Milcombe
A Plaque in the porch of the Church of St Laurence, Milcombe
IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THE MEN
OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVES THEIR LIVES FOR US IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 CHARLES FLETCHER THOMAS FLETCHER WILLIAM PRATT HERBERT COLEMAN PERCY BISHOP AND IN THE WAR 1939-1945 J W WOODWARD H R WOODWARD 
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The Fallen in WW1
Charles George FLETCHER Private, 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 5 Brigade, 2nd Division. Army no. 6757 He was wounded during the fighting near Ypres and died on 26 October 1914. He was 34. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Fletcher, The Green, Milcombe and his younger brother Thomas is the next entry. He is buried in grave III A 12, Boulogne Eastern Cemetery Additional information The CWGC record that he was in a different battalion but as that battalion was not in France, I have presumed that the other records are correct Thomas (Tom) FLETCHER Rifleman, 13th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), 111 Brigade, 37th Division. This Brigade was attached to 24th Division at this time. Army no. S/2760 He was the son of John and Elizabeth Fletcher, The Green, Milcombe. He was killed in action on 10 July 1916 during the Battle of Albert, Somme. He was 22 He is buried in grave III B 18 Pozières British Cemetery, Ovillers La Boiselle William Albert PRATT Private, 5th (Service) Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 42 Brigade, 14th Division. Army no. 17360 He was killed in action on 3 May 1917 during the third Battle of the Scarpe. He was 26 He was the son of Sarah and the late Fred Pratt, Geels Lane, Milcombe He is remembered on bay 6 & 7 of the Arras Memorial Herbert COLEMAN Private 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, 1st Guards Brigade, Guards Division. Army no. 28521 He was killed in action on 27 August 1918 at the Battle of the Scarpe during the second Battle of Arras. He was 21 He was the son of Una Coleman of Milcombe He is buried in grave IV D 14 Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, Mory Percy Frederick BISHOP Private, 5th (Service) Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 42 Brigade, 14th Division. Army no. 202755 He was killed in action on 23 March 1918 during the Battle of St Quentin. He was 21 He was the son of Henry and Mary J Bishop, High Street, Milcombe He is remembered on panel 50 & 51 of the Pozières Memorial. The Fallen in WW2 Herbert William WOODWARD Sergeant, 2nd (Airborne) Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 5381488 He died in a plane crash in Norway on 10 May 1945. He was 29 He was the son of Albert J and Mary A Woodward, the brother of John and the husband of Doris Woodward, Wantage. He is buried in Coll Grave 1 E 1-8 Oslo Western Civil Cemetery. I am led to believe by a member of the family that this is the correct man even though the second initial on the memorial is therefore incorrect. As he was known to have died in Norway after VE Day, it is memorable Additional information Operation Doomsday 1st British Airborne Division flew into Norway on 9 May 1945 to oversee the surrender of the German Forces. The task was to maintain law and order, secure airfields, prevent sabotage and oversee the German surrender. This was a difficult assignment as 6,000 airborne troops were to disarm and control 350,000 German soldiers. 1st Airborne Division retained control until the arrival of HQ Allied Land Forces in Norway as well as conducting the welcoming ceremony for the return of the King of Norway from exile. The accident Stirling IV LK297 took off from RAF Great Dunmow with bad weather conditions in the Oslo area with heavy rain and fog. The Stirling hit AndtjernÂsen, ploughed down the hillside and exploded, killing all 24 on board. Among them: Air Vice-Marshal Sir J R Scarlett-Streatfield and the Norwegian liaison officer Major Petter Cato Juliebø. The aircrew were Squadron Leader Douglas R Robertson, Flight Lieutenant Norman L Roseblade, Flight Lieutenant Lemuel E Prowse, Flight Sergeant Arthur G Davies, Flight Sergeant Ronald Alderson and Warrant Officer George E Thompson Soldiers from 1st Airborne: Sergeant Herbert W Woodward, Corporal Sidney G Rayner, Private Frederick Sainty, Private Edward Waby, Private David W Cooper, Private Walter R Lovett, Private Walter W Elliott, Private Kenneth J Watts, Private George Walton, Private Michael M Wade, Private Francis G Trainor, Private John Shannon, Private Clarence Sutherland, Private William Rodger, Private Edmund C Monk and Private Frank G McGlynn. They are all buried at Vestre Gravlund in Oslo. During Operation Doomsday, 663 planes landed at Gardermoen and a further 405 at Sola carrying a total of 7,139 soldiers. But on the day that Herbert Woodward died, two other Stirlings crashed on this operation. John William WOODWARD Rifleman, 2nd Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Army no. 6898253 He was killed in action on 30 August 1944 in the fighting near Gournay during the Falaise actions. He was 29. He was the son of Albert J and Mary Woodward and the elder brother of Herbert, the previous entry He was buried in an isolated grave near Fleury la Forêt. This grave has since been lost but he is remembered on spec memorial block S near plot IV St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen |
