Arthur Edward Crisp was born in 16th March 1899 in the Norfolk village of South Creake. The youngest of six children, his parents were blacksmith Henry Crisp and his wife, Sarah.
When war broke out across Europe, young Arthur had already had some experience of seamanship, and was keen to play his part. He joined the Royal Navy on 7th April 1915 and, given his age, he was assigned the rank of Boy 2nd Class. Initially sent to HMS Powerful, he was trained there for three months, rising to the rank of Boy 1st Class.
On 26th July 1915, Arthur was assigned to the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand, and would remain on board for the next two years. During this time, he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.
His stint on New Zealand also exposed him to naval warfare, as she was heavily involved in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Ordinary Seaman Crisp came through, however, and remained part of the battlecruiser’s crew for a further year.
After a short time on shore, where he was based at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Arthur’s next posting was on board HMS Wallington. A former trawler, she had been converted to a boom defence vessel, she protected the dockyard in Grimsby. In November 1917, while based in the Lincolnshire town, Arthur was promoted again, rising to Able Seaman.
The following March, Arthur moved again, and was assigned to HMS Attentive, the shore base for the Dover Patrol. He would not remain there for long, however, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent. He passed away on 17th March 1918, from an intriguing combination of gunshot wounds to his chest and pneumonia. He had turned 19 years old the day before.
The body of Arthur Edward Crisp was taken to nearby Gillingham for burial. He was laid to rest in the military section of the town’s Woodlands Cemetery.
In the military section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, is a headstone marking the grave of Leading Seaman Reuben William Pearce. Little information is available about his early life, although later records suggest that he was born on 30th January 1875 in Plymouth, Devon.
When he completed his schooling, Reuben found work as a hawker. He had his heart set on bigger and better things, however, and, on 3rd June 1890, he signed up to the Royal Navy. Just fifteen years of age, he was too young to formally enlist, but he was accepted with the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent off to HMS Impregnable, the training ship based in nearby Devonport, for his induction.
Over the next two-and-a-half years, Boy Pearce learnt his trade. On 4th June 1891, he was promoted to the rank of Boy 1st Class, and the following February he was assigned to his first ship, the corvette HMS Boadicea. It was while he was on board the corvette that Reuben came of age, and he was officially inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a ruddy complexion. He was noted as having an anchor and his initials tattooed on his left arm, with another anchor tattoo on his right.
Reuben enlisted for a twelve-year term of service. During this time, he served on nine vessels, returning to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in between voyages. He had a mixed career, and, on 1st February 1894, was promoted to Able Seaman. In January 1896, he spent three days in cells, for an unrecorded offence.
In January 1900, whole aboard the gunvessel HMS Rambler, Reuben was promoted to Leading Seaman. Within a day, however, he was back in the cells, where he spent the next 72hrs. This led to an immediate demotion, and he found himself back as an Able Seaman.
When his contract came to an end, Reuben immediately re-enlisted, and he would go on to serve for another thirteen years. In July 1906, he was promoted to Leading Seaman once again, and seemed to have learned the error of his ways, retaining the rank until his passing.
On 15th September 1916, Leading Seaman Pearce was mentioned in despatches. for his service during the Battle of Heligoland Bight. The ship on which he was serving at the time, the battlecruiser HMS Tiger, was heavily involved.
Reuben remained on the Tiger for three-and-a-half years, and during this time, his valour was recognised again, when he was awarded the Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare (Bronze Medal for Military Valour) by the King of Italy. Again, details are unclear, but he was again mentioned in despatches for his service.
By the spring of 1918, Leading Seaman Pearce was billeted on board HMS Hindustan, which was being used as barracks ahead of a planned raised on Zeebrugge and Ostend. On 13th April an accident occurred, and he received a gun shot wound to his leg. This fractured his femur, and, despite being rushed to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent – not far from the dockyard where the Hindustan was moored – he passed away from his injuries later that day. Full details of the incident are unclear, but he was 43 years of age.
Reuben William Pearce was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the port which had served as his final base.
Thomas Henry Barnes was born on 19th September 1878 in the Devon village of Blackawton. One of four children, his parents were Thomas and Thirza Barnes. Thomas Sr was a farmworker who passed away in 1890: the following year’s census found Thirza and her three younger children living in Silver Street, Buckfastleigh, Devon.
Keen to earn enough money to support his mother, Thomas found work on a farm. He sought a career, however, and, on 11th March 1896, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Six months short of the age to formally join up, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to the training ship HMS Northampton. He spent those six months wisely, however, rising to Boy 2st Class in June and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman when he came of age in September.
