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Piers William North (1871-1959)


Channel Islander who commanded the 20th DLI, was awarded the DSO


Piers William North, the son of the somewhat eccentrically named North North and Alicia Gertrude North, was born in St Peter Port, Guernsey, on 30 March 1871. As their fifth child, and fourth son, Piers was listed on the 1971 Guernsey census without a name at the tender age of one month old. He had five brothers and one sister, with all of his brothers also going on to serve in the army.

Piers was recorded in 1881 as being a boarder and scholar in the house of Jane Boyd in Burton, Kendal whilst his parents, older sister, and two youngest brothers were living in Thurland Castle in Lancashire. He went on to attend school in Repton, Derbyshire and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, before being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant on 17 June 1891 into the Royal Berkshire (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) Regiment. He was promoted to lieutenant in May 1894 and to captain on 7 November 1900. He served in South Africa from 1899 until 1902 with the Mounted Infantry and was mentioned in despatches in 1901.

On return from South Africa he took an Interpreters courses from 1902 until 1907 in Cape Dutch, French and Japanese, during which time he was attached to the Imperial Japanese Army for 12 months. He retired on 2 June 1909 following his return to England. However, the following day he was appointed major in the 3rd Battalion and later became a King’s Foreign Service Messenger.

At the outbreak of the First World War he was attached to the General Staff but in February 1915 he was appointed temporary major in the Royal Marines and landed in France on 28 March 1915. Later in the year he was sent to Gallipoli where he was wounded on 15 August and spent time on the hospital ship Assaye. On his return to active service he was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and served with it until May 1916, when he was again wounded. He was repatriated and spent some weeks in Queen Alexandra’s Hospital in London before returning to Europe in August 1916.

In October of the same year Piers was given command of the 20th Battalion Durham Light Infantry as acting lieutenant- colonel. He remained in command until 3 August 1917, when he was wounded yet again and returned to the Queen Alexandra’s Hospital, having been mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

The award of the DSO was gazetted on 26 September 1917 with the citation reading as follows:

“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his men to the attack with utter disregard of danger under heavy fire, and the dash with which the battalion went forward in the attack and secured a considerable number of prisoners was largely due to his fine example. He was shortly afterwards severely wounded in the chest and back”

In September 1919 Piers returned to duty as a King’s Messenger and continued in this function, travelling to many countries, until he retired on 2 June 1931. On retirement he was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (4th Class). By 1939 he had returned to Westmorland and was living in Preston Patrick, near Kendal, where he died in 1959.

Birth date: 30-Mar-1871

Death date: 17-Jul-1959

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: Hutton House School, Burton, Westmorland (1881 census)
Newton Hall, Whittington, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire (1891 census)
9 St Albans Place, Charles Street, Westminster, London (1911 census)
Summerdale \house, Nook, Preston Patrick, Kendal, Westmorland (1939 Register & England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1959.)

Education: Hutton House School, Burton, Kendal, Westmorland
Repton School, Derbyshire
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Berkshire

Employment: King’s Foreign Service Messenger

Family: Father: North North
Mother: Alicia Gertrude Versturme
Siblings: Alice Helen, Bordrigge North (Brig.-General), Louis Aylmer (Captain), Edward Bunbury (Lt. Col.), Oliver Henry (Major) & Albert Kemblis (Major) North

Military service:

Royal Berkshire (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Regiment & 20th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
Lieutenant-Colonel

Medal(s): Distinguished Service Order
Member of the Royal Victorian Order (4th Class)
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Queen’s South Africa Medal with 3 Clasps
King George V Coronation Medal
1914-1915 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal

Gender: Male

Contributed by John Edwards | (Mod - Gemma, Durham University Intern)


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