Genealogy


Ribbesford - St Leonard's

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PDF file: Churchyard register Ribbesford - Churchyard register (263kb PDF file)


St Anne's war memorial

St Anne's War Memorial Special thanks go to Simon Fielding for donating this listing. A number of these men are also listed on the Wribbenhall memorial: if you are interested in any of the men listed here, it would probably be worth looking at Simon's notes for that memorial. Note that this listing only covers the men from WW I.


Simon Fielding can be contacted on the following e-mail address : Simon Fielding.

Men of the town of Bewdley, Worcestershire recorded on the memorial to the dead of the 1914-1918 war on the east face of Saint Anne's church.

Rank Name Unit
Private John ALBERTS Worcestershire Regiment
Captain Geo. William BAKER Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Lond. R
Major Rd. STANLEY-BAKER Burma MT
Corporal Fred Delappe BARNFIELD Worcestershire Regiment
Private Thomas BENTLEY Worcestershire Regiment
Private James BEVAN Worcestershire Regiment
Driver (?) Alfred Earnest BIRCH Royal Field Artillery
(?)I/CL. Boy John BISHOP Royal Navy
Private Thomas BISHOP Worcestershire Regiment
Private William BISHOP Worcestershire Regiment
Private Walter BOW Worcestershire Regiment
Private William BOW 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons (Innis DGS)
Lance Corporal Walter Charles BOWKETT Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Trooper Fred Harvey BROWN Worcestershire Yeomanry
Private Percy W. CARTER Machine Gun Corps
Private Herbert COLDRICK Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Lieutenant Thomas COLDRICK Worcestershire Regiment
Sapper (?) Earnest COLLEDGE Worcestershire Regiment
Private George DANBY Worcestershire Regiment
Corporal Harry DARKES Worcestershire Regiment
Private Harry DARKES Border Regiment
Private Jos. Leonard DARKS Worcestershire Regiment
Private Edwin Stanley ELLEMENT North Lancashire Regiment
Private Arthur John EWINS Worcestershire Regiment
Private Joseph Charles FAWKES Worcestershire Regiment
Private Valentine C. FINLOW Worcestershire Regiment
Private James GREEN Worcestershire Regiment
Private Thomas Edward GRIFFIN Worcestershire Regiment
Private John Dan GRIFFITHS Worcestershire Regiment
Private Jas. John HARRISON Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Pioneer (?) Frederick HART Royal Engineers
Captain Kennet S HEMINGWAY Worcestershire Regiment
Private Cecil E HUMPHERSON Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) Lond. R
Private Jack INSULL Prince Charlotte of Wales's Berkshire Regiment
Private Leonard Jos. LANGLEY Worcestershire Regiment
Private Arthur LLOYD Prince Charlotte of Wales's Berkshire Regiment
Private William James LLOYD Worcestershire Regiment
Private William Charles MACHAM Worcestershire Regiment
Corporal Herbert MANTLE Worcestershire Regiment
Private Joseph MILLWARD Worcestershire Regiment
Private Joseph MILLWARD Worcestershire Regiment
Sapper Thomas William MILLWARD Royal Engineers
Lance Corporal Charles E. MILTON Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Private Thomas A MOBBERLY Gloucestershire Regiment
Lance Corporal Ernest Henry MOLES Worcestershire Regiment
Lieutenant John Aubrey MOORE South Staffordshire Regiment
Private John PATTINSON Worcestershire Regiment
Private William Henry PAYNE Worcestershire Regiment
Lance Corporal George H PERKS Worcestershire Regiment
Private Horace Cecil POTTER Worcestershire Regiment
Private Thomas William POTTER Machine Gun Corps
Private William POUTNEY Worcestershire Regiment
2/AM (?) Walter J POWELL Royal Flying Corps
Corporal Albert George PRICE Worcestershire Regiment
Private Chris. John ROGERS Welsh Guards
Private John ROLLINS Worcestershire Regiment
Private William SHENTON Worcestershire Regiment
Private Frank Edgar SMITH South Staffordshire Regiment
Sergeant Jos. Banks SMITH Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Private SC STEPHENSON Worcestershire Regiment
Private Joseph STOKES Worcestershire Regiment
Private Walter STRANGE Worcestershire Regiment
Lance Corporal Geo. Reginald STYLES Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Private Andrew TAYLOR Worcestershire Regiment
Lance Corporal Frank TOLLEY Worcestershire Regiment
Private William Howard TOLLEY Royal Naval Division
Lance Corporal Edwin Albert TROW Worcestershire Regiment
Lance Corporal Sidney J WALFORD Worcestershire Regiment
Private Joseph WATKINS Lancashire Fusiliers
Lance Corporal Thomas WATKINS Worcestershire Regiment
Corporal Arthur WHILE Worcestershire Regiment
Private Geo. H WILLIAMS Worcestershire Regiment
Private James H WINWOOD Royal Fusiliers (?) (City of London Regiment)
Private Orlando H I WOODWARD Royal Army Service Corps

Note:
1. There actually are two different Joseph MILLWARD s listed on this memorial
2. Thomas William MILLWARD was employed as a clerk for GWR in Bidford on Avon: he is also listed on the Bidford on Avon memorial


St Leonard's war graves

The First World War & Ribbesford Churchyard

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission identifies the churchyard at St, Leonard's, Ribbesford as an official War Graves cemetery. There are 7 War Graves at Ribbesford all of men who were wounded in action during the First World War and sent back to England for medical treatment.

