Sergeant. 20th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Regimental number R/4398.

Previously no. 2652.

Arthur Lambert Debenham.

Early life:

In 1881, Lambert was born Arthur Lambert Debenham in Glemsford in Suffolk, with his birth being registered at Sudbury in the second quarter of that year. His parents were Charles Debenham (an agricultural labourer) and Nancy Debenham (a silk winder) of Farnell near Glemsford, Sudbury, in Suffolk.

In 1891 Arthur was aged seven and living at Farnhill near Sudbury and his mother Nancy was widowed and employed as a silk winder. Roland was aged 12, Arthur was aged seven and Celia was aged five. All three were at school.

(His Christian name is either referred to as Arthur or Lambert or both.)

Army service:

On 24th January 1900 at the age of 19 years and 3 months, he attested at Keighley as Number 2652, Private Arthur Debenham of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, having previously served with the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the West Riding Regiment. He gave his trade as labourer and confirmed he’d been given a notice by Sergeant (Instructor) Fitzgerald of the 3rd V.B. West Riding Regiment. This ‘short service’ enlistment was for 7 years with the colours and five with the Reserve making a total of 12 years.
His medical gives us his details as 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing 140 Lbs. His chest was 34 inches with a 2 inch expansion. He had a fresh complexion with grey eyes and brown hair and his religion was stated as Church of England. He had no distinguishing marks and was declared fit for service at Halifax, which would have been carried out at the Wellesley Barracks.
His service was deemed as from 24th January 1900 at Gosport and he was posted to the 4th on 30th March and granted messing allowance on 29th July.

India service:

On 2nd November 1901 having served for 1 year and 282 days in the UK, he was posted to the 2nd Battalion to serve in India.
He was granted his first good conduct badge with pay on 24th January 1902. He was appointed to Lance Corporal on 6th July 1903. On 1st April 1904 he extended his service to complete eight years with the colours and on the 5th he achieved his 3rd class certificate of education.
On 15th June 1904, he was reported for misconduct and appears to have been reduced from Lance Corporal down to Rifleman.
He received a second good conduct badge on 24th January 1905 and rated class 1(?) on the same date.

At the same time in 1901 his sister Celia was aged 15 and working as a worsted spinner. She was boarding with the Wordley family at 19, Daisy Street, Worth Village in Keighley. There is no record of Roland or their mother Nancy but it’s possible that the Ann Wordley refers to Nancy Wordley (formerly Debenham.) Roland would have been aged about 25 and may have been serving in the Army at this time.

Army Reserve:

Arthur was posted back home to the UK on 298th February 1908 having served for 6 years and 110 days in India and was transferred to the Army Reserve on 2nd March having served a total of eight years with the colours.
He married Emily Price at the Worth Baptist Chapel in Keighley on 26th December 1910. The minister was the Reverend William Hughes and their witnesses were Tom Coates and Minnie Jackson.
He was discharged under the terms of his engagement on 23rd January 1912, having served the full twelve year period of his engagement, of 8 years with the colours and four with the Reserve.

For the majority of his Army service he gave his mother’s name Nancy Debenham as his next of kin. She was living at 19, Daisy Street in Keighley and later, 7 Timber Street which was also off Dalton Lane, Worth Village area.
The Worth Baptist Chapel was situated halfway between Daisy and Timber Street. All these places have since been demolished and replaced with industrial units.
In the 1911 census he was employed as an iron moulder, making washing and wringing machines. He was aged 28 and living as a boarder with his wife Emily aged 33 at 7, Alfred Street, Worth Village in Keighley. Widowed Nancy Kirkbright (née Price) was the head of the household and she was Lambert’s mother-in-law and Emily’s mother.

Lambert and Emily had two sons, Arthur was born on 6th July 1911 and Ernest, who was born on 17th September 1913.

War service:

Lambert attested at Skipton for one year’s service in the Army Reserve (Special Reservists) on 8th September 1914. He joined the 6th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps. His details were: Age 33 years and 5 months. Trade: Moulder and living at 38, Cherry Street in Keighley (Worth Village.) He was married and he declared that he had previously served with the KRRC for 12 years, time expired on 24th January 1913. His service, although for just one year stated that he would be retained until the war was over.
His medical sheet dated 8th September 1914 showed that he was two inches taller at 5 feet 7 inches and now weighed 148 Lbs with a 41 inch chest. His eyes were blue with light coloured hair and he was still ‘Church of England.’ He also now had various tattoo marks on both forearms. His physical development was good and his pulse rate was normal and he had six vaccination marks on his left arm and had been vaccinated in infancy. His vision was good in both eyes.
Because of his previous service, he was very soon was appointed to Lance Corporal on 7th October 1914 then he was promoted to Corporal on 13th October and then to Sergeant on 5th November and was confirmed in that rank on the same date. A rather meteoric rise through the ranks, to say the least.
Lambert was transferred to the Rifle Depot as a Sergeant on 13th March 1915 and he was then posted to the 6th Battalion on the 27th March that year. We know he spent over a year training recruits before going overseas.
There were a couple of infractions on his record, his Regimental Conduct Sheet shows that on 21st April 1915 he was reprimanded by Lieutenant Colonel Hon. J.R. Brownlow for ‘neglect of duty when in charge of the cook house’ – on 20th April.
On 7th May 1915 he received a severe reprimand from Lieutenant Colonel Hon. J.R. Brownlow for ‘neglect of duty when in charge of a guard’ – on 3rd May.
He joined the Rifle Depot as a sergeant on 8th September 1915.

