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In
Loving Memory of our Fallen
THE FALLEN OF THE GREAT WAR
Surnames A
and B
 AGER, H.Henry Charles
Wooding Ager, 9861, was a Private in the Oxford and Bucks
Light Infantry, 2nd battalion. Henry enlisted in Oxford. He died on 23
October 1914 in the 5 Field Ambulance from
wounds received in action, and is buried at Ypres Town Cemetery,
Belgium, D1 20. Born at North Crawley in 1896, he was
the son of Jane Ager. Jane's mother and grandparents were residing in
the Newport Pagnell Union Workhouse in 1851; her grandfather, Thomas,
was an agricultural labourer and her grandmother, Mary, was a lacemaker.
They had six children with them; George, 15, also an agricultural
labourer, Samuel, 13, Harriet, 8, Jane, 5, John, 2, and Jesse, 7 months.
In 1861, living at North Crawley with Samuel, an agricultural labourer,
and his wife Ann, a lacemaker, was little Jane Ager, daughter of
Harriet, Samuel's sister, then two years old. Harriet married James
Boon, an agricultural labourer, in 1861, and little Jane, then 12 and a
lacemaker like her mother, lived with them at North Crawley. Also there
in 1871 were the Boons' two children, George, 6, and Louisa, 2.
By 1881, the Boons had three more children; Leah Ada Minnie B, then 6,
Linda Maude, 5, and Frederick Henry, 1. Mrs Boon had also become a
grandmother, as Jane had a daughter of her own, Florence Jane W, also 1.
Both Mrs Boon and Jane continued to make lace to sustain themselves.
In 1889 Mrs Boon remarried, to Edward Barrett, a general labourer. They
continued to live at North Crawley, with William and Owen, Mr Barrett's
sons, and Mrs Boon's son Frederick Henry, by then, at the age of 11, an
agricultural labourer. Jane, meanwhile, had formed her own household at
North Crawley, and she and her daughter Florence were both lacemakers.
Jane had had
four more children; Emma G W, 7, John W Wooding, 4, Hilda Ellen W,
2, and a new baby as yet incompletely named, Wooding Ager (he was later
registered as Gordon William Wooding Ager).
 Jane moved to Newport
Pagnell and in 1901 was living at 4 Club Court, Priory Street. She was
then a pillow lacemaker, and her eldest child at home, John, was a
grocer's porter. She had two more children; James Wooding, 8, and Henry
Charles W, 4. Lodging with the family was Jane's stepbrother Owen
Barrett, then a bricklayer's labourer. By 1911 Jane
had changed her trade and was a confectionary shop-keeper, living at 110
High Street, Newport Pagnell (left). William was working at the motor
car works, while Ellen was a general servant. James was a cowman on a
farm. Henry, then 14, worked as a milk seller.
Memorial - SPi, SPo Note: He is recorded as
H. Agar on SPo
photo of headstone by Rob Hopkins |
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ATTKINS, G. B.
 Shoeing Smith George Baldwin Attkins, TS/6910 of the 220th Company, 52nd
Division Train, Army Service Corps, died on 11 November 1917, aged 23.
He is buried at the Kantara War
Memorial Cemetery, Egypt, C 98; his headstone was engraved with the
words "Peace, Perfect Peace".
Born in Newport Pagnell, and enlisting in Wolverton, he was the son of
George William and Annie E Attkins, from 2 Frederica Cottages, Caldecote
Street, Newport Pagnell (left, the centre house). In 1911 he was working as an apprentice
blacksmith, taking after his father, who was a shoeing and general
smith, and living at home with his parents. Also there were his brothers
and sisters, Grace, 20, a dressmaker, Thomas, 18, a brewery clerk, May,
13, an apprentice dressmaker, and Jack, just two. A sixth child had
died. Ten years before the family had lived at 4 Silver Street, giving
also lodging to Sidney Coales, who was a boot rivetter born in Olney.
Mr and Mrs Attkins had come from Buckingham and Northampton
respectively.
All the children of the family had been born in Newport Pagnell,
excepting Thomas, who had been born in Higham Ferrers.
Memorials - SPi, SPo |
 BAKER, F. W. M.
Frederick William Mason Baker, 110089, was a Gunner in the Royal
Garrison Artillery, 219 Siege Battery, having enlisted in Bletchley on 2
August 1916. He
was 44 when he died on 10
 July 1917. He is buried at Coxyde Military
Cemetery, Belgium, grave I E 58. His headstone was engraved with the
words, "From his loving wife and children".
