Little concrete documentation remains about the life of William Henry Jackson. He was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, on 6th February 1872, although it is not possible to identify who his parents were.
He married a woman called Edith in 1903, and the couple settled in her home town of Beeston, Nottinghamshire. By the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded working as an electrician’s labourer at the local telephone works, while Edith, who was five years his senior, earned extra money as a blouse finisher.
Information about William’s wartime efforts are also limited. He enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and was assigned to the Chatham Division. He was given the rank of Private and based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Kent town.
The only other information available for Private Jackson is that he died on 16th September 1916, having contracted a combination of pneumonia and tuberculosis. He was 44 years of age.
William Henry Jackson was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard in which he had served. His headstone gives the initial H, rather than W, although no documents suggest he went by any name other than William.
Albert Patrick Michael Chevalier was born in India on 16th June 1893. There is little definitive information about his early life, although his mother was called Georgina, and the family may have moved back to England when Albert was just a child.
When he left school, Albert found work as an errand boy in an office. But he wanted bigger and better things and, on 4th May 1909, aged just fifteen years old, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Because of his age, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and for the first eighteen months, he was assigned to training bases – HMS Ganges and HMS Impregnable.
After only a few months, Albert was promoted to Boy 1st Class and, after a month at HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was given his first sea-going appointment on board the cruiser HMS Minerva.
Albert spent eighteen months on Minerva, during which time he came of age. He seems to have had an understanding of basic technology, as he was given the rank of Ordinary Signalman. After some more time in Chatham, Albert went to sea again, this time on board another cruiser, HMS Cressy. At the start of 1913 he was promoted again, and given the rank of full Signalman.
Signalman Chevalier went on to serve on a number of different vessels, primarily the battleship HMS Swiftsure, where he served for nearly three years, plying the waters between Britain and India. By the spring of 1916 he was back in Chatham, however, and it was here that things took a turn for the worse.
Albert was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in the town, suffering from pleurisy. Sadly, the condition was to get the better of him and he passed away the hospital on 28th September 1916, at the age of just 23 years of age.
Albert Patrick Michael Chevalier’s body was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard from which he had made so many of his voyages.
Albert’s mother Georgina had not settled in England for long. The army pension record gives her as Albert’s beneficiary, but notes her address as Victoria Street, Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.
Owen Jonah Owen was born in 1880, the oldest of eleven children to Jonah and Elizabeth Owen. Jonah was a quarryman at one of the slate mines around Llanberis, Gwynedd, and this is where the family were raised.
Owen followed his father into the slate quarries and, on 26th September 1903, he married Ann Jones, the daughter of another quarry worker. The couple went on to have four children: Richard, Jonah, Delia and Gwyneth.
He was well known and respected in the village, had a passion for singing and “had conducted singing festivals held by the Congregationalists of the district.” [Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald: Friday 24th November 1916]
War was closing in on Europe, and Owen was keen to play his part. Sadly his service records have been lost over time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the army by May 1916. Private Owen joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and was assigned to the 14th Battalion.
Part of the 38th Division, the battalion was to be caught up in some of the fiercest and most desperate fighting of the First World War. In July 1916, Owen would have been entrenched at The Somme and, after the first few horrific days, his battalion was one of those involved in the fighting at Mametz Wood.
Private Owen was badly wounded during the battle and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Admitted to a military hospital in Birmingham, he was to remain there for a number of months until, on 12th November 1916, his body finally succumbed to his injuries. He was 36 years of age.
Owen Jonah Owen was brought back to his home village for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peris Church in Llanberis.
Henry Sidney Bird was born on 2nd December 1884 in Penarth, Glamorgan. He was the second of two children to painter and glazier Frederick Bird and his wife Emma. Henry’s mother passed away when he was only eleven years old and, by the time of the 1901 census, he was boarding with a family in the town, and working as a domestic gardener.
The next census – in 1911 – found the family back together again. Henry’s brother Frederick Jr was the head of the household, and she and his family – wife, Eliza, and three children – shared their home with Henry and his father. Harry, by this time, was working as a ship’s fireman.
Little information remains about Henry’s military service. He joined up when war broke out, and records show that he had enlisted in the South Staffordshire Regiment by the start of 1916. Assigned to the 8th (Service) Battalion, it is likely that he soon found himself on the Front Line.
