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Private Alfred John TAYLOR, 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment
1890 - 1st December 1914

Alfred Taylor grew up at Honeyden Lodge where his father was the coachman and later a
gardener for Loring Hall in North Cray. On leaving school he found employment as a
gardener but at the very young age of 18 he joined the regular army being assigned to the
1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment. His brother, Charles, was also a regular soldier with
the 2nd Battalion, East Surrey Regiment. After five years Alfred left the Army and in 1912
returned to his home at Watercress Cottages. He then joined the Metropolitan Police Force
and remained an Army reservist but when war broke out he was one of the first to be called
up. The 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment immediately proceeded to France landing at Le
Havre on 15th August.

They were in action in Belgium at the Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat and by
December 1914 the 1st Battalion was at Willingham and St. Jans Cappel. The very strict
discipline of the Army dictated that each Battalion should keep a War diary, recording
events on a daily basis.

According to the East Surrey Regiment’s War Diary of 1st December 1914 it was a quiet
day and a wet night. At 8pm the Company assembled at Neuve Eglise. At 10pm hot soup
was served to the men prior to their moving off to billets at St. Jans Cappel which was
reached at 1.30am. Total casualties: 1 other rank killed. Private Alfred Taylor was their only
casualty on that day, presumably killed by sniper fire.

In Memoriam: No known grave. Remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial.

Harry Thurlow TUTHILL - Boy 1st Class, Royal Navy
1899 - 3rd February 1915

Harry Tuthill lived with his parents and five brothers and sisters at their home in Pretoria
Cottages, Foots Cray. Shortly after leaving school at 14 years-of-age, Harry went to the
naval shore base at Shotley, near Ipswich, known as “HMS Ganges” to train for a career in
the Navy. Notorious for its rigid discipline, “HMS Ganges” was a tough place in which to
survive. Although the trainees were land-based, they regularly went to sea in all weathers
to carry out tough drills which included climbing the 100’ mast of a former sailing vessel.

Just before Christmas 1914, Harry was one of the 50 or so young trainees who went to sea
in the ship "Clan McNaughton". The ship, which was crewed by a mixture of reservists,
including some men from Newfoundland, as well as one or two Royal Naval pensioners and
the youngsters who were all under the age of 18, set sail for patrol duties in the North
Atlantic Sea on 20th December, but later had to put into Liverpool for some problem to be
resolved. About 6am on the morning of 3rd February 1915, HMS “Clan McNaughton” was
in radio contact and reported terrible weather conditions. Nothing further was heard of her
again. The icy North Atlantic swallowed up the ship, its voluntary crew and all the young
sailors. No one survived. No wreckage was ever found. No clues ever came to
light. Young Harry’s adventure ended tragically and the cottagers, his family and former
school friends were left to mourn his loss.

In Memoriam: Harry T. Tuthill, aged 16 years, Boy 1st Class, Royal Navy is remembered
on the Chatham Naval Memorial, Chatham, Kent.

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