Category Archives: illness

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lieutenant, photography, Quartermaster, Rifle Brigade, Somerset, story, war

Lieutenant Alfred Betty

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Lieutenant Alfred Betty

Alfred William Betty was born early in 1869, one of ten children to John Betty and his wife Hannah. John was a blacksmith, and the family lived in the Somerset town of Taunton.

After leaving school, Alfred found work as a silk throwster, twisting silk into thread or yarn. Thus was not the long term career that he sought, however, and in 1887 he enlisted in the Rifle Brigade. During a period of service that lasted 21 years, he fought in India and South Africa, rising to the rank of Quartermaster-Sergeant by the end of his tenure in 1908.

In 1896, Alfred had married Elizabeth Johnson, also from Taunton, who was herself the daughter of a soldier. The couple went on to have three children, two of whom survived – daughters Ella and Hazel.

By the time of the 1911 census, the family had set up home in Taunton. Alfred, now back on civvy street, was working as a clerk and had become involved in the town’s Holy Trinity Men’s Club.

War was on the horizon, however, and when hostilities broke out, Alfred quickly re-enlisted. Within a month of re-joining the Rifle Brigade, he was given a commission in the 13th Battalion. After initially being based in Winchester, by the summer of 1915 Lieutenant Betty found himself on the Front Line. He was involved in some of the fiercest fighting, and was caught up in the Battle of the Somme.

It was here that Alfred fell ill. While full details of his condition are not readily available, he contracted a prolonged illness, as a result of “hardship and exposure” [Western Daily Press, Saturday 24th March 1917].

Whatever the condition, it was serious enough for Lieutenant Betty to be invalided back to England and out of the army, and he returned to his family home in Taunton.

Sadly, Alfred’s condition was to take its toll on him, and he finally succumbed to it on 23rd March 1917. He was 48 years old.

Alfred William Betty lies at peace in St Mary’s Churchyard in his home town of Taunton in Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Great War, history, illness, photography, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, West Somerset Yeomanry

Serjeant Sydney Peters

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Serjeant Sydney Peters

Sydney Edward Peters was born at the end of 1891, the only child to farmers Edward and Annie Peters. The family lived in Bishop’s Hull, near Taunton, where Edward also employed two members of staff to help with the household and his dairy herd.

Sydney went on to manage the neighbouring farm to his father, and looked to be making a living with this. Keen on sport, he went on to captain the village cricket team, and took an interest in physical fitness.

War broke out and Sydney was quick to enlist. Joining the West Somerset Yeomanry, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion. Initially the regiment were based on home turf, and he spent a lot of that time in East Anglia. He must have made a positive commitment to the troop, and was soon promoted to Serjeant.

In the early summer of 1915, he returned to Taunton, to help drill recruits at the Territorial Depot there. A short while after returning to his Essex he fell ill, and before the battalion were due to be shipped overseas, Serjeant Peters went back to Somerset on leave.

By the time he reached home, however, he was severely ill, and very quickly died from what turned out to be blood poisoning. Serjeant Peters was just 23 years old.

Sydney Edward Peters was buried in St Mary’s Cemetery in his home town of Taunton.

Serjeant Sydney Peters
Bedfordshire Regiment, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Robert Mayers

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Private Robert Mayers

Robert William Mayers – also known as Bob – was born in 1888, one of nine children to Charles and Louisa Mayers from Taunton in Somerset. Charles was a solicitor’s clerk, whose work changed direction in the 1890s, and who became a general labourer.

When Robert left school, he became a carpenter, while his older brother became a motor mechanic, and other siblings became messengers, collar machinists and housemaids.

With war on the horizon, Robert enlisted. His full service records no longer exist, but he enrolled in the Bedfordshire Regiment and joined the 3rd Garrison Battalion. While there is no evidence of Private Mayers’ time in the army, it is likely that he saw some service in India and Burma during and after the Great War.

Robert returned to England after being demobbed, but, having survived the war, was suffering from tuberculosis. Sadly, the condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away at his parents’ home on 2nd May 1921. He was 34 years old.

Robert William Mayers lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.

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

Private Ernest Baker

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Private Ernest Baker

Ernest Baker’s early life is a bit of a muddle; Born in 1878 in Somerset, it’s a challenge to unpick specific details, as there are two Ernest Bakers, both of whom have parents of the same name – Henry and Sarah – and have siblings with similar names too. Was Ernest’s father, therefore, a thatcher from Meare near Glastonbury or a travelling draper from Taunton.

In fact, it was a newspaper article from April 1915 that helped unlock the confusion.

The Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser confirmed that Ernest’s full name was Ernest Bond Baker, and that his father – who had passed away by the time of Ernest’s death – was from Bishop’s Hull, a village near Taunton.

This would seem to confirm, therefore, that his father was a travelling draper.

