Selected Biographies

Lumley, Arthur William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 12.12.1875.[1]  Parents:  Charles Thomas Lumley (Coconut Mat Weaver) and Elizabeth [née Wright] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Harry Edward Lumley [b1870] and Charles Lumley [b1872]; also, brother-in-law of William Leonard Pitt [b1885], Percy James Stanhope [b1886] and Arthur Adam Sayer [b1886].  Home: Back Lane Cottages, Back Lane, Long Melford (1881), White Hart Yard, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1891), Hall Street, Long Melford (1911), 2 Leggatts Cottages, Green Lane, Tillingham, Essex (1921) to [1937].  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1891), Milkman on Farm (1911), Head Cowman for Charles Westropp of Melford Place Farm [1916], Cowman on Leggatts Farm (1921).  Married: Kate Rosina Hayward in 1899.  Service Record: At the Melford Military Service Tribunal in August 1916, Arthur’s employer Charles Westropp applied for exemption on his behalf, which was granted on the condition his situation remained unchanged.  It is not known if Lumley’s certificate remained valid until the end of hostilities, however, no definitive military record has been found to suggest otherwise.[2]  Died: Althorne, Essex on 20.7.1937.[3]

Lumley, Charles – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 24.5.1872.[4]  Parents:  Charles Thomas Lumley (Coconut Mat Weaver) and Elizabeth [née Wright] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Harry Edward Lumley [b1870] and Arthur William Lumley [b1875]; also, brother-in-law of William Leonard Pitt [b1885], Percy James Stanhope [b1886] and Arthur Adam Sayer [b1886].  Home: Back Lane Cottages, Back Lane, Long Melford (1881), White Hart Yard, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1891), St Marys Street, Long Melford (1901 to 1911).  Occupation: Coconut Mat Labourer (1891), Railway Fetler (1901), Butcher (1911).  Service Record: Charles served for eight years in 2^nd [Volunteer] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment before the First World War.  He was conscripted on 23.2.1916 as Pte.3953 with 3/5^th Battalion, Suffolks and discharged only six months later as ‘not likely to become an efficient Soldier’.[5]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1934.

Lumley, Harry Edward – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 20.3.1870.[6]  Parents: Charles Thomas Lumley (Coconut Mat Weaver) and Elizabeth [née Wright] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Charles Lumley [b1872] and Arthur William Lumley [b1875]; also, brother-in-law of William Leonard Pitt [b1885], Percy James Stanhope [b1886] and Arthur Adam Sayer [b1886].  Home: The Green, Long Melford (1871), Back Lane Cottages, Back Lane, Long Melford (1881), Sargents Yard, Hall Street, Long Melford (1901), Hall Street, Long Melford (1911 to 1921).  Occupation: Coconut Mat Weaver for George Whittle (1901 to 1921).  Married: Sarah Ann Reeve in 1895.[7]  Service Record: Harry enlisted in 1908 as Pte.38 with ‘D’ Company, 5^th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment [Territorial], later recorded as L/Cpl.38 with 1/5^th Battalion, Suffolks, being posted to Suvla Bay, Gallipoli from 10.8.1915 as part of 163^rd Brigade, 54^th [East Anglian] Division.  Within hours of landing his unit was moved forward into frontline trenches on the south face of a steep and rocky hill called Karakol Dagh.  At dawn two days later the Suffolks and the three other untested battalions of 163^rd Brigade were ordered to secure the heights to the east.  Advancing nearly a mile through a hail of Turkish artillery and machine gun fire, by the end of the day the enemy had been held at bay and a secure forward defence line established.  When Harry and his companions were finally relieved by fresh troops after three gruelling days, they were found in a sorry state, having baked under the searing heat they had run desperately short of drinking water and been plagued by swarms of flies attracted by the dead and dying around them. When the Roll was called it was found that the Suffolks alone had lost 186 men either dead or wounded with a further 150 laid low by dysentery.[8]  In December the Battalion was evacuated to Egypt, spending the summer guarding the Suez Canal. In 1917 he was issued with a new service number as L/Cpl.240004, transferring as Cpl.51302 to 1^st [Garrison] Battalion, Devonshire Regiment on 1.2.1917, returning to England on 14.3.1917 and transferring again to Agricultural Company, Suffolk Regiment on 24.5.1917, and finally to the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Reserve Battalion, Suffolk Regiment in January 1918, receiving his discharge in February 1919.[9]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1935.

Related Biographies

Boggis, William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 19.2.1895.[10]  Parents: James Boggis (Coconut Mat Maker) and Elizabeth [née Pettitt] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Percy James Boggis [b1892] and Arthur Boggis [b1904]; also, nephew of Walter Boggis [b1870] and Bernard Horace Hurst [b1860]; also, cousin of Leonard Alexander Hurst [b1898], brother-in-law of Bertie James Mudge [b1888], William Frederick Valentine [b1888], Augustus Rowland Watkinson [b1889], Henry James Treves [b1890] and Percy Tuffen [b1899], and son-in-law of Harry Edward Lumley [b1871].  Home: Station Road, Long Melford (1901 to 1911), 2 Chapel Green, Long Melford (1921).  Married: Ethel May Lumley in 1917.  Service Record: Although no definitive military record has been found, William may have enlisted as Pte.7607 with the London Regiment.[11] Died: Sudbury, Suffolk 1937.

