To mark the centenary of the Armistice of The Great War our archivist, Joy Heywood, researched the lives of those commemorated on the lists either side of our War Memorial Window. The results were placed in a special display in Church alongside specially commissioned 'There but not there' perspex figures. Our drama group also produced a special series of evenings to mark the event.

Below you will find the names and further information of those listed in the memorial and further down the page are several detailed biographies of some of those listed, taken from our Parish Magazine of the times and other sources. At the bottom of the page is the Role of Honour listing those who served in the Great War and survived.

Our thanks go to our archivist Joy Heywood for the research that has gone into making this information available.

War Memorial Window ~ The Dying Soldier

The War Memorial window was dedicated in November 1919 to honour those from the Parish who died during the Great War. The inscription at the bottom of the window reads:

‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’.

The subject, a soldier lying dead at the feet of Christ on the Cross, was copied from a picture entitled ‘The Great Sacrifice’ by James Clark which hangs in St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham on the Isle of Wight.

1915

2nd Lieutenant Eric James Godward                          

1st/7th Battalion Middlesex Regiment
Killed in action 25th August, 1915

From De Ruvigny Roll of Honour, Vol.1 published 1914 onwards.

Second son of the late William Godward, accountant and his wife, Agnes, of “New Thorpe”, Enfield in the County of Middlesex.

He was born in Enfield 19th February, 1895, educated at Merchant Taylors’ School and was in business until the outbreak of war, giving up the whole of his spare time to work among lads in Enfield. He held a commission as Cadet Lieutenant in the St. Andrew’s and St. Mary’s Company of the London Diocesan Church Lads’ Brigade and when war broke out was transferred to the 2nd/7th Middlesex Regiment (Territorial Force) with Captain Perks and most of the senior lads in his Brigade Company and was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant 13th, October, 1914. He was transferred to the 1st/7th Middlesex and went to France 25th July, 1915 and was killed in action there 25th August, 1915, being shot while on patrol duty and was buried at Fleubeix cemetery.

His Colonel wrote: Your son had not been with us very long, but in that time he had earned the liking and respect of everyone with whom he had come into contact. He was absolutely fearless and a very gallant young officer, in whom I had the utmost confidence.

Colonel Drew of 2nd/7th Middlesex wrote: During the ten months he served with me, I formed a great admiration for him. He was a boy of exceptional character.

From The Parish Magazine, September, 1915.

The news of the death of Lieut. Eric Godward, of the 7th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, at the post of duty in France, has come as a great shock to his many friends in the parish and neighbourhood. We are very sorry that such a promising young life has been cut short; but as far as he is concerned, to use the words of the poet: “The shorter the life, the longer immortality”. Nevertheless, his young friends have lost a splendid and inspiring example, and his mother, to whom we offer our sincere and heartfelt sympathy, one of the best and most devoted of sons. Lieut. Godward’s death was glorious for it found him at his accustomed task of doing his duty. That he should have offered himself to the service of his King and Country at this serious crisis in the nation’s history, was quite to be expected, and we are sure that he would rather have died as he has done, by the enemy’s bullet, than not to have served at all. May God make him to be numbered amongst his Saints in glory everlasting.

From The Parish Magazine, October, 1915.                           

Excerpt from a letter from Lieut. Eric James Godward to the lads of St. Andrew’s and St. Mary’s Company of the Church Lads’ Brigade, December, 1914.

Now, the Regiment I am in hopes and expects to go abroad soon, so that when that time comes, both Captain Perks and I will need your thoughts and prayers more than ever, and I know that you do not wish to hurt the feelings of your old Company Officers by weakening the Brigade. Just think what a satisfaction it will be when the war is over to find a more united, larger and more efficient Company than when we left. Lads! Stick to it, play the game, be keen and attend your Bible Classes and Drills regularly, so that if your country should need you, you will be disciplined, trained and ready.

Once more, the very best of luck, health and happiness to you.