Henry’s bravery seems to have been without fault. He went on to reach the rank of Company Serjeant Major in his battalion and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. The citation confirmed this was for “conspicuous gallantry. When the enemy rushed an isolated trench he saved the situation by collecting bombs and superintending the erection of stops and barbed wire. During the whole operations he set a splendid example to his company.“
Company Serjeant Major Bird’s battalion was caught up in the fighting at Ypres early in 1916 and, by the summer, was involved in the Battle of Albert. It was here that Henry was wounded, and he was quickly evacuated to Britain for medical treatment. Admitted to the General Hospital in Northampton, his wounds were to prove too severe, and he passed away from them on 18th July 1916. He was just 31 years of age.
Henry Sidney Bird’s body was brought back to Wales for burial: he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in his home town of Penarth.
Bertie John Thomas was born in Penarth, Glamorgan, in 1890, one of twelve children to Henry and Elizabeth Thomas. Henry was a ship’s rigger, but much of Bertie’s life remains a mystery.
The 1901 census recorded the family living together in a small terraced house in Cliff Street, but ten years later, with the family having grown, many had dispersed. Bertie’s older sisters had moved on – Hannah as a live-in barmaid in nearby Barry; Gladys working as a dressmaker in the Rhondda, living with her aunt and uncle. Of Bertie himself, however, there is no record.
When war came to Europe, Bertie would have played his part. He had enlisted in the Welsh Guards by the spring of 1916, and was a Guardsman in the 1st Battalion. The Guards Division were involved in many of the key conflicts of the war, including at Loos in 1915 and at the Somme the following year.
Guardsman Thomas was caught up in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in September 1916, and was badly wounded. He was medically evacuated to home soil for treatment, and was admitted to a hospital in Cardiff. His wounds were to prove too severe, and he died on 26th September 1916, aged just 26 years of age.
Bertie John Thomas was brought back to Penarth for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in the town.
Colin Lewis Clarke was born in the spring of 1879 in Cardiff, South Wales. He was one of seven children to Bernard and Elizabeth Clarke. Bernard was a carpenter, but after Elizabeth died in 1886, he took over the running of the Windsor Hotel in Penarth.
When he left school, Colin found work as a clerk. Bernard also died in 1908, and the 1911 census records Colin and his brother Thomas living with his sister, Beatrice. They were sharing the house with Beatrice’s second husband, Charles, and her six children from her first marriage in the Cheshire village of Poulton.
Colin’s trail goes tantalisingly cold at this point. When war broke out, he enlisted to play his part, joining the 16th (Transport Workers) Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment by the summer of 1916. This troop was a territorial force, and Private – and then Lance Corporal – Clarke was based in the Yorkshire Dales.
At some point during the autumn Colin fell ill, and was admitted to the Military Hospital in Middlesbrough. His condition is unclear, but he was to succumb to it, passing away on 5th November 1916, the age of 37 years old.
Colin Lewis Clarke’s body was brought back to Wales for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in Penarth, Glamorganshire.
Philemon Witheridge Richards was born on 9th July 1891 in Porthleven, Cornwall. He was one of at least seven children to George and Ann Richards. George was a sailor, as were he two oldest sons and, by the late 1890s, the family had made the move to Penarth in Glamorganshire.
When he left school, Philemon followed his father and older brothers into sailing. By the time he turned eighteen, George had passed away and Philemon wanted bigger and better things. On 16th July 1909, he enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery. His service records show that he stood 5ft 9.5ins (1.76m) tall, had good vision and was of good fitness.
Gunner Richards was posted to No. 6 Company and remained part of the territorial force. On 1st July 1911, after twenty months’ service, he was, at his own request, discharged from the army.
The trail goes cold for a while, and Philemon seems to have returned to a life at sea. This changed, however, when war broke out and, in October 1915, he was drafted into the Royal Naval Reserve as a Deck Hand.
Philemon’s time in service seems to have been shore-based however. After an initial posting to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, he moved to HMS Victory, which was the name given to the dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire. He moved on again in the autumn of 1916, by which point he was based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Navy’s shore-base in Chatham, Kent.
It was here that Deck Hand Richards fell ill. It is unclear what the condition was, but he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Chatham on 20th October 1916. His illness worsened, and he passed away there on 2nd November. He was just 25 years of age.
Philemon Witheridge Richards was brought back to Glamorganshire for burial. He lies at rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in Penarth.
Philemon’s gravestone is also dedicated to his brother, Thomas Witheridge Richards. Eighteen years Philemon’s senior, Thomas had been a sailor, and, while no records remain, it seems likely that he may also have been called into service during the First World War. He died at home on 4th July 1918, at the age of 45 years old. He was laid to rest in the same plot as his younger brother.
