Remembering Worthing's First World War fallen

The Worthing men who died in April 1917 while serving their country in the First World War.
Worthing War Memorial Picture: Eddie MitchellWorthing War Memorial Picture: Eddie Mitchell
Worthing War Memorial Picture: Eddie Mitchell

• Research by The Friends of Broadwater and Worthing Cemetery.

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Second Lieutenant Edward Bertram Osborne

East Lancashire Regiment 2nd/5th Battalion

Edward Osborne was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, around 1884. He was the third of four sons born to Christie Tate Osborne, a tea merchant, and his wife Margaret, both born in Ireland.

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By 1888 the family had moved to England. Their home was at 69 Catford Hill, Lewisham, where they employed a cook and a housemaid. By 1901 they had moved to 9 Cavendish Park, Barrow.

Edward chose a career in teaching. In 1905 he was teaching science at Soham Grammar School.

By 1911 he had moved on to Brewood Grammar School at Stafford where he was appointed assistant head master.

Edward enlisted with the East Lancashire Regiment, 2nd/5th Battalion. He was taken prisoner near Le Cateau and died of his wounds in captivity on April 1, 1918.

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He is buried in the Le Cateau Military Cemetery. His parents had retired to the Heene area of Worthing where his father died in 1919. Edward is remembered on the war memorial at Heene Church. He is also remembered on the war memorial at Soham Grammar School.

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L/7662 Lance Corporal Henry Edward Murray MM

12th (Prince of Wales’s Royal) Lancers

Henry Murray was born in 1891 in Shepherds Bush, London, one of two children to George, a coachman, and Martha.

George was living in Hanover Square, London, when Henry was three months old and his brother George was one.

By 1901 they moved to Kensington then Worthing. Henry went to Sussex Road School and attended Worthing Catholic Church, Crescent Road.

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The 1911 census shows the family had moved to Northview, Courtlands, Goring. Henry, aged 20, was a carpenter’s apprentice.

Henry enlisted in the 12th Lancers, and was involved in an attack against Prussian dragoons in August 1914, the last time they charged with their lances.

They did go into battle with their horses a few more times but suffered losses. After this, they fought as infantry.

In early 1918 Henry was wounded and taken to a military hospital in Rouen where he died on April 3.

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He was buried in the St. Sever Cemetery Extension at Rouen. His effects, £28 12s 7d, were sent to his father at Goring. Henry is remembered on memorials at Sussex Road School and Catholic Church, Worthing.

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SD/547 Lance Sergeant Charles Edward Seall

Royal Sussex Regiment 11th Battalion

Charles Seall was born in Worthing in 1891 to parents William, from Arundel, and Caroline, née Parsons, from West Grinstead. They married at Steyning in 1875. Charles was the eighth child of nine. William ran a laundry business with his wife and daughters.

Charles’ early home was 18 Prospect Place. Later the family moved to Clifford House, 88 Portland Road, after William’s death in 1906.

Charles worked with his older brother William tuning and repairing pianos at the music warehouse of Worthing musician Winwood Mansfield.

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Charles and William enlisted at Worthing into the Royal Sussex Regiment, 11th Battalion. William was killed on March 13, 1916.

Charles died on April 3, 1918. The battalion diary states that he was one of 50 men who died during the German Spring Offensive, between March 21 and 31, but the deaths were not recorded until April 3.

Charles was buried in the Villers-Faucon Communal Cemetery Extension. He and his brother are remembered on the war memorial at St Paul’s Church, Worthing.

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266666 Private George Voice

Royal Sussex Regiment 11th Battalion

George Voice was born in Worthing in 1880, to William, a milkman, and Mary. In 1881 and 1891 the family was living in London Street.

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By 1901 they had moved to 8 Zion Terrace, now 32 Tarring Road.

On April 14, 1904, George married Sarah Ann Lethby, born in Lincolnshire. They lived at 19 Orme Road where their ten children were born.

George enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment, 11th Battalion, which took part in some of the fiercest fighting on the battlefields of the Somme.

