Ernest Frederick Bowden was born on 2nd November 1896 in Ipplepen, Devon. He was one of eleven children – and one of twins – to Frederick and Dora Bowden. Tragically, Dora died when Ernest was just over a year old, leaving Frederick and his older sisters to raise the family as best they could.
When he left school, Ernest found work as a page for a surgeon living in Paignton, before finding other employment as a chauffeur in Bovey Tracey. In his spare time, he was an avid bellringer at his local church.
War was coming to Europe, however, and in November 1915, he enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment. His service records noted that he was 19 years of age, and stood just 5ft 1.5ins (1.56m) tall. Assigned to the 14th Battalion, Private Bowden soon found himself on the front line. Arriving in France in July 1916, he spent four months there, during which he contracted tuberculosis and trench foot.
Medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, his conditions proved too severe for him to continue in the army. He was discharged from active service in December 1916.
For some months he had been at the Ivybank Dispensary, Exeter. Complications set in, and he rapidly sank just before reaching his 21st year.
Western Times: Friday 28th September 1917
Ernest Frederick Bowden had passed away on 16th September 1917, aged just 20 years old. He was laid to rest in the family grave at St Andrew’s Church, Ipplepen.
Alfred John Bishop was born on 25th April 1896 in the Devon village of Kingswear. The older of two children, his parents were John and Susanna Bishop. John was a farm worker, and his expertise with horses was not lost on Alfred, who became a delivery driver for a baker in Marldon, to the north of Paignton, when he left school.
On 3rd September 1917, Alfred married road contractor’s daughter Bessie Webber. Originally from Staverton, her family had settled in Ipplepen, and this is where the newlyweds made their home.
War had come to Europe by this point, and Alfred had enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC). His background with horses came in useful, as he was assigned to the Yeomanry Remount Depot. Details of Private Bishop’s military service are lost to time, so it is unclear if he was attached to one of the RASC depots in the UK, or if he served abroad.
Alfred survived the war and, by 1919, was back home. He and Bessie had a son, Leslie, who was born on 23rd October 2020. Time with his son was to be tragically brief, however, as Alfred passed away on 14th April 1921. The cause of his death is not known, but he was just 25 years of age.
Alfred John Bishop was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in Ipplepen.
Bessie went on to marry again, to James Joint in the autumn of 1932. She passed away in Newton Abbot in 1980, at the age of 85.
Alfred’s brother James’ life was also cut short. He married Ethel Warren in 1925, and is recorded has having passed away in London in the autumn of 1935, when he was only 35 years old. Ethel was left with two young children to raise, and John and Susanna were to outlive both of their sons.
Philemon Witheridge Richards was born on 9th July 1891 in Porthleven, Cornwall. He was one of at least seven children to George and Ann Richards. George was a sailor, as were he two oldest sons and, by the late 1890s, the family had made the move to Penarth in Glamorganshire.
When he left school, Philemon followed his father and older brothers into sailing. By the time he turned eighteen, George had passed away and Philemon wanted bigger and better things. On 16th July 1909, he enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery. His service records show that he stood 5ft 9.5ins (1.76m) tall, had good vision and was of good fitness.
Gunner Richards was posted to No. 6 Company and remained part of the territorial force. On 1st July 1911, after twenty months’ service, he was, at his own request, discharged from the army.
The trail goes cold for a while, and Philemon seems to have returned to a life at sea. This changed, however, when war broke out and, in October 1915, he was drafted into the Royal Naval Reserve as a Deck Hand.
Philemon’s time in service seems to have been shore-based however. After an initial posting to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, he moved to HMS Victory, which was the name given to the dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire. He moved on again in the autumn of 1916, by which point he was based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Navy’s shore-base in Chatham, Kent.
It was here that Deck Hand Richards fell ill. It is unclear what the condition was, but he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Chatham on 20th October 1916. His illness worsened, and he passed away there on 2nd November. He was just 25 years of age.
Philemon Witheridge Richards was brought back to Glamorganshire for burial. He lies at rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in Penarth.
