Category Archives: Dorset

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, Labour Corps, photography, Private, story, unknown, war, Warwickshire, West Midlands

Private James Willetts

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Private James Willetts

In the peaceful grounds of Gillingham Cemetery, Dorset, is the grave of Private James Henry Willetts of the Labour Corps, who died on 25th November 1918, at the age of 39 years old. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records confirm that he was the son of James Willetts who, at the time of his son’s passing, was living in Springhill, Birmingham.

Private Willetts’ service records no longer exist, but his entry on the British Register of Soldiers’ Effects state that he was attached to the 443rd Agricultural Company, and died in Peasemarsh, Dorset. It also noted that his next of kin would not be able to claim a war gratuity: this suggests that he had served for less than six months when he passed.

A further document – the Pension Ledger Index Card – gives James’ dependent as his stepmother, Elizabeth Willetts. The record also confirms that his brother George had also died while serving as a Corporal in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

The challenge with trying to trace James’ early life is that there aren’t enough confirmed details. His mother’s name is not known, nor is it clear when James Sr married Elizabeth. Census records are available, but none give a clear match for father and son. Given James Jr shared his father’s name, it may also be that he went by his middle name, but this too could have been changed to Harry.

It seems, therefore, that James Henry Willetts’ life is destined to remain a mystery, taken to the grave in the Dorset cemetery.

Cadet, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Royal Air Force, story, war, Wiltshire

Cadet Clifford Kiddle

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Cadet Clifford Kiddle

Clifford Henry Evan Kiddle was born on 10th November 1900, and was the youngest of five children to Fred and Martha. Fred was a wheelwright from East Stour, Dorset, and it was here that the Kiddle family were born and raised.

The 1911 census makes for interesting reading. Fred is missing from it, and Martha is recorded as married, and at a house on Victoria Road in Gillingham, Dorset. Her son Leonard is living with her, as are three of her nephews, and a boarder, John Samways.

Clifford, meanwhile, had moved to the village of Penselwood in Wiltshire. His two sisters, Ellen and Sarah, were employed as elementary school teachers there, and their young brother had relocated with them.

When war broke out, Clifford was just a boy. He was keen to play his part as soon as he could, however, and, on 8th October 1918, he gave up his job as a chemist’s apprentice to enlist in the Royal Air Force. Cadet Kiddle’s service papers show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, and had brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

Clifford was sent to Kent for his training, but his time as an airman was to be brief. He was admitted to Shorncliffe Military Hospital with pneumonia, but the condition would prove too much. He died on 20th November 1918, ten days after his eighteenth birthday.

The body of Clifford Henry Evan Kiddle was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in Gillingham Cemetery, not far from where his family were living.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Driver, Great War, history, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, story, unknown, war

Driver Arthur Dowland

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Driver Arthur Dowland

Arthur Dowland was born in the spring of 1884, and was the third of seven children to Austin and Maria Dowland. Austin was a coachman from Dorset, and the family seemed to travel with his work. By the time Arthur was born, they were living in Bourton, on the Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire borders.

There is little in the way of documentation to track Arthur’s life. He does not appear in the 1911 census, and a separate record suggests that he may have emigrated to Canada for work, returning to Britain by the time war broke out.

Driver Dowland’s service papers have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Army Service Corps, and was attached to one of the Horse Transport companies.

Arthur’s time in the army was not to be a lengthy one, and it appears that he fell ill while training. He passed away at his parents’ home in Gillingham, Dorset, on 4th April 1915, at the age of 31 years old.

The body of Arthur Downland was laid to rest in Gillingham Cemetery .

Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Devonshire Regiment, Dorset, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, story, war

Private Hedley Perry

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Private Hedley Perry

Hedley James Garfield Perry was born in Camborne, Cornwall in the autumn of 1898. One of nine children, his parents were John and Thurza Perry. John was a farm labourer, and the family lived in a semi-detached cottage at 15 Tehidy Road, to the north of the town centre.

Hedley was under age when war broke out, but it is clear that he wanted to play his part. His service records are long since lost, but he had enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment by the spring of 1918. Private Perry’s unit – the 9th (Service) Battalion – was involved in the final advance on Picardy in the last weeks of the war, and it was during this time that he was wounded.

