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Chesterton

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St Mary’s Church, Chesterton

St. Mary's parish is now a member of the Church of England Benefice of Akeman, which includes the parishes of
Bletchingdon, Hampton Gay, Kirtlington, Middleton Stoney, Wendlebury and Weston-on-the-Green.

The most striking gates leading into the Churchyard
are a Memorial

The timber frame is inscribed:
1914 -1919 TO THE GLORY OF GOD A THANK-OFFERING FOR VICTORY AND PEACE IN MEMORY OF THOSE FROM THIS VILLAGE WHO FELL IN THE WAR

The face inside the churchyard is inscribed

GREATER LOVE HAVE NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS
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The Memorial plaque

1914 1919

ROLL OF HONOUR

CHARLES  MORGAN HOARE     FREDERICK BERRY
LIEUT 15TH HUSSARS            PTE OXFORD AND BUCKS LI
ALBERT GEORGE HAWKINS    WILLIAM GEORGE HOPCRAFT
PTE GRENADIER GUARDS       PTE OXFORD AND BUCKS LI
RALPH PORTER                      RICHARD PORTER
PTE OXFORD AND BUCKS LI   GUNNER RG ARTILLERY.  
ALBERT FREDK INWOOD         BASIL HOWARD BAKER
CPL OXFORD AND BUCKS LI   LIEUTENANT, THE RIFLE BRIGADE
PERCY FREDK PITTAM            WALTER GEORGE HATHAWAY
PTE OXFORD AND BUCKS LI   PTE WORCESTERSHIRE REGT
GEORGE FREDERICK THOMAS AUSTIN
PRIVATE, WILTSHIRE REGIMENT
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The second plaque

1939 -1945
WILLIAM GEORGE VICTOR BUTLER
PTE
OXFORD AND BUCKS LI
CONROY HENRY ANCIL
LIEUT (A)  Royal Navy
JOHN SUTTON NICHOLAS BORROW
PTE OXFORD AND BUCKS LI
ALFRED THOMAS VARNEY
PTE
THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT
CYRIL GEORGE KERWOOD
PTE OXFORD AND BUCKS
LI

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Francis RUCK KEENE
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John Charles Lancelot RUCK KEENE
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Charles Frederick RUCK KEENE
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A third plaque

1939-1945
IN LOVING MEMORY OF

JOHN CHARLES LANCELOT RUCK KEENE
PILOT OFFICER RAFVR
FRANCIS RUCK KEENE DSC
LIEUTENANT RN
CHARLES FREDERICK RUCK KEENE
SUB-LIEUTENANT (A) RNVR

BELOVED SONS OF
WILLIAM AND VIOLET RUCK KEENE
OF BIGNELL PARK


The Fallen from WW1

George Frederick Thomas AUSTIN
Private, 6th (Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry) Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) 42 Brigade, 14th Division.  Army no. 27914. He was formerly with The Hampshire Regiment. Army no. 42766
He died on 14 September 1918. He was 19
He was the nephew of S J Pitts of Bucknell
He is buried in grave IV A 17 Premont British Cemetery
Additional information
Birth Place: Blackthorn
Residence: Bicester
Enlistment Location: Oxford

Basil Howard BAKER
Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion, attached 13th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own), 111 Brigade, 37th Division.  
He was killed in action on 22 May 1918. He was 21
He was the son of the Rev. Samuel Howard Baker of Rotherwood, Donnington, near Newbury
He is buried in grave XII B 14 Villers Station Cemetery, Villers-Au-Bois
Additional information
He was educated at Winchester College
His address for probate was Chesterton Vicarage

Frederick BERRY
Private, 2nd/4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 184 Brigade, 61st Division.  Army no. 202109
He was killed in action on 23 August 1917. He was 24
He was the son of James and Clara Berry, of Little Chesterton
He is remembered on panel 96 to 98 of the Tyne Cot Memorial
Additional Information
Birth Place: Weston-on-the-green
Residence: Little Chesterton
Enlistment Location: Oxford

