BAKER |
Reginald |
Private
Somerset Light Infantry. Pte Baker’s name appears in the Memorial
Book of Somerset listing 8,000 men born in the county who died in
WW1 together with more than 3,000 who died while serving with county
regiments. The book is kept in Wells Cathedral. His address is given
as West Monkton. However, there is no obvious matching entry in
CWGC records or UK Soldiers Died in the Great War. |
BEADON |
William |
Lieutenant
Colonel Commanding Officer 51st Sikhs Frontier Force. Killed in
Action 13 January 1916 Mesopotamia (now Iraq). Aged 48. Son of Taunton-born
Major Gen Edward Musgrave Beadon (died 1906) and his wife Harriette
Richards Beadon. Husband of Joanna Elizabeth Beadon (nee Ballard)
of Lexham Gardens, London The 51st Sikhs served on the Suez Canal
before moving into Mesopotamia. In December 1915, a British division
had retreated into the town of Kut-el-Amara, where they were besieged
by Turkish forces. Several attempts were made to relieve the beleaguered
force but without success. Lt Col Beadon was killed in the first
attempt to relieve Kut, during the Battle of Wad, and is buried
in Amara War Cemetery, Iraq. He was mentioned in despatches. |
BLACKWOOD |
Miles
Harry |
**
Shown on church scroll as HM Blackwood** Second Lieutenant2nd battalion
Seaforth Highlanders. Killed in Action I July 1916 Beaumont Hemel
France. Aged 19. Son of Harry Officer Blackwood and his wife Isla
of Monkton House, West Monkton, and Kincurdie, Rosemarkie, Ross-shire.
Joined 5th Bn Royal Fusiliers in 1914. After Sandhurst he was posted
to 2nd Bn Seaforth Highlanders in July 1915. Killed on the first
day of the Battle of the Somme when the British Army suffered its
worst-ever losses with 58,000 casualties, a third of them killed,
in a single day. Buried Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps,
France. |
BOSLEY |
Fred |
Stoker
1st class SS/106609 Royal Navy HMS Defence. Killed in Action 31
May 1916 Jutland. Aged 29. Younger son of farm worker William and
Mary Bosley of Monkton Heathfield. HMS Defence was an armoured cruiser
which was sunk during the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle
of the war. She was struck by two salvoes from German ships that
detonated her rear magazine. The fire spread to the ship's secondary
magazines which exploded. Around 900 lives were lost. There were
no survivors. Fred Bosley’s name appears on Plymouth Naval Memorial
honouring those who have no grave because they were lost at sea. |
BOSLEY |
Henry |
Leading
Stoker K/13867 Royal Navy HMS Pegasus. Killed in Action 20 Sept
1914 East Africa. Aged 29. Older brother of Fred Bosley (see above).
Both brothers had been regulars in the Royal Navy for some years
before the war. The cruiser HMS Pegasus was having repairs to her
boilers, off Zanzibar, when she was attacked by the German light
cruiser Königsberg. Thirty-one crew were killed and 55 wounded.
Henry Bosley is buried in Dar es Salaam War Cemetery. |
CHAMBERLAIN |
George |
Private 10116 8th battalion Devonshire Regt. Killed in Action 25
Sept 1915 France. Aged 29. Was one of 16 children of farm worker
William and his wife Eliza of Clavershay, North Petherton. George
worked as a farm labourer. He enlisted in Exeter and was killed
during the Battle of Loos. He has no known grave. His name appears
on the Loos memorial. |
CLEMENTS |
George |
Private 3583 C Sqn 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays). Died 6 March
1919 Belgium. Aged 30. Son of John and the late Annie Clements of
Somerset. Husband of Lily Clements of 27 Dapdune Road, Guildford
Surrey Buried in Huy (La Sarte) Communal Cemetery, near Liege. Huy
was the location of the 50th (Northumbrian) Casualty Clearing Station
from January to May 1919. George Clements was mentioned in despatches. |
DUMMETT |
William
Mallett |
Private
20725 1st battalion Devonshire Regiment. Died 12 October 1918 Devonport
UK. Aged 30. Son of widow Jessie Dummett and the late Henry Dummett
who ran a bakery in Fore Street, Cullompton. William worked as a
clerk with the Electricity Supply Company. His home is given in
the war records as Monkton Heathfield. No cause of death given.
