M2/188419 Private Owen Plummer, 283rd MT Coy, Army Service Corps

Owen Plummer was one of three Chailey brothers killed in the First World War. 

Chailey Parish Magazine provides brief details about him.  He first appears in a special list of attested men in April 1916, the words “medically unfit” being written against his name.  He must however, have subsequently been upgraded because he joined the Army Service Corps and was killed in action whilst serving with them, on 5th April 1917.  Chailey Parish Magazine incorrectly reported his death as 13th April. 

The Commonwealth War Graves’ Commission’s Debt of Honour Register tells us that he was M2/188419 Private Owen Plummer serving with the 283rd Motor Transport Company at the time he was killed.  He is buried in Douchy-les-Ayette British Cemetery in France; grave reference: IV.H.5  

Owen Plummer was born in late 1882 or early 1883, his birth being registered in the March 1883 quarter at Lewes.  He appears on the 1891 census, living with his family at South Street, Chailey.  The family comprised Charles Plummer (a 37 year old agricultural labourer), his 36 year old wife Caroline and their eight children: Clement Plummer Martin (aged 19, an agricultural labourer), Ebenezer Plummer (aged 14), Emily Plummer (aged 12), Albert Plummer (aged ten), Owen Plummer (aged eight), Alexander Plummer (aged five), Annie Plummer (aged three) and Laurel Plummer (aged five months).  Another son, 17 year old William Plummer, was working as a cow lad and domestic servant for Thomas Farrant at Weavel’s Den, Chailey. 

Ten years later, most of the family is still living at South Street (although some of the ages do not tally with the information given on the previous census return and there are some name variations).  The family comprised Charles Plummer (aged 49 and now working as carter on a farm), his wife Caroline (whose age is given as 57) and seven children: [Charles] William Plummer (a 27 year old farm labourer), Albert Plummer (a 20 year old gardener), Owen Plummer (an eighteen year old brickyards labourer), Annie Plummer (aged 12), Laura N Plummer (aged 11), Dora Louisa Plummer (aged six) and Kate Elizabeth Plummer (aged three).   

Clement Plummer Martin, oldest of the Plummer children, was married with two children, living at 45 Church Street, Brighton and working as brewer’s labourer.   Fifteen year old Alexander Plummer was still in Chailey but not at South Street.  He was working as a page at The Hooke, Chailey.   

Owen Plummer is commemorated on Chailey’s village war memorial along with his two brothers Albert and Alexander.

 

 

My thanks to Jon Miller for the photographs on this post.

 

A heavy sacrifice

On 23rd April 1918, Alexander Plummer, serving with the 19th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, was killed in action. He was the youngest of six boys and one of three brothers to be killed during the First World War. His brother Albert Plummer had been killed in action on 2nd July 1916 whilst a third brother, Owen Plummer, had been killed on 5th April the previous year. Alexander has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozieres memorial. All three brothers are also commemorated on the Chailey war memorial.

Also mourning two sons in April, were James and Margaret Smith of Yew Tree Cottage, Cornwell's Bank, Newick. Their son Frederick James Smith had been killed on 17th April 1917 at Arras and now, on 26th April 1918, another son, George Spencer Smith, was killed in Belgium whilst serving with the 13th Royal Sussex Regiment. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial. Tragically, James and Margaret also lost two other sons to the Great War: Septimus Sydney Smith at Gallipoli on 19th August 1915 and Edward George Smith on the Somme on 26th July 1916. All four brothers are remembered on the war memorial at Newick.

Thus between them, the Plummer family of Chailey and the Smith family of Newick lost seven sons, holding the unenviable distinction of being the two families from those two villages who made the greatest sacrifices.

April is the cruellest month

On 5th April 1917, Chailey born Private Owen Plummer of the Army Service Corps, was killed in action. Exactly one year later, Private Edward Wells who, at the time of his enlistment, was living in Chailey, was killed in action whilst serving with the 9th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers.

Owen is buried in Douchy-les-Ayette British Cemetery in France and commemorated on Chailey's memorial along with two of his brothers, Albert Plummer and Alexander Plummer. Edward Wells has no known grave but is commemorated on the Pozieres memorial in France. He is not named on the Chailey parish memorial.