8717 Pte Nathaniel Vaus, 15th (King's) Hussars

Fifty-four British Army officers and men died on this day, 27th November 1914, according to Soldiers Died in the Great War. Nathaniel Vans of the 15th (King's) Hussars was one of those men.

Nathaniel's regimental number tells us that he joined his regiment in May 1912 and we know from Soldiers Died in the Great War that he was a Londoner, born in Bethnal Green and still living there when he enlisted at Stratford.  No service record survives for Nathaniel but his medal index card indicates that he arrived overseas on the 18th August 1914.

Soldiers Died in the Great War notes that Nathaniel "Died" as opposed to being killed in action or dying of wounds, and his entry on the 1914 Star medal roll confirms that he "died of disease". He was buried in St Sever Cemetery, Rouen which took casualties from a number of hospitals in the city. It seems reasonable to assume that Nathaniel died in one of those hospitals and was buried at St Sever.

VANS or VAUS?

There is some confusion about Nathaniel's surname. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as Nathaniel VAUS, even though the Vaus is corrected to VANS on the Graves Registration report (below).

 

As can be seen from the medal index card image, courtesy of Ancestry (above), the confusion is perpetuated here. The 1914 Star roll records him as N VAUS while the British War and Victory Medal roll records him as Nathaniel VANS, albeit with a correction noted:

 

 

The reason for the confusion in the surname is clear to see when we look at the 1911 census. Nathaniel and his brother and sister are recorded as the step-children of Samuel Laker and his wife, the family all resident at 27 Sidney Street, Bethnal Green. Nathaniel is recorded as a 19-year-old cabinet maker which indicates that he would have been born in 1891 or 1892.

 





The surname has been transcribed by Findmypast as VANS but in actual fact, a check of GRO births reveals that Nathaniel VAUS appears in the index for the fourth quarter of 1891 meaning that he would have been 23 years old when he died. Nathaniel, his younger sister Sarah and younger brother Frederick all appear on the 1901 census as scholars at a school in Low Leyton. Their father, Nathaniel Vaus, born in around 1864 and recorded as a "scavenger" on the 1891 census, had died in 1903. Their mother, Caroline Vaus (nee Sayce) may also have been dead by 1901. I have not researched the other two Vaus children recorded on the 1891 census, Caroline Vaus aged seven, and William Vaus, aged four.

The transcript of Nathaniel's details as recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, does not note a next of kin, but a closer examination of the headstone schedules reveal his stepmother's name (although the relationship is not indicated) still living at 27 Sidney Street, London E2. The street still exists - indicated by the Google pointer below - but much of it has changed beyond recognition in the last 100 years, almost certainly for the better.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

1911 census extract and British War & Victory Medal roll extract courtesy of The National Archives. Images are Crown copyright, the National Archives. Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry. Map courtesy of Google.

Died for King & Country - 18th December 1914

A week away from Christmas Day and 331 British Army officers and men lost their lives on this day - 18th December - 1914. Add in men from other nationalities and men serving with the Royal Navy, Mercantile Marine and Royal Air Force and that figure increases to 372.

I usually select a name at random and write a little bit about that man on this blog. Today though, I'm reproducing the names of all those 372 men; a sad roll call from just one day's fighting.

