Basil John Corney was born in Berrynarbor, Devon, in the summer of 1895. The fourth of five children, his parents were William and Elizabeth. William’s work as a farm bailiff, took the family across the area: by 1901, they had moved to Shapwick in Somerset, and the next census record, in 1911, found the family living in Stogumber, where William had taken up management of the White Horse Hotel. Basil, meanwhile, was employed as a butcher’s assistant in the village.

When war came to Europe, Basil stepped up to serve his King and Country. He enlisted on 10th December 1915 and, from this point, preferred to go by his middle name, rather than his first. He asked to be assigned to the Royal Army Service Corps, but by the time he was mobilised in April 1916, he was attached to the Royal Garrison Artillery. Gunner Corney’s service records show that he was 20 years and 8 months old, stood 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall and weighed 155lbs (70.3kg).

Basil was assigned to the 143rd Siege Battery and, by August 1916, he was sent to France. His time in Europe was to be brief, however, as, on 1st October, he was shot and wounded by shell fire in his right knee while fighting at the Somme. Invalided to Britain for treatment, he eventually seemed to recover, and was transferred to the regiment’s No.2 Depot.

In April 1918, Gunner Corney was admitted to hospital in Edmonton, Middlesex, as his injury was causing some issues again. An examination identified that his kneecap had all but disintegrated, and this led to his eventual dismissal from armed service on medical grounds. He left the Royal Garrison Artillery on 14th November 1918 and was awarded the Silver Badge, noting the reason for him not being in the army.

Basil returned to Somerset, but his time back with his family was to be brief. He passed away at home on 12th December 1918: he was 23 years of age.

The body of Basil John Corney was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Stogumber, across the road from, and within sight of, where his family still lived and worked at the White Horse Hotel.

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