Aubrey Victor HORWOOD (1897–1918)
Aubrey Victor Bertie Horwood was born in Headington Quarry in September 1897, the son of Albert Horwood (born in New Headington and baptised at St Andrew’s Church on 2 March 1873) and Alice Sarah Coppock (baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry on 30 November 1873).
His parents were married at Holy Trinity Church on 14 March 1894 and had three children:
- Violet Hilda Olive Horwood (baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry on 19 September 1895) died aged 11 months, buried on 30 July 1896 at the churchyard)
- Aubrey Victor Bertie Horwood (born at Headington Quarry in September 1897 and baptised at Holy Trinity Church on 31 October 1897)
- Raymond Stuart Charles Horwood (baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry on 28 October 1900).
The 1901 census shows the family living in Quarry High Street (then called Main Street), with Aubrey’s father described as a “labourer on building”. Aubrey attended Headington Quarry School.
By 1911 the family was living in “Old Road Cottage” in Quarry, and Aubrey (13) was an errand boy in a cycle shop (probably Sydney Prior’s shop on the London Road). He was a server at St Andrew’s Church before the war.
In the First World War Aubrey Victor Horwood served as a Private in the 1st/4th Battalion of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Service No. 201737). He joined on 17 May 1915 as a company bugler, but was a Lewis machine-gunner at the time of his death. He served in France for fourteen months followed by eight months in Italy. He was a runner, boxer, and footballer in his company.
Aubrey Victor Horwood was killed in action in Italy at the age of 20 on 15 June 1918.
He is buried in the Boscon British Cemetery (Plot 2, Row A, Grave 13). He is listed on the stone plaque in the porch of Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, and the following words were to his parents’ grave (left):
ALSO OF
AUBREY VICTOR
THEIR BELOVED SON
KILLED IN ACTION IN ITALY
JUNE 15TH 1918
AGED 20
AT REST – HIS DUTY DONE
Postscript
Aubrey’s parents
- Albert Horwood died at the age of 50 at 3 Beaumont Road on 3 April 1923.
- Mrs Alice Horwood had moved to the present 129 Old Road (then numbered 55) by 1925. She was still living there when she died at the age of 86 on 3 August 1960.
Both are buried in Holy Trinity churchyard in the grave shown above, with a stone cross that now lies flat on the grave.
Aubrey’s brother
- Raymond Stuart Charles Horwood (born 1900) married Mary Preston at Holy Trinity Church on 30 May 1925. At the time of his marriage he was living with his mother at the present 129 Old Road and working as a driller.
See also
- CWGC: Aubrey Victor Horwood
- Oxford Chronicle, 5 July 1918: Obituary of Aubrey Victor Horwood on p. 8, photograph on p. 7
- Oxford Journal Illustrated, 24 July 1918 , “Heroes of the War”: photograph of Aubrey Horwood of Headington, who had died about five weeks earlier (shown above with kind permission of Oxfordshire County Council, Oxfordshire History Centre)
- Sydney Prior’s cycle shop
- Wikipedia: Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Back to Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry roll of honour