Selected Biographies

Barnes, Alfred – Born: Carlton, Cambridgeshire on 9.4.1901.[1]  Parents: James Henry Barnes (Farmer at Guildhall Farm, Long Melford) and Martha Anna [née Curtis].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry James Barnes [b1883], Clement George Barnes [b1884], Charles Frederick Barnes [b1886], Walter Allen Barnes [b1890], Oliver Joseph Barnes [b1895] and Hubert Roy Barnes [b1898]; also, uncle of Roy Hayward Barnes [b1923].  Home: Helions Bumpstead, Suffolk (1911), Guildhall Farm, Rodbridge, Long Melford [1915], Bridge Training Home (formally the Industrial Home for Feeble Minded Boys), Witham, Essex (1939).[2]  Service Record: Alfred was classed as an imbecile on the 1911 UK Census and was not eligible for military service.  Died: Braintree, Essex in 1944.

Barnes, Charles Frederick – Born: East Baresham, Norfolk on 5.10.1886.[3]  Parents: James Henry Barnes (Farmer at Guildhall Farm, Long Melford) and Martha Anna [née Curtis].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry James Barnes [b1883].  Clement George Barnes [b1884], Walter Allen Barnes [b1890], Oliver Joseph Barnes [b1895], Hubert Roy Barnes [b1898] and Alfred Barnes [b1901]; also, uncle of Roy Hayward Barnes [b1923].  Home: Manor House Farm, Bawdsey, Suffolk (1891), Farm House, Thornton Road, Carlton–cum-Willingham, Cambridgeshire (1901), The Post Office, Sicklesmere, Suffolk (1911), Guildhall Farm, Rodbridge, Long Melford [1915], The Shop, The Street, Bradfield Combust, Suffolk [1917] to [1957].  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1901 – Baker’s Assistant (1911), Baker and Grocer (1921 to 1939).  Married: Dorothy Buckle in 1913.  Service Record: Charles enlisted as Pte.242518 with 5^th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.  Without an extant Service Record, it is not possible to confirm when he signed his Attestation form and if or not, he served overseas.[4]  Died: Bradfield Combust, Suffolk on 7.11.1957.[5]

Barnes, Clement George – Born: East Baresham, Norfolk on 24.9.1884.[6]  Parents: James Henry Barnes (Farmer at Guildhall Farm, Long Melford) and Martha Anna [née Curtis].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry James Barnes [b1883], Charles Frederick Barnes [b1886], Walter Allen Barnes [b1890], Oliver Joseph Barnes [b1895], Hubert Roy Barnes [b1898] and Alfred Barnes [b1901]; also, uncle of Roy Hayward Barnes [b1923].  Home: Manor House Farm, Bawdsey, Suffolk (1891), Farm House, Thornton Road, Carlton–cum-Willingham, Cambridgeshire (1901), 56 Walham Grove, Fulham, London (1901), 77 Cromer Road, Fulham (1911), 63 Pine Road, Cricklewood, Middlesex (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: Farmer’s Son (1901), Motor Bus Driver (1911), Bookmaker’s Clerk [1931] to (1939).  Married: Florence May Bird in 1909.  Criminal Record: During the 1930s Clement worked as a Bookies Runner collecting bets on behalf of a Bookmaker.   Although this practice popular with the wider public it fell foul of the Street Betting Act of 1906.  He was brought before the Magistrate on several occasions and hand sizeable fines for the crime of ‘loitering for the purpose of betting’.[7]  The practice of off-course betting not being made legal until 1960.  Service Record: It is not known if Clement saw service during the First World War as no definitive record has been found.  Died: Willesden, Middlesex in 1946.

