Stockwell War Memorial

Friends of Stockwell War Memorial & Gardens

1916

William Valentine Brown

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W. V. Brown
Service no. G/10746
Lance Corporal, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), “B” Coy. 11th Battalion
Died age 49 on 15 November 1916
Born in South Lambeth, lived in Lambeth
Remembered at Dickebusch New Military Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium

William Valentine Brown was born in Poplar, east London in 1887, the third child of carman Frederick Charles Brown and Isabella Sarah Elizabeth (née Jackson). In the 1891 census the family of seven lived at 36 Radnor Terrace, off South Lambeth Road. Frederick Brown was working as a carman and William was a 17-year-old groom.

He married Annie Chinnery on 14 January 1894 at St Andrew’s, Landor Road. The couple gave 5 Southesk Street as their address.

John Edward Brown

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J. E. Brown
Private, Middlesex Regiment, 18th Battalion
Died 22 June 1916, aged 23
Service no. PW/2950
Remembered at Gorre British And Indian Cemetery

Chris Burge writes:

John Edward Brown was born in Peckham in 1893, one of five children and the only son of Mark Edward and Alice (née Spash) Brown, who were married in 1891 at St Agnes, Southwark. The family later moved to Lambeth.

In the 1911 census,  John was living with his mother and three of his younger sisters.  Then 18, John worked as a warehouseman for a dealer in glass and china.  Five people shared four rooms at 68c Hackford Road. The family had moved to 20 Nealdon Street by 1914. 

John volunteered on 25 May 1915, enlisting in London. Just three sheets of his original service papers have survived; they describe him as a labourer who was 5ft 6in tall and weighed 124lbs. John’s vision without glasses was only good enough for a ‘non shooting unit’. He found himself posted to one of the Middlesex Regiment’s three pioneer battalions. By July 1915, the 18th Middlesex had moved to the Clipstone Camp near Mansfield, home to thousands of soldiers in training. The final months before departing for France were spent on Salisbury Plain. Private Brown landed at La Havre on 15 November 1915.

By June 1916, John’s battalion had suffered fewer than 20 casualties. In the third week of the month they were working on the construction of dug-outs and shelters, with one company ‘mining under no-mans lands’.   On the 21st at 2am the enemy blew several large mines destroying part of the front line where C and D companies were working. Total casualties were: seven killed (including John), one officer and 20 men wounded and one missing.  

John’s parents remained at 26 Hargywne Street until at least 1930.  

John Edward Bean

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J. E. Bean
Service no. 50155
Corporal, Royal Field Artillery, “C” Bty. 49th Bde.
Died of wounds on 22 August 1916, aged about 44
Remembered at Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-l’Abbe, Somme, France

The 1911 census return completed by 43-year-old ‘Edward John Bean’, a dustman born in Brixton living in three rooms at 5 Carfax Square (now replaced by local authority housing), Clapham with his wife Ada, their son Edward, four, and Ada’s three children from a previous marriage. Edward and widow Ada Gilbert (née Purkiss) had married five years previously at St Paul’s, Clapham. 

In January 1906 Edward, then working as a coachman, and Ada had their son Edward baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, along with two of Ada’s children from her mariage to George Gilbert. They lived at 2 St Alphonsus Road, Clapham.

Edward attested in Camberwell, southeast London in 1914 or 1915. The Army records consistently show him as John Edward.

Ernest James Batterbury

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gravestone of E j batterbury
© Clive Batterbury

E. J. Batterbury
Service no. S/7006
Lance Corporal, Rifle Brigade, 7th Battalion
Died age 23 on 18 August 1916
Son of Henry Hooper Batterbury and Sarah Alice Batterbury, of 162 Old South Lambeth Road, South Lambeth, London.
Remembered at Thistle Dump Cemetery, High Wood, Longueval, France and at St Mark’s Church, Kennington Oval.

Information from 1911 Census

Ernest James Batterbury, 18 in 1911, was a hosier’s assistant, born in Lambeth. He lived at Buckstone Cottges, Oval Place, Dorset Road, London SW8, with his mother, Sarah Alice Batterbury, 47, who was born in the City of London, and father Henry Hooper Batterbury, 47, a theatre attendant, originally from Windsor, Berkshire, five siblings and a boarder.
Ernest, the eldest, was followed by
Rachel May Batterbury, 16, a milliner’s assistant, born in “West Newington, Surrey”
Alice Batterbury, 15, no employment given, born in Lambeth
Alfred Herbert Batterbury, 10, born in Lambeth
Ethel Elizabeth Amy Batterbury, 7, born in Lambeth
Harry Batterbury, 6, born in Lambeth
The boarder was Charles Thomas Gabriel Bottomley, 62, a widowed confectioner from Marylebone.