4585 Sepoy ABDULLAH KHAN 107th Indian Pioneers
150412 Chief Sick Berth Steward ADDIS H.M.S. "Grafton." Royal Navy
11050 Private JAMES ALDCROFT 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
5088 Private ALLAN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
863418 Serjeant ALLEN Reserve Bn. Coldstream Guards
9630 Lance Corporal JOHN ROBERT ALLEN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
1106 Private GARRETT ALLISON 8th Bn. Royal Scots
S/924 Private THOMAS KERNAHAN (JOCK) ANDERSON 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
8936 Rifleman ARCHER 1st Bn. Royal Irish Rifles
1623 Havildar ARJUNRAO GHAG 1st Bn. 117th Mahrattas
6020 Private JAMES ARMOUR 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8847 Private FRED ATKINSON 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8360 Bearer BADALU No. 8 Coy. Army Bearer Corps
7938 Lance Serjeant ALBERT CHARLES BAKER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
5778 Private JAMES BAKER 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
2832 Private FREDERICK HARRY BARBER 5th Bn. Suffolk Regiment
5448 Private WILLIAM BARKER "F" Coy. 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9614 Private BARNETT 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
8945 Private LAURENCE BARRACLOUGH 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
Surgeon JAMES BARRETT H.M.S. "Imperieuse." Royal Navy
7064 Private ERNEST SIDNEY BARRINGTON 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
3137 Private GEORGE BATHIE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8073 Private DAVID SOUTHON BEASLEY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
2554 Private WILLIAM BEDNALL 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
317318 Private HENRY BEER 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
L/10378 Private ALBERT HENRY BENNETT 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 56 Follower BHORIA 18th Field Sect. Indian Veterinary Corps
316464 Private WALTER ROBERT BIDDER 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
9798 Private WALTER JAMES BIGGS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8577 Private STEPHEN BLACKLAWS 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
S/343 Private THOMAS JOSEPH BLACKMAN 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 9351 Private WILLIAM HENRY BLAKE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
3/1831 Private JOHN WILLIAM BLYTHE 2nd Bn. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
L/6994 Private ALFRED BOEATER 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
S/999 Private WILLIAM THOMAS BOONE 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
9277 Private WILLIAM ERNEST BRAUND 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
Lieutenant Colonel ROBERT HENRY WATKIN BREWIS Cdg. 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
8609 Lance Corporal JOHN WILLIAM BRIGHAM 2nd Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)
6377 Private JAMES ARTHUR BROCKHURST 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8652 Private JAMES BROWN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
17115 Private JOHN BROWN 1st Bn. Grenadier Guards Captain REGINALD JOHN (ROY) BROWNFIELD 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
1368 Rifleman BUDHA SINGH 125th Napier's Rifles
9191 Private ARTHUR BULLOCK "A" Coy. 1st Bn. Hampshire Regiment
8578 Lance Corporal FRANCIS BURNETT "C" Coy. 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
10313 Private WILLIAM BURNS 2nd Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
8386 Private CONRAD BURROWS 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8741 Private WALTER BURSTON 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
Lieutenant ANDREW BURT 8th Bn. Royal Scots
8756 Private FRANCIS WILLIAM BUTTLE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
L/9593 Private WILLIAM FREDERICK CALEY 1st Bn The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
G/83 Private FREDERICK CALLINGHAM 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
Second Lieutenant BRABAZON CAMPBELL 4th Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
4474 Lance Corporal JAMES CAMPBELL 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
G/463 Private EDWARD WALTER CAREY 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
10708 Private TOM CARR 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8530 Private CARSTAIRS 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
PO/215727 Leading Seaman CASEY H.M.S. "Victory" Royal Navy
3/48 Private ALFRED CHUDLEY 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
S/6405 Private JOSEPH CLARK 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
Fisherman ERNEST JOHN CLARKE Trawler "Ivy" (Lowestoft) Mercantile Marine
S/6339 Private EDWARD COGLEY 2nd Bn The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
8612 Lance Corporal ALFRED WILLIAM COLLINS 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
6410 Private JOHN FRANCIS COLLINS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
10521 Private JOSEPH WILLIAM WALTER COLLINS "A" Coy. 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8719 Private JOHN COLLINSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
L/13147 Private THOMAS CONGERTON 2nd Bn. Middlesex Regiment
8102 Private HENRY CONLON 1st Bn. Highland Light Infantry
8619 Private JOSEPH CONNELL 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
G/2501 Private EDGAR COOK 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
10962 Private WALLACE COOK 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7125 Lance Corporal HENRY COOKE 1st Bn. Leicestershire Regiment
3732 Private BENJAMIN THOMAS CORBETT 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
6897 Serjeant ERNEST JOHN COURT "C" Coy. 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
10842 Lance Corporal WILLIAM HYSLOP COWAN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7265 Private COX 1st Bn. Royal Fusiliers
7037 Private CROSS 8th Bn. Highland Light Infantry
8850 Private JOSEPH CRUDDAS 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8541 Private ARCHELAUS CURTIS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
542 Private JAMES CURTIS 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
2498 Private DANKS 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
9327 Private SIDNEY JAMES DAVIS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
9185 Lance Corporal ERNEST ALFRED DAY 2nd Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)
3834 Private RICHARD DENVER 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9620 Private WILLIAM DEVINE 2nd Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
8498 Private MICHAEL DOCHERTY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
Private LEWIS JOHN DOLMAN 4th Field Amb. Australian Army Medical Corps
8827 Lance Corporal GEORGE WILLIAM DOMINEY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8912 Private JOHN DONALDSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7228 Rifleman BERNARD DORAN 2nd Bn. Royal Irish Rifles
4369 Private WILLIAM DORAN 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8463 Corporal FRED DOWELL 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
7523 Private JAMES DRUMMOND Northumberland Fusiliers
9587 Private DUCKWORTH 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8823 Private JOHN MAXWELL DUNBAR 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6417 Private DUNNING 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9136 Private PERCIVAL ERNEST DYER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6278 Private CLEMENT EDMONDS 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
8406 Private WILLIAM HENRY ELSON 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
1892 Private JOHN WILLIAM EPHGRAVE 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
11126 Private ERSKINE 2nd Bn. Scots.Guards Scots Guards
6916 Private FRANK CHARLES EVANS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
1154 Private JAMES EVANS 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Captain REGINALD BENJAMIN FEATHERSTONE "C" Coy. 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
G/1755 Private GEORGE FELTNESS 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
7899 Private RICHARD WILLIAM FISHER "A" Coy. 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
4846 Private ALFRED FORBES 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8440 Private FORSYTH 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
5623 Rifleman JOHN FOSTER 2nd Bn. Royal Irish Rifles
4330 Private WILLIAM FOSTER 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
4294 Private WILLIAM FRASER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
1941 Private HARRY FROST 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
2902 Rifleman EDWIN SAMUEL FRYER 1st/9th Bn. London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
Fisherman EDWARD G. GAMBLE Trawler "Ivy" (Lowestoft) Mercantile Marine
465 Private SAMUEL JACOB GARDINER 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
14074 Corporal GEORGE THOMAS GARDNER 55th Coy. Royal Engineers
8306 Private THOMAS GARDNER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6705 Lance Corporal GEORGE FERNES GASK 1st Bn. North Staffordshire Regiment
2558 Sapper GAYADIN BADHAI 3rd Sappers and Miners
G/840 Private ALBERT GIBBS 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
7957 Private GIBSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6361 Lance Corporal GLENISTER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
2355 Serjeant GOFF 2nd Bn. Rifle Brigade
8515 Private FREDERICK GOODING 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
9622 Private JAMES GOODING 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
4676 Private GEORGE GOODMAN 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
S/695 Private ALBERT JOHN GREEN 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
4310 Private JAMES GREGORY 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8627 Private ALBERT GRIFFIN 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
1355 Private GEORGE WILLIAM GRUNDY 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
4557 Private STANLEY GRUNDY 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
351 Sepoy GULBAZ SHAH 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis
11491 Private RICHARD GUNNING 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
30983 Driver DAVID HAMER 31st Bty. Royal Field Artillery
5650 Private JAMES HAMILTON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3877 Private JAMES HARDIE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6392 Private HARDIE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3/30 Private HARRY JAMES HARDING 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
L/7673 Private JOHN HARDING 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) Lieutenant The Hon. EDWARD CHARLES HARDINGE 15th (The King's) Hussars
6017 Private CHARLES HARRISON 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
10658 Private MALCOLM HARRISON 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9256 Private WALTER HARVEY "D" Coy. 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
587 Private WALTER HARVEY 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
8860 Private WILLIAM HEARN 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
4417 Private ARCHIE HENDREN "D" Coy. 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
4162 Serjeant JAMES HEPPELL 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9212 Lance Corporal RALPH HEWITT 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
3013 Private WILLIAM CHARLES HEWITT 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
8927 Private WILLIAM JAMES HIGHLAND 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
6649 Private JOHN HILL 1st Bn. Dorsetshire Regiment
Skipper WILLIAM HENRY HILLS "Ivy." Mercantile Marine
Captain CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY ROWLANDSON HODGSON 3rd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
6940 Lance Serjeant JOHN HOLE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
9057 Private HOLMES 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
9447 Private STEPHEN HOOPER 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
Lieutenant CHARLES RANDOLPH INNES HOPKINS 2nd Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
S/7325 Private WILLIAM FREDERICK HORSAM 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment 662 Shoeing Smith HYAT BAKHSH 15th Mule Corps
1400 Private ALBERT INSLEY 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
3708 Private JOHN ISDALE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
2279 Sapper JAG SINGH 4th Coy. 1st King George's Own Sappers and Miners
3623 Sepoy JAI SINGH 58th Vaughan's Rifles (Frontier Force)
8848 Lance Corporal CHARLES JAMES 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3229 Serjeant DANIEL JARDINE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7535 Private JEWELL 1st Bn. Devonshire Regiment
4654 Sepoy JIWAN KHAN 107th Indian Pioneers
6436 Lance Serjeant ROBERT JOHNSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3/30 Private WILLIAM JOHNSON 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
3847 Private DAVID JOHNSTON 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
6360 Lance Corporal JOHN DOUGLAS JOHNSTON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
L/5097 Corporal JOHNYS 4th Bn. Middlesex Regiment
L/10669 Private JONES 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
4683 Private JOHN JONES 1st Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers
2876 Sepoy KASIRAM GHAG 1st Bn. 117th Mahrattas
4553 Private WILLIAM KAY 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9437 Private DENIS KELLY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3709 Private GEORGE KENNEDY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3081 Private PATRICK KILLORAN 2nd Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
9016 Private KIRK 2nd Bn. Leicestershire Regiment
Butler KISHNASWAMI 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry
3/20 Private GEORGE FREDERICK KNAPMAN 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
316617 Private ALBERT EDWARD KNIGHT 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8312 Private THOMAS KNUTTON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
2067 Sepoy LABH SINGH 34th Sikh Pioneers
