Category Archives: Tearle Stories UK

From England we are able to research the history of the Tearle Family. Here we will share what we have found in our research, and our travels around England, to find Tearle sites and Tearle graves.

18Mar/15

Tearle, Rowland Grigg, 1916, London, UK (RAMC)

In the church of St Andrew, Yardley Hastings, there is the memorial to Rowland Grigg Tearle, and other young men who died in the Great War.

St Andrews, Yardley Hastings, Northants.

St Andrews, Yardley Hastings, Northants.

Here are his details from Roll of Honour:
Private 55930, 11th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. Died at home 9th June 1916. Age 20. Born London, enlisted Northampton.
Buried near the East boundary in ST. ANDREW CHURCHYARD, YARDLEY HASTINGS.

WW1 memorial inside St Andrews Church.

WW1 memorial inside St Andrews Church.

His details as recorded by CWGC are exactly the same as this.

The army records that Susannah Rogers was paid two gratuities, as the sole person named in his will.

Rowland Tearle UK Army Effects

Rowland Tearle UK Army Effects.

Rowland’s (sometimes spelt Roland) WW1 army medals card recorded that he died 9/6/16 and that he had earned the British Medal, the Victory Medal and the Star. It noted that he joined the French Theatre of war on 27/5/15 and that he was in the Royal Army Medical Corps. I can find no other military record.

CWGC headstone for R Tearle in St Andrews Church cemetery.

CWGC headstone for R Tearle in St Andrews Church cemetery.

Given that he died at home, we can suppose either a horrible injury or a debilitating trench disease. I wonder if the local NHS would have any knowledge of him? I am often reminded of how short his life was; I do hope there is something more we can say for him.

There was a good deal of discussion about the origins of Rowland and why he was living with Susannah Rogers, so I sent off for his birth certificate. He was born Rowland Grigg Tearle on 8 Jan 1896 in Queen Charlotte Hospital, Marylebone Road. His mother was Elizabeth Tearle, Book Keeper, Hotel of Willesden. There is no recorded father. The informant on the certificate was E Tearle, mother, 20 Victoria Road, Kilburn. He was registered on 11 Jan 1896 in the Sub-district of St Mary, County of London. Here is a compressed version of his 1901 census return:

1901 = Rowland 1896 Paddington border Susannah Rogers 57 Mary 30 Frank Gordon 1 Calcutta India boarder in Yardley Hastings Northants

It seemed to me very odd that he should be just five years old and living in another family far away from London, where presumably his mother would still be. Since we had no father for young Rowland and that prevented us from knowing his mothers’ familial relationships, I hoped that Susannah Rogers would be able to lead us to her. I found Susannah in the 1861 Bozeat, Northants census –

1861 = Susannah Rogers 1844 Harrold wife Stephen 21 William J Robinson 8 brother in Bozeat Northants

She was just 18, born Harrold, Beds, and was married to Stephen Rogers, a Gamekeeper, of West Tytherley, Hampshire, which is half way between Salisbury and Winchester. They were boarding her younger brother, William J Robinson. So now we had a formal identification for her. She was Susannah Robinson 1843 Harrold. So that means this is her and her parents and her grandfather in the 1851 census:

1851 = Susannah Robinson 1844 Harrold Beds Mary 33 William 36 William Abrahams 83 in Northants

I found Stephen and Susannah with their first children, William and Mary Elizabeth, in the 1871 census –

1871 = Susannah Rogers 1843 Stephen 31 William 8 Mary E 9m in Cornwall

They were back in Buckinghamshire for the 1881 census, but there was a surprise for me –

1881 = Susannah Rogers 1843 Stephen 41 William C 18 James A 14 Mary E 10 Thomas J 6 in Weston Underwood Bucks

I tried to find James A 1867 Turvey, Beds, in the 1871, but he is invisible.

I did find him the the 1891

1891 = James Rogers 1867 Turvey Beds Valet in Northants

as well as Susannah and Stephen, now living in the Keepers House near Yardley Hastings, where Stephen was a Gamekeeper for the Yardley Chase forestry estate, not far from where Milton Keynes is now.

