Above, the new War Memorial in the grounds of the Village Hall, dedicated on Sunday 18th November 2018 at 11.00am.
The memorial, in the form of a sundial, was the inspiration of Bobbie Edwards, parish council chairman. The key parts of the sundial are of Portland stone. In the dial's granite tile centre are the words: "The Memorial is dedicated to everyone from East Stour who has been affected by war. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them." The design was by David Brown, known for his Queen Elizabeth Park sundial for the Olympics.
The Memorial project, funded entirely by public donations, was managed by East Stour parish councillor Guy Gilding and took four years.
Above left is the Memorial plaque in East Stour church, above right is the Memorial plaque in East Stour Village Hall (also includes soldiers who served and returned).
Details of the soldiers associated with East Stour who gave their lives in the 1st World War are listed below.
If you have anything to amend or add to these stories, please contact the website manager at office@gillinghammuseum.co.uk
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BRIXEY G
8281 Sergeant G Brixey, 2nd Wiltshire Regiment, died 29 September 1915.
The Western Gazette reported on 3 December 1915, in its ‘Roll of Honour’ – “Died from wounds on September 29 Sgt G Brixey (2nd Wilts Regiment) son of Mrs Brixey of East Stour, Gillingham.”
The information about this soldier is scant. Current records found do not reveal his Christian names nor family.
He was awarded the 1914 Star.
Sgt. Brixey is remembered at the Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery near Bethune, on the main road to Arras. He is also remembered on the memorial plaques of East Stour Church and the Village Hall.
Entry posted 13 July 2024 - amended 24 August 2024 (DJL)
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CRYER George
15865 Private George Cryer, 1st Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment died 11 August 1918.
George was born in 1896 at Merrow, Surrey, the son of Cecil William George and Mary Cryer. George married Minnie Ida Ethel Wadman at East Stour on 24 May 1915. They had one child, Cecil William George Cryer.
George enlisted at Sturminster Newton and initially served with the Machine Gun Corps (service no.26545). Later, with the 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment, he died in France on 18 August 1918 and although his final resting place is unknown, he is remembered on the memorial plaques of East Stour Church and the Village Hall and also the Vis En Artois Memorial, France (panel 7).
The Vis-en-Artois Memorial is a World War I memorial located near the commune of Vis-en-Artois, in the Pas-de-Calais département of France. The memorial lists 9,843 names of British and South African soldiers with no known grave who were killed during the Advance to Victory, from 8 August 1918 to the Armistice.
Entry posted 8 July 2024, amended 24 August 2024 (DJL)
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FLOWER Tom
3/8570 Private Tom Flower, 1st Battalion. Dorsetshire Regiment died 2 May 1915.
Tom Flower was born in Gillingham in 1879 to parents Worthy and Lydia Flower. He was baptised at Gillingham on 10 March 1884 and confirmed there on 11 December 1894. Worthy Flower and family lived in Common Mead Lane, Gillingham and census records show them there in 1881, 1891 and 1901. Tom’s siblings were Ellen, James, Ambrose, John, Mary, and Henry.
On 26 December 1905 Tom married Alma Moore at East Stour. The 1911 census shows Tom 32 and Alma 26 living with Alma’s parents, Edward and Eliza Moore, at East Stour. Tom and Alma had 3 children Edward Bertram 14 May 1906, Lillian Ethel 19 April 1909 and Reginald Tom 4 January 1913.
In October 1914 Tom enlisted with the Dorsetshire Regiment. He saw action in France and Flanders and died of poison gas on 2 May 1915. He was awarded the British, Victory and 1914/15-star medals. The medals were sent to his widow Alma in 1921 by which time she had remarried, and Toogood was her surname.
Tom is remembered on the Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord I.A. 165. Bailleul is a large town in France near the Belgian border.
He is also remembered on the memorial plaques of East Stour Church and the Village Hall.
Entry posted 14 July 2024 (DJL)
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FOWLES Arthur
7559 Private Arthur Fowles of 2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment died on 31 August 1918 age 33.
Arthur, born 10 May 1886, was the son of Jonah and Hannah Fowles of Lotmoor Hill, East Stour. His known siblings were Worthy, Alice, Mary, Louise, Kate, George, Annie, and Charles. Three died young, Ellen, Ernest, Edith and possibly two others. They lived not far from Highbridge Mill.
Arthur enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment at Sherborne on 14 February 1905. His attestation papers are part of the ‘burnt records’ and are therefore not clear. However, he was 5’ 10” and weighed 146lbs.
