The Memorial Plaque is in St. Michael's Church, Stour Provost. (photo courtesy Wendy Waters)
Listed below are soldiers, associated with Stour Provost, who gave their lives in the 1st World War.
Research undertaken by David Lloyd of Gillingham Local History Society.
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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AYLES Edward Hugh
9987 Private Edward Hugh Ayles, 6th Battalion, Dorset Regiment, died on 12 October 1917, age 36.
Edward was the son of George and Mary Ayles and was baptised on 30 May 1881 at Stour Provost.
The census of 1891 shows George 54 (Ag. lab), Mary A 46, Sidney J 19 (Ag. lab), Emily L 14, Mary 12, Rose 6, Ann 3, John 10 months and of course Edward who is now 12.
Edward enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment and was killed on 12 October 1917. He is remembered at Tyne Cot Memorial (panel 92), West Vlaanderen, Belgium.
He is also remembered on the Memorial plaque in Stour Provost Church
Note: In Ancestry records there is reference to Edwin Ayles, Dorsetshire Regt. Private 9927. His effects were sent to Emily Ayres, (possibly his sister.) It is probably the same person.
Entry posted 7 July 2024 (DJL)
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CAPEL CURE Basil Alfred
Captain Basil Alfred Capel Cure of 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment died from wounds on 1O October 1916 in Greece.
Basil was born on 24 December 1892, the son of the Rev. Edward Capel Cure, Rector of Stour Provost Church, and Maria Capel Cure. He had two siblings, Lawrence Henry born 1889 and Violet Florence born July 1891.
Basil was educated at Mr. John’s Winton House, Winchester from which he won a scholarship at the choir school, King’s College, Cambridge. On leaving there he went to Sherborne and Sandhurst and joined the 2nd Gloucester Regiment in April 1912. On the outbreak of war his regiment was recalled from North China and went to France. Subsequently it was moved again to another front.
Basil took part in the Salonika campaign. Between 1915 and 1918 British troops were part of a multi-national Allied force fighting against the Bulgarians and their allies in the Balkans. Although disease and harsh conditions took a heavy toll, they eventually brought the campaign to a successful conclusion. It is not yet known when Basil was sent to Greece.
Basil died of wounds at Bala-zir, Salonika on 10 October 1916.
Basil is remembered at the Lahana Military Cemetery, Lachanas, in Greece, Sherborne School Book of Remembrance (below left) and at St Michael’s church, Stour Provost where his father was the Rector.
Entry posted 7 July 2024 (DJL)
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HASKETT Henry John (also known as John)
58508 Private Henry John Haskett, Machine Gun Corps Infantry died 21 March 1918, age 30.
Henry was baptised at Stour Provost on 21 September 1888, son of Charles and Ellen (neé Shute). The family lived at Dover Street, Stour Provost. In 1891, Charles and Ellen were at Stour Provost with Sidney C 7, Henry J 3 and Fred 7 months.
In 1911, the family were living at Stour Row – Charles (farm labourer) 58, Ellen 61, John (house painter 23, Fred (farm labourer) 20. Charles died in 1912.
When WW1 broke out Henry enlisted at Gillingham. He joined the Machine Gun Corps but was killed in action on 21 March 1918.
He is remembered at the Arras memorial, bay 10, in France and on the Stour Provost Church memorial plaque, and the Stour Row plaque formerly situated in All Saints Church. Following the closure of All Saints the plaque was re-erected in the Stour Row Village Hall (former Congregational Church).
Entry posted 7 July 2024 (DJL)
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IVES Henry (known as Harry)
17364 Private Henry Ives, ‘A’ Coy., Dorset Regiment, died 24 December 1917 age 23.
Harry is thought to have been born in London in 1895 to William and Alice Ives.
In 1901, Harry 6 was boarding at Stourton Caundle with the Crocker sisters, both retired schoolteachers. With Harry were his sisters Alice 9, and Florence 8 and brother William 5.
In 1911 Harry is a wheelwright apprentice boarding with widow Christian Tucker 81 at Green Lane, Stour Row.
Harry enlisted at Shaftesbury and joined the Dorset Regiment. He served in Mesopotamia and died of pneumonia on 24 December 1917.
He is remembered at the Baghdad (North Gate) war Cemetery part1 and also on the Stour Provost Church memorial plaque, and the Stour Row plaque formerly situated in All Saints Church. Following the closure of All Saints the plaque was re-erected in the Stour Row Village Hall (former Congregational Church).
