Tag Archives: 1917

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, photography, Rifleman, story, war, Wiltshire

Rifleman Frederick Keys

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Rifleman Frederick Keys

Frederick Charles Keys was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 15th January 1882. The third of eight children, his parents were Benjamin and Annie Keys.

There is little information about Frederick’s early life. When he finished his schooling, it is likely that he found work as an agricultural labourer, and this is the job he was doing when war broke out.

As so many of his countrymen were to be, Frederick was called upon to serve his empire. He signed up in Christchurch on the country’s South Island, enlisting on 27th July 1916. He have his job as a farm hand, and his address as Silver Grid, a boarding house and billiard saloon on the city’s Manchester Street.

Frederick’s medical report confirms that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighed 136lbs (61.7kg). He had fair hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. He was noted as being a very suitable man for the army.

Assigned to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, Rifleman Keys embarked for Europe from Wellington on 15th November 1916. Two-and-a-half months later, his ship – the Tahiti – arrived in Devonport, Devon, and the New Zealand troops marched on to their final destination, the ANZAC camps just outside Codford, Wiltshire.

Frederick would spend the next few months training in the camp, although his time there was not without incident. On 31st March 1917, he was docked two days’ pay for ‘being in a crowd some members of which were gambling’. It is not clear whether Frederick himself was gambling, but given his last residence in New Zealand, it is unlikely that he wasn’t immune to chancing the odds.

Two weeks later, Rifleman Keys was admitted to the 3rd New Zealand General Hospital near the camp. He was suffering from pleurisy, but any treatment was to prove too late. He passed away from the condition on 15th April 1917: he was 35 years of age.

Frederick Charles Keys was laid to rest in St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford, in a new extension added for the fallen ANZAC troops.

Australia, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, London, New Zealand, New Zealand Auckland Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Francis Holland

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Private Francis Holland

Francis Arthur Holland was born in Maryborough, Victoria, Australia, the fifth of seven children to Matthew and Elizabeth. Details of his early life are lost to time, although a later document confirms his date of birth as 19th July 1887.

Matthew died in 1901, and the New South Wales Police Gazette of 16th February 1910 included a request seeking a missing person:

Francis Arthur Holland, 22 years of age, 6feet high, about 13 stone weight, dark complexion; a sleeper-getter or labourer. Inquiry at the instance of his brother, James Holland, Bradshaw’s College, 250 Flinders-street, Melbourne, Victoria.

The 2nd March edition of the same publication noted that Francis had been found.

By 1916, Francis had moved to New Zealand, and was working as a bushman at the Grosvenor Hotel, New Plymouth. It was while here that he was called upon to serve in the war, and he enlisted on 29th June 1916 in Trentham, North Island. His service records confirm his height, and give his weight as 174lbs (78.9kg). It also noted that he had brown hair, hazel eyes and a fair complexion. He had a scar across the based of his right foot, and another on the left side of his throat.

Private Holland was assigned to the New Zealand Auckland Regiment, and his unit spend the next few months training. On 22nd September 1916, Francis was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal, but reverted to his previous rank just a matter of weeks later. On 11th October, his unit boarded a ship and set sail for Europe.

Francis arrived in Plymouth, Devon, on 29th December, and set off for France just over a month later. His unit would serve on the Western Front, and, within a matter of months, Private Holland was admitted to field ambulance hospitals twice, for an undisclosed illness in May 1917, and a sprained ankle in June.

This second injury led to a transfer to Britain, and from here on in Francis’ health become more and more impacted. Admitted to hospital in London, he developed tonsillitis and, as he was recovering from this, he was moved again, this time to the ANZAC military camp near Codford, Wiltshire.

While in the camp hospital, it was determined that Private Holland was suffering from a heart infection, endocarditis. Sadly, his health had been tested to the limits by this point, and this was the condition to which he would succumb. Francis passed away on 6th September 1917, at the age of 30 years old.

Having been born in Australia, emigrated to New Zealand and fought on the Western Front, Francis Arthur Holland was now thousands of miles from wherever he might call home. He was laid to rest in the extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, not far from the camp in which he had spent his last days.

Private Francis Holland
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Egypt, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Army Service Corps, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Driver William Protheroe

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Driver William Protheroe

William Protheroe was born in Rangiora, New Zealand, on 3rd January 1878. One of eleven children, his parents were Welsh-born Alexander Protheroe and his English wife, Mary.

