William Murrell Lummis | |
|---|---|
 Canon W. M. Lummis | |
| Born | 4 June 1886 |
| Died | 2 November 1985 (aged 99 years) |
| Nationality |  United Kingdom |
| Other names | Canon William Murrell Lummis |
| Occupation(s) | Soldier,Church of Englandclergyman |
| Known for | Military history |
CanonWilliam Murrell LummisMC (4 June 1886 – 2 November 1985) was a British military historian most noted for the research he conducted on theVictoria Cross, theCharge of the Light Brigade, andRorke's Drift.[1]
Born inCoddenham,Suffolk, Lummis was the oldest of seven children born to George Murrell Lummis (1860–1912) and Louisa Sparrow (1854–1933).[2] After leaving school at the age of 14, Lummis worked as a clerk in a Magistrates' Clerk's Office in his hometown of Coddenham before enlisting, aged 18, in the11th Hussars as a trooper in 1904.[3] By 1911 he was aLance Sergeant and became responsible, amongst other duties, for the editing of the 11th Hussars' regimental journal.[3] At that time he met the survivors of theCharge of the Light Brigade who had gathered for a reunion. In 1912 he endeavoured to create a complete and accurate roll of the men who had served in the 11th Hussars in theCrimean War.[4]
By the outbreak of theFirst World War in August 1914, he wasRegimental Quartermaster Sergeant, the youngest in theBritish Army. He served on theWestern Front throughout the War, taking part in theRetreat from Mons and seeing action inFlanders.[4] He was commissioned in 1916[5] and transferred to his county regiment, theSuffolk Regiment, serving with the regiment's second battalion for the remainder of the war.[3] He was awarded theMilitary Cross (MC) for bravery on 21–23 August 1918 during theSecond Battle of the Somme.[3] He commanded the battalion on 23 October 1918 at its last First World War action, theBattle of the Selle, when it took all its objectives.[3] The full citation for his MC appeared inThe London Gazette in November 1918, by which time the war was over, and reads as follows:
For conspicuous gallantry and good leadership. Through thick fog he led his company, under complete control, to the objective. He personally rushed an enemy machine gun and killed the crew. Later he led his company forward with great determination, in face of very heavy fire. He set a splendid example of determined courage to those under him.[6]
After the war ended, he remained in the army, serving inIndia,Britain andIreland. He was appointed Adjutant and Quarter-Master in the Army School of Education in India, returning toEngland in 1925,[3] rejoining his regiment on 14 October.[7] He was promoted tocaptain on 21 January 1928,[8] and on 9 December 1930 he reached the retirement age for service,[9] remaining in the reserve of officers for a further five years.[10] On leaving the Army he researched the other fourLight Brigade regiments which had also taken part in the Charge of the Light Brigade.[4]
Lummis was ordaineddeacon in theChurch of England in 1930.[3] Moving back to his home county of Suffolk, his first living was atSt Matthew's Church, Ipswich, followed by other appointments in the county, includingRural Dean ofSouth Elmham.[3] In 1955, he became aCanon of theDiocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.[3] After retirement, he went to live inBarnham Broom inNorfolk, though he continued in the ministry, holding various part-time appointments in nearby parishes, and acting as Rural Dean of Higham.[3]
Lummis ranBoy Scout troops from 1909, firstly atShorncliffe and later atAldershot, inIndia, and atIpswich andKesgrave until the late 1930s. In 1948 he was re-commissioned as aChaplain to the Forces, 4th Class, with the SuffolkArmy Cadet Force,[11] and in 1950 became alieutenant, also in the Suffolk ACF,[12] and continued to serve until his retirement in 1954.[13]
Although his main interest was military history, he also wrote two books on English parishes. He was also active in the Suffolk Institute of Archeology and the Suffolk Preservation Society.[3][4] Throughout his life, he shared his work with others, encouraging them to continue work that he had started. In his 98th year, he appeared in aBBC television programme,Timewatch, recounting his memories of meeting survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade.[3] He was the first honorary president of theCrimean War Research Society[14] andchaplain tothe Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, whose membership is made up exclusively of recipients of those awards.
Lummis' interest inVictoria Cross recipients started when he was a schoolboy in the 1890s. He built up an archive of the service records and final resting places of Victoria Cross holders, summarising the results in a pamphlet. However, Lummis perceived short-comings in his work and encouragedDavid Harvey to continue and develop it, making his archives available to him. The result was Harvey's seminal bookMonuments to Courage.
Lummis' first regiment, the11th Hussars rode in theCharge of the Light Brigade during theCrimean War. Whilst editing the regimental journal, Lummis met and interviewed many surviving members of the Charge.[1][3] (The last veteran of Balaklava died in 1927)[15] Hearing about the 1875 reunion when over 2000 men claimed to have taken part, he set about preparing a roll of those who charged, soon fleshing the list out with biographies. Over his lifetime, this built into a major archive, acknowledged as a major source byLawrence W. Crider for his book,In Search of the Light Brigade.[16] Lummis was also the co-author, with Kenneth G. Wynn, ofHonour the Light Brigade, which was published when he was 83 years old.[4]
It is unclear when his interest in the Zulu Wars developed but his 1978 bookPadre George Smith ofRorke's Drift was a detailed analysis of the part played by Smith in the famous battle ofRorke's Drift during theZulu War of 1879. The book showed that Smith's involvement in the defence of the mission station had been seriously overlooked in favour of the more famous participants, such asJohn Chard andGonville Bromhead, who had wonVictoria Crosses during the action. Padre Smith is depicted in the centre ofAlphonse de Neuville's famous 1880 painting 'The Defence of Rorke's Drift' distributing ammunition to the defenders.[17]
His collection of artefacts (including many photographs) and his archives from his Victoria Cross and Light Brigade research were deposited with theImperial War Museum[18] and theNational Army Museum. When the Royal Mail produced a series of stamps in 2006 commemorating the Victoria Cross, they featured photographs and artifacts from the Lummis archive at theNational Army Museum.[19] His tape-recorded memoirs, covering the period 1904–1919, are in theImperial War Museum sound archives.[20] His notes and papers on the histories of Norfolk parishes (1931–1967) went to theNorfolk Record Office.[21] HisCrimean War archives were shared withDave Harvey, Ken Horton, Glenn Fisher, Andrew Sewell, Roy Mills,[22] andEdward James Boys.[22] Since Lummis' death in 1985, theCrimean War Research Society has awarded the Canon Lummis Trophy annually for original research into theCrimean War.
William Lummis married Agnes Templeton (1897–1976) in 1919[3] and was the father of Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Templeton Lummis (1920–1999) of the Suffolk Regiment and a World War II military historian.
