ATKINSON, OBE

Charles Henry Fairbank

Surgeon Lieutenant, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Died at Butt Park, St.Tudy, from Acute Suppurative Pharyngitis and Septicemia, 14 January 1920. Aged 35. Born 1884 in Stoke newington. Son of John Harrison Atkinson (a Banker). Married Maude Marion Tregaskes 30 December 1913 in South Farnborough, St Mark, aged 29; a General Practitioner (Village GP). MRCS, LRCP. Awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.). Medical register for 1913 gives his address as 50, St. Charles Square, North Kensington, London W., registered 8 March 1910, qualifications Member of Royal College of Surgeons, England, 1910; Licenced Royal College of Physicians London, 1910. Buried in ST. TUDY CHURCH CEMETERY, Cornwall.

BURDEN

Gordon

Private 240732, 1st/5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Killed in action 19 August 1917. Born 1897, and resident, in St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. House Boy of Churchtown, St. Tudy. Buried in BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Enclosure No. 2 Plot V. Row B. Grave 24.

BUTTON

William [John]

Private PS/1614, 'D' Company, 16th (Public Schools) Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment). Killed in action 1 July 1916. Born 26 June 1895 in St. Mabyn, Cornwall, resident Bodmin, Cornwall, enlisted Marylebone, Middlesex. Son of Susan Ann Button, of St. Tudy, Bodmin, Cornwall. Footman at Glynn Mansion, Cardinham, Cornwall. In the 1901 census he was aged 5, born St Mabyn, Cornwall, son of Susan Button (a widow), resident St Tudy Village, St Tudy, Bodmin, Cornwall. Attested 22 February 1915 in Marylebone, aged 19 years 242 days, a Footman by trade, resident St. Tudy, Bodmin, Cornwall, unmarried, height 5 feet 6 inches, weight 118 lbs, chest 34½-37 inches. Joined Regiment at Woldingham 22 February 1915, posted 16th Battalion 22 February 1915; with B.E.F. France 17 November 1915. No known grave. Commemorated on THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Pier and Face 12 D and 13 B.

HOOPER

Harry

Private 202179, 7th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Died of wounds 7 June 1917. Aged 22. Resident St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. Carpenter of Virginia Cottage, St.Tudy. Son of Harry and Jane Hooper, of Virginian Cottage, St. Tudy, Cornwall. Buried in GREVILLERS BRITISH CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France. Plot VI. Row B. Grave 2.

LANGFORD

Samuel

Private 54236, 13th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry formerly 184028, Royal Field Artillery. Died of wounds 22 September 1917. Aged 25. Born 15 August 1893 in St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Camelford, Cornwall. Farm Worker at Poldue, Blisland. Buried in LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot XXIV. Row C. Grave 9A.

MAGOR

Arthur Curgenven

Captain, 3rd Battalion attached 2nd Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment). Killed in action 17 October 1914. Soldier of Lamellen. Born 3 March 1879. In the 1901 census he was aqed 22, born St. Tudy, Cornwall, a Lieutenant line regiment, son of Mary C Magor (a widow), resident Lemellan, St Tudy, Bodmin, Cornwall. No known grave. Commemorated on YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Panel 53.

Extract from Bond of Sacrifice: Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1916, Volume 1, page 249-250:

CAPT. ARTHUR CURGENVEN MAGOR (CAPTAIN RET. PAY) 3rd BATTN. THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S (WILTSHIRE REGIMENT), who was killed in action during a night attack near Ypres on the 17th October, 1914, while attached to the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, was the youngest son of the late Edward Auriol Magor, of Lamellen, St. Tudy, Cornwall, J.P., and of Mrs. Magor, Middlecot, Weybridge, Surrey.

He was born on the 3rd March, 1879, and was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, and Exeter College, Oxford.

He joined the 2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment in February, 1900, becoming Lieutenant in August of the same year. He served in the South African War, being present at operations in the Orange River Colony, including actions at Bethlehem and Wittebergen, and at operations in the Transvaal, receiving the Queen's medal with two clasps. He was promoted Captain in September, 1908, retiring from the active list in September, 1912, when he entered the 3rd Battalion of his regiment.

