Remembering the Fallen of Acton

Remembering the Fallen of Acton

1914-1918

To commemorate the centenary of the First World War, over a period of four years we produced short accounts of those named on our War Memorial.

 

Alfred Donald

Alfred Donald died on 2nd May 1917.  He was a stoker 1^st Class in the Royal Navy. He has no known grave as his body was not recovered for burial.

Born in Clapton on 1 March 1897 he joined the Navy on 7 June 1915. He had been an engine fitter. He served on HMS Derwent, a River class destroyer and was killed in a mine explosion in the English Channel. On 2 May 1917 she struck a contact mine laid by German submarine UC-26 off Le Havre, France. She sank 2 cables north of Whistle Buoy at position 49°31’N 000°02’W with the loss of 58 officers and men.

His mother, Adelaide, lived in Stanley Gardens in Acton.

 

Alfred George Warman and Albert Edward Warman

Alfred and Albert were both born in Acton, Alfred in 1889 and Albert in 1891.  In the 1901 census they are shown as living in Petersfield Road.  Their father, Charles, was a general labourer, and their mother was called Florence.  Charles originally came from Wiltshire and Florence was born in Oxfordshire. There was also a sister called Edith who was born in 1886.

By 1911 the family had moved to Steyne Road although Alfred was no longer living with the family as he had joined the army in 1906.  He had previously been a general labourer at the Belgrove Laundry in Pimlico.  Albert’s occupation in the 1911 census is shown as a fish hawker, His father was now a builder’s labourer, and Florence worked as a laundress. In 1911 Alfred was serving with the 5^th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers in Meerut in India.

When war broke out Alfred was a lance-corporal in the Princess of Wales’ (Royal Berkshire Regiment) and sailed to France in November 1914.  He was killed in action on 25^th September, 1915 and is buried in the White City Cemetery, Bois-Grenier in northern France.

Albert served in the 4^th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) and was killed in action on the 16^th June, 1915.  He has no known grave but is named on the Menin Gate in Ypres.

 

Frank H Drury

Frank Herbert Drury was born on 31st August 1899 and died of wounds on 24th June 1918 aged 18.  He was originally a Rifleman in 15th (City of London) Battalion the London Regiment, London Rifle Brigade but was later transferred to the 5^th Battalion.  He is buried in Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension. He was awarded the British War Medal, and Victory Medal. His parents were Arthur Miles and Theresa Drury of 7 Park Road North Acton. In 1901 he was living at 108 Shakespeare Road and he had a brother, Arthur age 6, and a sister, Edith aged 5.  By 1911 they had moved to 13 Goldsmith Road. 

 

Bracton Bagley

He was born Arthur Bracton Bagley in Rangoon, Burma on 6^th March 1891. From records of passenger lists it appears the Bagley family lived or worked in Rangoon and a number of family members made journeys back and forward to the UK. Bracton was a boarder at Stoneygates School in Leicester in the 1901 census.

He was commissioned into the 3^rd Battalion The Royal Dublin Fusiliers from the Cambridge University contingent Officers Training Corps on 26th October 1910 to be a 2^nd Lieutenant (on probation) and by the 1911 census he was based at Tournay Barracks, Marlborough at Aldershot. He was awarded an aviator’s certificate by the Royal Aero Club following a flight in a Maurice Farman biplane at the Central School of Flying at Upavon Airfield on 2^nd October 1914.

In 1915 he married Kathleen Georgina Nelson Fernslade-Speed.

On 17^th April 1917 his award of the Military Cross was placed in the London Gazette.  He had by now been promoted to Captain and the citation reads:

“His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to award the Military Cross in recognition of conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in the Field.  He forced his way through uncut wire into the trench and killed two of the enemy.  Later, finding his company could not get through the wire, he returned and organised bomb-throwing parties while the wire was being cut.”

Sadly, having fought in France for most of the war, Bracton died of wounds on 29^th October 1918, less than a fortnight before the war ended. At the time of his death he was in the 2^nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers attached to the 8^th Battalion.  He is buried in Mont Huon Military Cemetery at Le Treport in France.  Le Treport is a small town near to Dieppe which was a centre for hospitals at the time.

At the time of his death his widow Kathleen is stated as living at The Paveys, Langton Green in Kent.  Probate was granted to her in January 1919 when Bracton’s address is given as 7 Upper Mount Street Dublin and his estate was valued at £527 12s 6d.

His widow Kathleen did not remarry and died in 1981 in Hampshire.

It is hard to be certain why he is commemorated on our War Memorial but in the 1911 census an Ann Bagley, aged 54 and unmarried, was living at 56 Maldon Road – from her age she may have been his aunt.

 

James George Ayres

Born in Acton in 1897, the sixth of eight children of William and Elizabeth Ayres.  The family was originally from Islington where Elizabeth Ayres was born and they moved to Acton it appears in 1894.

In the 1901 census the family was living at 3 Back Street, Steyne, Acton and by 1911 they had moved to 60 Shakespeare Road.  By this stage some of the older children had left leaving James at home and going to school with two younger siblings, Arthur 11, Dorothy 9, and two older brothers, William aged 20 working as a barman, and Albert aged 15 working as vanguard.  Their father William was a cabman.

James joined the Royal Field Artillery and was probably posted to France when he was 19 in mid-1917.  He died of wounds at the age of 20 on 3^rd December 1917.  He was a gunner and is buried at Tincourt New British Cemetery on the Somme.  Tincourt was a casualty clearing station so he was probably brought there having being injured elsewhere.

 

Alfred William Dudman

Alfred William Dudman died on 31^st December 1917 aged 25.  He was an Air Mechanic 3^rd Class in the Royal Flying Corps.  He is buried in Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery.

He was the son of Thomas J and Ellen Dudman of 53 Mill Hill Grove.  In 1901 Thomas, a painter and decorator, was living with his wife Ellen, son Alfred aged 9, May aged 6 and Stanley aged 2.  By 1911 the family had grown with the addition of Lily then aged 9, Albert 7, Ivy 6 and Ruby 4.

He was drowned in the loss of HMS Osmanieh by a mine explosion off Alexandria.

 

William E Baldwin

William Earnest Baldwin was born in 1889 in St Pancras, London. He was the fifth child and youngest son of Frederick Alfred and Sara Baldwin and Frederick was the owner of a steam laundry.

In 1905 the family moved to Acton and Frederick became the owner of one of the largest laundries in Acton, the Empire Steam Laundry on the Steyne. At the time of the 1911 census the family were living at Springfield, Springfield Road and William is described as a laundry manager. They also employed three live-in servants.

As well as being named on our war memorial William is also mentioned on the memorial to his father which is near the organ.

Frederick went on to become the first mayor of Acton and died in 1924.

William joined the Berkshire Yeomanry and was sent out with them on the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. He was involved in the assault on Hill 70, known as the Battle of Scimitar Hill and was wounded and presumed dead on the first day of the battle, 21^st August 1915 at the age of 26. It was the largest single day attack in the Gallipoli campaign and there were over 5000 British casualties in one day.

William is remembered at Green Hill Cemetery, Turkey where he is believed to be buried. He is also named on the Berkshire Yeomanry memorial at Windsor.

 

James Herbert Rolfe

James was born in Acton in 1892 and was the youngest of six children born to Henry and Alice Rolfe.  Henry was a bootmaker and his wife and two of James’s three sisters were laundresses, and his eldest brother, also called Henry, was a general labourer.  Henry originally lived at 1 Billington Place but by 1901 the family had moved to Steyne Road.  At the time of the 1911 census James was working as a newsagent.

James joined the 6^th Battalion of the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) as a private.  On 30^th December, 1917 James was aboard the troopship “Aragon” waiting to enter Alexandria harbour when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. The ship sank within 15 minutes with the loss of 380 officers and men.

His name is recorded on the Chatby Memorial in Alexandria.

 

Herbert J Ellams

Herbert John Ellams died on 30^th September, 1915 recorded as aged 21 (actually 20, born 10^th January 1895).  He was a private in the 3rd Battalion Middlesex Regiment arriving in France on18th May, 1915.  He is commemorated at the Loos Memorial.

He was the husband of Florence White of 33 Strafford Road, Acton.  They had married at St Mary’s Church on 16^th December, 1914. He was baptised on 26 January 1895, son of Eliza Amelia Ellams of 12 Steyne Road.  In 1901 he was living with what were described as his parents John (a farm labourer) and Ann, his brothers William 25, Samuel 21 and George 15. In 1911 he is a greengrocer’s assistant, still living at 23 Steyne Road.  But this time he is described as a grandson, and in addition Annie Elizabeth 37, John and Ann’s daughter, is also living there.

 In 1914 he was employed by the Great Western Railway at Old Oak Common, his marriage certificate describes him as an engine cleaner. He started work 7 September 1914 but resigned in December.  Presumably he lost his life at the Battle of Loos.

 

Francis Arthur Noel Brown

Francis was born in Twickenham on 26^th December 1897 (which presumably explains his third name) and was baptised on 26th February 1898 at St Mary’s Twickenham.  His father, George Arthur (who appears to have been known as Arthur) was a solicitor and his mother’s name was Else.  In 1901 the family was living at 25 Queen’s Road in Twickenham.

By the 1911 census they had moved to 13 Elmwood Gardens in Acton and Francis has a younger sister, Margaret, born around 1902.

Francis was commissioned on 20^th September 1915 into the 1/7h Battalion Worcestershire’s (which was a territorial regiment) having started as a private in the 28^th London Regiment (which was also a territorial regiment). He went to France on 7^th March 1916 and died during the battle of the Somme on 21^st July 1916 during the fighting for the villages of Ovilliers and La Boiselle.

In addition to being remembered on our war memorial there is also a brass plaque to him on the wall about half way down the church. This says that he was killed whilst trying to save a wounded comrade.

Probate was granted to his father on 21^st July 1917 and his estate was worth £151 7s 7d.

Francis had been a sidesman at St Mary’s, Acton and his father was a churchwarden here. His father died at the age of 67 on 18^th October 1917 while visiting his sisters in Southwold.  The note in the parish magazine at the time says he never recovered from the death of his only son.

 

Thomas Ernest Godwin

Thomas Ernest Godwin died 21st August 1917 aged 28.  He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps and is buried at  Harlebeke new  British Cemetery. He is parents were described as from Acton but he enlisted at Kamloops, British Columbia in1915 and was commissioned in 1916.

