Ministry of Defence
Lest We Forget
The Royal British Legion
| Ministry of Defence |
Lest We Forget |
The Royal British Legion |
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St.
John the Evangelist Church - Gate ©
William and Pauline Hanna (WMR-68319) |
TO
THE GLORY OF GOD
AND TO THE MEMORY OF THE
OFFICERS & MEN FROM THIS PARISH
WHO WERE KILLED IN ACTION
OR DIED OF WOUNDS OR DISEASE
IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918.
THE LYCHGATE IN THE CHURCHYARD WAS
ERECTED BY THE PARISHIONERS.
| FINDLAY | Cyril Olney | Lieutenant, 4/8th (Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. Died of wounds
17 October 1917 in France. Aged 24. Only son of Baptist Minister
the Rev William Alexander Findlay and his wife Lillian Sarah, of
Flook Villa, Staplegrove Road, Taunton. Cyril, who was born in Reading
on 4 October 1892 received part of his later schooling in Taunton.
Studied at Guy’s Hospital with a view to becoming a dental surgeon.
Was commissioned 26 April 1917 and went to France on 4 June 1917
being appointed brigade Bombing Officer. Lt Findlay was badly wounded
during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) which lasted from
July-November 1917. He is buried in Outtersteene Communal Cemetery
Extension, Bailleul, France. |
| HARRIS | Cecil St John | Lieutenant, 3/5th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. Died 10 September 1915
in England. Aged 24. Third son of the Rev Percy Charles Harris, Rector
of Staplegrove, and his wife Constance Elizabeth Ellen. Born 13/7/1891
in Staffordshire. Before the war, Cecil studied engineering. He
died in The Nursing Home, Wellington Road, Taunton, following an
operation for appendicitis. He is buried in Staplegrove Churchyard.
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| HILL | Frank R | Private
20461, 3/5th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. Died 18 February
1916 in England. Aged 46. This would
appear to be Francis Robert Hill – the father of
Harold James Hill (see below). In 1891 he was serving as a private
soldier in the 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire Light Infantry, stationed
at Gosport in Hampshire. Ten years later he had left the Army and
married Florence Ida Giles. The 3/5th Battalion, was a reserve unit
on home duties. It is likely that Frank died as a result of illness.
He was buried in Staplegrove churchyard on 22 February 1916 in plot
D1 and his name appears on a memorial in the churchyard. |
| HILL | Harold James | Private
2697, Somerset Light Infantry. Died 23 October 1916 in Taunton.
Aged 19. Son of painter Francis Robert and Florence Ida Hill (nee
Giles) of Ashcroft, Leslie Avenue, and formerly of South View, Staplegrove
Road. In 1911 Harold was working as an office boy. It would appear
he died of illness before joining a front line Battalion, . He was
buried on 26 October 16 in Staplegrove churchyard in plot D7 His
name appears on a memorial in the churchyard. |
| HOWE | Ernest Herbert | Lance
Corporal 295308, 12th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry formerly
West Somerset Yeomanry. Killed in action 2 September 1918 in France.
Aged 24. Younger son of John and Mary Howe of Whitmore, Staplegrove.
Born in Trull, he was a farm worker before the war. He enlisted
in Minehead in 1915 and served in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine.
He was wounded in fighting in Gaza in November 1917. In May 1918
his unit was sent to France. On September 2 it was involved in the
fierce fighting around Peronne - the first battle in which it had
been involved since arriving in France. The troops advanced over
open ground, raked by enemy machine gun fire with old trenches and
shell holes providing the only cover and were twice driven back.