He was injured in action near Shaiba on 14 April 1915 and invalided from Field Service on 4 May 1915, embarked on Hospital Ship “Madras” (left) and landed in India on 10 May. During 1915 and 1916 his records show that he was in and out of hospital suffering from pleurisy, sprained ankle and a left lung wound and was wounded in action at Ctesiphon. He rejoined his unit in 1917.
Following this period, he ended up at Gelebek as a prisoner of war. He died there on 31 August 1918 from dysentery and possibly malaria.
Arthur is remembered at the Basra Memorial in Iran (panel 22 & 63). This combined British-Indian memorial to the missing, unveiled in 1929, includes on its panels the names of all British personnel and Indian officers.
A two volume Roll of Honour listing all casualties buried and commemorated in Iraq has been produced and are on display at the CWGC Head Office in Maidenhead. Digital versions of these Rolls of Honour are available to view online.
Arthur is also remembered on the memorial plaques in East Stour Church and the Village Hall.
Entry posted 13 July 2024 (DJL) updated 22 Sept.2024
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GRAY Bertram William
6112 Private Bertram William Gray, 1st Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment, died 24 August 1914 age 30.
Bertram William Gray was born in 1883 to parents Robert and Annie Gray. In 1891, Bertram was living in Back Street, East Stour, with his mother Annie (glover), and siblings Charles, Ethel, Mabel and Fred.
On 29 January 1906 Bertram married Beatrice Ellen Myall at Stour Provost Church. In the 1911 census for East Stour is Bertram 27 bricklayer, Beatrice 24, and their children William Bertram 4 and Robert Charles 3.
In WW1 Bertram served with the Dorsetshire Regiment in France and was killed on 24 August 1914 during the first battle of Mons, France.
He is included on the La Ferté-sous-Jouarre Memorial which commemorates 3,740 officers and men of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) who fell at the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Marne and the Aisne between the end of August and early October 1914 and have no known graves.
He is also remembered on the Memorial plaques in East Stour Church and the Village Hall.
There are references on internet comments that Bertram may have served in the Boer War 1899-1902. However, the evidence is not conclusive.
NB. Bertram’s widow remarried in 1916 to Bertram Kendall.
Entry posted 13 July 2024, amended 24 August 2024 (DJL)
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HAYTER Henry Alfred George
37959 Private Henry Alfred George Hayter, 1st/5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry died 11 April 1918.
Henry was baptised at East Stour on 18 September 1898 and his parents were Henry Edwin Hayter and Ellen (neé Francis) who had married in 1883. Ellen died 18 May 1900 and the 1901 census shows Henry senior with children Emma 16, Lily 14, Anna 7, Henry 2 (known as Harry). Henry senior remarried in 1905 to Mary Stone. The 1911 census shows Henry, 53, Mary (2nd wife) 39, Harry 13, with his stepsisters Elsie 6, Violet 2.
Henry enlisted at Sturminster Newton and served in WW1 with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.
He was killed in action on 11 April 1918. Henry is remembered on the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing (panel 6), a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial in Belgium for missing soldiers of World War I. It commemorates men from the Allied Powers who fought on the northern Western Front outside the Ypres Salient and whose graves are unknown.
Henry is also remembered on the memorial plaques in East Stour Church and the Village Hall.
Entry posted 12 July 2024 (DJL)
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HUNT Frank James George
J/19360 Able Seaman Frank James George Hunt, H.M.S.’Invincible’, Royal Navy died 31 May 1916 age 21.
Frank was born on 19 March 1895 in Sturminster Newton. When he was baptised on 12 May 1895 at Okeford Fitzpaine church his parents were given as Martha Mary Hunt and Frederick Collins (blacksmith). On census returns Frederick uses Hunt as a surname. In 1901 Frederick and Martha are living at Front Street, East Stour together with Frank 6 and Walter 3. In 1911 the family are at 18 Front Street and Frank, now 16, has five siblings.
Frank joined the Royal Navy on 13 March 1913 for 12 years. The ships he served on included ‘Vivid’, ‘London’, ‘Victory’, ‘Vernon’, ‘Liverpool’, and ‘Invincible’ (from November 1914).
He was present at the battle off the Falklands in November 1914 but died in active service when serving on HMS Invincible. The ship was the lead British ship in the Battle of Jutland and destroyed by a magazine explosion during the battle after the armour of one of her gun turrets was penetrated. Of the crew of 1031 only six were saved.