Living at 38 Spring Gardens (right) and a bricklayer
in 1911, he was the husband of Annie Marion Baker, née Clarke, whom he
had married in 1906. The couple's first child was Phyllis Marion, born
in 1907, in Newport Pagnell like her parents, and they were to have
three more; Gladys in 1911, Herbert in 1915, and Joan, born shortly
before her father died.
The grave, left, is in Newport Pagnell cemetery. It
is that of Frederick's wife, Annie. The headstone reads, "In loving
memory of Annie Marion Baker, died Aug 21 1946, wife of the late F W M
Baker, killed in action July 10 1917. Reunited". Memorials - SPi, SPo
Note: a letter home from Major Keates Wilson, commanding
the Battery, stated that Gunner Baker had died instantly; however SD
states that he died from wounds |
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BAKER, H. A. This
may be Harry or Henry Andrew Baker, the son of William Baker and his
wife Ellen. In 1881, when Harry was 3, they were living at 64 Priory
Street, Newport Pagnell. Mr Baker was working as a machinist bolt-screwer
in a railway carriage factory. It was then a family of sons, with, as
well as Harry, William, then 11, Albert James, 7, Arthur, 5, and Walter,
2.
By 1891 the family had moved to Priory Court, and
Arthur, Harry, and Walter were all working as errand boys, while William
had joined his father on the railway as a plate-labourer. The family had
been joined by another son in 1885, Ernest Edward, and by a daughter,
Kate Elizabeth, about 1883. Ten years later, Harry was at 32 Albert
Street, Fenny Stratford, with his brother Albert and his sister-in-law
Lilian, working as a brake-fitter on the railway.
Miss K E Baker, of 2 Priory Street, is named on the
CWGC headstone schedules as the contact for Private H A Baker, 331158,
of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 18 battalion, transferred to 160945
342nd Works Company Labour Corps, who died on 16 November 1918. He is
buried at Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Kent, R717.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
 BALE,
C. J.Sub-Lieutenant Claude John Bale
served in the Royal Naval Reserve. He survived the sinking of HMS India,
torpedoed off Norway on 8 August 1915, but died four months later at
Forstadmoer, near Lillehammer from a "sub phial haemorrhage", on 7
December 1915. He is buried in Faberg Churchyard, Norway, L 43, to the
left of a shipmate, W. J Benyon, who died the month before.
Born at Tufnel Park, Islington, London on 6 August
1890, in 1891 Claude was living with his parents, Francis Ernest and
Mary Elizabeth Bale, at 16 Anson Road, Islington. His father was a
printer and the family employed a servant, Florence Hicks, to help them
care for the house and for Claude and his older brother Ronald Frank,
then 2. In 1897 Mr Bale died, and by 1901 Mrs Bale, living on her own
means, had moved to 32 Goldhurst Terrace, Hampstead, with Ronald,
Claude, and a daughter, Olive Mary, born around 1893.
Claude gained his education at Merchant Taylors'
School at Northwood and at the Thames Nautical Training College HMS
Worcester. In 1911 his brother Ronald was a student in Holy Orders; his
sister Olive was also a student, of music. Mrs Bale, Ronald and Olive
were then at 85 Belsize Lane, Hampstead. They had two servants, a cook,
Annie Laura Collison, and a housemaid, aged 17, Mabel Hooton, who had
been born in Newport Pagnell.
Mrs Bale later moved to Buckinghamshire, residing at
"Uplands" (Little Crawley?), and died in 1917, aged 58.
Memorial - SPi, SPo
image of graves from Commonwealth War
Graves Commission |
 BARKER, B.Private
Bertie Barker, 72597, died on 11 October 1918, serving with the 1/6th
battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own).
Enlisting in Wolverton, he had formerly served as 6/16649 in the Oxford
and Bucks Light Infantry. He is remembered at the Wellington Cemetery,
Rieux-en-Cambresis, France, on special memorial B4.
He was born in Newport Pagnell around 1890 and in
1891 he was the youngest child in the family of Charles Barker, a
bricklayer's labourer, and his wife Laura. At home then in Caldecote
Street were three other children; Lizzie, 8, William, 4, and Harry, 3. A
move to Prospect Place followed, and by 1911, with the family living at
5 Paggs Court, Silver Street (right), the family consisted of ten children,
amongst them six more sisters, Lucy, 19, Annie, 17, and still at home
Ruth, then 14, Maud, 12, Elsie, 10, and Rose, 4. Bertie, still at home
too and then 21, had taken a job as a parchment maker. He had been
working at the parchment works for ten years, having been a parchment
maker's boy while still at school.
Memorial - Fi, SPi, SPo |
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BARNES, W.
