Lieutenant (Acting Major) Stewart Hugh Joseph, R.E.

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, P.E., MinstRE
(December 2023)

Figure 1. Lieutenant (Acting Major) Stewart Hugh Joseph, R.E.
(Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

Stewart Hugh Joseph’s military service is an example of how changes in time, place and duty assignment can take a man on war service from a relatively safe position in the theater of war to one of significant danger on the front line. It is an example of how the necessities of warfare caused by casualties in front line units can result in a man being sent forward and within a matter of two and a half months, losing his life in the trenches of the Great War of 1914-1918, when he otherwise might have survived the war.

Acting Major Joseph’s story is one of a man who went to France on the staff of the Director of Works, Royal Engineers and was subsequently transferred to the 284^th Army Troops Company and then the 227^th Field Company, where he met his fate in August of 1917.

2. FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

Stewart Hugh Joseph’s father was Henry Hope Joseph (1849-1931) of 112 Belgrave Road in London.[1] Mr. Joseph was the General Manager of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company,[2] a company worth at the time 5.5 million Pounds with 60 ships.[3] He became rather wealthy in this position, leaving £40,156 (about $5,616,000 US in 2023 currency) to his second wife, Louisa May Catherine Beauchamp Proctor (1868-1955) when he died in 1931.[4]

Henry’s first wife, and the mother of Stewart Hugh Joseph, was Helen Christina Joseph, née Porter (1856-1900). Henry married Helen on 2 April 1888 while both were residing in Hong Kong.[5]

Henry Hope Joseph had a brother who served in the Indian Army. Lieutenant Colonel Frederick William Joseph (1842-1897) served in the Bombay Staff Corps.[6]

Stewart Hugh Joseph was born in Hong Kong on 15 September 1893. He entered Charterhouse in Godalming, Surrey in 1907 where he was a boarder in Weekites House. He was a Junior and Senior Scholar at Charterhouse and he graduated from the school in 1911. From Charterhouse he entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich where he passed with honours in December 1912.[7]

On 20 December 1912 Joseph was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers.[8] Following his commissioning he was posted to the School of Military Engineering (S.M.E.) at Chatham, Kent in January 1913 for further training as an engineer officer.

2^nd Lieutenant Joseph’s military training at Chatham included courses in field fortifications, construction, surveying, telegraphy, electric lighting, submarine mining, photography, chemistry, military law and tactics. The Field Fortifications course lasted for 4 months and 23 days. This course consisted of field and siege engineering, field defence, attack of fortresses, mining construction, demolition of railways and water supply. The Construction course was 6 months and covered building materials, engineering construction, hydraulics, construction of barracks, drainage, manufacture of iron and steel, mining, quarrying and machinery. Next came the Surveying course consisting of five months of technical training in geodesy, astronomy, meteorology, trigonometrical chain and road surveys and use of surveying instruments. One to two months of military topography followed, which included military surveying and sketching and elementary reconnaissance. In the School of Telegraphy, Electric Lighting and Submarine Mining he studied the theory of electricity, use of telegraph instruments, bracing and connecting instruments, making of batteries, firing mines and testing tubes. All of this was accomplished in two months with an additional one month devoted to electric lighting, signalling by flag, lamps and heliograph. The School of Chemistry was a short course of varying length that generally covered practical chemistry, especially relating to limes, concrete and other building materials. Finally, the School of Military Law and Tactics, also a course of varying length, consisted of special lectures in law and tactics as dictated by current military situations.

This training at the School of Military Engineering normally lasted for just under 24 months. It appears that due to the start of the Great War in August 1914, Joseph’s training may have been accelerated. For the normal course of training he would have expected to be at Chatham until about March of 1915; however, he appears to have passed out early and by August of 1914 he was on his way to France as a staff officer with the Director of Works, Royal Engineers.[9]

2^nd Lieutenant Joseph disembarked in France on 14 August 1914 as a junior staff officer with the Director of Works.[10] The Director of Works was responsible for a large number of activities in France, 25 in all, during the war. The ten major activities that would require the services of an officer of the Royal Engineers are listed below:

Joseph did not have any special training to qualify for his assignment to the Director of Works, but his training at the S.M.E. would have qualified him to work in any of the activities listed above. It is unusual that as a 2^nd Lieutenant he was posted to the Works directorate. Normally experienced officers in the rank of Captain or above received such a posting; however, for some reason he was selected for this duty.

