Tansor
is a picture postcard village made entirely from distinctive Northamptonshire
stone and is located a mile north of the A605 Peterborough road,
just north of Oundle.
The
War Memorial is located just inside the church grounds, which
is easily found. The inscription on the memorial reads:
“To
the glorious memory of those men of Tansor who gave their lives
for their country 1914-1918.
Their
name liveth for evermore.
That
having all things done,
Your
conflicts past,
Ye
may obtain through Christ alone
A
crown of joy at last.
Their
reward is with the Lord and the care of them is with the most
high”
The
1901 Census shows 50 families living in the village at the time
and seven of them lost sons during the war. All the village’s
casualties fell within a fourteen month period during 1916 and
1917. April 1917 must have been the low point for the village
as two were killed on the same day (the 1st) with another two
falling before the month ended.
Private
40720 Harry BAXTER
2nd
Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Harry
was born in Tansor around 1880, and in 1901 lived with his parents
– John and Sarah – in Village
Street, Tansor along with five of his
siblings, the others having already left home.
He
was married to Ada and lived at
3 Richard Street
in Dunstable at the time he enlisted into the army (at Luton)
and was initially posted as Private 72622 of the Middlesex Regiment.
Harry
was transferred to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers at some stage
where he was killed in action on the 1st April 1917,
aged 37. The British army were pursuing the retiring German army
as they reformed behind the Hindenburg Line and a series of battles
resulted, during which Harry lost his life. Interestingly, Harry’s
friend and neighbour Francis Edwards (see below) was also killed
during the battle on the same day.
Harry
is buried in grave I.D.29 at the Savy British cemetery, near St.
Quentin
The
32nd Division in which Harry fought that day took Savy
on the 1st April after hard fighting, with the wood
falling the following day. 16 of Harry’s comrades who fell
with him are buried alongside him, having been moved from the
original Inniskillings
Cemetery
at Dallon after the war.
Private
43084 Albert Ernest CLIFTON
1st
Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment.
Albert
was born in Tansor in 1895. By the time he enlisted into the army
he lived in Ramsey in Huntingdonshire and enlisted from Huntingdon,
becoming Private 1303 in the Hunts Cyclists Battalion. Albert
was transferred into the Bedfordshire Regiment in Spring of 1916,
probably having been wounded whilst in the Cyclists the previous
year.
Private
Albert Clifton died of wounds on the 5th September
1916, aged 21. Albert died after being wounded during the Battalion’s
assault against Falfemont Farm and Leuze Wood near Guillemont
during the Somme offensives of
1916. The Battalion went in with 610 men and came out with around
300, having taken the heavily fortified positions for which the
Corps Commander congratulated them so enthusiastically afterwards.
He
was the son of Frederick and Rebecca
Clifton
of Toll House Farm, Ramsey, Hunts. Albert is buried in grave III.H.2.
at the Guillemont
Road cemetery in Guillemont and is
remembered on the Tansor Memorial.
Private
202509 Francis George EDWARDS
2/4th
Battalion the Princess Charlotte of Wales
(Royal Berkshire) Regiment
Francis
was born in Tansor around 1897 and by 1901 lived in Village
Street, a few doors up from Harry Baxter
(see above). His parents were George and Lucy Edwards and he lived
with 3 sisters and 1 brother as well as 2 boarders at the time
of the census.
At
the time he enlisted into the Territorial 4th Battalion
of the Northamptonshire Regiment he was a resident of Oundle in
Northamptonshire who enlisted at Northampton.
Having survived the horrors of Gallipoli, Francis was returned
to England
with a wound or, more likely an illness. After convalescence,
he was transferred to the Berkshires and sent to France.
Francis
had not been on the Western Front for long when he was killed
in action on the 1st April 1917 during the series of
battles which saw the British Army pursuing the retiring German
army as they reformed behind the Hindenburg Line. Francis fell
the same day as his friend and neighbour Harry Baxter (see above).
His
body was recovered and he lies in Civilian section 4 at the Vermand
cemetery, near St. Quentin on the Aisne.
Private
G/56402 Francis Harold PRESTON
Harold
Francis Preston was born around 1878 in Tansor (although recorded
as Ashton on the CWGC records), and appears to have been known
as Francis Harold. In 1901 he lived with his elderly parents –
Josiah and Catherine – as well as his older sister and brother.
He was a Journeyman Carpenter and Joiner and lived 4 doors away
from Willie Rowlett (see below). By the time war broke out, Francis
was married to Mary Jane Preston (from Ashton in Northamptonshire)
and lived in Arundel, where he enlisted into the army.
Sadly,
he died whilst still in England
on the 17th April 1917 whilst still at the Royal Fusilier
depot, aged 38.
He
is buried in the north-west corner of the Tansor churchyard, although
I could not find the grave when I visited the churchyard.
Private
146024 John Appleby Bumper ROBSON
1st/1st
Northamptonshire Yeomanry
John
was born in Tansor (although SDGW records Oundle) on the 27th
July 1897 at Tansor Wold Farm (also called “The Wold”).
His parents were William and Elizabeth Robson, who were the farmer
owners and John lived in Tansor, Oundle when he travelled to Peterborough
to enlist into the army. His parents kept horses amongst other
things, which led to John enlisting into the local Yeomanry Battalion.
He
was wounded at the Battle of Arras on the 11th April
1917 and died at the 8th CCS, Etrun on the 13th
April 1917, aged just 19 (although his age is recorded as 18 on
CWGC.)
He
is buried in grave III.G.7 at the Duisans
Cemetery, Etrun in France.
John is remembered on his younger brother’s grave in the
Tansor churchyard, who died aged just 18.
