1900-1950
Just before the First World War a cycle shop was owned by Harry Childs and other members of the family ran this afterwards. Cycles were sold and repaired there. It later became Crossways Store and then the Post Office took it over and used it as a sorting office. Harry Childs is standing in the doorway and Herbert Bailey is also pictured. This was the back of the shop and the photo was taken soon after the building was constructed. Harry Childs was killed in the war and the ownership passed on. Harry's Father, William J, who was known locally as Childs the Snob, used the rear of the shop for boot and shoe making. When the floorboards were eventually lifted the under floor was covered with discarded shoe nails that had fallen through the boards. The building has subsequently been demolished.
In 1910 Hethersett was a much quieter place than our village of today. There were very few cars about and the delivery of goods was carried out on a horse drawn van or pony and cart. The number of residents was approx one-sixth of what it is today - probably around 1,000.
Shopkeeping was vastly different with nothing prepared. Flour, sugar, rice and other commodities were delivered in large sacks and had to be emptied into drawers under the counter. Tea came in large chests and had to be weighed on demand, with customers ordering as little as two ounces. Very few people had more than 10s (50p) a week at their disposal and this had to be spent very carefully, with rent costing as much as 2s 6d (12 1/2p) or one quarter of the income. Sugar cost 2d (just under 1p) a pound and flour 1 shilling (5p) a stone. Many households baked their own bread - usually on a Friday. Ovens were mounted on walls.
All dried fruit at the shops had to be cleaned through a large sieve and biscuits were a luxury, and none of them were packed. Malt was ground for home-brewed beer and tobacco cost up to 4d an ounce. Children had about 1d a week to spend. Shopping hours were long, starting at about 8 a.m and not finishing until between 7 and 10 p.m.
War with Germany was declared on 4th August, 1914. Hethersett was affected in the same way as every other Norfolk parish. Regular troops originating from the village had already been mobilised, reservists and territorials called up and eager volunteers, motivated by a mixture of patriotism, outrage, peer pressure and sheer adventure, had started to make their way to hastily arranged recruiting offices.
There was, at the time, a Hethersett detachment of F Company of the 4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment (Territorials) and in February, 1915, a Voluntary Force (an early form of Dad's Army) was started, using the Old School for drill practice on Monday and Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. It is likely that the Territorials also used this for their meetings, parade drills, lectures on guns and other things.
It is thought that at least six of the Hethersett men destined to lose their lives in the war would have been Territorials and so it is assumed that some of them would have known each other.
Conscription was introduced in early 1916. At first only single men were called up, but by the end of the war, as a result of the unforeseen catastrophic losses, even married men of 50 were required to serve.
Many Hethersett men served within the battalions of the Norfolk Regiment, but later in the war, as a result of the vagaries of army administration and the need to replace the mounting losses, many of the men found themselves in military units that to the casual observer seem to make no sense. The village Parish Magazine of 1916 lists 115 local men serving of which 35 were in the Norfolks and the remaining 80 in over 30 other army or navy units.
Whilst the war was raging, the people of Hethersett were left to carry on with normal everyday life as best they could. Most residents had rarely travelled outside the village and the names of places reported in newspapers and described by men home on leave could have been from a different planet. Leisure trips abroad at the time had been purely and simply for the rich.
Life in Hethersett went on despite concern for sons, brothers and husbands serving on the Front. At home there were local celebrations for births and weddings, sad farewells as both childhood illness and old age took away both the young and elderly with scant regard for age.
Food was scarce as the price of bread rose. Pensioners struggled to make ends meet on five shillings per week and poaching was on the increase. The Food Ministry was urging people to eat less bread and a League of Voluntary Rationers and a Food Production Society were formed in the village in 1917 and on 12th May, 1918, special prayers were said for the coming harvest as nationwide rationing loomed.
Many people in Hethersett were fortunate to have gardens big enough to grow their own vegetables and some would have kept a few hens as well. Food hoarding was punishable by heavy fines and the shame of discovery.
There were constant appeals for monies for various good causes: flag days, house-to-house collections and concerts were held to raise cash and entertain local people who had no radios, televisions or other hi-tech amusements that we take for granted today. The occasional slide show (lantern lecture) was given and often consisted of a depiction of missionary work in Africa.
There were also weekly Tuesday working parties when scarves, mittens and socks were knitted for the soldiers and parcels were sent out to the Front containing cigarettes, pencils, paper and envelopes. At Christmas 1917, 110 parcels were posted to Hethersett servicemen and prisoners of war.
Many activities such as cricket, choir outings and Sunday School treats were abandoned for the duration of the war, but jumble sales and sales of work continued to help fill leisure time.
The wartime sporting theme , or lack of it, was taken up by A.J.R. Harris in his History of Hethersett Cricket Club "Merely Cricket."
"Yet all we can record of that season of 1914 is that "some of the matches were never played," and that the one played against YMCA on the 1st August was the last played by Hethersett (as with many another village club in effect) for several years. For three days later, war was declared. Within four months, nearly 50 of Hethersett's young men were already serving in the Forces. And that figure would be increased by more than half within a few more months. Cricket became merely a subject to dream and talk about, as some relief from pressing employments of a far less rational nature.
But the tradition and its spirit survived. So much so that when early in the Spring of 1919, the parish of Hethersett set about the task of "getting back to normal" the revival of cricket was regarded as being some minor contribution to that process."
Roy Jackson contacted our web site with a number of reminiscences of his family which included mention of the First World War and the birth of his father in the very month that war broke out.
"My father, Edward Horace Jackson, was born in Hethersett in August 1914. He was son of the Blacksmith at the Smithy in Norwich Road, Horace Arthur Jackson, who had also been born in Hethersett in December 1886 son of John Jackson and Ellen. John Jackson was, as far as I can make out, a Coachbuilder and also had sons William (c1891), John (c1885), Alfred (who died in the First World War) and daughters Nellie, Edith (c 1882) and May (c 1890).
The iron bands around Kett's Oak, which we always used to see as we passed on the old A11, driving to visit my grandparents when I was a child, were replaced by my grandfather (HAJ) before he left Hethersett to live in Norwich. During the First World War he served as a blacksmith with the army in France and survived to return.
John Jackson (father of HAJ) also had a brother in Hethersett, Robert Jackson, known as "Bobbo". He was born about 1863 and became a general labourer. All we know about their parents is that the mother was called Sarah."
Donald Bailey sent us a copy of a postcard which gives a taste of how the village looked just prior to the First World War. It depicts a number of well known village landmarks and then depicts his great grandfather William Bailey and his wife Harriet (nee Skilling) and brother-in-law William Kent. They ran the general store in the village in the late 19th century and early 20th Century. The photo on this page depicts Baileys Stores on Great Melton Road around 1910. This is now Stratfords' Estate Agents next to Oak Square.
During the war, Hethersett had a War Savings Association which promised good investment with investors also helping the war effort. The association was formed in July, 1916, for the purposes of helping people who wanted to buy War Saving Certificates but could only make small contributions as the parish magazine explained:
"The main advantage of investing your money through the Association will be that you get your money back with the interest that has accrued quicker than you would do if you invested through the Post Office."
A certificate cost 15s 6d (78p) and would bring a £1 return in five years.
"There is no more profitable investment you can make. Your money is absolutely safe and, if at any time you need it, you can withdraw it plus whatever interest has accrued. If you can only save a few pence a week you cannot do better than join the War Savings Association."
The scheme also had great benefits for groups of people working and saving together as the issue of certificates would be back dated. In this way 31 people investing 6d (just under 3p) a week would lead to the issue of one certificate each week for 31 weeks. Thus the first certificate would be dated 31 weeks before any certificate bought by an individual who would have to invest for 31 weeks before getting a certificate. By the group method the interest implications would start immediately. The parish magazine continued:
"The country is in great need of every penny you can lend to it if this war is to be finished off as we all want and intend to see it finished. It is costing more than six million pounds every day..... this sum must be found in the country by saving it and lending it to the nation..... There are not many who could not save a few pence every week, even the children could do it, by giving up sweets..... Think of what the men in the Trenches have given up? Are you helping to bear the burden? The country has asked them to do their part, and how splendidly and nobly and unselfishly they have responded everybody knows. The country now asks you to do yours."
We have a flavour of what Hethersett was like in 1920 from the writings of resident Florence Eagle who, in 1924, had the following description:
"I well remember arriving in Hethersett on a sunny October day in 1924. Hethersett with a population at that time of about 1,100 seemed somewhere rather special. I decided that I must find out as much as possible about the village so that I could write in full detail to the friends I had left behind. My brother and I set off to explore the village. At that time there were two schools, three general stores, two butchers, plus two pork butchers; one of the latter was mainly a wholesaler. The Post Office was also a newsagents, tobacconist and ironmonger; at the shop opposite a variety of goods were sold including bicycles and boots and shoes. Repairs to these three items were carried out. On the site of the present supermarket stood an old army hut, where a motor and cycle repair business was carried out. Nearby stood a railway carriage which was the home and workshop of a tailor. Other businesses were builders, and an artesian-well engineer, a blacksmith and there were four public houses. The doctor's surgery was at Hethersett House.
"I remember being impressed by the number of people in the church choir, including several middle-aged men. At that time the Methodist Church had a good male voice choir.
"My visits to Norwich had been few and far between. I was pleased to find that buses ran to Norwich from Hethersett even though they were from the main road. There were no petrol pumps in the village. My father bought a motor vehicle before moving to Hethersett and he purchased his petrol in cans from the Post Office.
"In 1924, quite a number of people were employed in the village. Apart from the businesses already mentioned there were farms, market gardens, an agricultural engineer, two coal merchants, a corn merchant, a saddler and at least 17 houses employed gardeners and indoor staff, some employed chauffeurs.
"Quite a lot of laundry work was carried out in the village for people outside Hethersett. I think it was mainly for residents in the Newmarket Road, Norwich area. Hethersett had neither gas nor electricity. Gas came first in approximately 1925; when electricity came about a year later several people had their gas fittings removed and changed to electricity.
"The roads were quite rough in those days, however, as it was before the car age many people enjoyed their Sunday afternoon walk; a popular round was Great Melton Road, New Road, the Main Road and Queen's Road, at that time there were no houses along New Road after turning left at Mill Road corner towards the main road.
"Quite a number of houses in Lynch Green, Great Melton Road and some in Queen's Road were way back with a meadow or long garden in front of the house; several of these frontages have now been built on."
Ella Barnes (nee Ireland) was born in Hethersett in 1911 and wrote about a walk around Hethersett in the 1920s when there was plenty of open space and fields:
"There was no electricity, gas or piped water. Water was obtained from wells and pumps and the roads were untarred:
"Walking down Great Melton Road from Lynch Green, apart from dwellings occupied by Mr and Mrs Mapes and one by Mr Levine, there was no other development on the right nearly down to the junction with Henstead Road. On the left were the dovecoats, next to two little cottages .... Then there were two small cottages on the other side of the road. Further along was the chapel and next it it a grocer's shop run by a Mr and Mrs Kent. In Oak Square was a bakery run by two Mr Smiths, while next was a butchers, William Curson. Then came two more little houses. Mr and Mrs Pike lived in one, and he was a gents' hairdresser (called a barber), while in the other lived PC Burton and his family. There was nothing further on this side until the Post Office on the corner (now the McMillan Charity Shop) run by Miss Buckingham and her son. Almost opposite in Great Melton Road was a long driveway to a house and alongside was the old bicycle shop which also sold paint, wallpaper and a few clothes, and this was run for years by the Childs' family until it is thought the lease ran out. The big house next to this and down another driveway included a pork butcher run by Ernest Smith.
"On the right, further down the road, was a grocer's shop run by Mr and Mrs Sharman. Just past the grocers was a house standing back from the road. There was nothing more until Cann's Lane. On the other side of the road there were no buildings until you reached Beech Grove Farmhouse. On the corner of Cann's Lane was Beech Cottage. There was nothing on either side until you reached a row of cottages next to the then Village Hall and what is now Hethersett Social Club. Then followed a grocer's shop followed by two more little cottages. The school came next (known as the National School and subsequently the Middle and now the Junior School). Next to the school playground were two more cottages. Then there was an opening with more cottages and there were more down the drive. Opposite the Queen's Head were three more cottages belonging to Hethersett Hall.
"In Queen's Road, nearby the Queen's Head, was the original National School but no longer run as such at the time. It was later used as a furniture store for Mr Lemon and subsequently pulled down and a plaque was placed in the front garden of the present dwelling.
"Turning left onto the main road (now Old Norwich Road) was a house and a row of Hall Cottages and at the end the harness maker, Boss Hickling. Going right past the public house you came to the blacksmith Jack Curson. The bungalow was built later. Then followed the Harvey Foundry making agricultural implements, with Cann's Lane on the corner. On the opposite corner was the Prince of Wales, and a little further along was Whitegates, owned at that time by the Boswells, wine and spirits merchants (Now Fire Service Headquarters). The King's Head came next, followed by The Priory, owned and lived in by Mr and Mrs Raikes, and then Woodhall, where Mr and Mrs Andrew and family lived. Opposite was the Old Hall, occupied by Mrs Ransom and her son. There was also a worker's cottage. Passing fields you came to Whitehall Farm (now Park Farm Hotel) and two cottages for farm workers."
"Returning to New Road, then but a lane, there was nothing until you got to Eke's Farm and three or four cottages. Then there was nothing until you reached what was called Wood's Loke with a farm run by Mr and Mrs Wood (The Loke is now an extension of New Road).
