Stapleford Men Who Served in WW1

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