Category Archives: illness

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, injury, Lance Corporal, photography, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Lance Corporal Stanley Southwood

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Lance Corporal Stanley Southwood

Stanley James Southwood was born in 1896, the oldest of six children to John and Florence Southwood from Bridgwater, Somerset. John was a labourer and ship’s mate, while Stanley, who was the only boy in the family, started work loading barrows in a brickyard.

Military life was pulling Stanley, however. According to another researcher, he enlisted in the Special Reserves of the Somerset Light Infantry in October 1912. Six months later he joined the regular army, and was there when the war began.

While I have not been able to corroborate this information, it appears that Southwood was reported missing on 11th September 1915, after being wounded in the chest. He was taken prisoner of war, and, while being held, he developed tuberculosis in both lungs.

After his release (no documents confirm when this was) he was discharged from the army as medically fit to continue. He was in a military hospital at the time – the beginning of November 1918 – suffering from tuberculosis, which had been exacerbated by the chest wound he had received three years earlier. At the time he was discharged, he had the rank of Lance Corporal.

Sadly, it seems that Stanley never fully recovered from his wartime experience. He died on 8th September 1919 from consumption (tuberculosis), aged just 23 years old.

Stanley James Southwood lies at rest in the Wembdon Road Cemetery in his home town of Bridgwater in Somerset.

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

Private Ernest Lewis

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Private Ernest Lewis

Ernest George Lewis was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, in the spring of 1895, one of fourteen children to labourer Frederick and his wife Harriett Rose. Two of his older brothers went to work for the local brickworks, but Ernest hauled coal to earn a living once he left school.

When war broke out, he was eager to do his part; he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry early on, serving as a Private in the 1st Battalion. His troop was to see some of the fiercest fighting in the conflict, including the Battles of Le Cateau, the Marne, the Aisne, Messines within the first six months.

Private Lewis’ troop was also involved in the Second Battle of Ypres in the spring of 1915, but it was later that year that his fate became sealed. At some point he was caught up in a German gas attack; he was evacuated home, but there is no confirmation whether he was hospitalised as a result (although it seems likely).

The gas was to damage his lungs to the extent that he would not recover. There are conflicting reports as to the cause of Private Lewis’ passing, with one source identifying the gas in France, while another put it down to pneumonia and typhoid. (It seems probable that the attack ultimately resulted in Ernest catching pneumonia, although this is not clear.)

Either way, Private Lewis passed away at home on 27th October 1915. He was just 20 years old.

Ernest had eleven brothers, four of whom would have been old enough to be enlisted to fight. Ernest was the only one of the family to perish.

Ernest George Lewis lies at peace in the Wembdon Road Cemetery in his home town of Bridgwater.

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

Private Albert Pow

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Private Albert Pow

Albert Francis Pow was born in the autumn of 1886, one of five children to Albert and Annie Pow from Somerset. Albert Sr. was a farm labourer, but by the time he left school, Albert Jr. started work as a porter in the Singer sewing machine factory in Bridgwater.

Albert’s father passed away in 1905, at the age of 51, and his son – who was by this time repairing the sewing machines – became head of the household.

He was obviously good at what he did, because, by the time he married in 1913, he was able to support his wife Leonora as branch manager for the Singer store in the town. The young couple soon moved on, as, when war broke out, he was manager of the shop in Barnstaple.

War came calling, and while the date of his enlistment is absent from his records, Private Pow joined the 1st Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. Sent to the front, he quickly became ill, suffering from dysentery and trench foot, which led to him being hospitalised for nearly two months.

Returning to his troops, Private Pow’s health remained unsteady, and he soon contracted trench fever. He was evacuated back to England for treatment, and was admitted to the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.

Sadly, Albert was not to recover this time; he died at the hospital on 11th May 1917 as a result of empyema (pleuritis) and an abscess of the axilla (armpit). He was just 30 years old when he died.

Albert Francis Pow lies at rest in the Wembdon Road Cemetery in Bridgwater.

Albert left behind his widow, Leonora and their child Vanessa. Leonora was to be reunited with her late husband; she died in August 1986, and is buried with her beloved.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, Hampshire Regiment, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Tom Cox

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Private Tom Cox

Thomas Cox was born in September 1900, the oldest of four children to William and Ellen Cox from Bridgwater, Somerset. On Thomas’ baptism records, William listed himself as a manufacturer, but there is nothing to confirm what he made.

