Category Archives: Role

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Somerset, story, war

Boy Sidney Buttle

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Boy Sidney Buttle

Sidney Alfred Buttle was born on 7th November 1900, one of eight children to Walter and Alice Buttle. Walter was a brickyard labourer from the Somerset hamlet of Churchstanton, but it was in nearby Wellington that he and weaver Alice raised their young family.

Sidney was just 13 years old when war broke out, but he was a young man who appeared keen to play his part. On 31st July 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve, a regiment that suggests that, even at his young age, he had some experience of working with boats.

His service records show that Sidney was just 5ft 2.5ins (1.59m) tall, had a fresh complexion with hazel eyes. Given the rank of Boy, he was initially posted to Falmouth, Cornwall, where he spent nine months training. After this, he spent a further six months on short postings as a deck hand, before being sent to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Boy Buttle was, by this point, suffering from neurasthenia, a nerve disorder, and it was this condition that led to his eventual discharge from naval service in December 1918.

Sidney returned home, but seems to have been weakened by the condition. He passed away at home on 3rd August 1919, at the tender age of just eighteen years of age. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Private Tom Simmons

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Private Tom Simmons

Tom Simmons was born early in 1889, one of fourteen children to William and Elizabeth Simmons. William was a farm labourer from Devon, who had moved to Runnington, near Wellington in Somerset, with Elizabeth in the late 1880s. This was where their growing family was born and raised.

Tom found work away from Somerset when he left school and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was lodging in a house in Llanwonno, Glamorgan. He was employed as an assistant machine repairer at the local colliery.

War was beginning to encroach on England’s shores, and Tom was to play his part. Full service details are not available, but he enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps and served as part of a territorial force. For the part he played, he was awarded the Victory and British Medals and the Silver War Badge.

It would seem that Private Simmons survived the war and was demobbed, returning to Somerset at some point by the end of 1919. Sadly, his trail goes cold: the next record available is of his death – through causes unspecified – at home on 20th January 1920, at the age of 31 years old.

Tom was buried in Wellington Cemetery, not far from his family home.

Tom’s headstone also includes a dedication to a Lance Corporal F Simmons.

Frederick Simmons was seven years younger than his brother. When he left school, he worked as a wool spinner in the local wool mill. When war came to Europe, he too played his part. Again, full details of his service are sketchy, but he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry.

Like Tom, Frederick served as part of the territorial force, and worked his way to the rank of Lance Corporal. After the war he returned home, but his life there was not set to be a long one. He passed away, through causes not noted, on 26th December 1926. He was just 30 years of age.

Frederick was laid to rest in the same grave as his brother. Technically not entitled to an official Commonwealth War Grave (the rules are laid out here), his service was remembered alongside that of Tom’s.

Bandsman, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Bandsman Clifford Alway

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Bandsman Clifford Alway

Clifford Frederick Alway was born on 2nd February 1903 in Wellington, Somerset. He was the fifth of fourteen children to Samuel and Ann Alway. Samuel was a farm labourer and butcher and, when war broke out, he stepped up to play his part, enlisting as a Driver in the Royal Field Artillery.

Clifford also seemed keen to be involved, and it can only be assumed that one or both of his older brothers – William (born 1898) and Wyndham (born 1901) – had joined up. By the summer of 1918, Clifford enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment. It seems likely, given that he was only fifteen years old, that he had lied about his age, as so many young men did.

He joined the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment as a Bandsman. This was a territorial force, and Clifford was posted to Kent, as part of the Thames and Medway Garrison.

It was here, where it was billeted in crowded barracks, that Bandsman Alway contracted influenza and pneumonia. Admitted to hospital in Aylesford, the conditions proved too much for his system, and he passed away on 3rd December 1918. Tragically, Clifford was just 15 years of age.

Clifford Frederick Alway was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

Samuel survived the war, spending more than three years in France – he was overseas when his son passed away, and so was unable to attend the funeral.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Dorset, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Private Bernard Lane

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Private Bernard Lane

Bernard Fred Lane was born in Wellington, Somerset, in the spring of 1880, and was the oldest of nine children to Frederick and Agnes Lane. Frederick was a house painter and, after a stint as a butcher, his son followed the same work. By the time of the 1901 census he was one of four boarders with the Hapgood family, living in Bournemouth, Dorset.

On 5th October 1901, Bernard married Annie Louisa Joyner. The couple wed in St Paul’s Church in Poole, but soon settled back in Wellington, and went on to have four children: Agnes, James, Mildred and Winifred.

War came to Europe in 1914, and Bernard wanted to play his part. Full details of his military service are not available, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment by March 1918. At some point during the conflict Private Lane was assigned to the Labour Corps, and attached to the 312th Company.

Bernard was serving on Salisbury Plain by the autumn of 1918, and fell ill, although it is not clear what befell him. Admitted to the Fargo Military Hospital at Larkhill, Wiltshire, he passed away on 15th October 1918. He was 38 years of age.

Bernard Fred Lane was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, the resting place for several other members of his family.

Private Bernard Lane
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Private Ernest Board

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Private Ernest Board

Ernest Board was born in Taunton, Somerset, on 20th September 1898 and was one of at least six children to Walter and Mary Board. Walter was a carter for the town’s gasworks, but, when Mary passed away in 1910, things changed dramatically for the family.

The 1911 census found Walter working as a cowman on a farm in Milverton, Somerset. All but two of his children are missing from that year’s national record, but Ernest and his older brother Arthur are noted as being ‘inmates’ at the National Nautical School in Portishead, near Bristol.

This was an establishment set up in 1869 for the destitute and neglected boys of the area. Ernest and Arthur were two of more than 320 students at the school which, at that time, was under the control of Commander Willoughby Still. School life was very strongly based on the running of a ship, with hammocks instead of beds, and a parade ground in front of the building.

