Category Archives: injury

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, injury, Lance Corporal, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Sergeant, Sherwood Foresters, Somerset, story, war

Sergeant Archibald Mills

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Sergeant Archibald Mills

Archibald Henry Mills was born in the summer of 1895, the oldest of six children to John and Edith. John was a commercial traveller, selling veterinary wares around the country; he was born in Derby, Edith was from Leicester and, for the for the first seven years of their married life they lived in Edith’s home town – this is where Archibald was born. By the turn of the century, however, they had relocated to Somerset, and set up home in Weston-super-Mare.

When he left school, Archibald found work as an errand boy for a local tailor, but change was on the horizon. By the summer of 1914, he had based himself in Nottingham – the reason is lost to time – and this is where he was when he volunteered for military service.

Archibald enlisted as a Private in the Notts and Derby Regiment – the Sherwood Foresters – and was assigned to the 7th Battalion. He was sent to France as part of the 46th Division and, over the next couple of years, he evidently served his regiment well.

In August 1915, Private Mills was promoted to Lance Corporal; three months later he was again promoted, to Corporal. By May the following year, he received another rise, this time to Serjeant. These promotions were against the backdrop of some fierce fighting – the Sherwood Foresters were involved at Hooge, Hohenzollern and Gommecourt, and were briefly sent to Egypt.

At some point during the summer of 1916 – possible at Gommecourt – Archibald was injured, and medically evacuated to the No.2 Western General Hospital in Manchester. Sadly, however, his wounds were to prove too much: Serjeant Mills passed away on the night of 30th September 1916. He was just 21 years old.

The body of Archibald Henry Mills was brought back to Somerset; he was laid to rest in the Milton Road Cemetery of his adopted home town of Weston-super-Mare.

Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Graham Grant

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Private Graham Grant

Graham Grant was born in early 1891, one of ten children to Charles and Emma Grant. Charles was a sign painter and both he and his wife were from Wiltshire, but it was in Frome, Somerset, that they chose to settle and raise their family.

When he left school Graham found work as an assistant in a jeweller’s shop, but when war came to England’s shores, he was keen to do all that he could for King and Country.

While full details of his military service are not available, it is noticeable that the local newspaper – the Somerset Standard – dedicated a full column to news of his death in 1916, and then a further full column to his funeral a week later. The newspaper reported that:

Private Graham Grant, who was just 25 years of age, was living in Bristol when the war broke out, and in September 1914, he joined the 4th Gloucesters along with his eldest brother, Private Charles Grant, and being in the same platoon they were inseparable companions both in training and in the trenches… They went out to the Front just over 12 months ago – January 1915 – and for practically a year they escaped injury…

Private Grant had not been home since he landed in France, but he and his brother were expecting to have leave at Christmas to visit their family and friends at Frome. On the 23rd December… [he] was with his platoon in a trench, the top of which was some three feet above the heads of the men. At 8:30 in the evening they were about to be relieved… when a German machine-gun opened fire on the trench.

Somerset Standard: Friday 11th February 1916

A bullet hit Graham in the back and he was taken first to a hospital in Rouen, then medically evacuated back to England. Admitted to the Racecourse Hospital in Cheltenham, x-rays showed that his spine had been shattered by the bullet, and he was paralysed from the waist down. “[His] case was regarded as hopeless from the first” and as many friends and family went to see him as possible. Private Grant passed away on 6th February 1916, Emma and his three sisters at his bedside. He was just 25 years of age.

Graham Grant’s body was brought back to Frome, and laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in the town. The funeral, at the family’s request, was devoid of any military fanfare or involvement.

While there was a lot of reporting on both the death and funeral, the vicar of St John’s Church in the town noted in his sermon that Graham had been a member of the choir there, both as a boy and a man. He was also the first chorister of the church to give his life for his country. Reverend Randolph went on to say that:

…there were things connected with Graham Grant’s death for which [he was] thankful… he did not die on the battlefield, maybe after hours of suffering unattended and without succour… he did not die in the hands of the enemy or in the enemy’ country… he died surrounded by his relatives and friends, those who were near and dear to him, and that he had the most skilful medical treatment and tender nursing.

Somerset Standard: Friday 11th February 1916
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Charles Sparey

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Private Charles Sparey

Walter Charles Sparey was born on 3rd Aril 1890 in the Somerset town of Frome. He was a twin, and was one of a total of seven children to Walter and Susan Sparey. Walter Sr was a plasterer and tiler and the family lived on Culver Hill, to the south of the town centre, and next to the Girls’ Asylum Institute.

