Category Archives: Kent

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war

Able Seaman Amos Cornish

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Able Seaman Amos Cornish

Amos William Cornish was born on 16th August 1887 in Dunster, Somerset. One of five children, his parents were George and Elizabeth Cornish. George, who was a brickmaker, died in 1893, and at this point the family relationships seemed to have broken down.

By the time of the 1901 census, Elizabeth had remarried, and was living with her new husband and Amos’ youngest sibling, sister Lily. Two of Amos’ brothers, Walter and George, were living with his maternal grandparents, while Amos himself was one of three hundred inmates at the Horton Kirby Home for Homeless Boys in the Dartford area of Kent.

Amos’ schooling would have finished by the time he was 14 years old, and he quickly sought work that allow him to support himself as a young man with no home to go to. A career in the Royal Navy seemed to provide that regular pay and, on 4th June 1902, he enlisted.

As he was under age, Amos was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to the shore-based training ship HMS Impregnable in Devonport, Devon. His service records show that he stood just 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was noted as having a scar in the centre of his forehead, and a tattoo of clasped hands over a heart on his right forearm.

Boy Cornish transferred to another training vessel – HMS Lion – after a month or so, and it was here, in February 1904, that he was promoted to Boy 1st Class.

Over the next eighteen months, Boy Cornish served at two more training bases – HMS Boscawen and HMS Vivid. He was given his first sea-going posting in April 1905, aboard the cruiser HMS Blake. It was on his next assignment, however, that he came into his own.

In May 1905, Amos boarded HMS Carnarvon, an armoured cruiser that had been launched a couple of years before. He was to spend the next two years as part of her crew, gaining the rank of Ordinary Seaman when he came of age in August 1905, and Able Seaman a year later.

When his time on board Carnarvon came to an end, Amos returned to shore, to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, which was to be his base on and off for the next eight years. During that time, he served on six more ships, and rose to the rank of Leading Seaman in December 1911. This new rank, however, seemed not to suit Amos, and he reverted back to his previous rank eight months later.

Able Seaman Cornish’s longest posting was on board the cruiser HMS Antrim. He joined her crew in September 1913 and, over the next three-and-a-half years he travelled far and wide. Initially patrolling the North Sea – particularly around the Scottish Isles – Amos was on board for a journey to Arkhangelsk in Russia. The ship then transferred to the Western Atlantic, patrolling around America and the West Indies.

Able Seaman Cornish returned to British shores in April 1917, to be based at HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for the nest nine months. During this time, he became ill and was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Truro with double pneumonia. Tragically, this was something he was not to recover from: Amos passed away on 4th February 1918, at the age of 30 years old.

While somewhat stretched, Amos’ family bond still remained. Elizabeth was living in Minehead by this point, with husband Alfred and their two children. It was to the Somerset town, therefore, that Amos William Cornish’s body was brought. He was laid to rest in the town’s sweeping cemetery.

George’s death in 1893, and Elizabeth’s remarriage a few years later split the family, and Amos’ siblings all followed separate paths.

The oldest of his siblings, Walter, also followed a military path. He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner and, by the time of the census, was based in Gibraltar. On completing his service, he returned to Somerset, marrying Florence Peddle in 1925. The 1939 Register found the couple living with his cousin, Amelia, while he worked as a gardener. Walter died in Weston-super-Mare in 1962, at the age of 74.

Amos’ next sibling, brother Harold, seems to have had a less fortunate time of things. Absent from the 1901 census, he appears in prison records four years later. He was incarcerated for six months’ hard labour in Brecon Prison, having been found guilty of “Gross Indecency with another male person”. Harold was 14 years and three months old at the time. A newspaper report from around this time suggests that the other party was a George Williams, but there is no further information about him. Harold seems to have come out the other side of his experience, however: the 1911 census recorded him as living and working with draper and grocer James Ridler and his family in Dunster, Somerset.

Amos’ third sibling, sister Lily, found work as a servant to bakers Joseph and Minnie Bagley in Minehead. She married painter and decorator William Whitting in 1916 and the couple went on to have a daughter, Kathleen, eight years later. The family settled in Weston-super-Mare, Lily passing away in 1968, at the age of 75.