"On to Great Melton Road and turning towards the village was The Hollies and two houses later pulled down to accommodate Glengarry Close, and then came the butcher, Edward Dann, opposite what is now Malthouse Road. Continuing on this side you came to Lynch Green, where a letter box existed for many years. On the opposite side of the road was Malthouse Farm, later taken over by Emms the Florists. There was just one house between the farm and Mill Road, where Hazel Nicholls lived with fields all around.
"The Irelands moved into a council house in Lynch Green in May 1915. Proceeding down this road there was nothing on the left, but further on, on the right, were two cottages, followed by a row of cottages (since pulled down). Further down still, on the left, was Lynch Green House, then owned by the Sharman family until 1999, when Sybil Woods, Thomas Sharman's great-granddaughter, moved to Wymondham. In earlier times it had been a beer house. Lying back from this was a number of small cottages in one of which Doris Winterborn had lived. From the corner, looking down a drive, two cottages could be seen. Robert Curson had his builders and undertakers business in one, now known as Myrtle Cottage, Wiffen's Loke. On the left was a big house, later occupied by Mrs Roberts. The Thatched Cottage lay back off the road and still exists, being the only thatched dwelling in the village. Then follows the Oaks (requisitioned in the war as an officers' mess) and another dwelling. The Shrublands, followed by two little cottages (the redbrick house was built about 40 years ago). There was nothing more on the right until the White Cottage at the end. Opposite Lynch Green in Henstead Road was a row of cottages, Miller's Row. Moving right was the British School (now Church Hall) and opposite that was the Baptist Chapel, known as the Ebenezer Chapel. Next to the school was a house where the headmaster, Mr Beeby, and his family lived, and next door to that was the Greyhound. Opposite and next to the chapel was a roadway leading to some more houses. Moving along and on the right you came to the shop on the corner and opposite to that the doctor's house.
"Cedar Road, passed early on the tour in Lynch Green, contained only Cedar Grange, occupied in 1922 and for several years by Judge Charles Herbert-Smith. It was gated all week, except on Sundays.
"Moving south down Mill Road you pass on the right the house where a friend, Hazel Nicholls, lived, and assiduously fed and looked after the ducks.
"Taking a trip down Cann's Lane, leaving Beech Cottage on the left, came the Manor House and a cottage, while down a loke there were two or three more. On the right was a grocer and a big house occupied by a market gardener. There was nothing more on the left until one reached the old A11, while on the right were the cottages of Mrs Wiseman and another. Then came a lokeway with some houses in one of which lived Mrs Bailey and her two sons, one of whom was a shoemaker. The hut in the garden was a memorial to Cyril and is engraved C.J. Bailey. Further along was another house and next to it a dwelling later pulled down."
When Ella left school there was no immediate job for her, but after a few weeks she obtained work in the Caley Factory in Norwich, to which the only transport was a bike.
* * *
For many people the village of Hethersett was a self contained backwater but for others the march of progress brought with it some problems. The Parish Magazine gave a flavour of a more hectic side of the village in September 1923 under the heading - PEACE ON THE TURNPIKE: It ran as follows -
"On a certain day a few weeks back, one hundred and twenty six motor vehicles passed through Hethersett on the main road within an hour, i.e, at the rate of rather more than two a minute. What the average is per day nobody probably knows. The stream begins early in the morning and lasts late into the night, and includes vehicles of every variety, shape, weight and size. It brings with it every kind of noise and a vast amount of racket. Lorries and pantechnicons thunder through and set up a vibration which literally rattles the pictures on the walls of adjacent cottages. Motor cycles roar past with open exhausts, which make sleep an impossibility for children. Added to this is the warning note of the klaxons as they approach a bend or a crossroad at a speed which seems to hold life cheap. In Hethersett there are at least two danger spots on the turnpike at which there have occurred numbers of accidents, and yet there is no sort of warning to motorists to slow up.
"Granted that all these motor-driven vehicles must pass along the road, and granted that speed is the order of the day, surely something might be done to preserve those whose houses are shaken, and nerves set on edge, and children deprived of sleep, from what has become an every day pest."
Shopkeeping was vastly different with nothing prepared. Flour, sugar, rice and other commodities were delivered in large sacks and had to be emptied into drawers under the counter. Tea came in large chests and had to be weighed on demand, with customers ordering as little as two ounces. Very few people had more than 10s (50p) a week at their disposal and this had to be spent very carefully, with rent costing as much as 2s 6d (12 1/2p) or one quarter of the income. Sugar cost 2d (just under 1p) a pound and flour 1 shilling (5p) a stone. Many households baked their own bread - usually on a Friday. Ovens were mounted on walls.
All dried fruit at the shops had to be cleaned through a large sieve and biscuits were a luxury, and none of them were packed. Malt was ground for home-brewed beer and tobacco cost up to 4d an ounce. Children had about 1d a week to spend. Shopping hours were long, starting at about 8 a.m and not finishing until between 7 and 10 p.m.
War with Germany was declared on 4th August, 1914. Hethersett was affected in the same way as every other Norfolk parish. Regular troops originating from the village had already been mobilised, reservists and territorials called up and eager volunteers, motivated by a mixture of patriotism, outrage, peer pressure and sheer adventure, had started to make their way to hastily arranged recruiting offices.
There was, at the time, a Hethersett detachment of F Company of the 4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment (Territorials) and in February, 1915, a Voluntary Force (an early form of Dad's Army) was started, using the Old School for drill practice on Monday and Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. It is likely that the Territorials also used this for their meetings, parade drills, lectures on guns and other things.
It is thought that at least six of the Hethersett men destined to lose their lives in the war would have been Territorials and so it is assumed that some of them would have known each other.
Conscription was introduced in early 1916. At first only single men were called up, but by the end of the war, as a result of the unforeseen catastrophic losses, even married men of 50 were required to serve.
Many Hethersett men served within the battalions of the Norfolk Regiment, but later in the war, as a result of the vagaries of army administration and the need to replace the mounting losses, many of the men found themselves in military units that to the casual observer seem to make no sense. The village Parish Magazine of 1916 lists 115 local men serving of which 35 were in the Norfolks and the remaining 80 in over 30 other army or navy units.
Whilst the war was raging, the people of Hethersett were left to carry on with normal everyday life as best they could. Most residents had rarely travelled outside the village and the names of places reported in newspapers and described by men home on leave could have been from a different planet. Leisure trips abroad at the time had been purely and simply for the rich.
Life in Hethersett went on despite concern for sons, brothers and husbands serving on the Front. At home there were local celebrations for births and weddings, sad farewells as both childhood illness and old age took away both the young and elderly with scant regard for age.
Food was scarce as the price of bread rose. Pensioners struggled to make ends meet on five shillings per week and poaching was on the increase. The Food Ministry was urging people to eat less bread and a League of Voluntary Rationers and a Food Production Society were formed in the village in 1917 and on 12th May, 1918, special prayers were said for the coming harvest as nationwide rationing loomed.
Many people in Hethersett were fortunate to have gardens big enough to grow their own vegetables and some would have kept a few hens as well. Food hoarding was punishable by heavy fines and the shame of discovery.
There were constant appeals for monies for various good causes: flag days, house-to-house collections and concerts were held to raise cash and entertain local people who had no radios, televisions or other hi-tech amusements that we take for granted today. The occasional slide show (lantern lecture) was given and often consisted of a depiction of missionary work in Africa.
There were also weekly Tuesday working parties when scarves, mittens and socks were knitted for the soldiers and parcels were sent out to the Front containing cigarettes, pencils, paper and envelopes. At Christmas 1917, 110 parcels were posted to Hethersett servicemen and prisoners of war.
Many activities such as cricket, choir outings and Sunday School treats were abandoned for the duration of the war, but jumble sales and sales of work continued to help fill leisure time.
The wartime sporting theme , or lack of it, was taken up by A.J.R. Harris in his History of Hethersett Cricket Club "Merely Cricket."
"Yet all we can record of that season of 1914 is that "some of the matches were never played," and that the one played against YMCA on the 1st August was the last played by Hethersett (as with many another village club in effect) for several years. For three days later, war was declared. Within four months, nearly 50 of Hethersett's young men were already serving in the Forces. And that figure would be increased by more than half within a few more months. Cricket became merely a subject to dream and talk about, as some relief from pressing employments of a far less rational nature.
But the tradition and its spirit survived. So much so that when early in the Spring of 1919, the parish of Hethersett set about the task of "getting back to normal" the revival of cricket was regarded as being some minor contribution to that process."
Roy Jackson contacted our web site with a number of reminiscences of his family which included mention of the First World War and the birth of his father in the very month that war broke out.
"My father, Edward Horace Jackson, was born in Hethersett in August 1914. He was son of the Blacksmith at the Smithy in Norwich Road, Horace Arthur Jackson, who had also been born in Hethersett in December 1886 son of John Jackson and Ellen. John Jackson was, as far as I can make out, a Coachbuilder and also had sons William (c1891), John (c1885), Alfred (who died in the First World War) and daughters Nellie, Edith (c 1882) and May (c 1890).
The iron bands around Kett's Oak, which we always used to see as we passed on the old A11, driving to visit my grandparents when I was a child, were replaced by my grandfather (HAJ) before he left Hethersett to live in Norwich. During the First World War he served as a blacksmith with the army in France and survived to return.
John Jackson (father of HAJ) also had a brother in Hethersett, Robert Jackson, known as "Bobbo". He was born about 1863 and became a general labourer. All we know about their parents is that the mother was called Sarah."
Donald Bailey sent us a copy of a postcard which gives a taste of how the village looked just prior to the First World War. It depicts a number of well known village landmarks and then depicts his great grandfather William Bailey and his wife Harriet (nee Skilling) and brother-in-law William Kent. They ran the general store in the village in the late 19th century and early 20th Century. The photo on this page depicts Baileys Stores on Great Melton Road around 1910. This is now Stratfords' Estate Agents next to Oak Square.
During the war, Hethersett had a War Savings Association which promised good investment with investors also helping the war effort. The association was formed in July, 1916, for the purposes of helping people who wanted to buy War Saving Certificates but could only make small contributions as the parish magazine explained:
"The main advantage of investing your money through the Association will be that you get your money back with the interest that has accrued quicker than you would do if you invested through the Post Office."
A certificate cost 15s 6d (78p) and would bring a £1 return in five years.
"There is no more profitable investment you can make. Your money is absolutely safe and, if at any time you need it, you can withdraw it plus whatever interest has accrued. If you can only save a few pence a week you cannot do better than join the War Savings Association."
The scheme also had great benefits for groups of people working and saving together as the issue of certificates would be back dated. In this way 31 people investing 6d (just under 3p) a week would lead to the issue of one certificate each week for 31 weeks. Thus the first certificate would be dated 31 weeks before any certificate bought by an individual who would have to invest for 31 weeks before getting a certificate. By the group method the interest implications would start immediately. The parish magazine continued:
"The country is in great need of every penny you can lend to it if this war is to be finished off as we all want and intend to see it finished. It is costing more than six million pounds every day..... this sum must be found in the country by saving it and lending it to the nation..... There are not many who could not save a few pence every week, even the children could do it, by giving up sweets..... Think of what the men in the Trenches have given up? Are you helping to bear the burden? The country has asked them to do their part, and how splendidly and nobly and unselfishly they have responded everybody knows. The country now asks you to do yours."
We have a flavour of what Hethersett was like in 1920 from the writings of resident Florence Eagle who, in 1924, had the following description:
"I well remember arriving in Hethersett on a sunny October day in 1924. Hethersett with a population at that time of about 1,100 seemed somewhere rather special. I decided that I must find out as much as possible about the village so that I could write in full detail to the friends I had left behind. My brother and I set off to explore the village. At that time there were two schools, three general stores, two butchers, plus two pork butchers; one of the latter was mainly a wholesaler. The Post Office was also a newsagents, tobacconist and ironmonger; at the shop opposite a variety of goods were sold including bicycles and boots and shoes. Repairs to these three items were carried out. On the site of the present supermarket stood an old army hut, where a motor and cycle repair business was carried out. Nearby stood a railway carriage which was the home and workshop of a tailor. Other businesses were builders, and an artesian-well engineer, a blacksmith and there were four public houses. The doctor's surgery was at Hethersett House.
"I remember being impressed by the number of people in the church choir, including several middle-aged men. At that time the Methodist Church had a good male voice choir.
"My visits to Norwich had been few and far between. I was pleased to find that buses ran to Norwich from Hethersett even though they were from the main road. There were no petrol pumps in the village. My father bought a motor vehicle before moving to Hethersett and he purchased his petrol in cans from the Post Office.
"In 1924, quite a number of people were employed in the village. Apart from the businesses already mentioned there were farms, market gardens, an agricultural engineer, two coal merchants, a corn merchant, a saddler and at least 17 houses employed gardeners and indoor staff, some employed chauffeurs.
"Quite a lot of laundry work was carried out in the village for people outside Hethersett. I think it was mainly for residents in the Newmarket Road, Norwich area. Hethersett had neither gas nor electricity. Gas came first in approximately 1925; when electricity came about a year later several people had their gas fittings removed and changed to electricity.
"The roads were quite rough in those days, however, as it was before the car age many people enjoyed their Sunday afternoon walk; a popular round was Great Melton Road, New Road, the Main Road and Queen's Road, at that time there were no houses along New Road after turning left at Mill Road corner towards the main road.
"Quite a number of houses in Lynch Green, Great Melton Road and some in Queen's Road were way back with a meadow or long garden in front of the house; several of these frontages have now been built on."