He was born 10th April 1890 to James Thomas and Hannah Augusta Goodwin of 20 King Street Mews, Portman Square. James Thomas was a coachman. In 1911 Thomas was living in 21 Brougham Road, Acton with his mother and sisters Edith Augusta, Hilda Elizabeth, Dorothy Isabel and brother Harold.  Thomas was employed as a boy clerk at the Admiralty.

 

Charles Harold Smee

Charles was born 1895 in Ascot in Berkshire.  In 1911 he was boarding at 28 Grove Road, Acton, although his family was then living in Egham in Surrey.  His employment is shown as builders’ clerk. He enlisted at Stamford Brook and was a Lance Corporal in the 1^st/10^th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.

There is conflicting information about Charles’ death on various websites.  One says his regiment was in India at the time and another that says he died a prisoner of war at Afion Kara Hissar on April 29th, 1916, aged 21 years.  He died in the Persian Gulf, then in Mesopotamia, on 11^th March 1917 and is named on the Basra Memorial in what is now Iraq. Until 1997 the Basra Memorial was located on the main quay of the naval dockyard at Maqil, on the west bank of the Shatt-al-Arab, about 8 kilometres north of Basra.

Until 1997 the Basra Memorial was located on the main quay of the naval dockyard at Maqil, on the west bank of the Shatt-al-Arab, about 8 kilometres north of Basra. Because of the sensitivity of the site, the Memorial was moved by presidential decree. The move, carried out by the authorities in Iraq, involved a considerable amount of manpower, transport costs and sheer engineering on their part, and the Memorial has been re-erected in its entirety. The Basra Memorial is now located 32 kilometres along the road to Nasiriyah, in the middle of what was a major battleground during the first Gulf War.

 

Stephen Thomas Freeth

Stephen Thomas Freeth died on 26 September 1916. He was a private in the 11^th Battalion Royal Fusiliers and arrived in France on 17 August 1915. He is commemorated at the Thiepval memorial.

Stephen was born in Southall in 1882.  The 1901 census records him as living at 18 Wilmot Place, Hanwell, with his mother Ellen, brother Francis and sisters Amelia and Florence. He was a general labourer at the time. He married Fanny Bridges, who lived in Church Road, Acton, at St Mary’s, Hanwell on 12^th June, 1905.  They had two children, Charles and Arthur. The 1911 census shows his occupation as a bricklayer’s labourer. An electoral register of 1914 lists his address as 23, Steyne Road, Acton

 

William Dan Gibbard

William Dan Gibbard died on 13 November 1916, aged 28. He was a private in the 17^th Battalion Royal Fusiliers arriving in France on 16 November, 1915. He is buried at the Munich Trench British Cemetery Beaumont-Hamel in the Somme.

He is described as the son of Sarah Gibbard of 7 Goldsmith Avenue, Acton.  He had been born in Greenwich in 1888. In 1901 he was living with his family in Dartford; his father Dan H Gibbard, mother Sarah, sisters Elsey and Gertrude, and brother Albert. In 1911 the family was living at 9 Dartford Road, Dartford and William was described as a hairdresser. The family moved to 27 Churchfield Road, Acton shortly after then.

 

Frank Snuggs

William Augustus Frank Snuggs was born in Hammersmith in 1893. His father, William, was a Journeyman Butcher. By 1901 the family had moved to Winchester Street and had three sisters and two brothers.

During the war he served as a rifleman in the Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion, The Prince Consort’s Own. Frank was killed on 16th June 1915 and is buried in Merville Communal Cemetery in Northern France. He was awarded a Campaign Medal and a Silver War Badge. At the time of Frank’s death his mother was living in Shakespeare Road.

 

James Randall Thursby

James was born in Acton in 1887 and was living in Myrtle Road. The 1901 census shows the family living in Grove Place. He had two brothers and two sisters and his father was a bricklayer. In 1911 James was living in Grove Place and was employed as a postman.

He became a Corporal in the London Regiment (Post Office Rifles). He was killed on 10^th August, 1918 and is buried in Dive Copse British Cemetery in Sally-le-Sec in the Somme. The cemetery was created in 1916 but was over run by the Germans in the Spring of 1918. James was probably one of 77 soldiers killed during the retaking of the cemetery in August 1918.

 

William Thomas Gorton

William Thomas Gorton died on 1st December, 1916 aged 36. He was a Private in the 9^th Battalion Royal Fusiliers. He is buried in Niederzwehren Cemetery Germany. He is described as the son of Henry Gorton and the husband of Eleanor F Gorton of Acton.

In 1891 he was living at 3 Harrison Building in Acton with his family: father Henry, a paper hanger, mother Bessie, brother Henry and  sisters Eleanor, Florence  and Edith. By 1901 the family was living at 6 East Row in the Steyne. Its composition had changed. Henry was now a widower and his children William, Henry and Edith were living with Thomas Gorton, his father, and Mary Egleton his sister. The 1911 census shows William, a general labourer, and his sister Edith still at their three room home at 6 East Row with his father and his aunt Mary Egleton.

 

John Grant

John Grant died on 26th September, 1915, aged 19. He was a private in 8^th Battalion Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). He is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. He was the son of Henry and Jane Emma Grant of 33 Spencer Road, Acton.

John was born on 13^th October 1896 and was baptised at All Saints’ Church, South Acton on 8^th November that year. His father was a police constable and they lived at Richards Cottages, 9 Churchfield Road, Acton. He had three brothers, Henry, Albert and Christopher and a sister, May. By 1911 the only siblings with him at their new home, 1 Albert Grove Park Road, Acton, were May, John and Christopher. John was described as an “errand boy”

 

Walter Eustace Scott

Walter, the youngest of five children, was born in Notting Hill in 1884. In the 1901 Census he is shown as living in Bramley Street in Kensington and was a baker’s assistant. His father, Frederick, was a cab driver but he died in 1908 and in the 1911 Census Walter is shown as head of the household and was living at 110 Shakespeare Road in Acton. His employment is shown as being an electrician.

Walter was a private in 3^rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers, City of London Regiment and was killed at the battle of Loos on 27^th September, 1915. His name is on the Loos Memorial located in Northern France.

 

The Gray brothers –

Frederick William James, Richard and William Joseph

Frederick William James was born in Notting Hill, was killed in action on 28th April, 1915, aged 30. He was a private in the 2nd Battalion East Surrey Regiment.  Frederick has no known grave but he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.

Richard, who was born in Kensington, was 26 when he died on 23rd April, 1918. He was a private in the 11th Battalion Royal Fusiliers. He is buried in the St Pierre Cemetery near Amiens in northern France.

William Joseph, also born in Notting Hill, was 22 when he was killed on 28th May, 1918. He was a private in the 2nd Battalion London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers). He is buried at Le Grand Hasard Military Cemetery in Morbecque.

They are shown as the sons of William and Sarah Gray of 9 Nelson Place, in the Steyne in Acton.

The 1901 census shows the family at that address: William, a horse keeper, Sarah, his wife was a laundress, and brothers Frederick, Albert, Richard and William. By 1911 Frederick had moved but their other three children, Albert, a builder’s labourer, Richard, also a builder’s labourer, and William, a coal porter, were living at home.  Frederick senior’s widowed sister was also living with them and she is shown as an ‘ironer’.

 

Arthur James Stiles

Arthur was born in Acton on 12^th March 1896 and baptized at St Matthew’s Church in Bayswater where his parents had been married. The family lived at 8 Birkbeck Road. His father was James Burford and his mother Helen Mary. James was a Manager in the Coal Trade. The 1901 Census shows Arthur as having six sisters. They may have been fairly affluent as they also had a servant.

Arthur joined the army in 1915 and was a Lance Corporal in the Honourable Artillery Company. He was later a 2nd Lieutenant in the 8^th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). He was killed on 3^rd August 1916 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Monument.

 

Frederick Charles Tacon

Frederick was born in Lewisham in 1890, the son of William and Alice Tacon. His father was an Optical Turner. He had three sisters and three brothers and by 1901 the family had moved to Lewisham. His father was by then a Brass Finisher. By 1911 the family had moved to Valetta Road in Acton. The Census of that year shows Frederick as being employed as a Brass Finisher (Electrical).

Frederick had joined the navy and was a Stoker 1^st Class when he was killed, along with 1025 other men, when HMS Invincible was sunk at the battle of Jutland on 31^st May 1916. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

 

William Thomas Upton

William was born in Acton in 1898. His father, William, was a Carman for the council on the dust carts. His mother Emily carried out ironing for one of the many laundries in Acton. In 1901 the family was living at 9 Gloucester Road, Acton although by the time of the 1911 census the family had moved to 26 Richards Cottages in Acton.

William was a Private in the 1^st Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and was killed in northern France on 24^th April 1917. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in the Pas de Calais.

 

William Joseph Edgerton Usher

William was born in Willesden in 1895. His parents, William and Emma, lived at 31 Nemoure Road. William’s father was, in 1901, an upholsterer but, by 1911, was a spring mattress maker.

William was a wireless operator in the Mercantile Marine and was serving on SS “Ava” when she was torpedoed, off the coast of Ireland, on 26^th January 1917 with the loss off all 92 crew. He was awarded to Mercantile Marine War Medal and his name is on the Tower Hill Memorial.

 

Frederick George Whatling

Frederick was born in Walthamstow in 1893. He had a brother and two sisters and his father was a manager of a Turkish bath. By 1911 the family had moved to 1 Cowper Road in Acton. Frederick was an entering clerk and his father was a lavatory attendant. He joined the army in 1909 and was, at the time of his death, 10^th November, 1911, serving in “C” Company, 1^st/23^rd Battalion of the London Regiment as a Lance Corporal.

He is buried in the Philosophe British Cemetery in Mazingarbe in the Pas de Calais. On his headstone are the words ‘Lost awhile, Our treasured love, Lord grant him thine eternal love.’

 

Henry Watts

Henry was born in 1891 and lived with his parents, four sisters and a brother, at Wrights Cottage in Acton Vale. His father was a labourer at a brickmakers. Henry joined the Royal West Surrey Regiment at Hounslow. He was a member of the Expeditionary Force and was killed on 31^st October, 1914. He has no known grave but his name is on the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. At the time of his death his parents were living in Ontario, Canada.