The youngest of the Cornish siblings was George. He remained living with his maternal grandparents in Dunster, and found work as a printer. In the spring of 1921, he married Clara Govier and, by the time of the 1939 Register, they couple were living in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where George was working as a printer and compositor. He died in 1957, at the age of 62 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Sapper, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Sapper Walter Stone

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Sapper Walter Stone

Walter Stone was born at the start of 1880 in Lympsham, Somerset. The middle of three children, his parents were coal merchant George Stone and his wife, Ellen.

When he finished his schooling, Walter found work as a painter and plumber. In January 1902 he married Alice Charman. Eighteen years older than Walter, she was the widow of a milkman from Bristol, and had raised her son, Edgar, since her husband had passed away a few months before. The couple settled in the village of Brent Knoll, and went on to have three children of their own: Albert, Florence and Alice.

When war came to Europe, Walter was called upon to play his part. He enlisted after June 1916, and joined the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. He was attached to the Inland Waterways and Docks division, but, as no documentation remains to confirm his service, it is not possible to confirm whether he saw any action overseas

Sapper Stone’s time in the army was not to be a long one. The next record for him is that of his admission to a military hospital in Herne Bay, Kent. He was suffering from pneumonia, and this would take his life on 18th January 1917. He was 36 years of age.

Walter Stone’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil graveyard of St Michael’s Church in Brent Knoll.

Further tragedy was to strike Walter’s widow, Alice. Edgar, her son from her first marriage, enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry when war broke out. Attached to the 7th (Service) Battalion, he found himself on the Front Line by the end of July 1915.

Private Stone is reported to have been accidentally killed on 1st May 1917. No other detail is given, but he was just 24 years of age when he passed. He was buried at the Thiepval Memorial at the Somme.

Alice had lost her husband and her oldest child within a matter of months.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Scotland, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Private William Parsons

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Private William Parsons

On the main road between Glastonbury and Wells, on the outskirts of the village of Coxley is the old Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. Now converted to a house, its back garden contains the remains of Private WR Parsons, who died in January 1919.

William Reginald Parsons was born on 22nd February 1895 in the hamlet of Chilton Burtle, near Bridgwater. The second of eight children, his parents were Wallace and Harriet Parsons. By the time of the 1901 census, the family had moved to Wells, where William was employed as a platelayer by Great Western Railways.

When he left school, William found employment as a paper maker, and was employed by the St Cuthbert’s Paper Mill to the west of the city. He wanted bigger and better things, however, and, on 11th April 1912, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry.

Private Parsons’ service records show that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. It was also noted that he had a small scar on the right side of his back. Initially sent to the regiment’s depot in Deal, Kent, this is where he was tested for his swimming ability: he passed on 24th June 1912.

William remained in Deal until the end of the year. After seven months in Portsmouth, Hampshire, he embarked on a number of postings that lasted for the next six years. Initially assigned to the battleship HMS Bulwark, Private Parsons’ main posting was on board another battleship, HMS Zealandia.

Primarily based guarding the North Sea Coast, Zealandia also served in the Mediterranean, sailing as far as the Dardanelles towards the end of 1915. In all, Private Parsons spent more than three years on board the battleship.

William’s next posting was on board the cruiser HMS Royalist, on which he served until the end of the First World War. While he was on board, it appears that he became unwell, and he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Granton, near Edinburgh. Details of his condition are not readily available, but they were serious enough for him to succumb to them: he passed away on 30th January 1919, at the age of just 23 years old.

The body of William Reginald Parsons was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet churchyard of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Coxley.

(c) Sharky Ward 2025

As the chapel is now a family home, its garden is not readily accessible. The photo of Private Parsons’ grave was taken by Commonwealth War Graves Commission volunteer Sharky Ward, to whom I am indebted for its use.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, London, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Horse Artillery, Shoeing Smith, Somerset, story, war, Yorkshire

Shoeing Smith Samuel Treeby

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Shoeing Smith Samuel Treeby

Samuel Treeby was born in December 1865 in Taunton, Somerset. The third of seven children, his parents were cordwainer Thomas Treeby and his wife, Anna (or Hannah).

