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Rifleman Lawrence Dryden PRITCHARD (304439)
11th (Service) Battalion East Surrey Regiment attached to 108th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps and D Company, 1/5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade) Date of birth: 27th April 1892 Date of death: 28th August 1918 Killed in action aged 26 Commemorated on the Vis en Artois Memorial Panel 10
Lawrence Dryden Pritchard was born in Burma on the 27th of April 1892 the second son of Major Alfred Bassett Pritchard, Indian Army, and Louisa Isabella (nee Dryden) Pritchard of Canon’s Ashby, Woodford Halse, Rugby in Warwickshire. He was educated at Lancing College where won a Gibbs Scholarship and was in Olds House from September 1905 to December 1909. He served in the Officer Training Corps from 1907 to 1909 and became a student interpreter in the Levant and was nominated for a job at the Foreign Office. Following the outbreak of war he enlisted at 24 St James Street, London on the 18th of September 1914 as Private 756 in the 16th (Public Schools) Battalion Middlesex Regiment and was posted to D Company based at Kempton park for training. He applied for a commission in the Special Reserve of Officers on the 27th of February 1915 expressing a preference for:- "Any Eastern Command preferred with the object of getting to France." Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Hall, commanding officer of the 16th Middlesex wrote the following note at the bottom of his application:- "He is a gentleman, well educated and was at Lancing; but he has not done well in this battalion. Inclined to be dirty and slovenly; but is keen to fight; hates the monotony of barrack life and ordinary training; so possibly he may make a better officer that Private soldier. He would like Special Reserve, but I am doubtful whether I could recommend him." He passed a medical at Woldingham in Surrey on the 1st of April and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion East Surrey Regiment on the 6th of May 1915. He joined the 11th Battalion of his regiment on the 20th of May. On the 28th of February 1916 he transferred to the newly formed Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) retaining the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and was posted to the 108th Machine Gun Company, joining them in France on the 26th of June 1916 . On the 29th of July 1916 the following letter was written to the War Office by his commanding officer:- "I beg to report that 2nd Lieut. L.D. Pritchard of this company is an inefficient officer. 1) He does not appear to realise the responsibility of his position as an officer. 2) He has not sufficient control of his men. 3) On various occasions he failed to carry out orders satisfactorily, apparently due to lack of initiative. This officer speaks fluent French, German, Italian and Spanish, and in view of this, I think he could be usefully employed in some department where a knowledge of these languages is essential. The content of the above have been communicated to the officer and he has initialled same." Lieutenant Fitzgerald Officer Commanding 108 MG Coy, 108th Brigade. A note at the foot of the letter was added by the commanding officer of 108th Brigade on the 31st of July 1916:- "This officer does not appear likely to prove an efficient machine gun officer. Possibly he might do better in a position where control and of men and leadership are not essential." This view was endorsed by the officer commanding 36th Division. On the 12th of August 1916 Lieutenant General Montgomery, Officer Commanding V Corps wrote:- "Unless this officer's linguistic talents can be made use of, I recommend that he be sent home and his services be dispensed with." All the letters were placed together in a report dated the 23rd of August 1916 with the following covering letter:- "Sir I have the honour to forward the attached report made upon Temporary Second Lieutenant L.D. Pritchard, Machine Gun Corps. I consider that Second Lieutenant Pritchard is unfit for service, and I recommend that his services should be dispensed with. Orders have been issued for him to proceed to England and to report in writing to the War Office on arrival." Commander in Chief, The British Armies in France. On the 3rd of September 1916 Lawrence Pritchard received orders to return to England. He boarded a ship at Boulogne on the 5th of September and arrived at Folkestone the following day. The following letter dated the 7th of September 1916 was received by the War Office:- "Sir, With reference to movement order -dated 3/9/16, Army Form W3039-to the effect that I report by writing on arrival in England, signed Major Clarke, Staff Captain, 108th Infantry Brigade. Ulster Division, I have the honour to transmit my temporary address whilst awaiting further orders." My address is as follows:- 2 Hale Gardens, Acton Hill, London W. L.D. Pritchard (2/Lt) The following letter dated the 11th of September 1916 was sent to the Commander in Chief:- "Sir, With reference to your letter dated 23/8/16. I am writing to inform you that Temporary Lieutenant (sic) L.D. Pritchard, Machine Gun Corps, should be called upon to resign his commission. The requisite notification that he has