In March 1918 the German forces were advancing across the battlefields, taking territory from the Allies. When the German troops launched an attack at Hem, near Ypres, on April 3, George was killed.

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George has no known grave but is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial and on the St Matthew’s Church memorial, Tarring Road, Worthing.

George’s wife Sarah married George Boxall, of 30 Orme Road, in 1923 and died during childbirth in 1924.

His parents were both buried in Broadwater Cemetery where George and his brother James, also killed in 1918, are both remembered.

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156431 Bombardier Alfred Lelliott

Royal Field Artillery, ‘C’ Battery 78th Brigade

Alfred Lelliott was born in Worthing in 1892, the son of William Lelliott, a carman born at Thakeham, and his wife Ann Catherine, née Penfold, born Storrington.

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Alfred was one of eight surviving children, two having died in infancy. The family home was 17 Ashdown Road, Worthing, and Alfred was a pupil at Sussex Road School. William Lelliott died in 1914, aged 61.

On November 10, 1914, Alfred enlisted at Brighton with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps as a horse keeper, before being transferred to the Royal Field Artillery. Alfred was wounded on the morning of April 5, 1918, and was taken to a hospital where he died the same evening.

His mother was informed of her son’s death by a chaplain who expressed his sincere sympathy and that of the officers of the Battery with the following words: “His death is a distinct loss to the Battery, for he was a brave man and a capable non-commissioned officer.”

Alfred was buried in the Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension and is remembered on the war memorial at St Paul’s Church and the memorial to former pupils of Sussex Road School who gave their lives at war.

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Second Lieutenant John Noble-Smith

Royal Field Artillery 165th Brigade

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John Noble-Smith, known as Jack, was born in 1898 at Marylebone, London. He was the youngest of three children born to Eldred Noble-Smith, and Emma Amelia, née Wells.

John’s father was senior surgeon at the City Orthopaedic Hospital, London. He was the author of many published works and very highly regarded in his profession. He died in 1906, aged 59, leaving his widow, Emma, to bring up their three children.

The family home was at 24, Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square, London, but they also acquired a property The Chalet, 10 Heene Road, Worthing, now demolished, during the last years of Eldred Noble-Smith’s life, to be near the sea.

John was in school at Bedford in 1911 when he was 12. John enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery.

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He was first in the No. 6 Reserve Brigade before transferring to the 165th Brigade where he attained the rank of Second Lieutenant. He left for France on November 16, 1917.

John was killed in action on April 9, 1918, aged 19. He was buried in the St. Amand British Cemetery and is remembered at Heene Church, Worthing.

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75465 Private Arthur Swain

Royal Fusiliers 4th Battalion

Arthur Swain was born in Worthing on April 1, 1898, to parents Alfred Swain and his wife Annie, née Wells.

He was baptised at Christ Church on June 12, 1898.

Arthur was the youngest of three sons and had a younger sister, Ethel.

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Alfred Swain was a bricklayer by trade and home was at 15 Winton Place, Worthing.

Arthur was a pupil at Sussex Road School, as was his older brother George.

Arthur enlisted on June 14, 1916, with the 4th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, having previously served with 14th (Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment.

He was killed in action near Bethune on April 10, 1918, aged 20.

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His brother George, who was serving with the Royal Sussex Regiment, had been killed in action on November 7, 1917.

Arthur was buried in the Brown’s Road Military Cemetery at Festubert with his brother George.

He is remembered on the Sussex Road School war memorial to former pupils, and also on the war memorial at Christ Church where he was baptised.

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Lieutenant John Dobree Chepmell

Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion attached 14th Battalion, 5th Division

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John Chepmell was born in Marylebone, London, in 1889 to Dr Charles W.J. Chepmell, a physician and surgeon, and Mary, née Hughes.

He was the elder of two sons and in 1891 the family home was at 87 Buckingham Road, Brighton, where Dr. Chepmell was in general practice.

John’s parents, who had married in 1886 in Edinburgh, where his father was a medical student, divorced in 1901. John and his brother William were sent to boarding school.

