A humane and brave act led to the death of Everard Stent (25) in battle just two weeks before the war ended.
Brave artilleryman
A lance bombardier in the 20th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, he was attempting to bandage the wounds of a fellow soldier in France on 27 October 1918 when he and others near him were killed by a shell. A letter of condolence was sent by a gunner in Lance Bombardier Stent's battery, which described the circumstances surrounding his death.
'He was not at all well this morning and stayed in bed, but hearing someone was wounded he rushed out in his bare feet and started bandaging him, when another shell came and killed all who were near, Everard among them.
'If ever there was a man whose life had not been lived in vain, he is that man, and I am proud that he was a pal of mine. He was recommended for the Military Medal some time ago, but his whole life since he joined up has been a record of thought for others and he was loved by every man in the battery.
'We have lost the bravest and most unselfish man I have ever met and, to me, it is like losing my brother'.
Teacher and footballer
Before the war Lance Bombardier Stent had been a teacher and a well-known footballer in the island. He was one of the most popular members of the Jersey Wanderers Football Club, and played in many inter-insular matches.
He was buried in France and left behind a fiancée, Elsie Gruchy, of Grouville.
His brother Ernest Holman Stent enlisted in the Royal Artillery in 1916 and, although they served only ten miles apart, they never met during that time.
Ernest Stent, who was told of the death of his brother two weeks after he was killed, in a letter from his father, survived the war and died in Jersey at the age of 98.
