On the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, France is the name of 664 Lieutenant Geoffrey Euan Sanderson, serving with the 107th Machine Gun Company Royal Fusiliers, who died 01/07/1916.

Geoffrey Euan Sanderson was born at 14 Claremont Place, Newcastle upon Tyne on the 3rd April 1889, the youngest son of four children to William John Sanderson, (born 1854, died 9th March 1929), a Brewer and Maltster who owned the Haymarket Brewery in Newcastle, was Lord Mayor of Newcastle, and an Alderman of Newcastle upon Tyne, of Eastfield Hall, Warkworth, Northumberland. His wife, Amelia ‘Amy’, née Wright Sanderson, (born 1851, died 20th April 1928), daughter of a Peter Wright, and Annie Wright of Upper Clapton. They were married on the 22nd June 1882 at St Ann’s church, Tottenham, London.

The other children were Philip Noel Sanderson, born 24th May 1887:
William John Sanderson jnr, born 28th May 1883, died 17th January 1946, a Barrister. He married Edith, nee Clothier, who arrived in the USA onboard the SS Haverford, ship number 113489, from Liverpool on the 11th December 1919. Her husband was residing at 12 Old Square, Lincoln Terrace, London, till at least 1939. Edith was born 7th June 1881, she died in the Devon Manor Nursing Home in the state of Pennsylvania, USA on the 21st March 1964, she had resided at Lower Merion Township in the County of Montgomery, her mother’s maiden name was Agnes Evans], on the 8th November 1916 at St Laurence Church, Warkworth, residing at Eastfield Hall, Warkworth, he was in WW1, service number G/86908 in the Royal Fusiliers. He attested on the 24th June 1916 at St Paul’s Churchyard, 4 feet ten and a half inches tall, but was discharged on the 21st June 1918 as unfit due to being sick, he was awarded the Silver War Badge B86411. They both became naturalised USA Citizens on the 17th May 1930.
Elspeth Blanche Sanderson was born 2nd April 1885 and died 8th March 1952. She was in the Y.M.C.A during WW1 at Dieppe between May 1916 to April 1918. She was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, her rank was Canteener D’Eclopes cook, with the British Committee French Red Cross.
William John Sanderson Snr was the founder of the Home for Destitute Crippled Children, later known as the W J Sanderson Orthopaedic Hospital and School for Children. His portrait was on display at the Freeman’s Hospital on Level 7.

Geoffrey was educated at Marlborough College from 1895, and attended Jesus College at Cambridge from January 1903 to July 1906 and worked for a well known firm in the City of London as a Stockbroker within the Stock Exchange. He received his B.A. on the 18th June 1910. After graduating he was ‘Much interested in movements for the welfare of boys, he was the first scoutmaster in Northumberland’. He had served in the Marlborough College Cadet Corps then in the Cambridge Officers Training Corps for one year each. He also spoke German.

He was a communicant in St. James’s Church at Shilbottle.

In 1911 he was residing at the Grand Hotel, Northumberland Avenue, Strand in London with his parents and his sister Elspeth Sanderson. He moved to 2 Mitre Court Buildings, London in 1913.

On the 14th September 1914 he enlisted at 24 St James Street into the Middlesex Regiment ‘D’ Company, the 16th (Public Schools) Battalion, as a private with a service number 664. He had assisted in the recruitment and training of miners in Northumberland until he joined a Public School Battalion. He then was given a temporary Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant from the 8th November 1914. Geoffrey was 6 feet one inch tall, weighed 158 lbs., was aged 25 years and 5 months old, and had a fair complexion, blue eyes and red hair.

He was gazetted to the 9th (Service) Battalion (West Belfast), as Adjutant.
On October the 1st, the Ulster Division was ordered to France, and when shortly afterwards, the new Machine Gun Corps was formed at the front, he became Adjutant of the 107th Company.

He was constantly in the trenches for 9 months, until the beginning of the great push at the Southern end of the British line on the 1st July 1916. His Brigade attacked at 7.30 a.m. About 3.30 p.m. in the afternoon the right flank was being bombed by the Germans, and his men had run short of bombs.

He seized a rifle from a man and called out to the men to charge. He rushed forward, leaned round and waved to the men and immediately afterwards fell dead.