The facilities under the responsibility of the Director of Works were primarily rear area facilities, so Joseph would have been relatively safe from actions near the front, except perhaps, for occasional artillery fire. Although there is no evidence to corroborate this, his father, as the General Manager of the P&O Steam Navigation Company, may have had some friends of high rank to influence his posting.

On 2 November 1914 Joseph was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant[11] and it appears that he continued his work with the Director of Works until the spring of 1916. On 1 January 1916 the London Gazette announced his award of a Mention in Despatches based on Field Marshal French’s despatches of 15 October 1915, for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field.

On 26 May 1916 Lieutenant Joseph was appointed to be an Acting Captain “whilst holding a special appointment.”[12] The London Gazette does not provide any details regarding what this “special appointment” might have been, but it appears that he may have been posted as Officer Commanding (O.C.) the 284^th Army Troops Company serving with XVIII Corps. The War Diary of the 284^th Army Troops Company was opened for the first time in August of 1916, so Acting Captain Joseph probably joined the unit just prior to that and appears to have replaced Captain H.B. Lees, R.E. as the O.C.[13]

An Army Troops Company worked primarily in the rear area on water supply, corps defence lines, observation posts for artillery, gun positions for heavy artillery, trench tramways, road-screening, corps engineer dumps and workshops and erection of hangars for the Royal Flying Corps. Army Troops Companies were smaller than divisional field companies. They were established with three officers and 139 other ranks, but they were provided with mechanical transport which was an advantage they had over the divisional companies. This posting, again, would have kept Joseph in a rear area and relatively safe from enemy action, again with the exception of enemy artillery fire.

On 4 January 1917 Acting Captain Joseph was again mentioned in despatches. This time he was mentioned by General Douglas Haig for distinguished service and devotion to duty.[14] Joseph only remained with the 284^th Army Troops Company until June of 1917, when the needs of the Army called for him to be elsewhere. With each new posting he was moving closer and closer to the front line.

On 5 June 1917 Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Stewart Hugh Joseph was appointed an Acting Major to take command of a divisional field company. He took command of the 227^th Field Company in the 39^th Division to replace the previous commander who may have been wounded or hospitalized due to an illness. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission does not show a Major or a Captain in the company as having died between 1916 and 1917, so the officer that Joseph was replacing had not been killed.

The 39^th Division was formed as part of the fifth wave (K5) of divisions in the New Army; it did not have a regional title, but was composed primarily of recruits from the Midlands, London, and the south of England. Several of its battalions had been raised by local communities, and were named for their towns or industries.

At the time that Joseph joined the 227^th Field Company, according to its War Diary, the unit was located at CANAL BANK DUGOUTS, 28NWc25d38. The map coordinates indicate that the unit was in the Ypres-Menin-Messines area. The page in the War Diary that shows when Joseph joined the company shows a number of landmarks regarding the company’s location. The landmarks shown were:

These landmarks were temporary names given to physical features during the war and cannot be found on existing maps today.

At the time that Acting Major Joseph arrived in the company the unit was engaged in the construction of trenches, accommodation, dug outs, and observation posts, erecting a camouflage screen and road repair.

The company’s War Diary shows a Captain and a number of Lieutenants serving in the company when Joseph arrived. They were:

Acting Major Joseph’s first action with his company came on 31 July 1917 with the battle of Pilckem. The Battle of Pilckem Ridge was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres. The British Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army on the southern flank and the French 1^reArmée (First Army) on the northern flank, attacked the German 4^th Army, which defended the Western Front from Lille northwards to the Ypres Salient in Belgium and on to the North Sea coast. On 31 July, the Anglo-French armies captured Pilckem Ridge and areas on either side, the French attack being a great success. After several weeks of changeable weather, heavy rain fell during the afternoon of 31 July.[18]

The 39th Division advanced at zero hour and the 116^th Brigade of the division captured St. Julien and took 222 prisoners, supported by two tanks, which then silenced an artillery battery nearby. On the left of the division, the 117^th Brigade rushed three pillboxes at Kansas Cross, killed the machine-gunners and took several prisoners. Two tanks advanced on the Alberta strong point, flattened uncut wire and kept the garrison under cover as the infantry advanced. At the first objective, the infantry paused for an hour and then moved downhill, behind a smoke and shrapnel barrage, to the Steenbeek, one of the muddiest parts of the battlefield. By 8:00 a.m. both brigades had reached the final objective and were digging in on the east side of the Steenbeek.[19]

