War Memorial

The Milton Abbas war memorial is located outside the church of Saint James. It commemorates 20 men of the village who died in the First and Second World Wars. Of the 16 men who died in the First World War,  11 served in the Dorsetshire Regiment and 4 died in the Gallipoli campaign on the same day. One can only imagine the effect this must have had on the village and the devastation that must have been felt by the families when they received their telegrams.
The memorial was originally located in the cemetery at the top of the village and the local papers state that money was raised by carrying out a collection from everyone in the village to fund the building. View picture.

World War One Casualties

John Thomas Bowering

Walter Cheney

Frank Churchill

Mark Churchill

Victor Churchill

Robert Diment

John Fiander

Gordon Fookes

Walter Homer

George Frederick James

Everard Kiddle

William Marsh

Herbert Obourne

Charles Treasure

Frederick Vacher

Ernest Wills

Private J T Bowering 10486

Private John Tom Bowering was born in Winterborne St Martin. The third of Alice and Charles Bowering’s eight children. John worked as a farm carter and in 1911 he and his family lived in Hewish farm. He joined the 5th Dorsetshire (service) Battalion in Dorchester and was killed in action during an unsuccessful assult on Kiretch Tepe Sirt, Suvla, Gallipoli on 9th August 1915, 2 months before his 23rd birthday. His name is recorded on the Helles Memorial in Turkey.

Private W Cheney 15369

Private Walter Cheney was born in Wool in 1895, the fourth child of Alfred and Sarah. In 1911 he lived at Number 54 Milton Abbas, boarding with the Godfreys, while working as a farm labourer. He joined the 2nd Dorsetshire Battalion enlisting in Blandford. He died of his wounds 13 March 1916, aged 21, while serving in Mesopotamia. His name is also recorded on the Memorial in Basra Iraq.

Private F Churchill TR/8/28598

Private Frank Churchill was the fourth son of John and Elizabeth Churchill. The whole family being born in Milton Abbas. In 1911 they lived in number 34 Milton Abbas, Frank was 11 and a scholar. Born in 1900 Frank was still in training after joining the Hampshire regiment when he died on the 8th December 1918. He is buried in the Milton Abbas cemetery near the original location of the war memorial. It is likely that he died in the influenza epidemic. His older brother Mark is also remembered on the war memorial.

Private M Churchill 12624

Private Mark Churchill was the third son of John and Elizabeth Churchill. Born in Milton Abbas he joined the 5th Dorsetshire (service) battalion on the 15th of December in 1914. He gave his age as 19 although in fact he was only 17 having been born in 1897. In 1911 the address is given as 34 Milton Abbas, and Mark was working as an assistant in the brewery. In 1915 his parents lived at 37 Milton Abbas. He was reported missing in action on 21 August 1915, aged only 18. His name is recorded on the Helles Memorial in Turkey.

Mark’s younger brother Frank also died and is named on the Milton Abbas war memorial .

Private V Churchill 10707

Private Victor Churchill was born Charles Victor in 1896 in Milborne St Andrew. The third son of Frederick and Caroline Churchill. Victor’s father Frederick died in 1903 and Caroline remarried Thomas Billett. In 1911 the family lived in Lower Burton, Dorchester and Victor worked as a farm labourer. Victor joined the 5th Dorsetshire (service) battalion in Dorchester in September 1914, giving his age as 19 and 3 months, not 18. Whilst fighting in Gallipoli he was reported missing on 21 August 1915, and reported killed in action the following day. He is remembered on the Helles Memorial in Turkey. Records state he lived at Milton Abbey but no further details are given. His mother lived in Lower street Whitechurch.

Private R Diment 10936

Private Robert Diment, also known as James, was the third son of Annie and William Diment. He was born in Binghams Melcombe in 1893. At 17 he was a shepherd boy who lived in Winterborne Stickland, following in the footsteps of his father.

He enlisted in the 5th Dorsetshire (service) battalion in Dorchester but died shortly after on 25th April 1915, aged 22, he is buried at Aldershot Military Cemetery. By 1911 his mother had had eight children, 3 had already died and she then had to deal with the death of not only Robert but also his older brother William (who is remembered on the Winterborne Stickland memorial).

Private J Fiander 12599

Private John Fiander was born in 1884, Levi John Fiander, in Milton Abbas and he grew up living in Number 2. He was the fifth and youngest child of Frederick and Jane Fiander. He worked as a labourer on a farm. In 1905 he married Elizabeth (Bessie) Robbins of Winterbourne Houghton (her sister Annie married Everade Kiddle in the same quarter) and by 1911 John and Bessie were living in Winterborne Stickland with their three children. John enlisted in the 5th Dorsetshire (service) battalion, in Blandford and he died of his wounds aged 33 on 29th November 1917 in France. He is not only remembered on the Milton Abbas memorial but also on the Winterborne Stickland memorial where he is called Levi Fiander.

Private Fookes 225

Private Henry Gordon (George) Fookes, known as Gordon, was born in Milton Abbas in 1896. He was one of William and Alice’s nine children. In 1908 Gordon emigrated to the Blue Mountains, Sydney, Australia, with two of his brothers and his father William. He enlisted in the 19 Battalion Australian Infantry in Sydney, February 1915 and proceeded to Gallipoli in August 1915. Gordon was admitted into hospital in Gallipoli in October of that year and died of dysentery eight days later on the Hospital Ship Assaye on its way to Malta. He was 22 years old. He was buried on 31 October 1915 in Malta. He is remembered not only in Milton Abbas but also Wentworth Falls memorial in New South Wales, Blue Mountain District ANZAC memorial Hospital, Katoomba and Pieta Military Cemetery in Malta.

