Tadmarton
St Nicholas Church
From the road with the War Memorial in the right foreground
THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD,
AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD: AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM, NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN. AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM. 
2ND LIEUT FRANK E L RIDDLE FESTUBERT
MAY 16 1915. PTE CHARLES SMITH LOOS SEPTEMBER 25 1915 PTE JOHN W GIBBS PERSIAN GULF JUNE 20 1916 PTE GEORGE W GREEN POZIÈRES JULY 22 1916 PTE WALTER HATFIELD EGYPT JUNE 2 1919 (ALL OF THE OXF & BUCKS LT INF) RICHARD J HOWKINS QOOH DIED OF WOUNDS RECEIVED AT THE 2ND BATTLE OF THE SOMME ON MARCH 23 1918 FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH 
THESE MEN ALSO GAVE THEIR LIVES
IN THE WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945 PTE R J HOWKINS OXT & BUCKS L I KILLED IN ACTION ITALY NOV 11 1943 BDR B A FREEMAN ROYAL ARTILLERY DIED AS A PRISONER OF WAR IN JAPANESE HANDS SEPT 21 1944 THIS CROSS WAS ERECTED BY GENERAL SUBSCRIPTION 
IN EVER GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOSE WHO AT THE CALL OF DUTY LEFT THEIR HOMES TO FACE DEATH IN FOREIGN LANDS DURING THE GREAT WAR OF 1914 - 1919
MORE ESPECIALLY OF THOSE WHO FELL AND WHOSE NAMES ARE HEREON INSCRIBED 
In St Nicholas Church is a wooden framed paper poster painstakingly developed and obviously contemporary.
The eternal GOD is our refuge and underneath me are the everlasting Arms ROLL of SERVICE In Te Domine, spreravi Ps xxi vers 1 The following were serving when war broke out Name Unit of Service where served or serving 1 Cave Lieut L ASC (late Clr Sgt QOOH) England & afterwards France 2 Paul Lieut G (midshipman deleted) RN (HMS Reynard A? both deleted and Temeraire At Sea 3 Riddle 2nd Lieut F E L Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy France 4 Cave R ASC (late Trooper QOOH) England and afterwards France 5 Green Gunner W RGA (122 Batty) France 6 Hatfield Sergt J QOOH France The following joined the colours during the course of the war:- 9 Austin Lt G C P 11th Hussars France 8 Riddle Lt A E S Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy France and Mesopotamia 9 Austin Gunner R RFA (115 Batty) France 10 Buckingham Pte G RHA (late Remounts Department ASC England and France 11 Buckingham Pte H Northumberland Fusiliers (late ASC) France 12 Buckingham Pte K? M Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy France 13 Bourton Pte Alfd Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy Mesopotamia 14 Freeman Pte Alfd Glo’ster Regt France 15 Freeman Gunner A? RGA France 16 Freeman Pte E W Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy France 17 Freeman Pte F C Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy Mesopotamia (invalided is deleted) 18 Freeman HG Bombr RGA England 19 Freeman Pte P Coldstream Guards France 20 Freeman Pte W ASC (kitchen Dept) France 21 Gibbs Pte F (Signal?) Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy Mesopotamia (invalided) 22 Gibbs Pte J Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy Mesopotamia 23 Green Pte G (bugler) Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy France 24 Hatfield Pte G KRRC France 25 Hatfield Pte W Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy France 26 Howkins Gunner E RFA Egypt, Palestine & Syria 27 Howkins Trooper G QOOH France 28 Howkins Trooper R QOOH France 29 Howkins Gunner W RGA (129th Bty) France 30 Phipps Signaller Alfd RGD (26th Batty) France 31 Riddle GK 2nd Lieut (and several deletions) Oxf & Bucks Lt Infy France 32 Salmon Pte H F RAMC England 33 Smith Pte C Ox & Bucks Lt Infy France 34 Smith Pte G Hussars and deletions Mesopotamia 35 Tew Pte A Coldstream Guards France 36 Timbrell Gunner H RFA (14th ??? England 37 Wyatt Pte G Remounts ?? 