Maurice Lorain Pears, CMG (c.1872 - 20 October 1916) was a British Army officer who acted as the Commanding Officer of the 17th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, during the first half of World War I.
Early life
editPears was the eldest son of M.E. Pears, ISC and the grandson of Major-General Sir Thomas Pears.[1]
Military career
editPre-Great War
editPears joined the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and saw service in the Tirah campaign as a Lieutenant.
Pears was promoted from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant on 14 January 1893.[2] He was promoted to Captain on 18 March 1899.[3]
Pears served with his regiment through the South African War. He later became a Staff Captain for Railways at the Army Headquarters. He was later seconded from the Cameronians to the Colonial Office in May 1903[4] before returning to Cameronians full-time in October 1905.[5]
Great War
editAt the time of the outbreak of the First World War, Pears was in East Africa but returned to the UK. Pears was a member of the Reserve of Officers and on his recall, he was gazetted to the North Eastern Railway Pals Battalion - the 17th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. After serving time as Adjutant, he was made Commanding Officer on December 13, 1914.[1][6]
The battalion was trained in Hull and on the East Yorkshire Coast before moving to France as part of the 32nd Division[7] on the 20th November 1915.[8]
The battalion endered the Trenches from the 2nd December 1915, where they undertook work as a pioneer unit. In the early stages of 1916, the battalion started work as a Railway Pioneer unit, laying railway lines near Vecquemont.
Pears was made Companion of St. Michael and St. George on the 3rd June 1916,[9][8] and was Mentioned in dispatches on the 13th June 1916.[8]
Pears was present with his battalion on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916.
Pears was taken seriously ill in August 1916, where he returned to England. He was succeeded as battalion commanding officer by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) W.D.V.O. King
Pears died on 20 October 1916. He is buried in Brighton (Extra-Mural) Borough Cemetery.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "The Late Lt.-Col. M. L. Pears". North Eastern Railway Magazine. November 1916. p. 257.
- ^ "Page 1149 | Issue 26602, 26 February 1895 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ "Page 4139 | Issue 27095, 4 July 1899 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ "Page 5153 | Issue 27588, 14 August 1903 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ "Page 7822 | Issue 27856, 21 November 1905 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ "Page 10795 | Supplement 29009, 15 December 1914 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ "32nd Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ a b c Shakespear, Lt-Col. A Record of the 17th and 32nd Battalions Northumberland Fusiliers 1914 - 1919 (N.E.R.) Pioneers. Uckfield: The Naval & Military Press Ltd. ISBN 9781843426875.
- ^ "Page 986 | Issue 12947, 5 June 1916 | Edinburgh Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ^ CWGC. "Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Loraine Pears | War Casualty Details 659421". CWGC. Retrieved 2023-12-24.