Gone but not forgotten

G o n e b u t n o t f o r G o t t e n

Nigel à Brassard remembers some of Britain’s most promising young polo players, who were cruelly cut down in their prime

‘By the close of 1918, emerged an England where the Grim Reaper had gathered with no sparing hand from the very fower of sportsmen. An England where the whole balance of fnancial values had altered. An England where everyone had been too busily employed in inevitable tasks to consider the training of polo ponies,’ recorded British Sports and Sportsmen: Polo and Coaching gravely, circa 1920.

Polo has been fttingly described as ‘the soldier’s game’ and therefore it is no surprise that polo-playing regiments played an active part in World War I. Inevitably, some of Britain’s top and most promising players lost their lives. Throughout the war, The Polo Monthly ga zet te continued publication, and included in each issue an interminable Roll of Honour of those killed, wounded, missing in action or taken prisoner. Included on the lists were twin brothers Rivy and Francis Grenfell, Noel Edwards, Leslie Cheape and Bertie Wilson. This year, a century since the start of the war, we celebrate the achievements – on the polo felds and the battlefelds – of these brave young men.

Captain Riversdale ‘Rivy’ Nonus Grenfell (1880-1914) was a member of the Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars and attached to the 9th (Queen’s Royal) Lancers. The ninth son of 15 children of Mr Pascoe du Pré Grenfell, he was educated at Eton College, where he was a member of Pop – the colloquial name for the Eton Society, an elite group of sixth-form prefects – and a whip of the school’s beagle pack. While on a visit to see his brother in India in 1906, he won the Kadir Cup for pigsticking – a game in which wild pig are hunted by mounted spearmen. According to The Polo Monthly, Rivy (9-goal) and his 8-goal twin, Captain Francis Octavius Grenfell (1880-1915), were ‘magnifcent players and did as much as any towards the revival and development of modern polo. They played a dashing and open-handed game.’

The brothers won the Ranelagh Novices’ Cup, the Hurlingham Open, the American Open Championship and the Public Schools’ Cup, and played together for England against Ireland for the Patriotic Cup. They formed an Old Etonian side to win the Westchester Cup in 1910, but had to give up this challenge when Francis suffered an accident while steeplechasing. Rivy also won the Roehampton Cup on two occasions, as well as the All-Ireland Open. He was killed in action in the Battle of the Aisne on 14 September 1914, aged 34, and is buried at the British Cemetery in VendresseBeaulne, where his epitaph includes the family motto ‘Loyal Devoir’.

Francis was a member of the 9th (Queen’s Royal) Lancers and, like Rivy, educated at Eton, where he was in the frst X I for cricket, a member of Pop and the master of the beagles. He received a commission in the 3rd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders and, in 1901, was gazetted second lieutenant in the King’s Royal Rife Corps. He served in the South African War from 1901 to 1902, when he received the Queen’s Medal with fve clasps. In 1905, he

Above Captain Riversdale ‘Rivy’ Grenfell, pictured in polo garb in a reproduction print from the original, which was published in The World c1900

joined the 9th Lancers as lieutenant and was promoted to captain in 1912.

In addition to his considerable successes playing with his brother, Francis also won the Army Cup, the Ranelagh Subalterns’ Challenge Cup and the South African Polo Championship. On 16 November 1914, he was the frst British Army offcer of the war to be gazetted for the award of the Victoria Cross. The citation reads: ‘For gallantry in action against unbroken infantry at Andregnies, Belgium, on 24th August 1914, and for gallant conduct in assisting to save the guns of the 119th Battery Royal Field Artillery, near Dourbon, the same day.’

Francis was severely wounded on two occasions and mortally wounded by shrapnel aged 35, during a gas attack at Hooge in the Ypres Salient on 24 May 1915. His last words were: ‘I die happy. Tell the men I love my squadron.’ In his will, he made a bequest: ‘I give my regiment – to whom the honour of my gaining the Victoria Cross was entirely due, thanks to the splendid discipline and traditions which exist in this magnifcent regiment – all my medals, including the VC.’ It is displayed at the Regimental Museum of the 9th/12th Lancers in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery. Francis is buried in the Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery in Ypres.

On the death of the Grenfell brothers, a memorial fund was set up in support of the Invalid Children’s Aid Association – which is still in existence, renamed I Can, and helps those with communication diffculties – the Islington branch of which had been founded by Rivy. On 23 February 1919, at the Parish Church of St Mary & All Saints in Beaconsfeld, Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell unveiled a pair of richly coloured stained-glass windows in memory of his two nephews. They bear the touching inscription: ‘They were lovely and pleasant in their lives and, in their death, they were not divided.’