 William
Barnes was born and lived in Newport Pagnell, the son of James
and Sarah Barnes. The couple had married in 1883 in London, where Sarah
may have been working as a servant, and by 1891
were living in Newport Pagnell, Mrs Barnes' home town. Mr Barnes had
been born in nearby Olney. Their address at the time was 33 Priory
Street, and Mr Barnes was working as a chimney sweep. At home were
children Annie, born 1880, and Lillian, born 1886, and James
Henry, born about 1889, all born in Newport Pagnell.
By 1901 Mrs Barnes, working as a laundress, and her
children, James, Elsie, born 1891, and William, born 1893, were at the
home of Mrs Barnes'
parents, Isaac and Matilda Plackett at 92 Tickford Street. Mr Plackett
was a hay-binder. By 1911 Mrs Barnes was widowed, and living at 45
Priory Street with James, then a bricklayer's labourer, and William, a
coach painter.
William enlisted in October 1915, and served first in the Army
Service Corps before becoming 23444, a Private in the Bedfordshire Regiment,
4th battalion. He visited his mother just five weeks before
Christmas 1916 and his regiment was then drafted to France. He saw
only two months on the Front before he was killed on 13 February 1917.
He is buried at Ancre British Cemetery,
Beaumont-Hamel, France, VII E 21.
Mr Barnes, born about 1827, had been married before, in 1858; his
wife, Maria Banks, born about 1822, had probably died just before he
married Sarah Plackett. In 1861 the family were at Abbey End,
Newport Pagnell, with Mrs Barnes' son, James, born about 1849, also
working as a chimney sweep. James had a brother, John, born in about
1840; their mother had been a dressmaker at Abbey End before her
marriage.
In 1871, the family were at the Bricklayers' Arms (at Abbey End?)
where Mr Barnes was a chimney sweep and a beer-house keeper. At home
then were Ann Hannah, their daughter, a bonnet-sewer, and Thomas
Stratton, son, both born in Olney, in 1854 and 1858 respectively. In
1881 Mrs Barnes is recorded at 33 Priory Street as a chimney
sweeper's wife; their son Thomas was also a chimney sweeper.
*Abbey End is the old/local name for Priory Street.
James Barnes did run a pub at Abbey End, named The Chimney Sweeps'
Arms; perhaps this is the same building as the Bricklayers' Arms.
The Chimney Sweeps' Arms was at 27 Priory Street, illustrated above.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
 BARNWELL, D. J.
Dick Joseph Barnwell was born in Newport Pagnell in 1895. His father,
William, born at Great Linford, was a brassmoulder in the Railway
Carriage Works. His mother, Jane Foolkes, had been born at Fenny
Stratford; her father George also worked on the railway, as a labourer.
The couple married in 1891, and in 1901 the family
were living at 2 Hill View Cottages, Newport Pagnell, with their
children Clara, 10, William George, 8, Dick, 6, and John Henry, 3, and
Walter Charles, 1. In 1911 they had moved to 104 High Street (left), and had
another son, Thomas James, born in 1903. Mr Barnwell was no longer able
to work, having suffered for ten years with a strained spine, but
William was earning as an apprentice coach body builder with the LNWR,
and Dick was working in a ginger beer factory for the Newport Pagnell
Brewery Company. Their younger brother Walter was a houseboy.
Dick changed his career, and was admitted on 10 July
to the Wolverton 3 branch of the National Union of Railwaymen as a
labourer. He volunteered for service in September 1914, enlisting in Wolverton.
He was sent overseas the next year, and took part on the Battle of Loos.
After transfer to Salonika he fought on the Vardar and Doiran fronts. He
suffered severe wounds, which proved fatal. As Lance Corporal, 12251,
in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, Dick died on 9 May 1917; his body
was never formally identified so he is commemorated on the Doiran
Memorial, Greece.
"Nobly striving, he nobly fell that we might live."
Nat Roll address - 104 High Street
Memorial - SPi, SPo, URCo
Note: William George Barnwell in 1919
married Ada Church. In 1939 they were living at 20 Bury Street, Newport
Pagnell. One of their children was Dorothy M Barnwell, born 16 December
1925. For several months, between 1944 and 1945, Miss Barnwell worked
shifts at Bletchley Park, in Block C, operating a Hollerith machine.
Block C is now the Visitors' Centre, and the Holleriths summarised
information on punched cards, including information used in Hut 8 for
Enigma code processing. |
 BAXTER, J. W.John
William Baxter was born in Newport Pagnell in 1893, the son of Henry
Baxter and his wife Sarah, née Davison. The couple married in 1883. In
1901 the family were living at 17 Caldecote Street (left), with Mr Baxter
working as an engineer in a flour mill. They then had four children at
home; George Henry, 11, John, 8, Irene Joanna Harriet, and Harold, 2.
