Lost Generation
Schools Competition
The Chadwell Heath Foundation School
Christie Gardens, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex, RM6-4RS
(020)82525151
Our Project…
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For our contribution to the Channel 4 Lost Generation
endeavour, we decided to adopt a memorial in our
local area.
We looked at our options and we chose to investigate
the memorial located on the western wall at Saint
John’s the Evangelist, Seven Kings, Ilford.
The memorial consists of two plaques:
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One a dedication to the men who gave their lives for their
King and Country
The other, a list off the forty-four men who joined up and
never came back.
It was these posters that got the
British men to join up to serve
for their King and Country…
Some were lucky enough to make it
back,
but not necessarily alive…
Many
were left
dead in
the
trenches
Commemorated
by a small
wooden cross in
future times…
It is our attempt to recognise
the boys and men from St.
John’s Church who lost their
lives in the Great War
Their lives
Their community
Their service
Their death
LOCATION:
St. John the Evangelist Church, Seven Kings,
Ilford, Essex, IG2 7BB
View approaching the western
wall, alter and communion rail.
The two tablets are located
either side of the arch.
The Southern
Tablet
ST. JOHN’S
1914
1918
To the Glory of God
who gave us the victory
and in grateful remembrance
of the courage and selfsacrifice of those connected
with this church who served
their KING and COUNTRY
in the
GREAT WAR
1914–1918
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“Through God we shall
do valiantly, for it
is He that shall
tread down our
adversaries.”
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The names of those who
died for us are inscribed
on the tablet on the
north side if this wall.
The Northern
Tablet
Our Aim
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We have attempted to research and discover
the lives that were lost from the names that
are engraved on the tablet
We have succeeded in uncovering six stories
behind their names:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
R.F. Saunders
S.W. Allen
L.J. Millage
W.H. Moore
R.F. Moore
G. Joy
This photograph is of the St. John’s
Football Club in the 1911 – 1912 season
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The photograph is backed with
cardboard, on which were the
names of each member of the
football club.
The four rows of names were
split evenly above and below
(i.e.: two rows above the
photo, two rows below.)
Unfortunately, between the
years of 2004 and 2006 the
bottom two rows of names has
somehow been destroyed.
Only two names are
distinguishable from the lower
two rows:
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W.H. Moore
Rev. Peabody
St. John’s F.C.
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The photo says a lot about the local
community at the time of it’s taking.
It shows us that the church is at the centre of
the community; that men came and
participated in a game from all over the parish.
This point is furthered with the Reverend
Peabody in the centre of the photograph
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Incidentally, it is recorded that he was in charge of
St. Mary’s (St. John’s mother church) football and
cricket teams, as well as St. John’s
Comparing the Photo and the
Memorial
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If we compare the names available from the
photograph, it’s quite disturbing how many
occur on the memorial:
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L.J. Millage
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S.W. Allen
N.B.: G. Joy is
known to be
somewhere in the
bottom two rows
R.F. Saunders
S.W. Allen
W.H. Moore
L.J. Millage
R.F. Moore(?)
The faces circled in yellow are those
whose names appear on the memorial.
S.W. Allen
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S W Allen was a Corporal
in the Army Pay Corps.
His service number was
8090.
He died on the 7th
November 1918 – four
days before the end of the
War
His body now lays in
Aldborough Hatch
Cemetery at St. Peter's
Church.
G. Joy
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The son of Frederick
George and Eleanor Joy
– 7, Glencoe Avenue –
was a second Lieutenant
in the London Regiment
He was awarded the
Military Cross
Gwyn died on 16th July
1917, at the age of 23,
in France.
He is buried at St. Sever
Cemetery, in Rouen.
L.J. Millage
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Lawrence John Millage
was the son of Amy and
the late John Stuart
Millage, who also died
in the war.
Lawrence was a Private
in the Prince of Wales'
Own Civil Service
Rifles, London
Regiment.
Dying on 18/05/1915,
Lawrence was 21.
R.F. Moore
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Robert Frank Moore was the
eldest to Moore sons who
died in World War One.
The son of Charlotte Moore
and the late Robert Nelson
Moore, Robert was a
Lieutenant Colonel and
awarded the Military Cross
and the Distinguished
Service Order.
He died at the age of 28 on
30/05/1918, and is
remembered on the Soissons
Memorial, France.
W.H. Moore
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Winifred Hubert Moore,
died after his brother, on 1st
September 1918 at the age
of 27.
As a Sergeant, he was
awarded the Meritorious
Service Medal.
He was in the 15th Battalion
of the Prince of Wales' Own
Civil Service Rifles, London
Regiment, coincidently the
same battalion as L.J.
