John Benjamin Welch was born in Eton, Berkshire, on 16th October 1899. The second of five children, his parents were Frank and Annie Welch. Frank was a house porter at Eton College, and the family lived at 4 Willow Place in the village, before moving to 8 Eton Square by the time of the 1911 census.
When he completed his schooling, John (who was known as Jack) found work in a local foundry. He sought a life of adventure, however, and, on 25th July 1916, he joined the Royal Navy. His service records show that he was just 5ft 3.5ins (1.6m) tall, with brown hair , blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
Being below the age to formally enlist, John was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to the cruiser HMS Powerful to be trained on the job. Tragically for John, however, he contracted pneumonia, and the condition would take his life. He passed away on 14th November 1916: he was just 17 years of age.
The body of John Benjamin Welch was taken back to Berkshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St John’s Church, Eton.
John’s older brother, Frank, had also spent time serving his country. Enlisting in the Royal Field Artillery, and was attached to the 145th Brigade.
Gunner Welch served at Ypres and at Loos, and, by the spring of 1917, his unit was fighting in Salonika. He was wounded, and died of his injuries on 8th May that year: he was eighteen years of age.
By this point, through war and illness, Annie had lost a daughter, and three of her sons. The impact must have been unbearable: she died in the autumn of 1919, aged 43 years old.
Alfred Story was born in the summer of 1876 in Poplar, Middlesex. The youngest of three children, his parents were Benjamin and Margaret. Benjamin was an engine fitter from North Shields, Tyne and Wear, but he and Margaret had moved to London by the time their eldest was born in 1863.
Margaret died in the 1880s, and, when Alfred left school, he found work as a draper’s assistant. He did not carry out this trade for long, however, and took up a career in the Royal Army Medical Corps. His First World War service papers suggest that he remained in the army for twelve years, gaining the Kedive’s Star for service in the Sudan in 1898, and the Queen’s Medal with five clasps and the King’s Medal with two clasps for his time in South Africa.
By the time of the 1911 census Alfred was living at 1 Belle Vue, Eton, Berkshire, and that he was a house porter at Eton College. He was recorded as having married Alice in 1905 (although a later document suggests they did not exchange vows until 26th October 1916), and the couple were living there with their daughter, May, who was three years old. While no formal marriage certificate is available, it would seem that Alice was a widow when they got together: also living at 1 Belle Vue were her children, William Mallaband (who was 15) and Violet Mallaband (13).
The next record for Alfred is his service papers for the First World War. He enlisted on 26th February 1917, and was assigned back to his former regiment as a Private. His medical confirms that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m), and that he weighed 160lbs (72.6kg). He was recorded as having brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
Private Storey carried out his duties on home soil, and was attached to 18th Company. He survived the conflict, and rose to the rank of Corporal, then Acting Sergeant. When he was stood down on 16th February 1919, we readily volunteered to extend his service for a further twelve months. On 20th November that year, he collapsed and died from a cerebral haemorrhage. He was 39 years of age.
The body of Alfred Storey was taken back to Berkshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St John’s Church, Eton. He was reunited with Alice when she died in 1956: husband and wife buried together after 37 years.
The life of John James Green is a challenge to piece together. Born in Chatham, Kent, in the spring of 1880, he was the older of two children to David and Frances Green. David was a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, but when he died in 1883, his widow was left with two young children to raise.
Frances moved the family back to Eton, Berkshire, where she had been born. She married again, to groom Robert Edwards, and the couple went on to have a child of their own, John’s half-brother, Robert.
When John completed his schooling, he followed in his father’s footsteps. He joined the Royal Engineers, and went on to be a Driver for the regiment.
The 1901 census recorded him as being a patient in the Connaught Hospital, attached the North Camp in Aldershot, Hampshire. While not confirming John’s condition, it does note that he was married, although there does not appear to be any other record confirming this.
On 29th October 1903, however, John did get married. His new bride was Alice Morton, and the couple exchanged vows in St Mary Magdalene Church in Southwark, London.
Sadly, Alice seems to have died young, and in December 1905, John wed for a second time, to grocer’s daughter Ellen Mansey. Now based back in Aldershot, the two married in Holy Trinity Church, and went on to have five children: John, Ernest, May, Charles and Alice.
