War Graves of WWII
In Rectory Lane Cemetery there are many graves with military connections to conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries, including the fallen of the two World Wars. Behind every memorial there are moving stories of bravery and tragedy.
FHS:565
Leslie Goss
Only child of Walter and Emma Goss; died at sea in Far East whilst a prisoner of war
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FHS:580
Sapper L. T. Cartwright
A prisoner of the Japanese in WWII; died working on the notorious "Death Railway"
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FHS:x289
Christopher James Parsons (x289)
Son of Berkhamsted schoolmaster, served in WWI and Home Guard in WW2; coffee planter
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FHS:617
Thomas Harold Newns (617)
Private Pioneer Corps, 13080034
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FHS:623
Maurice Alex Bunn (623)
RAF Pilot Officer, killed in 1941 in a plane crash at RAF Ingham, Lincolnshire.
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FHS:1125
Private John Harold Bird
Private in the Home Guard, 7th Hertfordshire Battalion
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FHS:710
Tom Gordon Temple Fischer
Background of military service, served in 9th Gurkha Rifles in WWII, mentally ill final four years
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FHS:714
Edgar Raymond Tufnell
Grandson of Joseph and Hephzibah Tuffnell; Killed in action in North Africa June 1942
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FHS:716
Joseph Batchelor
Decorated WW1 motorcycle despatch rider, 2nd Signal Company Engineers, then Clerk of Works
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FHS:725
Lieutenant Robert Douglas Spendlove ("Bobbie")
Lieutenant in South Staffordshire Regiment, killed in action in Normandy during WWII
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FHS:939
Sergeant Ronald Herbert Borton (939) & (940?)
Sergeant, Army Air Corps, died in a plane crash in Hampshire
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FHS:1079
Arthur W. Greenwood
1891 - 1942 Chief Engine Room Artificer (Ch. E.R.A.), C/M 7196
Served in both world wars.
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FHS:1083
John Murray Watt
RAF Flight Lieutenant, served in WWII in Iceland
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FHS:1128
Peter Lawson Lubbock
1st Lieutenant, Royal Navy and medal-winning diver
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FHS:778
Michael Hardress O'Grady
Former Berkhamsted School pupil, teacher, soldier and civil servant.
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FHS:747
Colonel William Henry Arthur Douglas Sutton OBE
Colonel, Royal Army Medical Corps
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FHS:737
Frank Coughtrey
Son of Frank and Rosalind Coughtrey; joined RAF and died in France, 1940, in aircraft crash
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FHS:1132
Richard Street (1132)
Sergeant, RAF; one of 2 brothers who served in WWII; killed on a training exercise
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FHS:1072
Sergeant Leslie George Bert Edmonds
Trainee RAF Air Gunner, killed by a V2 rocket in London
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FHS:1136
Ronald Bernard Flint
Sergeant, killed in action North West Europe, aged 23
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FHS:1139
Peter Robert Street (1139)
Flying Officer, RAF; one of 2 brothers who served in WWII; killed on a training exercise
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FHS:1142
Leslie John Horwood (1142)
Royal Artillery Gunner in WWII, died of tuberculosis aged 23
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FHS:862
Private Reginald Alfred Allen
Served in WWII, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire regiment; apparent suicide in 1939
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FHS:
Edward James Biggerstaff d. 02/02/1940
CPO in the Royal Navy, son of Edward and Caroline Biggerstaff. Lost at sea with his submarine
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FHS:361
Ida Margaret Wimbush
RADA-trained, member of Berkhamsted Operatic & Dramatic Society & Northchurch Women’s Institute
FHS:361
Nelson Norman Wimbush
Served in France in WWI; father of actress Mary Wimbush
FHS:361
Mary Wimbush (361
Radio, TV, film and theatre actor, known for The Archers
FHS:361
Joanna Wimbush (361
Royal Navy Wren, WWII Normandy landings; worked for Council of Europe
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FHS:932
Harry Francis Furniss (932)
Craftsman, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
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FHS:934
James Grainger Hill (1921-1942)
Served in WWII, Royal Air Force
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FHS:997
Hubert Edward Cook
Bombardier in the Royal Artillery, served in WWII
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Military burials in Rectory Lane Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves in Rectory Lane Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves in Rectory Lane Cemetery
In all, there are 14 CWGC burials of the First World War and 13 of the Second World War in Rectory Lane Cemetery.
