by Susan Flantzer

• Captain The Honorable Cecil Edwardes
• Timeline: December 1, 1917 – December 31, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• December 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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Captain The Honorable Cecil Edwardes

Captain The Honorable Cecil Edwardes was born on May 31, 1876, the third of the four sons and the seventh of the nine children of William Edwardes, 4th Baron Kensington and his wife Grace Johnstone-Douglas. Cecil had eight siblings:

• William Edwardes, 5th Baron Kensington (1868 – 1900), unmarried, was killed in action during the Boer War
• Hon. Gwendolen Edwardes (1869 – 1940), married Captain William Stirling-Home-Drummond-Moray, 20th Lord of Abercairny, had five children
• Hon. Sibyl Edwardes (1871 – 1955), married William Edward de Winton, had five children
• Hon. Grace Edwardes (1872 – 1957), married John Lane, had seven children
• Hugh Edwardes, 6th Baron Kensington (1873 – 1938), married Mabel Pilkington, had four children
• Hon. Winifred Edwardes (1875 – 1962), married Captain Walter Koe, no issue
• Major Hon. George Edwardes (1877 – 1930), married Olive Kerr, had four children
• Hon. Isobel Edwardes (1879 – 1934), married Major Frederick Whitfield Barrett, had two children

In 1901, Cecil married Canadian opera singer Marie Louise Lucienne Martin. Born in Montreal, Canada and known professionally as Louise Edvina, she sang at Covent Garden in London, the Montreal Opera Company, the Boston Opera Company, the Chicago Opera Company and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Cecil and Louise had two daughters:

• Marie Edwardes (1902 – ?)
• Lumena Edwardes (1903 – 1944), unmarried

The Edwardes family had a residence at St. Bride’s Hill, Pembrokeshire, Wales and Cecil lived there with his family. Cecil had served with the Royal Navy, but at the beginning of World War I had been commissioned into the Scottish Horse, a regiment of the British Army’s Territorial Army.

In 1916, the Royal Tank Corps was formed and the British first used tanks in September 1916 at the Battle of Flers–Courcelette during the Battle of the Somme. Cecil transferred to the Royal Tank Regiment in 1916 and served with H Battalion.

During the Battle of Cambrai in France (November 20 – December 7, 1917), the Royal Tank Corps saw much action. 476 tanks were used in the battle and 179 were lost, including the tank of Cecil Edwardes. Six tanks from H Battalion took the town Fontaine, four miles from Cambrai, getting into the village 30 minutes before infantry of the Seaforth Highlanders and Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders from the 51st Division followed up and occupied it. However, Cecil was killed when his tank was knocked out during the initial advance.

Captain Joseph Hassell, who served with Cecil, related this story about his death: “Edwardes had a premonition of his death. He told us the day before the action of this – settled up all his affairs. He was immensely popular and eight officers went up the day after his death, got his body out of the tank and carried him back for burial. In the absence of a Padre, I conducted such a burial service as was practicable.”

The exact date of Cecil’s death is unknown and the place of his grave is unknown, so he is remembered on the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing in Louverval, France.

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Timeline: December 1, 1917 – December 31, 1917

 

• November 20 – December 7 – Battle of Cambrai in France
• December 1 – Battle of El Burj, a phase of the Battle of Jerusalem
• December 7 – The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary
• December 16 – Russia signs a preliminary armistice with Germany
• December 20–21 – Battle of Jaffa near the Auja River in Jaffa, a phase of the Battle of Jerusalem

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire. The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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December 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website. If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Captain The Honorable Cecil Edwardes

• son of William Edwardes, 4th Baron Kensington and Grace Johnstone-Douglas
• born May 31, 1876
• married 1901 Marie Louise Martin, had two daughters
• Captain in the Tank Corps
• killed in action December 1917, age 41
• no known grave, remembered on the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing, Louverval, France
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p5229.htm#i52290

Private Lord Edward Beauchamp Seymour

• son of Hugh de Grey Seymour, 6th Marquess of Hertford and The Honorable Mary Hood
• born November 22, 1879 in Arrow, Warwickshire, England
• married 1914 Elfrida de Trafford
• Private in Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians)
• died from wounds received in action December 5, 1917, age 38
• buried at Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery in Somme, France
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p6264.htm#i62635

by Susan Flantzer

• Captain The Right Honorable Neil James Archibald Primrose
• Timeline: November 1, 1917 – November 30, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• November 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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Captain The Right Honorable Neil James Archibald Primrose

One of the 25 Members of Parliament who lost their lives during World War I and a peer’s son, Captain The Right Honorable Neil James Archibald Primrose was the younger son and the youngest of the four children of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and Hannah de Rothschild, granddaughter of Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild, who had founded N M Rothschild & Sons, the English branch of the Rothschilds’ banking empire.

Neil was born on December 14, 1882 at the family home Dalmeny House in Midlothian, Scotland. He was educated at Eton and Oxford where he played with the Oxford University Polo Club.

Neil had three older siblings:

• Lady Sybil Primrose (1879–1955), married General Sir Charles Grant, had one son
• Lady Margaret Primrose (1881–1967), married Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, had two children
• Albert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery (known as Harry) (January 1882 – 1974), married (1)  Dorothy Grosvenor, had two children, divorced  (2) Dame Eva Bruce (DBE), had one son Neil Primrose who succeeded his father as the 7th Earl of Roseberry

On April 7, 1915, Neil married Lady Victoria Stanley, daughter of Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby and Lady Alice Montagu. Neil and Victoria had one daughter:

• Ruth Primrose (1916 – 1989), married Charles Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax, had two daughters and one son

Neil followed his father into politics and was elected in 1910 as a Member of Parliament for Wisbech.  He served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury. In June 1917, he became a member of the Privy Council. (Note: Neil had the courtesy style “The Honorable” as the son of an Earl.  Members of the Privy Council use the style “The Right Honorable.”)

When the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in August 1914, Neil joined the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry as a Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain in 1915 and was awarded the Military Cross in 1916. Neil died at the age of 34 on November 15, 1917 from wounds received in action at Gezer, Palestine while leading his squadron against Turkish positions on the Abu Shusha Ridge during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the Third Battle of Gaza. He was buried in the Ramleh Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Ramla, Israel.

 

On November 19, 1917, Prime Minister David Lloyd George addressed the House of Commons regarding Neil’s death:

“May I be permitted before I sit down to utter one word of another who held an inconspicuous position in the Army but who was well known to all Members of this House. I refer to Captain Neil Primrose. The House knew his bright and radiant spirit well. To his intimates, he was one of the most lovable men we ever met. He had ability far above the average, and, in spite of the reserve and shyness which held him back, his future was full of hope. He had already rendered distinguished service in the field, and for that service he had been recognised at the suggestion of his commanding officer; and he might well, for he had many offers, have occupied positions where he could have rendered services to the public, positions honourable to him, but positions of personal safety and the fact that he had been chosen by his constituents to serve in this House would have rendered his acceptance of these positions honourable to himself. He chose deliberately the path of danger. He fell charging at the head of his troops, at the very moment of victory, and Members of the House will, I feel certain, join me in an expression of deepest sympathy with those whom he has left behind to mourn him.”

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Timeline: November 1, 1917 – November 30, 1917

• October 31 – November 7 – Third Battle of Gaza in Palestine
• November 1 – 6 – Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe in Palestine
• November 2 – Balfour Declaration: British government supports plans for a Jewish national home in Palestine
• November 7 – The October Revolution begins in Russia, the Bolsheviks seize power
• November 10 – Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium (also known as Battle of Passchendaele) ends
• November 11 – December 23 – First Battle of Monte Grappa in Italy
• November 13 – Battle of Mughar Ridge in Palestine
• November 14 – Battle of Ayun Kara in Palestine
• November 17 – Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in the North Sea
• November 17 – December 30 – Battle of Jerusalem in Palestine
• November 18 – 24 – Battle of Nebi Samwil, a phase of the Battle of Jerusalem, in Palestine
• November 20 – December 3 – First Battle of Cambrai in France

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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November 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website. If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Captain The Honorable Elidyr John Bernard Herbert

• only son of Ivor Herbert, 1st and last Baron Treowen and The Honorable Albertina Denison
• born January 31, 1881
• unmarried
• Captain in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry
• killed in action November 12, 1917 in Balin, Palestine, age 36
• buried in the Gaza War Cemetery
• http://thepeerage.com/p47181.htm#i471804

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Captain The Right Honorable Neil James Archibald Primrose (see above)

• son of former Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and Hannah de Rothschild
• born December 14, 1882 in Midlothian, Scotland
• married 1915 Lady Victoria Stanley, had one daughter
• Captain in the Buckinghamshire Hussars
• died November 15, 1917 from wounds received in action at Gezer, Palestine during the Third Battle of Gaza, age 34
• buried in the Ramleh Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Ramla, Israel
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1395.htm#i13950

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Lieutenant The Honorable Alick George Cubitt

