh again and made camp there. The company remained in Nasiriyeh until the 6^th of August constructing small bridges and making bricks for a model barrack hut. The 18^th Brigade and the other 6^th Division troops had left the area by this time. The company embarked on a barge and went down stream, arriving at Basra on the 10^th of August. There it spent a week, chiefly decking barges, and on the 16^th left for Basra and then rejoined the 6^th Division at Amara on the 20^th of August.

Captain Lord was invalided back to India with his wound leaving him permanently lame, but no unable to continue military service, albeit not in a field unit. For the Nasiriyeh operations Loring and Lord both received the Military Cross[33] and Sapper Hari Tingre the Indian Order of Merit, second class.

Although Lord’s wound caused him distress for the remainder of his life, it actually was a blessing. It took him out of the war and prevented him from taking part in the disaster that was the siege of Kut and the ultimate surrender of the 6^th (Poona) Division where over 12,000 British and Indian soldiers were taken into captivity and where over 4,000 of them died. Of the British rank and file 1,700, or 70 percent, died or were never heard of again. The British officers fared much better than the other ranks, as they had been separated from their men and taken into captivity by river. They did not have to endure a march into captivity in the suffocating heat while being guarded and beaten mercilessly by Turkish and Arab guards.[34]

The engineer units and officers that were besieged at Kut at the time of the surrender included the following:[35]

· Headquarters, 6^th Division: Lieutenant Colonel V.W. Evans, R.E., who, as previously mentioned had been the Commander Royal Engineers of the division and who had subsequently been appointed the division’s G.S.O.1 staff officer.

· Headquarters, Divisional Engineers: Lieutenant Colonel F.A. Wilson, R.E. Commander Royal Engineers.

Figure 17. Major E.W.C. Sandes, DSO, MC, R.E.
(Photograph courtesy of The Royal Engineers Journal, June 1924)[37]

· 17^th Field Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners: Lieutenant K.B.S. Crawford, R.E.

Figure 18. Lieutenant Colonel C.E. Colbeck, c. 1929.
(Photograph courtesy of The Sapper magazine August 1929)

Figure 19. The Memorial Plaque Erected in the Crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
(Photograph from Death of an Army)

Many honours and distinctions were awarded to the officers and men of the 17^th Field Company as a result of their outstanding performance of duty in Mesopotamia. The following is a list of those awards:[40]

In addition to these awards, 41 men from the 17^th Field Company were mentioned in despatches for outstanding meritorious service in the field, Captain Robert Cecil Lord being one of them. The 17^th Field Company itself was mentioned three times in the bodies of despatches.

Figures 20, 21, 22 and 23. Indian medals (from left to right): Order of British India, 2^nd Class, Indian Order of Merit, 2^nd Class, Indian Distinguished Service Medal and the Indian Meritorious Service Medal.

Figure 24. Many of the Officers in this Photograph (c. 1929) are wearing Their Great War Medals. Many of Them Served in Mesopotamia.
(Photograph courtesy of The Sapper magazine, August 1929.

It may be assumed that upon returning to India Captain Lord spent the remainder of 1915 and the early part of 1916 recovering from his wound and resting during a period of extended leave. He may even have returned to the U.K. during this period. During this period he was mentioned in despatches (5 April 1916) and awarded the Military Cross (17 April 1916) for his service in Mesopotamia. From the 26^th of June to the 31^st of August 1916 he was Specially Employed by the War Office.[41] It is not known if he was in the U.K. during this period or if his employment by the W.O. was while he was in India. One possibility regarding his employment could be the preparation of an “after action report” or an historical report and analysis of the military engineering operations during the campaign in Mesopotamia.

Figure 25. Director General of Works, India, 1920-1921.
(Image courtesy of The Institution of Royal Engineers)

After his War Office employment Captain Lord was posted to the Indian Headquarters Staff at Simla, specifically to the Military Works Branch as an Assistant Director General of Military Works under Major General Joseph Cameron Rimington, CB, CSI.

On the 7^th of November 1921 he received his 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. His Medal Index Card shows that he arrived in Mesopotamia on the 15^th of November 1914. A comment on his card indicates that he was “Not entitled to the 1914 Star.” This was due to the fact that he did not serve in France or Belgium during the period for which the 1914 Star was authorized. One wonders if the War Office was aware of the hellish conditions that the troops experienced in Mesopotamia in 1914! Issuing the 1914 Star only to troops who served in France and Flanders in 1914 was an injustice to all of those who served in other theatres of the war during that period.

