South Leigh

War Memoria ls

The Men behind the Names

This research project is dedicated to all the men who are commemorated on the

war memorials at the Church of St. James The Great, South Leigh, Witney,

Oxfordshire.

But who were they?

As time goes on their names mean less and less, their surnames disappear from the village as their descendants pass on or move away - and memories fade.

What connection did they have with South Leigh?

Did they or their parents live or work here?

The memorials only tell us their Rank, Regiment or Corps and their date of death.

We are not told what their previous trade or profession was, where they lived,

where they fought and died or where they were buried.

They were much more than just names on a board or stone.

There are three main sources for this preliminary research:-

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission The 1911 Census Of England and Wales

Armed Forces Service Records

More than half of the service records were destroyed in September 1940, when a German bombing raid struck the War Office repository in Arnside Street, London. An estimated 2.8 million service records out of over 7 million survived the bombing or were reconstructed from the records of the Ministry of Pensions. This means that there is a roughly 40% chance of finding the service record of a soldier who was discharged or died between 1914 and 1920.

Unfortunately I have only managed to find the service records of one man - Charles Radbone.

This is only the beginning - I hope that some of you who read this work may be able to add to our common knowledge.

If you have any information, anecdotes, photographs etc. please do get in touch.

Corin Mills, Little Gidding, Chapel Road, South Leigh. Phone 01993 704476 or e-mail—corin@millsweb.org

The Second Boer War October 1899 to May 1902

The Second Boer War was fought between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer Republics, the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State. It ended with a British victory and the annexation of both republics by the British Empire; both would eventually be incorporated into the Union of South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire, in 1910.

The conflict is commonly referred to as The Boer War but is also known as the South African War outside South Africa and the Anglo-Boer War among most South Africans. The Second Boer War and the earlier, much less well known, First Boer War (December 1880 to March 1881) are collectively known as the Boer Wars.

In South Leigh Churchyard is the commemorative headstone of Thomas Henry Pickett who was killed in action during an early skirmish at Hartebeestfontein. He is buried at Klerksdorp Cemetery, North West Province, South Africa.

Hartebeestfontein, an action fought from 14th February 1901 (during the Second Boer War) about 25 kilometres north-west of Klerksdorp in Western Transvaal.

On receiving information on the 17th that scattered bands of Boers from several commandos were concentrating on the village of Hartebeestfontein, Lieut.-General Lord Methuen moved out to attack them with a column of 900 men which included Victorian Bushmen. He was not aware until he approached the enemy position that it had been reinforced by a roving force under General J.H. De la Rey and now numbered 1,300 - 1,400 men. Undeterred by his inferior strength, Methuen resolved to press ahead with his planned attack. The assault initially made no impression on the Boer defence, even after reinforcements (including the Victorians) were sent to bolster the pressure applied against the enemy's right flank. De la Rey made a counter-attack against the British left which was also unsuccessful. Later in the afternoon he decided to abandon his positions, leaving eighteen dead on the field. The sharp little action had cost Methuen 49 casualties, three of the dead and eleven of the wounded being Victorians. A month later, the area around Hartebeestfontein was the scene of further clashes between two British columns pursuing De la Rey, after the latter had staged a raid on Lichtenburg in the north on 3 March. A party of New Zealanders and Australian Bushmen from the column led by Major-General J.M. Babington reportedly fought an action on 21 March which was notable for entailing an 'old-fashioned cavalry charge' which forced the Boers to flee in terror. While details of this incident are difficult to verify, the New Zealanders and Bushmen undoubtedly played a leading role in chasing down De la Rey's Boer wagon train three days later at Wildfontein, taking 140 prisoners, several guns and large quantities of rifles and ammunition.

Boer War 1899-1902 - Soldier details

Name: PICKETT, T

Rank: Sergeant Soldier number: 8010 Unit: 40 Company (Oxfordshire) 10 battalion Imperial Yeomanry

Notes:

[The National Archives WO128. Imperial Yeomanry, Soldiers' Documents, South African War. ]. The Queen's South Africa (QSA) Medal Clasps: Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901

Age: L iterary references: The National Archives WO128. Imperial Yeomanry, Soldiers' Documents, South African War.

