Announcement of “Lives of the First World War”

The Imperial War Museum, with various partners, have today announced the Lives of the First World War project. This will be a major centrepiece of the centenary commemorations, providing a means of telling the stories of all 8 million or so people who participated in the war effort for the British Empire (as it then was). This includes those working on the home front as well as though who saw active service. Once the project is live, I’ll be looking at how information from this site can be integrated into it. It will allow the linking of a wide range of sources, medal cards, service records, war diaries, censuses etc along with user contributed items to build the stories of those who served.

There is a short video which explains a little more of the concept:

Arthur Ernest Plowman (1898-1917†): missed from the roll

Updated 10 May 2013: After the initial version of this page appeared on 9 May 2013 Andy Arnold reminded me of the Croydon Roll of Honour, which has filled in a few more details, and allowed me to correct a couple of details. The update has also allowed me to correct a number of typos.

Arthur Ernest Plowman was at least the third generation of his family to ring at Beddington. He had progressed far enough in ringing to take part in a quarter peal on Easter Day 1916 (23 April), but he had just turned 18 so was liable for conscription. He attested on 10 May 1916, though he may not have actually begun his training until later that year. He was posted to a Base Depot in France on 29 March 1917, just short of his 19th birthday. On 15 April he was posted to a frontline unit, 13th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, and seems to have joined them at Izel-lès-Hameau, just under 20km west of Arras on 17 April. The battalion had already been heavily involved in the opening phases of the Battle of Arras and in the early hours of 23 April would rejoin the fray – a rather different day to that which he had enjoyed just a year before. After just under a week of hard fighting he was reported missing, and subsequently his death was officially presumed to have taken place on 29 April 1917. His body was never found, and he is commemorated on the Arras Memorial to the Missing.

Arthur Ernest Plowman (who appears to have been known as Ernest) was born at Wallington, Surrey on 15 April 1898. His parents, Arthur John Plowman and Kate Groves had married in the latter part of 1896. Arthur was from a Beddington family, Kate had been born in Newbury, Berkshire. Arthur was already a bellringer at Beddington, following his own father, John Plowman, who had been a ringer from about the time a new ring of bells was installed in 1869 (he was elected to the College Youths in 1878). John died at the age of just 41 in 1893.

By 1901 the family had moved the short distance to Croydon, where they were living at 11 Westfield Road, but Arthur was still a regular ringer at Beddington. The 1891 census shows that Arthur had originally been an apprentice compositor at a printers, but by 1901 he is described as foreman packer rubber goods. As the 1911 census lists him as a despatch clerk in the cycle and motor trade, the rubber goods were presuambly inner tubers, tyres and the like! In 1902 a sister arrived for Ernest, Doris Kate. By 1911 the family had moved again, but an even shorter distance to 4 Ainsworth Road, Croydon. Ernest was educated at the Welcome Hall school in Scarbrook Road, effectively an overflow from the Parish Church School.

At some point Ernest learnt to ring, travelling with his father to Beddington. The report of the quarter peal in which Ernest rang the tenor to Grandsire Triples, while his father rang the treble, describes him as “one of Beddington’s youngsters”. Just under three weeks later he would join up, he was recorded as being 18 years 1 month, 5’6″ tall, weighing 131 lbs and having a 35″ chest with 3″ expansion, a painter [this is possibly a mistranscription for printer, see below], born Wallington, attested Croydon, and living 4 Ainsworth Road, Croydon. There is a hint that he did not actually start training immediately, the register entry is marked to say he went to 30th Training Reserve Battalion, but the former 10th (Reserve) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment did not adopt that name until 1 September 1916. The Croydon Roll of Honour states he enlisted on 1 September 1916, which would fit with that being the actual date of his call up. Here his occupation is given as “apprentice to printer’s machine minder”.

His posting to France on 29 March 1917 was followed just a month later by his death.

A report in The Ringing World in December 1918 does mention his death in passing – it is principally a report of the funeral of Serjeant Major John Webb of Benhilton but as some fo the ringers at the funeral came from Mitcham and Beddington their own casualties are also given a mention.

However, for some reason, when the Association’s roll of honour was finally drawn up, Ernest was not included. This was despite a statement at the AGM in January 1917, “the number of new members elected during the past year had been four only – against the 50 who had been called too the colours since the outbreak of hostilities. The names of those 50 do not cover the number of ringers of the Association who have exchanged the rope for the rifle, and the Master appealed to the representatives of the towers to see that a complete record was kept, whether members of the Association or not, in order that a complete and permanent record might hereafter be prepared.” (Ringing World 2 February 1917 p37).

