Roll of Honour &
War Graves in the Church Yard

The roll of honour on the church wall led to discussion as to who should be included in such a list. Those at the meeting felt that

“the qualification was on the side of inclusion”.

This is why the dates are 1914-1919; as the meeting recorded that

“a short explanation of the words might be Remember in heart, mind, prayer, the men without distinction, who on the battlefield or in hospital died for what England fought for and stood…. One of the men died in 1919.”

Parish Magazine, January 1921. The short title above the names was to be “Remember these men who died for England 1914-1919” with the names written in the same style as that created at Hascombe church by covering a whole wall with a design. There were to be 42 names included in the list.

After World War II the parish took the decision to add the names of those who had died between 1939-1945 on the same wall. At the same time a book of remembrance was opened. Each page was to be dedicated to an individual on the Roll of Honour preserving their service record, life-story, address and interests. The book started with those who died in World War I. The details from the book are used today for school history lessons and the names of those to be honoured from both wars are read out at each Remembrance Day service.

We are grateful to Michael Allbrook for his work on war memorials in Surrey. The names of all those who are on the Busbridge church roll of honour can be found here.

Roll of Honour and War Graves

There is 1 war grave from World War II in the churchyard:

2nd Lt. Jocelyn Glanvill Hayes. Service No: 115921. Royal Army Service Corps Died 13-7-1940

In 2014 the War Graves Commission contacted the church in search of the grave of one person still listed as missing yet also recorded at Brookwood military cemetery. The Commission was intrigued by the inclusion of this person’s name, Captain Joclyn Granville Hayes, on the Busbridge Roll of Honour. The church worked with the Commission to identify the last remains of  Captain Hayes and it was discovered that he was buried at Busbridge church. His father was a noted local dignitary, a Colonel in the Prince of Wales Regt. and heavily involved in the Boys’ Brigade. Captain Hayes’ body was brought home after he died on active service whilst on duty in Northampton. His death was due to the discharge of a rifle and, whilst this may have raised questions at the time in an age which may have been less inclusive than our own, it was rightly recognised by the parish that all those who served their Country were to be recorded and honoured.

There is 1 wall plaque in the church:

Lt William Francis Moss.Service No: 176781. 3rd Bn. Welsh Gds Died 30th June 1944 age 31. Died in the middle of a sports tournament at Imber Court, Esher, Surrey due to a V1 rocket strike hitting the middle of a 100 yard race and the regimental band just after 2.15pm in the afternoon. As this was only 3 weeks after D-Day the strike was classified as a secret and was not reported. 20 people died and 100 were injured in what was the largest non-front-line death toll of the war for the Guards: 18 members of the Welsh Guards, an instructor and a female member of the ATS were killed. For more information see here and here for first-hand accounts. It is possible that the wall plaque was dedicated because so few bodies were found after the V1 strike.

Lt Moss was the son of Major Thomas Moss of 16th Punjab Regt (Hussars) and husband of Mary Prudence Moss. He was a teacher before the war.

There are 3 war graves from World War I in the churchyard:

Private William.T. Knight. Service No: 705638. 23rd Btn London Regiment Died 16-2-1919 of malaria age 22. Son of Mrs Dorcas Knight of 88 Brighton Rd, Busbridge.

Driver John Robert Potter. Service No: 38830 Royal Engineers Died 4-7-1917 by drowning age 18 whilst on active service in Wales. Son of John Potter of Lodge Bottom, Busbridge.

2nd Lt. Hon. Frances Walter S. McLaren MP. Service No: ? Royal Flying Corps Died 30-8-1917 age 31.McLaren was Member of Parliament for Spalding (1910-1917). He was the son of the 1st Baron Aberconway and married the daughter of Sir Herbert Jekyll. McLaren died “of internal injuries” in a flying accident a mile out at sea from Montrose Airbase, Scotland. He was the 15th MP to died in World War I and is commemorated with the McLaren Shield in the Chamber of the House of Commons. For more information see here.

There are two war graves from the Boer War in the churchyard.