Medal roll (from National Archives WO100 series): Roll Page 1 24 0 Two entries

Casualty: Casualty details: Killed on 16 Feb 1901 at Hartebeestefontein (Official casualty roll location: Hartebeestefontein)Unit: 40 Company (Oxfordshire) 10 battalion Imperial Yeomanry S ource: South African Field Force. JB Hayward & Sons

Memorial Inscription:-

In

Loving Memory of

JAMES PICKETT, (OF TAR FARM, SOUTHLEIGH, OXON)

WHO DIED OCTR 28TH 1901, AGED 57 YEARS.

ALSO OF SERGT THOMAS HENRY,

(4OTH IMPERIAL YEOMANRY) ELDEST SON OF THE ABOVE & JANE PICKETT, WHO

WAS KILLED IN ACTION WHILST SERVING HIS COUNTRY AT HARTEBEESTFONTEIN

FEBRY 18TH 1901, AGED 28 YEARS, BURIED AT KLERKSDORP, SOUTH AFRICA

JANE PICKETT, BORN JAN 14 1841, DIED FEB 21 1931.

The Great War

1914-18

The Men behind the Names

Alexander Moultrie Wallace

Remembered with HonourLe Touret Memorial

In Memory of

Captain

3rd Bn. attd. 2nd Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment who died on 12 March 1915 Age 33

Son of Eleanor May Wallace, of 16, Frenchay Rd., Oxford, and the late Rev. Walter Edward Wallace;husband of Christina Maud Osborn (formerly Wallace, nee Durnford), of 14, Sheet St., Windsor.

© Images & Voices, Oxon County Council

Alexander Wallace in the Rugby XV of 1899

© St Edward’s School Archives

Alexander Moultrie WALLACE (1881–1915) See also Alexander’s younger brother, Cyril WalterWallace

Alexander Moultrie Wallace was born at South Leigh,Oxfordshire in 1881, the eldest son of Walter EdwardWallace (born in India on 12 September 1856, the sonof John Duncan Campbell Wallace and Emily Hogg, andbaptised at Cannanore, Madras on 23 October 1856)and Eleanor May Moultrie (born in Houghton-le-Spring, Durham and baptised there on 9 July 1856).Alexander’s parents were married in the WitneyRegistration District in the third quarter of 1880, andhad the following children:

Alexander Moultrie Wallace (born in South Leigh,Oxfordshire and baptised there on 5 June 1881)

Hugh Duncan Wallace (born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire andbaptised there on 6 August 1882; died aged two and buried there on29 January 1885)

Gerard Percy Wallace (born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire and baptised there on 2 May 1885)

Margaret Wallace (born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire and baptised there on 16 June 1887)

Cyril Walter Wallace (born in Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire in 1890).

Alexander’s father, Walter Edward Wallace, had come up to Worcester College, Oxford in May1877 at the age of 20. When he married Alexander’s mother (who was the daughter of GerardMoultrie, the Vicar of South Leigh) in 1880 he was still an undergraduate, and at the time ofthe 1881 census was living with his new wife at The College, South Leigh, with 15 boyboarders aged between 10 and 15. He continued to work as a tutor until he obtained his B.A.in 1884; but when his son Gerard was baptised in 1885, he was described as a Clergyman ofSt James College, South Leigh.

By 1890 Alexander’s parents had moved to Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire, where theyappear to have run a small boarding school for boys in their home. At the time of the 1891census Alexander was nine years old, and there were six pupils, aged between 13 and 16, livingin his family’s house.

Alexander entered St Edward’s School in northOxford in Christmas Term 1894. He was a SchoolPrefect, and a member of the Rugby Fifteen andCricket Eleven. His father died at the age of 38 inthe Marylebone registration district in the thirdquarter of 1895.

Alexander left St Edward’s School in 1899. Hetravelled widely in Africa and Mexico, and thenprobably joined the regular army, as he served in theSouth African War in 1901.

At the time of the 1901 census his widowed motherEleanor was living with her own widowed motherElizabeth Moultrie (71) and her two unmarriedsisters Ada (43) and Agatha (34) at The College,South Leigh (where Alexander’s parents had been

living from 1881 to 1887). Of her children, only Margaret (13) was with her.