A century on, it seems just he should also be listed amongst the losses to ringing in Surrey. He should also be added to the Central Council for Church Bell Ringers roll of honour. He is listed in the Croydon Roll of Honour. The Wallington War Memorial apparently lists H Plowman, it is possible this should be Ernest, there was a Horace Plowman living in Wallington in 1911, but there does not seem to be a matching CWGC entry.

Updates: Further on Ernest Hamblin and three new names

Since my original post on Ernest Hamblin, I’ve received a few more photos from Alan Regin showing his name on the Tyne Cot Memorial, and the photo memorial which still hangs in the ringing chamber at Hersham. I’ve added these to the original post.

In addition, going through the war time issues of The Ringing World threw up three new Surrey names in a single article. Six ringers happened to be stationed together at Royal Naval Air Service station at Kingsnorth. The station commander, Wing Commander Clement Richard Dane (a rather suitable name for a flyer, though St Clement Dane did not become the central church of the Royal Air Force until after the Second World War) married at nearby Hoo St Werburgh and the six airmen rang for the service. One was Arthur Strutt of a well-known ringing family from Kingston-upon-Thames – it is rather a mystery as to why he was omitted from the roll. The second was Frank Skinner of Barnes. The third, Arthur Henry Blake of Merrow, near Guildford. Merrow was probably never a Surrey Association tower, it is now Guildford Diocesan Guild.

Frederick George Woodiss (1890-1941)

Frederick George Woodiss is listed as a Banstead ringer, though it seems he actually only settled there after the war. He learnt to ring at Hersham where his father was one of the founder members of the band after a ring was installed in 1901. Woodiss seems to have been a devout man (far from always the case with ringers!), ringing in the first peal by a band of altar servers in 1932.

He was born on 7 September 1890 in East Finchley. His parents, George Woodiss and Emily Cousins had married at Holy Trinity, East Finchley, just under two years earlier, on 1 October 1888. Emily was 27 while George was jut 24. He was a signalman from Shepperton while her family was from the East Finchley area. Frederick was baptised at Holy Trinity on 28 September 1890, his parents’ address was then given as 20 Hamilton Road, and his father was stated to be working for the Great Northern Railway. By the 1891 census (on 5 April) the family were living at Oak Cottage, Shepperton. With them was Emily elder sister Louisa, a laundry maid (who had also been one of the witnesses at their wedding). Late in 1892 a brother, Edward Woodiss, was born. He was baptised at St Nicholas, Shepperton, on 27 November.

No further details of the family are known until the 1901 census (31 March) when they were living at 14 West Grove Villas, Hersham. Also in 1901 a ring of bells was first installed in St Peter’s, Hersham, the church having been built in the mid-19th century. Following his death, an obit for George Woodiss stated that he had been largely responsible for organising and training the band to ring the new bells (so presumably he had previously rung elsewhere). It’s not yet know when Frederick himself started to ring.

On 20 April 1905 Frederick began to work at the Regent Street office of the London and South Western Railway, on the recommendation of his father (still a signalman apparently, though no employment records have yet been traced for him). He was initially to be paid a salary of 8 shillings per week. He is described as being 5’6.5″ tall. He received increases of a shilling a week each of the next two years, but just after his second pay rise he “resigned for other employment” on 29 May 1907.

By 1911, Frederick and his brother Edward were living with his mother and aunt Louisa (listed as the head of the household) at 94 Cotterill Road, Surbiton. Frederick was now working as a bookkeeper for a newspaper proprietor. His brother was a correspondence clerk for a motor manufacturer (it may be noteworthy that John H B Hesse a ringer listed under Kingston on the roll, was involved in a motor business in Teddington). For some reason, George is shown lodging with the Hart family at 191 Amyand Park Road, Twickenham. It is not clear if this was a permanent separation (his obit does state he later moved to Twickenham), or if it was simply due to his signalling shifts (Amyand Park Road runs roughly parallel with the railway between the stations at St Margarets and Twickenham).

