George Henry Smale was born in 1899 and was the oldest of four children to George and Alice Smale. George Sr was born in Tavistock, Devon, and worked as a labourer in a tannery. The family were raised in Newton Abbot, which is where George Jr was born.
Sadly, little is documented on young George’s life. He would have been 15 years old when war broke out, but at some point during the conflict, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. Private Smale was based at the Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth, but no other information about his service is available.
George’s trail goes completely cold at this point, and there is nothing to confirm how or when he left the army, or how he died. All that can be confirmed is that he passed away on 3rd November 1919, and that he was just 20 years old at the time.
George Henry Smale was laid to rest in Newton Abbot Cemetery.
James Allan Flood was born in Exeter, Devon, in 1879, and was the oldest of six children to James and Emily. James Sr was a bricklayer, and, according to the 1881 census, the family lived at 2 Stepcote Hill, sharing the house with two other families.
When he left school, James Jr also fell into labouring work. By this time he had met Amy Hobbs, a hotel worker’s daughter who had been born in London. Her father had moved from Devon to the city in the 1870s, but had brought his family back to his home county by 1885.
James and Amy married in the village of Wolborough in December 1899. They set up home in nearby Newton Abbot and went on to have five children.
The storm clouds of war were beginning to hover over Europe and, when the conflict broke out, James was keen to play his part. He enlisted within days of war being declared, joining the Devonshire Regiment as a Private. His service records show that he stood 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 112lbs (51kg). He had a tattoo of a crown and heart on his right forearm.
Private Flood found himself in France by Christmas 1914 and stayed there for more than a year. During this time, he was promoted to Lance Corporal, although, as a result of missing a role call, he reverted back to Private again a couple of months later.
After a brief two months spent back on home soil, James returned to France again, spending a further ten months on the Western Front. In March 1917, he was transferred across to the Labour Corps, and came back to home soil again.
This transfer appears to have been connected to James’ health; he continued to work as part of 621st Agricultural Company for the next eighteen months, before being discharged from the army on medical grounds in September 1918. Sadly, the cause of his discharge is lost to time.
At this point, James Allen Flood’s trail goes cold. The next time he appears in documentation is nearly a year later: he passed away on 17th August 1919, aged 40. He was laid to rest at the Newton Abbot Cemetery.
William Pook was born in 1869. There is little specific evidence available about his early life, but his service records confirm that he married Jessie Elizabeth Moxey on 25th January 1890: they went on to have four children.
The 1891 census records the young family living in the village of Highweek, near Newton Abbot in Devon, where William was working as a fellmonger, dealing in hides and sheepskins. This was a trade he continued through the years, and is confirmed as his line of work by the time of the 1911 census. At that point, the expanding family had moved from Highweek to nearby Wolborough.
War was coming to Europe and, in August 1915, at the age of 46, William joined up. His age suggests that this was something he did voluntarily – compulsory enlistment was only introduced the following year – and he joined the Royal Engineers as a Pioneer. The role was designed to relieve the infantry from some of the duties that kept them from the front line, effectively acting as a labour force to free up those who were fighting.
Pioneer Pook was sent to France in August 1915, remaining there for nine months. Health issues started to intervene, and, in June 1916, he was dismissed from military service as being medically unfit because of his asthma.
At this point, William’s trail goes cold. The next record confirms that he died on 27th October 1916, in Newton Abbot. No cause of death is evident, but it seems likely to have been related to his lung condition. He was about 47 years old.
William Pook was laid to rest in Newton Abbot Cemetery.
William Morrish Lamacraft was born in Guernsey in 1888, the only son of John and Annie Lamacraft. Annie passed away when William was just 4 years old, and John brought his son back to England, returning to Devon, where he himself had been born. John found employment as a porter at St Thomas’ Union Workhouse in Exeter and lived in here, while William was taken in by his paternal grandmother, Mary, who was also in Exeter.
In 1909, John also passed away. William, by this time, had left school and found work as a bootman at the Queen’s Hotel in Newport, Gwent. War was on its way to Europe by this point and, when it broke out, William enlisted as a Private in the Labour Corps.
