Dudley Granville Brown World War One fighter pilot

Dudley Granville Brown was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who died in December 1918 when his plane crashed. Unlike most casualties of war, he is honoured in the Ladywell section of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries with a grand civil memorial. 

Dudley Granville Brown World War One fighter pilot (photo courtesy of Findagrave)

Dudley Granville Brown was born on 2 July 1899 in Norwood, South East London, the only son of  Cecil Reyner William Brown (1874-1928) and his wide Emily (nee Dye 1874-1930). The couple also had three daughters Joyce (older than Dudley), Ilene and Cecily Millicent (younger sisters). Cecil was a clerk in the hydrographic department at the Admiralty, as was his father James Joseph Brown, before him. He married Emily in 1897 and he was also declared bankrupt the same year. Despite this, he continued to work at the Admiralty. 

In 1901, the family lived at 26 Clifton Road, Croydon. By 1903 the family had moved to 159 Wellmeadow Road, Catford where Cecily was born, and by 1914 the family were living in Granville House, 56 Lewisham Park, Lewisham.

After leaving school, Dudley became a bank clerk. He enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) on 8 August 1917 as an Air Mechanic D.G. Brown 3rd class. 

Initially the RFC only accepted men who were already qualified pilots as flying officers. This limited the intake to well-off individuals, often aristocrats. But this changed due to the increased demand for pilots as the air war developed and the pilot’s role changed from reconnaissance to an offensive one. As a result, army officers were sometimes trained for the role and air mechanics like D.G. Brown also had opportunities to become pilots. 

Air Mechanics usually maintained their aircraft, so men with technical skills were often recruited to this role. However, they were not only ground crew. Some of them volunteered to act as air crew which meant they flew in the planes, usually as a gunner. Part of the appeal of flying was that they would receive “Flying Pay” on the days they flew. (The pay for ranks was much lower than for officers). But doubtless the prestige and let it be said, the glamour, of being a pilot was also attractive to many.

He became a flying officer, 2nd Lieutenant, on 12 December 1917.  He flew a Sopwith Camel-a single seat biplane fighter aircraft- introduced on the Western Front in 1917. On 30th March 1918 he was wounded in combat (wrist injury) while flying in France. This incident is mentioned in passing by Guy Mainwaring Knocker in his diary, subsequently published as The Diaries and letters of a World War One fighter pilot in 2008 by his grandson Guy Burgess. Knocker flew with No 65(Fighter) Squadron, so it seems that D.G. Brown was also in 65 Squadron. 

Dudley Granville flew a Sopwith Camel-a single seat biplane

The squadron had been formed in June 1916 as a fighter squadron, and was sent to France in March 1917 where the pilots were involved in the Battles of Arras. By the time D.G. Brown was wounded, the squadron was involved in the Third Battle of Arras trying to hold back the German army’s first major offensive, Operation Michael, for two years. 

By December 1918, he was back in England at Feltwell Norfolk, which holds an R.A.F. base 10 miles west of Thetford. On 20 December, Dudley was killed in a mid-air collision with another machine during fighting practice near Hethwold. He lost control of the aircraft and it dived into the ground. He was just 19 years old. His instructor Captain Philip Everard Graham March M.C. was also killed. He was 23 years old. Air Mechanic 1st class Alfred Charles Sellwood was also killed with Captain Marsh. 

Dudley Granville Brown was buried in Ladywell cemetery and both his parents were later buried with him. 

A few months later, Captain Marsh’s daughter was born. 

{FoBLC thanks Julie Robinson for this article]

Serjeant Thomas Charles Joslin: a Soldier of the Great War.

The Grave of Thomas Charles Joslin lies a short walk from the entrance to Brockley Cemetery along a shady side path. 

1881 -Thomas Charles Joslin was born in Holborn, London, on the 12th July 1881 to parents Thomas Joslin, a Gold Refiner by trade and his Mother Ellen Joslin nee Dawe. 

1903 - Thomas enrolled as a private in the Victoria & St George's Rifles. Volunteer battalion of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps.

1909 - Thomas married Beatrice Blanch Block (Beatie) on the 31st July at St Dunstan in the West, in the City of London. His occupation was a Publisher's assistant. 

Beatrice Blanch Joslin

1913 – The birth of their only child Irene Beatrice Joslin known as Reni, whilst living at Waller Road New Cross

WW1 – at the start of hostilities Thomas enlisted at St Pauls Church Yard,  Deptford, joining Kitchener's New Army. He was assigned to the 6th (Service) Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (D.C.L.I.) under command of the 43RD Brigade in the (Light) Division. 

The Battalion trained at Aldershot. By November 1914 they were at Witley, moving back to Aldershot in February 1915, initially without arms of any kind however the recruits were judged to be ready by May 1915.

The battalion landed at Boulogne on the 22nd of May 1915, the move to the fighting was delayed by lack of ammunition.

Second Battle of Ypres the division took part in the Action of Hooge on the 30th July 1915 in which it had the misfortune to be the first to be attacked by flamethrower, More than 750 soldiers lost their lives over the course of two days in the conflict. While most of the casualties in Hooge were attributed to direct fire from conventional weapons, it is worth noting that it was the use of flamethrowers that flushed them out into the open. 

1916 -   He was promoted to Serjeant.

The Somme – the Division took part if the capture of Trones Wood between the 8-14 July 1916.

