Returning Soldiers

Thirty three men from West Grimstead went off to fight for King and Country in the Great War 1914 - 1918 Of these thirty three men five were Killed In Action and their names are listed on the WAR MEMORIAL. The WAR MEMORIAL page and the SERVICEMEN KILLED IN ACTION page give links for more about these 5 men.

Twenty eight men returned: I have tried to research all these returning men with some success. I hope that anyone who finds that I have got the wrong information about these soldiers will let me know. The CONTACT email can be found on the INDEX Page

CHARLES BEAUCHAMP - A Sqd Royal Wilts Yeomanry . Born in 1891 in East Grimstead the eldest son of parents Reuben and Francis Beauchamp and baptised in East Grimstead Methodist Chapel. He was the brother of Ralph Beauchamp who can be seen on the War Memorial . The Beauchamp family were still living in their home village of East Grimstead in 1901 with Charlie's father earning his living as a Platelayer working for the L&SWRC. But by 1911 the family had moved to West Grimstead and were farming at Emmett's Farm. Charlie joined the Royal Wilts Yeomanry in 1911 and was retained in January 1916. Badly wounded in May 1917 Charlie was sent to recuperate in Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow. Towards the end of 1917 Charlie, now recovered, became part of the Royal Flying Corps. By 1918 he was serving with the RAF and in 1920 was finally discharged to return home where he earned his living as a Wood Dealer. Charlie married and had children and descendants of the Beauchamp Family are still living in West Grimstead today - 2014.

GEORGE LEO W BLOUNT - Royal Engineers. George was not a native of West Grimstead having been born in 1870 in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. His parents were Clavell William Simpson Blount and Elizabeth Ann Blount. His father had been a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and his mother had been born in the West Indies. George was sent to be educated at Christ's Hospital School in London and in 1901 can be seen living, a single man, in Plymouth with the occupation of Architect and Surveyor. In 1911 he had married and had a little daughter and was living in Radnor Cottage, West Grimstead. There are no surviving service records for George Blount but the Rolls of Honour show him as being in the Royal Engineers and the 1915 and 1918 Register of Electors show him as (a) N M (this means absent, in the Navy or Military). Directories of Salisbury 1920 and 1927 show George Blount in New Street, Salisbury, back working as an Architect and Surveyor. George Blount died in 1932 in Winterbourne Dauntsey, Wiltshire.

ALBERT DAVID BROWN - 2nd Battalion Dorset Regiment. The eldest of two brothers who went to serve their country in WW1, Albert was born in Salisbury in 1899 to parents Walter Brown, born near Porton and Amy Kate Mussell. West Grimstead was Amy's home village and the couple had married, where Amy had been baptised, in St John's Church in 1898. Although their eldest child, Albert, was born in Salisbury the family came to West Grimstead the following year. There are no surviving service records for Albert Brown but the Rolls of Honour shows him as being part of the Dorsetshire Regiment.

ERNEST WALTER BROWN - N.Somerset Yeomanry. The second of the Brown brothers was born in 1900 and baptised in St John's Church, West Grimstead. Ernest became a Dairyman before enlisting aged 18 with the North Somerset Yeomanry in March 1818. Surviving service records for Ernest show that subsequently he enlisted in the Royal Tank Corp and in April 1919 he was a Private in the 11th Hussars and later in the 13th Hussars. He was in Egypt from July 1919 to October 1920 and was finally discharged from the Army in March 1921.

WILLIAM G BUNDY - 3rd Devonshire Regiment. Born 1893 the son of Eli & Edith Bundy, he seems to have been an only child. He was also the cousin of Harry Bundy who can be seen on the War Memorial . William was privately baptised at St John's Church on 15th August 1893. The Bundy family, originally from Downton, were Brick makers and lived and worked in Windwhistle Lane, West Grimstead at the place that is now known as Broadmead Farm. We do have some information about William Bundy's war service and he joined the Army in November 1916. What happened between that date and March 1918 is unknown to me but in March 1918 he became part of the R.F.C (the air arm of the Royal Navy) as a Mechanic and Batman and finally became a Private 2 in the RAF. Transferred to RAF Reserve in March 1919.