L/8648 Corporal JOHN LAMOND 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
L/6773 Serjeant JOHN THOMAS LANE 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
9528 Private LANG 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
L/9437 Private JOHN THOMAS LATHAM 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
S/294 Private HERBERT WILLIAM JOHN LAWES 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
7711 Private EDWARD JAMES LEAHY 2nd Bn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers
S/390 Private JAMES LEAR 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
8813 Private JAMES LEE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards Captain RONALD GEORGE LEGGE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
4679 Company Serjeant Major CHARLES EDWARD LILLEY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7265 Private JAMES LINES 1st Bn. ALIAS
9766 Private FREDERICK JOHN LITTLE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8551 Private THOMAS ARTHUR LUXTON 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8971 Private WILLIAM CHARLES STUART MACDONALD 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
2326 Rifleman MANBIR BURATHOKI 1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment)
5290 Private JOSEPH MARKS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
6033 Lance Corporal ERNEST MARSDEN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7605 Private JAMES MARSH 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
6726 Private CHARLES HENRY MARSHALL 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9840 Private GEORGE MARSHALL 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8414 Private JERRY MARTIN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
10818 Private JOHN MARTIN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
L/10245 Private FRANK MATTHEWS 1st Bn. Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)
G/2972 Private EDGAR FREDERICK MAZDON 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
11096 Private ALBERT EDWARD MEINEN 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
L/9052 Private ALFRED MELDRUM 1st Bn. East Surrey Regiment
Second Hand ARTHUR EDWARD MELHUISH Trawler "Ivy" (Lowestoft) Mercantile Marine
5117 Private ALEX MERSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3134 Private MILGREW 7th Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
4574 Private GEORGE MILLER 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
7310 Private MILLIGAN 2nd Bn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
8940 Private DAVID MILLIGAN "F" Coy. 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9444 Private ROBERT MITCHELL "C" Coy. 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
9257 Private GEORGE MONK 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment Second Lieutenant GEORGE BERTRAM MONK 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
G/271 Private WILLIAM E. MOORE 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
3/69 Private WILLIAM JAMES MOORE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
4332 Private ALFRED VAUGHAN MORGAN 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
5886 Private GEORGE MORRELL 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
5030 Private CECIL ARMSTRONG MORRIS 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3/15 Private THOMAS MORRIS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
6333 Private JOHN MOULD 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
857 Rifleman MUKANDA RAM 125th Napier's Rifles
S/983 Lance Corporal ALFRED MUNDY 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
3726 Private ARTHUR MUNDY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8939 Private DONALD ALEXANDER MUNRO 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
4279 Private THOMAS McALLISTER 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
4629 Private JOHN McCANN 2nd Bn. Connaught Rangers
10872 Private McCARTNEY 1st Bn. Highland Light Infantry
3213 Rifleman JAMES McCULLOUGH 2nd Bn. Royal Irish Rifles
10076 Private ARCHIBALD McDONALD 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7132 Private ROBERT McDONALD 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8870 Private JAMES WANLESS McDOUGALL 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7165 Private WILLIAM JOHN McJURY 2nd Bn. Royal Irish Rifles
5516 Private WILLIAM GEORGE McKENZIE 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
15442 Rifleman WILLIAM McLAUGHLIN 10th Bn. Royal Irish Rifles
16906 Lance Corporal JOHN DODD McLEAN 55th Field Coy. Royal Engineers
3/53 Private MURDO McLEAN 1st Bn. Seaforth Highlanders
1562 Sapper NAWAB 1st King George's Own Sappers and Miners
9335 Private NEILSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8932 Private DAVID ANDERSON NELSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9401 Private JOHN NICKOLS "A" Coy. 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8437 Private ALEXANDER ARBUTHNOTT NICOLL 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6761 Private WILLIAM NISBET 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9640 Private SYDNEY GEORGE NORMAN 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
Second Lieutenant RICHARD FRANCIS ROBERT NUGENT 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6692 Private O'HARA 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6438 Private HUGH O'NEIL 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
Burgher NICHOLAS JACOBUS OOSTHUIZEN Frankfort Commando Mounted Commandos, S.A. Forces
10638 Private WALTER ORCHARD 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
6845 Private ROBERT ORME 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
11028 Private JAMES THOMAS ORMEROD 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8212 Corporal OSBORN 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
L/9984 Private FREDERICK WILLIAM OTTLEY 1st Bn. Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)
2256 Rifleman PADAMLAL RAI 2nd Bn. 7th Gurkha Rifles
6048 Private RICHARD PARRY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
1741 Private HARRY TAYLOR PARSONAGE 1st Bn. Manchester Regiment
9585 Private DANIEL PASSMORE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
4755 Private PATTINSON 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
549 Private WILLIAM PAYNTER 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
S/359 Private WILLIAM HENRY PEACH 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
8889 Private PEARSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
1117 Sepoy PIARU 3rd Kashmir Rifles (Raghunath Regiment)
2045 Private JOHN POLE 5th Bn. Somerset Light Infantry
10445 Sapper POOLE 12th Field Coy. Royal Engineers
10445 Private FRANCIS HENRY POWER 2nd Bn. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
Major JOSEPH THOMAS POWNEY Postal Sect. Royal Engineers
10673 Private RICHARD SAMUEL POYNTER 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8751 Private PURSE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
4636 Private ROBERT RAE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
L/6471 Private HENRY CHARLES RAINE 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
9007 Private WILLIE RAINFORD 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
63 Follower RAM CHARAN Field Vet. Sect. Indian Veterinary Corps
Lieutenant ALEXANDER CHARLES MARQUIS RAMSAY Army Service Corps
Lieutenant DUNCAN GAVIN RAMSAY 2nd Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment
4530 Private JAMES WILSON RANKIN 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
6105 Private WILLIAM JOHN REID 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
8273 Serjeant JOHN REYNOLDS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
7274 Private WILLIAM REYNOLDS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
7932 Private WILLIAM REYNOLDS 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
11537 Private RIDE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
5476 Private JAMES LEONARD ROBERTS 11th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers
11523 Private ALEXANDER ROBERTSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8197 Private ROBERTSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
10771 Private THOMAS ROBINSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
760 Private EDWARD ROGERS 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
9332 Private WILLIAM JOHN ROGERS 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
Captain HUBERT CHARLTON ROME 20th Duke of Cambridge's Own Infantry (Brownlow's Punjabis)
11577 Private ROSCOE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
6254 Private JOHN ROSS 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8863 Private WALTER ROWE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
S/1034 Private EDWARD ROWLAND 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
G/926 Private CHRISTOPHER THOMAS RUMP 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
263 Sepoy RUR SINGH 41st Dogras
7043 Private JAMES RUSSELL 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9293 Private PETER RUSSELL 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
3564 Sapper JOSEPH RYAN 55th Field Coy. Royal Engineers
10957 Private RYMER 7th Bn. North Staffordshire Regiment
3298 Private WILLIAM SCOTT 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9030 Private STANLEY JEROME SELDON 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8903 Private HENRY SERCOMBE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8139 Private AUGUSTE ARTHUR SETTER 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9143 Serjeant TOM CORBETT SHARMAN 1st Bn. North Staffordshire Regiment
 Lieutenant BERNARD HENRY GILBERT SHAW 2nd Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)
2270 Private FRANCIS SHAW 8th Bn. Manchester Regiment
9033 Private WILLIAM VAUGHAN SHAW 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7095 Private SHEPPEY 2nd Bn. Middlesex Regiment
2548 Sapper SHIURAM AMBRE 3rd Sappers and Miners
7418 Private SINNERTON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8790 Private SKINNER 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
10815 Private JAMES SLATER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
M2/019784 Private PERCY HENRY SLATER Army Service Corps
4392 Private JAMES SMITH 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
7106 Private LEWIS JAMES SMITH "C" Coy. 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
Captain CHARLES JAMES SPENCER 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8874 Lance Corporal JESSE STEAD 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
S/934 Private JAMES STEEMSON 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
303364 Petty Officer Stoker JOHN JAMES STEPHENSON H.M.S. "Cochrane." Royal Navy 8966 Private MCNICOL ARCHIBALD STONE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8923 Private JOHN STOREY 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
S/8477 Private MICHAEL SULLIVAN 1st Bn. Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)
2350 Sepoy SUNDAR SINGH 34th Sikh Pioneers
9928 Private JOHN MCKAY SUTHERLAND 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8840 Private HERBERT EDWARD SWANN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
L/6882 Private FREDERICK CHARLES SWEET 1st Bn. East Surrey Regiment
544 Corporal TATE Honourable Artillery Company
Captain HUGH TAYLOR 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9559 Private JOSEPH THOMAS TEAL 2nd Bn West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)
L/7781 Private ALBERT THOMPSON 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
7427 Private FREDERICK WILLIAM THOMPSON 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
9447 Private JOHN THOMPSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
15847 Private THOMPSON 1st Bn. Grenadier Guards
8756 Private WILLIAM STEVENSON THOMSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
L/7932 Private WILLIAM TILSON 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
8928 Lance Corporal TOLLEY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
9069 Private SAMUEL TROTTER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8753 Private GEORGE FRANCIS TURNER 1st Bn. North Staffordshire Regiment
1596 Sepoy UDME 10th Jats
8392 Private ARTHUR VERITY 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
4250 Private WALSH "B" Coy. 1st Bn. Irish Guards
16496 Corporal WEAVIN 3rd Bn. Grenadier Guards
1798 Private JAMES WELCH 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
9440 Private JOHN WESTAWAY 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8655 Private CHARLES GEORGE WESTCOTT 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8891 Private ERNEST JOHN WESTON 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8770 Private GEORGE WHEATON 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8545 Private WHITE 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
8801 Private DANIEL WILDING 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
Fisherman WILLIAM WILKEN Trawler "Ivy" (Lowestoft) Mercantile Marine
9518 Private FREDERICK JAMES WILKEY 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
59454 Gunner HARRY WILLIAMS "P" Bty. Royal Horse Artillery
S/660 Private JOHN HENRY WILLIAMSON 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
1579 Private THOMAS ENOCH WILSON 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
641 Private FRANCIS LESLIE WINFIELD Natal Light Horse
8918 Private LEOPOLD WINTER 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
5467 Private FRED WOOD 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
L/9166 Private HENRY WOOD "F" Coy. 2nd Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
1619 Private THOMAS WOODHEAD 2nd Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
4884 Serjeant WOOLACOTT 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
10146 Private ALFRED RICHARD WOOLDRIDGE "A" Coy. 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
5284 Private JOHN WOOLDRIDGE 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
4747 Private CHARLES ALFRED WOOLGER 2nd Bn. Border Regiment
10785 Private WORDEN 2nd Bn. Scots Guards
8788 Private ARTHUR WORTH 2nd Bn. Devonshire Regiment
6689 Private CHARLES EDWARD WREN 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
S/845 Private HENRY WYETH 1st Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
6293 Private JOHN YOUNGSON 2nd Bn. Scots Guards

