BEAUMONT

Frederick C.

Pte. 25673. 8^th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Friday 15 September 1916. (Note 1915 on Clock Tower Memorial). Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Commemorated Thiepval memorial, Somme, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. Pier & Face 2C

BLAND

Herbert Charles

Pte. 18805. "C" Coy., 2^nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Died of wounds Wednesday 3 November 1915. Age 33. Born Clifton. Lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Son of William & Sarah Bland of Clifton, Beds. Husband of Margaret Bland, of Stockbridge, Henlow, Biggleswade. Commemorated: Chocques Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. I.G.91.

BROWN

Frederick William

Pte. 19050. 2^nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Tuesday 11 July 1916. Age 21. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Son of William & Mary brown of 10 The Leys, Langford, Biggleswade, beds. Commemorated: Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. Ref. Pier & Face 2C

BROWN

Herbert

Pte. 25480. 4^th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Saturday 9 November 1918. Born & Lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Commemorated: Bougnies Communal Cemetery, Quevy, Hainaut, Belgium.

BROWN

Oscar

Pte. 28485. 13^th Battalion Essex regiment. Died of wounds 20 February 1917. Born Langford. Lived & enlisted Biggleswade. Commemorated: Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France. Ref. V.C.41.

BROWN

Sidney

Corporal 33021. 7^th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment. (Formerly 6417 Bedfordshire Regiment) Killed in action Sunday 28 October 1917. Age 21. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Son of Frederick John and Emily brown of 1 Dark lane, Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Tyne Cot Memorial, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Panel 50-51.

CARTER

Ernest

Pte. 203345. 4^th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Tuesday 30 October 1917. Age 19. Born Walkern, Herts. Lived Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Son of George & Edith Carter of Dark Lane, Langford. Commemorated: Tyne Cot Memorial, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Panel 48-50 & 162A

CHAMPKINS

Ivor Bertie

Pte. 35105. 4th Battalion Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own (Yorkshire Regiment.) (Formerly 34525 9^th T.R. Battalion). Killed in action Friday 12 April 1918. Age 18. Born Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Son of Mr. Mrs. M. Champkins of 19 Council Cottages, Dark Lane, Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Ploegsteert Memorial, Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium. Ref. Panel 4.

CHAMPKINS

William Edward

Poss. Pte. G/23765. 8^th Battalion The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment. Died Saturday 28 September 1918. Born, lived and enlisted Biggleswade. Commemorated: Le Cateau Military Cemetery, Nord, France. Ref. I.B.131.

CLARK

Frederick W.

Corporal 27831. 1^st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Died of wounds Sunday 20 May 1917. Age 24. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Son of George & Fanny Clark of High Street, Langford. Commemorated: Duisans British Cemetery, Entrun, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. III.N.4

COOPER

Hubert

Pte. G/14518. 2^nd Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment. Killed in action 22 November 1916. Born Henlow. Enlisted Bedford. Commemorated: Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. Pier & Face 7C.

COOPER

Joseph Hyde

Pte. 36561. 2^nd Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. (Formerly 210816 A.S.C.) Died Sunday 22 December 1918. Born Stotfold. Lived Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Commemorated: Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria, Greece. Ref. 1090.

DINES

James

Pte. 2632. 2^nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Thursday 12 October 1916. Age 17. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Ampthill. Son of George & Abigail Dines of Ivel terrace, Langford, Biggleswade, Beds. Commemorated Thiepval Memorial, Somme, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. Pier & Face 2C

DINES

Thomas

Pte. 10400. 7^th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. Killed in action 12 March 1916. Age 20. Born Langford. Lived Halstead, Essex. Enlisted Chelmsford, Essex. Son of Joseph & Harriett Dines of Meadow End, Ridgwell, Essex. Commemorated: Vermelles British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. II.J.8.

EDMUNDS

Albert Gordon

GORDON

Henry William

Poss. Serjeant 14284. 3^rd Battalion Grenadier Guards. Died of wounds Thursday 1 February 1917. Age 25. Born St. Cuthbert’s, Bedford. Son of Richard W. & C.A. Gordon of 6 Leslie Avenue, Garlinge, Westgate on Sea, Kent. Commemorated: Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-l’Abbe, Somme, France. Ref. V.G.30.

GREEN

Herbert

Pte. 42877. 10^th Battalion Essex Regiment. (Formerly 10546 Bedfordshire Regiment). Killed in action 26 April 1918 Age 19. (1917 on Clock Tower War Memorial). Born & lived Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Son of Edward & Gottie Green of 4 Station Road, Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France. Ref. III.A.5.

