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Military Cross, G.V.R. (unnamed as issued); Queen’s South Africa Medal, 3 clasps, CAPE COLONY, ORANGE FREE STATE, TRANSVAAL (impressed ‘CAPT: H.J.C. ROSTRON, NORTH’D FUS:’); King’s South Africa Medal, 2 clasps, SOUTH AFRICA 1901, SOUTH AFRICA 1902 (engraved ‘Capt. H.J.C. ROSTRON. North’d. Fus.’); 1914 Star with clasp (impressed ‘CAPT: H.J.C. ROSTRON. 5/D.GDS.’); British War Medal (‘MAJOR H.J.C. ROSTRON.’); Victory Medal (‘MAJOR H.J.C. ROSTRON.’).

Major Hubert James Cecil Rostron, 5th Dragoon Guards, late Royal Fusiliers and Northumberland Fusiliers

Hubert James Cecil Rostron was born in Beddington, Surrey, on 12 February 1875, the second son of Simpson Rostron, Barrister-at-Law and later Magistrate of Surrey, and Christina Jane Riley. Simpson was independently wealthy, worth today’s equivalent of many millions of pounds.

Boer War

Rostron was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers on 24 March 1897, after previously serving in the Devonshire Regiment militia. He was promoted Lieutenant on 22 October 1899 and accompanied the Northumberland Fusiliers to South Africa, serving with the Mounted Infantry during the Boer War. While with them, he took part in operations in the Orange Free State February to May 1900, Orange River Colony May to November 1900, and in the Cape Colony, south of the Orange River, 1899 to 1900. He was slightly wounded at Smaldeel on 19 June 1900 while acting as a guide to a small party.

Promoted Supernumerary Captain on 12 March 1901 and Captain 31 March 1903, he remained in South Africa for the rest of the war, serving on the Compensation Board, Springfontein, from 26 April 1902. For his Boer War service, Rostron received the Queen’s South Africa Medal with 3 clasps, the King’s South Africa Medal with 2 clasps, and was mentioned in Lord Roberts’ dispatch dated 2 April 1901.

Up to this point, Rostron had a respectable military career. However, this changed in 1903.

Repeatedly ordered to join the 3rd Battalion, then stationed in South Africa, Rostron’s service papers (WO 374/59287) indicate that he failed to do so and was recorded as being absent without leaving as of 6 June 1903. Another officer was dispatched on 31 July to bring him in under arrest, and Rostron finally arrived on 6 August. Rostron provided no explanation for his failure to obey orders. One letter suggests he did so due to “financial difficulties” (perhaps related to the Compensation Board?) but also states his commanding officer thought “that this officer was in other ways undesirable, and that his retention was neither in the interest of the Service nor of the Battalion.” There is no indication what these “other ways” might be. As a result, Rostron was placed on leave and permitted to resign his commission, effective 19 December 1903, halting a promising career.

World War I

Soon after the start of World War I, Rostron applied for a commission in the 1st Reserve Regiment of Cavalry on 29 August 1914 and was appointed Temporary Captain on 17 September 1914. Posted to the 5DG, he landed in France on 5 November and joined the regiment at Ypres on 11 November.

The First Battle of Ypres was winding down and the 5DG were in need of replacements, having sustained casualties earlier in the campaign. Upon his arrival, Rostron was appointed second-in-command of C Squadron under Captain C.H. Blackburne, D.S.O. Rostron’s time in the trenches was brief, the 5DG turning over their position to the infantry on 24 November. They did not see action again until May 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres. On the 15th of that month, Rostron is recorded in the 5DG war diary (WO 95/1109) as commanding B Squadron.

The 5DG were in the trenches on 24 May 1915 when B Squadron, led by Captain Rostron, successfully fended off two German counterattacks. Casualties were light, with 1 killed and 3 wounded. Still, for the regiment, it was one of the few occasions of direct combat with the Germans since November 1914 and presented Rostron with an opportunity to distinguish himself. Second Ypres officially ended the next day.

The 5DG were withdrawn after Second Ypres and saw little action during the next three years. Occasionally spending a few days in the trenches, occasionally supplying small reconnaissance parties, the 5DG mainly prepared for the breakout that never came. This is something to keep in mind when considering Rostron’s later award of the Military Cross.

Volume 2 of The Story of a Regiment of Horse includes a section titled “List of Officers” which summarizes the careers of each 5DG officer. For Rostron, it states he “commanded A Squadron, Dec. 24, 1914 to June 1915 and B Squadron June to Sept. 1915”. However, this partially conflicts with the war diary, which doesn’t mention Rostron’s command of A Squadron and clearly specifies that Rostron was commanding B Squadron by the middle of May. Research has shown “List of Officers” to sometimes be inconsistent with the war diary. Written daily by those present, the war diary almost certainly is a more reliable source.

