Albert James Tuffin

Surname: Tuffin
Other names: Albert James
Other people in this story:
Albert Philip Tuffin
Susannah Tuffin née Still
Bertha Mary Tuffin née Lawrence
Florence Mabel Tuffin née King
Locations in this story:
Fontmell Magna, Shaftesbury, Dorset
South Africa
India
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Holy Trinity Church, Shaftesbury
St. James, Shaftesbury

Story:
Albert James Tuffin was born in Fontmell Magna, Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 13th September 1872 and baptised there on 19th October 1872, the son of Albert Philip Tuffin and Susannah Tuffin (née Still).   He spent his early years in Fontmell Magna.  He had enlisted in 1890 with the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 3084).  He served in South Africa and India and was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal (5 Clasps), the King's South Africa Medal (2 Clasps) and the India Medal (2 Clasps).  His discharge date from this period of service is currently not known.  He married Bertha Mary Lawrence in Fontmell Magna on 23 Nov 1898.  They went on to have four children before Bertha died in 1910.  He had re-enlisted with the 4th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Territorial on 2nd April 1908 attending annual training camps but employed in civilian life as a Postman.  He was embodied on 4th August 1914 and served in the UK only (Service No. 5632).  He married Florence Mabel King at Holy Trinity, Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 19th November 1914.  There was one child of the marriage.  Albert was finally discharged on 31st March 1916 having completed the terms of his engagement.  There is no record of any further medals being awarded.  The 1921 Census and the 1939 Register show him living at 22 St. James Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, and, by 1939, was described as a retired postman.  He died in Shaftesbury on 7th October 1947 and was buried at St. James Church on 11 Oct 1947.

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St. James, Shaftesbury 2

Sidney Wilfred Tucker

Surname: Tucker
Other names: Sidney Wilfred
Other people in this story:
Gideon Tucker
Mary Elizabeth Tucker née Foot
Florence Amelia Tucker née Thompson
George Farley Tucker DCM
Victor Douglas Tucker
Howard Tucker
Locations in this story:
Shaftesbury, Dorset
India
Oxley Wood Road, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
St. James, Shaftesbury
Layton Lane, St. James, Shaftesbury

Story:
Sidney Wilfred Tucker was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 12th February 1894 and baptised at St. James' Church on 11th March 1894, the son of Gideon Tucker and Mary Elizabeth Tucker (née Foot).  He lived with his parents at 25 St. James Street, Shaftesbury, throughout his early life and trained as a Tailor.  He had enlisted with the 2/4th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment on 28th February 1911 as a Territorial (Reserve) Soldier (Service No. 1363) and attended annual training camps.  He was embodied on 4th August 1914 and joined his regiment in India. On 23rd May 1916 he was discharged having completed the term of his engagement.  He then went back to 25 St. James Street, Shaftesbury.  On 1st August 1916 he re-enlisted with the 4th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment (Service No. 4562).  He was again posted to India, being transferred to the 29th Reserve Battalion as a Corporal (Service No. 202490).  He was eventually discharged on 3rd January 1920 and went to live at 6 Layton Lane, Shaftesbury, where he was recorded in th e 1921 Census living with his parents and working as a Tailor for Messrs Pryce & Barribal, Sporting Tailors of Shaftesbury.   He had been awarded the British War Medal. He later applied for the Territorial Force War Medal in 1926 but the result of this application is not known.   He married Florence Amelia Thompson in Shaftesbury in 1930 and they appear to have had one child.   By the 1939 Register he had moved to 178 Oxley Wood Road, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, where he is described as a Tailor (Journeyman).  He died in Wolverhampton in 1977. Three of Sidney's brothers served in the war: Victor Douglas (b.1888) with the Machine Gun Corps, George Farley Tucker, who was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal while serving with the Somerset Light Infantry and Howard (b. 1886) with the Army Service Corps.

