Frederick George Partridge was born on 26th May 1890 in Kingsteignton, Devon. He was one of ten children to clay cutter George Partridge and his wife, Anna. George passed away in 1903, but Frederick left school, and also found work as a cutter, helping to pay his way at home.
When was came to Europe, Frederick was keen to play his part. He enlisted on 18th November 1915, and was assigned to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps as a Rifleman. His service records show that he stood 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighed 145lbs (66kg). He was of good physical development, but had slightly flat feet.
After his initial training, Rifleman Partridge was sent to France, arriving in April 1916. His regiment soon found itself on the front line and, that summer, was firmly ensconced at the Somme. Sadly, Frederick was not to escape injury – he received a gun shot wound to his left thigh on 2nd September.
The wound was serious enough for him to be medically evacuated back to England for treatment. He was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley, near Southampton, but died of his injuries on 12th September 1916. He was just 26 years of age.
Frederick George Partridge was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church in Kingsteignton.
Harold William Cornall was born on 16th August 1890 in Kingsteignton, Devon. He was the oldest of six children to William and Elizabeth Cornall. William worked as a carter and labourer for a tannery in the town, and, when he left school, this was where Harold also went for work.
In the autumn of 1912, Harold married Hilda Potter, from nearby Newton Abbot. The couple set up home and went on to have one child, a daughter called Winifred.
War broke out and, on 29th August 1914, Harold enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery. He was assigned to the A-Battery of the 90th (Howitzer) Brigade and was given the rank of Bombardier. He soon found himself in the thick of battle, as the brigade was sent to The Somme.
Bombardier Cornall was injured in the spine by some shrapnel, and medically evacuated to England in June 1916. Sadly, his injuries led to him becoming paralysed, and he passed away at the King George’s Hospital in London on 20th August 1916. He was just 26 years of age.
Harold William Cornall’s body was brought back to Devon; he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church in his home town of Kingsteignton.
William Norrish Warren was born in Ashburton, Devon, on 24th April 1882, one of eight children to William and Irena Warren. William Sr worked as a woodsman and a farm labourer, and agriculture was a trade into which his son also went. There is a record that he found work as a railway porter, but this seems to have been only for a short while, and he soon resigned.
In the spring of 1915, William Jr married Olive Emmett, a carter’s daughter from the town. The couple went on to have a son, Alfred, who was born the following year.
War was on the horizon, however, and William enlisted, joining the 9th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment by October 1915. He was given the role of Private, and, while full service details are not available, he definitely spent time abroad.
Private Warren was fighting on the Front in the spring of 1916, when, on 10th March, he was badly injured. He was medically evacuated to England and admitted to the Netley Hospital near Southampton for treatment. Sadly, his internal wounds proved too severe and he passed away from his injuries on 1st April 1916. He was just 33 years old.
William Norrish Warren’s body was brought back to Ashburton for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of the town’s St Andrew’s Church.
Alfred William Winsor Northway was born on 3rd December 1870 in Barnstaple, Devon. He was the only child to farm labourer John Northway and his wife Susan. By the time Alfred was a few months old, John had moved the young family to Ashburton.
On 2nd March 1890, Alfred married Susanna Raddon in Newton Abbot. The couple went on to have eleven children – Susanna already had two children when they married; there is no indication as to whether they were also Alfred’s.
By the time they married, Alfred was working as a farm labourer. This was a job he continued to do to support his rapidly growing family. War was coming to Europe, however, and the stability of life in Ashburton was soon to change. During this time, he volunteered for the 3rd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment and this stood him in good stead moving forward.
At least two of Alfred and Susanna’s sons enlisted when the First World War broke out; not to be outdone, Alfred also joined up on 11th September 1914. Assigned to the 11th (Reserve) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment as a Private, there is no indication that he saw any time abroad. Instead it seems that he served at the regiment’s depot in Wareham, Dorset, supporting the Training Reserve.
By the end of 1916, Private Northway had fallen ill. Admitted to the Sidney Hall Hospital in Weymouth with pneumonia, sadly the condition got the better of him. He passed away on 3rd February 1917, at the age of 46 years old.
Alfred William Winsor Northway was brought back to Ashburton for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in the town.
John Whiddon was born on 15th January 1876 in the Devon town of Ashburton and was one of seven children to John and Elizabeth Whiddon. John Sr was a general labourer, but when he left school, his son found work as a baker’s apprentice.
John was keen to better himself and so, at the age of 21, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records confirm that he enlisted on 21st July 1897 for a period of 12 years. He was recorded as standing 5ft 6in (1.67m) tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.
John’s role was as a Sick Berth Assistant and, over the next few years he had a number of different postings. While some were on sea-going vessels, the majority of his time on shore. He served at the Haslar Hospital in Portsmouth, Plymouth Hospital and at HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport.