Captain Arthur Noel Edwards (1883-1915), known as Noel, was a fellow member of the 9th (Queen’s Royal) Lancers. He received his commission in 1903 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1905 and to captain in 1912. In June 1915, The Polo Monthly stated that Edwards, who had reached a 9-goal handicap, ‘will be remembered as one of the fnest polo players of his time’. Meanwhile, The Times noted that he ‘is a fne horseman and has a knack of being ubiquitous without appearing to leave his place. He can get the last ounce out of any pony after the shortest acquaintance.’

Edwards twice represented Britain in the Westchester Cup: in 1911, in which he scored all the goals in both matches, and in 1913. He won the Hurlingham Open, the Ranelagh Open, the Ranelagh Subalterns’ Challenge, the All-Ireland Open and the Patriotic Cup.

The Grenf ell twins did as much as any towards the revival of modern polo

Opposite, from left The Grenfell twins in uniform and on the polo feld This page Francis Grenfell leading the charge of the 9th Lancers on 24 August 1914 – an endeavour that earned him the Victoria Cross – from The War Illustrated Album De Luxe, 1916

In December 1914, in a faux pas worthy of Mark Twain’s famous retort that ‘reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated’, a journalist from a reputable London illustrated weekly prematurely reported Edwards’ demise, claiming he ‘met his death in a dramatic manner in a cavalry affair in the earlier days of the war. Our lads had put the wind up a German cavalry patrol and were in pursuit. Edwards went out “hot fut” after a German offcer. “I’ve got him! ” he shouted, as he sat down and sent his horse along best pace; but just then, the German turned in his saddle and fred his revolver. “No, by God! He’s got me! ” said Edwards, as he reeled and fell. They were the last words he spoke, for the bullet had found its billet.’ In fact, Edwards died, on 25 May 1915 in hospital, aged 31, as the result of a poison-gas attack during the Second Battle of Ypres. He is buried at the Bailleul Communal Cemetery.

Captain Leslie St Clair Cheape (1882-1916) was a member of the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards, and attached to the Worcestershire Yeomanry. A 10-goaler, at the time, he was widely regarded as England’s greatest polo player. He was a brilliant horseman, had ridden to hounds from an early age, won a number of victories ‘over the sticks’ and was a ‘capital swordsman and shot, and good at most games.’ In 1911, as part of the Indian Polo Association team, he won the King’s Coronation Cup. He also won the Ranelagh Open, the Roehampton Junior Championship, the Roehampton Cup and the Patriotic Cup and represented Britain in the Westchester Cup on three occasions.

In 1914, the fnal match of the Westchester Cup had to be delayed as Cheape was hit in the face by a polo ball, which broke his nose. The New York Times reported: ‘What’s the matter with Capt. Cheape? Barring a couple of holes in his face – besides his ears – and a blue-green black eye and a busted nose, with left nostril well stuffed with medicated lint, Capt. Cheape is what Sheridan would have called a “pretty gentleman”. Moreover, and likewise, he is a mighty pretty polo player, even on nothing but strange mounts.’ In the autumn of 1915, Cheape was serving in the Dardanelles strait when he suffered severe injuries to his head and face. He was reported missing and it was later confrmed that he had been killed in battle, aged 33, on Easter Sunday, 23 April 1916, in Palestine, while commanding a squadron of the Worcestershire Yeomanry. He is buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery.

Captain Herbert ‘Bertie’ Haydon Wilson, DSO (1875-1917) was a member of the Royal Horse Guards. He was the son of Sir Samuel Wilson of Victoria, Australia. He fought in the South African War, where he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order and was twice mentioned in dispatches. His polo triumphs were considerable and included the All-Ireland Open, the Ranelagh Open, the Hurlingham Open, the Social Clubs’ Cup, the Army Cup, the Roehampton Cup, the Public Schools’ Cup and the Irish County Challenge – some of these on many occasions. A 9-goaler, he represented England against Ireland, played in the Roehampton team that won the gold medal

Above The conditions endured in the trenches by men and animals alike were extremely challenging Left A British soldier and his horse, both in gas masks

in the 1908 Olympics and three times in the Westchester Cup, and was a member of the Hurlingham Club Committee. He was killed in action near Arras on 11 April 1917, aged 42, and is buried at the Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery in Arras.

The September 1917 edition of The Polo Monthly reported solemnly that, ‘In memory of fallen players, the original fags of the Union Jack and Stars and Stripes, which were fown at Meadowbrook, USA, have been sent by the Polo Association of America to the Hurlingham Club with a letter honouring those of our players who have fallen in battle. This grateful act on the part of our new ally will be keenly appreciated by their fellow players on this side.’

The fve gifted players whose achievements are commemorated in this article are just a few of the many gallant young heroes who, in the spring of 1919, would have been thinking of their polo ponies had fate not tragically intervened. As Rudyard Kipling wrote, ‘There is but one task for all – one life for each to give. What stands if Freedom fall? Who dies if England live? ’