GAISFORD

Walter Thomas

Lt Col Gaisford was commissioned ?? and died commanding the 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders on the first day of the Battle of Loos (25 September 1915). The son of the late Thomas Gaisford and Lady Alice Gaisford he was 44 years old at the time of his death. Lt Col Gaisford’s body was never found and he is remembered by a panel inscription on the Loos Memorial in France. 7th (Service) Battalion Seaforth Highlanders formed part of 26th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division and was created as a result of Army Order No 324 issued on 21 August 1914. The battalion was deemed fit for service overseas in May 1915 and served on the Western Front for the rest of the War.

GAISFORD

Robert Sandeman

Capt Gaisford was commissioned ?. On 4 August 1917 he was seconded from the Artillery for service with the Royal Flying Corps where he became a flight commander. In November 1917 Commonwealth forces deployed to Italy to support their Italian allies in the war on the Italian front. On 31 January 1918, whilst serving near Treviso, a large town north of Venice, Capt Gaisford was flying over enemy lines when he was attacked by four hostile aircraft and killed. The son of Lt Col and Mrs DJ Gaisford of Dunboyne Co Meath, he is buried in the British Cemetery at Tezze. Capt Gaisford was 22 when he died.

GAISFORD

Lionel

Lt Lionel Gaisford was commissioned ?. As an Indian Army officer he had seen service in the North West Frontier campaign and was serving with 58th Vaughan Rifles (Frontier Force) when, on 23 November 1914, he was killed during the Defence of Festubert [details]. His Regiment was part of 21st Indian Infantry Brigade, 7th (Meerut) Division and, given the Gaisford connection with the Seaforth Highlanders, it is interesting to note that the 1st and 1st/4th battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders were both serving in the Division at the same time. The son of the late Col Gilbert Gaisford (Indian Army, Political Officer) and Laura Felicite Lewis Gaisford (nee Hutchinson), Lt Gaisford was 26 when died. He is buried in Bethune Town Cemetry, near Arras, France.

HICKS

John Jacob Bodman

Serjeant John Hicks was serving with the 6th Battalion Leinster Regiment when he died, aged 32, during the Gallipoli campaign. The husband of Ellen Hicks, of Bulkington and the son of John and Annie Hicks from the neighbouring village of Keevil, it is not clear why Sjt Hicks was serving with an Irish battalion which, like 7th Bn Seaforth Highlanders (see above), had been formed in August 1914 as part of the reinforcement of the original BEF. From the date of his death on 10 August 1915 it seems likely that Sjt Hicks was killed whilst participating in the 29th Brigade attacks on Sari Bair. Sjt Hicks’ body was never found and he is remembered by a panel inscription on the Helles Memorial.

HARRELL

Frank Henry

The inscription on the Bulkington War Memorial simply refers to FH Harrell, RN. No rank is given. In fact Stoker 1st Class Frank Henry Harrell was 29 years old when he died on 25 October 1917 serving with the Royal Navy battleship HMS Glory. At the outbreak of World War I HMS Glory was involved in escorting Canadian troop convoys across the North Atlantic. It then became the flagship of the North American and West Indies Station. After a brief spell in the Mediterranean Fleet she was transferred in 1916 to the Russian port of Archangel where, until 1919, she acted as a Guardship. Since, in accordance with the customs of the Royal Navy, Frank Harrell was probably buried at sea he is remembered with honour on a panel at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Frank was the husband of Dora Louise Harrell, of 12 Southbroom, Devizes and the son of Juliana Harrell of Bulkington.

PICKETT

George

Pte George Pickett was an ‘Old Contemptible’, one of the original troops sent to France and Belgium in the summer of 1914. A professional soldier, George joined the Army as a boy at the turn of the century. He was still a Private and serving with 1st Battalion The Wiltshire Regiment when he took part in the first British action of World War 1 (The Battle of Mons). He also took part in the BEF’s general retreat to the Marne and met his death at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August 1914. His body was never found and he is remembered by a panel inscription on the La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial in France. George Pickett, the son of Mr and Mrs H Pickett of Bulkington, was 30 years old when he died.

WAREHAM

Albert

Pte Albert Wareham, a member of the 2nd Battalion The Wiltshire Regiment, was killed on 3 December 1917 whilst serving in the Ypres Salient. His death occurred after the 3rd Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) had been fought to an inconclusive end. Albert appears to be unique amongst the soldiers remembered on this memorial in that his death occurred not during a notable action but merely as a result of general duty in the trenches. Recorded as the brother of Mabel Wareham of Seend, Albert is buried in Hooge Crater Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium.