Kingsbury Time Travellers - World War 1 - casualties from the parish

WW1 & THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH PROJECT

CROSSING PATHS 100 YEARS ON 1918-2018

In memory of the men from the Civil Parish of

Kingsbury Episcopi who fought in the First World War Lest We Forget

Kingsbury Episcopi 1911 Civil Parish Boundary

2 PHOTOGRAPH OF THE CENTENARY COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE These plaques were made in 2018 as part of the WW1 and the People of the Parish Project.

Each red pin represents the home of a man who was killed in WW1. See the text for each man on the following pages to find out who lived where.

The green pins represent the homes of the men killed in WW2: William J. Darch, Michael D.A.Evans, Kenneth N.Hebditch, William E.J.Lintern, Robert H.Lock, Adrian O.Malcolm-King, Joseph W.Oaten, Albert W.G.Pocock.

INTRODUCTION This publication contains some background information on each of the men who were killed in the First World War. Their names are recorded on the War Memorials within the Civil Parish of Kingsbury Episcopi and it is this name that appears at the top of each man’s pages of information. There is also information about the men’s families. Four years of research by the Kingsbury Time Travellers, the local area History Group, have unearthed a wealth of photographs, documents, maps and memories. Through the Kingsbury Time Travellers’ Facebook page, we have been able to link up with people and families connected to these men, and so uncover more material.

The booklet is one element of a larger project – WW1 and the People of the Parish Project. This had financial support for 2017-2019 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We also raised money to enable us to complete all the elements of the project, which included creating Centenary Commemorative Plaques in six public-access buildings within the Parish.

The Kingsbury Time Travellers website is another element of the project: www.kingsburytimetravellers.org.uk

The War Memorials record the names of the men who died in the First World War, but there were many others who served and survived. Some of these names are recorded on the Absent Voters List for 1918. The names of 98 men from the Parish on this list are in the back pages of this booklet. There may be others, younger than 19 years when the war ended, whose names we do not yet know.

In a rural area such as this, many agricultural workers, in reserved occupations, served the country by producing food and withies (willow) for the war effort. Women played their part by working both inside and outside the home, in nursing, the Women’s Land Army, or in munitions factories.

This publication is dedicated to all those of the First World War generation, whether or not we know their names, whose sacrifices helped to create the world we now enjoy.

4 GEORGE BONNING

Rank, service number and regiment

Stoker 2nd Class K/38613 Royal Navy

Enlisted

14th December 1916

Home address No.3 on the Plaque

Thorney Cottages, Thorney Road, K.E.. The 1911 census pinpoints his home near to Thorney Mill and the old Rising Sun Inn. Thorney Cottages was confirmed in 2017 by Carol Sills, a living relative.

Date of death

20 January 1917. Died from pneumonia.

Age of death

29 years

Circumstances of death

George had enlisted in the Royal Navy on 14 December 1916.

He was on the shore-training establishment HMS Vivid II, Devonport. George succumbed to pneumonia and was taken to the Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse, Plymouth where he died on 20 January 1917.

Where buried

Kingsbury Episcopi Burial Ground (Official War Grave)

Date of birth & full name

8 August 1887 at Thorney. GEORGE THOMAS BONNING

Occupation

1911 - Carter at Withy Factory

Parents

James Bonning 1862 - 1937 withy/willow stripper and Elizabeth Bonning (nee Dimmick) 1865 - 1910 a kid-glove machinist at home. They married on 22 August 1882.

Spouse and children

George married Olive Harvey of K.E. in 1909. Olive was a glover working at home. They had a daughter Lilian Gwendoline Bonning born 1910.

5 Awards

George was ready to take part in a theatre of war but died after contracting pneumonia during training. He therefore was awarded the British War Medal only. According to his service record his conduct was ‘very good’.

Other information

George was 5’ and ½'' tall with a chest expansion of 39''. He had black hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

His daughter - Lilian Gwendoline Bonning - married Edward G Reed in 1930. Their children: Alec G Reed b.1932 and Vernon B Reed b.1934.

His parents James and Elizabeth Bonning had 9 children. We have names for seven of them: Lilian b.1883 – d ?

Frederick Henry b.1885 – d.1968 George b.1887 – d.1917 Eliza b.1888 – d ?

Harriet Beatrice b.1891 – d.1923 Ellen Louise b.1894 – d.1972 Harry (Henry) b.1897 – d.1926 Harry (Henry) Bonning also served in WW1. He survived the war, but died in 1926 aged 29 yrs. His photo is shown below.

6 JOHN COLLINS

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 13964 10th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment

Enlisted

Enlisted Taunton 1914

Home address No.22 on the Plaque

Harris’ Corner, Lower Burrow. Possibly first house on the left, now called Orchard Corner.

Date of death

29 August 1916

Age of death

39 years

Circumstances of death

The 10th Battalion Devonshire Regiment was initially sent to France and Private John Collins embarked there on 22 September 1915 but they were suddenly diverted via Marseilles to Salonika, Greece. This move had been precipitated in mid October 1915 by Bulgaria making an alliance with Germany & Austria. At the request of Greece, Britain and France therefore sent troops to Macedonia to counter Bulgarian aggression. In July and August 1916, after some months of garrison duties, the 10th Battalion were in the front line repulsing Bulgarian attacks successfully. By the end of September 1916 nearly a third of the 10th Battalion had been admitted to hospital suffering from malaria or dysentery with fatal outcomes. John Collins was such a casualty. He died in No.4 General Hospital Salonika, Greece.

Where buried

Salonika (Lembet Road) Military Cemetary, Salonika, Greece.

Date of birth & full name

1877 at High Ham, Langport, Somerset.

ROBERT JOHN COLLINS

Occupation

Agricultural Labourer

Parents

Robert and Mary Collins of Fountain Cottage, High Ham, Langport, Somerset. Robert was a farm labourer.

Spouse and children

John married Bessie Melena (nee Male) at St Martin’s Church K.E. on 20 September 1911.

7 Bessie Melena Male was the daughter of George Male, farm labourer, of Lower Burrow, K.E. John and Bessie had one child Hilda Irene Collins born 12 October 1912 and baptized at St. Martin’s Church on 8 December 1912.

Bessie Melina Collins (nee Male) as a widow married John Tett, a farm labourer of Church Street, K.E. in 1920 Awards

Silver War Medal, Victory Medal, 1914/1915 Star.

Other information

According to the 1911 census, John was working on a dairy farm in Lydlinch, Dorset, where he lodged. His designation on the census was ‘servant’ and his occupation carter.

His home with Bessie at Harris’s Corner, Lower Burrow is shown on the map. Notice the number of orchards then in existence in Lower Burrow and Stembridge.

8 HARRY DOWN

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 201989 1st/4th Battalion (City of Bristol) Gloucester Regiment

Enlisted

Taunton 1915

Home address No.2 on the Plaque

2 Duck Cottages, Thorney. He grew up in 2, Rosebank, Owl Street, East Lambrook.

Date of death

23 July 1916

Age of death

23 years

Circumstances of death

Harry died at the Battle of The Somme. The 1st/4th Battalion, Gloucester Regiment were at the heart of the Battle of The Somme in July 1916. The Battalion was in trenches in Ovillers La Boiselle and they suffered severe bombardment from German artillery shells. Harry was a casualty along with 30 others on 23rd July 1916 and such was the ferocity of the attack that his body was never recovered.

Where buried

Harry is commemorated on Pier and Face 5A and 5B of Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, Somme, France. This Memorial bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men who died in the Somme sector before March 1918 and who have no known grave.

Date of birth & full name

1893. HENRY DOWN

Occupation

Agricultural labourer

Parents

Edwin James Down and Rosina Down (nee Marks) – of Owl Street, East Lambrook.

Edwin was an agricultural labourer, Rosina was a glover.

Spouse and children

Beatrice Rose Down (nee Lock) of Thorney, born April 1890, married 26 Dec 1915, died 1982.

Beatrice was a machinist in the gloving trade.

Harry and Beatrice went to live at Low Ham, on a small holding.

Beatrice returned to 2 Duck Cottages, Thorney after Harry’s

9 death and then later moved back to K.E. The photo top right of page 8 shows Beatrice as a young woman, right, outside 2 Duck Cottages, now re-named 2 Duck House. She never remarried and died in Yeovil in 1982, aged 92 years.

They had a daughter Phyllis Edna Down, born November 1916, who Harry never saw as he died in July 1916.

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal

Other information

Harry was the older brother of John Down who was killed in action in March 1918.

When living in East Lambrook, Harry and John lived next door to Joseph Walden. Their sister married Ben Russ. Both Joseph and Ben were also killed in action.

These are Harry’s siblings on the 1911 census: Louisa Marks - born 1890 – glove maker Bessie - born 1891 – glove maker Harry Down – born 1893, died 1916 - Farm labourer John - born 1894 – farm labourer Mark - born 1897 – farm labourer Edwin James - born 1899 – school Frederick H -born 1901 – school Florence Amy - born 1904 – school.

Harry’s daughter had a son, Colin, who gave us photos of the family for the archive. Colin’s daughter Lynne is shown in the arms of Beatrice, below, her great-grandmother – Harry’s widow.

10 JOHN DOWN

Rank, service number and regiment

Sergeant 22454 8th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry

Enlisted

Castle Cary, Somerset 1915

Home Address No.31 on Plaque

2 Rosebank, Owl Street, East Lambrook in the 1901 census.

Date of death

3 March 1918

Age at death

24 years.

Circumstances of death

The 8th Battalion. Somerset Light Infantry were engaged in responding to the Kaiserschlact or German Spring Offensive in 1918 and were defending the south-east side of the Ypres salient.

Sergeant Down, according to the Battalion Diary, was one of 4 casualties of German gunfire whilst in a front-line trench between 1 March and 5 March 1918. He was initially buried near to where he was killed in Bass Wood. This and other small burial plots were moved to the much larger Hooge Crater CWGC Cemetery after hostilities had ceased.

Where buried

Hooge Crater Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery, near Ypres, Belgium

Date of birth & full name

1894. JOHN DOWN

Occupation

Farm Labourer

Parents

Edwin James Down and Rosina Down (nee Marks), married 1889.

Spouse and children

John was unmarried

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal.

11 Other information

According to the 1911 census, Edwin James Down, John’s father, was a farm labourer, Rosina, his mother, was a glove maker. They had the following children at home in 1911: Louisa Marks born 1890 – glove maker Bessie born 1891 – glove maker John born 1894, died 1918 – farm labourer Mark born 1897 – farm labourer Edwin James born 1899 – school Frederick H born 1901 – school Florence Amy born 1904 – school Harry, John’s older brother, who was not living at home in 1911, was also killed in the war. Brothers Mark and Edwin James also went to the war but both survived. Mark was in the Army Veterinary Corps.

