Between January
and April 1916, Chailey Parish Magazine notes Fred J Hobden in a special list of attested men.
This is Frederick John Hobden who was born at Chailey in 1880. He appears
on the 1881 census living with his parents at 2 Whites Row, South Street, Chailey. The household
comprised Richard Hobden (head, married, aged 26, working as a gardener), his wife Eliza Hobden (nee Fuller), aged 27, and
Frederick (aged one year). Richard and Eliza, both born in Newick, had married
on 3rd May 1879 at Chailey.
By the time the
1891 census was taken, the family had moved to Fount Hill, Newick and there were siblings for Frederick. The household, as noted on the census, comprised
Richard (aged 36, working as a gardener in domestic service), Eliza (aged 37) and their five children: Frederick (an 11 year
old scholar), Owen Hobden (aged nine), Minnie Hobden (aged seven), George Hobden (aged four) and Richard Hobden (aged one).
I have been unable
to locate Frederick or Minnie on the 1901 census but the rest of the family was still living at Fount Hill, Newick. Richard (aged 47) is noted as an agricultural labourer. Living
with him were Eliza and four children: Owen (aged 19, working as a painter), George (aged 14, working as an agricultural labourer),
Richard (aged 11) and Alfred Hobden aged eight.
I am unsure whether
Frederick served during the First World War.
There is no mention of him in Chailey’s parish magazine apart from the information that he attested. The National Archives gives a couple of possibilities with 19875 Private Frederick J Hobden of the Nottinghamshire
and Derbyshire Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) and 3231 Sapper Frederick J Hobden of The Royal Engineers Transport and further
research is necessary to determine whether either of these men is the Frederick
mentioned above.
His brothers certainly
served however. Owen died of sickness two days after the Armistice, on 13th November 1918 and is commemorated on Chailey’s war memorial. He is buried at St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen; reference: S III AA 9.
Richard
Hobden enlisted at Chichester and, judging by his army service number 25073, was posted
to a New Army battalion of The Royal Fusiliers. At some point he transferred
to the East Surrey Regiment and it was whilst serving with the 13th Battalion as 30549 Private Richard Hobden that he was
killed in action on 26th November 1917. He is commemorated on the Cambrai memorial at Louverval.
George
Hobden, according to information on the Hobden Heritage website, lost an arm during the war and was, in 1920, living at 48 Portland Street, Brighton. The National Archives gives 12 possibilities for George
Hobden and again, further research is necessary to determine his regimental details.
It
seems likely that Alfred Hobden also served during the war but again, I have no information regarding this.
Eliza
Hobden died in 1920 at Newick. Her husband then moved to 5 Abinger Road, Portslade, Sussex and died there following an accident on 11th December 1934. He was
eighty years old.
It
is a quirk of the times that only Frederick and Owen Hobden are mentioned in Reverend Jellicoe’s parish magazine but
the reason appears straightforward. Of the six Hobden children, they alone were
born in Chailey parish. Although Newick neighbours Chailey, it fell outside parish
boundaries and Reverend Jellicoe, though he appears to have made exceptions elsewhere, obviously did not feel that the other serving Hobden boys, warranted
inclusion.
Nevertheless,
with two sons killed and a third permanently disabled, the family paid a heavy price during the Great War. Owen’s son, John Leonard Hobden, would be killed in action during the Second World War in 1944.
Sources and Acknowledgements
- England and Wales, Civil Registration
Index: 1837-1983
- 1881 Census of England and Wales
- 1891 Census of England and Wales
- 1901 Census of England and Wales
- Chailey Parish Magazine
- The excellent Hobden Heritage website which gives details of Hobden family members, past and present, from around the world
