Category Archives: London

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, London, Major, photography, Royal Engineers, Somerset, story, war

Major Cyril Wilson

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Major Cyril Wilson

Cyril Spencer Wilson was born on 12th July 1883 in Charlcombe, Somerset. The youngest of three children, his parents were John and Edith Wilson. John was a solicitor who went on to become President of the Bath Law Society and, because of his standing, Cyril and his siblings had a comfortable upbringing: all three censuses covering his life – in 1891, 1901 and 1911 – all show the family living in a large villa in Charlcombe, with a cook and a housemaid to support them.

[Cyril] was educated at Bath College and Lancing College, and then studied engineering at Bristol University. He then became an articled pupil at the Great Western Railway Works at Swindon. Very interested in, and a keen supporter of, the Territorial movement, he was a Captain of the [Royal Engineers] Wilts Fortress Engineers when war broke out.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 2nd November 1918

Cyril had begun work for the Great Western Railway in July 1902, and became attached to the Institute of Civil Engineers the following January.

Captain Wilson formally enlisted when war was declared, and was soon sent to France. “He was awarded the Military Cross early in the summer of 1917, after being twice mentioned in despatches for excellent work.” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 2nd November 1918]

Cyril was promoted to Major soon after this, and would go on to serve in France for more than a year more. In February 1918 he married Amy Pounds, the daughter of a bank clerk from East London and the couple exchanged vows in the city.

Major Wilson returned to France, but contracted dysentery that summer. He returned to Britain to recuperate, but came down with pneumonia, and this was to take his life. He died on 27th October 1918, aged 35 years old.

Cyril Spencer Wilson’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in St Mary’s Churchyard, Charlcombe.

Major Cyril Wilson
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Captain, China, Commander, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, India, Kircudbrightshire, Lieutenant, London, Middlesex, Midshipman, photography, Royal Navy, Scotland, Somerset, South Africa, story, Sub Lieutenant, war

Captain Frederick Walker

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Captain Frederick Walker

Frederick Murray Walker was born on 29th July 1862 in the village of Terregles, Kircudbrightshire, Scotland. The fifth of eleven children, his parents were Colonel Sir George Gustavus Walker, Member of Parliament for Dumfries & Galloway, and his wife, Anne. Sir George owned the Crawfordton Estate, and this is where Frederick was raised, with a retinue of fourteen staff to help the family.

Following his father’s military career, Frederick felt a draw to serve. On 15th July 1875, he entered the Royal Navy as a Midshipman. He set out to build a dedicated career, visiting most parts of the world in the process.

While Frederick’s initial service took him to the Mediterranean – where he received the Egyptian Medal and Alexandria Clasp – by 1883 he was out in China, but he also spent time in India and South Africa. In 1882 he was promoted to Sub Lieutenant, three years later he rose to the rank of Lieutenant. By 1899, Frederick had become a Commander.

By his own request, Frederick retired from the Royal Navy on 1st August 1909. He was now 47 years old, and had spent 34 years in service and was given the rank of Captain as a mark of his career.

On 19th June 1891, Frederick had married Lucy Scriven in St Saviour’s Church, Paddington, London. They would go on to have seven children, and to begin with, the life of a Naval Captain took Lucy around the coastal ports of Southern England. When Frederick retired, however, the family settled in a large house in Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, where they were supported by a governess, cook, parlour maid and housemaid.

When war broke out in 1914, Captain Walker stepped up once more to serve his King and Country. He remained in territorial waters and was given successive command of the yachts James, Zaria and Albion III. By 1917, Frederick’s health was beginning to suffer, and he was placed on HMS Victory’s reserve books, ready should Portsmouth’s Royal Naval Dockyard need his service.

Frederick was not to be called to action again. By the time the Armistice was declared Frederick’s condition was worsening. He had developed cancer of the tongue, and it was having a real impact. He was admitted to the Haslar Hospital in Portsmouth, and passed away there on 7th February 1919, at the age of 46 years old.

By this point the family had relocated to Bath, Somerset, and this is where Frederick Murray Walker’s body was brought for burial. He was laid to rest in the prestigious Lansdown Cemetery, overlooking the city.

Captain Frederick Walker
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, London, London Regiment, Middlesex, photography, Rifleman, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Rifleman Edward Compton

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Rifleman Edward Compton

Edward Charles Compton was born in Islington, Middlesex on 4th July 1897, the only child to Charles and Ada Compton. Charles was an agent for the Prudential Insurance company, and the family lived on Devonshire Road, with Charles’ aunt, Mary.

When he finished his schooling, on 7th July 1911, Edward found work as a clerk for the North African Mission. When war came to European shores, he was eager to serve his King and Country. He enlisted on 10th September 1914, and was assigned to the 11th (Reserve) Battalion of the London Regiment.

