Alfred Eldred Gladwell was born in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, on 15th November 1885. The oldest of three children, his parents were Eldred and Emma. Eldred was a bricklayer, and his son followed him into that trade.
Away from labouring, Alfred also took time to join the Royal Naval Reserve. He enlisted on the 8th January 1910, his service papers showing the young man he had become. He was noted as being 5ft 11.5ins (1.82m) tall, with blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on his left leg.
Alfred’s time at sea was focused on the Essex coast, with trips to Colchester, Brightlingsea, and across the Thames to Chatham, Kent. By the time that war was declared in 1914, he had risen to the rank of Leading Seaman and, being on reserve status, he was called into action when hostilities commenced.
Leading Seaman Gladwell was sent to HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham – and this would remain his base during the conflict. In February 1915, he was assigned to the SS Palma, which served off the Spanish coast. By the summer of 1917, however, Alfred was back at Pembroke to await his next posting.
The dockyard was overly busy that summer, with a replacement crew for HMS Vanguard waiting to be reassigned following its sinking and an outbreak of meningitis to contend with. Leading Seaman Gladwell was billeted in temporary accommodation that had been set up in the dockyard’s Drill Hall.
On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line as a wave of German aircraft bombed the town. The Drill Hall received direct hits from two bombs, and Leading Seaman Gladwell was one of dozens of men to be killed. He was 31 years of age.
The body of Alfred Eldred Gladwell was taken back to Essex for burial. He was laid to rest in Clacton Cemetery, not far from where his family was still living.
[Note: the photo above is of the memorial to the Chatham Air Raid victims, close to the mass grave for those whose bodies were not identified, in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.]
Death and Service 