The 1911 census found the Green family in rooms at 25 Lyson’s Road. A small terraced cottage, they shared it with the Scotts – married couple John and Edith, and their baby, William.
At this point, John’s trail goes cold. War broke out, and it is certain that he served in some capacity, but how and where is unclear. Driver Green survived the conflict, but passed away in Aldershot on 22nd May 1919: he was 39 years of age.
The body of John James Green was taken back to Berkshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John’s Church in Eton, where his mother was still living.
It appears that Ellen may also have passed away by this point, as John’s pension was split equally between their five children. Tragically, his pension card notes Ernest and Charles’ guardian as the Sister in charge of St Augustine’s Home for Boys in Clewes, Berkshire. May and Alice were being looked after by Miss J Angerous of Pembroke Gardens, Windsor; while oldest son John Jr was in the care of Mrs B Evans Baldwin’s End, Eton College.
In spite of unpropitious weather, an exceedingly large number of people of all classes paid a last tribute to Able-Seaman Albert Edward Clements, at Eton, on Saturday last. The deceased, whose home was at 3, Tangier-lane, Eton, was on HMS Princess Royal, which took part in the naval fight in the North Sea, and he as severely injured by burns. He was taken on board HM Hospital Ship Plassy, but died on 31st May, and his remains were brought home on Thursday evening last week from Scotland. Clements as a boy showed an affection for the sea, and when old enough joined the merchant service and made several voyages. Five years ago from the day he was laid to rest he joined the Navy, and was at first on HMS Warspite and afterwards on the ship on which he received his mortal wounds. He was a loyal and devoted son, and after the death of his father three years ago was of great assistance to his mother. His father was for 29 years in the Royal service at Frogmore and consequently served under three Sovereigns – Queen Victoria, King Edward and King George. His elder brother, Charles George, was in the Oxford and Bucks LI, and was killed at Loos a year ago. The Admiralty, through pressure, was not able to send a representative, but his mother had received from that department a letter expressing its sympathy and appreciation of his services. A letter of sympathy has also been received from the King.
[Windsor and Eton Express: Saturday 17th June 1916]
The early life of Albert Edward Clements is a challenge to piece together. Born in 30th October 1896 in Marylebone, details of his parents are unclear and, by the time of the 1901 census, he seems to have been adopted by his paternal grandparents, George and Louisa. By this point the family were living at 4 Sunbury Road, Eton, the household being made up of Albert, his grandparents, and his four uncles and aunts.
At 45 years of age, George was a gardener’s labourer, but, as the newspaper report suggests, Albert had a hankering for the sea. He served on merchant vessels, but enlisted in the Royal Navy on 12th June 1912. Sent to HMS Ganges – the training base near Ipswich, Suffolk – he was given the Rank of Boy 2nd Class, as he was too young to formally join up.
By January 1913, Albert was assigned to the dreadnought battleship HMS St Vincent. Within four months he had moved to the heavy cruiser-turned-aircraft carrier HMS Vindictive. By the end of the year, however, Boy Clements received his main move, to HMS Princess Royal.
Albert was formally inducted in the Royal Navy on 28th May 1914, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service records notes that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also recorded as having a birth mark on the back of his left arm.
Princess Royal would remain Albert’s home for more than three years and, on 1st April 1915, he received a promotion to Able Seaman. His ship would be involved in some of the Royal Navy’s fiercest skirmishes, including Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank, but it was during the Battle of Jutland, on the night of the 31st May 1916, that Albert was injured and died of his wounds. He was just 19 years of age.
The hospital ship Plessy brought the body of Albert Edward Clements back to shore, and he was taken home to Berkshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of St John’s Church in Eton.
William James Maslin was born in the autumn of 1898, and was the second of four children to Mark and Emma. Mark was a hay cutter from Liddington, Wiltshire, but the family were born and raised in Edington, near Westbury.
There is little specific information about William’s life, but it is clear that when war broke out, he was keen to play his part. He enlisted in the Training Reserve Battalion, and was assigned to the 25th Battalion. Sent to Wool, near Bovington, Dorset, it wasn’t long before Private Maslin fell ill. He passed away from bronchial pneumonia on 4th April 1917: he was just 18 years of age,
The body of William James Maslin was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Ss. Mary and Katherine and All Saints’ Church in his home village, Edington.
William’s older brother, Walter Frank Maslin, also served in the First World War. Born in 1891, he followed in his father’s footsteps, working as a farm labourer.
