Lest we forget
My dictionary defines a hero as someone who does a brave deed.
I don't suppose there is a single one of us who does not have such a person
within our family, but do we know about them?
The Commonwealth War Graves web site lists the following members of
our Horler Horlor or Harler families.
Some relatives of ours who performed the ultimate heroic sacrifice.
Corporal Joseph Alfred Harler,
who served with the Army Service Corps and
died on Thursday 26th July 1917, aged 34.
He was the son of Thomas and Harriet Louisa Harler of London
and the husband of Jane Elizabeth Harler
of Catford.
He is buried at Poperinge Military Cemetery in Belgium
Second Lieutenant Joseph Thomas Harler
of the Royal Indian Artillery.
He was killed on Friday 24th April 1942 aged just 25. He was the son of Joseph Alfred and Jane Elizabeth Harler.
He is remembered on the Rangoon Memorial, was he a casualty of the War in Burma?
On this Memorial is inscribed the words “They died for all Free Men”; an appropriate thought for all of us.
Lance Sergeant Walter Joseph Harler,
a member of the 13th Battalion Rifle Brigade. He died on Wednesday 11th April 1917 aged only 23.
He was the son of Mr & Mrs J Harler of Greenwich, London.
He is remembered along with some 35000 others on the Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais.
Able Seaman Douglas Brainerd Harler
who died on Saturday 24th May 1941 whilst serving on H M S Hood.
He is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval memorial
H M S Hood opened fire of the German battleship Bismarck
shortly
before 6 a.m. on 24th May 1941.
Hood was a powerful vessel but when shells from the Bismarck penetrated her
and detonated an ammunition store, Hood was
finished.
The massive 42000-ton vessel sunk quickly. Over 1400 died in the short battle,
only three survived.
Horace William Harler
who was a pilot officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.
He died on Monday 18th December 1944, aged 20.
He was the son of Horace James and Edith Maud Harler of South Perth.
Yet, he is buried in Cambridge City Cemetery in England, a long way from home.
The Air Force part of this cemetery accommodates casualties from the Air Force bases in the Eastern Counties of England;
notably bomber command and fighter stations in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire.
Alfred James Harler,
a Private in the Australian Infantry who died on the Somme on Saturday 2nd December 1916
Albert James Frank Horler,
a Private in the 5th Battalion of The Royal Berkshire Regiment.
He was also killed on the Somme and died on Saturday 30th March 1918, aged 37.
He was the husband of E L Horler of Berkeley, Gloucestershire.
Edwin Horler,
a Second Lieutenant in the 122nd Company, Machine Gun Corps.
He was the son of John and Emma Horler of Shoscombe, Bath and he died on Tuesday 31st July 1917, aged 29.
Edmund Horler
was a Corporal in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
He died on Thursday 17th February 1944, aged 22 and
was buried in Ambon War Cemetery in Indonesia
Ambon War Cemetery was constructed on the site of a former camp for Australian,
British and Dutch prisoners of War, many of whom died in captivity.
The Ambon War Cemetery is the site of services held
every year on 25th April to commemorate
the Allied soldiers who died in the region during World War Two.
Edmund Horler
who served in the 3rd Division Supply Company of The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps.
He died on Saturday 18th July 1942 and is
buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey.
At the southern end of the Canadian Section stands the Brookwood Memorial
commemorating
3500 men and women of the British Commonwealth who died elsewhere and have no known grave.
Brookland Cemetery Society was founded in 1992 to promote
a wider interest in the cemetery,
which it feels deserves to be a place of national importance.
Ernest Horler
who was a Private in the West Yorkshire Regiment Killed in France, he died on Sunday 17th February 1918, aged 26.
He was the son of Edmond and Sarah Horler of Yeovil.
Ernest was executed for desertion but was posthumously pardoned by
the British Government in August 2006.
John Henry Horler,
Private in the New Zealand Infantry.
He died on Wednesday 28th May 1941, aged 30 and was buried in Suda Bay War Cemetery
on the North coast of Crete.
He was the son of Henry John and Ellen Jane Horler of Canterbury, New Zealand.
James Steven Horler,
a private in the 8th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry who was killed on the Somme
on Saturday 1st July 1916, aged only 20.
He was the son of John Sidney and Hannah Maria Horler of Bristol.
William Horlor
1266367 Flight Sergeant, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. 150 Sqdn
Killed in action 12 December 1944
William was the son of James & Elizabeth Horlor of London
Runneymede Memorial Cemetery
Harold Horlor
19856 Private 1st Bn. Grenadier Guards
Killed in action 17th October 1915
Harold aged 20, was the son of Mary Horlor and the late Arthur Horlor
of 21 Batchelor Road, Newport, Monmouthshire.
Loos Memorial, France.
Alfred James Harlor
3120 Private 56th Bn. Australian Infantry Force
Killed in action 2nd December 1916
Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-L'Abbe
"Their name liveth forever more"
A phrase taken from the Book of Ecclesiastics, but are their names remembered!
Who knows, there may have been Horler’s involved in the English or American Civil Wars.
Was there a Horler fighting Napoleon or perhaps in the Boer War.
Do you have a Horler hero in your family tree, perhaps one of the ones I have mentioned or perhaps not?
If so please drop us a line and let us all hear about it
Compiled by
Alan Jones