Roll of Honour - Sussex

Ministry of Defence

Lest We Forget

The Royal British Legion

BERWICK WAR MEMORIAL

World War 1 & 2 - Roll of Honour with detailed information
Compiled and copyright © John Harrison 2007
additional information Janet Graves

Berwick is both a village and a parish about 8 miles south east of Lewes and just south of the A27 to Eastbourne. The parish church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. As befits a rural area there are only a small number of casualties, three from the First World War and one for the Second. In the early part of the war the church was damaged by bombing. As part of the restoration murals were painted by the artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, the latter with her son Quentin. They used local people as their models and one was the only local fatality of the war, Douglas Hemming. The War Memorial is situated on a small piece of raised ground near the church

1914-1918
HAMPER	Frank	Gunner 41466, 206th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery Born about 1890 in Bishopstone near Newhaven. Son of Richard and Hannah Hamper of 14, Upper Berwick, Berwick Station. The station is about a mile and a half north of the village. Living in Berwick when he enlisted in Eastbourne. Killed in action12th February 1917. Buried in Grave I H 18 in Dranoutre Military Cemetery. His mother was also one of the local shopkeepers.
SANDS	Harry	Private 78710, 1/6th Bn Durham Light Infantry Born in Theddlethorpe, near North Thorsby, Lincolnshire about 1890. Son of Edward and Frances Sands. Enlisted in Louth. Connection with Berwick not know. Killed in action 26th March 1918 during the German spring offensive. Commemorated on Panel 38 - 72 of the Pozieres Memorial. The unit was a Territorial battalion.
SMITH	Herbert Stephen	Sergeant G/4183, 9th (Service) Bn Royal Sussex Regiment Born about 1888. Husband of Ethel Alice Smith of Buckwish, Henfield. Enlisted in Steyning Died of wounds17th May 1916. Buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension (Nord). The battalion was raised in Shoreham and went to France in 1915, taking part in the battle of Loos during September and October.
1939-1945
HEMMING	Douglas George	Sergeant 555511, 23rd Hussars, Royal Armoured Corps. Killed in action near Caen 27th June 1944. Born about 1918. Age 26. Son of George Frederick and Doris Edith Hemming of Berwick. Buried in Plot XXVII Row F Grave 13 in Bayeux War Cemetery, Normandy. Painting in the Nave by Duncan Grant: To the left are kneeling figures of a soldier (Douglas Hemming, killed at Caen, 1944), a sailor, and an airman. (From St. Michael and All Angels Church Guide).
BURIAL IN THE CHURCHYARD
GATES	Charles Edward	Driver T/732533, Royal Army Service Corps. Died 23rd February 1943. Age 39. Born about 1903. Son of James and Edith Gates, and husband of Grace Helena Gates, of Hampden Park, Eastbourne, Sussex. Buried in the Churchyard of St. Michael and All Angels, Berwick, Sussex. T/732 533 DRIVER C. E. GATES ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORPS 23RD FEBRUARY, 1943 AGE 39.

Last updated 21 November, 2019

War Memorials Trust