On 24th September 1911, Walter married Rose Long. The couple set up home just along the road from Mark and Emma, and wend on to have three children: Florence, Herbert and Dorothy.
Walter enlisted in the Worcestershire Regiment, and was attached to the 2nd/8th Battalion. His unit fought at Fromelles, the Ancre and Langemarck, although, as his service papers no longer exist, it isn’t clear where or how Private Maslin served.
What is clear, however, is that he was captured, and taken as a prisoner of war. Imprisoned at Hamelin Camp, not far from the German town of the same name, he was certainly there by the spring of 1918. Conditions would have been harsh, and Private Maslin succumbed to pneumonia on 6th May 1918: he was 26 years of age. His widow and family would not find out about his passing for some weeks, and a death notice was only reported in the Devizes and Wiltshire Advertiser on the 18th July.
The body of Walter Frank Maslin was laid to rest in Friedhof Ohlsdorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Leonard Stephen Lovelock was born early in 1887 in the Wiltshire village of Edington. The son of Ellen Lovelock, there is no confirmation of who his father was. Ellen married Stephen Drewett in 1889, and from this point on Leonard took that surname. Stephen was a sawyer, and he and Ellen set up home in Kington Langley, near Chippenham.
Leonard, however, was destined for a different upbringing. The 1891 census return found him living with Jesse and Ann Coldrake, who were recorded as his grandparents: also in the household were Betsy Drewett (Jesse’s mother-in-law) and Emily Drewett (his daughter-in-law). The relationships are a little confusing, but Leonard remained with Jesse and Ann for the1901 and 1911 census records.
When he completed his schooling, Leonard followed Jesse into farm labouring. The later census return recorded the family living in a three-roomed cottage on Tinhead, the road leading north from Edington village centre.
Farm work was only the first step for Leonard and, by the time war broke out, he was employed as an attendant at the Wiltshire County Asylum in Devizes. He enlisted on 12th January 1916, his medical records showing that he was a little under 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, and weighed 170lbs (77.1kg).
Private Drewett was initially assigned to the 12th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment and, on 14th June 1916, his unit crossed the channel for France. While there, he was transferred to the Labour Corps, and was attached to the 152nd Labour Company. In the summer of 1917, Leonard joined the 5th Army School of Cookery, but after just six weeks he was admitted to a camp hospital suffering from epileptic seizures.
Moved from the camp hospital to the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Wimereux, by the end of the year, Private Drewett had been medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. He was sent to the General Military Hospital in Colchester, Essex, but his condition would ultimately prove fatal. Leonard died on 12th March 1918: he was 32 years of age.
The body of Leonard Stephen Lovelock Drewett was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Ss Mary and Katherine and All Saints in his home village of Edington.
Private Leonard Drewett (from Edington Church memorial)
Alfred Frederick Lane was born on the 8th August 1899 in the Wiltshire village of Edington. The third of three children, his parents were Alfred and Ada Lane. Intriguingly, Alfred’s older brother, Percy, who was both the year before, is not recorded as living with his family, the 1901 and 1911 census returns show him as living with his maternal grandparents in Newbury, Berkshire.
Alfred Sr was an innkeeper, and the family lived in the White Horse Inn, one of four pubs in the village. His tenure as landlord did not seem to last for long, however, and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded as being a dairy farmer. With two children to support, he and Ada had taken in a lodger, railway servant Ambrose Perrett.
When war came to Europe, Alfred Jr would eventually be called upon to serve his country. He did not, however, go willingly.
Alfred Frederick Lane (18, single), of White’s Farm Edington, had been refused exemption by the local tribunal, also by the War Agricultural Committee.
The father appeared, and said he was told to get a substitute, but this boy helped on his grandmother’s farm and she did not want a substitute, as she could hardly get about.
Captain Morley: Then I should think she does want one.
Mr Lane said his mother-in-law’s land was five miles away, near Heywood Church, and his son cycled there every morning after he had helped milk the cows at home. He had nine cows in milk and could not milk them all himself, as sometimes he did not get about very early, being “a bit bronchial.”
Captain Morley: How long have you been “touched in the wind?”
Mr Lane: A long time. Dr Willcox, of Warminster, only gave me six months to live – that was four years ago (laughter).