May have died of wounds or been a victim of the flu pandemic (Spanish
flu) that claimed millions of lives between June 1918 and December
1920. His death was registered in Devonport and he is buried in
Plymouth (Efford) Cemetery. |
DYER |
Charles
Herbert |
Sapper
Royal Engineers. Died Nov 1918 Essex. Aged 28. Son of farm labourer
Charles Dyer and his wife Mary Ann (nee Phillips) of Boomey Lane,
West Monkton. Baptised at West Monkton on 29/3/1890. His death was
registered in Billericay, Essex "while on military service".
Buried West Monkton churchyard on 19 Nov 1918. |
FALCONER |
Edgar |
Lance Corporal 235317 1st battalion Herefordshire Regt. Died 13
Nov 1917 Egypt. Aged 26. Youngest of three sons of Allan Falconer,
butler at Gotton House, and his wife Sarah. Allan Falconer died
in 1934, at the age of 77, at the Parsonage, Hestercombe. Edgar
Falconer was buried Kantara War Cemetery. Kantara, close to Suez,
was a major military base and hospital. |
FALCONER |
John
Malcolm |
Private 201695 2/4th battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.
Died 21 February 1918 India. Aged 30. Second son of Allan and Sarah
Falconer (see above). In 1911 he was a law clerk living in Redruth,
Cornwall. The 2/4th battalion was a territorial unit that spent
the entire war in India. Buried Dehli War Cemetery |
FORD |
Frank |
Private
6713 1st battalion Coldstream Guards. Killed in Action 25 October
1914 Belgium. Aged 26. Only son of the late Elijah Ford and his
wife Emily Jane (nee Wilkins) of Bathpool. Grandson of John Wilkins
of West Monkton. Born Gosport 21/3/1888 but went to school in West
Monkton. Joined Army on 22/3/1906 and served for seven years. Then
joined Cardiff City police. At the outbreak of war rejoined the
Army and went from Windsor to France on 31 Aug 1914. Killed in the
First Battle of Ypres. His name is inscribed on the Menin Gate. |
GARDNER |
Frederick
William |
Sapper 2246 3/1 Field Company Royal Engineers. Died 25 March 1918
Taunton. Aged 37. Second son of stone mason Walter Gardner and his
wife Mary Ann of Bathpool. Worked as a stone mason/bricklayer. Lived
in Stoke View, Bathpool Road, with his wife Minnie (nee Fudge) and
daughter Winifred (3). Attested on 9 Dec 1915. Mobilized on 31 May
1916 joined RE in Hampshire. At end of 1916 he developed mental
health problems. Was admitted to Cosham military hospital in January
1917 and discharged from the Army on 3 Feb 1917 as permanently unfit.
He died in Cotford Asylum (later renamed Tone Vale Hospital) and
was buried at West Monkton on 30/3/1918. |
GARDNER |
Walter
Francis |
Sapper 498549 224 Field Company Royal Engineers. Died of wounds
9 April 1918 France. Aged 42. Eldest son of stone mason Walter and
the late Mary Ann Gardner of Bathpool. Worked as a bricklayer. Husband
of Annie Gardner (nee Leat) of The Laurels, Bathpool Road, Taunton.
They married in 1912. Buried in Croix-du-Bac British cemetery, Steenwerck. |
GIBBINS |
Albert
Edward |
Private 27652 8th battalion Somerset Light Infantry. Killed in Action
11 April 1917 France. Aged 19. Eldest child of milkman Albert Gibbins
and his wife Edith Ellen of Prestbury, Cheltenham. Born in Gloucestershire
and enlisted in Cheltenham. Address given in Memorial Book of Somerset
as West Monkton. He was formerly in the West Somerset Yeomanry so
may have worked on a local farm. Buried Orange Trench, Monchy Le
Preux, France |
GREEDY |
Michael
George Mudford |
Private 27242 7th battalion Somerset Light Infantry. Died of wounds
1 Dec 1917 France. Aged 21. Son of estate blacksmith George Greedy
and his wife Mary Jane (nee Mudford) of Goosenford, West Monkton.
