Dedicated to the memory of all the men and women of the South Staffordshire area who died during the two World Wars.
The memorial in Station Road commemorates R. W. Heybittle; the Church memorial adds the rank 'Lieut.'. There are no Heybittles recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission but the commission's database does include a Lieutenant R W Haybittle. I have not been able to link this man with Codsall although, as will be seen below, Lieut. Haybittle, did move to Staffordshire later in life. As a land surveyor by profession, it is possible that he worked for a time in Codsall before marrying and settling in Burton-on-Trent.
Richard William Haybittle was born in 1887 in the Southwark district of London. He was the son of Richard Haybittle, an ironmonger, and his wife, Alice. During Richard's childhood, the family moved to live at 23 Dorset Road, Ealing.
Richard worked as a Land Surveyor and Land Agent, practising for a short while from offices in Regent Street, Central London. At some point he moved to Staffordshire where he appears to have made connections at Codsall before marrying Gladys Baxter at St John's Horninglow, nr Burton on Trent. The couple set up house at 18 Calais Road, Burton on Trent and had a son, Geoffrey.
Richard was commissioned as a Temporary Lieutenant on 14th April, 1915. He served in the Machine Gun Corps, and was serving with the 185th Company in Mesopotamia at the time of his death. He died of wounds on 8th January, 1918 and is buried in Amara War Cemetery, Iraq. He is commemorated in St Mary's, Ealing where a memorial reads: 'Lieut. R. W. Haybittle, M.G.C. (Dick) who died of wounds at Amara, Mesopotamia, Jan. 8th, 1918. Interred at Amara.'
Lieutenant R. W. Haybittle, M.G.C., was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.
This memorial has mostly been compiled from official sources. It would be good to be able to expand it with more personal material - memories, stories, photos, etc. If you have any suitable material or any corrections please contact Greg.