John Burnaford Davey was born on 28th April 1887 in Cannington, Somerset. The youngest of nine children, his parents were farmers Thomas and Emma Davey. Emma died in 1899, and the next census, two years later, found John and two of his siblings living with their father at Beere Manor Farm on the outskirts of the village.
John’s trail goes cold at this point, and it seems that he may have emigrated to South Africa. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Natal Light Horse, and was awarded the 1915 Star in Pretoria for his involvement in fighting in Africa. Private Davey’s troop later moved to England, and it was here that he transferred to the Royal Field Artillery.
The move, in September 1915, included a promotion to Second Lieutenant. Within a couple of years his dedication meant that he advanced to the rank of Lieutenant. By this point, John was based in London, and it was here, on 16th July 1917, that he married Katherine Trayler, a tanner’s daughter from Bridgwater, who had gone on to become a teacher of gymnastics. The couple went on to have a daughter, Jean, who was born in November 1918.
Illness caught up with John and, with the Armistice signed, he was invalided out of service on 8th February 1919. The family were now living in Bridgwater, and this is where John returned. His time back with family was to be tragically short, however, as he passed away just weeks after leaving the army, on 2nd March 1919. He was 31 years of age.
John Burnaford Davey was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Holford, Somerset.
Henry Grandfield was born in the spring of 1887, the third of six children to William and Martha Grandfield. William was a bootmaker from the Somerset village of Over Stowey, and it was here that he and Martha raised their family.
Henry found work as a labourer on a local estate when he finished his schooling. When war came to Europe, however, he stepped up to play his part.
Service records for Henry are pretty scarce. He appears to have enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, but then transferred across to the Tank Corps. Separate research appears to suggest that Lance Corporal Grandfield served in the Eastern Mediterranean, but fell ill.
Suffering from rheumatism he returned to Britain for medical support. Based at Bovington Camp in Dorset, Henry was later admitted to a hospital near Wareham, having contracted pneumonia. This latter condition was to prove too much for his body to bear: he passed away on 1st October 1918, at the age of 31 years old.
The body of Henry Grandfield was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Over Stowey Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.
Stanley William Parry was born in the spring of 1890 in St George’s on the outskirts of Bristol, Gloucestershire. One of four children to Herbert and Susannah Parry, Stanley was a twin to brother Roland. Herbert was a commercial clerk for a chemical manufacturer, and this afforded the Parry boys a level of education, with both Roland and Stanley attended the Colston Endowed School in Bristol.
Tragically, Susannah had died when Stanley and Roland were just 3 years old: their younger brother, Wilfred, had died the year before, when just a babe-in-arms. By the time of the 1911 census, Herbert had moved the family to Portishead. He was still working as a clerk, while both of the twins were employed as insurance clerks. Their older brother, Edwin, was also a clerk, in the docks at Bristol, and Herbert had employed a live-in housekeeper, Mary Govier, to look after him and his sons.
When war came to Europe, both Stanley and Roland enlisted. The two of them joined the Royal Field Artillery as Gunners. While full service records are not available, Stanley was assigned to the 40th Trench Mortar Battery, while Roland became attached to A Battery of the 240th Brigade.
Stanley was serving in France in the summer of 1916, when he became ill.
The funeral took place on Saturday afternoon, at Portishead Cemetery, of Gunner Stanley Wm Parry, who… died at Mile End Hospital, London, on September 19th. The deceased, who was 27 years of age, was always somewhat delicate in health, but was anxious to serve his King and country, and joined the [Royal Field Artillery]. He was brought to London from France on the previous Saturday suffering from enteritis, and although he lived until his father reached him, he died shortly after. He was the third son of Mr HC Parry… whose two other sons are also serving, one in France and the other in Egypt.
Bristol Times and Mirror: Monday 25th September 1916
Gunner Stanley William Parry was laid to rest in Portishead Cemetery, just a short distance from the family home.
Gunner Stanley Parry (from findagrave.com)
Roland continued to serve his country in France, but tragedy was to strike the family once more.
Mr HC Parry… has received the sad intelligence that his son, Rowland G Parry [sic], of the [Royal Field Artillery], was killed in action on the 17th September. A letter from deceased’s officer stated that Gunner Parry was returning to the battery when a shell burst on the track, killing deceased instantaneously, death being absolutely painless. The letter further states that Gunner Parry had been a very valuable member of the battery, and will be missed by them all. Gunner Parry was the second of Mr Parry’s three sons to lay down his life in the great fight, a twin brother having died in a military hospital in London last year. The other son, the eldest, is serving in Palestine.
