Kingston Remembers
Kingston War Memorial was dedicated by Admiral Sir Lewis
Bayly, at a Service held on November 20th 1921 to commemorate
the nine men who died in the Great War 1914-18. It is situated
near the back gate of the churchyard of St James the Less Parish
Church, Kingston and comprises an approximately 16 ft.
‘medium’ granite cross on a ‘coarse’ granite base, with a stone
and shingle covered surround. A Roll of Honour inside the Church
lists all 59 men (sharing 34 family names), who went to war from
a village with a population of approximately 399 (1901 census).
There is also a Memorial plaque in the Church to those lost in
World War II and a copper bowl dedicated to the memory of
Terry Randle who died during the Malayan campaign. It was not
until 1995 that the external Memorial was cleaned and the names
of the 7 men who died in WWII were added to the Memorial. It is
thought that the delay was due to the lack of funding available in a
post war depressed rural area. The rededication took place,
following a Service of Thanksgiving for the 50 th anniversary of
VE Day, on 7th May 1995. Terry's father Frank Randle was one of
the seven who fell in WWII and wreaths were laid by Eileen
Randle, wife of Frank Randle's oldest son Ken and by Mrs Phyliss
Neil, daughter of Lionel Lugger, another of the seven. The cost of the work was approximately £800, £400 from
the Kingston Parish Council and the remainder from a collection at the Church service.
The War Memorial is registered with the War Memorials Trust. www.warmemorials.org Ref. no. 137205.
Relevant service information on those who died, family connections in Kingston, final burial places and links to
other Memorials, are given in the excerpt below, taken from research carried out by W. (Bill) Scarrett and Anne
Scarret of Kingston and published through Kingston Local History Society.
References:
’Kingston Memorial- Unveiling by Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly’ Western Morning News and Mercury, Wednesday
November 20, 1921.( British Newspaper Archive).
'The Inscriptions on the Headstones and Memorials of St James the Less Church Kingston South Devon'.
W.Scarrett 2007 ( www.kingstonlocalhistory.co.uk)
'Village Honours War Dead- 50 years on'. Salcombe and Kingsbridge Gazette 1995
Kingston Timeline, current ( www.kingstonparishcouncil.co.uk under History of the Parish)
Kingston Village Newsletter April- June editions, 1995, see KLHS
Excerpts taken from ‘’The Inscriptions on the Headstones of the Church of Saint James the Less, Kingston in
Devon’’. W (Bill) Scarrett. Kingston Local History Society 2007 www.kingstonlocalhistory.co.uk
War Memorial
World War 1 1914 – 1918 (researched by W. Bill Scarrett)
C. Victor Triggs, private 2nd Devons, died 1 July 1916 (see South Row A2 Kingston Churchyard)
Horace Donald Kingdom, private 30429, 1st Battalion the Devonshire Regiment, died aged 21 on 6 May 1917,
Son of William and Catherine Emily Kingdom of 125 Brook Street, Bampton Devon. Born at Stoodleigh,
Devon.
Buried in the Lapugnoy Military Cemetery. This cemetery was heavily used during the Battle of Arras which
began in April 1917
Samuel A. Goss, sergeant 18505, 2nd Canadian Fusiliers (Eastern Ontario Regiment,) died on 6 November
1917. Remembered at the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. (see S Row C3, Churchyard)
Herbert C. Fox, private 8th Dorsets, 24 December 1917
Richard B. Rogers, lance-corporal, 16th Devons, 9 September 1918
George Alfred Masters, 1st class stoker 312517, HMS Diligence, died, aged 29, on 15 February 1919. Son of
George Masters of Kingston, husband of Lilian Masters of 8, Clowance Lane, Devonport. Buried in Dalmeny
and Queensferry Cemetery.
James Agg, petty officer 137453, HMS Vanguard, 9 July 1917
HMS Vanguard sank 9th July 1917 in Scapa Flo when unstable cordite exploded and set off the ship’s main
magazine. She went down at her moorings with the loss of more than 804 lives, only one officer and two ratings
survived. A newspaper cutting stated: "The dreadnaught battleship Vanguard exploded at anchor in Scapa Flow
on July 9th 1917 ……….. Then, a colossal numbing explosion extinguished the flame, and Vanguard was lost to
sight in a black cloud of smoke, and bits of her began to rain down on the Fleet. A complete 12 inch gun turret,
weighing over 400 tons, landed on Flotta over a mile away from the ship, and burning debris set fire to the
moorland"
Arthur Redfearn, private 41435, 9th Yorkshire Light Infantry, died aged 32 on 23 July 1917, son of Sam and
Susan Redfearn of Batley Yorkshire; husband of Ellen J. Redfearn of Healey Cottage Kingston. Buried in the
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium.