• son of Henry Cubitt, 2nd Baron Ashcombe and Maud Calvert
• born January 16, 1894 in London, England
• unmarried
• Lieutenant in the 15th Hussars
• killed in action November 24, 1917 at Bourlow Wood, France during the First Battle of Cambrai, age 23
• his remains were never found, remembered on the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing, Louverval, France
• great uncle of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
• two brothers killed in World War I: Henry Cubitt killed September 15, 1916 and William Cubitt killed 24 March 24, 1918
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p6195.htm#i61949

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Lieutenant The Honorable Arthur Middleton Kinnaird

• son of Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Baron Kinnaird and Mary Agnew
• born April 20, 1885
• Lieutenant in the Scots Guards
• killed in action November 27, 1917, age 32
• eldest brother Douglas Kinnaird killed in World War I on October 24, 1914
• http://thepeerage.com/p8024.htm#i80238

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Major The Honorable Robert Nathaniel Dudley Ryder

• son of Henry Ryder, 4th Earl of Harrowby and Susan Dent
• born December 7, 1882
• married 1908 Beryl Angas, had two children
• Major in the 8th Hussars
• killed in action on November 30, 1917 during the First Battle of Cambrai in France, age 34
• buried at Villers-Faucon Communal Cemetery Extension in Somme, France
• http://thepeerage.com/p22470.htm#i224697

by Susan Flantzer

• Captain The Honorable Patrick Julian Harry Stanley Ogilvy
• Timeline: October 1, 1917 – October 31, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• October 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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Captain The Honorable Patrick Julian Harry Stanley Ogilvy

Captain The Honourable Patrick Julian Harry Stanley Ogilvy was born June 26, 1896, at Cortachy Castle in Kirriemuir, Scotland. He was the third of the three sons and the youngest of the six children of David Ogilvy, 11th Earl of Airlie and Lady Mabell Gore,  daughter of Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran  Some royalty aficionados may recognize the name Ogilvy. Patrick was the paternal uncle of The Honourable Sir Agnus Ogilvy who married Princess Alexandra of Kent, the granddaughter of King George V and the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

Patrick had three elder sisters and two elder brothers:

• Lady Kitty Ogilvy (1887 – 1969), married (1) Brig.-Gen. Sir Berkeley Vincent, had two children who both died young in 1914, divorced 1925 (2) Lt.-Col. Ralph Gerald Ritson, no children
• Lady Helen Ogilvy (1890 – 1973), married (1) Major Hon. Clement Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, had two daughters (2) Lt.-Col. Henry Brocklehurst, had one son, divorced 1931 (3) Lt.-Col. Harold Nutting, no children
• Lady Mabell Ogilvy (1892 – 1918), unmarried
• David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie (1893 – 1968), married Lady Alexandra Coke, had six children including The Honourable Sir Agnus Ogilvy who married Princess Alexandra of Kent
• The Honorable Bruce Arthur Ashley Ogilvy (1895 – 1976), married Primrose O’Brien, no children

When Patrick was four-years-old, his father 44-year-old David Ogilvy, 11th Earl of Airlie was killed in action at the Battle of Diamond Hill in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa on June 11, 1900, during the Second Boer War. The 11th Ear of Airlie was succeeded by his seven-year-old son David who became the 12th Earl of Airlie.

Patrick was educated at Wellington College, a boarding and day independent school located in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Many former Wellington students fought in the trenches during World War I right after finishing school, volunteering for military action. 707 of them, including Patrick, lost their lives. After Patrick finished Wellington, he matriculated in 1914 at Christ Church, Oxford.  However, on October 6, 1914, two months after the start of World War I, 18-year-old Patrick enlisted and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Irish Guards.

Patrick fought in the Battle of the Somme in Belgium, one of the bloodiest battles in human history. On September 25, 1916, he was awarded the Military Cross which is awarded for “an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members, of any rank in Our Armed Forces”. Patrick’s commendation read: “For conspicuous gallantry in action. He led his company with great dash, and, on reaching the final objective, was the senior officer in the front line. He dealt with a difficult situation with great skill and determination, consolidating his position, and getting into touch with the battalions on his flanks. All this was carried out under heavy shellfire.” On July 22, 1917, Patrick was promoted to the rank of Captain.

The Battle of Passchendaele,  also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was a campaign of World War I, fought by the Allies against the German Empire on the Western Front in Belgium from July to November 1917. To commemorate the centenary, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, The Prince of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence (husband of The Princess Royal) attended commemorations for the bloody battle on July 30-31, 2017 in Ypres, Belgium. An estimated half a million soldiers from both sides were killed or wounded.

Embed from Getty Images 

During the Battle of Passchendaele, on October 9, 1917, 21-year-old Captain The Honourable Patrick Ogilvy was commanding No.1 Company of the 1st Irish Guard. During the previous night, Patrick and his men had marched through rain, mud, and crossed a river through three feet of water. Their objective was to reach the edge of the Houthulst Forest. There were some casualties from snipers in shell holes and enemy aircraft soared above them. The sniping got worse as the officers tried to form a flank on the right. Casualties among the officers were particularly heavy as they were conspicuous in organizing their men. Help from a counterattack never came. Eventually, a battalion of the Hampshires came up on the right. The Hampshires and the Irish Guards dug in as best they could and spent the night in the open among the shell holes, under constant artillery and sniper attack.  Every company commander was killed or wounded. Patrick was one of those who was killed.

Captain The Honorable Patrick Ogilvy was buried at the Cement House Cemetery, a British military cemetery in the Belgian village of Langemark.

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Timeline: October 1, 1917 – October 31, 1917

• October 4 – Battle of Broodseinde (second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres) in Broodseinde, Flanders, Belgium
• October 9 – Battle of Poelcappelle (last phase of the Third Battle of Ypres) in Poelcappelle, Flanders, Belgium
• October 12 – First Battle of Passchendaele (last phase of the Third Battle of Ypres) in Passendale, Belgium
• October 15 – 18 – Battle of Mahiwa in Mahiwa, German East Africa (now present-day Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of Tanzania)
• October 23 – Battle of Wadi Musa in Wadi Musa, Jordan
• October 23 – November 10 – Battle of La Malmaison in La Malmaison, France
• October 24 – November 4 – Battle of Caporetto in Kobarid, Austria-Hungary (present day Slovenia)
• October 26 – November 10 – Second Battle of Passchendaele (last phase of the Third Battle of Ypres) in Passendale, Belgium
• October 27 – Battle of Buqqar Ridge in El Buqqar, Ottoman Syria (now in Israel)
• October 31 – November 7 – Third Battle of Gaza in Gaza, Palestine (now a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip)
• October 31 – Battle of Beersheba (opening phase of the Third Battle of Gaza) in Beersheba, Ottoman Syria (now in Israel)

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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October 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website. http://www.genealogics.org/index.php or to The Peerage website http://www.thepeerage.com If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

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2nd Lieutenant The Honourable Denis Bertram Sydney Buxton

• son of Sydney Buxton, 1st and last Earl Buxton and Mildred Smith
• born November 29, 1897 in London, England
• unmarried
• 2nd Lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards
• killed in action October 9, 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele, age 19
• buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery near Passchendaele, West Flanders, Belgium
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p19649.htm#i196489

Note: Denis Bertram Sydney Buxton, was the third, but the only surviving, son of Viscount Buxton, later 1st Earl Buxton. Because the Earl’s three sons predeceased him, his titles became extinct upon his death.

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Captain The Honourable Patrick Julian Harry Stanley Ogilvy
(see article above)

• son of Lt.-Col. David Ogilvy, 11th Earl of Airlie and Lady Mabell Gore
• born June 26, 1896 at Cortachy Castle in Kirriemuir, Scotland
• unmarried
• Captain in the Irish Guards
• killed in action October 9, 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele, age 21
• buried at Cement House Cemetery in Langemark-Poelkapelle, West Flanders, Belgium
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1646.htm#i16459

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Private The Honorable Michael Francis Stafford Howard

• son of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle and The Honourable Rosalind Stanley
• born January 23, 1880
• married 1911 Nora Hensman, had one son and one daughter; his son Lieutenant Eric Bertram Howard was killed during World War II by the Japanese after escaping from a prisoner of war camp and then being recaptured
• Private in the Honourable Artillery Company
• killed in action October 9, 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele, age 37
• remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing near Passendale, West Flanders, Belgium
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1303.htm#i13026

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Captain The Honorable Henry Simon Feilding

• son of Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh and The Honorable Cecilia Clifford
• born June 29, 1894
• unmarried
• Captain in the Coldstream Guards
• killed in action October 9, 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele, age 23
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p7608.htm#i76077

Note: His elder brother Lieutenant Commander The Honorable Hugh Cecil Robert Feilding was killed in action on May 31, 1916, age 29, when the HMS Defence sunk during the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea with the loss of all men on board.

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by Susan Flantzer

• They that go down to the sea in ships
• Timeline: September 1, 1917 – September 30, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• September 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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They that go down to the sea in ships

Submarine warfare began during the American Civil War. During World War I, German and Austro-Hungarian U-boats (Unterseeboot, undersea boat) threatened Atlantic supply convoys on their way to the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. To protect the supply convoys, British and Allied submarines conducted operations in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

The HMS G9 was one of the fourteen submarines of the G-class submarines, specifically designed in response to a rumor that the Germans were building double-hulled submarines. The G-class submarines had a crew of 30 officers and other ranks. The role of the G class was to patrol the North Sea and German Bight in search of U-boats. The HMS G9 was commissioned on August 22, 1916, and was commanded by Lieutenant Commander The Honorable Byron Plantagenet Cary.

