A number of the people on these pages paid the ultimate price when they lost their lives while fighting for their country. The vast majority were not career soldiers, but were conscripted in times of war. We remember here those who fell, and below them, some of those who fought and survived.
Boer War |
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| James GILBOURNE | Shot at Boschbult, S.Africa. | 31 Mar 1902 |
First World War |
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| John JONES | Torpedoed on H.M.S. Goliath | 13 May 1915 |
| Stephen RICHARD BEVAN | Killed at the battle of Loos. | 26 Sep 1915 |
| John SANTER | Killed on the Somme | 3 Jul 1916 |
| Walter GILBOURNE | Died at Southampton from wounds received in France. | 16 Jul 1916. |
| Jesse REEVES | Killed on the Somme | 6 Aug 1916 |
| Stanley REES | Killed on the Somme. | 22 Aug 1916 |
| Albert GILBOURNE | Killed on the Somme | 23 Oct 1916 |
| Sidney SANTER | Killed in Mesopotamia | 9 Feb 1917 |
| Sydney GOULDER | Killed in the Pas-de-Calais | 18 April 1917 |
| William SANTER | Killed at Arras | 28 April 1917 |
| Cecil GILBOURNE | Killed at Nieuport, Belgium | 25 Jul 1917 |
| Thomas Oliver MANN | Killed near Ypres | 31 Jul 1917 |
| Roland GRIFFIN | Killed near Ypres | 18 Aug 1917 |
| Frank E. ROBERTS | Killed on the Somme. | 4 Oct 1917 |
| George T. GOULDER | Killed on the Somme. | 20 Nov 1917 |
| William Aubrey SANTER | Killed on the Somme. | 21 Mar 1918 |
| Arthur John BLACKSHAW | Killed on the Somme | 27 May 1918 |
| Edward SANTER | Killed in France. | 4 Aug 1918 |
| William H. GOULDER | Killed on The Somme | 27 Aug 1918 |
| Harry Charles SAUNTER | Killed at Gouzeaucourt, France | 27 Sep 1918 |
| William John PARRY | Killed at Lamain, Belgium | 20 Oct 1918 |
| Lewis Herbert REEVE | Died at 62nd Casualty Clearing Station, Kortrijk, Belgium | 18 Nov 1918 |
| Gerald GILBOURNE | Died of pneumonia at Clipstone Camp. | 20 Nov 1918 |
| George Horace POINTER | H.M.S. Hermione. Died at Haslar R.N. Hospital, Gosport | 22 Feb 1919 |
| William T. GILBOURNE | Drowned at Plymouth. | 26 Jan 1920. |
Second World War |
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| Victor Raymond GOODE | 145 Field Amb. Killed at Dunkirk | ca 1 Jun 1940 |
| Emlyn Owen Bevan | H.M.S. Ardent | 8 Jun 1940 |
| Reginald William SANTER | The Buffs. Died in Italy | 8 Oct 1943 |
| Dan GILBOURNE | Torpedoed on H.M.S. Charybdis | 23 Oct 1943 |
| Kenneth David BEVAN | RAFVR. Died at Chichester | 9 Jun 1944 |
Many others served during wars, some having very close shaves:
Boer War
Robert GILBOURNE, who lost three brothers in wars, and served himself in the Boer War before being declared medically unfit for further duty in 1903.
First World War
Benjamin Howell BEVAN was wounded three times while serving and was awarded the Military Medal. He died in November 1926.
John Benjamin BEVAN was a private 6Bn South Wales Borderers but was pensioned off with shell shock.
Lewis REEVE was actually reported dead in his
local newspaper but this proved to be premature and he recovered.
Lewis's brothers John (Jack) and
Jesse, and cousin
William REEVE also served.
William spent some time as a PoW.
Percy GILBOURNE joined the Royal Engineers in 1914.
Second World War
Norman LEIVERS was hit by a bullet in WW2, but was saved when it hit his cigarette case.
Vince GILBOURNE lost a leg when he stepped on a mine in North Africa in WW2.
Roy GILBOURNE served in the Royal Navy in WWII, while his namesake served in the RAF. The latter, an adopted son of Lyndon Gilbourne, was shot down over Burma and spent seven months in a Japanese PoW camp.
Thomas BEVAN and Nancy GILBOURNE met at RAF Cosford during the second war. Fortunately, both survived or I would not be here to write this. Some of their photographs and memorabilia from their service days are included here.
Clifford BEVAN was a minister of the church before becoming an R.A.F.
chaplain in the war. He remained in the R.A.F. until 1962, rising to the
rank of Group Captain.
He was one of the children of John Benjamin Bevan described in the following
newspaper article from 1943:
"Five of his sons are serving with H.M. Forces, a daughter is working in a munitions factory, and a younger son, aged 15, is working with a firm on Government construction. There are few families, if any, in the county with such a fine record of service in the war effort. Two other children are still at school."
Footnote
There were undoubtedly many others from these pages who also served in the World Wars, but we have no details.
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