Pte Arthur William Housden, 23606, 4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, died on May 24th, 1917, from wounds sustained in France.

He was admitted to hospital on May 2nd and underwent two operations. Both seemed to have been successful, although he could hardly see. But on May 18th the hospital Sister wrote that his condition had worsened, and on May 25th she wrote to Pte Housden's parents to say: "I regret to say your son died yesterday afternoon at 4.30 very peacefully. He was much worse in the night and quite unconscious towards the end, but did not suffer any pain."

Pte George Jenkins, 18252, 2nd Battalion Beds Regt, died on September 30th, 1915, from wounds sustained two days earlier in the Battle of Loos. Some military records suggest he resided in Stopsley, but Press reports at the time described him as from Hockliffe.

Born in Newbury, Berks, on November 5th, 1893, Pte Jenkins married Florence Rose Bleaney, the daughter of Walter and Annie Bleaney, from High Street, Upper Houghton Regis [now High Street North, Dunstable], in early 1914. Their daughter, Florence May, was born in July of that year.