Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph

Private John Henry Ford

Pte John Henry Ford, 242622, 1/5th Battalion Norfolk Regiment, died in Wardown Hospital on November 24th, 1918. He had been discharged from service the previous July with diabetes mellitus and muscle wastage that he first began to suffer while serving in Egypt and Palestine.

The 23-year-old was buried with full military honours at Biscot Church Cemetery on November 29th, 1918.

Gunner William Frederick Govier

Gunner William Frederick Govier, 119496, 186th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, was killed on March 21st, 1918, when a shell exploded outside the battlefield cookhouse where he and a companion were on duty. His unnamed companion was also killed.

Church of England Chaplain the Rev H. A. Norton in a letter to Mrs Mabel Govier, at 122 Baker Street, Luton, said pieces of the shell had pierced the iron sheeting which formed the wall of the cookhouse and struck the two men inside.

Private Ernest William Bruton

Pte Ernest William Bruton, 202636, 9th Battalion Essex Regiment, died in the 3rd Canadian Stationary Hospital, Doullens, France, on April 8th, 1918, following gunshot wounds in the back of the neck sustained on the battlefield. He was aged 22 and single.

An old boy of Queen Square School and a former member of the Excelsior football team, Luton, he was a son of Hannah Mary and the late Walter Bruton. At the time of Ernest's death his widowed mother was living at 55 Ash Road, Luton.

Lance Corporal Percy John Cobb

L-Cpl Percy John Cobb, 42279, 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment, was killed in action in France on April 3rd*, 1918. He was aged 19 and single.

An old boy of Queen Square School, he was the son of John and Alma Cobb, of 126 New Town Street, Luton, he worked as a blockmaker for Mr Edward Mouse, of Gordon Street.

He joined the Bedfordshire Regiment on reaching his 18th birthday, and was transferred to the Essex Regiment on crossing the Channel in January 1918. He had been in France for three months.

Sapper Sidney Mooring

Sapper Sidney Mooring, 522873, 12th Field Company Royal Engineers, was killed in action in France on March 21st, 1918. He was aged 33 and left a widow, Alice, living at 7 St Paul's Road, Luton.

He joined the East Anglian Royal Engineers in May 1916 and trained at Maidenhead and Marlow before going to France in May 1917. Prior to enlistment he worked as a painter for house decorator Mr Fred Pearce, of Cowper Street.

Gunner Frank Price

Gunner Frank Price, 124840, 379 Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery, was fatally wounded in action in Palestine on February 22nd, 1918. He was aged 31, married and had two children.

The former member of the local Volunteer Battalion had joined up two years earlier. Prior to that he was manager of the Messrs Saxby Bros cooked meat branch in Dunstable Road, Luton.

Corporal Charles George Marsh

Cpl Charles George Marsh, 201398, 1/4th Battalion Norfolk Regiment, was killed in action in Palestine on December 11th, 1917.

Eldest of 13 children of Charles George and Lily (nee Spacey) Marsh, of 30 St Ann's Road, Luton, he was born in the town in 1891. In the 1911 Census he is described as a moulder at a foundry.

George had spent six years in the Beds Territorials before the war, but when war was declared he was rejected for service. After several attempts he was finally accepted and sent out to Egypt in 1915 with the Norfolk Regiment.

Private Frederick Ernest Wiles

Pte Frederick Ernest Wiles, 81053, 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers, died in France on November 22nd, 1917, from gunshot wounds to the head. He was aged 36 and left a widow and a 12-year-old son at 49 Oak Road, Luton.

Born in Stotfold, he enlisted in the East Surrey Regiment (5884) on October 20th, 1916, going overseas on August 15th, 1917, and being transferred to the Royal Fusiliers.

Sapper George Frederick Warner

Sapper George Frederick Warner, 524478, 84th Field Company Royal Engineers, was killed in action at Cambrai in Fl;anders on December 2nd, 1917. He was aged 29, married and had three children.

A letter to his widow at 6 Bolton Road, Luton, said her husband was killed by a shell in the support trenches.

George Warner was employed by the Fricker Metal Company before the war. He had married Kate Bacchus at Luton Parish Church on December 10th, 1910, and they had three children - Lily May (born 1911), Winifred Kate (1914) and Rose (1915).

Private Richard John Frederick Comporo

Pte Richard John Frederick Comporo, G/14521, 2nd Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment, was killed in action in Flanders on November 23rd, 1917. He was aged 19.

He had joined up on the declaration of war and was soon drafted out to France. Owing to a regulation that men could not serve at the Front until 19, he returned home before going back to France five months before his death.

Pte Comporo is included under that name on the Luton Roll of Honour, although his parents' name was Pearman. His home address was 7 Windsor Street, Luton.

Sergeant Thomas Wiseman

Farrier Sgt Thomas Wiseman, 47226, 18th (Queen Mary's Own) Hussars, was killed in action in France on November 21st, 1917. Born in Luton, he was aged 33 and had married, his wife living In Andover, Hampshire.

Sgt Hunt wrote to widow Fanny in Hampshire that her husband had been in charge of horses during very heavy shelling. One shell dropped close to him, killing him instantly.

Lance Corporal John Brown

L-Cpl John Brown, 33017, 8th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, died on October 22nd, 1917, from severe wounds sustained in action on October 9th. He was aged 34.

John was working at Hayward Tyler before joining the Bedfordshire Regiment about six weeks after the outbreak of war. Heart trouble kept him on home service until he was transferred to the Leicesters in 1916 and sent to France. He had had no leave since.

Private Reginald Alfred Crick

Pte Reginald Alfred Crick, 16481, 16th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, was killed in action on October 9th*, 1917. He was attached to the Headquarters Staff as a runner and was killed instantly in the execution of his duty.

The former straw trade dye worker employed by T. Lye & Sons, New Bedford Road, had enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment on July 6th, 1916, and went to France the following October. (*Based on letters from comrades the Luton News reported that he was killed on October 10th).

Corporal Ernest Walter Brooks

Cpl Ernest Walter Brooks, 295316, 2/4th Battalion London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), was killed in action on September 20th, 1917. For ten weeks he had been reported missing before official confirmation of his death arrived in late November.

A son of Charles and Emily Ann Brooks, of 108 Ridgway Road, Luton, he had enlisted in the Bedfordshire Regiment (No. 4483) in 1914 and served in the Gallipoli campaign until he was invalided home with dysentery. He was eventually drafted to the Western Front with the London Regiment.

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