Category Archives: unknown

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

Private Frederick Jury

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Private Frederick Jury

Frederick Jury was born in 1882, the oldest of four children to William and Lucy. William was a farm labourer from Minehead, Somerset, and this is where the young couple raised their family.

When he left school, Frederick found work as a labourer for a stonemason, but he had his sights on a higher calling. In March 1903, he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry and, after two years’ service, he was assigned to the Army Reserve.

By the time of the 1911 census, Lucy has been widowed; she was working as a charwoman in Minehead and living in a small cottage with her youngest daughter – Frederick’s youngest sister – Alice. Sadly, there is no record to confirm where Frederick was at this time.

When war broke out, Private Jury was called back into service. He was dispatched to France on 19th September 1914, and served there with his regiment for eight months before returning to England in May 1915 and transferring across to the Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps.

Private Jury’s time in the army seems to have been a troubled one. He was pulled up at least six times between 1903 and 1905, for being absent from parade, and for smoking in the stables. He was subsequently censured for failing to attend training during both 1910 and 1911, and the list went on into his time on active duty. He was punished for overstaying his pass in July, October and November 1915, for having a rusty rifle on inspection in August 1915 and for quitting his guard duty in January 1916. On each of these latter occasions, he was brought back by the Military Police and fined.

Frederick’s service records also confirm that he was treated in hospital for gonorrhoea in January 1905, something that may well have been par for the course for young soldiers at the time.

The continuous lapses in duty, however, may have proved too much for his regiment, and Frederick was discharge from military service on 8th March 1916.

At this point, Frederick Jury’s trail goes cold. The only further information available is that he died on 13th January 1919, at the age of 38 years old. He was laid to rest at Yeovil Cemetery in his home county of Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Private Frederick Major

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Private Frederick Major

Frederick John Major was born in the spring of 1882, the oldest of seven children to John and Eliza Major. John was a farm labourer and he and Eliza – who was 20 years his junior – raised their family in the Dorset village of Batcombe.

John passed away in 1900, when Frederick was just 18 years old. He was already working as a carter, and continued to live with his mother, helping support her financially, along with his brother and sister.

With war on the horizon, Frederick was keen to do his part. He enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was assigned to the 9th Battalion as a Private. This was a service battalion based in Plymouth, and it is unlikely, therefore, that Private Major saw any active service overseas.

Sadly, Frederick’s time in the army was to be short. He passed away in Somerset on 11th January 1915, aged just 33 years old. No evidence of the cause of his death is documented.

Frederick John Major was laid to rest in Yeovil Cemetery, in the town in which he died.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, Labour Corps, London, photography, Private, story, unknown, war

Private Percival Peacock

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Private Percival Peacock

Percival William Peacock was born in early 1888, the son of Thomas and Louisa Peacock. Little information survives about Percival’s early life, other than that he was one of two children, and that, like his parents, he had been born in Gillingham, Kent. Thomas was a sexton and gravedigger, but Percival found work as a hairdresser.

The 1911 census shows him as head of the household in a cottage in the village of Stone, near Dartford; he was living there with his cousin James and his family.

On 21st April 1913, now living in Kensal Green, North London, Percival married Clara Milton, a labourer’s daughter from just a few doors up.

War was now imminent, but again there is limited information about Percival’s involvement. He did enlist, joining the Labour Corps as a Private, but this seems to have been later in the war. He appears to have served on home soil, although there is nothing to confirm this either way.

The next concrete evidence for Percival is the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects. This confirms that he passed away on 5th December 1918 at the Paddington Military Hospital in London. No cause of death is provided, and the beneficiary given is his father, Thomas. Private Peacock was just 30 years old.

Percival William Peacock was laid to rest in the Grange Road Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent. Hs is commemorated in the nearby Woodlands Cemetery.

Tragedy was not far from the Peacocks’ life. Clara’s mother, Bessie, had passed away just a couple of weeks before Percival. Clara herself died on 5th March 1919, three months after her husband.

