Harpenden War Memorial 1914-18

A Tribute to the Men who died in the Great War

Mary Skinner revised and updated the work she published as a booklet in 1998.  A downloadable pdf is attached at the end of this document for readers who wish to print out a copy. As further information is received, we propose to add it, in italics, to the appropriate entry.  

See also photographs and a transcription of the memorial plaques.

Detail of the Celtic Cross, designed by Ernest Hasseldine, and dedicated in 1920. Credit: LHS archives

Quite rightly the Remembrance Service nowadays lays stress upon the efforts that must be made to prevent such slaughter happening again; the dead are commemorated in this context. The bereaved would surely support this view. As the names of the fallen are read out, some with first names, some with initials only, it does seem that the soldiers of the First World War are almost forgotten; it is to remedy this that this small work has been compiled.

THE MEMORIAL CROSS

The cross stands on Church Green in the centre of the village, it is made if granite and is in the form of a Celtic cross. The names of those who died in the First World War are inscribed on gunmetal tablets on either side of the pediment. Those who died in the Second World War are recorded on an additional tablet.

The memorial was unveiled in front of a large crowd on 9 October 1920 by Lieutenant General Earl Cavan, Commander in Chief at Aldershot.

The inscription on the front of the cross is:
TO THE
GLORIOUS MEMORY OF
THE MEN OF HARPENDEN
WHO FOUGHT AND DIED
IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 – 1918
The inscription on the back of the Cross is:
ERECTED
BY
THE PEOPLE
OF HARPENDEN
IN
GRATITUDE LOVE
AND PRIDE

The Memorial Fund was raised by local subscription, a high proportion of the people of Harpenden contributed. The Cross was the visible and enduring memorial; the funds also went to the purchase and equipping of the Nursing Centre at 40 Luton Road. The start of the National Health Service after the second war, and changes in medical practice caused many changes in the use of the building; it has now been demolished.

ALLEN Harry,                         Gunner                  Royal Garrison Artillery
He was born in Stratfield Saye, Wilts. He worked as a groom for Mr Joel of Childwickbury and lived in Lower Cravells Road Harpenden. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 31 July 1917 aged 33. He left a widow and a little child.

ALLEN Maurice Reginald,       2nd Lt.                Notts. & Derby Regiment

He was born in 1893, the son of John Allen of Arden Grove. He was training as a Chartered Accountant. He enlisted in the Artists’ Rifles, and was commissioned in the Notts & Derby Regiment. He was killed in action in France on 13 September 1916 aged 23 years.

ANDREWS S.                          Private                   London Scottish Regiment

ARGENT William C.V.             Private                   Kings Royal Rifle Corps
He was killed in action on 11 March 1915
A correction to his initials – his names were William George Victor he was born in 1897 in Wiltshire, son of William and Sarah Argent. He enlisted in Hertfordshire regiment No 4947 and was transferred to 8th/9th battalion Royal Irish Rifles No 44368 ( Regiment from CWGC) Died of wounds 25 Nov 1917 and is buried Grevillers British Cemetery Plot VIII.A.2 (Ian Kelly)

 

ATKINSON Geoffrey J. Buddle,   Lieutenant         Royal Worcester Regiment
He was the elder son of Hugh Buddle Atkinson, barrister, who lived at Mount Lodge, Townsend Road, Harpenden. He was killed in action at Gallipoli on the 19 June 1915

BANDY Albert Edward,           Lance Corporal        2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, the son of Albert Edward, a builder’s labourer, and Lizzie Maria Bandy. He was employed as an errand boy at a nursery. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 10 March 1915

BARNES Henry,                       Corporal                 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment

He was born in Kinsbourne Green near Harpenden, the second son of Benjamin Barnes and Matilda. He worked for Steabbens , the butcher on Church Green. He enlisted in St Albans. He was killed in action in France on 3 July 1916, aged 24 years.

BARRETT Sidney,                    Corporal                  Royal Engineers
He was born in 1895 at Fiddlers Hill Cottages on Kinsbourne Green near Harpenden to Dan Barrett, a farm labourer and Matilda, a straw plaiter. He was drowned near Cambrai on 1 December 1918 while on active service.

BARTON Fred,                         Gunner                    Royal Horse Artillery
He was born in Harpenden and lived with his widowed mother in Cravells Road at the house of his grandmother. He was a bootmaker. He enlisted in July 1916. He was killed in action in France while fighting near Ypres on 26 September 1917, aged 25,

BELL S.                                    Private                     Yorkshire Regiment
No Stanley or Sidney Bell can be found who has any connection with Harpenden. A Stanley Bell is recorded on Luton War memorial. (See Ian Kelly’s comment below)

BELL William George,              Private                     8th Battalion Suffolk Regiment
He lived in Leyton Green, the son of a builders labourer. He enlisted in St Albans and was killed in action on the Western Front on 4 May 1917, aged 19 years.

BIGG Charles William,             Private                     Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden in 1894, the eldest son of Mr Bigg of Batford Road, who worked for Vauxhall, Luton. Before enlisting in Hertford he worked in the Almagam Rubber Works on the Lower Luton Road. He was wounded in France when a bomb he was about to throw exploded in his hand. He was carried to the dressing station, where he died when a shell exploded nearby, on 14 July 1916. He was 24 years old.

BLAKE Christopher,                 Second Lieutenant     5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born on 18 August 1892, the fourth son of William Henry Blake M.B., surgeon, and Alice his wife, of Bowers House, Harpenden. He went to Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he obtained a B.A. degree. He started work at St John’s College of Agriculture in Bedfordshire. He joined up in 1915. He died of wounds received on his first day in the trenches, 4 September 1916. He was 22 years old.

BOAKES G.A.                           Private    Royal Army Service Corps, Motor Transport Division
This is probably John Boakes of the above unit who was born in Woolwich but resided in Harpenden. Confirmed, by his grandson John Foskett, that the memorial is incorrect – this should be John Boakes. He died in England 19 November 1915 while on active service. He is buried in Woolwich Cemetery, his grave being marked as a war grave.

BOLDINI A.                             Private           Royal Berkshire Regiment
This could be William Boldini who was born in Hackney and enlisted in Plumstead; no connection with Harpenden can be found. He was the only man of that surname in the regiment. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 27 April 1918

Antonio William Boldini born 1894 Hackney ( parentage not traced; in 1901 living with Uncle; in 1911 an inmate of Bethnal Green Orphanage and training as a compositor. Married Rose Livingston in 1917 in Hackney; served in 2nd battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment No 37948; buried at Adelaide Cemetery Plot II.N.9 (Ian Kelly)

BOWLING Edwyn Randolph, Second Lieutenant       9th Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment, he was attached to the 8th Battalion Queens Own West Kent Regiment.
He was born in Hove in 1893; he was a solicitor’s clerk working in London in 1911; possibly he was later with a solicitor in Harpenden. He was killed in Belgium on 4 June 1916

BOZIER George Cyril,             Private        1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born on 25 April 1894, the son of George Cyril Bozier, a horseman on a farm, and his wife Alice Bozier. They lived on Kinsbourne Green. He enlisted in Bedford. He was killed in action on 27 September 1918, aged 20 years

BRANDOM Charles Henry,      Private    Machine Gun Corps, formerly of the Bedfordshire. Regiment
He seems to have used the name Brandon in the army. He was born in Harpenden, the son of Henry Brandom, a night stoker at a nursery and Charlotte Elizabeth his wife. He enlisted in St Albans. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 8 September 1916, aged 19 years.

BROAD Dennis Gurney,          Flight Sub Lieutenant & Assistant Paymaster   Royal Naval Air Service. He served on HMS Killingholme. He was born in 1884 and lived at ‘Tregroves’, Rothamsted Avenue, Harpenden. He was killed while flying over the North Sea on 27 April 1916. He has no known grave, but is commemorated on the Naval Memorial at Chatham.

BURFOOT William Francis,     Corporal       423 Company Royal Engineers
He was born in Slough, the elder son of Joseph Burfoot, a painter and decorator. He was married and lived at 3 Roundwood Lane, Harpenden; he worked as a bricklayer. He enlisted in London. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 20 September 1917, aged 30 years.

BURGESS Percy.                     Corporal      10th Battalion Hampshire Regiment, formerly of the Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden and lived in one of the cottages at the Batford end of Station Road. Before enlisting he worked in the laundry in Harpenden Rise, supporting his widowed mother and two young brothers. He was killed in action in the Balkans on 7 December 1915, thirteen days before his twentieth birthday.