Frank is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial and on the Memorial plaques in East Stour Church and the Village Hall.
Entry posted 10 July 2024, amended 24 August 2024 (DJL)
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KENDALL Ernest George
12855 Private Ernest George Kendall, 5th Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment, died 12 November 1918.
Ernest was born at Coles Lane Farm, St. James. Shaftesbury in 1891 to parents E Charles Kendall and M A Kendall and was baptised at St. James church on 23 December 1891.
In 1901 the family are at Shearstock Farm, Gillingham – Charles 46 is an agricultural manager, wife Mary A 42, children William H 19, Bertram C 16, Sybil A 14, Ernest 9, Rosetta M 4. In 1911 Charles and Mary are at East Stour Common with their children Bertram, Ernest (farm labourer), Rosetta, and Sybil.
In WW1 Ernest served with Dorsetshire Regiment at the Dardanelles, Egypt and France. He was transferred from the Dorsets to the 477th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps (No.353685). He died of sickness 12 November 1918 age 26. He was awarded the Victory and British medals.
The Western Gazette of Friday December 6 ,1918 announced the following: Roll of Honour – In loving memory of Private Ernest George Kendall, SCLC, who died 12 November from pneumonia at Fovant Military Hospital, youngest son of E C and M A Kendal, The Common, East Stour age 26 years.
He is remembered on the Memorial plaques in East Stour Church and the Village Hall.
The CWGC memorial cross is in East Stour churchyard.(photographed July 2024 -DJL)
Entry posted 10 July 2024 (DJL)
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KENDALL Herbert George
9875 Private Herbert George Kendall, 5th Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment died15 August age 21.
Herbert was born in Stour Provost in 1895 and baptised there on 8 September of the same year. His parents were Emmanuel and Mary Susan Kendall. In 1901 the family, including siblings John, William and Ellen, were at Farris Farm, Stour Provost. Herbert’s father died in 1902. In 1911 Herbert (15) was living at East Stour with his mother and brother Ivor Charles.
Herbert was ‘called up’ and attested at Gillingham 10 August 1914. His papers recorded him as 5ft 10”, with brown eyes and brown hair. He was home based until 30 June 1915 before going to the Dardenelles He received gunshot wounds to the head on 3 August 1915 and died on 15 August at the 21st General Hospital in Alexandria.
Herbert’s brother Ivor served with the 1st Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment and died in active service on 27 February 1918.
Herbert was awarded the Victory, British and 14-15 Star medals.
He is remembered at the Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery J.94 and also on the East Stour Church and Village Hall memorial plaques.
Entry posted 1 September 2024 (DJL)
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KENDALL Ivor Charles
3/8382 Acting Corporal Ivor Charles Kendall, 1st Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment, died 27 February 1918 age 35.
He was born in 1882 at Stour Provost to parents Emanuel and Mary Susan Kendall. In 1891 he was living at Stour Provost with his parents and siblings John, Alice and William. Ivor’s father died in 1902. In 1911 Mary Kendall was now head of household, still in Stour Provost, with Ivor 28, Herbert 15 and a boarder. Ivor married Edith Annie Fowles on 31 August 1914 at East Stour.
On 29 September 1914, Ivor enlisted at Gillingham for Short Service. He was 5ft 8”, 148lbs with 37½ chest. His ‘burnt records’ reveal that discipline was not his strong point – there are references to him being absent on a number of occasions and drunk. He had three separate spells of service in France and died in active service on 27 February 1918.
He was awarded the British War, Victory and 1914 Star medals.
He is remembered at the Tyne Cot Memorial (Panel 92) and on the East Stour Church and Village Hall memorial plaques.
Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. The cemetery and its surrounding memorial are located outside Passendale, near Zonnebeke in Belgium.
Entry posted 10 July 2024 (DJL)
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KING Ernest William
Gunner 195948 Ernest William King, 6th Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, died 22 March 1918.
Ernest William King was born in 1881 at East Stour, son of William John and Martha King.
In 1901 the family were living at The Common, East Stour, (not far from The Kings Arms) - William 37, Martha 40, Ernest 10, Annie 8, Bessie 6. In 1911 the census recorded William 45, Martha 52, Ernest 20 (tree feller/wood sawyer), Annie Hilda 18, Olive Bessie 16. On 26 December 1911 Ernest married Ida Louise Lapham.