INGRAY

William [Arthur]

[Spelt INGREY on CWGC & SDGW] Gunner 236862 "A" Bty. 330th Bde., Royal Field Artillery who was killed in action on Thursday, 4th April 1918. Age 25. Husband of Winifred Mary Ingrey, of 135, Selbourne Rd., Luton. Enlisted Bedford, resident Biggleswade. Commemorated: Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France

JACKSON

Charles

Pte. 3/8605. 1^st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Died of wounds 27 April 1915 (24 April on CD) Born Bourn, Cambs., Lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Son of William & Mary Ann Jackson, of Bourne, Cambridge. Husband of Susannah Jackson of Church Lane, Great Paxton, St. Neots, Hunts. Commemorated: Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. VIII.A.37

KING

William Gordon

Gunner 123779. 47^th Bty. Royal Horse Artillery & Royal Field Artillery. Killed in action Thursday 26 June 1917. Born Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Commemorated: Roclincourt Valley Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. I.E.7.

LARMAN

Ernest

Pte. 9445. 1^st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Died of wounds Tuesday 1^st June 1915. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Clifton. Commemorated: Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension (Nord), Nord, France. Ref. I.B.76

MEADWAY

Henry

Medway on Clock Tower. Died 1914. No further information available at present.

MERRYWEATHER

Arthur

Pte. G/69630. 17^th Battalion Royal Fusiliers. (Formerly 17840 29^th T.R. Battalion) Died of wounds Wednesday 20 March 1918. age 20. Lived Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Son of James Merryweather of Station Road, Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Thiepval Memorial, Somme, Pas-de-Calais, France. Pier & Face 8C, 9A & 16A.

MERRYWEATHER

Francis

Pte. 20287. 1^st/4^th Battalion Norfolk Regiment. Killed in action Tuesday 11 December 1917. Age 26. Born Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Son of James Merryweather of Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Ramleh War Cemetery, Israel. Ref. D.58

MERRYWEATHER

John

Pte. 20502. 2^nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Thursday 12 October 1916. Age 28. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Son of James Merryweather of Station Road, Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Somme, France. Ref. XXX.B.5.

ROBERTS

Albert Edward

Pte. 1496. Bedford Yeomanry Household Cavalry & Cavalry of the Line (incl. Yeomanry & Imperial Camel Corps). Killed in action Sunday 30 Jan 1916. Born and lived Bedford. Enlisted Bedford. Commemorated: Vermelles British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. II.M.6

ROGERS

Ernest

Pte. 31524. 95^th Battalion Machine Gun Corps (formerly 23344 Bedfordshire Regiment). Died of wounds Tuesday 30 April 1918. Age 21. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Ampthill. Son of Eli and Ada Mary Rogers of Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Aire Communal Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. II.H.5

RUTT

Joseph

L/Cpl. 32257. 6^th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Friday 27 April 1917. Age 27. Lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Son of the late Mrs. J. Rutt. Commemorated: Arras Memorial, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. Bay 5.

RUTT

Stanley George

Pte. 19309. 7^th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action Wednesday 25 October 1916. Born and lived Langford. Enlisted Biggleswade. Commemorated: Regina trench Cemetery, Grandcourt, Somme, France. Ref. I.F.5.

SMITH

Reginald

Pte. 12145. 4^th Battalion South Wales Borderers (formerly 26766 Bedfordshire Regiment). Killed in action Sunday 29 April 1917. Born Langford. Enlisted Ampthill. Commemorated: Basra Memorial, Iraq. Ref. Panel 16 & 62.

STIMSON

George

SWAIN

John

Driver T2/10556. Army Service Corps. Died Thursday 4 April 1918. Age 23. Son of Charles & Mary T. Swain of Langford. Commemorated: Langford (St. Andrew) Churchyard, Beds. In North-West part.

WHEATLEY

Albert

Poss. Alfred Wheatley. Corporal 8198. 1^st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Died of wounds Friday 31 March 1916. Born Beeston. Lived Langford. Enlisted Bedford. Commemorated: Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery, Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France. Ref. I.A.10

WHITEMAN

Harry Edward

Pte. 83896. 19^th Battalion Machine Guns Corps (Inf) (Formerly 7213 Bedfordshire Regiment). Killed in action Thursday 20 September 1917. Age 22. Born Langford. Lived Biggleswade. Enlisted Bedford. Son of William and Minnie Whiteman of Cambridge Road, Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Hooge Crater Cemetery, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Ref. XVIII.A.6.

WOODS

Arthur William

Pte. 24397. 1^st Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment. Died of wounds Friday 18 August 1916. Age27. Born Northill. Enlisted Biggleswade. Husband of Mrs. B. Woods, of High Street, Langford. Commemorated: Puchevillers British Cemetery, Somme, France. Ref. II.E.50

BRERETON

Leonard Douglas

Able Seaman P/JX 157102. HMS Argonaut, R.N. Died Friday 16 October 1942. age 21. Son of William & Lily Brereton of Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Portsmouth Naval memorial, Hampshire. Panel 63. Column 2. (HMS Argonaut was a Dido Class Light Cruiser. Laid down Nov 1939 and completed 8 August 1942. Served with the Home Fleet August – October 1942 to Spitzbergen & North Russia.)