Pitt, William Leonard – Born: c1885.  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of Harry Edward Lumley [b1870], Charles Lumley [b1872] and Arthur William Lumley [b1875].  Married: Florence Lumley of Long Melford in 1917.  Service Record: Recorded as a Sailor at the baptism of his son in Long Melford in 1918, William was issued with War medals recording his rank as a Stoker Petty Officer.  He re-enlisted in 1919 as Petty Officer N^o. MC2434 with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, being discharged in June 1920.[12]

Sayer, Arthur Adam – Born: Mile End, London on 30.5.1886.[13]  Parents: Adam John Benjamin Sayer (Milkman) and Elizabeth Frances [née Gooch].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of Harry Edward Lumley [b1870], Charles Lumley [b1872] and Arthur William Lumley [b1875].  Home: 38 Coutts Road, Mile End Old Town, London (1891), Norton Villa, Sterne Street, Hammersmith, Middlesex (1901), Military Barracks, India (1911), 17 Torrens Road, Brixton, London [1913], Long Melford [1916], 76 Arica Road, Brockley, London [1922], emigrated to Australia [1922].[14]  Occupation: Soldier (1911), Milkman [1913], Van Salesman [1922].  Married: Ellen Lumley of Long Melford in 1913.  Service Record: Serving as a cavalryman with 10^th [Prince of Wales’s Own Royal] Hussars in India in 1911, Arthur was recalled to the Colours as Pte.938 with 10^th Hussars, as part of 3^rd Cavalry Division.  His unit saw action at the First and Second Battles of Ypres in 1914 and 1915, during the Arras Offensive of 1917, and in the First Battles of the Somme and the Hindenburg Line in 1918.  Private Sayer received his discharge in February 1919.[15]

Stanhope, Percy James – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 6.12.1886.[16]  Parents: Harry Stanhope (Wagon Painter, later Landlord of the White Hart Inn) and Zillah [née Theobald].  Family Connections: Brother to William Harold Stanhope [b1889], Bertie Stanhope [b1897] and Charles John Stanhope [b1900]; also, half-brother to Harry Stanhope Theobald [b1878], nephew of Arthur John Stanhope [b1877], cousin of Percy Theobald [b1892] and Owen Theobald [b1886], and brother-in-law of Harry Edward Lumley [b1870], Charles Lumley [b1872], Arthur William Lumley [b1875], Edward Ballantine Wright [b1880] and George Henry Lefley [b1883].  Home: The Green, Long Melford (1891 and 1901), White Hart Inn, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1911),[17] Red Hospital, Sudbury, Suffolk (1921), 7 Southgate Street, Long Melford (1939) to [1947].  Occupation: Backhouse Boy (1901), Bricklayer (1911), Carpenter for Clement Theobald and Sons of Long Melford [1915] to (1921).  Married: Mary Ann Lumley in 1927.  Service Record: Between 1911 and 1915 Percy served with the Army Service Corps of Essex [Territorial].  He enlisted on 26.7.1915 as Gnr.103551 with LXXXI [Howitzer] Brigade, Royal Field Artillery and posted to France from 16.1.1916 to 8.8.1918 as part of 17^th (Northern) Division.  This artillery brigade saw action at the Battles of Albert and Delville Wood during Somme Offensive of 1916, at the First and Second Battles of the Scarpe the following April and at the First Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917.  On 18.10.1917 Gunner Stanhope suffered a gunshot wound to his neck, being treated at the General Hospital in Wimereux, near Boulogne.  By early November he was fit enough to be transferred to CLIX Brigade, RFA in 35^th Division.[18]  Towards the end of March his new brigade was in a desperate action at Bapaume, one of the many defensive battles of the German Spring Offensive of 1918.  On 11.7.1918 he was wounded for a second time, by a gunshot wound to his chest, this time being treated at N^o. 3 Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Esquelbecq, about twelve miles south of Dunkirk.  Percy was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged due to the effect of his wounds on 5.10.1918.  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1947.[19]

Notes – [1] Date of birth from Baptism Register 15.4.1876, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [2] For the Tribunal’s ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 16.8.1916.  [3] National Probate Calendar.  [4] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 11.7.1872, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [5] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363].  [6] The date of birth given in the Baptism Register 5.5.1872, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford would appear to be incorrect, as Harry’s birth was actually registered in October 1870.  The year quoted in the main text above has therefore been amended accordingly. [7] Year of marriage is taken from his Soldiers’ Documents [WO 363]. [8] For details of the action see the battalion’s War Diary [WO 95/4325].  For the 1/5^th Suffolk’s part in the Gallipoli Campaign see Service Medal and Award Rolls, Capt. A. Fair [MC] and Capt. E. D. Wolton [compiled by] “The Suffolk Regiment”: the history of the 1/5th Battalion [London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1923] pp.13-37. [9] 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].  [10] Baptism Record of 19.9.1895 for St Catherines Mission Church, Long Melford.  [11] A photograph in the Long Melford Museum and Heritage Centre archive shows William in the uniform of a new army recruit, although no insignia is visible.  [12] Military status taken from Baptism Register 11.6.1918, St Catherines Mission Church, Long Melford.  See also his Medal and Award Rolls [ADM 171/112] and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve: Records of Service [ADM 337/107/333].  [13] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 15.11.1887, St Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney, London. [14] For emigration see Passenger List, SS Beltana 19.10.1922. [15] Recorded as a Soldier at the baptism of his daughter see Baptism Register 8.6.1916, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  For details of 10^th Hussar’s movements see War Diaries [WO 95/1156/4 and WO 95/1153/3].  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [16] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 6.2.1887, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [17] Recorded as James Stanhope on the UK Census Returns for 1891 and 1901. [18] For details of Percy Stanhope’s movements with 81^st and 159^th Brigades RFA see War Diaries [WO 95/1991/6] and [WO 95/2474/5]. [19] See also his Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363], Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: B26068], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].