Portslade in the Past: Portslade and the First World War

Judy Middleton & D. Sharp 2014 (revised 2025)

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove (Brighton Graphic 8 July 1915)
Portslade's Reserves - F Company, 2/4^th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

Private David Isaac Andrews

David Isaac Andrews, was born in Portslade and served as a Private in the 10th Battalion, Royal West Surrey Regiment 41st Division, he died of wounds on the 24 July 1917 age 28. David Andrews is buried in Klein-Vierstraat British Cemetery in Belgium. David Andrews was a memeber of the Portslade Cricket Club.

1^st Class Boy Ernest Charles Attree

The youngster was only aged 16 when he was killed while serving aboard HMS Hawke off the north-east coast of Scotland. A torpedo from German submarine U-9 on 15 October 1914 hit the vessel near the magazine with the result that she sank within five minutes. The normal full complement of HMS Hawke was 544 officers and men but no information was released as to the numbers on board at the time of the sinking. The naval historian Dan van der Vat states that 525 men died.

Since Hawke was used for patrol, or training purposes, it was inevitable that there would be a number of boys on board. Questions were asked as to whether or not it was wise to take such youths aboard warships during hostilities. However, it had long been a tradition with the Royal Navy to train boys to work with ships while out at sea. Nelson was once a 12-year old midshipman, while Admiral Sir John Fisher was a 14-year old midshipman when he came under fire aboard HMS Highflyer.

Lieutenant Alfred James Baddeley (1899-1918)

He was the baby of the family, having two older sisters and a brother. His father Walter Smith Baddeley came originally from Manchester, but by the 1890s he was running a grocery shop in North Street, Portslade, at that time the principal shopping area.

copyright © D.Sharp
The re-ordered St Andrew's Church in 2013,
with the 'Baddeley' sanctuary stained glass widows

Lieutenant Baddeley served in the 2^nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, and was only aged nineteen when he was killed in action near Catillon on 23 October 1918. It was doubly poignant because he was so young and also because the Armistice was so near. At the time there was a concerted British attack on the German lines in the Valencienne area. Perhaps his body was never found, but his name is inscribed on the memorial at Vis-en-Artois British War Cemetery at Harcourt in the Pas de Calais, on the road from Arras to Cambrai.

It seems probable that the family was too numb with grief to think about a memorial to their son at once, and indeed it was to be ten years before it happened. The faculty was dated 21 June 1928 and was for a three-light window to be installed at St Andrew’s Church, Portslade. The window depicting the resurrection was designed by Ward & Hughes of 67 Frith Street, Soho.

The window is still to be seen to this day, but has been divided into three separate windows placed in the chancel. Lieutenant Baddeley’s name was already recorded on the church’s wooden war memorial panel, instituted in 1921.

Major Walter Hubert Baddeley (1894-1960) - DSO & Bar., MC & Bar., after the First World War he was appointed the 7^th Bishop of Melanesia, following the Second World War he was awarded the United States of America's - Medal of Freedom with Palm. (The Right Revd Walter Baddeley was Portslade's highest decorated soldier and civilian)

Copyright © National Library of Australia
The Pacific Islands Monthly
20 November 1935

By contrast to his unfortunate sibling, Walter Baddeley seemed to lead a charmed life. Indeed, his life was so extraordinary that it is a mystery why he is not more famous.

Walter Baddeley was born in Portslade on 22 March 1894 where his father ran a grocery shop in North Street, the main shopping area of Portslade in those days. His relatives called him Hubert (his second name) to avoid confusion with his father who was also called Walter. But in his later professional life he was always known as Walter.

Walter Baddeley had fond memories of his childhood at Portslade and especially the times he and his friends used to go down to the beach after school to watch the fishermen at work. The fishermen waited all ready on the shore until a shoal of mackerel was spotted and then they quickly embarked and let down their nets to enclose the fish. When the fishermen returned to shore, the boys helped them with the nets and were often given two or three mackerel for their tea.

The Baddeleys attended services at St Andrew’s and Walter became a Sunday School teacher. There cannot be many parishes that can claim to have nurtured the spiritual life of a future bishop.

copyright © G. Osborne
Walter Baddeley's humble beginnings, born above
his father's small grocer's shop in North Street
(the shop with the window adverts by the lamp post)

Walter was educated at St Nicolas School Portslade and Brighton's Municipal Secondary School in York Place, eventually with the help of an East Sussex County Council special scholarship of a £40 per annum for three years, he enrolled at Oxford University. In 1912 Walter Baddeley started on his studies at Keble College, Oxford. But when the Great War broke out, he had no hesitation in interrupting his academic life to do his bit for his country.

Walter seemed to lead a charmed life because although he was on active service from July 1915 to 1918, he came through unscathed and he was a military hero as well.

He served with the Royal Sussex and the East Surrey regiments as a Major and acting Lieutenant-Colonel.

July 1916 saw action at the Battle of the Somme.

May 1917 Mentioned in Despatches 4 times.

August 1917 awarded the Military Cross at Arras,

June 1918 awarded the Military Cross and bar at St. Quintin.

June 1918 Major in the 8^th battalion East Surrey regiment.

1919 awarded the DSO and bar and retired from the army.

copyright © D.Sharp
The people of Melanesia made this
cross with inlaid abalone shells for their
Bishop, Right Revd Walter Baddeley.
(in later years Bishop Baddeley
presented this Cross to
St Andrew's Portslade -
Parish of Portslade & Mile Oak)

Then he returned to his studies at Oxford and he was ordained a priest in 1921. In 1932 he was consecrated as the 7^th Bishop of Melanesia at St Mary’s Church, Parnell, New Zealand on 30 November, the feast day of St Andrew to remind him of his links with his old church in Portslade. He looked after a vast diocese of islands scattered over the Pacific Ocean. To get around his thousand-island Diocese, he sailed 23,000 miles a year in his ship, The Southern Cross. It must have been rather ironic for Bishop Baddeley, a Portslade man, to travel halfway around the World to find a Southern Cross as his mode of transport, knowing his Portslade’s Southern Cross (road junction) was designed to stop transport !

But the storm clouds of the Second World War were gathering and when the Japanese threat of invasion seemed imminent, he ensured his wife and children were taken to safety in Adelaide. But the Bishop famously said ‘I’m staying’ and disappeared into the bush, bringing comfort to the people he served as best he could. He was in the Solomon Islands when the Japanese invaded on 26 January 1942. The Bishop was also on hand when the Americans arrived and he became honorary chaplain to USA troops as well as those from New Zealand.
The courage of Bishop Walter Baddeley cannot be underestimated, he was 50 years old and could have left the Islands to safety in Australia, but chose to stay and face hardship in the jungle for nine months to help those around him, in the words of Bishop Baddeley, 'we lived like rabbits'.

The Americans recognized the sterling work he carried out under Japanese occupation in saving many lives of American servicemen, through medical care of the wounded and rescuing soldiers and airmen from the Japanese, and awarded him the United States Medal of Freedom with Palm, (the highest honour that the Congress of the United States of America can award to a foreigner).

The American Press dubbed Walter ‘the fighting Bishop’.

In 1944 the Bishop was created an honorary Doctor of Sacred Theology of Columbia University, New York. Time Magazine (Dec 4, 1944) reported: "Columbia University last week gave an Anglican Bishop from the South Seas an honorary degree for outstanding service in the task of winning this war".

In 1947 Walter Baddeley was appointed the Bishop of Whitby (a suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of York)

In 1954 Walter Baddeley was appointed Bishop of Blackburn.

The Right Rev. W.H. Baddeley, DSO & bar., MC & bar., DD., MA., Bishop of Blackburn died in 1960. His funeral took place at Blackburn Cathedral and was officiated by Michael Ramsey the Archbishop of York.

Walter Hubert Baddeley’s life as the 7th Missionary Bishop of Melanesia is commemorated each year on February 6th in the Melanesia Church’s Calendar of Saint's Days and Holy Days

John Frederick William Banfield

Portslade-born Banfield was injured on 19 March 1917 in the run-up to the Battle of Arras. Banfield was busily engaged, with the rest of the number one machine-gun crew, firing their Lewis gun at a nearby copse. The noise and confusion were tremendous, and it seemed that some of his comrades beat a strategic retreat, but Banfield remained obstinately at his post. A German bi-plane flew overhead, and made three complete circuits while the pilot surveyed the scene. Meanwhile, Banfield was desperately trying to fix the aircraft in his sights, but it was hopeless because the angle of the gun was all wrong. The German leant over the side of his plane, and lobbed a bomb that hit the ammunition next to Banfield, blowing it up.

