Before the First
World War. Basil Herbert Bright was born at home at Cromwell House, Cromwell
Hill, Maldon, Essex on 1st February 1895 and christened in All Saints Church,
High Street, Maldon. He was the youngest son
of Florence (née Denne; 1865-1946) and Frederick Henry Bright (1862-1950; solicitor). His brothers were Gerald (1889-1962;
solicitor), and Cecil Desborough Bright (1893-1916; tea planter, Ceylon, killed in
Mesopotamia while serving in WW1).
Basil’s parents’ golden wedding.
Basil with brothers Gerald and Cecil.
(Photo: 1938)
(Photo:
c. 1897.)
Basil's
primary education was at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, Kent (1905-08) and his secondary
education at Haileybury College, Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire (1909-12) where he was in
Hailey House and a Private in the Officers' Training Corps.
On leaving school, he was articled to his father at F.H. Bright, Solicitor,
West Square, Maldon (1912-15).
During the
First World War. Shortly
after the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August 1914, 1/7th Battalion,
Worcestershire Regiment was posted to Maldon to train and await transfer to France. Captain F.M. Tomkinson, who was billeted with the
Bright family, suggested that Basil join 1/7th, which he did and was commissioned as 2nd
Lieutenant on 9 February 1915. Basil
must have been in two minds about becoming a member of this regiment because, on his
application for commission, he crossed out 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Essex Regiment before
adding Worcestershire Regiment.
In the scheme of things, Basil was 2nd Lieutenant and Commander, No. 3 Platoon, 'A'
Company, 1/7th Infantry Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment (Territorial Force), 144th
(Gloucestershire and Worcestershire) Infantry Brigade, 48th (South Midland) Division, 3rd
Army, British Expeditionary Force. 144th
Brigade comprised 1/4th and 1/6th Gloucestershire and 1/7th and 1/8th Worcestershire. (Tomkinson, mentioned above, commanded it towards
the end of the war.) There were two other
infantry brigades in 48th Division: 143rd (Warwickshire: 1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th, 1/8th, Royal
Warwickshire) and 145th (South Midland: 1/5th Gloucestershire, 1/4th Oxfordshire &
Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 1/1st Buckinghamshire, 1/4th Royal Berkshire). The Division also included several artillery
brigades and support units. Major-General Sir
Robert Fanshawe (1863-1946) was 48th Division’s commander from 31 May 1915 to
19 June 1918.
France:
The 144th Battalion was ordered to France in March 1915 but, because it was over
strength, Basil continued training duties at Bicknacre, near Maldon. He joined it on 1 July at Maroc, northern
France, when it was en route to
Hébuterne, Somme, some 10 miles due north of Albert as the crow flies, where it
remained for seven months. Basil's duties in
and around Hébuterne alternated between leading working parties and spending several days
at a time fighting in trenches in the lines (connecting rows of defence fortifications
facing the enemy). The working parties
laboured with the Royal Engineers on, for example, construction work, setting out barbed
wire along the lines, and carrying stores and ammunition from the rear (holding areas
behind the army) to the front (foremost line). In
the evenings, when not in the line, Basil might dine with other officers at their billets
and play poker afterwards. He attended
concerts and church parades when he could and, now and again, went fishing. Occasionally, he got home leave. The weather in July and August was warm and sunny,
but September was alternately rainy and cold or fine with a biting wind. In October, the men were issued with fur coats and
gloves and, in November, snow fell steadily. December
brought rain and slush. There was a lot of
influenza about and other sickness such as trench foot (caused by constantly standing in
water) and trench fever (spread by lice).
On
28 August 1915, Basil went on a bombing course in Couin, four miles west of
Hébuterne and became the reserve battalion bombing officer. After further instruction at Couin on
30 October, he held bombing classes for the battalion.
On 12 January 1916, he was seconded to command the Brigade's
82nd Trench Mortar Battery (TMB). The
battery functioned with four howitzers of the old naval type. Soon after Basil joined the Battery, it came in
for some terrible pounding and many of his men were killed.
