Category Archives: unknown

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Farrier, Great War, history, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Sergeant, story, unknown, war

Farrier Serjeant William Inkpen

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Farrier Serjeant William Inkpen

In the cemetery of the Dorset town of Gillingham, is a headstone dedicated to the memory of Farrier Sergeant William Inkpen of the Royal Field Artillery, who died on 13th July 1915. Despite his unusual name, it is a challenge to piece together his early life. There are a number of men by the name William Inkpen in the Dorset area, and without confirmation of his age or his parents’ details, there are too many varying records to construct a timeline.

William’s entry in the British Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects suggests that his beneficiary was his widow, Rose, but there are no documents on which they both appear.

An entry in the Southern Times and Dorset County Herald notes that Farrier Sergeant Inkpen died at the Bourton Military Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, and that he was 50 years old when he passed. There is a paper trail for a William Charles Inkpen who worked as a farrier in London and Middlesex, but Rose does not appear in them, and he was, in fact, married to Helen Wood, with four children: Charles, Elsie, Ivy and Cecil. This William was one of six children, and all of them were boys.

Ultimately, with no documentation relating to his time in the army, it is impossible to piece together William’s life for certain. Much of that life he took with him to his grave, in the Dorset cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Wicklow, Great War, history, India, Ireland, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Artillery, Royal Field Artillery, South Africa, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Gunner Robert Dobson

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Gunner Robert Dobson

In the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire, is a headstone dedicated to the memory of Gunner R Dobson of the Royal Field Artillery. The early life of Robert Dobson, however, is a challenge to unpick.

Born in Kilbride, County Wicklow, in 1873, he was the son of John Dobson and, according to his later service papers, he had three brothers: William, John Jr and Richard.

When he finished his schooling, Robert found work as a gamekeeper, but he wanted more adventure, and, on 27th April 1891, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. Given the rank of Gunner, his papers note that he was a little over 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 150lbs (68kg). A Presbyterian, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Gunner Dobson signed up for a period of seven years, and during this time he travelled the world. From March 1893, he was based in India, but was invalided home for reasons unclear in November 1894. He would remain on home soil for the next three years, and was stood down to reserve status in April 1898.

While back on home soil, love had blossomed and, on the 14th May 1898, Robert married Mary Bull. A labourer’s daughter from Steeple Ashton, the couple wed in the parish church. Robert gave his address as the same village, and, given the proximity of the garrison town of Trowbridge, it is likely a local posting is how the couple met.

On 3rd November 1899, Gunner Dobson was called into duty once more. Attached to the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Field Artillery, his unit headed to South Africa, and he was quickly caught up in the Boer War. He would remain overseas until the spring of 1901, at which point he returned to Britain once more.

After a total of twelve years’ service, Robert was formally stood down from army service on 26th April 1903, returning to Steeple Ashton and Mary. The 1911 census – the only one of the four returns taken during his lifetime on which he appeared – found the couple living in a cottage on Common Hill, to the north of the village centre. Robert, now 38 years old, was working as a farm labourer.

When war broke out in Europe, Robert stepped up to serve his country once more. He initially re-joined his old unit, but seems to have transferred over the Labour Corps, and was attached to the 95th Company. His service records for this period have been lost, so it is unclear when or how he served.

Robert survived the conflict, but would pass away on 28th July 1919. The cause of his passing is unclear, but he was 46 years of age when he died.

The body of Robert Dobson was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Steeple Ashton.

Caithness, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Lanarkshire, photography, Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Reserves, Scotland, sister, story, unknown, war, West Midlands

Sister Christina Jack

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Sister Christina Jack

Christina Jack was born in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, on the 19th December 1882. One of eight children, her parents were Donald and Margaret Jack. Donald was a merchant and rope maker, and the family lived on Bank Street, to the north of the town centre.

Margaret died in 1907, by which point Christina had taken a job in nursing. The 1911 census found her in Govan, Lanarkshire, where she was employed as a registered general nurse. When war broke out, she volunteered to do her duty, and joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service.

Sister Jack remained on home soil, and was attached to the 1st Birmingham War Hospital in Rednal. Nursing staff were vulnerable to the infections and diseases of the men they were treating, and it appears that Christina was not immune to this. She passed away on 22nd October 1918, at the age of 35 years old.

The body of Christina Jack was taken back to Caithness for burial. She was laid to rest in Thurso Cemetery, on the outskirts of the town in which she had been born and raised.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Nottinghamshire, photography, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Scotland, Staff Sergeant, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Staff Serjeant George Brent

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Staff Serjeant George Brent

George Brent was born in the autumn of 1887 in Bratton, Wiltshire, and was the only child to George and Naomi Brent. Census records humbly record George Sr was a wool carder, although he actually ran Luccombe Mill, the family living in the substantial Luccombe House.

