William Jacobs was born in Shoeburyness, Essex, in 1884. The middle of seven children, his parents were John and Mary Jacobs. By the time William was born, John was employed as a domestic gardener, but it seems likely that he had been a military man, his children having been born in garrison towns across Britain and India.
William is missing from the 1901 census, but the family seem to have settled in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, by this point. On 7th October 1905, he married Laura Turner, a labourer’s daughter from the town. They went on to have two children, William Jr and Edgar.
By the time of the 1911 census, William was working as a painter and decorator for a local brewery. The family had set up home at 12 Wyke Road, to the north of Trowbridge town centre. War was on the horizon, however, and things were to change.
When war broke out, William stepped up to play his part. Full details of his time in the army have been lost to time, it is clear that he joined the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private, and was attached to the 1st Battalion.
Private Jacobs found himself in France by July 1915, and was certainly caught up in some of the the skirmishes of that summer and autumn. The following spring, however, he was wounded in the fighting, and was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment.
Admitted to the 5th Southern General Hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Private Jacobs’ injuries would ultimately prove too severe. He passed away on 19th March 1916, at the age of 32 years old.
The body of William Jacobs was taken back to Wiltshire for burial: he was laid to rest in the garrison town’s cemetery, a short walk from where his widow and children were still living.
Arthur Albert Park was born in the autumn of 1890, in Devizes, Wiltshire. The second of six children, he was the youngest son to Arthur and Bridget Park. Arthur Sr was a labourer in a rubber factory, and, by the time of the 1901 census, the family had moved to Church Lane in Melksham.
Arthur Jr sought a life of adventure for himself, and joined the army. By 1911, he had enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment and, as part of the 1st Battalion, he was stationed in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Sadly, there is little specific information available about Arthur’s military life. His medal roll card notes that he was re-engaged in the army on 7th October 1914, and was attached to the 2nd Battalion of his former regiment.
Private Arthur Park… joined the 2nd Wiltshire Regiment in 1907. He went to France in 1914, and was captured while acting as a stretcher bearer during the German offensive in March 1918. He was released in December, and came home in the beginning of January, but he was far from well, his ill-treatment in Germany having undermined his constitution…
Private Park comes from a military family, his late father having served with the Colours, and a brother is at present a private in the Rifle Brigade. He has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
[Wiltshire News: Friday 14th February 1919]
There is no information about Arthur’s award, and the newspaper report comes after his passing:
[He] was staying in Trowbridge. He was sent up to the hospital in an unconscious state, and was apparently dying. He passed away on Sunday from double pneumonia and exhaustion, owing to the deprivations he had undergone in enemy hands.
[Wiltshire News: Friday 14th February 1919]
Arthur Albert Parks died in Trowbridge Hospital on 9th February 1919. He was 28 years of age. His body was laid to rest in Trowbridge Hospital, not far from the hospital in which he had passed.
Robert Hill was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 24th June 1876. One of seven children, his parents were Thomas and Catherine. Thomas was a dock labourer, and the family lived in a tenement in Upper William Street, to the north of the city centre.
Robert was destined to be drawn to the sea and, on 30th May 1900, he joined the Royal Navy, as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, with blue eyes, fair hair and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Hill was sent to HMS Pembroke for his training, and it was to the Chatham naval base that he would ultimately return between voyages. He enlisted for a period of twelve years and, over that time, would serve on six different vessels. During this time, Robert was promoted, gaining the rank of Stoker 1st Class.
When Robert’s contract came to an end, he was stood down to reserve status. His trail goes cold until May 1914 when, with war looming, he was re-engaged.
At the outbreak of war, Stoker 1st Class Hill was assigned to HMS Coquette, a D-class destroyer serving as a training ship for the navy’s gunnery school at Sheerness, Kent.
