ELY, PRICKWILLOW WAR MEMORIAL

The memorial stands outside what was once the Prickwillow Post Office. It is an obelisk surrounded by a low link fence just off the main road through the High Street, close to the River Lark.

Photographs Copyright © Martin Edwards - 2000

1914-18
BAULK	James	Private 41699, 2nd Bn., Suffolk Regiment who was killed in action on Saturday, 15th June 1918. Age 23, born 1896. Son of Samuel and Susan Baulk, of Shippea Hill Farm, Prickwillow. Special Memorial, CHOCQUES MILITARY CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France II Mem. Row. Chocques is 4 kilometres north-west of Bethune on the road to Lillers.
BONNETT	Bertram [Bertie]	Lance Bombardier 40381, 352nd Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery who was killed in action on Sunday, 21st April 1918. Born and resident Prickwillow, enlisted Norwich. LA CLYTTE MILITARY CEMETERY, Heuvelland, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium V. D. II. La Clytte Military Cemetery is located 8 Km west of Ieper town centre on the N304 Klijtseweg, a road leading from the N375 Dikkebuseweg, connecting Ieper to Dikkebus, Klijte and on to Loker.
BUTCHER	Walter	Private TF/203353, 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment). Killed in action 16th August 1917, age 26. Born Welney, Norfolk, enlisted Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, resident Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. Son of Phillip and Frances Jane Butcher, of "The Limes," Prickwillow Rd., Ely, Cambs. Buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.
BUTLER	George	Private 15948, 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who was killed in action on Saturday, 1st July 1916. Born Mildenhall, enlisted Ely. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 1 C and 2 A. The Thiepval Memorial will be found on the D73, off the main Bapaume to Albert road (D929).
CROSS	Francis James	Private 15949 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who died of wounds on Tuesday, 13th June 1916. Age 19, born 1897. Son of Fred and Rachel Cross, of Prickwillow, Ely, Cambs. Buried in ST. SEVER CEMETERY, ROUEN, Seine-Maritime, France A. 18. 49. St. Sever Cemetery and Extension is situated about 3 kilometres south of Rouen Cathedral and a short distance west of the road from Rouen to Elbeuf.
CROSS	George Albert	Gunner 622319, "B" Battery, 298th Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery who died of wounds on Monday, 7th May 1917. Age 25, born in Prickwillow in 1893. Enlisted Ely. Husband of Mrs. E. Cross, of Annesdale, Ely, Cambs. Born Prickwillow, Ely. VLAMERTINGHE MILITARY CEMETERY, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium VI. L. 4. Vlamertinge Military Cemetery is located 5 Km west of Ieper town centre, on the Hospitaalstraat, which is a road leading from the Poperingseweg.
CRUNKHORN	Arthur	Private 17899, 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who was killed in action on Monday, 18th June 1917. Born Frampton, Lincolsnhire, enlisted Ely. Commemorated on ARRAS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France. Bay 4. The Arras Memorial is in the Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery, which is in the Boulevard du General de Gaulle in the western part of the town of Arras.
DAY	John William	Private 326630 1/1st Bn., Cambridgeshire Regiment who died of wounds on Monday, 28th May 1917, France & Flanders. Age 20, born 1897. Son of James and Lee Hannah Day, of Old Bank, Prickwillow, Ely. Enlisted at Cambridge, formerly 4154 Cambridgeshire Regiment. Buried in LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY, Poperinge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot XII. Row B. Grave 26A. Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is located 11.5 kilometres west of Ieper town centre, on the Boescheepseweg, a road leading from the N308 connecting Ieper to Poperinge.
FLETCHER	William	Private 3/9573, 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who died of wounds on Monday, 24th January 1916. Born Prickwillow, enlisted Ely. Buried in LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY, Poperinge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot II. Row B. Grave 32. Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is located 11.5 kilometres west of Ieper town centre, on the Boescheepseweg, a road leading from the N308 connecting Ieper to Poperinge. Son of Mr & Mrs Fletcher, Prickwillow. Age 20.
