Selected Biographies

Bixby, Arthur Poole – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 13.1.1876.[1]  Parents: Philip Bixby (Brewer, Baker, and sometime Undertaker) and Laura Anne [née Poole].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles George Bixby [b1873], Robert Poole Bixby [b1877], William Bixby [b1881] and Eli Ebenezer Bixby [b1885]; also, uncle of Hayward George Bixby [b1897] and Granville Charles Bixby [b1899].  Home: Stag Inn, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1881), Scutcher’s Arms, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1891, 1901), lodging with William Harper (Butcher) in Wellington Street, Newmarket, Suffolk (1911).  Occupation: Butcher’s Assistant (1891) Journeyman Butcher (1901, 1911).  Service Record: No definitive military record found.  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1916, buried Holy Trinity Church on 18.10.1916.[2]

Bixby, Arthur William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 29.10.1870.[3]  Parents: Robert William Bixby of Long Melford (Grocer and Baker) and Ellen Mary [née Sargent].  Family Connections: Brother to Sidney Bixby [b1874]; also, cousin of Clifford Sargent Bixby [b1893] and Edward Sargent Bixby [b1885].  Home: Westgate Street, Long Melford (1871) The Grocer’s Shop, 7 Dunstall Green Road, Ousden, Newmarket, Suffolk (1891 to 1911), Withams Bungalow, Ousden (1939).  Occupation: Assisting in the family Grocer’s Shop and Bakery (1891 to 1911), Road Labourer (1939).  Service Record: No definitive military record found.  Died: Newmarket in 1943.

Bixby, Charles George – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 7.4.1873.[4]  Parents: Philip Bixby (Brewer, Baker, and sometime Undertaker) and Laura Anne [née Poole].  Family Connections: Father to Hayward George Bixby [b1897] and Granville Charles Bixby [b1899]; also, brother of Arthur Poole Bixby [b1876], Robert Poole Bixby [b1877], William Bixby [b1881] and Eli Ebenezer Bixby [b1885], and father-in-law of Paul Ohlmann [b1892].  Home: Stag Inn, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1881), lodging with William Daniels (Baker and Confectioner) at Thoroughfare, Woodbridge, Suffolk (1891), Westgate Street, Long Melford (1901), High Street, Long Melford (1911), Scutchers Arms, Westgate Street (1939) to [1950].  Occupation: Baker’s Assistant (1891), Journeyman Baker (1901), Bakery Manager (1911), Beer Retailer and Landlord [1916 to 1950].  Married: Emily Sarah Miller [d1904] in 1896 and Ellen ‘Nellie’ Duce in 1908.  Service Record: No definitive military record found.  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk on 13.8.1950.[5]

Bixby, Clifford Sargent – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 2.10.1893.[6]  Parents: Charles Sargent Bixby (Baker) and to Rose Isabella [née Read].  Family Connections: Cousin of Arthur William Sargent Bixby [b1870], Sidney Bixby [b1874] and Edward Sargent Bixby [b1885].  Home: The Green, Long Melford (1901), 42 Derby Road, Ipswich, Suffolk (1911), Church Farm, Longwick, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire [1917], 46 Newbury Road, Ipswich (1939), 732 Foxhall Road, Rushmere St Andrew, Suffolk [1978].  Occupation: Apprentice Cabinet Maker (1911), Cabinet Maker (1939).  Married: Amy Florence Bass in 1917.  Service Record: Clifford originally enlisted in the British Army and was transferred on 11.1.1917 as a Rigger N^o.53923 with the Royal Flying Corps, transferring to the Royal Air Force on 1.4.1918.  Bixby was placed on the RAF Reserve in April 1919.[7] Died: Rushmere St Andrew, Suffolk on 19.3.1978.[8]

Bixby, Edward Sargent – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1881.  Parents: James Bixby (Carpenter) and Susannah Blythe [née Hinds].  Family Connections: Cousin of Arthur William Sargent Bixby [b1884], Sidney Bixby [b1874] and Clifford Sargent Bixby [b1893].  Home: 131 Spring Road, Ipswich, Suffolk (1891).  Service Record: No definitive military record found.  Died: Ipswich, Suffolk in 1915.

Bixby, Eli Ebenezer – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1885.  Parents: Philip Bixby (Brewer, Baker, and sometime Undertaker) and Laura Anne [née Poole].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles George Bixby [b1873], Arthur Poole Bixby [b1876], Robert Poole Bixby [b1877], William Bixby [b1881] and Eli Ebenezer Bixby [b1885]; also, uncle of Hayward George Bixby [b1897] and Granville Charles Bixby [b1899].  Home: Scutcher’s Arms, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1891, 1901) Newberry House, Bildeston, Suffolk [1967].  Occupation: Railway Clerk (1901).  Service Record: No definitive military record found.  Died: St Audrys Hospital, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk on 3.8.1967.[9]

