 | We will remember them | |
CONTENTS |
| This booklet came out of a chance conversation with Alan Moore as he was conducting his daily run past my house. His thoughts regarding the young men commemorated on the war memorial prompted me to suggest that he research them for an article in the Occold ORACLE : but his military researches rapidly outgrew a mere article. The Great War (later to be known as the 1st World War) killed a greater proportion of England’s manhood than any since the English Civil War (1642 -1645). As well as the fifteen men named on the Occold War Memorial at least another nine Occold born men are commemorated elsewhere. In a village of around 100 households this must have been utterly devastating. Occold has probably not seen anything like it before, except possibly from disease, and hopefully never will again. A large number of Occold’s WWI deaths were as a result of the ‘Battle of the Somme’, the ninetieth anniversary of which has been widely commemorated this year. This has been brought out in time for this years Eleventh hour – of the eleventh day – of the eleventh month but it is only a start in cataloguing and understanding these momentous events in the life of our village. It needs further research into the social context of these events particularly the remaining memories of our oldest citizens and the soldiers’ descendants and it needs Barry Woods' speciality - genealogy. Perhaps we should aim for the ninetieth anniversary of peace 11/11/2008 to complete this task. | And then there’s WWII …….. The story that unravels from Alan’s researches often takes on elements of deja vue. Nathaniel Augustus Cook is commemorated at Basra (1) in southern Iraq; whilst in recent years young soldiers who grew up in Occold have again served in that theatre of war (2) . One of Dawn Crisp’s predecessors (George Hammond) died from wounds received at Salonika (3) in WWI; whilst my father finished his service in WWII digging out corpses of German sentries, killed by the Greek resistance, from the drains of Radio Salonica. It seemed like no time from Torvil & Dean’s Sarajevo triumph on the ice (with Ravel’s Bolero); to the nightly news of ethnic war in that trigger point of WWI. It makes one wonder whether mankind ever learns from its mistakes. Occold Parish Council thought it appropriate that we should more personally commemorate these sons of Occold and mourn their untimely loss. They have therefore funded this publication. © Military history by Alan Moore |
| (1) Known as Mesopotamia & ruled by Turkey as three provinces from the cities of Mosul, Baghdad & Basra. (2) Including, I believe, an ex-Occold girl soldier; what a contrast with the silly young things handing out white feathers to any man out of uniform in 1914-15 (3) Now known as Thessalonica, Greece both nearby Bulgaria & Turkey were in alliance with Germany | |
 | Occold 'Roll of Honour' |  |
| FREDERICK ELLIOTT Born: Bedingfield married to Anna Maria Sheldrake at 64 Church Street? enlisted at Eye Private in the 7th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment Service No: 16084 fought in France and Flanders Died: 3rd July 1916 Aged: 33 Memorial: THIEPVAL. | GEORGE FREDERICK MULLENGER | WILLIAM 'WILLIE' ROOT M.M Born: Occold son of John (Agicultural Labourer) & Maria Root Private in the 16th Battalion (Chatsworth Rifles) of the Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Reg.) Service No: 70079 fought in France and Flanders Died: 15th September 1917 Age: 29 Buried: LA CLYTTE MILITARY CEMETERY |
| CHARLES ROBERT MULLENGER Born: Winfarthing son of Mr R Mullenger, of Mill Road Occold. enlisted at Eye Private in the 7th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment Service No: 16051. fought in France and Flanders Died: 31st January 1915 Aged: 21 Buried: SHORNCLIFFE MILITARY CEMETERY FOLKESTONE. ( contains 471 First World War burials) | FRANK CARTER WOODS Born: Denham Son of Alfred (Farmer, born Eye) & Laura (born Cotton) Husband of Ida Woods, Needham Rd., Harleston enlisted at Eye Sergeant 7th Batt. Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Reg.) Service No: G/18057 fought in France and Flanders Died: 18th November 1916 Buried: REGINA TRENCH CEMETERY, GRANDCOURT | ERNEST ARTHUR MILLS Living in Eye Enlisted in Colchester Private 8th Batt. of the Duke of Wellingtons (West Riding Reg.) Service No: 16689 fought in France and Flanders Died: 10th October 1917 Buried: DOZINGHAM MILITARY CEMETERY |