Sadly, William died in 1905, leaving Ellen to raise four children under five years old – including a babe-in-arms. Determined to look after her young family, however, by the time of the 1911 census, she gave her occupation as a grocer.

War was on the horizon and, while his full records are not evident, it is clear that Thomas must have looked to enlist as soon as his age would allow. He was assigned to the 53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, a training unit based not far from Warminster.

Sadly, Private Cox’s service was not to be a long one. While training, he contracted pneumonia, and passed away on 31st October 1918. He had just turned 18 years old.

Thomas Cox lies at rest in the Wembdon Road Cemetery in his home town of Bridgwater, Somerset.

Coldstream Guards, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Lance Corporal, Military Police Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Lance Corporal Stephen Reed

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Lance Corporal Stephen Reed

Stephen Reed was born in August 1887, one of seven children to Stephen and Eliza Reed from Bridgwater, Somerset. Stephen Sr was a labourer, eventually working as a carter for the local council.

Stephen Jr sought bigger and better things, however. After initially working as a butcher, he enlisted in the army in January 1907. He served a term of three years in the Coldstream Guards, before being stood down to reserve status in 1910.

Stephen had by then, found his calling in life and joined the police force. Standing at 6ft 1in (1.84m) tall, he would have cut an imposing figure. By the time of the 1911 census, he was boarding at the barracks in Dorchester, where he was listed as a police constable.

In May 1913, Stephen, by now aged 25, married Emily Maud Bower, in their home town. By March of the following year, the young couple had settled back in Swanage, Dorset, and had had a child, Stephen George.

War was on the horizon, however, and Private Reed was re-mobilised in August 1914, finding himself overseas within weeks. He was quickly promoted to Lance Corporal, and, after a couple of years – including fighting at Mons and receiving a subsequent gunshot wound to his hand – was transferred to the Military Police Force.

In April 1918, Lance Corporal Reed contracted tuberculosis, and was ill enough to be evacuated back to England for treatment. He was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley, Hampshire, but passed away within a day of arriving. Sadly, his records show that a telegram was sent to Emily summoning her to the hospital, but, as this was dated the same day he passed away, it seems unlikely that she would have arrived in time.

Lance Corporal Reed died on 27th April 1918. He was 31 years old.

Stephen Reed lies at rest in the Wembdon Road Cemetery in his home town of Bridgwater.

A sad addition to Stephen’s military records is a latter to his widow in September 1918, asking for acknowledgement of receipt of his belongings. The items in question boiled down to: pair of braces; button stick; shaving brush; 2 boot brushes; comb; pipe lighter; handkerchief; pocket knife; safety razor; towel; flannel vest; waistcoat; identity disc; wrist strap; pair of scissors; tie clip; mirror; pipe; cigarette holder; 4 cap badges; card case; wallet and photos; wallet and correspondence; cigarette care; cigarettes; tobacco.

We can assume that these items – especially the photographs and correspondence – gave some level of comfort to Emily, but seeing her late husband’s life summed up in a bagful of belongings must also have been heart-breaking.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, war

Sapper Francis Hawkins

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Bridgwater (Wembdon)

Francis Ralph Hawkins was born in Somerset in March 1895 and was one of twelve children to Charles and Jane Hawkins. Charles was a police sergeant and the family lived in Bishop’s Lydeard, a village to the west of Taunton.

By the time of the 1911 census, Charles had retired from police work, and was operating as a licenced victualler in nearby Bridgwater. While Jane was supporting her husband running the business, Francis was apprenticed to a local clothier.

When war broke out, Francis was quick to enlist – he joined the Royal Engineers, and was appointed a Sapper. He wasn’t with the company for that long, however, as by February he had been admitted to the Red Cross Hospital in Christchurch, Dorset, with a fever.

Sadly, he was not to recover; Sapper Hawkins passed away from spinal meningitis on 17th February 1915. He was just 19 years of age.

Francis Ralph Hawkins lies at rest in the Wembdon Road Cemetery, Bridgwater.

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

Private Wilfrid Vagg

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Private Wilfrid Vagg

Wilfrid Stanley Vagg was born in 1899 in the Somerset village of Doulting. One of six children, his father Albert was the local blacksmith and innkeeper and he lived with his wife Annie and their family in the Waggon & Horses in the village.