At some point William transferred across to the Devonshire Regiment, but there is little tangible evidence to document when and where he served. What is clear is that Private Lamacraft survived the war, and had returned to Newton Abbot when he was demobbed.
Sadly, William Morrish Lamacraft was not to live a long life after the Armistice was declared. He passed away on 6th June 1919, aged just 31 years old; the cause of death lost to time. He was laid to rest in Newton Abbot Cemetery.
William Henry Merrifield was born on 29th December 1893, in Newton Abbot, Devon. One of six children to Henry and Kezia Merrifield, his father was an agent for the removal company Pickford’s.
When William left school, he found work as a labourer for a local tannery. War was, by this time, on the horizon, and William soon found himself caught up in it. Full details of his military service are not available, but it is clear that he had a varied career.
William initially worked for the British Red Cross as a cook, and was sent to France in October 1914. He Subsequently joined the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner, before transferring across to the Royal Garrison Artillery. By June 1915, he had made the move again, and was recorded as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers. During this time, he had been awarded the Victory and British Medals and the 1914 and 1915 Stars for his war efforts.
By this point, William had seen a fair amount of tragedy in his life. Kezia had died in 1905, at the age of 44, and his sister Evelyn had passed away in 1914, aged just 25 years old. The following year, Henry also died, aged 52 years of age.
Sapper Merrifield survived the war and was demobbed in February 1919. At this point, his trail goes cold. He returned to Newton Abbot, and passed away just over a year later, on 22nd April 1920. He was 26 years old.
William Henry Merrifield was laid to rest in Newton Abbot Cemetery; his gravestone marked with the message ‘SO LONG MATEY “AU REVOIR”.
Arthur Reginald Srodzinski was born in Paignton, Devon, in October 1890. His great grandfather Stanislaus was born in Poland and emigrated to Devon in the early 1840s. He was an upholsterer, and this is a trade that his son Samuel, and his grandson – Arthur’s father – Henry also followed. Henry and his wife, Sarah, had five children, of which Arthur was the middle one; by the time of the 1901 census, Henry has moved the family to Newton Abbot.
Arthur wanted bigger and better things than upholstering, and sought out a career in the army. In March 1909, he enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment as a Private. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.69m) tall, and weighed in at 131lbs (59kg). He has hazel eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.
Private Srodzinski enlisted for a period of twelve years (seven on active duty), and after his initial training, he was sent overseas. Over the next few years, he was posted to Malta, Cyprus and Egypt but, when was came to Europe, he returned to England, before heading to the Western Front.
Arthur’s time in France was not to be a long one – at the end of December 1914, he was medically evacuated to England, suffering from a heart condition. This was to turn out to be a serious issue, and he was formally discharged from the army on medical grounds just four months later.
Back in Devon, Arthur found work as a butcher and, in the autumn of 1917, he married local carpenter’s daughter Carrie Larkworthy; the couple set up home in Newton Abbot.
In March 1918, Arthur was attending a meeting of discharged soldiers at the Commercial Hotel in Newton Abbot, when he collapsed. Medical treatment was sought, but it proved too late; he had died of a heart attack. Arthur was just 28 years of age.
Arthur Reginald Srodzinski was laid to rest in Newton Abbot Cemetery. Three months later, Carrie gave birth to their one and only child, who she named Reginald.
Thomas Carmichael was born on 19th December 1888, the older of two children to George and Elizabeth – Lizzie – Carmichael. George was an engine fitter from Hull, Yorkshire, and this is where he and Lizzie raised their young family.
Little further information is available for Thomas’ early life. He married a woman called Annie, but no documents remain to confirm when their wedding was. The couple settled in Hull, and went on to have two children, a girl and a boy.
War had his Europe by this point, and Thomas enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve. He joined the Royal Naval Reserve as an Engineman on 16th May 1916, serving primarily at the shore-based establishments of HMS Pembroke (the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent), HMS Gunner (the Granton Naval Base in Edinburgh) and HMS Vivid (the Naval Dockyard in Devonport).
