Keith Charles Beddy was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. His parents were Walter and Isabella Beddy, and he was the sixth of eight children.
Little additional information is available about Keith’s early life. When war broke out, he enlisted in the army, eventually becoming assigned to the 5th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. Rising through the ranks to the rank of Lieutenant, he eventually transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.
Lieutenant Beddy was based on Boscombe Down, near Amesbury, Wiltshire. On 6th February 1918, he was flying his RAF BE 2e aircraft when he attempted a turn at a low altitude. The plane nose-dived and crashed into the ground, and Keith was killed instantly. He was just 21 years of age.
With his family on the other side of the world, Keith Charles Beddy was laid to rest in Amesbury Cemetery, not far from the airfield where he had been based.
Patrick Craven was born in the summer of 1898 in Drogheda, County Louth. The oldest of three children, his parents were Francis (or Frank) and Mary Craven. Mary died in 1909, and the following year Patrick’s father remarried, to widow Kate Devin. The 1911 census found the extended family living in a cottage on North Road, Frank, Kate and their seven children.
Frank was a farm labourer, and this is work that Patrick also went into when he finished his schooling. War came to Europe in 1914, and he was to be called upon to play his part.
Patrick enlisted in the Royal Engineers on 6th June 1917. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 127lbs (57.6kg). Pioneer Craven was assigned to the Inland Waterways Transport Division, and sent to Henbury, on the outskirts of Bristol, Gloucestershire, for training.
There was one blip on Patrick’s otherwise spotless service when, on 1st October 1917, he was confined to barracks for two days for ‘conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, leaving the ranks without permission‘. Shortly after this, Pioneer Craven was assigned to a unit in Portbury, Somerset.
The wet summer of 1917 had given way to a cold, harsh winter, and the conditions were to lead to Pioneer Craven’s tragic demise on 27th December. The detailed report from the Medical Officer explained what had happened:
This man was found dead… in a small harness room at the Lodway Brewery, Pill, a room occupied by the IW&D, Portbury. I was called in to see him and pronounced him dead, the body was quite stiff and cold and death had probably taken place several hours before. When first discovered the body was fully pronated, with the mouth flattened against the floor, the hands were gripping the Army greatcoat which he had pulled over himself.
The harness room was heated by a coke stove the flue of which passed through the room to the ceiling and was cracked, allowing the fumes of the burning coke to emanate into the room. There was no ventilation except through a door communicating with the stables, which was found shut at the time the cadavre [sic] was found. The stove was situate[d] between the position where the body lay and the door, in a cul-de-sac.
One other man slept in the same room the same night, the deceased man having evidently entered the place after the former had fallen asleep. The second man was not affected by the fumes to any degree, but was lying between the stove and the door under which there was a certain amount of draught.
Sheltering himself from the cold winter night, Private Craven had passed away in his sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning. He was just 19 years of age.
Patrick Craven’s family were unable to afford to bring him back to Ireland for burial. Instead, he was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St George’s Church in Easton-in-Gordano, not far from the brewery stables where he had passed.
Thomas Collins was born in the Blackfriars area of Glasgow on 12th March 1877. His was a common name, and it is a challenge to find identify much about his early life. He did, however, have a brother called Andrew, and, when he finished his schooling, he found work as a carpenter and joiner.
Thomas sought new opportunities and, on 21st January 1899, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Working as a Carpenter’s Crew, he was initially assigned to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Barracks in Devonport, Devon. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1,65m) tall, with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a dark complexion.
Devonport was to become Thomas’ base, but, over the twelve years of his initial navy contract, he went on to serve on eight separate vessels. He records suggest that he was good at what he did, and his moved up through the ranks as a result. However, he seemed to have another side to him, which occasionally revealed itself.
Thomas was promoted to Leading Carpenter’s Crew on 19th December 1901, but what had been noted as a very good character seemed to take a downturn at this point. He was committed to cells for two weeks in January/February 1903, while serving on HMS Highflyer, with an incident leading to his demotion to Carpenter’s Crew once more. This also appears to match with a drop in his character: noted as Very Good in his reviews of 1899 to 1901, he slipped to Good in 1902 and fair in 1903 and 1904.
