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 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 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 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 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: GRASBY All Saints Church 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' |
