War Memorials and Rolls of Honour of the Great War In The Cheltenham Area

   LEAVING CHELTENHAM …………..and all that was dear

The west face of the

Cheltenham Borough War Memorial

The Calvary at

All Saints Church, Cheltenham

The lost Roll of Honour of the

Holy Trinity School, Cheltenham

Cheltenham Borough Coat of Arms

War Memorials, Rolls of Honour and War Registers

of the Great War

in Cheltenham and the Surrounding Areas

Remembering those of Cheltenham who made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War.     Every day, every month, not just in November.

Let Light Perpetual Shine Upon Them.

Click here to view the Cheltenham Remembers – The Official Cheltenham Great War Commemorative Website

“Remember the men of Cheltenham who gave their lives for you in the Great War 1914 – 1919.   If they were strangers to one another here in their common home, they served and wrought and died in many lands near and far as a Band of Brothers.   Learn from them so to live and die that, when you have followed them and are no more seen, you may, like them, be remembered and regretted.”   Inscription on the Cheltenham War Memorial.

   Site Admin and General Information

Acknowledgements
Areas Covered
Battle of Loos
The Book
Buried and Lost At Sea
Cemeteries
Cheltonians Commemorated In Error
Cheltonians Who Served and Died
Commemorations
Facts and Figures
Family Tragedies
Honours and Awards
Images
Investigations
Latest and Recent News
Links
Memorials
Memorial Plaque and Scroll
Observations
Roll of Honour
Site Map
Summary of Cemeteries
Summary of Commemorations
Summary of War Memorials
Timeline
Too Late The Hero
Uncommemorated Cheltonians
Underage Cheltonians
Unidentified Cheltonians
VAD Hospitals
Victoria Cross
Amendments to Debt of Honour Register
CWGC
Great War Forum
War Memorials Trust
IWM National Register of War Memorials
Soldiers Died In The Great War

A Tribute to

Gunner Arthur Allsopp

A Tribute to

Pte Charles Herbert William Pearce

Officers of the Gloucestershire Regiment

Welcome

Thank you for visiting this site.   The information presented here has in the main been obtained from the public domain and is therefore freely available to all who wish to copy material from it (less some images – see below).   Every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented on this site, which should be considered as a living document since information is constantly being expanded and updated.

Purpose of the Site

The purpose and aim of this website is twofold.  It is to list all War Memorials and Rolls of Honour in the Cheltenham and surrounding area and to commemorate those of the area who gave their lives in the Great War.   To quote from the book Leaving All That Was Dear – “The memorials were erected by a grateful community to perpetuate the memory of “the fallen” and the sacrifice made not only by them, but also by the families they left behind.   In the past, the memory of those men lived on in the hearts and minds of their relatives and friends.   We believe that the time has now come for this to be recorded, for the sake of posterity

Cheltonians served and died for their country on land, in and on the sea and in the air.   To complement the Roll of Honour a separate part of this website is devoted to the ships, regiments, corps and air squadrons in which Cheltonians were serving when they were killed in action , or died of wounds, of illness or accidentally killed, and this can be viewed here.

Site Author

The author is solely responsible for the content of this site and can be contacted at webmaster@remembering.org.uk

Site Construction and Administration

The site has been created using Microsoft FrontPage and Expression Web 4, initially launched on 1st June 2001 and is regularly updated and modified.

Development

An enormous amount of information is available in the book “Leaving All That Was Dear“,  through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), and the publication on CD-ROM “Officers and Soldiers Died in the Great War” (ODGW/SDGW) which together form the basis of this site.   Attempts have been made to photograph each of the Official War Memorials, Rolls of Honour and monuments in the area and list and investigate those names inscribed upon them.   There are some apparent anomalies in the Book, at the CWGC, on local memorials and in the ODGW/SDGW CD-ROM –  these are listed here as observations.   The long term aim is to correct these where it can be done, as the Memorial Scroll urges future generations – “Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten” and this is the best way to remember them.   The suggested amendments prepared for the CWGC/MoD can be seen here.