When he finished his schooling, Samuel found work as a blacksmith at a collar factory in Taunton. His trade stood him in good stead away from the forge: he volunteered for the Royal Horse Artillery, becoming adept at shoeing the animals.

In 1906, Samuel married Sarah Parker. She was from Enmore, between Bridgwater and Taunton, although the couple married in Cardiff, Glamorgan. The couple settled back in Enmore, where Samuel continued his smithing trade.

War came to Europe in 1914 and, although he was 49 years old, Samuel stepped up to play his part. He was attached to the Royal Army Service Corps and given a rank that echoed his civilian profession, that of Shoeing Smith. His service records show that he was of average height – 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall – but that he was illiterate: he signed his declaration with a cross.

Samuel spent several months on home soil, before being sent out to France in March 1916. He spent six months overseas, before being shipped back to Britain, suffering from rheumatism. Shoeing Smith Treeby was admitted to the East Leeds War Hospital before being discharged to the regiment’s Remount Depot in Woolwich, Kent.

Samuel returned home to Somerset, but his poor health still dogged him during the winter of 1916/17. He contracted bronchitis, and died of the condition on 27th February 1917, while still based in London. He was 51 years of age.

Samuel’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Michael’s Church in Enmore, not far from where his widow still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, injury, Kent, photography, Royal Engineers, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Corporal Francis Rich

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Corporal Francis Rich

Francis Frederick Herbert Rich was born in Sherborne, Dorset, in the spring of 1896. The youngest of three children, his parents were Frederick and Alice Rich. Frederick was a grocer’s assistant, who had left Sherborne by the time of the 1901 census for Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, to find work. Alice remained with their children, but, by 1911, the family were back together and living in Bridgwater.

Frederick was now working as a grocer, and his two daughters were employed as pressers in a local blouse factory. Frederick, meanwhile, was apprenticed to an outfitter’s in the town.

War came to Europe, and Francis stepped up to service his King and Country. Full details of his time in the army are lost to time, but it is clear that he joined the Royal Engineers, and was attached to the 20th Territorial Force Depot. This was based in Pier Road, Gillingham, Kent, but it seems likely that he spent at least some time overseas.

A contemporary newspaper suggested that he worked as a dispatch rider for his battalion. The location of his passing – the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley, near Southampton – would intimate that he had been brought there from the Western Front, having been wounded there.

Corporal Rich had been awarded the Military Medal before he passed, although again, the reason for this award is lost to the ages. He died, through causes unknown, on 16th May 1918, at the age of just 22 years old.

The body of Francis Frederick Herbert Rich was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in North Petherton Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived, on Taunton Road, Bridgwater.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 2nd Class Percival Berry

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Stoker 2nd Class Percival Berry

Percival Arthur Berry was born in January 1902, one of five children to Henry and Elizabeth Berry. Henry was a bricklayer from West Monkton in Somerset, and this is where the family were born and raised.

Percival seems to have had a roaming soul, or itchy feet. When he finished his schooling, he worked as a farm labourer, but in January 1918, he found employment as an engine cleaner for Great Western Railways in Taunton. This was not to last, however, and hi employment ended on 15th March, his work records stating that he just left.

Percival went back to farm labouring, but still sought a way out of that life. In January 1919, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. So keen was he to escape Somerset, he added a year to his age, to ensure that they allowed him to enlist. His records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Assigned the rank of Stoker 2nd Class, Percival was sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport. Within a matter of weeks, however, Stoker Berry had fallen ill. The details are a little confusing at this point – he was stationed at HMS Vivid, but admitted to the Dreadnought Seaman’s Hospital in Greenwich, Kent, his admission records stating that he had come from HMS Harlech. It is likely, therefore, that he was on a voyage from Devon, on board the converted trawler Harlech, when he fell ill. Docking in London, he was then admitted to the Greenwich hospital.

Stoker 2nd Class Berry had contracted influenza, and this was to take his life. He died on 26th February 1919, aged just 17 years old. He had served in the Royal Navy for just 47 days.