Note:The Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery contains 4480 interments and commemorations, and many graves are marked by Commonwealth War Graves Commission gravestones. The Cemetery is located in a very sensitive area in the Waziriah Area of the Al-Russafa district of Baghdad, Iraq which makes it extremely challenging for the CWGC to manage or maintain the cemeteries and memorials within Iraq.
Posted 7 July 2024 (DJL)
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JELLIFFE Charles William
306653 Charles William Jelliffe, mechanician in the Royal Navy died on 1 November 1914.
Charles was born on 9 March 1885, the son of Julia Jelliffe of Compton Chamberlayne. In 1891 he was living with his mother and grandmother at Compton Chamberlayne. Charles’ mother married Mark Myall on 13 December 1905. Charles joined the Royal Navy in 1904 and by 1911 he was serving on HMS Leander and is recorded as stoker petty officer Engine Room. His mother was living at Stour Row with her husband Mark in 1911.
In 1914 Charles was serving on HMS Monmouth, an armoured cruiser launched in 1901.
Monmouth was sunk by the Imperial German Navy at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November 1914 off the coast of Central Chile near the city of Coronel. Of the 734 personnel who died 42 were officers and 692 ratings including 24 Royal Marine band members and 46 boy sailors (whose only service will have been to have sailed with the ship from the UK to their death at Coronel). No one was rescued because of heavy seas and night-time conditions.
Left: Map shows position of HMS Monmouth when it was sunk. Below: HMS Monmouth.
Charles is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial and on a plaque in St Michael’s Church at Stour Provost. He was also remembered on the war memorial plaque in the church at Stour Row. That memorial was moved to the Stour Row Village Hall in May 2022. The spelling of his surname on the memorial is Jeliffe but most documents spell it as Jelliffe.
Entry posted 1 July 2024 (DJL)
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MARTIN Stanley
345056 Chief Electrical Artificer 2nd Class Stanley Martin died on 26 November 1914.
Stanley was born on 14 November 1879 to parents George and Charlotte Martin and was baptised on 5 December 1879 at Stour Row church.
The 1881 and 1891 census shows the Martin family living at 7 Stour Street, Stour Provost. George was a postman and Charlotte (née Barnes) was a shopkeeper/grocer.(see photo right)
George’s siblings were Anne, Bertha, Edgar, Hugh and Ethel.
In 1902 Stanley married Alice Julia Matilda Tilley in Portsmouth. It was around this time that Stanley enlisted in the Royal Navy for 12 years.
Expecting his discharge when he was a Chief Electrical Artificer Class 2, he was posted to the battleship HMS Bulwark in early 1914. Shortly afterwards he was awarded a bonus for inventing a combination lamp holder that would be used thereafter by the Royal Navy.
On 26 November 1914 the Bulwark, a 15,000-ton battleship, was moored at Kethole Reach
on the River Medway. She was taking on coal. At 07.50, as the crew were having breakfast, an explosion ripped the ship apart. Eyewitnesses stated that once the smoke had cleared there was no sign of the ship. Debris from the explosion fell up to four miles away.
In all, the explosion killed 745 men and 51 officers. 14 men survived but all were wounded and 5 of them later died. The subsequent naval court of enquiry found that either a fault with one of the shells or overheating cordite near a boiler room bulkhead could have started a chain reaction which destroyed the ship. Stanley was one of those who died.
He left a widow and daughter, Doris M Martin.
Stanley is remembered on the Memorial plaques at St.Michael’s Church, Stour Provost, Stour Row Village Hall, and Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
Entry posted 6 July 2024 (DJL)
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PIKE Horace Fred
11045 Private Fred Pike, 6th Battalion, Dorset Regiment died 4 July 1916 aged 19.
Fred (as he was known) was born on 15 October 1896. He was baptised Horace Fred at Todber Church on 20 December 1896. His parents, Ernest Pike and Rose (neé Acourt) were living at Stour Row.
In 1901 the Pike family were living at 4 Todber Gate, Stour Provost. Ernest, 30, was a farm labourer, Rose, 28, a gloving machinist, Horace Fred was 4 and his brother Howard 3. Also living with the family was Ernest’s widowed mother, Elizabeth 74.
The 1911 census shows the family at Woodville, Stour Provost. Ernest and Rose are with sons Horace Fred, Howard, Arthur and Harold.
Fred attested ‘fit for service’ on 31 August 1914 and was enlisted at Gillingham in the Dorset Regiment. His height was recorded as 5ft 8½ ins and weighed 140lbs.
His full Service Records are unclear as they were part of the ‘burnt documents’ caused by bombing damage in WW2. However, his early service was in Dorchester, Grantham, and Wyke Regis until he was sent to France on 1 June 1916.
In France, on 1 July, he received gunshot wounds to the thigh, and he died from his wounds on 4 July 1916.
