1916 1916 saw two of the most decisive battles of WWI – Verdun and the Somme, although Verdun mostly involved French troops against the Germans, 1916 is seen as the year …. ‘… when the armies of Britain, France and Germany bled to death’. There were other appalling areas of action as well – Iraq – the Battle of Jutland - Salonika. By the end of 1916, Hayling’s war dead had more than doubled. In November 1915, machine-gun sections were ‘rationalised’ in that they were withdrawn from infantry battalions overseas and formed into machine-gun companies, designed to support the other fighting units – one being attached to each brigade. At the same time, a Machine-Gun Training Centre was formed at Grantham, Lincolnshire, for raising and training these new machine-gun companies. Once ready, the machine gun companies were sent to the various theatres of war and their numbers in each division increased to four. On January 17th, 1916 the 17th Company was formed in the 24th Division at Poperinge (affectionately known as ‘Pop’, and mentioned in the ‘Wipers Times’), about 12 kilometres from Ypres, Belgium. ‘Pop’ railway station became one of the most important on the Western front in WWI. It was used by the military and by refugees from Ypres. Once it was surrounded by hop fields, but these were flattened during hostilities, as the accuracy of the gunfire was poor. Private Owen James Lavell 17th Coy.,Machine Gun Corps (Inf) 21061, died in this area on 16th February, 1916. He was born at Shiplake , Oxon, on 1872. He was the son of Ernest and Catherine Lavell of Lilac Villa, Stoke, and brother of Harold Lavell. Owen’s name is recorded on Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Ypres, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium and St Peter’s Memorial, North Hayling. Stoker Petty Officer Charles Turner 296067 (PO) HMS Victory, Royal Navy, was the husband of Mary Grace Brandon Bowers (formerly Turner, nee Bettesworth) of 9, Sunnyside, Stoke, North Hayling. He died on the 18th March 1916, aged 38. His son, Ernest, equally sadly, was to die in World War II. Charles is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard, South Hayling. o…………………….o To rationalise the local military, the 14th (Service) Battalion (2nd Portsmouth) had been formed at Portsmouth on 5th April 1915 by the Mayor and a local Committee – it was adopted by the War Office on 30th May 1915. In October 1915, it moved to near-by Whitley and came under the orders of the 116th Brigade, landing at Le Havre on 6th March 1916. It moved towards the battlefield - and six weeks later Harry Frewing was killed. Private Harry Frewing 15715 14th Bn., Hampshire Regiment born 1876, was the youngest child of Alfred and Mary-Anne Frewing of ‘The Anchorage’, Avenue Road, Hayling Island. He was also a deaf mute. His father, Alfred had been a ‘colourman’, travelling around the South Coast resorts in the summer months, supplying the many pavements artists, who painted the holidaymakers, with paints and supplies. Harry’s only sibling, his brother, Alfred James, had returned from the USA having made enough money in two years to buy a house, garage and charabanc business in Portsmouth, as well as ‘The Anchorage’ for his parents in Hayling. Contemporary photographs show that Harry had joined Albert in the business. Two of Harry’s sisters, Mrs Kate Trevithick and Mrs Barnes, jointly ran a little shop at North Hayling Halt. Harry had married Ada Brown in Harrow, a daughter, Amy Doris, being born there in 1899. On 26th April 1916, Harry had volunteered to fetch water for his comrades. He had trotted off to perform this seemingly innocuous task. He never returned: he was shot dead by a lone sniper. His grave is at Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy, Pas de Calais, France. He is also remembered on St Peter’s Churchyard Memorial, North Hayling.

