|
|
 |
|
In memory of
|
|
Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes
|
|
(Wimpole)
|
 |
|
Captain The Hon Commanding No 2 Company 1st Battalion
Coldstream Guards
|
|
Born: 22 May 1880, Lanhydrock Cornwall
Died: Died 30 September 1915, aged 35.
How died: Killed in action from wounds received from sniper
fire while bringing in a wounded private from no man's land during
the Battle of Loos (after an attack on Hill 70). He had apparently
already saved a sergeant and was recommended for the Victoria
Cross.
Theatre of War: France and Flanders.
Final Campaign: "It was at Loos that for the first
time large numbers of men from Kitchener's Army - the wartime
volunteers of 1914 - would fight and die in a major battle. It
was a battle that would consume senior officers, war poets, sons
of the gentry and public figures, and thousands of humble Tommies
who felt this might be the 'Big Push' which would break the stranglehold
of trench warfare. It was not to be, and in the two and half weeks
of bitter fighting here in September and October 1915 more than
20,000 British soldiers would die."
|
|
|
"'Tommy' Agar-Robartes
was recommended for the Victoria Cross after rescuing a fallen
comrade under heavy fire"
|
| Family Background: Thomas 'Tommy'
Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes was the eldest son and heir of Thomas
Charles, 6th Viscount Clifden and Mary Dickenson, Vicountess Clifden
of Lanhydrock, Bodmin, Cornwall and of Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire.
He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and was the Liberal
Member of Parliament for St Austell and Mid-Cornwall from 1908 until
his death. |
| Military History: At the outbreak
of war Tommy was a volunteer in the Devon Yeomanry. Desperate to
get to the front he joined the Royal Bucks Hussars who, to his horror,
were stationed in England. |
| [Buckinghamshire (Royal Bucks Hussars):
Thomas C. R. Agar- Robartes was appointed Second Lieutenant on 5th
August, 1914.] |
| [Buckinghamshire (Royal Bucks Hussars):
Second Lieutenant Thomas C. R. Agar- Robartes to be Captain. Dated
19th September, 1914.] |
| Tommy then joined the Coldstream Guards
as an officer and was subsequently posted to France. |
| [Coldstream Guards, Captain The Honourable
Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes, from Buckinghamshire (Royal
Bucks Hussars) Yeomanry, Territorial Force, to be Lieutenant. Dated
5th January, 1915.] |
| “Tommy Robartes was a remarkable man…devoid
of fear”, according to his brother officer Lt G Barry, who recounts
a remarkable musical escapade in Chapter 29 of Lyn MacDonald’s book
"1915 – The Death of Innocence". |
| "Robartes wanted to form a band in
his company of Coldstream Guards, and on home leave bought the necessary
instruments to do so. The band, a little ensemble of about 10 players,
became so good that they were allowed to accompany route marches.
|
| "However, Tommy had sworn revenge
for the loss of two sergeants during an eventful spell in the line,
and he decided that the band would be the best means to settle the
score . He advertised a musical entertainment in German, which they
stuck above the parapet. The show would start at midnight, which
indeed it did, and the Germans were treated to plenty of music to
their liking, such as The Watch on the Rhine. |
| "However, what the Germans didn’t
know was that our front line had been evacuated, and the artillery
had been primed to let rip on the opposing trenches three minutes
into the concert. To cut several pages of Miss MacDonald’s account
short, Tommy exacted his revenge, on 4th August 1915." |
| Memorial (Cornwall): A memorial
tablet in the Cathedral church of Cornwall reads: "To the
memory of Captain The Hon. Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes,
Coldstream Guards, M. P. for the St. Austell Division of Cornwall.