Details of the seven men follow and we would be most interested to learn of any other details readers can contribute to these personal histories.

Frederick Harvey Brown
Frederick was a private in the Worcester Yeomanry unit of the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars. His service number was 2703 and he was 26 when he died on 26/11/1915. Frederick was buried on December 1st 1915 and his name is also recorded on St. Anne's War memorial.
The grave reference is 344, map reference: 786740.

Thomas William Chadbourne
Thomas was a private in the 5th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment. His service number was 47760 and he was 21 when he died on 7/4/1921.
Thomas was the son of Harry and Mary Chadbourne of 23, Welch Gate. He was buried on April 11th 1921, some 2.5 years after the end of the war.
Sadly his name does not appear on either of the Bewdley War memorials.
The grave reference is 50, map reference: 785740

H.Davies
H. Davies was a corporal in the 117th battery of the Royal Field Artillery. He died on the 1/12/1918. His service number was 239001, we do not know his age, he is not listed on either Bewdley War Memorial.
The map reference of his grave is 786740 to the north west of the church.

JACK INSULL
Jack was the son of John and Rose Insull of 32, The Hollow, Welch gate, Bewdley. He was baptised at St. Leonard's on July 2nd 1899. His father is described as a tinner in the parish records. Jack was a private in the 8th battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. Jack's service number was 44951 and he was only 19 when he died on 11/11/1918, the last day of World War 1. Jack's brother George was also 19 years of age when he was killed in the First World War. George was a member of the 144th Company of the Machine Gun Corps and is listed on the Thiepval Memorial. Both Jack and George are listed on St. Anne's war memorial.
Jack's grave is to the south west of the church at map reference: 786739

ERNEST HENRY MOLES
Ernest was the son of Thomas and Sara Moles. Ernest was married to Fanny Elizabeth Moles and lived at 25, Severn Side South, Bewdley. The couple had three children Alfred Ernest, Thomas Francis and Arthur Leonard. All three boys were baptised at St. Leonard's between 1908 and 1911. Ernest was a Lance corporal in the Worcestershire Regiment during the First World War having also served in the Boer War between 1899-1902. Ernest worked as a brass turner between these two wars.
Ernest's service number was 971 and he was 39 when he died on 3/1/1917
His grave is located to the east of the church at map reference: 789740.
His name is listed on St. Anne's war Memorial.

GILBERT PENNINGTON
Gilbert was a private in the 1st/5th Battalion of the Gloucestershire regiment. He was born in Tottington, Lancashire and enlisted at Worcester. He may also have served in the Suffolk regiment. Gilbert was the son of Thomas and Alice Pennington of 16 Wyre Hill, Bewdley. Thomas Pennington was a surgeon practising in Wribbenhall.
He was shot in the chest during the battle of Ypres and transferred to Netley hospital, Hampshire where he died of his wounds on Friday 28th September 1917. He was buried in St. Leonard's graveyard on October 3rd 1917.
Gilbert's service number was 260105 and he was 30 when he died.
His grave reference is 564 at map reference: 7862 7406.
Gilbert Pennington is listed on the Wribbenhall War Memorial as Gilbert Penningham.

HENRY CHARLES POSTINS
Henry was a Corporal in the 8th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment.
He died on 19/9/1920 at the age of 35 and was buried in St. Leonard's on September 21st 1920.
His service number was 30937 and his grave can be found at ref: 480 or map reference: 7860 7406.
Henry is not listed on either of the Bewdley war memorials.

There is a third external War Memorial within the Bewdley area. This memorial at at Leonard's on the north side of the church does not have any names inscribed on it.

The War Memorial at Ribbesford was unveiled on April 11th 1920.

The parish magazine carried the following article.

War Memorial - Ribbesford
The Venerable the Archdeacon of Hereford (Canon Winnington-Ingram) will unveil the Churchyard Cross on Sunday, April 11th, at 3 p.m. ; and will preach at Ribbesford in the evening at 6.30.
It is particularly requested, as a matter of courtesy that for the Unveiling Ceremony only those who have served in the War and the relatives and near friends of those whom the Memorial commemorates enter the Churchyard. The rest of the congregation are asked to remain outside, where they will see and hear perfectly. We feel sure this request will be understood. It is in no sense an exclusion, but only to prevent from being "crowded out" those most deeply concerned in the memorial.

Rev. Herbert A. Moore. M.A.. (Rector)

TO THE
GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF THE SEVENTY SIX MEN
OF BEWDLEY WHO GAVE THEIR
LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY
IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919

Further information concerning war graves can be found at www.cwgc.org the cemetery number for St. Leonard's is 39444.

A good place to search war memorials nationally can be found at Channel4 Lost Generation