o…………………….o HM Motor Lighter X.74, believed to be an Admiralty X-type landing craft, was the vessel from which Stoker Petty Officer Ernest Henry Ogburn 153810 Pensioner, was drowned on Monday, 8th May 1916. No further details are given and no other casualties are mentioned. Ernest Henry was the son of William and Sarah Ogburn, bricklayer, brother of Albert and William Frank. His father built, ‘Springfield’, Brights Lane, the home of Vice Admiral Sir John and Lady Lea. Ernest Henry is remembered on Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Southsea Common and in the churchyard of the Priory Church of St Mary. o…………………….o In the census of 1911, Lieutenant George Alfred Cosser 6th Bn., Hampshire Regiment was living with his widowed father, Thomas, a grocer and wine and spirit dealer in Portsmouth. In 1911, George was an architect’s pupil. He then married Ada Matilda sometime before 1916. At the time of his death the family is recorded as living in ‘The Meadows’, North Hayling. George Alfred Cosser was born in 1893 in Portsmouth, the son of Thomas and Mary Cosser. His father’s brother was Chief Constable of the Borough Police. George went to University College in 1911 As a lieutenant in the 6th Bn., Hampshire Regiment, George was involved in the Battle of the Wadi, Mesopotamia, and its aftermath, which began on 13th January 1916, when the outnumbered British forces, on both sides of the enemy lines, struggled to overcome the lack of roads and supply routes to defeat the Ottoman forces. Plans were further hampered by the British having no accurate maps of the area, so much was left to chance and the leading British column became lost. The leading Ottoman units wheeled through 90 degrees and the British troops failed to reach the River Tigris. Eventually, the British gained control of the Wadi, but at an appalling price in British deaths and injuries. Further attempts by the British troops to rescue their comrades were all unsuccessful. In April, the British commander, Major Townsend, finally submitted, along with 10,000 of his men, at Kut, on April 29th 1916, in the largest single surrender of British troops up to that time. Through mistreatment, or neglect - leading to starvation - nearly 5,000 British prisoners died before the end of the war. George Alfred Cosser was one of them, dying of cholera in Filayiah Hospital in Mesopotamia. Lieutenant George Alfred Cosser 6th Bn., Hampshire Regiment died on 15th May 1916, aged 24. His name is recorded on the Basra Memorial, Iraq. Reginald Henry North son of Frederick Sydney and Fanny Catherine North of Stoke Farm, Hayling Island, had, like his cousin, Vic North, emigrated to Australia just before the Great War. Both cousins volunteered to return home to serve and were sailing on the same ship through the Red Sea when Reggie caught pneumonia and died on 9th May 1916. He was 24. . He was buried at sea. Vic’s family still live on Hayling. Private Reginald Henry North 5397 16th Bn., Australian Infantry Force, (A.I.F.) is commemorated on Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton, which commemorates those whose graves were not known, and on St Peter’s Churchyard Memorial, North Hayling. o…………………….o William Monger, was the son of Arthur and Elizabeth Mary Bray Monger, but lived with his grandparents, Mr and Mrs Bray of Havant Road, Hayling Island. His grandfather was a shepherd at Redaways Manor Farm. It is difficult to ascertain which military action William last took part in, as Le Touret Cemetery – not far from Armentieres –William’s last resting place is also the last resting place of soldiers from other regiments as well as the Hampshires who died on or about the same day, or at other times. The military cemeteries in Pas de Calais run very close to each other, as there was military action all across the area.

Private William Monger 14003, 14th Bn., Hampshire Regiment died on 19th May 1916 aged 18. He is remembered at Le Touret Military Cemetery, Richebourg-L’Avoue, Pas de Calais. o…………………….o

The Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland in the North Sea, off the coast of Denmark, was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war. The German Fleet left from Wilhelmshaven early on the 31st May, the British fleets, commanded by Admiral Lord Jellicoe, comprised one which sailed from Scapa Flow late on the 30th May, joining one from the Moray Firth on 31st May. Together, they joined a fleet led by Admiral Beatty. Australian and Canadian ships also took part. The German long term aim was to break the British blockade of Germany and allow German mercantile shipping space to operate, but the German force was insufficiently large to engage the entire British fleet, hence their short term aim was to lure some of the British fleet out and destroy it. The British aim was to counter any such measures and to keep the seas free to British shipping. Neither side won. During the ensuing conflict, fourteen British and eleven German ships were sunk - with great loss of life. Admiral Lord Jellicoe worked to cut the Germans off from their base in the hope of continuing the battle the following day, but without success. The events of the battle confirmed to the Germans that their policy of avoiding fleet-to-fleet contact was the correct one. After a few further unsuccessful attempts, they turned their efforts to pursuing unrestricted submarine warfare to destroy Allied and neutral shipping which, in April 1917, finally provoked America into declaring war on Germany. At the commencement of the Battle of Jutland, HMS Invincible, a battlecruiser, was inflicting heavy punishment on the German ship, Derfflinger. However, once visibility improved and Invincible became silhouetted against a lighter sky, both Derfflinger and Konig were able to rain rapid salvoes on her and Invincible was ‘rent in two: her stem and stern rose apart, high out of the water, as though she had touched the bottom’ (Corbett. 