Accuracy

It is assumed that if a deceased person’s name appears on a memorial then those responsible for the erection of that memorial had accepted that the person in question had an association with the town, village, parish or church. The book reveals several instances of soldiers commemorated on memorials who apparently have no association or connections with Cheltenham.  The authors of the Book, despite their efforts, did not trace these people and they “still remain either partially or wholly unidentified, a tantalising and frustrating puzzle”.  These unidentified people are listed here and another long term aim is to try and discover who they were and their connection with Cheltenham.   The advent of the 1901 and 1911 Census may be a valuable tool in these investigations as well as the FreeBMD Project (free internet access to the Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales from 1837).   Similarly, Ancestry has published on the internet the official indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths for England and Wales from 1837 including the Overseas Deaths Index which includes officers and servicemen who died in the Great War between 1914 and 1921.  The ODGW/SDGW CD-ROM has provided names of locally born people who do not appear on local memorials.   These names can be viewed here though it is doubtful that the reasons for their non-inclusion will ever be discovered.

Every reasonable care to ensure that the information published is as accurate as possible has been taken.   However, should errors or omissions be discovered by visitors to the site, then please notify the Webmaster so that corrective action can be taken.   Contact details are noted above.

Further Investigations

During the research it has been discovered that some local soldiers appear not to have been included in the Debt of Honour Register at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and investigations have included researching these servicemen and, when sufficient documentary evidence has been gathered, to present this evidence to the Commission for their consideration.   A list of these servicemen, with others whom are currently being researched, for whatever reason, can be seen here.   Also, some records held in the Debt of Honour Register contain incorrect or inaccurate information the CWGC have been informed about these records.   A full list of those amendments that have suggested can be viewed here.

UK National Register of War Memorials

The National Register of War Memorials is an Imperial War Museums sponsored research project and was launched on 8th November 2001.   The aim of the inventory is to record all physical objects in the UK created or installed to commemorate those who died as a result of conflict.  A memorial, which does not include an individual grave, is defined as an object to reunite those who were separated by a conflict, who left their homes, colleagues and friends to serve in a war.   The database at the Imperial War Museum was checked in 2003 and several apparent omissions and inaccuracies in the entries for the Cheltenham and surrounding area Memorials were discovered and notified to the IWM.  Those memorials currently included on the database have been allocated a reference number, for example, the Cheltenham War Memorial is 20599 and the commemoration to Major Douglas REYNOLDS, VC, on his father’s gravestone in St Peters Churchyard Leckhampton is 32312.   A summary of memorials and rolls of honour in Cheltenham and surrounding areas incorporating the current IWM reference number can be viewed here.

War Memorials Trust

The War Memorials Trust (formerly the Friends of War Memorials), whose aims are to monitor the condition of War Memorials so that restorative/maintenance action can be taken; to liaise with the responsible bodies to undertake repairs and restoration; to publicise and educate the public about the historical significance of war memorials as part of our national heritage and to inspire young people to cherish their local memorials and the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the cause of freedom.

The War Memorials Trust can be contacted through their website.

Intended Viewers

The site is intended for researchers, students, military and family historians and anyone who is keen to discover this small but all too significant part of Cheltenham’s past.

Searching For Casualties, Regiments and Locations

Those searching for deceased ancestors or relatives whose surname is known, please go to the Roll of Honour page and begin your search from there.   Searches can also be made through the Memorials, Cemeteries and Commemorations pages.   A specific Cheltonian, location or regiment can be found by using the site search facility below – enter Surname, or Location or Regiment only.

Acknowledgements

To Joe Devereux and Graham Sacker for their superb book “Leaving All That Was Dear“.  To the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for their never ending work to ensure that those who belong in the Debt of Honour Register do actually appear there.  To the people and organisations in the Acknowledgements page for their help, guidance and information.

To Neela Mann for her major and impressive work “Cheltenham In The Great War“, published in 2016.

Links

In the quest for information many Great War and associated websites have been visited.   A short list of these sites is contained on the links page, and some of these sites have made a reciprocal link to this site, including the Cheltenham Borough Council Commemorative website .   The site was also featured in the July 2003 edition of Family History Monthly.

Images of the Great War

When one thinks of the Great War many images are conjured up.   Soldiers on the march covered in mud, trenches, barbed wire, the dead and dying, desolate landscapes, artillery in action  and its effects, row after row of white headstones, memorials and rolls of honour.   Government also produced images – posters of brave young men marching off into the sunlight to fight the good fight.   Posters extolling men and women to do national service, in munitions factories and in mines, or to buy war savings certificates.   A selection of these official posters, with some battlefield images, can be viewed here.

