246537 Capt. Herbert Phillip Gwynn Humphreys MC.British Army Royal Field Artillery Herbert Humphreys was the son of the Rev. Henry James and Sydney Humphreys. In 1901 he was boarding at Saint Chads College, Denstone, Staffordshire, the census shows his parents and 4 siblings living in Hyde, Cheshire, the family moved to Thornley, Vicarage, Tow Law, Co.Durham in 1903. At some point he emigrated to Canada possibly with his brother Aled but returned to enlist to serve his country. He was commissioned on 18th of December 1914 and when serving as Temp. Lieutenant with the Royal Field Artillery in 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, " when acting as forward observation officer under most trying circumstances... In spite of exceptional heavy gun fire he succeeded in laying and maintaining a telephone line for a distance of 5,000 yards, and although it was constantly cut during two days and a night, it was immediately repaired in every case and most valuable information was sent back. For a long time this line was the only means by which the infantry could get any information back to the rear. The success of the operation was very greatly due to the magnificent example set by this officer and his complete disregard of personal danger." He possibly served with the Royal Flying Corps as mentioned in January 1918, The Times newspaper published a story of a Patriotic family
"The Rev H.J. Humphreys, vicar of Thornley, Tow Law, Durham had five sons. Henry St. Giles Humphreys had been returning from America to enlist when he was killed on the Lousitania when it was torpedoed. John Theodore Gordon Humphreys had been to Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Indian Infantry and killed in action at Narumgombe. Captain Herbert Phillip Wynne Humphreys was an officer in the Royal Flying Corp and had been awarded a Military Cross. Owen (Aled Owain) Humphreys was serving with the Canadian Royal Flying Corps. Captain Noel Forbes Humphreys first served as a despatch rider, then in the Machine Gun Corps and had become a section commander of tanks in France." They omitted to mention the fact that his son in law Richard Howe (married to his daughter Mary Grace) was serving with the Durham Light Infantry.
He married Dorothy Alice Fidler, widow of Lieutenant Colonel William Langton Trench on 24 July 1934. He died in 1965.
Information courtesy of www.newmp.org.uk and "Rise of the Tank: Armoured Vehicles and their use in the First World War" By Michael Foley.
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