Some time after this Frederick moved to Woodmancote, Dursley, Gloucester. He was certainly there by 19 December as The Ringing World listed him as a Dursley ringer who was present at a meeting of the Wotton-under-Edge branch of the Gloucestershire and Bristol Diocesan Guild at Wickwar. It seems he returned home to enlist on 1 February 1915 when he joined the Grenadier Guards at Kingston, giving his address as 39 Douglas Road, Tolworth (not far from Surbiton where he had been living in 1911). A report in The Ringing World states he had joined the Royal Field Artillery – possibly that had been his original intention but as the recruitment registers show he was now 5’10.25″ it may be that the recruiter persuaded him to join the Guards instead. The additional details in the register describe him as an accountant, 148 lbs, 37″ chest, 2.5″ expansion.

Subsequent reports allow us to trace some of his progress through training. He was initially based at the Guards’ Depot at Caterham. While there he attended the Easter Monday (5 April) meeting of the Central District of the Surrey Association at Banstead (the first time he is known to have rung there). He attended another Central District meeting at Dorking in July. By August he was at the Chelsea Barracks, and also spent a little time at Marlow before he was posted to France on 20 October 1915, joining the 2nd Battalion, presumably as a replacement for losses at the Battle of Loos.

In the latter part of 1916 he was severely wounded. His battalion took part in two major phases of the Battle of the Somme, the Battles of Fler-Courcelettes (15-22 September) and Morval (25-28 September), so it seems likely that it was in one of those that he was wounded. The wound proved to be a Blighty one, by 17 November when a Surrey Association meeting resolved to send him best wishes for his recovery he was being treated in King George’s Hospital, Waterloo Road.

Although his record is not in the digitised collection on Ancestry, it should be possible to find more detail of his service as all the Foot Guards’ personnel records are still held at their respective Regimental HQs. However, there is a fee of around £30 to obtain them, and there are half-a-dozen guardsmen on the roll of honour.

By 1919 he was said to have recovered, and it was presumably around this time he settled in Banstead. According to his obituary he set up business in Banstead in the post-war years. In 1921 a new ring of bells was installed at Banstead (the previous bells were reputedly rather poor). Frederick was now the tower captain, the new bells were funded by the church warden, Captain F E D Acland. He was from a ringing family, but does not seem to have been a ringer himself. They were recast by Gillett and Johnston – Cyril Frederick Johnston of the firm also served in the Guards (as a lieutenant).

In 1922, Frederick married Edith L Martin in the Shaftesbury registration district. It is not clear how they met (one possibility is that is was during his long convalescence). Their first child was born in 1923. The Ringing World reported the birth of a son, but the birth of a daughter, Cecilia F, was registered. By 1924 the family had moved up the road to Sutton. Also in 1924 he suffered a broken collarbone and concussion when he hit a dog whilst cycling and was treated in Sutton Cottage Hospital. A second child followed in 1926, Megan L. Despite two daughters apparently being born, and no other children being traced, his obituary reports that he had a son and a daughter.

In 1932 he rang in the first peal by a band of altar servers. The ringers were from eight dioceses, and had travelled a total of about 2300 miles to come together for the peal attempt (and had done the same for a previous failed attempt). Since the peal was at Epsom Common, Frederick’s was probably the simplest journey. This suggests he was a devout man, and quite High Church too. A photo was published of all eight ringers in their servers’ cassocks and surplices, along with the parish priest who is in cope and biretta.

Frederick later worked in the City. Although the recruitment registers describe him as an accountant, I can’t find any trace of him in the roll of honour of the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales, or in their collection of obituaries and similar. He died on 11 May 1941. His funeral was at Sutton Parish Church. Sadly the wartime ban on ringing was then in full effect, so there could be no ringing to mark his passing. He had rung 149 peals (11 on handbells), though two were subsequently found to be false. He had almost single-handedly trained up the band at Banstead, and by the outbreak of the Second World War they were ringing Superlative Surprise Major.

Ernest James Hamblin – the ANZAC connection

Moving out of sequence, with ANZAC Day falling on Thursday of this week (25 April), this post looks a little more at Ernest James Hamblin, listed on the roll as a Hersham ringer, and previously referred to as the “unexpected Kiwi”. He is the only man on the roll no to have served with the British armed forces. This post has been partly prompted by Auckland City Libraries “2013 Trans Tasman ANZAC Day Blog Challenge”. (Admittedly I’m pushing the Trans Tasman idea somewhat!)

