Category Archives: Nottinghamshire

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Nottinghamshire, photography, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Scotland, Staff Sergeant, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Staff Serjeant George Brent

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Staff Serjeant George Brent

George Brent was born in the autumn of 1887 in Bratton, Wiltshire, and was the only child to George and Naomi Brent. Census records humbly record George Sr was a wool carder, although he actually ran Luccombe Mill, the family living in the substantial Luccombe House.

George had been widowed in the 1870s, and was thirty-four years older than his second wife, Naomi. When he died in 1900, she was left to raise her teenaged son. She was not on her own, however, the 1901 census recording her as living on her own means, and with servant Eliza Whately to support her.

Education was important to Naomi, and by the time of the 1911 census, George was working as a draughtsman and designer for an engineering company. War was on the horizon, however, and he would step up to serve his country.

George enlisted in the Army Ordnance Corps, and served in the Balkans from October 1915. Full details of his time in the army have been lost, but he rose through the ranks and, by the summer of 1918, he was a Staff Serjeant.

At some point love blossomed and, George married a woman called Edith. Sadly, her life is destined to remain a mystery: she is noted as being George’s widow on his probate record and his beneficiary in the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects.

Staff Serjeant Brent’s health seems to have suffered after three years in the eastern Mediterranean. He was admitted to the military hospital in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, although his condition is unclear. He passed away on 3rd September 1918, at the age of 30 years old.

The body of George Brent was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Bratton Baptist Chapelyard, not far from Luccombe House.

George left an estate of £978 16s 6d (approx. £58,000 in today’s money) to his widow. Naomi must have taken some comfort in Edith’s presence: the 1921 census found them living in Luccombe House.

The census sheds some light on Edith’s background, noting that she was born in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire. Interestingly, she and Naomi have two visitors: widow Helen Harrower (aged 65) and Helen Georgina Harrower (aged 32). The younger Helen was also born in Grangemouth, and it appears that the visitors were Edith’s mother and sister.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Derbyshire, Great War, history, Kent, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Sherwood Foresters, story, war

Private John Stenson

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Private John Stenson

John Joseph Stenson was born in the Derbyshire village of Crich on 27th October 1869. He was the younger of two children to Jane and Joseph Stenson. Jane had been married and widowed before, and John had a number of half-siblings in his extended family.

Tracing John’s early life is a bit of a challenge, and he is missing from a number of census records. By 1901, he was working as a blacksmith in Nottingham, and living at 94 Park Street, to the west of the town centre. He was married to Rose Moon, and they had exchanged vows in 1896.

By 1911, the couple had moved to the Bulwell area of Nottingham, and were living at 23 Padley Street. John was still working as a blacksmith, Rose as a dressmaker, and their adopted son, 18-year-old John Daley, was also living with them, and was employed as a hosiery washer.

When war broke out, and despite his age, John stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 5th September 1914, joining the Sherwood Foresters as a Private. His service records show that he was just under 5ft 8ins (1,72m) tall, with brown hair and grey eyes.

Private Stenson did not stay with the army for long and after just ten days he was transferred to the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His time was split between two bases, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and the equivalent in Portsmouth, Hampshire. He did see time overseas, with a later report confirming that he had fought at Gallipoli.

ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF A SLEEP WALKER

At an inquest at Chatham on Tuesday on Pte. John Joseph Stenson… belonging to Bulwell, Nottingham, whose body was found in an area beneath the barrack rooms, it was stated that he walked in his sleep. A verdict of “Accidental Death” was returned.

[Kentish Gazette: Saturday 9th September 1916]

Other reports suggested that Private Stenson had started sleep walking in recent weeks. The coroner reported that he was killed “either by falling our of his bedroom window or over the passage-way railings…” [Hull Daily Mail: Wednesday 6th September 1916]

John Joseph Stenson was 46 years of age when he died on 2nd September 1916. His body was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, story, war

Private James Chilcott

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Private James Chilcott

James Chilcott was born in Eccles, Lancashire, in the autumn of 1885. One of twelve children, his parents were William and Mary Chilcott. William seemed to be able to turn his hand to most things: the 1891 census recorded him as a hawker of fish, while ten years later he was employed as an insurance agent.

The Chilcotts had moved to Tiverton in Devon in around 1891, setting up home on St Andrew’s Street, to the south of the town centre. James initially found work as a bookseller’s assistant when he left school, but things were to change.

