Selected Biographies

Watson, Albert Victor – Born: Laxfield, Suffolk in 1896.  Parents: William Watson (Farm Foreman for Frederick Branwhite & Sons of Long Melford and Polly [née Berry].  Family Connections: Brother to William George Watson [b1892] and Frederick James Watson [b1895]; also, cousin of Stanley Robert Watson [b1896] and Allen Watson [b1898].  Home: Red House Farm, Sible Hedingham, Essex (1901 to 1911).  Occupation: Stockman on Farm (1911).  Service Record: Albert was conscripted as Pte.25635 with the Bedfordshire Regiment, transferring as Pte.43268 to 6^th [Service] Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment and posted to France as part of 54^th Brigade, 18^th (Eastern) Division.  Died: Private Watson was listed as missing presumed killed in action on 8.8.1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial [Panel 43 and 45], Ypres, Belgium.[1]

Watson, Allen – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 16.9.1898.[2]  Parents: Charles Watson (Tailor) and Emma Alma [née Newson].  Family Connections: Brother to Stanley Robert Watson [b1896] and cousin of William George Watson [b1892], Frederick James Watson [b1895] and Albert Victor Watson [b1896].  Home: 43 Melford Road, Sudbury (1901), 1 Queen Terrace, Newton Road, Sudbury, Suffolk (1921), 6 Kingston Road, Ipswich, Suffolk (1939), 10 Lancaster Avenue, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [1963].  Occupation: Driller for Bruntons Marine Engineers (1921), Electric Linesman (1939).  Married: Mary Ann Brock Welham in 1926.  Service Record: Allen was conscripted on 3.3.1917 as Pte.TR/25999 with ‘E’ Company, 30^th Training Reserve Battalion before being posted as Pte.038048 to 44^th Company, Army Ordnance Corps in Egypt, receiving his discharge in 1920.[3]  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 19.7.1963.[4]

Watson, Arthur Albert – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1880.  Parents: James Watson (Hardware Shopkeeper) and Ellen [née Bane].  Family Connections: Brother to Frederick Stanley Watson [b1882]; also, brother-in-law of Thomas Edward Pleasants [b1884] and Ernest William Lewis Pryke [b1894].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1881 to 1911).  Occupation: Hawker (1901), Hardware Shopkeeper (1911), Hawker and Hardware Man [1916 and 1917].  Married: Grace A.M. MacKay in 1917.  Service Record: At the Military Service Tribunal in October 1916 Arthur applied for exemption, which was granted for six months.  Early in 1917 he was passed fit for general service, but because of the importance of his hardware business to the local community the Melford Tribal had granted Watson exemption to the end of July.  The military representative raised objections and took the case to the West Suffolk Appeal Tribunal in Bury St Edmunds but in spite of employing the services of a local solicitor, failed to convince the panel as to the merits of his claim.  The appeal was allowed resulting in Watson being called one month early.[5]  Conscription should have followed shortly after; however, no definitive military record has been found.  Died: Braintree, Essex in 1962.

Watson, Frederick James – Born: Laxfield, Suffolk in 1895.  Parents: William Watson (Farm Foreman for Frederick Branwhite & Sons of Long Melford and Polly [née Berry].  Family Connections: Brother to William George Watson [b1892] and Albert Victor Watson [b1896]; also, cousin of Stanley Robert Watson [b1896] and Allen Watson [b1898].  Home: Red House Farm, Sible Hedingham, Essex (1901 to 1911).  Occupation: Horseman on Farm (1911).  Service Record: Frederick was conscripted as Gdn.23761 with 3^rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, posted to France as part of 2^nd Guards Brigade, Guards Division and seeing action during the Somme Offensive of 1916.[6]  Died: Frederick was listed as missing presumed killed in action on 14.9.1916 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial [Pier and Face 8D], Somme, France and the War Memorial at Sible Hedingham.[7]

Watson, Frederick Stanley – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 7.11.1882.[8]  Parents: James Watson (Hardware Shopkeeper) and Ellen [née Bane].  Family Connections: Brother to Arthur Albert Watson [b1880] and brother-in-law of Ernest William Lewis Pryke [b1894], Thomas Edward Pleasants [b1884], Edgar Borrett [b1872], John Borrett [b1878], Henry Borrett [b1898] and Bertie Borrett [b1899]; also, stepson of Rose Watson [née Richold] [b1863].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1891 to 1939).[9]  Occupation: Hawker and Baker (1901), Hawker (1911), Hawker and Baker [1916], Hardware and Ironmongery Salesman (1939).  Married: Lily Victoria Borrett in 1921.  Service Record: At the Melford Military Service Tribunal in October 1916 Frederick applied for exemption, which was granted for only fourteen days.[10]  He was attested at the end of the month as Pte.S4/218157, engaged as a baker with 435^th [Horse Transport] Company, Army Service Corps.  This unit was sent to France and formed part of 35^th Divisional Train, the Division seeing action in 1917 at the Second Battle of Passchendaele.  Frederick received his discharge in October 1919.[11]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1966.[12]

