Geoffrey Gibbon Trail Simpson (1894-1927)

Geoffrey Gibbon Trail Simpson
(Magdalen College group photo, 1912)

Simpson was the son of the surgeon George Augustus Garry Simpson (1861–1944). As he worked for the Young Men’s Christian Association before the introduction of conscription,[1] it is possible that he was not called to the Colours and very probable that he volunteered for this work because, like Robert Francis Reade, he was unfit for a fighting unit. Accordingly, in a letter headed “With the British Expeditionary Force, YMCA Motor Transport Section”, and dated 15 November 1918 he thanked Warren for congratulating him on his marriage to Henriette Marie Therèse De Ligne (1894–1941), who had worked for the Belgian Red Cross. Simpson then gives a brief summary of his recent career:

I came out as a motor driver in July 1915 owing to the fact that the army had no use for me as a fighter, and after various jobs with the association I am now […] in charge of the motor transport in France. […] When the final list of Magdalen men who have served in France is prepared I should be very grateful if I might figure on it – even only as a camp follower.[2]

So, as Simpson had tried to enlist and was rejected, he was not a pacifist.

—

[1] Medal Card, WO 372/18/76768 (National Archives).

[2] Magdalen College Archives: PR32/C/3/1065.