Tag Archives: 1916

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Derbyshire, Great War, history, Kent, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Sherwood Foresters, story, war

Private John Stenson

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Private John Stenson

John Joseph Stenson was born in the Derbyshire village of Crich on 27th October 1869. He was the younger of two children to Jane and Joseph Stenson. Jane had been married and widowed before, and John had a number of half-siblings in his extended family.

Tracing John’s early life is a bit of a challenge, and he is missing from a number of census records. By 1901, he was working as a blacksmith in Nottingham, and living at 94 Park Street, to the west of the town centre. He was married to Rose Moon, and they had exchanged vows in 1896.

By 1911, the couple had moved to the Bulwell area of Nottingham, and were living at 23 Padley Street. John was still working as a blacksmith, Rose as a dressmaker, and their adopted son, 18-year-old John Daley, was also living with them, and was employed as a hosiery washer.

When war broke out, and despite his age, John stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 5th September 1914, joining the Sherwood Foresters as a Private. His service records show that he was just under 5ft 8ins (1,72m) tall, with brown hair and grey eyes.

Private Stenson did not stay with the army for long and after just ten days he was transferred to the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His time was split between two bases, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and the equivalent in Portsmouth, Hampshire. He did see time overseas, with a later report confirming that he had fought at Gallipoli.

ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF A SLEEP WALKER

At an inquest at Chatham on Tuesday on Pte. John Joseph Stenson… belonging to Bulwell, Nottingham, whose body was found in an area beneath the barrack rooms, it was stated that he walked in his sleep. A verdict of “Accidental Death” was returned.

[Kentish Gazette: Saturday 9th September 1916]

Other reports suggested that Private Stenson had started sleep walking in recent weeks. The coroner reported that he was killed “either by falling our of his bedroom window or over the passage-way railings…” [Hull Daily Mail: Wednesday 6th September 1916]

John Joseph Stenson was 46 years of age when he died on 2nd September 1916. His body was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.

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

Stoker Petty Officer William Bruce

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Stoker Petty Officer William Bruce

William Bruce was born in Chatham, Kent, on 3rd July 1873. The oldest of fourteen children, his parents were David and Sarah Bruce. David worked as a blacksmith in the local dockyard, and this is a job that William also followed when he finished his schooling.

For the early part of William’s life, the Bruce family lived on Fort Pitt Street, initially at No. 29, then, as the family grew, No. 42. Working as a blacksmith brought in a salary, but the navy offered William more of a career and, on 20th June 1893, he signed up.

Stoker 2nd Class Bruce’s service papers show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He would spend a total of 13 years with the Royal Navy and, unsurprisingly, given where he was living, he would be based out of HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham.

William spent six months at HMS Wildfire – the dockyard in Sheerness, Kent – during the summer of 1893, before returning to Pembroke. She would remain his home for the next three years, during which time he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class. His time back at Pembroke was not without incident, however, and he spent three days in the cells for an unconfirmed misdemeanour in August 1894.

On 14th January 1896, Stoker Bruce was given his first sea-going posting, on board the cruiser HMS Endymion. Over the remaining nine years of his initial contract, he would go on to spend time on three further ships. William’s commitment to the role was now becoming evident: he was promoted to Leading Stoker 2nd Class in October 1900, and Leading Stoker 1st Class less than four years later.

Away from the sea, love was blossoming for William. On 12th February 1900, he married Nellie Benster, a dressmaker and lady’s companion from Chatham. The couple took rooms at 145 Thorold Road, a home for the new bride while her husband was away at sea.

When Leading Stoker Bruce’s 12-year contract came to an end, he immediately renewed it. In August 1905, he was assigned to the battleship HMS Resolution, and he remained on board for the next nine months. William’s next assignment was another battleship, HMS Triumph, and he would be attached to her for nearly six years.

On 1st July 1906, William was promoted to Stoker Petty Officer. He retained this rank until December 1910, when he reverted to Leading Stoker. His papers hint at the cause for this demotion: his annual review had dropped from very good to merely good after he took the new role.

Over the next two years, Leading Stoker Bruce went on to serve on three further ships: the depot ship HMS Aquarius, the cruiser HMS Talbot and the sloop HMS Cadmus. By December 1912, William seems to have proved his mettle once more, and was promoted to Stoker Petty Officer again.

William remained on Cadmus for more than three years, returning to Chatham in the spring of 1916. Over the next few months, his health began to suffer and he was admitted to the town’s Royal Naval Hospital with pneumonia. The condition would get the better of him, and he passed away on 20th October 1916, at the age of 43 years old.