At the end of the day they had gained 500 yards but had lost 46
dead and 166 wounded, with 14 missing. Lcpl Howe is buried in Peronne,
Somme, France |
| KNIGHT | Victor John | Private
203344, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. Killed in action
26 September 1917 in Belgium. Aged 30. Victor John Knight, known as
Jack, was the only son of the late Robert Knight and Jane Knight
(nee Stone) of The Stores, Staplegrove. He was killed in action
during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). He has no known
grave. His name appears on the Tyne Cote Memorial. |
| NAPPER | William | [Surname
appears on church scroll as KNAPPER] Private S2/017291, Royal Army
Service Corps. Died 16 January 1919 in Dar-es-Salaam (now Tanzania).
Aged 25. This would appear to be William Napper, a grocer’s apprentice,
born 1893 at Staplegrove, son of railway shunter Walter and Eliza
Miriam Napper (nee Palmer) of 7 Elm Terrace, Staplegrove Road. Medal
records show he arrived in Egypt on 14/7/1915. Dar-es-Salaam was
the capital of German East Africa. It was eventually taken by Commonwealth
troops in September 1916. Buried in the Dar-es-Salaam war cemetery.
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| NATION | Joseph | Private
28797, 6th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry formerly
West Somerset Yeomanry. Killed in action 24 April 1918 in France.
Aged 24. Eldest son of Frederick John Nation, head gardener at Staplegrove
Manor, and his wife Georgiana (nee Davey), of Manor Cottage, Staplegrove.
Engaged to Miss Minnie Towell who lived in Leigh Cottage, Staplegrove
Road. He worked as a cycle repairer before the war. Joined the West
Somerset Yeomanry in September 1914 and in September 1916 transferred
to the DCLI. In March and April 1918 the Allied Fifth Army was driven
back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields.
His name appears on the Pozieres Memorial that commemorates over
14,000 British casualties. |
| PREW | Harold Edward | Lieutenant,
2nd Rhodesia Regiment South African Infantry. Killed in enemy air
raid 19 October 1917 in London. Aged 29. Harold Prew was the eldest
son of John Cornish Prew and Emma Ann Cade Prew (nee Browne) of
Bellecour, Staplegrove. He was born in Staplehay on 19 October 1888.
Went to Huish’s School, Taunton. Emigrated to South Africa and worked
for the British South Africa company, eventually settling in Bulawayo,
Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Joined Rhodesia Regt 10 January 1915 and
was commissioned, being gazetted Lieutenant, on 1 April 1916. Came
to England with his regiment on 13 October 1917 en route for France.
Six days later – on his 29th birthday – he was killed in London
by a bomb dropped by an enemy aircraft. From July 1917 German Gotha
and Giant aircraft made regular day and night raids on London dropping
high explosive and incendiary bombs. A total of 857 people were
killed and more than 2,000 injured in air raids. Harold Prew is
buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking. |
| PREW | John Cornish | Private 10112, 4th/1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment. Died of illness 16 March 1917 in Ripon, Yorkshire. Aged 24. Son of John Cornish Prew and Emma Ann Cade Prew of Bellecour, Staplegrove, Taunton. Younger brother of Harold Edward Prew (see above) He was a single man who had worked as an ironmonger’s assistant. Military records show he was called up for service on 10 October 1916. However he was discharged three months later on 3 January 1917 when he was found to have pulmonary tuberculosis. He was admitted to the Military Hospital at Ripon where he died two months later. He is buried in Ripon cemetery. NOTE: An older brother Private (4178) Percy Richard Prew served in the Coldstream Guards for 18 years and was twice wounded during the First World War but survived and was eventually left the Army in 1919. |
| SHEPPARD | Gordon | 2nd
Lieutenant, 309th Siege Battery Honourable Artillery Company. Died
of wounds 3 November 1917 in France. Aged 20. Only child of commercial
traveller James Axtens Sheppard and Ada Emma Sheppard (nee Chapman)
of Marston, Staplegrove. Buried at Wimereux. Pas de Calais, France.
