Kingham
A plaque on the wall of St Andrew's Church, Kingham
IN GRATEFUL AND LASTING MEMORY OF
THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918 HARVEY FREDERICK BILES ARTHUR GUY MACE EDWARD EDEN HENRY GEORGE PADBURY CYRIL AUGUSTINE HITCHMAN WILLIAM HENRY TIMMS ARTHUR KEEN EDWARD WILLETTS HORACE ALBERT WOODWARD 1939 – 1945 BERNARD BELCHER ARTHUR THOMAS BRIDGE 
In the grounds of the
Kingham Royal British Legion Clubhouse 
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The Fallen in WW1
Harvey Frederick BILES Private, 1st Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 6 Brigade, 2nd Division. Army no 6954 He died from his wounds on 13 October 1915, he was probably wounded in the fighting around Loos. He was 32. He is buried in grave I G 35 Chocques Military Cemetery Additional Information He was the son of George and Elizabeth Biles of Kingham and the husband of Jane Elizabeth Shadbolt (formerly Biles) of Churchill Edward EDEN Private, 32nd Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. Army no 15113. He was formerly Army no 18243 with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He died from his wounds on 3 April 1918. It is likely that he died in 3rd Canadian Stationary Hospital which was located in the town. He was 29 He is buried in grave VI E 43 Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No 1 Additional Information He was the son of James and Sarah Verina Eden of Kingham and the husband of Kate Eden, Manor House, Kingham Cyril Augustine HITCHMAN Births Dec 1892 Hitchman Cyril Augustine Chipping N Private, Oxfordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars), 4 Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division. Army no 285932 He was killed in action on 28 October 1917. He was 24 He is buried in grave I I 8 Cement House Cemetery, Langemark, Belgium Additional Information He was the son of Rose Hollyfield (formerly Hitchman), The Haven, Woody Lane, Charlbury Arthur KEEN MM Serjeant, 35th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. Army no 31379 He died from his wounds on 31 March 1917. He was 25. He is buried in grave VI F 4 Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery, Saulty. This cemetery is next to the site of a Casualty Clearing Station which is probably where he died Additional Information He was the son of Clara Keen of Kingham and the late James Keen Arthur Guy MACE Lance Corporal, 1st/4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 145 Brigade, 48th Division. Army no 200649 He was killed in action on 15 June 1918 in the fighting on the Asiago Plateau. He was 33. He is buried in plot 2, row B, grave 8 Boscon British Cemetery in Italy Additional Information He was the son of John M and Elizabeth Mace. In the 1901 census he was a boarder at Burford Grammar School Henry George PADBURY Cook's Mate, HMS Vanguard, Royal Navy. RN no M/14768 He died on active service when HMS Vanguard was sunk on 9 July 1917. He was 20 He is remembered on panel 25 of the Chatham Naval Memorial Additional Information He was the son of John and Alice Padbury, Trellis Villa, Kingham. He was born in Alderminster, Stratford upon Avon Further information On the night of 9 July 1917, HMS Vanguard was anchored in Scapa Flow. In a matter of seconds a devastating internal explosion destroyed the ship, killing all but two of the 845 men on board at the time. The explosion that sank Vanguard almost instantly was not the result of an enemy attack – it was the result of an internal explosion of faulty cordite. The Royal Navy's Command Clearance Diving Team carried out a detailed investigation in 1975. Their investigation confirmed that this original explosion destroyed virtually all the explosive ordnance on board and blew the ship apart. William Henry TIMMS Private, 1st/7th Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment, 144 Brigade, 48th Division. Army no 41371 He was killed in action on 19 August 1917 in the Battle of Ypres. He was 20. He is buried in grave VI F 6 Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery jus 5 kms from Ypres Town Centre Additional Information He was the son of Frederick and Bertha Timms, Church Street, Kingham Edward WILLETTS DCM Private, 9th Battalion, The Welsh Regiment, 58 Brigade, 19th Division. Army no 39334 He died from his wounds on 11 July 1916. He was wouded in the fighting on the Somme. He was 25 He is buried in grave I E 23 Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension Additional Information He was the son of Elizabeth and the late Philip Willetts, Church Street, Kingham Horace Albert WOODWARD I think he was born in 1881. His birth registration was: Births Dec 1881 RATHBONE Horace Albert Chipping N. In the 1891 census he is living with his Mother and her husband and is the father’s (Woodward) wife’s son (step-son) Horace Woodward Whilst I believe this is our man, I cannot find a Horace Albert, Woodward or Rathbone who died in or after the War Help please! The Fallen in WW2 Bernard Albert BELCHER Leading Aircraftman Royal Air Force. RAFVR no 1164391 He died on active service on 3 July 1941. He was 30. He is buried in lot 13 block 139D sec C, Hillside Cemetery, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Additional Information He was the son of Albert and Kate Belcher of Kingham and the husband of Winifred Belcher of Worcester The RAF had established no 34 Service Flying Training School at Medicine Hat. It is likely that he was being trained as a bomber pilot but I cannot find any record of an accident Arthur Thomas BRIDGE Telegraphist, HMS Hood, Royal Navy. RN no P/SSX 33040 He died on active service when HMS Hood was sunk on 24 May 1941. He was 22 He is remembered on panel 52, column 3 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Additional Information He was the son of Thomas Arthur and Helena Mary Bridge of Kingham The Battle of Denmark Straits: In the early hours of 24 May, the opposing fleets engaged. Thirteen miles apart the ships fired one-ton shells that took almost a minute to reach their intended target. The noise was horrendous. The battle lasted about twenty minutes and both the Bismarck and the HMS Prince of Wales took direct hits, but it was the fate of HMS Hood that stunned the world. Just one shell from the Bismarck hit HMS Hood on its vulnerable upper deck and penetrated its ammunition room, causing an almighty explosion. The ship sliced into two, its front end dramatically lifting out of the water, a fireball rocketed into the sky, followed by plumes of dense black smoke. Within five minutes, HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy, had sunk. Its crew of 1,421 men died except for three who were rescued. |