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Data courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The image is a well-known one; the grieving parents at Vladslo Cemetery, Belgium. Image courtesy of The Military History Club.

8877 Pte George Flack, 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment

According to Soldiers Died in The Great War, 68 British Army officers and men died one hundred years ago today on the 16th December 1914. 8877 Private George Flack was one of these men.

George was born in Stepney and enlisted in the Lincolnshire regiment on the 1st April 1910. He was 20 years old and stood five feet, nine and three quarter inches tall. During his time with the regiment he saw service overseas in Gibraltar, then Bermuda and finally Canada, before arriving in France as a member of the 2nd Battalion on the 5th November 1914.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission notes that George was 25 years old when he died and was the son of William Flack of 65, Artillery Street, Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey, London, and the late Jane Flack.  He is buried in Rue Petillon Military Cemetery in Fleurbaix (above, courtesy CWGC).

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

29752 Staff Sergeant Richard Mulliner, 9th Reserve Battery, RFA

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), 76 Commonwealth officers and men  died on this day, 11th December, in 1914. Today, exactly one hundred years later, I am pleased to remember one of those men, 29752 Staff Sergeant Richard Mulliner of the 9th Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery.

According to the CWGC, Richard was the son of Richard and Ellen Mulliner and the husband of the late Nellie Mulliner. He died at home at the age of 47 and is buried in Preston (New Hall Lane) Cemetery. He is almost certainly the same 42-year old widower who appears on the 1911 census at 41 Sweetman Street, Wolverhampton working as a farrier at a shoeing forge.

