Selected Biographies

Poole, Arthur William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 3.6.1896.[1]  Parents: Frederick William Poole (Sawyer) [see below for military details] and Ada [née Lawrence].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of George Frederick Heather [b1892] and cousin of Robert John Poole [b1894].  Home: 7 Mill Road, Colchester, Essex (1901), 4 St Marys Villas, School Road, East Molesey, Surrey (1911), 55 Balfour Road, Lower Edmonton, Middlesex [1916] to (1921), 26 Hinton Road, Edmonton (1939).  Occupation: Bookbinder (1911), Machine Hand [1916], Plumber’s Mate for Ashdown & Company (1921), Plumber (1939).  Service Record: Arthur was conscripted on 15.6.1916 as Aircraft Mechanic N^o. F16730 with the Royal Naval Air Service, being posted to the Seaplane Base in Malta from 11.8.1916 to 3.5.1919.  On 1.4.1918 he transferred as Pte.216730 to the Royal Air Force, receiving his discharge in September 1919.[2]  Died: Edmonton, Middlesex on 21.10.1978.[3]

Poole, Charles Edgar – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 26.9.1887.  Parents: Henry Poole of Belchamp St Paul, Essex (Agricultural Labourer) and Eliza [née Felton] (Straw Plait Maker).  Family Connections: Brother to John Willie Poole [b1885].  Home: Leprosy Cottages, Melford Road, Sudbury, Suffolk (1891 to 1911).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1911).  Service Record: Charles enlisted as Pte.24905 with 3^rd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, being posted to France on 16.6.1916.  Shortly after his arrival on the Western Front he was transferred as Pte.6194 to 1/24^th [County of London] Battalion [The Queen’s], London Regiment as part of 142^nd Brigade, 47^th [2^nd London] Division occupying front-line trenches near High Wood in the valley of the Somme.[4]  Died: Private Poole was listed as missing presumed killed in action on 14.9.1916 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial [pier and face 9D, 9C, 13C and 12C] and the War Memorial in Sudbury.[5]

Poole, Ernest William Ewart – Born: Worthing, Sussex in 1891.  Parents: Ernest Poole (Inspector of Nuisances in Long Melford) and Eliza [née Cook].  Home: 72 Belle Vue, Worthing, Sussex [1891], 37 St Marys Road, Tonbridge, Kent (1901), 60 Hanover Road, Willesden, Middlesex [1918], 2 Shakespeare Avenue, Willesden (1921), 2 Sudbury Hill Close, Wembley, Middlesex (1939) to [1944].  Occupation: Poor Law Office Assistant Master for the Willesden Board of Guardians (1921).  Married: Annie Harriet Maud Pain [d1929] in 1918 and Marjorie Eveline Darwood in 1930.  Service Record: Ernest was awarded a commission as Second Lieutenant in the Norfolk Regiment on 30.1.1918.[6]  Died: Middlesex County Hospital, Willesden, Middlesex on 28.12.1944.[7]

Poole, Frederick William Frederick – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1866.  Parents: Joseph Poole of Borley, Essex (Agricultural Labourer) and Emily [née Plampin] (Straw Plait Maker).  Family Connections: Father to Arthur William Poole [b1896]; also, father-in-law of George Frederick Heather [b1892] and uncle of Robert John Poole [b1894].  Home: Southgate Street, Long Melford (1871), Rotten Row, Long Melford (1881 to 1891), 7 Mill Road, Colchester, Essex (1901), 4 St Marys Villas, School Road, East Molesey, Surrey (1911), 55 Balfour Road, Lower Edmonton, Middlesex [1916] to (1921).  Occupation: Under Gardener (1881), Gardener (1891), Flax Dresser [1883], Sawyer (1901), General Labourer (1911).  Married: Ada Lawrence in 1892.  Service Record: William enlisted in 1883 as Pte.6005 with 3^rd Battalion, Rifle Brigade [Prince Consort’s Own], seeing service in Gibraltar, Egypt, South Africa and India before his discharge in 1895.[8]  It is not known if he saw service during the First World War as no definitive record has been found.  Died: Edmonton, Middlesex in 1939.