In 1909 Mary Chepmell died, and John, aged 20, set off for Canada, arriving in British Columbia that year.

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John returned to England and enlisted with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. He was killed in action near Ypres on April 10, 1918, aged 29.

He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium. His brother William was killed in 1917 and they are both remembered on the war memorial at Christ Church, Worthing. Their connection to Worthing is through their grandparents, Isaac Dobree, a retired doctor, and his wife Isabella, who lived at Grosvenor House, Shelley Road, Worthing.

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228685 Private Arthur Dutton

London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) 1st Battalion, posted to 2nd Battalion

Arthur Dutton was born in East Worthing on March 15, 1891. He was the seventh child in a family of four sons and four daughters.

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His parents were James Dutton, a nurseryman from Hampshire, and Alice, née Payne, daughter of a master mariner from Shoreham.

The family lived at 1 Ham Lane, East Worthing, before moving to 195 Ham Road.

Arthur went to St George’s School, Lyndhurst Road. On leaving school Arthur joined his father and brother at the family nursery.

Arthur enlisted at Worthing into the Royal Sussex Regiment with the number 3030. He transferred to the Royal Fusiliers, 1st Battalion, before he was posted to 2nd Battalion.

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He was reported missing between April 11 to 13, 1918, near Passchendaele. The official record states that he died of wounds on April 11 at Outtersteene, captured by the Germans the next day. He was buried in the Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension at Bailleul.

His parents found the loss hard to bear and James died the following September. Alice lived until 1943. Arthur is remembered on their headstone in Broadwater Cemetery.

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50270 Private Charles Henry Penfold

Royal Fusiliers 2nd Battalion

Charles Penfold was born in 1896 at Midhurst. He was the son of Henry Penfold and Emily, née Burchill, who had married at Petworth in 1878.

Charles was the only son in a large family of daughters. Henry Penfold worked as a farm carter and in the 1901 census the family were living in the High Street at Duncton, Sussex.

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By 1911 they had moved to Ridges Farm, Billingshurst, and Charles, now aged 15, was employed as a stock boy on the farm.

In 1916 Charles married Lucy Agnes Hill, née Carver, at Worthing. Lucy had married Edgar Hill in 1903 and they had four children. Presumably she was a widow when she married Charles Penfold in 1916.

They continued to live near Lucy’s parents at 17 The Drive, Worthing. Charles’ father died in 1919 and his mother later moved to Wisborough Green.

Charles enlisted at Horsham into the Royal Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion. He died of wounds from action on April 12, 1918, aged 22.

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He was buried in the La Kreule Military Cemetery at Hazebrouck and is remembered on the war memorials at Wisborough Green and Heene Parish Church, Worthing.

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75881 Private Percy Edmund Hyland

Royal Fusiliers (London Regiment) 2nd Battalion

Percy was born in Worthing in 1899 to parents Edmund, a builder’s clerk and Edith Hyland, née Poland.

Percy was one of four children, two boys and two girls. In 1901 the family was living at Elm Grove, but by 1911 they had moved to 16 Lanfranc Road, with Percy a scholar at Elm Grove School.

Percy enlisted in The Royal Sussex Regiment but later transferred to the Royal Fusiliers, The London Regiment.

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In the German advance towards Amiens in France in April 1918, Percy was killed in action near the village of Villers-Bretonneux on April 14, aged 19.

He was buried in the Crucifix Corner Cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux, designed by Edwin Lutyens.

Percy is remembered on the Elm Grove School memorial.

His effects, amounting to £8 14s 3d, were sent to his mother, including the war gratuity of £4.

Percy’s older brother, Frederick, was also killed in 1918.

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58495 Private Edward William Bennett

Devonshire Regiment, 6th Labour Coy. transferred to (102055) 171st Coy. Labour Corps

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Edward Bennett was born in Worthing around 1881, but his parents are unknown.

He first appears in the 1901 census, living with his widowed aunt Elizabeth Bennett at 50 Market Street.

