Category Archives: Private

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

Private Robert Snow

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Private Robert Snow

Robert Snow was born at the end of 1890 and was the fourth of six children. His parents were Somerset-born Henry and Elizabeth Snow, and the family were raised in the village of Combe Florey, near Taunton.

When Robert completed his schooling, he also found work as a farm labourer. On 10th September 1914, he married Mabel Trebble in the local parish church: the couple went on to have a daughter, Clarice, who was born in December.

By this point, war had consumed Europe. Robert was called upon to play his part and he joined the Devonshire Regiment as a Private. Little information about his military service survives, but it is clear that he was attached to the 10th (Service) Battalion, and was sent to France in September 1915.

Private Snow did not spend much time in France, however, as, just a couple of months later, his unit was transferred to Salonika in the Eastern Mediterranean. He appears to have spent most of the rest of the conflict there, as the next records relating to him show that he survived the war, and was back in Britain by March 1919.

An inquest was held at Bath War Hospital on Pte. Robert Snow, 28… who died on Tuesday evening just as he had been put under an anaesthetic prior to an operation for lumbar abscess, the man having tubercular spinal complaint. He had been at the hospital since March 29th, when he was transferred from the 2nd General Hospital Bristol. The coroner entered an inquisition of death from cardiac failure while under an anaesthetic. This was the first death of the kind at the hospital, through nearly 3,000 patients have been given anaesthetics.

Langport & Somerton Herald: Saturday 7th June 1919

Robert Snow died on 3rd June 1919. His body was taken back to Combe Florey for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s cemetery, to be reunited with his widow, when she passed away in 1958, at the age of 71 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, Somerset, story, war, Warwickshire

Private Herbert Griffith

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Private Herbert Griffith

Herbert Griffith was born in the summer of 1883 in the Somerset village of Crowcombe. One of eight children, his parents were coachman James Griffith and his wife, Selina.

Herbert’s early life is a challenge to piece together. The 1901 census recorded him as living at Weacombe House, West Quantoxhead, where he was employed as a footman.

On 16th December 1909, Herbert married Selina May Davies. Also born in Crowcombe, she was the daughter of a tailor. The couple’s marriage certificate confirms the wedding was conducted at the village church. The couple went on to have two children, Dorothy in 1912, and Geoffrey four years later.

Herbert, at this point, was living in Farnborough, Warwickshire, where he was employed as a valet. (While no document remains to confirm this, it seems possible that this was actually Farnborough Hall, home to generations of the Holbech family.)

When war broke out, Herbert seemed keen to serve his country. He enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps, although his full service records no longer remain, so it is not possible to confirm whether he served on home soil or overseas.

The next record relating to Private Griffith is that of his passing. He died in Southampton, Hampshire, on 22nd February 1916, as a result of a combination of bronchitis, asthma and cardiac failure. He was 32 years of age, and would never get to meet his son, who was born two weeks later.

The body of Herbert Griffith was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful surroundings of the Church of the Holy Ghost in his home village, Crowcombe.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, injury, Lincolnshire, photography, Private, story, war

Private Herbert Perry

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Private Herbert Perry

Herbert Perry was born in Sampford Brett, Somerset, on 2nd July 1887. One of fifteen children, his parents were Henry and Mary Perry. Henry was a groom and gardener, and the family were raised in a small cottage in the centre of the village.

Herbert and his siblings attended the local Church of England school, but once he finished his education his own trail goes cold. The next records relate to his military service, although they are also a bit scarce.

What is clear is that Herbert enlisted early in the war. He joined the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, and was in France as soon as January 1915. Private Perry found himself at Ypres, and it was here, in July, that he was badly injured.

Private Perry was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and he was admitted to the 5th Northern General Hospital in Leicester. Sadly, this was to be where he would breathe his last: his wounds were to prove too severe, and he succumbed to them on 1st August 1915. He had not long turned 28 years of age.

Herbert Perry’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the peaceful graveyard of St George’s Church. There he was reunited with his mother, Mary, who had died three years before.

