Montague was born in Edinburgh on 24th April 1893 and attended Ilford County High School between 12th September 1905 and 21st December 1909. Prior to joining the school, he had attended Loxford School. He passed both the Oxford Junior and Senior examinations in 1908 and 1909 respectively and was thus able to leave school and join a respectable insurance company as a clerk.
Montague was the only son of William and Mary Furness. He had five sisters. His father, William, was recorded as a Commissionaire in school records. However, by the time of the 1911 census, his father was a 59-year old bank messenger and army pensioner (ex-Warrant Officer). The Furness family lived at 97 Eton Road, Ilford, when Montague joined the school and Richmond Road in 1911.
Montague was serving as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Battery, 45th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery when he died on 29th June 1917. He had only been in France since 12th March 1917. He was buried at Perth Cemetery (China Wall) in West Vlaanderen, Belgium (Grave I. D. 5).
Research by Andrew Emeny, History Teacher at ICHS
Sources:
Ancestry.com
ICHS school records and magazines
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Note
Ilford County High School started life as the Park Higher Grade School in 1901 in Balfour Road, Ilford. It was renamed Ilford County High School (or initially County High School, Ilford) in the years after the school’s management was transferred from Ilford School Board to Essex Education Committee in 1904.