Biography:
Owen William Eugene Herbert was born 18 May 1893, the third son of Patrick Herbert Herbert of Kensington and his wife, Beatrice, daughter of Lord Justice Selwyn. One of his two brothers came to the shool, the distinguished author and lawyer Sir Alan Patrick Herbert, author of a novel about the First World War called The Secret Battle and later a series of sketches about the legal profession, entitled Misleading Cases.
Owen came to Winchester in September 1906 from Mr. C.R. Jelf's school at Folkestone. He was in C House, Du Boulay's, under Mr Cook, and became a Commoner Prefect and a member of Sixth Book. He also played in OTH VI, and in 2nd Soccer XI and he represented the School at fencing.
Owen left Winchester in the summer of 1911 and passed straight into RMA Woolwich. In 1913, he obtained a commission in the R.F.A. His battery, the 109th, left for the front very early in the war. As part of II Corps, they were all ashore by 16 August 1914 and went straight up to the front at Mons. Taking up positions along the Mons-Conde canal, the division gave a good account of itself on 23 August 23rd but at a high cost – more than 3,000 casualties. 23 Brigade RFA did not fire that day, but fired its first shots on 24 August from Frameries. The Brigade then moved to Bermeries, and then, on 25 August to Moulin St. Martin near Le Cateau.
On 26 August 1914, 109th Battery saw its first proper action at Le Cateau. Then came service on the Aisne, before 23 Brigade moved up to French Flanders in early October 1914 to take part in the fighting south of Armentières. It was here, on 14 October at Vielle Chapelle, that the division’s first commander, Major-General Hamilton, was killed by shell-fire; the first British divisional commander to die in the Great War.
Herbert was last seen on the night of 26-27 October 1914, near Neuve Chapelle, while on his way to visit a forward gun, the officer in charge of which had fallen. Neuve Chapelle was captured by the Germans the following day. Herbert's body was not recovered and he is therefore commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial.