Category Archives: Role

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 2nd Class Herbert Andrews

Leave a comment
Stoker 2nd Class Herbert Andrews

Herbert Andrews was born on 9th December 1890 in the Devon village of Buckfastleigh. One of nine children, his parents were William and Elizabeth Andrews. William worked at a local woollen factory, and the family initially lived on Silver Street in the village before moving to Market Street by the turn of the century.

Herbert does not appear on the 1911 census, and at this point William and Elizabeth, both in their 60s, were living on their own. Interestingly, the census inadvertently reveals neither may have been able to write: the return was completed by James Dyer, who lived at 5 Plymouth Road in the village.

The next document available for Herbert relates to his military service. When war broke out, he seems to have quickly stepped up to play his part, giving up his job as a gardener to enlist in the Royal Navy on 7th January 1915. His records confirm that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall, with black hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having an operation scar for appendicitis.

Stoker 2nd Class Andrews was initially sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for training. This did not seem to go smoothly, and on 9th May he was detained for 21 days for disobeying orders and being insolent.

On 6th June, Herbert was assigned to the battleship HMS Marlborough. Again, however, this posting did not last for long, and mental health issues may have come to the surface. By 1st July 1915, Stoker Andrews was back ashore in the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth, Devon. Within a matter of weeks, he was medically discharged from the navy, and was “discharged to Exminster Asylum on 1.9.15 as a dangerous lunatic.”

At this point, Herbert’s trail goes cold. He passed away on 21st August 1916, at the age of 25 years old. It seems likely that he was still admitted to the mental institution when he died, as his death was registered in Exeter.

Herbert Andrew’s body was taken back to Buckfastleigh for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of the town’s Holy Trinity Churchyard, alongside his brother, Henry, who had died fifteen years before.

Canada, Canadian Army Service Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, story, war

Private Arthur Shute

Leave a comment
Private Arthur Shute

Arthur Henry Shute was born on 13th February 1893 in Buckfastleigh, Devon. The younger of two children, he was the only son to Henry and Elizabeth Shute. Henry was a baker, and this trade soon took the family to Cirencester, Gloucestershire, where they had set up home by the time of the 1901 census.

Cirencester certainly suited the Shute family, and they remained at 107 Dyer Street for at least ten years. Arthur was set on learning the business, and the 1911 census found him as one of four apprentices to George Cox, a flour confectioner based in Hastings, Sussex.

New things were on the horizon, however, and Henry was evidently set on a better life for his family. On 10th May 1912, the family boarded the SS Victorian, destined for a fresh start in Canada. The Shutes eventually set up home at 118, 4 Avenue West in Calgary, Henry becoming a chef, and Arthur a baker.

Within a few years, the world was at war, and Arthur would step up to play his part. He enlisted on 13th September 1915, and wold be assigned to the Canadian Army Service Corps. His service records show that he was 6ft 0.5ins (1.84m) tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. The document also highlighted three years’ voluntary service with the 5th Gloucestershire Regiment.

Private Shute’s unit arrived back in Britain on 6th November 1915. Sent to a base in Shorncliffe, Kent, Arthur was transferred to the 3rd Field Bakery, taking up a role suited to his skills. In March 1916, his unit was sent to France, and he remained there for the next five months.

Arthur’s time in the army seems to have been beset by illness. He was admitted to hospital on 12th August 1916, having come down with influenza, and he was medically evacuated to Britain to recuperate. Arthur would not be discharged for another six weeks, and only returned to the base in Shorncliffe on 3rd October.

From this point on, Private Shute remained on British soil, and he would remain in Shorncliffe for the remainder of the conflict and beyond the Armistice. In January 1919, he was admitted to the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital in Eastbourne, again suffering from influenza, but this time the condition would prove to be fatal. He passed away on 5th February 1919, a week short of his 26th birthday.

With his immediate family living thousands of miles away in Canada, Arthur Henry Shute’s body was taken back to the town of his birth for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in Buckfastleigh.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, Ship's Corporal, story, war

Ship’s Corporal 1st Class Thomas Barnes

Leave a comment
Ship’s Corporal 1st Class Thomas Barnes

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.

accident, Artificer, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, photography, Royal Navy, Scotland, story, war

Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Gerald Bowerman

Leave a comment
Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Gerald Bowerman

A distressing fatality, involving the death of a member of the crew of HM destroyer “Rifleman”, and injury to two others, occurred at the harbour where his ship was on Saturday night. A party of four – one civilian and three Navy men – were on a motor cycle and side-car on their way to Provost Matthews’ Quay, from which the sailors were to join their ship. The cyclist, who was controlling the machine in the darkness of the night, failed to observe that the bridge at the dock gates was open to allow a vessel to pass out to sea. The motor cycle collided with the obstruction, with the result that the machine and side-car swerves round, and plunged headlong into the well from which the bridge swings.

The result of the accident was that Gerald Bowerman (25), engine-room artificer, fractured his skull, while his two ship-mates, Charles Morrice, chief engine-room artificer, and James Fulthorpe, engine-room artificer, were somewhat severely injured. Deceased belonged to Buckfastleigh, his residence being the Mechanics’ Arms.

[Western Times: Friday 25th September 1914]

Gerald Bowerman was born in Buckfastleigh, Devon, on 30th October 1888. The youngest of four children, his parents were James and Augusta Bowerman. James was a jack-of-all-trades, with the 1891 census noting that he worked as a grocer, coal dealer and cab proprietor, with his wife assisting in the business.

James seemed to seek out new opportunities, and, by the time of the next census, taken in 1901, the family had moved to Exeter, and were running the Red Cow Inn at the foot of St David’s Hill.

Gerald’s older brother, Harold, joined the navy in 1906, and his sibling was not to be outdone. By 1910, James and Augusta had moved back to Buckfastleigh, and were running the Mechanic’s Arms. Gerald, however, was drawn to the sea and gave up his employment as a fitter and turner to enlisted in the Royal Navy on 14th September 1910. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Bowerman was first sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for his training. He joined the battleship HMS Bellerophon in February 1911, and she would be his home for the next two years.

After another short spell in Devonport, Gerald transferred to HMS Caesar, then to the depot ship HMS Blake, to which he was assigned on 30th August 1913. The following month he was promoted to Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class, and would remain on board Blake through to the outbreak of war the following year.

Engine Room Artificer Bowerman’s ship was based in Aberdeen when the motorcycle accident occurred. He was just 25 years of age when he died, on 20th September 1914.

Gerald Bowerman’s body was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in his home town of Buckfastleigh.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Scotland, story, war, Worcestershire Regiment

Private Garfield Peardon

Leave a comment
Private Garfield Peardon

Garfield Ambrose Peardon was born on 24th February 1899, the older of two children to William and Margaret. Both farm labourer William, who had been widowed in 1885, and his second wife, Margaret were from Devon. The 1891 census found the extended family – Garfield and his parents and his older half-brother, William Jr., living in Market Street, Buckfastleigh.

Ten years later, and the family had moved just up the road to Market Street. Both of Garfield’s parents were working for the local woollen mill, William as a horseman and Margaret as a serge weaver. Garfield and his younger brother, Eric, were too young to work, and were both still at school.

Garfield stepped up to play his part for King and Country, although details of his service are a bit of a mystery. He had certainly enlisted by the start of 1918, presumably as soon as he came of age. He joined the Worcestershire Regiment, and was attached to the 3rd Battalion.

Private Peardon served in France, and was likely involved in the Battles of the Somme and Lys in the spring of 1918. His pension ledger records note that, on 27th May, he was recorded as ‘missing’: this was the day of a massive German gas and artillery bombardment and, in the confusion that followed, it appears that Garfield was identified as a potential casualty.

At this point, Private Peardon’s trail goes cold. The next available document is his entry on the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects: this confirms that he passed away on 28th January 1919 in the 2nd Scottish General Hospital in Edinburgh. This would suggest that Garfield was wounded in the attack, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. He was a month short of his 20th birthday when he died.