Ella Barnes (nee Ireland) was born in Hethersett in 1911 and wrote about a walk around Hethersett in the 1920s when there was plenty of open space and fields:
"There was no electricity, gas or piped water. Water was obtained from wells and pumps and the roads were untarred:
"Walking down Great Melton Road from Lynch Green, apart from dwellings occupied by Mr and Mrs Mapes and one by Mr Levine, there was no other development on the right nearly down to the junction with Henstead Road. On the left were the dovecoats, next to two little cottages .... Then there were two small cottages on the other side of the road. Further along was the chapel and next it it a grocer's shop run by a Mr and Mrs Kent. In Oak Square was a bakery run by two Mr Smiths, while next was a butchers, William Curson. Then came two more little houses. Mr and Mrs Pike lived in one, and he was a gents' hairdresser (called a barber), while in the other lived PC Burton and his family. There was nothing further on this side until the Post Office on the corner (now the McMillan Charity Shop) run by Miss Buckingham and her son. Almost opposite in Great Melton Road was a long driveway to a house and alongside was the old bicycle shop which also sold paint, wallpaper and a few clothes, and this was run for years by the Childs' family until it is thought the lease ran out. The big house next to this and down another driveway included a pork butcher run by Ernest Smith.
"On the right, further down the road, was a grocer's shop run by Mr and Mrs Sharman. Just past the grocers was a house standing back from the road. There was nothing more until Cann's Lane. On the other side of the road there were no buildings until you reached Beech Grove Farmhouse. On the corner of Cann's Lane was Beech Cottage. There was nothing on either side until you reached a row of cottages next to the then Village Hall and what is now Hethersett Social Club. Then followed a grocer's shop followed by two more little cottages. The school came next (known as the National School and subsequently the Middle and now the Junior School). Next to the school playground were two more cottages. Then there was an opening with more cottages and there were more down the drive. Opposite the Queen's Head were three more cottages belonging to Hethersett Hall.
"In Queen's Road, nearby the Queen's Head, was the original National School but no longer run as such at the time. It was later used as a furniture store for Mr Lemon and subsequently pulled down and a plaque was placed in the front garden of the present dwelling.
"Turning left onto the main road (now Old Norwich Road) was a house and a row of Hall Cottages and at the end the harness maker, Boss Hickling. Going right past the public house you came to the blacksmith Jack Curson. The bungalow was built later. Then followed the Harvey Foundry making agricultural implements, with Cann's Lane on the corner. On the opposite corner was the Prince of Wales, and a little further along was Whitegates, owned at that time by the Boswells, wine and spirits merchants (Now Fire Service Headquarters). The King's Head came next, followed by The Priory, owned and lived in by Mr and Mrs Raikes, and then Woodhall, where Mr and Mrs Andrew and family lived. Opposite was the Old Hall, occupied by Mrs Ransom and her son. There was also a worker's cottage. Passing fields you came to Whitehall Farm (now Park Farm Hotel) and two cottages for farm workers."
"Returning to New Road, then but a lane, there was nothing until you got to Eke's Farm and three or four cottages. Then there was nothing until you reached what was called Wood's Loke with a farm run by Mr and Mrs Wood (The Loke is now an extension of New Road).
"On to Great Melton Road and turning towards the village was The Hollies and two houses later pulled down to accommodate Glengarry Close, and then came the butcher, Edward Dann, opposite what is now Malthouse Road. Continuing on this side you came to Lynch Green, where a letter box existed for many years. On the opposite side of the road was Malthouse Farm, later taken over by Emms the Florists. There was just one house between the farm and Mill Road, where Hazel Nicholls lived with fields all around.
"The Irelands moved into a council house in Lynch Green in May 1915. Proceeding down this road there was nothing on the left, but further on, on the right, were two cottages, followed by a row of cottages (since pulled down). Further down still, on the left, was Lynch Green House, then owned by the Sharman family until 1999, when Sybil Woods, Thomas Sharman's great-granddaughter, moved to Wymondham. In earlier times it had been a beer house. Lying back from this was a number of small cottages in one of which Doris Winterborn had lived. From the corner, looking down a drive, two cottages could be seen. Robert Curson had his builders and undertakers business in one, now known as Myrtle Cottage, Wiffen's Loke. On the left was a big house, later occupied by Mrs Roberts. The Thatched Cottage lay back off the road and still exists, being the only thatched dwelling in the village. Then follows the Oaks (requisitioned in the war as an officers' mess) and another dwelling. The Shrublands, followed by two little cottages (the redbrick house was built about 40 years ago). There was nothing more on the right until the White Cottage at the end. Opposite Lynch Green in Henstead Road was a row of cottages, Miller's Row. Moving right was the British School (now Church Hall) and opposite that was the Baptist Chapel, known as the Ebenezer Chapel. Next to the school was a house where the headmaster, Mr Beeby, and his family lived, and next door to that was the Greyhound. Opposite and next to the chapel was a roadway leading to some more houses. Moving along and on the right you came to the shop on the corner and opposite to that the doctor's house.
"Cedar Road, passed early on the tour in Lynch Green, contained only Cedar Grange, occupied in 1922 and for several years by Judge Charles Herbert-Smith. It was gated all week, except on Sundays.
"Moving south down Mill Road you pass on the right the house where a friend, Hazel Nicholls, lived, and assiduously fed and looked after the ducks.
"Taking a trip down Cann's Lane, leaving Beech Cottage on the left, came the Manor House and a cottage, while down a loke there were two or three more. On the right was a grocer and a big house occupied by a market gardener. There was nothing more on the left until one reached the old A11, while on the right were the cottages of Mrs Wiseman and another. Then came a lokeway with some houses in one of which lived Mrs Bailey and her two sons, one of whom was a shoemaker. The hut in the garden was a memorial to Cyril and is engraved C.J. Bailey. Further along was another house and next to it a dwelling later pulled down."
When Ella left school there was no immediate job for her, but after a few weeks she obtained work in the Caley Factory in Norwich, to which the only transport was a bike.
* * *
For many people the village of Hethersett was a self contained backwater but for others the march of progress brought with it some problems. The Parish Magazine gave a flavour of a more hectic side of the village in September 1923 under the heading - PEACE ON THE TURNPIKE: It ran as follows -
"On a certain day a few weeks back, one hundred and twenty six motor vehicles passed through Hethersett on the main road within an hour, i.e, at the rate of rather more than two a minute. What the average is per day nobody probably knows. The stream begins early in the morning and lasts late into the night, and includes vehicles of every variety, shape, weight and size. It brings with it every kind of noise and a vast amount of racket. Lorries and pantechnicons thunder through and set up a vibration which literally rattles the pictures on the walls of adjacent cottages. Motor cycles roar past with open exhausts, which make sleep an impossibility for children. Added to this is the warning note of the klaxons as they approach a bend or a crossroad at a speed which seems to hold life cheap. In Hethersett there are at least two danger spots on the turnpike at which there have occurred numbers of accidents, and yet there is no sort of warning to motorists to slow up.
"Granted that all these motor-driven vehicles must pass along the road, and granted that speed is the order of the day, surely something might be done to preserve those whose houses are shaken, and nerves set on edge, and children deprived of sleep, from what has become an every day pest."
Below are biographies and details of the 17 men commemorated on Hethersett War Memorial who died in the First World War.
Robert BARTRAM - Private Robert John Bartram of the 11th Battalion Essex Regiment died on 21st April, 1917, aged 35 and is buried in Wimereux Communal Cemetery. Robert was the son of Mr and Mrs James Bartram of Hethersett.
He was born in Ketteringham in 1884 and was previously in the Norfolk Regiment. It is likely that he served in the Norfolk Regiment before joining the Essex Regiment. In keeping with many other soldiers, home county did not always mean home regiment and often individuals were transferred between regiments to, amongst other things, make up the numbers.
There is no record of Robert dying from wounds or being killed in battle, so it is highly likely that he was taken ill and hospitalised. From 1914 Wimereux was an important hospital centre and until June 1918 used the communal cemetery for burials. Once again this suggests Robert died in hospital.
Horace BEAUMONT - Stoker Horace Beaumont of the Royal Naval Reserve was lost at sea on 12th December, 1918, aged 37. He is rememberd on the Chatham Naval War Memorial. The 1901 census shows that Horace was born in Mulbarton but was living with his uncle and aunt in East Carleton. His mother Ellen had died and he and his father, Robert, were sharing his uncle's home. At the time of death his next of kin was his sister May Smitherman who was living in Deal Kent.
Horace died when his ship was torpedoed by a German U Boat. Horace was part of the crew of Merchant Fleet Auxiliary Vessel Eleanor which was engaged in taking a consignment of mines, depth charges and other munitions from Immingham on Humberside via Falmouth to Malta. When passing to the south of the Isle of Wight it was struck by a torpedo without any warning. The vessel sank within two minutes. All but one crew member was killed. The wreck of the boat is now a recognised grave site.
Frederick BENNETT - Private Frederick Bennett of the 71st Company Machine Gun Corps (previously the Suffolk Regiment) was killed in aaction on 1st May 1917 and is remembered on the Loos Memorial in France.
Frederick was born in Hethersett on 19th February, 1896 and baptised in St Remigius on 2nd April of that year. He was the son of Frederick and Elizabeth Bennett (nee Nobbs). His father died in September 1899 at the age of 30 and his mother re-married to William Denmark in September 1901. Frederick enlisted at Cambridge, which would suggest that he had already left Hethersett.
He was moved from the Suffolk regiment to the Machine Gun Corps and most likely served as part of a machine gun team. Often the machine gun team had to stay put during an attack in order to lay down supporting fire. This made them extremely vulnerable. The Machine Gun Corps soon attracted the nickname of the Suicide Squad due to their poor life expectancy. Captured machine gunners of both sides often had to endure harsh treatment by enraged enemy troops who had seen their friends decimated by this devastating weapon.
The heavier machine guns of both sides could comfortably find their targets at 800 yards and had a maximum range of approximately 4,000 yards. Even a mile or more from the lines, a soldier was still far from being safe. The artillery could fire at targets three to five miles distant and the larger calibre guns had an extreme range of 25 miles.
Frederick was only 21 when he was killed. Although he is remembered on the Loos Memorial, he was not killed in the 1915 battle of the same name. It is more likely that he took part in the later Battle of Arras which was a major offensive planned to push the Germans back and break through the formidable Hindenburg Line. After initial Allied success, including the famous action at Vimy Ridge, the offensive became bogged down and the final objective achieved despite 15,000 Allied losses against a possible 100,000 suffered by the enemy.
William BISHOP - Private William Bishop of the 1st/5th Norfolk Regiment died in hospital on November 4th, 1917.. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Gaza on April 19th, 1917 and for about five months was able to write home regularly. Suddenly in September 1917 his letters stopped and nothing was heard of him until the War Office announced that information had been received that he died of enteritis in hospital at Nigde in Turkey on November 4th, 1917. He left a widow and three sons.
When William was 21 he was living in Beckhithe with his parents Arthur and Mary. In the 1901 census his father is shown as a farm worker and William was employed as a groom. At the time he had three brothers and four sisters.
To his family the steady stream of letters must have been re-assuring, but the ongoing silence must have increased his family's anxiety. William was 37 when he died. Conditions for prisoners of war in Turkey were often harsh. The climate, conditions, poor food and contaminated water contributed to the illness that led to his death.
His widow Vera Beatrice (nee Livick) lived at The Bungalows in Mill Road with their three sons who were all baptised in St Remigius - Victor William (20th August 1905), Edwin Albert (13th January 1907) and Russell Arthur (24th May 1908).
William was buried in Baghdad.
Frederick BLAKE - Private Frederick Stephen Blake of the 7th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment was killed in action on 14th May 1917, aged 35. He is remembers on the Arras Memorial in France. The Hethersett Parish Magazine reported his death in these words.
Frederick Stephen Blake 2/5Yorks Regt, son of Mr and Mrs Blake, Hethersett, who has been missing since May 14th, 1917, is now reported to have been killed in France on that date.
The son of William James and Elizabeth Blake of Cann's Lane, Hethersett, Frederick was born in Little Melton in 1882 and in the 1901 census is shown as aged 19, a stock feeder on a farm.
His name is remembered on the Arras Memorial to the missing, as one of the many with no known grave. Many thousands of soldiers fighting on the Western Front were never found or identified. It is quite common in war cemeteries to see the words "A soldier of the Great War Known Unto God."
William BRINGLOE - Rifleman William Bringloe of the 1st/12th Battalio London Regiment was born in 1889 and killed in action on 7th October 1916 aged 27. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing.
The parish magazine of December 1916 states:
It is with deep regret and real sympathy for those who are bereaved that we record the death of William Bringloe who was killed in action in France on October 7th last. He was attached to the 12th London Regiment and is the son of Mr William and Mrs Sarah Bringloe of this Parish. His age was 27 years. A memorial service was held for him on 25th November 1916.
The family lived at Vine House, Hethersett, where William and Sarah raised nine children - six girls and three boys. William was transferred to the London Regiment on 11th July, 1916, and was killed in an attack on Dewdrop Trench some three months later. This was one of a series of trenches with names like Hazy, Rainy, Mild and Rainbow which were collectively known as the Meteorological Trenches and whose names belied the terrible actuality. The Book "148 Days on the Somme" by Barry Cuttell carries a photograph with the caption
These dry and dusty fields were part of the area containing the Meteorological Trenches where in the autumn of 1916 both British and German barrages turned the whole sector into a sea of clinging mud and filth.
On Saturday 7th October, William's Regiment began their attack on Dewdrop Trench. Unfortunately it failed and William was killed. William's brothers George, Henry and Bertie served in the Norfolk Regiment but returned home.
The imposing Thiepval Memorial carries the names of 72,000 soldiers who have no known grave. It towers over part of the Somme battlefield.
Ralph BUCKINGHAM - We have a special section on Ralph Buckingham which can be accessed from the menu at the top of the page. You can also access this by clicking here.