The Aftermath – August 1916 a letter to Miss Reni Joslin (daughter), Shardeloes Road, New Cross, London; post marked Army Post Office 23 Aug 16, “I have been admitted into - 12 General Hospital Rouen,  on the 19th night wounded a GSW through shoulder, fractured arm, shrapnel in Leg and am going on well, letter follows at earliest opportunity, British Expeditionary Force signed Daddy” 23rd August 1916.

November 1916, Death in the sub district of South St Pancras, London on the 28th November 1916 at University College Hospital, Thomas Charles Joslin aged 35 years of Shardeloes Deptford, Sergeant 6th Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, (advertisement Canvasser) cause of death 1, gunshot wounds received on active service, 2, Septicaemia, certified by T.B. Johnston MB, informant Beatrice Joslin Widow of Deceased, Shardeloes Road Deptford, Registered 30 November 1916.

Thomas Charles Joslin, is remembered on the WW1 War Memorial at St Catherine’s Church, Hatcham, Pepys Road, New Cross

Thomas Charles Joslin, Buried in Brockley Cemetery, Plot no S.14 with his wife Beatrice her brothers William Waugh Block and Frederick George Block and sister Eliza Ann Block aged 3.

Thomas Charles Joslin is just one of the many who lost their lives during conflict, who are buried or remembered in Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, We Will Remember Them.

Put together by Phill Barnes-Warden, FoBLC Member, with grateful help from Roger Purcell, a member of the Joslin Family.

Gertrude Anna Middleton O.B.E - The Recent Discovery of a Heroine of the Great War in Ladywell Cemetery

Gertrude Anna Middleton O.B.E.

Or Gertie as she is known on her headstone.

A grave that has been passed by many over the years without giving a second glance. For what you see from the pathway is her mother Emma, look to the other side and you will find Gertie with her father Henry Milnes Glover.

Anna Glover was born in Liscard, Cheshire on the 23rd July 1889, her parents Henry Milnes Glover and Martha Maria Emma Hedwig Glover, the 1911 census shows Gertie at the age of 23 a school mistress living at 102 Embleton Road Ladywell, living with both of her parents and two older sisters.

In October 1916 at St Saviours Paddington, Gertrude married Albert Henry Middleton a 2nd Officer in the Royal Navy.

On Wednesday the 13th June 1917, the day started like any other day for the pupils and teachers of Upper North Street Elementary School in Poplar, at their lessons at 11.40am, not knowing this was to be the first major daylight raid over London, that 20 German Gotha bombers that took off from Belgium were circling overhead looking for targets in the India and Millwall Docks. This was to be known as the First Blitz. 

At that period of the War, London’s air defences were designed for the attack of Zeppelins which operated at night so were virtually useless against raids by the by the high flying bombers.

The three storey school was less than a mile away from the Docks and suffered a direct hit, a 100lb bomb crashing through the roof, killing three older children on an upper floor, then exploding on the ground floor where 50 of the youngest children were, killing 15 pupils from Gertie’s class and injuring many more.

That day three of the Schools teachers emerged as Heroes, Gertrude Middleton, Annie Elizabeth Allum and Wenceslia Watkins, were each awarded the M.O.B.E. Gertie's citation from the London Gazette of Friday the 7th June 1918, reads as; Displayed very conspicuous courage on the Occasion of an air raid, when a bomb burst in the classroom in which she was teaching.

The citation form the back of her picture held by the Imperial War Museum, reads as 'Mrs Gertrude Middleton O.B.E.  Air raid on Upper north School, Poplar, on the 13th June 1917 a bomb burst in her class room and 18 children' mainly five year olds were killed, although hurt herself, she rescued many children from the debris until the Doctor forbade her going on, he said she deserved the V.C, soon after the raid her health began to fail.'  

In addition to the 18 school children in Poplar, that first daylight raid in 1917 claimed another 144 lives around London. 

Sadly at the age of 29 Gertie passed away on the 21st October 1918, she was buried in Ladywell Cemetery on the 25th October 1918. Gone but not Forgotten.

Following the attack public donations flowed in for a memorial to the children; this was erected in the local Poplar Recreation Park. At its unveiling the Mayor of Poplar said these boys and girls truly suffered for their country as any men who have perished in the trenches, on the high sea or in the air.

Of note; on the 17th July 1917 King George V issued a proclamation declaring the name Windsor to be borne by his Royal House and Family, relinquishing the use of all German Titles and dignities, 

Coming amid strong anti-German feeling, the main turning point being the bombing of London, and in particular Upper North Street Elementary School in Poplar.

Gertie’s Grave, a short walk from the Chapel in Ladywell Cemetery.          

School caretaker Benjamin Batt sifts through the rubble, where his son Alfred was amongst the dead.

                                     

Funeral Procession of the Children along east India Dock Road.

Pupils from North Street School at post-war memorial service 1919.

Memorial of the 18 children in Poplar Recreation Ground.  

School photos with kind permission of Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives.

Picture of Gertie, copyright of the Imperial War Museum.

Colour Pictures,  Phill Barnes-Warden.

Compiled by Phill Barnes-Warden,  FoBLC Member

We will be stopping at Gertie’s Grave During the Guided walk of the Open House Event on the 20th September 2020

Nurse Sophie Hilling who gave her life for her country in the 1918 Flu Pandemic

Nurses treating soldiers at a clearing station in France

Wedged between a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, John George Pattison and the famed educational pioneers the McMillan sisters on the Old Deptford Town Hall Board of Honour (unveiled in 1919) is the name of Sister Sophie Hilling A.R.R.C. Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Reserve : a native and lifelong resident of the Borough of Deptford, who was awarded the Royal Red Cross (Second Class) for bravery, coolness and devotion to duty whilst on active service in 1917 and who died aged 34 of pneumonia in Number 72, General Hospital, Trouville, France on 12th October, 1918.

