FALLEN MEN OF BRAMPTON – REMEMBRANCE 2026

Private John Sproat

Brampton born Private John Sproat was the son of John and Sarah Jane Sproat, of Gelt Road, and had one brother and one sister. He enlisted in Brampton and served with C Company, 8th Battalion, Border Regiment. He had already experienced the dangers of the front line before the fighting that would eventually claim his life.

On 30 October 1915, John suffered a head wound and was taken to a casualty clearing station before being transferred to the 75th Field Ambulance in the Nieppe area. He was later invalided home and, following his recovery, returned to the front, where he took part in the fighting during the great push of July 1916. John was killed in action on 5 July, aged 22.

His father subsequently received unofficial notification of his death, which was reported in the Cumberland News on 9 December 1916. John is buried at Serre Road Cemetery No. 1, on the Somme in France, in grave V. G. 24. His name is also commemorated on the memorial plaques at Brampton War Memorial Hospital and St Martin’s Church.

We will remember them.

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FALLEN MEN OF BRAMPTON – REMEMBRANCE 2026
Company Sergeant Major Hamilton Valentine Harding &
Lance Corporal James Campbell

Two men born in Brampton served with the Border Regiment during the First World War. Hamilton Harding was closely involved in the town's community life, while James Campbell's service was marked by shell shock.

Company Sergeant Major Hamilton Valentine Harding – Border Regiment

Hamilton lived on Front Street and married Isabella Armstrong in 1908; they had a daughter. Before enlisting, he managed the drapery department of the Carlisle South End Co-operative Society's Brampton branch. He joined the Lonsdale Battalion as a private in January 1915, helped recruit men locally and rose through the ranks to Company Sergeant Major.

A cornet player with the Rifle Volunteer Band, Hamilton also belonged to the parish church choir and St Martin's Musical Society. He was secretary of Brampton Liberal Club, a parish councillor and a member of Brampton Bowling Club, and rowed in a Talkin Tarn crew that won the William Milburn Challenge Cup. Wounded by a bomb at the entrance to a dugout, he died in hospital in August 1917, aged 34. He is buried at Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No. 3 in Belgium and commemorated at St Martin's Church and Brampton War Memorial Hospital.

Lance Corporal James Campbell – 11th Battalion, Border Regiment (The Lonsdales)

James was the son of Joseph and Mary Campbell of Old Chapel Lane, Brampton, and grew up with four brothers and four sisters. He enlisted on 12 June 1915, aged 19, but in July 1916 the Cumberland News reported that he had written to his parents explaining that, although unwounded, he was suffering from shell shock and was now much better.

On 18 December 1917, James was honourably discharged as no longer physically fit for war service. He died on 31 October 1918, aged 21, and is buried in Brampton's Old Churchyard, with his name recorded on the memorial at St Martin's Church.

We will remember them.

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FALLEN MEN OF BRAMPTON – REMEMBRANCE 2026

Captain James Thornburn Mitchell

Captain James Thornburn Mitchell was just 28 years old when he died on 16 March 1917, while serving with the Leicestershire Regiment during WWI.

The son of Thomas and Mary Mitchell, of Lees Hill, Low Row, Brampton, James had risen to the rank of Captain. He served with the 7th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment, and his death was reported in the Cumberland News on 24 March 1917.

Captain Mitchell is buried at Béthune Town Cemetery in northern France. His grave, numbered III. K. 52, is marked by a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone bearing the badge of the Leicestershire Regiment.

The photograph accompanying this post shows his grave, a lasting record of a young officer from Low Row, Brampton whose life ended during WWI.

We will remember them.

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BRAMPTON REMEMBERS

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row”
— John McCrae, 1915

Today, Brampton joins communities across the country in remembering those who gave their lives in the service of others. We honour the men and women who served during two World Wars and in conflicts since, and reflect on the sacrifices made by generations of families.

For Brampton, remembrance is deeply personal. The names of those who served and those who never returned are woven into our town's history. Behind each was a family, a home and a life that mattered, while their loss was felt throughout the community.

We invite you to join us in Brampton this Remembrance Sunday, to stand together in quiet reflection and pay tribute to all those who served and sacrificed.

The afternoon's commemorations begin with a wreath-laying ceremony at Brampton War Memorial Hospital. The Remembrance Parade then assembles in the Market Place before marching along Front Street to St Martin's Church for the Remembrance Service. Following the service, the parade returns to the Market Place, where it halts by the Moot Hall and is formally dismissed by the Parade Commander.

We will remember them.