CAIN Frederick,                       Gunner                  Royal Field Artillery
He was born in Harpenden. He was married with two young children and lived in the Lower Luton Road, Batford. He worked as a gardener at St George’s School. He volunteered in 1915. He died of wounds in Belgium on 3 October 1917, and was buried in Zyderschoote.

CAIN Thomas,                          Private     Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment
He was born in 1888 (but recorded as aged 14 in 1911 census), one of the four sons of Arthur Cain of Newcombe Street (Park Hill), Harpenden old enough to serve in the war, two of whom survived the war. He worked as a bleacher at Boreham Wood. He volunteered in April 1915, only sixteen months after he married. He was a good shot and so was selected as a sniper. He was killed in action near Albert on 24 September 1916, aged 28 (aged 20 from census and newspaper report).

CHALKLEY William,                  Private                         Essex Regiment
He was born in 1898 in Harpenden and lived with his widowed grandmother and elder brother in Grove Road, Harpenden. He had worked as an errand boy for a school. He died on active service on 1 June 1918. He was buried in St Nicholas churchyard: his grave is marked as a war grave.

CHAPMAN Frederick Charles,   Private    3rd Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, formerly in the Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born at Kingcroft Road, Harpenden on 5 April 1895, the son of Frederick John Chapman, a railway ganger, and Rose his wife. He was a plumber’s apprentice. He was killed in action on 16 September 1916, aged 21 years.

CHAPMAN Frederick George,    Private          4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
He was born in Gaddesdon Row, near Hemel Hempstead, the eldest son of Walter Chapman, a gardener, and Eliza Chapman. He also worked as a gardener. He lived at 4 Newcombe Street (Park Hill), Harpenden (with his parents-in-law Mr & Mrs Cain). He enlisted in April 1916. He was killed in action on 16 August 1916

CLARKE Albert John,                 Private        8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Clifton, Warwickshire and lived at Kinsbourne Green, Harpenden. He worked at the Kennels of the Hertfordshire Hunt. He enlisted in St Albans. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 20 April 1916.

CLARKE Albert Edward,             Lieutenant      2nd Battalion Yorks. & Lancs. Regiment
He was born in Winchester in 1892, the second son Arthur Decimus Clarke. Like his father and brother he was a bank clerk. They lived at “Moreton” Douglas Road, Harpenden. He was educated at Kings College, Rochester and St Albans Grammar School. He enlisted in August 1914 and fought in the ranks. In August 1915 he was commissioned. He died of wounds on 20 April 1916, aged 22 years.

CORNELL Arthur Ernest,            Sergeant       7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1893 in Bedford, the third son of William Cornell, a signalman on the Midland Railway. He lived in Myrtle Cottage, Cornwall Road, Harpenden. He was apprenticed to D.J.Jeffries, printer. He was a member of the choir of Harpenden Wesleyan Methodist Church where he is recorded on their Roll of Honour. He enlisted in St Albans. He was killed on the Western Front on 1 July 1916.

CROSS Ernest William,               Private         Machine Gun Corps No 59650 . Previously of the Royal Field Artillery No 147196
He was born in Clerkenwell, London and enlisted in Louth, Lincolnshire. He died while on active service on the western Front on 6 September 1918
Born 05 Jan 1886  son of William and Jane Cross. Married Beatrice Wilson in 1909 and in 1911 lived in St Albans and worked as a machine minderDied of wounds and buried Cimetiere Parisien de Puntin Plot VI.19.26  (Ian Kelly)

CRUMPLIN Charles Henry,         Private         8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Hartley Witney. He lived at Batford Mills. He enlisted in Bedford in July 1916, He was killed in action at Messines Ridge on 17 June 1917
Born 1875 at Hartley Witney, Wiltshire son of William and Ann Crumplin, Married Adela Arnold in 1906 and in 1911 was working as a groom in Harpenden. Served in 8th battalion Bedfordshire regiment and was killed in action on 17 Jun 1917 whilst battalion were holding the line near Mazingarbe in Northern France. ( Btn not involved in Battle of Messines) Buried Philosophe British Cemetery Plot I.R.38 (Ian Kelly)

CURTIS Frank William,               Lieutenant     6th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, attached to the Shropshire Light Infantry
He was born in 1891, the eldest son of the late James Curtis of Columbo and Bedford, and of Mrs Curtis of Longcroft Avenue, Harpenden. He was commissioned into the regular army in January 1917 and was sent to Salonika where he contracted malaria and was sent back to England. On recovery he returned to France and was killed along with three others when a shell landed in their trench on the early morning of 4 November 1917. He was 26 years old.

DAY Frederick Willis,                 Private        3/6 Battalion Durham Light Infantry, formerly in the Royal Field Artillery
He was born in Kinsbourne Green, the son of George and Sophia Day. He enlisted in St Albans. He died on active service in Mesopotamia on 2 November 1917

DAY George,                                Corporal     15th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
He was born in Bedford, lived in Luton and enlisted in Darlington. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 16 September 1916, aged 25 years.

DAY Herbert Stanley,                  Lance Corporal     2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden in 1897, the son of Charles Day, a coal porter, and Maria his wife. He was not brother to the other Days on the memorial. He lived in Cravells Road, and had been employed as a butcher’s boy. He enlisted in St Albans. He was killed in action in France on 7 November 1916, his first day in the trenches.

DAY William Thomas,                  Private        1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, and was living there when he enlisted in Hemel Hempstead. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 14 October 1914.

DEAMER Percy,                            Private               Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, son of William and Martha Deamer. He lived in Harpenden, and enlisted in St Albans. He was killed in action in France on 13 November 1916.

DINES Edmund Charles,              Private                 Lancashire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden on 19 July 1899, the son of Albert Edward and Agnes Annie Dines, who lived in Luton Road. He had worked at Ayot Laundry and at a hat factory in Luton. He had been a chorister at St Nicholas Parish Church. On 1st October 1918, when he was out of the Front Line, he was told by his sergeant to take cover in a nearby pillbox, but he was shot dead (in fact killed by a shell) before he could get there. He was 19 years old.
former choir boy at the parish church (Parish Magazine)

DINES Francis William Cyril,       Sergeant      4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden on 7 October 1894, son of William and Ada Dines. He enlisted in Dovercourt. He lived in Burns Cottage, Cowper Road, Harpenden. He was reported missing on the Western Front, and was later reported to have been killed in action on 23 April 1917, aged 23 years.

DODD Ernest John,                      Lieutenant             Royal Field Artillery

He was born 1889, the only child of Mrs Dodd of East Common, Harpenden. He was a Chartered Surveyor on the staff of the Inland Revenue in St Albans. He was a great sportsman, playing football for the England Amateur Team in 1912 and 1913, and also playing cricket for Hertfordshire. He was killed in action in Belgium on 17 July 1917 when a bomb was thrown into his dugout. He was buried at Brandoer, aged 28 years.

DOWLING Robert,                       Private     14th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden on 9 August 1892, the son of John Dowling, grocer, of Leyton Green and his wife Sophia. They lived at Foxcroft, Cowper Road, Harpenden. He enlisted in Morley, Birmingham. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 30 July 1916, aged 24 years.

DRURY Ernest,                             Lance Corporal       6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1893, the younger son of Robert Drury of Batford Road, Harpenden, a signalman on the Great Northern Railway. He worked for the Almagam Rubber Company in Lower Luton Road. He was wounded in France on 9 July 1916, and brought to hospital in Britain; his wounds healed but he died from tuberculosis in Ware Hospital on 13 May 1917. He was buried in St Nicholas churchyard, Harpenden, after a service in the Methodist Church, where he had been a member of the choir. He is commemorated on the memorial in Harpenden Methodist Church.

EAST Robert George,                   Corporal            Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born in Nottingham; he enlisted in Hertford. He lived in Harpenden. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 12 October 1918, aged 20 years.

EDWARDS Arthur,                        Lance Corporal     12th Battalion Suffolk Regiment.
He was the youngest son of Mr & Mrs Edwards of Grove Cottages, Rothamsted. He worked for Simons, the grocer, of Harpenden High Street. On returning from leave in 1917 he had some difficulty finding his unit. He was a very careful and trustworthy man, and had responsibility for the water supply to his company; it was while testing water that he was hit by a shell; he died the next day 22 November 1917.

