Bosbury Village, Herefordshire
The Men Who Died


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Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium
Tyne Cot cemetery and memorial, Flanders

WW2 Servicemen
Acknowledgements

WW1
Name Serving with Service number Date of death Age Place of death Cemetery/Memorial Grave/
Mem. ref.
Pte Ernest BALLARD 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment 4114 25/04/1915 32 Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel 8 Stone H
Son of Jesse and Mary Ballard, he was the first Bosbury casualty. He died in the only major battle on the western front in 1915, the Second Ypres which began on 22nd April.
Pte Francis (Frank) Edward BOSLEY Herefordshire Regiment
Cheshire Regiment		 238979
260154		 09/11/1927 35 Bosbury Cemetery
He was born in November 1892, the son of Thomas Edward and Ellen Bosley of Bentleys Farm, Bosbury. He first served with the Herefordshire Regiment (SN 238979) before transferring to the Cheshire Regiment. He died of tubercolosis contracted in a prison camp.
Pte Alan BUCHANAN 10th Scottish Battalion,
The King’s (Liverpool Regiment)		 3186 16/06/1915 25 Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panels 4 and 6
Son of Robert and Jeanie Rae Buchanan of Bosbury House. His parents were from Scotland but his father had worked as a Flour Miller in Liverpool where Alan was born. Like Ernest Ballard he died in the Second Ypres battle (known as the Battle of Hooge), towards the end, at Railway Wood at Bellewaarde, east of Ypres.  
Pte Archibald Frank BURWOOD 2nd/6th Bn. South Staffordshire Regiment 37437 07/12/1917 28 France & Flanders Etaples M.C. south of Boulogne, France XXXI B 14
Born in June 1889, Archie was the son of Laura and William Burwood of Bosbury; when hs father died his mother remarried and moved away but Archie stayed on in Bosbury living with his uncle, Frederick Oram at Stores Cottage. He married Elizabeth Ann Price, of Russell Place, 83, New Street, Ledbury and lived at Ailscroft, working for Mr Collett at The Stores. He enlisted in Smethwick, Staffs. and died as the result of a gas attack at the end of the battle of Cambrai which had begun on the 20th November.
Pte Ernest CHADNEY 1st Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 7806 20/12/1915 29 France & Flanders Ferme-Olivier C., Elverdinghe. Plot 2. Row H. Grave 1.
Born in Yarkhill, near Bosbury but living in Bosbury, he enlisted in Hereford. His parents were James and Mary Ann Chadney. He was reported with a shrapnel wound in his right arm in the Hereford Journal of 28 Nov. 1914. He was again reported wounded in the Hereford Journal of 26 Dec. 1914 where his address is given as The Martins, Temple Court. But he had died a few days earlier. On his gravestone the personal inscription reads: IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DEAR HUSBAND. He is named on the outside memorial but not in the church.
Sgt James GREEN 1st/1st Bn. Herefordshire Regiment 236482 06/11/1917 21 Egypt Beersheba W.C. E 35
Born in December 1895, the son of James and Mary Ann Green of Catley Southfield, Bosbury. James was educated at Bosbury Free Grammar School. He was an amateur boxer. He is listed in De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour 1914-1919 where it says he was awarded a certificate by the Imperial School of Instruction for Musketry signed by General Allenby. He fought in Palestine. The third battle of Gaza opened on the 31st October 1917 and on 6th November the Herefords launched a dawn attack on the enemy position at Tell el Khuweilfeh (Khuweilfeh Heights) north of Beersheba. In this action Acting-Sergeant Green died. On the Imperial War Graves Commission Gravestone Records describing his headstone, ref. 396, is noted (Mr T.A.Green, Briar Croft, Boxbury [sic], Nr. Ledbury. Herefordshire).
Pte Wilfred (William?) Gideon HILL 5th Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 17717 24/08/1916 19 Somme Thiepval Memorial Pier and face 12A & 12D
William Gideon Hill is recorded in military records as being born at Old Hill, Stafford but enlisted in Hereford. His birthplace is confirmed in the 1911 census where it says he was the son of Abraham and Jane Hill and his father was a coal miner hewer. However his name on the census is Wilfred, the Bosbury Memorial has Wilfred Gideon in the church and just W. on the roadside plaque. William/Wilfred’s link with Bosbury is uncertain. Note that there is also another Wilfred Hill from Staffordshire who served with the Worcestershire Regiment and died in Belgium in 1918.
Pte Henry James JONES 5th Bn. K.S.L.I. 16732 25/09/1915 29 France & Flanders Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panels 47 & 49
Son of George and Eliza Jones of Lower Southfield, Bosbury.
Pte Thomas Henry LEWIS 11th Bn. Border Regiment 27777 06/04/1917 29 Somme Thiepval Memorial Pier and Face 6A & 7C
