28th61st

Calton Fallen Staffordshire

Extended Description
This memorial is oposite the church and is on the wall of the Old School

CALTON WAR MEMORIAL
STAFFORDSHIRE

In the village of Calton, there is a memorial roll on the outside walls of the village hall which lists the 28 men who took part in WWI including the 9 men who died. Within the hall there is also a large photograph frame containing individual photo of each one of the 28 men. (Thanks David Swinscoe)

Compiled with additional information by kind permission of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

THE CROSS IS AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH, THE MEMORIAL IS OPPOSITE THE CHURCH ON THE WALL OF THE OLD SCHOOL, NOW THE VILLAGE HALL

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

1914-1918
BARKER W Unable to find the correct one
BRADDOCK James Private 3447, 1/4th Northumberland Fusiliers died 15/09/1916. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.
BRADDOCK Alfred Pte 2120, 19th Australian Infantry (AIF) died 8/8/1916 age 26. Son of Alfred and Ellen of Pales Farm, Calton. Buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France VIII.B.127
DITCHFIELD Frank Pte 21409, 7 The Loyal North Lancashire Regt died 5/7/1916. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme
PAYTON Clement Wattson Lt, 210 Sqdn, Royal Air Force. died 2/10/1918 age 21. Son of Rev Joseph Wattson Payton and Elizabeth Croydon Patyon of Westfield Bridge Road, Torquay. Native of Walsall. Holder of the D.F.C and Croix de Guerre (Belgium) and brother of Frederick who also fell. Buried in Harlebeke New British Cemetery, Belgium. II.B.6
PAYTON Frederick Thomas Croydon Cpl 6617 5th Royal Engineers, Sprcial Bde. Died 1/7/1916 age 20. Son of The Rev Joseph Wattson Payton and Elizabeth Croydon Payton of Westfield Bridge Road, Torquay. Native of Walsall. Buried in Carnoy Military Cemetery, Somme. G.30 Brother of Charles who also fell
PRIME Ernest L/Cpl 16990 2nd Lincolnshire Regt died 26/9/1915. Buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension Nord, France. II.A.23
SMITH Frederick Volume of F Smith to high to search on the CWGC
TWIGG John Ernest Pte 10661, B Coy, 1st Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regt) died 13/3/1915 age 26. Son of George & Mary Ann Twigg of Pitchings Farm, Waterfall nr Calton. Commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial, France
1939-1945
AUSTIN Eric William Sgt 1577655, 355 Sqdn, Royal Air Force died 21/6/1944 age 21. Nephew of William George and Beatrice French of Shelton Lock, Derby. Commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, Singapore
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Alf
I received an email from a very helpful chap called David who has provided me with this information regarding W.Barker. David has written a book called 'Calton is my dwelling place' and contains similar accounts of all the men here.

Wilfred Barker joined the Army as a private (17545) in 7th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment. He was killed in action at Kut, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Sunday, 23rd April, 1916. British forces fought the Turks in Mesopotamia, primarily to protect British oil interests. As they advanced northwards towards Baghdad they were cut off and besieged at the town of Kut. After more than four months, the British surrendered to the Turkish forces in April, 1916. Private Barkers body was lost, or never identified, and he is commemorated on the Basra Memorial to the Missing, Iraq. His name is also commemorated on the War Memorial, and in the Memorial Photograph in the Village Hall, at Calton.

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Ernest Prime
At the beginning of the Great War, Ernest Prime joined the army and enlisted in the North Staffords and trained at Whittington Barracks before transferring to the Lincolnshire Regiment. Ernests wife was Annie Birch of Warslow who died in 1913 before his death in the War. They had three children and one of his granddaughters now lives in Ashbourne. The 2nd Lincolnshires were one of the battalions involved in the attack on the mining village of Loos, France on 25 September. The British used poison gas here for the first time. The troops gained some ground but suffered dreadful casualties around 60,000 men. Lance Corporal (16990) Ernest Prime is believed to have been wounded during the attack on the 25th. He died of wounds on Sunday, 26 September, 1915 aged 29 and is buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery, about 25 miles north of Loos there was a large hospital centre there.

