Frederick Charles Hopkins was born in the spring of 1898 in the sleepy Somerset village of Hinton Charterhouse. The younger of two children, his parents were Charles and Ellen Hopkins. Charles was a gardener who, not long after the 1911 census, moved the family west, to the village of Backwell.
When Frederick finished his schooling, he found work as a porter. When war broke out, however, he was keen to play his part, and enlisted at the end of December 1914. His service records note that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, and that his apparent age was 19 years and one month. This highlights Frederick’s keenness to fight, as he was actually over two years younger than this at the time he signed the paperwork.
Private Hopkins was attached to the Gloucestershire Regiment, and assigned to the 12th (Service) Battalion. After his initial training on Salisbury, his troop was sent to the Western Front on 21st November 1915.
Frederick would have been involved in a number of the key skirmishes at the Somme, in July 1916, including at Albert and Bazentin. An epitaph on his gravestone suggests that he was injured at Delville Wood, although while his battalion was not actually involved in that specific battle, it is likely that he was injured at around the same time.
Wherever he was wounded, Private Hopkins was sent back to Britain. His service records suggest that he was transferred to the regimental depot but by July 1917, he was medically discharged from the army as being no longer fit for active service.
At this point, Frederick’s trail goes cold. He passed away on 8th September 1917, aged just 19 years old. He was buried in the peaceful St Andrew’s Churchyard in his adopted home village of Backwell.
Reginald Cuthbert Langford was born in Frome, Somerset, in the spring of 1899, the youngest of thirteen children to Albert and Charlotte Langford. Albert was a chalk seller turned jobbing gardener, who, by the time of the 1911 census, had moved the family to Bath.
Reginald appears to have helped his father with his work when he finished his schooling, but, during the First World War, he enlisted in the Royal Engineers as a Driver. His service records no longer remain, but a later newspaper report shed some light onto his time in the army: “[He] enlisted when he was just over 16, and went to the Wessex Engineers to Salonica. He returned to England and then went to France with the Glamorgan Engineers.” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 16th October 1920]
All did not fare well for Driver Langford: he contracted malaria and dysentery, and a combination of the conditions led to his ultimate discharge from the army. He left the Royal Engineers on 24th June 1919, and returned home to Somerset.
When he had recovered his health, Reginald took up employment as a gardener once more. On September 1920, he was in the employ of a Mr J Milburn, in Bath, when he felt a nail drive through his boot, scratching his foot. The following Tuesday, he visited his doctor – a Mr John Jarvis – complaining that his malaria had returned. According to a later inquest:
[He] did not make any mention of a wound in the foot. On Thursday, at about 10 o’clock, [Jarvis] was asked to go and see Langford, who was in bed. He was covered with a cold sweat, he could speak only with difficulty, and complained that he could not swallow anything, especially the medicine… His limbs were rigid, but he had not all the symptoms of tetanus. [Jarvis] decided to send Langford to the hospital at once, suspecting that he was suffering from tetanus. He did not know till later that there was an injury to [Reginald’s] foot.
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 16th October 1920
Reginald’s landlady, Amelia Baily, also gave evidence at the inquest:
Langford had lodged with her for about nine months. His inly complaint was of his head when he had malaria… He came home saying his foot was sore and that he had thought it was gathering. He had hot water to soak it, and he did the same the next night, an afterwards sad it was alright… he went to work, but returned at dinner time again complaining of his head and perspiring terribly. He was ill and witness looked after him during the night. He complained of pains in the stomach and aid they were going up to the throat. Next morning [Amelia] sent for the doctor.
Questioned as to the injury to Langford’s foot, [she] said he told her he had a nail enter the toe while he was in the army, and that it was festering again. He wad worn the army boots up to just before he became ill, when he bought new ones.
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 16th October 1920
Admitted to the Pensions Hospital, Bath, Reginald was to be there only one day. He passed away on 8th October 1920, aged just 21 years old. Medical evidence at the inquest diagnosed tetanus as the cause of his death, but Reginald’s older brother, George, contested this.