The Down family lived next door to Joseph Walden of Willow Cottage.

Bessie Down, their sister, married Ben Russ. Joseph Walden and Ben Russ were also killed in the war.

An extract from the census is shown on the below.

12 WILLIAM ELLIOTT

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 50625 14th then 10th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment

Enlisted

Taunton

Home Address No.27 on Plaque

1 The Cross, West Lambrook confirmed by living relatives.

Date of death

4 September 1918

Age at death

19 years

Circumstances of death

William was killed in action whilst his Battalion was engaged in pushing German forces back around Lens, France. The Germans had successfully overrun the area during the Spring Offensive earlier in the year. The fighting was desperate and William’s body was lost in the action.

Where buried

As his body was never recovered, William is commemorated on panel 22 to 25 of the Loos Memorial to the Missing, which commemorates over 20,000 soldiers who were killed in this area and who have no known grave. Five of his Battalion comrades are also commemorated on this memorial.

Date of birth & full name

1899. FREDERICK WILLIAM EDWARD ELLIOTT

Occupation

Unknown. In 1911 census he was at school as he was just 11 years old.

Parents

William James Elliott and Annie Jane Elliott (nee Hutchings).

William was born in Watergore and was a shepherd. Annie was born in Yeabridge and according to the 1911 census, they were living in Yeabridge.

Spouse and children

William was unmarried

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal.

13 Other information

Information from a great nephew of F W E Elliott: F W E Elliott was admitted to hospital on 27/8/1918 with a gun-shot wound to his left hand and was transferred to another hospital the same day.

No./designation of ward - WT500 units 5 Casualty Clearing Station.

Index of Admission 181, rank - Pte, Serial no. 26035, Reg no 50625 killed in action.

We believe that William went back to the front line after recovering from his hand injury and was then killed in action a few days later on 4th September 1918.

William James Elliott and Annie Elliott had 4 children: George Elliott married Edna, they had 2 children Joan & Daniel.

Frederick William Edward Elliott, b.1899, d.1918. His medals are shown below.

Dorothy Elliott b.1901, d. 1990, married Charles Stuckey, they had one child Kathleen Gladys Stuckey.

Charles Elliott b.1907, married Doris Stuckey, they had 2 children, Margaret and Mary.

14 HERBERT G. FANNING

Rank, service number and regiment

Able Seaman Z/1656 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Enlisted

1916

Home Address No.17 on Plaque

Chestal, Priory Avenue, Taunton, Somerset. This was his address from 22 June 1916 when he married Rose Fanny Pine. Prior to this, according to the 1911 census, he was living with his adoptive parents the Rev. & Mrs. Phillips, The Vicarage, now Kingsbury House, K.E.

Date of death

10 April 1918

Age at death

32 years

Circumstances of death

Herbert was on the destroyer HMS Magic. It was damaged by an explosion when it hit a mine at Loch Swilly off Northern Ireland on 10 April 1918. There were 25 fatalities including Herbert. His body was not recovered.

Where buried

Herbert is commemorated on Panel 29 of Plymouth Naval Memorial to the Missing, Plymouth, Devon.

Date of birth & full name

28th September 1885. HERBERT GEORGE FANNING

Occupation

Bank Clerk at Stuckey’s Bank, Langport, then Parrs Bank, Taunton.

Herbert was born in Maidenhead Berkshire to Robert John Fanning and Isabella Fanning (nee McMasters). Robert worked for HM Treasury as a county court examiner/auditor. Isabella died in 1890 when Herbert was five years old. Robert was killed in a boating accident in the Menai Straits in August 1893 when Herbert was seven years old.

Parents

Spouse and children

Herbert married Rose Fanny Pine on 22 June 1916 in Taunton. In 1911 Rose was working as a milliner in Taunton and living at 33 North Street. They had no children.

After Herbert’s death, Rose went on to marry a prison chaplain in Birmingham in 1922.

15 Awards

British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Other information

The 1891 census records Herbert was boarding with his father at 7 The Parade, Rhyl possibly on holiday as his father was keen on sailing. He was then 5 or 6 years old.

In 1901, aged 15/16 years, having lost both parents by this date, Herbert was living at the Royal Masonic Boarding School for Boys in Lordship Lane, Wood Green, London. Newspaper reports of his father’s death in 1893 mention the masonic connection. This school is still standing, now Wood Green Crown Court, see photo below.

Herbert came to live in the Vicarage in K.E. after his adoption by the Reverend and Mrs Phillips.

Herbert was the youngest by 10 years of three brothers.

16 JOHN FRENCH

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 23/2185 2nd Battalion, Otago Regiment, New Zealand Expeditionary Force

Enlisted

Enlisted in New Zealand on 14 December 1915.

Embarked to France via Suez, Egypt on 1 April 1916.

Home Address No.23 on Plaque

Lower Burrow, K.E.. This was probably the house opposite Palmer’s End Drove, plot 474 on Tithe Map, occupied by Henry French and family and William Elliott and family, then two cottages.

Date of death

1 October 1916

Age at death

24 years

Circumstances of death

The Otago Regiment was engaged in the Battle of Transloy, within the overall context of the Battle of the Somme which ran from 1 July 1916 to 18 November 1916. There were many casualties in the Otago Regiment mainly through intense German machine-gun fire. The bodies of many of those lost were never recovered due to the ferocity of the fighting.

Where buried

John’s body was not found in the intense fighting on the battlefield. He is commemorated on the Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial to the Missing on the Somme, France.

Date of birth & full name

22 March 1891. JOHN FRENCH was known as JACK in the parish.

Occupation

Farm labourer on 1911 census; and labourer on his NZ attestation form.

Parents

Henry French, general labourer born 1869 and Rhoda French (nee Elliott) born 1858, kid glove maker. They married 20 July 1882. They had four children: Bessie, William, George and John.

Spouse and children

John was unmarried

17 Awards

War Medal and Victory Medal.

Other information

John went to the USA in March 1910 and worked for some months in an electrical factory in Schenectady, New York State. By April 2nd 1911 he is back home in KE as a farm labourer, living with his parents. Then in July 1912 he again leaves home, emigrating to NZ on the SS Athenic with his brother George and wife Alice (nee Male). George is listed as his next of kin when John signs up in 1915 to join the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

According to his NZ attestation record he was 5’ 10” tall, dark complexion, brown hair and blue eyes. His chest measurement was 37” with an expansion to 41”. He weighed 11 st 7 lbs.

The photo below shows: Henry French (L), Charlotte Elliott and Rhoda French (R) – John’s parents and his grandmother in the middle (Rhoda’s mother). They were all living in the house opposite Palmer’s End Drove. Photo from the archive of Jane Elliman, a descendant of this family.

18 ELI GILLETT

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 320851 12th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment

Enlisted

Yeovil

Home Address No.9 on Plaque

Probably Robin Cottage, K.E. His wife’s sister, Kitty Eves (nee Harvey) ran the post office from Robin Cottage.

Date of death

17 August 1918

Age at death

38 years

Circumstances of death

The overall strategy for the Allies in August 1918 was to engage in a series of limited attacks in quick succession, aimed at liberating vital railway supply lines. The Germans had suffered heavy casualties during their ambitious spring offensive in 1918 ‘Kaiserschlact’, and its army was suffering from low morale and exhaustion. Nevertheless, whilst some its commanders believed the tide had turned in favour of the Allies, Ludendorff the German Commander-in-Chief refused to accept this. The 12th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment was engaged around Morebecque and Hazebrouck northern France, trying to capture German trenches and Eli was killed, with several from his battalion, by German stick bombs.

Where buried

Le Grand Hasard Military Cemetery, Morbecque, Northern France, Plot 2 Row E Grave 13.

Date of birth & full name

1879. ELI GILLETT

Occupation

Sadler/harness maker

Parents

Albert Gillett and Mary Jane Gillett (nee Talbot). Mary Jane died in 1890 having had six children. Albert married again in 1898 to Mary Ann Mounter. Albert was a farm labourer.

19 Spouse and children

Elizabeth Gillett (nee Harvey). Married 24 August 1905.

Elizabeth died aged 94yrs on 25 March 1976 and is buried in K.E. burial ground.

Children: Mary born 1906. This was “Molly” Bishop, whose voice can be heard reciting The Kingsbury Poem on the film about K.E. “Them Bells”. This film, made in 2004/5, involved many local people in its production.

It can be found on the KTT DVDs - Our Hundred: Films and Photos from the Parish.

George Harvey born 1907.

Albert born 1909 died 1979. He married Margaret Drusilla Male in 1912. Their son has helped with this project.

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Other information

The photo of Eli Gillett above also appears on page 5 of ‘The Way We Were’ village book as an apprentice boy outside the saddler’s shop owned by John Coate Bishop. No date is on the photograph. The boy is approx. 10-14 years old, which would date the photo at the 1890s.

The 1901 census shows Eli working for and living-in with William Nelson, a sadler, in Eling, Totton, New Forest. Eli’s designation was “servant”. Possibly he was an apprentice, he was 21/22 years old at this time.

Eli went to New York in 1907, joining his brother-in- law Herbert Mounter in Schenectady. Herbert was married to Jemima, older sister to Eli’s wife, Elizabeth. Eli returned home to K.E. after about a year.

Eli’s widow Elizabeth and her sister Annie commemorated the deaths of their husbands Eli Gillett and Walter Talbot in a stone tablet in St.Martin’s church – see photo below.

20 FRED GRINTER

Rank, service number and regiment

Regimental Sergeant Major 14058 40th Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery

Enlisted

Sandown, Isle of Wight 1896

Home Address No.18 on Plaque

Tremara or house next to Tremara, now demolished, Church Street, K.E. He then moved to 115 Grosvenor Street, Southsea.

Date of death

10 November 1918

Age at death

41 years

Circumstances of death

On 6 November 1918 Fred was admitted to No. 26 Military Hospital Etaples, France with Broncho-Pneumonia symptoms. He died on 10 November of influenza, one of the casualties of the Spanish Flu epidemic. He was the 34th and last man from K.E. to lose his life in WW1. He died a day before the end of the war.

Where buried

LA20, Etaples Military Cemetery, France

Date of birth & full name

1876 FRED GRINTER

Occupation

Ostler, then career soldier from 1896

Parents

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives the following information: Son of William and Hannah Grinter; husband of Florence Eva Grinter, of 115, Grosvenor St, Southsea. Native of K.E. Martock, Somerset.

Spouse

Florence Eva Tilley (1880-1959) of 115 Grosvenor Street, Southsea, Hants. Married 27/09/1905.

Children

William John Frederick b.1907 Cupar, Fife. Florence Hilda Louise b.1909 K.E. Reginald James George b.1911 K.E. Percy Albert Edward b.1912 K.E.