Charles Morgan HOARE
Lieutenant, 15th (The Kings) Hussars, 2nd Cavalry Division.   
He was killed in action on 24 August 1915. He was 21
He was the son of Charles Twysden and Blanche Frances Hoare, Bignell Park, Bicester.
He is remembered on La Ferté sous Jouarre Memorial

Albert George HAWKINS
Guardsman, 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, 4 Guards Brigade, 2nd Division.  Army no. 16449
He died of his wounds on 11 April 1915. He was 20
He was the son of William H and Amelia Hawkins of Chesterton,
He is buried in grave IV B 30 Bethune Town Cemetery
Additional information
Birth Place: Bicester
Enlistment Location: Oxford

Walter George HATHAWAY
Private, 2nd/8th Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment, 183 Brigade, 61st Division. Army no. 43737
He died of his wounds on 28 August 1918. He was 19
He was the grandson of Joseph Hathaway of Bicester and the son of the late Frederick and Ellen Hathaway.
He is buried in grave IV C 20 Aire Communal Cemetery, near St Omer, France
Additional Information
Birth Place: Wendlebury
Residence: Wendlebury
Enlistment Location: Oxford

William George HOPCRAFT
Private, 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 28 Brigade, 7th Indian Division. Army no. 9454
He died on 29 July 1916. He was 24
He is buried in grave XXI S 31 North Gate War Cemetery, Baghdad
Additional information
Birth Place: Chesterton
Residence: Chesterton
Enlistment Location: Oxford

Albert Frederick INWOOD
Private, 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment, 88 Brigade, 29th Division.  Army no. 17259. He was formerly with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 7980
He was killed in action on 6 August 1915 at the Battle of Krithia Vineyard. He was 28
He was the husband of Lilian F Inwood, 9 Park End Street, Oxford.
He is remembered on panel 125-134 or 223-226 228-229 & 328 of the Helles Memorial
Additional information
Birth Place: Chesterton
Residence: Chesterton
Enlistment Location: Oxford

Percy Frederick PITTAM
Private, 6th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 60 Brigade, 20th Division. Army no. 12125
He was killed in action on 19 February 1917. He was 27
He was the son of Henry and Ann Pittam
He is buried in grave V E 25 AIF Burial Ground Grass Lane, Flers
Additional information
Birth Place: Chesterton
Residence: Chesterton
Enlistment Location: Oxford

Ralph PORTER
Private, 5th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 42 Brigade, 14th Division.  Army no. 10863
He was killed in action on 25 September 1915 during the second attack on Bellewaarde. He was 25
He was the son of Albert and Charlotte Porter of Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada. Ralph was a native of Chesterton
He is remembered on panel 37 and 39 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres
Additional information
Birth Place: Weston-on-the-hill
Residence: Chesterton
Enlistment Location: Oxford

Richard PORTER
Gunner, 132nd Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. Army no. 291840
He died of his wounds on 8 April 1918. He was 30
He was the son of Richard and Sarah Porter, Chesterton Fields
He is buried in grave IX D 3 St. Pierre Cemetery, Amiens
Additional information
Birth Place: Chesterton
Residence: Bicester
Enlistment Location: Oxford


The Fallen in WW2

Conroy Henry ANCIL       MiD
Lieutenant (A), HMS Stalker, Royal Navy
He died in an air accident on 20 July 1943. He was 26.
He was the son of Harry and Elsie Ancil of Chesterton
He is buried in 1 E grave 15 All Saints Churchyard, Middleton Stoney
Additional information
HMS Stalker was an aircraft carrier in the final stages of being fitted out

John Sutton Nicholas BORROW
Private, 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.  Army no. 5385346  
He was killed in action on 3 July 1944.  He was 30
He was the son of Jack and Dora Borrow; husband of Georgina May Borrow.
He is buried in grave I C 5 Foiano Della Chiana War Cemetery, Italy
Additional information
The Germans made a stand in this area in front of Arezzo and the Arno

William George Victor BUTLER
Private, 4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 5387027
He died between 10 May and 4 June 1940 during the retreat to Dunkirk. He was 21
He was the son of Edward G and Lydia M Butler.
He is remembered on column 92 of the Dunkirk Memorial
Additional Information
Whilst it is not usual, the dates are not specific as the Army has no accurate record and I have encountered this in other Dunkirk losses
                          