Captain Magor, who was fond of hunting and shooting, married, in October, 1912, Dora, eldest daughter of the late Albert Bulteel Fisher, and Mrs. Fisher, of Court Hill, near Devizes, Wilts, and left one son, Arthur Frank Tregarthen, born in July, 1914.

MANNELL

Albert

Private 21318, 6th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Died of wounds 19 September 1916. Aged 19. Born 22nd November 1896, and resident, St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. Buried in HEILLY STATION CEMETERY, MERICOURT-L'ABBE, Somme, France. Plot IV. Row E. Grave 22.

MORRISH

William aka Willie

Private 240613, 1st/5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Killed in action 31 March 1918. Aged 23. Born 3 November 1894, and resident, St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. Son of John and Jane Morrish, of Penrose Mill, St. Tudy, Cornwall. Houseman, Servant of Penvose Mill, St. Tudy. No known grave. Commemorated on POZIERES MEMORIAL, Somme, France. Panel 45.

NICHOLLS

John aka Jack

Private 240770, 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Killed in action 4 October 1917. Aged 25. Born 11 January 1893. Resident St. Tudy, S.O. Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. Son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Nicholls, of School St., St. Tudy, Cornwall. Groom of School Street, St. Tudy. Buried in HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Plot X. Row F. Grave 10.

OSBORNE

Alfred

Private 23964, 'C' Company, 10th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Died on service 23 March 1917. Born 6 September 1879, and resident St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Camelford, Cornwall. Farm Labourer of Elm Cottage, School Street, St. Tudy. Buried in WARLOY-BAILLON COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, Somme, France. Plot VIII. Row D. Grave 31.

PARSONS

George [Arthur]

Private 21320, 6th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Killed in action7 May 1917. Aged 34. Born St. Kew, Cornwall, resident St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. Son of William Henry and Elizabeth Parsons, of Littlewood, St. Mabyn, Cornwall. Horseman and later a General Servant of Penvose, St. Tudy. Buried in WANCOURT BRITISH CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France. Plot I. Row C. Grave 6.

PRYOR

William John

Private 4120, 31st Battalion, Australian Infantry, A.I.F. Killed in action 10 April 1918. Aged 29. Son of Thomas and Emily Pryor of "Polshea," St. Tudy, Cornwall. Horseman of Polshea, St Tudy. Associated with Brooklet, New South Wales, Australia. Born 23 June 1887 in Trebarn Street, Kew near Wadebridge, England. Farm labourer by trade. Educated National School. Emigrated aged 24. Buried in CRUCIFIX CORNER CEMETERY, VILLERS-BRETONNEUX, Somme, France. Plot V. Row C. Grave 7. See Australian War Memorial Circular

WORTH

Albert Charles

Private 240733, 1st/5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Killed in action 17 April 1918. Aged 23. Born 24 September 1895, and resident, St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. Son of William Henry and Mary Worth, of St. Tudy, Bodmin, Cornwall. Mortar Mason of Spare Hill House, St. Tudy. No known grave. Commemorated on LOOS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France. Panel 68.

WORTH

Cyril George Hicks

Private 132884, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). Killed in action 18 April 1918. Aged 19. Born and resident St. Tudy, Cornwall, enlisted Bodmin, Cornwall. Son of Arthur and Mary Worth, of Hengar Cottage, St. Tudy, Cornwall. Mortar Mason, of Hengar Cottage, St. Tudy. Buried in VIEILLE-CHAPELLE NEW MILITARY CEMETERY, LACOUTURE, Pas de Calais, France. Grave lost. Bout-de-Ville German Cemetery Memorial 1.

1939-1945

CARTHEW

[William] John

Corporal 5438116, 5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Died on service 13 August 1944. Aged 23. Husband of Winifred (Winsome on CWGC) Alice W (nee Scatherton) Carthew, of Exeter married October to December Quarter 1941 in Okehampton, Registration District, Devon. Commemorated on grave in ST. TUDY CHURCH CEMETERY, Cornwall. Buried in BANNEVILLE-LA-CAMPAGNE WAR CEMETERY, Calvados, France. Plot XII. Row C. Grave 23.

Biography:

William married Winsome Alice Seatherton in December 1941 at Chagford, Okehampton, and her parents lived in the Lodge at Tremeer House, her father was a Gardener. The wedding was reported in the local newspaper as a “pretty wedding”. Ernest, his brother, was William’s best man.