They also had another son, Leonard Percy, born in 1884.
By 1911 the family had been joined by Albert, then 9.
John had become a domestic gardener, like his brother George. On 2
September 1914 he enlisted in Newport Pagnell for the duration of the
war, and as a Private, 12633, was placed in the 7th service battalion of
the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. He went to Marseilles on 11
November 1915, but unfortunately became ill with diarrhoea just a month later, and was treated by the Field Ambulance and then
admitted to the 28th General Hospital from the 25th Casualty Clearing
Station. On 27 January 1916 he was admitted by the St John's Military
Hospital in Malta and then, on 23 February 1916, to the Imtarfa Fever
Hospital, Malta, with paratyphoid. He was sent back to England on 26
March 1916.
In September he was able to rejoin his regiment and
on 6 October 1916 he embarked again for the Front,
and was posted to the 6th battalion in the field on 11 October 1916.
Eight days after that he sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his face
including damage to the sight in one eye;
possibly he was struck by shrapnel. He was again admitted to hospital,
the 20th General, on 21 December 1916. On Boxing Day he was transferred
in the field to the Machine Gun Corps and sailed back to England on 2
January 1917.
On 8 September 1917 John was at Folkestone, waiting
to embark for Boulogne. On 20 September he joined 198 Company. On
22 October 1917 he was appointed unpaid acting L/Corporal and on 10
March 1918 became acting Corporal. On 9 April 1918 he was wounded in
action, and then posted as missing. A day later he was reported as
having died from his wounds.
 Corporal Baxter was 25 when he died. He is buried at
the Beacon Cemetery, Sailly- Laurette, France, IV E 8. On his headstone
may be inscribed "Not dead but living in Christ".
The headstone on the right is in St Peter and St
Paul's churchyard, on the lower level. It reads "In loving memory of
Jonn William Baxter, the beloved son of Henry and Sarah Baxter, who died
of wounds in France, April 10th 1918. Aged 25 years. Interred Beacon
British Cemetery". The stone is now almost obscured by a small yew
(left). One kerbstone is visible; it bears the words "Also of Henry
Baxter died July 3rd 1931"
 Corporal Baxter's brother George Henry also served, in Salonica.
Probably Corporal Baxter was a first cousin of Percy, below,
their fathers being brothers and the sons of George and Johanna Baxter.
Memorial - Fi, SPi, SPo, URCo
right - location of headstone in the
churchyard |
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BAXTER, P. E.
 Percy Edgar Baxter was born in 1894 in Newport Pagnell, the
son of Edward Baxter and Ellen, née Petts. The couple were married in
1889.
In 1901 the family were living at 79 Silver Street, with Mr Baxter's son
 Horace Edward, 10, and their children Percy, Florence Ellen, 8, twins
James (Thomas?) William and Edith Annie, both 4, and Frederick Francis,
2. Mr Baxter was working as a labourer. By 1911 the family had moved a
couple of doors along, being at 71 Silver Street (right). Mr Baxter was
"strikeing" for a Motor Car Works. Horace had become a bricklayer, while Percy and William were
both labourers at the Parchment Works. Edith was a domestic servant.
Percy enlisted in Wolverton with a service number of 1344, and became a
Lance Corporal in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. He served in
France before becoming ill and returning home. He was 21 when he
died at home on 1 August 1915. He had been treated by Dr James Sheppard
for diabetes. He is buried at Newport Pagnell south of
the church, in grave 14.
Mr and Mrs Baxter eventually moved to 1 Frederica Cottages, Caldecote
Street, Newport Pagnell.
Percy was probably a first cousin of John Baxter, above
Memorial - Fi, SPi, SPo, URCo |
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BEGLEY, F. A.
Francis Arthur Begley was born in Stony Stratford in 1886, the son of
William Begley and his wife Mary Ann, née Gardner, who had married in
1881. Mr Begley was a chimney sweep, and in 1891 was living at King
Street, Stony Stratford with his wife and children Francis and Beatrice*,
then 3. Lodging with them was Emanuel Parker, a servant and also a
sweep.
Ten years later, Francis had become a sweep with his father while
Beatrice had found a job as a sweeper-up at a printing works. The
family, now living at 85 Wolverton Road, had been joined by Edith, then
9, William John, 3, and baby Gertrude, just three months. In 1911
they were still at the same address, with both Francis and his father
continuing to sweep chimneys for their employment.
Francis was living in Newport Pagnell when he
enlisted in Bletchley in March 1916. He became Private 4806 in the Royal Warwickshires,
1/6th battalion, and went to France some four months after enlistment,
fighting on the Somme. He was killed in action at Ovillers on 17 August 1916, and is buried at Pozières
British Cemetery, Ovillers-La-Boisselle, France, IV F 46.