21 Awards

Fred was an artillery instructor with the RGA until being posted overseas to France in April 1916. He was awarded the Silver War Medal and the Victory Medal. Prior to WW1 he was awarded the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medals.

Other information

In 1881 Fred was living with his grandparents George and Mary Grinter in Muchelney. In 1891 he was living with a cousin.

In 1896 he joined the Royal Artillery aged 18 years, having already been in the Hampshire Militia for a number of months.

Fred’s army record survives: At 18 he was 5’ 9 ¾’’ tall, fresh complexion, blue eyes, light brown hair.

Weight 141 lbs, chest measurement 34½’’ with expansion to 35 ½’’.

He enlisted in 1896 for 7 years. He then extended his service for 12 years, gaining promotion in 1903. He served in Arabia, Cyprus and Gibraltar. He was already serving in the army when war was declared in 1914.

Fred was mentioned in dispatches: London Gazette 11 December 1917 sup 30427, page 13076 -see photo below. This indicates he showed outstanding courage.

22 DECIMUS GUMMER

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 20771 Somerset Light Infantry & 19461 5th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment

Enlisted

Yeovil

Home Address No.14 on Plaque

Lavers Row, K.E. This row of cottages was demolished in the mid 20th century. In living memory the cottages used to flood regularly. They once stood on the right-hand side of the Coombe Lane drove, backing onto the ditch, facing south, with the gable-end facing onto Thorney Road. The photo above shows their location. There is now a stable in the approximate location of the cottages.

Date of death

4 October 1917

Age at death

22 years

Circumstances of death

In early October 1917 the 5th Battalion Dorset Regiment sustained heavy casualties trying to wrest Poelcapelle from enemy control in the horrific closing phase of the Third Battle of Ypres.

This battle is known as Passchendaele. It was infamous not only for the scale of casualties but also atrocious, muddy battlefield conditions.

Where buried

Decimus’s body was never recovered from the deep mud, along with many others. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, Panel 92.

Date of birth & full name

21 June 1896. EDWARD DECIMUS GUMMER

Occupation

General labourer

Parents

William Gummer and Martha Ann Gummer (nee Eves) of K.E. William was a master carpenter.

Spouse and children

Dorcas Rhoda Gummer (nee Tribley). They married in 1917.

No children.

Awards

British War Medal and Victory medal.

23 Other information

Decimus Gummer was the 10th child of William and Martha Gummer.

The name Decimus means “ten� in Latin. The census of 1901, see image below, records the names of eight of their children. Decimus is shown as Edward D, 4 years old at the time. Bessie, aged 17 years, is a Glove Machinist, Albert, 15 years is a Carpenter (Journey Man).

Decimus and Dorcas lived in Lavers Row. After the death of Decimus, Dorcas remarried in 1938 to Frank Quantock. She died on 10 March 1963.

The map below dates from 1903 and shows the location of the cottages of Lavers Row, marked in red.

24 VINCENT HARVEY

Rank, service number and Regiment

Private 54179 12th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry

Enlisted

10 December 1915, Yeovil

Home Address No.10 on the Plaque

Probably Crate Cottage, K.E. Vincent’s brother lived in Crate Cottage and family anecdotes point to Crate Cottage as the home of Vincent as well.

Date of death

15 October 1917

Age at death

26 years

Circumstances of death

The 12th Battalion was engaged in 1st Battle of Passchendaele, within the context of the overall 3rd Battle of Ypres, and were in trenches in Polygon Wood south- east of Ypres. They were under constant attack from artillery shells and aerial bombardment. Between 14th and 16th October the Battalion had 99 casualties, of which 25 were deaths - and one of these was Vincent.

Where buried

Vincent’s body was never recovered. The terrain around Passchendaele was saturated from constant rain and churned up from shelling. Vincent is commemorated on panel 128 to 131 and 162 and 162A on Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing of Passchendaele, Belgium. The Tyne Cot Memorial commemorates 35,000 officers and men who have no known grave who fell in battle after 16 August 1917. Those who fell before this date are commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres

Date of birth & full name

10th January 1891.GEORGE VINCENT HARVEY

Occupation

Journeyman Baker on 1911 census. Farm Labourer on 1915 army attestation form.

Parents

Henry and Susan Harvey (nee Talbot), of K.E. Henry was a carpenter.

25 Spouse and Children

Mabel Clark. They married in Huish Episcopi on 7 January 1914.

Mabel was the daughter of Gilbert and Ann Clark (nee Bambury).

Gilbert was a labourer and Mabel was a ‘domestic’ according to the 1911 census.

Mabel & Vincent had two children:Thomas Edward Harvey - born 28 March 1914 Ella Christine Harvey - born 4 October 1915

Awards

British War Medal & Victory Medal.

Other information

In 1919 Mabel re-married to Samuel E Cornish. He had served with the Royal Garrison Artillery but had been invalided out on 23 April 1918 because of burns to face and hands sustained in the line of duty.

Mabel died in 1934 aged 43 and Samuel died in 1968 aged 72.

Vincent’s great-niece was given an official invitation to the Centenary Commemorations at Paschendaele in 2018. She and her daughter found Vincent’s name on the Tyne Cot Memorial, see photo below.

26 WILLIAM KELLETT

Rank and regiment

2nd Lieutenant 8th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry and 10th Squadron Royal Flying Corps – Observer.

Home Addres No.25 on the Plaque

His last home address, shown on the census of 1911, was Stembridge Farm, now Stembridge House. William was boarding with Theophilus and Elizabeth Hunt, retired innkeeper, at Stembridge Farm.

Date of death

22 January 1917

Age at death

29 years

Circumstances of death

William’s ‘plane collided with another ‘plane near the airfield at Chocques, France where the 10th Squadron Royal Flying Corps was based. William was an Observer. His death was deemed ‘killed in action’. The pilot was called Stanley Woodley, he was also killed. The number of the plane was BE2gA2744. William was mentioned in despatches, which indicates he had shown outstanding courage.

Where buried

Chocques Military Cemetery, France

Date of birth & full name

December 25th 1887, Leeds. WILLIAM KELLETT

Occupation

School Teacher for Somerset County Council in 1911 census and to the time he enlisted with the 8th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry. He was for some years a teacher at the Kingsbury Episcopi Council Schools. He embarked for France on 5 October 1916

Parents

Frederick William Kellett 1854-1919 and Hannah Kellett (nee Midgley) 1855 - 1915 of Leeds, Yorkshire. Frederick was a warehouseman in 1891, a clerk in 1901.

William’s siblings: Maud Mills b.1876, married 1901 to Cecil Rayner, Amy b.1878, Kate Ethel b.1881, Laura b.1883, Beatrice b.1886, William b.1887 d. 1917.

27 Spouse & children

William was unmarried

Awards

British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Other information

William was baptised on 12th March 1891, at St.Agnes and St.Stephen’s Church, Burmantofts, Leeds, Yorkshire. He was confirmed at All Saints, Martock on 25th May 1914 and took his first communion at St.Martin’s, K.E. on 31st May 1914 prior to him enlisting. See photo below, which shows his confirmation and first communion dates, in a book found in St.Martin’s vestry in 2018.

William’s homes: In 1891, 41 Shakespeare St., Leeds.

In 1901 , 15 Tonbridge Place, Leeds.

In 1911 , Stembridge Farm, K.E. In his will of 1917 his address is given as: 17 Richmond Mount, Headingley, Leeds, this was his sister Maud’s address.

William was an Observer in the Royal Flying Corps. This was in the earliest days of what was to become the RAF (Royal Air Force). Men were initially recruited from the army, to observe and record the location of enemy trenches. Balloons and then planes were used, which at first were not armed. There was a high mortality rate as the balloons and planes were low to the ground in order to see the terrain below, within range of anti-aircraft artillery on the ground. Later, the planes had guns, and the observers used cameras to record the terrain.

28 WILLIAM LOCK

Rank, service number and Regiment

Driver 58005, 15 Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery

Enlisted

1914 Taunton, Somerset

Home Address No.1 on the Plaque

1911 census shows the Lock family at Thorney near to The Rising Sun. Possibly one of the cottages in the Old Withy Factorywhich is called Willow Cottage today. William Lock was born at Bela Vista, New Town, now Little Orchard, which seems to have been built in 1897 according to legal documents in possession of the owners. The family may have moved to the Old Withy Factory, Thorney when one of the cottages became vacant and his father gained work there. They were certainly in Thorney by 1911.

Date of death

23 January 1915

Age at death

18 years

Circumstances of death

William enlisted in 1914 and he was attached to a training unit in the south of England. He died of pneumonia in 5th Southern General Hospital, Southsea, Hampshire while he was in training.

Where buried

Portsmouth (Highland Road) Cemetery, Portsmouth, Hants.

Date of birth & full name

1897. WILLIAM LOCK

Occupation

Farm labourer; carter on his death certificate.

Parents

Gilbert Lock and Edith Lock (nee Elliott) married 1893. 1911 census shows that Gilbert was a general labourer in a withy factory.

Spouse and children

William was unmarried

Awards

William did not embark into any theatre of war - possibly because of his age. As he was still in training when he died he did not have a medal entitlement.

29 Other information

Although William was buried in Portsmouth, he is commemorated on a Lock/Elliott family gravestone in K.E. burial ground.

William’s death certificate shows that his mother Edith was present at his death in the hospital in Southsea. The 1911 census shows William’s siblings: John born 1895, William born 1897 - died 1915, Ellen born 1906, Percy born 1908.

The photo below shows the cottages in the Old Withy Factory, with a family outside, sometime at the turn of the 20th century. We don’t know who they are – could they possibly be some members of the Lock family?

30 EDWARD MALE

Rank, service number and regiment

Gunner 174203 265th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery

Enlisted

Castle Cary 1915

Home Address No.26 on the Plaque

Sunshine Cottage, Stembridge. Edward was born at a cottage in Little Lane, Stembridge, now demolished. See photo at bottom of next page.

Date of death

6 September 1917

Age at death

19 years

Circumstances of death

Edward was a gunner with a siege battery who fired heavy howitzers, sending large-calibre, high- explosive shells in a high trajectory. These were used to destroy or neutralize enemy artillery, strong points, roads and railways behind enemy lines. The 265th Siege Battery was engaged in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) and was situated in an area called Kruisstraat, south-east of Ypres. This heavy artillery would be a sitting target for enemy fire. No battalion record exists for this time but as three other members of the 265th siege battery were killed on the same day and were buried in Bedford House Cemetery with Edward, it is probable that the howitzer took a direct hit from enemy artillery.

Where buried

Bedford House CWGC Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium

Date of birth & full name

21 March 1898. ALBERT EDWARD MALE

Occupation

Farm worker

Parents

Walter Male and Emma Male (nee Male), married 1891. Walter was the son of John and Jane Male.

Emma was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Male. Both families were from Stembridge, distantly related.