   Cheltenham Goes to War

War against Germany was declared at 11pm on Tuesday 4th August 1914.   In the formal manner of the time, the declaration of war was published in the London Gazette.   Similar declarations were made against Austria-Hungary and Turkey before the end of 1914, and against Bulgaria in October 1915.Regular units of the Army and Navy were immediately mobilised, Reservists were recalled to the Colours and units of the Territorial Force and Yeomanry were sent to their home defence mobilisation locations.

A massive wave of patriotic fervour swept through every city, town and village in the land and measures to organise the recruitment of volunteers were put in place by military and civic authorities.   Cheltenham was no different and a recruiting centre was set up for “Kitchener’s New Army” at the Alstone Baths in Great Western Road.   Posters declaring that “Your Country Needs You” were pasted on every hoarding.

Full details of the frantic recruiting in Cheltenham at the time can be found in “Cheltenham in the Great War” by Neela Mann (ISBN 978 0 7509 6415 9) and it is estimated that about 7,000 Cheltonians volunteered or were conscripted during the Great War.

   Leaving Cheltenham

Leaving Cheltenham ……………..

Members of the 10th Battalion the Gloucestershire Regiment on the platform of Cheltenham (Lansdown) LMS Railway Station with their families on 3rd August 1915.   They are leaving Cheltenham ……. and all that was dear.   Their first time in action would be on 25th September 1915, the first day of the Battle of Loos, when most of the battalion would become casualties.

   Cheltenham At War

Both Leaving All That Was Dear by Sacker and Devereux, and Cheltenham In The Great War by Neela Mann describe in detail how the town and its families made a significant contribution to the war effort on the home front and in the many countries where British and Empire Forces were in combat.   The books record the fact that the men volunteered and were conscripted to serve the Country, women were required to work in local munitions factories and aircraft manufacturing in local factories.   VAD hospitals were set up and staffed in local schools and appropriate buildings and hospitality and care was given to over 7,000 soldiers who were billeted in the town at one time or another.   The books give an insight into the lives of the town’s social classes and how their war was fought on the Home Front.

Several units were billeted in Cheltenham during the Great War:

9th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment.   13th November 1914 to 26th April 1915

10th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment.   16th November 1914 to 6th May 1915 (see below)

4th (Reserve) Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment TF.   Winter 1916 – 1917.

5th (Reserve) Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment.   Winter 1916 – 1917

3/6th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment.   Winter 1916 – 1917

7th (Reserve) Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.   October 1916.

26th Div Train, Army Service Corps  –  late 1914 to early 1915

HQ 78th Infantry Brigade  –  late 1914 to early 1915

9th Aeronautical School RAF at Staverton airfield.

Training in Cheltenham

Members of the 10th Battalion the Gloucestershire

Regiment “The Fighting Tenth”, pose for a photograph during training near Battalion HQ located in the Lansdown Crescent area of Cheltenham in early 1915.

Mr John Dowling of Brisbane, Australia, very kindly

provided this photo and permitted its use on this website, which is acknowledged with grateful thanks.

Training at Leckhampton Hill, Cheltenham

Members of the 10th Battalion the Gloucestershire

Regiment pose for a photograph during training at Leckhampton Hill in early 1915.

Photo sourced by and purchased from “The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum”.

   Cheltenham Remembers

The war officially ended for the UK on 31st August 1921 but no sooner had the Armistice been signed on 11th August 1918 the town was making preparations to remember the sacrifice of the men and women who lost their lives as a result of the conflict.   Committees and organisations were formed to ensure that lost loved-ones were commemorated and remembered.

War Memorials or Rolls of Honour, mostly in parish churches, chapels and working men’s organisations, were in the main quickly organised and the costs readily subscribed.   Leaving All That Was Dear describes in detail these early commemorations and also the arrangements put in hand for the building of the Cheltenham War Memorial from its inception in December 1919 to unveiling on 1st October 1921.

A full list of War Memorials and Rolls of Honour in the Cheltenham area can be viewed here, and a detailed summary can be seen here.

Cheltonians served and died for their country on land, in and on the sea and in the air.   Those who were killed or died as a result of the war are remembered and commemorated here in the Cheltenham Roll of Honour.    A separate part of this website is devoted to the ships, regiments, corps and air squadrons in which Cheltonians were serving when they were killed in action , or died of wounds, of illness or accidentally killed, and this can be viewed here.

