Remembering the men commemorated in our church who died in...

Burial of a soldier in our church yard, during WW1

Reproduced from 'Truly Thankful' by Betty Walthew. Credit to Harpenden History Society

Military funeral, High Street, Harpenden, Winter 1914-15

Credit to Harpenden History Society

St Nicholas Church Harpenden

Remembering the men commemorated in our church

who died in The Great War

Aubrey Bowerbank Miller was one of the few career military men buried in our churchyard; the 1911 census records him in service in India. He was born the only

son of Frederick and Martha Miller in Thornborough, Buckinghamshire but later moved to Cumberland (where his Mother was born) and then London before serving in

India.

Serjeant Major Miller died in action in Flanders, only 3 months into the war, most likely in the Battle of La Bassée where his Battalion were involved in heavy fighting

that commenced on the 10th October 1914. It’s somewhat of a mystery as to why there is a memorial here for CSM Miller; unmarried, with his Father being born in the South West and both parents settling in Teignmouth, Devon at some point between 1911 and 1913. He is also memorialised on the Le Touret Memorial which commemorates 13,479 British soldiers who fell in the fighting from October 1914 until 24th September 1915.

Company Serjeant Major Aubrey Bowerbank Miller

Northumberland Fusiliers - 1st Battalion

1887 – 19th October 1914 (27)

St. Nicholas Church November 2018

Lance Corporal Guy Westwood was born in Harpenden and was very much a local man. He lived with his parents at 6 Cravells Road, Harpenden and was a Stone Mason by occupation. He was mobilised for war in July 1915, enlisting in St Albans and landing in France soon after and was engaged in various actions on the Western Front.

During his military service, he married a girl from a few streets away, Edith Jennings of "Eastleigh" 83, Coleswood Road. They had only been married 8 months before he was killed in action on the Somme. Like so many young widows, Edith remained at home

with her parents and continued working in the local straw hat factory, one of Harpenden’s biggest industries at the time.

His Battalion landed in France in July 1915 and engaged in heavy action on the Western Front. Lance Corporal Guy Westwood is detailed on the headstone alongside his Mother and Father; he is also commemorated in the Regina Trench Cemetery in

Grandcourt which contains 2,300 burials and commemorations of those who died on the Somme.

Lance Corporal Guy Westwood

Northamptonshire Regiment – 6th Battalion

1890 – 17th January 1917 (26)


Rifleman Borley was born in London and lived in his uncle's house in Lambeth with his 2 brothers after his mother died when he was 9. Between 1908 and 1912 he served in

the Royal Navy and the 1911 census shows him living at the Duchess Of Albany’s Home For Soldiers and Sailors in Portsmouth.

His Regiment, the 1st Surrey Rifles was a volunteer unit of the Army, it was headquartered out of Camberwell (where Rifleman Borley was known to have enlisted).

Before being sent to France, the Regiment’s military training took place in the St. Albans area, headquartered in the Peahen Hotel and the Officers Mess established at

the Red Lion Hotel.

Whilst the Regiment saw considerable action on the Western Front, at Salonika and in Palestine during WW1, we know that Rifleman Jackson’s Battalion didn’t commence their disembarkation at Le Havre until 16 March 1915 and first went into the trenches on the evening of 2 April near Béthune. Brief military records state ‘Christmas 1914, in St

Albans, then to Harpenden, early 1915 .From Harpenden railway sidings, March 14th 1915, to France.’. The date of death would suggest that Rifleman Jackson died

before leaving for France, which could explain why he is buried in our churchyard.

Rifleman Harnwell Jackson Borley

London Regiment First Surrey Rifles - 21st Battalion

1891 – 3rd October 1915 (23)


Private William Aubrey Chalkley

Essex Regiment – 3rd Battalion

1898 – 1st June 1918 (20)


Private William Chalkley was born in Harpenden, the son of Albert and Nellie Chalkley, of Southdown Road, Harpenden. Both of his parents are also buried in our churchyard.

He lived with his widowed Grandmother and elder brother Arthur Chalkley, an Ironmonger’s Assistant, on Grove Road. Private Chalkley’s occupation was listed as a

school errand boy most likely at Victoria Road School (now existing as Harpenden Academy) as we know from documents that Arthur Chalkley attended that school.

Private Chalkey enlisted in Watford in 1917 and progressed into the Essex Regiment who provided 30 infantry battalions to the British Army. We know the 3rd Battalion saw heavy action in Palestine during 1917 and 1918. His death was recorded as St. Albans

so most likely sent home with wounds subsequently died and buried locally.