1891 = Susannah Rogers 1843 Harrold Stephen 51 Thomas J 16 Mary E 20 in Yardley Hastings Northants

Pat Field found the Buckinghamshire Records marriage of Mary Ann Tearle 1866 and James Abraham Rogers in Q1 1886 Newport Pagnell, Northants, 3a, p695. “Date 8 Mar 1887 Entry James Abraham Rogers, full age, bachelor, Servant of Little Linford son of Stephen Rogers, Gamekeeper married Mary Ann Tearle full age spinster servant of Little Linford dau of John Tearle deceased. Witnesses James X Johnson, Alice Sheargold Banns not found Parish Little Linford St. Leonard.

Mary Ann was the dau of John 1823 (the marine) and Sophia nee Walker. This is the first occasion where I found James’ middle name. He has been, as is often the case with Victorian families, given the surname of his maternal grandfather. James’ being on his own on census night meant that his family had to be somewhere else, and they were:

1891 = Mary A Rogers nee T 1866 Aylesbury Arthur Rogers 1 visitor in Sussex E Grinstead

In 1901, Mary Ann and James were in Knightsbridge, London

1901 = Mary A Rogers nee T 1866 Linslade James A Rogers 34 Arthur 11 Edith 8 in Lon

For Susannah, the 1901 census painted a different picture – she was now a widow, and there was a young chap – Frank Gordon, 1yr – born in Calcutta, India living with her, then Rowland, and Mary Elizabeth, her daughter.

1901 = Rowland 1896 Paddington border Susannah Rogers 57 Mary 30 Frank Gordon 1 Calcutta India boarder in Yardley Hastings Northants

They had must have moved into the village after Stephen’s death, and Mary was earning some money for them as a dressmaker. Rosemary wrote to tell me she had seen Rowland still living with Susannah in the 1911 census in Yardley Hastings. For me, Susannah was now officially an In-Law, and has her place on The Tree.

There was a definite family connection, then, between Susannah Rogers and the Tearles, specifically John 1825 and Sophia nee Walker, but this didn’t explain why Rowland was living with her, and whether there was an equal familial relationship with his mother, Elizabeth. I did the Tearle births calculation: 22 years for the boys from the birth of their first child, perhaps as few as 18 for the women. Elizabeth had to be born earlier than 1878, but probably not earlier than 1866.

Sophia died in 1880 and was buried in All Saints, Leighton Buzzard. Rosemary reminded me of the 1881 census return, with the kind of blinding insight that only Rosemary does. In the 1881 Leighton Buzzard census there is recorded the contents of a house in Vandyke Rd. This is so important to the story that I have reproduced the essential viewing portions of both pages of the return.

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Page 1

Page 2

Page 2

The head of the house is Mary 1822 LB, there is her brother John 1824 LB, Greenwich pensioner (navy) and her other brother Charles 1827 LB also a Greenwich pensioner, then Harriett 1860 LB a niece, then Alice 1862 LB a niece, then Charles H 1865 LB a nephew, Charles E 1866 from Morpeth, and Eliza 1869 and Elizabeth 1872 from Linslade.

Since everyone in the house is either a brother, nephew or niece of Mary 1822, then all of them are direct descendants of John 1780 and Sarah nee Claridge.

In the 1871, Mary had two of Edmund’s children, plus her own.

1871 = Mary 1822 LB Sarah 1846 LB Alice 9 Charles 6 in LB I couldn’t find Harriett 1860 anywhere.

Harriett 1860, Alice 1862 and Charles 1865 all come from another of Mary’s brothers, Edmund 1833, who lived just round the corner in Hockliffe Rd, but who died in 1867 and his wife Harriett in 1869. In 1871, Edmund 1855 who would become a well-known stage manager and actor, was already in Liverpool working in an office, so he was independent.

Charles Edward from Morpeth is the son of Charles 1827.

That means that Eliza and Elizabeth from Linslade are John’s children. I don’t have a birth cert for Elizabeth, but this is probably her: Q3 1871, L.B. 3b 156. Until the certificate turns up and proves me wrong, I think it is acceptable that this Elizabeth 1871 is John and Sophia’s girl. The only other family having children in Linslade were John’s brother Thomas 1821 and Sarah Jane nee Elliott. Their last child was George 1862 and adding Elizabeth 1871 is not impossible (Sarah would have been 47) but unlikely.

We found one late clue which helped convince us; Pat Field sent me the Leighton Buzzard baptisms of All Saints Church:

1 Jan 1883 ELIZABETH dau of John & Sophia Tearle of Leighton Pensioner

Sophia nee Walker, John’s wife, died in 1880, so this was simply a late baptism for Elizabeth. It certainly helps to show that he had a daughter Elizabeth and one supposes this is not Eliza.