FULLER	James C	Private, 17217, 8th Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action 20th April 1916, aged 30. Born and resident Burnt Fen, enlisted Ely. Son of Charles and Sophia Brand, Railway Cottages, Shippea Hill Station, Burnt Fen, Ely. Commemorated on Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Panels 31/33.
GAGE	Albert	Sergeant 34809, 1st Battery, Royal Field Artillery. Killed in action 16th October 1917. Born and enlisted Mildenhall. Brother of Sidney below. Buried in Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, Nord, France. See also Ely and Little Thetford.
GAGE	Sidney	Private 17515, 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who died of wounds on Saturday, 1st July 1916. Age 33, born 1883. Born Mildenhall, enlisted Ely. Son of Mrs. S. Gage, of 5, Little Thetford, Isle of Ely, Cambs. Buried in SERRE ROAD CEMETERY No. 1, Pas de Calais, France. Plot I. Row BB. Grave 3. The village of Serre is 11 kilometres north-north-east of Albert. Brother of Albert above. See also Ely and Little Thetford.
LAMBERT	Stanley	Private 16256, 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who was killed in action on Saturday, 1st July 1916. Born March, enlisted Ely. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 1 C and 2 A The Thiepval Memorial will be found on the D73, off the main Bapaume to Albert road (D929).
LEE	James Henry Sydney	[SDGW & CWGC use Henry James Lee] Private, 24875, 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, 3rd Division. Born and enlisted Ely. Killed in action on the Somme 16th August 1916. Commemorated on The Thiepval Memorial MR. 21.
MANN	Robert	Private 3/6523, 1/1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment who was killed in action on Monday, 9th November 1914. Age 22. Born West Row Fen, Suffolk, enlisted Cambridge, resident Mildenhall. Son of William and Elizabeth Mann, of Kenny Hill, Mildenhall, Suffolk. Commemorated on LE TOURET MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France Panel 10 and 11 Le Touret Memorial is located at the east end of Le Touret Military Cemetery, on the south side of the Bethune-Armentieres main road.
PALMER	Lancelot	Private 5477 15th (County of London) Battalion, (Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles), London Regiment who died on Friday, 15th September 1916. Age 22, born 1894. Enlisted Somerset House, resident Peckham Rye. Son of Jonas and Emily Jane Palmer, of Cherry Tree House, Prickwillow, Ely, Cambs. Jonas was still farming in Prickwillow in 1929. Buried in CATERPILLAR VALLEY CEMETERY, LONGUEVAL, Somme, France. Plot IX. Row C. Grave 7. Longueval is a village approximately 13 kilometres east of Albert and 10 kilometres south of Bapaume.
PASK(E)	Arthur Claud	Private 20078, 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. Died of wounds 3rd March 1916, age 29. Born Chedburgh, Suffolk, enlisted Ely. Son of Georgiana Pask; husband of Susan Pask, Tower House, Cambridge Rd, Ely. Buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Poperinge, Belgium.
PAYNE	George	Private 3679, 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards. Killed in action on 15th September 1918. Born Little Ouse Bank, enlisted Newmarket. Lived Prickwillow. Buried in Lagnicourt Hedge Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.
PEACHEY	Russell A	Private 10999 12th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment who was killed in action on Saturday, 7th April 1917. Born Cambridge, enlisted Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, resident Ely. Buried in DICKEBUSCH NEW MILITARY CEMETERY, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium Row AA. Grave 46.
POWELL	Samuel William	Rifleman R/38070, 8th Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps. 14th Light Division. Killed in action at Ypres 24th Augus 1917. Born and enlisted in Ely. Commemorated on The Tyne Cot Memorial MR. 30.
SADLER	John Thomas	Sergeant 15889, 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who was, wounded on 11th May 1917 and died of those wounds on Monday, 28th May 1917 at No 11 General Hospital, Etaples. Age 23, born 1894. Born Stretham, enlisted Ely. Son of John and Clara Sadler, of Lark Bank, Prickwillow, nr. Ely, Cambs. Buried in ETAPLES MILITARY CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France. Plot XXV. Row E. Grave 5A. Etaples is a town about 27 kilometres south of Boulogne.
