ENSTONE IN THE TWO WORLD WARS

THE FALLEN OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR

DRIVER (Shoeing Snith) ARTHUR FREDERICK GEORGE AKERS

He was the son of Arthur and Matilda Akers of Cleveley, Enstone and had served as a professional soldier with The Royal Field Artillery. In 1909 he married Florence Howard in Woodstock and by 1911 they were living in Cleveley, Enstone with their 2 children, where he worked as a farm labourer. They went on to have 3 more children, before Arthur Akers was recalled to  The Royal Field Artillery on the outbreak of war joining the 37th (Howitzer) Brigade. They were  equipped with 4.5 inch Howitzers and sent to France as part of 4th Infantry Division in the British Expeditionary Force in August 1914. They were in action in the First battle of the Marne between 4th and 11th September 1914 and then in the First Battle of the Aisne.Driver Arthur Akers was killed in action in  the village of Bucy-le-Long was killed in action on 15th September 1914 during The First Battle of Aisne. He was aged 37, his body was never recovered from the field, he is commemorated on La Ferté sous Jouarre Memorial, Seine-et-Marne.

ERNEST AKERS was serving as a Private, 2nd Battalion, Princess of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment) when he died of wounds received on 6th October 1915, in the 2nd Casualty Clearing Station in Bailleul. He was aged 27 and is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord. 

He was the son of Thomas and Sarah Akers of Enstone and had been living in Rousham when he enlisted into the Royal Berkshires in 1907. He landed in France with the 2nd Battalion on 6th November 1915, as part of the 25th Brigade 8th Division and saw action in the Battles of Neuve Chapelle and Aubers Ridge.

He is not on the memorial plaque in St Kenelm's Church.

FRANK ADKINS was serving as a Gunner with the 5th Reserve Brigade, The Royal Field Artillery when he died on 6th February 1917, in Tooting Graveney in London. He was aged 27 and is buried in Tooting St Nicholas Churchyard.

He was the son of John and Emma Adkins of Church Enstone. He was posted to France on 25th August 1915, and after service abroad joined the 5th Reserve Brigade based in London.

ERNEST WILLIAM BARTLETT was serving as a Private with the 6th Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he was killed in action on 13th September 1915. He was aged 19 is buried in the Royal Irish Rifles Graveyard, Laventie.

 
He was the son of William and Elizabeth Bartlett of Lower Cleveley, Enstone, having been born in Kencott. His family had moved around and he had lived at Broughton, Brize Norton and Clapton where he worked as a farm labourer. He was living in Lower Cleveley, Enstone when he enlisted into the Ox and Bucks in Oxford. He landed in Boulogne with the 6th Battalion on 22nd July 1915. He was probably killed in a trench raid, wiring or a similar action as he was initially buried in the German Cemetery at Sailly-sur-La-Lys, being re-interred after the Armistice.

He is not on the memorial plaque in St Kenelm's Church, but is remembered on his brother's gravestone in the churchyard.

SIDNEY ARTHUR BENNETT  was serving as a Private in the  2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he committed suicide on 29th March 1916. He was aged 33 and is buried in Shorncliffe Military Cemetery.

He was the son of William and Angelina Bennett of Jubilee Cottages, Enstone and had worked as a mason's labourer before enlisting into the Ox and Bucks in Oxford. He arrived in France with the 2nd Battalion on 14th August 1914, part of the 5th Brigade in the 2nd Division, one of the first infantry divisions to arrive in France.

The Battalion took part in the first British battle of the war, at Mons, where the British defeated the German forces that they had encountered on 23rd August. A combination of German numerical advantage and the French fifth Army's retreat led to the Battalion subsequently taking part in the 220 mile retreat, in exceptionally hot weather, that began the following day, not stopping until just on the outskirts of Paris, then halting the German advance at the First Battle of the Marne between 5th and 9th September. The 2nd Ox and Bucks later took part in all the subsidiary battles of the First Battle of Ypres between 19th October and 22nd November that saw the heart ripped out of the old regular army, with 54,000 casualties being sustained. In the First Battle of Ypres the 2nd Ox and Bucks first engagement with the enemy was on 20 October in an attack on the Passchendaele ridge. The battalion had heavy casualties with 152 other ranks killed or wounded.  In 1915 trench warfare commenced with both sides developing impregnable defences, leading to high casualties in return for minimal gains. At the Battle of Festubert between 9th and 16th May, launched in support of the French attack south of Vimy Eidge and included the first British night action of the war, the 2nd Ox and Bucks were part of the second wave of the 5th Brigade attack and suffered just under 400 casualties. The 2nd Ox and Bucks were involved in heavy fighting at Richebourg l'Avoueon 15/16th May and saw action at the Battle of Loos from 25th September to 8th October.