38 Day Sapr W ???? Right hand side bottom section continues 39 Handsworth Pte W E Ox & Bu Lt Infy France and England 40 Hawkins Pte J W H RAVC France 41 Bourton Pte H 16th Reserve ASC 42 Phipps Pte Ar Ox & Bucks Lt Infy atth MGC England 43 Abbotts J Dr RE France 44 Buckingham Pte J Devonshire Regt 45 Freeman Pte Alfd Devonshire Regt Ireland 46 Green ??? Hall ??? On the right hand side Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me LIST OF CASUALTIES The numbers correspond to those marked X on the Roll of Service 3 Killed at the battle of Festubert, N France May 16th 1915 8 Wounded at le Plantin, N France Sep 8th 1915 33 Reported missing after the battle of Loos, Sep 25th 1915 12 Taken prisoner early in the war? (not officially reported) this entire line deleted 38 Wounded at the battle of Loos Sep 25th 1915 22 Died at sea on board HM Hospital Ship Syria bound for Bombay June 20th 1916 23 Killed in action at Pozières, in N France July 22nd 1916 33 (see above) Since reported killed 24 Seriously wounded at Thiepval, N France Sep 2nd 1916 25 Seriously wounded at Ginchy, during battle of the Somme, Oct 7th 1916 16 Slightly wounded at the battle of the Ancre Nov 13th, 1915 (Beaumont Hamel) 27 Wounded at Guillemont Farm, nr Bony, May 20th 1917 15 seriously wounded at the battle of the Ancre Nov 13th 1916 30 Slightly wounded at Wytschaete Church June 16th 1917 (Italain Bronze Medal) 5 Dangerously wounded in Advance beond Ypres Aug 7th 1917 24 Taken prisoner near Cambrai Nov 30th 1917 7 Wounded in great German attack March 22nd 1918 28 Reportedly killed but subsequently found to have been taken prisoner on March 23rd 1918 29 Seriously wounded been taken prisoner on March 26th 1918 28 Died of Wounds while a prisoner in German hands 25 Died of smallpox in Egypt, June 2nd 1919 Summary Three killed; one died of wounds; one died at sea; one died ? after declaration of Peace Eleven wounded The Great War began for England on Aug 14th 1914, And ended on Nov 11th 1918 with the total defeat of The enemy, viz. Germany, Austria-Hungary Turkey and Bulgaria |
Dear Viewer, please scoll down and look at the last photo on this page. It is the Roll of Honour for this village, obviously drawn up during the War and for me it is one of the most poignant of all memorials
The Fallen from WW1 John William GIBBS Private, 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 19472 He died at sea on board HM Hospital Ship Syria bound for Bombay on 20 June 1916 and presumably he was either ill or wounded. He was 25 He was the son of Annie Elizabeth Gibbs of Upper Tadmarton, and the late Charles Gibbs. He is remembered on panel 26 and 63 Basra Memorial Additional Information An email from a family member, Glynn: My wife, Jane, is related to John William Gibbs (known in the family as Jack). You mentioned that he died on the hospital ship Syria and that he was “presumably... ill or wounded”! You might like to know that the information we have is that he was at the battle of Gallipoli and died on the ship as a result of the wounds he had received at Gallipoli. His brother Frank, incidentally was also in the same battle and on the same ship, but he survived the war! There is a photograph of Jack (John William) on the wall in Tadmarton church. George GREEN Private, (Bugler) 4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 3469 He was killed in action at Pozières on 22 July 1916. He was 19 He was the son of John and Mary A Green, Upper Tadmarton He is buried in grave I D 8 Pozières British Cemetery, Ovillers La Boisselle Additional Information Birth Place: Milton Residence: Lower Tadmarton Enlistment Location: Oxford Harry Walter HATFIELD Private, 1st/7th Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Brigade, Division. Army no. 303022. He was formerly with The Oxfordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars). Army no. 3176 He died of smallpox on 2 June 1919. He was 22 He was the son of Charlotte Hatfield of Tadmarton and the late Harry Hatfield. He is buried in grave P 31 Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt Additional Information Birth Place: Marston, St. Lawrence Residence: Tadmarton Enlistment Location: King's Lynn Harry Walter HATFIELD Private, 1st/7th Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Army no. 303022. He was formerly with The Oxfordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars), Army no. 3176 He died of smallpox on 2 June 1919. He was 22 He was the son of Charlotte Hatfield on Tadmartan and the late Harry Hatfield He is buried in grave P 31 War Memorial Cemetery, Cairo Additional information Birth Place: Marston, St. Lawrence Residence: Tadmarton Enlistment Location: