The Offley Family Society                          Newsflash  No. 102

Anthony Henry Gaddum† 1939 - 2008

It is sad to relate that Anthony Henry Gaddum [WOL] died on 5th June 2008.

Anthony was the Immediate past Upper Bailiff of the Worshipful Company of Weavers.  He joined the Offley Family Society in 1997 and was a keen family historian, contributing to our Newsletters and Newsbriefs on many occasions.  In 2005 he published a history of the Gaddum family "Gaddums Revisited" and very kindly gave a copy of his book to the Society's library.  Anthony and his wife, Hilda, had three sons and three grandchildren.

A Thanksgiving Service will be held at St. Peter's Church, Prestbury, Cheshire, on 8th July at 2 p.m. 

Exchange Journals received

Shropshire FHS:  June 2008. 

Royal Welch Fusiliers, 23rd Regiment of Foot

The Royal Welch Fusiliers (RWF) wore a black ribbon on the back of their collars, symbolising the ribbon that tied the pigtail when that was a more usual style of hair-dressing.  During the Great War the Army Board recommended the removal of the flash as it was a clear identifying feature of the uniform that would have been useful to the enemy but King George V refused, saying that "The enemy will never see the backs of the Royal Welch Fusiliers".

Such traditions strengthen the esprit de corps that is seen in Army regiments and it follows that families tend to support a particular regiment or branch of the armed services.  The pedigree of Offley illustrates this point.  The family, parts of which were closely associated with the Shropshire and Welsh border, contributed at least six members to the officer strength of the RWF as shown below. 

STA A3 IX   Capt. Richard Wicksted Ethelston 1850 - 1914

STA A6 XII  Col. Randolph Offley Crewe-Read, 7th Bn. 1876 - 1933

STA A9 X    Maj. Francis Brian Egerton Cotton (married 1955)

STA E1 XII   Maj. Richard Courtenay Brabazon Throckmorton 1851, k.i.a. 1916

STA E4 XI   Capt. Eric Charles Tunnicliffe, died 1954

STA J4 IX   Capt. Frederic Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes 1836 - 1896. 

Richard Sinnett, who is revising a book by the late Major E.L. Kirby published in 1997, "Officers of the Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Regiment of Foot) 16 Mar 1689 to 4 Aug 1814", has sent relevant extracts from this book which in some instances he has been able to expand. 

ETHELSTON, Robert Wicksted

Born on 12 April 1860 he was the second son of Robert Peel Ethelston of Hinton Hall, Shropshire, JP, by his wife Louisa Phillipa, daughter of Thomas Perry Esq. of Moor Hall, Harlow, Essex and nephew of Mrs Perry-Watlington from whom he inherited Moor Hall in 1886.

                A 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Denbigh and Merioneth Militia on 26 February 1879 he received a regular commission as lieutenant in the South Staffordshire Regiment on 28 January 1882 but transferred to 2 RWF on 6 May the same year, was promoted captain on 28 January 1891, and resigned in 1892.

                Lord of the Manor of Harlowbury, he married on 19 July 1900, Ruth Frances, daughter of Rasbotham of Ebnal Grange, Malpas, Cheshire and died on 26 April 1914. 

THROCKMORTON, Richard Courtenay Brabazon

Born on 22 December 1866 he was the eldest son of Richard Charles Acton Throckmorton, heir presumptive to the 9th Baronet Throckmorton of Coughton Court, Alcester, Warwickshire, by his wife Frances Stewart, daughter of Major John Arthur Moore CIE, sometime director of the Honourable East India Company                Commissioned 2nd lieutenant RWF on 24 August 1887 from the Militia, lieutenant on 2 July 1890 and captain on 8 May 1896, he served with 1 RWF throughout the South African War 1899–1902 and received the Queen’s Medal with five clasps and the King’s Medal with two clasps. He was adjutant 2nd Volunteer Battalion RWF from 22 August 1903 to 25 August 1904. 

                He retired on 12 January 1907, but during the Great War he was recalled for service. He served in Gallipoli as second-in-command of the 8th (Service) Battalion the Royal Welch Fusiliers, before being promoted lieutenant-colonel in November 1915 to command the 3rd Battalion the Wiltshire Regiment. Later, in temporary command of the 5th Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment, he was killed in action on 9 April 1916 in the battle of Sannaiyat in Mesopotamia, aged 49. He has no known grave, and is remembered on the Basra Memorial, Iraq, panel 15. He was posthumously mentioned in despatches (LG 19 October 1916).

                He had married on 1 February 1905 Lilian, the only daughter of Colonel H.B. Langford Brooke of Mere Hall, Cheshire. His eldest son Robert George Maxwell Throckmorton, born in 1908, succeeded his grandfather as 11th Baronet Throckmorton in 1927.  

Obituary                The Times, Saturday 15 April 1916 

Memorials                St Peter’s Church Coughton, Warwickshire (UKNIWM 19257) – Brass plaque in black marble frame, inscribed COURTENAY THROCKMORTON, LIEUT COLONEL 23RD ROYAL WELCH/ FUSILIERS, BORN 22 DECEMBER 1866, WHO WAS KILLED IN/ ACTION 9 APRIL 1916 WHILE IN TEMPORARY COMMAND OF/ THE 5TH BN. WILTSHIRE REGT, AND WAS BURIED ON/ THE BATTLEFIELD OF SANNA Y SAT/ MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES                        Sambourne War Memorial, Warwickshire (UKNIWM 19396) 

FIENNES, The Hon. Frederic Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Born on 8 June 1836 he was the fifth son of Frederick Benjamin 13th Baron of Saye and Sele DCL, in holy orders, treasurer and canon residentiary of Hereford Cathedral, Archdeacon of Hereford and High Steward of Banbury, by his wife, the Hon. Emily Wingfield, daughter of Richard, 4th Viscount Powerscourt.  Educated at Eton, he was commissioned ensign, RWF on 16 November 1854, lieutenant on 25 February 1855 and captain on 18 October 1858. He served in the Crimea from 17 June 1855 and was present at the siege and fall of Sebastopol including the assaults on the Redan on 18 June and 8 September 1855, and was entitled to the Crimea Medal with the clasp ‘Sebastopol’ and the Turkish Crimea Medal. He retired and married on 16 August 1887 Isabella, eldest daughter of Thomas Martinson Richardson of Hibaldtowe Cliff, Lincolnshire and shortly afterwards was apointed a Military Knight of Windsor. After a prolonged illness he died, aged 60, at his residence in the lower ward of Windsor Castle on 26 September 1896. 

Obituary                The Times, 28 September 1896 

Newsflash  No. 102                                                                24th June 2008