Difficulty has been encountered in finding details of employment with the NLR, mainly due to the LNWR taking over the management and running of the NLR in February 1909. Therefore it has been assumed that by virtue of the name appearing on the memorial that person worked for the NLR. Names are in order of appearance on the memorial – alphabetical with the exception of Prickett, which in all probability was added later.

G Askew Nothing appropriate so far found.

Frederick John Ayling (269681 Sapper, Royal Engineers, then 158747 Private, Machine Gun Corps). He was born in late 1891 in Bow and lived with his family in 56 Graham Mansions, Hackney. His father, Harry John, was a North London Railway Guard. By 1911 the family had moved to 90 Dalston Lane, Hackney, and Frederick was working as an Auctioneer’s Clerk. He initially joined the Royal Engineers and then transferred to the Machine Gun Corps. He was awarded the War and Victory Medals. He was killed in action in France on 19th September, 1918, and is remembered at Ste. Emilie Valley Cemetery, Villers-Faucon.

Frederick John Ayling
Sources:
TNA RG 13/223, f132, p10 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD Births Dec 1891 Poplar 1c 546.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the F J Ayling shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
only F J Ayling listed by CWGC;
father a guard on NLR;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

W G Baker Nothing appropriate so far found.

Albert John Barson (72129 Private, 2/7 Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)). He was born in Islington in the third quarter of 1883. He married Emily Williamson on 30 March 1907 and had two sons and a daughter. At the time of the 1911 census he was employed a vulcanite polisher for fountain pens. By the time enlisted on 9th December 1915 he was working as an Engineer’s Labourer Railway. He was an acting paid corporal for three weeks whilst at a base depot in Calais in July 1917. Medals: War and Victory medals. He was killed in action on 27th September 1917 and is remembered on Panel 99 to 102 and 162 to 162A, Tyne Cot.

Albert John Barson
Sources:
TNA RG14/ 1911 Census
TNA Army documents and medal card, via ancestry.co.uk
FreeBMD Birth Sep qtr 1883 Barson Albert John, Islington, vol 1b, p 387.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=844191
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the A J Barson shown on the NLR War Memorial – 91%:
only A J Barson listed by CWGC;
worked on a railway;
he lived in NLR Territory.

5
S Batchelor Nothing appropriate so far found.

Henry George Benning (R/4885 Serjeant, King’s Royal Rifle Corps). Henry Benning was born in the autumn of 1891 in Bromley-by-Bow, and lived with his parents, Daniel and Elizabeth, and siblings at 4, Glebe Road, Bow, London, probably until he joined the army. He did not marry. He found employment with the North London Railway as an engine cleaner and by the time he enlisted was a fireman. He enlisted just after the Great War started, on 11th September, 1914, and advanced pretty quickly: lance-corporal in October, corporal the following April, and sergeant about the time he went France in July, 1915. In France he served with D Company, 13th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps. He managed one entry on his conduct sheet. The same charge twice: when in charge of a prisoner, neglect of duty, first on 12th November, 1916, second the following day, for which he was reprimanded. Medals: 1915 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal. He died on 5th October, 1917, from wounds received in action and is remembered at the Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul.

Henry George Benning
Sources:
TNA RG 13/350, f126, p10 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA RAIL 529/136/41 Folio 291.
TNA Army documents and medal card, via ancestry.co.uk
FreeBMD Birth Dec qtr 1891 Benning Henry George, Poplar, vol 1c, 643.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=41955
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the H G Benning shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
only H G Benning listed by CWGC;
he was born in Bromley-by-Bow, his parents lived in Bow and he enlisted in Bow;
NLR records show that he was employed at Devons Road; Loco Cleaner in 1911 Census; and Loco Fireman on his attestation paper.

G R Bond Nothing appropriate so far found.

C A Bounsall Nothing appropriate so far found.

H Brown (CWGC 432 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

10
R Burton (CWGC 24 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

W J Butler (CWGC 14 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

Robert Percy Campion (13937 Lance-Corporal, 1st Bn, Grenadier Guards) was born at home, 25 Jefferson Street, Bromley, on 21st May 1891, son of Percy Richard, labourer, and Mary Ann Campion, being baptised on 7th June in St Leonard’s Church, Bromley. He went to the Old Palace School, Bromley. On 17th September 1908 he enlisted into the Grenadier Guards. His service with the Grenadier Guards was less than four years as on the 6th June 1912 he joined the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants as a platelayer employed by the NLR. On the outbreak of war he was recalled to the Colours and went to France in October 1914. He was awarded 1914 star and War and Victory medals and was killed in action on 7th April 1916. He is remembered at the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery. On 21st December 1921 he married Margaret Münnick. Revision Mar 2016.

Robert Percy Campion
Sources:
TNA RG12/319, f102, p18 1891 Census.
TNA RG13/1579, f 13, p25 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD: Birth Jun qtr 1891, Campion, Poplar, vol 1c, p 660; Marriage Dec qtr 1912, Campion & Münnick, Holborn, vol 1b, p 1507.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=98627
De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, 1914-1919, Vol 2, p57
Notes:1. Probability of this soldier being the R P Campion shown on the NLR War Memorial – 90%:
only one recorded by CWGC;
born in Bow;
parents and widow lived close to NLR Territory;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

Joseph Carter, MM (2666 Serjeant, Royal Fusiliers). He was born in Bow in 1892, son of a North London Railway engine driver, James Carter, and lived with his family at 3 Rounton Road, Bromley. By 1911 he was living with his eldest sister, Annie some 15 years his senior, at 14 Fairfoot Road, Bow, and working as engine cleaner. When he left the North London Railway to join the Army he had progressed to locomotive fireman. He went to France in August 1915 and served with the 11th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers, rising to the rank of sergeant. He won the Military Medal for bravery in the field, and was awarded the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. He was killed in action on 26th September 1916 and is remembered at the Thiepval Memorial (the Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave).

