Leonard Bentley was born in Strood, Kent, on 6th December 1896. One of six children, his parents were John and Emma Bentley. John was a barge captain, transporting ship-loads of cement from the local works to where it was needed.
The 1911 census found an extended Bentley family living at 85 Cliffe Road in Strood. John and Emma shared their home with Leonard, his older brother Arthur, and Arthur’s wife and son. Eleven years younger than Arthur, who was his next oldest sibling, Leonard was still at school by this point.
Education was obviously important to Leonard, and by the end of the year, he had enrolled in the Royal Navy as a Boy Artificer. He would spend the next few years at HMS Fisgard, the training establishment in Woolwich, Kent, learning his trade.
When he came of age in December 1914, Leonard was officially inducted into the Royal Navy, taking on the rank of Engine Room Artificer 5th Class. He remained at Fisgard until January 1916, when he transferred to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth.
This was a temporary move, however, and on 11th April Leonard was assigned to HMS Africa, and a few weeks later, he was promoted to Engine Room Artificer 4th Class. A battleship, the Africa would become his home for the next eighteen months and he would travel with to the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.
In January 1918, Engine Room Artificer Bentley would return to solid ground. He transferred to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Navy’s base in Chatham, Kent. The reason for his move appears to have been health related, and he was soon moved the the town’s Naval Hospital, suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. The condition was to prove fatal. Leonard died on 15th April 1918: he was 21 years of age.
Leonard Bentley was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from his family home, or his final naval base.
Charles John Crane was born in Canning Town, Essex, on 14th April 1879. One of at least five children, his parents were Charles and Sarah Crane. Charles Sr had been born in Bath, Somerset, but was working in London as a hairdresser when he met his wife, and settled in West Ham. The family lived in rooms at 52 Burnham Street, sharing the house with Sarah’s parents, Daniel and Rebecca King, and siblings.
By the time of the 1891 census, the family set-up had changed. Charles Jr was now living with Daniel and Rebecca at 56 Burnham Street, but his parents and siblings are nowhere to be found. Daniel was a dock labourer, and his job seems to have ignited a passion for the sea that was to direct his grandson’s life.
Charles took to a life at sea, working his way up to the rank of Master, and settling in the Montrose area of Scotland. He married Margaret McIntosh, and they went on to have six children.
When war broke out, Charles was assigned to the SS Innescroone, and served his time on board during the conflict.
FATAL BLOW WHILE WORKING AN ANCHOR.
An inquest was held at the Royal Naval Hospital, Gillingham, into the circumstances attending the death of Charles John Crane, aged thirty-nine, master of the s.s. Innescroone. The deceased met with an accident on the 8th inst. while working the anchor of his vessel, and was removed to the hospital, where he died from the injuries he sustained on 12th inst.
The Coroner (Mr. C. B. Harris) remarked that the deceased’s vessel was at sea, so that it would not be possible to conclude the inquiry that day, as witnesses from the ship would have to be called. Only necessary evidence would be taken, and the inquest would be adjourned. Evidence of identification was given by Mrs Crane, who stated that her husband was conscious when she saw him at the hospital, but he was in too bad a condition to tell her anything about the accident.
Surgeon Percy Gibson, R.N. stated that the deceased was admitted to the hospital from Sheerness, suffering from a blow in the stomach, which he received owing to the winch handle flying back. He was suffering from severe shock. He was operated on the same morning. He had ruptured a small intestine. Peritonitis set in, and he died on Sunday (12th inst.) from rupture of the intestine and general peritonitis. There was a bruise on the abdominal wall just over where the rupture was found, which showed that it was due to the accident.
