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In memory of
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[Henry] George
Whetstone
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(Wimpole)
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Acting Corporal* 814. 2nd [*5th] Battalion
Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own).
[* Noted that some Military records indicate rank as Lance
Corporal, of the 5th Battalion]** |
Born: c1886 Wimpole, Cambridgeshire.
Enlisted: Cambridge [assumes a career solidier].
Residence: Royston, Cambridgeshire
Died: 22 May 1915, aged 29.
How died: Death unspecified [ie not killed in action].**
Theatre of War: Home. |
** [14 October 2007, Chris Goodfellow writes "Henry
George Whetstone (Rifle Brigade) died at Sheppey. The 5th and 6th
Battalions of the Rifle Brigade were Training Reserve Battalions
and they were both based on the Isle of Sheppey. Wounded Rifle Brigade
soldiers were sent back to the 5th Battalion for recuperation before
being sent back to France or being struck off as unfit for further
military service.
The medal roll for the 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade has him entering
France on 7 November 1914 and died of wounds 22 May 1915 so he probably
died of his wounds while recuperating.
Henry Whetstone was entitled to the 1914 Star (with clasp and rose),
showing service with the British Expeditionary Force prior to 31
December 1914, and also entitled to the British War Medal and Victory
Medal."] |
Family Information: "Son of Mrs Mary Whetstone,
of Southern Lodge, Wimpole, Cambridgeshire" [CWGC records].
Henry George's father was John Whetstone (1847-1906), agricultural
labourer born Wimpole and his mother was Mary Whetstone, nee Bullen
(1859-1948) also born Wimpole. Henry George was the elder brother
to William John Whetstone (1887-1965) who was the organist at Wimpole
Church for 59 years. John, Mary and William John are buried in Wimpole
Churchyard. |
1901 Census:
Living at Southern Lodge, Wimpole. |
| John WHETSTONE |
Head |
M
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53
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Agricultural Labourer |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| Mary WHETSTONE |
Wife |
M
|
43
|
- |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| [H.] George WHETSTONE |
Son |
S
|
15
|
- |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| William [John] WHETSTONE |
Son |
S
|
13
|
- |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| Eliza BULLEN |
Sister-in-Law |
S
|
45
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Assistant in Gardens |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| Rhoda BULLEN |
Niece |
S
|
18
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(Imbecile from childhood) |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
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| Grave: M 10 |
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Cemetary: Minster-in-Sheppey
(SS Mary and Sexburga) New Churchyard, in Kent, England.
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| The ancient Abbey Church of The Blessed Virgin
Mary and Saint Sexburgha, is situated on one of the highest points
of the Isle of Sheppey off the North Kent Coast, fifty miles to
the east of London. |
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In memory of
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Harry Wilkins
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(Wimpole)
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| Private 15636. 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. |
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Born: Arrington, Cambridgeshire.
Enlisted: Cambridge.
Died: Monday 28th February 1916, on his
23rd birthday.
How died: Killed in Action [see report below]. Harry
Wilkins was the first battlefield casualty in the 11th Battalion.