| GEORGE HAMMOND (According to 1901 Census: Herbert George Hammond) Born: Eye Agricultural Labourer living in The Causeway Son of William and Julia Hammond of The Causeway Enlisted: Bury St Edmunds Driver Royal field Artillery and Royal Horse artillery 22nd Div. Ammunition Col. Service No: 48097 Died: 16th January 1917 PIETA MILITARY CEMETERY MALTA (for Gallipoli and Salonika) | JAMES LISTER Born: Occold. Agric. Labourer - living Bulls Hall Lane son of George & Caroline Lister of Bulls Hall Lane Private 2nd battalion of The Queens (Royal West Surrey Regiment) Service No: 12340 Died: 2nd April 1917 Age: 25 buried: CROISILLES BRITISH CEMETERY | WILLIAM POTTER Born: Occold, 1893 son of Arthur George (horseman) & Mary Ann Potter Gunner Royal Garrison Artillery (Heavy Artillery) Died: 1 May 1918 Age: 25 Buried: Occold Cemetery |
| FREDERICK WILLIAM SMITH (see 'Two Little Boys?') | WALTER WILLIAM HUNT Born: Occold Enlisted: Bury St Edmunds Private 4th Batt. of the Royal Fusiliers (London Regiment) Service No: G/52510 Died: 3rd May 1917 | WILLIAM BROWN Gunner Royal Garrison Artillery (Heavy Artillery) Died: 2nd April 1917 |
| NICHOLAS HERBERT TODD Born: Occold Son of the Rev. Horatio. L. and Mrs. Frances. C. Todd Enlisted: Richmond, Surrey Rifleman 1st/12th Batt. of the London Reg. (The Rangers) and London Reg. (Queen's Westminster Rifles) fought in France and Flanders Service No: 7058 Died: 7th October 1916 Age 38 Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL | ERNEST ALFRED HADDOCK Born: Occold son of Alfred (Horseman) & Leah Haddock, Eye Road enlisted at Eye Private 1st Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment Service No: 202903 fought in France and Flanders Died: 6th October 1917 Age: 25 Buried: ROCLINCOURT MILITARY CEMETERY | JAMES HUNT Born: Occold Horseman - living Redlingfield Road Enlisted: Driffield, Yorkshire Son of Walter and Eliza Hunt, of Occold. Private 1st/8th Batt. of the Durham Light Infantry Service No.: 88932 fought in France and Flanders Died: 15th June 1918 Age: 35 BOIS GUILLAUM COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION |
| To those that gave their lives..... |
GEORGE MATHEW COOK died on the 8th January 1919 and was buried back in Suffolk. Others (like my grandfather) came back with wounds and disease acquired in the war and died far from the front in convalescence. We will probably never know the total tally of deaths caused by the Great War even for little Occold
ALBERT EDWARD EVERSON died on the 1st October 1918 (who at just 19 is the youngest Occold death that we know of) as the ‘impregnable’ Hindenburg line was crumbling before a combined Belgium, French, Commonwealth & US onslaught. On the same day, Ludendorf asked the German government to negotiate an armistice.
During this onslaught STANLEY NOAH COOK (27th March 1918) and JAMES HUNT (15th June 1918) were killed. This offensive came close to success but by mid July it had been broken at the Marne by the Allies. EZEKIEL DURRANT died on the 9th August 1916 as an attack on Guillemont was being driven back. FREDERICK ELLIOT died on the 3rd day of the Somme (3rd July) whilst Bernafay and Caterpillar Woods were being captured and La Boisselle reduced. The Todd family of learned clergyman, originally from Dublin (origin of Dublin Road perhaps?) were at its centre. Nicholas & his father, the Rev. Horatio Lovell Todd from Cornwall, were clearly part of this proselytising movement. His brother was a Professor of Music and his sister a Theologian. Being the only prominent Anglo-Catholics in the Church of Ireland must have meant that they were used to making principled stands. Nicholas could no doubt have ‘pulled strings’ to obtain a privileged or safe position in the Army but seems to have chosen to be a 'simple Tommy'. His mother, Frances, was born in Riga which was in Russia at that time but is the capital of Latvia today. A book NICHOLAS H TODD: POEMS AND PLAYS was published posthumously in 1917 by Jackson and Sedbergh Preparatory School in Cumbria where he was a master for ten years before he signed up. Most of the poetry refers to his life at the school and Alan comments that "It's almost a 'Mr Chips' story". Read his poem to daughter Meg.