EDWARDS Sydney,                       Private 10th Battalion Hampshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, the next youngest brother of Arthur, recorded above. He enlisted in St Albans. He lived at Rothamsted. He was killed in action in the Balkans on 7 December 1915.

ELLIS Frederick,                           Private        2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1885 in Bricket Wood. He lived in Harpenden and enlisted in St Albans. He was the stepson of Joseph Parcell, confectioner of Station Road, Harpenden. He was employed as a gardener by Mrs Mathey of Mackerye End. He was killed in action on 20 October 1917, aged 32 years.

ENGLISH Joseph,                          Private             Royal Garrison Artillery
He was born in Harpenden on 13 December 1887, second son of Joseph and Margaret English of Hatching Green. He was a worker in the rubber works, probably the Almagam in Lower Luton Road. He died in England on 16 December 1916, and is buried in St Nicholas churchyard.

EVANS Douglas Osmond,             Second Lieutenant           Kings Own (Liverpool) Regiment
He was the son of Osmond Evans a tea buyer, and Clara, his wife of Beechcroft, Station Road, Harpenden. He was killed in action in France on 8 August 1916.

FIELD Frederick,                           Private        8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden in 1877, the fourth son of Mr M. Field of Heath Road, Bowling Alley, Harpenden. He was packer of straw hats at Messrs. Smith & Hall, Luton. He enlisted in March 1916. He was a Sunday School teacher and lay preacher at the Methodist Church, where he is recorded on their Roll of Honour. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 15 September 1916. He was a single man, aged 37.

FINCH James John Arthur,           Sergeant        39th Brigade Royal Field Artillery
He was born in Potters Bar in 1887, the eldest son of Robert Finch, who later lived in Cowper Road, Harpenden. He joined the regular army in 1909. He was awarded the Military Medal at Nieuport for holding a position all day under fire when his Battery Sergeant Major was wounded. He was killed in action on 28 September 1917.

FIRBANK Edward Jabez,               Private             Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born in Hendon and enlisted in Bedford. He lived in Harpenden. He died of wounds on 11 January 1919. He is commemorated on his mother’s grave in St Nicholas Churchyard.

FISHER J.H.                                  Private                   Seaforth Highlanders  Born Hobart, Australia about 1887, son of John and Adeline Fisher who returned to England and lived in Harpenden.  He died 4th August 1915 and was finally buried in Peronne road Cemetery, Maricourt.

FITZJOHN Bernard Francis,          Lance Corporal          Hertfordshire Yeomanry, later in the Machine Gun Corps, Cavalry Division.
He was born in Harpenden in 1883, the younger son of Mr & Mrs Fitzjohn of the Institute, Wheathampstead Road. He lived in Harpenden and worked as a clerk in London. He enlisted on 30 October 1914. He died of wounds in Egypt on 14 November 1917.

FORTUNATI Thomas Victor,         Lance Corporal     20th Signal Company Royal Engineers
He was born in Hemel Hempstead in 1896, the son of Corillo Thomas Fortunati, a commercial traveller in printing machinery, and his wife Rosa; they lived in Harpenden. He enlisted in London. He died on 16 July 1917 of wounds received on 3 February 1917.

FOSTER Albert Henry,                   Private      6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
He was born in Esher in 1887, son of Henry and Alice Foster. He worked as a garden boy. He enlisted in Luton in 1916. He took part in the Somme Offensive. He was killed in action near Pozieres on 25 October 1916. His family lived at London Colney.

FOULDES Thomas John,                Captain                 Royal Field Artillery
He was born in 1892, the son of John Fouldes, a diamond merchant, and his wife Mary Ann who lived in Douglas Road, Harpenden. He worked in his father’s business. He was Mentioned in Dispatches. He was killed in action in Greece on 25 June 1918. He is commemorated on the Roll of Honour in Harpenden Methodist Church.

FOWLER Nathaniel John,               Sapper                         Royal Engineers
He was born in 1882 in Leicestershire, the second son of James Fowler, a shoemaker, and his wife Elizabeth. He worked as a carpenter. He volunteered in August 1914, enlisting at Limbury. He lived in Leagrave. He was sent to the Western Front where he was first wounded, and later killed in action on 21 April 1915.
From Luton Reporter, 3 May 1915
‘Sapper Nathaniel John Fowler, a Leagrave* man who enlisted in the Royal Engineers only a few months ago, died in hospital, on April 21st as a result of being badly wounded in the abdomen on the previous Wednesday.  He was thirty-one years of age, and was the son of the late Mr James Fowler, a bootmaker at Harpenden, where there are three brothers living, and he leaves a widow and two young children.  After being apprenticed as a joiner, he joined the Royal Fusiliers, and subsequently served in the Royal Navy for five years.  When war broke out he had returned to civilian life, and was following his occupation as a joiner,   but he enlisted in the Royal Engineers, and was drafted out to France in the middle of February.’

*Nathaniel’s parents were both from Bedfordshire, Harlington and Toddington, and all his siblings both older and younger were born in Harpenden his mother was still living in Harpenden. (Ian Kelly)

 

FOWLER W.F.                                 Officers’ Steward                 Royal Navy

FRANKLIN Wilfred Noel,                Private           1st Battalion South Wales Borderers

He was born in Hitchin on 15 November 1886, the son of William Franklin, Architect & Surveyor, and Alice his wife of Holly Cottage, Willoughby Road, Harpenden. He enlisted in Luton. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 26 September 1914. He was the first Harpenden casualty.

FREEAR Eric Charles,                     Second Lieutenant         4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was the son of the late H.C.Freear of Ampthill and Mrs Freear, who died just five weeks before her son was killed in action in France on 13 April 1917. Lieutenant Freear was the nephew of Mr A.E. Anscombe, the architect, with whom he lived. He had worked as an engineer at Vauxhall, Luton.

FREEMAN Frederick John,             Second Lieutenant      4th Battalion attached to the 2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment
He was born on East Finchley in 1893, the elder son of Frederick William Freeman, an analytical pharmaceutical chemist. They lived in Arden Grove Harpenden. He was studying to be a Chartered Accountant. He died of wounds in France on 3 July 1916. He lived in the same small road as Maurice Allen, see above, who was the same age and also studying to be an accountant. Maurice was killed two months later.

GAME Frederick John,                    Private            4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Weston, Hertfordshire, and enrolled at South Mimms. He lived in Harpenden. He was wounded two hours before the Armistice was signed, and died two days later on 13 November 1918.

GARDINER Frederick T.                 Captain              Highland Light Infantry
He was killed in action on 31 July 1917, while attached to the 12th Battalion.
 Frederick Thomas Gardiner Born 10 Aug 1891 at Sawrey, Derbyshire son of William and Isabella Gardiner. In 1911 working as a teacher in Somerset but married Lucy Gregory in 1916 in Harpenden. Enlisted in Sherwood Foresters but in 1915 was gazetted as Lieutenant in 12th btn Highland Light Infantry. Reached rank of acting captain when killed in action on 31 Jul 1917 at onset of third battle of Ypres. Commemorated on the Menin Gate. (Ian Kelly)

GENN J.E.                                       Private          Labour Corps, transferred to Essex Regiment
He was the husband of May Edith Genn of 35 Ball Street, Nottingham. He died on 29 January 1916, aged 38 years. He is buried in Luton cemetery. His grave is marked as a war grave, and his name is recorded on Luton War Memorial.

GIBBS Henry John,                         Private         2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 30 September 1915.

GIMMINGHAM Charles Henry,        Captain        Hertfordshire Regiment attached to the Royal Flying Corps.
He was mentioned in Dispatches. He was killed in action in Greece on 9 November 1917.
Charles Henry Gimmingham Born 1891 in Edmonton, son of Charles and Mary Emma Gimmingham. Father was superintendant of Edison Electric Light Co and died in Oct 1890, before his son was born. His wife had relatives in Harpenden and in 1907 married William Durant Christmas and settled in Harpenden. Charles Henry enlisted in 1st battalion Hertfordshire Regiment , probably pre War and reached the rank of captain. When he was killed on 09 Nov 1917 in Greece he was attached to the Royal Flying Corps and he is buried at Struma Military Cemetery Plot VIII.B.14 (Ian Kelly)

GOODING Walter Joseph,               Private                       Welsh Regiment
He was born in Greenwich and lived in Lambeth. He enlisted in Holborn. He was killed in action on 25 February 1917.
Walter Joseph Gooding is difficult to trace. In SDGW he is listed as being born in Greenwich althouh BMD and census records suggest he was born 24 Oct 1897 in Islington, son of Thomas and Fanny Gooding. His father died Aug 1900 in Greenwich whilst serving as a driver in Royal Field Artillery. Walter served in 19th battalion Welsh Regiment No 31983. This was a pioneer battalion so did a lot of the labouring work for the division. Killed in action in Flanders on 25 Feb 1917 and buried at Bard Cottage Cemetery Plot II.E (Ian Kelly)

GOODWIN Lewis Thomas,              Corporal         4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in London and lived in Harpenden. He enlisted in Bedford. He was killed in action on 30 October 1917.