Born in 1888 in Ledbury, Thomas was the son of Arthur Lewis, he married Amelia Elizabeth Davies in August 1916 when he was in the 1st/3rd Bn. Herefordshire Regiment stationed at Park Hall Camp, Oswestry.
Pte William Herbert MORRIS MM 6th Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment 202150 01/11/1918 21 St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen S II BB 15
Born in Birmingham, he was the only son of Mrs. Clara Shinn of Mill Croft, Bosbury, by a previous marriage. She was living at Foxhill in 1911 with her husband of 3 years, William, and stepson, Ernest Edward Shinn. William was awarded the Military Medal with the date of Gazette given as 24 January 1919, in other words after his death.
Pte Michael OCKEY 7th Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 19801 26/09/1917 22 France & Flanders Tyne Cot Memorial Panel 112 to 113
Born in Castle Frome, he was the son of Charles and Mary Elizabeth Ockey of Rose Mount, Bosbury, formerly Broadfield Court, Bishops Frome. He enlisted in Leominster and was killed in action. His name is remembered on a tombstone in Castle Frome churchyard by the east wall of the church.
Pte Arthur John PALMER 2nd Bn.Scots Guards 6168 16/05/1915 29 Le Touret Memorial Panel 3 and 4
Born in April 1886, the son of William and Mary Palmer of Bowler Lane, Bosbury. In 1913 he married Beatrice Jane Brush, a house maid working for the Croft family at Lugg Court, Lugwardine, Herefordshire. He is also recorded on the Lugwardine war memorial but as George Palmer (he preferred the name). He enlisted in the army at Merthyr Tydfil, it appears, before the 1911 census, and went to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He died at the battle of Festubert which lasted from 15th to 27th May. The town is south of Neuve Chapelle and south-west of Armentières.
Cpt John Harford PITT South African Army Service Corps --- 16/04/1917 45 Mombasa British Memorial
The eldest son of John Harford and Elizabeth Maria Pitt, he was born at Freetown Farm, Stoke Edith in 1872 and lived there until the family moved to Temple Court, Bosbury. The church memorial records that he joined the Shropshire Yeomanry in 1892.   He married Florence Gertrude Morris in Hereford in 1898 but it appears she died shortly after. She was only 29. He sailed out to join the South African Expeditionary Force in 1915. He died of cerebral malaria on the hospital ship, “Guildford Castle”.   In 1941, the Nairobi branch of the National Bank of India Limited advertised that there was the sum of 615-32 shillings unclaimed in the deceased’s account. In an earlier 1928 Gazette his address was given as Race Course Camp.
Pte George Thomas POWELL 1st/5th Bn. Cheshire Regiment 15551 08/09/1916 22 Somme Delville Wood Cemetery, Longueval XXIV I 2
George was born at Berrow, in Worcestershire, the son of John and Martha Fanny Powell. The family was living in The Cottage, Bosbury in 1911. He had two brothers, Albert and Allan, and three sisters, Florence, Eva (Jenkins) and Elsie (Hill). He worked as a farm labourer for Mr. E.T.Lane at Old Court Farm. He was killed in action in Leuze Wood between the villages of Longueval and Ginchy.
Pte Arthur PREECE 15th Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment 17748 07/09/1916 39 St. Pierre Cemetery, Amiens III B 1
Son of Richard and Fanny Preece living in Pow Green, Bosbury in 1911. He was born at Pear Tree, Derby and enlisted in Birmingham. He died of wounds i n France.
Pte George ROUSE 1st Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 10812 20/06/1915 25 Hop Store Cemetery, Ieper, Belgium PlotI RowC Grave17
Born in July 1890, the son of George and Emma Rouse of Old Court Cottage, Bosbury and elder brother of Thomas. He died of wounds and his death was reported in the Hereford Journal of 24th July 1915.
Pte Thomas Edward ROUSE 1st Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 10813 15/03/1918 26 Grevillers British Cemetery, France XI B 13
Born in November 1892, the son of George and Emma Rouse of Old Court Cottage, Bosbury. He died of wounds in France.
Pte Matthew THOMPSON 1st Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 17743 27/12/1915 18 La Brique Military Cemetery No.2, Ieper, Belgium I T 31
Son of Matthew and Jane Thompson of The Bradleys, Old Country, Bosbury. He enlisted in Ledbury and was killed in action. His death was reported in the Hereford Mercury of 12/01/1916.
Pte William THOMPSON Not known 05/05/1916 No memorial record in CWGC.
The only likely Thompson recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is Sgt. W. Thompson of the King’s Liverpool Regiment, 2602, who died on 23rd August 1916 and is buried at St. Souplet British Cemetery.
Driver Ernest Henry YOUNG Ammunition Col. attd. 95th Siege Bty, Royal Army Service Corps M/338469 15/03/1919 30 St.Pierre Cemetery, Amiens XIV E 4
Born in 1888 at Bishops Frome, the son of Eliza Young of Briar Croft, Bosbury

