For the past few years I have been researching the military service records of the men of Long Bennington during the First World War.

Where I have found useful records, I have been able to publish a series of mini-biographies each November on the 'Your Memories of Long Bennington, Westborough and Foston' Facebook page.

I would love to hear from anyone connected with the men listed below.

Great War Servicemen of Long Bennington Researched to Date

Ablewhite, Frederick Joseph 1900 1958 Midshipman (Temporary), Royal Naval Reserve
Ablewhite, John Charles 1898 1975 Acting Sub-Lieutenant (Temporary), Royal Naval Reserve
Allwood, George Frederick 1887 1941 Sapper 23080, Royal Engineers - 17th Field Company, 15th Field Company, 483 Company & 218 Company
Allwood, Thomas 1889 1971 Private 47275, 17th Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment, Private 555410 Labour Corps
Almond, Herbert James 1889 1979 Acting Lance Corporal 275605, 1st/1st Battalion, Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers)
Arnold, Frank 1900 1986 Private 53rd (Young Soldiers) Battalion Leicestershire Regiment; Private T/459702, Supply Company, Royal Army Service Corps
Asher, Horace William Cordery St George 1888 1925 Company Quarter Master Sergeant 63778, 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
Baggaley, James Thomas 1898 1944 Gunner 283849, 27th Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery
Baggaley, Thomas 1894 1971 Private 1613, 1/1st South Notts Hussars; Private 164386 B Battery, Machine Gun Corps
Bailey, Albert 1886 1938 Acting 2nd Corporal 15416, 31st Army Troops Corps, Royal Engineers
Bailey, Charles Edwin 1894 1916 Private 3735, 16th Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Bailey, George Hoyes 1884 1978 Sapper 286318, 272nd Light Railway Construction Company, Royal Engineers
Bailey, Harold 1892 1942 Bombardier 89896, 87th Battery, Royal Field Artillery
Barnett, James 1895 1979 Private 47894, A Company, 2nd Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Barnett, Thomas Charles 1897 1960 Private 5040, Lincolnshire Regiment; Private 672746, Labour Corps
Bateman, Thomas Law 1896 1948 Private 811454, Canadian Expeditionary Force - 138th Battalion, 50th Battalion, 19th Battalion, 46th Battalion & 4th Battalion, Machine Gun Company
Bennett, John William 1887 1917 Private 14797, 8th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Berry, Samuel Hoyland 1892 1936 Sergeant 2851 & 175249 Yorkshire Dragoons, Light Machine Gun Corps
Bowes, Aaron Waugh 1884 1951 Private 30901, Lincolnshire Regiment - 2nd Battalion & 8th Battalion
Bowes, William Fieldstone 1888 1990 Private 26251, 16th Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Boyers, Harry 1882 1951 Driver T1/4729, Army Service Corps
Boyers, Joe 1885 1950 Ships Corporal (2nd Class M31122), HMS Victory I & HMS Glasgow, Royal Navy
Boyers, William 1893 1961 Private 78253, Royal Army Medical Corps
Briggs, Frederick 1878 ?? Gunner 30191, Royal Field Artillery - 135 Battery & 112th Brigade
Brown, John 1881 1963 Gunner 133536, No. 4 Depot (Heavy and Siege), Royal Garrison Artillery; Gunner 366314, 1/4th Company, North Scottish, Royal Garrison Artillery
Brown, William Taylor 1882 1962 Driver 233140, Royal Field Artillery
Brownson, Clarence 1885 1966 Private 45 (later Private 2385), 3/1st North Midland Division Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps
Burrows, Harry 1893 ?? Lance Corporal 103498, Royal Army Medical Corps - 36th General Hospital
Burrows, Herbert 1887 ?? Private 202044, North Staffordshire Regiment - 1/5th Battalion& 2/5th Battalion; Private 616359, 715 Company, Labour Corps
Burrows, James 1891 1917 Private 11307, 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment; Private 32506, 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
Burrows, John William 1876 1917 Acting Corporal 12724, 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
Burt, Albert 1892 1962 Corporal 10271, 2 Company, 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
Busby, Samuel 1893 1917 Private 14383, 9th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment
Carr, Arthur 1896 1976 Private 2633 & 305680, E Company, 1/8th Battalion, Notts & Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Chalk, Christopher Charles 1886 1915 Company Sergeant Major (WO2) 11669, 8th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Chalk, Frank Herbert 1889 1984 Private 26041, 8th Company, Royal Army Medical Corps
Cope, James 1893 1917 Lance Corporal 305813, 2/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby) Regiment
Cragg, John Edward 1884 1963 Gunner 113296, Royal Garrison Artillery; Private 593068, 411st Agricultural Company, Labour Corps
Cragg, Joseph 1894 1986 Private 2298, Sherwood Rangers; Private 275600, Corps of Hussars
Cragg, Robert 1898 1965 Air Mechanic (2nd Class) 240788, Royal Air Force
Cragg, Tom William 1891 1919 Trooper 275599, 1st/1st Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars (Worcestershire Yeomanry)
Cutts, Charles Henry 1884 1914 Sergeant 7635, 1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Cutts, George William 1892 1915 Private 13267, 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Cutts, John Singleton 1878 1929 Lance Corporal 10247, B Company, 16th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps; Private 612743, Labour Corps
Cutts, Thomas Leonard 1899 1998 Private 41985, 3rd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
Dixon, Alfred Henry 1892 1967 Private 15885, H Company, Plymouth Division, Royal Marine Light Infantry
