Category Archives: Labour Corps

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, King's (Liverpool Regiment), Labour Corps, Pembrokeshire, photography, Private, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, story, unknown, war

Captain Norman Owen

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Captain Norman Owen

Norman Howell Owen was born in the spring of 1888, and was the third of four children – all boys – to John and Elizabeth. John was a surgeon from Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, but the family were raised in Fishguard, where his practice was based.

Norman was an educated young man and, in 1906, attended the Sir Isaac Pitman & Son Phonetic Institute in Bath Somerset. He was studying shorthand, passing an examination in the subject after just three months. He passed an entrance exam for the National and Provincial Bank the following year, and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was working in the Fishguard branch and living back with his parents.

When war came to Europe, Norman was called upon to play his part. Full details of his service have been lost to time, but what remains paints an interesting picture of his time in the army. He appears to have enlisted in the King’s Liverpool Regiment as a Private, before transferring to the Labour Corps, then the Army Ordnance Corps.

By 1918 the Pembrokeshire Voters List noted Norman and two of his brothers as absentee voters – serving in the army, so not at home. Norman is recorded as being a Captain in the Army Service Corps, having received a commission on 8th February 1915. His older brother John is recorded as being a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, while his younger brother, Lionel, was a Captain in the Royal Field Artillery.

The mystery of Norman continued: he survived the conflict, but by February 1919 had been admitted to the Broadway Military Hospital in Sheerness, Kent. He passed away on 1st March, the cause of his passing not readily available. Captain Owen was 31 years of age.

The body of Norman Howell Owen was taken back to Pembrokeshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Fishguard Church Cemetery.

Norman died intestate: his family went through probate, and his effects – totalling £1003 8s 10d (approximately £67,000 today) were left to his father.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Labour Corps, photography, Private, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private George Francis

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Private George Francis

George Edward Francis was born at the end of 1871 in the Wiltshire village of Alvediston. The youngest of six children, his parents were Eli and Mary Francis. Eli was an agricultural labourer, and this was the line of work that George would also follow.

Eli died in 1885, and Mary moved in her daughter Elizabeth’s family, and the 1891 census noted that George and his older brother Samuel were also living there. George, now 19 years of age, was employed as a farm labourer.

On 11th July 1906, George married Alice Shirley. A year older than her new husband their wedding certificate notes that she was also born in Alvediston, but that her father wasn’t known. The couple settled in a house in Tollard Royal, a few miles south of their home village.

George stepped up to serve his country when war was declared. Full details of his time in the army are unclear, but he had definitely enlisted by the summer of 1918. He was initially assigned to the Wiltshire Regiment, but was later transferred to the 651st Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps.

The only other record for Private Francis’ time in the army, is a document relating to his passing. This confirms that he died on 28th December 1918 in camp at Norton Bavant, to the east of Warminster, Wiltshire: he was 47 years of age.

It seems likely that Alice was unable to cover the cost of bringing her husband’s body back to Tollard Royal for burial. Instead, George Edward Francis was laid to rest in the graveyard of All Saints’ Church in Norton Bavant.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, story, war

Lance Corporal Thomas Thorne

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Lance Corporal Thomas Thorne

Thomas Thorne was born in Tiverton, Devon, in the spring of 1895. The older of two children, he was the only son to Thomas and Louisa Thorne. Thomas Sr was a carriage manufacture for a lace factory, and by the time of the 1911 census, the family of four were living in a small terraced house at 19 John Street in Tiverton.

At this point, Thomas Jr had completed his schooling, and had also found work at the lace factory. War was on the horizon, however, and things were to change.

On 6th December 1915, Thomas Jr made his way to Exeter to enlist. He joined the Devonshire Regiment as a Private, and his service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) tall and weighed 112lbs (50.8kgs). He was of fair physical development, although there were issues with his teeth and he had a higher than normal heart rate.

Private Thorne was formally mobilised in July 1916. Initially assigned to the 13th (Works) Battalion, he spent his time on home soil. By the following spring, he transferred to the 311th Home Service Labour Company, and seems to have moved from Devon to Hampshire.

Thomas spent the next three years serving in the Labour Corps. By the winter of 1918/19, his health was becoming impacted, and he was admitted to the Shirley Warren Auxiliary Hospital in Southampton, suffering from a combination of influenza and pneumonia. The conditions were to prove fatal, and he passed away on 17th February 1919, aged just 24 years of age.

