Stockwell War Memorial

Friends of Stockwell War Memorial & Gardens

officer

Harold Percy Tozer

by

H. P. Tozer
Second Lieutenant, Royal Flying Corps/Durham Light Infantry, 9th Battalion
Died in a flying accident on 16 December 1916, aged 25
CWGC: “Son of Henry James and Agnes Emma Tozer, of 31, Lansdowne Gardens, Clapham, London.”
Remembered at East Harnham (All Saints) Churchyard, Wiltshire

Information from the censuses

In 1911 Harold Percy Tozer, 19, a clerk for a timber merchants, lived with his parents and sister at 31 Lansdowne Gardens, Stockwell. His father, Henry James Tozer, 43, was a solicitor’s clerk from Shadwell, east London; his mother, Agnes Emma Tozer, 43, was from Ipswich. Lilian Elizabeth Tozer, Harold’s sister, was 16 and working as a clerk for a philatelist (stamp collector/dealer). Both Harold and Lilian were born in South Lambeth. The Child family lodged with the Tozers: Arthur Ernest Child, 32, a cook from Portsmouth; his wife Ethel, 32, from Egham, Surrey, and their son Leslie Eric, 8. The Tozers had been at the same address since at least 1901.

British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 (Officers)

Tozer enlisted in the 4th Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders on 11 September 1914 and served for 347 days with them. He was described as 5 feet 9 inches, with a 36½ inch chest which he could expand by 3½ inches. He embarked from Southampton on 19 February 1915 and was wounded in action the following month (gunshot wound to the elbow). He was invalided back to England, to the Fairfield Hospital, Broadstairs on 18 June.

Later that year he was granted a temporary commission – 2nd Lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry (he was gazetted on 20 August 1915). Tozer’s service from then until the accident that killed him in 1918 is not known.

Alfred Roskilly

by

A. Roskilly
Second Lieutenant, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), 7th Battalion
Killed in action age 26 on 3 May 1917
CWGC: “Son of Mr and Mrs A. J. Roskilly, of 96, Stockwell Park Road, London; husband of Ruth Roskilly, of 16, Briarwood Road, Clapham Park, London.”
Remembered at Arras Memorial, France and at St John’s Church, Clapham Road, London SW9

After Alfred Roskilly died, there was some confusion in the War Office as to whether he was killed in action on 3 May 1917 or died just over a month later as a prisoner of war. The authorities had received information via the International Red Cross, that an “A. Rostkeilly” of the Royal West Surrey Regiment was held by the Germans. However, no real conclusion emerges from the files, except that, in the absence of real evidence, the Army accepted the earlier date as the date of death. The date of death was important as it affected the payments owing to the deceased, inherited by his widow.

Roskilly, an assistant clerk in the Post Office Savings Bank at Blythe Road, West Kensington, had considerable military experience, having joined the 2nd (Cadet) Battalion of the London Regiment (Civil Service), moving to the 15th Battalion, and subsequently transferring to the London Field Ambulance on 9 July 1915. He served 1 year and 225 days before being granted a temporary commission in March 1917. He survived less than 10 weeks.

Arthur Roskilly, the eldest of four children of compositor Alfred Joseph Roskilly, from Dalston, east London, and Clara (née Guest), from Southampton. His military character was described as “very good.” He stood 5 feet 7½ inches, weighed 9¾ stone and had a 39-inch chest. In 1911 the Roskilly family lived at 32 Clitheroe Road, Stockwell, where they occupied six rooms. Arthur married Ruth Lambert at St Anne’s and All Saints Church, South Lambeth Road on 2 April 1914.

Information from the censuses

In 1911, Alfred Roskilly, the eldest child of compositor Alfred Joseph Roskilly, 41, from Dalston, east London, and Clara Roskilly, 42, from Southampton, was 20 and working as a civil service clerk. The couple had three other surviving children (one had died): Frank Roskilly, 19, a “boy clerk’, like Alfred born in Southwark; Doris Roskilly, 8, born in Stockwell; Ruby Roskilly, 6, born in Stockwell. A boarder, Henry Goerge Downer, 19 and from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, another boy clerk, lived with the family at 32 Clitheroe Road, Stockwell, where they had six rooms. A decade earlier, the Roskilly family lived at 16 Grantham Road.

