Source: Michael Doyle Their Name Liveth For Evermore: The Great War Roll of Honour for Leicestershire and Rutland.
He was the son of Jacob Andrews, a painter, born on the 12th September 1865 in Little Shelford, Cambridgeshire and baptised on the 5th November 1865 in the Church of SS. Mary & Andrew, Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire (son of George Frederick Andrews and Emma Thompson) and his wife Mary Elizabeth Andrews (nee Clarke, married on the 25th December 1889 in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Ravenstone, Leicestershire), born in the January quarter of 1860 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire (daughter of Thomas Clarke and Ann Rayson). Jake Clarke was born on the 4th February 1891 in Ravenstone and was baptised on the 1st March 1891 in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Ravenstone, in April 1891 he was residing at Main Street, Ravenstone this being the family home of his widowed maternal grandfather, Thomas Clark, a rope maker, born 1822 in Ravenstone. In March 1901 Jake was residing in the family home at Windmill Lane, Kettering, Northamptonshire, together with his father, a house painter, his mother and siblings, Agnes Lilian Daisy, born on the 9th December 1892 in Winshill, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire and baptised on the 1st January 1893 in St. Mark’s Church, Winshill, George Thomas, born on the 10th December 1894 in Ravenstone and baptised on the 30th December 1894 in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Ravenstone and Leonard, born on the 24th May 1898 in Bedford. In April 1911 Jake was employed as a coal miner and was residing in the family home at Church Lane, Ravenstone, together with his mother and siblings, Agnes, Leonard and Albert Edgar, born in the July quarter of 1902 in Kettering. Jake’s younger brother George fell in action on the 23rd July 1915.
Jacob was a regular soldier and was a master sniper, having won the prestigious gold cup at Aldershot in 1912. In early September 1914 Jake embarked for France with the British Expeditionary Force of one hundred thousand soldiers, and was killed during the Retreat from Mons when he was shot through the head by a German sniper, dying instantly.
Jake’s Army enlistment documents do not survive, all that is known of his military service is that he enlisted on the 17th September 1912 in Bedford into the Bedfordshire Regiment, and was allotted the service number 10124, and posted as a Private to that Regiment’s Depot for training, subsequently being posted to the 1st Battalion. When war was declared he was stationed with his Regiment in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland and embarking with his Battalion, he first entered the theatre of war in France on the 16th August 1914. It is unknown when he was promoted, but at the time of his death in action on the 7th November 1914 he was recorded as holding the rank of Lance Corporal. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial in France. Jake was awarded the 1914 Star, Clasp and Rose, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
The War Diary records: 7 Nov-14 - Enemy broke through line held by Regiment about 200 yards to our left, carrying next Regiment and some of our men with them. Our supports were moved to left by self, Captain JOHN CASELLS MONTEITH and Adjutant, and assisted in driving enemy back. Quartermaster Sergeant 4893 THOMAS WILLIAM BYFORD (awarded Distinguished Conduct Medal) collected about 40 men and captured trench held by 21 Germans, killing or capturing all. Private 8095 WILLIAM FALLA (awarded Distinguished Conduct Medal) ran on in advance, and getting on left of trench enfiladed enemy whilst remainder were rushing the trench. Our casualties about 7 officers and 140 other ranks killed wounded, 7 missing.

Source: Leicestershire War Memorials Project.
Coalville Times article, Friday December 11th, 1914

RAVENSTONE SOLDIER KILLED

We regret to learn that Mr and Mrs J. Andrews of Ravenstone, have received a notification from the War Office that their son, Lance-Corpl. J. C. Andrews, of the 1st Beds. Regt., has been killed in action. No details are given. Andrews, who had been in the army about three years, had recently been promoted from private. He has a brother in the Territorials.

Coalville Times article, Friday December 18th, 1914

RAVENSTONE MAN KILLED

OFFICERS WARM TRIBUTE

“HE DIED A HERO”

“He died a hero. He had done excellent work for his King and country throughout this dastardly war.” In these words from an officer of the regiment, Mr and Mrs Andrews, of Ravenstone, though naturally much grieved at their loss, find some consolation in regard to the death of their son, Lance-Corpl. J. C. Andrews, of the 1st Bedfordshire Regiment, which happened on the 7th November, soon after he had been promoted from a private.

