Lives of the First World War

1914 - 1918

Two Families in the Great War: Three Brothers and a Brother-in Law Served, Only One Survived There must be many stories about how families were affected by the Great War. This is ours. The connection is Grace Emily Millachip who married into the Spencer family. Brothers Edmund Spencer, George Spencer, James Hilary Spencer Brother-in-Law John Septimus Millachip John Septimus Millachip January 7, 1883 - September 26, 1916 He was born in Brondesbury, Middlesex to William Thorp Millachip and Emily Gear. He immigrated to Canada and subsequently married Sylvia Frederick Webb in Winnipeg in 1911. In November 1914, he enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force and entered France in 1915. In 1926, he was in the Battle of the Somme. He was reported missing presumed dead; his body was never recovered. A memorial stone was placed on the grave of his parents and he is memorialized on the Canadian Vimy Memorial in France. We do not know anything about his widow. John's younger sister Grace Emily (January 5, 1891 - June 7, 1962) married Lieutenant George Spencer on October 19, 1915. In February 1918, George was on a ship in the Irish Sea when it was torpedoed. He and the captain and about half the men on the ship were rescued. Two months later, on April 23, 1918, George was the navigating officer on HMS Iris and was mortally wounded during the raid on Zeebrugge. In spite of his wounds (shattered right leg), he was able to provide instructions so the ship could return to Dover. He died in the Naval Hospital, Gillingham, Kent, later that same day. One month after his death, on May 24, 1918, Grace gave birth to their daughter Iris Mary. Her first name memorialized the ship on which her father was wounded. Grace never remarried. She died on June 7, 1962. George had two brothers who also served in the Great War. Edmund Spencer June 19, 1876 - January 4, 1936 The eldest of seven siblings, he held the rank of Gunner with the Royal Field Artillery. In 1918, he was captured by the Germans and held in the Giessen POW camp in Germany. He was released from military service in 1922. He died in 1936. He was a recognized chess player and his games are still cited today. Following his death, the Northern Counties Chess Union (NCCU) instituted the Edmund Spencer Trophy to commemorate his success in chess games and tournaments and his work for the Union as treasurer and secretary. James Hilary Spencer January 13, 1894 - July 15, 1918 James was George's youngest brother. In 1909 he entered the King's School Worcester where he was successful at a number of activities. In 1913, he received the Oxford University Squire Scholarship for Divinity, and attended for a year. In August 1914 he volunteered and obtained a commission in his county regiment, the Lancashire Fusiliers. In 1915, he took part in the landing at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli and was partially maimed. After spending several months in the hospital, he returned home to duty as Instructor at Hull. He achieved the rank of Captain in 1917 and was sent to the front in France. He was reported missing and wounded on April 12, 1918. He was taken prisoner by the Germans and held in the Limburg POW camp in Limburg an der Lahn, Hesse, Germany. German records show he was shot in the knee and died of his wounds on July 15th, 1918. The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) notification card lists Miss M. B. Paulsen of Hull as his fiancée but we know nothing more about her. James Hilary has a memorial marker on the grounds of King's School Worcester. Acknowledgement: Much of this information in his obituary provided by the King's School Worcester. William "Bill" Spencer May 25, 1884 - July 12, 1949 The second oldest brother, he did not serve in the military but worked in munitions for the Kynoch Company, Birmingham. (This information is from an article from the Observer and Times. No place or date, but from the text, it was the week following the marriage of George and Grace on October 19, 1915, and mentions the Vicar of Accrington.) In a family biography, his sister Hannah wrote: George and William used to be very much interested in the work of a small foundry quite near the Vicarage at Haslingden, and if they disappeared for an hour or so it often happened that they had been into the foundry to watch iron being

Created by: , Catherine42750