Walter was a farm labourer and Emma a glove maker.

Walter and Emma first lived in a cottage in Little Lane, and then moved to Sunshine Cottage, Stembridge. Hugh Male, a nephew of Edward who was killed at Passchendaele, remembers visiting his grandfather Walter in Sunshine Cottage.

31 Spouse and children

Albert was unmarried

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal

Other information

According to the 1911 census, Albert Edward had younger brothers Earl, Edward, Frank and Arthur - and an older brother Theo on the 1901 census.

The map below shows a red dot next to the cottage in Little Lane where Edward Male was born.

The photo below shows the Male family standing outside the cottage in Little Lane. Emma is holding the youngest, Arthur. Walter is the tallest of the three men. Albert Edward Male is the child, far right. Next to him his brother Earl and far left are younger brothers Edward and Frank.

There is no physical trace of the cottage today.

32 TOM MOUNTER

Rank,service number and regiment

Stoker 2nd Class, K/38646 Royal Navy, HMS Ariadne

Home Address No. 4 on the Plaque

Thorney Cottages. Information supplied by Reverend Tom Stuckey, his grandson.

Date of death

26 July 1917

Age at death

27 years

Circumstances of death

HMS Ariadne was engaged in mine-laying operations off Beachy Head on the south coast on 26 July 1917. The ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U Boat. There was an explosion on board as the ship was sinking and this killed 38 of the crew and 12 were wounded. Tom Mounter was killed and was brought home to K.E. for burial.

Where buried

K.E. burial ground (Official War Grave).

Date of birth & full name

25 March 1890 K.E.. TOM MOUNTER

Occupation

Labourer/Withy Grower

Parents

Robert Mounter and Ellen Mounter (nee Glover), married 1886.

Robert was a labourer in withy growing, living in Newtown, K.E.

Spouse and children

Ellen Talbot of KE, married 1911. Ellen was a glove machinist.

Ellen did not marry again after Tom’s death. She died 16 January 1936.

Children: Frederick R Mounter, born 28 November 1912, married Kathleen Budge, died 1981 Taunton.

Martha Ellen Mounter - born 5 May 1914, married Howard G Stuckey in 1934.

Horatio Herbert Mounter - born 5 September 1916, married Iris Savidge in 1940.

33 Awards

British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Other information

Tom’s Royal Navy record has the following information: Height 5’ 6 ¼’’, hair – brown, eyes – blue, complexion – fresh. His character and abilities were recorded as “Very Good”. He had been assigned to HMS Ariadne on 31 March 1917.

In the 1911 census Tom was living with his parents at Newtown, K.E. The photos below show, left, Tom’s parents, Robert and Ellen Mounter and right, Tom and his wife Ellen. Rev.Tom Stuckey, a grandson, records that Tom Mounter and Ellen lived at Thorney Cottages – he says that “they used to flood regularly and were not “posh” like they are today.”

34 GEORGE NEWIS

Rank, service number and regiment

Lance Corporal 219523, 54th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Home Address No.30 on the Plaque

Crooked Way, Stembridge in 1911 census. From May 1911 he was living in Ontario, Canada and when married - 73 Cedar Street, Brockville, Ontario

Date of death

28 October 1916

Age at death

25 years

Circumstances of death

The 54th Battalion Canadian Infantry were engaged in the Battle of Ancre Heights which was part of the over-arching battle of the Somme. This lasted from 1 July 1916 to November 1916. The 54th Battalion were in trenches at Courcelette near the town of Albert. The Battalion diaries show an almost daily toll of soldiers killed and injured. George suffered serious gunshot wounds on 26 October 1916 and was evacuated behind the lines to one of the military hospital facilities in Etaples on the French coast near Le Touquet. Sadly, George’s injuries were so serious that he died of his wounds in hospital on 28 October 1916 and was buried in the military cemetery nearby.

Where buried

Etaples Military Cemetery, France, where there are nearly 11,000 burials from the nearby military hospital facilities.

Date of birth & full name

6 January 1891. GEORGE WOLSEY NEWIS

Occupation

Farm labourer in Somerset but a Locomotive Fireman for the Grand Trunk Railway in Canada.

Parents

George and Mary Hester (nee Hill), married 1889. George died in 1912 and Mary Hester in 1916.

Spouse and children

Married Jean Kerr on 9 October 1915 in Ontario, she was originally from Kingston, Glasgow, Scotland. No record of any children.

35 Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Other information

George emigrated to Canada in May 1911 as a labourer.

His Canadian army attestation papers show he was 5’ 11” tall, 38” chest, light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. His religious denomination was Presbyterian.

George’s younger brother William Richard Newis also emigrated to Canada and served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was also a locomotive fireman with the Grand Trunk Railway, however, he survived the war.

Another Newis, James, who was probably a second cousin to George W. Newis, emigrated to Canada in 1903. He farmed at Mervin, Saskatchewan until he retired to Winnipeg in 1943. He died in 1967.

James Newis’s name appears in error on the War Memorial in St.Martin’s Church. George Newis’s name is now correctly inscribed on the Centenary Commemoration Plaque of 2018.

The house in Crooked Way no longer exists. It is shown on a map of 1903, next to the red dot. See photo below. There are fragments of brick, stone, slate and tiles in the field where it once stood. The photo to the right of the cap badge shows some of these fragments unearthed on this site.

36 FRANCIS J. PERRIN

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 1282, West Somerset Yeomanry/Hussars

Enlisted

Taunton 1915

Home Address No.21 on the Plaque

Lower Burrow Farm, Lower Burrow

Date of death

3 November 1915

Age at death

24 years

Circumstances of death

The West Somerset Hussars were involved with the Gallipoli Campaign which was generally considered to be a military disaster. The Allies clearly underestimated the capacity of the Turkish forces.

The Dardanelles straits were heavily mined and defended by Turkish coastal forts and gun batteries. The Allies did not advance more than a few hundred metres from the landing shores of Cape Helles and Anzac Cove where they were pinned down.

The allies endured suffocating heat and were surrounded by rotting corpses that drew thick swarms of flies. They lacked water and thousands died from dysentery as disease spread.

Francis died on 3 November 1915. He was on the Hospital Ship Kildonan Castle and was buried at sea off the coast of Gallipoli.

It is not clear if he died of wounds or from the dysentery which affected so many Allied troops.

Where buried

As Francis was buried at sea he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial. This is an obelisk over 30 metres high on the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula - it can be seen by ships passing through the Dardanelles.

Date of birth & full name

1891. FRANCIS JOSEPH PERRIN

Occupation

Farm labourer

37 Parents

Vile Perrin and Selina (Lily) Perrin (nee Kiddle). Vile was a tenant farmer in 1911 census

Awards

1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

Spouse and children

Francis was unmarried

Other information

Francis had an elder brother Henry and five sisters, Evelyn, Dorothy, Margery, Violet and Kathleen.

In 1891 the Perrin family were at Bere Farm, Aller and in 1901 at High Ham. By 1911 they had moved to Lower Burrow Farm, Lower Burrow, K.E. There is a plaque erected to Francis by his family in the church of St Martin’s, K.E., see photo below.

38 NORMAN PIPE

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 1812 and 240373, 2nd/5th Somerset Light Infantry, attached to 2nd Dorset Regiment.

Taunton 1915

Enlisted

South Petherton

Home Address No.33 on the Plaque

Owl Street, East Lambrook – possibly house now demolished.

Date of death

29 April 1916

Age at death

21 years

Circumstances of death

On 29 April 1916 13,000 allied soldiers surrendered and were taken prisoner after being besieged for 5 months by Turkish and German forces at the town of Kut-al-Amara, on the Tigris River.

This is in the Basra province of Iraq. The prisoners were marched to Basra diseased, starving and weak, were beaten en-route and many didn't survive the march or captivity.

Where buried

Basra Memorial, Al Basra, Iraq

Date of birth & full name

Feb 5th 1895. Christened in East Lambrook on 22 February 1895. JOHN NORMAN PIPE

Occupation

Farm worker

Parents

James Pipe and Ellen Pipe (nee Swain). Married 1894. James was a farm labourer.

Spouse and children

Norman was unmarried

Awards

1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

39 Other information

According to the 1911 census Norman was the eldest of 8 children, see photo below showing part of the census.

Norman, Gladys, Elsie, James, Emily, Fred, Walter & Tilda.

The photo of Norman is from a postcard that he sent home to his mother. The first lines on the back read: “Just a few words to tell you that I am all right.”

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Norman’s date of death is 31 December 1916 but this is incorrect. His pension record and medal rolls contradict this, he died 29th April 1916. As his body was not found, and so many died either at the siege or en-route to Basra, there was a lot of confusion about dates of death.

Norman’s name was omitted in error from the War Memorial in St.Martin’s Church, K.E. This may have been due to the confusion of who died and who survived the tragic events at Kut. His name is recorded on the War Memorials in St. James’ Church, East Lambrook and Middle Lambrook Meeting United Reformed Church. His name is also on the Centenary Commemorative Plaques, created in 2018 and displayed in various public-access buildings around the Parish.

40 THOMAS G. POCOCK

Rank and regiment

2nd Lieutenant 4th Battalion, The King’s (Liverpool) Regiment

Home Address No.12 on the Plaque

The Manor Farm, now Manor House, K.E.

Date of death

3 April 1915

Age at death

26 years

Circumstances of death

The 4th Battalion were on their way to relieve front-line soldiers in the Battle of Neuve Chappelle 10 - 13 March 1915. On 11 March 1915, the Battalion were billeted at Richebourg St Vaaste, where they were shelled heavily by the Germans. This resulted in Thomas receiving serious wounds. He was taken behind the lines to a hospital at Rouen and died of his wounds on 3 April 1915.

Where buried

Officers plot A I 12 St Sever Cemetery, Rouen, France

Date of birth & full name

Sept. 9th 1888 Hong Kong. THOMAS GUY POCOCK

Occupation

Tutor

Parents

Thomas Guy Pocock, a Master Mariner, was killed in Hong Kong by Chinese pirates on 8 December 1890. His mother was Susan Pocock (nee England) of K.E.. Her father Henry England was a farmer of 430 acres in K.E. employing 12 men and 9 boys.

Susan died 6 August 1930.

Spouse and children

Thomas was unmarried

Awards

1915 star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

41 Other information

Thomas had 3 sisters: Rachel Traves Pocock 1886 - 1938 Marjorie England Pocock 1887 - 1959 Phyllis Mary Pocock 1890 - 1963 The 1901 census shows Susan Pocock and Thomas were living in Sydenham Hill, Camberwell with Mary Martha, one of Susan’s sisters.

In 1904/5 Thomas was head chorister at New College School, Oxford.

By 1911, he was employed as a tutor, while living at The Court, Chew Magna. This was the home of his aunt, his mother’s sister, Sara Ann who was married to Edward Netherton Harward.