I could find very little information about this man and so assume that he died at home as a result of sickness before he had chance to serve overseas; certainly I could find no service record or medal index card for him, although his age suggests that he may have been a a regular soldier at some time previously.

There are 324 First World War burials in this particular cemetery, a number of these from Fulwood Barracks, the headquarters of the Loyal North Lancashire and East Lancashire Regiments. The photo above is courtesy the CWGC.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

9605 Pte David Henry Newey, 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment

On this day one hundred years ago, the 5th December 1914, 44 British Army officers and men lost their lives. 9605 Pte David Henry Newey of the 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment was one of those men.

Soldiers Died in the Great War notes that he was born in Aston, Birmingham and that he enlisted at Birmingham. Judging by his regimental number, that must have been September 1903, a time when standard enlistment terms into the British Army were three years with the colours and nine on the reserve. In all probability then, David had probably been transferred to the reserve in 1906 or (probably) 1907 and would have no doubt been a little out of shape, seven or eight years having elapsed, by the time he donned khaki again.  In 1908 he had married Nellie Bloor and the couple appear on the 1911 census with their son, Herbert Henry Newey, aged one. David's trade is noted, intriguingly, as "Gold and silver". I could find no other children noted on subsequent GRO returns.

No service record survives for this man but his medal index card notes that he arrived overseas in France on the 27th August 1914. He died of wounds in England at the age of 32 and is buried in Birmingham's Witton Cemetery. Nellie remarried, Henry Mason, in 1921 and it is the name Nellie Mason that appears on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's headstone schedule where it indicates that the words "THY WILL BE DONE" were paid for by her to be added to David's headstone. Her address is given as 2 Back, 28 Park Lane, Aston.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

4722 Colour Sergeant Robert Wilson DCM, 1st Manchester Regt

Sixty-nine British Army officers and men lost their lives on this day, one hundred years ago; a relatively low casualty day by the standards of the Western Front.

4722 Colour Sergeant Robert Wilson DCM, was one of two Manchester Regiment casualties on the 30th November 1914. He died of wounds that he had sustained in the actions at Neuve Chapelle three days earlier, actions for which he would be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Robert Wilson, like the majority of the BEF fighting overseas at this time, was a career soldier; a man who had joined the Manchester Regiment in October 1895, seen fighting in the Boer War and was already in possession of a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal when Britain went to war in August 1914.

In 1995, Robert's medals were sold at auction for £1550 by Dix Noonan Webb, considerably more than the estimated £800-£1000. The catalogue entry for this group, courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb, reads:

"A fine 1914 DCM group of seven awarded to Colour Sergeant Robert Wilson, 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment, for gallantry in action near Neuve Chapelle during which he was wounded and later died. "Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (4722 C.S. Mjr, 1/Manch R); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Defence of Ladysmith, Orange Free State, Transvaal (4722 Pte. Manch R); King’s South Africa, 2 clasps (Pte); 1914 Mons Star Trio (4722 C. Sjt., 1/Manch R); Army Long Service and Good Conduct, GVR (4722 C.Sjt., Manch.Regt.) together with Bronze Memorial Plaque... "

The battalion war diary for the 27th November states: "On the conclusion of the artillery bombardment at 11.30 pm, Captain Creagh sent out two parties of ten men each from No III Coy to reconnoitre the enemy’s sniping ditch to his right front about 60 yards distant. These were fired on from the enemy’s trenches but they advanced and found about 60 yards of trench unheld. They were then bombed and C.S. Wilson and 2 men were wounded. These parties returned carrying their wounded and had no more casualties."

Colour Sergeant Wilson, a native of Ardwick, Manchester, is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France. He was 37 years old, the son of the late Thomas and Elizabeth Wilson and the husband of Nellie Wilson, of 22 Whittaker Lane, Heaton Park, Manchester. He also had a young daughter.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

9923 Pte Henry Crouch, 2nd East Lancashire Regiment

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 122 UK servicemen died one hundred years ago today on the 23rd November 1914. Henry Crouch was one such casualty, dying of wounds on this day.

Henry was born in Peesmarsh, Rye, East Sussex and enlisted with the East Lancashire Regiment at Canterbury in December 1908. Oddly, I can find no reference to his 1914 Star. His medal index card shows entitlement to the British War and Victory Medal but of course, he would have been entitled to the 1914 Star (and clasp) and probably arrived overseas with the battalion on the 7th November 1914.

The battalion had been in South Africa when war was declared and had only arrived back in England at the end of October. The war diary makes no mention of significant action in November and so Henry was possibly fatally wounded either during a relief, during one of those sporadic and desultory bombardments of British lines, or as a result of sniping; it's impossible to say.

Henry is buried in Estaires Communal Cemetery and Extension along with a number of other regular soldiers who were killed in action or died of wounds in November and December 1914.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

32825 Pte Owen Needham, 6th Leicestershire Regiment

32825 Pte Owen Needham of the 6th Leicestershire Regiment died of wounds on the 28th or 29th April 1917. He was 19 years old.

The 1911 census shows Owen as a 13-year-old living at Charnwood Road, Shepshed with his parents and seven siblings. No service record survives for him but his regimental number dates to late October 1916. He was probably conscripted as an eighteen-year-old, arriving in France in 1917.

Soldiers Died in the Great War notes that he enlisted at Leicester and died of wounds on the 29th April, whilst the Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives his date of death as the 28th April. After the war, his parents paid for an inscription to be added to his headstone in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux: ETERNAL REST / GIVE UNTO HIM O LORD.  They also paid for the same inscription to be added to his brother Frank's headstone. Frank Needham was killed in action serving with the Machine Gun Corps on the 5th October 1918.

I met Owen and Frank's brother Ernest Needham whilst I was a student at Loughborough University in the 1980s and have published a brief profile of him on my World War 1 Veterans' blog.

Owen and Frank Needham are both remembered on the at memorial at Shepshed.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.


Shepshed war memorial image courtesy Leicestershire County Council.

A day after the fighting stopped...

... men were still dying.

On the 12th November 1918, according to Soldiers Died in the Great War, 188 British Army officers and men gave their lives for King and Country. Seventy-six of these men died as a result of wounds received in action and one of those men was 15/477 Sergeant Reginald William Horton of the 15th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment.

Reginald was an original member of the 1st Leeds Pals who had joined up in the first flush of patriotic fervour in September 1914. Now, with the end of war less than a day old, he had died of wounds.