His imprisonment seems to have been the shake up Thomas needed. From here on in, his character was consistently recorded as Very Good and, by August 1909, he had regained the rank of Leading Carpenter’s Crew. There was, however, a serious blip in this good behaviour, noted in his service records:
This man was tried for the manslaughter of Richard Ernest Bell, blacksmith, on [illegible date], who died from injuries received in a fight with Collins on HMS Cambridge. Verdict of Jury at Assizes: “Not guilty”. Judge in summing up stated that he considered Collins was technically guilty of manslaughter.
Thomas had been on the mess deck of HMS Cambridge on 26th August 1905, when he became embroiled in a fight with Petty Officer Bell. Medical evidence showed that Bell died as a result of a blow behind his ear, the punch delivered by Leading Carpenter’s Crew Collins. While it seems likely that he unintentionally caused the Petty Officer’s death, he was cleared by the jury, and remained assigned to HMS Cambridge until November 1905.
Thomas’ initial term of service came to an end on 20th January 1911, and he had no hesitation in re-enlisting. On board HMS St George at the time, his new contract brought with it the rank of Shipwright 2nd Class. Over the next five years, he served on four more ships, and rose a rank to Shipwright 1st Class.
On 8th January 1916, Thomas married Flora Peacock. Little information is available about here, although the wedding took place in Harwich, Essex. Thomas was serving on board the cruiser HMS Conquest by this point, and was based out of the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.
On Tuesday evening, March 28th, a cutter belonging to HMS Conquest, which was taking forty liberty men off to the ship, was caught in a blizzard and nothing was seen or heard of her again till the morning, when she was found cast up on shore many miles away. All hands were drowned.
The cutter was being towed out by a steam-launch. The hawser broke and the boat drifted away ad capsized.
Westerham Herald: Saturday 8th April 1916
Shipwright 1st Class Thomas Collins was one of those lost from the cutter. He had not long turned 39 years of age. He was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.
Thomas’ headstone incorrectly gives his surname as Collings.
The short life of Thomas Besley is a challenge to unpick. He was born in Bampton, Devon, early in 1896, one of ten children to farm labourer Steven Besley and his wife, Fanny.
Steven’s work took the family around the region, and the 1901 census found the Besleys living on Cordings Farm in Wiveliscombe, Somerset. The document records Thomas as being 5 years of age, sharing the accommodation with his parents and six of his siblings.
The 1911 census records Thomas working as a live-in labourer at Manor Farm in Huish Champflower, a village just three miles outside of Wiveliscombe.
Meanwhile, his family are still recorded as living in Wiveliscombe itself, Steven and Fanny residing with four of their children. Now, however, another Thomas is listed with them: seven years old, he is the only child of their oldest son, William and his late wife, Elizabeth. She had died in 1904, around the same time as young Thomas’ birth, and it would appear that Steven and Fanny adopted their grandson (he is listed on the census as their ‘son’). William went on to marry again, but his new wife, a widow called Hannah, had seven children from her first marriage. The couple would go on to have a son of their own, but it was a crowded house, and so Thomas lived permanently with his grandparents.
The older Thomas Besley signed up almost as soon as war was declared in 1914. While his service records are sparse, he joined the 3rd/5th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry.
What can be determined from the records is that Private Besley drowned. His death certificate – which mistakenly records his surname as Beasley – confirms that Thomas’ body was found in the River Tone in Taunton on 16th February 1915, and the cause of death noted as ‘found drowned’.
While research for Besley draws a number of blanks about the circumstances of his death, the misspelled surname featured in a contemporary newspaper report:
On Tuesday afternoon, around four o’clock, MJ Chapman… while passing the Locks at Firepool, Priory, Taunton, observed what appeared to be the body of a man floating in the swirl caused by the overflow of the Locks into the pool. The police were immediately informed… and proceeded to the spot with the ambulance and recovered the body of a man, dressed in khaki uniform. The body had evidently been in the water for a considerable time and was much decomposed. The deceased was subsequently identified as Thomas Beasley, son of Mr Stephen Beasley, of Langley Marsh, Wiveliscombe. He was a private in the 5th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, and was 40 years of age. He had been in ill-health for a considerable period, and latterly had been depressed. He disappeared on January 16th, and despite all enquiries his whereabouts remained a mystery until Tuesday…
[At the inquest] Stephen Beasley, a farm labourer… gave evidence of [Thomas’] identification. He said that his son had lately been ill. Three months ago he was taken from Salisbury Plain to Bristol Hospital, where he remained for about a month. After his discharge from Hospital he went home, where he remained about a fortnight, and for the last two months he had been quartered at Taunton. In this time witness had seen his son twice, but he could not say that he had been well since he came out of Hospital. He was low-spirited, but never told witness that anything troubled him.