This was the location of a major British Army hospital during WW1 |
| SHUFFLEBOTHAM | Guy Mynors | Captain,
7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. Killed in action 3 September
1916 in France. Aged 20. Younger son of surveyor John Henry Shufflebotham
and the late May Shufflebotham (nee Lester) of Hazelford, Mount
Nebo, Taunton. (formerly of Staplegrove Road). While at King’s College,
Taunton, their son was a member of the Officer Training Corps for
four years. Guy Shufflebotham was training to be a land agent before
the war and was articled to Greenslades in Taunton. He died in the
battle of Guillemont which was an important German stronghold at
the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. It was taken
by the Royal Scots Fusiliers on 30 July but the Battalion, was obliged
to fall back. On 3 September (in the Battle of Guillemont) it was
captured and cleared by the 20th (Light) and part of the 16th (Irish)
divisions. The 7th Somersets paid a heavy price for this victory
with 11 dead (including Capt Shufflebotham, who commanded A company)
and 155 wounded. He had previously been mentioned in dispatches.
Capt Shufflebotham is buried in Guillemont Road Cemetery, Guillemont
|
| TORDIFFE | Arthur Murray Stewart | Sergeant
738, South African Infantry. Killed in action 24 March 1918 at Marriers
Wood, Somme, France. Aged 41. Son of the late Rev Stafford William
Tordiffe (died 1912) and his wife Marianna Tordiffe (nee Sayce).
The Rev Tordiffe had been Rector of Staplegrove. Arthur was born
on 4 May 1879 in Devizes, Wilts. He emigrated to South Africa and
when war was declared he enlisted. He was killed as the Allied Fifth
Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme
battlefields. His name appears in the Pozieres Memorial. |
| TURNER | Arthur Jeffreys | Private
35802, Depot, Somerset Light Infantry. Died 31 July 1917 in Cambridge,
England. Aged 19. Son of Arthur W Turner of Fitzroy, Norton Fitzwarren.
Member of the Officer Training Corps (OTC) at Cambridge University.
Enlisted in the Army in Taunton. A plaque in the church says he
was aged "19 years 10 months" at the time of his death.
No cause of death is given in the records. |
| VAUGHAN | Guy Carleton | Captain,
2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment. Killed in action 20 July 1916
in France. Aged 26. Son of retired Col Alexander Henry Vaughan and
Margaret Jessie Vaughan. Husband of Marie Louise Vaughan of The
Cottage, Woolmer Green Knebworth, Hertfordshire. Guy Vaughan was
born in Taunton. In 1891 his parents were living in Waterslade House
in South Road, Taunton, before moving to Cheltenham He was a professional
soldier and in 1911 was a 2nd Lieutenant, serving with his Battalion,
in Malta. Capt Vaughan was killed in action during battle of The
Somme and is buried in the Quarry cemetery Montauban |
| VICKERY | Archibald Sidney | Private
14827, 7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. Died of wounds 5
October 1916 in France. Aged 19. Son of James and Emma Vickery of
Elm Terrace, Staplegrove Road, Known as Archie, he joined the Army
in 1915, at the age of 17, and had been at the front for 15 months.
He was wounded on 4 October 1916 and died the following day. Buried
in Grove Town cemetery, Meaulte, Somme, France. |
| WHITE | Ernest | Lieutenant, 55th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. Killed in action 10 April 1918
in France. Aged 27. Youngest son of John and Jane White of The Mills,
Staplegrove. He went to Huish’s School and served in Egypt and Palestine.
Returned to England in summer of 1917 for a machine gun training
course and went back to France in February 1918. He was shot while
rescuing a wounded German in front of the British line. His Commanding
Officer wrote to his parents: "Your son bandaged the man, carried
him back, and was just on the point of entering our trenches when
he was sniped and killed instantaneously. So died a very gallant
gentleman." He is buried in the Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner,
Cuinchy, Pas de Calais, France. |
AND
IN MEMORY OF THE MEN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945 |
||
| BERRY | Dennis Lionel | Corporal
5728229, 2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment. Killed in action 27
April 1944 Kohima North East India. Aged 25. Son of Frank G. Berry
and Lu-Lu Berry, of Taunton. As a boy he was a member of the local
Young People’s Fellowship. The Japanese advance into India was halted
at Kohima (150 miles from the Burma border) in April 1944 in what
was perhaps the most bitter fighting of the whole Burma campaign
when a small Commonwealth force held out against repeated attacks
by a Japanese Division. Cpl Berry is buried in the Kohima war cemetery
where there is a memorial to the 2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment.
