Category Archives: story

Border Regiment, Colour Sergeant, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, Middlesex Regiment, photography, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war

Colour Sergeant John Paulin

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Colour Sergeant John Paulin

John Duncan Paulin was born in January 1885 in Liverpool, the youngest of two children. His parents – John Robert (known by his middle name) and Jane Paulin – were born in Scotland, but seemed to have moved to the Lancashire port by the late 1870s.

When he left school, John – who became known as Jack – found work as a clerk, but a life of adventure – and a more reliable career – beckoned. On 14th August 1904, he enlisted in the Border Regiment as a Private for a period of seven years. During that time, he served in barracks across the country – from Carlisle to Plymouth – and, by the time he was put on reserve in 1911, he had reached the rank of Corporal.

When war was declared, those servicemen on reserve were called back into action, and Jack found himself reposted with an increased rank of Sergeant. Over the next few years, he remained based in England and seemed to take on more of a training role, transferring to the Middlesex Regiment and, by the end of 1917, attaining the rank of Colour Sergeant.

At some point Jack met Ethel May Smith, who lived in Frome, Somerset. She was the same age as Jack, and was the daughter of the foreman of one of the cloth manufacturers in the town – she also went on to work in the factory. The couple married in St John’s Church in the town on 1st June 1916, but did not go on to have any children.

Colour Sergeant Paulin’s military career was free of any medical issues or hospital admissions until February 1919. He had not been demobbed by this point, even though the war was over. However, as with many other servicemen at the time, Jack fell ill with influenza, and was admitted to Grove Military Hospital (now St George’s Hospital) in Tooting, South London. Pneumonia set in, and Jack passed away on 12th February 1919, at the age of 34 years old.

Jack Duncan Paulin’s body was brought back to Somerset, and he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, Frome. Ethel lived on until 1978; she was laid to rest with her husband.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Charles Sparey

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Private Charles Sparey

Walter Charles Sparey was born on 3rd Aril 1890 in the Somerset town of Frome. He was a twin, and was one of a total of seven children to Walter and Susan Sparey. Walter Sr was a plasterer and tiler and the family lived on Culver Hill, to the south of the town centre, and next to the Girls’ Asylum Institute.

When he left school, Walter Jr – who was known as Charles, to avoid confusion with his father – found work as a grocer’s porter, while his twin, Henry, was employed as a labourer for the local brewery.

Europe was on the brink of war and, while full details of Charles’ military service are not available, some aspects are clear. He enlisted within weeks of war breaking out, joining the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. By July 1915, he found himself on the Western Front in France.

Private Carey was caught up in the fighting and, on 3rd April 1916, received gun shot wounds in the back and shoulder. He seems to have recovered, but was dogged by lung and heart afflictions afterwards, and did not return to active duty. He was eventually discharged from military service on 15th August 1917.

Charles returned home, but the effects of his injuries eventually proved too much. He passed away on 1st March 1918, aged just 28 years old, and was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Frome.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, injury, Ireland, Lance Corporal, Lance Serjeant, photography, Private, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Corporal Cyril Allen

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Corporal Cyril Allen

Cyril Starr Allen was born on 15th June 1891 in the village of Baughurst, near Tadley in Hampshire. He was the second youngest of five children to Charles and Martha Allen. Charles was a rate collector, and the family moved around the county during Cyril’s early years.

By the time Cyril left school, Charles had become an assistant bursar in Wootton, near Basingstoke. Cyril, meanwhile, had found similar administrative employment and was working as a clerk for a local land agent.

At the start of 1911, Cyril enlisted in the British Army. He joined the 4th Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private and was soon based on Salisbury Plain. His service records confirm that he was 19 years and 7 months old, and stood at 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall. Private Allen served for his initial term of four years, before being remobilised.

In November 1915, Cyril married Mabel Young. She was a printer’s daughter from Wiltshire, and the couple married in Salisbury, before settling down in Frome, Somerset. They went on to have a child, a daughter they called Kathleen.

Remobilised in the autumn of 1915 Private Allen received a series of promotions – to Lance Corporal, Corporal, Lance Sergeant and Sergeant, and, by June 1917, he found himself at the Front.

On 22nd April 1918, Cyril was injured, sustaining gunshot wounds to his shoulder and left arm. He was invalided back to England for treatment, and was hospitalised in the north of the country. He was then transferred to the Royal Welch Fusiliers with the rank of Corporal and sent to Ireland to continue his recovery and work light duties.

