Selected Biographies

Steward, Arthur – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 21.7.1879.[1]  Parents: Charles Steward (Labourer in Flax Mill) and Ellen [née Oakley] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Frederick Steward [b1887] and father of Dorothy Kate Steward [b1838]; also, father-in-law of Frederick Robert Keeble [b1914] and Geoffrey Walter Dale Jackson [b1923].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1881), St Marys Street/Little St Marys, Long Melford (1891 and 1901), Hall Street, Long Melford (1911) to (1939).  Occupation: Backhouse Boy (1891), Maltster’s Labourer (1901), Labourer in Ward’s Iron Foundry (1911), Furnace Man for David Ward, Agricultural Implement Manufacturer [1916], Chimney Sweep [1925[2]].  Married: Harriett Ward in 1905.  Service Record: At the Long Melford Military Service Tribunal in 1916 his employer David Ward applied for Arthur’s exemption, which was granted on the condition his situation remained unchanged.[3]  It is not known if Steward’s certificate remained valid until the end of hostilities, however no definitive military record has been found to suggest otherwise.  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk 1969.

Steward, Barnard Roper – Born: Great Cornard, Suffolk on 24.11.1884.[4]  Parents: George Steward (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann Groome [née Roper].  Family Connections: George Steward [b1871], James Raymond Steward [b1875] and Charles Steward [b1881].  Home: Vicarage Lane, Great Cornard (1891), emigrated to Canada in 1916.  Married: Constance Amelia Guesdon in 1916.  Service Record: Bernard enlisted in 1902 as Pte.6195 with 1^st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, transferring to 99^th Battery, Royal Field Artillery until being placed on the Army Reserve in 1905.  He re-enlisted on 14.11.1914 as Dvr. M/36056 with the Army Service Corps and posted to France with 366^th [Mechanical Transport] Company until October 1915 when he received his discharge.[5]  Died:  Vancouver, Canada on 25.5.1968.

Steward, Charles – Born: Great Cornard, Suffolk on 21.2.1881.[6]  Parents: George Steward (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann Groome [née Roper].  Family Connections: George Steward [b1871], James Raymond Steward [b1875] and Barnard Roper Steward [b1884].  Home: Head Lane, Great Cornard, Suffolk (1881), Vicarage Lane, Great Cornard (1891), 146 St James Road, Holloway, London (1911), 100 Camden Mews, Camden Square, London [1915], 107 Halton Road, Islington, London (1921), Malcolm, Swan Lane, Sevenoaks, Kent (1939).  Occupation: Shopkeeper (1911), Grocer and Oilman [1915], Oil and Domestic Shopkeeper (1921), Shopkeeper incapacitated (1939). Married: Emily Eliza Read in 1901.  Service Record: Before the First World War Charles served as Bdr.1091 with the Royal Field Artillery having originally enlisted in 1899 under the name Frederick Read.  He re-enlisted on 12.3.1915 as Bdr.98008 with ‘R’ Battery, 23^rd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery.  In July 1915 he was promoted to Corporal and transferred to 19^th [Reserve] Battery and posted to France where in 1917 he received a severe gunshot wound.  He remained with his unit after his recovery and was issued with a Silver War Badge in January 1919 when he was discharged as ‘physically unfit’ having risen to the rank of Sergeant and being awarded a Military Medal for his gallantry while serving on the Western Front.[7]  Died: Royal Chelsea Pensioners Hospital, Chelsea, London on 5.3.1969.

Steward, Dorothy Kate – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 11.11.1928.[8]  Parents: Arthur Steward (Iron Foundry Labourer) [see details above] and Harriett [née Ward].  Family Connections: niece of Frederick Steward [b1887].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1939).  Occupation: Shorthand Typist and Secretary for C.J.N. Row and Sons Limited [1942 to 1952].  Married: .  Service Record: Dorothy was a member the Signals Branch of ‘H’ Company, 10^th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard.  Her name is recorded in the official tribute to the organization entitled The Lion Roared his Defiance, photographed in and around Long Melford in 1944.[9]  After the war she joined the Long Melford Good Companions Players, in 1949 appearing in a production of Quality Street and 1950 in Daddy Long Legs.[10]  Dorothy also made other contributions to village life, at various times Secretary of the Long Melford Young People’s Club, the Melford branch of the Young Conservatives, and the Long Melford Silver Band Supporter’s Club.  By 1952 she had been a Sunday School Teacher at Holy Trinity Church for eleven years and at that time was a member of the Parish Council.[11]