Sick Berth Assistant Whiddon certainly worked hard, though, and this paid off. In 1902 he was promoted to Sick Berth Steward and, in 1909, when his contract came to an end, he volunteered to stay on. Over the next seven years, John continued to do his duty, both on shore and at sea, and was again promoted, this time to Chief Sick Berth Steward.
At some point John married a woman called Catherine; sadly there is no information about her, other than that she had passed away by 1916.
In the autumn of 1916, John was serving on board HMS Powerful, when he contracted pneumonia. He was brought ashore and admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth, but sadly passed away from the illness on 30th December 1916. He was 40 years of age.
John Whiddon was brought back to Ashburton for burial. He lies at rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church there.
John Peacock was born in Ashburton, Devon, in 1883. Details of his life are a little sketchy, but his parents were John and Mary Ann Peacock, and he was one of at least thee children. John Sr was an agricultural labourer, but his son wanted bigger and better things.
By the time of the 1911 census, John Jr had enlisted as a Private in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. No military records exist to confirm when he joined up or where he served. The census recorded him as being a patient in the Royal Naval Hospital in East Stonehouse although, again, there is no record of why he had been admitted.
The story of Private Peacock’s health seems to remain a thread through his life. The next document evident is his Pension Ledger Card. This confirms that he died on 31st May 1917, from what was described as general paralysis, often insane. He was 34 years of age.
John Peacock was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in his home village of Ashburton, Devon.
Hubert Hext was born in Ashburton, Devon, in September 1898. He was the youngest of three children to painter and decorator William Hext and his wife, Susan.
Little information is available on Hubert’s early life, and there is also scant detail about his military career. All that can be confirmed is that he enlisted on 6th May 1914, and joined the Devonshire Regiment as a Private.
He was initially assigned to the 5th Battalion – they sailed to India in October 1914 – but at some point transferred to the 14th (Labour) Battalion – which was in France by October 1916. Sadly, it’s not possible to identify exactly where Private Hext served.
The military documents available confirm that Hubert contracted tuberculosis and was discharged from the army on medical grounds. However, one records suggests this was on 25th October 1916, while another gives the date of 25th October 1917. Either way, Private Hext’s army career was over by the middle of the conflict.
Hubert returned home, and, for a while, his trail goes cold. Sadly, the next record for him is the confirmation of his passing. He died on 11th November 1918 – Armistice Day – at the tender age of just 20 years old.
Hubert Hext was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in Ashburton, Devon.
James Valentine McDowell was born in Ashburton, Devon, on 2nd January 1865. He was one of eight children to William and Louisa McDowell. William was a labourer, and this was a trade that James also took up when he left school.
In the summer of 1884, James was brought up to the Devon Assizes in Exeter, on the charge of attempted suicide. A local newspaper reported that:
It appeared that on June 13th the prisoner, fully dressed, was seen lying at full length in the Yeo, his head resting on a stone, but the remainder of his body was under water. The stream, however, was but three feet deep and six feet wide at this particular point, so the actual danger was not very great.
A witness seeing the position of the prisoner called upon him to come out of the water. He did so. He was very drunk. On leaving the Yeo, the prisoner proceeded towards the Dart, and on his way wished the witness to bid his father and mother good bye. Arrived at the Dart the prisoner attempted to throw himself into the water, but was prevented and handed over to the police.
When in custody the prisoner said this was the second time he had been in the water: next time should be more lucky. Subsequently, however, he stated that he only went to the Yeo for a wash, and this statement he now repeated.
The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and his Lordship, in discharging the prisoner, advised him next time he wanted a bath not to get drunk beforehand, or he might find himself in deeper water than that in which he was discovered on the present occasion.
Western Times: Saturday 26th July 1884
The same Assizes saw trials for embezzlement, horse stealing, larceny, stack-burning and endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child. The alleged perpetrator of a count of buggery was found not guilty (his alleged offence not named in the same newspaper), while a Henry Davy, 51, was sentenced to 18 months’ hard labour for indecently assaulting a 6 year old girl.
The following year found James back on track. He married local woman Mary Ellen Ellery; the couple set up home in Ashburton and went on to have seven children. The family settled into a routine – James worked as a mason’s labourer; in his spare time, he joined the 3rd Devon Militia. His and Mary’s daughters found work as wool spinners, while their sons also got into labouring work.
War came to Europe in 1914; despite his age, James wanted to play his part. He enlisted when the call came, joining the Royal Engineers as a Pioneer on 19th August 1915. Within a week he was sent to France, and this is where he stayed for the duration of the war.
Pioneer McDowell returned to England on furlough on 2nd February 1919, and was waiting to be demobbed. However, tragedy struck before that became a reality, the same newspaper picking up the story some thirty-five years later:
An Ashburton man named James McDowell, aged about 56 years, a private in the Royal Engineers Labour Battalion, who joined up in August 1915, and had been in France continuously since that time, was found drowned in the mill leat of the the River Yeo at the rear of the cottages in Kingsbridge-lane early on Saturday morning.