Rifleman Compton’s service records confirm that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, with good vision and physical development. He wasn’t formally mobilised until the summer of 1916 and, after training, he was transferred to the 16th (County of London) Battalion, also known as the Queen’s Westminster Rifles. He was sent to France on 19th December 1916.

Edward would have been involved in the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line in the spring of 1917, and the First and Third Battles of the Scarpe in April and May. At the end of July he returned to Britain and, while the reason for this is unclear, it seems that his health was suffering.

On 24th September 1917, Rifleman Compton was medically discharged from the army, after three years and fifteen days’ service. The cause for this isn’t documented, but there is no evidence that he was wounded, so it is likely to have been an illness of some description.

Edward returned to Islington and on 20th October 1918, he married Emily Backholer. She was a farmer’s daughter from Paignton, Devon, and was registered as living there when the couple’s banns were read during October.

Tragically, Edward and Emily’s marriage was not to be a long one: he died in Kelston, near Bath, Somerset, on 26th October 1918, less than a week after his wedding. He was just 21 years of age.

Edward Charles Compton was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Nicholas’ Church in Kelston, Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, London, photography, Private, Somerset, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Henry Mitchell

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Private Henry Mitchell

Henry Mitchell was born in the summer of 1892, the second of three children – and the only son – to George and Selina Mitchell. George was a gardener from Saltford, Somerset, and this is where he and Selina raised their young family.

By the time of the 1911 census, Henry had finished his schooling, and had followed his father into gardening for work. War was calling at England’s shores, however, and he was soon to take up a post in the army.

Full details of Henry’s military service are lost to time, but from his gravestone it is clear that he enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private. From other documents it is possible to determine that he joined up by April 1917, and that he did not serve overseas. Instead, while his battalion – the 1st – fought at the Somme, Messines and Ypres, Private Mitchell was assigned to the regiment’s depot.

Henry seems to have been based in London, and he was certainly here in the summer of 1917. He was admitted to a hospital in Bethnal Green, and it was here that he breathed his last. He died on 14th October 1917, through causes unknown. He was just 25 years of age.

Henry Mitchell’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the graveyard of the Blessed Mary Church in his home village of Saltford.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Essex, Essex Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Kent, London, photography, Somerset, story, war

Corporal Charles Fernley

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Corporal Charles Fernley

Charles Edward Fernley was born on 28th November 1874 in Stepney, East London. One of thirteen children, his parents were Richard and Eliza Fernley. Richard was a sluice keeper, who worked his way up to be an inspector of sewers and drains for London County Council. By 1888, he had been able to move his family out of the East End, to suburban Bromley, south of the river in Kent.

By the time of the 1891 census, Charles had finished his schooling, and had found work as a printer’s labourer. Ten years later, however, he was employed as a packer for a millinery warehouse. There seems to have been more need for this back in the East End, however, as he was living in Bow in the summer of 1901.

On 21st August 1901, Charles married Hannah Weston in St Faith’s Church, Stepney. She was three years younger than her husband, and was the daughter of a boatbuilder. The couple settled in a small terraced house in East Ham and had a son, Leonard, who was born in 1908.

When war came to Europe, Charles was keen to play his part. He enlisted in the Essex Regiment, and was assigned to the 1st/4th Battalion. Sent to the Balkans in August 1915, it is likely that he was caught up at Gallipoli and, in December 1915, evacuated with his battalion to Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos.

By this point, the now Corporal Fernley had contracted dysentery, and was repatriated to Britain for treatment. He was admitted to the Newton Park VAD Hospital on the outskirts of Bath, but was to succumb to the condition on 31st December 1915. He was 41 years of age.

Charles Edward Fernley was laid to rest in the quiet Holy Trinity Churchyard in Newton St Loe, Somerset.

While Charles’ headstone is dedicated to Sergeant Fernley, all other documentation suggests that he held the rank of Corporal when he died.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, London, London Regiment, photography, Private, Rifleman, Somerset, story, Training Reserve Battalion, war

Private Harry Izzard

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Private Harry Izzard

Harry Izzard was born early in 1900, in Chiswick, London and was one of six children to Albert and Florence Izzard. Albert was a groom, but when he died in 1905, Florence, left with a young family to raise, remarried. Things seem not to have gone well between Harry and his stepfather, Richard Warren, and he soon found himself resident of the Church Army Home in London.

In 1914, his schooling complete, he was sent to the village of Clandown in Somerset, where he was employed at the local colliery. He seemed to have flourished in his new life, and he “made friends with all he came in contact with, being of a bright and cheerful disposition and associated with the football club, Wesleyan Young Men’s Bible Class and an ardent temperance worker.” [Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer: Friday 26th April 1918]

Harry was one of the village’s batch of miners passed for the Army ballot, but seemed eager not to wait to be officially called up. On the day of the ballot, he instead joined up voluntarily, enlisting in the 86th Training Reserve Battalion.