Michael, the eldest of their nine children, worked as a dairy/ cow
boy. He enlisted in Taunton and was formerly in the West Somerset
Yeomanry. During the Battle of Cambrai (30 Nov- 3 Dec) 7th SLI was
"practically wiped out" in successive German counter attacks.
When they came out of the front line on Dec 3 the battalion was
down to two officers and 90 other ranks. Buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt
Road British Cemetery, Manancourt, France. |
HEARNE |
Frederick |
Private 27755 11th battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Killed
in Action 24 April 1917 France. Aged 31. Formerly Private 5939 Gloucestershire
Regiment. Born in North Curry. Second son of Henry and Elizabeth
Hearne. Lived in Broad Lane, North Curry, with his wife Mabel. Worked
as a farm labourer so may have been employed at some stage in West
Monkton. No other obvious local connection. Name appears on Arras
Memorial. |
HOARE |
Marwood |
Able Seaman 225753 Royal Navy HMS Triumph. Killed in Action 25 May
1915 Dardanelles. Aged 28. Son of Sarah Hoare, of Hill Farm, Thurlbear,
Taunton, and the late James Hoare, he was a regular in the Royal
Navy. Battleship HMS Triumph sank in the Dardanelles after being
struck by a torpedo while supporting land troops at Gallipoli by
firing on Turkish positions. Seventy-eight crew were lost. AB Hoare’s
name appears on Plymouth Naval War Memorial. |
HURFORD |
Albert
J |
Died
2 Dec 1918. Aged 24. Pte Hurford died three weeks after the Armistice
and is buried at Tournai. Not clear whether he died of wounds or
illness. Tournai was captured by the Germans on 23 August 1914 and
was occupied until 8 Nov 1918 when it was taken by British troops.
There was a major casualty clearing station - 51st (Highland) -
in the area from 14 November 1918 until 20 July 1919. |
HURFORD |
James |
Died
1919. Aged 27. Son of John and Maria Hurford, of Portman Row, Bathpool.
Born West Monkton. Husband of Florence Maud (nee Boyce) married
Thurloxton 1916, and father of Lillian Mabel. Joined the RFA reserve
in 1910. Went to France in Aug 1914 with British Expeditionary Force.
Admitted to hospital in 1916 because an old leg injury, suffered
in a fall when working as a miner in Pontypool, was aggravated by
war service. Returned to UK and transferred to DLI. Discharged with
a pension on 12/9/1918. James Hurford died in 1919 aged 27 and because
of his army service was included in the war dead although his name
does not appear in UK Soldiers Died in WW1. |
HURFORD |
William |
Two William Hurfords were born in West Monkton parish. One, the
son of John and Maria of Portman Buildings, Bathpool, born in 1883,
the other the son of George and Jessie Hurford, born in 1894. Insufficient
information in records to identify this soldier. Not shown in CWGC
records or Soldiers Died in WW1. |
LEWIS |
Richard
Percy |
Lieutenant
Colonel Devonshire Regiment attached to 1/10th Manchester Regiment.