GRAVES Harry,                                Private        12th Battalion South Wales Borderers
He was born in Harpenden; his mother, Keziah, was a widow. He worked as a carman. He was a single man living with his mother and sister in Cravells Road, Harpenden. He died at home, that is not overseas, on 4 July 1916.

GRAY Harry,                                    Private          Royal Army service Corps, Motor Transport Division
He was born in Harpenden and enlisted in Bedford. He lived in Harpenden. He died on the Western Front on 7 January 1916.

GRAY Walter James,                       Private                           Royal Fusiliers
He was born on 14 October 1897, the son of Walter James & Kate Gray, who lived in Marquis Lane.

GUNNELL Edward,                          Lance Corporal        Royal Army Service Corps, Motor Transport Division
He was born in Harpenden in 1882, the son of Horace Gunnell of Coldharbour Lane. He was employed as a chauffeur to Lady St Oswald at Nostell Priory, Yorkshire. He enlisted in Leeds in February 1915. He was killed at a railhead on the Western Front while loading ammunition on 10 July 1917. He left a young widow who lived in Stafford.

HAINES Ernest W.                          Corporal       2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, the youngest son of George Haines of Cravells Road. He enlisted in Bedford, and lived in Harpenden. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 25 August 1915; there were many Hertfordshire casualties on that day.

HALE A.                                                             Royal Marines Light Infantry
Alfred Hale born 5th July 1873 in Redbourn son of George and Ann Hale. Enlisted in RMLI on 5th Sept. 1892, serving into 20th century. Married Alice Garnham on 9th July 1900 whilst still serving. In 1911 was living with parents in Harpenden and working as a general labourer; was recalled to RMLI (no. CH/6935); died of illness whilst serving on SS Wisbey in Italian waters; buried at Savona town cemetery. (Ian Kelly)

 

 

HARRIS Ernest Sylvester,               Private         2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born on 15 June 1892 in the parish of Hyde, the son of John & Annie Harris. He lived in Kinsbourne Green, and worked for Mr Catton of Roundwood Lane. He was killed in action by a shell on 1st August 1917.

HAWKES William Stanley,               Private         6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1892 in St Albans, the son of William J. Hawkes of Maple Cottages, Harpenden. He was employed by Mr J.B. Joel of Childwickbury. He enlisted in St Albans. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 12 April 1917.

HAWKINS Sidney,                            Private         7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born on 28 February 1887, the son of Ashram & Lizzie Hawkins. He lived in Harpenden and enlisted in St Albans. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 17 September 1915, aged 28 years.

HAWKINS William,                           Private               6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
He was living in Harpenden when he enlisted in June 1915. He was sent to the Western Front in February 1917. He was severely gassed in action, and died of gas poisoning on 8 December 1917. His next of kin then lived at 57 Portland Street, St Albans.

HAYES Alfred Edward,                     Gunner                  Royal Field Artillery
He was born in Hackney and enlisted in London. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 14 October 1918.

HAYNES Ernest                                Gunner (Driver)      Royal Field Artillery
He enlisted in Manchester. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 1 July 1916.

HILL Arthur James,                          Sergeant             5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was the eldest son of the late George Hill & Mrs C. Hill of New Farm, near the Great Northern Railway Station, Harpenden. He lived in Harpenden and enlisted in St Albans in 1915. He was employed on the farm of Mr Dolphin Smith. He was killed in action in Palestine on 2 November 1915. Corporal Percy Burgess of the same unit, who was killed in action five weeks later, was a close friend of his. Arthur Hill’s name is recorded on the Roll of Honour in Harpenden Methodist Church.

HILL George William,                        Private               Hampshire Regiment
He was the younger brother of Arthur. He lived in Harpenden and enlisted in Bedford in November 1914. He died of pneumonia while on active service in Salonika on 8 October 1918. His name is recorded on the Roll of Honour in Harpenden Methodist Church.

HILL Leonard James                         Sergeant     7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1890 near Wheathampstead. He lived in Harpenden, but was not a brother of Arthur and George Hill. His father, Mark Holland, was coachman to Mr Child of Bamville, East Common, Harpenden. He worked in the straw hat industry. He enlisted in St Albans. He was killed in action on 27 September 1916.

HODGE Frederick George,                 Private       4th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Own (West Riding) Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, the son of Frederick Hodge, a bricklayer, and his wife Annie. He enlisted in St Albans and he died on active service on the Western Front on 23 November 1916.

HOLLAND Arthur,                               Private       8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden in 1890, the son of Mrs Holland of Ivy Cottage, East Common. He was married and lived in North Mymms, where he worked as a general dealer. He enlisted in Colney Heath. He was a close friend of Corporal Fitzjohn, who died only a week before him. Arthur Holland was wounded three times before he was killed in action on 21 November 1917, aged 27 years.

HOLLAND Edward Herbert (Bertie),   Private    1st Battalion King’s Own (Liverpool) Regiment, formerly of the Bedfordshire Regiment.
He was born in Harpenden, and was probably the fifth son of John Holland, a farm labourer who lived in Coleswood Road. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 4 September 1918

HOLLAND John,                                  Private           Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, the third of the five sons of James Holland of Coleswood Road, Harpenden. He was educated at St Nicholas Church School; he worked for Watson, the bootmaker. He enlisted in Hertford. He was awarded the Military Medal. He was wounded in May 1918 and brought to hospital in Reading where he died on 1 June 1918, aged 23. He is buried in St Nicholas Churchyard, his grave is marked as a War Grave.

HOPWOOD Frederick Ernest,             Lieutenant                Royal Engineers

He was the son of Ernest James Hopwood of Courtfields, Wheathampstead Road, Harpenden. He died in France on 26 October 1918.

HOWARD Herbert A.                          Private        1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Hinxworth in 1883, the eldest of four sons of Charley Howard a farm labourer; he worked as a cowman. He lived in Kinsbourne Green. He was killed in action on 28 June 1917.

HOWELL George,                               Gunner                 Royal Field Artillery
He was born in Harpenden in 1892. His father was a carter, living in Heath Road, Harpenden. He was employed as a hairdresser. Though he was resident in Harpenden he enlisted in Glasgow. He was a married man. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 7 October 1918.

HUCKLESBY Henry,                           Private             West Riding Regiment
His name is recorded on the Roll of Honour in Harpenden Methodist Church. Possibly this could be Henry Hucklesby who was born in 1865 and lived in Pimlico on Harpenden Common.

HUCKLESBY Walter James,               Private                   1st Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
He was born in Luton in 1880, the eldest son of Walter Hucklesby who lived in Station Road, Harpenden, near the Great Northern Railway Station. He was a bricklayer working at Vauxhall in Luton. He was a member of Batford Methodist Church. He enlisted in Luton. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 10 July 1917.

HUNT Charles,                                   Private        3rd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment

He was born in 1891 in Harpenden, the son of Mrs Hunt of Thrales End where he lived. He was wounded at Thiepval in France in February 1916, and returned to England where he was in hospital in Sevenoaks. On recovery he returned to the Front where he was again wounded and died in the Casualty Clearing Station on 10 February 1917.

IRONS Andrew Thomas,                   Private         Machine Gun Corps formerly of the London Regiment
He was born in 1879 in Harpenden. He worked as a postman, and lived in Park Lodge, Leyton Road, Harpenden. He was killed in action on the Western Front on13 April 1917. He left a wife and a daughter of eleven.

JEFFCOCK Robert Salisbury,           2nd Lieutenant       1/6 Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
He was born in 1876 in Wolverhampton where his late father was Prebendary. He was an artist specialising in miniatures; he lived in Rothamsted Avenue, and later in Station Road, Harpenden. He enlisted in the Artists Rifles in October 1914, and was commissioned in the West Kent Regiment. After a few months service in Egypt he was sent to France where he was killed in action on 1 July 1916. He left a wife and a ten year old daughter.