Basil was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 June 1916 and Temporary Captain
two weeks later on the 14th. Also on the
14th, 82 TMB was reformed as 144th Light Trench Mortar Battery (LTMB) and
equipped with eight of the new 3-inch Stokes trench mortars (short cannon). (143rd and 145th Brigades also had an LTMB each) A Stokes had a length (about 3 feet) of metal
pipe for its barrel, with a flat base-plate at the bottom and a two-legged stand
supporting the barrel, tripod style. It fired
10-pound bombs up to 250-1500 yards at the rate of up to 20 a minute. When a bomb was put down the barrel, it ignited a
12-bore sporting cartridge in the base by hitting a striker pin. It was used initially as a static defensive weapon
to support trench raids. Because of its
limited range, crews had to advance with the first waves of men either to establish
positions in captured trenches or to meet counter attacks.
144th LTMB
pennant (12.5x20 inches) ‘’presumably
made by some enterprising member who ‘found’ a sewing machine or had it made by
someone in a rest area village. Doubtful it
was used in the trenches but likely to have marked the tiny LTMB HQ in the Brigade HQ area
in the field. ‘Gloucester’ and
‘Worcester’ under the crests should include ‘shire’’’ (Comment by Lt Col C.P. Love, TD, M Ed, in
letter to author, 2001.)
LTMBs are seldom mentioned in First World
War records. For example, there are next to
no references to 144th LTMB in the 1000-plus pages of the 144th Infantry Brigade War Diaries held at The
National Archives in Kew, Surrey. These
batteries were created specifically in response to trench warfare in France in 1915. Each one comprised four officers (one of whom,
like Basil, was in command) and 48 men (2 sergeants, 6 corporals,
2 lance-corporals, 38 privates). LTMBs
were unpopular with the infantry working parties because trench mortars had a high rate of
fire and, therefore, needed large amounts of ammunition brought up to positions over
near-impossible terrain, either in unwieldy boxes or in 'waistcoats' each holding three
bombs. The gunners of the artillery also
disliked them because LTMB activities tended to attract retaliatory fire from the enemy. Furthermore, there may well have been a touch of
envy at times because trench mortar crews had a reputation for independence, initiative
and improvisation. Indeed, LTMB officers and
men are believed to have lived and fought together more closely than in the battalions. They jointly dug positions, dugouts and so on, and
formed strong bonds. In Basil’s case,
most of his men were older than him and they called him Basil rather than Sir. He kept in touch with 114th LTMB survivors for
decades. Unlike other specialised brigade
units, members of LTMBs remained members of their respective regiments, though they wore
the brigade colour patch.
In
mid-February 1916, 144th Brigade moved to new positions near Foncquevillers and, at the
beginning of March, took over the line west of Serre, about 2½ miles southeast of
Hébuterne, where the new German rifle grenades hopelessly outranged Allied return fire. Light trench mortars were tried out and they
proved more effective against the enemy. The
Brigade was now constantly on the move leading up to and during the Battle of the Somme
(1 July to 18 November where 60,000 men were killed or wounded on the first day
alone).
Before the
Battle. Photo of 144th LTMB taken at Beauval, Somme, June
1916. Basil is 5th from left, middle row. “48th Division (including
144th LTMB) marched from the St Riquier training area (7 km NE of Abberville) to
reserve positions, almost certainly via Beauval, in mid-June 1916 prior to the Somme
battle opening on 1 July.’’ (Comment by Lt Col C.P. Love, TD, M Ed, in
letter to author, 2001.) (Note
144th LTMB’s 48 men.)
After the Battle. Photo of 144th LTMB taken at Beauval, on or about
10 August 1916. Basil is 5th from left,
3rd row from top. “At the end of July 1916,
after being heavily involved in the Somme battle, 48th Division (including 144th LTMB)
marched to a rest and training area about 16 km ESE of Abberville. On 9.8.16, it began the march back to the battle
area via Beauval, then SE towards Albert. In
the photograph, you can see the men have acquired a good selection of souvenirs, including
many of the prized pickelhaubes, some with their grey cloth covers on, one or two minus
their spikes and 2 or 3 different badges. The
man behind Basil also has a belt.’’ (Comments by Lt Col C.P. Love, TD, M Ed, in
letter to author, 2001.) (Note
144th LTMB now has 33 men; that is, 15 lost or wounded.)
After
Serre, 144th LTMB fought in the shocking Battle of Ovillers, 2½ miles northeast of Albert
where, once again, many of Basil's men lost their lives.