Died of wounds 7 Sept 1917 Flanders. Aged 43. Born 10 March 1870
in London. Son of barrister Richard Lewis and his wife Eliza Mary
(nee Kinglake). Educated at Winchester and Oxford. Played as wicket
keeper for Oxford and Middlesex. Fought in the South African War
1900, the Nandi Expedition 1905/6 and in Gallipoli 1915 before being
posted to France/Belgium. He was reported to have been hit by a
shell splinter while giving orders to a runner and died shortly
afterwards. Buried Ypres Reservoir Cemetery. His name appears on
a plaque in West Monkton church. His mother’s family, the Kinglakes,
were a prominent local family. |
MORGAN |
Lewis |
Flight Lieutenant Royal Naval Air Service. Died 11 May 1917 Chingford
Essex. Aged 24. Son of Capt Lewis Harold Gilbert Morgan and his
wife Mary (nee Roope) of Cheddoncote, near Taunton. Their son was
born in Plymouth on 22/5/1892. Educated at HMS Conway he obtained
a commission in the RNVR in 1908. In August 1914 he was appointed
to HMS Coroni and served in the North Atlantic for nine months before
transferring to the RNAS gaining his Royal Aero Club aviators licence
(No 1496) on 5 Aug 1915. He served in East Africa before being posted
to RNAS Chingford as an instructor. Flt Lt Morgan was instructing
a student when their bi-plane crashed. Both men were killed. According
to a local newspaper report they were "the victims of pure
misadventure and the accident could not have possibly been averted
by either occupant". Although probate records give his address
as Cheddon Fitzpaine, he is buried in the churchyard at Sampford
Arundel where his parents were living by the end of the war.NOTE:
His parents lost all three sons in WW1. Lewis’s brothers Capt Frederick
Morgan Royal Horse Artillery and Lt Walter Morgan 6th battalion
South Lancs Regt, were both killed in action at Gallipoli in 1915. |
NATION |
Eling
Charles |
Private 17874 Coldstream Guards. Killed in Action 31 July 1917 Belgium.
Aged 22. Although he was born in Bitton, near Bristol, his family
came from West Monkton. His father Thomas Richard Nation, a butcher,
was born in the village. At the time of the 1911 census Eling was
working as a gardener in Holford. His parents were living in Monkton
Street, West Monkton. His father gave his occupation as "sexton"
In July 1917, in the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, the Guards division
attacked the enemy front line east of the Yser canal near the village
of Boesinghe (now Boezinge) and pushed the Germans back. But their
success came at a cost. Pte Nation is buried in nearby Artillery
Wood cemetery. |
NATION |
Henry
Joseph |
Private 15812 2nd battalion Welsh Regiment. Died of wounds 9 April
1915 France. Aged 30. Older brother of Eling Nation (see previous
entry). Born in West Monkton. Enlisted in Pontlotyn, Glamorgan Buried
at Hazebrouck Communal Cemetery, France. This was the site of a
number of casualty clearing stations. |
NORMAN |
Arthur
John |
Second
Lieutenant 8th battalion Leicestershire Regt. Died of wounds 29
Sept 1916 France. Aged 32. Son of farmer Christopher and Lucy Hannah
Norman (nee Leverton) of The Farm House, Heathfield, Taunton, later
of Overton House, West Monkton. Their son was born in Thurloxton.
Worked as a bank clerk and in 1911 was living in Tiverton. Buried
in St Sever, near Rouen. There were a number of military hospitals
in the Rouen area throughout the war. |
OATEN |
Christopher |
Private 3rd battalion South Wales Borderers. Died of illness 1919
Taunton. Aged 18. Son of William and Mabel Oaten who lived in Duke
Street, Taunton. Went to Kingswood School in Bristol, and became
a tailor. He joined the Army in Sept 1915 in Bristol giving his
age as 18 (he was in fact 15). He did not serve overseas. After
two spells in hospital he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and discharged
from the Army on 21 Feb 1917 (when his correct age was given on
the form) as unfit for military service. He was sent to a sanatorium
but died two years later. His name was submitted by West Monkton
for inclusion in the county memorial book but it is not known what
connection he had with the parish. |
OATEN |
Henry |
Private 39607 13th (Works) battalion Devonshire Regt. Died 20 Feb
1917 England. In 1911 there was a Henry Oaten, born 1895, working
at Manor Farm, Cheddon Fitzpaine. Not clear whether this is the
same man. According to UK Soldiers Died in the Great War Henry Oaten
died while on "home service". Buried St James churchyard,
Taunton. |
PAINE,
DSO |
James
Henry |
Lieutenant Colonel Royal Garrison Artillery. Killed in Action 25
