War Memorial | Hadleigh, Essex

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The war memorial in Hadleigh, Essex was erected in 1922 and carved stone plaques around the sides contain the names of the 48 men of the parish who died during WWI. The base it stands on remembers those who died during WWII (although no names were added). It’s quite an impressive structure, considering Hadleigh isn’t a big place even now.


The front plaque reads:

This monument is erected to the honoured and undying memory of the men of this parish who laid down their lives for their king and country in the Great War A.D. 1914-1919.

The men were very good unto us and we were not hurt.
They were a wall unto us both by night and day.

Sam 25 15-16

LEST WE FORGET


In Jan 1919, a parish meeting in Hadleigh decided to erect a monument in the recreation ground as a memorial to the men of the parish who had fallen in the war. Nearly two years later, in Nov 1921, a 20ft high Portland stone memorial was agreed upon, with enough money subscribed except for the cost of the foundations. The total cost was £280, over £16k today. It wasn’t fully paid off until Jan 1925.

The memorial was unveiled on Sunday 15th Oct 1922, with a turn out of nearly 2000. Dozens of floral tributes were laid on the base, as can be seen in the photograph below.


Newspaper article reproduced with the permission of the British Newspaper Archive and The British Library Board


Soldiers

Click on a name to find out more about each soldier and the family they came from (work in progress).

NAME
REGIMENT RANK NUMBER
ALLEN, James Edward 1st Essex Regiment Corporal 12071
ALLEN, Sidney Charles
Garrison Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Department (Parkhurst) Acting Bombardier 59529
ARNOLD, John Albert Royal Field Artillery, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, 21st & 7th City of London Battalion (London Regiment) Private 69574, 19681, 656179 & 368003
BUSH, Herbert John
2nd Essex Regiment Private 40137
CALVERLEY, Harold Henry
12th Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Private 10486
CARTER, Frederick Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own) 10th Battalion Rifleman S/9242 (33612)
CHOPPEN, Fred
7th King’s Royal Rifle Corps Rifleman R/10818
CHOPPEN, Stephen
9th Essex Regiment Lance Corporal 12073
CLIFFORD, Harold
11th Royal Sussex Regiment Acting Sergeant G/15706
COLLINS, Charles Claude 3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), Territorial Force Private 4386
COLLINS, Reginald
2nd/24th London Regiment Sgt 721265
COMPTON, John Hugh
2nd East Surrey Regiment Private 1170
COOLLEDGE, John Henry
Royal Fleet Reserve Leading Stoker 305541
COWELL, Richard
231st Labour Corps Private 342578
COWELL, William
9th Essex Regiment Private 12076
EADE, Charles
2nd Bedfordshire Regiment Private 18040
FARELY, Thomas Henry
1st Canadian Labour Corps Private 823816
FEAKIN, Robert James
2/6th Essex Regiment, 7th Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Private 35124
GILBERT, Alfred
1st Essex Regiment Private 16081
GINN, Alfred M
Military Mounted Police Warrant Officer P/8
LINCE, Charles William John
Duke of Cambridge’s Own, 23rd Middlesex Regiment Private G/43364
MASON, Ernest Edward
2nd Essex Regiment Private 10553
MASON, Reuben
13th Hussars Private 6791
McCORMICK, John Rowland
3rd Royal Fusiliers Private 1409
MEGGS, Stewart Gordon
213rd Siege Battalion, Royal Garrison Artillery Territorial Force 2nd Lieutenant
MUNDAY, Henry
1st East Yorkshire Regiment Corporal 7976
PETCHEY, Sidney George 9th Essex Regiment Lance Corporal 19195
PIPER, George George 5th Essex Regiment Private 251697
RAISON, Arthur Stanley 32nd Royal Fusiliers Private 53033
RAYNER, Joseph 18th Northamptonshire Regiment Private 19011
SCOUGALL, Douglas Muir 1st/15th London Regiment (Rifle Brigade) 2nd Lieutenant 4274
SEWELL, Frederick William 1st South Staffordshire Regiment Private 41783
SMITH, Harold George Royal Naval Reserve Acting Quartermaster 192680
SMITH, Percy Louis Royal Flying Corps (111th Squadron) Airman (2nd Class) 49720
SNOW, Henry 1st Essex Regiment Private 8638
STAINES, Archie Royal Garrison Artillery Bombardier 60372
STAINES, Sidney Charles 5th Coldstream Guards Private 17385
STAINES, Wilfred James 9th Royal Fusiliers, (City of London Regiment) Corporal 7678
STIFF, George 10th Essex Regiment Private 16109
STOCKWELL, James 2nd Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Private G/9375
STOKES, William 2nd Leicester Regiment Private 9843
TUCKER, Cecil 17th Royal Fusiliers Private G/60331
TUCKER, Frederick 1st Border Regiment Private 33797
UNDERWOOD, John William 9th Royal Fusiliers Private 78216
WALLACE, Charles Frederick 29th Vancouver Battalion, Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) Private 75478
WHITE, Philip 1st Essex Regiment Acting Sergeant 10554
WIFFEN, Harry John 56th Field Coy. Royal Engineers Corporal 13113
WOODFORD, Alfred 1st Essex Regiment Private 3/940

