Ernest Edward Dando was born in November 1884, in Paulton, Somerset. One of eight children, his parents were Hezekiah and Emma Dando. Hezekiah was a shoemaker from the town and this is a trade into which Ernest followed when he left school and through to the outbreak of war.
On 20th December 1914, Ernest married bootmaker’s daughter Emma Elizabeth Elliott in Paulton’s Holy Trinity Church. With war raging across Europe by this point, it would eventually come to Ernest’s door, however, and, in January 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Engineers as a Sapper.
There is little documentation available about Ernest’s military life, although it is evident that his boot making skills were employed by the army. He was sent to Bangor, North Wales, for training, but contracted pneumonia while he was there. Admitted to a military hospital in the area, he passed away from the lung condition on 14th May 1917, at the age of 32 years old.
Ernest Edward Dando’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the picturesque Paulton Cemetery near the heart of the town.
Sapper Ernest Dando (from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Mark Ford was born early in 1881 in Wellow, near Peasedown St John in Somerset. He was the youngest of eleven children, and the son of Thomas and Ellen Ford. Thomas was a coal miner, and this was a trade that his seven sons, including Mark, went into.
The 1901 census recorded Mark as boarding in a house in Abertillery, Monmouthshire, learning his trade. Within a few years, however, he was back in Peasedown St John. In the summer of 1910, he married local woman Emily Tucker and the couple set up home in Wellow, where they went on to have four children: George, Phyllis, Hubert and Ethel.
War was coming to Europe and, while records are scarce, it’s possible to build up a picture of the service Mark undertook. He initially enlisted as a Private in the Royal Berkshire Regiment, and was assigned to the 10th (Labour) Battalion. They were sent to France in June 1916, although it is not possible to confirm if Mark went at the same time.
His battalion became the 158th and 159th Labour Companies in April 1917, and it seems that Private Ford transferred to the former and, at this point, was definitely serving in France. That summer, he was wounded in the hip and head by an exploding shell and was medically evacuated to England for treatment.
Private Ford was admitted to the Military Hospital in York, where he lay injured for some time; long enough, thankfully, for Emily to make the journey to be with him. Sadly, his wounds were to prove too much: he passed away at the hospital on 28th October 1917, at the age of 36 years old.
Mark Ford’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial He was laid to rest in the churchyard of St John the Baptist, in Peasedown St John.
Alfred William Winsor Northway was born on 3rd December 1870 in Barnstaple, Devon. He was the only child to farm labourer John Northway and his wife Susan. By the time Alfred was a few months old, John had moved the young family to Ashburton.
On 2nd March 1890, Alfred married Susanna Raddon in Newton Abbot. The couple went on to have eleven children – Susanna already had two children when they married; there is no indication as to whether they were also Alfred’s.
By the time they married, Alfred was working as a farm labourer. This was a job he continued to do to support his rapidly growing family. War was coming to Europe, however, and the stability of life in Ashburton was soon to change. During this time, he volunteered for the 3rd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment and this stood him in good stead moving forward.
At least two of Alfred and Susanna’s sons enlisted when the First World War broke out; not to be outdone, Alfred also joined up on 11th September 1914. Assigned to the 11th (Reserve) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment as a Private, there is no indication that he saw any time abroad. Instead it seems that he served at the regiment’s depot in Wareham, Dorset, supporting the Training Reserve.
By the end of 1916, Private Northway had fallen ill. Admitted to the Sidney Hall Hospital in Weymouth with pneumonia, sadly the condition got the better of him. He passed away on 3rd February 1917, at the age of 46 years old.
Alfred William Winsor Northway was brought back to Ashburton for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in the town.
John Peacock was born in Ashburton, Devon, in 1883. Details of his life are a little sketchy, but his parents were John and Mary Ann Peacock, and he was one of at least thee children. John Sr was an agricultural labourer, but his son wanted bigger and better things.
By the time of the 1911 census, John Jr had enlisted as a Private in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. No military records exist to confirm when he joined up or where he served. The census recorded him as being a patient in the Royal Naval Hospital in East Stonehouse although, again, there is no record of why he had been admitted.
The story of Private Peacock’s health seems to remain a thread through his life. The next document evident is his Pension Ledger Card. This confirms that he died on 31st May 1917, from what was described as general paralysis, often insane. He was 34 years of age.
John Peacock was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in his home village of Ashburton, Devon.
George Cain was born on 27th December 1896, and was one of eleven children to Edward and Florence Cain. Edward was a house painter from Richmond in Surrey, who passed away when George was a child, leaving Florence to raise the family. She found work as a shopkeeper in the town, and, when he left school, George was apprenticed to a printer to help bring in some extra money.
