Richard Charles Gladstone Ryan was born in Talia, South Australia, on 31st March 1895. The son of Richard and Margaret Ryan, he was the older of two chidren.
There is little information available about Richard Jr’s early life. When he finished his schooling, he found work as a farm hand, and this was the trade he was following when war broke out. In his spare time, he was a member of the Elliston Rifle Club, and, on receiving the call to serve his King and Empire, he stepped up to play his part.
Private Ryan’s service papers show that he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 13th March 1916. The document shows that he was 5ft 4.75 (1.64m) tall, and weighed 143lbs (64.9kg). A Roman Catholic, Richard had auburn hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion.
Richard ‘s unit – the 50th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – left Adelaide on 21st September 1916. The ship he was on, the A73 Commonwealth, would take nearly two months to reach Britain, and he disembarked in Plymouth, Devon, on 14th November. From there, he was marched to the ANZAC base in Codford, Wiltshire.
Soon after arriving, Private Ryan became unwell. He had contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford on 13th December 1916. His condition quickly worsened, and he passed away just three days later. He was 21 years of age.
The body of Richard Charles Gladstone Ryan was laid to rest in the newly extended graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Codford.
Christopher Coutts was born in Lerwick, Shetland, on 2nd August 1894, and was the only child to Robina Coutts. There is little information about his early life, but by the time war broke out, he was working as a shop assistant.
Given the location of his island home, it makes sense that Christopher also had a knowledge of the sea and seafaring. This was put to use during the war, and he was assigned to the Royal Naval Reserve as a Seaman. Initially based in Shetland, by the summer of 1916, he had been transferred to HMS Acteon, the torpedo school based in Sheerness, Kent.
Information has been received here that Christopher Coutts, RNR, has died in Hospital at Haslar. He had been in failing health for some time, and the end was not unexpected. Prior to the outbreak of war, deceased was employed as a shop assistant with Mr Brown, Freefield. After war broke out, he joined the RNR (Shetland Section), and after undergoing a period of training in Lerwick proceeded south to one of the naval depots, where he contracted the illness to which he has now succumbed. Deceased was a bright and promising young man, and much sympathy is extended to his sorrowing mother and other relatives.
Shetland Times: Saturday 12th May 1917
Given the location of HMS Acteon and the subsequent place of his burial, it is likely that Seaman Coutts died at the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent, rather than Haslar Hospital, which is in Gosport, Hampshire. He died on 8th May 1917, at the age of 22 years old.
Christopher Coutts was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.
James Muir was born on 29th October 1889 in the hamlet of Burness on the remote Orkney island of Sanday. The youngest of three children, he was the only son to agricultural labourer Alexander Muir and his wife, Ann.
Little information remains about James’ early life. He seems to have found work at sea, as, when war broke out, he enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve. His service records show that he was 5ft 8in (1.72m) tall, with brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Deck Hand Muir initially served on the depot ship HMS Zaria, before bring transferred to the cruiser HMS Brilliant. By the spring of 1917, he was stationed at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.
James was admitted to the town’s Royal Naval Hospital, suffering from fibroid phthisis, a wasting disease of the lungs. Formally discharged from the Royal Naval Reserve on medical grounds on 28th June 1917, his condition was to worsen, and he passed from the heart condition pericarditis on 16th July. He was 27 years of age.
James Muir passed away 560 miles (900km) from home: he was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard that had been his home.
Edwin Charles Hocking was born in Newton Abbot, Devon, on 28th January 1873. The youngest of four children, his parents were Richard and Harriet Hocking. Richard was an engine driver, and he was to die less than a year after his youngest boy’s birth:
Mr Deputy-Coroner Square and a jury of twenty-two to-day brought to a conclusion the inquest on the death of the engine driver Richard Hocking. The evidence of numerous witnesses went to show that the accident, which occurred on the morning of the 2nd inst., between Menheniot and St Germans stations occurred in consequence of the guards of two trains being called Dick. The morning was very dark, and at Menheniot there was standing at the station an up and a down goods, and a second down goods was on its way from St Germans, but this was unknown to the up goods. The porter Pratt at Menheniot gave the order to the guard (Wills) of the down train to start, saying “All right, Dick.” The driver of the up train (Scantlebury) was also called Dick, and when he heard the words he said “Is it right for me?” and Pratt, not seeing Scantlebury, and thinking Wills asked the question, repeated “It’s all right, Dick.” Scantlebury through it was meant for him, and gave the order to the deceased, “Right away.” Pratt, who had gone to let out the down train, hearing the starting whistle of the up train, rushed back to the platform waving his hand “danger” light. This attracted the attention of Scantlebury, the head guard, and he missed his van in consequence. Pratt said, “Wherever are you going?” Scantlebury replied, “Right away isn’t it?” Pratt said “God bless the man, who gave you ‘right’? The up goods is ten minutes off St Germans.” Scantlebury cried out “Oh! my God! Oh! my God!” Together they shouted and waved the danger light, but were unable to attract the drivers of either of the two engines attached to the train. The trains came into collision at full speed about two miles away. The deceased and the other driver were at great fault in leaving Menheniot, notwithstanding the order of the guard, for the signal was against them, and they did not observe the rules of the Company. They should not have gone on without hearing the second whistle of the guard, and after starting they should have satisfied themselves that they had the head guard in the train by seeing his lamp. Richard Scantlebury, the head guard, after being cautioned that he need not say anything to criminate himself, gave evidence that when Pratt said “All right Dick” he certainly thought it referred to him, especially as his train had nothing to do at Menheniot.
