TOPIC:

Outside Evesham Town Hall.

Another fabulous piece of research, Berenice. Thank you.

The men of the Evesham Company were announced as being :—

......................................EVESHAM COMPANY.
5475 Private R. J. Dale...............................Merstow Green, Evesham.
5465 Bugler F. Finch...................................20, Bridge street, Evesham.
5505 Private W. Perrigo..............................Merstow Green, Evesham.
5483 Private W. J. Gardener.......................4, Magpie lane, Evesham.
5486 Private F. Halford................................Bretforton, near Evesham.
5512 Private J. Tomkins.............................. Bretforton, near Evesham.
5489 Private J. H. Hay.................................Bretforton, near Evesham.
5472 Private J. Cassell................................Anchor Buildings, Evesham.
5515 Private W. Walters.............Married.....34, Briar Close, Evesham.
5470 Private G. Byrd...................................Bretforton, near Evesham.
5485 Private W. O. Grinnell.........................Dumbleton, near Evesham.
5488 Private H. Harris................Married.....Bewdley street Evesham.
5511 Private W. Surrell...............Married.....158, Spring Hill, Birmingham.
5495 Private J. Langstone...........................Littleworth street, Evesham.
Worcestershire Chronicle, Saturday 17th February 1900

....Evesham, on Thursday, was unusually lively. Of 16 men of the D (Evesham) Company of the 2nd V.B. Worcestershire Regiment, 12 men succeeded in passing the medical examination, and these paraded on Thursday, and then sat down to a lunch at the Drill Hall, provided by the officers of the local Company. They then marched, preceded by the band, to the Town Hall, where they were addressed by Ald. Lowe (Deputy Mayor), in the absence of the Mayor (Councillor New). In the course of his remarks Ald. Lowe said that, for the first time in the history of the Volunteer movement, we were sending out a force of men to do their duty to their Queen and country, and to prove to foreign nations that Volunteers were not toy soldiers, but constituted a force which would have to be reckoned with by the enemies of this country. He felt sure that the Evesham Volunteers would do their duty, and he trusted after a short time to welcome them back, with medals for the Transvaal Campaign, with clasps for Pretoria and Bloemfontein. Captain Wilding, commanding the Company, announced that Mr. J. H. Leigh, of Hill Crest, was going to present each of the men with a sovereign on embarkation and another when they returned. The men then marched, headed by the band, and surrounded by a cheering crowd, to the Station, where they took train for Worcester, being given an enthusiastic send-off. Each of the men, before leaving, was presented with pipes, cigars, and tobacco by friends, officers, and members of the company. It may be mentioned that there was only one married man among the Evesham Volunteers. At Pershore eight Volunteers from the Pershore Company who have passed the medical examination (10 offered their services) joined the Evesham men, and much enthusiasm was displayed at the Station. The men from Evesham and Pershore will be billeted in Worcester until the Company leaves for Aldershot.
Worcestershire Chronicle, Saturday 13th January 1900

A memorial service in Worcester after the end of the war mentioned three Evesham men as having not returned home - Grinnall/Grinnell, Perrigo, and Sorrell/Surrell. Perrigo is listed as having died in South Africa, but I couldn't immediately find the other two.

Grinnell died in the UK - the General Register Office names him as Walter Oliver Grinnall, died in the first quarter of 1900, aged 21. His death was recorded in the Hartley Wintney registration district, which was to the immediate north and north-west of Aldershot, and included Farnborough.

....Private J. Grinnell, a native of Dumbleton, a village near Evesham, who was a recruit last year, has died at Aldershot, where he was awaiting to go to the front with the Worcester Volunteers. He had not been in very good health for some time.
Worcestershire Chronicle, Saturday 24th February 1900

On the off-chance I looked for a Sorrell/Surrell death recorded in the Hartley Wintney registration district, and found William Sorrell, died in the first quarter of 1900, aged 32. No mention of his death in the Worcestershire Chronicle, but that might have been because he'd been living in Birmingham. Neither Grinall/Grinell or Sorrell/Surrell are recorded at Find A Grave.

....At Wynberg : 2nd Worcester Regiment, Private A. Perrigo has died from disease.
Worcestershire Chronicle, Saturday 9th June 1900

....Private Dale, one of the first of the Evesham Company of Volunteers to offer themselves for service at the front, has returned home invalided. He says the patients were treated quite as well as could be expected in field hospitals, and there was really nothing to grumble about. Of course the hospitals were not like those at home, but the men were looked after as well as possible under the circumstances.
Worcestershire Chronicle, Saturday 7th July 1900

....VOLUNTEERS.—The annual dinner of the local Volunteers and presentation of prizes took place at the Townhall on Wednesday evening. There was a large gathering, . . . Captain Wilding said the Evesham company sent 23 men to the front, and he did not think any other company in England or Scotland had sent as many. . . .
Worcestershire Chronicle, Saturday 12th January 1901

....The 11 members of the Evesham Company returned home on Monday evening, and had an enthusiastic reception. The town was gaily decorated, and a great crowd awaited them at the station, where they were joined by the D Company in full force, under the command of Captain Wilding. They marched through the town to the Town Hall, whence the Mayor and Corporation accompaned them to the church, and a thanksgiving service was held. Afterwards they marched to the Drill Hall, where the Mayor heartily welcomed them home and invited them to a banquet next week, when presentations will be made.
Worcestershire Chronicle, Saturday 15th June 1901

Berenice, I have a Private W. Perrigo [6783] who has died of disease at Wynberg, Cape Town.

ST JOHN'S ANGLICAN AND METHODIST CHURCH CEMETERY, WYNBERG CAPE TOWN



Contributed by: Heather MacAlister & Moira Pnematicatos
www.graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=4237104
www.graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=176422

Thank you, Elmarie. The best match I can find for his birth is a William Perrigo, born in the Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, area, in 1882. There was a William Arthur Perrigo, also born at Tenbury Wells, in 1863.

A Wallace Oliver Grinnall was born at Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, 8-9 miles south of Evesham, and a William Sorrell was born in Evesham in 1867.

Hello Berenice, Having just becoming a member of your wonderful web-site I believe that my wife and myself can contribute to the question of the name Surrell/Sorrell. I have posted three attachments which may be of help to those with an interest in the Evesham volunteers.
Brian and Alice Randle