There is little concrete information about William’s early life, but later documentation gives his trade as ‘traveller’, and confirms his marriage to Elizabeth Marshall in 1906, although she had passed away by the summer of 1915.

When the Empire was called upon to support Britain in the First World War, William stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 14th June 1915, and was initially assigned to the Canterbury Infantry Regiment. His service records confirm that at 36 years of age, he was 5ft 9.5ins (1.77m) tall, and weighed 156lbs (70.8kg). William had brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.

After his initial training, William was sent to Europe. On 18th November 1915, he arrived in Suez, and it was here that he transferred to the New Zealand Army Service Corps as a Driver. By the following spring he was on the move again, and he arrived in France in May 1916.

Driver Protheroe was dispatched to a field hospital, as he had contracted influenza, but was well enough to re-join his unit after a few weeks. December 1916 proved eventful for William. He was admitted to hospital in Wimereux, France, the records for the time confirming that he was suffering from rheumatism. Intriguingly, a corresponding entry advises that ‘Soldier was on duty at time of accident and in no way to blame.’

Medically evacuated to Britain, William was admitted to the No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. He spent the month of January 1917 there, before moving to the ANZAC camp near Codford, Wiltshire.

Driver Protheroe would remain in Codford for the next few months. His health was still causing some concern, however, and he was admitted to the camp hospital on 30th June. William was suffering from nephritis, and this was the condition to which he would ultimately succumb. He passed away on 15th July 1917, at the age of 39 years old.

William Protheroe was laid to rest in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford, Wiltshire, alongside fallen colleagues from his regiment.

Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Otago Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Andrew Wishart

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Private Andrew Wishart

Andrew Anderson Wishart was born in Mokoreta, New Zealand, on 9th July 1896. The fourth of eight children, his parents were George and Agnes Wishart.

There is little information available about Andrew’s early life, but when he completed his schooling, he found work in the local sawmills, not an uncommon trade for the rural southern part of the country. In his spare time, he enlisted in the cadets, and had spent a year with them when he stepped up to join the war effort.

Andrew signed up on 19th November 1915, and was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the New Zealand Otago Infantry Regiment. His service records show the mad he had become: he gave his age as 20 years old (he was, in fact, only 19), he was 5ft 10.5ins (1.79m) tall and weighed 166lbs (75.3kg). He was initially trained near Wellington, and seemed to enjoy his freedom, as he spent a month in hospital in Trentham, suffering from gonorrhoea.

Private Wishart’s battalion set out from Wellington on 1st April 1916, arriving in Suez a month later. After three weeks’ pause in Egypt, his unit continued on to France, disembarking in Etaples on 28th May, and heading for the Western Front. Andrew soon found himself in the thick of the action.

The 1st Battalion was heavily involved at the Somme in the summer of 1916, and Private Wishart was not to come out unscathed. He was wounded on 30th September, and evacuated for treatment, first to Rouens, then to Britain. Wounded in the left thigh, he was admitted to the 1st New Zealand Hospital in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, and would end up spending two months there.

In December 1916, Private Wishart moved to the ANZAC camp in Codford, Wiltshire. He remained on site for the next few months, although this time was not without incident, as he was admitted to the camp hospital for with venereal disease once more.

Andrew returned to camp on 10th April 1917, but his health seems to have been impacted. He became jaundiced, and was once again admitted to the camp hospital. Atrophy of the liver was identified, and the condition would prove too severe for his body to recover from. He died on 10th July 1917, the day after his 21st birthday.

Andrew Anderson Wishart was laid to rest in the extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, Wiltshire, not far from the base he had called his home.

Andrew’s younger brother James had also enlisted in the Otago Regiment when war broke out. As a Private, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, his path followed a similar one to that of his older sibling. He was killed in action on the Western Front on 15th November 1916, aged just 18 years old.

Private James Wishart is buried in the Cité Bonjean Military Cemetery in Armentieres.

Private James Wishart
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Engineers, photography, Sapper, story, war, Wiltshire

Sapper Charles Salisbury

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Sapper Charles Salisbury

Charles Salisbury was born in Helensville, New Zealand, on 23rd June 1885. The fifth of six children, his parents were James and Sarah Salisbury.

Little information is available about Charles’ early life, but by his 20s he had found work as a linesman, working his way up to foreman. In April 1914 he married Nora Fiori: the couple settled in Onehunga, and had two children: Pauline had been born in 1907, and sister Catherine followed in 1911.

