The following is a brief review of the four men commemorated on the Grasby memorial to the fallen of the Great War of 1914 – 1918.
Personal details are drawn from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and the reference ‘ Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914 – 1919 Vol 15.’
GRASBY All Saints Church
A white marble tablet affixed to the southern wall to the right of the main entrance on entry, the inscription in black lettering with red initial letters:
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
THE MEN OF GRASBY WHO FELL
IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918
HARRY E WESTCOTT Aged 25
EDWARD L WESTCOTT Aged 22
ARTHUR F WESTCOTT Aged 20
HERBERT J FOSTER Aged 20
HARRY WESCOTT
Harry E Westcott should in fact be Elton Harry WESCOTT, one of three unmarried brothers to fall during the conflict, the sons of Elton Edward Wescott and his wife Leah of Grasby. Elton was serving as Corporal 9828 in the 6th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment when he was killed in action on the 15th August 1915 at Gallipolli. He is commemorated on the Alexandria Military and War Memorial in Egypt. Whilst the tablet gives his age as 25 the CWGC gives this as 23.
EDWARD LAWRENCE WESCOTT
Edward Lawrence WESCOTT died of wounds on the 11th May 1917 in France whilst serving as Sergeant 9580 of the 8th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. He had apparently been a member of the 1st Battalion and had gone to France as a member of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in August of 1914 and could therefore have been a regular soldier. He is commemorated on the Etaples War Memorial.
ARTHUR FRANK WESCOTT
Arthur Frank WESCOTT died on the 13th November 1918,a scant two days after the signing of The Armistice, whilst serving as Corporal 99056 in A Battery of the 152nd Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery. The CWGC records state he was buried in the churchyard at Grasby, he presumably having died at home of his wounds.
HERBERT JOHN FOSTER
Herbert John FOSTER appears in the CWGC records as John Herbert Foster, the son of James and Hannah Foster of Front Street, Grasby where he was born. He enlisted for service at nearby Caistor and was killed in action in France on the 11th April 1917 as Lance Corporal 241195 of the 2/5th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. He is commemorated on the Thiepval War Memorial.
The Church also holds a small glazed frame containing a handwritten ‘ Roll of Honour ‘ detailing the 27 men from the parish who served in the conflict. as follows:
Hand written in a glazed wooden A4 frame displayed on the southern wall of the nave.
‘ ROLL of HONOUR ‘
Holy Father in Thy Mercy Hear our Anxious Prayers
Keep Our Loved Ones, Now Far Absent
‘Neath Thy Care.
Edward WESTCOTT 1st Bn Lincs Rgt DoW May 1917
FRED KING2nd Bn Lincs Rgt Wounded twice discharged.
JOHN WILLIAM HORNSEY 4th Dragoon Guards PoW
CHARLES FOSTER 5th (Service )Bn Lincs Rgt
HARRY WESTCOTT 6th (Service) Bn Lincs Rgt D of W August 1915
JESSE TAYLOR 7th (Service) Bn Lincs Rgt Wounded
WILLIAM PEARSON 9th (Service) Bn Lincs Rgt Wounded Discharged
WILLIAM FRANKISH 11th (Service ) Bn Lincs Rgt att. East Yorkshire Rgt, Wounded
CHARLES HENRY FROW 13th (Service) Bn Lincs Rgt Wounded
THOMAS ERNEST HARRISON 6th Bn Lincs Rgt Wounded
ARTHUR WESTCOTT Royal Field Artillery -Died in Hospital
HERBERT FOSTER 2/5th Lincs Rgt – Missing, dead
ARTHUR FRANKISH Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery
HENRY SPARROW Lincs. Rgt – Wounded
JOHN MASON 11th Lincs
JOHN WILLIAM TURNER 2/5th Bn Lincs Rgt
PERCY MILSON Royal Garrison Artillery
ALBERT HORNSEY Royal Garrison Artillery, Wounded
WILLIAM HORNSEY Royal Field Artillery
JIM MASON 13th Bn Royal Liverpool Rgt Wounded
CHARLES CHRISTOPHER HORNSEY 1st Machine Gun Transport
GEORGE THOMAS TUPLIN Lincs Rgt Labour Company
SIDNEY ORGANER SUMNER Royal Engineers
CHARLES EDWARD BOCOCK 3d Bn Lincs Rgt – Wounded
WALTER THOMAS ASHLEY Durham Light Infantry – Wounded
W.HAROLD COUPLAND Motor Transport, Army Service Corps, Wounded, PoW
EDWARD BARROW Royal Air Force
For King and Country’
