Simon Mewburn
Captain Simon William Richmond Mewburn (9 September 1884 – 21 May 1916) was a British Army Officer of the 14th King's Hussars who served in India, France, and Mesopotamia during the First World War. He was the first officer to be killed in action during the Mesopotamian campaign, while leading an attack across the Shatt al-Hai.
Captain Simon William Richmond Mewburn | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Simon William Richmond Mewburn |
| Born | 9 September 1884 Brondesbury, London |
| Died | 21 May 1916 Ottoman Iraq |
| Service/ | 14th King's Hussars |
| Rank | Captain |
| Relations |
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Early life & background
Simon William Richmond Mewburn was born on 9 September 1884 at Brondesbury, London. He was the only surviving son of Elizabeth Fanny (née Savory) and William Richmond Mewburn, a long-serving manager of the Union Bank of Australia in London with extensive property including more than 500 acres at Hill-Side, Cricklewood, and resided variously at Brondesbury, Evelyn Mansions in Westminster, and later Langley House, Slough. Mewburn was a member and heir of the Mewburn family of Acomb House, Northumberland, a gentry line descended from James Mewburn of Lookout Farm House, the steward of Seaton Delaval Hall, and his wife Jane Armstrong, daughter of Simon Armstrong of Acomb House. Through this lineage he was a first cousin of cricketer George Richmond Mewburn and third cousin of sculptor T. Mewburn Crook.
Mewburn was educated at Fonthill School in 1894 and at Eton College from 1898 to 1902. He entered the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, after completing his schooling.
Military career
Early service
Mewburn was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 14th Hussars on 4 November 1903, shortly after the regiment’s return from the Boer War. The regiment was posted to Aldershot and then moved to Shorncliffe in preparation for overseas service. In February 1906 he departed for India, where he served until 1910. His commanding officer noted that he “had the happy talent of exacting obedience and respect without having to enforce it.”
He was promoted to lieutenant on 17 February 1906 and to captain on 6 August 1910, at which time he was attached to the 20th Hussars. The 20th Hussars were then serving in Ireland and returned to Colchester in 1911.
First World War: France and Belgium
Following the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August 1914, the 20th Hussars were mobilised as part of the 5th Cavalry Brigade of the British Expeditionary Force. Captain Mewburn joined them in the field on 20 September 1914, after the actions at Mons, St Quentin, the Marne, and the Aisne.
The regiment took part in the First Battle of Ypres and in operations near Oosttaverne, Warneton and Wytschaete in October and November 1914. During this period the 20th Hussars established, abandoned, and re-established defensive positions under heavy pressure, working alongside the Greys, the 12th Lancers, and French units of the 32nd Division. Mewburn also briefly served with the 4th Hussars at Hollebeke later in 1914.
First World War: Mesopotamia
In 1915 Mewburn rejoined the 14th Hussars, which had returned from India and been mobilised for service in Mesopotamia. The regiment departed from Karachi on 8 November 1915 and landed near Basra shortly afterwards, proceeding upriver to Kut and Ali-al-Gharbi. It took part in actions at El Kutunie on 28 November 1915 and Umm-al-Tubai on 1 December 1915, and later endured long periods of illness and difficult climatic conditions.
On 19–21 May 1916 the regiment advanced towards the Shatt al-Hai, where elements of the 6th Cavalry Brigade engaged Ottoman forces. During the fighting the 14th Hussars became isolated several miles ahead of supporting units. As the brigade withdrew under fire, Mewburn and 2nd Lieutenant Deakin were killed.
Death & legacy
Captain Mewburn was killed on 21 May 1916 while leading his men during an attack on a bridge over the Shatt al-Hai, his body was not recovered. Mewburn was the first officer of the 14th Hussars to be killed in the Mesopotamian campaign.
Mewburn is commemorated on the Basra Memorial in Iraq, which records the names of more than 40,000 British and Indian personnel who have no known grave. Owing to the movement of the memorial after the First Gulf War, his name also appears in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Roll of Honour held at its Maidenhead headquarters.
He is additionally memorialised at St John Lee and at Eton College.
His medals—the 1914 Star (with later clasp), the British War Medal and the Victory Medal—were issued to his father, William Richmond Mewburn, who applied for the 1914 Star clasp in 1919.
Sources
Sources: The British Newspaper Archive; The Western Front Association; Eton College Archives; IWM; National Archives; John Gedge; Tapatalk; Woose; The Sphere;
References
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