 

William James Brooker

William was born on 28^th June 1890 and baptised at St Mary’s on 27^th August that year. He was the oldest of the five children of William George and Caroline Brooker and his siblings were Leonard (b. 1898), Emma (b. 1900), George (b. 1902) and Bertie (b. 1909). The family lived first in 1891 in Harrison Buildings (which seems to have been in the town centre), then at 3 East Row, the Steyne in 1901 and finally in 1911 at 9 Back Street.

William worked at as labourer and then enlisted as a private in the 8^th Battalion Royal Fusiliers. He arrived in France on 9th July 1917 and died on 3^rd August 1917 in the battle of Pozieres. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.

 

George Stafford Hilliard Tyndale

George, shown on the War Memorial as Stafford H Tyndale, was born in 1895 in Paddington. He was the son of Thomas and Bessie Tyndale and lived in Gunnersbury at 626a High Road, Chiswick. The 1911 census shows him as being at school in Horsham in Sussex and his parents living in Woodhurst Road. He was a lieutenant in the West India Regiment but had been attached to the 2^nd Middlesex Regiment.

He was wounded on 10^th March 1915 in a (failed) attempted assault on an enemy front trench near Estaires and died of wounds in hospital on 13^th March 1915, aged 19. He is also commemorated on All Saints’ War Memorial. He is buried in the Boulogne Eastern Cemetery in France.

 

Harold Victor Wageman

Harold was born in Acton on 14^th November, 1896 and was baptised at St. Mary’s on 4^th April of the following year.  He was the son of Thomas (an accountant and bank inspector) and Caroline Wageman.  Harold and his family lived at 48 Chatsworth Gardens.  He had worked in a bank after leaving school.  He enlisted at Ealing in September 1915 and went with his Regiment to the Egyptian theatre of war and landed there on 1^st September 1915. He was a Corporal, TF 240660, formerly 3225, 1/8^th Middlesex Regiment and later promoted to Sergeant. He had at some time also served with the 2/8^th Middlesex Regiment. 

On 10^th April 1917 he was killed by shell concussion in action, aged 20.  He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in Northern France

 

Arthur Lewis Tate

Arthur was born in Holborn in 1893.  His family moved to Acton and lived at 19 Gloucester Road and Arthur was educated at St Mary’s School.  He enlisted for the army at Hounslow and was  a private in the 2^nd Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).  At the beginning of the war he was serving in India but then served in France and the Dardanelles where he caught malaria.  He was then moved to the Western Front and it is believed he died at the 3^rd Battle of Ypres on 9^th October, 1917, aged 24.

Arthur has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.

 

Frederick Henry Weaving

Frederick was born in Hammersmith in 1891 but by 1901 was living with his parents, Thomas and Henrietta, and two brothers and one sister, at 26 Mill Hill Road. By the time of the 1911 Census they had moved to 2 Apsley Terrace in Horn Lane, Acton. For a while he had been employed by Acton Council in the Education Department as a clerk.

He enlisted at Chiswick in November 1913 and enlisted in January 1914. He was an Acting Warrant Officer in the 10^th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. At some time he had also served with the East Kent Regiment. In late 1917, whilst serving in the Middle East as a Colour Sergeant, Military Foot Police, with the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, he contracted malaria. In June, 1918 he was taken ill and admitted to 31 BSH at Baghdad where further symptoms of typhus appeared. On 20^th June, 1918 he was admitted to the Isolation Hospital at Baghdad and died four hours later from typhus on 20^th June 1918. He is buried in the Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery in Iraq.

 

William T Golding

William Taverner Golding was born in Acton on 11^th April 1891 although the 1901 Census shows him being born in1892. He was baptized at St Dunstan’s Church, East Acton. His father, Charles was a park keeper, and his mother’s name was Sophia. He had four sisters and a brother and he studied at Priory Boys’ School.

William was a corporal in the 88^th Bty of the Royal Field Artillery but, for a while, was acting sergeant. He was killed in action on 21^st October, 1914, and is buried in the Houplines Communal Cemetery Extension, near Armentieres in Northern France.

 

Horace Hawtree

Horace Richard Hawtree was 28 when he died on 2^nd August 1918. He was a private 1st Battalion, the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and is buried at Esquelbecq Military Cemetery in Northern France. He is described as the husband of Amy Florence Hawtree of Horndean Hill, Horndean, Hants.

Horace was baptised at St Mary’s Church, Acton on 31^st March 1890. He was the son of Edward and Rose Hawtree of 10 Grove Road, Acton and had been born on 23^rd August 1890. The 1891 census shows Horace as the youngest child of Edward, a brewer’s drayman and Rose, with Albert 15, Arthur 14, William 13, Alice 10, Frederick 8 and Emily 6. In 1901 the family was still lived at 10 Grove Road with Frederick, Emily, Horace, and Annie. By 1911 Horace had moved and was a waiter at the YMCA at 28 Princes Square in Bayswater and lived there. Horace appears to have travelled to Philadelphia from Liverpool in May 1914 when he was 24 and was described as an engineer. He married Amy Florence Budden on 25^th April 1917 at St James’s, Church in West Ealing. When he joined the army on 15^th December, 1915 he described himself as a fitter and living at 21 Talbot Road in Ealing.

 

Edwin Henry Hartley

Edwin Henry Hartley died on 6^th November 1918 aged 18. He was a private in 2^nd Battalion, the Coldstream Guards. He is buried at Cross Road Cemetery, Fontain-au-Bois in Northern France.

He was the son of Albert Thomas and Mena Alice Hartley of 7 Shakespeare Road Acton. Edwin was baptised at All Saints Church South Acton on September 17^th 1899, the son of Albert Thomas, a postman, and Bricey Mena Alice Huntley of 34 Lythe Road. He had been born 17th August 1899. In 1901 they were at the same address but in 1911 lived at 2 Shaa Road in Acton.

 

Cecil Frank Alaway

Cecil Frank Alaway was born in 1893 in Hampstead, the youngest of the four children of Charles and Elizabeth Alaway. His father was a carpenter, later becoming a building foreman for the council. Cecil has two older brothers, Charles and Robert, and an older sister Lilian. By 1901 the family were living at 18 Cowper Road and the oldest brother had left home. Cecil, aged 17, was working as a hosier’s assistant, possibly in a local shop.

He joined the 7^th Battalions Royal Fusiliers and died on 27^th December 1916.  His grave is in Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension and, at his father’s request, has a quote from John 14:19 “Because I live, ye shall live also” on it.

 

Robert Binning

Robert Binning was born in 1893 in Hillend, Fife. He was the fourth son of David and Jane Binning and had at least two sisters. He was a gunner in the 159^th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery and died of wounds on 4^th November 1916. His grave is in Grove Town Cemetery Meaulte and his tombstone has the words “dearly beloved son of David and Jane Binning, fondly remembered”. His mother was still living in Scotland at Hillend Inverekeithing. Robert is also listed on the gravestone of his father in Dalgety Cemetery. It is unclear what his connection with Acton was or why he is listed on our memorial.

 

Frank Hazell

Frank Hazell first joined the army on the 8 November 1915 when he enlisted in the East Surrey Regiment, giving his date of birth as 3^rd January, 1897. His actual age then would have been 15 or 16. He enlisted again on 15^th November, 1917 and gave his address as 14 Grove Road and his date of birth as 6^th June 1899, being 17 years and 5 months old. The records also show that he served 56 days in his previous enlistment.

The 1901 census shows Frank, aged 1, living at 14 Grove Road with his parents, Frederick, a Fireman railway shunter, and Mary, and his brother Francis who was 8 and his sister Ellen aged 6. By 1911 his father was a ticket examiner and they had another son LG aged 9 and another daughter, EM aged 5, and an adopted daughter E Jacobs aged 19. For some reason all the family is shown with their initials and their first names are not given.

Frank Hazell died on 14^th October 1918 and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium. He was a private in the 20th Battalion Durham Light Infantry.

 

Leonard Gordon Hellier

Leonard Hellier was a second lieutenant in the 3^rd Battalion, Border Regiment but attached to 11^th Battalion.  He arrived in France on 9^th July 1915.

He is described as the son of Mr William Charles and Ada Elizabeth Hellier of 18 the Parade, Barry Glamorgan. William Hellier was a manager at a timber yard.

In the 1911 census he was working as a clerk and lived at 186 Court Road in Barry and had three brothers, Douglas, Asborne and Herbert and two sisters, Marjorie and Audrey. Leonard was the eldest of the children. William’s mother also lived with them.

Leonard Gordon Hellier died of wounds 16 December 1917 aged 22 and is buried at Mendinghem Military Cemetery in Belgium.

No connection with Acton has been found.

 

Samuel George William Hendy

Samuel George William Hendy was the son of George William and Alice Amy Hendy of 29 Chaucer Road, Acton. Railway records show his date of birth to be 5^th May, 1896, and was baptised at St Matthew’s Church, West Kensington on 19^th July. He started work on 25^th August, 1913 but resigned on 11^th September, just three weeks later.

In 1901 the family was living at 13 Mill Hill Terrace; George a Plumber, Alice and their two children Samuel, aged, 4 and Florence who was 2. By 1911 they were living at 29 Chaucer Road and there had been a new addition to the family; Doris Evelina, aged 3 months.

He joined the Territorial Army when he was 17 years and 1 month old at Hounslow on a date which appears to be 17^th March 1913. He had been working at the McVitie and Price factory in Willesden.

He was a private in the 1^st/8^th battalion the Middlesex Regiment and had arrived in France on 8^th March, 1915.

He was killed on 26^th June, 1916 aged 19 in action in the trenches at Hebuterne and had already been wounded the previous year. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in Northern France.

 

Harry Stephen Herring

Harry Stephen Herring was born in about 1875. He was described as the son of James Stephen and Emily Herring of Acton as was living at 17 Brouncker Road, in 1911.

He enlisted in Putney but died of enteric fever on 9^th August, 1915 aged 40. He was a private in the City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) and had arrived in Egypt on 7^th May 1915.

He is buried at the Suez War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt. He is also commemorated on the regiment’s memorial at St Bartholomew the Great Church in Smithfield in the City of London.