While in Ireland, Corporal Allen contracted influenza and was admitted to the Buttevant Hospital in County Cork. Sadly, in his weakened state, it was something he was to succumb to, and he passed away, with Mabel at his bedside, on 15th November 1918. He was just 27 years of age.

Cyril Starr Allen’s body was brought back to England; he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in Frome, Somerset.

Corporal Cyril Allen (from ancestry.co.uk)

After the loss of her husband, Mabel went on to live her life. In 1923, she married James Burr, a draughtsman from Frome; they went on to have a child – a brother for Kathleen – called James.

Cyril’s two brothers, Winthrop and Charles, also fought in the First World War.

(from ancestry.co.uk)

Winthrop had emigrated to North America in 1911, but returned to Europe as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force when war broke out.

Lance Corporal Charles Allen served with the 15th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. He fought on the Western Front and was killed near Kemmel Hill in Belgium on 4th September 1918. He was just 21 years old. Charles is commemorated at the Tyne Cot Memorial in Zonnebeke, Belgium.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, Sussex, Wales, war

Private Harry Maidment

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Private Harry Maidment

Henry James Maidment – known as Harry – was born in Penarth, South Wales, in the autumn of 1890. He was one of seven children to Somerset-born Henry and Minnie Maidment. Henry Sr was a general labourer, and, when he died in 1899, Minnie remained in Penarth, earning money to support the family as a hawker of fruit.

By the time of the 1911 census, most of Minnie’s children were still living at home, with all but one of them working. Harry was employed as a van driver for a laundry, while his siblings were working variously as labourers, sailors and a housekeeper.

In the autumn of 1911, Harry married Annie Hillier, a servant who had been born in Yeovil, but who had also moved to South Wales. The couple went on to have a son, Henry, in October 1912, but he tragically passed away when he was just a couple of months old. They were not to have any other children.

War was coming to Europe by this point, and Harry was keen to play his part. He enlisted towards the end of 1914, joining the 1st Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. He arrived in France at the beginning of May 1915, and would have seen fighting at Ypres that spring.

It seems that Private Maidment was wounded at Ypres; he was medically evacuated home and was admitted to the Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex. Details of his injuries are not available, but they must have been severe; he passed away from them on 23rd July 1915, aged just 25 years old.

Harry James Maidment’s body was brought back to Somerset; he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, Frome, his parents’ home town, and where his widow, Annie was living.

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

Private Frederick Crook

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Private Frederick Crook

Frederick Charles Crook was born in Frome, Somerset, in 1896 and was one of eleven children. His parents were Frank and Bessie Crook, and the family were raised in a house to the south of the town centre. Frank was a plasterer but sadly details of his son’s life are quite sketchy, so it’s not evident if this was a trade he followed his father into.

In the spring of 1912, Frederick married Wiltshire-born domestic servant Hannah Gerrish, a farm labourer’s daughter. The couple wed in Bradford-upon-Avon, and went on to have a daughter, Margaret, who was born in 1913.

Storm clouds were gathering over Europe, and, in November 1914, Frederick volunteered to play his part. He joined the Somerset Light Infantry, and was assigned to the 1st Battalion as a Private.

While it’s not possible to identify exactly where he served, Frederick would certainly have seen action on the Western Front: his battalion fought with the 4th Division at Ypres, The Somme and at Arras in the various phases of the conflict.

The ongoing conflict must have had an impact on Private Crook: he was medically discharged from military service with neurasthenia – a nervous breakdown – just weeks before the Armistice was signed. He returned to Frome, but it must have been too much: he passed away on 10th December 1918, at the age of just 22 years old.

Frederick Charles Crook was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, in his home town, Frome.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, war

Private Edward Pike

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Private Edward Pike

Edward Arthur James Pike was born in Frome, Somerset, in 1888, one of six children to Giles and Annie Pike. Giles was a carter and labourer, and this is something that Edward – who was known by his second name, Arthur – followed his father into.

Arthur later found employment with the local Cooperative Society, and his carting experience led him to work for a Mr Bynoth of Badcox, whose Somerset business later became a well-known local taxi and bus company. On 17th April 1911, Arthur married Ellen Emma Sheppard, a labourer’s daughter from nearby Longbridge Deverill.

War was coming to Europe, and Arthur enlisted when his time came in the autumn of 1917. He joined the Army Service Corps, and was assigned to the 12th Mechanical Transport Company on Salisbury Plain.

While serving, Private Pike quickly contracted rheumatic fever. He was admitted to the Fargo Military Hospital in Larkhill, but succumbed to the condition after three months on 28th March 1918. He was 30 years old.