At the time, Edward was 19 years old and employed as a wine merchant’s cellar man. In 1904 he married Martha Norton at Worthing.

Martha was born in Lambeth, London, and before her marriage she had worked as a cook for a family in Farncombe Road, Worthing.

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The couple made their home at 18 Paragon Street (demolished) and their daughter Elsie Mary was born in 1909.

Edward was now working as a theatre properties manager.

Edward enlisted at Worthing with the Devonshire Regiment, 6th Labour Coy. He transferred to the 171st Labour Corps on the January 9, 1917.

He was killed in action on April 15, 1918, aged 37, and was buried in the St Pierre Cemetery at Amiens.

Edward’s back pay of £17 12s 7d, including his war gratuity, was sent to his widow.

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89782 Driver William John Strotten

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Royal Field Artillery ‘B’ Battery, 108th Brigade, 24th Division

William Strotten was born on July 9, 1897, at Goring. He was one of ten children born to Harry Strotten and his wife Elizabeth, née Barnes.

His parents married on Christmas Eve, 1892, at Bosham, the village where they were born.

At the time of their marriage Harry was working as a market gardener. Later he was employed as a labourer, working on road building. The 1911 census shows the family living at 65 Becket Road, Worthing.

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William was a pupil at Elm Grove School. He enlisted at Worthing with the Royal Field Artillery as a driver, arriving in France with his battery on September 1, 1915. Each battery of the Royal Field Artillery was armed with four 18lb field guns.

There were four batteries to a brigade. The full establishment of a RFA Brigade was 795 men including 23 officers. The stock of ammunition stored by each gun was around 200 rounds with more being kept back from the front line.

William was killed in action on April 20, 1918, aged 20 and was buried in the Querrieu British Cemetery. He is remembered on the war memorial at West Tarring Church and on the memorial at Elm Grove School.

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900390 Gunner Harry Felix Hutchinson

Royal Field Artillery ‘D’ Battery, 71st Brigade, 15th Division

Harry Hutchinson was born in Worthing on July 4, 1891.

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He was one of seven children born to William James Hutchinson, a boat builder, born Hastings, and his wife Kate, née Cooper.

At the time of Harry’s birth the family was living at 6 Brunswick Road, Worthing. Later they moved to 22 Graham Road.

Harry was a pupil at Heene School, his first day of attendance being January 20, 1896, aged four. He later transferred to Sussex Road School.

The 1911 census shows Harry, 19, employed as a chauffeur. On July 22, 1914, Harry married Alice Ella Clarke, a sea captain’s daughter from Shoreham, at Worthing.

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Harry enlisted at Worthing into the Royal Field Artillery as a gunner. He died of wounds received in action at Duisans on April 20, 1918, aged 26.

Harry is buried in the Duisans British Cemetery at Etrun.

He is remembered on the war memorial in Heene Church, Worthing, and also on the memorial to former pupils at Sussex Road School.

Harry’s father died in 1918. His older brother Frank also lost his life in the war on May 1, 1917.

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40691 Private Reginald John Wood

Prince Albert’s Somerset Light Infantry 1st Battalion

Reginald Wood was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, on August 2, 1899, and was baptised there on August 26 the following year.

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He was the youngest son of William Wood, a fishmonger and greengrocer, and Frances Annie, née Sheppard. Known as Reggie, he went to Ivy Lane School in Chippenham and in 1914 he won a 50 yards swimming certificate.

After his father died, his mother moved the family to Worthing and settled at Jamaica Villa, Ethelwulf Road, West Tarring.

Reginald enlisted at Brighton into the Somerset Light Infantry, 1st Battalion, on September 2, 1917. He was wounded and reported missing, believed killed in Peasant Wood, near Roulaise, France, on April 23 1918, aged 18. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Loos memorial, Pas De Calais.

He is also remembered on war memorials at West Tarring Church, St. Andrew’s Church, Chippenham, and the Chippenham Town.

