Gidleys who fell in the First World War 1914 - 1918

There were seventeen Gidleys who went off to fight and never returned, and it seems fitting to remember them in this centenary year, particularly if they don't have any descendants to remember them. Their ages ranged from 41 down to an unbelievably young 17, with an average age of 26. Some were volunteers from very early in the war, others were no doubt conscripted men, following the introduction of conscription in 1916. To meet the demands of the fighting, by May 1916 even married men between the ages of 19 and 40 were required to register for military service. I'm not sure who were the braver -those who volunteered right from the start, or those who went later, already knowing what horrors they were going to. The following blog posts commemorate those who didn't return, but there are several Gidleys who survived, but whose lives were changed for ever by the wounds they suffered.
The seventeen Gidleys who died were from three branches, the Gidleys of Dean Prior, of Winkleigh, and of Buckfastleigh. If we count the Dean Prior and Buckfastleigh men as one branch (they probably separated in the 17th century), then they make up by far the largest number of those killed - eleven. The remaining six were all from the Winkleigh branch. My own family, which originated in Spreyton, lost no-one in the war. My own grandfather was considered unfit to fight, following a childhood leg injury (he fell off a wall in Heavitree, Devon, scrumping for apples, and was later very glad he had, although the leg never healed properly and he always limped).
Tragically, there were three pairs of Gidley brothers killed, and of those pairs, one also lost a first cousin.
No Gidleys from the USA, Canada or Australia were killed, as far as I can ascertain, although many of the Americans fought. New Zealand is represented by one of the last to die, Robert Northleigh Gidley, an apiarist of some distinction.
The huge loss of life in the First World War is mirrored by Gidley casualties in both that war and the Second World War. There were far fewer in the Second World War. Between 1939 and 1945, although there were more casualties from Gidley families in the USA, and another from an Australian family, in Britain there were only two, and only one of those was due to the fighting. The other was a serviceman who was killed in the London Blitz. I shall commemorate them all at a later date.
If anyone reading this has any photos of these Gidleys I should of course be very pleased to add them to the blog posts, also if they have any more details of thier lives. I know only what is in the public domain. Family members may have more stories to tell of bravery. And I'm not a military historian. I have tried to put their deaths in context, but may well not have got it completely accurate.