Percival Arthur Berry was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Kingston St Mary, a few miles from his old family home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, Kent, London, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Somerset, story, war

Private Frederick Sloley

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Private Frederick Sloley

Frederick Sloley was born on 7th April 1897 in Kingston St Mary, Somerset, and was the fourth of nine children to Walter and Mary Jane Sloley. The family were farm workers and were living with Walter’s parents – also agricultural labourers – in the 1901 census.

After he finished his schooling, Frederick found began working with the horses on the farm. When war broke out, however, he saw an opportunity to serve his King and Empire, and enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. He joined up on 5th October 1914, and his service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with black hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

Private Sloley was initially sent to the Reserve Depot in Deal, Kent, for training, before moving to the Plymouth Division in Devon in March 1915. He records do not make it clear where he served specifically, but by 1916 he has fought in the Dardanelles and Mesopotamia.

It was while he was in the Eastern Mediterranean that Frederick was injured. Wounded in the spine by enemy gunfire, he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Admitted to King George’s Hospital in London, surgery proved too late. Private Sloley passed away on 26th November 1916, at the age of just 19 years old. His mother, Mary, had managed to see him before he died.

The body of Frederick Sloley was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in his home village of Kingston.

Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, India, Kent, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war

Serjeant Robert Priddle

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Serjeant Robert Priddle

Zebulon Priddle was born in the autumn of 1876 in Curry Mallet, Somerset. One of ten children, who included Meliam, Cornelius, Absalom, Ebenezer, Lancelot and Jabez, his parents were Robert and Mary Priddle.

Robert was a farm labourer, and his son followed suit at first, but a career away from home beckoned and, on 16th January 1894, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. Aged just 18 years and 2 months, Zebulon had volunteered in the Somerset Light Infantry, a militia group at that point. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 122lbs (55.3kg).

Driver Priddle was based on home soil for eighteen months before his wish for a life of adventure was realised. On 16th September 1894, his battalion set sail for India, and he was to remain there for more than six years. Zebulon returned to Britain in February 1902, where he was placed on reserve status. He completed his twelve years’ service in January 1906, and stepped down from the army.

Britain’s shores could not contain Zebulon, however, and at some point he emigrated to Canada. Little information of his life in North America is available, other than that the move seemed to have provided him with an opportunity to change his name, as in documents from this point on he is known as Robert Priddle.

The next record for Robert is that of his re-enlistment when war broke out. He was living in Winnipeg by this point, and, as he gives his mother, Mary, as his next-of-kin, it seems that he did not marry or have children.

Robert joined up again on 16th December 1914, and was attached to the 9th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. Promoted to the rank of Sergeant, he arrived back in England in March the following year. His time there was to be brief, however, and within a matter of weeks, Robert arrived on the Western Front.

Over the next six months, Sergeant Priddle’s health suffered significantly, and he had several periods in hospital. Initially suffering from bronchitis, in July 1915 he was medically evacuated to Britain with cardiac angina. He remained in England and, when rheumatism set in in October, he was transferred to reserve status.

Sadly, this was not to be the last time Sergeant Priddle’s health suffered: he was admitted to hospital in Shorncliffe, Kent, with a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He succumbed quickly, passing away on 25th January 1916, at the age of 39 years old.

The body of Robert Priddle was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest under his assumed name, in the peaceful graveyard of St James’ Church in his home village of Curry Mallet.

Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, Kent, London, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private John Cotterell

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Private John Cotterell

Much public interest was manifested in the funeral, on Thursday, of Private John St Clair Cotterell eldest son of Mr T Sturge Cotterell, JP, of Bath. Deceased, who was 26 years of age, was educated at Bath College, and left England to take up the life of a rancher in Canada. Here he joined the Alberta Rifles and saw service on the Western Front, where he was dangerously wounded in an attack on the Arras front on April 28th. He was, however, brought back to this country, only to succumb to his severe wounds in Westminster Hospital on Saturday. He leaves a widow and one child.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 19th May 1917

John St John Cotterell was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, on 17th September 1891. One of six children, his parents were wallpaper manufacturer turned quarry manager Thomas Sturge Cotterell, and his wife, Edith. John remains noticeably absent from both the 1901 and 1911 censuses in which his parents and sibling – and servants – are recorded, so his early life is hard to piece together.