He was embedded with the Expeditionary Force (France) with the 20th Battalion, KRRC on 31st May 1916 and attached to the Infantry Base Depot on 2nd June then joined his battalion in the field at TILQUES in Northern France on 14th June. The 20th Battalion were with the 3rd Division Pioneers engaged in training to building trenches and widening roads under supervision of the Royal Engineers.
Lambert wasn’t there for long before he was killed in action on 11th July 1916, after serving about six weeks abroad and less than four weeks in the trenches. His total service from enlistment was 1 year and 308 days and he was 33 years old when he died.

As far as we can tell they were based in or near to Montauban-de-Picardie (near to Fricourt) and at the time of Lambert’s death on the 11th they were widening and improving a communication trench as part of preparation for another attack on German lines. Bear in mind this was a fortnight after the disastrous first day of the Battle of the Somme, so a lot of work was being carried out at the time.

WO95/1405/4. 20th Battalion KRRC War diary:

9th July:
The Battalion split into parties already referred to, worked throughout day and night on road making, bridge builsing and collecting material, reliefs being organised so as to ensure continuous work.
10th and 11th July:
The Battalion continued on with the previous day’s programme, bridge building, road making etc continued.
It was on the 11th when Lambert was killed.

There are accounts of his death from the local newspapers at the time.

Leeds Mercury 17th July 1916 page 4:

A notification reached Keighley, yesterday, of the death in action, of Sergeant Arthur Lambert Debenham, of the King’s Royal Rifles.

Keighley News 22nd July 1916, page 4.

KILLED BY A SHELL
Sergeant Lambert Debenham, (33), King’s Royal Rifles, of Albert Street, Keighley, has been killed in action. The sad news was received by his wife from Lieutenant A. H. Naish, of the same regiment, who said Sergeant Debenham was killed on the night of the 12th inst. “We were widening and improving a communication trench,” he said “When a large German shell fell close by. I consider I have sustained a great personal loss in his death. The burial service was conducted by the Rev. — Mellish, V.C., and the body was interred by the men of his own platoon.” he concludes. Debenham was an old soldier, and had served six years in India. He had at the outbreak of the present war finished his terms of service, but thought it his duty to enlist, and he therefore re-enlisted in his old regiment. For a time he instructed recruits, but went out to the front in May last. Formerly he was employed by Messrs. Dawson Bentley, machine makers, Keighley. He was chapel keeper at the Worth Baptist Chapel, and was well known and highly respected. He leaves a widow and two children.

Lambert was buried by his comrades in a battlefield grave just to the South of Caterpillar Wood, which is to the North West of Montauban, near Longueval. His grave along with several others was exhumed by 113 Labour Company after the war and moved to grave 9 of row I in plot VII of Danzig Alley British Cemetery. This is near to Mametz in France and just over a mile away from his original grave, as the crow flies.

You can see the original position of his grave on Sheet 57C SW.S.26.b.3.2. which is a 1916 trench map provided by the National Library of Scotland. His grave was in the bottom left hand corner of the map.

Post war:

Emily completed the Army Form W.5080, statement of the names and addresses of all the relatives of the deceased soldier, which was as follows:

Widow. Emily Debenham of 8, Alfred Street, Worth Village, Keighley.
Children. Arthur and Ernest Debenham of the same address
Father. None.
Mother. Nancy Wordley of 13, Arthur Street, Keighley.
Full blood brother. Roland John Debenham aged 40, Army Occupation Germany.
Full blood sister. Mrs. Celia Coates aged 32. 27, School Green, Thornton, Bradford.
The document was signed by Emily and dated 10th July 1919.
It was counter-signed by the Baptist Minister Frank Bass of the Worth Valley Baptist Chapel. His address was 142, Lawkholme Lane, Keighley.

Emily received payments from his Army account to the tune of £5 11s. 3d. on 25th October 1916 and a war gratuity payment of £11 10s. 0d. on 17th September 1919.
She also received a dependant’s pension of 22 shillings per week for herself and their two sons, beginning on 17th February 1917. A later decision raised the pension to £2 8s. 7d. per week of which £1.11s.1d was for herself and 17s. 6. per week for the two boys. this element would end on their 16th Birthdays which was 6th July 1927 for Arthur and 17th September 1929 for Ernest.
At the time of the pension award Emily was living at 8, Alfred Street in Keighley.

Emily would have received any of Lambert’s personal effects and his British War Medal and Victory Medal, plus a bronze war memorial plaque and King’s certificate. She received a scroll inscribed with his name on 15th September 1920.

In the 1921 census Emily was living with the boys at 8, Alfred Street. Emily was aged 43 and a silk and cotton weaver for C. A. Newsholme & Co., at Aireworth Shed. Arthur was aged nine and Ernest seven and both were attending school.

Arthur married Gladys M. Yarker in summer 1938 and in the 1939 register they were living with her parents at 10, Clock View Street near Utley. Arthur died aged 70 in December 1981.
Ernest was living with Emily at 1, Alfred Street in the 1939 register. He married Ethel Mary Hoyle early in 1945. He died aged 66 in 1979.
Emily was living at 2, Milton Street in Keighley when she died on 30th May 1957 aged 79.

Remembrance:

Arthur Lambert Debenham is remembered in the Borough of Keighley roll of honour book at Keighley Library.

Arthur Lambert Debenham’s name in the roll of honour.

Information sources:

1881 Census.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915.
1891 Census.
1901 Census.
Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier Service Records, 1760-1920.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915.
1911 England Census.
British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919.
British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920.
WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920.
Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929.
World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005.
1921 Census.
1939 Register.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007.
National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995.
National Archives WO95 war diaries.
Keighley News archives at Keighley Library.
British Newspaper Archive.
National Library of Scotland.