King's Lynn Richard Joseph HOWKINS Private, Oxfordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars), Army no. 40283 He died on 22 August 1918. He was 18 He is buried in grave II E 17 Niederzwehren Cemetery, near Kassel and about 120 miles south of Hanover. He was the son of Thomas and Sophia Howkins, upper Tadmarton Additional information It is probable that he was being held as a PoW by the Germans but I have not managed to verify this Birth Place: Tadmarton Residence: Tadmarton Enlistment Location: Oxford Francis Edmund Langton RIDDLE Second Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He was killed in action at the battle of Festubert on 16 May 1915. He was 21 He was the son of the Rev. Arthur Esmond Riddle and Edith May Riddle, Tadmarton Rectory He is remembered on panel 26 of Le Touret Memorial Additional Information He had been a pupil at Bloxham School and he appears on their Memorial see http://www.bloxhamschoolwardead.co.uk/id3.html Charles SMITH Private, 5th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 10439 He was killed in action on 25 September 1915 during the Battle of Loos. Apparently he had initially been posted as missing. He was 26. He was the son of John and Harriett Smith of Upper Tadmarton He is remembered on panel 37 and 39 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres Additional Information Birth Place: Tadmarton Residence: Tadmarton Enlistment Location: Oxford The Fallen who do not appear on the Roll of Honour Harry SUMMERS Private, 4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 148 Brigade, 48th Division. Army no. 202256 He was killed in action on 26 March 1917 during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line. He was 29 He was the son of Mrs Caroline Summers, 6 Council House, Tadmarton He is buried in grave II F 24 Roisel Communal Cemetery Extension, near Peronne Additional Information Born: Banbury Enlisted: Retford Lived: Adderbury Walter SUMMERS Private 2nd/7th Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 182 Brigade, 61st Division. Army no. 306402 He was killed in action at the Somme Crossings on 24 March 1918. He was 24 He was the son of Mr and Mrs C Summers, 6 Council House, Tadmarton He is remembered on panel 18 and 19 of the Pozières Memorial Additional Information Enlisted: Birmingham Lived: Springhill Birmingham The Fallen in WW2 Bernard Austin FREEMAN Bombardier, 85 Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery. Army no. 1475880 He died at sea whilst a prisoner of war on 21 September 1944. He was 24 He was the son of Herbert George and Alice May Freeman and the husband of Hilda Frances Freeman of Broughton He is remembered on column 7 of the Singapore Memorial Additional Information In May 1942 the Japanese began transferring POWs by sea. However the Japanese refused to adopt the international protocols and to clearly mark and identify the ships thus ensuring that they appered to be cargo boats and thus a target. Prisoners were often crammed into cargo holds with little air, food or water for journeys that would last weeks. Many died due to asphyxia, starvation or dysentery. Some POWs became delirious and unresponsive in their environment of heat, humidity and lack of oxygen, food, and water. These unmarked prisoner transports were targeted as enemy ships by Allied submarines and aircraft. More than 20,000 Allied POWs died at sea when the transport ships carrying them were attacked by Allied submarines and aircraft. The Japanese ship, the Hofuku Maru (or Toyofuku Maru) was a Hell Ship. On 21 September 1944 the Hofuku Maru sailed with Convoy MATA-27 for Takao in Formosa. She was attacked by an American aircraft carrier about 80 miles north of Corregidor, the aircraft carrier’s planes sunk the whole fleet including the Hofuku Maru, not knowing she carried prisoners. The Hofuku Maru was carrying 1289 prisoners from Manila to Japan, 1047 were lost. Richard Joseph HOWKINS Private, 7th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 14317958 He died on 11 November 1943 at the time when the Allied invasion of Italy was temporally halted near Monte Cassino. He was 23 He was the son of Ernest and Louisa Howkins of Lower Tadmarton He is buried in grave XIX J 8 Cassino War Cemetery |
