Remembering those who died in the Great War

posted in: WWI, WWII | 0

With Remembrance Sunday approaching, as part of our series on local road names, it seems the appropriate time to recall those who fell in the Great War 1914-18, who are commemorated in some of the road names in the recently built housing estates.

Mark Horace ALLEN
Thomas Henry LAILEY
John ALDER
William Henry LAILEY
Edward Ernest BEALES
Henry John PARKER
William PIGGOTT
Frederick James BOLTON
Frederick ALLEN
Albert G MAYBANKS
Alfred LAWRENCE
Jesse James WESTALL
Arthur Richard John APPLETON
William MEARING
Errol Geoffrey ELISHA
Austin BAILEY
d. 21-Nov-1914
d. 5-Jan-1915
d. 5-Jan-1915
d. 7-Aug-1915
d. 25-Sept-1915
d. 25-Sept-1915
d. 18-Aug-1916
d. 17-Feb-1917
d. 5-Mar-1917
d. 5-Sept-1917
d. 9-Sept-1917
d. 11-Sept-1917
d. 29-Nov-1917
d. 15-Apr-1918
d. 22-Apr-1918
d. 2-Oct-1918
Allen Way
Lailey Path
Alder Grove
Lailey Path
Beales Grove
Parker Close
Piggott Road
Bolton Drive
Allen Way
Maybanks
Lawrence Place
Westall Street
Appleton Way
Mearing Grove
Elisha Close
Bailey Mews

Almost all the roads are in Shinfield, in the new estate behind the School Green Centre and the Health Centre. The exception is Elisha Close in Spencers Wood. Errol Elisha was a member of the Elisha family about which I’ve written in an earlier post.

Although the above list may seem long, it is by no means a full list of all those from Shinfield Parish who fell in the Great War. All 28 young men who died are commemorated on the War Memorial on School Green, as well as those killed in the Second World War. More information about all of them can also be found on the Roll of Honour website.

Further improvements to website

In an attempt to make information easier to find we are consolidating previous posts on the Group’s Blog and publishing them in a new area on the website Our Village time Time. So far two themes have been completed, the first on The Village in War Time gathering together previous posts on the Great War and Second World War, including the letter from Maria Antonia Bertoni on her father’s experience as an Italian POW held at Stanbury Camp. The second theme to be completed is Settlement and landscape, bringing together posts on the many changes that have affected the village and surrounding countryside over the years. Future themes will include farms and farming and leisure and recreation.

If there are further improvements that you would like to see please leave a comment below or get in touch through our email.

Left: Woodcock Lane

VE Day and the Impact of the War on the Village

Although Shinfield’s VE Day Commemorations had to be cancelled due to the current restrictions we’ve taken the opportunity to update our website to create an area about the impact of the Second World War, and the Great War, on the Village and its residents.  This includes information from previous posts including accounts of evacuees and the impact of the wars on our village schools as well as new information.

The former United Reform Chapel, Basingstoke Road

We’ve also created a new Resources area on the website which will contain free downloadable files and information. With so many people taking advantage of the current restrictions to explore the area by bike or on foot, the first item to be uploaded is a history-focused walk along the Basingstoke Road.

Some people may feel that somewhere like this doesn’t have much of a history to speak of but we would beg to differ. All along the Basingstoke Road from Three Mile Cross to Swallowfield there are hints and clues to be found which add interest to an afternoon’s walk, for instance the old orchards that used to grow where Apple Tree Lane now stands, a reminder of the village’s former history of market gardening. No need to walk the whole distance in one go but if you’re feeling energetic…

Jeremy Saunders, May 2020