On the evening of the 8/9th of July 1944 the 5th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (5th DCLI) of 214th Brigade and the 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7th RTR) attacked the hill (Hill 112) and reached the hilltop and woods nearby, which brought the four 43rd Division brigades onto the ridge. William would have taken part in this battle.

German counter-attacks began around midnight and got into Éterville several times; on the hill, the 5th DCLI was forced back to the Caen–Évrecy Road, after all its anti-tanks guns were destroyed and 240 casualties had been incurred. This is where we think William was wounded on the 12th of August and died of wounds on the 13th August 1944, as a result of a “battle accident”.

For the most part, the men buried at Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery were killed in the fighting from the second week of July 1944 when Caen was captured, to the last week in August when the Falaise Gap had been closed and the Allied forces were preparing their advance beyond the Seine.

HAWKEN

Herbert Ross

Private 10556578, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Died in United Kingdom 13 July 1942. Aged 21. Born and resident Cornwall. Son of Richard Herbert and Clara Hawken, of St. Tudy. Buried in ILLOGAN (ST. ILLOGAN) CHURCHYARD, Cornwall. Row 1. Grave 19.

Biography:

HODGE

William Ernest

Corporal 5436436, 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. Missing in action presumed killed 14 November 1942. Aged 28. Born and resident Cornwall. Son of William and Jessie Hodge. No known grave. Commemorated on ALAMEIN MEMORIAL, Egypt. Column 61.

Extract from England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1944:

HODGE William Ernest of Ringford St. Tudy Bodmin died on or since 14 November 1942 on war service Administration (with Will) Bodmin 22 March to Jessie Hodge (wife of William Hodge).
Effects £142 8s. 10d.

Biography:

William was born in St. Germans, and was the Son of William and Jessie Hodge (nee Hawke). They lived at Cardinham where William’s father worked as a farm labourer, and a stone mason, the family then moved to Wringford, St. Tudy.

It looks like William enlisted in February 1934 at Bodmin, together with Reverend Schuster’s son, Harold. At the outbreak of war, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, which was located at Napier Barracks in Lahore. It remained in Lahore during the whole of 1939, 1940 and 1941. The Battalion left Lahore on the 9th of November 1941 for Karachi. They then left Karachi on the 11th of November 1941 and sailed to Basra, Iraq, and moved to As Zubai and Shubaiba, coming under the command of the 10th Indian Infantry Division’s 21st Indian Infantry Brigade. They moved to the Western Desert on the 2nd of June 1942 and arrived at Tobruk on the 5th of June 1942.

William would have taken place in the Battle of Gazala between 26th of May to the 21st of June when the fall of Tobruk took place on the 20th of June, and Italian troops along with others overtook Tobruk. Although William was reported missing on the 29th of June 1942, along with seven other soldiers from the DCLI, we think that he was captured on the 20th of June along with 33,000 other British Soldiers.

He was first reported as a casualty, and then as a POW. The Italians had started to ship POW’s out of Tobruk to Italy in July of 1942, and we have found evidence that William died whilst at sea on the 14th of November 1942 on the “Scillin” when it was sunk by the H.M.S. Sahib, with only one of the 788 POW’s surviving. The hatches had been closed to prevent the escape of the prisoners.

The details of the Scillin’s loss, and the circumstances of the death of the Allied POW’s were kept secret for more than 50 years, until persistent enquiries by relations and historians brought a more open response. The reasons for such official reticence for such a long period are not clear, but there are claims that it was deemed necessary to protect intelligence sources.

William is Remembered with Honour at Alamain Memorial, Panel 61.

NICHOLLS

Ernest James

Leading Aircraftman 1299622, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 29 September 1945. Aged 23. Son of James and Emily Nicholls, of St. Tudy. Buried in ST. TUDY CHURCH CEMETERY, Cornwall.

Extract from England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1946:

NICHOLLS Ernest James of Pendeen St. Tudy Cornwall died 29 September 1945 on war service Administration Bodmin 16 January to Emily Nicholls (wife of James Nicholls).
Effects £208 8s. 10d.

Biography:

Ernest was born in St. Tudy in 1922 and lived with his family at Pendeen, St. Tudy, and was the nephew of Jack Nicholls who died in WW1. His mother and father were Emily (nee Whale) and James (Jim) Nicholls. Jim’s own brother, Jack, died in WW1 and is also commemorated on the War Memorial.

