10th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (British Army)
Date Of Birth:
21/06/1885
Died:
01/07/1916 (Killed in Action)
Age:
31
Summary
James Claude Beauchamp Proctor was the eldest son of James Edwin and Francis J. Proctor. He was born in County Londonderry about 1885. James Claude Beauchamp Proctor was educated at Reading School, Berkshire and Trinity College, Dublin. James Proctor became a solicitor too and he joined the North-West Circuit. He lived in Limavady with a sister. On the outbreak of war, he volunteered and was gazetted Captain of the 10th Service Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 21st September 1914. Captain James Claude Beauchamp Proctor was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916, whilst leading his Company on an advanced German trench in a charge of the Ulster Division. The CWGC records his parents James Edwin and Frances J Proctor as living at Tullydoey House, Moy, Co. Tyrone.
Further Information
James Claude Beauchamp Proctor was the eldest son of James Edwin and Francis J Proctor. James Proctor and Frances Orr were married about 1883.
James Claude Beauchamp Proctor was born on the 21st June 1885 in Limavady, County Londonderry. He was the second of five children.
His father James Edwin was a solicitor who lived and practiced in Limavady, County Londonderry.
Family: James Edwin Procter, Frances J Procter, Emma Frances Bonnar Proctor (born 10th March 1884), James Claude Beauchamp Proctor (born 21st June 1885), George Proctor (born 22nd August 1886), Edwin Edmund Vere Procter (born 22nd March 1888), Eveleen Mary Procter (born 16th November 1890).
James Claude Beauchamp Proctor was educated at Reading School, Berkshire and Trinity College, Dublin.
The 1901 census does not list James as living with his parents at house 89 in Main Street, Limavady, County Londonderry. His father was a solicitor.
James Proctor became a solicitor too and he joined the North-West Circuit. He lived in Limavady with a sister. He was a Unionist in politics, a member of the Ulster Unionist Council, organiser and secretary of the Limavady Unionist Club, and also county organiser of the U.V.F.
The 1911 census lists James as age 25, living with his sister at house 92 in Main Street, Limavady, County Londonderry. James was a solicitor with the initials - M.A., L.L.D. (T.C.D).
1914
On the outbreak of war, he volunteered and was gazetted Captain of the 10th Service Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 21st September 1914.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 31st October 1914:
The three sons of the late Mr James Edwin Proctor, solicitor, Limavady, and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy, are all in the service of their King and country. Mr J C B Proctor, M.A., LL.D., B.L., well-known in U.V.F. circles in the North, is now a Captain in the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and is stationed at Finner Camp; Lieutenant G Norman Proctor (who has already fought in the North West Indian frontier campaigns), of the Indian Army, is with the Indian Expeditionary Force in East Africa; and Mr Edwin V proctor, the youngest son, a member of the Australian Light Horse, is with the Australian Expeditionary Force.
1915
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 25th August 1915: Mr Edwin Vere Proctor (brother of J C B Proctor)
Information has been received that Mr Edwin Vere Proctor, 21st Brigade, 6th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Forces, youngest son of the late Mr James E Proctor, solicitor, Limavady, and Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy, has been wounded, but is now convalescent. He was in Egypt, and volunteered for special service of a hazardous nature with the signals in the Dardanelles. On the third day he was struck by shrapnel, a fragment wounding him in the right shoulder, and another ripping the sheath of his bayonet. Mr E V Proctor's two brothers are also in the army:- Lieutenant G Norman Proctor, Kashmir Rifles, serving in German East Africa, and Captain J C B Proctor LL.D., M.A., B.L. 10th (Service) Inniskillings, at Seaford. Miss E Proctor, who volunteered for nursing service, is at North Evington Military Hospital, Leicester.
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 10th September 1915: Lieut. G N Proctor (brother of J C B Proctor)
Lieutenant G Norman Proctor who is with Kashmir Rifles at present in German East Africa with the Indian Expeditionary Force, has been promoted Captain and appointed special officer to the Kashmir Imperial troops. Captain Proctor, whose two brothers are also serving with the colours, is a son of the late Mr James E Proctor, Limavady and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy, County Tyrone. He was lately granted three weeks' rest after six months' hard campaigning.
From the Tyrone Courier dated 23rd September 1915: Lieut. G N Proctor (brother of J C B Proctor)
Lieutenant G Norman Proctor who is with Kashmir Rifles at present operating in German East Africa with the Indian Expeditionary Force, has been promoted Captain and appointed special officer to the Kashmir Imperial troops. Captain Proctor, whose two brothers are also serving with the colours, is a son of the late Mr James E Proctor, Limavady and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy.
Captain James Proctor went to France in October 1915.
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 21st October 1915: Capt. G W Proctor (brother of J C B Proctor)
Capt. G W Proctor, 83rd Wallajahbad Light Infantry, has been promoted to the rank of Major. He is a son of the late Mr J E Proctor, Limavady, and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy.
