Selected Biographies

Wheeler, Bertie Henry – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 14.12.1905.[1]  Parents: Thomas Henry Wheeler (Labourer) [see details below] and Emma Elizabeth [née Pawsey].  Home: 43 Garfield Road, South Wimbledon, Surrey (1911), 4 Milton Road, Wimbledon, Surrey (1921), 14 Newport Crescent, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire [1987].  Occupation: Shop Boy at Carnwath Laundry in Wimbledon (1921), Assistant Dynamo Inspector [1924].  Married: Ivy Marine Ward in 1933.  Service Record: Bertie enlisted on 15.4.1924 as Gnr.1056906 with the Royal Artillery receiving his discharge on 9.10.1945.[2]  Died: Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in 1987.

Wheeler, Charles Henry – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 2.9.1910.[3]  Parents: George Wheeler (Stationary Engine Driver) [see below for details] and Lily [née Smith].  Family Connections: Cousin of Ernest William Wheeler [b1900].  Home: Back Lane, Long Melford, Suffolk (1911 to 1939).  Occupation: Builder’s Labourer (1939).  Married: Violet Frost in 1929.  Service Record: Charlie 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.[4]  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1991 and buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Long Melford.

Wheeler, Ernest William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 12.11.1900.[5]  Parents: Charles Wheeler (Stockman on Farm) and Ellen [née Hardy].  Family Connections: Nephew of George Wheeler [b1877] and cousin of Charles Henry Wheeler [b1910]; also, father-in-law of John Philip Ford [b1925].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1901), Bull Lane, Long Melford (1911 to 1939).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1921), Stockman on Farm (1939).  Married: Priscilla Mildred Mansfield in 1921.  Service Record: Ernest 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.[6]  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk on 9.1.1984 and buried in Holy Trinity churchyard in Long Melford.[7]

Wheeler, George – Born: Stanstead, Suffolk on 11.10.1876.[8]  Parents: James Wheeler (Traction Engine Driver) and Rhoda [née Suttle].  Family Connections: Father to Charles Henry Wheeler [b1910]; also, brother-in-law of James Ford [b1880], George Oakley [b1885] and Frederick James Pettitt [b1883], and uncle of Ernest William Wheeler [b1900].  Home: Stanstead, Suffolk (1881 and 1891), Bull Lane, Acton, Suffolk (1901), 14 Back Lane, Long Melford (1911 to 1939).  Occupation: Horsehair Labourer (1891), Agricultural Labourer (1901), Stationary Engine Man and fitter at Ward’s Iron Foundry in Long Melford (1911) to [1916], General Labourer (1939).  Married: Lily Smith in 1907.  Service Record: George was a member of the Long Melford Volunteer Training Corps in 1915.  At the Melford Military Service Tribunal in 1916 his employer David Ward applied for exemption on his behalf, which was granted on the condition his situation remained unchanged.  It is not known if Wheeler’s certificate remained valid until the end of hostilities, however no definitive military record has been found to suggest otherwise.[9]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1951.

Wheeler, Herbert Raymond – Born: Colchester, Essex on 15.2.1895.[10]  Parents: Arthur Wheeler of Long Melford (Upholsterer) and Sarah Ann [née Morley].  Family Connections: Brother to John Joseph Wheeler [b1885].  Home: 2 Papillon Road, Colchester, Essex (1901), 444 Providence Place, Birmingham, Handsworth, Warwickshire [1921 to 1925], 2 Papillon Road, Colchester (1939).  Occupation: Printer’s Compositor (1911 to 1939).  Service Record: Herbert was conscripted in February 1916 as Pte.27118, later Pte.202603 with 2/7^th Battalion, Essex Regiment transferring to the Royal Defence Corps as Pte.4814 then as Spr.329192 to with the Royal Engineers, being posted to France where he received a gunshot wound to his back on 8.4.1918, causing extensive flesh damage.  He was discharged in April 1919.[11]    Died: Colchester, Essex in 1963.

Wheeler, John Joseph – Born: Colchester, Essex on 31.5.1885.  Parents: Arthur Wheeler of Long Melford (Upholsterer) and Sarah Ann [née Morley].  Family Connections: Brother to Herbert Raymond Wheeler [b1895].  Home: 57 Pelham Road, Colchester, Essex (1891), 2 Papillon Road, Colchester (1901) to [1977].  Occupation: Carpenter (1901 to 1911), Joiner [1916], Practical Instructor at Halstead Technical School (1921).  Service Record: John was conscripted on 18.12.1916 as an Aircraft Mechanic with the Royal Flying Corps, transferring as N^o.52149 to the Royal Air Force on 1.4.1918, receiving his discharge in April 1920.[12]  Died: Colchester, Essex on 5.2.1977.[13]