Theatre of War: France and Flanders. |
| Son of Rule and Ellen Wilkins (nee Payne), of The
Stables, Wimpole, Cambridgeshire. |
| "Private Harry Wilkins, of the 11th Cambs Suffolks,
eldest son of Mr and Mrs R Wilkins of The Stables, Wimpole, was
killed in France on his 23rd birthday (28 February 1916). He enlisted
on 3 October, 1914 and went out to France on 9 January, 1916. He
was one of a working party filling sandbags on 28 February when
he was shot through the head and killed. Mr and Mrs Wilkins have
two other sons in training in the 13th Suffolks." (Herts
and Cambs Reporter 19 May 1916) |
1901 Census:
Living in Arrington (?). |
| Rule WILKINS |
Head |
M |
30 |
Carter on Arrington Estate |
Arrington,
Cambridgeshire |
| [Emma] Ellen WILKINS |
Wife |
M |
31 |
- |
Arrington,
Cambridgeshire |
| Harry WILKINS |
Son |
S |
8 |
- |
Arrington,
Cambridgeshire |
| George WILKINS |
Son |
S |
6 |
- |
Arrington,
Cambridgeshire |
| Frank WILKINS |
Son |
S |
4 |
- |
Arrington,
Cambridgeshire |
| Jack WILKINS |
Son |
S |
8m |
- |
Arrington,
Cambridgeshire |
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(© photo
courtesy Phil Curme) |
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Grave: IV.B.35 (headstone above)
"Leaving him to sleep in trust until the dawn" |
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| Cemetery: Brewery
Orchard Cemetery [photo © cwgc], Bois-Grenier, Nord,
France. |
| Bois-Grenier is a village 3 kilometres south of
Armentieres. The cellar of the Brewery was used as a Dressing Station,
and the cemetery was started in the orchard nearby in November 1914.
The site chosen was sheltered from enemy observation by ruined houses.
The cemetery stayed in use until January 1918. There are nearly
350 war casualties commemorated in this site. |
| See also: 11th
Battalion Resource site |
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In memory of
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Frederick George Wisbey
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(Arrington)
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Private 40408. 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment.
Previously 34374 Suffolk Regiment. |
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Born: Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire.
Residence: Arrington, Cambridgeshire.
Enlisted: "Wimpole, Suffolk" (sic).
Died: Saturday 21 April 1917, aged 39.
[Some military records give 30 April 1917]
How died: Killed in Action
Theatre of War: France and Flanders. |
| "Private Frederick George Wisbey, of the Lincolns,
of Turnpike Cottage, Arrington Road, near Royston, was killed in
action on April 21st 1917. "He was a good soldier, and did
his duty like a soldier and a man;" thus writes a sergeant
of his Company. Prior to enlisting in June 1916 in the Suffolks,
he had been three years in the employ of Mr R O Fellowes as a gardener,
and before coming to Arrington was 16 years at Cokenach Park. He
was sent out to France in October 1916, and was then transferred
to the Lincolns. He was 39 years of age. His son, Private Fred Wisbey,
who is only 19 years of age, is in the Beds Regiment. He was wounded
on July 30th 1916 but has now recovered and is out in France. Mrs
Wisbey and one daughter are still residing at Turnpike Cottage,
Arrington Road." (Herts and Cambs Reporter August 17th
1917) |
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Memorial: Thiepval
Memorial, Somme, France. Pier and Face 1C.
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| The Thiepval Memorial commemorates almost
73,000 soldiers who died on the Somme battlefields between July
1915 and 20th March 1918 who have no known grave. A high proportion
of the names at Thiepval are soldiers who died on 1st July 1916
– the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Located at one of the
key sites on the Somme battlefield, it was designed by Sir Edwin
Lutyens and was unveiled in 1932 by the Prince of Wales. |
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Also listed for these parishes in the Ely Cathedral
Second World War Book of Remembrance is L C Meadows. No
further details are known.
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In memory of
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Florence Elizabeth Allison
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| Leading Aircraftwomen 2130584. Women's Auxiliary Air
Force. |
| Died: Saturday 8th December 1945, aged 21. |
| Family Information: Daughter of William and
Olive Allison of Hornsey, Middlesex. |
 |
LACW Allison is buried at New Southgate Cemetary
(Brunswick Park) in North London and commemorated on the War Memorial
(above). The wording reads "These Members of His Majesties
Forces Died in the Service of their Country and Lie Buried in this
Cemetary".
(Photographs by Steve Odell July 2007) |
| Grave: (Kerb Wall) Sec. A.H. Grave 99. |
| Cemetery: New
Southgate Cemetery. |
| The cemetery is in the extreme south of Hertfordshire.