1916
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 13th May 1916: Plucky Limavady Soldier (brother of J C B Proctor)
Edwin Vere Proctor, third son of the late Mr J E Proctor, solicitor, Limavady, and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy, County Tyrone, who is serving with the Australian Expeditionary Forces, has been mentioned in orders by Major P Vaughan, commanding the Australian Overseas Base, for gallantry in rescuing from the Nile a soldier who attempted to commit suicide by drowning. The order is in the following terms:- ‘The O.C. has much pleasure in placing on record his appreciation of the gallantry displayed by Signaller E V Proctor in rescuing from the Nile on the 13th March a man attempting suicide.’ On three occasions Mr Proctor has refused a commission, preferring to remain in the ranks of the ‘cornstalkers’. He has two bothers serving – Major G Norman Proctor, Indian Expeditionary Force, East Africa, and Captain J Claude B Proctor, a popular officer of the 10th Inniskillings (Derry Volunteers), while his younger sister is nursing in a military hospital in Leicester.
Captain James Claude Beauchamp Proctor was killed in action at the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916, whilst leading his Company on an advanced German trench in a charge of the Ulster Division. He was killed after he dropped into a German trench and was shot. The Germans then tried to surrender, but Proctor's men killed them all. This is briefly mentioned in 'Three cheers for the Derrys' but the details are a bit more graphic. Those that carried out the retaliation were known to the author but he didn't mention them by name because of their families still being alive.
From the Tyrone Courier dated 13 July 1916:
Captain J C B Proctor, M.A. LLD, BL, Inniskilling Fusiliers (Derry Volunteers), killed in action on 1st July, was the eldest son of the late Mr James E Proctor, solicitor, Limavady, and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey house, Moy. He practised as a solicitor in association with his father in Limavady for a time and afterwards went to the Bar, and became a member of the north-west Circuit. He was an ardent Unionist in politics and it was through his untiring energy that the U.V.F. movement was so firmly established in County Derry. The deceased has two brothers serving with the colours – Major G Norman Proctor, Kashmir Rifles, who is serving in East Africa, and Lieutenant Edwin V Proctor, Australian Force, Egypt, while his younger sister is a military nurse.
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 13th July 1916:
Major F S N Macrory, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Derry Volunteers), son of Mr Samuel Macrory, J.P., Ardmore Lodge, Limavady, writing to Mrs Proctor, mother of the late Captain J C B Proctor, says:-
‘Poor Claude lost his life during the advance on 1st July whilst gallantly leading his company into action. Claude was a most gallant officer, and was a universal favourite with both officers and men.’
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated Saturday 15th July 1916: Captain James C B Proctor
Captain James Claude Beauchamp Proctor, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Derry Battalion), who was killed on the 1st July, was the eldest son of the late Mr James E Proctor, solicitor, Limavady, and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey House, Moy. He was educated at Reading School, Berks, concluding his collegiate career at Trinity, Dublin where he obtained his M.A. and subsequently his L.L.D. He was Auditor of the solicitors Debating Society in Dublin, and practised as a solicitor in association with his father in Limavady for a time. He afterwards went to the Bar, and became a member of the North West Circuit. He was an ardent Unionist in politics and a member of the Ulster Unionist Council, organiser and secretary of the local Unionist Club, and also co-organiser and secretary of the U.V.F He was second in command of the north Londonderry Regiment, U.V.F., and on the outbreak of the war he obtained a commission on the 10th Inniskillings, Ulster Division, serving at Finner, Randalstown and Seaford before proceeding to the front. The deceased has two brothers serving with the colours – Major G Norman Proctor, (East Africa) and Edwin V Proctor (Australian Force, Egypt), and his sister is a military nurse.
From unknown source
Captain James Claude Beauchamp Proctor M.A., LLD (Inniskillings), who has been killed in action, was the eldest son of the late James E Proctor, solicitor, Limavady and of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey House, Moy. He was educated at Reading School, Berkshire and Trinity College, Dublin. He practised as a solicitor and afterwards joined the North-West Circuit. He was a Unionist in politics, a member of the Ulster Unionist Council, organiser and secretary of the Limavady Unionist Club, and also county organiser of the U.V.F. On the outbreak of war, he obtained a commission in the Inniskillings.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated Saturday 19th August 1916: Major G W Proctor (brother of J C B Proctor)
Major G Norman Proctor, who was dangerously wounded on 20th July in German East Africa, is the second son of the late Mr James Edwin Proctor, Tullydoey, and brother of Captain J C B Proctor, B.L., of the Derry Volunteers, killed ion 1st July. Major Proctor, whose regiment is Wallajahbad Light Infantry, Indian Army, is now attached to the Kashmir Rifles, and has been with the Indian Expeditionary Force in German East Africa since the beginning of hostilities there, taking part in some severe fighting. Prior to this he saw active service in German south West Africa, as well as in an Indian frontier campaign some years ago, for which he holds the medal and clasp.
