John Aidan Liddell
Captain John Aidan Liddell, V.C., M.C. 3rd Battalion (attached 2nd Battalion.) The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and Royal Flying Corps.
Liddell was born on August 3 1888. The eldest son of Mr John Liddell. K.C.S.G. and J.P. for Northumberland of Sherfield Manor, Basingstoke and late of Prudhoe Hall, Northumberland, his mother being the daughter of the late Major Henry A. Berry1 of the Cameronians. His two brothers were also serving in the forces, named -, Capt. C. Liddell of the 15th Hussars, who was twice mentioned in despatches. and Sub-Lieut. L. Liddell, R.N.
Liddell entered Stonyhurst College on September 20th, 1900. He possessed a charming natural disposition, and was always bright and cheery. As a student he showed abilities out of the ordinary, but was handicapped by delicate health. However, he greatly distinguished himself in the science classes. He had a natural bent for anything mechanical, and was a keen observer and lover of nature. He also became very early in his school career an expert photographer. The boys called him "Oozy" Liddell, because, as it was explained, he was always "messing about with chemicals and engines". He was one of the Aviary boys, and possessing a good voice, a member of the choir. As he also played the flute well, he took his place as a flautist in the orchestra. One trait of his character was a remarkable power of concentrating his mind upon any subject or occupation he had immediately in hand. He was, in his love of all things scientific, very interested in astronomy, and frequently assisted Father Cortie in the Observatory, where he learned to manipulate the various instruments and the art of exact observation. Accordingly, when Father Cortie went to Vinaroz, in Spain, to observe the total solar eclipse of August 30th, 1905, he took Aidan Liddell as his chief assistant, and entrusted to him - though only 17 years old - the manipulation, during the eclipse, of the 20 foot telescopic camera. With this instrument he was entirely successful, and obtained during the three minutes of total eclipse six large-scale photographs of varying exposures of the solar corona. In Spain, as elsewhere, he captivated everyone by his cheerful and amiable disposition, and was a great favourite among the Jesuit Fathers of the Colleges at Barcelona and Tortosa where he stayed with Father Cortie, and especially at Vinaroz, where the observers lived in the house of Dr. Roca. His health, however, still continued to give anxiety, so in the following year his father and mother took him on a long sea voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. While there he visited the Royal Observatory, which was then under the direction of that eminent astronomer the late Sir David Gill, who wrote the following letter to Father Cortie, dated March 23rd, 1906:-
- I had the pleasure of receiving your letter of the 20th January, introducing your pupil Mr Aidan Liddell. I made an appointment for last Tuesday, and he came to the Observatory accompanied by his father and mother. I found him an exceedingly bright, intelligent young fellow, and quite "ready at the uptake" as the Scotch have it. In fact, I took quite a fancy to the lad and asked him to come back on the following morning to complete his survey of the Observatory. His mother tells me he has been making numerous notes from which he can report to you of what he has seen. I think the lad might do far worse than take to astronomy as a profession. No one will ever make money at astronomy, but no one will ever do any good at it unless he is born by nature that way. I do think this lad has both the taste and the brains from the little I could see of him.
This indeed is high praise from such a distinguished expert as the late Astronomer Royal at the Cape of Good Hope. On his return to Stonyhurst, on the nominations of Father Cortie, he was elected a member of the British Astronomical Association on February 27th, 1907.
He was a Philosopher here for two years, when he directed his attention mainly to biology and zoology. He was also a devoted and most successful fisherman; in fact' his main recreation was fishing on the ponds or in the river. From Philosophy at Stonyhurst he passed to Balliol College, Oxford, where he took the Honours Course in Zoology, being the only man of his year who secured the honours degree in the first class in this subject. He was, as was indeed inevitable, a great favourite with his contemporaries, and was known among them as "Peter." His favourite pastime was motoring, and there was nothing about motor engines with which he was not familiar. His aptitude for anything mechanical was extra-ordinary. After completing his course at Oxford he was offered a travelling scholarship in order to investigate the fauna of the isle of Krakatoa, in the Straits of Sunda, which had been devastated and partly blown to pieces in the great eruption of 1883. This he was unable to accept - but as he himself expressed it "not wishing to he a slacker, he joined the special reserve of officers in the 3rd Bn. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the year 1911 - He also later on took to flying and received his certificate as pilot at Brooklands in June, 1914.
On the outbreak of war he accompanied the 2nd Bn. to the front with the rank of Captain, and was placed in command of the machine gun section of the battalion. He was for forty-three consecutive days in the trenches. Of this period of his service we may quote an extract from Private Alexander McCallum of B " Companv, 2nd Bn. The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.
- We have a splendid officer in charge of the guns, one of those men who would give the faintest-hearted confidence. May he be spared to see us all safely through the lot, for you have no idea what it means to lose confidence in your superior.
The letter appeared in the local paper of Campbelltown, Scotland, of December 5th 1914. About this time he also helped to save the life of his Company-Sergeant-Major, S Conroy, who wrote after his death:-
- "On the 21st October, 1914, I was lying seriously wounded at a place called Fremalles, when Captain Liddell, V.C., observed me. He at once helped me to the road, and directed me to crawl back to the nearest field-dressing station. Knowing the serious nature of my wound, I knew I would have died had Captain Liddell, V.C., not given me timely assistance."
For his services as commander of the machine gun section he was mentioned in despatches, and received the award of the Military Cross on January 14th, 1915.
He was himself invalided home, however after his recovery he joined the Royal Flying Corps in May. He returned to the front again on July 23rd, and in eight days had gained his Victoria Cross, and the wound which ultimately brought about his death. The reconnaissance during which he so greatly distinguished himself by his supreme devotion to duty, was his second only over the German lines. The official grounds for the award were thus set forth in The Times, August 24th 1915.
The information above is an extract from the Stonyhurst College Memoirs - Stonyhurst War Record and from the Regimental Museum and Archives of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.