Which brings us back to Rowland. Rosemary had much earlier seen the wedding of Mary Ann 1866 and James Rogers, and had raised the question:

“Susannah’s daughter-in-law was Mary Ann Tearle, born Linslade in 1866.

Mary Ann’s parents were John (1825) and Sophia, nee Walker.  Her siblings were Sarah Jane (1863), John (1864), Eliza Sophia (1868) and Elizabeth (1871).

Because of the relationship between Mary Ann and Susannah, I am of the opinion that Mary Ann’s sister Elizabeth is Rowland’s mother.”

We found Elizabeth in 1891:

1891 = Elizabeth 1872 Linslade, barmaid, in Rugby but she was not in any 1901 census.

Rosemary spent some time looking at what may have happened to Elizabeth and following up on the lead of young Frank Gordon from Calcutta living with Susannah, Rosemary looked to records from India. Tantalisingly, there was a Miss Tearle 28yr on the ship Rewa bound for Calcutta, India in 1897. She found that in 1899 an Elizabeth Tearle (26yr) father John, dec, married Arthur Brown (27yr) in Calcutta, but we cannot tell if it was our Elizabeth. As Rosemary tells it, “Since Arthur was 27, perhaps Elizabeth lopped a few years off her age…”

Rosemary now had a long look for Rowland’s possible father and I’ll let her tell the story in her own words:

As to who was Rowland’s father – Rowland Grigg is an unusual Christian name and I pondered as to whether this could have been the name of his father.  I tried to see if there was a famous Rowland Grigg about when Rowland was born, but could find nothing on Google. So looked to see if a Rowland Grigg did indeed live in England.

There is a Rowland Grigg who was born, lived and died in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight – 1872 – 1901.  This seemed to be too far away from where Elizabeth lived and worked.  But then I found that Mary Ann’s two children were born in Ashurst Wood Sussex, not all that far from the Isle of Wight.  Could Elizabeth been staying with her sister Mary Ann?  Could Elizabeth and Rowland Grigg and have met?  Brighton, that most famous of holidaying sites, was near to both Mary Ann’s and Rowland’s residential areas.  The Isle of Wight itself was also a  well-known holiday destination popularised by Queen Victoria.

Rowland Grigg of the Isle of Wight was the son of a draper and had no occupation recorded in the census before he died.  His, too, was a short life.

So I think we have finally told the bare bones of Rowland’s remarkable story. He is a member of a proud and illustrious family – the theatrical Tearles. We have established that his mother was Elizabeth 1871, the daughter of John 1825, the marine, and Sophia nee Walker. I am sure there is still a story to be told about why she was in Rugby in 1891 and why she was working in Willesden about the time of Rowland’s birth. His family’s times were difficult, and children were brought up by the extended family rather than by their parents. All the evidence shows, though, that they were still well brought up. Rowland heeded the call to war, and signed up to save lives rather than to take them. This decision cost him his own life, and we can only speculate on the misery it may have caused him as he lay dying in Susannah’s house. We have established his family connections, and we have acknowledged the debt we owe to Susannah Rogers and the generosity she showed him.

There is one other memorial we discovered; on the wall of the Yardley Hastings Memorial Hall that faces the road is a memorial to the young men who died in WW1 and WW2: Rowland is with them. He has been called Greg, but we are aware of exactly who he was.

War Memorial on hall, Yardley Hastings.

War Memorial on hall, Yardley Hastings.

DSCF5681 Rowland Gregg Tearle on war memorial Yardley Hastings Northants

Close-up of names on the War Memorial Hall.

18Mar/15

Tearle, Edward Kefford William, 1907, Lexden, UK (CMP)

Elaine and I got quite a surprise, even a shock, to see the name E TEARLE on a WW2 memorial outside St Marys Church in the pretty little village of Old Welwyn. Welwyn Garden City is close to St Albans, and you can walk to Old Welwyn from Hatfield. It took us a while to gather the information needed to tell his story, but here it is now.

The E Tearle honoured on WW2 section of the Old Welwyn memorial is Edward Kefford W Tearle, of the military police, b1907 in Essex.

WW2 names Old Welwyn

WW2 names Old Welwyn.

The memorial itself is next to St Marys, Old Welwyn.

War memorial closeup Old Welwyn

War memorial closeup, St Mary’s, Old Welwyn.