JENNINGS Frederick                         Lance Corporal         Royal Sussex Regiment
He was born in Harpenden. This is probably the Frederick Jennings who was born in 1869 and was a railway signalman. He died of wounds on 7 December 1917 while serving with the British Expeditionary Force.
or born Harpenden 13 Jul 1889 son of Alfred and Mary Jennings. In 1911 worked as a general labourer. Served as lance corporal 12th battalion Royal Sussex regiment No G/15553. Died of wounds at Rouen base hospital on 07 Dec 1917 and buried at St Sever Cemetery Extension Plot V.K.108.  (Ian Kelly)

JENNINGS Walter Arthur,                 Corporal                Royal Field Artillery
He was born in Harpenden. He died in Stamford Hospital on 1 December 1918.
Walter Arthur Jennings served in Royal Field Artillery No 288697.  (Ian Kelly)

 

KATON Archibald E.                          Private            8th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders, formerly of East Surrey Regiment
He was born in Bristol and enlisted at Grays in Essex. His family lived at 4 Symington Street (Park Mount) Harpenden. He was reported missing after a battle in August 1917, and was afterwards presumed to have been killed at that time.

KINGHAM Ernest Frank                    Private         7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment

He was born in Harpenden, the third son of Arthur Kingham of the Carpenters’ Arms in the Bowling Alley. He worked in Fields Hat Factory. He was a member of St John’s Church. He enlisted in St Albans. He was awarded the Military Medal. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 3 May 1917.

KNIGHT Ernest                                 Private          London Scottish Regiment
He was born in Winchester. He lived in Harpenden. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 29 August 1918.

KRAUSE Charles Ernest                    Gunner              Royal Garrison Artillery
He was born in Islington and enlisted in Hendon. His home was Mill Hill. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 28 May 1918.

LEANING James,                               Private             Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1897 in Grimsby and enlisted in St Albans. He was living in Breadcroft with his mother and two elder brothers (in the 1911 census – his mother predeceased him, dying in 1915). He worked as an errand boy. He was killed in action on 31 July 1917.

LEGGATT Eric Gerard,                        2nd Lieutenant            4th Battalion, attached to the 10th Battalion Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders
He was born in 1889, the only son of Dr & Mrs Gerald Leggatt who lived in Vaughan Road. At the age of 23 he was the manager of a rubber estate in Malaya. In 1915 he returned to England to join the army. On 1 April 1916 he married Miss Martelli of London; four days later, on their honeymoon, he was called up. She never saw him again. He was killed in action at Longueville in France on 15 July 1917, aged 27 years.

LEWIN Archibald                              Private            3rd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He volunteered in November 1914, enlisting in Bedford. He was a single man who lived with his unmarried sister Gertrude at The Haven, Station Road, Harpenden. He was a labourer working at Peters Green. He fought at Ypres and at Arras. He died on 2 April 1917 of wounds received at the second battle of the Somme.

LEWIN Arthur                                   Private           6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden and enlisted in Bedford. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 3 April 1918.

LEWIN Horace                                  Corporal          7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden; he was a brother of Archibald (see above); a third brother, Ralph, who lived in Luton, was also killed in the war, at Gallipoli. Horace enlisted in Luton. He was awarded the Military Medal. He lived in Watford. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 1 July 1917. His name is also recorded on Luton War Memorial.

LEWIN Kenneth Robert,                    Lieutenant       7th Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
He was killed in action in Belgium on 9 March 1916. It is probable that he was not related to the other men, above mentioned, called Lewin.

LORD Charles Henry                         Major           10th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers
He was born in 1849. He lived in Moreton Avenue, Harpenden. He retired from the regular army in 1909. Though 65 years old, he succeeded in getting back into the service in 1914. He died of a heart attack after participating in training on Salisbury Plain on 30 December 1914.

LORD Eustace Charles Gabriel,        2nd Lieutenant                   Irish Guards
Son of the above. He was born in 1895. He was killed in action on 8 May 1918 aged 19 years.

LUXON Thomas Olney,                      Private                       Norfolk Regiment
He was born in 1894 in St Albans, the only child of Mrs Luxon who kept a little grocery shop on West Common, Harpenden. He was a bell-ringer in St Nicholas Parish Church. He was wounded in the abdomen on 28 April 1917, and died the next day, in France.

LYDEKKER Cyril Richard                   Lieutenant       5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born at The Lodge, Harpenden, the younger son of Richard Lydekker, Esq. and Lucy his wife. He was educated at Haileybury College. He was killed in action at Sulva, Gallipoli, on 15 August 1915, and is commemorated at the AZMAK Cemetery at Sulva.

LYDEKKER Gerard Owen,                  Lieutenant & Quartermaster        1/5 Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born at The Lodge, Harpenden on 20 December 1887, the elder son of Richard and Lucy Lydekker. He died in Alexandria on 14 June 1917 of an illness contracted on active service.

MINALL George,                                Private        1st Battalion Hertfordshire Regiment

He lived in Harpenden. He was the son of Harry Minall who worked for Mr J.B. Joel of Childwickbury * see Comments below for updated information added in June 2019. He volunteered in 1914, enlisting in Hertford. He survived the first battle of Ypres, but was wounded on the Somme. When he recovered he rejoined his unit. He died on 20 March 1918 from wounds received at St Julien.

MOCKETT Lewis Charles,                   Gunner       Tank Corps, formerly Royal Army Service Corps
He was born at Walmer in Kent in 1887, the son of C.M.Mockett who later lived in Luton Road, Harpenden. He was a draughtsman at the Ministry of Munitions. He enlisted in London. He died on 3 October 1918 in France of wounds caused by shrapnel.

MORGAN Percy,                                  Lance Corporal       11th Battalion Kings Own Royal Rifle Corps
He was born in 1892 in Hinxworth, where he was a baker. His father, Jacob, having retired from bakery, worked as a gardener for the Lydekkers at Harpenden Lodge. He was a single man; he enlisted in Hitchin. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 30 November 1917.

MORLEY H.                                         Private             Royal Army Medical Corps

NEWTON Arthur,                                Major                   Royal Field Artillery
He was born in 1890, the elder son of Mr Arthur Newton of Windsor & Newton, suppliers of artists’ materials. He was in the Territorial Army at the outbreak of war, and was known as an outstanding horseman. He was killed in action at Beersheba in Egypt in 1917.

NEWTON Charles Ronald,                   2nd Lieutenant        Royal Field Artillery
He was born in 1894, the younger of the two sons of Arthur Newton (see above). He was killed in action in France on 20 September 1918.

OWEN Cyril Henry,                              Private           7th Battalion Highland Light Infantry
He was born in Harpenden in 1899, the elder son of Thomas Henry Owen, a carter who lived on East Common, Harpenden. He enlisted in Hertford. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 27 August 1918.

PAWSON A.                                         Private   Kings Own Liverpool Regiment
The only Pawson in the Liverpool Regiment who is recorded as a casualty is Alfred Pawson who was born in Bolton and enlisted in Bootle and was killed in action on the Western Front on 6 October 1918. (267553 7th Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment – Ancestry)
In CWGC his widow is Alice Pawson of Carlton Road Harpenden  In CWGC his widow is Alice Pawson of Carlton Road Harpenden, although a check of BMD gives the marriage of Alfred Pawson to Alice Wood in Bootle in 1916 so unable to find out her link to Harpenden (Ian Kelly)

. Killed in action, France, 6 October 1918. From Bolton, Lancashire.

PAYNE Albert William                         Private          Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment
He was born in Harpenden on 1 February 1900, eldest of the seven sons of William Payne, a bricklayer; he also had five sisters. They lived in Station Road near the Great Northern Railway station. He had attended the Wesleyan Sunday School. He worked as a gardener for Mr Fouldes of Douglas Road, and later for the Almagam Rubber Company. On attaining military age in February 1918 he enlisted. While undergoing military training he contracted meningitis from which he died in hospital in Cambridge on 28 May 1918, aged 18 years. He was buried in St Nicholas Churchyard, his grave being marked as a war grave.

PEARCE Harold,                                   Private          1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, the son of Joseph and Mary Anne Pearce, then living at Batford Mills. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 5 May 1915, aged 18 years.

