Alderbury & Whaddon Local History Research Group
Home		War Heroes This page tells the story of those who served in the two world wars. As the page is updated, older stories will move down, but will be retained to form an archive. For those who want more detail, see our book on those commemorated on the village war memorials – ALDERBURY WAR MEMORIALS: In Freedom's Cause 70th ANNIVERSARY OF DUNKIRK June 2010 is the 70th anniversary of Dunkirk Several Alderbury and Whaddon men were successfully evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk: a number of these died in later campaigns. Sadly, Lance Sergeant Frederick William Carter, 17th Field Company Royal Engineers was drowned on 1 June 1940 during the withdrawal. At the time of his death his mother, Florence, was living on Clarendon Road in Alderbury. He was born in Peterborough in 1911 and enlisted into the Royal Engineers as a boy soldier in 1927 at the age of 15. As an army apprentice tradesman he qualified as a mason at the age of 18.. He was then promoted to Sapper and in 1931 was posted to 2nd Field Company RE serving in Egypt, protecting the Suez Canal. In 1939 he returned to Britain and promoted to Corporal. On 19 September he left for France with the 17th Company RE, a mechanised unit, part of the 3rd Division of the British Expeditionary Force. He was promoted to Lance Sergeant in February 1940. At the retreat to Dunkirk his division was on the left flank of the BEF. The Royal Engineer units were involved in blowing up bridges and roads to slow the enemy advance. He is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial as " presumed to be drowned while being evacuated from Dunkirk". He was awarded the War Medal 1939 –45 and the 1939-45 Star. He is also commemorated on the Alderbury War Memorial on the Green and on the Parish Church memorial.
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			WORLD WAR I GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
			The 25th of April 2010 marks the 95th anniversary of the WW1 Gallipoli campaign. It was doomed to failure but has gone down in the annals of military history as an example of great fortitude and heroism. To this day Australia and New Zealand mark Anzac Day on 25 April in honour of the bravery of their troops who fought in this harrowing campaign – their first involvement in the First World War. An Alderbury man fought in this campaign with the Anzac troops. He was living in South Australia at the outbreak of the war and immediately responded to the recruitment drive in Australia to assist the Allied cause. His name was Edgar Mouland, one of the sons of John Mouland, the village blacksmith of the Forge near The Green in Alderbury. In his attestation papers he was described as a driver, unmarried , 5 feet 9 inches tall with black hair and blue eyes. On 1 November 1914, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps set sail from Albany in Western Australia, the largest fleet ever to cross the Indian Ocean. They were bound for England but plans were changed en route and the fleet diverted to Cairo in Egypt to take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. After unsuccessful attempts to capture and open up the Dardanelles, a vital sea-link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and closed by the Turks in support of their German allies, Britain and France embarked on a plan to take the Gallipoli Peninsula on the European side of the strait. The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force consisting of some 75,000 British, French Anzac and Indian troops, plus 300 vehicles and thousands of animals amassed on islands in the Aegean Sea and a huge fleet stood by to transport them to various secret landing sites where the troops would disembark into landing craft to take them to the beaches. On 1 April 1915 Edgar Mouland was promoted to lance corporal. In the early hours of 25 April, the Anzac troops were shipped 13 miles around the western coast to a cove at Gaba Tepe. Lance Corporal Edgar Mouland of the 12th Battalion, 3rd Infantry, 1stAustralian Division was in the vanguard and just as dawn broke his brigade reached the shallows. Carrying their bayonets and heavy packs of equipment, the men leapt into the water and made for the beach under fire from the headland above. A nasty surprise awaited them. It became apparent that the boats had brought them to the wrong location. Instead of a low sandy bank, as expected, with routes leading inland, they found themselves a mile further north at Aru Burnu under precipitous cliffs. The pathless, scrub–covered ridges above them were dominated by Chunuk Bair 250 metres high. As the troops tried to climb the cliffs under fire, men lost their bearings, became separated or fell into the rocks and crevasses below. Determined, men clutched at roots and stones to haul themselves to the top where they engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Turks. Some penetrated a mile or more inland. Edgar Mouland may have been one of these as he was last seen inland that afternoon. He was reported missing. Months later, during a Red Cross enquiry, three wounded witnesses from his company provided statements from their hospitals in Egypt and England. One stated that he had seen Edgar Mouland at about 9am on the morning of 25 April and two witnesses said that he was seen about two miles back from the beach in the afternoon. He was not seen again. More about the Gallipoli campaign and two men from Alderbury in the 5th Wiltshire’s who took part, can be read in our book "Alderbury War Memorials – In Freedom's Cause".