Lieutenant Commander The Honorable Byron Plantagenet Cary was the second of the three sons and the fourth of the six children of Lieutenant Colonel Byron Plantagenet Cary, 12th Viscount of Falkland and Mary Reade. Viscount of Falkland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, first created in 1620 for Sir Henry Cary, an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1601 to 1622 and served as a courtier to Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I. Byron’s elder brother Lucius Plantagenet Cary, who became the 13th Viscount of Falkland upon the death of his father in 1922, also fought in World War I as did Byron’s younger brother Major The Honorable Philip Plantagenet Cary.

In heavy seas and blinding rain squalls on the night of September 16, 1917, the HMS Pasley, a Royal Navy destroyer, was escorting a convoy from Aspö Fjord in Norway to Lerwick, the main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The Pasley displayed a white light halfway up its mast by night for guidance. Lieutenant Commander Cary sighted Pasley’s light. He had been warned that a U-boat was in the area, so he gave the order to attack. The HMS G9 fired two torpedoes at the Pasley believing it to be a German U-boat. One torpedo missed and the second failed to explode.

Realizing his error too late, Cary ordered the HMS G9 to signal the Pasley. However, it was too late to save the HMS G9 as the Pasley was on course to ram the HMS G9 believing it was a U-boat. The HMS G9 was rammed, cut in two, and sank less than one minute later with the loss of all but one of the 34-man crew, Stoker William Drake. The wreckage of the HMS G9 and the remains of the crew remain on the floor of the North Sea, 70 miles northwest of Bergen, Norway. At the Court of Inquiry held four days after the incident, it was decided no blame could be attributed to the HMS Pasley, concluding “that the process of reasoning which led the captain of HM Submarine G9 to mistake HMS Pasley for a U-boat is, and must remain.”

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Timeline: September 1, 1917 – September 30, 1917

• September – October – Operation Albion, a naval operation in the Baltic Sea, German capture of Oesel, Dago and Moon Islands
• September 1 – 3 – Battle of Jugla in Latvia
• September 20 – 26 – Battle of the Menin Road Ridge (Second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres) in Ypres Salient, West Flanders, Belgium
• September 26 – 27 – Battle of Polygon Wood (Second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres) in Polygon Wood, Flanders, Belgium
• September 28 – 29 – Battle of Ramadi in Ramadi, Mesopotamia (now in Iraq)

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire. The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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September 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

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Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Robert William Orlando Manners

• son of John Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland and his second wife Janetta Hughan
• born February 4, 1870
• married 1902 Mildred Buckworth, had one daughter
• Lieutenant-Colonel in the 10th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers
• killed in action September 11, 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele (also called Third Battle of Ypres), age 47
• buried at The Huts Cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1600.htm#i15993
• Official Blog of Wakefield Family History Sharing: Lord Robert William Orlando Manners, C.M.G., D.S.O.

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Lieutenant Commander The Honorable Byron Plantagenet Cary

• son of Lt.-Col. Byron Plantagenet Cary, 12th Viscount of Falkland and Mary Reade
• born January 25, 1887 in London, England
• unmarried
• Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy
• killed at sea September 16, 1917, age 30
• http://thepeerage.com/p28530.htm#i285295

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Sergeant Major The Honorable Jacob John Astley

• son of Sir George Manners Astley, 20th Lord Hastings and The Honorable Elizabeth Harbord
• born March 5, 1884 in London, England
• unmarried
• Sergeant Major of 2nd/5th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters
• killed in action September 26, 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele (also called Third Battle of Ypres), age 33
• buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery near Passendale, West Flanders, Belgium
• http://thepeerage.com/p31898.htm#i318975

Note: Jacob Astley must have been the black sheep of his family. Originally, he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 16th Lancers, but had to resign his commission when he was convicted of fraud in South Africa in 1913. He was convicted of the same offense in England in 1915. At that time, the judge described him as “a thoroughly fraudulent person” and sentenced him to 18 months in prison. When he was released from prison, he volunteered for active service and became Company Sergeant Major of 2nd/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters. Sergeant Major is a senior non-commissioned rank.

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by Susan Flantzer

• Four Sons Dead
• Timeline: August 1, 1917 – August 31, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• August 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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Four Sons Dead

Each month as I research and write these articles, I am saddened by the immense loss of life during World War I. I wonder how well the soldiers were prepared and if the officers and others in charge made the right decisions. I cringe as I read about the terrible conditions in the trenches and the effects of the new battle technologies. World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history with 17 million deaths and 20 million wounded (numbers include military and civilian casualties).

July 1, 1916, the first day of the four-month-long Battle of the Somme, holds the record for the bloodiest day ever in British military history. The battle started at 7:30 AM, and by 8:30 AM, 12,000 British soldiers had been killed. By the end of the day, there were 57,420 British casualties: 19,240 dead and 38,180 injured. More than half of the British officers involved lost their lives that day. Many British soldiers were killed or wounded the moment they stepped out of the front lines into No Man’s Land, the area of land between the enemy trenches.

By November 18, 1916, when the Battle of the Somme ended, British and French forces had penetrated only 6 miles (9.7 km) into German-occupied territory and more than 1,300,000 soldiers from all countries involved were dead or wounded, making the Battle of the Somme one of the bloodiest battles in history. The British and the French won a Pyrrhic victory, a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is equivalent to a defeat. Was 6 miles worth all those lives?

When I am deciding what my monthly topic will be, I look over my list of British peers, sons of British peers, and royalty that died 100 years ago during that month looking for an interesting story to tell. This month I discovered a family that lost four sons in World War I. The first two died in May 1915, and while I did acknowledge them, I wrote about a peer’s son, Julian Grenfell, one of the British poets collectively called the War Poets, soldiers writing about their war experiences. Many of them, like Julian Grenfell, died on the battlefield.  The other two sons died in August 1917 and November 1918.

Arthur French, 4th Baron de Freyne (1855 – 1913) had thirteen children, a daughter and a son from his first marriage to Lady Laura Dundas (died 1881), and eight sons and three daughters from his second marriage to Marie Georgiana Lamb (1882 – 1923). All of the 4th Baron’s sons served in the military during World War I except for his youngest son who was not old enough. Out of his eight sons who served, four were killed during the war.

Captain Arthur Reginald French, 5th Baron de Freyne was born on July 3, 1879 at Frenchpark, County Roscommon, Ireland. He was the only son from the 4th Baron’s first marriage and the eldest of all his eight sons. Arthur succeeded his father as 5th Baron de Freyne in 1913. He married Annabelle Angus in 1902, but the marriage was childless. Arthur served as a Captain in the 3rd Battalion, South Wales Borderers. The 5th Baron, age 35, died on May 9, 1915 in the Battle of Aubers Ridge, fighting alongside his half-brother, Lieutenant The Honorable George Philip French, who also died on May 9, 1915. The 5th Baron was succeeded by his eldest half-brother from his father’s second marriage, Francis Charles French, 6th Baron De Freyne.

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Lieutenant The Honorable George Philip French was born on January 7, 1890. He was the fifth son and the seventh of the eleven children from the second marriage of the 4th Baron de Freyne. George served as a Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, South Wales Borderers. He died, age 25, in the Battle of Aubers Ridge, fighting alongside his half-brother, Captain Arthur Reginald French, 5th Baron de Freyne, who also died on May 9, 1915.

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Lieutenant The Honorable Ernest Aloysius French was born on July 4, 1894. He was the sixth son and the ninth of the eleven children from the second marriage of the 4th Baron de Freyne. Ernest served as a Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, South Wales Borderers. He wounded by enemy snipers during the Battle of Langemark, evacuated to the Casualty Clearing Station at Proven, Belgium, and died from his wounds on August 16, 1917, age 23.

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2nd Lieutenant The Honorable Edward Fulke French was born on July 13, 1886 at Frenchpark, County Roscommon, Ireland. He was the third son and the third of the eleven children from the second marriage of the 4th Baron de Freyne. Edward served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery. He died on November 13, 1918, age 32 as a prisoner of war in Mainz, Germany.

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All of the sons of Arthur French, 4th Baron de Freyne attended the Oratory School, a boys’ independent Roman Catholic boarding and day school then in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England. As many British boys’ schools of the time did, the Oratory School kept records of their graduates, Old Oratorians, who served in World War I. 428 Old Oratorians served in His Majesty’s Forces in various theatres of conflict during World War I. A total of 84 Old Oratorians lost their lives and 88 were wounded but survived. Many of the fallen were young subalterns, commissioned officers below the rank of captain, generally the various grades of lieutenant. This group had the highest casualty rate in the war as they were usually the first over the top. Their life expectancy was not much more than six weeks. Five of the Old Oratorians served in the newly-formed Royal Flying Corps: they all died.