Basil was wounded on 3 September 1916 but remained on duty. His medical file states “gunshot
wound to the face’’
(family myth believes it was to the neck). In
November and December, the Battery concentrated its activities at Contalmaison, 2½ miles
southeast of Ovillers. Christmas was spent in
billets in Albert, and New Year 1917 in the line southwest of Peronne on high, open ground
facing La Maisonette. On 5 March 1917,
Basil was admitted to No. 20 General Hospital, Camiers (near Le Touquet), Pas de
Calais with slight pyrexia (fever) of unknown origin and was discharged on the 10th. A few days later, many Allied divisions pursued
retreating Germans as far as the Hindenburg Line (a formidable line field fortifications)
then mopped up (captured and/or killed enemy troops left behind), 144th Brigade operating
in the Epéhy and Gillemont Farm area, some 20 miles east of Albert.
Methods
and tactics of LTMBs developed as the war changed. By
1917, as the Allies became more flexible, the battery crews were given increased
responsibility. Because Stokes mortars were
portable (they weighed around 113 pounds, so the barrel, base-plate and two-legged stand
had to be carried separately), men were able to reach hot spots fairly quickly. LTMBs were now considered as accessible firepower
in attack and good cover in defence.
Belgium. On 22 July 1917, 144th Brigade left the
Somme with 48th Division and travelled by train to the bloody, muddy, rain-soaking Third
Battle of Ypres in Belgium. Its men fought
mostly north of St Julien, some four miles northeast of Ypres and then at Vancouver
Triangle, half a mile on. Basil's men worked
tirelessly with the assaulting battalions, carrying its Stokes guns forward and
penetrating interlocking lines of blockhouses, wire and defensive machine-gun
emplacements. After a week of preliminary
bombardment, the main battle began in earnest and, during the following week, the Allies
advanced two miles, but at a terrible cost of 32,000 casualties. A few days of sunshine in late September enabled
them to make further small advances, but rain resumed in early October and the mud became
thicker than ever, often waist deep or more.
In
mid-October, the Brigade moved by train to the Vimy Ridge area and occupied trenches on
the flat ground east of the ridge between Vimy and Mericourt. In early November 1917, the final drive toward
Passchendaele was ordered and the battle ended on 10 November having caused nearly
250,000 casualties on each side. A 1/8th
Worcester man wrote later, “Of
all our battle experience, that was the grimmest and most dreadful time.’’ Basil was
mentioned in despatches on 7 November 1917 for action in France.
Basil H.
Bright’s 7 November 1917 Mentioned in Despatches certificate.
(Photo:
Valerie Bright, 2000.)
Basil
Herbert Bright, photographed some time after 1917.
Italy. After the disastrous Italian defeat by the
Austrian Army at Caporetto on the Isonzo River on 24 October 1917, 48th Division was
among five British (with 5th, 7th, 23rd and 41st, under the command of General Sir Herbert
Charles Onslow Plumer, 1857-1932) and six French divisions sent to join Italian divisions
in preventing further enemy advance. The men
of 144th Brigade travelled by train from Belgium to Italy via Arras in northwestern
France. Departing Arras on 24 November,
the train passed along the French Riviera, across the Italian border on the evening of the
28th and onto the vast plain between Padua and Verona, west of Venice, where the other
divisions also assembled. The packhorses
arrived in bad shape because no ramps had been available at halts to allow them off the
trains to exercise.
The
Austrian army was holding a line from its mountain border east of Lake Garda in
Italy’s northwest, across the Asiago Plateau and along the Piave River to the coast
north of Venice in the east. This army was
made up of diverse nationalities from its old empire (Austrians, Bosnians, Czechs, Croats,
Germans, Slovaks, Slovenes, Poles from Galicia and Rumanians from Transylvania) with
conflicting political persuasions (fascist, monarchist, republican, socialist, Bolshevik).
There
was a three-month lull in fighting after the Allied divisions arrived and the men occupied
themselves in working parties, vigorous training and route marches. Crisp frost and snow enveloped them in December
and January, but February was warmer. During
this period, Basil was nominated for, and was subsequently awarded the Military Cross (London
Gazette 3 June 1918), not for immediate gallantry, but probably because his
Brigadier now had time to review the past horrific months and thought Basil Bright
deserved recognition. There is no citation.