General Hospital, Trouville, France on 12th October 1918

Sophie was born Sophia Hilling in Deptford in 1884 the middle child of Samuel and Sarah Anne Hilling, who was from Suffolk. She trained as a Nurse in Birmingham between 1908 and 1912 before joining the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve)  during WW1. Sophie was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal, first established by Queen Victoria in 1883,  in October 1917 when she was working at the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital in Cardiff. Hence the post-nominal after her name -Associate Royal Red Cross.

Sophie served overseas in TrouvIlle, located on the Normandy coast, France. British military hospitals were often situated on the coast so that casualties could be evacuated for longer term treatment in Britain. In the summer of 1918 she had an excellent confidential report from the Matron of 72 General Hospital where she had been working as a Home Sister. On the 10th October, 1918 she was admitted to 72 General Hospital with influenza pneumonia on the 'dangerously ill ' list  and sadly died at 22.30 on the 12th October after four years of war service. This was during the second more virulent wave of the 'Spanish' flu pandemic which was to cost the lives of an estimated 7500 members of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) during 1918.

The Matron -in-chief , BEF, Dame Maud McCarthy, recorded Sophie's illness and subsequent death in her war diary  these have now been transcribed and are available to view on line) Her Matron , Eva Cicely Fox, wrote a letter to Maud McCarthy a few days later regarding Sister Hilling's funeral,  which is the subject of a moving reading by Mark Farmer now available on You Tube -

Letters from the Front Line: Death of Sister Sophie Hilling, October 1918

On the 27th September 1919,  at a special meeting of the Deptford Borough Council, the Mayor Councillor , W. Wayland, unveiled in the Council Chamber an Honours Board erected to the memory of Sister Sophie Hilling, a native of Deptford, who died in France in October from pneumonia at the age of 34 while acting as a nurse with the forces'.

Her 'heart -broken' mother attended the funeral (her father had died in 1897) and impressed by all the wreaths on display was heard saying ' How they must have loved my Sophie'.

Sarah Hilling choose these words to be added to her daughter's CWGC headstone- (no doubt with the late War poet Rupert Brooke 's timeless epitaph in mind?)

IN FOREIGN SOIL SHE LAYS
AND IN THAT RICH EARTH
A RICHER DUST CONCEALS.

Sophie's grave lies in Tourgeville Military Cemetery, Basse-Normandie, France.

Lovingly immortalised in the 1916 trench song The Rose of No-Man’s Land, as “the one red rose the soldier knows”  Sister Sophie Hilling paid the ultimate price and is now rightly remembered for her bravery and devotion in the service of her country.

Sophie's parents are buried in Brockley cemetery.

The Royal Red Cross Medal ( Second Class) awarded to Sophie in 1917 

In memory of civilians who lost their lives through enemy air raids in Deptford, Hither Green and Sydenham in World War l

There will be an exhibition at the Deptford Lounge, Giffin  Square, SE8 4RJ, Monday 10th December – Saturday 12th January in memory of civilians who lost their lives through enemy air raids in Deptford, Hither Green and Sydenham in World War l

On display will be the information panels about the Hither Green, Sydenham and Deptford bombings in the First World War. The history of families has been researched by members of the group as part of a project to replace or refurbish the memorials in the Ladywell and Brockley cemeteries.

Please come along with your friends and family.  The Deptford Lounge, which houses the Deptford Library, is open 8am -10pm Mondays to Fridays, 9am – 5pm Saturdays, 10am – 5pm Sundays
If you catch the 47 bus from Lewisham get off at “Wavelengths”.

World War 1 Bombing of Sydenham Road (Picture from Lewisham WW1 wiki)

PLUS there will be talk on Wednesday 9th January at 7:30pm.   FoBLC committee member and researcher Peter Mealing will be talking about the impact these bombings had on south-east London

The Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries acknowledges the financial assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Ladywell Ward Localities Fund in this project

Thomas Archie Challis MC (1893 to 3rd Nov 1918), 2nd Lieutenant 13th Tank Corps, A Coy

Thomas Archie Challis was born in Walworth in 1893 to parents Charles and Rosa. He had two elder brothers - William and Charles, a younger brother Harold and sister Isabel. Charles, Thomas' father worked as a general labourer and then as a sewerman or flusher for London County Council.
Thomas is recorded as living at 8 Larcom Street, Walworth (1901 census), 201 Franciscan Road, Tooting (1911 census) and 26 Merritt Road, Crofton Park (1918 probate calendar). Thomas was recorded as Archie on the 1901 census so that may have been the name by which his family called him.

Thomas Archie Challis MC (1893 to 3rd Nov 1918),  2nd Lieutenant 13th Tank Corps

Thomas was working as an office boy at 1911. He is recorded on his medal roll as having served as a Lt Sergeant in the ACC (Army no 13443), a Sergeant in the MGC (Army no 114414) and a 2nd Lieutenant in the 13th Tank Corps, A Coy. Thomas was awarded the Victory and British War Medals and the Military Cross. He was awarded the MC for his actions on 8th August when in action with the Australian infantry advancing between Warfusee and Harbonieres. At 8.20 that morning his tank, Mouswald, was fired on by German field guns and was hit four times and put out of action. Challis continued on foot with machine guns and the remainder of his crew.