Alexander was probably out of the country at the time of the 1911 census, as he was certainlyin Sierra Leone in 1913. Meanwhile his widowed mother Eleanor was still living in South Leighwith her own mother and sisters.

By 1914 Alexander Moultrie Wallace was living in Windsor, and in the autumn of that year he

was married there (probably at St Stephen’s Church) to Christina Maud Durnford (with hisbanns read at St Nicholas’s Church in Marston). They lived in Windsor and had one daughter,born posthumously:

Alec Christina Wallace (named after her father and born in Windsor on 21 July 1915).

In about 1914 Alexander’s widowed mother moved to 16 Frenchay Road in St Margaret’sparish, which explains why her two sons are listed on the St Margaret’s war memorial.

In the First World War AlexanderMoultrie Wallace served as a Captain in the3rd Battalion attached 2nd Battalion of theNorthamptonshire Regiment.

He was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle inFrance at the age of 33 on 12 March 1915and has no known grave. He is rememberedon the Le Touret Memorial (Panel 28 to 30),on a plaque in the chapel of St Edward’sSchool (right), in St Stephen’s Lady Chapelin Windsor, and on the war memorialoutside St Margaret’s Church in northOxford.

There is also a memorial to Alexander andhis younger brother Cyril Walter Wallace(who died in Mesopotamia at the age of 26 ayear later on 8 March 1916) in thechurchyard at South Leigh, where the familyhad lived previously.

AFTER THE WAR

Alexander’s widowed mother

Mrs Eleanor May Wallace continued to live at 16 Frenchay Roaduntil her death at the age of 74 on 14 December 1930. She wasburied at South Leigh on 19 December 1930.

Alexander’s widow

Mrs Christina Maud Wallace married Alfred G. Osborn in the fourthquarter of 1918 in the Kensington registration district, and they livedat 14 Sheet Street, Windsor.

Alexander’s daughter

Alec Christina Wallace married James Godfrey Burr on 23 September1939 and they had five children She died on 14 October 1964.

See alsoCWGC: WALLACE, Alexander Moultrie

Oxford Journal Illustrated, 7 April 1915 , “Heroes of the War”: photograph of A. Moultrie Wallace of SouthLeigh, Witney, who had died the previous month

South Leigh : Memorial to the two Wallace brothers

Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library:Photograph album belonging to Alexander Moultrie Wallace when he was in Sierra Leone

Wikipedia: Northamptonshire Regiment

Please email if you would like to add any material to this page

John Henry Smith

Remembered with HonourBroomfield (St. Mary) Churchyard

In Memory of

Private

2000, 4th Bn., Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry who died on 05 June 1915 Age 18

Son of Mr. and Mrs. E. Smith, of South Leigh, Witney, Oxon.

Remembered with HonourYpres (Menin Gate) Memorial

In Memory of

Private

7255, 5th Bn., Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry who died on 06 August 1915 Age 31

Son of George and Louisa Claridge, of Southleigh, Witney; husband of Elizabeth Emily Claridge,of 63, Brown's Hill, Southleigh, Witney, Oxon.

Arthur William Snoshill

Remembered with HonourHelles Memorial

In Memory of

Private

23013, 4th Bn., Worcestershire Regiment who died on 06 August 1915 Age 26

Son of John Snoshill, of Woodbine Cottage, Southleigh, Witney, Oxon.

Cyril Walter Wallace

Remembered with HonourBasra Memorial

In Memory of

Second Lieutenant

Indian Army Reserve of Officers who died on 08 March 1916 Age 26Master at Bishop Cotton's School, Bangalore. Volunteered, 1915.

Cyril Walter WALLACE (1890–1916) See also Cyril’s older brother, Alexander Moultrie Wallace

Cyril Walter Wallace was born in Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire in 1890, the youngest sonof Walter Edward Wallace (born in India on 12 September 1856, son of John DuncanCampbell Wallace and Emily Hogg, and baptised at Cannanore, Madras on 23 October 1856)and Eleanor May Moultrie (born in Houghton-le-Spring, Durham and baptised there on 9 July1856). Cyril’s parents were married in the Witney Registration District in the third quarter of1880, and had the following children:

Alexander Moultrie Wallace (born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire and baptised there on 5 June 1881)

Hugh Duncan Wallace (born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire and baptised there on 6 August 1882; died aged two andburied there on 29 January 1885)

Gerard Percy Wallace (born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire and baptised there on 2 May 1885)

Margaret Wallace (born in South Leigh, Oxfordshire and baptised there on 16 June 1887)

Cyril Walter Wallace (born in Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire in 1890).

