Selected Biographies

Tatum, Alfred Thomas – Born: Acton, Suffolk on 8.3.1896.[1]  Parents: James John Tatum (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann [née Munnings] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to William George Tatum [b1884], Robert Samuel Tatum [b1893] and Charles Tatum [b1899]; also, nephew of William Tatum [b1867].  Home: Little St Marys, Long Melford (1901), White Hart Yard, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1911).  Occupation: Balling Yarn at Coconut Matting Factory (1911).  Service Record: Alfred was attested as Pte. G/30082 of ‘B’ Company, 2^nd Battalion, The Queen’s [Royal West Surrey] Regiment.  Before being transferred to Italy in late November 1917, the Battalion had spent the previous three years with the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front.  As part of 91^st Brigade, 7^th Division, the Royal West Surreys was sent to bolster Italian positions opposing Austro-Hungarian troops on the far bank of the Piave River.  On 26.10.1918 a large-scale attack was launched by a combined British and Italian force, which lasted several days and resulted in pushing the enemy into retreat.[2]  Died: Private Tatum was killed in action, together with another man from ‘B’ Company, during the crossing of the Piave on 29.10.1918.  He is buried in Tezze British Cemetery [grave ref: 4.B.II], Veneto, Italy and commemorated on the Long Melford War Memorial.[3]

Tatum, Charles – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1859.  Parents: John Tatum (Labourer) and Matilda née Piper].  Family Connections: Brother to William Tatum [b1867].  Home: Church Row, Long Melford (1861), The Green, Long Melford (1871), Hall Street, Long Melford (1881), Cadges Yard, Westgate Street, Long Melford (1901).  Occupation: Coconut Mat Weaver (1881 to 1901).  Service Record: Charles enlisted in 1884 as Rfn.7106 with 1^st Battalion, Rifle Brigade [The Prince Consort’s Own] having previously been a member of 3^rd [Militia] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.  During Tatum’s time with the Brigade, he saw service in Burma, Hong Kong and India, receiving his discharge in 1897.[4]

Tatum, Charles – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 8.10.1899.[5]  Parents: James John Tatum (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann [née Munnings] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to William George Tatum [b1884], Frederick Tatum [b1886], Robert Samuel Tatum [b1893] and Alfred Thomas Tatum [b1896]; also, brother-in-law of Arthur George Wallis [b1885].  Home: Little St Marys, Long Melford (1901), White Hart Yard, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1911).  Service Record: Charles was conscripted as Pte.TR/9/44766 with the Training Reserve Battalion, transferring as Pte.42502 to 2^nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, being posted to France as part of 76^th Brigade, 3^rd Division.  On the morning of 21.8.1918 the Allies opened a new offensive in the Somme valley.[6]  Died: On 22.8.1918 Private Tatum died of wounds sustained the previous day when his battalion advanced through a dense mist across no man’s land to enemy positions at Courcelles-le-Comte, about ten miles south of Arras.  Private Tatum is buried in Bagneux British Cemetery [grave ref: VI.A.9], Gézaincourt, Somme, France and commemorated on the Long Melford War Memorial.[7]

Tatum, Frederick – Born: Acton, Suffolk in 1886.  Parents: James John Tatum (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann [née Munnings] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to William George Tatum [b1884], Robert Samuel Tatum [b1893], Alfred Thomas Tatum [b1896] and Charles Tatum [b1899]; also, brother-in-law of Arthur George Wallis [b1885]. Home: Spond, Acton, Suffolk (1891), Little St Marys, Long Melford (1901), White Hart Yard, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1911).  Occupation: Coconut Mat Maker (1901), Agricultural Labourer (1911).  Service Record: Frederick enlisted in 1903 as Pte.5945 of 3^rd [Militia] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, receiving his discharge in 1905.  Died: He contracted tuberculosis in September 1914 from which never recovered, dying from the illness six months later and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard in Long Melford on 5.4.1915.[8]

Tatum, Guy Ralph – Born: Cockfield, Suffolk in 1897.  Parents: James Tatum of Alpheton, Suffolk (Agricultural Labourer) and Laura [née Clarke].  Home: Smithwood Green, Cockfield, Suffolk (1901 to 1911), 10 Upper Norwood Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (1921), Springfield, Cliffords Mesne, Gloucestershire [1925].  Occupation: Gardener [1917] to (1921).  Married: Florence Edith Clifford in 1925.  Service Record: Guy was initially conscripted as Pte.59103 with the Devonshire Regiment, being mobilised on 8.3.1917 as Pte.104863 with the Labour Corps, and posted to France two weeks later.  Once on the Western Front he was transferred on 14.5.1917 to 175^th Company, Labour Corps, receiving his discharge in March 1920.[9]  Died: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in 1965.