Bugler, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Engineers, story, unknown, war

Sapper Frederick Maple

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Sapper Frederick Maple

Frederick John Maple was born in 1896, the middle of three children to Royal Engineers Company Serjeant Major Frederick Maple and his wife Amelia. Frederick Jr was born in Brompton, Gillingham, Kent, but it’s interesting to note that the 1901 census gives Amelia’s place of birth as Canada, while Frederick Sr’s is not known.

Frederick Jr lost his father in 1904, and his mother five years later. At the age of just 13, he was an orphan, and this may have spurred him into finding a career. The next census – taken in 1911 – lists him as a Bugler in the Royal Engineers, barracked within walking distance of where he had grown up.

By the time war had broken out – and having come of age – the now Private Maple was assigned to the 15th Field Company. The regiment fought in a number of the key skirmishes of the war, including the Battles of Neuve Chapelle, the Somme, Loos, Ypres and Arras. Frederick went to France in March 1915, although it is not possible to confirm how or if he was involved in these battles. He was awarded the Victory and British Medals and the 1915 Star for his efforts.

Sadly, the next available document for Frederick is the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects. This confirms that he was admitted to the 2nd London General Hospital in Chelsea, and that he passed away on 29th October 1918. Again, there is no evidence of the cause of his passing, so he may have fallen ill, or been wounded. Either way, Private Maple was just 22 years old when he died.

Frederick John Maple was laid to rest in the Grange Road Cemetery in Gillingham. When this was subsequently turned into a public park, he was commemorated in the neighbouring Woodlands Cemetery.

Army Veterinary Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Private, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Private Joseph Redgrave

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Private Joseph Redgrave

Joseph Redgrave was born at the start of 1897, the youngest of nine children to Charles and Hannah. Tragically, five of Joseph’s siblings passed away and, by the time of the 1911 census, the family were living in a three-roomed cottage within a few minutes’ walk of Charles’ place of work, the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

Sadly, little documentation about Joseph remains. When it comes to his military service, his records confirm that he enlisted prior to November 1916, joining the Army Veterinary Corps as a Private. There is no evidence that he served overseas, but documents place him at the Larkhill Camp just north of Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

Tragically, Private Redgrave died from unrecorded causes at the camp’s hospital on 15th May 1917, at the age of just 20 years old.

Joseph’s body was brought back to Kent; he was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, London, photography, Private, story, Tank Corps, Uncategorized, unknown, war

Private William Jennings

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Private William Jennings

William Gladstone Jennings was born in Kent, in the summer of 1898, the only child of James and Emma Jennings. James was a marine engineer in the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, and it was here that the family lived.

Sadly, due to his age, and the lack of military service documentation, there is little written about William’s life. He was still at school by the time of the 1911 census, and the next records available confirm that he enlisted in the army. The date for this is not available, but it would have been by May 1917 at the latest and he seems to have enlisted with the surname Hickson, which was possibly his mother’s maiden name.

Private Jennings transferred to the Tank Corps when it was formed in July 1917. What his specific role was is lost to time, but it appears that his time in the regiment was short. The next available document is the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects; this confirms that William passed away on 30th October 1917, in the Military Hospital in Woolwich.

There is no confirmation of the cause of his death, but Private Jennings was just 19 years old.

William Gladstone Jennings was brought back to his home town for burial, and he lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, Northamptonshire Regiment, photography, Private, story, unknown, war

Private Charles Debney

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Private Charles Debney

Charles William Debney was born in the spring of 1887, one of eight children to George Debney and his wife Susannah. George was a cooper for a cement works, who had brought his family from Norfolk to Kent in the mid-1890s, presumably for employment.

When Charles left school, he found work as a bricklayer; war was on the horizon, though, and when the call came, he signed up quickly.

While full details of Charles’ service are not available, it is evident that he had joined the Northamptonshire Regiment by November 1914. He was assigned to the 5th Service Battalion as a Private. Formed in Northampton, the battalion moved to Kent in the early months of the war, before moving to the Western Front at the end of May 1915.

Sadly, there is limited additional information available on Private Debney. He passed away on 29th May 1915, but there is no confirmation of the cause of his death. He was just 28 years of age.

