Alan Courtney Tytheridge - Part 3 Japan at War 1941 - 1945

By Ann Titheradge and Jenny Stroud

Continued from the previous posts

Alan Courtney Tytheridge
Reproduced by permission of Jenny Stroud

Japan enters the war

Alan obviously realised trouble was brewing and on 15 April 1941 he wrote a will detailing what was to happen to his assets in New Zealand.

In September 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, in which they agreed to assist one another should any of them be attacked by a country not already involved in the war. Many British and Americans were evacuated from Japan in 1940, but Alan had chosen not to leave.

On 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbour, a surprise attack to prevent the U.S Pacific Fleet from entering the War in the Pacific. Over 350 Japanese fighter planes destroyed 188 U.S aircraft, sunk or damaged 18 ships and killed over 2,400 Americans. The following day America declared war on Japan.

The declaration of war by the Empire of Japan on the United States and the British Empire was published on December 8, 1941 Japan time and was printed on the front page of all Japanese newspapers. On 8 December 1941 Eric Bell, Alan's friend, was arrested as a spy and imprisoned in Yokohama Prison. After several months he was released but in September was interned at Kanagawa No1 Camp at the Negishi Racecourse.

Kanagawa No 2 Camp

Alan was luckier and was not identified as a spy. On 9 December 1941 Alan was arrested, as a general foreign national, not as a spy, and interned at the Kanagawa No 2 Camp, Yokohama, which was the Yokohama Yacht Club. Both Alan and Eric had their properties taken into the custody of the Japanese government. This would have included their two houses and all their private belongings.

Eight months later in May 1942 Alan wrote to his English cousin Dorothy and she passed the letter on to the local newspaper. The article below appeared in the Chichester Observer (note the misspelling of Dorothy’s surname!).

21 November 1942.

A Britain in Japan

"Miss Dorothy Titheridge, of 8 Orchard Avenue, Chichester, has heard from her cousin, Alan Tytheridge, who is in Y.A.R.C. Internment Camp, Yokohama, Japan, telling her not to worry about him, as he is being treated very well, and everyone is kind and friendly there. He writes in May:
Since 9 December I have been in this internment camp with about 30 other Britons and Americans. You must not imagine that I have been suffering any hardship during this time; on the contrary, I have had quite a pleasant time of it. The camp is in the former premises of a rowing club, is situated on the seashore and commands a fine view, with plenty of sun and fresh air. The rooms are large and airy, with a wide balcony like the deck of a ship, and there is a large recreation ground. The food is quite good, European style, three meals a day, with bread and butter and tea for all three meals, fish or meat and vegetables for lunch and dinner, and soup at dinner. Further we can get additional supplies from our homes at any time. We are allowed interviews of one hour with our people three times a month, and those who have families are now allowed to visit their home once a week for a few hours.
In the camp we are allowed a great amount of liberty, though at first the regulations were strict. There are various amusements, fishing off the seawall and ball games out of doors, and ping-pong, chess and card games indoors. There is a library of about 400 books, of which I have read about 50 already. The daily routine is as follows: 7am put away bedding and clean up the room; 7.30am roll call; 8am breakfast; 12noon lunch; 5.30pm dinner; 8pm roll call, then bed and lights out at 9pm. If the weather is fine, most of us spend the day entirely out of doors, and now that the warm days are here sunbathing is very popular, and we lie around reading smoking or chatting, wearing a pair of shorts or bathing trunks and acquiring a coat of tan. Luckily the weather has been remarkably fine ever since December, and the whole winter was unusually mild. Wet and cold days are not so pleasant, and time hangs rather heavily - that is the time for cards and reading. You can understand that this sort of open-air life is very good for the health, and I am just as fit and strong as when I was at home if not more so."

The letter tells of conditions much better than expected. Britons and American who were resident in Japan when war broke out, were treated very much better than those captured in war itself. However, whether it reflects a true account of life is debatable. Letters would have been read, so Alan would have been careful only to write a positive account for fear of backlash.

As time passed and the war dragged on Japan began to suffer more defeats and living condition for Japanese civilians themselves became harsher as food and provisions became scarce.  Life for Alan became tougher too.

Yamakita Camp

In June 1943 the two camps that both Alan and Eric were in closed and the internees were relocated in the same camp, the Yamakita Camp, also known as the Odawara City Camp. It was in the hills to the south west of Yokohama, with the nearest village 15 minutes away and Yamakita an hours’ walk away.

