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FROM THE CONTEMPORARY LOCAL NEWSPAPERS OF NORTH BUCKS (BUCKS STANDARD, NORTH BUCKS TIMES, WOLVERTON EXPRESS)
With today’s internet a wealth of official information is available regarding those who served.
In an age before local radio and television, families often allowed letters to be published in the local press from their loved ones on active service.
However, for their descendants the letters reveal a more personal aspect, graphically describing the experience of the people and providing an insight into their personalities.

B.S. 1915 Jan. 9th

Commended for gallantry by Sir John French, Sergeant William Fossey, of the 2nd Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, has been killed in action. As natives of Sherington, where they lived for many years, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Fossey, are now resident at Dunloe Cottage, Beeches Estate, Crowborough, and at the outbreak of war received the following letter from their son;

“Just to let you know, that we have got our orders. We parade Friday night at 11 o’clock, leave Aldershot at 1 o’clock on Saturday. Don’t know yet where we go, but think direct to France. Whatever you do you must not worry about me; you must be proud to think you have a son fighting for your country. I hope it won’t last long, but we shall not have to give in until the Germans are properly crushed this time and put back for 100 years at least, as it will only have to be done over again in a few years time. If we had not started now they would probably have beaten us shortly, and then we should have had to bow to the Kaiser, which none of us ever intend to do. It is up to every able-bodied man now to do something. Remember, King and country come first, or should do, with every man. So do as I tell you, don’t worry and I shall be alright. Love to all. - Your loving son WILL.”

Via the late sergeant’s fiancée, the sad news of his death reached Mr. and Mrs. Fossey in a letter written by a Company Quartermaster-sergeant, W. Whitton, of the same regiment;

“Just a line to you, knowing that you will excuse me doing so, but I am sorry to tell you that poor William Fossey was killed by a shell on coming out of his trench. He died at once, so I am pleased to say he had no pain. He died a brave soldier’s death.”

Sergeant Fossey was aged 39, and had enlisted in the Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry on November 3rd, 1893. He served in India for 18 years (the number of years for which he received the Good Conduct Badge) and during his absence from England gained two medals. Shortly after his arrival in India he took part in the Indian Frontier war, and would see considerable service at Poona and Burma, where he was an instructor in signalling. He had returned to England with his regiment shortly before Christmas 1913.


B.S. 1915 Feb. 20th

Private F. Bailey, of D Company, Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, is the son of Mrs. Bailey, of Sherington, and writes to a friend at Newport Pagnell;

“It is a pitiful sight to see the houses blown to pieces and deserted, and the furniture and household requisites strewn about in all directions. We have just come out of the trenches for a rest. Last week we had two periods of 48 hours each in the trenches, and for half an hour or so on Saturday our artillery had a stiff time of it, but I cannot describe the experience.” Private Malsher, of Newport Pagnell, is fighting at the front in the same regimental company.

(An extract of this letter appears in the Wolverton Express, 1915, Feb. 26th).


B.S. 1915 Mar. 13th

Private Francis Bailey is serving with the 2nd Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, and writes to his parents at Sherington;

“It is getting rather warmer now in the firing line. We were there on Sunday, and about dinner time a shot came and hit a fellow about two yards from me. He has got a nasty wound in his hand and one over his eye. He was looking through some field glasses at the time and it smashed them completely. I think it would have been worse if it had not been for them.”

(Private Francis Bailey was killed in action on the Western Front on Sunday, July 30th, 1916, age 26. Born in Olney, but resident in Sherington he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Bailey, of Oak Villa, Sherington.)


B.S. 1915 Mar. 20th

News is received that Mr. Harry Hickson, the fourth son of the late Mr. W. Hickson, of Sherington, has been gazetted to a lieutenancy in the Lancashire and Cheshire Royal Garrison Artillery. He was formerly engineer officer on the White Star liner ‘Adriatic,’ aboard which over a period of 20 months he sailed between Liverpool and New York. In fact being for nearly four years in the service of the White Star Company, during that period he sailed more than 230,000 miles. His first ship was the ‘Haverford,’ sailing from Liverpool to Philadelphia, and he then transferred to the ‘Persic,’ aboard which he made four voyages from Australia to Tasmania. Two of his brothers are serving in the Forces.