He was awarded the British, Victory and 1914/15 medals. These were sent to his mother who by that time was living at Manor Farm, Ansty, Wiltshire with the remaining family.
His grave is at the Gézaincourt Communal Cemetery Extension, Picardie, France.
He is also remembered on the Memorial plaque at Stour Provost Church and a Memorial plaque at Ansty (below).
Entry posted 6 July 2024 (DJL)
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PIKE Robert Charles
5664 Lance Corporal Robert Charles Pike, 10th Battalion, Army Cyclist Corps, died 7 July 1917, aged 28.
Robert was born in 1889 and baptised at Stour Provost Church on 22 February 1889. His parents were Albin John Pike and Agnes Ellen Pike (neé Pike). The family lived in Farm Lane, Stour Provost and in 1891, when Robert was two, his siblings were Fred, William, Annie, and one week old Alfred. Sister Mary was born in 1896.
When Robert left school, he became an apprentice wheelwright for Maidment & Son, East Stour.
In 1909 he attested to serve the Dorset Regiment special reserve as a private and his army
number was 8812. In March 1915 he was transferred to the Army Cyclist Corps as 5664 Lance
Corporal. He served in the field in France and Flanders but on 7 July 1917 he was seriously wounded with fractured face, skull and legs and died the same day from his wounds.
He was awarded the Victory, British and 14 Star medals.
Robert was buried in the Bus House Cemetery, West Vlaanderen, Belgium.F.5
He is also remembered on the Stour Provost Memorial plaque.
Entry posted 4 July 2024 (DJL)
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PIKE William
11043 Lance Sergeant William Pike, 1st Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment died 4 July 1916, aged 22.
William was baptised on 15 April 1894 at Stour Provost. His unmarried mother was Emily Matilda Pike of Stour Row, daughter of Solomon Pike.
In 1901, Emily was living at Stour Provost with her two sons, Reginald Harry, 11 and William, 7 and her mother (head of household) Rodah Pike, 68, widow, born in Todber.
Emily married Harry Rake at Stour Provost Church on 25 May 1903.
In 1911 Harry Rake, farm labourer, and wife Emily were living at 18 Stour Street, Stour Provost, with William now 17, and Harry and Emily’s sons John 6 and Douglas 2.
William’s war record is unavailable (burnt records) however the Western Chronicle of Friday 18 August 1916 quoted a report from the North Dorset Church Magazine regarding William.
“It is with deep regret that we record the death of Lance Sgt, William Pike, who died of wounds received in action at the beginning of July. His whole career had been honourable. At the outbreak of the war, without a moment’s hesitation, he enlisted, his fine soldierly qualities soon procuring him promotion. He was all through the Gallipoli Campaign and was one of the 27 who survived the disastrous attack which reduced his regiment of 500 to a memory, as glorious as it was sad. From Gallipoli he was invalided with a severe attack of dysentery, which at one time threatened to be fatal. After convalescing and some successful work in England in training recruits he returned to France and gave his gallant life for his country. Our sympathy for his mother is the deeper that she has just received news that her eldest son is a prisoner – somewhere in Turkey. He was one of the unfortunate garrisons of Kut-al-Amara, who fought and who hungered on such meagre rations for a mistaken strategy.” NB. This was Reginald Harry Pike who must have survived as in 1920 he married Edith Mary Kendall.
William is remembered at the Thiepval Memorial, Picardie, France - Addenda Panel 1 and on the Memorial Plaque in Stour Provost Church.
Entry posted 6 July 2024 (DJL)
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RALPH Edward Tom (known as Tom)
481 Private Edward Tom Ralph, 1/1st Dorset Yeomanry died in Turkey on 21 August 1915, aged 23.
Edward Tom was baptised on 13 March 1892 at Donhead St. Mary church. The 1901 census finds him at Yew Tree Farm, Stour Provost with parents James 37 and Eva 32 and his siblings Una, Gilbert, Walter and Ivor. In 1911 Edward was at Duncliff Cottage, Stour Row working as a farm assistant for Harry Pike, farmer.
Serving with the Dorset Yeomanry in 1915 he was killed in action at Gallipoli.
He was awarded the 1914-15 Star.
His resting place is unknown, but he is remembered at the Helles Memorial in Turkey. (panel 18A). On the same panel is T H J Phillips, age 23, from Eddix Hill Farm, Gillingham who died on the same day.
Tom is also remembered on the Stour Provost Church memorial plaque, and the Stour Row plaque formerly situated in All Saints Church. Following the closure of All Saints the plaque was re-erected in the Stour Row Village Hall (former Congregational Church).
