Ashtead War Memorials - WWI - Rifleman William John Stanley Arundell
8th Bn, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)

In Soldiers Died in the Great War William John Stanley Arundell is noted as born Mount Eden, New Zealand*, enlisted at Torquay and to have been a resident of London. The Service Number tallies and he was in The Prince of Consorts Own. He is the only WJS Arundell listed on CWGC.

Brian Bouchard adds: Arundell has a sevice number close to the one allocated to CH Fabray (Z/2483) which may imply that he too was assigned to the Rifle Brigade about the beginning of September 1914. Although also in the 8th Battalion, he did not arrive in France until 26 January 1915.

A WJ Arundell is in an Ashtead Street Directory for 1918 - he is shown as occupier of St Ann's [now 205 Barnett Wood Lane] - three doors west of the Council School on the north side of Barnett Wood Lane so we now have the required connection. Since these properties were built as a speculation by H Skilton, Arundell's tenure is likely to have been transient. Arundell lived next door to John Cameron Gordon in Glandore, now 203 BWL. Maybe one influenced the other over enlistment?

The description of casualty 'Died' 13 July 1918 coupled with burial at Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel, Hessen Germany, indicates that he had succumbed after a length of time as a Prisoner of War. The CWGC says of the cemetery: -

The cemetery was begun by the Germans in 1915 for the burial of prisoners of war who died at the local camp. During the war almost 3,000 Allied soldiers and civilians, including French, Russian and Commonwealth, were buried there In 1922-23 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Niederzwehren was one of those chosen and in the following four years, more than 1,500 graves were brought into the cemetery from 190 burial grounds in Baden, Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse and Saxony. There are now 1,796 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated.

It is known that the 8th Bn suffered heavily in the German offensives of March 1918.

*17 May 2008: Brian Bouchard adds: An announcement appeared in The Times of the birth, on 21 September 1852, of a son to the wife of William E Arundell, 11 Coburn Street, Bow. This related to William Herbert Arundell registered at Poplar for the December Quarter 1852.

In the 1881 Census he was enumerated as "Willy" Herbert Arundell, a single man living with his older unmarried brother and an Aunt in Hendon. The two men were described as Commercial Clerks to a Rice Merchant.

William's name turns up again, as "W. H. Arundell", a passenger on RMS Ruapehu when the ship sailed from Plymouth on 18/12/1886 to arrive in Port Chalmers, New Zealand, 29/1/1887.

William Herbert Arundell married overseas about 1893 before his wife, Fanny [born Okehampton, Devon, ca 1852], bore William John Stanley in the following year at Mount Eden, NZ.

Sometime after 1901 but before 1911, when WH Arundell's occupation is given as Accountant, the family came back to England, again to reside with the elder brother, George S Arundell, in Hendon. As noted earlier, the name of the son, WJ Arundell, was listed in a 1918 Street Directory for Ashtead allthough he seems to have enlisted during 1914. Both his parents were by then in their 60s and an explanation could be that they all moved here together but he was named as lessee of St Ann's, Barnett Wood Lane.

Deaths are recorded for Newton Abbot, Devon, of Fanny E Arundell, aged 71 [3/1920], and William H Arundell, 76 [12/1928].

research: Brian Bouchard, Frank Haslam, Ian Whitlock: if you can add to this page please contact the editor
page added 26 Feb 2009: last updated 17 May 2009: 26 Nov 17