Everard Vaughan Ridge

by

E. V. Ridge
Lieutenant, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), 153rd Coy.
Died on 9 April 1917, aged 21
CWGC: “Son of the late Edward H. Ridge, of 15, Bedford Row, High Holborn, London.”
Remembered at Arras Memorial, France and at St John’s Church, Clapham Road, London SW9

Everard Vaughan Ridge attested for service in the Territorial Force on 13 April 1913. He served as Gunner in the 7th County of London Battery Royal Garrison Artillery. He was discharged to a commission in the 13th Reserve Battalion Worcestershire Regiment in September 1915. Transferred to the 153rd Company Machine Gun Corps, he was killed in action, on 9 April 1917, aged 21 years.

Information from the censuses

In 1911 Everard Vaughan Ridge was a 15-year-old schoolboy living with his family in nine rooms at 55 Chelsham Road, Clapham. His father, twice-widowed Edward H. Ridge was a 52-year-old solicitor born in Manchester. There were five children from the first marriage and one from his second (all born in Clapham).
Violet Maude Ridge, 20, a millinery shop assistant
Phyllis Myfanwy Ridge, 18, a clerk in an insurance office
Ronald Edward Trevor Ridge, 16, an engineering apprentice
Everard Vaughan Ridge, 15
Victoria Gwenllian Ridge, 13
Reginald Nelson Ridge, 4
Dorothy Robinson, 21, a housekeeper from Bootle, Lancashire, lived with the family.

Ernest Alexander Potts

by

E. A. Potts
Second Lieutenant, Royal Fusiliers, 24th Bn. attd. 10th Bn.
Died of wounds on 15 October 1918, aged 26
Military Cross
CWGC: “Son of Edward and Emma Potts, of 9, Mordaunt St., Brixton, London.”
Remembered at St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen

Ernest Alexander Potts, the son of a police constable and a former railwayman, volunteered for the Coldstream Guards in September 1914 and was sent to the Western Front later that year. He fought at the Battles of Ypres, Arras, Le Bassée and Givenchy. He was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in the Field during heavy fighting on the Somme in 1918. Potts rose to Lance Serjeant and in early 1918, was discharged to join the Royal Fusiliers on a temporary commission. Severely wounded on 8 October, he died a week later.

At 6 feet 3 inches, Potts was the tallest man I have been able to acquire vital statistics for, but he was slender rather than sturdy – weighing just over 11 stone and with only a 36½-inch chest. He was pale-complected, with blue eyes and brown hair.

Potts suffered from eczema and he was hospitalised several times. In early 1917, he was admitted to the Bethnal Green Military Hospital at Cambridge Heath, for which he was treated with a staphylococcal vaccine. In addition, he suffered from impetigo of the scalp, myalgia and a bout of flu.

National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918

POTTS, E. A. (M.C.), 2nd Lieutenant, 10th Royal Fusiliers and Coldstream Guards
Volunteering in September 1914, he was sent to the Western Front later in that year. During his service overseas he fought at the Battles of Ypres, Arras, Le Bassee, Givenchy, and many other engagements of note. He was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in the Field during heavy fighting on the Somme in 1918. He was severely wounded on October 8th, 1918, and subsequently died from the effects of his injuries on October 15th. He was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, and the General Sevice and Victory Medals.
“A valiant soldier, with undaunted heart he breasted Life’s last hill.”
9, Mordaunt Street, Landor Road, S.W.9.

Information from the 1911 census

Ernest Alexander Potts was one of four children of Edward Alexander Potts, 56, born in Gateshead, County Durham, a police pensioner now working as a watchman at the Bon Marche, Brixton, and Emma Potts, 55, of Kennington. Ernest, 18, was a railway employee, as was his brother Edward William Potts, 20. His elder sisters worked too: Violet Mary Potts, 25, was a cashier in a restaurant, and Annie Elizabeth Potts, 23, was a drapery assistant. All the children were born in Brixton. The family had six rooms in their house at 9 Mordaunt Street, Stockwell.