This challenge asks for people to blog about how a family history has been affected by the service of an ANZAC (originally an acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). None of the men on the roll of honour are my blood family, but we are all connected by the kinship of ringing. Once you’ve become a ringer you can travel to the other side of the world, just as Ernest Hamblin did, and immediately be welcomed into a new family of ringers.

Ernest James Hamblin was born in the Cookham registration district (in the English county of Berkshire) on 1 July 1890. The 1891 census took place on 5 April, Ernest is to be found as a 7 month old, living at Hamfield Cottages, Cookham with his parents Charles James Hamblin (27) a gardener domestic and Alice Ada (26); along with his older brother, Stephen Charles (2). While Charles was a Berkshire man, having been born in Wokingham, Alice was from Hammersmith (London) and Stephen is recorded as being born in West Dulwich, Surrey (now Greater London).

By 1901 the family had moved to Hersham and were living at 3 West Grove Villas. Ernest now had two younger sisters: Ada Margaret (5) – born Cookham; and Helena Kate (1) – born Walton, Surrey (Walton-on-Thames is adjacent to Hersham, and Hersham was part of the civil parish of Walton). It was also in 1901 that the church of St Peter’s, Hersham received its ring of 8 bells. George Woodiss, father of Frederic George Woodiss who is also listed on the roll (but as a Banstead ringer), along with a couple of ringers who already lived nearby, was instrumental in training a new band. I’ve not yet established if Charles James was a ringer before this, or was one of the new ringers at this time. Nor have I found when Ernest started ringing, but since he is recorded as a Hersham ringer it must have been before 1909, when a report of farewell ringing for Charles James Hamblin was published in Bell News.

The family moved to Woking, and in 1911 are recorded as living at Heatly Cottages, Goldsworth Road. Charles was now working in a plant nursery, and Ernest had become a joiner. Stephen was not living in the family home, and I have not been able to trace him. Ada Margaret had also left home and was in service with Machin family at Oatlands, not far from Hersham. The Machins were obviously quite well to do, the head of the household, Stanley, is recorded as a “manufacturing confectioner”. He had been married for 23 years and he and his wife had 10 children, six of whom were still at home. There were two other domestic servants in addition to Ada, and also a governess for the younger children (the ages of those at home ranged from 19 down to 5 – the two oldest boys, 19 and 14 are recorded as students, and a 9-year-old as a schoolboy, the other 3 were presumably in the charge of the governess).

Ernest’s army service record states that he had been in New Zealand for about 5 years when he enlisted in late 1916. Since we know he was still in the UK for the census on 2 April 1911 he must have left after that. There is no exact match in the passenger records, but a man listed as Ernest Hamlin left London for Wellington, New Zealand, aboard the SS Arawara on 9 November 1911. His occupation is given as carpenter similar to his description as joiner in the 1911 census. The ship travelled via Plymouth (departed 11 November), Cape Town (departed 3 December), Tasmania (22 December), and Wellington, arriving 9 pm on 27 December (it would then continue to Lyttleton). According to a report in the Evening Post on 28 December it was a fairly uneventful voyage, with the weather largely good, though after leaving Hobart they did experience a gale in the Tasman Sea, thought that was not enough to prevent Christmas celebrations. It’s not clear if Ernest then travelled on straight away, or remained in the Wellington area for a while.

Board marking the first quarter peal on the bells of St-Matthew-in-the-City, Auckland, 11 August 1912 (thanks to John Dunn and the rest of the present ringers at Auckland)

On 11 August 1912 Ernest was clearly in Auckland as he was part of the band which rang the first quarter peal on the bells of St Matthew-in-the-City. They rang 1260 changes of Grandsire Triples, and recorded the achievement with a painted board in the ringing chamber which is there to this day. The present ringers marked the centenary of this event on 11 August 2012, ringing exactly the same composition. The band on that occasion was conducted by Frank Sluter, who by strange coincidence was among those who taught me to ring prior to his family emigrating to New Zealand. The original board shows that the band also contained one S C Hamblin, presumably Ernest’s older brother Stephen Charles, who must have emigrated earlier (which would explain why he was not to be found on the 1911 census of England and Wales – no record of his departure has yet been found however).