The jury deliberated for half-an-hour, and then returned a verdict of “Accidental death,” exonerating Pratt and Scantlebury from all blame. The appended a recommendation to the South Devon and Cornwall Railways to provide for a strict observance of their bye-laws for the use of some definite word for the up and down trains, and Christian names never to be used in such cases; that there be communication between the driver and guard on luggage trains as well as passenger trains, and that there be to men at least at each station on duty.
[Western Times: Wednesday 17th December 1873]
Harriet was just 28 years old when her husband died. With four children to raise, she married again – to John Staple – and went on to have four children with him too.
John also passed away in the spring of 1885, and the 1891 census found Harriet and six of her children living at 43 Richmond Terrace, to the west of the centre of Truro, Cornwall. Harriet was working as a washer woman, while Edwin, who was 18 by this point, was employed as a plumber’s assistant.
It is clear that Edwin wanted a better life for himself and in the spring of 1896, he took the skills that he learnt and signed up to the Royal Navy. His service papers show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.64m) tall with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a tattoo on his left forearm.
Edwin took the rank of Plumber’s Mate, and spent the first two years split between two shore establishments – HMS Vivid and HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyards in Devonport, Devon, and Chatham, Kent. He had enlisted for a twelve-year term and, over that time, he would serve on five ships, returning to Chatham in between assignments.
Plumber’s Mate Hocking consistently received very good reviews at his annual appraisals and, when his initial contract came to an end in May 1908, he immediately re-enlisted. He had a family to support by this point, having married Fanny Sears in Camberwell, Surrey, on 16th March 1902. A bricklayer’s daughter, she moved to Gillingham, Kent, to be close to Chatham Dockyard. The couple went on to have five children: Henry, Raymond, Doris, Elsie and Percival.
Back at sea, Edwin’s career continued with some consistency. His annual appraisals noted not on a character that was very good, but an excellent ability. Nevertheless, it would only be in the spring of 1916 that he would gain a promotion to full Plumber. Notwithstanding his general character, Edwin seems to have been a flawed character: in 1909 he applied for a discharge to the Royal Naval Reserve, but this was not approved as he had been found to be “carrying on a business as [a] bookmaker.” Instead, he was to be sent “to sea forthwith and warned that unless his betting practices [were] not stopped his discharge will have to be considered.”
By the summer of 1916, Plumber Hocking was eight years into his second term of service, and had served on five further ships. HMS Pembroke remained his shore base, and it was here that he attained his increased rank.
In October 1916, Edwin was given what would be his final assignment, on board the armoured cruiser HMS Royal Arthur. Based at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys, she was employed as a depot ship for submarines. Plumber Hocking spent ten months on board, before illness hit. Coming down with gastroenteritis following food poisoning, he was transferred back to Kent, and admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham. The condition was to prove his undoing, and he passed away on 23rd August 1917: he was 44 years of age.
The body of Edwin Charles Hocking was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, a short distance from his grieving family’s home in King Edward Road.
Angus McLeod was born on 18th April 1881 in the hamlet of Deiraclete (or Diraclett) on the Isle of Harris, Scotland. Little information is available about his early life, but a later record suggests his parents were called Norman and Mary.
Given the remote location of his birth, it is unsurprising that Angus was to gain knowledge of a life a sea, whether for work, or as a mode of transport. When war broke out, his expertise was called upon, and he joined the Royal Naval Reserve as a Seaman. He enlisted on 31st October 1916, and his records show that he was 5ft 9.5ins (1.77m) tall, with grey eyes and a fresh complexion.
