Tag Archives: 1915

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Hussars, Middlesex, photography, Second Lieutenant, story, war, Wiltshire

Second Lieutenant Samuel Ferris

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Second Lieutenant Samuel Ferris

A verdict of accidental death was returned by a Coroner’s jury at Tidworth on Thursday in the case of Second-Lieutenant Samuel Ferris, of the Cavalry Reserve. The officer was found in his room at the Barracks shot through the head, and died within the hour. Shortly before the occurrence he was in a cheerful mood, had been on parade, breakfasted, and was changing his wet clothes. Captain and Adjutant Barclay stated that he found a yard and a half from Lieutenant Ferris’s feet an automatic pistol of the latest pattern. It might, he said, easily be discharged by a person who did not intend to fire it, and who had no reason to know it was loaded. Captain Barclay expressed his opinion that the discharge of the pistol was accidental. Lieutenant Ferris, who had been to the front and was much improved in health since his return, was a son of Dr John Spencer Ferris, or Warwick Dene, Ealing.

[Wiltshire Telegraph: Saturday 10th April 1915]

Samuel Bernard Clutton Ferris was born on 1st December 1890, and was the oldest of three children to John and Mary Ferris. John was a physician and surgeon from Wiltshire, but the family were born and raised near his practice in Uxbridge, Middlesex.

Mary died in 1910, by which time Samuel had taken up studies at Cambridge. Following in his father’s line of work, he was reading natural science at the esteemed university. Outside of term time, John – now retired – Samuel, and younger sister Stella were living in an 11-roomed property at 2 Warwick Dene, Ealing, and were being supported by three servants – housemaid Mary Fisher, under housemaid Elizabeth Price, and cook Emma Lovejoy.

When war broke out, Samuel took up a commission in the 10th (Prince of Wales’s Own Royal) Hussars. Sent to France early in the conflict, it is likely that he saw action during the First Battle of Ypres, possibly at Langemarck or Gheluvelt.

Whether Second Lieutenant Ferris was wounded in France, it is unclear. He may, however, have fallen physically or mentally ill, and the wording of the newspaper report suggests this might have been the case. Either way, his condition was grave enough for him to be sent back to Britain for treatment or recuperation.

Back on home soil, Samuel was based at Tidworth, on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. It was here, on the 6th April 1915, that the accident that ended his life occurred. He was 24 years of age.

The body of Samuel Bernard Clutton Ferris was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Leonard’s Church in Keevil, Wiltshire. This is where Samuel’s father had been baptised, and was his paternal grandparents’ parish church. The above newspaper report noted that the funeral was well attended, but that Samuel’s father was “very ill and unable to be present.” [Wiltshire Telegraph: Saturday 10th April 1915] His sister – now Mrs Walter Spencer – attended, but his brother, John, was absent, although it is likely that he was serving his country at the time.

Samuel’s probate records note that he left an estate worth £1243 1s (around £166,000 in today’s money). Interestingly, this did not go to a family member (his father did not pass away until the spring of 1921). Instead, the beneficiary was recorded as Mr Warner Herbert Taylor Ottley. A civil servant, it is likely that he and Samuel were friends.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, Lance Corporal, London, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Corporal Arthur Carter

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Lance Corporal Arthur Carter

Arthur Frank Carter was born in the 10th July 1893 in Bratton, Wiltshire. The third of seven children, he was the oldest of four sons to Frank and Martha Carter. Frank was a farm labourer, and the family lived on Lower Street, to the north of the village centre.

When Arthur finished his schooling, he found work as a carter, probably unintentionally living up to his family’s name. When war broke out, however, he stepped up to play his part. Serving in the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private, he was attached to the 1st Battalion and, by the 19th January 1915, he found himself in France.

Full details of Private Carter’s service have been lost to time, but during his time overseas, he received a promotion to Lance Corporal. In June 1915 he was wounded, and was sent back to Britain for treatment. Admitted to hospital in London, Arthur’s injuries would prove to be too severe. He passed away on 12th June 1915, at the age of just 21 years old.

