Private Huntley Hugh Lecesne a Jamaican in the Machine Gun Corps during WW1

By John D Ellis

Huntley Hugh Lecesne was born in Jamaica in 1897. The son of James and Adeline Lecesne (the latter née Gordon). On his father’s side he was the great-grandson of Louis Celeste Lecesne (1796 or 1798 to 1845), the prominent Black anti-slavery activist depicted in Benjamin Haydn’s famous painting The Anti-Slavery Convention 1840. On his mother’s side he was reputedly descended from Sir John Gordon, the 5^th Baronet of Earlston.^[1]The Sturdy/Farquharson family tree (KimC1) @ ancestry.co.uk He was almost certainly of ‘mixed heritage’, but no mention of this was made of this in his army records – possibly deliberately so, lest he fall victim to the periodic sweeps by the War Office intended to identify and exclude those “aliens” of foreign birth or parentage.^[2]As a Jamaican he would have been a British Subject rather than foreign born, but the ‘Colour Bar’ was in place. It is to the credit of the officers and men of both the Middlesex Regiment and the … Continue reading He travelled to Britain from Jamaica at his own expense on the SS Camito (a ship belonging to The United Fruit Company), arriving at Bristol on the 6^th of November 1915.^[3]British Army World War 1 Service Records, 1914-1920. ancestry.co.uk

A clerk by occupation, he enlisted (for the “Duration of the War”) in the Middlesex Regiment at Whitehall, London on the 16^th of November 1915. On enlistment he was 5/11 and ½” tall and identified as a Roman Catholic. His civilian address was given as Bog Walk, Jamaica. Which was the same address as his next of kin, his mother Adeline Lecesne (Adelaide was also given). Given the number #3100, he was posted to the 24^th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment in Northamptonshire to undertake basic training. This was a route similar to that followed by other Black and Asian volunteers: A number undertook basic training in the 24^th Battalion, Middlesex and then subsequently served with ‘The Middlesex Regiment’ and ‘The Machine Gun Corps’.^[5]www.historycalroots.com/a-sri-lankan-in-the-die-hards-private-cyril-lorenz-mellonius-a-somme-veteran-of-the-middlesex-regiment/ Also … Continue reading Both units also promoted Black and Asian soldiers to senior non-commissioned rank.

In March 1916 he was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and was given the number #28508. Between March and June 1916, he was stationed in Grantham. In June 1916, he was posted to the 181^st Machine Gun Company in France. In early December 1916, the 181^st Machine Gun Company, embarked at Marseilles for Salonica. In June 1917 the 181^st Machine Gun Company moved to Alexandria.

During his service, Private Huntley Lecesne had no regimental (i.e. disciplinary) entries, and only two minor ones dating 16^th September 1917: He was charged by a Sergeant Hawkins with (1) Having a dirty rifle on parade and (2)Taking another man’s rifle for inspection. Found Guilty, Huntley Lecesne was sentenced to ‘3 Days Field Punishment Number 2’. Less than two weeks later he was graded as a ‘Machine Gunner Class 1’. In March 1918 the 181^st Machine Gun Company became part of No. 60 Battalion of the Machine Gun Corps.

In early November 1918 he was admitted to hospital for one week and in August 1919 he embarked for Britain.

In late 1919, Huntley Lecesne attempted to recoup the expenses incurred travelling from Jamaica to Britain in order to enlist in the British Army. The War Office rejected the claim, stating that it could “not now be entertained” as time has “expired”. He was discharged at Winchester on the 6^th of December 1919. His intended residence being 5 Kensington, Ferndine (Ferndene), Spanish Town, Jamaica. It was noted that he had been employed as a machine gunner, his sobriety had been “very good” and that he was both reliable and intelligent. He had served in three theatres of war: France, Salonika and Palestine. On discharge he was 6/0” tall, had brown eyes and was single.

In 1920 he was awarded both the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.^[6]World War 1 Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920. Piece 1741 (Machine Gun Corps). ancestry.co.uk

On 16^th January 1927 he married Margaret Gore in Kingston, Jamaica.^[7] https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=R_101862566775&tab=this In August 1933 he fathered a daughter, Miriam.^[8]https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KSP-8XSL?lang=en He died on 3^rd March 1934.^[9]https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G948-JLP5?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQVS5-GVDV&action=view&cc=1538386&lang=en