ISAAC Arthur Whitmore

John was a banker and he and Amelia had at least 5 other children.

Arthur was educated at Wixenford and Harrow Schools before attending Oriel College at Oxford where he gained a B.A. In 1899 Arthur married Lucy Vernon, only daughter of the Reverend Foley Vernon, Rector of Shrawley, Worcestershire and they had two sons. Arthur was a partner in the firm of Berwick & Co. and after their amalgamation with the Capital and Counties Bank, one of the local directors. He worked at the Worcester branch of the bank. He wrote a history of the Worcester Old Bank, was a member of the Worcestershire Hunt and a member of the Worcester Lodge of Freemasons. He was a first team member for Worcestershire County Cricket Club from 1899 to 1911. His eldest son, Herbert Whitmore Isaac, born on 11th December 1899 also played for the club in 1919 before attending Sandhurst and serving in the Worcestershire Regiment. Arthur received his commission in the Worcestershire Regiment in July 1915 and was bombing officer to the 5th Battalion.

On the 7th and 8th July the drizzle developed into heavy rain, converting the trenches into troughs of knee-deep mud. At about 2 p.m. the enemy were heavily reinforced and commenced a powerful attack. The German artillery pounded the ruins held by the Worcestershire, and strong bombing parties of the enemy worked down from the higher ground. A desperate struggle raged around the ruins of the church, where a party of the Worcestershire, inspired by two brave subalterns, 2nd Lieutenant A.W. Isaac and 2nd Lieutenant W.B. Burns, fought on until all were overwhelmed.

Source for second paragraph of additional information: The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War by Captain H. FitzM. Stacke of the Regiment, 1928.

An extract from a letter dated 2nd July 1916 from the Officer Commanding the Battalion states:
“Second Lieutenant A.W. Isaac was seen to fall by his Company Commander on July 7th, as if hit by machine gun fire when doubling across the open. He made no attempt to rise and was last seen by Captain Pratt, lying still, to all appearances, dead. He has not been seen since.”

Arthur Isaac worked at the Worcester branch of Lloyds Bank. His name appears on the Lloyds Bank War Memorial unveiled at the Head Office in London on 8th February 1921 and in the company’s Memorial Album 1914 1918.

Arthur Whitmore Isaac

A photograph of Second Lieutenant A.W. Isaac can be found in Berrow’s Worcester Journal Supplement, Saturday 22nd July 1916, available at Worcestershire Archives.

Memorial to Arthur Isaac in Worcester Cathedral Cloisters

Arthur Isaac has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Thiepval Memorial.