Albert "Ray" Childs
Albert "Ray" CHILDS - We have a special section on Ray Childs which can be accessed from the menu at the top of the page. You can also access this by clicking here
Harry CHILDS - Private Harry Childs served in the 1st/4th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He died in hospital in Alexandria on 17th September, 1917. He is buried in the Deir El Bulah Cemetary, Israel. He is also remembered in the British School Tablet now in the Church Rooms, Henstead Road.
Harry was born in Dolman's Yard, Barford, on August 20th, 1880, and his father was a boot and shoe maker. The 1901 census finds Harry living at home and employed as a gardener-domestic working for Major Evans-Lombe at Thickthorn Hall. The family now had premises in Henstead Road called The Elms.
There were 10 children born to William and Louisa Childs - five boys and five girls. By this time the ledest son, Billy, had followed his father's footsteps into the boot and shoe trade, and the eldest daughter, Ada, was living and working at home as a dressmaker. Harry is said to have started a cycle agency and repair business in the early 1900s, trading as H.H. Childs, but sometime before the war began, Billy joined him and the business became Childs Bros with premises at the crossroads of Henstead Road and Queen's Road, opposite what is now the MacMillan Charity Shop.
Harry's early service was possibly in the Territorials. It is likely that Harry was admitted to hospital on May 17th and died four months later. There is no record of his illness although many succumbed to illness caused by contaminated drinking water, poor rations, mounting fatigue and the extremes of heat by day and cold by night in the Middle East.
Frederick CURSON - We have a special section on Frederick Curson which can be accessed from the menu at the top of the page. You can also access this page by clicking here.
Frederick HARVEY - Private Frederick James Harvey of the 268th Employment Company died on 8th December, 1918 and is buried in Abbeville Communal Cemetery in France.
Frederick was the son of Walter and Jane Harvey of Hethersett and left a widow, Alice Barbara, and a daughter Cecilia Violet who was baptised in St Remigius on 30th August, 1908. In the 1901 Census Frederick is recorded as 17 and lodging in Carrow Road, Norwich. He appears to have been employed at that time as a tin worker, possibly a machinist working on the railways.
Frederick died, aged 35, from pneumonia, following influenza, four weeks after the Armistice. The Great War claimed the lives of 8 million men, but the influenza pandemic was to bring more misery and death around the globe - accounting for between 20 and 40 million people. Frederick would be suffering from poor nutrition and exhaustion from his years of war service. His resistence to any infection would have been low. He had been transferred from the 2nd/8th Battalion of the Royal Scots into the Labour Corps, so it is quite likely that he had been previously wounded or gassed and had been found unfit to return to the front line. It is possible that Frederick died in a French Hospital.
Arthur HUBBARD - Corporal Arthur Hubbard of the 7th Norfolk Regiment was killed in action on 18th September, 1918 and is buried in Epehy Wood Cemetery in France. The Parish Magazine of November 1918 reported
It was with very great regret that we learnt of the death of Corporal Arthur Hubbard, 7th Batt Norfolk Regiment. He was killed in action on September 18th, 1918. He leaves a widow and three children and two adopted nephews. We offer to those who mourn our deep and sincere sympathy.
Arthur and his wife Agnes Ruth had three children who were all baptised in St Remigius Church. They were Clive George Frederick on 17th December, 1912, Norman Arthur and Vera Rose Mary, possibly twins, baptised 13th May, 1917. In the 1901 Census Arthur is recorded as being 10 years old with an elder brother Frederick, aged 14, who was a baker. His parents, George and Rose, lived in Mill Road in the village.
Arthur's war experiences were cruel but not uncommon. He suffered previously with multiple gunshot wounds to his right leg and was later gassed, both injuries requiring periods of hospitalisation.
He is recorded as missing on 18th September and so it is assumed that he was killed in action on that day. He is buried with 23 other Norfolks in Epehy Wood Cemetery. All 24 men are shown as being killed on the same day. It is known that there was an attack on Room Trench that day resulting in 120 dead, wounded or missing.
Benjamin JOY - Private Benjamin George Joy of the 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment was killed in action on 28th March, 1918 and is remembered on the Arras Memorial, France. He is also remembered on the British School Tablet now in the Church Rooms in Henstead Road.
Benjamin's birth was registered in Henstead in June 1894. He enlisted in Bury St Edmunds, which suggests that he had left the village to follow his own path and that is probably why he found himself in the Suffolk Regiment.
The Parish Magazine of May 1918 reads:
Benjamin George Joy, son of Mr and Mrs B. Joy of Hethersett was killed in action in France on March 28th, 1918, aged 24. Private Joy first went abroad in July 1916 and was wounded on April 11th last year. We offer our deepest sympathy to those who have been bereaved. A memorial service was held on April 21st.
March 1918 was a month that would bring many casualties on both side and to many was the beginning of the final chapter of the conflict. The German High Command knew that the entry of America into the war, had given the advantage to the Allies. The Germans tried to split and destroy the British and French before the Americans arrived.
A massive attack was opened along a 50 mile front beginning on March 21st, 1918. The Germans made remarkable gains over the following days, despite many instances of heroic and stubborn resistance by Allied troops. Eventually the Allied campaign ran out of steam, due to over stretched communications and supply lines. Benjamin's 2nd Suffolk Battalion suffered a heavy bombardment on 21st March and was withdrawn on 23rd to reserve trenches to the northwest of Wancourt village. On 27th March they were moved forward again into the front line trenches overlooking the village. It is likely that the trenches were no deeper than three feet.
The Germans bombarded the trenches, but still the Allies fought on. Over 400 of the battalion had become casualties and those who remained were forced to surrender.
Sidney LIVICK - Lance Corporal George Sidney Livick (commemorated on the Hethersett War Memorial as Sidney Livick) was killed in action on 26th September 1915, aged 29. He was serving in the 9th Battalion Norfolk Regiment and is remembered on the Loos Memorial in France and also on a special tablet containing five names in Hethersett Church Hall in Henstead Road.
He was born on 30th May, 1886, the son of John, a railway platelayer, and Amy, of New Cottages, Station Road, Hethersett. He was baptised in St Remigius Church on 4th July, 1886.
Army records state that Sidney was 26 years old at the time of his death but the Parish Register shows his true date of birth which puts his age at 29 when he went missing. Sidney enlisted as a volunteer in Norwich, joining the 9th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment, eventually arriving in France and being killed in what was the first action of the battalion. According to the 9th Battalion Diary: "there was much confusion at the time: having marched from Bethune on 25th September, 1915, where they had only just arrived. Orders were given that they march to "Lonely Tree Hill." Here they were again ordered to move on, at 3.30 a.m on Sunday 26th September, to assist the 20th Brigade in a dawn assault on quarries situated near to a place called Hulluch." T
here they took up positions only gained from the Germans the day before. The attack was launched at 6.45 a.m but advance was impossible due to heavy fire, especially from snipers who inflicted heavy casualties. The men were forced to take refuge in the trenches whilst other troops carried on the attack. At 7 p.m the enemy, using the light of flares, set up a fierce rifle barrage on the Norfolk's trenches.
The 9th Battalion was eventually relieved by the Grenadier Guards with orders to assemble at Vermelles, from where they were marched back to Lonely Tree Hill, arriving at 8 a.m the next day. In all there were 209 casualties, five officers and 39 men killed and nine officers and 121 men wounded and 34 of all ranks missing. Sidney was one of the last group and was never found or identified.
George Moore - Private George William Moore of the 1st/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment was killed in action aged 34 and is remembered on the Jerusalem Memorial in Israel. He went missing following the Battle of Gaza and was the subject of the following announcement in Hethersett's Parish Magazine of November 1918.
The whole Parish is sorrowfully aware that George Moore has been missing ever since the Battle of Gaza. He was last seen on April 19th, 1917. We regret to announce that the War Office has recently stated that he is believed to have been killed on that date .... in losing George Moore we have lost an upright Christian man .... His unimpeachable character won for him the respect in which he was held by all who knew him. He leaves a widow and a little boy.
The announcement brought to an end the long months of uncertainty for his widow Emma Maud Moore and his parents George and Maria. His son Richard George was born while his father was away at war.
George was baptises on 21st January 1917 and lived with his mother in Rose Cottage, Hethersett.
George was in a Territorial Battalion. Territorial soldiers were called up before war was officially declared and the 1st/4th Norfolks were called to assemble in Chapelfield in Norwich on 4th August, 1914, from where they travelled to their appointed destinations. Initially it was assumed they would be employed on home defence duties, but they were soon given the opportunity to indicate if they would be prepared to serve overseas and the majority agreed to do so.
On April 19th, 1917, the Norfolks were engaged on an attack on Gaza after which George was reported missing. His body was never positively identified and he has no known grave. Thus his name is remembered on the Jerusalem Memorial.
The attack is described in the History of the 1st/5th Suffolk Regiment by Captain A. Fair and E. D. Wolton in the following terms:
At 7.30 a.m, it then being broad daylight, the Norfolks commenced the attack from the ridge. There, as at most points, more than a mile of almost level country with little cover before the enemy trenches could be reached. The Norfolks on arriving about 800 yards from the enemy trenches came under a very heavy and accurate belt of crossfire from the machine guns which swept ground entirely devoid of cover. They tried to press quickly on, but could not pass through the belt and suffered very heavy casualties, nearly 75% being seriously wounded or killed. The groans and calls of the wounded could be heard but to send a party into that belt meant certain death and drew heavy searching fire on those that were there.
Arthur NINHAM - Private Arthur Charles Ninham of the 1st/9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry was presumed killed in action on 8th November 1916, aged 21. He is buries in Dernacourt Communal Cemetery in France.
In the 1901 census Arthur is aged five and, along with his brother Frederick who was a year older, was living in High Street, Ketteringham in the care of his uncle and aunt Frederick and Emily Grimson. Frederick worked as a farm horseman and Emily was a housewife, looking after the two boys. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records the boys' parents simply as Mr and Mrs Ninham, living in Newfound Lane, Cringleford. They were married in 1889 in Blofield and both of their sons were born there. It has never been established, however, why the boys were living with their aunts and uncles. When war came the two young men enlisted but only Frederick, who served in the 2nd/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment returned home.
In early November, 1916, following heavy rains and cold weather, ground conditions were deteriorating fast. Onmber the 6th, 8th and 9th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry were part of an attack intended to secure, amongst other things, the Butte de Warlencourt, a prehistoric mound and the only piece of high ground in the vicinity. They were also trying to secure a nearby quarry. The small hill had been fought over many times and Arthur had probably "gone over the top" in this area previously.
The day was to become famous in the annals of Arthur's regiment. Facing withering machine gun fire, the men in the Durham Light Infantry had to struggle through the clinging mud at an agonisingly slow speed, with only water filled shell holes for temporary refuge. Even so some managed to get over two lines of enemy trenches, into the quarry and part of the German trench system, where they consolidated their gains. They fought all day despite several enemy counter-attacks, but each fresh assault reduced their numbers further, and eventually they were forced to abandon their positions, many fighting to the end rather than run.
It was in these appalling conditions that Arthur may have lost his life. His date of death is presumed as he had not been seen for some time. For the following three days activities were relatively quiet, so it is quite possible that he may have been one of the courageous men who reached the German lines but didn't return.
Arthur lost his life in what was one of the final actions of the Battle of the Somme, which had lasted from late June to the first few days of November 1916, and had cost and estimated 419,000 British, 204,000 French and between 660,000 and 680,000 German casualties. The death and destruction lasted far beyond the catastrophic 1st July, the day that many people think started and finished the battle. By early November the troops on both sides were exhausted and demoralised. The planned and hoped for British and French breakthrough had ground to a halt, but valuable lessons had been learned which would be developed and would lead to victory some two years later.
Harry SERGEANT - Private Harry Sergeant of the 1st/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment was killed in action on 19th April, 1917, aged 35 and is buried in the Gaza War Cemetery, Israel. The parish magazine of March 1918 includes the following notice.
News has been received that Private Harry Sergeant who has been missing since 19th April, 1917, was killed in action on that day. Sincere sympathy will be felt by all for his relatives after their anxiety and suspense for so many months. Born on 7th December 1882 and baptised on 4th February 1883 in St Remigius Parish Church, a memorial service was held on Sunday 10th February. The officer in command of Harry's platoon wrote as follows to his mother: Your son was in my platoon for about six months prior to the attack and was a very good soldier. He was always a great help to me since his experience of Gallipolli ... The Regiment will lose by him one of its best men.
Harry's parents, Henry and Sarah, according to the 1881 census lived in Cann's Lane Cottage, Hethersett. Henry was a labourer.
As a member of the 1st/4th Norfolks Harry may have enlisted as a Territorial (part time) soldier, attending training at weekends and annual summer camps. The Territorial Army began in 1908 and it is possible that Harry joined at that time. The Hethersett Territorials trained locally. In the June 1915 edition of the parish magazine there is a note about the Volunteer Training Corps, Hethersett squad:
The cricket ground, which Mr Back has kindly placed at their disposal, forms an admirable drill ground.
It is most likely that Harry was called up on a war footing basis on 4th August, 1914, being directed to Chapelfield in Norwich.
April 19th, 1917, was the date of the second Battle of Gaza. The second attack saw the loss of many lives, one of whom was Harry Sergeant.
Arthur SHORTEN - Private Arthur Henry Shorten of the 1st/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment died of wounds on 3rd November, 1917 and is buried in Gaza War Cemetery, Israel. He is another soldier commemorated on the tablet which can be seen in the Church Hall Rooms in Henstead Road.
Arthur was born in Norwich on December 8th, 1890, the son of John and Helen Shorten. He was baptised in St Remigius on October 6th, 1895. His father was a railway platelayer.
