Albert Edwin Pearce was born on 12th November 1883 in Bristol. Gloucestershire. One of nine children, his parents were William and Mary Pearce. William was a farmer and grazier and, when he finished his schooling, Albert followed him into farm work.
In 1908, when Albert was 25, his older sister Olive was widowed: the following year, their mother, Mary, also passed away. Olive’s late husband had been a farmer in Tickenham, near Clevedon, and so Albert and his older brother Walter moved in with Olive and her four children to help run the farm.
When war came to Europe, Albert stepped up to play his part. Full service details are not available, he served with the Labour Corps. Attached to the 446th Agricultural Company, towards the end of the conflict, he seems to have been serving in the West Midlands.
By the autumn of 1918, Private Pearce was admitted to the Military Hospital on Dudley Road in Birmingham. Details of his condition are not available, but they were to take his life. He passed away on 19th November 1918: he had celebrated his 35th birthday just a week before.
Albert Edwin Pearce’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Peter & St Paul’s Church in Weston-in-Gordano. He was buried in the family plot, reunited with his mother: his father, William, would be interred there just five months later, when he died in April 1919.
In a quiet corner of Portishead Cemetery, Somerset, is the grave of Private EG Davies. His headstone confirms that he was in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, give the date of his death – 23rd March 1919 – and his age when he passed – 40 years old. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website confirms that Private Davies transferred to the Labour Corps, but only a couple of documents remain from his time in the army.
The soldier’s pension records confirm that his full name was Edward George Davies, and that, at the time of his death, he was living with his ‘unofficial wife’, Minnie Louisa Holbrook. The records also give the cause of death: influenza and septic bronchitis.
Minnie Louisa Fido was born in the spring of 1874 in Bedminster, Bristol, one of thirteen children to farmworker David Fido and his wife, Sarah. She married Arthur Holbrook on 28th April 1895, and had Gertrude four months later.
The Somerset School Register from 1906 notes that Gertrude Fido joined the Church of England School in Weston-in-Gordano on 12th February. It gives her mother’s name as Minnie Fido, but doesn’t give a father’s name. It seems that Gertrude left the school in November 1914, as she had found work.
A search of the 1911 census records shows Edward and Minnie (whose surname is now given as Davies), living in George Street, Portishead. Edward is listed as a wagoner on a farm, and that he was born in Gloucestershire. Minnie is noted as a charwoman from Nailsea, Somerset. Making up the household is Gertrude, noted as being Edward’s stepdaughter, and who was working as a domestic servant.
Edward’s history is more of a challenge to piece together. The 1911 census gives his place of birth as Iron Acton, Gloucestershire, and census records from the years following his birth give his parents names as Henry and Charlotte Davis.
In 1896, Edward joined the Gloucestershire Regiment as a Private, his papers suggesting that his apparent age was 18 years and 3 months (he was, in fact, barely 17 years old). Despite having ‘rather flat feet’, he spent the next five years in the army, and served in South Africa. He was medically discharged in November 1901.
Returning to the 1911 census once more, the document suggests he and Minnie had been married for eight years, although later army pension documents suggest Minnie was his unofficial wife.
When war broke out, it seems that he stepped up to play his part once more, although the records give some confusion about how and where he served. The war memorial in Portishead records him as Private Edward George Davies of the Royal Horse Artillery, while the Somerset Book of Remembrance commemorates Gunner Edwards George Davies of the Royal Horse Artillery. The North Weston War Memorial suggests he was a Private in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, and this matches the details recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Minnie did not marry, or co-habit, again, and she passed away on Christmas Day 1949, at the age of 75 years old. Gertrude looks to have married a man called Bessant. The 1939 England and Wales Register recorded her living in the Portishead area, and working as a supervisor in a boot factory. She was living with her maternal uncle, Herbert Fido, but was noted as being the head of the household. She died early in 1967 in Weston-super-Mare.
Richard Francis Gould was born in the autumn of 1893 in Wraxall, Somerset. One of fifteen children, his parents were Devon-born farm labourer and carter John Gould and his wife Mary, who came from Bristol.