Thomas Thorne’s body was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in Tiverton Cemetery, not far from the family home.

Interestingly, Thomas’ rank differs depending on the document you are looking at. I have used Lance Corporal, as this is what is recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, although his service papers state he was a Private.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Charles Leat

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Private Charles Leat

Charles Leat was born at the start of 1888 in Tiverton, Devon. One of thirteen children, his parents were Sidney and Ann Leat. Sidney worked as a lace maker, and the family lived in a crowded cottage on St Andrew Street to the south of the town centre.

When Charles left school, he found work as a grocer’s errand boy. Sidney died in 1897, Ann had to take on lace work herself. The house was too small for the growing family, and so the 1901 census found Charles and his brother Arthur living with his maternal aunt, Mary.

Things had moved on as the new century progressed. By 1911, Charles had moved to South Wales, and was living with his older brother, James, and his family in Glamorgan. James was a house painter, but his sibling had taken on work as a railway porter, and the family lived in terraced house at 57 Tydfil Street, Barry.

When war hit Europe, Charles seemed keen to play his part. Sadly, full details of his military service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he initially enlisted in the opening weeks of the conflict. Joining the Devonshire Regiment, he was assigned to the 11th Battalion.

A later newspaper report suggests that he “had been through most of the fighting on the Western Front… [and] was seriously wounded in 1915.” [Western Times – Friday 15 November 1918] It was after he had recuperated that Private Leat was reassigned to the regiment’s Labour Corps.

By the summer of 1918, Private Leat was serving on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. While here, he fell ill, and was eventually admitted to the Amesbury Military Hospital. His condition, pneumonia, was to prove too severe for his body to take, however, and he passed away from the condition on 11th November 1918, Armistice Day. He was 30 years of age.

Charles Leat’s body was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in Tiverton Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, Lance Corporal, London, Middlesex, photography, Private, story, Surrey, war

Corporal Alexander Sturrock

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Corporal Alexander Sturrock

Alexander Albert Sturrock was born in the autumn of 1877. The second of two children, he was the only son of Alexander and Elizabeth Sturrock. Alexander Sr was a plasterer from Scotland, while his wife had been born in Bristol. It was in the Pimlico area of Middlesex, however, that the couple would raise their two children: Alexander and his older sister Eleanor.

The 1891 census found the family living at 253 Wellington Buildings, on Ebury Bridge Road. According to the next census, however, they had taken rooms at 52 Warriner Gardens, south of the Thames in Battersea.

By 1901, the Sturrocks had moved north again, and were living at 7 Fulham Place in Paddington. One of three families in the house, Alexander Sr and Elizabeth shared the rooms with their son and Eleanor’s son, Leslie. Alexander Sr was still working as a plasterer, while his son was now employed as a clerk.

Alexander Jr married Edith Concanen in 1910. A widow, she had a son, Douglas, and the three of them lived in her family home on Camden Road, Sutton, Surrey. Alexander was working as a commercial accountant, and at some point in the next five years, the family moved to Paignton, Devon.

When war came to Europe, Alexander stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in Exeter on 17th November 1915, and joined the Devonshire Regiment. His service records note that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall and weighed 185lbs (83.9kg). He was also recorded as having Edith’s name tattooed on his left forearm.

Private Sturrock was mobilised the following June, and was attached the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in August 1916, and transferred to the 8th (Service) Battalion. Shipped to France in December, he would spend the next eighteen months overseas.

Alexander had ongoing issues with his health, however, and was hospitalised at least three times with diarrhoea. In July 1918, he was transferred to the Labour Corps, and reassigned to home soil. Promoted to Corporal by this point, he was attached to the 114th unit, although it is unclear where he served.

Corporal Sturrock’s health continued to dog him. The Armistice signed, he was medically discharged with nephritis on 14th June 1919, and returned home. Sadly, his reunion with Edith was not to be a lengthy one. Alexander passed away on 25th July 1919: he was 41 years of age.

Alexander Albert Sturrock was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, overlooking the town he had most recently called home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, story, war

Private Thomas Legg

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Private Thomas Legg

Thomas John Gladstone Legg was born in Dunster, Somerset, on 30th July 1898. The fourth of six children, his parents were John and Louisa Legg. John was a baker, and the family lived on West Street in the village.