By this point, Thomas had been moved to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport. His service records show that he was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was also noted as having a tattoo of an anchor on his right arm.
Over the next few weeks, Ordinary Seaman Barnes moved from Vivid to HMS Victory, the Navy’s dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and back again. On 13th January 1897 he was given his first formal posting, on board the cruiser HMS Bellona, and from here his naval career flourished.
Thomas’ initial contract of service was for twelve years, and during this time he proved a committed and determined young man. During the term of his enlistment, he served on six ships, returning to Devonport between voyage. He did not rest on his laurels, either, and worked his way through the ranks. In August 1898 he was promoted to Able Seaman, and in May 1902 he made Leading Seaman.
Away from the sea, love was blossoming for Thomas. In January 1903 he married Alice Percy. The daughter of a paper mill fitter, she would spend her married life with her parents, while her husband was away at sea.
Leading Seaman Barnes’ career continued its upward trajectory: in April 1904 he was promoted again, this time to Petty Officer 2nd Class. When his contract came to an end in September 1908, it was inevitable that he would renew it. His service records show that, at 30 years of age, he was now 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall.
In February 1909, Thomas was promoted to Petty Officer 1st Class: at this point he was serving on his ninth ship, HMS Ramillies. With his next move, to the armoured cruiser HMS Suffolk, came another change in rank. The now Ship’s Corporal 1st Class Barnes’ career was doing well, and his annual reviews confirmed this, regularly highlighting a character that was very good.
By August 1915, Thomas had spent nearly two years aboard the battleship HMS Temeraire. She would go on to play a role in the Battle of Jutland, but Ship’s Corporal Barnes would not be there. Disembarked to HMS Vivid on 13th August, he was subsequently admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth, suffering from a cerebral thrombosis. This would prove fatal: he died on 26th October 1915, at the age of 37 years old.
The body of Thomas Henry Barnes was taken back to Buckfastleigh for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s Holy Trinity Churchyard.
Robert Reginald Atkins was born in the Kent village of Sarre, on 8th January 1900. The younger of two children, his parents were carter Reginald Atkins and his wife, Alice. Alice died in 1908, aged just 30, and her widower moved the family to the village of Martin, near Dover, where he took up work as a miller.
Robert found work as a grocer’s assistant when he completed his schooling. Being so close to the English Channel, the conflict in Europe must have seemed unavoidable. On 7th August 1917, he stepped up to play his part, and enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Boy 2nd Class Atkins was sent to HMS Powerful, the training ship in Devonport, Devon, for his initial instruction. After just two months he was promoted to the rank of Boy 1st Class, and given a posting to the battleship HMS Dominion.
Robert’s time on board was to be brief. By 3rd November he stepped ashore at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. He would remain there for the next few months, during which time he came of age. His service records show that Robert was 5ft 7ins (1.71m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
While stationed at Pembroke, Boy 1st Class Atkins fell ill. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, but his condition, pulmonary tuberculosis, was to prove fatal. He died on 21st April 1918, at just 18 years of age.
Robert Reginald Atkins was laid to rest in the Naval section of the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard he had briefly called home.
Following Alice’s death, Reginald re-married. By the time of the 1921 census, he was living in Ashford, Kent, with his new wife, Rosa, and their two children, William and Frank. He was still employed as a miller, but this time was working for Mersham Mills.
According to the same census, Robert’s older sister, Monica, was employed in domestic service. She was working for stockbroker Frank Newton-Smith and his family, in their Dover home.
Sydney Broughton was born on 21st November 1872 in the Lincolnshire village of East Halton. The sixth of nine children – of whom eight were boys – his parents were William and Emma Broughton.
William was a boot an shoe dealer, and his older sons were destined to follow him into the business. Sydney, however, sought bigger and better things and, on 13th November 1888, he joined the Royal Navy. Being only 15 years of age, he wasn’t able to full enlist, and was taken on as a Boy 2nd Class.
Sydney was sent to Devonport, Devon, for his training. Assigned to the training vessel HMS Impregnable, she would become his home for just over two years. On 12th March 1890 he was promoted to Boy 1st Class and on his eighteenth birthday, he was formally enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Ordinary Seaman Broughton’s service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with dark brown hair, light grey eyes and a fair complexion. He was also noted as having a slight scar under his right eye. Now of age, Sydney was moved to barracks at HMS Vivid, onshore at the heart of Devonport itself.