George had been widowed in the 1870s, and was thirty-four years older than his second wife, Naomi. When he died in 1900, she was left to raise her teenaged son. She was not on her own, however, the 1901 census recording her as living on her own means, and with servant Eliza Whately to support her.

Education was important to Naomi, and by the time of the 1911 census, George was working as a draughtsman and designer for an engineering company. War was on the horizon, however, and he would step up to serve his country.

George enlisted in the Army Ordnance Corps, and served in the Balkans from October 1915. Full details of his time in the army have been lost, but he rose through the ranks and, by the summer of 1918, he was a Staff Serjeant.

At some point love blossomed and, George married a woman called Edith. Sadly, her life is destined to remain a mystery: she is noted as being George’s widow on his probate record and his beneficiary in the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects.

Staff Serjeant Brent’s health seems to have suffered after three years in the eastern Mediterranean. He was admitted to the military hospital in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, although his condition is unclear. He passed away on 3rd September 1918, at the age of 30 years old.

The body of George Brent was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Bratton Baptist Chapelyard, not far from Luccombe House.

George left an estate of £978 16s 6d (approx. £58,000 in today’s money) to his widow. Naomi must have taken some comfort in Edith’s presence: the 1921 census found them living in Luccombe House.

The census sheds some light on Edith’s background, noting that she was born in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire. Interestingly, she and Naomi have two visitors: widow Helen Harrower (aged 65) and Helen Georgina Harrower (aged 32). The younger Helen was also born in Grangemouth, and it appears that the visitors were Edith’s mother and sister.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Egypt, Great War, Gurkha Rifles, history, India, Lancashire, Lieutenant, photography, story, unknown, war

Lieutenant Walter Thompson

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Lieutenant Walter Thompson

In the picturesque cemetery of St Mary’s Church, Mortehoe, Devon, is a headstone commemorating Walter Stuart Thompson. The stone notes that he died on the 16th April 1920, and that he was in his 29th year. He is recorded as being the youngest son of the late Reverend Walter Thompson from West Didsbury, Lancashire. His mother is also noted as being buried with him.

A baptism record for Christ Church, Didsbury, confirms that Walter was christened on 22nd November 1891, and gives his parents’ names as Walter and Mary Elizabeth Thompson. The family do not appear in any census records but, given that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records note that Walter was a Lieutenant in the 2nd King Edward’s Own Gurkha Rifles, it is possible that they emigrated in the years following his birth.

During the First World War, Lieutenant Thompson’s regiment fought on the Western Front, in Egypt and in India. As his service records no longer exist, it is unclear when or how Walter served, but it is clear that he survived the conflict, and returned to Britain at the end of the war.

What the connection was to Devon is again unclear, although it seems possible that Walter was sent there for health reasons. His passing does not appear in any contemporary newspapers, so is unlikely to have been anything out of the ordinary.

The life of Walter Stuart Thompson, therefore, is destined to remain a mystery, buried with him in the tranquil cemetery on the north Devon coast.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Hussars, photography, Private, story, Surrey, Sussex, unknown, war

Private Simeon Tulley

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Private Simeon Tulley

Simeon Tulley was born in Caterham, Surrey, in the summer of 1891. The middle of five children, he was the oldest son to Simeon and Mary Tulley. Simeon Sr was a farmer, and the family moved to where his work took him. The 1901 census found the Tulleys living in Keymer, Sussex, while the next return, taken in 1911, recorded them at Blackbrook Farm, near Hassocks, Sussex.

When Simeon Jr finished his schooling, he also found work on the farm. At the outbreak of war, however, he stepped up to serve his country. His service records have been lost to time, but he had joined the 15th (The King’s) Hussars during the open weeks of the conflict.

Private Tulley was sent to Longmoor Camp, near Petersfield, Hampshire, for his training and it is at this point that his trail goes cold. He passed away on 4th February 1915, at the age of 23 years old.

The body of Simeon Tulley was taken back to Sussex for burial. The family had moved to Coates Farm, Durrington, by this point, and he was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, Worthing.

Private Simeon Tulley
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Albert Rogers

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Private Albert Rogers

Albert Victor Rogers was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on 2nd June 1897. The middle of three children, he was the older son to Edward and Elizabeth Rogers. A Liverpudlian, Edward worked as a carter for a flour mill, and the family lived in Lower Westwood, to the west of Trowbridge itself.

By 1911, the Rogers family had relocated to the centre of Trowbridge, and were living in a small cottage at 3 Church Street. Edward was now employed as a mason’s labourer, while Albert’s sister, Amy, had taken a job as a wool and worsted piecer for a local cloth mill. Albert, just thirteen years of age, was likely in his last year at school.

Albert’s military records are limited. They note that, as a Private, he was attached to Wiltshire Regiment Depot, and the he died in a military hospital on 8th November 1918. He was just 21 years of age. Details of his passing and funeral do not appear in any local contemporary newspapers, so it is unclear how he passed.

