Category Archives: history

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Jersey, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, war

Private Philip Langlois

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Private Philip Langlois

Philip John Langlois was born 21st September 1886 in St Lawrence, Jersey. One of fourteen children, he was the eldest son to carpenter Philip Langlois and his wife, Mary.

When he finished his schooling, Philip Jr was apprenticed to his father, but, by the time of the 1911 census, the Langlois family had taken on Mayfield Farm. Most of the family we included in running it.

When war came to Europe, Philip left his father’s farm and stepped up to play his part. Sadly, full details of his service are lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia. Attached to the 1st, or West, Battalion, he served his time on the island.

The funeral took place yesterday afternoon with full military honours of Pte. Philip Langlois, of D (St Lawrence) Co… The deceased, who was 28 years of age, was very popular with his comrades, and was on duty a fortnight ago. Though suffering with a slight cold, he then seemed otherwise to be in good health. A few days ago, however, he was engaged ploughing, when he was taken ill, and returning to his father’s residence… was obliged to take to his bed. Unfortunately he never rallied, but passed away on Tuesday last.

It is very many years since a military funeral took place at St Lawrence, and this coupled with the sad circumstances surrounding the death was responsible for the large number of sympathetic spectators who lined the roads and assembled at St Lawrence Churchyard, where the internment took place.

[Jersey Evening Post: Saturday 6th February 1915]

Philip John Langlois had passed away on 2nd February 1915. His family headstone notes the other members of his family who are buried with him.

Philip’s younger brother, George, enlisted in the Hampshire Regiment, and was attached to the 1st Battalion as a Private. He was caught up in the Third Battle of Ypres and killed on 4th October 1917. George was 21 years of age, and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

Sadness was to strike again on 21st December 1917, when Philip’s sister, Elsie, passed away: she was 28 years old. Another sister, Florence, passed away on 3rd March 1918, aged 29. Both were laid to rest with their brother.

Philip’s parents were also interred in the family grave: Philip Sr when he died in 1936 at the age of 76; and Mary when she passed away in 1955 aged 92.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, London Regiment, Middlesex, photography, Rifleman, story, Sussex, war

Rifleman Conrad Bedford

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Rifleman Conrad Bedford

Conrad Thomas Bedford was born on 8th August 1891 in Bowes Park, Middlesex. The younger of two children, his parents were Thomas and Clara Bedford. Thomas was a bank clerk, who had a strong focus on education and, after his untimely death in 1899, aged just 40, Clara was keen to ensure that her only son received the best.

Conrad was educated at Seaford College in Sussex, and was boarding there at the time of the 1901 census. Whilst there, he served in the College Cadet Corps, which was attached to the Royal Sussex Engineers, and by the time he left, in 1909, he had taken the rank of Corporal.

When he completed his schooling, Conrad found work as a clerk in the London Joint Stock Bank, and soon volunteered for the London Rifle Brigade. When war broke out, he willingly stepped up to serve his country, and became attached to the regiment’s 5th Battalion.

The 1/5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade), to give the London Regiment’s unit it’s full title, fought on the Western Front, and Rifleman Bedford arrived in the Wallonia region of Belgium on 4th November 1914.

Early in 1915, Conrad was based near Ploegsteert, when, at around 2am on 27th February, he was shot in the right shoulder. He was medically evacuated to Britain, and admitted to the American Women’s War Hospital, in Paignton, Devon. While his injury was treated, sepsis set in, and Rifleman Bedford succumbed to it: he passed away on 15th March 1915, at the age of 23 years old.

Surprisingly, Clara did not bring her son back to London, where she was living. Instead, Conrad Thomas Bedford was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, not far from where he had breathed his last.

Riflemen Conrad Bedford
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, history, illness, Lieutenant, photography, story, war

Lieutenant Hugh Lorimer

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Lieutenant Hugh Lorimer

Hugh Cowan Lorimer was born on 27th November 1886 in Totnes, Devon. The oldest of four children, his parents were Scots-born draper Robert and his Devonian wife, Susan.