The Tribunal refused exemption and the Chairman said “You must tell your mother-in-law she must get a substitute.”
[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 2nd March 1918]
Alfred Sr’s attempt to get his son off the hook seemed a desperate measure, and he was not afraid to lie to do so. His mother-in-law, Ada’s mother, had lived in Berkshire and had died seven years earlier. Alfred Sr’s own mother, Hannah, had indeed helped on a farm, but she had passed away in 1900. He may have been suffering from bronchitis, but that was not going to save his son from joining the army.
Private Lane joined the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, and was sent to Ireland for training.
On Sunday last week Mr [Alfred] Lane, of The Farm, Edington, received the sad news that his only son had been fatally shot in a military camp near Dublin. It is only about three months that he joined up, being attached to the Cycling Corps of the Wiltshire Yeomanry.
[Devizes and Wilts Advertiser: Thursday 18th July 1918]
Alfred’s time in the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry had been cut tragically short. In Dublin, a trial was held for the man accused of his killing.
At a general court-martial held in Ship Street Barracks, Dublin, Private Walter H Lester, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, was charged with the manslaughter of Alfred Frederick Lane at Kilbride Camp, Co. Wicklow, on the 6th July. There was a second charge under the Army Act of having negligently fired a military rifle which fatally wounded Lane.
Mr Smylie, defending, submitted that a charge of manslaughter was not one for trial before a court-martial, and that there was no additional offence disclosed in the second charge.
The Judge-Advocate said that in his opinion the particulars set out in the second charge were the same as those in the first charge. It would only be necessary for the Court to find on one charge, and if they found accused guilty on the second charge he would advise the Court to refer the question of the validity of that charge to the convening officer.
This was agreed to, and evidence was then taken.
Lance-Corporal McCullagh stated that he was in a bell tent on the morning of July 6 with seven others, including the accused and the deceased. The deceased and Private Seansbury were wrestling on the floor. Witness heard an explosion, and they all rushed out, except deceased, who was lying on the floor. His face was covered with blood.
Private Haire said the accused was standing near the two men, who were wrestling. He had a rifle in his hand. He put his hand into his trouser pocket, and took a “round,” which he placed in the rifle, and pointed at the two boys, who were wrestling, and then pulled the trigger. When they heard the explosion they ran out.
Private Bannerin said he could not explain where the accused got the “round,” which was in the rifle.
The accused stated that he put what he took to be a “dud” cartridge in the rifle, which he raised to his shoulder to try. He did not believe it would go off.
His counsel also pleaded that the affair was purely accidental.
Accused was found not guilty on both of the counts.
[Belfast Telegraph: Friday 16th August 1918]
Alfred Frederick Lane was just 18 years of age when he died. His body was brought back to Wiltshire for burial, and he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Ss. Mary and Katherine and All Saints’ Church, not far from where his family still lived.
Private Alfred Lane (from ancestry.co.uk)
The loss of their son, particularly after their personal plea for him to be excused service, dealt Alfred and Ada a savage blow. Alfred Sr died a year after his son, at the age of just 56 years old.
Ada continued with the running of the farm, with her daughter Elsie and son-in-law William, to help. Ada passed away in 1924: she was 52 years of age.
Frank Baden Farmer was born in the summer of 1892 in the Wiltshire village of Semington. The twelfth of thirteen children, his parents were groom and gardener John Farmer and his wife, Jane.
When he completed his schooling, Frank – who was known as Toby to his family and friends – found work as a labourer in a local iron foundry. War broke out in the summer of 1914, and he gave up his job to enlist. He joined the Army Service Corps as a Private and, by early August 1915, he was in France.
Details of Private Farmer’s life in the army have been lost to time, but he certainly survived the war, and returned home to Wiltshire. At this point, Frank’s trail goes cold. The next documents for him relate to his passing – from disease, on 1st February 1921. He was 27 years of age.
The body of Frank Baden Farmer was laid to rest in the graveyard of St George’s Church in his home village of Semington.
Interestingly, The Wiltshire News of the 18th February (thirteen days after Frank’s funeral) included a photograph of the newly installed war memorial tablet in St George’s. Unveiled the week before, it is likely that Private Farmer’s passing came to late for his name to be included on it.