This respite was not to last, however, and the
next few paragraphs try to shed some light on how Basil might have participated in one of
the last great Allied advances of the war.
At
the beginning of March 1918, 144th Brigade spent two weeks in the Divisional reserve
behind the Montello. (The Montello is a great
hill between the town of Montebelluna and the Piave River and, at that time, this Allied
position was the pivot between the mountain and river sectors of the line.) Just as 48th Division was about to go into the
front line, Italian troops were ordered to take over.
Instead, the men of the 48th began a long, circuitous march to the Asiago
Plateau to become part of the mountain sector of the operation. They progressed in easy stages southwest to
Vincenza (3 April), where flowers were thrown on them by cheering crowds along the
streets and from balconies above, and then on to the reserve area around Arzignano where,
for the next two weeks, they underwent vigorous mountain combat training.
Around
this time, intensive German offensives started in France and Belgium. The 5th and 41st Divisions with General Plumer
were ordered to return to those areas. The
remaining 7th, 23rd and 48th Divisions joined General Lord Cavan (Frederick Rudolph
Lambart, Earl of Cavan; 1865-1946). He had
been despatched to Italy with 14th Corps in November 1917 and, following General
Plumer’s departure in March 1918, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British
forces on the Italian Front.
In
the third week of April, 48th Division resumed its march.
From Arzignano, it turned north and started the strenuous uphill route to
the Asiago Plateau via Cornedo and Sarcedo in the foothills to Granezza in the mountains,
some two miles south of the Austrian-held town of Asiago.
The men of 114th Brigade arrived on 21 April and fell exhausted into
their trenches cut from solid rock, while falling snow and/or freezing mist shrouded them. Over the next six months, they alternately fought
in these mountains or laboured in working parties in and out of the line on or near this
steep, rocky, pine-clad terrain, quite unlike anything they had experienced in France and
Belgium.
The
weather in May was fine, but as summer progressed the heat became extreme. Hundreds of men became sick with mountain fever, a
type of influenza. Marching, climbing and
fighting were, more often than not, carried out at night to avoid the heat. One dilemma of this night activity was that the
British soldiers’ light khaki uniforms glowed in the moonlight and could be easily
seen by the enemy. Another was the density
of the trees that only allowed the use of rifles and machine guns. Fortunately, the Brigade's shooting was allegedly
reasonably accurate, while the enemy's was wild. As
one Divisional officer remarked, “for sheer
intensity of fire, they had never seen anything to equal this [type of] duel during the
war.’’ It is difficult to deduce what part light trench
mortar batteries played in this type of terrain.
Soup kitchen,
Boscom, Asiago Plateau, showing
density of
trees. (Photo: Imperial War Museum, 1918.)
The
Allies had two objectives: one was to stop the Austrian advance, and the other was for the
mountain sector to turn its front onto the Piave while the river sector carried out a
frontal attack north across the river between the Montello and the sea. The first objective was successful in that the
Austrian divisions were more or less halted by 22 June (Battle of the Piave River
15-22 June) with smaller battles and skirmishes continuing until they were completely
defeated by early November.
On
19 June, to the sorrow of his men, 48th Division’s much-loved commander,
Major-General Sir Robert Fanshawe, was ordered to England.
Major-General Harold Walker succeeded him two weeks later (Brigadier-General
J. Steele acted in the interim). From
September 1918, longer hours were being worked in the front line because brigades were
ordered to decrease from four battalions to three (144th Brigade's 1/8th Worcestershire
Battalion returned to France). Around the
same time, 7th and 23rd Divisions were ordered to the Piave front leaving 48th Division as
the solitary British division in the Italian 6th Army.
The
second objective began on 24 October with the Battle of Vittorio Veneto and, by the
30th, the British, French and Italian divisions of the river sector had carried out a
successful attack north across the river. In
the mountain sector, the men of 144th Brigade mopped up in the rubble that was once Asiago
town on 1 November and then climbed to the northern side of Monte Catz near Boccolo
to await next day's expected attack. At
13,000 feet, that night was bitterly cold and the men had neither warm clothing nor
shelter. In spite of these conditions, by
nine o'clock next morning they had climbed a further 1000 feet to secure the peaks of
Monte Mosciach and Monte Iterotto, then they descended 1500 feet to where Val d'Assa and
Val Portule meet. Next day, 144th Brigade led
48th Division along Val d'Assa (thought to have inspired the opening section of Dante's Inferno) to the Austrian border at Ost [Osta,
Osteria] del Termine, where surrendering enemy soldiers swarmed from the steep forest
slopes and two of their trumpeters announced an Austrian general (alleged to be von Ritter
Romer) with another officer carrying a white flag.