The body of Arthur Frank Carter was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in St James’ Churchyard, Bratton.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Antrim, Great War, history, Ireland, Kent, Merchant Navy, Northern Ireland, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Stoker, story, suicide, war

Stoker Robert Dalzell

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Stoker Robert Dalzell

The early life of Robert Dalzell is a challenge to piece together. Born in Belfast, County Antrim, on 12th September 1874, his parents were William and Ellen Dalzell.

It is unclear what William was employed as, but it seems that Robert took up manual labour. The 1911 census recorded him as a plater’s helper, living on Ulverston Street in the Shankill area of Belfast. The census also sheds some light on his private life: he had been married to Matilda for eight years, and they had three children: Robert Jr, Mary and Elenor.

With a family to support, Robert needed a better paid, permanent career and, on the 22nd October 1904, he joined the Royal Naval Reserve as a stoker. His service papers show that he was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with blue eyes and a dark complexion. The document also confirms a number of tattoos: stars and a bracelet on his left forearm, and a mermaid and pineapple on his right.

Stoker Dalzell worked on ships traversing the Irish Sea to and from Liverpool. When war broke out, however, he was assigned to the armoured cruiser HMS Lancaster. She patrolled the North Sea and English Channel, and was involved in a number of skirmishes with enemy vessels.

An inquest relative to the tragic death of a naval stoker reservist, named Robert Dalzell, belonging to Belfast, was conducted… on Monday afternoon. Early on Friday afternoon the deceased was found lying in a pool of blood in the stokehold hatchway of the ship, beyond all medical aid, and passed away within a short time of the sad discovery.

Samuel Fisher, master-at-arms, identified the body… Deceased had been on the ship just over two months, and was forty years of age. The man’s conduct on board had been very good, and there were no service troubles… Prior to mobilisation the deceased had been employed in a private shipyard in Ireland. Witness last saw him alive on the ship on Friday morning, and a little later was informed that he had been found with his throat cut…

Stoker William George Hamshire said he only knew the deceased by sight. On Friday, about 1:30pm, witness found the deceased in No. 1 stokehold hatchway all alone, lying on his back, with his throat cut. The deceased was breathing, and a good deal of blood was coming from the wound. Witness called for assistance. [There was a razor] near the deceased’s right hand. The deceased was quite alone when witness found him The man was too far gone to speak. There was no sign of any struggle, and the wound had every appearance of being self-inflicted…

Stoker Thomas Gillan deposed that he had known Dalzell for eighteen years… Witness could give no reason for the tragedy. The deceased was a very quiet man, and had no home troubles so far as witness knew. Since Wednesday evening, however, the deceased had been a bit “moody,” and would not speak.

[Chatham, Rochester and Brompton Observer: Saturday 31st July 1915]

Other witnesses at the inquest confirmed that Robert had asked about upcoming leave, and whether he would get a railway pass to enable him to get home and see Matilda and the children: “He was all about getting home.”

The jury returned a verdict of “Suicide,” but were unable to confirm the state of Robert’s mind when he killed himself on 23rd July 1915.

The body of Robert Dalzell was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, where Lancaster was moored at the time of his passing.

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, Kent, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Ordinary Seaman Albert Hillman

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Ordinary Seaman Albert Hillman

Albert Alsop Hillman was born in Islington, Middlesex, on 22nd September 1895. He was the second of five children to Alfred and Harriet Hillman. Alfred was a builder’s labourer from Hoxton, and, at the time of the 1901 census, the family had rooms at 36 Affleck Street, not far from King’s Cross Station.

The next ten years showed a downturn in the family’s fortunes. They had moved to rooms at 19 Chapel Street, but Alfred was no longer bringing in a wage, and was recorded as being an invalid. In fact, unusually, none of the household of seven – including Albert and his older brother, Alfred Jr, both of whom were of age to have left school – were recorded in any trade, and it is not clear what, if any, money was coming in.