From the Tyrone Courier dated 24 August 1916: Major G W Proctor (brother of J C B Proctor)
Major G Norman Proctor, Indian Army, second son of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy, who was reported from the India Office as being dangerously ill in German East Africa on the 20th ult., is now approaching convalescence. Major Proctor is a brother of the late J. Claude B. Proctor, who was killed in action on 1st July 1916.
1917
From the Tyrone Courier dated 4 January 1917: Major G W Proctor (brother of J C B Proctor)
Major George Norman Proctor, Kashmir Rifles, has arrived in England having been invalided home after a sever attack of fever contracted in German East Africa, where he was on active service for a prolonged period. Major Proctor, who is one of the youngest majors in the army, was a member of the Indian Expeditionary Force, proceeding from Karachi soon after hostilities commenced. He is a son of the late Mr J E Proctor, Limavady, and Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy. His elder brother, Captain J Claude B Proctor, Inniskillings, fell in the historic advance of the Ulster Division last July, and a younger brother, Edwin Vere, who saw service in Egypt and the Dardanelles (where he was wounded), is now attached to the air service.
From the Tyrone Courier dated Thursday 15 August 1917: A Gallant Ulster Officer
A dedication service was held at the Parish Church, Benburb, when his Grace, the Lord Primate dedicated a tablet erected by Mrs Proctor and family to the memory of the late James Edwin Proctor and his eldest son Claude Beauchamp Proctor. The service being strictly private, only a few friends of the family were present. The tablet, which is of white marble, mounted on black marble, bore the following inscription:-
'To the Glory of God, and in loving memory of James Edwin Proctor of Tullydoey, Moy and Limavady., co Londonderry, born the 27th day of July 1855, died on the 30th day of October 1913. Until the day break and the shadows flee away. And of his son, James Claude Beauchamp Proctor, M.A., L.L.D., born 21st June 1885, Captain in the 10th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who fell in action near Thiepval, France, whilst gallantly leading his men against the enemy's trenches, in charge of the Ulster Division. 1st July 1916. Dulce let decorum est pro patria mori.'
The Proctor family has a splendid record of patriotic service. The late gallant officer, whose supreme sacrifice is recorded above, was one of three soldier sons of the late Mr J E Proctor and of Mrs Proctor. The two surviving sons are Major George Norman Proctor, Kashmir Rifles, who took part in strenuous campaigning with the Indian Expeditionary Force in East Africa and was invalided home after a very severe attack of fever; and Lieutenant Edwin Vere Proctor, who came with the Australian Expeditionary Force.
1918
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 5th September 1918:
Private Edwin Vere Proctor, Australian Infantry, wounded, is the youngest son of Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy, and of the late Mr J E Proctor, Limavady.
From the Tyrone Courier and Dungannon News dated 12th September 1918:
Lieutenant E V Proctor, Australians, wounded and now in hospital at Brighton with shrapnel injuries in the left thigh, is a son of the late Mr J E Proctor, solicitor, Limavady, and Mrs Proctor, Tullydoey, Moy. He was also wounded in the Gallipoli campaign. Captain J C B Proctor, of the Derry Volunteers, who was killed at Thiepval on 1st July 1916, was a brother of Lieutenant E V Proctor, and another brother is an officer in the Indian Army.
Memorials
Captain James Claude Beauchamp Proctor is buried in Mill Road Cemetery at Thiepval in France. His inscription reads: UNTIL THE DAY BREAK AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY
The Barrister's Roll of Honour at Dublin Forecourts lists JCB Proctor.
Drumachose (Christ Church) Church of Ireland in Limavady, Ireland, has some large niche panels inside the Church. One of these is a commemoration of Captain Proctor who was “mortally wounded whilst leading his men against the German trenches in which he died”.
Captain James Claude Beauchamp Proctor is commemorated locally on Moy War Memorial.
The CWGC record Captain James Claude Beauchamp Proctor as the son of James Edwin and Frances J Proctor of Tullydoey, Moy, County Tyrone. He is also recorded as being a native of Limavady, County Londonderry.
There is evidence that he ever lived in the Dungannon – Moy area.
'To the Glory of God, and in loving memory of James Edwin Proctor of Tullydoey, Moy and Limavady., co Londonderry, born the 27th day of July 1855, died on the 30th day of October 1913. Until the day break and the shadows flee away. And of his son, James Claude Beauchamp Proctor, M.A., L.L.D., born 21st June 1885, Captain in the 10th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who fell in action near Thiepval, France, whilst gallantly leading his men against the enemy's trenches, in charge of the Ulster Division. 1st July 1916. Dulce let decorum est pro patria mori.'
