Henry was born on 25th July 1896 and attended Ilford County High School between 8th September 1908 and 26th July 1911. He had been a pupil at Christchurch Road Elementary School. In 1911, he passed the Oxford Junior Local Examination and left education to take up a career in the Civil Service. His first post was as a ‘Boy Clerk.’
Henry’s family lived at 227 Thorold Road, in Ilford when he joined the school. His father, Ernest, was a Master Grocer and his mother’s name was Rebecca.
The 1914 editions of the school’s magazine, Chronicles, announced that he had joined the 12th Battalion of the City of London Regiment (The Rangers). He died on 15th February 1915, aged 18, and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.
The Essex Newsman reported on 13th March 1915 that, ‘a memorial service for Private Henry C. Whittingham of the 12th County of London Regiment was held at St. Clements Church on Sunday. The deceased was killed on February 21 and was intimately connected with the Church Guild etc.’
Research by Andrew Emeny, History Teacher at ICHS
Sources:
Ancestry.com
ICHS school records and magazines
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Essex Newsman (13/03/1915)
Note
Ilford County High School started life as the Park Higher Grade School in 1901 in Balfour Road, Ilford. It was renamed Ilford County High School (or initially County High School, Ilford) in the years after the school’s management was transferred from Ilford School Board to Essex Education Committee in 1904.