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Gunner Alfred KNAPP Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st Btn
1994-4th July 1915

20-year-old Alfred Knapp lived with his parents, Moses and Mary at their home in Jubilee
Road, Foots Cray. He was a regular soldier and had been in the army about 5 years,
spending three of them in India and in 1914 his Regiment was in Karachi. By 1915 they had
returned to Nuneaton in England.

On 25th April 1915, the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers sailed to Egypt and landed at
Kankakee (now known as Anzac Cove) on the Gallipoli peninsula, in present day Turkey.
The campaign was a military disaster and many men were lost. The decision was taken to
evacuate the men, mostly at night under cover of darkness, but the operation was
extremely fraught with difficulty. Although he was seriously wounded, Alfred managed to
make it to a ship but his injuries were too severe and he did not survive. He was buried at
sea.

In Memoriam: Remembered on the Helles Memorial, Turkey

Lance/Sgt. James LARKMAN, MM, Kings Royal Rifle Corps

1882 - 20th April 1916

James Larkman lived with his wife, Catherine and two children in Suffolk Road, Foots
Cray. He was one of the thousands of men who heeded the call to arms, joining up with the
King’s Royal Rifles immediately war was declared in August 1914, and was soon serving in
France.
He proved to be a worthy soldier and gained a highly respected reputation which saw him
promoted to a position of responsibility as a sergeant. His leadership and bravery was
acknowledged when he was awarded the Military Medal:

Citation: “Your commanding Officer and Brigade Commander have informed me that you
have distinguished yourself by conspicuous bravery in the field on 20th September 1915. I
have read their reports and although promotions and decorations cannot be given in every
case, I should like you to know that your gallant action is recognised and how greatly it is
appreciated.”

But tragedy struck this brave and much respected soldier when on 20th April 1916 he was
accidentally killed by the bursting of one of the Regiment’s own rifle grenades fired by an
officer of his Company. This calamity caused much grief in the Regiment in which James
Larkman had gained a high reputation.

In Memoriam: Buried at Lievin Communal Cemetery extension, Calais, France.

Private Henry MARSHALL, 1st Battalion, East Kent Regiment
1886 - 14th May 1916

When war was declared, 28-year-old Henry Marshall, (born in Lincolnshire in 1886), was
married with a family and quite settled in the family home in Cray Road, Foots Cray. In
1911, he had married 22-year-old Mary Heap, the daughter of a Superintendent of Insurance
Agents for the Prudential Insurance Co. At the time of their marriage, the couple lived in
Bromley. Henry had had various jobs, including a shop assistant.

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