Wroxton in the Churchyard of All Saint's Church

All Saints Church, Wroxton, Oxfordshire

Charles H Gardner, WW2

1939-1945

 CPL A W  BERRY   46TH REGIMENT, RECON CORPS
A B H PRITCHARD  ROYAL NAVY
AMO G H BERRY   FLEET AIR ARM
PTE C H GARDNER OXON  AND BUCKS LGT INFANTRY

A Plaque in All Saints Church, Wroxton, Oxfordshire

To the Glorious Memory of the men of
Wroxton who fought in the Great War,
and were numbered amongst those, who
at the call of King and Country, gave up
their lives that others might live in freedom.
See to it, that their names are not forgotten.
 
LIEUT F H V WISE   ROYAL FLYING CORPS
SERGT H V DRAKE   Q O OXFORDSHIRE HUSSARS
CPL A S WISE  OXON AND BUCKS LGT INFANTRY
CPL W C HUGHES    Q O YORKSHIRE LIGHT INFANTRY 
BDR W CLEYDON   ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY 
LCPL J CLEYDON    2ND YORKSHIRE REGIMENT
LCPL W R NEVILLE  3RD ROYAL BERKSHIRES
LCPL F W SHAW   MACHINE GUN CORPS
LCPL J F LYDIATT  ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORPS
LCPL F E COX   9TH ROYAL FUSILIERS
PTE J E WHING   10TH GLOUCESTER REGIMENT
PTE JAMES HEMMINGS  ROYAL WARWICKS
PTE T SMART   ESSEX REGIMENT
PTE  J NEVILLE   8TH CHESHIRE REGIMENT
DR J EDWARDS   ESSEX REGIMENT
DR P T GARDNER   ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY

The Fallen from WW1

Joseph CLEYDON
Lance Corporal, 2nd Battalion, Alexandra, Princess of
Wales’s Own (Yorkshire Regiment), 21 Brigade, 30th Division. Army no. 42295. He was formerly with the Royal Field Artillery. Army no. 164250
He was killed in action at the Battle of Ypres on 28 September 1918. He was 36
He was the son of Joseph and the late Esther Cleydon of Wroxton
He is buried in grave I A 16 Sancourt British Cemetery, near Cambrai

Walter CLEYDON
Acting Bombardier, D Battery, 317th Brigade, Royal Field
Artillery. Army no. 85839
He was killed in action on 12 October 1918. He was 32
He was the son of Joseph and the late Esther Cleydon of Wroxton and the husband of Hilda Cleydon, 3 Church Road, Teddington
He is buried in grave IV E 17 Caudry British Cemetery, near Cambrai

Frank Ernest COX
Lance Corporal, 9th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
(City of London Regiment), 36 Brigade, 12 Division. Army no. 280
He was killed in action in the fighting at the Hindenburg Line on 21 September 1918. 
He is remembered on panel 3 of the Vis en Artois Memorial 

Harry Vaughtigan DRAKE
Sergeant, Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars, 4 Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division. Army no. 285138
He was killed in action during the Battle of St Quentin on 21 March 1918. He was 21
He was the son of Henry and Emma Drake of Wroxton
He is remembered on panel 6 of the Pozières Memorial 

John EDWARDS
Driver, 350th Mechanical Transport Company, Army Service
Corps. 49th (West Riding) Division. Army no. M2/074212
He died of natural causes on 23 September 1915 probably in hospital in Wimereux.  He was 22
He was the son of John and Annie Edwards of Wroxton
He is buried in grave I J 24 Wimereux Communal Cemetery
Additional information
It is possible that he served in the Essex Regiment as mentioned on the Memorial but no records of his service with this regiment have survived.

Percy GARDNER
Gunner, Argyll Mountain Battery, 4th Mountain Artillery
Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery.  Army no. 301046
He died on 14 November 1918. He was 24
He was the son of Thomas and Rose A Gardner of
Wroxton
He is buried in grave 823 Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria,
Greece
Additional information
He died of illness at a time when the flu pandemic was
sweeping through the Army.

James HEMMINGS
Private, 11th Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment,
112 Brigade, 37th Division. Army no. 17896
He was killed in action during the Battle of the Ancre on 15 November 1916. He was 29
He was the son of Esau and Mary A Hemmings of Wroxton
He is remembered on pier and face 9A, 9B and 10B of the Thiepval Memorial

William Charles HUGHES
Corporal, 9th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light
Infantry, 64 Brigade, 21st Division.   Army no. 17169
He died on 15 November 1918. He was 27
He was the son of Charles and Mary A Hughes of
Wroxton.
He is buried in grave XV B 3, Berlin South Western Cemetery
Additional information
The regimental name, The Q O Yorkshire Lgt Infantry on the memorial is wrong. There was no such regiment at that time.
It is probable that he had been a Prisoner of War which is reinforced by the fact that his regiment was in France when he died and his burial is in Berlin.