In fact in researching this post, I then discovered an earlier article in The Ringing World, published on 2 August 1911, contributed by S C Hamblin. This confirms he was Ernest’s brother, and that both brothers initially lived in Napier. Their first significant ringing in Auckland was on 24 May 1911 when both rang in a touch of 720 changes, conducted by Stephen. A further 720 (of Pain Bob Minor) was rung on 3 June to mark the King’s birthday, again with both brothers involved and Stephen conducting. These were believed to be the longest pieces of ringing completed in New Zealand at that time.

In addition to the board to mark their achievement the ringers held an evening entertainment for about 150 guests on 19 August. This consisted of various songs, hand bell ringing, a flute solo from another member of the band, C Throssell, originally from North Leach, Gloucestershire. A further quarter peal was rung for Sunday morning service on 24 November 1912. A third quarter was rung on Sunday 4 May 1913, marking the visit of HMS New Zealand, and there was additional ringing for the evening service that same day. On 9 August 2013 the band made their first attempt at ringing a full peal, but it broke down after 3332 changes (of the 5040 required).

On 14 August 1913 the rest of the family: father, mother and Ernest’s two sisters also left London for New Zealand, travelling aboard the SS Athenic. Their departure was marked by various farewell ringing for Charles Hamblin. They arrived in Wellington on 29 September after a similar voyage to that undertaken by Ernest two years earlier. They reached Auckland on 1 October, and Stephen and Charles were part of the band which rang a quarter peal on 5 October (Ernest was not present). The Ringing World reports more ringing and social events organised by the St Matthew’s ringers, even after the outbreak of war in August 1914.

Ringing clearly provided a way for the Hamblin family (its male members at least) to settle into their new community. Other aspects of their life in New Zealand appear to have been less settled. The first evidence of where the lived after arriving in Auckland comes from the Auckland City Council Bicycle Register Database 1910-1923. Ernest and his father, Charles, are both recorded as registering bicycles to 3 Wharf Road, Herne Bay. Ernest obtained his licence (entry number 7117), for a safety bicycle on 10 November 1913; Charles (entry number 8024) for a Swift bicycle a fortnight later, on 24 November. Stephen does not appear to have been a cyclist, though there is an entry for an S Hamlin registering a safety cycle in Panmure on 3 May 1917.

By the time Ernest enlisted (presuambly he was conscripted as conscription was introduced in June 1916) on 9 November 1916 he gave his next of kin as his mother and her address as 167 Jervois Road, Ponsonby, Auckland. Following his death and the issue of medals etc, the time all his affairs were settled various other addresses are listed among his records: his father was first to be found at 71 Sarsfield Street, Ponsonby; then Victoria Road, Avondale, Ponsonby. Although Ernest gave his mother as next-of-kin, his father seems to have exercised his legal rights to be recognised as next of kin – possibly hinting that they were no longer living together, though this may be reading too much into the record (both are named in his CWGC record as being at Victoria Road).

Prior to his formal enlistment on 9 November, Ernest had been medically examined on 16 October. The examination recorded that he was 5’9″ (1.75m) tall and weighed 12st10lb (81kg) with a 37.5″ chest which expanded to 41″ (95cm-104cm). He had a “medium” complexion, blue eyes and dark brown hair. Unsurprisingly given his connection with church bells, his religion is listed as CofE. He was a carpenter for the tramways company.

Formalities over, he was not actually called up until 3 January 1917 when he joined A Company, 24 Reinforcements, and he arrived Featherston Camp on 8 January. After training in New Zealand he embarked on the transport HMT Devon on 5 April 1917. This arrived in Devonport, United Kingdom, on 10 June 1917 (some entries in his record say 11 June) and he proceeded to Sling Camp on Salisbury Plain (the main UK base for the NZEF), arriving there on 11 June. There he joined the Auckland Company of the 4 Reserve Battalion. He was posted to France 6 July 1917 and arrived at the base depot in Étaples on 9 July. He was posted to 3 Company, 3rd Battalion, Auckland Regiment on 25 July 1917, presumably to replace casualties from the fighting at Messines.

On 4 October 1917 the New Zealand Division played a key role in the Battle of Broodseinde suffering heavy casualties. It was to be during this fighting that Ernest was killed. Although his record details his burial as taking place at the map reference “D.15.A.21 about 100 yds NW of Otto Farm Pill Box” it seems that when battlefield clearance occurred after the war his body could not be found: he is commemorated on Panel 1 of the New Zealand Apse of the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing.