The officer adds in his letter, “His death is extremely mourned by all his comrades.” Mr and Mrs Andrews have also received the following letter from Lord Kitchener.

“The King commands me to assure you of the true sympathy of His Majesty and the Queen in your sorrow.

Kitchener”

In the official notification of the death, the place where it occurred is not stated and the only information given is that he was killed in action. The deceased last letter to his parents was dated October 20th and the following is an extract:

“There are lots of things I should like to tell you but we are not allowed to. I will tell you all when I come home, which I hope to do before very long. I don’t think the war will last much longer. I am in good health.”

Another letter which has been received by the deceased’s parents is from Pte. J. Starbuck, of Luton who says that he met a wounded soldier from the same regiment and who knew Lance-Corpl. Andrews. This soldier has told the writer that the Bedfords were surrounded by the Germans and had a rough time of it, but Dick, (the deceased) escaped on that occasion, though killed and wounded lay all around. The Bedford regiment was cut off by about 10,000 Germans and had it not been for the Scots Greys there would not have been a man left. The Bedfordshires fired away in the trenches till all their ammunition had gone and then there was nothing else for it, but to fix bayonets and charge. They had resolved to die together rather than surrender. That is British pluck if you like.

Lance-Corpl. Andrews was 23 years of age and had been three years in the army. The village of Ravenstone has several men in the war, some of whom have been wounded, but Andrews is the first Ravenstone man to be killed in action. He was a member of the Rector’s Bible Class and in the course of the service on Sunday morning, the rector (the Rev. S. Dowling) made suitable reference to the sad event.

Mr J. Andrews, the deceased’s father is a painter and worked for some time on the Gopsall estate (Earl Howe’s), but he has been at home for several weeks suffering from rheumatism. Another younger son, George, is serving in the Territorials.

Coalville Times article, Friday January 1st, 1915

A rather pathetic circumstance connected with the death of Lance-Corporal J. C. Andrews, of Ravenstone, killed in action as reported in a recent issue, is that just before he met his fatal injury he wrote to his sister at Ravenstone, sending her a small present on which was written these lines:

“Think of me when the golden sun is sinking
And your mind from cares set free
When of others you are thinking
Will you sometimes think of me?”

Coalville Times article - Friday November 8th, 1918

IN MEMORIAM

In loving memory of two brothers, Jake Clarke Andrews (Lance-Corporal 1st Bedfordshire Regiment) who was killed in action, November 7th, 1914, at Ypres, aged 23 years, and George Thomas Andrews, (Private, 5th Leicestershire Regiment) who was killed in action, July 23rd, 1915, at Ypres, aged 20 years.

“For faith, for liberty and truth,
They offered up their stalwart youth
They fell in strife, that peace might reign
Throughout the tortured world again,
They died – if it were death to give
Their lives – that all they loved, might live.”

“In the midst of life we are in death.”

From their loving Father, Mother, Sister and Brothers.
Ravenstone.

Coalville Times article - Friday October 29th, 1920

RAVENSTONE WAR MEMORIAL

UNVEILED BY MAJOR HATCHETT, J.P.

IMPRESSIVE SERVICE

Few villages, perhaps in proportion to population, suffered more heavily in the war than Ravenstone, where on Sunday afternoon the unveiling took place of a memorial to 28 men of the parish who made the supreme sacrifice. The memorial consists of a cross of Weldon stone, 12ft high, with steps at the base and three panels in Swithland slate bearing the names of the men, and on the front panel appears the inscription

“In glorious memory of the unreturning brave 1914 – 1918”

The names of the fallen are as follows:

L.-Corporal J. C. Andrews, Pte. H. Walker, Corporal P. L. Smith, Pte. G. T. Andrews, Pte. J. Martin, Pte. W. Brooks, Corporal C. Fairbrother, Pte. J. Nicholls, Gunner A. Prew, Pte. S. Poole, Seaman W. Potter, Corporal J. Sinfield, Pte. C. T. Colver, Corporal J. Curtis, Pte. H. Congrave, Corporal J. Collier, L.-Corporal F. Marlow, Pte. J. Watson, Pte. R. Bodle, Pte. W. Glover, Pte. A. R. Brooks, Pte. G. Yates, Pte. J. Knifton, Pte. W. Hill, Pte. C. H. C. Wilson, Rfn. W. Knight, Sergt. J. Hancock and Pte. A. Fowkes.