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Timeline: August 1, 1917 – August 31, 1917

• July 31 – August 2 –  Battle of Pilckem Ridge (opening phase of the Third Battle of Ypres) in Pilckem, Boesinghe, Belgium
• August 2–10 – Battle of Rumbo in Rumbo, German East Africa (now Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of present Tanzania)
• August 6–20 – Battle of Mărăşeşti in Mărășești, Vrancea, Romania
• August 8–20 – Second Battle of Oituz in Bacău County, Romania
• August 15–25 – Battle of Hill 70 in Lens, France
• August 16–18 – Second Battle of Langemarck in Langemarck, Ypres Salient, Belgium
• August 18–28 – Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo in Soča, near Monfalcone, Italy and Banjšice Plateau, Slovenia
• August 20–26 – Second Offensive Battle of Verdun in Verdun-sur-Meuse, France

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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August 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

The Honorable Gavin Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound

• son of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, Governor-General of Canada 1898-1904 and Viceroy of India 1905-1910 and Lady Mary Caroline Grey, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary
• born April 25, 1895
• unmarried
• Lieutenant in the Scots Guards
• killed in action August 6, 1917 in Flanders, Belgium, age 22
• buried in the Mendinghem British Cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1587.htm#i15865

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The Honorable Ernest Aloysius French

• son of Arthur French, 4th Baron de Freyne of Coolavin and Marie Georgiana Lamb
• born July 4, 1894
• unmarried
• Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, South Wales Borderers
• wounded by enemy snipers during the Battle of Langemark, evacuated to the Casualty Clearing Station at Proven, Belgium, died from his wounds on August 16, 1917, age 23
• buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium
• http://thepeerage.com/p21096.htm#i210959

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The Honorable Francis Walter Stafford McLaren

• son of Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway and Laura Pochin
• born June 16, 1886
• married 1911 Barbara Jekyll, had two sons
• Member of Parliament (MP) for Spalding 1910-1917
• Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps
• killed in a flying accident August 30, 1917, age 31
• buried at St John the Baptist Church in Busbridge, Surrey, England
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1882.htm#i18813

At the start of World War I, McLaren volunteered with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He served with Royal Naval Air Service’s Armored Car Division during the Gallipoli Campaign. While at Gallipoli, McLaren became ill with dysentery and was invalided out of the service in December 1916. He wanted to return to service and appealed. The appeal was successful and he became a trainee pilot at RAF Montrose in Montrose, Angus, Scotland. During training, McLaren’s airplane nosedived into the sea off Montrose. He was pulled unconscious from the wreckage but died of internal injuries. McLaren was buried at St. John the Baptist Church in Busbridge, Surrey, England where his memorial was designed by famous British architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens.

by Susan Flantzer

• July 17, 1917: The Birth of the House of Windsor
• Timeline: July 1, 1917 – July 31, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• July 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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July 17, 1917: The Birth of the House of Windsor

The anti-German feeling in the United Kingdom existed even before World War I. In 1912, two years before the start of World War I, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Admiral in the Royal Navy, had been appointed First Sea Lord, the professional head of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy. Some members of the British press were against Prince Louis’ appointment because he was a German.  Prince Louis was born Count Ludwig Alexander of Battenberg. He was the eldest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, and Countess Julia Hauke. As his parents’ marriage was morganatic, Louis and his siblings took their titles from their mother, who had been created Countess of Battenberg (later elevated to Princess of Battenberg in 1858). Louis’ brother Prince Henry of Battenberg was the husband of Princess Beatrice, the youngest child of Queen Victoria.

Influenced by his cousin’s wife, Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria, and by Prince Alfred, another of Queen Victoria’s children, Prince Louis had joined the British Royal Navy and had become a naturalized British subject in 1868 at the age of fourteen. In 1884, Louis married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the daughter of his first cousin, Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. (Note: Louis and Victoria are the maternal grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.) The couple made their home in England and raised their four children there.

Louis’ rank continued to rise, as did his influence in the Royal Navy. In 1902, he was made Director of Naval Intelligence, and two years later elevated to Rear Admiral. In 1908, he was made Vice-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet. In 1911, he was appointed Second Sea Lord and was made Admiral in July 1912. Five months later, Prince Louis was made First Sea Lord.

However, in 1914, with war imminent, there was an intense anti-German sentiment in Britain. Louis, despite his exemplary 46-year career in the Royal Navy, was still seen by many as just a German prince. There were false accusations in the media of spying for the Germans. In fact, due to his German relations, he was able to learn much about the German military and share that information with the British. Despite protests from King George V, Louis was asked to resign his position as First Sea Lord in October 1914.

By 1917, anti-German sentiment had reached a fevered pitch in the United Kingdom. The British Royal Family’s dynastic name had gone from one German name to another, the House of Hanover to the decidedly more Germanic-sounding, House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Many British people felt that this implied a pro-German bias. Even Prime Minister David Lloyd George remarked as he was on his way to see King George V, “I wonder what my little German friend has got to say.” Letters were pouring into the Prime Minister’s office wondering how the British were going to win the war if the king was German.

In May 1917, King George V discussed the matter with his Private Secretary Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham.  Lord Stamfordham had to agree that Germanic names and titles were in several branches of the royal family and that no one was really certain what the royal family’s surname was. The College of Arms, which is delegated to act on behalf of the Crown in all matters of heraldry, the granting of new coats of arms, genealogical research and the recording of pedigrees, was consulted as to what was King George V’s surname. The answer was an uncertain one. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was a geographic name. The surname was not Stuart and not Guelph which had been the old family name of the Hanoverians. That name was lost by common law when Queen Victoria married. Looking into Prince Albert‘s family, there was Wipper and Wettin,  but no one was absolutely certain of the answer.

King George V decided that to show the British people that the royal family was indeed British, a change of name was necessary. The king’s uncle Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught suggested the name Tudor-Stuart, but that name was discarded because of unpleasant implications. Other names suggested were Plantagenet, York, Lancaster and even just plain England. Meetings began to take on the nature of a parlor game. Lord Stamfordham ultimately came up with an acceptable idea. King Edward III had been known as Edward of Windsor after his birthplace Windsor Castle. Windsor, which comes from the old English windles-ore or “winch by the riverside,” had been a settlement hundreds of years before William the Conqueror had a castle built there in 1070. King George V agreed that Windsor would be the family name. On July 17, 1917, the Privy Council gave final approval and on the next day, the following proclamation from King George V appeared in newspapers:

GEORGE R.I.

WHEREAS We, having taken into consideration the Name and Title of Our Royal House and Family, have determined that henceforth Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor:

And whereas We have further determined for Ourselves and for and on behalf of Our descendants and all other the descendants of Our Grandmother Queen Victoria of blessed and glorious memory to relinquish and discontinue the use of all German Titles and Dignities:

And whereas We have declared these Our determinations in Our Privy Council:

Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor:

And do hereby further declare and announce that We for Ourselves and for and on behalf of Our descendants and all other the descendants of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, relinquish and enjoin the discontinuance of the use of the Degrees, Styles, Dignities, Titles and Honours of Dukes and Duchesses of Saxony and Princes and Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and all other German Degrees, Styles, Dignities. Titles, Honours and Appellations to Us or to them heretofore belonging or appertaining.

Given at Our Court at Buckingham Palace, this Seventeenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand nine hundred and seventeen, and in the Eighth year of Our Reign.
GOD save the KING.
(London Gazette, issue 30186, July 17, 1917, p. 1.)

When Wilhelm II, German Emperor, a grandson of Queen Victoria and a first cousin of King George V, received the news, he smiled, got up from his chair, and said in his perfect English that he was off to the theater to see Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. A number of King George V’s relatives who had Germanic titles and were British subjects exchanged their old names and titles for new ones. While the transition in names and titles was occurring, Prince Louis of Battenberg spent some time at the home of his eldest son George. After his surname was anglicized from Battenberg to Mountbatten and Louis became the Marquess of Milford Haven instead of Prince of Battenberg, he wrote in his son’s guestbook, “Arrived Prince Hyde, Departed Lord Jekyll.”

The children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and subsequently male-line descendants inherited the titles Prince/Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke/Duchess of Saxony through Prince Albert. Those particular titles held by British subjects were discontinued by the proclamation.  With the exception of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha/Saxony titles above, family members who lost German names/titles and their new names/titles appear on the list below.

