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Wordley

Selected Biographies

Wordley, Albert – Born: Glemsford, Suffolk on 30.8.1891.[1]  Parents: Arthur Wordley (Coconut Mat Maker) and Caroline [née Wells].  Family Connections: Brother to Albert Wordley [b1891] and cousin of Sidney Herbert Wordley [b1898].  Home: Hunts Hill, Glemsford, Suffolk (1901), Military Barracks, Risbygate, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk (1911), 40 Egremont Street, Glemsford (1921) to [1974].  Occupation: Flax Worker (1921), Roadman (1939).  Married: Kate Elizabeth Good née Beevis [d1935] in 1918 and Elizabeth Bowers in 1937.  Service Record: Albert enlisted in 1911 as Pte.8188 with 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, serving throughout the First World War.  His Battalion was part of 28th Division seeing action during the Salonika Campaign.[2]  During the Second World War he served as an Air Raid Precaution Warden.[3]  Died: Glemsford on 7.3.1974.[4]

Wordley, Amos William – Born: Cavendish, Suffolk in 1899.  Parents: John William Wordley (Agricultural Labourer) and Ada [née Glascock].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles Edward Wordley [b1896].  Home: Workhouse Street, Cavendish, Suffolk (1901 to 1911), Powder Factory, Marienburgh, Cologne, Germany (1921).  Service Record: Amos was a Corporal with the Royal Army Service Corps and part of the Army of Occupation stationed at Marienburgh in Germany in 1921.  Died: Cavendish in 1924.

Wordley, Arthur – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 13.8.1872.[5]  Parents: Shadrach Wordley (Silk Weaver) and Ann Maria [née Thompson] (Silk Weaver).  Family Connections: Father to Stanley Arthur Wordley [b1894] and Russell William Wordley [b1896]; also, uncle of Edward Frederick Wordley [b1916].  Home: 68 Cross Street, Sudbury, Suffolk (1881 and 1891), Hall Street, Long Melford (1901), 3 Church Road, Great Cornard, Suffolk (1911 to 1939), 2 Wells Hall, Great Cornard [1956].  Occupation: Silk Weaver for Stephen Walters and Sons, Great Cornard (1891 to 1911), Foreman in Walters’ Silk Twisting Department (1921).  Married: Ada Rutter [d1940] in 1893 and Laura Farthing [née Coote] in 1943.  Service Record: Arthur was a member of 2nd [Volunteer] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, which from 1908 was reconstituted as 5th Battalion, Suffolks [Territorial].  At the outbreak of the First World War, he agreed to sign on for overseas service and as Pte.28 with 1/5th Battalion, Suffolks was posted to Suvla Bay, Gallipoli from 10.8.1915, as part of 163rd Brigade, 54th [East Anglian] Division.  Within hours of landing his unit was moved forward into frontline trenches on the south face of a steep and rocky hill called Karakol Dagh.  At dawn two days later the Suffolks and the three other untested battalions of 163rd Brigade were ordered to secure the heights to the east.  Advancing nearly a mile through a hail of Turkish artillery and machine gun fire, by the end of the day the enemy had been held at bay and a secure forward defence line established.  When Arthur and his comrades were finally relieved by fresh troops after three gruelling days, they were found in a sorry state, having baked under the searing heat they had run desperately short of drinking water and been plagued by swarms of flies attracted by the dead and dying around them. When the Roll was called it was found the Suffolks alone had lost 186 men either dead or wounded with a further 150 laid low by dysentery.  He is reported to have been fighting alongside his son Russell when the latter was killed on 20.9.1915.  After four months of grinding stalemate the British Government decided to evacuate all Allied troops to Egypt.  Private Wordley returned to England on 4.4.1916 was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged on medical grounds three weeks later.[6]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk on 29.1.1956.[7]

Wordley, Bertie William – Born: Glemsford, Suffolk on 18.7.1889.[8]  Parents: Arthur Wordley (Coconut Mat Maker) and Caroline [née Wells].  Family Connections: Brother to Albert Wordley [b1891] and cousin of Sidney Herbert Wordley [b1898].  Home: Hunts Hill, Glemsford, Suffolk (1891 to 1901), 41 Stayton Road, Sutton, Surrey (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: Radiator Maker [1914], Moulder (1921).  Married: Maude Evelyn Sargent in 1912.  Service Record: Bertie enlisted on 2.10.1914 as Pte.15638 with 3rd [Reserve] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, being posted to Flanders on 26.1.1915 to join 2nd Battalion stationed on the Ypres Salient.  While serving with this unit he was wounded in his left hand.  He transferred on 15.2.1918 as Pte.M394878 to the London Mechanised Transport Repair Depot, Royal Army Service Corps, receiving his discharge in March 1919.[9]  Died: Sutton, Surrey in 1940.