WILLIAM CHAMBERLAIN was serving as a Rifleman in the 22nd (Wessex and Welsh) Battalion, The Rifle Brigade when he died in 28th General Hospital in Greece on 25th October 1918. He was aged 24 and is buried in Mikra British Cemetery in Kalamaria, Greece.

He was the son of John George and Sarah  Chamberlain of Lidstone, Enstone. He had enlisted into the 11th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment before being transferred to the Rifle Brigade, in August 1916. The 22nd was a Territorial Battalion formed in October 1915. After training at Halton Camp they embarked on the Troopship "Olympia" bound for Alexandria. After garrison duties in Egypt they sailed on the "Royal George" for Salonika, arriving in January 1917. In April 1917 the Allies staged a major offensive against the Austro-Bulgarian forces in Macedonia, the French and Serbian Armies attacked west of the River Vardar, while the British opened an offensive at Dorian. Rifleman Chamberlain was evacuated from the field suffering from influenza during an outbreak that hit the Battalion in the Autumn of 1918. He was admitted to the 28th General Hospital in Kalamaria on 22nd August, after developing bronch-pneumonia and died 3 days later.

HARRY CLARIDGE was serving as a Private in the 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, when he was killed in action on 31st October 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres. He was aged 27, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres.

He was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Claridge of Cleveley, Enstone having been born in Charlbury. He had joined the The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1905, serving with the 1st Battalion in India. He joined the 2nd and embarked for France with them on 14th August 1914 as part of the 5th Brigade in 2nd Division. They took part in The Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat and the Battles of Marne and the Aisne. They then took part in the First Battle of Ypres when the British fought the Germans to a standstill from 19th October 1914. Private Claridge was one of 9 from the Battalion killed on 31st October clearing woods near Zewarteleen of Germans.

ALFRED JAMES CROSS DCM was serving as a Sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), when he was killed in action on 31st July 1917 during the Battle of Pilekem Ridge. He was aged 21, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres.

He was the son of Charles William and Harriett Cross, Ellen's Lodge, Ditchley, Enstone. He joined the Rifle Brigade in July 1914, just before the outbreak of war. He embarked for France on 9th October 1914, joining the 2nd Battalion as part of the 25th Brigade in 8th Division. He saw action in The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, The Battle of Aubers and The action of Bois Grenier (a diversionary attack coinciding with the Battle of Loos) in 1915,  The Battle of Albert (the first phase of the Battles of the Somme) in 1916 and the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line in 1917. On 18th June 1917, in the run up to the Third Battle of Ypres he received the Distinguished Conduct medal. His citation reads:

"For  conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led out a patrol and established two posts about 70 yards from an enemy strong point. He set a splendid example of courage and initiative."

He was killed on the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres.

he is not on the Enstone Memorial, but remembered on Spelsbury War Memorial.

PRIVATE WILLIAM THOMAS DEAN was serving as a Private with the 1st Battalion, The Royal Berkshire Regiment when he died of his wounds on 31st August 1918. He was aged 19 and is buried in Ligny-sur-Canche British Cemetery.

He was the son of Harry and Jane Dean of Barn Cottages, Tracey Farm near Great Tew, having been born in Fulwell. He had enlisted in Oxford, first joining the 6th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry before joining the Royal Berkshires. s part of the 2nd Division his Battalion was involved in the Second Battle of the Somme from 21st August 1918 when the Allies advanced across the old 1916 Battlefields. He was wounded in action on 31st August during the Battle of Bapaume and died shortly after in a Casualty Clearing Station at Ligny-sur-Canche.

He is not on the Enstone Memorial, but is remembered on the Great Tew War Memorial.

WALTER DICKENSON was serving as a Lance Corporal in the 1st Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, when he died in the hands of the Turks on 15 August 1916. He was aged 27 and is buried in North Gate War Cemetery, Baghdad.