In the parish magazine prior to the dedication of the war memorial it was stated that Arthur was killed at the Battle of Jaffa. This is incorrect as he died from wounds received in the third battle of Gaza. It is likely that Arthur was wounded on 2nd November and died from his wounds the next day.
Arthur as another Territorial Soldier who found himself serving in the Middle East where at times there was more danger from disease than from enemy fire.
The following men with Hethersett connections lost their lives in the First World War but are not commemorated on the main war memorial in the churchyard:
John BARRETT - Second Lieutenant John Ambrose Barrett of the Rifle Brigade was killed in action on 31st July, 1917 and is buried in the New Irish Farm Cemetery in Belgium. He is remembered on a private memorial inside St Remigius Church and on a memorial window in All Saints Church, South Lynn. The tablet within St Remigius reads:
In Loving memory of
John Ambrose Barrett
2nd Lieut 16th Batt The Rifle Brigade
Third Son of
Joseph and Louisa Barrett
of Upton Essex.
Husband of Evelyn Marion
Eldest Daughter of
William Henry and
Marion Edith Back of This Parish
Killed in Action in Flanders
31st July 1917. Aged 37 Years.
John enlisted on 8th December, 1915, but, as he had no military training, his first application for a commission was rejected. When he finally became an officer on 24th October, 1916, he was sent overseas immediately. At the time of his death he was a signalling officer with the 16th Battalion Rifle Brigade. A popular leader, he was known to his younger colleagues as "Father" Barrett. His own father was a solicitor and the family lived at Upton in Essex. After being educated at Merchant Taylor's School in London, he went on to study at Oxford, where he was awarded a half-blue for tennis. He was also a keen cricketer.
John was killed on the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele. The opening assault on 31st July, 1917, is generally known as the Battle of Pilckem. An artillery bombardment took place day and night. It is estimated that 4.3 million Allied shells were fired into the German lines. Even after all that, some German strongpoints remained and had to be overcome before any advance could be made.
John married Evelyn Back, one of five daughters of William and Marion Back of Hurn House, Hethersett on 11th September, 1912. St Remigius Church was packed for the service with relations, friends and parishioners, who had seen the bride grow up in the village. John became a brewer for Morgan's in King's Lynn where the family lived at 12, Portland Street. He was a prominent member of All Saints Church, South Lynn, acting as church treasurer for a time and he is remembered on a memorial window there although his surname is spelled as Barratt.
The couple had four children - three being baptised in St Remigius - John Henry on 24th August, 1913; Lawrence Ambrose on 5th December 1915 and Elsie Sybil on 25th May, 1917. At the time of his death the records show his wife living at 139 Newmarket Road, Norwich.
Bertie SPARROW - Private Bertie Sparrow of the 5th Battalion Royal Inniskillin Fusiliers was killed in action on 8th October, 1918, aged 27, and is buried in Beaurevoir British Cemetery in France. He is also remembered on the memorial in his home village of Denham St. Mary.
Bertie had previously served with the Royal Field Artillery - as losses mounted men were moved to different units and given a new service number.
The parish magazine of January 1919, carried the news that Berties had been killed together with the fact that, at the time of enlistment, he was a lodger in Hethersett, The exact location is unknown. He was born in Denham St Mary near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, to George and Eliza Sparrow in June 1891. His father died at the age of 39 in September, 1897, and in the 1901 census Bertie 9, his mother, aged 43, his elder sister Daisy, 11, and his younger brother Harry,8, were all living in Denham Road, Denham, Suffolk.
Robert BARTRAM - Private Robert John Bartram of the 11th Battalion Essex Regiment died on 21st April, 1917, aged 35 and is buried in Wimereux Communal Cemetery. Robert was the son of Mr and Mrs James Bartram of Hethersett.
He was born in Ketteringham in 1884 and was previously in the Norfolk Regiment. It is likely that he served in the Norfolk Regiment before joining the Essex Regiment. In keeping with many other soldiers, home county did not always mean home regiment and often individuals were transferred between regiments to, amongst other things, make up the numbers.
There is no record of Robert dying from wounds or being killed in battle, so it is highly likely that he was taken ill and hospitalised. From 1914 Wimereux was an important hospital centre and until June 1918 used the communal cemetery for burials. Once again this suggests Robert died in hospital.
Horace BEAUMONT - Stoker Horace Beaumont of the Royal Naval Reserve was lost at sea on 12th December, 1918, aged 37. He is rememberd on the Chatham Naval War Memorial. The 1901 census shows that Horace was born in Mulbarton but was living with his uncle and aunt in East Carleton. His mother Ellen had died and he and his father, Robert, were sharing his uncle's home. At the time of death his next of kin was his sister May Smitherman who was living in Deal Kent.
Horace died when his ship was torpedoed by a German U Boat. Horace was part of the crew of Merchant Fleet Auxiliary Vessel Eleanor which was engaged in taking a consignment of mines, depth charges and other munitions from Immingham on Humberside via Falmouth to Malta. When passing to the south of the Isle of Wight it was struck by a torpedo without any warning. The vessel sank within two minutes. All but one crew member was killed. The wreck of the boat is now a recognised grave site.
Frederick BENNETT - Private Frederick Bennett of the 71st Company Machine Gun Corps (previously the Suffolk Regiment) was killed in aaction on 1st May 1917 and is remembered on the Loos Memorial in France.
Frederick was born in Hethersett on 19th February, 1896 and baptised in St Remigius on 2nd April of that year. He was the son of Frederick and Elizabeth Bennett (nee Nobbs). His father died in September 1899 at the age of 30 and his mother re-married to William Denmark in September 1901. Frederick enlisted at Cambridge, which would suggest that he had already left Hethersett.
He was moved from the Suffolk regiment to the Machine Gun Corps and most likely served as part of a machine gun team. Often the machine gun team had to stay put during an attack in order to lay down supporting fire. This made them extremely vulnerable. The Machine Gun Corps soon attracted the nickname of the Suicide Squad due to their poor life expectancy. Captured machine gunners of both sides often had to endure harsh treatment by enraged enemy troops who had seen their friends decimated by this devastating weapon.
The heavier machine guns of both sides could comfortably find their targets at 800 yards and had a maximum range of approximately 4,000 yards. Even a mile or more from the lines, a soldier was still far from being safe. The artillery could fire at targets three to five miles distant and the larger calibre guns had an extreme range of 25 miles.
Frederick was only 21 when he was killed. Although he is remembered on the Loos Memorial, he was not killed in the 1915 battle of the same name. It is more likely that he took part in the later Battle of Arras which was a major offensive planned to push the Germans back and break through the formidable Hindenburg Line. After initial Allied success, including the famous action at Vimy Ridge, the offensive became bogged down and the final objective achieved despite 15,000 Allied losses against a possible 100,000 suffered by the enemy.
William BISHOP - Private William Bishop of the 1st/5th Norfolk Regiment died in hospital on November 4th, 1917.. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Gaza on April 19th, 1917 and for about five months was able to write home regularly. Suddenly in September 1917 his letters stopped and nothing was heard of him until the War Office announced that information had been received that he died of enteritis in hospital at Nigde in Turkey on November 4th, 1917. He left a widow and three sons.
When William was 21 he was living in Beckhithe with his parents Arthur and Mary. In the 1901 census his father is shown as a farm worker and William was employed as a groom. At the time he had three brothers and four sisters.
To his family the steady stream of letters must have been re-assuring, but the ongoing silence must have increased his family's anxiety. William was 37 when he died. Conditions for prisoners of war in Turkey were often harsh. The climate, conditions, poor food and contaminated water contributed to the illness that led to his death.
His widow Vera Beatrice (nee Livick) lived at The Bungalows in Mill Road with their three sons who were all baptised in St Remigius - Victor William (20th August 1905), Edwin Albert (13th January 1907) and Russell Arthur (24th May 1908).
William was buried in Baghdad.
Frederick BLAKE - Private Frederick Stephen Blake of the 7th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment was killed in action on 14th May 1917, aged 35. He is remembers on the Arras Memorial in France. The Hethersett Parish Magazine reported his death in these words.
Frederick Stephen Blake 2/5Yorks Regt, son of Mr and Mrs Blake, Hethersett, who has been missing since May 14th, 1917, is now reported to have been killed in France on that date.
The son of William James and Elizabeth Blake of Cann's Lane, Hethersett, Frederick was born in Little Melton in 1882 and in the 1901 census is shown as aged 19, a stock feeder on a farm.
His name is remembered on the Arras Memorial to the missing, as one of the many with no known grave. Many thousands of soldiers fighting on the Western Front were never found or identified. It is quite common in war cemeteries to see the words "A soldier of the Great War Known Unto God."
William BRINGLOE - Rifleman William Bringloe of the 1st/12th Battalio London Regiment was born in 1889 and killed in action on 7th October 1916 aged 27. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing.
The parish magazine of December 1916 states:
It is with deep regret and real sympathy for those who are bereaved that we record the death of William Bringloe who was killed in action in France on October 7th last. He was attached to the 12th London Regiment and is the son of Mr William and Mrs Sarah Bringloe of this Parish. His age was 27 years. A memorial service was held for him on 25th November 1916.
The family lived at Vine House, Hethersett, where William and Sarah raised nine children - six girls and three boys. William was transferred to the London Regiment on 11th July, 1916, and was killed in an attack on Dewdrop Trench some three months later. This was one of a series of trenches with names like Hazy, Rainy, Mild and Rainbow which were collectively known as the Meteorological Trenches and whose names belied the terrible actuality. The Book "148 Days on the Somme" by Barry Cuttell carries a photograph with the caption
These dry and dusty fields were part of the area containing the Meteorological Trenches where in the autumn of 1916 both British and German barrages turned the whole sector into a sea of clinging mud and filth.
On Saturday 7th October, William's Regiment began their attack on Dewdrop Trench. Unfortunately it failed and William was killed. William's brothers George, Henry and Bertie served in the Norfolk Regiment but returned home.
The imposing Thiepval Memorial carries the names of 72,000 soldiers who have no known grave. It towers over part of the Somme battlefield.
Ralph BUCKINGHAM - We have a special section on Ralph Buckingham which can be accessed from the menu at the top of the page. You can also access this by clicking here.
Albert "Ray" Childs
Albert "Ray" CHILDS - We have a special section on Ray Childs which can be accessed from the menu at the top of the page. You can also access this by clicking here
Harry CHILDS - Private Harry Childs served in the 1st/4th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He died in hospital in Alexandria on 17th September, 1917. He is buried in the Deir El Bulah Cemetary, Israel. He is also remembered in the British School Tablet now in the Church Rooms, Henstead Road.
Harry was born in Dolman's Yard, Barford, on August 20th, 1880, and his father was a boot and shoe maker. The 1901 census finds Harry living at home and employed as a gardener-domestic working for Major Evans-Lombe at Thickthorn Hall. The family now had premises in Henstead Road called The Elms.
There were 10 children born to William and Louisa Childs - five boys and five girls. By this time the ledest son, Billy, had followed his father's footsteps into the boot and shoe trade, and the eldest daughter, Ada, was living and working at home as a dressmaker. Harry is said to have started a cycle agency and repair business in the early 1900s, trading as H.H. Childs, but sometime before the war began, Billy joined him and the business became Childs Bros with premises at the crossroads of Henstead Road and Queen's Road, opposite what is now the MacMillan Charity Shop.
Harry's early service was possibly in the Territorials. It is likely that Harry was admitted to hospital on May 17th and died four months later. There is no record of his illness although many succumbed to illness caused by contaminated drinking water, poor rations, mounting fatigue and the extremes of heat by day and cold by night in the Middle East.
Frederick CURSON - We have a special section on Frederick Curson which can be accessed from the menu at the top of the page. You can also access this page by clicking here.
Frederick HARVEY - Private Frederick James Harvey of the 268th Employment Company died on 8th December, 1918 and is buried in Abbeville Communal Cemetery in France.
Frederick was the son of Walter and Jane Harvey of Hethersett and left a widow, Alice Barbara, and a daughter Cecilia Violet who was baptised in St Remigius on 30th August, 1908. In the 1901 Census Frederick is recorded as 17 and lodging in Carrow Road, Norwich. He appears to have been employed at that time as a tin worker, possibly a machinist working on the railways.
Frederick died, aged 35, from pneumonia, following influenza, four weeks after the Armistice. The Great War claimed the lives of 8 million men, but the influenza pandemic was to bring more misery and death around the globe - accounting for between 20 and 40 million people. Frederick would be suffering from poor nutrition and exhaustion from his years of war service. His resistence to any infection would have been low. He had been transferred from the 2nd/8th Battalion of the Royal Scots into the Labour Corps, so it is quite likely that he had been previously wounded or gassed and had been found unfit to return to the front line. It is possible that Frederick died in a French Hospital.
Arthur HUBBARD - Corporal Arthur Hubbard of the 7th Norfolk Regiment was killed in action on 18th September, 1918 and is buried in Epehy Wood Cemetery in France. The Parish Magazine of November 1918 reported
It was with very great regret that we learnt of the death of Corporal Arthur Hubbard, 7th Batt Norfolk Regiment. He was killed in action on September 18th, 1918. He leaves a widow and three children and two adopted nephews. We offer to those who mourn our deep and sincere sympathy.
Arthur and his wife Agnes Ruth had three children who were all baptised in St Remigius Church. They were Clive George Frederick on 17th December, 1912, Norman Arthur and Vera Rose Mary, possibly twins, baptised 13th May, 1917. In the 1901 Census Arthur is recorded as being 10 years old with an elder brother Frederick, aged 14, who was a baker. His parents, George and Rose, lived in Mill Road in the village.