Philemon’s gravestone is also dedicated to his brother, Thomas Witheridge Richards. Eighteen years Philemon’s senior, Thomas had been a sailor, and, while no records remain, it seems likely that he may also have been called into service during the First World War. He died at home on 4th July 1918, at the age of 45 years old. He was laid to rest in the same plot as his younger brother.
George Charles Walrond Sweet was born on 4th December 1889, the oldest of three children to Reverend Charles Sweet and his wife Maud. A Church of England vicar, Charles moved around with his work, and, when George was born, he was based in Winterborne Kingston in Devon.
George was sent away to school, and, by the time of the 1901 census, Charles and the family had moved to Milton Lilbourne in Wiltshire, to tend the local flock.
After school, George studied at Oxford, then followed in his father’s footsteps by taking holy orders, and was soon appointed rector of Symondsbury, Dorset.
When war broke out, his calling was to serve in the Royal Army Chaplain’s Department. Details of his time during the conflict are unclear, although by the spring of 1919, he was attached to the headquarters of the Army of the Rhine.
It was here that he met Phyllis Squire Hickson, who was serving as a Nurse in the Queen Mary’s Auxiliary Army Corps. The couple fell in love and, in June 1919 they returned to England to marry. The wedding occurred on 6th August 1919, and the newlyweds set off on honeymoon the following day.
On his honeymoon tour, the Revd. George C Walrond Sweet… was drowned on Thursday evening in the Cherwell at Oxford, in the presence of his wife.
Mr and Mrs Sweet engaged a punt at Tims’s boathouse and went for a trip on the river. On returning about seven o’clock, when within 300 yards of the boathouse, the punt pole was embedded in the mud and, in attempting to dislodge it the pole broke.
Mr Sweet fell on the side of the boat and then over-balanced into the river. His wife tried to reach him, but without success, and then jumped into a second punt and from that into another boat, but failed to reach him, and he disappeared. The body was not recovered until a quarter of an hour had elapsed, and life was then extinct.
Mr Sweet, who was an MA of Keble College, was only married on Wednesday at St James’s Church, West Hampstead…
[Phyllis’ father] Mr William Hickson… said his daughter became engaged to Mr Sweet in France. He did not meet him until last Tuesday. They came to England to be married. Mr Sweet met with a bicycle accident some years ago and [he] understood from his daughter that her husband was unable to swim or take any active exercise, but while he had been in France his health had much improved.
It was stated [at the inquest] that Mr and Mrs Sweet had been married only one day when the accident occurred and Dr Brooks, a university coroner, said that the tragedy was one of the saddest that had ever come under his notice.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 13th August 1919
The inquest confirmed that the punt pole had broken about 2.5ft (0.76m) from the top. When George was dragged from the river, artificial respiration was carried out for around 50 minutes, but proved unsuccessful. The inquest returned a verdict of accidental death. George was just 29 years of age.
Reverend George Charles Walrond Sweet’s body was brought to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Cross Church in Sampford Arundel, more than likely because he or his father had been vicars there.
This was the second tragedy to befall the Sweet family. George’s younger brother, Leonard, had been schooled in Sherborne, then at the Military College in Sandhurst. He joined the 1st Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment as Second Lieutenant on 5th February 1913, and was promoted to full Lieutenant in September 1914, and Captain in October 1915.
Captain Sweet was then attached to the 29th Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, and gained his wings at the British Flying School in Le Crotoy, France, in August 1915. On 22nd June 1916, he was on patrol duty over the British lines, when he was involved in a skirmish, and his plane crashed, killing him instantly. He was just 23 years of age.
Captain Leonard Sweet was laid to rest at the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Poperinge, near Ypres.
Captain Leonard Sweet (from findagrave.com)
Phyllis Sweet never remarried. By the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register, she was living in Bridport, Dorset, and working as a political organiser and speaker. She passed away in August 1944 in Cannock, Staffordshire, at the age of 63 years old.