Being thrown overboard as the result of a jar caused through a liberty boat bumping into another Service Vessel, Petty Officer Hill, of HMS Coquette, lost his life at Stangate Creek as far back as March 8th, and his body having since been recovered, an inquest was held at the Royal Naval Hospital, Gillingham, on Saturday morning…
Charles Offord, stoker, HMS Coquette, identified the body as that of Robert Hill, a first-class petty officer, of the same ship. The body was quite unrecognisable, and witness was only able to identify it by the clothing and boots, and by two brass Service keys belonging tot he deceased’s ditty box and hat box. Hill was the only man of the ship with two keys. Both boxes had to be forced open, as the keys were missing. The laces found on the deceased witness identified as belonging to Hill, who purchased them ashore when witness was with him on March 8th. They went ashore from the ship to Cornwallis Pier, Sheerness, by the one o’clock boat, and were together after they landed. They returned to the liberty boat at 6:45. They had to call at other ships before reaching the Coquette, and it was while they were approaching TB9 at 8:15pm that the deceased fell overboard. At the time Hill was standing in the boat amidship on the port side, and as a result of the liberty boat striking the side of TB9 the deceased fell overboard, losing his balance in consequence of the jar. Witness was certain it was the jar that threw Hill overboard. Witness called our “Man overboard!” A strong tide was running. Every effort was made to rescue the deceased, but without result. The liberty boat went astern, and TB9 pulled her dinghy to the buoy, but could not see anything of Hill. It was a rough and windy night. Deceased could only swim a little, and he was quite sober. The dinghy went to the buoy because it was thought that the deceased might have got hold of it, but it was subsequently found that he had not done so. The searchlights were put on, and a lifebuoy was thrown to the man.
Walter Joseph Shoesmith, chief stoker, HMS Coquette, corroborated the previous witness as to the identity of the body, and added that Hill was about 39 years of age. Everything possible was done to find the deceased and rescue him, but he was not seen after he had entered the water.
Joseph Kelly, mortuary keeper at the Royal Naval Hospital, deposed that the body was brought to the mortuary from Stangate Creek, where the deceased went down. An evening newspaper, dated March 8th, and two packets of new bootlaces were found on the clothing.
[Chatham, Rochester and Brompton Observer: Saturday 22nd May 1915]
The body of Robert Hill was not found until some ten weeks after he fell overboard. His body was taken to Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, and he was laid to rest in the naval section of the burial ground.
Stoker Hill’s headstone incorrectly attributes his death to the sinking of HMS Bulwark in November 1914. Robert never served on that vessel, and no member of her crew had that name.
While the newspaper report gives Robert’s rank as Petty Officer, his service records record him as a Stoker 1st Class.
William Albert Snook was born on 8th December 1885, in the Wiltshire village of Mere, The was the second of nine children to Frank and Louisa Snook. Frank was an agricultural labourer, and when he finished his schooling, this is a trade into which his son followed.
William wanted a life of adventure, however, and, on 25th June 1901, he joined the Royal Navy. Given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, he was sent to the training ship HMS Boscawen to start learning the skills he would need.
Boy Snook spent the next year at Boscawen, during which time he was promoted to Boy 1st Class. Over the next year, he spent time on three ships – the cruiser HMS Minotaur, and the battleships HMS Agincourt and Hannibal.
While assigned to Hannibal, William came of age. Now formally inducted in the Royal Navy, he was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His papers show that he was 4ft 11.5ins (1.51m), and had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
William had enlisted for a period of twelve years, and during this time he would go on to serve on a further eleven ships, returning to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in between assignments. His annual review consistently showed a very good character and a superior ability in his role. In March 1905 he was promoted to Able Seaman, and in July 1913, William received a further rise in rank, taking the role of Leading Seaman.
In March 1915, William was moved to HMS Princess Irene, an ocean liner requisitioned on the outbreak of war and converted to a minelayer. On the morning of 27th May 1915, she was moored in the Medway Estuary and was being loaded with mines in preparation for a mission. At 11:14am, a faulty primer on board set off a series of explosions, and she blew apart and sank. More than 250 crew – including Leading Seaman Snook – were killed. He was 29 years of age.
The body of William Albert Snook was brought ashore and laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent. He was buried alongside some of the other crew whose bodies had been rescued and identified.
Leading Seaman Snook’s headstone states that he was assigned to, and killed during the sinking of, HMS Bulwark. This is incorrect, and he was with Princess Irene.
John Poole was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, on 11th May 1893. One of nine children, his parents were James and Mary Poole. James was a quarryman, and, at the time of the 1901 census, the family were living at 5 Cross Street, on the southern edge of the town centre.
John was keen to make his mark on the world and when he completed his schooling, he joined the Royal Navy. His service papers show that he began his naval career on 12th March 1909, a couple of months short of his sixteenth birthday. Given his age, he was assigned the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Impregnable, the training base in Devonport, to start learning his skills.