Banfield was fortunate to escape with his life, but when he returned home from the Western Front, his left eye was missing and he had no feeling in that side of his face plus his right hip was injured. Surgeons managed to fuse his hip together, and eventually he was able to walk again. He was also given a glass eye but the empty socket continued to bleed from time to time. Altogether, Banfield had to endure no less than thirty-six operations to deal with his problems. Quite often, he would forget to insert his glass eye, which could have a disconcerting effect on strangers. Finally, at the age of 69, skilled surgeons created a new eye socket for him. When he came round, they were able to explain why he had suffered so many problems over the years, and showed him a kidney-dish full of shrapnel that had been extracted during the operation.

Lieutenant Arthur Wilfrid Blaker RN (1889-1915)

He came from a notable Portslade family and was born on 27 March 1889. He was the son of Arthur Beckett Blaker and Elizabeth Jane – they were second cousins, Mrs Blaker’s father being Edward Blaker of Easthill House.

Lieutenant Blaker was serving aboard HMS Inflexible, and the vessel arrived at the Dardenelles on 24 January 1915. Within three weeks she was bombarding Turkish forts although it must be admitted without much success. On 15 and 18 March she was endeavouring to provide British minesweepers with some cover by trying to silence Turkish ordnance. Unhappily, Inflexible struck a mine besides being hit several times. It was on 18 March 1915 that Lieutenant Blaker was killed in action, and he was buried at sea. It was a sad time for his mother who had been widowed in 1914, and now her eldest son was gone too. In his memory the oak reredos was installed at St Nicolas Church, Portslade. Although the oak is a beautiful mellow tone as well as a war memorial, there are plans to remove it, although it is still there in 2020. There is a memorial plaque to Lieutenant Blaker outside the building near the tower.

The Broomfield Family

John Broomfield (1868-1942) was born in Portslade Grange opposite The George Inn. He went on to become the principal farmer of a whole swathe of Portslade including North House Farm, the Stonery and Mile Oak Farm. In 1895 he married Amy Dearing, and the couple had four children – twins Albert and Amy, Frank, and Maurice. John Broomfield was somewhat of an authoritarian father and wished his sons to remain close by his side in order to assist in the running of his spread. Albert had ambitions to go to sea, but was not permitted to do so. However, when the First World War broke out, it represented a chance of independence, and he lost no time in presenting himself at the recruiting office in Brighton on 6 August 1914 – he was only seventeen.

Albert served in the RAMC and came through the war without any injuries, although he suffered an attack of malaria in November 1918, which might not have been his first encounter with the disease. However, Albert must have had the constitution of an ox because by February 1919 he became very ill with a severe case of paratyphoid, and just as he was recovering from that, he contracted enteric fever. It took him several months to get over the illnesses, and he was formally discharged from the Army on 31 July 1919. Not surprisingly, because of the illnesses he suffered during his war service, he considered there might be something a little extra for him besides his Army pension. He went before a Medical Board at Brighton in January 1920, but all that produced for him was the magnificent sum of £5 and that was that.

Frank Broomfield also joined up for service in the war, and like his brother Albert, he survived the war too. But unhappily, his constitution was nothing like as robust as Albert’s, and for whatever reason – illness or injury – he was never the same man afterwards, and he died at home in the Stonery in November 1920.

Maurice Broomfield tried to follow the example of his brothers by volunteering too. The military were happy to accept him, but he had lied about his age. When his mother informed the authorities that he was too young to be a soldier, he was swiftly returned to Portslade.

Frederick J Candy

Frederick was a fitter’s labourer at Portslade Gas Works lived at 21 George Street, Portslade, with his wife Alice and their daughter Lilian. During the First World War, Frederick was a gunner with the 315^th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. Sadly he was killed in action on the 20^th September 1918 aged 35 and was buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt, Somme, France. Frederick Candy is listed on the War Memorials in Easthill Park, St Andrew’s Church and the Portslade Gas Works which was demolished many years ago, the fate of the Portslade Gas Works War Memorial is not known.

Ethel Chandler WAAC

(Imperial War Museum)

She was actually born in Suffolk, and kept her accent for the rest of her life, but she moved to Portslade in 1912 and stayed there. She lived at 79 Trafalgar Road, which her widowed mother rented for ten shillings a week, with her sister Hilda and brother Horace. At the time Ethel was aged 17, and was doing domestic work until she was inspired by an advertisement she saw in the News of the World inviting women to join the Army. This sounded much more interesting and so on 2 December 1916 Ethel signed up for Women’s Legion that provided a uniform and paid work – it did not become the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps until January 1917. Soon Ethel was resplendent in an Army-issue skirt that had to be no shorter then 12-in from the ground, and a pudding-bowl style hat.

Ethel enjoyed the camaraderie of Army life and grew used to reveille being at 6 a.m. She worked in the cook-house where the women cooked on free-standing coal-fired ranges, but at least it was the men who kept the fires well stoked. For breakfast, they fried bacon and eggs in deep ration tins. Large boilers for heating the water were always on the go to replenish the tea urns. The numbers of men they cooked for was astonishing – up to 200 at a time. They were members of the Machine Gun Corps, and later on, the Tank Corps.

Some of the women were energetic enough to enjoy a busy social life too, but more often than not Ethel was quite content to retire to her cubicle for an early night. On some nights, a military band gave departing soldiers a musical send-off. Then there would be the sound of girls sobbing for their sweethearts. Ethel too had a sweetheart, but tragically, he died in the war, and she never did marry, saying nobody could ever replace him; she kept a framed photograph of him close at hand. She returned to Portslade in December 1919.

Sidney Chappell

Unlike so many of his compatriots who served during the First World War, Sidney Chappell was a seasoned, professional soldier who had joined the 1^st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, in 1903. Also unlike his family and friends back home in Portslade, he was able to see something of the world as well, since his postings took him to Malta, Crete, Belfast and India. There is a lovely story his family is fond of relating, about the time he came home on leave bearing a fine shawl and a parrot. During the long sea voyage, Chappel had plenty of time to teach his parrot some English words and phrases, but he was careful the parrot did not acquire swear words because he did not want to upset his female relatives.

Chappell’s Battalion was still serving in India when his time for leave came up, and he set off for home with war clouds looming because the year was 1914. During his leave, he met and fell in love with an Irish girl, and impulsively proposed marriage. But she was more cautious and told him she would think about it and let him know her answer. When Chappell’s leave ended, he was not sent back to India to join his comrades-in-arms, but despatched to France. His Irish sweetheart sent him a Dear John letter, turning down his offer of marriage. As a final tragic twist, it is not known whether or not he ever read the missive before being killed in action at Vendresse on 14 September 1914.

John F. Charles

John lived at 14 George Street, Portslade, enlisted into the 2^nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. He was killed in action on the 24^th November 1916 aged 20. He is buried in Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt L'Abbe, France. John Charles' name is listed on the War Memorials in Easthill Park and St Andrew’s Church

Brighton Graphic
Albert Colbourne

1^st Class Stoker Albert Bertie Colbourne RN

His parents lived at 9 East Street, Portslade, and he was only aged 22 when he was killed in action aboard HMS Queen Mary at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the same battle in which another Portslade sailor, Chief Stoker Arthur Corney, was also killed.

HMS Queen Mary was a modern battle cruiser, and in fact she was the last to be launched before the war started. She put up a great battle but was targeted by German ships Seydlitz and Derfflinger. HMS Queen Mary was hit amidships, and exploded, sending debris flying high into the air before raining down on two adjacent British ships. Queen Mary’s death toll came to 1,200 officers and men with just two survivors.

Bernard Comber

Bernard Comber of 6 George Street, Portslade, joined the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1915. On the 9^th April 1917 Bernard was involved in the attack on German trenches near Arras when he was severely wounded, and sadly died the following day in a field hospital. Bernard died aged 26, leaving a wife and two sons.
Bernard Comber’s name is listed on the War Memorials, in East Hill Park, Worthing and Haywards Heath where he enlisted into the Royal Sussex Regiment.

Private Albert Cook

He was born in 1892 in Kemp Town, Brighton, but he was educated at St. Andrew’s School, Portslade. By 1914 he was living at 10 St Leonard’s Road, Hove, and working as a decorator. He joined the 2^nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, and was killed in action on 14 November 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. His name appears in the Portslade War Memorial, as well as being inscribed on the brass plaques of Hove’s Roll of Honour at Hove Library.