Here is the information supplied by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
Name: TEARLE, EDWARD KIFFORD Initials: E K
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lance Corporal
Regiment/Service: Corps of Military Police
Age:32
Date of Death:31/05/1940
Service No: 7683659
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Plot 2. Row C. Grave 26.
Cemetery: DE PANNE COMMUNAL CEMETERY

This Edward Kefford W Tearle b1907 Lexden, Kent, was the son of Edward Kefford Tearle 1878 of Hatfield and Maud Sarah nee Micklefield, and as far as I know, he was their only son. He was the grandson of William 1857 of Soulbury and Sarah nee Kefford. He was the great-grandson of John 1831 Soulbury and Harriet nee Figg.

 Both these families are descended from Richard 1805 and Martha nee Walker, the parents of all the Soulbury Tearles. Leslie James T, John Henry T and Edward Kefford W Tearle are all descended from John Tearle 1830 and Harriet nee Figg, while Norman is descended from Richard 1843 (John’s brother) and Elizabeth nee Ellingham. All the Soulbury Tearle families are on the branch of John 1741.

WW2 names detail Old Welwyn

Detail of the WW2 names, Old Welwyn.

The CWGC said of Edward’s last hours: “The British Expeditionary Force was involved in the later stages of the defence of Belgium following the German invasion in May 1940, and suffered many casualties in covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. De Panne village was the site of the final General Headquarters of the BEF in 1940, and there was a Casualty Clearing Station on the beach, which was an embarkation beach for the evacuation. From 27 May to 1 June 1940, the Germans strove to prevent the embarkation of the troops by incessant bombing, machine-gunning and shelling. The first German troops reached the village between 14.00 and 15.00 hrs on 31 May, and after heavy fighting, the commune was completely occupied by about 9.00 hrs on 1 June.”

Jonathon Tearle wrote to me on 20 Sep 2006

“This is my grandfather who was killed at Dunkirk in WW2. Although the evacuation was considered a great success, some poor souls got left behind to slow down the German advance. Edward was one of these brave men, and he wasn’t even a regular.”

Here are the results from our visit to the De Panne Communal Cemetery. We took the bus from Ypres to De Panne and a tram trip from De Panne to the cemetery below.

The Great Cross De Panne Communal Cemetery

The Great Cross; De Panne Communal Cemetery.

Edward Kefford William Tearle 7683659 De Panne Communal Cem

Edward Kefford William Tearle 7683659; De Panne Communal Cemetery.

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John Tearle and Harriett nee Figg were shockingly poor – they lived in cottages in Simonsyde (off the Coopers Green Lane to Stanborough) and they spent time in the Hatfield Union Workhouse. To compound their tragedies caused by poverty, John and Harriet’s grandsons were killed in WW1: Leslie James Tearle was killed in France and John Henry Tearle was killed in Gallipoli. Then, in WW2 this man, their g-grandson, was tragically killed defending the beaches of Dunkirk as the British and French armies made their escape, on the very same day that his second cousin, Norman Tearle, was killed trying to ferry men from the beaches to the waiting warships. Norman went to war from Soulbury, while Edward’s family had left the village two generations earlier.

We went to see Norman’s grave in Oostende, by tram, later on the same day that we visited De Panne.

Edward Kefford W Tearle, above, died in May 1940, but his father, Edward Kefford Tearle (John Henry’s brother) died in September the same year. So poor Maud Sarah Tearle nee Micklefield lost both her son and her husband within six months.

18Mar/15

Tearle, Leslie James, 1915, St Albans, UK (1st Herts Rgt)

The War Memorial, St Albans.

The War Memorial, St Albans.

 

Name: TEARLE, LESLIE JAMES
Initials:L J    Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private    Regiment/Service: Hertfordshire Regiment
Unit Text:1st Bn.    Age: 19    Date of Death: 11/07/1915
Service No:2007
Additional information: Son of Edward and Emma Tearle, of 49, Culver Rd., St. Albans, Herts.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead    Grave/Memorial Reference: I. B. 9.
Cemetery: WOBURN ABBEY CEMETERY, CUINCHY

His parents were Edward Joseph, b 1869, Simonshyde, Hatfield and Emma Warner b1872, Hatfield. Edward was the son of John b1831 Soulbury and Harriet nee Figg. John was the son of Richard 1805, Stanbridge and Martha nee Burnard. Richard was one of the many sons of Richard 1773, Stanbridge and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth – my ggggg-parents. And this Richard was the son of John 1741. Thus Leslie is of the branch John 1741.

