Horace St Clair L' Amie

In February 1915 Horace gained entry to Sandhurst and he was gazetted second lieutenant 11/8/1915. He served in France arriving 26/12/1916. He was gazetted lieutenant in July 1917 and moved to the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and served in Salonika. In October 1919 he returned to the United Kingdom. On 24th July he landed at Belfast. On 5th October 1920 he was accidentally shot at Collinstown Aerodrome, Dublin. The court of inquiry took evidence and found that Lt L'Amie had been ordered to take a group of men into Dublin to investigate a theft. L'Amie was walking towards the officers' mess, and 3 men were walking 20 yards behind L'Amie. Each stated that heard a single shot saw L'Amie fall. L'Amie was clutching a revolver in his right hand and a single bullet had been fired. One man said L'Amie was walking with a stick in his left hand, and his right hand in his coat pocket. The medical witness stated that death was due to a single bullet to the heart.Another witness stated that he had examined the revolver found on Lt L'Amie, and discovered that the firing mechanism was faulty. If on "safe" the trigger would indeed not fire the revolver, but if the gun was cocked and on safe, a slight pressure on the hammer would fire the gun. It is believed that this is what happened to Lt L'AmieOn 7th October 1920, a Court of Inquiry sits and findings are given that the cause of death was "an accidental gunshot wound to the heart" and that the mechanism of his revolver was faulty

The following is an extract from the ' Cuthbertian' dated 1921 no 1 page 7: It was a great shock to us all to read in the papers that L'Amie was shot accidently in the grounds of Collinstown Aerodrome. He passed into Sandhurst direct from School with a Prize-Cadetship, and served with distinction throughout the war. He was a School Prefect when he left us, and was endeared to all who had to do with him. we tend our respectful sympathies to the bereaved family."As the result of the accidental discharge of a defective automatic pistol, Lieutenant Horace St. Clair L'Amie, 2nd Duke of Wellington's Regiment, was killed at Co!linstown Camp, co. Dublin, on the 5th inst. He was the only son of Mr. Wm J. L'Amie, Inspector of Customs and Excise, of Belmont, Bridgwater, and a nephew of Mr. Chas. J. L'Amie, Officer of Newcastle 4th station, who have many friends in the Customs and Excise Department. Entering the Army through Sandhurst in February, 1915, he was gazetted to his regiment in August, 1915, whilst still in his 19th year, and saw service on Salonica and French fronts, having been for a time attached to the Northumberland Fusiliers. At a Military Court of Inquiry into the cause of death held at King George the Fifth's Hospital, Dublin, testimony was borne by his brother officers and men as to his popularity and promising prospects in his profession. He had been in Ireland for some months with his regiment, and was engaged in arduous duties as an Intelligence Officer and was starting out to undertake work in connection with that office on the day when he was seen by three of the men of the regiment to fall to the ground in the camp immediately after his pistol had exploded in his pocket, and died within five minutes of his fall. The funeral, with full military honours, took place at the Military Cemetery, Dublin, on the 10th inst, where his father and uncle were chief mourners, being· supported by Mr. Humphrey Morphy, Collector of Customs and Excise, Dublin (whose sons were also present), and many relatives and friends residing in Dublin. Amongst the floral tributes sent were wreaths from the Colonel and Officers; The Officers' Mess; The N.C.O.'s and Men of the Regiment; The Chief Inspectors' Department, Customs and Excise; and the Masonic Lodge of Bridgwater, Somerset, to which the young officer belonged." ["The Civilian, 6th Oct., 1920].