22nd Royal Fusiliers

Rostron was ordered home on 7 November 1915 to assume second-in-command of the 22nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers. Rostron would seem to have been a less than ideal choice. Although a Boer War veteran and 40 years old, he had seen only one year of active service over the course of the previous twelve years. Then there was the incident in 1903 that led to his resignation. Still, with the massive expansion of the British Army, experienced officers were in short supply. He performed well in combat commanding the 5DG’s B Squadron. Those making this decision probably had limited options. Besides, Rostron was a “gentleman” in an era when this was more than just a courtesy time, and this almost certainly was a factor.

The 22nd Fusiliers landed in France on 16 November 1915. Initially, Rostron appeared to have been a wise choice. As an officer serving with the 22nd wrote (later published in The Kensington Battalion: 'Never Lost a Yard of Trench'):

Rostron is excellent and improves greatly on acquaintance, a brigand by instinct, an MFH and Cavalryman. He knows the ropes out here thoroughly and is invaluable in looking after our comforts. He has a terrific stammer which adds a great deal to his humor and ferocity.

Rostron’s first few months with the battalion went well.

1916 did not continue as smoothly. Rostron’s papers include a report from his commanding officer, Lt. Col. Randle Barnett Barker, dated 28 September 1916 stating, “From 1st Feb to May 25th, I noticed that Major Rostron’s health was gradually deteriorating and that this was affecting his efficiency as a soldier – against my wishes and advice he remained, pluckily, at duty.” Medical records indicate that Rostron had heart disease. However, it was more than this. A letter from a fellow Royal Fusiliers officer, Captain Christopher Reynolds Stone (published in From Vimy Ridge to the Rhine), suggests that Rostron was suffering from shell shock. Despite warning signs, Rostron assumed temporary command of the 22nd Royal Fusiliers on 1 May when Barker was called away to command the 99th Brigade.

The situation came to a head on the evening of 23-24 May at Vimy Ridge when the battalion was ordered to join the 1st Berkshires in a night attack. Warned of the assault by a defector, the Germans heavily shelled the two battalions, obliterating their jump-off trenches. Commanding the 1st Berkshires, Major Alfred Gerald Meredith Sharpe called off his attack, convinced it would be a slaughter. Informed of this, Rostron cancelled the 22nd’s advance but his order did not reach all in the battalion. B Company left their trenches unsupported. They gained ground but were forced back 90 minutes later after losses of 8 killed and 80 wounded.

The 22nd Fusiliers war diary (WO 95/1372) for the 24th of May states “MAJ. H. ROSTRON (slightly wounded) went to hospital.” This is contradicted by a letter written by Stone that same day: “Rostron (gassed) has cracked up, though he is still trying to sleep in the dugout that doesn’t belong to us.” This last bit is particularly odd since the 22nd had withdrawn after having been relieved at dawn by the 1st King’s Royal Rifle Corps.

There is conflicting information concerning Rostron’s reason for leaving. “List of Officers” states that Rostron was “badly gassed and wounded in a counter-attack on the Somme in Aug. 1916” but, at a minimum, this date is demonstrably wrong. The Kensington Battalion records that Rostron was gassed, citing the regimental magazine as the source. However, author G.I.S. Inglis notes that the 22nd Fusiliers war diary did not record a German gas attack that night and finds it highly unlikely that Rostron would have been the only soldier gassed. Lt. Col. Barker’s report plainly states that Rostron was “evaluated sick.” A medical board report concluded, “he was blown up on the night of 23-24 May 1916 when the Battalion attacked on the Vimy Ridge, and has been suffering from insomnia and nervous exhaustion.” These last two sources are contained within Rostron’s private papers that few would have seen. These same papers don’t mention Rostron being gassed. Taken as a whole, these suggest that Rostron was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. By the less enlightened norms of the day, this had the stigma of cowardice. To avoid embarrassment, it’s possible that Rostron’s illness was reported as being gassed, a more socially acceptable reason for his disability.

Barker criticized Rostron for failing to prepare the battalion for the attack and noted, “In my opinion, on the night of 23/24th May, when the Battalion attacked on the VIMY RIDGE, he was not in either mental or physical condition to command a Battalion.” Barker added that “Major Rostron is a most gallant officer” while simultaneously emphasizing that Rostron should not return “to avoid any unpleasantness.”

The incident was viewed so negatively that Lt. Gen. Sir Henry Wilson, commanding IV Corps, wrote in his diary, “My own feeling is to try Sharpe & Rostron by Court Martial.” Rostron was ordered home, having suffered a physical and mental collapse.

Being clear to all that he was no longer fit for service, there was a concerted effort to avoid staining Rostron’s reputation. Over the months that followed, Rostron made several appearances before medical boards, each extending his leave. Eventually, Rostron was struck off the rolls of the 22nd Fusiliers and reverted to captain, effective 16 October 1916.

