Lt-Col John Henry Langton DSO

[Jonathan Saunders]

David,

I tried sending you an email last night but as it isnt in my sent box today I presume it has gone awol. In the circumstances I thought it safest to post straight on to the forum.

At various times when I have been researching a local man (Gillignham/Rainham, Kent), I kept finding small bits of info on his wife's family and made notes accordingly with a view to digging deeper at a later date, which is now!

One of this family's members was a Lt-Col, RE, or so I thought, but it turns out he was an RE regular retiring as Sergeant-Major in 1910. I presume he was a Reservist in 1914 and was back in the Engineers shortly after the outbreak of war and later commissioned. He then transferred to the RWF in Sept 1915, was listed as a Major in the army list of 1918, awarded DSO for Messines Ridge in 1917 and retired a Lt-Col.

I know he saw service with the 4/RWF, although I am unclear if this was his only infantry bttn/regiment, although I have my suspicions it was.

In yr expansive info on the RWF do you have any details of this man that you could add to my knowledge of him. I did post details on the forum yesterday under Lt-Col John Henry Langton DSO RE. As yet I have not tried to find his record at the PRO/NA but will do so in due course.

Many thanks in advance for any help/suggestions/details you can provide.

[Muerrisch]

OK, I have both that and your e-mail. He is not a name I know, but I have just about every AL for RWF during war and indeed from c. 1897 to 1925 so if he's there I shall have him. List also gives battalions, of course, so we shall see.

[Muerrisch]

Langton joined the Rifle Brigade in 1888 as a Private, transferred to RE, served SA war 1900 to 1902. Retired as SqnSM Mounted Branch RE 1910. Outbreak war commissioned into RE, served France 41st Div RE. Promoted Major and gazetted 28 Jan 1917 to 4RWF in France, ran regimental riding school at Bouvelinghem, commanded 4RWF from Feb to Jul 1917. T/Lt Col, awarded DSO whilst attd. 24 Bn London Rgt for conspicuous organizing ability in connection with Messines Ridge attack. Awarded brevet as Lt Col. Recommended twice for CMG during retreat 1918 when he kept back large numbers of enemy with just a handful of men. A/Lt Col 25 Sep 1918 to 16 Dec 1919 commanding 4RWF to end of hostilities and brought them back to Wrexham May 1919.

DSO LG 1/1/18

Mid LG 18/12/17 and 27/12/18.

Ask and it shall be given

[Jonathan Saunders]

David,

I am very grateful for yr comprehensive summary. I knew you would have all the answers.

Thanks again!

Sigs

[Jonathan Saunders]

Just some more trivia for anyone that has followed this thread.

I have been a bit slow on this one, for example not immediately realising Willingham on the Cambridgeshire 203 Field Company Roll of Honour was a spelling error for Gillingham, which his army life aside, had been his home. Long after his death I was for years playing football for a Medway League football team and we played at Langtons Playing Fields in Gillingham.

I will have to delve deeper again as I wouldnt have thought from his background that Langton could afford to own the ground in the first place to either give or sell it to the Council (plenty of room for hockey and two cricket pitches on the top half and four football pitches on the bottom half), but it does seem more than a coincidence that these fields were so named.

Also strange that they didnt name them after Les Ames, the great England and Kent wicket-keeper batsman whose backgarden would have literally backed onto the playing fields.

More research I think is required. Langton was awarded an MSM shortly before he died in the mid 50's, so perhaps that will tie in to the naming of the playing fields in some way.

Amazing how I start with a Preston born man who came south to teach the Chatham dockyard class, get caught up with his in-laws and end up arriving at my old home ground in the local leagues!

Back to the tablets ...

[Jonathan Saunders]

For anyone that followed this thread (specifically Cliff Brown who had an interest) I have found out more information from local contemporary newspapers and parish records about John Langton - although it only provides a framework it is obvious his was anything but an uneventful or mediocre service career. As normal with the local press I expect some accuracy has been "muddled" in the writing of the presscopy. As it is there are some small contradictions between the three different reports. I apologise for the length of the extracts but hope they will be of general interest to some of the PALS.

Chatham News, 26 April 1919:

"Lt-Col Langton is an old Gillingham boy who has made remarkable headway in the army. He rejoined as a CSM in the 12th Signal Coy of the RE early in Sept 1914; was given a commission as a full Lt. in March 1915; was promoted to Capt. in Nov of the same year; and was promoted to Major and was transferred to the 2nd Pioneer Bttn in Feb 1917. He had three periods of command as Acting Lt-Col. He went all through the March Retreat and got special mention, and was then given command of the Bttn, and was specially promoted on the field to Temp. Lt-Col. He has served in the 12th, 35th, 41st and 47th Divs, and was awarded the DSO and was 5 times mentioned in Dispatches by Sir Douglas Haig. He served continuously in the field on the WF and took part in practically all the historic struggles, inc. Vimy Ridge, Messines, Cambrai, Bourlon Wood, Paschendaele and all the fighting leading up to the Armistice. He returned to duty in France yesterday."

