[Listed as J W Smith on memorial] Mechanician 283349, Royal Navy, HMS Good Hope, lost at sea, son of Mrs E Smith of Spencers Wood. HMS Good Hope was sunk along with HMS Monmouth by the German armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau under Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee with the loss of her entire complement of 900 hands in the Battle of Coronel, on 1 November 1914, off the Chilean coast. Born 1 July 1877 at Newbury. Wife Ada; 66, Folkestone Rd, Copnor, Portsmouth. No known grave. Commemorated on Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Panel 3.

Private 7562, 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment, killed in action on the 28th April 1915, born Wakefield, enlisted Mortimer, son of David Sweetzer 73 Catherine Street, Reading. Buried at Vieille-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, Lacouture in France, grave II.C.4. The 1st Battalion diary entry for the 28th April 1915, Cuinchy, France, A most unfortunate bomb accident occurred in our trenches about 8am. Bombs were being counted prior to handing over, and an explosion occurred which killed three NCO's and men.

Able Seaman J/17147, Royal Navy HMS Broke, died on the 21st April 1917 aged 21, son of Mrs G Tubb of Spencers Wood, Reading. Buried at the Dover (St James’s) Cemetery, grave M.L.4. On 20 April 1917, while on night patrol of the Dover Barrage near Goodwin Sands, HMS Broke came into action against six German destroyers of the Kaiserliche Marine that had started to bombard Dover. Along with HMS Swift she engaged the German destroyers in what became known as the Battle of Dover Strait. A torpedo from HMS Swift sank one of the enemy destroyers, G-85. Then the Broke deliberately rammed another, G-42, almost breaking it in two. The two ships became locked together and for a while there was close-quarters fighting on Broke's deck until the Broke managed to break free. The German destroyer sank while the remaining German warships escaped. The badly damaged Broke was towed home.

Leading Stoker 312249, Royal Navy HMS Invincible, died at the Battle of Jutland on the 31st May 1916 aged 27, son of Robert and Fanny White of "The Nest" Spencers Wood, Reading. Remembered on the Portsmouth Navel Memorial, panel 17. HMS Invincible was the flagship of the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron during the Battle of Jutland. on the 30 May, the entire Grand Fleet, along with Admiral Beatty's battlecruisers, had been ordered to sea to prepare for an excursion by the German High Seas Fleet. At 5:53 Invincible opened fire on Wiesbaden, the German ship turned for the south after fruitlessly firing torpedoes and attempted to find shelter in the mist. As they turned Invincible hit Wiesbaden in the engine room and knocked out her engines. As Invincible turned north, her helm jammed and she had to come to a stop to fix the problem, this was quickly done and the squadron reformed heading west. At 6:30 Invincible abruptly appeared as a clear target before Lützow and Derfflinger. The two German ships then fired three salvoes each at Invincible and sank her in 90 seconds. Of her complement, 1026 officers and men were killed, including Rear-Admiral Hood. There were only six survivors.

Marine PO/X1135, Royal Marines, HMS Suffolk, died on the 17th April 1940 aged 25, son of Arthur and Martha Elliott of Three Mile Cross, Reading, husband of Gladys Rosalie Elliott of Three Mile Cross. Buried at the Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, plot P, row 2, grave 40. HMS Suffolk was a Kent-Class cruiser launched on 16th February 1928. On the 17th April 1940 she met HM Submarine SEAL, which had acted as a navigational Beacon off Stavanger. She bombarded Stavanger airfield. Then she was deployed to intercept a force of German destroyers and came under heavy air attacks for several hours. Only one direct hit of the 88 near misses reported. Sustained major damage aft that disabled steering gear. Extensive flooding and fire resulted and speed was reduced to 18 knots. On the 18th April the ship returned to Scapa Flow steering by engines and with quarterdeck awash.

Sergeant W/75794 Auxiliary Territorial Service, died on the 14th September 1945 aged 35, daughter of George Robert and Annie Fisher of Spencers Wood. Called Nancy on grave. Buried at Shinfield (Spencers Wood) Burial ground, Shinfield.