This changed in 1913, when Albert joined the Royal Navy. He had been earning money as a van guard, but a life at sea offered a career and a regular wage. Sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon, he spent the next five months learning the skills he would need as a seaman. Being below the age to formally enlist, however, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class.

On 15th November 1913, Boy Hillman was given his first assignment, on board the battleship HMS Venerable. She would remain his home for the next few months, during which time he was promoted to Boy 1st Class.

Albert was formally enlisted in the Royal Navy on 18th February 1914, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service papers show that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. His papers also note that he had a scar on his right cheek, and a number of tattoos on his left forearm.

After a short spell at Chatham Dockyard in Kent – also known as HMS Pembroke – Albert was given his second assignment, aboard the destroyer HMS Liberty. In August 1914, she was involved in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and, in a skirmish with the German 5th Flotilla. She was hit by the enemy cruiser Mainz, which landed a direct hit on the bridge, killing the ship’s commander, Nigel Barttelot, and a number of other crew. Albert was wounded, and the ship made its slow way back to port.

When Liberty reached Pembroke once more, Albert was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, and would remain there for the next more than a year.

The death has taken place in the RN Hospital, Chatham, of Able Seaman Albert Hillman, who sustained terrible injuries whilst serving in HM destroyer Liberty in the sea fight in the Bight of Heligoland on August 28th, 1914. For sixteen months the young fellow – he was only 19 years of age – suffered, but he bore his pain unflinchingly and without a murmur, winning the admiration of the medical and nursing staff. It will be remembered that Lieut.-Com. Nigel Barttelot and six members of the crew of the Liberty were killed in the action, one died from wounds, and eleven others were wounded.

[Sheerness Guardian and East Kent Advertiser: Saturday 15th January 1916]

The newspaper report includes a couple of errors – Albert held the rank of Ordinary Seaman, and was 20 years of age when he died – and has a stoic and heroic sense of how the injured man bore his wounds with grace and calm.

The body of Albert Alsop Hillman was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the Kent hospital in which he had been tended for so long.

Coldstream Guards, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, injury, photography, Private, story, war

Private Thomas Bidder

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Private Thomas Bidder

Thomas Bidder was born on 10th April 1893 on Lower Winsham Farm, Braunton, Devon. One of twelve children, his parents were farmers John and Eliza Bidder.

Thomas sought a life away from the farm and he enlisted in the army, joining the prestigious Coldstream Guards. The 1911 census recorded Private Bidder as being in barracks in a camp in Chertsey, Surrey.

When war broke out, Thomas was mobilised, and soon found himself on the Western Front. It is unclear exactly when or how he served, but a later report suggests that he was wounded in February 1915, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment.

After being treated in different hospitals, he was sent home to convalesce, but here (no doubt as the indirect result of the wounds) tuberculosis developed, and death was due to this cause.

[Western Times: Thursday 19th August 1915]

Thomas Bidder died on 16th August 1915, at the age of 23 years old. The newspaper report noted that he “was a man who was greatly admired for his soldierly and other qualities, and at Braunton he will long be held in the fondest remembrance.” [Western Times: Thursday 19th August 1915]

Thomas was laid to rest in St Brannock’s Church in his home town of Braunton.

Thomas was not the first of the Bidder siblings to die during the war. His younger brother, Walter, served in the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Private Bidder was killed on 18th December 1914, aged just 19 years old. He is commemorated on the Le Touquet Memorial in France, and on the family headstone in Braunton.

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

Private Ernest Shambrook

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Private Ernest Shambrook

Ernest Shambrook was born in the parish of Heanton Punchardon, Devon, in the autumn of 1889. The youngest of six children, he was one of four sons to Robert and Fanny Shambrook. Robert was a miller’s waggoner, and the family lived at Heddon Mill in nearby Georgeham.

When Ernest completed his schooling, he took up work as a tailor, something his older brother, James, had previously gone into. The 1911 census found that Ernest had left home and was boarding with the Heath family in Ottery St Mary, where he was employed in tailoring.

