William Robert Preston was born on 2nd January 1888, and was the oldest of six children to William and Alice Preston. William Sr was a blacksmith from Norwich, Norfolk, and this is where the family were initially raised.
The 1901 census saw a move to Northamptonshire, however, the document confirming that the family were living at Tanner Cottages in the village of Walton.
When he finished his schooling, William Jr found work as a painter’s labourer. However, he sought bigger and better things and, on 5th June 1905, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a number of tattoos on his arms.
Private Preston was sent to barracks in Deal, Kent, for his initial training. He spent the best part of a year there, before being transferred to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in April 1906. He was given his first ocean-going posting in January 1907, when he joined the crew of the cruiser HMS Terrible.
Over the next eight years, Private Preston served on three further ships, returning to HMS Victory, Portsmouth, in between trips. In March 1915, he was assigned to HMS Princess Irene, an ocean liner converted to a minelayer at the start of the war.
On 27th May 1915, while Irene was moored off Sheerness, Kent, a series of explosions ripped through the ship, killing more than 350 crew. Private Preston was among those who perished, but whose body was identified: he was 27 years of age.
The body of William Robert Preston was buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent alongside the other victims of the disaster.
Samuel George Castle was born on 1st November 1896 in Battersea, Surrey. The third of ten children, his parents were Samuel and Louisa Castle. His father was a gas fitter turned blacksmith and, by the time of the 1911 census, Samuel Jr was working as an errand boy for Army & Navy Stores.
When war broke out, Samuel was quick to step up and serve his country. On 6th March 1915, he gave up his job – he was by then employed as an equipment maker – to enlist in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class.
George was sent to HMS Pembroke, the dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. His service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with black hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Tragically, Stoker Castle’s time in the navy would not prove a lengthy one. By the end of May he was part of the crew of HMS Princess Irene, an ocean liner that had been put into service as a minelayer when war was declared. On 27th May 1915, a series of explosions ripped through the ship, killing more than 350 crew, Samuel included. He was just 18 years of age.
Samuel George Castle was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, alongside the other victims of the disaster.
George Patrick Marshall was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 17th March 1896. One of ten children, his parents were plumber and gasfitter Robert Marshall and his wife, Rachel.
When he finished his schooling, George found work as a messenger. By the time war broke out, however, he was working as a builder’s mate. Keen to play his part and serve his country, he decided to enlist in the Royal Navy.
Stoker 2nd Class Marshall enlisted on 7th March 1915. His service records show a little of the man he had become. He was noted as being 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. His first trip overseas took him to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, where he would receive his training.
Tragically, George’s time in the navy would not prove a lengthy one. By the end of May he was part of the crew of HMS Princess Irene, an ocean liner that had been put into service as a minelayer when war was declared.
On 27th May 1915, a series of explosions ripped through the ship, killing more than 350 crew, Stoker Marshall included. He was just 19 years of age.
George Patrick Marshall was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, alongside the other victims of the disaster.
In amongst the rows of naval headstones in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, is one dedicated to Robert McQueen. The inscription notes that he was a Fireman on board HMS Princess Irene, a liner that was conscripted by the Royal Navy as a minelayer during the First World War.
The headstone records that he died during the catastrophic explosion on 27th May 1915 that destroyed the ship, killing more than 300 people in the process. It also confirms that Robert was 23 years old when he died.
Birth records identify at least six Robert McQueens born in 1891/92, and without a place of birth, or parental names, it is not possible to definitively confirm which of these was serving on the Princess Irene on that fateful day. He was in what would become the Merchant Navy: their records are sparser than the Royal Navy equivalents, and none match the man who lies buried in Gillingham.
The life of Robert McQueen, therefore, is destined to remain lost to time, although his sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Phillip William Turner Files was born on 13th April 1894 in Walmer, Kent. One of eight children, his parents were George and Annie Files. George was a carpenter at a local colliery, but living so close to the sea, his son was inevitably drawn there. On 25th January 1910, Phillip gave up his life as an errand boy and joined the Royal Navy.
Phillip’s service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was just 15 years old when he enlisted, and, as he wasn’t of full age, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He was initially sent to HMS Ganges, the shore-based establishment in Suffolk for his initial training.