Over the next fifteen months, Seaman McLeod was based out of HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. His exact records are unclear, although it seems that he served mainly on merchant vessels and travelled as far as India.
By the end of 1917, Angus was becoming unwell. He was suffering from stomach cancer, and was medically discharged from naval service on 1st February 1918. He had been admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham by this point, but his condition was to get the better of him. He passed away on 14th February, at the age of 36 years old.
More than 500 miles from his home – and his widow, Johanna – Angus McLeod was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.
William Henry Marsh was born on 6th September 1879 in Whitstable, Kent. An only child, his parents were William and Maria Marsh, and, based on the census records, his early life seemed to have lacked some stability.
The 1881 census recorded William and his mother living on Beach Walk in the town. Marias was recorded as being a mariner’s wife. By 1891, William and his father was living with Maria’s sister and son. Still a mariner, with his son also working as a seaman, William Sr was listed as being a widower.
A decade on, and William Jr’s life had taken a different turn and the 1901 census listed him living on Whitstable High Street. Working as a labourer in the harbour, he is recorded as having a wife, Julia, and a two-year-old son, also William. Sadly, there is no further information about either of them.
The next document for William Jr is his First World War service papers. It shows that he enlisted on 10th March 1915, his previous time at sea making him an ideal candidate for the Royal Naval Reserve. His is noted as being 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, with blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He also had a tattoo of clasped hands on his right forearm. The most interesting thing about this document, however, is the fact that William had chosen to go by the surname of Coombes.
Given the rank of Leading Seaman, William would spend the next couple of years serving mainly on shore, at bases in London and Devonport. By the spring of 1918, while attached to the SS Eastville, he was admitted to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. Suffering from anaemia and malaria, the conditions would take his life. He died on 19th March 1918, at the age of 38 years old.
The body of William Henry Coombes was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard he would have known.
William’s will left £114 (around £8200) to his widow Julia, who was by now living in Leeds, Yorkshire. At his request, however his war pension, however, was given to his aunt, Mrs Rose Rout, of Hull, Yorkshire.
Henry Johnson Tregillis was born on Christmas Day 1890 and was one of six children to Edward and Emma. Edward was a journeyman baker from Westminster, Middlesex, but the family were raised in Woolwich, Kent.
When Henry finished his schooling, he found work as a general labourer, but as he got older, he sought a more reliable trade. On 15th September 1909 he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service papers show that he was 5ft 9ins (1.65m) tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a number of tattoos: a soldier and rifle on his left forearm, a girl on his left upper arm, Buffalo Bill on his right upper arm, the words In loving memory of my dear father and his mother’s name, Emma, on his right forearm.
Stoker Tregillis was sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his induction. In March 1910 he was assigned to the battleship HMS Lord Nelson. He would spend the next five years attached to Lord Nelson and, while he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class, his time on board was not without incident. He spent two separate periods in the cells – totally 21 days – for unrecorded demeanours.
Henry left HMS Lord Nelson in July 1915, and over the next couple of years he served on two more ships, before becoming shore based – first at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, then back at HMS Pembroke again. His annual review were mediocre, ranging from fair to very good, and he spend three more periods of time in the brig: 7 days in October 1915, 28 days in April/May 1916 and 14 days in June 1916.
By the start of 1918, Stoker 1st Class Tregillis had been at Chatham Dockyard for six months. That winter he came down with pleurisy, and was admitted to the town’s Royal Naval Hospital. The condition would prove fatal, and he breathed his last on 29th January 1918: he was 27 years of age.
The body of Henry Johnson Tregillis was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, walking distance from the dockyard that had become home.
John Arthur William Claxton was born at the start of 1883 in Mile End, Middlesex. He was the only child to John and Louisa Claxton. John Sr was a brewer’s drayman, and, when Louisa died in the 1890s, He was left to raise his son.
When he completed his schooling, John Jr found work as a joiner’s apprentice. On 4th February 1907, he married Maud Wilson, a labourer’s daughter from Stepney. The couple went on to have two children: Louisa was born in 1907, and John the following year.
At this point, John’s trail goes cold. His marriage certificate confirms he was employed as a carpenter, and he definitely enlisted in the Royal Navy at some point, but whether this was as a direct result of the outbreak of war is unclear.
Stoker 1st Class Claxton’s service records have been lost to time. The only other document relating to him is his Pension Ledger Index Card. This confirms that he died from asthma and pneumonia on 30th December 1917: he was 34 years of age.
John Arthur William Claxton is likely to have died at either the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham – otherwise known as HMS Pembroke – or the Royal Naval Hospital in the town, as his body was buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the base.