Chief Stoker Arthur Corney RN

He was serving aboard HMS Invincible and took part in the Battle of Jutland 31 May/ 1 June 1916 in which he was killed in action. HMS Invincible was Admiral Hood’s flagship of the 3^rd Battle Cruiser Squadron, and was a massive ship of 17, 250 tons with eight 12-inch guns. Unfortunately, under heavy fire, one shot found its way down ‘Q’ turret exploding the magazine, and causing the ship to sink. Not only that, but the ferocity split the ship into three parts. Admiral Hood and 1,025 officers and men died, with just six survivors. Other local men lost in Invincible were Leading Signalman Ernest George Aldous, Carpenter Henry Marshall Arthur Patching, and Chief Engine-Room Artificer Robert Darney Ramsay, all from Hove.

The Battle of Jutland was a complicated one with heroism and mistake on both side. The British fleet was smaller with 21 ships while the Germans had 37 ships. The British death toll was 6,097 men while the Germans only lost 2,551 men. Germany hailed it as a great victory and celebrated while Britain mourned her dead and flew flags at half-mast. In fact the battle was inconclusive, and if Germany had indeed won an overwhelming victory then it is more than likely that Germany would have gone on to win the war as well.

Able Seaman C. Findlay RNVR

Able Seaman C. Findlay RNVR
HMS Clio, 24 November 1918
(Portslade Cemetery)

Strangely enough, this man’s name does not appear in the War Memorial in Easthill Park, nor in St Nicolas or St Andrew’s, although he was buried in Portslade Cemetery, and died on 24 November 1918. But the official War Graves stone records that he saw service in HMS Clio. It seems probable that since he was a member of the RNVR, he was a man of mature years during his war service, rather than a youngster.

HMS Clio has an interesting history. By the time of the First World War, she could best be described as an ancient relic, having been launched way back in 1858. She served as a training ship from 1877 to 1920, moored in the Menai Straights, and known in popular parlance as the ‘naughty boys’ ship’. This was because boys convicted of petty crimes, or who were orphans, or boys in difficult circumstances, could be sent to HMS Clio to be trained up for a career at sea. Not all boys decided to become sailors when they left the ship, and some unfortunate lads never made it that far. In the nearby churchyard of St Tegfan’s Church, there are the graves of more than 30 boys; probably most of that number died of disease and illness, because unlike normal schools that might close when an epidemic occurred, no such provision was provided on Clio. The vessel could contain up to 260 boys, and living in such close quarters, disease could quickly spread. Conditions were undeniably harsh, and some boys were known to have lost toes because of frostbite. The Captain was well aware of the situation and often complained to the authorities, but to no avail. However, the most poignant burial at St Tegfan’s was the boy who died of brain injuries after being bullied by other boys; there were also two fatalities caused by falling off the mast and off the rigging.

It is probable that Able Seaman Findlay was an instructor on Clio, and he would not have had any say in where he was despatched to serve. Possibly, he died of one of the virulent infections going around.

Alfred and Lucy Ford

Sidney Chappell, already mentioned, had a sister called Lucy, and she married Alfred Ford. At first the young couple lived at Cowper Street, Hove, then they moved to Wolseley Road in 1903, and by the time war broke out, the family were to be found at Norway Street, larger premises than they had been used to, but then there were five children, and more space was necessary. Alfred enlisted in the Royal Engineers and Lucy was left to cope with her brood on her own. She must have found it very hard work, and indeed it seems that wartime conditions proved a greater strain for her than war service seemed to have been for her husband. He returned unscathed, and promptly fathered a sixth child. But this was just too much for poor Lucy, aged 41, who died six weeks after the birth. This left the unfortunate eldest daughter Edith to cope with housekeeping and child-care duties. The young girl had to put up with scornful looks when strangers saw her out and about with a baby and young children, but with no wedding ring on her finger.

Charles Ernest Forrest

He was a printer by trade, having been apprenticed to the well-known firm of Emery whose premises were situated on the corner of Vallance Road and Church Road, Hove, and where the Hove Echo was printed. He and his wife Charlotte Mary lived at 9 St Andrew’s Road. They had a son called Reg who was born in 1914. Charles Forrest enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery, and was away from home for much of the war but he did survive the fighting. Meanwhile, young Reg had a very vivid memory of an event that happened on 22 May 1917. He was happily playing with other children in North Street in the evening sunshine when suddenly two British planes collided overhead, and pieces of metal and scraps of fuselage clattered down on the road all around them. The two young men killed in the accident were 2^nd Lieutenant Cyril Frederick Crapp (who was buried in the churchyard of St Leonard’s Aldrington) and 2^nd Lieutenant William John Douglas Vince.

Lieutenant Edward John French RN

Lieutenant French served aboard HMS Good Hope, an elderly heavy cruiser that was launched in 1901, and was actually on the reserve list at the outbreak of war. But she was soon pressed into service, and unfortunately the largely inexperienced crew included reservists and cadets.

HMS Good Hope and her sister ship HMS Monmouth, together with HMS Otranto and HMS Glasgow, were expecting to come across three small German cruisers of the Dresden type, but unfortunately they stumbled across the cream of the German East Indies Squadron – Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Leipzig and Dresden.

The German ships cleverly managed to manoeuvre the British ships so that they were outlined by the setting sun, thus, like sitting ducks, presenting a perfect target. Although the British ships were well armed with light guns, they were no match for the heavy guns of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Glasgow and Otranto were ordered to make a run for it but the Good Hope and Monmouth were sunk with all hands resulting in the loss of 1,600 men. It was of course a tremendous blow to British pride, being her first Naval defeat sine 1812. A helpless eye-witness aboard HMS Otranto has left the following account:

‘After being in action for about five minutes … the Good Hope was on fire about her bridge, and a few minutes later the Monmouth was ablaze. The thundering of the guns and the bursting of the shells were now terrible, and if there is a hell of fire it must be a Naval battle. At this time we received orders from the Good Hope to get out of range of the enemy’s guns, which we did. And then all we could do was to look on helpless, and I hope to God in heaven that I will never have to witness such a sight again. There was the Good Hope and Monmouth on fire and being shelled unmercifully by the enemy, and with over 200 boys between them, and 300 men in this ship who could not even raise a hand to help them – only stand and look. At about 7.15 p.m. a broadside from the enemy hit the Good Hope fore of the bridge, and her bows were then almost under water.’

The battle took place on 1 November (All Saints Day) 1914 off the coast of Chile. The outraged Admiralty immediately despatched HMS Inflexible and HMS Invincible plus three light cruisers in hot pursuit. The Scharnhorst capsized, taking all the crew with her while the captain of the Gneisenau ordered his vessel to be scuttled, and the British managed to rescue 176 German sailors. Two other German vessels were sunk but the Dresden escaped. While the British watched the Leipzig disappear under the waves, a petty officer noticed a pig swimming frantically in the water – and it too was rescued, and stayed aboard for a year as a ship’s mascot.

At Portslade Lieutenant French was not forgotten. Besides the impressive monument, complete with anchor and draped urn, on which his name appears in Portslade Cemetery, there was a beautiful stained-glass window in his memory in St Andrew’s Church, Portslade, depicting Jesus coming to the rescue of Peter who is sinking beneath the waves. Unhappily, it is no longer there.

The 'Lieutenant Edward John French' stained glass window was removed from St Andrew's in 2003 when the Church was converted into a dual Church/Community Centre and found a safe home in the London Stained Glass Repository. which is a charity run by the Worshipful Company of Glaziers. It is pleasing to note that in March 2018 the ‘Portslade-Lt E.J. French’ stained glass window, was installed above the High Altar in the Catholic Church of St Anselm’s Pembury.

2^nd Lieutenant Arthur Gates

It was in 1908 that Arthur Gates became a teacher at St Nicolas School, Portslade. Four years later a certain young lady by the name of Gladys Austen became a member of staff there too. Presumably, they got along well as fellow teachers but there does not seem to have been a romantic spark between them. In addition, Gladys was friendly with other members of the Gates family, but there was certainly no special ‘understanding’ between Arthur and Gladys when he was called up in 1914. Perhaps absence really does make the heart grown fonder. At any rate when Gates was eventually demobbed with the rank of 2^nd lieutenant, he asked his mother whether or not Gladys was ‘spoken for’. She told him she was not engaged but he had better get a move on.

Even so the couple did not marry until 1921. Of course Gates was not the same man after his war experiences, and he did not want to settle down in Portslade at that stage, taking a post in Cologne, and they moved there as a married couple. But they could not put down roots there either, and so it was back to Sussex. This time Gates took a teaching post in Portslade-by-Sea at St Andrew’s School, and the couple lived in a house in Carlton Terrace. Gates was a man of many talents. He enjoyed teaching woodwork to the boys and he also liked to work at it as a hobby. He would carve hymn boards for local churches, and he also inscribed names of Old Boys on the back of chairs in Lancing College Chapel. Gates had a musical talent as well and played the violin and harp.

