Horace Charles Stubbings

Born: 25 July 1895

Died: 6 January 1918

Rank and Regiment: Private 6665 of the 12th Lancers and later 3/10474 in the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers.

Resting Place: St Andrew’s, Deopham, United Kingdom

Horace was born on 25 July 1895, the son of William and Sally Stubbings. He had four younger sisters.

He enlisted in the 12th Lancers in August 1914.

According to the Hardingham War Memorial Register, the family was living at Nordell [Nordelph] Corner; his discharge papers describe his parents as being “of Hardingham”.

According to research carried out by Chris Clarke of Deopham, he was seriously injured by a shell exploding inside a trench at Achi Baba, burying him alive, on 4 August 1915. Certainly his discharge papers, which survive, show that he was suffering epileptic fits as a result of shell concussion.

He was discharged from the Army at Tralee on 4 January 1916, described as “no longer fit for military service”.

The discharge papers tell us a little of him; he was 5 ft 5 in tall, and had grey eyes and light brown hair. His occupation prior to enlistment (and his intended occupation following his demobilisation) was as a clerk. His military character was described as “very good”.

According to his gravestone at Deopham St Andrew, he died on 6th January 1918. While his grave is marked by a CWGC tombstone, he is not commemorated on any war memorial, at Deopham or anywhere else.

Deopham St. Andrew