For the duration of the war the hamlet of Poperinghe was behind the Allied lines and served as the principle rear
area for operations in the Ypres Salient. Military hospitals were established here very early in the war, and these
began burying their dead in the surrounding hop fields. From this grew Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, a
typical 'hospital' cemetery, one of the largest on the Western Front.
Frank D. Boolds, sapper, Royal Engineers, 18 April 1918.
World War 2. 1939 – 45 (Researched by Anne M. Scarratt)
William George Edwards
Petty Officer Stoker, D/K 65827, son of Thomas and Emily Edwards, husband of Annie Maud Edwards, of
Stoke, Devonport.
Died 26 September 1944 aged 37. (Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 89, Column 2)
Bill Edwards was serving in HMS Jupiter when, on 27 February 1942, at the commencement of the Battle of the
Java Sea, she struck a mine and sank. He managed to get ashore, but was imprisoned by the Japanese, and died
of ill treatment and dysentery after 2½ years.
The defeat of the Allies at the Battle of the Java Sea enabled the Japanese to invade Java
Edgar Alfred Gill, served in the Royal Navy
Son of Frederick James and Annie Gill
William Alan Lavers, Stoker 1st Class, D/KX, son of Albert Edward and Edith Mary Lavers and husband of
Irene Lavers
Died 9 November 1942 aged 30. (Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 70, Column 2)
Served in HMS Cromer, a Bangor class minesweeper sunk during a mine clearing operation 46 miles west of
Mersa Martruh, Egypt, the day after the British forces had recaptured the city during Operation Torch.
William Laver’s name is included on a memorial in Peterhouse College Cambridge to “The Members and
Servants of the College who fell in the War 1939 – 1945’’
Lionel John Lugger, Chief Mechanician, D/K 54591, son of William and Emily Lugger and husband of Alice
Lugger
Died 10 December 1941 aged 50. (Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 51, Column 2).
Served in HMS Repulse. Mentioned in Despatches.
HMS Repulse, a Renown Class battle cruiser, was launched in 1916, and was Flagship of the 1 st Battlecruiser
Squadron, taking part in the 2nd Battle of Heligoland Bight.
In WW2 she escorted troop carriers from Canada to Britain, and in 1940 took part in Norwegian operations. She
also attempted to hunt down German battlecruisers, including the Bismarck, but in 1941was transferred to the
Far East when Japan entered the war. Torpedoed by the Saigon-based Japanese 22nd Air Flotilla, she sank with
the loss of 327 lives, including Lionel Lugger.
Frank Randle, Petty Officer Stoker D/K 37155, husband of Elsie Vera Randle.
Died 13 December 1939 aged 40, (Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 34, Column 2).
Served in HMS Exeter and was among 61 crewmen killed at the Battle of the River Plate when shells from the
German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee struck the Exeter. However the German ship was sufficiently
damaged to have to run for Montevideo, a neutral port where she was not permitted to stay. Deceived by the
British into believing he faced a large fleet if he attempted to put to sea, Captain Langsdorf elected to scuttle the
Graf Spee, and then committed suicide.
HMS Exeter was eventually sunk on 1 March 1942 at the Battle of the Java Sea
Ernest Edgar Theobald, Stoker 1st Class D/K 91597
Died 8 June 1940, aged 21, (Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 41 Column 3).
Served in the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious, a converted WW1 light cruiser.
On the afternoon of Saturday the eighth of June, 1940, the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and her escorting
destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent were intercepted in the Norwegian Sea by the German battle cruisers
Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The three British ships were sunk by gunfire in a little over two hours, with the loss
of over 1519 officers and men of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Air Force, there being only 45
survivors.
Leslie Troup, Chief Petty Officer D/J26407, son of George Bosworth and Annie Louise Troup, husband of
Milena Laura Troup
Died 24 November 1943, aged 46. Buried Kirkee War Cemetery, India
Served in HMS Bulolo. HMS Bulolu was built in 1938 for mail steamer services between Australia and the
islands of the East Indies. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in September 1939 and converted to an
armed merchant cruiser. In July 1943 she was appointed Flagship to the Overseas Assault Force (India) during
the re-conquest of Burma. Leslie Troup died in India.
Malayan Campaign 1948-60
Terry Randle, RASC, killed in Dakota air crash in the Malayan Jungle in 2 March 1956, aged 21.
There is a copper bowl in a recess in the South wall of the Church, a memorial to Harold Terry Randle, given by
his family.
Kingston Parish Council January 2014