Category Archives: Driver

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, Hampshire, history, injury, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, Surrey, war

Private Albert Taylor

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Private Albert Taylor

Albert Edward Taylor was born in the autumn of 1887 and was the fifth of eight children to John and Mary Taylor. John was a mason and both he and Mary came from Crewkerne, Somerset, which is where they raised their family.

Albert worked as an errand boy when he left school, but he sought a career and, enlisted in the Army Service Corps in July 1904. He lied about his age to join up, suggesting he was nearly 22, where he was actually just 17 years of age.

Driver Taylor’s service records confirm that he was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall and weighed 115lbs (52.2kg). He was noted as having brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He had a mole between his shoulder and the back of his neck, and his religion was recorded as Baptist.

Albert’s contract was for two years’ service, followed by ten years in the Army Reserve. While a military career was what he sought, he seems to have had a disregard for rules, and regularly had run ins with authority, as his Regimental Defaulter Sheet testifies.

On 19th December 1904, while based in Woolwich, Surrey, he was absent without a pass from 6am until 12:15am on 30th December. He was confined to barracks for eight days.

The following year, Driver Taylor had moved to Bordon in Hampshire. On 28th November 1905, he was absent without a pass, from midnight until 8:30am on 1st December. He was again confined to barracks, this time for ten days.

A third offence came on 29th May 1906, by which time Albert had moved to Aldershot, Hampshire. He was found in neglect of duty ‘in allowing dirty pudding cloths to be deposited in the cupboards of the cookhouse’ and being ‘absent from work from 1:30pm till found in his barrack room at 9:20pm.’ For these, he was confined to barracks again, this time for eight days.

Within a matter of weeks, he was found in neglect of duty again, having broken out ‘of barracks after tattoo and remaining absent till apprehended by the Military Police at about 10:50pm’ and being ‘drunk and improperly dressed.’ This time the punishment was more severe and he was detained in prison for 96 hours.

Unsurprisingly, Albert’s military career didn’t go much further than this. When his two-year contract came to an end, he returned to Somerset and found employment as a mason.

In July 1910, Albert married Mabel Wallbridge, the daughter of a carman, also from Crewkerne. The couple set up home on the outskirts of the town, and went on to have a son, Frederick, who was born later that year.

The 1911 census found the young family living in a cottage in Lye Water, with Albert listing himself as a ‘mason (army pensioner)’. While the military reference may have been added with a sense of pride, irony or bloody mindedness, Albert was not to fully leave his army career behind. When war came to Europe in 1914, he was still within his reserve status, and was called up to play his part.

Private Taylor was to leave his family behind: son Frederick had now been joined by daughters Kathleen and Joyce, and Mabel pregnant with another daughter, Rosaline, who was born in January 1915. Albert was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry and, in contrast to his previous tenure on the Home Front, he soon found himself in the thick of things.

Albert’s regiment was involved in some of the fiercest opening skirmishes of the First World War, and he would have been caught up on the Battles of Le Cateau, the Marne, the Aisne and Armentières. By the spring of 1915, the battalion was entrenched at Ypres, and it was here during the Battle of St. Julien that Private Taylor was injured.

Albert has received a gun shot wound to the left side of his skull and was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. He was admitted to the Beechfield House Hospital in Southampton, but his wounds proved too severe, and he passed away on 14th May 1915, at the age of 27 years old.

The funeral of Private Albert Edward Taylor, of the Somerset Light Infantry… who died from wounds received at the Front, took place with military honours at the Cemetery [in Crewkerne] on Tuesday afternoon, and attracted a large attendance. As a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased soldier blinds were drawn at the private and business houses en route to the Cemetery, while the flag erected outside the Victoria Hall for the children’s Empire-day celebration was lowered to half-mast.

Rev. J Street (Unitarian Minister)… spoke of the painful circumstances and the heroic conduct of the deceased, who had sacrificed his life for others. Although death was attended with pain and sorrow, yet in after years deceased’s children would look back with pride to the part their father took in the present war.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 26th May 1915

Albert Edward Taylor was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Crewkerne.

Private Albert Taylor (from findagrave.com)

Albert’s headstone gives his initials as AC Taylor. They should be AE Taylor.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Isle of Wight, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Driver Frederick Parsons

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Driver Frederick Parsons

Frederick Charles Harold Parsons was born in 1889, the older of two children to George and Ann Parsons. George was a general labourer from Drayton in Somerset, and this is where he and Ann raised their young family.

Ann’s mother, Elizabeth, was a constant presence in the family’s lives, moving in with them when her own husband, William, died. The 1911 census found a packed family home, with George, Ann, Frederick, Elizabeth, Ann’s widowed brother Joseph and her nephew Robert all living under the same roof.