WILLIAM GEORGE COLEMAN - Army Service Corps . William was born in 1886 in Clarendon of parents John Frank (Francis) and Elizabeth Coleman. In 1911 William George (Gus) Coleman was still single and had left home and was employed in Bournemouth as a Chauffeur. His Mother had died in 1886 and his Father having remarried was now living in West Grimstead as a Market Gardener. There are no surviving service records for William Coleman but I have found his name in a register of the Red Cross which shows him in the Motor Dept. as an Overseas Volunteer Chauffeur with a certificate number of 15584 and a passport number of 179116. He is still classed as absent in the military on the 1918 Register of Electors

ARTHUR CHARLES COLEMAN - 3rd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment. Born in 1891 his Father being John Frank (Francis) and his Mother Emma, Arthur, was a stepbrother to William G Coleman. In 1911 he was still living and working at home. Again there are no surviving service records for Arthur but he also is classed as absent in the military on the 1918 Register of Electors.

RICHARD HERBERT COOMBS - Royal Garrison Artillery/12th Hampshire Regiment. Born 1897 in Lockerley, Hampshire of parents Henry and Martha Coombs, also the brother of Walter Henry Coombs seen on the Rolls of Honour and War Memorial in West Grimstead. The family moved to Bowerchalk and there Richard and Walter's mother died,early in 1903, with their father remarrying a lady called Ann Thick the same year. The family later moved to Britford before moving to West Grimstead as can be seen in the Service Records of Richard Coombs, which are quite extensive. Richard joined the 12th Hampshire Regiment in Dorchester on 24th February 1915. In September of that year he embarked at Southampton to Marseilles. 13th November 1915 he embarked in Marseilles and landed in Salonika on 26th November 1915. By 1917 Richard seems to have been suffering a bad case of Scabies and was transferred to hospital but was soon passed as fit for France. In March 1918 he was suffering from Malaria and again put into hospital but by November 1918 he was transferred to the 6th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Eventually in February 1919 Richard Herbert Coombs was dispersed in Fovant. He was transferred to Army Reserve on 27th March 1919.

SIDNEY COX - 4th Battalion Wiltshire Regiment. Born in 1898 in West Grimstead Sidney was baptised in St John's Church and his parents were Daniel and Alice Cox. Daniel Cox was a Carter and Waggoner. Daniel's home area was Lockerley but in 1901 the family were living in West Grimstead. In 1911 they were back in Lockerley and in 1918 they were back in West Grimstead. There are no surviving service records for Sidney Cox and I know very little more of his movements during the war or afterwards.

ARCHIE WILLIAM CURTIS - Royal Navy Archie has his own page so you can click on his name to find out more

FRANK EARLEY - Motor Transport Service/Army Service Corps. Born in West Grimstead to parents Charles Earley and Martha Rose, Frank Earley was baptised in St John's Church in May 1884. When Frank was 15 he lived in Endless Street, Salisbury working as a Groom in the household of a Surgeon, Mr Harcourt Coates. By 1911 Frank had widened his horizons and was living in Chatham, Kent working as a Chauffeur. He returned to his family home in West Grimstead in 1912 to marry Nellie Light, daughter of George Light, Brick maker. Frank joined the Army Service Corp on 18th February 1915 at Grove Park, London, his wife Nellie was left in West Grimstead with two small boys. Quickly moving through the ranks to Sergeant he became part of the Expeditionary Force in France and was there from June 1915 to the middle of November 1915. For this he was presented with the 1914-1915 Star Medal. It is hard to track his movements between November 1915 and January 1918 when he was promoted to Staff Sergeant. Dispersed in Fovant, Wiltshire in May 1919