July 1918 France. Aged 47. Son of the late James and Mary Paine
of Springfield, West Monkton (where he was born in 1870). His father,
who died in 1911, lived in West Monkton for nearly 42 years. Lt
Col Paine was married in 1896 to Caroline Mary (nee Piers). Their
address is given as Dunescote, Burnham-on-Sea. He joined the Royal
Artillery as a Second Lieutenant 1890; promoted Lieutenant 1893
and served on the North West Frontier in India winning the Distinguish
Service Order during the operations in Merkan with No. 4 (Hazara)
Mountain Battery … "the perfect drill, steadiness and discipline
of the battery was admirable". Promoted Captain 1899; Major
1910; served in the Great War with 26th Battery, Native Mountain
Artillery in India and later in France, commanding 76th Brigade
Heavy Artillery. He was killed near Albert in France and is buried
in Franvillers Cemetery. |
PRATT |
Edgar
Charles |
Private 7941 1st battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. Killed
in Action 12 May 1915 Flanders. Aged 27. Born Bishops Hull. Worked
as a labourer on GWR. Husband of Annie Mabel Pratt (nee Hayman)
of Swingbridge, Bathpool. In 1911 Annie, who worked in the shirt
industry, lived with her parents in Harmony Row, Bathpool. Edgar
has no known grave. His name is inscribed on Menin Gate Memorial,
Ypres. His name also appears on Bishops Hull war memorial. |
PRYOR |
Jasper
Henry |
Private 37414 12th battalion Gloucestershire Regt. Died 16 Feb 1917
France. Aged 24. Jasper Henry Pryor was born in Willsden Green in
Middlesex in 1892. In 1911 he was living with his widowed mother
Louise Marian Pryor in Bathpool, Taunton, and working as an architect
and surveyor’s clerk. He is buried in Gorre cemetery, Pas de Calais,
France |
REDLER,
MC |
Harold
Bolton |
Aged
21. Son of flour miller Daniel Bolton Redler and Annie Pethick Redler
(nee Crocker) His father was born in Devon, and his mother, a doctor’s
daughter, in Stogumber, but by the time of their son’s death the
couple were living in Boschbeek, Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa,
and Daniel Redler was described as a company director. Harold was
awarded the Military Cross "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion
to duty." He was credited with destroying five enemy aircraft
and causing five others to go down out of control. The citation
in the London Gazette (22 June 1918) says: "He continually
attacked enemy troops and transport from a low altitude during operations
and showed splendid qualities of courage and determination throughout."
The Turnberry golf course was used as an airbase during WW1 to train
pilots in aerial gunnery and combat. Redler crashed while testing
a device enabling pilots to fire through the propeller. A memorial
to honour airmen who served on the base has been erected on the
hill overlooking the 12th green Probate records from 1919 give Harold’s
home address as Bathpool, Taunton. He is buried West Monkton churchyard. |
ROSSITER,
MM |
Oliver |
Killed in Action 28 Feb 1918 France. Aged 27. Born West Monkton.
Enlisted Taunton Son of farm worker George and Jane Rossiter of
Mount Fancy, West Monkton. In 1911 Oliver Rossiter, described as
a "collier", was lodging with his uncle and aunt William
and Alice Blackmore at 2 Gordon Cottages, Monkton Heathfield. Awarded
the Military Medal given for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
No known grave. His name appears on the Arras Memorial |
TALBOT |
Jesse |
Private
201393 1/4th battalion Gloucestershire Regt. Killed in Action 17
July 1916 France. Aged 21. Born in Taunton. Son of Frederick and
Ellen Talbot of 6 Leycroft Road, Taunton. Shortly after his birth
the family moved to Newport in South Wales but by 1911 they were
living in No 3 Court, East Reach, Taunton, and Jesse was working
as a draper’s porter. No known connection with West Monkton. He
was killed during the battles in the Somme area and has no known
grave. His name appears on the Thiepval Memorial. |
TAYLOR |
Amale
Ralph G |
Private 26474 1/5 Somerset Light Infantry. Killed in Action 10 April
1918 Palestine. Aged 19. Son of James and Elizabeth Taylor (nee
Mockridge), 2 Cabbage Row, Bathpool. Amale (also spelt as Emale
and Emile) was born in West Monkton and worked as a labourer. During
early April 1/5 SLI were given the task of advancing the line to
Rafat. They captured a ridge and held on to it despite repeated
attacks by the Turks and Germans. But nine men were killed and 74
wounded in these operations, with seven missing believed killed.