He was the son of Henry and Mary Ann Dickenson of Enstone. He joined the The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1908, whilst living in Bloxham, and served with the 1st Battalion in India. The Battalion, as part of the 6th Poona Division, under command of 17th Indian Brigade,  moved from India to Mesopotamia in November 1914, to protect Persian oil supplies from the Ottoman Empire. The Battalion took part in the march towards Kut-al-Amara with the intention of capturing it from the Ottomans. The battle for Kut began on 26 September and raged for a number of days until the Ottomans went into retreat and Kut was captured on 28th September 1915. The Battalion then took part in the Battle of Ctesiphon in the effort to capture the capital, Baghdad, which ended in the 6th Poona Division being defeated by the Ottoman forces, with the Battalion sustaining 304 casualties. The Division subsequently retreated to Kut, reaching it on 3rd December 1915, with a garrison of 10,000 Britons and Indians. It was besieged by the Ottomans, from the 7th December. The Ottomans launched numerous attempts to take Kut, all of which were repulsed by the defenders, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. The British tried desperately to relieve Kut, but failed, suffering heavy losses. By 26th April 1916 supplies had dwindled significantly and many of the garrison's defenders were suffering from sickness. The garrison negotiated a cease-fire, allowing the sick and wounded to be transferred to the relieving forces and on 29th April the British-Indian force, now down to 8,000, surrendered to the Turks including 400 men of the 1st Ox and Bucks. Many suffered mistreatment by the Ottomans and only 71 of all ranks of the 1st Ox and Bucks who had been taken prisoner returned home to Great Britain.

He is not on the memorial plaque in St Kenelm's Church, but is on the Bloxham War memorial. 

 

JOHN THOMAS DORSETT was serving as a Private with the 9th Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers when he was killed in action on 15th October 1918 during the Battle of Courtrai. He was aged 20, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial. 

He was the son of John and Beatrice Dorsett  and was born in Glympton, Enstone and before enlisting had worked as a farm labourer. He joined The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in Oxford before being posted to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in France. As part of the 109th Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division the 9th Inniskillings took part in the 1918 Battles of the Somme and Lys before taking part in the Final Advance through Flanders during which Private Dorsett was killed.

OLIVER GRIFFIN was serving as a Private with the 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he died of wounds received on 1st December 1917, during the Battle of Cambrai. He was aged 20 and is buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt on the Somme.

He was the son of Edward William Griffin of Little Tew, Enstone, having been born in Cornwell near Chipping Norton. He enlisted  with Prince Albert’s (Somerset Light Infantry) before being transferred to the Ox and Bucks. 

ALFRED HAWTIN was serving as a Sergeant in the 1/1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars when he died on 2nd April 1918 from wounds received during the German Spring Offensive. He was aged 30 and is buried in Namps au Val British Cemetery, in the Somme.

He was the son of Joseph and Esther Hawtin of Church Enstone and had worked as a farm labourer. His elder brother Frederick died in 1915, above. He had joined the Territorial B Squadron of the QOOH and had gained the rank of Lance Corporal by the outbreak of war. 

In September 1914 the regiment received an unexpected telegram. It came from the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, who had served with the QOOH, instructing them to prepare for immediate embarkation. They were to join the Naval Brigade which he was sending to Flanders to prevent a German advance towards the Channel ports.They arrived in France on 12th October 1914 and became the first Territorial unit to see action. As cavalry they spent frustrating periods waiting in readiness to push on through the gap in the enemy's line, which never came. They toiled in working parties bringing up supplies, digging defensive positions, suffering the discomforts of appalling conditions, and frequently dismounting to fight fierce engagements on foot and in the trenches themselves. The German offensive around St Quentin began on March 21st 1918 and succeeded in driving back the allied forces some forty miles in ten days before their advance was halted. The QOOH were among many regiments who fought valiantly but to begin with unsuccessfully to stop the German advance. Eventually the enemy were brought to a halt . Two battles were especially important in stopping the Germans and preventing them from seizing the city: the battle of Moreuil Wood on March 30th, and the battle for Rifle Wood on Easter Monday, April 1st. Both battles were carried out almost entirely by cavalry regiments. Moreuil Wood was fought mainly by the three regiments of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade whilst Rifle Wood was fought by the survivors of these three regiments plus three British Cavalry units The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars, 3rd (King's Own) Hussars, and 20th Hussars. The QOOH, about 120 men in total, and the 3rd Hussars about 80 strong, formed the First Wave of the three waves of the attack formation. (20th Hussars formed the Second Wave and the Canadian Cavalry Brigade was the Third Wave). The Oxfords suffered fifty percent casualties, killed and wounded.

Sergeant Hawtin was wounded in action on 1st April and died in a casualty clearing station the next day.

FREDERICK HAWTIN was serving as a Private with the 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he was killed in action on 25th September 1915 on the first day of the Battle of Loos. He was aged 35, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. 

He was the son of Joseph and Esther Hawtin of Church Enstone, his younger brother Alfred died in 1918, below. In 1901 he was boarding with his brother Albert and his wife, in Leeds, where he was working as a groom. 