• The Princess Helena (daughter of Queen Victoria, married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, married name Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein) – Princess Christian
• Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (husband of The Princess Helena) – Prince Christian
• Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (granddaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein) – Princess Helena Victoria
• Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (granddaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein) – Princess Marie Louise
• The Princess Beatrice (daughter of Queen Victoria, married Prince Henry of Battenberg, married name Princess Henry of Battenberg) – The Princess Beatrice
• Prince Alexander of Battenberg (grandson of Queen Victoria, son of Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg) – Alexander Mountbatten, Marquess of Carisbrooke
• Prince Leopold of Battenberg (grandson of Queen Victoria, son of Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg) – Lord Leopold Mountbatten
• Princess Alice of Albany (granddaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, married name Princess Alexander of Teck) – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
• Prince Alexander of Teck (husband of Princess Alice of Albany, brother of Queen Mary, wife of King George V) – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
• Prince Rupert of Teck (great-grandson of Queen Victoria, son of Princess Alice of Albany and Prince Alexander of Teck) – Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon (one of his father’s titles used as a courtesy title)
• Princess May of Teck (great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Princess Alice of Albany and Prince Alexander of Teck) – Lady May Cambridge
• Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (granddaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Princess Alice and Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine), married name: Princess Louis of Battenberg) – Marchioness of Milford Haven
• Prince Louis of Battenberg (husband of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine) – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven
• Prince George of Battenberg (great-grandson of Queen Victoria, son of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine and Prince Louis of Battenberg) – George Mountbatten, Earl of Medina (one of his father’s titles used as a courtesy title, later 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven)
• Prince Louis of Battenberg (great-grandson of Queen Victoria, son of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine and Prince Louis of Battenberg) – Lord Louis Mountbatten (later 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma)
• Princess Louise of Battenberg (great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine and Prince Louis of Battenberg) – Lady Louise Mountbatten (later Queen Louise of Sweden)

Works Cited

• “House Of Windsor”. En.wikipedia.org. Web. 26 May 2017.
• “Prince Louis Of Battenberg”. En.wikipedia.org. Web. 26 May 2017.
• “Prince Louis Of Battenberg, Marquess Of Milford Haven”. Unofficial Royalty. Web. 26 May 2017.
• “Queen Victoria’s Children And Grandchildren”. Unofficial Royalty. Web. 26 May 2017.
• Spoto, Donald. The Decline And Fall Of The House Of Windsor. 1st ed. New York: Pocket Books, 1995. Print.
• Velde, Francois. “Royal Styles And Titles Of Great Britain: Documents”. Heraldica.org. Web. 26 May 2017.
• “Windsor, Berkshire”. En.wikipedia.org. Web. 26 May 2017.

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Timeline: July 1, 1917 – July 31, 1917

• July 1-19 – The Kerensky Offensive fails. It is the last Russian initiative in the war
• July 1-2 – Battle of Zborov in Zborov, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine), a phase of the Kerensky Offensive
• July 6 – Arab rebels led by Lawrence of Arabia seize the port of Aqaba (now in Jordan)
• July 20 – Corfu Declaration about the future Kingdom of Yugoslavia signed
• July 11 – The Yser Testament or Open Letter to King Albert I of Belgium is published by Flemish Movement sympathizers within the Belgian Army on the Yser Front, complaining about official discrimination against Dutch language
• July 22 – August 1 – Battle of Mărăști in Mărăști, Romania
• July 29 – Battle of Kiawe Bridge, part of the East African Campaign in German East Africa (now Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of present Tanzania)
• July 31 – The Third Battle of Ypres (also known as Battle of Passchendaele) in Passendale, Belgium begins
• July 31-August 2 – Battle of Pilckem Ridge in Pilckem, Ypres Salient, Belgium (Opening phase of the Third Battle of Ypres)

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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July 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website. If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Otto Albrecht, Graf von Westerholt und Gysenberg

• son of Johann Ignatz, Graf von Westerholt und Gysenberg and Comtesse Maria Josefine de Robiano
• born 1893
• killed in action July 6, 1917, age 24
• http://thepeerage.com/p10025.htm#i100243

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Captain The Honorable Edward Kay-Shuttleworth

• son of Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baron Shuttleworth and Blanche Parish
• born March 16, 1890
• married 1914 Sibell Eleanor Maud Adeane, had two children
• Captain in the 7th Battalion Rifle
• killed accidentally on July 10, 1917 in Witham, Essex, England, age 27
• buried at St Bartholomew Churchyard, Barbon, Westmoreland, England
• brother Captain The Honorable Lawrence Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth killed in action March 30, 1917 at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p8276.htm#i82752

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Lieutenant Horace Michael Hynman Allenby

• son (only child) of Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (General Officer Commanding the British Troops in Egypt and the Egyptian Expeditionary Force during World War I) and Adelaide Mabel Chapman
• born January 11, 1898 at Donhead House in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
• unmarried
• Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Artillery
• died from wounds received in action July 29, 1917 at Coxyde, Belgium, age 19
• buried at Coxyde Military Cemetery in Koksijde, West Flanders, Belgium
• http://thepeerage.com/p451.htm#i4507

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Lieutenant The Honorable Albert Edward George Arnold Keppel

• son of Lieutenant Colonel Arnold Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle and Lady Gertrude Egerton
• born January 12, 1898
• unmarried
• Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade
• killed in action July 31, 1917 in the Battle of Passchendaele near Ypres, Belgium age 19
• buried at the Aeroplane Cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1726.htm#i17252

by Susan Flantzer

• King Constantine I of Greece Deposed
• Timeline: June 1, 1917 – June 30, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• June 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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King Constantine I of Greece Deposed

King Constantine I of Greece was born on August 2, 1868 in Athens, Greece. Constantine’s birth was met with great joy in Greece as he would be the first Greek-born child of a modern Greek monarch. He was the eldest of the eight children of King George I and his wife Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, daughter of Grand Duke Konstantine Nikolaievich who was a son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. Constantine’s father was born Prince Vilhelm (William) of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and later became a Prince of Denmark when his father succeeded to the Danish throne as King Christian IX. When he was only 17 years old, Prince Vilhelm was elected King by the Greek National Assembly.

On October 27, 1889 in Athens, Greece, Constantine married Princess Sophie of Prussia, the seventh of the eight children of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal, and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Sophie and Constantine had become engaged shortly after the death of Sophie’s father in 1888 when her brother Wilhelm succeeded their father as Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. Sophie and Constantine had six children including three kings of Greece (George II, Alexander I, and Paul I). On March 18, 1913, Constantine’s father King George I was assassinated and he acceded to the Greek throne as King Constantine I.

At first, Constantine was a popular king because of his success in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. Early in World War I, Constantine had rejected a request from his brother-in-law Wilhelm II that Greece should join Germany and the Central Powers in the war. Many Greek people thought that German-born Sophie, Constantine’s wife and Wilhelm II’s sister, supported Germany, but she was actually pro-British. Like her father, Sophie had been influenced by her mother, the British-born Victoria, Princess Royal. Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos was strongly pro-Allies, having established excellent rapport with the British and French, and was convinced that German aggression had caused the war. Constantine had decided upon a policy of neutrality because it seemed the best was to ensure that Greece would emerge from the World War I intact and with the substantial territorial gains it had won in the recent Balkan Wars. The disagreement between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Venizelos was called “The National Schism” and would have repercussions in Greek politics until past World War II.

Despite the popularity of Venizelos and his clear majority in Parliament for supporting the Allies, Constantine continued to oppose the Prime Minister. In 1913, after the Balkan Wars, Greece had signed the Greek–Serbian Alliance which obliged each country to come to the other’s aid should either be attacked. When Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia, Venizelos wanted to mobilize the Greek army and enter the war on the side of the Allies, but was met with the refusal of Constantine, who was popularly considered to be a German sympathizer. In an attempt to force the king’s hand, Venizelos allowed a British-French force to land in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1915 in order to aid the Serbs, establishing the Salonica Front. Constantine’s constant refusal to allow Greece to fulfill its treaty commitments led to the resignation of Venizelos as Prime Minister in September 1915.

Protests began to occur in Greece and threats on Constantine’s life were received. In July 1916, arsonists, possibly at the instigation of the Greek secret police, attempted to kill Constantine and some members of the Greek royal family while they were at Tatoi Palace, the summer palace outside Athens. The forest surrounding the palace was set on fire and due to the hot, dry weather, the fire quickly spread. Tatoi Palace was burned down, sixteen people were killed, and Constantine was injured but managed to escape with his family.

In August 1916, an Allied-supported popular revolt broke out in Thessaloniki. There, the former Prime Minister, Venizelos established a provisional revolutionary government, which declared war on the Central Powers. With Allied support, the revolutionary government of Venizelos gained control of half the country.

In the Royal Palace in Athens, Constantine was basically a prisoner. Only the veto of Russia’s Tsar Nicholas II prevented the British and French from deposing Constantine. That changed with the Russian Revolution in March 1917 when Nicholas II abdicated. In May 1917, supporters of Venizelos protested, calling upon the government in Athens to depose Constantine. The government in Athens realized that is was inevitable that this would happen. On June 10, 1917, the Allied High Commissioner Charles Jonnart required King Constantine I to abdicate on the grounds that he had violated his oath to rule as a constitutional monarch. The Allies were opposed to Constantine’s eldest son George becoming king. George had served in the German army and was viewed as having German sympathies.

At a Crown Council in the Royal Palace, Constantine explained that he would leave because Athens would be a bloodbath if he did not. He named his second son Alexander his successor with the understanding that he would return to Greece after the war. The 23-year-old Alexander was horrified. Constantine explained that he was holding the throne in trust for his father and his elder brother. Neither Constantine or his son George would sign any renunciation of succession. On June 11, 1917, Constantine left Greece for exile in neutral Switzerland and on June 30, 1917, Greece officially declared war on the Central Powers.

The rest of the story…

King Alexander was bitten by a monkey while walking in the grounds of Tatoi Palace on October 2, 1920. Thinking it was not serious, he had the wound cleaned and dressed, but it soon became infected. He developed septicemia, became delirious with fever, and died on October 25, 1920 at the age of 27.

