Honour Roll - Witheridge Family History Society

Witheridge, Alfred Richard, - - Private 2754, 32nd Bn Australian Infantry AIF.

Died 25 October 1917, age 28, at 3rd Battle of Ypres.
Nationality: Australian
No known grave; commemorated at Ypres Menin Gate memorial, ref Panel 7 - 17 - 23 - 25 - 27 - 29 - 31
Alfred was the son of Alfred Witheridge and Polly (née Witheridge), of Queen's Park, Western Australia. Both his parents were from the branch of the Witheridge family that came originally from Combe Martin, Devon, migrated via Bradworthy to Tavistock, and then emigrated to Australia.

Witheridge, Frederick, - - Army (rank and unit not known)

Died 1902, age 28 at Umballa, Punjab, India
Nationality: unknown
This appears to be Frederick Witheridge, son of Frederick and Elizabeth (née Morgan) who was born in Kings Norton, Birmingham, in 1875. Although Frederick’s unit is not given, units in Umballa at that time included 12th Lancers, D Battery and I Battery RHA, and 2 Bn Black Watch. This branch of the Witheridge family was in Kent in the 1720s, but migrated first to London and then, c 1805, to Birmingham.

Witheridge, Frederick, - - Leading Stoker SS/112681, HMS Vanguard, Royal Navy

Killed in action 9 July 1917 age 26.
Nationality: British
No known grave, but commemorated at Chatham Naval Memorial, ref 23
Born in 1891 in Sydney, NSW, Australia, Frederick was the son of Harry Witheridge and Annie Elizabeth (née Kilcup). His brother William Henry Witheridge was also killed in action (see below). Although Frederick’s father had been born in the USA, he had spent much of his life in London. The family came originally from Bideford in north Devon.

Witheridge, George, - - Private 16812, 9th Bn Devonshire Regiment

Killed in action 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, age unknown.
Nationality: British
No known grave, but commemorated at Thiepval Memorial, ref Pier and Face 1C
(no age or family details given) George Witheridge, listed as Pte, 2nd Devons, was named in the Roll of Honour in a 1920 edition of the parish magazine of Charles Church, Plymouth. Plans were announced for the placing of a memorial, but as the church was destroyed during WWII bombing, there is no trace of any memorial there.
Born in Plymouth in 1892, George was the son of William James Witheridge and Mary Ann (née Walters). George’s brother Joseph Fred died of wounds in 1918 (see below). Although this branch of the Witheridge family was in Plymouth, Devon in the 1850s, its previous whereabouts has not yet been determined.

Witheridge, James Deacon, - - Private 7673250, Royal Army Pay Corps

Died 9 November 1943 age 27.
Nationality: British
Commemorated Pontypridd Crematorium, ref Panel RH
James, born in 1916 in Newport, Mon, was the son of James George Witheridge and Virtue Louisa (née Deacon). He married in 1940, and his son was born just a few months before his death. This branch of the Witheridge family came originally from Combe Martin in Devon, but migrated to Wales in the mid-19th century. .

Witheridge, Joseph Fred, - - Private 28307, 3rd Bn, Devonshire Regiment, transferred to Labour Corps Died 4 November 1918, age 40.

Nationality: British
Commemorated: Ford Park Cemetery, Plymouth (formerly Plymouth Old Cemetery, Pennycomequick), ref General H/A 40.22
Born in Plymouth in 1881 Plymouth, Joseph was the son of William James Witheridge and Mary Ann (née Walters). Married, with five children, he died of wounds. His younger brother George had died on the Somme two years earlier (see above).Although this branch of the Witheridge family was in Plymouth, Devon in the 1850s, its previous whereabouts has not yet been determined.

