Down St Mary and World War I

DOWN ST MARY and WORLD WAR I

There is a memorial to the fallen of both world wars on the wall of the parish church.

Here is a list of those commemorated

Stanley Edgar Bere

Died 11^th June 1916, Age 26

Son of Edwin & Elizabeth Tremlett Bere of “Lynwood” Copplestone

Brother of Oswald Adams Bere

26^th Bn, the Royal Fusiliers

Buried Etaples Military Cemetery

This man volunteered twice but was originally rejected because he had sight in one eye only - he was finally accepted. Edwin & Elizabeth Bere kept the grocery store in Copplestone.

Oswald Adams Bere

Died 28^th August 1917. Age 23

Son of Edwin & Elizabeth Tremlett Bere of “Lynwood” Copplestone

Brother of Stanley Edgar Bere

B Coy, 2^nd/8^th Bn, Worcestershire Regiment

Remembered at Tyne Cot Memorial

George Cockram

Died 11^th July 1915, Age 16

Son of William & Ethel Cockram of Harts Tenement, Down St Mary

Royal Horse Artillery

Charles Gribble MM

Died 10^th January 1918, Age 25

Son of John & Mary Jane Gribble of Brickyard, Morchard Road

King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Remembered at Tyne Cot Memorial

Enlisted at the same time as Robert Meardon

Robert Meardon

Died 18^th July 1916, Age 21

Son of Henry & Sarah Jane Meardon of 3 Station Road, Copplestone

13^th Bn, King’s Royal Rifle Corps

Remembered at Thiepval Memorial

Butcher’s Assistant at Hatherleigh; His father was a signalman at Copplestone Station

Here is a photograph of his commemorative medal - sometimes known as the "death penny".

William George Snell

Died 4^th October 1917 Age 30

Son of Sarah Jane Snell, widow, of Wimborne, Dorset

5^th Bn, Dorsetshire Regiment

Remembered at Tyne Cot Memorial

Leonard Charles Towt

Died 29^th April 1916, Age 18

Son of Charles and Harriet Towt of Down St Mary

2^nd Bn, Dorsetshire Regiment

Buried at Amara War Cemetery, Iraq

Henry Webber

Died 31^st May 1916, Age 25

Son of Henry and Sarah Ann Webber of Down St Mary

H.M.S. Defence, Royal Navy

Remembered at Plymouth War Memorial

H.M.S. Defence was sunk on 31 May 1916 during the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the war. Escorting the main body of the Grand Fleet, the ship was fired upon by one German battlecruiser and four dreadnoughts as she attempted to engage a disabled German light cruiser. She was struck by two salvoes from the German ships that detonated her rear magazine. The fire from that explosion spread to the ship's secondary magazines, which exploded in turn. There were no survivors.

Samuel William Butt

Died 24^th March 1917, Age 23

Son of Francis John and Ellen Butt of Sturridge, Sandford

1^st Bn, Royal Marine Light Infantry

Buried at Puchevilliers War Cemetery, Somme, France