Alan's capture was reported to the Red Cross on 24 August 1943 and details appeared in New Zealand newspapers on 17 November 1943.

The Yamakita internment camp received visits from the International Red Cross who reported to back to Head Quarters in Geneva and their reports can be read on line. The reports show the conditions for Alan and the other internees deteriorated as the war progressed. The camp was built to house 55 people and the internees were a mix of British, Canadian and American citizens, ranging in age from 21 to 74.

The initial report in 1943 suggested that things were not too bad with food, lodging and treatment of the internees satisfactory.

By the second and third reports in 1944 things were not so good.  The reports show the buildings needed repair, sleeping was in overcrowded dormitories and there were open cesspools, no septic tank and water supply was from a spring. There was no heating in the building and the walls were very thin since it had been built for summer use by Catholic priests. Outside was freezing in winter and Internees told the Red Cross that apart from performing various duties outside they spent most of their time in bed during the winter. A few internees worked for the Farmers' Association in the nearby village of Uchiyama and as remuneration they received two rice balls per day. A few men worked in the vegetable garden inside the camp grounds growing potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes and corn in small quantities. All the internees, except for a few weak and old men, had to haul provisions from the nearby village and collect firewood from the hills. Food was scare for the Japanese civilians and hence food for the internees became less. The internees were always hungry and losing weight and many of them had weakened constitutions and suffered severe malnutrition. They reported to the Red Cross they needed underwear, socks and boots. Friends and relatives were permitted to see the internees twice monthly, but they were no longer allowed to bring in food. The internees received very few letters, although they had been sent by relatives abroad the post did not make it to the camp.

All conditions deteriorated with the arrival of the new Acting Camp Commander Sergeant Watanabe. After the war he was charged with war crimes which included mistreating prisoners.

World War 2 Ends

America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and on 9 August on Nagasaki. On 8 August the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria and on August 14 Japan agreed in principle to unconditional surrender. It was 2 September 1945 when Japan formally surrendered, ending World War II. At Yamakita Camp relief was dropped on 27 August and the military, American soldiers, arrived on 4 September.

On 10 September the internees in Yamakita Camp were released and Alan and Eric were transported to Chigasaki to Alan’s home. Eric was unable to return to his home as it had been sold by the Japanese authorities and was occupied.

In New Zealand on 2 October 1945 a Wellington paper reported than that Eric Bell and Alan Tytheridge and some other New Zealanders were safe following the end of the War in Japan.

To be continued  in next blog ……..

Alan Courtney Tytheridge - Part 2 Life in Japan 1916 – 1939

By Ann Titheradge and Jenny Stroud

Front Page of Alan Tytheridge's book
for Japanese travellers
Published by kind permission of Jenny Stroud

 Move to Japan

As stated in the newspaper article in the previous blog, it was Alan’s love of music and ability as a pianist that gave him the opportunity to go to Japan. He arrived in Japan in late 1916 or early 1917 and fell in love with Japan. It became his home for the next 47 years. No record has been found of this concert tour of Japan with the noted cellist but for some reason the tour was cut short or did not occur.

Alan had settled in Yokohama and his address in 1918 was Higashi Kaigan, Chigaski-machi, Kanagawa-ken, Yokohama. Alan established himself as a journalist in Tokyo and by May 1918 was on the editorial staff of "The New East", an English publication run by Mr J. W. Robertson Scott. The paper ceased production in 1918.

On 17 September 1918 Alan’s father died in New Zealand leaving all his money “in Trust” to Alan. In July 1920 Alan invested £2000 in a business venture, becoming the joint owner of a newly formed company in New Zealand called “Oriental Arts Ltd”. The co-owner was Harold Lightband. The company was selling works of art, antique furniture, leather goods etc. from eastern craftsmen to the New Zealand public. The publicity for the company says “We have our own resident representative in the east, (presumably Alan), a man of profound artistic judgment, who lives and moves with the people of the Orient, thus enabling him to secure rare specimens of damascene, enamel, lacquer work, ivory and other products”. The business was managed by Eric Bell, Alan’s old friend from his days in Christchurch. The business did not run for long and closed in 1922 with all the stock being sold by auction in July 1922. In 1922 Eric Bell left New Zealand and joined Alan in Japan. Eric found work as an English Language teacher.

Alan decided to go into teaching and in June 1921 New Zealand newspapers reported that Alan had recently been appointed as professor of English at the Tokyo College of Commerce, which was a Japanese University. This later became part of Hitosubashi one of the most prestigious universities in Japan.