During the period from the 4^th of October 1919 to the 31^st of July 1922 Lord was a Temporary Major, appointed to that rank as a result of his employment on the Indian Headquarters Staff. On the 1^st of August 1922 he retired on half pay and on the 29^th of December 1922 he was promoted to the substantive rank of Major (retired on half pay).

The following sections provide details of events in Major Lord’s life in tabular form to assist the reader in following his military career as it has been explained in some detail in the previous narrative sections.

a. Promotions: Robert Cecil Lord received the following promotions during his time in service:

b. Appointments: Major Lord received the following appointments during his time in service:

Date of Appointment	Position
April 1907	Section Commander, 5^th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
March 1908	Staff Officer, Balloon School, Aldershot
1 November 1908	Section Commander, 12^th Field Company, Royal Engineers
March 1912	Garrison Engineer, Barrackpore, India
9 September 1914	Section Commander, 17^th Field Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners
26 June 1916	Staff Officer, Specially Employed by the War Office
1 September 1916	Deputy Assistant Director of Works, Military Works Branch, Indian Headquarters Staff.
Civil Service
1925	Pegu Division Executive Engineer, Pegu, Burma

a. Military Training: Lord received the following military training during his time in service:

b. Qualifications: Lord earned the following qualifications during his time in service.

Major Lord received the following medals, awards and decorations during his time in service:[42]

Figure 26. The Medals of Major Robert Cecil Lord, MC, R.E.
(Photograph from the author’s collection)

Figure 27. Medal Index Card (front side) of Captain Robert Cecil Lord, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Figure 28. Medal Index Card (back side) of Captain Robert Cecil Lord, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Lord’s Medal Index Card shows the first entry for the “Theatre of War” as “India” with the date 14-11-19 (in red ink). Below that notation is written “Mesop. 15-11-14” and as previously mentioned, under “Action taken” is the notation “Not entitled to 1914 Star.” His rank shown on the card is Captain, since that was his rank when the war ended. His promotion to Major did not come until December of 1922 when he was retired on half pay.

The back side of his MIC contains some interesting notations. The notation in blue is especially interesting:

The U.S. of S. Mil. Dept. India Office fwds. nom. Roll of indivis. entitled to emblem 9.10.20.

The “emblem” in this note may refer to the bar that was included with the award of the 1914 Star in the belief by a member of the India Office that Lord was entitled to that medal since he was in Mesopotamia in November of 1914. This was not correct, of course, since only individuals who went to France and Flanders in 1914 where authorized the 1914 Star and bar. This notation by the India Office is probably what led to the comment on the front side of the card stating that Lord was “Not entitled to the 1914 Star.

Shortly after Robert Cecil Lord married Ruth Alice Mary Becher in February of 1912, he and presumably his wife, departed for India. Ruth had been born in West Bengal, so India would not have been a strange place to her. Her father, Colonel Sullivan Edward Becher, had served in the Indian Army and had been the Commander of the 2^nd Battalion, of the 2^nd (Prince of Wales’s Own) Gurkha Regiment (The Sirmoor Rifles). Colonel Becher died on the 5^th of August 1887 in Mussorie, West Bengal, about one year after Ruth was born.

It is not known whether Ruth Lord remained in India while her husband was in Mesopotamia, or if she returned to the U.K. during those years. If she did remain in India she probably was at Kirkee when her husband left for Bombay with the 17^th Field Company on the 5^th of November 1914. This was three days after her brother Henry had been killed in France. Major Henry (“Harry”) Sullivan Becher was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, France on the 2^nd of November 1914 while serving in the 2^nd Battalion, 2^nd King Edward’s Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles). At the time of his death he had been attached to the 34^th Sikh Pioneers.

Figure 29. Major Henry Sullivan Becher.
(Photograph courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

Ruth probably would not have received notice of her brother’s death for some time afterwards if she was in India. The Becher family home at the time was at Kingswood House, Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire and Ruth’s mother was probably the first family member to be informed her son’s death.

In 1922, when Lord was a Temporary Major serving at Simla, India, Ruth petitioned in divorce court for restitution of conjugal rights.[43] In English law, restitution of conjugal rights was an action in the ecclesiastical courts and later in the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes. It was one of the actions relating to marriage, over which the ecclesiastical courts formerly had jurisdiction. This could be brought against a husband or wife who was guilty of “subtraction"; that is, living away from their spouse without a good reason. If the suit was successful, the married couple would be required to live together again. Just how a court order to make a husband and wife live together would solve their problem is a question that begs an answer.

