He enlisted in August 1918, being granted commission in the Indian Army Reserve Supply and
Transport Corp. Cyril’s brother, Douglas, who had twice been wounded in France was now in
hospital in Australia.
The circumstances of Cyril’s death are unclear: At the time of his death he was 2nd Lieutenant. The
Indian Army were involved with fighting in Mesopotamia during 1918 and, especially at the time
of his death, the Asiatic and Egyptian theatres comprised of skirmishes and outbreaks of fighting in
Egypt, Tripoli, the Sudan, Asia Minor (including Transcaucasia), Arabia, Mesopotamia, Syria,
Persia, Afghanistan, Turkestan, China and India. As Cyril is buried in Quetta Government
Cemetery, it would appear that he had died or been killed near that area. During this time, there
were continuous outbreaks of cholera and enteric fever. Cyril’s name is also included on the India
Gate, which is the main memorial to the dead of WW1 in India.
India Gate is a memorial to 82,000 soldiers of the undivided Indian Army who died in the period
1914-1918. 13,516 servicemen’s names are included on the Gate many from the UK.