Ernest was one of ten children. His father died when he was only fifteen years old, by which time Ernest had left school and found employment as a basket weaver, a trade which was prevalent on the Somerset Moors.

Sarah, a widow at only forty, took in laundry to make ends meet. Of Ernest’s two older brother, one had passed away as a teenager, while the other had gone on to have a wife and family of his own. It was left to Ernest, therefore, to remain at home and support his mother and younger siblings.

Ernest met and married local butcher’s daughter Bessie Glover in 1900, and the couple went on to have seven children. After a spell living in Wiltshire, the young family moved back to Somerset, settling in Bridgwater, where Ernest continued to ply his trade.

Ernest’s military service records are lost to time; he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, joining the 5th Battalion at some point early in the war (certainly before October 1914). Private Baker’s battalion seems to have been part of a territorial/reserve force, and he was based in his home town of Taunton.

In early April 1915, Ernest fell ill, and was admitted to the Voluntary Aid Detachment Red Cross Hospital in Yeovil, suffering from bronchitis and pneumonia. Sadly, the lung conditions were such that he was succumb to them, and he passed away on 16th April 1915. He was just 36 years old.

Ernest Bond Baker lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in his home town of Taunton, Somerset, the same cemetery where his father and brother were buried.

Private Ernest Baker
illness

Serjeant Major Charles Cassidy

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Company Serjeant Major Charles Cassidy

Charles Cassidy’s early life is a bit of a challenge to uncover. He was born in County Antrim, Ireland in around 1856, but there is little concrete information to identify his parentage or his movements before the late 1870s.

A newspaper report of his passing confirms that his military career began early. He joined the Somerset Light Infantry, and “saw active service in the Zulu campaign in 1879, and in Burmah 1885-1887.” [Western Times: Tuesday 15th February 1916]

In around 1890, he married a woman called Annie; she came from Wareham in Dorset, and the couple went on to have three children – Daisy, Charles and Margaret.

After completing his military service, Charles continued to work as a messenger for the regiment. However, when war came, he was called up again, acting as Company Serjeant Major in the Taunton Barracks.

Charles’ military service was not to be prolonged, however. On 13th February 1916, he was in the Sergeants’ Mess in the barracks, when he suddenly collapsed with heart failure, dying almost instantaneously. He was 60 years old.

Charles Cassidy lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in Taunton, next to the barracks where he so readily did his duty.

Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Berkshire Regiment, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, Suffolk, war

Serjeant Ernest Stelling

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Serjeant Ernest Stelling

Ernest Leonard Stelling was born in the summer of 1881, the oldest of six children to Charles and Bertha Stelling. Charles was a tailor from London, and while Ernest was born in Suffolk, by the time of the 1891 census, the family had settled in Reading, Berkshire.

Ernest followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a tailor and cutter in his own right. He met a woman from Reading called Lettie Eliza Mazey, and the couple married in 1904. The couple set up home with Lettie’s brother and his family in Tilehurst, but didn’t go on to have any children themselves.

Details of Ernest’s military service are a bit scarce. He initially enlisted in the Royal Berkshire Regiment, but quickly moved to the Somerset Light Infantry in the early stages of the First World War.

Sadly, no formal documents of Ernest’s time in the army are available, but a local newspaper gave a good insight into his Somerset service.

Death of a Master Tailor

After an illness of only seven days, the death took place at the military hospital on Monday afternoon of Sergeant EL Stelling, who has been master tailor of the Depot for the past two years. The cause of death was pneumonia, and the loss of so popular a member of the Depot staff is deeply regretted by all ranks.

Sergeant Stelling, who was 37 years of age, came to the Somersets from the Royal Berkshire Regiment, and succeeded the late Sergeant-Master-Tailor Chambers. He was a native of Reading, and one of four brothers serving their King and country. His father, Mr Charles Stelling, for many years carried on business as a master tailor in Reading.

Since he had been at Taunton barracks, Sergeant Stelling had made many friends, and actively identified himself with the social life of the sergeants’ mess, taking a prominent part in the arrangement of concerts, etc.

He was of a bright, generous disposition, and before his illness he was making a collection at the Depot on behalf of the Buffaloes’ Christmas treat to poor children of the town. He was a valued member of the local Lodge of the Royal Order of Buffaloes, and his death is greatly regretted by all the brethren.

He leaves a widow but no family. Much sympathy is felt for Mrs Stelling, who has for some years been a confirmed invalid.

The funeral took place with full military honours at St Mary’s Cemetery on Friday afternoon.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 27th December 1916

This gives a real insight into Ernest’s personal life. He was obviously very active socially, and committed to the community. Whether Lettie’s infirmity contributed to the couple’s lack of family will never be known, but, from his support of the poor children of Taunton, it seems evident that he would have been a good family man.

The next document relating to Serjeant Stelling is his pension record; this confirms the news article’s report that he contracted pneumonia and influenza, and he succumbed to the conditions on 18th December 1916. He had, in fact, just turned 38 years old.