As a member of The Waterfall Friendly Society, his executors were paid the 8 funeral allowance. His mother, Harriet Prime, was recorded as eligible to vote in the 1918 elections but she died in April 1919.Another son, Arthur Prime joined the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1917. Horses were used to pull the artillery and, like other men from the village who joined the regiment, Arthurs knowledge of horses would be of great value.

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It is good to see that people are finding this site and adding to the things that we have put on and would not be privy to. Seems people are using it for research now, which is great news. The more the merrier! Keep up the good work mate. Alf
 
Alf I have said before and say it again the site is only as good as the people that contribute. Agreed though it is great news and some of the tech changes seem to be proving fruitful. We will see..
 
Cpl Frederick Thomas Croydon Payton Somme July 1916

Frederick Thomas Croydon Payton was born at Walsall in 1896 with his parents, moved to Calton where he went to Calton School. With many others he volunteered to join the Army and became Corporal (06617) Frederick Thomas Croydon Payton 5th Battalion, (Special Brigade) Royal Engineers. He was killed on Saturday, 1st July, 1916, on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. This was the blackest day in the history of the British Army - there were 60,000 casualties that day, 20,000 of them fatalities, mostly in the first hour.

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Lt Clement Wattson Payton RAF Distinguished Flying Cross, Belgian Croix de Guerre died 2 October 1918

Clement Wattson Payton, was born in Walsall in 1897 and was admitted to Calton School in August 1902 at the time when the family first arrived in the village. He joined the RNAS in 1917 and joined the newly formed Royal Air Force in April, 1918 which by then operated over 4,000 combat aircraft. Lieutenant Payton, 210 Squadron, Royal Air Force, was posted to France and, between May and October 1918, he claimed or shared victories of eleven German aircraft. He died on Wednesday, 2nd October, 1918, six weeks before the end of the war.
He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, France, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. He is buried at Harlebeke New British Cemetery, some 24 miles east of Ypres. Not only his family but the whole village of Calton mourned the loss of Lieutenant Payton.
 
Frederick Smith enlisted just after the outbreak of World War I, joining the army as a Private in the 12th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He was posted to France and on Thursday, 10 August, 1916, aged 22, he was taking part in a big offensive as part of the machine gun section. It has not been possible to determine the exact stage of the battle and actions of the battalion at the time but Frederick was wounded and subsequently died. His Commanding Officer wrote to his parents: The machine gun officer was with him at the time. Both machine gun officer and myself cannot speak too highly of the lad, he was a great favourite of all who knew him. Private Smith is buried at Dive Copse Cemetery, a few miles south of Albert and almost on the banks of the River Somme. After the news of Fredericks death reached the village, a memorial service was held in the church on 11 September and the children from the school, where he had been a scholar, were given half a day off in order to attend the service.

Field House Farm
Mr Herbert Smith took the tenancy around 1895 and remained at the farm for twenty years. his son Frederick who was a member of the choir at Calton Church and also attended Calton School. He was a very diligent pupil and in 1904 he was awarded the prize as the best pupil of the year.
 
Frederick Ditchfield
Royal Garrison Artillery
21 March 1918

During World War I, Gunner (85911) Frederick Ditchfield served with the 116th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. He is described as a reserved sort of man and extremely popular with his fellow soldiers. He was killed in action on Thursday, 21 March, 1918. This was the day when the Germans launched an all-out offensive on the Western Front. They had extra troops available since the collapse of the Russian Front and were intent on finishing the war before the Americans could build up enough strength to tip the balance. Helped by a heavy mist on the morning of the attack, crack German troops infiltrated the British lines unseen, killing and capturing thousands of soldiers. The main thrust of the offensive was on the old Somme battlefields. The British were pushed back almost to the gates of Paris but, by mid-June, the Germans had ran out of steam and the offensive faltered. Counter-attacks by the Allies pushed the enemy back and eventually forced the Armistice on November 11th. Gunner Fred Ditchfield is buried at Ypres Reservoir Cemetery along with 2,612 servicemen of the Great War.

His brother John Thomas joined the army almost as soon as the war broke out and served throughout the war with the North Staffordshire Regiment as a private. Brother Arthur joined the army and served in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War, returning to England in late 1918.
 

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WW1 & 2 WAR MEMORIALS
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