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George Farley Tucker
Victor Douglas Tucker

Albert James Tucker

Surname: Tucker
Other names: Albert James
Other people in this story:
Sidney William Tucker
Rosanna Tucker née Davidge
Locations in this story:
Stour Row, Shaftesbury, Dorset
France & Flanders
Salisbury, Wiltshire
High Duncliffe Farm, Stour Row
Stour Provost, Dorset
Ireland

Story:
Albert James Tucker was born at Stour Row, Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 1st March 1897 and baptised at Stour Provost, Dorset, on 20th June 1897, the son of Sidney William Tucker and Rosanna Tucker (née Davidge).  He lived most of his life around the Stour Row area and for a number of early years at Higher Duncliffe Farm, Stour Row.    He enlisted on 11th February 1916 but was not mobilized until 24th May 1918 as a Private in the 3rd Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment (Service No. 40983).   He served in France and Flanders and whilst there received both shell and gunshot wounds.  The latter occurred on 12th October 1918 and it was followed by repatriation to the UK on 14th October 1918 for treatment and recovery.  He also served for period in Ireland until he was discharged on 11th October 1919 and was awarded the Victory and British War medals.   The 1921 Census and the 1939 Register show him living at The Stores, Stour Row, Shaftesbury, Dorset, and described as a shopkeeper.   He remained single all his life and eventually died in 1966 in the Salisbury, Wiltshire, Registration District.

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Cann and Shaftesbury from Melbury Hill

Walter Edwin Stainer

Surname: Stainer
Other names: Walter Edwin
Other people in this story:
Edwin Stainer
Martha Stainer née Foot
Laura Stainer née Clare
Locations in this story:
Cann, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Jesty's Avenue, Broadwey, Melcombe Regis, Dorset
Weymouth, Dorset
Ireland
Dorchester, Dorset

Story:
Walter Edwin Stainer was born in Cann, Shaftesbury, on 15th January 1879, the son of Edwin Stainer and Martha Stainer (née Foot).  He lived his early childhhood in Cann, Shaftesbury, until the family had, by 1891, moved away from Shaftesbury.  Walter married Laura Clare on 31st March 1902 at St.Mary's Church, Melcombe Regis, Dorset, and they went on to have two children.  He enlisted on 3rd September 1914 and joined the 4th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 2407).  He was later transferred to the 4th (Reserve) Battalion (Service No. 200743) and again, on 30th June 1917, to the 512th Home Service Company and the 628th Company of the Labour Corps (Service No. 285747).  He served with the latter unit in Enniskillen and Londonderry, Ireland.  He was discharged on 29th March 1919.  No medal records can be found under any of the above Service Nos.   The 1921 Census shows him living at 5 Louise Road, Dorchester, Dorset, working as a House Decorator.  By the 1939 Register he had moved to 3 Jesty's Avenue, Broadwey, Melcombe Regis, Dorset, still working as a House Decorator.  He died in Broadway on 21 Jan 1951.

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Shaftesbury from St. Peter's Church

William Charles Sims

Surname: Sims
Other names: William Charles
Other people in this story:
William Sims
Sarah Sims née Ransom
Beatrice Vera Sims née Chubb
Charles Job Stretch
Locations in this story:
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Milford, Wiltshire
India
Sturminster, Dorset
Enmore Green, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Coppice Street, Shaftesbury

Story:
William Charles Sims was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 26th January 1894, the son of William Sims and Sarah Sims (née Ransom).  His father had died in 1899 and his mother re-married Charles Job Stretch in 1899.  William lived with his mother in Milford, Wiltshire, during his childhood, until the family returned to Enmore Green, Shaftesbury, by the 1911 Census.  He enlisted on 28th February 1911 and joined the 2/4th (Reserve) Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment (Service Nos. 4561 and 4/1364).  He was embodied on 14th August 1914 with the rank of Acting Sergeant and served in India until he was discharged on 23rd May 1916 having completed the terms of his engagement.  Notwithstanding his discharge he re-enlisted on 15th August 1916 and joined the 4th (Reserve) Battalion (Service No. 202489).  He retained his rank according to his military records.  He was finally demobilized in March 1919 and awarded the Victory and British War medals as well as the 1914/15 Star.  The 1921 Census shows him living with his mother and step-father at 10 Church Lane, Shaftesbury, working as a Baker and Confectioner on his own account. He married Beatrice Vera Chubb in Shaftesbury during the Oct/Dec Quarter of 1921. They went on to have at least three children.   By the 1939 Register he was living at 25 Coppice Street, Shaftesbury and still described as a Baker.  His death was registered at the Sturminster, Dorset, Registry in 1968.