Wordley, Charles Albert – Born: Cavendish, Suffolk in 1892.  Parents: William Wordley (Brickyard Labourer) and Maria [née Golding].  Home: Lower Street, Cavendish, Suffolk (1901 to 1911).  Occupation: Farm Boy (1901), Under Gardener (1911).  Married: Ada Edith Farrance in 1914.  Service Record: Charles was conscripted as Pte.26366 with the Norfolk Regiment, transferring as Pte.59064 to 18th Company, Machine Gun Corps.[10]  Died: Private Wordley was wounded in action, dying on 4.12.1917, is buried in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery [grave ref: VI.B.13], Etricourt-Manancourt, Departement de la Somme, Picardie, France and commemorated on the Cavendish War Memorial.[11]

Wordley, Charles Edward – Born: Cavendish, Suffolk on 13.4.1896.[12]  Parents: John William Wordley (Agricultural Labourer) and Ada [née Glascock].  Family Connections: Brother to Amos William Wordley [b1899].  Home: Workhouse Street, Cavendish, Suffolk (1901 to 1921), Paynes Manor Cottages, Pentlow, Essex (1939), Sturmer, Suffolk [1988].  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1921), Tractor Driver (1939).  Married: Mary Parmenter in 1915.  Service Record: Charles was conscripted on 11.12.1915 as Pte.27414 with 3rd Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, being posted to France and serving first in 7th Battalion then to 9th Battalion, receiving his discharge in February 1919.[13]  Died: Sturmer, Suffolk on 2.8.1988.[14]

Wordley, Edward Frederick ‘Derby’ – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 7.1.1916.[15]  Parents: Henry Charles Wordley (Butcher) and Kate [née Green].  Family Connections: Nephew of Arthur Wordley [b1872] and cousin of Stanley Arthur Wordley [b1894].  Home: 5 Cross Street, Sudbury (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: Plumber (1939).  Service Record: Edward enlisted as Spr.1883617 with No.7 Field Squadron, Royal Engineers.  He was posted to North Africa where he was captured in 1942 and held as a Prisoner-of-War at Stalag VI in Germany.  Died: Sapper Wordley was killed with two other British captives by Russian mortar fire on 8.5.1945.  He is buried in Prague War Cemetery. Czechoslovakia [grave ref: III.E.8] and commemorated on the Sudbury War Memorial.[16]

Wordley, Russell William – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 20.8.1896.[17]  Parents: Arthur Wordley (Silk Finisher) [see above for details] and Ada [née Rutter].  Family Connections: Brother to Stanley Arthur Wordley [b1894].  Home: 68 Cross Street, Sudbury, Suffolk [1897], Hall Street, Long Melford (1901), 3 Church Row, Great Cornard, Suffolk (1911) to [1916].  Occupation: Bottle Washer in a Brewery (1911).  Service Record: Russell enlisted in April 1913 as Pte.1734 with 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment [Territorial].  At the outbreak of the First World War, he agreed to sign on for overseas service and was posted to Gallipoli from 10.8.1915, as part of 163rd Brigade, 54th [East Anglian] Division.[18]   For an account of the Suffolk’s first days after stepping ashore at Suvla Bay see the entry for his father above.  Died: Private Wordley was killed in action on 20.9.1915 after two days of fierce fighting defending ‘Norfolk Trench’ against Turkish attacks, he is reported to have been beside his father when he died.  Russell is buried in Hill 60 Cemetery [grave ref: II.E.4], Gallipoli, Turkey and remembered on the Trinity Congregational Church Memorial, now situated in the United Reformed Church, School Street, Sudbury.[19]

Wordley, Sidney Herbert – Born: Haverhill, Suffolk in 1898.  Parents: Hezekiah Wordley (Silk Weaver) and Sarah [née Nunn].  Family Connections: Cousin of Bertie William Wordley [b1889] and Albert Wordley [b1891].  Home: 28 Mill Road, Haverhill, Suffolk (1901), 67 High Street, Haverhill, Suffolk (1911).  Occupation: Confectioner’s Shop Assistant (1911).  Service Record: Sidney enlisted as Pte.7901 (later re-numbered as Pte.329200) with 1/1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment, being posted to the Western Front as part of 118th Brigade, 39th Division.  He was stationed on the Ypres Salient in Hornby Trench when the Germans launched an attack in which Sidney and three of his comrades were fatally wounded.[20]  Died: Private Wordley was killed in action on 8.7.1917 and buried in Brandhoek Military Cemetery [grave ref: I.L.62], Vlamertinghe, West Flanders, Belgium; he is also commemorated on the Haverhill War Memorial.[21]

