{"id":821,"date":"2014-11-05T23:11:43","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T23:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plattwarmemorial.org\/?page_id=821"},"modified":"2024-10-08T13:41:13","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T13:41:13","slug":"stephen-john-sears-1880-1918","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/world-war-one\/stephen-john-sears-1880-1918\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen John Sears MM (1881 &#8211; 1918)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-three\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:31px;margin-left:0px;\"><h3 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.5;\">Cpl Stephen John Sears MM (1881 &#8211; 1918)<\/h3><\/div><span class=\" fusion-imageframe imageframe-dropshadow imageframe-1 hover-type-zoomin\" style=\"-webkit-box-shadow: 3px 3px 7px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);box-shadow: 3px 3px 7px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sears.jpg\" class=\"fusion-lightbox\" data-rel=\"iLightbox[ae78816bedd8f63fc3a]\" data-title=\"Stephen John Sears MM (1881 &#8211; 1918)\" title=\"Stephen John Sears MM (1881 &#8211; 1918)\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" alt=\"Stephen John Sears MM (1881 - 1918)\" src=\"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sears-225x300.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-9567\" srcset=\"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sears-200x266.jpg 200w, http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/sears.jpg 322w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/span><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stephen John Sears was born in Coxheath, Kent <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">on<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> 15 August 1881. He was the ninth of 12 children born to Alfred Henry Sears, a farm servant, and his wife, Mary Jane (n\u00e9e Seager.) In the 1880s and 1890s, the family lived at Thomas Cottages in East Farleigh, but by 1901, they had moved to Wrotham, where Alfred became the innkeeper of the Spring Tavern. Stephen, then aged 21, was employed by his father as a brewer&#8217;s labourer; however, several years later, he worked as a jobbing gardener.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On 17 July 1907, Stephen married Grace Ralph in West Malling, with the couple subsequently moving to Windmill Hill in Wrotham Heath. Five children were born of the marriage between 1907 and 1915, the youngest two being twin boys.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stephen had already served five years in the Royal West Kent Regiment as a member of the 1st Volunteer Battalion when war broke out in 1914. So, on 8 December, he visited the recruiting office in Bromley and enlisted in the West Kents. The following week, Stephen received orders to join the Depot Battalion in Maidstone before being sent to Chatham on 5 January 1915, where <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">he was taken<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> on the roll of the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, The Queen&#8217;s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He was posted to France two months later on 7 March, and upon arrival, he travelled to No.5 Infantry Base Depot in Rouen. Infantry Base Depots were large holding camps that could house several thousand soldiers in wooden huts. Most men passed through these before joining their units in the field and could spend a week or more there training.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Private Sears is likely to have been one of a draft of 65 men who joined the 1st Battalion, The Queen&#8217;s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) near Ypres at Vlamertynghe on 1 April. The following day, he entered the trenches and, by the 16th, had occupied part of the line opposite the infamous Hill 60, which was situated southeast of Zillebeke. The &#8216;Hill&#8217; rose about 40 feet above the general level of the surrounding terrain, so in reality, it was more of a small artificial mound of earth. Despite its physical shortcomings, it was still valuable to the enemy as an observation post that afforded substantial views over the British sector around Zillebeke and Ypres; consequently, taking it from the Germans was strategically important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At dusk the following day, the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> took part in an attack on the Hill, which was so sudden that they met little enemy resistance, and the Germans quickly overrun without incurring too many battalion casualties. Although the assault was a success, the danger had not yet passed, and almost immediately after taking the position, over 50 batteries of German artillery concentrated their fire on the British position, killing and wounding substantial numbers of men from all companies. Stephen&#8217;s unit left the area the following day and returned to Vlamertynghe; however, on 5 May, the Germans retook the Hill and The Queen&#8217;s Own were hurriedly called back to <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">take part in an<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> attack to regain the position. The assault began at 10 p.m., and the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was tasked<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> with securing the trenches north of the Hill. It was an extremely <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">dark<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> night; the ground over which Stephen&#8217;s unit was to advance was strewn with old wire and peppered with derelict trenches and shell holes. In contrast to the previous attack, the Germans were fully expecting the British to advance, and as soon as the battle began, they rained down high explosives and shrapnel <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">over all<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> approaches to their front line. During the night, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">it was accepted<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> that the attack would not succeed, and the men <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">were withdrawn<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> back to the British trenches.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Following this failed offensive, and after a short spell billeting in Ypres, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stephen&#8217;s unit <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">were<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> sent<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to St. Eloi, where they spent the next two months alternating between the trenches and huts in Dickebusch. The sector was <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">fairly<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> lively, and enemy trench mortars and sniping were a regular feature of daily life. Gas, which had first been used by the Germans on a large scale earlier in the year against the Russians and, more recently, the British at Ypres, also became a hazard, with the only protection available being a strip of damp flannel that <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">could be tied<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> over the mouth and nose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At the end of July, The Queen&#8217;s Own (part of the 13th Brigade in the 5th Division) left Ypres and moved to Carnoy on the Somme, just east of Albert. In 1915, this was a relatively peaceful area where both sides were content to keep each other in check and had not engaged in large-scale aggression. Of course, this would be in stark contrast to the situation less than a year later when the carnage suffered by the British Army in the same place surpassed anything it had experienced before in its entire history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On the Somme, a typical tour of duty for Stephen would have involved a week on the front line followed by the same amount of time in the reserve. