They Gave Their Today
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Drayton, in the Parish Church of St Peter

Picture
I love this church tower
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The War Memorial
 
THIS TABLET
IS ERECTED BY THE PARISHIONERS
IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THE MEN OF DRAYTON
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE
GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919
CORL WILLIAM JOHN WEBB O&BLI
SAPPER FREDERICK WILLIAM MARSHALL RE
PTE THOMAS HEADING NORTH CG
WILLIAM HENRY BRAIN RN
 
And a separate plaque below it
 
1939 – 1945
 
KENNETH GEORGE KINGERLEE. RAF
ROBERT FRANK JARVIS RN
Picture
A Roll of Honour

DRAYTON St PETER
ROLL OF HONOUR

To commemorate the names of those who
From this Parish joined H M Forces, endured 
hardship and rendered good service in the 
Second Great War for the cause of freedom

1939 – 1945

J Allington Pte CG                  E J Palmer Gunner RA
REW Ashley Cprl RAF           R H Palmer Cprl RASC
S G Bagley Gun’r RA             R Simms W O RAF
R Capell Pte                            S G Taylor LAC RAF
L A George B’dr RA                K S Taylor Sgt GPR
N F Gunn Spr RE                   A J Varney L Cprl RMP
W F M Hunt Major MBE PC   W C Varney Cprl O&BLI
C Jarvis AB RN                      G J Varney Pte O&BLI
G J E Lowe Cprl REMC         L U T Webb Pte RASC
P Mckinley AC RAF               G D Webb LAC RAF
J E Palmer Gunner RA

Brenda Chrisian Allington       ATS
Phyllis Ruby Allington             WRNS

The more unusual Abbreviations

CG   Coldstream Guards
B'dr   Bombardier
PC   Pioneer Corps
AB RN   Ablebodied (Seaman) Royal Navy
AC   Aircraftman
RMP   Royal Military Police
ATS   Auxiliary Territorial Service
​The Fallen in WW1 named on the Memorial

William John WEBB
Corporal, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
He was born in 1895
He was the son of William and Tamar Webb of Drayton
I regret that I have not traced any military record for him.  

Frederick William MARSHALL 
Sapper, 483rd Field Company, Royal Engineers. Army no 522247
He was killed in action between 2 and 3 April 1918. He was 24
He is buried in grave I L 8 Varennes Military Cemetery between Albert and Amiens
Additional Information
He was the son of William and Mary Ann Marshall of Drayton

Thomas Heading NORTH 
Private, 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, 4 Guards Brigade, 1st Guards Division. Army no 17227 
He was killed in action on 29 July 1917 in the fighting near Ypres. He was 42
He is buried in grave VIII C 5 Duhallow ADS Cemetery
Additional Information
He was the son of Thomas Nash and Elizabeth Jane North.

William Henry BRAIN
Boy 1st Class, HMS Indefatigable, Royal Navy. RN no J/34903
He was killed in action on 31 May 1916 at the Battle of Jutland. He was just 15 (1 July 1899)
He is remembered on panel 14 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial
Additional information
He was the grandson of Ellen Brain of Drayton and his next of kin was his aunt Miss Albert King, (as stated in the archives) Old Belton, Nr Rugby
He had served on HMS Powerful  as well as HMS Indefatigable since he had enlisted in January the previous year
Further information
On 31 May 1916, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was HMS New Zealand (flagship of Rear-Admiral  William Pakenham) and HMS Indefatigable. It was assigned to Admiral Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet which had put to sea to intercept a sortie into the North Sea by the German High Seas Fleet. 
The Germans opened fire first at 3:48. The German fire was accurate but the British overestimated the range as the German ships blended into the haze. Indefatigable aimed at Von der Tann and New Zealand targeted Moltke while remaining unengaged herself. 
Around 4:00, Indefatigable was hit near the rear turret by shells from Von der Tann. She fell out of formation and started sinking towards the stern and listing to port. Her magazines exploded at 4:03 after more hits, one on the forecastle and another on the forward turret. The most likely cause of her loss was an explosion in 'X' magazine that blew out her bottom and severed the steering control shafts, followed by the explosion of her forward magazines from the second volley. Von der Tann fired only fifty-two 28 cm (11 in) shells at Indefatigable before she exploded.  Of her crew of 1,019, only two survived. 


The Fallen in WW2

Kenneth George KINGERLEE
Pilot Officer, Navigator, 104 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve RAFVR no 178828
He died on active service on 2 July 1944. He was 33. 
He is buried in grave Coll. grave 6 D 4-8 Belgrade War Cemetery
Additional Information
He was the son of George and Margaret May Kingerlee of Banbury and the husband of Kathleen Marjorie R Kingerlee of Banbury
Further information 
He was flying in Wellington X MF137 'H' of 104 Squadron which is recorded as missing on a mission to mine the Danube. The crew were: 
Pilot Officer Edward J HOLMES, RAAF no 420946
Flight Sergeant (Navigator) Kenneth G KINGERLEE,   RAFVR no 1200951
Flight Sergeant (Air Bomber) Ernest W MORGAN,   RAF no 522256
Sergeant Geoffrey Goodhand PARKER, RAAF no 427933
Flight Sergeant (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) Kenneth Norman WIGGINS, RAFVR no 1318337
They are all buried in Coll. Grave 6 D 4-8 Belgrade War Cemetery. 
Comment
You may spot that the ranks for Kingerlee (Pilot Officer 178828 - 15-6-44), Morgan (Pilot Officer 55796 - 23-6-1944) and Wiggins (Pilot Officer 178693 - 11-6-1944) differ because they had all been promoted prior to their loss. Their squadron had probably not been notified of this fact, and they were recorded as above.

Robert Frank JARVIS 
Able Seaman, SS Empire Sky, Royal Navy. RN no C/JX 336367 
He died on active service when his ship was sunk on 14 November 1942. He was 19
He is remembered on panel 54 3 of the Chatham Naval Memorial
Additional Information
He was the son of Cecil Norman and Beatrice Eva Jarvis of Drayton
Further information
At 22.24 hours on 6 November 1942, the unescorted ss Empire Sky was torpedoed and sunk by U-625 south of Spitzbergen. The master and 40 crew members were lost. She was en route from Hull via Reykjavik to Archangel in Russia
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