Supplement to the London Gazette 1 February 1919

T./2nd Lt. Thomas Archie Challis, 13th Btn., Tank Corps

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty near Bayonvillers on 8 August

1918. He attacked three batteries of field guns and received three direct hits on his Tank which wounded some of the crew. In spite of this he continued to advance and endeavoured to silence the batteries with his guns. His Tank having received a fourth hit, which entirely disabled it, he got out of it and in the face of heavy artillery and machine- gun fire went forward with his machine guns and remainder of his crew and engaged the enemy. The resistance of the batteries was finally overcome, and the Tanks were enabled to continue their advance.

Thomas was wounded on the 23 August 1918 and returned to England to convalesce in Ashton Court Military Hospital in Long Ashton, Bristol. Thomas died of pneumonia and influenza at Ashton Court Hospital. The informant was M L Bryant, Commandant, Ashton Court Hospital. (information from a family tree on Ancestry.com). He is buried in Ladywell Cemetery (Plot C1884)

Photo courtesy of Find a Grave

The following is a letter written by T A Challis written whilst convalescing in Ashton Court Hospital, Bristol and printed in Dumfries and Galloway Standard 14 September 1918. (scanned in by Jackie13 on Ancestry.com). Mouswald is south of Dumfries just off the A75

‘Mouswald’ Tank in Action - Commander’s Interesting letter

The following letter has been received by the clerk of Mouswald Parish Council. The tank referred to and an aeroplane were acquired as the result of the War Loan Week in Mouswald last April:-

Ashton Court Hopsital, Bristol, 8 September, 1918

To the inhabitants of Mouswald, -

I am writing to let you know that in France I was commanding a tank named ‘Mouswald’ after your Parish, and thought therefore you would be pleased to know what good work it has done. During June and July of this year, with other tanks my tank was in reserve and in case of necessity at Heilly, just behind Morlancourt, north of the Somme river. Towards the end of July we were relieved, and did some practising with the Australian troops behind the line. These practices were to everybody’s advantage, as it was later proved in action. During one of these practices, Sir Douglas Haig witnessed my tank at work and complimented my section commander on my work. He seemed extremely delighted at the ability of my tank to turn quickly, and was also surprised at its speed. The tank was one of the latest large fighting type. We afterward were pleased to be sent into the line again, and were in action on August 8th with the Australian Infantry. We advanced between Warfusee and Harbonieres on that day, and I went forward at about 8.20a.m. We had not gone far (about 600-800 yards) when we fell among the German Field guns, who fired at us at a distance of about 50 yards. He fired 6 shots, and the tank was hit 4 times, being unfortunately put out of action with the last shot. We felt very downhearted at being put out of action so early in the show, but I knew that I had drawn fire on my tank, and so kept it off the infantry. We were certainly by no means done, however, and I took my crew forward with my machine guns. The tank was only temporarily out of action, and. If not already, soon it will be on the fighting list again. I would like to be with it as it was certainly a good tank, and I had it looked after very carefully. Unfortunately, however, I shall not be going out again just yet, as I was wounded on August 23rd when in action with another tank.

While resting here in convalescence I thought I would write to you, as I felt sure you would want to know what work the tank did that was named after your parish. 

Believe me, yours very sincerely,

T A Challis, 2nd Lt, Tank Corps

Information researched, written and provided by Anne Williams, a friend of Bob Swiniarski who often walks in this cemetery.

Remembering Private Elkins, torpedoed on the R.M.S Leinster 10th October 1918 in ' Ireland's worst maritime disaster'

Located on the berm that lies between the two cemeteries on the Ladywell side pathway is found the Elkins family grave. Private Thomas Elkins ( Middlesex Yeomanry) aged 36 years, Husband of Mabel Duncan Elkins, 39, Byne Road, Sydenham, was aboard the Royal Mail Ship ( RMS) Leinster when it was sunk by a German submarine U-123 shortly after leaving Dublin on the 10th October 1918.

Thomas Elkins who was born in Poplar in 1881 was a military passenger on board R.M.S. Leinster which was sunk by two torpedoes in the Irish Sea, 16 miles east of Dublin, shortly before 10am on the morning of 10th October 1918, on its outbound journey of 68 miles from Kingstown [now Dun Laoghaire] Dublin, to Holyhead, Anglesey, North Wales. It was Ireland's worst maritime disaster.

RMS Leinster carried 771 passengers and crew and was commanded by Captain William Birch (61), a Dubliner who had settled with his family in Holyhead. Apart from Birch, the Leinster had a crew of 76, drawn from the ports of Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) and Holyhead. Also on board were 22 postal sorters from Dublin Post Office, working in the ship's onboard postal sorting room. There were 180 civilian passengers, men, women and children

But by far the greatest numbers of passengers on board the Leinster were military personnel. Many of them were going on leave or returning from leave. They came from Ireland, Britain, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. On the Western Front the German Army was being pushed back by the relentless assaults of the Allied armies. On 4 October Germany had asked U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for peace terms. As the Leinster set sail the weather was fine, but the sea was rough following recent storms. Earlier that morning a number of Royal Navy ships at sea off Holyhead were forced to return to port due to the stormy conditions

Shortly before 10 a.m. about 16 miles from Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) a few people on the deck of the Leinster saw a torpedo approaching the port (left) side of the ship. It missed the Leinster, passing in front of her. Soon afterwards another torpedo struck the port side where the postal sorting room was located. Postal Sorter John Higgins said that the torpedo exploded, blowing a hole in the port side. The explosion travelled across the ship, also blowing a whole in the starboard side.
In an attempt to return to port, the Leinster turned 180 degrees, until it faced the direction from which it had come. With speed reduced and slowly sinking, the ship had sustained few casualties. Lifeboats were being launched. At this point a torpedo struck the ship on the starboard (right) side, practically blowing it to pieces. The Leinster sank soon afterwards, bow first. Among those who died, including nineteen year old Josephine Carr, a shorthand typist from Cork. She was the first ever member of the Wrens (Women's Royal Naval Service) to be killed on active service.