Cyril’s father, Walter Edward Wallace, had come up to Worcester College, Oxford in May 1877at the age of 20. When he married Alexander’s mother (who was the daughter of GerardMoultrie, the Vicar of South Leigh) in 1880 he was still an undergraduate, and at the time ofthe 1881 census was living with his new wife at The College, South Leigh, with 15 boyboarders aged between 10 and 15. He continued to work as a tutor until he obtained his B.A.in 1884; but when his son Gerard was baptised in 1885, he was described as a Clergyman ofSt James College, South Leigh.

By 1890 the time of Cyril’s birth in 1890 his parents had moved to Stony Stratford inBuckinghamshire, where they appear to have run a small boarding school for boys in theirhome. At the time of the 1891 census Cyril was six months old, and there were six pupils, agedbetween 13 and 16, living in his family’s house.

Cyril’s father died at the age of 38 in the Marylebone registration district in the third quarter of1895. At the time of the 1901 census his widowed mother Eleanor was living with her ownwidowed mother Elizabeth Moultrie (71) and her two unmarried sisters Ada (43) and Agatha(34) at The College, South Leigh. Of her children, only Margaret (13) was with her. Cyril (10)spent census night boarding at a preparatory school at The Gables, Portinscle, above Derwent.

Cyril spent the census night of 1911 at Pierremont Hall Preparatory School in Broadstairs,Kent, where he was an assistant master; and at the time war broke out he was a teacher atBishop Cotton’s School, Bangalore. Meanwhile his widowed mother Eleanor was still livingwith her aged mother in South Leigh. In about 1914 she moved to 16 Frenchay Road inSt Margaret’s parish, which explains why her two sons are listed on the St Margaret’s warmemorial. Cyril is however described as being of South Leigh when probate was granted.

In the First World War Cyril Walter Wallace volunteered to serve in 1915, and was a SecondLieutenant in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers attached 47th Sikhs. He died inMesopotamia at the age of 26 on 8 March 1916, and has no known grave. He is rememberedon the Basra Memorial (Panel 43 and 65) and on the war memorial outside St Margaret’sChurch in north Oxford.

There is also a memorial to Cyril and his older brother Alexander Moultrie Wallace (killed inaction in France a year earlier at the age of 33 on 12 March 1915) in the churchyard at SouthLeigh, where the family had lived previously.

Administration was granted in Oxford to his mother, Eleanor Mary Wallace, on 2 August 1916.He left £254 17s. 1d.

AFTER THE WAR

Cyril’s widowed mother

Mrs Eleanor May Wallace continued to live at 16 Frenchay Road until her death at the age of 74 on14 December 1930. She was buried at South Leigh on 19 December 1930.

SEE ALSO

CWGC: WALLACE, Cyril Walter (which names in error Cyril’smother, Eleanor May Moultrie, as his wife)

South Leigh : Memorial to the two Wallace brother

Please email if you would like to add any material to this page

Hubert Cecil Claridge

Remembered with HonourPlymouth Naval Memorial

In Memory of

Stoker 1st Class

K/25884, H.M.S. "Indefatigable.", Royal Navy who died on 31 May 1916 Age 19

Son of George and Louie Claridge, of South Leigh, Witney, Oxfordshire.

