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Sgt. Oriel St.Arnaud "Konks" Duke MM and bar
British Army 10th Btn. Royal Fusiliers
from:Antigua, BWI
Oriel St.Arnaud Duke was the second son of Mansergh Pace and Emily Duke. He was known by the family as "Konks". He was born on 22 June 1896 in Montserrat, British West Indies, the second eldest of ten children. The Colonial Directory records that Oriel entered government service in May 1913 when he was still 16 years old in the administration of St.Kitts-Nevis. He may have been inspired to join up by his elder brother Valentine who had joined the navy in 1911. His other brothers were too young to join up. Oriel volunteered (although he was exempt from conscription being domiciled in the Dominions). He enlisted in the British West India Regiment and was a Lance Corporal in 10th Battalion Royal Fusiliers when he was awarded the M.M. & bar. He ended the war as a sergeant. About 16,000 enlisted from the West Indies.
The 10th Battalion’s War Diary gives us some insight to the occasion on which the Military Medal was awarded. On 28th October 1917 the Diary reads: “The Corps Commander awarded the Military Medal to the under mentioned:- B Coy No STK 1857 L/Cpl. O.St.Arnaud Duke ....for courage and devotion to duty Septr. 27th to Octr. 6th 1917, East of Ypres.†This was the Third Battle of Ypres. The 10th Battalion had relieved the 13th Royal Sussex at 2.15am on 27th September. Two days later the Germans attacked the 13th Royal Fusiliers on their right flank near the Menin Road and they were hit by that barrage too. On 1st October the enemy advanced but were repulsed. By the 2nd October the battalion was relieved. This respite was short lived and they were soon back in the thick of it, though not on the front line. “Our barrage opened at Zero, and the enemy immediately put down a light barrage on our support line, and on support position on front line. This gradually intensified and became the heaviest we experienced in the sector. Men were continually being buried but prompt action saved many casualties.â€
This action appears to have taken place at Polygon Wood, adjacent to the Menin Road. The Battalion suffered 11 casualties – not many compared to earlier engagements: 67 in July 1916 at Longueval during the Battle of Bazentin; 72 in April 1917 during the 1st Battle of the Scarpe; or 61 during the 2nd Battle of the Scarpe. Or during later engagements: 21 on 25th August 1918; 21 on 14th September or the 39 lost at Cambrai on 8th October 1918 .Oriel was demobilised in February 1919 and he departed London for Trinidad & Tobago on 27th March 1919 on board SS Quillota giving his occupation as clerk aged 22. He was accompanied by his brother Mansergh Valentine Duke Lt RN aged 24. Alas, they were not to see their father again as he had died that February.
Oriel returned to the West Indies on demobilisation in 1919. It is not known whether he entered the police service in the Leeward Islands straight away but was established in the service in the early 1920s. The MBE was presented by the Administration of Dominica 1st January 1932 for quelling a riot. By this time Oriel was Inspector of Police, Dominica, Leeward Islands. In 1935, Oriel was awarded the King George V Jubilee medal and indeed he attended the celebrations in London. He was also awarded the King George VI Coronation medal in 1936. Oriel was posted to Barbados in 1939 as Inspector of Police and Commandant of local forces during WWII. In April 1976 he made his final visit to England where he had arranged a hip operation. There he was able to hold his great-great niece before he went to hospital where he sadly died.
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