Percival James Parsons was born in the summer of 1898, and was the fourth of eight children to Henry and Emily. Henry was a railway labourer from Chilton Burtle, Somerset, and it was in the neighbouring hamlet of Chilton on Polden (now Chilton Polden) that the family were born and raised.
There is little documented about Percival’s short life. When war came to Europe, he was just 16 years of age. He was keen to play his part, however, probably spurred on by seeing his older brothers or friends step up.
Percival enlisted as soon as he turned 18 years old. He joined the Royal Field Artillery and was sent to Hampshire for training. Gunner Parsons was attached to E Battery of the 7th (Reserve) Brigade, a unit based ultimately in India during the confluct.
Gunner Parsons, however, was not to see service abroad. While he was training, he became unwell, contracting pneumonia. Admitted to the Frensham Hill Military Hospital, he was to succumb to the condition, passing away on 28th March 1917. He was just 18 years of age.
Percival James Parsons’ family had moved to Highbridge by this point, and it was here that Henry and Emily’s boy was taken for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.
Albert Gillard Biss was born in Highbridge, Somerset, on 3rd July 1888. The middle of five children, he was the oldest surviving son of Richard and Rosanna Biss. Richard was a tin worker twelve years older than his wife and when he died, in September 1907, Rosanna was left to raise her family alone.
By the time of the 1911 census, Rosanna was living in a five-roomed cottage in Highbridge. Albert and his two younger brothers were living with her, and all three were working as building labourers to bring in money for the family. They also had a boarder, 87-year-old widow Henrietta Crandon, to bring in a little extra each month.
Albert was also saving up for other things. On 15th November 1911, he married Ada Alice Vincent. The couple went on to have three children – Albert Jr, Richard and Irene – before Ada’s untimely death in August 1915, just five weeks after Irene’s birth. At this point Albert had enlisted in the army, and it seems that his sister, Sarah, took on responsibility for her nephews and niece.
Albert was working as a telegraphist for the Post Office when he signed up. He had previously volunteered for the 3rd Somersets, but was assigned to the Royal Engineers when he enlisted. His service records show that he joined up in Weston-super-Mare, was 27 years and three months old, and stood 5ft 10.5ins (1.79m) tall.
Sapper Biss initially served on home soil, but was subsequently moved to the Base Signal Depot as part of the East Africa Expeditionary Force. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in April 1918, but over the next twelve months his health began to deteriorate.
On 6th April 1919, Albert was medically discharged from the army, suffering from a combination of malaria, epileptic fits and tuberculosis. He returned home to Somerset, and moved back in with Rosina. His sister Sarah was living in London by this point, and it is not clear whether Albert’s children came back to Highbridge or not.
Over the next year Albert’s health went from bad to worse. On 8th July 1920 he finally succumbed to a combination of pulmonary tuberculosis, acute nephritis, meningitis and uraemia. He had just turned 32 years of age.
Albert Gillard Biss was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Highbridge Cemetery.
After Albert’s death, his two sons fell under the guardianship of their aunt Sarah. Responsibility for Irene, however, was given to an Ebenezer and Eliza Monks, who lived in Clapham Common, London. The 1938 Electoral Register found Irene, who went by the name Monks-Biss, still living with here adopted family.
David William Slocombe was born on 9th November 1893, the oldest of seven children to William and Kate. William was a tin worker from Huntspill, Somerset, and it was in nearby Highbridge that the family were born and raised.
David appears to have been a bright lad, receiving a sponsorship from the King James Foundation to attend Dr Morgan’s School in Bridgwater. He spent six years there, from September 1906 to July 1912, and went on to become a customs and excise clerk when he left.
When war arrived in Europe, David was called upon to play his part. He initially enlisted on 1st December 1915, but was placed on reserve for nearly a year. His service records show that he was 22 years of age and 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall. When he was finally mobilised, he was given a commission in the Royal Flying Corps.
At this point, David’s trail goes cold. Later documents confirm that he transferred across to the Royal Air Force when it was founded in April 1918, and that he rose to the rank of Lieutenant. He served in France and Italy and, by the end of the war, was attached to the 44th Training Depot Station in Oxfordshire.
By the autumn of 1918, Lieutenant Slocombe had come down with pneumonia. He was admitted to the 3rd Southern General Hospital in Bicester, and this is where he was to breathe his last. David died on 24th October 1918, aged just 24 years old.
