Captain E P Beaumont MC

Eric Paton Beaumont was born in Marsden, Yorkshire on 5 July 1895. He was the son of Rev Luke Beaumont and Mary née Mapleston. His parents moved to Lancashire in 1901 when he was six, and again in 1911, to Birkenhead in Cheshire. He was educated at Taunton School and was a classical scholar at Pembroke College, Oxford where he gained first class honours in Moderations. He was in the college OTC, and was commissioned into the 20th Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment on 29 June 1915. He suffered a head wound while on night patrol on 30 June 1916 and was sent back to the UK. He was awarded the Military Cross on 27 Aug 1917. The citation appeared in the Supplement to the London Gazette on 9 Jan 1918:
‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He visited his platoon under a heavy enemy barrage, encouraging and cheering his men, and having led them as far as he could, as they were suffering casualties, he dug in and consolidated a strong point. During the whole of this time he went round with complete disregard of machine-gun and rifle fire, greatly inspiring his men by his courage and high spirits, and by his fine leadership a very valuable point of ground was taken.’
The 20th Battalion was disbanded in February 1918 and he transferred to the 17th Battalion by which time he was a captain. He was fatally wounded in the abdomen and legs near St Quentin on 22 March 1918. He was operated on at the hospital in Rouen but died on 2nd April 1918, aged 22. Captain Beaumont was buried in St Sever Cemetery, Rouen. His headstone has a personal inscription: ‘He was lovely and pleasant in his life and he died in peace.’ The CO, Lt-Colonel Watson said of him, ‘He was one of my best officers and I feel his loss very much. His coolness and bravery in action were beyond all praise and he was a born leader of men.’

Regimental Details | Soldiers