Civilian casualties of the bombing of Sherborne on 30 September 1940

Memorial to the civilian casualties of the bombing of Sherborne on 30 September 1940.

The names of the seventeen civilian casualties of the bombing of Sherborne on 30 September 1940, together with the name of a man who died in 1946 from wounds received that day, are remembered on a memorial plaque beside the Sherborne town war memorial in Half Moon Street, Sherborne.

John Butlin (1918-1940) was born in November 1918 at Caerphilly, Glamorganshire, son of John Butlin (b.1889), an amusement caterer, and Ethel Annie Butlin (née Roberts) who were then living in a caravan at The Twyn, Caerphilly. By 1921 the family were living at the Show Ground, Portmanmoor Road, Cardiff. John Butlin junior appears to have worked with his father as an amusement caterer. John was injured at Sherborne on the 30 September 1940 and died the same day at the Yeatman Hospital, aged 21. The informant on the death certificate was his father, John Butlin of The Burrow, Seaton, Devon.

Leonard John Dawe (1923-1940) was born on 20 May 1923, son of Harold Thomas Dawe and Constance Irene Gladys Dawe (née Lugg), of 227, West End Lane, West Hampstead, London. In 1939, Leonard was living with his parents and working as an office clerk in a warehouse. On 29 September 1940, Mrs Dawe and her two sons, Leonard and Roy, left London to escape the bombing and moved to a relative’s home at 3, Clarence Villas, Coldharbour, Sherborne. Leonard Dawe died at Newland on the 30 September 1940, aged 17, outside the doctor’s surgery on the corner of Newland and North Road, although another story said he was sheltering behind a GPO pillar box with his brother Roy. The informant on the death certificate was his mother, Constance I.G. Dawe of 3, Clarence Villas, Coldharbour.  His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 5 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett and he was buried in Sherborne Cemetery. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

Alberta (or Albertina) Beatrice Gartell (1867-1940) was born on the 12 January 1867, daughter of Joseph Ridout Gartell (who had a china shop at the Abbey Gate House in Church Lane) and Matilda Gartell (née Brown), and younger sister of Louisa Charlotte Gartell (1853-1940). Alberta Gartell lived in a cottage at Lower Newland (adjoining Foster’s Infant School) where she died on the 30 September 1940, aged 73, when the cottage sustained a direct hit. Her body was later identified in the cemetery mortuary by her friend the author Monica Hutchings. Although her sister Louisa Gartell was not injured during the bombing, she died two days later on 2 October 1940 at 8, Damers Road, Dorchester, aged 87. Alberta’s funeral service was conducted at Sherborne by the Rev. May (a Methodist minister). She was buried in Sherborne Cemetery (grave space no.482). Find out more about Alberta Gartell.

Percy Henry Daniel Goulter (1897-1940) was born on the 20 August 1897 at Frome, Somerset. On 13 October 1914 he enlisted at Bristol in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, Plymouth Division, and served until 19 August 1927. The day after he left the service he enrolled in the Royal Fleet Reserve Class B serving until his discharge on 13 September 1936. Percy was married at Sherborne in 1932 to Ethel Mary Palmer (1895-1982), and their daughter Brenda was born on 25 January 1933. They were active members of Sherborne Baptist church. By 1939 the Goulters were living at 25, Lenthay Close, next door to the Warren family, Percy was then working as a printer (compositor) and also serving as a constable in the Admiralty Civil Police. He died on 30 September 1940, aged 43, at 25, Lenthay Close when the house sustained a direct hit. The informant on the death certificate was Percy’s widow, Ethel Mary Goulter of 57, South Avenue, Lenthay. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 4 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

Douglas Hunt (1935-1940) was born on the 13 March 1935, son of Walter and Edith Hunt of 37a, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1.  He is listed in the Sherborne burial register as living at 6, Whitehorse Yard, Westminster Bridge, London. In 1939, Douglas was an evacuee living with the Warren family at 26, Lenthay Close, where he died on the 30 September 1940, aged 5, alongside Robert, Ronald and Patricia Warren, when the house sustained a direct hit. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 5 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett and he was buried in Sherborne cemetery next to the Warren children, in a grave space now occupied by John Arthur Smith and Sybil Smith.

Henry (Harry) Ireland (1896-1940) was born at Sherborne on the 7 February 1896, son of John and Rhoda Ireland. A saddler, he served in the First World War with the Royal Field Artillery. In 1939, he was living at ‘Fernside’, Hound Street, with his brother Arthur and sister Olive. He was a keen sportsman and a former Captain of Sherborne Football Club. He was also a good billiards player, a member of the Antelope skittles team, and a golfer, having the unusual distinction of twice hitting a hole in one within a week at Sherborne Links Golf Course. For a number of years he had owned and conducted a saddler’s and harness-maker’s business in Half Moon Street. He was killed by falling masonry on 30 September 1940, aged 44, at his saddler’s business on the south side of Half Moon Street (between the Half Moon Hotel and what is now the Pear Tree deli) when his shop sustained a direct hit. When his body was recovered from the wreckage on the 8 October 1940 it is said he was still sitting in his chair where he had been completing a saddle for collection by Mrs Gertrude Debenham. The informant on the death certificate was his brother Arthur Ireland of ‘Fernside’, Hound Street, Sherborne. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 11 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