Frederick – who was known by the nickname Chall – was working as a grocer’s assistant by this point, but when war broke out, he was quick to step up and serve his King and Country. He enlisted on 2nd September 1914, joining the Royal Field Artillery as a Driver. His service records note that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighed 116lbs (52.6kg). He had dark hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion, and had a scar below his left eye.

For the first ten months of Driver Parsons’ service, he remained on home soil. He was finally sent to France in the summer of 1915 and spent nearly two-and-a-half years overseas. Towards the end of that time, he began to have issues with his kidneys, and was posted back to the UK for treatment.

Initially admitted to Milton Hospital in Portsmouth, Chall was then moved to the VAD Hospital in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. He was initially diagnosed as having kidney stones, but was subsequently found to have enlarged kidneys. He was placed on furlough in May 1918, before being medically discharged from service at the end of August.

At this point, Chall’s trail goes cold. He appears to have returned home to Drayton, as it was in nearby Langport that his death was subsequently registered. He died on 11th December 1918, at the age of just 29 years old.

Frederick Charles Parsons was laid to rest in the family plot in St Catherine’s Churchyard, Drayton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, photography, Royal Engineers, Scotland, Somerset, story, unknown, war, West Midlands

Driver Matthew MacRae

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Driver Matthew MacRae

Much of Matthew Alexander MacRae’s life is destined to remain a mystery. He was born in Scotland in 1892, and was the second of three children to Thomas and Christiana MacRae. The family had moved to Birmingham – where Thomas had found work as a garment dyer – by the time of the 1901 census.

When war came to Europe, Matthew enlisted in the Royal Engineers. Nothing of his service records survives, but it is clear that he had joined as a Driver by the summer of 1918.

The next evidence for Driver MacRae is that of his passing, on 18th February 1919, at the age of 27 years. No cause of death is evident, although there is nothing in contemporary newspapers to suggest anything other than natural causes.

Two documents add a little more mystery to Matthew’s legacy. The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects notes his father, Thomas, as the beneficiary of his estate. The Dependents’ Pension, however, suggests that an Emily MacRae, was to be provided with support. This was not Matthew’s sister, and Emily’s address – Cross Street in Bath, not far from where Driver MacRae was buried – would suggest that she was his widow, although there are no marriage records to corroborate this.

Matthew Alexander MacRae was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Bath, Somerset.

Bombardier, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Driver, Gloucestershire, Great War, Gunner, history, photography, Private, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Royal Field Artillery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Royal Horse Artillery, Somerset, South Africa, story, suicide, war

Gunner Theophilus Burdock

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Gunner Theophilus Burdock

Theophilus Walter Burdock was born on 18th June 1871 in Whitminster, Gloucestershire. One of nine children, his parents were painter and decorator Nathaniel Burdock and his wife, Mary.

While he found labouring work when he left school, Theophilus – who went by his middle name, Walter – decided that he wanted bigger and better things and, on 30th December 1889, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 115lbs (52kg). The document also records that he has a tattoo of a man, star and crown on his left forearm.

Initially assigned to the 1st Depot 2nd Battery as a Driver, over the next couple of years Walter made solid progress within the regiment. By September 1892, he was promoted to Gunner, within a couple of years he was raised to Bombardier, and by April 1895 he had made the rank of Corporal.

By his last formal year in the ranks, things seemed to take a different turn. On 9th March 1896, Corporal Burdock received a contusion to his face. He was formally transferred to the Army Reserve when his contract of service ended in December 1896, but within eighteen months he re-enlisted.

At this point, however, Corporal Burdock’s conduct began to race downhill. In August 1898 he was tried for an undisclosed reason, and his rank was reduced to Bombardier. Within a couple of months, he was tried for a second crime, and reduced in rank again, back to Gunner.

For a time Walter kept his nose clean, and, in February 1900, he was promoted back to the rank of Bombardier. This was to be only a fleeting move, however, as he reverted back to Gunner less than two months later.

Over the next couple of years, Walter generally kept his head down. On 30th April 1901 he was injured by a kick in the eye, although, again, details are tantalisingly scarce. By April 1902, his contract came to an end and this time he was stood down and formally demobbed.

Civilian life seemed to be something to which Walter was not to be destined. He enlisted again almost immediately, joining the Imperial Yeomanry in May 1902. He lasted less than a year with the regiment, however, having served ten months in South Africa.

In January 1904, was recalled to the Royal Artillery for further service in South Africa. His medical report showed the man he had become in the fifteen years since he had first joined up: he was now 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, and weighed 141lbs (64kg).

Private Burdock served six months on home soil, but in July 1904, he was sent to South Africa, having never actually seen any overseas service before. He returned to Britain in September 1905, and was discharged from service, specifically so that he could re-enlist with the Royal Artillery and complete his fourteen years’ service with them.