When he left school, Walter Jr – who was known as Charles, to avoid confusion with his father – found work as a grocer’s porter, while his twin, Henry, was employed as a labourer for the local brewery.

Europe was on the brink of war and, while full details of Charles’ military service are not available, some aspects are clear. He enlisted within weeks of war breaking out, joining the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. By July 1915, he found himself on the Western Front in France.

Private Carey was caught up in the fighting and, on 3rd April 1916, received gun shot wounds in the back and shoulder. He seems to have recovered, but was dogged by lung and heart afflictions afterwards, and did not return to active duty. He was eventually discharged from military service on 15th August 1917.

Charles returned home, but the effects of his injuries eventually proved too much. He passed away on 1st March 1918, aged just 28 years old, and was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Frome.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, injury, Ireland, Lance Corporal, Lance Serjeant, photography, Private, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Corporal Cyril Allen

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Corporal Cyril Allen

Cyril Starr Allen was born on 15th June 1891 in the village of Baughurst, near Tadley in Hampshire. He was the second youngest of five children to Charles and Martha Allen. Charles was a rate collector, and the family moved around the county during Cyril’s early years.

By the time Cyril left school, Charles had become an assistant bursar in Wootton, near Basingstoke. Cyril, meanwhile, had found similar administrative employment and was working as a clerk for a local land agent.

At the start of 1911, Cyril enlisted in the British Army. He joined the 4th Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private and was soon based on Salisbury Plain. His service records confirm that he was 19 years and 7 months old, and stood at 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall. Private Allen served for his initial term of four years, before being remobilised.

In November 1915, Cyril married Mabel Young. She was a printer’s daughter from Wiltshire, and the couple married in Salisbury, before settling down in Frome, Somerset. They went on to have a child, a daughter they called Kathleen.

Remobilised in the autumn of 1915 Private Allen received a series of promotions – to Lance Corporal, Corporal, Lance Sergeant and Sergeant, and, by June 1917, he found himself at the Front.

On 22nd April 1918, Cyril was injured, sustaining gunshot wounds to his shoulder and left arm. He was invalided back to England for treatment, and was hospitalised in the north of the country. He was then transferred to the Royal Welch Fusiliers with the rank of Corporal and sent to Ireland to continue his recovery and work light duties.

While in Ireland, Corporal Allen contracted influenza and was admitted to the Buttevant Hospital in County Cork. Sadly, in his weakened state, it was something he was to succumb to, and he passed away, with Mabel at his bedside, on 15th November 1918. He was just 27 years of age.

Cyril Starr Allen’s body was brought back to England; he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in Frome, Somerset.

Corporal Cyril Allen (from ancestry.co.uk)

After the loss of her husband, Mabel went on to live her life. In 1923, she married James Burr, a draughtsman from Frome; they went on to have a child – a brother for Kathleen – called James.

Cyril’s two brothers, Winthrop and Charles, also fought in the First World War.

(from ancestry.co.uk)

Winthrop had emigrated to North America in 1911, but returned to Europe as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force when war broke out.

Lance Corporal Charles Allen served with the 15th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. He fought on the Western Front and was killed near Kemmel Hill in Belgium on 4th September 1918. He was just 21 years old. Charles is commemorated at the Tyne Cot Memorial in Zonnebeke, Belgium.

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

Private Harry Maidment

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Private Harry Maidment

Henry James Maidment – known as Harry – was born in Penarth, South Wales, in the autumn of 1890. He was one of seven children to Somerset-born Henry and Minnie Maidment. Henry Sr was a general labourer, and, when he died in 1899, Minnie remained in Penarth, earning money to support the family as a hawker of fruit.

By the time of the 1911 census, most of Minnie’s children were still living at home, with all but one of them working. Harry was employed as a van driver for a laundry, while his siblings were working variously as labourers, sailors and a housekeeper.

In the autumn of 1911, Harry married Annie Hillier, a servant who had been born in Yeovil, but who had also moved to South Wales. The couple went on to have a son, Henry, in October 1912, but he tragically passed away when he was just a couple of months old. They were not to have any other children.

War was coming to Europe by this point, and Harry was keen to play his part. He enlisted towards the end of 1914, joining the 1st Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. He arrived in France at the beginning of May 1915, and would have seen fighting at Ypres that spring.

It seems that Private Maidment was wounded at Ypres; he was medically evacuated home and was admitted to the Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex. Details of his injuries are not available, but they must have been severe; he passed away from them on 23rd July 1915, aged just 25 years old.