|
| CLIFTON | John Kenneth Grahame |
Pilot
Officer, 253 Squadron, Royal Air Force. Killed in action September 1940 in Kent.
Aged 21. Son of John Henry and Susie Dorothy Anderson Clifton, of
The Gables, Private Road, Taunton. Kenneth, as he was known, was
an old boy of Taunton School. He joined the Royal Air Force early in the war
and became a fighter pilot. He was shot down over Kent during the
Battle of Britain. He is buried in Staplegrove churchyard. |
| EDWARDS | Joseph Gilbert | Warrant
Officer (Pilot), 51 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
Killed in action 17 April 1943 in Germany. Aged 22. Son of Charles
and Eveline Maud Edwards, of Taunton, Somerset. Buried in Reichswald
Forest War Cemetery. Most of the aircrew buried in this cemetery
died in the intensive air attacks over Germany. |
| MAJOR | Jack |
Leading
Aircraftsman 1339948, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 28
August 1943 in Calgary, Canada. Aged 20. Only son of Ashley Samuel
Major and his wife Alecia (nee Sandy) of Taunton, and an old boy
of Taunton School. He was killed in a flying accident in Calgary,
Canada, while training to be a fighter pilot. He is buried in the
Calgary (Burnsland) cemetery which contains the grave of 197 service
personnel from WW2, mostly airmen who died during training. |
| ROWCLIFFE | Lionel Charles | Driver
1878811, 245 Field Company, Royal; Engineers. Killed in action 2
May 1944 in Anzio, Italy. Aged 32. Husband of Emily May Rowcliffe,
of Staplegrove, Taunton. Troops landed at Anzio in January 1944
to attack the Germans’ defensive position, known as the Gustav Line.
Initial attacks were unsuccessful and it was not until May 1944
that they eventually broke through. Driver Rowcliffe is buried in
the Anzio Beach Head cemetery. |
| SMITH | Leonard George |
Sergeant
1385192, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Killed in action 17
April 1943. Aged 29. Son of Arthur and Beatrice Smith of Sherford
and husband of Grace Smith (nee Horler). Name on the Runnymede Air
Forces Memorial commemorating those lost in operations who have
no known grave. |
| STONE | Leslie John | Private
14260485, 5th Battalion, Manchester Regiment. Died 16 November 1945
in Carmarthen. Aged 22. Son of Mr and Mrs GT Stone and husband of
Peggy M Stone (nee Hallett) of Staplegrove. His death was registered
in Carmarthen. No cause given in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
records. He is buried in Staplegrove churchyard. Row B1 grave 13.
|
| WINDSOR | William Herbert |
Corporal
5573214, 4th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment. Killed in action 10
July 1944 in France. Aged 27. Son of William Henry and Bessie Windsor,
of Taunton, Somerset; husband of Ellen Amelia Windsor, of Taunton.
Known as Billy. He was a member of the church choir at Staplegrove
as a boy. For the most part, the men buried at Banneville-la-Campagne
War Cemetery were killed in the fighting during the second week
of July 1944, around Caen. Some of the fiercest fighting was during
the capture of Hill 112 and a memorial has been erected there in
memory of the men of the 43 Wessex Division. There is an identical
monument at Wynyard’s Gap in Dorset, |
WHEN
YOU GO HOME, TELL THEM OF US AND SAY,
FOR YOUR TOMORROW, WE GAVE OUR TODAY.
Last updated 15 March, 2022
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