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In St Mark's Church, Witton, Blackburn. The church closed, has been on the market, and a sale is currently going through, with future conversion to a residence. My thanks to the Blackburn office of Lea Hough for arranging my visit.
Major Feilden is also named on the Royal Scots Greys' memorial, in Edinburgh.

www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits...cotsgreysfeilden.htm



TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF
MAJOR C. W. M. FEILDEN D.S.O. ROYAL SCOTS GREYS
BORN MARCH 13TH 1863 DIED IN SOUTH AFRICA FEBRY. 19TH 1902







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Mr. R. J. Howard, the Witton estate agent, Blackburn, has received a telegram reporting the death of Major C. W. M. Feilden, D.S.O., of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), who was severely wounded in the engagement at Klippan, near Nigel, in the Transvaal Colony, on Tuesday.
Addressing an education meeting at Blackburn on Saturday, Bishop Thornton made reference to the death in South Africa of Major Feilden. He said it was an abominable thing for these Boers to go on doing these murderous things without any possibility of attaining their end. It was hate, it was devilry, which animated the Boers, and the most precious blood was being shed in consequence of it.

Burnley Express, Wednesday 26th February 1902
Major C. W. M. Fielden, D.S.O., Captain E. Ussher, D.S.O., and Lieutenant J. F. Rhodes, of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), who were wounded in the recent mishap at Klippan, have died of wounds. Major Fielden's death has aroused much sympathy in Blackburn, Chorley, and district. The gallant officer owned the Witton estate, to which he succeeded on the death of his father, Lieutenant-General Fielden, formerly M.P. for the Chorley Division of Lancashire. Major Fielden joined the Scots Greys in 1882. He acted as secretary and A.D.C. to Lord Wolseley when he was Commander-in-Chief, and had served in a similar capacity to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He went to South Africa in November, 1900. The elder surviving brother, Captain J. H. G. Fielden, is serving with his regiment in Ireland, and the other brother, Mr. P. H. G. Fielden, is private secretary to the Governor of Queensland. The deceased officer's mother and sister are at San Remo. Addressing a meeting of the Blackburn Church Schools' Association, on Saturday, Bishop Thornton referred to the announcement of the death of Major Fielden. The deceased officer, he said, was beloved by his brother officers, and was a young man of great promise, great amiability, and if he had returned to Blackburn, he believed he might have been most valuable in the Church and general life of the town.

Chorley Guardian, 1st March 1902
A memorial service in connection with the death of Major C. W. M. Fielden, D. S. O., of the 2nd Dragoons (Scots Greys), who died from wounds received in action in South Africa, was held on Sunday, at St. Mark's Church, Witton. The church was packed to the doors, and numbers were turned away. The congregation included Captain James Fielden and Miss Fielden, and tenants of the Witton estate, and representatives of the Blackburn Town Council and other public bodies. Canon Fielden, Vicar of Roleston, the deceased major's uncle, addressed the large gathering, and observed that the last time he was in that church was when they met to lay in their last resting-place all that was mortal of his dear brother, the late General Fielden. On that occasion, Major Fielden was present as chief mourner, and he (the Canon), could very well recollect how all his relatives seemed to regard him as one who gave great promise that he would faithfully walk in his father's footsteps. they looked to him to maintain the best traditions of his family. As a landlord and a large owner of property in that neighbourhood, he believed that it was ever his nephew's wish to act in a liberal and upright manner. He went out to South Africa at the commencement of the war with a desire and a determination to do his duty, and in a letter about two months ago to him his nephew spoke, of course, of his hope that the war might soon terminate, and he added that "during the whole of the campaign I have only been off duty for five days, and for this I am very thankful." Let it be their daily prayer, Canon Fielden concluded, that God would so order the course of this war - and they believed it to be a righteous war, a war undertaken in defence of law and liberty and for the preservation of a nation's rights - let them pray that it might issue in the foundation of a firm and lasting peace. - The congregation remained standing while the dead March was played on the organ. Mrs. Fielden has received the following telegram from the Princess of Wales in reference to the loss of her son, Major Fielden: - "So grieved at terribly sad news. Offer you our warmest sympathy in your great sorrow. We knew your dear son well." Messages of condolence were also received from the Lord Lieutenant and Staff at Dublin and Lord and Lady Cadogan.
Chorley Guardian, 8th March 1902

The will of the late Major Feilden, D.S.O., of the Scots Guards, lord of the manor of Blackburn, who was recently killed in South Africa, disposes of personalty of the net value of £101,000. He leaves his Lancashire estate to his brother, Captain James Feilden, and his Cheshire estate to his brother, Lieut. Percy Guy Feilden.