Gunner Joseph English

Royal Garrison Artillery - 1st Depot

1887 – 16th November 1916 (29)


Gunner Joseph English was born in Harpenden and lived in West Common, he was the youngest son of Joseph and Margaret English – his father being listed as a ‘Cow Man’ in the 1911 census. His 2 older brothers George and Arthur didn’t look to have enlisted. He was a worker in the rubber works (most likely The Almagam) in Batford.

Gunner English married Rose Deamer in 1913 a domestic servant who lived (and most likely worked) on Roseberry Avenue, Harpenden. Despite being

sadly widowed after 3 years of marriage, she did re-marry in 1921 and liveduntil she was 98.

He enlisted in Watford into the Royal Garrison Artillery; this regiment developed from the existing, pre-war fortress-based artillery located on British coasts. From 1914

when the army possessed very little heavy artillery it grew into a very large component of the British forces, mainly positioned some distance from the front line.

Gunner English’s place of death is listed as Lichfield, Staffordshire where we know there to be 2 hospitals for military casualties.

Corporal Ernest Drury

Bedfordshire Regiment – 6th Battalion

1893 – 13th May 1917 (24)


Corporal Ernest Drury was born in Harpenden and lived on Batford Road. He was a member of the choir at the Methodist church. He was one of 6 children; working in what was popularly known locally as The Almagam’ – this was the rubber works in Batford, demolished in the 1970s (now Millstone Close). Almagam Mills was one of the village’s larger manufacturing employers at the time when working on the land was prevalent. The 1911 census describes his occupation as a ‘Mixer’, by the time

he enlisted in 1914, he had become a Clerk.

Corporal Drury enlisted in the 6th Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment, this was a battalion, raised in August 1914, as a part of 'K1' - Lord Kitchener's first call to arms

for 100,000 men to fight for their country. Corporal Drury would have been part of this call to arms as his enlistment date was 7th September 1914. His battalion served

entirely on the Western Front until disbanded in May 1918 and we can see from records that he had been badly injured on 9th July 1916; the 9th day of the Battle of

the Somme. He recovered from this but tragically died of tuberculosis in Ware Hospital after being discharged in January 1917, his discharge papers describe

him of ‘good character’ and detail his severe shrapnel injuries. Hedied in Harpenden in 5 months later. His grave is shared with

his Mother, Sarah, who died in 1925.

Second Lieutenant Walter George Evans

Norfolk Regiment – 1st Battalion

1879 – 14th December 1917 (38)


Second Lieutenant Walter George Evans was born in Houghton-Regis, Bedfordshire. He was one of five children of Joseph and Elizabeth Evans; Joseph was a Labourer and

they lived on Church Street Luton, thereabouts where The Mall is now.

Second Lieutenant Evans joined the Second Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1911. It was in service in Bermuda where he met and married his wife Dorothy. He was

described on their marriage certificate as a Widower so we know that he had been married previously. Bermuda was a big military base at the time; by the end of the 19th

century, military personnel made up a quarter of its population.

The 2nd Battalion were at Roberts Heights near Pretoria (South Africa) at the outbreak of war and were immediately recalled to England, landing at Southampton on 19

September 1914 and on to Belgium where they were heavily involved in the Battle of Ypres 1914 during October and November; at some point during this time, he had

become attached to the 1st Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment. Second Lieutenant Evans was decorated with a medal for his bravery in October 1914. His Regiment saw heavy action on the Western Front for the duration of the War. In

October 1916, he was awarded a Silver War Badge – an award given to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds or sickness from

military service during the war. His Will following his death places him atCooters End House on the outskirts of north Harpenden and still exists today.

Private Edward Jabez Firbank

Bedfordshire Regiment – 6th Battalion (then posted to Hertfordshire Regiment)

1898 – 11th January 1919 (21)


Private Edward Jabez Firbank was born in Hendon, the oldest son of George and Mary-Jane. His Father was a railway signalman and they lived on Southview Road in

Batford and latterly 8 Cornwall Road, Harpenden.

We know where Private Firbank enlisted (Bedford) but not when; it could be early in the war as we know that this Battalion and Regiment was raised in August 1914, as a

part of 'K1' - Lord Kitchener's first call to arms for 100,000 men to fight for their country. This Regiment served it’s entire time on the Western Front during the War.