At some point both Alan and Eric taught at Seijo School, Tokyo, but the dates of this employment are unclear.

Reports in an American Newspaper “Madera Tribune” published in September 1921 show that Alan was invited to Germany to a conference held in Berlin called “International Sex Congress”. This was to discuss a variety of topics around the subject including divorce, birth control and homosexuality.  Among the speakers was Dr Magnus Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld had opened the Institute of Sexual Science in Berlin in 1919, the library and archives of which were later destroyed by Nazi demonstrators in 1933. Alan visited the Institute and later when Hirschfield visited Japan he stayed with Alan in a Japanese fishing village. In 1922 Alan published an article, or maybe a book, in German “Beobachtungen uber Homosexualitat in Japan 1922”. (translation is Observations on Homosexuality in Japan 1922).

Alan and Eric were in Japan when an earthquake struck. On 1 September 1923 at noon the Great Kanto Earthquake struck the Kanto Plain on the Japanese main island of Honshuat. It had a magnitude of 7.9 and at the time was considered to be the worst natural disaster ever to strike Japan. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. The initial quake was followed a few minutes later by a 40-foot-high tsunami which swept away thousands of people. This was followed by fires, roaring through the wooden houses of Yokohama and Tokyo. The death toll was about 140,000. This earthquake devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and the surrounding areas. This must have been a terrifying experience for Alan and Eric and they were lucky to survive.

Alan the Author 1924 – 1928

Cover from Sagara and Tytheridge's book
Published by kind permission of Jenny Stroud

Alan established himself as a Professor of English and became an author of books and articles. In 1924 Alan wrote an article “An Uncrowned Lord of Language” about a British born author of West Indian descent, called M.P Shiel. Shiel is remembered mostly for supernatural horror stories and scientific romances. In the essay Alan discusses Shiel's early novels, heroes, and views of God. He also admired Shiel's mastery of the English language and how Shiel played with sound in his writing. Alan loved Sheil's writing although it would appear their interests were very different, perhaps the common ground was that Sheil did write about Japanese culture.


Alan’s linguistic ability meant he learnt to speak Japanese. In 1928 Alan co-authored a book with T. Sagara, “Colloquial English Conversations in Practical and Applied Forms”. The book is an English language guide for Japanese tourists / students who would be travelling to the USA or Britain in the 1920s. It is extraordinary in its detail, it's humour and invention. Alan's job was to translate the Japanese to English and add his knowledge of the English-speaking world at that time. I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to see this book and it is quite remarkable in its detail of every situation the traveller might encounter. The preface of the copy has been added by Alan in his own handwriting. It is transcribed below.

Pre-face to “Colloquial English Conversations in Practical and Applied Forms”

Alan's Hand Written Preface
to Sagara and Tytheridge's book
Published by kind permission of Jenny Stroud

This new book by Mr Saghara should prove a god-send to all students of English who seek acquaintance, not only with the literary language taught in schools, but also with (the often very different!) colloquial idiom in common use today throughout the English-speaking world.

How many thousands of Japanese there are who can read literature with ease and yet who find themselves utterly “at sea” when on their travels abroad they find themselves confronted with the thousand and one perplexities of an unfamiliar social life! How few students of Japanese universities, after years of study have any notion of how to give and acknowledge greetings, perform introductions, accept or declined invitations, or do any of the other of the countless little things which formed the ABC of social intercourse in Western lands. Their vocabulary of long literary words and stilted archaic phrases may be immense, but “English as she is spoke” is for the most part a terra incognita to them. My own experience of students has convinced me that in general they do not care to trouble themselves about Practical English, regarding it as an unnecessary, or very minor part of their equipment.

All those, however, whose business is to be with Real Life and not merely with Books, who intend to travel or otherwise come into close contact with English or American people, need to become thoroughly conversant with the actual living language in daily usage in England or America and for them Mr Saghara’s book will be an invaluable vade mecum.

Alan Tytheridge
Tokyo March 1928

Visits to America 1934 – 1939

In 1934, 45-year-old Alan took a holiday to America. He left Yokohama, Japan on 25 July 1934 and returned to Honolulu, Hawaii. He travelled on the “Taiyo Maru” arriving nine days later. The Honolulu Advertiser dated the 5 August, reported the arrival of the ship and passengers including "A C Tytheridge Professor of University of Commerce Tokyo on route and on vacation". He returned to Japan on 22nd August sailing from Honolulu on the same vessel.

