Category Archives: Royal Jersey Militia

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Jersey, Lancashire, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, unknown, war

Private Alexander Cain

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Private Alexander Cain

Alexander Bertram Cain was born on 31st July 1885 in Ormskirk, Lancashire. He was the ninth of eleven children to concert promoter Robert Cain and his wife, Sarah.

By 1901, Robert and Sarah had moved the family to Jersey, setting up home in St Saviour’s. Robert was noted as living off his own means, but Alexander, who would have been 15 by this point, is noticeable by his absence and, in fact, does not appear on that year’s census return.

Robert died in 1909, and on 26th January 1911, Alexander married a woman called Hilda Bedford. They settled down in St Helier, and went on to have two children, daughters Yvonne and Elizabeth. The census taken three months after the couple’s wedding recorded Alexander as living on his own means, so money appeared not to be an issue for the young family.

When war came to Europe, Alexander was called upon to play his part. On 12th March 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia, and was attached to the regiment’s Garrison Battalion, stationed on the island. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, and that he had a scar on his left cheek. The document also suggests that he had spent time in the Gloucestershire Regiment, but no further information about this is available.

Private Cain spent the next two years in the army. Towards the end of this time, however, his health appears to have been impacted, to the point that, on 6th May 1919, he was medically discharged from the Royal Jersey Militia.

Whatever his condition, it was to prove fatal. Alexander passed away at home on 31st May 1919: he was 33 years of age.

Alexander Bertram Cain was laid to rest in the family plot in La Croix Cemetery in Grouville, Jersey, Hilda left widowed and with two children – Elizabeth just four months old – to raise.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Jersey, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Jersey Militia, story, war

Private Albert Richomme

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Private Albert Richomme

Albert John Richomme was born on 13th June 1885 and was one of eight children to Charles and Marie Richomme. Both were from France, but had moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands before Albert’s oldest sibling, Charles, was born. The couple farmed land near Grouville, the children helping out as they became old enough.

On 28th September 1904, Albert married Linda Rouland at St Thomas’ Roman Catholic Church. The couple set up home in Trinity, and went on to have six children. The 1911 census recorded Albert as being a jobbing gardener, with the family living in the four-roomed Sunny Side Cottage.

When war came to Europe, Albert stepped up to play his part. Initially enlisting in the Royal Jersey Militia, his unit was absorbed into the 7th (Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles. By the end of 1915, he found himself in France.

Full details of Private Richomme’s service are lost to time, but is seems that he was caught up in a gas attack and, after being medically evacuated to Britain to recuperate, he was transferred to the Labour Corps.

At this point, Private Richomme’s trail goes cold. He survived the war and returned home, but passed away from pneumonia on 14th May 1920, just short of his 35th birthday.

Albert John Richomme was laid to rest in the peaceful grounds of La Croix Cemetery in Grouville.

While meeting the appropriate criteria for his burial site to be granted a Commonwealth War Grave, Albert is not recognised by the Commission.

Private Albert Richomme
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Jersey, photography, Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Jersey Militia, story, war

Rifleman Joseph Gionta

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Rifleman Joseph Gionta

Joseph Marie Louis Gionta was born on 7th January 1897 in St Ouen, Jersey. He was the oldest of three children to Matthieu and Marie Gionta. Marie has been married before, and so her two children – Joseph’s older stepbrothers – made up the household.

Shoemaker Matthieu passed away when Joseph was just a teenager. By the time of the 1911 census, Marie was living in two rooms in St Ouen’s, supported by her five children. She was working as a charwoman, while her two children from her first marriage were farm labourers, bringing in three probably meagre wages to the family home.

When war broke out, Joseph stepped up to play his part. Initially enlisting in the Royal Jersey Militia, his unit was absorbed by the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles shortly after he joined up. Rifleman Gionta’s service records confirm he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and that he was 19 years old when he enlisted.

Joseph’s battalion served in France from December 1915, and he spent the next ten months overseas. In October 1916, he returned to the UK, and was transferred to the regiment’s 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, serving in Ireland.

Towards the end of 1917, Rifleman Gionta became unwell, contracting tuberculosis. This led to his medical discharge from the army on 29th January 1918, and he returned to the Channel Islands. At this point, his trail goes cold, and it is not until the autumn of 1920 that he resurfaces.

Joseph Marie Louis Gionta passed away on 24th September 1920: he was 23 years of age. A cause of death is unclear, although the likelihood is that it was related to the lung condition that he picked up while on active duty. He was laid to rest in the peaceful St Ouen’s Churchyard in Jersey.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Jersey, photography, Royal Jersey Militia, Sergeant, story, war

Sergeant Francis Godfray

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Sergeant Francis Godfray

Francis George Godfray was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, on 10th April 1895. One of fifteen children, his parents were Philippe and Alice Godfray. Philippe was a quarryman-turned-agricultural labourer and, by the time of the 1911 census, Francis had also gone into farm work.

War was closing on on Europe’s shores, and Francis stepped up to play his part. Full details of his service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia by 1918. Attached to B Company of the regiment’s Garrison Battalion, by the end of the conflict he had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Sergeant Godfray survived the conflict and had returned home by the spring of 1919. On 24th April, he collapsed and died suddenly, his death later confirmed as heart failure. Francis was just 24 years of age.

