Roll of Honour - Buckinghamshire

Ministry of Defence

Lest We Forget

The Royal British Legion

BLETCHLEY ST MARY - WAR MEMORIAL

World War 1 & 2 - Roll of Honour with detailed information
Compiled and copyright © 2003 - Transcribed Carolynn Langley; researched Martin Edwards
further research Philip Richardson

The external memorial is situated on a triangular area off Church Green Road, Bletchley at the entrance to St Mary's Church. There is a further set of memorials within the church on boards with gilt script. Those on the memorial outside the church are marked 'm' and those on the memorials inside the church are marked '+'

Extract from Bucks Herald - Saturday 20 November 1920, page 5:

Old Bletchley war memorial was unveiled Saturday afternoon by the Bishop of Buckingham (Rev. E. D. Shaw). The memorial, which stands on the “Church Green," is an obelisk of rough granite, about 12 feet in height. Under the cross are the names of men who fell in the war. A short service, conducted by the Bishop, was held at the memorial. Two buglers from the headquarters of the Oxford and Bucks L.I. sounded the “Reveille” from St. Mary's tower at the commencement of the service. and at the close the “ Last Post." Among those present were Col. P. B. Giles, Major Chadwick (who lost his only son in France), Sir Herbert and Lady Leon, and Mr. Wallace A. Foll.

Photograph Copyright © Carolynn Langley - 2003
and Martin Edwards 2004

The inscription on the external war memorial reads:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND THE ETERNAL MEMORY OF THOSE
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
TO SAVE THEIR COUNTRY
AND PRESERVE LIBERTY, IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 - 1918

YE THAT LIVE ON
MID ENGLISH PASTURES GREEN
REMEMBER US, AND THINK
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

The two memorials within the church read:

THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED
BY FELLOW PARISHIONERS IN
MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE
THEIR LIVES IN THE TWO WARS

1914-1918

IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOSE FROM THIS PARISH
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR FREEDOM

