Nine soldiers remembered at World War One commemoration in Harlestone
Jackie and Paul Kimbrey have been busy this year gathering signatures from residents on the three-year-old Harlestone Manor estate to mark Armistice 100.
After handing in the signatures to the parish council earlier on this year roads on Harlestone Manor were named after nine fallen soldiers who lived in the village and died in the first world war.
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Hide AdThese soldiers were remembered at a ceremony in the estate yesterday (Sunday, November 11) before a Tommy Silhouette, which councillors paid £750 for, was unveiled by the community.
Of those fallen soldiers, brothers, Pte Charles and Pte Frederick Dunkley, both of Northamptonshire Regiment and their cousin Pte Arthur Dunkley of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers - the Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army - were remembered among six others.
While the brothers records showed that Charles died of dysentery disease and Frederick was buried in Egypt, cousin Arthur's body was never found.
Jackie Kimbrey who organised the commemoration said: "When the estate was being built, Daventry District Council approached Harlestone Parish Council with the offer of naming the roads on the new estate.
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Hide Ad"The parish council decided to dedicate the roads to the names of soldiers who lived in the village and died in the first world war.
"The task was delegated to councillor Sue Flynn, whose family is represented among the fallen soldiers, as she was researching her family tree."
Jackie approached Harlestone Parish Council at a public meeting to see if they would purchase a Tommy silhouette.
The parish council paid £750 and the firm who made it, There But Not There, donated all profits from their sales to military charities.
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Hide AdResidents and children from the estate took part in the unveiling ceremony yesterday, supported by two relatives of the war dead from Harlestone village, councillor Sue Flynn and her cousin, Nadine Slinn who layed poppies at the foot of the statue.
She added: "It was really important to many of the residents that children from the estate were involved so that we can pass the message of Armistice and remembrance down to the next generation."
Names of the fallen soldiers:
PTE CHARLES DUNKLEY
1st/4th Northamptonshire Regiment
Died age 28 from dysentery in England
PTE FREDERICK DUNKLEY
1st/4th Northamptonshire Regiment
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Hide AdDied 1918 Age 23. Buried in Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt
PTE ARTHUR HENRY DUNKLEY
2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Died Age 18. His body was never found.
HARRY GARNER
8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars
Died 1918
He drowned in a tragic accident in Picardy
PTE FREDERICK HARRISON
6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
Born 1889
Killed 15th April 1916 aged 27 on his 2nd Wedding Anniversary
PTE HORACE EDWIN IRONS
6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment
Died 1916 Age 31.
He was buried in Carnoy Military Cemetary. France
PERCY JOHN LEE
2nd Indian Cavalry Reserve Park, Royal Army Service
Born 1897 Died of his wounds at home age 21.
LANCE CORPORAL REGINALD PRICE THORN
Cheshire Regiment 15th (Service) Battalion
Died in battle in Belgium Age 30
FARRIER SERGEANT JOHN WALTER YORK
Royal Field Artillery
Died Age 33.
Body returned home and buried in Harlestone Church Cemetery.