The 1911 census shows Susan Pocock was living with her mother Susannah Kiddle England at The Manor Farm, K.E..

In the autumn of 1911, Thomas went to New College, Oxford University. The photo above shows him in a cross-country race on Christmas Day 1912, hands on hips.

He would have completed his degree by the summer of 1914. War broke out in August of that year, and it seems that he enlisted almost immediately, for his battalion was in France by March 1915. He was killed in France in April 1915.

His family gave a stained glass window of St.Martin, a Roman soldier, to St.Martin’s Church, in Thomas’s memory – see photo below.

42 ERNEST REED

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 25752 7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry

Enlisted

Sherborne, Dorset

Home Address No.7 on the Plaque

Milborne Port, Somerset after 1916 but K.E. in 1911 census. His family probably lived in one of the cottages in Sunnyside, which was, in a later generation, still connected to the Reed family. The map above shows an arrow and a red line ringing the cottages in the Sunnyside area, some of which no longer exist.

Date of death

2 October 1916

Age at death

32 years.

Circumstances of death

The 7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry were engaged in the Battle of the Somme 1 July to November 1916 and trying to gain German trenches south-west of Gueudecourt. The battalion came under heavy machine-gun fire and Ernest was killed in action. Such was the ferocity of the fighting and the turmoil in battleground conditions that Ernest’s body was never recovered

Where buried

Commemorated on Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme

Date of birth & full name

April 25th 1884 East Lambrook.

ERNEST REED

Occupation

Mason’s labourer

Parents

George Reed 1855 - 1923 and Emily Reed (nee Morris) 1854 1922. George was a willow-bed labourer. They were married in St Martin’s 16th November 1880.

Spouse and children

Gertrude M Reed (nee Chant), born Milborne Port, married Wincanton 1908. Daughter- Dorothy, born 1909

Awards

British War Medal & Victory Medal.

43 Other information

Ernest’s brother Sidney Reed was killed in action in the same year, on 1st July 1916, three months before Ernest was killed. Their cousin James Henry Lovell Reed also died in WW1 on 24 August 1917.

James was the brother of Millicent Reed, who ran the glove factory in K.E.for many years.

Ernest and Sidney also had an older sister Bessie born 1883 and a younger brother Harry born in 1891.

In the 1881 & 1891 census Ernest’s mother Emily is a leather glove maker.

Ernest’s paternal grandfather was Thomas Reed b.1830 The photo below shows Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, where Ernest’s name is inscribed.

44 JAMES REED

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 31995 6th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry

Enlisted

Castle Cary

Home Address No.6 on the Plaque

Riverview House, K.E.

Date of death

24 August 1917

Age at death

19 years

Circumstances of death

In the overall context of the 3rd Battle of Ypres, the 6th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry were tasked with capturing German trenches south of the Menin Road, to the east of Ypres. The assault lasted 21 - 24 August and 344 of the Battalion were killed, wounded or missing due to intense German machine-gun fire and shelling. James was one of those killed in this assault.

Where buried

James’s body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, Ypres, Belgium, Panels 41 - 42 & 163A.

Date of birth & full name

1898 K.E. JAMES HENRY LOVELL REED

Occupation

Gardener

Parents

Walter Reed 1865 - 1950 and Mary Jane Reed (nee Lovell) 1870 – 1936. In 1891 Walter was an agricultural labourer, in 1901 a carter on a farm and 1911 a mason’s labourer. Mary Jane was a glove maker, see Other Information.

Spouse and children

James was unmarried

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal

45 Other information

James’s mother Mary Jane Reed ran a gloving business that operated at Riverview House, from around 1914. The business became J M Reed and Co. named after Jessica Millicent Reed, her youngest daughter, who took over running the business and who was known affectionately as “Aunt Mill” by her workforce.

The Riverview Glove Factory, built next to Riverview House and run by Millicent Reed, was first built in 1949 – the Green Hut. A new factory was built in 1955 and operated until 2005, when it finally closed.

Threadneedle Close is on the site of the old factory. The photo below shows the factory in operation.

James had the following siblings: Jane Lovell 1891-1961 Edith Priscilla 1892-1979 Beatrice Lilian 1894-1967 James Henry Lovell 1898 - 1917 Walter John 1901-1957 Edward George 1905-1995 Frederick 1907-1994 Jessica Millicent 1909-1965 James’s paternal grandparents were possibly Joseph Reed 1823-1879 & Priscilla (nee Priddle) 1836-1895. Confusion has arisen because of two Walter Reeds in K.E. with birth dates 3 years apart. If James’ paternal grandparents were indeed Joseph and Priscilla Reed, then James Henry Lovell Reed was second cousin to Ernest and Sidney Reed, who were also killed in WW1.

46 SIDNEY REED

Rank, service number & regiment

Private 15301 8th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry sailed to Le Havre, France on 6 October 1915.

Home Address No.8 on the Plaque

Possibly Sunnyside House in Silver Street, K.E. or one of the cottages to the west of the house. Documents suggest that the Reeds owned the plot of land behind Sunnyside in the early 20th century – and a Reed was living in Sunnyside in the 1940s.

Date of death

1 July 1916

Age at death

29 years

Circumstances of death

The 8th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry was at the opening of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. The Battalion Diaries show clearly that the Allies’ opening barrage which was to have knocked out German strongholds, armaments and trenches had not worked.

The Germans had dug themselves in since 1914 with heavy concrete bunkers and strongholds that the opening barrage did not touch. The first soldiers out of the trenches at 7.30 am on 1 July were met with heavy machine-gun fire. Battalion diaries record that: ‘officers and men were being hit and falling everywhere but the advance went steadily on’.

A Brigade Major who witnessed it reported it as ‘magnificent’.

The leading platoon lost 50% of its men going across ‘no man’s land’ which was subject to heavy enemy artillery fire.

Where buried

Gordon Dump Cemetery, Ovilliers la Boisselle, Somme, France.

This was a concentration cemetery where, after the armistice, graves were brought in from all over the surrounding battlefields.

This cemetery has 623 identified burials and 1,053 unidentified burials where the headstone says : ’Known Only Unto God’.

Date of birth & full name

1887 East Lambrook. SIDNEY GEORGE REED

Occupation

In the 1911 census - Butcher’s Labourer

47 Parents

George Reed 1855 - 1923 and Emily Reed (nee Morris) 1854 - 1922.

George was a willow-bed labourer. They were married at St. Martin’s Church 16th November 1880

Awards

1914/15 Star, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal.

Spouse and children

Sidney was unmarried

Other information

Sidney was brother to Ernest Reed who was killed in action on 2 October 1916 and a cousin of Henry James Lovell Reed who died 24 August 1917. They all lived in Kingsbury.

Sidney’s siblings in 1911: Bessie – aged 28 yrs Ernest – aged 27 yrs Sidney – aged 24 yrs Harry – aged 20 yrs Following the Armistice, correspondence with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was conducted with Bessie Barrett (nee Reed) Sidney’s older sister who married Fred Barrett in 1920.

The photo below shows Sunnyside in the early 20th century, when J. Jeanes Ironmonger, Grocer and Draper was still in existence. There were also cottages running alongside the shop. The shop and cottages burned down sometime in the 20th century. The photo above, next to the cap badge, shows the site today. The garage with the house set back to it’s left, was where the shop J. Jeanes once stood. The house with the railings, Sunnyside, survived the fire.

48 BEN RUSS

Rank, service number and regiment

Gunner 206207 D Battery 152nd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (RFA)

Enlisted

South Petherton

Home Address No.34 on the Plaque

Born in West Lambrook. When married, lived on Heathen’s Hill, East Lambrook now re-named Hawthorne Hill. This is the address given on the Absent Voters List. The house may have been one of the cottages that has since been knocked down. The photo above shows these cottages.

Date of death

5 September 1918

Age at death

25 years

Circumstances of death

The 152nd Brigade RFA were engaged in the Battles of Soissonais, Ourcq and the capture of Baigneux Ridge. Ben was injured in this battle and transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station behind the lines at Esquelbecq where he died of his wounds.

Where buried

Esquelbecq Military Cemetery, Flanders, France

Date of birth & full name

1893. BEN RUSS

Occupation

Farm labourer

Parents

Walter Russ and Elizabeth Russ (nee Best) married 1884 at South Petherton. Lived at West Lambrook, possibly in the east end of Tanyard House. Ben was still living at home in 1911, but married in 1915 and then moved to Heathen’s Hill.

Spouse and children

Married at St Martin’s Church K.E. on 8 November 1915, to Bessie Down (a glover), sister to Henry and John Down of Rosebank, Owl Street, East Lambrook.

Awards

British War Medal, Victory Medal.

49 Other information

Witnesses at Ben and Bessie’s wedding were Henry Down and George Down, Bessie’s brother and father. Henry (Harry Down) was killed on 23rd July 1916. Another brother John was killed on 3rd March 1918.

The 1911 census shows the members of the Russ family who were living in West Lambrook: Walter aged 46 Elizabeth aged 49 Gertrude aged 24 Edward aged 21 Alice aged 20 Ben aged 18 William aged 16 Mary Best (mother in law) aged 84 Ben’s sisters were glove makers. Ben, his father and brothers were farm labourers.

The photo below shows Esquelbecq Military Cemetery, Esquelbecq, France, near to the Belgian frontier, where Ben is buried.

The Russ family was a large family in the Parish. Russ descendants from New Zealand visited St.Martin’s Church in 2018. They shared family research of how the Russ family migrated to the Nelson area in the 1840s and prospered, with members of the family eventually becoming members of the NZ parliament and owners of vineyards and brewing enterprises.

DOUGLAS SAY

Rank, service number and regimen

Private 394 12th Battalion, Australian Infantry

Enlisted

26 August 1914, Pontville, Tasmania

Home address No.28 on the Plaque

The Manse now The White House, Mid Lambrook. After he emigrated, Melville Street, Hobart, Tasmania.

Date of death

25 May 1915

Age at death

24 years

Circumstances of death

Douglas’s Battalion was involved in action between Allied and Turkish forces on the Gallipoli peninsula between April 1915 and January 1916. It was where the soldiers of the ANZAC troops - the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - first went into action during the First World War. Douglas was taken to hospital seriously wounded by gun shot on 1st May and died of his wounds on 25th May 1915.

Where buried

Grave M161 Alexandria Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt. His name is also inscribed on panel 67 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Camberra.

Date of birth & full name

Aug 17th 1890. DOUGLAS STANLEY SAY

Occupation

Grocer’s Assistant. This was on the 1911 census and on his 1914 Australian Army registration form.

Parents

Reverend George Say and Elizabeth Ann Say (nee Welchman).

George was minister of the Middle Lambrook Meeting of the United Reformed Church from 1885 – 1922.They lived at The Manse, Mid Lambrook, now The White House.