It’s not clear when Private Firbank was transferred to the Hertfordshire Regiment but he was badly injured by gas shelling in the Autumn of 1917 most likely in the

Second Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917, where we know the Hertfordshire Regiment were heavily engaged.

Private Firbank was nursed at the British military hospital at Camiers before being transported home via Calais to convalesce in the UK in November 1917. He died in

Chelsea Hospital in January 1919.

Private John Holland

Hertfordshire Regiment – 1st Battalion

1895 – 1st June 1918 (23)


Private John Holland was born in Wheathampstead to John and Lizzy Holland, of Harpenden – he was one of 10 children. His father worked on the land as a Farm

Labourer as the dominant employment in Harpenden at the time. They lived in ‘Ivy Dene’ on Coleswood Road.

Private Holland attended St Nicholas School, after which he worked for Watson, the Bootmaker on the High Street. He enlisted in Hertford, joining up to the

Hertfordshire Regiment which saw heavy action on the Western Front throughout the war.

In May 1918, the depleted Regiment marched on to some old British trenches east of Foncquevillers on the Allied front line . As the 1st Battalion moved through the village

it was subjected to a very heavy gas shell bombardment. The majority of the Battalion were hospitalised and Private Holland was transported to the UK and

brought to hospital in Reading where he died in June. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery. His brother, William, who joined the Royal Fusiliers in 1916 was

injured and discharged after six months.

Corporal Walter Arthur Jennings

Royal Field Artillery - 1st B Reserves

1891 – 1st December 1918 (27)


Corporal Walter Arthur Jennings was born to Arthur and Annie Jennings in St Albans. They lived on Coleswood Road and Arthur was bricklayer. Corporal Jennings was the oldest of their 4 children and according to the 1911 census was a Grocers Assistant.

Corporal Jennings married Ellen Dora Ogglesby in June 1915. She lived in Offley, near Hitchin and in the 1911 census, was shown to be a domestic servant, working in ‘Greenhurst ‘, 53 Milton Road, this house still exists today.

Corporal Jennings was part the reserve battery that made up the Royal Artilliery. We know very little about his service background. He died 3 weeks after the Armistice in Brighton.

His young widow remarried in 1919 was widowed again by 1931; she went on to live until 1972. His brothers Percy and Sidney also survived the war.

Private Albert William Payne

Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment - 51st Grad Battalion.

1900 - 28th May 1918 (18)


Private Albert William Payne was born to William and Maud Payne. He was the oldest of 8 children, the 3 other sons all survived the war, although the youngest

was only born in 1915.

His father was a bricklayer and the family lived on Station Road, as a child, he had attended the Wesleyan Sunday School, at the time on Leyton Road.

Before the war, Private Payne worked as a gardener for diamond merchant, John Fouldes of ‘Chepstow’ Douglas Road (now flats of the same name); he later

worked for the Almagam Rubber Company in Batford.

Private Payne enlisted as soon as he reached the military age of 18; whilst undergoing military training he contracted meningitis from which he died in

hospital in Cambridge. He has both a classified military grave in our churchyard as well as a commemoration on a plaque on the North transept of the High Street

Methodist Church.

Private Herbert Robert Rolt

Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment – 2nd Battalion

1899 – 10th February 1919 (20)


Private Herbert Rolt was born to Robert and Annie Rolt of 28, Heath Road Harpenden. Heath Road and it’s surrounding roads were demolished during the 1960s to make way

for the Bowling Close and Heath Close developments. His father was a dustman and Private Rolt was listed as a schoolboy and milk-boy in the 1911 census.

Private Rolt originally joined the Herts territorials in 1914 before taking a full role in the Royal West Surrey Regiment when he enlisted in 1915. He was posted overseas in 1916

The Batallion saw heavy action on the Western Front including the Second Battle of Passchendaele in November 1917 before being deployed to Italy to strengthen the Italian resistance after an Austrian attack at Caporetto. Private Rolt was injured in Italy on 27th

October 1918, most likely in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto which was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918. The Italian victory marked the end of the war on the Italian

Front, secured the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and contributed to the end of the First World War just one week later but resulted in 2,139 British casualties.

Private Rolt was repatriated to the UK on 27 October 1918, and died of wounds 4 months later in Manchester General Hospital.

Lance Corporal Charles Frederick Parr

South Staffordshire Regiment – 2 & 6th Battalion.

