Captain Francis George Mockler, DSO, 1916
The Star, July 7th, 1916: We deeply regret to announce the death in action of Major F G Mockler, DSO, Royal Irish Regiment, which occurred on Sunday, July 2nd.
Major-General and Mrs Mockler, of Rochford, Grange, received a telegram yesterday that [Captain] Mockler was missing. Today a letter arrived from a brother officer conveying the sad news of the death of the gallant officer which had been caused by the explosion of a bomb.
Major Mockler, who was 27 years of age, was an Old ELizabethan and, during the present war, was mentioned in despatches several times. He rapidly received promotion. He was considered as one of the best all-round athletes of Elizabeth College.¹ Major Mockler was Captain of the College cricket team and was most popular with all cricketers and no less among footballers. He was a member of the College football team, and on one occasion played as inside right in the Guernsey Muratti team in Jersey.
July 18th: The late Major F G R[oss] Mockler, DSO, played in three Muratti matches for Guernsey, viz, against Jersey in Jersey, Alderney in Jersey, and Jersey in Guernsey. On the first two occasions he was in the winning team, scoring in both matches.
Francis Mockler, attached Machine Gun Corps, missing, believed killed, born May 1890, entered Royal Irish Regiment March 1910. Promoted January 1912, Captain January 1915, seconded for service with the machine gun corps.
¹ Bernard Mourant, 'Memories: Forty Years On,' QRGS, Winter, 1950, p. 8: 'We still played rugby football, and even as a Lower School boy, F G Mockler was an artist. Had he not gone to India before the 1914-18 war took him from us, I wonder to what heights on both cricket and football fields he might have risen.'
See also: Lance-Corporal Henry J Bisson; Rifleman E S Gard; Lieutenant Auguste Bulteau; Corporal Edwin Carter