This action on Ruth’s part may indicate that she was living in the U.K. while Robert was working and living in India or it may mean that they were both in India but living apart.[44] In 1923 Ruth formerly petitioned for divorce and apparently her petition was granted.[45] Ruth married again to one Patrick J. Malone in 1928. Ruth died in September 1947 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.

Robert Cecil Lord remarried on the 16^th of September 1929 at the age of 44. His second wife was Elizabeth Mitchell (1894 - ), age 35. Robert and Elizabeth were married in Rangoon, Burma.

Major Lord was released from service on the 1^st of August 1922 when he retired on half pay. His total service was reckoned as shown in the tables below:

NOTE: Home Service and Service Abroad periods are approximate due to his estimated date of departure from the UK to India in 1912.

After the completion of the divorce proceedings with his wife Ruth, Lord signed on with the Foreign Office to work in Burma. In 1925 he took a position as the Pegu Division Executive Engineer in the Public Works Department and while in Burma he met his second wife. It is not know how long the couple remained in Burma but it appears that by 1932 they were back in England.

Lord had his will prepared on the 27^th of September 1932 by Thomas Cook & Son, Ltd. of Berkeley Street, W.1. The Lords were residing at the time at the Dorset Square Hotel, Dorset Square, N.W.1.

Figure 30. The Dorset Square Hotel, London, N.W.1
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

In his will he bequeathed £50[46] each to his sisters, Alice Mary Lord, Ethel Winifred Lord and Barbara Millicent Lord. Apparently none of the sisters had married. His Gold Grenade Cuff Links (presumably the nine-flame grenade representing the Royal Engineers college badge) he left to his friend, Mrs. Barbara Harris, of “Langara,” Upper Norwood, S.E. The residue of his estate was to go to his wife, absolutely. His will was witnessed by Mr. Kenneth H. Thompson, solicitor, of 4 Clarges Street and by F.J. Tallack, clerk to Stanley Attenborough & Co., solicitors, also of 4 Clarges Street, W.1.

In late 1932 or early in 1933 the Lords appear to have returned to Burma. It also is possible that he was still working for the Public Works Department at this time and that he had his will prepared in September of 1932 while the couple were home on leave in the UK. No information has been uncovered to determine just when he retired from the Foreign Office position in Pegu. What is known is that the Lords returned to Southampton from Burma on the 13^th of March 1933 aboard RMMV Winchester Castle. The passenger list shows him as a “Retired Army Officer” with Thomas Cook & Son listed as their address.

Robert Cecil Lord died on the 6^th of December 1933 at Langhorne (a nursing home) on Polworth Road in Streatham, Surrey. He was 48 years old. The Lord’s home address at the time was The New Cottage, Boarzell, Hurst Green, Sussex. The informant of his death was his wife. His cause of death was a carcinoma of the epiglottis. The epiglottis is the part of the throat that covers the windpipe when we swallow and keeps food from entering the lungs. A common cause of this type of cancer is tobacco use and excessive alcohol use. Surely Lord was suffering from this cancer in his last days in Burma and during his return to the U.K. in March of 1933.

The probate of his will took place in London on the 15^th of January 1934. His wife was his sole executrix and after the money and cuff links bequeathed to his sisters and his friend were dispersed, Elizabeth Lord received the balance of his estate amounting to £3,094 10s 2d (just over $391,000 US in 2020 currency).

Lord’s sisters lived on for quite a few years after his death. Ethel died in Westminster in 1968, Alice died in Hounslow in June of 1974 and Barbara died in Surrey in January of 1986. As mentioned previously, none had married.

While writing the story of Major Lord’s service in Mesopotamia I learned much about the Great War of 1914-1918 in that part of the world. I learned about the topography and climate of the area and the effect they had on military operations. I learned quite a bit more about the Indian Army and the units in it, especially the units of the Indian Sappers and Miners. But most importantly I learned about the career of an officer of the Royal Engineers that spanned from 1905 to 1922 and the dangers that he experienced while serving in a field company in the region.