After such a long acquaintance, it is sad to record that the Gates marriage was of short duration. Poor Gladys was a bride in 1921 and a widow in 1925. Gates became very ill with pneumonia and he did not recover, probably his constitution had been undermined during the war, and he died on 30 November 1925. But this was not recognised in official circles because the cut-off date had been fixed at 31 August 1921 – this meant that any man dying prematurely after war service would not be recognised as a casualty. Gladys gave birth to Muriel in 1922 when she was 35 years old, Don followed in 1924, and Graham was born three months after his father’s death. Gladys had no choice but to return to full-time teaching in order to provide for her children.

Lance Corporal John Vernon Hallen (1896-1918)

John Vernon Hallen served with the London Regiment (1^st Surrey Rifles) 21^st Battalion. He was killed in a gas attack on trenches near Amiens on 6 April 1918. He is buried in the Senlis Communal Cemetery in France. His name is listed on his old school’s Great War Memorial at St Bartholomew’s School, Newbury, Berkshire.

As a resident of Portslade, with his strong family connections to the place and his father a very well known local celebrity in Portslade, Brighton and Hove, it is a mystery as to why his name was not listed on the War Memorial in Easthill Park or on the War Memorial in St Nicolas Church.

His father, Mr John Charles Rokeby-Hallen was the owner of the Brighton & Hove & South Sussex Graphic newspaper, a prolific author of nationally published sports books, the Honorable Recruiting Officer for the ‘Sportsmen's Battalion’ in the Brighton and Hove area, Vice President of the Portslade Allotments Association and the Vice President of the Portslade Rifle Club. John Rokeby-Hallen lived in a grand house called the Highlands near Portslade’s Sellaby House, and his daughters attended Girton House School in Hove. John Rokeby-Hallen died in Southlands Hospital, Shoreham in 1954 aged 88.

Lance Corporal Horace Hemsley MM

He was born in 1891 at Wandsworth but educated in Portslade. In civilian life he was a boiler attendant, and when he enlisted on 22 September 1911 he was living at 52 Ellen Street, Hove. He joined the Cyclist Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, and later transferred to the Army Cycling Corps. In November 1914 he was sent to France. He was awarded a Military Medal for his actions on 2 August 1917 at Ypres when, under heavy shellfire, he bravely managed to extricate seven Royal Field Artillery drivers, and seven Royal Engineers; he dressed their wounds and sent them back to the dressing station. While he was engaged in his heroic mission, he was wounded in the back, but he survived the war.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
A 1915 postcard showing soldiers from the 6th Cyclist Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment in Stoneham Park.
The bottom left of the image is the text, 'WE ARE OFF - FOLLOW ON'
(In the background is the spire of St Barnabas Church in Sackville Road, Hove.)

Ordinary Seaman Frederick William Tubbs Holdstock

He was born at Portslade in 1899, but later moved to Hove where he lived at 30 Linton Road. He worked as a laundry hand before enlisting on 8 March 1917. Apparently, he had two brothers who were both killed while serving with the Army. But since their names do not appear on War Memorials in Portslade or Hove, they must have moved away from the locality. Frederick's name is listed on the War Memorial in the vestibule of Hove Library.

Ordinary Seaman Holdstock had a very short time of service – not even one year – because he drowned in January1918 while serving aboard HMS Opal. It is especially poignant because HMS Opal was present at the Battle of Jutland, and although she attacked some German ships, and was fired upon, she survived, only to be lost in atrocious weather off Scotland. On 12 January 1918 HMS Opal and her sister ship HMS Narborough plus the light cruiser HMS Boadicea were sent out on a Dark Nigh Patrol to search for any German vessels that might be laying mines. At first weather conditions were fine, but then a fierce blizzard blew in, there was no visibility, and mountainous waves. The two destroyers were in danger of foundering, and the captain of Boudicea ordered them back to Scapa Flow. They sailed home at a slow rate but then four hours later the captain of the Boadicea received a message from Opal that she had run aground. However, the weather condition were too extreme to mount a search, two days later the battered wrecks of Narborough and Opal were discovered with no life aboard. There is a memorial at Windwick Bay, South Ronaldsay, to the 188 men who were ‘lost on the rocks of Hesta’ and there was just one survivor.

Private Herbert Charles Jay

Was born in Brighton in 1897 and served in the 3^rd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, sadely he was fatally injured while in training in a gymnasium in Newhaven on the 19 August 1915, aged 18. He was the son of George Matthias and Emma Elizabeth Jay of 36, St. Aubyns Road, Portslade. He was buried in the Bear Road Cemetery, Brighton.

His brother, Private Ernest Albert Jay who was born in Shoreham in 1896, served in the 2^nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment was killed just over a month later in action at Hulluch in France on the 13 October 1915, aged 19. The brothers names are listed on the St Andrew's Church War Memorial and also the Portslade War Memorial in Easthill Park.

James W. Lavender

James W. Lavender of 18 George Street, Portslade, an Engine Driver on the short railway line at Portslade Gas Works, served as a Stoker 2^nd Class on H.M.S. Ghurka and was lost at sea at the age of 19 years old when his ship hit a German mine off Dungeness on the 8^th February 1917. Only 5 of the crew survived, sadly 74 of the crew were killed in the explosion. The wreck of H.M.S. Ghurka is now designated as a ‘protective place’ under the Military Remains Act 1986. James Lavender’s name is listed on the War Memorials in Easthill Park, St Andrew’s Church and Portslade Gas Works, which was demolished many years ago, the fate of the Gas Works War Memorial is not known.

(The non-standard spelling of ‘Ghurka’ was used for the name of this ship, which was built at the Hawthorn Leslie's shipyard at Hebburn on the River Tyne in 1907)

Private Morgan Henry Mason

His father was Corporal G. H. Mason of the Scots Guards but young Morgan became one of the many boys who attended Portslade Industrial School. His presence at that institution indicated that he came from a troubled background, and perhaps had begun to go off the rails. The prevailing wisdom in those days was that a well-ordered routine, discipline and education would help solve their problems. Indeed, many of the boys learned useful trades that would stand them in good stead to earn money later on – amongst the trades taught were boot-making, carpentry, tailoring, and helping on the smallholding, or with the pigs the school kept. In addition the school boasted a brass and reed band, which performed regularly at local functions. The standard of musicianship was high enough to encourage some boys to enter the Army as musicians.

Private Mason joined the 1^st Battalion of the Welsh Regiment, and it is sad to record that he was just sixteen years old when he was killed in action at Ypres on 25 May 1915. One can only hope that he had at least enjoyed his time at Portslade.

Two other boys from Portslade Industrial School were Army musicians. They were Bandsman Albert Chase of the 4^th Battalion, Rifle Brigade, killed in action on 14 May 1915, and Bandsman William Glazier of the 2^nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, killed in action on 12 January 1915.

Deckhand A. Miles RNR

This is a similar case to that of Able Seaman Findlay, because both men served in training ships and both were buried in Portslade Cemetery, although their names do not appear on any local War Memorials. Perhaps it was because they did not die in action, or during active service abroad, but died while serving on training ships in the United Kingdom. However, the Imperial War Graves Commission must have held a more compassionate view because the men had done their duty during the war and were therefore entitled to an official stone.

Since the stone recorded that Miles was in the Royal Naval Reserve, it indicates that he had served in the Royal Navy during his younger days, but when war broke he was liable to be re-called. He most probably served as an instructor on HMS Victory but since there were at least eight training ships with the same name during the war, it is impossible to state whereabouts he served.

Private Frederick Isaiah Miles

Frederick Miles, was the captain of the Portslade Cricket Club's Second Team, he was born in Portslade and served as a Private in the 26th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. 41st Division. He was killed in action on the 4 October 1918 age 40. Frederick Miles is buried in Dadizeele, New British Cemetery in Belgium. Frederick Miles' name is listed on the Portslade War Memorial as well as the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green.

Gordon Miles

He was educated at St Andrew’s School, Portslade, and merits a mention in the school records because he managed to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp, and in June 1918 the children were given a day’s holiday to celebrate this feat of an Old Boy.

Lieutenant Joseph Mills

Lieutenant Joseph Mills gravestone in Portslade Cemetery,

his name is not listed on the Portslade War Memorial

Able Seaman Walter Nye

Walter Nye was a veteran sailor who had served in the Royal Navy for twelve years, after which he lived at 27 Franklin Road, Portslade. His civilian job was as foreman of the Southern Counties Dairies, 146 Church Road, Hove, whose manager was Mr J. F. Hunter.