Joseph Carter MM
Sources:
TNA RG 13/350, page 10 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/1709 1911 Census.
TNA RAIL 529/34, NLR Board Minute 8559 – award of MM.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
London Gazette No 29819, Fri 10 Nov 1916, page 10919 – award of MM.
FreeBMD Birth Sep qtr 1892, District Poplar, Vol 1c, Page 648.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1542516
Notes:
1. The probability of this soldier being the J Carter shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99.9%:
NLR Board meeting minutes show Sergeant Carter, Royal Fusiliers, awarded the Military Medal;
of the two hundred and eleven J Carters listed by the CWGC, there is only one Sergeant in the Royal Fusiliers;
The London Gazette and the Medal Card for this soldier show the award of the Military Medal;
entries in the Censuses of 1901, shows father as NLR engine driver, and 1911, shows him a engine cleaner at Bow (on old railways nepotism ruled).
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

J Cocklin (It can be one of two – James SWB or Jeremiah Sherwood Forresters)

15
A Coe (CWGC 11 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

C F Cook (CWGC 8 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

S A Cooper (CWGC 4 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

Edward Arthur Couch (55681 Sapper, Royal Engineers). He was born on the outskirts of Plymouth, Devon, about 1881. In 1905 he married Emma Plumridge in Poplar. By the 1911 Census they were living at 47 Reeves Road, Bow, and had two daughters. Another child had died in infancy. In January 1907 he transferred from the Goods Dept where he was employed as a capstan man at Poplar Docks, to the Permanent Way Dept as a platelayer. On arrival he was put in charge of the relaying gang. The Engineer recommended to the NLR Board that he should, as a special case, receive the pay of 6s. 6d per day, the maximum for ordinary gangers being 6s. per day – the Board approved the recommendation. He went to France in February 1915. Medals: 1915 Star and War and Victory Medals. He died on 7th November 1915 and is remembered at the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.

Edward Arthur Couch
Sources:
TNA RG12/1731, f 71, p 45 1891 Census.
TNA RG14/ 1911 Census.
TNA RAIL 529/73, 6 Feb 1907. PW, etc, Com Min 5467.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD. Birth Sep qtr 1881 Couch Edward Arthur, Plympton, vol 5b, p 236. Marriage Mar qtr 1905, Couch, Edward Arthur, Poplar, 1c, and Plumridge, Emma, Poplar, 1c, 691.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=434873
Notes:
1.Probability of this soldier being the E A Couch shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
only E A Couch listed by CWGC;
family lived at Bow;
a Couch was a ganger on NLR;
served in a Railway Company, RE.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

John Crowder (68739 Lance Corporal, Royal Engineers)
John Crowder was born about 1887 in St Giles, St Pancras, the eldest child of William and Sarah Crowder. Censuses show him:
1891 – living, at the age of 4, with his parents and younger brother, Charles, and sister, Sarah, at 54 Neal Street, St Giles, aged 4;
1901 – with his grandparents at 120 Whitfield Street, in St Saviour’s Parish, St Pancras, and working as a machine minder, aged 14; his parents having moved to Barking;
1911 – living with his wife and first son at 25 Ferdinand Street, Chalk Farm and working as an electrician, aged 24.

On 4th August, 1907, he married Isabella Maud Weaver at St John’s, Fitzroy Square. They had three sons, John William, born 1910, Charles Stanley 1911 and James Kitchener 1915. Sometime between the 1911 census and his enlistment in 1915 he joined the railway as a plater’s mate at Dalston.

He enlisted into the Army on 16th March, 1915. In the August he was posted to Salonika, where he served with 117 Railway Construction Company, Royal Engineers. Whilst in Salonika his behaviour was not that good. His conduct sheets show that on the: 18th March, 1916, he was charged with being out of bounds and improperly dressed – severely reprimanded; 15th April, 1916, charge illegible – reduced to Sapper; 18th April 1916, absent from 8.30 pm roll call – a period of Field Punishment. He also caught syphilis.

He was medically evacuated to St George’s Hospital, Malta, in early June 1916; sent on to The Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, Hampshire, on 10th June suffering from suspected dementia; moved to Lord Derby War Hospital, Warrington, on 26th June, where he was diagnosed with general paralysis of insane. On the 23rd December was discharged from the Army on medical grounds.

For his Army service, he was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

From the hospital at Warrington he was transferred to the Long Grove Asylum, Epsom, where he died in January, 1919, of general paralysis of insane. He is buried in St Pancras Cemetery in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission section and his name is shown on the NLR Great War Memorial at Hoxton.

As with most matters historical NLR, there are a couple of discrepancies: date of death – one day between death certificate and CWGC records/gravestone; and age at death – 33 and 32 respectively.

This case raises the question of whether someone who caught syphilis whilst serving overseas should have his name inscribed on a war memorial. There are a few other names of soldiers who died overseas on the NLR War Memorial who died of other illnesses, eg, pneumonia. It could therefore be said that an illness of any description qualifies for eligibility.

John Crowder

Sources:
TNA RG 12/210, f83, p53 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/137, f70, p86 1901 Census.
TNA RG 13/1665, f113, p27 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Army documents (including medical board) and Medal Card via Ancestry.co.uk.
TNA WO 95/4931, War Diary 117 Rly Constr Coy RE.
FreeBMD Death Mar qtr 1919 Crowder John, 33, Epsom, vol 2a, p 61, Death Certificate.
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=387783.
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the J Crowder shown on the NLR War Memorial – 100%:
two certificates amongst his army documents show he was employed as a platers mate at Dalston.

Charles Edwin Cubberley (14620, Private, 6th Bn, Dorsetshire Regiment). He was born in the third quarter of 1883 in Cambridge and lived with his parents and siblings, eventually nine of them. He later moved with them to Stratford and Walthamstow. In 1901 he was working in a box manufacturing factory. By 1911 he had followed his father into the GER, where he employed as a boiler smith’s assistant. Therefore his time with the NLR would have been less than four years. He entered France in August 1915 and was awarded 1915 Star, War and Victory medals. He was killed in action on 20th August, 1916, and is remembered on Panel 37, Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.