Florence Beasley… sister of deceased, said she last saw her brother about a month ago in Taunton. He seemed very strange and low and would not speak unless spoken to first. He seemed to be troubled, and would not shake hands with her when she left him. He seemed to be always ‘studying.’ There was no suicidal tendency in the family…
Captain Burridge stated that deceased was sent to hospital from the Plain about September. About the middle of October he had a wire from Bristol Infirmary informing him that he was dangerously ill and dying. However, he got over that, and he was discharged on October 28th. He was sent for 22 days’ furlough to his home and returned to duty on November 22nd. Ever since that time he had not been in the best of health, but nothing had been noticed of his mental condition. He believed at one time there was a talk of his being discharged as medically unfit. He disappeared on January 16th.
The Coroner asked [how] long deceased had been in the service, and witness answered that he joined on June 1st, 1913. His complaint when removed to Bristol Hospital was double pneumonia.
On the suggestion of the Coroner, the jury returned an open verdict.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 24th February 1915
In addition to the Besley/Beasley surname, the report features a couple more discrepancies. Thomas’ father’s name is given as Stephen, when it was Steven. The deceased is also recorded as being 40 years old when he died, when he was actually half that age.
Thomas Besley was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in Wiveliscombe. It gives his age as 17 years old and the date of his death as 16th February 1917.
Leonard Henry Gulliford was born on 26th January 1895 in the village of Cothelstone, near Bishops Lydeard, Somerset. One of eleven children, he was the son of farm labourer William Gulliford and his wife, Jane.
When he completed his schooling, Leonard also found employment on the farm. However, it seemed he wanted bigger and better things and, on 7th April 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, with fair hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Gulliford spent the first six months of his naval career at HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon. This was to be the base to which he would return in between voyages. His records show unusual activity for his time, as he was assigned to just one ship – the battle cruiser HMS New Zealand – during his six years’ service. Leonard spent five years on board, from September 1913 to February 1919, with just one month based back in Devonport during this time.
Leonard rose through the ranks over the years, receiving a promotion to Stoker 1st Class in April 1914, Acting Leading Stoker in July 1918 and Leading Stoker in July 1919, by which point he was, once again, based at HMS Vivid.
In November 1919, Leonard was attached to the sloop HMS Silvio, based in the River Tamar. A party of the crew, Leading Stoker Gulliford included, left the ship without leave, taking a boat to shore.
The bodies of the seven men who were missing from two warships in the Tamar Estuary were recovered this morning, and a mystery has thus been cleared up.
The men left two ships, HMS Swindon and HMS Silvio, on Sunday evening, and it is believed visited Saltash, a riverside town. Later an upturned boat and two naval caps were found…
The bodies were found close together on the mudflats in shallow water in Tamar Creek, on the eastern side of the River Tavy, near the Tavy railway bridge.
Daily News (London): Friday 5th December 1919
A subsequent inquest into the sailors’ deaths determined that, after their time in Saltash, they took their boat, which, at just 13.5ft (4.1m) long, proved too small for seven man, back to their ships. The wind and choppy waters proved too much, and the boat capsized, throwing all of them into the water to their doom. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
The body of 25-year-old Leonard Henry Gulliford was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Bishops Lydeard.
Richard Harcourt Whitting was born on 21st March 1900 in the Somerset village of Uphill. The younger of two children, his parents were local landowner and Justice of the Peace Charles Whitting and his second wife, Jessie. The 1911 census records father, mother and two children residing at Uphill Grange, where they were supported by six live-in staff: a cook, parlour maid, two house maids, a kitchen maid and a nurse.
As the son of a gentleman, education was an expected prospect for young Richard. Indeed, after finishing his schooling locally, he was sent to the Royal Military College in Sandhurst.
He entered the school in 1913 and left in April 1918. He was then Head of the Modern Side, and also a good runner who achieved a fine record when he won the Junior Athletic Cup and, still more, as mentioned in a notice of him in the Meteor of October 16th, 1918… “he had very delightful manners, and a sympathetic appreciation of the difficulties of other people, which is less rare in women than in men. These qualities, combined with a great fund of common sense, made him a particularly helpful and agreeable companion in all kinds of occupations, from spraying a potato field to managing a House.
