In Memory Of

CHALONER, RICHARD GODOLPHIN HUME

Service Details
Age:
 33
Date of Birth:
 -0001-11-30
Rank:
 Captain
Unit:
 3rd Bn.
Unit 2:
 attd. 20th Pris. of War Coy.
Regiment:
 Wiltshire Regiment
Date of Death:
 1917-04-03
Cause of Death:
 Died in Shooting Incident, during the night of 2/3 April 1917, Chaloner was accidentally shot by a sentry in the camp and was killed. The specific details of how this came about are unclear but it would seem he was mistaken for an enemy soldier, probably thought to be in the process of escaping.
Commemoration
Grave Reference:
 Plot A. Row Officers. Grave 15.
Cemetery:
 CALAIS SOUTHERN CEMETERY
Localitly:
 Pas de Calais
Country:
 France
Additional Information
Eldest son of Richard Godolphin Walmesley (1st Baron Gisborough of Cleveland, in Yorkshire) and Margaret, his wife, of Gisborough Hall, Gisborough, Yorks. Served in the South African Campaign. Born on 29 June 1883 and was educated at Eton. Like his father he was a keen horseman and he joined the 16th Lancers. During the Boer War he served with the 3rd Battalion, The Wiltshire Regiment stationed at St. Helena where Boer prisoners of war were held. September 1914 Chaloner rejoined the 16th Lancers. Two years later, in September 1916, he proceeded to France as a captain, and the commanding officer of the 20th Prisoner of War Company. These companies, which formed a part of the Labour Corps, were formed in mid-1916 with each having around 100 enemy soldiers under their care to utilise as manual labour. ref. South African Roll of Honour 1914-1918.