Watchfield, The Church of St Thomas
FOR GOD, FOR KING, FOR COUNTRY
IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS VILLAGE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918 
FRANK CHESTER BUCKLAND. PRIVATE
1ST ROYAL BERKS REGT 3RD MARCH 1916. AGED 23 YEARS BENJAMIN LOVEGROVE. GUNNER HMS DEFENCE 31ST MAY 1916. AGED 36 YEARS HENRY JOHN WALKER. SERGEANT 2ND WILTS REGT 7TH JULY 1916. AGED 26 YEARS JOHN SIMMONDS. LANCE CORPORAL 4TH LONDON REGIMENT 7TH OCTOBER 1916. Aged 34 YEARS JOHN WILLIAM FULLER PRIVATE 1ST ROYAL BERKS REGT 25TH OCTOBER 1914 AGED 35 YEARS THOMAS WINTLE PRIVATE 1ST GLOUCESTER REGT 18 NOVEMBER 1914 AGED 34 YEARS NORMAN BOOTH WYATT LANCE-CORPORAL 5TH ROYAL BERKS REGT 14 OCTOBER 1915 AGED 19 YEARS JAMES RIDDELL BUCKNILL LIEUTENANT RN HMS NEGRO 21 DECEMBER 1916 AGED 23 YEARS WILLIAM THOMAS ANGER (I believe that his name is incorrectly recorded and should be AINGER) PRIVATE, 7TH WILTS REGT 25 APRIL 1917 AGED 24 YEARS ALBERT EDWARD HIGGINS GUNNER, RGA 5 JULY 1917 AGED 30 YEARS GEORGE HENRY WOODHAM PRIVATE, 1ST WILTS REGT FEBRUARY 16TH 1917 AGED 30 YEARS |
The War Memorial in the Churchyard of the Church of St Thomas, Watchfield
The fallen in WW1 William Thomas AINGER Private, 7th (Service) Battalion, The Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire Regiment), 79 Brigade, 26th Division. Army no 32348. He was formerly Army no 1287 with the Middlesex Regiment He was killed in action on 24 April 1917. He was 24 He is remembered on the Doiran Memorial, Greece Additional Information He was the son of Thomas and Emily Ainger of Watchfield James Riddell BUCKNILL Lieutenant, HMS Negro, Royal Navy He died on active service when his ship was lost on 21 December 1916. He was 25 He is remembered on panel 15 of the Chatham Naval Memorial Additional Information He was the son of George Edward and Alice Dorothy Bucknill, Watchfield House, Shrivenham. Further information On 21 December 1916, while escorting the Grand Fleet during a sweep, the new flotilla leader HMS Hoste suffered a steering engine failure. She was ordered back to Scapa, escorted by the destroyer HMS Negro. The weather worsened and, when the temporary repairs to her steering failed, HMS Hoste sheered to starboard and HMS Negro, only 400 yards astern couldn’t avoid her and ran into her aft. The collision knocked two depth charges off HMS Hoste and the resulting explosions blew in the bottom of HMS Negro, which sank quickly and seriously damaged HMS Hoste. The destroyers HMS Marmion and HMS Marvel closed the scene and were able to rescue some of HMS Negro’s crew and attempted to tow HMS Hoste but she had to be abandoned as she was breaking in half. In very heavy seas HMS Marvel closed her thirteen times, a part of HMS Hoste’s crew jumping to safety each time. Casualties, HMS Negro, 5 officers and 45 men lost, HMS Hoste 4 men lost. John William FULLER Private, 1st Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 6 Brigade, 2nd Division. Army no 7539 He was killed in action near Ypres on 25 October 1914. He was 35 He is remembered on panel 45 of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres Additional information He was the son of Alice and the late John Fuller Albert Edward HIGGINS Gunner, 289th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. Army no 110667 He was killed in action near Ypres on 5 July 1917. He was 29 He is buried in grave II B 29 Dickebusch New Military Cemetery Extension, Ypres Additional Information He was the husband of A H Higgins, Hillside Cottage, Watchfield Benjamin LOVEGROVE Gunner, HMS Defence, Royal Marine Artillery. RN no RMA/7480 He died when his ship was lost on 31 May 1916 during the Battle of Jutland. He was 36 He is remembered on panel 21 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Additional information He was the husband of Esther Lovegrove. He was born in Longcot Further information At the Battle of Jutland, 31 May -1 June 1916, HMS Defence blew up whilst under heavy fire from the German battleship Friedrich Der Grosse. Her crew of 903 were all lost. John SIMMONDS Lance Corporal, 1st/4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), 168 Brigade, 56th Division. Army no 5926 He was killed in action on 7 October 1916 in the fighting at Transloy Ridges. He was 34 He is remembered on pier and face 9D and 16B of the Thiepval Memorial Additional information He was the son of Thomas and Ann Simmonds of Watchfield. He was born in Watchfield and enlisted in Greenwich Henry John WALKER Sergeant, 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire Regiment), 14 Brigade, 32nd Division. Army no 8037 He was killed in action on 7 July 1916 on the battlefields on the Somme. He was 26 He is remembered on pier and face 13A of the Thiepval Memorial Additional information It is probable that he had been transferred to 6th Battalion. Thomas WINTLE Private, 1st Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, 3 Brigade, 1st Division. Army no 6556 He died from his wounds on 18 November 1914. He was 34 He is buried in grave III A 53 Boulogne Eastern Cemetery Additional information He was the husband of Florence Ethel Wintle of Watchfield George Henry WOODHAM Private, 1st Battalion, The Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire Regiment). Army no 18766 He died probably from natural causes on 16 February 1917. He was 30 He is buried in grave III A 39 Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord Additional information He was born in Wantage and living in Marlborough when he enlisted Norman Booth WYATT Lance Corporal, 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 35 Brigade, 12th Division. Army no 10262 He was killed in action on 13 October 1915 in the fighting near the Quarries at Hulluch. He was 18 He is remembered on panel 93 to 95 of the Loos Memorial Additional Information He was the son of Sarah Jane Wyatt of Watchfield and the late Charles Thomas Wyatt The Fallen who are not on the War Memorial Thomas BROGDEN Private, 8th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 1 Brigade, 1st Division. Army no 14868 He was killed in action during the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915. He was 25 He is remembered on panel 93 to 95 of the Loos Memorial Additional Information He was the son of John Brogden of Watchfield and the husband of A F Brogden of Lyford, Wantage Frank Chester BUCKLAND Private, 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 35 Brigade, 12th Division. Army no 9644 He was killed in action on 3 March 1916 in the fighting at the Hohenzollern Craters. He was 21 He is buried in grave VI C 29 Vermelles British Cemetery Additional Information He was the son of Ellen Miness (formerly Buckland) of Watchfield and the late Frank Buckland Douglas Bertram HUTSON Lieutenant, Army Service Corps He died, probably from natural causes, on 23 July 1918. He was 19 He is buried in grave 1 C J 115 Charlton Cemetery, Greenwich Additional Information He was the son of Mrs Katharine Hutson of Watchfield |
