Category Archives: Wales

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Somerset, story, Wales, war

Captain John Trayler

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Captain John Trayler

John Nelson Trayler was born on 2nd December 1876, the oldest of seven siblings. His father, Jonas Trayler, was born in London, but moved to South Wales to become a farmer. He married Elizabeth Green, who was from Haverfordwest, and John was their eldest child, born in Pembrokeshire.

In December 1895, having just turned 19, John joined the 1st Devonshire Volunteer Corps. He seemed eager for a life of action; given that the 1901 census lists his profession simply as ‘farmer’s son’, it’s easy to see why. By this time, the family had moved to a farm in Broadclyst, to the north east of Exeter in Devon.

There was a change of direction for the family, however. By 1908, both father and son were working as tanners; John had moved back to Wales, while Jonas had set up work in Bridgwater, Somerset.

John, by this time, had met Eunice Sully; she was the daughter of a gentleman, and her family lived in Wembdon, near Bridgwater. They married in July 1908, and lived in the village of Lamphey in Pembroke.

John was, by now, the managing director of a tannery and obviously had the business acumen to run a company. He joined the local freemason’s – the Lodge of Perpetual Friendship – but, in January 1914, it was reported in the local newspaper that the business was to be voluntarily wound up.

John’s father Jonas was also forging ahead with his ambitions, and was a councillor for the Bridgwater area.

When the Great War broke out, John’s time with the Devonshire Volunteer Corps was such that he had attained the rank of Captain. Assigned to the 11th (Reserve) Battalion, John was based out of Exeter and it is unlikely that he saw any active service in France.

In August 1915, the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette reported that Captain Trayler had relinquished his commission on account of poor health, and this seems to have been an ongoing issue. In fact, when he was staying with Eunice’s parents in Clevedon later that year, he fell seriously ill. While his medical condition is lost to time, sadly it was one he succumbed to. He died at his in-laws’ house on 27th November 1915, at the age of 39 years old.

John Nelson Trayler was laid to rest in the picturesque graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Clevedon, Somerset.

Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Cumbria, Great War, history, injury, Lancashire, Lance Corporal, photography, Somerset, story, Wales, war

Lance Corporal William Neads

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Lance Corporal William Neads

William John Neads was born on 16th December 1892, the middle of three children to cab driver and groom William Neads and his wife Ellen. Both William Sr and Ellen were from Somerset, although William Jr and his brother Charles – who was eleven months older – were both born in the Monmouthshire village of Cwmcarn.

William’s parents soon moved the family back to Clevedon in Somerset, and, when he left school, he found work as a farm labourer. He was eager to see more of the world, however and, in April 1913, he emigrated to Canada.

After working as a labourer there for a year or so, back in Europe war was declared. Keen to do his bit for King and Country, William enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Infantry in January 1915. He soon found himself caught up on the Front Line.

In October 1916, he was involved in the Battle of the Somme – either at Le Transloy or The Battle of the Ancre Heights – and received a shrapnel wound to his left shoulder. Initially admitted to the Canadian General Hospital in Etaples, he was subsequently evacuated to England and the Northern General Hospital in Leeds. He spent three months recovering from his injuries, and was back on the Western Front in January 1917.

Later that year, William – now a Lance Corporal – was involved in the fighting at the Second Battle of Passchendaele (part of the Third Battle of Ypres). He was wounded again, this time receiving a rather unceremonious gunshot wound to the right buttock. Treated at the scene, he was evacuated back to England and admitted to the Fusehill War Hospital in Carlisle on 17th November.

Sadly, despite treatment, Lance Corporal Neads’ health deteriorated, and he passed away from his injuries on 16th December 1917, his 25th birthday.

William John Neads was brought back to his family’s home of Clevedon, and buried in the clifftop churchyard of St Andrew’s, overlooking the sea.

Tragically, William’s father had died in May 1917, at the age of 51. While no details of his passing are recorded, it meant that Ellen had, in just over a year, seen her son wounded, her husband die and her son wounded again and die as a result.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, London, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, Wales, war

Chief Stoker Ernest Ware

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Chief Stoker Ernest Ware

Ernest George Ware was born in the autumn of 1871 in Marylebone, London. Details of his early life are scant, but records show that he enlisted in the Royal Navy in February 1895, serving as a Stoker for an initial period of twelve years.

During this time, he worked on a number of different vessels – Wildfire, Theseus, Warspite, Amphion, Acheron and Sapphire. He was also based on a number of shore vessels; potentially Southsea in Hampshire and Pembroke in Wales.

In 1905 he married Mary Emery; she was the same age as Ernest, and was born in Hampshire. The young couple had a daughter, Muriel, and, by the time of the 1911 census, the family were living in Pembroke Dock, in South Wales.

War was inching closer, and Stoker Ware’s service was extended for the duration; he served on a number of other vessels – Leander, Blenheim, Blake and Tyne – before being promoted to Chief Stoker on HMS Blonde in 1911. He transferred to HMS St George two years later, before moving on shore to the training vessel HMS Victory II (based in Crystal Palace, South London) in 1915.

Chief Stoker Ware’s health seemed to have been in decline by this point; he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar in Gosport in early 1916, suffering from malignant endocarditis. Sadly, he passed away on 16th February, aged 44 years old.

Ernest George Ware was buried in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, close to where his widow was now living.

Coldstream Guards, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Guardsman, history, illness, photography, Somerset, story, Wales, war

Private Herbert Packer

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Guardsman Herbert Packer

Herbert Packer was born in December 1889, the youngest of nine children to Joseph and Ann Packer. Joseph was a railway carrier (or porter) and the family lived in Cheddar, Somerset.

The 1911 census found Herbert on his travels; he was working as a grocer’s assistant, and boarding with a family in Abergavenny, South Wales. He was obviously keen to develop his skills, and soon moved to Barnstaple in Devon to work for the Lipton’s grocery there.

In the autumn of 1914, Herbert married Lydia Snell, a dressmaker from Wales and the young couple lived together in the Devon town where he worked. He was very active in the community; he was a teacher at the local Wesleyan Sunday School, and active in the church choir having, according to a local newspaper, “a capital voice”.

Herbert enlisted in the spring of 1916, and had the honour of joining the Coldstream Guards. He did his training in London, and was due back to Barnstaple on leave before starting his active service when he was taken ill. Admitted to the London Hospital with pneumonia, within a couple of weeks he had succumbed to the condition. Guardsman Packer died on 3rd December 1916, aged just 26 years old.

Herbert Packer lies at rest in St Andrew’s Churchyard in his home town of Cheddar in Somerset.