On enlistment he was sent to Clipstone Camp, Notts, where he quickly made friends. He, however, was placed on the sick list… and underwent [an] operation for appendicitis from which operation he never recovered.

Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer: Friday 26th April 1918

Private Izzard died on 20th April 1918, aged just 19 years old, a life of new promise cut tragically short. His connection with Clandown, and his disconnection from his family in London, was such that his body was brought back to Somerset for burial.

Harry Izzard was laid to rest in the quiet Holy Trinity Churchyard, his sister Mabel being the only family member represented at the service.

Harry’s older brother Herbert Izzard also served in the army. He had found work as a laundry labourer when he left school, and went on to marry Maud Woodage on 14th February 1915. The couple had a daughter, Winifred, later that year.

Herbert enlisted in the London Regiment as a Rifleman, and was assigned to the 17th Battalion, also known as the Poplar and Stepney Rifles. He soon found himself in France and was killed at the Somme on 19th April 1916. He is buried at the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery in Souchez.

Tragically, Herbert’s widow died in Oxfordshire in December 1918, leaving young Winifred an orphan at just three years old. She went on to live a long life, dying in 1997, at the age of 81.

Australia, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, London, Middlesex, photography, Somerset, story, war

Private Arthur Moore

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Private Arthur Moore

On Wednesday 1st March, the relatives of Private Arthur Moore, formerly of Whatley, heard with great regret the sad news that he had passed away. Private Moore, who belonged to the 5th Battalion Australian Expeditionary Force, left Whatley about fourteen years ago for Australia, where he lived until last year. When war broke out he was among the first in Australia to respond to the call of the Motherland. After undergoing his training he was sent to the Dardanelles, and there with many other brave Anzac received what was to prove his death wound, being shot in the head last August by a Turkish sniper. He was brought to King George’s Hospital, London, where he remained for some time and was thence sent to a convalescent home at Isleworth. But three weeks ago his friends, who were expecting him home, were alarmed to hear that he had been sent to the hospital to be again operated on, the wound not having satisfactorily healed. The operation took place on February 28th, but was not successful, as he never rallied, and died the next day… So has passed away another who had tried to do his duty, another of Britain’s many sons who are dying that England may liv. May he rest in peace!

Somerset Standard: Friday 17th March 1916

Arthur Moore had been born in Warminster, Wiltshire, in around 1880, and was the son of Henry Albert and Elizabeth Thurzia Moore. Little further information about his early life is available, but some details can be gleaned from his service records.

Private Moore enlisted on 12th January 1915 in Colac, Victoria, around 150km west of Melbourne. His service records note that he was working as a barman, and that he had spent five years volunteering in the Yeoman Cavalry. Arthur’s medical report confirmed he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall and weighed 168lbs (76.2kg). He had fair hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Arthur gave his next-of-kin as Francis Moore, possibly his brother, but his service documents also noted that his father had died by the time he enlisted and recorded his mother’s details as well.

The Somerset Standard summarised Private Moore’s military career, cut tragically short when the Turkish sniper attacked. After he passed, Arthur’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest next to his father, in the quiet graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in Chantry, not far from the family home.

accident, Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, London, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, war

Private Reginald Bainton

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Private Reginald Bainton

Reginald Thomas Bainton was born in Bath, Somerset, in the spring of 1889. The second of five children, his parents were bakers and confectioners Thomas and Mary Bainton.

While Reginald’s older brother Robert followed in his father’s trade, the 1911 census recorded that he had followed a different route, and was working as a hairdresser and tobacconist.

On Christmas Day 1913, Reginald married Henrietta Skinner, who was the daughter of a farmer. The couple went on to have a son, Reginald, who was born in July 1916.

War was, by this point, raging across Europe, and Reginald stepped up to play his part for King and Country. He enlisted in the autumn of 1916, and was assigned to the Royal Army Service Corps. Initially stationed in London, he moved to a camp near Reading, Berkshire, in March 1917.

One evening towards the end of that month, tragedy occurred.

[Private Bainton] was missing from his company, and when his service cap was found on the banks of the Thames there were fears that the worst had befallen him. On receipt of the news of his disappearance his wife proceeded to Reading in the hope of getting some information respecting him, and she remained there until the discovery of the body in the Thames on Monday. During the short period he was in the Reading camp, Private Bainton acted as the storekeeper.

At the inquest… the much-decomposed body was identified by [Reginald’s] father, and medical evidence was given that it had probably been in the water for three weeks to it is highly probable that Private Bainton was drowned on the first day he was mussed. There was not the slightest evidence as to how he got into the river, and the jury returned a verdict of “Found drowned”.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 28th April 1917

The date of Private Bainton’s death was recorded as 23rd April 1917 – the day he was found. He was 27 years of age.