The body of William Bruce was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, injury, Middlesex, photography, Private, story, war

Private Augustus Hines

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Private Augustus Hines

The funeral of Pte. Augustus Hines, of the Australian Imperial Forces, took place on Monday in Combe Martin Parish Churchyard. Wounded in Northern France, he was sent to a hospital in Middlesex, and when convalescent was granted leave to pay a visit to Mr and Mrs John Dovell, of Glen Cottage, whose two sons, Corpl. Herbert Dovell and Pte. Lewis Dovell, were his comrades in Western Australia, and also in the field of battle. Unfortunately he developed pneumonia, and passed away on August 16th… The coffin was followed by the members of the Parish Council, convalescent soldiers, and a large number of friends, the late soldier’s genial and frank disposition having made him popular during his brief stay in the parish.

[North Devon Journal: Thursday 24th August 1916]

Augustus Hines was born in 1874 in the town of Concord, New South Wales. Details of his early life have been lost to time, but he was the son of Allen and Elizabeth Hines, and had at least one sibling, a sister called Lily.

By the time war was declared, Augustus had moved to the outskirts of Perth, and was employed as a timber worker. He enlisted in the army on 27th September 1915, his service records showing that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 10st 4lbs (65.3kg). He had fair hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Private Hines was assigned to the 28th Battalion of the Australian Infantry and, by the start of 1916, he was on his way to Europe. After a two-month stop in Egypt, Augustus’ unit travelled on to France. They disembarked in Marseilles on 21st March, and headed from there to the Front Line.

Private Hines’ unit was sent to the village of Marle, but he would not remain there for long. Within a matter of weeks he received a gun shot wound to his foot. Initially treated by the 7th Field Ambulance, he was transferred to a hospital in Etaples, then taken to Britain on board the Hospital Ship Brighton.

Augustus was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital in Harefield, Middlesex, where he remained for the next six weeks. From there, he was discharged to convalesce, and made his way to his friends’ family in Devon.

It was while he was here that Private Augustus Hines fell ill. He passed away on 16th August 1916, at the age of 42 years old. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter’s Churchyard, Combe Martin.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, story, war, Wiltshire

Sapper Leslie Long

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Sapper Leslie Long

Leslie Stanfield Long was born in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, on 15th November 1893. He was an only child, the son of Albert and Alice Long. Albert ran a building company and, at the time of the 1901 census, the young family were living at 46 Newtown, a terraced house to the west of the town centre.

Alice died in 1910, at the age of 35, and was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, Bradford-on-Avon. Albert remarried, to a woman called Emeline, and the next census found the family living at 8 St Margaret’s Villas, a large detached property to the south of the town. Also recorded on the census were Albert’s niece, Beatrice, and domestic servant Gladys Stone. Leslie had completed his schooling by this point, and was working as an apprentice motor care repairer.

When war broke out, Leslie was quick to step up and play his part. He enlisted on 14th September 1914, and was assigned to the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. His service records show that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall, with good vision and good physical development. He was attached to the 1st/1st Wessex Field Company, and found himself in France before the year was out.

Sapper Long would spend the next six months in France, but would be medically discharged from the army on 23rd June 1915. There is no evidence that he was injured, so the likelihood is that he fell ill with a contagious illness such as tuberculosis. He returned home, and would remain there until the following spring.

Leslie Stanfield Long’s health was obviously impacted: he passed away at home on 25th April 1916, at the age of just 22 years old. He was laid to rest alongside his mother in the family plot in Christ Church graveyard.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, Ireland, Kent, Middlesex, photography, Royal Horse Artillery, Sergeant Major, Staffordshire, story, unknown, war

Regimental Serjeant Major Thomas Wilson

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Regimental Serjeant Major Thomas Wilson

The life of Thomas Henry Wilson is challenge to piece together, and it is only through fragmented documents that the trail can be uncovered.

Thomas’ headstone confirms he was a Regimental Sergeant Major in the Royal Horse Artillery, and that he died on 4th July 1916, at the age of 52.

The Commonwealth War Graces Commission’s records confirm that he was married to Mary Ann Wilson (née Ralph), who lived in West Stour, Dorset. The couple’s wedding took place in Holy Trinity Church, Woolwich, Kent, on 14th February 1888. The marriage certificate gives their fathers’ names – farriers Charles Wilson and James Ralph. The document also confirms Thomas’ role as a a Sergeant in the RHA, and gives his age as 27, and Mary’s as 21.

The Wilsons’ appearance in the the census records is a little sporadic. They are not recorded on the 1891 census, but ten years later, they were living in Bilston, Staffordshire. They were listed as being caretakers of the town’s Conservative Club on Church Street. Their ages are given as 41 and 31, and Mary’s place of birth is given as Kington Magna, Dorset.