Dolby, Albert 1896 1971 Private 116124, 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons); Private 151344, Machine Gun Corps - F Battalion & 104th Battalion
Dolby, George 1895 1971 Private 1992, 2/1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Yeomanry
Dolby, John 1891 1977 Pioneer 225266, 308th Road Construction Company, Royal Engineers
Dolby, William Henry 1872 1924 Private 246860, Labour Corps Agricultural Company
Doughty, John 1887 1917 Private 5069, Lincolnshire Regiment; Private 27089, 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Dring, George William 1888 1967 Air Mechanic (1st Class) 188159, Royal Air Force
Fenton, Horace 1898 1917 Private 45050, 2nd/5th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
Foster, John William 1894 1918 Private 3736, 2nd Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment; Lance Corporal 20837, 6th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry)
Gilbertson, Ernest 1898 1932 Private 127203, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Hammond, John 1875 1929 Private (2nd Class) 283837, Royal Air Force
Hedworth, Cecil 1894 1960 Private 2282 & 55615, Lincolnshire Yeomanry; Private 56804, 4th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment; Private 204204, 18th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment; Private 47403, 2/8th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers; Rifleman 881455, 34th Battalion, London Regiment
Hedworth, Charles 1899 1918 Private 62556, 1/6th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment; Private 52481, 7th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Hedworth, Hedley Robert 1896 1971 Driver 33245, Royal Engineers
Hempshall, George William 1889 1915 Private 13191, 9th Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Hempshall, Harry 1887 1949 Private 35049, 5th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment
Henshaw, Alfred James 1901 1972 Private M/ Russia/ 47581, Royal Army Service Corps & Russian Relief Force, No. 1 Mobilization Company
Hollingsworth, Arthur Ernest 1895 1928 Driver 72916, A Battery, 71st Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Hollingsworth, Harold 1897 1987 Gunner 72913, B Battery, 71st Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Hubbard, Ernest 1899 1973 Private 524466, Training Reserve, North Staffordshire Regiment
Hubbard, Joseph 1890 1963 Private 2045, Lincolnshire Yeomanry; Gunner 154609, Royal Field Artillery; Gunner 374821, Sussex Royal Garrison Artillery
Hubbard, William Henry 1895 1980 Able Seaman Z5658, Bristol Division, Royal Naval Reserve
Hunt, Richard 1872 1922 Private (2nd Class) 260768, No. 1 Balloon Training Wing, Royal Air Force
Hunt, William 1882 1961 Sapper WR43927, ‘A’ Corps, Road and Quarry Troops, Royal Engineers (Transportation Branch)
Johnson, Ernest 1895 1934 Private S/5957, 11th Battalion, Rifle Brigade
Johnson, George 1893 ?? Private 440184, 2nd Field Company, Canadian Divisional Engineers
Johnson, John Alfred 1891 ?? Bombardier 29309, 83rd Company and 40th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
Johnson, Richard Green 1884 ?? Pioneer WR/334701, Inland Waterways and Docks Corps, Royal Engineers
Johnson, William 1888 ?? Sergeant 5401, 2nd Field Company, Canadian Engineers; Lieutenant, 2nd Tramway Company, Canadian Engineers
Kirton, Arthur 1892 1915 Private 13047, 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Kirton, Cecil 1899 1952 Private 98824, 7th Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment; Private L/14954 & 52608, 2/1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry (later Lincoln Cyclist Battalion); Private 25079, 6th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment 216th Prisoner of War Company & 895th Area Employment Company, Labour Corps
Kirton, Charles Richard 1889 1949 Private, Training Reserve
Kirton, Edward 1894 1971 Private 114479, Cheshire Regiment & Machine Gun Corps
Kirton, Harry 1891 1950 Private, Royal Army Medical Corps; tool fitter, munitions factory
Kirton, Herbert 1888 1968 Gunner 89050, 51st Company, Royal Garrison Artillery
Kirton, John Henry 1891 1950 Corporal 26048, 18th General Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps
Martin, Tom 1884 1917 Acting Lance Corporal 26054, 56th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
Norman, John William Henry 1895 1917 Private 242373, 1st/5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
Philips, Herbert 1892 1978 Private SE/24242, No. 11 Veterinary Hospital, Royal Army Veterinary Corps
Rance, William 1896 1917 Gunner 19018, "C" Battery, 181st Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Sentance, Fred 1887 1915 Corporal 9827, 2nd Battalion, Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment
Simpson, George David 1878 1919 Private 30151, 17th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment; Private 18431, Clearing Office, 31st Labour Company, Labour Corps
Spicer, Aubrey 1895 1967 Private 106664, Royal Army Medical Corps
Spicer, Herbert 1892 1918 Private 48822, D Company, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment
Spicer, Naaman 1881 1955 Driver T/371027, Royal Army Service Corps
Spicer, Walter 1888 1965 Private (2nd Class) 304522, 37th Training Depot Station, Royal Air Force
Whittaker, Jack 1898 1918 Gunner 173696, X.9th Trench Mortar Battery, Royal Field Artillery
Wilkinson, Frederick 1879 1917 Private 34113, 2nd Battalion, Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