Details of John George Spry’s life remain tantalisingly out of reach. He was born in around 1874 in the Devon village of Woolfardisworthy, and was one of eight children to John and Ann Spry. John Sr was a general labourer who died in 1891. By this point the family were living at 14 Honestone Lane, Bideford, and John Jr was working as a stone mason.
John married Emily Langford. She was a blacksmith’s daughter from Taunton, Somerset, but the couple set up home in nearby Wellington, before moving to Twerton, Bath. The went on to have three children: Ivy, Ruby and Frederick. Interestingly, Ivy seems to have been taken in by Emily’s mother, Emma, while Ruby and Frederick remained with their parents.
The 1911 census found Emily, Ruby and Frederick living with John’s mother in Bideford. Ivy was in Wellington with Emma, but John is missing from the records.
When war broke out, John joined up. He enlisted in the Royal Engineers, and was assigned the rank of Sapper. Dates for his service – and where that service was carried out – are lost to time, but by the autumn of 1918, John was based in barracks in Fovant, Wiltshire.
By this time, Sapper Spry had fallen ill. Suffering from influenza and bronchial pneumonia, he was to succumb to the lung diseases, as so many other returning servicemen did. John passed away on 28th November 1918, aged 45 years of age.
John George Spry was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, not far from where his widow had relocated.
What became of the Spry family after John’s death is unclear. Emily cannot be tracked down in the 1921 census, nor can her middle child, Ruby.
Ivy was boarding at 55 Harrow Road, Paddington, Middlesex, where she was working as a Lieutenant in the Salvation Army. Frederick, meanwhile, had found work as a steersman on a steamroller, and, according to the census, was living with his maternal uncle, Charles, in Bideford.
The 1939 Register picks up Emily once more, living in a small end-of-terrace cottage on the outskirts of Wellington. Now 70 years of age, she was noted as being incapacitated, no doubt being tended to by Ruby, who was also living there, employed as a puttee machinist.
Thomas Salter – better known as Tom – was born on 5th June 1877, in the Devon village of Uffculme. He was the only child to John and Selina Salter. John was seventeen years older than his wife and, by the time his son was born, was 57 years old. Selina had been married before and widowed, and had had five children of her own.
When he left school, Tom found work as a butcher’s assistant at the Uffculme’s Commercial Hotel (now the Ostler Inn on Commercial Road). Food was not destined to be his career, however. By the time of the 1901 census, he had moved from Devon to Gloucestershire, and found employment as a labourer in the engine works at Knowle, Bristol.
His landlady was an Elizabeth Bobbett, who had been born in Trull, near Taunton, and this connection may have pre-destined what was to come. In the spring of 1908, Tom married Florence Taylor, a labourer’s daughter from Wellington, Somerset, five miles (8km) from his landlady’s home village.
Tom and Florence settled in Wellington, close to the centre of the town. They had four children – Harold (born in 1909), Evelyn (1912), Irene (1914) and Edna (1916). Tom found work as a packer at the Fox Bros. woollen mill in nearby Tonedale.
War was coming to Europe by this point and, in January 1917, Tom enlisted. Private Salter joined the 11th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry: this was a territorial troop, and Tom found himself based in Yeovil.
There is little concrete information about Private Salter’s military life. All that can be confirmed is that within a couple of months of joining up, he had been admitted to hospital, suffering from bronchial pneumonia. Sadly, he was not to recover from the lung condition: he passed away on 10th May 1917, at the age of 37 years old.
Tom Salter was brought back to Wellington for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.
Much of William Woodgate’s life seems destined to remain a mystery. He was born in Dunsford, Devon, in around 1877, and was the son of Lewis Woodgate.
By the age of 14, he was living on a farm on Bovey Tracey, working as an agricultural labourer for the farm owners, Thomas and Betsy Dayment. Ten years later, William had made the move to Wellington in Somerset, where he was lodging with the Denner family, and working as a carter.
On 20th June 1903, William married Mary Jane Grinter, a signalman’s daughter from Wellington; the couple went on to have three children, Lewis, Leonard and Francis. The young family set up home in North Street, near the centre of the town. By the 1911 census, William had changed profession, and was working as a fish salesman.