Steward, Frederick ‘Fred’ – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 30.8.1887.[12]  Parents: Charles Steward (Labourer in Flax Mill) and Ellen [née Oakley] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Arthur Steward [b1879] and uncle of Dorothy Kate Steward [b1928].  Home: St Marys Street/Little St Marys, Long Melford (1891 to 1939).  Occupation: Baker’s Apprentice (1901), Labourer in Iron Foundry (1911), Still Man for Stafford Allen and Sons, Distillers of Herbal Oils (1921 to 1939). Married: Alice Maud Greenwood in 1911.  Service Record: Fred enlisted in 1913 with the Suffolk Regiment.  During the First World War as Sgt.240246 he served with 7^th [Service] Battalion, Suffolks, being posted to France as part of 35^th Brigade, 12^th [Eastern] Division and seeing action at the following battles:  Loos in 1915, the Somme Offensive in 1916, Arras and Cambrai in 1917, and the Somme and the Hindenburg Line in 1918.  Sergeant Steward was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged in January 1919 due to a ‘fractured right fibia’ [sic].[13] Fred has been identified by his granddaughter Nita Palmer Randle from a photograph of Melford men signing on to join the Local Defence Volunteers in 1940.[14]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1982.

Steward, George – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 25.9.1871.[15]  Parents: George Steward (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann Groome [née Roper].  Family Connections: James Raymond Steward [b1875], Charles Steward [b1881] and Barnard Roper Steward [b1884].  Home: Head Lane, Great Cornard, Suffolk (1881), Royal Marine Barracks, Alverstoke, Hampshire (1891), 23 Ernest Road, Chatham, Kent (1911), emigrated to Melbourne, Australia [1913].  Occupation: Royal Marine [1891 to 1913]. Married: Clara Buckwell in 1898.  Service Record: George enlisted in 1891 as a Sick Berth Steward N^o. 150345 with the Royal Marine Light Infantry, receiving his discharge in January 1913.  It is not known if he saw service during the First World War as no extant Australian record has been found.[16]  Died: Australia in 1947.

Steward, James Raymond – Born: Great Cornard, Suffolk on 9.1.1875.[17]  Parents: George Steward (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann Groome [née Roper].  Family Connections: George Steward [b1871], Charles Steward [b1881] and Barnard Roper Steward [b1884].  Home: Head Lane, Great Cornard, Suffolk (1881), Vicarage Lane, Great Cornard (1891), Galbraith Street, Poplar, London [1914] to (1939).  Occupation: Brickyard Labourer (1891), Warehouseman [1914], Carpenter’s Labourer (1921), Labourer (1939).  Married: Mabel Mary Cox in 1914.  Service Record: Raymond enlisted in 1895 as Pte.4354 with 1^st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, posted to Egypt in December 1897 taking part in the Nile Expedition of 1898 and seeing action at the Battle of Atbara.  Transferring to 2^nd Battalion he was sent to South Africa until September 1903 seeing action during the Second Anglo-Boer War.  He served for a further eight years in England, receiving his discharge in 1911.[18]  Died: Romford, Essex in 1956.

Related Biographies

Bowers, Christopher – Born: Plumstead, London on 16.11.1915.[19]  Parents: Henry Peter Bowers (Police Constable) and Daisy [née Silvester].  Family Connections: Son-in-law of Arthur Steward [b1879].  Home: 106 Purrett Road, Plumstead [1915], 1 Council Houses, High Street, Long Melford (1939).  Married: Ethel Marjorie Steward of Long Melford in 1936.  Service Record: In 1939 Christopher is recorded as a Gunner with the Royal Artillery.  In August 1942 he joined ‘H’ Company, 10^th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard, 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.[20]  Died: Yeovil, Somerset in 1981.

