1914 - 1918 · 1939 - 1945
To those who fell in the Great War
The stories of 26 men of Manston, told in the order in which they died.
The unveiling of the memorial, 24 May 1921
The memorial
On a Tuesday afternoon in May 1921, a large crowd gathered where the roads meet in Manston. Wing Commander W. H. Primrose DFC, of the air station at Manston, released the Union flag covering the new cross, and the Rector, Canon T. G. Crosse, who had himself lost two sons in the war, dedicated it.
The band of the RAF at Manston played, and the Last Post and Reveille were sounded. Wing Commander Primrose asked the villagers to salute the dead whenever they passed the memorial.
The cross was built by A. D. Sackett of Ramsgate and paid for by a village fund. Its stone base carries the names of seventeen men who died in the First World War, and four more were added after the Second. In 2015 it was listed at Grade II by Historic England.
The men
From the Battle of Loos in 1915 to the summer of 1945. Open any card to read his story.
Frederick
Private GS/103868th Reserve Cavalry Regiment
Died 7 September 1915
Curragh Military Cemetery, Co. Kildare, Ireland 1218
Frederick was a married man and lived with his wife in married quarters at Manston.
He died while serving with the 8th Reserve Cavalry Regiment in Ireland and is buried in the Curragh Military Cemetery, County Kildare.
Charles
Private C/33348th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 26 September 1915
Loos Memorial, Panel 19
Charles may have lived on the Leys in Manston.
He was killed on 26 September 1915, the second day of the Battle of Loos, when the 8th Buffs were thrown into the attack. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Loos Memorial.
Edwin
Private G/46A Company, 6th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 13 October 1915aged 19
Loos Memorial, Panel 16
Edwin was born in Manston in 1896.
He was posted missing at the Battle of Loos on 13 October 1915, aged about 19. He is remembered on the Manston and St Lawrence memorials, and on the Loos Memorial in France.
Frederick
Leading StokerH.M.S. Hampshire, Royal Navy
Died 5 June 1916aged 24
Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 16
Frederick was born on 2 April 1892.
He was lost when H.M.S. Hampshire struck a mine off Orkney on 5 June 1916 while carrying Lord Kitchener to Russia. Harry Maxted, also of Manston, died in the same sinking.
Harry
Stoker 1st Class K/18376H.M.S. Hampshire, Royal Navy
Died 5 June 1916aged 21
Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, Orkney F.91A
Harry was born on 31 December 1894, the son of Mary Ann Maxted of St Peter's.
He died when H.M.S. Hampshire was sunk off Orkney on 5 June 1916, alongside Frederick Bean. Harry was recovered and is buried at Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery on the island of Hoy.
CWGC record
Charles W. J.
Private 4650438th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
Died 10 July 1916aged 22
Heilly Station Cemetery, Méricourt-l'Abbé
Charles was born in Rochester in 1894.
Serving with a field ambulance on the Somme, he died of typhoid in July 1916, aged 22. He is remembered on the Manston memorial.
Reginald A. L.
Private S/138331st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
Died 19 July 1916aged 21
Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme I.E.35
Reginald was born in Manston in 1895.
He was only 21 when he died during the Battle of the Somme. He is buried at Corbie, where many of the wounded from the Somme were cared for.
Arthur T.
Sergeant G/212A Company, 6th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 7 October 1916aged 20
Bancourt British Cemetery, Pas de Calais VIII.A.7
Arthur was the son of Charles and Emma Culmer of Lydden, near Margate.
Already a sergeant at just 20, he was killed on the Somme on 7 October 1916, the same day as William Lott of his battalion.
CWGC record
William
Lance Corporal G/97276th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 7 October 1916aged 29
Thiepval Memorial, Pier and Face 5D
William was born in Sholden, Kent, in 1887.
He was killed on the Somme on 7 October 1916, aged 29. He is not named on the Manston memorial, but he is remembered at St Leonard's Church in Deal and on the Thiepval Memorial.
William
Private 95777th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 18 November 1916
Regina Trench Cemetery, Grandcourt IX.G.9
William and his younger brother Ernest grew up at the Jolly Farmer pub in Manston, where their mother still lived.
William was killed on 18 November 1916, in the last days of the Battle of the Somme.
CWGC record
Ernest J.
Private 756059 Company, 'C' Battalion, Machine Gun Corps
Died 20 April 1917aged 20
Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras IV.B.6
Ernest was born in Margate in 1897, the brother of William Lodge.
He died near Arras on 20 April 1917, five months after his brother. He is remembered on the Manston and St Lawrence memorials.
George S.
Private 4777925th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers
Died 26 April 1917
Athies Communal Cemetery Extension, Pas de Calais F.4
George was born in Dover around 1886.
He died during the Battle of Arras and is remembered on the Manston and St Lawrence memorials.
George P.
Lance Corporal G/25006th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 4 July 1917aged 24
Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel, Germany II.A.14
George was born in St Nicholas in 1893.
He was taken prisoner and died in captivity in Germany on 4 July 1917, aged 24.
Albert R.