However, when war broke out, Nye re-enlisted in August 1914, being assigned to HMS Alert. He then found himself in Mesopotamia where he was one of a 49-team of sailors manning a horse-boat that conveyed equipment and supplies up the river to the British Army. But the sailors were left in an unfortunate position when General Townshend decided to retreat from Ctesiphon, and the Turks took the sailors prisoner.

The prisoners-of-war were kept in terrible conditions, and many men died needlessly. For example, when 2,500 British survivors of the terrible siege of Kut were taken captive by the Turks, only 700 returned home. There were around 9,300 Indian troops at Kut but 2,500 died afterwards.

Able Seaman Walter Nye died of enteritis while still in Turkish hands on 13 August 1916.

Private Frederick Peters

copyright © C. Peters copyright © D. Sharp
Private Frederick Peters. The above monument is a non-official War Grave in Portslade Cemetery, it was erected by his grieving parents, Mr and Mrs Peters of 29, Elm Road - ‘In Loving Memory of Our Dear Son, F. G. Peters of the 1^st Bn, East Surrey Regiment, who died in action on 22 October 1918 aged 19 at Solesmes’.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Frederick George Peters died on the 21 October 1918 and is buried at Amerval, Solesmes in northern France.

The Peters family lived at 29 Elm Road, Portslade, and Frederick Peters, senior, was foreman of the paint shop at Portslade Gas Works.

Frederick Peters, junior, had two brothers, and one sister, plus a step-sister. The family seemed complete and it must have been a great shock all round when Mrs Peters became pregnant at the age of 45, while her husband was ten years older than her. Cecil Peters was born in 1915 and had no memories at all of his older brother who had joined the Army. Private Frederick Peters of the 1^st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, was killed in action on 21 October 1918, only eleven days before the Armistice.

Private Harry Pierce

Harry Pierce of the 2^nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment was killed in action at Richebourg, France on 9 May 1915. He was born in Portslade and lived at 17 Shelldale Road. Harry’s name is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial, St Nicolas Church Roll of Honour and the Portslade War Memorial in Easthill Park.

George Pumfrey

Brighton Graphic
George Pumfrey
19, George Street
Killed in action
23 July 1916

George Pumfrey of 19 George Street, Portslade, was a waggon boy with the Anglo American Oil Company in the Aldrington Basin. George joined the Royal Sussex Regiment 2^nd Battalion and was killed in action on the Somme on the 23 July 1916 aged 21. George’s name is commemorated on the War Memorials in Easthill Park and St Andrew’s Church, Portslade.

George's brother Walter T. Pumfrey also of 19 George Street, was passed medically unfit for active front line duty, but was accepted into the 6^th Battalion of the Labour Corps. The Labour Corps was made up with both skilled and unskilled British and Empire military personnel. They carried wounded soldiers from the front and also built military roads and railways. Walter survived the War.

David Walter Richardson

David Walter Richardson, an Ordinary Seaman on the H.M.S. Victory I (The Duchess) was drowned on the 1^st July 1917 aged 19 years old, while sailing from Newhaven to France with war supplies. The Duchess was involved in a collision with H.M.S. Cossack, 3 miles off the Royal Sovereign Shoals near Eastbourne. The collision and sinking of The Duchess resulted in the loss of all hands.

David was a farm labourer by trade and lived with his parents, Alfred and Kate E Richardson at 45, Shelldale Road.

David Walter Richardson has no known grave or Naval memorial listing, but he was not forgotten in Portslade as his name is listed on the St Nicolas Church Roll of Honour and the Portslade War Memorial in Easthill Park.

David Sharp, Canadian Army Medical Corps

David Sharp was not Portslade-born but since he lived at 81 Trafalgar Road for thirty-seven years, he could certainly claim to be Portsladian by adoption. In fact, he had done a fair bit of travelling before settling down on the south coast. He was born in 1897 at Kelvinside, Glasgow. It must have been a wrench for his family to leave Scotland for good, having originated from the Isles and being Gaelic speakers – the very English sounding surname of Sharp was the nearest approximation in sound to their Gaelic surname. Like so many Scots, it seemed to them that the land of opportunity lay across the Atlantic, and so in 1911 off they set from Liverpool bound for Canada, the family consisting of David Sharp, his mother, father, sister and brother.

The family settled in Winnipeg. They could have ignored the tiresome war in Europe, and besides it was all expected to be over by Christmas. But Sharp badly wanted to volunteer to do his bit, except under Canadian law he could not do so until he was aged nineteen. When he enlisted on 1 January 1915 he claimed he was over nineteen, and his height might have had something to do with being accepted because he was nearly 6-ft tall – quite a good height in those days – in fact he looked like a typical gangly Highlander with dark hair. He was in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, which was quite an exclusive outfit because you had to be of Scottish descent, and of good character. After initial training, Sharp was assigned to the 32^nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry, and sailed from Montreal aboard SS Grampian on June 1915.

His stay in England was remarkably short because he was struck down with a nasty case of pneumonia, and was obliged to go to hospital. His illness badly affected his eyesight so that he was semi-blind for a while. He was given an Honourable Discharge and sent back to Canada where he completed his formal discharge papers in Quebec in July 1915.

His family were pleased to have him at home again, but Sharp was bitterly disappointed. As soon as he had recovered, he volunteered again, and was passed as fit for service, being assigned this time to the 45^th Battalion. He was back in England by March 1916.
Because of his impaired eyesight and unfit for for front line duty he was assigned to the Canadian Army Medical Corps. He served in various hospitals in England before being despatched to the Kitchener Hospital, Brighton, which had once been a Workhouse. Sharp also worked in the Indian Military Hospital, York Place, as well as the hospital set up in the premises of the Brighton, Hove & Sussex Grammar School.

There was a newsagent’s shop not far from York Place, which was run by the young and lovely Mabel Perrin, on behalf of her father who owned three shops. Sharp fell head over heels in love with Mabel, and after a mere five months in Brighton, his heart was set on marriage. Naturally, being in uniform he had to ask for permission from his commanding officer, and this was granted on 24 July 1917. The happy couple were married on 2 September 1917 at St Saviour’s Church, Brighton.

After the war the Sharps sailed back to Canada, strangely enough on the very same vessel that had taken Sharp on his first voyage – SS Grampian. They arrived at St John on 10 March 1919, and then there was a slog of almost 2,000 miles by train and ferry to reach Winnipeg. Somehow the Sharps were unable to settle, and by 1919 were back in Brighton where their first child was born, followed by five more born at Clyde Road Brighton, and two at Trafalgar Road Portslade.

Captain James Anderson Slater MC, DFC (1896-1925)

His family home was in Old Shoreham Road, Portslade, and he was educated just over the border in Southwick at Merton House School in Roman Road. His service record during the First World War was remarkable – at first he served with the Royal Sussex Regiment, then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, as the fledgling air service was then known, and became one of the founding members of the RAF. Within the short period of six months in 1918 his brave actions earned him not just two Military Crosses, but also the Distinguished Flying Cross, being one of the first recipients of the latter award, which was only introduced on 3 June 1918. On the Western Front the gallant Captain had shot down 24 enemy planes.

The first citation for the Military Cross on 3 June 1918 mentioned his ‘conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty’. He was returning from a routine patrol when he caught sight of some enemy infantry, and launched an attack, silencing a field gun, and firing on transport. On another occasion when the weather was extremely difficult, he managed to silence a battery, fired at ammunition wagons and enemy infantry, and brought his patrol safely back. The second MC citation was dated 22 June 1918.

The citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross was dated 3 August 1918 and stated, ‘This officer has led numerous offensive patrols with the utmost skill and determination and it is entirely due to his fine leadership that many enemy aircraft have been destroyed with the minimum of casualties to his formation.’

It is sad to record that having survived so many wartime dangers, Captain Slater died in a plane crash aged 29 on 26 November 1925 at Upavon.

copyright © D. Sharp
The beautiful stained
glass window at
St Andrew’s Church
is in memory of
Ronald C. Sundius Smith.

Strangely enough, on 25 November 2010, the day before the 85^th anniversary of his death, his Military Cross and Bar were to be auctioned at Spink’s, Bloomsbury. (Argus 19/11/10)

2^nd Lieutenant Ronald Christian Sundius Smith (1894-1915)

He was the son of Frederick Sundius Smith and his wife Emily Beatrice. His father was an important man in Portslade, running the Britannia Flour Mills, being a trustee of Shoreham Harbour, as well as a councillor. In the 1890s the family lived in Courtenay House, Courtenay Terrace, Portslade – in those days an up-market address. The family eventually consisted of two daughters and five sons but the young 2^nd Lieutenant was the only son to die in the war.