Boy Poole initially impressed his seniors, and, on 12th November, he was promoted to Boy 1st Class. The positive start to his career, however, was not to continue, and over the next five years, his service record is peppered with misdemeanours. The first of these came on 6th January 1910, when he did a bunk from base: the authorities caught up with him, however, and he was frogmarched back to Devonport some three weeks later.
On 1st February, John was given his first formal posting, on board the armoured cruiser HMS Donegal. He transferred to another cruiser – HMS Grafton – in April, but by August he has moved again, to the battleship HMS Swiftsure.
Swiftsure would remain John’s home for the next eighteen months, during which time he came of age. Now old enough to formally enlist in the Royal Navy, he was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His papers show that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Ordinary Seaman Poole did not get off to a good start and, on 28th June 1911, he was sent to the brig for 28 days for refusing a duty. In April the following year, Swiftsure was docked in Portsmouth, and John saw a chance to go AWOL. Apprehended quickly, he was nevertheless sentenced to 42 days’ detention at HMS Victory, the city’s naval base.
Sent back to his duties on 3rd July 1912, Ordinary Seaman Poole was obviously no longer happy in his role. Going absent without leave again on 2nd December, a harsher sentence was granted when he was captured, and he was sent to the brig for 60 days.
As a new year dawned, John was assigned to another armoured cruiser, HMS Black Prince. The move did nothing to temper Ordinary Seaman Poole’s attitude, however, and he was sent to the brig on 5th September 1913, for refusing a duty. Intriguingly, he was released three weeks later, and just a fortnight after that, he was promoted to Able Seaman.
John remained part of Black Prince’s crew until April 1914. After a short stint at HMS Excellent – the gunnery school in Portsmouth – he was given another assignment, on board the battleship HMS Bulwark. Part of the Channel Fleet, she was tasked with patrolling and defending Britain’s southern coast.
On 26th November 1914, Bulwark was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness. While she was being re-stocked with shells and ammunition, a number of poorly-stowed cordite charges overheated, detonating the shells stored nearby. The resulting explosion ripped through the battleship, and more than 740 crew were killed. The body of Able Seaman Poole was amongst those to be recovered. He was 21 years of age.
The body of John Poole was laid to rest alongside the other victims of the disaster, in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.
William Leonard Wheeler was born in Epsom, Surrey, on 8th September 1896. He was the fourth of six children to John and Mary Wheeler. John was a carman in a brickyard, and the family lived in Nonsuch Cottage on Leith Road.
When William finished his schooling, he took work as a gardener. He sought bigger and better things, however, and, on 12th September 1912, he joined the Royal Navy. Too young to formally enlist, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Impregnable, the training ship, to start learning the skills he would need.
Impregnable would remain Boy Wheeler’s home for the next nine months, during which time he was promoted to Boy 1st Class. On 18th June 1913, he was give his first posting, on board the cruiser HMS Gibraltar. In November 1913, William was reassigned, and took up a post on board the battleship HMS Bulwark.
William came of age in September 1914, and fully enlisted in the Royal Navy. Given the rank of Ordinary Seaman, his service papers show that he was 5ft 1in (1.55m) tall, and had light brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.
Bulwark was part of the Channel Fleet, tasked with patrolling and defending Britain’s southern coast. On 26th November 1914, she was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness, and was being resupplied with shells and ammunition. That morning, a handful of the cordite charges overheated, detonating the shells stored nearby. The explosion ripped through the vessel, and more than 740 crew – including 18-year-old William – were killed.
Ordinary Seaman Wheeler’s body would be recovered from the wreckage until 8th July 1915. He was laid to rest in the naval section Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, a short distance from the the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham.
Donald Hendry Bruce was born on the 23rd July 1893 in the remote Logiealmond estate in Perthshire, Scotland. The oldest of six children, his parents were slate quarrier Hugh Bruce, and his wife, Ellen.
There is little information available about Donald’s early life, but the 1911 census records that he had enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry as a Private, and was based at the barracks in Deal, Kent.
By the time war broke out, Private Bruce was assigned to the battleship HMS Bulwark. Part of the Channel Fleet, she was tasked with patrolling and defending Britain’s southern coast.