WALTER WILLIAM HUNT was killed on the 3rd May 1917 in the Third Battle of the Scarpe against the heavily defended Hindenburg line. The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in Northern France constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916-17. It ran from the area around Arras to beyond St Quentin, and consisted of deep and wide trenches, thick belts of barbed wire, concrete machine-gun positions, concrete bunkers, tunnels and command posts. It was considered virtually impregnable by the Germans. The British offensives of 1917-1918 were to prove otherwise. Report from the Daily Mirror November 1917. The surprise attack on the Hindenburg Line, delivered by General Sir Julian Byng, has been crowned with magnificent success. British troops, aided by the fine work of the tanks, have penetrated German defences to a depth of five miles, captured many villages and strong points, and taken over 8,000 prisoners. Our cavalry are also reported in action & are pouring through the Hindenburg Line.
ERNEST ARTHUR MILLS was wounded on the first day of the Battle of Poelcappelle (9th October 1917) and died of his wounds the following day. Further south in France, ERNEST ALFRED HADDOCK died on 6th October 1917. HERBERT WILLIAM JOHNSON died on the 23rd April 1917 during the Second Battle of the Scarpe and the Canadian attack on La Coulotte. The Western Front was not the only war zone involving local lads. Note - Saddam Hussein had this cemetery moved brick by brick to a new site in the desert. GEORGE HAMMOND was injured around the same time in Greece and evacuated to Malta where he died on the 16th January 1917
Of the war dead born in Occold it appears that REGINALD LISTER was the brother of James but Reginald is commemorated on the Redlingfield Memorial and was living in Chelmsford when he enlisted. HUBERT CHASTON GEDNY is something of a puzzle but the Gedny family were living in the White House in 1891 and had a niece – governess called Bessie Chaston. He was born 1893 to parents Benjamin Chaston GEDNY and mother Julia Roberta CHASTON and living in Thornham Magna (next door to the Four Horseshoes) in 1901. Hubert is commemorated on Bedingfield memorial and Bessie was born in Bedingfield. We honour all these men and the suffering left in the wake of their untimely deaths. |
| .... were not new to Occold at the beginning of the 20th Century. For example George Noller, of Redlingfield Road and born 1875, was a regular soldier with the 1st Life Guards. Also A H PECK, a ‘Driver Wheeler’ with the 22nd, Army Service Corps, died of disease 28th December 1900 at Maritzburg. He is commemorated at the Christchurch Park Boer War Memorial in Ipswich. | Within four weeks of the assassination, the UK had tried to convene an international conference to settle the dispute but Germany opposed it. As the armies facing each other started to mobilise, Germany declared war on Russia and then France. A day later Germany invaded neutral Belgium in a long prepared plan to outflank the French. Immediately Great Britain declared war on Germany. Many local lads may not have travelled far but they knew that Belgium was just the other side of the German Ocean (as the North Sea was called at that time) and felt the threat of German expansionism personally as well as patriotically. |
 On the day war broke out, 4th August 1914, Lord Kitchener called for 100,000 men to join the army. They enlisted into the Service Battalions (signed for three years or the duration of the war whichever was the lesser). The K1 Battalion which most Occold men joined was the 7th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. FREDERICK ELLIOT, CHARLES ROBERT MULLENGER and GEORGE FREDERICK MULLENGER from Occold all enlisted on the same day in Eye. They joined the Suffolks and never returned. Within a few weeks this quota had been found and K2 and K3 Battalions for Kitcheners New Army were initiated. The war that would “be over by Christmas” dragged on to the next Christmas (1915) when conscription was introduced. The first Occold man to die was twenty one year old Private CHARLES ROBERT MULLENGER who having fought in France