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Rifleman Alfred Henry STEVENS, 12th Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps
1893- 4th September 1916

Born in 1894 in Foots Cray, Alfred was the son of George and Annie. Before enlisting in the
Army, Alfred was employed as a paper machine hand. By 1911 the family had grown to nine
children, with ages ranging from 19 years to just nine months. Like many young men
Alfred joined the Army which gave him the opportunity of adventure. On enlisting, Alfred
was assigned to the 12th (Service) Battalion, Kings’ Rifle Corps, which was raised at
Winchester on 21st September 1914 as part of Kitchener’s second New Army.

The 12th (Service) Battalion, the King’s Rifle Corps, after initially training close to home,
moved to Bisley, then to Blackdown in November 1914 and in February 1915 to billets in
Hindhead, Somerset. They were moved to Larkhill on 10th April 1915 for final training after
which they proceeded to France on 22nd July 1915, landing at Boulogne with the division
concentrating in the St. Omer area. Rifleman Alfred Stevens was killed on 4th September
1916, just one of the thousands of casualties during the many notorious Somme battles.

In Memoriam: Remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.

Rifleman. Harry George THORPE, 8TH Battalion, Rifle Brigade

1899 - 4th April 1918

Young Harry George Thorpe was the eldest son of Henry Thorpe (bricklayer) and his wife,
Susan, who married in 1895. The family home was in Pretoria Cottages where he grew up
with his two brothers and a sister. Harry enlisted at the Bexleyheath recruiting office and
was assigned to the Rifle Brigade.

The 8th Battalion, Rifle Brigade, was an “entrenching” battalion, which consisted of
temporary units formed in the British Army during the war. Allocated at corps level, they
were used as pools of men from which drafts of replacements could be drawn by
conventional infantry battalions.

In March and April 1918, the Allied fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers
across the former Somme battlefields. Rifleman Thorpe was only 19-years-old when he
died and could not have been in the Army very long, probably little more than a year. He
was killed on 4th April, but it is not possible to identify which Regiment he was serving with
at the time.

In Memoriam: Remembered on the Pozieres Memorial in the Somme, France. There are
over 600 names from the Rifle Brigade.

Pte. Edward Payne THRIFT, Somerset Light Infantry

1882 - 30th November 1917

Edward Thrift was born in Islington, London in 1882 but lived for many years in Foots Cray,
having been a pupil at the Village School. He married Winifred in 1912 and the couple set
up home in Windsor Road. He was an only son, whose mother was widowed when he was
just seven years old. Prior to enlisting in May 1916 at the age of 34, Edward was employed
on munitions in the Woolwich Arsenal.

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