St. Mary’s Church, Speen

Speen Roll of Honour

Please help us with this important project to find out more about the men of Speen And Bagnor* who gave their lives in the First World War. ?

St Mary's does not have a memorial to these men, and whilst a Speen village memorial exists at the Bath Road end of Speen Lane, it does not include the names of those connected to St Mary's?who?didn't?live in the parish.

We hope to rectify the omission with?a memorial inside the church to those from the villages and/or congregation who died in (or as a result) of the conflict.

Before such a memorial can be placed, we need to?identify the names that should be recorded. Below are some names under consideration;?this list is not considered to be complete, and we would welcome any additions to it.

The main criterion for inclusion is that the deceased must have a clear connection with the villages or the church. Please contact?us?if you have any information to offer, or if you would like to know more about the project.

*In times past, St Mary's was the parish church of Speen, Speenhamland, Bagnor and Stockcross. In the 19th century, churches were built in Speenhamland and Stockcross, and both now have WWI memorials. Bagnor has neither a church, nor a village memorial; this project will include the men of that parish.

Village Memorial
The following names are already commemorated on the village memorial:
Name and Rank	Regiment	Where Killed
Captain George Lechmere Anson	Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)	Killed in action on at the 1st Battle of Ypres on 20th October 191, aged 31.
Private James Edwin Blatch	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Killed in action at Bois-Grenier (north of Loos) on 25th September 1915, aged 29.
Lance Corporal John Douglas Bowley	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Killed in action at the Battle of Loos on 28th September 1915, aged 21.
Private Frederick George Coburn	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Killed in action in France during the Advance to Victory on 5th September 1918, aged 18.
Private William Collins	Royal Berkshire Regiment.	Died on 29th April 1917 whilst a prisoner in Germany, aged 30
Private Bertie Stuart Cox	Royal Berkshire Regiment.	Died on 7th May 1917 of wounds received at the Battle of Arras, aged 38.
Private Edward Thomas Crocker	Royal Gloucestershire Hussars	Killed in action at Gallipoli in Turkey on 21st August 1915, aged 36.
Private Charles Freeman Goddard	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Died on 18 October 1918 "somewhere in Bulgaria", aged 35.
Private Harry Goddard	2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)	Killed in action at the Battle of Arras on 11th April 1917, aged 33
Lieutenant John Lionel Heath	King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry	Killed in action at the Battle of Loos on 1st October 1915, aged 23.
Private Albert Hillyer	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Killed in action at the Battle of Loos on 25th September, aged 25.
Corporal Isaac Frank Minchin	East Lancashire Regiment	Died in France on 16th January 1916 of wounds received in the trenches, aged 23.
Private Henry John Radbourn	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Died in Sweden on Christmas Eve 1918 on his way home from imprisonment as a PoW, aged 26.
Private Christopher William Seymour	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Died in France on 29th March 1916 of wounds received in the trenches, aged 20.
Private Joe Seymour	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Killed in action at the Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915, aged 20.
Lieutenant Montague Ernest Squirl	Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders	Died in France on 15th December 1918 of wounds received during the Advance to Victory, aged 21.
Lance Corporal Edward Cornelius Thick	Wiltshire Regiment	Killed in action at the Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915, aged 33.
Gunner William Charles Thick	Royal Garrison Artillery	Killed in action in France on 26th April 1918 during the German Spring Offensive, aged 31.
Private Edward Watts	Royal Warwickshire Regiment	Killed in action at the Battle of Arras on 3rd May 1917, aged 31.


Buried in St. Mary's Churchyard
The following soldier died locally and was buried in the churchyard:
Name and Rank	Regiment	Where Killed
Private Frank Tancock	Army Service Corps	Died on 27th January 1918 in England from tuberculosis contracted on active service, aged 39.


Commemorated in St. Mary's Churchyard
The following soldiers are commemorated on family headstones in the churchyard, but were buried elsewhere:
Name and Rank	Regiment	Where Killed
Captain George Lechmere Anson	Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)	Killed in action at the 1st Battle of Ypres on 20th October 1914, aged 31.
Second Lieutenant Basil Henry Belcher	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Killed in action at the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916, aged 32
Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Henry Daukes	South Staffordshire Regiment	Killed in action at Gallipoli in Turkey on 7th August 1915, aged 45.
Second Lieutenant Bertram Antony Medley	Highland Light Infantry	Killed in action at the Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915, aged 20.
Second Lieutenant Geoffrey Paxton Ravenor	Royal Berkshire Regiment	Killed in action at the Battle of the Somme on 20th October 1916, aged 23.
Lance Corporal Herbert Ravenor	Australian Infantry	Killed in action at the Battle of the Somme on 27th August 1916, aged 44.
Richard Bland Ravenor		Drowned at sea off the Solomon Islands on 20th June 1916.


Commemorated On the National Roll of Honour
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains a ‘Debt of Honour’ database that commemorates men and women who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars. The following names are identified in this database as having a Speen connection and who are not included in the above lists:
Name and Rank	Regiment	Where Killed
Private Walter John Butler	Royal Fusiliers	Died in Belgium on 22 June 1917. Killed in action during the Battle of Passchendaele, aged 24.
Rifleman Charles Anthony Downham	King's Royal Rifle Corps	Died in France on 12 April 1917. Died of wounds received at the Battle of Arras, aged 38.
Second Lieutenant Charles Frederick Fearn	Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers	Died in France on 04 July 1915. Died of wounds received in the trenches, aged 19
Serjeant Marshall Coulter Macaulay	Royal Irish Rifles	Died in France on 14 February 1917. Killed in action in the trenches, aged 27.
Corporal David John Mcaulay	Royal Irish Rifles	Died in Belgium on 16 August 1917, aged 33.
Corporal John Peck	Army Service Corps	Died in United Kingdom on 27 October 1918, aged 27.
Captain Arthur Duncombe Shafto	Royal Scots	Died in France on 26 August 1914, aged 34.
Gunner William Francis Whiley	Royal Garrison Artillery	Died in France on 21 March 1918, aged 27.

Speen Roll of Honour

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