Your affectionate friend,

Eric J. Godward  

1917

Lance Corporal Ronald Percy Jeaffreson       

2nd Battalion Honourable Artillery Company
Killed in action 3rd May, 1917

Research by J. Heywood

Born in 1898, he was the third son of Henry J. Jeaffreson, an insurance broker, and his wife, Edith, of “Belmont”, Bycullah Road, Enfield in the County of Middlesex. He was one of four brothers, all of whom served in the Great War; the others, Norman, Bryan and Kenneth, survived.

He was posted missing 3rd May, 1917, later listed as killed in action at Bulle Court, Pas-de-Calais. His parents installed a stained-glass window in the North Aisle of the church in his memory. It shows a young Jesus working with Joseph in his carpentry workshop while his mother, Mary, spins wool.

From The Parish Magazine, February, 1920

We have no doubt but that Ronald Percy Jeaffreson as a lad strove to follow in the footsteps of the Divine Son, and he possessed that charm of character and manner which comes from such an effort. For several years, he was a member of S. Mary Magdalene’s choir, and being the possessor of a charming voice, he generally sang the solos in the Anthems, and sang with such feeling that it was easy to realize that he fully meant what he sang. Our deepest sympathy is with the bereaved parents and all others who are in a similar case, and our prayer for Ronald Percy Jeaffreson, as well as for all who have made a like sacrifice, is that they may rest in peace, and be fully satisfied when they wake up with His Likeness.

Lance Corporal Alfred J. Driscoll

1st/7th Battalion Middlesex Regiment
Died of wounds 7th May, 1917

From The Parish Magazine, June, 1917

A further inroad upon the S. Andrew’s and S. Mary’s Company of the Church Lads’ Brigade has been made by the death of Sergeant (sic) Alfred Driscoll, at the hospital at Rouen, as the result of wounds received on active service. Alfred lost his parents when quite a small child, and was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Driscoll of Chase Side, who played the part of parents to him, and Alfred, ever since he became old enough to realize the situation, had played towards them the part of a dutiful son, and this makes his loss to be keenly felt by them. We offer Mr. and Mrs. Driscoll our most sincere sympathy. He had been a member of the Church Lads’ Brigade for several years, and no doubt was greatly benefited by the good influence of Captain Perks, (whose death was also announced in this edition of the Parish Magazine).

Letter from the Chaplain of the Hospital at Rouen to Mrs. Driscoll.

Dear Mrs. Driscoll,

Please allow me to express to you my deep sympathy on the loss you have sustained by the death of your son, 202102 Pte. A.T. Driscoll (sic), 7th Middlesex regiment, which took place at 6.30 this morning.

Your son was admitted to this hospital on 11th April last, suffering from a severe wound in the knee. His condition grew gradually worse, and although everything possible was done to save his life, these efforts proved unavailing. His strength was unable to meet the shock to his system. I have seen him daily since his admission to the hospital, and ministered to his spiritual needs. He has received the Blessed Sacrament at my hands and frequently I have prayed with him. He was a wonderfully brave and quiet patient, never complaining, however much he may have suffered, though happily, much of his suffering was mitigated for him. For the last few hours of his life he was delirious, and so I regret that I am unable to send you any message from him. I know how fruitless must be any attempt of mine to beguile you from the grief of a loss so great, but I pray our heavenly Father to assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and to leave you only the cherished memories of a loving son, together with the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of our country’s welfare.

His funeral will take place tomorrow in the cemetery of St. Sever, Rouen, with military honours. I will ask the Graves Registration Commission to send you a photograph of his last resting place, though this must necessarily take some time.

With my prayers that the merciful God will grant to him a place of eternal peace, and once more expressing my sincerest sympathy with you and yours, - I am, dear Mrs. Driscoll, always yours sincerely…….

2nd Lieutenant Norman Thomson Cossar

7th Battalion Rifle Brigade
Killed in action May 15th, 1917.