Thomas Elkins –Middlesex Yeomanry -10.10.18 aged 36. He is buried at Grangegorman Military Cemetery (CWGC) Co. Dublin

Ironically the U Boat that sank her was herself lost soon after. The UB-123 was probably lost in a minefield in the North Sea on its way back to Germany, on or about 19 October 1918. The bodies of her commander Robert Ramm and his crew of two officers and thirty-three men were never recovered.

Another casualty of the sinking is separately remembered on a family headstone a short distance from the Elkins family grave – Dulwich born Captain Frank Winterbourn (1890-1918) London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers). He is also buried at Grangegorman.

The Friends group have been in contact with author Philip Lecane, who’s powerfully moving book on the sinking ‘Torpedoed’ tells the stories of many of the people who sailed on the last fateful voyage of the R.M.S. Leinster.

Between July and December 2018 the National Maritime Museum, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, will host a new exhibition to mark the centenary of the sinking of the RMS Leinster on 10 October 1918. The RMS Leinster was originally built for the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company to service its route across the Irish Sea, and had been pressed into service during the First World War. The sinking of the Leinster remains the single biggest maritime disaster ever recorded in the Irish Sea, and will be marked by a full commemorative programme in late 2018.

Death of a Local Hero : Major Charles Edward Fysh DSO MC and Bar. Killed in Action on the Marne, France July 28th 1918

Major Charles Edward Fysh (1894-1918)

Located alongside one of the inner pathways in Ladywell cemetery lies the headstone (see photograph below) on which the name of Major Charles Edward Fysh is inscribed with those of his parents. He was with British troops taking part in Marshal Foch’s large scale and highly successful counter offensive of the River Marne in July 1918, which proved to be the start of an unbroken series of Allied successes termed 'The Hundred Days Offensive' lasting until the November 11th Armistice.

The headstone will be visited on a Guided Walk: The Final Push on Sunday 9th September 2pm – 3.30pm. The walk commemorates  the final efforts to end the First World War and will visit other relevant headstones and memorials.

Headstone with name of Major Charles Edward Fysh inscribed alongside those of his parents.

It was whilst serving with the 6th battalion Seaforth Highlanders that he was killed on 28 July 1918 at Chaumuzy on the Marne while holding the rank of Acting Lieutenant Colonel. He had attended Colfe's School from 1906-1911 and was 23 when he was killed having earlier joined the Seaforth Highlanders on the outbreak of war from his university Officer Training Corps.  The London Gazette of 24 July 1917 carries the citation for his first Military Cross : “ For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in leading his company in a successful counter-attack upon the enemy. He afterwards personally reconnoitred and cleared up the situation in front of his line, taking command of another company which had lost its commander and establishing strong posts and communication with both flanks. His promptness and initiative were most marked. ”

His second MC was Gazetted on 23 July 1918 :”For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. It was mainly owing to this officer's courage and determination in command of a company that the line held throughout two days' fighting. He continued his fine work during the three following days, constantly exposed to machine-gun fire, and by encouraging his men inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.

The citation for his Distinguished Service Order Gazetted on 13 September 1918 reads : “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in command of his battalion in action. He displayed great capabilities for organisation, rallying men of other units and leading them forward through heavy fire to posts from which they were able to inflict severe loss on the enemy. He made repeated reconnaissances to the front and flanks, regardless of his own safety, and on one occasion it was mainly due to his good work that the enemy failed to effect a crossing over a canal.”

He is buried in the churchyard of the village of St Imoges near Epernay

(Inline image)  churchyard of the village of St Imoges near Epernay

The Fysh family have a very distinguished lineage - one relative Sir Philip Oakley Fysh became Premier of Tasmania and another was Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh, KBE, DFC who became a famous Australian aviator during the Great War in the Middle Eastern Campaigns and was the founder of the Australian airline company Qantas
Inline image

A Tribute to Second Lieutenant Hugh Gordon Langton- killed at Passchendale October 25th 1917

One of many iconic images of the Passchendaele battlefield in 1917

Passendaele (Passendal) is a small village five miles north-east of Ypres in Belgium and is the name by which the final stages of the Third Battle of Ypres are better known. Along with the Somme, it has come to symbolise the Great War for many. The Third battle of Ypres was preceded by the attack on Messines ridge in June 1917. The main battle commenced on the 31st of July 1917, and stretched on until November the 10th, 1917. The final phase, the advance on Passchendaele, took place in October and November, the aim being to take the strategically important high ground of the Passchendaele ridge. The first battle of Passchendaele, on the 12th October, failed to take the village, and the second battle of Passchendaele lasted from the 26th of October until the 10th of November. After over three months, with 325,000 Allied and 260,000 German casualties the result was little more than to expand the ground covered by the Ypres salient and the controversy over the conduct of the Battle remains to this day.