Arthur's war experiences were cruel but not uncommon. He suffered previously with multiple gunshot wounds to his right leg and was later gassed, both injuries requiring periods of hospitalisation.
He is recorded as missing on 18th September and so it is assumed that he was killed in action on that day. He is buried with 23 other Norfolks in Epehy Wood Cemetery. All 24 men are shown as being killed on the same day. It is known that there was an attack on Room Trench that day resulting in 120 dead, wounded or missing.
Benjamin JOY - Private Benjamin George Joy of the 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment was killed in action on 28th March, 1918 and is remembered on the Arras Memorial, France. He is also remembered on the British School Tablet now in the Church Rooms in Henstead Road.
Benjamin's birth was registered in Henstead in June 1894. He enlisted in Bury St Edmunds, which suggests that he had left the village to follow his own path and that is probably why he found himself in the Suffolk Regiment.
The Parish Magazine of May 1918 reads:
Benjamin George Joy, son of Mr and Mrs B. Joy of Hethersett was killed in action in France on March 28th, 1918, aged 24. Private Joy first went abroad in July 1916 and was wounded on April 11th last year. We offer our deepest sympathy to those who have been bereaved. A memorial service was held on April 21st.
March 1918 was a month that would bring many casualties on both side and to many was the beginning of the final chapter of the conflict. The German High Command knew that the entry of America into the war, had given the advantage to the Allies. The Germans tried to split and destroy the British and French before the Americans arrived.
A massive attack was opened along a 50 mile front beginning on March 21st, 1918. The Germans made remarkable gains over the following days, despite many instances of heroic and stubborn resistance by Allied troops. Eventually the Allied campaign ran out of steam, due to over stretched communications and supply lines. Benjamin's 2nd Suffolk Battalion suffered a heavy bombardment on 21st March and was withdrawn on 23rd to reserve trenches to the northwest of Wancourt village. On 27th March they were moved forward again into the front line trenches overlooking the village. It is likely that the trenches were no deeper than three feet.
The Germans bombarded the trenches, but still the Allies fought on. Over 400 of the battalion had become casualties and those who remained were forced to surrender.
Sidney LIVICK - Lance Corporal George Sidney Livick (commemorated on the Hethersett War Memorial as Sidney Livick) was killed in action on 26th September 1915, aged 29. He was serving in the 9th Battalion Norfolk Regiment and is remembered on the Loos Memorial in France and also on a special tablet containing five names in Hethersett Church Hall in Henstead Road.
He was born on 30th May, 1886, the son of John, a railway platelayer, and Amy, of New Cottages, Station Road, Hethersett. He was baptised in St Remigius Church on 4th July, 1886.
Army records state that Sidney was 26 years old at the time of his death but the Parish Register shows his true date of birth which puts his age at 29 when he went missing. Sidney enlisted as a volunteer in Norwich, joining the 9th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment, eventually arriving in France and being killed in what was the first action of the battalion. According to the 9th Battalion Diary: "there was much confusion at the time: having marched from Bethune on 25th September, 1915, where they had only just arrived. Orders were given that they march to "Lonely Tree Hill." Here they were again ordered to move on, at 3.30 a.m on Sunday 26th September, to assist the 20th Brigade in a dawn assault on quarries situated near to a place called Hulluch." T
here they took up positions only gained from the Germans the day before. The attack was launched at 6.45 a.m but advance was impossible due to heavy fire, especially from snipers who inflicted heavy casualties. The men were forced to take refuge in the trenches whilst other troops carried on the attack. At 7 p.m the enemy, using the light of flares, set up a fierce rifle barrage on the Norfolk's trenches.
The 9th Battalion was eventually relieved by the Grenadier Guards with orders to assemble at Vermelles, from where they were marched back to Lonely Tree Hill, arriving at 8 a.m the next day. In all there were 209 casualties, five officers and 39 men killed and nine officers and 121 men wounded and 34 of all ranks missing. Sidney was one of the last group and was never found or identified.
George Moore - Private George William Moore of the 1st/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment was killed in action aged 34 and is remembered on the Jerusalem Memorial in Israel. He went missing following the Battle of Gaza and was the subject of the following announcement in Hethersett's Parish Magazine of November 1918.
The whole Parish is sorrowfully aware that George Moore has been missing ever since the Battle of Gaza. He was last seen on April 19th, 1917. We regret to announce that the War Office has recently stated that he is believed to have been killed on that date .... in losing George Moore we have lost an upright Christian man .... His unimpeachable character won for him the respect in which he was held by all who knew him. He leaves a widow and a little boy.
The announcement brought to an end the long months of uncertainty for his widow Emma Maud Moore and his parents George and Maria. His son Richard George was born while his father was away at war.
George was baptises on 21st January 1917 and lived with his mother in Rose Cottage, Hethersett.
George was in a Territorial Battalion. Territorial soldiers were called up before war was officially declared and the 1st/4th Norfolks were called to assemble in Chapelfield in Norwich on 4th August, 1914, from where they travelled to their appointed destinations. Initially it was assumed they would be employed on home defence duties, but they were soon given the opportunity to indicate if they would be prepared to serve overseas and the majority agreed to do so.
On April 19th, 1917, the Norfolks were engaged on an attack on Gaza after which George was reported missing. His body was never positively identified and he has no known grave. Thus his name is remembered on the Jerusalem Memorial.
The attack is described in the History of the 1st/5th Suffolk Regiment by Captain A. Fair and E. D. Wolton in the following terms:
At 7.30 a.m, it then being broad daylight, the Norfolks commenced the attack from the ridge. There, as at most points, more than a mile of almost level country with little cover before the enemy trenches could be reached. The Norfolks on arriving about 800 yards from the enemy trenches came under a very heavy and accurate belt of crossfire from the machine guns which swept ground entirely devoid of cover. They tried to press quickly on, but could not pass through the belt and suffered very heavy casualties, nearly 75% being seriously wounded or killed. The groans and calls of the wounded could be heard but to send a party into that belt meant certain death and drew heavy searching fire on those that were there.
Arthur NINHAM - Private Arthur Charles Ninham of the 1st/9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry was presumed killed in action on 8th November 1916, aged 21. He is buries in Dernacourt Communal Cemetery in France.
In the 1901 census Arthur is aged five and, along with his brother Frederick who was a year older, was living in High Street, Ketteringham in the care of his uncle and aunt Frederick and Emily Grimson. Frederick worked as a farm horseman and Emily was a housewife, looking after the two boys. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records the boys' parents simply as Mr and Mrs Ninham, living in Newfound Lane, Cringleford. They were married in 1889 in Blofield and both of their sons were born there. It has never been established, however, why the boys were living with their aunts and uncles. When war came the two young men enlisted but only Frederick, who served in the 2nd/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment returned home.
In early November, 1916, following heavy rains and cold weather, ground conditions were deteriorating fast. Onmber the 6th, 8th and 9th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry were part of an attack intended to secure, amongst other things, the Butte de Warlencourt, a prehistoric mound and the only piece of high ground in the vicinity. They were also trying to secure a nearby quarry. The small hill had been fought over many times and Arthur had probably "gone over the top" in this area previously.
The day was to become famous in the annals of Arthur's regiment. Facing withering machine gun fire, the men in the Durham Light Infantry had to struggle through the clinging mud at an agonisingly slow speed, with only water filled shell holes for temporary refuge. Even so some managed to get over two lines of enemy trenches, into the quarry and part of the German trench system, where they consolidated their gains. They fought all day despite several enemy counter-attacks, but each fresh assault reduced their numbers further, and eventually they were forced to abandon their positions, many fighting to the end rather than run.
It was in these appalling conditions that Arthur may have lost his life. His date of death is presumed as he had not been seen for some time. For the following three days activities were relatively quiet, so it is quite possible that he may have been one of the courageous men who reached the German lines but didn't return.
Arthur lost his life in what was one of the final actions of the Battle of the Somme, which had lasted from late June to the first few days of November 1916, and had cost and estimated 419,000 British, 204,000 French and between 660,000 and 680,000 German casualties. The death and destruction lasted far beyond the catastrophic 1st July, the day that many people think started and finished the battle. By early November the troops on both sides were exhausted and demoralised. The planned and hoped for British and French breakthrough had ground to a halt, but valuable lessons had been learned which would be developed and would lead to victory some two years later.
Harry SERGEANT - Private Harry Sergeant of the 1st/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment was killed in action on 19th April, 1917, aged 35 and is buried in the Gaza War Cemetery, Israel. The parish magazine of March 1918 includes the following notice.
News has been received that Private Harry Sergeant who has been missing since 19th April, 1917, was killed in action on that day. Sincere sympathy will be felt by all for his relatives after their anxiety and suspense for so many months. Born on 7th December 1882 and baptised on 4th February 1883 in St Remigius Parish Church, a memorial service was held on Sunday 10th February. The officer in command of Harry's platoon wrote as follows to his mother: Your son was in my platoon for about six months prior to the attack and was a very good soldier. He was always a great help to me since his experience of Gallipolli ... The Regiment will lose by him one of its best men.
Harry's parents, Henry and Sarah, according to the 1881 census lived in Cann's Lane Cottage, Hethersett. Henry was a labourer.
As a member of the 1st/4th Norfolks Harry may have enlisted as a Territorial (part time) soldier, attending training at weekends and annual summer camps. The Territorial Army began in 1908 and it is possible that Harry joined at that time. The Hethersett Territorials trained locally. In the June 1915 edition of the parish magazine there is a note about the Volunteer Training Corps, Hethersett squad:
The cricket ground, which Mr Back has kindly placed at their disposal, forms an admirable drill ground.
It is most likely that Harry was called up on a war footing basis on 4th August, 1914, being directed to Chapelfield in Norwich.
April 19th, 1917, was the date of the second Battle of Gaza. The second attack saw the loss of many lives, one of whom was Harry Sergeant.
Arthur SHORTEN - Private Arthur Henry Shorten of the 1st/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment died of wounds on 3rd November, 1917 and is buried in Gaza War Cemetery, Israel. He is another soldier commemorated on the tablet which can be seen in the Church Hall Rooms in Henstead Road.
Arthur was born in Norwich on December 8th, 1890, the son of John and Helen Shorten. He was baptised in St Remigius on October 6th, 1895. His father was a railway platelayer.
In the parish magazine prior to the dedication of the war memorial it was stated that Arthur was killed at the Battle of Jaffa. This is incorrect as he died from wounds received in the third battle of Gaza. It is likely that Arthur was wounded on 2nd November and died from his wounds the next day.
Arthur as another Territorial Soldier who found himself serving in the Middle East where at times there was more danger from disease than from enemy fire.
The following men with Hethersett connections lost their lives in the First World War but are not commemorated on the main war memorial in the churchyard:
John BARRETT - Second Lieutenant John Ambrose Barrett of the Rifle Brigade was killed in action on 31st July, 1917 and is buried in the New Irish Farm Cemetery in Belgium. He is remembered on a private memorial inside St Remigius Church and on a memorial window in All Saints Church, South Lynn. The tablet within St Remigius reads:
In Loving memory of
John Ambrose Barrett
2nd Lieut 16th Batt The Rifle Brigade
Third Son of
Joseph and Louisa Barrett
of Upton Essex.
Husband of Evelyn Marion
Eldest Daughter of
William Henry and
Marion Edith Back of This Parish
Killed in Action in Flanders
31st July 1917. Aged 37 Years.
John enlisted on 8th December, 1915, but, as he had no military training, his first application for a commission was rejected. When he finally became an officer on 24th October, 1916, he was sent overseas immediately. At the time of his death he was a signalling officer with the 16th Battalion Rifle Brigade. A popular leader, he was known to his younger colleagues as "Father" Barrett. His own father was a solicitor and the family lived at Upton in Essex. After being educated at Merchant Taylor's School in London, he went on to study at Oxford, where he was awarded a half-blue for tennis. He was also a keen cricketer.
John was killed on the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele. The opening assault on 31st July, 1917, is generally known as the Battle of Pilckem. An artillery bombardment took place day and night. It is estimated that 4.3 million Allied shells were fired into the German lines. Even after all that, some German strongpoints remained and had to be overcome before any advance could be made.
John married Evelyn Back, one of five daughters of William and Marion Back of Hurn House, Hethersett on 11th September, 1912. St Remigius Church was packed for the service with relations, friends and parishioners, who had seen the bride grow up in the village. John became a brewer for Morgan's in King's Lynn where the family lived at 12, Portland Street. He was a prominent member of All Saints Church, South Lynn, acting as church treasurer for a time and he is remembered on a memorial window there although his surname is spelled as Barratt.
The couple had four children - three being baptised in St Remigius - John Henry on 24th August, 1913; Lawrence Ambrose on 5th December 1915 and Elsie Sybil on 25th May, 1917. At the time of his death the records show his wife living at 139 Newmarket Road, Norwich.
Bertie SPARROW - Private Bertie Sparrow of the 5th Battalion Royal Inniskillin Fusiliers was killed in action on 8th October, 1918, aged 27, and is buried in Beaurevoir British Cemetery in France. He is also remembered on the memorial in his home village of Denham St. Mary.
Bertie had previously served with the Royal Field Artillery - as losses mounted men were moved to different units and given a new service number.
The parish magazine of January 1919, carried the news that Berties had been killed together with the fact that, at the time of enlistment, he was a lodger in Hethersett, The exact location is unknown. He was born in Denham St Mary near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, to George and Eliza Sparrow in June 1891. His father died at the age of 39 in September, 1897, and in the 1901 census Bertie 9, his mother, aged 43, his elder sister Daisy, 11, and his younger brother Harry,8, were all living in Denham Road, Denham, Suffolk.
The following lost their lives in the Second World War.