Reginald Thomas Bainton’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in St James’ Cemetery in his home city of Bath.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Leading Mechanic, London, Mechanic, Patty Officer Mechanic, photography, Royal Air Force, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, Yorkshire

Serjeant Algernon Spurge

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Serjeant Algernon Spurge

Algernon Carlyle Graham Spurge was born on 27th August 1891 in Bath, Somerset. The middle of five children, his parents were Algernon and Ida Spurge.

Algernon Sr was a portrait photographer, based in the Twerton area of the city, and this was very much a family business. The 1901 census recorded the Spurges as living in Victoria Road, Bath, with Ida’s brother, Tom Leaman, who was working as a photographic reloader.

Later that year, however, things were to take a turn for the worst. Algernon Sr seems to have been having some business worries and, on the morning of 16th December, he set off for work as usual. His and Ida’s daughter, also called Ida, arrived at the studio to find her father in some distress, a bottle of potassium cyanide – used as part of the photographic process at the time – next to him. He asked Ida to fetch him some water and salt, but when she returned, he declared it was too late, and lost consciousness. A doctor was called, but Algernon passed away shortly after he arrived.

A note was found, which read “My dearest wife, I really cannot stand the worry and anxiety of another day, to say nothing of weeks and perhaps months. Ask Mr Ashman and Mr Withy to be kind enough to help you straighten out matters a little. My best love to you and all my dear ones. AS” [Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer – Saturday 21 December 1901] Ashman and Withy were family friends, who were also in the photography business.

An inquest was held and a verdict of suicide while temporarily insane was recorded.

The family rallied round, and Algernon’s widow and children moved in with Ida’s widowed mother in Bristol. Algernon’s daughter Ida continued working in photography, and Algernon Jr also took up the business. The 1911 census found him boarding with, and working for, his uncle Tom in Bath.

War was closing in on Europe by this point and, when it was declared, Algernon stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service on 4th June 1915 as a Leading Mechanic (Photography). His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.66m) tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Algernon was initially assigned to the shore establishment HMS President in London for three years, rising to the rank of Petty Officer Mechanic (Photography). In April 1918, when the Royal Air Force was created he transferred across to HMS Daedalus in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, and rising to the rank of Sergeant Mechanic.

That autumn, with the end of the war in sight, Algernon fell ill. He contracted influenza, and this developed into pneumonia. He was admitted to the Military Hospital in York, but the conditions were to prove too much for his body to take. He died on 27th October 1918, aged just 27 years old.

The body of Algernon Carlyle Graham Spurge was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in St James Cemetery, Bath, not far from his father. When Ida passed away in 1926, she was buried in the same cemetery, father, mother and son reunited once more

Serjeant Algernon Spurge
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Great War, history, London, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, Surrey, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Private George Hutchings

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Private George Hutchings

George Robert Hutchings was born towards the end of 1883 in Forest Gate, Essex. He was the oldest of four children to George and Mary Ann Hutchings. George Sr was a labourer for the railways, and this led to the family relocating to Swindon, Wiltshire, in the 1890s.

George Jr took up work with the Great Western Railway when he left school, while his father switched employment and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was working as a collector for a clothing supply company.

On 13th July 1911, George Jr married Daisy Smale in the Sanford Street Congregational Church, Swindon. Daisy was a school teacher, and was the daughter of an iron moulder. It is likely that the couple met through George’s workplace. The newlyweds had a son, Raymond, who was born in 1914 and, at some point moved to Bath in Somerset.

When war came to Europe, George stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps and, unsurprisingly, given the work he was doing, was assigned to the Mechanical Transport division. Little information about his military service remains, but is it clear that he had enlisted in the second half of 1915.

The next available record for Private Hutchings is that of his passing. He had been admitted to the Royal Herbert Hospital in Woolwich, South East London, and died there on 15th December 1915. No cause for his death is evident, but he was 32 years of age.

George Robert Hutchings was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s St James Cemetery.

When her husband died, Daisy was pregnant. In March 1916 she gave birth to a daughter, Winifred, who was never to know her father.

Daisy never remarried. By the time of the 1939 register, she was living in Northampton Street, Bath, sharing the house with a Mr and Mrs Spreadbury. Her employment was listed as unpaid domestic duties.

Daisy and George’s son Raymond was focused on his education. He made an eventual move to Birmingham, where, at the outbreak of war, he was working as a research chemist. He died in Bath in 1982, at the age of 68.

Winifred married grocer Kenneth Batten in Bath in 1938. The couple had three children and emigrated to Australia after the war, and settled in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. Kenneth died in 1988, at the age of 72; Winifred died in 2003, aged 87.