When war broke out, Ernest stepped up to play his part. His service papers have been lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment at some point after September 1914. Private Shambrook was assigned to the 2nd/5th Battalion, and sent to Newton Abbot for training.

His time in the army, however, was to be a brief one. Ernest contracted pneumonia, and had to be admitted to the VAD Red Cross Hospital in the town. His condition, however, was to prove fatal, and Private Shambrook passed away on 4th March 1915: he was 25 years of age.

The body of Ernest Shambrook was taken back to the family church, St Brannock’s in Braunton for burial. The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, reporting on his funeral, notes one of the mourners as “Miss Wotton (deceased’s fiancée)” [Thursday 11th March 1915]. There is no further information on Ernest’s intended.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Scotland, story, war

Private George Wallace

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Private George Wallace

In the town cemetery of Gillingham, Dorset, is the grave of Private G Wallace of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, who died on 14th April 1915. His entry in the British Register of Soldiers’ Effects confirms his first name as George, and that he died on the town’s Leatham Red Cross Hospital. Private Wallace was recorded as being in the 8th Battalion, and his beneficiary was noted as being his father, James.

Unfortunately, beyond this, there is little concrete information about George’s early life: his regiment would suggest that he was born north of the border, but, without a year or location of birth, it is impossible to narrow down the documentation.

A newspaper report does, however, confirm how his life came to an end:

An inquest was held at the Drill Hall on Friday morning, on the body of Private George Wallace, of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, who died at the Gillingham Red Cross Hospital as a result of injuries by the kick of a horse at Codford Camp… Corporal James Doig, of the 12th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, said the accident occurred on the Wednesday, April 7th. The stable was only an open shed, and deceased was going up the near side of the horse when it let our and kicked Wallace in the pit of the stomach and knocked him over. He fell in towards the stall among the feet of the horse, which let out again and caught him in the head. While witness went to the horse’s head another witness Private O’Neil, hauled Wallace our. When Wallace was pulled out O’Neil took him to the field hospital, where he managed to walk with some assistance. Lieutenant WE Hopkins, RAMC, proved attending to the deceased as far as possible. There were no facilities for serious cases, and, thinking it was only a case of slight concussion, he had the deceased sent to the Gillingham Red Cross Hospital. If he had been aware it was a fracture of the skull, he should have sent the case to Salisbury Infirmary. The field hospital was only a detention ward, with no hot or cold water supply and no instruments. He cleaned the wound in the head as far as possible. Dr Huntly said he examined the deceased at the Gillingham Hospital. The skull was fractured, and everything was done for him by himself and Dr Morgan, but he died from septic inflammation. If the wound had been “sweet” it would have given him a better chance after the operation was performed. A verdict of “Accidental death” was returned.

[Southern Times and Dorset County Herald: Saturday 24th April 1915]

The body of George Wallace was laid to rest in Gillingham Cemetery, not far from the hospital in which he had died.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Farrier, Great War, history, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Sergeant, story, unknown, war

Farrier Serjeant William Inkpen

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Farrier Serjeant William Inkpen

In the cemetery of the Dorset town of Gillingham, is a headstone dedicated to the memory of Farrier Sergeant William Inkpen of the Royal Field Artillery, who died on 13th July 1915. Despite his unusual name, it is a challenge to piece together his early life. There are a number of men by the name William Inkpen in the Dorset area, and without confirmation of his age or his parents’ details, there are too many varying records to construct a timeline.

William’s entry in the British Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects suggests that his beneficiary was his widow, Rose, but there are no documents on which they both appear.

An entry in the Southern Times and Dorset County Herald notes that Farrier Sergeant Inkpen died at the Bourton Military Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, and that he was 50 years old when he passed. There is a paper trail for a William Charles Inkpen who worked as a farrier in London and Middlesex, but Rose does not appear in them, and he was, in fact, married to Helen Wood, with four children: Charles, Elsie, Ivy and Cecil. This William was one of six children, and all of them were boys.