David William Slocombe was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Highbridge Cemetery.
Henry Gibbs was born in Wiveliscombe, Somerset at the start of 1871. The youngest of five children, he was the second son to John and Emma Gibbs. John was a farm labourer, but when he finished his schooling, Henry went in a different direction.
By the time of the 1891 census, Henry was boarding with his sister Lucy and her husband and young son. The extended family were living in Taunton, Somerset, where Henry was employed as a boot and shoemaker. This appears not to have satisfied him, however, and he soon found other work, enlisting in the Royal Field Artillery. While his army records are lost to time, he seems to have spent twelve years in service.
By the early 1900s Henry living back in Somerset, settling in Bishops Lydeard, to the west of Taunton. On 2nd May 1906, he married a young woman called Florence Gange. Fifteen years his junior – she was 20 years old to her husband’s 35, even though the marriage certificate gave his age as 30 – she a labourer’s daughter from the village, who was working at the Lethbridge Arms public house at the time of their marriage. The couple set up home in a small cottage, and went on to have four children: Ernest, Florence, Mabel and Arthur.
Henry’s work seems to have been transient. On his marriage certificate, he was noted as being a groom, but the next census return, taken in 1911, gave his employment as a labourer for a corn miller.
When war came to European shores, despite his growing family, Henry felt the pull to serve once more. He enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps in the summer of 1915, with the rank of Driver. As with his previous time in the army, details are scarce, but Henry seems to have been based in Aldershot, Hampshire, or at least this is where he was based towards the end of the conflict.
Driver Gibbs had become unwell by this point, and he was suffering from oesophageal cancer. He was admitted to the military hospital in Farnham Hill, but was to succumb to the condition. He passed away on 1st September 1918, at the age of 47 years of age.
Henry Gibbs was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in his adopted home village, Bishops Lydeard.
Amos Vickery was born in the autumn of 1886 in Bishops Lydeard, Somerset. He was the youngest of six children to William and Annie Vickery. William was a farm labourer, but when he finished his schooling, his son found work as a groom.
On 23rd February 1909, Amos married Alice Gratton. She was the daughter of a farm labourer from Halse, Somerset, who had taken up domestic duties in Bishops Lydeard. Not long after they were married, Amos took up new employment as publican of the Tynte Arms Inn in Enmore, and this is where he and Alice brought up their two children, Evelyn and William.
Amos’ time as a landlord seems not to have lasted long. By the time war broke out, the family had moved to Wiveliscombe, where he was working as a postman. Amos stepped up to play his part for King and Country, but was initially rejected. There are no longer any documents to confirm why this was the case, but it may have been based on any medical carried out.
Amos was finally accepted for armed service in June 1917, and was assigned to the Royal Army Service Corps. Private Vickery was attached to the Remounts Unit, and seems to have been posted around Bristol, Gloucestershire.
On Monday afternoon last the funeral took place… of the late Private Amos Vickery, ASC, who died somewhat suddenly from paralysis… at No 2 General Hospital, Bristol, at the age of 31, after a few days’ illness.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 12th September 1917
Private Vickery’s service documents gave an official cause of death as hemiplegia and cerebral thrombosis: in effect, a stroke. He had been in the army for just ten weeks.
Amos Vickery was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church, Bishop’s Lydeard.
John Pole was born in Halse, Somerset, early in 1897. He was one of eleven children to Robert and Martha Pole. Robert was a basket weaver, and the family had moved to nearby Fitzhead by the time of the 1901 census.
Martha died in 1911, at the age of 51. John had finished his schooling by this point, and had found employment as a gardener. When war came to Europe, he gave that up to serve his King and Country. Details are scarce, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was attached to the 5th Battalion.
Private Pole was sent to Taunton for training, but his time in the army was not to be a lengthy one. His unit was sent to Southampton in September 1914, but it seems that he did not go with them. John contracted pneumonia, and seems to have been admitted to a military hospital in the town – possibly connected to his barracks. He died from the condition on 18th December 1914, aged just 17 years old.
John Pole’s body was brought back to Fitzhead for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil surroundings of St James’ Churchyard, close to where his father and siblings still lived.
Herbert Snook was born in the spring of 1895 in the village of Thurlbear, Somerset. The fourth of nine children, he was the second son of Henry and Clara Snook. Henry was employed as a stockman and cowman and by the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to Bishop’s Lydeard, to the west of Taunton.