SAUNDERS	George Reginald	Private 42179, 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. Died 29th August 1919, age 19. Son of George & Hannah Saunders, Long Street, Great Ellingham. Buried in Combles Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France.
THORPE	Ernest Edward	Private 24547 2nd Bn., Suffolk Regiment who was killed in action on Wednesday, 11th April 1917. Born Prickwillow, enlisted Ely. Commemorated on ARRAS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France. Bay 4. The Arras Memorial is in the Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery, which is in the Boulevard du General de Gaulle in the western part of the town of Arras.
WATTS	Sidney	Private 328080, 1st/1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment who was killed in action on Saturday, 5th May 1917. Born Littleport, elisted in Ely, formerly 6758 Cambridgeshire Regiment. Buried in VLAMERTINGHE MILITARY CEMETERY, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot VI. Row L. Grave 1. Vlamertinge Military Cemetery is located 5 Km west of Ieper town centre, on the Hospitaalstraat, which is a road leading from the Poperingseweg. See also Liverpool Street Station, London
WHITE	Herbert George	Private 18051 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who was killed in action on Saturday, 24th April 1915. Age 28, born 1887 in Ely, enlisted Ely. Son of John and Grace White, of The Shell, Prickwillow Rd., Ely; husband of Lilian Elizabeth Julian Day (formerly White), of 12A, Puckwillow Rd., Ely, Camb. Commemorated on YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Panel 21. Ypres (now Ieper) is a town in the Province of West Flanders.
WILDING	Sam	Private 16254, 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment who died of wounds on Friday, 31st March 1916. Age 17, born 1899 in Littleport, enlisted Ely. Son of Elijah and Rebecca Wilding, of Redmere Farm, Brandon Bank, Norfolk. Native of Brandon Bank. ETAPLES MILITARY CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France VI. E. 9. Etaples is a town about 27 kilometres south of Boulogne.
WISE	George	No further information currently available
Not on Memorial
CROSS	George Harry	Private 1633, 1/1st Cambridgeshire Regiment who was killed in action on 11th September 1915, age 19. Pre-war Territorial in H (Ely) company, 1st Cambs Regiment. Born Prickwillow, enlisted at Ely. Son of George P & Emma Cross, 9 New Barnes Rd, Ely.Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Ieper, Belgium.
DAY	George William	Private 26443 12th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment who died on Monday, 25th March 1918. Son of Walter and Rose Day, of Shippea Hill, Prickwillow, Ely, Cambs. Commemorated on the ARRAS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France. Bay 6. The Arras Memorial is in the Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery, which is in the Boulevard du General de Gaulle in the western part of the town of Arras.
1939-45
BROWN	Arthur William	Private 5932903 2nd Bn. The Cambridgeshire Regiment, Suffolk Regiment who died on Thursday, 21st September 1944. Age 23, born 1921. Prisoner of War. Died at sea. Son of Herbert Joseph and Annie Elizabeth Brown, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. SINGAPORE MEMORIAL, Singapore Column 58. The Memorial stands in Kranji War Cemetery. Brother of Francis Brown below. See also Ely WW2 memorial.
BROWN	Elmer Alexander	Private 5889427 1 st Bn ., The King's Regiment (Liverpool) who died on Sunday, 2nd April 1944. Age 24. Son of William and Lydia Brown; husband of Phyllis Brown, of Beck Row, Suffolk. GAUHATI WAR CEMETERY, India 1.E.30. Gauhati, the capital city of the state of Assam in North East India is on the Eastern side of the River Brahmaputra some 600 kilometres east of Calcutta. See also Ely WW2 memorial.
BROWN	Francis	Private 14506366 2nd Bn., Monmouthshire Regiment who died on Tuesday, 24th October 1944. Age 20. Son of Herbert Joseph and Annie Elizabeth Brown, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. UDEN WAR CEMETERY, Netherlands Grave 3. G. 3. Uden is a town on the main road between Eindhoven and Nijmegen. The War Cemetery is 350 metres from the centre of the town, on the Nijmegen road at the junction with the road to Zeeland. Brother of Arthur William Brown above. See also Ely WW2 memorial.
