Eli Marsh
Memorial: Acton Turville - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Serjeant (Service No 30752)
Parents: George and Eliza Marsh
Marital status: Single
Home address: Home Address: Unknown (Badminton/Acton Turville area) Lived: 1901 and the 1911 Census, lived in Trent, Near Sherbourne, Dorset
Pre-war occupation: Porter at Badminton Railway Station
Date of birth: 1892
Place of birth: Trent, Dorset
Date of death: 06/12/1917
Buried/Commemorated at: No Known Grave – commemorated Cambrai Memorial, France
Age: 25
Further information:
The Acton Turville memorial records Eli Marsh 10th Hussars who died on 6/12/1917. His correct name was Eli James March, and was mis-spelt on the memorial. It is unclear why Eli was shown as being attached to the 10th Hussars. The war diaries for the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers record the fact they were in the trenches on the 6th December 1917 and came under attack from the enemy. Several Officers were killed, and 30 other ranks but no names are given.
Eli worked for the Great Western Railway and is commemorated on their Roll of Honour (Recorded as part of the traffic division, Badminton). The National Union of Railway workers record Eli as joining the union in 1913 (Bath branch), and in the remarks records the fact that he was killed in action on 6 December 1917.
The entry on ‘soldiers effects’ left 11 shillings plus 18 shillings war gratuity to his older sister Mabel Lydia (Married name Thorne).
Eli’s mother died in 1907 aged 56 and his father died in early 1911. The 1911 census shows Eli’s older brother Albert as the head of the household which included Eli’s two older sisters and younger brother.
Eli is commemorated on the Acton Turville St Mary’s Church Memorial and the Trent, St Andrews Church Memorial Dorset (as well as the GWR Roll of Honour).
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Findmypast (Soldiers Died during the Great War, 1901 & 1911 Census etc), Researcher John Davis.