The body of Garfield Ambrose Peardon was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, Buckfastleigh.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private William Allen

Leave a comment
Private William Allen

William Allen was born on 24th June 1888, and was the third of ten children to Joseph and Leah. The family lived in Oxford, on New Zealand’s South Island, and when Leah passed away in 1900, Joseph married again, and William soon had four half-siblings.

When he finished his schooling, William found employment as a labourer. At the outbreak of war, William was called to play his part, and he enlisted on 26th July 1916. His service documents note that he was small of stature, just 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall, and weighing 120lbs (54.4kg). A Baptist, he had dark hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Private Allen was assigned to the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment. His unit departed from Wellington for the ten week journey to Britain, the SS Tahiti finally docking in Devonport, Devon, on 29th January 1917. From here the battalion marched to Codford, Wiltshire, where the developing ANZAC base was located.

Tragically for William, this would be the last stage of his journey. After weeks at sea, in cramped conditions, the incoming troops found they were battling a different enemy from the one they had expected. Many fell ill, and this included Private Allen. He was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital, which was connected to the base, with pneumonia on 19th February 1917. Treatment proved too little, too late, however, and he passed away just four days later, on 23rd February. He was just 28 years of age.

William Allen was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford, not far from where he had breathed his last.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Wellington Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Gordon McDonald

Leave a comment
Private Gordon McDonald

Gordon McDonald was born on 28th January 1893 in Pongaroa, New Zealand. The youngest of six children, and the only son, his parents were Scottish-born farmers John and Helen – or Ellen – McDonald.

Little information is available about Gordon’s early life. When he completed his schooling, he went into agricultural work, and this was his employment when, on 27th June 1916, he answered the call to play a part in a conflict on the other side of the globe.

Gordon’s service papers show that he would have been an imposing figure of a man. He was 6ft 3ins (1.91m) tall, and weighed 160lbs (72.6kg). A Presbyterian, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion. He was also noted as having two scars, one on the outside of his right forearm, the other on his left thumb.

Assigned to the New Zealand Wellington Regiment, Private McDonald’s unit left the country of his birth on 16th October 1916. The SS Willochra would take two-and-a-half months to reach Britain, arriving in Devonport, Devon, on 29th December. From there Gordon and his unit were sent to Codford, Wiltshire, where their ANZAC base was set up.

Private McDonald’s time in Britain was to be tragically brief. At this point in the war, disease was rife in the Codford billets, and he was not to be immune to its effects. On 13th February 1917, he was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital, attached to the camp, with tubercular meningitis. The condition would prove too severe, and he passed away on 5th March 1917. He was 24 years of age.

Gordon McDonald was laid to rest in the ANZAC graveyard extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford, close to the camp where he had breathed his last.

Private Gordon McDonald
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Walter Watson

Leave a comment
Private Walter Watson

Walter Robert Watson was born in Wai-Iti, to the south of Nelson, New Zealand, on 12th November 1889. The third of four children, his parents were Edward and Eliza Watson.

When he finished his schooling, Walter found farming work, and this is what he was doing when, in the spring of 1916, he married Beatrice Godbaz. By this point war was raging across Europe, and it seems likely that the couple exchanged vows ahead of his departure for the conflict.

Walter joined up on 26th July 1916, and, as a Private, was assigned to the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment. His service records show that he was 6ft (1.83m) tall and 161lbs (73kg) in weight. A Methodist by religion, he had fair hair, blue-grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Private Watson’s unit departed for Britain on 15th November 1916. Leaving from Wellington on board the SS Tahiti, the journey would take nearly three months. The Canterbury Regiment arrived in Devonport, Devon, on 29th January 1917, and from there the unit moved to their camp on the outskirts of Codford, in Wiltshire.

Walter was feeling every mile of the journey by this point. He contracted lobar pneumonia, and was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on the outskirts of the camp. The condition was to prove fatal: Private Watson passed away on 20th March 1917, at the age of just 27 years old.

Walter Robert Watson was laid to rest in the ANZAC graveyard extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford.

Private Walter Watson
(from findagrave.com)

Walter’s younger brother, Herbert, had taken a different path in life. Also a farmer, he had volunteered in the 12th Nelson Regiment. When war broke out, he was one of the first to enlist, joining the Canterbury Mounted Rifles on 15th August 1914.

