Category Archives: Petty Officer

Able Seaman, accident, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, Scotland, story, war

Petty Officer 1st Class James Brett

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Petty Officer 1st Class James Brett

The early life of James Watt Brett is lost in the mists of time. He was born on 25th November 1880 in the Scottish village of Fochabers and when he finished his schooling, he found work as an apprentice draper. He sought bigger and better things, however, and, on 25th August 1896, he joined the Royal Navy.

At just fifteen years old, James was too young to formally enlist. He was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, however, and dispatched to the training ship HMS Caledonia, for his basic instruction. He remained on board until October 1897, by which point he had been promoted to Boy 1st Class.

Over the next year, James served on two cruisers – HMS Blenheim and HMS Dido. His shore base became HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and he would return here time and again in between assignments.

It was while James was serving on Dido that he came of age. Now given the rank of Ordinary Seaman, his records show that he was 5ft 1in (1.54m) tall, with fair hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. James would remain on board Dido until January 1902, by which time he had been promoted to the role of Able Seaman.

Over the initial twelve years of his service, James would spend time on eight vessels, and travel the world. His dedication to the navy is clear, although his career was not without its hiccups.

In April 1904, James was promoted again, to the rank of Leading Seaman. The following January he was made Petty Office 2nd Class, although this new role only lasted for a couple of weeks, before he was knocked back down to Able Seaman.

In April 1909, he was again made Leading Seaman and, promoted to Petty Officer 2nd Class once more in January 1910. By October that year, he had risen to Petty Officer 1st Class, by which point his initial contract came to an end.

James immediately re-enlisted, and retained his rank for the remainder of his naval career. At some point after the 1911 census, he married a woman called Annie, and the couple seem to have been based at Burnt Oak Terrace, Gillingham, Kent, although there is no further information about Petty Officer Brett’s new wife.

James seemed to have become more shore-based after his marriage, and he served at HMS Actaeon in Portsmouith, Hampshire, and HMS Pembroke and HMS Wildfire in Kent. By the summer of 1917, he was attached to the Dover Patrol, and assigned to HMS Attentive.

On 3rd March 1918, Petty Officer Brett’s service records note that he was accidentally killed by falling into [a] dry dock at Royal Albert Docks. No further information is available, although it is possible that the accident took place in London. He was 37 years of age.

The body of James Watt Brett was taken back to Kent for burial. He was laid to rest in the military section of the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from where his widow still lived.

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

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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.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, Ship's Steward, story, Victualling Assistant, war

Chief Petty Officer John Henley

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Chief Petty Officer John Henley

John Henley was born on 4th September 1878, and was the second of five children to William and Frances. William was a navy pensioner from Maidstone, Kent, but it was in the nearby village of Loose that John was born and the family raised.

Given his father’s background, it was inevitable that John would go to sea as well. The 1891 census recorded him as being one of nearly 1000 pupils of the Royal Hospital School in Greenwich, and just three years later he formally enlisted in the Royal Navy. Just sixteen years of age, he was given the rank of Ship’s Steward Boy. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with dark brown hair, light blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Initially based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, over the next eighteen months, John spent time on five ships. This gave him enough grounding so that when he came of age in September 1896, he could be formally inducted into the navy, with the rank of Ship’s Steward Assistant.

Over the next decade, John’s career flourished. He was promoted to Acting Ship’s Steward in January 1901, and full Ship’s Steward fifteen months later. He had spent time on a further ten ship by this point, returning to HMS Pembroke in between postings.

In July 1905, John married Maud Norton, a carpenter’s daughter from his home village. While her husband was away at sea, she set up home at 88 Kingswood Road, Gillingham, Kent, and the couple went on to have three children: John, William and Lionel.

Back at sea, and by the time war broke out, Ship’s Steward Henley had completed more than twelve years in the role. In February 1918, he received a further promotion, this time to Victualling Chief Petty Officer, but this new role was to be cut tragically short. The following month, he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent, suffering from a gastric ulcer. This haemorrhaged, and he passed away while still admitted. John died on 14th March 1918: he was 39 years of age.

We regret to announce the death of Mr John Henley, Victualling Chief Petty Officer (Ship Steward)… Deceased was a native of Loose and… had served 25 years in the Royal Navy, having commenced his career in the Royal Hospital School, Greenwich, at the age of eleven years. He took part in the battle off the Falkland Islands, and also in the operations in the Dardanelles whilst serving on HMS Inflexible. He leaves a widow and three sons.

[Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph: Saturday 30th March 1918]

John Henley was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, walking distance from where his widow still lived.

