ODIHAM GRAMMAR SCHOOL & THE GREAT WAR
Odiham Grammar school served pupils from Odiham and further afield. Both Odiham Parish’s VCs attended the school as well as others awarded DSO and MC and MM.The Roll of Honour of those who made the supreme sacrifice for King and Country was enshrined on a memorial tablet in the school Dining Room.The School became co-educational during the headship of Mr Britten (1903-1909) and numbers increased to about 80 pupils at the start of WW1.Cecil HS Willson was headmaster throughout the war years. He began a kindergarten for those aged 5-10 in 1917 and the total number of pupils rose to 120 by 1918.
PUPILS OF ODIHAM GRAMMAR SCHOOL ALSO AWARDED DSO & MC
Captain WRS Bye DSO, MC
Captain & Adjutant FJ Robertson DSO MC Staff Captain J Duke (Master) MC
W Morgan MC
R Thorne MC
H Martin MM and Bar
ODIHAM GRAMMAR SCHOOL ROLE OF HONOUR
J Duke (Master), Capt, 18th Inf Bde
GH Gotelee, Lt, 7th SWB (Odiham war memorial) RJ Auterac, Lt, MGC
L Ford CSM, 4th Hampshire Regt
B Bellinger LCpl, Devon Yeomanry
A Ives ,Rifleman, 10th KRR
C Hanford, Pte, 4th Hampshire Regt
F Rose, Pte, 1st Gordon Highlanders
CF Bye, Pte, Royal Fusiliers
G Wooldrige, Air Mech, RFC (Odiham War memorial) JW Fitch, WO, HMS Hampshire
AW Monk, Pte, Devons
PJ Tarrant, Capt, 11th East Lancs
G Thorburn, Pte, RAMC
CAPTAIN DUKE, ASSISTANT MASTER ODIHAM GRAMMAR SCHOOL
A well-known Sussex cricketer. He was very much loved by all his pupils and his death from wounds in April 1918 was a heavy loss to the school. He began as a private in the Buffs, and worked his way up until he became a Staff Officer. The memorial tablet in the Dining Hall subscribed for by his old pupils reads as follows:-
“To the Glory of God, and in honoured memory of John Duke, MC, Staff Captain, 18th Infantry Brigade. A master of this School 1910-1914, who died of wounds in France 22nd April 1918. This tablet was erected by sorrowing friends and old pupils as a tribute to a beloved master, a strong leader and a true-hearted man. Say not goodnight, but in some brighter clime Bid me good-morning”
Extracted from The Story of Odiham Grammar School 1694-1930