Brought back to Frome, Edward Arthur James Pike was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church.

Bedfordshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Driver Arthur Heathfield

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Driver Arthur Heathfield

Arthur Heathfield was born in Shefford, Bedfordshire, early in 1897, the oldest child to Ellen Grace Heathfield. Ellen married William Lewis in 1903, and went on to have four children in total.

When he left school, Arthur found work as a farm labourer, but by this time, war was coming to Europe. Full details of his military career are not available, but he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery at some point towards the end of 1914.

Driver Heathfield was assigned to the 14th Brigade, which saw fighting on the Western Front, although it is not possible to determine whether Arthur himself went overseas. What is certain is that, by the spring of 1915, he was admitted to hospital in Frome, Somerset, suffering from meningitis. Sadly, he was to succumb to the disease on 21st April. He had not long turned 18 years old.

Arthur Heathfield was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, in the town in which he died.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dragoon Guards, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private John Hallett

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Private John Hallett

John Hallett – better known as Jack – was born in the spring of 1891 in the Somerset town of Frome. One of twelve children, his parents were carpenter Frederick Hallett and his wife, Elizabeth. When he left school, Jack found work at a printer’s, helping with the typesetting.

War was approaching, and Jack was keen to do his bit. While full details of his military service are not available, it is clear that he enlisted as a Private in the Royal Irish Dragoon Guards. He served in France with the 4th Battalion, arriving there in October 1915.

A later report suggests that Private Hallett was “seriously wounded several times during the war” [Somerset Standard: Friday 30th January 1920], although no specific details are available about his injuries. He survived the conflict and was awarded the British and Victory Medals and the 1915 Star for his service.

Demobbed and back at home, it seems that John did not fully recover from his wounds. He was admitted to the Victoria Hospital in Frome in January 1920, and died there a matter of days later. He was just 28 years old.

John Hallett was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Frome, Somerset.

The local newspaper gave a more detailed report on John’s funeral:

Ex-Soldier’s Death

The funeral took place yesterday afternoon at Christ Church of Mr John Hallett, aged 29, of The Butts, Frome, who passed away at the Victoria Hospital on Friday last. Deceased had been seriously wounded several times during the war, and a day or two ago was removed to the hospital. The Rev. J Howard Lewis conducted the service, which was attended by local Oddfellows, to which society the deceased belonged, and by a number of other representative mourners.

Somerset Standard: Friday 20th January 1920
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Thomas Singer

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Private Thomas Singer

Thomas – better known as Tom – Singer was born in Frome, Somerset, in the summer of 1876, the youngest of seven children to John and Sophia Singer. John was a labourer on the railway, who sadly passed away when Tom was only three years old. Sophia was left to raise the family on her own, and she did so by taking in washing for other people (the 1891 census has her listed as a pauper, but she still managed to support her children). Sophia also died in 1892, meaning Tom was an orphan by the time he was just 16 years old.

Tom found work as an errand boy when he left school, although he soon moved on to labouring work. After Sophia’s death, he moved in with his brother Walter, who had also recently been widowed, and the money they brought in helped support Walter’s three children and pay for a housekeeper to do so.

On 21st July 1904, Tom married Edith Mary Bugler, a labourer’s daughter from nearby Selwood; the couple went on to have five children. With a growing family to support, Tom found new work as an ostler at the pub in Witham Friary, to the south of Frome.

War was coming to Europe, and Tom was called upon to do his duty. Full details of his service are not available, sadly, but it is clear that he enlisted as a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry at some point before the summer of 1916.

Private Singer was sent to France in November 1916, but fell ill soon afterwards. He was medically evacuated back to England and admitted to hospital, where he underwent an operation. Sadly, he did not recover, and passed away on 14th February 1917, at the age of 40 years old.

Tom Singer was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Frome.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, history, Labour Corps, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Gunner William Avenell

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Gunner William Avenell

William Percy Avenell seems destined to remain lost to time, and there is little documentation about his life.

He was born in around 1891, and enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner in the summer of 1915, serving in France and earning the Victory and British Medals and the 1915 Star in the process. Gunner Avenell subsequently transferred to the 861st Employment Company of the Labour Corps.

William survived the war and returned to England. He had settled in the Somerset town of Frome (he may have been from the town, but there is nothing to evidence this) with his wife, Lily Beatrice.

Gunner Avenell’s passing is as lost in time as the rest of his life. He died on 22nd February 1920, at the age of just 29 years old.

William Percy Avenell lies at rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in Frome.