1923) There were few survivors. Among the dead was Private Joseph James Boncey PO/11602 HMS Invincible, Royal Marine Light Infantry. He died on 31st May 1916. The first of three Boncey brothers to perish. Joseph James Boncey was born on the 8th May 1884 at Bitterne, Southampton, son of James and Sarah Boncey. He lived at Tunan Farm, South Hayling. He is remembered on Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Southsea Common and St Peter’s Churchyard Memorial. o…………………….o HMS Black Prince’s gun power, had been modified in March 1916, as a result of lessons learned at the Battle of Coronel, but she also was sunk at the Battle of Jutland, with all hands killed. The circumstances of her sinking were mysterious and it was unclear at first, whether a submarine or a surface vessel was responsible. Recently, historians maintain that Black Prince briefly engaged a German battleship, scoring two hits. Then, separated from the rest of the British fleet, she approached the German lines about midnight. Belatedly realising that they were German warships, and not British warships, she turned away, but it was too late. Up to 5 other German ships attacked her and she was hit by at least 12 heavy shells and several

smaller ones, sinking within 15 minutes. There were no survivors. Among those who perished on 31st May 1916 were William James Godwin, Edmund Palmer and Martin John Saggers. Leading Stoker William James Godwin 311661 HMS Black Prince, Royal Navy, aged 28, was the younger son of Phillip and Edith Godwin, of Glenleigh, North Hayling. He must have decided to make the Royal Navy his career, as on the census of 1911, he is a stoker on a ship serving in China and the East Indies. Chief Stoker Edmund Palmer 281327 HMS Black Prince, Royal Navy, age 39, was the son of Peter (Crimean Pensioner) and Caroline Palmer of Hayling Island: husband of Ada Ramsey Palmer, Cranbrook Villa, North Hayling. Edmund and Ada were married at St Peter’s in 1916. The Palmer children had attended Hayling Church of England School. Stoker 1st Class John Francis Martin Saggers SS/101714 (RFR/PO/IC/327). R.N. HMS Black Prince, Royal Navy aged 30, was the son of John Langston Saggers (Pensioner R.N.) and Sussanne Marie Saggers, and husband of Ada Constance Saggers of Myrtle Cottage, North Hayling: father of Arthur Victor born 1912 and Leslie John Charles who was baptised at St Peter’s Northney, eight days before John was killed. All three are remembered on Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Southsea Common, and the names of Edmund and John are also on the St Peter’s Churchyard Memorial. o…………………….o Scapa Flow, the departure point, for Admiral Lord Jellicoe’s fleet, is one of the great natural harbours and anchorages of the world and, during the First World War, was Britain’s chief naval base. Immediately after the Battle of Jutland and during the late afternoon of 5th June 1916, HMS Hampshire, an armoured cruiser which had fought in the battle, left Scapa Flow taking the route through Hoxa Sound to the south and turned westwards into the turbulent weather off south west Hoy, where she joined the escort destroyers. She carried Lord Kitchener and his entourage on a diplomatic mission to Russia. As the weather worsened, both escort vessels signalled that their top speed was limited and Hampshire eventually advised both vessels to return to base. Hampshire then proceeded alone through the might of a Force 9 gale . About 8.00 pm, having struggled to make headway, she was between Marwick Head and the Brough of Birsay, when a mine, laid by a U-45 before the Battle, hit the whole ship. Hampshire, began to sink immediately, her helm was jammed and the power failed, preventing radio contact. Offers of help from the R.N.L.I. were vigorously refused by Stromness Naval HQ, although a tug and two trawlers left Stromness for Birsay followed by four destroyers. By 1.00am on the 6th June, only one of three Carley rafts to be launched by the Hampshire washed up on rocks in Nebbi Geo, just north of Skaill Bay. The raft had had about 40 men in it when it left the Hampshire, it saved another 30 from the water, but, due to exposure, there were only 6 men alive when it came to shore. A second Carley raft made the shore just further north, but only four of its 40/50 occupants had survived. The third Carley float – the first to leave the Hampshire - had only two men in it. The heavy seas had caused the float to capsize twice, others had been flung out and a few were found on rocks, more dead than alive. Only twelve survived in total. Among the dead was Ordinary Telegraphist John Walter Newland Fitch J/30922(PO) Royal Navy – and also Lord Kitchener and his entourage. The bodies of over hundred officers and men were recovered from the sea and were interred into one grave where they now lie to rest at The Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, Hoy, Orkney. The Memorial for Lord Kitchener stands on Marwick Head. John Fitch, son of Walter George Fitch and Emily Rosa Lavinia Newland Fitch, was born in 1898 in Hartley Witney. His father was the owner of a very successful drapery and grocery store on the High Sreet. There

were ten servants, including a cook-housekeeper. In the 1911 census, John was a boarder at Robert May’s Grammar School - an endowed school in Odiham. At one stage, his mother lived at 6, Park Road, Hayling Island. o…………………….o Sapper George Bertram Fisher 1702 1st/7th Hants Works Coy Royal Engineers, age 29 died on 12th June 1916 and is remembered in Havant and Waterloo (Havant) Cemetery, Hampshire. He was born in London and enlisted in Portsmouth. He was the son of Mrs Louisa Banfield of ‘Spring Cot,’ Albourne, Hassocks, Sussex and husband of Ellen Louise Clark (formerly Fisher) of 4, Church Road, South Hayling. It was here, at home on Hayling, that George died. His name was not on the medal roll of honour, evidently he was never sent, nor served, abroad. It is probable that he was taken terminally ill, or died as a result of an accident. In the correspondence between Bertram Fisher’s widow Ellen and the R.E. Record Officer at Chatham, Kent and other documents, it transpires that Sapper Fisher died from exhaustion, of heart failure after spotted fever. Ellen Fisher wrote that his body was conveyed by road on a Gun Carriage from the Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, to Havant and that he was buried at the Havant cemetery – the number of the grave being 1230. The Corps of Royal Engineers, commonly known as Sappers, of which Bertram Fisher was part, is one of the corps of the British Army and is highly regarded throughout the military, providing military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces. It is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The corps is divided into several regiments barracked at various places in Great Britain