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The Worthing Gazette of April 23, 1919, published: “In ever loving memory of our dear Reggie. From his sorrowing mother, brothers and sisters, Jamaica Villa, West Worthing. Late of Chippenham, Wiltshire.”

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SD/1455 Corporal Charles Albert Page

Royal Sussex Regiment 11th Battalion

Charles Page, who was born in Lancing in 1877, was the first of eight born to Alfred and Harriett Page, née Rapley. Alfred was also born in Lancing and was a gardener/general labourer.

In the 1881 and 1891 census the family was living at Ham Lane, Worthing. In 1891 Charles, aged 14, was a gardener. In 1901 they lived Brougham Road and Charles, 24, was a general labourer.

In October, 1903, Charles married Alice Matilda Woods and by 1911 they were living at Virginia, Park Road, with their two children. Charles was a coal wheeler at the gas works, also in Park Road.

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Charles enlisted in The Royal Sussex Regiment, joining the 11th Battalion, which was in some of the heaviest fighting, including Ypres and Passchendaele.

In April 1918 the strength of the battalion was down to six officers and 530 men. A draft of 20 men was sent to make up numbers. On April 23 their trenches received heavy enemy shelling, resulting in three deaths.

Charles was one of the casualties, aged 40, along with a sergeant and a private.

He has no known grave but is remembered on Tyne Cot memorial. His pay and war gratuity, £28 16s 1d, was sent to his widow Alice.

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46401 Rifleman Albert Ernest Page

Rifle Brigade 2nd Battalion

Albert Page was born July 29, 1899, at Worthing.

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He was one of six children born to Ernest, a market gardener, and Alice Page.

In 1901 the family was living at 84 Cranworth Road, Worthing.

By 1911, the family was living at Holmleigh, Sea Place Lane, Goring.

Albert was aged 11 and described as a scholar.

Little is known about Albert’s military service, but he probably landed in France in 1917 or 1918.

He enlisted at Chichester in the Rifle Brigade.

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The 2nd Battalion fought at the Battle of St. Quentin, and saw action at Ypres and the Somme.

On April 23, 1918, he was killed in action aged 18 and buried in the Crucifix Corner Cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux.

His pay of £1 4s 8d plus war gratuity of £5 was sent to his father, living at Anchoria, Brougham Road, Worthing.

The Rifle Brigade lost 11,575 men in the war.

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SD/3223 Lance Corporal George Stephenson Stringer

Royal Sussex Regiment 13th Battalion

George Stringer was born in Portslade in 1890. He was the fourth son of nine children of Henry Stringer, a bricklayer’s labourer, and his wife Lucy.

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By 1901 the family had moved to 15 Elm Grove, Worthing, and George was now 11 years old. By 1911 Lucy, now a widow aged 48, was living at 48 Lanfranc Road with George, now 21 and working as a general labourer.

In 1913 George married Nora Jones and had two children, William, born 1913, and Gladys, born 1914. George enlisted in Worthing in the Royal Sussex Regiment. He joined the 13th Battalion, which was involved in some of the fiercest fighting, including the Battle of The Boars Head on June 30, 1916, in which the Royal Sussex Regiment lost hundreds of men.

On April 26, 1918, the battalion was in trenches at Kemmel, near Ypres, when a dense mist descended on the battlefield. This enabled the Germans to take up positions around 50 yards from the British lines. There was intense machine gun and rifle fire, causing 32 casualties, including George, aged 28.

George has no known grave but is remembered on the Tyne Cot memorial.

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SD/1312 Private Frank Ernest Ede

Royal Sussex Regiment 13th Battalion

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Frank Ede was born in December 1897, at Worthing. His parents were Frank, a carpenter/joiner and Lily.

He was baptised at Christ Church on July 10, 1898. Their address was 108 Portland Road. In 1901 the family, including three children, was living at 6 Hertford Road, Worthing. By 1911 the family, with two more children, had moved to 6 Newcastle Terrace, South Farm Road (demolished, now Tesco). Frank was a 14-year-old schoolboy at the time.