			MICHAEL VANDELEUR CHRISTIE-MILLER 207659 Lieutenant Coldstream Guards Died 30 July 1944 Aged 22 years
			The invasion of France in WWII was launched on 6 June 1944, a date that goes down in history as D Day. Allied forces landed in Normandy in the largest amphibious landing in history. Despite determined defence by the Germans, the Allies soon penetrated inland. The Breakout from Normandy started on 25 July and Lieut Michael Christie-Miller of Clarendon Park was killed at the Battle of Caumont during The Breakout. Born in 1922 Michael was the youngest son of Mr and Mrs SR Christie-Miller of Clarendon Park. He was educated at Eton and then worked at the Experimental Station at Porton under Sir Joseph Barcroft. During this time he formed the Clarendon section of the Home Guard. He joined the Coldstream Guards in 1941 and after training was posted to the 4th(Motor) Battalion Coldstream Guards which was equipped with Churchill tanks. On D Day, the 4th Battalion Coldstream Guards were in reserve as part of the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade. They left for France on 19 July from Southampton where the tanks had been loaded onto LCTs. They had a calm Channel crossing. and rolled off onto Juno and Gold beaches. They were then held in reserve in the vicinity of Bayeux. On Friday 28 July they advanced in preparation for battle in front of Caumont where a strong enemy force was holding up the American advance down the Cherbourg peninsular. The 6th Guards Tank Brigade that included the Coldstreams was supported by the 15th Scottish Division. Michael Christie-Miller is listed as part of the Headquarters Squadron but on the day of his death he was attached to No 3 Company as Squadron Rear Link with responsibility for communications to Battalion HQ. No 3 Squadron Coldstream tanks advanced along the Caumont to St. Martin road to attack Hill 309, and the Regimental history records: No 3 squadron ran into the enemy at the small village of La Morichesse, so the Commanding Officer decided to turn east and make straight across country to Hill309. A little later Lieut. Christie-Miller who had been travelling some distance behind and had not heard of the diversion as he was in the spare Rear-Link tank, went straight on into the village of La Morichesse, and was knocked out by a Panther at 200 yards range, he and 2 members of his crew were killed. Friends of his report that he was separated from the group because of engine trouble with his tank and it is also possible that his wireless may not have been in working order and he did not receive the message to divert. He is buried at St. Charles de Percy War Cemetery to the north of Vire in Normandy, this cemetery is the southernmost of the Normandy cemeteries and the majority of the 809 burials are of those killed in late July and early August 1944 in the major thrust to drive a wedge between the German 7th Army and Panzer Group West. He is commemorated on the Alderbury memorials. Allied forces were victorious at the Battle of Caumont and it has been described as the first and finest battle for the Guards Tank Brigade, few of whose men had seen action before. Tanks The tanks used by the Coldstream Guards were Churchill tanks, manufactured in Luton by Vauxhall and served by a crew of five. After the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, the British Army had only about 100 tanks left and a new tank was designed, developed and built in just less than 12 months. The Churchill first entered service in 1941, was well armoured, mechanically reliable and had a relative high top speed of 17mph with a range of 90 miles. It had a very good turning ability and strong suspension and chassis which enabled it to be modified for a number of specialised uses such as assaults on fortified positions, and as carpet layers and flame throwers. The Churchill was outgunned by its German counterpart but had thick protective armour. A total of 5,640 Churchill tanks, versions Mark I – VII were manufactured. The tanks used by the German Army in Normandy were Panther tanks. For the first few years of the World War II and especially for Blitzkrieg strategy, the German army had used the Panzer tanks versions I – IV. After the successful resistance to this tank by the Red Army during the Russian Campaign a new tank had to be commissioned. The Panther entered service in November 1942 and between 1942 – 5 Germany produced 4,814 Panther tanks. The tank had a 650hp engine and 75mm armour-penetrating gun. With sloped armour to deflect shot, torsion bar suspension and interleaved road wheels, it could travel at 28mph.
			Sydney Hazel J/ 31460 Ordinary Seaman Royal Navy
			Sydney Hazel lived with his parents at Ferry Cottage, Shute End, Alderbury, the place from where members of the Hazel family had operated the Alderbury to Britford ferry for more than a century. In June 1914, at the age of 16, Sydney joined the Royal Navy for a 12-year period, only a few months before the Great War began. He learned his seamanship skills on the Impregnable ,a static training ship for boys at Devonport and then aboard the Agincourt before being based at the Royal Naval Establishment, HMS Victory, at Portsmouth. He was assigned to the battle cruiser HMS Hampshire in March 1916. The ship was in the second line of support at the great naval Battle of Jutland in June 1916 but was never engaged in the action. However, only six days later , on 5 June 1916, the Hampshire set out on a secret mission. The ship left the naval base at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney islands, carrying aboard Britain's most famous war hero, the Secretary for War, Field Marshal Earl Kitchener, and his staff. Kitchener was bound for Archangel in Russia to meet the Tsar for an important Council of War. That night a force nine gale was blowing and at the last minute the route was changed to a more sheltered westerly one. Possibly due to the terrible weather, this route had not recently been swept for mines. The sea was very rough and the two escorting ships were ordered back to base. The Hampshire continued on alone. At 7.40pm, about a mile and a half off the cliffs of Marwick Head, an explosion shook the ship and smoke bellowed out from a hole in her keel. She began to sink rapidly. The ship had hit a mine laid a few days earlier by a German U-boat. Only 12 of the crew managed to survive. Clinging to life-crafts they managed to get ashore. Lord Kitchener was never seen again: it is said that he was last observed calmly standing on the fore-bridge in his greatcoat. Sydney Hazel was one of the 643 men lost that night. He was 18 years old. He is commemorated at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial and at Winchester Cathedral on the monument and in the Book of Remembrance. The wreck of HMS Hampshire is now an official war grave and lies upside down on the seabed about 65 metres below the surface.