Men of Long Bennington for whom no service record has yet been found

Being an agricultural area, many of the men lived in the village would have been in reserved occupations but I am sure that some of the men on the list below may have been missed from the above research simply because I haven't yet found service records that identify them as being Long Bennington men.
Across the country many men shared exactly the same name and, because a high proportion of service records were destroyed during the Second World War, any surviving military records often do not have enough personal detail to link a sailor, soldier or airman to a family or a location.
I do hope that family members may still have information (maybe a photograph of a man in uniform or some paperwork or even a medal) with a regiment or even a service number that they would be willing to share in order for me to fill in some of these missing details.
A recent appeal in the village has resulted in copies of additional paperwork held by local families which enabled me to do some further research on two more men.  This made me very happy and I am ever hopeful of receiving more information about any of the men listed below.

Please do email me if you have something that you think might be useful for this project.  Thank you.

Name Year of Birth  Year of Death
Ablewhite, William Henry 1886 1951
Almond, John Robert 1887 1960
Almond, Joseph 1885 1970
Archer, Benjamin 1883 1963
Arnold, George Henry 1876 1961
Arnold, Robert L 1888 1969
Arnold, Robert Lee 1902 1967
Arnold, Thomas 1872 1921
Arnold, Thomas 1899 1974
Asher, Archibald Llewellyn 1890 1961
Baggaley, Harry 1900 1972
Baggaley, John William 1892 1977
Bailey, James Herbert 1883 1963
Bailey, John William 1891
Barnes, Walter Sharpe 1878 1970
Beedham, Charles Edward 1887 1966
Beedham, Herbert Victor 1889 1955
Beedham, John Thomas 1872 1954
Beedham, William Robert 1877 1943
Beedham, William Thomas 1900 1987
Bennett, William 1884 1944
Bingham, Walter Bullen 1872 1961
Blackamore, George 1885 1955
Blackamore, William 1879 1923
Bonner, Ernest Stanyon 1884 1969
Brown, Johnny 1882 1919
Burrows, Arthur 1876 1957
Burrows, George 1883 1950
Carr, Leonard 1887 1945
Charity, James William 1881 1968
Clements, Hubert 1876 1942
Clews, Frederick 1881 1950
Cook, Harold 1898 1969
Cooledge, William 1885 1940
Cragg, George 1888 1946
Crofts, William 1891 1964
Daft, Walter 1873 1969
Dixon, Fred 1895 1991
Dixon, Horace 1897 1968
Dixon, Olvey 1903 1993
Dixon, Seth 1901 1948
Dolby, Joseph 1901 1975
Dolby, Thomas 1884 1922
Dolby, Walter 1876 1966
Dolby, William 1889 1975
Dring, Alfred John 1884 1950
Dring, Edward Ernest 1881 1960
Dring, Walter 1868 1898
Ellwood, George William 1886 1958
Ellwood, Thomas 1879 1958
Fenton, Joseph 1901 1975
Fenton, Walter Bernard 1899 1976
Fletcher, Fred 1901 1957
Fletcher, Henry 1897 1975
Foster, William Arthur 1899 1970
Fraser, Alexander 1880
Freeston, Edward Hucknall 1899 1959
Gibson, James 1885 1914
Gilbertson, Thomas 1871
Goddard, Sydney 1903
Harby, John 1894 1983
Harby, Thomas 1888 1972
Harwood, Charles 1895
Hempshall, John Thomas 1883 1951
Hill, William 1876
Hollingsworth, Fred 1890
Hollingsworth, Henry 1887
Howitt, Arthur 1891
Hubbard, Albert 1897
Hubbard, Richard 1889
Hunt, Thomas 1885
Ingleton, Charles 1895
Ingleton, James Seymour 1884
Ingleton, John William 1886
Jesson, Enoch 1877 1954
Jesson, Enoch 1902 1972
Johnson, Herbert Cragg 1885 1970
Johnson, Samuel A 1876
Kirton, Alfred 1891 1957
Kirton, George 1871 1941
Kirton, James 1878 1949
Kirton, John 1877 1955
Kirton, William 1881 1954
Spicer, Alfred 1903 1977
Spicer, Arthur 1885 1969
Spicer, Thomas 1900 1955
Wilkinson, J - this man appears on the village war memorial as Private J. Wilkinson of the Sherwood Foresters but no further details are known 
Wilkinson, John Samuel 1875 1918
Wilkinson, William 1869
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