Devonshire Regiment - Roll of Honour of Non-Active Officers of the Devonshire Regiment Who Died In The Great War

No	Date Died	Surname	Forenames	Rank	Decs	Age	Cause	Country	Location	Status/Former Unit	Cemetery/Memorial	Notes
Died in 1915
1	27th November	TRAYLER	John Nelson	Capt	-	39	DOI	UK	Clevedon	Retired (Sick) List	Clevedon (St Andrew) Churchyard (26.A)	(2)
Died in 1918
2	4th November	DAVIS	Frederick John S	Major	-	38	DOI	UK	Hospital at London	Attached to War Office	Exeter Higher Cemetery (Plot 38180)	(3)
Died in 1919
3	22nd April	CONNOR	Maurice James	Capt	-	39	DOI	UK	Hospital at Tavistock	Retired (Sick) List	Tavistock Cemetery	(4)
4	20th May	PETERSON	John	Lt	-	43	DOI	UK	Hospital at Liverpool	Retired (Sick) List	Liverpool (Toxteth Park) Cemetery (B.NC.454)	(5)
Died in 1920
5	26th September	BURNSIDE	George Frederick Carl	Capt	-	35	D	USA	Atlantic City, New Jersey	Retired List	?	(6)
6	10th October	BANFIELD	Ralph Gibbs	Lt	-	23	DOI	UK	Alexandra Nursing Home, Lowestoft	Retired (Sick) List	?	(7)
Died in 1921
7	11th April	DRAKE-CUTLIFFE	Bernard Henry Hamilton	2Lt	-	21	DOI	UK	Nursing Home at Clifton, Bristol	Sick List	Ilfracombe (Holy Trinity) Churchyard, SW of Church (5)	(8)
Notes: 1. TRAYLER relinquished his commission on 12th August 1915 due to ill-health, serving with 11th (Reserve) Battalion. He died due to a long illness contracted whilst on active service. 2. DAVIS was formerly attached to MI9 at the War Office as a Censor and was placed on the Sick List just prior to his death with complications following appendectomy. 3. CONNOR relinquished his commission due to ill health caused by active service on 30th May 1918 and awarded a Silver War Badge on 20th June 1918. Died of illness ? Not commemorated by the CWGC. 4. PETERSON served with 14th (Labour) Battalion Devonshire Regiment before transfer to the Labour Corps on 13th April 1917. Relinquished commission due to ill health on 10th May 1918. 5. BURNSIDE was commissioned in the Devonshire Regiment on 4th December 1915 and served with 11th (Reserve) Battalion before a short attachment to the MGC, and then to the King's African Rifles on 14th July 1916. He took his own life whilst in the USA. 6. BANFIELD was commissioned into the Devonshire Regiment on 30th October 1916 and saw active service with ? Battalion. Relinquished his commission due to ill health on 11th December 1919. 7. DRAKE-CUTLIFFE was commissioned into the Devonshire Regiment on 11th April 1919 from the RMC Sandhurst, and was posted to the 1st Battalion. He became ill and died at a Nursing Home in Clifton on 11th April 1921.

Regimental History

The Devonshire Regiment was formed on 1st July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, which saw the two Battalions of the 11th (North Devon) Regiment of Foot being renamed and reconstituted as the Regular 1st and 2nd Battalions of the new Regiment, with the Regimental Depot based at Topsham Barracks, Exeter. The 1881 reforms also redesignated the Militia and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) units within the Regimental District of Devon as Battalions of the new Regiment - the East Devon Militia forming the 1st (Militia) Battalion and the South Devon Militia forming the 2nd (Militia) Battalion. Five Volunteer Battalions of the new regiment were formed from the county Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) units: 1st Devonshire (Exeter and South Devon) RVC , the 2nd Devonshire (Prince of Wales's) RVC, the 3rd Devonshire RVC, the 4th Devonshire RVC and the 5th Devonshire RVC. In 1908, as part of the Haldane Reforms, the two Militia Battalions were amalgamated, reorganised and restructured forming the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion and the five Volunteer Battalions were reorganised and formed the 4th Battalion, 5th Battalion, 6th Battalion and 7th Battalion of the Regimental Territorial Force (TF). After the Declaration of War on 4th August 1914 and at various stages up to 1st June 1918, the order of battle of the Devonshire Regiment was made up of 30 Regular, Territorial Force, Service, Labour, Works, Garrison, Reserve and Graduated Battalions.

A detailed history of the Devonshire Regiment can also be viewed here, here and here.

The "Devonshire Regiment 1914 - 1918" (by C T Atkinson - ISBN 13: 978-184342150 ) provides a detailed account of the operations of the Battalions of the Regiment which took an active part in the Great War.

Page last updated: 13th September 2023

| Regimental Rolls of Honour |

| Fallen Officers of WW1 of Other Corps and Regiments |