Category Archives: story

Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, story, Surrey, war

Sapper Fred Vowden

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Sapper Fred Vowden

Fred Vowden was born in 1889 in Wadebridge, Cornwall. One of eleven children, his parents were Thomas and Emma. Thomas was a farm labourer, and this is work that Fred also followed when he finished his schooling.

The family moved to where the work was: the 1911 census found them living in Lansallos, a village near Polperro on the county’s south coast. Fred married Doris Curtis in Liskeard in March 1915: there is little information about her, but the couple set up home back in Wadebridge, and went on to have a daughter, Dorothy, the following spring.

War had reared its ugly head over Europe by this point. Fred enlisted in December 1915, joining the Royal Engineers. He was not to be formally mobilised until July 1918, and took up work as a supernumerary platelayer for the London and South Western Railway Company. When he officially took up his role with the army, his employment stood him in good stead: he was assigned to the Railway Construction Troops Depot in Surrey.

Sapper Vowden’s service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.75m) tall and weighed 135lbs (61.2kg). He was of good physical development, with a fresh complexion, brown hair and brown eyes.

Fred was based near Farnham as the war drew to a close and winter neared. On 9th November 1918, he fell ill and was admitted to the Frensham Hill Military Hospital with a severe frontal headache. Over the next few days broncho-pneumonia was identified and his condition worsened. By 13th November his temperature was up to 105F, and his breathing was shallow. That evening Sapper Vowden fell unconscious and passed away. He was 28 years of age.

Fred Vowden’s body was taken back to Cornwall for burial. He was laid to rest in Egloshayle Cemetery, on the outskirts of the town in which he had been born and raised.

Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, Lancashire, Lieutenant, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, story, unknown, war

Lieutenant John Martyn

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Lieutenant John Martyn

John Leslie Martyn was born in Egloshayle, Cornwall, on 15th February 1888. He was the youngest of five children, and was the third son to John and Mary Martyn. John Sr was a general merchant, and the household had a couple of live-in servants to help both with the household and the business.

When John Sr died in 1904, William, his middle son, took over the running of what was a decent family business.

John Jr, however, had sought another way of life and, was set on a life at sea. He enlisted on the training ship Conway in 1902. Based on the River Mersey, by the time of the 1911 census, he was boarding in the Sailor’s Home in Liverpool. The document confirms that he held the rank of Ship’s Mate in the merchant service, and it would seem that he was doing what he could to build on his skills.

On 26th August 1912, John received his certificate of competency to be the Master of a foreign-going ship. He received a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve, before joining the New Zealand Shipping Co. two years later. When war came to Europe, however, he was called back into naval service.

After serving a few months on the air defences in the Thames Estuary he sailed on his Majesty’s ship Laconia for the coast of German South-West Africa, where he remained. He became a Lieutenant in 1915, and in 1917 was given his first command of HMS Prattler. It is not too much to say that most promising young life has been given to his country.

Cornish Guardian: Friday 8th November 1918

In the summer of 1918, John came home on leave. On 25th July he married Lucy Dudfield in Stanway, Gloucestershire. Tragically, their married life was not to be a lengthy one.

Lieutenant Martyn returned to Devon, and, for reasons undetermined, was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in East Stonehouse, Plymouth in October. Whatever the cause of his ailment, he was not to survive it. He passed away while still admitted, on 25th October 1918. He was 30 years of age.

John Leslie Martyn’s body was taken back to Cornwall for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in Egloshayle Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Antrim, Great War, history, injury, Ireland, Northern Ireland, photography, Private, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, story, war

Private Charles McManus

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Private Charles McManus

Charles McManus was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, in 1891. The middle of three children, his parents were John and Maryann McManus. John was a horse dealer: when they finished their schooling Charles’ older brother, John Jr, found work as a hawker.

Maryann died in 1907, aged just 47 years of age. The next census record, in 1911, found John Jr living with his wife and family in Ballymena, while John Sr was boarding with a fishmonger elsewhere in the town. Alexander, Charles’ younger brother, was a pupil at an industrial school in Dublin, but Charles himself is missing from the census return.