Reginald was born in Leicester and enlisted, of course, in Leeds. He was a casualty on 1st July 1916 and was admitted to a Field Ambulance the following day with a shrapnel wound to his right arm. He must have recovered from this wound and been returned to his battalion. As no service record survives, it is difficult to ascertain exactly what happened, but as he is buried in Berlin South-West Cemetery I assumed he must have been wounded, captured and subsequently died of wounds, just as his erstwhile comrades in the prison camp would have been celebrating the end of war and their impending liberty.

Fortunately some PoW records do survive with the International Red Cross and from these we can see that Reginald was wounded at Oppy, Arras on the 3rd May 1917, receiving a bullet wound to his left side and back. He spent time at Limburg PoW camp (from 11th August 1917), Hameln (from 27th August) Dulmen (from 11th September), and finally Doeberitz (from 24th November 1917). The summary card of his incarceration also notes that he was serving with C Company of the 15th West Yorks.

No age or next of kin details for Reginald appear on his entry in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's register but I think he is the same Reginald W Horton who appears on the 1911 census, along with his 22-year-old sister Constance, as the 15-year-old nephew of Harriet Seddon, a widowed headmistress living at Bettesworth House, Upper Poppleton, Yorkshire. This would mean that Reginald was probably only eighteen, or at best nineteen, when he joined the Leeds pals in September 1914.

I could not find Reginald's name listed in the Leeds Book of Remembrance, presumably because he was not originally a Leeds man, even though he joined the 1st City Battalion. Nevertheless, I am proud to remember him here.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

The Cross of Sacrifice image is taken from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's page dedicated to Berlin South-West Cemetery.

8518 Pte William Warren, 1st Bn, King's (Liverpool Regiment)

285 British Army officers and men died on this day, 4th November 1914, and amongst this number were 14 men of The King's (Liverpool Regiment). 8518 Private William Warren was killed in action whilst serving with the 1st Battalion. He was a Warrington man, born and bred, and, judging by his regimental number, enlisted there around August 1903. Assuming that he did not extend his period of colour service, he would have been a reservist in August 1914, recalled to the colours. He arrived overseas on the 12th August 1914.

The War Diary in WO 95/1359 has this to say for the day that William and 13 of his colleagues died:

 

In his book, British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914, Ray Westlake sums up the period thus: "Held positions under severe shell-fire and several infantry attacks".

 

William has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate memorial in Ypres.

 

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

6490 Bandsman Albert Joseph Perris, 2nd Bn, Highland Light Infantry

Soldiers Died in The Great War notes that 315 British Army officers and men died on this day, 3rd November, in 1914. Eight of these men were serving with the Highland Light Infantry and the longest serving of these men was 6490 Bandsman Albert J Perris who was killed in action whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion.

Albert was born in Limerick on the 22nd December 1881. His name appears in the GRO regimental indices and in fact there are two entries, one noting Royal Engineers and the other noting Army Service Corps, Commissariat and Transport Corps. A check through pension records in WO 97 reveals that his father was Barnstaple-born James Perris who enlisted with the Army Service Corps in February 1890 aged 42 years and 11 months, having previously served for 22 years with the 45th Regiment of Foot and with the Royal Engineers. He had first enlisted in April 1864 at the age of 18. James Perris had married Mary Ann Ahern at Limerick in 1879 and the couple went on to have seven children: Mary Rose Perris (born Limerick, 1880), Albert Joseph, Maud Elizabeth (born Gibraltar, 1883), Walter Francis Perris (born Gibraltar 1884), [unclear, crossed out, but possibly Anna Rosa Perris] (born Gibraltar, 1885), William Valentine Perris (born Woolwich, 1887) and Robert John Perris (born Woolwich, 1891).

Albert enlisted in London in September 1897 and although no service record survives for him, he is named in the Highland Light Infantry Chronicle. The dates below refer in each case to the date that the particular volume of the HLI Chronicle was published.

October 1909: Re-engages to complete 21 years with the colours
January 1915: Appears in a list of NCOs and men killed or died of wounds
Jul-Oct 1915: Name appears in a list of unclaimed soldiers' balances. Amount unclaimed: £19 9s 8d.
October 1916: Name appears in a list of unclaimed soldiers' balances as above.

Albert's name also appears in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour and in the eight-volume, Ireland's Memorial Records. He has no known grave and is commemorated on panel 38 of the Menin Gate.

 

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

 

Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry.

5875 Pte Josiah Hall, 1st Bn, Lincolnshire Regiment

According to Soldiers Died in The Great War, 746 British Army officers and men lost their lives on this day, 1st November, in 1914. The 1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment suffered particularly heavy losses on this day, taking part in a counter-attack on Wystschaete and coming under "murderous fire". The battalion war diary records that seven officers and 293 other ranks were killed, wounded or reported missing.

5875 Pte Josiah Hall was one of the men killed. He was born in Eastville, Boston in 1882 and was living in Pudsey, Leeds when he enlisted (although his place of enlistment is recorded as Louth). His regimental number dates to 1901 which suggests that he was probably a Section D Reservist when Britain went to war in August 1914. His medal index card indicates that he did not sail with the Battalion in August but arrived in France on the 13th September.

Both Soldiers Died in the Great War and The Commonwealth War Graves Commission record this man as Joshua Hall. However, his medal index card, birth index entry and census returns record his name as Josiah Hall. He appears on the 1891 census as an eight-year-old living with his parents and three siblings at 17 Priory Road, Louth (pictured above). His father was George Hall, a 41 year old labourer, married to Eliza Hall (aged 47). Josiah was the eldest of four children, followed by Sarah (aged seven), Harry (aged five), and Arthur (aged three).  On the 1911 census he is probably the same Josiah Hall (aged 27) recorded with the 1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment in Aden. He has the trade of "carpenter" entered against his name.

Josiah has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate memorial in Ypres.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

10110 L/Cpl William Charles Axon,1st Royal Scots Fusiliers

Remembering today, 10110 L/Cpl William Charles Axon of the 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers who was killed in action 100 years ago on the 27th October 1914.

William Axon was born at Umballa, India on the 6th April 1889 and baptised in Dagshai on the 5th May that year. His father, John Samuel Axon, was a colour sergeant with the 21st Regiment of Foot (later Royal Scots Fusiliers) and was stationed in India at the time of his son's birth.

William's regimental number dates to around the 5th October 1909 (when he would have been twenty years old), and his medal index card indicates that he arrived overseas on the 14th August 1914. A brief entry in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour notes that he was killed in action "near Ypres" whilst the war diary notes that between the 27th and 31st October, three men were killed and four wounded, "chiefly from snipers". The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website notes that William was serving with B Company and that he was the son of John and Eliza Axon of 74 Slateford Road, Edinburgh. He is buried in the Royal Irish Rifles Graveyard at Laventie, his body having been re-buried there after it was removed from another location: map reference 36 - M23 - D3.3. His parents paid for the inscription, THY WILL BE DONE to be added to his headstone.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

 

I've borrowed the image on this post from the Panoramio website. The photo was taken by Werner Van Caneghem.