He was aged just twenty when he was killed in action at Neuve Chappelle on 12 March 1915. His family felt his loss deeply and commissioned a beautiful stained-glass window depicting St George in his memory at St Andrew’s Church, Portslade – it was the creation of Sir Edward Burne-Jones and the William Morris Company. 2^nd Lieutenant R. C. Sundius Smith was attached to the 2^nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, when he was killed, although technically he belonged to the Indian Army. Two of his brothers were also involved in the sub-continent, and were as follows:

Colonel Donald Geoffrey Sundius Knightley Smith, 1^st Battalion, 15^th Punjab Regiment, Indian Army (1892-1986)

Lieutenant Colonel Brian Leslie Sundius Smith DSO, Baluch Regiment, Indian Army (1895-1965)

Private Richard Thomas Telling (1891-1917)

Richard Telling came to Portslade as a youngster because he was actually born in Brixton to a London-based family. The 1911 census finds the Telling family living in Portslade. The parents were Frederick and Agnes, and Richard had three sisters – Violet, Nellie and Adeline. Fredrick worked as a cooper at Portslade Brewery, his workplace being a stone’s throw away from his house at 5 Southdown Cottages.

The Southdown cottages were somewhat special because they had been built for senior workers at the Brewery with a garden large enough to grow vegetables. The cottages are still there, although now absorbed into Southdown Road. Richard also worked at the Brewery as an apprentice cooper.

Telling was probably already in the Territorials before the war began. He became Private Richard Thomas Telling (381097) of the 15^th (Service) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment. By 3 October 1914 he was to be found at Bustard Camp, Salisbury, Wiltshire, and from there he sent a postcard to his sweetheart Dora Aldridge.

It was she who treasured the mementoes of her lost love, including the photos he sent her and some newspaper cuttings. At that time Telling had no idea of where he might be sent but by December 1914 he and the other Territorials had arrived in India to a wonderful reception in order to relieve regiments of regular soldiers for service at the Front.

copyright © J.Middleton
Richard Telling is third from the left standing in this group of soldiers of the Hampshire Regiment at Bustard Camp, Salisbury in 1914

By 1917 Telling was back in Europe with his comrades, and on 1 August 1917 he was killed in action in Flanders. It must have been heavy fighting because his name is remembered on panel 35 at the Menin Gate, Ypres. This meant that his body was never recovered and therefore he has no known grave. See also the Portslade Cricket Club page for more information on Richard Thomas Telling.

The Tidy Brothers

Ernest and John Tidy most probably lost their father in childhood because their mother re-married, becoming Mrs Jenner, and the family lived at 50 High Street, Portslade, one of those old flint cottages.

Able Seaman Ernest Tidy was only aged seventeen and aboard HMS Viknor when that vessel went down on 13 January 1915 some eleven miles off the coast of Ireland, and west of Tory Island, County Donegal. It is not known exactly why the vessel sank – she could have struck a mine, but there were also heavy seas at the time. In peacetime, she had been a gracious passenger ship, but when war broke out, she was requisitioned. It was a dreadful tragedy with not one survivor living to tell the tale – all 22 officers and 173 men perished in the rough waters. In the days following the disaster, Irish people had the melancholy experience of finding many bodies washed ashore. Another local casualty from HMS Viknor was 1^st class Petty Officer John George Townsend of Ellen Street, Hove.

John Tidy served with the Royal Horse Artillery during the war. Although his mother must have been very relieved when he returned home in one piece, it is sad to relate that he was totally deaf – the noise of exploding shells had shattered his ear drums. His mother assumed that he would never again be employed in a normal job, and so she purchased a smallholding for him at Mile Oak. Of course he was grateful for her kindness, and although he kept the smallholding, he was also determined to return to his former job as a maintenance engineer at the Petersfield Laundry, Old Shoreham Road, Portslade.

Eventually his persistence paid off, and he returned to work at the laundry where he also met his future wife Daisy Blaber. After marriage, John and Daisy, moved in with Mrs Jenner in the old cottage where space was at a premium, especially when a daughter and son were born. John Tidy learnt to lip-read and it infuriated him when other people assumed that because he was deaf, he was also daft, asking his wife questions such as ‘Does he take sugar?’ which made him cross. But being deaf was also an advantage when it came to a quarrel – he would simply turn his head away and close his eyes.

Trafalgar Road

Although Trafalgar Road is of no great length, there were eleven losses:

Number 42 – Private William Watkin Wynn, died at home, 19 August 1916

Number 56 – Private John Harold Curtis Wareham, killed in action, 9 May 1915

Number 70 – Private Albert George Booker, killed in action, 31 July 1917

Number 72 – Steward Emmanuel Tester, SS John Miles, drowned 22 February 1917

Number 74 – Guardsman Percy Steele, killed in action, 26 December 1916

Number 76 – Private Ernest George Pratt, died of dysentery, 13 December 1918

Number 87 – Private William James Timms, killed in action, 25 March 1918

Number 105 – Sergeant Herbert Reeves, killed in action, 14 February 1916 (lived at this address in 1911)

Number 109 – Private Gordon Abraham Peters, died of his wounds in Egypt, 23 March 1918

Number 132 – Lance Sergeant Neil Murray Campbell, killed in action, 30 September 1918

Number 143 – Private Albert Frank Strevens, killed in action, 3 September 1917

2^nd Engineer Robert Shaw Wilkinson

Wilkinson and his wife Ellen lived at 7 North Street, Portslade. He earned his living working aboard the colliers that brought cargoes of coal from the north-east of England to fuel Portslade Gas Works. His ship was called the SS John Miles, after one of the directors of the Gas Works. This ship set sail from Jarrow on Tyne on 22 February 1917 with her holds packed full with 870 tons of coal, but she never made it back to Portslade. The fact that she was fully laden was a disadvantage when German submarine U-21 fired a torpedo into her port side. The fourteen-strong crew had no time to make preparations to abandon ship because the SS John Miles sank within two minutes. Nine men drowned, and the five survivors struggled to stay afloat by clutching some of the wreckage. Fortunately, within a short space of time a British minesweeper appeared on the scene, rescued the men and put them ashore at Hartlepool. Sadly, the experience was too much for 2^nd Engineer Wilkinson, aged 54, who died aboard the minesweeper. His body was brought back and he was buried in Portslade Cemetery.

There was a local inquest into the deaths of three men, including Wilkinson. Survivor Seaman William Phillips told the jury that ‘all the hatches were blown off by the explosion and the starboard lifeboat was filled with coal.’ Of course the authorities did not know at that time that a torpedo was to blame, and so they concluded that the vessel had encountered a hostile mine, and the men had drowned in the North Sea. Another Portslade victim from the SS John Miles was Steward Emmanuel Tester, aged 61, from 72 Trafalgar Road.

The location where the SS John Miles sank was 11 miles south-east of Hartlepool. In August 2007 the ship’s brass bell was discovered and brought to the surface by members of a sub-aqua club. The bell was inscribed with the ship’s name, the date 1908 (when she was built) and London (where she was registered).

Portslade Cemetery – War Graves

These graves and private memorials are scattered throughout the south side of Portslade Cemetery in Victoria Road, and they have official Imperial War Graves Commission headstones, unless otherwise stated.

Anderson, J. MGC (Inf) 9 March 1919 (private memorial)

Church, Pte C. A. Royal Sussex Regt 18 April 1916 age 40

Farmer, Pte C. H. Royal Sussex Regt 22 July 1917

Findlay, Able Seaman C. RNVR HMS Clio 24 November 1918

French, Lt Edward John RN HMS Good Hope 1 November 1914 aged 31 (an elaborate private memorial)

Goble, L/Bombardier W. RGA 25 April 1921

Goddard, Pte L. A W. RASC 28 February 1919 - (listed on Brighton's War Memorial)

Luff, Pte E. Royal Sussex Regt 18 April 1916 age 40

March, Pte G.W. Royal Sussex Regt 7 April 1916 age 31

Miles, Deckhand A. RNR HMS Victory 20 July 1918 age 48

Moody, Rifleman H. M. King’s Royal Rifle Corps 7 July 1918 age 18

Moore, Pte G. P. Bedfordshire Regt 20 April 1918 age 21

Oakley, Pte J. W. Royal Marine Artillery 21 September 1918 aged 18

Sargeant, Pte C. Essex Regt 25 May 1915 age 23

Sinnock, 1^st class Stoker J. C. G. HMS Victory 29 May 1919 age 38

Sizer, Pte G. G. 2^nd Royal Sussex Regt 23 October 1918
Virgo, Pte R. C. Royal West Kent Regt 24 May 1917, age 22 (private memorial)

Wilkinson, 2^nd Engineer R. S. SS John Miles 22 February 1917

Wynn Pte W. W. Royal Sussex Regt 19 August 1916 age 26

copyright © D.Sharp
The three names on these war graves in Portslade Cemetery are not recorded on Portslade's War Memorial at Easthill Park, left to right:-

Pte C. A. Church, died 27 December 1914, 9^th Bn, Royal Sussex Regiment, of Eastbrook Road,
L. Bdr. W. Goble, died 27 April 1921 aged 37, Royal Garrison Artillery, son of Edward and J. Goble, of 7, Clarendon Place, Portslade-by-Sea. Served on North West Frontier of India (1919),
Pte Elias Luff died 18 April 1916 aged 40, 3^rd Bn, Royal Sussex Regiment, son of Mrs. Susan Luff of Fulking, Elias Luff's name is listed on the War Memorial in St Andrew's Church, Edburton, West Sussex.

