Louis Blake Stevens was born in the spring of 1870 in Pilton, now a suburb of Barnstaple, Devon. One of nine children, his parents were Devon-born sawyer John Stevens and his wife Mary, who was from Swansea.

When he left school, Louis found work in the leather industry, working as a parer and grinder. In the autumn of 1890, he married an Edith Turner, the couple went on to have two children – Edith and Albert – although they seem to have parted company soon after.

On 4th April 1896, Louis married again, this time to a Mary Webber. The couple set up home in Stoke-under-Hamdon (now Stoke-sub-Hamdon), Somerset, and went on to have seven children of their own. By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to South Petherton, Somerset, where Louis and Albert were working as a glovers.

Storm clouds were brewing over Europe and, despite his age, Louis was keen to step up and play his part and, on 7th August 1915, he enlisted in the Army Veterinary Corps. His service records confirm he was 42 years old, 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with a dark complexion, dark brown hair and brown eyes.

After some initial training at the Army Veterinary Corps depot, Private Stevens was sent to France. Arriving there on 25th October 1915, he spent the next nine months overseas. During this time, he had issues with his teeth, breaking several on the hard biscuits the army were provided with.

Private Stevens was sent to a camp hospital in Boulogne, where his teeth were extracted, and he was then sent back to Britain to recover. The operation identified epithelioma (a malignant tumour) on his tongue and face, caused by the state of his teeth. He was initially sent to a hospital in Epsom, before being transferred to the Horton City of London War Hospital in Woolwich.

Treatment was ongoing, and, in the end, Private Stevens was finally discharged from the army on medical grounds on 2nd July 1917. The report noted permanent total incapacity, and that treatment was required.

At this point, Louis’ trail goes cold. He returned home to Somerset, and, died there on 23rd January 1918, aged 47 years old. Louis Blake Stevens was laid to rest in South Petherton Cemetery, within walking distance of his widow and family’s home.

---