Phillip remained at HMS Ganges for the next year, and was promoted to Boy 1st Class on 5th September 1910. The following January he was moved to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, also known as HMS Victory.
Over the next year, with Victory as his base, Boy Files was sent to serve on three ships – the dreadnought battleship HMS Albermarle, and the cruisers HMS Sappho and HMS Philomel. While on board Philomel, Phillip came of age and, because of his technical abilities, was given the rank of Ordinary Signaller – changing to Signalman when the ranks were updated later in 1912.
Phillip remained on Philomel until October 1913 and, after a brief spell back in Portsmouth, he was transferred to the armoured cruiser, the converted RMS Laconia. She was to be Signalman Files’ base for the next year, when, on 9th March 1915, he was transferred again, this time to HMS Princess Irene.
Princess Irene was a converted liner, requisitioned as a minelayer when war broke out. On 27th May 1915, an explosion ripped through the ship, while moored off Sheerness, Kent. Signalman Files was one of the 352 souls killed. He was just 21 years of age.
Phillip William Turner Files was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent. His body having been identified, he was given his own grave, unlike those who were buried in a mass grave nearby.
Signalman Files’ headstone spells his first name with one L. However, all the other documents relating to Phillip spell it with two.
Joseph Symes was born in the spring of 1871, and was the oldest of four children to William and Sarah. William was a farm labourer from Stoke Abbot in Dorset, and it was here that the family were born and raised. They set up home with Sarah’s parents, and were recorded as living with them in the 1871 census, and with Sarah’s widowed mother in the 1881 record.
William had died by the time the 1891 census return was taken, and Sarah took up work as a mill hand. The document found her living in the village of Netherbury, a few miles to the south east of Stoke Abbott, with her three younger children, William, Alice and Mary Ann. Joseph was noticeable by his absence, but later documents confirm that he had enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment by this point, and was likely serving overseas.
Joseph had returned to England by the turn of the century, setting up home back in Netherbury. On 24th September 1910, he married Sarah Jane Dunsbury in Beaminster parish church. The daughter of a blacksmith, she was 13 years Joseph’s senior – 52 years old to his 39. The couple lived in Netherbury, where he was working as a mason’s labourer.
When war broke out, Joseph stepped up to play his part once more. He re-enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment on 1st September 1914, and was attached to the 6th Battalion. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall and weighed 182lbs (82.6kg).
Private Symes remained on home soil during his time in the army. He switched to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion in March 1915, which was based in and around Weymouth. In the autumn of 1915, he was admitted to the Sidney Hall Military Hospital in the town, suffering from bronchial pneumonia. The lung condition was to prove his undoing, and he passed away on 22nd November 1915, while still admitted. He was 44 years of age.
Joseph Symes was taken back to Netherbury for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in the village.
Francis James Leach was born on 27th June 1878 in the Somerset village of Martock. He was the middle of four children to John and Louisa Leach. John was a solicitor who was 17 years older than Louisa, who was his second wife, and by whom he had had two children. The 1881 census found the family living in a house called The Lawn on Church Street, supported by five servants: a nurse, an under-nurse, a cook, a housemaid and a footman.
The next census return, taken in 1891, recorded the family having moved to Seaton in Devon. Louisa was living at 7 West Cliff Terrace with five of the children and a domestic servant. John, however, is not noted on the document, although Louisa is still recorded as married, which would suggest that he had not passed away.
A later newspaper report helps build a picture of Francis’ life growing up:
…Leach was educated at Allhallows School, Honiton, was a thorough sportsman in every sense of the word, a good shot, a keen rider to hounds, a polo player, and cricketer.
[Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 7th May 1915]
When he finished his schooling, Francis felt drawn to an army career, and the newspaper confirmed his progress:
He served through the Boer War with the R Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, and was present at the relief of Kimberley and at the actions at Paardeberg, Poplar Grove, Zand River, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Diamond Hill and Wittebergen, and was awarded the Queen’s medal with six clasps and the King’s Medal with two. He was given his commission in the Shropshire Light Infantry in 1901, attained the rank of Captain last August and was appointed Adjutant of his Battalion February 2nd, 1914.
[Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 7th May 1915]
The 1911 census found Francis back with his mother. She was now living in the village of Hawkchurch, near Axminster, living in a 9-roomed house called The Vineyard. Louisa also had her daughter and two servants – a cook and a housemaid – supporting her. The census return also confirmed that Louisa was a widow, John having died some rears previously. Francis’ visit may have been a fleeting one, as his fiancée, Doris Maunsell-Smyth, was also visiting in preparation for a wedding.
Francis and Doris exchanged vows on 29th July 1911, the wedding taking place in Christ Church, Paddington, Middlesex. Their marriage certificate confirmed that the groom was an army officer, while the bride’s father, George Maunsell-Smyth, was noted simply as a gentleman.
When war broke out in the summer of 1914, Captain Leach and his unit was called up to play their part. Full details of his service have been lost to time, but he was sent to the the Western Front by December that year. Over the coming months, the battalion was involved in the Battle of Eloi and the Second Battle of Ypres.
The funeral of Captain Francis Leach of the 2nd Battalion Shropshire Light Infantry, as taken place in the village churchyard amid every token of respect and sympathy. The officer died at Boulogne of wounds received in action in Flanders.
[Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 7th May 1915]
Captain Leach died of his injuries on 26th April 1915. He was 36 years of age.
Interestingly, despite a decree that the conflict’s fallen would be buried overseas if that was where they died, it seems that Captain Leach’s family were able to circumvent that ruling. Whether that was because he died in a hospital ship in Boulogne’s harbour is unclear, but had he died in the town itself, he should have been laid to rest in France.
Either way, the body of Francis James Leach was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church, Hawkchurch, not far from where his mother still lived.
Percy Reginald Coplestone was born in Torquay, Devon, on 17th August 1890. The oldest of four children, his parents were bakers William and Louisa Coplestone. The family moved to Kinkerswell in 1895, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had moved to Paignton.
The Copplestones had set up business in Church Street and Louisa’s widowed mother, Louisa Smallbone, had moved in with them. Percy, now 20 years of age, was helping in the business, while his younger sister, Gladys, was employed as a draper’s assistant.
When war came to Europe, Percy was called upon to play his part. Details of his service are tantalisingly scarce, but they suggest that he had enlisted no earlier than April 1915. He joined the Royal Devon Yeomanry, and was assigned to the 3rd/1st Battalion, although his time in the military was to be brief.
The funeral took place Friday of Pte. Percy Coplestone, eldest sone of Mr and Mrs Coplestone, Church-street, Paignton, who joined 1st Devon Yeomanry, sustained an injury while undergoing gymnastic training, was operated upon on Monday, and died in the evening.
[Western Times: Tuesday 23rd November 1915]
Percy Reginald Copplestone died on 15th November 1915: he was 25 years of age. He was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, a short walk from where his family still lived.
While researching Percy’s life, I came across a couple of articles relating to a legal action taken against his father, William, by Edward Elkington, for damaged caused in a car accident. Edward was suing for £15 damaged, while William counter-sued for £65.
The case was initially heard in November 1915 – sadly, a week after Percy’s passing – before being adjourned until the following January. In amongst a number of witness statements, a local newspaper reported William’s evidence:
William Joseph Coplestone… baker and confectioner, said he left the Gerston [Hotel] between 11.5 and 11.10 in his single motor, with Mr Tolcher and Mr Hicks. It was a rather heavy car for his size, very reliable and very slow. They went on second speed, about six or seven miles an hour, and at the corner of Hyde-road witness [William] sounded the hooter, nothing then being visible. Taking a wide turn following the Torquay lines leading to Torquay, witness got on the left side, the proper side. He saw the lights of a car approaching, also a tram-car, the car being 140 yards away and 50 yards ahead of the tram. The car was approaching on the wrong side, and there was practically an end-on collision. Witness expected every moment the other car would have gone over to its proper side. Witness had driven about 100 feet when the collision took place and his car was stationery at the time. Witness and his friends were thrown out. The car cost him about £80 and the estimate of repairs was £63 5s. Mr Elkington said, “It is a bad job.” Witness replies, “It is your fault absolutely; you are on the wrong side of the road.” Plaintiff said, “You were crossing the road fast,” and witness replied that he was bound to cross the road. Elkington remarked, £I did my best to avoid the accident. Immediately I saw you I applied my brakes, but the roads were greasy, and the wheels would not grip.” PC Clarke was not there when the collision took place. Later he suggested to the constable that measurements should be taken, and went back to look after Mr Hicks. Before he got back they had moved his car. Coplestone said he had often driven two people in the car. When his son left for the Dardanelles, witness drove his wife and son to Southampton in comfort.