Click here to view Gordon Fookes' war service record which has been digitised by the Australian National Archives who hold the original service records. http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=3912711

At the time of Pte Fookes' death he was with the the 19th Battalion who were still active at Gallipoli, defending Pope’s Hill.

Click here to view the 19 Battalion unit summary:

http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11206.asp

Private W Homer 10647

Private Walter Homer was born Thomas John Homer and was the second son of William and Amelia Homer. Born in 1891 in Okeford Fitzpaine, his father worked as a gamekeeper and was from Houghton. Walter joined the 5th Dorsetshire (service) battalion in Blandford whilst he was living in Milton Abbas. He fought and died in Gallipoli. It is believed that he died aged 24 on 21 August 1915, although one source stated 28 January 1915. His name is commemorated on the Helles memorial in Turkey.

Private G James 10408

Private George Frederick James was born in 1888, and spent most of his life living in Milborne St Andrew. He was the middle son of Henry and Ellen James and worked as a shepherd on a farm. He enlisted in the Army in Dorchester on 3 September 1914, aged 25, less than a month after war was declared. He served in the 5th Dorsetshire (service) battalion. He was wounded in August 1915 receiving a gunshot wound to the right hand. After a spell back in England he returned to the front. He was killed in action aged 27 on the 26 September 1916 while serving in France and he is remembered on the Thiepval memorial.

Lance Corporal E J Kiddle 10400

Lance Corporal Everard Kiddle was born in 1879 in Hilton. He was the third child of George and Eliza, George being born in Milton Abbas. In 1905 Everard married Annie Louise Robbins from Houghton, (her sister Bessie married John Fiander in the same quarter). They lived in Hill Street and then Market Street, Poole and they had three children, William, Doris and Olaf. Everard worked as a wood sawer. He enlisted in Poole in the 6th Dorsetshire Battalion and was killed on 27th June 1917 in France. At the time of his death his mother lived at 55 Milton Abbas. He is remembered on the Arras memorial.

Private W Marsh 29710

Private William Frank Marsh was born in Affpuddle in 1897. His parents Frank and Mary had five children but by 1911 two had died, leaving William and two sisters. William, who lived in Huish, Milton Abbas, enlisted in Blandford into the 2nd Battalion the Hampshire regiment. He was killed in action, aged 19, on 14 October 1916 in France. He is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial.

Private H Oborne 24122

Private Herbert Obourne was born in 1881 in Sherbourne. He was the third child of Robert and Eliza. In 1901 he lived in The Bothy, The Gardens, Milton Abbas, next to Abbey House, where he worked as a gardener. He enlisted in Blandford into the 1st Dorsetshire Battalion. He was killed in France on 13 June 1917, age 36. He is commemorated on the Hazebrouck memorial.

Private C Treasure 60935

Private Charles Edward Treasure was born in 1898 in Stour Provost, Shaftsbury. He was the fourth child of Edward and Elizabeth. His mother died aged 48 when he was four and his father remarried four years later.  Charles enlisted in Dorchester and initially joined the Royal Army Service Corps (regimental number 37619) before changing to the Machine Gun Corps. He was killed in action in the Western Front and is remembered in the Gwalia cemetery, Belgium.

Private F Vacher 266814

Private Frederick Vacher was born in Milton Abbas in 1884, he was one of four children of William and Rebecca. Rebecca died in 1888 aged 32 when Frederick was only 4, his younger sibling Emily was just over one year old. Unfortunately by 1891 Frederick and his sister Emily were living together in a workhouse in Blandford. His father was still living in Milton Abbas in ‘the back of number 8’, and working as a brewers labourer. Frederick enlisted in Blandford in the 2nd/4th Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. He died of his wounds on 27 October 1918, two weeks before the armistice was signed. He is buried in St Aubert cemetery in Northern France.

Talk given by Jeremy Thompson about Frederick Vacher on Remberance Sunday 2014

Private E Wills 10488

Private Ernest Frederick Wills was born 1893, son to Edward and Mary. By 1911 they had already lost 2 of their five children. He was born in Bockhampton near Dorchester. By 1911 the family were living in The Retreat Milton Abbey where Ernest and his father both worked as gamekeepers.

Ernest joined the 5th Dorsetshire (service) battalion in September 1914 in Dorchester. He was 5’6” and weighed 9 stone 11 pounds. He was presumed dead aged 22 in Gallipolli on the 21 August 1915 and is remembered on the Helles Memorial in Turkey.

Gallipoli battle of

21 August 1916

Scimitar Hill
Assualt on Turkish trenches between Aire Kayak and Susak Kuyu, Suvla.

More information currently being researched

The 5th Dorsets

The 5th Dorsetshire service battalion was formed in Dorchester in August 1914 as part of Kitchener's new volunteer army. The 5th service battalion was part of the 34th brigade, one of three brigades that formed the 11 (Northern) Division. They sailed from Liverpool on 3 July 1915 aboard the 'Aquitania'  as part of the 11th Division and they arrived in Suvla Bay on the Ottoman Empire, on the night of 6 August 1915.
On arrival there they became acclimatised to the conditions by digging wells and making roads. There were many problems in Gallipoli with sickness and many men died from dysentery.
The 5th Dorsetshire service battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli 16 December 1915 and went then to Egypt with one of their roles being the defence of the Suez canal.  In June 1916 they received their orders for a  move to France, arriving in Marseilles 9 July 1916.

Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918

If you would like to find out more about the Australian contribution to the war effort, it is possible to view the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 online. Volume II being specifically about Galliopoli, with chapter XIII covering the issues of sickness in Gallipoli. This can be viewed at http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/first_world_war

All research on this page done by Julia Kelsall. To contact please use webmaster email link. Webmaster