By 1911, the Leggs had moved south, settling in Winsford, on the outskirts of Exmoor. Thomas was still in school, but his two older brothers were helping their father with the bakery business, and they had taken in a boarder – road worker John Jeffrey – to help bring in a bit of additional income.

When war broke out, Thomas stepped up to play his part. There is little information available about his military service, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment by the spring of 1918.

Private Legg was assigned to the 15th Battalion, although he soon transferred to the 474th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps.

The profound sympathy of parishioners goes out to Mr and Mrs J Legg… who have sustained a double bereavement. On October 22nd their daughter, Miss Ivy Marion Legg, aged 23, succumbed to pneumonia. Their son, Pte J Legg, came home from training to attend his sister’s funeral, and he was attacked by pneumonia and died in a few days. Amid general tokens of respect and sympathy, the interments were made in Highbray Churchyard. Both father and mother have been seriously ill, but are now recovering. There are still several critical cases of complications following influenza in the parish.

[North Devon Journal: Thursday 14th November 1918]

Thomas passed away on 2nd November 1918: he was 20 years of age. He was laid to rest alongside his sister in All Saints’ Churchyard, High Bray.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Labour Corps, Pembrokeshire, photography, Private, South Wales Borderers, story, unknown, Wales, war

Private Willie Howells

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Private Willie Howells

In the peaceful Congregational Chapelyard of Berea, St Davids, Pembrokeshire, is a headstone dedicated to Willie Howells, grandson of Benjamin and Mary. The inscription – in Welsh – confirms that he died on 26th November 1918, at the age of 23.

The 1901 census records the couple living at Rhos y Gorse with four of their eleven children and two of their grandchildren, including William. There is no documentation to confirm which of their children was his parent.

Tragically, Willie’s military records are also lost to time. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission give his name as Private BW Howells. They suggest that his first regiment was the South Wales Borderers, and that he transferred to the Northern Command Labour Centre of the Labour Corps. His service numbers for both units draw a blank, however.

The life of Willie Howells is destined to remain a mystery, one of the many whose stories were buried with them.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, injury, Labour Corps, London Regiment, photography, Private, story, war

Private George Whiteway

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Private George Whiteway

George William John Whiteway was born in Paignton, Devon, on 4th February 1893. The youngest of three children, and the only son, his parents were William and Sarah Whiteway.

William was a journeyman painter, and from at least when his son was born, the family lived in a small terraced house, 9 Tower Road, on the outskirts of the town centre.

By the time of the 1911 census, George had completed his schooling, and was working as an apprentice painter. It is unclear whether this was under his father’s tutelage, as he gave his employment as verger and caretaker of the local parish church.

When war broke out, George stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in Torquay on 1st December 1915, and his service records note that he was of good physical development, stood 5ft 6.25ins (1.68m), and weighed 126lbs (57.2kg). He was also recorded as having light brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion.

Initially assigned to the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, Private Whiteway was transferred to the London Regiment and attached to the 3rd/21st Battalion. By the summer of 1916 George had transferred to the 1st/21st (County of London) Battalion, also known as the First Surrey Rifles. On 15th June his unit was sent to France, and he soon found himself in fighting on the Somme.

Private Whiteway’s time in France was to be a brief one. Caught up in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, he was wounded in the back and neck, and, after initial treatment on site, he was medically evacuated to Britain.

It is unclear where George was first admitted, but by February 1917, he was being tended to in the Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital in his home town, Paignton. He remained there for a couple of month, before being released back to duty.

Private Whiteway’s time fighting was over. He was transferred to the 619th Home Service Employment Company of the Labour Corps, and would spend the next year in and around Winchester, Hampshire. It is evident, however, that George’s health had been impacted. By March 1918 he was in hospital again, this time close to his army base. Suffering from a combination of peritonitis and tuberculosis, the contagious nature of the latter condition would lead to his dismissal from military service, and he was formally stood down on 29th April 1918.

At this point, George’s trail goes cold. It seems likely that he returned home, as his death was recorded in Totnes, Devon. He breathed his last on 25th August 1918: he was 25 years of age.