Tatum, John Anthony – Born: Cockfield, Suffolk on 17.4.1903.[10]  Parents: George Tatum of Cockfield (Groom) and Rose Ellen [née Everson].  Home: Cross Green, Cockfield (1911), Woollards Gardens, Long Melford (1939).  Occupation: General Labourer (1939).  Married: Ivy Annie Slater [d1955] in 1927 & Grace L. Downs in 1962.  Service Record: John was a member of the Local Defence Volunteers in Long Melford, being part of ‘H’ Company, 10^th 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.[11]  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in 1984.

Tatum, Robert Samuel – Born: Acton, Suffolk on 17.2.1893.[12]  Parents: James John Tatum (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann [née Munnings] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to William George Tatum [b1884], Frederick Tatum [b1886], Alfred Tatum [b1896] and Charles Tatum [b1899]; also, brother-in-law of Arthur George Wallis [b1885].  Home: Little St Marys, Long Melford (1901), White Hart Yard, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1911) to [1947].  Occupation: Balling Yarn at George Whittle’s Coconut Matting Factory (1911), General Labourer (1921), Incapacitated (1939).  Service Record: Robert enlisted on 19.4.1915 as Pte.18850 with 7^th [Service] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, being posted to France from 19.10.1915 as part of 35^th Brigade, 12^th [Eastern] Division and seeing action during the Somme Offensive of 1916.  In April 1917 his battalion was involved in two further actions; the First Battle of the Scarpe and the Battle of Arleux, both taking a heavy toll on the unit and leaving it with less than 200 men fit for duty.  On 9.8.1917 a large-scale raid on enemy lines took place near Bois du Vert, east of Arras.  The raid was considered a success however the Suffolks took a considerable number of casualties, one of whom may have been Robert as on 5.9.1917 he was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged due to his wounds.[13]  The head injuries he received were severe enough for him to be granted a full disability pension by the Army.  For the rest of his life, he suffered from chronic headaches and was never able to gain employment.  Died: in Long Melford on 13.5.1947 while attempting to hang himself with a thin cord tied to the end of his bedpost.  He had been complaining to his brother of acute pains in his abdomen, a subsequent post mortem examination identifying a mass in his stomach.  The coroner returned a verdict that death was due to shock consequent upon an attempt to take his own life by hanging whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed.[14]

Tatum, William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 3.9.1867.[15] Parents: John Tatum (Labourer) and Matilda [née Piper].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles Tatum [b1859].  Home: The Green, Long Melford (1871), Hall Street, Long Melford (1881), 13 Queens Road, Sudbury, Suffolk (1901), 28 New Street, Braintree, Essex (1911).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1881 to 1911).  Married: Ellen Victoria Younger [née Meggs] in 1899.  Service Record: William enlisted in 1885 as Pte.1428 with 1^st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, having previously been a member of 3^rd [Militia] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.  He was posted to India from 1887 to 1892, receiving his discharge in 1897.  It is not known if he saw service during the First World War as no extant record has been found.[16]

