Harry Wood
Harry, born 1896, was the eldest son of Henry and Emily Wood. His father was born in Copped Hall Green and later, living at Eastbrook Road, worked as an engine driver at the Royal Gunpowder Factory. Harry at the age of 15 was working at Nobel’s Explosive Works.
Harry enlisted at Warlies and was a Private in the Essex Regiment. He died on 19th December 1914, aged 18 years, of wounds in France and Flanders.
William Ellis
William, born 1874, was the son of Henry and Sarah Ellis, another family from Copthall Green. William, his father and two brothers Henry and Alfred, were all farm labourers. He also had 3 younger sisters and a younger brother.
William enlisted at Warlies and was also a private with the 1st Battalion of the Essex Regiment. He died on 8th May 1915, aged 41 years, of wounds in Gallipoli.
Andrew Roddick
Andrew, born at High Beach in 1873, was the son of Andrew and Alice Roddick. His father was a farmer who came from Scotland and the 1891 Census showed Andrew living with his parents and elder sisters, Elizabeth and Alice, at High Beach.
Andrew was a career soldier and had attained the rank of major with the Household Cavalry and Cavalry of the Line. His battalion was the Essex Yeomanry. He was killed in action at Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium on 14th May 1915, aged 42 years. His name appears on the Menin Gate Memorial.
Arthur West
Arthur, born in 1896, was the son of Alfred and Selina West from Woodgreen Road, Upshire. His father was a domestic gardener and by the age of 15, Arthur was working as a farm labourer.
Arthur enlisted at Stratford and was a Private and Guardsman with the 4th Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. He died on 19th May 1915 at Chelsea, aged 19 years and was buried at Waltham Holy Cross Old Cemetery. His grave is marked with a War Grave monument.
Hubert Smith
Hubert, born in 1895, was the son of Louisa Smith from Horseshoe Hill, Upshire. He worked as a driller at a ball bearing manufacturing company.
Hubert enlisted at Stratford and was a Private in the 9th Battalion of the Essex Regiment. He died on 19th December 1915, aged 20 years, of wounds sustained in France and Flanders.
Albert Thompson
Albert Thompson, born in 1889, lived at Paternoster Hill with his in-laws, Thomas and Annie Howard and his sister, Florence Thompson. He worked locally as a nursery-hand.
He enlisted at Waltham Abbey and was a Private with the 5th Battalion of the Essex Regiment. He was killed in action in Palestine on 2nd November 1917, aged 28years.
George Parish
George, born in 1896, the eldest son of Charles and Florence Parish, lived in Copthall Green with his 4 brothers, Charles, Alfred, Percy and Walter and 2 sisters, Mary and Ivy. Like his father, George worked as a farm labourer.
He enlisted at Epping and was a Private with the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment. He was killed in action In France and Flanders on 1st July 1916, aged 20 years.
Jocelyn Buxton
Jocelyn, born in 1896, lived at Woodredon House with his parents Sir Thomas and Anne, and 4 brothers, Thomas, Clarence, Maurice, Rupert and sister Lucy.
He was a 2nd Lieut. with the 6th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade and was killed in action on the first day of the Somme on 1st July 1916. There were 57,470 casualties that day including 19,240 fatalities. His name appears on the Thiepval Memorial – a memorial to 72,337 missing servicemen with no known grave. He was aged 20 years.
Albert Pegrum
Albert, born in 1898, the son of Alfred and Alice Pegrum, lived in Woodgreen Road with his 3 brothers, Harry, Arthur, George and 5 sisters, Ada, Rose, Amy, Mary and Maud. His father worked as a carman in the Potteries.
He enlisted at Warlies and was a Private with the 4th Battalion of the Duke of Cambridge’s Own Middlesex Regiment. He was killed in action in France and Flanders on 6th October 1917, aged 19 years.
Fred Parish
Fred, born in 1897, the son of Amos and Elizabeth Ann Parish, lived at Crown Hill with his brother Albert and sister Florence. His father was a bricklayer.
He enlisted at Warlies and was a Private with the 1st City of London Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. He died of wounds in France and Flanders on 30th July 1917, aged 20 years.
Victor Mills
Victor, born in 1888, the son of Harry and Mary Mills, lived at Wood Green Farm, Upshire with his brother Henry. Victor worked on the farm helping his father.
He enlisted at Holborn and was a Private in the Infantry Battalion of the Machine Gun Corps. He died in France and Flanders on 19th December1917 aged 29 years.
Arthur Edwin Wood “Eddy”
Eddy, born in 1884, the son of William and Elizabeth Wood, lived at Ferns Hollow, Copthall Green. His family ran the tea rooms, also on that site, and Eddy worked at the Gunpowder Mills. Eddy became a renowned athlete achieving fame as a runner and emigrated to America to follow a career as a professional athlete.
In 1916, having acquired Canadian Citizenship, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force with the 123rd Battalion of the Canadian Pioneers. He died of wounds at Ypres on 21st October 1917, aged 33 years.
George Reynolds
George, born in 1888, the son of George and Caroline Reynolds, lived at Copthall Green with his two brothers, Charles and Ernest. He, along with his father and brother Charles were all farm labourers.
He enlisted in Epping as a Private with the 7th Battalion of the Essex Regiment and died in Palestine on the 31st October 1918, aged 30 years.
Ernest Thompson
Ernest, born in 1898, the son of Ernest and Rose Thompson, lived at Wilmott Cottages, Copthall Green with his 5 brothers, Edgar, Leonard, Albert, Henry, Horace and 3 sisters Alice, Ada and Winifred. His father worked at the Royal Gunpowder Factory.
He died in 1921 from injuries sustained during the war so his name appears on the Memorials at St.Thomas’ Church.
Edward Lodge
Edward, born in 1894, the son of Joseph and Betsy Lodge, lived at a keeper’s cottage on Warlies Park with his brother Joseph and sister Edith. His father was a game keeper.
He enlisted with the West Yorkshire Regiment and died on 9th October 1917. His name appears on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.
One other name on the Memorial Font and Lychgate is mentioned. Researching WW1 records does not always produce conclusive results in terms of an individual’s military history but he is honoured here.
Bert Smith who died in 1918.
If you know any more details of those men recorded here we would love to here from you.
Please get in touch
St Thomas' Church, Upshire. 