Photo taken about 1913

Photograph taken in Cairo 1914

1914 Cairo John Tristram with 9 and 10 platoons

The Newcastle Journal 04/12/1916 reports:-

Lieut. Tristram who was 22 years of age was the only son of Major F.T. Tristram and Mrs Tristram of Craig Lea Darlington and formerly of The Cottage Castle Eden. He was also the grandson of the late Chancellor T.H. Tristram K.C. of the Diocese of London and great nephew of Canon Tristram of Durham formerly Rector at Castle Eden.

Edward Wild of Ilkley Remembers has submitted the following text and the photos shown here.

Lieutenant John Hutchinson Tristram, 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.

Killed in action 11th March 1915.

Newly married Francis Tristram brought his young wife, Frances, to live in Ilkley in 1891. He was from a long line of Church of England clergy and his father was an ecclesiastical and civil lawyer of some renown. Francis had been born into a comfortable middle class household whose home was in Mayfair, London. His wife, however, was from Leeds, the daughter of a woollen manufacturer and the proximity may have been an important factor in choosing Ilkley as their first home.

Taking up residence in Hawthorne Villas on what is now Grove Road, Francis gained employment as what he described as a merchant. Within a year a son was born, John Hutchinson, on 16th July 1892 and baptised at St. Margaret’s Church on Queens Road.

John would be the only child of Francis Tristram and was sent at an early age to school at Wellington College in Berkshire. He was in the Hopetoun from 1906 to 1908 an was in the Shooting VIII for the school. Noted for its outdoor and sporting curriculum, the school was seen as excellent preparation for those who sought a career in the officer corps of the army. At the age of 16 years John duly applied officer training and was sent to the Royal Military College at Woolwich.

In 1911, no longer a cadet he was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment. Initially posted to the 3rd Battalion, in 1913 he was sent to Egypt and joined the regiments 1st Battalion who were stationed in Cairo.

In March 1914, at the Egypt Command Rifle meeting in Cairo he won the Officers Competition at 600 yards. He also was a keen polo player and played for his regiment against Alexandria.

Francis and his battalion were still in Egypt as the start of war in August 1914, but events in Europe necessitated their return. At 9.15pm on the evening of the 16th October 1914, the battalion disembarked from the transport ship Deseado at the Port of Liverpool. By 4am the following morning they boarded trains and 10 hours later arrived at Winchester where they were marched the 3 miles to their allotted camp.

The Worcester’s would not remain long in England and by the 9th November they arrived at Le Havre, France. Within just a few days the battalion was in the front line near to Estaires north of Bethune were it would spend most of what was remembered as a cold and wet winter.

The constant tours of duty in the front line and the attritional nature of trench warfare meant a high casualty rate. As officers succumbed others would be promoted to fill the shortfall and so John was soon promoted from 2nd to full lieutenant in 'C' Company.

With the arrival of Spring in 1915 the British High Command turned its attention to attack. The area near to the village of Neuve Chapelle was the chosen location and at the beginning of March arrangements were made for a full scale attack. A heavy artillery bombardment preceded the British advance for which the Worcester’s would be in immediate reserve. However, despite the size of the British bombardment the attacking troops struggled against a determined German defence. On 11th March the Worcester Battalion was supporting other regiments as they struggled across no-man’s land when at about 2pm John and his platoon were asked to make an almost suicidal dash across a stretch of the line were the distance between the two sides was less than 60 yards. Gallantry John led his men into an attack which soon became bogged down after less than 30 yards. German rifle fire had reduced his platoon by about half and inaccurate British artillery fire falling onto his position only made matters worse. Sense prevailed and John and his remaining men were ordered to retire to their own trenches. Sadly, few men would make it back to the relative safety of the British front line. John’s exact fate is unknown but he never returned to his battalion and is believed to have been killed near to the German trenches. He was just 22 years of age.

Back in England John’s parents had moved to Darlington where they lived in a large house call Craig Lea on Uplands Road. His father Francis was a major who commanded the Darlington Pals Company of the 18th Durham Light Infantry. Not long after John’s death he would take command of the 12th (Service) Battalion Yorkshire Regiment and serve with distinction until 1917.

Lieutenant John Hutchinson Tristram has no known grave and his remains lie somewhere in northern France near to Neuve Chapelle. He is remembered on the Le Touret Memorial to the Missing and on the war memorials in both Darlington and here in Ilkley where he was born.

Mourning the loss of their only child John’s grieving parents decided to place a stained glass window in the nave of the little church of St James in Castle Eden, County Durham in memory on their son. The window shows an image of a uniformed British Officer being borne aloft by an angel. It was unveiled by the Bishop of Durham on 3rd December 1916. The choice of location was symbolic as John’s great uncle had once been rector of St John’s.

John Hutchinson Tristram is remembered at Darlington on D40.034 D40.041 and at Castle Eden on C102.01 C102.02 and C102.03

Worchestershire World War 100
The CWGC entry for Lieutenant Tristram