HMS Indefatigable - Battle of Jutland

Diagram of the Battle of Jutland showing the major movements

On 31 May 1916, the 2nd BCS consisted of New Zealand (flagship of Rear-AdmiralWilliam

Pakenham) and Indefatigable.[19] The squadron was assigned to Admiral Beatty's

Battlecruiser Fleet which had put to sea to intercept a sortie by the High Seas Fleet into the

North Sea. The British were able to decode the German radio messages and left their bases

before the Germans put to sea. Admiral Franz von Hipper's battlecruisers spotted the

Battlecruiser Fleet to their west at 3:20 p.m., but Beatty's ships did not spot the Germans to

their east until 3:30. Two minutes later, he ordered a course change to east south-east to

position himself astride the German's line of retreat and called his ships' crews to action

stations. He also ordered the 2nd BCS, which had been leading, to fall in astern of the 1st

BCS. Hipper ordered his ships to turn to starboard, away from the British, to assume a south-

easterly course, and to reduce speed to 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) to allow three light

cruisers of the 2nd Scouting Group to catch up. With this turn Hipper was falling back on the

High Seas Fleet, then about 60 miles (97 km) behind him. Around this time Beatty altered

course to the east as it was quickly apparent that he was still too far north to cut off Hipper.[20]

This began what was to be called the "Run to the South" as Beatty changed course to steer

east south-east at 3:45, paralleling Hipper's course, now that the range closed to under

18,000 yards (16,000 m). The Germans opened fire first at 3:48, followed by the British. The

British ships were still in the process of making their turn as only the two leading

ships, Lion and Princess Royal, had steadied on their course when the Germans opened fire.

The British formation was echeloned to the right withIndefatigable in the rear and furthest to

the west, and New Zealand ahead of her and slightly further east. The German fire was

accurate from the beginning, but the British overestimated the range as the German ships

blended into the haze. Indefatigable aimed at Von der Tann and New

Zealand targeted Moltke while remaining unengaged herself. By 3:54, the range was down to

12,900 yards (11,800 m) and Beatty ordered a course change two points to starboard to open

up the range at 3:57.

HMS Indefatigable blowing up after being struck by shells from Von der Tann

Around 4:00, Indefatigable was hit around the rear turret by two or three shells from Von der

Tann. She fell out of formation to starboard and started sinking towards the stern and listing to

port. Her magazines exploded at 4:03 after more hits, one on the forecastle and another on

the forward turret. Smoke and flames gushed from the forward part of the ship and large

pieces were thrown 200 feet (61.0 m) into the air.[21] The most likely cause of her loss was

a deflagration or low-order explosion in 'X' magazine that blew out her bottom and severed

the steering control shafts, followed by the explosion of her forward magazines from the

second volley.[22] Von der Tann fired only fifty-two 28 cm (11 in) shells at Indefatigable before

she exploded. Of her crew of 1,019, only two survived. While still in the water, two survivors

found Indefatigable's captain, C. F. Sowerby, who was badly wounded and died before they

could be rescued. The two survivors, Able Seaman Elliott and Leading Signalman Falmer,

were rescued by the German torpedo boat S16.[23] A third survivor, Signalman John Bowyer,

is suspected to have been rescued by the Germans, but the ship that picked him out of the

water is unknown.[24] There is little additional evidence that there was a third survivor.

[edit]Indefatigable today

Indefatigable, along with the other Jutland wrecks, was belatedly declared a protected place

under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, to discourage further damage to the

resting place of 1,017 men.[25] Mount Indefatigable in the Canadian Rockies was named after

the battlecruiser in 1917.[26] The wreck was discovered by nautical archaeologistInnes

McCartney in 2001 and was found to have been heavily commercially salvaged sometime in

the past. [27] [28]

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Indefatigable_(1909)

Frank Edmund Smith

Remembered with HonourThiepval Memorial

In Memory of

Private

4871, 1st/8th Bn., Royal Warwickshire Regiment who died on 25 August 1916 Age 26

Son of Mr. and Mrs. E. Smith, of South Leigh, Witney, Oxon.

Arthur Robert Hoare

Remembered with HonourCourcelette British Cemetery

In Memory of

Gunner

129670, 501st Howitzer Bty., Royal Field Artillery who died on 21 November 1916 Age 27

Son of William and Mary Ann Hoare, of Brown's Hill, Southleigh, Witney, Oxon.

Frederick Orpwood

Remembered with HonourCologne Southern Cemetery

In Memory of

Private

26391, 5th Bn., Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry who died on 17 May 1917 Age 35

Son of Eli and Harriet Orpwood, of Childry, Wantage, Berks.; husband of Annie Emma Sophia Orpwood.

The Penson Family

The Penson family had their roots in Idbury.