Who lost his life in France Sept. 30th 1915, after rescuing a wounded
comrade under heavy fire for which gallant exploit he was recommended
for the Victoria Cross." |
|
Memorial (Wimpole): There is a stained-glass
window commemorated to the memory of the Hon T C R Agar-Robartes
to the right of the Chancel in the south wall of St Andrew's Parish
Church, Wimpole.
|
 |
| Grave: I.D.33 |
| Cemetery: Lapugnoy
Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. |
|
The cemetery was first chosen in the summer
of 1915, in preparation for the coming British offensive; and
the first burials took place in September. There are nearly 1500
war casualties commemorated at this site.
|
| - |
|
Time Capsule:
"A trunk containing the military and personal effects
of a British officer killed in action during the first world
war, were carefully packed away in an attic in Cornwall
by his grief-stricken mother, after he died saving an injured
comrade in the First World War. In 1999, the belongings
of Captain Tommy Agar Robartes were found perfectly preserved
after gathering dust for 84 years in the attic of his former
home, Lanhydrock House in Cornwall.
|
| "National Trust property manager Andrea
Marchington opened the trunk. "Inside there were some
of the things that he used in the trenches. A trench periscope,
a monocular, his sword, walnut talc holder, moustache comb,
a tiny little silver spirit lamp, and a little drinking cup
inside a leather case also made of silver. Everything beautifully
made, each with its own case, and giving a rare insight into
a serving officer's life" |
| "Captain Agar-Robartes' possessions
are now on permanent display at Lanhydrock and act as a poignant
reminder of life at the time of the first Great War."
[BBC - 11 November 1999 and others]. |
|
|
|
In memory of
|
|
Edward George Clarke
|
|
(Arrington)
|
| Private 7762. 7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. |
Born: Arrington, Cambridgeshire.
Enlisted: Cambridge (as career solidier).
Died: Wednesday 27 March 1918, aged 27.
How died: Killed in action.
Theatre of War: France and Flanders. |
| Son of George and Sarah Elizabeth Clarke of Crow End,
Arrington, Cambridgeshire. |
 |
| Memorial: Panel 25, Pozieres
Memorial, Somme, France. |
| The Pozieres Memorial relates to the period of
crises in March and April 1918 when the fifth Army was driven back
by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields. The
memorial commemorates over 14300 casualties who have no known grave
and who fell in France between 21 March and 7 August 1918. |
| - |
|
|
In memory of
|
|
Harry Collin
|
|
(Arrington)
|
 |
| Private 13669. 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. |
Born: c1886 Arrington, Cambridgeshire.
Enlisted: Cambridge (September 1914).
Died: Sunday 26 August 1917.
How died: Killed in action.
Theatre of War: France and Flanders. |
| Husband of Mrs L.F. Collin of 50 Whitcomb Street,
Leicester Square, London. |
 |
|
Family Background: Born in Arrington, Harry Collin was
the second son of William Grey Collin (1845-1923) of Arrington
and Jane Collin, nee Bullen, (1851-1922) of Wimpole. He was brother
to Caroline, Ernest, Florence, Fanny, Louisa and Jemima. The 1901
census has the family living at Church End in Arrington with William
employed as a Bricklayer and Harry as a Bricklayer's Labourer.
|
| Military History: Harry enlisted in Cambridge
in 1914 and subsequently went with the battalion to France on 10th
January 1916. He was killed in action at the Third Battle of Ypres
(known as Passchendaele) at Malakoff Farm during fighting near Hargicourt
on Sunday 26 August 1917. |
 |
Grave: plot 1, row B, grave 13.
Cemetery: Hargicourt British Cemetery, Aisne, France. |
| Hargicourt is a village about 16 kilometres north-west
of St Quentin and about 3 kilometres west of the main road from
St Quentin to Cambrai. The cemetery is at the western end of the
village. |
Hargicourt was occupied by British troops between
April 1917, and the 21 March, 1918, and recaptured by Australian
troops on the 18 September, 1918. Hargicourt British Cemetery was
begun in May, 1917, and used by fighting units until March, 1918;
some further burials were made in September and October, 1918, and
three British graves were brought in after the Armistice from Hargicourt
Communal Cemetery German Extension. It was largely used by the 34th
Division, under the name of Hargicourt Quarry Cemetery (derived
from the quarry across the railway line).
