Latest

On this day in 1916, William John Churchman (1887-1916) was killed in action on the Western Front. He was 29. William was a private in the 6th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He was initially reported as ‘missing’ in The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on November 3, … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…September 16, 1916: William killed on Western Front

On this day in 1918, Frank Alfred Kingdom (1893-1918) was killed in action in Italy in the Great War. A private in C Company of the 1/4th Battalion of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Regiment, Frank was 25 when he lost his life on September 10, 1918. He is believed to have been killed in a raid … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…September 10,1918: Frank killed in Italy

On this day in 1916, John Francis ‘Frank’ Roberts (1891-1916) was killed in a shell attack in northern France in the Great War. After a brutal two years on the front line in France, Lance-Corporal John Francis ‘Frank’ Roberts had every reason to believe that he would survive the Great War – and … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…September 9, 1916: Frank killed in shell attack in France

On this day in 1916, Henry ‘Harry’ Vodden (1893-1916) was killed in action in the French village of Ginchy in the Great War. Harry, who was 23, was a private in the 9th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment when he lost his life. He was reported as ‘wounded and missing’ in The Western Times on … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…September 6,1916: Harry killed in France

On this day in 1918, Benjamin Arthur Bradford (1889-1918) was killed in one of the final battles of the Great War – just over two months before the Armistice. Benjamin, a private in the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, lost his life in the Second Battle of Bapaume on … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…September 2,1918: Benjamin killed in final months of Great War

On this day in 1918, Reginald Kingdom (1898-1918) was killed in action in France. He was 20. Reginald, a private in the 5th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, is believed to have lost his life on the Somme after the Battle of Albert when his battalion (part of the 12th  Eastern Division) … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…August 26,1918: Reginald is killed in France

On this day in 1917, Sidney Roberts (1889-1917) died of wounds sustained in action in the Third Battle of Ypres in the Great War. Sidney, a rifleman in the Queen’s Westminster Rifles, fought in a place likened to ‘hell on earth’. The landscape, a grey, battle-scarred wilderness, could not have … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…August 17, 1917: Sidney dies of wounds in Ypres

On this day in 1917, Albert George Carter (1892-1917) died from wounds received in action in Belgium. Albert, aged 25, was a private in the 7th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry when he lost his life. He had worked on his father’s farm in East Anstey before going to war and was married … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…August 16, 1917: Albert dies of wounds in Belgium

On this day in 1944, Jack Locke Loosemore (1916-1944) was killed in action in the Second World War. Jack, aged 27, was a troop sergeant in the 1st Royal Tank Regiment (Royal Armoured Corps, 7th Armoured Division) when he died in Normandy in France on August 2, 1944. A native of North Molton, … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…August 2, 1944: ‘Desert Rat’ Jack killed in Normandy

On this day in 1943, Sidney John Jones (1901-1943) was killed in action in the Sicily Landings, in the Second World War. Sidney, who was 42, was a company sergeant major in the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He was among 160,000 Commonwealth and American troops who invaded Sicily on … [Read more...] about ON THIS DAY…July 31, 1943: Sidney killed in Sicily Landings