Archie Stewart Buckle

Archie Stewart Buckle was the son of Captain Archibald Lewis Buckle RE. He was commissioned in the Royal Artillery on 17 February 1888. He spent much of his pre-war career serving with the Royal Field Artillery in India, but he also acquired experience and expertise in the handling and issuing of explosives. He passed Staff College in 1905 and was GSO2 in South Africa from June 1909 until June 1913.

Major Buckle went to war with the BEF and was wounded in the face in October 1914 and invalided home. Following his recovery, in January 1915, he was appointed GSO1 19th (Western) Division, a New Army formation, then assembling amid exiguous supplies of equipment and inadequate training facilities. Buckle deployed to France with 19th Division in July 1915 and helped plan its costly and abortive baptism of fire on 25 September in the Action at Piètre, part of the battle of Loos.

In January 1916 he moved from his staff post to the command of XXII Brigade RFA, one of the artillery units of 7th Division. He remained in command until 9 August 1916 when he was promoted brigadier-general and posted to 17th (Northern) Division as its CRA to replace Brigadier-General R G Ouseley, who had been wounded on 21 July. Buckle arrived in the middle of the battle of Delville Wood. A week after his appointment he was suddenly taken ill and died two days later of meningitis.