"He died the noblest death a man may die, fighting
for God and liberty."
Nat Roll address - 90 Tickford Street
*Beatrice became in 1911 the wife of
Arthur Cheesman.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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 BOUGHTON, H.
Herbert Boughton was born in Broughton in 1897. He was the
son of George Boughton and Mary Ann, née Hodges, who married in 1892. Mr
Boughton had come from Buckingham and his wife from Twyford. The family
had moved about before settling by 1901 in Newport Pagnell at 36 Priory
Street, as their two daughters, Annie, 7, and May, 5, had been born in
Addington, while their sons, Herbert, 4, and Harry, 1, had been born in
Broughton.
By 1911 the family had moved to 86 Tickford Street.
Mr Hodges was continuing his trade as a blacksmith striker for a
carriage works, and their last child, Freddy, had been born in Newport
Pagnell in 1903. Herbert was working as a farm labourer.
Herbert enlisted in Wolverton, volunteering in August
1914. He became Private
265187 in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, 2/4th battalion. Once he
had finished training in 1915 he was sent to France, taking part in the
battles of Festubert, Loos, the Somme, and Arras. Severely wounded at
the second battle of the Somme, he died
from wounds on 28 August 1918, at the age of 21, and is buried at the Aire Communal Cemetery, France, IV C 13. On his headstone are the words,
"Sadly missed but never forgotten".
The headstone above is in St Peter and St Paul
churchyard. It reads, "In loving memory of May Boughton, died Aug 5th
1908, aged 13 years. Gone but not forgotten. Also of Private Herbert
Boughton, 2/4 Ox and Bucks L I, brother of the above, died of wounds in
France, Aug 28th 1918, aged 21 years. Faithful unto death. Also of Mary
Ann, the beloved wife of George Boughton, died May 6th 1933".
 "His life for his country, his soul to God"
Nat Roll address - 86 Tickford Street
Memorial - SPi, SPo
right - location of grave |
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BRANTOM, F.
Born on 8 December 1899 at Linslade, Frank Brantom was the
only son of William Joseph Brantom and his wife Mary Ann, née Stevens.
The family were living at 4 Springfield Road, Linslade, in 1901, with Mr
Brantom working as a railway engine stoker. By 1911 the family had moved
to 25 Wolverton Road, and Mr Brantom had become an engine driver. Frank
was the only child at home; sadly the family had lost two others -
possibly Gladys in 1903 and Ellen in 1906, both as babies.
Frank attended Newport Pagnell County Council school
and then became an apprentice to Morgan's of Leighton Buzzard, building
motor bodies. He is recorded as enlisting in Bedford; however on 28
January 1918 he joined the East Surrey Regiment, and in April was
transferred to the Herts Yeomanry. From 1 August he went to France;
there he saved a companion by jumping into a canal and rescuing him from
drowning. Sadly only three weeks after embarking for France he was
recorded as wounded and missing while serving as Private 41972 with the
Norfolk Regiment, 7th battalion.
He was assumed as having died on the date he went
missing, 22 August 1918. His body was found, and he is buried at the
Beacon Cemetery, Sailly-Laurett, France, VI E 5. On his headstone are
the words "Never forgotten".
Memorial - Mi, SPi, SPo
a picture of Frank Brantom is available |
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BRAWN, A. E.
Albert Edward Brawn was born in 1893 at Earls Barton. In 1901
he was living at 78 Great Park Street, Wellingborough, where they would
have moved before 1897, with his parents, James Herbert, a bootmaker,
and Mary Jane, née Ward, who had married in 1887. Also there were his
elder brother, Herbert, then 11, and his younger siblings, Annie R, 4,
John R, 2, and Arthur F, just 8 months.
Five feet five inches tall, with grey eyes and brown
hair, he was working as an agricultural labourer when he enlisted in
Northampton to the Northamptonshire Regiment (SR) on 17 December 1909 as
a Private, 8188. He was noted as having a large scar on the inside of
his left knee and a scar on the second finger of his right hand. Shortly
after enlisting, on 14 January 1910, he was admitted to hospital in
Northampton with influenza, being discharged a week later, on 22
January.
On 5 March 1910 he gained a 3rd class army
certificate and five days later, on 10 March 1910, with a character
reference of "good", he joined the regular army, again the
Northamptonshire Regiment. He was then sent to Colchester on 16 March
1910, where he had another hospital stay between 3 June and 17 June 1910
with an abrasion on his knee. Sustained at cricket, this injury went
septic and had to be treated with antiseptic dressings.