By 1911, Thomas and Mary had moved to London, and were boarding at the house of Joseph and Rosetta Johnson, at 5 Knivet Road in Fulham, Middlesex. Thomas was listed as being an army pensioner, while Mary was employed as a domestic cook.

At this point, Thomas’ trail goes cold. It is likely that he was called upon when war broke out, but there are no records to confirm where or how he served. He passed away in July 1916, and was laid to rest in All Saints’ Churchyard, Kington Magna, which would suggest that he and Mary had moved there to be close to her family.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, injury, Kent, London Regiment, photography, Private, story, war

Private William Cox

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Private William Cox

William John Cox was born in the autumn of 1893, and was the second of seven children. His parents – William and Kate Cox – were from Kington Magna, Dorset, and this is where they would raise their family.

William Sr was a farm labourer, and this is work into which his son would follow. By the time of the 1911 census, the family were living in a cottage on Church Street, with William Jr and his younger brother, Frederick, both agricultural workers.

When war came to Europe, William would step up to play his part. Full service details have been lost, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the army by the summer of 1916. As a Private, he was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers).

Private Cox certainly saw action overseas, and would find himself entrenched at the Somme. At some point, he was wounded, and his injuries were bad enough for him to be sent back to Britain for treatment. He was admitted to hospital in Chatham, Kent, but his wounds would prove to be too severe. William passed away on 20th December 1916: he was 23 years of age.

The body of William John Cox was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil surrounds of All Saints’ Churchyard in Kington Magna.

William’s younger brother, Frederick, also fought in the First World War. Read his story here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, photography, Rifle Brigade, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Corporal Alfred Newman

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Lance Corporal Alfred Newman

Alfred James Newman was born in around 1874 in Westbury, Wiltshire. One of six children, his parents were coke burner and agricultural labourer James Newman and his wife, Virtue.

Alfred followed his father into farm work, and would remain living with his parents until they were in their seventies. The 1911 census found the family living in Westbury Leigh, to the south of Westbury itself, James and Virtue as pensioners and Alfred as a general farm labourer. Also living with them was adopted child James Ellery, although it isn’t clear who had adopted him, and whether he had any other familial connection to them to the Newmans.

When war broke out, Alfred stepped up to play his part. Full details of his military service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he joined the Wiltshire Regiment, and was attached to the 4th Battalion. He was then transferred to the 22nd (Wessex and Welsh) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. It is unclear whether he spent time overseas, but, by the spring of 1916, he had been promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.

On Tuesday last week, Mr James Newman… received a telegram from the military authorities stating that his son, Lance-Corporal Alfred James Newman had died the same day in the 2nd Southern General Hospital at Bristol… He, having obtained leave, went to Bristol to pay a visit to some friends and evidently caught a chill. His death took place on Tuesday morning. He was conveyed to his home on Friday, and the funeral took place on Saturday afternoon.

[Wiltshire News: Friday 14th April 1916]

Alfred’s Pension Ledger Index Card suggests that, rather than a chill, he had, in fact, died following the rupture of an aortic aneurysm. He passed away on 4th April 1916, and was 47 years of age.

The body of Alfred James Newman was laid to rest in the peaceful setting of the Provident Baptist Chapelyard in Penknap, to the south west of Westbury.

Cambridgeshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, London, Middlesex, Midshipman, Northamptonshire, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war

Midshipman Gervase de Bless

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Midshipman Gervase de Bless

Gervase Anthony David Herewyt de Bless was born on 20th October 1897 in Westminster, Middlesex. One of two children, he was the surviving son of barrister Alfred de Bless and his wife Maud, born Maud Cary-Elwes. Both were renowned families – Maud’s brother going on to become the Bishop of Northampton. The family do not appear in the 1901 census, but by 1911 Gervase’s parents were living at 156 St James’ Court, with French lady’s maid Henriette Forestier.

Alfred died not long after the census was taken. Gervase, meanwhile, was installed as a boarder at Downside College, Somerset. One of 168 students, he was taught by twelve schoolmasters and a handful of Roman Catholic priests from the local abbey.

An exceptionally clever boy of very active minds and many interests, during his time in the School he distinguished himself in all branches of study, winning the Gregorian Medal in 1912. He passed the Higher Certificate three times, twice gaining distinction in French and twice in Roman History. For three years he played in the Junior Cricket Eleven, which he captained in 1912. From 1908 to 1912 he sang in the choir as a treble, and he took a leading part with much success in “The Gondoliers,” and in “HMS Pinafore.” In 1914 he was Editor of The Raven, and he was on the committee of the Petre Library. In this year also he was awarded the Higher Certificate Latin Prose Prize given by St Gregory’s Society. On leaving Downside he spent two terms at Cambridge under the tuition of Mgr Barnes. Sensitive and somewhat retiring, and with health far from robust, he faced the situation created by the war with splendid courage, and obtained a cadetship in the Royal Navy. A skilful angler, fishing had ever been his favourite recreation, and on this pleasant pastime he wrote some charming verses which were afterwards collected in a little booklet.