Ultimately, with no documentation relating to his time in the army, it is impossible to piece together William’s life for certain. Much of that life he took with him to his grave, in the Dorset cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Norfolk, photography, Private, story, war

Private William Thick

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Private William Thick

William Thick was born in Gillingham, Dorset, in the autumn of 1885, and was the oldest of four children to Henry and Emma Thick (who also went by the names Harriett and Fanny). Henry was a general labourer, and the family lived in a cottage at Culvers Corner, on the western outskirts of the town.

William initially found work as a mason, but he sought bigger and better things. Already a volunteer in the local militia, on 19th April 1904, he formally enlisted in the army. Taking the rank of Private in the Dorsetshire Regiment, he was attached to 2nd Battalion. His service papers note that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 129lbs (58.5kg). He was recorded as having dark brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. His medical report also notes a lateral curvature of his spine.

Private Thick spent the first two years of his service on home soil. In February 1906, however, his unit was sent to India, and he would spend the next five years in and around Poona. William completed an initial seven years’ service in April 1911: stood down to reserve status, he returned home.

In the spring of 1914, William married Eliza Belgin. There is little information available for her, but she gave birth to the couple’s only child, daughter Hettie, the following January.

By this point, war had broken out, and Private Thick was called into action once more. Attached to the 1st Battalion, he was sent to France within days of the outbreak of hostilities. Within the first six months of the conflict, William’s unit was involved in the battles of Mons, the Marne, the Aisne, Messines and Armentières, some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict.

By the summer of 1915, Private Thick was suffering from rheumatism. He was admitted to the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital in Boulogne, but was soon transferred to Britain, as he contracted pleurisy. Sent to the Norfolk War Hospital in Norwich, his condition deteriorated, and he passed away on 2nd July 1915: he was 29 years old.

The body of William Thick was taken back to Dorset for burial: he was laid to rest in Gillingham Cemetery, not far from where his family were living.

Eliza had been widowed just six months after having Hettie. The only other record for her is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s record that she had moved to Harold Road, Roath, South Glamorgan.

Bombardier, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, Kent, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Scotland, story, war

Gunner William Taylor

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Gunner William Taylor

Military honours were paid to Bombardier W Taylor, of the 59th Battery, RFA, who succumbed to an attack ocf douple pneumonia in the VAD Hospital on Saturday at the age of 23. The funeral took place on Tuesday afternoon in the presence of a large gathering, including some from each battery billeted in the town, to the number of nearly 200. The service, which was a most impressive one, was conducted by the Vicar (Red. WEH Sotheby). The deceased came with a draft from Glasgow over a fortnight ago and soon got his first stripe; but it was willed that he should rise no higher, as the day after he received his first promotion he was taken to the hospital. A tribute of respect was paid to him from each battery in the shape of wreaths subscribed for by the men.

[Southern Times and Dorset County Herald: Saturday 23rd January 1915]

William John Taylor was born in St Helier, Jersey, in 1883. He was the only child to John Lebanon Taylor and his wife, Margaret. John had been born ‘at sea’ and was a writer for the Royal Arsenal. His work had taken him to the Channel Islands, and this is where he met and married Margaret in the autumn of 1882.

By the time of the 1901 census, the Taylor family had moved back to the mainland, and were living at 12 Mineral Street, Plumstead, Kent. William had finished his schooling by this point, and was employed as a commercial clerk.

William disappears from the 1911 census, while his parents had moved to a larger property at 101 Tuam Road, Plumstead. John was now listed as an army pensioner, and it was just him and Margaret living in the house.

By this point, William’s trail had gone completely cold. When war broke out he was called on to play his part, and the newspaper report, while giving an incorrect age, does outline what would seem to be his time in the army. He passed away in the Red Cross Hospital in Gillingham, Dorset, on 16th January 1915: he was 31 years of age.

John appears to have passed away by this point too, and it seems possible, that Margaret was unable to cover the cost of bringing her son back to Kent. Instead, Gunner William Taylor (his rank before the promotion to Bombardier was formally recorded) was laid to rest in Gillingham Cemetery, close to the hospital where he had died.