 

Arnold and Jacob Middleton

Jacob was born on 27^th June 1882 and his brother, Arnold, on 18^th February 1892 in Sheffield. Their parents were James and Eliza who had six sons and one daughter. By the time of the 1901 census the family had moved to Fulham. The family then moved to 2 Oldham Terrace in Acton. Arnold and Jacob’s father, who was a sword and bayonet grinder, was later killed in an air raid on Sheffield in 1940.

In 1913 Arnold moved to Australia. In 1914 he volunteered for foreign service and joined the Australian Infantry in 1915 as a Private. He served in Gallipoli and proceeded to France in 1916. He died on 4^th October 1917 from wounds received in action. He is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery near Poperinge in Belgium.

Jacob was employed by the Wilkinson Sword Company in Acton as a grinder. In 1901 he enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers and was awarded a medal after taking part in the South African War. In 1902 he married Isabel Griffiths and they had four children. As his enlistment was-time expired he rejoined the army in August 1914 but was discharged in November that year as being unfit for service. He was called up in March 1916 and declared fit. He served in France and Flanders but was reported missing after the fighting at Ypres on 3^rd May 1917. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, in France.

 

Harold Seymour Clinch

Harold was born at Manor Farm, Perivale, the third son of Alfred and Mary Ann Clinch. By 1901 the family, including Harold’s older brothers, Frank and Edwin, was living at 41 Steyne Road. His father Alfred was a farm labourer. At some time between then and the 1901 census the family had moved to 35 Steyne Road and only Harold was at home with his parents.

He enlisted at Ravenscourt Park in the Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex) Regiment and died on 23^rd August 1916 aged 19. He is buried at Flat Iron Cemetery, Mametz in Northern France. His father appears to have predeceased him as his mother is listed as next of kin at the time of his death.

 

Henry Ernest Brum

Henry was born on 27^th January 1894, the second son of Isaac and Alice Louisa Brum of 32 Chaucer Road. He was baptised on 11^th March 1894 at All Saints, South Acton. Isaac was a labourer for a bricklayer and had three other sons: Isaac, Walter and Frederick.  By the 1911 census, when he was 17, Henry was working as a footman at 2 Green Street, off Park Lane in central London and his parents were living at 40 Chaucer Road.

Henry was a Private in the 3^rd Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers and moved to the Western Front in January, 1915.  He was killed in action during the Battle of St Julien, aged 21, on 3^rd May, 1915 and is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium. The words ”Duty called, he answered” were engraved on his headstone.

 

Alfred James Hewitt

Alfred James Hewitt was born on 2^nd August 1891 and baptised on 20^th September at Ealing Parish Church. At the time the family was living at 63 Coningsby Road. By 1901 the family was living at 18 Richards Cottages*. His father was Edward, a general labourer, with Elizabeth his wife and children Lillian15, Alfred 9, Florence 6, Edward 4 and Edith 7 months.

Alfred enlisted at Hounslow and was a Sapper in the 69^th Field Company, Royal Engineers and arrived in France on 31^st May, 1915. He was killed in action on 16^th September 1915 aged 24 and is buried at Tancrez Farm Cemetery in Belgium.

At the time of Alfred’s death his mother, Elizabeth, by then a widow. was living at 10 Leamington Villas, Willesden Lane in Acton.

 *Richards Cottages ran south from Churchfield Road behind the Market Place shops.

 

Ernest Graham Humphrey

Ernest Graham Humphrey was born in Northampton, the son of The Revd William John Humphrey and Ellen, but was living at 23 Hereford Road in Acton. He was a member of 3^rd Staffordshire regiment before becoming a Second Lieutenant in the 48th Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, arriving in France in 1917. He died of wounds on 29^th March 1918 aged 21 and is buried in Doullens Communal Cemetery in Northern France.

Further details were given when his medals were auctioned:

“A Great War Casualty Pair to Bristol F2b Fighter Pilot Second Lieutenant E.G. Humphrey, Royal Flying Corps, Who on Two Separate Occasions Received Gun Shot Wounds to His Chest, He Finally Succumbed to His Wounds, 29.3.1918 British War and Victory Medals (2.Lieut. E.G. Humphrey.), nearly extremely fine, with named transmittal slip for campaign medals, dated 23.6.1922 Estimate £ 200-240 Second Lieutenant Ernest Graham Humphrey, born 1896, a native of Northampton; educated at Bedford Modern School, where he was a Corporal in the O.T.C., and at the City and Guilds (Engineering) College; he was a Cadet in the University of London O.T.C.; employed as a Temporary Clerk at the Ministry of Munitions, July 1915; commissioned into the South Staffordshire Regiment and attached to the Royal Flying Corps as Second Lieutenant (Pilot); he was in action, 22.7.1917, when he received gunshot wounds to the chest and a fractured humorous; he recuperated in the New Zealand Stationary Hospital, Hazebrouck and No. 8 General Hospital, Rouen; returned to service in January 1918 and was flying with 48 (Fighter) Squadron (Bristol F2b´s), Bertangles, France; he received gunshot wounds, 28.3.1918, whilst flying low and defending the road near Amiens, he was admitted to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, but died of his wounds the following day; Humphrey is buried in Doullens Communal Cemetery, Somme, France.”

 

Charles Portas Bancroft

Charles was born in Bradford in 1884 and moved to West Ealing. In 1911 he was serving with the military in Hong Kong. He enlisted for the army in London and was a sergeant with the 27^th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. On 27^th September 1918, near Inchy in the Nord department of France, when several casualties had been caused by heavy enemy fire, he had kept his gun in action. Although shells were dropping close to his gun, he rallied his men. When a gun detachment was completely wiped out, he ran to give assistance to the wounded. Seeing they had all been killed, he returned to his gun and continued firing. He died of wounds on 7^th October 1918 after chasing the enemy at Ramicourt and a large section of the Hindenburg Line was destroyed. He was awarded the DCM posthumously.

He is buried in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux in Norhern, France

 

George Charles James

George was born in the City of London. His father, Adolphus, was a Licensed Victualler in Lisson Grove. George had two sisters, Frances and Lily, and a brother, Arthur. On 9^th June, 1913 he married Lily Chapman at St Marylebone Parish Church.

George enlisted for the army at Victoria Park and was a Lance Corporal in the 2^nd/2^nd London Field Company, Royal Engineers. As the advance on the Somme continued he was killed on 9^th September, 1916. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in Northern France.

 

Herbert Albert Copas

Herbert Albert Copas was born in 1887 and was baptised on 12^th June 1887 at Emmanuel Church, Paddington. The family was living nearby at 13 Fermoy Road. His father was Alfred George Copas and he was a cab driver at that time and his mother was Kate. He had a sister Gladys who was about a year older.

By the 1891 census the family had moved to 5 Bloemfontein Avenue in Hammersmith and another child, William, had been born that year.  His father was now out of work.

In the 1901 census the family is living at 29 Church Road in Acton. Kate is now a widow as Alfred had died the year before and there is a further child Sydney who is aged 4 at this time. The older children are now out at work – fifteen year old Gladys is a draper’s assistant and Herbert, aged fourteen, is an outfitters clothier. William has joined the army by now.

By the 1911 census the family had moved again and is at 93 Mill Hill Road. Gladys is in the same employment but Herbert is now a printer’s clerk and fourteen year old Sydney is a motor engineer’s apprentice.

It’s not clear when Herbert joined the army but he went to France on 8^th February 1917 as a rifleman with the 1^st/9^th Battalion London regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) and died just over two months later on 29^th April 1917, killed in action. His body was buried along with three comrades killed on the same day and subsequently moved in August 1918 to Wancourt British Cemetery. His headstone has the words “Greater love hath no man” which were chosen by his mother.

 

Sidney George Bourn

Sidney was born in 1867 in Bath, Somerset and was the oldest son of John Maggs and Susan Bourn. The family had moved within a couple of years to Haggerston in East London where they had three more children, Horace, Lily and Elizabeth. In the 1891 census John is a police constable.

By the 1901 census they had moved again to 28 Myrtle Road in Acton. They are only shown as having three children so presumably Elizabeth had died. John is now an auctioneer’s porter and Sidney, aged 14, is an errand boy.

He enlisted in the Rifles Brigade at the age of 18 years and11 months in 1905 having served previously in the army. In the 1911 census he is with the 2^nd Battalion the Rifles Brigade in India. The Battalion returned on the UK on the outbreak of war and Sidney at some point transferred to the 1^st Battalion.

The 1^st Battalion was involved in various battles on the Western front including Messines and in the retreat from Mons. Sidney died on 7^th July 1915, at the age of 28, of wounds sustained during the second battle of Ypres, and is buried in Ferme-Olivier Cemetery at Elverdinghe Cemetery in Belgium. His mother had the words “In loving memory of my dear son” inscribed on his tombstone.

His father John died in 1930 and is buried in the Churchfield Road burial ground.

 

Edward Charles Sutton, Monson MC

Edward was born on 5^th June 1898, son of Major Edward Monson and Mrs.Marie Monson of Creswick Road in Acton. He was educated at St. Peter’s College, Radley and afterwards at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, passing out and obtaining his commission in August, 1916. He was a Lieutenant, RFA ‘A’ Battery, 321^st Brigade (or 331^st according to the CWGC) and died of wounds on 15^th June 1918, aged 20.

Edward was awarded the Military Cross (Supplement to London 16^th September 1918) for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He and another officer took two guns in front of the infantry line at dawn, without escort, engaging the enemy, bringing back ammunition and using it up. This checked the enemy’s advance and gave time for the withdrawal of the infantry. He had only been in France for 5 weeks. He is buried in the Pernes British Cemetery in northern France.

 

Albert Pound

Albert was born in Acton on 15^th December 1896 and baptized at St. Mary’s Church with his younger brother, Benjamin, on 5^th June 1899. They were the sons of Richard and Louisa Pound of 54, Church Road, Acton. He enlisted at Mill Hill on 2^nd 1914 in the 3^rd Middlesex Regiment. He went to France on 10^th March 1915 and had only been at the Front for about 6 weeks when he was killed in action at the Second Battle of Ypres on 22^nd or 23^rd April 1915, aged 19. During this time he had been promoted from Private to Lance Corporal.