LJ Tearle on the St Albans War Memorial. Leslie James Tearle

LJ Tearle on the St Albans War Memorial. Leslie James Tearle

WW1 memorial St Albans Town Hall

Leslie is remembered on the Honours Board in the Old Town Hall.

Here is a closeup of Leslie's name on the board.

Here is a closeup of Leslie’s name on the board.

 

Leslie is also remembered on the Roll of Honour in All Saints Church, Hertford.

Leslie is also remembered on the Roll of Honour in All Saints Church, Hertford.

Here is the header section of the memorial.

Header section of the memorial.

 

Leslie and Alfred Tearle on the Hertford War Memorial.

Leslie and Alfred Tearle on the War Memorial in All Saints, Hertford.

The first Tearle name on the list above in All Saints, Hertford is Alfred Edward Tearle 1897, of Watford.

Leslie James was killed on 11 July 1915. The Long Long Trail says of that time: “there was no general change in the situation on the Western Front. It was a period of static warfare, where the army suffered average losses of 300 men a day from sniping and shellfire, while they continued to gradually improve and consolidate the trenches.” and “The army continued to suffer from a shortage of material, notably heavy artillery and machine guns (although Lewis guns were officially issued from 14 July onward).”

He is buried in Woburn Abbey Cemetery, Cuinchy, a village on a canal (with a lock) in Pas de Calais, with a four-hourly train connection.

Below is the view from the road of Woburn Abbey Cemetery, Cuinchy. There was no one battle here; the area was always in range of German guns as was Woburn Abbey, the name given to a house nearby, which was used as a battalion headquarters and dressing station. No details are given by CWGC about the circumstances in which young Leslie died.

Woburn Abbey Cemetery Cuinchy

Woburn Abbey Cemetery, Cuinchy.

Leslie James Tearle in the Book of Remembrance; Woburn Abbey Cemetery, Cuinchy

Leslie James Tearle in the Book of Remembrance; Woburn Abbey Cemetery, Cuinchy.

His parents would have written the epitaph for his headstone, pictured below:
“He died a noble death fighting for his country.”

Leslie James Tearle Woburn Abbey Cemetery Cuinchy

Leslie James Tearle headstone, Woburn Abbey Cemetery, Cuinchy.

18Mar/15

Tearle, John Henry, 1887, Hatfield, UK (Inniskilling Fusiliers)

Here are the details supplied by the CWGC

Name: TEARLE, JOHN HENRY
Initials:J H
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank:Lance Serjeant
Regiment/Service: Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Unit Text:1st Bn.
Age:28
Date of Death: 29/06/1915
Service No:9054
Additional information: Son of Mrs. Sarah Tearle, of 71, Port Hill, Bengeo, Hertford.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 97 to 101.
Memorial: HELLES MEMORIAL

The parents of John Henry Tearle 1888 Hatfield, were William Francis Tearle 1857 Soulbury and Sarah nee Kefford. Bengeo is a suburb of Hertford. I have a special affinity for John – he died in Gallipoli. The CWGC says of the Helles Memorial: “The Helles Memorial stands on the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula. It takes the form of an obelisk over 30 metres high that can be seen by ships passing through the Dardanelles.”

The Helles Memorial.

The Helles Memorial, Gallipoli.

 

There is no memorial in Hertfordshire for John Henry, but the “Helles Memorial for the English” gives John Henry full benefit for his sacrifice.

John Henry Tearle on Helles Memorial.

John Henry Tearle on Helles Memorial.

There is a section on John Henry Tearle in the article and booklet “A Visit to Gallipoli”.

William’s parents were John 1831, Soulbury and Harriet nee Figg. William and Edward Joseph, were brothers, so John Henry of Hatfield and Leslie James of St Albans were first cousins. Thus John Henry is also of the branch John 1741.

17Mar/15

Tearle, Charles, 1894, Preston, UK (Loyal Nth Lancs Regt)

Here is his service record from CWGC

Name: TEARLE, CHARLES Initials: C Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
Unit Text: 1st/5th Bn.
Date of Death: 30/11/1917
Service No: 36932
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 8.
Memorial: CAMBRAI MEMORIAL, LOUVERVAL

Charles was killed during the Battle of Cambrai, which started on 20 Nov 1917. When the Germans regrouped and attacked on 29 Nov, after initial Allied success, Charles was killed in the following 5 days of fierce action. Cambrai Memorial was established to commemorate those who have no grave.