Cecil Ernest Philcox

by

Cecil Ernest Philcox
Cecil Ernest Philcox

C. E. Philcox
Lieutenant (temp), South Staffordshire Regiment, 1st Battalion
Died on 24 May 1917, aged 21
Awards Military Cross; mentioned in despatches
CWGC: “Son of Alice E. and the late Alfred James Philcox.”
Remembered at Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension, France, on the war shrine at St Michael’s Church, Stockwell Park Road, London SW9 0DA and at family memorial at West Norwood Cemetery

Brother of Percy William Arthur Philcox

Cecil Ernest Philcox was born in 1895. After attending Dulwich College he worked in a timber broker’s office in the City (his father was a timber merchant). He enlisted in the ranks of 12th Battalion of the London Regiment (The Rangers). One of his two brothers, Percy William Arthur Philcox, was killed in action with the Rangers on 8 May 1915.

Cecil was transferred to the Inns of Court Officers Training Corps at Berkhamsted on 20 April 1915 and in July was given a temporary commission in the 10th (Reserve) Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment at Harrogate. He took part in action at High Wood, Mametz, Beaumont-Hamel, Arras, Serre, Martinpuich, Bullecourt.

In November 1916 Cecil was appointed Battalion Bombing Officer. He died on 24 May 1917 at No. 45 Casualty Clearing Station near Bullecourt of wounds received three days earlier when a defective No. 5 Mills grenade thrown by Private T. Hindley exploded during training, fracturing Cecil’s skull and injuring Hindley himself and Lance Corporal Carrington. A court of enquiry held in the field, at which three witnesses gave evidence, and Hindley made a statement, concluded that no one was to blame for Cecil’s death. All described how Cecil had given the order to throw, how Hindley’s throw was a good one and made in the “regulation manner” and how the grenade exploded only six feet away from the bombing party.

Cecil was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.

Cecil’s family lived at 255 South Lambeth Road. His father, Alfred James Philcox, who died in 1913, was a timber merchant, originally from Kentish Town, north London. His mother, Alice Eliza Philcox was born in Lambeth. After Cecil and his brother Percy died in the war, two children survived: Alfred Reginald, who in 1911 was working as a clerks in a timber merchant’s office (presumably his father’s) and Ethel Beatrice Philcox.

Information from the censuses
On the night of the 1911 census Cecil Ernest Philcox, aged 15 and still at school (Dulwich College), was at his cousin’s house at 29 Kingsmead Road, Streatham. Leonard Wilfred Philcox, 13, was the son of Mervyn Philcox, 50, a watch and jewellery dealer born in Wandsworth, and Martha Jane Philcox, 51, from Lambeth. Meanwhile, his family were at 255 South Lambeth Road.

Alfred James Philcox, 59, was a timber merchant, born in Kentish Town, north London. His wife, Alice Eliza Philcox, 55, was born in Lambeth. They had five children: Cecil; Alfred Reginald Philcox, 22, and Percy William Arthur Philcox, 19, both clerks in a timber merchant’s office (presumably working with their father); Ethel Beatrice Philcox, 18; and one other. All the children were born in Lambeth. Florence Maud Philcox, 19, a niece born in Lambeth, lived with the family, as did Kate Elizabeth Percival, a 20-year-old single domestic servant from Rotherhithe, south-east London.

William Reginald Guy Pearson

by

W. R. G. Pearson
Captain, Royal Air Force, No. 4 Training Depot Station
Died in a flying accident on 20 June 1918, aged 21
Son of Reginald and Minnie Pearson
Remembered at Eastham, St Mary, Cheshire

William Reginald Guy Pearson
William Reginald Guy Pearson. Captain William Reginald Guy Pearson, R.A.F., accidentally killed at a Northern aerodrome, was the second son of Dr. and Mrs. Spencer Pearson, of Clapham Road, London S.W. An exceptionally skillful and careful pilot, he was officially credited with having brought down eleven enemy machines, and had been mentioned in despatches. From The War. Illustrated Album Deluxe: the story of the great European war told by camera, pen and pencil, by Sir John Alexander Hammerton. The Amalgamated Press, 1919.