After
surrender formalities on 3 November 1918, 48th Division’s Major-General Walker
decided to carry on into Austria, the first Allied formation in the European theatre of
the First World War to cross into enemy territory. 143rd
Brigade was appointed advanced guard, while 144th marched at the head of the main column. As the Division wound its way down some 3000 feet
into Val Sugana, through Vezzena, Caldonazzo and Pergine to Seregnano, the region's
Italian inhabitants hung out Italian flags to celebrate their freedom from Austria. At exactly three o'clock the next afternoon,
4 November, the armistice came into force and 48th Division halted, the leading
troops having reached Trento. Italian
divisions relieved them to continue the march through Austrian provinces.
Officers of
48th Division supervise their relief by Italian divisions in Val d’Assa. (Photo: Imperial War Museum, November 1918.)
Aftermath. In spite of war’s end, it was some months
before Allied soldiers returned home. Basil,
with 48th Division, rested in Val d’Assa for five days and then, because of the likelihood
of snow and blocked alpine passes, began the arduous five-day return climb (20-minute
ascents followed by 10-minute rests, when they could admire the magnificent views of the
Dolomite mountain region). As the panorama
diminished, 144th Brigade descended to the beautiful River Agno valley on
14 November. The men billeted in and
around the town of Malo, some 20 miles northwest of Vicenza (where flowers had been
thrown on them the previous April), expecting to stay there until ordered home.
Basil became sick on 3 December
1918. According to initial medical records,
he had severe influenza and was delirious for some days followed by some memory and voice
loss. He left his unit on the 8th and was
admitted on Christmas Day to No. 62 General Hospital, Bordighera on the Gulf of Genoa
near the French border. Three days later he
was taken to No. 81 General Hospital, Marseilles from where he was transported by
train to Le Havre. He departed France on
4 January 1919 arriving in Southampton on the 5th and was
admitted to Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, Hampshire the following day. On the 18th, he was again mentioned in despatches,
this time for action in Italy.
Basil H.
Bright’s 18 January 1919 Mentioned in Despatches certificate.
(Photo:
Valerie Bright, 2000.)
It might
be worth mentioning here what had happened to 1/7th
Worcestershire Regiment while Basil was in various hospitals. On 12 December 1918 it received orders to
quell some mutinous colonial troops in Taranto, southern Italy, a base for British stores. Arriving on the 15th, the worst was over so its
men had to guard stores for three months instead. They
rejoined 48th Division in northern Italy on 13 March 1919 and then, with
144th Brigade, arrived in England on 1 April, four years after it had left.
Returning
to Basil at Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, its Medical Board (MB) reported on 21 January
1919 that he had post influenzal dysphonia (unable to speak normally), his speech was
thick and slow and he needed strength to breath hard enough to make sounds. He had some memory loss and general sluggishness
of his mental processes. Tonic and exercise
were recommended. Still at Cosham, the MB of
4 March decided he had considerably improved. He
still found speaking difficult, especially when ill at ease. It recommended deep breathing exercises and
gymnastics under a good instructor and packed him off for a month’s home leave
(5 March to 5 April) in Maldon, Essex. Basil’s
next MB took place at Colchester, Essex, which reported on 14 April. For the first time shell shock and his wound of
3 September 1916 were introduced in an MB report; it still diagnosed dysphonia. It recommended he be admitted to the Prince of
Wales Hospital, Marylebone, London NW1. Meanwhile
he was to return home to await instructions.
By May
1919, it appears that the War Office had ‘lost’ Basil in the system but he
turned up, not at Prince of Wales Hospital, but Maudsley Neurological Hospital, Denmark
Hill, London SE5 where he had been admitted on 30 April. The hospital’s MB of 11 June diagnosed encephalitis
lethargica (sleepy sickness) of the cerebellar type (part of the brain at the back of
the skull that coordinates and regulates muscular activity). E. lethargica, thought to be a virus
infection, spread in epidemics between 1915 and 1925, but since has become rare. One of its many symptoms leads to mental changes
resulting in admission to an asylum.
