[tybaltstone]

Hello Stewart,

My 'specialist subject' (not quite ready for Mastermind yet though!) is the Second Anglo-Afghan War, which was really the war that made Lord Roberts, so I do have some quite detailed information on his funeral. He actually had three services after his death in November 1914 - one at HQ in France where he died (he was visiting Indian and British troops there), one at his home church in Ascot, and then the big one at St. Paul's Cathedral. I'm fairly certain No. 2 Mountain Battery were involved in the procession on its way to St. Paul's, and may have been the unit just in front of the Royal Horse Artillery, who accompanied the coffin on their gun carriage. The actual pall-bearers on this journey were high-ranking Generals including Kitchener.

Here is a little summary of who was involved at where, from the info I have:

We start in France, at general H.Q...

"At 9.30 am the coffin, draped in the Union Jack, with the dead Field-Marshal's sword and cap on top of it, was borne from the house and placed on a gun-carriage by a carrying party of eight branches of the Royal Artillery, of which Royal Regiment Lord Roberts' was Colonel-Commandent, and two from the Irish Guards, of which he was colonel. Within the courtyard of the house was a guard of honour composed of representatives from different Indian regiments, who afterwards took their places in the procession. Outside, drawn up in line in the street, was a guard of honour of British Infantry."

"... The procession was marshalled in the following order: British cavalry, French cavalry, detachments from territorial battalions and Indian troops, regimental officers, the Maire of the town, the Président du Tribunal and the Sous Préfat, Indian officers, officers of the French Mission with the British Army, officers of the General Headquarters Staff and French General officers, the personal Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, the gun carriage escorted by eight General officers acting as pall-bearers, representatives of Earl Roberts' family, H.R.H the Prince of Wales, representing his Majesty the King, Field-Marshal Sir J. D. P. French, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., K.C.M.G., representative of his Majesty the King of the Belgians, Major H. R. H. Prince Arthur of Connaught, K.G., K.T., G.C.V.O., A.D.C., Colonel V. Huguet, C.V.O., representing the president of the French Republic, a detachment of French cavalry, a detachment of Royal Horse Artillery."

After a small church service, the coffin was placed in a 'motor-ambulance' which was to convey it to Boulogne. I must also quote this bit...

"It was an impressive scene in the bright sunlight. In front of the Mairie stood the ambulance ready to start on its journey to the coast; behind it were the lines of khaki soldiers, and behind them again the blue cloaks and the silver helmets of the French cavalry flashing in the sun, and right across the sky in front of a dark mass of clouds to the north-west gleamed a double rainbow. At this moment a fresh sound was heard above the roar of the artillery, and the brassy music of the trumpets as a British aeroplane, one of the aerial guard that had been watching and protecting the procession, swooped up into sight, circled the square, and dipped in salute. The last wreath was put in, the door was closed, and the ambulance moved off on its road to Boulogne."

At Boulogne the coffin was "borne on the shoulders of British soldiers, British Staff officers, with General Henry Wilson at their head, and French and Indian general officers were the pall-bearers" with a guard of honour formed by the Royal Welsh Regiment, before it was put on board the 'Onward' bound for Folkstone.

From Folkstone the coffin went to his home at Ascot, where a more private ceremony for the family was held, and then the coffin proceeded (on the gun carriage that Roberts' own son had died trying to save in South Africa at Colenso) to Ascot Station:

"Behind the coffin came Lady Aileen Roberts, and among others who followed were Lord Roberts' son-in-law, Major Lewin, Colonel M. W. Sherston, Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, and Lord Roberts' private secretary, Mr. Fergusson. Members of the local detachment of the Red Cross, Boy Scouts, boys from the Gordon Boys' Home, and the Church Lad's Brigade also formed part of the procession... ...The coffin was lifted to the shoulders of the eight tall bearers from the Irish Guards, under command of Captain Lord de Vesci, and by them laid in the saloon carriage in the special train."

This train took Roberts' body to Charing Cross Station.

"Very reverently the coffin was carried to a gun carriage of P Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery while the guard of honour presented arms and the distinguished chiefs of Great Britain's Army and Navy saluted their dead leader... ... the procession from the station was headed by the pall-bearers who were: Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Evelyn Wood V.C, Field Marshal Lord Grenfell, Field Marshal Lord Methuen, Field Marshal Lord Nicholson, General Sir J. Hills-Johnes V.C., General Sir R. Biddulph, General Sir A. Hunter, General Sir A. Gaslee, General Sir C. Egerton, Admiral Lord Charles Beresford."