The Somme. The Battle of the Somme, which began on July 1st 1916, was divided into sections by time. In the opening phases of the Somme - the Battle of Albert 1st – 13th July 1916 – the great attack commencing July 1st 1916, began on a 25-mile front. In most British county regiments, the 1st and 2nd Battalions were regular army: the 3rd was the special reserve, normally remaining at home. The 4th, 5th and 6th, were normally Territorial Force battalions who had not signed up to fight away from home. Due to changes in recruitment it would appear that they were needed at the ‘front’. The 4th were facing stronger defences than anywhere else. It was hoped that the Brigade would reach Munich trench, but at 7.20 am, ten minutes before zero hour, a large mine was blown up under Hawthorne Bridge giving away the exact time of the attack and giving the Germans ample time to man their positions, after being deep in undamaged dugouts. The Hampshires followed the much depleted East Lancashires, and very few made it to the wire, the majority being brought down at, or short of, the wire. The survivors could only seek the poor shelter of the shell holes of No Man’s land, where they had to lie for hours until darkness fell. This was the 1st Hampshire’s worst experience of the war. It cost them 11 officers and 310 men killed and missing, 15 officers and 250 men wounded. The 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, was to prove the most catastrophic day’s fighting in the history of the British army. Among the dead of this day was Lance Corporal Bertram Jubilee Rogers 20840 1st Bn., Hampshire Regiment, age 29, son of Stephen John and Hannah (sic) Rogers of Hayling Island, husband of Adelaide Myra Rogers of Paddington, London, brother to siblings Charles, Edith, George and Alice and a member of an old Hayling Family. Lance Corporal Rogers had been twice wounded in Flanders. The Hampshire Telegraph and Post of September 24th, 1915, commenting on Bertram Rogers’ death, made the point that Hayling Island was having, proportionately, more than its fair share of casualties, and, in detailing Bertram Rogers’ experiences, provided a vivid account of the horror of the trenches:

“He was drafted to the front at the outbreak of war and was first wounded in November. Recovering, he was sent back to the firing line in March, and was wounded a second time on June 23rd by the bursting of a shell in the trenches, which buried him in the sandbags, breaking a rib and bruising his kidneys. He was afterwards a patient at the Red Cross Hospital, Wincanton, Somerset, and having recovered was given seven days’ leave at home. He has now returned to the depot at Winchester and put on light duty.” Lance Corporal Bertram Rogers survived these dreadful experiences, only to be killed on the Somme. He is remembered at Redan Ridge Cemetery, No. 2, Beaumont-Hamel, Somme, France, and at St Peter’s Churchyard, North Hayling. A second Hayling casualty of the first day of the Battle of the Somme was Private John Crook Rumsey 100 5th City London Regiment. John Crook Rumsey was born in 1895 on Hayling Island, the son of William Edward and Annie Rumsey. In 1901, the family were living at 6, Esplanade, Bridington, Christchurch: they were living on private means. By 1911, they were living at 40 West Kensington Mansions, Fulham, London. John had a brother, Almarle – who served in the war and came home - and two sisters, Victoria and Molly. John joined the 1st/5th London Regiment (Rifle Brigade) at 130 Bunhill Row, London in August 1914. They were part of the first London Division and landed at Le Havre on the 17th November 1914. On 10th February 1816, they were transferred to the 169th Brigade in the 56th London Division. On the 1st July – the first day of the Battle of the Somme - they were on the left of the division attack on Gommecourt. It was in this attack, that John Crook Rumsey was wounded. The attack was diversionary – it all went wrong. The War Diary states that- after taking enemy trenches, we were driven out with great loss’. In his report of the Battle, Lieutenant- Colonel A.S. Bates, gives the strength of his battalion at the time of the assembly for action as‘23 officers and 803 other ranks’ At 5.00pm in the British Line, he would count just 89 unwounded men. The total casualties given in Regimental History are 588. On 2nd July 1916, the regiment fell back to Bayencourt: they never saw action for several weeks. o…………………….o Supplies for the great battles were the responsibility of the Army Service Corps of 1914-1918 - the unsung heroes of the British army in the Great War. The ASC – ‘Ally Sloper’s Cavalry’, so nicknamed because of their good pay, comfortable conditions and comparative safety until, when they became the R.A.S.C in 1918, this nickname changed to ‘Run Away, Someone’s Coming’, were officially undervalued, but usually honoured by the fighting men. Soldiers cannot fight without food, equipment and ammunition – as could eventually be seen in Germany’s struggles during the later part of the outwardly, apparently successful Great Offensive of 1918. In the Great War, the vast majority of this tonnage was supplied from Britain. Using horses and motor vehicles, railways and waterways, the ASC performed prodigious feats of logistics and were one of the great strengths of organisation by which the war was won. (from the Long Long Trail A resource for military historians, genealogists and others with an interest in the Great War of 1914-1918.)