Ernest worked at Thomas Ward Ltd, Wadebridge, and De Lank Quarry at St. Breward, prior to enlisting in the R.A.F. . Unfortunately as we cannot access his records due to privacy, we only know he joined up after 1939.

He was stationed at R.A.F. Portreath and held the rank of Leading Aircraftman with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

Unfortunately, as the air base was in the process of closing down in September 1945, Ernest contracted TB and died on the 29th of September 1945 in Truro Hospital.

There was a lengthy article in the Western Morning News on his funeral at St. Tudy, which was taken by the Reverend Schuster, who at that time, had two sons in the Army.

Ernest seems to have been well liked and respected by his work and R.A.F. collegues, family and friends, and there was a large attendance at his funeral with many floral tributes.

PILKINGTON

Walter Ashworth

Leading Writer D/MX 55434, H.M.S. Courageous, Royal Navy. Died at sea when the British aircraft carrier H.M.S. Courageous sank after being torpedoed by U-29 off the south west coast of Ireland 17 September 1939. Born 10 May 1919 in Wadebridge, Cornwall. Son of Walter Pilkington, and of Evelyn Pilkington, of St. Tudy, Cornwall. No known grave. Commemorated on PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL, Devon. Panel 35, Column 1.

Extract from England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1939:

PILKINGTON Walter Ashworth of The Gables Saint Tudy Bodmin died 17 September 1939 on war service Administration Bodmin 11 December to Evelyn Hooper (wife of James Hooper).
Effects £321.

Biography:

Walter was born in Wadebridge, his Mother and Father were James Walter and Evelyn Pilkington (nee Gill). Evelyn was born in Plymouth, and married James Walter Pilkington who was born in Bury, Lancashire. They married in June 1918. James was a young Reverend, and both he and his wife, Evelyn, were described as “radiant and well loved”. They moved to Norwich in August 1918, and unfortunately James died of influenza in November 1918. Evelyn’s family were in St. Kew, and she moved to The Gables in St. Tudy after re-marrying to James Hooper in 1921.

Walter was serving aboard H.M.S. Courageous, an aircraft carrier, during the opening stages of World War 2. H.M.S. Courageous was sent to her war station at Portland, Dorset on the 31st of August 1939 three days before war broke out, where she embarked two squadrons of Fairey Swordfish aircraft, and departed Portland on the day war broke out for an anti-submarine patrol in the Western Approaches. On the evening of the 17th of September H.M.S. Courageous was on anti-submarine patrol about 350 miles west of Lands End. At 14.45 hours, the group picked up a distress call from MS Kafiristan being attacked by U-53 (Heinicke) about 350 miles west of Cape Clear. About 18.00 hours U-29 spotted the carrier and began chasing it, and it was when H.M.S. Courageous turned into the wind to recover the four Swordfish returning from the search for the U-53, that the U boat attacked. H.M.S. Courageous almost immediately listed heavily and sank after 17 minutes, about 190 miles southwest of Dursey Head, Ireland. Walter was lost at sea, along with 17 officers, 501 ratings, including 36 R.A.F. service crewmen.

Writers usually had clerical duties, and his station would have been below deck, so he would have had little or no chance of escape. When the ship went into action, Walter would have been involved in damage control, passing vital information to combat floods and fires, so when H.M.S. Courageous was hit, Walter would have been right in the middle of the action.

Walter is Remembered with Honour on the Plymouth Royal Navy War memorial on the Hoe, where his name can be found on Panel 35, Column 1.

Second Row - Left to right:
Walter Burch, Gordon Burden, William Button, John Carthew (RIP), Ted Dennerley,
Bessie Ford

Third Row - Left to right:
Elsie Ford, The Home Guard, Red Cross Nurses, Jan Ford

Forth Row - Left to right:
Ross Hawkin (RIP), Derek Hooper, Des Hooper, Harry Jago,
Roy Island, Doris Armstrong, Bessie Ford, Harry Button, Dick Keat, Walter Magor

Fifth Row - Left to right:
Ernest James Nicholls (RIP), Norman Pearce, Walter Pilkington (RIP)
Gerard Rickard, Hilda and Bill Warne