(Lieutenant Harry Hickson, R.G.A., would be married on June 12th, 1917, to Dorothea, the second daughter of the Reverend and Mrs. W. Clark Hudson, of St. Cuthbert’s Vicarage, Everton, Liverpool, with the ceremony taking place at St. Cuthbert’s Church. The occasion was a quiet one, due to the family of the bride being in mourning, but amongst those attending were the brother and sister of the bridegroom, from Sherington. At 2 o’clock the couple then left for London, en route for the Isle of Wight, where a part of the honeymoon was spent. Amongst the many presents was a beautiful silver rose bowl, from the officers of the bridegroom’s regiment, and the bride received many gifts from her colleagues at the Department where she has been engaged in work for the War Office in Liverpool, to which she will return when Lieutenant Hickson leaves for the Front with his Battery.)


B.S. 1915 May 15th

Having gone to the front on August 4th, Lance Corporal Thomas Robinson, of Sherington, is with the 1st Northants. Regiment, and writes to his sister, Mrs. B. Dunkley, of Bridge Street, Stantonbury, about his experiences of trench warfare;

“We have been in the trenches some time now but we go out to-morrow for a rest for about three weeks. It plays on you to stop in the trenches for two or three weeks without a wash or a change. Most of us are nearly carried away by the ‘live stock’; we cannot keep them down. We are in some of the German trenches and it is awful at times for the enemy have buried their dead in many of the trenches we occupy. Most of us have been inoculated as a guard against fever. We are now in a position where the last battle took place. It is awful to see the damage that has been done all round. There is not a tree standing with any branches, and the houses have been absolutely battered by the artillery shells. The ground is one mass of trenches, resembling a maze, and we have to be careful in our movements or we should walk right into the German lines. We have a number of the enemy’s rifles and kit of all descriptions which they left behind in their retreat. Our regiment stood second on the list in casualties at the last battle, but the Germans suffered terribly, and they will again before long. … There is a lot of dirty work to be done yet. We have to make sandbag breastworks now instead of trenches, and the latter have to be filled in on account of their containing so much dirt and filth left behind by the Germans. The enemy have got youngsters, old men and all sorts fighting, but they stick it well. We often shout across to them and they reply to us, so you can tell we are at pretty close quarters.”

(In the charge of the Auber’s Ridge on Sunday, May 9th, Lance Corporal Robinson’s leg would be shattered by the withering German fire, being subsequently amputated. Earlier in the war he had been wounded in the same leg, and during convalescence spent a short time with his wife and children at Sherington. The news of his present casualty would be conveyed to his wife by the Chaplain of the Battalion, and it was during the same action that his company leader, Captain Farrar, was killed.)


B.S. 1915 June 26th

Corporal Ivester Lloyd, of Sherington, is serving with the Army Remount Department in France, and writes home to request gifts of old cricketing material - bats, pads, wickets, balls and gloves. When resting, the front line troops would greatly appreciate a game of cricket, but lack the necessary equipment. Therefore persons who could help are asked to contact Mrs. Ivester Lloyd, Sherington, or Mrs. Wellesley Taylor, Sherington Manor.


B.S. 1915 Sep. 18th

Corporal Archie Hickson, Beds. Regiment, is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Hickson, of Sherington. In August, he was wounded in the head at the Dardanelles, and writes of his experiences;

“We landed on Friday, and on Saturday the companies of our battalion came under shrapnel fire while trenching. … I set out with Headquarters Staff carrying my range finder, which, by the way, I never used. That was 12 (noon). The country is very wild - all hills, covered with boulders, scrub, and sand - very difficult to fight in. We went over the hills until we rushed to a ridge and lay down behind it. Then I realised that shells were whistling overhead. We went on down the hollow and met the stretcher bearers who were bringing in the first casualty. Still we pushed on, following a gully until we came to a point where it turned sharp to the left. Bullets then seemed to be coming in all directions, and rifle fire seemed quite close, while our own shells screamed overhead. We had practically no shelter, and then a sniper started on us. His shots went extremely near. The O.C. gave me his short rifle and said, ‘Here, take that d----d periscope off and see if you can find that sniper.’ Off I went, climbing the steep slope opposite as best I could, and peering in every bush (of course, at a distance), but he was too well concealed. I came back safely, though he evidently saw me, as some of his shots came pretty close. We turned to the left, clambering up and down boulders until we reached a huge boulder which offered fair cover. The O.C. decided to remain there. No one was hit, till some fellows were given the order to retire, and came right on top of us down the gully side. They went back, but they had attracted the enemy’s artillery, and a hail of shrapnel was soon bursting over us, and I was the first to be hit on the side of the head by a flying piece of shrapnel. Five minutes later Captain Ballance, who bound up my head, was wounded in the foot. I picked up my instrument and rushed off down the gully - there was no object in going slowly. When I appealed to the O.C. as to what to do he told me I must go back. I stumbled over the telephone wire, and stopping to mend it I came across a man badly wounded in the arm. I bound him up and gave him a lemon I had found in the sea and some water, and helped him back to the first station. We passed a group of fellows too weak to get back , but we could not help them.”

