John Walcot Blencowe [4212]
1886-1964
Known as Jack.
Father Nm: Rev. Alfred James Blencowe [727] c 16.11.1848 Marston St. Lawrence died 25.3.1928 Marston St. Lawrence
Mother Nm: Sophia Louisa Sophia Walcot 1851-1952
Marriage Dt:
Kin Comments: Brother Edward Prowett was Colonel RASC and brother Charles Bernard Lieutenant Commander Royal Navy. Mother Louisa and Sister Cecilia were Voluntary Aid Nurses in West Kirby Depot. 1687 Cheshire.
Spouse comments: Monica Elsie Long 1898-1990
Children: Peter 1929, Patricia 1931, Susan 1936
(Research): GR[B] Northwich Sept 1886 JD PB GR[D], Uckfield Dec 1964
Birth
3 August 1886 Cheshire
1901 Census Hoylake cum West Kirby Cheshire
- Blencowe Alfred James Head Clergyman 1849 Marston St Lawrence 52
- Blencowe Edith C Dau F 1890 Chester 11
- Blencowe Evelyn M Dau F 1892 West Kirby 9
- Blencowe Richard S Son M 1885 Northwich 16
- Blencowe Louisa SS Wife F 1851 Kempsey Worcs. 50
- Blencowe Alfred P W Son Apprentice Insurance Officer M 1879 Northwich 22
- Blencowe John W Son M 1887 Northwich 14
- Blencowe Alan H Son M 1888 Chester 13
An Author, Scholar, Missionary and Teacher
Rev Jack Blencowe before the war was involved in the Southern Cross Mission to Melanesia where he was a missionary and teacher and where he also developed an interest in the Melanesian language and contributed to books about the language. Books, poems and papers attest to his writing interest.
Toured Melanesia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand on the Missionary Ship Southern Cross and based in Santa Cruz .C1908-1912
Writing by J.W. Blencowe
- Melanesian Mission: correspondence, diaries, and other writings by J.W. Blencowe … et al.
- Thoughts we all share by J.W. Blencowe
- Home Letter addendum is written by JW Blencowe
- John Walcot Blencowe – Papers [M824], 1908-1932; A collection of papers, correspondence etc held at Libraries in Australia.
Curate’s licence for Wokingham in 1913 [at Reading CRO]
Chaplains Force |
WW1
Blencowe John Walcot, Chaplain Captain, Chaplains Dept. Attached 1/1 Suffolk Yeomanry (The Duke of Yorks Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars) and 2nd Devonshire Regiment.
From Peter Blencowe (Jack’s son).
His ambition was to return to Melanesia as an ordained missionary, so, back in England, he spent three years at Cuddesdon Theological College. His dream never happened for, in 1914, the First World War broke out and he was sent to the Dardanelles as a Chaplain with the Suffolk Yeomanry. He used to comment on his experiences there, that “he must have been one of the few army chaplains to command an infantry company in the field”, which he did in a moment of crisis. He was invalided home from Gallipoli with enteric fever and later was to sent to France as Chaplain to the 2nd Devons, where he was involved with the horrors of the River Somme in 1916. Later he was buried alive by a shell explosion and only just survived.
1915
- 25th Sept. Sailed from Liverpool on SS ‘Olympic’ for service at Gallipoli.
- 1st Oct. Arrived Mudros and remained on board.
- 8th Oct. Sailed Abassieh for Anzac Cove. Unable to land due to weather conditions and put back to Imbros.
- 10th Oct. Landed Walker’s Pier then to dug-outs at New Bedford Road. The Brigade under orders of 54th (East Anglian) Division. Chaplain at the Gallipoli landing attached to the Suffolk Yeomanry.
- 26th Oct. In the trenches. Relieved 1/5th Bedfordshire and 1/11th London in the front line – Aghyle Dere area. Letter home indicates sickness rife and only 305 men well out of 500 the sick suffering with dysentery.
- 31st Oct. Relieved by 1/5th Norfolk and 1/11th London and to New Bedford Road.
- 5th Nov. To trenches left of Hill 60 crossing Kaiajik Dere.
- 10th Nov. Relieved by 1/11th London and to rest camp.
- 15th Nov. Back into the front line.
- 23rd Nov. Sometime prior to this date Jack gets sick and is hospitalised. Writes home on the 23rd from St Andrew’s Hospital, Malta having been evacuated with Malaria and Typhoid.
- 19th Dec. Jack writes home indicating soon to be hospitalised to England. (5th). Major Hon W.E. Guinness records (6th) how Captain Hon. E.C.G. Cadogan had received slight injuries to his face when a Turkish sniper hit the officer’s periscope. He also notes the use of a new catapult that had been manufactured by Harrods (see Staff Officer- The Diaries of Lord Moyne 1914-1918). High casualties from sickness record.
1916
- 2nd Jan. Jack writes from 3rd Northern General Hospital, Collegiate Hall, Sheffield.
- 18th Jan. Jack writes “My operation took place Thursday morning 9.45. It proved to be very necessary indeed as I have been most fortunate to have escaped while I was walking about. There were innumerable adhesions and not one as I had expected, and certain organs were very much misplaced.”
Chaplain attached to 2nd Devonshire Regiment 23rd Brigade, 8th Division in France, mentioned having been buried alive in one bombardment.
- 13th Apr. Jack arrives in France and writes the first letter to mother from most likely near Albert. 2nd Devons at Frement and Albert.