Ernest Leonard Stelling lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in his wartime adopted home town of Taunton, Somerset.

Serjeant Ernest Stelling (from Ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private William Gulliford

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Private William Gulliford

William Gulliford was born on 8th November 1877 in the village of Thurloxton, just to the north of Taunton, Somerset. William’s father – also called William – was an agricultural labourer who, with his wife Charlotte, had nine children in total.

William Jr found work as a labourer for a brewery and, by 1899, had moved to Staffordshire, met and married a local woman called Elsie Sutton. The couple settled down in Burton-on-Trent, and went on to have a daughter, also called Elsie.

War was coming, however, and, in August 1916, William enlisted. Initially assigned as a Private in the 14th Devonshire Regiment, he was soon moved to the Labour Corps, and within a couple of months was on the Western Front as part of the British Expeditionary Force.

In November 1917, Private Gulliford was shipped back to England, suffering from ill health. He was admitted to the Military Hospital in Taunton with heart failure, and sadly passed away from this a month later. He had just turned 40 years old.

William Gulliford lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, photography, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Wiltshire

Serjeant Arthur Jones

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Serjeant Arthur Jones

Arthur Henry Jones was born in 1874, the oldest of five children to James and Kate Jones. James worked as a coachman, and travelling seems to have been his thing.

Born in Wiltshire, he met and married Kate in Somerset, and this is where Arthur was born; by 1879, the young family had moved to Hampshire, and within a year they had relocated again, this time to Folkestone in Kent. Three years later, by the time James and Kate’s youngest two children were born, they were back in Wiltshire again, having competed their tour of the south of England.

Sadly, tragedy was to strike the Jones family, when Kate passed away in 1888, at the tender age of 31 years old. James had a family of boys to bring up, however, and he married again, this time to a Miriam Millard. The couple went on to have two children, giving Arthur a half-brother and half-sister.

At this point, Arthur falls off the radar. It may well be that he chose to take up a military career early on – if he was serving overseas, it is possible that the census documentation no longer exists. Twelve years’ service would certainly seem to account for his absence between 1881 and the next time his name appears on records.

These records relate to Arthur’s marriage to Fanny Hill. The couple were married by Banns in May 1906, marrying in Westbury, Wiltshire. They went on to have four children – Arthur, Kathleen, Gladys and Percival – between 1907 and 1911.

Again, at this point, Arthur falls off the radar. His service records no longer exist, but what evidence remains confirms that he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry and was assigned to the 7th (Service) Battalion. Initially formed in Taunton, they shipped out to France in July 1915, although there is no documentation to confirm when or if Arthur was involved.

Sadly, the only other reference to Serjeant Jones is his final pension record. This confirms that he succumbed to a combination of influenza and pneumonia on 27th January 1919. He was 44 years old.

Arthur Henry Jones lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Thomas Winter

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Private Thomas Winter

Thomas Henry Winter was born in 1887, one of six children to James and Mary. James was a farmer, and the family lived in Milverton, in the Somerset countryside to the west of Taunton.

James died in 1900, and Thomas found his way into farm work as well. He met and married a local woman called Ada Thynne in February 1909, and the couple went on to have five children: Beatrice, James, Charles, Frank and Thomas.

There is little confirmed information about Thomas’ military career. When he joined up, he enlisted in the 13th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, although, as his service records no longer exist, it is not possible to identify when this was.

Private Winter later transferred to the Labour Corps – again there are no records to confirm the dates – and this is the division in which he remained.

Illness was to dog Thomas, however; in early 1918, he contracted enteric fever (known nowadays as typhoid), and was hospitalised. Sadly, he succumbed to the disease, and passed away on 14th February 1918. He was 30 years of age.

Thomas Henry Winter lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.

An additional tragic turn to Thomas’ story is that Ada was pregnant when he passed away. His youngest son, whom Ada named after him, would never know his father.

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

Private Arthur Lee

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Private Arthur Lee

Arthur Henry Lee was born in April 1895, and was one of five children. His parents were Arthur and Hannah (or Annie) Lee, and the family lived in the Chard area of Somerset. Arthur Sr worked as a ‘twist hand’, operating the machines in a lace factory and, when his son left school, he too found work in the same factory.

There is little documented about Arthur’s early life. When war broke out, however, he was quick to enlist, and joined the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. He was assigned to the 5th (1st Reserve) Battalion, and was stationed at Mansfield House.

Sadly, Private Lee’s military service was not to be a long one. As happened with lots of young men from different parts of the country coming together in large numbers, illness and disease spread quickly in the military encampments,

Arthur was not immune to this and was admitted to the Military Hospital in Taunton with meningitis. He passed away on 7th December 1914, aged just 19 years old.

Arthur Henry Lee lies in St Mary’s Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.