ENLISTED AT 68

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2881, 20 September 1916, Page 6

ENLISTED AT 68

SPLENDID SPIRIT OF A ' VETERAN AN EXAMPLE FOR YOUNGER MEN i t (To the Editor.) Sir,—Tho enclosed, from tho London "Times," speaks for itself, and may it be the means of some men of 18 years to 38 years enlisting.—l am, etc., SERVICE. France, July 29. '■ • "i [Enclosure.] A HERO OF "THE HOUSE." THE DEATH OF LIEUTENANT HENRY WEBBER, Webber.—Killed in action, on July 21, Henry Webber, of Hor- . ley, Surrey, J .P. [or the Comity of Surrey, Lieut., South lianca. shire Regt., aged 68 years. \ Our City Editor writes: — No item yet in the casualty lists has so stirred the feelings of tho Stock Exchange as -this announcement in "Tho Times" of yesterday. Lieutenant Henry Webber—whose name, together with that of his firm, H. Webber and Co., will not be found in the current List of tho Stock Exchange, owing to his having taken advantage of Rule 124 after joining tho Army, and thus putting his status there temporarily in abeyance—joined tho House m 1872, and has always been one of its best known and most respected members. . Ho was famous for kcepmg himself particularly "fit," and was an all-round athlete' r.nd keen huuting man. From the opening of tho war he set himself to try to get a commission, in spite of his 66 years. For a long time ho plagued the War • Office ineffectually, but at last ho wen his way, and was gazetted to the South LancaVshuto Regiment. And now this junior lieutenant of 68 has died nobly on the battlefield, and is numbered among the heroes of the House. There w.is talk on all sides yesterday of a subscription ' among. members for the purpose probably of endowing a bed in his memory at tho Star and Garter Home. A friend of Lieutenant Webber writes:— Oil tho outbreak of war ho offered hia services to the War Office, but it was only in May last that he was appointed to tho Horse Transport. He went to France at tho end of that month, and was appointed to the South Lancashire Regiment. He was a keen sportsman, & good man to hounds, a good shot, and a keen cricketer. Ho was in both his school and college elevens, and had tho distinction of making 200 runs for Hor ! ley in an innings when he was ovei 55 years of age. He was for many years a prominent member of the Sur, rey Stag Hunt, and a warm supporter of many forms of sport in East Surrey. He was a Justice of the Peace for Surrey, an original. member of the Surrey County Council, and chairman of the Horley and Distriot Gas Com-.' pany. He took a very prominent part in the recruiting campaign aftoi the outbreak of war, and stated pub. licly he had offered his services to the War Office as a roughridcr or in any other capacity. Ho tried very hard with other gentlemen to form a mount, cd . company of hunting men. Until recently Mr. Webber lived at Horley, and had been for many years churchwarden at the Horley parish church, but last year he moved, to Bexhill-on-Sea. Lieutenant Webber leaves a (jjdow and eight children. Throe of his sons are serving in the Army, tho eldest being "Lientenant-Colonel N. W. : Webber, R.E., D.5.0.; the second son is Captain H. H. Webber, R.G.A., and the third Major L. M. Webber, R.F.A. Two of his sons-in-law are also in the Army. A few weeks ago, writing to the vicar of Horley, one of his oldest friends, Lieutenant Webber said, "Well, here I am in the thick of it, very fit and well, very happy, and liking my work. I commence work n\i 5.30 a.m. I think tho family are doing their hit." He addpc! "that one son had received the D.S.O. in the Birthday Honours, and in the previous week had been mentioned in dispatchesfor the fourth time, while another of his sons had been wounded.