Harold Stephen Langhorne
Encyclopedia
Harold Stephen Langhorne (17 September 1866 Bordyke, Tonbridge
, Kent
, England and died Barnwood
, Gloucester
on 26 June 1932) was a Brigadier-General in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
of the British army
and served in India, Burma, Hong Kong, South Africa and France.
, headmaster of King's School, Rochester and Henrietta Long of Harston Hall, Harston
, Cambridgeshire
and Landemere Hall, Thorpe-le-Soken
.
He attended Tonbridge School
and then went to the King's School, Rochester. He went to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, London, England, which was established in 1741 to educate the military branch of the Board of Ordnance to produce officers for the Artillery and Engineers. He entered the Royal Artillery
in 1885 and was promoted to Captain (1895), Major (1904), Lieutenant-Colonel (1907), and Colonel (1914). His ordnance formation was as follows: Ordnance Officer 4th Class 1896-1902, 3rd Class 1902-7, 2nd Class 1907-14, 1st class 1914 On the 1st April 1896 he was seconded for service with the Inspection Branch
1836-1869harstonhallcambridge.jpg)
His brother John Langhorne became principal of John Watson's Institution
, Edinburgh
. Two of his half-brothers also became senior army officers: Major-General Algernon Philip Yorke Langhorne
and Brigadier James Archibald Dunboyne Langhorne.
Harold Stephen Langhorne met his future wife after he fell from a horse during a polo
match in India. In order to recover from the fall he was seated beside her and her father Major General Frederick Edward Hadow
, believed to have been commanding Officer of the Hyderabad Contingent Force. He married Amy Helen Francis Hadow (born Toghoo
, Bengal
21 December 1867 died Cheltenham, Gloucester, England 17 July 1953) at Allahabad
, Uttar Pradesh
, India on 28 December 1891.
They had five children:
.jpg)
he was sent to South Africa. He also worked with munitions at Ormskirk
, Lancashire
.
Prior to the outbreak of and during the beginning of the first world war he was working and living at the Royal Army Clothing Depot
, Grosvenor Road, Pimlico
, London. His daughter, Elizabeth Vowles, who lived there during the first world war described the depot and his role there thus:
He was later sent to Salonika in the East Mediterranean. According to his daughter the reason for his being there was "presumably the remaining war to control Palestine
and Cairo
" and its preparations. "Salonika was the main base, but he certainly went beyond that."
On 29 September 1918 his oldest son Lieutenant Francis Harold Langhorne was killed in action while serving with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles in northern France. After the first world war he visited the grave at Borlon wood, arranging for an epitaph to be added.
He went to Cairo in 1919 as Deputy Director of Ordnance Supplies for General Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby. Based at Halouan, outside Cairo, and Heliopolis
. His postal address was the Eden Palace Hotel, Cairo. As part of his work he had to travel to Tanta
. In the summer of 1923 his wife suffered a bad bout of typhoid in Cairo. He came home from Cairo and retired to Gloucestershire in 1924 to pursue gardening.
He played polo
, cricket
and tennis
and was a keen pianist, enjoying in particular the works of Sibelius and Debussy. He was interested in the ideas of Ruskin
.
He received the following awards: Commander of the Order of the Bath (1915), Commander of Michael and George (1918). According to an account of his life left by his daughter he declined a knighthood on the basis that "he didn't like the company he'd be in and above all, wouldn't shake hands with Maundy Gregory
for the fear the mud would stick to his!".
Langhorne died in Barnwood
, Gloucester
, England, 26 June 1932.
. It reads: "In loving memory of Brig General Harold Stephen Langhorne CB CMG Royal army ordnance corps. A Kings scholar 1879-1883. Died 26 June 1932 aged 65".
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England and died Barnwood
Barnwood
Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Brockworth and Cirencester....
, Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
on 26 June 1932) was a Brigadier-General in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps was a corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment until 1965, when it took over most other supply functions, as well as the provision of staff clerks, from the Royal Army Service...
of the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and served in India, Burma, Hong Kong, South Africa and France.
Early life
He was the son of Reverend John LanghorneJohn Langhorne (King's School Rochester)
.Reverend John Langhorne was headmaster of The King's School, Rochester and an educational innovator there...
, headmaster of King's School, Rochester and Henrietta Long of Harston Hall, Harston
Harston
Harston is a village to the south of Cambridge, England.-Harston House:Harston House is a historic private house in Harston. It was formerly known as Harston Hall....
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
and Landemere Hall, Thorpe-le-Soken
Thorpe-le-Soken
Thorpe-le-Soken is a village in Essex, located west of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea and north of Clacton-on-Sea.-History:Thorpe-le-Soken's history can be traced back to Saxon times....
.