Two years later Alan returned to America for another holiday sailing from Yokohama to Los Angeles aboard the ship “Asama Maru”. He left Yokohama on 10 July 1936 and arrived in Los Angeles 16 days later. He planned to visit San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. He stayed in America for a month, departing on 28th August.

His third visit to America came in 1939 departing Yokohama on 6 July 1939 on “Tatu ta Maru” arriving after 14 days. This time he planned to visit San Francisco, Seattle and New York. His visa lasted 60 days so he left some time before September. The ship’s manifest shows he was going to visit N R Hunter of 7 Patchin Place, New York. This should read M R Hunter who was a New Zealand poet, playwright and fiction writer but best known as a journalist in America. Rex had worked on the The Press in New Zealand and had also worked in Fiji and San Francisco, but it is not clear how Rex and Alan knew each other. Rex was part of the Greenwich Village literary circle and was a lead writer for one of the New York papers..

There was conflict developing in Europe and on 3 September 1939 Britain declared war on Germany and World War 2 began. This would have been about the time Alan arrived back in Japan and returned to his teaching post. He could not envisage the effect this declaration would have on his life.

To be continued in next blog ……

Alan Courtney Tytheridge - Part 1 Musician and Linguist 1889 - 1916

By Ann Titheradge and Jenny Stroud

Alan Courtney Tytheridge
Reproduced by kind permission of Jenny Stroud

Introduction

This is the fascinating life story of Alan Courtney Tytheridge. He was a remarkable man who was a scholar, an author, a musician and a linguist. He lived in four different continents during his life time and lived through an earthquake and internment by the Japanese in World War 2.

Although I have researched Alan’s life for many years much of the research presented here must be credited to Jenny Stroud whose research into the life of Alan and the background information is amazing. Thank you to Jenny for giving me permission to use her research and images. Jenny is Alan’s second cousin twice removed, related to him via his mother, Lucy Winterbottom. I would also like to thank Graeme Bell and Jenny’s Japanese researchers (Miyo and Mizuyo) for the assistance they have given Jenny.

Family Life in England 1889 -1895

Alan’s grandfather was William Henry Walter Tytheridge. William moved from Portsmouth to London. He had inherited money and property from his maternal uncle and the family were well-off and well-educated. Alan’s father Walter Robert Tytheridge was sent to St Paul’s public school and then went to medical school and qualified as a doctor and surgeon.

Walter was 35 when he married Lucy Anne Winterbottom on 21 January 1885 at St Johns Church, Nottinghill. Lucy also came from a wealthy family; her mother owned several properties and her when her father died he had left quite a bit of money. Lucy’s father, Henry,  had been a bandmaster in the Royal Marines and was a talented musician, a talent that was to be handed down to Alan.

Walter and Lucy’s first child, Nora, was born in Epsom Surrey in 1887, but she died just 10 months old.

On 15 June 1889 Alan Courtney Tytheridge was born and baptised on 22 July at Christ Church, Epsom. On the 1891 census the family and their servant were living at The Chestnuts, Church Street, Epsom, a very grand sounding address.

Alan's family tree can be found at this link .

Life in New Zealand

On 3 October 1895 Walter, Lucy and 6-year-old Alan emigrated to New Zealand sailing for Wellington on the ship “Ionic”. They settled at Marton, near Wellington, where Walter set up a doctor’s practice in Grey Street. During this period Alan learnt to play the piano. From 1901 newspaper articles show he passed piano exams, including when 14 years old being the only person to secure a distinction in the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music exams. It is obvious he had inherited the musical talents of his mother’s family.

In June 1904 the family moved to Opawa, a suburb of Chistchurch. Here Alan attended Christs College, Christchurch an independent school. Six months later he won his first school prize for Divinity. Alan quickly showed that he was a very gifted student in the arts, literature and languages. In 1905 he won school prizes for History, Latin, French and English. In 1906 he won prizes for Greek, English Literature, Latin, French and History. He was Head Boy at Christ's College.

In 1906 Alan’s s cousin, Dorothy May Tytheridge, visited the family in New Zealand. On her return to England she remained in written contact with Alan, and it is one of Alan’s letters to Dorothy that will tell us something of his life in Japan.

Alan was lucky enough to grow up in a family where the arts and music played an important role. His father, Walter, was involved in the cultural side of Christchurch life and is listed as a member of the Canterbury Society of Arts in 1914. From 1906 onwards, there are reports in the newspapers of Alan doing well in music competitions and reports of his performance at concerts and recitals. In 1912 there is reference to a YMCA concert where Alan performed with Eric Bell. Eric was to become his life time friend and their lives followed a very similar path. For many years Eric managed and conducted the Christchurch Salon Orchestra and Alan played in this orchestra. Alan was a superb pianist and a press story later referred to him “as a shining light in Christchurch musical circles”.