When war broke out in Europe, the British Empire called upon its own to step up and serve. Charles enlisted on 9th April 1916, joining the 15th Division of New Zealand Signallers, itself part of the New Zealand Engineers. His service records show that he was 31 years of age, 5ft 9ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 154lbs (69.9kg). He was noted as having dark hair, blue eyes and a dark complexion.

Sapper Salisbury’s unit left Wellington for Britain on 28th July 1916. The voyage on board the ship Waitemata took ten weeks, Charles setting foot on solid ground again in Devonport, Devon, in October. From there the battalion moved to its base near Codford, in Wiltshire.

Charles would spend the next six months in camp, presumably in preparation for a move to the continent. Sadly for Charles, however, he was not to see any action away from Britain. On 27th May 1917 he was admitted to the camp hospital, suffering from a cerebral haemorrhage: he died the following day. Sapper Salisbury was 31 years of age.

Charles Salisbury was laid to rest in the newly consecrated ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, not far from the troops encampment.

Sapper Charles Salisbury
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Staffordshire, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Joseph Ward

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Stoker 1st Class Joseph Ward

Joseph Ward was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, on 13th January 1890. The four of five children – all boys – his parents were William and Caroline. William was a coal miner-turned-weighman, but Joseph found work as a riveter when he completed his schooling.

It seems that Joseph sought any employment to avoid going down the mines, and, on 26th August 1910, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records show that he was 5ft 3ins (1,6m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a sallow complexion. He was also noted as having a dot or mole on the back of this left forearm and another on the back of his left hand.

Joseph was given the rank of Stoker 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon, for training. This would be his base of operations, and he would return there a number of times in the coming years.

On 4th January 1911, Stoker Ward was given his first posting, on board the armoured cruiser HMS Cumberland. he remained on board for more than two-and-a-half years, and gained a promotion to Stoker 1st Class during this time.

In October 1913, Joseph returned to Devonport, remaining on shore for more than three months. His service record notes he was confined to the Dockyard Sick Quarters for three days, although the cause is not given. In January 1914, he returned to sea again, on board another cruiser, HMS Highflyer. This would prove another lengthy assignment, and Stoker Ward would not return to HMS Vivid for more than three years.

During his short spell ashore, Joseph returned to Staffordshire. He married Lily Wright, a tailoress from Wednesbury. Their honeymoon was brief, however, and he was given a new assignment.

Stoker Ward was attached to HMS Valkyrie, a newly commissioned destroyer attached to the Harwich Force. On 22nd December 1917, she was escorting a convoy to the Netherlands when she struck a mine. Twelve of the crew – including Joseph – were killed, while a further seven subsequently succumbed to their injuries. The Valkyrie was towed to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for repairs.

Joseph Ward was 27 years of age when he was killed. He was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, not far from the Kent naval base.

Tragically, Lily was pregnant when her husband was killed. On 25th February 1918, she gave birth to their child, Flora, the daughter Joseph would never know.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Harry Holder

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Private Harry Holder

Harry Holder was born in the village of Ludgvan, Cornwall, in the summer of 1885. The oldest of fourteen children, his parents were Harry and Grace Holder. Harry Sr was a market gardener, and his oldest son was to follow in his footsteps.

By the time of the 1911 census, the Holders had moved to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Settling in a seven-room house in Leckhampton Road, the household of eleven people had six wages coming in, split between market gardening for the men and floristry for the women.

The following year, Harry Sr took his family on the long journey to Australia for a new life. They found work on a farm near Perth, and Harry Jr was employed as an agricultural labourer when war broke out. When the call came, he stepped up to play his part and his service records suggest that he had spent four years in the territorial army back in Britain. Harry had been turned down for service because of the state of his teeth just a month before trying to enlist again. The second time, however, he was successful, and he joined the Australian Imperial Force on 13th September 1916.

Private Holder’s medical report confirmed the man he had become. At 31 years of age, he was 5ft 10.5ins (1.79m) tall, and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). A Roman Catholic, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Assigned to the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, Private Holder’s unit departed from Fremantle on 21st January 1917, travelling no board the ship Miltiades. Just under two months later, on 27th March, Harry arrived back in Britain, docking at Devonport, Devon, before moving with his battalion to a camp on the outskirts of Codford, Wiltshire.

A significant proportion of the ANZAC troops became unwell within weeks of arriving at the camp, and Harry was not to avoid illness. On 27th April he was admitted to the barracks’ hospital with cerebrospinal meningitis, but the treatment was to prove too little, too late. Private Holder died on 28th April 1917: he was 31 years of age.

Harry Holder was laid to rest in a new extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, close to the base where he had breathed his last.