He joined the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1903, and served with the 1st Battalion in India.In 1904 he married Matilda Mayo in Headington. On 14th August 1914 he embarked for France with the 2nd Battalion as part of the 5th Brigade in the 2nd Division, one of the first infantry divisions to arrive in France. The battalion took part in the first British battle of the war, at Mons, where the British defeated the German forces that they had encountered on 23rd August. A combination of German numerical advantage and the French fifth Army's retreat led to the Battalion subsequently taking part in the 220 mile retreat, in exceptionally hot weather, that began the following day, not stopping until just on the outskirts of Paris, then halting the German advance at the First Battle of the Marne between 5th and 9th September. The 2nd Ox and Bucks later took part in all the subsidiary battles of the First Battle of Ypres between 19th October and 22nd November that saw the heart ripped out of the old regular army, with 54,000 casualties being sustained. In the First Battle of Ypres the 2nd Ox and Bucks first engagement with the enemy was on 20 October in an attack on the Passchendaele ridge. The battalion had heavy casualties with 152 other ranks killed or wounded.  In 1915 trench warfare commenced with both sides developing impregnable defences, leading to high casualties in return for minimal gains. At the Battle of Festubert between 9th and 16th May, launched in support of the French attack south of Vimy Eidge and included the first British night action of the war, the 2nd Ox and Bucks were part of the second wave of the 5th Brigade attack and suffered just under 400 casualties. The 2nd Ox and Bucks were involved in heavy fighting at Richebourg l'Avoueon 15/16th May and saw action at the Battle of Loos from 25th September to 8th October.

JOHN DENNIS HIGLEY was serving as a Private with the 5th(Service) Battalion, The Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment) when he was killed in action on 30th November 1917 during the Battle of Cambrai. He was aged 23, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial, Louvreral.

He was the son of John and Susan Higley of Mill House, Church Enstone.

The 5th Battalion, one of Kitchener's new armies, had arrived in France in May 1915 as part of the 36th Brigade in the 12th(Eastern) Division. They saw action in the Battle of Loos in September 1915 and in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, In 1917 they took part in the Battle of Arras from January, before moving to the Cambrai front in October.

WILFRED HENRY HUCKIN was serving as a Private in the 3rd Battalion, The Grenadier Guards when he died on 30 September 1915 from wounds received during the Battle of Loos. He was aged 20 and is buried in Noeux les Mines Communal Cemetery in the Pas de Calais.

He was the son of Fred and Sarah Huckin, Fir Tree Cottage, Church Enstone and had worked as a farm labourer before enlisting into the Grenadier Guards in December 1914. The 3rd Battalion landed at Le Havre on 26th July 1915 and joined the  2nd Guards Brigade, Guards Division in August. They joined the Battle of Loos on 26th September 1915, Private Huckin being wounded and dying whilst in the care of the 4th Field Ambulance.

FRANCIS CHARLES HUNT was serving as a Private in the 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers when he was  killed in action on 9th October 1917 during the Battle of Poelcappelle.  He was aged 20, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

He was the son of Victor and Gertrude Hunt of Church Enstone, having been born in Kiddington. 

The Battle of Poelcapelle marked the end of the string of highly successful British attacks in late September and early October 1917, during the Third battle of Ypres. The ground along the main ridges had been severely damaged by shelling and rapidly deteriorated in the rains, which began again on 3 October, which in some areas turned the ground into a swamp. Dreadful ground conditions had more effect on the British, who needed to move large amounts of artillery and ammunition to support the next attack. The battle was a defensive success for the German army, although costly to both sides. The weather and ground conditions put severe strain on all the infantry involved and led to many wounded being stranded on the battlefield. 

 

JOHN RICHARD JONES was serving as a Telegraphist, Royal Navy on HM  Submarine E30 and died on active service when his submarine was lost on 22nd November 1916. He was aged 19, his body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

His father, also John Richard Jones, had been a collier in Wales, joined the Grenadier Guards in 1893, rising through the ranks to Quartermaster Sergeant Major. In 1896 he married Rose Cross in St Johns Church, Little Tew and in 1897 John Jones was born. By 1901 they had left village and were living at Hythe St Leonard in Kent where his father was attached to the school of musketry until retiring in May 1914.

John joined the Royal Navy at Chatham in January 1913 as a boy sailor training on the shore bases HMS Ganges and training as a telegraphist at HMS Impregnable. Leaving there in February 1914, he was aboard the scout cruiser HMS Attentive until November 1914 when he was posted to HMS Dolphin at Gosport, the navy's submarine training base. On 8th November 1916 he was allocated to the submarine depot ship HMS Maidstone at Harwich and joined the crew of E30. HM Submarine E30 hit a mine off Orford Ness with the loss of all her 31 crew members.

GEORGE HERBERT KNIBBS was serving as Private with the 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment when he died of fever whilst a prisoner of the Turks, on 8th November 1916. He was aged 19 and is buried in Baghdad North Gate War Cemetery in Iraq.

