A FAMILY INVOLVED IN WAR
WESTFIELD HOUSE, DUNLEYS HILL
In 2012 the Odiham Society decided to include the house, now known as Westfield, in Dunleys Hill where the Addison brothers were born, in their blue plaque scheme. At that time, Simon Lloyd traced the story of William Addison and his family and this appeared in the 2012 Autumn Journal. In this article I have concentrated on the lives of Philip and Lancelot, who were both killed in action during the Great War.
LANCELOT ADDISON
Lancelot, born 1893, had undertaken four years of officer training in the UK and was discharged prior to war breaking out after his length of service had expired. He emigrated to New Zealand and worked as a labourer until he was called up as a Private in the NZEF, Canterbury Regiment, 2 Battalion, 2 (South Canterbury) Company.
However, once his prior training had been registered, he was promoted to Corporal on the 16th of January 1915 and to Sergeant on the 7th February 1915. He sailed with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and reached Gallipoli in May 1915. He was killed in action on 7th August that year and is commemorated with his comrades at the Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial at Gallipoli.
PHILIP ADDISON
Philip, born 1888, had graduated from King’s College, London and started off as a school teacher before becoming a Professor of English at the Berlitz School in Antwerp, where he was working when the war broke out. He returned home to Cranbrook in Kent and enlisted in the East Kent Regiment and served in Mesopotamia. He was sent to India as a result of sickness where he transferred to the Indian Expeditionary Force. He returned to the Asiatic theatre of war with the 5th Battalion, Buffs (East Kent Regiment} and was killed in action on 24 February 1917 during the advance against the Turks in the battle for the Shumran Peninsular. He is buried in the Amara War Cemetery, Iraq.
Both Lancelot (5th February 1893} and Philip (15th March 1888) were born in Westfield before the family moved to Kent in 1896.