On December 19, 1920, a plebiscite was held and nearly 99% of votes were in favor of Constantine returning to the throne. He ruled until September 27, 1922 when an army revolt caused him to abdicate in favor of his eldest son King George II. Constantine died shortly afterward, on January 11, 1923 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy at the age of 54 from a brain hemorrhage.

Read more about the Greek Royal Family at Unofficial Royalty: Greek Royals

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Timeline: June 1, 1917 – June 30, 1917

• June – October – Operation Hush, an abortive British plan to capture coast of Belgium
• June 7 – 14 – Second Battle of Messines in Flanders, Belgium, the British blow 19 deep mines and recapture Messines Ridge
• June 10 – 29 – Battle of Mount Ortigara in Trentino, Italy
• June 11 – King Constantine I of Greece is deposed (see above)
• June 13 – First successful heavy bomber raid on London by the Gotha G.IV, a heavy bomber used by the Imperial German Air Service
• June 25 – First American troops land in France
• June 30 – Greece declares war on the Central powers

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Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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June 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Lieutenant The Honorable Gerald George Samuel

• son of Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted and Fanny Elizabeth Benjamin
• his father was a banker and a founder of the Shell Oil Company
• born May 6, 1886 in Marylebone, London, England
• unmarried
• Lieutenant in the Royal West Kent Regiment
• killed in action at the Second Battle of Messines on June 7, 1917, age 31
• remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium and also on a memorial at the Willesden Jewish Cemetery in Brent, England
• Gerald George Samuel was one of the soldier-poets of World War I and wrote most of his poetry during the fourteen months he was in the trenches of Belgium and France. He had a book of poems published by Arthur L. Humphreys of London in 1917.
  http://thepeerage.com/p11827.htm#i118269

The poem below was found in Samuel’s belongings after his death.

Consolation by Gerald George Samuel

Oh! I sigh when I think of the men
In the trenches of Flanders and France;
And I dream of the days of romance,
Of the bow and the shield and the lance,
And the chivalrous tales than pen
Of a poet could celebrate then.

For the brutal inventions of crime
Are the weapons of battle today;
And the guns that remorselessly slay
Blow the ramparts and shelters way,
And there in the mud and the slime
Are the heroes who fall in their prime.

And I grieve for the widows who weep,
And the parents and orphans forlorn,
And the hearts that in anguish are torn;
And yet it is idle to mourn
For the dead are serenely asleep,
And our faith in the Lord we must keep.

For the faith that is steadfast and clear,
Brings to the sorrowing hearts the reward
That our belief in our God can afford.
They are happy who trust in the Lord;
They find comfort to whom he is dead
And know that his spirit is near.

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Rifleman The Honorable Norton Humphrey Adderley

• son of Charles Leigh Adderley, 2nd Baron Norton and Caroline Ellen Dixie
• born October 16, 1882
• unmarried
• Rifleman in the London Regiment
• died from wounds received in action June 17, 1917, age 34
• urn containing his ashes was deposited in the wall in of the aisle in the south side of St Nicholas Church in Peopleton, Worcestershire, England
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p46527.htm#i465268

by Susan Flantzer

• The Reverend The Honorable Maurice Berkeley Peel
• Timeline: May 1, 1917 – May 31, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• May 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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The Reverend The Honorable Maurice Berkeley Peel

Born on April 23, 1873, in London, England, The Reverend The Honorable Maurice Berkeley Peel was the youngest of the seven children of Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel and Adelaide Dugdale.  Serving in Parliament was a family tradition. Maurice’s father served in the House of Commons from 1865 – 1895 and was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1884 – 1895. When he retired in 1895, he was created Viscount Peel. Both of Maurice’s grandfathers were also in Parliament. His maternal grandfather William Stratford Dugdale served in the House of Commons from 1830 – 1847. His paternal grandfather, whose father also served in Parliament, was Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet of Drayton Manor who served in the House of Commons from 1809 – 1850 and served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1834 – 1836 and from 1841 – 1846. Needless to say, Maurice most likely grew up thinking that service to one’s country was important.

Maurice had six siblings:

• The Honorable Ella Peel (1862 – 1900), unmarried (was found suffocated in bed, the result of epilepsy)
• The Honorable Julia Peel (1864 – 1949), married James Maguire, no issue
• William Peel, 1st Earl Peel (1867 – 1937), married The Honorable Eleanor Williamson, had issue
• Major The Honorable George Peel (1868 – 1956), married Lady Agnes Lygon, had issue
• The Honorable Agnes Peel (1869 – 1959), married Major Charles Goldman, had issue
• Colonel The Honorable Sir Sidney Peel, 1st Baronet Peel (1870 – 1938), married Lady Adelaide Spencer, no issue

Maurice began his education at Mr. Parry’s School in Slough, Berkshire, England and then attended Winchester College in Winchester, Hampshire, England from 1887 – 1891. Next, Maurice attended New College, Oxford and received a degree in History with Honours in 1895.

After university, Maurice worked for a few years at Oxford House in Bethnal Green, one of the poorest parts of London. Part of the settlement movement, Oxford House was established in 1884, the first university settlement”. It was built as a home for graduates, tutors and those intending to enter the church so they could learn at first-hand about the problems of disadvantaged areas and provide practical support for the local community. During this same period, Maurice held a commission in the 4th Volunteer Battalion (meaning part-time) of the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment.  While Maurice was volunteering at Oxford House and in the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, he was also serving as a curate from 1892 – 1899 at St. Simon Zelotes, a church in the midst of the poverty of Bethnal Green, London. Despite growing up in a well-to-do family, it is obvious that Maurice considered it important to serve those less fortunate.

In 1899, Maurice was ordained a priest in the Church of England. From 1899 to 1906, he was attached to St. Simon Zelotes, Bethnal Green, and after serving as Rector of the Church of St. Peter, Wrestlingworth for a few years, he became Rector of St. Paul’s, Beckenham in 1909. On July 29, 1909, Maurice married Emily Allington at St. Denys Church, Little Barford, Bedfordshire. Unfortunately, Emily died on March 24, 1912, four days after the birth of her last child. The couple had two children:

• Major David Arthur Peel (1910 – 1944), married The Honorable Sara Vanneck, had issue, killed in action during World War II
• Mary Emily Peel (1912 – 1934), unmarried

When World War I started in August 1914, Maurice immediately volunteered to be an army chaplain. He went to France in October 1914 and worked as a chaplain and a stretcher bearer. At the Battle of Festubert (May 15-25, 1915), Maurice was allowed to go “over the top” to comfort the wounded in “No Man’s Land.”  The term “over the top” referred to the attacking soldiers rising out of their own trenches to attack the enemy. The soldiers were required to climb over the top of their trenches and cross “No Man’s Land.” As World War I infantry attacks generally resulted in heavy casualties, “going over the top” was an unpopular and dangerous activity for soldiers.

Armed with only a Bible and his walking stick, Maurice went “over the top” with the soldiers. He was shot four times and despite being severely wounded, he refused medical attention until all the other injured soldiers had been looked after. He was sent home to England to recover and was awarded the Military Cross which is given in recognition of “an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members, of any rank in Our Armed Forces.”

In November 1915, Maurice was appointed the Vicar of St. Editha’s Church, Tamworth, West Midlands where he is still remembered and there is a memorial window in his memory. He was happy to be in Tamworth because Drayton Manor, the traditional home of the Peel family was there. In August 1916, Maurice spoke with his bishop about returning to the combat zone and on January 10, 1917, Maurice was sent back to join his original battalion. He lived with the soldiers in the trenches and when there was action, Maurice went “over the top” with the third wave, so that he might aid the wounded. For his service to the wounded, Maurice received a Bar for his Military Cross.

On May 14, 1917, at the Second Battle of Bullecourt in France, Maurice was killed by a sniper. The senior Chaplain of the Division, The Reverend Eric Milner-White, described what happened to Maurice in a letter to Mrs. Allington, Maurice’s mother-in-law who was the caretaker of his two children:

“His brigade were put into a village [Bullecourt] for twenty-four hours. In that time, the Germans made three desperate counter-attacks on it, gaining a little each time. It was not clear where the Germans were, and where the English and German snipers crept about. At early dawn on the 15th (the second anniversary of Festubert) he got out of his trench to visit either a wounded man or an isolated post of men. On the way, a sniper’s bullet caught him in the chest; he fell unconscious and died very shortly, one Welsh Fusilier officer crawling out and staying with him till the end. That same night, one of the chaplains, Mr. McCalman, with great courage went up with a cross, hoping to bring in the body and bury it. Arrived within a few yards, he was not allowed to go further, the risk being too great.

On Ascension Day, the 17th, Mr. McCalman and I went up together in daylight. Some men then holding the dreadful line had that morning crept out and buried the body a yard or two from the spot where he fell. We raised a temporary cross upon it, and I said the service over the little grave, using with tragic appropriateness the Collect for Ascension Day, which Maurice always used at his burials.”