He was born in Swerford to Sarah Knibbs Rose and had been living in Great Tew with his grandparents, working as a farm labourer.

He had enlisted into The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1914 then transferred to the Hampshires. They sailed from Avonmouth on 29th March 1915 for Gallipoli, going via Egypt. They landed at Cape Helles on 25th April 1915, as part of the 88th Brigade, 29th Division and fought in the Gallipoli Campaign. During this Private Knibbs was taken prisoner.

GEORGE EDWARD KNIGHT MM was serving as a Gunner with "D" Battery, 286th Brigade, The Royal Field Artillery when he died on 9 April 1918 from wounds received. He was aged 23 and his final resting place is unknown, he is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Hainaut, Belgium.

He was born in Banbury in 1894 to Alice Knight, who in 19o1 married James Hobday, and had worked as a greaser on the Great Western Railway before enlisting. 

GEORGE FREDERICK MURRELL was serving as a Private in the 31st Mobile Section of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps when he died on 4th September 1915 aged 41, from pneumonia in No 9 casualty clearing station.  He is buried in Lillers Communal Cemetery in France. He was born in Reading in 1874 but moved with his family to Wykeham Lane, near Banbury, where his father worked as a coachman. He married May Fowler in 1903 in Chipping Norton and had one son, James born in 1909. He worked as a groom and coachman at Over Norton Park along with William Knight, who also died in the war. At the time of his death his wife and son were living at Lidstone, near Enstone.

The Royal Army Veterinary Corps was responsible for the medical care of animals used by the army, mostly horses, mules and pigeons. The 31st Mobile Section was attached to the 19th Western Division. George Murrell arrived in France with his division on the 20th July 1915. 

He is also remembered on the Chipping Norton War Memorials.

WILLIAM JAMES PINFOLD was serving as a Private with the 1st/4th Battalion, The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) when he was killed in action on 4th November 1918 during the Passage of the Great Honnelle.  He was aged 19 and is buried in Jenlain Communal Cemetery,

He was the son of William and Margaret Pinfold of Neat, Enstone. After training in the reserves he joined the Shropshires. His Battalion was  involved in the Final Advance in Picardy, fighting in the Battle of Sambre of which the Passage of the Great Honnelle was an action of, losing his life 7 days before the Armistice.

EDWARD FELIX OWEN REGAN was serving as an Able Seaman, Royal Navy when he was killed on active service when HM Submarine E22 was torpedoed on 25 April 1916.  He was aged 23, his body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

He was the son of Owen and Ina Regan of the Harrow Public House, Neat Enstone, having been born in Steeple Barton. He had worked as a telegraph messenger before joining the Navy in March 1910 as a Boy Sailor, training at HMS Impregnable in Devonport. He was made up to Ordinary Seaman aboard the submarine depot ship HMS Arrogant in October 1911. He had a spell aboard the armoured cruiser HMS Good Hope between January and December 1912, being promoted to Able Seaman.

Postings to training bases Vernon and Dolphin and various ships followed until he was posted to the submarine depot ship HMS Maidstone at Harwich. Here he was assigned to submarine E22 in March 1915.

In early 1916 E22 was involved in  experiments in the North Sea in an attempt to intercept Zeppelins. Two Sopwith Schneider seaplanes were carried on the casing of E22, The boat would submerge in calm waters allowing the planes to float and take off. They would return afterward to Felixstowe, Suffolk. In the first launching trial the fragile seaplanes were destroyed by choppy seas before they floated free. One successful trial was carried out, but the scheme was abandoned as impractical.

E22 was torpedoed by the German U-boat UB-18, whilst on surface passage off Great Yarmouth in the North Sea on 25 April 1916. There were only 2 survivors from the crew of 33.

He left a wife behind in Portsmouth.

FRANCIS JOSEPH REYNOLDS was serving as a Lance Corporal in the 3rd Battalion, The Grenadier Guards when he died from wounds received on 21st April 1916. He was aged 34 is buried in the Reservoir Cemetery, Ypres.

He was the son of Richard and Mary Reynolds, born in Great Tew. He joined the Grenadier Guards in 1901 and served in the Boer War in 1902, afterwards joining the reserves. In 1907 he married Alice Arthur in Enstone, they had 2 children together and lived in Sandford St Martin, where he worked as a gardener. He was recalled to the Grenadier Guards at the outbreak of war to Wellington Barracks in London. The 3rd Battalion mobilised for war and landed at Havre .on 17th August 1915, transferred to the 2nd Guards Brigade of the Guards Division and engaged in various actions on the Western Front including The Battle of Flers-Courcelette and The Battle of Morval in 1916. Between 14th March and 5th April 1917, The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, During Somme fighting the Germans constructed a formidable new defensive system some miles in their rear. From February 1917 they began to withdraw into it, giving up ground but in carrying out “Operation Alberich” they made the ground as uninhabitable and difficult as possible, as below on the road to Peronne. British patrols eventually detected the withdrawal and cautiously followed up and advanced, being brought to a standstill at the outer defences of the system. It was at this point that L/Cpl Reynolds was wounded and died.