An historian points out that this vital organisation merited just four mentions in the official history of the war – the implicit view being that they were worth far, far more. Corporal Alexander Keith Hedger T/23661 28th Div. Train, Army Service Corps was serving in this capacity in Greece, when he lost his life on 18th July 1916. He is remembered at the Salonika (Lembert Road) Military Cemetery, Greece where many of those fighting were in Australian or New Zealand battalians. Keith was one of eight brothers of a North Hayling family, all of whom attended Hayling Church of England School. Two, Edward and William, served in the Boer War and the Hedgers were active in the community centred around St Peter’s Church and Institute., two of the brothers helping to build the memorial at St Peter’s Churchyard. Mrs Hedger helped with the Red Cross during WWI. A son born to William and his wife, Beatrice was named ‘Keith’ after his late uncle. Another brother, Alfred Gladstone, was killed after hostilities officially ceased. o…………………….o Corporal Charles William Mitchell 21169 aged 22, was the son of Frederick Aubrey and Charlotte Mitchell, West Lodge, East Stoke, Hayling Island. Frederick Aubrey was Chief P.O. H.M. Coast Guard and was born in Furnham Green, Middlesex. In the 1911 census they were living at Burnham on Crouch, Essex where they lived at the Coastguard Station. Clearly, the family moved around, as three of their five children, including Charles William, were born in different parts of Ireland and the youngest at their Burnham address. Evidently, Charles William had not planned a naval/military career, as, in the 1911 census, he is an assistant in a corn dealers shop. The details of Charles Mitchell’s death on 19th July 1916 are not known, but a comrade, Frederick George Souls, also from the 16th Bn., the Cheshire Regiment, was killed in action on the same day and was also commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, about 8 kilometres, North East of Albert which commemorates 73, 412 missing who fell in the Battles of the Somme in 1916 and 1917. Private Louis James Boncey L/9205 Crois de Guerre 1st Bn., The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regt.) was born in 1891 in Southampton. Other records state that he was born in Buenos Aires, Brazil. From 10th December 1907, he was at the Duke of York’s Royal Military School. He was then a regular soldier in the Queen’s Royal West Sussex Regiment. He came out of the forces for a year or two and was a carter. He was then attested on short service in August 1914, returning to his old battalion. He was a third son of James and Sarah Boncey, brother to Frank, Joseph, Alice and Edith and husband of Lily Elizabeth Roots (formerly Boncey nee Clarke). He and Lily had a son, George Lewis William Boncey who was 2 ½ years old at the time of his father’s death. Louis James Boncey died on 21st July 1916, aged 26. The 1st Bn., Royal West Surrey were in the 5th Brigade in the 2nd Division. On the 21st July, they were in an attack to the North of Mametz Wood at Mansell Copse and Louis was killed. His widow was awarded 17s 6d allowance (87.5 p) and 6/5 (32p) allotment of pay per week. Louis is remembered at Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France and, like his two brothers, on the memorial at St Peter’s Church, North Hayling. o…………………….o At the first Battle of the Somme, July 1916, the Royal Flying Corps had 27 squadrons with 421 aircraft plus a further 216 in depots. Lieutenant David Wilson was born at Cambourne. He was a Lieutenant in the 11th East Yorkshire Regiment and got his flying certificate on a Maurice Biplane at the Military School, Catterick Bridge on 14th January 1916. He was killed in action either on the 30th July 1916 or on the 8th August 1916. His father, David was a clergyman: his mother, Maria nee Barnaby

was a sculpture artist. Her sister, Selina who lived with them, was a music teacher. As well as David, they had a daughter, Madeleine. The Reverend David Wilson died some time before 1901 by which date Maria Wilson is living in Waterlooville with her children, David and Madeleine, her mother Maria, aged 70 and her sister, Selina. In 1911 Maria and David were living in Hull where David was an engineer apprentice. It is thought that, in 1916, David’s mother and aunt could have been living in Hayling Island and David could have been living with them. Lieutenant David Wilson R.F.C. died 30th July/8th August 1917 aged 23. . His grave is in St Pierre Cemetery, Amiens, Somme, France. o…………………….o Private James A. Small 20947 15th Bn., Hampshire Regiment aged 18, died on 4th August 1916. He is remembered on the Berks Cemetery Extension, Ploegsteert, Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium. From St Mary’s Church and Hayling Church of England School records, James was the fourth child and third son of John and Kate Palmer Crassweller Small and was baptised at St Mary’s in 1898. A son, James, son of John Small, enrolled as a pupil at Hayling Church of England. School in 1903. It can be assumed that they are the same child – there does not appear to be another James Small on the register. The family – there were eight children in all - lived in Salterns Lane, Hayling Island. John was a carter. o…………………….o The first aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps had arrived in Mesopotamia in 1916. Initially, their use was mainly reconnaissance and guidance of artillery fire, but gradually their usefulness became as apparent in the Middle East as it was on the Western Front. They were also useful in checking disturbances in areas ‘impenetrable’ by ordinary troops – and they became more popular, as a reconnaissance aeroplane was cheaper to operate than a mass of soldiers and quicker to get to any scene of disturbance. There were, however, casualties. One was Charles Kenneth Scarf. Private Charles Kenneth Scarf 240503 Royal Flying Corps and 1st/6th Bn., East Surrey Regiment was born in Surbiton, Surrey in 1897 to parents Charles and Hilda Scarf who later lived in Woodroyd, The Common, Malvern, Worcestershire. Charles was killed on 26th August 1916 aged 20 and he is remembered on Bagdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq. There appears to be no record of the family in either of the 1901 or 1911 censuses, however he was recorded on the memorial brass plaques in St Mary’s Lych Gate. o…………………….o Private William Edward Hickman Palmer 14403 14th Bn., Hampshire Regiment, son of James and Alice Martha Palmer, brother of Harold John and most probably, a former pupil of Hayling Church of England School as were all the other members of the extended Palmer family who lived in North Hayling, some of whom lived at Tye Farm. William was last sighted by Ben Saggers, brother to John Saggers ( see above) - ‘riding a horse – although , by now, it was an infantry regiment - and pulling a gun’. He died on 3rd September 1916 and is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France and St. Peter’s Churchyard Memorial, North Hayling. Lance Corporal George Russell 892 57th Bn., Australian Infantry, A.I.F. was a member of another old Hayling Island family, both Frank Russell, his father, and Ann Russell his mother, were born in South Hayling in 1861 and 1857 respectively. They lived at the Coast Guard Station and George and his siblings, Annie, Frank, John, Henry, Phoebe and Nellie all attended Hayling Church of England School. Ann’s maiden name was Small, her father being George Small and his wife was Phebe Biles, born in 1830 in Bosmere, South Hayling and his maternal grandmother, born in 1791 was also born in Bosmere, South Hayling.

No doubt George Russell emigrated to Australia, searching for employment and came back to help support Britain in the hostilities. George’s date of death was 3rd September 1916. He was 26. George died – either of wounds or illness - in the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station on 3rd September 1916 in the town of Estaires which lies west of Armentieres. He is buried at the Estaires Communal Cemetery, Nord, France. Also killed in action on 3rd September 1916 was George E. Small, an elder son of John and Kate Palmer Crassweller Small and who, like his brothers, attended Hayling Church of England School. On the census of 1911 he gives his occupation as that of a carter, like his father, John. Private George E. Small 15144 14th Bn., Hampshire Regiment, age 23, is remembered at Serre Road Cemetery, No 1 Pas de Calais, France. The Smalls were thus another Island family to suffer the tragedy of losing more than the one son in the hostilities. Son of Frank and Sarah Jane Glue, Albert George Glue, was the middle child of seven. His parents moved from Appledram, Sussex, where the children were born, to Hayling with Albert and his three younger sisters, Edith, Olive and Lillian leaving brothers, William, Frederick and Thomas behind. In the 1911 census, father Frank is working as a shepherd on a farm, Albert is working as a horseman on a farm and Edith is in domestic service, while Olive and Lillian were still at school. Edith and Olive had received school prizes. Then the benefit of education begins to show for this generation of Hayling Islanders. Lillian won a scholarship (1st class in English) to Portsmouth Secondary School; Hayling Church of England School proudly announcing in 1913 that it had been renewed for another year. Lillian then returned to Hayling School as a student teacher and then as supply teacher after her marriage. Olive corresponded with Albert during his war service. On his postcards – one of which shows destroyed buildings with the town’s name blacked out for security reasons (another is of Ypres). Albert thanks Olive for the stationery she sends him, writes that he is busy, but is ‘still smiling’. Acting Bombadier Albert George Glue 10885 ‘D’ Bty., Royal Field Artillery died on 19th September 1916 aged 24. He is remembered at yet another of the cemeteries which honour the dead of the Somme – Quarry Cemetery, Montaubon, Somme, France. o…………………….o Lance Serjeant Rowland James Brown 14049 14th Bn., Hampshire Regiment was born in 1888 on the Isle of Wight. He had three brothers, Alfred, Tom and Arthur and one sister, Elfreda. His parents, Alfred and Clarissa Hannah Brown lived at Guildford Farm, Haven Street, Isle of Wight. After the death of his father, Alfred, his mother, leaving son Alfred with the farm, moved to ‘The Haven’, North Hayling and it is there, on the memorial of St Peter’s, North Hayling that Rowland is remembered. The date of his