When he left school, Richard found work as a domestic gardener, and this is what he was doing when he met Ada Archer. She was a nurse from Bristol, and the couple married in Knowle on 17th August 1908. They set up home in Bedminster, and went on to have three children: Edith, born late in 1909; Richard Jr, born in 1915; and Ronald, who was born the following year.
When war broke out, Richard was drawn to serve his country. Sadly, most of his service records have been lost to time, so it’s impossible to piece together a complete record of his time in the army. He was initially attached to the 36th Training Reserve Battalion, but was soon transferred. Attached to the 599th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps, Private Gould was based in Somerset.
It was while serving in the autumn of 1918, that Richard fell ill. Having contracted pneumonia, he was hospitalised, but the condition proved too much, and he passed away on 19th October, at the age of 34 years old.
Ada and the children were living in the Somerset village of Long Ashton by this point, but it was in the graveyard of the local church – All Saints’ – that Richard Francis Gould was laid to rest.
Arthur Chard was born in the spring of 1893, one of eight children to Isaac and Eliza Chard. Isaac was a labourer at the colour works in Winford, Somerset, and this is where the family were born and raised.
When Arthur finished his schooling, he found work as a farm labourer and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was living with his maternal uncle and family in the village, where he was employed as a farm lad.
As war came to Europe, Arthur stepped up to serve his country. He enlisted on 16th November 1915, joining the Somerset Light Infantry. His service records show that he was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall and weighed 113lbs (51.3kg).
Private Chard was formally mobilised in January 1916, and was sent to France in September, having completed his training. By May of 1917, he seems to have been back in Britain, and was transferred to the Labour Corps. There appears to have been some health issue behind this, as, on 11th August he was admitted to Henham Hall Auxiliary Hospital in Suffolk, suffering from ‘debility’. Having been moved to another hospital after a couple of weeks, he was finally discharged back to his unit on 20th September 1917.
Arthur joined the 626 Agricultural Company, which was based in Taunton. By July 1918, he had moved to another of the Somerset troops, 593 Agricultural Company. His health was still suffering, however, and he was soon admitted to Taunton Military Hospital. Private Chard passed away from nephritis on 5th December 1918. He was 25 years of age.
Arthur Chard’s body was taken back to Winford for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s parish church, St Mary & St Peter’s.
Henry Wiggs was born in Camberwell, Surrey, in the autumn of 1880. One of eleven children, his parents were dock labourer Thomas Wiggs and his wife, Sarah.
When he finished his schooling, Henry also took up labouring work and, by the time of the 1911 census, was working as a partition block maker in the building trade. The census shows him a living with his brother William and his family.
On 3rd August 1913, Henry married Blanche Hill. She was eight years older than Henry, and the daughter of a Sergeant in the Royal Horse Artillery. Blanche had been widowed ten years earlier, and had four children, who Henry took on as his own.
At this point, Henry’s trail goes cold. When war broke out, he stepped up to play his part, initially joining the Worcestershire Regiment. At some point he was transferred to the Royal Berkshire Regiment, subsequently becoming attached to the Labour Corps.
Details of Private Wiggs’ military service are lost to time, and it is unclear whether he served on the Home Front or overseas. He survived the war, and was discharged from the army on 13th March 1919. He was suffering from heart disease, directly attributable to his military service.
Again, Henry falls off the radar at this point. He and Blanche made the move to Somerset, setting up home in Weston-super-Mare. His heart problem seems to have dogged him, however, and likely caused his admission to a hospital in Bath towards the end of 1920. It was in the city that he passed away, on 28th December 1920, at the age of 40 years old.
Henry Wiggs’ body was not brought back to Weston-super-Mare for burial – the cost of doing so may have been too much for the now twice-widowed Blanche to afford. Instead, he was laid to rest in the sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath.
In the war grave section of Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath, Somerset, is a headstone dedicated to a Private J Curtis, of the King’s Liverpool Regiment, who passed away on 3rd January 1921. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission confirms that Joseph Curtis had transferred to the 430th Company of the Labour Corps at some point.
Little additional information is available for Joseph Curtis. Only one service document remains, his Medal Roll Index Card. This gives the dates of his service – 22nd February 1915 to 17th October 1918 – but no other identifying details.