Buried in Ramleh (Ramallah) war cemetery now in Israel. |
THORNE |
Edwin
John |
Private 295614 7th battalion Somerset Light Infantry. Died 24 August
1918 France. Aged 25. Son of farmer John and Rose Florence Thorne
of Gotton Farm, West Monkton, husband of Maud Winifred Thorne (nee
Jones) of 46, Gray's Rd, Taunton. The 7th (service) battalion was
formed in Taunton on 1914 and went to France in July 1915 as part
of the 20th (Light) division. At the end of July 1917 the battalion
was involved in raids on enemy trenches in the Lens sector with
a small number of casualties. The battalion history noted "August
was a quiet month." Pte Thorne is buried in Ligny-St. Flochel
British Cemetery, Averdoingt, France No cause of death given in
records. |
WARREN |
William
Charles |
Private 241657 1/5 battalion (Prince Albert’s) Somerset Light Infantry.
Died 18 Nov 1918 Palestine. Aged 36. Son of William Charles and
Adela Warren, of Acacia House, Bathpool, Taunton. The 1/5 SLI were
not in action after mid September 1918 so he may have died of wounds
or disease – a week after the Armistice. Buried in Alexandria (Hadra)
War Memorial Cemetery |
WHITE |
Charles
Arthur |
Private 27896 8th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry. Killed in Action
31 July 1917 Belgium. Born in Ditcheat and enlisted in Taunton.
Killed in the opening stage of the Third Battle of Ypres. Name appears
on Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial |
WHITE |
Ernest
Albert |
Private
25895 7th battalion Gloucestershire Regiment. Killed in Action 23
July 1917 Mesopotamia. Aged 40. Son of Samuel and Mary White of
Stone, East Pennard, near Shepton Mallet. Worked as a stone mason.
Husband of Elizabeth White of 144 Whetstone Rd, Shepton Mallet.
They married in 1902 and had four children in the first nine years
of their marriage. His address is given as West Monkton in the Memorial
Book of Somerset. Name appears on the Basra Memorial. |
WHITE |
George
Dennis |
Private
32213 8th battalion Somerset Light Infantry. Killed in Action 23
April 1917 France. Aged 20. Born in Corfe near Taunton, one of nine
children of farm bailiff George White and Bertha Hannah Maria Ann
(Annie) White (nee Symes). In 1911 the family were living in Bathpool
and George was working as an agricultural labourer. In April 1917
all four battalions of the SLI in France (1st, 6th, 7th and 8th)
were involved in the spring offensive in the Arras sector. On April
24 the 8SLI suffered many casualties from "heavy machine gun
fire and a terrific shrapnel barrage" as they attacked enemy
positions in the Second Battle of the Scarpe. Pte White’s name appears
on the Arras memorial |
WILLS |
Arthur
George |
Lance Corporal 10224 1st battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.
Killed in Action 21 Nov 1914. Aged 19. Youngest of the six sons
of James and Elizabeth Wills, of Hyde Rd., Bathpool, Taunton. Arthur
worked as farm labourer. 1 DCLI were based in Ireland at the outbreak
of war but landed in France on August 15 and would have been involved
in the First Battle of Ypres (19 Oct -22 Nov). No known grave. Name
inscribed on Menin Gate Memorial |
WILLS |
Charles |
Private
Somerset Light Infantry. Insufficient information to identify this
soldier. There was a Charles Wills born in West Monkton in 1879,
the second son of James and Elizabeth Wills. The CWGC list 14 men
with the name Charles Wills or C Wills who died in WW1 – but none
were in the SLI. |
WILLS |
Ernest
John |
Private
32251 2nd battalion South Lancashire Regt. Killed in Action 12 April
1918 Belgium. Aged 32. Third son of James and Elizabeth Wills of
Bathpool. Married to Quenella Florence Jubilee Wills (nee Hurford).