In addition there are a further 23 others buried here who served in WWI or WWII, but for various reasons did not qualify for a CWGC headstone.
The World Wars
Inns of Court OTC soldiers marching down Berkhamsted High Street, c.1914
Inns of Court OTC soldiers marching down Berkhamsted High Street, c.1914
During World War I (1914–18), 200 men and boys who were born or lived in Berkhamsted lost their lives. While many who were killed in action were interred in the large battlefield Cemeteries of Belgium and France, a number were buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery.
Some returned home and died later as a consequence of their wounds; others fell victim to the 1918 Flu Pandemic.
British artillery during the Second Boer War (1899-1902)
British artillery during the Second Boer War (1899-1902)
Many from Berkhamsted also served in World War II (1939–45) and a number lost their lives. WWII burials are mostly in the upper part of the Cemetery and include a number of RAF casualties.
Because of the age of this burial ground, we also remember those interred here who served in earlier conflicts, such as the Egyptian War (1882) or the Boer War (1899–1902).
Commonwealth War Graves
A Commonwealth War Graves headstone (Private A. Pocock, Herts Regiment, d. 1918)
A Commonwealth War Graves headstone (Private A. Pocock, Herts Regiment, d. 1918)
In Rectory Lane Cemetery there are a number of headstones of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC, formerly the Imperial War Graves Commission). These can be distinguished by their simple, white stone design. These were granted by the CWGC to military personnel who died in service — whether in combat, training accidents, air raids or from disease — during the periods around the First and Second World Wars:
- 4 August 1914 – 31 August 1921 (WWI)
- 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947 (WWII)
The Garden of Remembrance
The Garden of Remembrance War Memorial was created in 2020, as part of the Rectory Lane Cemetery restoration project. It consists of a central timber totem, inscribed ‘Lest We Forget’ and bearing the names of 49 people buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery who died as a result of injuries fighting in the First and Second World Wars. This totem is flanked by a pair of smaller totems bearing the messages ‘Rest in Peace’ and ‘Live in Peace’, an expression of remembrance of past sacrifice and hope for future generations.
The new Rectory Lane Cemetery was memorial
The new Rectory Lane Cemetery was memorial
During the Rectory Lane Cemetery restoration project, volunteer researchers looked into the stories of people buried in the Cemetery and identified 23 individuals who served in WWI or WWII, but for various reasons did not qualify for a CWGC headstone.
These names, along with the 27 names in CWGC burials, have been inscribed on the memorial plaque in the Garden of Remembrance. All the names inscribed here are buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery.
The Town War Memorial
The War Memorial outside St Peter’s Church
The War Memorial outside St Peter’s Church
The War Memorial outside St Peter’s Church on Berkhamsted High Street commemorates the names of 276 local men and boys who fell in the World Wars. Most fallen lie buried in the war cemeteries of Belgium and France, but a few are buried here in Rectory Lane Cemetery. Their names are also inscribed on a marble wall monument inside the church.
St Peter's Church War Memorial
Additionally, within St Peter’s Church there is a marble war memorial mounted on the wall of the north aisle. This monument is inscribed with the names of the fallen of two World Wars, the same names that can be read on the Town War Memorial just outside the west door.
Remember
As you pass through Rectory Lane Cemetery, take a moment to remember those who have died in conflicts. Stop for a moment in our Garden of Remembrance to contemplate or pray. Learn about the lives of the fallen using this website on your mobile phone.
The graves we have in our care are a memorial to those how have given their all, and a vital reminder for future generations about the importance of building a peaceful world.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
For the Fallen
by Laucence Binyon
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