Sapper John Wesley, 524163, 82nd Field Company Royal Engineers, was killed in action in France on June 12th, 1918. He left a widow, Lillie, whom he had married in Luton a year earlier, and had been in France for only 11 weeks.

An officer wrote to Lillie: “I have to inform you of the death of your husband, who was killed on the night of the 12th whilst proceeding to work. Death was instantaneous. I am pleased to tell you he was saved the awful pain of a lingering death... He was buried officially, and his grave is kept in Army records.”

Pte Henry James Pool, 69182, 1/6th Northumberland Fusiliers, was reported to have died of wounds sustained in action in France on April 11th, 1918. After 12 months of training in England, he had been drafted to France only a week earlier, on April 4th.

Born in Bromley by Bow in London to Henry John and Louise Annie Pool, Henry was listed as living with his family in Bow in the 1911 Census. By the time he had joined up he had worked at the Diamond Foundry in Luton and his home address was 86 Grange [now St Peter's] Road, Luton.

Pte Ernest Llewellin Godbehear, 44027, 10th Battalion Essex Regiment, died of wounds in France on May 22nd, 1918. He the third son of Thomas James and Emma Godbehear to die, but the first on the battlefield.

Little detail was given in a report in The Luton News, other than to concentrate on his achievements as a boxer. He held the lightweight championship of the 212th Brigade, and was runner-up in the championship of the Division. His parents had received the watch and medals he had been awarded.

L-Cpl Archibald Christopher Allwood, 41386, 13th Battalion Rifle Brigade, had been in France only a month and in the front line trenches just a day or two when he was killed by a shell which dropped into his dug-out on June 2nd, 1918. He and his comrades died instantly.

The former Luton Modern School pupil was the only son of Luton Borough Special Constabulary Inspector Walter Leonard Allwood and his wife Florence Ruth, of 214 Dunstable Road, Luton. Archibald was two months short of his 19th birthday.

Pte Horace George Bird, 27369, 1st King's Shropshire Light Infantry, was killed outright by a gas shell which hit his shelter as he slept at 1am on April 20th, 1918.

Pte Frederick Norman Burchmore, 17574, 7th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, died in hospital at Boulogne, France, on May 10th, 1918, after being admitted on April 30th with severe gunshot wounds in the chest and extensive internal injuries.

A doctor performed a successful operation to remove shrapnel from around his heart. There had at first been hope of recovery, but his condition deteriorated and he passed peacefully away at the age of 22. He was buried with full military honours on May 12th at St Martin's Cemetery, Boulogne.

L-Cpl Charles James Whittington, 43269, 6th Battalion Northants Regiment, died in the Royal Fortress Hospital, Cologne, on May 24th, 1918, from a gunshot wound sustained when taken as a prisoner of war at St Quentin in France some weeks earlier. The 23-year-old was buried at the Cologne Southern Cemetery in Germany.

Rifleman Ernest William Pyne, 205137, 9th Battalion King's Royal Rifles, died of wounds shortly after being taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans during their spring offensive on March 27th, 1918.

'Corporal,' as he was known to his friends, was the youngest son of William Benjamin and Mary Ann Pyne, of 39 Beech Road, Luton. He had joined the Training Reserve in March 1917 at the aged of 18, and in December 1917 was transferred to the King's Royal Rifles. He went to France in January 1918.

Pte Frederick Dean, 60115, 101st Labour Company (ex-34th Battalion Royal Fusiliers), died in the 5th General Hospital in Rouen, France, on May 18th, 1918, five days after being admitted with gas shell poisoning.

His eldest brother William (Thomas William Dean) had been killed in action in France just weeks earlier, on March 24th, while helping a wounded soldier. Both brothers had been associated with the Clarence Football Club in their younger days.

Pte Henry Robert Loosley, 43591, 7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment (ex-202523 Suffolk Regiment, attached 53rd Trench Mortar Battery), died suffering from enteritis and heart weakness on May 18th, 1918, while a prisoner of war in Germany. He was single and aged 20.

With no local newspaper reports of his death, the primary local source is the Book of Life compiled at Luton Parish Church. Red Cross records then show that Henry was captured at Moy-de-l'Aisne in France on March 21st, 1918, the opening day of the German spring offensive.

Pte Frederick Archer Marshall, 200315, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, died of typhoid fever on May 12th, 1918, while serving in Palestine. He left a widow, Charlotte, and three children living at 6 Albert Terrace, New Town Street, Luton.

Frederick had served as a volunteer for 15 years, and was with Col Brighten's forces in the early stages of the war

Sgt Albert Parish, 17766, 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Flanders on May 8th, 1915. He was a butcher, and his military record says he resided in Luton, without giving further details. He is also commemorated on the Luton Roll of Honour, but without an address.

It is known that he was born in Lincolnshire in 1888 and was working as a butcher at Hemel Hempstead at the time of the 1911 Census. He enlisted at Bedford.

Pte Christopher Barton, 10716, 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was reported missing, later killed in action, in Flanders on May 8th, 1918. He was aged 25 and the son of Martha Jane and the late John Samuel, of 59 Chase Street, Luton.

Christopher married Ellen Riddle under licence at St Paul's Church, Luton, on November 17th, 1915. They had a daughter, Ivy, born the following year, and their home address was 73 Park Road West (now Strathmore Avenue), Luton.

Pte William Mather, 202793, 1st Battalion Hertfordshire Regiment, is recorded as killed in action in France on March 30th, 1918. He had been Superintendent of the Beech Hill Children's Homes in Dunstable Road, where his wife Emily was Matron.

William had joined the Colours 18 months previously, rising to Corporal but reverting to Private on going out to France. He was initially reported as missing.

Gunner Alfred Arthur White, 196693, 187th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, was killed instantly at about 9pm on April 15th, 1918, when a shell hit the dug-out he occupied on the Western Front in France during a heavy shelling of his battery. He was aged 23 and single.

Born in Castleford, Yorkshire, in 1894, he, parents Walter George and Sarah Jane White and 12 siblings had moved to Luton via Kettering and Dunstable. His father died in Luton in 1915 and his mother was living at 56 Norman Road, Luton.