It contains 109 Commonwealth burials from the 1914-1918 war, scattered
throughout the cemetery, 51 German burials from Alexander Palace
Internment camp, and two Belgian soldiers. There are also 86 Commonwealth
burials from the 1939-45 war. The Cross of Sacrifice is erected
in front of the Chapel, and behind the Cross is a screen wall bearing
the names of those of the 1914-1918 war whose graves could not be
marked by headstones. Those from the 1939-1945 whose graves could
not be marked are named on a Kerb Wall affixed to the Cross of Sacrifice. |
| [It has proved difficuilt to establish any link between
Florence Elizabeth Allison and Arrington/Wimpole. There has been
a suggestion that a family called Allison might have lived on Arrington
Hill in the 1940s but documentary confirmation has proved elusive.
Please contact
if you have any information that could be added to this basic record.] |
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In memory of
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William Randall Bullen
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| Private 5835462. 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. |
Born: c1909
Died: Thursday 21st October 1943, aged 34.
How Died: Prisoner of War on the Burma-Siam Railway.
Theatre of War: Far East. |
| Family Information: William Randall Bullen
was the seventh child of George Bullen (1864-1909) born in Wimpole
and Ellen Bullen, nee Munns, (1875-1909) born in Orwell, and husband
of Winifred Marguerite of Cambridge. He was brother to Leonard,
Olive, Victoria May, Edgar George, Alfred, Sidney, Marjorie and
Ruby. |
| In the 1891 Census, William's father George was Head
of Household at South[ern] Lodge in Wimpole and his profession was
listed as 'Agricultural Labourer'. In the 1901 Census, the family
was living in Whadden and George Bullen's profession was listed
as 'Soldier'. |
| Military History: "The 11th Battalion
was lost during the fall of Singapore so perhaps we can assume William
Randell Bullen became a Prisoner of War during this period. After
capture by the Japanese he was put to work on the Burma-Siam railway
in Thailand." |
| Notes:
William Randall Bullen also appears on the Roll of Honour
for the Parish of Cambridge, St Lukes. |
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| Grave: 2.B.11. |
| Cemetery: Kanchanaburi
War Cemetery, Thailand. |
| Kanchanaburi is 129 kilometres west-north-west
of Bangkok. Kanchanaburi War Cemetary is only a short distance
from the site of the former 'Kanburi', the prisoner of war base
camp through which most of the prisoners passed on their way to
other camps. It was created by the Army Graves Service who transferred
to it all graves along the southern section of railway, from Bangkok
to Nieke. There are now 5,084 Commonwealth casualties of the Second
World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. |
| The graves of those who died during the construction
and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except for the Americans,
whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp burial
grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries
at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Burma.
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The Burma-Siam Railway
(Death Railway)
"The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth,
Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project
driven by the need for improved communications to support
the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction,
one POW died for every 32.6 metres of track and approximately
13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway.
An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the
course of the project, Two labour forces, one based in Siam
and the other in Burma worked from opposite ends of the
line towards the centre. The Japanese aimed at completing
the railway in 14 months and work began in October 1942.
The line, 424 kilometres long, was completed by December
1943."
 Kanchanaburi
Roll of Honour
The
Burma Siam Railway
Map
of the Burma Siam Railway
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In memory of
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John William Law
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| Private 5831012. 2nd Battalion, The Cambridgeshire
Regiment, Suffolk Regiment. |
Born: Hertfordshire.
Died: 21 September 1944, aged 27
How died: John William Law was a Prisoner of War being transported
on the Japanese 'Hell Ship' Hofuku Maru when it was sunk
by American fire on the morning of the 21st September 1944.