Poole, John Willie – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 14.2.1885.[9]  Parents: Henry Poole of Belchamp St Paul, Essex (Agricultural Labourer) and Eliza [née Felton] (Straw Plait Maker).  Family Connections: Brother to Charles Edgar Poole [b1887].  Home: Leprosy Cottages, Melford Road, Sudbury, Suffolk (1891 to 1939).  Occupation: Grocer’s Errand Boy (1901), Agricultural Labourer (1911), Stockman (1921), Poultry Plucker (1939).  Married: Mabel Florence Warner in 1914.  Service Record: John enlisted in 1903 as Pte.5899 with 3^rd [Militia] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, receiving his discharge in 1909.[10]  It is not known if he saw service during the First World War as no definitive military record has been found.  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in 1949.

Poole, Robert John – Born: St Pancras, London in 1894.  Parents: Arthur Poole of Long Melford (Gardener) and Frances Sophia Crouch [née Steed].  Family Connections: Nephew of Frederick William Poole [b1866] and cousin of Arthur William Poole [b1896].  Home: 74 Torriano Avenue, St Pancras, London (1901), 103 Brecknock Road, St Pancras (1911), 111 Torriano Avenue, St Pancras (1921).  Occupation: Shop Assistant (1911).  Service Record: Robert enlisted as Rfn. P/721, later promoted to Corporal, with ‘C’ Company, 16^th Battalion [St Pancras], Rifle Brigade [Prince Consort’s Own].  Posted to the Western Front in May 1916 as part of 117^th Brigade, 39^th Division, he saw action during the Somme Offensive of 1916 and the third Battles of Ypres in the following year.[11]  Died: Corporal Poole was killed in action near Ypres on 20.9.1917 and buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery [grave ref: LXIV.F.8], Passchendaele, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.[12]

Related Biography

Heather, George Frederick – Born: East Molesey, Surrey on 1.10.1892.[13]  Parents: George Frederick Heather (Cab Driver) and Sarah [née Clarke].  Family Connections: Son-in-law of Frederick William Poole of Long Melford [b1866] and brother-in-law of Arthur William Poole [b1896].  Home: 2 Highwick Cottages, School Road, East Molesey (1911), 55 Balfour Road, Lower Edmonton, Middlesex [1918], 87 Waldegrave Road, Teddington, Middlesex (1921), 23 Munster Road, Twickenham, Middlesex (1939).  Occupation: Printer’s Apprentice (1911), Printer’s Compositor [1918] to (1939).  Married: Ada Elizabeth Poole of Long Melford in 1918.  Service Record: George enlisted on 28.10.1914 as Pte.45606 with the Royal Army Medical Corps, being posted to France on 24.7.1915.  On 27.8.1918 he was transferred as Pte.300564 to the Royal Air Force, posted to France two months later as a hospital orderly.  He was placed on the RAF Reserve in March 1919.[14] Died: Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey in 1974.

Notes – [1] Date of birth from his RN Record and the 1939 Register.  [2] Royal Navy Registers of Seaman’s Services [ADM 188/593/16730].  See also his Air Member for Personnel and predecessors: Airman’s Records [AIR 79/1950] and Medal and Award Rolls [ADM 171/112]. [3] National Probate Calendar.  [4] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [5] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 [ref: 384803].  [6] Supplement to the London Gazette 19.2.1918.  Image courtesy of yvonnefrench43.  [7] National Probate Calendar.  [8] Chelsea Hospital British Army Service Record [WO 97].  [9] 1939 Register.  [10] Chelsea Hospital British Army Service Record [WO 97].  [11] Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: 11/D/89465 and 11/D/89465], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [12] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 [ref: 542354].  [13] 1939 Register and Death Record.  [14] Royal Air Force, Airmen’s Service Records 1912-1939 [AIR 79/2616] and Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329/2929].