E P. Hoskins is believed to have been born around the year 1880 but even with this information from the college archives it has not been possible to positively identify him from birth and census records of the period. His education at Wellington College is thought to be circa 1890: in addition, no record of his Christian names exists in the archives.

It is understood that he served as a Staff Sergeant in one of the Yeomanry Regiments, of which there were fifty-four at the outbreak of the war. The Yeomanry was the mounted arm of the Territorial Force established in 1908, but drawing upon the militia and volunteer units, some of which dated back decades.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission [CWGC] lists one hundred and three individuals with the surname of Hoskins who lost their lives in the war. Of these, eighty-four served with United Kingdom forces, seventy-seven in the army, two in the RFC/RAF and five in the Royal Navy.  Only five individuals have their first or only Christian name, beginning with the letter ‘E’;

However, at the present time E.P. Hoskins cannot be positively identified from the records held at The National Archives, or the Commonwealth War Graves Commission [CWGC] database from World War One. Consequently the date of his death and true identity remain unknown. Is it the case perhaps that when the chapel memorial plaque was inscribed in the early 1920’s, the documentation from which the names were sourced was incorrect?

Hoskins would have qualified for both the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. In addition, if he entered a theatre of war between 5^th August 1914 and 22^nd November 1914 he would have qualified for The 1914 Star. The 1914-15 Star was for those personnel who entered a theatre of war prior to 31^st December 1915 and who did not qualify for the former medal.

The author would welcome any infomation that might assist in the identification of E.P. Hoskins. E-mail propatria@wrekincollege.com