Charles Edwin Cubberley
Sources:
TNA RG 12/1314, f 18, p 30 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/1630, f 53, p 39 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD Birth Sep qtr 1883 Cubberley, Charles Edwin, Cambridge, Vol 3b, p 466. He does not appear to have married.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1608692
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the C E Cubberley shown on the NLR War Memorial – 50%:
the only C Cubberley listed by CWGC;
enlisted at Stratford as did many NLR railwaymen;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

Walter William Curry (635627, Private, 20th (County of London) Battalion (Blackheath and Woolwich), London Regiment). He is was born in Pimlico in 1876. At that time the the family name was spelt Currie, with the change to the Curry spelling appearing in the late 1880’s. The family were living in West Ham by the time he left school in the early 1890’s. First he worked in the printing trade and later as a rivetter/boilerman. In 1910 he married Miss Emily Julia Leighton, and settled in Stratford. He was employed as house painter in a railway maintenance department and it can only be assumed that it was the NLR (unless he changed jobs after 1911). He was awarded at the the War and Victory medals and was killed in action on 14th September 1918 and is remembered on Panel 10, Vis-en-Artois Memorial.

Walter William Curry
Sources:
TNA RG 11/382, f 61, p 3 1881 Census
TNA RG 12/1349, f 18, p 29 1891 Census
TNA RG 13/1593, f 92, p 26 1901 Census
TNA RG 14/9368 RG 78/505 1911 Census
FreeBMD: Birth Dec qtr 1876, Currie, Walter William, St George Hanover Square, 1a, 400
Marriages Mar 1910, Curry, Walter William, to Leighton, Emily Julia, West Ham, 4a, 186
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1741575
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the W W Curry shown on the NLR War Memorial – 50%:
only W W Curry listed by CWGC;
parents and he lived in Stratford;
in 1911 census shows him as house painter for railway maintenance department, railway not shown, as his name is on the NLR War Memorial, it is assumed that it was the NLR (unless he changed jobs after 1911).
2. Other than his Medal Card, which appears to be incomplete, no Army documents appear to be available.

Walter Alfred Darke (8799, Private, York and Lancaster Regiment). He was born in Hackney and lived with his parents and nine siblings. In 1907 he joined the York and Lancaster Regiment and qualified as a mounted infantryman. He served with the colours for five years and then transferred to the reserve in June 1912. On 18 June 1914 he was taken on at Broad Street station. In under seven weeks he was back in the Army, being recalled to the colours on 5th August, 1914, and moving to France the following day to serve with the 2nd Battalion. He was killed in action on 25th September, 1916 and is remembered at Pier and Face 14 A and 14 B, Thiepval Memorial.

Walter Alfred Darke
Sources:
RAIL 410/1831 Broad Street Station Staff Register
TNA RG 12/202, f 7, p 7 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/220, f 148, p 45 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/3109 1911 Census
TNA Army documents and medal card, via ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD Birth Jun qtr 1888 Darke Walter Alfred, Hackney, vol 1b, page 523.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=755528
Note:
The probability of this soldier being the W A Darke shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99.9%:
only W A Darke listed by CWGC;
family lived in Hackney;
from comparing his army documents and censuses his siblings names agree.

James Edward Delaney (472049, Serjeant, 12th (County of London) Battalion (The Rangers), London Regiment). He was born in late 1894 in Hackney and lived with his family in 11 Roseberry Place, Hackney. His father, Patrick, was a North London Railway Porter-Foreman. By 1911 he was working as an Stockbroker’s Clerk. He was awarded the War and Victory Medals. He was killed in action in France on 17th July, 1917, and is remembered on Panel 54, Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.

James Edward Delaney
Sources:
TNA RG13/226, f 91, p 24 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD: Birth Dec qtr 1894 Delany James Edward,  Hackney, vol 1b, p 484.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.’
The Times, Fri, 3 Aug 1917, p 5, col 3.
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1609653
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the J E Delaney shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
only one J E Delaney shown out of 59 J Delaney listed by CWGC;
born in Hackney and lived in Dalston;
father a foreman porter on NLR;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

Albert Doggett (204968 Private, London Regiment, then 122654 Private, Machine Gun Corps). He was born during the winter of 1890/91 in Wing, Buckinghamshire. After leaving school he was an ironmonger fitter in his local village before moving to London. The NLR employed him as a porter on 30th November 1911. In July 1913 he joined the National Union of Railwayman, by which time he would periodically also take on the duties of guard. It was about this time he met Florence who, in the spring of 1914, he married. She was the daughter of Henry Neaves, a NLR ticket collector. Towards the end of 1916 their daughter, Edna, was born. On the 11th August 1917 he joined the Army, serving initially with The London Regiment then with the 50th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. On the 8th July 1918 he died of wounds received in action on the Western Front. He is remembered at the Cologne Southern Cemetery. He was awarded the War and Victory Medals.

Albert Doggett Sources: TNA RAIL 410/1831 TNA RG 14/1121, RG 78/37, RD11, SD4, ED16, SN200 TNA RG 14/8975, RG 78/475, RD177, SD2, ED1, SN94 Army medal card Modern Record Centre MSS.127/NU/OR/2/30, ff187 & 212 Various BMD Certificates ‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’ CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/901348/DOGGETT,%20ALBERT Notes: 1. Probability of this soldier being the A Doggett shown on the NLR War Memorial – 100%: He was employed by the NLR who also recorded his death. Various names and dates match. 2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

25
H Ellis (CWGC 124 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

J Gregory (CWGC 96 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

Thomas Joseph Griffin (10022, Private, Durham Light Infantry). He was born in Islington in 1890 and was to be the first of thirteen children to be born to William and Mary Griffin, the eldest of whom was born a couple years before they were married. After school he worked in the St Pancras Goods Department of the Midland Railway. In 1907 he upped and joined the army. His colour service ended on the 4th April, 1914, and it must have been after this date that he became employed by the NLR, an employment that was to be short lived, as he was recalled to the colours on the day that war broke out, 4th August, 1914. A month later he landed in France. He was awarded the 1914 Star and War and Victory medals. Whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion he was killed in action on 13th October, 1914. He is remembered on Panel 8 and 9, Ploegsteert Memorial.

