G/14397, Private, 7th East Kent Regiment.

Killed In Action on the 17^th December 1918 aged 18.

Arthur was the son of Alfred & Alice Avis of Coles Green, Benington.

On the 17^th December 1918, a month after the armistice, the Battalion were located in the village of Malicourt. Arthur was a member of a working party involved in salvage work around the village, recovering munitions. One of the members of the working party dropped a 3” German Minenwerfer which exploded and instantly killed seven men and wounded a further twenty-five. Later that day, six of these wounded men died from their injuries.  The funerals of those who died took place at 2.15pm on the 18^th December.

Arthur is buried in the Honnechy British Cemetery, France. (1. B. 4.)

Medal Entitlement: British War Medal & Victory Medal

106997, Gunner, 323rd Siege Battery. Royal Garrison Artillery.

Killed Accidentally on the 5th December 1917.

On the 5^th December 1917 the Battery were in position near the village of Maroc and were firing on German artillery positions, with the aid of air observation. Charles Bennett was manning No.3 gun which was described as “practically new”. At 10.10am the gun suffered a “premature”, which is the detonation of an artillery shell whilst still in the breach. The resulting explosion killed Charles Bennett and wounded the remainder of the crew.

Those wounded were;

29701      Corporal  Harry Eaton

163421    Gunner    William W Adam

74931      Gunner    Norman Beswick

123001    Gunner    James W Burns

323068    Gunner    James D Whyte

Charles is buried in the Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, British Extension, Pas De Calais, France. (4. G. 1.)

Medal Entitlement: British War Medal & Victory Medal

TR/135766, Private, 16th Battalion,  Kings Royal Rifle Corps.

Died on the 15^th November 1917 aged 19.

Private George Henry Cannon

George was the son of George & Mary Cannon. It is believed that he died whilst in training and did not serve overseas.

He is buried in St.Peters churchyard, Benington.

7182, Bandsman, 1st Battalion, Cameron Highlanders.

Died of Wounds on the 7th November 1914 aged 21.

The grave of Bandsman Theodore Augustus Collins in the Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France.

Theodore Collins was born in Benington, Hertfordshire, the son of William and Mary Augusta Collins. He joined the Army at a young age and trained as a Musician. As a professional soldier he was sent to Belgium at the outbreak of the Great War as part of the original British Expeditionary Force.

His Battalion arrived in France on the 14^th August 1914, just 10 days after the outbreak of the Great War. As part of the 1^st Division, Theodore would have taken part in the Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat, including the rearguard action of Etreux, The Battle of the Marne,the Battle of the Aisne, including participation in the actions on the Aisne heights and the action of Chivy, and The First Battle of Ypres.

On the 1^st November 1914 the Battalion were moved into a position between Zonnebeke Wood and Veldhoek near Ypres. Over the following week their positions were heavily shelled and the Battalion suffered a large number of casualties. On the 5th November, two shells fell into their positions and 10 men were killed and a further 10 wounded, one of which is believed to have been Theodore Collins. He was taken to a General Hospital in Boulogne where he died from the effects of his injuries.

He is buried in the Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France. (III. B. 43.)

The Benington war memorial incorrectly records him as A.T. COLLINS.

Medal Entitlement: 1914 Star, British War Medal & Victory Medal.

17725, Private, 6th Bedfordshire Regiment.

Missing In Action on the 15^th July 1916 aged 21 .

Frederick was the son of Rose Colllins of Burrs Green, Benington.

Thiepval Memorial, Somme.

He was killed in an attack on the village of Pozieres during the Battle of the Somme. The attack was headed by the 8^th East Lancashire Regiment and supported by the both the 6^th Bedfordshire's and the 11^th Warwickshire Regiment. Initially, the advance went unopposed but as the two forward battalions went over the crest of the Chalk Pitt they were held up by heavy and accurate machine gun fire. The Bedford’s were forced to dig in about 100 yards from Liniere. Later, it was found that their attack had failed and they had suffered some 244 casualties with 3 Officers and 32 O/R's killed and a further 25 O/R's Missing, including

He has no known grave and his name is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. (Pier/Face 2C.) 

Medal Entitlement: 1914/15 Star, British War Medal & Victory Medal

330769, Private, 1st Cambridgeshire Regiment.

Died Of Wounds on the 4^th July 1918

On the 4^th July 1918 the Battalion were located in Martinsart in the Somme sector. They had taken over these positions from the 6^th Queens Regiment on the 22^nd June and were involved in a minor operation to capture machine guns and prisioners. Once they went forward they came under heavy fire from both machine Guns and Trench Mortars. Eventually, after three hours they were forced to return to their positions after 1 Officer and 3 Other Ranks had been wounded. One of these was William Draper who lost his battle for life later that day.

William is buried in the Harponville Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France. (Grave E.13.) 

Medal Entitlement: British War Medal & Victory Medal

The grave of Henry Victor Fardell, shared with another soldier of the Great War.

10699, Corporal, 5th Platoon, "B" Company, 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment.

Died on the 17th August 1918.

Henry Victor Fardell was born on the 28th August 1894 in the village of Therfield. His connection with the village of Benington has not been established but it is believed that he may have worked in the area.

He arrived in France on the 30th July 1915 and served on the Western Front until he was taken prisoner at St. Quentin on the 21st March 1918, the first day of the German Spring offensive. He died from what is described as "Cardiac Weakness" whilst a Prisoner of War in Germany on the 17^th August 1918. This often arose as the result of being malnourished.

He was originally buried in the Morhange Military Cemetery, but on the 24th July 1924 his remains, and those of other servicemen buried in the cemetery, were exhumed and reburied in the Sarralbe Military Cemetery, Moselle, France (D. 23.)

Henry shares his final resting place with Private Percy Little Sallis of the 2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment who was died on the same day.

Medal Entitlement: 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.