Category Archives: Royal Marines

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Somerset, story, war

Private Kenneth Harding

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Private Kenneth Harding

Kenneth Gordon Harding was born in the autumn of 1896, in the Somerset village of Batheaston. The oldest of nine children, his parents were Lawrence and Fanny Harding. Lawrence was a market gardener when Kenneth was born, but by the time of the 1911 census – and with a growing family to support – he found other employment as a roadman.

When he left school, Kenneth found work as a gardener, but he had his sight set on distant shores. On 25th September 1913 he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, determined to see the world. His service records show that he was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, with light hair, blue eyes and a light complexion.

For the duration of his naval career, Private Harding was based out of Plymouth Dockyard, returning there in between each of his voyages. Over the next four years, he served on three different vessels – HMS Heroic, HMS Duke of Edinburgh and HMS Skirmisher. His service records shows that he maintained a satisfactory level of conduct, and that his general character was very good.

By January 1917, Kenneth had fallen ill, and was medically discharged from the army, having contracted tuberculosis. He returned home, but his illness continued to dog him.

On 22nd May 1918, Kenneth’s younger brother, Leonard Harding, who was serving with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was killed while fighting in France. Private Leonard Harding was just 19 years old. He was laid to rest in the Duhallow ADS Cemetery at Ypres.

With Kenneth’s own health not looking good, his parents must have feared the worst. The worst was to some, sadly, when he breathed his last at home on 29th December 1918. He was just 22 years of age.

Kenneth Gordon Harding was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church in his home village, Batheaston.

Cheshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private Thomas Clarke

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Private Thomas Clarke

Thomas Clarke was born on 18th July 1893 in the Cheshire town of Altrincham. The second of nine children, his parents were Irish-born couple Thomas and Mary Clarke. Thomas Sr worked in the building trade as a bricklayer, but, by the time of the 1911 census, his older children had found other trades. His oldest child, Nora, was a shop assistant, Thomas Jr was a shorthand typist, while the next two Clarke children worked in the printing industry.

Thomas Jr, however, wanted to see the world and, on 3rd October 1911, he took his first step towards that aim, enlisting in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His service records note that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, had blue eyes, fair hair and a fresh complexion. They also record a scar on his left hand and a tattoo on his right arm.

Private Clarke was first sent for training in Deal, Kent, and his swimming ability tested there on 6th December, presumably in the freezing English Channel. In August 1912 he moved to barracks in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Over the next couple of years, he served on two ships – HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Dido – returning to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth after each assignment.

In July 1914, Thomas was assigned to the battleship HMS Bulwark. The ship patrolled the English Channel when he first came on board. By that autumn, however, she had moved to North Kent, guarding the waters around the Isle of Sheppey against potential German invasion.

Thomas was on board Bulwark on the morning of 26th November 1914, when an explosion ripped through the ship and sinking it. More than 740 lives were lost, Private Clarke among them. He was just 21 years of age.

Thomas Clarke was laid to rest in a marked grave in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from a mass grave where scores of his colleagues had been buried.

Note: While Thomas’ surname is spelt Clark on his headstone, all documents relating to him – and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website – give the correct spelling as Clarke.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Somerset, story, war

Private Lot Hayward

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Private Lot Hayward

Lot Hayward was born in November 1897 in the Somerset village of West Coker. The seventh of eight children, his parents were Walter and Elizabeth Hayward. Walter was a twine maker at a local factory, but when Lot left school – and after Elizabeth died in 1908 – he found work as a farm labourer.

Lot was seeking bigger and better things in life, however, and on 18th August 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, had light brown hair, brown eyes and a pale complexion. It also confirms that he lied about his age – giving his year of birth as 1895 in order to be accepted for service.

Private Hayward joined up at the recruitment depot in Deal, Kent, and, after training there, he was sent to Plymouth in Devon, arriving there in June 1914. Over the next couple of years, he moved between Devon and HMS Victory, the Royal Navy Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

When war was declared, Lot also served overseas, fighting at Antwerp, Alexandria and in Turkey. While there in the summer of 1916, he fell ill, contracting pulmonary tuberculosis. He returned to Plymouth, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in the city.

His lung condition meant that Private Hayward could no longer perform his duties as a soldier. He was medically discharged from the navy on 10th June 1916.

