Bryant, Henry William

Henry was born on 7 March 1876 at Ashwell, Hertfordshire, the elder son of Frederick and Mary Ann (nee Chalkley) Bryant.  He was a pupil at the Merchant Taylors School in Ashwell.

Henry enlisted with the Royal Engineers on 6 June 1916, Regimental number 224758.  Throughout his service he was based in and around London as a skilled carpenter/joiner, finally with the London Electrical Engineers.  Henry survived the War.

He is commemorated on the St Mary’s Church Ashwell Roll of Honour.

The 1911 census shows Henry as an independent goods delivery agent for the Great Western Railway based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.  His 1916 military records list him as a skilled carpenter/joiner living in Walthamstow, Essex.

Henry married Blanche Alice Hine at Headington, Oxfordshire on 30 March 1905.  They had two children, Douglas Frederick born in Walthamstow, Essex on 21 February 1917, and Kenneth Percival born in Walthamstow, Essex in September 1920.

The 1939 census shows them living in the Wanstead and Woodford district with Henry a Carpenter journeyman.

Henry died at the Connaught Hospital in Walthamstow on 11 September 1965.

Henry’s brother Percy emigrated to Canada in about 1913/14 and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces during the War.  He survived the War and settled in England, dying in Northallerton in 1977.