They lived at 5 Laburnham Terrace, Creech St Michael, and had a
daughter Dorothy May. In 1911 Ernest was working as a miller in
Berkeley, Gloucestershire. He enlisted at Berkeley and from Nov
1915 until April 1917 served in England. He was posted to France
on 1 May 1917. His name appears on the Ploegsteert Memorial commemorating
those who died in this sector but have no known grave. |
The following soldiers, who gave their birthplace as West Monkton
when joining the Army, appear on memorials elsewhere. |
BRADBEER |
George
Henry |
Private 16745 7th battalion Somerset Light Infantry 27 June 1917
Belgium. Son of agricultural labourer Thomas Bradbeer and his wife
Jane of Church Cottages, Cheddon. But later moved to Bishops Lydeard.
Married to Evalene Bradbear and had two daughters and a son. By
1911 his wife had died and George, a bricklayer, was living with
his in-laws and three children at Donyatt, near Ilminster. Buried
Vlamertinghe Military cemetery |
BROOMFIELD |
Ernest
William |
Private 241867 1/5th battalion Somerset Light Infantry. Killed in
Action 10 April 1918 Egypt. Aged 31. Son of shopkeeper William Broomfield
and wife Kate. Husband of Henrietta Broomfield of 43 Eastbourne
Road, Taunton. Ernest was born in West Monkton but the family moved
to Grays Road, Taunton, about 2 years later. Before the war Ernest
worked as a shirt cutter. Buried in Ramleh (now Ramallah). |
KALLAWAY |
Edgar |
Private
6761 1st Battalion Coldstream Guuards. Killed in Action 29 Oct 1914
Ypres. Aged 27. Son of accountant James Kallaway and his wife Jane.
Born in West Monkton but the family moved into Taunton and lived
in South Street, Alfred Street and Grays Road. Edgar began work
as a shop assistant and then railway porter but in July 1913 travelled
to Canada in search of a new life. He arrived back in the UK on
Sept 8 1914 presumably to volunteer. He was killed in action less
than eight weeks later. |
LEY |
William
Richard |
Private 32762 1st battalion Lincolnshire Regt formerly in Somerset
LI. Killed in Action 25 July 1917 France. Aged 36. Son of William
Richard and Emma Ley of Barnstaple, Devon. Husband of Edith Ellen
Ley of Queensland Road, Holloway, London. Enlisted in Taunton. Buried
in Cojeul British Cemetery, St Marton-sur-Cojeul, Pas de Calais. |
TOTEN |
Henry
Thomas |
Private 36500 4th battalion Worcestershire Regt. Killed in Action
29 May 1917 Arras. Aged 29. Son of timber carter Alfred and Mary
Toten. In 1901 he was living in Taunton Road, Bathpool but by 1911
the family had moved to String Lane, East Reach, and Henry was working
as a labourer. His name appears on Arras Memorial which commemorates
35,000 Allied forces who died in the Arras sector 1916-18 and have
no known grave. |
SECOND WORLD WAR (1939-1945) |
ASTON |
Edward
David |
Private 1618840 5th battalion Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. Killed
in Action 10 August 1944 France. Aged 31. Son of Mrs MS Aston of
Cheddon Fitzpaine. Killed in the advance through northern France
following D-Day. Buried in Bayeux War cemetery, France. |
COCHRANE |
John
Henry Forrester |
Sgt Navigator 7 Squadron Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Killed
in Action 4 December 1943 Holland. Aged 29. Son of Cmdr Morris Edward
Cochrane RN retd and his wife Charlotte Cochrane (nee Newton) of
Braydon, Wiltshire Probate records give his address as Rexhill Farm,
Bathpool. No 7 Sqn based at Oakington, north west of Cambridge,
flew Lancaster bombers on night attacks on Germany Buried Gramsbergen
Cemetery, Holland |
COOK |
John |
Not
Known. Insufficient information to trace him in CWGC records |
DAVIES |
Enid
Fuelle |
Wren 87329 WRNS HMS Goldcrest Pembrokeshire, Wales. Died 6 November