Major Lord’s war was not one of trenches and long lines of barbed wire obstacles and no-man’s land. His was a more mobile type of war where the opposing forces moved to attack each other over open terrain. There were trenches and defensive positions and wire obstacles, but these were temporary in nature and did not evolve into the static type of warfare that existed on the Western Front in Europe. Studying Lord’s activities during the campaign showed that the officers and men of the engineer field companies were much more likely to meet the enemy face-to-face and hand-to-hand in Mesopotamia than were the men of similar units in France. There are four striking examples of this in the narrative. The first occurred for Lord at Sahil on the 16^th of November 1914 when he had to lead the right half of the 17^th Field Company through a hail of fire to move his men against the Turkish forces on the left flank of the attacking 18^th Brigade. Lord’s company was acting in an infantry role and came under more enemy fire than an engineer company might normally expect. The second action occurred on the night of 12/13 April 1915 when Lord and his company were placed in line at Shaiba to defend against heavy Turkish attacks on their defensive position. Then on the 14^th of April 1915 the company was given a rear guard mission, one normally assigned to the infantry, to cover the retirement of the British 18^th Brigade from the battlefield at South Mound. And finally, there was the assault river crossing operation over the 60-foot wide Majanina Creek south of Nasiriyeh on the 24^th of July 1915 when Captain Lord and his men placed three barge bridges in the creek under heavy fire in order to assist in the infantry assault of a fortified Turkish position. Lord was wounded in this action and invalided back to India for treatment and convalescence. That wound effectively ended his ability to serve in the field and caused him to spend the rest of his military career as a staff officer. It saved him from being captured at Kut along with the rest of the 6^th Division, but it probably reduced his chances for further advancement in the Army. He most likely was forced into retirement at half pay with just under 17 years of service. This probably was not what he had in mind for himself when he graduated from the Royal Military Academy.

Robert Cecil Lord and his first wife Ruth Alice Becher had one child, Michael Robert Douglas Lord, born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire on the 17^th of November 1919. Information available from Ancestry.com indicates that in 1939 Michael’s address was Regal House in Newmarket, Suffolk. From 1946 through 1948 his residence was at Warren Hill Court in Newmarket, Cambridgeshire.

Ship passenger lists available on Ancestry.com show the following information regarding Michael:

· On the 13^th of July 1920 Michael and his mother departed Liverpool aboard the S.S. Castralia, bound for Bombay, India.

· On the 8^th of May 1947 Michael departed Southampton for New York City aboard the S.S. Batory. His occupation on the passenger list was shown as “Hotel Manager.”

During the search for travel information on Michael, a passenger list was found for the S.S. Mongolia, showing Captain and Mrs. R.C. Lord departing London on the 15^th of September 1916 bound for Bombay, India.

Michael Robert Douglas Lord died, unmarried, at Eastbourne, East Sussex in 1999.

1. BOMBAY SAPPERS AND MINERS. A Short History of the 17^th and 22^nd Field Companies, Third Sappers and Miners, in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918. Privately published by members of the Corps, c. 1932.

2. CALDWELL, M.R. History of the 12^th Company Royal Engineers. From the Royal Engineers Journal, The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 1925.

1. Letter to the author from Mrs. Court Munzer, dated 14 July 1981.
2. The Great War Forum (talisman01).

DISEASE IN MESOPOTAMIA by Major F. P. Mackie, M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.P., I.M.S.

RMMV Winchester Castle from Durban, South Africa to Southampton, Arrival Date 13 March 1933.

[1] Heaton is a mostly residential district and council ward of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It lies about two miles north west of Bolton town centre. It is bounded by Deane to the south, Markland Hill to the west and Smithills and Halliwell to the north.

[2] In recent years The Cross has been significantly refurbished and currently houses close to 60 boys.

[3] London Gazette, 3 October 1905.

[4] Army and Navy Calendar for 1893-1894.

[5] Alan Douglas Carden, later Colonel, Distinguished Service Order.

[6] CALDWELL, M.R. History of the 12^th Company Royal Engineers.

[7] The Royal Engineers List, November 1908.

[8] Later Colonel R.A.P. O’Shee, CMG, R.E.

[9] Later, Major.

[10] Later Lieutenant Colonel J.P. Galbraith, OBE, R.E.

[11] Later Colonel H.W.T. Palmer, OBE, DSO, R.E.

[12] Later, Captain.

[13] 1912 Marriage Index and the Hughes-Nepean family tree.

[14] The Royal Engineers List, April 1912.

[15] Killed in action, 8 March 1916 in Mesopotamia while attached to the 20^th Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners. Mentioned in Despatches.

[16] Later, Major, 22^nd Company, 3^rd Sappers and Miners. Military Cross.

[17] Later, Brigadier. Prisoner of war in World War 2.

[18] Indian Order of Merit.

[19] Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Deceased 12 July 1964.

