Henry Quittenden was born in 1883 in Otford, Kent (GRO reference: Dec 1883 Sevenoaks 2a 619). His parents were Jonathan and Mary Quittenden (nee Jones) who had married in 1877 following the death of Jonathan's first wife Mary Ann.

Henry had ten older half siblings and four full siblings.

HENRY'S HALF SIBLINGS ON HIS FATHER'S SIDE
Name	Born - Died	Notes
Arthur William	Born: 1859 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1935 Sevenoaks, Kent	Baptised 28 August 1859
Alfred Cornelius	Born: 1860 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1936 Sevenoaks, Kent	Married Kate L. Osborne 1890
Elizabeth Ann	Born: 1865 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1929 Kent	Married Walter Cheeseman 1886
George	Born: 1869 Wrotham, Kent Died: 1906 Kent
Jonathan	Born: 1870 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1870 Sevenoaks, Kent
Mary Ann	Born: 1871 Wrotham, Kent Died: 1953 Kent	Married Samuel Parker 1893
Amos	Born: 1874 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1947 Kent
HENRY'S HALF SIBLINGS ON HIS MOTHER'S SIDE
George William Jones	Born: 1868 Wrotham, Kent
Eliza Ann Jones	Born: 1872 Sevenoaks, Kent
Mary Elizabeth Jones	Born: 1876 Sevenoaks, Kent
HENRY AND HIS FULL SIBLINGS
Emily Caroline	Born: 1878 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1971 Kent	Married Jesse Jenkins 1901
Rhoda Gertrude	Born: 1880 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1963 London	Married George Roser 1898
Ellen Sarah	Born: 1881 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 1950 Kent	Married Edwin Neeves 1906 Married Henry E. Jarvis 1932
Henry	Born: 1883 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 9 March 1919 Epsom
Louis/Lewis Frederick	Born: 1887 Sevenoaks, Kent Died: 3 May 1915 Ypres, Belgium	Served in 2nd Battalion Buffs (East Kent) Regiment Service No. L/8750. KIA.

When the 1881 census was taken, before Henry was born, the enumerator recorded that Jonathan had a second family and listed them after his first family as all living at Mill House, Otford, Kent. Henry's half siblings on his father's side were recorded as Arthur aged 22, Alfred aged 18, George aged 12, Mary Ann aged 10 and Amos aged 8. His half siblings on his mother's side were recorded as George aged 10, Eliza aged 8, Mary E. aged 5, plus his full siblings Emily aged 3 and Rhoda aged 1. His father and half brother Arthur were working as agricultural labours. Henry's sister Ellen was born soon after the census was taken and his brother Louis in 1887.

Henry's father was aged 52 when he died in 1889. When the 1891 census was taken Henry's widowed mother was working as a 'Mangler' while her stepson Arthur and son George William Jones were working as general labours. Between them, they were supporting the other children Emily aged 12, Rhoda aged 11, Ellen aged 9, Henry himself aged 7 and Louis aged 3. The family was living at 1 Bridge Cottages, Otford Bridge, Otford, Kent.

When the 1901 census was taken only Arthur and Louis were still living with Henry's mother. Henry was aged 17 and boarding with the Read Family in Watery Lane while working as a cattleman on a farm in Kemsing, Kent. His mother died three years later in 1904.

By 1911 Henry was boarding with William and Mary Whiffen at their home in Otford; he was unmarried and working as an agricultural labourer.

Henry's service record has not survived so details of his time as Private 3/34435 in the East Surrey Regiment or as Private 453408 in the Labour Corps are not known. No medal entitlement record has been found for Henry, so his time in the army was probably all spent in the UK.

Henry died in the Horton War Hospital, Epsom, on 9 March 1919 and on 14 March his body was buried in grave K653 in Epsom Cemetery, a grave he shares with three other soldiers. Henry is remembered there on the CWGC Screen Wall. Henry's age is recorded as 39 by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and as 34 in Free BMD. He was in fact 35.

The Soldier's Effects Records list Henry's sisters as Rhoda Roser, Emily C. Jenkins and Ellen S. Manes (sic).

CWGC