Robert Penson married Esther Annie Cox in 1884 They had 5 children:-

Lionel Robert – 1885 – 1917 Victor Hubert – 1887 - 1974

Mabel Nancy (Nan) – 1889 - 1974 Harold Guy (Jack) – 1891 - 1918

Claude – 1893 - 1960

In 1891 Robert was recorded as an employer, a farmer, at Idbury.

By 1901 Robert had died and the family were living at Mount Pleasant, Stow on the Wold.

Robert’s wife Esther was recorded as “living on own means”. Also with the family was Alice Mary Cox, Esther’s single sister.

In 1911 Harold and his younger brother Claude were recorded at The Albuhera

Barracks, Stanhope Lines, Aldershot, with The Royal Army Medical Corps. Lionel was recorded as a Bank Clerk, lodging in Theale, Reading.

Their mother Esther was recorded as a Housekeeper at Station Farm, South Leigh. On her retirement she was given the tenancy of Stow Cottage and lived

there until her death in 1945.

Victor emigrated to Canada in 1906, married Florence I Craig in 1912 and died in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada in 1974

Mabel Nancy (Nan) never married and died at South Leigh, 1974. Claude Penson survived the war, married Elsie Weller in London, 1924 and had

two daughters, Joan 1924 and Moreen 1928. He died in 1960 in Portslade by Sea, Sussex.

Recollections by Karen Freimanis, Gt.Granddaughter of Robert Penson

When Harold and Lionel were killed in WW1, their mother was asked if she wanted the wooden crosses which had marked their graves, before proper headstones were erected by

the War Graves Commission. She placed the wooden crosses in the porch of the South Leigh church, where my mother remembers seeing them for many years. I doubt if they are still there, and have no idea what happened to them. I wonder if anyone in the village has any

information about the wooden crosses?

Cont’d.

There are no memorials in the churchyard for Harold or Lionel, and no headstones for Esther or Nancy (although both were buried there) as the family did not believe in headstones

(or perhaps could not afford them!).

The daughter of Mr Gunn the Station Master, was a close friend of my aunt Nancy. Miss Gunn slept at my aunt's house every night for years until my aunt died, because both were spinsters and frightened to be alone at night. Miss Gunn lived at Gunn Cottage. I called at

the cottage this summer, and met the present owner who had an old photo showing the cottage as it was in 1970 (old, damp, in the middle of a field with no driveway, no proper

bathroom!) as I remembered it.

My mother (Moreen) is Claude's daughter. She used to spend her school holidays in South Leigh, arriving by train, and has very happy memories of South Leigh.

Grandfather Penson is the youngest child, Claude, who survived the war. He was at

Passchendaele, but never talked about the war to his family. He was wounded in the leg (a shell casing recoiled into his knee towards the end of the war), and he spent 18

months in hospital. After the war, he moved to London, married and had 2 daughters, working as a civil servant until his retirement. He then moved to Worthing and died in 1960.

Great Aunt Nan (Mabel Nancy) lived in South Leigh (Station Farm and then Stow

Cottage) for nearly all her life. She worked in London as a dance teacher at the studio of a cousin Kitty (Kathleen), who had married Jack Oliveri who was a band leader and club

owner. My aunt had her 21st birthday party in his club in London in 1945.

Jack Penson married a French girl, Andrea Jeanne, during WW1. She moved to Oxford and remained there after Jack's death.

She remarried Christopher Carter but always stayed in contact with our family, and she gave me some of these photos.

She died in Bournemouth in 1996 at the age of 100. The photo of Jack and his colleagues at Christmas 1914 has the words 'Ma chere

Andrea, with love, Jack' on the reverse.

Dec 2013 - Karen Freimanis - karenfreimanis@btinternet.com

Lionel Robert Penson

Remembered with HonourEtaples Military Cemetery

In Memory of

Company Quartermaster Serjeant

19380, 26th Bn., Royal Fusiliers who died on 06 August 1917 Age 32

Eldest son of Robert and Esther Annie Penson, of Idbury, Oxon.