From Lloyd’s of London Memorial Book, 2014 researched and written by John Hamblin.

Norman Thomson Cossar was born in Palmers Green in Middlesex on the 24th March, 1887, the eldest son of James William Cossar, manager of a shipping company, and Elizabeth Thomson Cossar. He was christened at St. Pancras on 2nd July, 1887.

Norman worked as a clerk for Shaw, Savill & Albion and Company Ltd at Lloyd’s.

He enlisted into the Army as Private 464 in the 28th Battalion London Regiment (Artists’ Rifles) and embarked for France on the 26th October, 1914. He later returned to England for Officer training and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade on the 29th November, 1915.He was killed in action on the 15th May, 1917 and is buried at Hibers Trench Cemetery.

Research by J. Heywood.

Norman was the eldest of four children. His mother was from Duns in Berwickshire, Scotland and his father from St. Pancras, London. He had two younger brothers, Claude and Eric, who also served in The Great War and a younger sister, Sybil.

Claude had been farming before the War. He served in the Royal Scots Guards from September, 1914, being promoted to Lieutenant, and being demobilised in April, 1919. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1923.

Eric was working as a bank clerk before the War and joined up in September, 1914, serving until February, 1919 but because of a chronic health problem spent the whole war working as a motor mechanic in the London Scottish Regiment and never served at the front. He married in 1918 and he and his wife and one-year old daughter emigrated to Canada in 1920.

Sybil’s story is the saddest of all and is representative of the lives of many women of her generation. In 1911, at the age of 21, she was living with her now widowed mother in “Golfview”, East Barnet Road, Enfield and earning her own living as an assurance clerk – in her own way, following the family traditional profession, but also one of the new breed of independent working women. In 1916, she married Lieutenant John Pitcairn Millar of the 6th Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). John is also remembered on the St. Mary Magdalene War Memorial. He was killed in September, 1918. On 13th April, 1919, Sybil gave birth to their son who was named John Pitcairn after his father. Sybil moved with her son and her mother to Bournemouth, where they were all registered at the outbreak of World War 2. Her mother, Elizabeth Thomson Cossar, died in 1940. Sybil’s son joined up in 1939 and served at the rank of Lance Corporal with the 1st Battalion London Scottish (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment. He was killed in action in Italy on 4thJanuary, 1944. Sybil chose as her son’s epitaph “So kind, so thoughtful, so greatly missed” and recorded the fact that he was the son of Lieutenant John Pitcairn Millar who had been killed in the First War.

Sybil herself travelled to visit her brother in Canada in 1947 and her brother in New Zealand in 1953. She died in Poole in Dorset in 1971, aged 81. She had lost her husband and her brother to The Great War and her son to the Second World War.

1918

Lieutenant John Pitcairn Millar

6th Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Killed in action September 21st, 1918

From De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, Vol. 1, published from 1914 onwards.

…the eldest son of William Pitcairn Millar of Hythe, near Southampton, and his wife, Clara; b. Norwood, London, S.E. 19th November, 1887; educated Enfield Grammar School, Enfield; was a clerk; joined the London Scottish in 1908; was mobilized on the outbreak of war in August, 1914, served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from the following month; returned to England, July, 1915; was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant The Cameronians, 15th July, 1915; promoted Lieutenant in August, 1915; temporary Captain in September, 1915, and Adjutant in September, 1916; returned to France in August, 1918, and was killed in action at Villers Guislain 21st September following. Buried there. He married at Finchley, London, N., 28th March, 1916, Sybil Agnes Thomson Cossar, daughter of the late James William Cossar, and had a son, born 13th April, 1919.

Lieutenant Victor William Scott, M.C.

