Richard Sedden Deverell, 2nd Lieutenant 15th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment
Brother of Field Marshall Sir Cyril Deverell GCB KBE
When Richard Seddon commissioned into the West Yorkshire Regiment his brother Cyril John, who was born in Guernsey in 1874, was already serving in the Regiment, having commissioned on 6th March 1895. Cyril was posted to the 2nd Battalion, served on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and took part in the Ashanti War of 1896. He then transferred to the 1st Battalion and toured in Hong Kong, Singapore and India, where he remained for several years. While in India he married the commanding officer’s daughter, Hilda Grant-Dalton (undoubtedly a smart move as few junior officers could be accompanied overseas by their wife). When the First World War began Cyril was on leave in the UK and was appointed Brigade Major of the 85th Brigade, which formed part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). He saw action at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915 before being promoted to Major in June 1915. In July he became Commanding Officer of the 1/4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, a Territorial Force unit, and later that year commanded the 20th Infantry Brigade, part of the 7th Division. He took part in the Battle of the Somme and held a position on the 21st Division‘s right flank during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge. As a temporary Major General he was given command of the 3rd Division on 1st January 1917, a post he held for two years, and led them during the Battle of Ancre, the third Battle of Ypres, Cambrai, the German Spring Offensive and final Allied advance. In January 1919 he took command of the 53rd (Welsh) Division. It is possible that Cyril advised or influenced his brother Richard Seddon in his decision to join the West Yorkshire Regiment, which he eventually did on New Year’s Eve 1915.
Richard Seddon was born on 28th January 1882 at Limerick in Ireland. He was the son of Major John Baines Seddon Deverell, late Norfolk Regiment, who died in Norwich on 16th November 1886, and Harriet Strappini (or Strappina) Roberts (1849-1930). He had four sisters and four brothers, Cyril John (1874-1947), Harriet Sophia Maud (1875-1896), Alice Mary (1877-1968), Ella Muriel (1878-1878 Great Yarmouth), Lilian May (1883-1946), Minnie Blanche (1883-1938), Arthur Baines (1885-1902) and Gerald (1886-1904). Richard Seddon was educated at Bedford St School, as was Cyril, and St Georges College, Harpenden. He was an accountant by profession. In 1891 the family were living in Bedfordshire and Lieutenant Richard Charles Humphrey Vipan, who was a 21 year old bachelor serving in the 3rd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, was staying as visitor. He had commissioned into the Regiment in 1887 and resigned his commission in early 1893. He married Richard Seddon’s widowed mother on 27th April 1891 at All Saints, Paddington; they had been introduced to each other by Cyril, who was a military friend of Richard Vipan. The marriage did not last as in 1893 Richard Vipan emigrated to the USA where he met Cornelia McCusker née Shepard. They married in 1909, after her divorce, and he adopted her daughter Marietta Louisa McCusker who was born in 1895. Harriet had also divorced Richard Vipan in 1906 as he had left the family home, after spending her savings of £8,000 (in excess of £1m today) before deserting her for 10 years, refusing to return. On the American marriage document Richard Vipan was listed as a widower although his wife Harriet, in the UK, did not die until 1930! On the UK 1911 Census she was living with her son Richard Seddon in Middlesex; she was listed as a widow under the name Deverell. Richard Vipan settled in New York and was naturalised as a USA citizen in 1914 and therefore missed British military service during the war. He is listed on the USA 1910 Census as being a Stenography Teacher. Cornelia died in 1920 and Richard Vipan married Louise Emilie Kleibe in New York on 31st August 1921 and they had a daughter, Faith Alberta Vipan in 1923. Richard Vipon died in New York in 1930, the same year as his first wife Harriet.
In July 1914 Richard Seddon married Margaret Jane Buckley (1875-1965) of 6 Helena Court, Highland Gardens, St Leonards-on-Sea and 2 Bartemas Road, Oxford. They had a son, John Patrick who reported the death of Margaret on 1st May 1965 at Alexander House, St Leonards, aged 87.
Richard Seddon enlisted on 24th October 1914 in the 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal West Surrey Regiment as 3312 Private Deverell giving his address as 27 Recreation Road, Guildford, Surrey. In May 1915 he was admitted to Woolwich Hospital for ten days with Rubella, after which he was posted to the 2/5th Battalion based at Redhill. Identified as a potential officer he commissioned into the 14th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment on New Year’s Eve 1915 by which time he and his wife were residing at Welbeck Cottage, Down Road, Merrow, Guildford. He entered France on 13th July 1916 and joined the Leeds Pals, although there is no mention of him in the Battalion war diary. He was possibly one of the many junior officers posted to the 15th Battalion as replacements for the severe losses suffered during the 1st July attack on the village of Serre. Richard Seddon fell ill (although on his wife’s death certificate was written ‘killed in action 1916’. However, other documents confirm illness) and was evacuated back to England and died of ‘tuberculosis-lung’ in the 1st London General Hospital on 4th November 1916. His widow requested a military funeral, and a gun carriage and firing party, in accordance with Kings Regulations. As a gun carriage was not available an alternative form of transport was provided, funded at public expense. ‘A Hearse and Pair and Coachman transported the coffin from the hospital at Camberwell to the cemetery at a cost of £1 five shillings.’ He was buried at Nunhead (All Saints) Church, London and a military headstone was erected on his grave. However, United Kingdom service graves in the cemetery were not maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and were removed, so his name is now recorded on a Screen Wall. Charles Seddon was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal and his widow would have received the bronze Memorial Plaque and Scroll. He is commemorated on the Ashford, Spelthorne War Memorial in Surrey.
For Cyril, his career progressed and on 13th December 1921 he returned to India where he commanded the United Provinces District. He received numerous honours and awards including a knighthood (Knight Commander of the British Empire) in 1926 and a second knighthood (Knight Commander of the Bath) in 1929, later elevated to Grand Cross of the Bath. In India he served as Quartermaster-General in 1927 and became Chief of the General Staff in 1930. On returning to the UK he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command in 1931 then the same appointment in Eastern Command in 1933. He was appointed Aide-de-Camp General to the King on 10th February 1934 and promoted to Field Marshal on 15th May 1936, before assuming the position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff. In May 1937 Leslie Hore-Belisha, the newly appointed Secretary of State for War, tried to introduce a policy to limit Army expenditure, which Cyril was not keen to support. Leslie Hore-Belisha (advised by Basil Liddell Hart the military theorist) had him ‘abruptly’ removed from office on 6th December 1937. On leaving the Army he became Deputy Lieutenant of Southampton. He was also Colonel of the Prince of Wales’s West Yorkshire Regiment from 21st March 1934 until his death. He retired to Court Lodge in Lymington where he died on 12th May 1947 aged 72.
Sources:
The National Archives – Service Records, including father & brother, and War Diaries
Ancestry – Domestic Records, Medal Rolls and Effects Register
Commonwealth War Graves Commission – War Graves Register
London Gazette – Appointment and Awards
The British Field Marshals 1736-1997 by T A Heathcote 1999 – Sir Cyril’s biographical details
United States Archives – Domestic Records Richard Vipan
Researcher: David J Owen
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