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Towards the end of September, his <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was ready to attack near Albert <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">which<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> would be triggered by the outcome of a <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">major<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> battle at Loos.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> However, progress <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">had not been sufficient<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to warrant such an assault, and the men stood down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As autumn segued into winter, conditions worsened. Exposure to the elements became as much of a going concern as avoiding enemy fire. Heavy rain flooded the trenches, which collapsed and turned the ground into sticky adhesive mud that forced the men to move in and out of the line over dangerous open terrain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stephen spent Christmas in the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">trenches,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> and eventually left the Somme on 24 February 1916, when the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">marched to Arras through a raging blizzard known as the &#8216;Moscow March.&#8217; They were to spend almost four months in the sector, which had seen ferocious fighting during 1915, but by the time Stephen&#8217;s unit arrived, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a relatively quiet part of the front.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">By early spring, plans for a <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">major<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> summer offensive on the Somme were progressing, with a massive build-up of troops, artillery, and other equipment in the sector. The infamous&#8217; Battle of the Somme&#8217; began on 1 July 1916. On that day, Stephen waited in readiness to carry out a subsidiary attack south of Arras; however, plans changed when <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the battle&#8217;s objectives were not achieved<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, and the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> immediately called back to the Somme, where they eventually occupied the front line in the south corner of High Wood during the evening of 20 July.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Two days later, Stephen and his comrades left their trenches at 9:52 p.m. and advanced behind a creeping barrage that lifted eight minutes later. At this point, the men rushed towards the German front line and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">immediately<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> checked by a hailstorm of lead from enemy machine guns. Nearly all the officers were hit simultaneously, including those commanding &#8216;A&#8217;, &#8216;B&#8217; and &#8216;C&#8217; Coys. The <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> fought valiantly and made repeated attempts to get forward with the support companies and troops from the two reserve battalions also drawn into the fray. The attack ended in tragic failure, and at the end of the day, only 250 survivors answered the roll call. As July drew to a close and having been at the Somme for 11 days, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> fighting strength had been reduced<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> from 1,100 to 350 men.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">To<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> avoid the 1st <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> disappearing altogether<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, reinforcements <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">were swiftly dispatched<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> during August<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, the men <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">were inexperienced<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">had<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> received <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">little<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> training.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Following High Wood, the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was involved in actions at Guillemont and Falfemont Farm. They eventually withdrew from the Somme at the end of September and sent to the Festubert area. In less than two and a half months, the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> lost another 31 officers and over 900 other ranks. Miraculously, Stephen was not among the casualties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Between October 1916 and the end of March 1917, the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> remained in the centre of a divisional front that extended four miles from Givenchy on the right, Festubert in the centre and Ferme du Bois on the left. Stephen would have undoubtedly <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">been tasked<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> with the unending challenge of maintaining the line, which <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was later described<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> as resembling a &#8216;swampy wilderness of ditches and old trenches&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Towards the end of March, the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> moved to Auchel, where they began <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">a period of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> training in preparation for an attack on Vimy Ridge planned for 9 April. In the battle, the 5th Division <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was transferred<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to the Canadian Corps, and the 13th Brigade were to <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">make their<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> attack on the left of the Canadians, with The Queen&#8217;s Own advancing on the right and King&#8217;s Own Scottish Borderers on the left. &#8216;C&#8217; and &#8216;D&#8217; companies were to assault the Th\u00e9lus trench, whilst &#8216;A&#8217; and &#8216;B&#8217; were to pass through and capture Goulot Wood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On the day of the attack, a snowstorm blew across the battlefield as the men climbed over the parapets and advanced across No Man&#8217;s Land, passing several tanks that had become stuck in the mud and shelled by the Germans. Under stiff enemy machine-gun and artillery fire, the West Kents pressed on and reached their objectives without incurring too many losses. They were able to successfully hold their position until being relieved by the Canadians the following day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">By the middle of June, The Queen&#8217;s Own had begun three months of trench duty east of Arras in the Arleux and Oppy Sector. Stephen had been promoted to lance corporal (unpaid) in May and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was granted<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> ten days leave to England on 30 June, when he almost certainly returned to Wrotham Heath. He had been overseas for over two years and had never met his twin sons, who were born very shortly after he left for France in 1915.