This was a family business, with Robert’s father – also called Robert – running the drapery at 59 Fore Street since the 1871 census. By 1891, Hugh’s father had taken over, and the family remained there until at least the time of the 1911 census return.

Hugh, by this point, had also taken on the mantle of draper. With the Lorimer business firmly set up in Totnes, he moved to Paignton, and opened a shop on the central Victoria Street. By 1911 he was listed as being the main employer, with his sister Muriel at his side, and a live-in servant, Bella Loram, helping to manage the household.

In the spring of 1914, Hugh married Gwendoline Pridham. Little information about her is available, but she had been born in Newton Abbot, and was a year younger than her new husband.

When war came to Europe later that year, Hugh was called upon to play his part: “He joined the Army in June, 1915, and received a commission in the 1/5th [Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry] with whom he served in France for 15 months prior to March 30th, where he was severely wounded, with the result that he had to undergo several operations, and only recently rejoined his Regiment.” [Western Times: Monday 2nd December 1918]

Lieutenant Lorimer was not fully out of harm’s way, however. As the summer moved to autumn, he fell ill, contracting influenza, which became double pneumonia. Admitted to hospital in Eastbourne, East Sussex, he succumbed to the condition on 27th November 1918: his 32nd birthday.

Hugh Cowan Lorimer was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in Paignton’s sweeping cemetery, on the outskirts of the town he had made his home.

Gwendoline was pregnant when she was widowed: the couple’s child, Joyce, was born on 29th June 1919, never to know her father.

Hugh’s younger brother Kenneth was also caught up in the Great War. He had emigrated to Canada at some point after the 1911 census, but volunteered for army duty in 1915.

Lieutenant Lorimer was attached to the 4th Battalion of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps, and was entrenched on the Western Front. “He was in command of a section that was in a tank taking part in an attack north west of Le Quesnel. The tank was put out of action by enemy shell fire, and Lieutenant Lorimer was wounded by a splinter from a shell. He was removed from the tank and received First Aid but died shortly afterwards.” [Canadian War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty)]

Kenneth Lorimer died on 8th August 1918, days short of his 30th birthday. He was laid to rest in Beaucourt British Cemetery in Picardie.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war

Private Percy Light

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Private Percy Light

Percy Light was born on 19th September 1898, and was one of seven children. His parents were groom-turned-motor bus driver Harry Light and his wife, Mary. Harry had been born in Hartlepool, County Durham, while Mary hailed from Penzance, Cornwall. However, the couple raised their family in Paignton, Devon.

Percy’s trail is a challenge to follow. He enlisted in the army around the time of his mother’s death, early in 1914. He was assigned to the Devonshire Regiment and, as a Private, was attached to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. His unit was stationed in Britain throughout the First World War, and there is no evidence that he spent any time overseas.

In the spring of 1917, Private Light fell ill, contracting tuberculosis. The condition was serious enough for him to be medically discharged from the army and he was officially stood down on 22nd February.

Percy’s trail goes cold at this point: he returned to Paignton, and it seems that his poor health got the better of him. He passed away at home on 18th November 1917: he was just 19 years of age.

Percy Light was laid to rest in the sweeping ground of Paignton Cemetery, not far from where his father still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Frederick Carder

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Stoker 1st Class Frederick Carder

Frederick Albert Carder was born on 2nd March 1893 in Dartmouth, Devon. The youngest of ten children, his parents were shipwright Samuel Carder and his wife, Julia. Frederick lost both of his parents in 1909, when he was just 14 years of age. He was taken in by his older brother, Ernest – who was better known as James – and his family and, by the time of the 1911 census was working as a porter for the local Co-operative Stores.

War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and, two years later, Frederick stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 4th July 1916, and was given the rank of Stoker 2nd Class. He was sent to HMS Victory – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire – for his initial training.

