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downsmail.co.uk One man’s tribute towar dead


ONE man’s labour of love has helped villagers in Bearsted and Thurnham remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.


Les Lawson (76), from Yeoman


Way, Bearsted, spent 18 months meticulously researching every serviceman from the area who died in World War I and whose name appears on the Holy CrossWarMe- morial. His research took him all over


Kent and Sussex, to the Common- wealth War Graves Commission, the National Archives and Maid- stone Museum – aswell as a host of historical and genealogical internet sites. Les said: “Young lads stepped


forward when their country called, fully expecting the war to be over by Christmas 1914. “They wanted to do their bit be-


fore they lost the chance; waves of patriotism, duty, pride and a sense of adventure drove countless thou- sands to the recruiting stations. “No-one could imagine what


would follow – 750,000 failed to re- turn and a further million came home shattered in mind and body.” Les used battalion war diaries


and census records, plus the many books written after the war by offi- cers and men of the various regi- ments, to compile his pictorial record. He meticulously copied death no-


tices, photographed gravestones and collated photographs of memo- rials on both sides of the English Channel. The result is an impressive tome


of facts, figures and photos in trib- ute to the 26 men – some of whom were merely boys – who died.


Les has included details of some


of the most notable battles of World War I, plus pictures of relevant medals, cemeteries – even battle- ships – in the fascinating record. Only three copies exist – one for


the church, one for the Kent History and Library Centre and Les’s per- sonal copy. The amateur military researcher


was inspired to take on the project three years ago, having just com- pleted research into four family members of his own who were killed in thewar. He said: “My wife Eva and Iwere


walking past the church when we spotted thewar memorial and it got me thinking. I went back with a notepad and pen and wrote down all the names and started looking them up on the internet, putting them in order of the date they died.”


Where service or medical records survived, his task was easier – but


Les Lawson with the book he has produced in tribute to


Bearsted’s war heroes and right, the Holy CrossWar Memorial


in many cases, soldiers were lost without trace. All that remained for many fami-


lies were the “death plaque” and scroll sent out to the next of kin of each serviceman killed. “One serviceman was just 16


years old when he died; it is not hard to imagine his mother’s heartache, haunted by his loss for the rest of her days,” said Les. One of the most notable parish-


ioners to die was William Benton, the former curate of Bearsted, who died after being wounded in action. His grave is in Heilly Station Ceme- tery, Picardie, but during his re- search Les was contacted by a lady in Australia who steered him to- wards Mrs Stuart Menzies’ book “Sportsmen Parsons in Peace and War” which contains more details about the curate. In a letter sent to his sister in Feb-


ruary 1916, he wrote: “At the pres- ent rate of officers falling, there is


mighty little chance of coming through ... we shall need every available man before we’re fin- ished.” As a teenager, Les served briefly


in the RAF, but spent much of his working life teaching engineers be- hind the iron curtain. Since his retirement, he has bus-


ied himself with a variety of proj- ects including studying military medals and badges – and restoring old motorcycles. He has recently finished yet an-


other fascinating project – tran- scribing a railway worker’s diary from October 1917 to the end of the war in December 1918. One gets the impression he could


write another book based on his ex- periences of living in Eastern Eu- rope, including Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the former Yu- goslavia, as well as in less austere locations such as Germany, Switzerland and Portugal.


Villagers remember their fallen heroes


FOURmore servicemen who lost their lives during the Great War are being remembered in Bearsted before the year-end. Continuing the village’s tribute –


“We will remember them, one by one” – wreaths will be laid at the former homes of George Taylor, George Clark, Thomas Golding and George Hannan. George Taylor died on August 29,


aged just 19. Born in Meopham, he enlisted at Chatham in January 1915 and was posted overseas six months later. His father, also called George, was


a sexton and verger at Holy Cross Church after the family moved to Mount Lane and George Jnr’s brother Edward later ran the newsagents on The Green, which still bears the family name. A driver in the 13th Signal Com-


pany, George was killed in action in Gallipoli, having served for just 224


18 Maidstone East October 2015


days. Sadly, his parents were not no- tified until the following month and several letters he had written, includ- ing a postcard dated August 28, ar- rived in themeantime, saying hewas alright. There is no known grave for the


teenager who is listed as one of 28,855 names on the Helles Memo- rial in Turkey. Awreath has been placed at his for-


mer home inMount Lane. Private George Clarkewas remem-


bered in a short ceremony at Thurn- ham Church, as his home on Detling Hill was destroyed inWorldWar II. George was a member of the 1st


battalion Queen’s RoyalWest Surrey Regiment and is buried in the Guards Cemetery, WindyCorner, Cuinchy, Pas de Calais. Another soldier born in Thurnham


was Thomas Golding, whose parents John and Anna Maria Goldingmoved viaWare Street to Roseacre.


Their only child and still single, he


served four years in theWest Kent Ter- ritorials prior to joining up in Decem- ber, 1914. He joined the 2nd Battalion The


Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and was posted to France in February, 1915. He sustained a head injury on May


1 while on duty near Ypres and was taken to hospital in Rouen. He recov- ered and resumed his duties, only to be posted as “missing, presumed dead” on September 28 the same year, aged 32. Again, there is no known grave and


hisnameis one of 20,589 on the Loos Memorial to the missing in France. Awreathwas due to be laid outside


30 Roseacre Lane in his memory. On October 13, the village will re- member George Madder Hannan, who died during the war – but not during active service – at the age of 55.


Originally a merchant seaman,


born in Dublin, Captain Hannan lived in Australia and New Zealand before marrying Mary Carlisle, at the age of 38 and settling in London. He went on to be an Army major


with the special reserve before the outbreak of World War I and served with the 4th Battalion Cheshire Regi- ment in South Africa, before transfer- ring to the 9th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). Although his home address re- mained South Kensington, he was taken ill in September 1915 while working in Chatham and staying at Maybank at the corner of The Green and Church Lane. Hewas taken to the military hospital at Fort Pitt where he died on October 13. A telegram to the war office re-


quested amilitary funeral at Bearsted and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission states he is buried in Holy Cross churchyard, but no head- stone has been found.


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