Casualty Details: UK 273, Australia 15, India 22, Germany 2,
Total Burials: 312 |
11th
Battalion Resource site |
| Photographs and additional details contributed by
John Bullen. |
| - |
|
|
In memory of
|
|
Harry Albert Ingrey
|
|
(Arrington)
|
| Private* 3/8232, 1st Battalion, 7th Suffolk Regiment. |
| [* The Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial gives rank
as Private. Some military records indicate rank as Lance Corporal.] |
Born: Croydon, Cambridgeshhire.
Enlisted: Cambridge (believed pre-war).
Died: 24 April 1915, aged 22.
How died: Killed in action.
Theatre of War: France and Flanders. |
| Son of Henry Ingrey of 33 [High Street], Croydon. |
| Notes:
Harry Albert Ingrey also appears on the Roll of Honour on the War
Memorial for the Parish of Croydon, Cambridgeshire. |
 |
| Memorial: Ypres
(Menin Gate) Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. |
| Ypres (now Ieper) is a town in the Province of
West Flanders. The Memorial is situated at the eastern side of the
town on the road to Menin (Menen) and Courtrai (Kortrijk). Each
night at 8.00pm, the traffic is stopped at the Menin Gate while
members of the local Fire Brigade sound the Last Post in the roadway
under the Memorial's arches. |
| The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial bears the names
of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves are not known.
The memorial was unveiled by Lord Plumer in July 1927. |
| - |
|
|
In memory of
|
|
William Ingrey
|
|
(Wimpole)
|
| Sergeant 5126. 3rd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment |
Born: Wimpole, Cambridgeshire [1881 census:
Kingston]
Enlisted: Royston, Hertfordshire (as career solidier).
Died: Saturday 5 June 1915, aged 38.
How died: Died
Theatre of War: Home. |
| "Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. Son of
Edward and Hannah* Ingrey; husband of Beatrice May Ingrey of Belle
Vue, West Parade, Dunstable." [*Census 1881: William's mother
appears to be named Mary Ann.] |
| [William Ingrey does not appear in the 1901 census
for Wimpole and it is possible that he has already enlisted into
the army. The census for 1881 and 1891, when the family lived at
the French Lodge/House in Ermine Way, give the following information
- |
| 1881 Census: |
| Edward INGREY |
Head |
M |
27
|
Agricultural Labourer |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| Mary Ann INGREY |
Wife |
M |
27
|
- |
Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire |
| Eliza INGREY |
Daughter |
- |
6
|
Scholar |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| William INGREY |
Son |
- |
4
|
Scholar |
Kingston, Cambridgeshire |
| Mary INGREY |
Daughter |
- |
2
|
- |
Kingston, Cambridgeshire |
|
| 1891 Census: |
Edward
INGREY |
Head |
W
|
36
|
Agricultural Labourer |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| Eliza INGREY |
Daughter |
S
|
16
|
- |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
| William INGREY |
Son |
- |
14
|
Agricultural Labourer |
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire |
|
 |
Grave: J.12.
Cemetery: Felixstowe New Cemetery, Suffolk, United Kingdom. |
| There are 64 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-18
war, including 1 unidentified Royal Navy sailor who was buried on
26th March 1917, in B. 71. There are a further 44 burials of the
1939-45 war including 9 unidentified seamen of the Merchant Navy.
There are also 8 foreign national war burials including 1 unidentified
German airman, and 3 non-war service burials. |
| - |
| 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. |
|
|
Roll of Honour
|
|
The
following names are recorded on the
Wimpole and Arrington War Memorial:
|
|
1914-1918
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sergeant
W.Ingrey
1st Bedfordshire Regiment
|
|
|
Private
J.W.Neaves
5th Kings Shropshire Light Infantry
|
Private
A.H.Pell
2nd Queens Royal West Surrey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Private
F.Smith
1st Bedfordshire Regiment
|
Lance Corporal
W.Wayman
11th Suffolk Regiment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1939-1945
|
|
|
|
|
Private
J.W.Law
2nd Cambridgeshire Regiment
|
|
-
|
|