Wheeler, Thomas Henry – Born: Clapham, London on 11.12.1882.[14]  Parents: John Wheeler (Railway Engine Driver) and Elizabeth [née Castle].  Family Connections: Father to Bertie Henry Wheeler of Long Melford [b1905]; also, brother-in-law of William Pawsey [b1887] and Charles Cyril Pawsey [b1892].  Home: 79 Priory Grove, Lambeth, London (1901), 43 Garfield Road, South Wimbledon, Surrey (1911), 4 Milton Road, Wimbledon [1919].  Occupation: Railway Electric Assistant (1901), Labourer in Railway Electrical Depot (1911), Dynamo Examiner [1914].  Married: Emma Elizabeth Pawsey of Long Melford in 1906.  Service Record: On 26.11.1914 Thomas enlisted as Pte.6423 with 3^rd [Reserve] Battalion, East Surrey Regiment and was posted to France from 14.4.1915 with 1^st East Surreys, initially as part of 14^th Brigade, 5^th Division then from January 1916 with 95^th Brigade in the same Division.  The Battalion saw action at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, during the Somme Offensive of 1916, at the Battles of Arras and Third Ypres in 1917.  He was wounded by shell gas poisoning on 26.6.1918 while attached to 95^th Brigade Headquarters and was taken first to N^o. 54 Casualty Clearing Station at Aire-sur-la-Lys and shortly after to N^o. 35 General Hospital in Calais, before being sent to England to recover.  In September he was transferred to 3^rd [Reserve] Battalion, East Surreys and then in late November 1918 as Pte. G/35961 to 3^rd [Reserve] Battalion, The Buffs [East Kent Regiment].  In January 1919 Private Wheeler was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged, due to his wounds.[15]  Died: Thomas died of pulmonary tuberculosis at home in Wimbledon, Surrey on 19.4.1922.

Related Biographies

Ford, James – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 9.4.1880.[16]  Parents: Benjamin David Ford (Maltster’s Labourer) and Susannah [née Rising] (Horsehair Weaver).  Family Connections: Father to William Sidney James Ford [b1909] and brother of Arthur Ford [b1884] and Sidney Charles Ford [b1895]; also, cousin of Frederick Ford [b1886] and George Ford [b1891], and brother-in-law of George Wheeler [b1877].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1881), Westgate Lane, Long Melford (1891), St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1901), Bull Tap, Bull Lane, Long Melford (1911) to [1919].  Occupation: Labourer for Stafford Allen and Sons, Distillers of Herbal Oils (1901), Ostler at the Bull Hotel (1911) to [1916].  Married: Fanny Wheeler in 1905.  Service Record: At the Melford Military Service Tribunal in July 1916 James’s employer George Harris applied for his exemption, which was refused, allowing him only one month’s grace.  The case may have been taken to the West Suffolk Military Appeal Tribunal in Bury St Edmunds as at the August sitting of the Melford panel the military representative raised an objection, resulting in the second application being refused.[17]  James Ford was conscripted on 26.12.1916 as Pte. G/80938 with 1^st [Reserve] Battalion, [London Regiment] Royal Fusiliers and discharged on 2.9.1918 as ‘no longer physically fit for war service’ due to tuberculosis of the lung.[18]  Died: James died from the disease on 7.6.1919 and is buried in Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford and recorded on the Long Melford Roll of Honour.[19]

Ford, John Philip – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 18.10.1925.[20]  Parents: Arthur Ford and Ethel Victoria [née East].  Family Connections: .  Home: 1 Bull Lane, Long Melford (1939) to [2012].  Married: Edna M. Wheeler in 1951.  Service Record: Harry was a member of ‘H’ Company, 10^th Battalion, Suffolk Home Guard, his being recorded in the official tribute to the organization entitled The Lion Roared his Defiance, photographed in and around Long Melford in 1944.[21]  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk on 11.11.2012 and buried in Holy Trinity churchyard in Long Mong Melford.[22]

Oakley, George – Born: Glemsford, Suffolk on 26.8.1885.[23]  Parents: Walter Oakley (Coconut Mat Weaver) and Susannah Matilda [née Suttle].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry Oakley [b1883] and brother-in-law of George Wheeler [b1877].  Home: Egremont Street, Glemsford, Suffolk (1891 and 1901), 3 Back Lane, Long Melford (1911 to 1939), 10 Cordell Road, Long Melford [1963].  Occupation: Yarn Winder (1901), Coconut Mat Weaver for Whittle’s Matting Factory (1911) and [1916], Road Worker and Auxiliary Fireman (1939).  Married: Emma Wheeler in 1907.  Service Record: At the Melford Military Service Tribunal in October 1916 George’s employer applied for exemption on his behalf, which was refused.[24]  He was conscripted on 27.10.1916 as Pte.8490 with 5^th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, transferring as Pte.340626 to ‘C’ Company, 11^th Battalion, Bedford’s.  By 3.12.1918 George was serving as Pte.55787 with 15^th Battalion, Essex Regiment, which had been sent to France in May of that year.  Private Oakley was transferred to the Army Reserve in March 1919.[25]  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk on 18.3.1963.[26]