On 28th January 1891, Ordinary Seaman Broughton was given his first posting, on board the cruiser HMS Tauranga. He would remain there for only six months, however, as the ship was in the process of being transferred to the Australian Navy. His new assignment would be the survey sloop HMS Penguin, and she would be his home for the next two years.
Shortly before leaving Penguin, Sydney was promoted to the rank of Able Seaman. He spent the next nine months split between HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, and HMS Excellent, a base that was also connected to the dockyard.
On 26th January 1894 Able Seaman Broughton was posted to the cruiser HMS Galatea. He remained there for the rest of the year, including fourteen days spent in cells for an unknown offence that April. He then moved to the battleship HMS Edinburgh, with whose crew he would spend the next two years.
In September 1896, Sydney transferred to what would become his home base, HMS Pembroke, also known as the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. Over the remaining six years of his twelve year contract, he would keep returning there, also spending time in the dockyard’s training base, HMS Wildfire.
On 10th February 1901, Able Seaman Broughton was imprisoned for 42 days for misappropriating mess funds, while based in the Dockyard. Surprisingly, the misdemeanour seems not too have impacted his career too adversely, however, and when his contract came up for renewal the following year, he voluntarily remained with the navy.
Sydney was on board the cruiser HMS Amphritite when his new term of service began. In March 1902 he was promoted to Leading Seaman and, over the next five years, he would go on to serve on a further five ships. In October 1907 he was reduced in rank to Able Seaman once more, although his service records don’t confirm whether this was through his own choice or not.
Over the next six years, Sydney would serve on three further ships. When was formally stood down to reserve status on 19th January 1913, his home was HMS Actaeon, the navy’s torpedo school in Chatham: he had been assigned there for nearly three years, and in the Royal Navy as a whole for more than 24 years.
When war broke out in the summer of 1914, Able Seaman Broughton was called back into action. He remained on solid ground, however, and split the next three years between HMS Pembroke and HMS Wildfire, places he knew well. Sydney’s health may have been a factor in his lack of seaworthiness: in the spring of 1917 he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, suffering from mouth cancer. The condition was to prove fatal: he passed away on 24th June 1917, at the age of 44 years old.
Sydney Broughton’s body was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from his beloved dockyard.
Sydney’s next-of-kin was noted as being his wife, Edith Mary Broughton. There is no record of their marriage, but her details on his records correspond to an entry on the 1921 census.
The document recorded Edith living in Sittingbourne, Kent. 45 years and seven months old, she was sharing her home with her widowed mother, Harriett Pearce, and her two-year-old granddaughter, Edith May.
Further digging suggests that Edith had been a widow when she and Sydney exchanged vows: the 1911 census found her married to Herbert Busbridge, the couple having a daughter, Edith Nellie, who had been born in 1896.
Widowed twice, Edith Mary carried on as best she could: she passed away in the spring of 1963, at the age of 87.
Thomas Henry Jago was born on 3rd June 1872 in Romney Marsh, Kent. The second of ten children, his parents were James and Elizabeth. James was a coastguardman, and his son was destined to be connected to the sea.
Thomas joined the Royal Navy on 19th December 1887. Given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, his records show that he was just 5ft (1.52m) tall, with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He was sent to HMS St Vincent, the training ship based in Haslar, Hampshire, and would remain there until June 1889. During this time, he was promoted and given the new rank of Boy 1st Class.
Thomas’ first ocean assignment was on board the corvette HMS Active. She would be his home for the next three years. In June 1890 he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. By November 1890, he had proved his worth again, and was promoted to Able Seaman.
Over the next seventeen years, Thomas would serve on 21 ships. Frustratingly, the dates on his service records become a little muddled as time goes on, but it was while he was on board the RMS Empress of India in the late 1890s that he was promoted to Leading Seaman, then Petty Officer 2nd Class and Petty Officer 1st Class, all within a matter of three years.
In March 1903 he was demoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class, but the higher rank was reinstated eighteen months later. In September 1907, while serving on HMS Magnificent, Thomas seems to have been in some sort of trouble. This resulted in the removal of his ranking, and he was downgraded to Able Seaman once more, a rank that he would then hold until the end of his naval career.
In between voyages, Able Seaman Jago would have a shore base to return back to. His most common port seems to have been Chatham, and HMS Pembroke, the town’s Royal Naval Dockyard, features on his records more and more as time goes by.