50

51

Spouse and children

Douglas was unmarried

Awards

1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Other information

Douglas used the spelling SAYE in his Australian Army application.

According to this application, he was 5’ 7” tall, weighed 9st 11lbs, chest expansion of 32” - 35”, dark complexion, blue eyes and black hair. He had a scar on his upper lip.

Elizabeth Ann Say, his mother, died on 24th December 1910 after a fall from her horse, when the girth broke. She is interred in K.E. burial ground.

On 6 April 1911 Douglas and his brother Leonard emigrated to Australia, sailing from Liverpool to Melbourne on SS Runic White Star Line.

Douglas gained employment in Hobart, Tasmania, occupation grocer’s assistant.

Leonard his brother was killed at Passchendaele in November 1917.

Siblings included Leonard, Ida Winifred, Evelyn Flora, Wilfred, Ralph.

The photo below was taken at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, where Douglas is also remembered. His photograph hangs in the Middle Lambrook Meeting United Reformed Church.

LEONARD SAY

Rank, service numbe and regiment

Sergeant 506 1st Brigade, Australian Infantry, 1st Machine Gun Corps (previously the 3rd Battalion Australian Infantry)

Enlisted

31st August 1914 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Home Address No.29 on the Plaque

Originally The Manse, now The White House, Mid Lambrook.

From 1911 Corryong, Victoria, Australia

Date of death

7 November 1917

Age at death

25 years

Circumstances of death

The 1st Machine Gun Corps was engaged in the capture of Passchendaele Ridge within the 3rd Battle of Ypres. The Battalion diary for 7 November 1917 states that a machine gun received a direct hit from an enemy shell and a soldier was killed. Due to the turmoil on the battlefield and weather conditions Leonard’s body was never recovered.

Where buried

Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing of the Salient, Ypres, Belgium.

Date of birth & full name

Aug 9th 1892. LEONARD SAY

Occupation

School teacher. The photo of him to the right below, outside a school with a group of pupils is labelled “Toora” which is in Victoria. He is also recorded as living in Corryong, Victoria.

Parents

Reverend George Say and Elizabeth Ann Say (nee Welchman), George was minister of the Middle Lambrook Meeting of the Reformed Church from 1885 – 1922. They lived at The Manse, Mid Lambrook, now The White House.

Spouse & children

Leonard was unmarried

52

53

Awards

1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and Military Medal.

Other information

According to Leonard’s Australian Army form, he was 5’ 8 ½ ” tall, chest expansion of 33” - 36”, fair complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair.

Elizabeth Ann Say, his mother, died 24 December 1910 after a fall from her horse when the girth broke. She is interred in K.E.burial ground.

On 6 April 1911 Leonard and his brother Douglas emigrated to Australia, sailing from Liverpool to Melbourne on SS Runic White Star Line.

Siblings included Douglas, Ida Winifred, Evelyn Flora, Wilfred, Ralph.

A detailed military record exists for Leonard. In 1915 he took part in the Gallipoli campaign, as did his brother Douglas, who was killed.

Leonard was reported missing in May 1915, then was found and went to hospital with wounds. He recovered and went on to fight at Passchendaele in 1917. He won a Military Medal for bravery 4/5 October 1917: ‘during the attack on enemy positions east of Ypres Say was with a section of machine guns. His C in C and other Sgt being casualties leaving him in charge of the section in the early stage of the attack.

He at once took charge and by good handling got his guns into position and reported in writing to Coy HQrs. By his personal bravery and cheerfulness greatly encouraged his men under very trying circumstances. He remained in charge of the section until relieved the night of 5th October.’

His military record also shows that he came home on leave to England between 20 October 1917 and 3 November 1917. He was killed on 7th November 1917.

54 HENRY STUCKEY

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 202100 2nd/4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry

Enlisted

1915 or early 1916, Yeovil

Home AddressNo. 5on the Plaque

Thorney Road, Newtown, K.E.. Relatives have suggested New Town House, built in 1908, as his home. New Town House is now called Meadow Croft.

Date of death

29 July 1918

Age at death

25 years

Circumstances of death

Harry embarked into the theatre of war in 1916. The 2nd/4th Battalion SLI proceeded to India where they had Garrison duties on the North West Frontier. Then they moved to Egypt, in actions against the armies of the Ottoman Empire: specifically to protect the Suez Canal, as this was a vital transit route for the allied powers.

In the first part of 1918 the head of German forces, Ludendorff, had unleashed the Spring Offensive to try to take back terrain gained by the allies. As a back up to this, the 2nd Battle of the Marne started in July 1918 in north-east France. The 2/4th Battalion SLI crossed the Mediterranean to Marseille, France, in July 1918 and proceeded through France to the Soissons area of the Marne.

Harry was killed in action during this battle. The Germans were pushed back and this was one of the successes which eventually led up to Armistice in November 1918.

Where buried

Oulchy-Le-Chateau Churchyard Extension, Aisne, France

Date of birth & full name

1893. HENRY STUCKEY. He was known as HARRY in the parish.

Occupation

According to the 1911 census, when he was 17 years old, he was a general labourer.

55 Parents

Charles Stuckey and Ellen Stuckey (nee Talbot).

The 1911 census tells us Charles was a general labourer and Ellen was a glove machinist. C. Stuckey and family were living in New Town, probably New Town House, built 1908.

Spouse and children

Harry was unmarried

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Other information

The earlier 1901 census shows father Charles as a willow worker. He and his family lived in Church Street, K.E. at this time.

Siblings: Lilian b 1889 Harry b.1893, d. 1918 Mabel b 1895 Beatrice b 1898 Gladys b 1903 Harry Stuckey was the cousin of Walter Talbot of Glencoe in Broad Street, K.E. opposite the Lock-up. He was also killed in WW1, on 7th August 1917.

The photo, below, shows Oulchy-le-Chateau Churchyard Extension where Harry is buried.

56 WESLEY STUCKEY

Rank, service number and regiment

Lance Corporal 7059 1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry

Enlisted

1914 Taunton. Landed in Le Havre, France on 21 August 1914

Home Address No.24 on the Plaque

Little Thatch, Stembridge

Date of death

1 July 1916

Age at death

32 years

Circumstances of death

Killed by machine-gun fire on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

Where buried

As Wesley’s body was never recovered, his name appears on Pier and Face 2A of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, France.

Date of birth & full name

1884. WESLEY STUCKEY

Occupation

Farm labourer

Parents

Walter Stuckey 1858 - 1928 and Susan Stuckey (nee Male) 1856 -1907. They lived at Little Thatch, Stembridge. Walter was a farmer. The house is still in existence, shown above right.

Spouse and children

Married Bessie Monkton of West Lane, West Lambrook in 1912.

Daughter - Gladys E C Stuckey born 1913. She married Frederick Scott in 1935.

Awards

1914 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.

57 Other information

Wesley joined the Somerset Militia in 1903 for a period of 6 years and his Attestation Form exists. He was 18 years 6 months old. He was a farm labourer, 5’ 3” tall, weighed 104lbs and had a chest measurement of 32” with an expansion to 34”, fresh complexion, grey eyes and brown hair.

Wesley had four brothers and four sisters: Albert b. 1878, Archibald b. 1879, Fred b. 1883 Wesley b. 1884, d. 1916 Martha b. 1885, Sam b. 1887, Mary b. 1890 Elizabeth b. 1893, Florence b. 1898 The only photograph we have found of Wesley is the one shown below of the Methodist Men’s Bible Class. Wesley can be seen on the back row, second from the left. Albert, his older brother, back row 4th from the left. And Sam his younger brother, front row, 2nd from the left. This photograph was made available to us from Kingsbury Episcopi Methodist Church, for which we thank them. It has been invaluable, providing us with many other named faces of men from this era. The woman in the photo is Amy Willy, who was one of the teachers of the class.

GILBERT TALBOT

Rank, service number and regiment

Sergeant 870, 52nd Battalion, Australian Infantry (AIF)

Enlisted

31 August 1914, Blackboy Hill, Western Australia

Home Address No. 11 on the Plaque

Crate Cottage, next door to the Wyndham Arms, K.E. After emigration, Baandee, Western Australia.

Date of death

4 September 1916

Age at death

26 years

Circumstances of death

The 52nd Battalion AIF were engaged in action around Moucquet Farm on the Somme. Gilbert’s Australian Army record includes an eye witness account. This records that Gilbert was seriously injured in the stomach on 4 September but due to the ferocity of the fighting he was subsequently recorded as missing and then declared killed in action. His body was never recovered.

Where buried

He is commemorated on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial, Somme, France where Australians who fell at the battle of the Somme with no known grave are commemorated. His name is also inscribed on panel 156 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

Date of birth & full name

1889 K.E. GILBERT TALBOT. He was known as BERT to friends and family.

Occupation

Farmer as on his army record

Parents

Gilbert Talbot and Sarah Ann Talbot (nee Tribley). They married in 1885 and lived next door to the Wyndham Arms in Crate Cottage.

Spouse & children

Gilbert was unmarried

Awards

1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.

58

59 Other information

According to his Australian service record Gilbert was 5’ 9 ¾ ” tall, weighed 157lbs, chest measurement 35”-37”, fair complexion, hazel eyes and light brown hair. He had a scar on his right upper arm.

Gilbert emigrated to Freemantle, Australia on 11 January 1907 on the ship Orotova, with brother Watson and cousin William Trebley. He was living initially in Perth and then moved east to Baandee.

Blackboy Hill training camp was the birthplace of Western Australia’s Anzac forces. The first volunteers arrived at the camp on August 17th 1914. Gilbert Talbot enlisted there on 31 August 1914 – so he was amongst the first volunteers to enlist there. Over 32,000 men passed through the camp before heading off for war. A Post Office had opened at the camp by 29th August, and a more permanent camp with huts and cook houses was built. The initial training here was mainly limited to marching, drilling, musketry practice and other basic military tasks. It was used right up until the end of the war, as the high death tolls on the battlefields of the Western Front meant that battalions were continually in need of reinforcements.

The photo below shows a view of Blackboy Hill on ANZAC Day, 25th April. ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

60 WALTER TALBOT

Rank, service number and regiment

Lance Corporal 25812 7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry

Enlisted

1915 under the Derby scheme. This was a scheme put into place in the autumn of 1915, encouraging men between the ages of 18-41yrs to join up. Many thousands did so but still not enough to meet the country’s fighting strength goals and so conscription was introduced in Jan 1916.

Home Address No.16 on the Plaque

Glencoe House, Broad Street, K.E.

Date of death

7 August 1917

Age at death

37 years

Circumstances of death

Walter was killed in action at Pilkem Ridge during the battle of Passchendaele. His battalion came under heavy German shelling.

11 men including Walter were killed, 21 wounded and 2 declared missing.

