The Rosher Family’s Home in Great Ellingham
The 1911 census captures Alfred Rosher with his wife and children living in a three-roomed property in Town Green, Great Ellingham, which was said to be ‘Near the Hall Gates‘.
Assuming that the position of the gates leading to Great Ellingham Hall has remained unchanged since at least 1911, I believe that the Rosher family’s home was opposite the entrance to Great Ellingham Hall, at the corner of Town Green and Penhill Road.
Extract from 18th Century Map. Town Green, Hyrne and Broad Commons in Great Ellingham held at Norfolk Record Office.
Cat. Ref. MC2213/113, 941X7. With kind permission of NRO.
The black dot on the above extract from an 18th century map (drawn some 100 years before the Rosher family’s arrival in Great Ellingham), shows where I believe the Rosher family lived. Great Ellingham Hall is to the south of Alfred Rosher’s home (to the bottom of the plan).
The Rosher Family
Gressenhall born 38 year old Alfred Rosher married 25 year old Sarah Martha Leggett (of Besthorpe) in Gressenhall on the 14th November, 1892.
The 1901 census finds the couple with three children, Dorothy 7, Horace 6 and three year old Edward living in White Horse Street, Attleborough.
Whilst living in Attleborough, Alfred and his wife Sarah (who was born in Halstead, Essex), had at least three of their children baptised in St Mary’s Church – Edwin (Edward) Victor Patrick on the 9th February, 1898, Bernard on the 8th November 1900 (but sadly buried two weeks’ later on 26th November), and Charles Lawson (Lawrence) on the 22nd November, 1903.
Following the birth of Alfred Leonard in 1906, the family moved from Attleborough to Great Ellingham.
The 1911 census lists the family as 52 year old Alfred Rosher, his 43 year old wife Sarah Martha, and children Horace Samuel aged 16, Edward Victor Patrick 13, Charles Lawrence 7 and Alfred Leonard 4.
Alfred Rosher was a self employed fruit and seed buyer working from home. Horace worked for his father, and Edward and Charles were both attending school. The census also reveals that Sarah had given birth to seven children, five of whom were still living.
Private Edward V P Rosher
Like so many families, the events of WW1 touched this family. Aged 19, Edward Victor Patrick Rosher, a Private with the 4th Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action on the 23rd April, 1917. He is remembered at the Arras Memorial, France.
Edward’s name also appears on the memorial tablet on the west side of St James’s Church, Great Ellingham.
Military Record
Fellow local historian, Cynthia Budd, has meticulously researched the men listed on the Great War Memorials throughout the Shellrock Benefice (Great Ellingham, Little Ellingham, Rockland All Saints, Rockland St Peter and Shropham with Snetterton). She has kindly allowed me to reproduce her tributes to the Great Ellingham men on the Great Ellingham One-Place Study website – this includes the service details of Edward Rosher as follows:
Edward was aged 16 when War was declared and not eligible to enlist until November 1915. The earliest he should have been sent overseas was November 1916. His few military records are in the name of Roshier and he is said to have enlisted in Watford, where he was residing (date unknown). He was killed in action 23 April 1917 during the second Battle of Scarpe, one of several Battles of the Arras Offensive.
The Offensive began encouragingly on 9 April at Vimy, then dragged on into attrition which continued until mid-May. Private Rosher’s Battalion assembled 22 April 1917 in trenches Gavrelle. Their objective on the following day was to take Gavrelle and the enemy trench system 200 yards to the north. The 4th Bedford’s War Diary for 23 April is very brief and reads: ‘Attacked at 4.45am, captured village & reached objective. Shelled very heavily during the day & counter-attacked in the afternoon.’
Edward was only 19 when he lost his life. He was awarded the Victory and British War Medals. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.
Burials in Great Ellingham Churchyard
Following Edward’s death, his parents Alfred and Sarah Rosher may well have continued to live in Great Ellingham. Alfred died at the age of 80 in 1935. He was buried in the churchyard of St James on the 3rd May, 1935.
Having outlived her husband by 20 years, Sarah Martha Rosher aged 87 years, of 214 Yarmouth Road, Thorpe St Andrew, was buried in the same churchyard on October 26th, 1955.
Sources:
1911 census RG14/11473
1901 census RG13/1867/17
Gressenhall Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office. PD 715. Transcription FreeReg website https://www.freereg.org.uk Accessed 09 December 2020
Attleborough Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office. PD 438. Transcript of Attleborough Baptisms 1552-1948, Transcript of Attleborough Burials 1552-1901. Norfolk Family History Society. www.norfolkfhs.org.uk accessed 09 December 2020
Great Ellingham Parish Registers.Norfolk Record Office. PD 609. Also available at www.familysearch.org
Commonwealth War Graves website. https://www.cwgc.org Accessed 09 December 2020
18th Century Map. Town Green, Hyrne and Broad Commons in Great Ellingham. Norfolk Record Office. Cat. Ref. MC2213/113.
Cynthia’s sources: Please note that the sources include research carried out in relation to all the ‘fallen’ of the Great War throughout the Shellrock Benefice. Accordingly, not all the sources will be applicable to Great Ellingham :
Ancestry UK: Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish Records. Census Records and Electoral Rolls. Probate Records.Military Records; Army/Navy Service Records. UK Soldiers Died in the Great War Roll. Medal Index Cards. Medal Award Rolls. The Register of Soldiers’ Effects. War Diaries. Canadian Military Records.
Archant Archives, Norwich. Also Thetford Library; The Thetford & Watton Times.
Australian War Records Websites: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
FindMyPast; Military Service Records. Electoral Rolls. British Newspaper Archive. The 1939 Register.
The General Record Office.
The History of the Norfolk Regiment 1914-1918 F Loraine Peter OBE
The London GazetteThe National Archives
The Norfolk Heritage Centre, The Forum, Norwich. Breckles and District Deanery Magazines. Norwich Mercury (Microfiche)
The Norfolk Record Office.
Norwich Cathedral Library; 1919 Diocesan Roll of Honour.
Picture Norfolk https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries/picture-norfolk
The Red Cross https://grandguerre.icrc.org
Various Regimental Websites.