He was posted to Devonport, staying at the South
Raglan Barracks. He suffered the loss of his Lance stripe on 28 April
1911 owing to being improperly dressed, parading fatigues, and stating a
falsehood. He remained at Devonport until 7 October 1913, where he
appears to have gained a good conduct badge on 28 April 1913. He
arrived at Blackdown on 8 October 1913, and, as a signaller, was given a
reference of being intelligent and trustworthy on 17 November 1913 and
appears to have received conduct-related pay awards.
Middlesex Hospital Convalescent Home, Clacton-on-Sea
Herbert was an "Contemptible", being one of the first
to go to France when war broke out; sent on 12 August 1914. There, in
October 1914 he sustained a gunshot wound to his right thigh, and was
sent home to England on 25 October 1914. He was transferred to the
Middlesex Hospital at Clacton, arriving there on 27 October, but was
unable to recover. He died as a
Lance Corporal, 9125, on 4 November 1914 and was buried at Clacton,
grave C230.
On his headstone are the words, "In loving memory of
our dear boy, Mother, Father, Sisters and Brothers".
Lance Corporal Brown was the first to die at the
Middlesex Hospital. Just before midnight the same day a fellow 1st
Northampton, Private Sydney Munton, also died. He was 19 and came from
Kettering. They had a joint funeral with a band and a firing party, and
the Last Post was played at their gravesides.
Albert's parents moved to Newport Pagnell sometime before 1909, and
lived at Prices Yard, Newport Pagnell. In 1911 they were at
Osborne Lodge in the High Street, with Mr Brawn being a horsekeeper to a
corn-merchant. Three more children had been born; Frank, Francis
Allstone, and Gertrude.
Albert's brother Herbert was serving in the
Bedfordshire Regiment when Albert enlisted, and had been stationed at
Windmill Hill, Gibraltar.
Memorial - SPi, SPo, URCo
Middlesex postcard from collection of Simon Chambers |
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BROOKS, J. R.
 John Richard Brooks was the son of Arthur Brooks and his wife
Emma, née Johnson. The couple were married in 1891; John was born in
Newport Pagnell in 1896.
In 1901 Mrs Brooks was at home at 20a Mill Street
with John and his sister, Alice Edith, who had been born in 1892. In
1911 the family were still living at Mill Street, but at number 11
(right). They
had another daughter, Elsie, then aged 5, and both John and his father
were machinists at the railway carriage works.
John enlisted in Wolverton, and was serving in the Oxford
and Bucks Light Infantry 2/1st Bucks battalion, as 1356, Lance
Corporal, when he was killed in action on 25 November 1916. He
is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France, Pier and Face
10A and 10D.
John Richard Brooks' Victory medal, above and below, was
discovered in a shop in Bletchley and was kindly presented by Mr
I Allen to
the Newport Pagnell Historical Society Museum to mark the
centenary of his death.
Memorial - SPi, SPo, URCo
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BUCKINGHAM, R. S.
Reginald Sydney Buckingham was a Corporal, 17597, in the
Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 1st battalion. He had
enlisted in Oxford, volunteering in April 1915. He was 22 when
he died on 6 April 1916. He is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq,
panel 26 and 63.
Reginald was the son of Levi Buckingham and his wife
Lily, née Robins. The couple had married in 1890. In 1891 they
were living at Lords Hill, Chalgrave, Woburn, with their first child,
Sidney. Mr Buckingham was an agricultural labourer, and Mrs Buckingham
was a straw plait maker.
Sadly, they were to lose their son Sidney three years
later. The couple had altogether ten children, of whom two died young.
The survivors were Nellie Louisa, born 1892, Reginald, 1894, Stanley,
1896, Harold Edward, about 1899, Lily, 1901, Albert, 1903, Gladys Laura,
1906, and Florence Phoebe, 1908.
In 1901 the family were living at 31 Stuart Street,
Luton, with Mr Buckingham working as a blocker for leghorn hats, and by
1911 the Buckinghams had moved to Water Lane, Sherington. Reginald was a
horsekeeper on a farm, and Mr Buckingham, living close by at a different
address with the rest of the family, was a stockman on a farm.
Charmingly he gave his wife's occupation as "looks after house and
family".
In 1914 Reginald married Priscilla A Pateman and they
probably had a son, Aubrey. Mrs Priscilla Buckingham remarried in 1919
to Tom Smith, and they may have had a further son, Kenneth, in 1922. Mrs
Smith lived at 56 Priory Street, while her former in-laws, Mr and Mrs
Buckingham, had moved to Dorset Villa, Marsh Road, Leagrave, Luton.
Memorial - none |
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BULL, C. D., F. J., and O. T.