Ernest and his wife Ida had three children Hilda Lily born 8 November 1913, Frieda Kate 28 July 1912 and Harold William 16 August 1917.
On 30 November 1915 Ernest enlisted at Gillingham and records state that his service with the Royal Artillery started 27 September 1917 and was on ‘Home’ service until 6 March 1918 before going to France on 7 March. Two weeks later Ernest died of wounds. His grave is at the Roye New British Cemetery II.E.8 in France.
Ernest was awarded the Victory and British war medals. His personal items, sent home to his widow at Hunger Hill, East Stour consisted of letters, pipes, a cigarette box, knife, purse and coin.
The following appeared in the Western Gazette of 28 March 1919: ‘In ever loving memory of our only son, Driver Ernest William King RGA, East Stour, who was killed in France March 22, 1918, aged 27. A year has passed, and still we miss him, Some may think the wound has healed; But they little know the sorrow, That within our hearts conceal. Still mourned and sadly missed by all at home.
Ernest is also remembered on the East Stour Church and Village Hall memorial plaques.
Entry posted 9 July 2024
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LEMON Charles
14795 Private Charles Lemon, 35th Heavy Battery Royal Garrison Artillery, died on 20 February 1916 age 29.
Charles was born in 1887, the son of Thomas and Eliza Lemon of Hartgrove, Shaftesbury.
In 1891 the Lemon family were at East Orchard – George Thomas 47, Eliza 47, John 22, Samuel 15, George T 13, Sarah Ann 11, William P 8 and Charles 4. In 1901 Charles, now an agricultural labourer was still at Hartgrove with his parents and siblings Sarah Ann 21 (parlour maid) and William P 18 (soldier). Charles married Florence Mabel Foyle and in 1911 Charles (now a cowman) and his wife were at West Hill Cottage, West Knoyle. They had 2 children Kathleen Annie (b.1912) and Mabel (b.1913).
In WW1, Charles served with the Royal Garrison Artillery and died in France on active service.
He is remembered at Le Touret Military Cemetery, Richebourg-l’avoue, France. III.D.15, on the East Stour Church and Village Hall memorial plaques and on a family burial stone in St. Thomas’ churchyard, East Orchard, near Shaftesbury.
Entry posted 10 July 2024, images added 24 August 2024 (DJL)
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LODDER John Walter
573044 Corporal John Walter Lodder, 17th Battalion London Regiment died1 October 1916 age 20.
John Walter Lodder, baptised at West Stour on 21 June 1896, was the son of John and Eliza Lodder.
In 1901 the family were living at Lynch, West Stour – John 69, Eliza 58, Tom 20, Sidney 17, Bessie 16, Bertie 10, Daisy 7 John 5. The 1911 census for East Stour shows John 69, Eliza 58, Bertram 20, and John Walter 15. Bertram and John were farm labourers. John and Eliza were married for 40 years and had 10 children during that time.
John died in active service with the 17th Battalion, London Regiment when serving in France.
He is remembered on the Warlencourt British Cemetery VIII.G.19, and on the East Stour Church and Village Hall memorial plaques.
Warlencourt British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for military personnel who died on the Western Front during the First World War. It is located in the Pas de Calais region of France.
Entry posted 9 July 2024 (DJL)
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MANSFIELD Frederick
Gunner 43223 Frederick Mansfield, 83rd Battalion, 11th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, died 18 August 1917 age 28.
Frederick was the son of Charles Mansfield and Alice Mansfield and was baptised at East Stour on 28 October 1888.
In 1901, Charles, a groom, and Alice were living in Back Street, East Stour with daughter Maud 14 and son Frederick 12. In 1914, Frederick, now living in Lymington, married Maggie Ethel Maud Goodall. Their son, Ernest Ralph was born 16 December 1916 and baptised at Curdridge, Hampshire. Frederick was a gunner with the Fleet Auxiliary.
Details of Frederick’s enlistment etc. are not currently known but during WW1 he served with the Royal Field Artillery. He served in France and Flanders and died of wounds.
He is remembered at the Dozinghe Military Cemetery IV.B 9, in Vieteren, Belgium and on the memorial plaques of East Stour Church and Village Hall.
Posted 8 July 2024 (DJL)
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MARTIN Tom
SS/20185 Private Tom Martin, 28th Labour Co., Royal Army Service Corps died on 27 July 1916.
Tom was born at East Stour in 1873 to parents William Edward Martin (a thatcher) and Annie. He was baptised at East Stour on 16 November 1873.