By the end of August, Stoker Carder was assigned to HMS Broke, a destroyer that formed part of the Dover Patrol, monitoring the waters off the Kent coast. He remained attached to the patrol and was promoted to Stoker 1st Class in January 1917.

On 20th April 1917, the Broke and another ship, HMS Swift, took on six German torpedo boats who were attacking the Dover Barrage – a network of nets and mines in the English Channel, designed to stop U-boats. The Broke rammed the torpedo boat SMS G42, and the two ships became locked together. Enemy sailors boarded the Broke, and hand-to-hand combat ensued. Eventually Broke managed to break free, and the G42 sank.

HMS Broke was towed back to shore, but 21 of her crew had died in the Battle of Dover Strait, including Stoker 1st Class Carder. He was 23 years of age.

The body of Frederick Albert Carder was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, close to his brother, James, who had died in the summer of 1916. Read more about him by clicking here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, suicide, war

Private Ernest Carder

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Private Ernest Carder

Ernest James Triggs Carder was born early in 1880, the third of ten children to Samuel and Julia. Samuel was a shipwright from Devon and it was in Dartmouth that the family were born and raised.

Ernest – who went by his second name, James – found employment as a groom when he finished his schooling. In the spring of 1907, he married Elizabeth Seward. The couple wed in St Saviour’s Church, Dartmouth, setting up home in Gospel Lane.

James and Elizabeth went on to have three children – Samuel, Edward and Betty. The 1911 census found James working as a grocer’s waggoner, with his youngest brother, Frederick, living with them.

The times were trying for James and Elizabeth: both Samuel and Julia died in 1909; and Edward, their middle child, passed away in September 1911 at the age of just seven months. In the summer of 1915, Betty wad born, and the following April. James was called up to serve his King and Country.

On 14th June 1916, Private Carder was assigned to the Devonshire Regiment, and attached to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. The unit would remain on home soil throughout the conflict, but James was not to be part of it for long.

On 29th July 1916, Private Carder was found dead in a lavatory at the Granby Barracks in Devonport, with a razor near him. He had been complaining of eczema on his legs for a while, which made it difficult for him to sleep and had the knock-on effect of causing him headaches. His commanding officer, Corporal Stonelake, said that James “was not too quick, but was a man of good character and tried to do his best… each time he complained of his head he declined to see the doctor.” [Western Morning News: Tuesday 1st August 1916]

Private Carder had willingly enlisted, and appeared not to have any qualms about serving in the army. At the inquest following his death, the jury returned a verdict of taking his life while of unsound mind. He was 36 years of age.

Ernest James Triggs Carder was taken back to Paignton, where Elizabeth and the children were living. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery, having found peace at last.

Less than a year later, James’ youngest brother, Frederick, also died. Read more of his life here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Northern Ireland, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Henry Weakley

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Private Harry Weakley

Henry Weakley was born in 1885 in Bath, Somerset. The second of six children, he was the eldest son to James and Fanny. James was a cab driver, and Henry – who was better known as Harry – followed suit, becoming a coachman by the time of the 1901 census.

In 1910, Harry married a woman called Jennie. There is little information available about her, but the following year’s census return found the couple living with his family at 1 Cork Street, Bath, not far from the city’s Royal Crescent. The census had two records for that address, which confirmed the family’s living arrangements. Harry and Jennie had one room, while the rest of the Weakleys – James, Fanny, four of their children and a grandson – took up four rooms.

Harry was still employed as a coachman as this point, but, with war on the horizon, things were to change. Full details of his military service are lost in the mists of time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and that he was assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion.

Private Weakley’s unit was a territorial battalion and it remained on UK soil throughout the war. Initially based in Devonport, Devon, the 3rd moved to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in November 1917, and Belfast the following April. Sadly, the little that remain of Harry’s records do not confirm where he served.