Barnes, Henry James – Born: East Baresham, Norfolk on 14.4.1883.[8]  Parents: James Henry Barnes (Farmer at Guildhall Farm, Long Melford) and Martha Anna [née Curtis].  Family Connections: Brother to Clement George Barnes [b1884], Charles Frederick Barnes [b1886], Walter Allen Barnes [b1890], Oliver Joseph Barnes [b1895], Hubert Roy Barnes [b1898] and Alfred Barnes [b1901]; also, uncle of Roy Hayward Barnes [b1923].  Home: Manor House Farm, Bawdsey, Suffolk (1891), The Cock Inn, The Street, Little Thurlow, Suffolk (1901), Post Office, Sicklesmere, Great Whelnetham, Suffolk (1911) to [1915], Hawk End, Elmswell, Suffolk (1921), 37 Mundon Road, Maldon, Essex (1939).  Occupation: Gardener (1901), Baker and Sub-Postmaster (1911), retired Grocer and Baker (1921), Cowman (1939).  Married: Gertrude Mary Purkis in 1905.  Service Record: No definitive military record has been found.  Died: Coventry, Warwickshire in 1970.

Barnes, Hubert Roy – Born: Carlton, Cambridgeshire on 24.9.1898.[9]  Parents: James Barnes (Farmer at Guildhall Farm, Long Melford) and Martha Anna [née Curtis].  Family Connections: Father to Roy Hayward Barnes [b1923]; also, brother of Henry James Barnes [b1883], Clement George Barnes [b1884], Charles Frederick Barnes [b1886], Walter Allen Barnes [b1890], Oliver Joseph Barnes [b1895] and Alfred Barnes [b1901], and brother-in-law of Leonard Codling [b1897].  Home: Farm House, Thornton Road, Carlton-cum-Willingham, Cambridgeshire (1901), Hall Cottage, Helions Bumpstead, Suffolk (1911), Guildhall Farm, Rodbridge, Long Melford (1915) to (1921), 32 Station Road, Long Melford (1923 to 1939), 39 Minden Road, Sudbury, Suffolk [1973].  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer [1916], Dairyman (1939), Special Constable [1939 to 1945].[10]  Married: Phyllis Ada Codling of Long Melford in 1923.  Service Record: Hubert was placed on the Army Reserve from 20.9.1916, enrolling on 14.2.1917 as Ordinary Seaman N^o. R/734 with 63^rd [Royal Naval] Division, being posted to France from 25.11.1917 as an Able Seaman in 8^th [Anson] Battalion as part of 188^th Brigade.  On 30.12.1917 the Division was defending positions on the snow-covered Welsh Ridge when German troops dressed in white camouflage made a surprise attack, occupying part of the trench system held by Howe Battalion.  In the late afternoon British artillery concentrated fire on the area, in what the Anson War Diary describes as a ‘hurricane’, this bombardment was followed by Hubert’s unit leading a successful counterattack on ‘Corner Trench’, clearing the enemy from that part of the Ridge.[11]  At least five other Melford man were defending the Ridge on that day: Ernest Ambrose [b1878], Bertie Alfred Piper [b1893], George Henry Sansum [b1892], Owen Charles Sewell [b1897] and Arthur Edward Whent [b1889].  Their stories are to be found elsewhere in this Roll.  By mid-February Hubert was in hospital at Rouen with a problem to his left foot and bronchitis, being sent to Nottingham for further treatment a month later.  He had recovered sufficiently by 2.9.1918 to be able to re-join his old unit, now entrenched at Boiry-Sainte-Rictrude, seven miles south of Arras.  The day of his return coincided with his battalion forming part of the wider Battle of Drocourt-Quéant a successful operation to occupy a crucial section of the Hindenburg Line.  On 26.9.1918 he fell ill again, when he was hospitalised with a suspected case of tuberculosis, marking the last time he would see active service in France.  He received his discharge in January 1919.[12]  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 27.1.1973.[13]