Gunner Burdock remained with the Royal Artillery until February 1906, presumably as he had finished his fourteen years. Interestingly, his discharge papers noted his conduct as ‘indifferent’.

Walter’s trail goes at this point. His mother, Annie, passed away in Gloucestershire in the spring of 1908. His father, Nathaniel, died Bristol in 1912. The next evidence for their son comes in September 1914, in attestation papers for the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Walter was, by this point, living in Victoria, British Colombia, and working as a lumberjack. He had been unable to completely leave his army days behind him, and his service records give his year of birth as 1876, five years younger than he actually was at the time.

Those service records give similar physical characteristics to his 1904 papers, and confirm the presence of some additional tattoos: a butterfly and pair of hands with the words true love.

Walter was assigned to the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, and given the rank of Gunner. He arrived back in Britain in October 1914, but his previous indifference seems to have recurred. He was imprisoned for a week from 21st October for having been absent without leave, and was found to be absent again at reveille on the morning of 30th October.

Yesterday afternoon the body of a man was found floating in the Avon just below Bathampton Weirs, and close to the entrance to the back-water on the Batheaston side of the river.

The body was floating face downwards some yards from the bank, and only the top of the head was visible.

The body was recovered shortly before five o’clock. It appeared to be that of a middle-aged man of medium height. The trousers had something of the appearance of a mechanic’s overall and deceased was wearing a sleeve vest.

The conjecture naturally arises whether the body is that of the missing Canadian soldier Burdock, whose clothes were discovered on the bank at Batheaston on Saturday, October 31st, and of whom nothing has been heard since. Burdock was a member of the Canadian contingent now in training on Salisbury Plain. It is known that the missing soldier had several tattoo marks on his arms… so the question will not long remain in doubt when the body has been brought to the bank.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 14th November 1914

The body did indeed turn out to be that of Gunner Burdock. An inquest reached a verdict of suicide while temporarily insane. He was 43 years of age.

Theophilus Walter Burdock was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church in Batheaston. Interestingly, while his next of kin was identified as his brother Frederick Burdock, Walter’s service records add a further dimension to his passing:

A maple tree has since been planted at the head of the grave by Miss Henderson, The Hill, Batheaston, who took a great interest in the case. Miss Henderson also sent a beautiful wreath when deceased was buried.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, Norfolk, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Driver George Brown

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Driver George Brown

George Edward Brown was born on 26th June 1898 in South Petherton, Somerset. An only child, his parents were Escourt and Alice Brown. Originally a millstone dresser, by the time of the 1911 census, Escourt had turned his hand to farm work, while Alice made shirts and did housekeeping to bring in a little more money for the family.

George was only 16 years old when war broke out, but he was keen to play his part as soon as he was able to. In the spring of 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, and was assigned to the 105th Company.

Little information remains of Gunner Brown’s military service, but it is evident that he did his training in Norfolk. While here, he came down with appendicitis, and was admitted to the Norfolk War Hospital in Norwich. He was operated on, but sadly died following the procedure. He passed away on 29th June 1917, having just turned 19 years of age.

George Edward Brown’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family grave in South Petherton Cemetery. He was reunited with his parents, when they passed away, Escourt in 1924 and Alice some time later.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Driver, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Engineers, Somerset, story, war

Driver William Moore

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Driver William Moore

William Hearn Moore – who became known as William Ernest Moore – was born in Churchstanton, Devon, in the summer of 1883. His mother, Mary, was only eighteen at the time but, when she married Henry Westcott in August 1891, he treated William as his own.

Henry found work as a coachman in Ilminster, Somerset, and, when he left school, William took on work as a gardener. In October 1903, he married carter’s daughter Charlotte Tucker: the couple set up home in the centre of the town, and went on to have three children – Gladys, Ethel and Henry.

William was working as a foreman for the Chard Lace Company when war broke out. While his full service records are lost to time, it is clear that he enlisted in the Royal Engineers, and was given the rank of Driver.

Driver Moore was in Aldershot, Hampshire, by the autumn of 1915, when he fell ill. He contracted cerebrospinal meningitis, a condition which took his life on 18th October 1915. He was just 32 years old.

William Ernest Moore was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Ilminster, where Charlotte and the family were still living.

With three children to raise, Charlotte married again, to a William Dean, on 21st October 1916. They did not have children of their own and lived in Chard. Charlotte passed away in the winter of 1941, at the age of 57 years old.

Bombardier, Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Royal Field Artillery, story, unknown, war

Acting Bombardier Charles Barden

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Acting Bombardier Charles Barden

In the First World War section of St Peter and St Paul’s Churchyard, Aylesford, is the grave of Charles Henry Barden. Born in the summer of 1888 he was the sixth of seven children to Isaac and Harriett Barden. Isaac was a stoker at the local cement works, and this was an industry Charles’ brothers went into.