Thomas Joseph Griffin
Sources:
TNA RG 12/141, folio 46, page 40 1891 Census
TNA TNA RG13/1252, folio 173, page 33 1901 Census
TNA TNA RG14/ 1911 Census
TNA Army documents and medal card, via ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD Birth Dec qtr 1890, Griffin, Thomas Joseph, Islington, vol 1b, page 213
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=873469
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the T J Griffin shown on the NLR War Memorial – 80%:
the only T J Griffin listed by CWGC;
lived close to NLR territory;
before army service worked for Midland Railway;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.

Arthur Albert Hammond (684194 Private, The London Regiment). He was born in Bromley in the spring of 1886. His father worked on the Port of London railways. After school he spent about twelve years making card boxes at the local match making company. In 1912 or 1913 he became a NLR carriage cleaner. On the 21st February 1914 he married Charlotte Handley, a 25 year old spinster, who worked as beer bottle filler in a brewery. Her father was an inspector with the GER Company. On the 4th July 1914 he became a member of the National Union of Railwaymen, giving his employment as a cleaner with the NLR. He enlisted at Stratford and was badged to the London Regiment. He was awarded the War and Victory medals. It was whilst serving with the 22nd (County of London) Battalion that he was killed in action on the 1st December 1917. He is remembered on Panel 12, Cambrai Memorial, Louverval.

Arthur Albert Hammond

Sources:

1891 Census [RG 12/324, Folio 108, Page 66.]

1901 Census [RG 13/345, Folio 129, Page 40.]

1911 Census [RG 14/1686.]

1911 Census [RG 14/9403.]

NUR Register [Modern Record Centre, MSS.127/NU/OR/2/30, f7.]

Birth certificate [GRO Poplar, 1c, 604.]

Marriage certificate [GRO West Ham, 4a, 293.]

TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.

‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’

CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1753480

Notes:

1. Probability of this soldier being the A A Hammond shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:

names and dates correspond;

NUR records show him as cleaner at Bow and killed-in-action;

his marriage certificate shows his employment as carriage cleaner.

2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

E W Harris (CWGC 13 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

30
G W Harris (CWGC 28 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

Frank George Hennem (20396, Private, 1st Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment). He was born in St Pancras 9th January 1899 and lived with his parents and elder sister as 74 Aldenham Street, Somers Town. His father was a reservist and in 1901 his mother was receiving separation allowance, presumably his father was in South Africa fighting in the 2nd South African War. Ten years later the family had moved down the road to number 60, where they occupied two ground floor rooms. By this time he had a younger brother. It would appear that space was so short that he became waif, a result of which he ended up in the Shaftesbury School at Bisley in Surrey. This school opened in 1867 as the Farm School, Bisley and in 1873 became the Shaftesbury School, which catered for homeless and destitute boys. He started work at Broad Street station on 30th October 1916 and left to join the Army 28 April 1917. In France he served in the 1st Bn, Dorsetshire Regiment, awarded the War and Victory Medals, and died of wounds on 27th April 1918, aged 19. He is remembered at P. XI. F. 9B, St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen.

Frank George Hennem
Sources:
RAIL 410/1831 Broad Street Station Staff Register
TNA RG13/146, f 130, p 68 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 60 Aldenham Street, Somers Town, 1911 Census.
TNA RG 14/ The Shaftesbury School, Bisley, 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD Birth Mar qtr 1899 Hennem Frank George, Pancras, vol 1b, p 99.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.’
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=518263
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the F G Hennem shown on the NLR War Memorial – 90%:
the only F G Hennem listed;
the age given in 1901 Census, FreeBMD and CWGC agree;
parents lived in Kentish Town;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

F Hopkins (CWGC 33 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

 

Edward Howard (30953 Private, 1st/4th Bn, The Norfolk Regiment).

He was born in Homerton about 1891 and lived with his parents and siblings within the Hackney area until he married. After leaving school he followed in his father’s footsteps and worked as a house painter and by March 1915 he was employed by the NLR as a painter. On 2nd August 1914, two days before the outbreak of the Great War, he married Rosina Florence Sheen, a twenty year old spinster. It would appear that until then Rosina had lived with her parents in 37 Quilter Street, Bethnal Green and on their marriage they probably set up home along the street at number 13. Edward’s and Rosina’s daughter, Rosina Florence, was born on 2nd August 1917, their third wedding anniversary. It is not clear when Edward joined the Army, but on the 15th December, 1917, his Battalion attacked K4 Aba Hamid, i.e. Stone Heap Hill. They came under machine gun fire from the summit of that Hill and from Sanger Hill, both of which were taken. In the afternoon, the Battalion attacked El Tireh Hill, north of Stone Heap Hill. There was continuous enemy fire and the Battalion lost one officer killed and three wounded, eleven NCOs and men killed and sixty-five wounded out of a total of six officers and two hundred and nineteen other ranks who carried out the attack. Nearly all the casualties were the result of machine gun fire. Edward’s gravestone shows that he was killed in action on this day so it is assumed that he died in one of these attacks. He is remembered at Grave D.27, Ramleh War Cemetery, Israel.

Edward Howard

Sources:
TNA RG 13/223 Folio: 124 Page: 87, 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/1100, RG 78/36 RD11 SD3 ED27 SN217, 1911 Census.
TNA RG 13/282 Folio: 130 Page: 20, 1901 Census (wife).
TNA RG14PN1384 RG78PN49 RD17 SD1 ED3 SN207, 1911 Census (wife).
LMA, Saint Matthew, Bethnal Green, Register of marriages, P72/MTW, Item 078.
TNA WO 95/4657 War Diary 1/4 NORFOLKS as researched by Stan Newens.
NUR Membership Register. Modern Record Centre, Warwick University MSS.127/NU/OR/2/42, f279.
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/652588/HOWARD,%20E
Family records courtesy of Stan Newens.
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the E Howard shown on the NLR War Memorial – 100%:
There are two sources of information that Edward William Howard was employed by the NLR.
First is the testimony of his daughter, Rosina Florence Howard, who was only four months old when he was killed. She was told, presumably by her mother, that her father used to work on the railways (she was unaware of the company by which he was employed) and that his name was listed on a memorial at Broad Street Station. On the 2nd August 2016 she celebrated her 99th birthdays with friends and neighbours at her home in Cheshunt. [Stan Newens.]
Second is Edward’s NUR membership record, which shows him as a painter NLR.
2. Grateful thanks to Stan Newens for providing the information for this thumbnail, without which it could not have been written. Edward’s wife Rosina was his mother’s first cousin.
3. Apart from an incomplete Medal Card, it appears that his Army documents no longer exist.