Frederick John Bull was born in 1888 at Hanslope. The son of
Joseph Bull, an illiterate agricultural labourer, and his wife Sarah Ann, née
Stones, he lived with his family - all born in Hanslope - at Gold
Street. His parents had married in 1882, and he had two elder sisters,
Charlotte, 8, and Emily Maude, 4, and an elder brother, William George.
There was also a younger brother, Albert Joseph, and a boarder, Daniel
Bull, who also worked as an agricultural labourer.
The family were still living at Hanslope in 1901, at
Pineham Farm, and had another five children; Octavius Thomas, 10, Alfred
Andrew, 9, Charles Daniel, 6, Walter James, 4, and Lillian Elizabeth
Rose, a year and three months. In total there were thirteen children,
but sadly three had died. In 1911, still at Pineham Farm, five of the
sons had become agricultural labourers; the exceptions were Octavius
Thomas and Frederick, who had enlisted in Northampton and joined the
Northamptonshire Regiment, 2nd battalion. He was in Malta, at the
Floriana Barracks.
 Already serving, Frederick went at once to the
Western Front when was was declared. He participated in a number of
battles, including Mons, La Bassée, Ypres, the Somme, Arras, and the
1918 Retreat. During the Allied Advance he was killed on 8 October 1917, serving as 8538,
Lance Corporal. He is buried at Prowse Point Military Cemetery, Belgium,
III A 6 (right).
"A costly sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."
Octavius Thomas also died, on 23 October 1918, and
the Horton War Hospital, Epsom. He too was already serving in the army
when war broke out, and went to the Western Front in September 1914. He served in the Northamptonshire
Regiment, as Private 9115, but was transferred to 240009, 433rd
Agricultural Company Labour Corps, and gained the DCM and a French
decoration (Croix de Guerre) for conspicuous gallantry. He was gassed at the Somme in
1916, and is said to have died from the effects in London. He was buried on
26 October 1918 in the Wheathampstead (St Helen) Churchyard.
"Great deeds cannot die: they with the sun and moon
renew their light for ever."
Soldiers Died records a Charles Daniel Bull who was
born in Hanslope and enlisted in Wolverton. He was the brother
of Frederick and Octavius. He volunteered in September 1914, and was
sent to the Western Front six months later. He took part in a number of
engagements, especially in the Ypres, Arras, and Somme arenas. He was
killed in action on 25 September 1915, serving as as a
Private, 16603, in the 5th battalion of the Oxford and Bucks Light
Infantry. He is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial,
Belgium, panel 37 and 39.
"His life for his country, his soul to God."
Nat Roll address for all three - 65 Caldecote Street
Joseph Bull died in 1917. Mrs Bull lived at 65
Caldecote Street, Newport Pagnell.
Memorial - SPo
A picture of O T Bull is available photo
of Lance Corporal Bull's headstone at Prowse Point by Maisie Hopkins,
who bought a poppy from Ypres to lay on his grave |
|
 BUNKER, H.
Harry Bunker was born in 1888 in Newport Pagnell. He was the
sixth child of Thomas Ayers Bunker and his wife Elizabeth A, known as
Annie. In 1891 his elder siblings were Walter Thomas, 14, a farm
labourer, Elizabeth Ellen, 13, a servant, Bertha Ada, 11, Emily, 9, and
James, 6, and there was a younger sister, Clara. Mr Bunker was a
brewer's labourer, and Mrs Bunker was a straw plaiter, and the family
lived at 47 Priory Street; they had probably moved to Newport Pagnell
from Sherington around 1881.
The family had moved along the road to 19 Priory
Street (left) by 1901, and Harry was working as a butcher's boy. He had a new
brother, Albert, then 8, and a new sister, Harriett, 5. By 1911 Harry
was an ironmonger's labourer, and Albert had found himself a job in the
Co-op bakery as a baker. Clara was also earning, being a domestic
servant. A little later in 1911, Harry married Jane E G King, and the
same year they had a son, Thomas A.
Harry enlisted in Birmingham, and became Private 6336
in the Coldstream Guards, 2 battalion. He died on 17 September 1914, and
is buried at the Mantes (La Jolie) Communal Cemetery, France.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
|
BURNELL, F. W. and H.
 Frederick William and Harry Burnell were the sons of Omer Burnell and
Florence Maud Sawbridge, who had married in 1893. Harry was the elder,
born in 1893; Frederick was born the following year. In 1901 they also
had a younger brother, Herbert Omer, born 1900. The family lived at 33
Caldecote Street, and Mr Burnell was employed as an iron-planing
machinist at the railway carriage works.
By 1911 they had moved to 43 Broad Street (right), and had
been joined by a daughter, Florence Maud, then 7. Frederick had become
an apprentice fitter at the railway works, while Harry was an apprentice
brass mounter at the motor works.