Theatre of War: Far East/At Sea |
| Military History:The two Cambridgeshire Battalions
were both lost during the fall of Singapore so perhaps we can assume
John William Law became a Prisoner of War during this period. Many
of the servicemen captured by the Japanese were taken to the infamous
PoW workcamps in Burma and Thailand (the Death Railway) and to the
Philippines. |
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The Hofuku Maru at Beira in 1938
© National Maritime Museum
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| Background Information:
The Hofuku Maru (sometimes also called the Fuji Maru
or the Toyofuku Maru) was a 5825 ton unmarked cargo ship
used for carrying prisoners and troops to Japan. On July 4 1944,
1286 PoWs (British and Dutch prisoners of war from Singapore and
the Dutch East Indies) were put aboard the Hofuku Maru in
Singapore, for a voyage to Japan. The men lived in the holds in
appalling conditions. |
| The Hofuku Maru left Singapore as part of convoy
SHIMI-05 and made for Miri, Borneo which it reached on July 8. The
convoy consisted of 10 ships - five of which carried POWs There
were about 5000 POWs in total, making this the largest group of
POWs shipped at one time during the war. |
| At Borneo, the Hofuku Maru left the convoy
and sailed on to the Philippines arriving around 19 July with engine
problems. She lay in Manila harbour until mid-September while the
engines were repaired. The POWs on board suffered terribly from
disease, hunger and thirst. |
| On 20 September 1944, Convoy MATA-27, consisting of
the Hofuku Maru (the only one carrying POWs) and 10 other
ships, sailed from Manila heading for Japan. The following morning,
the convoy was attacked by more than 100 American carrier aircraft
some 80 miles north of Corregidor. At 10.35am the Hofuku Maru was
struck and 1047 of the 1289 British and Dutch POWs on board lost
their lives. All eleven ships in the convoy were sunk. |
| At the end of 1945, the Japanese Army prepared a hand-written
roll of those aboard the Hofuku Maru (both British and Dutch)
and this original document is now held in the American National
Archives. |
| John William Law's name is recorded on the list. |
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| Memorial: Singapore
Memorial (above), Singapore. Column 59. |
| The Singapore Memorial bears, on its columns, the
names of soldiers and airman who have no known grave. The Memorial
stands in Kranji War Cemetery. |
| The cemetery dedication
reads "1939-1945. On the walls of this memorial are recorded
the names of twenty-four thousand Soldiers and Airman of many
races united in service to the British Crown who gave their lives
in Malaya and neighbouring lands and seas in the air over southern
and eastern Asia and the Pacific but to whom the fortune of war
denied the customary rites accorded their comrades in death". |
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The Hell Ships
"Only a few months after the fall of the Allied territories
in the Far East, the Japanese began moving POWs by sea out
of all the areas they had conquered - Singapore, Hong Kong,
the Philippines, Java, and other places, and sending them
to Japan, Taiwan, Burma, the Dutch East Indies and other
areas to be used as slave labour. POWs were crammed with
little or no water or food into stinking holds, filthy with
coal dust, congealed sugar syrup or horse manure left over
from previous voyages. The vessels became known as the 'Hell
Ships'.
Thousands of allied prisoners were transported on dozens
of Japanese 'Hell Ships', and many thousands of those perished
from murder, starvation, sickness and neglect - or were
killed when the unmarked ships were attacked unknowingly
by friendly forces. Some of the cruelty the prisoners experienced
was extraordinary, even for prisoners of the Japanese."
Hell
Ship Rolls
The
Hell Ships Memorial
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| The WW1 servicemen are listed under the Parishes
of Arrington or Wimpole as shown on the Cambridgeshire County War
Memorial in Ely Cathedral. |
| These pages were researched by Steve
Odell. He would be pleased to add a photograph or any additional
family or military information against the names in the individual
commemorations. Please contact
with details. |
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Roll of Honour
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The
following names are recorded on the
Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial:
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1914-1918
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Sergeant
W.Ingrey
1st Bedfordshire Regiment
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Private
J.W.Neaves
5th Kings Shropshire Light Infantry
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Private
A.H.Pell
2nd Queens Royal West Surrey
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Private
F.Smith
1st Bedfordshire Regiment
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Lance Corporal
W.Wayman
11th Suffolk Regiment
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1939-1945
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Private
J.W.Law
2nd Cambridgeshire Regiment
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