Corporal Hickson goes on to describe how he reached the clearing station, and was taken by steam tug to Embros, and from there aboard a troopship to Lemnos where they stopped for a week, before being taken on to hospital at Alexandria. Of the fighting, he says it “is unlike anything in France; more like the Boer War than anything. There could be no organised movement, as men simply get lost in the scrub. It was every man for himself. The wonder was we did not lose more of our men. We dig ourselves in when holding a position, but in advancing - well it is just chancing your luck.”

(In late 1919, in an issue of the Daily Telegraph, Major Clough Williams-Ellis, M.C., wrote his ‘Story of the Victorious Tanks,’ regarding the Battle of Baupume in the closing months of the war. In this he devoted the following paragraph to the gallantry of Lieutenant Archie Hickson, the youngest son of the late Mr. W. T. Hickson, and Mrs. Hickson, of Sheringtons;

Lieut. Hickson, of the 3rd Tank Battalion, was one of the few who had got his tank across the line just before the mist lifted. As the sun came out he found himself right in front of the enemies’ batteries at point-blank range. His whippet was immediately hit, but he managed to get his two men away in safety. The artillery and machine gun fire was extremely heavy, but, without any thought of his own safety, he at once went back on foot to warn a number of other tanks which were about to cross the railway at the same place. In this he was successful, and undoubtedly saved a large number of machines from being knocked out.’)


B.S. 1915 Nov. 13th

Private John Moore, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Moore, of Mill House, Sherington, is in St. John’s Hospital, Malta, suffering from dysentery. Before the war he was employed in the Wolverton Works Dining Hall, and, having enlisted at the outbreak of war in the 1/5th Beds Regiment, took part in the Chocolate Hill fight against the Turks. Two of his brothers are also serving their country; Edward is a corporal in the East Anglian Royal Engineers, and John, the youngest, is in the signal section of the same regiment.

(Born in Newport Pagnell, but a resident of Sherington, Private John Moore died of wounds on Thursday, September 19th, 1918, in Palestine. He is buried in Ramleh War Cemetery, Israel. In July 1920 his parents received the 1914-1915 Star which would have been conferred on their son.)


B.S. 1916 Feb. 12th

Mr. Joseph Watts, a well-known Sherington resident, and a roadman employed by the County Council, is very proud of the number of his relatives who are doing their bit for King and country. His eldest son, Alfred, who has been wounded, is in Serbia. Fred is with the Royal Field Artillery, in France, and Percy is in training with the Bedfordshire Yeomanry, as also is a grandson, Tom Watts. He has three sons-in-law in the Royal Field Artillery, two in France, and the third now on home service after being badly wounded at the battle of the Aisne. A fourth son-in-law is a prisoner of war in Germany. He was with the “Glorious Bedfords” at Mons and was taken prisoner after that retreat. A step-son is a bomb-thrower with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and his remaining son on being rejected from army service, has joined the local Home Defence Corps.


B.S. 1916 June 17th

Private Samuel Robinson, of the Bedfordshire Regiment, has been wounded in the left arm and hand, and is a prisoner in the hands of the Germans at Giessen. Writing to his parents at Sherington on May 17th, he says “I hope by now you have heard from my company that I am a prisoner. Don’t worry, as I am quite well and happy with my other mates who were taken with me. I got wounded in the left hand and arm, but its going on well and they look after it, and it is also well dressed. We have been treated well up to now. We have had a good hot bath and a clean change and our clothes cleaned of vermin.”

Private Robinson says that he has plenty of clothes, but not much money, tobacco, or cigarettes. He also informs his parents that there are no shells flying about in the direction of his prison camp. He and his comrades had a pleasant ride across the country after being captured, and during the three days’ journey they passed through pretty country.


B.S. 1916 Aug. 26th

Private Henry S. Norman, the youngest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Norman, and grandson of Mrs. E. Parrott, of Sherington, is unofficially reported to have been killed in action on the Western Front. 21 years of age, he was a stretcher bearer of the 1st Gloucester Regiment, and on July 30th Sergeant Herbert Needs writes to the young soldier’s sister;

“No doubt you will have heard before this letter reaches you of the death of your brother Harry, which occurred about 12.30 a.m. on the 18th inst. Perhaps it will ease the pain of your loss a little to know that he did not suffer but that death was instantaneous. He was a bright lad and a general favourite and we all grieve with you at his loss. I always found him willing and quick to do his duty. As a stretcher bearer he will never be forgotten. We all mourn his loss with you and tender our heartfelt sympathies.”