In the autumn of 1908, James married Mabel Candey. The couple moved to Nottinghamshire, settling in the village of Cresswell, where they lived in a small cottage at 6 John Street. James had found work as a coal miner in the area, which had taken the couple away from the comfort of Devon.

Over the next four years, James and Mabel would have four children, all of whom died before they celebrated their first birthday. The series of tragic events may have driven a need for Mabel to be with family, and by 1913, the couple had moved back to Tiverton. Daughter Dorothy was born in 1914.

When conflict his Europe the following year, James stepped up to play his part. Full details of his military service hare long since lost, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment, and had done so at the beginning of the war.

Attached to the 2nd Battalion, Private Chilcott was in France by 9th February 1915. Over the next few years, the unit saw fighting in most areas of the Western Front, including the Somme and Ypres. It is unclear how much of this James was involved in, but it is unlikely that he would have come away completely unscathed.

Pte. James Chilcott, of the 2nd Devons, who went through the dispersal camp at Fovant on February 20, died at Exeter on Monday from influenza. A son of Mr WH Chilcott, of St Andrew-street, Tiverton, he joined up at the beginning of the war, and had seen considerable service. He leaves a widow and one child.

[Western Times: Wednesday 26th February 1919]

James Chilcott died on 24th February 1919: he was 33 years of age. His body was taken back to Tiverton for burial, and he was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.

“He leaves a widow and one child” does no justice to the pain that Mabel had to go through, having lost four children and her husband in a matter of six years. The 1921 census recorded her living on St Andrew Street with Dorothy, and showing she was undertaking home duties. She had two lodgers, who helped bring in a little more money.

Mabel Chilcott never remarried: she passed away in Tiverton in January 1946, at the age of 62.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Essex, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Suffolk, war, West Somerset Yeomanry

Private Richard Gale

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Private Richard Gale

Richard William Gale was born in the autumn of 1897 in the Devon village of Sidbury. The third of six children, he was the son of George and Emma Gale. George was a bricklayer and labourer, and the family had moved to Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, by the time Richard was ten, as this is where he had found work.

When Richard finished his schooling, he found employment as an errand boy for a school outfitters. By the time oft he 1911 census, there were four wages coming into the Gale household. Besides Richard and his father, his older brother, Frederick was working as a grocer’s apprentice, and his sister, Laura, was a dressmaker.

War was declared in the summer of 1914, and Richard was called upon to play his part. His service records no longer exist, so it is not possible to fully track his time in the army. However, he initially joined the 2nd/1st Battalion of the West Somerset Yeomanry and was sent for training in East Anglia.

As some point, Private Gale transferred to the Labour Corps, and became attached to the 949th Employment Company. Based in the London area, Richard’s duties are unclear, and his troop would have taken on any of a wide range of roles, from cooking and store work, to salvage, traffic control and telephone operating. Whether his previous work at the outfitters came into play is unclear, although Employment Companies were also involved in tailoring, shoemaking and laundry work.

Private Gale survived the conflict, and seems to have been based in the the Nottingham area after the Armistice. By March 1919, he had become unwell and, having contracted pleurisy, he was admitted to the Berridge Road Military Hospital. The condition took its toll on Richard, sadly, and he passed away on 19th March 1919. He was just 21 years of age.

Richard William Gale’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of Burnham-on-Sea, a short walk from where his family lived.

Private Richard Gale
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, injury, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Royal Engineers, Somerset, story, war, Worcestershire Regiment

Private Godfrey Beames

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Private Godfrey Beames

Godfrey George Beames was born in the spring of 1891, in Henbury, Gloucestershire. One of eleven children, his mother was Minnie Beames. Her husband was Thomas Beames, and he served in the navy, which meant that Minnie was left to her own devices a lot of the time. The 1891 and 1901 censuses record Minnie and the children living with her farm labourer brother-in-law, George Watkins.

The 1911 census gives the same information for Minnie and the children – living with George in Redwick, Gloucestershire. Minnie is, however, noted as a widow, although this seems to be out of convenience, as the now naval pensioner Thomas was living with his wife of eight years, Louisa, in Arundel, West Sussex. Minnie went on to marry George the following year, and it seems possible that only the first of her eleven children was Thomas’.

