Basic Details
Surname
Darricotte
Forenames
Gilbert Haley
Gender
Male
Information stated on memorial
Served or died
Died
Honours
DCM
Notes
The Roll lists his address as 1 St Margaret's Road. It inaccurately records him as having received the DCM. No official record exists of any such award to Gilbert: his Army Service file omits any mention of a DCM, as do all other Army/CWGC records etc; the London Gazette similarly has no record of any such award. His inscription on the WW1 memorials of Fletton Church and of Fletton School have no such annotation.
(Gilbert's mythical DCM notation on this Roll of Honour stems from a single inaccurate local press report in 1918. When his death was announced in the Peterborough newspapers on 28/9/1918, the reports include comments from the Headmaster of Fletton School, of which Gilbert had been the Art Master before enlisting. The Peterborough Standard accurately quoted the Head as having expressed his sorrow at Gilbert's death, and having also mentioned that one of the School's other teachers [James Rogers] had recently received a DCM re his service as a Sergeant in the RFA [regimental number 72043]; the Peterborough Advertiser, however, misquoted the Headmaster, and wrongly reported that it was Gilbert who had received a DCM. Unfortunately, Gilbert's entry on this original 1921 Roll of Honour was based on the Advertiser's inaccurate report, and therefore wrongly accredited him with a DCM. The erroneous DCM attribution was subsequently copied into the 1994 version of the RoH, and the WW1 Book of Remembrance that is in the Cathedral, and also several local publications and a website).

N.B. The Roll is known to include numerous errors, including: misspelt names and inaccurate date/place of death, service number/ rank/ military unit etc; several casualties were mistakenly listed on it twice [i.e. under their true name and also the alias under which they served]; several other men were listed on it due to the mistaken belief they had died, whereas they had actually survived.
Primary Service
As stated on memorial
Unit (Primary - Stated)
Essex
Sub-unit (Primary - Stated)
9th
Rank / Title (Primary - Stated)
2nd Lieut.
Our References
Service (Primary - Our reference)
Unit (Primary - Our reference)
Rank / Title (Primary - Our reference)
Death and Burial details
Country of death
France
Town of death
Nurlu, near Peronne
Country of burial
Not stated
Town of burial
Not stated on memorial
Cemetery
Not stated
Year of death
1918
Month of death
September
Day of death
5
Manner of death as stated
"Killed in action 5th Sept 1918 at Nurlu, near Peronne"
Manner of death reference
Killed in Action