Mersea people on service, 1914–18

Local research records roughly 320 men from Mersea serving during the First World War in the Army, Royal Navy or Merchant Navy. The figure describes men who served, not the number killed. Roger Bullen’s Not Just a Name examines the lives and military records of fifty men from the island who died.

The war touched families on both sides of the island. George and Nathan Cudmore, sons of Nathan and Emma Cudmore of East Mersea’s Home Farm Cottage, were killed in France within three weeks of one another. George was buried in East Mersea churchyard and Nathan in France. The local archive preserves separate records of their service.

A memorial dedicated before the war ended

The West Mersea War Memorial was unveiled on 22 September 1917, while fighting was still underway. As further deaths occurred, names had to be added and the monument altered. Its present form therefore reflects changes made after the original dedication.

Nursing and voluntary aid

Island women also served in wartime nursing. Records identify at least thirteen Mersea women at the Gostwycke Voluntary Aid Detachment hospital in Colchester. Nancy Pierrepont Edwards, wife of West Mersea’s vicar, worked there from 23 November 1914 to 6 June 1918. Her Red Cross service record documents night duty and work as acting quartermaster.

A Colchester war memorial publication printed in 1923 names Mrs Pierrepont Edwards and Mrs Egerton Green as commandants of a Mersea V.A.D. hospital. Whether a separate hospital actually operated on the island has not been established from that reference. It should not be confused with Nancy Edwards’s documented service at Gostwycke.

Work at home

Farms, fishing and the oyster trade continued while servicemen were away. The memorial, service histories and Red Cross records allow the war to be followed through individual Mersea households rather than only the national chronology. See also Charles and Nancy Pierrepont Edwards.

Further records

Roger Bullen, Not Just a Name (publication record) · Archive: wartime and family records.