Portslade War Memorial, Easthill Park

The war memorial was originally sited on the wall outside the Royal British Legion Hall, in Trafalgar Road, Portslade. In 1954 it was moved to Easthill Park .

* Please Note *, there appears to be some errors in the names recorded on the Portslade War Memorial.

The Portslade Roll of Honour website, list from its research the correct initials/surnames for serviceman, shown below by the use of an *astericks and (brackets).

*

Some of the spellings of surnames that differ from those recorded on the memorials in St Nicolas Church and St Andrew's Church are also shown below.

Adland, G. (*C. R.)

Akehurst, A. F. (*A. F. J.)

Akehurst, W. (*W. H.) - (also listed on the Brighton War Memorial)

Allwright, A. E.
Anderson, J.

Andrews, A. G.

Andrews, D. (*D. I.)

Archer, C.

Aston, C. (*C. P.)

Attree, A. (*A. P.)

Attree B. (*B. R.) - (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Attree, E. (*E. C.)

Attree, S.

Austin, H. J.

Austin, J.

Baddeley, A. J.

Baker, W. (*G. W.)

Barttelot, R. W.

Batchelor, J. W.

Bate, A. (*A. E.)

Bennett, A. T. (A. F.)

Bennett, G.

Berry, R.

Bettesworth, T. (*G. J.)
Blaker, A. W.

Boniface, W. A.

Boniface, W. (*C. W.)

Booker, A.G.

Booker, C. E. (*C. P.)

Botting, A.

Bradford, A (*A. J. V.)

Broomfield, F.

Bullen, W.

Burtenshaw, F. (*A. W. )

Campbell, J. (*J. D.)

Campbell, N. M.

Candy, F. (*F. W.)

Brighton Graphic
Killed in action
19 May 1918. Aged 24.

Chapman, A.

Chappell, F. (*F. W.) - (also listed on the Brighton War Memorial)

Chappell, S.

Charles, J. F.

Charles, G. H.

Chase, A.
Chase, T. H.

Cheesman DCM, R.

Chew, J. J. (also listed on the Brighton War Memorial)

Clements, Miss Sarah J.

Clevett, H. G.

Colborn, W. (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Colbourn, A. B.

Colbourne, A.

Colburn, A.

Colburn, G.

Colburn, P. W. (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Comber B. (also listed on the Haywards Heath & Worthing War Memorials)

Constable, F. T.

Cook, A. (also listed on Hove’s Roll of Honour at Hove Library.)

Cooper, C. J.

Cooper, F.

Brighton Graphic
Killed in action
22 July 1916. Aged 24.

Corney, A.

Coustick, H.

Cox, H. S.

Curry, G.

Dann, A. J.

Dartnall, J.

Daughtry, J. (*L)

Dawes, F. G. (*F. C.)

Dyer, H.

Edwards, C. H.

Ellis, C. (*C. W.)

Evans, S. F.

Evans, T. (T. H.)

Farmer, C. (*C. H.)

Freemantle, W, H.

French, E. J.

Gibbs, A. G.

Glazier, W.

Goacher, A.

Goble, M. (Matthew was the son of the former Landlord of the Stanley Arms)

Gordon, J.

Grace, P.

Grunfield, G (*listed as Greenfield, G. on St Andrew's Church War Memorial)

Gubbins, S. E. (also listed St Leonard's Church, Aldrington, Roll of Honour)

Hacker, J. (*A. J.)

Haines, R. J.

Hammond, F. G.

Harris, A. H.

Haydon, E. (*listed as Heyden, E. on St Nicolas Church's Roll of Honour)

Henley, F. C. (*C. F.)
Hills, F. G.

Hills, J. T.

Holden, J. F.

Holmes, H.

Hooper, W. T. S.

Ingram, C. (*G. E. H.)

Jay, E. A.

Jay, H. C.

Jones, G. W. (*W. G.)

Kenward, C. H.

King, T.

Knight, F. (*F. W.)

Langrish, C. (*C. W.)

Lassetter, J. H.

Lavender, J. W.

Lee, T.

Lewes, J. J. (*listed as Lewis, J. J. on St Nicolas Church's Roll of Honour)

Light, W. H.

Lindup, W. G.

Lindfield, C. (*H.C.)
Lord, W.

March, C. W.

March, S. (*S. R.)

Mason, E.
Mason M. H.

Merritt, H. J.

Miles, F. (*F. I.) - (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Millington, H. (*H. W.)

Mitchell, H. (*H. M. M.)

Mockett, F.

Moody, H.

Moon, A. J.

Moore, G. P. (*P. G.)

Mower, F. G.

Newman, T.

North, S.

Nye, W. (also listed on Hove’s Roll of Honour at Hove Library and the Brighton War Memorial)

Oakley, J.

Oakley, J. W.

Parker, J. H. (*J. T. H.)

Parris, C.

Parslow, G.

Parsons, C. A.

Patching, E. W. R.

Payne, G. F.

Payne, J.

Pearse, C. (*G. E.)

Peters, A.

Peters, F.

Peters, F. G. (also listed St Leonard's Church, Aldrington, Roll of Honour)

Peters, G. A.

Peters, J. T.

Phillips, C. (*C. E.)

Pierce, H.

Pinlott, P. E. (*Pimlott, P. E.) - (also listed on Hove’s Roll of Honour at Hove Library.)

Pittock, A. G.

Pittock, G.

Pittock, G. A.

Pratt, E. G.

Prince, A. (*A. E. J.)

Pumfrey, G.

Ralph, G.

Ransom, W.

Ratcliffe, C. (*C. L.)

Redfearn, F. A.

Reeves, H. - (also listed on the Board of Trade War Memorial in London)

Remington, G. (*G. A. P.) - (also listed on Hove’s Roll of Honour at Hove Library.)

Richards, H.
Richardson, D. W.

Richardson, H. H. J.

Ridley, A.

Ridley, J. A. J.

Ring, M.

Robinson, A. (*A. G.)

Robinson, W.

Rothwell, C.

Rowe, H. E.

Russell, F. J.

Russell, W. T. (*W. F.) - (also listed on the Brighton War Memorial)

Sayers, B. A.

Scrase, H. C. (*H. G.)

Scutt, H. E.

Seward, J. F.

Sharpe, J. A.

Sheppard, E. A. (also listed on Hove’s Roll of Honour at Hove Library.)

Sherwood, D. G. (*G. D.)

Short, G. (*G. W.) - (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Sinnock, J. C. J. (*J. C. G.)

Sizer, C.

Sizer, G.

Sizer, G. G.

Smither, R. E.

Stanley, J. T.

Steel, P.

Steele, P.

Still, J. A.

Strange, A.

Strange, J.

Streeter, A. E.

Streeter, A. R. T.

Streeter, F. E.
Strevens, A. F.

Strevens, A. R.

Strevens, F. J.

Sundius Smith, R. C.

Suter, A. H.

Suter, E. E.

Suter, E. H.

Brighton Graphic 13 January 1916

Tafft, E. G.

Taylor, C. (*C. J.)

Telling, R. T.
Tidy, A.

Tidy, E.

Tidy, P. (*P. E.)

Timms, W. J.

Tipper, H. J.

Todman, D.

Todman, W.

Tullett, F.

Turner, C. (*C. W. G.)

Turner, W. D.

Tutt, A. T.

Tyllyer, G. E.

Vane, A. (*A. E.) - (also listed on the Brighton War Memorial)

Brighton Graphic
Killed in action
23 April 1916. Aged 25.
(employed at the
Princes Picture Palace
Portslade)

Virgo, A.

Virgo, A. A. (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Virgo, A. E.
Virgo, R. C.

Vine, R. H.

Walker, F. W. (*listed as Walker F. D. on St Nicolas Church's Roll of Honour)
Wareham, J. (*J. H. C.)

Warman, A. E.

Welch, M. J. H.

West, A. T. (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Wheatland, A.

White, T.

Whitehead, A. (*A. D.)

