WW1 Roll of Honour

Local and family historians had set themselves the challenge of finding the names from Market Deeping, Deeping St James, West Deeping and Deeping Gate to be included in a 21st century memorial to all those who had taken part in the Great War of 1914 to 1919. The resulting Roll of Honour for the Deepings took up 26 pages when it was published as part of a commemorative booklet The Deepings remember 1914 to 1918 and it included 420 names – 126 of whom had lost their lives. A second edition, four months later, added another 7 people.

Although the centenary events are over, throughout the year and from all around the world, people are still looking at the online Roll of Honour – the record of the men from the Deepings who took part in the worldwide conflict – and adding more names and (in some cases) portraits to go with them.

In March 2021 the Shillaker family, who lived in Church Street, Market Deeping, were delighted to find Private Robert A Shillaker commemorated on the Deepings Heritage website. His son, now in his 90s, might not remember his father but his grand-daughter sent an unusual crayon portrait, showing him in army uniform.

Research for West Deeping remembers 1919 uncovered many more people linked to the village than were recorded on the commemorative scroll in the church. One was the rector Reverend Percy Gore Graham, who came to West Deeping in 1918 after serving during the war as a Chaplain to the Forces; another was the new owner of West Deeping Manor, William Edward Porter, who had served as a Lieutenant in the Lincolnshire Regiment, both in Ireland during the Easter Sinn Fein Rising in 1916 and in France as Brigade Transport Officer.

There was quite a lot of information about the war years for the Mason family, who lived in The Row in West Deeping, which could be included in the book. But it was only recently, in September 2021, that the great granddaughter of Joseph Mason got in touch with more information. Joseph had been born in West Deeping in 1872, but he’d got a job at the Cavendish Arms in Tallington by 1891, and ten years later was fighting with one of the Lancers Divisions in the Boer War. Although he returned to this area after his military service, he was in Kent by the time he re-enlisted with the East Kent Buffs Labour Corps and went to serve in France. Evidently no-one in West Deeping thought to include his name on the village Roll of Honour in 1919. Now, it feels only right to include anyone who was born here as well as those with strong family ties or who lived or worked here at the time.

Maybe Joseph’s parents had his photographs displayed on the mantelpiece of their tiny cottage in The Row? At any rate, the photograph taken during the First World War is now alongside his name in the latest version of the Deepings Roll of Honour.

Robert A Shillaker (1897 - 1935) born in Market Deeping, served in the Royal Field Artillery Joseph Mason (1872 - 1931) born in West Deeping; served in the Lancers during the Boer War c.1901 and in the East Kent Buffs during WW1

The portrait taken during the Boer War is really quite splendid.

The online and most upto-date version of the Roll of Honour can be found on the websites for Deepings Heritage and West Deeping Heritage Group. In October 2021, the number of names stands at 442.

It was revised only a few weeks ago, after Dale Burton in Australia emailed copies of military records he’d discovered after researching his DNA links. Several Burtons and Lamberts are already listed in the Roll of Honour, but he’d found two members of the Geeves family (some of whom still live in Market Deeping) and one of the Deeping Gate Lambert family - who needed to be added. The military pension ledger for Frank Geeves, who had served with the Machine Gun Corps, showed that he lived at “Mill Cottage, Market Deeping”. If this was on Broadgate Lane, it was demolished in the 196os. Even more interesting was one of the documents for William Geeves, of “Mill House, Market Deeping”. He was serving with the Artists Rifles Brigade when he was taken prisoner at Lechelle, near Arras in Northern France in March 1918 and interned at one of the German camps at Munster.

The details behind the names can lead in all sorts of directions – but there is not enough space here! Although the stories are not recorded on the Roll of Honour, it is possible to access the personal profiles compiled by the researchers for the Deepings remember 1914 to 1918 exhibition. Contact either of the Heritage groups via our websites, to share or get access to more information.

West Deeping Heritage Group: https://wdheritage.wordpress.com/ Deepings Heritage: https://deepingsheritage.wordpress.com/

If you want to discover the West Deeping stories, you will have to read “West Deeping remembers 1919”! (isbn 978-1-9162670-0-8, 2019 available from maggieashcroft@hotmail.co.uk at £18.50 (+ P&P) or Deepings Community Library and Market Deeping Antiques and Craft Centre)

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