This article was first published by the Pirton Magazine in September 2005, and is provided courtesy of the magazine, the editor Derek Jarrett. Further acknowledgments appear at the end of the article.

Private HENRY GEORGE CHAMBERLAIN

In the series of the men whose names appear on our War Memorial, we tell the story of another victim in the last year of that great tragedy Private Henry Chamberlain DCM

Pirton’s tough man and winner of bravery award

There doesn’t seem much doubt that Henry Chamberlain was one of the village’s ‘tough guys’. He was born in 1878, son of twenty-two year old Rose Chamberlain. The Chamberlain family had lived in Pirton for many decades and Rose was one of the three known children of Thomas and Dinah Chamberlain. She had a younger sister, Elizabeth, who was to play a major role in Henry’s life.

Rose was certainly a single mother and in times when children had to take on adult roles at a tender age, much of the responsibility for Henry’s upbringing fell on Elizabeth; only twelve when Henry was born. Henry was baptized at St. Mary’s on Christmas Day 1878; his mother had been baptised on Christmas Day, twenty two year previously.

Life was hard and money was short and Elizabeth growing up before the days of compulsory education earned the little money she could delivering newspapers in the village. For this she had to walk the two miles to Shillington to collect the papers and then pushing Henry in the pram would take the news around the village. She became a well-known figure, sometimes having to speak firmly to young Henry who, like most children, seemed to delight in ripping up the papers!

Dates are a little uncertain but we know that when Rose died, aged only 38, in 1895, sixteen year old Henry lived in his Aunt Elizabeth’s house in what was known as Pudding Bag Alley – now the cottages at the Shillington end of West Lane ( formerly Wet Lane). The cottages were more properly known then as ‘Andrews cottages’. It may well have been Frank Andrews, who owned the shop on the corner of High Street and West Lane, and who lived at Orchard Cottage (now the home of Angela & Derek Kefford) who owned them.

It seems likely that Henry saw Elizabeth as his mother figure for most of his early life, well before his mother died. Henry attended Pirton School then following most of his school friends as an agricultural worker, possibly relying on seasonal money. His aunt continued with the newspaper round, earning some extra shillings as a straw plaiter. In 1896 Elizabeth married Frederick Gazeley and by the recording of the 1901 census, they had two children, (Mary) Rose and Frederick, who shared this small cottage with twenty-two year old Henry. Sadly, Elizabeth’s husband died in 1904.

Henry’s life continued in the same way as many local men, hard, poorly paid work with the only excitement likely to be in nearby Hitchin or a night out with the boys in one of the local pubs. As the war years loomed, we know that Henry was still a farm worker, working for farmer James Walker at Little Green Farm. It was in the very early months of the war, probably before Henry actually joined the army, that he had the fracas with the two special constables outside the White Horse, Messers Bertram Walker and George Charlick. His punishment meted out by the stern chairman of the bench, F.A. Delme-Radcliffe, was firm. The fine was a heavy one for a farm worker; whether or not Henry paid or went to prison by default we don’t know.

In 1915, probably in June or July, Henry volunteered and joined the Suffolk Bantam Brigade which was raised at Bury St. Edmunds. So many British soldiers were required in the first year of the war that the Government had to take radical measures. The Suffolks was one of several regiments that established the ‘Bantams’. This they did on 21 June, 1915 after the war office decided to lower the minimum height of volunteers to 5 foot (previously 5 foot 2 in). These soldiers did encounter some difficulties - for instance with the weight of weapons and with trenches being dug too deep, but, if Henry was short of stature, his aggressive spirit made up for any lack of inches. He became Chamberlain, Henry George, Private 20655. 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment

Henry had soon left the peace and quiet of Pirton, perhaps fulfilling his innermost wishes, and was in France for the next two years. His village toughness changed to battle-front bravado and in 1917 he was to become Pirton’s most highly decorated soldier – gaining the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for acts of extraordinary bravery for this was an award not easily gained. This was a medal for sergeants and other ranks, but it was relatively unusual for a private to gain. In fact, it was second only to the Victoria Cross in terms of valour in battle.

He seemed always in the thick of battle and during one action he was badly injured, and was rendered unconscious, returning to England early in 1917. In July 1917 he returned to the Front and on 23rd October The London Gazette reported his extraordinary deeds that gained him the coveted DCM

Gained for a daring raid was a single handed enterprise entirely on his own initiative went in search of a sniper, found three of them in a shell-hole & killed them and returned with Very lights and a trench lamp. He afterwards accounted for 3 more snipers, lying out for hours in ‘no man’s land’ and stalking them. He also entered a German pill-box and killed twelve more Germans single handed. He also bayoneted several Germans who feigned death”

This was the stuff of war and the local press acclaimed his feats with great nationalistic passion.  “This brave lad’s achievement is the pride of Pirton’s war traditions, being the highest honour to a village resident.”

Our Parish Magazine was more modest, but rightly proud, of this Pirton man’s honour: ‘We congratulate Private Henry Chamberlain on having won the D.D. Medal in Flanders. The G.O.C. praised him for his gallant conduct and splendid pluck.’

RM Stevenson, Staff Captain, November 3 1917, wrote “The General Officer commanding ----Brigade sends you hearty congratulations on winning the DCM for your very gallant conduct at Zonnebeke. You earned it well by your pluck.”

Sadly, tough and brave though this 39 year old Pirton man was, his luck was to run out. Whilst we do not know the circumstances, on Saturday 20th April 1918, Henry died of wounds received in battle somewhere in Flanders. The terribly injured Henry was admitted into a Canadian Casualty Clearing Station with a severe wound in the head, fracturing the skull. He was partly conscious but died shortly after being brought in. The Chaplain writing on 23rd April; said “We buried him in the cemetery near by with a number of other brave comrades.” He concludes, “We have been having a dreadful time”.

There was further ‘heroic’ writing in the local paper(2nd May) the writer safely somewhere in North Herts., “The gallant boys of Pirton are surely adding to the military glory of the village” He was buried at Pernes British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Ref. 1. C. 2.

To his Aunt Elizabeth, his cousins Rose and Fred Gazeley, and to all he had known in the village, it was still more grief; the burden of sorrow seemed to grow almost monthly in the village. Elizabeth died in 1947.

So Private Henry George Chamberlain was to become another name on our War Memorial, the only one bearing the DCM. One wonders what became of the medal itself. It is likely that it was presented to his aunt, still living in Andrews Cottages. A number of years later, around 1925, one of her children, Rose Gazeley emigrated to Australia. She was to become Mrs Beard living in a remote part of that country. Fred Gazeley, living on Great Green, never remembers his father Frederick speaking of the medal, but he wonders if it went with Rose to Australia. Who knows?

*** For their help with this article we thank: Clare Baines, Fred Gazeley, Tony French, Jonty Wild www.pirton.org.uk, Helen Hofton & Lynda Smith www.roll-of-honour.com.

Points of contact are:
Pirton Website Jonty Wild via jontywild@pirton.org.uk

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