Harry was demobbed on 13th May 1919: his pension ledger notes that he had received gun shot wounds to his neck and back, although no further records identify when or how these injuries occurred. He returned home – 5 St George’s Buildings, Upper Bristol Road, Bath – and seems to have settled back into his pre-war life, although his health was still impacted.

Harry passed away at home on 27th March 1921. He was 36 years of age, and had died of heart failure. Despite his wartime injuries, the war office determined that his condition had been contracted after his army service: Jennie was denied a war pension.

Henry “Harry” Weakley was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from where his widow still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private William Pollard

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Private William Pollard

William Pollard was born at the end of 1887, the youngest of seven children to John and Alice Pollard. Agricultural labourer John hailed from Hinton Charterhouse in Somerset, while his wife was from Southampton, Hampshire. The family were living in the village of Buckler’s Hard when William was born, but moved back to Somerset when he was just a toddler.

As with most of his siblings, William followed in his father’s footsteps when he completed his schooling. By the time of the 1911 census, only he and his older brother Thomas we still living in the family home: the two siblings were working as carters, while their father, now 61 years of age, was a general labourer.

Alice died in the summer of 1911, and would net get to see her youngest boy wed. On 11th April 1914, William married Augusta Loveless, a carpenter’s daughter from Bath. The couple were living in 2 Rossini Cottages, on Hedgemead Road, to the north of the city centre, and would go on to have two children, William Jr and Geoffrey.

When war was declared, William was called upon to play his part. He enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry on 30th November 1915, but soon transferred over to the 5th (Service) Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment. Attached to the 673th Labour Company, while his unit served at Gallipoli and in France, there is no evidence that Private Pollard spent any time overseas.

William’s brother Thomas had also been called up. He joined the Somerset Light Infantry, and, as a Private, was attached to the 1st Battalion. His unit fought at the Somme, and Thomas was badly injured. He died of his wounds, and was laid to rest in the Puchevillers British Cemetery. He was 31 years of age.

In fact, William seems to have been dogged by ill health. Full service records have been lost to time, but he was medically discharged from the army on 12th September 1917.

John had died that February, at the age of 68 years old, and was laid to rest next to his wife in St John the Baptist Church, Hinton Charterhouse.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold. He returned to Bath, and spent at least some time in the city’s War Pensions Hospital. His condition warranted an operation, but he died of heart failure following the procedure on 12th December 1920. He was 33 years of age.

William Pollard was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Serjeant Herbert Fleming

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Serjeant Herbert Fleming

Herbert Gordon Maurice Fleming was born in Stockton, Wiltshire, on 24th March 1888. An only child, his parents were carpenter and wheelwright George Fleming and his wife, Annie.

Little further information is available about Herbert’s early life. On 25th June 1910 he married Ethel Young, a shepherd’s daughter from Wiltshire: they would go on to have four children, Herbert Jr, Ivy, George and Harold.

Herbert’s marriage certificate noted that he was employed as an engine driver. In his spare time, he also volunteered for the Wiltshire Regiment. When war broke out in the summer of 1914, he was called upon to play his part, and was formally mobilised in July 1916.

Sapper Fleming joined the Royal Engineers. His service records show that, at 28 years of age, he stood 5ft 7.5ins (1.71m) tall, and weighed 159lbs (72kg). He was of good physical development, although his medical report noted that some dental attention was required, and he had a pendulous mole on his back.

After his initial training, Herbert was sent to France. He was to remain part of the British Expeditionary Force for the next three years. While details of his service are scarce, his commitment to the army was clear: he was promoted to Lance Corporal in December 1918; full Corporal in June 1919; and Serjeant just three months later.

In October 1919, Herbert arrived back in Britain and the following month he was formally demobbed. He returned to his family, who were now living in Bath, Somerset. Back on civvy street, Herbert took up work as a motor waggon driver in the city, but his post-army life was to be short-lived.