1882 – 25th April 1915 (33)


Lance Corporal Charles Frederick Parr was born in Old Swan, an inner city area of Liverpool to Charles and Lydia Parr. We know very little about him, other than that he was living in Handsworth in the 1911 census, now part of Birmingham but at the

time, considered Staffordshire. He joined the Territorial Force as part of the Staffordshire Brigade in the North Midland Division; we know they were billeted and

trained in the Luton area in 1914/1915 before going to France.

Four Battalions, some 4,000 men arrived in Harpenden to much celebration; it was noted at the time that the Villagers were pleased to be contributing to the war effort

as well as the economic benefit it brought to the area.

After training, the Regiment looked to have landed in Le Havre in March 1915 for service on the Western Front. We don’t know if Lance Corporal Parr was with them;

we do know that they were involved in fighting around Ypres. Lance Corporal Parr died in Harpenden so could have been an early casualty,

returning wounded to the UK or died before making it to battle.

Second Lieutenant Henry Stuart Simons

Northamptonshire Regiment - 1st Battalion

1897 - 10th July 1917 (21)


Second Lieutenant Henry Stuart Simons was born to Henry and Agnes Simons. He was

born on High Street, Markyate before moving to Turners Hall, off Annables Lane, his

father was a farmer. He was briefly educated at Bloxham School before moving onto

Dunstable Grammar School; after which he entered the family farming business in 1912.

Second Lieutenant Simons enlisted with the Bedfordshire Yeomanry on 11 September

1914. He was subsequently commissioned into the 3rd Officer Cadet Battalion before

joining the 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment on 4 November 1916. On 20th

June 1917 his Regiment took over the French sector on the Belgian coast at the very

end of the Allied trench system. On the 10 July 1917 the German artillery opened up on

the British positions, using mustard gas for the first time. The two serving battalions

had suffered 70-80% casualties, over 260 men lost their lives and his body, like many

others, was never recovered.

His war grave is marked on the Nieuwpoort memorial alongside a further 547 British

men who fell in operations of 1914 and 1917 on the Belgian coast as

well as the commemoration plaque in our church.

Second Lieutenant John Syers Walthew

Royal Flying Corps – 4th Squadron

1898 – 19th September 1917 (19)


Second Lieutenant John Syers Walthew was born in Norwood, Surrey to Frederick and Grace Walthew. His Father worked for a British Export company in India before his wife Grace and the children returned to the UK, settling in Arden Grove, Harpenden. He was sent to board at Cranleigh School, he initially enlisted in December 1914 into the Public Schools Battalion, Royal Naval Division but was discharged as medically unfit in March

1915. The Royal Naval Division was an unusual hybrid unit - seamen serving as and alongside footsoldiers. Despite his discharge, he reenlisted into No.4 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps – those responsible for keeping track of the position of advancing

troops plus regular reconnaissance and artillery spotting missions.

Second Lieutenant Walthew died while flying over enemy lines on a reconnaissance mission, he was reported missing on the 19th September and confirmed dead alongside 3 others. He is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial which contains

the names of nearly 1,000 airmen from forces of the Commonwealth who were killed on the Western Front during World War I and who have no known grave. His plaque is on

the northside of the church. His brother Frederick survived the war, like his brother, he ended up being invalided to the UK in 1915 and

re-enlisting later in 1918. He was a long-time Harpenden resident, latterly living on Kirwick Avenue; he died in 1977.

Lieutenant Cyril Richard Lydekker

Bedfordshire Regiment - 5th Battalion

1889 - 5th August 1915 (25)


Lieutenant Lydekker was born at The Lodge, Harpenden, the house was built in 1791

and so remains one of the town’s oldest houses (just behind the High Street). His

Father Richard was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books

on natural history.

He was educated at Haileybury and after leaving, went to work for Barclays in

Radlett where he remained until the outbreak of war. Lieutenant Lydekker joined the

Territorial Forces (Hertfordshire artillery) in the autumn of 1910. On the outbreak of

war in August 1914, he was away on the annual training fortnight and immediately

volunteered for foreign and full service and subsequently posted to the Bedfordshire

Regiment. After training on the East Coast and St Albans he left for Gallipoli, landing

at Suvla Bay on 11th August, the Regiment went into immediate action on Kidney Hill

on 15th August 1915. Lieutenant Lydekker was killed in action on the same day. He

was shot in the head whilst leading his platoon in a charge. In a letter from his

Commanding Officer to his sister, it was written “Your Brother died most gallantly

leading his platoon, we found your brother right up at the front and he now lives

close up behind the trenches on the ground he helped us to win”. He is

buried at Azmak Cemetery, Suvla as well as a plaque next to his Father

(who died earlier in 1915) and his brother, Gerard who later died in 1917.