WW2
Name Serving with Service number Date of death Age Place of death Cemetery/Memorial Grave/
Mem. ref.
Pte Alfred George BALDWIN 9th Bn. Durham Light Infantry ‍4037222 22/03/1943 27 Tunisia Enfidaville W. C., south of Tunis I C 28
Born in July 1915, the son of Alfred James Baldwin and Florence Helen Baldwin of Bosbury. He fought in North Africa alongside the Eighth Army.
Gnr Victor Walter PANTING 115 Field Regt. Royal Artillery ‍4925408 30/11/1944 24 India Imphal W.C., Manipur, India 6 D 21
Victor was the son of Walter Vincent and Alice Elizabeth Panting of The Croft, Swinmore Common, Munsley. He was born on 23 June 1920 and grew up in Bosbury and Ashperton. He served on convoys around the world but had been drafted to India a few weeks before his death from clinical typhus.
Tr Henry (Harry) WAITE Reconnaissance Corps, R.A.C ‍6397821 21/01/1944 32 Allied invasion of Italy Minturno W.C., north of Naples, Italy I G 12
Son of Charles and Beatrice Jane Waite and nephew of Fred and Rachel A. Bosley of Bosbury. He died taking part in an attack on the Gustav Line where the Germans had dug in for the winter of 1943-44.
L/Bmdr Jack WALKER 241 Bty., 77 H.A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery ‍984512    29/11/1943     28 On board ship Singapore Memorial, Kranji W.C.
Born in Yorkshire, Jack was the only child of Mrs Blackmore of Stanley Hill, Bosbury and worked as a grocer at Goddard’s Stores in the village. His wife came from Upper Dormington near Hereford. Fighting in the Dutch East Indies, he was wounded and reported missing but after eighteen months the Red Cross had information that he was a Japanese prisoner-of-war. Six months later a local newspaper reported that his wife had received a postcard on New Year’s Day 1943 confirming this but he said he was “fairly fit”. Jack’s death was reported in November 1943. He was being transferred from his prison camp on Java and the transport ship was sunk by enemy action.

