Category Archives: Wiltshire

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Percy Connelly

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Private Percy Connelly

Percy Francis Connelly was born in October 1892 in Goulbourn, New South Wales, Australia. One of nine children – eight boys and one girl – his parents were Francis and Emily.

There is little information available about Percy’s early life. When he completed his schooling, he found work as a labourer and this is what he was doing when war was declared.

Percy stepped up to serve his King in November 1916, joining the Australian Imperial Force. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall and weighed 147lbs (66.7kg). A Roman Catholic, he was also noted as having brown eyes, cark brown hair and a dark complexion.

Private Connelly’s unit – the 49th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – departed from Sydney on 22nd December 1916. His ship – the Demosthenes – took ten weeks to reach Britain. During this time, Percy was admitted to the ship’s isolation hospital, as he was suffering with venereal disease.

Percy’s unit arrived in Plymouth, Devon, on 5th March 1917. They were sent to their base near Codford in Wiltshire, for further training and preparation for a move to the continent. Private Connelly, however, would not be going with them. Just a week after arriving at the camp he was admitted to hospital, having contracted bronchial pneumonia.

The lung condition was to prove Percy’s undoing. He took his last breath on 19th March 1917: he was 24 years of age.

Percy Francis Connelly was laid to rest in the ANZAC section of St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford.

Percy’s younger brother, Francis, was also caught up in the First World War. Attached to the 42nd Battalion of the Australian Infantry, he had arrived in Britain more than a year before his older sibling.

Sent to France in November 1916, Francis was wounded just a couple of months later. He was medically repatriated to Britain for treatment, and eventually re-joined his unit in September 1917. He would spend most of the next year on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 29th September 1918. He was just 23 years of age.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Lieutenant, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, story, Sub Lieutenant, war, Wiltshire

Lieutenant Claude Walker

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Lieutenant Claude Walker

“The funeral took place on Wednesday with naval honours of Lieut. Claude Bennett Walker, RNR, whose home is a 23, Overcliffe, Gravesend, and who died at the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham, on Saturday. His death was a naval casualty, and it was only on Friday, a day before his death, that he was taken to the Chatham Hospital.”

[Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph: Saturday 25th May 1918]

Claude Bennett Walker was born on 6th July 1882 in Deal, Kent. The oldest of five children, his parents were George and Amelia Walker. George was a Trinity pilot, navigating ships off the Kent coast and beyond, and it was only natural that his first born followed in his stead.

Claude set to a life at sea when he completed his schooling. By August 1904, he was a registered Second Mate on board sea-going vessels, and within two years, he was deemed competent to become a First Mate. By 1909 he was certified as a Master of a foreign-going ship. At some point he joined the Royal Naval Reserve, and on 5th July 1912, was given the rank of Sub-Lieutenant.

That autumn, Claude married Gwen Case. The wedding took place in her home town of Melksham, Wiltshire, and the couple would go on to have two children – son Alec in 1913, and daughter Alison three years later.

When war broke out, Claude would be called upon to play his part, serving on the battleship HMS Majestic and the destroyer HMS Recruit early on in the conflict. By the spring of 1915, he was assigned to the minelayer HMS Biarritz, and that October, he was promoted to full Lieutenant.

On 9th March 1917, Claude was given command of the minelayer HMS Perdita. She served in the Mediterranean, and would be caught up in some skirmishes. In October 1917, Lieutenant Walker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and the following April he was mentioned in dispatches.

The Perdita was back in Kent by the spring, by which point Claude had fallen ill. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham with cerebrospinal meningitis, and this would be the condition to which he would succumb. He passed away on 18th May 1918, at the age of 35 years of age.

Claude Bennett Walker was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Scotland, story, war, Wiltshire

Private John Morton

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Private John Morton

The life of Private John Morton is a challenge to unpick. His entry on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website confirms that Morton was the name he served under, but that his birth name was John Lessells.