Lieutenant and Quartermaster Gerard Owen Lydekker

Bedfordshire Regiment - 5th Battalion

1887 - 14th June 1917 (29)


Lieutenant and Quarter Master Gerard Owen Lydekker (brother of Lieutenant Cyril Lydekker) was educated at Haileybury where he served in their Cadet Corps and

became a Mining Engineer before war broke out in 1914. He enlisted in St Albans the day after war was declared and was posted to the 1st Hertfordshire Battery of the

Royal Field Artillery with his brother and posted to the 5th Bedfordshires in November of 1914. In June 1915, he was given the post of the Battalion's Quartermaster and the

Regiment sailed to Galipoli the following month.

The Regiment saw heavy action in Galipoli from August 1915 onwards, his brother lost his life in one of the major battles. When the Regiment was evacuated from the peninsular, on 11 December 1915, he was admitted to the General Hospital in

Alexandria suffering from jaundice but was well enough to rejoin his men by Boxing Day. The Regiment remained in Egypt during 1916 and nearly a year after arriving, he

was given a period of leave to return to the UK.

Late in July 1916 Lieutenant Lydekker was granted five weeks leave to the UK and left Egypt on 4 August, re-joining the battalion on 14 September. In early March 1917 he was treated for rheumatism but his health further declined & he was sent to the General Hospital in Alexandria on 21 March. On 8 May Gerard was reported as being "dangerously ill", finally dying from the autoimmune disease, Myasthenia Gravis, on 14 June 1917, aged 29. He was buried in the Hadra Military Cemetery, Alexandria.

Private Reginald Clarence Williams

Essex Yeomanry

1890 – 14th May 1915 (25)


Private Reginald Clarence Williams was born in Dagenham, Essex, to Welsh parents, David and Margaret. His Father was listed as a ‘Secretary To Education Committee’.

Not much is known about Private Williams prior to him enlisting in Colchester in 1914.

Private Williams enlisted with the Essex Yeomanry, which was a mounted brigade. They disembarked at Le Havre on 1st December 1914 and served on the Western front for the duration of the war. Despite being a cavalry regiment, due to the trench system, the Essex Yeomanry couldn’t be used in a traditional mounted role so they spent much of the time in the Front Line. On the 13th of May 1915 the regiment took part in the Battle for Frezenberg Ridge which was part of the second Battle of Ypres. By the end of that day the Essex Yeomanry had suffered 161 casualties.

His war grave is marked on the The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial which bears the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died before 16 August 1917 and have no

known grave. At some time between 1911 and 1915, Private Williams’ parents moved to 15 Cowper Road, Harpenden; he is commemorated alongside his mother, father and brother, Arthur. His two older brothers both survived the war

and emigrated to Canada,

Second Lieutenant Christopher Blake

Bedfordshire Regiment - 3rd Battalion

1892 - 4th September 1916 (24)


Second Lieutenant Christopher Blake was the son of the local GP, Dr William Blake, they lived just off the High Street in one of Harpenden’s oldest and grandest houses, the tudor Bower House; the house still exists as separate parts with the remainder of gardens standing where the Forresters has now been developed. Dr Blake served the community for decades until he unfortunately became infamous as the first pedestrian

victim of a road accident in Harpenden in 1933.

Second Lieutenant Blake was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, commencing his studies in 1910. He started work at St John’s College of Agriculture in

Bedfordshire and enlisted in 1915. Second Lieutenant Blake was posted to the Somme, near Guillemont; the Silesia Trenches Battalion war diaries for the 1st

September 1916 details that 2 officers, including Second Lieutenant Blake plus 30 other ranks had joined the trench (described as ‘in bad condition and insanitary’)and

on the 4th September, just 3 days later, he was killed in action.

Second Lieutenant Blake is commemorated on Emmanuel College’s war memorial, paying tribute to almost 130 college men who had died well as the plaque inside our church. He is also memorialised on the Thiepval Memorial, alongside the names of

more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in theSomme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave.