CHARLES SHEFFIELD was serving as a Corporal with the 1st Battery, 45th Brigade, The Royal Field Artillery, when he was killed in action on 15 August 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres.  He was aged 20, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres .

He was the son of George and Mary Sheffield of Spring Hill, Enstone, at 13 he was working as a labourer on a farm. His brother Frank, below was killed in 1915 . He joined the RFA in France on 24th July 1915  being hospitalized suffering from eczema from 6th until 15th September. As part of the 8th Division his Brigade fought in the Battle of the Somme, the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line and phases of the Third Battle of Ypres, during which Corporal Sheffield was killed.

FRANK SHEFFIELD was serving as Gunner with "C" Battery, 100th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery when he was died on 18th September 1915.  He was aged 21, his final resting place is unknown and he is commemorated on the Theipval Memorial.

 
He was the son of George and Mary Sheffield of Spring Hill, Enstone, and elder brother of Charles, above. He had worked as a farm labourer before enlisting into the RFA, arriving in France with the 100th Brigade on 6th September 1915. As part of 22nd Division, they were concentrated near Flesselles by 9th of the month. 

WILLIAM ALFRED SIMMS was serving as a Private with the 7th (Service)Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he died from disease on 25th October 1918. He was aged 29 and is buried in Doiran Military Cemetery, Greece.

He was the son of William and Sarah Simms of Enstone and had worked as farm labourer. He joined the 7th Battalion, one of Kitchener's New Armies, in Oxford in September 1914 . After training they embarked for France, landing at Boulogne on 21st September 1915 as part of the 26th Division. They did not stay long in France as in November 1915 they were sent to Salonika via Marseilles. The regiment's time in the Balkans was mostly quiet, experiencing sporadic fighting, but it included the repulsing of a Bulgarian invasion of Greece at Lake Doiran in April 1917. The regiment saw very heavy fighting against the Bulgarians around Doiran the following September, after the Allies had launched an offensive in July 1918 with the intention of ending the war in the Balkans. The war ended on 30th September 1918 with Bulgaria signing an Armistice with the Allies. The 26th Division had suffered casualties of 8,022 killed, wounded and missing during the war but vastly larger numbers sick with malaria, dysentery and other diseases rife in the Salonika theatre.

FREDERICK CHARLES SIMONS was serving as a Private with the 9th(Reserve) Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry when he died of cerebro-spinal meningitis in the 3rd Southern General Hospital in Portsmouth on 2nd February 1915. He was aged 27 and is buried in Highland Road Cemetery in Portsmouth. 

  
He was the son of Edwin and Mary Simons of Radford Bridge, Enstone. He married Elsie Crutch at Kiddington Parish Church in June 1908. They lived in Glympton where he worked as a carter on a farm.

ARTHUR SMITH was serving as a Private with the 61st Battalion, The Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) when he was killed in action fighting on the Somme on 21st March 1918. He was aged 26, his final resting place is unknown and he is commemorated on the Pozières Memorial. 

He was son of Thomas and Sarah Smith of Radford, Enstone, having been born in Great Tew. He had lived in Kiddington Hall working as a gardener, he enlisted into the The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry before being transferred to the MGC. After the German Spring offensive of 1918 in which the Germans overran the devastated areas of the Somme, machine gun teams operated  well in front of the line.  served well in advance of the front line, a very dangerous place to be. Some 170,500 officers and men served in the MGC with 62,049 becoming casualties, including 12,498 killed, earning it the nickname 'the Suicide Club'.

RALPH HENRY TAYLOR was serving as a Private in the 2nd/7th Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment whe he was killed in action on 8th August 1918. He was aged 19 and is buried in Tannay British Cemetery, Thiennes.

He was the son of Henry and Louisa Taylor and was born in Neat Enstone, later moving to Millars Barn, Fawler near Charlbury. He enlisted into the Warwicks in Oxford. His Battalion was operating in the Merville area of France when on 8th August he was killed in action by enemy shelling whilst advancing on German positions.

LOUIS or LEWIS MOREWOOD TAYLOR was serving as a Private in the 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, when he was killed in action on in the Battle for Delville Wood on 30th July 1916. He was aged 23, his body was never recovered from the field, he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. 