Witheridge, Norman Arthur, - - Private 5735270, The Queen’s Royal Regt (West Surrey) >

Died 15 April 1945, in the final Allied offensive near Ravenna, Northern Italy, age 23.
Nationality: British.
Commemorated at Argenta Gap War Cemetery, ref III.E.12
Born in 1922, Norman was the son of Harry Arthur Witheridge and Mabel (née Porter), of Bridgwater, Soms. At the time of his death Norman was married, with a young daughter. Although Harry Witheridge had been born at Torpoint, Cornwall, this branch of the Witheridge family came originally from Ermington, Devon.

Witheridge, Samuel John, Quartermaster, HMS Boadicea, Royal Navy

Killed in action 27 February 1881 at Battle of Majuba, Transvaal, 1st Boer War, age 30.
Nationality: British
Commemorated at Majuba and on the Boadicea Memorial at Haslar Naval Cemetery, Portsmouth
Born in Plymouth in 1851, Samuel John Witheridge was the son of Thomas Witheridge and Mary Ann (née Garry). He joined the Royal Navy as a boy sailor, and while based at Portsea in 1878 had married Mary Ann Cruwys. A fewweeks later he sailed for Africa, where he was seconded to the Naval Brigade, serving ashore throughout the Zulu wars and during the 1st Boer War. Although based in Plymouth for many years, this branch of the Witheridge family came originally from Wembury, Devon.

Witheridge, Thomas, - - Private 5688, 4th Bn Australian Infantry AIF

Died 2 March 1917, age 32.
Nationality: Australian
Commemorated: Warlencourt British Cemetery, IV.B.6
Born in Shoalhaven, NSW, Australia, in 1884, Thomas was the son of Philemon Witheridge and Mary (née Carvath). His parents had emigrated from Cornwall, but this branch of the Witheridge family came originally from Combe Martin, Devon.

Witheridge, William Henry, Private 6403, 18th Bn Australian Infantry AIF

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Killed in action 20 September 1917, age 19.
Nationality: Australian
No known grave, but commemorated at Ypres Menin Gate Memorial, ref Panel 7 - 17 - 23 - 25 - 27 - 29 – 31
Born in 1898 in in Balmain North, NSW, Australia, Frederick was the son of Harry Witheridge and Annie Elizabeth (née Kilcup). His brother Frederick John Witheridge was also killed in action (see above). Although William’s father had been born in the USA, he had spent much of his life in London. The family came originally from Bideford in north Devon.

Witheridge, William Henry, Private 5107917, 13th Bn The King’s Regiment (Liverpool)

Died in the Burma campaign, 18 April 1943, age 32.
Nationality: British
No known grave, but commemorated at Rangoon Memorial, ref Face 6
Husband of Grace Witheridge of Warwick.
William Henry Witheridge, son of William John Witheridge, was born in Birmingham in 1910, and had married in 1941. Although his family had lived in Birmingham since about 1806, they had previously lived in London, and the first known record of them occurs in Kent in the 1720s.

Edmunds, John Witheridge, - - Private PLY/227 (S) Plymouth Bn, Royal Naval Divn, Royal Marine Light Infantry

Died 21 August 1915, age not given
Nationality: British
Commemorated at Plymouth Naval Memorial, ref 7, and in Ermington church
Born in Ermington, Devon in 1896, John Witheridge Edmunds was the son of Richard James Edmunds and Mary Jane (née Witheridge). His Witheridge ancestry can be traced through the Ermington branch of the family, back to the 16th century.

Manning, Phillip Witheridge, - - Trooper 7912029 Royal Armoured Corps, 11th Hussars (Desert Rats)

Died 7 August 1941, age 27.
Nationality: British.
Commemorated at Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery, ref 15.C.4
Born in Cornwall in 1913, Philip Witheridge Manning was the son of Philip John Manning and Anne Ethel (née Witheridge), and husband of Freda May Manning, of Launceston, Cornwall. Annie Ethel Witheridge had been born in Sithney, Cornwall, but her branch of the Witheridge family came originally from Berrynarbor, north Devon.

For additional information on any of the above please contact our Research Co-ordinator