Private, 267114, Arthur ABBOTT 2nd/7th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) Killed in Action, 21st March 1918
Arthur Abbott was born in Raunds on 7 January 1881, the son of John and Sarah Jane Abbott of Marshalls Road. By the end of the century the family were living at Hargrave and Arthur was employed as an Army shoe closer.
After his death, Arthur's body was never recovered and so he is commemorated on Bay 7 of the Arras Memorial, France and on the Hargrave War Memorial but not on that of Raunds. He was awarded the British War and Victory medals.
Corporal, 50496, Henry ALLEN 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment Killed in Action, 26th August 1918
Henry “Harry” Allen was born in Raunds in 1898, the son of William and Elizabeth Allen of 4, Beech Hill. A shoehand like his father, he was employed by C E Nichols of Midland Road prior to enlisting at Raunds in June 1916.
He is buried in Grevillers British Cemetery, France, grave reference XI.AA.15 and was awarded the British War and Victory medals. He is also remembered on a family gravestone in Raunds Cemetery and on the Baptist Chapel Roll of Honour of Old Scholars.
Private, 40955, John Stanley ALLEN 1st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers Died of Wounds, 6th October 1917
John Stanley Allen was born in Raunds on the 29th April 1898, the son of Frederick and Mary Ann Allen of Sackville Street. Before joining up he worked in the boot and shoe trade being employed by Tebbutt & Hall Brothers.
He is buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium, grave reference VII.G.10. He was awarded the British War and Victory medals. He is also remembered on a family memorial in the Wesleyan Chapelyard and on Ireland’s National Roll of Honour of the Great War. In addition, the contribution by his relatives in 1950 towards the provision of trees and shrubs for the new Memorial Gardens in his memory is recorded on a commemorative plaque within the gardens.
Private, 30913, William ANDREWS 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 1st July 1918
William Andrews was born in Raunds in 1891, the son of George and Ruth Andrews, he lived with his wife Ellen and their three children, Phyllis, Florence and Ellen Amelia in Chelveston Road. Before the war he was employed by John Horrell and Son as a shoe finisher.
He was awarded the British War and Victory medals and is buried in Bouzincourt Ridge Cemetery, France, grave reference II.J.15. He is also remembered on a family gravestone in Raunds Cemetery as well as being named on the Stanwick War Memorial and Church Roll of Honour.
Private, G/86194, Fred Bowman ANGOOD 19th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment Killed in Action, 23rd July 1918
Frederick Bowman Angood was born in Mepal, Cambridgeshire in 1882 the son of Frederick and Jane Angood. He served his shoemaking apprenticeship at St. Ives before moving to Raunds during the early 1900’s. Previously employed by C E Nichols, at the time of joining up he was working for Tebbutt & Hall Brothers. He married Lillian Kirby of Thrapston in 1912 taking up residence in Park Road where they were living with their two children at the time of his death.
He is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium, grave reference XXVIII.G.12 and he was awarded the British War and Victory medals. He is also remembered on the War Memorial at Mepal, Cambridgeshire and the Thrapston Baptist Chapel Roll of Honour.
Private, 26411, George ARCHER 9th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment Killed in Action, 8th October 1918
George Archer, the son of James William and Sarah Ann Archer of Park Road, was born in Raunds in 1887. Like many of his local contemporaries, he was a shoe worker by trade and when called up was employed by E W Stanley & Company.
He is buried in High Tree Cemetery, France, grave reference A.40 and was awarded the British War and Victory medals.
Private, 40285, John ARCHER 9th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment Died, 21st March 1918
John “Jack” Archer was born in Raunds in the spring of 1895, the son of Walter and Lydia Archer of Thorpe Street, although for a number of years the family lived in Ringstead.
He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France, bay 3 and was awarded the British War and Victory medals.
Private, 18152, Roland ARCHER 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 17th August 1916
Roland Archer, youngest son of William Thomas and Mary Ann Archer of 9, Midland Road, was born in Raunds in 1898. A shoe hand employed by E W Stanley & Company, he enlisted at Rushden on the 20th April 1915, falsely stating his age to be 19 on his attestation papers.
He is buried in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, France, grave reference XVI.G.7 and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals.
Lance Corporal, 18377, John William Victor ASHBY 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 7th June 1916
John William Victor Ashby was born in Northampton in the summer of 1896, the eldest child of John William and Emma Ashby. By the time he joined up the family had moved to Raunds and were living at 5, Francis Terrace. He was only 18 years old when he enlisted but like many other eager young men of the day he gave his age as 19 in order to be accepted.
He is buried in Maroc British Cemetery, France, grave reference I.F.8 and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals.
Private, 41683, Frederick William BAILEY 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment Killed in Action, 26th October 1917
Frederick William Bailey was born in Raunds in 1898, the son of Charles and Eliza Bailey of 69, Marshalls Road. A shoe worker by trade, he was employed by Adams Brothers and in his spare time was described as a “very promising” member of the Raunds Temperance Band.
He was awarded the British War and Victory medals and is buried in Hooge Crater Cemetery, near Ypres, Belgium, grave reference X.H.14.