1947 UK. Aged 21. Born 21 April 1926, daughter of David and Elizabeth
Davies (nee Fuelle) of Hyde Lane Cottages, Bathpool. HMS Goldcrest
was the Fleet Air Arm base in Brawdy, Pembrokeshire. Enid is buried
in West Monkton churchyard |
LEAVER |
Cyril
Mervyn |
Sergeant 1179757 14 Squadron Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
Killed in Action 13 June 1942 North Africa. Aged 21. Son of Mr and
Mrs ES Leaver of Taunton. 14 Squadron was a bomber squadron which
in mid 1942 was based in Eqypt and flew Bristol Blenheim aircraft
bombing targets in the Western Desert. Name inscribed on Alamein
Memorial. |
LOCK |
Malcolm
Edward |
Lieutenant
1st Armoured Battalion Coldstream Guards. Killed in Action 9 March
1945 Xanten Rheinberg Germany. Aged 23. Younger son of Brigadier-General
F. R. E. Lock, D.S.O., and Mary E. Lock, of Wakehill, Ilminster,
Somerset. Buried Reichswald Forest War Cemetery near Kleve. |
NATION |
Thomas
Alan Hanson |
Petty
Officer D/JX 133217 Royal Navy HMS Glorious. Killed in Action 8
June 1940 off Norway. Aged 27. Son of Thomas and Ethel L Nation
of West Monkton. The aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and her escorting
destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent were intercepted in the Norwegian
Sea by the German battle cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The
three British ships were sunk by gunfire in a little over two hours,
with the loss of over 1500 officers and men. Name inscribed on Plymouth
Naval Memorial |
PALMER |
Harold
Heard |
Signalman
2372287 Royal Corps of Signals. 5 August 1942 India. Aged 22. Son
of David and Marjorie Palmer of Monkton Heathfield. His name appears
on the Brookwood Memorial which commemorates nearly 3,500 men and
women who died during the Second World War and have no known grave,
the circumstances of their death being such that they could not
be appropriately commemorated on any of the campaign memorials in
the various theatres of war. |
PARSONS |
Gordon
Henry |
Lance
Bombardier 966531 32 Heavy Regt Royal Artillery. Killed in Action
9 September 1944 Italy. Aged 28. Son of Robert and Mabel Kate Parsons
of Taunton. Husband of Mrs Ruby A Parsons (nee Pring). During September
1944 British forces attacked the well-prepared German defensive
position known as The Gothic Line that stretched from Rimini, in
north east Italy, right across Italy. Buried at Coriano Ridge, near
Rimini, Italy. |
PERRY |
Leslie
Walter |
Flying Officer Wireless operator/ gunner 106 Squadron Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve. Killed in Action 1 November 1944 Holland.
Aged 22. Son of William and Alice Perry (nee Winter) of Taunton.
Husband of Josselyn Irene Perry (nee James) of Taunton. 106 Sqn
flew Lancasters on long range bombing missions including attacks
on the V1 and V2 rocket launch and storage sites. Buried Bergen-op-Zoom
Canadian War Cemetery, Holland |
STRICKLAND |
Ronald
Frederick |
Private 14622523 6th battalion York and Lancaster Regiment. Killed
in Action 7 December 1944 Italy. Aged 20. Son of John and Louisa
Mary Strickland of Bathpool Buried in Forli War Cemetery Italy |
THURSTON |
Nigel
Vere Broke |
Lieutenant Royal Navy HMS Halcyon. Killed in Action 3 June 1940
Dunkirk. Aged 25. Son of Lt.-Col. Vere Broke Thurston and Claire
Burlinson Thurston, of West Monkton; husband of Patricia Thurston
(nee Tonks). Awarded the Harold Tennyson Prize at Dartmouth RN College.
HMS Halcyon was a minesweeper. At the evacuation of Dunkirk she
transported 2,271 troops until she had to be withdrawn due to damage
following air attack in which two crew members were killed, Halcyon's only
casualties of the war. Buried West Monkton churchyard. |