TOMS, HAROLD VICTOR Rank: Private Date of Death: 21/05/1942 Age: 54 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 27th County of London (Roehampton) Bn. Grave Reference: Sec. 2C. Row D. Grave 3. Screen wall. Panel 4. Cemetery: FULHAM PALACE ROAD CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Joseph Henry and Ellen Toms; husband of Elizabeth Toms, of Fulham.
ANDREWS, GEORGE WILLIAM Rank: Serjeant Date of Death: 04/07/1943 Age: 40 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 3rd County of London Bn. Grave Reference: Sec. 1. Grave 6. Cemetery: FULHAM PALACE ROAD CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Susan H. Andrews; husband of Augusta May Andrews, of West Kensington.
ASHBY, ERNEST REGINALD Rank: Volunteer Date of Death: 16/04/1941 Age: 51 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 45th County of London (L.P.T.B.) Bn. Grave Reference: Block 14. Grave 1115. Cemetery: STREATHAM CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Ernest and Susan Ashby; husband of Dorothy May Ashby, of Morden, Surrey.
WRIGHT, JOHN ALBERT Rank: Volunteer Date of Death: 07/11/1940 Age: 19 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 13th County of London Bn. Grave Reference: Block 4. Grave 463. Screen Wall. Panel 6. Cemetery: STREATHAM CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of John Albert Wright, and of Mary Ellen Wright, of Clapham. Schoolboy Boxing Champion of Great Britain.
JEFFERY, THOMAS JOHN Rank: Volunteer Date of Death: 02/09/1940 Age: 37 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 13th Sussex (Haywards Heath) Bn. Grave Reference: Plot 2.SE. Grave 74. Cuckfield Cemetery, West Sussex Son of Thomas John and Alice Maria Jeffery; husband of Beatrice Rose Jeffery, of Cuckfield. Casualty details Sussex Express & County Herald, Friday, September 13, 1940 DIED DOING A PUBLIC DUTY DEATH OF CUCKFIELD AND BOLNEY MEN The death of two men by electrocution while trying to secure the cable of a drifting barrage balloon which had come into contact with a high-voltage cable, was described to the East Sussex Coroner (Dr EF Hoare) at an inquest at the Eight Bells, Bolney, last week. The deceased were Thomas John Jeffery (37), plumber, 34 Chatfield-road, Cuckfield, and Harry George Bolden (34), farm labourer, 1 Woodside-cottages, Bolney. The accident occurred on the previous Monday. The Coroner recorded a verdict of “Accidental death” and he described it as “a most tragic happening which occurred while the men were performing a public duty.” Death he said must have been instantaneous. Stephen Henry Jeffery, Churchyard-cottages, Cuckfield (brother of Jeffery), and Charles George Belton (father-in-law of Bolden) gave evidence of identification. Dr WP Murray, Cuckfield, said he saw Jeffery in a field in front of Pickfield House, Bolney, at 1:50 pm on the previous Monday. He was burned right through his clothes in both arms. Witness saw Bolden in another field. The whole of the grass was burned at the place where he actually died. Bolden was extensively burned. TRAILING CABLE Frank Simmons, 5 Woodside-cottages, Bolney, said he heard that a barrage balloon was drifting across the woods. He went with Frank Chapman and Harry Bolden to Stone Rocks field, and saw a balloon cable trailing across the field. There were four young lads looking at the cable. The cable trailed across an electricity cable, and one of the lads put his cycling trousers clip on the cable and said “It is all right; it is dead”. Witness and Chapman put their feet on the cable and Bolden said “I will run over and tie it to the tree.” He ran about 150 yards away. Witness and Chapman felt shocks through their feet, and they jumped clear, Chapman exclaimed, “Harry has got it,” and witness looked round and saw Bolden hanging to the wire and lying against the tree. Sparks were running along the wire. Witness and Chapman ran over at once, and by that time Bolden had fallen clear of the wire and was lying in the hedge. He was burning, and witness and Chapman pulled him clear. Frank Chapman 3 Woodside-cottages, Bolney, gave similar evidence. “IT IS ALIVE” Albert E Bushrod, The Street, Bolney, said he was at Ormond Hall at 12:25 pm, when he saw a barrage balloon in the distance. It appeared to be travelling south-west over Cowfold. Later he and PC Rumley saw it again travelling towards Bolney. They followed it towards Pickwell. When they got near the balloon the cable was high in the air. It sagged to about 10 feet from the ground, and witness jumped and touched it. He was in the air when he touched it. He saw PC Rumley do the same thing. Witness felt a