Images:
  • Church Lane, Shaftesbury
  • Church Lane, Shaftesbury 10
  • Church Lane, Shaftesbury 8 & 10

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Compton Abbas 1

Sidney John Ryall

Surname: Ryall
Other names: Sidney John
Other people in this story:
William Ryall
Eleanor Ryall née Goodman
Emma May Ryall née Parker
Victor Alfred Ryall
Locations in this story:
Compton Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset
France & Flanders
Langton Road, Blandford, Dorset
Cann, Shaftesbury, Dorset

Story:
Sidney John Ryall was born on 25th February 1898 in Cann, Shaftesbury, Dorset, the son of William Ryall and Eleanor Ryall (née Goodman).  He lived most if his early life in Compton Abbas, Shaftesbury.   He enlisted on the 7th June 1916 but was not embodied until 24th May 1918 when he joined the 6th (Service) Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 40961).   He served in France from 11 Oct 1918 as a Lewis Gunner and received a gun shot wound on 18th October 1918 from which he recovered and re-assigned to the 3rd Battalion.   His mother regrettably died in 1918. He was discharged on 4th March 1919 and was awarded the Victory and British War medals.  He went to live at 31 Compton Abbas, Shaftesbury but by the 1921 Census had moved with his widowed father to 12 Compton Abbas working as a Bricklayer.  He married Emma May Parker in Blandford, Dorset, on 16th February 1924 and they went on to have two children.   By the 1939 Register he was living at 8 Langton Road, Blandford, Dorset, still working as a bricklayer.   He died in Blandford on 15th December 1975. Sidney's brother Victor Alfred (b.1896) also served with the Dorsetshire Regiment during the First World War. He died in the Somme region on 15th September 1916.

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Victor Alfred Ryall
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Enmore Green. New Buildings in the foreground

James Roberts

Surname: Roberts
Other names: James
Other people in this story:
James Roberts
Emma Jane Roberts née Lane
Agnes Ellen Roberts née Pickford
George Roberts
Locations in this story:
Enmore Green, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Bleke Street, Shaftesbury
Mustons Lane, Shaftesbury
Sturminster Newton, Dorset
St. James Church, Shaftesbury
St. John's Church, Enmore Green

Story:
James Roberts was born in Enmore Green, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 21st April 1879 and baptised at St. John's Church, Enmore Green, on 1st June 1879, the son of James Roberts and Emma Jane Roberts (née Lane).  He lived most of his life in the Shaftesbury area.   He married Agnes Ellen Pickford at St. James Church, Shaftesbury, on 25th December 1903.   They went on to have eight children. James enlisted with the 4th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment (Territorial Force) as a Private on 6th May 1908 and attended regular annual training camps (Service No. 495).    He was embodied on 4th August 1914 and served solely in the UK with the rank of Pioneer (Service No. 4529).  He was discharged on 5th May 1916 having completed the terms of his engagement.  He was awarded the Territorial Efficiency Medal on 1st August 1915 but no other medal records have been found.  At the time of his discharge he was living at 12 Bleke Street, Shaftesbury, and was still there by the time of the 1921 Census working for Messrs Stratton, Son & Mead, Grocers, of Shaftesbury.  His wife died in 1937.   By the 1939 Register he had moved to 7 Mustons Lane, Shaftesbury and was employed as a Grocer's Yardman.  James died in 1960 in the Sturminster, Dorset, Registry area.  His name is found on the Roll of Honour prepared by his former employers, Stratton, Son & Mead of Shaftesbury. Two of James' brothers served in the war: Charles (b.1888) with the Royal Garrison Artillery and George (b.1887) with the south Wales Borderers and the Monmouthshire Regiment.

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George Roberts
Charles Roberts
The National Archives

Henry Thomas Reed

Surname: Reed
Other names: Henry Thomas
Other people in this story:
Henry Reed
Anna Maria Reed née Scammell
Marta E. Reed née Zalming
Locations in this story:
Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire
Birdbush, Ludwell, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire
India
Iran
New Park Road, Benfleet, Essex
Thurrock, Essex
Rasht, Gilon Province, Iran
Ludwell, Wiltshire