The cross was designed by Mr T. H. Fosbrooke, architect, of Leicester, whose brother is the Squire of Ravenstone Hall, and it was executed by Mr J. H. Morcomb, also of Leicester. The cost was about £150, which has been defrayed by public subscription.

The memorial stands in a most eminent position in the picturesque churchyard, by the side of the pathway leading to the main entrance of the church, and the unveiling ceremony by Major Hatchett, J.P., in the autumn sunshine, with a huge concourse of people gathered around, formed a very impressive scene.

THE SERVICE

The proceedings commenced with a service in the quaint old church, which was packed to the doors, many, in fact, being unable to get in. The uplifting strains of the hymn, “O God, our help in ages past,” formed an appropriate commencement, and then followed a form of service, led by the Rector (the Rev. S. Dowling) in which proper Psalms (21 and 121), lessons (Wisdom iii, 1 – 9 and Rev. 21 1 – 7) and prayers were fittingly mingled, each serving to emphasise the leading note of the day. The anthem beautifully rendered by the choir, was taken from the words of the special lesson. “The Souls of the Righteous,” and the sermon was preached by the Rev. J. D. C. Wallace, the Master of Ravenstone Hospital, whose text was Philippians Ic 22v “With Christ, which is far better.” He said that for many centuries in peace and war time that church had stood at Ravenstone, but never before in its history had it seen what stood in its shadow to-day – a beautiful memorial inscribed with the names of nearly 30 Ravenstone boys who gave their lives in the war. Never before was there such a war, and never before was Ravenstone called upon to make such a sacrifice. “We need no monument,” he said, “They are our boys; we know their faces, know their generous dispositions and the fine spirit which sent them forth. All that is enshrined in our memories and nothing can deface it. We need no monument, but there is one outside because there will come after us generations who knew not out boys, and that monument will tell them in years to come what Ravenstone boys did in the hour of England’s peril.”

The memorial, he continued, was a symbol of their faith, of the greatest sacrifice of that Eternal Son of God, Who came from Heaven. It was that supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross that inspired their boys to make their sacrifice upon the altar of patriotism, and it would be acceptable to God. There would be sad thoughts that day, but he asked them to let proud thoughts prevail over the sad ones. They should be proud because they were the parents and friends of such boys – proud because they were not found wanting in the crucial hour, and because a new glory had come to their homes whether it was castle or cottage, the glory of their boys. Then their thoughts should help them to look forward, because the boys had only just passed on before them, called to a nobler work, and presently they would follow them. Let them not also forget the boys who came back. They went to stop the cruel evil and oppression which was threatening the people of this country from abroad. They wanted to ensure a peaceful and happy life for those here at home, believing them to be worthy of it. It was for them to prove that worth during the rest of their lives. If they were to keep up their jealousies and petty grievances the boys would have fought in vain, and there would be no better England. The boys taught them charitableness, unselfishness, and through love to serve one another. Let them take up the task and as they stood around the memorial solemnly pledge themselves before God and their boys that they would fight uncharitableness and selfishness among themselves and try to be more brotherly men and more sisterly women, to stand together for peace and good-will at home as they stood together in awful peril of the war. “That,” he concluded, “is the best tribute we can pay to those gallant boys, and when they see and know that, they will know that they have not died in vain; that we are worthy for whom they did such great things, and they will rest in peace and possess their souls in patience until that glad day when we and they shall meet again in the blessed presence of that one God, the Father and Saviour of us all.”

After the sermon the hymn, “Ten thousand times, ten thousand,” was sung, during which a collection for the memorial fund realised £13/8/3.