shock and let go of the cable and he heard the constable say “Leave it alone; it is alive.” Witness heard a groan, and saw sparks by Jeffery. He had previously seen Jeffery running towards the cable from the direction of Bolney. Witness and the constable got Jeffery off the wire. Witness did not see Jeffery get hold of the wire, and he was astonished to see him under the cable. CABLE UNDER HIS ARM PC Rumley said that when he heard Jeffery moan he turned and saw him lying with the wire under his right armpit. It was possible that the wire suddenly snagged and caught Jeffery under the arm. They got deceased off the wire and commenced artificial respiration. There was no electric cable near where they were. It was a least three-quarters of a mile between the places where the two men were killed. Instructions were given for the balloon to be shot down, as it was making off again. Mr H Dixon (engineer and manager of the Central Sussex Electricity Ltd, and associated companies) said he did not think there was any doubt that both men were killed instantaneously. The Coroner said he would approach the authorities concerned with a view to ascertaining whether there was any possibility of acquiring compensation pensions. THE FUNERAL The funeral of Mr Jeffery took place at Cuckfield Parish Church on Friday. He was a bellringer and member of the home Guard, and for several years he was Hon. Secretary of the Cuckfield Allotment Holders’ Society. Years ago he sang in the parish church choir. The Vicar (the Rev W Hilton Wright) officiated and Mr TEP Attwell was the organist. Members of the Home Guard formed a guard of honour.
WYLIE, LESLIE THOMAS Rank: Private Date of Death: 14/05/1944 Age :37 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 4th Sussex (Steyning) Bn. St Andrews, Nuthurst, West Sussex Son of Thomas and Lillian Wylie; husband of Nora Wylie, of Maplehurst. Casualty details The Birmingham Mail, Monday, May 15, 1944 SHELLS FALL IN TOWN HOME GUARD AND BOY KILLED RESIDENTS’ STORIES The morning church service was in progress in the Sussex Market town of Steyning yesterday when about a dozen shells from Regular Army artillery came whistling over the neighbouring Downs and exploded in the rear of the High Street. Two people were killed and two seriously injured, but the latter are progressing satisfactorily. They were: Dead – Pte Leslie Wylie, Home Guard, aged 35, of Maplehurst, and Arthur John Chandler (aged 1), of Thornscroft. Injured – Lt Grenwood, of Partridge Green, and Cpl Lindfield, of Maplehurst, both of the Home Guard. William Slaughter, a lorry driver, of Thornscroft, was slightly injured. The shelling began about 10:30 am and lasted until mid-day. As soon as the first shell fell, efforts were made by the Civil Defence authorities to notify the authorities, but they were unable to get in touch with the units concerned. One of the shells exploded a stone’s throw from the centre of the High Street. It damaged a house, but no one was hurt. People walking in the High Street fell flat on the ground, thinking the town was being bombed by high-flying enemy planes. At the back of the town 100 Home Guards from half-a-dozen West Sussex villages were taking part in a combined exercise. Private William Cooper, of Partridge Green, said: “We were standing in groups on the Downs near the rifle range. I was waiting for my friend, Corporal Lindfield. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion, and a shell landed within a few yards. Several others exploded a short distance away. One man was dead when we got him out. Another friend, Pte Spooner, had a lucky escape. A piece of shrapnel passed through the pouch of his belt, ricocheted off the metal buckle, knocked him over, but left uninjured.” In the garden of his house on a council estate behind the parish church, Mr Slaughter, who was slightly injured on the lip, told how he and the boy Chandler were gardening there when a shell threw them both to the ground. “We were resting for a few moments after hoeing,” he said. “Suddenly we were knocked down. After a few moments I got up and went to Arthur, who was lying a few yards away. He was dead. I did not hear any swish of the shell, but there was a loud crack as we went down.” Daily Herald, May 18, 1944 SHELLING OF TOWN NOT EXPLAINED No explanation was given at a Shoreham-on-Sea inquest yesterday of the shelling at Steyning, Sussex, on Sunday, during artillery practice. Lieut WH Marshall, senior gunnery officer, asked by the coroner if he could say why the shells fell in that area replied: “In view of the fact that there is a military inquiry being made I