Oliphant Down

William Oliphant Down was born in Bridgwater, Somerset in 1885. By 1891 his parents had moved him and his 3 siblings to Gillingham in North Dorset. In the 1901 census, now aged 15, he was listed as a boarding pupil at Warminster Grammar School in Wiltshire. On his attestation form, dated 4 August 1914, he stated his profession as 'Accountant', after training as an apprentice at a London accountancy firm from 1902-1907. He listed his place of residence as Holland Park. As well as his accountancy training, it appears Down was also involved in the theatre London scene. In the 1911 census he is listed as a visitor at two addresses. At one address in Chelsea South he is listed as being a dramatist and actor. He was staying with fellow actors Shiel Barry and his wife Dorothy Shiel-Barry (who performed under her maiden name Dorothy Minto). He was also listed as a visitor at the address of Harold Whitting Veasey and Euphemia Laura Veasey, in Ealing Common. Here he is listed as a 25-year old dramatist. Euphemia was his cousin on his mother's side and it was Harold Veasey who later published a book of poetry by Down following his death, which included some of his war poems. Before the war Down had written a number of plays that were performed on stages across the UK, including London. The one-act Maker of Dreams, his most well-known work, was a "charming little" musical fantasy that preceded Little Miss Llewelyn at the Vaudeville Theatre in September 1912. Another of his plays, The Quad Wrangle, preceded Things We'd Like to Know at the Apollo in March 1914 and Never Say Die at the Apollo in November 1914. During the war he was a member of the Princess Charlotte of Wales's Regiment (4th Battalion Royal Berkshire). The London Gazette reports Down being promoted to Second Lieutenant on 6th September 1915. His medal roll card states that he entered the war on 7th January 1916, serving in France. On 22 September 1916 the Gazette reports Down being awarded the Military Cross "For conspicuous gallantry in action. He made an excellent reconnaissance of an enemy strong point, and brought bacic most useful information. Two nights later he commanded the right platoon in an attack, and after entering the enemy's trench led a bombing party which killed 11 of the enemy." During the war Down continued to write plays and poems while in the trenches. His sketch 'Tommy by the Way' was performed as part of a grand matinee at the Alhambra, London on 9th January 1917 in aid of the Lord Kitchener Memorial Fund for Disabled Officers and Men of the Navy and Army. It was performed again at a matinee at the Alhambra on 24th June 1918 in aid of the Scholarship Fund of the Imperial Service College, Windsor. Down died during the period between the two performances of Tommy by the Way. He died, aged 31, in France on the 23 May 1917 from wounds sustained in action. He is buried at the Hermies Hill British Cemetery in Northern France.