Watson, Gordon – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 25.7.1891.[13]  Parents: George Watson (Farmer) and Esther [née Richardson].  Home: Kiln Farm, Long Melford (1891), Red Barn Farm, Leavenheath, Suffolk (1911) and [1916], Stocks Cottage, Nayland, Suffolk (1939), 31 Hillside Crescent, Holland-on-Sea, Essex [1978].  Occupation: Farmer’s Son (1911), Bricklayer (1939).  Married: Kate Lily Baker in 1921.  Service Record: Gordon was attested on 18.11.1915 as Pte.3854 with 4^th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, posted to France from 7.9.1916 and transferring on 18.9.1916 as Pte.44006 to 9^th [Service] Battalion, Suffolks, as part of 71^st Brigade, 6^th Division.  He received a gunshot wound to the face on 13.10.1916 during the latter stages of the Somme Offensive.  On 14.5.1918 he was transferred to 1/1^st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment as part of 35^th Brigade, 12^th [Eastern] Division, stationed near Mailly-Maillet in the Somme Valley.  Private Watson was initially reported missing in action on 28.5.1918, however it was later confirmed that he had been taken prisoner, and at the time of his repatriation in December 1918 was being held at a camp at Limburg in Germany.  Gordon did not receive his discharge until September 1919.[14]  Died: Holland-on-Sea, Essex on 7.1.1978.[15]

Watson, Mrs Rose Watson [née Richold] – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1863.  Parents: Thomas Richold (Master Coach Builder) and Mary Ann [née Lilly].  Family Connections: Stepmother of Arthur Albert Watson [b1880] and Frederick Stanley Watson [b1882].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1871 to 1911), Lime Tree House, Hall Street, Long Melford [1938].  Married: James Watson (retired Hardware Dealer) in 1909.  Service Record: Rose was a volunteer with the British Red Cross Society and a member of the Red Cross Working Party in Long Melford from January 1916 to October 1918.[16]  In May 1918 Mrs Watson became a founder member and Honorary Secretary of the Long Melford Women’s Institute and sat on the Long Melford War Memorial Committee in February 1919.  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk on 12.8.1934.[17]

Watson, Stanley Robert – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1896.  Parents: Charles Watson (Tailor) and Emma Alma [née Newson].  Family Connections: Brother to Allen Watson [b1898] and cousin of William George Watson [b1892], Frederick James Watson [b1895] and Albert Victor Watson [b1896].  Home: 43 Melford Road, Sudbury (1901), 1 Queen Terrace, Newton Road, Sudbury, Suffolk (1911).  Occupation: Draper’s Errand Boy (1911).  Service Record: Stanley enlisted as Pte.5145 (later renumbered as Pte.202236) with 1^st [City of London] Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, posted to France on 12.3.1916 as part of 17^th Brigade, 24^th Division, seeing action at the Battles of Delville Wood and Guillemont during the Somme Offensive of 1916, and in 1917 at Vimy Ridge and Messines.[18]  Died: Private Watson was listed as missing presumed killed in action on 16.6.1917 and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial [Bay 7], Arras, Pas de Calais, France and the War Memorial in his home town of Sudbury.[19]

Watson, William George – Born: Laxfield, Suffolk on 21.5.1892.[20]  Parents: William Watson (Farm Foreman for Frederick Branwhite & Sons of Long Melford and Polly [née Berry].  Family Connections: Brother to Frederick James Watson [b1895] and Albert Victor Watson [b1896]; also, brother-in-law of William John Stearns [b1908] and cousin of Stanley Robert Watson [b1896] and Allen Watson [b1898].  Home: Red House Farm, Sible Hedingham, Essex (1901 to 1911), 26 Crawford Place, Marylebone, London [1917], 221 Bravington Road, Paddington, London [1917 to 1919], 67 Glengall Road, Kilburn, Middlesex (1921), 18 Fairfield Court, Harlesden Road, Willesden, Middlesex (1939).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1911), Police Constable [1917] to (1921), Police Sergeant (1939).  Married: Kate Ethel Morgan in 1917.  Service Record: William was conscripted on 1.11.1916 as Pte.178214 with ‘E’ Company, Machine Gun Corps Training Battalion, mobilized on 30.10.1918 and discharged three months later.[21]  Died: Brent, Middlesex in 1985.