Private G/3553112th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
Died 27 September 1917aged 32
Hooge Crater Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium X.G.8
Albert was born in Maidstone in 1885.
He was killed near Ypres on 27 September 1917, aged 32, during the Third Battle of Ypres.
William T.
Private G/238716th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 12 October 1917aged 19
Tyne Cot Memorial, Panel 17
William was born in Canterbury in 1898.
He was killed at Passchendaele on 12 October 1917, aged just 19. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Manston and St Lawrence memorials and on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Frank
Private 52037th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 21 March 1918aged 38
Pozières Memorial, Panel 16
Frank was born in Maidstone in 1880 and lived at Haine.
He was killed on 21 March 1918, the first day of the great German Spring Offensive, aged 38. His photograph is the only one we have of the men remembered here.
Herbert
Private G/22387C Company, 7th Battalion, The Buffs
Died 23 March 1918aged 21
Pozières Memorial, Panel 16
Herbert lived at Nash Court Farm.
He was killed two days after Frank Smith, in the same battalion and the same German offensive, and the two men are remembered on the same panel at Pozières.
Edward J.
Private 51988Machine Gun Corps (Cavalry)
Died 1 June 1918aged 28
All Saints Churchyard, Stourmouth West 2.8
Edward was born in Stourmouth in 1889.
He died on 1 June 1918, aged 28, and is buried at home in All Saints Churchyard, Stourmouth.
William J.
Lance Corporal 253974Royal Engineers (Signals), attached 93rd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Died 9 October 1918aged 25
Mont Huon Military Cemetery, Le Tréport VIII.H.11A
William was born in 1893 and lived in Chilton, Ramsgate, the son of Alfred and Charlotte Howland.
He died of wounds on 9 October 1918, just a month before the Armistice, aged 25.
Ernest
Private 781212nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London)
Died 20 October 1918
Harlebeke New British Cemetery, Belgium IX.B.6
Ernest was born in Monkton and lived at Flete Farm, Manston.
He died on 20 October 1918 as the British advanced through Belgium in the final weeks of the war.
Harry E.
Private G/2292712th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
Died 26 October 1918aged 33
Heestert Military Cemetery, Zwevegem, Belgium A.4
Harry was born in Faversham in 1885.
He was killed on 26 October 1918, aged 33, only sixteen days before the Armistice.
Victor T.
Private 62889062nd Battalion, The Buffs
Died May 1940 - January 1941
Communal cemetery near Hazebrouck, France 17
Victor was the son of George and Jessie Church of Ramsgate.
Not much is known about him. The war graves records say only that he died sometime between 10 May 1940 and 24 January 1941, during or after the fighting in France.
CWGC record
Ernest
Air Raid WardenCivil Defence
Died 24 August 1940aged 52
Ramsgate Cemetery
Ernest was born in Chilton in 1888. He was married and lived in Salisbury Avenue, Ramsgate.
He was killed on duty at the gas works in Boundary Road during the heavy air raid on Ramsgate and Manston of 24 August 1940, aged 52.
CWGC record
Reginald A.
Corporal S/1604448Royal Army Service Corps
Died 20 June 1942aged 27
Tobruk War Cemetery, Libya 2.F.23
Reginald was born in 1915.
He died at Tobruk on 20 June 1942, aged 27, as Rommel's forces overran the town's defences.
Edward
Driver T/161842Royal Army Service Corps, 331 Armoured Brigade Company
Died 14 December 1944aged 32
Phaleron War Cemetery, Athens 17.D.5
Edward was born in 1912 and was married to Florence.
He was serving in Greece during the civil unrest that followed its liberation and died in Athens on 14 December 1944, aged 32.
CWGC record
William F.
Leading Aircraftman 518544Royal Air Force
Died 20 July 1945
St Lawrence Cemetery, Ramsgate Section B, Grave 349
William was born in 1916 and later lived in Manston with his wife, Pearl.
He died on 20 July 1945, after the war in Europe had ended, and is buried close to home in Ramsgate.
Teddy Howland is named on the memorial among those who fell in 1939 - 1945, but his story has not yet been found. If you know anything about him, or have photographs or memories of any of these men, we would love to hear from you.
Not on the stone
Not every Manston man was inscribed on the memorial. Some families preferred not to add a name, or could not afford to. Some never received the invitation, or could not read it. Local feeling played its part too, and some names were simply missed.
Frederick Bullen, William Lott, Edward Griggs, Harry Sampson and William Cobbett are not named on the cross. They are remembered here alongside those who are.
The Roll of Honour
Manston's Roll of Honour lists thirty young men of the village who answered the call “For King and Country”. It hung in the Methodist church in the High Street until the church closed in 2006, and it now hangs in St Catherine's Church, Manston.
At least twelve men named on the memorial are not on the roll, so the two together tell a fuller story of the village at war.
To those who fell in the Great War
1939 - 1945
The memorial stands on the green where Manston Road meets Preston Road, in the heart of the village.
A folder with more information on the men remembered here is kept in St Catherine's Church, Manston.
If you have photographs, letters or family memories of any of these men, please share them so their stories can be added here.