Captain John Henry Strode Batten, 1st King's (Liverpool Regiment)

Captain John Henry Stride Batten of the 1st King's (Liverpool Regiment) was killed in action 100 years ago today. He was a married man aged 38 and had previously seen action during the Boer War. A detailed biography appears in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour (below).

 

Captain Batten has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate memorial at Ypres.

 

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

 

Portrait photograph courtesy of Footsteps 1914-1918. De Ruivigny's extract from Ancestry.

7533 Henry Crundwell, 2nd South Lancashire Regiment, and L/9340 Pte Herbert Crundwell, Queen's

According to Soldiers Died in The Great War, 712 officers and men serving with the British Army died on 20th October 1914, one hundred years ago today.

L/9340 Private Herbert Edward Crundwell of the 2nd Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) is noted as one of these casualties but in fact he actually died of wounds (a gunshot wound to his right eye) at the Dreadnought Hospital, Greenwich on the 20th November 1914.

Surviving papers in WO 363 reveal that Herbert was 18 years and eight months old and working as a labourer when he attested with the Queen's on 11th May 1908. He was five feet, four inches tall with a fresh complexion, hazel eyes and red hair. He joined the regiment at Chatham and after four months' basic training at the Depot, was posted to the 2nd Battalion. He subsequently saw service in Gibraltar, Bermuda and South Africa. He arrived in France on the 14th October 1914.

Another man named Crundwell did die four days later on the 24th October 1914 and he was 7533 Corporal Henry Crundwell of the 2nd South Lancashire Regiment. Service papers do not survive for this man but his regimental number indicates that he joined the regiment in November or December 1904 and therefore was probably on the Army Reserve when Britain went to war with Germany in August 1914. His medal index card indicates that he arrived overseas on the 8th September 1914, nearly a month after the battalion had arrived as a complete unit at Le Havre on 14th August. The annotation on his card, "P D" means "Presumed Dead" and as befits this status, Henry has no known grave and is commemorated on panel 23 of the Le Touret Memorial.

 

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Medal index cards courtesy Ancestry.

L/14059 L/Cpl Charles F H Brown, 4th Middx

L/140459 Lance-Corporal Charles Frederick Henry Brown of the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was killed in action 100 years ago today on the 14th October 1914. He was born in Clapton Park and enlisted at Enfield on the 17th April 1912. He was 18 years and 5 months old at the time of his enlistment and gave his occupation as "Casual Labourer".

After nearly five months' training, Charles was posted to the 4th Battalion. He was appointed unpaid lance-corporal in July 1913 and paid lance-corporal on the 9th February 1914. His surviving service record notes that he was posted missing between the 12th and 14th October 1914 but both the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Soldiers Died in the Great War confirm his date of death as the 14th.

Charles had arrived in France with his battalion on the 13th August 1914 and to a young soldier with no overseas' service, it must have seemed like quite an adventure. Unfortunately for Charles and many others, that adventure was to be short-lived. He was overseas for just 63 days before he was killed.

On 11th November 1919, five years after his death, the record office at Hanwell sent some photos and letters to Charles's father, Mr C Brown, at 13 Cornwallis Grove, Lower Edmonton. A few months earlier, his father had completed Army Form W.5080 which listed Charles's surviving family members: no fewer than four half-brothers and eight half-sisters ranging in age from 19 to seven months.

Charles Brown has no known grave and is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial (pictured above, courtesy of the North Irish Horse website).

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

5664 Rfm Frank Hatton, 2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps

 

5664 Rifleman Frank Hatton of the 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps died 100 years ago today, on the 11th October 1914.

 

Surviving papers in WO 363 show that he was a regular soldier who attested at Burnley on the 8th December 1903 when he was 23 years old and working as a groom. He was born in Blackburn and was living in Blackburn at the time of his enlistment. He was recalled from the Army Reserve when Britain went to war in August 1914.

 

Frank arrived in France on the 28th August 1914 and was reported missing on 11th October 1914. Soldiers Died in The Great War notes that he died of wounds but there is no evidence of this from surviving papers and indeed, doubt as to actually when he died. He was officially recorded as having died on or since the 11th October 1914 and there are a number of letters backwards and forwards to his wife concerning this.

 

On 29th November 1916, the officer in charge of records at the Rifles Records at Winchester sent HRH Princess Mary's gift tin to Frank's widow, Teresa Hatton, who was then living at 5 Ashton Street, Blackburn. She replied a little later saying, "I shall always keep it in memory of my husband. I only wish that he was here to receive it himself."

 

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

 

 

7273 Pte George Overhand, 1st Bn, Coldstream Guards

On the 30th September 1914, one hundred years ago today, 7273 Private George Overhand of the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, was killed in action.

George was a Yorkshireman, born at St Vincent's, Sheffield and certainly working there as a general labourer in a steel warehouse at the time the 1911 census was taken. He had enlisted with the Coldtsream Guards in May or June 1907 but as his terms of attestation would have been three years with the colours and nine years on the reserve, his period of colour service would have ended by the time the census was taken. In 1911 he was boarding at 7 Darnbourne Square and was a single man aged 23.

His medal index card (above, courtesy of Ancestry) indicates that he arrived in France on the 13th August 1914. No service record appears to survive in WO 363 although the Guards archive presumably has some service information. George has no known grave and is commemorated on the La-Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial in France.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

S/1148 Cpl Percy Hulse, 12th Rifle Brigade

On this, the 99th anniversary of the second day of fighting at Loos on 26th September 1915, S/1148 Corporal Percy Hulse of the Rifle Brigade died of wounds. He was one of 2,471 British Army casualties on this day. At the time of his death he was just nineteen years old, the son of Joseph and Sophia Hulse of 19, Princess St., Crewe.

Soldiers Died in The Great War notes that he was born in Sydney, Cheshire and enlisted at Crewe, his place of residence. His medal index card (above, courtesy of Ancestry) notes that he arrived overseas in France on the 21st July 1915. Chris Baker's Long, Long Trail website notes that the 11th Rifle Brigade arrived in France on the 21st July 1915 whilst the 12th arrived on the 22nd. Perhaps, in that case, Percy originally went overseas with the 11th and was subsequently posted to the 12th. Either way, he was certainly an original member of one of those battalions. His number dates to September 1914.

Percy is buried in Merville Communal Cemetery in France.