and Flanders died of his wounds after repatriation to England. As he lay dying, in January 1915, the first Zeppelin bombs were falling on Kings Lynn. | As the first tank was being demonstrated to British military leaders in early September 1915, GEORGE HAMMOND was travelling to Flesselles in France. But his stay in France was to be very short and by October he was moved by train to Marseilles and embarked for Salonika in northern Greece where he was to spend the final year of his life. The first half of 1916 was marked by the German Verdun offensive which caused more than a quarter of a million deaths. Verdun was the longest battle of WWI and is to France the nightmare story which the Somme became to Britain. In particular the German commanders understood the new weapons and the new tactics better than British commanders who were more versed in |
| FREDERICK WILLIAM SMITH on the Occold War Memorial and FREDERICK TAYLOR born in Occold but on the Creeting St Mary memorial present something of an enigma. The Suffolk Regiment section of 'Soldiers died in the Great War' at Bury shows the only Occold Smith as: FRED WILLIAM SMITH born in: Cransley, Northants. Enlisted at Kettering in the 12th Battalion Suffolk Regiment as a private, service No 42333. He died on the 10th April 1918 in Flanders & is commemorated on the: PLOEGSTREERT MEMORIAL. However, this is not shown on the electronic version Unlike 'Soldiers died...', the Roll of Honour was not compiled until about 1930 and was just an ad-hoc list of names sent in by anybody who remembered something or a parish councillor sending in the names on the war memorial. | There is no roll of Honour for Cransley, but a Frederick William Smith in the Suffolks shown on the Kettering Roll of Honour but this time in the 2nd Battalion. The 1901 Census, however, has a Bedingfield born, 11 year old Frederick William Smith (therefore born around 1890 & 24 upon the outbreak of war) living in part of Poplar Hall (far end of Redlingfield Road close to boundary with Redlingfield) with the other part not in occupation. With Frederick Taylor we have no other information than an Occold born man commemorated on the Creeting St Mary Memorial. The 1891 Census has a different Smith family living in one half of Poplar Hall and Frederick Taylor Snr. (born Mendlesham) and his family including 4 month old son Frederick Jnr. in the other half. |
WILLIAM ‘WILLIE’ ROOT was awarded the Military Medal for his gallant action on the 13th November 1916 in the attack on St. Pierre Divion after entering the German trench system. This marked the beginning of the end of the battle of the Somme. Details from his Battalion’s war diary for that attack are shown below. According to orders the Battalion marched from MARTINSART WOOD to the LEFT RIVER ANCRE SECTION.CAPTURE of St. PIERRE DIVION. On November 13th the Battalion was ordered to make a subsidiary attack from the South up the River ANCRE in conjunction with a main attack by the 118th Infantry Brigade. The objective of the Battalion was a line running east from the SUMMER HOUSE and short of St. PIERRE DIVION. The 4/5th Black Watch were to join up with us from the East. The 1/6th Cheshire Regt. were to capture St. PIERRE DIVION. The main attack was to start at 5.45am. The 16th Sherwood’s were to advance with three Companies at 6.13am - one Company being left in Reserve. A Tank was to co-operate on our right. The assembly was successfully carried out without incident and the troops advanced at the scheduled time in a thick mist. At 6.30 a.m. The reserve Company was sent up to reinforce the right. Their arrival helped to clear the situation and the Battalion advanced bombing and driving the enemy before them into their dugouts. The Objective allotted to the Battalion was secured but nothing could stop our men, who advanced with the greatest dash and finally secured the whole of St. PIERRE DIVION including the German Battalion Headquarters and the famous tunnel dugouts. A party under 2nd Lt. A.HOLLAND continued their advance as far as the HANSA LINE joining up with the 1/1st Herts. Regt. on the extreme right of the 118th Brigade.