Where buried

Bard Cottage Cemetery, IV.B.9 Ypres, Belgium

Date of birth & full name

26 February 1880. WALTER TALBOT

Occupation

Gardener in the 1911 census. He later became a postman. He was also a sexton at St. Martin’s Church, and bell ringer.

Parents

Frederick Talbot 1853-1920 and Martha A Talbot (nee Lock) 1854-1894. They married in 1873.

Spouse and children

Annie Talbot (nee Harvey) 1879-1931. Annie and Walter married 15th October 1901. Daughter Martha Doris Mowbray Talbot 1903-1965 married John Charles Mead 1904-1964 in 1928.

Awards

British War Medal and Victory Medal.

61 Other information

Walter’s siblings: Sarah b.1875 Herbert b.1878 Walter b.1880, d. 1917 Kate b.1885, Harry b. 1886, Jim b.1890 Walter was a Somerset Volunteer before he joined up in 1915. He was picked for special duties to guard Queen Victoria on a visit to the West Country.

He was also a bell ringer, one of over 1400 bell ringers from Britain who were killed in WW1.

In 2018 Kingsbury Episcopi Church Bell Ringers recruited four new members as part of the Ringing Remembers scheme, which aimed to recruit 1400 new bell ringers across the country to ring for the Centenary of the Armistice on 11.11.2018. The photo below shows the bell ringers of 2018, including the four new members. Their names are: David Lane, Roddy Baille-Grohman, Richard Dowdeswell, Phil Shillito, Graham Beckinsale, Sheila Frost, Mark Wyatt, Pauline Warren , Nelleke Storey, Nicola Dowdeswell, Janet Elswood, Nick Frost. They walk in Walter’s footsteps as they climb to the ringing chamber every Wednesday evening for bell-ringing practice, on Sundays to ring for services and when they ring the bells for festivals, weddings and funerals.

62 HENRY TILLEY

Rank, service number and regiment

Private 36215 2nd Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's Wiltshire Regiment

Enlisted

Taunton

Home Address No.20 on the Plaque

Myrtle Cottage, Folly Road, K.E. confirmed by Ron Parsons in 2018. Ron Parsons lived in Myrtle Cottage with his parents and Henry Tilley was his uncle.

Date of death

9 August 1918

Age at death

18 years

Circumstances of death

The 2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment were engaged in pushing back the Germans in north-east France at Hinges. The Germans employed small gas shells and machine-gun fire, which injured and killed many soldiers including Henry. He was evacuated back to a Casualty Clearing Station at Pernes, France but died of his wounds.

Where buried

Pernes British Cemetery, France III B 3, commenced in 1918 for the burial of soldiers from Casualty Clearing Stations nearby.

Date of birth & full name

Aug 11th 1899. HENRY JAMES TILLEY

Occupation

Unknown, as he was a schoolboy in 1911 census.

Parents

John Thomas Tilley, killed in action 16 September 1916, was a farm/withy labourer and Sarah Tilley (nee Marks) a glove machinist.

Spouse & children

Henry was unmarried

Awards

British War Medal, Victory Medal.

63 Other information

Henry had two sisters: Annie Louise Tilley 1900 - 1987 married George England in 1922.

Beatrice Dora Tilley 1911 - 1994 married Stanley William George Parsons in 1928.

Beatrice Dora Tilley is the mother of Ron Parsons who has provided us with family information.

Photographs of Henry, his Victory Medal, Scroll and Bronze Plaque came to us through an ebay seller, who had obtained them all at an auction. We were first contacted via Facebook by a collector of First World War medals belonging to family groups. He had seen the medals on ebay and was interested in finding out if they were all from the same family. There are three Tilleys on our war memorial. We asked the ebay seller if he would send us photos of his collection, which he very kindly did. Although the medals are now lost to the family, we have given copies of the digital photos back to Ron Parsons, his nephew. Without a Facebook presence, we would never have obtained these photographs.

Henry’s father was John Thomas Tilley, who was also killed in WW1.

James Tilley, killed at the Battle of Jutland, is not closely related.

The photo below shows the Bronze Plaque, known as the Dead Man’s Penny, belonging to Henry Tilley.

JAMES TILLEY

Rank, service number and Regiment

Petty Officer Stoker 298831 Royal Navy, HMS Fortune

Home Address No.15 on the Plaque

James grew up in Broad Street K.E.near to the New Inn, now a house called Withy Cutters. He is likely to have lived in one of the cottages now demolished, at the entrance to Orchard Close, next to the Pound.

Date of death

1 June 1916

Age at death

33 years

Circumstances of death

James died at the Battle of Jutland. HMS Fortune, a Destroyer, and HMS Ardent got separated from the rest of the British flotilla. They began to look for German ships to engage and at about 11.30 pm on 31 May 1916 they started to engage four large German ships. HMS Arden and HMS Fortune were both sunk in the ensuing fire-figtht. The last anyone saw of HMS Fortune was the ship afire but still firing guns as it was sinking. All 87 crew members on the destroyer were lost at sea, including James Tilley.

Where buried

James’s body was never recovered from the sea so he is commemorated on Panel 16 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Portsmouth.

Date of birth & full name

16 October 1883. JAMES TILLEY

Occupation

Mason’s Labourer, then sailor in the Royal Navy. He originally enlisted in 1900 with the Somerset Light Infantry but joined the Royal Navy in 1901. James was at sea from 1901 as Leading Stoker on S.S. Minotaur.

Parents

John Tilley and Sarah Tilley (nee Harvey), they married 1866.

According to a living relative, in 1871 they lived in a cottage near to New Inn, now a house called Withy Cutters, in Broad Street. See photo above, which shows the cottages on the right of the photo. James was possibly born in the cottage in Broad Street. His parents lived apart after 1891, his mother doing launry work at home, according to the 1911 census.

64

65 Spouse and children

James married Lilian Edith Stone in Tynemouth Northumberland in early 1915. Their subsequent address was The Cabin, Holwell, Buckland Ripers, Broadway, Dorset. They had no children. Lillian Edith Tilley went on to marry Reginald Stevens in Weymouth 1925.

Awards

1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Other information

According to James’ Naval Record, every year from 1901 to 1916 his character was ‘very good’. It records James as being 5’ 11” tall with brown hair, grey eyes and fresh complexion. While on his first tour of duty he completed a piece of sewing, shown in the photo below. His mother and sisters were all glovers, so he may have learned how to sew at home. The sewing now belongs to his relatives living in Cornwall.

They brought it to be displayed at the Centenary Commemoration in the Community Centre in 2018.

James’ father John Tilley died in Cotford Asylum, Taunton on 4th November 1916. His mother Sarah Tilley died in 1919.

66 JOHN T. TILLEY

Rank, service number & regiment

Private 3/7260 6th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry

Enlisted

1915 Taunton. Sailed from Folkestone to Boulogne on 21st May 1915.

Home Address No. 13 on the Plaque

Myrtle Cottage K.E. confirmed by Ron Parsons in 2018, who also lived here. His mother was Beatrice Dora Tilley, daughter of John Thomas Tilley.

Date of death

16 September 1916

Age at death

39 years

Circumstances of death

The 6th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry was involved in a ferocious battle to take Gueudecourt and Flers back from the Germans in the context of the Battle of the Somme, which ranged from July 1916 to November 1916. Tanks were used for the first time by the British in this battle, but the machine-gun fire from the Germans and lack of success of a British creeping barrage on German emplacements meant there was a heavy death toll of soldiers. At the end of the encounter the 6th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry had 44 killed, 215 wounded and 145 missing. John Tilley was amongst the missing. There were similar heavy losses amongst the other 7 battalions.

Where buried

Due to the ferocity of the battle on the 16 September 1916, John’s body was never recovered. His name is recorded on Pier and Face 2A of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, France. Note: John’s name is incorrectly transcribed as TILLY on the Memorial and in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission papers.

Date of birth & full name

1877 Gibraltar. JOHN THOMAS TILLEY.

67 Occupation

Withy/farm labourer

Parents

Thomas Tilley (1839 - 1905) and Elizabeth Tilley (nee Talbot) 1847 1922. In 1881 they were living in Dudmoor, K.E. In 1901 Thomas was recorded as an army pensioner. His father Thomas Tilley was a career soldier serving overseas. His sisters Louisa and Harriet were born in Malta and Jamaica respectively.

Spouse and children

Sarah Marks 1870-1925 a kid glove machinist. They married 19 June 1899. Children of John T Tilley and Sarah Marks: Henry James Tilley 1899 - 1918 killed in action. Annie Louise Tilley 1900 - 1987 married George England in 1922. Beatrice Dora Tilley 1911 - 1994 married Stanley William George Parsons in 1928.

Awards

1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Other information

John Thomas Tilley had two sisters: Louisa 1871 - 1943. Born in Malta. She married Herbert Norris and emigrated to New York USA in 1891.

Harriet 1880 - 1930. Born in Jamaica. She married Herbert Male a shepherd in the 1911 census and they had the following children: Frederick James Male 1898 - 1965 Edward Percy Male 1899 - 1975 Overt Earl Male 1903 - 1986 Melina Louise Male 1905 - 1988 Hubert Thomas Male 1907 – 1995 The photo below shows part of the scroll of John T. Tilley. The photo was obtained from ebay. See entry under Henry James Tilley for more information.

68 JOSEPH WALDEN

Rank, service number and regiment

Lance Corporal 214 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPLI) East Ontario Regiment

Home Address No.32 on the Plaque

Willow Cottage, Owl Street, East Lambrook

Date of death

25 April 1915

Age at death

23 years

Circumstances of death

PPLI were engaged in the 2nd Battle of Ypres to stave off German advances through the Ypres Salient and were in trenches in Polygon Wood. The Battalion Records indicate that the soldiers suffered daily artillery bombardment, zeppelins dropping bombs and machine-gun fire. Everyday numbers of wounded and killed were reported. Joseph suffered wounds and died of them on 25th April 1915. Due to the ferocity of the fighting, his body was lost and never recovered.

Where buried

No known grave. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing at Ypres, together with 54,000 others whose bodies were never found between 1914 and August 1917.

This covered the 1st and 2nd battles of Ypres. Those lost after that date are commemorated at Tyne Cot Passchendaele Memorial to the Missing.

Date of birth & full name

2 November 1890 as recorded on his Canadian attestation form.

JOSEPH WALDEN

Occupation

Twine-maker (carpets) in the 1911 census, Policeman in Toronto from 1912 to October 1914, when he joined the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary force.

Parents

Joseph Walden and Harriett Walden (nee Russell), married in 1870, of Willow Cottage, Owl Street, East Lambrook. Joseph senior was recorded as freeholder, meaning he owned his cottage. He was a foreman in a twine factory connected to carpet making, probably The Parrett Works, Martock.