From Flight, 4 July 1918
Capt. WILLIAM REGINALD GUY PEARSON, R.A.PV, who lost his life on June 20th at a Northern aerodrome owing to a collision in the air, in which Lieuts. McFarlane and Flynn were also killed, was the second son of Dr. and Mrs. Spencer Pearson, of Clapham Road, S.W. He was 21 years of age, and was educated at Ashdown Park and Berkhampsted, where his classical attainments promised a brilliant University career. At the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Empire Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, and later, receiving a commission in the A.S.C., proceeded to France in January, 1915. He very shortly afterwards joined the R.F.C. in France, and acted for several months as an artillery observer. Returning to England, he completed his training as a Scout pilot, and served in France in a fighting squadron for nearly a year, during which time he had over fifty encounters with enemy machines, and was officially credited with having brought down eleven German aeroplanes, many of them two-seaters. He became a flight commander and gained his captaincy, being mentioned in despatches. Capt. Pearson was a flying instructor at the time of his death, and was considered one of the most careful and skilful of pilots.

E026 W R Guy Pearson paper report 26-06-1918COLLISION IN THE AIR – THREE AVIATORS KILLED
A verdict of “Accidental death” was returned at an inquest on Friday on Captain William R. G. Pearson, of London, Lieutenant William Smith Macfarlane, of Edinburgh, and Lieutenant Vincent Flynn, of New Jersey, U.S.A., who were killed as a result of a collision while flying at a height of 1,000 feet on Thursday.

Evidence was given that Captain Pearson was in a machine with Lieutenant Macfarlane, and that Lieutenant Flynn was flying alone. They came together as though practising fighting. Pearson turned to the right, which was the rule of the force when flying, but Flynn turned to his left, and the machines collided and came to the ground wrecked. Pearson and Flynn were killed instantly and Macfarlane died a few minutes after being picked up. In the opinion of the witness, had Flynn adhered to the rules, and turned to the right, the accident would not have happened.

E026 W R Guy Pearson plaque
The wooden plaque inside the church at Eastham, St Mary, Cheshire, and the burial register from the church. Pearson is no. 995. Photo © Tracey Fisher

Record of Pearson’s 11 ‘hits‘

According to a report in the Brixton Free Press, Pearson’s father, Dr. Reginald Spencer Pearson, who had played a major part in raising money for the Stockwell Memorial Committee, was too distressed to attend its unveiling in May 1922:

[A]  gentleman whose absence was the cause for general regret was Dr. Pearson, who had identified himself so much with the progress of  the movement, and who regards the memorial in the light of the tomb of his own dear son. But Dr. Pearson felt that he could not bear the strain which the ordeal of unveiling and dedicating this memorial would impose upon him.

Information from the censuses

In 1911 William Reginald Guy Pearson lived in a 10-room house, 14 Lake Street, Leighton Buzzard. His father, Reginald Spencer Pearson, 45, a doctor from Workington, Cumbria, and mother, Minnie Savile Pearson, 40, from Wakefield, Yorkshire, had four children besides William:
James Pearson, 15, born at Parbold, Lancashire (on the 1901 census)
Kathleen Mary Pearson, 7, born at Islington, London
Richard Cuthbert Liverton Pearson, 4, born at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
Hubert Edward Spencer Pearson, 1, born at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
There were two ‘visitors’ (probably servants) in 1901, Florence Hughes Kinchliff, 27, a single mother’s help from Wakefield, and Dorothy Morris Tabor, 24, a mother’s help from St George’s in the East, London. In 1901, when the family lived at 48, Mildmay Park, Islington, there were 2 servants: a mother’s help and a page.