Nathaniel Gooby was born on 28th October 1897, the only son of William Gooby and his third wife, Margaret. Both of William’s previous wives – Tryphena and Amelia – had died before their time, but Nathaniel had six half-siblings, up to forty years older than him.
William was a carpenter, who had been born in England, but had moved to Newfoundland when he was young, and this is where he lived and raised his families.
Sadly, very little documentation remains to evidence Nathaniel’s life. He enlisted as a Seaman in the Royal Naval Reserve, potentially after war was declared (he would have been 16 years old at the outbreak of the conflict). By the summer of 1917 he was based at HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.
That summer was a busy time for the Dockyard, and temporary accommodation had been set up for the influx of military personnel based there. Seaman Gooby was billeted at Chatham Drill Hall and was sleeping there when the first night air raid was carried out by the German Air Force on 3rd September 1917. The Drill Hall received a direct hit, killing 98 servicemen – Nathaniel included. He was just 19 years of age.
Nathaniel Gooby was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid.
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.
Henry David Bird was born on 11th April 1898 in Hoxton, East London. He was the third of eleven children to carter and carman Henry Bird and his wife Florence.
When he left school, Henry Jr found employment as a munitions worker, but shortly before his nineteenth birthday, he was drawn to a more active role. On 8th January 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His enlistment papers show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with brown eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. They also noted that he had a scar on his right index finger.
Henry’s first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. After a couple of months’ training, he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Concord. He served on board for for a few weeks, before returning to Chatham in May.
The summer of 1917 was a busy time for HMS Pembroke; Ordinary Seaman Bird was one of those billeted in the Drill Hall, sleeping there, rather than in the overcrowded barracks in the dockyard itself. It was here that he was sleeping on the 3rd September, when the German Air Force undertook their first night bombing raid. One of the planes scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall, and Henry was killed instantly. He was just 19 years of age.
Henry David Bird was buried in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham, along with the dozens of other servicemen killed in the Chatham Air Raid.
Gregory Ernest Wootton was born on 28th October 1898, the only child of Henry and Isabella Wootton. The family lived in East London, and the year of Gregory’s birth was a challenging one. His parents married that year, and Henry also passed away, leaving Isabella to raise her son on her own.
She was made of stern stuff, however, and moved back in with her father, Joseph, while finding employment as a florist, working with artificial flowers. By 1909, Isabella had remarried, wedding policeman Harry Mee, and moving to South London, where the couple had a child of their own, Gregory’s half-brother, Leonard.
War was edging close to Europe, although Gregory was underage when hostilities broke out. By late 1916, however, this was no longer the case, and he was drawn to the Royal Navy. On 6th November, he gave up his job as a case maker, and enlisted as an Ordinary Seaman. His sign-up papers show that he stood 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Ordinary Seaman Wootton’s first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. After a couple of months, he was moved north, to HMS Ganges, which was a similar training base in Suffolk. While here, he was promoted to Able Seaman.
In June 1917, Gregory was on the move again, returning to Chatham. While here, at a particularly crowded time for the dockyard, he was billeted at the nearby Drill Hall. On the night of the 3rd September, while resting, the first German night raid dropped bombs on Chatham, directly hitting the Drill Hall. Able Seaman Wootton was killed instantly. He was just 18 years of age.
Gregory Ernest Wootton was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. He was buried with the other 97 victims of the Chatham Air Raid.
Albert Gale was born in the Devon village of Chudleigh Knighton in October 1883, one of five children to John and Elizabeth Gale. It seems that Elizabeth may have died when Albert was young, as, by the time of the 1901 census, John was married to a Sarah Gale, and the family were living in the village of Hennock.
John was a clay cutter, and this was a trade into which Albert followed his father. Again, as time moves on, things change; the 1911 census found Albert boarding with his sister Sophy and her husband, fellow cutter Thomas Willcocks, back in Chudleigh Knighton.
War was coming to Europe and, in April 1916, Albert enlisted, joining the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. He would have cut a commanding figure; his enlistment papers show that he stood at 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall.
Albert served on home soil. While attached to the Somerset Light Infantry, he was assigned to the 661st Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps, working in Kent and Sussex.
During this time, he received hospital treatment on four separate occasions: in August 1916, he was admitted with cellulitis of the arm; in December 1916 and January 1917, he was treated on two separate occasions for scabies. In November 1918, however, he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, as he was suffering from influenza. Sadly, this last condition was to worsen and, on 21st November 1918, Private Gale died, having subsequently contracted pneumonia. He was 35 years old.
Albert Gale’s body was brought back to Devon for burial. His brother-in-law Thomas had died the previous summer; his story can be found here. Albert was laid to rest in the grave next to his sister’s husband in the churchyard of St Paul’s in Chudleigh Knighton.
With Thomas dead, Sophy had been left a widow. Understandably bitter at what the war had taken from her, when she was asked if she wanted a memorial for her brother, she returned the form with the following statement: “I don’t require the plaque and scroll in memory of my dear brother; a piece of paper won’t keep me.”
Hubert Philip Banks was born on 13th September 1896 in Tottenham, London and was one of eight children to Wilfrid and Mary Banks. Wilfrid was a gas engineer, but when he left school, Hubert found work as a clerk. By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to Edmonton.
Hubert had a sense of adventure, and wanted a career that reflected that. On 23rd September 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy; as he was underage at this point, he was given the role of Boy. Within a year he turned 18 and was formally given the rank of Ordinary Seaman.
After initial training at HMS Pembroke – the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was assigned to HMS Cornwallis, a dreadnought class vessel that served in the Mediterranean. Hubert spent two years on Cornwallis, during which time he was promoted to Able Seaman.