E Jones (CWGC 613 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

35
William Charles Henry Joyce (50186, Pioneer, Royal Engineers). He was born in Bow in 1893 and appears to have lived with his parents and two sisters in Bromley all his life until he joined the Army. His grandfather, Jonathan, was employed in the NLR for forty-four years from about 1866. His father, William Henry, started his career in the NLR as a train register boy July 1881 and later became en engine driver. With those antecedents and his name appearing on the NLR War memorial it can safely be assumed that his engineer’s apprenticeship shown in the 1911 census was with the NLR. He joined the Royal Engineers in the Great War, went to France on 10th April, 1915, and served with 91st Field Company. He was awarded the 1915 Star, War And Victory medals, killed in action on the 25th September, 1915, and remembered in Panel 4 and 5, Loos Memorial.

William Charles Henry Joyce
Sources:
TNA RG 10/570, f 86, p 13 1871 Census
TNA RG11/495, f 122, p 15 1881 Census
TNA RG13/345, f 103, p 39 1901 Census
TNA RG14/ 1911 Census
TNA RAIL 529/32, 4 Feb 1909 Board Min 6947
TNA RAIL 529/133/688 Folio 173 Staff Register
TNA RAIL 529/52, 1 Apr 1884, Loco, etc, Cttee Min 5423.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD. Births Dec qtr 1893  Joyce William Charles H,  Poplar, 1c, 570.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/certificate.aspx?casualty=733263
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the W C H Joyce shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
the only W C H Joyce listed;
grandfather and father were NLR employees;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, no positive information concerning employment with NLR has been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

G C T Judd (CWGC No Record) Nothing appropriate so far found.

Horace Charles Ernest Knightly (46749, Serjeant, Royal Field Artillery). In some documents and on the NLR War Memorial the surname is spelt Knightley. Born on the 16th September 1883, he lived with his mother and father, a labourer, and about ten siblings in Helmsley Place, South Hackney. After leaving school he became a bricklayer and in 1900 his father died. In 1907 he enlisted into the Royal Field Artillery and served with them on the North West Frontier (attempting to do what the British Army was still trying to do 100 hundred years later). He completed his Colour service in 1913 and transferred to the Army Reserve. It would have been at this time he joined the NLR but unfortunately no record has been found of his employment. He was recalled to the Colours and had arrived in France by 16th August 1914, twelve days after the outbreak of the war. He was awarded the 1914 Star and the British War and Victory Medals. On 1st May 1917 he married Mary Ann Elizabeth Waughman in St Botolph’s, Bishopsgate. He was killed in action on 22nd March 1918 and is remembered at Memorial Reference: Bay 1, Arras Memorial.

Horace Charles Ernest Knightly
Sources:
TNA RG 12/185, f 57, p 52 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/211, f 153, p 37 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/34983 1911 Census.
TNA WO/372/11/202070 Medal Card (46749 H C E Knightley).
TNA WO/372/11/202083 Medal Card (46749 Horace C E Knightly).
FreeBMD Birth Dec qtr 1883 Knightly, Horace Charles E. [Hackney, 1b, 583.]
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.’
Grateful thanks to Jean Fuller, great, great, niece, for providing additional information from her family records.
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=782139
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the H C E Knightley shown on the NLR War Memorial – 100%:
only one listed by CWGC;
family lived in Hackney;
name and initials match;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Note that there are two different spellings of his name: Knightly and Knightley, the former is correct.
3. Other than his Medal Cards, no Army documents appear to be available.

Robert Herbert Law (6801171, Serjeant, 22nd (County of London) Battalion (The Queens), London Regiment). He was born in Lea Bridge in 1892. His father was a guard on the North London Railway and the family lived at 29 Burdett Street, Bromley at least from 1911. His mother died in 1905 and his father remarried in 1908. At the time of the 1911 census he was working as spirit cellarman. In March 1915 he went to France and during his tour there he was awarded the 1915 Star and the War and Victory Medals. He was killed in action on 22nd August 1918, and is remembered at I. AI. 9. Bray Military Cemetery.

Robert Herbert Law
Sources:
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD: Birth Jun qtr 1892 Law Robert Herbert, Hackney, 1b, 543.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.’
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=34581
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the R H Law shown on the NLR War Memorial – ?%:
two R H Law listed by CWGC – the other one enlisted in Lancashire;
parents lived in Burdett Street, Devons Road, Bromley, Bow, and a Robert Herbert Law worked for NLR;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

William George Leaper (122659, Private, 56th Bn, Machine Gun Corps). He was born in Harrow about the turn of the year 1890/1. His father died when he was three years old. By 1911 he was a porter and was boarding with fellow porter, George Harrod. He served first with the London Regiment before transferring to the Machine Gun Corps. He was awarded the War and Victory medals. He died on 4th April 1918 and is remembered at XXXIII. C. 1A, Etaples Military Cemetery.

William George Leaper
Sources:
TNA RG 12/1039, f 90, p 14 & 15 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/1207, f 138, p 18 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD Birth Mar qtr 1891, Leaper, William George, Hendon, 3a, 150.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=503144
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the W G Leaper shown on the NLR War Memorial – 90%:
only W G Leaper listed by CWGC;
in 1911 census was living in Homerton employed as a railway porter. [Was Hassett Road in Homerton? – E9 in my A-Z]
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

40
W Lewis (CWGC 265 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

J J Lowry (CWGC no Record) Nothing appropriate so far found.

