Name
Samuel Poulter
1876
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
23/07/1918
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
V/44572
Hertfordshire Regiment
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Searched but not found
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
APSLEY END (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD
In North Part.
United Kingdom
Headstone Inscription
None
UK & Other Memorials
St Mary's Church Memorial, Apsley End, John Dickinson & Co Memorial, Apsley Mills, Apsley(*1), Hemel Hempstead Town Memorial, Not listed on the Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford
Pre War
Samuel Poulter was born in 1876, twin brother to Thomas, and the son of William and Caroline Poulter. He was baptised on 9 July 1876 at Leverstock Green, Herts and was one of five children.
On the 1881 Census the family were living at Bennetts End, Leverstock Green, Herts, where his father was working as a brick maker and his mother was a plaiter of straw. They remained in Leverstock Green in 1891 when Samuel as a farm labourer.
He met his future wife Florence Lea at John Dickinson & Co. and they married in 1904 at Hemel Hempstead. They had two children, Doris and Robert and lived at 4 Manor Villas, 14 Orchard Street, Apsley End, Hemel Hempstead.
On the 1911 Census he was recorded as a Foreman of Export Packing in Paper Mill. and was still employed by John Dickinson & Co. at the outbreak of war. in 1914.
Wartime Service
He served for two years as a Private in the Hemel Hempstead Company of 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment and volunteered for two months' duty as part of the special service section in connection with the Government's appeal for 15,000 volunteers. He was posted to Maldon, Essex and attached to the 2/7th Devonshire Regiment to undergo rigorous training before being posted on home coastal defence duties.
He was found dead in his tent at a camp at Asheldham, Essex with a self-inflicted wound to his throat on 23 July 1918, age 42. He died from the haemorrhage from a cut throat which was declared as suicide during temporary insanity. It was not known what made Samuel take his own life but may have been a fear of being sent overseas to fight.
Additional Information
A war gratuity was not admissible but his wife Florence received pay owing of 7s 1d. Initially she was awarded a pension of 15 shillings a week for herself and her children but was subsequently declared ineligible, despite numerous appeals, because of Samuel's suicide, which at that time was a criminal offence. He was also ineligible for war medals for the same reason. Florence went back to work at Dickinsons until she retired in 1940 and lived in Apsley with son Robert until her death in 1960. His twin brother Thomas had died the year before in Hemel Hempstead.
*1 The John Dickinson memorials appears in various related locations (three in Hertfordshire), the main panel (WW1), from those seen so far appear to be identical, however the ones at relate to Apsley and Croxley Mills (Apsley and Croxley Green respectively) have identical lower panels with the same 17 additional names. They span all four columns of the memorial, above which are names relating to Hertfordshire locations: Croxley Mills (1st Col.), Apsley Mills (2nd.3rd Cols.) and Home Park (Kings Langley) and Nash Mills (4th Col.). Although there is no specific location provided for these names, given their locations, the inference must be that they relate men who worked at either the Apsley or Croxley mills.
From the information provided on these memorials and in the census we are confident that Samuel worked at the Apsely Mill and is named on the memorials.
Acknowledgments
Jonty Wild, Brenda Palmer
Jonty Wild, www.dacorumheritage,org.uk., www.hemealatwar.org., www.hemelheroes.com.