   Facts and Figures

Facts and Figures

There are a total of 1620 names listed on the War Memorials and Rolls of Honour in the Cheltenham and the local surrounding area.   Of these, 986 were killed in action on land, in the air and at sea, (34 at sea), 296 died of wounds, 224 died of illness, 37 were killed in accidents, 14 were killed at sea, 7 were lost at sea, 21 died whilst a prisoner-of-war, 1 was murdered in the line of duty, 1 died of unspecified cause, 28 are unknown/unidentified and 5 were commemorated in error.

Many more fascinating facts and figures have emerged from the research – though an enormous amount has been gleaned from the book.   The most significant fact is that the town lost 44 of its sons on one day, the 25th September 1915, the first day of the Battle of Loos, including 2 who were awarded posthumous Victoria Crosses on this day for gallantry at Loos.  These 44 men are commemorated here and the VC winners can be viewed here.

A total of 99 of those commemorated Cheltonians and others whose death was the result of service in the Great War are buried in CWGC graves within Cheltenham Cemetery and a further 19 are buried in graves which are not officially recognised as war graves.   Some 107 Cheltonians and 16 others are commemorated on the headstones of family or relatives in this cemetery and these are listed here.   There are 196 commemorated on family headstones in the 11 local cemeteries and a summary of these can be viewed here.  There are 29 who are remembered on commemorative plaques, tablets and stained glass windows in 13 local churches, chapels and other establishments and another 5 have been discovered elsewhere in the UK.

A total of 749 Cheltonians are buried as war casualties in 384 cemeteries throughout the world.   513 are buried in 256 cemeteries in France and 121 are buried in 60 cemeteries in Belgium.   16 Cheltonians are buried in the Etaples Cemetery, France, alone.

631 Cheltonians who were killed in battle on land, at sea or in the air and have no known grave are commemorated on 40 Memorials To The Missing around the World.   There are 331 commemorations on 15 memorials in France with 139 being listed on the Thiepval Memorial in the Somme area.   A further 168 commemorations on 5 memorials are in Belgium, mostly in the Ypres area.   54 Cheltonians were killed or died at sea and are commemorated on Naval and other Memorials which can be viewed here.   7 were buried at sea.

There are a total of 182 commemorated Cheltonians and others who are known to be buried within 61 cemeteries in UK and Ireland and a list of these can be viewed here.   A further 28 are thought to be buried in the UK, mostly in the Cheltenham area and investigations continue to locate these graves.

Commonwealth/Empire Forces

Many Cheltonians emigrated to Commonwealth/Empire countries prior to 1914 and enlisted into the forces of that country at the outbreak or during the Great War.   A total of 79 Cheltonians who made the ultimate sacrifice whilst serving in the forces of the country they emigrated to are listed here, additionally there were 22 professional officers serving with the Indian Army.  These can usually be traced  through the many official search facilities for British and Commonwealth casualties.   The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, which lists burial or commemoration details for those who died in both world wars can be interrogated here.   Details regarding Australian casualties can be found in the official Australian War Memorial website, and those for Canadian servicemen are listed in the National Archives of Canada and the Canadian Veterans Affairs Office.   Official lists of New Zealand casualties can be seen here and here.  South African casualties can be viewed here on FindMyPast.

Underage Soldiers and Young Sailors

During the immediate period after the declaration of war on the 4th August 1914 many men were inspired by the news, drum-beating and pressure to conform, to enlist.   Men joined up for all manner of reasons, including a natural desire to quit a humdrum or arduous job, take a chance of seeing another country, or to escape family or troubles.   Many young Cheltonians enlisted whilst under the minimum age (19 years of age, reduced to 18 years in April 1918).   Some of these young men (boys) died whilst serving their country and those we are aware of are listed here as well as young lads who served in the Royal Navy as Midshipmen.

   Family Tragedies and Commemorations

Family Tragedies

No-one who has ever visited war cemeteries can fail to be moved by the row upon row of white headstones laid out in such beautifully maintained cemeteries. Each headstone represents a personal tragedy, but collectively, they represent a generation of men, each of whom ‘answered the call’. Every headstone marks the final resting place of someone’s husband, father, brother or son and, in one or two cases, a daughter or sister.   Many families, over 100 in Cheltenham, were devastated by the loss of 2 or more family members and these Cheltonian families are listed here.