PEARCE Harry (Henry),                       Private           10th Battalion Hampshire, formerly in the Bedfordshire Regiment.
He was born in 1895 in Harpenden, the eldest of four sons of Henry Pearce, a butcher, and his wife Elizabeth. He assisted his father in the butcher’s shop in Wheathampstead Road. He was killed in action in Salonika on 7 December 1915, having been reported missing.

PEARCE Reginald Frederick,               Private          2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden on 9 January 1894, the elder son of George Pearce, a groom, and Sarah his wife. They lived in Lincoln Cottage, Lower Cravells Road, Harpenden. He worked as a gardener. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 12 October 1916.

PEPPER Arthur Clive,                          Private           4th Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment, formerly of the Hertfordshire Regiment.
He lived in Harpenden. He was killed in action on 7 August 1917.

PERRY E.C.                                          Private              South Wales Borderers

PHILLIPS Sydney,                               Private               10th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment
He was born in Hadleigh, Hertfordshire, in 1882, the eldest son of Benjamin Phillips, who had a nursery at Norrisbury, Westfield, Harpenden, and his wife, Ruth. He was a single man and worked as a florist. He was a member of the Congregational Church in Harpenden. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 23 May 1917.

PORTCH G.J.S.                                    Rifleman          8th London Rifle Brigade
He was presumed dead on 21 May 1916.
George Joseph Seguin Portch born 21 Nov 1894 in London son of George and Harriet Portch. In 1911 family lived New Cross where father worked as a post office sorter and son was a telegraph messenger boy. According to CWGC family must have subsequently moved to Harpenden. Served in 8th battalon London Regiment (Post Office Rifles No 376619 and was killed in action on 21 May 1916. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. (Ian Kelly)

RANDALL Alfred Henry,                      Sergeant      17th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
He was born in Hornsey in 1894 the son of Alfred and Amy Randall, and was the grandson of Mrs Childs of 9 Newcombe Street (Park Hill), Harpenden. He was employed by Carringtons, the jewellers, in Regent Street, London. He enlisted in London in September 1914. He was killed in action on 5 February 1917.

ROBERTS Harry,                                  Private         8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden in 1894, the eldest son of John Roberts, a butler, of Queens Road, Harpenden. He had worked as an auxiliary postman. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 22 May 1917.

ROBERTS L.                                        Private                         Labour Corps

ROLPH Harold,                                    Private       2/4 Battalion Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry
He lived with his widowed grandmother at Bowers Heath, Harpenden, and enlisted in Hertford. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 22 August 1917.

ROLT Herbert Robert,                        Private     2nd Battalion Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment
He was born in Harpenden in 1898, and was living there when he enlisted in Watford. He was wounded in Italy on 27 October 1918, and died of wounds on 10 February 1919. Military records say he died in a Manchester Hospital. He was buried in St Nicholas churchyard on February 15th.

DeROUGEMENT G.L.A.                        Corporal        Royal Army Service Corps

ROWLEY Dalbaic Thomas Cotton,      Captain           4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment
He died of wounds in France on 2 July 1916.

SAKER Claude Astley,                        Lance Corporal                 Canadians
Born 17 Feb 1887 in Croydon, son of Richard and Hannah Saker. By 1901 family were living in Harpenden although incorrectly transcribed as Laker in ancestry. Claude emigrated in 1905 and became a farmer in Alberta although at time of 1911 census he was visiting his parents and siblings in Harpenden. Father was a solicitor’s Clerk.
Served in 10th Brigade Canadian Infantry No 184237. (Note from his enlistment sheet had served 2 years with 2nd Bedfords in UK). Killed in action on 17 Sep 1917 near Lens and buried Aix-Naulette Communal Cemetery Plot I.T.3 (Ian Kelly)

SAUNDERS Horace Edward,               Private         1st Garrison Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
He was born in 1897 near Luton, the elder son of Alfred Saunders, a horsekeeper. He lived in Sandridge. He enlisted in Luton. He died on active service in Egypt on 19 September 1918.

SAUNDERS Walter James,                 Rifleman             1st Battalion Rifle Brigade
He was born in 1900, the younger brother of Horace. He enlisted in Watford and lived in St Albans. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 27 April 1918.

SCOTT Valentine Edward,                  Gunner                Royal Field Artillery
He was born in 1886. He enlisted in Harlesden, London. He was killed in action on 22 November 1916.

SEABROOK Arthur,                             Corporal            7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Harpenden on 23 June 1896, the second son of Charles Seabrook, a bricklayer, and Clara, his wife of Cravells Road, Harpenden. He worked as a carpenter. He volunteered in September 1914. He fought at Ypres and Arras and was wounded at hill 60, and also at Givenchy. Rejoining his unit he was killed in action at St Quentin on 23 March 1918.

SEABROOK Alexander                        Lance Corporal            Bedfordshire Regiment

He was born in Harpenden on 9 December 1896, the elder son of Alexander and Emily Seabrook who lived near the Great Northern Railway Station, and later in Cravells Road. He worked in a rubber factory. He was killed in action in the Balkans.
Ian Kelly has sent this amended information : Alexander John Seabrook born 09 Dec 1896, son of Alexander and Emily Seabrook. In 1911 worked in a rubber factory but on attestation page of his pension record is listed as a worker in a straw hat factory. He enlisted in Sep 1914 in the Bedfordshire Regiment No 15428 and was posted overseas with the 6th battalion during 1915; served overseas twice but was discharged on 02 Jun 1917 with total disability due to TB that was accepted as contracted on service; discharge states that he required sanatorium treatment. Died in January 1919 (BDM) (therefore not killed in action); buried in Harpenden churchyard but not with a CWGC headstone

SEABROOK Sidney,                             Private              Royal Marines Light Infantry
He was born in Harpenden, the younger son of Alexander and Emily Seabrook (see above).

Born 16 Oct 1898 younger brother of Alexander.  Enlisted in 1916 and served with 1st battalion Royal Marines Light Infantry No CH/20668. The battalion were attached to the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division so actually fought as infantry on the Western Front and Sidney was killed in action on 02 Sep 1918 and is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial (Ian Kelly)

SHAFFORD Maurice Phillip                  Private            East Kent Regiment (the Buffs)
He was born in Botley, Hampshire, his home was nearby at Hedge End. He enlisted in Woolwich. He died of wounds on 28 March 1915.

SIBLEY Robert Dymond Gladmond,     Major                      Royal Air Force
He was the third son of Charles Sibley of The Grove, Harpenden. On a reconnaissance flight he flew over enemy lines, with permission from his commanding officer, where he was shot down by enemy planes on 1 October 1918. He has no known grave; his name is recorded on the Wheathampstead War Memorial.

SIBLEY Sidney C.                                 Private             Gloucestershire Regiment
He was the youngest son of Charles Sibley of Wheathampstead Road. He was educated at the British School, Leyton Road, Harpenden. He was assistant to S.W.Skillman, tailor, of Station Road. He was married and lived in New Cottages, Station Road. He enlisted in May 1915 for canteen work, later being transferred to the regular army, serving in Italy. He was sent to France, where he was killed in action on 24 April 1918.

SIMONS John Henry Stuart,                2nd Lieutenant     3rd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment, attached to the 1st Battalion
He was born near Markyate, the second son of Henry Edgar and Agnes Simons of Turners Hall. He was killed in action at Nieuport, Belgium on 10 July 1917, aged 21.

SMITH J.                                               Private                   Royal Fusiliers

SNOXELL Arthur,                                  Private          13th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment
He was born in Harpenden, the son of Edward and Annie Snoxell. He enlisted in Hertford. He was killed in action on 22 June 1817 while serving with the British Expeditionary Force.

STEVENS Walter John,                         Private            5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He lived in Harpenden. He was killed in action in Palestine on 20 July1917.

SYGROVE Willie,                                   Sergeant            5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1894 in Harpenden, the son of William and Sarah Sygrove who lived at Hatching Green on Harpenden Common. He worked as a fishmonger.

THOMAS Wilfred Patrick Otto,              2nd Lieutenant         9th Battalion Yorks & Lancs Regiment
He was born in 1897 in London, the eldest of three sons of Henry Otto Thomas, who was an advertising manager for a newspaper. They lived in Longcroft Road, Harpenden. He was killed in action on 1st July 1916.