On 23^rd April 1915, British counter-attacks took place at St. Julien, near Hill 60. The 3^rd Middlesex was part of a force (Geddes detachment) detailed to join the Canadians in front of Kitchener’s Wood and extend westwards until they made contact with the 45^th French division on the right. They were to dam the field-grey tide flowing through a gap, five miles wide, made by gas. As soon as they had all assembled, they moved up from St. Jean. It was now daylight. German machine gunners fired on them and when near Mauser Ridge they had come under very heavy fire.

Prior to joining up he had worked for some years for Mr. King of the China Stores in the High Street. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium.

 

William James Bates

William (known as Willie) was born in Acton in early 1895 to Henry and Emily Fanny Bates.  He was their second son out of a family of seven surviving children.  In 1901 the family was living at 42 Petersfield Road in All Saints, Acton parish and sharing a house with two other families.  Henry was a bricklayer at that time.  By 1911 the family had moved to 1 Hoopers Mews and Henry was now a carriage cleaner with the railway.

William enlisted at Hounslow in the London Regiment and joined the Royal Fusiliers (4^th Batallion). He was killed in action on 27^th March, 1916 and has no known grave.  He is remembered on the Menin Gate at Ypres.

 

George Paynter

George was born in Acton and the 1901 Census shows the family as living at 2 Burlington Mews.  He had four brothers – Thomas, Charles, James and John and a sister Mary.  His mother, Sarah, was a widow by then.  By 1911 the family had moved to 10 Petersfield Road, and George is shown as a Van Boy.

George enlisted at Hounslow as a Private in the 8^th Royal Fusiliers and died of wounds sustained during the Battle of the Somme on 10^th July, 1916. He was buried in the Puchevillers British Cemetery in the Somme, France. He was 21.

 

Bertram Richard Hayward

Bertram was born around 1885 in Plymouth and in 1901 was a laundry clerk living with his family – father Frederick who was a railway clerk, mother Julia, older sisters Lillian and Mabel and younger sisters Florence and Ethel. The family were living at 19 Allison Road in the parish of St Dunstan, East Acton.

By 1908 he has joined the army and was in the Royal Horse Artillery based at Aldershot where on February 18^th he married Lily Gaylor and in the 1911 census he is based overseas. Lily is overseas with him at that time and they have had one child who has died.

Bertram died on 6^th June 1915 at the age of 30, probably during the third battle of Krithia. He had been transferred to the 26^th Battery of the Royal Field Artillery and was a 2^nd Lieutenant and is remembered on the Helles memorial which stands at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsular. His widow Lily was living at 37 Devonport Road, Shepherds Bush at the time of his death and his parents had continued to live in Acton.

 

Stanley Wright

Edwin Stanley Wright was born in 1886. The family, father Edwin, a chemist, mother Annie and brothers Charles and Thornton lived in Church Street, Hadleigh in Suffolk. A few years later the family has moved to Clare, also in Suffolk, but Thornton had died, aged four, by then. The 1901 Census shows his father as a chemist and wine merchant and there was a servant called Kate Tuttle

Stanley served as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. He was killed in battle on 3^rd July, 1916 and is buried in Ovillers Military Cemetery in the Somme in Northern France. At the time of his death his family was living at 18 Messaline Avenue in Acton.

 

Cuthbert Alfred Rodham

Cuthbert was born in Fulham in 1896 to John and Harriett Rodham.  He was baptized at St Stephen’s Church in Shepherds Bush.  By 1911 the family had moved to 15 Hereford Road in Acton.

Cuthbert worked for the Great Western Railway as a clerk and with other work colleagues enlisted in 1914. He was a private in 2^nd/3^rd Battalion of The City of London (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment and sailed for Malta just before Christmas, 1914.  After several months he was moved to the Soudan and later took part in the operations in the Dardanelles.  He became seriously ill and was transferred to a hospital in Alexandria where died from lockjaw on 8^th December, 1915.

Cuthbert is buried in the Portianos Military Cemetery on the island of Lemnos in Greece.

 

Frederick George Robinson

Frederick was born in 1896 to Andrew, a carpenter, and Marie (or Maria) Robinson, and lived in Percy Road in Shepherds Bush.  He was the youngest of seven children.

The 1911 census shows the family living at 30 Derwentwater Road in Acton and that two of his sisters had left home.

He enlisted at Fulham in August, 1914 and was a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery, ‘A’ Battery, 83^rd Brigade.  Frederick was killed in action on the first day of the second battle of Paschendale, 26^th October, 1917.  He is buried in the Bard Cottage Cemetery near Ypres in Belgium.

 

Archibald F Graham

Archibald Foster Graham was born in Waterloo, Liverpool in 1893. He was the son of Archibald and Mabel Graham and had a sister, Margaret, who was two years older.  In 1901 the family was living in Boscombe near Bournemouth.  Archibald senior was a ‘Tea & Coffee merchant and Grocer’. The family had a governess, a parlour maid and a kitchen maid.  In 1911, by which time the family had moved to Summertown in Oxford, Archibald is shown in the census as a student.  At Oxford the family only had one servant named Julia. 

Archibald was a second lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery but had transferred from the Durham Light Infantry in January 1915.  He was mentioned in despatches but was killed in action on 11^th November 1915 and was buried in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery. However, at present, no connection with Acton has been discovered and it is not known why his name is on our War Memorial.

 

Montague Gane Jefferys

Montague Gane Jefferys was born on 26^th November 1895 and baptised at All Saints, South Acton on 1^st February 1896.  His parents were William George and Ellen Jane Jefferys of Thorndean, Avenue Gardens in Acton. Montague had a sister Muriel and a brother Leslie.  William was a chartered Accountant. By 1901 the family had moved to 34 Avenue Gardens.

Montague was a lieutenant in the 10^th Battalion the Middlesex Regiment (Territorial Forces). He served in Egypt from 11^th October, 1914 and Mesopotamia (Iraq) from 2nd October, 1916.

Montague was killed in Mesopotamia on 18^th January, 1917 and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial in Iraq. Montague’s probate shows him as living at Malvern Avenue Crescent, Mill Hill Park, Acton.

 

Albert George Richards

Albert was born in Coningsby Road in Ealing in 1888. He was the son of Thomas and Maria Richards and had two brothers, Percy and Ernest, and two sisters, Alice and Edith.  Thomas was a carpenter.

In 1901 the family was still living in Coningsby Road but the 1911 census shows Albert’s profession as a fishmonger and he was a lodger in Mountfield Road in Ealing.

On 25^th October, 1916 Albert married Harriet Waite at St Mary’s Church. They were living in Chaucer Road when Albert was killed in action on 14^th April, 1917. He was a Lance Sergeant in the 16^th Battalion, London Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles). He is buried in Bootham Cemetery, Heninel in Northern France.

 

William Litten

William was born in Sunningdale near Windsor on 9^th October, 1888. The son of Benjamin and Emily Litten, he had four sisters. On 7^th January, 1911 he married Sarah Ann Brown at St Mary’s Church; they lived at 11 Chaucer Road. The 1911 census shows him as a Leading Seaman in the Royal Navy serving as a ‘torpedoman’.

He was killed when he fractured his skull in a cycling accident, near Plymouth, in 1915 where he was serving on HMS Onyx.  At the time his wife was living in Slough and William’s funeral was held there at St Mary’s Cemetery.

 

Arthur John Roker

Arthur was born in 1892 in Kensington, the youngest child in a family of two boys and two girls.  His father, John, was a carpenter and Arthur’s mother was Edith.  In 1901 the family was living at 31 Alfred Road but by the time of the 1911 census had moved to 9 Apsley Terrace in Horn Lane.  Arthur became an apprentice at Napier & Sons in The Vale.

In July, 1914 he sailed on the ship Suffolk to Brisbane in Australia as an engineer.  When war broke out he enlisted with the 13^th Brigade of the Australian Field Artillery and eventually became a corporal.

His unit moved to Belgium where Arthur was killed on 29^th September, 1917.  He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres in Belgium.

Arnold had been a bell ringer at St Mary’s Church.

 

Guy Watford Pomeroy

Guy was born in 1891, the son of Samuel Richard, a schoolmaster, and Charlotte Sophia, a schoolmistress, and baptized at St Stephen’s Church in Shepherds Bush on 5^th September that year. Watford was his mother’s maiden name.  He was the youngest of five children along with brothers Arthur, Gerald and Harold and sister Hilda.  The family lived at 49 Bloemfontein Avenue, Shepherds Bush and subsequently moved to 5 Alfred Road in Acton.  Guy became a carpenter and joiner with the building firm of Green & Abbot. 

Guy joined the Royal Flying Corps as an Air Mechanic.

Guy died on 1^st February, 1918 in The Cambridge Hospital in Aldershot and was buried in the Aldershot Military Cemetery.

 

Frederick Henry Kent

Frederick was the second child of William Henry and Louisa Alice Kent, who had married in 1896, and was born in 1899 in Pimlico. Their first son Ernest had been born in Wiltshire and was a bus driver. By 1901 the family had moved to Tooting where Frederick was to get five more siblings – Sydney, Louisa, Albert, Daisy and Eileen.  The family then moved to 254 High Street, Acton and another daughter, Eileen, was born.  There had been another child who died when young.

Frederick joined the 7^th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and was killed, aged 19, on 3^rd April, 1918.  He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in Northern France.  At the time of Frederick’s death the family was living at 3 Mill Hill Terrace in Acton.

 

Cyril Edward Knight

He was the youngest of ten children born to Mary Ann Knight and Thomas Crosby Knight.  Thomas had been a barrister’s clerk but had died on 17^th July, 1899 leaving Mary to raise eight children.  In 1901 Cyril,  aged 5, was living at 23 Avenue Road, Acton with his family: Mary his widowed mother aged 45, and his  brothers and sisters – Florence 19, Charles 18, Arthur 16, Constance 15, Archibald 12, John 10 and Mildred 8.  The family also had servant Lillian Mandler.

By 1911, the family had moved to Crosby House in Avenue Gardens and the household  consisted of  his mother Mary, Arthur 26, an insurance clerk, Archibald 23 a shipbrokers’ Clerk, John 20 a draughtsman. Cyril 15 at school, Constance 25, Mildred 19, a student, and a servant, Edith Brooks.

Cyril was killed on 4^th April, 1915, aged 19.  He was a Private in the 2^nd London (Field) Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps and was buried in Ramparts Cemetery, Lille Gate near Ypres in Belgium.

When he died he had an estate of  £678, about £47,000 at todays prices.