Private Perry was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and he was admitted to a military hospital in Gillingham, Dorset. Hedley’s injuries would prove too severe, however, and he succumbed to them on 4th December 1918, just three weeks after the Armistice was signed. He was 20 years of age.

The body of Hedley James Garfield Perry was laid to rest in Gillingham Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, Uncategorized, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Joseph Barnes

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Private Joseph Barnes

Joseph Arthur Barnes was born in the spring of 1887, and was the youngest of four children to George and Hannah Barnes. George was a farm labourer from Longbridge Deverill, Wiltshire, and this is where he and Hannah – or Anna – raised their family.

When he completed his schooling, Joseph found work as a horseman on the farm, alongside his older brother, George. On 30th July 1913, he married Minnie Ring, a furniture maker’s daughter from the village. The couple exchanged vows in the parish church.

War was on the horizon, and a little over a year after their marriage, Joseph stepped up to play his part. He joined the Wiltshire Regiment and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion. Private Barnes was sent to Dorset for training, but his time in the army would not be a lengthy one.

Joseph contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to hospital in Weymouth. The condition would provide to severe, however, and he passed away on 9th April 1915: he was 27 years of age.

The body of Joseph Arthur Barnes was taken back to Wiltshire for burial: he was laid to rest in the tranquil surrounds of St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Longbridge Deverill.

Joseph’s brother George also served in the First World War. Assigned to the 1st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment, he served on the Western Front. Private Barnes was killed in action on 5th August 1917, at the age of 33. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Driver, Great War, history, Ireland, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, story, unknown, war

Driver Walter Crabb

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Driver Walter Crabb

Walter George Crabb was born in the spring of 1893 in the Castleton area of Sherborne, Dorset. The oldest of ten children, his parents were Fred and Selina Crabb. Fred was a sawyer, but when Walter completed his schooling, he found employment as a bricklayer’s labourer. The 1911 census recorded the family as living in a 5-roomed cottage on Long Street.

When war came to Europe, Walter was quick to step up and play his part. His service records have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted by October 1914. As a Driver, he was attached to the 108th Horse Transport Company and, by the following spring, was barracked at Curragh Camp, to the south west of Dublin.

The next record for Driver Crabb is his entry in the British Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects. This confirms that he passed away in Curragh Hospital on 12th April 1915. The cause of his death is not recorded, but he was just 21 years of age.

The body of Walter George Crabb was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful surroundings of St Mary Magdalene Churchyard, Castleton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, Ireland, Kent, Middlesex, photography, Royal Horse Artillery, Sergeant Major, Staffordshire, story, unknown, war

Regimental Serjeant Major Thomas Wilson

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Regimental Serjeant Major Thomas Wilson

The life of Thomas Henry Wilson is challenge to piece together, and it is only through fragmented documents that the trail can be uncovered.

Thomas’ headstone confirms he was a Regimental Sergeant Major in the Royal Horse Artillery, and that he died on 4th July 1916, at the age of 52.

The Commonwealth War Graces Commission’s records confirm that he was married to Mary Ann Wilson (née Ralph), who lived in West Stour, Dorset. The couple’s wedding took place in Holy Trinity Church, Woolwich, Kent, on 14th February 1888. The marriage certificate gives their fathers’ names – farriers Charles Wilson and James Ralph. The document also confirms Thomas’ role as a a Sergeant in the RHA, and gives his age as 27, and Mary’s as 21.

The Wilsons’ appearance in the the census records is a little sporadic. They are not recorded on the 1891 census, but ten years later, they were living in Bilston, Staffordshire. They were listed as being caretakers of the town’s Conservative Club on Church Street. Their ages are given as 41 and 31, and Mary’s place of birth is given as Kington Magna, Dorset.

By 1911, Thomas and Mary had moved to London, and were boarding at the house of Joseph and Rosetta Johnson, at 5 Knivet Road in Fulham, Middlesex. Thomas was listed as being an army pensioner, while Mary was employed as a domestic cook.