At the adjourned inquest, the mate (Boynton) gave evidence as to the cause of the mishap. It appeared that the Inniscroone was lying at anchor near the Edinboro’ Channel on the morning of May 8. There was a strong wind blowing either from the north-east or the south-east. It was desired to heave the anchor, but owing to the strong wind the motor failed. In consequence it was intended to use hand power for the purpose. The winch handle was fitted to the winch, but the actual heaving process by hand had not commenced. Owing to a lurch of the ship the grip holding the anchor chain came open, and this sudden strain broke the pivot and part of the frame of the winch’s pawl. As a result the chain started, and many fathoms ran out. In revolving at high speed the winch handle flew off and struck deceased a blow in the stomach, knocking him down. He was attended to by the ship’s doctors, who were called, and admitted to the Sheerness Sickquarters in the afternoon of that day, and removed the next day to the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham.
The jury found death to be due to peritonitis caused by the accidental blow from the flying winch handle.
The deceased, who belonged to London, had been resident in Montrose for the past sixteen years, and leaves to mourn his loss his widow and a family of six, who reside at 12 Gibson Place. For seven years he sailed on the local ketch Spartan. Full naval honours were given to his burial, which took place on 16th inst. to Gillingham Cemetery, Kent.
[Montrose Standard: Friday 31st May 1918]
Charles John Crane was 39 years of age when he passed away. He was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent.
Joseph Frederick Yeoman was born on 28th December 1880, the sixth of eight children to John and Eliza. John was a brewer’s drayman from Harbertonford in Devon, but it was on the coast in Paignton that the Yeoman family were born and raised.
When he finished school, Joseph found work as a mason’s apprentice. The 1901 census found the family of seven living in a small terrace cottage on Hill Park Terrace, to the south of Paignton town centre, with all but Eliza bringing in a wage.
In 1906, Joseph married Lydia Gill. She was the daughter of a general labourer from Chudleigh, Devon, who was working as a domestic servant for an architectural surveyor and his wife. The couple went on to have two children – Joseph Jr, who was born the following year, and Lilian, who was born in 1910, but who died when just a babe-in-arms.
The 1911 census found Joseph and Lydia living at 20 Nuneham Terrace, Joseph Jr is missing from the document, and it seems likely that, with his sister’s death, he had been taken in by another relative to allow his grieving parents some space.
When war broke out, Joseph stepped up to play his part. Full details of his military service have been lost to time, and a clear chronology is a challenge to piece together. Lydia passed away in January 1915, but it is not clear whether Joseph had enlisted by this point. His entry in the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects confirms that he had joined up by September 1915 at the latest, and that he was in the Royal Engineers.
Sapper Yeoman was assigned to the 1st/3rd (Wessex) Field Company. It is unclear from his records whether he served overseas, but by the spring of 1916, he was in Kent.
The news will be received with deep regret of the death of Sapper JF Yeoman… which took place on Sunday from enteric fever at Nackington Hospital, Canterbury. Deseased was in the employ of Mr WF Pearce before joining up, and frequently assisted the old Rugby Football Club.
South Devon Weekly Express: Friday 10th March 1916
Joseph Frederick Yeoman was 35 years of age when he died on 5th March. His body was brought back to Devon for burial, and he was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery.
Joseph Yeoman Jr was just nine years old when his father, and had lost both of his parents within a space of just over a year. Emma Augusta Gill, possibly Lydia’s sister-in-law, was given guardianship of him, and he moved to East Brent, Somerset, for a new life.
Joseph William Cutting was born on 10th September 1897 in Stratford, Essex. The middle of three children, his parents were Alfred and Clara. Alfred was a stoker in a carpenter’s workshop, but when he completed his schooling, his son found work as a clerk.
When war broke out, Joseph stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 22nd September 1915, joining as an Officer’s Steward 3rd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a scar in the middle of his forehead.
Officer’s Steward Cutting was based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and would continue in his role for the next two and a half years. His annual review recorded a very good character, and moderate to satisfactory ability, which may be why he did not rise above his junior rank.
In the summer of 1918, Joseph was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, suffering from tuberculosis. The lung condition was to prove his undoing, and he succumbed to it on 16th July 1918. He was just 20 years of age.
