BRYANT, HARVEY, M.C., 2nd Lieut., 4th (Territorial) Battn. The Hampshire Regt., only s. of Wilfred Bryant, of Vina Villa, Ashwell, co. Hertford. by his wife, Martha Jane, dau. of Joseph William Eversden; b. Ashwell, 12 March, 1890; educ. Merchant Taylors’ School there was a Farmer joined the Bedfordshire Regt. 7 Sept. 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from the following Ang. returned to England in May, 1917, and after a period of training at Trinity College, Oxford, was gazetted 2nd Lieut. The Hampshire Regt. in Oct. 1917; served with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Egypt and Palestine from Jan. 1918; proceeded to France the following May, and was killed in action at Havrincourt 12 Sept. 1918. Buried there. His Commanding Officer wrote: “We looked upon him as one of our finest officers.” He was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in action on 26 Aug. 1918; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

BENNETT, ALFRED HENRY, Private, No. 9485, 2nd Battn. (67th Foot) The Hampshire Regt., only s. of George Henry Bennett, Employee at H.M. Dockyard, by his wife, Annie; b. East Cowes, Isle of Wight, 23 Jan. 1897; educ. Francis Anne School, Southsea, and on leaving there was for a time employed as an Assistant at Messrs. Liptons, Ltd.; enlisted 5 Jan. 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; was wounded in Ypres and invalided home; returned to the front in April, and died at No. 22 General Hospital, Camiers, 3 May, 1917, from tetanus, supervening wounds received in action. Buried about four miles from the hospital; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Beak D E L/Cpl 305856 7th Hampshire Regiment

Source : Lloyd’s Bank Memorial Album 

Beak D E L/Cpl 305856 7th Hampshire Regiment

BEAK, DOUGLAS ELIOT, L.-Corpl., No. 305856, 1/7th (Territorial) Battu. The Hampshire Regt., only s. of Daniel Beak, of Kennedy Lodge, Cheltenham. by his wife, Kate Ellen, dau. of Henry Naish, of Clifton; b. Redland, Bristol, co. Gloucester, 1 April, 1891; educ. Brean House School, Weston-super-Mare: was a Bank Clerk in Lloyd’s Bank, Ltd., and a member of the Institute of Bankers volunteered for active service soon after the out-break of war, and joined the Hampshire Regt. 1 Sept. 1914; served with his battalion in India from the following Oct. proceeded to Aden in Jan. 1918, where he acted principally as Company Clerk, and died at the British General Hospital, Aden, 17 Nov. 1918, of influenza, contracted while on service. Buried there. His Commanding Officer wrote: “It was indeed a great grief to me, as I had so much personal contact with him in work and in play. He was a man I could rely on implicitly, and his death is a great loss to me. He was genuinely loved by the whole company, as he had such a good quiet way with the men,” and another officer: “He was my clerk for nearly two years, and I was therefore in very close touch with him, and a more loyal and devoted comrade one could not possibly have had. All who had anything to do with him knew his worth, and he was, without exception, the most popular man in the company. I had many times advised him to take a commission, but he preferred to remain in the company.’ His Sergt.-Major also wrote: “Your son was a man to be proud of.. always ready to lend a helping hand to others, and always lived a good, upright life.”  Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

BARRETT, ALFRED VICTOR, Private, No. 17959, 2nd Battn. (67th Foot) The Hampshire Regt., s. of the late Charles William Barrett, of Southsea, by his wife, Charlotte, dau. of Steven Sims, of Fareham; b. Southsea, co. Hants, 15 Sept. 1897; educ. Royal Marine Artillery School there; enlisted 24 May, 1915; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; was reported wounded and missing after the fighting on 15 Sept. 1916, and is now assumed to have been killed in action on that date. A comrade wrote: “Your son was a hero, always ready to face any danger and happy in the doing of the same.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Bainbridge J S Lt 14th Hampshire Regiment

BAINBRIDGE, JOHN STUART, Lieut., 14th (Service) Battn. The Hampshire Regt., 2nd 8. of John William Bainbridge, of Westoe, Lewisham, S.E., Merchant, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau, of Thomas Glass: and brother to 2nd Lieut. C. Bainbridge (q.v.); b. Lewisham, 3 Feb. 1897; educ. the Collegiate School, Catford, and Elstow School, Bedford; was a Shipowner’s Clerk; enlisted in Dec. 1914; obtained a commission as 2nd Lieut. in April, 1915, being promoted Lieut. in 1916; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from March, 1916; took part in several engagements, including the operations at Thiepval; was invalided home in Oct. suffering from shell-shock and trench fever: on his recovery rejoined his regiment in France, March, 1917. and was killed in action at Tower Hamlets 27 Sept. following. Buried there. His Colonel wrote: “He was a good officer and leader, always cheerful under heavy fire and in the most trying conditions. It will be a little satisfaction to you to know that the attack in which your son was engaged was a magnificent success and that his death was not in vain,” and his Chaplain: “To myself it is a great personal sorrow, for I have known him so well for now nearly two years, and a straighter, better living young man I have never known, and so cool and level-headed at all times. He was one of the best.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Walford O R 2nd Lt 1st Hampshire Regiment