BERTRAM LOUIS ENGLAND - London Scottish Regiment. Bertram Louis England and Sidney Frank England were brothers. Both were born in West Grimstead and baptised in the Methodist Chapel. Bertram was born in October 1899, his parents being Sidney William England, (Cowman) & Charlotte Annie Tucker. Bertram Louis England would only have been 14 when the war started and apart from his name on the Rolls of Honour I know nothing more about his time during WW1. His name is not on the 1918 Register of Electors as present or absent in the military as he still would not have been old enough to vote. Bertram married Lillian Sharp in 1926.

SIDNEY FRANK ENGLAND - Devonshire Regiment/Tank Corps, The older brother of Bertram Louis England, Sidney Frank England was born of parents Sidney William England and Charlotte Annie Tucker in October 1898. As with Bertram there are no surviving service records. He too was very young at the start of the Great War and my knowledge of his regiment comes via the Rolls of Honour, although there is a surviving medal card for Pte Sidney F England 304705

WILLIAM JOHN ENGLAND - 3rd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment. Born in 1892 William John England, the son of George England and Martha White, was an older cousin of the two England brothers above. The family seem to have lived in Whaddon but is probably on the Rolls of Honour in West Grimstead because of a strong family connection to the village and possibly came back here after the war.

JOHN FRANCIS ENRIGHT - Royal Garrison Artillery. Born 1897 in Bradford on Avon, his parents were Patrick Enright and Emily Louisa Matthews. In 1911 Patrick Enright was living with his family in Charlton All Saints and was a police Constable. it looks as though he may well have served in the Royal Munster Fusiliers. John Francis Enright was the first born of this family but he had numerous brothers and sisters as the years passed by, one of whom was William Joseph Matthews Enright (below). The Enright family had moved to West Grimstead by 1915 and can be seen on both the 1915 and 1918 Registers of Electors. There are no surviving service records for John Francis Enright but details on the Rolls of Honour give us his regiment. He can be seen as an absent in the military on 1918 R of Electors.

WILLIAM JOSEPH MATTHEWS ENRIGHT - Worcester Regiment/Signal Dept/Wireless Operator. This man is not on either of the West Grimstead Rolls of Honour and I only became aware of his existence when researching his brother John Francis Enright (above). William was two years younger than his brother being born in North Wraxall, near Chippenham in 1900. Despite three brothers aged 13, 11 and 8 living at home in 1911, William Joseph Matthews Enright, aged 12 and a younger brother Stephen aged 9, appears to have been sent to a catholic school near Hereford. Was this because they were naughtier or brighter than their siblings? We are not to know, but there are service records for William and he was clever enough to end up at GCHQ as a Wireless Operator in 1918. March 1917 sees William, now a Drapers Assistant in Willenhall, West Midlands, joining up at Worcester. Initially put in Reserve he was mobilised and trained as a wireless operator in the Signals Regiment. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in December 1918 and ended the war in GCHQ volunteering until November 1919. I don't know if he ever returned to West Grimstead but he is put as an absent in the military on the 1918 R of Electors. William Joseph Matthews Enright died in Seisdon, a rural village in Staffordshire, in 1969.

MARMADUKE W JOHN GILBERT - 9th Middlesex Regiment. Marmaduke Willie John Gilbert was born in 1883 in Woodford, Wiltshire. Known mainly as John, his parents were John and Annie Gilbert. His father was a Carter and the family seemed to move from Wilton area to West Grimstead around 1899. 1901 sees the family in West Grimstead and Marmaduke W John was lodging there in 1911 working as a jobbing gardener. The parents, having moved to East Grimstead for a while, returned in time to be listed on the 1915 Register of Electors. There are no surviving service records for Marmaduke Gilbert but I have found his medal card. He married Annie Maria Mussell in early summer 1912.

