91 he joined the 25th Battalion in December 1914. Initially, a quartermaster sergeant, he only received his commission on 31 July 1916. He had a rapid rise to captain in December 1916 and was an acting major in May 1917. When the commanding officer of the battalion received compassionate leave to Canada, he took it over in April 1918. In a little over 20 months, he rose from humble origins and a newly commissioned lieutenant to commanding his battalion. In peacetime, it took on average of 25 years for a British Regular Army officer to reach battalion command.5 A sniper seriously wounded him on 8 August leading the battalion and was out of the war. He lived to age 84 and died in 1977.6 14 15 16 17 18 The GreatWar Lieutenant-Colonel JWWise, 25th Battalion Wise rose from humble origins in just over 20 months to command the 25th Battalion before receiving a serious wound on 8 August 1918. Matthew K Bartlett 5 Peter E. Hodgkinson, British Infantry Battalion Commanders in the First World War, Farham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2015, 12. 6 Wise, JohnWService Jacket, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 10506 - 55, LAC; Matthew K Barrett, “The Trench Raider.” https:/ matthewkbarrett.com/2016/02/26/the-trench-raider/, Accessed 14 July 2021.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==