Story:
Robert John Bartlett was born in the Shaftesbury, Dorset, Registry area on 19 Aug 1898 the son of Samuel Bartlett and Edith Bartlett (nee Bedford).  Little is know of his early life but by the time WW1 occurred he enlisted and joined the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 40987).  It is not known in which theatre of war he served but he had been attached at times to both the 3rd (Reserve) and 6th Battalions.  He was discharged on 3 Jul 1919 and awarded the Victory and British War Medals.  He was registered on the Absent Voters List in 1918 and 1919 at The Cottage, West Orchard, Shaftesbury, Dorset.  (No record of his whereabouts at the time of the 1921 Census can be found.)  He married Victoria Annie Burlington in the Tisbury, Wiltshire, Registry area in 1923.  By the time of the 1939 Register he was living at Shaftesbury Road, West Stour, Dorset, working as a Farm Carter.  His death was recorded locally on 28 Jun 1969

Story:
Reginald Barter was born in Sutton Waldron, Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 9 Jan 1897 the son of Frederick Barter and Elizabeth Jane Barter (nee Sims).  He lived his early life at Applins, Sutton Waldron.  He enlisted with the Army Reserve on 3 Mar 1916 but was mobilized to the Royal Navy on 17 Jul 1917 as an Ordinary Seaman (Service No. R/5319).  He was basically serving in land Naval depots including Calais, France.  He was made an Able Seaman at some time prior to his discharge on 7 Apr 1919 when he was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.   Following discharge he lived with his parents who, by the 1921 Census, had moved to Throop, Holdenhurst, Hampshire, where he was described as a Small Holder (Own Account).  He married Ivy Nellie Ditum in the Salisbury, Wiltshire, Registry area in 1927.  By the time of the 1939 Register he was living at Fern Villa, Pinewood Road, Wimborne, Dorset, described as a Market Gardener (own account).  He died in Bournemouth, Dorset, on 27 Feb 1978.  His brother, William George Barter, had also served but died during the conflict.

Story:
Walter Lane was born in Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire, on 17 Jul 1894 the son of James Lane and Emily Eliza Lane (nee Smart).  By 1901 the family had moved to 31 Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset.   Walter had enlisted on 19 Feb 1912 with the Territorial Reserves (Service No. 1552).  He was mobilized with the regular forces on 30 Apr 1913 and served with the 1st Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 9539).  He was posted to France and Flanders at the outbreak of hostilities and was reported wounded and missing on 13 Oct 1914.  It was later learned he had become a POW and had been sent to Germany.  The family records indicate that he was ultimately put to work in a salt mine.  Following the armistice he rejoined his unit on 27 Nov 1918.  He was finally discharged on 4 Mar 1919 being no longer physically fit for military service and was awarded a pension due gun shot wounds sustained in 1914 to the right leg, thigh, chest and hand.  He also received the Silver War Badge No. B160851.  He was also awarded the Victory and British War Medals as well as the 1914 Star.  He married Rose Anna Burden at St. James Church, Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 29 Sep 1920.   The 1921 Census shows him living at 3 Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury, working as a Farm Labourer at Parham Farm, Melbury Abbas.   By the time of the 1939 Register he was living at Cann Common, Shaftesbury, Dorset, working as a Cowman and General Farmworker.  He died locally in 1967.