Without a year or place of birth, it is not possible to track down any census records. As Bath was the location of both a War Hospital and one for army pensioners, his burial in a cemetery nearby is no guarantee that the city was ever his home. There is also no report of Private Curtis’ passing or funeral in any available contemporary newspapers.
The life of James Curtis is destined to remain a mystery, therefore, taken with him when he was laid to rest.
Herbert Jack Lee was born in the autumn of 1893 and was one of twelve children. His parents were Devon-born John Lee and his wife, Emily, who came from Churchstanton, Somerset, and it was here that the young family were raised. John was a bootmaker-turned-innkeeper, and the Lees lived in the village’s Rising Sun Inn.
By the time of the 1911 census, John had returned to boot-making once more. Herbert, meanwhile, had found work as a domestic gardener, bringing in a second wage to a household that included his parents and two younger siblings.
When war came to Europe, Herbert – who was better known by his middle name – stepped up to serve his King and Country. Little of his service documentation remains, but a contemporary newspaper report outlined his time in the army:
[Jack] joined the service in January, 1916, and was posted to the Wilts Regiment. He was subsequently transferred to the Royal Berks, and with them proceeded to France, returning to England suffering from trench feet at Easter, 1917. He was then posted to the Devon Regiment, and put into an Agricultural Company, and employed at Offwell, near Honiton.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 12th March 1919
Private Lee’s health had suffered badly during the winter of 1916/17 and, in the spring of 1919, he came down with a severe bout of influenza. His body was too weakened to recover, and he passed away on 4th March 1919, aged just 25 years old.
Herbert Jack Lee was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Paul’s Church, in his home village of Churchstanton.
Interestingly, in the same edition of the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser that had reported on Herbert’s funeral, was a report on the state of the Lee’s former home, the Rising Sun Inn.
…some of the rooms were very damp through water having come in… [and] was not fit to live in. The house had been very well conducted by the present tenant [Frank Gill], but… trade… had gone down by four-fifths since the war..
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 12th March 1919
Frank Gill was applying to the Licensing Board to avoid paying taxes for the year, given the drop in clientele and the number of other public houses in the area to support any customers. His case was referred on.
Much of the life of William Charles Taylor is destined to remain lost to time. His Commonwealth War Grave Commission and military records give his father as Henry Taylor, while another document suggests his mother’s initial was E, but no birth, baptism or census records match the three names given.
The document that can be directly attributed to William is his military service records. They confirm that he enlisted in Bath, Somerset, on 18th February 1916, joining the Somerset Light Infantry. The document notes that he was 21 years and 7 months old when he enlisted, and stood 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall.
Initially assigned to the 10th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, within a couple of months, Private Taylor was transferred across to the Durham Light Infantry in July 1917. He remained on home soil for the duration of his time in service, and was moved across to the Labour Corps in March 1918.
By May that year, William had become unwell. He was based in Essex at this point, and was admitted to the Warley Military Hospital in Brentwood, suffering from tuberculosis. He spent six weeks in hospital, before finally being discharged from the army as he was no fit for military service.
At this point, William’s trail goes cold once more. He seems to have returned home to Bath, finally succumbing to tuberculosis on 15th September 1918. He was just 24 years of age.
William Charles Taylor was laid to rest in Bath’s Twerton Cemetery.
Thomas Alfred Parsons was born in the summer of 1885 in Twerton, Somerset. One of six children, his parents were railway engine driver William Parsons and his wife, Mary. When Thomas finished his schooling, he found work at a labourer at a mineral water supplier, something he continued doing through to the outbreak of war.
On 27th May 1912, Thomas married Lily Howell, a labourer’s daughter, the couple tying the knot in Twerton parish church. They were living in Charlton Buildings, next to the river and now student accommodation for Bath’s universities. Lily had had a son, in November 1905: young Ronald was either Thomas’, or he was accepted as his own.
When war came to Europe, Thomas stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 11th December 1915, although he was not formally mobilised until six months later. Private Parsons initially joined the Devonshire Regiment, but by early 1917, he became attached to the 169th Labour Corps.