Millage.
Winifred lies at the Peronne
Road Cemetery, Maricourt,
France.
R.F. Saunders
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Little can be found on
Ronald Frank Saunders.
It is apparent that he
resided in Goodmayes.
When, where and how
old he was when he died
is unknown.
The face circled in blue is that of a third
Moore brother.
C. Moore
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C. Moore appears on the
football photograph, but
not on the memorial and
no record of him can be
found.
It can only be presumed
that he didn’t go (for
medical reasons or
personal values) or he
came back.
Now, there are two more faces that have
been circled in green.
The Green Circles
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These are of S. Cook and C.B. Smith.
Lieutenant Sydney Cook was killed in action at the
Battle of Passchendaele on 12 October 1917.
Charles Brock Smith of 11th London Regiment, died
of wounds on 11th September 1916 during the Battle
of the Somme.
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His brother, Frederick Allam Smith, died on 25th May
1915.
However, their families chose to not have them
commemorated on the church memorial.
It an attempt to recreate the
emotions of the First World War, we
have written three letters.
However, these letters would not have reached
their recipients as they were originally written.
This was because the Defence of the Realm Act
(1914) enabled the government to censor what
the soldiers wrote home in order that the public
remain unaware of the terrible conditions of
the front line, so they would be successful in
the continuation of recruitment of troops.
Letter One – 6th December 1914
Dear Mother,
I’m not too tired or worn out yet. It’s awful here; it’s hard work and a
totally different lifestyle to at home. We have settled into a daily routine. We
are using a tactic called ‘Over the Top.’ This is where we are sent over the
top of the trench and charge towards the German trenches. This is the
scariest part of our day and if you’re lucky enough to survive you have to do
it all over again tomorrow. We have to get up early; no more late mornings.
We fright for hours on end fighting the Germans.
Here you have to keep your wits about you. I am fearful for my life and hope
that I will be returning home soon. I never used to be scared at work and
complained about how boring life was; I would rather be at home now.
The officers are more concerned about their own safety than ours. We only ever
see junior officers; never anyone higher. The food here is barely edible and
there’s very little choice, but if you’re hungry you’ll eat it. It’s nothing like
your cooking, which I long to taste. Everyday we face the Germans who are
constantly trying to shoot and kill us.
I miss you and hope to be returning home soon. Have you heard from father
yet?
Your dear son, Lawrence
Letter Two – 17th October 1916
Dearest Mama,
It is terrifying here; there are gunshots echoing in the
trenches all the time. We are fighting for survival, never mind
against the Germans; it’s every soldier for himself.
We are all feeling the physical and emotional strain that the war is
causing us. We are very weak and are struggling to survive on our
inadequate diet of small meals and the conditions we serve in.
Since the beginning of the war, many members of our battalion have
died. I hope to be able to come home soon, but the only people
allowed home are the ones who are injured and incapable of
fighting.
The food here is nothing like you cook at home. Truth be told: it’s
much worst. I should be able to see you soon. I love and miss you
all dearly. Give my love to Gina.
Love You Lots, Gwyn xxx
Letter Three – 24th July 1917
My dear sister Maggie,
Has anyone heard from Winifred? I cannot stand being here and I
long to be back home. It has been so long that I have forgotten the
feeling of our cosy living room and the smell of the lovely food that
always seemed to be cooking. I don’t know how the food here can be
classified as anything with a resemblance to food.
I have lost all my pals. I’ve not yet been sent ‘Over the Top,’ but the
prospect is absolutely petrifying.
I have contracted deep wounds from flying shrapnel and bruises from our
sleeping arrangements. There are rats in our trenches so disease and
infection run wild here. Each day we have to deal with the loss of at
least one fellow soldier in our trench. There are hardly any of the
original crowd left. I hope that I will be returning home alive and well.
We are dying from malnourishment.
Please send my love to all our friends and family at home. I dream of
coming home one day… I can but dream…
With All My Love, Robert xxx
Trench Life
It is a well known fact that those living in the trenches had to live
in appalling conditions. Low spirits were trampled with wet,
muddy conditions. Soldiers could rarely sleep well, in the cold
dug-outs, sharing their blankets with the rats, which were
rumoured to be the size of cats.
Each day began with the morning hate; cross-fire across NoMan’s-Land, that echoed for several minutes. Lunch was a
standard meal of tinned meat with stale bread. Men were
supplied with rum to keep them warm in the Winter, from the
cold, wet conditions. They were unable to drink the chloridetreated liquid, transported from miles away.
Each season brought a bout of disease upon the open-topped
trenches, which were often flooded. Vicious diseases such as
trenchfoot, pneumonia, dysentery and bronchitis ran rife
around the front line. Soldiers didn’t wash for weeks, so they
were infested with lice, boils and bunions.
