Category Archives: Role

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Russia, story, war

Private Frederick Cleave

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Private Frederick Cleave

Frederick Cleave was born in Chudleigh, Devon, early in 1899, and was one of nine children to Charles and Eva Cleave. Charles worked as a waggoner – for a grocer, according to the 1901 census, and for a stonemason in the 1911 one.

There is little specific information about Frederick’s early life, and even details of his military service are only evident from a contemporary newspaper report of his funeral:

The funeral took place at the cemetery on Tuesday afternoon of Private F Cleave of the 1st Devon Regiment, son of Mr and Mrs C Cleave of Woodway Street, who died at Fermoy Hospital, Ireland… from disease contracted on foreign service… He joined the Army in 1915, and served through the war in France, and afterwards in the Russian Expedition.

Western Times: Friday 14th January 1921

The report suggests a couple of things. Firstly, Frederick was underage when he enlisted – he would have been 16 years old. He would also have been involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict: the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment fought at the Somme in 1916, Arras and Ypres in 1917, and Lys, the Somme and the Hindenburg Line in 1918.

The Russian Expedition mentioned was part of the Allied attempt to intervene after the country’s civil war – actions that were to prove unsuccessful.

Fermoy Military Hospital was part of the British Army’s barracks in the County Cork town; it is likely that Private Cleave had contracted one of the lung conditions running rampant across Europe in the immediate aftermath of the First World War – influenza, tuberculosis or pneumonia. He passed away on 4th January 1921 at the age of 21 years old.

Brought back home, Frederick Cleave lies at rest in the cemetery of his home town, Chudleigh, Devon.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman Leonard Gigg

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Able Seaman Leonard Gigg

Leonard Frederick John Gigg was born in Silverton, Devon, on 9th May 1882. He was one of six children to Matthew and Sarah Gigg, both of whom were born Ottery St Mary, but who moved the young family to Chudleigh in the late 1880s.

Matthew was a domestic gardener, and his son initially joined him in this trade. However, as the third of five sons, Leonard obviously wanted to carve out a life for himself and so, on 21st August 1897, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.

Leonard’s naval records shows that he was 5ft 3ins (1.60m) tall, had light brown hair, blue-grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He also gave his year of birth as 1880 so he would be accepted in the navy.

Even with this altered date of birth, Leonard was still under age, and so was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He was obviously dedicated to his career, however, and, on his “eighteenth” birthday in 1898, he was officially enrolled as an Ordinary Seaman.

Over the course of his twelve years’ service, Leonard served on ten vessels; after each voyage, however, he returned to HMS Vivid – the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport, Portsmouth. During his time at sea, he also progressed through the ranks, becoming an Able Seaman as early as 1900.

When Leonard’s initial contract came to an end, he volunteered for a further term. Up until the outbreak of war, Able Seaman Gigg served on another six ships, but after falling ill while on board HMS Caesar in the summer of 1914, he returned again to Portsmouth.

Leonard had contracted cancer of the mouth, and, as a result of the condition, he was formally invalided out of the Royal Navy in May 1915. He returned home but, in spite of a couple of operations, he succumbed to the cancer, passing away on 9th October 1915. He was just 33 years of age (his gravestone gives a different age).

Leonard Frederick John Gigg was laid to rest in the cemetery in Chudleigh.

Able Seaman Leonard Gigg
(from findagrave.com)

The local newspaper reported on Leonard’s funeral:

The death has taken place at his father’s residence of Mr Leonard FJ Gigg, third son of Mr M Gigg, after a painful illness. The deceased had served in the Royal Navy for 18 years and was only invalided out in May last, owing to cancer of the tongue. Although undergoing three operations, he was no better, and expired form the effects of that dreadful malady at the early age of 33 years. In the service he was extremely well liked and highly respected both by officers and men, and always had a pleasant word for everyone.

The deceased’s four brothers, Mr Charles Gigg (now in Canada), Chief Petty Officer H Gigg (HMAS Australia), Able Seaman Walter Gigg (HMS Carnarvon), and Private Albert Gigg (4th Devons, now in India) were prevented from attending.

Western Times: Friday 22nd October 1915
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war

Private William Hammacott

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Private William Hammacott

William Henry Hammacott was born on 11th January 1892 and was the oldest of four children. His parents were labourer George Hammacott and his wife Ellen; both were born in Chudleigh, Devon, and this is where they raised their family.

When William left school he too found work as a labourer, but war was coming to Europe, and he was keen to play his part. Full details of his service haven’t survived, but he had enlisted in the 5th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment by 1915, and served on home soil.

Private Hammacott survived the war and earned the Victory, British and Territorial Force Medals for his service. During his time, he contracted malaria and was discharged from the army on medical grounds on 29th March 1919.

William returned home, and his trail goes cold for the next year. It is likely that his bout of malaria left him particularly vulnerable: he passed away on 4th May 1920, having contracted pneumonia. He was just 28 years old.

William Henry Hammacott was laid to rest in Chudleigh Cemetery.