Around 1917 Frank enlisted at Worthing into the 12th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, later transferring to the 13th Battalion. In April 1918, the 13th Battalion was in the frontline trenches near Kemmel Ridge. A fierce battle raged there from April 17 to 26, the Germans pushing forward as part of their Spring Offensive.

The 13th Battalion suffered heavy casualties from constant shelling. In the early morning of April 26, 1918, Frank was killed, aged 21.

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He has no known grave but is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial. His effects including his war gratuity of £20, amounting to £30 2s 10d, were sent to his father. He also received the British and Victory medals awarded to his son.

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26109 Private Percy John Dell

King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, 6th Battalion, 20th Division

Percy Dell was born in Chelsea, London, in 1882 to parents William Dell and his wife Jane Ann, née Trowbridge.

Yorkshire-born William Dell worked as a house painter and the family home was at 22 High Street, Worthing.

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Percy was the fifth child in a family of four sons and five daughters. By the time Percy was 18, the family had moved to 22 Cranworth Road, and Percy was working as a junior clerk to a builder.

He was still in this occupation ten years later when the family was living at 101 Clifton Road.

Percy enlisted at Worthing into the Shropshire Light Infantry. He was wounded in action and taken prisoner.

He died of his wounds in Germany on April 27, aged 35, and was buried in the Niederzwehren Cemetery at Kassel.

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Percy’s younger brother Henry Joseph Dell served in the Royal Marine Artillery and died at home in 1919.

He is buried in Broadwater Cemetery a and Percy is remembered on his grave. Both brothers are remembered on the St Matthew’s Church memorial.

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556 Private Charles Herbert Winter

Royal Sussex Regiment ‘C’ Coy. 11th Battalion

Charles Winter, known as Bert, was born in 1891 at Shoreham to Charles Andrew Winter, a boot maker and repairer, and his wife Susan, née Fuller.

Charles was the third child in a family of five and they moved from High Street, Shoreham, to Worthing around 1895. Their new home in Worthing was at 38 Portland Road, demolished, and Charles was a pupil at Christchurch school.

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On leaving school he was apprenticed to his father, making and repairing boots. Shortly before joining the army Charles was in business on his own account.

Charles enlisted at Worthing on September 10, 1914, with the Royal Sussex Regiment. He was described on his attestation papers as 5ft 11in in height, with a fresh complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair.

He was posted to France on March 2, 1916. On April 27, 1918, he was killed instantly by a shell burst, aged 27. News of his death was conveyed to his family by Private E.A. Davis, a friend.

Charles was said to be always merry and bright and confident of victory. He was buried in the Borre British Cemetery and is remembered on the war memorial in Christchurch.

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30506 Private George Edward Willmer

East Yorkshire Regiment 11th Battalion

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George Willmer was born in Worthing on May 1, 1899 to William Henry Willmer, and his wife Ellen, née Grenyer,

William Willmer was born in Findon and worked as a gardener’s labourer. He married Ellen on April 30, 1881, at Broadwater Church.

George was the youngest of seven children and the family moved from Reigate to Worthing before George’s birth.

Their home in Worthing was at Gravel Terrace, Howard Street, later 72 Howard Street, and George was a pupil at Holy Trinity School. In 1901 William Willmer died aged 42.

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George enlisted at Worthing with the East Yorkshire Regiment in April 1917.

He was in action in April 1918 at the Battle of Merris, part of the Battle of Lys.

He was posted missing between April 12 to 28 and was presumed to have lost his life on April 28, aged 18.

George has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ploegsteert memorial, Belgium.

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He is also remembered on the war memorial at St. Matthew’s Church, Worthing’ and the Holy Trinity School memorial to former pupils who gave their lives for their country.

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G/16907 Private Jesse Etherington

Royal Sussex Regiment 11th Battalion, 39th Division

Jesse Etherington was born in 1898 at Westhampnett, near Chichester.

He was the second child of three, born to James Etherington, a farm stockman born in Shipley, and his wife Elizabeth, née Oakley.

They married in Westhampnet in 1896. The family moved around Sussex with James’ work.