[Western Times: Tuesday 25th January 1916]
The case was adjourned once again, to 11th February. Frustratingly, there seems not to have been any follow-up newspaper report, so there is no confirmation of the outcome of William’s case.
James Hughes was born on 12th November 1884 in the town of Kapuni, New Zealand. One of eleven children, his parents were Daniel and Margaret – or Peggy – Hughes. There is little specific information about James’ early life, but the service records he completed when he enlisted for the army confirms that he was working as a farmer by the summer of 1914.
James enlisted on 18th December 1914. He had had some voluntary experience with the army before the war, and was assigned to the New Zealand Wellington Mounted Rifles as a Trooper. His medical exam confirmed he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall and weighed 174lbs (78.9kgs). He was noted as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a fair complexion.
Trooper Hughes and his unit set sail sailed for the Mediterranean in April 1915, finally arriving in the Dardanelles by the summer. There is little specific confirmation of his movements, but he was reported wounded at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula on 27th August. Medically evacuated to Mudros (Moudros) on Greek island of Lemnos. He had received a gun shot wound that fractured his skull, and was shipped back to England for ongoing treatment.
James was admitted to the American Women’s War Hospital in Paighton, Devon. This was based at Oldham House, which had been conscripted for use from Paris Singer, part of the sewing machine manufacturing family.
Trooper Hughes’ wounds would ultimately prove too severe. He died from his injuries on 17th October 1915: he was a month short of his 31st birthday.
Yesterday, at Paignton, the funeral took place of Trooper James Hughes, of the Wellington (New Zealand) Mounted Rifles, who died on Sunday at Oldway Hospital… He was wounded in Gallipoli, the wound being perilously near the brain, and recover was hopeless from the first. However, he lingered for six weeks. Deceased being a Roman Catholic, Father Kirk officiated at the Roman Catholic Church and at the cemetery. Several members of the 7th Devon Territorials, under Captain Hunter, were present, as well as a firing party of the Battalion, and a party of wounded from Oldway and The Larches Hospitals also attended. At the graveside the firing party fired three volleys, and the bugles sounded the Last Post.
[Western Times: Wednesday 20th October 1915]
With his family thousands of miles away, James Hughes was instead laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, not far from where he had spent his last days.
James’ younger brother Charles also fought in the Great War. Serving in the same regiment as his brother, he was injured in the Middle East, and died of his wounds on 19th April 1917: he was 25 years of age. Trooper Charles Hughes was buried in Gaza Cemetery.
Oldway Mansion, Paignton. It was taken over for war service from Paris Singer, of the sewing machine family, and became the American Women’s War Relief Hospital during the First World War.
The funeral took place on Monday at Locksbrook Cemetery, with military honours, of Gunner Wm. Dallimore, B Battery, RFA, 88th Brigade, who died on Friday at the Kingswood School VA Hospital. Deceased, who was a single man, 32 years of age, living at 2 Spa Gardens, Larkhall, joined the Army only eight or ten months ago, and was brought to hospital less than a month ago, suffering from an incurable complaint…
The family mourners were Mr Frank Dallimore (brother), Private George Dallimore, 4th Somersets (brother), Mrs Frederick Dallimore (sister-in-law)…
[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette – Saturday 21 August 1915]
There is little concrete information about the early life of William Dallimore. The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects name his siblings as his beneficiaries, and so it seems that his parents had passed away before war broke out. There are no census records matching his name with the brothers confirmed in the newspaper article, and so it is impossible to get definite information about his birth or parentage.
Only the first page of Gunner Dallimore’s service records remain, but this still provides some details about him. He enlisted on 14th August 1914, a matter of weeks into the conflict, giving up his job as a painter to do so.
While his brigade would go on to serve at the Somme and Ypres, there is no evidence that William saw any action overseas. In fact, the hospital to which he was admitted was in Bath itself, so it may be that he was based near the city.
William Dallimore passed away on 13th August 1915. He was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery.
Death and Service 