Upper Cam and St. George's Church

St. George's Church in Upper Cam is the older of the two Anglican churches in Cam. It doesn't have a war memorial of its own (it is located just down the road from the main village memorial) but does have individual memorial plaques to three soldiers, among the many dedications within the church.

(L-R) Edward Ashton Lister's memorial plaque, and a photo printed in the Dursley Gazette

Edward Ashton Lister was the grandson of Robert Ashton Lister, founder of the company RA Listers in Dursley. He died in training with the Royal Flying Corps in 1915, following a crash landing on a solo flight. I presume that he and his mother (his father died when he was young) were members of the church, hence why the plaque is here as he isn't listed among Cam men in the rolls of honour or memorial. He is also commemorated on the memorial gates in Dursley. Looking closely at his plaque, an etching of a biplane, the type that Lister was learning to fly, can be seen on the curved bottom section. (Research courtesy of Andy Barton: sources one and two)

Francis Bernard Roberts had attended Jesus College, Cambridge between 1901 and 1904, and had played cricket both for the university and for Gloucestershire. He was a captain in the 9th battalion Rifle Brigade who served in Belgium from late 1915. Unfortunately, very few records survive of Roberts and it appears that he moved to Cam in the years after 1911 as it is the Gledhills who are in residence at the Vicarage on the census. (Cambridge source)

Born in Cheltenham, Frank Reginald Gapper grew up at Vicarage Cottage in Cam with his parents and two siblings. His father worked as a gardener and it is likely that his employer, perhaps the vicar himself, paid for this plaque. Gapper seems to have volunteered early in the war, enlisting at Dursley and was likely to have done so before he turned eighteen. He died in the infamous Battle of Loos, noted for its disastrous use of gas and heavy casualties. On the 25th September, the day of Gapper's death, his battalion the 10th Glosters achieved their aims attacking from Vermelles towards Hulluch, to the north of Loos itself. Despite this tactical success, the war diary notes that many men were killed by heavy artillery fire from the Germans. Gapper was among the fallen, his body lost in battle. He is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. (Photo source)

Also in the church is a roll of honour dedicated to all the men of Upper Cam who served in the First World War. It is located on the back wall of the nave. The shiny glass of its frame and the lighting of the church made a clear photo difficult so I have transcribed the names below. There is a similar one for Lower Cam in St. Bartholomew's. The main list on this roll was compiled in April 1917 and is organised by rank, It looks like it was written during the war and added to with the new recruits in June 1917. A few of the names have been underlined, but I don't know the connection between them. Others appear to have had their ranks changed since the original writing; another indication that it was written as the war progressed and their ranks changed in line with promotions.

Roll of Honour

Names of the men from this Parish on Active Service for their King and Country

NAVY HERMAN Ashley E. JACKSON William HILL Ralph KEEP Arthur N. SMITH Percival SL WATTS Ewart WILKINS Herbert WOOD Arthur G. WORRAL Edward ARMY CHAMPION Major HAGUE Major H. HERMAN Capt. L. CHANDLER Capt. LISTER Capt. G.A. LISTER Lieut. Robert TROTMAN Lieut. Ewart BALL Lieut. J. BROWNING Sgt. Walter MANSELL Sgt. OLPIN Sgt. Arthur PRAETER Sgt. W.H. SMITH Sgt. Albert N. SMITH Sgt. H.S. THOMPSON Sgt. R.O. WYATT Lieut. John WYATT Sgt. Wilfred Harold ALDER Lieut. Percy AWDRY Sgt. John AYRES Cpl. John B. BEAMISH Cpl. Geo. T. COX Sgt. Geo EMBLEY Cpl. William Ja. HUTCHINS Cpl. William MORGAN Cpl. Martin PAVITT Cpl. Lawrence RIDLER Sgt. Geo RIDLER Cpl. Harry RIDLER Cpl. Thomas SMITH Sgt. Frederick SMITH Cpl. Waller WATTS Cpl. Donald WISE Sgt. Rex WYATT Cpl. Dennis H.

ROBERTS Pte. Reginald A. SMITH Pte. Charles SMITH Pte. Edward STEEL Pte. Lionel R. SUTTON Pte. Archibald TAYLOR Pte. Thomas J.V. TROTMAN Pte. Ernest THOMAS Pte. Edric WAGER Pte. George WAGER Pte. Herrick WATTS Pte. Austin W.S. WATTS Pte. Orris WENDEN Pte. Clerihew WOODWARD Pte. William J. WOOLDRIDGE Pte. Cyril K. WOOLDRIDGE Pte. Stanley O. WORKMAN Pte. Reginald WOOD Pte. Frank JUNE 1917 ALLEN Pte. Arthur BENNETT Pte. Francis HIGGINS Pte. Harry TOMALIN JONES Lieut. H.A. GABB Pte. Thomas BENNETT Pte. Arthur W. DAVIS Pte. Reginald HERMAN Pte. Andrew LANGDOWN Pte. Tom REEVES Pte. Alfred John ROSE Pte. Stanley V. TALBOYS Pte. Alfred WORKMAN Pte. Stephen G. RIDLER Pte. William BRINDLE Pte. Ralph MARTIN Pte. Herbert CROSS Pte. Alec PILSWORTH Pte. Norman PRAETER Pte. Joseph GAME Pte. Eric MELLERUP Pte. Otto COOPER Pte. Jack BAYLIS [?] Cpl. F.E. PRAETER Pte. Charles HUSSLER [?] Pte. Charles ARNOLD Pte. Leslie LANGLETON Pte. Harry SUGG Pte. Bert WOOD Pte. William BUNE Lieut. W.A.

DISCHARGED (wounds) BELCHER Pte. Walter WAGER Pte. Herrick PAVITT Cpl. Lawrence ALLEN Pte. Arthur

Brethren, Pray for Us

Kathryn

PS. If you have any more information on the Cam war memorials or would like to know more about any of the soldiers please do get in touch.