Trench Life cont’d.
Fully grown men were reduced to levels where they cried and screamed
like young children, suffering from depression. Hopes wavered and
collapsed of the men ever seen their families and friends again while
they began to question their reasons for joining up.
Some English soldiers began to feel terrible, when they had to unleash
their weapons on the German soldiers, knowing that they were just as
innocent as they themselves were. Whilst others, tried to maintain
their feelings of loyalty, patriotism and nationalism for their “King
and Country.” Soldiers knew that being sent ‘Over-the-top’ was
suicide. Those lucky enough to stay behind watched their pals die on
No-Man’s Land and later, watch their rotting flesh being eaten by the
rats.
Emotions were only worsened by delayed discharge. Front line duty was
only meant to consist of two weeks, when soldiers would be sent to
work in support and reserve for four days each and then rest. Soldiers
were kept on the front line, in some cases for months on end.
Lost in the mist of time, it is our only assumption
that the boys from St. John’s Church suffered
the likely fate as the other young English men
did.
It is a distressing thought: trying to imagine one
of the boys in the trenches, up to his waist in
water, living with massive rats…
For this, we must NEVER forget what they
sacrificed and what they were fighting for,
because…
S W ALLEN
F ANDEWS
H J ARNOLD
E W BAKER
W F C BAKER
K BEST
S COOK
R DENNIS
F DRAKE
J V DRAKE
H W EVANS
A H FABIAN
E FUGLER
E C GALPIN
H A HARSANT
L HARTIN
F JACKMAN
G JOY
F W MACHESTER
J S MILLAGE
L J MILLAGE
R F MOORE
Aged 19
Aged 35
Aged 24
Aged 19
Aged 19
Aged 20
Aged 21
Aged 20
J C MURCH
J H B NORTON
C W OGILVIE
A V PAUL
E E PENTON
H A PETTY
S POPPY
F C POSTLETHWAITE
A PRYOR
R A ROBINSON
A L ROLFE
R F SAUNDERS
C B SMITH
F A SMITH
L G STENNING
S N STENNING
W C THOROGOOD
W F TURNER
F G TWIGDEN
G T UNDERHAY
G WHALEY
E D WILES
Aged 29
Aged 28
Aged 21
Aged 22
Rest in Peace, Heroes of Britain
Aged 21
Aged 23
Aged 22
Aged 55
Aged 21
Aged 28
Aged 22
Aged 21
Aged 26
Aged 21
Aged 18
Aged 34
Aged 28
Aged 19
Aged 22
Evaluation
In order to begin our project, the first task we had to overcome was choosing to adopt a memorial
or a Tommy. We decided as a three that we would be able to bring out our best abilities in
adopting a war memorial. We then decided to investigate the church memorial at St. John’s
Seven Kings as it was easier to access than nearby memorials and we also thought it would
produce a better result, as archives were easier to access.
As our first steps, we contacted people within the church who would be able to help us. Mr L. P.
Amann gave us background information and access to the football photograph, which centred
out project. Mrs J. and Mr R. Keenan then extended our knowledge as to the photograph and
other World War One knowledge.
So as to gain records to our fallen men, we took to the internet. After two lessons of solid
research into finding records, we eventually stumbled upon the CWGC, which allowed us to
search their database of casualties freely and accessibly.
We also went to the Western Front Association, where we contacted three members, who each
helped us along our way to completing our project with their own contacts and previous
research. By using the 1837 census that has recently been posted on the internet, we were able
to gain further knowledge of a few men who were untraceable. And when we found historical
facts that puzzled us, we went to First World War.com, who were able to point us in the right
direction, helping us to understand the events.
Of course, we met problems on the way, such as the damaged photograph, limited access to
records and restricted information, but it is all part of historical research; if everything were
simple and easy to research, then there would be no need for the activity, deeming it pointless.
We hope you have enjoyed our project and that you have found it honouring and grateful to our
fallen heroes.
Sara James, Rebecca Smith and Zeenat Pelaria, Year 9, CHFS
Bibliography
We would like to send many thanks to the following organisations/
people for all their help. Without them, our project would never be
what it is.
 St. John’s Church, Seven Kings
 The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
 1837 online
 First World War.com
 Western Front Association
 Mr L. P. Amann
(St. John’s)
 Mrs J. and Mr R. Keenan (St. John’s)
 Mr F. Summerson (Western Front Association)
 Mr P. O’Mara
(WFA)
 Ms M. Young
(WFA)
 Mr D. Thompson
(Head of Humanities and our inspiring, History
teacher)