He had moved on to compositing – setting type – when war broke out. With conflict raging in Europe, George felt the need to play his part and, on 31st July 1915, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His records show that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a pale complexion.
George was given the rank of Junior Reserve Attendant, supporting medical staff in the navy’s sick bays. After a couple of weeks at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, he was posted to the town’s main hospital, where he remained for just under two years, and where he received a promotion to Senior Reserve Attendant.
In July 1917, George was reassigned to HMS Pembroke. That summer was particularly busy for the base, and temporary accommodation was set up in the Drill Hall; this is where George found himself billeted.
On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line as a wave of German aircraft bombed the town. The Drill Hall received a direct hit, and Senior Reserve Assistant Cain was injured. He was admitted to the hospital at which he had worked just weeks before, but died of his wounds the following day. He was just 20 years old.
George Cain was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham, along with the other servicemen who had perished during the Chatham Air Raid that night.
William Henry Clark was born in Whitby, North Yorkshire, on 15th March 1884 and was the younger of two children to James and Fanny Clark. Fisherman James drowned in September 1885, when the boat owned by his brothers-in-law – Robert and Mark Dryden – capsized.
Fanny and her children moved in with her Robert and her widowed mother, Martha, who was a lodging house keeper. In the spring of 1892, she married quarry labourer William Bennison. Her and James’ two children remained living with their grandmother; she went on to have three children with her new husband.
The 1901 census recorded young William working as a rivet heater in the local iron shipyard. He progressed in his work and, by the next census in 1911, remained living with his grandmother and uncle, but was working as a boilermaker in the shipyard.
When war broke out, William was called upon to play his part. While he had done engineering work, he also worked with his Uncle Robert on his fishing boat; this meant he was placed on reserve in the Royal Navy, and was not formally called upon as a Deck Hand until November 1915. Full details of his service are not available, but it is clear that he was based at HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – by the summer of 1917.
HMS Pembroke was a generally bustling place, but by the summer of 1917, it had exceeded capacity to the point where temporary accommodation was set up. William found himself billeted at The Drill Hall, away from the main barracks.
On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line, as the German Air Force launched a bombing raid. One of the bombs landed squarely on the Drill Hall, and Deck Hand Clark was killed. He was 33 years of age.
Ninety-eight servicemen perished during the Chatham Air Raid that night. They were buried in a mass funeral at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. This is where William Henry Clark was also laid to rest.
Deck Hand William Clark (from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
A local newspaper had reported on William’s father’s death:
FATAL COBLE ACCIDENT: SURVIVOR’S NARRATIVE
We append the personal account of Robert Dryden, who was capsized along with his two comrades, James Clark and Mark Dryden, in the fishing coble Ann Maria… off Robin Hood’s Bay, on the morning of Saturday, the 19th inst. The tale tells of the marvellous escape of the narrator and of the sad drowning of his two mates, who each leave a widow and two children. The survivor, who is a stout and healthy fellow, had his left leg amputated some years ago, and a wooden support substituted. The following is his account:
“We were coming in from the fishing grounds on Saturday morning in our coble under a three-reefed sail, with two hundred herrings. There was a stiff breeze blowing form the south-east, with occasional squalls, and it was very dark. We should be, I reckon, about two miles from land… I had just gone into her head to see how she was coming for the land, leaving Mark at the helm, when a puff of wind took her on the starboard quarter and sent her over. We were floated out, and she sank directly, each of us catching hold of an oar.
“Just then a steamer passed us, and we shouted, but could not get their attention, and we all swam about, talking to each other, and I told them to keep their hearts up. We all had knee boots on, and, poor Jim, I think he must have been caught by the cold, for about twenty minutes after he sank. He was a fine fellow, as fine a fellow as you would meet in the streets.
“Shortly after he had gone, poor fellow, a tug boat passed us with a black and flesh-coloured funnel. I was too exhausted to shout much, and had to swim across her bows to keep clear. When she had passed, poor Mark had disappeared. I could then see the land, and with the sea beating on my left shoulder I set out for it…
“I was very disheartened after losing my mates, and all I had – for the coble belonged half to me and half to my brother – nets, money, and, all together, about £60 had gone…
“After a long swim, I neared the shore, and swam for the Blue Rock, because I could not swim further to a calm spot. I found myself on the rock after being, I think, knocked senseless by the seas. I climbed the cliff – it’s a bad coast about here – and walked for about two miles before I met anyone…
“I was several times almost in despair when in the water, and was much distressed at having to return with such a sad tale… It’s a great loss to me. Jim was my brother-in-law, and was 29 years of age, and Mark was my cousin, and 23 years old. It’s thirteen years since I had my other narrow escape, and I would sooner go to the poor-house than go through such another time of it.”