Listen to a tribute to The Reverend The Honorable Maurice Berkeley Peel by his great-grandson, The Reverand David Longe on the BBC website: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01wtts9

The Reverend The Honorable Maurice Berkeley Peel remains are now buried at the Queant Road Cemetery in Buissy, France.

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Timeline: May 1, 1917 – May 31, 1917

• May 3 – 4 – Third Battle of the Scarpe, part of the second phase of the Second Battle of Arras in Arras, France
• May 3 – 17 – Second Battle of Bullecourt, part of the second phase of the Second Battle of Arras in Arras, France
• May 5 – 15 – Allied Spring Offensive on the Salonika Front in Macedonia
• May 5 – 9 – Second Battle of the Cerna Bend, a phase of the Allied Spring Offensive in Cerna Loop, Serbia
• May 12 – June 6 – Tenth Battle of the Isonzo
• May 23 – Battle of Mount Hermada in the Soča Valley, Slovenia

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire. The constituent states retained their own governments but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army. German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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May 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website  If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Elimar, Freiherr von Dornberg

• son of Prince Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine and Emilie, Freifrau von Dornberg
• first cousin of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (grandson of Queen Victoria)
• born August 3, 1893
• unmarried
• killed in action at Obertsdorf, Germany on May 1, 1917, age 23
• http://thepeerage.com/p10930.htm#i109293

Lieutenant The Honorable Frederic Ivor Thesiger

• son of Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford and The Honorable Frances Guest
• born October 17, 1896
• unmarried
• Second Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery
• died in Mesopotamia (Iraq) from wounds received in action on May 1, 1917, age 20
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p2864.htm#i28633
• http://www.winchestercollegeatwar.com/archive/frederick-ivor-thesiger/

Ludwig, Graf von Lerchenfeld

• son of Otto, Graf von Lerchenfeld and Walburga, Gräfin von und zu Arco-Zinneberg
• born May 25, 1894 in Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
• unmarried
• killed in action in Bergnicourt, Ardennes, Champagne-Ardenne, France on May 14, 1917, age 22
• http://thepeerage.com/p9013.htm#i90128

Reverend The Honorable Maurice Berkeley Peel (see article above)

• son of Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel and Adelaide Dugdale
• grandson of Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• born April 23, 1873 in London, England
• married 1909 Emily Allington who died shortly after the birth of her second child, had two children
• Chaplain to the Forces, 4th Class
• killed in action at the Second Battle of Bullecourt, part of the second phase of the Second Battle of Arras in Bullecourt, France on May 14, 1917, age 44
• his son Major David Arthur Peel was killed in action during World War II in September 1944 at age 33
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p65391.htm#i653903

Rudolf, Graf von Waldersee

• born December 6, 1897 in Wilmersdorf, Berlin Germany
• killed in action in the Forest of Argonne, France on May 26, 1917, age 19
• http://geneall.net/de/name/404913/rudolf-graf-von-waldersee/

by Susan Flantzer

• Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia
• Timeline: April 1, 1917 – April 30, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• April 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia

On July 12, 1912, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia won a bronze medal for Germany in the equestrian team jumping event at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. A little more than two years later World War I began and in April 1917, the prince lost his life in the war.

Prince Tassilo Wilhelm Humbert Leopold Friedrich Karl of Prussia, known as Friedrich Karl, was born on April 6, 1893 at Jagdschloss Glienicke, a hunting lodge now part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Friedrich Karl was the second of the three sons and the third of the four children of Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia and Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.  His father was a great-grandson of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. His mother was the granddaughter of Princess Feodora of Leiningen,  Queen Victoria’s half-sister from the first marriage of her mother. Friedrich Karl was the nephew of the last German Emperor and Empress, Wilhelm II and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, who was the sister of Friedrich Karl’s mother.

Friedrich Karl had three siblings:

• Princess Victoria Margaret of Prussia (1890 – 1923), married Prince Heinrich XXXIII Reuss of Köstritz, had issue, divorced 1922, died from complications of influenza
• Prince Friedrich Sigismund of Prussia (1891 – 1927), married Princess Marie Louise of Schaumburg-Lippe, had issue, died in a riding accident during a jumping tournament after a fall from his horse
• Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia (1895 -1959), unmarried, prisoner in the Dachau concentration camp during World War II

Like all princes of the Prussian royal house, Friedrich Karl, at the age of ten, was given the rank of lieutenant à la suite in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards.  À la suite is a military term that identifies persons who are entitled to bear a regimental uniform, but who have no official position. By 1908, the prince was an official member of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards with the rank of lieutenant.

Prince Friedrich Karl participated in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden as a member of the German equestrian team. He won a bronze medal riding his horse Gibson Boy in the team jumping event. Because of the close connection between the equestrian events and the skills required in the military, only active officers represented their country riding their own service horses.

During World War I, Prince Friedrich Karl served with the Imperial German Army, the combined land and air forces of the German Empire, as the captain (Rittmeister) of the Fliegerabteilung (Artillerie) 258, an aerial artillery spotting unit. In addition to his regular duties, the prince often flew his Albatros D.I, a German single-seater fighter aircraft, on patrols with the Jagdstaffel 2, one of the best-known German air squadrons in World War I

On March 21, 1917, British World War I flying ace Charles Pickthorn forced down a German Albatros D.I with a skull and crossbones insignia behind the British lines at Lagnicourt, France. Once on the ground, the German pilot attempted to run toward the German lines, but was shot in the back and severely wounded by Australian troops. The pilot turned out to be Prince Friedrich Karl.

A German military report of March 22, 1917 said: “The aircraft operated by Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia has not returned from a flight over the enemy lines between Arras and Péronne.” The prince was taken into captivity and he died from his injuries on his 24th birthday, April 6, 1917, at the British military hospital in St. Etienne du Rouvray, France. The prince was given a funeral befitting his military rank of Rittmeister.  A division of 100 soldiers made up the funeral procession along with a band that played a mourning march. The prince was buried in the cemetery in St. Etienne du Rouvray. Two clergymen prayed at his grave and three volleys were fired. The British Air Corps donated two wreaths for his grave where a wooden cross with his name and dates was erected.

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Timeline: April 1, 1916 – April 30, 1917

• April 2 – 3 – Australians attack Noreuil in France
• April 6 – United States declares war on Germany
• April 9 – May 17 – Second Battle of Arras in Arras, France, British attack a heavily fortified German line without obtaining any strategic breakthrough
• April 9 – 12 – Canadians obtain a significant victory in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France, part of the first phase of the Second Battle of Arras
• April 9 – 14 – First Battle of the Scarpe near Arras, France, part of the first phase of the Second Battle of Arras
• April 10 – 11 – First Battle of Bullecourt near Arras, France, part of the first phase of the Second Battle of Arras
• April 15 – Battle of Lagnicourt in Lagnicourt, France, part of the Second phase of the Second Battle of Arras
• April 16 – May 9 – Second Battle of the Aisne between Soissons and Reims, France, ends in disaster for the French army
• April 17 – 20 – Battle of the Hills in Champagne Province, France, a diversion to the Second Battle of the Aisne
• April 19 – Second Battle of Gaza in Gaza, Palestine (now in the Gaza Strip), the Ottoman lines resist a British attack
• April 22 – May 8 – Second Battle of Doiran near Lake Dojran, Kingdom of Serbia (present-day Macedonia)
• April 23 – 24 – Second Battle of Scarpe near Arras, France, part of the second phase of the Second Battle of Arras
• April 28 – 29 – Battle of Arleux near Arras, France, part of the second phase of the Second Battle of Arras
• April 29 – May 20 – Series of mutinies in the French army

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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April 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Captain Richard Godolphin Hume Chaloner

• elder son of Richard Chaloner, 1st Baron Gisborough and Margaret Brocklesby Davis
• born June 29, 1883 in Marylebone, London, England
• married 1914 Evelyn Maud Benyon, had one daughter
• Captain in the 3rd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, attached to the Number 20 Prisoner of War Company
• killed by friendly fire from one of his own sentries during a storm at night April 3, 1917 in Calais, France, age 33
• buried at Calais Southern Cemetery in Calais, France
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p19395.htm#i193943

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Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (see above)

• son of Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia and Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein
• born April 6, 1893 at Schloss Klein-Glienicke in Berlin, Prussia
• unmarried
• Bronze Medalist in the equestrian team jumping event in the 1912 Summer Olympics
• died from wounds received in action April 6, 1917 at Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France, age 24

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Lieutenant The Honorable George Seymour Dawson-Damer

• son of Lionel George Henry Seymour Dawson-Damer, 5th Earl of Portarlington and Emma Andalusia Frere Kennedy
• born June 30, 1892
• unmarried
• Lieutenant in the 10th Hussars and Dorset Yeomanry
• died April 12, 1917 from wounds received in a cavalry charge in the Battle of Arras in Arras, France , age 24
• http://thepeerage.com/p5460.htm#i54592

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Richard Bernard Boyle, 7th Earl of Shannon

• son of Richard Henry Boyle, 6th Earl of Shannon and Nellie Thompson
• born November 13, 1897
• unmarried
• died April 13, 1917 in the Battle of Arras in Arras, France, age 19
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p7264.htm#i72638

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2nd Lieutenant The Honorable Charles Willoughby Murray Molesworth