Engineman Carmichael arrived in Chatham in August 1917. The Dockyard was particularly busy that summer, and the large number of extra servicemen meant that Thomas 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; Engineman Carmichael was among those killed. He was just 28 years of age.
Thomas Carmichael was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham. Tragically, the Navy Death Records state that he was Buried as unidentified in one of the following graves: 516, 522, 642, 735, 935, 937 or 948.
Frederick Frank Upson was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 4th June 1897 and was one of eight children to Frederick and Mary Upson. Frederick Sr was an agricultural labourer and horseman, and when he left school, his soon took on a shepherding role on the same farm.
With the war raging, and the port of Ipswich not far from home, Frederick Jr seemed destined for a life at sea. In June 1915, having turned 18 years old, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he stood 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall, had brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.
Frederick’s first posting was at HMS Vivid, the training base at Devonport, Devon. He spent a couple of months there, before being given his first ocean-going assignment on board the scout cruiser HMS Blonde. Ordinary Seaman Upson was on board for just over a year, and was promoted to Able Seamen during his time there.
In January 1917, he returned to shore, and was transferred to HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. The base was particularly busy that year, and temporary accommodation was set up in the Drill Hall; Frederick found himself billeted there for the summer.
On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out one of its first night-time air raids on England: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit. Able Seaman Upson was badly injured and died of his wounds in hospital the following day. He was just 20 years of age.
Frederick Frank Upson was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.
Jack Nicholson was born on 23rd August 1893. There is very little documentation on his life, although the following can be pieced together.
Jack was called up for military service on 22nd March 1916, at which point he was working as a music hall artist. His service records show that he stood 5ft 11.5ins (1.82m) tall, had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a sallow complexion.
Jack enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman, and was assigned to HMS Victory in Portsmouth. After a couple of months he was promoted to Able Seaman and, by March 1917, he had been reassigned, to HMS Vivid in Plymouth. By this point he had taken on a specific role with the navy, and alongside Able Seaman, held the rank of Ordinary Telegraphist.
Within a matter of months, Jack was on the move again, this time to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. HMS Pembroke – as it was also known – was a busy place during that summer of 1917, and, with its barracks having reached capacity, Jack found himself billeted at Chatham Drill Hall, which was being used as temporary accommodation.
At this point in the war, the German Air Force was aiming to minimise the losses it was suffering during daylight raids. It began trialling bombing raids at night and, on 3rd September 1917, Chatham found itself in their line of fire. The Drill Hall Ordinary Telegraphist Nicholson was sleeping in received a direct hit, and he was killed. He was just 24 years old.
Jack Nicholson was buried alongside the other 97 victims of the Chatham Air Raid. He lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the Royal Naval Dockyard in neighbouring Chatham.
Alfred James Finlay was born in Croydon, Surrey on 7th September 1893. His mother was Emily Finlay, although there is little more information to confirm details of his early life.
He was working as a shop porter when he was drawn to a life at sea and, on 9th April 1912 he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. Alfred’s enlistment papers confirm that he was 5ft 5ins (1.66m) tall, had brown hair and brown eyes. While he had a fair complexion, he was also noted to have a scar above his left eye, another on his left thigh, and had a tattoo of a pierced heart on his left arm.
After his initial six months’ training at HMS Pembroke – the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Lancaster, where he spent a couple of months. He had another few weeks at HMS Pembroke, before being sent to another cruiser, HMS Chatham.
Alfred spent more than three years on Chatham, and was promoted to Stoker 1st Class during his time aboard. Returning once again to Kent, his service from here on in seems to have been mainly shore-based: HMS Pembroke in Chatham; HMS Vivid in Devonport; HMS Victory in Portsmouth.
Stoker Finlay returned to HMS Pembroke in the summer of 1917. It was a busy period for the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, and a lot of the servicemen there – Alfred included – were billeted to temporary accommodation at the nearby Drill Hall. It was here that he was sleeping on the 3rd September, when the German Air Force undertook their first night raid over England. One of the bombers scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall, and Alfred was killed. He was just 24 years old.
Alfred James Finlay was laid to rest, along with the dozens of other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham.
Death and Service 