There is no information about how long the brothers remained at the school, but, when war came to Europe, it would seem that they were keen to play their part. Sadly little detail remains of Ernest’s military life.

What can be determined, however, is that he enlisted in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and was assigned to the 1st Battalion as a Private. His battalion fought at, and were evacuated from, Gallipoli, before moving to France. There is no record where Private Board was involved, sadly, although his Medal Roll Card shows that he was assigned the Victory and British Medals, although may not have actually seen time overseas.

Private Board’s passing is also lost to time. All that can be confirmed is that he died on 8th November 1918, and was just 20 years of age.

Ernest Board was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, Somerset: as this is not far from where his father was recorded on the census seven years earlier, it is likely that his place of burial was due to family connections in the area.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, Hampshire Regiment, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Herbert Towell

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Private Herbert Towell

Herbert William Towell was born in the autumn of 1899, the oldest of six children to James and Prudence. James was a wool sorter in a factory, who had been born in Rockwell Green, on the outskirts of Wellington, Somerset, and this is where he and Prudence raised their children.

The Towell family were locals to Rockwell Green. James’ brother Charles lived just a few doors away from him and the 1911 census recorded James and Prudence living at 105 Rockwell Green Road, while Herbert, aged eleven, was living with his paternal grandparents, William and Charlotte, at 131 Rockwell Green Road.

When he left school, Herbert found work as an engine cleaner. War, however, was imminent and he was keen to play his part, but was initially too young do so. His time came, though, and on 30th June 1917 he was enlisted into the 34th Training Reserve Battalion.

At seventeen years and nine months, Private Towell’s service record gives his height as 5ft 11ins (1.80m), his weight as 144lbs (65.3kg) and confirms that he had a mole on his right cheek. He was initially assigned to the 53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, and posted to the army base at Durrington, close to Stonehenge.

In November 1917, Private Towell was admitted to the camp hospital with diarrhoea. Sadly, he had also contracted tuberculosis and it was recommended that he spend some time in a sanatorium. On 6th February 1918, he was discharged from service on medical grounds, and ordered to present himself for review the following year.

Herbert was not to get the chance to do so: within a month of his discharge he succumbed to the lung condition, breathing his last on 5th March 1918. He was just 18 years of age.

Herbert William Towell was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, within sight of his parents’ home.

Tragedy was to strike James and Prudence again less than a year later, when Herbert’s younger sister, Florence, passed away, aged just ten years old. No further information about her passing is available, so she may also have succumbed to one of the lung conditions running rampant across Europe in the aftermath of the war.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Albert Blackwell

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Private Albert Blackwell

Albert Edward Blackwell was born in Corfe, Somerset, in the autumn of 1872. He was the third of eight children to Francis and Harriet Blackwell. Francis was a farm labourer, while Harriet supplemented their income by taking in washing. Albert didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps, however, but found work as a ropemaker when he left school.

On 21st September 1905, Albert married Mabel Hellen Fry, a factory hand and porter’s daughter from Wellington, Somerset. The couple began their married life living with Mabel’s parents, and went on to have five children. By the time of the 1911 census, Albert was working as a carter for a local coal merchant, but war was on the way.

There is little information available about Albert’s military service. He enlisted at the start of the conflict, joining the 9th Service Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment by September 1914. Private Blackwell was based at Aldershot, Hampshire, but his service was not to be a long one.

Albert was admitted to the Connaught Military Hospital near Marlborough, suffering from tuberculosis. This became bronchitis, and the lung conditions proved too much for Private Blackwell’s constitution to take. He passed away at the hospital on 6th March 1915, at the age of 42 years old.

Albert Edward Blackwell was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, not far from where Mabel was still living.

Now widowed, Mabel still had children to raise. In the spring of 1916, she married Alfred Barnfield, a greengrocer from Bath. He had served in the Coldstream Guards for two years, before he was discharged for misconduct in May 1911. Sadly, no further information is available for him and Mabel’s trail also goes cold at this point.

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

Bombardier Willie Taylor

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Bombardier Willie Taylor

Willie Francis Taylor was born early in 1895 and was one of six children to James and Louisa. James worked as a miller in a wool factory in Wellington, Somerset, and this is a job that Willie and his siblings went into when they left school.

At this point, Willie’s trail goes cold. He had enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery by the spring of 1915 – given that he gained the rank of Acting Bombardier, it is likely that he joined up early in the conflict. He never saw active service overseas: Bombardier Taylor’s troop – the 48th Brigade – was sent to France in May 1915, a few weeks after Willie himself passed away.

There are no records pertaining to Willie’s death: all that can be confirmed is that he died at home on 25th April 1915, aged just 19 years old.

Willie Francis Taylor was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, close to where his mother, Louisa, had been buried three years earlier, and not far from where James still lived.

Bombardier Willie Taylor
(from findagrave.com)
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.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire, Worcestershire Regiment

Private Frederick Best

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Private Frederick Best

Frederick William Best was born in Wellington, Somerset, early in 1898 and was the middle of three children to factory worker Frederick Best and his wife, Bessie. When he left school, he found work as a delivery boy for a local baker, unlike his father, who was a long-time working in the local woollen factory.

War was closing in on Europe, however, and Frederick Jr was soon keen to play his part. Full details of his military service are not available, but it appears that he enlisted in the Worcestershire Regiment as soon as he was able, Private Best was assigned to the 15th (Transport Workers) Battalion, and served on home soil, initially in Swindon, and then in Southampton.

It was while he was billeted in Hampshire that Frederick contracted meningitis. He was admitted to a hospital in the city, but the condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 2nd January 1918, aged just 19 years old.

Frederick William Best’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in his home town, Wellington, where his parents were both buried in the 1930s.