Roll of Honour - Huntingdonshire

The Royal British Legion

World War 1 & 2 - Roll of Honour with detailed information
Compiled and copyright © Martin Edwards 2001
Revised by Graham James 2020

The memorial stands in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Church Lane, Great Paxton, a lane of the main road through Gt. Paxton. It takes the form of a rough hewn, Celtic, cross set on a tapering plinth and a stepped base; an additional small tablet can be found against the base with a separate dedication. There are 11 names listed for World War 1.

Private 202812, 11th Battalion, Essex Regiment formerly 269110, Hertfordshire Regiment. Died of wounds Sunday, 24th June 1917 in France & Flanders. Aged 29. Born Buckden, enlisted Bedford, resident Great Paxton. He left a wife and young child. Buried in Bethune Town Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Plot VI. Row F. Grave 19.

Private G/21010, 10th Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) formerly 27252, Suffolk Regiment. Died of wounds Thursday, 27th September 1917 in France & Flanders. Aged 35. Born Graveley, enlisted Huntingdon, resident St Neots, actually lived on Church Lane, Gt. Paxton. No relation to Charles Bowles. Buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Plot XXVI. Row E. Grave 10.

Private 22602, 1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment who died on Sunday, 14th May 1916. Aged 20. Son of James and Kate Bryan, of Great Paxton, St. Neots, Hunts; brother of James Oswald bryan (below). Buried in Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Plot I. Row M. Grave 19.

Private G/10293, 10th Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) formerly 22496, Northumberland Regiment. Died on service 15th October 1915. Aged 23. Born 7 or 17 Apr 1894 in Paxton, Hnuts, resident and enlisted Ketting. Admitted to Great Paxton School 26 April 1896, left January 1908, a Monitor. Admitted to Great Paxton School 30 September 1907, left 21 October 1907 for Elementary School. Son of James and Kate Bryan, of Great Paxton, St. Neots, Hunts. Brother of John O Bryan (above). Buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Plot VIII. Row A. Grave 8A.

Captain, 1st Bn., East Lancashire Regiment. Killed in action 7th November 1914. Aged 29. Born at Poona, India. Son of the Rev. Alfred Granger Cane and Mrs. Emily Annette Cane, of Great Paxton Vicarage, St. Neots, Hunts. . Nephew of General Allenby. Proceeded to France from Depot, Preston, Oct. 1914. Buried in Lancashire Cottage Cemetery, Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium. Plot I. Row B. Grave 4.

There is a memorial to him in the church.

Extract from De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1918, volume 3, page 57:

CANE, LIONEL ALFRED FRANCIS, Capt., 2nd (59th Foot), attd. 1st (30th Foot), Battn. The East Lancashire Regt., s. of the Rev. A. G. Cane, Vicar of Great Paxton, formerly Chaplain to the Indian Government ; b. Poona, India, 19 Dec. 1884 ; educ. Haileybury ; gazetted 2nd Lieut. East Lancashire Regt. from the Militia, 3 Dec. 1904 ; promoted Lieut. 11 Nov. 1906, and Capt. 14 May, 1913 ; was Adjutant of his Battn. at the Cape, South Africa, from 23 Dec. 1910, to 22 Dec. 1913, after which he returned home on leave, and was subsequently posted to the depot at Preston. On the declaration of war in Aug. 1914, he applied to join the 1st Battu. of his regiment, which was granted ; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from the end of Sept. 1914, and was killed in action 7 Nov. following, while in charge of two companies.

Extract from Bond Of Sacrifice: Officers Died In The Great War 1914-1916, volume 1, page 67:

CAPTAIN LIONEL ALFRED FRANCIS CANE, 1st BATTN. EAST LANCASHIRE REGIMENT, son of the Reverend A. G. Cane, Vicar of Great Paxton, formerly Chaplain to the Indian Government, and Mrs. Cane, was born at Poona on the 19th December, 1884. He was first cousin to Lieutenant-General Sir E. Allenby, K.C.B. Captain Cane was educated at Haileybury, and joined the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) in February, 1903, being transferred to the 2nd Battalion East Lancashire Regiment in December, 1904. From 1910 to 1913, when he was promoted Captain, he was Adjutant of his battalion at the Cape, South Africa. On the expiration of his Adjutancy he returned to England on leave and was, almost at once, posted to the Depot at Preston. While serving there the war broke out, and he applied to join the 1st Battalion in the field.