John Sr passed away in 1913, at the age of 53 years old. Charles was 22 years old and an orphan. The following year war was declared, and Charles was one of the first to step up and serve his country. He joined the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 14th September 1914, and was attached to the 1st Battalion.

Full service records for Private McManus are lost to time. However, his unit was sent to Gallipoli in the spring of 1915, only to be evacuated from the region the following January. The 1st Battalion was then sent to France where it became entrenched at the Somme. For Private McManus and his colleagues, this must have felt like going from the frying pan into the fire, but this time he was not to emerge unscathed.

At some point Charles was wounded. He was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and admitted to the King George’s Hospital in London. Whatever his injuries, they were to prove too severe: he died on 24th July 1916, at the age of 25 years old.

Charles McManus’ body was taken back to Antrim for burial. He was laid to rest in the Crebilly Cemetery, overlooking his home town, Ballymena. His pension ledger suggests there was happiness in his life, beyond the killing fields. His next of kin is noted as Miss Mary Gordon of Ballymena, recorded as his unmarried wife.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Antrim, Great War, history, Ireland, Northern Ireland, photography, Private, Royal Irish Regiment, story, unknown, war

Private Robert Carroll

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Private Robert Carroll

Robert Carroll was born on 15th October 1874 in Ballymena, Co. Antrim. He was one of three children to Henry and Mary Ann Carroll.

There is little additional information about his early life, but, on 6th April 1896, he married a woman called Martha Keenan. Robert was a plasterer at the time of his wedding, and the couple went on to have four children. Tragically, the youngest, Robert Jr, was just five months old when he passed: even worse, Martha was to die just weeks later, in June 1908.

With three children to raise, the grieving Robert married again, wedding Sarah O’Hara in October 1909. They were to have a son together, another boy they called Robert, the following year.

When war came to European shores, Robert stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Irish Regiment and was assigned to the 1st Battalion. By September 1915, Private Carroll was sailing for the Eastern Mediterranean, where he was to remain for more than a year.

Little further information is available for Robert’s life. He was discharged from the army on 27th April 1917. As his service records no longer remain, it is not possible to determine why he left the army, but is likely to be as a result of illness or injury.

Robert returned to Northern Ireland, and his trail goes cold. All that can be confirmed is that he passed away at home on 7th August 1919, at the age of 44 years of age.

Robert Carroll was laid to rest in Crebilly Cemetery, on the hills outside Ballymena.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Lancashire, Manchester Regiment, photography, Private, story, suicide, war, Wiltshire

Private Granville Horrocks

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Private Granville Horrocks

Granville Horrocks was born in Heywood, Lancashire in around 1872. His early life is difficult to piece together, but by the time of the 1901 census, he was living with his widowed mother, Jane Horrocks, and his wife of a year, Mary.

The family were living in Rock Street, Oldham, where Granville was working as a labourer in an ironworks. Mary was also working, and was employed as a cotton reeler in one of the local mills.

Granville and Mary went on to have five children – Mary, Lilian, Ellen, Wilfred and Jessie. The 1911 census records the family living in two rooms in Bloom Street, Oldham. Granville was employed as an iron turner in the local factory, while Mary remained at home to look after the house and the family.

Conflict broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, and Granville opted to serve his King and his Country. Sadly, full details of his service are lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Manchester Regiment by the autumn of 1915. Private Horrocks was assigned to the 10th Battalion, which saw active service at Gallipoli, and it is likely that Granville spent time in that part of the Mediterranean.

Private Horrocks’ army pension ledger provides details of his passing. The date was 5th April 1916, and the cause given was “suicide by drowning whilst of unsound mind due to disease contracted on [active service].” Little additional information is available about the incident and, surprisingly, there is nothing reported in contemporary newspapers.