[20] Field Marshal Sir Arthur Arnold Barrett GCB, GCSI, KCVO, ADC (3 June 1857 – 20 October 1926) was a British officer of the Indian Army. He saw action at the Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment in December 1879 and at the Battle of Kandahar in September 1880 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War and went on to serve in the Hunza-Nagar Campaign in 1891. During the First World War he was General Officer Commanding the Poona Division which successfully took Basra in Mesopotamia in November 1914 and then Al-Qurnah in Mesopotamia in December 1914. He spent the rest of the War commanding the Northern Army in which role he took part in operations against the Mahsuds in Spring 1917. He saw action again as the senior British officer on the ground during the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 before retiring in May 1920.

[21] When this photograph was taken Colonel Evans was G.S.O.1 for General Townshend. He was the C.R.E. at the time of this narrative regarding Major Lord’s military service. The man at the far right is Lieutenant Colonel F.A. Wilson, R.E. He was the C.R.E. in Kut when the photograph was taken.

[22] Later Brigadier General Usher Williamson Evans, CMG, CB.

[23] Author’s note.

[24] Captain Twiss of the 22^nd Company was mortally wounded during this action.

[25] Author’s note.

[26] Ibid.

[27] This comment reinforces the author’s remarks regarding the value of engineer soldiers.

[28] DISEASE IN MESOPOTAMIA by Major F. P. Mackie.

[29] Later, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Joshua Loring, R.E. Military Cross. Deceased 1951.

[30] This explains why the field companies were put into the line as infantry.

[31] It appears that the brigade commander had come to realize the need for his skilled engineer troops and was hesitant to have them incur too many more casualties by fighting as infantry.

[32] DISEASE IN MESOPOTAMIA by Major F. P. Mackie.

[33] London Gazette, 17April 1916.

[34] MILLAR, pp. 2, 284 and 285.

[35] Ibid., Appendix C.

[36] Later, Lieutenant Colonel. OBE, DSO, MC.

[37] From an article entitled The Adventures of a Bridging Train in Mesopotamia.

[38] Later, Colonel Charles Edward Colbeck, ,MC, R.E.

[39] Later, Colonel Harold Winslow Tomlinson, R.E.

[40] BOMBAY SAPPERS AND MINERS. A Short History of the 17^th and 22^nd Field Companies, Third Sappers and Miners, in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918.

[41] Quarterly Army List, October 1916, p. 924.

[42] All of the items listed in the table are in the author's collection.

[43] Divorce Court File 8403.

[44] Under the existing laws in India, the petitioning partner seeking restitution of conjugal rights can get a decree directing his or her spouse to cohabit and take part in sexual intercourse. He or she can also seek coercive measures in the form of attachment of property in case the spouse willfully disobeys the decree of restitution. In the Lord’s case it is more likely that English law took precedence in their case.

[45] Divorce Court File: 2426.

[46] About $6,500 US in 2020 currency.

Date of Promotion or Appointment	Rank or Position
1 October 1905	Commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers
28 March 1908	Promoted Lieutenant
30 October 1914	Promoted Captain
4 October 1919	Appointed Temporary Major
29 December 1922	Promoted Major

Dates	Course of Training
1903 - 1905	Gentleman Cadet, Royal Military Academy
1907 - 1908	Glider and Balloon Training, Balloon School, Aldershot
1910	Course in experimental methods of crossing wire entanglements, 12^th Field Company, Royal Engineers
1911	Pontoon Training, 12^th Field Company, Royal Engineers

Date	Medal or Award
17 April 1916	Military Cross
7 November 1921	1914-15 Star
7 November 1921	British War Medal
7 November 1921	Victory Medal with Mention in Despatches (MIDs 5 April 1916 and 5 June 1919)

Location	Period of Service
Home (Chatham and Aldershot)	1 October 1905 – March 1912
India	March 1912 – 7 November 1914
Mesopotamia	8 November 1914 – 20 August 1915
India	21 August 1915 – 31 July 1922

Location	Period of Service
Home Service	6 years and 5½ months
Service Abroad	10 years and 4½ months
Total Service	16 years and 10 months

Date	Qualification
April 1907	Section Commander, Royal Engineers Field Company
March 1912	Garrison Engineer, Military Works Service
September 1916	Deputy Assistant Director of Works
1925	Executive Engineer, Public Works Department (Civil)

2. EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

Date of Promotion or Appointment

Date of Appointment

Dates

Date

Location

Location

Total Service