Bristol Times and Mirror: Saturday 29th September 1917
Roland George Parry was 28 years of age when he died. He was laid to rest in the Vlamertinghe New Military Semetery, in Ypres.
Gunner Roland Parry (from findgrave.com)
Herbert Parry passed away in the summer of 1920, at the age of 62. He had outlived three of his sons, as well as being a widower for 27 years. He was laid to rest in Portishead Cemetery with his son Stanley.
Edwin Parry, Stanley and Roland’s older brother, had returned from the First World War by the summer of 1919. He resumed his work as a clerk at the docks in Bristol, and married schoolteacher Annie Homewood in August 1919. They went on to have three children, Barbara, Gwladys and Roland. Edwin died in September 1959, at the age of 71 years old.
Maurice Chapman was born in the summer of 1883 in Newington, Surrey (now in the London borough of Southwark. The younger of two children, his parents were Charles and Jessie Chapman. Charles was a horse collar maker and, by the time Jessie passed away in 1899, Maurice was following in his father’s footsteps.
Maurice sought a bigger career, however, and, on 6th April 1899, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and that he weighed 118lbs (53.5kg). In the section relating to any distinguishing marks, it was noted that his eyebrows met, he had a scar on his forehead and two tattoos, one on each forearm.
Maurice’s military career was not to be a lengthy one. He was recorded as being absent without leave on 18th May, and docked 6 days’ pay. Admitted to a hospital in Woolwich on 26th May, he spent a week there, suffering from scabies. On 27th July, Maurice was formally discharged from the army, when it was discovered that he had lied about his age: on his enlistment papers, he stated he was 18 years 7 months old (he was, in fact, just sixteen.
Returning to the family home, Maurice took up his father’s trade once more. Charles remarried in 1905, to a woman called Rosa. The 1911 census found the two living in two rooms in a house in Kennington Lane, but of his children, there is no sign. Maurice does not appear on any of the 1911 census records. It is also not possible to track down his older sister Charlotte either, there are a number of Charlotte Chapmans in the that year’s records, and it is also unclear whether she had married by this point.
Maurice only reappears on 1st March 1916, when he stepped up to serve his King and his Country. Initially signing up for the Labour Corps, he wasn’t formally mobilised for eighteen months. Maurice gave his profession as a barman, but also noted that he had served for two years in the 2nd Battalion of the Dragoon Guards, before being discharged in 1904, although there is no other record to corroborate this.
Private Chapman’s service records provide some, but not a lot of, information. There is no record of him spending time overseas, but he spent ten months with the Labour Corps, before transferring to the Tank Corps on 30th August 1918. Over the next year-and-a-half, he moved between a couple of the regiment’s depots and their reserve unit, and remained on active service long after the Armistice was signed.
Maurice remained on active service with the Tank Corps until November 1920, when he was medically discharged. He had been unwell for a while by this point, and a combination of diabetes and a perineal fistula meant that he was no longer physically fit enough to serve.
It is likely that Maurice was in the War Hospital in Bath, Somerset, when he was discharged, as this is where he passed away, on 22nd December 1920. He was 37 years of age.
Maurice Chapman did not travel far to his final resting place. He was buried in the grounds of the Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath, Somerset.
The funeral took place at Pitminster parish churchyard… of Gunner A Board, of the Royal Field Artillery, youngest son of Mr and Mrs W Board… who died in the 3rd Southern General Hospital, Oxford… from wounds received in action on 29th October. Deceased was only 21 years of age, and was buried with full military honours. Having been a former Boy Scout members of the Taunton and Trull Troops attended as a last tribute of respect and sympathy.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 26th December 1917
Concrete information about the young life of Albert Board is destined to remain lost to time, but entries in the 1901 and 1911 censuses suggest that he had been born in Willesden, Middlesex. His parents were William and Annie Board, and the family moved to Pitminster, Somerset, at some point between the two documents.
One of seven children, by 1911 Albert had left school, and had found work as an errand boy. The youngest of the household, he was living with two older siblings – William, who was employed as a gardener; and collar making sister, Lily – and his parents. William, by this time, was working as a boot repairer.
When war came to Britain’s shores, Albert stepped up to play his part. He had enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery by the summer of 1917, and was attached to the 168th Brigade. Private Board fought on the Western Front, and may have been involved in the Arras Offensive of 1917.
Caught up in the fighting on 29th October, he was injured, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. He was admitted to the hospital in Oxford, but succumbed to his wounds on 10th December 1917. He was just 21 years of age.