When Herbert completed his schooling, he found work as a postman. When war broke out, Herbert stepped up to play his part. Sadly, full details of his time in the army are no longer available, but the documents that remain give an indication about what he did.
Private Snook enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was assigned to the 8th (Service) Battalion. His unit served in France, but there is no evidence that Herbert went with them. During his time with the regiment, however, he was promoted, reaching the rank of Corporal.
In the summer of 1918, Herbert married Alice Webber. There is little information about her, but the wedding took place in Taunton. That winter, Herbert fell ill, contracting a combination of influenza and pneumonia. His health deteriorated quickly, and he passed away at his in-laws’ home on 3rd March 1919. He was just 24 years of age.
Herbert Snook’s body was taken to Ash Priors, near Bishop’s Lydeard, for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil graveyard of Holy Trinity Church, not far from where his family were living.
Robert Snow was born at the end of 1890 and was the fourth of six children. His parents were Somerset-born Henry and Elizabeth Snow, and the family were raised in the village of Combe Florey, near Taunton.
When Robert completed his schooling, he also found work as a farm labourer. On 10th September 1914, he married Mabel Trebble in the local parish church: the couple went on to have a daughter, Clarice, who was born in December.
By this point, war had consumed Europe. Robert was called upon to play his part and he joined the Devonshire Regiment as a Private. Little information about his military service survives, but it is clear that he was attached to the 10th (Service) Battalion, and was sent to France in September 1915.
Private Snow did not spend much time in France, however, as, just a couple of months later, his unit was transferred to Salonika in the Eastern Mediterranean. He appears to have spent most of the rest of the conflict there, as the next records relating to him show that he survived the war, and was back in Britain by March 1919.
An inquest was held at Bath War Hospital on Pte. Robert Snow, 28… who died on Tuesday evening just as he had been put under an anaesthetic prior to an operation for lumbar abscess, the man having tubercular spinal complaint. He had been at the hospital since March 29th, when he was transferred from the 2nd General Hospital Bristol. The coroner entered an inquisition of death from cardiac failure while under an anaesthetic. This was the first death of the kind at the hospital, through nearly 3,000 patients have been given anaesthetics.
Langport & Somerton Herald: Saturday 7th June 1919
Robert Snow died on 3rd June 1919. His body was taken back to Combe Florey for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s cemetery, to be reunited with his widow, when she passed away in 1958, at the age of 71 years old.
Herbert Griffith was born in the summer of 1883 in the Somerset village of Crowcombe. One of eight children, his parents were coachman James Griffith and his wife, Selina.
Herbert’s early life is a challenge to piece together. The 1901 census recorded him as living at Weacombe House, West Quantoxhead, where he was employed as a footman.
On 16th December 1909, Herbert married Selina May Davies. Also born in Crowcombe, she was the daughter of a tailor. The couple’s marriage certificate confirms the wedding was conducted at the village church. The couple went on to have two children, Dorothy in 1912, and Geoffrey four years later.
Herbert, at this point, was living in Farnborough, Warwickshire, where he was employed as a valet. (While no document remains to confirm this, it seems possible that this was actually Farnborough Hall, home to generations of the Holbech family.)
When war broke out, Herbert seemed keen to serve his country. He enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps, although his full service records no longer remain, so it is not possible to confirm whether he served on home soil or overseas.
The next record relating to Private Griffith is that of his passing. He died in Southampton, Hampshire, on 22nd February 1916, as a result of a combination of bronchitis, asthma and cardiac failure. He was 32 years of age, and would never get to meet his son, who was born two weeks later.
The body of Herbert Griffith was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful surroundings of the Church of the Holy Ghost in his home village, Crowcombe.
William James Stevens was born in the autumn of 1891, and was the fourth of eight children to William and Emily Stevens. William Sr was a carter on a farm in Stogumber, Somerset, and this is where the family would come to be raised.
William Jr followed his father’s trade when he finished his schooling, but stepped up to serve his King and Country when war was declared. Little information remains about his time in the army, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery by the spring of 1916.
The only other records relating to William are those connected to his passing. He was discharged from the army on medical grounds in November 1916, and was suffering from tuberculosis. He appears to have been admitted to a hospital that winter, and died from the lung condition on 16th February 1917. He was 25 years of age.
William James Stevens was laid to rest in the tranquil surroundings of St Mary’s Churchyard in Stogumber.