Tatum, William George – Born: Acton, Suffolk on 11.3.1884.[17]  Parents: James John Tatum (Agricultural Labourer) and Mary Ann [née Munnings] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Frederick Tatum [b1886], Robert Samuel Tatum [b1893], Alfred Thomas Tatum [b1896] and Charles Tatum [b1899]; also, brother-in-law of Arthur George Wallis [b1885].  Home: Spond, Acton, Suffolk (1891), Little St Marys, Long Melford (1901), White Hart Yard, St Marys Street, Long Melford (1911), Hall Street, Long Melford [1916], St Marys, Long Melford (1939) to [1947].  Occupation: Goods Porter for the Great Eastern Railway (1901), Miller’s Labourer (1911), Carman for Frederick Branwhite and Sons of Hall Street, Long Melford [1916], Scavenger for Melford Rural District Council (1921), Agricultural Labourer (1939).  Service Record: William was conscripted on 26.2.1916 as Dvr.169483 with the Royal Field Artillery.  At the Military Service Tribunal in March William’s employer Frederick Branwhite, applied on his behalf for exemption as ‘he had one carman already with the colours, another now called, and Tatum is the only eligible carman left’.  The panel granted William Tatum exemption for three months.[18]  He was posted to France from 16.3.1917 as part of 56^th Divisional Ammunition Column, seeing action during the Arras Offensive of April and May, and at Langemarck in the Ypres Salient in August 1917.  On 22.9.1917 William transferred to the Advanced Horse Transport Depot and to CCLXXXII Army Field Artillery Brigade a month later, being placed on the Army Reserve in October 1919.[19]

Related Biography

Wallis, Arthur George – Born: Battersea, London on 1.5.1885.[20]  Parents: Arthur George Wallis (Print Machine Minder) and Helen Emily [née Curnock].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of William George Tatum [b1884], Frederick Tatum [b1886], Robert Samuel Tatum [b1893], Alfred Thomas Tatum [b1896] and Charles Tatum [b1899].  Home: 26 Station Road, Croydon, Surrey (1891), Newton Road, Sudbury, Suffolk (1901), 9 Church Row, Sudbury (1911), 13 St Osyth Road, Clacton, Essex (1939).  Occupation: Printer’s Compositor (1901 to 1939).  Married: Kate Tatum of Long Melford in 1910.  Service Record: Arthur was conscripted, being posted to France on 10.8.1917 as Pte. G/87632 with 16^th [Service] Battalion, The Duke of Cambridge’s Own [Middlesex Regiment], transferring within a fortnight as Pte. G/67750 to 1/4^th (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) as part of 168^th [2^nd London] Brigade, 56^th (1st London) Division and seeing action during the Third Battles of Ypres in 1917.  Transferring within the Division to 169^th Brigade on 12.9.1918 Wallis as Pte.241743 joined the Royal Fusiliers 2^nd Battalion and fought in some of the final forays of the War; at the Battles of the Hindenburg Line in September and the Final Advance in Picardy in October and November 1918.[21]  Died: Colchester, Essex in 1963.

Notes – [1] Date of birth from Admission Register 19.2.1900, St Catherines Infants School, Long Melford.  [2] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [3] Private Tatum’s death is recorded in the Battalion War Diary, see [WO 95/4227] available online through https:// queensroyalsurreys.org.uk.  See also his Commonwealth War Graves Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 838006].  [4] WO 97 – Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913.  [5] Date of birth from Admission Register 16.5.1903, St Catherines Infants School, Long Melford. [6] For details of 2^nd Suffolk’s involvement see War Diary [WO 95/1437/1] and Lieutenant-Colonel C. C. R. Murphy The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927 [London: Hutchinson and Co, 1928], pp.287-90.  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [7] Commonwealth War Graves Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 773839].  [8] Tuberculosis: Register of Notification from Medical Practitioners, Bury Record Office ref; EF501/4/23] and Burial Register, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford [Bury Record Office ref: FL509/4/17]. [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] 1939 Register.  [11] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946.  [12] 1939 Register.  [13] For details of 7^th Suffolk’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/1852/1-3] 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 and 232-35.  Also see his Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: 238538], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [14] I am grateful to Simon Wallis for bringing the following newspaper article to my attention: ‘Tied to Bedpost Melford Pensioner Dies from Shock’ in Suffolk and Essex Free Press 22.5.1947.  [15] Baptism Register 4.7.1869, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [16] Chelsea Hospital British Army Service Record [WO 97] up to 1897.  [17] The 1939 Register for Long Melford records his date of birth as 11.2.1885, this appears to have been corrected later to 11.3.1884.  This earlier date has been chosen as he was baptised in April 1884, although no birth date was recorded, see Baptism Register 13.4.1884, All Saints Church, Acton, Suffolk.  [18] For the Tribunals ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 22.3.1916.  [19] For details of 282^nd FA Brigade’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/205/7].  See also his 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].  [20] 1939 Register.  [21] For more detail of this period of the Great War see www.longlongtrail.co.uk.  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].