In 1907 Alan started at Canterbury College, in Christchurch which was one of the colleges of the University of New Zealand. Again, Alan excelled passing his first year German with credit and receiving an award for German in 1909. In 1910 he was awarded a B. A. first section and won awards for French, German, Latin and Greek. He was awarded the final section of the B. A. in April 1911, again, with an award for German. In April 1912 he was awarded an M. A. First Class honours in French and German. He was a true scholar.

In April 1912 Alan began his training as a journalist and went to work on the literary staff of the Christchurch newspaper “The Press”. He was paid £2 10s a week. His role was to assist the sub editorial staff, write on current topics and do some reporting.

Life in Fiji and USA 1914 - 1916

In July 1914 Alan was awarded an editorship on the Fiji Times based in Suva, the capital of Fiji. He sailed on the Marama on 1 August 1914 travelling First Class. It was while he was in Fiji that his mother Lucy died on 23 January 1915. In her will she left money in a trust to pay Alan an annual income.

Alan stayed in Fiji for a just over a year before heading to Honolulu. He sailed on the Makura which left Sydney on the 30th September 1915 and picked him up in Fiji on the way through. He arrived in Honolulu in Hawaii on 15 October 1915. His arrival on American soil was recorded by the immigration authorities and from the records we learn that he was 26 years old, 5ft 10 inches, with grey eyes, brown hair and weighed 148 lbs. He spent some time in Hawaii securing articles for his paper before going to San Francisco to attend The Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This was a world fair held in San Francisco to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was also to show San Francisco’s recovery from the 1906 earthquake

Alan liked San Francisco and ended up staying there for a year and twenty years later made several return visits. San Francisco has always had a large gay community and the city has been described as "the original 'gay-friendly city".

His departure from San Francisco is recorded in an article in the New Zealand newspapers which reads
Evening Star, 25 September 1916
“Mr Alan C. Tytheridge, who was for some time on the literary staff of "The Press," and afterwards editor of the "Fiji Times," but who has been in America for about eighteen months, was recently appointed pianist and accompanist to a noted Portuguese cellist and violinist, and they are to tour Japan. Mr Tytheridge's headquarters will be Yokohama till the conclusion of his contract, which is for three years. Among the pianists who applied for the post was Mr Walter Handel Thorley, who is well known in Christchurch musical circles.”

This period was during World War 1 in Europe. At home in New Zealand they had failed to find enough volunteers to fill the army. Conscription was publicly debated in New Zealand during 1915. Laws were passed restricting the movements and activities of military-aged men, who from November 1915 were banned from leaving the country without the government’s permission. In August 1916, the Military Service Act empowered the government to call up any man aged between 20 and 45 for military service. Perhaps these facts could have influenced Alan’s decision not to return to New Zealand?

To be continued in the next blog …..

Private G. H. Tidridge Remembered 100 Years On

Commonwealth War Graves

 A search of the Commonwealth War Grave website shows that 100 years ago today, on 9 July 1919, Private G H Tidridge died. He was in the 3rd Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry. Although he died after World War 1 had ended he is remembered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which commemorate all those who died during the war, plus those who died after the end of the war up to 26 September 1919.

Family of Private G. H. Tidridge

Private G H Tidridge’s full name was George Henry Joseph Robert Tidridge. He was the son of Edwin Alfred Tidridge (also referred to as Edward) and Hannah Mary Smith. Edwin and Hannah married at Fulham, St James in London on 10 July 1897. Edwin was a housepainter or decorator, originally from Romsey, Hampshire but then living in London and Hannah was from Bampton in Oxfordshire.

Edwin and Hannah’s first child, Gladys Tidridge, was born in March 1898 and died the same year. The next children were William Edward Tidridge born in 1899 (who lived until he was 56) and George Henry Joseph Robert Tidridge born on 1 July 1901 in Fulham. On 25 August 1901 William and Herbert were baptised in Bampton, Oxfordshire, Hannah’s home village. The fourth child, Herbert Tidridge, was born in 1904 and died aged 2. Tragedy struck the family when on 25 March 1908 44-year-old Edwin died leaving a pregnant Hannah with two young boys, William and George, to look after. Three months after Edwin’s death Alfred Dowdswell Tidridge was born and he died the following year. The births of the children were registered in either Fulham or Oxfordshire.