At this point, Thomas’ trail goes cold. It is likely that he was called upon when war broke out, but there are no records to confirm where or how he served. He passed away in July 1916, and was laid to rest in All Saints’ Churchyard, Kington Magna, which would suggest that he and Mary had moved there to be close to her family.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Mesopotamia, photography, Private, story, war

Private Frederick Cox

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Private Frederick Cox

Frederick Charles Cox was born in the Dorset village of Kington Magna in the spring of 1897. One of seven children, his parents were agricultural labourer William Cox and his wife, Kate.

When Frederick completed his schooling, he also found work as a farm labourer. However, when war broke out, he was keen to play his part, possibly having seen his older brother, William Jr, also join up.

Unlike his sibling, Frederick enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment. His service papers have been lost to time, but it is clear that he took the role of Private, and that he was assigned to the 1st/4th Battalion. His unit began the war in India, but had moved to Basra in February 1916, remaining in Mesopotamia for the remainder of the conflict.

Private Cox survived the war, and had returned home by the end of 1919. His time in the army would impact his health, however, and during the winter of 1919/20, he came down with malaria, a condition which would prove fatal. Frederick passed away in hospital in Shaftesbury, on 31st January 1920: he was 23 years of age.

The body of Frederick Charles Cox was taken back to Kington Magna for burial. He was laid to rest in All Saints’ Churchyard, close to his brother, who had died a few years before.

Read more about Frederick’s brother William here.

Kate had lost two adult sons in a matter of years, and her tragedy was not to end. William Sr passed away less than five weeks after Frederick. He was buried close to his sons.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, injury, Kent, London Regiment, photography, Private, story, war

Private William Cox

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Private William Cox

William John Cox was born in the autumn of 1893, and was the second of seven children. His parents – William and Kate Cox – were from Kington Magna, Dorset, and this is where they would raise their family.

William Sr was a farm labourer, and this is work into which his son would follow. By the time of the 1911 census, the family were living in a cottage on Church Street, with William Jr and his younger brother, Frederick, both agricultural workers.

When war came to Europe, William would step up to play his part. Full service details have been lost, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the army by the summer of 1916. As a Private, he was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers).

Private Cox certainly saw action overseas, and would find himself entrenched at the Somme. At some point, he was wounded, and his injuries were bad enough for him to be sent back to Britain for treatment. He was admitted to hospital in Chatham, Kent, but his wounds would prove to be too severe. William passed away on 20th December 1916: he was 23 years of age.

The body of William John Cox was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil surrounds of All Saints’ Churchyard in Kington Magna.

William’s younger brother, Frederick, also fought in the First World War. Read his story here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Dorset, Dorset Yeomanry, Great War, history, illness, photography, Somerset, story, war

Corporal Frederick Short

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Corporal Frederick Short

Frederick Short was born in Sturminster Newton, Dorset, in the spring of 1894. The oldest of five children, he was one of three sons to John and Martha Short. John was the caretaker of the village’s cemetery, and the family lived in a cottage on site.

When Frederick completed his schooling, he found work as a groom and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was boarding with John and Clara Binning in the village of Weare, Somerset.

War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and Frederick was called upon to play his part. Full details of his military service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry. By the end of the conflict, he had risen to the rank of Corporal.

Frederick survived the conflict, and returned home. At the start of 1919, he married Mabel Heritage, a soldier’s daughter from Somerton, Somerset. Her father, George, had died by the time of the 1901 census, and Mabel moved with her mother to Milborne Port, on the Somerset-Dorset border. The 1911 census found her working as a leather glove machinist, in a four-roomed cottage on Paddock Walk, to the north of the town centre.

The war had had a negative impact on Frederick’s health. The 1921 census shows him and Mabel visiting his parents in Sturminster: his occupation was given as unfit (formerly a groom). It was only a matter of weeks later that his condition worsened. Frederick passed away from a combination of malaria and heart disease on 28th June 1921: he was 27 years of age.

The body of Frederick Short was laid to rest in Sturminster Newton Cemetery, close to, and under the watchful eye of, his caretaker father, John.