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War
Memorials Elsewhere, - The Shanghai Race Club (China) |
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The First World War Memorial Plaque for the Shanghai Race Club.
Select the above image for a larger sized one which opens in a new window.
Photo : Nigel Jennison (<njennison@icloud.com>)
The Shanghai Race Club was a horse racing club located in Shanghai, China. The Club was based at the Shanghai Racecourse. The Race Club was first established in 1850, with the building of Shanghai's first racecourse. In 1862, it detached itself from the Shanghai Recreation Club to become an independent body.
The Race Club building, which survives to this day, was built
in 1934 on the western side of the race track. Its imposing, 10-storey tall
tower was long a landmark of central Shanghai. It included a 100-metre (330
ft) long grand stand, with three to five levels.
(Source : Wikipedia)
A plaque inside the club commemorates 26 Officers and 2 Private Soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War. Amongst the names are those of 3 Officers of the Yorkshire Regiment.
Major John Charles Edward Douglas.
10th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Son of Admiral Sir Archibald Douglas,
G.C.B., G.C.V.O., LL.D.; J.P., and of Lady Douglas. Barrister, Gray's Inn.
Killed 18 December 1915. Aged 39.
Buried BAILLEUL COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION (NORD).
(The following additional information on Captain Douglas is taken from Bob
Coulson's "Biographies
of Officers of the Yorkshire Regiment";-
John Douglas arrived at Boulogne on September 10th 1915 as a Captain with
“C” company of the 10th battalion.
They were almost immediately in action at the Battle of Loos which began on
September 25th. During this action Captain Douglas and about seventy main
became detached from the main body of the battalion and it was not until Monday
the
27th that they received the order to fall back. They made it but “fighting
was more than once hand to hand.”
After Loos they had two weeks rest and reorganisation at Strazeele and then
towards the end of October were back in the line around Armentieres.
Major Douglas died on December 18th 1915 at the age of 39. He was shot through
the neck while out inspecting the wire just before dawn, dying later in the
day in the Casualty Clearing Station.
A fellow officer wrote, “His loss was deeply regretted by all. His courage,
common sense and keenness all being greatly missed especially by his own company”.
Major John Charles Edward Douglas is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery
Extension on the eastern outskirts of the town.
His father was Admiral Sir Archibald Douglas and his mother Lady Douglas was
a barrister of Grays Inn.
The War Book of Gray's Inn includes an entry for Major
Douglas.
Captain Loftus Edward Perceval Jones.
7th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Son of Peyton Jones, M.I.C.E. and Letetia
Caroline Peyton Jones, of "Edenbrook", Blackwater, Hants. Passed
law examinations in Melbourne gaining Supreme Court Prize. A Barrister at
Supreme Court, Shanghai. Born at Ararat, Victoria, Australia. Killed 3 August
1915. Aged 39.
Buried BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY.
Lieutenant Henry Sigismund Oppe.
11th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, attached 6th Battalion. Son of the late
Mr. A. S. Oppe and of Pauline Oppe, of Pamber Heath, Basingstoke. Born in
London. Killed 6 November 1915. Aged 35.
Buried HILL 10 CEMETERY.
Lieutenant Oppe joined the 6th Battalion on 10 October 1915 as part of a draft
of reinforcements (the 6th Battalion had been reduced to a strength of only
285 men by 22 August 1915). Very sadly, Lieutenant Oppe was killed by a sniper
on 5 November 1915, - only 26 days after joining.
The following information on Lieutenant Oppe is provided in
TheyServed
Wiki;-
"He was born on 30 July 1880, in Camberwell, the fourth son of German
parents Siegmund Armin, of Lyons silk and feathers, and Pauline Oppé
(née Jaffe). Oppé attended Charterhouse and New College, Oxford,
where he became a "History Scholar". On graduating from Oxford with
a first class in modern history, Oppé was articled to Messrs. Hollams,
Hawkesley & Coward. He departed for Shanghai in 1906, joining the firm
Drummond, Whyte Cooper & Phillips as a partner.
Oppé volunteered for the army while still in China and obtained a commission via the British legation in Peking. He returned to England in March 1915, entering the 11th Battalion, Princess Alexandra of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment). With the 6th Yorkshires, to which he was attached from September, Oppé landed at Gallipoli and died on 6 November 1915, reportedly killed while engaging Turkish snipers. His twin brother, Thomas, a second lieutenant in the Cameronians, died in May 1917."
The historic club building of the Shanghai Race Club.
Photo © Copyright Jwmarriottshanghai
and licensed for reuse under this Creative
Commons Licence.
Back
of public stand and administration building of the Shanghai Race Club
Photo © Copyright Sumple~commonswiki
and licensed for reuse under this Creative
Commons Licence.
Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>) has provided information
on the above book, which includes an entry for Major Douglas;-
"The War Book of Gray's Inn contains names of members who served, with
biographical notices of those who fell, speeches in Hall on various occasions
and an introduction descriptive of the activities of the society during the
war."
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