Related Biographies

Pleasants, Thomas Edward – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 13.8.1884.[22]  Parents: Henry Pleasants (Coconut Mat Maker) and Martha [née Copsey] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Horace William Pleasants [b1881] and Frederick George Pleasants [b1893]; also, cousin of Frederick Charles Pleasants [b1893], Alfred Raymond Pleasants [b1896], Thomas Harold Bruce [b1892] and Leonard Bruce Pleasants [b1898], and brother-in-law of Arthur Albert Watson [b1880], Frederick Stanley Watson [b1882], George Stanton Lindsell [b1881], and Hardy Edmund Leeks [b1886].  Home: Chapel Green, Long Melford (1891), St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1901 to 1911), Hall Street, Long Melford (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: Quill Winder (1901), Grocery Porter (1911), Manager of A.D. Wash Hardware of Hall Street (1921 to 1939).  Married: Gertrude Rose Watson in 1916.  Service Record: Thomas was a member of the Long Melford Volunteer Training Corps in 1915.[23]

Pryke, Ernest William Lewis – Born: Campsea Ashe, Suffolk on 11.6.1894.[24]  Parents: Albert Ernest Pryke (Railway Guard) and Kate Agnes [née Hammond].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of Arthur Albert Watson [b1880] and Frederick Stanley Watson [b1882].  Home: 8 Queens Terrace, Grafton Road, Dovercourt, Essex (1901), Ivy Villas, East Street, Sudbury, Suffolk (1911), 34 Avenue Approach, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [1915], 70 Wellesley Road, Ipswich, Suffolk (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: Assistant Laundry Manager [1915], Engineer’s Stores Assistant (1939).  Married: Florence Watson of Long Melford in 1918.  Service Record: Ernest was conscripted on 17.11.1915 as Pte.Z/4272 with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, training as a Signaller attached to 4^th [Collingwood] Battalion, 63^rd (Royal Naval) Division, receiving his discharge in March 1919.[25] Died: Golden Sunset Home, Sea Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk on 29.4.1982.[26]

Stearns, William John – Born: Lambeth, London on 7.3.1902.[27]  Parents: William Stearns of Long Melford (Warehouseman) [see above for military record] and Esther Ann [née Rogers].  Family Connections: Brother to Harry Rogers Stearns [b1903], George Rogers Stearns [b1919] and Reginald Rogers Stearns [b1922; also, brother-in-law of William George Watson [b1892].  Home: living with Harry John Stearns (uncle) in Westgate Street, Long Melford (1911).  Occupation: Labourer [1921], Sailor [1921 to 1941].  Married: Dorothy Ellen Watson of Long Melford in 1939.  Service Record: William enlisted with the Royal Navy in January 1921 as Stoker Second Class N^o. SS125686, in 1922 signing on for a further period of 12 years as N^o. K63349, however in 1934 he elected to stay on reaching the rank of Chief Stoker while serving on the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in 1939 being mentioned in dispatches in 1940 before his discharge in 1941.[28]  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in 1968.

Notes – [1] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record. [2] 1939 Register.  [3] 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].  [4] National Probate Calendar.  [5] For the Tribunal rulings see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 4.10.1916 and 23.5.1917.  [6] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [7] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 384383].  [8] 1939 Register. [9] Recorded as Stanley Watson on the UK Census for 1911 and 1939 Register. [10] For the Tribunal’s ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 4.10.1916. [11] For details of 435^th Company’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/2481].  See also his Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363]. [12] Recorded as Stanley F. Watson on Death Index.  [13] Baptism Register 6.9.1891, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [14] For details of 9^th Suffolk’s movements during Gordon Watson’s time at the Front see War Diary [WO 95/1625/1] and Lieutenant-Colonel C.C.R. Murphy, The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927 [London: Hutchinson and Co, 1928], pp.194-199 and 243-249, also see War Diary of 1/1^st Cambridgeshire around the date of Gordon’s capture [WO 95/1850/2].  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]. [15] National Probate Calendar.  [16] British Red Cross Record Card.  [17] National Probate Calendar. [18] Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: DEL15507], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal, and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [19] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 698631]. His Effects record notes that he was attached to 2/3^rd Battalion at the time of his death.  [20] 1939 Register and Death Record.  [21] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363].  [22] Baptism Register 5.10.1884, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [23] For Training Corps article see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 10.3.1915.  [24] RN record and 1939 Register.  [25] Royal Naval Division Service Records 1914-1920 [ADM 339], RNVR Other Ranks – Medal Rolls 1914-1920 [ADM 171/128].  [26] National Probate Calendar.  [27] Date of birth taken from his father’s Army Service Record.  [28] Suffolk and Essex Free Press 20.4.1939 and Supplement to the London Gazette 4.10.1940.  See also his Royal Navy Registers of Seaman’s Services files [ADM 188]/1131 and 188/987].