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.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, story, war

Private Frederick Gill

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Private Frederick Gill

There are parts of AFG Gill’s that are destined to remain a mystery. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission give his parents’ names and address – Edwin and Annie Gill of 15 Old Exeter Street, Chudleigh, Devon. Combined with his service number – M2/200211 – this would suggest that the FG in his name is Frederick George, but the initial A remains stubbornly absent.

Frederick George Gill was born in 1898, in the village of Chudlegh, and was one of seven children. His father – Edwin – was a carrier and haulier in the area, and the family lived in the middle of the village.

When war came to Europe, Frederick was keen to do his bit – he enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps as a Private and was assigned to the Mechanical Transport division.

There is very little information on Private Gill’s military service. He was awarded the Victory and British Medals for his service, but there is nothing to confirm when he enlisted or if he served abroad.

Private Gill survived the war, but was discharged on medical grounds on 18th November 1919 – he had contracted pulmonary tuberculosis during his time in the army, and was not longer fit to serve.

At this point, Frederick’s trail goes cold. While nothing can be confirmed, it would seem that the lung condition got the better of him – on 3rd February 1921 he passed away at home. He was just 22 years of age.

Frederick George Gill was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home village.

accident, Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, injury, photography, Royal Air Force, Royal Engineers, Somerset, story, Suffolk, Wales, war

Captain Fergusson Barclay

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Captain Fergusson Barclay

Fergusson Barclay was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, towards the end of 1877 and was the oldest of six children. His father, Henry, was a retired army captain, and so it is of little surprise that Fergusson and his siblings had something of a privileged upbringing.

The 1881 census recorded Henry and his wife, Agnes, bringing up the family in Tenby, South Wales. With three children under four, the Barclays employed two live-in nursemaids to support them.

Ten years later, the family had moved to Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, living in a large house to the north of the town centre. With five children now living at home, Henry and Agnes found additional help was needed: they were now employing a governess, manservant, cook and a housemaid. The family were not alone in this support: the 1891 census shows that all of the Barclays’ neighbours had at least one domestic servant.

The new century turned, and a new census followed. Captain Barclay and his family were still living in their three-storey Victorian villa in Weston-super-Mare. By this point, however, only three of the children were still living at home. Fergusson, now 23, was working as an architect, his brother Herbert was a legal professional, and his sister, Hermione, also still lived there. The house was not empty, however, as the Barclays’ retinue of staff remained. By this point, they were employing a gardener, groom, coachman, parlour maid, cook, kitchen maid and house maid. Agnes, who was around 20 years younger than her husband, also had a live-in companion, spinster Helen Empson.

Little had changed for the family when the next census was recorded in 1911. Henry was by now 84 years old, and he and Agnes had been married 34 years. Fergusson and Herbert were still living at home, fully immersed in their jobs. Helen was still providing companionship for Agnes, and the family still employed four members of staff: butler Daniel O’Brien and his wife, Jesse, who was the cook; parlour maid Rosie Davies and house maid Edith Booden.

In March 1912, Henry passed away, and it was inevitable that things would change for the Barclay household. Fergusson had been a volunteer for the Royal Engineers since the late 1890s and had steadily worked his way up through the ranks. With the outbreak of war, he found himself called into a more formal role.

Full details of his military career are not evident, but it is clear that, by the spring of 1918, Fergusson had gained the rank of Captain. He joined the Royal Air Force and was assigned to 75th Squadron.

On the afternoon of 7th December 1918, Captain Barclay took off from Elmswell Aerodrome in Suffolk, when the engine of his Avro 504K aircraft cut out. He attempted to turn the plane to land, but it nosedived into the ground and Fergusson was seriously wounded. He was taken to hospital, and died of his injuries later that day. He was 40 years old.

Captain Fergusson Barclay’s body was taken back to Somerset – he lies at rest in the Milton Road Cemetery in Weston-super-Mare, walking distance from his family home.

Captain Fergusson Barclay
(from findagrave.com)
accident, Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, India, killed in action, Lieutenant, Norfolk, photography, Private, Royal Air Force, Somerset, story, war, West Yorkshire Regoment

Lieutenant Herbert Marshall

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Lieutenant Herbert Marshall

Herbert William Hare Marshall was born in Ambala, India, on 19th August 1890. His father – Herbert Seymour Marshall – was a Colonel in the army, and was serving in India with his wife, Charlotte, when their children – Charlotte (known as Jessie) and Herbert Jr – were born.

The family were back in England by 1898, and had set up home in the Somerset seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. When Herbert Sr passed away that year, Charlotte was set up on a widow’s pension, and this allowed her to send her son to St Peter’s, a private boarding school in the town.

When her son’s schooling was complete, Charlotte took the family off to Canada. They settled in British Colombia, in Revelstoke, a mountain town halfway between Calgary and Vancouver. Here, Herbert found work as a bank clerk, but war came to Europe, and he felt a need to do his bit for King and Country.

Herbert enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in November 1914; his service papers record him as being 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, 148lbs (67kg) in weight. He had black eyes, brown hair and a dark complexion – something that he may well have inherited through his mother’s genes.

