Great Glemham, Suffolk war memorial

TO THE

GLORY OF GOD

AND IN

HONOURED

MEMORY OF

 

Private Ernest Bridges, Suffolk Regiment.

Born in 1884 at Leiston, Suffolk.

 

3289 Private Wilfred Clarke, 1st/4th. Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.

The son of Wesley and Elizabeth Clarke of Great Glemham.

Wilfred died, aged 20, on 1st. November 1916. He was buried in an unmarked grave at map reference 57c.T.5.a.1.0. The remains were later identified by an identity disc and Wilfred was reburied in Grave: XXXVI. L. 7 at Serre Road Cemetery No. 2, Somme, Picardie, France with the personal inscription,

'HE DIED THAT

WE MIGHT LIVE'

 

Captain Arthur Brooks Close-Brooks MC, 3rd. Battalion, Manchester Regiment, attached to 1st. Battalion, Manchester Regiment.

Born on 22nd. October 1884 in Eccles, Lancashire, one of the five children of John Brooks Close-Brooks, a banker, and Emily Close-Brooks of Birtles Hall, Chelford, Cheshire.

Husband of Frances Mary, nee Brown, of The Grove in Great Glemham. Father of Emily Lois and Geoffrey.

Educated at the Reverend C.L. Cameron's school at Mortimer, Winchester College, and Trinity College, Cambridge. After gained his degree he went into business in Bolton where he was a master cotton spinner.

On the outbreak of war Arthur enlisted in the Public Schools Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, and subsequently obtained a commission as a Second Lieutenant, on probation, in the 2nd. Battalion Manchester Regiment. Gaining promotion to Lieutenant he was promoted to Captains on 1st. June 1915.

On 10th. June 1915 while serving at Ypres with the 2nd. Manchester's, Arthur was detailed to obtain information concerning a new piece of trench work in the German lines. With 5268 Sergeant Charles Ernest Kirby from 'A' Company and a private, Arthur crawled across no lands land towards the enemy's front line. Just before daybreak the party came under heavy fire that wounded the private. All three men separated and made their way to the battalion's front line trenches, however, it was discovered that Charles Kirby had not returned. Immediately, Arthur returned to no man's land and crawling across the ground in broad daylight found that the sergeant had been killed within 35 yards of the German lines. He managed to crawl back to his own trenches and when darkness fell he returned to no man's land and brought Charles Kirby's body back to the British lines. Charles was killed inn action, aged 28. He is buried in Grave: I. B. 10 at Chester Farm Cemetery, Zillebeke, West Flanders, Belgium.

Arthur was awarded the M C for attempting to rescue his sergeant, and was also Mentioned in Despatches. His Military Cross citation reads,

'For conspicuous gallantry at Ypres on the 10th. June 1915, in attempting to rescue an N.C.O. belonging to his regiment. The N.C.O. was lying 35 yards in front of the enemy's trench when Lieutenant Close-Brooks crawled out to him in broad daylight. When finding that he was already dead he attached a cord to his body, which was recovered.'

London Gazette 1917.

In 1916 Arthur was posted with the 1st. Manchester's to Mesopotamia aboard HMT Miltiades.

Arthur died, aged 32, at No. 8 British Field Ambulance from wounds sustained in an attack near the Shatt-el-Hai Canal on Wednesday 10th. January 1917. He was buried in Grave: XXVIII. A. 2 in Amara War Cemetery, Al `Amarah, Amara District, Maysan, Iraq.

However in 1933 every headstone was removed from the cemetery due to salts in the soil that were causing them to deteriorate. In their place a screen wall comprising nine panels was built along the western perimeter. with the names of the buried engraved upon them.

 

18110 Lance Corporal Frederick Levett Clow, 2nd. Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

Born in and resident of Great Glemham.

Frederick was killed in action on Tuesday 9th.October 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Panel 23 to 28 of the Tyne Cot Memorial, Passchendaele, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.

 

555819 Rifleman George Johnson, 16th. Battalion, London Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles).

Born at Great Glemham, the son of Henry and Eliza Johnson of Low Road, Great Glemham.

Brother of Henry, below.

George died, aged 18, on Armistice Day, Sunday 11th. November 1918. He is buried at near the SE corner of All Saints church, Great Glemham.

George's death was recorded at Fulham.

 

50003 Private Henry Lewis Johnson, 59th. Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), formally 8974, Suffolk Regiment.

The son of Henry and Eliza Johnson of Low Road, Great Glemham.