He was intended for the University and the Bar, but the War caused him to leave School early and to go to the [Royal Military College], Sandhurst. There he showed himself a most promising Cadet, and continued his athletic successes by winning the Mile and being in the winning team in the Relay Race.
Memorials of the Rugbeans Who Fell in The Great War, Volume VIII
It was while he was at the college, that Richard met his untimely end.
On Saturday [21st September 1918] a cadet of the Royal Military College, named Richard H Whitting, was killed while cycling along the Bagshot main road near St Alban’s Church. Deceased, who was accompanied by two other cadets’ names respectively Money and Shute, was holding on to the rear of a motor vehicle, when his bike swerved, and he was thrown on his head. At the inquest a verdict of “Accidental death” was returned.
Reading Mercury: Saturday 28th September 1918
Cadet Whitting was just 18 years of age when he died. His body was brought back to Somerset for burial: he was laid to rest in the family plot at St Nicholas’ Church in Uphill.
Harry Payton Gadd was born on 3rd November 1899, one of ten children to Elijah and Ada Gadd. Elijah was a stone mason from the Somerset village of Dundry, and this is where the family were born and raised.
Harry found work as a farm hand when he finished his schooling but he seems to have been eager to play his part for King and Country. As soon as he turned 18, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records show that he joined up as a Stoker 2nd Class on 6th November 1917. He was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Gadd was initially sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for training. On 28th January 1918, he was assigned his first ocean-going post, on board the frigate HMS Leander. He spent a couple of months on board, before transferring to the store ship HMS Tyne, then moving to HMT Wallington (also branded as HMS Sylvia), a requisitioned trawler, on 15th April 1918.
Stoker Gadd was on board Wallington for six weeks, when he was killed in an accident. No other information is available, and his service records state that “the death of this man… was caused… from an accident on board. No blame attributable to anyone.”
A contemporary newspaper echoes this, but gives no further information: “News has been received that Stoker Harry (Joe) Gadd, the 18-year-old son of Mr and Mrs E Gadd, of Dundry, has been killed by accident on one of his Majesty’s ships.” [Bristol Times and Mirror: Saturday 6th July 1918]
The body of Harry Payton Gadd was brought back to Dundry for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church.
News has been received at Bathpool, Taunton, that Lieutenant HB Redler, MC (RAF), was killed while flying at Turnberry, near Ayr. Lieutenant Redler, who was 21 years of age, was the eldest son of Mr and Mrs DB Redler, of Moorreesbury [sic], South Africa, and formerly of Bathpool, Taunton, and he sailed from South Africa with a schoolfellow at the end of 1915, at the age of 18, in order to join the Royal Flying Corps. On arrival in England they found no vacancies, and entered the Artists’ Rifles OTC, from which they joined the RFC. After obtaining his commission, Lieut. Redler spent a few months in France last year, and was then sent to Ayr as a fighting instructor. In March of this year he was sent to France for a six weeks’ course, during which he won the Military Cross, and it is believed that his record will show a total of nearly twenty enemy machines brought down.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 3rd July 1918
Harold Bolton Redler was born in Worcester, Worcestershire, on 27th January 1897. The oldest of five children, his parents were Daniel and Annie. Daniel was a flour miller from Devon, and the family had moved to Worcester the year before Harold was born.
In 1903, the Redlers emigrated to South Africa. Initially settling in King William’s Town (now Qonce), they moved to Moorreesburg after the birth of Harold’s youngest sibling, Norman, in 1906.
Harold was educated at the Bishops Diocesan College in Rondebosch, Cape Town, and it was from here that he and his friend decided to step up and serve their King and Empire. Sadly, his service records have been consigned to history, and only the newspaper report remains to piece together his time in service.
Lieutenant Redler’s awarding of the Military Cross, however, is documented:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He encountered four enemy two-seater machines and attacking the lowest drove it to the ground with its engine damaged. Later he attacked one of five enemy two-seater machines and drove it down out of control. He has destroyed in all three enemy machines and driven three others down out of control. He continually attacked enemy troops and transport from a low altitude during operations and showed splendid qualities of courage and determination throughout.