Granville was based near Wylye, Wiltshire, when he took his life. He was around 44 years old at the time. Finances must have limited Mary’s options regarding his burial: rather than being taken back to Oldham, he was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in the village where he passed.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Member, photography, Royal Air Force, story, unknown, war, West Midlands, Wiltshire

Member Ivy Hibberd

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Member Ivy Hibberd

Ivy Pretoria May Hibberd was born in the spring of 1900 in the Wiltshire village of Wylye. One of nine children, she was the daughter of bricklayer Edwin Hibberd and his wife, Elizabeth.

There is little information available about young Ivy’s life. She enlisted in the Women’s Royal Air Force on 14th October 1918, and was sent off to Handsworth College in Birmingham for training.

Member Hibberd’s time in service was to be tragically brief. Having contracted a combination of influenza and pneumonia, she died on 6th November 1918. She was just 18 years of age and passed away just over three weeks after signing up.

Ivy Pretoria May Hibberd’s body was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. She was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in her home village, Wylye.

Army Veterinary Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, Midlothian, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Scotland, Sergeant, Somerset, story, unknown, Wales, war

Serjeant Robert Dodds

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Serjeant Robert Dodds

Robert Frederic Dodds was born in 1874 in Darlington, Country Durham. The third of nine children, his parents were Robert and Elizabeth Dodds. Robert Sr was a carter and furniture remover and, when he finished his schooling, Robert Jr joined his father in his work.

Robert Sr died in 1898, at the age of 61. Whether this was a catalyst for his son to move on is unclear, but by the following year, Robert Jr was working as a labourer in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. On 16th September 1899, he married Elizabeth Counsell, a fisherman’s daughter from the town.

It seems that Robert was keen to build a life for his new wife: the next census, taken in 1901, found the couple living in Cardiff, Glamorgan, where he was employed as a stone mason. The Dodds remained in Wales for the next decade, having three children – Lily, William and Rosie – there. By the spring of 1911, however, they were back in Somerset, living in a three-roomed cottage in Castle Street. Elizabeth had had a fourth child just a month before the census, with a second son, Bertie, adding to the family.

When war came to Britain, Robert stepped up to play his part. He initially joined the Royal Army Veterinary Corps as a Private, and found himself in France on 6th March 1915. Elizabeth, meanwhile, remained at home in Somerset, seeking support from her family. With four children to look after, her workload was to increase again when, just a week after Robert arrived on the Western Front, she gave birth to their fifth child, the patriotically named Frederick Gordon Kitchener Dodds.

Robert remained in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps for the next four years, rising to the rank of Serjeant. Details of his time in the service are unclear, but he survived the war and, on 11th July 1919, he transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps.

Little further information is available about Robert’s life. By the winter of 1919/1920, he was based in Midlothian, Scotland. He was admitted to the 2nd Scottish General Hospital, Edinburgh, although his condition is unclear. Whatever it was, it was to be fatal: he passed away on 6th January 1920, at the age of 45 years old.

Robert Frederic Dodds’ body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Highbridge Cemetery.

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

Gunner Arthur Bond

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Gunner Arthur Bond

Arthur Henry Gordon Bond was born on 28th July 1894 in Huntspill, Somerset. He was the younger of two children to Henry and Sarah. Henry was a sawyer, something Arthur’s older brother, Frederick, also became. According to the 1911 census, however, Arthur took work as a land refiner. The family were living in a four-roomed cottage on Clyce Place, to the south of the town, overlooking the river.

Details of Arthur’s military career are sparse. He enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery and was attached to the 5th Reserve Brigade. It is unclear whether we served overseas or not, but Gunner Bond survived the war as was eventually stood down on 7th May 1919.

At this point, Arthur’s trail goes cold although he seems to have returned to Somerset. He passed away on 4th February 1920, his death being registered in Shepton Mallet. He was 25 years of age.

Arthur Henry Gordon Bond was laid to rest in Highbridge Cemetery, walking distance from where his family still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, South Africa, story, war

Private Oliver Carter

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Private Oliver Carter

Oliver Carter was born in the spring of 1861 in East Budleigh, Devon. The youngest of four children, his parents were Ellis, who was a farm labourer, and Jane Carter.