Photo published in the Auckland Weekly news on 1 November 1917

The New Zealanders were badly hit on 4 October, but worse would follow when they were thrown into the Second Battle of Passchendaele, the bloodiest day of battle for New Zealand. Thus there was no shortage of dead and wounded to report. Nevertheless, on 1 November 1917, among the many photographs published in the Auckland Weekly News was that of Pte E J Hamblin.

The impact of his death on his blood family is hard to gauge from the records, beyond the in memoriam published on the first anniversary of his death, “In loving memory of our dear son and brother, Private Ernest James Hamblin, killed in action, October 4, 1917. Ever remembered” (a similar notice was also published on the seventh anniversary). On the wider ringing family that impact is easier to see. Despite his departure to the other side of the world he is represented on at least three memorials in England: the Roll of Honour of the Central Council of Church Bellringers, this illuminated manuscript is held in the bell tower of St Paul’s Cathedral, and is also available online; The Winchester Diocesan Guild memorial in the belltower of Winchester Cathedral (an account of the unveiling of the memorial can be found in the online highlights of the guild archive); and of course he is also to be found on the Surrey Association roll. Despite his contribution to ringing in New Zealand, all three remember him as a Hersham ringer. His photo also still hangs in the ringing chamber at Hersham, along with that of George Basil Edser who was also killed in the war. It appears to be a copy of that which appeared in the New Zealand press, or at least taken on the same occasion.

Mounted photos showing both men from the Hersham band who were killed in the war. They still hang in the ringing chamber. Courtesy of Alan Regin

A report in the (Auckland) Observer on 7 December 1917 does show one impact on the surviving family. Stephen was effectively granted exemption from conscription on the grounds of his being the only son at home, and his brother having been killed in action. New Zealand records show that Stephen married Irene Vera Murter in 1919. Helena Kate Hamblin married David Archibald Roger in 1926, due to restrictions on access to birth records I’ve not been able to discover if either had any children. Charles James Hamblin died aged 78 in 1941 and Alice Augusta aged 82 in 1947. Stephen died in 1963, Helena not until 1991. No further trace of Ada has been found.

Photo of Ernest Hamblin’s name on the Tyne Cot Memorial (New Zealand apse), courtesy of Alan Regin

A fortnight ago I visited Belgium on a tour with Twickenham Choral Society, 11 April was spent in the area of Ypres, including a brief tour of the battlefields. Scheduling issues sadly meant that we did not have time to visit Tyne Cot, where I had hoped to pay my respects to Ernest. However, we gave a concert at Ypres Cathedral, and also took part in the nightly Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate where Ernest’s fellow Hersham ringer, George Basil Edser (killed just under two months before Ernest) is commemorated. I laid a wreath on behalf of the choir, and both Ernest and George were very much in my mind as I did so. There is a short video showing part of the ceremony on the choir’s Facebook page.

Robert Ingate George (1877-1957)

Robert Ingate George is listed as a Banstead ringer. However, it is still far from clear when he actually moved there – he seems to have lived a very peripatetic life, virtually every officially recorded trace of his life shows him living in a different place. He was born in Occold, Suffolk around 1877, he had two older sisters, Harriet Florence and Caroline Annie. The 1881 census shows his father, James was working as a groom, and by then the family had moved the short distance to Thornham Parva, by then Robert also had a third sister, Christiana. By 1891 the family had moved to Beenham in Berkshire – both Robert and his father were working as agricultural labourers. Two brothers, James William and Edgar Lewis, and a fourth sister, Hilda Mary, had been added to the family. The move to Berkshire must have happened before 1885 as Lewis’s birth was registered in the Bradfield registration district (which included Beenham) in the 3rd quarter 1885.

By 1901 Robert had moved out of the family home and was boarding in Ealing. Robert was working as a gardener, living with a William Robinson and his wife Adelaide. William was a milk carrier, so probably wasn’t employing a gardener himself, suggesting Robert was working elsewhere. In 1907 Robert married Kate Cecilia Beecroft in Tendring registration district, Essex. The following year they had a daughter, Cecilia May George, the birth was registered in the Brentford registration district, and the 1911 census tells us she was born in Twickenham. By 1911 the family of three were living in Rose Cottage, Buckland, Surrey – George was working as a chauffeur and groom. In 1912 a second child was born, a son this time, Leslie R George.

