COLBORNE(The Rev.) Richard A.P.


Captain, Chaplain 4th class, Richard Arthur Pell COLBORNE
Aged 31


Army Chaplains' Department
attached 1st (City of London) Battalion,London Regiment ( Royal Fusiliers)
Killed in Action on Tuesday, 28th May 1918

Richard Arthur Pell COLBORNE was born in Sudbury on 17th August 1886 (Sudbury Q3-1886 4A:643) son of Arthur and Margaret Ethel COLBORNE (née EDMONDS).

1891 census...Aged 4, he was at Chilton Hill House, Newton Road with his father Arthur COLBORNE [36] clerk in Holy Orders/tutor born Hadleigh; his mother Margaret E [31] born Truckwell, Berkshire; brother Stanwell A.S. [1] born Sudbury, and 6 servants.

1901 census...Aged 14 he was at The Vicarage, Stow cum Quy with his parents; brother Stewart Arthur Stanwell Colborne;1 governess and 7 pupils and 3 servants.

1911 census...Aged 24, a schoolmaster, he was at Golden Parsonage Lodge, Gaddesden Row, Hemel Hempstead with school masters Harry GAMAN and John DALTON.



His entry on De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour reads:-COLBORNE, RICHARD ARTHUR PELL,Capt.,and Chaplain to the Forces' (4th Class), att'd 1st Battn.(Royal Fusiliers) The lIondon Regt.(T.F.),s.of the Rev.Arthur Colborne, M.A. of Quy Vicarage, Cambridge, by his wife,Margaret Ethel, dau. of the Rev. Richard E.Pell Edmonds; b.Sudbury,co.Suffolk, 17 Aug.1886; duc.St Faith's, Cambridge; Radley College(Scholar), and Worcester College, Oxford, where he graduated with honours in Divinity in 1909. After taking his degree he was ordained tot he parish of Gaddesden, and in 1913 was curate in charge of St John's Church,Romford, and in 1916 of St John's, Merton S.W.; volunteered for foreign service, and was gazetted Chaplain to the Forces (4th Class) 26thMarch, 1917, being attached to the 1st battn, the London Regt; was baldy gassed bear Bapaume the following Dec., but making good recovery, rejoined his regiment in Feb.1918, and was killed in action near Arras 28 May following, during a raid on the enemy's trenches. Buried at Dainville, west of Arras. The Senior Chaplain wrote: "The Colonel spoke of him in terms of great affection and said that all the men loved him. This I know to be true; we all all proud of him. He just lived for others, and we could hardly expect that he would die any other way...The Colonel told me that he had from 300 to 400 men at a voluntary service not long ago, and that should be testimony to his real hold over men as minister and priest" unm.

At probate his address was still The Vicarage, Quy.


The war diary:-
TELEGRAPH HILL SECTOR - 28th - Battalion in line: Raidon enemy trenches SE of ARRAS by "A" Coy (2 platoons) under Lt.Preedy M.C. together with 4 platoons of 7th MIDDLESEX REGT.
zero hour 11 pm [a] Right platoon 2nd Lt Foord with Sgt Luckmere....[b] Left platoon 2nd Lt Long with Sgt Hardy
Apparently the points of entry were entirely blotted out by our artillery. At zero both parties were close up to barrage when it lifted. Finding practically no wire and but little obstruction the parties advanced beyond objective.Going for any enemy that appeared in view. All killed and wounded were carefully searched. The signal to withdraw was obeyed and the withdrawal was well organised. All ranks claim to have killed some of the enemy, but 42 can reasonably be said to have been killed. This number includes bodies seen in the trenches apparently killed by the barrage. One pill box had a 10 lb charge mobile charge placed and exploded in it.
Major H A ? DSO MC was wounded at BATT REPORT CENTRE. The Coy Commander was wounded while collecting his men. 2nd Lt Long was killed at the head of his party. The Rev.Colborne was hit while bringing in fresh stretcher bearers after there had been heavy casualties at Battn Report Centre.





photo: Commonwealth War Graves Commission



Richard Colborne is buried in Dainville British Cemetery, grave 1:D:1
and has a memorial window at St John's, Merton

click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details


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