The following names from those killed in the Second World War (1939-1945) are included on the War Memorial. They are listed in date order of their deaths. We will have further details about these men shortly. The photograph on the left is of Cedar Grange taken in the 1940s and showing how it would have looked when Nigel Beaumont-Thomas lived there. Nigel was awarded the Military Cross for bravery and his biographical details are included on this page.
Sidney Wreford - 31st May, 1940
Sidney Arthur Wreford served as a gunner with the Norfolk Yeomanry Anti Tank Regiment. He was the son of Arthur and Anne Wreford and husband of Edith Wreford. He is buried in the Adinkerke Military Cemetery in Belgium. Having fought in the delaying action at the Ypres-Comines canal from the 26th - 28th May 1940, the regiment, along with the rest of its division was evacuated across the beaches of Dunkirk on the 1st June 1940. Many casualties who died in the area east of Dunkirk over those final few days are buried at Adinkerke. At the time of his death Sidney was aged 28
Fred Foster - 1940
Private Fred Foster of the 7th Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment was just 20 years of age when he lost his life. He was the son of Robert and Emma Foster of Hethersett. He is buried in St Valery En Caux Franco British Cemetery. The German thrust through the Ardennes in 1940 split the British forces, with those in Belgium forced back towards Dunkirk. Other units like the 7th Royal Norfolks had been stationed in support of the Maginot line near the Saar. To avoid being encircled, they staged a fighting retreat eastwards supporting the French forces. Eventually they ended up on the coast at St Valery-en-Caux. This was not to be a second Dunkirk, as initially hoped. There were no wide beaches where shelter could be sought. The Germans took the commanding heights around the town, and soon no vessel could approach, and the allied troops became increasingly concentrated in a built up urban area - an easy target for German Bombers and Artillery. On the 12th June 1940 the town surrendered and units like the 7th Norfolks marched into five years of captivity. In the confusion, not all the soldiers could be accounted for.
Raymond Coller - 10th December 1940
Raymond Coller was a Major in the Royal Artillery and was killed by enemy action. A Coller family tombstone exists in the churchyard at Hethersett where the inscription reads as follows: "“In proud and loving memory of Raymond Geoffrey Coller, Major Royal Artillery. Killed by Enemy Action, 10th December 1940” It also commemorates his wife Beryl Mary Lempriere Coller (nee Back) who died on 8th April, 1950, aged 49. It is likely that Major Coller was killed during a raid on London. His death is recorded in the Islington District and this could have been in a hospital after being hit in another part of London.
Frederick Boswell - 5th July 1941
Frederick James Boswell was an Aircraftman 1st Class in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was 21 when he was killed on 5th July, 1941. He was the son of William and Muriel Boswell of Norwich and is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, whihc is about four miles from Windsor and overlooks the River Thames. The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force.
The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe with sculpture by Vernon Hill. The engraved glass and painted ceilings were designed by John Hutton and the poem engraved on the gallery window was written by Paul H Scott. The Memorial was unveiled by The Queen on 17th October 1953. Frederick Boswell was lost with the sinking of SS Anselm.
The SS Anselm was built in Dumbarton in 1935, a coal fired passenger ship, she was converted to a troop ship in 1940. The SS Anselm was sunk by U96 5 July 1941 about 300 miles north of the Azores while on passage from Gourock to Freetown carrying 1,200 troops. 250 troops and 4 crewmen were lost. The Monthly Anti-submarine Report for September, 1941, states that immediately preceding the attack, HMS Challenger and SS Anselm were in line ahead and were being screened by HMS Lavender and HMS Petunia. HMS Starwort, whose Asdic (anti-submarine detection equipment) was out of order, was stationed astern. The escorts had been keeping listening watch in thick fog, but at 0350 the fog cleared and both ships commenced transmitting. At this time, HMS Lavender and HMS Petunia took up screening positions on either bow of HMS Challenger and commenced a zigzag on a course just east of south at a speed of 11 knots. At 0426, in approximate position 44 30N, 28 30W, not far from the Canary Islands, the SS Anselm was struck by a torpedo on the port side amidships. The SS Anselm settled rapidly by the head and sank 22 minutes after being hit.
All the lifeboats got away with the exception of No 6, which was damaged by the explosion. By skilful manoeuvring, HMS Challenger placed her bow alongside the SS Anselm’s port quarter, and in this manner rescued 60 men. Unfortunately 254 men, including 175 RAF personnel, lost their lives, but it is probable that many of these were killed by the explosion of the torpedo which struck the ship immediately below the accommodation space.
John McAnally - 8th July 1941
John McAnally was a pilot in the Royal Air Force and was aged 23 when he was killed on July 7th, 1941. He was the son of the Rev James McAnally and Francisca McAnally of Wiltshire. He is buried in the As Communal Cemetery in Belgium. It seems likely that John McAnally was flying in a Wellington Bomber during an operation on Cologne on 7th and 8th July. The plane crashed at Genk-Bodem in Belgium. There was only one survivor who was taken prisoner of war.
Alan Colman - 17th January 1943
First Officer Alan Rees Colman of the Air Transport Auxiliary was 42 when he died. He was the son of Russell and Edith Colman and husband of the Honorable Victoria Colman. He is remembered on the Lawnswood Crematorium in Leeds, Yorkshire. He was delivering a Hawker Hurricane when he crashed on landing at Sherburn and tipped into the water and was drowned.
Ernest Yull - 1943
Ernest Frederick Yull was a sailor on the SS Empire Mahseer and was 22 years of age when he died on March 4th, 1943. He was married to Elsie Yull. He is remembered on the Tower Hill Memorial in London. The Tower Hill Memorial commemorates men and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who died in both World Wars and who have no known grave. It stands on the south side of the garden of Trinity Square, London, close to The Tower of London.
SS Empire Mahseer was torpedoed on March 4th with 18 fatalities and 36 survivors. The master, 29 crew members and six gunners were picked up by HMS Norwich City and landed at Durban. The ship's route was Fanara - Durban - Bahia - Trinidad - Baltimore.
Louis Bunn - 23rd October 1943
Able Seaman Louis Leslie Bunn served on HMS Charybdis and was just 19 years of age when killed on October 23rd, 1943. He was the son of Walter and Maria Bunn of Hethersett and is buried in St Peter Port Cemetery in Guernsey. HMS Charybdis was hit on the port side by two torpedoes and sank within 30 minutes. A total of 426 lost their lives and 107 were rescued. Nineteen British sailors, including Louis Bunn were buried with full military honours in Foulon Cemetery, Guernsey, on Wednesday 17th November, 1943. At least 4,000 dignitaries and Islanders were present to honour the men. Since 1948 an annual remembrance service for the loss of the ship is held in Guernsey.
Henry Jeckells - 3rd March 1944
Henry Robert Jeckells was a private in the Royal Norfolk Regiment and aged 28 when he died on March 3rd, 1944. He is buried in Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand. Henry Jeckells is one of the hundreds of men who marched into captivity with the fall of Singapore in February 1942. He subsequently died as a prisoner of the Japanese.
Nigel Beaumont-Thomas - 20th September 1944
Nigel Beaumont Thomas is arguably the most celebrated of all the Hethersett men to lose their lives in the world wars. A captain in the Royal Engineers he was 28 years of age when he died on September 20th, 1944. He was the son of Colonel Lionel and Pauline Beaumont-Thomas of South Kensington, London. Colonel Thomas was lost at sea on 7th December, 1942. His son Nigel is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery. He was awarded the Military Cross and mentioned in dispatches. There is a mass of information on Nigel on the Internet and one of the most comprehensive
Nigel Beaumont-Thomas was born in London on 17th April, 1916, and educated in Hampstead, at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1939 he joined the firm of Richard Thomas and Co Ltd as a civil engineer. On 10th June, 1939 he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and mobilised on 24th August, 1939. From 1939 to June 1941 he was attached to the King's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners serving in India, North Africa, Abyssinia (where he was wounded) and North Africa. For a time he was a prisoner of war in Italk but escaped in September 1943 and made his way back to the United Kingdom in 1944. From May 28th until his death he was second in command of the 4th Parachute Squadron and was killed in action at Arnhem. He had already been promoted to the rank of Major.
Nigel Beaumont- Thomas lived at Ceder Grange in Hethersett. In his will he left over £116,000.
On the outbreak of war in 1939 he was immediately called up, and drafted in November 1939 to India, as an officer in King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners. There he learnt Hindustani, 'essential in dealing with Indian troops'. A year later he was in North Africa, with a diversion to the Italian Campaign in Abyssynia and Ethiopia where he was wounded, and spent some time in hospital. Then it was back to the North African desert, and the long tussle along the Mediterranean coast. It was during that weary and often frustrating campaign that he was awarded the Military Cross.
The citation recorded that he was commanding two parties of engineers who were being held in readiness to clear obstacles in the path of a tank advance through the Halfaya Pass (known to all British soldiers as 'Hellfire'). Some of the tanks penetrated a minefield and, coming under heavy bombardment, stopped. Nigel was ordered forward to reconnoitre.
He reached the tanks which were under heavy fire from machine guns and anti-tank guns at close range. He made his way under heavy fire to the subaltern commanding the tanks, found out the situation from him and then coolly and deliberately and still under fire examined the minefield, bringing back valuable information as to its layout.
Later he returned to the tanks with the Brigade Commander's orders. Any movement at once attracted heavy fire. He made his way again to the tank commander's tank and spoke to him. The latter was killed while Lieut. Thomas was still there. He then went on according to orders and gave instructions to the carriers of the infantry battalion which had been supporting the tanks. During the 16th and 17th of June [1941] Lieut. Thomas remained in the area removing mines and marking the minefield still under fire. This officer's work was of the greatest value. His cool courage and determination to carry out his task at whatever cost was exemplary.
Just one year later, on 20 June 1942, promoted to Major, Nigel was captured at the fall of Tobruk. In the first confusion he managed to escape by coolly marching past the German guard with a friend, coat collars turned up in German fashion and prattling away in his fluent and colloquial German, while other prisoners created a diversion in the camp. The two of them lived in a cave for some days but were then discovered and recaptured. When it became clear that they were to be flown to a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy, Nigel devised a plan to take over the aircraft in mid-flight: he, a qualified and experienced pilot, would then fly it back to the Allied lines in North Africa. Several fellow-prisoners agreed to participate, but the scheme misfired when they were put on to different planes, and the new passengers refused to go along with the plan. So Nigel found himself incarcerated in Italian prisoner-of-war camps, first in the south and later, for most of 1943, in the north. Major Philip Tower, who with Andy Howard was the closest to him in the Italian prisoner-of-war camp, remembers him as 'far the most impressive person I've ever met'.
With the Allied invasion Nigel and a fellow officer saw the chance to escape.
Nigel Thomas and Philip Tower walked out of the camp (by trampling down the wire at the perimeter fence) and made for the mountains. It was a hard journey of some 600 miles. They kept as far as possible to the high mountain ranges. As they approached the war zone north of Naples the November nights became bitterly cold. They took to sleeping by day and walking at night. Eventually on 15 November they passed through the German lines and arrived at an Allied unit. Unfortunately on the last leg of the journey Philip Tower was wounded, and on their arrival he was immediately flown for treatment to hospital in Algeria.
The First Airborne Divison went in on 17 September (1944), and Nigel Thomas with them as a 'parachuting engineer'. All too soon the troops at Arnhem found themselves encircled by a numerous and heavily equipped enemy.
On September 18th the squadron took off from Spanhoe Airfield After taking off the aircraft circled the airfield once to formate and then set off . The flight was largely uneventful. The men in 1 Troop in a C-47 with Captain Beaumont-Thomas recalled that he gave a running commentary in a calm and reassuring manner as he stood in the door looking at the ground below, more notably when an adjacent aircraft was shot down, he stood in an open doorway shouting “steady there chaps, stand ready“. He is remembered with great pride for his coolness, efficiency and confidence as if it were a regular occurrence for him. Parachute elements were dropped 1420 hrs on drop zone Y West of Arnhem. On landing the Commanding Officer Major Aeneas Perkins received arm injuries, Captain Beaumont-Thomas was ordered to take command.
September 19th. The majority of the squadrons containers were lost during the drop, Capt. Thomas ordered the men to try to find them, much was lost to opposing forces.
1900 hrs, Capt J.G Smith 1 Troop joined ½ 3 Troop, all under command of Capt N. Beaumont-Thomas in support of 21 Indian Parachute Company. Captain Beaumont-Thomas seemed to be the only one who knew what was happening and soon got everything organised.
Nigel was hit during a mortar attack at about 1000 hrs on September 20th 1944 and badly wounded, he was taken to Ommershof House for treatment, Sapper Leonard administered medical treatment but Nigel died from his injuries.
Nigel's father Lionel was also a fascinating character and deserves his own chapter. You can read about him extensively by clicking here. Lionel Beaumont-Thomas also held the Military Cross and was initially a wealthy Welsh businessman. He became Conservative MP for Birmingham King's Norton from 1929 to 1935. During the first world war he served in the trenches and at the Battle of the Somme.
Percy Huggins - 4th January 1945
Percy Frederick Huggins was a craftsman with the Royal Electrical and mechanical Engineers and was 31 when he died on January 4th, 1945. He was the son of Frederick and Margaret Huggins of Hethersett and is buried in the El Kebir War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.
Jack Weston - 18th March 1945
Jack Weston was a trooper in the Reconnaissance Corps and was 22 when he died on 18th March, 1945. He was the son of Mr and Mrs W. E. Weston of Hethersett and is buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetary, Germany. The regiment were in action around Xanten at this time, fighting against the final resistance of the Germans on the west bank of the Rhine prior to the Rhine crossing on 28th March.
