Jill
15-12-14, 06:02
37th of the Old Boys of St Wilfrid's School, Haywards Heath to die on WW1.
Allen was born in Ifield near Crawley around 1899 one of the seven children of Henry Stemp, a builder’s labourer and his wife Olive. They were still in Ifield in 1901 but by 1911 they lived in what was then the edge of Haywards Heath but is now right next to our current school at 10 Victoria Road. In the spring of 1914 he was acquitted with his older brother Harry of rabbiting in Franklyn Wood and assaulting a gardener who took their dog.
Part of Allen’s military records survive and from that we know that he joined up aged 18 years 3 months in March 1917 - the medical board at Chichester found he was 5 ft 8 ¼ inches tall, 130 lbs, had good eyesight and had been vaccinated. He had enlisted at Brighton. On 17th Jan 1917 he was fined a week’s pay and confined to barracks for a week for overstaying his leave by a day.
Following his death in France on 23 March 1918 there was application from his father to receive a commemorative plaque and scroll. Allen has no known grave but is commemorated on the Poziers memorial.
A payment of £9 3s 8d of his effects which included a War Gratuity of £5 10s was sent to his father on 9th September 1918. For some reason his name is recorded as Allen Stemps.
Allen was born in Ifield near Crawley around 1899 one of the seven children of Henry Stemp, a builder’s labourer and his wife Olive. They were still in Ifield in 1901 but by 1911 they lived in what was then the edge of Haywards Heath but is now right next to our current school at 10 Victoria Road. In the spring of 1914 he was acquitted with his older brother Harry of rabbiting in Franklyn Wood and assaulting a gardener who took their dog.
Part of Allen’s military records survive and from that we know that he joined up aged 18 years 3 months in March 1917 - the medical board at Chichester found he was 5 ft 8 ¼ inches tall, 130 lbs, had good eyesight and had been vaccinated. He had enlisted at Brighton. On 17th Jan 1917 he was fined a week’s pay and confined to barracks for a week for overstaying his leave by a day.
Following his death in France on 23 March 1918 there was application from his father to receive a commemorative plaque and scroll. Allen has no known grave but is commemorated on the Poziers memorial.
A payment of £9 3s 8d of his effects which included a War Gratuity of £5 10s was sent to his father on 9th September 1918. For some reason his name is recorded as Allen Stemps.