John Francis LYDIATT
Lance Corporal, 562nd Company, Royal Army Service
Corps. Army no. M/098295
He died on 9 April 1919. He was 37.
He was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Lydiatt of Wroxton and the husband of Nellie B Lydiatt
He is buried in grave XIV A 5, Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille near Calais
Additional information
562nd Company served as the Corps Siege Park for 1st ANZAC and then IV Corps and it was responsible for moving the Heavy Artillery units around. As he is listed as being killed in action in 1919, perhaps maybe it should be presumed that he died as a result of a military accident or explosion. 

James Henry NEVILLE
Private, 8th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment, 40 Brigade, 13th Division. Army no. 18725
He died from natural causes on 25 August 1915. He was 24
He was the son of John and Eleanor Neville and a native of Wroxton
He is buried in grave II J 169 East Mudros Military Cemetery, Limnos, Greece
Additional information
He died at the height of the Gallipoli Campaign during the Battle of Sulva

LCPL  W R NEVILLE  3rd Royal Berkshires
No information has been found about this man. This should probably be:
William George NEVILLE
Private, 2nd/4th Battalion, Princess Charlotte of  Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment).   Army no. 220238. He was previously with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
He died of his wounds on 21 March 1918. He was 21
He was the son of Charles and Emma L Neville, East Street, Headington and he was born in Wroxton
He is remembered on panel 56 and 57 of the Pozières Memorial.

Frank William SHAW
Lance Corporal 194th Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), 23rd Division. Army no. 55086. He was formerly with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 25873
He was killed in action during the first Battle of Passenchendaele on 17 October 1917. He was 33
He was the son of the Rev. William and the late Sarah Shaw and the husband of Emma H Shaw of Wroxton
He is buried in grave VI A 17 Aeroplane Cemetery, near Ypres

Thomas SMART
Private, 11th Battalion, The Essex Regiment, 71 Brigade, 6th
Division. Army No. 14016
He died from his wounds on 6 October 1915 in no 11 Stationary Hospital, Rouen shortly after his regiment had been fighting at Hooge. He was 24.
He was the son of John and Susan Smart of Wooler, Northumberland and the husband of Ethel Hughes
He is buried in grave 11 46 St. Sever Cemetery, Rouen.
​Thank you Ian Scott for the additional information

Edmund John WHING
Private, 10th (Service) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, 1 Brigade, 1st Division. Army no. 15586. He was formerly with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
He was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Loos, 25 September 1915.  He was 30.
He was the son of Charles and Mary Whing of  Wroxton
He is remembered on panel 60 to 64 of the Loos Memorial
Additional information
He was christened Edmund John but recorded, with the names transposed,by the military

Francis Harry Varney WISE
Lieutenant, Royal Flying Corps
He died on 3 January 1918. He was 23
He was the son of Sidney and Margaret S Wise of Wroxton and the brother of Arthur
He is buried in grave B 33 Teddington Cemetery
Additional information
Fatal Flying accident to Lieut. F.H.V. Wise RFC
Based on a report in the Banbury Guardian 24 January 1918
Through a mishap occurring while in the air, Lieutenant FHV Wise and Lieutenant Albert Payne, both of the Royal Flying Corps, were killed at Hendon on 13 January. Lieutenant Wise, who was twenty-two years, was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Wise, of Wroxton, Oxfordshire, and nephew of Mrs. Rogers, of the Anglers Hotel, Teddington, with whom he resided for several years. He went to London to be articled to a firm of solicitors and at the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Naval Division, with which he took part in the expedition to Antwerp and had been awarded the Mons Star.  He was recommended for a commission, and was gazetted to the Royal Naval Division, from which he later proceeded to the Royal Flying Corps.
The gallant young officer fought with the RFC in France. He returned to England on sick leave, and he afterwards made almost 200 flights across the Channel.  On 13 January with
Lieutenant Payne, he was about to pilot an aeroplane to Martlesham Heath and when the machine was at a height of about 2,000 feet, (I think this may be a misprint for 200 feet) it was suddenly seen to bank and then side-slip to the ground, where it burst into flames. Both occupants were killed
instantaneously.
Much sympathy is felt for his relatives and friends, also
for Miss Beatrice Hooper, to whom he became engaged only a week previously. (Second daughter to Sub-divisional nspector Race Hooper from Kingston Police)