AUSTIN STEWART HOPKINS - Army Service Corps, Austin was born 1890 in West Grimstead. his parents, Edmund Hopkins and Elizabeth Rogers had him baptised in St John's Church. The cottage where the family lived, is today, called Crossways and Edmund earned his living as a village grocer. Austin's mother died in 1896 and is buried in the West Grimstead churchyard but his father quickly remarried Sarah Andrews. The family continued to live in West Grimstead and can be seen on the WG 1911 census and 1915 Register of Electors, but must have moved into Salisbury later that year, by which time Austin Stewart Hopkins was working as a Motor Mechanic (Driver). He joined up at Grove Park, London on 9th November 1915 giving his home address as 22, Bedwin Street, Salisbury. Austin married Dorothia Gladys Andrews in St Edmunds Church, Salisbury on 5th July 1916 and then appeared to be living at 36, Waterloo Road, Salisbury. At Larkhill in January 1917, Austin Stewart Hopkins was then sent to France on 24th January 1917 and served there until 4th November 1918, being awarded his 1st G C badge on 9th November 1917. After a second spell in France from 20th November 1918 until 1st August 1919 serving in 8th Div. M.T.Coy. M.T. R.A.S.C., Austin was finally dispersed from No 1 Dispersal Unit, Woolwich later in August 1919 but, put On Reserve to rejoin at Bulford in the case of emergency. There is no mention of Austin Hopkins or his father on the 1918 Register of Electors for West Grimstead, nor later Kelly's Directories, but someone in West Grimstead remembered to put his name on the Chapel Roll of Honour

EDWARD/EDWIN JOHN LANE - 1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment. Although both West Grimstead Rolls of Honour have listed the name as Edward he was actually registered as EDWIN JOHN LANE, but as I was told by a family member and a West Grimstead resident who knew him, always known as Ted. Born in Redlynch in 1895, his parents were George and Annie Lane. I don't think any member of the Lane family came to West Grimstead until after WW1 had ended. Edwin was wounded at the beginning of July 1916, the Battle of the Somme and was sent home and admitted to St Thomas's Hospital in London. Edwin married Dorothy Annie Brittan and there son, John Ronald Newall Lane, was born on 3rd November 1923.

ARTHUR LIGHT - Royal Wilts Yeomanry. Despite being several years younger that his brother Fred Light, Arthur joined the Army on 1st October 1915 which was a couple of months before Fred. Arthur Light was born in Morgans Vale in 1897 of parents George and Sarah Light. George was foreman of the Downton Brickworks and later became manager of the West Grimstead Brickworks. The family moved here sometime between 1901 and 1911. On the 1911 census Arthur is shown as being employed as a Groom, which would become central to his later army service. Maybe he looked after the horses at the Brickyard, as no doubt, at that time, the finished bricks would have been transport by horse and cart. After joining the army Arthur was vaccinated at Tidworth and at the end of 1915 had a short stay in hospital with Inflamed Lymphatic glands of L. Axilla. Transferred from the Wiltshire regiment to The Derbyshire Yeomanry at some point, Arthur later would be absorbed into 4th Reserve Cavalry Regiment in 1917 and subsequently Corps of Dragoons

WILLIAM JAMES SHEPPARD - Royal Garrison Artillery. William James Sheppard joined the Hampshire Regiment when he was 19 and a half in March 1912, which would put his was birth in the summer of 1890. There are brief service records for this man and at the time of enlistment his address is Enford, Wiltshire and his occupation Bus Conductor. The Hampshire Regiment rejected William James as he had Bad teeth, so six months later on 9th September 1912 now aged 20 and 2 months, with bad teeth removed, his occupation now a Carter, William James Sheppard enlisted at Christchurch, Hampshire for The Royal Garrison Artillery. If you were a child in the 1950's and came from a Methodist family you would still remember Jim Sheppard as a Sunday School teacher at the Chapel.

