| Date of birth: | December 1897 |
| Place of birth: | Southampton |
| Service No.: | 24657 |
| Rank: | Private |
| Regiment / Division: | Wiltshire Regiment Army |
| Battalion: | 5th |
| Died: | 2nd February 1917 aged 20 years |
| Death location: | Mesopotamia, Greece |
Life before the War
Montague was born in Southampton in 1897. His parents married in 1896. They were Albert Henry Doncom, who lived and died in Southampton 1873 – 1955, and Agnes Augusta, nee Mitchell, born 1873 in Salisbury, Wiltshire and died 1950 in Southampton.
Montague had 3 siblings:
Hazel born 1902
Lawrence born 1904, died 1926
Brian born 1908
In the 1901 census Montague was living at 36 Brintons Road, Southampton with his mother. His father was at sea, working as a Purser on the ship Princess Beatrice.
Montague doesn’t appear in the 1911 census which shows his mother and siblings were now living at 106 Brintons Road, Southampton.
Military History
Montague joined the Wiltshire Regiment and in 1916 was deployed to Mesopotamia. The regiment was engaged in various actions against the Turkish Army. In 1917 his battalion was at the battle of Kut al Amara, the captures of the Hai salient, of Dahra Bend and the passage of the Diyala. They were also involved in the pursuit of the enemy towards Baghdad and its eventual capture. They fought at the Battle of Delli ‘Abbas, Duqma and Nahr Kalis, crossed the ‘Adhaim and at Shatt al ‘Adhaim. It was during one of these battles that Montague lost his life.
He was awarded the Victory medal and the British war medal.
Montague’s cousin also fought and died in the War – Edward Thomas Baden Doncom died on the 21st March 1917 on the ship HMHS Asturias, he was just 16 years old.
| Researcher: | Shaun Connolly |
| Published: | 14th November 2013 |
| Updated: | Insert dates here |
If you have any additional information about the person named above please complete the Comments section below.
