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{{short description|British military historian (1886–1985)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April
{{Infobox person
|name = William Murrell Lummis
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|birth_date = 4 June 1886
|birth_place = [[Coddenham]], [[Suffolk]]
|death_date = 2 November 1985 (
|death_place =
|other_names = Canon William Murrell Lummis
|known_for = [[
|occupation =
|nationality = {{flagicon|UK}} [[United Kingdom]]
}}
[[Canon (priest)|Canon]] '''William Murrell Lummis''' [[Military Cross|MC]] (4 June 1886 – 2 November 1985) was a British military historian most noted for the research he conducted on the [[Victoria Cross]], the [[Charge of the Light Brigade]], and [[Rorke's Drift]].<ref name=Dutton>Roy Dutton, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CwDdEHu2hVgC&pg=PA358 ''Forgotten Heroes: The Charge of the Light Brigade''], InfoDial Ltd, (2007) - Google Books pg. 4</ref>
==Military career==
[[Image:lummis-1904.jpg|thumb|160px|left|
Born in [[Coddenham]], [[Suffolk]], Lummis was the oldest of seven children born to George Murrell Lummis (
By the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]] in August 1914, he was [[Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant]], the youngest in the [[British Army]]. He served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] throughout the War, taking part in the [[Great Retreat|Retreat from Mons]] and seeing action in [[Flanders]].<ref name=harvey/> He was commissioned in 1916<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29544|page=3881|date=11 April 1916|supp=y}}</ref> and transferred to his county regiment, the [[Suffolk Regiment]], serving with the regiment's second battalion for the remainder of the war.<ref name="Times"/> He was awarded the [[Military Cross]] (MC) for bravery on 21–23 August 1918 during the [[Second Battle of the Somme]].<ref name="Times"/> He commanded the battalion on 23 October 1918 at its last First World War action, the [[Battle of the Selle]], when it took all its objectives.<ref name="Times"/> The full citation for his MC appeared in ''[[The London Gazette]]'' in November 1918, by which time the war was over, and reads as follows:
{{Quote|For conspicuous gallantry and good leadership. Through thick fog he led his company, under complete control, to the objective. He personally rushed an enemy machine gun and killed the crew. Later he led his company forward with great determination, in face of very heavy fire. He set a splendid example of determined courage to those under him.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31043|page=14250|date=29 November 1918|supp=y}}</ref>}}
After the War ended, he remained in the Army, serving in [[India]], [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Ireland]]. He was appointed Adjutant and Quarter-Master in the Army School of Education in India, returning to [[England]] in 1925,<ref name="Times"/> rejoining his regiment on 14 October.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=33139|startpage=1651|date=5 March 1926|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> He was promoted to [[captain (land)|captain]] on 21 January 1928,<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=33393|startpage=4020|date=12 June 1928|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> and on 9 December 1930 he reached the retirement age for service,<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=33668|startpage=7890|date=9 December 1930|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> remaining in the reserve of officers for a further five years.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=34230|startpage=7955|date=10 December 1935|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> On leaving the Army he researched the other four [[Light cavalry|Light Brigade]] regiments which had also taken part in the Charge of the Light Brigade.<ref name=harvey/>▼
▲After the
==Ministry==
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Lummis was ordained [[deacon]] in the [[Church of England]] in 1930.<ref name="Times"/> Moving back to his home county of Suffolk, his first living was at St Matthew's church, Ipswich, followed by other appointments in the county, including [[Rural Dean]] of [[South Elmham]].<ref name="Times"/> In 1955, he became a [[Canon (priest)|Canon]] of the [[Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich]].<ref name="Times"/> After retirement, he went to live in [[Barnham Broom]] in [[Norfolk]], though he continued in the ministry, holding various part-time appointments in nearby parishes, and acting as Rural Dean of Higham.<ref name="Times"/>
Lummis ran [[Boy Scout]] troops from 1909, firstly at [[Shornecliffe]] and later at [[Aldershot]], in [[India]], and at [[Ipswich]] and [[Kesgrave]] until the late 1930s. In 1948 he was re-commissioned as a [[Royal Army Chaplains' Department|Chaplain to the Forces, 4th Class]], with the Suffolk [[Army Cadet Force]],<ref>{{
==Historian, writer, researcher==
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===Charge of the Light Brigade archive===
Lummis' first regiment, the [[11th Hussars]] rode in the [[Charge of the Light Brigade]] during the [[Crimean War]]. Whilst editing the regimental journal, Lummis met and interviewed many surviving members of the Charge.<ref name=Dutton/><ref name = "Times"/> (The last veteran of Balaklava died in 1927)<ref>[[Terry Brighton|Brighton, Terry]]; ''Hell Riders: The Truth About the Charge of the Light Brigade'', p. xxi. (2004: Viking) {{ISBN
===Rorke's Drift research===
[[File:PadreGSmith1.jpg|thumb|160px|right|Padre George Smith of Rorke's Drift was the subject of a book by Lummis]]
It is unclear when his interest in the Zulu Wars developed but his 1978 book ''[[George Smith (chaplain)|Padre George Smith]] of [[Rorke's Drift]]'' was a detailed analysis of the part played by Smith in the famous battle of [[Rorke's Drift]] during the [[Zulu War]] of 1879. The book showed that Smith's involvement in the defence of the mission station had been seriously overlooked in favour of the more famous participants, such as [[John Chard]] and [[Gonville Bromhead]], who had won [[Victoria Cross]]es during the action. Padre Smith is depicted in the centre of [[Alphonse de Neuville]]'s famous 1880 painting 'The Defence of Rorke's Drift' distributing ammunition to the defenders.<ref>[[:Image:The defense of Rorke's Drift.jpg|de Neuville's ''The Defence of Rorke's Drift'']]</ref>
==Legacy==
His collection of artefacts (including many photographs) and his archives from his Victoria Cross and Light Brigade research were deposited with the [[Imperial War Museum]]<ref>Imperial War Museum accession nos: 12142, 47934K, 16863</ref> and the [[National Army Museum]]. When the Royal Mail produced a series of stamps in 2006 commemorating the Victoria Cross, they featured photographs and artifacts from the Lummis archive at the [[National Army Museum]].<ref>[http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=22900465&mediaId=22900498 Commemorative stamps]</ref> His tape-recorded memoirs, covering the period
William Lummis married Agnes Templeton (
==Selected works==
* ''Honour the Light Brigade'' (with Kenneth G. Wynn), J. B. Hayward and Son, 1973, {{ISBN
* ''[[George Smith (chaplain)|Padre George Smith]] of Rorke's Drift '', Wensum Books (Norwich) Ltd, 1978, {{ISBN
* ''First Lieutenant Edward St John Daniel. The Tragic Story of the Only Officer to Forfeit the VC''; Journal of the Orders and Medals Research Society, December 1969, pp 100–102.
<!--these books do not have an ISBN as they are pre-1966-->
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==Notes and references==
{{authority control}}
▲{{Reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lummis, Canon William}}
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[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Crimean War]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Suffolk]]
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1985 deaths]]
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[[Category:Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers]]
[[Category:People from Coddenham]]
[[Category:People from Barnham Broom]]
[[Category:Army Cadet Force officers]]
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