15th July 1916 16th K.R.R.C. High Wood

[MBrockway]

A 16/KRRC 15 Jul 1916 High Wood casualty who seems to have been missed off Audax's original list transcribed from SDGW  ...

 

7774 Sjt Austin Ewart STAINES.

 

A little bit of detail here: 16th Kings Royal Rifle Corp war diary Jul 1916

 

And an excellent full biography here: Chelmsford Civic Centre War Memorial website

 

Sjt Staines was a pre-War Regular enlisted circa late 1906 (aged 16 or 17) and was in 4/KRRC at the outbreak of the War.  He spent time with 9/KRRC before transferring into 16/KRRC, so is probably unlikely to have had a Church Lads' Brigade background.

 

Mark

 

Edited 21 February , 2017 by MBrockway

[Christine1713]

this  is a photo of the Croxley Boys 16th Kings RR. My great uncle Cecil Gravestock was one of them and was killed at High Wood.  

[LtCdrRNR]

On 22/05/2007 at 22:18, Audax said:

EDP

That would be the same Rifleman Rostron featured in this 2006 Newspaper story about a letter delivered to his family 90 years later?

Somme letter to finally reach family

From

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story....3A17%3A04%3A950

11 July 2006 07:30

It is a poignant reminder of the monumental tragedy wreaked by the Battle of the Somme.

This week, a letter intended for the family of a first world war solider will finally be delivered - 90 years after his “heroic†death in northern France.

For decades, the forgotten message of sympathy to the relatives of Rifleman Chris Rostron was in the possession of a Norfolk veteran and his family.

The letter, written by comrades of the 18-year-old soldier, from Lancashire, following his death from a machine gun bullet on July 15, 1916, was never sent because it had no address.

But, the message will finally reach its destination on Satur-day, following a lengthy research project carried out by former Thetford man David Stearne.

“It would be an emotional moment anyway, but it will be made even more poignant by the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and the 90th anniversary to the date and time when he was killed. It makes it all the more sad, but happy to pass it on, he said.

The family historian was trawling through the papers of his late grandfather Henry Stearne earlier this year when he came across the letter from Lance Corporals Frank S Jones and Tom J Bradley of the King's Royal Rifle Corps.

The note, dated July 26, 1916, expressed their 'great sorrow and deep sympathy' for the loss of Rifleman Rostron.

We hope it will comfort you a little to know that he died one of the most heroic deaths that I have seen. He died very quietly and just looked as though he was asleep. We feel his loss very much as he was one of the best & most generous chaps we had & the rest of the platoon have asked me to express their deep sympathy to you, it said.

Its keeper, Henry Stearne, lived in Thetford all of his life and served in the Great War from start to finish as a general soldier in the 4th, 8th and 20th Hussars. He was awarded the Mons Star, fought in the Battle of the Somme, and also served in the second world war before his death in 1955.

Mr Stearne, who now lives in Kent, said he could only speculate on why his grandfather had the letter.

Perhaps he found the letter on the battlefield, perhaps he was part of a burial party that found it on the body of another soldier, or perhaps it had been given to him. Either way, the letter was never posted, he said.

But after four months of detective work and a newspaper appeal, Mr Stearne tracked down David Bentley, from Wrexham, great nephew of Rifleman Rostron.

He will present the letter on Saturday to remember the 90th anniversary of the death of the young solider, who has no known grave, but is remembered with 73,000 others on the Thiepval Memorial, in France.

The family has always had the letter, but never known what to do with it. As a genealogist for the last 20 years, I felt the least I could do would be to try to trace any surviving descendant to whom I could pass on the original sad little letter and fulfil an obligation on my late grandfather, said Mr Stearne.

 

Happy to help if required, I have photos and a pc of the letter which I handed over to the re,active once I tracked him down. David 

[TullochArd]

On 11/05/2010 at 14:59, Audax said:

Rawtenstall War Memorial - Rifleman Albert Aspden C/929

High Wood.  An old but most worthy, and indeed enduring, post from Audax.  If there are any active 16 KRRC/High Wood researchers interested in more on Albert Aspden of Rawtenstall (incorrectly named Aspen on CWGC records) I have several bits and bobs of local info - his personal memorial (below) is an example of such.  There is also an account of death by his CSM which likely forms the basis of the text on this memorial. 

 

[MBrockway]

Thanks for posting this TullochArd