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Almost immediately after returning to the front on 29 September, Stephen <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was admitted<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to No.50 Casualty Clearing Station for an unknown reason. Whatever ailed him must have been minor, and he rejoined his unit at the start of October and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was promoted<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to paid lance corporal. The <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> had marched back to the Ypres salient and taken up a position near the Menin Road, where they successfully attacked on the 4th.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">At 5:40 a.m. on 26 October, the West Kents were in action again when they attacked the village of Gheluvelt. The weather had deteriorated <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">quite<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> considerably, and the ground over which they were to advance was extremely boggy. During the battle, Stephen distinguished himself and won the Military Medal for his actions. His citation read:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">By his fine example and masterly control of fire on the Menin Road, on 26 October 1917, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">accounted<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> for large numbers of the enemy. He also volunteered to carry a message through a heavy enemy barrage to Battalion <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">H.Q<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> best efforts, the assault failed to achieve its goals, and The Queen&#8217;s Own prepared for a second attack, but with the weather worsening, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the idea was abandoned<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. The trenches (which were, in reality, a series of unconnected shell holes) were <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">full<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> of water, and an increasing number of men began to require medical attention to their feet and legs, having spent prolonged periods standing in the water.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stephen&#8217;s war was to take an unexpected turn during mid-December when he <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was sent<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> with the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to Italy. The Italian Army was losing to the Austrians and Germans at Caporetto. Consequently, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">a number of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> French and British Divisions found themselves hastily drafted south to provide support and prevent a collapse of the line.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The train journey, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">which <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> later recorded<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in a regimental history as being &#8216;extremely enjoyable&#8217;, took six days and eventually arrived at its destination in Fontivilla on 17 December. In contrast to their accommodation in France and Flanders, the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> billeted <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">in<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the grounds of the Count&#8217;s Palace at Bolzenelle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Over the next month, Stephen would have trained in the mountains during the day and helped <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">out<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the local inhabitants with <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">a variety of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> other tasks in his spare time.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> He eventually left for the Italian Front line on 22 January <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">1918,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> and arrived at the village of Arcade seven days later. The trenches in this area ran alongside the River Piave and opposed the enemy, who were about three-quarters of a mile away and noted as being &#8216;extraordinarily inactive.&#8217; Over the next two months, the observation of enemy aircraft became a prominent feature of Stephen&#8217;s time in the trenches<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, and by<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the middle of March, preparations were <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">being made<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to return the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to France.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stephen left Italy on 1 April and made his way &#8216;back to the war&#8217; (via the French Riviera), detraining in Fr\u00e9vent five days later. During his time in Italy, he was promoted to acting corporal and arrived back in France just as the Germans had broken through Allied lines near Neuve Chapelle. The attack became the second of the great enemy offensives of the year (the first occurring on 21 March), and the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was hastily sent west of Merville to Thiennes. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Large numbers of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> refugees escaping the advancing German Army hampered progress along the roads. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On arrival, the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">battalion<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was put into the brigade reserve <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">and<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> based on the eastern edge of the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Forest of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Nieppe.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> The Germans constantly shelled the British front, support and reserve trenches, and by night, bomber aircraft dropped heavy explosives along the Allied lines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">During May, the West Kents carried out several tours along the extreme north of the sector held by the 5th Division, giving them some relief from the continuous shelling. At 9 p.m. on 23 May, they moved off to relieve a battalion of Royal Warwickshires in the trenches, and on the way, the Germans sent over a bombardment of gas shells that killed one man and wounded 11 others. Tragically, Stephen, who had spent over three years fighting, was the man who lost his life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was buried<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in the Tannay Military Cemetery in Thiennes. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":53,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-821","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10423,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/821\/revisions\/10423"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/53"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/plattmemorialhall.org\/warmemorial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}