Brother of George, above.

Henry was killed in action, aged 23, on Thursday 21st. March 1918. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Bay 10 of the Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.

 

200897 Private Stanley Walter Augustus Mattin, 4th. Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.

The son of Mrs. C. Mattin of Rose Cottage, Great Glemham.

Stanley was killed in action, aged 27, on Monday 23rd. April 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Bay 4 of the Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France

 

200832 Private Frederick 'Fred' Mattin, 1st/4th. Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, formally 3113 Private, Suffolk Regiment.

Fred died on Sunday 28th. July 1918. He is buried in Grave: III. A. 19 at Pernois British Cemetery, Holloy-les- Pernois, Somme, Picardie, France

 

200962 Private John Mattin, 'B' Company, 1st/4th. Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, formally 3384 Private, Suffolk Regiment.

Born in 1897, the son of Arthur and Rose Mattin of Brookheath, Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

John was killed in action, aged 19, at Bazentin-le-Petit during the attack on Switch Trench on Saturday 15th. July 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Pier and Face 1 C and 2 A of the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, Picardie, France.

 

14832 Private Percy James Mayhew, 8th. Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment), formally 775224 Private, Royal West Kent Regiment.

Born in 1898 at Great Glenham, Suffolk, the eldest son of James and Norah Mayhew of Great Glemham House, Great Glemham.

Enlisted at Framlingham, Suffolk.

Percy died of wounds at a major casualty clearing station near Ypres, aged 19, on Thursday 17th. May 1917. He is buried in Grave: XII. B. 11A. at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Poperinge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium with the personal inscription,

'UNTIL THE DAY BREAK

AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY'

 

Alfred Palmer

No information on this man is available

 

15463 Private Frederick John Pendle, 1st. Battalion, Grenadier Guards.

Born at Rendham, Suffolk.

Frederick died as a prisoner of war on Tuesday 15th. December 1914. He is buried in Grave: XIII. D. 23 at Cologne Southern Cemetery, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

 

22853 Lance Corporal Ernest Alfred Pleasance, 51st. Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), formally 3204 Private Suffolk Regiment.

Born in 1895, the son of Alfred and Mary Ann Pleasance of New Cottage, Great Glenham.

Earnest died, aged 23, on Saturday 19th. October 1918. He is buried in Grave: B. 17 at Iwuy Communal Cemetery, Nord, France with the personal inscription,

'FAR FROM A WORLD

OF GRIEF AND SIN

WITH GOD ETERNALLY

SHUT IN'

 

10613 Private Burt William Smith, 10th. Battalion, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment).

The son of Harry and Anna Maria Smith of Manor Farm, Kirton, Suffolk.

Husband of Jessie May Smith.

Resident of Saxmundham, Suffolk.

Burt was killed in an enemy air raid, aged 29, on Saturday 18th. August 1917, He is buried in Grave: II. C. 9 at Bertenacre Miltary Cemetery, Fletre, Nord France with the personal inscription,

'DEARLY LOVED BY ALL'

 

A/205401 Rifleman Ernest James Stone, 8th. Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps.

Born in and resident of Great Glenham.

Ernest died on Thursday 21st. March 1918. He is buried in marked Grave: 353 at Origny St. Benoite German Military Cemetery at map reference 62b.W.24.c.6.4. Ernest's remained were later exhumed and he was reburied in Grave: I. G. 4 at St. Souplet British Cemetery, Nord, France.

 

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY

 

ALSO OF

 

1939-1945

 

S/106859, Private Arthur William Abbott, Royal Army Service Corps

The son of Edward and of Edith M. Abbott of Great Glemham.

The troopship Lancastria was originally sent to Quiberon Bay as part of 'Operation Aerial', the evacuation of some 124,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force which had been cut off to the south of the German advance through France. Accompanying Lancastria was the 20,341-ton liner, Franconia. Finding that she was not required for the evacuation from Lorient, the captain of Lancastria, Rudolph Sharp, was sent on towards the port of St. Nazaire, where many more troops were waiting to be lifted. On the way, an air raid damaged Franconia, which returned to England for repairs, leaving Lancastria to continue alone. She arrived in the mouth of the Loire estuary late on 16th. June. Because the port has to be accessed along a tidal channel, Lancastria anchored in the Charpentier Roads, some 5 miles (8 km) SW of St. Nazaire, at 04:00 on 17th. June, along with some 30 other merchant vessels of all sizes.

