Little Compton

In the Churchyard of the Parish Church of St Denys

​TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN GRATEFUL 
MEMORY OF THE MEN 
OF THIS VILLAGE
WHO GAVE THEIR 
LIVES FOR THEIR 
COUNTRY

1914
F C BRAGINTON
1915
A COLLINS
E HAZELL
W ROGERS
A STICKLEY
W S TIDMARSH


1939 – 1945
G H NEWMAN  A V NEWMAN
LEST WE FORGET

1916

R W BRAGINTON
G EDEN
W F MACE
F STICKLEY
W WALKER
G A C WEBB

1917
D F HAYWARD
1918
F T BEAL
1920
H MARSHALL

The Fallen in WW1

Thomas Frederick BEAL
Private, 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, 4th Guards Brigade, 31st Division. Army no 16686
He was killed in action on 13 April 1918 at the Battle of Hazebrouck. He was 30
He is remembered on panel 1 of the Ploegsteert Memorial
Additional Information
He was the son of Jesse and Annie Beal, The Post Office, Little Compton and the husband of Eileen Cecilia Florence Beal, 10 Holly Street, Salford, Manchester.

Frederick Charles BRAGINTON
Leading Seaman, HMS Bulwark, Royal Navy. RN no 225937
He was killed on active service on 26 November 1914. He was 29 
He is remembered on panel 1 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial
Additional information 
On the afternoon of Thursday, 26 November, 1914, Winston Churchill made the following statement to the House of Commons: 
"I regret to say I have some bad news for the house. The Bulwark battleship, which was lying in Sheerness this morning, blew up at 07.35 o'clock. The Vice and Rear Admiral, who were present, have reported their conviction that it was an internal magazine explosion which rent the ship asunder. There was apparently no upheaval in the water, and the ship had entirely disappeared when the smoke had cleared away. An inquiry will be held tomorrow which may possibly throw more light on the occurrence. The loss of the ship does not sensibly affect the military position, but I regret to say the loss of life is very severe. 
Only 12 men are saved. All the officers and the rest of the crew, who, I suppose, amounted to between 700 and 800, have perished. 
I think the House would wish me to express on their behalf the deep sorrow with which the House heard the news, and their sympathy with those who have lost their relatives and friends." 
HMS Bulwark, a battleship of 15,000 tons, was moored to No. 17 buoy in Kethole Reach on the River Medway, almost opposite the town of Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Kent. It was one of the ships forming the 5th Battle Squadron. She had been moored there for some days, and many of her crew had been given leave the previous day. They had returned to the Bulwark at 7 o'clock that morning and the full complement was on-board. The usual ship's routine was taking place. Officers and men were having breakfast in the mess below deck, other were going about their normal duties. A band was practising while some men were engaged in drill. The disaster struck. 
A roaring and rumbling sound was heard and a huge sheet of flame and debris shot upwards. The ship lifted out of the water and fell back. There was a thick cloud of grey smoke and further explosions. When the smoke eventually cleared, the Bulwark had sunk without trace. 
None of the Bulwark's officers survived. 
On Monday, 30 November, the funerals of 21 of the victims took place in the Naval Burial Ground at Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

William BRAGINTON
Shipwright 2nd Class, HMS Black Prince, Royal Navy. RN no 343609
He was killed on active service on 31 May 1916. He was 35.
He is remembered on panel 20 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial
Additional Information
He was the son of Eli and Emma Braginton of Little Compton
Further information
HMS Black Prince was an armoured cruiser serving in the 1st Cruiser Squadron who participated in the Battle of Jutland, where she was sunk with a heavy loss of life.  The circumstances are mystery. 
During the battle, 1st First Cruiser Squadron was deployed ahead of the main Grand Fleet and Black Prince lost contact as the Squadron came into contact with German forces, at about 17.42 hours.  HMS Defence and HMS Warrior were heavily engaged by German ships, with HMS Defence blowing up and HMS Warrior receiving heavy damage, which caused her to sink. There were no positive sightings of HMS Black Prince by the British fleet after that, although a wireless signal from her was received at 20.45 hours, reporting a submarine sighting.
During the night of 31 May/1 June, the British destroyer HMS Spitfire, badly damaged after colliding with the German battleship Nassau, sighted what appeared to be a German battlecruiser, with two widely-spaced funnels, described as being "...a mass of fire from foremast to mainmast, on deck and between decks. Flames were issuing out of her from every corner." The mystery ship exploded at about midnight.  It was later thought that the burning ship may have been HMS Black Prince. 
The German account of the ship's sinking was that HMS Black Prince briefly engaged the German battleship Rheinland at about 23:35 hours, scoring two hits with 6-inch shells. Then the German battleship Thüringen fixed HMS Black Prince in her searchlights and opened fire. Other German ships, including battleships Nassau, Ostfriesland, and Friedrich der Grosse, joined in the bombardment. HMS Black Prince was hit by at least twelve heavy shells and several smaller ones, sinking within 15 minutes. There were no survivors from HMS Black Prince's crew, all 857 died.

