The mortal remains of Capt. Herbert Claude Morton, RMLI, were laid to rest in St Nicholas Cemetery, Rochester, on Tuesday afternoon, the first portion of the Burial Service being conducted in the Cathedral, where the deceased office was married, on September 17th, 1908, to Evelyn St Aubyn Lennard, eldest daughter of Col. and Mrs DL Barratt, late of Star-hill, Rochester. Captain Morton, who was 34 years of age, was the only son of Mr John Ellis Morton, of County Cavan, and Mrs Werry, of Cowes, Isle of Wight. He served during the campaign in China and was awarded the medal. His home was at Gosport.
[Chatham, Rochester and Brompton Observer: Saturday 5th December 1914]
The early life of Herbert Claude Morton is a challenge to piece together. The 1911 census states that he was born in France, and confirms that he and Evelyn were living with their then two children at 139 Stoke Road, Gosport, Hampshire.
This was the only census on which Herbert features and, as the “campaign in China” that the newspaper reported would have been the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, this may account for the lack of other documentation for him.
When war broke out, Captain Morton assigned to the battleship HMS Bulwark. He was on board Bulwark on the 26th November 1914, when she was moored close to Sheerness, Kent. That morning, an explosion ripped through the ship, sinking it and killing more than 740 people. Herbert was amongst them: he was 34 years of age.
The body of Herbert Claude Morton was laid to rest in a marked grave in St Nicholas’ Cemetery, Rochester, Kent.
The summer after her husband’s death, Evelyn gave birth to another child, daughter Stella, who would never know her father.
Alexander Augustus Maurice Leslie was born in France in 1852. One of five children, his parents were Government Secretary of State Francis Leslie and his French wife, Josephine.
Alexander’s mother died when he was 8 years old, by which point the family had moved back to Britain. Francis had set up home in Ealing, Middlesex, and they were living at 15 Castlebar Road, a Victorian villa.
When he completed his schooling, Alexander sought out a military life. The 1881 census recorded him as a Lieutenant in the Suffolk Regiment, living in St Helier, Jersey. He had married the year before, to Louisa Cumming, a surgeon’s daughter from Devon. They had a son, Maurice, by this point, and a daughter, Ida, was born the following year.
Lieutenant Leslie’s service records are sparse, but a later newspaper report fills in some of the gaps: “Leslie’s military experience, which extended… over a period of about 25 years, included participation in the Egyptian campaign in 1884, and service on the West Coast of Africa, in Jamaica, and in India.” [Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 30th April 1919]
During her husband’s time overseas, Louisa raised the children back home in Devon. She passed away in 1901, but which point, Alexander had retired with the rank of Captain. That year’s census found him living with Maurice and Ida at 14 Spencer Hill in Wimbledon, Surrey, a large detached villa. Maurice, now 20 years of age, was working as an accountant’s clerk, and the family had a live-in servant called Rose.
The next census record, from 1911, recorded Alexander living in rooms at 46 Leinster Gardens, Paddington. A substantial Georgian property, his landlady was Eveline Giradet, whose other residents included a barrister and a banker. Alexander’s occupation was now noted as Retired Major in the British Army.
From this point, Alexander’s trail grows cold. It is likely that he was called upon to play a part in the global conflict that broke out in 1914, though exactly when and how he did so is unclear. Records suggest he was admitted to Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital on Millbank, Middlesex on 28th September 1916, suffering from syphilis. He only remained there for a couple of days, and his increasing age and health may have led to his retirement from duty.
For the past four years Major Alexander Maurice Leslie, who was for a period of a quarter of a century connected with the Royal Sussex Regiment, had been a resident of Worthing, and a brief intimation was given in the last issue… that he had died suddenly.
The circumstances were duly investigated by… the Deputy Coroner for West Sussex, on Wednesday afternoon, the inquiry taking place at the Central Fire Station, in High-street.
Evidence of identification was given by Colonel Francis Seymour Leslie… late of the Royal Engineers, who stated that the deceased, who was his brother, had lived at Worthing for the past four years, more or less all the time, though he had no permanent address…
Mrs Ethel William, a widow, at whose house… Major Leslie had lodged, stated that he had complained of indigestion and ate light food. On Monday evening he had his supper at half-past seven o’clock, going upstairs about half an hour later. About nine o’clock witness went to his room and found him lying in bed in great agony, and he exclaimed: “Oh, my poor heart!” Witness gave him some hot water to drink and sent for a doctor.
Dr Bernard Lees stated that he was sent for, but he found Major Leslie was dead when he got to the house. He had since made a post-mortem examination, which showed that the stomach and intestines were much distended, and there were signs of chronic gastric catarrh. The heart was fatty, but the valves were healthy. Death was due to syncope, the result of acute indigestion and the fatty condition of the heart.
A verdict of “Death from natural causes” was recorded.
[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 30th April 1919]
[It should be noted that Alexander had been attached to the Suffolk Regiment throughout his military career. The error in the newspaper report is likely because of the Sussex town he had moved to in the mid-1910s.]
Alexander Augustus Maurice Leslie was 67 years of age when he passed away on 21st April 1919. His body was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, to the north of the town he had called his home for more than four years.