A G Mancey – One possible but very tenuous. SWB

John Patrick McCormack (6361, Private, Worcestershire Regiment). He was born in 1885 in Fulham. He had an elder brother, Joseph, and a younger one, David. He also had a brace of sisters, Julia and Kate. By 1901 both John and David were at St Johns Certified Industrial School, Walthamstow. On 20th May, 1901, signed on for 12 years with The Worcestershire Regiment and during that time he served overseas in the West Indies, Egypt and Malta. His younger brother David followed him into the Worcestershire Regiment; both of them were drummers. On 22nd March, 1913, two moths before he completed his engagement, he married May Ruth Knight in Fulham. On leaving the army he gained employment with the NLR, in the Divisional Engineer’s Department. His wife gave birth to a son, John Patrick, on 10th April, 1914: a son who was never to know his father, who was mobilised on the 5th August, went to France on 12th September and died of gun shot wounds to his thigh on the 5th October, 1914. It appears that there was a hiccough in the notification to his next of kin as his brother-in-law, Julia’s husband, wrote a letter on the 11th January, 1915, to the Officer in Charge of Records, Worcester Regiment, requesting information. The last they heard from Pte McCormack had been 2nd October, 1914, and letters and parcels sent to him subsequently had been returned marked wounded. May subsequently received a War Widow’s pension for herself and son of 15s a week. John is buried in grave A 10, Sainghin-en-Weppes Communal Cemetery.

John Patrick McCormack.
Sources:
TNA RG 13/1636, f 122, p 3 1901 Census.
TNA Army documents and Medal Card via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD. Marriage Mar qtr 1913, Knight, May R, McCormack, Fulham, 1a, 663/McCormack, John P, Knight, Fulham, 1a, 663
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=325354
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the J P McCormack shown on the NLR War Memorial – 100%:
only one listed by CWGC;
in his Army documents is a letter of 22nd September 1915 from the LNWR Divisional Engineer’s Office, Camden Town Station, stating that he was in the LNWR’s service prior to mobilisation in August 1914.

H Prickett (CWGC 2 names – could be either RFA or 6KRRC)

45
George Henry McGuire (L/29808, Bombardier, Royal Field Artillery). He was born in Mile End in 1892, one of eight children, three of whom died in childhood. With his family over the years, he moved from Mile End, to Bromley and to Blackwall. He was a general labourer prior to joining the Locomotive Department of the North London Railway at Devons Road in November 1913. In 1917 he married Miss Lavinia Bossley of Poplar. In France he served with 178th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. He died just three or four days before the Armistice in November 1918. He is remembered at I. A. 78. St. Andre Communal Cemetery.

George Henry McGuire
Sources:
TNA RG13/349, f100, p5 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/1733 RG 78/6 1911 Census.
RAIL 529/136/50 Folio 300. Engagement agreement.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk. Gives date of death as 7 November, 1918.
FreeBMD Birth Mar qtr 1892, McGuire, George Henry, Mile End, 1c, 542; Marriage Sep qtr 1917, McGuire, George H, and Bossley, Lavinia, Poplar, 1c, 752
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’ Gives date of death as 7 November, 1918.
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=278816 Gives date of death as 8 November, 1918.
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the G H McGuire shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
only G H McGuire listed by CWGC;
was employed in the Locomotive Department;
widow lived in Poplar.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

Henry Edward Phillips (19273, Private, Royal Fusiliers, and 229300, Sapper, Royal Engineers). He was born in 1888 in Leytonstone and appears to have been raised as an only child by his mother and grandmother. In 1911 he was an engine cleaner. By the time he enlisted he had progressed a grade as his attestation paper shows his occupation as fireman. He enlisted on 6th October 1915 and initially served with the Royal Fusiliers. In March he married Miss Maud Amy Long and they had a daughter. He went to France on 8th March 1916, received a gun shot wound to left eye on 22nd April 1916, and returned to UK on 31st May 1916. Presumably as a result of the injury to his eye, in November 1917 he was medically downgraded to Bii, which in turn resulted in him being transferred to Railway Troops, Royal Engineers. He embarked on the Hospital Transport Aragon to join 96th Light Railway Operating Company in the Middle East. The Aragon was a twin screw vessel of 9,580 tons, belonging to the Royal Mail Steamship Company. At about 9am on 30th December 1917, in the Eastern Mediterranean, two miles from her destination port, she was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of nineteen officers and crew and 581 men. About a hundred nurses were on board, all of whom were saved. Henry Phillips was among those who were drowned. He is remembered by the Chatby War Memorial (stands at the eastern end of the Alexandria (Chatby) War Memorial Cemetery and commemorates almost 1,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died during the First World War and have no other grave but the sea).

Henry Edward Phillips
Sources:
TNA RG 12/295, f60, p19 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/335, f18, p28 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/1538, RG78/54 1911 Census
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
TNA Army documents and medal card, via ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD: Birth Jun qtr 1888, Phillips, Henry Edward, W. Ham, 4a, 212
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.’
The Times, Thursday, 31st January, 1918, page 6, and Monday, 11th February, 1918, page 3.
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1438980
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the H E Phillips on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
one of three H E Phillips listed (parents of the other two lived in Montgomershire and Stoke-on-Trent);
widow lived in Poplar;
occupation at 1911 census was engine cleaner;
trade on enlistment given as fireman;
serving with 96th Light Railway Operating Company, RE, at time of death.

George Henry Prager (32716, Pioneer, Royal Engineers). He was born in 1887 or 1888 in Hoxton. After leaving school he became a fret cutter of wood used in the making of cabinets. No record of what he did on the North London Railway has been found. He went to France twelve days after the outbreak of the war and, because of a lack of army documents, it can only be assumed that he had joined the army, completed his colour service and transferred to the army reserve, possibly having served in the East Surrey Regiment, his regimental number being L/8939. In France he served with 5th Division Signal Company, RE, and was awarded the 1914 Star and Victory medal. In 1916 he married Ada Dangell. He died of wounds in May 1918 and is remembered at LXVII. C. 13, Etaples Military Cemetery.