George’s challenge was that, having some medical background, he felt that his brother’s death was caused not by tetanus, but by malaria. He was a sufferer himself, and he knew the symptoms. He had examined Reginald’s body, and could not see how the small scratch on his foot could have induced tetanus to the extent of causing his brother’s passing.
The Coroner at the inquest, a Mr F Shum, declined George’s assertion, on the basis that separate medics had determined tetanus as the cause:
“It may not have been from the foot, but the evidence is clear. Dr Jarvis said he formed the opinion before any suggestion was made to him, that the man was suffering from tetanus. He saw the symptoms, and the man was brought here [to the Pensioner’s Hospital]. Two doctors saw him here and came to the same conclusion, and a medical specialist confirmed the diagnosis. Therefore, it is quite clear to me, and my verdict will be that he died from tetanus. It is a very unfortunate thing, and I am sorry for you.
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 16th October 1920
George’s challenge was as much about the financial aspect as it was his late brother’s wellbeing. Had Reginald’s death been the result of malaria, it could have been attributable to his military service, and therefore any funeral costs – or at least a proportion of them – would have been paid for by the army. As the inquest had identified tetanus as the cause of his passing, however, the family would have to pay for the burial themselves.
Following the inquest, Reginald’s funeral was held: he was laid to rest in the sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, Bath, not far from where his bereaved family still lived.
There are two other intriguing aspects of Reginald’s case.
The first is that of his being awarded a war grave. Amongst other criteria, which can be seen here, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) are responsible for the commemoration of personal who died after they were discharged from a Commonwealth military force, if their death was caused by their wartime service.
Based on the inquest, Reginald’s passing was clearly not – the tetanus having come on after his medical discharge for malaria and dysentery. Technically, therefore, his should not be designated a war grave.
The second confusing thing is that of the date on Reginald’s headstone. The CWGC headstone gives the date of his death as 13th October 1920, as do his grave registration documents. While newspaper reports are not always a reliable source of information, the first media report of the inquest came on Tuesday 12th October.
The Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette article confirms that Dr Jarvis’ visit to Reginald was on Thursday 7th October. He was admitted to hospital straight away, “where he died the following day” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 16th October 1920]. This would suggest that Reginald died on Friday 8th October.
While the newspapers do not confirm the date of the inquest, it is likely to have been held soon after Reginald’s passing. The date provided by the CWGC, therefore, looks to be either that of the conclusion of the inquest, or of Reginald’s burial.
Reginald John Murdin’s early life is one of contradictions. Born in 1899, his parents were George White and Lily Murdin, and he is recorded with both surnames in documents from the time. George was a iron ore labourer from Northamptonshire, and is was in Woodford, near Kettering, that the family were raised.
When he finished his schooling, Reginald followed George into iron ore and, by the time war broke out he was in the employ of the Islip Iron Company Ltd. Keen to play his part, Reginald enlisted in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps on 29th January 1916.
While it’s not possible to fully identify Rifleman Murdin’s service, he was certainly caught up on the Western Front by the autumn of 1918. It was here that he was injured by “a shell which burst about two yards from him, wounding him severely in the thigh.” [Midland Mail: Friday 15th November 1918]
Reginald was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the Bath War Hospital in Somerset. Sadly, his wounds were to prove to severe, and he passed away on 2nd November 1918: he was just 19 years of age.
Reginald John Murdin was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery.
Godfrey George Beames was born in the spring of 1891, in Henbury, Gloucestershire. One of eleven children, his parents were Thomas and Minnie Beames. Thomas was in the navy, which meant that Minnie was left to her own devices a lot of the time. While her husband came home often enough for them to build a large family, the 1891 and 1901 censuses record Minnie and the children living with her farm labourer brother-in-law, George Watkins.