Son of Charles 1860 of Preston and Jane nee Swarbrick. His mother was Sarah Tearle 1831 who had made her way up to Preston following her father and brother, hoping for a better life. She married Thomas Hoole in Preston in 1868. Sarah’s parents were Joseph 1803 of Tebworth and Mary Ann nee Smith, who died in 1849. Joseph’s parents were Richard Tearle 1778 of Stanbridge and Mary nee Pestel. And Richard’s parents were Joseph Tearle 1737 and Phoebe nee Capp.

There is a lot more written about the story of the Preston Tearles here, some of it occasioned by the discovery of the story of Charles Tearle, soldier.

PTE CHARLES TEARLE 1ST5TH BN THE LOYAL NORTH LANCASHIRES

Pte Charles Tearle 1st/5th Bn The Loyal North Lancaster Regiment.

The army record of gratuities to his family (below) show two sums sent to his father, Charles, in Preston.

Charles Tearle UK Army Effects

 

Here is the Cambrai Memorial in the grounds of the Louverval Military Cemetery.

Cambrai Memorial Louveral Military Cemetery

Cambrai Memorial Louverval Military Cemetery

Across the countryside Louveral Military Cemetery

Across the countryside Louverval Military Cemetery

The headstones in Louverval Military Cemetery mark the graves of fallen soldiers; however for those whose bodies were never found, the names are inscribed on the Cambrai Memorial.

Charles Tearle in Book of Remembrance at Cambrai Memorial in Louveral Military Cemetery

Charles Tearle in Book of Remembrance at Cambrai Memorial in Louveral Military Cemetery

Charles Tearle on the Cambrai Memorial in Louveral Military Cemetery

Here is Charles’ name on the Cambrai Memorial.

16Mar/15

Tearle, Alfred Edward, 1897, Watford, UK (1/Herts Regt)

Here is his service record from the CWGC
Name: TEARLE Initials: A E Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Hertfordshire Regiment
Unit Text: 1st Bn. Date of Death: 10/05/1916 Service No: 4605
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: III. R. 8.
Cemetery: GUARDS CEMETERY, WINDY CORNER, CUINCHY

His parents were Alfred George Tearle 1872 Watford and Minnie M nee Cyster. His grandparents were Jabez 1844 Borehamwood and Susannah nee Payne.

Jabez’ parents were George 1818 of Dagnall and Annie nee Haws, who founded an Australian family. George’s parents were Able 1797 Edlesborough and Hannah nee Frost, and of course, this Able was the son of the famous Fanny 1780, possibly the daughter of Thomas 1737 Stanbridge and Susannah nee Attwell. So that makes Alfred a member of the branch Thomas 1737.

I note from the Hertford site that the 1st Bn in 19 August 1915 was transferred to 6th Brigade, 2nd Division, and on 29 June 1916 was transferred to 118th Brigade, 39th Division. Since Alfred was killed on 10 May 1916, he was never in the 39th Division. If you look up the activities of the 2nd Division, the poor chap never stood a chance of lasting the war. It looks as though he was killed between Loos and La Bassée during the battle of Loos.

His Army record of gratuities to his family shows only that he was killed “In Action”, and that two small gratuities were sent to his sister.

Alfred Edward Tearle UK Army Effects

Alfred Edward Tearle UK Army Effects

Alfred Edward is remembered on the War Memorial in All Saints Church, Hertford.

War Memorial All Saints Hertford

War Memorial, All Saints, Hertford.

War Memorial header, All Saints Hertford.

War Memorial header, All Saints, Hertford.

WW1 memorial names EA Tearle LJ Tearle All Saints Hertford

WW1 memorial names E A Tearle L J Tearle in All Saints Church, Hertford.

The second Tearle soldier on the memorial above is Leslie James Tearle of St Albans

The gate - Guards Corner and Windy Corner Cuinchy

The gate – Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy.

The massed graves of Windy Corner Cuinchy

The massed graves of Windy Corner, Cuinchy.

Alfred Edward Tearle Windy Corner Cuinchy

Alfred Edward Tearle headstone in Windy Corner, Cuinchy.

Alfred Edward Tearle in the Book of Remembrance Windy Corner Cuinchy

Alfred Edward Tearle in the Book of Remembrance, Windy Corner, Cuinchy.