GEORGE STALLARD
There are seven men with the surname Stallard on the Cenotaph in Guildhall Square which is not surprising given that the family name had been present in Portsmouth for well over a hundred years. In George Stallard's case his family can be traced through the census back to 1802 which was when his great-grandfather Edward Stallard was born in Portsmouth.
Edward does not appear in the census of 1841 which suggests that he was in the army or navy and serving abroad that year. He was certainly in Portsmouth either side of that date as around 1835 he married his wife Sophia though possibly not in the UK. By 1851 Edward and Sophia were living in Stamshaw whilst Edward earned his living as a labourer. With them were their children Edward jnr., John and Sarah who were aged 17, 14 and 11 respectively.
Edward jnr. was working as a labourer in 1851 but seems to have become a fish seller soon afterwards, an occupation he pursued for most of his working life. In 1857 he married Louisa Russell who may have come from Havant and although the couple were missing from the 1861 census, by 1871 they were living at 28 Stamshaw Lane with their three children Sarah, Thomas and Edward. Over the next ten years they moved a few doors to No. 41 Stamshaw Lane and added three more children to their flock - Alfred James, George and Lily.
By 1891 the family were living at Victoria Cottage, Sea View, close to the heart of the fishing community centred at Rudmore. There they would have been near to other Stallards, though they don't seem to have been closely related to them. Alfred James was the one son who followed his father into the fish selling business though he later dropped it in favour of labouring. In 1893 Alfred married Ellen Bellringer from Bristol and together they set up home nearby at 40 Sea View.
Alfred and Ellen had three children by 1901, the youngest being George Stallard who had been born in 1897. George was 17 years old when the Great War began but probably didn't enlist immediately as he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment and they were overseas until December 1914. If he joined up before March 1915 he would have sailed with them to Gallipoli before being evacuated and posted to France in March 1916. On the 1st July 1916 the Battle of the Somme began and the Hampshires were there taking part. George Stallard lost his life in July that year.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) list Corporal George Stallard (15426), 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, died 10/07/1917, age 20. Buried at the Bard Cottage Cemetery (Grave Ref: II.M.6.). Son of Mr. A. and Mrs. E. Stallard, of 40, Sea View, Stamshaw, Portsmouth.
George Stallard is commemorated on the Cenotaph. He is not listed in "The National Roll of the Great War", Section X.
RESEARCH NOTES
The name 'George Stallard' also appears on the WW1 Memorial at Trinity Methodist Church on Albert Road, Southsea, but there are two persons of that name from Portsmouth who died in WW1 and it's not known to which the memorial refers. Neither lived very close to the church.
Tim Backhouse
September 2014