The 1911 census gives the same information for Minnie and the children – living with George in Redwick, Gloucestershire. Minnie is, however, noted as a widow, although this seems to be out of convenience, as the now naval pensioner Thomas was living with his wife of eight years, Louisa, in Arundel, West Sussex.
Godfrey, now 21 years old, was working as a farm labourer. In the autumn of 1913, he married a woman called Lily Ball, although little information about her remains today. War was coming to Europe, and things were to change for the young couple.
Godfrey stepped up to play his part. While his full service records no longer exist, what remains paints a picture of his time in the army. He had enlisted by the spring of 1917, joining the Royal Engineers. At some point, however, he moved to the Worcestershire Regiment, and was assigned to the 10th (Service) Battalion.
While it’s not possible to determine exactly where Private Beames fought, he was definitely caught up in the fighting on the Western Front and, by October 1917, was entrenched at Passchendaele. It was here that he was wounded, and he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment.
Private Beames was admitted to the General Hospital in Nottingham, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He died on 15th November 1917, at the age of just 26 years old.
Godfrey George Beames’ body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Ss Mary and Peter’s Church in Winford, where Lily was now living.
Gilbert John Patch was born in Winford, Somerset, on 3rd July 1888. The third of seven children, his parents were haulier Robert Patch and his wife Ann.
Gilbert followed his father into carting work, but the opportunity of a bigger and better life presented itself. In the spring of 1913, he emigrated to Canada, to find land and work as a farmer. He settled in the hamlet of Caron, Saskatchewan with a friend from home, Percy Worle.
Gilbert’s time overseas was not to be a length one, however. When Europe went to war, the empire was called upon and, on 1st April 1916, Gilbert enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, with blue eyes, fair hair and a medium complexion.
After his training, Private Patch arrived in France on 28th December 1916, and was assigned to the 28th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry – the same troop as his friend, Percy. During the Capture of Hill 70 in May 1917, Percy was killed and Gilbert himself was badly injured, receiving shrapnel wounds to his head, left arm and right leg.
Private Patch was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. He was admitted to the Clopton House War Hospital in Stratford-upon-Avon, and while his wounds were treated, within a couple of weeks, he was dangerously ill with a kidney infection. The combination proved too much for his body to take, and Gilbert died on 23rd May 1917. He was 28 years of age.
Gilbert John Patch’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of the local parish church, St Mary & St Peter’s, in his home village of Winford.
Albert Sharp was born in Rugeley, Staffordshire, in the summer of 1894. One of six children, his parents were George, who was a house painter, and Janet Sharp. When he left school, Albert found work as a bricklayer’s labourer, but, when war was declared, he sought a new adventure.
Albert enlisted in the army on 21st February 1916. Assigned to the North Staffordshire Regiment, he was initially attached to the 5th Battalion. His medical records show that Private Sharp was 5ft 6ins (1.6m) tall, and weighed 122lbs (553kg).
By November 1916, Albert found himself in France. Unusually, his life over the next couple of years is pretty well documented. His battalion saw action at the Hindenburg Line, the Third Battles of Ypres, Cambrai and the Third Battles of the Somme, but Private Sharp’s service records shed more light onto his life than simply where he fought.
Albert seems to have been a bit of a character, and this got him into trouble on more than one occasion. On 9th November 1916, he was confined to barracks for two days, for having untidy bedding and no towel on his bed. The following day, he was punished with another two days’ confinement for not attending his battalion’s role call.
On 18th December 1916, Private Sharp found himself in trouble again. This time, he was confined to barracks for five days for appearing dirty on parade, and committing a nuisance. Four days later, Albert was admitted to the camp hospital for reasons that are unclear. He returned to his unit just under a week later.
At the end of February 1917, Private Sharp transferred to the 31st Light Railway Operating Company of the Royal Engineers. He remained with the battalion for just under a year, although again his time there was not without incident. On 31st August 1917, Albert was confined to barracks for seven days for being absent from parade. The same punishment was meted out for the same offence on 8th January 1918.