Barnes, Oliver Joseph – Born: Carlton, Cambridgeshire on 2.12.1895.[14]  Parents: James Barnes (Farmer at Guildhall Farm, Long Melford) and Martha Anna [née Curtis].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry James Barnes [b1883], Clement George Barnes [b1884], Charles Frederick Barnes [b1886], Walter Allen Barnes [b1890], Hubert Roy Barnes [b1898] and Alfred Barnes [b1901]; also, uncle of Roy Hayward Barnes [b1923] and brother-in-law of Frederick Charles Scrivener [b1883].  Home: Farm House, Thornton Road, Carlton-cum-Willingham, Cambridgeshire (1901), Hall Cottage, Helions Bumpstead, Essex (1911), Guildhall Farm, Rodbridge, Long Melford [1915], Rodbridge, Long Melford (1921 to 1939), 32 Station Road, Long Melford [1956].  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer [1913], Motor Driver for the Home and Farm Concrete Company (1921), County Council Roadman (1939).  Married: Florence May Scrivener of Long Melford in 1920.  Service Record: Oliver enlisted in 1913 as Boy Sailor N^o. J.24004 in the Royal Navy.  From 2.12.1913 to 30.4.1914 he was an Ordinary Seaman on the battleship HMS Queen.  On 4.7.1914 he joined the crew of the light Cruiser HMS Lowestoft rising to the rank of Able Seaman.  He served with this ship until 1917, seeing action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 24.8.1914 and the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24.1.1915.  Two other Melford man were present at Heligoland Bight on the day of the battle: Leonard Swann Leggott [b1895] and George Ambrose [b1890], the latter being rescued by Barnes’ own ship.  Their stories are to be found elsewhere in this Roll.  From 23.4.1918 to the end of the War he served on the monitor HMS Marshal Soult, taking part in the First Ostend Raid in April 1918.  In August 1919 Oliver was invalided out of the service having been diagnosed with neurasthenia.[15]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk on 22.12.1956 and buried at Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.[16]

Barnes, Roy Hayward – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1923.  Parents: Hurbert Roy Barnes (Dairyman and Special Constable) [for military record see above] and Phyllis Ada [née Codling].  Family Connections: Nephew of Henry James Barnes [b1883], Clement George Barnes [b1884], Charles Frederick Barnes [b1886], Walter Allen Barnes [b1890], Oliver Joseph Barnes [b1895] and Alfred Barnes [b1901].  Home: 32 Station Road, Long Melford.  Service Record: Roy was briefly a member of ‘H’ Company, 10^th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard when it was formed in 1942, his name being recorded in the official tribute to the organization entitled The Lion Roared his Defiance, photographed in and around Long Melford in 1944.[17]  He was later conscripted as an Air Gunner No.1337287 with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in No.IX [Bomber] Squadron, 5 Group, Bomber Command, stationed at Bardney in Lincolnshire.  Died: Flight Sergeant Barnes was part of a raid on of the rail yards at Courtrai [Kortrijk] on the night of 21.7.1944, when his Avro Lancaster was shot down over Bissegem in southern Belgium, four miles short of its target.  The entire seven-man crew died in the crash.   Roy is buried in Wevelgem Communal Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium [grave ref: E.479] and commemorated on the Long Melford War Memorial.[18]

Barnes, Walter Allen – Born: Bawdsey, Suffolk on 8.8.1890.[19]  Parents: James Barnes (Farmer at Guildhall Farm, Long Melford) and Martha Anna [née Curtis].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry James Barnes [b1883], Clement George Barnes [b1884], Charles Frederick Barnes [b1886], Oliver Joseph Barnes [b1895], Hubert Roy Barnes [b1898] and Alfred Barnes [b1901]; also, uncle of Roy Hayward Barnes [b1923].  Home: Manor House Farm, Bawdsey, Suffolk (1891), Farm House, Thornton Road, Carlton-cum-Willingham, Cambridgeshire (1901), Post Office, Sicklesmere, Suffolk (1911), Guildhall Farm, Rodbridge, LM (1915), 3 Mount Pleasant Road, Lewisham, London (1921), 63 Eltham Green Road, Mottingham, Kent [1929][20] to (1939).  Occupation: Baker’s Assistant (1911), Bread Baker for Fairbrother and Company, Bakers and Confectioners (1921), Munition Worker at the Royal Arsenal (1939).  Married: Rose Ellen Campbell in 1919.  Service Record: Walter enlisted in the Hussars of the Line on 5.9.1914, being posted to 14^th Reserve Cavalry Regiment.  He was transferred first to the 3^rd [Reserve] Battalion, then to 2^nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment.  On 14.7.1915 as Cpl.3/20621, Walter was posted with the latter battalion to France as part of 16^th Brigade, 6^th Division, seeing action a number of times during the Somme Offensive of 1916: namely at the Battles of Flers-Courcelette and Morval in September, and at Le Transloy in October.  On the morning of 21.3.1918 his unit was in trenches at Lagnicourt-Marcel seven miles north-west of Bapaume.  At dawn the enemy sent over an intense barrage of high explosive and gas shells, killing and wounding practically the whole of the front line.  This was followed shortly after by a series of unstoppable attacks that outflanked and cut off hundreds of men including Walter, who had received a gunshot wound to his right arm during one of the many fire fights.  This was the first day of what became known as the Battle of St Quentin, the opening phase of the German Spring Offensive.[21]  Two other Melford man were wounded and captured in the same battle: William James Butcher [b1897] and Fred Rising [b1879].  Their stories are to be found elsewhere in this Roll.  Corporal Barnes was held as a Prisoner of War and sent to the camp known as Münster II in Westphalia, Germany.[22]  He remained in captivity until his repatriation on 14.12.1918, receiving his discharge in March 1919.[23]  Died: Lewisham, London in 1940.