BROWN

Donald Arthur

Sergeant 1576940, 9 Squadron., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died on
Friday 29th January 1943. Son of Mr and Mrs Arthur Brown of Bays Farm, Langford. Commemorated on Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, Surrey. From the village's magazine 'The Langford Diary' the story of Sgt Donald A. Brown:

Lest We Forget "Deeply regret to inform you that your son Sgt. Donald Arthur Brown lost his life on 29th January, 1943 as a result of an aircraft accident. Please accept my profound sympathy. O.C. 9 Squadron". This was the sort of telegram that every family, who had someone away fighting, dreaded receiving. Barely had the shock subsided when official letters followed, giving further details. The aircraft - a Lancaster bomber - came down in a field near Boston in Lincolnshire during a practice flight. Only the body of the rear gunner - Sgt. Wishart -was recoverable before the aircraft sank beneath the ground with the bodies of the other crew members inside:- Flt Lt. Lind, pilot; Pt Off. Cocks, bomb aimer; Sgt. Doran F/Egr; Sgt. Henry, W/Operator; and Sgt Donald Brown, mid upper gunner. Mr. and Mrs. Brown made contact, via the Air Ministry, with relatives of the other crew members and also visited the crash site. Sibsey Northlands near Boston is a lonely isolated hamlet where the prairie like fields of Lincolnshire, which have long since lost their hedgerows, run into the vast flat fenlands around the Wash. The crash site was in the middle of a field some four hundred yards from a narrow road. Eyewitness accounts of the incident differed somewhat from the official version of events. The crew had already flown many operational sorties over occupied Europe, including the German capital Berlin, and had only just been posted to 9 Squadron in 5 Group Bomber Command. 5 Group was a 'tails-up' Group throughout the war, and 9 Squadron one of its most experienced squadrons, that was later used for special tasks, along with 617 Squadron, which was formed some nine weeks after Donald Brown lost his life. The crew's Lancaster was, according to the eyewitnesses, on a fighter affiliation exercise, and the fighter stayed on the bomber's tail too long, forcing it beyond the point of recovery. The crash caused a twenty feet deep crater, with only the rear of the plane still visible. By the next day this too had disappeared. Efforts to recover either the aircraft or the bodies were unsuccessful and the crater was filled in. The families of the deceased decided to have a memorial erected on the exact spot of the crash, a Celtic wheel cross of Cornish granite surrounded by ten granite posts. Donald Brown's name is to be found on this memorial, and also on the RAF Memorial at Runnymede as well as on Langford's War Memorial. The crash is remembered every January by family and local people, as well as every Remembrance Sunday. 9 Squadron also remember. Last January 29th, the 50th anniversary of the accident, one of the current Squadron's Tornado bombers overflew the memorial. Think of all those who died in two world wars and other conflicts. When Donald Brown's name is read out next Remembrance Sunday, remember, it is not just a name on a memorial. For our tomorrow, he gave his today. The War Memorial in Sibsey Northlands

Details supplied by Ralph Turner - thank you

COOPER

Alfred James

COOPER

Dennis Jack

COOPER

George William

Flying Officer 124578. Nav 115 Squadron RAFVR. Died Friday 28 May 1943. Age 25. Son of Albert & Hephzibah Cooper of Langford. Husband of Clarice Cooper. Commemorated: Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany. Ref. 18.D.18.

ENDERSBY

Lawrence V.

Pte. 14083600. 2^nd Battalion Beds & Herts. Regiment. Died Friday 13 September 1946. age 24. Son of Frederick James Endersby and Daisy Bertha Endersby: Husband of Dorothy May Amelia Endersby of Biggleswade, Beds. Commemorated: Kirechkoi-Hortakoi Military Cemetery, Greece. Plot 15. grave 644.

KILBY

Claud

Pte. 5953261. 1^st Battalion The Hertfordshire Regiment, Beds & Herts. Regiment. Died Wednesday 26 November 1941. Age 23. Son of Alfred & Grace Kilby of Langford, Beds. Husband of Gladys Mary Kilby of Langford. Commemorated: Tobruk War Cemetery, Libya. Ref. 7.F.11.

LOCKEY

Geoffrey Charles

Ordinary Coder P/JX 508535. HMS Edinburgh Castle. R.N. Died Friday 4 February 1944. Age 19. Son of James & Annie Mary Lockey of Langford, Beds. Commemorated: Freetown (King Tom) Cemetery, Sierra Leone. Ref. 5.D.1

RUTT

Christopher Keith

Sergeant 960415. W.Op./Air Gunner. RAFVR Died Friday 24 October 1941. Commemorated: Langford (St Andrew) Churchyard, Beds. See also Bedford Modern School

STREET

Victor

No further information available at present. Possibly same man as the Victor Street commemorated on Clophill War Memorial.

SWAIN

Rex