Chief Petty Officer John Henley
(from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, London, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman Thomas Jago

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Able Seaman Thomas Jago

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.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Essex, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Leading Seaman, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, Surrey, war

Petty Officer William Feldon

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Petty Officer William Feldon

William Feldon was born on 16th October 1878, the middle of three children – and the only son – to William and Jessie Feldon. William Sr was a carpenter from Highgate, Middlesex, but it was south of the Thames, in Lambeth, Surrey, that the family were raised.

When he finished his schooling, William Jr found work as a general labourer. He was drawn to bigger and better things, however, and a life at sea was to catch his eye. In June 1894, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. His service records noted that he was 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

By the time William had completed his initial training, he had been promoted to Boy 1st Class. He was then moved to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

By October 1895, he was given his first posting, on board the torpedo cruiser HMS Archer, and he would remain assigned to her for the next two years. During this time, William came of age and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His commitment to the service was pretty clear, and, within seven months he had been promoted again, to Able Seaman.

After a short spell back at Pembroke, William was assigned to HMS Wildfire, another shore establishment just along the coast in Sheerness. He remained there for nine months, during which time he was promoted again, to the rank of Leading Seaman.

In May 1899, William was moved to another posting, on board the gunboat HMS Partridge. This assignment provide him with the route to further promotion: he remained on board until July 1901, having risen to Petty Office 2nd Class on 1st July 1899 and Petty Officer 1st Class on 23rd September 1900.

Over the remainder of his initial term of service, William served on six further vessels. The sea was in his blood by this point, and when his contracted ended on 15th October 1908, he re-enlisted without any hesitation.

Away from the Navy, William fell in love. On 23rd October 1909, he married Ada Plumpton, who was 25 years old, and who lived in Battersea, Surrey. The couple exchanged vows at St Faith’s Church in Southwark, but settled down in the village of Dovercourt, Essex. They went on to have two children, Doris, who was born in 1910, and Elsie, who came along the following year.

Back at sea, Petty Officer Feldon was assigned to the cruiser HMS Boadicea. He spent two years on board, before moving to another cruiser, HMS Blonde, for another two years. In between voyages, William returned to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham.

On 13th January 1914, Petty Officer Feldon was posted to the battleship HMS Formidable, part of the Channel Fleet patrolling the seas of the southern coast of Britain.

Early on the morning of 1st January 1915, while off the Dorset coast, she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-24. Other ships in her convoy came to help, but after a couple of hours – and another torpedo strike – the damage was too great and she sank. 120 members of the crew were saved, but more than 540 officer and crew – including Petty Officer Feldon – were lost. He was 36 years of age.

William Feldon’s body was one of those recovered and identified. He was laid to rest in a communal grave in Lyme Regis Cemetery, in the hills above the Dorset town where he had been brought ashore.

Able Seaman, accident, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, Leading Seaman, Norfolk, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Petty Officer 1st Class Albert Hodder

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Petty Officer 1st Class Albert Hodder

Albert George Hodder was born on 27th December 1878 in Lyme Regis, Dorset. The oldest of three children, his parents were Samuel and Ellen Hodder. Samuel was a general labourer who died in 1886, when he was 35 years of age. By the time of the 1891 census, Albert had given up school, and was working as a live-in cowboy in the nearby Devon village of Uplyme, bringing in what would be the only wage for him, his mother and his two younger brothers.

Working on a dairy farm would not bring in the money his family would need. So, on 7th August 1894, Albert sought out more of a career and enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall with brown hair, grey eyes and a ruddy complexion.

Albert was under the age to formally enlist, and so was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He was sent to the training ship HMS Boscawen, and, over the next eighteen months he received a basic education and naval induction. By the end of July 1895, he had been promoted to the rank of Boy 1st Class.

On 12th November 1895, Boy Hodder was assigned to the ironclad ship HMS Alexandra, and his naval career began. Over the next nearly two decades, he would serve on twelve separate ships, rising through the ranks as he did so.

When Albert came of age, on 27th December 1896, he was serving on board HMS Gibraltar. Formally inducted into naval service, he was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. He spent more than three years on board Gibraltar, and rose to Able Seaman on 1st January 1899.

From here his career continued: He was promoted to Leading Seaman on 18th May 1903, Petty Officer 2nd Class on 1st April 1905 and Petty Officer 1st Class just two years later.

In the autumn of 1912, Albert’s career changed course. He was assigned to HMS Maidstone, a submarine depot ship, and a life under the ocean waves started to appeal. On 28th March 1914, Petty Officer Hodder was sent to HMS Dolphin, home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service, where he was trained up for new duties. By October that year he was to be found serving on board the newly-commissioned submarine E11.

Over the next few months, he served in the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and the E11 was involved in a minor way in the defence of Scarborough in December 1914 and the Cuxhaven Raid ending on Christmas Day that year.