On 26th November 1914, Bulwark was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness, and was being stocked with shells and ammunition. That morning, some poorly stowed cordite charges overheated, detonating the shells stored nearby. The resulting explosion ripped through the battleship, and more than 740 crew were killed. Donald’s body was among those recovered: he was 21 years of age.
Those who were killed in the explosion were buried in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent. As his body had been identified, Donald Hendry Bruce was laid to rest in a marked grave.
Henry Percy Harris was born in the Devon village of Combpyne in the spring of 1893. The oldest of eleven children, he was one of five sons to Eli and Amelia Harris. Eli, who was known by his middle name, Charles, and was employed as a carter on a farm. In a similar vein, Henry was known as Percy, and he also took up farm work when he completed his schooling.
When war was declared, Percy was one of the first to join up. Joining the Devonshire Regiment as a Private, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion. His service papers have been lost to time, but during the opening months of the conflict, his unit fought at Marne, Aisne and Messines, amongst other fierce battles.
One record confirms that Private Harris was wounded in the thigh on the 20th June 1915. Details are unclear, but the 1st Battalion were fighting near Ypres at the time. Percy’s wound healed, and he would soon be back in the fray.
Percy seemed to impress his superiors, and he rose to the rank of Sergeant. By the autumn of 1917, he was caught up in the fighting at Passchendaele, and was injured again. Medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, his luck was not to hold a second time. he died from his wounds on 17th November 1917, at the age of 24 years old.
The body of Henry Percy Harris was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful setting of St Mary’s Churchyard in his home village of Combpyne.
Harold Francis Ford was born on the 12th November 1896, and was the older of two children to George and Alice. George was a domestic gardener, and the family were raised in Buckland, Somerset.
When Harold completed his schooling, he joined his father in the gardening business. The 1911 census recorded that the family had moved to Axmister, Devon, and were living in Old Park Cottage (although Alice and Harold were actually staying with her brother in Buckland St Mary when the return was taken).
By the time war broke out, Harold had found work as an assistant mechanic. He was keen to play his part, however, and enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers in May 1915. His service papers show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall, with brown eyes and dark brown hair.
Sent to Devonport for training, Harold seemed to impress his superiors. On 4th February 1916, he was made an Acting Lance Corporal, and this rank was formalised just a week later.
In April 1916, Lance Corporal Ford came down with bronchitis, and was hospitalised for two months. During that time he developed a heart condition, and this would prove severe enough for him to be discharged from military service. He was formally stood down on 14th June 1916.
At this point, Harold’s trail goes cold. He appears to have returned home, as this is where he died, on 16th December 1918. He had not long celebrated his 22nd birthday.
The body of Harold Francis Ford was laid to rest in the tranquil setting of St Michael’s Churchyard in Musbury, close to where his family were living. His headstone remembers “Frank”, an affectionate nod to what he was known as to family and friends.
William Bernard Lethbridge was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in the summer of 1886. The seventh of eight children, his parents were Robert and Mary Lethbridge. William’s baptism record gives his father’s profession as gentleman, while the 1891 census return gives him as being an indigo merchant.
The family were living in Bedford by this point, in a large house on Shakespeare Road. The oldest of the children was 13, but the family had two live-in servants, and shared their neighbourhood with army surgeons, wine merchants and barristers.
Robert died in 1897, and at this point, the family’s trail goes frustratingly cold. Mary and three of her daughters pop up in 1911, living in Kensington, Middlesex, but of William there is no sign. It may be that he travelled abroad, either with the army, or for business, but with no documentation to support this, it remains speculation.
Lieutenant Lethbridge’s probate record confirms that, at the time of his passing, he was living in the Devon village of Musbury, but passed away in the village of Murtle, near Aberdeen, Scotland. The CWGC documentation states that he died on 14th May 1920 from a sickness contracted in German East Africa. During the war he was connected to the 61st King George’s Own Pioneers, and this unit of the Indian Expeditionary Force was based in Africa during the conflict.
The body of William Bernard Lethbridge, who was 33 years old, was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil setting of St Michael’s Churchyard, Musbury.
William’s younger brother, Patrick, also served in the First World War. A former medical student, he went on to become a Captain in the King’s Own Scottish Borders.
Captain Lethbridge was killed on 25th September 1915, during the Battle of Loos. Just 27 years of age, he is commemorated on at Dud Corner Cemetery.