William (‘old George’) Charles Jeffery (1855-1940) was born on 22 February 1855 at Fareham, Hampshire. He met his wife Elizabeth Finch when they were both employed at Abbey House in Abbey Road, Sherborne, during the housemastership of Mr C.S. Whitehead, and they were married at Sherborne Methodist Church in 1891. They had five children: Sidney, Bertha, Harry George, Bessie Maud and Wavey Rose. In 1901 he was licensee of the Rose and Crown beerhouse in Long Street, Sherborne, and by 1911 he was living in Hound Street and working as an ‘Odd Man’ for a confectioner. During the First World War he served in a cavalry regiment. After returning to civilian life in 1919 he worked for many years in the stables at Harbour House in Sherborne. In 1921 he was living in Hound Street and working as a school porter at Harper House in Hound Street, Sherborne, during the housemastership of A.W. Fox, where he remained for over ten years. By 1939, he was retired and living at ‘Berrima’ in Hound Street with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Bessie. He was injured in Hound Street on the 30 September 1940 and died at the Yeatman Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday, 1 October 1940, aged 85. The informant on the death certificate was his son, S.W. Jeffery of 1, Dudley Gardens, Harrow, Middlesex. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 4 October 1940 by the Rev. May (a Methodist minister). He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

Edward David Knobbs (1936-1940) was born on the 24 May 1936, son of postman Percy James Knobbs and Ethel Knobbs (née Smith). In 1939, the family were living at 9, South Avenue. Edward and his brother Thomas (1939-1993) were both injured by shrapnel at Lenthay Close on the 30 September 1940, and Edward died at the Yeatman Hospital on the 1 October 1940, aged 4. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 5 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery (grave space no. 480).

Horace George (‘Charlie’) Legg (1898-1940) was born on the 8 January 1898, the youngest son of Albert Henry Legg and Fanny Legg (née Collins) of Lower Manor Farm, Chickerell, near Weymouth. In 1928 the Legg family moved from Manor Farm at Dewlish to Silverlake Farm near Wyke. Horace died on the 30 September 1940, aged 42, when he was fatally injured by bomb shrapnel while ploughing a field. His funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Canon Lovett in Sherborne Abbey on 4 October 1940, where employees at Silverlake Farm (G. Read, H. Way, B. Hockey, T. Marsh) acted as bearers. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery (grave space no.470).

Albert George L’Estrange Le Gallais ADC, MC (1879-1940) was born at St Brelade, Jersey, Channel Islands, on the 11 November 1879, son of Albert Le Gallais and Frances Elizabeth (née Waters) of La Moye Manor, St Brelade, Jersey. He was married on 17 December 1910 at Holy Trinity church, Kensington Gore, Middlesex, to Irene Lisa Crawshay. They lived at La Moye House, St Brelade, Jersey. He served as a Colonel in the Scots Fusiliers, but by 1940 was retired and living at Spring House, Longburton, Dorset. He died at North Road, Sherborne, on the 30 September 1940, aged 60. His body was found at the entrance to the garage  of Dr Whittingdale and Dr Mountford, who had a surgery on the corner of Newland and North Road. where it is thought he had been going to take shelter. The informant on the death certificate was his brother-in-law, L. Bucknall of Rossley Manor, Lower Dowdeswell, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Colonel Le Gallais was buried on 3 October 1940 at Longburton.

Arthur James Lintern (1878-1940) was born at Sherborne on the 22 March 1878, son of James/Jimmy Lintern, a hawker, and Elizabeth Lintern of Westbury, Sherborne. In December 1890, his father applied to the Sherborne Petty Sessions to send him to an Industrial School because he was unmanageable, they agreed and he was sent four four years to an Industrial School at Milborne Stileham, Dorset. On 26 December 1903 he was married at Yeovil Holy Trinity church to Kate Elizabeth Stainer. By 1911 Arthur and Kate were living at 9, King’s Hill Road, Swindon, where Arthur was working as a railway clerk. By 1921 Arthur was employed as a labourer at Petters Ltd. Engineering Works in Yeovil and living at 4, Bidewell/Bridewell, South Street, Sherborne. He died on 30 September 1940, aged 62, from multiple injuries received outside Mr Clephan Palmer’s house at ‘South Hill’ in Richmond Road, Sherborne, where he had been trimming the hedge and refused to go into the house when the air raid siren sounded. The informant on the death certificate was his son, A.H. Lintern of Lower Newland, Sherborne. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 4 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