Much regret has been felt… at the death of Rev. JD Dathan MA, chaplain to the Royal Marines, at the age of 50 years. His death was due to pneumonia, caused by catching a chill while doing temporary duty… at the [Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham, Kent]. The eldest son of Captain JC Dathan RN, the deceased gentleman was educated at Christ’s Hospital and Cambridge, where he obtained the degree of MA. He entered the Royal Navy as a chaplain in 1896, and served on the China Station during the Boxer riots. For five years he was chaplain of Bermuda Dockyard and Hospital. He also served commissions in HMS Monmouth, Goliath and Russell. He was posted to the Royal Marine Barracks in July 1914, but on the outbreak of war he was appointed to HMS Formidable, and was transferred from the ship a week before she was lost. He was subsequently sent tot he Dardanelles for service in the Implacable at the first landing in April 1915. Later he joined the Italian Fleet, and was subsequently recalled to the Royal Marine Barracks. Three of the deceased officer’s brothers – Paymr.-in-Chief Ellis Dathan, Com. Hartley Dathan, and Eng.-Com. William Dathan – are serving in the Royal Navy.
[Naval & Military Record and Royal Dockyards Gazette: Wednesday 16th January 1918]
Joseph Duncan Dathan was born in 1866 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The second of seven children, his parents were Joseph and Emma Dathan.
By the time of the 1891 census, the Dathan family had moved back to Britain. Joseph Sr and Emma were living in Portsea, Hampshire, while the younger Joseph was studying at Christ’s Hospital. The next return, taken in 1901, found him having taken up a role as curate at St John’s Church in Ipswich, Suffolk. He was, by this point, living on Foxhall Road on the western edge of the town.
On 25th February 1904, Joseph married Alicia Cane. The daughter of a vicar, she lived in Ipswich, and the couple married in the local parish church. By this point, Joseph was based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and this is where the young couple set up home. Alicia gave birth to their first child, John, that November. The couple’s second son, Joseph, was born in 1906 and their third, daughter Alicia, was born in Bermuda while the family were stationed out there with Reverend Dathan’s work.
Joseph’s connection to the navy continued much as the newspaper reported. He died from pneumonia on 7th January 1918: he was 51 years of age.
Reverend Joseph Duncan Dathan was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, a place he would have known well, given its proximity to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, where he had been based.
Joseph Hopkins was born in Ramsgate, Kent, on 27th May 1867. The third of seven children, his parents were commissioned sailor George Hopkins and his wife, Agnes.
Given his father’s job, Joseph seemed destined for a life at sea himself and, on 30th November 1882, he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. Over the next couple of years, he learnt the tools of his trade, starting on the training ships HMS St Vincent and HMS Hector. During this time, he was promoted to Boy 1st Class.
On 1st January 1885, Joseph was assigned to the ironclad ship HMS Repulse. He remained on board for six months, during which time he came of age. Now an Ordinary Seaman, his service papers show that he was just 5ft 1in (1.55m) tall, with black hair, grey eyes and a pale complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on the left of his forehead.
Ordinary Seaman Hopkins’ contract was for ten years and over that decade he sailed the world, serving on eight ships. Less than a year after formally enlisting, he was promoted to Able Seaman, but his time in the navy was not without its problems.
Able Seaman Hopkins spent four separate periods of time – totalling 49 days – in the brig between 1886 and 1895. Details of his most of his offences have been lost to time. Given the last instance was an expired shore leave which also landed him with a find of £3 10s (around £580 today), it seems likely that he was a repeat offender.
When Able Seaman Hopkins’ contract expired, he immediately re-enlisted. He served for another ten year and, apart from one further bout in the cells in 1898, his record was incident free. In the summer of 1905, after more than two decades in the Royal Navy, he was formally stood down to reserve status.
Joseph’s trail goes cold for a while and it is only in the 1911 census that we pick him up again. At this point he was living with his younger brother in Kilburn, Middlesex, where he was employed as a warehouseman.
When war broke out, Joseph was called upon to play his part once more. He took up the rank of Able Seaman once again, but remained shore-based, serving at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. He would spend the next three years at the dockyard, rising to Leading Seaman in March 1917.
By this point, however, Joseph’s health was beginning to decline. In December 1917 he was admitted to Chatham’s Royal Naval Hospital following a cerebral haemorrhage, but the condition would prove fatal. He passed away on 15th December, at the age of 50 years old.
The body of Joseph Hopkins was taken to Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, and he was laid to rest, not far from the base he had called home for so long.
Death and Service 