John’s army paperwork gives his age, 20 years old, his place of birth as Dunfermline, Scotland, and provides a next-of-kin, William Morton. John had enlisted on 9th September 1916 in Brisbane, Australia, although no emigration records remain. His service document noted that he was working as farmer, so, like thousands of others, it is likely that John sought a bigger and better life in a land of opportunity.

The medical section of John’s service records confirm something of the man he had become. He was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, and weighed 125lbs (56.7kg). He had brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion. Interestingly, it also noted that John had been turned down for military service before because of an “under standard chest”.

Private Morton’s unit set sail for Europe on 17th November 1916. The transport ship – the Kyarra – departed from Brisbane, and arrived in Plymouth, Devon, nearly three months later. During the voyage, he was admonished for disobeying a reasonable order given by a superior order, although what the order was is unclear.

On landing in Britain, John was assigned to the 15th Battalion of the Australian Infantry. His unit was moved to a camp on the outskirts of Codford, Wiltshire, which would become their base of operations. Sadly, the journey from Australia seemed to have taken it out of John. On 14th February 1917, he was admitted to the camp hospital, suffering from a bout of influenza. His condition worsened, and two days later he was moved to a military hospital in nearby Sutton Veny.

Private Morton’s condition was to get the better of him. He passed away from pneumonia on 19th February 1917. He was 20 years of age.

John Morton, or John Lessells, was laid to rest in the graveyard extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford. He was surrounded by colleagues from the ANZAC regiments.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private John Flanagan

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Private John Flanagan

John Richard Flanagan was born in Healsville, Australia, in 1875. The second of four children – and the only son – his parents were Luke and Ann Flanagan.

Little information is available about John’s early life. Ann died in 1898, with Luke passing just seven years later, leaving John effectively an orphan in his early 30s. By this point he was working as a post and telegraph official, and this provided his employment when the world went to war in 1914.

John stepped up to serve his King in January 1916. His medical report confirms that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, and weighed 166lbs (75.3kg). He had light brown hair, blue eyes and a florid complexion.

Assigned to the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, Private Flanagan first had to travel from Healsville to Fremantle. From there his unit departed for Europe on board the Argyllshire. He left Australia on 9th November 1916, and arrived in Devonport, England, two months later. The 16th Battalion’s journey was not over yet, however: they made their way from Devon to Wiltshire, heading for a military camp on the outskirts of Codford.

Within a couple of weeks, Private Flanagan found himself confined to barracks. On 24th January he was sent to his billet for 24 hours by Major Turynarn (possibly Turynam), his offence was neglecting to obey an order.

Illness seemed to run rampant at Codford early in 1917, and John was not to escape health issues. On 18th February he was admitted to the camp hospital, having contracted pneumonia. Tragically his move the the medical facility was to prove too little, too late. Private Flanagan passed away the following day: he was 42 years of age.

Thousands of miles from home, John Richard Flanagan was laid to rest in in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church, not far from where he had breathed his last.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Gabriel McIlroy

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Private Gabriel McIlroy

Gabriel McIlroy was born in the Australian town of Charters Towers in 1878. The oldest of four children, his parents were Patrick McIlroy – of whom there is little information – and his Danish-born wife, Ann.

There is little information available about Gabriel’s early life. He never married and, by time he enlisted in January 1916, he was employed as a labourer, and gave his mother as his next of kin.

Gabriel joined the Australian Imperial Force, and his service records give an insight into the man he had become. He was noted as being 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and weighed 126lbs (57.2kg). Private McIlroy had a fair complexion, with brown hair and bluish eyes. He had a scar on his right arm, and was recorded as being Roman Catholic.

Gabriel’s unit – the 15th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – set sail from Brisbane on 21st October 1916. They sailed to Britain on the Boonah, a ship that had been built in Germany for trade with Australia. On the outbreak of way, she was docked in Sydney, and was seized by the Commonwealth authorities. Hastily converted to a troop ship, she was soon used to transport soldiers to Europe.

Private McIlroy arrives in Plymouth, Devon, on 10th January 1917. His battalion marched to Codford, in Wiltshire, where they were based before transferring to the Western Front. Sadly, he would not accompany his colleagues.