Arthur William Batho

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newspaper report on the bombardment of lowestoftA. W. Batho
Service no. L/6439
Officer’s Steward 3rd Class, Royal Navy, H.M.S. “Conquest”
Died age 19 on 25 April 1916
Son of Henry Thomas Batho, of 15 Priory Road, Wandsworth Road, London. Native of South Lambeth.
Remembered at Chatham Naval Memorial

Batho died during the bombardment of Lowestoft on 25 April 1916 by the German High Seas Fleet. There were 38 casualties (25 dead and 13 wounded) on the “Conquest”.

Information from the 1911 census

In 1911 Arthur Batho, 15, was a messenger for the G.P.O. (General Post Office). He lived at 411 Wandsworth Road, SW8 with his widowed father, Thomas Batho (or Henry T. Batho, according to the 1901 census), a 50-year-old railway porter born in Suffolk (Otley on the 1901 census). Arthur’s siblings were
Elizabeth Batho, 26
Frederick Batho, 19, an engine cleaner
Harry Batho, 17, a van guard
John Batho, 12
All the children were born in South Lambeth.

Information from the 1901 census

In 1901 Arthur Batho was a 4-year-old living with his widowed father, grandmother, aunt and siblings at 65 Tradescant Road. Elizabeth Batho, 65, was from Farnham, Suffolk. Her son, Henry T. Batho (Thomas Batho according to the 1911 census), Arthur’s father, 42, was a widowed railway porter born at Otley, Suffolk. Henry’s single sister, Emily F. Batho, 34, was a dressmaker born at Friston, Suffolk. Arthur’s siblings were registered on the census as
Elizabeth Batho, 16, ironer
Thomas Batho, 13
Frederick Batho, 10
Harry Batho, 7
John Batho, 2

Percy T Bass

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P. T. Bass
(Percy T. Bass)
Service no. R/4191
Rifleman, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 10th Battalion
Killed in action around age 25 on 20 March 1916
Remembered at Essex Farm Cemetery, Belgium
Brother of Frederick Charles Bass

British Army WWI Service Records 1914-1920

Percy Thomas Bass, 22, stood only 5 feet 3 inches (152cm) when he signed up. Like many of his fellow soldiers, he was, by our standards, skinny. His chest was a mere 35.5 inches (91cm) and he weighed only 116 pounds (8 stone 4 or 52.5kg). He had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion; he had a small mole on his left shoulder.

In civilian life he was a waiter but he volunteered at Cockspur Street on 10 September 1914, early in the war, for the King’s Royal Rifles and became a rifleman in the 7th Battalion.

By 22 November 1915, his elder brother Frederick Charles Bass, 30, had died (his name is also on the memorial). Another brother, Ernest Edward Bass was fighting in France in the British Expeditionary Force.

The service record for Percy Bass in the National Archives shows that he was in England until 21 July 1915. He was docked two days’ pay for not turning up for reveille on 21 February 1915. He was hospitalised in France for a day (9-10 December 1915).

Percy died, killed in action, on 20 March 1916.

His commanding officer listed his effects, to be returned to his father, Mr W. T. Bass of 6 Nursery Road, Brixton:

1 packet of letters, postcards and photos
1 diary pouch
1 scissors
1 pipe and lighter
1 badge

Information from the 1911 census

Percy Thomas Bass, a waiter born in Lambeth (Stockwell, according to the 1901 census), lived with his extended family at 6 Nursery Road, Brixton. His brother, Herbert William Bass, 31, was a telegraphist born in Lambeth. Herbert’s wife, Alice Rose Bass, 27, was born in Ashford, Kent. Their children were
Claud Herbert Bass, 9, born in Ashford
Reginald George Bass, 7, born in Ashford
Ralph Percy Bass, 4, born in Lambeth
Percy’s brother and father lived with Herbert’s family: William Thomas Bass, born in Dover, widowed, 56, and working as a signalman; Ernest Edward Bass, 29, a porter born in Lambeth
Information from the 1901 census

In 1901 Percy Bass was 10 and living at 58 Willington Road, Stockwell, with his father, William T. Bass, a widower aged 45 from Dover, Kent. William worked as a railway signalman. Percy’s brother, Frederick C. Bass, 16, was a number taker, born in Clapham, and his sister Emily Bass, 14, was born in Clapham. Percy was born in Stockwell.