Randle William Gascoyne-Cecil - Lest We Forget

Randle William Gascoyne-Cecil was born November 28, 1889 in London, England.  He was the son of Right Rev. Lord William Gascoyne-Cecil and Lady Florence Cecil, of Barton Place, Exeter. His father was appointed Bishop of Exeter in 1916, and his grandfather was Lord Salisbury, three time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Randle William was on a horse-back trip through North America, and at the time war broke out, he was working as a car repair assistant at the CPR shops in Revelstoke. In Revelstoke he was known as Randle Cecil. He was one of the 69 men who volunteered for military service at the outbreak of the war.

Randle William Gascoyne-Cecil was one of 25 men from Revelstoke accepted for service with the Second Contingent of Canadian Volunteers and signed his enlistment papers on November 11, 1914 at Victoria. He had been with the RMR for 2.5 months and previous to that claimed 2 years military experience with Oxford University Officers Training Corp., Cavalry Squadron Attached. Randle was almost 25 years old, married, 5’ 8 ½” tall with light brown hair and blue eyes. His religious affiliation was Anglican. His regimental number was 77504.

Randle William Gascoyne-Cecil died on December 1, 1917. He was 28 years old. He left a wife and young daughter in England. At the time of his death he was a Lieutenant with the Royal Horse Artillery, Territorial Force. The gun that he was commanding took a direct hit, killing him and his crew, and making retrieval of remains impossible. Because of this, he does not have a grave, and his name is memorialized at the Cambrai Memorial Louverval, Nord, France. His name does not appear on either the Courthouse or Cenotaph plaques. He is included in this memorial because he was working in Revelstoke at the time that he signed up.