would like to await the findings of that courts.” Accidental death was the verdict, recorded on the two victims – Leslie Thomas Wylie, aged 37, of Maplehurst, a private in the Home Guard, and Arthur John Charles Chandler, aged 16, of Steyning. Lieut Marshall told the coroner that they were firing from tanks. REDUCED RANGE After about an hour he was tod by a despatch rider that mortar bombs were falling on Steyning. He decided that that was no concern of his, but, as a safeguard, he reduced the range. Answering Major GM Graham (who represented the military authorities), Lieutenant Marshall said the ammunition he was using – 75 mm shells – bore no relation to mortar bombs. He also said Steyning was some distance away from the firing point. Efforts to stop the shelling were described by Police-Inspector Leonard Davis. “When the first round fell, at about 9:55 am, I rang up a training school who referred me to another school,” he said, “They knew nothing about it.” THIRTEEN SHELLS Two more missiles fell in the centre of Steyning, and Inspector Davis got in touch with the officer in general control of training on the whole of the South Downs. That was about 11 am. The Inspector went out to reconnoitre. Two more shells came over. One he saw burst near some council houses. The other exploded on the rifle range. “In all there were 13 shells in the area. Three did not explode.” After the jury had returned their verdict Major Graham said that if evidence before the inquiry so justified it every step would be taken to avoid a similar incident. CHANDLER, ARTHUR JOHN CHARLES Rank: Civilian Date of Death: 14/05/1944 Age: 16 Regiment/Service: Civilian War Dead Reporting Authority: HORSHAM, RURAL DISTRICT Additional Information: At 20 Thornscroft, Steyning. Casualty details
WILLIAMS, JOHN HENRY Rank: Corporal Date of Death: 30/06/1942 Age: 31 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 8th Sussex (West) Bn. Grave Reference: Plot C. Row 7. Grave 23. St Wilfrid''s Chapel, Church Norton, West Sussex Son of William and Caroline Sarah Williams; husband of Vera Ethel Williams, of Chichester. Casualty details Liverpool Evening Express, Saturday, July 4, 1942 MYSTERY SHOT KILLED HOME GUARD BALL CARTRIDGES USED IN EXERCISES His surprise that the Home Guard were issued with ball cartridges during battle exercises with a Canadian regiment in the Home Counties on June 20 was expressed by a Home Guard officer at the inquest today on a member of his company – Corporal John Henry Williams (31), who died in hospital from a shot wound. The officer said that he gave instructions that the cartridges were only to be issued to the best shots and that firing was to take place under the direct control of the section commanders. The battle training was organised entirely by the Canadians. Before Williams was wounded a Canadian Corporal was hit when witness was only two or three yards away. CANADIAN WOUNDED Corporal GP Harwood, of the Home Guard, said that as Williams was going to the aid of the wounded Canadian he called out, “They’ve got me also,” and clutched at his throat. On the way to hospital Williams made no complaint and was “more or less joking.” Recording a verdict of Accidental Death, the coroner said that they did not know who fired the shot or in what circumstances. Probably it was fired by a Canadian. It was very regrettable that ball cartridges were used or had to be used, but he could not say that they must not be used. Chichester Observer, Saturday, July 11, 1942 WITH MILITARY HONOURS FUNERAL OF SELSEY HOME GUARD Full military honours were accorded to Corporal John Henry Williams, Home Guard, aged 31, of Rossburne, Windsor Road, Selsey, at the funeral at church Norton, on Saturday. Corporal Williams was himself shot whilst on manoeuvres when he went to the aid of a wounded Canadian soldier and he died ten days later at Midhurst hospital. A report of the inquest appears elsewhere in this issue. He was a boatbuilder by trade and his only other interest was the Home Guard, which he joined on the day it was formed. He was one of the keenest NCOs in the unit, and his officers paid high tribute to his devotion to duty. He was very popular with both officers and men, and will be greatly missed by them all. The flag-draped coffin was carried to the Selsey Methodist Church by members of the Home Guard, escorted by a guard of honour, and the service was conducted by the Rev E Geary. The Last Post was sounded as the coffin was lowered into the grave. Corporal Williams had been married for eight years and had no children. He was one of a family of five and his mother is still alive.