Francis George Godfray was laid to rest in the peaceful St Ouen’s Churchyard in Jersey.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Jersey, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, unknown, war

Private Sydney Ecobichon

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Private Sydney Ecobichon

Sydney William Ecobichon was the youngest of five children to French-born farmers Mathurin and Ann Ecobichon. The couple had moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands in the late 1860s, setting up home in St Peter’s by the time their children were born.

Mathurin passed away in 1895, aged 53 years old, leaving Ann and the children to managed the farm. By the time of the 1901 census, Sydney’s older brother Ernest was the farm manager, with Ann remaining head of the household.

When Sydney finished his schooling, he also started work on the farm. The 1911 census recorded Ernest and his family living in on part of the farm, with Ann, and Sydney living in their own accommodation with Sydney’s sister Anna, her husband and two children.

On 28th February 1917, Sydney married Lilla Amy, a farmer’s daughter from St Ouen. Sydney’s trade was listed as farmer, and it seems likely that the young couple married ahead of his conscription into the army.

Details of Sydney’s military service are lost to time. It is clear from his headstone that he enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records suggest that he was attached to the regiment’s Garrison Battalion.

The only other details for Private Ecobichon’s life are that of his passing. Sydney died on 19th October 1918, and was laid to rest in St Ouen’s Churchyard. The cause of his death is unclear, but he was 30 years old when he died.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Jersey, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, war

Private Philip Langlois

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Private Philip Langlois

Philip John Langlois was born 21st September 1886 in St Lawrence, Jersey. One of fourteen children, he was the eldest son to carpenter Philip Langlois and his wife, Mary.

When he finished his schooling, Philip Jr was apprenticed to his father, but, by the time of the 1911 census, the Langlois family had taken on Mayfield Farm. Most of the family we included in running it.

When war came to Europe, Philip left his father’s farm and stepped up to play his part. Sadly, full details of his service are lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia. Attached to the 1st, or West, Battalion, he served his time on the island.

The funeral took place yesterday afternoon with full military honours of Pte. Philip Langlois, of D (St Lawrence) Co… The deceased, who was 28 years of age, was very popular with his comrades, and was on duty a fortnight ago. Though suffering with a slight cold, he then seemed otherwise to be in good health. A few days ago, however, he was engaged ploughing, when he was taken ill, and returning to his father’s residence… was obliged to take to his bed. Unfortunately he never rallied, but passed away on Tuesday last.

It is very many years since a military funeral took place at St Lawrence, and this coupled with the sad circumstances surrounding the death was responsible for the large number of sympathetic spectators who lined the roads and assembled at St Lawrence Churchyard, where the internment took place.

[Jersey Evening Post: Saturday 6th February 1915]

Philip John Langlois had passed away on 2nd February 1915. His family headstone notes the other members of his family who are buried with him.

Philip’s younger brother, George, enlisted in the Hampshire Regiment, and was attached to the 1st Battalion as a Private. He was caught up in the Third Battle of Ypres and killed on 4th October 1917. George was 21 years of age, and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

Sadness was to strike again on 21st December 1917, when Philip’s sister, Elsie, passed away: she was 28 years old. Another sister, Florence, passed away on 3rd March 1918, aged 29. Both were laid to rest with their brother.

Philip’s parents were also interred in the family grave: Philip Sr when he died in 1936 at the age of 76; and Mary when she passed away in 1955 aged 92.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Jersey, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, unknown, war

Private Henry Roberts

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Private Henry Roberts

The life of Henry George Roberts is destined to remain shrouded in mystery.

His entry in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records reads: “ROBERTS, Pte. HG, 668, Royal Jersey Garrison Bn. Channel Islands Militia. 29th Oct, 1918. In North-West corner [St Martin Churchyard]”, but there are no details of his next-of-kin.

No related military records are available for him, and, without Henry’s age an online search identifies too many results to be of any practical use.

Private Roberts lies at rest in the peaceful churchyard, his life lost in the mists of time.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Jersey, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, unknown, war

Private Wilfred le Breton

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Private Wilfred le Breton

Wilfred John le Breton was born in Trinity, Jersey, on 25th August 1888. The fifth of eleven children, his parents were Thomas and Mary Ann le Breton. Mary died in 1898, and the family pulled together to support each other. Thomas was a mason, and when he finished his schooling, Wilfred followed suit.

On 8th January 1916, Wilfred married Louisa Allo. The daughter of a labourer from St Lawrence, she was working as a domestic servant when the couple wed: Wilfred, by this point was employed as a plasterer.

At this point, Wilfred’s trail goes cold. War was raging across Europe, and he enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia. Private le Breton remained stationed on the island, but his specific role is unclear.

The next document relating to Wilfred’s life is that of his passing. He died on 23rd November 1916, at the age of 28 years old. The cause of his demise is unclear.

Wilfred John le Breton was laid to rest in Trinity Churchyard, Jersey. His exact grave is unknown, but a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone commemorates his life.