Here is the record of Norman’s Methodist baptism, which also helpfully tells us his birth date and both parents:
Norman son of Frederick & Deborah of Soulbury born 26 Sept 1919 Bap 13 Nov 1919
And here is his record from CWGC
Name: TEARLE, NORMAN Initials: N
Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Stoker 2nd Class
Regiment/Service: Royal Navy Unit
Text: H.M.S. Pembroke II.
Age: 20ý Date of Death: 31/05/1940
Service No: C/KX 103452
Additional information: Son of Frederick and Deborah Tearle, of Soulbury, Buckinghamshire.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Plot 9. Row 3. Grave 17. Cemetery: OOSTENDE NEW COMMUNAL CEMETERY
There has been a Tearle family in Soulbury since Richard 1805 and Martha nee Burnard moved there some time around 1830. Their son, Richard 1844 and Elizabeth nee Ellingham, both of Soulbury, had, amongst others, Frederick 1877 Soulbury. I know only that he married a Deborah and they had two children, Kathleen 1911 and Frederick 1919, both born in Soulbury.
The parents of Richard 1805 were Richard 1773 of Stanbridge and Elizabeth nee Bodsworth. Richard’s parents are John 1741 and Martha nee Archer. This means that Norman is on the same branch as my own family, which, of course also means that Norman is on the branch John 1741.
A chap called Squirrel offered the following information: “In WW2 Pembroke II, was a Chatham accounting base (just like Pembroke I continued to be). An accounting base was not the same as a fixed base, because personnel were more likely to be on detached duty and it was a flexible system of allocations, it could mean they were in Chatham, on the river, on shore assignments, in small vessels, the list is huge.”
I had a look at the events around that time
March 1940, Italy joins on the German side
April - Denmark and Norway invaded
7 May 1940, Chamberlain ousted as PM because of the disastrous events in Norway; Churchill becomes PM.
10 May, Germans invade the Benelux countries; 30,000 citizens of Rotterdam killed by German bombing of the inner city.
27 May 1940 - 4 June, Operation Dynamo - 350,000 British troops rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk.
The actual day that Norman died, 31 May 1940, saw the largest number of troops evacuated in a single day (68,000) of the operation. We lost two Tearle men on that very same day in Operation Dynamo, because Edward Kefford W Tearle 1906 Lexden, a TA soldier, helped hold up the German capture of De Panne village in Belgium so the evacuees could get away.
A few relationships suddenly occurred to me and I thought I’d take a closer look.
You'll have noticed that Norman was b1919 Soulbury, so you'd expect that he'd be descended from Richard 1805 Stbg and Martha Burnard, and of course he was; Richard 1805 was Norman's g-grandfather. Norman's parents were Frederick 1877 Soulbury and Deborah, Frederick's parents were Richard 1844 Soulbury and Elizabeth Ellingham. And the parents of Richard 1844 were Richard 1805 Stbg and Martha Burnard.
Edward Kefford W Tearle's parents were Edward Kefford Tearle 1878 Hatfield and Maud S Micklefield. Edward's parents were William Francis Tearle 1857 Soulbury and Sarah Kefford. William's parents were John 1831 Soulbury and Harriet Figg. Now, John 1831 and Richard 1844 were brothers.
Norman was 100% a Soulbury Tearle, but Edward KW was descended from the same family. I really do wonder if they knew (or knew of) each other. William Francis was in Hatfield in 1878, but in Soulbury more or less until then, so he would have known of Frederick's (1877) birth. I don't know when William died, but it's likely he was alive in 1919 when young Norman was born. It's likely that Norman and Edward KW at least knew of each other, although Norman would have been the "little cousin," some 12 years younger. That reminds me - remember Leslie James Tearle, the WW1 soldier on the memorial outside St Peter, St Albans? I have just remembered that he was a first cousin of John Henry 1887 Hatfield, uncle of Edward Kefford W Tearle 1906 Lexden. I told their story on the Hertfordshire pages. So now four soldiers in two wars, on local memorials, namely Edward KW, John Henry, Leslie James and Norman, are all closely related. And Edward and Norman died on the same day; one behind the beach keeping the Germans at bay while the rest of the army evacuated, and Norman at sea picking up the evacuees.
Soulbury Wesleyan Chapel
All Saints Soulbury
Tracy sent me some notes about the ship in Norman’s military record, above: 24/05/07 “HMS Pembroke II was the name given to the barracks of the Royal Naval Yards at Chatham Kent.It opened in 1903 and closed in 1984. The I OR II denoted barrack block. Heavy losses were suffered by the British Expeditionary forces following the German attack in May 1940 and in covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. The boats sent to evacuate the beach head at Dunkirk as you know were a rag tag mix of Naval and civilian vessels and from 29 May to 31 May 1940 losses at Dunkirk were high with many boats listed. Paddle steamers became minesweepers and would possibly have had extra navy crew onboard. If we could track down his service record that could contain the information. So it looks likely that Norman was at sea on a small boat helping to evacuate the troops from Dunkirk.
Norman remembered on the Soulbury Memorial
This memorial was in the Soulbury Wesleyan Chapel until it was purchased as a private dwelling. The memorial is now in All Saints, Soulbury.
