The primary source of information used to compile this roll call of Chailey's First World War servicemen has been Chailey's Parish Magazine.  From October 1914 until July 1919, The Reverend Jellicoe and latterly, The Reverend Henry Matravers, published a list of men "connected with" the Parish of Chailey who served their King and Country. 

"Connected" appears to have been used in the widest sense and includes not only men from Chailey but those from surrounding villages such as Lindfield, Plumpton, Fletching and Newick amongst others.  Some men were included because they worked in Chailey, often on farms, or were relatives of people in the village.

Between October 1914 and September 1915, the parish magazine listed names of men only.  From October 1915 until November 1916 it listed names (although replacing forenames with an initial), regiments, rank and often, theatre of operations.  From December 1916 onwards, as the list of men grew and space in the parish magazine became tighter, initials, surname and basic regimental details only were published.

Regiments, battalions and ranks where noted, are the final ones given in the Parish magazine.  The exception to this rule is where other documentary evidence such as service records or information from The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has been obtained. 

Men highlighted in bold were killed in action or died as a result of wounds or sickness. Where PHOTOS or SERVICE RECORDS survive, these have been highlighted.  WO 363 is the so-called "Burnt-Documents'" series at The National Archives.  WO 364 is the Pension Series.  WO 339 and WO 374 are officers’ records.  In time, all of the WO 363 and WO 364 records will be directly accessible on-line via Ancestry.co.uk.  Many are available now.  ADM records are those held in the relevant Admiralty series and may be accessed via the National Archives' website. 

To perform your own search of army service records and medal index cards via the Ancestry website, enter the person's name in the boxes below:

First Name

Last Name

 By the time the First World War ended in 1918, over 370 men connected with Chailey parish had either fought for their country, volunteered to fight, attested under the Derby Scheme or been conscripted.