Flight Sub Lieutenant Dennis Gurney Broad

Royal Naval Air Service

1883 – 27th April 1916 (32)


Flight Sub Lieutenant Dennis Gurney Broad was born in Aylesbury in 1883 to Henry and Alice Broad. Henry was a described as a ‘Merchant of Straw Goods’, one of

Harpenden’s main industries at the time. They lived in ‘Tregroves’ on RothamsteadAvenue and by 1911 their son had left home and at the outbreak of the First World War

he was living in Australia and gave his occupation as a ‘commercial traveller’.

Flight Sub Lieutenant Broad’s had a brief military history was in the London Rifle Brigade but at the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial force (AIF) in August 1914. He departed Sydney aboard HMAT Berrima on 19th of August 1914 as

part of the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. In December 1914, wishing to return home to England, he requested to be discharged from the AIF and joined the Royal

Navy Service. He was assigned to HMS Killingholme, a seaplane carrier, awarded his aviator certificate on 30 July 1915 from Royal Naval Air Station at Eastbourne.

Flight Sub Lieutenant was killed in action during an engagement when a British submarine was sunk in the North Sea. He is named on the Chatham naval memorial

which commemorates more than 8,500 Royal Navy personnel of the First World War that were lost or buried at sea as well as his memorial plaque

on the wall of our church.

Major Arthur Joseph Clay,

North Staffordshire Regiment – 6th Battalion

1870 - 18th February 1915 (43)


Major Arthur Joseph Clay was born to a prominent family, originally bankers and brewers, at Stapenhill, near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. His father, Charles, was a JP and Barrister. He was educated at Harrow after which he went up to New College

Oxford where he studied Jurisprudence.

Arthur was 35 when he married Bridget Parker-Jervis in May 1905 in Lichfield Cathedral; they went on to have four children. Like his Father, he was a JP and a

Director of Bass Brewery. From the turn-of-the-century he had been part of a volunteer Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment, serving as Captain and when the war

started in 1914 he was given the immediate rank of Major.

The North Staffordshire Regiment was actively involved in war preparations and training in our area and Major Clay was billeted in Harpenden. He didn’t get to serve overseas but died while on active service, of pneumonia, less than six months after

receiving his commission. The brass plaque in our church was ‘placed by his Brothers’ we don’t know whether this is his regimental brothers or his siblings (he had 3

brothers). A military funeral service had been held at St Nicholas attendedby officers and men of his Regiment before his body was taken to All SaintsChurch, Newborough, Staffordshire where he is buried in the churchyard.

Private Alexander Steele

South Staffordshire Regiment – 2nd and 6th Battalion

1871 – 12th April 1915 (43)


. Private Alexander Steele is one of the 4 men commemorated in our church from the Staffordshire Regiment. He was born in Elgin, Scotland to Alexander and Jessie Steele,

a shoe-maker and dressmaker.

In 1891 he moved to Dudley (then Worcestershire) and married Sophia, 3 years later. They went on to have 5 children and his job is listed as an iron moulder. Private Steele was one of half a million men who joined up between 4 August and 12 September 1914; a key factor at this time in stimulating enlistment was locally-raised ‘pals’ battalions’,

which promised men enlisting from the same community or workplace that they would fight together.

His Regiment was formed in Walsall in September 1914 as a home service (“second line”) unit and they moved down to Harpenden for training. They weren’t deployed abroad until April 1916 to quell disturbances in Ireland and so it’s most likely that

Private Steele fell ill and died during this local training.

Private Stanley Bertie Woodward

North Staffordshire Regiment - 6th Reserve Battalion

1898 – 6th February 1915 (16)


Private Woodward is the youngest soldier buried in our churchyard, just 16 years old when he died. He was born in Basford Staffordshire and adopted by Henry and Emily

Parker of Stanton Road, Burton on Trent; Henry was a colliery worker.

Private Woodward enlisted in November 1914; the Regiment trained actively in Harpenden during the winter of 1914 and many of the men were billeted in the village.

During this training period, Private Woodward fell ill with flu and was hospitalised in Harpenden. There was no official hospital in Harpenden at the time; early in the War,

there was a tented field hospital erected in Rothamsted Park near to the Hatching Green entrance and when cold weather came in October, the hospital was moved into the Golf

Clubhouse on the Common.

In February 1915 it transferred to the Institute (now the Friends Meeting House), a few days after opening Private Woodward died, he had served just 80 days. He was buried

in St Nicholas churchyard with full military honours.

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