A Tribute to the Men of Montacute who fell in the Two...

Eighteen men are named on the war memorial in St Catherine's Church, Montacute: thirteen from the First World War and five from the Second.

The summary on this page comes from the remarkable work of the late John Powlesland, who compiled A Tribute to the Men of Montacute who fell in the Two World Wars in 2004, to mark the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War and the 60th anniversary of D-Day. It was a monumental undertaking. With most First World War service records lost to bombing in the Second World War, he pieced together each man's story from Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, regimental histories and other accounts of the period, tracing where they served, how they are believed to have died and where they now lie. The result is a detailed tribute that gives each of these men back his own story, and it is a privilege to be able to share it here.

With grateful thanks to John, whose dedication ensures the men of Montacute are remembered, and to his son for kindly allowing his father's work to be shared here.

The booklet was passed down through the village by RF to NR when he took over as Montacute’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal Organiser. NR kindly converted the paper copy to PDF so that it could be shared more widely.

Please consider buying a poppy in support of the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, helping the Armed Forces community today.

First World War, 1914–1918

Name	Unit	Died	Age	Buried or commemorated
Private Henry Maurice Rogers	5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment	16 August 1915	19	Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey
Private James Charles Shoemark	Wellington Regiment, New Zealand Expeditionary Force	8 August 1915	33	Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey
Private Reginald Albert Blake	7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry	16 September 1916	20	Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
Private Thomas William Every	6th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry	18 August 1916	–	Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
Private Frederick Every	9th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry	4 June 1917	29	Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension, France
Corporal Charles Clark	6th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry	23 March 1918	–	Noyon New British Cemetery, France
Lance Bombardier George Lowman	'D' Battery, 20th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery	3 October 1918	23	Sarigol Military Cemetery, Kriston, Greece
Private Ernest Sydney Thomas Lowman	4th (Reserve) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry	25 February 1917	19	Bournemouth East Cemetery, England
Private Edgar G. Male	Royal Marine Light Infantry, Royal Marine Depot, Deal	27 January 1917	19	Deal Cemetery, Kent, England
Private Frank Parsons	2nd/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment	22 November 1917	–	Jerusalem War Cemetery
Private Cyril Andrews	7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry	30 November 1917	–	Cambrai Memorial, Louverval, France
Private Richard James Forte	1st Battalion, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Royal Naval Division	26 October 1917	39	Tyne Cot Memorial, Zonnebeke, Belgium
Private Harold Estcourt Morris	3rd Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)	19 September 1917	27	New Irish Farm Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium

Second World War, 1939–1945

Name	Unit	Died	Age	Buried or commemorated
Able Seaman Edward Howard Inglett	HMS Jaguar, Royal Navy	26 March 1942	20	Plymouth Naval Memorial, England
Private Reginald John Wilton	7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry	9 August 1944	25	St Manvieu War Cemetery, Cheux, Normandy, France
Private Patrick Henry Fall	4th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment	13 April 1944	24	Rangoon Memorial, Myanmar (Burma)
Gunner Bertie Drayton	72nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery	Between 30 May and 4 June 1942	35	Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma, Libya
Trooper Edwin George Northam	48th Royal Tank Regiment	7 September 1945	28	Ancona War Cemetery, Italy

Names are listed in the order they appear on the memorial. A dash means no age is given in the booklet. Some names appear slightly differently in official records (for example Clarke for Clark, and Maurice Henry Rogers); the booklet explains each case.

Spotted an error?

If you notice anything that should be corrected, please get in touch. John Powlesland made the same request when he wrote the booklet, and any new information will help keep these men's stories alive.

Lest we forget