 

Ernest Pope

Ernest was born in 1888 and baptised at All Saints Church on 10^th March, 1889.  At that time his father, William, was a general labourer, and his mother was named Caroline.  The family, which included two other boys, Charles and George, was living in Osborne Road in Acton.  By 1901 the family had moved to 17 Petersfield Road and the census shows William as a ‘carman’ and Charles as an ‘errand boy’.

On 25^th August, 1912, Ernest married Edith Maud Mitchell, who had been living in Kensington, at St Mary’s Church, Acton and they moved to Burlington Mews.  On the marriage certificate Ernest is shown as a ‘carman’.

When War was declared Ernest enlisted at Shepherds Bush and became a private in the 8^th Battalion of The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment).  He died from his wounds on 30^th April, 1916 and is buried in the Dranoutre Military Cemetery in Belgium.

 

Hubert Henry Lucas

Henry was born in 1891 and baptised at St Stephen’s Church, Battersea on 7^th May that year.  His father, also named Hubert Henry, died in 1908 and Hubert’s mother, Fanny, then married Alfred Roads who worked on the railways.  Hubert then had five stepsiblings from Alfred’s previous marriage.  On 14^th September, 1912, Hubert married Mabel Louise Smith at St Mary’s Church in Acton and they set up home together at 11 Shakespeare Road.

Hubert was a Private in the 2^nd/10^th Battalion of The Middlesex Regiment.  He was killed in Palestine on 26^th March, 1917 and has no known grave but is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial.

 

William W Keen

William was born in Harlington in Middlesex, in 1899, and was the youngest child of Henry and Louisa Keen.  William had a brother, Henry, and three sisters, Ethel, Florence and Rosetta.

By 1901 the family had moved to 23 Petersfield Road in Acton.  Henry was employed as a general labourer.  In addition, William’s uncle, Thomas, and Thomas ‘ daughters; Eliza, 16, Maud, 14 and Annie, 10 were living with them.

In 1911 the family was living at 1 Vine Cottages, Back Street in the Steyne and occupied six rooms.  The household consisted of Henry, who was by then a labourer working for  Acton Council, Louisa, William’s mother, Henry, Ethel, Florence, Rosetta and William, who was 12 by then. Living with the fasmily was Charles Smith, a “boarder”, Lizzie Tillyer a “relative” and  Lillian Baldwin “laundress”.

William Keen was a private in 1^st Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and died of his wounds on 8^th May, 1918 aged 20.  He is buried at Nine Elms British Cemetery in West-Vlaanderen in Belgium.

 

Alfred H Pellow

Alfred Henry Pellow was born in Acton in 1897.  His father was William Rowe Pellow and his mother Alice.  They had married in 1880 and lived in Shakespeare Road.  William was a Police Constable.  By 1901 the family had moved to Myrtle Road in Acton.  He had three brothers; William, Frederick and Albert, and two sisters; Alice and Florence.

He went to Central School (occupying part of Derwentwater School) and was a member of St Mary’s Bible Class. In 1911, by which time there were three more daughters: Ethel, Lilly and Hilda, Alfred was working as an errand boy.

He had enlisted in A Company, Duke of Cambridge’s Own (4^th Middlesex) Regiment in February, 1915 and in August, 1916 was sent to France.  On 1^st May, 1916 he was admitted to Leicester Military Hospital after being wounded in the foot.  After recovering he visited his family and returned to France in September.

Alfred was killed in action in Arras, France, on 11^th October, 1917. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial at Faubourg-D´Amiens Cemetery in Arras, France.

 

William Henry Arnold

William was born in 1891 in Starch Green, Shepherds Bush, and baptised at St Saviour’s Church on 22^nd November.  His father was Joseph, a plumber, and his mother was Rose Gertrude.  William had five sisters: Elizabeth, Rose, a laundress, Violet, a domestic servant, Lilly and Ada, and a brother Joseph.  The family lived in Cobbold Road.

By 1911 the family had moved to Petersfield Road and William was a Printer’s Labourer.

William joined the 2^nd/10^th Battalion of The Middlesex Regiment.  He was killed on 26^th March, 1917 whilst serving in Egypt.  He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial which stands within the Jerusalem Cemetery.

 

John William Harris

John, often known as Jack, was born in Acton in 1892, the son of Samuel a hay binder and Hilda, a laundress.  He had three brothers: Edward, Thomas and James, and four sisters: Elizabeth, Elsie, Hilda and Ivy. The family lived in Essex Park Mews, near Lexden Road.  John went to Priory School and then went to work as a coach painter with Napier’s.  He was goalkeeper for Napier’s football team and he also played for St Mary’s football team.

By 1911, his father had died and the family was living in Petersfield Road.  In 1912 he married Rose Florence Greenwood at St Mary’s Church and they eventually had two children.

John joined the RAF in 1916 but transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and then to the 11^th Battalion, Tank Corps.  His brother, Edward was in the Royal Marines.

In March, 1918 he was gassed and was treated at the base hospital. However, on 23^rd August, 1918 gas passed through his tank killing him.  He is buried in Bucquoy Road Cemetery in Ficheux in the Pas de Calais.

 

Harry Munday

Henry (Harry) was born in Brentford in 1894.  His parents were Alice and John and he had two brothers, Joseph and John and two sisters Ellen and Lily.  John senior was a carriers’ stableman.  The family lived in Providence House in Albany Road, Brentford.  The family subsequently moved to Hoopers Mews in Acton.

In 1914 he was working in a cinema in Horn Lane, as well as helping a Mr Nicholls in King Street, Acton, when he joined Kitchener’s Army in October that year. He was rejected as unfit but was later allowed to join the Middlesex Regiment.  He was badly injured in France late in 1917 and was sent home and treated in Sheffield Military Hospital.  Harry was returned to the front in March 1918 but died that October from fatal wounds.

Harry’s brothers had also joined the army and since August, 1918 Joseph had been a prisoner of war. 

 

William Bradley

John William Bradley was born in 1879.  On 8^th January, 1911 he married Florence Ingram at St Saviour’s Church in Shepherds Bush and the following year their son Jack Eric was born.  The family lived in Churchfield Road in Acton.  On 11^th December, 1915 he enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers on a Short Term Attestation and later transferred to the 7^th Battalion of the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment).

William was killed on 25^th July, 1917 and is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. 

On his headstone is the inscription ‘How fresh is our remembrance of him we loved so dear’.

 

Frank Dean

Frank Thomas Dean was born on 10^th February, 1890 and baptized at St Mary’s Church on 12^th of the same month.  His parents were Thomas and Emily and the family lived at 27 Church Road.  In due course Frank had three brothers, Thomas, David and Frederick, and four sisters, Daisy, Eveline, Ellen and Sarah. Thomas was a general labourer and Emily an ironer. He went to Priory School and then went to work for Napier’s. The 1901 census shows the family as living at 34 Strafford Road but by 1911 they were living at 135 Bollo Lane.

On 17^th April, 1911 Frank married Lilian Baldwin at St Mary’s church and they eventually had two children.

Frank enlisted on 19^th March, 1915 but was invalided out the following month with a double rupture.  He became a driver with the Royal Army Service Corps but whilst serving in Egypt he contracted malarial fever and died in Alexandria on 23^rd October, 1918.  He is buried in the Beirut War Cemetery in Lebanon.  At the time of Frank’s death his widow and two children were living in Richard’s Cottages in Acton.

Two of his brothers were also serving in the forces.

 

Harold S Clinch

Harold Seymour Clinch was born at Manor Farm in Perivale in 1896.  He was the son of Alfred Clinch, a farm labourer, and his wife Mary Ann.  Mary Ann had two sons, Edwin and Frank, during a relationship before she married Alfred in 1891.  By 1911 the family had moved to Steyne Road in Acton and Harold was a grocer porter.  Harold’s father died in 1914.

Harold enlisted for the army at Ravenscourt Park in January, 1917 and joined 1^st/8^th Battalion, of the Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex) Regiment as a private.

Harold was killed, aged 19, on 23^rd August, 1916 and is buried in Flatiron Copse Cemetery at Mametz in the Somme.  Amongst his effects was the sum of £1.15.0d which his mother received in 1919.

 

William Crombie

William Henry Douglas Crombie was born on 25^th September, 1891 in Clerkenwell, the son of William and Mary Ann. He was baptized on 24^th November, 1893 at St James’s Church in Clerkenwell.  William, the eldest of the children, had a brother, James, and three sisters, Jessie, Gladys and Eileen.

By 1911 the family had moved to St Kilda Road in West Ealing but William’s father is not shown on the census of that year but Mary Ann is shown as still married. William was a motor fitter and his mother ran a boarding house.

On 30^th March, 1912 William married Lillian Bell Ridler in Brentford and they moved to Gunnersbury Lane.  They had three children, Eileen, Kathleen and James but James died less than a year after his birth.

William joined the 9^th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment as a private.  He appears to have been killed in action on 4^th October, 1918 at the Battle of the Beaurevoir Line and, as he has no known grave, is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial in the Pas de Calais.  He had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.  The D.C.M. was awarded for gallantry in the field in the face of the enemy.

 

William Henry Fox

William was born in Acton on 14^th October, 1881 and was baptised at St Mary’s on 11^th December that year.  At the time the family was living in Billington Place.  His father, John, was a gardener, and Ann, his mother, was a laundress.  He had four siblings: Fanny, Alfred, George and Thomas. 

In 1901 William was lodging at 4 Nelson Place and was employed as a gardener.  His mother had died in 1897, his brother, Thomas died in 1904 and his father in 1911.

On 25^th October, 1902, William married Lilian Gale at All Saints’ Church and they eventually had four children: Lilian, born in 1904; William, born 1907; Ivy, born 1911 and Hilda born in 1913.

In 1911 William and Lilian were living in The Lodge at The Elms (now Twyford CofE School) but then moved to Berrymead Gardens.

In 1915, William enlisted at Hounslow Barracks and joined the 1^st/10^th Battalion of The Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex) Regiment as a private in India.

William died in India on 28^th September, 1918 at the age of 37 and is buried in the Lucknow Cantonment Military Cemetery.