death on 21st September, 1916, suggests that he perished in the Battle of Flers-Coucelette. Private George Robert Luff 36714 10th Bn., Gloucester Regiment was born and raised on Hayling Island. Born in 1876 to George and Isabella Luff of Ivydene, Hayling Island, he was somewhat older than the usual conscripts. His first job was that of a Boy Servant (domestic) but he then, like his brother Charles Edward, became a postman on Hayling, working for the Post Office. He never married. George, dying on 23rd September 1916, appears to have lost his life between two battles, that of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette which was 15th -22nd September 1916 and that of the Battle of Morval 25th – 28th September. He is remembered at Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Second Lieutenant Geoffrey Reynell Breslaw, 15th Bn., Hampshire Regiment died on 7th October 1916 , aged 20 and is commemorated at Warlencourt British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. So too, is Private William James Sutch 20949 15th Bn., Hampshire Regiment who was in the same battalion of the same regiment and who died on the same day. The above connection between them is the only reason that can be found as to why Geoffrey Reynell Breslaw’s name is on Hayling Island’s brass plaques of remembrance, now safely housed in the Priory Church of St Mary the Virgin, South Hayling, but originally mounted on one

side of the Lych Gate entrance to that church and which were Hayling Island’s remembrance tribute to the Fallen of the Great War. William James Sutch was a relatively recent incomer to Hayling Island. The first record of his family on the Island appears when he and his siblings were admitted to Hayling Church of England School in 1909. William was born in Ealing, Middlesex to James Sutch, of Brentford, Middlesex and his wife, Emma, formerly Todd. They had four children, of whom William was the second, and lived with Emma’s widowed uncle, William Herridge, a gardener, with whom Emma had lived before her marriage. William Herridge died in 1903 in Brentford and James Sutch died there three years later. This possibly explains why the family moved from Ealing in 1909, but not why they chose Hayling to move to. Emma and her family lived in Salterns Lane, South Hayling. On the census of 1911, Emma wrote under the space for ‘occupation’ – ‘go out charring at lady places’. There is no mention of Geoffrey Reynell Breslaw in Parish or Island school records. Nor does he appear in the 1901 census, though there is a reference to him on the Canadian Passenger Lists – he went, in SS Grampian, from Liverpool to Nova Scotia in 1912 and in the Border Crossing Lists between Canada and the United States of America, later in 1912. The 1911 census states that he was born in Richmond, Surrey. In 1911 he is a merchant clerk and is boarding in Kensington with his aunt, Maude Lewes, born in Wanstead, Essex, who is unmarried. In November 1915 he was in India, then in the ship SS Karmala from Suez to Plymouth. In his will, Geoffrey gives a Salisbury address and bequeaths part of his estate to a Gerald Walton Reynell, a miniaturist, and a smaller part to a Constance Barnham nee Lewes, wife of Edward Barnham. Constance was Geoffrey’s mother. Gerard Walton Reynell was probably a relative, so far, untraced. Constance Lewes was born in China, Hong Kong in 1875 and married, first, Edward George Breslauer, born in London in 1870 and, after his death, married Edward Barnham in 1910. Geoffrey was born in 1896. He had a younger brother, Gerald, b 1898. Edward George Breslauer’s parents were Louis Breslauer born in 1840 in Preussen, Russia and Fanny Lyons Breslauer, born 1838 in Germany. Louis became a very wealthy ship owner and was living, with Fanny, in Govan, a ship building area of Scotland, in 1901. What happened to Louis is unclear, but Fanny was living in a boarding house in Southsea in 1911 and died there in 1914, two years before her grandson was killed at the Somme. There is no record of any connection of Fanny to Hayling Island. Nor does research into Constance Lewes’ family show a connection with Hayling Island. Her parents were William Frederick Lewes and Lydia Reynell, Frederick being born in Middlesex and Lydia in Calcutta. There is no Hayling connection with either. However, Geoffrey Reynell Breslaw (he anglicised his name from Breslauer when most of his Russian relatives still retained – and still do - the Russian spelling) volunteered in August 1914. He was thus Private G.R. Breslaw. He joined the 6th (TF) Bn., No 280627. He then went to the 15th Service Bn., who were known as the 2nd Portsmouth Bn. (along with the first battalion known as the Pompey Pals), being formed in Portsmouth on 5th April 1915 by the Mayor and a Local Committee. They were in the 122nd Brigade in the 41st Division. They landed in France in early May 1915. Private G.R. Breslaw applied to become an officer in June 1915 and was gazetted on the 25th November 1915 and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant 18th November 1915. Lieutenant Breslaw was killed in action on 7th October 1916 in the same battle as Private William Sutch. He was also buried on the same battlefield – then moved in 1919 and re-buried in Warlencourt British Cemetery.