Keeble, Robert ‘Frederick’ – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 16.11.1914.[21]  Parents: James Keeble (Blacksmith) and Sarah Elizabeth [née Scrivener].  Family Connections: Brother to William James Keeble [b1902] and Ethel Alice Keeble [b1909]; also, nephew of Alfred Harry Keeble [b1884] and son-in-law of Arthur Steward [b1879] Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1921 to 1939). Married: Mabel Mary Steward in 1952. Service Record: Frederick was a member of the Local Defence Volunteers and was a member of ‘H’ Company, 10^th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard, his name being recorded in the official tribute to the organization entitled The Lion Roared his Defiance.  He enlistment in June 1941 as Pte.1802565 with 226^th [Light Anti-Aircraft] Training Regiment, Royal Artillery, posted to India in August 1942 with 36^th [Light Anti-Aircraft] Regiment seeing action during the Burma Campaign of 1944/45, receiving his discharge in 1946.[22] Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in 1965.

Jackson, Geoffrey Walter Dale – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1923.  Parents: Gordon Gainsford Jackson (Farmer) and Edith Sarah [née Double].  Family Connections: Son-in-law of Arthur Steward [b1979].  Home: Hall Farm, Pentlow, Essex [1952], 21 Hitchcock Place, Sudbury, Suffolk [2002], Little Oaks, High Street, Cavendish, Suffolk [2002 to 2019].  Occupation: Insurance Clerk for C.J.N. Row and Sons Limited [1937 to 1952].  Married: Dorothy Kate Steward in 1952 [see details above].  Service Record: Geoffrey enlisted as Gnr.1155820 with 22^nd [Anti-Tank] Training Regiment, Royal Artillery on 25.6.1942. On 15.10.1942 he transferred to 132^nd [Welsh] Regiment, Royal Field Artillery on 15.10.1942, his unit being part 11^th Infantry Brigade, 78^th Division which took part in the beach landings at Algiers in the opening phase of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa.   In September 1943 his unit was moved to Italy where it saw action at the Battles of Monte Cassino and Lake Trasimene, and it was during this Campaign that Lance Bombardier Jackson’s courage was recognised in him being Mentioned in Dispatches.[23]  After the war he joined the Long Melford Good Companions Players working as its stage manager for many productions.

Notes – [1] Baptism Register 27.1.1879, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [2] Kelly’s Directory for Suffolk 1925. [3] For the Tribunal’s ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 21.6.1916.  [4] Date and place of birth from Admissions Register of 1887 for Great Cornard School.  [5] British Army World War One Pension Records [WO 364].  [6] 1939 Register.  [7] Silver War Badge [WO 329], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  For notification of his gallantry medal see Supplement to the London Gazette 23.2.1918.  [8] 1939 Register.  [9] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946. [10] Suffolk Free Press 17.5.1949 and 28.3.1950.  [11] Suffolk Free Press 10.12.1952 Wedding Photo in Bury Free Press 12.12.1952.  [12] Baptism Register 6.11.1887, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [13] For details of 7^th Suffolk’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/1852/1-4] and Lieutenant-Colonel C.C.R. Murphy, The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927 [London: Hutchinson and Co, 1928], pp.129-33, 177-181, 232-38 and 272-77.  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: B270570], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [14] The Lion Roared his Defiance p.4 (featured in top picture fourth from left) [Marten & Son, Ltd., Sudbury, Suffolk 1946].  [15] Date and place of birth taken his RN Record.  His entry in the Baptism Register 6.10.1872, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford records the date of birth as 9 September, but does not give the year.  [16] Royal Navy Registers of Seaman’s Services [ADM 188/215] in the name of George Stewart [sic]. [17] 1939 Register.  [18] [WO 97] Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 and [WO 100] Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949.  [19] 1939 Register.  [20] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946.  [21] 1939 Register.  [22] World War II Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948.  [23] Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948 Royal Artillery Honours and Awards 1886-2013 [ref: 68/Gen/8203] and London Gazette 23.5.1946.