War was about to descend on Europe, and, in May 1916, William signed up to play his part. He was enlisted as a Private in the North Somerset Yeomanry, and was assigned to the 2nd/1st Battalion. His service record shows that he was 5ft 2.5ins (1.59m) tall, and weighed 117lbs (53kg), and had a fair physical development.
Private Woodgate did not see any service abroad: his battalion became part of the 6th Cyclist Brigade, and he was based in East Anglia and, for a short while, in Northumberland.
There is little further detail about Private Woodgate’s life. He survived the war, and was transferred to the Army Reserve on 9th February 1919, having served for just under three years.
At this point, William’s trail goes cold. He returned home to Somerset, and passed away nine months later, on 11th November 1919. He was 42 years of age.
William Woodgate was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, not far from where Mary and their children lived.
William Robert John Edwards was born on 10th July 1899, one of fourteen children to engine fitter William Edwards and his wife Bertha. Both of William Jr’s parents had been born in Devon, but, by the time of his birth, they had moved to the Somerset town of Wellington.
William followed in his father’s footsteps when he left school, but with war raging across Europe, he was keen to play his part as soon as he was able to do so. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 7th September 1917, his engineering background making him perfect for a member of the Armourer’s Crew.
William’s service record show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He was initially sent to HMS Vivid – the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport – for training, and was given a posting on board HMS Gorgon, a coastal defence ship on 1st May 1918.
Tragically, this first assignment was to be Armourer’s Crew Edwards’ last. Within a matter of weeks, he was taken back to HMS Vivid, suffering from tubercular meningitis. Back at base, the condition proved too much for the young man: he passed away on 30th May 1918, days shy of his 19th birthday.
Brought back to Somerset for burial, William Robert John Edwards was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Wellington.
Wilson John Woodbury was born on 8th December 1888, and was the third of seven children to Daniel and Elizabeth Woodbury. Daniel was a chair maker from Wellington, Somerset, and this is where the family – including six boys and one girl – were raised.
By the time of the 1901 census, Daniel had had a change of career – he was now working as an oil presser. His and Elizabeth’s oldest three boys, Wilson included, had also found work, and were employed as wool spinners.
Elizabeth passed away in 1906, when Wilson was just seventeen years old. This may have pushed him to bigger and better things, and a career. On 13th August 1908, at the age of 19, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service record shows that he was 5ft 7.5ins (1.71m) tall, had light brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. It also noted that he had a tattoo of a cross on his right forearm.
Stoker Woodbury was initially trained at HMS Vivid – the naval dockyard at Devonport. On 9th February 1909, however, he was given his first posting, on board HMS Defence. He spent two years on board the armoured cruiser, and, gained a promotion to Stoker 1st Class.
During the remainder of his initial service, Wilson served on two further ships – HMS Sentinel and HMS Bellona – returning to Devonport between each posting. When he completed his five-year contract, Wilson voluntarily signed up for a further seven years with the Royal Navy.
As war came to Europe, Stoker Woodbury was given a number of assignments, on the battleships HMS Caesar and Lord Nelson, the cruisers HMS Blake and Apollo, and the depot ship HMS Blenheim. Further promotions followed – Leading Stoker in 1915 and Stoker Petty Officer two years later.
Wilson’s oldest brother, James, was serving in the Labour Corps during the conflict. Based in Northern France, he was assigned to the 720th Company, although further details are unclear. He almost survived the war unscathed, but contracted an illness of some description and died on 3rd November 1918, aged 34 years old. He was laid to rest in the Terlincthun British Cemetery in Wimille, France.
Stoker Petty Officer Woodbury returned home on leave in July 1919. The plan was to meet up with his fiancée who lived in Rockwell Green, near Wellington, but he instead turned up unexpectedly at his brother Fred’s home instead. Wilson said he had returned to Somerset because his girlfriend had broken off the engagement the previous week: the couple had been due to marry when he next came home on leave.