Family Commemorations

Many families wanted a permanent memorial to those they lost nearer to home and made arrangements for a commemoration to be made on headstones in family plots in local cemeteries and a list of these can be viewed here.   In addition, some are remembered on a commemorative plaque or tablet in a church, chapel or other location.   More recently in the internet age, some descendants of those who lost their lives have made a public tribute to their relative and one such tribute, to Gunner Arthur Ernest Allsopp of Burton Street, St Paul’s, Cheltenham can be viewed here.   Beverley Young and Mark Allsopp, who contributed the photos and kindly permitted their use in this site were the driving force of the tribute.

   All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Timeline Within The War

These timeline pages list, in chronological order,  the official date of death of Cheltonians who lost their lives in the Great War or as a direct result of it.

After the War

The Great War officially ended on 31st August 1921.   One of the more unfortunate effects of this was that the previous recognition of war casualty status by the War Office/Ministry of Defence and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ceased to exist.  In effect, all servicemen whose death was attributable to wounds or illness caused by war service were no longer entitled to a recognised grave or official headstone.   Many Cheltonians died after this date, of wounds or injury caused by war service – they are not officially recognised.   Some are listed here, a tribute to these heroes.

Honours, Awards and Decorations

Many Cheltonians received honours and awards for bravery in the Great War.   Five Cheltonians were awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery, and details of their awards can be viewed here.   Those honours and decorations awarded to deceased Cheltonians are recorded against their name in the Roll of Honour pages.   A list of medals that were awarded for service in the war, or plaques and scrolls presented to the next of kin of deceased servicemen can be seen here.

   VAD Hospitals In Cheltenham

Hospitals and Medical Care for Battle Casualties in Cheltenham

During the course of the Great War eight major Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) hospitals were established in Cheltenham.   These were primarily set up to deal with military casualties evacuated from the battlefield, through the Army medical evacuation chain, to the UK.

Full details of these hospitals can be seen here.

   Latest News and Updates

Latest News

25th July 2004.   Australian visitors, Allan and Anne Davis, who found through the website that two of their ancestors of Cheltenham fought and died in the Great War and are commemorated on Cheltenham War Memorial, visit Cheltenham.   Further details can be viewed here.

16th October 2004.   The lecture ‘A War in Words’ is attended – The First World War in Diaries and Letters by Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis held at the Everyman Theatre Cheltenham.   Further details can be viewed here.

18th October 2004.   CWGC notifies that a case of non-commemoration that was submitted in July has been accepted by the Ministry of Defence.   Pte William Bernard Henry LINDSEY, 2/5th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, who died on 17th March 1920 after discharge from the Army will be classified as an official war casualty and commemorated on the Debt of Honour Register maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.   Further details can be viewed here.

11th November 2004.   Mr Ron Lambert of Gillingham seeks assistance in tracing relatives of 2Lt Gwilliam Emmanuel Henry ROSS of Cheltenham who was killed in action in France on 3rd July 1916, aged 25.   Full details can be viewed here.

25th September 2005.   A service of remembrance was organised at Christ Church, Cheltenham, to commemorate the 44 Cheltonians who gave their lives on 25th September 1915, the first day of the Battle of Loos.   Full details can be viewed here.

23rd November 2005.   A service at Cambray Baptist Church, Cheltenham, celebrating 150 years of the Cheltenham YMCA, is attended   Full details can be viewed here.

23rd April 2006.   The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Katia Day Service at St Mary de Lode Church (near Gloucester Cathedral) is attended.   The Service was followed by a wreath laying at the RGH Memorial and a reception at the Chapter House.

27th September 2006.   Cheltenham commemorates Major General Daniel Marcus William BEAK, VC.   A bronze plaque commemorating Daniel Beak is unveiled at the Cheltenham War Memorial.   Full details can be viewed here.

28th September 2006.   At the request of relatives living in Scotland, the author places a small commemorative cross at the grave of Lt George Frederick DELMAR-WILLIAMSON in St Peter’s Churchyard, Leckhampton.   Full details can be viewed here.

1st December 2006.   Shurdington soldier Pte William LINDSEY, who died on 17th March 1920 of wounds received in the Great War has been officially remembered.   Granted war casualty status by the Ministry of Defence in November 2004, the CWGC have erected an official headstone in St Paul’s Churchyard, Shurdington near the southern entrance gate.   As his actual final resting place could not be determined the headstone bears the inscription “Buried Elsewhere In This Churchyard”.   Full details can be viewed here.