London Gazette: 22nd June 1918
On the morning of 21st June 1918, Lieutenant Redler was flying a de Havilland DH9 aircraft, accompanied by Captain Ian Henderson. The plane was fitted with a Lewis gun, which the pair were testing. At 10am, the aircraft crashed, and both were killed. No immediate cause was identified, and their RAF cards record an open verdict. Harold was just 21 years of age.
With his parents and siblings in South Africa, Harold Bolton Redler’s body was taken to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest with his paternal grandparents in the peaceful St Augustine’s Churchyard in West Monkton.
Francis Robert Hill was born in the spring of 1868, the middle of seven children to William and Mary Hill. William was a shoemaker from Wiveliscombe, Somerset, and this is where he and Mary raised their family.
When Francis finished his schooling, he found work as a baker. However, he wanted bigger and better things and, in June 1886, he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry. Private Hill would have cut a striking figure: at eighteen years old, he was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall and weighed 136lbs (62.6kg). He had light brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.
Francis did not spend any time overseas, instead working in the regiment’s depot in Alverstoke, near Gosport, Hampshire. He spent seven years in the military, and was stood down on 16th June 1893.
By the end of 1895, Francis was back in Somerset as, on Boxing Day that year, he married Florence Ida Giles, a shoemaker’s daughter. The couple were both living in Milverton at the time, and Francis’ profession was noted as storekeeper. On 23rd November 1896, the couple had a son, Harold, and the family were living on Fore Street, the village’s main road.
The 1901 census shows another change in work for Francis, who was now noted as being a house painter. This was a career that seemed to stick with him, as he was still employed in the role by the time of the next census, in 1911. The Hills had moved to Staplegrove, on the outskirts of Taunton, by this point. Florence had taken in work as a glove maker, Harold, now 14 years old, was employed as an office boy, and the family had a boarder, Reginald Cave, who was a nursery foreman.
At this point Francis’ trail goes tantalisingly cold. When war broke out, he enlisted once more, this time joining the Somerset Light Infantry. The only other confirmed document gives a tragic hint as to his death, at the age of 48. His entry in the Pension Ledger reads simply “18.2.16: Accidentally killed by passing train while on military duty.” There are no other records to back this up, and no contemporary newspapers report on his passing.
However it happened, Francis Robert Hill’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John’s Church, Staplegrove. His grave is lost to time, but he is commemorated on a special memorial, close to the entrance of the church.
Tragedy was to strike a second time for Francis’ widow, Florence, when, in October 1916, Harold was also to pass away. Read his story here.
Claude John Howard Rawlings was born on 5th November 1896 in the Monmouthshire village of Aberbeeg. One of three children, his parents were Sidney and Alice Rawlings. Sidney was a brewer from Bath, Somerset, while Alice was born in the Welsh village and this is where the couple raised their family.
By the time of the 1911 census, Claude had been sent to Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and was a boarding student at the Brynmalyn Private School to the north of the town centre. His heritage would not have been out of place, though, as nine of the 25 live-in students were from Wales. Claude’s parents seemed to have taken the opportunity to visit Sidney’s mother in Bath, a possible prequel to them moving back to Somerset permanently.
Claude completed his schooling at Brynmalyn the following year, and took up a place as an agricultural student in Broadstone, Dorset. When war broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part.
Details of Claude’s military service are sketchy, but he initially enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment and was assigned to the 4th (City of Bristol) Battalion. The regiment service in France and Italy from 1915 onwards, but there is no evidence of Private Rawlings serving anywhere other than on home soil.
Claude wanted greater things, and was drawn to a life in the sky. In the spring of 1918, he transferred to the Royal Air Force, and was attached to 125 Squadron. Sent to Fowlmere Airfield near Royston, Hertfordshire, Flight Cadet Rawlings began his training. Over the next couple of months, he learnt to fly a Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 biplane.
Flight Cadet Rawlings was dong a routine practice flight on 12th August 1918, when, during a left hand turn, the aircraft’s side slipped and nose dived. The plane crashed to the ground, and Claude was killed instantly. He was just 21 years of age.
The body of Claude John Howard Rawlings was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath Abbey Cemetery.
Flight Cadet Claude Rawlings (from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Claude’s grave was a family plot, and he was reunited with his parents when Alice and Sidney died in 1933 and 1945 respectively.
The inscription on the family headstone gives Claude’s date of death as October 1918. All other records confirm the crash took place on 12th August, and that he died at the scene.
Death and Service 