Burnley Express, Wednesday 7th May 1902

Thank You Berenice...….

I always wanted to do a church conversion and I would leave the wall plaques and windows unchanged...… I hope the people buying it will do the same.....

Mike

QSAMIKE wrote: Thank You Berenice...….

I always wanted to do a church conversion and I would leave the wall plaques and windows unchanged...… I hope the people buying it will do the same.....

Mike

I mostly see Methodist chapels converted into homes. The shape of St Mark's should make for an interesting conversion project.

The Blackburn Times has come up trumps with a sketch of him.


Captain Cecil W. M. Feilden, of the Scots Greys, and of Witton Park, Blackburn, now with Lord Roberts at Bloemfontein, comes of a military family. He is the second son of the late Lieutenant-General Feilden, and was born in March, 1863. His father held a commission in the 60th Rifles, and at the present time his younger brother, James H. G. Feilden, is a captain in his father's old regiment. Captain Feilden rose to his present rank in July, 1894. He has held the post of private secretary to Lord Wolseley, the Commander-in-Chief. This important position he resigned at the end of 1896, after having held it for about twelve months. This is the first time that Captain Feilden has seen active service. His father, Lieutenant-General Feilden, took part in the Red River Expedition, under the command of Lord Wolseley. Few cavalry regiments are better known than the Royal Scots Greys, whose proud motto, "Second to none," is being so worthily upheld in South Africa. Capt. Feilden was, we understand, among the first to enter Kimberley when the beleaguered garrison was relieved by General French. On March 13th he entered Bloemfontein, which date, by the way, was the gallant captain's birthday. Two days later he telegraphed to his relatives the gratifying intelligence, "All right." Captain Feilden is a well-known member of military circles in Dublin, for he has been on the personal staff of Earl Cadogan for a number of years. He is a fine rider, and an enthusiastic huntsman. He is also a good shot, and a skilled fencer. He is a Justice of the Peace for both Lancashire and Cheshire, in which counties he owns d deal of property inherited from his father.

Blackburn Times, Saturday 24th March 1900



We are indebted to Mr. R. J. Seward for the following extracts from a letter sent home from Bloemfontein on the 23rd of March by Captain Feilden, of the Scots Greys, and owner of Witton Park. The Captain says: -
"I left the Orange River on the 2nd February for Modder River Camp, where we stayed nine days awaiting the massing of the cavalry division. The Modder Camp was quite the worst I have seen in South Africa, very dusty, hot, and barren. My regiment was encamped on the site of the Modder River fight - a flat plain running down to the river, with no cover of any kind for about a mile and a half from the river bank. The Boers had their trenches on the south side of the river, about 200 yards into the plain, with no real means of retreat, tactics contrary to our ideas, but from results only too successful. On Sunday, the 11th February, at 2 a.m., the whole cavalry division started off for the relief of Kimberley by making a march 25 miles south to Ramdam. It was frightfully hot and dusty, and owing to our convoy being with us we did not reach our destination till 7 p.m., just in time to make ourselves as comfortable as we could till 2 a.m. the following morning, when the whole cavalry division started off again for the Reit River. I happened to be with the advanced squadron, so we had a capital view of the whole day's fighting. Our first view of the Boers was a long, straggling line of about 250 horsemen, just as it was becoming light, and they really had a certain amount of cavalry formation about them, so that at first in the dim light we thought that they were part of another brigade, but very soon a few bullets and a shell or two convinced us otherwise. We had a good view of the whole battle, and it really like an Aldershot field day. We finished the day by driving the Boers over the river, and encamping on the far side ourselves for the night. The next day we pushed on to Modder River, and crossed it at Klip Drift a point some 25 miles east of the original Modder River Camp that we had left. Here we surprised and took a Boer laager and a good deal of loot of sorts, but nothing really worth having, principally food, biscuits, &c., carts, and all kinds of clothing, generally old and shabby, but all very clean, and a good quantity of ammunition. We remained here one day doing a little scouting to clear up the situation and to find out what the strength of the Boers in front of us was. We heard all sorts of numbers given from two to ten thousand.