He was ordered to the front at the end of September. When Major Green was wounded, Captain Cane took charge of his two Companies, " C " and "D," and was in command of them when he fell, on the 7th November, 1914, while leading them to attack a trench, which was captured just after he was killed.

Captain Cane won the Hunt Point-to-Point and the Regimental Steeplechase at Wynberg, South Africa, in 1914, riding his own horse.

Major, 46th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. Killed in action Monday, 25th March 1918. Aged 25. Son of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Cardell, of "Petherwin," Great Paxton, St. Neots, Hunts. Awarded the Military Cross (M.C.). Mentioned in dispatches three times. No known grave. Commemorated on Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France. Panel 7 to 10.

Extract from De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1918, volume 5, page 28:

CARRELL, EDMUND POWNE, M.C., Major, 14th Light Division, Royal Field Artillery, yet. s. of Edmund Harvey CardeII, of Great Paxton, St. Neot's, co. Huntingdon, Farmer, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of F. P. Nickell ; b. Launceston, co. Cornwall, 4 May, 1802 ; educ. East Anglian School, Bury St. Edmund's, and Nottingham University ; ho took the degree of B.Sc. of the London University (Engineering), and was on the staff of the British Reinforced Concrete Company ; gazetted 2nd Lieut. R.F.A. in Sept. 1914 ; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from May, 1915, and was killed in action near Passchendaele 21 March, 1918. His Colonel wrote : " He was as brave as a lion, and his character was most exemplary. There was not an officer or man in the battery who did not love him." He was three times mentioned in Despatches [London Gazettes, 15 June, 1916, 4 Jan. and 14 Dec. 1917] by F.M. Sir Douglas Haig, and was awarded the Military Cross for gallant and distinguished service In the field ; unm.

Pioneer 322174, 29th Division Signal Company, Royal Engineers. Died on service Saturday, 13th April 1918 in France & Flanders. Aged 23. Born Tottenham, Middlesex, enlisted Luton, Beds. Son of Mrs. H. Creamer, of Great Paxton, St. Neots, Hunts. Employed as a Machineman in the Locomotive and Carriage Department, Swindon No known grave. Commemorated on Ploegsteert Memorial, Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium. Panel 1.

Private 20856, 1st/8th Teritorial Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment formerly 1414, Hunts Cyclist Battalion. Killed in action Sunday, 27th August 1916 in the Battle of the Somme, France. Aged 17. Enlisted Huntingdon, resident Great Paxton Paxton with his grandparents. Brother of Mr. H. Lunniss, of The Leeds Arms, Eltisley, St. Neots, Hunts.No known grave. Commemorated on Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. Pier and Face 9 A 9 B and 10 B

Private 6206, 2nd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers), London Regiment. Died 7th August 1916, aged 28, in a railway accident near Salisbury, Wiltshire. Resident and enlisted Chelsea. Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. Norman, of Great Paxton, Hunts. Lived on Bullens Farm, just outside Great Paxton. Buried in Barford St Martin Cemetery, Wiltshire

Private 267550, 1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. Killed in action on the 15th August 1916 near Pozieres, in the Battle of the Somme. Lived in College Lane, Great Paxton. No known grave. Commemorated on Thiepval Memorial, France. Pier and Face 10 A and 10 D.

Lance Corporal 2209, 1st/4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment. 50th Northumbrian Division. Killed in action 2nd May 1915. Aged 24. Born Battle Bridge, Middx., resident Lisbury, Wilts, enlisted Hull. Went to school in Great Paxton. No known grave. Commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Ypres, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Panel 21 and 31.

Second Radio Officer, M.V. Cordelia (Liverpool), Merchant Navy who died at sea on Wednesday, 3rd February 1943. Aged 21. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Willis A. Hodson, of St. Neots, Huntingdonshire. No known grave. Commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London. Panel 31.

Extract from England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1944:

HODSON Michael Scott of Trees Paxton Hill St. Neots Huntingdonshire died 3 February 1943 at sea Administration Llandudno 29 September to Willis Annie Hodson widow.
Effects £517 15s. 3d.

Pilot Officer, 80818, 603 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died on Friday, 27th September 1940 during the Battle of Britain. Aged 23. Lived at Manor Farm,Great Paxton. Nephew of Edmund Cardell. Buried in Holy Trinity Graveyard, Great Paxton.

Private, 14659992, 1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment who killed in action in Burma on Monday, 8th January 1945. Aged 19. Born and resident Huntingdonshire. Buried in Taukkyan War Cemetery, Myanmar. Plot 25. Row A. Grave 19.

GREAT PAXTON WAR MEMORIAL