At this point, Petty Officer Hodder’s trail goes cold. He remained on the E11 until early February, by this time she was based off the Norfolk coast.

An inquest was held on Friday on the body of Albert George Hodder… of Lyme Regis, Dorset, a member of the crew of one of HM vessels, who died from the effect of immersion.

Evidence showed that at 9.20 on the previous Thursday night a petty officer heart the shout of “Man overboard.” He got on to a collier moored in the river and saw a black object float past. Unable to reach it, he jumped ashore and got into the ferry boat. He was then able to reach the object, which he found was the deceased. He held his head above the water while the ferryman pulled the boat to the quay. The deceased was got out in an insensible condition, a doctor sent for, and artificial respiration tired. Efforts were persisted till breathing was established, and he was then wrapped in blankets, with hot water bottle; but he succumbed to the effects of immersion and shock shortly after eleven. No one saw how the deceased fell overboard.

A verdict of “Accidental death” was returned.

[Diss Express: Friday 12th February 1915]

Petty Officer 1st Class Albert George Hodder was just 35 years of age when he died on 4th February 1915. His body was taken back to Dorset for burial, and he was laid in Lyme Regis Cemetery.

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

Ship’s Corporal Thomas Berry

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Ship’s Corporal Thomas Berry

Details of the civilian life of Thomas Joseph Berry are a challenge to piece together. He is not recognisable in any census returns, and baptism records don’t tally either.

The main resource for building a picture of Thomas’ life is the service record for his time in the Royal Navy. This provides his date of birth – 6th May 1882 – and suggests that he was born in Hornsey, Middlesex. He was working as a cabinet maker when he enlisted, the document also confirming that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

Thomas began his naval career on 29th July 1898. Below the age to formally enlist, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. Over the next eighteen months, his time was split between two training ships based in Devonport, Devon, HMS Impregnable and HMS Lion. In April 1899 he was promoted to Boy 1st Class.

In February 1900, Thomas moved to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport. On 6th May he came of age, and was formally enrolled in the navy, receiving the rank of Ordinary Seaman. From this point his career took off and, over the next sixteen years, he would go on to serve on board fifteen ships, seeing the world.

At his annual reports, Thomas’ conduct was regularly identified as Very Good, and his commitment was reflected in the progress he made through the ranks. By June 1901, he had been promoted to Able Seaman Berry. The summer of 1907 saw him move up to Leading Seaman, and three years later, Thomas was a Petty Officer. In November 1911 he was made Ship’s Corporal 2nd Class, and by the following spring he had been promoted again, this time to Ship’s Corporal 1st Class.

Away from the Royal Navy, Thomas’ personal life was developing. Again there is little documentation to provide any specifics, but he married a woman called Albertine Elizabeth in the early 1910s. The couple went on to have a son, Bernard, who was born on 15th January 1913, and the family seemed to settle down in Paignton, Devon – a later record giving Albertine’s address as 3 Alma Terrace, Well Street.

When war broke out in the summer of 1914, Ship’s Corporal Berry was serving on board the protected cruiser HMS Blake. In February 1916, he was assigned to the battleship HMS Revenge which served in the English Channel.

By this point, Thomas’ health seemed to be taking a downturn. He was posted back to HMS Vivid on 7th March, but was then transferred to Devon County Asylum in Exminster, suffering from “general paralysis of the insane“. His condition worsened and he passed away on 29th April 1916: he was days away from his 34th birthday.

Thomas Joseph Berry’s body was brought back to Paignton for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Kent, Leading Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Petty Officer John Baker

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Petty Officer John Baker

John Patrick Baker was born on 20th March 1883, the only child to Henry and Mary Baker. Henry was naval pensioner-turned-labourer from Belfast, Ireland, while Mary was born in Queenstown, Ireland. By the time of the John’s birth, however, they had moved to Kent, settling in the village of Cheriton.

John is noticeable by his absence in the coming years. The 1901 census return found his parents living in the same home, but the only other resident was boarder Jesse Fuller.

The 1911 census, however, helps explain this disappearance. The document records John as being one of more than 500 crew on board the cruiser HMS Highflyer. He was notes as being a Leading Seaman and, on the day that the census was taken, the ship was in the Laccadive Sea, off the coast of western India, to the south of Goa.

John is also noted as being married, and it seems that he wed a woman called Adela the previous year. Her entry in the 1911 census noted she was living in a room at 206 Risboro Lane in Cheriton, Kent. The house was also occupied by the Leach family – William, Hannah and daughter Margaret – and a Christina Hawkes, who was also married. Whether they were all related is unclear, but Adela, at 30 years of age, was working as a domestic servant to pay her way.