Harry James Maidment’s body was brought back to Somerset; he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, Frome, his parents’ home town, and where his widow, Annie was living.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dragoon Guards, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private John Hallett

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Private John Hallett

John Hallett – better known as Jack – was born in the spring of 1891 in the Somerset town of Frome. One of twelve children, his parents were carpenter Frederick Hallett and his wife, Elizabeth. When he left school, Jack found work at a printer’s, helping with the typesetting.

War was approaching, and Jack was keen to do his bit. While full details of his military service are not available, it is clear that he enlisted as a Private in the Royal Irish Dragoon Guards. He served in France with the 4th Battalion, arriving there in October 1915.

A later report suggests that Private Hallett was “seriously wounded several times during the war” [Somerset Standard: Friday 30th January 1920], although no specific details are available about his injuries. He survived the conflict and was awarded the British and Victory Medals and the 1915 Star for his service.

Demobbed and back at home, it seems that John did not fully recover from his wounds. He was admitted to the Victoria Hospital in Frome in January 1920, and died there a matter of days later. He was just 28 years old.

John Hallett was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Frome, Somerset.

The local newspaper gave a more detailed report on John’s funeral:

Ex-Soldier’s Death

The funeral took place yesterday afternoon at Christ Church of Mr John Hallett, aged 29, of The Butts, Frome, who passed away at the Victoria Hospital on Friday last. Deceased had been seriously wounded several times during the war, and a day or two ago was removed to the hospital. The Rev. J Howard Lewis conducted the service, which was attended by local Oddfellows, to which society the deceased belonged, and by a number of other representative mourners.

Somerset Standard: Friday 20th January 1920
Bandsman, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, photography, Seaforth Highlanders, Somerset, story, war

Bandsman William Pothecary

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Bandsman William Pothecary

William James Pothecary was born in Frome, Somerset, on 24th April 1891, one of six children – and the only boy – to Francis and Annie Maria Pothecary. Francis was a groom, and the couple raised the family in Pilly Vale (now Willow Vale) which ran alongside the River Frome in the centre of the town.

Little further information on William’s early life is available, although it seems he was a keen musician, and took up the oboe at an early age. He joined the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders in 1909 as a Bandsman, and, from later reports, was a talented player.

When was broke out, William was sent to the front, but in 1915, while caught up in the Second Battle of Ypres, he was buried and seriously wounded by a bomb. He was sent to a convalescent home in Ireland, recovered reasonably well and returned to France, where he served until the end of the war.

Bandsman Pothecary was demobbed in July 1919 and returned to Somerset. The following year, he needed an operation following the recurrence of the issues he encountered following his injury, and all seemed to be going well for a long-term recovery.

William had a relapse in the summer of 1921, and was admitted to Bath Hospital. Sadly, however, he was not to recover this time, and he passed away on 20th June. He had just turned 30 years old.

William James Pothecary was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Frome.

The Somerset Standard gave a glowing obituary for young William:

Death of an “Old Contemptible”

The was, through the fighting is over, still claims victims from the ranks of survivors. On Monday, Mr William James Pothecary, one of the “Old Contemptibles”, died in the Pensions Hospital at Bath from the effects of wounds which he received in 1915. He was the only son of Mr and Mrs FW Pothecary, of Bath Street, and very deep sympathy is felt with the parents and sisters in their great bereavement. Mt WJ Pothecary was an old Regular.

Nearly twelve years ago he joined the 2nd Seaforths. He was a talented player of the oboe, and it was his love of music which prompted him to become a bandsman in the 2nd Seaforths. He had previously been a bugle boy in the old Volunteers, and afterwards a member of the Territorial Band. And at the time of his death he was one of the most valued players in the Frome Town Military Band.

He went to France with his regiment in 1914. In 1915 he was seriously wounded and buried by a bomb. His condition was critical for a long time, but he slowly recovered and was sent to a convalescent camp in Ireland. He remained there for a considerable time, and when he was deemed medically fit he was sent to France a second time. He continued to serve in France until after the Armistice. He was discharged from the Army in July 1919.

Last year it was necessary for him to undergo a very serious operation in hospital. The operation was successful, and it was hoped there would be a permanent recovery. But on Thursday last there was a recurrence of an old trouble, and he was removed to Bath Hospital, where he died on Monday morning.

He was a talented and promising young fellow, and his death is deeply deplored by his many friends, and not least by his fellow members of the Frome Town Military Band.