Charles William Debney was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, in his home town of Gillingham, Kent.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, story, unknown, war

Sapper Walter Clark

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Sapper Walter Clark

Walter Hudson Clark was born in 1883, the youngest of eight children to Thomas and Isabella Clark from Gillingham, Kent. Thomas was a miller who, with his wife, who was affectionately known as Sibella, raised their family in the centre of town.

When he left school, Walter found work as an apprentice to a painter and decorator. After Sibella died in 1903, he and two of his sisters remained living at home and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was supporting his father by working as a cooper in the nearby Naval Dockyard in Chatham.

Thomas passed away in December 1915, and this may have been the spur to guide his son into enlisting. Little documentation about Walter’s military service remains available although he joined the 480th Field Company of the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. He was in receipt of the Victory and British Medals, but there is nothing to confirm that he served abroad, so it seems likely that he was part of the territorial force.

Sadly this is where Sapper Clark’s trail goes cold. He survived the war, but died on 20th February 1920, at the age of 37 years old. There is no cause of death available either, but Walter was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in his home town of Gillingham, Kent.

Bugler, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, Lance Corporal, London, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Sergeant, Sergeant Major, story, unknown, war

Company Sergeant Major Hugh Caston

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Company Sergeant Major Hugh Caston

Hugh Charles Caston was born in Chelsea in the summer of 1881, the oldest of three children to Emily and Hugh Caston. Hugh Sr died in the late 1880, leaving Emily to raise the family on her own. She moved the family to Gillingham, Kent, to be near her family. She found work as a seamstress and took in boarders.

As the effective head of the family, Hugh obviously felt he had to earn a wage. On 1st August 1896, he enlisted in the Royal Engineers as a Bugler.

Hugh’s medical report shows he stood at 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) tall and weighed 97lbs (44kg). He had a medium complexion, with brown eyes and brown hair. The report also gave his distinctive marks as being a scar on his forehead, a brown patch on his left buttock and that his eyebrows meet.

Initially too young for full active service, Hugh formally joined up on 1st June 1897. He spent more than five years on home soil, rising through the ranks from Sapper to Lance Corporal to 2nd Corporal. In May 1902, he was posted to Malta, returning home nearly two years later. Hugh’s promotions continued over the next decade, and, by the time war broke out, he had reached the rank of Company Sergeant Major.

By this point, Hugh had married, wedding Rochester woman Mary May Coast in September 1907. The couple went on to have two children, Hubert, who sadly died young, and Joan.

War came to Europe, and things took a turn for Company Sergeant Major Caston. He was admitted to Netley Hospital near Portsmouth, with mania:

Patient’s very restless, often gets ‘excited’ is thwarted in any way. Has a delusion that he is to be promoted to Major and that he possesses great wealth. He continually asks that his motor may be sent round to take him out, also that his tailor be sent for to rig him out. Stated this morning that he wished all the other patients be supplied with Egyptian cigarettes.

Medical Report on Hugh Caston, 20th January 1915

The medical officer went on to state that he did not consider that military service had in any contributed to the mania; he was dismissed from the army on medical grounds on 2nd February 1915, after nearly 20 years’ service.

Sadly, at this point Hugh’s trail goes cold. There is no documentation relating to his time after being discharged from the army and, tragically, after his death Mary was not granted a war pension, as he had served for less that six months during the First World War.

Hugh Charles Caston died on 18th June 1917, at the age of 36 years old. While the cause of his passing is lost to time, he was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent.

Commonwealth War Graves, Fireman, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Singapore, story, unknown, war

Fireman Nier Kaloo

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Fireman Nier Kaloo

Sadly, there is extremely limited information on the man commemorated no this gravestone.

Nier Mohammed Kaloo (or, alternatively, Mur Muhammed Kaloo), was born in around 1890. He joined the Royal Navy and, by the end of the war at the latest, he had been transferred to the Royal Auxiliary Fleet as a Fireman.

His ship, the SS Petroleum, acted as a tanker for other naval vessels. In the immediate aftermath of the war, she travelled between Portsmouth and Copenhagen, but soon took on longer trips, to Hong Kong and the Far East.

It was after returning from Singapore in the first half of 1921 that Fireman Kaloo died, although the cause of his passing is lost to time. He was 31 years old. The ship having moored at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, he was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham.