Mickleham Remembrance – WW1 & WW2

Mickleham Remembrance WW1 - Percy Bodman 115724 Royal Garrison Artillery Percy Bodman married Daisy Arthur at St Michael’s Church, Mickleham in 1913 and is buried in the churchyard. Percy Bodman's father William was a railway plate-layer. Percy Bodman 115724 Royal Garrison Artillery Attested 1915 in Croydon Poisoned with gas in 1917, discharged in 1918 with a silver war badge. After discharge he lived with his wife and child in Carshalton He served for 1 year and 175 days in the Colours and as a result of gassing he was invalided back to England where he served 260 days with the Army Reserve and was finally discharged on 28th Jan 1918. He died from his injuries (gassing) on 1st Nov 1918 at the Railway Arms (now The Stepping Stones), Westhumble, Mickleham, and is buried at Mickleham Church. He was thirty-two years old when he died and left a widow and baby girl. For seventeen years deceased was with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company at their London city offices.

MICKLEHAM WAR MEMORIALS – WW2 Lieutenant Peter Kenneth Lynch Odhams The Odhams family of Mickleham Downs had five children – Joan, Bernard, Peter, Rosemary, and David. Mickleham was their parish church, so it was natural that at the beginning of the war both Joan and Rosemary were married in the Church. It was equally natural that when Peter died on 15 December 1940 he would be buried in the churchyard. He was in the Fleet Air Arm and died when his plane crashed in a training accident in a Fairey Swordfish (above) somewhere in the north of Scotland. His daughter Jacqueline is still alive.

Multiple family losses in Mickleham WW1 – The Grissell brothers – Bernard Grissell (Gaza) 1917 & Francis Grissell (Somme) 1916. Incredibly wealthy and influential family their Grandfather had constructed many of London’s most famous buildings including Nelson’s Column and was High Sheriff of Surrey. Their family owned the impressive Norbury Manor Estate. WW2 – The Selby brothers – Neil Selby (Yugoslavia) 1943 & Oliver Selby (Arnhem) 1944. Sons of Alexander Selby and Mary Selby. Mary is buried in the graveyard meaning that she had originated from the parish or had moved there after her sons had died.

Francis Grissell – Norbury Park Manor Name: Francis Grissell Rank: Lieutenant Date of Death:15/09/1916 Battle of the Somme – Battle of Flers–Courcelette 15-17 Sep 1916 – he died in the same battle as the son of the UK Prime Minister – HH Asquith Age: 30 Regiment/Service: Coldstream Guards - 1st Bn. Memorial:THIEPVAL MEMORIAL Son of Thomas De la Garde Grissell

Bernard Grissell - Norbury Park Manor Rank: Lieutenant Colonel Date of Death: 19/04/1917 – 2nd Battle of Gaza Age:37 Regiment/Service:Norfolk Regiment Commanding. 1st/5th Bn. Awards: D S O Cemetery: GAZA WAR CEMETERY Additional Information:Son of Thomas de la Garde Grissell; husband of Olive Grissell. Served in the South African war (Career soldier – last remnants of the 1914 British Expeditionary Force)?

Neil Selby SELBY, NEIL BEAUCHAMP Major Royal Armoured Corps, 1st Royal Dragoons: Service No: 117474 attached to Special Operations Executive (Yugoslavia) Age: 28 Date of Death: 01/10/1943 ATHENS MEMORIAL

Oliver Selby Private 10th Bn, Parachute Regiment, A.A.C. Age: 25 Date of Death: 25/09/1944 Service No: 5828342 ARNHEM OOSTERBEEK WAR CEMY Oliver died on the last day of the failed mission to secure the bridge at Arnhem. This was part of a wider Allied push to liberate NW Europe in the months following D-Day. USA & British Commonwealth soldiers to push the Nazis back to Berlin from the West and Italy while the Russians (USSR) pushed them back from the East. As a member of the Parachute Regiment (PARA’s) he was involved in a rear guard action to hold the allied line while They enacted an orderly retreat. He would have seen the Nazi Tiger Tanks rolling in and beginning to bombard them and their positions and their job was to hold their line until they were ordered to retreat

Berlin, Stalingrad, London & Tokyo - victims of bombing in war: London

Berlin – 300,000 victims

Hiroshima Stalingrad (Volgograd)

Focus on Bomb disposal Officially formed in October 1940, the original Royal Engineers bomb disposal unit played an important role in the WWII, dealing with tens of thousands of unexploded bombs in the UK and overseas. Since then, bomb disposal has expanded across the Armed Forces, and played an integral role in the conflicts of Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, among others.

Remember those who live with their injuries! Among the attendees at the service was Captain Luke Sinnott from the Royal Engineers, who lost both of his legs in 2010, after volunteering to search an area "saturated" with IEDs to protect his comrades. Warrant Officer Karl Ley, from 101 Engineer regiment, was awarded George Medal for bravery, after disarmed 139 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during a tour of Helmand Province in Afghanistan.