Over the next few years, Hubert served on three more vessels – HMS Quernmore, HMS Agamemnon and HMS Europa. In between times, he was based back in Chatham before moving back to HMS Pembroke on a more permanent basis in July 1918.
It was while he was back in Kent that Hubert fell ill. He was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Chatham with pneumonia, and was to succumb to the lung condition on 30th October 1918. He was just 22 years of age.
Hubert Philip Banks was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the naval base he called home.
Joseph Craven was born in Liverpool on 6th January 1870. There is little information available about his early life, but by the time of the 1891 census, he was boarding with a blacksmith and his family in Bootle, Lancashire. By this point he was working as a fireman – probably a stoker-type role, rather than for the fire service.
The following year, Joseph found an opportunity to broaden his horizons and, on 21st October 1892, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His papers show that, at the time of joining up, he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) in height, had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. No distinguishing marks were noted.
Joseph’s previous employment seemed to have stood him in good stead. After initial assessments at HMS Pembroke – the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was quickly moved on to HMS Wildfire, based in Sheerness. His first sea posting was aboard the battlecruiser HMS Howe, and, within a couple of months, he had been promoted to Stoker 1st Class.
By the time Joseph’s initial twelve-year contract came to an end, he had served on board nine ships and travelled the world. When the time came, he voluntarily renewed his contract and continued his life at sea.
When back in port, he developed a private life. He met a young widow called Sarah Baker in Portsmouth, and the couple married in 1908. The census three years later found Joseph as the head of the household, living in a seven-room house with Sarah, her 13-year-old daughter, 80-year-old widowed mother and two boarders.
Stoker Craven’s naval service was, by this point, continuing apace. By the time hostilities were declared in August 1914, he had served on twelve further ships, and been promoted again, this time to the role of Leading Stoker. In between his voyages, he was based primarily at HMS Victory, Portsmouth Dockyard’s shore-base.
By the end of the following year, Joseph was almost entirely shore-based, moving from HMS Victory in Portsmouth to HMS Pembroke in Chatham and HMS Attentive in Dover. On 26th November 1916, he was serving in Chatham. A local newspaper picks up on what happened to him next:
Joseph Craven… belonging to Portsmouth, met his death under shocking circumstances at Chatham Dockyard on Sunday. When walking by the side of his ship, which was in dry dock, he tripped over some hose and fell headlong into the dock, turning two or three somersaults in his descent, and falling upon his head at the bottom, 80ft [24.3m] below. He was killed instantly.
Kent Messenger and Gravesend Telegraph: 2nd December 1916
An inquest on the 46-year-old’s death was held, and a result of accidental death was returned.
Joseph Craven was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, walking distance from the dockyard in which he lost his life.
Humphrey Donoghue was born in Kerry, Southern Ireland, on 13th December 1859. He was the oldest of two siblings, boys to John and Mary Donoghue. John was a labourer who, by the time Humphrey’s younger brother was born, had moved the family to the village of Llantarnam in South Wales, presumably for work.
Humphrey seemed to be looking for adventure, and the trip across the Irish Sea may have been the spur for that. By the time of the 1891 census, he was recorded as being a Stoker on board HMS Tretis. This was a screw corvette ship which, on the day of the census, was plying the waters of the Pacific.
Sadly, full records of Humphrey’s life at sea are no longer available, so it’s not possible to track his progress over the following years. It would seem that he Stoker Donoghue persisted with his naval career, continuing through what would have been his initial twelve years’ service. Whether he had any breaks in that service is unknown, but he was certainly still serving – or had been called back into duty – by the time of the Great War. His gravestone confirms that was serving as a Greaser – maintaining the engines – on HMS Achtaeon.
The next available document for Humphrey is the record of his death. He passed away on 26th February 1917, at the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent, having been admitted there with pneumonia. He was 57 years old.
Humphrey Donoghue was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, close to the Naval Dockyard where he may have been based.
Christopher Hickey was born on Christmas Eve 1891, in Wicklow, Southern Ireland. Full details of his early life are not available, but his mother was called Mary and he had at least one sibling, a sister called Catherine.
When he left school, he worked as a gardener but, when the war broke out, he enlisted, joining the Royal Navy on 5th November 1915. His enlistment records show that he stood 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker 2nd Class Hickey received his initial training at HMS Pembroke, the shore establishment at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. In February 1916, he was assigned to HMS Champion, a cruiser that, during his time on board, served as a flagship during the Battle of Jutland that summer.
Christopher returned to HMS Pembroke in November 1916, having been promoted to Stoker 1st Class. He served there until the following March, when he was admitted to the local Naval hospital with pyaemia (or sepsis). Sadly, this proved too much for his body to take and he died on 20th March 1917 at the age of 25 years old.
Christopher’s body was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base at which he had served.
Interestingly, the Irish Memorial Records for the Great War confirm Christopher’s passing, but give the cause of death as ‘died of wounds’, although I have been unable to find anything else to corroborate this. It may be that sepsis set after he was wounded, but it is reasonable to assume that full details will remain lost to time.
John Hart is someone whose life is destined to be a mystery. He lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent. His gravestone simply states that he was a Donkeyman for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and that he passed away on 17th May 1917.
Sadly, without a date or location of birth, it is impossible to narrow down any historic records to a specific John Hart.
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a shipping company that transported goods and travellers around the world. Primary routes included the Americas, although it is impossible to confirm which countries John would have visited. His job as a Donkeyman, however, was to help pilot the vessel.
Unfortunately, there is little more to be determined about John’s life. Given that he is buried in a cemetery close to the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, it is likely that this is a port that he sailed out of or into on a regular basis. Sadly, we are unlikely ever to know.
Death and Service 