He was born in Ledwell, near Enstone to parents William and Elizabeth Taylor later living in Middle Barton with his parents working as a farm labourer. On enlistment he was living in Chipping Norton, joining the Ox and Bucks at the outbreak of war in August 1914. He joined the 2nd Battalion in France on 29th November 1914. The Battalion, as part of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division took part in the Battles of of Festubert and Loos in 1915 before Delville Wood, a phase of the battle of the Somme in 1916.

BERTIE GEORGE TUSTIN was serving as a Private in the 11th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), was killed in action on 17th February 1917. He was aged 26, his body was never recovered from the field, he is commemorated on the Theipval Memorial.

He was the son of George and Eliza Tustin of Cleveley, Enstone 

He had enlisted in The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), before transferring to the Londons.  He arrived in France with the Battalion on 26th July 1915 as part of the 18th (Eastern) Division. They fought in many of the phases of the Battle of the Somme from 1st July 1916. He was killed in action during opertions on the Ancre.

ARTHUR WEARING was serving as a Gunner in "A" Battery, The 92nd Brigade, The Royal Field Artillery when he was killed in action during the Battle of Cambrai on 30th November 1917 aged 38. He is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial for soldiers with no known grave. 

He was born in Enstone to parents Henry and Mary. In 1902 he married Emily Hurcomb. They had four children between 1904 and 1910 and lived at Old Chalford, Chalford Oaks, Chipping Norton where he worked as a general labourer.  

He is also remembered on Chipping Norton War Memorial.

ALFRED WIGGINS was serving as a Private with the 45th Remounts, The Royal Army Service Corps, when he died from dysentry on 12th January 1919. He was aged 30 and is buried Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria.

He was the son of George and Mary Wiggins of Lidstone, Enstone, having been born in Eastleach. He had worked as a carter on a farm until he enlisted into the Army Service Corps in Oxford on 2nd April 1914. He served at home until 3rd February 1916 when he embarked on the "Huanchaco" at Southampton, arriving in Alexandria on 19th. He was posted to 45th Remounts and sailed on HM Troopship "Flavia" to Salonika, arriving there on 16th November 1916. He was appointed a rough rider, someone who breaks horses into the saddle, on 5th November 1918. He suffered from dysentery later that month, but recovered, but was admitted to 42nd General Hospital in Kalamaria with a further outbreak on 6th January 1919, dying 6 days later.

SECOND WORLD WAR

KENNETH ARTHUR BENFIELD was serving as a Painter 3rd Class in the Royal Navy when he was on HMS Calcutta on 1st June 1941. He was aged 31 and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, his body never being recovered from the sea.

He was the son of Francis and Edith Benfield of Church Enstone and had joined the Royal Navy before the war. He had married Peggy Sonnen in Portsmouth in the spring of 1936, and they had a son together.

HMS Calcutta was a C class light cruiser commissioned in 1918. In 1939 she was converted to an anti-aircraft cruiser in 1939. Calcutta served during the Norwegian Campaign and the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940. She was used to escort allied convoys across the Mediterranean. During the airborne invasion of Crete, from 20th May 1941, she was part of the British Mediterranean Fleet deployed to counter any sea-borne reinforcement of the German forces. On 27th May, the deteriorating situation on Crete resulted in the evacuation of Allied forces being ordered, with Calcutta along with the cruisers Coventry, Phoebe and Perth, the destroyers Jervis, Janus and Hasty and the transport Glengyle evacuating 6,000 troops from Sfakia on the night of 29/30 May 1941. Calcutta and Coventry set out from Alexandria on 1st June to provide extra anti-aircraft protection , but the two ships were attacked by two Junkers 88 bombers of Lehrgeschwader 1 about 100 nautical miles northwest of Alexandria, which dived out of the sun, giving little warning. Calcutta was hit by two bombs and sank, with 255 men being rescued by Coventry and 107 men killed or missing.

GEORGE FREDERICK CANNING was serving as a Guardsman (Signalmam) in the 1st Battalion, The Grenadier Guards when he died on 11th June 1943. He was aged 33 and is buried in Enstone St Kenhelm Churchyard Extension.

He was the son of Arthur and Lily May Canning of Enstone. His father had served with the The Royal Field Artillery in France until he was wounded and invalided out. George had been working as a gardener when he married Lily Aries in Cowley St James church in July 1929. They had a son together and lived in Enstone. The 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards had seen action with the BEF in France in 1940  and evacuated from Dunkirk. At the time of Guardsman Canning's death in Essex County Hospital in Colchester they were part of the Guards Armoured Division. 

 

DIARMUID EDWARD DONOVAN was serving as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Engineers when he died of his wounds on 26th May 1940. He was aged 20 and is buried in Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension.