On Thursday, the 15th, we started off early for Kimberley, carrying our forage with us on our horses (they were getting only 6lbs. of oats per horse per diem.) Soon after starting I thought we were in for a hard day, as our brigade (the 1st) was in a "mass," two batteries being in action, one in front of us and one on our left, and the shells soon began falling pretty thickly into the guns and limbers. The Boers shot so well that nearly every shot fell amongst the guns and only odd ones came near us, we had only one man hit, but the gunners had thirty casualties in the first twenty minutes. However, after this our artillery got the range and very soon silenced the Boer guns. From here to Kimberley we got on very quickly, reaching it almost unopposed at 7 p.m., much to our satisfaction, and to the pleasure of the inhabitants, who, by the way, did not look nearly in such starved condition as we had expected. Just before arriving we shelled a small laager outside the town; but after a few shells at our line of scouts the whole laager beat a hurried retreat. We were all very tired, as the heat was dreadful. The horses had not had food or water all day. We carried what food we could on their backs, as our transport was left behind at Klip Drift to allow us to get on as quickly as possible. The following day we started again at 5 a.m., without either food or water for man or beast, to "round up" the Boers who had been besieging Kimberley, and about 9 30 we came up with them trekking north. From now to 4 30 p.m. we were fighting on and off all day, finishing up by shelling a laager (Dronfield) for two hours. We did not take it then, but the Boers trekked during the night, and the next day our men buried 48 of the enemy. My regiment had three officers wounded during the day, a few men killed and several wounded. After this we remained at Kimberley three days, and then started off in pursuit of Cronje to try and "head him off," with what success you will already know from the papers. I inspected Cronje's laager after the capture, and a more filthy place I have never seen - dead mules, horses and oxen lying about everywhere. The smell was awful. I don't wonder he gave in, but am surprised he could stand it so long. The trenches were beautifully made, very narrow, deep and short; room for about 3 to 5 men in each, and so constructed that they were almost safe from enfilade fire. The women and wounded were hidden in holes along the river bank. Six guns were taken, besides about a million and a half rounds of ammunition. their guns were badly placed, so that on being fired they drew all our artillery fire, which rendered them practically useless.

From here - Paardeberg - we started for Bloemfontein, three hard days' marching and fighting. At Poplar Grove we expected a big fight, as information said the Boers numbered some 8,000 in front of us, but as soon as they found their flanks threatened by our cavalry they ran; so the fighting that, such as it was, was done by the cavalry. We had one other fight at Dryfontein, where our casualties were over four hundred, and Buffs and Essex Regiments sharing the greater part. On the 13th March we marched into Bloemfontein, having a skirmish with the Boers on the night of the 12th, some six miles south of the town. We met them just after dusk, and both sides commenced shelling, which lasted till well after dark. We are now encamped at a farm about four miles from the town, and it is a treat to again have a roof over our heads, the first we have had in South Africa. We expect to remain here about three weeks to recruit and to get fresh horses, when we hope to start for Pretoria.

The Captain Feilden who was wounded is my Uncle John Feilden's son."

Blackburn Times, Saturday 21st April 1900

Good work Berenice - ok to add his image to British Army Ancestors? britisharmyancestors.co.uk/

Help yourself. I took photos of sketches of 41 privates and N.C.O.s yesterday, from the 1901 Blackburn Times, and left others unphotographed for another time.

Does anyone know, or would like to make a guess, what his headgear is?