Lot returned home, but his condition grew steadily worse. He eventually succumbed to it, passing away on 18th November 1917, at the tender age of just 20.

Lot Hayward was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Martin’s Church in his home village of West Coker. Reunited with his mother, Lot’s father, Walter, was also laid to rest in the family plot when he passed away in 1920.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Somerset, story, war

Gunner Frederick Milverton

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Gunner Frederick Milverton

Frederick Walter John Milverton was born on 26th June 1888 in the Somerset village of Rimpton. One of seven children, his parents were farm workers George and Mary Milverton.

When he left school, it was natural for Frederick to follow in his father’s footsteps. The 1901 census recorded him as working as a farm lad in Leigh, Dorset, while in 1911 he was back at the family home, where he was formally employed as a rabbit trapper.

George passed away in 1913 and, with war fast approaching, Frederick remained at home, to help support his mother. But he eventually received his enlistment notice and, on 28th February 1916, he joined the Royal Marine Artillery.

Private Milverton’s service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. After five months’ initial training, Frederick was awarded the rank of Gunner 2nd Class, and assigned to the cruiser HMS Euryalus.

For the next couple of years Gunner Milverton remained on board Euryalus, serving in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India and Hong Kong. He transferred to HMS Lavatera in March 1918, and saw out the remainder of the war on board.

In January 1919 Gunner Milverton returned to home soil, and was assigned to the Royal Marine Artillery Headquarters in Eastney, Hampshire. It was here, however, that he fell ill, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Haslar Hospital with bronchial pneumonia. Tragically the condition was to get the better of him: Frederick passed away on 6th February 1919, at the age of 30 years old.

Frederick Walter John Milverton’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in his home village of Rimpton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, injury, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private Albert Harvey

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Private Albert Harvey

Albert James Harvey was born on 23rd May 1894 in the Gloucestershire village of Warmley. One of eleven children, his parents were James and Alice Harvey. James was a bootmaker, and most of Albert’s siblings followed him into shoemaking, but Albert bucked the trend, and found work with a baker when he left school.

He wanted bigger and better things, however, and so, on 26th April 1911, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His service records record that Private Harvey was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with blue eyes, auburn hair and a fresh complexion. It also suggests that he added a year to his age, to ensure that he was accepted for duty.

After initially enlisting in Deal, Kent, Albert was sent to Plymouth, Devon, where he served for most of 1912. On 18th November that year, he was assigned to the dreadnought battleship HMS Conqueror, on which he was to serve for the nearly five years.

It was during his time on board Conqueror that Albert married Ethel Brewer. The daughter of a pressman, the couple exchanged vows at St Barnabas Church in their shared home village, Warmley.

Private Harvey remained serving throughout the war and, in April 1918, he was involved in the Zeebrugge Raid. This was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port by sinking obsolete ships in the canal entrance. During the operation, more than 200 men were killed and over 300 – including Albert – were wounded.

Private Harvey was medically evacuated to England for treatment, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He passed away in a hospital in Plymouth on 28th June 1918. He was just 24 years old.

Albert James Harvey was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Barnabas’ Church, where he has been both baptised and married.

Bedfordshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private William Jackson

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Private William Jackson

Little concrete documentation remains about the life of William Henry Jackson. He was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, on 6th February 1872, although it is not possible to identify who his parents were.

He married a woman called Edith in 1903, and the couple settled in her home town of Beeston, Nottinghamshire. By the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded working as an electrician’s labourer at the local telephone works, while Edith, who was five years his senior, earned extra money as a blouse finisher.

Information about William’s wartime efforts are also limited. He enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and was assigned to the Chatham Division. He was given the rank of Private and based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Kent town.

The only other information available for Private Jackson is that he died on 16th September 1916, having contracted a combination of pneumonia and tuberculosis. He was 44 years of age.

William Henry Jackson was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard in which he had served. His headstone gives the initial H, rather than W, although no documents suggest he went by any name other than William.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, Gunner, history, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Gunner Arthur Young

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Gunner Arthur Young

Arthur William Young was born on 11th July 1900, in the Gloucestershire village of Charfield. His parents, James and Eliza, were both born in the area, and this is where they raised their nine children.

James worked as a bone turner and sawyer, working the material for things like buttons. This was a family trade, and something that Arthur followed his father and older siblings into when he finished school.