13th Battalion East Surrey Regiment, later Royal Flying Corps
Killed in action March 16th, 1918

The younger son of William Scott, a sugar confectioner, and his wife, Ellen Mary, of Edgehill Lodge, Enfield. Victor William began his service in the Army and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on 3rd. January, 1918. His older brother, Francis Charles Dudley Scott, also began his service in the Army and transferred to the Royal Air Force shortly after its formation in April, 1918. Neither brother survived the War. They were their parents’ only children.

From The London Gazette, 8th January, 1918

Gazetted Awards and Mentioned in Despatches.

His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of Military Cross to this Officer for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He went into No Man’s Land under hostile machine gun fire and searched over two hours for a wounded man, although there was every reason to believe that the enemy’s patrols were still about. Finding the wounded man, he carried him a distance of five hundred yards to our lines. He afterwards organised a searching party, and again proceeded into No Man’s Land to within a short distance of the enemy’s wire in the endeavour to find two missing men. His initiative and complete disregard for danger deserve the highest praise.

From Airmen Died in the Great War 1914 – 1918, published 1920.

Lieutenant Victor William Scott: transferred to 18th Squadron January 3rd, 1918 as Observer. Promoted Acting Flight Lieutenant 5th January, 1918 then Lieutenant. Posted missing March 16th, 1918. Later recorded as died 16th March, 1918. He was killed over the Western Front when his plane, a DH4 (Serial No. A8043) was shot down. His pilot, Lieutenant R.A. Mayne, was taken Prisoner of War.

Lieutenant Francis Charles Dudley Scott

Durham Light Infantry, later 62nd Squadron R.A.F.
Killed in action 4th November, 1918.

Research by J. Heywood

Francis Charles Dudley Scott was the older brother of Victor William Scott. He began his military service at the beginning of The Great War with the 6th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 1st June, 1916. His battalion took part in the Battles of Flers-Courcelette, Morval and the Transloyes Ridges in 1916 and the Battles of Arras in 1917. The records of Craiglockhart Hospital in Edinburgh show that Francis Charles Dudley Scott was admitted for the treatment of neurasthenia, now referred to as “shell-shock”, on 12th June, 1916, having served for 2 years and ten months, of which the last year had been spent in the field. Later that same month, the poet Wilfred Owen was also admitted to Craiglockhart Hospital and was discharged to pre-duty leave at the end of October.

Lieutenant Scott was discharged to duty on 16th October, 1917. Sometime after April, 1918, he was transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force and flew with the 62nd Squadron. On 4th November, 1918, flying a Bristol F2B over the Western Front, he was shot down and killed along with his co-pilot, Lieutenant C. Rigby. On the same day, Lieutenant Wilfred Owen of the 5th Battalion Manchester Regiment was killed in action on the Sambre-Oise Canal in Ors in France.

Lieutenant Eric Henry Platt Bailey

206th Squadron Royal Air Force
Killed in action August 11th, 1918

Research by J. Heywood

Eric was born in Friern Barnet, Middlesex, in 1898, the first son of James Henry Bailey and his wife, Esther. James Bailey was from Manchester and a civil engineer in railway construction. His wife was from Cheshire. They had an older daughter, Hilda, and in 1902 had a second son, John, who was just too young to see service in The Great War. The family moved to live on The Ridgeway in Enfield.

Eric joined the Royal Naval Air service in 1916 and rose to the rank of Flight Sub-Lieutenant, serving on H.M.S. Hazael, a hired merchant ship which was used on miscellaneous service throughout the War. He was transferred into the R.A.F. as a Pilot Lieutenant on its formation in April, 1918. On Sunday, August 11th, 1918, flying an Airco DH9 Bomber, he and his co-pilot, Lieutenant R. Milne, failed to return from their mission and were declared killed in action.

Captain Archibald Edward Vanderpump, M.C.

Killed in action August 27th, 1918

Born 1st April, 1892, he was the son of Paul Edward Vanderpump and his wife, Esther. Archibald had been a farmer before the War.