William Henry John Hancock was born in the autumn of 1896 in the Wiltshire village of Semington. One of three children – although one of his siblings had died before he was born – his parents were Henry and Alice Hancock. Henry’s line of work seemed to change over time: William’s baptism record notes he was a baker; the 1901 census suggests he was a poulterer and fishmonger; by 1911 he is recorded as being a market gardener.
William was recorded in census records as John, although his family and friends called him Jack. The 1911 document confirms that, at 14 years of age, he had completed his schooling and was employed as a rubber worker at the local India Rubber factory. His older brother, Richard, was also working, though as a wood trellis maker in a local saw mill. The Hancock family had also taken in two lodgers: William Haines was also a rubber worker, while Herbert Reynolds was employed at the saw mill as well.
When conflict broke out in Europe, William – Jack – was called upon to play his part. Full details of his service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery as a Fitter, and was assigned to B Battery of the 2nd Reserve Brigade. A territorial unit, it seems likely that he was assigned to them while recovering from an illness contracted overseas. By 21st December 1918, Fitter Hancock had been discharged from service, as he was physically unfit to continue.
Jack returned home to Wiltshire, and is likely to have tried to pick up on his previous life. His health had been impacted, however, and he passed away after “a short illness” [Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 12th June 1920] on 3rd June 1920: he was 23 years of age.
The body of William Henry John Hancock – Jack to his friends – was laid to rest in the graveyard of St George’s Church in his home village.
As an interesting aside, a newspaper reported on a luck escape that Henry had had back in 1911:
Last week Mr Hancock, of Semington, on going to the fowl cote found a snake quite a yard and a half long, and as thick as one’s arm. It had a toad in is mouth, and was seen to make a hasty meal of this. Mr Hancock killed the unwelcome visitor with a hay-fork
[Devizes and Wilts Advertiser: Thursday 13th July 1911]
Patrick Thomas O’Neill was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 2nd March 1888. Little information is available about his early life, but the Commonwealth War Graves Commission confirms he was the son of Jane O’Neill, and the family lived at 151 Taranaki Street.
When he completed his schooling, Patrick found work as a driver for Munt, Cotterell & Co. A large transport and cartage company, when the First World War broke out, they became involved in transporting supplies to the military camp at Trentham. Because of this connection, many of the company’s workers – Patrick included – enlisted.
Patrick’s service papers show that he joined up 22nd August 1916. His medical confirms that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall and had fair hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.
After his training at Trentham, Private O’Neill’s unit – the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps – left Wellington for Europe. After a week’s break in Simon’s Town, South Africa, their ship – the Walmer Castle – arrived in Devonport, Devon, on 27th March 1917. During the second part of the voyage, Patrick was admitted to the ship’s hospital, for an infestation of pubic lice.
The voyage from New Zealand to Britain had taken nearly three months, so when the regiment finally arrived at their camp in Sling, Wiltshire, it must have been something of a relief. For Private O’Neill, however, it marked the beginning of a regular pattern of misdemeanours.
In April 1917, Patrick moved to a base in Tidworth. A matter of weeks later, he went AWOL, and forfeited three days’ pay as a result. Private O’Neill was then sent to Grantham, Lincolnshire, where the ANZAC united had their machine gun training base. Over the next two months, he went AWOL on four separate occasions, resulting in him losing a total of 10 days’ pay and, for the final absence, 96 hours’ detention.
Private O’Neill disappearances seem to have been those of a lad about town: a couple of days after his final return, he was admitted to the venereal section of the camp hospital in Grantham. His condition – and probably his behaviour – was such that he was transferred back to Wiltshire, and admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital near Codford.
Private O’Neill was not done, however. On 6th December 1917, and having been discharged back to his unit just a day before, he went AWOL again, this time in spectacular fashion. He was arrested by military police in Edinburgh on 14th January 1918. Taken in handcuffs back to Codford, he forfeited 71 days’ pay – plus a 2s fine for his arrest – and punished with 90 days in the cells.
Patrick’s imprisonment began on the 1st March 1918, but it was a sentence he would not complete. On 16th May, he was taken from his cell and admitted to the camp hospital, once again to the venereal section. Less than a week later, he was dead, having suffered an embolism. Private O’Neill was 30 years of age when he passed, on 21st May 1918.
The body of Patrick Thomas O’Neill was laid to rest in the extension to St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the base in which he had been incarcerated and hospitalised.
Death and Service 