In June 1912, after 22 years of service, Thomas was stood down to reserve status. Over the next few years his trail goes cold, although a later document suggests that he had moved to Sandgate, Kent, where he was renting rooms at 18 High Street.
War was soon raging across the world, and Able Seaman Jago was called upon to serve again. Assigned to London’s HMS President in December 1915, he quickly returned to Chatham Dockyard again. Over the next couple of years, Thomas serves on two further ships – HMS Diligence and HMS Mars – but HMS Pembroke definitely became a home from home.
In February 1918, Able Seaman Jago returned to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham one last time. He was unwell by this point, and was admitted to the the town’s Royal Naval Hospital for an operation on his mouth. Thomas was suffering from carcinoma of the tongue, and the condition was to prove fatal. He passed away on 26th March 1918, at the age of 45 years old.
Thomas Henry Jago was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base he had called home for so many years.
Francis Frederick Chick was born in the spring of 1886 in Axminster, Devon. One of eight children, his parents were brickmaker Edwin (or Edward) Chick and his wife, Elizabeth.
When he completed his schooling, Francis found work as a sawyer’s apprentice. However, he wanted bigger and better things and, on 19th November 1900, he enlisted in the army. At 14 years of age, he was just short of 5ft (1.52m) in height, and had fair hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
Initially enlisting in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, Boy Chick was to serve three years in the naval division. The 1901 census found him based at the East Stonehouse Barracks in Devonport, Devon, where he was a Bugler.
In September 1903, Francis transferred across to the Devonshire Regiment, remaining within the band structure. He came of age in March 1904, and, as a Private, he took on the role of Drummer. By the start of 1909, his unit had moved overseas, and the next census, taken in 1911, found Private Chick billeted in St George’s Barracks in Malta.
Francis remained in Malta for three years, and moved to Egypt with his unit in January 1912. By this point, having completed nearly twelve years’ service, he elected to stay on and renewed his contract. While serving in North Africa, he completed his induction into the Camel Corps, although by the end of the year, he was back on home soil after nearly four years abroad.
At this point, Francis seems to fall off the radar. It is unclear whether his move back to Britain was because he had been placed on reserve status, or due to medical reasons. To add to the mystery, when war broke out, he did not re-join the Devonshire Regiment, but enlisted in the London Regiment instead. He was assigned to the 22nd (County of London) Battalion, but later records note a connection to the 22nd (Wessex and Welsh) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.
Private Chick was in Buckinghamshire by the winter of 1915/16, and it was here that he became unwell. Admitted to hospital in Aylesbury, he died of pneumonia on 4th January 1916: he was 29 years of age.
The body of Francis Frederick Chick was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Axminster.
Charles William Comley was born on 10th May 1882 in the Somerset city of Bath. One of sixteen siblings – only seven of whom survived childhood – his parents were Charles and Mary. Charles Sr was a stonemason, and to avoid any confusions with their names, his son quickly became known by his middle name, William.
When he completed his schooling, young William found work with a baker. However he had his sights on bigger and better things, and on 1st August 1899 he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Being too young to formally enlist, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Northampton, a training ship, to start learning the skills he would later rely on.
After jut a couple of months Boy Comley was given his first assignment, on board HMS Curacoa, a cruiser which served as a training ship. He would spend the next six months on board, visiting the Atlantic coastal ports in Madeira, Las Palmas and Cape Verde. By the time William completed his time on Curacoa, he had been promoted to Boy 1st Class.
Returning to Britain, William was sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon. He would only be based there for a matter of weeks, but during that time he turned 18, and was now of an age to be inducted into the navy proper. Now given the rank of Ordinary Seaman, his service records show that he was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, with light brown hair, hazel eyes and a dark complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on the first finger of his left hand.
In June 1900, Ordinary Seaman Comley was assigned to the battleship HMS Magnificent, and from this point on, his naval career was set. Over the next sixteen years, he would serve on a total of seven ships, with HMS Vivid remaining his home base in between voyages. His service records continually note his very good character, and, from September 1903, he held the rank of Able Seaman.
When William’s initial twelve-year contract came to an end in the spring of 1912, he immediately re-enlisted. He had grown to 5ft 7.5ins (1.71cm) in height, and his records show that, while retaining his light brown hair and eyes, he now had a light complexion.
War broke out in the summer of 1914, and Able Seaman Comley was assigned to the newly launched HMS Tiger. He would remain part of the battleship’s crew for close to two years, and was involved in the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915.