Arthur Sidney WISE
Lance Corporal, 2nd/4th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 184 Brigade, 61st Division. Army no. 200660
He was killed in action on the first day of the battle of St Quentin, 21 March 1918. He was 21
He was the son of Sidney and Margaret S. Wise of Wroxton and the brother of Francis
He is remembered on panels 50 & 51 of the Pozières Memorial 


The Fallen from WW2

Arthur William BERRY
Trooper, 46th Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps, Royal
Armoured Corps. 46th North Midland Infantry Division, British 10th Corps.  Army no. 5387687
He died in action on 12 September 1944. He was 25
He was the son of Arthur Charles and Elsie M Berry and the husband of Violet M Berry, of Grimsbury, Oxfordshire.
He is buried in grave IV C 4 Montecchio War Cemetery, Italy
Additional information
He died during the Battle of Gemmano. There were 11 assaults by the Allies between 4-13 September, first by the
British 56th Division and then the British 46th Division. It was the Indian 4th Division who after a heavy bombardment made the twelfth attack at 03:00 hours on 15 September and finally carried and secured the German defensive positions.

Hugh PRITCHARD
Able Seaman, HM Submarine Tempest, Royal Navy.  RN no.
C/SSX 33930
He died on 23 February 1942. He was 19. 
He was the son of John H and Elizabeth A Pritchard of Wroxton
He is remembered on panel 55, 3 Chatham Naval Memorial
Additional information
HMS Tempest (N86) was a T-class submarine, laid down by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead and launched in June 1941. Her career was short and in the Mediterranean.
She sailed from Malta on the night of 10 February to patrol the Gulf of Taranto. The following evening, 11 February, HMS Tempest was signalled that the Italians were aware of a
submarine in the vicinity and that it should be assumed that her patrol had been compromised. On 13 February HMS Tempest was sighted on the surface by the Italian destroyer Circe. HMS Tempest attempted to dive, but Circe began depth  charging the area, eventually resulting in oil being seen on the surface. 
HMS Tempest had been crippled, and forced to surface, where she was hit by gunfire from the Circe. The crew abandoned the submarine, and were picked up by the destroyer. The Italians attempted to board the abandoned vessel but were prevented by rough seas so the Italian destroyer opened fire scoring more than a dozen direct hits, but failing to sink the Tempest.  Finally the Italians attempted to take the submarine in tow. Two members of the destroyer’s crew boarded the submarine and prepared the tow. As Circe manoeuvred to take up the tow, HMS Tempest suddenly started to sink forcing those onboard to jump into the sea. HMS Tempest slipped beneath the waves stern first with the bows disappearing vertically.

George Henry BERRY
Air Mechanic, 2nd Class, HMS Gosling, Royal Navy. RN no. L/FX. 697944
He died from natural causes on 2 November 1944. He was 19 
He was the son of Ralph and Jane Berry of Wroxton.
He is buried in plot C coll. grave 10 (Screen Wall Panel 1), Duke Street Cemetery, Southport
Additional information
HMS Gosling was a Fleet Air Arm Training Establishment at Risley near Warrington training Air Fitters, Air Mechanics, Radio Mechanics and Royal Marine Trainees of the RN Air Station 
Defence Force

Charles Henry GARDNER
Private, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Army no. 5385497
He died on 30 March 1941. He was 23
He was the son of Thomas and Rose Ann Gardner of Wroxton
He is buried in the Churchyard of All Saints Church, Wroxton
Additional information
He died in the United Kingdom but the cause is not known
 
Men of Wroxton who are not on the War Memorial
​
Sidney FREEMAN
Private, 15th (Service) (2nd Birmingham) Battalion, The
Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 14 Brigade, 5th Division.  Army no. 19581
He was killed in action on 9 May 1917 probably near the Scarpe. He was 30
He was the son of James and Kezia Freeman of Wroxton
He is remembered on bay 3 of the Arras Memorial

Wilfred PALMER
Private, 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), 35 Brigade, 12th Division. Army no. 45782. He was formerly with The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
He died from his wounds on 21 September 1918 following the assault on the Hindenberg Line.  He was 23.
He was son of William J and Alice Palmer and husband of Christina Palmer, all of Wroxton
He is remembered on the addenda panel of the Vis en Artois Memorial