Bixby, Granville Charles Miller – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 17.3.1899.[10]  Parents: Charles George Bixby (Baker) [for details above] and Emily Sarah [née Miller].  Family Connections: Brother to Hayward George Miller Bixby [b1897] also, brother-in-law of Paul Ohlmann [b1892] and Edward Stanley Smith [b1899], and nephew of Arthur Poole Bixby [b1876], Robert Poole Bixby [b1877], William Bixby [b1881], and Eli Ebenezer Bixby [b1885].  Home: Scutcher’s Arms, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1901), High Street, Long Melford (1911), 11 Bungay Road, Halesworth, Suffolk (1939).  Occupation: Baker [1917], Local Government Clerk (1939).  Married: Lilian J. Smith in 1923.  Service Record: Granville was a member of the Long Melford Volunteer Training Corps in 1915.[11]  He was conscripted on 14.12.1916 as Gnr.156602 with ‘A’ Siege Depot, Royal Garrison Artillery and posted to France from 4.9.1917 to 23.10.1917.  He was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged on 6.8.1918, due to injury to his knee joint.[12]  During the Second World War Granville volunteered as an emergency ambulance driver and for general duties with Air Raid Precaution and the Auxiliary Fire Service in Halesworth, Suffolk.[13]  Died: Norwich, Norfolk in 1967.

Bixby, Hayward ‘Hay’ George Miller – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 5.1.1897.[14]  Parents: Charles George Bixby (Baker) [for details see above] and Emily Sarah [née Miller].  Family Connections: Brother to Granville Charles Miller Bixby [b1899]; also, brother-in-law of Paul Ohlmann [b1892] and Edward Stanley Smith [b1899], and nephew of Arthur Poole Bixby [b1876], Robert Poole Bixby [b1877], William Bixby [b1881], and Eli Ebenezer Bixby [b1885].  Home: Scutcher’s Arms, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1901), High Street, Long Melford (1911), Station House, Epping, Essex (1939), Station House, Station Road, Rayleigh, Essex [1957].  Occupation: Great Eastern Railway Clerk (1911), Railway Station Master (1939).  Married: Ada Jane Scott in 1923.  Service Record: Hay attested in February 1915 as Private, later Cpl.R/12286 with 1^st Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, posted to France 20.8.1915 as part of 6^th Brigade, later to 99^th Brigade, 2^nd Division.  Bixby’s unit saw action during the Somme Offensive of 1916, entering the fray at Delville Wood on 27 July.[15]  The two-day action cost the Battalion over three-hundred men killed or wounded.  In a letter to his father written only days after the battle he gives an unvarnished account of what he had seen and experienced, and the prevailing of the enemy.  He writes: Well, a few days ago we made a big attack on a position several other regiments had failed to take, but we took it after a very desperate struggle, and what’s more it’s still held, “More Honours?”.  Going into the trenches we were met with a barrage of shell fire containing gas, and unfortunately two of my pals were gassed, but I got through safe.  It was murder where we attacked, as the shells were of such a large calibre, and it was awful seeing your chums being blown up to smithereens, and a large tree go floating through the air.  A Corporal friend of mind [sic] was struck with a large piece of shell and it severed his head from his body.  Of course, the Bosch got stuff also, and we gave them something to contend with.  They are a deceitful lot, as in one instance a party was disguised as Red Cross staff, and when we got to them found they were working a machine gun; as soon as we got round them, up went their hands, and shouted “Mercy Kamarades”, we gave them mercy in the form of a bayonet: they are a lot of hypocrites, cunning devils.  Of course, we do not treat them all alike: plenty of prisoners.[16]  On 14.11.1916 the Battalion attacked positions north of Beaumont Hamel as part of the wider Battle of Ancre, successfully breaking through the German front line, but failing to take the rearward defensive line called ‘Munich Trench’, losing more than a hundred men in the process.  In 1917 Hayward Bixby’s battalion was again in action, during the Arras Offensive, at the First Battle of the Scarpe and at Arleux in April and in November at the Battle of Cambrai.  Hay rose to the rank of Corporal and was later placed on the Army Reserve.[17]  At the beginning of the Second World War Hayward was an Air Raid Warden for the London and North-Eastern Railway.[18]  Died: Rochford, Essex on 31.7.1957.[19]

Bixby, Robert Poole – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 4.4.1877.[20]  Parents: Philip Bixby (Brewer, Baker, and sometime Undertaker) and Laura Anne [née Poole].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles George Bixby [b1873], Arthur Poole Bixby [b1876], William Bixby [b1881] and Eli Ebenezer Bixby [b1885]; also, uncle of Hayward George Bixby [b1897] and Granville Charles Bixby [b1899].  Home: Stag Inn, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1881), Scutcher’s Arms, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1891) living with William Hynds (brother-in-Law) in Victoria Road, Romford, Essex (1901), living with William Hynds at 13 Olive Street, Romford (1911), Dorset House, The Green, Long Melford [1954].  Occupation: Butcher’s Assistant (1891), Carpenter and Joiner (1901, 1911).  Service Record: No definitive military record found.  Died: Long Melford on 18.9.1954.[21]

Bixby, Sidney – Born: Ousden, Suffolk o 7.3.1874.[22]  Parents: Robert William Bixby of Long Melford (Grocer and Baker) and Ellen Mary [née Sargent].  Family Connections: Brother to Arthur William Sargent Bixby [b1884]; also, cousin of Clifford Sargent Bixby [b1893] and Edward Sargent Bixby [b1885].  Home: The Grocer’s Shop, 7 Dunstall Green Rd, Ousden, Suffolk (1891, 1901), Lyndhurst, Hill Crest Road, Thurrock, Essex (1939).  Occupation: Grocer’s Assistant (1891, 1901), Gardener (1939).  Married: Emma French in 1910.  Service Record: No definitive military record found.  Died: Thurrock, Essex in 1974.