1939-1945
GRANT UNTO THEM ETERNAL REST
O LORD AND LET LIGHT PERPETUAL
SHINE UPON THEM

World War 1
+	m	ARBER	Henry George	Private 014617, 3rd Company, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Died 17th November 1918 in France & Flanders. Son of Henry george and Rosa Arber; husband of M. E. Arber, of 85 Dean Street, Marlow. Born Todingham. Buried in STE. Marie CEMETERY, LE HAVRE, Seine-Maritime, France. Div. 62. Grave IV. B. 4.
+	m	CALDWELL	William	Corporal 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment transferred to 222164, 207th Employment Company attached 4th Division Train, Labour Corps. Died 22nd March 1918 in France & Flanders. Age 47. Born Liverpool, enlisted Oxford, resident Bletchley. Son of William and Mary Caldwell, of Liverpool; husband of Elizabeth Caldwell, of 84, Duncombe St., Bletchley, Bucks. Served in the South African Campaign. Formerly 9158, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Buried in DUISANS BRITISH CEMETERY, ETRUN, Pas de Calais, France. Grave VI. E. 36.
+	m	CHADWICK	Douglas Chadwick	Lieutenant, Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry & killed in 1916. His father John (who was a Major & the second in command of his sons battalion) was also the local Architect and he designed the St Mary's memorial.
+	m	DAY	Harry	No further information currently available
+	m	DICKENS	Cyril Irving	Lance Corporal 11097, 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borders. Killed in action 1st July 1916 in France & Flanders. Age 19. Born Bletchley, enlisted and resident Liverpool. Son of Frank and Annie Dickens, of Bletchley. Buried in KNIGHTSBRIDGE CEMETERY, MESNIL-MARTINSART, Somme, France. Grave C. 30.
+	m	DICKENS	Sidney Amos	Private 30364, Depot, Worcesterhsire Regiment. Died in England 9th October 1917. Age 40. Born Newton Longville, enlisted Rugby, resident Bletchley. Son of Frank and Annie Dickens, of Old Bletchley. Buried in EXETER HIGHER CEMETERY, Devon. Grave 148.
+	m	GOSS	Harry	Driver 42922, "D" Battery, 50th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. Died of wounds 4th July 1918 in France & Flanders. Age 39. Born Waterheaton (sic), Buckinghamshire, enlisted Nottingham. Son of George and Maria Goss, of Water Eaton, Bletchley. Buried in LA KREULE MILITARY CEMETERY, HAZEBROUCK, Nord, France. Grave II. C. 7.
+	m	GUNTRIP	John W	Private 9143, 2nd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment. Killed in actgion 12th March 1915 in France & Flanders. Born Simpson, Buckinghamshire, enlisted Kettering. Commemorated on the Addenda Panel LE TOURET MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France.
+	m	GURNEY	Francis William	Rifleman Z/2264, 4th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own). Killed in action 16th March 1915 in France & Flanders. Age 20. Born and resident Bletchley, enlisted Rugby. Son of Frank Washington Gurney, and Ellen E. J. Gurney, of 11, Duncombe St., Fenny Stratford. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 1 C and 1 D.
+		HANTON	[Reuben] William H	World War 1 casualty who served with the Machine Gun Corps. His given name was Rueben not William. It is not known why the name on the War Memorial is shown as William, but this is Reuben Howard Hanton who was born in Bletchley in 1894, the son of Emma Hanton who later married Albert Atkins. By 1911 Reuben was living with cousins in Holloway, London and working as a waiter. Reuben served in the 57th Battalion, the Machine Gun Corps, achieving the rank of Lance-Corporal. On 30 August L/Cpl Reuben Hanton was killed in action on the fourth day of the Battle of the Scarpe on the Western Front. He is buried a few miles from the battlefield in the cemetery of St Martin Calvaire in grave II.B.31
+	m	JAMES	Walter	Private 19421, 5th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Killed in action 24th August 1916 in France & Flanders. Age 46. Born and resident Bletchley, enlisted Kilburn, Yorkshire. Son of Charles James, of Laurel Terrace, Old Bletchley. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 10 A and 10 D.
+	m	KEYTE	Edward Henry	Lance Corporal 50733, 1st Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment). Killed in action 24th April 1918 in France & Flanders. Born and resident Bletchley, enlisted Aylesbury. Buried in DOUCHY-LES-AYETTE BRITISH CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France. Grave II. C. 8.
+	m	KING	Frederick John	Sergeant 14109, 7th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Killed in action 9th May 1917 in Salonika. Age 33. Born Newton Longville, enlisted Slough, resident Bletchley. Son of Thomas and Mary Ann King, of Reginald Cottages, Denbigh Rd., Bletchley. Commemorated on DOIRAN MEMORIAL, Greece.
+	m	LEONARD	Edwin William	Sapper WR/2569547, 18th Wagon Erecting Company, Railway Section, Royal Engineers. Died 30th October 1918 in France & Flanders. Born and enlisted Bletchley. Son of George and Emily Edith Leonard, of Church Green Rd., Bletchley. Buried in LES BARAQUES MILITARY CEMETERY, SANGATTE, Pas de Calais, France. Grave VI. C. 7.
+	m	SELBY-LOWNDES	[Richard] Cecil	Cecil Selby-Lowndes given name was Richard & is listed as such on the CWGC. Cecil was from a landowning family who built half of the railway in North Buckinghamshirte and interestingly was Sir John French aide du camp during the Boer War.
+	M	MAKEHAM	Eric H	He was a Bletchley chap who emigrated to Australia and was seriously wounded in 1917. He eventually died in 1921 and was a late edition to the St Mary's memorial
+	m	MEAGER	Laurence aka Bob	Sapper 446962, 474th Field Company, Royal Engineers. Died of wounds 28th September 1917 in France & Flanders. Aged 38. Born and enlisted Bletchley. Son of Fredrick and Louise Meager, of Bletchley; husband of Annie Elizabeth Meager, of Three Tree Square, Whaddon Rd., Bletchley, Bucks. Buried in DOZINGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot VII. Row E. Grave 8.