DAVID THOMAS - 7th Battalion Devonshire Regiment. David and Frank Thomas were brothers with David being the eldest and he was born in 1887. Parents were George (Gamekeeper) Thomas and Martha Mussell who had 16 children, only 12 surviving by 1911. Although some earlier children were baptised in St John's Church, David was baptised in West Grimstead Chapel. David was still at home in 1911 and occupied as a Cowman on Farm. David Thomas was taken prisoner at Ypres on 26th October 1917 and was held at Unverwundet, Westliche, Etappe. Also seen on the 1918 Register of Electors as (a) N/M

FRANK THOMAS - Royal Wilts Yeomanry. Apart from the information given for his brother, above, all I know is that in 1911 Frank's occupation was that of Bakers Assistant. There are no service records but he is on the 1918 Register of Electors as (a) N/M

EDGAR HARRY LEWIS TUBB - Royal Wilts Yeomanry. Edgar Tubb was born 1894 in West Grimstead and his parents were Lewis William Tubb and Mary Ann Read. Edgar first joined the Wiltshire Yeomanry at the beginning of the war and was then transferred to the Wiltshire Regiment. I am lucky to have copies of some photographs and letters of Edgar given to me by a relative. One letter written to his Father dated May 1918 is headed Camp de Friedrichsfeld showing the POW camp he was held in at that time. Unfortunately I am unable to find any further information regarding his interment there. Edgar was certainly back in England by the beginning of 1919 and he married a distant cousin, Mildred May Tubb on 8th February 1919 and the couple returned to West Grimstead to help his Father run the farm at Butterfurlong.

ALFRED JAMES TUBB - Dorsetshire Regiment. Alfred, the younger brother of Edgar (above) joined the Dorset Regiment. There is a medal index card for Alfred but no other service records. However the medal card does show him as a Corporal. Alfred also returned to the farm after the war ended and in 1930 married Ada Chrissie Herrington. Coming from a Methodist family both Edgar and Alfred Tubb were baptised in the Chapel in West Grimstead.

ERNEST TUCKER - 3rd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment. Ernest was born in Whaddon, Near Salisbury in the year 1888, the youngest of a large family. By 1911, age 23, his Father having died and his siblings having left home, Ernest is living in West Grimstead, working as a Carter (with Ag horses) looking after his widowed Mother. Later that year he married Beatrice Ellen Gartery in St John's Church, WG and in August 1912 their baby daughter was born and baptised in the WG Chapel. Ernest's Mother died in 1913. There are no service records surviving but his name is on both Rolls of Honour and also the 1918 Register of Electors as (a) N/M

ARTHUR JAMES VINCENT - Royal Garrison Artillery. Born in 1883 in Ford, Wiltshire, his parents were William &Lydia and he married Alice Mary Francis in 1904. The couple, living in Standlynch, had several children before the start of WW1 and Arthur James was working as a Corn Storeman. He enlisted for the Royal Garrison Artillery at Devizes on 24th May 1916 aged 34 years. He seems to have suffered numerous health problems but was posted several times between July 1916 and May 1917. In November 1917 he had a compulsory transfer to the Labour Corps, Agricultural Coy. His wife, Alice Mary was living in West Grimstead by 1918 and she is shown on the Register of Electors of West Grimstead with Arthur James shown as (a) N/M. In April 1919 Arthur James Vincent was transferred to the Reserve and dispersed at Nottingham.

WALTER JOHN WHITE - Royal Garrison Artillery. Born the son of Phoebe White in 1891, Walter John enlisted as a Regular on 11th February 1914 in Dorchester. As he won the 1914-15 Star medal he must have been with the Expeditionary Force at the start of World War 1. Wounded in October 1918, John, as I believe he was known, returned home to marry Dora Ingram in the Autumn of 1919. Despite being on the two West Grimstead Rolls of Honour he is not listed on the 1918 Register of Electors for West Grimstead, so temporarily or permanently they lived elsewhere at that time.