Shipped to England, by August 1915, Private Marshall had been discharged from the CEF as part of a transfer to the New Army – also known as Kitchener’s Army, the volunteer British Army raised as a direct result of the outbreak of war.

Detailed information about Herbert’s military service is lacking, although it seems that he joined the 17th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment, one of the regiments heavily involved during the Battle of the Somme.

By October 1916, however, the now Lieutenant Marshall had made another move, this time joining the Royal Flying Corps. On the afternoon of 26th August 1917, he was an observer on a flight at Marham, in Norfolk. The pilot, a Lieutenant Challington, was banking the aircraft, when it dived and crashed, killing both men. Lieutenant Marshall had turned 27 years old the week before.

Herbert William Hare Marshall’s body was brought back to his adopted home of Weston-super-Mare. He lies at rest alongside his father in the town’s Milton Road Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Middlesex, Middlesex Regiment, photography, Private, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Private Hector Parks

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Private Hector Parks

Hector Joseph Parks was born in the spring of 1885, the youngest of five children to William Jacob and Mary Ann Parks. William was a ship’s steward who, when Mary died in 1895, remarried, giving Hector a further two half-siblings.

With William employed at sea, Hector spent a lot of time with his paternal grandparents and, in fact, both the 1891 and 1901 censuses recorded him as living in East London with them. That later document shows that Hector had left school, and was working as a carman for a delivery company.

The next available record for Hector comes thirteen years later, when it is evident that he was among the first to volunteer for war service. He enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment and, while full details of his army career are not available, he soon found himself in the thick of things, arriving in France on 14th August 1914.

Private Parks’ battalion – the 4th – was caught up in skirmishes from the outset of war, fighting at Le Cateau, Marne, Aisne and Hooge. Over the next few years, the Middlesex Regiment found itself at The Somme and Ypres and, while it is not possible to place Hector directly in these conflicts, it seems likely that he would have been involved in a lot of them.

In January 1918, Private Parks was back on home soil, having been admitted to the Auxiliary Hospital at Ashcombe House in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. Sadly, the cause of his return to England is lost to time, but he was to succumb, passing away on 20th January 1918, at the age of 32 years old.

Hector Joseph Parks was laid to rest in Somerset – he is buried in the Milton Road Cemetery in Weston-super-Mare.

Clerk, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Clerk Mary Harris

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Clerk Mary Harris

Mary Edith Harris was born in the autumn of 1895 and was the oldest of five children to Walter and Ellen Harris. Walter was a linesman for the railway, and was based in Taunton, Somerset, which is where the young family were initially raised.

By the time of the 1911 census, Walter and Ellen had moved the family to Weston-super-Mare, and were living to the south of the town centre. Walter’s mother – who had been widowed a number of years by this point – was also living with them.

Mary had left school and found work as a clerk in a local steam laundry. Her younger sister, Sarah, was also employed at the laundry, but as a golfering machinist.

War was beckoning, and Mary obviously wanted to play her part. Her work in the laundry stood her in good stead, and she found herself enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps – later Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps – as a laundry clerk.

While full details of her time in service are scarce, Mary’s death certificate reveals that she passed away at her home in Weston-super-Mare on 7th November 1918, at the age of just 23 years old. She had been suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis for two years, and had contracted pneumonia just a few days before she died.

Mary Edith Harris was laid to rest in the Milton Road Cemetery in her home town, Weston-super-Mare.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, injury, Lance Corporal, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Sergeant, Sherwood Foresters, Somerset, story, war

Sergeant Archibald Mills

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Sergeant Archibald Mills

Archibald Henry Mills was born in the summer of 1895, the oldest of six children to John and Edith. John was a commercial traveller, selling veterinary wares around the country; he was born in Derby, Edith was from Leicester and, for the for the first seven years of their married life they lived in Edith’s home town – this is where Archibald was born. By the turn of the century, however, they had relocated to Somerset, and set up home in Weston-super-Mare.

When he left school, Archibald found work as an errand boy for a local tailor, but change was on the horizon. By the summer of 1914, he had based himself in Nottingham – the reason is lost to time – and this is where he was when he volunteered for military service.

Archibald enlisted as a Private in the Notts and Derby Regiment – the Sherwood Foresters – and was assigned to the 7th Battalion. He was sent to France as part of the 46th Division and, over the next couple of years, he evidently served his regiment well.

In August 1915, Private Mills was promoted to Lance Corporal; three months later he was again promoted, to Corporal. By May the following year, he received another rise, this time to Serjeant. These promotions were against the backdrop of some fierce fighting – the Sherwood Foresters were involved at Hooge, Hohenzollern and Gommecourt, and were briefly sent to Egypt.

At some point during the summer of 1916 – possible at Gommecourt – Archibald was injured, and medically evacuated to the No.2 Western General Hospital in Manchester. Sadly, however, his wounds were to prove too much: Serjeant Mills passed away on the night of 30th September 1916. He was just 21 years old.

The body of Archibald Henry Mills was brought back to Somerset; he was laid to rest in the Milton Road Cemetery of his adopted home town of Weston-super-Mare.