The enquiry into the death on Saturday of Herbert John Maurice Fleming… was held at Bath Guildhall… Medical evidence proved that the cause of death was heart failure, due to an unexpected attack of pneumonia.

The widow said her husband did not complain of illness until Friday evening, when he returned from a journey to Reading. He then said he ached all over, and would go to bed at once. On Saturday evening he said he felt better, and sent her to the chemist for a tonic. He told her not to send for a doctor, as he expected to be quite well on Monday. On Sunday he still appeared fairly well, and was quite cheerful: but in the afternoon he complained of sickness, and the end came very suddenly.

[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 27th March 1920]

Herbert John Morris Fleming was just three days short of his 32nd birthday when he died. He was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery.

The spelling of Herbert’s second middle name is variously noted as Maurice and Morris. For consistency, I have used the spelling noted on his birth certificate.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war

Able Seaman Walter Brett

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Able Seaman Walter Brett

Walter Brett was born in Batheaston, Somerset, on 12th July 1896. The fourth of seven children, he was the second son of George and Louisa Brett. George was a groom and coachman from Norfolk, and his work took the family around the country. Louisa had been born in Staffordshire, their oldest child, daughter Florence, had been born in South Wales. By 1893, the family had settled in Somerset, but the next census, taken in 1901, found them in Branksome, Dorset.

When Walter finished his schooling, he found work as an errand boy for a hairdresser. By now the Bretts had moved back to Somerset, where George – and his widowed father, John – were working as coachmen for a Mr Page. There were seven in the household – George, Louisa, Walter and three of his siblings, and George Sr – and the family were living at 1 Nelson Terrace, on Walcot Street, Bath, in a six-roomed cottage.

Walter sought bigger and better things for himself. His older brother, Frederick, had left home, and was working as a grocer’s assistant in Brislington – now a suburb of Bristol – and he too wanted a career. On 23rd January 1912, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. As he was only 15 year of age, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Impregnable, a training ship based in Devonport, Devon, for his induction.

Obviously showing signs of ability and commitment to the role, Walter was promoted to Boy 1st Class just seven months later. His first assignment was on board the battleship HMS Cornwallis, and he spent the remainder of 1912 serving with her.

After a brief period back in Devonport – this time at HMS Vivid – and six weeks aboard HMS Lancaster, Boy 1st Class Brett was assigned to the ship that would become his home for the next three years. HMS Lion was a battlecruiser, and she was to serve as the flagship of her class of ships during the First World War.

Walter came of age while serving on Lion, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman on his eighteenth birthday. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a mole on his stomach.

Walter was promoted to Able Seaman in the summer of 1915, and remained on board HMS Lion until the end of April the following year. His ship had been involved in a number of skirmishes by this point, including the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the defence of the raid on Scarborough and the Battle of Dogger Bank. In June 1916, she would be caught up in the Battle of Jutland, but Able Seaman Brett was back on terra firma by this point, and was billeted in Devonport.

On 1st August 1916, Walter was given a new posting, when he was assigned to the dreadnought battleship HMS Ajax. Acting as support to the Norwegian convoys in the North Sea, he was to remain on board until the closing weeks of the war.

Walter’s brother Frederick, meanwhile, was also caught up in the conflict. He had enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment, and was assigned to the 12th Battalion. By the spring of 1917, his unit was based in Arras, and was Private Brett was heavily involved. Following an attack on 8th May, he was declared missing, presumed dead. He was 24 years of age, and is commemorated on the Arras memorial.

Back at sea, in October 1918, Able Seaman Walter Brett became unwell, contracting a combination of influenza and pneumonia. He was transferred to the Hospital Ship Garth Castle, but the conditions were to get the better of him. He passed away on 27th October, at the age of 22 years old.

Walter Brett was brought back to Somerset for burial. His parents had lost both of their sons, but were able to lay their youngest to rest in Locksbrook Cemetery, Bath.