Joseph William Cutting was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base he had called home for so long.
“The funeral took place on Wednesday with naval honours of Lieut. Claude Bennett Walker, RNR, whose home is a 23, Overcliffe, Gravesend, and who died at the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham, on Saturday. His death was a naval casualty, and it was only on Friday, a day before his death, that he was taken to the Chatham Hospital.”
[Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph: Saturday 25th May 1918]
Claude Bennett Walker was born on 6th July 1882 in Deal, Kent. The oldest of five children, his parents were George and Amelia Walker. George was a Trinity pilot, navigating ships off the Kent coast and beyond, and it was only natural that his first born followed in his stead.
Claude set to a life at sea when he completed his schooling. By August 1904, he was a registered Second Mate on board sea-going vessels, and within two years, he was deemed competent to become a First Mate. By 1909 he was certified as a Master of a foreign-going ship. At some point he joined the Royal Naval Reserve, and on 5th July 1912, was given the rank of Sub-Lieutenant.
That autumn, Claude married Gwen Case. The wedding took place in her home town of Melksham, Wiltshire, and the couple would go on to have two children – son Alec in 1913, and daughter Alison three years later.
When war broke out, Claude would be called upon to play his part, serving on the battleship HMS Majestic and the destroyer HMS Recruit early on in the conflict. By the spring of 1915, he was assigned to the minelayer HMS Biarritz, and that October, he was promoted to full Lieutenant.
On 9th March 1917, Claude was given command of the minelayer HMS Perdita. She served in the Mediterranean, and would be caught up in some skirmishes. In October 1917, Lieutenant Walker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and the following April he was mentioned in dispatches.
The Perdita was back in Kent by the spring, by which point Claude had fallen ill. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham with cerebrospinal meningitis, and this would be the condition to which he would succumb. He passed away on 18th May 1918, at the age of 35 years of age.
Claude Bennett Walker was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.
John Slade was born in Winchmore Hill, Buckinghamshire, in 1865. One of three children to Edward and Mary, he also had three half-siblings from his mother’s previous marriage. Edward was a hawker, but when he left school, his son sought bigger and better things. By the time of the 1891 census he was recorded as being a Private in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and was based in Chatham, Kent.
Sadly, Private Slade’s service records have been lost to time, so it is not possible to identify where his role took him. The 1901 census, however, shed some light on his time in the navy. It found him living at 36 Cross Street in Gillingham, Kent, with his wife, Annie, and his adopted daughter, Lillie. They had also taken on three boarders – Frank Hall, Harry Monk and Charles Barwell – all of whom were in the navy as well.
Ten years later on, and thing had changed once more. Still living in Gillingham, it seems that John’s time in the Royal Marine Light Infantry had come to an end. Instead, he was living at 54 James Street and giving his trade as an unemployed labourer. Still noted as being married, there is no sign of either Annie or Lillie: instead John was living with widow Laura Greyson and her two teenage boys, Charles and George.
At this point, John’s trail goes cold. As he was formally granted a Commonwealth War Grave, he must have stepped up to serve his country once more when war broke out in 1914. He would, however, have been getting on in years at this point, so how for long that service continued is anyone’s guess. He passed away from ‘disease’ on 22nd July 1918, at the age of 53 years of age.
John Slade was laid to rest in the military section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gllingham, the town that had been his home for more than three decades.
Thomas Ellis was born in 1896 in St Leonard’s, Sussex. The third of twelve children, his parents were George and Ellen Ellis. George was a general labourer, but when he finished his schooling, Thomas found work as a golf caddy. The 1911 census recorded the Ellis family living in four rooms at 7 Caves Road to the east of the town centre.
There is little additional information about Thomas, sadly. He joined the Royal Navy when war broke out, and was working as a Stoker 1st Class by the closing months of the conflict. He passed away, through causes unknown, on 7th July 1918, at the age of just 23 years old.
Thomas Ellis was laid to rest in the naval section of the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham – HMS Pembroke – at which he was based.