Wilkinson, R. S.

Williams, J.

Williams, P. (also listed on the Southwick & Fishersgate War Memorial at Southwick Green)

Williams, W.

Willmer, W. W. A.

Willmott, F. (*F. H.)

Wood, E.

Wood, J.

Woolgar, C. M.

Wren, E. (*E. T.)

Wynn, W. (*W. W.)

copyright © G. Osborne
The original Portslade War Memorial was affixed to the exterior wall of the hall of the British Legion, but the volume of traffic in Trafalgar Road made it impossible to hold a solemn act of remembrance outside in November and in 1954 the memorial was removed to the more tranquil surroundings of Easthill Park.

St Andrew’s Church, Portslade

copyright © D.Sharp
The beautiful and unusual war memorial at St Andrew’s Church shown here in the Hillman Room before it was removed and relegated to the stairwell wall of the Community Centre.
'Erected by Parishioners and Friends to the Glory of God and in memory of those who died for England, Home and Duty. Remember before God these who fell in the Great War 1914-1919'

This war memorial includes Christian names, which is always useful to know to avoid confusion, the names listed below had a connection with the Parish of St Andew's Portslade and are also listed on the War Memorial in Easthill Park.

Akehurst, Alfred F.

Allwright, Albert E.

Andrews, Alfred G.

Attree, Edward S.

Austen, John

Baddeley, Alfred James

Barttelot, Reginald, W.

Boniface, William A.

Booker, Charles E.

Candy, Frederick

Charles, John F.

Chase, Thomas

Colbourne, Albert

Constable, Frederick G.

Cox, Horace S.

Curry, George

Dartnall, James

Farmer, Charles H.

Freemantle, William H.

French, Edward J.

Grace, Percy

Greenfield, George

Gibbs, Arthur G.

Haines, Robert J.

Hills, Frederick G.

Hills, James J.

Holden, John

Hooper, William J. S.
Ingram, Charles

Jay, Ernest A.

Jay, Herbert C.

Jones, George W.

Langrish, Charles

Lasseter, James

Lavender, James W.

Mason, Ernest

Merritt, Horace J.

Millington, Henry

Moore, George P.

Nye, Walter

Parris, Charles

Peters, Albert

Phillips, Charles

Pinlott, Percy E. (*Pimlott, Percy E.)

Pumfrey, George

Ralph, George

Redfearn, Frank A.

Richards, Harry

Rowe, Harold E.

Russell, Frederick. J.

Brighton Graphic
Twin brothers Arthur Suter and Ernest Suter,
R.A.M.C., sons of the
Police Superintendent of Portslade.
Arthur died in Palestine, 19 October 1918 aged 21.
Ernest died in Palestine, 27 November 1917 aged 20.

Russell, William F.

Sharp, John A.

Stanley, James J.

Sheppard, Eli A.

Still, John A.

Streeter, Alfred R. J.

Streeter, Arthur E.

Streeter, Frederick, E.

Strevens, Frederick J.

Sundius Smith, R. C.

Suter, Arthur H.

Suter, Ernest H.

Suter, William D.

Turner, William D.

Tyller, George E.

Vine, Robert H.

Welch, Martin J. H.

West, Alfred J.

Whitehead, Albert

Williams, Percy

Willmer, Walter W. A.

Wood, John

Woolgar, Charles M.

Wren, Ernest

St Nicolas Church, Portslade

Roll of Honour:-
'In Memory of the Men from this Parish who fell in the War 1914-1918 & 1939-1945'

copyright © D.Sharp
1914-1918 & 1939-1945 Roll of Honour in St Nicolas Church
which includes the Old Boys of Portslade Industrial School

The names listed below had a connection with the Parish of St Nicolas Portslade and are also listed on the War Memorial in Easthill Park.

Archer, C.

Attree, A.F.

Attree, E.

Austin, H. J.

Bate, A. E.

Berry, R.

Bettesworth, J.

Blaker, A. W.

Boniface, W.

Bouker, A. G.

Botting, A.

Broomfield, F.

Burtenshaw, A.

Campbell, H. M.

Chappell, S.

Charles, G. H.

Cheesman, R.

Colburn, P. W.

Cooper, F.

Copper, F.

Coustick, H.

Daughtrey, L.

Dawes, F. C.

Dunn, A. J.

Edwards, C. H.

Goacher, A.

Goble, M.

Gordon, J.

Gubbins, S. E.

Harris, A. H.

Henley, F. E.

King, J.

Light, W. H.

Lindup, W. G.

March, S.

Mitchell, H.

Mocktt, F.
Oakley, J. W.

Parker, J. H.

Parsons, C. A,

Patching, E. W. R.

Payne, G. F.

J. C. G. Sinnock

HMS Victory 29 May 1919 age 38

(Portslade Cemetery)

Payne, J.

Peters, F. G.

Peters, G. A.

Peters, J. T.

Pierce, H.

Pittock, A. G.

Pittock, G.

Pratt, E. G.

Prince, A.

Ransom, W.

Reeves, H.

Richardson, D. W.

Richardson, H. H. J.

Ridley, A.

Ridley, J. A.

Ring, M.

Robinson, A.

Rothwell, C.

Scrase, H. C.

Scutt, H. E.

Seward, J. F.

Sinnock, J. C. G.

Brighton Graphic
Richebourg
9 May 1915. Aged 18

Sizer, G. G.

Steele, P.

Strange, A.

Strange, J.

Strevens, A. R.

Telling, R. J.

Tester, E.

Tidey, E.

Timms, W. J.

Tipper, H. J.

Todman, D.

Todman, W.

Tullett, F.

Turner, C.

Vane, A.

Virgo, A. A.

Virgo, A. E.

Wareham, J.

Warman, A. E.

Wheatland, A.

White, T.

Wynn, W.

Old Boys of Portslade Industrial School (St Nicolas Church)

Adland, G.

Anderson, J.

Batchelor, J. W.

Bennett, G.

Bradford, A.

Bullen, W.

Campbell, J.

Chapman, A.

Chappell, F.

Chase, E.

Glazier, W.

Hayden, G.

Holmes, H.

Knight, F.

Lewis, J. J.

Mason, M. H.

Newman, T.

Pearce, C.

Sherwood, C.

Scrase, W.
Tidy, A.

Tidy, P.

Tutt, A. T.

Walker, F. D.

Williams, J.

Williams, W.

Wood, E.

Our Lady, Star of the Sea & St Denis, Portslade (This Roman Catholic Church was demolished in 1992)

There was a small brass plate fixed to the wall of the Church, which read ‘Pray for the soul of John Tew, for twenty years an altar server’. He was killed in action in 1916. His name does not appear on the Portslade War Memorial. Although Tew is a comparatively rare surname, there are several Tews in the national war records, together with the name of their regiments. We do not know to which regiment the altar server belonged or his full Christian names.

The War Memorial in St Andrew's School, Portslade.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Brighton Herald 24 September 1921
300 former pupils of St Andrew's School, Portslade served in the First World War, of these 70, laid down their lives in the conflict.
In the Second World War, St Andrew’s School had to contend with German bombing raids on Shoreham Harbour, in fact the situation was considered to be so serious that in October 1940 the Director of Education ordered the school to be closed at once.
The fate of the War Memorial in St Andrew's School, after the school's demolition is not known.

Hove Library's War Memorial

The following names of Portslade born servicemen are listed on the War Memorial in the vestibule of Hove Library.

copyright © J.Middleton
The brass tablets commemorating Hove men who died
in the Great War are in the vestibule of Hove Library.

Cook, Albert (also listed on Portslade War Memorial)
Deadman, William Walter

Holdstock, Frederick William Tubbs

Lallyett, Joseph

Langrish, Charles William

Nye, Walter. (also listed on Portslade War Memorial)

Patching, Walter Mark

Pimlott, Percy Enoch (also listed on Portslade War Memorial)

Remington, George Albert Percy (also listed on Portslade War Memorial)

Sheppard, Augustus Eli (also listed on Portslade War Memorial)

See also Portslade & The Second World War

Easthill Park and Portslade & The Second World War 'On Active Service'

Sources

Brighton Graphic
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Imperial War Museum

Internet searches

Middleton, J. Hove and Portslade in the Great War (2014)
Mr. G. Osbourne
National Library of Australia
Portslade Roll of Honour
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
The Pacific Islands Monthly
The Parish of Portslade & Mile Oak
Additional research by D.Sharp

copyright © G. Osborne
Portslade's Army Camp on the playing fields of Windlesham School in 1917,
in later years it became the site of Portslade Allotments.

'LEST WE FORGET'

page design by D.Sharp

01 November 2024

Portslade and the First World War