Herbert’s older brother, William, joined the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry when war broke out. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, he rose to the rank of Lance Corporal. William fought at the Somme, and was killed there. He is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial, and remembered on the family headstone in Sampford Brett.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, photography, Private, Royal Garrison Artillery, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war

Serjeant Harold Shopland

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Serjeant Harold Shopland

Harold George Shopland was born in the spring of 1893, the youngest of nine children to George and Mary Shopland. George was a joiner and platelayer for Great Western Railways: he died when Harold was just seven years old, which left Mary to raise the family alone. She did this with the support of the community and Harold’s older siblings.

By the time of the 1911 census, Harold, who was now 17 years of age, was the only one of her children to still be living at home: he was a stone mason’s carter, while Mary was getting by as the housekeeper for the local Wesleyan chapel.

When war broke out, Harold stepped up to play his part. Possibly keen to follow in his oldest brother’s footsteps – Private Walter Shopland had died at Bloemfontein in 1901 – he enlisted on 23rd November 1914. Harold joined the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Private, his service records confirming that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall, and weighed 165lbs (74.8kg).

Harold spent more than two years on home soil, before being sent to France in July 1917, with a promotion to Serjeant. He remained overseas, but fell ill with tuberculosis that winter, and was medically repatriated the following January. He was admitted to the Queen Mary’s Military Hospital in Whalley, Lancashire, and remained there for the next couple of months.

Harold’s condition meant that he was no longer fit for military duty, and was dismissed from service on 8th March 1918. He remained in hospital, however and his condition worsened. He passed away on 28th March 1918, at the age of 24 years old.

Mary brought Harold George Shopland’s body back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful setting of St Andrew’s Churchyard in Old Cleeve, not far from his father’s grave.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Lincolnshire, Machine Gun Corps, photography, Private, Second Lieutenant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Second Lieutenant William Tyler

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Second Lieutenant William Tyler

William Eric Tyler was born in the spring of 1888 in Carhampton, Somerset, the older of two children to farmers William and Nina Tyler. The details of William Jr’s early life are a bit sketchy: he was sent to a private school in Minehead, where he boarded for a while.

William Sr died in 1908, and Nina re-married, to farmer George Risden a couple of years later. Of William Jr there is no trace in the 1911 census, and the next record for him relates to his military service. He enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry when war broke out, but transferred to the Machine Gun Corps in May 1918, receiving a commission to Second Lieutenant when he did so.

Again, details of Second Lieutenant Tyler’s time in the army are scarce. The only other document relating to him is that of his passing. He died, on 28th October 1918 at Belton Park Military Hospital near Grantham, Lincolnshire. He was 30 years of age.

Belton Park was primarily a facility to treat wounded soldiers returning from the Front Line, but it was also treated Machine Gun Corps personnel connected to the neighbouring camp. It is not possible, therefore, to identify the cause of his death.

William Eric Tyler’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church in his home village, Carhampton. Buried alongside his father, he was reunited with his mother, when Nina died in 1946.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private George Watts

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Private George Watts

George Watts was born in the autumn of 1892, one of ten children to James and Caroline. The family were raised in Ottery St Mary, Devon, but by the time of the 1911 census, they had moved to Williton, Somerset, where James was running the Railway Hotel. At this point George is noted as being a grocer’s assistant.

Little further information is available for George. He courted a Withycombe farm labourer’s daughter called Ellen Gould, and the couple had a son together in 1917, but there is no evidence that the couple got married.

When war broke out, George stepped up to play his part. He listed in the Somerset Light Infantry and, while his service record has been lost to time, other evidence confirms that he had joined the 2nd/5th Battalion long before the conflict finished. Private Watts’ troop spent the conflict in India, although there is no evidence that he left Britain’s shores.

The next record for George shows that he was admitted to a military hospital in Devonport, Devon, suffering from nephritis, a form of kidney disease. Sadly, he was to succumb to the condition, and passed away on 22nd November 1919, at the age of 27 years old.

George Watts was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Decuman’s Church in Watchet, not far from where his family still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Isle of Wight, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Berkshire Regiment, Somerset, story, war

Private Herbert Trunks

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Private Herbert Trunks

Herbert Henry Trunks was born in Williton, near Watchet, Somerset, in the spring of 1888. One of fourteen children, his parents were George and Rosa. George was a labourer in a timber yard, but when Herbert left school, he found work as a labourer in a paper mill.