He left his home at Great Bridge about 8:30 on Friday night for a short time. To get to the town he had to pass along by the river, which was running very high through the recent heavy rain, and it is supposed that he must have fallen in and had been washed down to where he was found, which was a considerable distance.
He had been demobilised, and was on furlough, and every sympathy is expressed for the family on their sad loss. Dowell [sic] who was well known and was of a jovial disposition, leaves a widow and grown up family.
Western Times: Monday 24th February 1919
Later that week, a summary of the inquest was printed:
Dr EA Ellis said he found a ragged cut over deceased’s left eyebrow, but otherwise there was no sign of violence. The cut was inflicted before death. A post mortem revealed that the cause of death was drowning. His theory was that deceased fell into the river, his head coming into contact with a stone, which inflicted the wound and caused unconsciousness. The spot where the accident was supposed to have happened, he thought, was unsafe and dangerous.
…the jury returned a verdict that the deceased was found drowned, caused by accidentally falling over the wall at the top of North Street… and they wished… to call the attention of the responsible authorities to the danger at this spot, and to the unsatisfactory state of the lighting there.
Western Times: Friday 28th February 1919.
Pioneer James Valentine McDowell drowned on 21st February 1919: he was 56 years of age. His body was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in his home village.
Leonard Fish was born on 24th November 1893, one of eleven children to Arthur and Elizabeth. Arthur was a maltser (brewer) from Hertfordshire and is was in Ware that Leonard was born.
While Leonard’s older brothers followed in their father’s brewing footsteps, he worked as a farm labourer after leaving school. He wanted bigger things, however, and, on 25th February 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Leonard’s service records show that he stood 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He enlisted as a Stoker 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – for training.
Over the next four years, Stoker Fish travelled far and wide. His initial sea posting was on board the battleship HMS King Edward VII; he served on board for nearly two-and-a-half years, gaining a promotion to Stoker 1st Class in the process.
After a brief spell back in Chatham, Leonard was sent to HMS Vivid – a similar shore-based establishment in Devonport – and from there he was assigned to the newly fitted out battleship HMS Royal Oak. Within the month she was at the heart of the Battle of Jutland, and continued to protect the North Sea convoys.
Stoker Fish returned to HMS Pembroke in August 1917. The Dockyard was particularly busy that summer, and the large number of extra servicemen meant that Leonard was billeted in temporary accommodation in Chatham Drill Hall.
On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force bombarded the town, and scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall; Stoker Fish was among those killed. He was just 23 years of age.
Leonard Fish was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.
Stoker Leonard Fish (from ancestry.co.uk)
Leonard’s older brother Frederick Fish also fought in the First World War.
Frederick was born three years before Leonard, and enlisted in the Royal West Kent Regiment in 1915. He was sent to France at the end of July, and gained the rank of Corporal.
He was killed in the fighting at the Somme on 13th July 1916. He was just 26 years of age, and left a widow, Ellen.
Corporal Frederick Fish was laid to rest in the Serre Road Cemetery No 2 in Beaumont-Hamel.
Wilfred Harry Francis was born in October 1890 in Castle Cary. He was the oldest of eight children to Edward and Rosina Francis, both of whom had also been born in the Somerset Town. Edward was a baker in his younger days, but, by the 1911 census he was employed as a builder’s labourer. Wilfred was recorded in the same document as a tailor.
War was coming to Europe, and Wilfred enlisted. He had been a volunteer in the Somerset Light Infantry, but on 6th April 1915, he made this a formal role. His service records show that he stood 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall had light blue eyes and light brown hair.
Private Francis was assigned to the 6th Battalion and sent to France in the summer of 1915. His battalion was immediately thrown into the thick of the fighting at Ypres. The intensity of the battles of Hooge and Bellewaarde seemed to impact Wilfred as, on 7th October, he was admitted to the 4th London General Hospital, suffering from shell shock.
Wilfred was discharged after two weeks, and signed off as fit for light duties. It seems that he didn’t return to the Western Front, but instead was transferred to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the regiment, based in Devonport.
The memories still seemed to haunt Private Francis, however. He was admitted to hospital again – this time the County of Middlesex Hospital in Napsbury, near St Albans – with mania. This time his ‘mental deficiency’ proved to much for the army, and he was discharged from military service on 18th July 1916. His discharge papers show that he gave the hospital as his address and recommended that he be admitted to a civil asylum.
Wilfred’s trail goes cold for the next few years. He seems to have been brought back to Somerset for ongoing treatment, but passed away in Wells on 27th March 1919; the cause of his passing is not known. He was 28 years of age.
Wilfred Harry Francis was laid to rest in the Castle Cary Cemetery, hopefully finding peace at last.
Death and Service 