A collision on August 15th, 1916, between two British submarines engaged in exercises in the North Sea off Harwich cost the life of the eldest son of a family who had moved to live in Luton.

Petty Officer Stoker William Wallace Gadsby (pictured right) was a month away from his 36th birthday when serving on submarine E4 which collided with submarine E41. Both vessels sank, costing the lives of all hands on E4 and others on E41.

For Mrs Isabella Gadsby, a widow for 20 years living at 34 Stuart Street, Luton, it was the loss of a second son within six weeks. Younger son Pte Arthur Edward Gadsby, aged 32, serving in the Hampshire Regiment under the name Gadstone, was killed in action on the Somme on July 5th, 1916.

A third and youngest son, Pte Albert Edward Gadsby, aged 24, would also be killed, serving with the 2nd Bedfords on October 29th, 1918.

All three are commemorated on the Luton Roll of Honour and the St Mary's Church Memorial.