George Henry Prager
Sources:
TNA RG 12/246, f65, p38 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/339, f122, p19 1901 Census.
TNA RG14/9347, 1911 Census.
FreeBMD Birth Mar qtr 1888, Prager, George Henry, Shoreditch, 1c, 7[38].
Marriage Jun qtr 1916, Prager, George H, and Dangell, Ada L, Edmonton, 3a ,1138.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=504956
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the G H Prager shown on the NLR War Memorial – a bit more than a toss of a coin:
only G H Prager listed by CWGC;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

A E Rich (CWGC 26 names)

Albert Edward Rome (289650, Sapper, Royal Engineers). He was born in Islington in about 1883 and spent his early life living at 71 Boleyn Road in Highbury, an address occupied by members of the family for over thirty years. He was the sixth of nine children. Before joining the army, he was employed as a railway platelayer and lived Dalston. He enlisted on 11th December, 1915, and was in the reserve until 17th January, 1917, when he joined the colours. He served with railway units of the Royal Engineers, both at home and Egypt, arriving Alexandria on the 27th September, 1917, to join to 265 Railway Company RE. One one occasion he did manage to get awarded 7 days confinement to barracks for striking a native. On 8th
December, 1918, he died of malaria in Alexandria and his grave is Q. 155, in the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery.

Albert Edward Rome
Sources:
TNA RG 12/174, f 96, p 7 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/197, f 107, p 24 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Army documents (including medical board) and Medal Card via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD Birth Mar qtr 1883 Rome Albert Edward, Islington, vol 1b, p 394.
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=113515
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the A E Rome on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
one of two A E Romes listed by CWGC (the other, Albert Edwin, was a draughtsman living in Muswell Hill);
civilian trade railway platelayer;
civilian address 22 Ramsgate Street, Dalston [E8 2NA].

50
E Rowland (CWGC 7 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

Henry Victor Rymer (477142 (previously 2050), Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, Territorial Force). He was born in 1888 in Bow, son of sail maker. He was a porter with the North London Railway. At the same time he was he served for eight years with the volunteer battalions of the Essex Regiment. Embodied service began on 31st August, 1914, with 1st/3rd East Anglian Field Ambulance, RAMC, TF. He embarked at Southampton on 30th November, 1915, for Egypt, where he arrived on 11th December. He was awarded the 1915 Star, and War and Victory medals. On 30th September, 1918, he was admitted to 71st General Hospital at Nasrieh, Cairo, being emaciated, anaemic, and suffering diarrhoea. On 30th October he collapsed and died. The cause of death was given as heart failure following broncho-pneumonia, influenza and dysentery. His effects form dated November 1919 show, as still living, his mother, two older brothers, three older sisters, and two younger sisters. He is remembered at Q. 4, Cairo War Memorial Cemetery.

Henry Victor Rymer
Sources:
TNA RG 13/339, f130, p3
TNA Army documents and medal card, via ancestry.co.uk
Birth Jun qtr 1888, Rymer, Henry Victor, Poplar, 1c, 554
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=113538
Note:
The probability of this soldier being the H V Rymer shown on the NLR War Memorial – 100%:
his attestation paper for service in the Territorial Force shows his civilian calling as a porter with the North London Railway.

Robert William Schofield (9405 Private, 1 Bn Middlesex Regiment). He was born in 1886 in Homerton and lived there with his family. At first he was employed as a colour grinder. In November 1903 when he is was seventeen he enlisted into the army and joined the 1st Bn The Middlesex Regiment. For three years he served with them as a mounted infantryman, after which he left the colours for the Army Reserve and returned to the family home. The 1911 records him working as milkman and sometime later it must be assumed he worked for the North London Railway. In November 1907 he married Miss Ada Georgina Field in St Luke’s Church, Hackney. They had three children, one of whom died in infancy. He was mobilised the day the war started and arrived in France eight days later. He was awarded the 1914 Star and War and Victory medals. On the 1st November 1914 he died of wounds received in action. He is remembered at III. B. 15 Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.

Robert William Schofield
Sources:
TNA RG 12/202, f95, pp35/6 1891 Census
TNA RG 13/229, f135, pp23/4 1901 Census
TNA RG 14/1167, RG 78/38 1911 Census
TNA Army documents and medal card, via ancestry.co.uk
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=45622
Note:
The probability of this soldier being the R W Schofield shown on the NLR War Memorial – pretty high:
only R W Schofield listed by CWGC;
mother lived in Homerton;
other than his name on the NLR War Memorial, information concerning employment with NLR has not been found.

E J Smith (CWGC 48 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

J Stone (CWGC 128 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

55
E Taylor (CWGC 258 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

W Turner (CWGC 342 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

W Waite (CWGC 30 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

A Walters (CWGC 42 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

T Ward (CWGC 118 names) Nothing appropriate so far found.

60
W R Welsh (one dodgy possibility) Nothing appropriate so far found.

Lewis Henry George Westwood MM (13637, Gunner, Royal Field Artillery). He was born in 1893 in Canning Town and lived there with his parents and his four siblings. When he was seventeen he was working as a general clerk for a cider merchant. He later joined the North London Railway as a porter at Dalston. He went to France on 18th August, 1914, when the war was only two weeks old. It is, therefore, assumed that he would have been a member of the Territorial Army. He won the Military Medal, this being announced in the London Gazette on 8th December, 1916, and was also awarded the 1914 Star, and War and Victory Medals. He was killed in action on 15th March, 1917, and is remembered in III. G. 23, Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, Arras. His father was also in the army during the war, serving with 271 Railway Labour Company, RE.

