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| 17 Apr 2019 | |
| History |
Captain Benjamin Buss Day Boy (1900-02) was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Buss, of Victoria, Canada. Up to the outbreak of war he had been engaged in agricultural work with his uncle in Horsmonden, and in 1909 had taken a commission in the l/5th (Weald of Kent) Battalion of The Buffs. He was promoted to Lieutenant in March 1911, and in spite of the apathy then prevalent with regard to military matters had succeeded in raising his Company to full strength. He at once volunteered for foreign service, and rose through the ranks to Captain, whilst in India and later, Mesopotamia with his Battalion. In January 1916, his Battalion suffered terribly at the battle of Shaikh Sa'ad, with most of the officers and men becoming casualties. In addition to minor injuries, Buss lost his left eye. He required an operation to remove small splinters that had become embedded behind the eye as a result of the wound, but this was postponed. He was sent home to recover but joined up again in the summer. He was sent with his Regiment to Mesopotamia in September 1917, but circumstances in connection with his old wound forced him to retire from the active list in the spring of 1918. He returned to England and underwent the operation at Wandsworth Military Hospital, but sadly died there on November 4th 1918. To find out more about Tonbridge and The Great War, visit our online archives at: www.tonbridgeschoolheritage.co.uk Or, contact Archivist, Bev Matthews at: E: beverley.matthews@tonbridge-school.org |