69 Spouse and children

Joseph was unmarried

Awards

1914/1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Other information

Joseph emigrated to Canada in 1912. From the Canadian archives, there is an attestation paper from October 1914 relating to Joseph seeking to sign up for the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. It shows that he had joined the Toronto Police force. The form also tells us that Joseph was unmarried, was nearly 6ft 1” tall, had a 40” chest when expanded, a fair complexion, blue eyes and light-coloured hair. He also had a Union Jack tattoo on his left arm.

Joseph’s Battalion sailed from Canada to England for training on Salisbury Plain and Winchester in late 1914. Would he have had the time to visit his family in East Lambrook? The Regiment sailed to Le Havre and by January 1915 were just south of Ypres. An officer remarks in the Battalion Diaries on 7 January 1915: ‘just returned from inspecting trenches – all men are over their ankles in water and some up to their knees – draining is impossible until the rain stops as the ground is completely flooded. The enemy are bombarding us with shrapnel shells’.

Photo below shows a map of Polygon Wood, where Joseph lost his life.

70 HOWARD WILLY

Rank, service number rank and Regiment

Private 3/7272 Somerset Light Infantry, Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment 26 June 1917.

Sailed to Le Havre 23 May 1915.

Home Address No.19 on the Plaque

Dudmoor House, K.E.

Date of death

25 November 1917

Age at death

34 years

Circumstances of death

Fatally injured leading his platoon during the Passchendaele stage of the 3rd Battle of Ypres, whilst attempting to capture the Passchendaele Ridge to the north east of Ypres.

Where buried

Initially buried near to where he fell, but his remains were disturbed by subsequent fighting and the marsh-like consistency of the ground and were lost. He is therefore commemorated on Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing at Passchendaele, on the Addenda Panel.

Date of birth & full name

1883. JOHN HOWARD COLE WILLY

Occupation

Draper’s Assistant in the 1901 census, Grazier working for himself in the 1911 census.

Parents

Arthur White Willy and Elizabeth Emily Willy (nee Cole) married 1880. The Willy family lived at Dudmoor House, K.E.i

Spouse and children

Married Marie Stephanie Simpson in London, in the summer of 1917. It is unclear how Marie and Howard met. They had no children. Howard was killed in November 1917, so they were only married for a few months before he died at Passchendaele.

71 Awards

1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Other information

Howard’s father Arthur Willy died in 1916 in K.E. a year before Howard himself died. His mother died in 1920. His cousin Amy Willy came to live in Howard’s old home of Dudmoor House with her husband Albert Norris.

Amy is shown in the photo of the Methodist Mens Bible Class (see photo under Wesley Stuckey). This photograph has been a useful source of images of several people we have been researching. It shows the Methodist Men’s Bible Class, so we are grateful to Kingsbury Episcopi Methodist Church for allowing us to copy it for the KTT archive.

A relative of Howard Willy, Frank Willy, has been in contact via Facebook with information about the Willy family locally. One branch of the family owned and ran a shop in Silver Street, at one point called Southways Stores. Documents, photographs and family anecdotes have in this way been donated. We are always grateful for such additions and pleased to be able to enlarge the Parish’s historical digital archive.

The photo below shows a card and cross left at the Tyne Cot Memorial, at the base of the panel where Howard’s name is inscribed. The visit to Tyne Cot was made in 2017 to commemorate 100 years since Howard’s death at Passchendaele.

72

ABSENT VOTERS LIST FOR 1918/1919 There was a General Election in Britain on December 14th 1918. All men over the age of 21 years had the right to vote - and over the age of 19 years for those who were serving in the armed forces. The men either registered themselves, or family members registered them if they were away from home. Many service personnel were still overseas in December 1918, so their names appeared on the Absent Voters Lists. These lists can tell us the names of men who served in the armed forces, and who survived the war. For the parish of Kingsbury Episcopi, 101 men are named on the Absent Voters Lists for 1918 and 1919. These are the men who returned from fighting in the First World War. Their names are below: AVERY BARRETT BASTIAN BECKEY BECKEY BERNARD BESGROVE BESGROVE BONNING BRADFORD BRISTER BUDGE BURROWS CLARK CLARK CLARK COGGAN COX DARBY DOBLE DOWN DOWN DOWN DUCK ELLIS ENGLAND FISHER FRENCH MOUNTER

John Joseph Howard Arthur Henry Edwin Darch Crescent Sidney Charles Robert Henry James Harry William Frampton Sidney Walter Samuel John James William Job John Henry James William Arnold Maitland Harry Mark Clifford Edwin James Samuel Walter Edgar Earl Wood Christopher John William George

FRY GRIFFITH GUMMER HALLETT HALLETT HARVEY HARVEY HARVEY HARVEY HARVEY HEBDITCH HODDER HOOPER HOOPER KNIGHT KNIGHT LOCK LOCK LOCK LOCK LONG LOVELL LUTLEY MALE MALE MALE MANNING MOUNTER RUSSELL

Ralph William Charles William Frank Fred Harry George Henry James Job William Henry Albert Edward Herbert Ernest Bernard Hubert Kavanagh Albert Alfred Walter William John Robert Guy Cecil Edward Harold B Frederick John Charles Frederick James Hubert Augustus William William

73 NORRIS PIPE PIPE PIPE PIPE PIPE PITMAN PITTARD PORTER PRIDDLE PRIDDLE QUANTOCK QUANTOCK QUANTOCK QUANTOCK RAMSDEN REED RUSS RUSS

Tom Edward Percy Samuel James Tom William George Albert Charles Frederick George Frank Charles Percy Alexander Arthur John Sheard Henry William James Stephen

SATHERLEY STUCKEY STUCKEY TALBOT TALBOTT TALBOTT TALBOTT TALBOTT TALBOTT TALBOTT TALBOTT TATCHELL TILLY TREBILCOCK TREBLEY TROTT WATTS WATTS WATTS

RUSS

Reginald

WHITE

Wybert Leslie Edward Sam Harry Herbert Sidney Edward Bert Sam Jim Winifred Gilbert John Arthur Charles Percy Charles Henry Ephraim Albert William Washington Wilson Stanley Vanderbelt Walter

Three other men were listed amongst the Absent Voters – Eli Gillett, Norman Pipe and Ben Russ. However, they had been killed before the end of the war - their names are on the war memorials. So in total we have the names of 132 men who served in the First World War: 98 were Absent Voters, 34 were killed. It is possible that there were other men, under the age of 19 years, who also served. They were too young to vote so their names are not yet recorded here.

This booklet is still a work in progress – we look forward to adding to it as more photos, documents and names are given to the archive.

Please be in touch if you have information you are able to share about the First World War generation from this parish.

Contact: Kingsbury Time Travellers via Facebook Tel: o1935 822654 Email: kingsburytimetravellers@btinternet.com

MAKING CONNECTIONS With Living Relatives: To-date, we have been able to establish connections between the 34 men of the Parish who died in the First World War and...

Carol Sills, Mary White, Colin Bunston, Bryan Harris, Val Hingley, Adrian Male, Paul Elliott, Susan Vining & Mum, Daniel Elliott, Raymond French, Dave French, Sylvia Margetts, Belinda Margetts, Bill Elliott, Michael Harvey, Susan Gillard, Paula Florey, Bob Warren, Betty White, Brian Lock, Martin White, Shaun White, Debbie Keeble, Lesley Male, Hugh Male, Trevor Wilcox, Jeanette Wilkie, Tom Stuckey, Rodney Male, Ronald Male, Phillip Male, Heather French, Ron Heathman, Don Darby, Samantha Perrin, Hazel Manning-Johal, Sandra Male, Gillian Whitworth, Rosemary Pickup, Susan Davies, Jocelyn White, Wendy White, Grahame Reed, Andrew Reed, Jonathan Allen, Jean Monkton, Janet Elliott, Doreen Marks, Gordon Howard, Julian Talbot, Jonathan Talbot, Robert Stuckey, Rachel Meare, David Stuckey, Ursula Male, Brian Stuckey, Kevin Cox, Elaine Heathman, Heather Lock, Jeanette Talbot, Jenny Tucker. Julia Cartwright, John Tilley, Paul Elliott, Ron Parsons, Ray Oaten, Angela Male, Alan Heskins, Frank Willy.

With Groups and Organisations: To-date, the WW1 & The People of The Parish Project has sought, gained support and made connections with...

The Parish Council, the Footpath Liaison Officer, K.E. Primary School, St. Martin’s Church, Garden and Countryside Club, Kingsbury Film Club, K.E. Methodist Church, United Reformed Church of Middle Lambrook, K.E. Community Centre, East Lambrook Manor Gardens, ADPR Marketing of New Cross, Teapot Creative of Hambridge, St.James Church East Lambrook, The Rusty Axe, The Wyndham Arms, The Rose and Crown, Coates English Willow, Storey Studios, Otto Kampf of Wimborne, The Yeovil Heritage Centre, the University of Hertfordshire Basketry Project, The Jutland Archive, Brimsmore Gardens, The Passchendaele Museum, Somerset Remembers, SANHS, The War Memorials Trust, Armed Forces Covenant, RNAS Yeovilton, Heritage Lottery South West.

Over time more living relatives and connections will appear... our work is always one in progress... please be in contact if you are connected to these men and families of the Parish. We are still searching for photos, documents, memories of this generation.

Contact: Kingsbury Time Travellers via Facebook Tel: o1935 822654 Email: kingsburytimetravellers@btinternet.com

75

REMEMBERING WW1

BY MARTYN ARNOLD

This painting by Martyn Arnold has been used as a symbol of our WW1 Project with the artist’s consent. We have used the image to represent all the men who served, some whose photographs or even names we do not have.

In 2017 we set up a sunflower-growing competition in the parish to raise awareness of the WW1 Project. We harvested the seeds, and encouraged young and old to grow sunflowers in 2018 to mark the Centenary of the end of WW1, with the knowledge that sunflowers are easy to grow, symbols of vitality and life. These seeds will be in the fabric of our Parish in the years ahead.

They perhaps help to signify the legacy of the First World War generation.

Harriet Walden, mother of Joseph Walden In the last letter that I had from France You thanked me for the silver Easter egg Which I had hidden in the box of apples You liked to munch beyond all other fruit.

You found the egg the Monday before Easter, And said, ‘I will praise Easter Monday now It was such a lovely morning.’ Then you spoke Of the coming battle and said, ‘This is the eve.

Goodbye. And may I have a letter soon.’

That Easter Monday was a day for praise, It was such a lovely morning. In our garden We sowed our earliest seeds, and in the orchard The apple-bud was ripe. It was the eve.

There are three letters that you will not get.

Source: Found in attic of Willow Cottage East Lambrook

Easter Monday Eleanor Farjeon, April 9th 1917

Lest We Forget

Archiving the Parish & its people, past & present

Kingsbury Episcopi Parish Archiving Group