On 29 December 1902, Tom married Alice Victoria Hillyer at Stour Provost. They had one son, James, born 19 June 1911.
During WW1 Tom served in Malta where he died on 27 July 1916. He was awarded the Victory, British and 15 Star medals.
He is remembered at the Pieta Military Cemetery, Pieta, Northern Harbour, Malta, on a memorial stone in East Stour Churchyard and on the East Stour Church and Village Hall memorial plaques.
Entry posted 8 July 2024 (DJL)
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PARSONS Orlando Joseph
12448 Private Orlando Joseph Parsons, 1st Battalion, formerly 6th Battalion, Dorset Regiment died 19 November 1916.
Orlando was born in Faringdon Street, London on 13 December 1889. In 1891 he was living at ‘Hunger Hill’, East Stour with his aunt Annabella Parsons, Harry Maidment and Ellen Maidment (sister of Annabella). Orlando first attended school at East Stour on 4 September 1894. In 1901 he was living at Head Lane, East Stour with his uncle Walter Parsons. The census of 2 April 1911 shows Orlando with the Parsons family still and also his brother John.
On 7 August 1911, Orlando married Alice Eliza Mullett at Henstridge, Somerset. They had one son, Joseph Raef, born on 27 September 1912.
In 1914 Orlando’s Attestation to join the Dorset Regiment was completed on 15 November. He was 24 yrs 11 months. He was 5ft 10”, 133lbs, of fresh complexion and had dark brown hair.
He started in the 2nd Battalion and was in France 13 July 1915 to 10 July 1916. He was wounded in his left hand and face and returned to the UK with a spell in Liverpool hospital.
He returned to France on 8 October 1916 and joined the 1st Battalion. It was here that he died on 19 November 1916.
He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 7B) and on the East Stour Church and Village Hall memorials. The CWGC certificate shows his name incorrectly as ‘Orlande’.
Footnote:
An internet search on 1 September 2024 revealed an entry regarding the sale of Orlando’s
memorabilia etc. by Cottees Auctions, Poole on 19 July 2016. See right. The description is below:
A set of three WWI General Service medals, awarded to 12448 Private Orlando Joseph Parsons, Dorset Regiment together with his bronze Death Plaque, Citation Certificate and Official Notification of Death from the Infantry Record Office, Exeter Station dated 8th December 1916, certifying that Private Parsons was Killed In Action on the 19th of November 1916, signed by Colonel in Charge of Records H. S. Scholes.
The lot also contains two personal pencil and ink written letters addressed to his wife, from Second Lieutenant G. N. Wood serving in D Company First Dorset Regiment, BEF France, dated November 27th 1916 in which he describes the attributes of Private Parsons who he had known for nearly three months and was 'one of the best men' he had together with a further letter written later from France in the same hand giving more details of the death to a Parish Priest who had written asking for further details on behalf of his mother. A photocopy photograph of the Soldier and his family is also included with the lot.
Below: Image of Orlando, Alice and son Joseph with medals.
A transcription of the letters is below:
Letter written to Mrs Parsons from G N Wood, 2nd Lieutenant
D Coy, 1st Dorset Regt., B.E.F France Nov 27th 1916
I am writing to you now to express my deepest sympathy with you in the loss of your husband. As you have no doubt heard he was killed in action in the German trenches on the 19th, together with many other good men of the regiment, and I can assure you that all who knew him regret his loss very much.
Pte. Parsons has been in my platoon for nearly three months, and was one of the best men we had, and I am sure that all the other officers of the company will join me in expressing their sympathy with you.
Yours very sincerely, G N Wood 2nd Lieutenant
Letter to the parish priest
D Coy, 1st Dorset Regt., B.E.F France Dec 13th 1916.
Dear Sir,
In answer to your letter of Dec. 4th I shall be most happy to give you all the information I can about Pte Parson’s death.
I believe that one of our men, named Cox, a great friend of Parsons, has written to Mrs Parsons and told her some of the particulars of his death but perhaps I can give some further details.
The battalion was holding a captured position in the second line of German trenches under very heavy artillery and rifle fire when Parsons was hit and killed instantly in the trench by a sniper. The men who were with him at the time say that his death must have been quite painless.
I am afraid I can give you no definite information about his burial but I know that after we were relieved the bodies were brought back and buried in Mailly military cemetery near Beaumont Hamel.
The remainder of the letter is partly covered.
