Edward Geoffrey Myddelton, Lieutenant, Suffolk Regiment
Edward Geoffrey Myddelton came up to Jesus College in 1912 from Wellingborough as a Foundation Scholar.
Born: Boston, Lincolnshire on 22 August 1893
Fell in action: 26 August 1914
College life
He gained a first class in Part I Mathematics in 1913 and would have become 鈥溾 in 1915.
Whilst at College he was a keen rower, and rowed in position 5 in the third boat in Lent Term 1914, where it is noted he weighed 12st 2lbs. (Chanticlere, Lent Term 1914, p40).
He was also a member of The Roosters, The 汤头条原创 Debating Society, which during Myddelton鈥檚 time debated such subjects as votes for women, Irish home rule and whether or not sugar in tea was a sign of original sin. (The First Twenty Years of The Roosters, F. Brittain, p11).
War service
Myddelton was considered to have some military experience as Second Lieutenant in the Special Reserve of Officers so when war broke out he was amongst the first to be sent out with the Expeditionary Force. He took part in the retreat of Mons and was unofficially reported killed at La Cateau on 26 August.
His death was not officially reported to his parents until 15 January 1915. A member of the regiment who was with Mr Myddelton wrote:
鈥淢r Myddelton, on 26 August, was about four hundred yards in front of me in some high root crops, just over the top of the rise in front. His platoon seem to have been unable to fall back (or got no orders to fall back) on to us. A gun was brought up against his flank on the cutting formed by the Le Cateau road, where it leaves this town towards Cambrai, with several machine guns, and none of us saw him again, or could get any news of him.
The ground was directly afterwards occupied by the enemy. There can be little doubt that he was killed instantly鈥 He died in the very front line, holding off the heaviest blows on that day, and giving us time to prepare for a time to meet them.鈥 (The British Roll of Honour.)
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