The procession to St. Paul's Cathedral consisted of the 14th County of London Battalion of the London Scottish (its pipers playing), the 5th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, the 4th Battalion of the Grenadier Guards, 2nd Battalion Irish Guards, a detachment of the Royal Naval Brigade, some boys from the Eton Officers Training Corps, "one of the Indian Mountain Batteries" (this is most likely No. 2 Mountain Battery - "the mules with the little guns on their backs, each mule led by his Indian driver, the men all in khaki with just one splash of dull red in their turbans"), a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery with gun carriage bearing the coffin, then several officers (listed), then at the end came some cavalry - 1st Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards and finally King Edward's Horse.

"No. 2 Mountain Battery, which took part in the funeral procession, was raised in 1746 under the name of the 1st Company Bengal Artillery. It lost all but one officer and six men in the Black Hole of Calcutta. The company was re-raised the following year. Its records include Plassy, where it was the only artillery unit, Lake's campaigns of 1800-1, and the first and second Sikh Wars, including Chillianwalla. After the Indian Mutiny - the battery had two officers killed at Lucknow, and took part in the siege of Delhi - the designation of the battery was changed to that it has ever since borne, and its comparatively recent work includes participation in the Hazara Campaign in 1886 and Burmah in 1891-2."

The piece just above doesn't mention a stronger connection with Lord Roberts, in that it was one of the artillery batteries to accompany him on the march from Kabul to Kandahar in August 1880 (Second Afghan War).

I hope this is of some help.

All the best -
Garen.

[armourersergeant]

You may wish to try the IWM photographic department as they have much material from around this era. I have seen some of Lord Roberts but do not recall anything about his funeral, though it does not mean they don't have any.

You can e-mail them inregard to it and they are very helpful and they will often search for you and let you know what they have.

regards
Arm.

[Moriaty]

A very belated addition to this. The 6th Welch carried Earl Roberts coffin at Boulogne (there was a photo in the South Wales Daily News issue of 28 November 1914). My grandfather was the commanding officer and in his diary for 17th November recorded:

At 11.58 a telegram came to say the men were to parade at the station (five minutes walk) at 12.15. They were there are 12.18 which was not bad. Then no orders arrived until 12.45 when we were moved to opposite the bridges. The French drum and bugle band were on our left, and the French troops (except those who were lining the quay) massed on the right.

The pall bearers and myself (in attendance on the B.C) in the centre and the English and French officers on the right of the guard of honor - between it and the massed French troops.

The coffin arrived at about 1.5 and was brought in an ambulance wagon (motor), but instead of coming up near the main party and troops, they stood for some extraordinary reason at the bridge head. The bearer party had to go on a long way forward. Then the French band started and play for Heavens knows how long! Of course it seemed hours until it stoppped, and as a matter of fact it could not have been less than five minutes. We all got very tired as we were at the head all the time and the men were at the present. Then the Guard unfixed bayonets, reversed their arms and formed the procession.

We went down to the Gare Maritime where the Folkestone boats go from. The Guard was under Browning, Lewis and Roberts - the Bearer Party - they did their work extremely well.

When the procession arrived at the station, the escort wheeled to the right and lined up... The coffin was placed on a raised bier on the platform, and the French troops all filed past. During this march past and during the procession, the band played. I was afterwards told it was "Dead March in Saul"

When the French troops passed on the line of the Guard of Honour, having taken up their position, all the troops presented arms and the coffin was taken on board.

General Wilson, Sir Purtaub Singh, a few Indians, one colour sargeant, and then six of my men, were the only people to go on the boat. The Escort was:
Colour Sergeant Gorman, Private Bickham, Private Price, Private Westwood, Private Thomas and Private Griffiths.

And so our Great Lord Roberts went over in the ordinary mail boat "Onward" with two people and an escort as his companions! Let others think as they like - and perhaps the War as put everything out of perspective and proportion - but, although the Boulogne Garrison did the best they could for h im, I am inclined to think the authorities at home might have done a good bit more. There was nothing more today."