On 17th February, Gabriel was admitted to a military hospital in Sutton Veny, just a few miles from the camp. He was suffering from bronchitis, and the condition would prove fatal. Private McIlroy passed away on 19th February 1917: he was 39 years of age.

The body of Gabriel McIlroy was taken back to Codford for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard extension to the village’s St Mary’s Church.

The ship that had brought Gabriel to Britain would add its own footnote to the First World War. In October 1918, not long before the end of the conflict, she was one of the last vessels to leave Australia carrying troops. During the voyage, more than 300 of those on board had contracted influenza, in what became known as the Boonah Crisis.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private James Williams

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Private James Williams

James Thomas Williams was born in Toodyay, Western Australia, in May 1888. The third of eight children, his parents were John and Mary Williams.

When he finished his schooling, James found work farming. Details of his early life are lost to time, but it seems likely that he had followed in his father’s footsteps.

When war engulfed the Empire, James stepped up to serve his King and enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 24th August 1916. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and that he weighed 134lbs (60.8kg). He was noted as having auburn hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Private Williams’ unit departed Australia from Freemantle on 9th November 1916. He would spend the next two months on board the Argyllshire, and eventually reached British shores on 10th January 1917. Assigned to the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, his unit disembarked at Devonport, Devon, and made straight for base near Codford, Wiltshire.

The ANZAC troops had spent weeks cramped in the bowels of their ships, and space was once again at a premium in their army barracks. This congestion would prove fatal for numerous soldiers, as disease ran rife across the encampments.

Sadly, James would not be immune to poor health. Having contracted influenza, he was initially admitted to the camp infirmary, before being moved to the military hospital in nearby Sutton Veny. The condition was to get the better of him, and Private Williams passed away from a combination of flu and heart failure on 18th February 1917. He was 29 years of age.

The body of James Thomas Williams was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Codford, surrounded by others from his regiment.

Private James Williams
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Arthur Couchman

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Private Arthur Couchman

Arthur John Couchman was born in the spring of 1887, the oldest of seven children to John and Emma. John was a farm labourer from the parish of Wilmington, Kent, and this is where he and Emma raised their family.

When he completed his schooling, Arthur found work as a house boy, but soon turned his hand to gardening. When the opportunity was presented to him, however, and in the autumn of 1908, he emigrated to Australia, presumably to find work as a farmer.

Little about Arthur’s time overseas is detailed. He settled in Freemantle, to the south of Perth, and, early in 1916, he married Sarah McAlinden. She had left London for the Antipodes to work as a domestic four years previously. Their marriage seems to have been spurred on by Arthur’s imminent departure for the home country, as, on 19th June 1916, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force.

Working as a general labourer by this point, Arthur’s service records show that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and weighed 146lbs (66.2kg). He was found to have fair hair, grey eyes and a ruddy complexion. He also had tattoos on both of his forearms.

Private Couchman’s unit departed Freemantle on 9th November 1916, on a journey to Devonport, Devon, that would take two months. On his arrival, he was assigned to the 51st Battalion of the Australian Infantry, and dispatched to a camp near Codford in Wiltshire.

Tragically, Arthur’s army career was to follow a not uncommon path for those arriving in Britain from overseas. Within a matter of weeks he had been sent to the New Zealand Hospital in Codford, as he was suffering from bronchial pneumonia. On 15th February 1917, just four days after his admission he passed away from the condition. He was 29 years of age.

Thousands of miles from his Australian life, Arthur John Couchman was laid to rest in the new extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, not far from the camp in which he had been briefly based.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Harold Spackman

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Private Harold Spackman

Harold John Spackman was born on 24th May 1897 and was the youngest of two children to Frederick and Eliza Spackman. Frederick was a cowman from Wiltshire, and the family were raised on a farm in Manningford Bohune, near the village of Pewsey.

Harold was educated at Woodborough School, and found work as a nurseryman when he completed his schooling. When war broke out, he was quick to enlist, and joined the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment on 17th September 1914.