As the years passed, Oliver’s older siblings left home and, by the 1881 census, he was the last of Ellis and Jane’s children to remain living with them. He was employed as a baker by this point, although he seemed to want more permanent employment.

On 9th February 1883, Oliver enlisted in the army. His service records show that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall and weighed 120lbs (54.4kg). He had a sallow complexion, with brown hair and grey eyes. The document confirmed no distinguishing marks (in the event that his body needed to be identified) and that his religious denomination was Church of England.

Private Carter was assigned the Commissariat and Transport Corps – a forerunner to the Royal Army Service Corps – for a period of twelve years. After eighteen months on home soil his unit was sent to South Africa, where he remained until December 1885. On returning to Britain, he spent the next nine years on reserve status, and was formally stood down from army service un February 1895.

The 1891 census return found Oliver back in Devon, where he working as a general labourer alongside his army commitments. Ellis, meanwhile, was employed as a miller’s waggoner, while Jane had also started taking in lacemaking jobs.

In the autumn of 1893, Oliver married Elizabeth Morrish. Eight years his senior, she was a widow with eight children of her own. The 1901 census recorded the couple living in a cottage near the King’s Arms Hotel in East Budleigh. They shared their home with three of Elizabeth’s children and their own daughter, Hilda. Oliver had changed jobs again, and was employed as a cowman on a farm.

Life continued on for the Carters. A chance of more regular employment as a labourer for the local council brought a move to Highbridge in Somerset. Elizabeth had her own account as a dressmaker, Hilda was keeping house and the family also had a boarder, Charles Smith, who was a butcher’s assistant. While they had made the move to a new county, they did not forget their roots: their house was called Budleigh.

When war broke out, Oliver seemed to be drawn to serve his country again. Full details of his second period of army service are lost to the mists of time, but some things can be gleaned from a contemporary newspaper report of his passing:

Death of a Volunteer

Much regret was expressed at Highbridge on Saturday when it became known that Mrs Carter, of Newtown Road, had received a telegram containing the news that her husband, Mr Oliver Carter, a member of the Somerset Volunteer Regiment, had died while undergoing training with his company under canvas.

Central Somerset Gazette: Friday 7th June 1918

Oliver had been assigned to the 1st (Volunteer) Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. His death was registered in Wiveliscombe, and the canvas reference would suggest that he was being trained on nearby Exmoor.

Given he was being trained at the time of his passing, Private Carter is likely to have been a new recruit to the Somersets. As he was 57 years of age when he passed, it is no surprise that he had volunteered for service. His age was to act against him, however: he passed away having contracted pneumonia.

Oliver Carter was brought back to Highbridge for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery, a short walk from where his widow and daughter lived.

Private Oliver Carter
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, war

Sapper John Dyer

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Sapper John Dyer

John Phippen Dyer was born in the spring of 1896, and was the oldest of four children. His parents, John and Fanny Dyer, were from Somerset and it was in the town of Highbridge that they raised their family.

John Sr worked as a coach body maker for the railways, and his eldest boy joined him as an apprentice when he finished his schooling. When war broke out, however, John Jr was keen to be seen to be playing his part.

John Jr enlisted in Taunton on 15th November 1915, joining the Wessex Division of the Royal Engineers. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 7.5ins (1.71m) tall and of god physical development. He was sent off to Essex for training, but came down with influenza the following January.

Sapper Dyer was admitted to hospital in Great Bentley, spending a fortnight there. He was released back to his unit, but his health continued to suffer. He had had bouts of rheumatism going back to 1911, and, by the spring of 1916, this had recurred, and was recorded as possible rheumatic appendicitis.

John’s condition led to him being declared permanently unfit for was service: he was discharged from the army on 30th March 1916, having served for just four-and-a-half months.

John Jr returned to Somerset, but at this point his trail goes cold. The next record for him is that of his passing, on 26th May 1919. He was just 23 years of age.

John Phippen Dyer was lair to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Highbridge, Somerset.