Cecil St John Harris was the son of Reverend Percy and Constance Harris. Born in Kilver, Staffordshire, on 13th July 1891, he was one of nine children, although, by the time of the 1911 census, four of them had passed away. The Harris family had, by this point, moved from Staffordshire, to Devon, to Cornwall, and had settled in Staplegrove, Somerset, where Percy had become the rector at St John’s Church.

According to the census record, Cecil was studying engineering. He was keen at sports, being a keen member of the village’s cricket club. When war broke out, he enlisted in the West Somerset Yeomanry, but soon took a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Somerset Light Infantry.

Cecil’s troop, the 3rd/5th Battalion remained on home soil, and he was based in Somerset for the duration of his time in the army. This was not to be for a long time, however, as, in the summer of 1915, he fell ill with appendicitis. He underwent an operation, and made a slow recovery, before relapsing. He passed away on 10th September 1915, aged just 24 years old.

Cecil St John Harris was laid to rest in the north east corner of St John’s Churchyard, Staplegrove, where his father was still the vicar. His grave is now lost to time, but Second Lieutenant Harris is commemorated on a special memorial, close to the entrance of the building.

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