Men from Stapleford Who Served in the First World War
The first knowledge we have of men who served in WW1 was a list drawn up by Lt. Colonel Louis Tebbutt in 1915 which lists 36 men of whom one had already been killed. Lt. Col. Louis Tebbutt joined the Cambridgeshire Volunteer Force as a young man and was commissioned with the rank of 2nd Lt. He gradually progressed through the ranks until he was the commanding officer of the battalion. He was, at the same time, the managing director of a cement company. With the outbreak of war all the companies spread throughout Cambridgeshire were immediately called up, travelled to Cambridge and camped on Parker’s Piece. Before embarking for France each soldier had a medical examination and Col. Tebbutt failed. Not surprising as he was 52 and had suffered a stroke some years earlier. The pressure of battalion commander as well as business life demanded much energy and time and had taken its toll. He had three sone who all joined the Cambridgeshires and two of them were killed. Tebbutt pestered the War Office until he was eventually sent to France as an area commandant in 1918.
During the time his battalion was in France without him it would appear that he toured the Cambridgeshire villages checking on how many men were eligible for active service and how many had already joined up.
The First Edition of the Millennium Chronicle gave the above list of men plus another 15 men who served but gave only their names with no addresses or regiments.and it was drawn up by George Dunn who was the Parish Clerk for many years starting in 1957. His list is misleading as the names of many Stapleford men who served are missing. We found these by examining the Missing Voters List dated December 1918.
The government decided to hold an election in December 1918 at which time the age of those eligible to vote was reduced from 30 to 21 for men and women over the age of 30 were given the vote for the first time.
At the time, few men had been demobilised so their names were recorded on the Missing Voters List. Even this list is confusing because quite a few men gave their addresses as London Rd., or Granta Terrace, Stapleford but the 1911 Census has these men’s addresses as Gt. Shelford. Also. people who lived in Fox Hill often said this was in Gt. Shelford
Even the list below is not complete because we do not know how many men aged 18, 19 or 20 were serving but not old enough to vote, so there could be even more names but we shall probably never find them. We know of two under the age of 21.
We know from the family, that Charles Bradford was was only 20 years old at the time of the election.
F.M.Hawes, the son of the vicar, was only 19 when he was killed in a flying training accident.
Men from Stapleford who Served and Were not Killed
Name Address Regiment or Service
Austin Bertie London Rd. 12th Battery Royal Field Artillery
Baynes Edgar Peter Bar Lane 18th Battalion Essex Regiment
Beadle John Edward Church St. Royal Field Artillery
Beavis Allen The Tree, Bar lane 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Beavis Harry Greenhedge Farm, Bar Lane
Beavis William Bar lane Army Service Corps
Biggs Henry George Church St. Suffolk Regiment
Bradford Charles London Rd.
Burman Alfred Bar Lane Royal Engineers
Dean George Bar Lane Army Service Corps (Motor Transport)
Dean William E. Bar Lane Cheshire Yeomanry
Dockerill Robert Harold Bury End 7th Battalion Oxford & Bucks. Light Infantry
Farnham Alexander Church St. Ministry of Munitions
Finch Walter Church St. 14th Battalion London Scottish Regiment
Flanders Stanley R. Greenhedge Farm, Bar lane 15th Battalion Suffolk Yeomanry
Foster Samuel School House, Bar Lane RAF
Freestone Alfred Bar lane Army Service Corps
Gray Joseph Robert Bar Lane 401st Agricultural Company
Going Cuthbert Eustace Bar Lane 5th Battalion Middlesex Regiment
Hawes Edward The Vicarage, Church St. 5th Battalion East Surrey Regiment
Hoppitt Sidney Bar lane 691st Agricultural Company
Hoppitt Walter Bar lane 660th Agricultural Company
Horsley Walter Gog Magog Cottages 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Howard Henry London Rd. 13th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment
King August Sunnyside Church St. Army Supply Corps (Motor Transport)
King Percival Sunnyside Church St. Army Supply Corps (Motor Transport)
King Reginald Sunnyside Church St. RAF
Lyles Martin Fox Hill 36th Royal Fusiliers
McFarlane Conrad London Rd. 99th Company Royal Garrison Artillery
Matlock Alfred Gog Magog Cottages 1st Battalion Cambridgeshire Regiment
Matlock Harry Mount Blow Cottage, Fox Hill Labour Corps
Matlock John Church St. 16thBattalion Highland Light Infantry
Miller Hubert Church St. 1st Battalion Cambridgeshire Regiment
Miller Jonah Church St. Army Service Corps
Miller Stanley Bury End 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Miller Sydney Church St. Royal Navy Barracks, Portsmouth, Stoker
Mirlees William Mount Blow, Foxhill Royal Field Artillery
Myers C.B. Ringwood Fox Hill Royal Army medical Corps
Pearson Albert 1st Battalion Territorial Force
Skipper George London Rd. Army Supply Corps (Motor Transport)
Speed Charles Edward Bar Lane 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Speed Ernest Gog Magog Cottages 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Speed Joseph 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Stallon James Church St. 2nd Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment
Stallon William Church St. 665th Agricultural Company
Sutton Herbert Royal Navy
Sutton Ernest London Rd. Labour Company
Townsend Arthur Bury End 5th Siege battery Royal Garrison Artillery
White Frank Church St. 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Willis Bert Church St. 11h Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Willis Frank Church St. 11h Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Woodhouse Edward Bar Lane 11h Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Woodhouse Sydney M. Bar Lane 1st Battalion Cambridgeshire Regiment
Wright Henry Hillstead, Fox Hill 11h Battalion Suffolk Regiment
Wright William Hillstead, Fox Hill 11h Battalion Suffolk Regiment
(55men)
The Stapleford Men Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice
Name Address Service Date Died
Chalk Arthur C.H. London Rd. Kings Royal Rifle Corps 4.6.1918
Chapman 31.3 1918
Cox Harry Windmill Cottages 1st Cambridgeshire Regiment 6.9.1917
Cox Sydney E. Windmill Cottages 12th Battalion Suffolk Regiment 25. 11.1917
Dean Sidney Bar Lane Army Service Corps (Motor Transport) 16.1.1920
Elbourne A.J. Heath Farm 1st Cambridgeshire Regiment August 1916
Elbourne Ellum G. Bar Lane 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment 13.11.1916
Hall John Magog Cottages 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment 3.6.1916
Hawes F.M. The Vicarage RAF killed while training 1917
Jennings William Church St. 1st Battalion Cambridgeshire Regiment 18.9.1918
Maddison Brian London Rd. Royal Naval Reserve HMS Simdon 23.1. 1917
Maddison Colin London Rd. Royal Canadian Regiment 25.4.1916
Payne E.P. Bridge End Cottage Royal Navy (missing during raid on Zebrugge) 23.1.1918
Ryder Harry London Rd. 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment 20.10.1917
Skipper Joseph London Rd. 11th Battalion Suffolk Regiment 27.1.1916
Thake Frederick Church St. 1st Cambridgeshire Regiment October 1915
Towers Grantham Church St. Royal Naval Air Service 7.11.1917
White A.P. Bar Lane 1st Battalion Liverpool Regiment 20.9.1917