Arthur James Edmund Bates

Arthur Bates was a Chorleywood-born Old Lyonian and Territorial soldier who went on to serve as a commissioned officer in the Royal Engineers. He died from wounds during the First World War and was buried in the village where he had been born and raised.

Civilian Life - Arthur Bates was born in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, in 1893. He was the son of Arthur Bates, a builder and engineer, and Jessie Ann Bates. His mother died when he was young, and his father subsequently married Eliza Ellis Bates, who became Arthur's stepmother. Arthur grew up in Chorleywood with his brothers and sisters, and the family home was recorded as Oakleigh, Chorleywood, in the 1911 Census.

His father, Arthur Senior, was a builder and engineer who died on 3 June 1911. Arthur was the eldest of the children from his father's first marriage. His siblings included Hilda Jessie Bates and Sidney Edgar Bates, together with his younger step-sisters Caroline Louise, Margaret and Mabel Joyce Bates.

Arthur attended John Lyon School and, by 1911, he was recorded studying at the City and Guilds of London Institute as an electrical student.

Military Life - When the First World War began, Arthur was serving as a member of the local Territorial Force. He immediately joined the Royal Engineers and served in France in the ranks. In early 1917 he received a commission and became a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. Contemporary newspaper reports record that he subsequently returned to France.

The Royal Engineers had been working underground since October 1916, constructing tunnels for the troops in preparation for the Battle of Arras in 1917.

Beneath Arras itself there is a vast network of caverns called the boves, consisting of underground quarries and sewage tunnels. The engineers came up with a plan to add new tunnels to this network so that troops could arrive at the battlefield in secrecy and in safety. The size of the excavation was immense. In one sector alone four Tunnel Companies of 500 men each worked around the clock in 18-hour shifts for two months.

After returning to the Western Front, it is likely Arthur was engaged in this operation when was badly wounded in the face and shoulder by enemy fire. One contemporary report describes the weapon as a trench mortar. He was brought back to England and treated at military hospitals in Highgate and Portland Place. His condition initially appeared to improve, but he subsequently died from his wounds at the military hospital in Highgate on 30 July 1917. He was 23 years old.

Arthur was buried at Christ Church Churchyard, Chorleywood, on 3 August 1917. His funeral was attended by members of his family, including his sister Hilda and his brother Sidney, who was serving with the Australian Forces. Arthur James Edmund Bates's life therefore divided between his civilian education and family life in Chorleywood and his military service with the Royal Engineers. He began the war as a Territorial, served in France in the ranks, and later returned as a commissioned officer. Given the information we have available it is likely that Arthur James Edmund Bates was entitled to the Victory Medal, also called the Inter Allied Victory Medal. This medal was awarded to all who received the 1914 Star or 1914-15 Star and, with certain exceptions, to those who received the British War Medal. It was never awarded alone. These three medals were sometimes irreverently referred to as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. Eligibility for this award consisted of having been mobilised, fighting, having served in any of the theatres of operations, or at sea, between midnight 4th/5th August, 1914, and midnight, 11th/12th November, 1918. Women who served in any of the various military organisations in a theatre of operations were also eligible. It is very possible that Arthur James Edmund Bates was entitled to the British War Medal for service in World War One.

This British Empire campaign medal was issued for services between 5th August 1914 and 11th November 1918. The medal was automatically awarded in the event of death on active service before the completion of this period.