 

Walter George Jessett

Walter was born in Acton in 1890 when the family was living at Cotchips Cottage in The Steyne. His father, George was a house painter, and his mother, Ada, folded laundry.  Walter had three sisters, Harriett, Elizabeth and Ada and a brother, George.  By 1901 the family had moved to Winchester Street.  His mother, Ada, died in 1907.

In 1911 he joined the 1^st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment then based at South Front Barracks, Wester Heights in Dover.

Walter was killed, aged 24, in action on 27^th October, 1914 along with 140 members of The Royal Berkshire Regiment.  A total of 568 servicemen were killed that day.  He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres.  (There is a total of 158 names of soldiers on the Menin Gate killed that day who have no known grave.)

 

Leonard Alexander Barnard

Leonard was born on 10^th October 1894 and baptised at All Saints Church on 4^th November of that year. The family: father Charles Henry and mother Harriet, lived at 50 Antrobus Road when Leonard was born. There were eventually five sisters: Florence, Maud, Daisy, Vellie, Violet and Eva, and three brothers; Maxwell, Harry and Alfred.  The family had moved to Kingswood Road when Alfred was born in 1899.  There had been another brother, Stanley, but he had only lived for two months.

Leonard’s father who was a ‘collector’ died in 1900 and his mother then married James Fishenden and they moved to Battersea where Leonard went to Latchmere School in Wandsworth. They had a daughter but she lived for less than six months.  The family subsequently moved to Colnbrook. 

Leonard enlisted in Fulham and joined the 1^st Battalion of Princess Victoria’s (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment as a Private.

Badly wounded in France, Leonard was returned to England and to The Derbyshire Royal Infirmary where he died on 12^th October, 1915.  On 20^th October, he was buried in St Mary’s Burial Ground in Churchfield Road.

 

John Ritchie-Brown

John was the third son of Dr and Mrs J Ritchie-Brown. John’s family came from Saltcoats in Ayrshire and John followed his father into the medical profession and became an army doctor with the Royal Army Medical Corp, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He was 43 when he died and his grave is in Forceville Communal Cemetery on the Somme. He had been attached to the H.Q 43^rd Heavy Artillery Group, Royal Garrison Artillery and died on 7^thNovember, 1916.

Just inside our church door is a wooden cross on the wall.  This cross would originally have marked his grave and later been replaced by one of the familiar white headstones used by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These crosses were often presented to the families but the practice eventually ceased as it was causing so much grief to the families. It appears that John’s widow Marion was living in Acton at the time of his death and it’s likely she gave the cross to the church in memory of him.  Marion moved away shortly afterwards and never remarried.

 

Alfred Seymour Acres

Alfred was born in Camden Town in October, 1868 and baptised at Christ Church, Albany Street, on 31^st December that year.  His parents were Alfred, a furniture salesman, and Elizabeth. Alfred Jr, who also became a furniture salesman, had a sister, Violet who was born in 1869 but tragically died just 10 years later and two brothers Arthur and George.  The family moved to Islington in 1881. Alfred’s father died in 1895 and his mother in 1910.

He was married, in Wanstead, on 29^th August, 1904 to Lillian Barter and the couple moved to 16 Goldsmith Road in Acton.  They eventually had three children – Lillian, Albert and Alfred.

Alfred enlisted with the Royal Fusiliers on 25^th September, 1914 and later became a sergeant in the 11^th Battalion Queens Own (Royal West Kent Regiment).

He died at the age of 48 at the Battle of the Somme on 7^th October, 1916 and has no known grave but is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in Somme, Northern France along with 72,000 other casualties.

 

George Charles Fairweather

George was born on 19^th June, 1880 in Bethnal Green, the son of John and Elizabeth and baptised at St Matthias Church, Bethnal Green on 11^th August, 1880.  On 14^th June, 1909 he married Martha Christie and by 1911 he was a dairyman and they were living at 21 Berrymead Gardens. 

He joined the Royal Navy serving as a leading seaman and died on 28^th November, 1915 when the vessel he was serving on, the “William Morrison” a hired trawler which was acting as a minesweeper, hit a mine and sank in the North Sea.  He was buried at St Mary’s Church, Shottery in Suffolk.  At the time of his death Martha was living at 16 Berrymead Gardens.

 

Harold Sidney Havelock

Harold was born in 1891 in Notting Hill.  His father, Robert, was a clerk in a preserves and provisions factory and his mother, Caroline, was usually known as Carrie.  Harold also had two sisters, one of whom, Lily, was a dressmaker and the other sister, Gertie, was a School Board teacher.  There were also three brothers: Alfred, Ernest and Horace.  In 1901 the family was living in Messaline Avenue but by 1914 had moved to 27 Hereford Road and Harold was, by then, a Stock Broker Clerk.

Harold married Annie Selma Peel on 4^th July, 1914 and they moved to Grasmere Avenue. On 14^th November that year he enlisted in the Army Pay Corps and then transferred to the 75^th Battalion of the Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) as a private.

Harold died from malaria on 11^th October, 1918 and buried in the Kantara War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt.  The inscription on his headstone says “AT REST”.  He was mentioned in Despatches.  In his will he left £225 12s 6d to his wife.

 

George James Haynes

George was born Barnsbury in 1898 and baptised on 12^th June, 1898 at Holy Trinity Church in Islington.  William, his father, was a Commercial Traveller in the woollen trade and his mother was called Emily.  The family moved to Kensington where his sister Laura was born.

He joined the 17^th Battalion Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex) Regiment and in due course became a 2^nd Lieutenant.  George was killed on 16^th June, 1918 and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in Northern France.

 

Edward John Vincent Hewett

Edward was born in Shepherds Bush on 16^th September, 1896 where two of his sisters, Isabella and Maud, and his brother Richard were also born.  His father was Richard, a house painter, who later became an alderman on the local council, and his mother was called Emily.

By 1911, the family had moved to Beaumont Road in Acton.  Four more boys: Arthur, Frank, Douglas and Patrick; and three more girls, Kate, Gwendoline and Vera were born there.  By then his father was a builder and builders’ merchant.  Edward studied at Beaumont Park School and Acton Central School and then went on to be a butcher.

Edward joined the18th Battalion of the London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) as a rifleman.

Edward died on 4^th September, 1918 aged 18 in Bethune in northern France and is buried in Maroc British Military Cemetery in the Pas de Calais.  On his gravestone is inscribed.

‘GLORIOUS WAS THE SACRIFICE TO GIVE HIS

LIFE FOR THE FREEDOM OF ALL’

 

Harold Hill

Harold was born in Shepherds Bush on 7^th September, 1887, the son of Justus, a painter of figures and landscapes, and Hannah Elizabeth. 

He eventually had ten siblings: sisters Florence, Edith, Jessie, Mabel and Beatrice, and brothers Justus T Hill, George, Roland, Sidney and Albert.  By 1901 the family had moved to Faraday Road in Acton.

Harold was baptised at St Mary’s Church, at the age of 25, on 30^th November, 1912.  His sister Jessie, by then married to Sydney Hart, was baptised at the same time at the age of 31.  They were living in Shalimar Gardens at that time.

Harold became an Air Mechanic, 1^st Class at the RAF’s 1^st Aeroplane Supply Depot Repair Park.  He died of wounds, at the age of 32, on 4^th October, 1918 and is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery in Wimille in the Pas de Calais.

 

Henry Horace Higgins

Henry was born in 1895 and baptised on 12^th May that year at All Saints Church. Henry’s parents were Charles Adolphus and Elizabeth.  At that time the family was living in Palmerston Road.  By 1901 the family was living in the Magnus Tavern in Twickenham and the census shows Charles as being a “Beer Retailer”.  Henry was the eldest of eight children – brothers Frederick, Charles, Leonard and Percy, and sisters Ethel, Elsie and Emily.

The family later moved back to Acton and lived in Antrobus Road.  Charles was a greengrocer and Henry was a greengrocer’s assistant.

Henry joined the 2^nd Battalion of The Royal Fusiliers as a private.  He was killed in action on 14^th April, 1917.  He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in Faubourg-d’Amiens Cemetery.  He had been awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

 

Sydney Charles Hobrough

Sydney was born in Notting Hill on 8^th September, 1898 and baptised at St James Norland in Kensington on 23^rd October that year.  His father was William James, a laundry assistant, and his mother Fanny Maria (nee Constadine).  Sydney had a sister, Florence, and three brothers, William, Albert and Lenhard.  The family lived in Latimer Road in Hammersmith and eventually moved to Palmerston Road in Acton where his father and sister, worked in a laundry.  Sydney became an assistant postman in 1915.

Sydney joined the Royal Fusiliers as a sergeant before moving to the 11^th Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.  He died of wounds on 24^th June, 1917 and is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Nord in Northern France.  He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

 

William Charles Hone

William was born in Enfield in 1893, his parents being Alfred and Mary. The family was living in Hackney by 1901 but had moved to Fletcher Road in Acton by 1911.  William eventually had five siblings; sister Maude and brothers George, Robert, John and Stanley. Before joining the army William was a messenger.  He enrolled in the army as a gunner in "C" Battery 177th Fulham Brigade of the Royal Artillery.

William was seriously injured at the Battle of the Somme and brought back to England, where unfortunately, he died of his wounds on 29^th October, 1916, aged 24.  He is buried in Acton Cemetery and is named on the War Memorial there.  On his headstone is the poem:

“Life’s race well run

Life’s work well done

Life’s crown well won

Now comes rest”

 

Frederick John Husk

Frederick was born in Camberwell 1892, the son of John and Eliza Husk who also had a daughter, Edith.

Frederick was a law clerk before joining the army where he became a Second Lieutenant in the 301^st Siege Battalion, Royal Garrison Artillery.  On 31^st August he married Florence at St Alban’s Church and they moved to live in St Alban’s Avenue.

He was killed on 21^st March, 1918, during the German Spring Offensive, and was one of the 8,000 men killed that day.

He is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial in the Somme area of northern France. He was entitled to the Victory Medal and British War Medal and was mentioned in Despatches.

 

Horace Victor Jellis

Horace was born in Acton in 1893, the youngest child of Thomas, a paperhanger, and Ellen.  He had two brothers: Leonard and Alfred, and two sisters: Kate and Daisy. The family lived in Fletcher Road in Acton.

Horace enlisted in Lancaster in August 1914 and joined the 3rd Reserve Battalion, King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) as a private.  He sailed for France in November, 1914.  Horace fought at The Battle of Hill 60 in May, 1915 where he was seriously wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans.  He died not long after from his wound at Gettin in Germany

He was awarded the British, 1914 Star and British medals.