On 10th June 1911, Herbert married Lily Sully at St Decuman’s Church in Watchet. Four years Herbert’s senior, she was a labourer’s daughter: the couple went on to have three children: Lilian, Henry and Dorothy.

Herbert was called up to serve his country on 5th June 1916. Assigned to the Royal Berkshire Regiment, his service records confirm that he was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, and weighed 135lbs (61.2kg). He soon found himself in France, leaving for the continent on 20th September 1916.

Attached to the 13th Labour Battalion, Private Trunks spent the next 15 months overseas, returning to Britain in February 1918 for medical treatment. He was suffering from albuminuria, a side effect of kidney disease, and was hospitalised for a couple of months.

When he had recovered, Private Trunks was transferred to the 397th Home Service Company. He was based on the Isle of Wight, but his health had been impacted, and he came down with pneumonia. He was admitted to Parkhurst Military Hospital on the island on 28th October 1918, but died there just a week later, on 4th November. He was 30 years of age.

Herbert Henry Trunks was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Decuman’s Church, where he had been married just seven years before.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lieutenant, London, Natal Light Horse, photography, Private, Royal Field Artillery, Second Lieutenant, Somerset, South Africa, story, war

Lieutenant John Davey

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Lieutenant John Davey

John Burnaford Davey was born on 28th April 1887 in Cannington, Somerset. The youngest of nine children, his parents were farmers Thomas and Emma Davey. Emma died in 1899, and the next census, two years later, found John and two of his siblings living with their father at Beere Manor Farm on the outskirts of the village.

John’s trail goes cold at this point, and it seems that he may have emigrated to South Africa. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Natal Light Horse, and was awarded the 1915 Star in Pretoria for his involvement in fighting in Africa. Private Davey’s troop later moved to England, and it was here that he transferred to the Royal Field Artillery.

The move, in September 1915, included a promotion to Second Lieutenant. Within a couple of years his dedication meant that he advanced to the rank of Lieutenant. By this point, John was based in London, and it was here, on 16th July 1917, that he married Katherine Trayler, a tanner’s daughter from Bridgwater, who had gone on to become a teacher of gymnastics. The couple went on to have a daughter, Jean, who was born in November 1918.

Illness caught up with John and, with the Armistice signed, he was invalided out of service on 8th February 1919. The family were now living in Bridgwater, and this is where John returned. His time back with family was to be tragically short, however, as he passed away just weeks after leaving the army, on 2nd March 1919. He was 31 years of age.

John Burnaford Davey was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Holford, Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, story, unknown, war, West Somerset Yeomanry, Wiltshire

Private Charles Davey

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Private Charles Davey

Charles Davey was born in Nether Stowey, Somerset, in the autumn of 1893. The second of six children, his parents were publican-turned-labourer Charles Davey and his wife, Mercy. The 1911 census found the family living in a four-roomed house, with Charles Sr and Jr and the younger Davey son, Walter, all employed in farm work.

When war came to Europe, Charles was called upon to play his part for King and Country. Sadly his service records have been lost to time, but it is clear that, by September 1915, he had enlisted in the West Somerset Yeomanry. Attached to the 3rd/1st Battalion, Private Davey would have been employed on home service. He was billeted at the Aliwal Barracks at Tidworth, Wiltshire.

The only other record relating to Private Davey is his entry in the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects. This confirms that he passed away in Taunton, on 12th March 1916. The cause of his death is not recorded, but he just was 22 years of age.

The body of Charles Davey was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Nether Stowey.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Northern Ireland, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Edward Browning

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Private Edward Browning

Edward John Browning was born in the autumn of 1897 in the Somerset village of Over Stowey. The youngest of five children, his parents were blacksmith-turned-farmer John Browning and his wife, Alice.

By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to nearby Colepool Farm in Stogursey. Edward’s older brothers were all supporting their father on the farm, while, at 13 years of age, he was still to complete his schooling.

Details of Edward’s military life are scarce. When war broke out he enlisted, and joined the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. His troop served on home soil, moving to Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, by November 1917, and Belfast by the following spring.

Private Browning survived the conflict but had fallen ill by the summer of 1919. He was admitted to the Purdysburn Military Hospital in Belfast. He was suffering from cerebrospinal meningitis, and this was to claim his young life. He passed away there on 9th July 1919, at the age of just 21 years old.

The body of Edward John Browning was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in Stogursey.