Walter Ernest Newbon

Walter Ernest Newbon was the youngest of the 7 children of Charles Henry and Lydia Newbon and their 2nd  son, born in 1884. He was a private in the 8th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment and was killed in action on April 4 1918 probably at the age of 33. He is commemorated in the Pozieres Memorial at the Somme. The regiment records state that he enlisted at Southwark but do not state when.

April 4 1918 was a particularly hard day of fighting.

The 8th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment

The regiment’s website includes the following information:

‘The 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th service battalions of the East Surrey Regiment were raised in the early years of WWI because of the influx of volunteers.

The 8th Battalion was raised in 1914 and formed part of the 55th Brigade, 18th Division. It embarked for France in July 1915. It fought on the Western Front throughout the war. At the start of the Battle of the Somme members of B Company famously dribbled footballs across no man;s land. The battalion was disbanded in June 1919.’

Arthur Henry Newbon

Arthur Henry Newbon was the 4th of the 11 children of Walter Augustus and Mary Ann Newbon and their 3rd surviving son, born in 1883. He reached the rank of lance-corporal in the Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Irish) and died of wounds on April 8 1918 at the age of 35. He is buried in Haverskerque Cemetery in the North of France.

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Frederick Ernest Newbon

Frederick Ernest Newbon was the 9th of the 11 children of Walter Augustus and Mary Ann Newbon and their 5th surviving son, born in 1891. He reached the rank of corporal in the 8th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment and died of wounds on August 13 1917 at the age of 26. This was partway through the battle of Passcehndaele in the south of what is now Belgium. Frederick is buried in Lijssenthoek Cemetery in Flanders. The regiment records state that he enlisted at ‘London’ (presumably Southwark) but do not state when.

Remarkably, personal documents have survived in Frederick’s family giving a detailed and poignant account of his injuries and subsequent death - see below.

Letter concerning Frederick’s injuries

Transcript of letter

Letter concerning Frederick’s death page 1

Letter concerning Frederick’s death page 2

Transcript of letter page 1

Transcript of letter page 2

Death notification

Burial registration

Several members of the Newbon family saw active service in the First World War, and three members of the family died during the Great War. Two of these young men were brothers, Arthur Henry Newbon and Frederick Ernest Newbon, sons of Walter Augustus Newbon, with the third their first cousin Walter Ernest Newbon, the son of Charles Henry Newbon

The two cousins Frederick Ernest Newbon and Walter Ernest Newbon probably served together during the war. Both were members of the 8th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment. The battalion diaries for 1917 and 1918 survive and can be viewed online at the following website:

http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/war_diaries/war_diaries_home.html