On 7th October 1916, the 15th Bn., Hampshires were in an attack on German trenches called the Gird Lines. The enemy held their ground and inflicted high casualties. The Hampshires lost 47 men and 3 officers. William J. Sutch and Geoffrey R. Breslaw, were two of those lost. That both William and Geoffrey were privates at the same time in the same battalion of the same regiment gave them the time and opportunity to meet. Both had lost their fathers when young, but William’s nuclear family had re-grouped, Geoffrey’s was still fragmented. Their possible friendship, however tenous, is the only link with Hayling that has been found. o…………………….o Private Percy Henry Carter 3412 28th Bn., Australian Infantry, A.I.F, aged 24, was the son of Charles and Eliza Jane Carter of 3, Elm Grove, South Hayling. Charles was in the lifeboat service. Eldest of several children, Percy was taken to Australia by a doctor whose brother was already running a sheep farm there, where Percy found work. Percy joined up in Australia and had the one visit to his parents before going to war. In November 1916, the 28th Bn., A.I.F. were in the vicinity of the Butte de Warlencourt which had a neolothic mound alongside the Albert- Bapaume Road. This is – or was – 18 metres high and was made out of chalk. It was the scene of very heavy fighting late in November 1916. The Battle of the Somme ended on the 17th November 1916. The Australians attacked and captured Pozieres in July to September 1916, then moved down the Albert-Bapaume Road towards Warlencourt. Pte P.H. Carter was killed in action some time between the 3rd - 6th November 1916, on or near the Butte. But the fighting was furious and his body was lost in the battle. He is buried in Warlencourt British Cemetery which was started in late 1919 when graves were brought in from the battlefields of Warlencourt. The Butte was not captured until the 26th February 1917 when the Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line. o…………………….o Different from all the above, was the Hayling link of Albert Dilloway. Born in 1882 in Drayton, Hampshire, Albert Dilloway was the son of George Dilloway, blacksmith and his wife, Ellen. The family had moved to Hayling Island by the time his younger brother, Victor, was born in 1888. Victor continued the family business on Hayling. By the census of 1901, Albert was a servant in the household of Emily Bashford, a widow who had a Cab and Stables and ran a Hackney business in St James’ Street, Croydon. Her son, Richard, was the Hackney Carriage driver. In 1904, Albert married Emily Bashford’s daughter, Lucy, who was a dressmaker in Croydon. None of Albert’s family was a witness of the marriage. In 1910 Richard Bashford died, aged 40. In the census of 1911, Emily Bashford , with Albert and Lucy (no children) were living in the St James’ Street address and Albert is described as a Hackney Carriage Driver. Universal conscription was introduced into Britain on May 25th 1916. Albert Dilloway Number 39350 Corps 29th Bn., Middlesex Regiment signed up on 7th June 1916. His certificate was signed by the Approving Officer on 30th August 1916. Albert took the oath at Croydon and there is a certificate of this. His regimental number was 38678. Albert died in the 4th Q of 1916 – the same year he signed on. His age at death was 36. His ‘inferred’ county was Surrey Volume 2a Page 408. There is no record of him in the death register for WWI of the Middlesex Regiment.

His widow, Lucy, lived to be 74 and died in 1955. His brother, Victor continued to live on Hayling Island and followed their father’s footsteps in becoming a blacksmith. The Battle of the Somme officially ended on November 18th: o…………………….o The end of 1916 saw a lessening of the fighting in Northern France, since Romania entered the Balkans war on the side of the Allies on August 27th, in the hope of gaining control over Transylvania which had a majority Romanian population. Despite early successes, the Romanians were defeated when the Bolsheviks took Russia out of the war with the Russian revolution of 1917 and the Romanians were compelled to sign an armistice. This was a heavy defeat for the Allies, but it has been argued that this conflict in the Balkans spared the troops in Northern France. In October 1916, the German Air Force was created. On December 7th David Lloyd George became British Prime Minister – the new War Cabinet organising Britain for ‘total war’. December 15th 1916 saw the final French offensive in the Battle of Verdun, which, officially ended on December 16th. o…………………….o Thomas Marrant Mason was born in 1887on Hayling Island – the son of Thomas and Marion (nee Philbrow) Mason who were married on the 30th October 1881 in St Peter’s Church, Norbiton, Surrey. Tom’s father was a baker. Tom had three sisters, Ethel,, born in 1883 in Romsey, Lilian and Marion, born 1884, on Hayling Island. Their father, Thomas died about 1890 and the family were split up, Tom and Lilian living with their grandparents, George and Selina Pilbrow, in Fareham where they were farmers. The children’s mother, Marion, lived at 8, Wickam Road, Fareham with the remaining two sisters, Ethel and Marion and , eventually, all three women were dressmakers. In1901, Tom and Lilian were living at 17, Mayhill Road, Copnor, Portsmouth. Ten years later, in 1911, Tom was in the army, but he entered his occupation in the census as ‘grocery assistant’. His mother and other sisters were still living at that time at 8, Wickham Road, Fareham. Cpl Thomas Marrant Mason 16572 was in the 86th Bty., Royal Garrison artillery (R.G.A.) which was made up of two 12 inch Howitzers. He went with them to India in 1915 and then on to Mesopotamia in March of that year and was captured at Kut in April 1916. Cpl T.M. Mason died of illness on some date between the 29th April 1916 and the 31st December 1916 while he was a Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) at Nisibin, on the border between Syria and Turkey. His grave was lost in a cemetery which could not be maintained. He now has a memorial grave stone at Baghdad North Gate War Cemetery. Then commenced, in Europe, the hardest winter that northern France had experienced in 30 years.