			JACK WILLIAM SNOOK 161695 Pilot Officer Nav. 90 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died 19 November 1943. Aged 25
			Jack Snook was born in Salisbury on 2 October 1918 and, when he was eight years old he moved to Alderbury with his family. The family who lived in Firs Road consisted of his parents, William and Ada, his sister Marjorie and his brother Eric. He attended Alderbury School and later, Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar School in Salisbury. He was a very keen sportsman like his father who was a founder member of Alderbury Bowls Club. Jack had a Saturday job at Occomore’s Bakery, now the Whaddon Post Office. In February 1937 he joined the Post Office Engineering Department. which was responsible for the telephone systems in Salisbury. The following year when he was 19 years old he was accepted into the Portsmouth Police Force. In November 1940 he was promoted to the CID.. During his time in the Portsmouth Police Force he received two Commendations, one from the Salisbury Police for his assistance during a disturbance in the city and the other from the Chief Constable of Portsmouth for keen observation, zeal and initiative in connection with an arrest. On 10 April 1941, he enlisted in the RAF Volunteer Reserve and was sent to Canada. for RAF training. He met his wife at Scarborough in 1943 whilst at an Operational Training Unit for Stirling Bombers. Records show that he was awarded a Commission for the Emergency as a Pilot Officer in the General Duties branch of the RAF Volunteer Reserve on 28 September 1943. Jack Snook was attached to 90 Squadron.RAF based at Wratting Common, Cambridgeshire. He flew over 20 operations in Stirling bombers, these planes played a major part in the strategic offensive of the RAF over Germany in WWII as they could fly long distances carrying very heavy bomb loads. He was due for leave with one more mission to go HIS LAST MISSION. At 5.10pm on 18 November 1943 he took off from Wratting Common aboard Stirling Mark III EH996 WP-H destination Mannheim/Ludswigshafen in Germany. There were 395 bombers on that raid including 114 Stirling's of which 17 were from 90 Squadron at Wratting. The force attacked effectively in difficult weather but more importantly appears to have diverted many of the German night fighters away from Berlin, which was then attacked by a further force of 440 Lancaster bombers. On the return leg of the raid Jack Snook’s plane was listed as having crashed at Fussgonheim some 10km WSW of Ludswighafen. Seven of the crew of eight were killed including Jack Snook and one, Sgt E Northard, was taken POW. Two Stirling's from 90 Squadron were lost on the mission. Jack Snook was survived by his wife, and a daughter who was born after his death, he is commemorated on both Alderbury memorials. He is also commemorated on the Bishop Wordsworth School Memorial, the Portsmouth Police Roll of Honour and 90 Squadron Roll of Honour in Tuddenham St Mary’s Church, Cambridgeshire, the home of 90 Squadron. He is buried at Rheinberg War Cemetery in Germany. The majority of those buried there are airmen whose graves have been brought in from numerous German cemeteries in the area.
			William Foster GC, MC, DCM (1880-1942)
			William Foster was born at sea on 12 December 1880 and served in the Boer War.  In WW1 he served with the 4th battalion and saw action in Mons and Ypres,  At the start of WW2 he was too old to rejoin the army and served in the Home guard. He died on 13 September 1942, when he threw himself upon a live grenade (a Mills bomb) during an accident in training at Ashley Hill, thereby saving the lives of 30 other people. For this tremendously selfless act of bravery he was posthumously awarded the George Cross. The event is commemorated on a memorial tablet in the church which bears a replica of his medal. There is a medal displayed in the church (sealed, and a copy), under the memorial tablet. There is also a memorial bench on the village green. William Foster is buried in the graveyard in Alderbury, grave no. 164, marked with a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone bearing the George Cross insignia. It is in good condition, well kept and easy to find in the churchyard. William Foster's name is read out each year during the Remembrance Day Service in St Mary's Church, in recognition of him giving his life so that others may live.