The life of William Wood, who is buried in Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, is a challenge to piece together. His headstone confirms that he held the rank of Acting Leading Seaman in the Royal Naval Reserve, and that he was assigned to SS Portwood at the time of his death.
Full service records for William have long since disappeared, but his pension ledger index card gives his widow as Catherine Rose Wood, of Greenfield Street in Govan, Scotland. It also suggests that the couple did not have any children under full age.
The Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll provides William’s date of birth – 28th December 1887 – and goes on to suggest that he was born in London. Sadly, his name is far too common to narrow down census records, and there are no documents relating to his and Catherine’s marriage, so any additional family connections are also lost.
Acting Leading Seaman Wood’s entry on the pension ledger confirms his died of general paralysis of the insane, and his burial in the Gillingham cemetery would suggest that he had passed away in the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent. He died on 11th May 1918, at the age of 29 years old.
William Wood was buried in the military section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.
Arthur John Couchman was born in the spring of 1887, the oldest of seven children to John and Emma. John was a farm labourer from the parish of Wilmington, Kent, and this is where he and Emma raised their family.
When he completed his schooling, Arthur found work as a house boy, but soon turned his hand to gardening. When the opportunity was presented to him, however, and in the autumn of 1908, he emigrated to Australia, presumably to find work as a farmer.
Little about Arthur’s time overseas is detailed. He settled in Freemantle, to the south of Perth, and, early in 1916, he married Sarah McAlinden. She had left London for the Antipodes to work as a domestic four years previously. Their marriage seems to have been spurred on by Arthur’s imminent departure for the home country, as, on 19th June 1916, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force.
Working as a general labourer by this point, Arthur’s service records show that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and weighed 146lbs (66.2kg). He was found to have fair hair, grey eyes and a ruddy complexion. He also had tattoos on both of his forearms.
Private Couchman’s unit departed Freemantle on 9th November 1916, on a journey to Devonport, Devon, that would take two months. On his arrival, he was assigned to the 51st Battalion of the Australian Infantry, and dispatched to a camp near Codford in Wiltshire.
Tragically, Arthur’s army career was to follow a not uncommon path for those arriving in Britain from overseas. Within a matter of weeks he had been sent to the New Zealand Hospital in Codford, as he was suffering from bronchial pneumonia. On 15th February 1917, just four days after his admission he passed away from the condition. He was 29 years of age.
Thousands of miles from his Australian life, Arthur John Couchman was laid to rest in the new extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, not far from the camp in which he had been briefly based.
Walter Sargeant Abbott Woodward was born in Bath, Somerset, in the summer of 1896. The oldest of four children, his parents were Henry and Louisa. Henry Woodward was a painter and decorator, but when Walter completed his schooling, he found work as a telegraph messenger for the Genera Post Office.
The 1911 census recorded the family – Walter, his parents and his three siblings – living in a 3-roomed apartment at 5 Beauford Square, close to the city centre. Within a year, Walter had been promoted within the GPO, and was given the role of Assistant Postman.
War came to Europe and Walter was called upon to play his part. On 10th December 1915 he enlisted in the army, and was assigned to the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. His records show that he was still employed by the GPO at this point, and was working as a Lineman, so it seems that his skills were appropriate for the regiment to which he was assigned.
Sapper Woodward’s service documents confirm that he was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) in height, and that he was not formally mobilised until April 1916. After a couple of months’ training, he was sent to France and he remained on the Western Front for just over a year.
On 3rd July 1917, Sapper Woodward was posted back to England. It seems that he was en route for the Signal Depot in Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire, when he became ill. Admitted to the Queen’s Canadian Hospital in Shornecliffe, Kent, he was suffering from gastritis. This would ultimately take his young life: he passed away on 12th August, aged just 21 years old.
The body of Walter Sargeant Abbott Woodward was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the city’s Locksbrook Cemetery.
Death and Service 