ASHTON, CLIFFORD Rank: Lance Corporal Date of Death: 01/10/1942 Age: 19 Regiment/Service: Home Guard 4th Carmarthenshire (Llandilo) Bn. Grave Reference: Grave 5. Cemetery: GARNANT (CHRIST CHURCH) CHURCHYARD Additional Information: Son of Edward and May Ashton, of Twyn. Garnant
Private VRANCH, GEORGE Died 17/03/1944 Aged 39 14th Middlesex Bn. Home Guard Son of John and Sarah Ann Vranch. of Abertillery, Monmouthshire, husband of Ellen Vranch, of Abertillery. INSCRIPTION ONE OF THE BEST THAT GOD COULD LEND. A LOVING HUSBAND, FATHER AND FRIEND
Serjeant FINCH, PERCY Died 24/01/1943 Aged 56 32nd Middlesex Bn. Home Guard Son of William and Dorcas Finch; husband of Eleanor Finch. of Greenford.
VolunteerGEAR, DENNIS HENRY Died 17/10/1940 Aged 35 51st Surrey (Malden) Bn. Home Guard Son of Henry Thomas Gear and Emma Maria Gear, of Horsell, Woking; husband of Mary Edith Gear, of New Malden. INSCRIPTION GOD IS LOVE
I expected to see more men in their sixties or seventies but many are middle aged or younger. Were there a lot of training accidents and air raid causalities, etc?
Hello Dave yes there were a number killed from accidents (live grenade practice being a few) plus air raids Posthumous Awards regards Clive
Private POTTER, CHARLES JAMES Died 07/11/1946 Aged 23 25th County of London Bn. Home Guard Son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Edward Potter, of Greenwich. INSCRIPTION GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. MUM, DAD AND IRIS
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Ernest W W Pain Death Age: 57 Birth Date: abt 1883 Registration Date: Dec 1940 Registration district: Greenwich Inferred County: London Volume: 1d Page: 1576 UK, WWII Civilian Deaths, 1939-1945 Name: Ernest Walter William Pain Estimated Birth Year: abt 1883 Death Date: 18 Oct 1940 Death Place: Greenwich, London, England Age at Death: 57 1939 England and Wales Register Name: Ernest W W Pain Gender: Male Marital Status: Widow Birth Date: 29 Jul 1883 Residence Year: 1939 Address: 37 Residence Place: Margate, Kent, England Occupation: Plasterer Schedule Number: 63 Sub Schedule Number: 1 Enumeration District: DIEP Registration district: 63-2 Household Members: Name Ernest W W Pain Winifred M Taylor TD
Volunteer SHARMAN, RICHARD JOHN Died 16/04/1941 Aged 17 57th Surrey (Mitcham) Bn. Home Guard Son of Mrs. D. E. Sharman, of Mitcham. Casualty
Died at Tower Creameries, Mitcham Common England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995 Name: Richard John Sharman Death Date: 16 Apr 1941 Death Place: Surrey, England Probate Date: 17 Jul 1941 Registry: Llandudno England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: Richard J Sharman Death Age: 17 Birth Date: abt 1924 Registration Date: Jun 1941 Registration district: Surrey Mid eastern Inferred County: Surrey Volume: 2a Page: 250 1939 England and Wales Register Name: Richard Sharman Gender: Male Marital Status: Single Birth Date: 4 Jul 1923 Residence Year: 1939 Address: 38. Residence Place: Mitcham, Surrey, England Occupation: Casting Clerk Schedule Number: 115 Sub Schedule Number: 1 Enumeration District: CNBX Registration district: 31-1 Household Members: Name Richard Sharman Harry J Sharman [Noted as a Bus Driver in the Register] Dora E Sharman TD
Home Guard killed in 1941 at the Tower Creameries “B” company 57th Surrey (Mitcham) Home Guard, were based at the Tower Creameries on Mitcham Common. On the night of 16th April, 1941, a parachute bomb dropped onto the site, killing 15 men: Frederick Percy Andrews The Firefighters Memorial Trust In Memoriam Book William Richard Aplin Charles Albert Branch James William Thomas Henson William Jones Joseph Stanley Kilbee Charles James Labrum Harold Francis Langbein Aubrey Edgar Marriot Frederick Albert Newstead Frederick Thomas O’Brien Walter Joseph Peacey Richard John Sharman As above posted by Clive. George Stephen Taverner Arthur Frederick White Clive was good enough to post the other casualties on Home Guard Headstones Just bringing the lads together again. Kyle