- 18th Apr. Albert. Jack writes “The Devons are now in the trenches for four days, but I have not gone in with them this time as I have a heavy cold and have lost my voice “.
- 22nd Apr. A raid carried out by the Division to the left resulted in Artillery retaliation causing casualties 1 OR killed 12 wounded 2 Officers wounded. Jack writes “We had a very successful double raid that night. The noise was terrific, and German front line trenches were smashed to bits over a two-mile front. We then raided and brought back the few still alive as prisoners, one brawny Scotsman carrying in a wounded German boy of about 15 or 16. They retaliated by giving us a very disturbed Easter Sunday. I had my first celebration at an anti-aircraft battery. Just as I was finishing a German aeroplane got above and dropped two bombs. They made a terrific noise and blew in all the remaining glass in the building, but they did no damage at all, beyond upsetting my service.”
- 3rd May. Bn. HQ moved to Henencourt Wood. Jack writes “We were shelled rather badly on Monday, but chiefly on the other side of the town. They put in several ‘lacrimatory’ or ‘tear shells’, of which I got a whiff. They are the most absurd things as they do you no harm, but your eyes run so that you cannot see. We have masks to shield our eyes, which we always carry with our gas helmets. “
- 26th May. 2nd Devons and 2nd Middx. practise attacks under Brigade command.
- 1st-3rd Jun. Three Divisions practice attack at Franvillers, Army and Corps Cmdrs present.
- 5th Jun. The Div to the right carried out trench raid retaliatory bombardment, heavy trench mortar. 1 Officer and 1 OR killed, 1 Officer and 14 OR’s wounded
- 7th Jun. Increasing Artillery ‘firefights’.
- 24th Jun. Aveluy Wood Trenches. In front of Ovillers,1st day of bombardment.
- 30th Jun. 7th day of bombardment.
- 1st Jul. The attack on Pozieres. The 8th Division of III Corps, put all its three brigades in the front line, to assault the Ovillers spur, the dominating feature immediately north of the Albert to Bapaume road. The 8th Div. objective was a line from north of La Boiselle past Ovillers. Attack on Ovillers failed due to failure to destroy enemy machine guns or adequately cut the barbed wire – 221 Killed in Action, 431 Wounded in Action. The 2nd Devons relieved and taken out of line that day.
- 5th Jul. The Division left the Somme for First Army. Arrived billets at Barlin 7th July.
- 14th-21st and 26th -30th Jul. In trenches at Cuinchy. Some casualties.
- 5th – 17th Sept. In the trenches including Hulluch Alley east of Hulluch. Casualties on most days.
- 14th Oct. Returned to Somme area. At Montauban camp by 21st Oct.
- 22nd Oct. Took over Punch and Gap trenches south-east of Flers as the divisional reserve.
- 23rd Oct. Moved forward to Needle Trench.
- 24th Oct. Attached to 25th Bde for an attack on Zenith Trench but attack postponed to 29th Oct but cancelled after a bad relief of Misty Trench.
- 31st Oct. Moved back to Citadel rest near Meaulte.
- 3rd Nov. Following the success of the Gloucester regiment the battalion in reserve occupied trenches captured near Guillemont.
- 6th Nov. Moved to Briquterie Camp near Montauban.
- 7th Nov. Took over the front line from 33rd Div near Le Transloy.
- 8-9th Nov. Advanced to Autumn trench and dug a trench (Fall trench) on the crest of a ridge.
- 10th Nov. Withdrawn to Bde reserve at Flers. Visited by HRH Prince of Wales.
- 20th Nov. Rest near Oisemont.
- 29th Dec. After a long rest period to the trenches near
1917
- Apr. Jack’s front line service comes to an end.
Jack’s son Peter Blencowe writes “After April 1917, after he was seriously wounded, J W B never returned to Flanders. After a number of operations, he was never pronounced fit enough. Instead, he was appointed Chaplain to Queen Mary’s Hospital Frognal, where he administered to the sick, wounded and dying.” P.J.B. December 2006
Note: Examination of the war diaries for 1917 of the 2nd Devon’s cannot confirm the incident when Jack Blencowe was buried and wounded. It entirely possible this incident was not reported in the diary at a very busy time or that he was attached to another Battalion at that very moment.
Sources
- Peter Blencowe son
- The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester, Dorset
- Article at Bexley Council
- 2nd Devonshire War Diaries 1914-1916
- Letters Home publications by P. Blencowe-
Medals
Awarded the 1914-1915 Star for service at Gallipoli Campaign Oct -Nov 1915
2nd medal card claims award of British medal qualifying date Apr 1916
From the London Gazette 4 October 1921. Page 4
ROYAL ARMY CHAPLAINS’ DEPARTMENT. The undermentioned relinquish their commissions. 1st Sept. 1921: -Temp. Chaplin’s. to the Forces, 3rd d., and are apptnd. Hon. Chaplin’s. to the Forces, 4th Cl. : -The Rev.-J. W. Blencowe.
After the War
JW became the benefactor of a Boarding School at Sidcup Place. The property was empty in 1917 when Jack was appointed as Chaplain to the newly opened Queen Mary’s Hospital. Plans to develop part of the ‘estate’ in 1915 having come to nothing, he was able to buy a rather dilapidated Sidcup Place in 1919 and having partially renovated it, opened it as a boarding preparatory school for boys. P.J.B. December 2006.
GALLERY
Note: there are records that exist for this man that is not shown in the Gallery for copyright reasons.