Charles Beauclerk Despard

1880 - 1918  (37 years)

• Name	Charles Beauclerk Despard
  Born	31 December 1880	Ireland
  Gender	Male
  Birth	31 December 1880	Woodleigh Culka, Down, Ireland   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Burial	Zonnebeke, Arrondissement Ieper, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium   [1, 2]
  _MILT	Aug 1914  [3]
  Married	20 Feb 1915	Leixlip, Kildare   [3, 6]
  Obit	1918	Heuvelland, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium
  	Charles Despard was born at Cultra, County Down, on 31 December 1880, the son of William Francis and Mary Despard of 'Sheelagh' Malone Park, Belfast
  Name	Charles Beauclerk Despard D S O, M C  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
  Died	18 April 1918	Heuvelland, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium   [1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10]
  Buried	Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
  Person ID	P510	Despard Only
  Last Modified	26 Sep 2020

  
  

  Father	William Francis Despard,   b. 8 Jul 1824, Belfast ,   d. 17 Apr 1904, Belfast, Northern Ireland  (Age 79 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Mary Jane Armstrong Hunt,   b. 1836, Ireland ,   d. 30 May 1921, Dublin South, Ireland  (Age 85 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	22 January, 1875	Hampton
  		Marriages Despards 1800's
  Family ID	F207	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Josephine Madden,   b. Abt 1879,   d. Jun 1952, Dublin South, Ireland - No proof correct Josephine  (Age ~ 73 years)
  Married	Mar 1915	Celbridge, Ireland   [6]
  Last Modified	26 Sep 2020
  Family ID	F95	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Miles Family

  
  

  Histories

  MONKS ROLL

  
  

• Notes

  Charles Despard was born at Woodleigh, Cultra on 31 December 1880, the youngest child of William Francis (a land and estate agent) and Mary Despard (nee Hunt). Charles was educated at RBAI and, in 1899, he enlisted in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry where he served as a Private, then Corporal. He joined the Imperial Yeomanry and served in the South African War. He was commissioned on 1 April 1900 and, a year later, was Mentioned in Despatches ‘For gallantry while serving as a Subaltern with the 74th Imperial Yeomanry during the extraction of a convoy from a difficult situation near Griquatown, Cape Colony on 24 August 1901 during the South African War’. He was also awarded the Queen’s and King’s Medals during this time. After the war, fired with a sense of adventure, Charles emigrated to Canada to work in Saskatchewan as a rancher, returning to England on the outbreak of war in August 1914 to volunteer for active service. He was commissioned into the Service Squadron of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons as a Lieutenant on 19 October 1914 and was appointed Captain on 30 October 1915, serving first with the 36th (Ulster) Division, then with the North Irish Horse. While preparing for war, Charles Despard met and married Josephine Madden in Leixlip, County Kildare. All too soon, he was on the front lines of World War 1 and, as Officer in Command of ‘D’ Company 9th (North Irish Horse) Royal Irish Fusiliers, he saw action near Cambrai and was involved in the retreat from St Quentin, earning both the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order. The citations conjure the picture of a man of considerable selflessness. The Military Cross Citation, awarded for ‘conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty’ spoke of how he commanded his company with the greatest skill and gallantry during an attack, clearing a portion of the village on the flank of the battalion. At dusk, seeing that he was in danger of being cut off, he withdrew his own and two other companies, evacuated all the wounded, and held a line south of the village. During all this time he moved about under very heavy machine-gun fire, regardless of personal danger, and displayed the greatest coolness and courage. The Distinguished Service Order, awarded after the gruelling five day withdrawal from St Quentin in 1918 highlighted his high qualities as a leader, second-in-command of his Battalion. While in command of the rear-guard, the gallantry and determination with which he disputed the ground was largely responsible for the safe withdrawal of the rest of the main body. Sadly, just a few months after that display of courage, Captain Charles Beauclerk Despard, then aged 37, was killed in action by shellfire at Kemmel Hill … the last surviving Captain in 108th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division. He was buried in Kemmel Cemetery but his grave was subsequently lost and so, today, he is commemorated on Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium … and, of course, at his school.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1202875307] UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1204286947] Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1204617972] UK, De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1919, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1202875583] Ireland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1202875606] Ireland, Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1202879407] Ireland, Civil Registration Marriages Index, 1845-1958, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1202922209] Web: Ireland, Calendar of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1920, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1204286948] Ireland, Casualties of World War I, 1914-1922, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc.). [S1204286950] UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919, Military-Genealogy.com, comp, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc). [S1204286949] UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929, Ancestry.com, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), National Army Museum; Chelsea, London, England; Soldiers' Effects Records, 1901-60; NAM Accession Number: 1991-02-333; Record Number Ranges: 43601-44600; Reference: 194.