Elizabeth Annie Marden SRN (1865-1940) was born in Manchester on the 14 May 1865, daughter of William and Elizabeth Davies of Ardwick, Manchester. She went to school at Bowdon in Cheshire and trained as a nurse for three years (February 1888-June 1891) at the Royal Hospital Salford, Manchester, followed by maternity training at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. In October 1894 Elizabeth was employed as a nurse at Manchester, this was followed by appointments in 1895 at Swanage, Dorset, and in 1896 at Alfreton, Derbyshire. In July 1897 Elizabeth was appointed town nurse at Sherborne, but she resigned her post in March 1899 when her health ‘necessitated rest’. On 6 July 1904, she was married by licence in Sherborne Abbey to 47-year-old baker William Marden (1857-1921). Their daughter Gladys Mary Marden was born the following year on 23 July 1905. After the death of her husband on 24 November 1921, Elizabeth and Gladys took over the running of the family bakery business in Upper Newland. Elizabeth died at the bakery in Upper Newland when it sustained a direct hit on the 30 September 1940, she was 75. The informant on the death certificate was her daughter, Gladys Marden of Aldouran Kennels, Nether Compton. Her funeral service was conducted by Rev. Canon Lovett at Sherborne Cemetery on the 4 October 1940, with no flowers by request. She was buried in Sherborne Cemetery. Gladys Marden never married and died on 23 October 1999, aged 94. Find out more about Elizabeth Marden.

William Samuel Morgan (1883-1940) was born on the 25 September 1883 at Goar Knap, Yeovil, Somerset, son of George Parker Morgan (1857-1896) and Sarah Jane Prentice (1862-1937). In 1911 he was working at the Hunt Stables, Charlton Horethorne, Somerset. He was married at Sherborne on 12 September 1915 to Dorothy May Thorne, daughter of Frederick Thorne, and they lived at 73, Bristol Road, Sherborne. William was a member of the Sherborne British Legion, having served in the RASC in the First World War. In 1939 he was described as a painter and decorator working for Sherborne Council. He died on the 30 September 1940, aged 57, at 26 Lenthay Close, the home of the Warren family, when the house sustained a direct hit. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 4 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett and he was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

Barry Alfred Trask (1934-1940) was born on the 6 December 1934, son of Cyril Frederick Trask and Palmyra Trask (née Stacey) of 1, South Avenue, Lenthay, Sherborne. He died on 30 September 1940, aged 5, while visiting the Styles family at 3, South Avenue, Sherborne. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 5 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. He was buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

Patricia (Patsy) Ann Warren (1938-1940) was born on the 17 June 1938, daughter of Stoker George Warren (1904-1983), RN, and Annie Warren (née Smale) (1909-2004), of 26 Lenthay Close, Sherborne. Patsy died with her two brothers on 30 September 1940, aged 2, at 26 Lenthay Close when the house received a direct hit. Her funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 5 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. She is buried with her siblings and parents in a family grave in Sherborne Cemetery.

Robert (Bobby) George Warren (1929-1940) was born at the Yeatman Hospital on the 4 October 1929, son of Stoker George Warren (1904-1983), RN, and Annie Warren (née Smale) (1909-2004), of 26 Lenthay Close.  Bobby died with his brother and sister on 30 September 1940, aged 10, at 26 Lenthay Close when the house received a direct hit. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 5 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. He is buried with his siblings and parents in a family grave in Sherborne Cemetery.

Ronald (Ronnie) Keith Warren (1935-1940) was born on the 2 January 1935, son of Stoker George Warren (1904-1983), RN, and Annie Warren (née Smale) (1909-2004), of 26 Lenthay Close. Ronnie died with his brother and sister on 30 September 1940, aged 5, at 26 Lenthay Close when the house received a direct hit. His funeral was conducted at Sherborne on 5 October 1940 by the Rev. Canon Lovett. He is buried with his siblings and parents in a family grave in Sherborne Cemetery.

A combined funeral service was held on Saturday, 5 October 1940, for the six children who died in the bombing (Douglas Hunt, Edward Knobbs, Barry Trask, Patsy Warren, Bobby Warren, Ronnie Warren), who were buried together in adjoining graves in Sherborne Cemetery. The whole of the service took place by the gravesides where, in addition to the children’s parents, relatives and friends, there was present the Chairman of Sherborne UDC, teachers from the children’s schools, the chief billeting officer, and air raid wardens for the districts in which the children lived.

The memorial also includes the name of:

Albert Henry Reason (1890-1946) was born on the 4 October 1890 at Hartburn, Northumberland, son of Henry James Reason and Martha Reason. By 1911 he was living at Stratton, Godstone, Surrey, where he was butler to the Lawrence family, and on 1 September 1913 he married Gertrude Annie Frankham (1886-1979). During the First World War Albert served in France with the RFA. He lived for many years at Woolston, North Cadbury, Somerset, where he was chauffeur to Colonel Anderson Lindsay Kelly (1858-1920) of Woolston House, and later moved to Sherborne as chauffeur to Colonel Kelly’s widow, Mrs Elise Nevins Kelly of Hill View House. After Mrs Kelly’s death in 1927 he went into business as a private hire car driver. By 1939 he was living in Lower Newland (next-door to Alberta Gartell). Albert was seriously injured on the 30 September 1940 when his home in Lower Newland sustained a direct hit. He never fully recovered from his injuries and died at ‘Ellington’ in Long Street on 4 April 1946, aged 55. The cause of death given on his death certificate was myocardial degeneration and chronic bronchitis. His funeral was held at Sherborne on the 8 April 1946.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

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