Private Spackman’s unit was sent to Somerset for training, and it was here, in cramped, busy barracks, that he contracted meningitis. He was admitted to the Red Cross Hospital in Bath, but succumbed to the condition on 12th March 1915. He was just 17 years of age.

Harold John Spackman was laid to rest in Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery. His was a joint funeral with another Private from his unit, Albert Matthews, who had died on the same day in the same hospital.

Private Harold Spackman
(from findagrave.com)
Coldstream Guards, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, photography, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Lance Corporal William Bence

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Lance Corporal William Bence

Arthur William Bence was born in the village of Box, Wiltshire, in the spring of 1887. The oldest of eight children, his parents were James and Sarah. James was an engineer from Bathampton, Somerset, and by the time of the 1901 census, the young family had moved to 14 Hampton Row in nearby Bathwick.

Ten years later, and the Bence family had relocated again, this time to the northern outskirts of Bath, in a terraced cottage at 6 Brooklyn Road. By this point, Arthur had finished his schooling, and had found employment, working as a baker and bread maker. This was not to be a permanent career, however, and he sought out more of a career.

Arthur had long been a volunteer in the local militia, and on 14th November 1905 he enlisted in the army. Now known by his middle name, William Bence joined the Coldstream Guards as a Private. His service records show that he was 5ft 11ins (1.82m) tall, and weighed 148lbs (67.1kg). He was noted as having brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. Hs also had several tattoos on his left forearm, including a heart, cross, anchor, man’s face, crown and crossed flags.

Private Bence spent the first two years of his military career on home soil in Windsor, Berkshire, and London. In January 1908, his unit – the 3rd Battalion – transferred to Africa, and William would remain in Egypt and Sudan for more than three years. In March 1911 he returned to home soil, and that year’s census record noted his address as the Tower of London.

By the end of 1913 Private Bence had been formally stood down to reserve status. During his eight years on active service, he had been hospitalised a couple of times: for a sprained wrist in 1906, and for a bout of pneumonia in July 1910.

War was a matter of months away, however, and in the summer of 1914, William was to be mobilised again. By 12th August he was sent to France, and his battalion would be caught up at Marne and Aisne before the end of the year.

On 27th September 1914, William rose to the rank of Lance Corporal. This was not to last, however, and within six weeks the promotion was retracted for misconduct. He remained on the Western Front for nearly two and a half years, and had a mixed time of it. In April 1915, he Private Bence was confined to barracks for 14 days for being drunk on duty. In November that year, he was promoted to Lance Corporal for a second time.

This advancement coincided with William’s marriage. He had wed Amelia Oakley at St Saviour’s Church in Bath on 3rd November. There is little information available about her, other than that she had been born in Bath in 1888.

Back in France, and Lance Corporal Bence’s battalion fought at Loos and was heavily involved at the Somme. William would remain on the Western Front until December 1916, at which point his health forced him back to Britain. He had contracted tuberculosis, and this would lead to his ultimate discharge from military duty on 9th January 1917. William returned home, but his condition was to get worse. He passed away on 1st April 1917: he was 30 years of age.

The body of Arthur William Bence was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery, in the city that was his home.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Frank Patience

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Private Frank Patience

Frank Nicholas Patience was born in Mullewa, Western Australia, on 6th March 1898. The tenth of fifteen children (of which four did not survive childhood), his parents were Joseph and Elizabeth Patience.

There is little concrete information about Frank’s early life. When he finished his schooling, he found employment as a farm hand, and this is what he was working as when he stepped up to serve his country.

Frank enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 18th June 1917. Within six weeks he left his homeland for Europe, arriving in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 3rd October. Assigned to the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, he was barracked in Wiltshire, at a camp not far from the village of Codford.

Tragically, Private Patience’s time in the army, and in Britain, was to be brief. Within weeks of arriving in Wiltshire, he contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to the camp hospital. The condition was to prove his undoing, however, and he passed away on 27th October 1917. He was just 19 years of age.

Frank Nicholas Patience was 9,000 miles (14,500km) from home. He was laid to rest in the extended graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Codford, Wiltshire.

Private Frank Patience
(from findagrave.com)