At 2:00 p.m., a German creeping barrage began along the XIX Corps front then German troops attacked the flanks of the most advanced British positions. The 39^th Division on the left was pushed back to St Julien, exposing the left flank of the 55^th (West Lancashire) Division, just as it was attacked frontally over the Zonnebeke spur by six waves of German infantry, preceded by a barrage and three aircraft which bombed and machine-gunned the British troops. Attempts to hold the ground between the black and green lines failed due to the communication breakdown, the speed of the German advance and worsening visibility as the rain increased during the afternoon. The 55^th (West Lancashire) and 15^th (Scottish) Division brigades beyond the black line were rolled up from north to south and were either overrun or retreated. It took until 6:00 p.m. for the Germans to reach the Steenbeek, where the downpour added to the mud and flooding in the valley. When the Germans were 300 yards from the black line, the British stopped the German advance with artillery and machine-gun fire.[20]

On the Second Army front, German artillery kept up constant artillery-fire on the new British front line, which with the rain, caused the British great difficulty in consolidating the captured ground. In the Second Army area, on 1 August, a German counter-attack on the front of the 3^rd Australian Division, reached the Warneton Line before being stopped by artillery and machine-gun fire. An attack by the 19^th (Western) Division and the 39^th Division on 3 August to regain the portion of the first objective (blue line) was cancelled when a battalion occupied the ground unopposed. The 41^st Division captured Forret Farm on the night of 1/2 August and the 19^th (Western) Division pushed observation posts forward to the blue line.[21]

On 1 August, a German counter-attack on the Fifth Army front, at the boundary of the II and XIX Corps, managed to push back the 8^th Division for a short distance south of the Ypres–Roulers railway. North of the line, the 15^th (Scottish) Division stopped the attack with artillery-fire. Two battalions of the 8^th Division counter-attacked and restored the original front line by 9:00 p.m. On the afternoon of 2 August, the Germans attacked again on the 15^th (Scottish) and 55^th (West Lancashire) Division fronts in XIX Corps and were repulsed from the area around Pommern Redoubt. A second attempt at 5:00 p.m. was crushed by artillery-fire, the Germans retiring behind Hill 35. German troops reported in Kitchener's Wood opposite the 39^th Division in the XVIII Corps area were bombarded; St Julien was re-occupied and posts established across the Steenbeek north of the village; more advanced posts were established by the 51^st (Highland) Division on 3 August.[22]

The 227^th Field Company took an active part in this battle in support of the 39^th Division’s operations. Despite the heavy fighting, the company lost only one man: 551136 Sapper H.H. James, killed on 2 August 1917 – the last day of the battle.

Figure 2. Map Showing the 39^th and 51^st Division advances towards the Steenbeek,

The Battle of Langemarck was the second Anglo-French general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres. The battle took place near Ypres in Belgian Flanders against the German 4th Army. The French First Army had a big success on the northern flank from Bixschoote to Drie Grachten (Three Canals) and the British gained a substantial amount of ground northwards from Langemark to the boundary with the French.[23]

The 39^th Division and the 227^th Field Company played a supporting role in this battle. Unfortunately for Acting Major Joseph the last day of the battle would also be the last day of his life. He was the only man from his company who died in this battle. He was severely wounded on 18 August 1917 and was evacuated to hospital by the 134^th Field Ambulance. Shortly after his evacuation the 134^th Field Ambulance reported to his company that he died of the wounds he received.[24] He was 23 years old.

No details regarding his fatal wound could be found. It is most likely that he was killed by either shell fire or a sniper’s bullet. As an officer he would have been a prime target for a German sniper.

Captain Ross assumed command of the company after Joseph’s death and on 19 August 1917 a funeral was held for their deceased company commander. The Commander Royal Engineers of the 39^th Division was in attendance as was a Captain Meares, R.E. in addition to other officers and other ranks of the company.[25] Captain Meares may have been a friend of Acting Major Joseph from the S.M.E. or from a previous unit in which they both had served.