There is
an ongoing debate about whether or not E. lethargica is connected with
influenza. The Maudsley MB made no mention of
influenza but noted: “He
was taken ill in December 1918 with acute pyrexia (fever) and severe constipation and
rapidly became unconscious. He had dyplopia
(double vision), severe bilateral ataxy (lack of muscular coordination) and cerebral
speech defect.’’ He also had “severe
ataxy of speech and well-marked nystagmus (involuntary movement of the eye). He is making progress towards recovery. Permanently unfit in all categories. To be discharged from hospital 12 June 1919.’’ Bright family myth has always maintained that
Basil had sleepy sickness and that he was in the Maudsley, so this confirmation is
pleasing. He was certainly very sick because,
as the story goes, a fellow officer visited his parents to tell them that Basil would not
survive.
Basil
returned to his parents’ house in Maldon and in July 1919 went through the process of
relinquishing his Temporary Captain rank. However,
on 26 August the London Gazette stated he was “to
relinquish his commission on account of ill heath and be granted the rank of Captain.’’ He had applied to the War Office on 1 August
for a wound gratuity believing his gunshot wound of 3 September 1916 was the reason
for his “loss of
power over my speech.’’ He argued that this loss of speech “is very
detrimental to the profession I am about to take up - law, and to me is more than equal to
the loss of a limb.’’ After a three-month flurry of War Office minutes,
it concluded on 21 October that Basil’s “present
disability is due to his illness of December 1918 and not to the slight wound of September
1916.’’ One can only guess that he did not receive a
gratuity, and conclude that he would be most interested to read his medical file, which,
no doubt, was out of bounds in those days but is now in the public domain.
As well as
the Military Cross, Basil was awarded Silver War Badge No. B.230807. This badge was issued to officers and men of the
First World War who served at home or abroad and who, on account of physical infirmity
arising from wounds or sickness caused by military service, had, in the case of officers,
retired or relinquished their commissions, or, in the case of men, been discharged from
the Army. Like most other servicemen, he was
also awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
In
spite of those grim years Basil spent in France, Belgium and Italy from 1915 to 1918, he
would later only chuckle and say, “The
only time I ever fired my revolver was to shoot a rat.’’ In spite of his medical record stating he had a
gunshot wound to his face, his children believe he was hit in the neck by shrapnel
because, when they were small and watched him shave, he would sometimes joke: “If
I cut my neck, a scrap of metal might pop out!’’
Basil
Bright’s medals: Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
(First World War) and Defence Medal (Second World War).
(Photo: Valerie Bright, 2000.)
After
the war. Basil passed his final law exams at the Law
Society, Chancery Lane, London WC2 in 1921, qualifying as a solicitor. He returned to work in Maldon, Essex at the
renamed F.H. Bright & Sons (now Bright & Sons) for the next 50 years,
retiring as senior partner.
Bright
& Sons, Solicitors, West Square, Maldon.
(Photo:
Richard Wilkins, 2004.)
Basil
married Irene Helen Kenyon (1902-89) in St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury, Shropshire on
2 July 1925. Their children are William
(Bill; 1926-), Elizabeth (1930-), Richard (1934-) and Penelope (1936-).
Basil
aged 30. (Engagement photo, 1925.) Irene aged 23. (Engagement photo, 1925.)
Bill,
Richard, Irene, Elizabeth, Penelope and (Lt Col) Basil Bright,
Hailey
House, Maldon. (Photo: 1944.)
Basil joined the Local Defence Volunteers (renamed Home Guard in mid-1940) part
time 1940-45 as one of five majors in 2nd Essex Battalion, Eastern Command, based in
Maldon. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
in or after 1942. He was awarded the Defence
Medal. Basil served in the Home Guard again
from 1952 when it was resurrected to assist in countering Communism and other threats. However, by 1956 it more or less only existed on
paper and was disbanded.
(Major) Basil
Bright, 2nd Essex Battalion, Home Guard.
(Photo: Irene
Bright, 1941.)
During
those 50 years, Basil was appointed deputy town clerk (to his father) in the late
1920s, served as Clerk to the Justices 1946-65 in both Maldon and Dengie, and after they
amalgamated. His father held the same
position from 1887 to 1946.