Rifleman, 41592, Thomas BALL 15th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles Killed in Action, 15th October 1918
Thomas Ball was born in Ringstead in 1879, the son of John and Susan Ball. He grew up in his mother’s home town of Raunds and married Charlotte Cade in early 1902. By the outbreak of the war he was living with his wife and three children in Wollaston where he was in business as a fishmonger.
He is buried in Dadizeele New British Cemetery, Belgium, grave reference II.A.6 and was awarded the British War and Victory medals. He is also remembered on the Wollaston War Memorial, on a family grave in Raunds Cemetery and on Ireland’s National Roll of Honour for the Great War.
Private, 36743, John Henry BAMFORD 49th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps Killed in Action, 11th April 1917
“Jack” Bamford was the second son of Jesse and Isabella Bamford. He was born at Teeton, near Northampton in 1888 but grew up at 5, Grove Street, Raunds. A staunch churchman, he was first a member of the Church Lads Brigade, progressing to Sunday school teacher and Church Choir member. Outside of the church he was also a member of the Raunds Cecilia Male Voice Choir from the time of its formation and had a considerable interest in football, usually taking the role of referee.
Twenty eight year old Private Bamford has no known grave but is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France, bay 10 and also on the Rushden War Memorial and Church Roll of Honour. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals.
Private, 27568, Thomas William BAMFORD 2nd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 16th August 1917
Born in Little Bowden, Leicestershire in 1882, Thomas William Bamford was the eldest son of Jesse and Isabella Bamford of 5, Grove Street. He had been employed as doorkeeper at the Kettering Pavilion and then in the signal department of the Midland Railway at Kettering, prior to enlisting in the 2nd Northamptons on 24th August 1916.While growing up in Raunds he was active in the Church Lads Brigade and a member of the Raunds Volunteers up to the time of their disbandment. His younger brother, John Henry, was killed on 11th April 1917 (see above), while another brother, Samuel, served in the Royal Marines and survived the war.
He was awarded the British War and Victory medals and is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium, grave reference L.A.4.
Private, 10130, Oliver John BARRITT 9th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders Died, 31st July 1916
We believe that the man whose name is listed on the Raunds War Memorial and St. Peter’s Church Roll of Honour as “C Barrett” is actually Raunds resident Oliver John Barritt. We have reached this conclusion as we can find no other suitable casualty candidate in the numerous military listings or newspaper archives available. Oliver was born in Hannington, near Kettering, in 1890, the son of William and Hilda Barritt but by the outbreak of the war he was living with his brother Albert and family in Beech Hill.
Twenty six year old Oliver John Barritt was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Britsh War and Victory medals. He is buried in Bruay Communal Cemetery Extension, France, grave reference B.10 and is also remembered on the War Memorial in the Church of St Peter & St Paul, Hannington.
Private, 202975, Herbert BATES 2nd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 27th May 1918
Born in Raunds on the 9th January 1897, Herbert Bates was the younger son of Joseph and Sarah Jane Bates of Coleman Street. He was a cousin of the three Coles brothers also lost as a result of the Great War. As a teenager he was a member of the Wesleyan Chapel Young Men’s Class, his entry in the register having the sad additional footnote “killed in battle, 1918”!
Private Bates is buried in Sissonne British Cemetery, France, grave reference A.1 and was awarded the British War and Victory medals.
Private, 30010, James BOND 5th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Killed in Action, 8th October 1918
James Bond was born in Irchester on the 26th October 1889, the son of William and Ellen Bond. However, by the time of his death in 1918, his mother had been widowed, had remarried and was living at 12, Francis Terrace, Raunds, as Mrs Charles Morris. A former member of the Church Vestry Class, he was educated at the Stanwick Board School.
He was awarded the British War and Victory medals and is buried in Beaurevoir British Cemetery, France, grave reference D.24 and is also remembered on Ireland’s Great War Roll of Honour.
W BOTTOMS Real Name Private, 31713, William John Bottoms CROSS 21st (Tyneside Scottish) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers Died, 10th September 1916
Although he appears on both the Raunds War Memorial and the Roll of Honour in St. Peter’s Church as W Bottoms, this Great War casualty’s full name was actually William John Bottoms Cross and he died in 1916 not 1915 as stated on the Church Roll of Honour.
William J Bottoms Cross was born in East Bradenham, Norfolk in the summer of 1894, the eldest son of John and Ruth Bottoms, who lived in Clophill, Bedfordshire, the village of John’s birth. The family then moved to Raunds during the early years of the war setting up home in Thorpe Street.
He is buried at the St Sever Cemetery, Rouen, France, grave reference B.25.21, and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals.
Private, 16863, Wilfrid BOUCH 7th Battalion, British Columbia Regiment, Canadian Infantry Killed in Action, 24th April 1915
Wilfrid Bouch is not named on the Raunds War Memorial but he was born in the town on the 26th March 1894, the son of Alfred and Elizabeth Bouch of Park Road. He emigrated on the 3rd April 1913 leaving Southampton aboard the SS Ascania bound for Portland, USA and was working as a florist when the hostilities began.