S/6429 Pte Leslie Buchan, 9th Gordon Highlanders

S/6429 Private Leslie Buchan of the 9th Battalion Gordon Highlanders was killed in action at the Battle of Loos on the 25th September 1915, ninety-nine years ago today. Over the years I have remembered a number of men killed at Loos and it is right to remember them. Soldiers Died in The Great War notes that 9661 men died on this day in 1915 and the vast majority of these casualties were at Loos.

Leslie was born at Longside, Aberdeenshire and he enlisted at Aberdeen  on 7th October 1914 aged 27 years and 180 days. He was just over six feet tall, had a fresh complexion, hazel eyes and black hair. He was given the number S/6429 and posted to the 9th Battalion on the 15th October. His medal index card (above, courtesy Ancestry) notes that he arrived in France on the 9th July 1915. The 9th Battalion arrived at Boulogne this month and so it would appear that Leslie was an original member of the battalion and landed with the battalion when it left England.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website, Leslie was one of 727 Gordon Highlanders who died on the 25th September 1915. Like many, he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial.

His surviving service papers note that he had married Maggie Jane Andrews at Aberdeen on 13th October 1914 and that a son, Leslie, was born on 8th May 1915. That he at least saw his son before he was posted overseas must have been some small comfort to his widow in later years. Two addresses are given for his wife: 54 Erskine Street, Aberdeen (crossed out) and 34 Stafford Street, Aberdeen. His father was originally recorded as his next of kin and he was James Buchan of Woodside of Auchlee, Longside, Peterhead.

By 1919 when Maggie Buchan submitted Army Form W.5080 which listed a dead soldier's immediate family, she was living at 8 St John's Wood Road, London N8. No children are recorded which presumes that Leslie's infant son must have died. His father and mother (Margaret Buchan), three brothers and a sister are also recorded on this sad document.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

 

Leslie's service record survives as a burnt document in WO 363. His signature, taken from his attestation paper is from the original image which is Crown Copyright, The National Archives.



All Saints Church, Springfield, Chelmsford

I popped into All Saints Church, Springfield today and only had my Blackberry with me which is why the photos on this post are not the best quality. The memorial above commemorates the dead of Springfield.

The two Ridley brothers have a separate plaque at the back of the church in what now appears to be a general dumping ground for nursery group toys; fairly common in churches these days. The Ridleys were a well-known brewing family

 

Lieutenant Paynter's plaque (below) is high up and difficult to capture.

 

A highly decorated airman (below) and still only 19 when he was accidentally killed.

Captain Cecil Frederick King MC, DFC, Croix de Guerre was a First World War flying ace who shot down 22 enemy planes, 19 of these confirmed. There is a detailed biography of him (and photo) on The Aerodrome. There is a lot more information on all of these men on the excellent Chelmsford War Memorial website.

 

Rfm Jack Nixon remembered at The Tower of London

14th August 2014. The moment Jack Nixon's name was read out at The Tower of London. Click on the link to see that particular day's recording or visit the Roll of Honour archive.

S/18321 Rifleman John Frederick Nixon was my paternal grandfather's older brother. He was killed in action on 3rd October 1918 and, having no known grave, is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois memorial in France.

P/1491 Alfred George Mellish and P/1609 Alfred Walker, 16th Middlesex Regiment

Alfred Mellish and Alfred Walker, both pals in the 16th (Public Schools') Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, were killed on 1st July 1916. I've just added an entry for another of their pals - Horace Ham - on my WW1 veterans' blog and it seemed an appropriate time and place to remember the two Alfreds here.

P/1491 Alfred George Mellish
Horace Ham remembered him as the elder of two brothers and a quick check of the medal index cards reveals that his brother was PS/1492 Frederick C Mellish. The 1911 census return (above)shows Alfred (16) and Frederick (13) living with their parents and five siblings at Homeland, Talbot Road, Wembley. Fortunately, Alfred's service record survives in WO 363 and the following information is taken from this.

 

Alfred enlisted in London on the 27th January 1915 giving his home address as Harrowdene Road, Wembley, his occupation as clerk and his age as 20. He was five feet, nine and a quarter inches tall.

 

Alfred arrived in France on the 17th November 1915 and was reported missing on 1st July 1916, presumed dead. His death was accepted for official purposes on 30th March 1917. At some point, his remains must have been discovered and identified because he lies in a named grave shared with another man: 16243 Private John Percival Turner of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers who was also killed in action on that terrible day. Alfred's grave reference is A.70; John Turner's A 69.

 

 

P/1609 Alfred Walker

Alfred Walker has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. He was also a Wembley man who enlisted at Camden Town. No next of kin details were submitted to the CWGC but fortunately he too has a surviving service record which enables me to give a little more information about him.

 

 

Alfred enlisted on the 22nd February 1916 giving his home address as Rosedale, Eagle Road, Wembley. He was 19 years old, five feet ten inches tall and working as a shop assistant. Like Alfred Mellish, Alfred Walker was initially posted as missing. presumed dead. His death was also accepted for official purposes on 30th March 1917. His next of kin is given as E J Walker of 43 Eagle Road and this is expanded on the helpful but poignant Army Form W.5080. Alfred was the son of Edward John Walker and Annie Walker and the brother of Alice Walker (born c1895), Sidney Walker (born c1897), Albert Edward Walker (born c1900) and May Walker (born c1902).

 

I am please to remember both men on this blog. May they rest in eternal peace.

 

 

Preston Remembers 1914-1918

I was in Preston yesterday and, having an hour to kill, popped into the Harris Museum and Art Gallery. I'd already stood in front of the war memorial and had asked at the information centre whether the names of Preston's fallen were recorded anywhere. They are, one thousand, nine hundred and fifty-six of them, on several brass panels as you walk up the stairs in the Harris Museum.

Preston Remembers is heavily involved in the town's commemorations of the First World War and I picked up two leaflets which I am reproducing here. The Harris Museum is also staging a small exhibition around the Memorial and Roll of Honour; an exhibition which is destined to expand in due course.

Of particular interest to me were the Roll of Honour cards which give information about the fallen and were to be completed by family members. I suspect that there is a lot of information contained on thee cards which is unique and the great news is that the Harris Museum is digitising these and should have them online by early 2015. You can see an example of one of these cards in the centre panel of the second image on this blog.

The war memorial and the roll of honour were paid for by voluntary subscriptions and the names of each collector and all the 14,344 subscribers are recorded in the Memorial Book which is in the Harris Museum and Art Gallery. I am not sure whether there are also plans to publish these names online; I hope so.

Preston men who died are also to be found on other memorials in the town.

In the meantime, here are some useful related links:

Preston Remembers
Harris Museum & Art Gallery
Lancashire Infantry Museum
Lancashire Libraries and Archives

War Memorials online
Lives of The First World War