+	m	MORRIS	Stanley John	Private 266662, 2nd/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Died 19th April 1917 in France & Flanders. Aged 20. Born and resident Bletchley, enlisted Aylesbury. Son of George and Ellen E. Morris, of 23, Albert St., Bletchley. Buried in HEILLY STATION CEMETERY, MERICOURT-L'ABBE, Somme, France. Plot VI Row E Grave 29.
+	m	PALMER	George Samuel	Private 41743, 7th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Killed in action 16th August 1917 in France & Flanders. Aged 19. Born and enlisted Bletchley. Son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Palmer, of 1, Windsor St., Bletchley, Bucks. Commemorated on TYNE COT MEMORIAL, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Panel 70 to 72
+	m	PERRY	Walter William	Private 3/10784, 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment. Died of wounds in Cambridge on 7th January 1915. Aged 34. Enlisted Kettering, Northants. Born in Water Eaton in 1880, the only child of George Perry, a farm labourer who subsequently joined the postal service, and Elizabeth (nee Cook). He began his working life as a railway labourer, then in 1909 he married Amy Cooke, they had a daughter Amy Elizabeth and the family moved to Northamptonshire where William worked in the ironstone industry. William joined the Northamptonshire Regiment and served on the Western Front before either illness or injury caused him to be repatriated. Buried in North-East corner of BLETCHLEY (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD, Buckinghamshire.
+	m	ROSE	George Henry	Private 94581, Labour Corps. Died of wounds 1st November 1917 in France & Flanders. Born and enlisted Bletchley. Son of Mr. H. Rose, of 5, Railway Terrace, Bletchley, Bucks. Formerly 24060, 10th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment. Buried in MENDINGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY, Poperinge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot VI Row A Grave 53.
+		SAUNDERS	William Aarthur	Rifleman in the Royal Irish Fusiliers (killed in 1918).
+	m	SHOULER	William Joseph	[Spelt SHOULE on SDGW] Lance Corporal 44819, 1st (Garrison) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment. Killed in action 22nd April 1918 in France & Flanders. Aged 22. Born Thornborough, Buckinghamshire, enlisted Aylesbury, resident Bletchley. Son of Joseph and Elizabeth Shouler, of Bletchley. Formerly 50341, Worcestershire Regiment. Buried in ACHEUX BRITISH CEMETERY, Somme, France. Plot 1. Row C. Grave 8.
+	m	STAIRS	Arthur [Rolls]	Arthur Rolls Stairs was born in Steeple Claydon in 1897, the only child of George William Stairs and Priscilla (nee Morby). The family moved to Water Eaton some time between 1901 and 1911. Arthur joined the 3rd Battalion, the Grenadier Guards, took part in the battle of Cambrai and was listed as missing in action on 27 November 1917. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval, on panel 2.
+	m	STANIFORD	Herbert George	Lance Corporal DM2/163805, 689th M.T. Company, Royal Army Service Corps. Died 6th November 1918 in the Balkans. Aged 37. Born Buckingham, enlisted and resident Bletchley. Son of George and Jane Staniford, of Bletchley Rd., Bletchley, Bucks. Buried in SKOPJE BRITISH CEMETERY, Macedonia. Row D Grave 2.
+	m	STEVENS	James Frederick	[Listed on SDGW & CWGC as Frederick James] Private 22824, 11th Garrison Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry attached 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. Killed in action 20th August 1916 in France & Flanders. Born and enlisted Bletchley. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 10 A and 10 D
+	m	TOOTH	Thomas Charles	Private 24276, 1st/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Died in England 4th March 1915. Aged 21. Born Banbury, enlisted Aylesbury, resident Bletchley. Son of Mr. T. and Mrs. E. Tooth, of 15, Railway Terrace, Bletchley, Bucks. Buried in BLETCHLEY CEMETERY, Bletchley, Bucks. Section OC Grave 7BB. See also Fenny Stratford/Bletchley Cemetery
+	m	TROUGHTON	Percy C	Percy Troughton was born on 24 January 1879 in Water Eaton, one of eleven children born to Thomas Troughton, a railway signalman, and his wife Sarah (nee Chapman). He joined the Royal Navy for 12 years in 1898, serving as a stoker, before being transferred to the Royal Navy Reserve in 1910. After a period working as a hall porter in Northampton General Hospital, Percy moved to London where he married Amelia Clarke in 1911. The couple had two sons, Thomas (born 1912) and Ernest (born 1914). Percy was recalled to the Royal Navy on the outbreak of war; he served as a Stoker 1st Class and died on 1 June 1916 when his ship, HMS Tipperary, was sunk at the battle of Jutland. He is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
+	m	WALLSGROVE	John F	Private 12264, 6th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Killed in action 15th March 1916 in France & Flanders. Born and resident Bletchley, enlisted Rugby. Commemorated on YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Panel 37 and 39.
+	m	WARR	Benjamin William Green	Private 4331, 2nd/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Killed in action 19th July 1916 in France & Flanders. Aged 22. Born Gayton, Northmaptonshire, enlisted Aylesbury, resident Bletchley. Son of Thos. and Sarah Warr, of 9, Windsor St., Bletchley, Bucks. Commemorated on LOOS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France. Panel 83 to 85. See also Bletchley/Fenny Stratford War Memorial.