THE UNVEILING

A procession was then formed of the choir, clergy, wardens and members of the Memorial Committee, which proceeded to the cross, singing the hymn, “Through the night doubt and sorrow.”

Relatives of the fallen were given a place prominence around the memorial, and the service of dedication, conducted by the Rector, opened with the singing of “When I survey the wondrous Cross.” Having performed the ceremony of unveiling, Major J. Hatchett, J.P., said, “Several years ago, the Rector called a meeting, which appointed a committee to consider and report upon a suitable memorial, to do honour to the memory of the men who died for their country in the great war. The committee were fortunate in having the kind advice and assistance of an eminent architect, who was a native of Ravenstone, and took great interest in the memorial, the result being the placing here of this beautiful monument. The architect’s name is Mr Thomas Fosbrooke, of Leicester, and we have to thank Mr Fosbrooke very much for what he has done. We have today taken part in a solemn service in that venerable church in which so many generations of our fathers have worshipped, and we now are privileged to be assembled here in this acre of sacred ground, the resting place of so many of our beloved dead, for the purpose of discharging the honourable duty of assisting at the dedication of this memorial erected by the people of Ravenstone to the blessed memory of 28 brave men, who loved their country, and gave their lives to save English men, women and children from tyranny and oppression. We all desire to show our unstinted appreciation and our unbounded admiration of the courageous spirit of those fearless men, who, when their country was wantonly attacked, considered it to be a sacred duty to defend it; and this memorial, which has been raised as a tribute of respect, will remind us and those who came after us, our children and our children’s children, of the undaunted courage and the undying fame of those men of Ravenstone who, whilst upholding the honour of the British flag, and sustaining the reputation of the British soldier, sacrificed their lives. We owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the men who went forth in full health and strength, leaving home, comfort, friends and relatives, to take their places in the battle line to fight in the righteous cause of freedom and justice, against the most cruel, vindictive and treacherous foe the world has ever known. Our sincere, straight-forward, unassuming, determined men, were unafraid and undismayed, although they knew that the Angel of Death was hovering over their path. Their loyal and valued services were very helpful to their country in the hour of her need. We had hoped to witness their return to receive a grateful nation’s recognition and thanks, but the inscrutable degree of Providence ordered it otherwise. They faithfully and manfully performed their duty, they died glorious deaths, they died for England, they died for all of us and the places on the field of honour, where they lie in warriors graves, are hallowed and sanctified by a nation’s grief, and watered by a nation’s tears. We deplore their loss; their splendid examples will remain; their glorious memories will endure. We thank God for such men; and if England’s sons maintain the courage, the devotion and the unselfish patriotism displayed by them, we have no fear for the independence of our race, or for the position of our country and empire amongst the nations of the world. We tender our sincere sympathy to their relatives, trusting that God’s blessing will rest upon them and lighten the burden of their bereavement. Ravenstone is proud of the ever-living memories and the noble deeds of her unreturning immortal heroes, who without fear faced the foe and walked into the valley of the shadow of death, to save the lives, the honour and liberties of those they left behind. These brave British soldiers sill live in our hearts and will not be forgotten; their name liveth for ever. We shall always mention with respect and reverence the names inscribed on this memorial stone, which has been raised to protect their memory, and preserve their story, and remain a lasting monument of their glory. Duty impelled them and they never faltered. There was no need for her to call them twice. The end they saw not, nor would have wished it altered. They took the cross, and made the sacrifice. God grant that we may be found worthy of them, in the days that are to be!”

The dedication of the monument was solemnly performed by the Rector and prayers were followed by the singing of the Doxology.

Two buglers then stepped to the front of the memorial and sounded the “Last Post” and whilst this was in progress, there flew up towards the heavens four homing pigeons released from the hands of the Rev. J. D. C. Wallace, beautifully symbolical of carrying the message of that day’s proceedings.

Many beautiful floral tributes were placed on the memorial by relatives and friends of the deceased men.

Research undertaken and submitted (including photograph from the Coalville Times) by Andy Murby, September 2017.