18th December 2006.   Cheltenham soldier Driver Frederick George LODGE, Royal Field Artillery, who died on 9th February 1920 as a result of wounds received in the Great War has been officially granted war casualty status by the Ministry of Defence.  The CWGC will erect an official headstone on Dvr Lodge’s grave in Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, USA, in due course.  Full details can be viewed here

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18th December 2006.   Adopted Cheltonian Captain Edmund MARSDEN, Indian Army, who died of illness in Burma on 26th May 1915 has been officially granted war casualty status by the Ministry of Defence.  The CWGC will erect an official remembrance plaque in the Taukkyan War Cemetery, Burma (now Myanmar) in due course.   Full details can be viewed here.

14th February 2007.   Cheltonian soldier Pte Charles Francis BARTON, Australian Army, who died of illness in Australia on 28th July 1917 has been granted official war casualty status by the Australian Ministry of Defence.  CWGC will erect an official remembrance plaque on his headstone in the Rookwood Necropolis, Sydney, NSW, in due course.   Full details can be viewed here.

1st March 2007.   Adopted Cheltonian soldier Pte Robert Browell CHIVERTON, RAMC, who died of illness in Enfield on 24th February 1917 has been granted official war casualty status by the Ministry of Defence.  Full details can be viewed here.

10th July 2007.   MoD rejects the case for Cheltonian soldier Pte Charles Ernest James BROOKES, who died of illness in Cheltenham on 17th October 1915 to be granted official war casualty status.  Full details can be viewed here.

19th October 2007.   CWGC informs that an official headstone has been erected on the grave of Cheltonian Dvr Frederick George LODGE in Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, USA.

15th November 2007.   Cheltonian soldier Cpl Douglas CLEE, Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, who died of illness in Brentwood on 23rd February 1919 has been granted official war casualty status by the Ministry of Defence.  Full details can be viewed here.

25th August 2010.   Cheltonian soldier Pte Oliver ARKELL, 1/5th Bn Glos Regt,  who died of illness in Cheltenham on 23rd March 1918 has been granted official war casualty status by the Ministry of Defence.  Full details can be viewed here.

12th November 2010.   CWGC Leamington Office are to visit Cheltenham Cemetery in the New Year to amend official headstone of Dvr Preston (Plot E.843).  Full details can be viewed here.   March 2011.   Dvr Preston’s headstone has now been amended.

16th April 2012.   Brevet Colonel Arthur Houssemayne Du Boulay, who died of illness in France on 25th October 1918, was 4 times Mentioned in Despatches during the Great War, and the CWGC were asked to update Col Du Boulay’s records in the Debt of Honour database to show these awards.   Subsequently on 18th February 2013, it was discovered that he had in fact been “Mentioned” a total of 5 times, and CWGC were asked to update Col Geddes’ records in the Debt of Honour database to show this additional award.   Col Du Boulay’s record in the Debt of Honour database is now correct.

25th February 2013.   Capt J F Dearden, DSO, MC and Bar, who died of wounds received in the Great War at Cheltenham on 6th October 1919, received the award of “Mentioned in Despatches” in the Despatch dated 9th April 1917 of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, GCB, Commander-in-Chief, the British Armies in France.   CWGC were asked to update Capt Dearden’s records in the Debt of Honour database to show this award.

1st May 2013.   Major maintenance and adjustments on the site commences in preparation for the Centenary Celebrations.

31st March 2014.   The CWGC have been requested to review the record of Cheltonian soldier Pte Frank Rowland, whose surname is recorded as Rowlands in the Debt of Honour database.   The correct spelling of his surname (Rowland) was agreed by the CWGC in April 2014 and his records in the Debt of Honour database was amended.   CWGC also added his age and details of his Next-of-Kin.

2nd February 2015.   Capt M D Quill, Royal Marine Artillery, who was accidentally killed at Haslar on 17th June 1918, received the award of “Mentioned in Despatches” in the Despatch dated 30th November 1915 of Field Marshal Sir John French, GCB, GCVO, KCMG, Commanding-in-Chief, the British Army in France.   CWGC were asked to update Capt Quill’s records in the Debt of Honour database to show this award.

9th March 2015.   Colonel A D Geddes, Commanding Officer 2nd Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) , who was killed in action in Belgium on 28th April 1915, received the award of “Mentioned in Despatches” in the Despatch dated 5th April 1915 of Field Marshal Sir John French, GCB, GCVO, KCMG, Commanding-in-Chief, the British Army in France.   CWGC were requested to update Col Geddes’ records in the Debt of Honour database to show this award.