• only son of George Bagot Molesworth, 9th Viscount Molesworth of Swords and Nina Alida Faulkner
• born November 21, 1897
  unmarried
• 2nd Lieutenant in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
• died from wounds received while carrying out a reconnaissance in “no man’s land” in action April 15, 1917, age 19
• buried at Villiers Station Cemetery, Villiers-au-Bois
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p51495.htm#i514950

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Henry Molyneux Paget Howard, 19th Earl of Suffolk

• son of Henry Charles Howard, 18th Earl of Suffolk and Mary Eleanor Lauderdale Coventry
• born September 13, 1877
• married 1904 Margaret Hyde Leiter, had three sons, the eldest son Charles Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, a bomb disposal expert, was killed while defusing an unexploded bomb during the London Blitz in World War II
• Major in command of the Wiltshire Battery, 3rd Wessex Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
• killed in action by shrapnel through the heart at the Battle of Istabulat in Istabulat, Iraq on
• April 21, 1917, age 39
• buried at Basra War Cemetery, Iraq
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p4905.htm#i49050

by Susan Flantzer

• Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
• Timeline: March 1, 1917 – March 31, 1917
• A Note About German Titles
• March 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

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Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was born on May 18, 1868, the eldest son of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Princess Dagmar of Denmark, known as Maria Feodorovna after her marriage. He became Tsar at the age of 26 upon the death of his father on November 1, 1894. Shortly afterward, on November 26, 1894, Nicholas married Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, the youngest surviving child of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  After her marriage, Alix was known as Alexandra Feodorovna.

Nicholas and his wife were related to many other royals. Nicholas was a grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark, the maternal nephew of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, King George I of Greece, and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom (wife of King Edward VII). Among his first cousins were King George V of the United Kingdom, King Christian X of Denmark, King Haakon VII of Norway and his wife Queen Maud (daughter of King Edward VII), King Constantine I of Greece and Prince Andrew of Greece, the father of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.

Alexandra was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria; the niece of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom; Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress and Queen of Prussia (wife of Friedrich III, German Emperor); Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; and Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her first cousins included Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Queen Sophie of Greece, King George V of the United Kingdom, Queen Maud of Norway, Queen Marie of Romania, Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain.

Nicholas and Alexandra had four daughters and one son. Their son, Alexei, the heir to the throne, was a sufferer of the blood-clotting genetic disease hemophilia. Alexandra’s grandmother Queen Victoria was a hemophilia carrier. Her son Leopold suffered from hemophilia and it is assumed that a spontaneous mutation occurred in Queen Victoria. Alexandra’s brother Friedrich was a hemophilia sufferer who had died at the age of two from a brain hemorrhage after falling out a window, so, therefore, her mother Alice was a hemophilia carrier.
Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

Nicholas mobilized the Russian troops in 1914 which led to Russia’s entrance into World War I on the side of Entente Powers (also known as the Allies of World War I or the Allies). See Unofficial Royalty: World War I: Who Was On What Side? In the midst of World War I, the February Revolution, the first of two revolutions in Russia, took place in 1917. Later in 1917, the October Revolution occurred, paving the way for the establishment of the Soviet Union.

Historian Alexander Rabinowitch in The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd, summarized the reasons for the February Revolution: The February 1917 revolution “… grew out of prewar political and economic instability, technological backwardness, and fundamental social divisions, coupled with gross mismanagement of the war effort, continuing military defeats, domestic economic dislocation, and outrageous scandals surrounding the monarchy.” The revolution was confined to the capital St. Petersburg and its surrounding areas and lasted less than a week. It involved mass demonstrations and armed clashes with police and forces of the Russian army. The immediate result of the revolution was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire.

By March 12, 1917, all the remaining regiments of the Russian Imperial Army had mutinied. A Provisional Government was formed which issued a demand that Nicholas must abdicate. At this time, Nicholas was not in St. Petersburg, but at the Stavka, the headquarters of the Russian Imperial Army in Mogilev (now in Belarus), 500 miles/800km away, living on the Imperial Train. Despite many earlier warnings from many people that he should return to the capital, Nicholas remained at the Stavka.

Finally, when it was too late to take any action, Nicholas decided to return to his family at Tsarskoe Selo, 15 miles/24 km from St. Petersburg, the site of Alexander Palace, the family’s favorite residence. Aboard the train, Nicholas heard the news that the last of the regiments had mutinied and he realized he had no choice but to abdicate. On March 15, 1917, aboard the Imperial Train headed to Tsarskoe Selo, Nicholas signed the abdication manifesto. At first, he decided to abdicate in favor of his son Alexei, but he changed his mind after conferring with doctors who said the hemophiliac Alexei would not survive without his parents, who would surely be exiled. Nicholas then decided to abdicate in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich. However, Michael declined to accept the throne unless the people were allowed to vote for the continuation of the monarchy or for a republic.

Nicholas issued the following statement:

“In the days of the great struggle against the foreign enemies, who for nearly three years have tried to enslave our fatherland, the Lord God has been pleased to send down on Russia a new heavy trial. Internal popular disturbances threaten to have a disastrous effect on the future conduct of this persistent war. The destiny of Russia, the honor of our heroic army, the welfare of the people and the whole future of our dear fatherland demand that the war should be brought to a victorious conclusion whatever the cost. The cruel enemy is making his last efforts, and already the hour approaches when our glorious army together with our gallant allies will crush him. In these decisive days in the life of Russia, We thought it Our duty of conscience to facilitate for Our people the closest union possible and a consolidation of all national forces for the speedy attainment of victory. In agreement with the Imperial Duma We have thought it well to renounce the Throne of the Russian Empire and to lay down the supreme power. As We do not wish to part from Our beloved son, We transmit the succession to Our brother, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, and give Him Our blessing to mount the Throne of the Russian Empire. We direct Our brother to conduct the affairs of state in full and inviolable union with the representatives of the people in the legislative bodies on those principles which will be established by them, and on which He will take an inviolable oath. In the name of Our dearly beloved homeland, We call on Our faithful sons of the fatherland to fulfill their sacred duty to the fatherland, to obey the Tsar in the heavy moment of national trials, and to help Him, together with the representatives of the people, to guide the Russian Empire on the road to victory, welfare, and glory. May the Lord God help Russia!”

Nicholas and his family were held under house arrest first at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, and later at the Governor’s Mansion in Tobolsk, Siberia between August 1917 – April 1918. In April 1918, they were moved to the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Siberia. It was here on the morning of July 17, 1918, that the family was brought to a room in the basement and assassinated.
Unofficial Royalty: Execution by firing squad of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family

Works Cited

• “February revolution.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Feb. 2017. Web. 11 Feb. 2017.
• Lincoln, Bruce W., and Lincoln. The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias: Autocrats of All the Russias. New York, NY, Unofficialtes: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1983. Print.
• “Nicholas II of Russia.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 11 Feb. 2017.
• Perry, John Curtis, and Constantine Pleshakov. The Flight of the Romanovs: A Family Saga. New York, NY, United States: William S. Konecky Associates, 1999. Print.
• Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2008. Print.
• Scott. “Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.” Russian Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 28 Mar. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2017.

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Timeline: March 1, 1916 – March 31, 1917

• March 8 – 11 – British capture Baghdad
• March 13 – April 23 – Samarrah Offensive, British capture much of Mesopotamia
• March 15 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, abdicates, a provisional government is appointed
• March 26 – First Battle of Gaza, British attempt to capture the city fails

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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March 1917 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page or a website page with biographical information, their name will be linked to that page.

Captain The Honorable Eric Fox Pitt Lubbock

• son of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury and Alice Lane Fox-Pitt
• born May 16, 1893 in Westminster, London, England
• Captain and Flight-Commander in the Royal Flying Corps
• killed in aerial combat March 11, 1917 at Ypres, Belgium , age 23
• his brother Lieutenant The Honorable Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock was also killed in World War I on April 4, 1918
• buried at the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Poperinge, West Flanders, Belgium
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p5626.htm#i56252

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Lieutenant The Honorable Charles Frearson Younger

• son of George Younger, 1st Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lucy Smith
• born  September 9, 1885
• married 1913 Marjory Murray, no issue
• Lieutenant in the Lothians and Border Horse
• killed in action March 21, 1917 in St Leger, near Albert, France, age 31
• buried at the Aveluy Communal Cemetery Extension in Aveluy, France
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p18461.htm#i184607

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Captain The Honorable Lawrence Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth

• son of Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baron Shuttleworth and Blanche Parish
• born September 21, 1887
• married 1913 Selina Bridgeman, had two sons and one daughter, both his sons were killed in action during World War II: Flying Officer Richard Kay-Shuttleworth, 2nd Baron Shuttleworth was killed in action during the Battle of Britain; Captain Ronald Kay-Shuttleworth, 3rd Baron Shuttleworth was killed in action in North Africa

• Captain and Adjutant in the Royal Field Artillery
• killed in action March 30, 1917 at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France, age 29
• buried at the Villers Station Cemetery in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
• his brother Captain The Honorable Edward Kay-Shuttleworth was also killed in World War I on July 10, 1017
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p8277.htm#i82761