This week, our Salesian schools and parishes are joining the rest of the country in considering the impact of war on families, especially those who died, suffered and lost loved ones in the First World War, as we mark the centenary of the Armistice.

Many of our schools have memorials to Old Boys who died, and other memorials around the country record their names too. At the time of the Great War, the Salesians had their Novitiate in Burwash, Sussex. Although St Joseph's, the Salesian church, was demolished long ago, its graveyard remains, and in it stands a crucifix memorial with each side of its base recording the names of Old Boys from four Salesian Schools - Burwash, Wandsworth, Battersea and Farnborough.

Burwash Old Boy, Second Lieutenant Richard Walker was killed in action aged 33, on 9th August 1916, at Delville Wood. He served in the 2nd /5th Battalion. Lancashire Fusiliers, formerly the London Regiment (Artist's Rifles). Richard has no known grave, and is remembered on the memorial to the missing at Thiepval in the Somme. His name is also recorded on the Burwash village memorial, a monument which has become quite famous as it records the name of John Kipling, son of Rudyard Kipling, who lived in the area.

Private William James Fieldwick of D Company, 9th Bn. Royal Sussex Regiment, was 23 when he was killed at the Battle of Loos on 26th September 1915. He was the only son of a local fly owner, (a horse-drawn taxi), and in the 1911 census, he gave his occupation as 'fly driver'. He also has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais.

After three years studying at Battersea, Andrew Boyle, from Lanark, Scotland, left his studies in 1916 to volunteer for active service in the Royal Scots. He suffered from trench fever during his service, and was taken prisoner in 1918. After the war, he returned to his studies and joined the Novitiate at Burwash. He was appointed editor of the Salesian Bulletin in Turin, where he continued his studies, becoming a Doctor of Divinity there in 1926, the year he was ordained priest. He taught Latin at Thornleigh in Bolton, and in 1937, was transferred to Farnborough. When the war broke out again in 1939, he volunteered as an army chaplain. He died suddenly at Troon, Ayrshire, on 28th November 1940, aged 47. He was buried at Farnborough with full military honours.

We remember them and all who have died and suffered in wars and conflicts, and pray for a peaceful world.

With thanks to:

Fr Bernard Grogan, Salesian Archivist
War Memorials Online

Other sources: Ancestry, Commonwealth War Graves