Return to 5th Dragoon Guards

Rostron’s condition gradually improved and he was permitted to rejoin the 1st Reserve Regiment of Cavalry on 6 November 1916. Rostron was declared fit for overseas service on 7 April 1917 and posted back to the 5DG, joining them in France on 9 May 1917. By this point in the war, the Cavalry were seeing little combat. It might have been thought a benign, respectable appointment for the recovering Rostron.

Surprisingly, Captain Rostron was placed in command of the 1st Cavalry Pioneer Battalion on 20 June 1917. Given his prior physical and mental ailments, Rostron was, at best, a problematic choice. Throughout 1917, the battalion repeatedly served in forward areas repairing trenches, sustaining casualties while doing so. Was Rostron ready for the strain of command under fire? Had his prior medical condition been conveyed to the officer making this assignment? Unfortunately, answers are not available. Confirmed by personnel at The National Archives, the 1st Cavalry Pioneer Battalion’s war diary (WO 95/1104) pages are missing for the months Rostron was in command. Furthermore, there is no mention of the 1st Cavalry Pioneer Battalion in his file, although there is a letter dated 11 July 1917 declaring him medically fit. His earlier performance makes one wonder, perhaps unjustly, if these pages were purged to conceal what Barker had earlier referred to as an “unpleasantness.”

Rostron returned to the 5DG a third time on 2 August 1917, having been gone a suspiciously brief 44 days. He immediately was assigned to act as the Brigade Liaison Officer to XIX Corps, far from the front line trenches. He again was admitted to hospital on 18 October 1917 and sent home, his medical report noting “bronchitis, neuralgia, [and] debility”, concluding “evidently suffering from [the] long strain of active service.”

After returning to England, Captain Rostron was decorated with the Military Cross, which was Gazetted on 1 January 1918 to the “D Gds., Spec Res.” (Dragoon Guards, Special Reserve). Without a published citation, the question is why.

“List of Officers” vaguely states that this was “for gallantry in the field.” However, this source can be unreliable. There is nothing in his records, regimental histories, or war diaries that identifies a specific incident.

When created in 1915, the M.C. was awarded for “distinguished and meritorious services”. However, it was strongly felt that this should be limited to gallantry under fire. Consequently, orders were issued on 1 January 1917 to restrict the M.C. to the “Fighting Services.” Thus, Rostron's M.C. would have been awarded, at least nominally, for combat related action.

Rostron’s service with the 5DG was steady but his 22nd Fusiliers service was not. It’s possible he distinguished himself while commanding the 1st Cavalry Pioneer Battalion but with these war diary pages missing along with his quick departure, this seems unlikely. Taking into account his time with the 5DG (11 November 1914 to 7 November 1915, 9 May 1917 to 20 June 1917, and 2 August 1917 to 18 October 1917) along with his M.C. being Gazetted to the Dragoon Guards, his decoration almost certainly was for service with the 5DG.

Since his M.C. appeared in the New Year’s Honours List, Rostron’s recommendation would have been submitted in early October by his Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. William Quintine Winwood, C.M.G., D.S.O. Winwood had commanded the 5DG since September 1914 and would have been familiar with Rostron’s earlier service with the regiment.

Winwood and Rostron were from the same class. They were of similar age. With only 30 officers in the regiment, Winwood would have known Rostron, at a minimum, reasonably well. As the previously quoted letter suggests, Rostron was popular among officers. Winwood might have even considered Rostron a friend. After all, most officers in the 5DG were younger than Winwood and Rostron.

Winwood probably received instructions in September to recommend officers and men for inclusion in the New Year’s Honours List. The 5DG had an unremarkable second half of 1915, 1916, and 1917, being mostly held in reserve. Few would have had opportunities to distinguish themselves when recommendations were due.
Notably, Captain H.E.E. Pankhurst was awarded the Military Cross on the 1917 Birthday Honours List (London Gazette 4 June 1917). The London Gazette does not contain his citation but one is available from a regimental source:

This Officer came out with the Regiment and has always shown great coolness and ability when in action especially on 25th August 1914 at SOLESMES he kept back the enemy with dismounted troops enabling out Infantry to get away. Since then and up to date he has always had the best Squadron in the Regiment, which is due to his untiring zeal and energy in looking after his horses and instructing his Officers and NCOs.

Although Pankhurst’s M.C. was awarded in 1917, it’s significant that his citation references an incident from three years before.

The only battle where Rostron was explicitly mentioned in the war diary occurred on 24 May 1915, at the end of Second Ypres when the Germans launched their final assault during the Battle of Bellewaarde. In addition to having a lengthy war diary entry, the 5DG’s role is summarized in the regimental history:

May 24 was the date of the Germans’ supreme effort, but the regiment, which held a sector of the front near the Ypres-Menin road, was not seriously engaged, though B Squadron [with Rostron in command], which was in support, was twice used to help to restore the situation – first on the left, where the 18th Hussars had been badly gassed, and afterwards on the right, where a squadron of the 11th Hussars had been bombed out of their trenches.