9th March 2015.   Captain L Fort, Officer Commanding “A” Company, 2nd Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) , who was killed in action in Belgium on 16th February 1915, received the award of “Mentioned in Despatches” in the Despatch dated 5th April 1915 of Field Marshal Sir John French, GCB, GCVO, KCMG, Commanding-in-Chief, the British Army in France.   CWGC were requested to update Capt Fort’s records in the Debt of Honour database to show this award.

25th September 2015.   The unveiling of Commemorative Paving Stones for Captain Arthur Forbes Gordon Kilby and Captain Anketell Moutray Read at the War Memorial in The Promenade took place at an open service to commemorate the opening day of the Battle of Loos.  44 Cheltenham men were killed at Loos, including two who were awarded the Victoria Cross; Captain Read and Captain Kilby.

18th September 2016.   The newly refurbished town War Memorial in the Promenade was unveiled, including the addition of the six names that were for some reason omitted when the Memorial was initially unveiled in 1921.  The six names have been incorporated into the Roll of Honour pages of this website.

1st October 2016.   Pte W H Cooper.   Buried in Cheltenham Cemetery with a CWGC headstone, which shows an incorrect date of death of 2nd April 1917.   CWGC informed in March 2011 of correct date of death of 11th April 1917 and again on 1st August 2016.  Headstone finally amended to show correct date of death.

7th August 2017.   The CWGC were requested to review the record of Colonel J G Geddes, who died of illness on 26th August 1919.   Investigations found that he was “Mentioned in Despatches” 5 times during the Great War.   CWGC have subsequently amended his record to show these awards.

12th September 2017.   See 25th August 2010, above, regarding Pte Arkell’s CWGC headstone.   The date of death inscribed on his headstone was 20th March 1918 and the CWGC were requested on 12th September 2017 to amend this date on his headstone and entry in the CWGC Debt of Honour Register to read 23rd March 1918.   The register has been amended and the physical amendment to the headstone will be reported when done.

11th May 2018.   A case for the CWGC to review the record of Lieutenant Colonel H Stoney-Smith, DSO, who was killed in action near Ypres on 22nd October 1915 is being prepared.   Investigations have found that he was “Mentioned” in Field Marshal Sir John French’s Despatch dated 31st May 1915 published in the Supplement to the London Gazette, Number 29200, of 22nd June 1915.

2nd September 2018.   A commemorative stone was laid on Sunday 2nd September at Cheltenham War Memorial to commemorate Lt Col Richard Annesley West, VC, who was killed in action in France.   Full details can be viewed here.   Lt Col West was born at Oxford Street Cheltenham in 1878, educated in Bath and served as a Trooper in the Boer War and was commissioned into the North Irish Horse in 1914.   He was killed in action at Vaulx Vraucourt, France on 2nd September 1918 in which he was awarded a posthumous VC (see Victoria Cross page).   Buried in the Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, France.   He is not commemorated in Cheltenham or the local area.   Lt Col West was also awarded the DSO and Bar, MC, and Twice Mentioned in Despatches during the Great war.

August 2018.   Cheltenham Civic Society has received a National Lottery grant of £9,800 for conserving the 23 wooden battlefield grave markers located near the entrance to Cheltenham Cemetery and a concurrent educational project at Pitville School.   The battlefield crosses can be viewed here.

21st October 2018.   The CWGC were requested to review the record of Lieutenant Colonel R V Doherty-Holwell, DSO, RE, who was killed in action on 9th January 1917.   Investigations have found that he was “Mentioned in Despatches” 5 times during the Great War.   CWGC has now amended their records.

21st October 2018.   The CWGC were requested to review the record of Lieutenant Colonel R C Chester-Master, DSO, who was killed in action on 30th August 1917.   Investigations have found that he was “Mentioned in Despatches” 3 times during the Great War.   CWGC has now amended their records.

21st October 2018.   The CWGC were requested to review the record of Captain R L Hardy, who was killed in action on 24th August 1917.   Investigations have found that he was “Mentioned in Despatches” during the Great War.   CWGC has now amended their records.

Copyright and source – IWM Non Commercial Licence, © IWM (Q 2756)

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

 Written by Robert Laurence Binyon – 1914

Page last updated:   29th November 2018

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