Alfred COLLINS
Private, 5th (Service) Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 42 Brigade, 14th Division. Army no 15281 
He was killed in action in the second attack on Bellewaarde on 25 September 1915. He was 19.
He is remembered on panel 37 and 39 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres 
Additional information 
He was the son of Hubert and Lily Collins of Little Compton

George EDEN
Private, 14th (Service) Battalion (1st Birmingham), The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 5 Brigade, 29th Division. Army no 17802
He was killed in action on 30 July 1916 on the Somme. He was 35
He is buried in grave X E 38 Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval
Additional Information
He was the son of Caleb and Eliza Eden  
He was born at Chipping Norton

Dick Ford HAYWARD
Private, 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 12th Division. Army no 34986
He was killed in action on 12 May 1917 in the attack on Devil’s Trench. He was 37
He is buried in grave III M 27 Duisans British Cemetery, Étrun 
Additional Information
He was the husband of Mary Ann Hayward, 3 Burlington Road, Small Heath, Birmingham

Edward Charles HAZELL
Private, 1st Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, 3 Brigade, 1st Division. Army no 17785
He was killed in action in the Battle of Loos on 8 October 1915. He was 25
He is remembered on panel 60 to 64 of the Loos Memorial
Additional Information
He was the son of Thomas and Agnes Hazell of Upper Slaughter and the husband of Amy Hazell, Queen Street, Bloxham

William Frederick MACE
Private, 9th (Service) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, 39 Brigade, 13th Division. Army no 17588
He was killed in action on 6 November 1916 in Mesopotamia. He was 30
He is buried in grave B 301 Karasouli Military Cemetery
Additional Information
He was the son of George and Emma Mace of Little Compton

H MARSHALL
This is the only H Marshall who died on military service in 1920, as stated on the War Memorial. 
Serjeant, 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Army no 5095813
He died probably from natural causes on 21 October 1920
He is remembered in face 1 of the India Gate Memorial, Delhi
Additional Information
It is recorded that he was buried in Tank Cemetery 56.
The Regimental Museum tell me that the Army no is likely to be correct. He had probably re-enlisted after WW1 but sadly his previous service needs to be established to record his contribution and there is a charge for providing this information. 

Ralph Henry NEWMAN
Private, 1st Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment attached to 1st Company Machine Gun Corps. Army no 17786 
He died from his wounds on 8 June 1916 probably in the Casualty Clearing Station in the town. He was 25
He is buried in grave V E 4 Bethune Town Cemetery
Additional Information
He was the son of Charles Henry and Edith Newman of Little Compton

William ROGERS
Private, 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment, 24 Brigade, 8th Division. Army no 9685 
He was killed in action on 10 March 1915 at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. He was 32
He is remembered on panel 17 and 18E of le Touret Memorial

Albert STICKLEY
Private, 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 17th Brigade, 6th (Poona) Division. Army no 9605 
He died from his wounds in Mesopotamia on 8 December 1915. He was 25
He is remembered on panel 26 and 63 of the Basra Memorial
Additional Information
He was the son of the late Robert and Mary Stickley 

Frank STICKLEY
Private, 8th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, 57 Brigade, 19th Division. Army no 17590
He was killed in action at the Battle of Pozières Ridge on 23 July 1916. He was 33
He is buried in grave V H 34 Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval
Additional information
He was the son of Charles and Elizabeth Stickley of Little Compton

William Guy TIDMARSH
Private, 2nd Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), 85 Brigade, 28th Division. Army no G/5418
He was killed in action at the Battle of St Julien on 28 May 1915. He was 40
He is remembered on panel 12 &14 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres
Additional Information
He was the husband of Alice Annie Tidmarsh of Long Compton

William WALKER
Serjeant, 8th (Service) Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), 41 Brigade, 14th Division. Army no B/3305
He died from his wounds in Hospital on 19 September 1916. He was 24.
He is buried in grave I A 15 Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension
Additional Information
He was the son of John and M A Walker of Little Compton

George WEBB
Private, 8th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, 57 Brigade, 19th Division. Army no 17586  
He was killed in action in the fighting on the Ancre Heights on 25 October 1916. He was 24
He is remembered on pier and face 5A & 5B of the Thiepval Memorial
Additional Information
He was the son of Albert and Henrietta Webb of Little Compton

The Fallen in WW2

Arthur Ernest REW
Sergeant, 466 Squadron, Royal Air Force. RAFVR no 1187995
He was killed on active service on 30 January 1943. He was 23
He is remembered on panel 163 of the Runnymede Memorial
Additional Information
He was the son of Ernest Victor and Ada Rew of Little Compton
Further information
Wellington X HE471 HD took off from RAF Leconfield on a raid to Emden relying on heavy cloud cover. The aircraft was lost without trace. All five of the crew were killed. There is a report from German sources that they were shot down by fighter aircraft

Grant Allen SINGER
Captain, 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own), Royal Armoured Corps. Army no 93667
He was killed on active service on 5 November 1942. This was the time of the second Battle of El Alamein which was an Allied victory and an d a turning point in the war. He was 27
He is buried in grave XXXI E 6 El Alamein War Cemetery
Additional Information
He was the adopted son of Washington Singer and the husband of Daphne Helen Singer of Little Compton. He was also the MFH of Hursley Hounds, 1936-1940 

Albert Victor NEWMAN
Corporal, 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no 5389291
He was killed on 16 July 1944 in the Normandy Campaign just a few weeks after the Allies had landed in France. He was 28
He is buried in grave III E 7 Brouay War Cemetery
Additional Information
He was the son of Charles and Edith Newman and the husband of Violet Evelyn F Newman of Chipping Norton, 

George Herbert NEWMAN
Sapper, New Zealand Engineers. Army no 951
He died of disease on 15 April 1943. He was 34
He is buried in grave 3 D 3 Krakow Rakowicki Cemetery
Additional Information
He was the son of Cecil Percy and Frances Beatrice Newman of Moreton-in-Marsh
Further information
At the end of WW2, the graves service of the British Army of the Rhine gathered together Commonwealth graves from all over Poland into three cemeteries, this being the largest. Those buried here died while prisoners of war during the German occupation, most of the graves coming from the cemetery at the large camp at Lamsdorf, Stalag VIIIB where there was a hospital of 450 beds used only for Commonwealth prisoners. 
What I believe happened was:
He died on 15 April 1943. The cause of death is recorded as from a disease.
The Doctor in charge was Col Le Souef of Khalives Hospital 
A New Zealand newspaper The Clarion number 5 May 1943 recorded that he died in KGF. LAZARETT, Stalag VIIIB (Lazarett für Kriegsgefangene = POW hospital.)
This camp was properly called Stalag VIII B Teschen Český Těšín Tschechische and is located in the Silesian Foothills, a northern extension of the Beskidy Mountains. Český Těšín is a border town to Poland which was occupied in 1939 by Germany. It became Teschen in the district of Cieszyn in province of Silesia. After the war, it reverted to its former status.
I hope that I have understood correctly but I would welcome any corrections

Not mentioned on the War Memorial

Henry BARTLETT    MiD
Serjeant, Royal Army Service Corps. Army no R4/066420
He died probably of natural causes on 7 November 1919. He was 44
He is buried in a grave to the SE of the church in the churchyard of All Saints Church, Somerford Keynes
Additional Information
He was the son of John Bartlett and the husband of Janet Bartlett, 6 Council Cottages, Ashton Keynes, Swindon. 
He was born at Little Compton
​