Adela and John would go on to have two children: John Jr was born on 31st July 1911 – just four months after the census. His younger brother Ernest was born on 21st May 1914, four months before the outbreak of war.

There is little further information available on the Baker Family. John progressed in his naval career, and had risen to the rank of Petty Officer by the end of 1915. That winter he became unwell, although the condition is not readily documented. He was posted at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, by this point, and he may well have been admitted to the nearby Naval Hospital.

His illness was to prove fatal, however, and Petty Officer Baker passed away on 13th January 1916. He was 32 years of age.

John Patrick Baker was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic section of the Woodland Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base he had known so well.

Able Seaman, accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, Leading Seaman, Norfolk, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Petty Officer Ellis Sayer

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Petty Officer Ellis Sayer

Much of the life of Ellis Edward Sayer seems destined to remained shrouded in the mists of time. Born in Attleborough, Norfolk on 31st January 1888, the only census return he appears on dates from 1891. This records him as living with his grandmother, Maria Simons, who was noted as being married and working as a laundress. Ellis’ 16-year-old uncle, William, was also living there and employed as a groom.

Jumping forward a few years and, on 31st December 1907, Ellis enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records note that he had previously been employed as a messenger, and there seems to have been some previous marine connection. The document shows that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m), with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having tattoos of a dragon, a rose and the word ‘unity’ on his left forearm.

As an Ordinary Seaman, Ellis was initially sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. He was only there for a matter of weeks before being assigned to the HMS Cochrane then HMS Natal.

On 7th April 1908, Ordinary Seaman Sayer was attached to the cruiser HMS Lancaster, and he was to remain with her for close to two years. Promoted to Able Seaman on 26th November 1909, his time on board came to a close in May 1910.

Over the next few years, Ellis continued his progress in his naval career. After a year on shore in Chatham, he was assigned to HMS Blonde, and was promoted to Leading Seaman in August 1912. He returned to HMS Pembroke the next month, and remained attached to the dockyard for the next year and a half: his experience likely being used to support newer recruits.

On 6th March 1914, Leading Seaman Sayer was assigned to the battleship HMS Commonwealth. Over the next three years she patrolled the North Sea, from the Norwegian coast and Shetland in the north to Dogger Bank in the south. On 1st August 1915, Ellis receive a further promotion, holding the rank of Petty Officer for the remainder of his time on board Commonwealth.

On 18th February 1917, Ellis’ life came to an abrupt end. There is little information available about his passing, one record stating that he died from an injury to his kidney which was as a result of an accident, while another states ‘rupture of kidney caused through [a] fall’. HMS Commonwealth seems to have been moored in Chatham, however, as he passed away in the town’s Royal Naval Hospital. He was 29 years of age.

Petty Officer Sayer’s next-of-kins were noted as his sister, Mrs J Andrews, who lived in Norwich, and a friend, Mrs Ethel Hampton, who lived in Gillingham, Kent.

Ellis Edward Sayer’s body was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard he had called home for so long.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Leading Stoker, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker Petty Officer Albert Symes

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Stoker Petty Officer Albert Symes

Albert Symes was born in Dorset on 6th March 1887. Details of his early life are a challenge to piece together, as his was not an uncommon name in the county – the 1891 census has at least two potential matches, and the 1901 record at least three.

The first concrete information for Albert is that of his military service. Having been working as a general labourer, he enlisted on the 22nd September 1906, joining the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having the letters BS (presumably for Bert Symes) tattooed on his right forearm.

The service document gives his place of birth as Yeovil, Dorset, although the town is actually in Somerset. The next census, taken in 1911, suggests he was born in the village of Bradford Abbas, three miles south east and over the Dorset border.

Stoker 2nd Class Symes was first sent to the training ship HMS Nelson. Based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, this is where Albert spent three months, before being assigned to the cruiser HMS Eclipse. Over the next nine years, Albert served on eight ships, returning to a land base – HMS Victory in Portsmouth – in between voyages.

Albert’s commitment to the job is evident – his character was continually noted as being Very Good, while his ability was Superior as each of his annual reviews. In May 1907 he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class; five years later he made Acting Leading Stoker, with a full promotion to the rank in June 1913; on 1st June 1915, while serving on board HMS Hampshire, Albert was promoted again, to Stoker Petty Officer.

Things would change rapidly for Albert, however. Within a matter of weeks, he had contracted pneumonia. He was transferred to the hospital ship Garth Castle, but the condition was to prove too severe. Stoker Petty Officer Symes passed away from the condition on 3rd October 1915: he was 28 years of age.

Albert Symes’ body was brought back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in the village of Bradford Abbas.