Page 28 - Sylvia Malt - Side by Side v1

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In 1910 Lt. Col. Crispin, was given command of the 2 Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment and
assumed his fighting days were over. However, on the outbreak of War, orders were received
in August to depart for France. Taking part in the majority of the early battles of Mons, the
Regiment was then involved in the humiliating retreat. Hugh Crispin was one of the ‘old
school’ military officers, who was used to fighting hand-to-hand, and in his case, normally on
horse-back. But this European war was all about big guns. North Cray soldier, Thomas
Whiffen, summed it up: “this is not war, but scientific murder.” Hugh Trevor Crispin, aged 46-
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years-of-age, was killed during the Battle of Ypres on 30 October 1914, along with 42 of his
men. Only two bodies were recovered for burial.

In Memoriam: Lt.Col. Crispin is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial.
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Harry & Richard THWAITES, formerly of The Seven Stars Public House, Foots Cray

Londoner William Thwaites and his wife, Rosetta, took over the historic former coaching Inn,
The Seven Stars pub in Foots Cray in the early 1890s. All their seven children, (six sons and
one daughter), were born in Foots Cray. By 1901, the eldest son, William, was an apprentice to
carpenter Bert Francis, who resided next door at the Mill built alongside the River Cray which
wends its way through the village and out to the Foots Cray meadows. All the children
attended the National Schools next to All Saints Church, which was first built in 1818 and then
rebuilt in 1882 to accommodate the expanding population.

By 1911, the Thwaites family had moved out of the claustrophobic atmosphere of the pub to a
more healthy life-style. William had decided to move his family to Chubs Farm in Foots Cray
High Street, where his sons, Harry and Richard, helped out with their small market gardening
business. The eldest son, William, had married and moved away. Another son, Thomas, was
working as a plumber.

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Pvt. Harry THWAITES 1 /13 Royal Kensington Battalion, The London Regiment
1890-17th January 1917

Harry Thwaites was 24-years-old in 1914 and enlisted at Woolwich Recruiting Office with the
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London Regiment, which was later amalgamated with the 1 /13 Kensington Battalion. First
raised in 1860 by Lord Truro, the original sub-title “West London Rifles” was altered in 1905
to “The Kensington Rifles” when the Regiment was adopted by the Royal Borough of
Kensington and granted permission for the cap badge to be made up of the Coat of Arms of the
Royal Borough, mounted centrally upon an eight-pointed star. In February 1916, the
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Kensingtons transferred to the 56 London Division.

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The 56 London Division began to concentrate in the Hallencourt area on 5 February and
was largely completed by 21st February 1916 and remained in France and Flanders, taking
part in several engagements during the many battles of the Somme. Although Harry Thwaites
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survived many battles, he was unfortunately killed on 17 January 1917.

In Memoriam: No known grave but is remembered on the Loos Memorial, France