Related Biography

Knight, John Town Dennis – Born: Bermondsey, London on 10.11.1925.[24]  Parents: Henry E. Knight (Horsehair Sorter) and Florence P. [née Mills].  Family Connections: Son-in-law of Hubert Roy Barnes [b1898].  Home: 49 Shortcrofts Road, Dagenham, Essex (1939), Station Road, Long Melford [1953].  Married: Muriel D. Barnes of Long Melford in 1953.[25] Service Record: John was a member of ‘H’ Company, 10^th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard when it was formed in August 1942.  By 1944 he was a driver in the Company HQ Mobile Operations Section.  His name is recorded in the official tribute to the organization entitled The Lion Roared his Defiance, photographed in and around Long Melford in 1944, Private Knight being pictured on page 44.[26]  Died: Felixstowe, Suffolk on 7.5.2007.[27]

Notes – [1] 1939 Register.  [2] The Union Workhouse, later The Bridge Home – The history of Witham, Essex on www.janetgyford.com.  [3] Date of birth from the 1939 Register for Thingoe Rural District in Suffolk. [4] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372]. [5] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [6] Date of birth from the 1939 Register for Willesden, Middlesex. [7] See ‘Alibi Plea Fails’ The Marylebone Mercury 27.6.1931 and ‘Betting Barnes’ The Marylebone Mercury 29.7.1933.  [8]  Date of birth from the 1939 Register for Maldon, Essex.  [9] Date of birth from his Royal Naval Records and confirmed by the 1939 Register for Long Melford. [10] Photographic evidence supplied by Hubert’s daughter shows him in a police uniform. [11] For details of Anson Battalion’s movements on the Western Front see War Diary [WO 95/3111/1].  For an impression of the conditions on the day of the assault on Welsh Ridge see John Nash’s painting Over the Top at the Imperial War Museum in London. [12] Royal Naval Division: Records of Service [ADM 339/1].  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329]. [13] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [14] Date of birth from his RN Record, confirmed by the 1939 Register for Long Melford. [15] Royal Navy Registers of Seaman’s Services [ADM 188/695], also his Medal and Award Rolls [ADM 171/95]. [16] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [17] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946. [18] Details of the raid are taken from www.losses.internationalbcc.co.uk and Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  [19] 1939 Register.  [20] For address see Electoral Roll. [21] For details of 2^nd York and Lancaster’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/1610/3-7]. [22] For confirmation of the date and place of his capture see Prisoner of War records held by the International Committee of the Red Cross [file ref: PA22239]. [23] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [24] Date of birth from Death Record.  [25] See announcement and photograph in the Suffolk Free Press 25.3.1953.  [26] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946.  Image identified by Dick Baber, also a member of ‘H’ Company, in an interview with David Gevaux on 15.9.2023.  [27] See Death Record for date.