HERBERT WILLIAM FINCH
From May through to September 2026, Andrew will be fulfilling his dream to hike the iconic Land’s End to John O’Groats! You are all warmly invited to follow Andrew’s epic journey on his Facebook page, “Andrew Beal LEJOG”: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577588795730
As Andrew hikes the 1,300+ miles, he will raise funds for the Ipswich War Memorial Project to help finance our future exhibitions and research of the brave Ipswich men and women who lost their lives in conflict. If you would like to make a small donation, please click on the link: https://gofund.me/5d4a50570
Thank you for your love and support. Andrew & Helen – I.W.M.P.
Image from the family tree of Lindsey H.
Born: 1874, Ipswich.
Died: 3rd September 1918; age 44; in an ambulance at Shooters Hill Road, Charlton, London – crushing of chest and lacerations of lungs consequent on the fall of six hundred weight upon him – accidental causes.
Inquest held 6th September 1918.
Residence: 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
Occupation: a Warehouseman for the Co-Operative Society, Ipswich.
Based at Blackwall Lane, Greenwich.
Rank: Clerk 3rd Class; Service Number: 196787
Regiment: No. 1 Stores Depot, Royal Air Force.
Grave Reference:
C.34.31.
Ipswich.
Relatives Notified & Address: Husband of Florence Louisa Finch, of 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
CENSUS
1881 Curriers Lane, St. Mary at Elm, Ipswich.
Herbert was 7 years old and living with his parents & siblings.
William Finch, 32, a Grocer’s Porter, born Martlesham, Suffolk.
Mary Ann Finch (nee Eighteen), 32, born Hadleigh, Suffolk.
Edith Emily Finch, 8, born Ipswich.
Frederick Finch, 3, born Ipswich.
Harry Finch, 1, born Ipswich.
1891 Wolsey Terrace, Walton, Suffolk.
Herbert was 17 years old, a Groom for 39 year old, Harry William Raffe, a Wholesale Grocer. Harry Raffe later became Mayor of Ipswich, 1907 – 1908.
1901 73, Fitzoy Street, Ipswich.
Herbert was 27 years old, a Grocer’s Warehouseman. He was married & head of the household.
Leah, 27.
Beatrice, 3 months.
1 boarder.
1911 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
Herbert was 37 years old, a Grocery Warehouseman. He was married & Head of the Household.
Florence, 29.
Beatrice, 10.
Gladys, 4.
Reginald, 2.
On the 25th February 1898, at Crown Street Congregational Church, Ipswich, by the Reverend A.A. Dorsett, Herbert, of Silent Street, Ipswich, married Leah Maria Airey, born 1874, Stowmarket, Suffolk – youngest daughter of William Airey, a roadman’s labourer, and Rachel Airey (nee Brewer), of Combs, Suffolk.
Leah and Herbert had one daughter:
Beatrice Maud Finch, born December 1901, Ipswich.
Leah Maria Finch died on the 21st October 1903, St. Margaret’s, Ipswich and was buried on the 26th October, in Section W, Ipswich Old Cemetery.
On the 4th March 1907, at St. Andrew’s Church, Cotton, Suffolk, 33 year old widower, Herbert, a warehouseman, of 59, Crown Street, Ipswich, married 25 year old Florence Louisa Burrows, born 1882, Chelmondiston, Suffolk – daughter of Albert Burrows, a police officer, and Mary Burrows (nee Ward), of Brooke Road, Cotton, Suffolk.
Florence and Herbert had five children:
Gladys May Finch, born May 1907, Ipswich and baptised on the 3rd June 1914 at All Saints Church, Ipswich – family home at 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
Reginald Herbert Finch, born February 1909, Ipswich and baptised on the 3rd June 1914 at All Saints Church, Ipswich – family home at 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
Harold Edward Finch, born July 1912, born Ipswich and baptised on the 3rd June 1914 at All Saints Church, Ipswich – family home at 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
Stanley George Finch, born May 1914, Ipswich and baptised on the 3rd June 1914 at All Saints Church, Ipswich – family home at 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
Dorothy Margaret Finch, born May 1917, Ipswich and baptised on the 24th June 1917 at All Saints Church, Ipswich – family home at 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
Herbert’s father, William Finch, died on the 3rd April 1916 at his home, 59, Crown Street, St. Margaret’s, Ipswich and was buried on the 7th April in Section T at Ipswich Old Cemetery.
Hernbert’s mother, Mary Ann Finch, died on the 11th December 1899 at her home, 17, Silent Street, St. Nicholas, Ipswich and was buried on the 16th December at Ipswich Old Cemetery.
Probate to Florence Louisa Finch – widow.
Soldiers’ Effects to Florence Finch – widow.
Woolwich Gazette – Tuesday, 10th September 1918 – FATAL TEST OF STRENGTH – AIR MECHANIC’S FOOLISH ACT – On Friday at Woolwich, Coroner Oswald held an inquest on the body of Herbert William Finch, aged 44, a 2nd air-mechanic in the Royal Air Force, stationed at Greenwich, and who had resided at 46, Sirdar Road, Ipswich.
The widow, Mrs. Florence Louisa Finch, deposed that her late husband enjoyed good health and had been engaged prior to joining the colours as a warehouseman for the Co-operative Society.
Albert Walters, 2nd air mechanic in the R.A.F., stated he was working along with the deceased at Greenwich on the previous Tuesday. They were occupied in shifting crane weights, and the deceased inquired, “Did you ever see a man pick up three hundred weight?” Witness told him not to be so foolish and to leave the weights alone. The deceased, however, seized half a dozen one-inch plates bolted together by placing his arms around them. They measured about 2ft by 18in. and probably weighed 3cwt. He tried to lift these, but overbalanced, bringing the plates with him. They rested on his chest, and immediately, blood oozed from his mouth. It required the strength of the witness and another man to roll the plates off the body – they could not lift them. The deceased was removed by ambulance to the Royal Herbert Hospital.
Corporal Robert Shears, who accompanied the deceased to the hospital, said the man died as they reached the hospital entrance. A bundle of plates similar to that which caused the injury had been put on the scales and found to weigh over 6 cwt. There were five men on the job, and the deceased was not expected to do any lifting by himself.
Captain A. G. Stewart, R.A.M.C., stated that when the deceased was brought into the hospital, life was extinct. There were marks on the chest and neck, several ribs were broken, and the witness’s opinion was that the air-passage had been ruptured and also that the windpipe was torn.
Second Air-Mechanic Stevens, called by Lieutenant George Williams, who represented the R.A.F., testified that there were five men, including the deceased, told off to remove the weights, and no difficulty had been experienced. It was not the duty of any one man to try to shift the plates.
The jury returned a verdict to the effect that Herbert William Finch died from shock due to the fall of the plates upon him.
On behalf of the commanding officer, Lieutenant Williams offered condolences to the deceased’s widow.
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