Story:
Henry Thomas Reed (known as Thomas in the family) was born in Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire, on 8th September 1889, the son of Henry Reed and Anna Maria Reed (née Scammell).  He was baptised at Tollard Royal (date unknown) but received into the church at Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire, on 25 July 1892 at the same time his sister was baptised.  He lived his early life at Birdbush, Ludwell, Donhead St. Mary.   He had joined the Dorsetshire Regiment at some time before the war and was a reservist (Service No. 8495).   He re-enlisted as a regular Private on 12th August 1908 and joined the 2nd Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment and served in India and Iran having completed a military telegraphist course. He had been wounded during his service but had fully recovered.  He was discharged to the reserves on 1st April 1919 but seconded to the Consular Authorities in Iran as a telegraphist (Service No. 5718124).  He had been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal per an announcement in the London Gazette on 22nd September 1919.  He also qualified for the Victory and British War medals as well as the 1914/1915 Star.  Whilst in Iran he married Marta E. Zalming in 1920 at the British Consulate in Rasht, Gilon Province, Iran.  It is not known if there were any children of the marriage. On his return to the UK he initially lived in Ludwell, Wiltshire.  By the 1939 Register he was living at 'Engell', New Park Road, Benfleet, Essex, and was described as a Retired Postman.  He died in 1950 in the Thurrock, Essex, Registration District.

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PN42

John Proudley

Surname: Proudley
Other names: John
Other people in this story:
Joseph Proudley
Mary Jane Proudley née Bown
Bessie Maud Proudley née Phillips
Locations in this story:
Enmore Green, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Poole, Dorset
Old Wareham Road, Newton, Parkstone, Dorset
Salisbury, Wiltshire
Tout Hill, Shaftesbury
Peasemarsh, Gillingham, Dorset
Sedgehill, Wiltshire

Story:
John Proudley was born in Enmore Green, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, in 1877, the son of Joseph Proudley and Mary Jane Proudley (née Bown).  He lived his early life on Tout Hill, Shaftesbury, until the family had moved to Poole, Dorset, by 1901.   He married Maud Phillips (born Bessie Maud Phillips) at Kingstone, Poole, Dorset, on 19th May 1902 and they went on to have five children.  John enlisted on 11th December 1915 and was placed on reserve.  He was embodied on 14th June 1916 and joined the 1st Garrison Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 18228).  He transferred to the 1st Garrison Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders on 29th January 1917 (Service No. 28048).  He was transferred then to the Royal Defence Corps (20th Protection Company) on 27th November 1917 (Service No. 48485).  On the 28th June 1918 he was yet again transferred to the 13th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers (Service No. 61567).  Finally, on the 4th October 1918 he ended up with the 609th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps (Final Service No. 670018).   Having served his whole time in the UK he was demobilized on 19th March 1919 and went to live at Old Wareham Road, Newton, Parkstone, Dorset.  No Medal records have been found though his Active Service form is clearly stamped 'Medal' which indicates he was entitled.  The 1921 Census shows he had moved to Dewdrop Cottage, Sedgehill, Wiltshire, working as a Bacon Curer for C & G Prideaux at Motcombe, Dorset. He had later moved to Peasemarsh, Gillingham, Dorset, at the time of his death on 1st May 1938 in the Infirmary at Salisbury, Wiltshire.

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St. James from the church tower

George Padfield

Surname: Padfield
Other names: George
Other people in this story:
William Padfield
Martha Ann Padfield née Cross
Elizabeth Padfield née Howard
Locations in this story:
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Wandsworth, London
France & Flanders
Putney, London, S.W.
Battersea, London
Egypt
India
South Africa

Story:
George Padfield was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, in 1871 and baptised on 7th January 1872 at St. James' Church, the son of William Padfield and Martha Ann Padfield (née Cross).  His father had died in 1886. George lived in the St. James, Shaftesbury, area throughout his early years.  He married Elizabeth Howard in Wandsworth, London, during 1899 and they went on to have five children.   He had enlisted on 9th January 1899 and served with the 1st (Service No. 2993) and 3rd Battalions (Service No. 3/8458) of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private.   He had postings to Egypt, India and South Africa, being awarded various campaign medals.  He was discharged after serving 13 years.  He re-enlisted on 4th October 1914 and joined the 443rd Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps as a Private (Service No. 528319).  He served in France from 23 October 1914 until 7th August 1917, thereafter in the UK.  He was demobilized on 6th March 1919.  He was awarded the Victory and British medals as well as the 1914/15 Star.  The 1921 census shows him living at 26 Quill Lane, Putney, Surrey, working as a Bricklayer's Labourer, and later moving to 1 Gladwyn Road, Putney, London, S.W. until his death during 1932 in the Battersea, London, Registration District.

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