”A valiant soldier with undaunted heart he breathed Life’s last hill”

 

Frederick William Judd

Frederick was born in Shepherds Bush and baptised at St Saviour’s Church on 10^th February, 1899.  He was the youngest of the three sons of George and Clara and there were also six daughters.  His father was a bricklayer and Clara was an ironer at a laundry.  The family lived in Cobbold Road and later moved to Colville Road in Acton. He attended Osborne Road School and joined All Saints’ Boys’ Brigade.

In March, 1915, at the age of 16 Frederick joined the Middlesex Regiment but was subsequently transferred to the London Regiment where he became a corporal.  In 1918 he went to France but was killed during an attack on 24^th August, 1918.

He was buried in Vis-en-Artois Memorial Cemetery in the Pas de Calais.

Frederick’s brother, Lance Corporal Percy Judd, was killed on 7^th July, 1916 and at the time of Frederick’s death his eldest brother, George, had been serving in France for nearly four years.

 

Godwin Francis Kemp

Godwin was born in Kensington and baptised on 26^th June, 1917 at St Philips Church in Kensington. His father, a solicitor, and his mother was called Harriet.  He had an elder brother, Alexander, and a younger brother, Thomas, born in 1900.

In 1911 Godwin was studying in Tranmere near Birkenhead. He joined the 3^rd Battalion of the Borders Regiment becoming a 2^nd Lieutenant but his short life ended when he was killed on 23^rd April, 1917 during the Battle of Arras.  He was awarded the Victory Medal and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in Northern France.

Although listed on St Mary’s War Memorial no connection with Acton has been found so far.

 

Charles Richard Larner

Charles was baptised on 8^th January, 1893 at St Dunstan’s Church.  He was one of the 10 children of Daniel and Charlotte Larner.  Daniel was a bricklayer and his sister Emily was a servant.  The family lived in Stanley Gardens.  His mother died when Charles was 15.

Charles was a grocer’s porter when he enlisted at Hounslow at the age of 18.  He became a corporal in the 9^th Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps and was wounded at the Second Battle of Ypres. He came back to England and when recovered returned to battle and was again wounded.  This time at De’ville Wood during the ‘Big Push’.

On his third action he was killed on 9^th April, 1917 whilst leading a charge during an offensive and is buried in Tilloy British Cemetery in Tilloy-Les-Mofflaines in Northern France.

Charles’ brother Alfred had been killed in action on 1^st March, 1917 and two other brothers also fought in the war.

 

Walton Noël Olliff-Lee

Walton was born in Barrow in Furness, Lancashire on Christmas Day. 1889.  His father, a Land Agent, was also named Walton and Walton junior’s mother was Charlotte.  Charlotte was Walton senior’s second wife. There were seven children in the family; Marjorie, Mary, Ann, Edith, Charles, John and Walton.

The family moved to Blenheim Road in Acton where they also had a servant, Kate Dyer. Marjorie worked for the Civil Service and Walton’s father was still a Land Agent. In 1909 Walton graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Science in Engineering at London University and attended Imperial College in Kensington.  On 2^nd May, 1914 Walton was elected an Associate Member of The Institute of Civil Engineering. After acting for a time as assistant at the City and Guilds College, he joined the engineering staff of the Indented Bar and Concrete Engineering Company, and assisted in the design of various reinforced-concrete structures, acting as Resident Engineer on the construction of a large warehouse at Manchester.

At the outbreak of war, Walton joined the 28^th London Regiment as a private and subsequently obtained a commission as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 1^st Battalion of The South Staffordshire Regiment.  On 25^th September, 1915 he was seriously wounded whilst fighting at the Battle of Loos in Northern France and died soon after. He was buried in Loos Memorial Cemetery in the Pas-de-Calais.

He was awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal.

 

Robert Spall VC

Bob Spall was born on 5^th March, 1880, the son of Charles, a gardener, and Ann Maria.  He had two sisters; Annie and Isabel, and three brothers; Charles, Herbert and Sydney.  The family lived in Spencer Road.

On 23^rd April, 1892 the family sailed from Liverpool on SS Lake to a new life in Canada.  (On the passenger list Charles is shown as a farmer.)  At first they lived in Montreal but later moved to Winnipeg where Bob was a Customs Broker.

In July, 1915 Bob joined the 90^th Infantry Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and sailed to Europe. He achieved the rank of sergeant in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

He was killed on 13^th August, 1915 near Parvillers whilst protecting his men from a German attack when their platoon had become isolated. His original grave was destroyed by later fighting but he is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Pas de Calais in France. Because of his gallantry he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

The citation for his Victoria Cross in the London Gazette read as follows:

“No. 475212 Serjeant Robert Spall, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Eastern Ontario Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force. On 12th/13th August 1918 near Parvillers, France, during an enemy counter-attack, Serjeant Spall's platoon became isolated, whereupon he took a Lewis gun and standing on the parapet, fired upon the advancing enemy, inflicting many casualties. He then came down from the trench and directed his men into a gap 75 yards away, after which he picked up another Lewis gun, again climbed the parapet, and held up the enemy with his fire but while doing so was killed. Owing to Serjeant Spall, who deliberately gave his life, the platoon was saved.”

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of the Regiments in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

On 13^th August a Victoria Cross paving stone was unveiled outside the house in Spencer Road where Bob lived.  The service was attended by the Mayor of Ealing, Lieutenant Colonel, Stephen Day, members of the council and members of The Royal British Legion and the blessing and prayers were led by our Associate Rector, Dean.

 

Reginald Conway Lloyd

Reginald was born in St Pancras on 5^th December, 1893 and baptised on 2^nd September, 1894 at St Andrew’s Church in Havelock Hill.  His father was Henry Walter, a tailor’s cutter, and his mother was Elizabeth May.  Reginald had a sister, Vera Isabel, who was an art student.  The family later moved to Twyford Crescent in Acton where they also employed a servant, Mary Jones.  By then Reginald was employed as a Draper’s Assistant.

Reginald became a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 1^st Battalion, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, previously the 21^st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.

Reginald was killed on 3^rd November, 1916 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.  The memorial, in the Somme region of Northern France, commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave.

 

Robert George Lowe

Robert was born in Stamford Brook in December, 1896.  His father was Robert, a carpenter and joiner, and his mother was named Elizabeth.  He had four sisters: Louisa, Edith, Elice and Ethel, and three brothers: Fred, Bertie and Ernest.  The family moved to Beaumont Road in Acton and Robert was then employed as a shop boy for a wallpaper manufacturer.

Robert joined the 2^nd/10^th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment as a private but was killed on 25^th April, 1917. He is buried in the Deir el Belah War Cemetery in Palestine.

The inscription on his grave reads:

HIS COUNTRY CALLED HE FOUGHT & WON

ALAS A MOTHER LOST A SON

 

Sydney Clarke

Sydney, or sometimes spelt Sidney, was born in Richmond, Surrey, in 1888, the son of Walter, a gardener, and Mary. His siblings were Mary, Annie, George, Walter and Gersham. The family lived in Barnes, where Sydney was a draper’s assistant. The family later moved to Stirling Road in Acton and Sydney was an assistant to a fishmonger.

Sydney enlisted at Hounslow and joined the 9^th Battalion of The Royal Fusiliers. He was killed on 3^rd March, 1916 and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial in the Pas-de-Calais with 50 other soldiers who died that day.

 

Also from our War Memorial we remember the following of whom there is very little information at present:

Edward Morris

Joined the 2^nd/10^th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment.  He lived with his parents Charles and Hannah in Winchester Street. He died from his wounds on 12^th November, 1916 and is buried in Acton Cemetery.

Frank Morris

Enlisted in Hammersmith and joined 7^th Battalion, City f London Regiment. He died on 18^th May, 1918 and is buried in the Ribermont Communal Cemetery Extension in the Somme.

 

Dorothy Crowther

Dorothy Maud Mary Crowther is the only female named on the All Saints Roll of Honour for the First World War.  Dorothy was born in July 1901 and baptised at All Saints Church on 18^th August that year.  Her father, Frederick, was a bricklayer and her mother was named Sophia.  At that time the family lived in Somerset Road.  The family later moved to Stanley Road.  In due course, Dorothy had four siblings: Alec, Fred, Elsie and Winnie.  The 1911 census shows Alec, aged 15, and Fred, 14, being employed as van boys.

Dorothy’s father died in 1909 and Sophia remarried.  In due course there were also two half-sisters.

At some stage during the First World War Dorothy became an employee at a munitions factory.  Sadly, Dorothy was killed in an explosion at the munitions factory in April 1918 aged just 16. 

The verdict at the inquest said that it was an “Accidental Death”.  Dorothy was buried on 8^th May, 1918 at Acton Cemetery in Park Royal Road.  The grave is still visible but the headstone is rather worn.

At the time of Dorothy’s death her brothers were serving in Mesopotamia and her step-father was serving in Italy.

 

Leonard Jeffery Helliar

Leonard was born in Willesden on 23rd September 1895.  His father, John, was a furniture salesman, and his mother was named Ellen.  He was baptized on 17th November that year at St Paul’s Church in Willesden.  Eventually he was joined by a sister, Muriel, who was born in 1902.  At that time the family was living in Plympton Road in Willesden.  In 1904 Leonard was attending St Augustine’s School in Willesden.

By the time of the 1911 census the family had moved to Buxton Gardens in Acton.

In 1914, Leonard joined the Inns of Court Officers Training Corps as a private.  The Corps, a Territorial Army Unit, based at 10 Stone Buildings in Chancery Lane, adjacent to Lincoln's Inn, was closely associated with the legal profession.  Its cap badge combined the arms of the four Inns of Court.

In January 1915 he enlisted as a Gunner in 6th London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery and later became a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, 235th Brigade.

He was wounded whilst fighting in France and was later killed in Flanders on 14th May 1917, aged 21, and is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium.

On his grave is the following inscription:

YOU ARE NOT DEAD YOU LIVE FOR EVER IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS

 

 

This is the series remembering the Fallen of Acton which started in August, 2014.  With thanks to those who made contributions:  Tanya Bolton, David Bush, Mary Spredbury and Alan McCallum.