Godfrey, now 21 years old, was working as a farm labourer. In the autumn of 1913, he married a woman called Lily Ball, although little information about her remains today. War was coming to Europe, and things were to change for the young couple.

Godfrey stepped up to play his part. While his full service records no longer exist, what remains paints a picture of his time in the army. He had enlisted by the spring of 1917, joining the Royal Engineers. At some point, however, he moved to the Worcestershire Regiment, and was assigned to the 10th (Service) Battalion.

While it’s not possible to determine exactly where Private Beames fought, he was definitely caught up in the fighting on the Western Front and, by October 1917, was entrenched at Passchendaele. It was here that he was wounded, and he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment.

Private Beames was admitted to the General Hospital in Nottingham, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He died on 15th November 1917, at the age of just 26 years old.

Godfrey George Beames’ body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Ss Mary and Peter’s Church in Winford, where Lily was now living.

Private Godfrey Beames
(from ancestry.co.uk)

Thank you to Rob Clarke for helping to unpick a convoluted family background for Godfrey.

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, London, Major, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, war

Major Montgomerie Boyle

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Major Montgomerie Boyle

Montgomerie Boyle was born on 20th March 1859 in Hendon, London. The youngest of three children, his parents were John and Jane Boyle. John was a barrister, and the family lived in some comfort – the 1861 census found them living in a house in Harrow, Middlesex, with four live-in servants and a groom.

[Montgomerie] joined the South Notts Yeomanry 22 years ago. Subsequently he obtained an appointment at Weston-super-Mare, under the Somerset Territorial Force Association, and did much useful work in co-ordinating the Army Service Corps in the county.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 2nd April 1919

In the spring of 1891, Montgomerie married Constance Smith. She was a banker’s daughter from Nottingham, and the couple tied the knot in Basford, now a suburb of the larger city. They went on to have a daughter, Marion, who was born the following year.

By the 1901 census, the young family had moved to Timsbury, Somerset. Montgomerie was recorded as living on his own means, and the family had a retinue of servants to support them. A decade later, they had moved into the manor house in Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset. Montgomerie was now listed as a Captain in the Army Service Corps.

Storm clouds were gathering over the continent and, when war broke out, Captain Boyle was called back into active service.

…he was stationed with his Regiment on the East Coast for twelve months, and then went to France, where he remained for six months. He was re-called for service with the Mechanical Transport Section of the Army Service Corps in German East Africa, contracted malaria at the end of fifteen months and was invalided home. On his recovery he was despatched to the Egyptian front, and was with the British troops in Jerusalem. He became ill while there, and, on going down to the base at Cairo, was for a month in the Citadel Hospital, where he was treated for a malignant disease. By slow stages, first in a hospital ship, then in a Red Cross train through France, he was conveyed to [Le] Havre. Here, curiously enough, the doctor in charge of the hospital ship upon which he was placed happened to be… an old friend and medical attendant. Major Boyle landed at Southampton, and went immediately to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth [Surrey], where he was examined by an eminent specialist. His condition was serious but on Monday week last he arrived at his old home, where, despite the devoted care of his wife and daughter, he passed away quietly.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 2nd April 1919

Major Montgomerie Boyle passed away on 27th March 1919, a week after his sixtieth birthday. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Peter’s Church, on the outskirts of the grounds of the manor house the Boyles had made their home ten years before.

When Constance died ten years later, at the age of 70 years old, she was laid to rest in the family plot, reunited with her late husband once more.

Major Montgomerie Boyle
(from findagrave.com)
Bedfordshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private William Jackson

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Private William Jackson

Little concrete documentation remains about the life of William Henry Jackson. He was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, on 6th February 1872, although it is not possible to identify who his parents were.

He married a woman called Edith in 1903, and the couple settled in her home town of Beeston, Nottinghamshire. By the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded working as an electrician’s labourer at the local telephone works, while Edith, who was five years his senior, earned extra money as a blouse finisher.

Information about William’s wartime efforts are also limited. He enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and was assigned to the Chatham Division. He was given the rank of Private and based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Kent town.

The only other information available for Private Jackson is that he died on 16th September 1916, having contracted a combination of pneumonia and tuberculosis. He was 44 years of age.