Possibly impacting Winwood’s decision to nominate Rostron, Rostron had married Isabel Jacqueline Rawdon-Hastings on 20 September 1916 but she died 10 months later on 14 July 1917 of acute pneumonia, only a few months before recommendations were due. Could sympathy he presumably felt have influenced Winwood’s decision to recommend Rostron?

By the autumn of 1917, Rostron was again showing signs of fatigue. He was sent home for the last time in October, where he remained for the duration. Was Rostron’s M.C. exclusively for service similar to Captain Pankhurst’s or was it something else? Without a citation, the reason for Rostron’s M.C. would stay a mystery. Yet unlike my earlier search for Martin’s D.S.O. citation, this mystery would be solved.

Citation Found

After weeks investigating all available sources, I was most fortunate to have the collections manager at the York Army Museum locate two citations for Rostron.
The first dated from October 1915 when Winwood recommended Rostron for the 5th Class of the French Legion of Honour:

This Officer has shown conspicuous ability when in command of a Squadron. In the trenches at ZILLEBEKE during the latter position of February 1915 and again on May 24th 1915 in SANCTUARY Wood, by handling of his Squadron when sent to the assistance of a threatened portion of the line. This Officer has done continuous good work with the Regiment since November 1914.

Although Rostron did not receive this award, it demonstrates that Winwood thought highly of Rostron and that Rostron had distinguished himself during Second Ypres.
The second dated from October 1917 when Rostron was again recommended by Winwood, this time for the Military Cross:

For conspicuous ability and devotion to duty.

This Officer joined the Regiment in November 1914 with which he served continuously until November 1915 when he was transferred to the Infantry at his own request, and was appointed 2nd in command of a Battalion, which post he held until severely wounded some months later.

On his recovery he was retransferred to the 5th Dragoon Guards and rejoined the Regiment in France in May 1917.

During his service with the Regiment and particularly during the last three months he has been tireless in the performance of his duties and has always shown a fine example to others in difficult situations.

As theorized, Rostron had been recommended for a decoration for Second Ypres, although this award was not sanctioned. Instead, Rostron received the Military Cross in recognition of his cumulative service. Also as suspected, these two citations demonstrate that Winwood thought highly of Rostron.

With the search successfully ended, it became easier to appreciate Rostron’s contributions during World War I. Rostron seems to have been a genuinely liked soldier, one who served his country well, even as trench warfare took its toll on him.

Rostron’s was the seventh M.C. awarded for service with the 5DG. Another nine followed before the end of World War I. These 16 M.C.’s include one to a French officer and two to warrant officers.

The 42 year-old Rostron joined the 4th Reserve Regiment of Dragoons on 14 November 1917 and was promoted to Temporary Major on 24 February 1918. He was demobilized on 10 September 1918 and resigned his commission on 20 October 1919. In his resignation letter, Rostron wrote, “my health is not good and I am also growing old.” Rostron was granted the rank of Major on 24 March 1920.

Rostron died of alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver and heart disease in Odiham, Hampshire, on 2 December 1926. His funeral was well attended by family and friends, including his former 5DG commanding officer, W.Q. Winwood. Oddly, a memorial plate states that Rostron received the “M.C. & bar” even though this was not the case. Perhaps this confusion occurred because Rostron had been recommended for a decoration twice. Rostron never remarried and was only 51 years old at the time of his death. It seems a rather sad end for a soldier who overcame difficulties to serve his country as best he could.

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (3) Belmont, Modder River, Orange Free State (4885 Pte. H. Williams, North’d: Fus:)

1st Battalion. Invalided to England. QSA (3) listed on WO100/169p76.

Picture courtesy of Spink

Queen's Sudan (4521 Pte. D. Lowther. 1/Northd Fus:);
QSA (7) Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal, Laing's Nek, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (4521 Pte D. Lowther. North'd. Fus:);
Khedive's Sudan (1) Khartoum (4521 Pte. D. Lowther. 1st Batt: Nth. Fus:),

Spink note that whilst the recipient is entitled to clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal, Medal appears entirely as issued.

D. Lowther served with 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in the Sudan, notably during their participation in the Battle of Omdurman. During this action they formed part of the 2nd Brigade under Lyttleton, stationed against the Nile River.

Posted to the Army Reserve after the Sudan Campaign, Lowther returned to the colours for service in the Boer War with the 2nd Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers. Seeing heavy fighting in the opening years of the conflict he was attached to the 10th Mounted Infantry in 1901. Whilst there, he contracted a fatal disease which he succumbed to at Tabaksburg on 31 December 1901.