Fred told Wilson that she was not worth it, and they had gone drinking with a friend. Fred later said that on his previous leaves his brother had taken to drinking more than was good for him, but on that evening – Saturday 2nd August 1919 – he did not get drunk.
The following Monday, Stoker Petty Office Woodbury had taken himself down to the railway at Wellington, and been hit by a train. The action was deliberate, as, about his person were three letters. The first was to Daniel.
To My Dear Father,
Sorry to cause you any inconvenience or trouble, and please don’t worry about me, as I’m not fit to worry about. I have had this in mind for about a week. I can’t sleep and can’t eat, as I am broken-hearted, but not insane. This is through love. Now I must exit myself, and I am in great pain. Written at 4:15pm Sunday afternoon…
This is all I have to say in this world. Hoping you and my dear sister will soon forget their broken-hearted
Wilson John Woodbury.
Wilson’s second letter was to his only sister, Ivy. This included details of a parcel left on board his ship, in which was the ring he had given to his fiancée, which he asked that Ivy wear as a memory of him.
Knowing the implications of what he was doing, the third letter was addressed to the jury of the inquest.
My leave expires at 1pm, and my life expires just before by my own hand. I wait to get the chance to put a stop to my life. This would not have happened to bring disgrace on my relations. I am quite sane. Written at 2pm.
On the afternoon of Monday 4th August 1919, Wilson made his way to the Woodford crossing, a short distance from Wellington Railway Station.
…he waited by the side of the line at the crossing for a train, and as the Northern express approached he laid down with his head on the metals, being practically decapitated.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 13th August 1919
The fiancée in question did attend Wilson’s inquest, although the Coroner did not think it was necessary to call her. The newspaper report referred to her, but not by name. She will remain a mystery.
Despite the evidence of his own hand, the inquest found that Stoker Petty Officer Woodbury had committed suicide while temporarily insane. He was just 30 years of age.
Wilson John Woodbury was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Wellington.
Frederick William Twist was born in around 1884, the older of two children to William and Clara Twist. William had been born in Faversham, Kent, and was a labourer in the cement works there.
Frederick did not follow his father’s trade, however, and, on leaving school, he found work in the printing office of the Faversham News, before moving on to Filmer Bros., a local nursery and bulb grower. He was a keen member of the Salvation Army, and played in the local Corps’ band. After more than a decade at Filmer Bros., Frederick took up new employment with Salvation Army Insurance, and worked out of the Whitstable office.
In the spring of 1909, Frederick married Helen Bedster, a bargeman’s daughter from Faversham. At the time of their wedding, she was working as a servant for a brewer manager in the town. The couple settled down in a terraced house in the centre of the town, and went on to have two children.
When war broke out, Frederick was called upon to play his part, but his time in military service was to be a troubled one. A contemporary newspaper expanded on this:
The toll of war continues through nearly a year has elapsed since the war practically ceased… [following] the death of Lance Corporal Frederick William Twist, 16th Lancers, a Faversham man, who passed away at the Military Hospital Woolwich, after a great deal of suffering.
Lance Corporal Twist enlisted under the Derby Scheme and being called up in May 1916, he joined the 16th Lancers and was sent to Ireland. At the end of that year he was drafted to France but in the following May he was invalided home with trench fever.
On his discharge from hospital in Devonshire he returned to Ireland. Then in March of last year there came the great offensive on the Western Front and for the second time deceased was drafted to France. He was not, however, at all fit, and the result was that he was obliged to fall out.
After a further spell in hospital and convalescent camp at the base he was employed on light duty – stores keeping and clerical work – to which he stuck with dogged spirit until in June last he again broke down and was once more in hospital.
Later he was transferred to the Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolwich, where he died on October 7th – a fine example of a British soldier who had struggled, even against weakness and suffering, to do his duty to the very last.
Faversham News: Saturday 18th October 1919
Lance Corporal Frederick William Twist was 35 years of age when he passed. He was laid to rest in the Borough Cemetery of his home town, Faversham.
Death and Service 