Second Lieutenant Hugh Gordon Langton, (4th Battalion-London Regiment) Royal Fusiliers

On Sunday, November 5th, 2017 at Poelcapelle CWGC Cemetery near Ypres (Ieper), Belgium (see below), there was a ‘special centennial memorial’ for Second Lieutenant Hugh Gordon Langton, (4th Battalion-London Regiment) Royal Fusiliers, who was killed in action on October 26th, 1917, during the ‘Battle of Passchendale’.  Eight members of the Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries group attended as part of a British delegation at the kind invitation of Gil Bossuyt (First World War guide- www.frontaaltours.com). Also in attendance playing the moving music for the tribute were 45 musicians from the local Flemish Deerlijk Brass Band.  The event was recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (see link below) and in a welcome break in the weather during a sunlit interlude a poppy wreath was laid at the headstone.

Headstone of Second Lieutenant Hugh Gordon Langton -Poelcapelle British cemetery

Hugh Gordon Langton was a very promising violinist, who was taught by the most prominent music teachers from that time from across Europe. The grave of Hugh Gordon Langton is the only one of all Commonwealth graves and memorials (there are more than a million worldwide) which has musical notes inscribed as an epitaph. However a recent tonal revision of the musical notation - the piece was originally thought to have been from ' After the Ball is over' a popular Tin Pan Alley song from 1891, has led to some doubts by music scholars as the notes would suggest a different composition.

As part of the planned visit the Friends group were able to benefit from an excellent guided walk from Gil over parts of the former Battlefield, to be present at the playing of the last post at the Menin gate, Ypres and to enjoy the warm hospitality offered after the Sunday tribute by sharing in a memorable meal with Gil and members of the band in nearby Zonnebeke before returning home.

Members of the Friends group with local tour guide Gil Bossuyt in Poelcappelle cemetery

At @CWGC Poelcapelle British Cemetery in Belgium on Sunday, 45 musicians from the Deerlijk Brass Band performed a special #HoldHighTheTorch tribute during a ceremony commemorating Second Lieutenant Hugh Gordon Langton. Download the free app here

Family grave of Hugh Gordon Langton’s parents and his younger deceased brother in Brockley cemetery.

New Hither Green and Sydenham memorial to those who died through enemy air raids in WW1 unveiled

Commemoration of Civilian Deaths in Hither Green and Sydenham in WW1

The memorial in the Ladywell Cemetery commemorates civilian victims of enemy air raids in the First World War.

On 19th October 1917 a Zeppelin dropped a bomb on what was then Glenview Road near Hither Green station.  (The road is now part of the extended Nightingale Grove).  Three houses were destroyed and others damaged.  Two families in particular suffered badly:  the Kingston family lost seven children killed; the Milgate family lost four members – the father and three children.  They and others (a total of fifteen people) were buried in Heroes Corner.

On 19th May 1918 a Gotha bomber dropped a bomb on Sydenham Road, at its junction with Fairlawn Park.  Several shops were demolished or damaged.  Five members of the Delahoy family, father mother and three daughters, were killed as were four people in the adjoining shop.  A total of thirteen people were buried together in a public grave.

The original memorial to the victims of these two incidents was erected by public subscription at the position of the first grave.  The names of the victims of both events were recorded on the memorial slab.  Over a period of time, the slab became weathered and the names indecipherable.

The Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries, with the agreement of Lewisham Bereavement Services, instigated a project to restore this memorial, and to refurbish the Deptford civilian memorial in the Brockley Cemetery.  The Friends group was successful in its bid for funding to the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Ladywell Ward Assembly.

The unveiling of the new Hither Green and Sydenham memorial, and the commemoration of the victims, on Saturday 21st October at 2.30pm marks the completion of the first stage of the project.

Women In Front - A Public Art Exhibition of Women's Work in WW1 Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th September 2017, 11am-4pm

Women In Front - public art exhibition commemorates the contribution of women to the war effort at home and at the front in the First World War. As the war progressed with mounting casualties and the introduction of conscription, over 1 million women were employed for the first time in occupations previously reserved for men. Over 1.6 million women worked in domestic service were now given the opportunity to move into better-paid employment.

In March 1917, the Women’s War Work Subcommittee was formed to collect materials covering the contribution of women to the war effort for a National War Museum. The subcommittee commissioned photographers Horace Nicholls, George Parnham Lewis, and Olive Edlis (covering France) to record the work undertaken by women, this culminated in an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1918, attracting 82,000 visitors.

100 years later, Women In Front through the artworks on display, tells the stories of women’s lives before the war, their war work, and what happened to them afterwards. Nicky Scott-Francis explores the working lives of munitionettes, whilst Jill Rock concentrates on their achievements in the Women’s Football League, with Jolanta Jagiello covering the employment of female police constables to control their rowdy out-of-work behaviour. Sara Scott focuses on postal workers and Monica Wheeler on bus conductors, one of the few professions still open to women after the war, improving the working conditions of women.
Elizabeta Chojak-Mysko and Louse Kosinska tell the stories of women who had to disguise themselves as men to achieve their ambitions, whether as doctors to run a hospital for wounded soldiers or to take their pastime of flying to turn themselves into combat pilots.

The exhibition funded by Southwark Council Neighbourhood Fund is in the Chapel, Ladywell Cemetery (Ladywell Road, SE13 7HY) on Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th September 2017, 11am-4pm, as part of National Cemeteries Week under the auspices of the National Federation of Cemetery Friends.
www.artgoingplaces.com.   www.foblc.org.uk  www.cemeteryfriends.com

Guided walk on Sunday 10th September 2pm-3.30pm linking with the theme of the exhibition.  Meet at the Ladywell Chapel

Private Joseph Byrne (1897-1915) the first soldier to die at Lewisham Military Hospital remembered at Brockley Max Festival

A moving tribute song was performed by the group 1965, a Folk and Roots duo, joined by friends as part of the 2017 Brockley Max festival . The song was written by a band member whose relative fought in the Dublin Fusiliers in the First World War and who was inspired to perform it in the cemetery after finding the name of Private Joseph Byrne on the wall of remembrance located in Ladywell cemetery. In the evocative setting of the Ladywell Chapel packed audiences listened to a wonderful rendition of songs from the group. The song can be listened to via this link :
https://soundcloud.com/mark-wallis-4/dublin-fusileer

Located at the intersection of pathways that lead towards Brockley cemetery and Ivy road lies the Commonwealth War Graves Commission wall of remembrance. Joseph’s name is inscribed at the southern section of the memorial (which has recently been re-laid and relettered)

Ladywell Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves Commission Plot-‘Heroes Corner’.

Private 9058 JOSEPH BYRNE of 4th battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers died of wounds in Lewisham on 16 May 1915, aged 18.

Joseph who was born in Dublin is buried in Ladywell cemetery where his name is recorded on the wall of CWGC plot in Lady well cemetery listing those whose graves have no headstone. He was the first soldier to be buried from Lewisham Military Hospital 19 May in the Roman Catholic section.

The Kentish Mercury 28 May 1915

He is also remembered on the Lewisham Military Hospital memorial outside University Hospital Lewisham.

The local community welcomed the arrival of the first patients to the Military Hospital and within less than a month of their arrival the residents of Lewisham had organised an outing for the patients.

Local people loaned the use of their cars to transport the wounded from the hospital to Greenwich Park where an afternoon tea had been prepared for the patients. Along the route from the hospital to the park flag waving crowds gathered to cheer the wounded and distribute gifts of cigarettes and fruit. In the Kentish Mercury (4th June 1915) one soldier is reported to have said “Well it would be worth getting wounded again for this.” Throughout the war the people of Lewisham supported the hospital either through volunteering, fundraising, providing entertainment for the convalescents and supporting the newly formed local branch of the British Red Cross Society.

The first soldier to die at Lewisham Military Hospital was Private Joseph Byrne of the Dublin Fusiliers. Private Byrne died on the 15th May 1915 from the shrapnel wounds he received whilst serving at the front and his funeral was held in the Roman Catholic section of Ladywell Cemetery. He was only 18 years old. The occasion was of such significance locally that photographs from the military funeral featured in the local press.

Frederick Innes OBE (1864-1921): Silvertown Explosion 1917

Contemporary newspaper illustration of the Silvertown explosion

Close to the Ivy Road pathway in Ladywell cemetery enveloped in its chitinous grassy embrace lies the Innes family grave of Frederick Innes, who died aged 57 years on the 14th December 1921.  Grandfather to FOBLC stalwart Ron Innes,  Frederick was intimately connected to the biggest explosion ever to hit the metropolis which destroyed a large part of Silvertown in East London on the 19th January 1917. The centenary of this tragic even is being commemorated.

Frederick Innes was later awarded the OBE for his  brave and public spirited actions on the day.  He worked as Chief Valvesman at the East Greenwich Gasworks which was damaged by the blast and worked heroically to save the gas supply to South London.  The Greenwich Peninsula History 2013 has the following account:

At 7 p.m. on l9th January l9l7 the Brunner Mond works at Silvertown went up – to the credit of Chief Valvesman Innes and his second Percy in charge of No.2 they managed to switch the supply over to No l. and the gas supply of South London was maintained. The holder’s builders had designed it to withstand hurricanes but the pressure of the munitions explosion ruptured it and 8 million cubic feet of gas extant in Greenwich – Charlie Wellard (whose biography is in Woodlands Local History Library} asked his mother if it was the end of the world. An old lady down the road from me says she saw a red hot girder blown across the river and pierce the gas holder. 

The devastation from the explosion is evident from this photograph  

On 19 January 1917, in the darkest days of the Great War, a massive explosion rocked London’s East End. Shockwaves could be felt in Essex, while the blast itself was heard as far away as Southampton and Norwich. But the firestorm wasn’t caused by the sinister German Zeppelins that were making increasingly frequent appearances on London’s skyline. In fact, the roots of capital’s biggest ever explosion were much closer to home: a TNT factory in Silvertown.

From the outset, the management of the former Brunner, Mond and Co. chemical works had expressed their concern about government plans to turn their plant over from the production of caustic soda to TNT for munitions. TNT is a highly unstable substance and the factory was in a crowded urban area. The Metropolitan Building Act of 1844 made it illegal to carry out ‘harmful trades’ inside the boundaries of London. But Silvertown was just outside this boundary, and its plentiful supply of labour and easy access to ports made it too good a location to overlook. In September 1915, the management caved to government pressure and the plant was soon making nine tons of TNT a day.

Sadly, the management’s concerns were founded. The explosion that ripped through the factory on that fateful Friday evening instantly destroyed part of the factory and several nearby streets. It showered molten metal across several miles, starting wild fires that could be seen as far away as Kent and Surrey.

The whole heavens were lit in awful splendour. A fiery glow seemed 

to have come over the dark and miserable January evening.

The Stratford Express

More than 900 homes near the plant were destroyed or badly damaged in the disaster, leaving thousands of people homeless. Between 60,000 and 70,000 buildings were damaged to some extent, including a gasometer over the river in Greenwich which blew up, spewing 200,000 cubic metres of gas into the air in a massive fireball. Factories, docks and warehouses were also decimated. The eventual repair bill was around £250,000 – a staggering amount of money at the time.

