The death of this young officer, so well known and popular at Stonyhurst, caused deep regret to his many College friends. Our sympathy is intensified by the recollection of the very trying ordeal he had to pass through some years ago as a boy cadet at Osborne, where he was mistakenly accused and dismissed on a charge of petty theft. During the legal proceedings which followed, it will be remembered that the College authorities, who knew him well, and were convinced of his innocence, sent representatives to give evidence in court as to the high character he had always borne as a boy at Stonyhurst.
The details of the trial—the cause celebre of the year—and the subsequent debates on it in Parliament are so well known that we need not recall them here. They resulted in what every newspaper in the country described as " a complete vindication of his character." He received an ample apology from Mr. McKenna, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and was awarded £7,000 damages.
After leaving Osborne he was welcomed back to Stonyhurst, where he remained till of age to enter the Army. It is pleasant to recall the fact that not only did his schoolfellows at Stonyhurst believe him guiltless of the charge, but that his fellow-cadets at Osborne were unanimously in his favour.
The newspapers, in recording his death, one and all concurred in tributes of special sympathy. The Daily Mail, under the heading " Romance of a Hero," concluded with the words, " Driven from the Navy by injustice, Lieut. Archer-Shee has won fame and honour in the Army, and— he has served his country well."
The following notice is from The Times :—" Lieut. George Archer-Shee, ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., who was killed near Ypres on October 31st, aged 19 J- years, was the younger son of the late Martin Archer-Shee and Mrs. Archer-Shee, of Woodchester,
Gloucester. He joined the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in 1908, but was removed in circumstances which afterwards formed the subject of legal proceedings in the King's Bench, the result of which was the complete vindication of his character.
Colonel Ovens, C.M.G., the officer com- manding the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., writes of him to his mother :—• ' He was a most promising young officer, and in the short time he was in the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt. he earned the love and respect of both officers and men, and by his bravery and example contributed largely to the success of the battalion in the actions near Ypres.' "
Although the evidence of his death on October 31st, at Klein Zillebeke, near Ypres, was confirmed later, his relatives and friends had been kept in suspense as to his fate from October to May, during which period his name had been officially posted as " missing."
By all accounts received from his brother officers and the men of his regiment, he had borne himself with special gallantry throughout the fighting in which he took part.
The details of the trial—the cause celebre of the year—and the subsequent debates on it in Parliament are so well known that we need not recall them here. They resulted in what every newspaper in the country described as " a complete vindication of his character." He received an ample apology from Mr. McKenna, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and was awarded £7,000 damages.
After leaving Osborne he was welcomed back to Stonyhurst, where he remained till of age to enter the Army. It is pleasant to recall the fact that not only did his schoolfellows at Stonyhurst believe him guiltless of the charge, but that his fellow-cadets at Osborne were unanimously in his favour.
The newspapers, in recording his death, one and all concurred in tributes of special sympathy. The Daily Mail, under the heading " Romance of a Hero," concluded with the words, " Driven from the Navy by injustice, Lieut. Archer-Shee has won fame and honour in the Army, and— he has served his country well."
The following notice is from The Times :—" Lieut. George Archer-Shee, ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., who was killed near Ypres on October 31st, aged 19 J- years, was the younger son of the late Martin Archer-Shee and Mrs. Archer-Shee, of Woodchester,
Gloucester. He joined the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in 1908, but was removed in circumstances which afterwards formed the subject of legal proceedings in the King's Bench, the result of which was the complete vindication of his character.
Colonel Ovens, C.M.G., the officer com- manding the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., writes of him to his mother :—• ' He was a most promising young officer, and in the short time he was in the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt. he earned the love and respect of both officers and men, and by his bravery and example contributed largely to the success of the battalion in the actions near Ypres.' "
Although the evidence of his death on October 31st, at Klein Zillebeke, near Ypres, was confirmed later, his relatives and friends had been kept in suspense as to his fate from October to May, during which period his name had been officially posted as " missing."
By all accounts received from his brother officers and the men of his regiment, he had borne himself with special gallantry throughout the fighting in which he took part.