Cyril George KERWOOD
Private, 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 71st Infantry Brigade.  Army no. 5389160
He was killed in action on 16 July 1944. He was 28
He was the son of George and Fanny Kerwood, of Chesterton, Oxfordshire.
He is buried in grave III E 16 Brouay War Cemetery
Additional information
He too died at the time of intense fighting in Normandy after D Day

John Charles Lancelot RUCK KEENE
Pilot Officer, 207 Squadron, Royal Air Force. RAFVR no. 87024
He was killed in action on 21 October 1941. He was 27
He was the son of Violet B Ruck Keene and the late Admiral William G E Ruck Keene, MVO, JP. During the war, the family had lived in Oxford and moved to Bletchingdon after the war
He is remembered on panel l 34 of the Runnymede Memorial
Additional Information
His brothers, Lieut. Charles F Ruck Keene and Lieut. Francis Ruck Keene, DSC, also died on service.
His aircraft, Manchester L7487 EM-N took off from RAF Waddington on an operation to Bremen when it crashed into the North Sea 18 miles from Great Yarmouth. The crew were all killed. They were Pilot Officer G S Macdonald RCAF, Pilot Officer H S Ray RCAF, Flight Sergeant J S Cooper, Sergeant D D Taylor RCAF, Sergeant W H Gubbon, Sergeant H C Gardner

Francis RUCK KEENE     DSC
Lieutenant, HM Submarine Upholder, Royal Navy
He was killed in action on 18 April 1942 He was 23
He was the son of Violet B Ruck Keene and the late Admiral William G E Ruck Keene, MVO, JP. During the war, the family had lived in Oxford and moved to Bletchingdon after the war
He is remembered on panel 62, column 1 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial
Additional Information
His brothers, Lieut. Charles F Ruck Keene and John C L Ruck Keene also died on service
HM Submarine Upholder is proudly remembered by the submarine service although the reason for its disappearance has not been conclusively established. The mostly likely explanation is that it was sunk by an Italian Orsa class Torpedo Boat Pegaso.
When, on August 22, 1942, the Admiralty announced her loss, the communiqué carried with it an unusual tribute to Wanklyn and his men: "It is seldom proper for Their Lordships to draw distinction between different services rendered in the course of naval duty, but they take this opportunity of singling out those of HMS Upholder, under the command of Lt. Cdr. David Wanklyn, for special mention. She was long employed against enemy communications in the Central Mediterranean, and she became noted for the uniformly high quality of her services in that arduous and dangerous duty. Such was the standard of skill and daring set by Lt. Cdr. Wanklyn and the officers and men under him that they and their ship became an inspiration not only to their own flotilla, but to the Fleet of which it was a part and to Malta, where for so long HMS Upholder was based. The ship and her company are gone, but the example and inspiration remain." In all, Upholder was credited with having sunk 97,000 tons of enemy shipping, in addition to three U-boats and one destroyer.

Charles Frederick RUCK KEENE
Lieutenant (A), 761 Squadron, HMS Dipper, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
He died in an air crash on 3 August 1943. He was 22
He was the son of Violet B Ruck Keene and the late Admiral William G E Ruck Keene, MVO, JP. During the war, the family had lived in Oxford and moved to Bletchingdon after the war
He is buried in St Nicholas Churchyard, Henstridge, Somerset
Additional Information
HMS Dipper is the RN Air Station at Henstridge
According to family sources, Charlie Ruck Keene was the instructor when two aircraft collided.
His brothers, Pilot Officer John C L Ruck Keene and Lieut. Francis Ruck Keene, DSC, also died on service.

Alfred Thomas VARNEY
Private, 7th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. Army no. 5392732. He was formerly with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
He was killed in action on 10 July 1944. He was 21
He was the son of Reginald and Annie M Varney of Chesterton
He is buried in grave III H 9 La Delivrande War Cemetery, Douvres
Additional information
He died at the time of intense fighting in Normandy after D Day

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