Albert Board’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest with all due ceremony, in the quiet graveyard of Saint Mary and Saint Andrew’s Church, Pitminster.
Zebulon Priddle was born in the autumn of 1876 in Curry Mallet, Somerset. One of ten children, who included Meliam, Cornelius, Absalom, Ebenezer, Lancelot and Jabez, his parents were Robert and Mary Priddle.
Robert was a farm labourer, and his son followed suit at first, but a career away from home beckoned and, on 16th January 1894, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. Aged just 18 years and 2 months, Zebulon had volunteered in the Somerset Light Infantry, a militia group at that point. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 122lbs (55.3kg).
Driver Priddle was based on home soil for eighteen months before his wish for a life of adventure was realised. On 16th September 1894, his battalion set sail for India, and he was to remain there for more than six years. Zebulon returned to Britain in February 1902, where he was placed on reserve status. He completed his twelve years’ service in January 1906, and stepped down from the army.
Britain’s shores could not contain Zebulon, however, and at some point he emigrated to Canada. Little information of his life in North America is available, other than that the move seemed to have provided him with an opportunity to change his name, as in documents from this point on he is known as Robert Priddle.
The next record for Robert is that of his re-enlistment when war broke out. He was living in Winnipeg by this point, and, as he gives his mother, Mary, as his next-of-kin, it seems that he did not marry or have children.
Robert joined up again on 16th December 1914, and was attached to the 9th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. Promoted to the rank of Sergeant, he arrived back in England in March the following year. His time there was to be brief, however, and within a matter of weeks, Robert arrived on the Western Front.
Over the next six months, Sergeant Priddle’s health suffered significantly, and he had several periods in hospital. Initially suffering from bronchitis, in July 1915 he was medically evacuated to Britain with cardiac angina. He remained in England and, when rheumatism set in in October, he was transferred to reserve status.
Sadly, this was not to be the last time Sergeant Priddle’s health suffered: he was admitted to hospital in Shorncliffe, Kent, with a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He succumbed quickly, passing away on 25th January 1916, at the age of 39 years old.
The body of Robert Priddle was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest under his assumed name, in the peaceful graveyard of St James’ Church in his home village of Curry Mallet.
Charles Hookins was born on 15th October 1895 in Pawlett, Somerset. The eighth of nine children, his parents were William and Susan Hookins. William was a labourer in a brickyard, but when he finished his schooling, Charles went to work on his cousin’s farm in neighbouring Huntspill.
Farming was not what Charles had in his mind as a career, however, and on 7th April 1913, he joined the Great Western Railway. Initially employed as an engine cleaner, he was sent to work at the Duffryn Yard, South Wales. He soon moved on again, however, and by October 1913, he was living in Tondu, to the north of Bridgend, where he worked as an engine fireman.
War came to Europe in 1914, and, within weeks of hostilities being declared, Charles volunteered for service. He enlisted on 1st September 1914 in Bridgend, joining the Royal Field Artillery. His service records confirm that he was 19 years of age, stood 5ft 7.5ins (1.71m) tall, and weighed 135lbs (61.2kg). He was noted as having brown eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.
Gunner Hookins spent most of the next year on home soil training and became attached to the 57th Brigade. On 2nd August 1915 he set off for the Mediterranean, his troop unusually making their way across mainland France, rather than sailing around Spain and Portugal. They left European shores from Marseille on 7th August, and arrived at Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli peninsula just nine days later.
The 57th Brigade remained at Gallipoli for the next five months, and during this time, in November 1915, the now Acting Bombardier Hookins spent a week in the local field ambulance, through causes unknown.
Charles’ health seemed to be suffering by this point. On 17th January 1916, he was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, where he spent another week admitted to a field hospital. After a couple of months’ grace, he was transferred back to France, again disembarking at Marseille. After another week’s admission to hospital, he was invalided back to England, eventually arriving back home at the end of April.
Acting Bombardier Hookins had contracted pulmonary tuberculosis, and the risk to others, as well as his own health, led to him being discharged from military service on 15th July 1916, having served for just under two years.
Charles’ trail goes cold at this point. He returned home, but his medical condition was ultimately to get the better of him. He passed away on 9th January 1919, at the age of just 23 years old.
Charles Hookins was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St John the Baptist Church in his home village of Pawlett, Somerset.
Frederick Chilcott was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, early in 1867. He was the fifth of thirteen children to labourer and kiln worker Henry Chilcott and his wife, Ellen.