By 1916 the family were living at Woodhaven Road, Weybridge. It seems likely that Robert volunteered via the Derby Scheme towards the end of 1915. He was called to active service on 30 May 1916 serving as a motor transport driver with the Army Service Corps. No service record has been traced, but the Banstead roll of honour states that he served in France and Italy. He was awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal.

It appears he eventually moved to his wife’s home county on Essex, and died there in 1957, aged 80. I have not yet traced any details of his bell ringing.

Hedley James Wyatt 1893-1964

Hedley James Wyatt was the son of local blacksmith and wagon maker John Wyatt who was also the tower captain at St Giles, Ashtead. As mentioned in the post on Sydney Reddick, the village forge was a gathering point for the local ringers during the course of the working week to chew over the most recent ringing. It’s no great surprise then that John’s son followed him into ringing, although he doesn’t seem to have followed him to the forge.

The various reports in The Ringing World suggest he was known as James rather than Hedley, peal reports list him simply as James, and the report stating that he had joined up actually lists him as James B, but there are errors in the names of Sydney Reddick (listed as Sidney Readick) and George Cook (listed as Cooke) too. James was born in February 1892, probably on the 22nd, as a peal was rung on 22 February 1913 to mark his 21st birthday. His parents John Wyatt and Annie Eliza Batchelor married in the Hemel Hempstead registration district in 1879 – she was originally from Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire. Their first child, John Batchelor Wyatt, was born 1880 and a sister, Annie Amelia Wyatt, followed in 1883. James didn’t arrive until 1892 was seems to have been very much the baby of the family. By 1901 John Batchelor Wyatt had already followed his father into the family business and was working as a wheelwright, he married in 1908 and so had moved out of the family home by 1911. Annie Amelia is not shown with any occupation in either 1901 and 1911, and was still (aged 27) at home and single in 1911.

By 1911 James is shown as a clerk in the “Guardians’ Office”, this presumably refers to the Board of Guardians responsible under the Poor Law Act for running the local workhouse. Ashtead was part of the Epsom Poor Law Union, and the workhouse was only just over the parish boundary in Epsom, on the site now occupied by Epsom General Hospital (for more information see the webpages on the workhouse on the Epsom and Ewell History Explorer website and Workhouses website).

James rang at least five peals between 1911 and the early part of 1914, mostly with his father. He didn’t actually ring in the peal for his 21st birthday on 22 February 1913, but it was dedicated to him and George Cook who was a year and a day younger (and had his own 21st birthday peal in 1914). It seems that he, Sydney Reddick and George Cook probably joined up together sometime before 4 December 1914 when they were listed in the roll of honour published that day in The Ringing World, which stated they were all with the 5th (Reserve)) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment at Wimbledon. The medal rolls show that the service of Reddick and Wyatt was basically identical, both staying in the UK until 16 September 1917 when they entered France. After just under a fortnight, which were probably spent at an Infantry Base Depot, they were transferred to 1st (City of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) – but posted to 26th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. The London Regiment was an entirely Territorial Force unit, and each battalion had its own regimental affiliation, while the Royal Fusiliers (traditionally associated with the City of London) had no Territorial Force battalions of its own. Territorial Force men normally had to be kept in Territorial units, but sometimes this was a purely nominal association as in this case. Wyatt and Cook travelled with 26th Royal Fusiliers to Italy in November 1917, and returned with the battalion to France in March 1918, just in time to meet the great German Spring Offensive launched on 21 March. In the actions that followed, 26th Royal Fusiliers were forced to join the general British retreat. Sydney Reddick was fatally wounded, but it seems Wyatt came through without major injury.

The medal rolls show that Wyatt left 26th Royal Fusiliers on 3 September 1918, no new unit is shown, implying he was posted home and finally actually joined 1st Londons for the first time, albeit only the battalion depot. This may well have been the result of being wounded or falling sick, the battalion had been taken part in a major advance in Flanders around this time.

Wyatt’s marriage to May Perry was registered in the Epsom registration district during the third quarter of 1918, presumably taking place sometime after 3 September 1918 (unless he had had some leave beforehand). There doesn’t seem to have been any ringing to mark the occasion, which may mean it didn’t take place at St Giles’. So far no children of the marriage have been traced. It seems Wyatt may have dropped out of ringing to a large extent, he did ring another peal on 29 December 1923 (to mark the 50th anniversary of the bells), but he had to be re-elected to the Surrey Association before that.