Ivy Patterson is a longstanding member of Memorial Community Church, interviewed by Hilary Colston in 2011. ‘Horrie’ Patterson was the brother of her husband.  Ivy’s husband was the youngest of 13 children in the family, while Horace was the oldest.

Ivy’s mother in law was a member of the women’s meeting which met on Mondays. She had memories of Dame Clara Butt visiting, as well as Queen Mary. Her father-in-law was a soldier and biscuit maker, who had moved with other in his family from Colchester to  East London. They were married and lived initially in Bromley-by-Bow, and at the time of the 1901 census they were living in Kent Street, West Ham. By 1918 the family lived in Hollybush Street, Plaistow.

Additionally in the Church Messenger, the magazine the Baptist church produced at that time, is a note that H Patterson received a parcel for Christmas 1914.

Horace married Violet Evangeline on 12 January 1918 in West Ham registry office.  He was killed in action in August of that same year in the  ‘Advance to Victory’.

From Barry Langridge’s research on the men of the Rifle Brigade:

Harry Patterson enlisted in September 1914, 13^th Battalion, Rifle Brigade. He was killed in Action on 24 August and awarded the Military Medal on 24 January 1919. The award would have been for gallantry in August 1918.

No citations are available for the award of the Military Medal but it is likely that CSM Patterson’s act of gallantry was performed during the attack on the German-held village of Achiet-le-Grand which is some four miles northeast of Bapaume (Somme).  CSM Patterson was killed during this battle.

Many thanks to two other members of  Horace Patterson’s family who have provided lots of information from their family history research to fill in this story. Some details have been included above, and there is more in the comments section below.