Elizabeth, then known as Nellie, was the granddaughter of a Scottish missionary who had administered to the poorest of the poor in South India for fifty years http://www.britishempire.co.uk/article/faithandfamily.htm. Her home was therefore in the Palani Hills of South India where she was born. Educated at Ancaster House, Bexhill-on-Sea in England, [Click to continue…]

Private Arthur Villeneuve was born in Peckham, south London on 16th June 1896, the eldest child of Albert and Amelia Villeneuve (nee Wells), which was also the place of his parents’ birth. We can trace the family’s ancestry back to the French Huguenots living in Berlin. Arthur’s father, Albert, was employed by the Salvation Army Assurance Society [Click to continue…]

John Thomas Drake, the elder son of George Drake and Emily (formerly Jarvis) was born in 1895 at Great Warley, Essex, and he was the first of their two sons to die in this war. His parents were married 10 Oct 1891 at Little Burstead, Essex. His grandparents were John Drake and Sarah Ann Poulter, who were married 17 Oct 1858 at Bethnal Green St Philip, [Click to continue…]