He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium, panels 18-28-30 and is also remembered on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial and on page 6 of their Great War Roll of Honour.
His name does appear on a War Memorial in England, that of St. Edmunds, Hunstanton, Norfolk where his widowed mother had moved to on leaving Raunds. Private Bouch was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals.
Private, 9906, James BRAWN 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 9th May 1915
James Brawn was born in Raunds in 1896, the son of John Joseph and Mary Anne Brawn. A shoe worker by trade, he enlisted in the territorials as private, 1927, joining the 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, at Rushden on the 18th February 1913.
He has no known grave, being commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial, France, panels 28 to 30 and was awarded the 1914 Star with Clasp, British War and Victory medals.
Like his younger brother George Henry, who died during WW2, his name does not appear on the Raunds War Memorial, but instead on those of Stanwick (where his parents then lived) and Rushden (where he was living prior to joining up).
Private, 109, Sam BRAYFIELD 54th (1st/1st East Anglian) Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps Died at Sea, 13th August 1915
Sam Brayfield was just 19 when he was drowned in the sinking of the troopship RoyalEdward in the Aegean Sea by the German U-Boat UB-14, en-route to the Dardanelles.
Born in Raunds in 1896, he was the son of Jeremiah and Louisa Brayfield of Gladstone Street. He was a member of the Church Scouts, as were Jack Spicer and Percy Watson, also to die during the Great War, and trained as a mechanic.
Sam is commemorated on the Helles Memorial on the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals. He is also remembered on a family headstone in St Peter’s Church graveyard.
Private, 17062, Alfred BUGBY 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Died of Wounds, 16th June 1916
Alfred Bugby was born in Raunds in 1890, the second son of Frederick and Caroline Bugby of Brooks Road. As a boy he attended the Baptist Chapel Sunday School and on joining up was working as a farm labourer having formerly been employed by Raunds Urban Council. He married Sarah Elizabeth Reynolds at Wellingborough on the 13th May 1911 and they had at least one child, a daughter Mary, born in November 1912.
He is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, France, grave reference II.B.184, is also remembered on the Baptist Chapel Roll of Honour and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals.
Private, 71776, Horace BUGBY 1st Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) Killed in Action, 31st March 1918
Horace Bugby, the only son of Walter and Rose Bugby, of 3, Grove Street, was born in Raunds in 1898. A former member of the Young Men’s Class at the Wesleyan Church, he was also a well known musician having played in the Raunds Temperance Band for several years. Prior to joining up he worked for Owen Smith.
He is buried in Moreuil Communal Cemetery Allied Extension, France, grave reference A.12 and was awarded the British War and Victory medals.
Horace is also remembered on a family headstone in Raunds cemetery and on two brass vases presented to “St Mary’s” Church, Raunds by his parents at Easter 1920. One vase carries the inscription “To the Glory of God and in loving memory of Horace Bugby who fell in action.”
Captain, Arnold Hayes BURROWS 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 13th March 1916
Arnold Hayes Burrows was the second son of the Reverend Joseph and Mrs Burrows, Berrister House, his father being the superintendent minister at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Raunds from autumn 1913 to autumn 1916.
He was born in 1884 in South Petherton, Somerset and educated at Kingswood School, Bath from 1895 to 1903 where he was a Prefect and excelled at athletics, cricket and rugby. He progressed to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge gaining an exhibition in mathematics. When war broke out, he resigned as a master at the Mercer’s Company School, London to join the Officer Training Corps at Cambridge. In May 1915 he married Margaret Bridge in London.
Arnold Burrows was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals and is buried in Carnoy Military Cemetery, France, grave reference S.11. He is also remembered on the Kingswood School WW1 Roll of Honour.
Private, 7543, Arthur BURTON 7th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 18th June 1917
Arthur Burton was born in Raunds in 1883, the son of Knighton and Esther Burton. As a young man he was a member of the Baptist Chapel Bible Class and worked as a clicker before joining the Northamptonshire Regiment in October 1904. He served with the 1st Battalion in India for several years before being discharged to the Army Reserve.
In the summer of 1911 he applied for permission from the Army to emigrate to Victoria, Australia. This having been approved he embarked for Australia on the SSGeelong on the 27th July. He remained “down under” until he was recalled as a reservist at the outbreak of the war and joined the 7th Battalion of the Northamptons.
Private Burton was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory medals and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium, panels 43 & 45. He is also remembered on the Baptist Chapel’s Old Scholars’ Roll of Honour, the Stanwick War Memorial and Church Roll of Honour although he is not named on the Roll of Honour in St Peter’s Church.
Private, 3/8645, Cecil BURTON 1st Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment Killed in Action, 24th October 1914
Born in Raunds in 1892, the younger son of William and Annie Burton of 20, Marshall’s Road, Cecil Burton was employed as a shoehand at the St Crispin Productive Society before enlisting at Northampton on the 14th January 1909 joining the 3rd Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment.
Awarded the 1914 Star with Clasp, British War and Victory medals, Cecil has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium, panels 43 and 45, though not on the St Peter’s Church Roll of Honour.