+	m	WEST	George	Private 28744, 1st/1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment. Died 20th February 1920. Buried at BLETCHLEY CEMETERY, Buckinghamshire. See also Fenny Stratford/Bletchley Cemetery
World War 2
+	m	AYRES	Richard E	No further information currently available
	m	BAKER	Donald	Pilot Officer (Pilot), 625 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 16th December 1943. Aged 20. Son of Frank Walter Thomas Baker and Laura Baker, of Bletchley. Buried in HANOVER WAR CEMETERY, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany. Plot 8 Row H Grave 8. See also Newton Longville War Memorial
+	m	BROWN	Frederick R	No further information currently available
+		CALBERT	J	No further information currently available
+	m	CALVER	William	possibly William CALVER, Sergeant 759165, 14 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 21st May 1941. Commemorated on ALAMEIN MEMORIAL, Egypt. Column 242.
	m	CATTERALL	John	probably John CATTERALL, Private 5952645, 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. Died 21st September 1944. Drowned aboard the Toyofuku Maru prisoner ship en route to Japan when sunk by aircraft off Luzon. Aged 25. Born Cumberland, resident Buckinghamshire. Commemorated om SINGAPORE MEMORIAl, Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore. Column 62.
+	m	DAVIS	Harry Douglas	Private 5950407, 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. Died 21st August 1943 as a P.O.W. Aged 25. Born and resident Buckinghamshire. Son of Albert Edward and Mabel Fanny Davis, of Bletchley. Buried in KANCHANABURI WAR CEMETERY, Thailand. Special Memorial 9 M 9.
	m	ESSEN	Charles Arthur	Sapper 5382598, 159 Railway Construction Company, Royal Engineers. Died 17th June 1940. Aged 20. Son of Charles and Alice Essen, of Bletchley. Brother of George below. Buried in PORNIC WAR CEMETERY, Loire-Atlantique, France. Plot 2 Row B Grave 18.
+	m	ESSEN	George J	Driver T/271084, Royal Army Service Corps attached 1539 L.A.A. Regiment, Royal Artillery. Died 28th April 1945. Son of Charles and Alice Essen, of Bletchley. Brother of Charles above. Commemorated on GROESBEEK MEMORIAL, Gelderland, Netherlands. Panel 9.
+		ESSEN	G	No further information currently available
+	m	HANKINS	Glyn	Flight Sergeant 1577648, 261 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died on Thursday 23rd December 1943. Son of William Harris Hankins and Annie May Hankins, of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. Commemorated on SINGAPORE MEMORIAL, Singapore. Column 425. See also Leighton Buzzrd Cedrs School memorial
+	m	JONES	John William	Able Seaman C/JX 130272, H.M.S. Samphire, Royal Navy. Died 20th January 1943. Aged 32. Son of William Henry and Emily Jane Jones; husband of Nora Emily Jones of Bletchley. Commemorated on CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL, Kent. Panel 69, Column 1.
+	m	KNIGHT	Albert E	probably Albert Ernest KNIGHT, Lance Corporal 5951392, 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. Died 5th June 1945. Aged 25. Born and resident Buckinghamshire. Buried in YOKOHAMA WAR CEMETERY, Japan. British Section Plot F Row B Grave 4.
+	m	MAY	Leonard George	Sergeant (Pilot), 17 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 8th July 1941. Aged 20. Husband of Ivy Amy May, of Bletchley. Buried in St MARY CHURCHYARD, BLETCHLEY, Buckinghamshire.
+	m	MYNARD	Edgar George	Sergeant 799469, 99 (The Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. Died between 28th May 1940 and 4th June 1940. Son of Abel E. and Edith I. Mynard; husband of Constance Emily Mynard, of Bletchley. Buried in MERVILLE COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, Nord, France. Plot 1. Row A. Grave 54.
+	m	PEACOCK	Alec [Arthur]	Lance Corporal 855064, Corps of Military Police. Died 30th March 1941. Aged 22. Son of Ellen Clare, of Bletchley. Buried in ST MICHAEL CHURCHYARD, WOBURN SANDS, Bedfordshire.
+	m	SINFIELD, DFC	David Forster	Flying Officer (Navigator) 1566 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 21st February 1945. Aged 19. Son of William Panter Sinfield, and of Mary Elizabeth Sinfield (nee Forster), of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. Exhibitioner of Bedford Modern School. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (D.F.C.). Buried in RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY, Kamp Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfal, Germany. Plot 11. Row A. Grave 14.
+	m	SMITH	Leslie Frederick	Flying Officer (Pilot) 136933, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 8th September 1943. Aged 28. Son of James Frederick and Florence Elizabeth Smith, of Bletchley; husband of Norah Kathleen Smith, of Bletchley. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (D.F.C.). Buried in BLETCHLEY CEMETERY, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. New Part. Grave 1061. See also Fenny Stratford/Bletchley Cemetery
+	m	SPRING	Albert	No further information currently available
	m	TOMPKINS	James Stuart David	Corporal 14492958, 7th Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps. Died 16th August 1947. Aged 20. Son of Rowland B. Tompkins and Hylda Tompkins, of Bletchley. Buried in KIRKEE WAR CEMETERY, India. Plot 6. Row F. Grave 17.
+	m	WHITELEY	John P	possibly John Percival WHITELEY, Brigadier, General Staff. Died 4th July 1943. Aged 45. Son of Frank Whiteley, C.M.G., J.P., and Sarah Emily Whiteley; husband of Amy Beatrice Whiteley (nee Tetley), of Brackley, Northamptonshire. M.P. for Buckingham Division from 1937. Awarded Order of British Empire (O.B.E.) and T.D. Buried in GIBRALTAR (NORTH FRONT) CEMETERY, Gibraltar. Plot 1. Row A. Grave 7.

Last updated 16 July, 2023

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