Andrew Trapp of Moscow, Bedford, Bushmead and Thurleigh Sue Jarrett When Lieutenant Andrew Trapp, formerly a cotton agent from Moscow, died on St George’s Day in 1918 telegrams were sent by the War Office to Bushmead and Moscow. So why is he commemorated on a plaque inside Thurleigh church and not on Eaton Socon War Memorial as Bushmead is in Eaton Socon Parish? The story of Andrew’s life has proved a fascinating story to research. Andrew Trapp was born in Moscow, probably in 1895, the third son of Charles John and Olga Trapp. The Bedford Modern School Admission Registers list his date of birth as November 3rd 1895 but documents in his service papers bear a date of birth of November 1894. His father Charles John Trapp was born at Thurleigh in Bedfordshire in 1849 and was the son of Benjamin Trapp, the vicar of Thurleigh, and his wife Caroline Sarah. In the 1861 Census Charles John was still at school and was living with his parents in the Parsonage House in Thurleigh but he does not appear to be in England in the 1871-1911 Censuses. Certainly by 1890 he was in Moscow when his son John was born. It is quite probable that he visited his mother and sister in Thurleigh when possible, and may have brought over his wife and young sons. His father Rev Benjamin Trapp died in 1900 and by 1901 his mother Caroline Sarah Trapp and younger sister Caroline Edith had moved from Thurleigh to a cottage at Bushmead, a few miles west of Eaton Socon. His mother died in 1910 and in the 1915 Electoral Register Edith Trapp is listed at Bushmead. Charles John Trapp settled in Moscow and had three sons educated there and for a short time at Bedford Modern School – John, born June 4th 1890 attended from May 1906 to midsummer 1908, George, born June 1st 1891 attended from May 1906 to midsummer 1909, and Andrew attended from May 1910 to Christmas 1913. All three boarded at Rev. C Hemsley's boarding house, 97 Ashburnham Road, Bedford. In the school admission registers for Andrew his father’s occupation was listed as a merchant and his address was given as 242 Sadovaya, Moscow. In another list his father’s address was given as 9 Dmitrievka, B. Moscow. At school Andrew was in the Officer Training Corps and became a Sergeant. After leaving school Andrew’s older brother John studied to become an engineer and in the 1911 Census he was boarding in Bucklow in Cheshire, listed as a student. His brother George was not in England and may have returned to his parents in Russia. After school Andrew worked as a cotton agent in Moscow for a short time before returning to England and joining the St John’s Wood Cadet School at St John’s Wood Barracks in North London, where he was a cadet gunner in the Royal Horse Artillery. In the spring of 1916 he was granted a commission in the Royal Field Artillery, and at that time his father’s address was given as 9 Bolshaya, Dmitrovks, Moscow and his father’s occupation as ‘merchant in Moscow’. Later in the year, in August, he joined the 17th Battery of the 41st Brigade. Andrew’s officers notes record that he was able to visit the UK, probably his aunt at Bushmead, when he had leave at Christmas 1916, June 1917 and January 1918. After almost two years service, by then a Lieutenant, he died on St George’s Day, Tuesday 23rd April 1918, aged 23. Andrew was killed close to Arras, which was being defended by the British 3rd Army. The Germans were attempting to push through the front line and they were being held back, and in the resulting artillery duel, Andrew lost his life and was buried in Anzin- St.Aubin British Cemetery. He was entitled to the British War and Victory medals. His Major wrote – ‘His death is a very keen blow to every officer, N.C.O. and man in the battery… he was extremely able and willing, very courageous, and most cheerful under the most trying circumstances’. In The Eagle (Bedford Modern School magazine) dated July 1918, page 186, it is noted that “His Colonel wrote of him: 'He was one of my best officers - cheery, brave, keen, and highly efficient. He was marked out for advancement, and would have gone far.’'“ 34