New War Memorial for Stoke Mandeville as fallen local heroes remembered

This week-end, 108 years after the guns fell silent at the end of the First World War, and 81 years since the defeat of Nazi-ism in the Second World War, the village of Stoke Mandeville will dedicate a new memorial to local men who died in those two 20th century conflicts.

The names of the dead are recorded on a marble plaque on a wall inside the village church – St Mary the Virgin. There are 16 in all – 10 from the Great War and the others from 1939-1945.

I’ve researched two of the casualties – one from each war. Here’s what I discovered:

Pte Charles Bunce

Pte Charles William Bunce was just 21 when he died on 21 July, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme. He was serving with the local Territorial Force unit, 1/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, part of 145 Brigade, 48th (South Midland) Division and fell during an attack on enemy positions to the west of Pozieres.

The village of Pozieres, on the old Roman road that runs arrow-straight from Albert to Bapaume, sits on a ridge, giving it an importance far beyond its small acreage. Whoever held the village, and the high ground to its east, enjoyed clear 360-degree visibility over that part of the battlefield.

It had been a day-one objective for the attacking British army. But the initial assault, on 1 July, had stalled along most of the line and it had taken three weeks of hard fighting for the British to reach within striking distance of the position. Now, a joint attack, to be conducted by the 48th (South Midland) Division and the 1st Australian Division, was planned to commence on 22 July, to sweep the Germans out of their trenches and deep dug-outs.

However, before that could happen, the South Midlanders needed to conduct a number of smaller shaping operations to move their line closer to the village.

One of these happened on the night of 20/21July. Zero was set for 0245hrs, with the 1/1st Bucks attacking on the right and the 1/5th Gloucesters on the left. It turned out to be a disaster.

As the attacking troops took up positions on their start-line, the enemy began to launch flares and these were followed by a murderous machine-gun barrage. As men rose to advance, they were cut down by this lethal fire, with few making it as far as the German lines.

The Bucks Battalion suffered heavy losses. Four officers were killed and three were wounded. One of the officer fatalities was Aylesbury solicitor, Capt Lionel Crouch.

Casualties among the rank and file totalled 7 killed, 97 wounded and 42 reported missing. Among the dead was Pte Bunce, the son of William and Charlotte Bunce, whose address is listed as Main Street, Stoke Mandeville. His body was not recovered. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

You can read more about the Bucks Battalion during the First World War in A Brilliant Little Victory, a history of the 48th (South Midland) Division, available via Amazon.

CPO Charles Payne

Chief Petty Officer Charles Edmund Honkin Payne was 31 when he died on 12 December, 1942. He had been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal earlier in the war.

CPO Payne was the son of Noah and Harriet Payne, who lived in Stoke Mandeville village. He was serving on HM Submarine Traveller, and had left base at Malta on 28 November to conduct a reconnaissance of the Italian port of Taranto ahead of a planned attack on enemy shipping by manned torpedoes known as Chariots.

The submarine was lost with all 65 of its crew. It is believed to have struck an Italian mine somewhere in the Gulf of Taranto.

CPO Payne has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial at Southsea.