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The eldest child, Annie, was born at Tangmere and the youngest, William, was born at Burgess Hill.

They eventually came to Worthing where they made their home at 54 Southfield Road.

Jesse was a pupil at the Ham Road Council School.

Jesse enlisted at Worthing into the Royal Sussex Regiment, 11th Battalion 39th Division.

The G prefix before his service number indicates he signed on ‘for the duration’. He was killed in action by enemy shell fire on April 29, 1918, aged 19.

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Jesse has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.

He is also remembered on the war memorial in Broadwater Church, Worthing and on the memorial to former pupils of Ham Road School who gave their lives for their country.

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68476 Private Jack Miles

Royal Fusiliers 17th Battalion, 2nd Division

Jack Miles was born in Worthing in 1893. He was one of seven surviving children of John Miles, a coachman born in Brixton, and his wife Annie.

The family moved to Worthing from Kingston, Surrey, before Jack was born.

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Their home in Worthing was at 3 Norfolk Street where they remained for many years.

Jack was a pupil at Holy Trinity School. On leaving school he found work as a fishmonger’s assistant.

Jack initially enlisted at Worthing with the Royal Sussex Regiment with the no. G/8821. He was later transferred to the 17th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers.

Jack was killed in action aged 24 at Blairville, near Arras, on April 29, 1918.

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He was buried in the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez.

He is also remembered on the St Matthew’s Church war memorial in Worthing and on the memorial at Holy Trinity School to former pupils who gave their lives for their country.

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201543 Sergeant George Frederick Tee

Royal Sussex Regiment

George Tee was born in Worthing in 1892, one of three surviving children born to Frederick, a baker, and Lydia Tee.

Frederick had married Lydia Edith Searle in 1891. Their four children were born in Worthing, one dying in infancy.

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George was a pupil at Christ Church School. In 1911 the family were living at 67 Portland Road. George, aged 19, was described as a builder’s clerk.

Just before the outbreak of war George enlisted in the Territorial Army, joining the Royal Sussex Regiment. In 1916, while home on leave, George married Florence Mary Smith in Brighton and they lived there for a short while. Their only child Betty was born in 1917.

George had spent two years serving in Flanders before his marriage and was soon posted back to the front. With his previous service and good conduct he gained promotion to sergeant. On April 29, while serving near Ypres, the 11th Battalion was subjected to heavy shelling.

George was killed in the shelling, aged 26, and was buried in the Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3 cemetery in Belgium.

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The cemetery, just three miles from Ypres, was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens.

George is also remembered on the war memorial in Brighton and on the Christchurch School memorial in Worthing. He was one of three brothers killed during the Great War.

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Captain Roland Churchill Layton

Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers), Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Croix de Guerre (France)

Roland Layton was born on January 16, 1879, at Cranbourne, Berkshire, to the Rev William Edward Layton and his second wife Christina Isabella, née Hall.

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Roland went to preparatory schools in Kent and later at Felsted School. By 1901 his father was vicar of St Mary’s Church, Cuddington, Surrey.

He volunteered for service in South Africa in the Second Boer War with the Sherwood Rangers. At the end of the war he was granted the rank of Lieutenant and awarded the Queen’s medal with four clasps. Roland entered the Colonial Service, serving in Nigeria as an assistant and deputy District Commissioner.

In 1909 he married Catherine Goff Cooke. At the outbreak of the Great War, Roland volunteered for service with the Sherwood Rangers. He served in Macedonia, commanding the first cavalry patrol to enter Serbia. He was the last man to leave the country on the retreat and was awarded the Croix de Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, and the Croix de Guerre by the French.

Roland’s health began to cause concern and was sent back to Britain, but he rejoined his regiment in Egypt and was promoted to Captain on June 20, 1917.

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Later he was posted to Palestine, where he was killed on April 30, 1918.

He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial and at St Mary’s Church, Cuddington. As his widow Catherine died in 1919, Roland’s father, now living at Newbold House, Tennyson Road, Worthing, asked the war office if he might have his son’s medals.

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