Lieutenant Colonel William Ralph PEEL
Remembrance - The Yorkshire Regiment, First World War
Lieutenant Colonel William Ralph PEEL

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Lieutenant Colonel William Ralph PEEL

For a larger sized image, click on the thumbnail image. Close the window that opens to return to this page. (Photo is from that of 6th Battalion Officers, 1915)

Lieutenant Colonel William Ralph PEEL, DSO & 2 Bars

W R Peel joined the 6th Battalion in October 1914 as a 2nd Lieutenant.
By July 1915, when the Battalion landed in Mudros Bay he was a Captain, and Adjutant to Lieutenant-Colonel E H Chapman.
On 7 August 1915 he was wounded during the Suvla Bay landings.
In January 1916 he was in temporary command of the Battalion (still as a Captain).
7 February 1916 saw the Battalion, including Captain Peel, in Alexandria.
By 17 July 1916 the Battalion had moved to the Western Front, at Agny.
In June 1917, now with the rank of Major, he was wounded again.

Peter Etherington (<Peter@etheringtonp.freeserve.co.uk>) provides the following information on this Officer;-
"I have traced Colonel Peel in the Green Howards Gazette. He had two DSO's by mid 1918 when serving as a Major in the 6th Battalion. He then tranferred to the West Yorks.......".
Peter Etherington subsequently obtained the following information from the London Gazette of 2 April 1919;-
"T./Maj. (A./Lt.-Col.) William Ralph Peel, Awarded a 2nd Bar to the Distinguished Service Order. D.S.O., 6th Bn., York. R., attd. l/10th Bn., Manch. R. (D.S.O. gazetted 4th June, 1917.)(1st Bar gazetted 16th September, 1918.)"

There is no mention of Colonel Peel in M L Ferrar's "Officers of the Green Howards, 1688 - 1931".

Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>) has provided some additional information on the above Officer;-

Willam Ralph Peel was born on 23 May 1887 at Clitheroe, Lancashire son of Capt William Peel of the Royal Lancs Militia and Meliora Sybella Peel. His brother Captain Lawrence Peel of the Yorks Regt., was KIA 24 Oct 1914.

Having survived WW1, in 1937 he married Mary Hartley Baldwin and together they had three children. In 1939 they were living in Maidenhead and he was working as a farm manager.

He died 9 Jan 1975 and is buried at St Mary’s Churchyard, Brentworth, Hampshire see:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/207705934/william-ralph-peel

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