William Henry Jackson was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard in which he had served. His headstone gives the initial H, rather than W, although no documents suggest he went by any name other than William.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, injury, Lance Corporal, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Sergeant, Sherwood Foresters, Somerset, story, war

Sergeant Archibald Mills

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Sergeant Archibald Mills

Archibald Henry Mills was born in the summer of 1895, the oldest of six children to John and Edith. John was a commercial traveller, selling veterinary wares around the country; he was born in Derby, Edith was from Leicester and, for the for the first seven years of their married life they lived in Edith’s home town – this is where Archibald was born. By the turn of the century, however, they had relocated to Somerset, and set up home in Weston-super-Mare.

When he left school, Archibald found work as an errand boy for a local tailor, but change was on the horizon. By the summer of 1914, he had based himself in Nottingham – the reason is lost to time – and this is where he was when he volunteered for military service.

Archibald enlisted as a Private in the Notts and Derby Regiment – the Sherwood Foresters – and was assigned to the 7th Battalion. He was sent to France as part of the 46th Division and, over the next couple of years, he evidently served his regiment well.

In August 1915, Private Mills was promoted to Lance Corporal; three months later he was again promoted, to Corporal. By May the following year, he received another rise, this time to Serjeant. These promotions were against the backdrop of some fierce fighting – the Sherwood Foresters were involved at Hooge, Hohenzollern and Gommecourt, and were briefly sent to Egypt.

At some point during the summer of 1916 – possible at Gommecourt – Archibald was injured, and medically evacuated to the No.2 Western General Hospital in Manchester. Sadly, however, his wounds were to prove too much: Serjeant Mills passed away on the night of 30th September 1916. He was just 21 years old.

The body of Archibald Henry Mills was brought back to Somerset; he was laid to rest in the Milton Road Cemetery of his adopted home town of Weston-super-Mare.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, India, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Clarence Tucker

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Private Clarence Tucker

Clarence Endicott Tucker was born in the summer of 1895 and was the oldest of eight children (six of whom survived) to Samuel and Emma Tucker. Samuel was a sign writer from Axminster in Devon, although he had lived in Nottingham in the early 1890s, where he had met and married Emma, and this was where Clarence was subsequently born.

Within a couple of years, the family had moved to Yeovil, Somerset, where Clarence’s siblings were born and the family were raised. The 1911 census recorded the family as living in a house in the centre of town, the household comprising of Samuel, Emma, their six children and Samuel’s sister. Clarence, having left school, was working as a junior clerk for a cheese and butter merchant.

When war broke out, it was clear that Clarence was keen to play his part. He enlisted in September 1914 and joined the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. It must has seemed an overwhelming experience as, within a month he was on board a ship headed for India.

Private Tucker spent more than two years serving with the 5th Battalion, before contracting tuberculosis. After six weeks in hospital, he was evacuated to Egypt and then back to England again. He was admitted to the Southern General Hospital in Bristol, where an assessment identified that he was no longer medically fit enough to serve in the army. He was discharged on 2nd April 1917, having served for three and a half years.

At this point Clarence’s trail goes cold. He died on 18th February 1918, at the age of 22 years old. There is no confirmation of the cause of his death, although it seems likely to have been related to the problems he had with his lungs.

Clarence Endicott Tucker lies at rest in the cemetery in the Somerset town he called home, Yeovil.

Commonwealth War Graves, Cumbria, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, Nottinghamshire, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Gunner William Howard

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Gunner William Howard

William Arnold Howard was born in Cumbria towards the end of 1887. He was the youngest of two children, the son of gospel minister Edwin Howard and his wife Alethea. Edwin’s role took him across the country; by the time William was four, the family were settled in Worksop, Nottinghamshire; ten years later, they were based in Taunton, Somerset.

William’s older sister became a music teacher, and was presumably inspired by her father’s calling. William, however, took a different route, and, by the time of the 1911 census, was listed as a physical culture expert.

He had, by this time, met and married a woman called Alice, and the couple had two children, Edna and Marjorie. The census found the young couple living in a three-roomed house in the middle of Taunton.

War was on the horizon, and William enlisted as a Gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery. His battalion – the 3rd/4th Siege Reserve Brigade – were those manning with large scale weaponry, although, as part of the reserve, Gunner Howard was based in England for the duration of the conflict.

William was awarded the Victory and British Medals for his service but once the Armistice was declared it seems that he fell ill. He was admitted to the Military Hospital in Taunton with exhaustion following a bout of enteritis, and succumbed to this on 15th January 1919. He was 31 years old.

William Arnold Howard lies at rest in the St James Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.