THRALE Charles,                                   Sapper           196 Field Company Royal Engineers
He was born in Wheathampstead, where he lived. He was the second of three sons of William, a painter, and Sophia his wife. He worked as a bricklayer. He enlisted in St Albans. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 26 May 1918.
Information from Valerie Thrale: He was my husband’s great grandfather and the brother of Walter Thrale,  They came from a large family of some 21 children. Charles was married; lived in Cravells Road, Harpenden and was 31 years old when he was killed. His heroic death is remembered on the Soissons Memorial in St Albans Abbey. His Service number was Sapper 159009, 106th Field Coy 

THRALE Ralph                                       Gunner          Royal Field Artillery
He was born in Hertford. He lived with his wife, mother and baby daughter at 1 West View Cottages, Willoughby Road, Harpenden. He worked as a postman and as an attendant at Hill End Hospital. He was an old soldier who had served in India and was on the Reserve List and so was called up on the outbreak of war. He was engaged in heavy fighting in both France and Italy. He was killed in France by a bomb from an enemy aircraft on 10 February 1918, aged 39 years.

TURNER John Bernard,                          Private            17th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
He was born in Rickmansworth, the son of Felix Turner, School Attendance Officer, living at Wilton House, Cowper Road, Harpenden. He sang in the Catholic Church and had won a scholarship to Brompton Oratory. He worked as a clerk in the Railway Clearing Station in London. He tried to enlist in the Middlesex Regiment in August 1915, two weeks after his sixteenth birthday, but was discharged as under age. The same day he enlisted in Luton in the Royal Fusiliers. He was sent to France in August 1916. He had a spell back in England suffering from trench fever, but was returned to France as an Acting Lance Corporal. He was killed in action on 6 June 1918, aged 18.

WALTHEW John Syers,                         2nd Lieutenant Pilot         4th Squadron, Royal Naval Division, Royal Flying Corps.
He was born in India, the elder son of Frederick Walthew. He was a bank clerk and lived with his mother in Arden Grove, Harpenden. He was killed on active service on 19 September 1917, aged 19. He has no known grave.

Ed information not quite correct – see comment from Sheila Halliwell below

WARWICK Bertie Seymour,                  Private                1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Batford, where he lived. He was the second of the six sons of Frederick Warwick, a house painter. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 7 February 1918. * see Comment below for more information .

WELLS C.                                              Private                   Essex Regiment

WESTWOOD Guy,                                  Lance Corporal        6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
He was the younger son of Frederick Westwood, corn merchant of 3 Cravells Road. He married Edith Jennings six months before his death. He was a keen footballer. He was killed in action on 1 July 1916.

Correction – Guy Westwood, Lance Corporal 43289 serving in 6th Btn Northamptonshire Regiment was actually Killed in Action on 18 Jan 1917 and is buried at Regina Trench Cemetery, Grandcourt Plot II.F.2. Although Battle of the Somme officially ended on 19 Nov 1916 localised fighting continued throughout the winter into 1917. This information is same in SDGW, CWGC and Soldiers effects.(Ian Kelly)

WHITMARSH William,                           Private         Hertfordshire Regiment
He was born in 1893. He lived in Breadcroft *see Comment below, Harpenden, the son of Henry and Isabella Whitmarsh. He was a motor-tyre worker. He enlisted at Hertford. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 5 June 1916.

WHITTINGTON A.                                  Private                   Royal Fusiliers
He died of wounds on 3 December 1917.

WITHERS Donald Courtland,                Private               13th Battalion Rifle Brigade
He was born in Camberwell, and lived in Harpenden. He enlisted in Watford. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 23 August 1918.

WORRALL Henry T.                               Private          1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
He was born in Whitechapel. He lived on the Lower Luton Road in Batford. He volunteered in September 1914, enlisting in St Albans. He died of wounds on the Western Front on 28 April 1918. His name is also on the War Memorial at Wheathampstead.

YOUNGER J.                                          Gunner                  Royal Artillery
This is probably William James Younger, who was the elder son of James and Ellen Younger who lived in Breadcroft, Harpenden. He was discharged on 11 October 1917 due to sickness.

Ian Kelly adds: I have researched J Younger RFA. It looks as though it was the father James Younger who was born 1856 in Mildenhall and had served 12 years in the Royal Field Artillery previous to the war. He must have falsified his age as on his pension record his age is given as 42 in 1915 (should have been 59). He was discharged as unfit in 1917 and from BDM died in Oct 1918 aged 63. His older son William James served in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. Very difficult to trace as records not very legible (Ian Kelly)


Mary Skinner’s comments

Sources

In the official records officers and other ranks are treated separately. Many records were destroyed by bombing during the Second World War.

Official Records – Officers

There is no official list of officers killed, but there is a list which was compiled by Cox & King, the bankers by whom all officers were paid. This only gives, for each officer, his rank, regiment, theatre of war in which he died, and place of burial or commemoration. Details of the service of an officer can be looked up individually in the Public Record Office; this is a complicated and time consuming process not suitable for researching twenty nine names.

Official Records – Other Ranks

My first resource for other ranks is ‘Soldiers Died in the Great War’. This roll is compiled from “information furnished to Officers in Charge of Records through the Official Casualty List”. It gives the rank, full names (as given by the recruit), town of birth, place of enlistment, and town where resident at the time. Also the general area where the man died, and whether he was killed in action, died of wounds, died while on active service, or died at home. Gallantry awards are also noted. The men are listed in battalions but age is not given.

If the right regiment is shown on the War Memorial the entry will be found.
If the name of the man is unusual it may be found on the Campaign List, which records all those who fought, about two million. If the man of the right name is recorded as having been killed, this record will give the name of the right regiment, so one can go back to “Soldiers Died”. This source is not much help with J.Smith and several others. However sometimes against a name it is pencilled “discharged”, or “presumed dead”, sometimes even with a date. This leads to the next source.

Memorial Inscriptions

Some men who died in hospital in England were buried in St Nicholas Churchyard, at that time the only burial ground in Harpenden. Some have official war grave headstones, some do not. A few casualties were recorded later on their parents’ graves in Westfield Cemetery. These memorials add a few more details.

Census Returns

When I did my original research, the 1891 Census was the latest available and none were on line. I was able to obtain a little information from that. Now, however, much can be found of interest on the censuses of 1901 and 1911, all to be found on line. There are numerous websites which can be used nowadays (2014) such as Ancestry.com and Forces War Records. For individuals one could try the websites of the regiments. The Imperial War Museum has some sites which give names but hard to access.

The National Roll of the Great War

This rather pretentiously named work was actually a commercial venture, the publishers going out of business before it was completed. Fortunately our area, called ‘Luton’, and stretching from Bedford to Watford, was finished. Of all the sources I have consulted I find this the least reliable. Where it is possible to confirm an entry there is much interesting detail, but because no first names are given it can be misleading, especially where there are several members of one family, or possibly men of different families who share a surname.

The Herts Advertiser

This newspaper attempted to record all local casualties, and to write a paragraph on each. All the ‘human stories’ I include have come from this source. As the information was provided at the time the casualty list came, by those who knew the men, I consider this an accurate source.

Individuals – no information at all

I have failed with twelve. W.F. FOWLER was in the Royal Navy; without the name of his ship there is nowhere to search. A. HALE and S. SEABROOK were in the Royal Marines light Infantry; the records of the Marines at that time were divided between the different bases: Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth; there is no general index as there is for the army. Claude Astley Saker joined the Canadian forces which is again too vague a description to look for.

S. ANDREWS, J.H. FISHER, H. MORLEY, E.C. PERRY, L. ROBERTS, G.L.A. DeROUGEMENT, J. SMITH, C. WELLS and R.G. WILLIS are all men of whom I could find out nothing except that none of them was a casualty while serving in the regiment written after his name on the memorial. Many hours of searching have yielded nothing. Some of these are old Harpenden surnames.

The wrong regiment

S. BELL is down as being in the Yorkshire Regiment, which is very vague, so I believe that Stanley Bell of Luton in the Royal Army Service Corps must be the one we are remembering. W.C.V. ARGENT was in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, not in the Royal Irish Rifles. B.F. FITZJOHN was not in the Herts Yeomanry but in the Cavalry Division of the Machine Gun Corps at the time he died. L. GOODING was in the Welsh Regiment, not in the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

The wrong name

G.A. BOAKES on the memorial is probably JOHN BOAKES.  Confirmed that it should be JOHN BOAKES by his grandson John Foskett.

