Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery
Born: February 4th 1894
Died: September 15th 1914
Age at Death:20
Killed in Action, France, September 1914
R.M.A Woolwich
A donation to the memorial statue has been made in honour of this soldier by Ken, Mary, Harry , Emily and Jack Grocott - Fellow members of School House 1994-00:
“Thank you Neil James Robert Wright for the sacrifice you made so that we could follow after you.
“Your name lives on and you will not be forgotten.”
and another donation in honour of this soldier by Tim Bishop QC and Claire Brind:
“Remembered with grateful thanks”
Neil James Wright
Neil James Wright was born in 1894 in Kingston Upon Thames. Unfortunately, possibly due to an error or inconsistency in the census records it is not possible to accurately determine either where he lived or the exact identity of his parents. It maybe that his father’s initials were G. F. and that Wright continued to live in Kingston throughout his childhood and early adolescent, however it is also possible that his parents were in fact actually was the son of James F and Letitia A Wright, who, in 1911 at least, lived in Essex Lodge, Westcliff-on-Sea Essex.
Irrespective of his parentage or where he actually lived it is clear that he was a pupil at Brighton College (School House) between 1908 and 1911. After leaving school Wright’s movements and employment are again unknown but it is clear that before the outbreak of war in 1914 he volunteered for the army and undertook officer training at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich before receiving a commission in the Royal Field Artillery.
On 19th August 1914 he arrived in France at Boulogne as part of the 15th Brigade Royal Field Artillery. He was killed very shortly afterwards on the 15th September 1914 during the very fluid fighting which took place on the River Aisne in the aftermath of the defeat of the German initial offensive on the Marne in early September 1914.
Source: LEST WE FORGET PROJECT, Brighton College 2014/15