Even more serious was the human cost. Seventy three people died that day. More than 400 were injured, 94 of them seriously. One man lost his wife and four children, aged between 10 and 13. The dead also included many firemen from the local station, along with dock and factory workers and children, asleep in their beds. But the death toll could have been much worse: by a stroke of luck, the explosion happened at just before 7pm, after most people had left the factory for the day and before they had gone to bed (most of the damage to homes was to the upper floors).

Notice from the Mayor of Newham offering emergency assistance to those affected by the Silvertown Explosion 

The precise cause of the explosion has never been found and rumours abounded of sabotage by a German spy or that the factory had been hit by a German bombing raid. The most likely explanation is much more mundane – that fire broke out in a melt-pot room and quickly spread to railway wagons where 50 tons of TNT was waiting to be moved. The inquiry found that the site was totally unsuitable and that Brunner Mond had failed to look after the welfare of its staff. The government chose not to publish the findings until the 1950s.

Guided Walk Sunday 20th November visiting some of the fallen from the Battle of the Somme

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The Battle of the Ancre Heights

There will be a free guided walk visiting the graves and headstones in the Brockley & Ladywell cemeteries of some of those who fought and fell during the 141 days of horror  of the Battle of the Somme (July to November 1916).  The walk will be led by FOBLC members Peter Mealing, Mick Martin and Mike Guilfoyle.

All are welcome to join, we meet at 2:00pm on Sunday 20th November at the Ladywell Cemetery entrance.  The walk will last approximately 2 hours.  The event is free though donations are welcome.

Private Graham Charles Hines Bulford (1895-1916): Soldier killed at the Somme

Part hidden by a spangle of dotted vegetation in a grove alongside one of the inner pathways close to the boundary between the two cemeteries lies the Bulford family grave.

The son of Charles and Ada Bulford of 57 Adelaide Avenue, Brockley (lying opposite the green expanse of Hilly Fields) Graham’s name appears in a 1911 London Gazette post as a Temporary Boy Clerk before he enlisted as a private in the 2nd Battalion, Eastern Ontario Regiment, Canadian Infantry (Canadian Expeditionary Force) Service number: 444226. He died in action on the Somme, aged just 21 on 12th October 1916.

Canadian Soldiers Fixing Bayonets Before An Attack On The Somme

The following extract on Canadians on the Somme is from the Veterans Affairs Canada website.
The Battle of the Somme was not a one day affair and the fighting continued, notably with a largely successful dawn attack by the British on July 14, through the summer months. In late August 1916, the "Byng Boys" moved from the muddy fields of Flanders to the Somme, where they took over a section of the front line west of the village of Courcelette. They ran into heavy fighting and suffered some 2,600 casualties before the full-scale offensive even got underway.

In the major offensive which began at dawn on September 15 the Canadian Corps, on the extreme left of the attack, assaulted on a 2,000 metre sector west of the village of Courcelette. Advancing behind a creeping barrage (a tactic which had recently been introduced by the British, a consequence of adequately trained gunners, more and better guns and more reliable ammunition), the infantry was aided by the "new engine of war," the armoured tank. There were only a few of these and they were extremely unreliable and very vulnerable to artillery fire. However, at this early stage of the war their sheer presence often threw the enemy into confusion. The attack went well. By 8 a.m., the main objective, a defence bastion known as the Sugar Factory, was taken, and the Canadians pushed ahead to Courcelette. Numerous German counter-attacks were successfully repulsed and by the next day the position was consolidated. The enemy then brought up reinforcements, the fighting intensified, and gains became microscopic.

Canadian Recruitment Poster

In the weeks that followed the three Canadian divisions again and again attacked a series of German entrenchments. The final Canadian objective was that "ditch of evil memory," Regina Trench. It repeatedly defied capture, and when the first three divisions were relieved in the middle of October, Regina Trench was closer, but still not taken.

When the newly arrived 4th Division took its place in the line it faced an almost unbelievable ordeal of knee-deep mud and violent, tenacious, enemy resistance. However, despite the almost impenetrable curtain of fire, on November 11 the Division captured Regina Trench—to find it reduced to a mere depression in the chalk. A week later, in the final attack of the Somme, the Canadians advanced to Desire Trench—a remarkable feat of courage and endurance. The 4th Division then rejoined the Corps opposite Vimy Ridge.

There were no further advances that year. The autumn rains turned the battlefield into a bog and the offensive staggered to a halt. The line had been moved forward only ten kilometres, though ground of itself was not particularly important except in terms of morale. The Allies had suffered some 650,000 casualties, and both sides had about 200,000 killed. The Germans refer to the Battle of the Somme as das Blutbad—the blood bath. One German officer described the Somme as "the muddy graveyard of the German Army," for the British it turned an army of eager, inexperienced recruits into a fighting machine on a par with those of France and Germany, but at a terrible cost in human life.

The Somme had cost Canada 24,029 casualties, but it was here that the Canadians confirmed their reputation as hard-hitting shock troops. "The Canadians," wrote Lloyd George, "played a part of such distinction that thenceforward they were marked out as storm troops; for the remainder of the war they were brought along to head the assault in one great battle after another. Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line they prepared for the worst."

Second Canadian cemetery at Sunken Road, Contalmaison ( Somme, France) in which Private Bulford whose death age 21 was recorded as 12th October 1916 lies buried. He is also remembered on the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa, Canada.