COLE	Leslie William	Private 295900 1st Bn., East Surrey Regiment who died on Wednesday, 27th October 1943. Age 21, born 1922. Son of James William and Jessie Amelia Cole, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. SANGRO RIVER WAR CEMETERY, Italy II. C. 44. The Sangro River War Cemetery lies in the Contrada Sentinelle in the Commune of Torino di Sangro, Province of Chieti.
COLE	James William Albert	Private 14631001 1st Bn., Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regt.) who died on Sunday, 2nd April 1944, born 1921. Age 23. Son of Albert and Elizabeth Lily Cole, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. BEACH HEAD WAR CEMETERY, ANZIO, Italy VIII. E. 8. Anzio is a coastal town 70 kilometres south of Rome.
DEW	Thomas George William	Flight Sergeant 1892018 W.Op./Air 49 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, based Fulbeck, Lincs, flew Lancasters, who died on Thursday, 15th March 1945. Age 20, born 1925. Son of George William and Florence May Dew, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. BERLIN 1939-1945 WAR CEMETERY, Brandenburg, Germany Coll. grave 6. Z. 18-27. The Cemetery is in the district of Charlottenburg, 8 kilometres west of the city centre, on the south side of the Heerstrasse.
GIPP	William Robert	Lance Corporal 14533777 1st Bn., Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment who died on Thursday, 6th July 1944. Age 20, born 1924. Son of George and Daisy May Gipp, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. FOIANO DELLA CHIANA WAR CEMETERY, Italy I. B. 3. Foiano Della Chiana lies 31 kilometres south of Arezzo.
LEE	James	James LEE, Private, 5827546, 4th Bn., Suffolk Regiment, who died on Tuesday 12 October 1943, age 24. Buried: CHUNGKAI WAR CEMETERY Thailand. Born and resident Cambridgeshire.
PEARCE	John Thomas	Private 14545278 2/4th Bn., Hampshire Regiment who died on Friday, 12th May 1944. Age 21, born 1923. Son of Ernest and Emma Pearce; husband of Elsie Maud Pearce, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. CASSINO WAR CEMETERY, Italy XI. D. 2. Cassino War Cemetery lies in the Commune of Cassino, Province of Frosinone, 139 kilometres south-east of Rome.
ROLLINGS	Thomas Maurice	Private 5827561 2nd Bn. The Cambridgeshire Regiment, Suffolk Regiment who died on Sunday, 18th July 1943. Age 24, born 1919. Prisoner of War. Died of cholera at Chunkai.Son of John and Ethel Rollings, of Prickwillow, Cambridgeshire. CHUNGKAI WAR CEMETERY, Thailand 7. A. 7. Chungkai War Cemetery is approximately 5 kilometres west of Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.
SKIPPER	Edward Wilfred	Sergeant 1880467 Flt. Engr. 106 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, based Metheringham, Lincs, flew Lancasters, who died on Monday, 18th December 1944. Age 24, born 1920. Son of Arthur Edward and Annie Elizabeth Skipper, of Isleham, Cambridgeshire. MALBORK COMMONWEALTH WAR CEMETERY, Poland 3. A. 12. The town of Malbork is located in the north of Poland to the south-east of the city of Gdansk, on the main road 50, and the cemetery is located to the west of the town.
WILLINGHAM	Claude Robert Martin	Gunner 11 (Honourable Artillery Coy.) Reg., Royal Horse Artillery, d 14/11/1942, age 22, commemorated: ALAMEIN MEMORIAL, Egypt. b. 17th May 1920, only son of Robert and Ida Willingham of Prickwillow. Captured in North Africa by Italians. Lost at sea when the ship the prisoners were being taken in to Germany was bombed. He had married Lily May Braybrooke on his embarkation leave. See also Ely

Last updated 9 March, 2018