Later that month, Private Sharp re-joined the North Staffordshire Regiment, and was this time attached to the 9th Battalion. He remained on the Western Front and was caught up in some of the fiercest fighting of the closing months of the conflict.
On 12th May 1918, Albert was caught up in a gas attack. Seriously injured, he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment and admitted to the Bath War Hospital on 29th May. The next six months saw a slow and steady decline in his health. He passed away at 5:45am on 12th November 1918, the day after the Armistice was signed, from a combination of pneumonia and emphysema that was directly attributable to his injuries in France. Albert was 24 years of age.
It seems likely that Albert’s family were unable to pay for his body to be taken back to Staffordshire for burial. His service records give only his mother, Janet, as a next of kin, so it would seem that George had passed away by the time Albert enlisted. For some reason, however, while the British Register of Army Effects note that Private Sharp has effects to the value of £39 10s (£2250 in today’s money), this amount does not appear to have been paid. Janet passed away in the early 1920s, and Albert’s brother continued to try and obtain this gratuity on her behalf, but seems to have been unsuccessful.
Albert’s family did get his belongings when he died, however, which came to a postal order for 2s (around £3 today), 50 French centimes, a leather purse, two combs, two jack knives, a razor, a shaving brush, a toothbrush, two briar pipes and a pouch of tobacco, a nickel cigarette case, a text book, a wallet containing his pay book, his cap badge and six letters.
Unable to afford to bring Albert Sharp’s body back to his home town, he was, instead, laid to rest in the sweeping vista of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from the hospital in which he had breathed his last.
William George MacPherson was born in the township of Greenway, Huron County, Ontario, on 24th September 1893. The eighth of nine children, his parents were farmer Edmund Macpherson and his wife, Sarah, who was better known by her middle name, Keren (short for Kerenhappuch).
Edmund was the fourth generation of the family to be born in Canada, his maternal great grandfather having emigrated from Scotland to Nova Scotia in the late 1770s. Sarah was the first generation of her family to be born in North America, her parents having moved there in the 1850s.
After he finished his schooling, William followed his father into farming. When war broke out in Europe, the Empire was called upon to serve their King. On 7th January 1916, William enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His service records show that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall and weighed 150lbs (68kg). He was noted a having dark hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.
Private MacPherson set sail from Halifax on 22nd August 1916, and arrived in Liverpool eight days later. His troop was based in Witley, Surrey, and it was here, while attached to the 125 Battalion of the Canadian Infantry, that William spent the winter.
On 23rd May 1917, Private MacPherson was transferred to the 4th Battalion, and set sail for France. He was to spend the summer at Ypres, where he encountered some of the bloodiest fighting of the conflict. William was not to be unscathed, and was wounded in his shoulder and neck on 6th November 1917.
William was initially treated at the No. 2 State Hospital at Abbeville. Dangerously ill, though, he was medically evacuated to Britain, on board the Hospital Ship Essequibo, from Le Havre to Shornescliffe. Private MacPherson was quickly moved to Somerset, and was admitted to the Bath War Hospital. Tetanus set in, and he died of his wounds on 21st December 1917. He was 24 years of age.
With his family thousands of miles away, William George MacPherson was laid to rest in the Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath, not far from the hospital in which he had breathed his last.
James Baker was born in 1884, and was the youngest of three children to William and Martha Baker. The family were from Kentisbeare in Devon, and tragedy was to strike James early in life, when Martha passed away in 1890, followed by William just five years later.
By the time of the 1901 census, James had moved to the nearby village of Uffculme, where he was employed as a cowman on William Stevens’ farm. At the same time, he was gaining some military experience, volunteering for the Devonshire Regiment. This seemed to offer him a way out, and on 19th October 1903, he formally enlisted in the army.
Private Baker’s service records show that he was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, and weighed 127lbs (57.6kg). He had blue eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. James served for 16 months on home soil, but was sent to India in February 1905. He remained there until November 1906, when he returned to England’s shores once more.