C.H. BRANDOM is almost certainly Charles Henry BRANDON.

William BOLDINI is the only soldier of that surname in the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

No connection with Harpenden, Luton or St Albans

Some areas on the periphery of Harpenden, such as Hyde, Kinsbourne Green and Chidwickbury could have been officially in neighbouring towns; others are more puzzling. William BOLDINI, Ernest William CROSS, Walter James GOODING, Alfred Edward HAYES, Charles Ernest KRAUSE, Maurice SHAFFORD and Alfred PAWSON were all born elsewhere and were not living in Harpenden in 1911. Possibly they were working in Harpenden or were perhaps sons-in-law or grandsons of Harpenden people.

Were they brothers?

Harry and Maurice ALLEN were not brothers, neither were George and Stanley BELL. Frederick and Thomas CAIN were brothers. None of the four men named DAY appear to have been brothers, but it is probable that they were all members of the same extended Harpenden family. Frederick Charles and Frederick CHAPMAN were not brothers, neither were Albert John and Albert Edward CLARKE, nor were Edmund Charles and Francis William DINES. Arthur and Sydney EDWARDS were brothers and so possibly were Harry and Walter James GRAY. We have no information to suggest that the two men named FOWLER were brothers. Arthur and George HILL were brothers but Leonard was from a different family. The three men named HOLLAND were not brothers, but all born in Harpenden, so perhaps cousins. Henry and Walter HUCKLESBY were not brothers, probably neither were Frederick and Walter JENNINGS. Archibald and Horace LEWIN were brothers as was Ralph who lived in Luton and possibly Arthur also. Kenneth LEWIN was not related. Eustace LORD was the son of Charles Henry LORD. Cyril and Gerard LYDEKKER were brothers, as were Arthur and Charles NEWTON. None of the three men named PEARCE were brothers. Horace and Walter SAUNDERS were brothers. With no information about L.ROBERTS we cannot tell if he was a brother of Harry. John and Sidney SEABROOK were brothers but Arthur was not. Sidney SIBLEY was not a brother of Robert Dymond SIBLEY, nor were Charles and Robert THRALE brothers.
Mary Skinner October 2014


Ian Kelly.

By 2022 there was much more information on the internet about the soldiers who died in WW1.  Ian checked the names on Harpenden War Memorial with the intention of sending his findings to the Roll of Honour website and he kindly shared them with us.  They have been added to the relevant names on this post.

 

Downloads

Comments about this page

  • Cpl. Henry Barnes was my mother’s uncle. He went by the nickname of ‘Punch’. His brother, my Grandfather, was Eric Albert Barnes, also of Kinsbourne Green. Eric also fought for his country in WW1 and thankfully survived to return to his family, living in Kinsbourne Green until 1970. Thank you for taking the time to publish this article about those brave soldiers who are named on the Memorial.

    By Richard Knowles (20/11/2021)
  • Major Charles Henry Lord is buried in Bournemouth East Cemetery.  His grave says he ‘died on service at Moordown’ which is a suburb of Bournemouth.

    I hope this will be of help

    By Sarah (29/01/2021)
  • Hello Ed,
    I’m not related to the Minall family but was just doing a bit of background research for some of the Joel family servants for Find A Grave and came across your reference for Harry Minall, which didn’t quite gel with the information I had gathered. I found that  the CWGC website lists George’s parents as being Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Minall, of 49, New Farm, Station Rd., Harpenden., whilst his Headstone registration card on the same site gives next of kin as: Mrs Minall, Holly Bush, Mackrey [sic] End, Harpenden. I believe the Joel family and servants would have been residing at Childwickbury at that time?

    The parental information above is echoed on the following site:
    https://www.mymethodisthistory.org.uk/topics-2/war_memorials/hertfordshire-2/folly_methodist_chapel_wheathampstead

    “George Minal(l)  
    Died 29th March 1918. Son of Edward & Elizabeth Minall of 49 New Farm, Station Road, Harpenden. He is not on the Wheathampstead memorial as he is listed on Harpenden’s War Memorial.
    You can find George on the 1911 census”

    Indeed the 1911 Census entry lists George as a farm labourer with his family: father Edward, mother Elizabeth and brother Fredrick, somewhere in the Harpenden district. George was born in 1896 and christened at St Peters, St Albans in April 1897.

    I hope that this helps.

    Ed. Thank you for this correction. This has also been confirmed by the Childwickbury estate archivist.

    By Forscher (11/06/2019)
  • I believe that MINALL George, was the son of Edward Minall (farm labourer) and Elizabeth (née Warren) Minall, not Harry Minall (servant of Joel family) as stated.

    Ed: Mr Forscher, do you have more information about Edward & Elizabeth Minall – where they lived and other members of their family?  Are you related to them?  We have added an ‘*’ to the entry above, to draw attention to your comment.

    By Forscher (10/06/2019)
  • Valerie Thrale has sent us some extra information about Charles Thrale.  He was the brother of Walter Thrale, her husband’s great grandfather. They came from a large family of some 21 children. Charles was married,  lived in Cravells Road Harpenden and was 31 years old when he was killed.  His heroic death is remembered on the Soissons Memorial in St Albans Abbey. 

    His Service number was Sapper 159009, 106th Field Coy

    By Diana Parrott (28/01/2019)
  • Keith Smart points out that his great uncle William Whitmarsh lived in Heath Road and not Breadcroft*, supported by 1901 and 1911 census data.

    By Diana Parrott (12/12/2018)
  • Sheila Halliwell (nee Walthew) writes: the entry for John Syers Walthew confuses my uncle, Jack and my father, Eric. Jack joined the Royal Flying Corps straight from school – having run away aged 15 to join up earlier, he was eventually sent back to school until he was 18.  It was my father Eric Walthew who was a bank clerk and enlisted as an able bodied seaman in the Royal Naval Brigade on the outbreak of war.  He was wounded at Gallipoli, and after a bout of enteric fever joined the Beds and Herts regiment and served as a 2nd lieutenant at Passchendale in 1917 when he was taken prisoner.  Jack was killed a few weeks later 3 weeks after his 19th birthday.  Harry the youngest brother served in WW2 in the Herts Regiment and Eric who had left the army in 1924 joined the Royal Army Pay Corps, in which he served until his death in 1952.  Their sister Florence was married to Maurice Down, and their eldest son John died when serving in the Fleet Air Arm in 1941 aged 19, the same age as his uncle. Eric married Lois Weeks and Harry married Bethea Sutherland Graeme both of whom lived in Harpenden.

    By Diana Parrott (25/07/2017)
  • Commenting on Mary Skinner’s findings on WARWICK, Bertie Seymour above, Simon Taylor writes:

    In my research on the Harpenden Cemetery, I came across Pte B S (Bertie Seymour) Warwick.

    According to an internet site and both FreeBMD and Ancestry, Bertie was born in Linslade, Beds and baptised there on 29.9.1891. The family were residing in Redbourn on the 1901 Census and Wheathampstead on the 1911 Census

    This is the extract from the internet page I found:

    Private 15568 Bertie Seymour Warwick of the Bedfordshire Regiment was born in 1891 in Linslade Bedfordshire. He was the fourth child of Frederick Warwick and Lizzie nee Gibbs.  He died on the 7th February 1918 and is buried in the Giavera British Cemetery Arcade Italy, Grave number Plot 2 Row E Grave 3.

    It is stated in the Register produced by the Commission (on a cemetery-by-cemetery basis) that he was attd (attached to?) 15th Trench Mortar Bty and that his parents were ‘of Mill Cottages, Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire’ 

    Ed: I wondered why Bertie was on the Harpenden War Memorial if the family were living in Wheathampstead but that is explained by the fact that according to the 1911 census they were living in Batford Road (and presumably moved to Mill Cottages before the war). Although both places were in the Civic Parish of Wheathampstead they were and are in the Ecclesiastical Parish of Harpenden, hence his name being on the Harpenden memorial and as his name is recorded on the hand written list in St Nicholas, the parish church, the family presumably attended either St Nicholas or, perhaps, the Mission Room in Coldharbour Lane. The censuses are consistent in saying he was born at Linslade. From the 1901 and 1911 censuses he seems to be the fourth child and the third of seven sons – perhaps Mary Skinner left out Archibold who was married (but also living, separately, in Batford Road) in 1911. 

    By Simon Taylor (18/10/2015)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.