By this point, storm clouds were brewing over Europe. Arthur was too young to enlist when war first broke out, but when his older brother Francis died in Northern France in December 1917, this seemed to have driven him to play his part as well.

Arthur enlisted in the Royal Marine Artillery on 1st July 1918, a couple of weeks before his eighteenth birthday. Assigned the rank of Private, his records show that he was 5ft 9ins (1.65m) tall, had blue eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. It was also noted that he had a scar on his right wrist and another on his forehead.

After nine months’ service, Arthur was promoted to Gunner and, by the autumn of 1919, he was assigned to the dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth.

On 1st December 1920, while moored in Portland Harbour, Dorset, a concert was held on HMS Warspite. Gunner Young attended, but on the trip back to his own ship, the boat he was on collided with another, and he and three others were knocked overboard and drowned. He was just 20 years of age.

Arthur William Young was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the Congregational Chapelyard in his home village of Charfield.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private James Sanders

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Private James Sanders

James Sanders was born on 17th April 1889. One of nine children, his parents were William and Emily Sanders. William worked for a clay company in his home town of Kingsteignton, Devon. He had various roles, including caretaker, inspector and messenger.

William’s son, however, was after bigger things in life and, on 17th July 1907, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. James’ service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, had light brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

Based out of Plymouth, Private Sanders signed up for an initial period of twelve years. During this time, and throughout the war, he served on six vessels, including 30 months on HMS Argyll (where he was based for the 1911 census) and more than five years on HMS Colossus.

In April 1919, Private Saunders returned to land. When his initial contract was up, he re-enlisted, this time remaining at the Naval Dockyard in Plymouth.

James’ trail goes a little cold for the next couple of years, although he continued in his role with the Royal Marine Light Infantry. On the night of the 28th March 1921, however, he encountered some trouble. The local newspaper reported on the subsequent inquest.

Kingsteignton Man’s Mysterious Death

At an enquiry held at Teignmouth on Saturday afternoon into the circumstances attending the death of Private James Sanders, RMLI… who was found drowned in the river Teign on Friday, it was stated that deceased and seven other Kingsteignton men on Monday visited Teignmouth to attend a football match, at which Sanders acted as touch-judge.

After the match they went to a public house, where deceased had three or four pints of beer and some spirits, which made him unsteady.

They left to catch a bus, but at Station Road deceased turned back. One of his companions followed him, but could not persuade him to return, so he left deceased on his own to travel back home.

The man considered Sanders was in a condition to look after himself. An open verdict was returned.

Wester Times: Friday 8th April 1921

Private James Sanders died on 28th March 1921, aged 31 years old. He was laid to rest with his father, William, who had died in 1908, in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church in Kingsteignton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private John Peacock

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Private John Peacock

John Peacock was born in Ashburton, Devon, in 1883. Details of his life are a little sketchy, but his parents were John and Mary Ann Peacock, and he was one of at least thee children. John Sr was an agricultural labourer, but his son wanted bigger and better things.

By the time of the 1911 census, John Jr had enlisted as a Private in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. No military records exist to confirm when he joined up or where he served. The census recorded him as being a patient in the Royal Naval Hospital in East Stonehouse although, again, there is no record of why he had been admitted.

The story of Private Peacock’s health seems to remain a thread through his life. The next document evident is his Pension Ledger Card. This confirms that he died on 31st May 1917, from what was described as general paralysis, often insane. He was 34 years of age.

John Peacock was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in his home village of Ashburton, Devon.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, unknown, war

Private Frederick Down

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Private Frederick Down

Frederick Francis Down is one of those servicemen whose life is destined to remain lost to time. Born in Chudleigh, Devon, most of the information available about his life comes from one document – his naval service record.

The document gives his date of birth as 15th November 1897 and confirms that he enlisted on 23rd November 1914. Frederick was 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall, had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Frederick signed up as a Private in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and, at the time of joining up, had been working as a butcher’s boy, living in Fore Street in the village of his birth.

Private Down served at the regiment’s depot in Deal, Kent. But he was only there for a short time: he was invalided out of the service – for reasons unrecorded – on 9th June 1915.

At this point, Frederick Francis Down’s trail goes cold once again. His gravestone confirms that he died on 11th April 1916, at the age of just 18 years old. He was laid to rest in Chudleigh Cemetery.