William was born in Penzance in 1895, into the family where his father William Edward T. Bolitho was a distinguished serving soldier. William T was educated at Warren Hill, Eastbourne until the age of 12 when he was enlisted in the Royal Naval College at Osborne on the Isle of Wight, later transferring to Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. At every stage of his training young Bolitho proved to be a first class student and always came top of his class and won many prizes for his skills and leadership.

Unfortunately he suffered from chronic sea sickness and eventually in 1913 he joined the Army through the Special Reserve scheme. He passed into the Army by examination in April 1913, and was "gazetted" 2nd Lieutenant in May 1913,and joined the 19th Hussars on 23rd June 1913.

On 23rd August 1914 (just 18 days after the declaration of War), Lt. Bolitho crossed with B squadron of the 19th Hussars to France, acting as divisional cavalry for the first few months of the war. However in April 1915 the cavalry regiments were reformed and the 19th were joined to 9th Cavalry Brigade 1st Cavalry Division and required to fight as infantry in the trench warfare of the Western Front.

William Torquil Macleod Bolitho met his death in action near Chateau Hooge in Belgium on 24th May 1915. B squadron had suffered in a "gas attack" early on the morning of 24th May but were ordered to go to the assistance of the 18th Hussars who were in difficulties in the trenches. Under heavy shell fire the men under Bolithos command moved towards the position they were ordered to relieve but Lt Bolitho was killed by a shell fragment. He has no known grave.

See Captain Platt's War Diary of the period (Extracted from "Captain Henry Evelyn Arthur Platt, Diaries & Letters of a First World War Officer in the 19th Hussars and 1st Coldstream Guards" by William Bridge) for more information.

After his death his commanding officer (Colonel G.D. Franks D.S.O.) wrote to his family:

"Your son is a great loss to us. His name has been sent in for special mention after the operations of the 13th inst when he found himself in temporary command of the squadron and made very good use of his opportunity"

The Bolitho Family and Widecombe Parish

The Bolitho family owned a considerable amount of property in the Poundsgate area of Widecombe Parish, various farms and other land holdings. In the 1901 and 1911 census they are listed as having a main residence at York House in Penzance and other holdings in Widecombe Parish. During the early 1900s Mrs Bolitho is fondly remembered as taking part in the social life of the village, and for her support of Leusdon Church.

Mr and Mrs Bolitho suffered considerable grief during the early part of the 20th Century, first in 1912 they lost their younger son Simon Bruce Tormond Bolitho to illness aged just 5 years, then William Torquil in the battle of Hooge in 1915, and finally in 1919 her husband William Edward died at Bath whilst undergoing treatment for an illness.

After the death of her husband Mrs Bolitho sold the farms and other land holdings in the area, but retained and lived in her large Victorian House at Poundsgate. Mrs Bolitho continued to live at Poundsgate until the 1940s.

Medals

Lt Bolitho would have been eligible for the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal.

Memorials

Listen to the Last Post played under the Menin Gate:

For more details of the ceremony at the Menin Gate please click here. Note. This ceremony has been performed at the memorial in Ypres daily since the memorial was opened in 1927, 30,000th performance 15th July 2015.

We Shall Keep the Faith, by Moina Michael

Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields

Sleep sweet - to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw

And holding high, we keep the faith

With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valour led;

It seems to signal to the skies,

That blood of heroes never dies

But lends a lustre to the red

Of flowers that Blooms above the dead

In Flanders fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red

We wear in honour of our dead.

Fear not that ye have died for naught;

We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought

In Flanders fields.

Listen to Joanna Radford read "We Shall Keep the Faith", whilst enjoying the same view that the Bolitho's would see from their house.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks are recorded to Geoff Bamsey (Church Warden at St John the Baptist Leusdon) for the information he provided about the early days of the Bolitho family, Joanna Radford for reading the poem, Diane Donohue, Bob Harrison, and Mary Wooding in Cornwall for information provided, Great War.co.uk for permission to use the audio of Menin Gate ceremony, and to John Kimber for the extensive research he has undertaken on Lt W.T.Bolitho.

 

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