Chatham News, Nov 1952 (extracted from the report concerning the occasion of his Golden Wedding):

"Col. Langton, holder of the DSO and MSM, has a distinguished service record. He enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in 1888 and nearly 2 years later transferred to the RE. "I was only 16 yrs and 4 months, but to get into the army I put my age on 2 yrs", Col Langton told a reporter. He served in India, Aden and S. Africa and was mentioned in Lord Kitchener's dispatches for general good work throughout the campaign in Africa. He was married in 1902 (married Catherine Mary Stapley at St. Mark's, Gillingham, 25 Oct 1902) "on the strength of the Corps", which entitled him to allowances for his wife, who returned to S. Africa with him for a further period of service. 3 of thier children were born there. Col. Langton was recommended for the award of the MSM in 1907 but it was not until last yr, 44 yrs later, that he received the medal. He took his first discharge from the army in 1910 as a CSM with a pension of 2s 3d a day, but in Aug 1914, following Lord Kitchener's appeal for instructors to train the new armies, he re-enlisted. In March 1915 he was gazetted a 2 Lt and by the end of the same yr had become a Capt. Although over the age limit for service overseas he volunteered for that and saw heavy fighting in France, where he eventually commanded a Bttn of the RWF and was promoted to Lt-Col. He was mentioned 6 times in dispatches for "gallant and distinguished services in the feild" in France, and was awarded the DSO in 1918. He was promoted Brevet Lt-Col and was demobilised in 1919. During the last war he commanded a Bttn of the Home Guard in Cambridgeshire. Col Langton, who was brought to Gillingham when he was 6 mths old (born in nearby Milton), was a Conservative representative on the Borough Council during the 1920s but did not seek re-election as he was contemplating leaving the district. During his younger days he rowed and played football for the RE at Gillingham and become a member of the Referee's Association".

Chatham News Obituary, 3 Feb 1956

Col Langton, who was 83, died at home in Gillingham. "He spent all his younger days in Gillingham before embarking upon a career in the RE. He served during the S. African war and after 22 yrs in the Corps, retired in 1910. He rejoined the army upon the outbreak of the 1914-18 war, in which he served with distinction and was awarded the DSO for services at Vimy Ridge. After the war he went into business as a greengrocer and also started the Ubique bus undertaking. Later he became the licencee of the "Prince of Orange" in Chatham High St and then moved to Cambs to take a similar hostelry. During the last war he formed a Bttn of the Home Guard at Cambridge and served with that unit as a Major for 2 yrs. In 1944 he returned to the Medway Towns to reside in Rochester, before moving to Canterbury St., Gillingham. A wife, 4 sons, 4 daughters, 12 grandchildren and 1 great grandson are bereaved."

Next task is to try and find out if any of his decendants still live locally. What a shame he didnt feel inclined to publish his memoirs, not least his experiences on the WF. I bet there are not many Lt-Cols who have retired to a life as a town greengrocer and/or publican. Finally I dont suppose many marriage certificates have the bride's father named as a Lt-Col, and the groom as a Sgt., RE!

[Jonathan Saunders]

I forgot to mention that the Langton Playing Fields in Gillingham were named after a W.F. Langton, who had been the local councillor responsible for the fields introduction to the community. I believe this was John's younger brother, William, but was unable to confirm this from the material at the local studies centre.

[cliff brown]

Langton was a Major, officer commanding A company, 1st Cambridgeshire Home Guard, between March 1941 and January 1942. (Source: 'They Also Served' - which is the story of the Home Guard in Cambs and the Isle of Ely.

[Jonathan Saunders]

Thanks Cliff. I have pre-ordered sight of his service file tomorrow at the PRO. I am unsure how complete this will be, but will post any findings of interest on this thread.

[Jonathan Saunders]

Cliff,

His service file was quite large ... give me a week or so to go through all the info I have and I will get back to you (also had a quick look at the 4/RWF War Diary for the period he served with them).

Apparently when he moved to Cambs, he lived in Willingham (I guess it was easy for him to remember his address that way!) but in truth, he was a native of Gillingham (Kent) where he spent all his childhood and most of his non-military life!

Sigs