The body of Albert Victor Rogers was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Trowbridge Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

By the time of the 1921 census Edward had also died. The document recorded Elizabeth living in a cottage at 85 Mortimer Street, Trowbridge, and that she was employed as a waste picker for Salter & Co, a wool manufacturer.

The four-roomed property was a busy place, which Elizabeth shared with her surviving son, Leslie, brother Arthur Hobbs, and niece Gladys Rogers. Amy had also died by this point, and so Elizabeth had opened her home to her three grandchildren Leonard, Doris and Victor.

[My thanks go to Rob Clarke for his invaluable information about Albert’s life and family.]

Bugler, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, Sussex, unknown, war

Private Eric Fullilove

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Private Eric Fullilove

Eric William Fullilove was born in the Kent town of Deal on 25th April 1897. The middle of three children, his parents were Harry and Sarah Fullilove. Harry was a Sergeant in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and by the turn of the century, the family had rooms at 16 Victoria Street, not far from the seafront.

Harry retired from military service, and the family moved to West Sussex. The 1911 census found the family living in a house on West Street in Worthing. Harry was now working as a bath attendant for the borough council, while Eric was being paid for being an errand boy when he wasn’t at school. The family had four visitors, Henry and Stanley Parsloe from Devon, and Florence and Margaret Gill from London.

Eric sought adventure in his life, and, on the day after his fourteenth birthday, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry as a Bugler. His service papers show that he was just 5ft (1.52m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion.

Bugler Fullilove was assigned to the newly commissioned HMS Princess Royal, and would remain attached to her for the next four years. n the spring of 1915, he moved ashore, and was based in barracks in Portsmouth, Hampshire. While there, he came of age, and formally inducted into the Royal Marines. Now a Private, his papers show that he had grown 8.5ins (22cm).

Over the next five years, Eric served on two different vessels, returning to his Hampshire base in between assignments. His annual reviews noted a very good character, and a satisfactory/superior ability. Private Fullilove survived the conflict, but his health seems to have been impacted, and he was invalided out of the service on 1st April 1920.

Eric William Fullilove returned home, and his trail goes cold. He passed away on 23rd August 1920, through causes unconfirmed: he was 23 years of age. He was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, to the north of Worthing, West Sussex.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Sussex Regiment, story, Surrey, Sussex, unknown, war

Private Frederick Searle

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Private Frederick Searle

Frederick George Searle was born in the Sussex village of Warminghurst in the spring of 1894. One of thirteen children, his parents were William and Annie Searle.

William was a carter, and moved the family to where the work was. The 1901 census found the Searles living in Wiggonholt, between Pulborough and Storrington. By 1911, however, they had moved south, and were living in a cottage on the golf links in Broadwater, to the north of Worthing.

By this point, William was employed as a carter at the golf course, while three of the Searle children were also working at the club. Frederick – now 16 years of age, was a caddie, while his older brothers did mainly grounds work.

As one of thirteen siblings, Frederick was keen to make his own mark on the world and, on 24th September 1912, he enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment. His papers show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, and weighed 121lbs (54.9kg). He had light brown hair, grey eyes, and a number of scars – two on his back, one on the left side of his head and one at the base of his right forefinger.

When war broke out, Private Searle’s unit – the 2nd Battalion – was sent to France. He survived the Battle of Mons and subsequent retreat, but was badly wounded in the left arm on 13th November 1914, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Frederick was moved to a depot while he recuperated, but because of his injury, he was formally discharged from the army on 30th April 1915.

Frederick returned to Sussex, and family life. In time, he took up his role on the golf club once more, but this seemed not to be enough for him. On 31st May 1917, he re-enlisted, joining the Mechanical Transport unit of the Army Service Corps as a Private. He was posted to Isleworth, Surrey, but his injury seemed to still be nagging at him. Despite his best efforts, and with the support of his superiors, at the end of August he took the decision to stand down, and was discharged from duty once more.

At this point, Frederick’s trail goes cold. What can be confirmed is that he passed away on 28th June 1919: he was 25 years of age.

The body of Frederick George Searle, former Private in two regiments, was laid to rest in the family plot in Broadwater Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Royal Navy, Ship's Steward, story, unknown, war

Ship’s Steward Joseph Williams

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Ship’s Steward Joseph Williams

In the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, is the grave of Ship’s Steward J Williams, of HMT (or Hired Military Transport) Slav, who died on 4th June 1916, at the age of 53 years old.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission confirms that his first name was Joseph, but their documents do not confirm a place of birth or any relative’s names.

No crew records remain for the Slav, and she was not scrapped until after the war. There are no articles or obituaries in contemporary newspapers for Joseph’s funeral.

The life and times of Ship’s Steward Joseph Williams are therefore destined to remain a mystery, taken with him to the grave in that Kent cemetery.