The death of this young officer, so well known and popular at Stonyhurst, caused deep regret to his many College friends. Our sympathy is intensified by the recollection of the very trying ordeal he had to pass through some years ago as a boy cadet at Osborne, where he was mistakenly accused and dismissed on a charge of petty theft. During the legal proceedings which followed, it will be remembered that the College authorities, who knew him well, and were convinced of his innocence, sent representatives to give evidence in court as to the high character he had always borne as a boy at Stonyhurst.
The details of the trial—the cause celebre of the year—and the subsequent debates on it in Parliament are so well known that we need not recall them here. They resulted in what every newspaper in the country described as " a complete vindication of his character." He received an ample apology from Mr. McKenna, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and was awarded £7,000 damages.
After leaving Osborne he was welcomed back to Stonyhurst, where he remained till of age to enter the Army. It is pleasant to recall the fact that not only did his schoolfellows at Stonyhurst believe him guiltless of the charge, but that his fellow-cadets at Osborne were unanimously in his favour.
The newspapers, in recording his death, one and all concurred in tributes of special sympathy. The Daily Mail, under the heading " Romance of a Hero," concluded with the words, " Driven from the Navy by injustice, Lieut. Archer-Shee has won fame and honour in the Army, and— he has served his country well."
The following notice is from The Times :—" Lieut. George Archer-Shee, ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., who was killed near Ypres on October 31st, aged 19 J- years, was the younger son of the late Martin Archer-Shee and Mrs. Archer-Shee, of Woodchester,
Gloucester. He joined the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in 1908, but was removed in circumstances which afterwards formed the subject of legal proceedings in the King's Bench, the result of which was the complete vindication of his character.
Colonel Ovens, C.M.G., the officer com- manding the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., writes of him to his mother :—• ' He was a most promising young officer, and in the short time he was in the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt. he earned the love and respect of both officers and men, and by his bravery and example contributed largely to the success of the battalion in the actions near Ypres.' "
Although the evidence of his death on October 31st, at Klein Zillebeke, near Ypres, was confirmed later, his relatives and friends had been kept in suspense as to his fate from October to May, during which period his name had been officially posted as " missing."
By all accounts received from his brother officers and the men of his regiment, he had borne himself with special gallantry throughout the fighting in which he took part.
The details of the trial—the cause celebre of the year—and the subsequent debates on it in Parliament are so well known that we need not recall them here. They resulted in what every newspaper in the country described as " a complete vindication of his character." He received an ample apology from Mr. McKenna, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and was awarded £7,000 damages.
After leaving Osborne he was welcomed back to Stonyhurst, where he remained till of age to enter the Army. It is pleasant to recall the fact that not only did his schoolfellows at Stonyhurst believe him guiltless of the charge, but that his fellow-cadets at Osborne were unanimously in his favour.
The newspapers, in recording his death, one and all concurred in tributes of special sympathy. The Daily Mail, under the heading " Romance of a Hero," concluded with the words, " Driven from the Navy by injustice, Lieut. Archer-Shee has won fame and honour in the Army, and— he has served his country well."
The following notice is from The Times :—" Lieut. George Archer-Shee, ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., who was killed near Ypres on October 31st, aged 19 J- years, was the younger son of the late Martin Archer-Shee and Mrs. Archer-Shee, of Woodchester,
Gloucester. He joined the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in 1908, but was removed in circumstances which afterwards formed the subject of legal proceedings in the King's Bench, the result of which was the complete vindication of his character.
Colonel Ovens, C.M.G., the officer com- manding the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt., writes of him to his mother :—• ' He was a most promising young officer, and in the short time he was in the ist Bn. The South Staffordshire Regt. he earned the love and respect of both officers and men, and by his bravery and example contributed largely to the success of the battalion in the actions near Ypres.' "
Although the evidence of his death on October 31st, at Klein Zillebeke, near Ypres, was confirmed later, his relatives and friends had been kept in suspense as to his fate from October to May, during which period his name had been officially posted as " missing."
By all accounts received from his brother officers and the men of his regiment, he had borne himself with special gallantry throughout the fighting in which he took part.
Gravesite Details
Note from GN: 3rd Bn. South Staffordshire Regiment. Killed in action 31st October 1914. Age 19. Studied at Stonyhurst College and Royal Naval College, Osb
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