George William John Whiteway was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, a short walk from his family home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, story, Surrey, war

Private John Richards

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Private John Richards

John Henry Richards was born in Sutton, Surrey, on 3rd June 1896. The third of four children, his parents were John and Harriet Richards. John Sr was an engine driver and stoker, while his son found employment as a greengrocer’s assistant when he finished his schooling.

When war came to Europe, John Jr stepped up to serve his King. Full details of his military service have been lost to the annals of time, but he had certainly enlisted by the end of 1917. Initially joining the Devonshire Regiment, he subsequently transferred to the Labour Corps, and was assigned to the 385th Coy.

Private Richards seems to have been based in Kennington near Lambeth, Surrey. He married Dorothy Ford on 23rd December 1917, at which point, both bride and groom were living at 47 Hartington Road.

The family’s geographical locations become a bit confused at this point: Dorothy had been born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, but the 1911 census found her living in Ottery St Mary, Devon, with her paternal grandparents. John seems to have served some time in Devon as well, but it is unclear whether the couple met in the South West or London.

By the autumn of 1918, Private Richards’ unit was certainly in Devon: it was here that he contracted pneumonia, and he was admitted to the No. 1 Section Hospital in Devonport for treatment. This was to prove ineffectual, however, and he passed away on 2nd November 1918. He was 22 years of age.

Dorothy’s family appears to have been living in Axminster by this point, and it is certainly somewhere he would return to in later years. The town’s cemetery is where she would bury her late husband: John Henry Richards at peace again.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Greece, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, Surrey, war

Private Henry Ridler

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Private Henry Ridler

Henry Ridler was born in Henbury, Gloucestershire, in the summer of 1862. He was the middle of three children to Abraham and Harriet Ridler. Abraham was a farm labourer who moved the family for work to the Weston area of Bath, Somerset, not long after Henry’s younger brother, John, was born.

The oldest Ridler sibling, Joseph, worked as a cabinet maker, and by the time of the 1881 census, both Henry and John were apprenticed to him. Henry married Emma Stone on Christmas Eve 1882, and the couple would go on to have seven children.

The 1891 census found Henry and the family living at 5 Comfortable Place in Bath, one of a row of terraced cottages then, but now sandwiched between the River Avon and the busy A4. Henry and Emma had four children by this point – all daughters – and the house was split between them and mother-and-daughter dressmakers Lucy and Lucy Batt.

By the time of the 1901 census, the family were growing up, and had moved literally just around the corner, to 2 Onega Terrace. Set slightly back from the main road, this terraced house had six rooms, and was better suited to the growing family. Henry was still working as a cabinet maker at this point, while his three oldest daughters – Mabel, Lilian and Maude – were all employed, as a corset fanner, a kitchen maid and a nurse girl respectively.

The next census return, taken in 1911, recorded the Ridler family still living in the same house. Henry and Emma had been married for 28 years by this point, and, while 2 Onega Terrace may have had six rooms, they would have become very cramped by this point. Six of the children – aged between 14 and 27 – were still living at home, with everyone in the household but Emma bringing in a wage of sorts.

War was closing in by this point, and, despite his advancing years, Henry was drawn to serve his King and Country. He enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps on 20th October 1915, a date that confirms he volunteered for duty, as conscription wasn’t introduced until the following year. Henry’s service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with greying hair and blue eyes.

Private Ridler spent two periods of time overseas. In November 1915, his unit was sent to the Eastern Mediterranean, and he served in Salonika, Greece, for seven months. While there, he was hospitalised following an injury to his right knee. He was medically evacuated to Malta, before being posted back home in Britain to convalesce in Woodcote Park Hospital, Epsom, Surrey.

By the summer of 1916, Henry was deemed fit once more, and was sent abroad again, this time to the Western Front. Details of his time there are sketchy, although he seems to have been transferred tot he Labour Corps at some point. It appears that his previous injury flared up again, and he was eventually discharged from the army on medical grounds on 30th July 1918.

At this point, Henry’s trail goes cold. He returned to Bath, but it is unclear whether or not he was able to resume working. The next confirmed documentation for Henry’s life is that of his passing. While the cause is unclear, he breathed his last on 3rd June 1921: he was 58 years of age.

Henry Ridler was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, a short walk from the family home in Onega Terrace.

Emma remained in the family home for the next 17 years. When she passed away in 1938, she was also laid to rest in Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from her late husband.