From The London Gazette, 11th January, 1919

Gazetted Awards and Mentions in Despatches

His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Military Cross to this Officer for conspicuous gallantry and initiative. During an attack when the battalion was heavily counter-attacked, he steadied his men under severe machine-gun and artillery fire, and then led them forward to the support of the right flank. His coolness and initiative at a critical time was largely instrumental in completely overthrowing the enemy attack.

2nd Lieutenant Leonard George Maddox, M.C.

1st/22nd Battalion London Regiment
Killed in action August 30th, 1918

From The Parish Magazine, October, 1918

Lieutenant Maddox was 19 years of age, and had only been in France a short time when he made the Great Sacrifice. But though the time had been short he had won the M.C. for bravery, and his Superior Officers deeply regretted the loss of such a gallant and efficient soldier.

From The London Gazette, 20th September, 1918

Gazetted Awards and Mention in Despatches.

His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of Military Cross to this Officer in recognition of his gallantry and devotion to duty in the field. He led a daylight patrol and brought back valuable information which enabled the battalion to move forward and establish posts in the old lines. Later he did fine work in getting rations and ammunition through to the forward outpost company under heavy shelling of gas and high explosive.

From The London Gazette, 10th January, 1919

Gazetted Awards and Mention in Despatches.

His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of a Bar to Military cross to this Officer. He displayed great courage and coolness during an advance under heavy fire of all descriptions and captured a chalk pit strongly held by the enemy with machine guns. When his platoon was counter-attacked in force he repulsed the enemy with loss, controlling his men with judgement and ability.

 

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The fighting famously stopped at the signing of the Armistice at 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. But many soldiers continued to die of their wounds. On the St. Mary Magdalene War Memorial, two such men are recorded.

 

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Lieutenant Clarence Philip Darrington

1st/5th Battalion London Rifle Brigade
Died of wounds Wednesday 27th November, 1918.

From The Parish Magazine, January, 1919

We deeply regret the death of this gallant young officer, and we offer our sincere sympathy to his young widow, his father, and the rest of his family. Lieut. Darrington died on November 22nd (sic), at Camiers Military Hospital, France, as the result of wounds received at Angreave on November 6th. He rejoined his old regiment, the London Scottish, from Buenos Aires, and went to France in November, 1914, missing the Mons Medal by twenty-four hours. On three occasions he went to France, and once to Gallipoli. From the London Scottish, he was transferred to the Fusiliers and then to the Rifle Brigade. His Major has written to his father as follows:-

We hear today with the deepest sorrow that your son has died of wounds. The news has come as a great blow to us all. Although we did not have the good fortune to be with him for long, he endeared himself to us all, and proved himself to be a very gallant and able soldier in action.

As a matter of fact, he was beloved by all who knew him, both in and out of the army, and what makes his death particularly sad is the fact that he was married as late as September 17th, 1918. R.I.P.

From The Parish Magazine, July,1919

Baptism: June 19th – Dennis Philip, son of Clarence Philip (deceased) and Norah Woodard Darrington

Research by J. Heywood

Clarence Philip was the son of Thomas and Clara Darrington. Thomas was an importer and exporter of sausage casings. Thomas and Clara had nine children. Clarence was the second child and oldest son of the family. In February, 1922, The Parish Magazine recorded the death of Clarence’s brother, Herbert Basil Darrington, who died in Northampton General Hospital after an operation following an accident in which his motorcycle was hit by a motorcar in heavy fog. He was only 25 years old and had served in and survived the Great War.

Private Henry Clements

6th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps
Died of wounds April17th, 1919

Research by J. Heywood

In the 1911 Census, Henry is recorded living with his aunt at 1, The Cottages, East Barnet Road, Enfield. He was born in 1884 in Old Southgate and worked as a brewery drayman before the War.

There is no further record of Henry except that he died of wounds, aged 35, and is buried in a War Grave in Lavender Hill Cemetery, Enfield.

St. Mary Magdalene Church, Enfield. The Men Who Served in the Great War and Survived.

Church photos © John Salmon