Somerset Standard: Friday 24th June 1921
accident, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war

Boy Clifford Day

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Boy Clifford Day

Clifford Day was born on 27th November 1897 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. He was one of eleven children to John and Sophia Day. John initially worked as a general labourer for a stonemason, but by the time of the 1911 census, he had begun working for a gas company. The family, at this point, were living in a five-room house a short distance from the town centre.

Living in a large household, a dream of escape may have fermented in young Clifford’s mind. To see some of the world, he joined the Royal Navy on 3rd September 1913. Given he was only fifteen, he was too young to formally enlist, but he was given the rank of Boy, and set to work.

Clifford’s service papers confirmed that he stood at 4ft 11ins (1.48m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. It was also noted that he had a scar on his forehead.

Boy Day’s service began on HMS Impregnable, where he spent nine months learning the ropes. He moved on to HMS Gibraltar in May 1914, before transferring to HMS Vivid – the shore-based establishment in Devonport – at the outbreak of the First World War.

On 3rd October 1914, Clifford was assigned to the battlecruiser HMS Tiger. He was on board for only three weeks, when he was taken back to HMS Vivid, and sent to the Naval Hospital there. He was admitted with a fractured skull, sadly passing the next day – the 26th October 1914 – at the age of just 16 years old. I’ve been unable to locate any further information about his injury, other than that an inquest found that it was accidental death.

Clifford Day was brought back to Weston-super-Mare for burial. He was laid to rest in the Milton Road Cemetery in the town.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, Somerset, story, war

Private Charlie Badman

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Private Charlie Badman

Charles Badman – better known as Charlie – was born in 1895 in the Somerset seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. His parents were stonemason Henry Badman and his wife Caroline.

Unfortunately, there is little documented information about Charlie’s early life. By the time of the 1911 census, the family were living in a terraced house in Clevedon Road, Weston-super-Mare, a short distance from the sea. Charlie’s four oldest brothers had left home by this point, but his other two siblings – his dressmaker sister Martha and his plasterer brother Arthur – were still living with their parents. Charlie, at this point, was still at school.

When war was declared, Charlie was keen to do his bit. He enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and was assigned to the 65th Field Ambulance as a Private. This section was connected to the 21st Division, which saw action on the Western Front at Loos, the Somme, Arras, Passchendaele and Cambrai, although it is not possible to determine how Private Badman was involved in these battles. He was awarded, however, the Victory and British Medals for his service.

The only other concrete information available for Charlie is the inscription on his gravestone. This confirms that he was wounded in France on 7th September 1918. It seems that he was medically evacuated to England, and was admitted to a military hospital in Bristol, not far from his family in Somerset.

Sadly, it seems that his wounds proved too severe; he died at the hospital five months later, on 4th February 1919, aged just 25 years old.

Charlie Badman was brought back to Weston-super-Mare for burial. He lies at rest in the Milton Road Cemetery in the town.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, London, Machine Gun Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Percy Coward

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Private Percy Coward

Percy Herbert Coward was born in the Wiltshire town of Westbury in the autumn of 1896. He was one of seven children – all boys – to Lily Coward and her weaver husband Charles. Not long after Percy was born, the family moved across the county border to Frome, Somerset, presumably for Charles’ work.

By the time of the 1911 census, the Coward family were living in a five-room end-of-terrace cottage on the outskirts of the town. Charles and Percy were both working as warpers – threading looms – in the cloth industry; two of his brothers were working for a printer in the town. Percy was proving himself an integral part of the community.

[Percy] was very highly esteemed by a large circle of acquaintances… He was a worker with the YMCA and Frome Brotherhood, a member of the band and in other directions showed himself a young man of much promise. He was employed successively at Messrs Houston’s [Woollen Mill] and at the Silk Factory.

Somerset Standard: Friday 26th April 1918

An active member of the town’s territorial force, when the Great War broke out he was mobilised. Initially attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps, he subsequently served with the Royal Army Service Corps and the North Staffordshire Regiment, before obtaining his final transfer to the 42nd Company of the Machine Gun Corps.

During his time in the army, Private Coward would have seen action in some of the fiercest battles of the war – at the Somme, Arras and Ypres. In the spring of 1918, his battalion was involved in the Battles of St Quentin and the Avre, and it was during this last skirmish that he was wounded.

Percy’s injuries were severe enough for him to be medically evacuated back to England and, once there, he was admitted to the Royal Woolwich Hospital in South London. His wounds were to prove too much for him, however, and he passed away at the hospital on 12th April 1918. He was just 21 years of age.

Percy Herbert Coward was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the Dissenters’ Cemetery, Vallis Road, within walking distance of his family home.