Tom's brother Walter also served in WW1 and was killed in 1918.
Entry posted 2 July 2024 (DJL) updated 3 July 2024
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RALPH Walter Lynn
15164 Private Walter Lynn Ralph, 2nd Battalion Dorset Regiment, died 19 September 1918.
Walter was born on 20 March 1896 and baptised on 10 May 1896 at Stour Provost. His parents were James and Eva.
In 1901, the family, including Walter with his siblings Una, Gilbert, Tom and Ivor were living at Yew Tree Farm, Stour Provost. James was a tenant farmer.
In 1911 there were two more siblings, Iris 8 and Cornelia 3.
On 3 January 1912 Walter joined the navy on Impregnable as a Boy 2 rating. His service number was J15247, and the description was 5ft 6ins tall, chest 34, brown hair, blue eyes, a fresh complexion, and a birthmark on his left forearm. However, one month later he was invalided out.
Walter married Marion Jane Guy at Blandford Forum on 27 October 1913. They had two children: Eva Ann Eileen born 26 March 1914 and Colin Tom Guy born 10 January 1916.
In WW1 Walter joined the Dorset Regiment. He was killed in action on 19 September 1918 in Palestine.
He is remembered at the Ramleh War Cemetery in Palestine Plot F.46., on the Memorial plaque in Stour Provost Church and on the Stour Row Memorial plaque. The Stour Row plaque was formerly situated in All Saints Church. Following the closure of the church the plaque was re-erected in the Stour Row village hall (former Congregational Chapel).
Entry posted 3 July 2024 (DJL)
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TREASURE Edward Charles (known as Charles)
60935 Private Charles Edward Treasure, Machine Gun Corps Infantry, 154th Company died on 22 July 1917, aged 19.
Charles was baptised Edward Charles Treasure on 10 July 1898 at Stour Provost Church. He was the youngest son of John Treasure, blacksmith, and Elizabeth Treasure neé Redwood. In 1901 the family were living in Stour Row with Charles’ siblings Arthur, Edith, and Albert.
Charles’ mother died in early 1902. In 1911, John Treasure was living at Stour Row with his new wife Susan (neé Martin) and Charles, now 12.
Charles enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps as Private 37619. He was later transferred to the Machine Gun Corps.
He was killed in action on 22 July 1917 and is buried at the Gwalia Cemetery, Poperinghe, Belgium. The cemetery was opened at the beginning of 1917, in the period between the Battle of Messines and the Third Battle of Ypres. The cemetery contains 467 Commonwealth burials of the First World War. The following message is on Charles' gravestone – ‘He died for those he loved’.
Charles was awarded the British War and Victory medals.
He is also remembered on the Memorial Plaque in Stour Provost Church and on the Stour Row Memorial plaque. The Stour Row plaque was formerly situated in All Saints Church. Following the closure of the church the plaque was re-erected in the Stour Row village hall (former Congregational Chapel).
Entry posted 2 July 2024 (DJL)
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WHITE Sidney John
9239 Private Sidney John White, 2nd Battalion, Dorset Regiment, died 16 April 1915.
Sidney was born in 1893 and baptised on 11 May 1893 at Colyton, Devon.
His parents were Edward William White (a farmer) and Bessie White. In 1901 Sidney was with his parents at Little Pacey, Shute, Devon, together with siblings Frederick 14, Richard 11, Bessie A 10, Elizabeth 9, Amos 5, and Eva 3.
In 1911, Sidney was at Sussex Mews, Plymouth, working as a bread van driver and living with his brother Willliam George White who was a bread and cake maker. Parents Edward and Bessie were living at New Gate, East Stour in 1911 together with son James, 7.
Sidney possibly returned to his parents to live as in January 1912 he enlisted with the Dorset Regiment. On his attestation papers (burnt records) he was described as 5’ 10” tall, 149lbs, 36-inch chest of fresh complexion, blue eyes, dark brown hair, a tendency to ‘knock knee’ and had long toe joints. When he enlisted on 20 January he signed up for 7 years. His father was given as next of kin, address Kington Magna.
His army conduct record was not brilliant as there are notes of irregular conduct in school, number of cases of drunkenness and he left his bolt and magazine in his kit.
He was in India from 23 September 1913 to 5 November 1914 and in Lower Mesopotamia from 6 November until 16 April 1915 when he was severely wounded and died in action.
He was awarded the British War, Victory and 1914-15-star medals.
He is remembered at the Basra War Cemetery, Iraq. (III C11) and on the memorial plaque at Stour Provost Church.
Entry posted 3 July 2024 (DJL)
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Definitely need to find out more about Charles Treasure!