Acting Major Stewart Hugh Joseph was buried in the Voorezeele Cemetery, Enclosures No. 01 and 02, in Ypres, Grave 1.G.5. The inscription on his gravestone reads:

Probate of Stewart’s Will took place in London on 14 November 1917. His effects were left to Henry Hope Joseph, Esquire, his father, and Christopher Reginald Walter Heath, his Solicitor. His effects amounted to £20,501, 17 shillings and 7 pence (about $1,672,100 US in 2023 currency). He obviously had been a wealthy man and perhaps most of his wealth was money given to him by his father.

On 11 December 1917 the London Gazette published a third mention in despatches for Joseph, one from Field Marshal Haig for distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty during the period from 26 February to midnight 20/21^st September 1917. The notice lists Joseph as a Lieutenant (acting Major) and died of wounds. The period covered by Field Marshal Haig’s Despatch includes the two actions in which Joseph was involved with the 227^th Field Company, Pilckem and Langemarck.

For his service during the Great War of 1914-1918 Acting Major Stewart Hugh Joseph was posthumously awarded the 1914 Star and bar, British War Medal and Victory Medal with Mention in Despatches oak leaf. His family also was awarded the Memorial Plaque to commemorate his death on active service. His father applied for his 1914 Star on 27 November 1917 from his address at 112 Belgrave Road, London, SW.

Figure 4. The Joseph Residence at 112 Belgrave Road in London.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

The 1914 Star was issued to Mr. Joseph on 25 June 1919 and his son’s British War Medal and Victory Medal was issued on 2 November 1920.[26]

Figure 5. The 1914 Star and bar, British War Medal and Victory Medal with MID Oak Leaf.
(Image from the author’s collection)

NOTE: The medals in Figure 5 above are not those of Acting Major Joseph. They are presented here for illustrative purposes only.

Figure 6. The Medal Index Card of Major Stewart Hugh Joseph, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

It is curious that Joseph was never promoted to the substantive ranks of Captain or Major. Following his promotion to Lieutenant on 2 November 1914 he remained in that rank. On 26 May 1916 he was appointed a Lieutenant (Acting Captain) when he was posted to the 284^th Army Troops Company, probably to give him a rank commensurate with his posting as the company’s O.C. or its Second-in-Command, but his substantive rank was still Lieutenant. An Army Troops Company consisted of 7 officers and 281 other ranks and was normally commanded by a Major, with a Captain as Second-in-Command. Then on 5 June 1917 he posted to the 227^th Field Company as a Lieutenant (Acting Captain) to be an Acting Major, again to give him an acting rank commensurate with his duties as O.C. of the company.

Joseph’s Medal Index Card seems to be confusing as well, with regard to his rank. He is first shown as a 2^nd Lieutenant, then as a Captain and finally as a Major. The Royal Engineers Medal Roll for the British War Medal and Victory Medal shows him as a Major and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission shows him as a Major in both the cemetery index and commemorative scroll; however, the 1917 Probate Calendar shows him as a Lieutenant. It all becomes rather confusing and is indicative of the rather loose handling of military records, both official and unofficial by the War Office and other organizations dealing with records of the Great War.

Figure 7. The Royal Engineers 1914 Star Medal Roll.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Figure 8. The Royal Engineers British War Medal and Victory Medal Roll.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Volume V. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952.

Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers. The Royal Engineers Journal. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1935.

[1] Family Tree.

[2] 1911 Census of England and Wales.

[3] P&O Heritage.

[4] Probate Calendar, 1932.

[5] Family Tree.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Charterhouse Register.

[8] London Gazette, 21 January 1913.

[9] His posting to the staff of the Director of Works is verified by the entry for the 1914 Star shown on the medal roll.

[10] Imperial War Museum and Medal Index Card.

[11] London Gazette, 26 February 1915.

[12] London Gazette, 26 May 1917.

[13] Captain Lees was signing the unit War Diary in August 1916. The information in the War Diary were difficult to impossible to read due to fading of the pencil entries. It could not be determined just when Joseph may have joined the unit.

[14] London Gazette, 4 January 1917.

[15] Later Major, MC.

[16] Formerly a Sapper, later a Captain.

[17] Died of wounds received on 9 June 1917.

[18] Wikipedia: Battle of Pilckem Ridge.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Ibid.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Wikipedia: Battle of Langemarck.

[24] Company War Diary.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Medal Index Card.