Lieutenant Geoffrey Euen SANDERSON 9th Royal Rifles. 107th Company Machine Gun Corps (Infantry)
He was the son of W.J. and Amelia Sanderson, of Eastfield Hall, Warkworth, Northumberland. A Gentleman, he was Initiated into Isaac Newton Lodge, No 859, Province of Cambridge on the 29th October 1907 aged 18; Passed 26th November 1907 and Raised on the 4th February 1908, resigning on the 30th September 1912. He was a joining Member of Alnwick Lodge No 1167, Province of Northumberland on the 4th October 1911. He was killed in action on the 1st July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France, Pier and Face 5C and He is not listed as a Casualty under Isaac Newton Lodge No 859.

Newcastle Journal Saturday, 15/07/1916:- The Death of Lieut. E. Sanderson
The King and Queen have sent the following telegram to Alderman and Mrs W. J. Sanderson of Eastfield Hall, Warkworth, expressing their sympathy at the death of their son Lieut. Euan Sanderson, of a Brigade Machine (Gun) Company, who was killed in action on July 1. The King and Queen are deeply grieved to hear that you have lost another son in the service of his country. Their Majesties offer you their heartfelt sympathy in your fresh sorrow.

The following is an extract from a letter sent by Lieut-Colonel Crozier: It was our luck to have him detailed as Machine-gun Officer to accompany the Battalion in the advance, and magnificently he did his work. Captain Montgomery, who was closely in touch with your son all day, reports that both he and his party and gun were wiped out at about 4.15 pm, whilst gallantly holding an important point, and previous to this he had done an extraordinary amount of magnificent work, and had inflicted heavy loss on the enemy, and that his tactics throughout had been absolutely sound. He will be a great loss to the brigade in particular and the Army in general.

The Rev. John Knowles, chaplain, sent the appended letter: I have learned from the C.O. of his company and others who saw him that he died a most heroic death leading his men right up to the enemy’s line in the face of the murderous fire. I have known your son intimately, since I joined the division in September last. I have always had the highest opinion of him as a man and officer. It was a pleasure to meet and converse with some one so broad minded, and with an intelligent grasp of many subjects. I shall miss him very much, and I deeply regret that such a promising life should have been cut of so soon. He is deeply lamented by all the officers and men, with both of whom he was a great favourite.

The Morpeth Herald, 21/07/1916 carried the identical report as above.

The Newcastle Journal Saturday, 22/07/1916 reports:-
A memorial service in connection with the death in action of Lieut. Euan Sanderson, youngest son of Ald. W.J. Sanderson and Mrs Sanderson, will be held in Shilbottle Parish Church this afternoon.

One of two sons lost:  Philip Noel Sanderson died 26th April 1915. Apart from Philip Noel, brother to Elspeth Blanche, William John, and Dorothy Phyllis.
Sanderson’s father was a Brewer and Maltster who owned the Haymarket Brewery in Newcastle, was Lord Mayor of Newcastle, and founder of the J. W. Sanderson Home for Crippled Children in Gosforth.

In 1915, Sanderson lived at 2, Mitre Court Buildings, Temple, London. He was a Freemason, originally a member of Alnwick 1167 Lodge, later Isaac Newton Lodge, Cambridge 859.

On the 10th August 1916 Probate was granted in London to Sanderson’s brother, William John, a Barrister-at-Law, for ‘Effects’ valued at £646 6s 7d.

107th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps joined 107th Infantry Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division on the 18th December 1915.

On the first day of the 1916 Battles of the Somme, 1st July, the division was tasked to attack at Thiepval where it sustained heavy casualties.  As his unit had run out of bombs, Sanderson led his men with a rifle to charge the enemy and was killed instantly.

The Ulster Tower at Thiepval is a memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division, built as a copy of Helen’s Tower at Clandeboye, County Down, where the division had trained before moving to the Western Front.

Acknowledgments: David Thompson, Marlborough Roll of Honour, Rev David Youngson. Thanks to Marlborough archives.

Geoffrey Euan Sanderson is remembered at Alnwick in A11.56 page 64,  at Jesmond on J1.02 and J1.08,  at Newcastle on NUT159, and at Warkworth on W16.06.