It’s Remembrance Day and during these special 24 hours we pay homage to those Hammers who died in the two world wars.We brought you Part One yesterday and here ClaretandHugh’s historian and lifelong supporter Nigel Khan brings you more of our fallen.
Sydney Hammond
Born in Woolwich, London 1883, Hammond joined the club as an amateur in 1904. His claret and blue career spanned four years in which he only managed 32 League and 2 FA Cup appearances for the club. Worked as a commercial clerk and lived in Twickenham Road, Leytonstone and enlisted into the Royal Field Artillery in Romford.
When he died on October 18, 1917 Hammond was recorded as being in C Battery 242nd Brigade who at the time were fighting in the Passchendaele region.
Sydney Hammond is buried in La Clytte Cemetery, Belgium
Arthur Stallard
Born September 1892 in Hackney, by 1901 he was living with his family At 526 Barking Road E13, which is now occupied by a chemist shop, located just past the old Castle public house at the Greengate junction.
Stallard joined West Ham from Chatham in 1913 and played for the Hammers in two Southern League campaigns making 13 appearances and scoring eight goals before hostilities stopped competitive competitions.
Stallard competed in the War time London Combination for the Hammers until the end of the 1916/17 season in which he played 37 games scoring 25 goals with his last appearance being a 2-0 loss to Millwall in April 1917.
By late 1917 he was in the London Regiment (London Scottish) 14th Battalion. During the battle of Cambrai (north east France) which was an assault that lasted 17 Days, (20th November – 7th December) The British made early gains but the Germans launched an offensive on the November 28th, on the 30th the Germans are believed to have exploded 16,000 shells over allied lines.
And it was on that fateful day that Arthur Stallard is listed as dying. He has no Grave but is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial.
He is the only player registered with West Ham at the time of his death.
Frederick Griffiths
Born 1876 in Presteigne in the county of Powys mid Wales, a Welsh international keeper who played 52 times for West Ham United between 1902 and 1904.
Served Stalybridge, Millwall, Preston North End and Tottenham Hotspur before joining the Hammers. Moved on to New Brompton the forerunner of Gillingham in the close season 1904.
Worked as a coal miner in the Midlands before enlisting in the Notts and Derbyshire (Sherwood Forest) Regiment.
His battalion found themselves just across the Belgium Border south and east of Dunkirk; a diary entry from October 30, 1917 reads:
“30: 4am: Very heavy artillery fire on ground immediately behind our front line.
6am: Our snipers hit several enemy seen running about in the wood east of Marechal House. Our casualties today 1 officer and 4 OR killed, 1 officer and 14 OR wounded.”
One of those killed that day was Frederick Griffiths who is buried in Dozingham Cemetery in Belgium
William Jones
Born Penrhiweiber, Wales in 1876. William Jones became the first West Ham United player to be capped for his country when he played for Wales v. England in 1902.
Moved from Aberdare to Kettering Town in September 1901. Unable to settle with the aptly named Poppies, he was involved in a straight swap for West Ham’s Peter Kyle in December 1901.
Jones made his West Ham debut in the 2-1 victory over Swindon Town at the Memorial Grounds on the 14th December 1901, William went onto record another 14 Southern League appearances at centre-half before returning to the valleys at the season’s end to join Aberamen whom he helped steer to the final of the Welsh Cup in 1903. He left Aberamen to join a club named Rogerstone in 1904 and stayed until 1906.
William joined the Royal Welsh Fusiliers 11th Battalion in the Balkans and was killed on the May 6, 1918 by Lake Doiran, Greece.
An extract from a War diary for 7th May 1918 records:
“Patrol lead by Lt J. Tinniswood and 12 OR,s proceeded to within a short distance of PILL BOX and found two bodies which they were unable to bring in owing to bombs being thrown and rifle fire opened and wounding two men seriously.”
Today is for remembering all fallen hero’s not just the 2x world wars.
all the young men & women died to protect their country, may they all rest in peace
Indeed Essex but fail to see why 2 world wars was mentioned ???
This goes way back to Cecil roads and the ( GROUP ) which constructed and manipulated the conflict in south Africa ?? And the Crimea war ??? And every conflict involving the British empire .pre Cecil roads and the astors ???
Its a shame all this history is buried from the controlled education system that’s why people like myself try try to give a state serving people some insight to the real truth that they have been denied !!!
Carol Quigley and Antony c Sutton will help you to understand the true value of truth if you can be bothered to question instead of accepting what you have been led to believe.
God bless one and all.
A complete and utter waste of innocent lives .
How very sad that they were all duped by a very self serving elitist group of people who held the power to decieve for extended power and profit.who also alter history to cover for their crimes against humanity,