Sent to France in February that year, Private Parsons only remained overseas for a matter of six months. By early September Thomas had fallen ill, contracting a combination of bronchitis and phthisis (or tuberculosis). Medically evacuated back to Britain, he was admitted to a hospital in Plymouth, Devon, but grew weaker until, on 2nd October 1917, he passed away. He was 32 years of age.
The body of Thomas Alfred Parsons was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Twerton Cemetery, not far from his widow’s home.
Albert Lowman was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, in the autumn of 1876. He was the younger of two children to Charles and Sarah Lowman. The 1881 census recorded the family – Charles, Sarah and their boys Charles Jr and Albert – living in Back Lane. Charles Sr was noted as being a labourer, although in the column highlighting any medical conditions (‘deaf-and-dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘imbecile or idiot’, ‘lunatic’), is one word: “afflicted”.
Charles Sr passed away in 1886, when Albert was just 9 years old. The next census, in 1891, found Sarah working as a charwoman, while her youngest, who had left school by this point, was employed as a labourer. Mother and son also had a lodger, Alice, who was a dressmaker. Charles Jr, by this point, had left home, and was living in Penarth, Glamorganshire, where he was apprenticed to his paternal uncle, who was a tailor.
On 28th November 1896, Albert married Sarah Ann Dodge, a weaver’s daughter who was also from Crewkerne. Albert recorded his job as a drayman, although this seems to have been piecemeal employment.
The next census found more permanent work, as he was cited as being a shirt factory packer, while Sarah was employed by the factory as a machinist. Making up the household was young Charles Lowman, the couple’s first son, who was just a month old although sadly, he survived only a couple of months more before dying.
Further tragedy is highlighted by the 1911 census, as it highlights that the couple had had a further child, who had also died when just a babe-in-arms. The Lowmans were now living on Hermitage Street near the centre of the town. Albert was still a shirt packer, and, even though their cottage was small, they had two boarders and a visitor staying. The lodgers brought the couple a little rent, which meant that Sarah no longer had to work.
War was closing in on Europe and, while his full military records are lost to time, it is clear that Albert had stepped up to play his part. He had enlisted by January 1918, and was attached to the Devonshire Regiment, through which he served with the 380 Company of the Labour Corps.
Private Lowman was barracked on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, and in July he was admitted to the military hospital in Salisbury itself, suffering from appendicitis. He was operated on, but died following complications. He passed away on 10th July 1918, at the age of 41 years old.
Albert Lowman was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Crewkerne.
Private Lowman’s pension ledger record shows the beneficiaries of his army service. The document identified Sarah as his widow, but also Phillis Annie Matilda Denning, the couple’s adopted daughter, who had been born in August 1904.
Sarah was not to outlive her late husband for long, however.
The death occurred with tragic suddenness on Sunday afternoon, January 7th, at her residence in Hermitage-street, of Mrs Sarah Ann Lowman… The deceased, who was of middle age, was about as usual attending to her ordinary household duties in the morning. Just before dinner hour, however, she complained of not feeling well and went upstairs to lie down. Her niece took her up a cup of how water, and she then apparently went to sleep. She awoke about 3:40pm, and then had to get out of bed owing to sickness. Upon going back into bed again she expired almost immediately. Dr Wolfenstein was called, but he could only pronounce life extinct.
Langport & Somerton Herald: Saturday 20th January 1923
Sarah was 47 years of age when she passed away. It is likely that she was laid to rest near her husband, although records to confirm this have been lost.
Albert’s brother, Charles, survived his sibling by less than six months. He had left tailoring behind him in South Wales, and instead embarked on a military career. He joined the Royal Field Artillery in 1895 and, over the course of his twelve years’ service, served in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
Charles married Florence Dodge in 1908, and the couple went on to have two children – Cecil and Freda. When war broke out in 1914, he stepped up once more. Having already risen through the ranks from Gunner to Bombardier and Corporal, he re-entered service as a Sergeant in the Royal Garrison Artillery.
Based in Le Harve, Northern France, Sergeant Lowman was admitted to a hospital in Harfleur, having contracted bronchial pneumonia. Sadly, he passed away while admitted, on 8th November 1918, just three days before the end of the conflict. He was 43 years of age.
Charles Lowman was laid to rest in the Sainte Marie Cemetery, near the centre of Le Harve.
Death and Service 