Prior to the war Private Norman had been employed at a restaurant in Regent Street, London, and joined up at the outbreak of hostilities. Having been in France for about 19 months, he had taken part in many memorable actions, and prior to the wound which caused his death had passed through without a scratch.


B.S. 1916 Aug. 26th

Private Francis Bailey, of the Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, is reported to be missing after an engagement in the big advance. His parents live in Water Lane, Sherington, and the news was first received from a comrade. No further information has been received. He was employed at Wolverton Works prior to the war, but joined up immediately on the outbreak of hostilities, and subsequently experienced much hard fighting in France. On July 18th he wrote to a friend in Newport Pagnell, and in the course of his letter said;

“We are out of the trenches but do not know for how long. Our last turn in was a bit rough for our people sent a mine up, and we had three strafes that night. It was a little hell while they were on and the trench mortars that Fritz sent over were bigger than any of us had seen before. They made us dodge about the trench like rabbits. Talk about getting the wind up, they do put the wind up anybody properly. . . We were relieved last Thursday morning after being in since a fortnight last Sunday. Taking things on the whole they seem to be going on fairly well, but I am afraid it will be some time yet before it is finished.”


B.S. 1917 Jan. 20th

For publication, the following letter has been sent to Mr. George Oldham, Hon. Sec. of the Sherington Soldiers’ Presents Fund;

“Beds Yeomanry, B.E.F., France.

Dear Sir. I should be glad if you would kindly permit me, through the medium of your valuable paper, to thank the inhabitants of Sherington for the nice gifts they so kindly sent to us. As it is impossible for me to thank each individual person I take this my only opportunity of expressing my appreciation and best thanks. Trusting you will grant me the favour of publication.

I am, yours faithfully,

P.T.E. JOHN BORTON.”


B.S. 1917 Apr. 21st

News is received that Private Charles Jefferson, of the 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action on Easter Sunday, April 8th, during the big advance by British troops. Aged 30, he was the youngest son of the late Mr. Joseph Jefferson, and of Mrs. Jefferson, of Mercer’s Farm, Sherington, and to her Sergeant G. Butcher writes on April 8th;

“This morning your son was carrying out certain duties when he was hit by a German shell which caused instantaneous death. Although he had only been with us a few months he was well liked by all who knew him, and always carried out his duties in a cheerful manner. I can assure you he will be greatly missed by myself and the remainder of the platoon. He is to be buried this evening by the Church of England chaplain in a British cemetery. I am sorry to say I cannot inform you the cemetery’s whereabouts at present, but at some future date, after the regiment has moved, I will be able to do so. You have my sincere sympathy in your bereavement. I trust you can find a little consolation in the fact that he met a painless death fighting for a noble cause.”

After leaving school, Private Jefferson was apprenticed at Messrs. Maple and Co., London, being transferred some seven years ago to their Paris branch, and given the responsible position of head cashier. At the outbreak of war he returned to England and offered his services to King and country. However, due to very bad veins in both legs he was twice rejected by the medical authorities, until at his own expense he had the veins removed by an operation at a nursing home. He subsequently joined the Beds Yeomanry, but before leaving England last Christmas Day he was transferred to the Bedfordshire Infantry Regiment.

(In July 1918 Mrs. Jefferson would receive official notification that her sixth son, Rifleman Alfred Jefferson, of the London Regiment (Queen Victoria Rifles), had been killed in action in France on Monday, July 15th. A resident of Willesden, whilst working as a commercial traveller in London he had joined up at the outbreak of war, and at the end of October 1914 went to France, where, apart from two home leaves, he had been ever since. Until his death he had remained unscathed, despite having taken part in much of the severe fighting.)


B.S. 1917 May 12th

Official news has reached Mrs. A. Brooks, of Hill’s Yard, Sherington, that her husband, Private Arthur Brooks, of the 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, who has been reported as missing since July 1st, 1916, is now presumed to have been killed in action on that date. At 1, Hill’s Yard, Sherington, apart from a widow, Susan, he leaves three young children. He was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Brooks, of 17, High Street, Filgrave, and on the anniversary of his death the following published tribute from his mother and father, brothers and sisters would be made;

“Twelve months have passed and still we miss his welcome footsteps and his loving smile, but there is nothing left to answer us only his photo on the wall.”