There is also a plaque within St James the Less Church in Hadleigh, which lists 49 soldiers in the order they died (apart from “F Tucker“, who should have been at the beginning of 1917, not 1916). The extra soldier on the church plaque but not the memorial is “S.A. Haves (of Leigh)“.

The memorial shrine was dedicated by the Bishop of Barking on Sunday 29th Oct 1922, two weeks after the large outdoor memorial was unveiled.


KIA: Killed In Action
MIA: Missing In Action
DOW: Died Of Wounds
AD: Accidental Death
DOI: Died Of Illness

1914

  • WIFFEN, H J – 23rd August 1914 (KIA, age 37)
  • COOLLEDGE, J H – 22nd September 1914 (DOW, age 32)

1915

  • COMPTON, J H – 25th April 1915 (KIA, age 17)
  • McCORMICK, J – 3rd May 1915
  • SNOW, H – 8th May 1915
  • STOKES, W – 15th May 1915
  • WOODFORD, A – 22nd June 1915 (DOW, age 23)
  • GILBERT, A – 6th August 1915 (MIA, age 36)
  • EADE, C – 16th June 1915 (DOW, age 20)
  • SMITH, H G – 8th August 1915 (KIA, age 34)
  • CALVERLEY, H H – 28th September 1915 (MIA, age 19)
  • GINN, A M – 1st October 1915
  • STOCKWELL, J – 14th November 1915
  • COWELL, W – 17th December 1915 (DOW, age 18)

1916

  • TUCKER, F – 27th January 1917 (MIA, age 32) – engraved in wrong place on memorial!
  • PETCHEY, S G – 2nd April 1916
  • STAINES, S C – 16th April 1916
  • CHOPPEN, S – 25th May 1916 (AD, age 21)
  • MUNDEY, H – 1st July 1916 (KIA, age 33)
  • STIFF, G – 20th July 1916
  • WALLACE, C F – 22nd July 1916 (DOI, age 25)
  • RAYNER, J – 19th August 1916
  • CARTER, F – 3rd September 1916 (KIA, age 16)
  • CHOPPEN, F – 15th September 1916 (KIA, age 27)
  • RAISON, A S – 19th September 1916
  • BUSH, H J – 15th October 1916 (KIA, age 31)
  • FEAKIN, R – 7th October 1916 (KIA, age 19)
  • COLLINS, C C – 5th Dec 1916 (DOI, age 36)

1917

  • MEGGS, S G – 3rd March 1917 (DOI, age 22)
  • MASON, R – 5th March 1917
  • SCOUGALL, D – 4th May 1917
  • COLLINS, R – 7th May 1917 (KIA, age 19)
  • STAINES, W J – 23rd June 1917
  • STAINES, A – 14th August 1917
  • FARLEY, T – 19th August 1917 (DOW, age 19)
  • CLIFFORD, H – 18th September 1917 (KIA, age 34)
  • HAVES, S A – 26th September 1917
  • LINCE, C J W – 22nd September 1917 (MIA)
  • MASON, E – 10th October 1917
  • SEWELL, F W – 26th October 1917
  • PIPER, G C – 2nd November 1917 (MIA)
  • TUCKER, C – 28th November 1917 (KIA, age 27)
  • SMITH, P L – 3rd December 1917

1918

  • ALLEN, S C – 24th April 1918 (DOI, age 24)
  • ARNOLD, J A – 26th April 1918 (DOW, age 19)
  • WHITE, P – 4th November 1918 (DOW, age 30)
  • UNDERWOOD, J – 28th August 1918
  • COWELL, R – 19th November 1918 (DOI, age 25)

1919

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