Walter Wigginton was born in the Leicestershire village of Illston-on-the-Hill in the summer of 1880. The second of seven children, his father John was a grazier, managing cows over a six-acre pasture. His mother, Rebecca, who was also born in Leicestershire, raised the family and managed the home.
Walter turned his hand to carpentry, and, by the time of the 1901 census, he was boarding with a widow in Frimley, Surrey, employed for his woodworking skills. By 1905, his journeyman life had taken him to the Somerset village of Trull. It was here that he met and married Annie Oaten, and here that the couple settled down to raise their family. They had two children, Dorothy, born in 1906, and Winifred, who was born two years later.
War was closing in on Europe and, by the summer of 1916, Walter had joined up to play his part. Initially assigned to the 65th Training Reserve Battalion, he had not long transferred across to the Royal Engineers as a Sapper when he fell ill.
Sapper Wigginton was admitted to the Kinmel Park Military Hospital near Abergele on the North Wales coast, suffering from bronchial pneumonia. Sadly, this lung condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away at the hospital on 29th December 1916, at the age of 36 years old.
Walter Wigginton’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of All Saints’ Church in Trull, where his widow and children still lived.
John Charles Connett was born at the end of 1870 in Holway, on the outskirts of Taunton, Somerset. He was one of seven children to Charles and Thursa Connett. Charles was a farm labourer and, in John’s early years, Thursa worked from home as a glover to bring in a little extra money for the growing family.
In 1897, John married a woman called Annie; the couple settled down in a small cottage near the centre of Wellington, Somerset. John found work as a coachman, and the couple went on to have one child, a daughter called Ethel, in 1900.
When war came to Europe, John was keen to play his part, even though he had turned 43 by the time hostilities were declared. He enlisted, joining the Royal Army Service Corps by November 1915, and was assigned to the 663rd Company.
Driver Connett’s time in the army was to be tragically short, however. He is recorded as passing away at home on 2nd May 1916, having contracted bronchitis and pneumonia while on active service. He was 45 years old.
John Charles Connett was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, within walking distance of where his widow and daughter still lived.
Albert Dowsett was born in the Essex village of Sible Hedingham in the spring of 1868. He was the fourth of six children – all of them boys – to Stephen and Susan Dowsett. Stephen was an agricultural labourer, while his wife worked as a straw plaiter to bring in a little extra money.
Albert seems to have been a bit of a tearaway. In July 1877, a local newspaper reported that:
Ezekiel Rulton and Albert Dowsett, boys each nine years of age, were indicted for breaking into the dwelling house of Matilda Jaggard, at Sible Hedingham, and stealing two books, value 1s, on the 20th June. Rulton, having once before committed burglary was sentenced to 10 days’ hard labour and five years in a Reformatory School. Dowsett was acquitted.
Essex Standard: Friday 6th July 1877
Stephen died in the autumn of 1884, while Susan died in March 1892. By this point Albert was 23 years of age, and had found solid work in the army. Full details of this early service no longer remain available, but he fought in South Africa in the 1890s.
By 1897 he returned to England and moved to Stone, near Greenhithe, in Kent. It was here that he met and married Anna Davis, the daughter of a local brewery man. The couple set up home in the village, and went on to have three children, William, Dorothy and Margaret.
The 1911 census recorded the family living in a small terraced house close to the railway station in Greenhithe. Albert was working as a labourer in the wash mill of the local cement works, and the family had a boarder, widower William Davies, who was a weighman at the same works.
Away from work, Albert had also found another calling, and was employed as a verger at St Mary’s Church, just a few minutes’ walk from home.
War was now encroaching on Europe, and, with his previous army service, Albert was perfect to resume his military role. Given the age limitations for new recruits early on in the conflict, it is likely that he volunteered for this role. He willingly took up a post with the 3rd Supply Company of the 2nd/4th Battalion of The Buffs (East Kent Regiment).
Private Dowsett was given a guard’s role, and was part of the team given the duty of patrolling two explosives factories near Faversham. He was on duty on the afternoon of Sunday 2nd April 1916 when a fire near one of the factory buildings set off a series of massive explosions. More than a hundred people were killed; sadly this included Private Dowsett. He was 48 years of age.
Albert Dowsett was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Faversham Explosion, in a mass grave the town’s Borough Cemetery.
Death and Service 