Herbert Green

Remembered with HonourTyne Cot Memorial

In Memory of

Private

267331, 2nd/1st Bucks Bn., Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry who died on 22 August 1917

Charles Radbone

Remembered with HonourHedauville Communal Cemetery Extension

In Memory of

Private

42848, 4th Bn., North Staffordshire Regiment who died on 16 April 1918 Age 28

Son of William and Alice Radbone, of Southleagh, Witney, Oxon; husband of Catherine A. Hempsall(formerly Radbone), of 120, Selwin St., Hillstown, Chesterfield.

Charles Radbone

Army Service Record

From “The Burnt Series” at The National Archives

I have included here just two pages out of 18 surviving.

The full record is available on request as a pdf file.

Corin Mills

corin@millsweb.org

Frederick Albert Wilkins

Remembered with HonourLijssenthoek Military Cemetery

In Memory of

Serjeant

207279, 3rd Bn., Worcestershire Regiment who died on 26 April 1918 Age 25

Son of Albert and the late Helena C. Wilkins, of Bourton-on-the-Water, Glos.

Harold Guy Penson

Remembered with HonourBoulogne Eastern Cemetery

In Memory of

Bombardier

212296, 64th Bde., Royal Field Artillery who died on 15 May 1918 Age 27

Son of Robert and Esther Penson; husband of Andrea J. M. Penson, of 271, Banbury Rd., Oxford. Born atIdbury, Chipping Norton, Oxon.

William Alfred Cox

Remembered with HonourBoscon British Cemetery

In Memory of

Private

200312, 1st/4th Bn., Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry who died on 15 June 1918 Age 25

Son of Francis and Sarah Cox, of South Leigh, Witney, Oxon.

Claude W. Church

Remembered with HonourCharleroi Communal Cemetery

In Memory of

Rifleman

R/38604, 13th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps who died on 11 February 1919

Claude William Church – 1896 - 1919

Born - Dec Quarter 1896 in the Registration District of Witney. 1901 Census – 4 years old and recorded as a boarder, living in New Yatt Road, North Leigh, with George and Susan Billen. 1911 Census – 14 years old, born in North Leigh and recorded as a Domestic Servant at a school - 6, The College, Malvern, Worcestershire The only connection I can find with South Leigh is from the 1911 Census where a retired Estate Foreman, William Church and his wife Elizabeth were living at The Manor House, South Leigh, together with their unmarried daughter Mary, 43 years old. At 74 and 75 years old respectively, it’s unlikely that they were Claude’s Father and Mother. It’s highly likely that Claude was illegitimate and the son of Mary Church.

Second Wor ld War

1939 -1945

The Men behind the Names

Eric Wright Blackwell

Remembered with HonourSouth Leigh (St. James) Churchyard

In Memory of

Pilot Officer Air Gnr.

81386, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died on 28 October 1940

Eric Wright Blackwell

National Probate Calendar (Wills and Administrations)

Andrews Newspaper Index Cards (1790 – 1976)

Paul Chaning-Pearce

Remembered with HonourAlamein Memorial

In Memory of

Sergeant

927024, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died on 04 January 1942

Paul Chaning-Pearce - Born 1922

Andrews Newspaper Index Cards (1790- 1976)

He is also commemorated, together with 31 other skiers, on a plaque at the Villars English Church Chapel, Switzerland. His father, Melville Chaning- Pearce and his mother Doris, lived and presumably worked at South Leigh College before moving to the Manor House, Iffley, Oxford.

Charles Townsend

Remembered with HonourMinturno War Cemetery

In Memory of

Corporal

5334175, 10th Bn., Royal Berkshire Regiment who died on 10 November 1943

Husband of Martha Ellen Townsend, of North Leigh, Oxfordshire.

Geoffrey Alexander Brown

Remembered with HonourPhaleron War Cemetery

In Memory of

Pilot Officer Nav./Bomb Aimer

172586, 227 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died on 27 February 1944 Age 30

Son of Alexander and Ethel Victoria Brown, of Southleigh, Oxfordshire.

Geoffrey Alexander Brown

National Probate Calendar (Wills and Administrations)

James Herbert Claridge

Remembered with HonourSouth Leigh (St. James) Churchyard

In Memory of

Fusilier

14208632, 6th Bn., Royal Scots Fusiliers who died on 13 April 1944 Age 22

Son of Herbert Ernest and Annie Claridge, of Witney.