The following names from those killed in the Second World War (1939-1945) are included on the War Memorial. They are listed in date order of their deaths. We will have further details about these men shortly. The photograph on the left is of Cedar Grange taken in the 1940s and showing how it would have looked when Nigel Beaumont-Thomas lived there. Nigel was awarded the Military Cross for bravery and his biographical details are included on this page.
Sidney Wreford - 31st May, 1940
Sidney Arthur Wreford served as a gunner with the Norfolk Yeomanry Anti Tank Regiment. He was the son of Arthur and Anne Wreford and husband of Edith Wreford. He is buried in the Adinkerke Military Cemetery in Belgium. Having fought in the delaying action at the Ypres-Comines canal from the 26th - 28th May 1940, the regiment, along with the rest of its division was evacuated across the beaches of Dunkirk on the 1st June 1940. Many casualties who died in the area east of Dunkirk over those final few days are buried at Adinkerke. At the time of his death Sidney was aged 28
Fred Foster - 1940
Private Fred Foster of the 7th Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment was just 20 years of age when he lost his life. He was the son of Robert and Emma Foster of Hethersett. He is buried in St Valery En Caux Franco British Cemetery. The German thrust through the Ardennes in 1940 split the British forces, with those in Belgium forced back towards Dunkirk. Other units like the 7th Royal Norfolks had been stationed in support of the Maginot line near the Saar. To avoid being encircled, they staged a fighting retreat eastwards supporting the French forces. Eventually they ended up on the coast at St Valery-en-Caux. This was not to be a second Dunkirk, as initially hoped. There were no wide beaches where shelter could be sought. The Germans took the commanding heights around the town, and soon no vessel could approach, and the allied troops became increasingly concentrated in a built up urban area - an easy target for German Bombers and Artillery. On the 12th June 1940 the town surrendered and units like the 7th Norfolks marched into five years of captivity. In the confusion, not all the soldiers could be accounted for.
Raymond Coller - 10th December 1940
Raymond Coller was a Major in the Royal Artillery and was killed by enemy action. A Coller family tombstone exists in the churchyard at Hethersett where the inscription reads as follows: "“In proud and loving memory of Raymond Geoffrey Coller, Major Royal Artillery. Killed by Enemy Action, 10th December 1940” It also commemorates his wife Beryl Mary Lempriere Coller (nee Back) who died on 8th April, 1950, aged 49. It is likely that Major Coller was killed during a raid on London. His death is recorded in the Islington District and this could have been in a hospital after being hit in another part of London.
Frederick Boswell - 5th July 1941
Frederick James Boswell was an Aircraftman 1st Class in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was 21 when he was killed on 5th July, 1941. He was the son of William and Muriel Boswell of Norwich and is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, whihc is about four miles from Windsor and overlooks the River Thames. The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force.
The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe with sculpture by Vernon Hill. The engraved glass and painted ceilings were designed by John Hutton and the poem engraved on the gallery window was written by Paul H Scott. The Memorial was unveiled by The Queen on 17th October 1953. Frederick Boswell was lost with the sinking of SS Anselm.
The SS Anselm was built in Dumbarton in 1935, a coal fired passenger ship, she was converted to a troop ship in 1940. The SS Anselm was sunk by U96 5 July 1941 about 300 miles north of the Azores while on passage from Gourock to Freetown carrying 1,200 troops. 250 troops and 4 crewmen were lost. The Monthly Anti-submarine Report for September, 1941, states that immediately preceding the attack, HMS Challenger and SS Anselm were in line ahead and were being screened by HMS Lavender and HMS Petunia. HMS Starwort, whose Asdic (anti-submarine detection equipment) was out of order, was stationed astern. The escorts had been keeping listening watch in thick fog, but at 0350 the fog cleared and both ships commenced transmitting. At this time, HMS Lavender and HMS Petunia took up screening positions on either bow of HMS Challenger and commenced a zigzag on a course just east of south at a speed of 11 knots. At 0426, in approximate position 44 30N, 28 30W, not far from the Canary Islands, the SS Anselm was struck by a torpedo on the port side amidships. The SS Anselm settled rapidly by the head and sank 22 minutes after being hit.
All the lifeboats got away with the exception of No 6, which was damaged by the explosion. By skilful manoeuvring, HMS Challenger placed her bow alongside the SS Anselm’s port quarter, and in this manner rescued 60 men. Unfortunately 254 men, including 175 RAF personnel, lost their lives, but it is probable that many of these were killed by the explosion of the torpedo which struck the ship immediately below the accommodation space.
John McAnally - 8th July 1941
John McAnally was a pilot in the Royal Air Force and was aged 23 when he was killed on July 7th, 1941. He was the son of the Rev James McAnally and Francisca McAnally of Wiltshire. He is buried in the As Communal Cemetery in Belgium. It seems likely that John McAnally was flying in a Wellington Bomber during an operation on Cologne on 7th and 8th July. The plane crashed at Genk-Bodem in Belgium. There was only one survivor who was taken prisoner of war.
Alan Colman - 17th January 1943
First Officer Alan Rees Colman of the Air Transport Auxiliary was 42 when he died. He was the son of Russell and Edith Colman and husband of the Honorable Victoria Colman. He is remembered on the Lawnswood Crematorium in Leeds, Yorkshire. He was delivering a Hawker Hurricane when he crashed on landing at Sherburn and tipped into the water and was drowned.
Ernest Yull - 1943
Ernest Frederick Yull was a sailor on the SS Empire Mahseer and was 22 years of age when he died on March 4th, 1943. He was married to Elsie Yull. He is remembered on the Tower Hill Memorial in London. The Tower Hill Memorial commemorates men and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who died in both World Wars and who have no known grave. It stands on the south side of the garden of Trinity Square, London, close to The Tower of London.
SS Empire Mahseer was torpedoed on March 4th with 18 fatalities and 36 survivors. The master, 29 crew members and six gunners were picked up by HMS Norwich City and landed at Durban. The ship's route was Fanara - Durban - Bahia - Trinidad - Baltimore.
Louis Bunn - 23rd October 1943
Able Seaman Louis Leslie Bunn served on HMS Charybdis and was just 19 years of age when killed on October 23rd, 1943. He was the son of Walter and Maria Bunn of Hethersett and is buried in St Peter Port Cemetery in Guernsey. HMS Charybdis was hit on the port side by two torpedoes and sank within 30 minutes. A total of 426 lost their lives and 107 were rescued. Nineteen British sailors, including Louis Bunn were buried with full military honours in Foulon Cemetery, Guernsey, on Wednesday 17th November, 1943. At least 4,000 dignitaries and Islanders were present to honour the men. Since 1948 an annual remembrance service for the loss of the ship is held in Guernsey.
Henry Jeckells - 3rd March 1944
Henry Robert Jeckells was a private in the Royal Norfolk Regiment and aged 28 when he died on March 3rd, 1944. He is buried in Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand. Henry Jeckells is one of the hundreds of men who marched into captivity with the fall of Singapore in February 1942. He subsequently died as a prisoner of the Japanese.
Nigel Beaumont-Thomas - 20th September 1944
Nigel Beaumont Thomas is arguably the most celebrated of all the Hethersett men to lose their lives in the world wars. A captain in the Royal Engineers he was 28 years of age when he died on September 20th, 1944. He was the son of Colonel Lionel and Pauline Beaumont-Thomas of South Kensington, London. Colonel Thomas was lost at sea on 7th December, 1942. His son Nigel is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery. He was awarded the Military Cross and mentioned in dispatches. There is a mass of information on Nigel on the Internet and one of the most comprehensive
Nigel Beaumont-Thomas was born in London on 17th April, 1916, and educated in Hampstead, at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1939 he joined the firm of Richard Thomas and Co Ltd as a civil engineer. On 10th June, 1939 he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and mobilised on 24th August, 1939. From 1939 to June 1941 he was attached to the King's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners serving in India, North Africa, Abyssinia (where he was wounded) and North Africa. For a time he was a prisoner of war in Italk but escaped in September 1943 and made his way back to the United Kingdom in 1944. From May 28th until his death he was second in command of the 4th Parachute Squadron and was killed in action at Arnhem. He had already been promoted to the rank of Major.
Nigel Beaumont- Thomas lived at Ceder Grange in Hethersett. In his will he left over £116,000.
On the outbreak of war in 1939 he was immediately called up, and drafted in November 1939 to India, as an officer in King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners. There he learnt Hindustani, 'essential in dealing with Indian troops'. A year later he was in North Africa, with a diversion to the Italian Campaign in Abyssynia and Ethiopia where he was wounded, and spent some time in hospital. Then it was back to the North African desert, and the long tussle along the Mediterranean coast. It was during that weary and often frustrating campaign that he was awarded the Military Cross.
The citation recorded that he was commanding two parties of engineers who were being held in readiness to clear obstacles in the path of a tank advance through the Halfaya Pass (known to all British soldiers as 'Hellfire'). Some of the tanks penetrated a minefield and, coming under heavy bombardment, stopped. Nigel was ordered forward to reconnoitre.
He reached the tanks which were under heavy fire from machine guns and anti-tank guns at close range. He made his way under heavy fire to the subaltern commanding the tanks, found out the situation from him and then coolly and deliberately and still under fire examined the minefield, bringing back valuable information as to its layout.
Later he returned to the tanks with the Brigade Commander's orders. Any movement at once attracted heavy fire. He made his way again to the tank commander's tank and spoke to him. The latter was killed while Lieut. Thomas was still there. He then went on according to orders and gave instructions to the carriers of the infantry battalion which had been supporting the tanks. During the 16th and 17th of June [1941] Lieut. Thomas remained in the area removing mines and marking the minefield still under fire. This officer's work was of the greatest value. His cool courage and determination to carry out his task at whatever cost was exemplary.
Just one year later, on 20 June 1942, promoted to Major, Nigel was captured at the fall of Tobruk. In the first confusion he managed to escape by coolly marching past the German guard with a friend, coat collars turned up in German fashion and prattling away in his fluent and colloquial German, while other prisoners created a diversion in the camp. The two of them lived in a cave for some days but were then discovered and recaptured. When it became clear that they were to be flown to a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy, Nigel devised a plan to take over the aircraft in mid-flight: he, a qualified and experienced pilot, would then fly it back to the Allied lines in North Africa. Several fellow-prisoners agreed to participate, but the scheme misfired when they were put on to different planes, and the new passengers refused to go along with the plan. So Nigel found himself incarcerated in Italian prisoner-of-war camps, first in the south and later, for most of 1943, in the north. Major Philip Tower, who with Andy Howard was the closest to him in the Italian prisoner-of-war camp, remembers him as 'far the most impressive person I've ever met'.
With the Allied invasion Nigel and a fellow officer saw the chance to escape.
Nigel Thomas and Philip Tower walked out of the camp (by trampling down the wire at the perimeter fence) and made for the mountains. It was a hard journey of some 600 miles. They kept as far as possible to the high mountain ranges. As they approached the war zone north of Naples the November nights became bitterly cold. They took to sleeping by day and walking at night. Eventually on 15 November they passed through the German lines and arrived at an Allied unit. Unfortunately on the last leg of the journey Philip Tower was wounded, and on their arrival he was immediately flown for treatment to hospital in Algeria.
The First Airborne Divison went in on 17 September (1944), and Nigel Thomas with them as a 'parachuting engineer'. All too soon the troops at Arnhem found themselves encircled by a numerous and heavily equipped enemy.
On September 18th the squadron took off from Spanhoe Airfield After taking off the aircraft circled the airfield once to formate and then set off . The flight was largely uneventful. The men in 1 Troop in a C-47 with Captain Beaumont-Thomas recalled that he gave a running commentary in a calm and reassuring manner as he stood in the door looking at the ground below, more notably when an adjacent aircraft was shot down, he stood in an open doorway shouting “steady there chaps, stand ready“. He is remembered with great pride for his coolness, efficiency and confidence as if it were a regular occurrence for him. Parachute elements were dropped 1420 hrs on drop zone Y West of Arnhem. On landing the Commanding Officer Major Aeneas Perkins received arm injuries, Captain Beaumont-Thomas was ordered to take command.
September 19th. The majority of the squadrons containers were lost during the drop, Capt. Thomas ordered the men to try to find them, much was lost to opposing forces.
1900 hrs, Capt J.G Smith 1 Troop joined ½ 3 Troop, all under command of Capt N. Beaumont-Thomas in support of 21 Indian Parachute Company. Captain Beaumont-Thomas seemed to be the only one who knew what was happening and soon got everything organised.
Nigel was hit during a mortar attack at about 1000 hrs on September 20th 1944 and badly wounded, he was taken to Ommershof House for treatment, Sapper Leonard administered medical treatment but Nigel died from his injuries.
Nigel's father Lionel was also a fascinating character and deserves his own chapter. You can read about him extensively by clicking here. Lionel Beaumont-Thomas also held the Military Cross and was initially a wealthy Welsh businessman. He became Conservative MP for Birmingham King's Norton from 1929 to 1935. During the first world war he served in the trenches and at the Battle of the Somme.
Percy Huggins - 4th January 1945
Percy Frederick Huggins was a craftsman with the Royal Electrical and mechanical Engineers and was 31 when he died on January 4th, 1945. He was the son of Frederick and Margaret Huggins of Hethersett and is buried in the El Kebir War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.
Jack Weston - 18th March 1945
Jack Weston was a trooper in the Reconnaissance Corps and was 22 when he died on 18th March, 1945. He was the son of Mr and Mrs W. E. Weston of Hethersett and is buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetary, Germany. The regiment were in action around Xanten at this time, fighting against the final resistance of the Germans on the west bank of the Rhine prior to the Rhine crossing on 28th March.