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FALLEN MEN OF BRAMPTON – REMEMBRANCE 2026

Sergeant Thomas Ruddick and Surgeon Major Dr William Symington

Two men from Brampton’s First World War history followed very different paths: one worked for the railways before joining the artillery, while the other was a qualified doctor with many years of military service.

Sergeant Thomas Ruddick – 279th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
Born into a Brampton family, Thomas was the son of Joseph and Margaret Ruddick and worked for the North Eastern Railway before the war. He served as a Sergeant with the 279th Siege Battery, whose heavy guns supported troops on the Western Front. He died on 17 November 1917, aged 30, leaving behind his wife and family.

Thomas is buried at Wimereux Communal Cemetery near Boulogne, France. During the war, Wimereux was an important centre for military hospitals, receiving wounded and sick servicemen from the fighting. Also buried there is Major John McCrae, the Canadian military doctor who wrote In Flanders Fields in 1915, inspired by the death of a fellow soldier. His poem became one of the most recognised works of the First World War and helped establish the poppy's association with remembrance.

Surgeon Major Dr William Symington – Royal Army Medical Corps
William was born in Penicuik, Scotland, the son of Mr and Mrs Henry Symington. He studied medicine at Edinburgh Institution, qualifying M.B., C.M. in 1886, and became Surgeon-Major with the 4th Border Regiment in July 1891.

In 1892, he married Emily Ethel Lee in Brampton, and the couple had two daughters. Census records place William at Leafield, Brampton, from 1901 onwards. He was mobilised in August 1914 following the outbreak of war and died on 3 September 1916, aged 51. William is buried in Brampton's Old Churchyard, and his name is commemorated on plaques at St Martin's Church and Brampton War Memorial Hospital.

We will remember them.

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Fallen Men of Brampton – Remembrance 2026

Private Fred Brown and Private Peter Burn – Royal Welsh Fusiliers

The photograph of Private Fred Brown and Private Peter Burn, taken during military training in North Wales, offers a glimpse of two more of our Brampton men who served during the First World War. Peter stands at the far left of the front row, while Fred is second from the right in the back row.

The second photograph is a portrait of Private Fred Brown in his military uniform. Together, these images provide a poignant historical record of two young men from our town, photographed during a period that would change so many lives.

Private Peter Burn served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and died on 22 April 1918, aged just 19. Private Fred Brown also served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and his name appears on Brampton's Roll of Honour. Their photographs are a reminder of the individuals behind the names recorded in our town's wartime history.

During the First World War, 387 men from Brampton were recorded as having served in almost 50 different regiments. Of those, 66 were killed or died from wounds, while many others returned home carrying the physical and emotional consequences of war.

Photographs such as these are an important part of Brampton's history. They preserve the faces of men whose lives were shaped by the conflict and help future generations understand the sacrifices made by their community.

As we share these photographs, we remember Private Peter Burn, Private Fred Brown and all those from Brampton who served during the First World War. Their names and stories remain part of our town's history, and their service deserves to be remembered.

We will remember them.

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Fallen Men of Brampton – Remembrance 2026

Lieutenant Lawrence Stanley Carrick

From Brampton to the battlefields of France, Lieutenant Carrick's military career took him across continents before his death during WWI.

Lieutenant Lawrence Stanley Carrick was the son of John and Catherine Elizabeth Carrick, of The Grange, Brampton. Before serving in WWI, he had taken part in the South African War and served with the Royal North-West Mounted Police in Canada. He later joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force, serving as a Lieutenant with the 49th Battalion, Canadian Infantry.

On 15 September 1916, Lieutenant Lawrence Stanley Carrick was killed in action in France, aged 34. His death was described in a letter written by Captain B. H. Taylor of the 49th Battalion to Lawrence's family. Captain Taylor explained that Lawrence had been leading his platoon during an attack on German positions. Having taken an enemy trench, the men were digging in beyond it when Lawrence was shot by a sniper.

Captain Taylor also recorded that Lawrence's body had been recovered by two of his men and buried alongside the Company Sergeant-Major, who had been killed during the same action.

Despite this account of his burial, Lawrence's grave had not been officially identified at the time of the research. His name is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, which honours Canadian servicemen who died during WWI and have no known grave.

Research into unidentified Canadian soldiers suggested that a grave at Adanac Military Cemetery in France might contain Lawrence's remains. The grave was identified as Plot 8, Row J, Grave 4, and evidence was submitted to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for consideration.

We will remember them.

Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial; Captain B. H. Taylor's letter, published in the Red Deer News, 13 December 1916.

Photo: Canadian Expeditionary Force officer's uniform, 1917, similar to that worn by Lieutenant Carrick. Wikimedia Commons (CC0–Public Domain).

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