Basil,
aged 70, when he was presented with a solid silver mustard pot on retirement as Maldon
& Dengie Clerk to the Justices. (Photo:
1965.)
Basil
was Secretary to the Maldon Probation Committee. He
was a founder member of the Maldon & Heybridge Branch of the British Legion (now Royal
British Legion), was its president for some decades until his death in 1971, and visited
Frankfurt, Germany with it in June/July 1936. As
a life-long member of All Saints Church, Maldon, Basil was a sidesman and vicar's warden,
sat on the Parochial Church Council and played a major role in the acquisition of land
for, and the building of the church hall. He
was clerk to the trustees of the George Courthauld Educational Trust, president of the
Maldon Constitutional Club, and one-time secretary of the Essex Game Guild and its
treasurer at the time of his death. Basil was
also president of the Maldon Rugby Club for 10 years, vice-president of the Maldon
Bowling Club, and one-time captain and vice-president of the Maldon Golf Club. He played a good game of tennis and golf, and
enjoyed game shooting and gardening.
Basil
suffered a stroke at home at Star House, Bicknacre in early April 1971 and died in
Chelmsford & Essex Hospital at 5 a.m. on 22 April 1971 when he was
76 years old. His funeral service was
held in All Saints Church, Maldon, followed by cremation at Chelmsford Crematorium where
his ashes were scattered in its memorial garden. In
an Essex Chronicle obituary, an anonymous
correspondent felt moved to write that Basil Bright ‘’was
modest beyond belief, and sought always to serve rather than to take office. Yet he never shirked what he saw to be his duty,
and served with distinction in many public fields.’’
He
lived at Cromwell House, Cromwell Hill, Maldon, Essex (1895-1925). After he married, he first lived at Hailey House,
39 London Road, Maldon, Essex (1925-60; named after his school house at Haileybury)
and then at Star House, Bicknacre, Chelmsford, Essex (1960-71). Bicknacre was where his WW1 training and
experience began. He had come full circle.
Cromwell House.
Hailey House,
(Photo:1950)
Star House, (Photo:
1962)
(Photo:Richard Wilkins, 2004.)
Acknowledgements
Lt Col C.
Patrick Love, TD, M Ed, Worcestershire Regiment Museum Trust (for information about Basil
Bright in Essex, France, Belgium and Italy, his Military Cross and Silver War Badge, and
for welcome comments and editing).
Mr Guy
Smith (for putting this account and photographs of Basil Bright’s uniform in his
possession on this website and for locating his medical records at The National Archives,
Kew).
Sources
Dopson,
F.W., 1938. The 48th Divisional Signal
Company in the Great War. Privately
printed. (48th Division)
Everyman's
Encyclopaedia, 1961. (Silver War Badge.)
Gilbert,
Martin, 1994, 2nd edition. The Routledge
Atlas of the First World War. (France,
Belgium and Italy.)
Home Guard
List, Eastern Command, 1941. Published from original material held by the
Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books. Savannah
Publications, undated. (1941 rank,
battalion.)
Love,
C.P., c.1972.
History of the 7th and 8th Battalions,
The Worcestershire Regiment, Territorial Force. Typescript
document held in The Worcestershire Regiment's Archives, Norton Barracks, Worcester. (144th LTMB.)
Mackenzie,
S.P., 1996. The Home Guard: the real
story of ‘Dad’s Army’. Oxford
University Press. (Home Guard.)
Pears
Medical Encyclopaedia illustrated revised edition, 1979.
(Sleepy sickness.)
Stacke, H.
FitzM., 1928. The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War. G.T. Cheshire, Kidderminster. (France, Belgium, Italy)
Stanley,
Peter. 'The "Shoot and Scoot
Brigade"', In Wartime (official magazine
of the Australian War Memorial), No. 2, April 1998, pp. 29-33. (LTMBs.)
The
National Archives, Kew. File WO 374/9041,
Capt B.H. Bright. (Medical records.)
Websites
www.firstworldwar.com/source/bio/cavan.htm. (Earl of Cavan.)
www.gazettes-online.co.uk. (Military Cross.)
http://1914-1918.net/48div.htm. (48th Division.)
www.warpath.orbat.com/divs/48_div.htm. (48th Division.)
Penelope Wilkins, 2005.