Pettitt, Frederick James – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 17.7.1883.[27]  Parents: George Pettitt (Bricklayer) and Letitia [née Ponder].  Family Connections: Brother to George John Pettitt [b1868] and Harry Pettit [b1877]; also, uncle of Leonard William Pettit [b1908] and brother-in-law of George Wheeler [b1877].  Home: Station Road, Long Melford (1891 to 1901), Chestnut Terrace, Hall Street, Long Melford (1911), Back Lane, Long Melford (1921), 2 Chestnut Terrace, Hall Street, Long Melford (1939).  Occupation: Shop Boy (1901), Bricklayer’s Labourer (1911 to 1939).  Married: Jessie Wheeler in 1918.  Service Record: Frederick was conscripted on 10.12.1915 as Pte.4878 with 5^th [Reserve] Battalion, The Duke of Cambridge’s Own [Middlesex] Regiment, transferring on 19.6.1916 as Pte.60560 to 9^th [Service] Battalion, Royal Fusiliers [City of London] Regiment and posted to France from 6.10.1916 as part of 36^th Brigade, 12^th [Eastern] Division.  This battalion saw action during the Battles of the Somme in 1916 and the Arras Offensive in the following year.  He returned to England at the end of November 1917, transferring to the Grenadier Guards as Gdmn.32438 from April 1918; first to 5^th [Reserve] Battalion, then on 22.9.1918 to 4^th Battalion, stationed with the General Headquarters Reserve on the Western Front.  A month later he had been moved once more, this time to 2^nd Battalion, Grenadiers, as part of 1^st Guards Brigade, Guards Division.  Only a week after joining his new unit, it was to fight its last action of the War at the Battle of the Sambre.  Following the Armistice, it was ordered to cross the Rhine and take up station at Cologne.  Guardsman Pettitt returned to England in February 1919, receiving his discharge in March 1920.[28]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1967.

Notes – [1] Date of birth from his Death Record.  [2] Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942.  [3] 1939 Register.  [4] Published by Marten & Son, Ltd., of Market Hill, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1946.  [5] 1939 Register.  [6] Marten & Son op., cit. [7] Date of death taken from his grave marker.  [8] Baptism Register 25.12.1877, St James Church, Stanstead, Suffolk. [9] For Training Corps articles see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 10.3.1915 and 29.12.1915.  [10] 1939 Register.  [11] Soldiers’ Documents and Pension Claims, First World War [WO 364], Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: 6/MW/6978] as Hubert Raymond Wheeler [sic], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [12] Royal Air Force Airman’s Records [AIR 79/478].  [13] National Probate Calendar.  [14] Baptism Register 18.4.1883, St John the Evangelist Church, Clapham, London. [15] For details of 1^st East Surreys movements on the Western Front see War Diaries [WO 95/1563/1-4] and [WO 95/1579/1-2].  See also his Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363] [which records his marriage date erroneously as July 1904 and also has notification of his death], Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: B100727], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [16] Baptism Register 11.3.1881, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [17] For the Tribunal’s rulings see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 26.7.1916 and 16.8.1916. [18] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363], Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  See also Tuberculosis: Register of Notification from Medical Practitioners 26.8.1918 [Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Record Office ref: EF501/4/23]. [19] Commonwealth War Graves Commission record, Burial Register 11.6.1919, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [20] Date of birth taken from his grave marker.  [21] Marten & Son op., cit. [22] Date of death taken from his grave marker.  [23] Baptism Register of 27.6.1886, St Marys Church, Glemsford, Suffolk.  The 1939 Register for Melford Rural District records an alternative date of 8.8.1885. [24] For the Tribunal’s ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 25.10.1916.  [25] 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].  [26] National Probate Calendar.  [27] Baptism Register of 29.9.1883 for Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford, however the 1939 Register records Frederick’s birthdate as 23.7.1885.  [28] For details of 9^th Royal Fusiliers movements see War Diary [WO 95/1857/2].  For Frederick’s final posting see 2^nd Grenadiers War Diary [WO 95/1215/1] and for a forensic analysis on the Battle of the Sambre see the doctoral thesis by John Derek Clayton at the University of Birmingham – http://etheses.bham.ac.uk /6799/9/Clayton16PhD.pdf.  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].