Selected Biographies

Russell, Frank Evans – Born: Llandaff, Glamorgan, Wales in 1873.  Parents: Frank Russell (School Master) and Mary Annie [née Evans].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry Russell [b1877].  Home: St Marys School, 11 St Marys Churchyard, Stafford St Mary, Staffordshire (1881), 26 Royal George Street, Stockport, Cheshire (1891), Lodge Farm, Brettenham Road, Kilverstone, Norfolk (1901), Braggons Farm, Boxted, Suffolk (1911 to 1921).[1]  Occupation: School Master (1891), Farm Steward (1901), Farmer (1911) to [1925].  Married: Mina Maud Sayer in 1900.  Service Record: Frank was member of the Board of Guardians for the Sudbury Workhouse and a member of the Melford Rural District Council before the First World War.  He held a Lieutenant’s commission in March 1915 with the 8^th [Service] Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, posted to France from 6.12.1915 as part of 8^th Brigade, 3^rd Division, and later transferred to 16^th [Service] Battalion, The Prince of Wales’s Own [West Yorkshire] Regiment.  Frank Russell was also a member of the Melford War Agricultural Sub-Committee.[2]  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in 1935.

Russell, Henry – Born: Llandaff, Glamorgan, Wales in 1877.  Parents: Frank Russell (School Master) and Mary Annie [née Evans].  Family Connections: Brother to Frank Evans Russell [b1873].  Home: St Marys School, 11 St Marys Churchyard, Stafford St Mary, Staffordshire (1881), Pocklington Grammar School, Pocklington, Yorkshire (1901), 9 Oriel Crescent, Scarborough, Yorkshire (1911), 50 West Avenue, Filey, Yorkshire [1916].  Occupation: School Master’s Assistant (1901), Branch Bank Manager (1911).  Married: Mabel Jane Coates in 1901.  Service Record: Harry held a Captain’s commission with 16^th [Service] Battalion, The Prince of Wales’s Own [West Yorkshire Regiment], posted to Egypt in December 1915, then to France three months later as part of 93^rd Brigade, 31^st Division.  Died: of wounds on 10.6.1916 during the opening stage of the Battle of the Somme and is buried in Bertrancourt Cemetery [grave ref: 1.C.], Bus-Les-Artois, France.[3]

Russell, Herbrand Edward Howard Launcelot Gill – Born: Milton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire on 8.6.1902.[4]  Parents: Joseph Rushforth Woodhead Gill-Russell (Gentleman) and Gwendoline Gaitskell Sanders.  Home: Sherington Bridge House, Sherington, Buckinghamshire (1902) to [1922],[5] 25 Spring Gardens, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire [1930],[6] Cuckoo Tye, Long Melford (1939).  Occupation: Gentleman [1922], Master of Rounds (1939).  Married: Violet Isabella Leaf in 1928.  Service Record: Service Record: At the beginning of the Second World War Herbrand is recorded as an Air Raid Warden, later listed as a member of the Local Defence Volunteers in Long Melford, being part of ‘H’ Company, 10th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard when it was formed in August 1942.  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.[7]  Died: Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1974.

Notes – [1] Occupation and address from Kelly’s Directory for Suffolk 1912 to 1925.  [2] Notification of commission see Sheffield Daily Telegraph 20.3.1915.  Also see his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [3] Commonwealth War Grave Commission.  [4] Baptism Register of 10.7.1902 for Saints Simon and Jude Church, Milton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire.  [5] The Northampton Mercury 17.3.1922.  [6] Northampton Daily Echo 6.3.1930.  [7] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946.