Bixby, William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 19.1.1881.[23]  Parents: Philip Bixby (Brewer, Baker, and sometime Undertaker) and Laura Anne [née Poole].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles George Bixby [b1873], Arthur Poole Bixby [b1876], Robert Poole Bixby [b1877] and Eli Ebenezer Bixby [b1885]; also, uncle of Hayward George Bixby [b1897] and Granville Charles Bixby [b1899].  Home: Stag Inn, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1881), Scutcher’s Arms, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1891 and 1901).  Occupation: Apprentice Carpenter (1901).  Service Record: William enlisted as Pte.4767, later re-numbered as Pte.491862 with 1/13^th [County of London] Princess Louise’s Kensington Battalion, London Regiment, posted to France 5.9.1916 as part of 168^th Brigade, 56^th [1^st London] Division.  His unit saw action during the Somme Offensive of 1916 and at the First Battle of the Scarpe in April, one of the opening engagements of the wider Battles of Arras in 1917.  On the morning of 9.4.1917 the Battalion was in the front line at Archicourt when it was part of a general assault on Neuville-Vitesse, capturing all its objectives along with a significant number of prisoners and matériel.  The War Diary records the price paid was 130 men either killed or wounded, this tally notwithstanding it was immediately followed by an underlined comment by the commanding officer who thought it ‘The most successful day’s fighting since the Bn [Battalion] came to France’.[24]  Died: William died of wounds on 15.4.1917 at N^o. 20 Casualty Clearing Station at Warlincourt, most probably from injuries sustained during the capture of Neuville-Vitesse.  Private Bixby is buried in Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery [grave ref: VIII.G.10], Pas de Calais, France and is commemorated on the Long Melford War Memorial.[25]

Related Biography

Ohlmann, Paul – Born: Hjørlunde, Denmark on 2.5.1892.[26]  Parents: Johan Nikolaj Ohlmann [Pastor] and Anna Harriet [née Kellner].  Family Connections: Son-in-law of Charles George Bixby [b1874]; also, brother-in-law of Hayward George Miller Bixby [b1897] and Granville Charles Miller Bixby [b1899].  Home: Langenhoe Hall, Mersea Road, Langenhoe, Essex [1921 to 1925],[27] Burton Farm, Long Melford (1939), Belle Vue, Skates Hill, Glemsford, Suffolk [1970].  Occupation: Farm Manager (1939).  Married: Phyllis Mary Helena Kamper [née Beamish] [d1941] in 1929 and Dorothy Eleanor Bixby of Long Melford in 1944.  Service Record: Paul held the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Suffolk Regiment, attached to ‘H’ Company, 10^th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard from 1.2.1941.  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.[28]  Died: Glemsford, Suffolk on 5.10.1970.[29]

Notes – [1] Date of birth taken from Baptism Register 15.3.1876 of Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [2] Burial Register see [Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Record Office ref: FL509/4/17].  [3] Date of birth taken from the 1939 Register for Ousden, Suffolk.  [4] Date of birth taken from the 1939 Register for Long Melford.  [5] National Probate Calendar.  [6] Date of birth taken from Baptism Register 3.12.1893 of Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [7] Air Member for Personnel and predecessors: Airman’s Records [AIR 79/493]. [8] National Probate Calendar.  [9] Date of death taken from the National Probate Calendar.  [10] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 12.6.1899, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [11] For Training Corps articles see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 10.3.1915 and 29.12.1915. [12] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363], Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: 430554], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372]. [13] For his later public service see the 1939 Register for Halesworth in Suffolk.  [14] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 4.4.1897, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [15] For details of 1^st KRRC’s role in these actions see War Diary [WO 95/1371/2]. [16] On 5.8.1916 Hay sent a moving letter to his father, which was published under the headline ‘From the Front’ in the Long Melford Parish Magazine, September 1916. [17] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372]. [18] For his later service see the 1939 Register for Epping Rural District in Essex. [19] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [20] Date of birth taken from Baptism Register 15.3.1876 of Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [21] National Probate Calendar.  [22] Date of birth taken from the 1939 Register for Thurrock, Essex.  [23] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 24.1.1881, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [24] For details of the action see 1/13^th London’s War Diary [WO 95/2955/3].  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [25] Commonwealth War Graves Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 473725].  [26] Date of birth from the 1939 Register for Long Melford.  [27] Address from the Electoral Roll for Langenhoe, Essex.  [28] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946.  [29] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.