On 3rd April 1916, William was medically disembarked in Scotland, suffering from pneumonia. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Queensferry, but his condition turned septic. He passed away on 12th April 1916, a month short of this 34th birthday.
The body of William Charles Comley was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the city’s majestic Locksbrook Cemetery.
Frederick James Timms was born on 21st January 1897 in Watford, Hertfordshire. One of ten children – and the oldest surviving boy – his parents were Frederick and Rosina Timms. Frederick Sr was a farm labourer, but when his son completed his schooling, he found work with a blacksmith.
Frederick Jr wanted bigger and better things, however, and, on 18th April 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy, set on a life at sea. As he was below the age to be a full recruit, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Ganges, the navy’s training base on the outskirts of Ipswich, Suffolk, for his induction.
During his initial training, Boy Timms seems to have had some educational affinity. Seven months after enlisting, he was moved to the signal corps, and ranked as Signal Boy accordingly. In April 1914, a year after enlisting, he was transferred to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, for posting. He was assigned to the battleship HMS Duncan, his first formal service at sea.
Over the next year, Frederick served on three further ships, coming of age on board the cruiser HMS Latona. Now formally inducted into to the Royal Navy, he was assigned the rank of Ordinary Signalman.
In March 1915, Frederick was transferred again, to HMS Princess Irene, an ocean liner built in 1914 for the Canadian Pacific Railway. With the outbreak of the war, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy, and converted to a minelayer. In the spring of 1915, she was involved in laying a minefield to the north west of Heligoland, but spent much of her time in and around the Thames Estuary.
On the morning of 27th May 1915, Princess Irene was moored in the Medway Estuary and was being loaded with mines in preparation for a mission. At 11:14am, she exploded and disintegrated, taking two neighbouring barges with her. More than 250 crew – including Ordinary Signalman Timms – were killed. He was just 18 years of age.
Frederick James Timms body was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, alongside some of the other crew whose bodies had been rescued and identified.
Frederick’s death was the second tragedy to strike the Timms family in less than a fortnight. Back in Hertfordshire, Rosina had been pregnant with her eleventh child. On 16th May, she had had an internal haemorrhage, which resulted in the loss of both mother and child.
Alexander William Arthur Daisley was born on 13th November 1886, and was the second of four children to William and Judith Daisley. William was a Private in the Royal Marines and, as the time his son was born, the family were based in Dartmouth, Devon. By the time of the 1891 census, however, they had moved to Kent, and were billeted in family accommodation in the Milton Barracks, near Gravesend.
Ten years on, and the 1901 census confirms that the Daisleys had relocated again. William had left his military service behind him, and had taken up work as a publican at the Seven Stars Inn in Litlington, Cambridgeshire. Alexander is noticeable in his absence from the record, however. The following year, he surfaces again, however, and seems that he was destined to follow his father’s naval career.
On 10th April 1902, Alexander enlisted in the Royal Navy. At just 15 years of age, he was assigned the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS St Vincent, a training ship based in Haslar, Hampshire, for his induction. He remained there for the next fifteen months, gaining promotion to Boy 1st Class in February 1903.
Alexander spent the second half of that year at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, before being given his first posting in November. His assignment was on board the armoured cruiser HMS Good Hope: she was to become his home for the next year and a half, during which he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy.
At this point, Alexander’s service records give an insight into the man he was becoming. He was noted as being just 5ft 1in (1.55m) tall, with hazel eyes and light brown hair. He had a fair complexion and three scars on the back of his head. It seems that he had some aptitude, as he was given the rank of Signalman, rather than being directed to the role of seaman.
Over the next twelve years – the term of his contract – Signalman Daisley would serve on eight ships: in between assignments he would return to his Portsmouth base. His time in the Royal Navy was not without incident, and he spent three separate periods in the cells – 14 days in 1907, 17 days in 1908 and 10 days in 1909. Despite this, he was promoted to the rank of Leading Seaman in January 1913, while serving on board HMS Egmont, an armoured frigate.
On 9th March 1915, Leading Signalman Daisley was assigned to HMS Princess Irene, an ocean liner that had been converted to a minelayer at the start of the war.
On 27th May 1915, while Irene was moored off Sheerness, Kent, a series of explosions ripped through the ship, killing more than 350 crew. Leading Signalman Daisley was among those who perished: he was 29 years of age.
The body of Alexander William Arthur Daisley was buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, alongside the other victims of the disaster.
Death and Service 