Unrecorded on Bosbury Memorial Board or Plaque
Name Serving with Service number Date of death Age Place of death Cemetery/Memorial Grave/
Mem. ref.
Private George BAGGOTT 14th Bn. The Devonshire Regiment
155th Coy. Labour Corps.		 38254 & 92541    02/10/1917     37 France Coxyde M.C., Koksijde, Belgium near the coast IV D 22
Son of David & Charlotte Baggott of Nashend, George Baggott was baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Bosbury on 25th January 1880. He married Mary Richardson on 8 June 1913 at Emmanuel Church in Malvern and they lived at Upper Welland. George was conscripted in June 1916 and landed at Le Havre on 3 October 1916. He died of wounds. He is remembered on the Malvern Library Memorial. Ref. TNA WO 363B16.
Rifleman Charles BAGGOTT 8th Btn.Rifle Brigade B/1577 9/12/1915 22
According to CWGC he was born in Bosbury, the son of Frederick and Harriett Baggott, but there is no record in Parish Registers or Census.
2nd-Lt Charles Gough HAMILTON Norfolk Regiment --- 11/10/1919 22 Bosbury Churchyard A23
Born in July 1897 in the Farnham district of Surrey, Charles was the son of Brig-Gen William George and Mary Gertrude Hamilton of Hollymount, Stanley Hill, Bosbury
Private Albert Victor HARBOURNE 1st/8th Btn. Worcestershire Regiment 2814 27/03/1916 18 Sucrerie M.C., Colincamps, France 1.F.52
According to CWGC he was born in Bosbury, the son of Henry and Louisa Harbourne, but there is no mention in Parish Records or Census. He was killed in action on the Somme.
Gunner Thomas John HODGES Royal Field Artillery 9th Reserve Battery 229058 21/05/1917 39 Coddington All Saints Churchyard
Born in Bosbury the son of Charles and Julia Hodges, he was baptised on 9 June 1878. He married Mary Naomi and enlisted in Ledbury. He is buried at Coddington All Saints Church with a CWGC Memorial.
Private William James McNALLY 5th Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 17877    04/05/1916     32 Cabaret-Rouge British C., Souchez, France XVII L 15
(Served as BLAIR). Son of Mrs. Jane Thompson (formerly McNally), of The Bradleys, Old Country, Bosbury, and the late Mr. W. McNally. He was first buried at Blangy Military Cemetery but in 1924 his body was moved under the Concentration of Burials operation to the well-maintained war grave cemetery just north of Arras.
Naval Airman Benjamin Glynn MORGAN Royal Navy FAA/FX 81178 30/01/1941 19 Moreton-in-Marsh Bosbury Churchyard A14
Benjamin was the son of Herbert John and Gwenllian Eleanor Morgan, later of of Ilkeston, Derbyshire. He attended Ledbury Grammar School. He was serving at the Royal Navy Air Station, HMS Daedalus, Portsmouth but was in London on leave when he was injured during an air raid. He died at a military hospital at Moreton-in-Marsh and had asked to be buried in Bosbury near his girlfriend, Marjorie Turner, of Beech House.
Lance Corporal Jack William PRINCE 4th Bn. Grenadier Guards 23825 13/04/1918 21 Aval Wood M.C. Vieux-Berquin I C 27
Son of Jack and Sarah Prince, of Polesworth, Warwickshire; husband of Clara Prince, of Temple Court Lodge, Bosbury. At the bottom of the gravestone it says: ONE MUST GO FIRST BUT LET US ALL PREPARE TO MEET OUR GOD LOVING WIFE CLARA
Private Christopher James SHELLAM 1st Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 6533 & 10196 18/09/1916 19 France, the Somme Guards’ C., Lesboeufs VIII Q 4
Son of Walter and Selina Shellam, of Paddles Lane, Bosbury. He is recorded on the brass plate in Castle Frome church. He was reported wounded by shrapnel on 24 October 1915 in the Hereford Mercury of 9 December. [A Chas. Shellam is reported wounded on page 2 of the Hereford Journal of 26 Dec. 1914; the son of Walter Shellam of Castle Farm, Ledbury].
Private Arthur Henry SHELLAM B Coy. 2nd Bn. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry 6534 28/04/1915 22 France, the Somme Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel 47 & 49
Eldest son of Walter and Selina Shellam, of Paddles Lane, Bosbury. He is recorded on the brass plate in Castle Frome church.
CQS Frederick Herbert TUDGE 16th Bn. Notts & Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment 26289 29/07/1917 29 Flanders Vlamertinghe New Military C. VII. A. 10
Frederick was born in Bosbury and baptised at Holy Trinity church on 12 February 1888. His parents were, James & Annie Frances Tudge who married in Bosbury. He married Clara Baggley in October 1913 and they had two children, Frederick Basil, born 04/03/1914 and Dorothy, born 28/12/1915 and they Lived at 12 Sherwood Rise, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts. He enlisted on 25/5/1915. He was a Company Quartermaster Serjeant in the Sherwood Foresters (Chatsworth Rifles) and died in action in Flanders.[Obituary in ‘Bosbury in WW1 Newspaper Reports’]
Private Arthur Harold WARD 16th Lancers / 11th Bn. The King’s (Liverpool) Regiment 27611 &87364 21/03/1918 29 Pozieres Memorial Panel 21 to 23.
Born in Bosbury to James and Harriett Ward, baptised on 24 Dec. 1889. The family lived at Pow Green, Bosbury. He married Catherine Edith Gambling His mother remarried before 1901 and became Mrs. Nutt, of Hill View, Mathon; his wife later remarried and became Catherine Edith Wall of Burford Farm, Mathon. He was killed in action.
Private Ernest WARD 4st Bn. Worcestershire Regiment 20141 06/08/1915 28 Gallipoli Cape Helles Memorial Panel 112
Ernest Ward was born in Bosbury but living with his parents, Thomas and Susan Ward, at Coles Green, Leigh, Malvern, Worcestershire. He enlisted in Worcester and died in action in Gallipoli.


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Acknowledgments:

Commonwealth War Graves Commission at http://www.cwgc.org/
South Africa War Graves Project
William Collins Herefordshire and the Great War Published by Jakeman & Carver 1919
www.malvernremembers.co.uk/HPBaggott_G.html accessed 22/12/14
Robert Hood-Wright - Parish Register Transcripts
David Farren ref. Gunner Victor Panting
Particular thanks to Jenny Harrison for her invaluable assistance
Special thanks in 2017 to Lynne Ardrey of Bosbury for sharing her research with me including a number of photographs of men and the graves abroad that she has visited. Also personal information that she has received from several families.

There is still a lot of information missing and if you can help with this please e-mail me at: