Second Lieutenant Rupert Gough, M.C.

Second Lieutenant Rupert Gough  M.C., 71st Battery, Royal Field Artillery. He died of wounds received during the Third Battle of Ypres  on 28th October 1917 aged 26. He had been born in Dundalk, Ireland and was the son of Mrs M J Gough and the late Colonel Bloomfield Gough of Belchester, Leithom, Coldstream. He is buried in Dozingham Military Cemetery . He had emigrated to Australia ,aged 17 But hearing about his brother’ death in action  September 1914 he returned home to train at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned in November 1915 and joined his Battery in France in April 1916.. His Military Cross citation reads ” For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on 24th October 1917. When a shell hit the cook house killing three men and wounding two he organised a party under heavy shellfire and succeeded in evacuating the wounded afterwards setting to work to make the damage good”.  He was fatally wounded only days later whilst acting as a Forward Observing Officer and died in a Casualty Clearing Station. His Military headstone is inscribed ” Until the Day Break “. The Field Artillery normally used the 18 pounder field gun using both high explosive and shrapnel shells one of which is pictured below. The photograph shows the desolation of the battlefield and the  type of ground the artillery had to operate in. This mud could swallow whole artillery pieces.