WALFORD, OLIVER ROBSON, 2nd Lieut., 1st Battn. Hampshire Regt., elder s. of the late Col. William Swordes Walford, of Warden Lodge, Totland Bay, Isle of Wight, R.A.,by his 1st wife, Mary Ella, dau. of George Robson, of Altwood, Maidenhead Thicket; b. Warden House, Weymouth, co. Dorset, 25 June, 1895; educ. Connaught House, Weymouth; Charterhouse, and Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Hampshires, 13 Jan. 1915; went to France, 25 Jan., and was killed in action at the Second Battle of Ypres, 26 April, 1915; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 1

Trimmer W D M Lt Hampshire Regiment

Source : The Sphere 5th Dec 1914

Trimmer W D M Lt 1st Hampshire Regiment

TRIMMER, WILLIAM DOUGLAS MACLEAN, Lieut., 1st Battn. Hampshire Regt., only child of Edward Douglas Trimmer, of Oakrigg, Walton-on-Thames, Solicitor, and his wife, Mary Kate, dau. of John Lauchlan Maclean, late of Haremere Hall, co. Sussex; b. Surbiton, co. Surrey, 29 Dec. 1891; educ. Aldenham School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the 1st Hampshires, 20 Sept. 1911, and promoted Lieut. 18 March, 1914; left for France, 22 Aug. 1914, in the 11th Brigade of the 4th Division, served through the retreat from Mons, the Battles of the Aisne and the Marne, and was killed in action with his whole platoon, in an advanced and isolated trench at Ploegsteert Wood, during the First Battle of Ypres, 30 Oct. following. Buried in Ploegsteert Churchyard; unm.

Lieut. J. F. Gwynne, Medical Officer to the Hampshires, wrote: “He died like a hero-he was a hero, and the way he and his men fought to the last is one of the finest acts I have heard of in the whole war. He was found in his trench, wounded fatally in the head, grasping unexpended cartridges in his hand-game to the last. He must have died immediately on receiving the fatal shot.” Capt. Clive Garsia, 1st Hampshires, wrote: “The simplest truth about him, uninfluenced by the natural wish to speak well of the dead, is that he was one of the very best subalterns I ever knew. From the day he joined he devoted himself whole-heartedly to work and to play, and exhibited pluck and endurance I have never seen excelled. His success as a cross-country runner was due solely to grit, because he was not the cut of a runner, but he had the heart to stay the pace however hot they made it. As a loyal subordnate who played up to me whole-heartedly on every occasion I should like to pay his memory humble tribute of acknowledgment. I knew when the war broke out that he would do well, and I have frequently asked men coming down wounded for news about the regt. and different officers. The first news I heard was about the retreat from Mons, when a sergt. told me that Mr. Trimmer and the General were the only two that wouldn’t lie down. Several told me that the blokes said they’d follow him anywhere'”; and in a subsequent letter he added “the specially heroic circumstances attending the last stand of Douglas and his platoon are fully appreciated. I am now on the Divisional staff and have frequently heard the Chief Staff Officer say how well my regt. has done all through, instancing the way Douglas’ platoon stuck it to the last man.’ And Capt. Douglas Johnston, 1st Hampshires, wrote: “On the Aisne he [Lieut. Trimmer] did his work perfectly, and I myself was particularly struck with the quiet courage he showed when on really dangerous patrol work. He was far from well there, but got better before we moved. When poor Major Connellan was struck, your boy dashed out and brought him into cover, and the next day, the 21 Oct., he told me about it. It is unnecessary for me to add that he was extraordinarily popular with his men.” Mr. Connellan in a letter to Mr. Trimmer said: “I have heard from Capt. Thurn and I will tell you all that he told me about your son, but I am afraid it is very little. He says, about 28 Oct. he was holding an advanced trench with his platoon in front of Ploegsteert Wood; he was very heavily shelled and attacked by infantry all day, losing most of his platoon. He sent back for reinforcements but apparently there were none to be had, anyhow none were sent. He held his men together and stuck to his trench all day, being finally killed by a shell towards the evening. The remains of his platoon, nine men out of about 40, stuck on and were finally all killed by German infantry, except, I believe, one man who is now wounded and prisoner. The only survivor of his platoon, the messenger he sent back, was killed about two months after. Young Trimmer certainly held his trench very gallantly and I know his name was sent on from the battn.”

He was a good all-round athlete. When at Aldenham he won the School Mile and Half Mile, in 1910, creating school records in both instances. He was also a good cross-country runner, coming in fourth at the R.M.C. in 1911, and he ran in the 1st Hampshire Regimental Teams in 1912, 1913 and 1914, which won the Aldershot Command (twice) and the Eastern Command, Cross Country Runs. In other sports he was a useful Rugby Football and Hockey player, a plucky swimmer and a good horseman.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 1

Trimmer W D M Lt Hampshire Regiment

Source : The Illustrated London News 21st Nov 1914