done so will appear in the London Gazette in due course." W. Elliot, Colonel, for Military Secretary. On the 12th of September Lawrence Pritchard was commanded to resign his commission. On the 18th of September 1916 his father wrote the following letter to the War Office:- "Sir, With reference to 100710/2 M.S.K.504 marked confidential to my son, temp 2nd Lt L.D. Pritchard, Machine Gun Corps Coy 108, I have the honour to state as follows. I have advised my said son not to answer the letter for the present. I would humbly observe that no specific instance of alleged inefficiency is given in this correspondence. Lt Fitzgerald has a temporary commission, like my son, and my son served under him for only 1 month and 3 days, 26/6/16 to 29/7/16. Capt. Traill, Legion of Honour, Worcestershire Regiment, in command of a body of 20 or 30 2nd Lieuts at Dover, where my son was training, chose my son L.D. Pritchard, with 5 other 2nd Lts out of his squad or Coy to be sent for machine gun training at Grantham. He was never reprimanded at Grantham during his 4 months stay, just prior to his departure for France. Until the date of the report he was asked to initial; ref MS708IXCorps 3877A, dated 29 July 1916. My son was never reprimanded by Lt Fitzgerald for inefficiency, nor brought up before a senior officer of any kind. After initialling MS708/etc on 29 July my son several times asked Lt Fitzgerald to let him see the General, but got no satisfaction. Sir, I am a retired Major, I.A. I was exempt medically for active service and rejected. I have 3 children only. My eldest son, Capt. W.D. Pritchard 8th Batt, 13 Brigade RFA has been missing and given up for dead since 25 Sept 15. My youngest son is now at Wellington Nilgris studying to enter I.A. My second son is now in more terrible danger, in my opinion, than his brother officers at the front. I must humbly beg you to reconsider his case. For ready reference I take the liberty of returning all the papers." I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant A.B Pritchard (Major I.A. Ret.) The family received a reply in a letter dated the 2nd of October 1916 saying that the case had been reconsidered but that the original decision remained unchanged and that he must resign his commission without further delay. On the 4th of October 1916 Lawrence Pritchard wrote to the War Office formally resigning his commission but in it he begged to remain as an officer in a branch of the service where his linguistic skills could be used. On the 11th of October 1916 the War Office wrote to him to accept his resignation and it became effective on the 25th of October 1916. An undated letter was received by the War Office on the 16th of October 1916 and read as follows:- "Sir, I view with great distress the idea of now joining the British Army compulsorily as a Private which I did in September 1914 voluntarily. I beg, therefore, that I be allowed a passport to France, where I desire to enlist in the Foreign Legion (whose Headquarters for enlistment I have ascertained are in Paris). I do not address the Foreign Office direct for a passport, as this would entail a reference to you on their part." Lawrence Dryden Pritchard In a letter dated the 26th of October 1916 the request for a passport was rejected by Captain W.F. Basset on behalf of the Director of Recruiting at Hounslow. The same day Basset wrote to the War Office that Pritchard:- "Having resigned his commission in His Majesty's forces, would appear to be eligible for service under the Military Service Act. Would you please note his name, and take the necessary action for his recall to army service in due course." He re-enlisted at Acton as Rifleman 12011 (later as 304439) in the 5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade) and was posted to D Company. On the night of the 27th of August 1918 the 1/5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade) was in two trenches at Burg Support, some 500 yards to the east north east of the village of Croisilles in preparation for an attack the following day. At 12.30pm the 28th of August they attacked the eastern side of the village of Bullecourt in support of the 1/17th (County of London) Battalion (Stepney Rifles). C Company was on the left, D Company in the centre with B Company on the right of the attack. When the attack began C and D Companies lost direction and had to consolidate their position at Hendecourt where they found themselves in the front line rather than in support and were surrounded by enemy machine guns. B Company attempted to come to their aid by outflanking the machine guns but suffered heavily and were forced to dig in and take cover. At about 7.30pm the Kensington Battalion, with the aid of two Stokes Mortars, created the diversion which allowed 'B' Company to rush the German positions and capture 10 machine guns, two trench mortars and ten prisoners. The survivors were then withdrawn to Knuckle Trench and to the Hindenburg Line to rest. His brother Captain Wilfred Dryden Prichard OL 8th Battery, 13th Brigade Royal Field Artillery was killed in action on the 25th of September 1915. He is commemorated on a tablet in the parish church at Canon’s Ashby in Northamptonshire.

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