When he finished his schooling, Frederick also found labouring work. He wanted bigger and better things, however, and the opportunity for a career in the army offered him just that. On 14th January 1888 he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. His service records confirm he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 119lbs (54kg). He was noted as having dark brown hair, dark hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He also had a scar on his forehead and a tattooed dot on his right forearm.
Frederick was initially given the rank of Driver and was assigned to the regiment’s 3rd Brigade Depot. He was sent to India in February 1889, and remained there until November the following year, when his troop returned to Britain.
Back on home soil Frederick’s role changed and he was given the rank of Gunner. On 1st January 1892, he was promoted to Acting Bombardier, but, on his own request, he reverted to his previous rank just three months later. On 15th January 1895, Gunner Chilcott was stood down to reserve status, having completed seven years’ service.
On 16th April 1895, Frederick married Eliza Stockham. She was a labourer’s daughter from the village of Puriton, to the north of Bridgwater, and it was here that the couple settled. Living in a small cottage, they went on to have six children between 1898 and 1911.
Frederick’s time in the army, however, wasn’t quite done. With the Second Boer War breaking out, he was recalled to the now Royal Field Artillery in January 1900. Sent to South Africa, Gunner Chilcott remained overseas for a year and was recognised for his commitment in the campaign.
Frederick returned to Britain on 3rd January 1901, and was finally stood down from the army in March that year, having fulfilled his twelve years’ contract. He returned home to Puriton, his service records noting that his character was ‘very good’.
The 1911 census found Frederick employed as a labourer in the local cement works. He and Eliza living in a small cottage in Puriton with four of the children (their oldest son was with Eliza’s parents, while she was pregnant with their youngest).
Conflict was knocking on England’s shore by this point, and when conflict broke out, Frederick appears to have stepped up to play his part once more. He was 47 years old when war was declared and, as such, would not have been required to enlist. Full details of his service are no longer available, but he had certainly joined the Army Veterinary Corps by the summer of 1917.
Private Chilcott is likely to have remained on home soil, but towards the end of his service was based in Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It was while here, on 23rd December 1917, that he suffered an aneurysm, passing away in the town’s military hospital as a result. He was 50 years of age.
Frederick Chilcott’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Michael’s Church in his home village, Puriton.
Frederick Walter Coombes was born in 5th July 1891 in Chard, Somerset. He was the oldest of eight children and his parents were mason’s labourer Walter Coombes and his wife, Sarah.
The family moved to nearby Crewkerne and, when he left school, Frederick found work as a weaver. He quickly realised, however, that he needed a career, and the the military could offer one. On 18th October 1909, he enlisted in the the Royal Field Artillery, signing up for three years with the regiment, followed by nine years on reserve.
Frederick’s service record confirms the man he had become. His medical examination gave his height as 5ft 6ins (1.68m) and his weight as 139lbs (63kg). He was noted as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also recorded as having a tattoo of a man’s head on the back of his right wrist and a small scar on his left hip.
After a year on home soil, Driver Coombes was sent to South Africa. He was to spend a little over two years in the country, the 1911 census recording him at the Roberts Heights Barracks in Transvaal, as part of the 98th Battery.
When his initial three year contract came to an end, Frederick was placed on reserve status and returned home. His trail goes cold for a couple of years, but when war was declared in 1914, he was immediately brought back into active service.
By the middle of August 1914, Driver Coombes was on the Western Front in France. Within a matter of weeks he was caught up in the Retreat from Mons, and was gassed in the process.
He soon recovered and, in December 1915 his troop was moved to Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Within a month, Frederick fell ill again, having contracted malaria. He was treated at the base and, eventually remained in the Middle East for a year.
By December 1916 Frederick was on the move again, this time to India. His lungs had had a battering by this point, however, and he fell ill once more, this time having developed tuberculosis. Initially treated in India, by February 1917 he had been medically evacuated back to Britain. The condition was seen as unlikely to improve, and he was eventually discharged from the army as being no longer fit enough to serve.
Driver Coombes’ medical report confirmed that the condition was fully the result of his army service, and treatment at a sanatorium was recommended. His last day with the Royal Field Artillery was 7th May 1917: his career had lasted 7 years 202 days.
Again, Frederick’s trail goes cold at this point. It seems likely that he would have returned to Somerset and would possibly had been admitted to a medical facility for treatment and recuperation. The next record for him is that of his death, which happened at home on 26th March 1919. He was just 27 years of age.
Frederick Walter Coombes was laid to rest in Crewkerne’s Townsend Cemetery.
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 