He attended Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
and then went to the King's School, Rochester. He went to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, London, England, which was established in 1741 to educate the military branch of the Board of Ordnance to produce officers for the Artillery and Engineers. He entered the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in 1885 and was promoted to Captain (1895), Major (1904), Lieutenant-Colonel (1907), and Colonel (1914). His ordnance formation was as follows: Ordnance Officer 4th Class 1896-1902, 3rd Class 1902-7, 2nd Class 1907-14, 1st class 1914 On the 1st April 1896 he was seconded for service with the Inspection Branch
Family, Marriage and Children
John Watson's Institution
The John Watson's Institution was a school established in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1762. It was based in the building which now hosts the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.-History:...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Two of his half-brothers also became senior army officers: Major-General Algernon Philip Yorke Langhorne
Algernon Philip Yorke Langhorne
Algernon Philip Yorke Langhorne CB, DSO, MC was a Major-General in the British Army....
and Brigadier James Archibald Dunboyne Langhorne.
Harold Stephen Langhorne met his future wife after he fell from a horse during a polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
match in India. In order to recover from the fall he was seated beside her and her father Major General Frederick Edward Hadow
Frederick Edward Hadow
Major-General Frederick Edward Hadow was an officer in the Indian Army...
, believed to have been commanding Officer of the Hyderabad Contingent Force. He married Amy Helen Francis Hadow (born Toghoo
Taungoo
-Administration:*Taungoo District Peace and Development Council - List of Six Townships*Taungoo Township Peace and Development Council*Taungoo Ward Peace and Development Council - 22 Wards*Taungoo Municipal*District and Township Immigration Dept...
, Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
21 December 1867 died Cheltenham, Gloucester, England 17 July 1953) at Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, India on 28 December 1891.
They had five children:
- Francis Harold Langhorne (born 1892 Aurangabad, Deccan, India), emigrated to Slocan junction, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and signed up with the Canadian Expeditionary ForceCanadian Expeditionary ForceThe Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
at Valcartier on the 18th September 1914. He was killed in action at CambraiCambraiCambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
on the 29 September 1918 whilst a LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles (British Columbia Regiment))
- Ursula Margaret (Peggy) Langhorne (born TicehurstTicehurstTicehurst is both a village and a large civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The parish lies in the upper reaches of both the River Teise before it enters Bewl Water and in the upper reaches of the River Rother flowing to the south-east...
, Kent in September 1894) - Edward Walter Langhorne (born 1900 Hong Kong joined the Royal Artillery, served in MesopotamiaMesopotamiaMesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and India. After leaving the army he worked in the 1930s in oil extraction in TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and was present for the Butler riots. He was present at GuayaguayareGuayaguayareGuayaguayare is the southeasternmost village in Trinidad and Tobago. It lies at the southern end of the county of Mayaro. Guayaguayare is primarily a fishing village, but it also plays a major role in the petroleum industry...
and Forest reserve. In the 1950s he worked again in oil extraction for the Ministry of WorksPublic worksPublic works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
KadunaKadunaKaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census...
, NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. He later lived with his wife Rose at Whitchurch, HampshireWhitchurch, HampshireWhitchurch is a town in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, from Newbury, Berkshire, from Winchester, miles from Andover and miles from Basingstoke. Much of the town is a Conservation Area. Because of the amount of wildlife in and near the river, parts of the town are designated as...
. - Hilda Mary Langhorne (born Harbledon, CanterburyCanterburyCanterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
April 15, 1901 died 1999) lived with her parents in Egypt, joined the ARP in 1939 and worked as an ambulance driver in London during the blitzThe BlitzThe Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. She was based at the London Auxiliary Ambulance Station at 39A crawford Street, London. For this she received the Defence Medal in 1946. She later became a governess to Sir Sidney Woodwark, physician to Queen Elizabeth. Late in her retirement she resided at Whaddon and then Brookethorpe, both near Gloucester. - Elizabeth Langhorne (born 23 October 1911 at the Royal Army Clothing DepotRoyal Army Clothing DepotThe Royal Army Clothing depot was founded in 1855 and was in operation until at least the end of the First World War. Its location was Grosvenor Road, Pimlico, London, England, now the site of Dolphin Square. It provided the uniforms for the British Army for many conflicts and was part of the...
, PimlicoPimlicoPimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
, London died Gloucester 1999). Elizabeth attended Cheltenham Ladies College from 1925–31, with a scholarship from 1927–30 and was a senior prefect from 1930-1931. In 1931 she won the Dorothea BealeDorothea BealeDorothea Beale LLD was a suffragist, educational reformer, author and Principal of the Cheltenham Ladies' College.Born in Bishopsgate, England, she was the founder of St Hilda's College, Oxford....
exhibition in History to enter St Hilda's College, Oxford and in 1933 won the Mansfield essay prize(open to 1st and 2nd year students in all subjects; for an essay on "The study of Aristotle in the thirteenth century). She won the University Gibbs Scholarship in history (awarded on the result of a competitive examination) and her College exhibition was raised to a scholarship. She was the first woman to win the Gibbs Scholarship. In 1934 she completed "B.A. Final Honour School of modern history, class II". Her special period was A.D. 919-1273 and special subject The Third Crusade. In 1934-1935 she undertook the Gamble studentship for research (a college studentship). From 1935-1936 she was a junior lecture in history as Royal Holloway College In 1935 she undertook Post Graduate work under the direction of Professor PowickeF. M. PowickeSir Frederick Maurice Powicke was an English medieval historian. He was a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, delivered the Ford Lectures in 1927, and from 1929 was Regius Professor of History at Oxford. He was knighted in 1946....
