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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF COLONEL MAXIMILIAN St. LEGER SIMON, C.B.E. 1876 - 1951 Of my grandfather Maximilian Simon, born 29th March 1823, I have few memories for I only saw him occasionally. On the 8th October 1846 he married Eleanor Serena Engleheart, who died 6th April 1859, after bearing him four children. He long survived his deceased wife and himself died in April 1903, after being married twice, subsequently without further issue. My father was Maximilian Frank Simon, the eldest of the family. I was born on the 20th March 1876 at Malacca, Straits Settlements. A little later my parents went to Singapore where my sister Eleanor Beatrice was born on 13th October 1877, and later a brother John Wellesley, on the 30th January 1879. In 1880 my parents, with their family of three small children, returned to England and stayed for some time at the old family home at No. 10, The Paragon, Blackheath, where, only a few months before, on the 7th December 1879, at the great age of nearly 98, had died the patriarch of the family, my great grandfather Louis Michael Simon. From 1880 onwards, until 1893, when I obtained my cadet-ship at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, my early home life was spent either with relations or strangers. In 1885 I was sent to Blundell's School, Tiverton, whence I passed into Woolwich in 1893. Between these dates I had seen my parents at intervals of a few years on those occasions when money and/or service allowed one or other of them to pay a short visit to England. My second brother Percy Ralph was born in Singapore on 17th September 1887. In 1893, as stated above, I entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, 13th on the list out of some 250 competitors. It was my second attempt. Two years later, in August 1895, I was given my commission in the Royal Engineers, with the prize for fortification, and "proxime accessit" in the lists for the Pollock Medal, and freehand drawing. In September 1895 I entered the School of Military Engineering at Chatham. My attitude was little in keeping with the general atmosphere of the times, and a reluctance to avail myself of social functions resulted in being "blue-pencilled" by my superiors and sent from Chatham into the Submarine Mining Service. In that time I deliberately chose the rough-and-tumble of water work in preference to the ease of the test-rooms ashore. The five years spent in this service brought valuable practical experience in meeting and dealing, later in life, with unexpected situations. Eighteen months later then, in February 1897, I had joined the 4th Submarine Mining Company, R.E., at Portsmouth. I was there also schooled in the charge of coastwise search-lights. After remaining there for a short time, I spent three years at Singapore, with the Singapore (Submarine Lining) Company, R.E., which was largely manned by Malays. In 1900 I was posted back to England, still as a submarine miner, with the 21st Company Royal Engineers at Felixtowe, where I remained until 1902. From 1903 to 1905 I was Staff Officer to the Commanding Royal Engineer, Home District, in London. In 1906 I went to Canada and from then until 1908 I was instructor in Coast Defence, Search-lighting, at Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there I went to Ottawa, where until 1910 I held the appointment of Assistant Director, Engineer Services, at Headquarters. The following year I was brought back to Chatham, where for a year I commanded the 29th Works Company, R.E., On returning to Chatham I broke through the ordered and monotonous routine of barracks in order to give my Company the advantage of real "field-days" in lieu of the ordinary and ever-recurrent drills on the barrack square. The idea of preparation for the seemingly inevitable war being ever uppermost in my mind, I faked a mobilization for war, hauled out all mobilization machinery, and, piling it on trailers, sent the men to rail-head with it, just to give them an idea of what real mobilization would be like. The war of 1914 - 1918 broke upon us three years later. From 1911 to 1915 I was Staff Captain at the War Office and obtained a Brevet Lt. Colonelcy before going to France with the 197th (Land Drainage) Company. Some four months later I was recalled by name to London and in February 1916 was given the duty of ordering the construction of the A.A. Defence of London. In November 1916 I was placed in command of the A.A. (Ground) Defence of London, with the rank of temporary Colonel. For services there I received my Brevet Colonelcy, but I declined the offer of the O.B.E., In the same year, 1918, before the end of the war, I returned to France where I was in command of Air Defences, Independent Force, R.A.F. After that, followed an Inter-service Mission to Belgium in which my duty consisted of reconstructing, from such traces as I could find, the German anti-aircraft defences in Belgium. In May 1919 I returned to England to take up the Command of the Northern Air Defences of Britain (north of line Portsmouth - The Wash). In 1920 I was awarded the C.B.E. (Military) and until 1922, was at the War Office on the General Staff for A.A. Duties. I was a member of the Committee on the future Air Defence of Britain. From 1922 to 1924, when I retired, I commanded the A.A. School as a substantive Colonel at Salisbury Plain and Biggin Hill. Eight years after my retirement I joined the Royal Observer Corps with which I remained until 1943, when I was retired owing to age. In 1940 - 1941 I served on the Administrative Staff at the Ministry of Supply in London. The War of 1914 - 1918 and my post at the War Office had brought golden opportunities. In my case they had yielded the C.B.E., and a prize treasured above everything by every Officer of the old British Army, double Brevet promotion, Lt. Colonel and Colonel. I had risen almost too rapidly, - in two and a half years from Captain to full Colonel. In 1902 I married Mabel Louise Lees and in 1909 at Ottawa my son Philip Hastings was born. His health was uncertain, and in 1922, we were informed by his doctor that he had contracted tuberculosis. In 1929 the diagnosis was shown to be wrong and the trouble found due to appendicitis. In late 1924 my favourite brother John died in Durban, South Africa. Since retirement I have lived in various places, finally settling down to drawing in "Black and White" for which I have always has a strong penchant. At different times, I have lived at Holt (Norfolk), Guilsborough (Northants), Edinburgh, Stanmore (Middx), Kew and London, but in latter years have kept in close touch with my Club, the United Service, Pall Mall East and the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. ******* |