When he left school, Wilfrid was keen to follow in his father’s footsteps; the Oakhill Brewery Company was just up the road from the family pub, and it was here that he found employment as a clerk. When war broke out, however, he must have wanted to do his bet, enlisting in the Somerset Light Infantry when he turned 18.

It may well have been while he was training on Salisbury Plain that Private Vagg became ill. He was treated at the Fargo Military Hospital, situated just to the north of Stonehenge, and was operated on for appendicitis. Sadly, he did not recover, and passed away on 11th February 1918. He was just 18 years of age.

Wilfrid Stanley Vagg lies at rest in the graveyard of St Aldhelm’s Church in his home village of Doulting in Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, war

Sapper John Chapman

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Sapper John Chapman

John Chapman was born in October 1892 in the small Somerset village of Ashwick, just to the north of Shepton Mallet. One of five children to Albert and Mary Ann, John followed his father into mining, and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was listed as a coal mining hewer.

In November 1914, he married Louisa Elizabeth Perkins from Shepton Mallet. The war had begun by this point, and before the couple had even been married a year, John had enlisted.

His background made him ideal for the Royal Engineers, and soon Sapper Chapman was bound for France with the British Expeditionary Force. He seems to have been abroad for around six months, and was shipped back to England at the end of April 1916.

John was admitted to a military hospital in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, with bronchial pneumonia, and this is what he succumbed to a matter of weeks later. He died on 2nd June 1916, at the age of 23 years old.

John Chapman is buried in the village of Croscombe, Somerset, where his widow now lived.

An additional tragedy to the loss of this young life is that Louisa was pregnant at this point. The birth of their daughter, Selina, was registered between April and June 1916, and, while I have been unable to pinpoint an exact date of birth for her, it is likely that John never got to see his daughter.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Edward Gane

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Private Edward Gane

Edward Lionel Gane was born in 1899 and was one of eight children. Known as Lionel, he was the son of Edwin and Joanna Gane, and lived in the quiet Somerset village of Ditcheat. Edwin began life as a pig dealer, but by the time of the 1911 census, had changed direction and become an insurance agent.

Joanna passed away in 1915, and this may have been the impetus Lionel needed to find his way in the world. He enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment, joining the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s brigade.

The battalion – a depot and training unit – were initially based in Devizes, before moving to Dorset and then Kent. While there is no confirmation of when Private Gane enlisted, it would have been by September 1917, which is when the battalion became part of the Thames & Medway Garrison.

The end of the war marked another ending for the Gane family. Edwin passed away on Armistice Day – 11th November – and further tragedy was to follow, as Private Gane contracted influenza and died less than two weeks later.

Edward Lionel Gane died in a military hospital in Malling, Kent, on 24th November 1918. He was just 19 years old. He lies at rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in his home village of Ditcheat.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Royal Horse Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Driver Thomas Humphries

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Driver Thomas Humphries

Thomas George Edward Humphries was born in November 1897, one of six children to George and Annie Humphries, from North Wootton in Somerset. George was a farm labourer, and had been married to his wife for 19 years before her untimely death in at the age of 40.

When war came, Thomas was just 16 years old. He enlisted quickly, though, joining the Royal Horse Artillery as early as the summer of 1915. Driver Humphries joined the 120 Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery, which was one of the many Howitzer brigades moving the large long-barrelled field guns along the front line.

Given the high use of horses during the way, and that Thomas was a Driver, it is likely that his role would have been guiding the animals in his care – this may also account for why his gravestone gives his troop as the Royal Horse Artillery.

Little remains of Thomas’ service records; he was awarded the Victory and British Medals and well as the 1915 Star, so would have been in the thick of the fighting and seen action on the Western Front.

When it comes to his passing, again details are scant. His pension records simply state that he died of ‘disease’, and he passed in the military hospital in Southwark, South London. Again, given when he died and the lack of any contemporary media report on his passing, it seems likely that the cause was a lung condition – influenza, pneumonia or tuberculosis – but that is a presumption on my part,

Whatever the cause, Driver Humphries died on 8th April 1919, aged just 21 years old.

Thomas George Edward Humphries lies at rest in the quiet graveyard of St Peter’s Church in his home village of North Wootton.