By December that year, his unit had left New Zealand and arrived in Egypt. On the subsequent journey to Britain, Herbert became unwell, and he was admitted to the General Hospital in Gibraltar with dysentery. The condition would prove his undoing, and Trooper Herbert Watson passed away on 30th August 1915, at the age of just 24 years old.

Herbert Percy Watson was buried in Gibraltar’s North Front Cemetery.

Trooper Herbert Watson
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Otago Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Frederick Browning

Leave a comment
Private Frederick Browning

Frederick Henry Browning was born on 19th March 1884, and was the third of five children to John and Elizabeth Browning. Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, there is little information about his early life, but as he grew up, he found work as a blacksmith.

When war broke out in Europe, Frederick was working for JS Collins at the Mountain Hotel in Queenstown. By this point he had also spent three years in military service, working for the Ambulance Brigade in Nelson, at the northern tip of South Island.

Frederick stepped up to play his part, enlisting on 22nd August 1916. His service documents show that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, and weighed 153lbs (69.4kg). A Methodist, he had black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Attached to the New Zealand Otago Regiment, Private Browning was sent to Trentham, on the North Island, for training. An asthmatic, he spent two weeks in hospital with the condition in October 1916. On 30th December 1916 his unit departed for Europe on board the SS Athenic, a White Star Line ship conscripted for troop use at the start of the war.

Frederick’s asthma returned on the journey, and he spent a further week of the journey in his sick bed. The Athenic docked in Devonport, Devon, on 3rd March 1917, and Private Browning was sent straight to the town’s military hospital, his lung condition once again affecting him.

It would not be until 14th March that Frederick eventually re-joined his unit, who were based in a camp just outside the Wiltshire village of Codford. His health was really struggling, however, and he came down with a bout of pneumonia. On 24th March he was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital near the camp, but the condition was to get the better of his weakened body. Private Browning passed away on 31st March 1917, at the age of 33 years old.

The body of Frederick Henry Browning was laid to rest in the ANZAC graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the base he had so briefly called home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Egypt, Essex, Great War, history, illness, injury, Lance Corporal, New Zealand, New Zealand Otago Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, West Midlands, Wiltshire

Corporal Ronald Dumbleton

Leave a comment
Corporal Ronald Dumbleton

Ronald Dumbleton was born in Pukeuri Junction, New Zealand, at the end of 1890. His parents were William and Lucy, but about his early life, there is very little information.

When he finished his schooling, found work as a telegraphist and, by the time war broke out, he was employed at the Oamaru Post Office. This employment fitted in perfectly with his hobby as a volunteer in the Signal Company.

Ronald enlisted in the Otago Regiment of the New Zealand Infantry on 13th June 1915. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). An Anglican by faith, he had black hair, dark eye and a dark complexion.

Assigned to the 7th Battalion, Private Dumbleton’s unit set sail for Europe towards the end of the year and, after a few weeks in Egypt, Ronald arrived in Britain in March 1916. His previous military service stood him in good stead. On 8th July 1915 he was promoted to Lance Corporal, and just six weeks later he had made full Corporal.

In April 1916, Ronald arrived in France. Transferred to the 1st Battalion, he would remain overseas for six months. Caught up in the fighting at the Somme, he was injured in his left arm and shoulder and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Corporal Dumbleton was admitted to the 1st Southern General Hospital in Birmingham, and remained there for a month.

In November, Corporal Dumbleton transferred to a hospital in Hornchurch, Essex. He then seems to have been moved to the ANZAC base near Codford, Wiltshire, for his ongoing recuperation. He was given two weeks’ leave in January 1917, returning to the base towards the end of the month.

At this point, Ronald’s trail goes cold. He remained based in Codford, possibly as he was not yet fit enough to re-join his unit on the Western Front. While in camp, however, he fell ill, passing away on 5th April 1917. He was 26 years of age.

Thousands of miles from home, Ronald Dumbleton’s body was laid to rest in the extended graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Codford, not far form the base which he had called home.

Corporal Ronald Dumbleton
(from findagrave.com)