Lewis Henry George Westwood, MM
Sources:
TNA RAIL 529/34, NLR Board Minute 8559. Award of MM.
TNA RG13/1583, f 90, p 52 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
The London Gazette No 29854 of Friday 8th December, 1916, page 112054. Awarded of MM
The Times, Monday, 16th April 1917, page 6, column 1.
FreeBMD. Birth Dec qtr 1893 Westwood, Lewis Henry G,  W. Ham, vol 4a, page 111.
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=575339
Notes:
1. The probability of this soldier being the L H G Westwood shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99.9%:
NLR Board Meeting minutes show Gunner L H G Westwood Royal Field Artillery awarded the Military Medal;
he is the only L H G Westwood listed by CWGC and shown having the Military Medal;
The London Gazette and the Medal Card for this soldier show the award of the Military Medal;
The Times shows his next-of-kin living in Canning Town.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

Thomas John Willats (8075, Private, 1st Battalion, South Wales Borderers (SWB)). He was born in Homerton in 1885. His father had served in the Army as a musician and received an army pension. After leaving school around the turn of the century he was a general labourer with Hackney Borough Council. On 20th March 1903 he enlisted at Stratford as a militiaman for six years with the 4th Volunteer Battalion, The Essex Regiment. On 23rd April 1903 he joined the SWB, the implication being as a regular soldier. No record has been found showing how long he served with the colours but by 1911 he was a railway porter. As a fully trained infantryman, he was recalled to the Colours immediately on the outbreak of war and went to France on the 13th August, 1914. He married Annie Bond during the summer of 1914 and a month after Thomas was killed on 6th March, 1915, they had a son, Thomas William. He was awarded the 1914 Star and the War and Victory Medals and is remembered on Panel 14 and 15, Le Touret Memorial.

Thomas John Willats
Sources:
TNA RG 12/200, f140, p56 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/220, f178, p27 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/ 1911 Census.
TNA WO 96/782/377 Militia Attestation.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
FreeBMD
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1564020
Notes:
1. Probability of this soldier being the T J Willatts shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
attestation paper shows his father as his next-of-kin;
war memorial shows Willatts, everything else shows Willats;
only T J Willats listed by CWGC;
wife lived in Shoreditch;
1911 census shows him as a railway porter.

H J W Williams Nothing appropriate so far found.

George William Winch (109245, Sapper, Royal Engineers). He was born in Bow in 1886 and lived there with his parents and two sisters until he enlisted. From the 1911 census and his army documents, it would appear that he was employed at Poplar Dock as a rigger and plater’s mate. Unfortunately, he had a very short army career. 3rd August 1915 enlisted; 29th August married; 5th September sailed for Middle East; 16th September arrived in the Balkans; 1st December died of dysentery on board the Hospital Ship Aquitania. The 1915 Star and War and Victory medals were awarded to him. He was buried at sea and remembered in Panels 23 to 25 or 325 to 328, Helles Memorial.

George William Winch
Sources:
TNA RG 12/315, f126, p50 1891 Census.
TNA RG 13/341, f31, p53 1891 Census.
TNA RG 14/1663; RG 78/58, sch 343 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=682308
Note:
Probability of this soldier being the G W Winch shown on the NLR War Memorial – 99%:
only G W Winch listed by CWGC;
address given in 1911 census and on his attestation paper in 1915 agree;
family and wife lived in Bow;
army documents show him as been employed by LNWR;
served in a Railway Company, RE.

65
Arthur George Woodley, DCM (1724, later 570261, Rifleman, 17th (County of London) Battalion (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) London Regiment). He was born in 1895 in Bromley, son of a sexton, fourth of ten children. When with the North London Railway he was employed as an engine cleaner: the first step to becoming an engine driver. He went to France in March 1915. He won the Distinguished Conduct Medal, this was announced in London Gazette on 14th January, 1916. The citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry; he displayed great skill in the maintenance of the communications, and on several occasions carried messages to detached companies under heavy fire. The 15 Star, Victory and War Medals were also awarded to him. He was killed in action on 29th November, 1917, and is remembered in II. F. 27, Anneux British Cemetery.

Arthur George Woodley, DCM
Sources:
TNA RAIL 529/34, 24 Feb 1916, NLR Board Minute 8423. Award of DCM.
TNA RG 13/351, f 27, p 46 1901 Census.
TNA RG 14/1713 1911 Census.
TNA Medal Card, via Ancestry.co.uk.
London Gazette No 29439, Fri 14 Jan 1916, page 614. Award of DCM.
FreeBMD Birth Jun qtr 1895, Woodley, Arthur George, Poplar, vol 1c, p 657.
‘Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919.’
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=188246
Notes:
1. The probability of this soldier being the A G Woodley shown on the NLR War Memorial – almost certainly:
Board meeting minutes show private in the 17th County of London Regiment;
his parents lived at Bow and his widow lived at Poplar;
of two A G Woodleys listed by CWGC, this is the one having been awarded the DCM.
2. Other than his Medal Card, no Army documents appear to be available.

======

NOT on the War Memorial
James George Edwin Dorling was born in Bury St Edmunds in late 1883/1884. His father was a brewer’s foreman and after school young George became a brewer’s labourer (obviously nepotism ruled in breweries as in railways). He moved to London and became a porter with NLR in August, 1901, giving his age as 19. He obviously lied about his age, presumably to get men’s rate – 18s a week instead of 15s. As to his name: his parents registered him one thing and then turned the first two around for the census, and that is how the NLR recorded it (George James); The Times and/or the court couldn’t make up their mind whether he was James or George. On 5th August, 1904, he was convicted with two other porters at Dalston of theft of articles from parcels in transit and sentenced to nine months hard labour. In 1910 he married Ellen Drane and lived in Hackney, working as a printer’s assistant. In the Great War he enlisted in Hackney for the King’s Royal Rifle Corps and served as Rifleman in the 12th battalion in France, being awarded the War and Victory medals. He died of wounds received in action on the 21st March, 1918, and is remembered on Panel 61 to 64, Pozieres Memorial.

James George Edwin Dorling
Sources:
The National Archives:
RAIL 529/62, 3 Nov 1904, Loco Com Mins 12457/63
RAIL 529/130/545 f 293 (Staff Register)
RG 12/1450, f 136, p22 (1891 Census)
RG 13/1755, f 19, p5 (1901 Census)
RG 14/1081 (1911 Census)
Medal card, via ancestry.co.uk
CWGC details http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1580076
See also Bloomfield, Peter, Police Raid Dalston Station Sunday, 24th July, 1904 (or The Tea Leaf Porters of Dalston), North London Railway Historical Society Journal 53, March 2012, pages 14-16.