Wordley, Stanley Arthur – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 25.10.1894.[22]  Parents: Arthur Wordley (Silk Finisher) [see details above] and Ada [née Rutter].  Family Connections: Brother to Russell William Wordley [b1896] and cousin of Edward Frederick Wordley [b1916].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1901), Church Road, Great Cornard, Suffolk (1911), 14 Plough Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: House Boy (1911), Bricklayer’s Labourer (1921), Builder’s Labourer (1939).  Married: Caroline Annie Goody in 1921.  Service Record: Stanley enlisted in January 1913 as Pte.8643 with ‘A’ Company, 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, being posted to France from 15.8.1914 as part of 14th Brigade, 5th Division.  His unit saw action from the very beginning of the War when it met the full force of the German advance at Mons on 23.8.1914.  The British contingent was vastly outnumbered and was compelled to make a fighting withdrawal over the following three days until they could face the enemy on better terms.  The rearguard action at Le Cateau on 26.8.1914 was a desperate affair where three British divisions held up an overwhelming force of elite German troops, long enough for an Anglo-French force to regroup on the River Marne.  At the end of the day 2nd Suffolks had almost ceased to exist, losing over 700 men either killed, wounded, or captured, including Stanley himself.  He spent the rest of the war in captivity in Prisoner of War camps at Döberitz and Klein Wittenberg in Germany.  At least five other Melford men from 2nd Suffolks were killed or captured that day: Percy George Lawrence [b1895], David Manning [b1885], Alfred Martin [b1890], Harry Pettitt [b1877] and Walter Charles Wellum [b1886].  Their stories are to be found elsewhere in this Roll.  Private Wordley was repatriated at the end of 1918.[23]   Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1960.

Wordley, William – Born: Cavendish, Suffolk in 1820.  Parents: Daniel Wordley and Susannah [née Smith].  Home: High Street, Cavendish (1841), Pentlow Corner, Cavendish, Suffolk (1871), Westgate Street, Long Melford, Suffolk (1881).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1841), Coachman (1871), Chelsea Pensioner (1881).  Married: Elizabeth Ann Farrance in 1863.  Service Record: William enlisted in 1840 as a Pte.1422 with 94th Regiment of Foot, serving in Gibraltar and at Peshawar in the North-West Frontier region of India, before his discharge in 1862.  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1884.

Wordley, William John – Born: Cavendish, Suffolk on 29.8.1890.[24]  Parents: Harry Wordley (Labourer) and Margaret [née Bullock].  Home: High Street, Cavendish (1891-1911).  Occupation: Miller’s Assistant (1911).  Service Record: William enlisted in Cavendish as Pte.284543 with 2/7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, being posted to Flanders on 28.2.1917 as part of 197th Brigade, 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division.  The battalion moved into the Ypres Salient seeing action during the Battle of Poelcapelle between 6th and 10th October.[25]   Died: Private Wordley was listed as missing presumed killed in action on 10.10.1917 and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial [ref: panel 54 to 60 and 163A], Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium and the Cavendish War Memorial.[26]

Notes – [1] 1939 Register.  [2] Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [11/M/173004] and Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329]. [3] 1939 Register.  [4] National Probate Calendar.  [5] 1939 Register.  [6] For details of 1/5th Suffolks movements see their War Diary [WO 95/4325] and Capt. A. Fair and Capt. E.D. Wolton “The Suffolk Regiment”: the history of the 1/5th Battalion [London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1923] pp.13-37.  See also his Soldiers’ Documents and Pension Claims, First World War [WO 364], Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: 118738], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [7] National Probate Calendar.  [8] Baptism Register 14.2.1890 St Marys Church, Glemsford, Suffolk.  [9] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363] and Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329].  [10] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [11] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 606043].  [12] 1939 Register.  [13] Soldiers’ Documents and Pension Claims, First World War [WO 364], Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: 11/M/413927], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [14] National Probate Calendar.  [15] 1939 Register.  [16] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record.  [17] Baptism Register 24.2.1897, St Peters Church, Sudbury, Suffolk. [18] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [19] Commonwealth War Graves Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 195740]. See letter from Private Stanley Nunn of 1/5th Suffolks, reprinted in Suffolk and Essex Free Press 6.10.1915.  [20] For details of the incident see the battalion War Diary [WO 95/2590/166].  See also his Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: 11//Pp/54724/D/24], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [21] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 557217].  [22] Baptism Register 25.3.1895, St Peters Church, Sudbury, Suffolk.  [23] For details of this turbulent period of the battalion’s history see 2nd Suffolk’s 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.31-38 and 39-44.  For his PoW record see International Committee of the Red Cross [file ref: PA40272] and his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [24] Baptism Register 7.2.1892 St Marys Church, Cavendish.  [25] Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: II/Pp/14517/D/17], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [26] Commonwealth War Grave Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 751592].

Genealogical Tables

Research by David Gevaux MA © 2025
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