He was the son of Richard and Edith Donovan, he was born in Manchester and educated at Campbell College in Belfast between 1933 and 36. He pursued a career in mining, visiting South  Africa in 1939. He the joined 141st Officer Training Cadets, Royal Engineers and was made 2nd Lieutenant on 23rd April 1940. He joined the British Expeditionary Force in France. On 20th May 1940 he was seriously wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans. He died in Chateau d' Un hospital in Amiens on 26th May. At the time of his death his mother was living at the Old Vicarage in Stoke Lynn whilst his father was serving as a Squadron Leader with RAF General Command in Cairo.

FREDERIC HUBERT FAULKNER was serving as a Private with the 7th (Territorial) Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment when he was killed in action between 21st May and 15st June 1940 during the Battle of France. He was aged 20 and is buried Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery, St. Omer.

He was the son of Hubert and Kate Faulkner of Cleveley, Enstone. The 7th Battalion sailed from Southampton on 14th January 1940, on the Amsterdam, and at the time security measures were sufficient to ensure that officers and men did not know their port of embarkation. The subsequent disembarkation on 16th January at Le Havre was hardly a happy affair. A high snow-storm was on and they were met by guides who seemed to have no idea whatsoever where to lead their companies. From 11th May the Battalion began to move up to the Belgium border taking up positions behind lakes south east of the Foret de Soignes on the Belgium border. From 16th May 1940 they were forced into a fighting retreat behind the Brussels Canal. Private Faulkner was missing from this date and was originally buried, near where he fell, in Aix Churchyard, probably by local people. He was re-interred at St Omer in 1951.

COLIN HENRY GUNTRIP was serving as a Corporal with the 1st Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment when he died of his wounds on 23rd April 1945. He was aged 19 and is  buried in Jonkerbos War Cemetery in the
Netherlands.

He was the son of Charles and Lemada Guntrip of Ludgershall, Buckinghamshire. 

The 8th Battalion, formed in Leicestershire in 1940, changed its designation to 1st Battalion in May 1942, to replace and carry on the high tradition of the old 1st which was lost when Singapore fell. It landed in Normandy on 3 July 1944, came under command of 147th Brigade of the 49th Division.  After taking part in the fighting in the bridgehead, it advanced to the Seine and took part in the capture of Le Havre.  From there it carried out some short, sharp engagements against the retreating enemy in Belgium and Holland. The Battalion was in the Nijmegen Bridgehead when Corporal Guntrip was mortally wounded.

VICTOR ALFRED LEWIS was serving as a Sergeant with 107 Squadron, Royal Air Force when he was killed on active service on 11th June 1941. He was aged 24 and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, having no known grave.

He was the son of Alfred and Alice Lewis of Enstone and had joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He joined 107 Squadron and on 11th June 1941 was air gunner aboard Bristol Blenheim Mk IV V6367 which took off from RAF Massingham at 0913 on an anti-shipping sortie. The aircraft was recalled due to a lack of cloud cover but disappeared over the North Sea, with the loss of all three aircrew.

 

ALBERT EDWARD CHARLES POVEY was serving as a Sergeant with 144 Squadron, the Royal Air Force when he was killed on active service on 29th September 1939. He was aged 30 and is commemorated on the Rummymede Memorial, having no known grave.

He was the son of Albert and Mary Povey of Lasham, Hampshire.

He was based at RAF Hemswell  in Lincolnshire, serving as an Observer, from 3rd March 1939. The squadron’s first operation, a patrol over the North Sea, had been just three days earlier and been uneventful. The squadron's next mission, another armed reconnaissance over the North Sea on 29th September, was a very different story indeed. Eleven Handley-Page Hampden Mk Is, split into two sections, a section of five led by Wing Commander J Cunningham, the CO, and a section of six led by Squadron Leader WJH Lindley, were detailed to search part of the Heligoland Bight to within sight of the German coast. Cunningham in  Hampden L4134 I left Hemswell at 0640 and was shot down in flames by Messerschmidt BF109 flown by Uffz Pirsch of 1./ZG26. Three of the crew including Sergeant Povey where killed whilst the Air Gunner parachuted to safety but was captured. None of the 5 aircraft of  Wing Commander Cunningham' section made it home.

HUBERT PRATLEY was serving as a Gunner with the 16 Defence Regiment,  the Royal Artillery and died whilst a Prisoner of War of the Japanese Army between 1st and 31 August 1943. He was aged 22 is buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.

He was the son of George and Jane Pratley of Kiddington. He was taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore on 15th February 1942. Set to work on the notorious Burma Railway he died in South Tohcon Camp in Siam  and was buried in the cemetery there, being re-interred in 1946.