Private Brooks, who was formerly with the Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, is buried in the Beaumont Hamel British Cemetery, Somme, France.)


B.S. 1917 Sep. 29th

Regarding the death in action of their son, Lance Corporal Wright, 5th Battalion, Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, Walter and Amy Wright, of Church End, Sherington, have received the following details from Captain Maxwell Labrachere;

“I am able to tell you that your son’s death was instantaneous. A shell burst at his feet and killed him and two other soldiers who were beside him. I know how deeply you must feel the loss, and I can only tell you that he met his death doing his duty as a brave man.”

The Chaplain to the Oxon and Bucks writes to Mrs. Jefferson, who had employed the deceased before the war;

“Will you kindly convey to Mrs. Wright my sincere sympathy in the loss of her son? I cannot express how deeply we all feel for her in her sad loss. It may help her to know that he was highly respected by both officers and men, and that he is much missed by them all. As concerning his death, I am afraid I can give you little further information. It happened in some of the severest fighting yet known - so our old campaigners say. In one of the woods somewhere east of Ypres, as he and his companions were advancing, a shell alighted among them, killing him and two others instantaneously, and wounding several others. In the hustle of an action such as this, with shells falling all around and machine gun bullets flying round, it is very hard to get details, but I think what I have written is as correct a version as can be got.”

(Aged 20, and a resident of Sherington, Lance Corporal Wright was killed in action on the Western Front on Wednesday, August 22nd, 1917, and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.)


B.S. 1918 Oct. 12th

Two years ago Miss Lucy Robinson, the youngest daughter of the late Mrs. Ellis (formerly Mrs. Robinson), of Sherington, married Corporal Hubbard, of the Northants. Regiment. He was killed at Givenchy while performing deeds of the greatest valour, and although the nature of these has not been disclosed, they were of sufficient importance for him to have been posthumously recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Russian Order of the Fourth Class. These were then presented to his widow on the morning of Sunday, September 29th, at a ceremony on the parade ground at Biscot. This took place immediately after church parade, with the brigade marching from the Y.M.C.A. Hut, where the service was held, to the parade ground off the Leagrave road, Luton. Here they assembled in the form of a hollow square, into the centre of which walked Mrs. Hubbard, accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel R. le Mottee, R.A., Brigade Commander, and other officers. The Commander then addressed the men as follows;

“You are called here to witness a presentation on behalf of H.M. the King, to the widow of Cpl. Hubbard of two medals, one for distinguished conduct in the field, and the other, on behalf of the Russian Government, for bravery in the field. This very fine non-commissioned officer has given his life for his country at the last battle of Givenchy, and therefore we take this opportunity of presenting the medals to his widow.”

With a few words spoken in a low tone, Lieutenant Colonel le Mottee then presented the awards to Mrs. Hubbard, after which a party of buglers sounded the “General Salute.” Under Bandmaster Carter then followed the “Entente Cordiale,” after which was played a selection of patriotic airs. Concluding the occasion, the whole Brigade then marched past Mrs. Hubbard at the salute.


B.S. 1918 Nov. 9th

Aged 19, Private Percy Bailey, of the 10th Battalion, Nottinghamshire and Derby Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) died in the 18th Casualty Clearing Station, France, on Tuesday, October 15th, from wounds received in action. In a letter to Mrs. Bailey, the Reverend J. Thaunton, Church of England Chaplain, writes;

“He had been severely wounded in the abdomen and arm. All possible efforts were made to save his life and to make him comfortable, but unavailingly. I buried his body in the Military Cemetery near here. … If out of this Great War comes a new peace and brotherhood between the nations, then those who have fallen will not have laid down their lives in vain. May God help you to see this, and strengthen you to bear bravely the great sacrifice you have made for our country.”

A letter has also been received from the Sister in charge of the hospital;

“Everything possible was done for him, but it was beyond human power to save his life.”

Born at Olney on July 6th, 1899, Private Bailey had joined the Band of the Beds. Regiment three years ago, and being later transferred to the Sherwood Foresters went to France about ten months ago. Last August he was admitted to a French hospital with severe wounds caused by a gas shell, and had only recently rejoined his regiment. His parents, Thomas and Clara Bailey, of Oak Villa, Water Lane, Sherington, have already lost their second son, 26 year old Private Francis Bailey, 2nd Battalion, Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, who was killed in action in France on Sunday, July 30th, 1915. Two others sons are serving on the Western Front.


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