Troops were ferried out to Lancastria and by the mid-afternoon of 17th. June she had embarked an unknown number of people, with estimates ranging from 4,000 up to 9,000.

The nearby Orient Liner Oronsay was hit on the bridge by a German bomb at 13:10. Lancastria was free to depart and the captain of the destroyer HMS Havelock advised her to do so, but, without a destroyer escort as defence against a possible submarine attack, Captain Sharp decided to wait for Oronsay before leaving.

At 15:50 Junkers Ju 88 bomber from Kampfgeschwader 30 attacked and hit Lancastria with 3 or possibly 4 bombs. A number of survivors reported that one bomb had gone down the ship's single funnel. The ship sank at 16:12, within 20 minutes of being hit. There were 2,477 survivors. Estimates of the death toll vary from less than 4,000 to as many as 7,000.

Arthur died, aged 24, on Monday 17th. June 1940. He is buried in Collective Grave: 2 and remembered on Screen Wall Panel 1 at Les Moutiers-en-Retz Communal Cemetery, Loire-Atlantique, France.

 

5825903 Lance Corporal Jack Wilfred Crisp, 1st. Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.

The son of Sarah Crisp and stepson of J. W. G. Cattermole of Stratford St. Andrew, Suffolk.

Jack was killed in action, aged 30, on Wednesday 28th. June 1944. He was buried at map reference 7F/1 Cane MR 03257345 La Bijude, France and was reburied on 8th. June 1945 in Grave: 5. A.11 at Hermanville War Cemetery, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France with the personal inscription,

'IN LOVING MEMORY OF

OUR DEAR SON.

NOT LOST BUT GONE BEFORE'

 

5826435 Serjeant Alfred William Fairhead, 4th. Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.

Born in 1916, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fairhead.

Husband of Kathleen Elizabeth Fairhead of Stowmarket, Suffolk.

The 9,419 gross ton 'hell ship' Rakuyō Maru left Singapore on 4th. September 1944 with Convoy HI-72 transporting 1,317 British and Australian prisoners of war to Formosa.

On the morning of 12th. September the convoy was attacked in the Luzon Strait by a wolfpack consisting of the submarines USS Growler SS-215, USS Pampanito SS-383 and USS Sealion SS-315. Rakuyō Maru was torpedoed by Sealion at 5 a.m. off East Hainan Island and sunk in Lat 18.0 N, Lon 114.0 E. The Japanese survivors of Rakuyō Maru were rescued by an escort vessel, leaving the POWs in the water with rafts and some abandoned boats. A total of 1,159 POWs died,

Alfred died at sea, aged 28, on Tuesday 12th. September 1944. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Column 53 of the Singapore Memorial, Kranji, North West, Singapore.

 

85149 Squadron Leader John Conway Foster, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

Born in 1897 in Italy, the son of Dr. Michael George Foster M.D., F.R.C.P. and Charlotte Shipley Foster.

John married Franklin Engs on 30th. April 1931, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The couple immigrated to New York City in 1932. On returning to England they lived at Great Glemham.

John died, aged 49, on Tuesday 10th. July 1945. He is commemorated on Panel 2 at Golders Green Crematorium

Golders Green, Barnet, London

 

1795572 Rifleman Angus William Jarvis, 6th. Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).

The son of Ambrose and Anne Jarvis.

Husband of Phyllis Jarvis of Great Glemham.

Angus died, aged 23, on Thursday 18th. January 1945. He is buried in Grave: G. 9 at Sittard War Cemetery, Limburg, Holland with the personal inscription,

'DEEP IN OUR HEARTS

A MEMORY IS KEPT

OF ONE WE LOVED

AND WILL NEVER FORGET'

 

5827642 Serjeant William Charles Barnabus Scace, 1/5th. Battalion, The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey).

William died on Sunday 25th. October 1942. He was buried at N2.GRU.1027 and was reburied on 28th. June 1943 in Grave: XXV. G. 2 at El Alamein War Cemetery

 

THE MEN WERE VERY GOOD UNTO US

AND WE WERE NOT HURT

THEY WERE A WALL UNTO US

BOTH BY DAY AND NIGHT

1 SAM. 25. V. 15-16

 

 

The memorial stands beside All Saints parish church in Great Glemham and takes the form of a Celtic Cross made of Portland stone on a single stepped base. The memorial was unveiled on 13th. June 1920 and a reported appeared in the East Anglian Daily Times dated 16th. June 1920.

 

The war memorial received Grade: II listed building status on 23rd. April 2018.

 

Done