Anthony Eden

Volunteering for service in the [[British Army]], like many others of his generation, Eden served with the [[21st (Service) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (Yeoman Rifles)]] (KRRC), a [[Kitchener's Army]] unit, initially recruited mainly from [[County Durham]] country labourers, who were increasingly replaced by Londoners after losses at the [[Battle of the Somme|Somme]] in mid-1916. He was commissioned as a temporary [[second lieutenant]] on 2 November 1915 (antedated to 29 September 1915).{{London Gazette|issue=29376 |supp=y|page=11579|date=19 November 1915}}{{London Gazette|issue=29426 |supp=y|page=124|date=31 December 1915}} His battalion transferred to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] on 4 May 1916 as part of the [[41st Division (United Kingdom)|41st Division]]. On 31 May 1916, Eden's younger brother, Midshipman William Nicholas Eden, was killed in action, aged 16, on board {{HMS|Indefatigable|1909|6}} during the [[Battle of Jutland]]. He is commemorated on the [[Plymouth Naval Memorial]].{{Cite web |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2865847/eden,-william-nicholas/ |title=Casualty |access-date=14 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215001415/https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2865847/eden,-william-nicholas/ |archive-date=15 December 2017 |url-status=live }} His brother-in-law, Lord Brooke, was wounded during the war.

Volunteering for service in the [[British Army]], like many others of his generation, Eden served with the [[21st (Service) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (Yeoman Rifles)]] (KRRC), a [[Kitchener's Army]] unit, initially recruited mainly from [[County Durham]] country labourers, who were increasingly replaced by Londoners after losses at the [[Battle of the Somme|Somme]] in mid-1916. He was commissioned as a temporary [[second lieutenant]] on 2 November 1915 (antedated to 29 September 1915).{{London Gazette|issue=29376 |supp=y|page=11579|date=19 November 1915}}{{London Gazette|issue=29426 |supp=y|page=124|date=31 December 1915}} His battalion transferred to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] on 4 May 1916 as part of the [[41st Division (United Kingdom)|41st Division]]. On 31 May 1916, Eden's younger brother, Midshipman William Nicholas Eden, was killed in action, aged 16, on board {{HMS|Indefatigable|1909|6}} during the [[Battle of Jutland]]. He is commemorated on the [[Plymouth Naval Memorial]].{{Cite web |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2865847/eden,-william-nicholas/ |title=Casualty |access-date=14 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215001415/https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2865847/eden,-william-nicholas/ |archive-date=15 December 2017 |url-status=live }} His brother-in-law, Lord Brooke, was wounded during the war.

One summer night in 1916, near [[Ploegsteert]], Eden had to lead a small raid into an enemy trench to kill or capture enemy soldiers to identify the enemy units opposite. He and his men were pinned down in [[no man's land]] under enemy fire, his sergeant seriously wounded in the leg. Eden sent one man back to British lines to fetch another man and a stretcher, and he and three others carried the wounded sergeant back with, as he later put it in his memoirs, a "chilly feeling down our spines", unsure whether the Germans had not seen them in the dark or were chivalrously declining to fire. He omitted to mention that he had been awarded the [[Military Cross]] (MC) for the incident, of which he made little mention in his political career.Rhodes James 1986, pp. 43–44. On 18 September 1916, after the [[Battle of Flers-Courcelette]] (part of the [[Battle of the Somme]]), he wrote to his mother, "I have seen things lately that I am not likely to forget". On 3 October, he was appointed an [[Adjutant#UK and other Commonwealth countries|adjutant]], with the rank of temporary [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] for the duration of that appointment.{{London Gazette|issue=29911|page=823|date=19 January 1917}} At the age of 19, he was the youngest adjutant on the Western Front.

One summer night in 1916, near [[Ploegsteert]], Eden had to lead a small raid into an enemy trench to kill or capture enemy soldiers to identify the enemy units opposite. He and his men were pinned down in [[no man's land]] under enemy fire, his sergeant seriously wounded in the leg. Eden sent one man back to British lines to fetch another man and a stretcher, and he and three others carried the wounded sergeant back with, as he later put it in his memoirs, a "chilly feeling down our spines", unsure whether the Germans had not seen them in the dark or were chivalrously declining to fire. He omitted to mention that he had been awarded the [[Military Cross]] (MC) for the incident, of which he made little mention in his political career.Rhodes James 1986, pp. 43–44.

On 18 September 1916, after the [[Battle of Flers-Courcelette]] (part of the [[Battle of the Somme]]), he wrote to his mother, "I have seen things lately that I am not likely to forget." On 3 October, he was appointed an [[Adjutant#UK and other Commonwealth countries|adjutant]], with the rank of temporary [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] for the duration of that appointment.{{London Gazette|issue=29911|page=823|date=19 January 1917}} At the age of 19, he was the youngest adjutant on the Western Front.

Eden's MC was gazetted in the [[1917 Birthday Honours]] list.{{London Gazette |issue=30111 |date=1 June 1917 |page=5478 |supp=y}}{{London Gazette |issue=13099 |date=4 June 1917 |page=1070 |city=e}} His battalion fought at [[Messines Ridge]] in June 1917. On 1 July 1917 Eden was confirmed as a temporary lieutenant,{{London Gazette|issue=30333 |supp=y|page=10558|date=12 October 1917}} relinquishing his appointment as adjutant three days later.{{London Gazette|issue=30487 |supp=y|page=1081|date=18 January 1918}} His battalion fought in the first few days of the [[Third Battle of Ypres]] (31 July – 4 August). Between 20 and 23 September 1917 his battalion spent a few days on coastal defence on the Franco-Belgian border.

Eden's MC was gazetted in the [[1917 Birthday Honours]] list.{{London Gazette |issue=30111 |date=1 June 1917 |page=5478 |supp=y}}{{London Gazette |issue=13099 |date=4 June 1917 |page=1070 |city=e}} His battalion fought at [[Messines Ridge]] in June 1917. On 1 July 1917 Eden was confirmed as a temporary lieutenant,{{London Gazette|issue=30333 |supp=y|page=10558|date=12 October 1917}} relinquishing his appointment as adjutant three days later.{{London Gazette|issue=30487 |supp=y|page=1081|date=18 January 1918}} His battalion fought in the first few days of the [[Third Battle of Ypres]] (31 July – 4 August). Between 20 and 23 September 1917 his battalion spent a few days on coastal defence on the Franco-Belgian border.