By 1908 John had emigrated to Canada to become a farmer. It was here that he met and married Gladys Nettleton. The couple settled in Alberta and had a daughter, Nellie, who was born in 1915.

When war came to Europe, John stepped up to play his part for King and Empire. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 8th March 1916, and was assigned to the 192nd Overseas Battalion. Private Cotterell’s service records confirm that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, weighed 117lbs (53kg) and had fair hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Private Cotterell left Canada for Britain on 1st November 1916, arriving in Liverpool ten days later. He was transferred to the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Canadian Infantry, and barracked at St Martin’s Plain, near Folkestone in Kent. Early in 1917, he was moved to the 10th Battalion and, on 4th March was shipped off across the English Channel.

John’s arrival in France was not an auspicious one. Tightly packed barracks were a breeding ground for disease, and, by the time he had arrived in Le Havre, John had contracted mumps. He was laid up in a camp hospital for just over a month before returned to his battalion and heading to Arras.

Private Cotterell’s was severely injured in the fighting, and he received a gunshot wound to his spine. Medically evacuated to Britain, he was admitted to the Westminster Hospital in London. His medical report noted that his ‘1st lumbar vertebra [was] shattered and [spinal] cord [was] cut through‘. He had complete paralysis below the groin and that he was in a ‘hopeless condition‘. His injuries proved too severe, and he passed away on 13th May 1917, three days after being admitted. John was just 25 years of age.

John St Clair Cotterell’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s Abbey Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Officer's Steward, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Officer’s Steward Sidney Gordon

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Officer’s Steward Sidney Gordon

Hidden away above the busy A371 to the north of Axbridge, Somerset is an unassuming graveyard. Overgrown and haunting, with headstones lining the boundary of the copse, this is the cemetery for the former St Michael’s Sanatorium, now the St Michael’s Cheshire Home. In the middle of the plot, next to the central memorial, is a headstone dedicated to Sidney Gordon, notably buried somewhere else in the grounds.

Sidney Vincent Gordon was born in Upton Park, Essex, on 7th May 1897. There is little information about his early life, other than his mother’s name, May.

The 1911 census recorded Sidney as being an inmate at the Scattered Home for the West Ham Union, the workhouse that covered the area. At 13 years of age, he was one of the older of the thirteen students boarding in the home, which was overseen by Emma Caroline Simpson, the House Mother.

When Sidney completed his schooling, he managed to find employment as an undertaker’s boy. But he sought out bigger things and, on 8th June 1914, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records note that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Being under-age when he enlisted, Sidney was given the rank of Boy. He was first sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, for training, and remained there for a couple of months. In August 1914, Boy Gordon was moved down the coast to HMS Actaeon, a torpedo school based in Sheerness, Kent.

After five months, he moved to HMS Wildfire, another part of the Sheerness base, and it was while there he turned 18, and could formally join the Royal Navy. He was given the rank of Officer’s Steward 3rd Class and remained at Wildfire until the end of 1915. After a short stint back in Chatham, Sidney was given a new posting on board the supply ship HMS Tyne, where he remained until the following May.

Officer’s Steward Gordon returned to HMS Pembroke once more, and was assigned to his final sea-going ship, the newly launched monitor, HMS Erebus. She was to be his home until June 1917, when, having become unwell, he was posted back to HMS Pembroke.

Sidney had contracted pulmonary tuberculosis, which led to him being invalided out of the Navy on 1st August 1917. At this point his trail goes cold once more, but it is likely that, by the start of 1919, his condition had led to his admission to St Michael’s.

When he died there, on 5th March 1919, Sidney was just 21 years old. Given his background, it seems probable that his mother, if she was still alive, would not have been able to afford for his remains to be brought back to Essex. Sidney Vincent Gordon was laid to rest in the sanatorium’s cemetery, in the foothills of the Mendips, finally at peace.