Both enlisted at Wolverton, originally in the Oxford
and Bucks Light Infantry; Harry as 15202 and Frederick as 14130. They
were then transferred to the 7th battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment, as
numbers 14303 and 13859 respectively. They were killed on the same day,
24 April 1917, in the same action. Harry's body was never found; he was
commemorated on the Doiran Memorial, Greece. Frederick lies nearby, in
grave I C 13, Doiran Military Cemetery.
Frederick and Harry were the nephews of James and
Walter Burnell, below.
Memorial - Fi, SPi, SPo |
|
BURNELL, J. and W.
James and Walter Burnell were the sons of William Burnell and
his wife Sarah, née Reynolds, who had married in 1869. Mr Burnell was an
agricultural labourer in 1871, hailing from Southam in Warwick; his wife
was from Great Linford. They were living at Abbey End with their new
baby, Edward, just one month. With the family having moved to 1 Tickford
Court by 1881, Mr Burnell had become a brickmaker. They had two more
children; Omer, then 8, and George, 2.
Ten years later they were in a new home at
Southampton Terrace, Priory Street. Edward had become a painter, and
Omer a groom. Also there was a son, Harry, then 16, a shoemaker's
apprentice. George was an errand boy. The family had been joined by
James, 9, Minnie Mary, 6, and Ellen, 4. In 1901 the family were at the
Brickyard Cottages, London Road. James had begun work as a labourer at
the railway carriage works, and two more children had been born; Amos,
9, and Walter, 7.
By 1911 Mr Burnell, at the age of 69 and unable to
write, had become a farm labourer again. Nellie (Ellen) was at home at
 Caldecote Hill, London Road, helping her mother; Nellie had suffered a
weak heart since birth. Amos was a whitesmith, and Walter was labouring
at the carriage department of the railway works, painting carriages.
James had left home; married to Martha in 1906, he was living at 222
West Road, Crewe, and working as an engine boiler-tuber for the LNWR.
 James became a Senior Reserve Attendant in the Royal
Naval Auxiliary Sick Bay Reserve. He lost his life when HMS Formidable
was torpedoed by enemy submarine U-24 off Portland Bill on New Year's Day, 1915. With his body
never knowingly recovered, he is commemorated on the Chatham Naval
Memorial, Kent, panel 15. His widow was then living at 149 Alkington
Road, Whitchurch, Shropshire. According to the CWGC, 547 men were lost
from the Formidable of whom 484 are
commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.
Walter, serving as a Private 13336, in the Oxford and
Bucks Light Infantry, 7th battalion, died on 6 October the same year,
He is buried at Dartmoor Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt, France, I C 20. On
his headstone is inscribed, "I am the resurrection and the life, saith
the Lord".
The grave, left, is in the churchyard at Newport
Pagnell, near the mound at the confluence of the rivers Great Ouse and
Ouzel or Lovat. The centrepiece bears the inscription, "Sacred to the
memory of James Burnell, Sick Serth Sttndnt on HMS Formidable, torpedoed
in the English Channel Jan 1 1915, aged 33 years. Also of Walter Burnell,
Pvt 7th Oxf & Bucks LI, killed Oct 6 1915.Interred in the British
Cemetery at Becordel, France, aged 21 years".
Around the kerbstones is inscribed, "In loving memory
of Sarah Ann,
the beloved wife of William Burnell, who fell asleep July 19 1927 aged
79 years. Also in loving memory of William Burnell, who fell
asleep March 31 1937, aged 94 years".
Nellie also died in 1915, at the age of 27.
James and Walter were brothers to Omer Burnell, the
father of Frederick and Harry, above.
Memorial - Fi, SPi, SPo
an image of HMS Formidable is available - 2942/51 |
|
BUTLER, J. G.
John Goodwin Butler was born in Newport Pagnell in 1896. He
was the son of Bankers' Cashier John Owen Butler and his wife Adeline
Mary, née Goodwin, who had married in 1891. In 1911 John's parents and
two sisters - Adeline Mary and Winifred Ella - were living at Merton
Villa, Silver Street, Newport Pagnell; they had a 15-year-old domestic
servant, Irene, to help in the house. A later address for Mr and Mrs
Butler was Bank House, Newport Pagnell. John was away, at the Edstow
(formerly Bedford Middle Class Public) School in Kempston, allocated to
Howard House. This school had an Officer Training Corps.
John became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding
Regiment), 1/6th battalion. He died at the age of 20, on 28 March 1917.
He is buried at St Vaast Post Military Cemetery, Richebourg-L'Avoue,
France, IV F 3.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
|