Entry posted 3 September 2024 (DJL)
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PHILIPS Charles Philip
29295 Private Charles Philip PHILLIPS, 7th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, died 24 January 1918 age 33.
Charles was born on 5 November 1885 to parents Philip and Mary Phillips of East Stour. Charles attended East Stour School starting on 15 April 1889. In 1891 the family were living in Back Street, East Stour and the children consisted of John 14, Frank 12, Ellen 10, Nellie 7, Charles 5 and Bessie Sarah 3. In 1901 Charles, aged 15, was working as a baker’s apprentice. Ten years later the census showed that Charles was in the same trade as his father working as a wood sawyer/felling timber. Charles’ brother William was a portrait photographer and well known in the district.
In 1914 Charles joined the Royal Army Service Corps having enlisted at Gillingham. His service number was S/4/035594. Unfortunately, his military records have not survived so we have lost a lot of detail. However, we do know that he later joined the 7th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment and fought in France and Flanders. Charles died of wounds on 24 January 1918. He is remembered at the Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt, France (below) and on the Church and Village Hall memorials in East Stour.
Rocquigny and Equancourt are two villages in the Department of the Somme, some 13 kilometres north of Péronne and 12 kilometres south-east of Bapaume. Rocquigny and Equancourt are approximately 8 kilometres apart and the Rocquigny-Equancourt British Cemetery lies about halfway between the two villages on the north side of the road just west of the crossing road from Etricourt to Ytres.
Entry posted 4 September 2024 (DJL)
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WADMAN Cecil William
44087 Private Cecil William Wadman, 18th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, died November 1917.
Cecil was born on 31 May 1896 and baptised on 21 June 1896 at East Stour Church. He was the son of William Arthur Wadman and wife Ada Annie neé Marsh. William worked at Gillingham Brickyard.
The 1911 census shows Cecil (brickyard labourer) and his sister Violet living in East Stour with their grandmother, Mary Ann Marsh.
Cecil joined the Great Western Railway on 9 September 1914 and worked at Llanelli Station (Neath division). He left on 12 March 1915, presumably to enlist.
He served in France and Flanders and on 23 November 1917 he was reported ‘missing’ presumed dead.
He is remembered on the memorial plaques of East Stour Church and the Village Hall, and on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval, France. The Cambrai Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial to the missing soldiers of WW1 who fought at the Battle of Cambrai on the Western Front.
Entry posted 8 July 2024, updated 24 August 2024 (DJL)
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WEBBER George William
8522 Lance Corporal George William Webber, 2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment died in 1916 age 26.
George William Webber was born on 1 April 1889 to parents James William and Elizabeth Webber and was baptised at Broadmayne, Dorset on 19 March 1889.
In 1891 the Webber family, including George’s brother Samuel 5 and sister Mabel one month were living at Brick Kiln Common, Broadmayne. In 1901, the family were living at The Star Inn, 7 High Street, Shaftesbury, where James was the innkeeper. George was one of 6 children at that time.
George became a railway porter, presumably at Gillingham, and on 21st September 1908, he enlisted in the army. He was already a volunteer with the 4th Dorset Regiment. His papers show he was 5 feet 8½inches, with a ruddy complexion, blue eyes and auburn hair. He was of the Baptist faith.
He was found fit to join the Scots Guards. He served in India between 6 October and 15 October 1914. By the time WW1 broke George was in the Dorset Regiment. He served in Bombay in 1914. In September 1915 he was wounded in action near Kut-al Amara. The Siege of Kut-al-Amara (7 December 1915-29 April 1916) was the besieging of an 8000 strong British Garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Following the surrender of the garrison in April 1916 the survivors of the siege were marched to imprisonment. George was presumed to be a P.O.W. at a working prison camp at Bagtche, Turkey. A survivor of the imprisonment reported that George died from dysentery and therefore his date of death was recorded in Army records as being between 1st and 31st of October 1916.
George’s war medals were sent to his father, who by 1921, was living at Cowslip Farm, East Stour. George’s siblings were Samuel, John, Herbert, Arthur, James, Mabel, Florence, Dorothy and Kathleen.
George is remembered at the Basra memorial, Iraq (panel 22 and 63).
The image below shows the original memorial which was moved to the desert in the late 1990s by Saddam Hussein’s regime. The memorial is currently undergoing major repairs by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
George is also remembered on the memorial plaques in East Stour Church and Village Hall.
Entry posted 24 August 2024 (DJL)
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