In Christchurch, Cemetery near Chertsey is the final resting place for GS/1221 and GS/50588 Lieutenant Shallet Hewson Raggett who died 06/10/1940.

Chertsey Urban District Council reported the death of Civilian Shallet Hewson Raggett aged 47 years on 06/10/1940.

He was the son of the late Rev. Robert and Elizabeth Raggett, of Newcastle and the husband of Theresa Raggett, of Woodlands, Tunbury Avenue, Walderslade, Chatham, Kent.  He was Injured 15th September 1940, at White Horse, Brixton, London and died at Botley’s Park War Hospital.

Shallett Hewson Raggett was born at 15 Fenwick Terrace, Preston, North Shields on the 25th December 1892, baptised on the 29th December 1892 at St Faith’s Mission Church, Hudson Street, North Shields, the second eldest son of five children to the Reverend Robert Raggett, M.A., born 15th July 1857, Kent and his wife Elizabeth Hewson, nee Crawford, born 1 Northumberland Place, Tynemouth, 8th December 1859, the daughter of Thomas Crawford, a solicitor, and Ann Isabella nee Hewson, Crawford, {she was the daughter of Shellat Hewson, a well known shipowner}, married at Christ Church 9th June 1857]. She died 7th September 1919.

Robert and Elizabeth were married on the 18th October 1887, at Christ Church North Shields. Robert was residing at Albion Road, North Shields, and Elizabeth was residing at 1 Northumberland Place, Robert’s father was a Railway District Inspector.

The other children were
Bertram Robert Raggett, born 5th August 1890,
Annie Luciania, born 1896,
John Lawrence, born 14th August 1903, died 1996.  In 1939 he was residing at 51 Loose Road, Maidstone, Kent with his wife, Sadie, born 1st August 1907.
Gilbert Edward born 8th January 1906.  In 1939 he was residing at 141 Second Avenue, Dagenham, with his wife Emily D. born 15th March 1905.

In 1891 Robert and his family were still residing at 15 Fenwick Terrace, North Shields, his father was educated at Maidstone Grammar School, then went to Oxford, where he studied to be a priest. He took his B.A. in 1884 and his M.A. two years later. Robert was ordained a deacon in 1884 then a priest in 1885; he became curate of Tynemouth in 1884 to 1890, then curate in charge at St Faith’s Mission Church 1891 to 1892 at North Shields, then vicar of St Luke’s from 1892, due to the partitioning of the old St Andrew’s parish in Newcastle upon Tyne, in Spital Tongues, Newcastle upon Tyne. He died 17th January 1912.

Shallett was educated at the Royal Grammar School from 1909 to 1912. He left in July 1912. He was residing at 6 Claremont Terrace, with the rest of his family.

He was having private tuition with a view to take Holy Orders.

Shallett’s mother Elizabeth Hewson Crawford was the sister of Shallett John Crawford who was the captain, secretary and president of both Northumberland and Tynemouth Cricket Clubs.

Shallett played in the following matches reported in local newspapers:-
1905 Newcastle West End Preparatory School (with B Raggett)
1907 Claremont (Family lived in Claremont Terrace. This looks like a local boys’ team.
1909 Royal Grammar School
1910 Royal Grammar School
1911 Royal Grammar School Old Novacastrians (RGS Old Boys)
1912 Royal Grammar School Old Novacastrians (RGS Old Boys)
1914 Old Novacastrians (RGS Old Boys)
(In July 1914, S.H. Raggett XI played against the Corinthians at the College of Medicine ground at Heaton. The Corinthians won by 158 runs, but Shallett took 4 wickets and scored 5 runs not out. His brother Bertram played as well, scoring only 1 run before being caught out.)

1923 The Mote (a good club in Maidstone)
1924 Maidstone Church Institute

Shallett Hewson Raggett enlisted in the 22nd (Service) Kensington (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers in October 1914, his service number wasGS1221. The battalion was raised by the Mayor, Alderman William H, Davison, and Borough of Kensington as a Service (Kitchener) battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (RF) on the 11th September 1914 at the White City. ‘A’ and ‘B’ Company were raised at the King Edward’s Horse, who joined ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies at Shepherd’s Bush, White City in September 1914. They trained at Roffey, (2 miles from Horsham), where a camp approved by the War Office had been erected, and Tidworth.

On the 27th October 1914 the battalion was entrained in two long special trains at Addison Road Station. On the 1st July 1915 the War Office took over the responsibility of the Battalion.

At the end of June 1915, the Battalion was moved to Clipstone. From August to November the battalion was at Tidworth. On November the 16th the Battalion left Tidworth station, one half left for Southampton to Le Havre, the other half from Folkestone to Boulogne.

In June 1915 it became part of 99th Brigade 33rd Division, along with 17th, 23rd and 24th Battalions Royal Fusiliers. The battalion went to France on the 16th November 1915 with 33rd Division, but almost immediately on arrival the brigade was transferred to the 2nd Division, a regular division, where the battalion remained till it was disbanded in February 1918 when the B.E.F. reduced the number of brigades in a battalion from four to three.

Shallett went to France with the 22nd Battalion on the 16th November 1915 until the 31st July 1916. The rest camp was at Ostrohove Camp, K Camp, from there the battalion ended up at Steenbecque.