. Her research was on "The problem of the papacy in the twelfth century, with special reference to the preaching of apostolic poverty during the pontificate of Eugenius II". She was a lecturer in modern history at St Hilda's from 1936-1938. From 1938-1939 she was a part-time teacher at Cheltenham Ladies college. From 1941- 1942 she was a National Service interviewer, StockportStockportStockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
. In 1942 she was appointed part time to the Staff of the Social Reconstruction Survey organised by Nuffield College, Oxford. She married Francis Hugh Vowles in 1938, residing at 135 Finlay road, Gloucester. She was chair of the Gloucestershire local history society.
Later life
He was responsible for supervising munitions in Hong Kong (c. 1900). At the close of the Boer warSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
he was sent to South Africa. He also worked with munitions at Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
.
Prior to the outbreak of and during the beginning of the first world war he was working and living at the Royal Army Clothing Depot
Royal Army Clothing Depot
The Royal Army Clothing depot was founded in 1855 and was in operation until at least the end of the First World War. Its location was Grosvenor Road, Pimlico, London, England, now the site of Dolphin Square. It provided the uniforms for the British Army for many conflicts and was part of the...
, Grosvenor Road, Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
, London. His daughter, Elizabeth Vowles, who lived there during the first world war described the depot and his role there thus:
he was literally a factory manager, making clothing, from boots and socks up to ceremonial scarlet uniforms... After the Boer war till a scramble to enlist in 1914 it sufficed one clothing factory to keep it (the British Army) clad. ... By 1915 or so my father, in uniform would bring in his two officers to lunch with us, suggesting pressure in the office. The factory employed civilians in the sawing shed for packing-cases and women in the sewing rooms. By 1916 we were ejected from the Royal Army Clothing Department and the whole place given up to machines and packing; father must have been busy well before that in organising extended work in the hugh OlympiaOlympia, LondonOlympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
and the White CityWhite City, LondonWhite City is a district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, to the north of Shepherd's Bush. Today, White City is home to the BBC Television Centre and BBC White City, and Loftus Road stadium, the home of football club Queens Park Rangers FC....
. He was still I suppose working there in 1917 as he was living at home but by 1918 he was constantly away, at first in France behind the lines I suppose laying lines for supply to the Big Push which finally drove the Germans back by November 1918.
He was later sent to Salonika in the East Mediterranean. According to his daughter the reason for his being there was "presumably the remaining war to control Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
" and its preparations. "Salonika was the main base, but he certainly went beyond that."
On 29 September 1918 his oldest son Lieutenant Francis Harold Langhorne was killed in action while serving with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles in northern France. After the first world war he visited the grave at Borlon wood, arranging for an epitaph to be added.
He went to Cairo in 1919 as Deputy Director of Ordnance Supplies for General Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby. Based at Halouan, outside Cairo, and Heliopolis
Heliopolis (Cairo Suburb)
Modern Heliopolis is a district in Cairo, Egypt. The city was established in 1905 by the Heliopolis Oasis Company, headed by the Belgian industrialist Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain, as well as Boghos Nubar, son of the Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pasha.-History:The Baron Empain, a well known...
. His postal address was the Eden Palace Hotel, Cairo. As part of his work he had to travel to Tanta
Tanta
Tanta is a city in Egypt. It is the country's fifth largest populated area, with an estimated 429,000 inhabitants . Tanta is located north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria...
. In the summer of 1923 his wife suffered a bad bout of typhoid in Cairo. He came home from Cairo and retired to Gloucestershire in 1924 to pursue gardening.
He played polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and was a keen pianist, enjoying in particular the works of Sibelius and Debussy. He was interested in the ideas of Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
.
He received the following awards: Commander of the Order of the Bath (1915), Commander of Michael and George (1918). According to an account of his life left by his daughter he declined a knighthood on the basis that "he didn't like the company he'd be in and above all, wouldn't shake hands with Maundy Gregory
Maundy Gregory
Arthur Maundy Gregory was a British theatre producer and political fixer who is best remembered for selling honours for Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He may also have been involved with the Zinoviev Letter, the disappearance of Victor Grayson, and the suspicious death of his platonic...
for the fear the mud would stick to his!".
Langhorne died in Barnwood
Barnwood
Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Brockworth and Cirencester....
, Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, England, 26 June 1932.
Plaque in Rochester Cathedral
A brass plaque was put up in his memory at Rochester CathedralRochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Norman church in Rochester, Kent. The bishopric is second oldest in England after Canterbury...
. It reads: "In loving memory of Brig General Harold Stephen Langhorne CB CMG Royal army ordnance corps. A Kings scholar 1879-1883. Died 26 June 1932 aged 65".