Remembering the World War One Centenary

On this date in 1914, the British Empire declared war on Germany, bringing it into the First World War. Fighting had already started, of course. Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia for its part of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. This led to Russia declaring war on Austria-Hungary, causing Germany to declare was on Russia, bringing Russia's ally France into the fray. Germany then infamously decided to attack France by going through neutral Belgium, bringing the British in to the war.

I'm in Oxford right now and it seems every church is having a ceremony today. At my local church in Iffley I came across this memorial. One name, that of R.W. Pepys, caught my eye. I've been reading the regimental history of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and it mentioned that a descendant of the famous diarist Samuel Pepys was in the regiment. I hadn't read that he had been killed , however, so seeing this monument was a bit of a shock.

I then checked in the regimental history and found in fact there were two men with the last name Pepys in the regiment. The other was Second Lieutenant Francis Pepys, who was also killed in the war.