As for Charles, however, his life is more of a mystery, and it is possible to build a picture of him only from the snippets that are left behind. Even his full name is lost to time – his headstone is dedicated to CHV Barden, but what the V stands for is now unclear.

Absent from the 1911 census, what is known is that Charles’ father died in 1914 and that in August that year, Charles enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery. Driver Barden was sent to France within weeks of the declaration of war and, during the conflict he rose to the rank of Acting Bombardier.

In the spring of 1917, Charles married Angelina Pudney, who had been born in Rochford, Essex. The couple had twin daughters – Sarah and Emily – the following year, although tragically Sarah passed away before her first birthday.

It is unclear when or if Charles was demobbed when the Armistice was declared. He passed away at home on 29th March 1920, at the age of just 31 years old.

Charles Henry V Barden was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter and St Paul’s in his home village.

Angelina found happiness again after her husband’s death. She married again, to Alfred Hughes, in the spring of 1923.

Charles’ older brother George also fought in the First World War. He enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment, and was killed in the fighting at Ypres. He was 36 years old when he died, and is commemorated on the Menin Gate.

Commonwealth War Graves, Denbighshire, Driver, Great War, history, photography, Royal Field Artillery, story, unknown, Wales, war, Yorkshire

Driver James Roberts

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Driver James Roberts

James Roberts was born in 1885 in Llangollen, Denbighshire. The youngest of three children, he was the son of Elias and Winifred Roberts. Elias was a builder’s labourer and, while James initially went into this line of work when he left school, by the time of the 1911 census, he was listed as being employed as a gamekeeper.

War broke out across Europe, and James was there to play his part for King and Country. Full details of his military service are not available, but he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, and was assigned to C Battery of the 161st Brigade. This was a Howitzer unit, and, as a Driver, James would have been involved in leading the horses pulling the cannons to where they needed to be.

There is no actual confirmation that James served overseas. He was, however, awarded the Victory and British Medals for his service. Driver Roberts survived the war, but again, details of what actually happened to him are lost to time.

What can be confirmed is that, by 1919, James had been admitted to the Wharncliffe War Hospital in Sheffield, and this is where, on 27th November that year, he passed away. He was just 34 years of age.

James Roberts was brought back to Llangollen for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s Fron Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, Gwynedd, history, illness, photography, Royal Field Artillery, story, Wales, war

Driver Griffith Williams

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Driver Griffith Williams

Griffith Owen Williams was born the autumn of 1876 in Llanberis, Gwynedd. One of nine children, his parents were blacksmith William Williams and his wife, Alice.

Little information remains about Griffith’s teenage years. The 1891 census record that, at 14 years old, he was a scholar, but the next document that can be attributed to him comes fourteen years later.

At this point, on 7th March 1905, he married Margaret Jane Williams at the parish church in Llanberis. Margaret was 24 years old, and the daughter of a quarryman: Griffith gave his profession as Post Office official, and he was living in Caernarfon, eight miles away, on the Menai Strait.

The young couple went on to have a daughter, Maggie, in January 1906. Sadly, Margaret died on 5th May 1908, when she was just 27 years of age. While the young family had been living in Caernarfon, she was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peris Church in Llanberis.

At this point, Griffith’s trail goes cold once more. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, and was assigned as a Driver in the 248th (Howitzer) Brigade. By April 1915, Griffith found himself on the Western Front and, by the next spring he was fighting at the Somme.

During the winter of 1916/17, Driver Williams fell ill. He contracted bronchial pneumonia, and was medically evacuated to Britain to recuperate. Sadly, the condition was to prove too much for his body to take. He passed away on 23rd February 1917, at the age of 46 years old.

Griffith Owen Williams’ was laid to rest with his late wife in St Peris Churchyard, in their home village of Llanberis.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, war

Driver John Connett

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Driver John Connett

John Charles Connett was born at the end of 1870 in Holway, on the outskirts of Taunton, Somerset. He was one of seven children to Charles and Thursa Connett. Charles was a farm labourer and, in John’s early years, Thursa worked from home as a glover to bring in a little extra money for the growing family.

In 1897, John married a woman called Annie; the couple settled down in a small cottage near the centre of Wellington, Somerset. John found work as a coachman, and the couple went on to have one child, a daughter called Ethel, in 1900.

When war came to Europe, John was keen to play his part, even though he had turned 43 by the time hostilities were declared. He enlisted, joining the Royal Army Service Corps by November 1915, and was assigned to the 663rd Company.

Driver Connett’s time in the army was to be tragically short, however. He is recorded as passing away at home on 2nd May 1916, having contracted bronchitis and pneumonia while on active service. He was 45 years old.

John Charles Connett was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, within walking distance of where his widow and daughter still lived.