Private Harry Holder
(from findagrave.com)
Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, South Africa, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Thomas Bickley

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Private Thomas Bickley

Thomas George Bickley was born in Fremantle, Australia, in 1881, and was the second of six children to Absolom and Mary Bickley. May had been married and widowed twice before wedding Thomas’ father, and so he had eight half-siblings as well.

Thomas’ early life is a challenge to piece together, but his service records from the First World War fill in some of the detail. He confirms that he had served in the 1st Imperial Light Horse for eleven months, and that he fought in South Africa – presumably as part of the Boer War of 1899-1902.

At the time of enlisting on 13th September 1916, he was working as a carpenter, and had completed a five-year apprenticeship. He married Rose Buck in 1907, but they did not have any children.

Private Bickley was assigned to the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, and his medical report confirms the man he had become. He was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall and weighed 170lbs (77.1kg). At 34 years of age, he had light brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Thomas’ unit left Fremantle on the Argyllshire. The troop ship arrived in Devonport, Devon, two months later, and his battalion was sent to their base near Codford in Wiltshire. The journey impacted a lot of soldiers, and Thomas was not to be immune from this.

On 12th February Private Bickley was sent to the camp hospital as he was suffering from bronchitis. The severity of his condition meant he was immediately transferred to an army hospital in nearby Sutton Veny, but it was to prove too late. Thomas died from the lung condition on 23rd February 1917: he was 35 years of age.

Thomas George Bickley was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford, not far from the based that had so briefly been his home.

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

Private Thomas Gorman

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Private Thomas Gorman

Thomas Michael Gorman was born on 6th April 1887 and was the seventh of ten children. Both of his parents – Patrick and Mary Gorman – were Irish, and had followed Patrick’s work around the world as an army Quartermaster Serjeant. By the time Thomas came along, the family had settled in Australia, and he was born in Brisbane.

There is little information about Thomas’ early life. When he completed his schooling, his father took him on as an apprentice and, by the time war broke out, he was working as a mechanic.

Thomas enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in March 1916. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, and weighed 138lbs (62.6kg). A Roman Catholic, he was recorded as having dark hair, light blue eyes and a fair complexion. It was also noted that he had two scars – one relating to his appendix, and another to a hernia operation.

Private Gorman’s unit – the 15th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – set sail for Europe on 8th August 1916. After just over two months on board the Itonus, they arrived in Plymouth, Devon, from where they were sent to Codford, Wiltshire, which is where several of the ANZAC battalions were based.

Thomas’ service was a mixed one, and his record is not without blemish. In October 1916, he was confined to barracks for seven days for going absent without leave. The following month, the same thing happened, and he we detained for a further seven days.

In December 1916, Private Gorman was admitted to a military hospital in Fovant, near Salisbury, suffering from jaundice. By February 1917 he was back in Codford, and was held in detention for two weeks, for going absent without leave, being drunk in the lines and for urinating in the lines.

Thomas’ jaundice had returned, and he was admitted to the camp hospital again. This time, however, he luck was to run out. He passed away on 14th March 1917, at the age of 29 years old.

Thomas Michael Gorman was laid to rest in the graveyard extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford, Wiltshire.

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

Private James McGrath

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Private James McGrath

James Charles Patrick McGrath was born in June 1895 in the town of Marlborough, Queensland, Australia. He was the only child of Patrick and Margaret McGrath.

Little information is available about James’ early life. His father died in 1912, and he found work as a station hand when he completed his schooling.

When war broke out in Europe, James stepped up to play his part. Seeking adventure, and a reliable wage, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1916.

Private McGrath’s service records suggest he must have cut quite a figure, being 5ft 11.5ins (1.81m) tall, and weighing 172lbs (78kg). A Roman Catholic, he had hazel eyes, fair hair and a fair complexion.

James’ unit – the 15th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – departed Australia on 25th November 1916. Leaving from Sydney, his ship, the Beltana, took just under two months to reach its destination, Devonport, Devon. From here, Private McGrath’s battalion made the 130 mile (210km) journey to their base on the outskirts of the Wiltshire village of Codford.

James arrived in Codford on 30th January 1917, but soon fell ill. He was admitted to the camp hospital with influenza on 17th February, but his condition worsened. He passed away from pneumonia on 2nd March 1917: he was just 21 years of age.

Thousands of miles from home, James Charles Patrick McGrath was laid to rest in the cemetery extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford.

Private James McGrath
(from findagrave.com)