Biography:
Jesse Bonham
1880 –1935
Jesse Bonham
View full burial details
Unmarked grave Jesse Bonham (1880-1935)
Jesse was born in 1880 to William and Jane Bonham in Ivinghoe.
He enlisted in the Army for a short service in the Bedfordshire Regiment in February 1901 to fight in the Boer War. At the time he was a gardener living in Ivinghoe.
Jess stated that he had been previously been rejected by the Grenadier Guards for having flat feet. He was 5’ 10” with brown hair and hazel eyes. He served in South Africa and was discharged after his year was up.
In January 25 1908 Jesse, described as a labourer of Ivinghoe, was up before the Ivinghoe Petty Sessions for being drunk and disorderly in Ivinghoe Road, Pitstone on January 13th. He was fined 10s with 7s 6d costs – which his sister-in-law paid. (Just under £30 in 2025)
He enlisted in the Army again in March 1916, but was discharged almost immediately as “Unlikely to become and efficient soldier under King’s Regulations para 392 (iii)” because he had corneal ulcers for which he was treated in hospital between April and July 1916.
On 19th October 1920 The Evening News reported a “Masked Man Outrage”. “For attacking two girls on a lonely road, Jesse Bonham (40) was at Linslade, Beds sentenced to three weeks’ hard labour. The girl said that Bonham, who was masked, jumped out of the hedge as they were walking home and forced the older girl to the roadside. Both girls screamed and, on the appearance of a cyclist, Bonham ran away. A previous conviction for a similar offence was proved.”
Jesse was again in trouble because of drink in December 1926 when he should have been in court to answer a charge of being drunk and incapable in Aylesbury High Street on December 11th. His bail of £2 was forfeited and a warrant issued for his arrest. His address was Chapel Yard, Ivinghoe and he was a labourer.
Jesse died in late 1935 aged 55. He is buried in a parish grave.
View this burial in the cemetery
Unmarked grave Jesse Bonham (1880-1935)
Jesse was born in 1880 to William and Jane Bonham in Ivinghoe.
He enlisted in the Army for a short service in the Bedfordshire Regiment in February 1901 to fight in the Boer War. At the time he was a gardener living in Ivinghoe.
Jess stated that he had been previously been rejected by the Grenadier Guards for having flat feet. He was 5’ 10” with brown hair and hazel eyes. He served in South Africa and was discharged after his year was up.
In January 25 1908 Jesse, described as a labourer of Ivinghoe, was up before the Ivinghoe Petty Sessions for being drunk and disorderly in Ivinghoe Road, Pitstone on January 13th. He was fined 10s with 7s 6d costs – which his sister-in-law paid. (Just under £30 in 2025)
He enlisted in the Army again in March 1916, but was discharged almost immediately as “Unlikely to become and efficient soldier under King’s Regulations para 392 (iii)” because he had corneal ulcers for which he was treated in hospital between April and July 1916.
On 19th October 1920 The Evening News reported a “Masked Man Outrage”. “For attacking two girls on a lonely road, Jesse Bonham (40) was at Linslade, Beds sentenced to three weeks’ hard labour. The girl said that Bonham, who was masked, jumped out of the hedge as they were walking home and forced the older girl to the roadside. Both girls screamed and, on the appearance of a cyclist, Bonham ran away. A previous conviction for a similar offence was proved.”
Jesse was again in trouble because of drink in December 1926 when he should have been in court to answer a charge of being drunk and incapable in Aylesbury High Street on December 11th. His bail of £2 was forfeited and a warrant issued for his arrest. His address was Chapel Yard, Ivinghoe and he was a labourer.
Jesse died in late 1935 aged 55. He is buried in a parish grave.
Relatives
No relatives have been linked to Jesse Bonham
Military graves