At 9.15a.m. Battalion Headquarters moved forward to the German Battalion Headquarters taking with them two more Companies of the 17th Battalion Sherwood Foresters to consolidate the line. 13 Officers including the Battalion Commander and 720 other ranks were taken prisoners. Our casualties were slight and consisted of Lieut. S.G. BURCH and 4 Other Ranks were killed. 67 Other ranks including Company Sergeant Major J.H. ROBINSON wounded. |
The 1/1st HERTS. Regt. lost direction to the right and took no part in the capture of the fortress. The 4/5th BLACK WATCH lost direction in the mist and only two Officers and 10 men arrived at their objective. This party rendered useful assistance. The Tank arrived at the German Front Line before its scheduled time and unfortunately subsided into a dugout and was put out of action. Many fine feats were performed by the Battalion notably by:- Captain R.L.ILLINGWORTH who with his orderly entered the famous tunnel dugout and brought out 81 Germans. It was necessary to advance 150 yards down this deep tunnel to reach the dugout where the enemy had taken refuge. 2nd Lieut. HOLLAND who advanced with great dash and secured the German Battalion Headquarters and took prisoner the German Battalion Commander and 60 Other Ranks. Sergt. Cook. C Monks who despite his 56 years entered a defended dugout single-handed and brought out 6 prisoners. Many other Officers, N.C.O's and men performed feats of exceptional gallantry which have been brought to the notice of Higher Authority.
Including the Military Medal to William Root which was promulgated in the London Gazette Supplement dated 19th February 1917 - the citation reads as follows: "For his gallant action on 13.11.1916 when in the White Star bombs(1) were used for the first time and were found most effective in dealing with dugouts from which the enemy had been sniping or bombing. At 9.30 a.m. we started to dig in a new line and to consolidate the position. A large amount of bootv fell into our hands but it was not possible to enumerate it. The Battalion was relieved at 7.l 5p.m. and proceeded to PAISLEY AVENUE. It may be stated that the 4 assaulting Companies attacked each about 90 strong. The wire was admirably cut by our artillery, and the barrage of the 85th Battery 18th Division was beyond all praise. The Battalion's war diary also records an entry for 15th September 1917 as follows: The Battalion was relieved by the 13th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment and proceeded to the Bivouac Camp N.6.d (Sheet 28) near Ridge Wood, Reningheist, near Zillebeke, Belgium. The 1 Killed was Private William Root who died whilst leaving the trenches. (1) A poison gas – mixture of chlorine & ‘phosgene’ (carbonyl dichloride). The German army had first used gas at Ypres on 23rd April 1915 |
 The 1914-1918 War saw the raising of twenty-five battalions of the Suffolk Regiment. The Regular Army formed the British Expeditionary Force to France in 1914, which included the 2nd Battalion. The Regular Army was virtually destroyed following the Battles of Mons and The Marne and to replace it Kitchener's New Army was formed. | These new units - the 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th Battalions - followed the Regulars into the war: six battalions of the regiment were engaged on the Somme in 1916 and five in the battles at Arras in 1917. During the war years, apart from France and Flanders, battalions of the regiment fought at Gallipoli, Salonika and in the Middle East. The Regimental Chapel situated in St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds, commemorates the 360 officers and 6,513 other ranks of the Suffolk Regiment who did not return |
For the Fallen | And so farewell - if when May comes | |
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal They went with songs to battle, they were young, They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; But where our desires are and our hopes profound, As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, | Dear Meg, My bed of wooden boards and trestles But even hear where bugles ring And so farewell - if when May comes, |
Rupert Brooke (1887 - 1915) | The Anxious Dead John McCrae | |
| If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, And think, this heart, all evil shed away, And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, | O guns, fall silent till the dead men hear |
This is an ongoing document and additional information will be added as it becomes available.
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Alan Moore
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This page was last updated on 29 March 2007 at 10:45
The signing of a peace treaty with Soviet Russia on the 3rd of March 1918 released German Troops for the Western Front. The German Spring Offensive was intended to make a decisive breakthrough before the Americans were committed in large numbers. 
NATHANIEL AUGUSTUS COOK died 31st December 1916 during the Baghdad advance and is commemorated in the War Cemetery at Basra. 
colonial wars. The picture of lines of overloaded infantry plodding through the mud to be mown down by dug-in machine guns, has remained to haunt us.
At 8.15 a.m. Owing to our running short of bombs and to so many men being required to guard the entrances of dugouts and guard prisoners, a Company of the 17th Sherwood Foresters were sent up to this Company and rendered most useful assistance. By 9 o/clock however the whole position was in our hands and there remained only to clear the dugouts of prisoners.