On the 25th November the Battalion was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Division, previously they were with the 33rd Division as part of the 99th Infantry Brigade. They marched south to Bethune then to a village called Fouquereuil. On the 17th December the Battalion were in the trenches for the first time.

Shallett was wounded on the 26th December 1915, near Bethune. The battalion were moving out of the trenches to Billets at Annequin South, one soldier wounded is mentioned in the War Diary.

Shallett was wounded a second time at Delville Wood with a gun shot wound to the eye on the 27th July 1916, and was taken to the 56th Casualty Clearing Station at 12 pm then based at Vecquemont. He was here till 9.00 pm before being taken to Hospital. On that day the battalion was with the 2nd Division, part of XIII Corps.

At 6.10 am a severe barrage was laid on Delville Wood. At 7.10 am the 1st K.R.R.C. and the 23rd Royal Fusiliers, (99th Brigade), ‘A’ and ‘B’ Companies advanced, and captured the Princes Street line after some little opposition, following the lift in the barrage. By 9 am they had reached their objective and held a line about 50 yards inside the Wood. The 1st Royal Berks mopped up but did not push out to the eastern edge. The Germans began to shell Princes Street, the new supporting position.

A strong counterattack by the Germans on the flank was held by all units of the Battalion. The 22nd Battalion had the less stimulating task of beating of the continued attacks of the enemy and the suffering their shell fire. The casualties were 1 officer killed (a Captain Grant), 4 other officers wounded and 189 ranks killed, wounded or missing. One of the wounded was Shallett. On the 31st July 1916, he was taken off the strength of the 22nd Battalion.

After recovering from his wounds, he returned to the Royal Fusiliers depot and was transferred into the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers with a new service number GS/50588. He was in France from the 7th December 1916.

On the 2nd March 1917 Shallett was no longer in the 1st Battalion. He left France for the UK and applied for a commission as a Cadet in the 10th Officer Cadet Battalion at Gailes. Shallett was commissioned on the 28th February 1918 as a 2nd Lieutenant in to ‘D’ Company of the 4th Battalion (Territorial), King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment).

Shallett was awarded the Military Cross whilst attached to the 1st Battalion.

Shallett’s older brother Bertram Robert Raggett, also served in the Army, but was killed in 1918.

After the War Shallett was with the Chinese Labour Corps as a Lieutenant from the 27th August 1919.

The Chinese Labour Corps (CLC; French: Corps de Travailleurs Chinois; Chinese: 中国劳工旅; pinyin: Zhōnggu logōng lǚ) was a force of workers recruited by the British government in World War I to free troops for front line duty by performing support work and manual labour. The French government also recruited a significant number of Chinese labourers, and although those labourers working for the French were recruited separately and not part of the CLC, they are often considered to be so. In all, some 140,000 men served for both British and French forces before the war ended and most of the men were repatriated to China between 1918 and 1920.

Shallett then a motor engineer, married Theresa Cameron, born Paisley, 13th April 1900, daughter of David and Elizabeth Cameron, on May 16th 1926 at St. John’s Church Chatham. They resided at the Old Mill Farm at Middleton in 1924 and in 1940 at 153 Tunbury Avenue, Waldersalde, Chatham.

Shallett died on the 6th October 1940 at Botley’s Park War Hospital, Chertsey, after being moved from St Thomas Hospital, from wounds received on Sunday 15th September 1940 outside The White Horse when he was caught in the bomb blast during the Blitz on London.

Botley’s Park War Hospital consisted of 20 huts, grouped around a central ramped corridor, with outlying buildings used for nurses homes and stores, and Botleys Park Mansion was used to accommodated doctors and nursing staff. It was staffed by nurses from St. Thomas Hospital, London and many of the patients from evacuated London hospitals were sent there, as were victims of the London Blitz, and the wounded from Dunkirk and the D-Day landings. At this time there were 1,400 war hospital beds and 1,050 beds for other patients. On the 28th May 1940 Her Majesty the Queen (later the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) visited the War Hospital to see the wounded soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk.

The Shields Daily News 08/10/1940 reports:-
Shieldsman’s Death In London
The death has taken place in London through enemy action of Mr Shallett Hewson Raggett (48), second son of the late Rev. and Mrs Robert Raggett, formerly of North Shields.

The Rev. Raggett was curate in-charge of St. Faith’s Mission, North Shields, for about six years in the late 80’s, and was later appointed to the living at St Luke’s, Newcastle. where he was all his life. While in Tynemouth he married Miss Elizabeth Hewson Crawford, member of an old local family. Mr Shallett Hewson Raggett was born in Dockwray Square, but only lived in the borough for about two years.

It is believed that he was travelling in a London taxi when a bomb exploded nearby. He died later in hospital. He leaves a widow and two children, The eldest son of the late Mr Raggett Snr. Mr Bertram Robert Raggett, B.Sc., was killed in the last war.

Shallett Hewson Raggett M.C., of Woodlands Tunbury Avenue, Waldersalde, near Chatham left an estate to his wife Theresa Raggett of £827 9s 9d.

Theresa Raggett died on the 13th April 1988, leaving an estate worth £97,115 at Brighton.

Shallett Hewson Raggett is remembered in the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour, located near St. George’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey, London Civilian War Dead at Westminster Abbey. He is not remembered in the North East.

Acknowledgements: Barry Greenbank.