In July 1910 Hannah remarried Frederick Youngman in Islington. The 1911 census shows Hannah and Fred living together but without the two boys, William now aged 12 and George now aged 9. A search of the 1911 census shows George living in York Road, Hunstanton, Norfolk in a Boys' Home run by a widow Mrs Clara Adeline Beaumont aged 50. She was employed as Matron by the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society. The home was called St Christopher’s Home for Waifs and Strays. It had 11 rooms and 24 boys lived there. A picture of the home can be found at this link. On the same census brother William can be found in another boys’ home in Clyde House, Kingham Hill, Kingham, Chipping Norton.

World War 1

In 1914 when World War 1 broke out George was just 13 and elder brother William was 15. At some point, probably about 1917, William was either called up or voluntarily enlisted in the Machine Gun Corps. On 26 April 1918 William was listed as missing or wounded and his name appeared on the War Office Weekly Casualty list as missing on 25 June 1918. William spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp. When his Victory Medal and British Medal were sent to him after the war he returned them.

It was 1 July 1919 when George was 18 and old enough to join the army, but it is believed that he lied about his age to join up, before this date. He joined the 3rd Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry, service number 46003. This was a training battalion during World War 1 with no overseas war service and they ended the war at Fermoy, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

 George’s Death

 George was with the battalion in July 1919 at Fermoy, eight months after the war was over. He was taken ill and admitted to the Military Hospital in Fermoy on about 5 July 1919 and was found to be suffering from diphtheria. Diphtheria is a highly contagious and potentially fatal infection that can affect the nose and throat, and sometimes the skin. He was ill for 5 days and died on 9 July 1919 at The Military Hospital; he was just 18 years old. He is buried in Fermoy Military Cemetery and is remembered on the war memorial. This war memorial can be viewed at this link .

Army records show that his arrears of pay and a gratuity were sent to his mother Mrs Hannah M. Youngman, a total of £5 2s 3d.


So, 100 years on let us remember George, a young man who volunteered to serve his country and was then struck down by a deadly illness, a disease which today we are lucky enough to be immunised against.

Beware of False News

I have always known that you should not believe everything you read in the newspapers. Here below is a story that illustrates this and it is a warning to family historians that you should always try to double check your facts.

While looking through some American Newspapers this week I was rather surprised to come across the following item of news reporting the death of Dion Titheradge, the famous actor and playwright. I was surprised because the year of the article was 1918 and I knew Dion died on 16 November 1934.

Boston Globe 20 January 1918

“Dion Titheridge, brother of Madge Titheridge and well known to the speaking stage and the screen, was killed in action while serving in the British Army somewhere on the French front. Titheridge had a long stage experience, and appeared with Triangle in many productions. His last release was “The Whip” in which he acts the role of the jockey, a part he played on the speaking stage.”

And the same story appeared a few days later in another American paper.

Middletown Times Press on 2 February 1918

“Dion Titheridge who was a brother of Madge Titheridge, noted actress, died in the service of the British army. He acted with Sir Beerbohm Tree at His Majesty’s Theatre in London, and with Laurette Taylor in one of her noted productions. He also played with Triangle forces. A letter from him was received at the Triangle Culver City studios a few days before his death.”

As I knew Dion died in 1934 I knew these two articles had to be “false news”. In World War 1 Dion was in the British Army, in The Royal Field Artillery. However, he did not leave England until June 1918 when he was posted to Salonika. In February 1918 his army records show he was in Bulford Camp on Salisbury Plain in England.

It is hard to know how the story started since Dion was not in France so the story could not have arisen due the confusion of battle. It is unlikely that he was confused with another individual with a similar name since there were no other Titheridge or Titheradge whose first name begins with D; no one with the surname who was killed in the early months of 1918, and no one else with the family name with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

It would appear that similar articles did not appear in English or Australian newspapers.  The American newspapers also spelt his surname incorrectly using "idge" instead of "adge".

The reports in the American newspapers were eventually corrected on 26 January 1918 by the New York Times under the headline

Dion Titheradge Not Killed in War

“Reports published several weeks ago that Dion Titheradge, the actor, had been killed in France are now declared to have been unfounded. Friends of Titheradge last night received a cablegram from the Eccentric Club, London in which it was declared that the actor was well and uninjured. Titheradge last acted with Laurette Taylor in “The Harp of Life”


So, a happy ending to the story but a warning to family historians – Don’t believe everything you read