[Baliol College War Memorial Book]

Gervase was given the rank of Midshipman in February 1916, and was assigned to the battleship HMS Revenge the following month. Before his posting he had suffered a bout of influenza, and had a relapse within days of boarding. He died from a combination of influenza and diabetes on 23rd March 1916, just two days after joining Revenge. He was just 18 years of age.

…rites of the Church… were administered to him by Dom Jerome Tunnicliffe, of St Mary’s, Liverpool, a monk of Downside.

[Baliol College War Memorial Book]

The body of Gervase Anthony David Herewyt de Bless was taken to Northamptonshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the ground of St Andrew’s Church, Great Billing, the last resting place of the Cary-Elwes family and de Bless families.

Midshipman Gervase de Bless
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Pioneer, Private, Royal Engineers, Somerset, story, war

Private Sidney Oates

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Private Sidney Oates

Sidney George Oates was born in the spring of 1895, and was the oldest of three children – all boys – to John and Eliza Oates. John was a general labourer from Parkstone, Dorset, but it was in the village of Odcombe in Somerset that the family were born and raised.

Eliza died in 1899, and John was left to raise three young children on his own. He re-married, to a Lucy Moores, but the a split of the family followed the wedding. Sidney’s younger brothers stayed with their father and his new wife, while Sidney himself was looked after by his maternal grandparents. Job and Elizabeth Green lived in Buckhorn Weston, a village to the west of Gillingham, Dorset.

When he finished his schooling, Sidney was apprenticed to a carpenter. War was on the horizon, however, and he soon stepped up to play his part. As with many others, his service papers have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment no earlier than August 1915.

Private Oates was assigned to the 7th (Reserve) Battalion and sent to a training camp near Wool, Dorset. While there, however, he caught pneumonia, and was admitted to a military hospital in the village. The condition was to prove fatal: he passed away on 20th February 1916, aged just 21 years old.

The body of Sidney George Oates was taken back to Buckhorn Weston for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s cemetery.

Sidney’s younger brother Edward also served in the First World War. A Pioneer in the Royal Engineers, he was killed in action in northern France on 12th April 1917. He was buried in Mory Abbey Military Cemetery to the north of Bapaume.

Able Seaman, accident, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war, Yorkshire

Able Seaman Albert Dobson

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Able Seaman Albert Dobson

Albert Dobson was born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, on 7th April 1896. One of seven children, his parents were John and Annie Dobson. John was a bricklayer, and, when he completed his schooling, Albert was apprenticed to him. The 1911 census found the family living in a small terraced house at 55 St John’s Walk, on the outskirts of the town.

Bricklaying was not what Albert wanted from a career and, on 19th July 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Below the age to formally enlist, he was taken on with the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Vivid – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon, for his training.

Over the next nine months, Albert learnt the tools of his trade. Promoted to Boy 1st Class in October 1913, he spent time on board the battleship HMS Irresistible, before moving to HMS Pembroke, Chatham Dockyard in Kent. While he was there, he came of age, and was fully inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. Albert’s service papers show the man he had become: he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

In April 1914, Ordinary Seaman Dobson was assigned to the new cruiser HMS Lowestoft. She would become his home for the next two years, and, while his annual reviews were average (character varying from good to very good and ability from moderate to satisfactory), he did gain a promotion to Able Seaman on 26th April 1915.

A singular fatality to a naval seaman names Albert Dobson, age 30 [sic], a native of Bridlington, was investigated at the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham, on Monday. On October 20th, Dobson was one of a working party engaged on a battleship in the Dockyard, when, owing to the breaking of a plank, he and three men fell a distance of about eight feet. The knee of one of the men caught him in the stomach, with the result that he sustained a rupture of the spleen. In hospital he developed pneumonia, and died. A verdict of “Accidental Death” was returned.

[Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph: Saturday 2nd December 1916]

Able Seaman Dobson’s service papers confirm that the incident occurred as the men were transferring a torpedo from HMS Illustrious. He was just 20 years of age when he died on 23rd November 1916.

The body of Albert Dobson was taken to Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, close to the dockyard he had come to know as home. He was laid to rest in the graveyard’s naval section.