Willans, RHK
(1875 - 1916)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
9th September 1875
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1885 - 1886
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
9 Eliot Bank, Forest Hill
REGIMENT
Royal Army Service Corps (attached Canadian Infantry)
FINAL RANK:
Major
DATE OF DEATH:
12th September 1916
AGE AT DEATH:
41
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Somme?
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Abbeville Communal Cemetery. VI G 18
Major Richard Harte Keatinge Willans
Born 9th September 1875, Richard was first commissioned in 1896 to the Connaught Rangers but soon was transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps, where he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1899. Herbert was deployed in active service in West Africa in 1900, serving as the Director of Supplies and Transport in Ashanti. After being wounded in combat, Herbert was promoted to Captain in 1901 and was further promoted the next year to the rank of Brevet Major. In 1907 he was appointed to the role of Assistant District Commissioner in Sierra Leone, retiring several years later, in 1911.
When the war broke out in 1914, Richard re-enlisted for service and was attached to the 69th Battalion Canadian Infantry, ultimately going on to fight alongside the 23rd Battalion. He died on the 12th of September 1916, of wounds he had received in action on the Somme.