James was transferred to the Army Reserve at this point, and returned to farm labouring. He found work in Somerset and, on 31st December 1910, he married Clara Pike. She was the daughter of a farm labourer, and the following year’s census found the newlyweds living with Clara’s widowed father, George, in Tapper’s Lane, North Petherton. James and Clara had a daughter, Clara, who was born in July 1912.
When war came to Europe, James was mobilised once more, and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion in the Devonshire Regiment. Within weeks of conflict erupting, he was in France, remaining there for six months. Over the next four years, Private Baker had two further tours of duty in France, as well as spending considerable time on the Home Front. He had a number of bouts in hospital, suffering from rheumatism, particularly in the winter months.
In the spring of 1918, Private James was caught up in the actions of Villers-Bretonneux, to the east of Amiens. He was badly wounded in the chest and abdomen, and medically evacuated to Britain. He was admitted to the 3rd Western General Hospital in Cardiff, where he spent time recovering. He was declared unlikely to be fully fit for war service, and, on 5th August 1918, he was formally discharged from military duty.
At this point, James’ trail goes cold. He returned to Somerset, and settled back into family life with his wife, daughter and son, Sidney, who had been born in 1915. James passed away at home, through causes unknown, on 27th September 1919, at the age of 35 years of age.
James Baker was laid to rest in the peaceful North Petherton Cemetery, within walking distance from the family home.
Francis Frederick Herbert Rich was born in Sherborne, Dorset, in the spring of 1896. The youngest of three children, his parents were Frederick and Alice Rich. Frederick was a grocer’s assistant, who had left Sherborne by the time of the 1901 census for Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, to find work. Alice remained with their children, but, by 1911, the family were back together and living in Bridgwater.
Frederick was now working as a grocer, and his two daughters were employed as pressers in a local blouse factory. Frederick, meanwhile, was apprenticed to an outfitter’s in the town.
War came to Europe, and Francis stepped up to service his King and Country. Full details of his time in the army are lost to time, but it is clear that he joined the Royal Engineers, and was attached to the 20th Territorial Force Depot. This was based in Pier Road, Gillingham, Kent, but it seems likely that he spent at least some time overseas.
A contemporary newspaper suggested that he worked as a dispatch rider for his battalion. The location of his passing – the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley, near Southampton – would intimate that he had been brought there from the Western Front, having been wounded there.
Corporal Rich had been awarded the Military Medal before he passed, although again, the reason for this award is lost to the ages. He died, through causes unknown, on 16th May 1918, at the age of just 22 years old.
The body of Francis Frederick Herbert Rich was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in North Petherton Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived, on Taunton Road, Bridgwater.
Gilbert Henry Hurford was born in the spring of 1896, the second of five children to George and Elizabeth. George was a farmer from North Petherton, Somerset, but it was on Parsonage Farm, in nearby Kingston St Mary, that the family were raised.
Gilbert was helping his father on the farm when war broke out. At the time he was also a volunteer in the West Somerset Yeomanry, and in May 1916, he stepped up to play a full part in the conflict. His service records confirm that he was assigned to the 22nd (Service) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.
Private Hurford spent the first six months of his service on home soil, before being shipped off to Europe on 1st December 1916. He had not been in France for long when, on 10th February 1917, he was injured. His documents confirm this was a gun shot wound to his head, but, as he was treated on site, it thankfully appears not to have been too serious an injury.
Trouble struck a second time, however, on 4th September 1918, when Gilbert was injured again. This time his records confirm multiple gun shot wounds, and he was medically evacuated home for treatment. He was admitted to the 3rd Southern General Hospital in Oxford, and remained there for some three months.
This time, Private Hurford’s injuries proved too severe for his body to overcome. He passed away on 29th December 1918, at the age of just 22 years old.
Gilbert Henry Hurford’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful churchyard of St Mary’s Church, in his home village of Kingston St Mary.
Death and Service 