By this melancholy accident, two families have been plunged into deep grief and dire poverty, and deserve the sympathy and practical support of all kind and well-to-do-people.
Claud Millar McIntyre was born on 3rd June 1895, and was the youngest of three children to Alexander and Margaret McIntyre. Both of Claud’s parents – and his two older siblings – were born in Scotland, but the family moved to London in the early 1890s, and it was in Plaistow that Claud was born.
Alexander worked as an engineer at the Thames docks, and, when Claud left school, he followed his father into the same line of work. War was coming to Europe, however, and Claud was very keen on playing his part.
On 22nd December 1914, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His boiler work obviously stood him in good stead, as he was employed as an Engine Room Artificer (ERA) 4th Class. Claud’s service records confirm that he stood 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. The document also gives his year of birth as 1893, which suggests that he may have lied about his age to get into the action.
The same record gives an indication of the harshness of the work Claud has been doing before joining up. Under Wounds, Scars or Marks, it was noted that he had a scar on the outside right thigh and on his right little finger. He also had lost the fingertip of his right hand.
ERA McIntyre’s training took place at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. He was soon given a posting, however, and served at HMS Acteon, the shore-based establishment in Sheerness, for just over a year.
In August 1916, after a brief return to HMS Pembroke, ERA McIntyre was given a second posting, this time on board Q12, one of a number of the war’s most closely guarded naval secrets. The Q-boats (a code name referring to their home port of Queenstown in Ireland) were vessels designed to look like an easy target, but which actually carried hidden armaments. Understandably, little is known about the ship on which Claud served, or his time aboard; all that is documented is that he was assigned to her from 28th August 1916 to 30th April 1917, at which point he returned to HMS Pembroke.
Chatham Dockyard was particularly busy that summer, and the large number of extra servicemen meant that Claud was billeted in temporary accommodation in Chatham Drill Hall.
On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force bombarded the town, and scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall; ERA was injured that night, but died of his wounds the following day at the Fort Pitt Military Hospital. He was just 22 years of age.
Claud Millar McIntyre was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.
Frederick John Parker was born on 26th November 1889 in Wavertree, Liverpool. He was the oldest of four children to John and Ellen Parker, both of whom had been born in North Ireland, and had sought out a new life in the busy English port.
There is little concrete information about Frederick’s early life. What is clear is that he wound work as a painter when he left school, and enlisted in the Royal Navy on 22nd April 1908, as a Stoker. He joined the service for five years, and was places on reserve in 1913.
When war broke out, Stoker Parker was called into action again and, during his time back in the Royal Navy was based at HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment in Chatham, Kent.
The base was a bustling place during the war and, by the summer of 1917 temporary accommodation was set up in the barracks’ Drill Hall; this is where Frederick found himself billeted.
On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line as a wave of German aircraft bombed the town. The Drill Hall received a direct hit, and Stoker 1st Class Parker was amongst those to be instantly killed. He was 29 years old.
Ninety-eight servicemen perished during the Chatham Air Raid that night. They were buried in a mass funeral at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. This, too, is where Frederick John Parker was laid to rest.
Knight Cooke was born in Vancouver, Canada, on 10th December 1892. He was one of nine children to John and Mary Cooke. John was a tallyman, selling goods by instalments. Knight, however, preferred working with his hands, and when he left school, found a job in a wood mill, as a planer.
When war came to Europe, those in the Commonwealth were asked to play their part. Knight enlisted, joining the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 22nd April 1916. His service records show that he stood 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighed 135lbs (61kg): he had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.
When he arrived in England, Knight was initially transferred to the 72nd Regiment of the Seaforth Highlanders, although he was quickly moved again to the 13th Field Ambulance. Within a matter of weeks, Knight was discharged under the King’s Regulations that suggested he would not become an efficient soldier.
At this point, Knight’s trail goes cold. It seems that he remained in England, and it seems that he was still keen to play his part. What is clear is that he enlisted in the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve at some point in the months after being discharged from the army.
Knight was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman, and was, by the summer of 1917, based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham in Kent. This was a busy, overcrowded place at that time, and Knight found himself billeted in temporary accommodation at Chatham Drill Hall.
On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night-time air raid: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit; Ordinary Seaman Cooke was among those who were killed. He was just 24 years of age.
Knight Cooke was laid to rest alongside the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the Dockyard in which he finally managed to serve.
Knight’s headstone gives his surname as Cook, although his service records – and signature – give the spelling as Cooke.
Owen Henry Jones was born in Islington, Middlesex, on 23rd October 1888. His father was tailor Edward Jones, but little additional information about Owen’s early life remains.
By the end of 1913, he was working as a packing case maker and living in Shoreditch. He had met Ada Elizabeth Cornelius, the daughter of a dock labourer, and the couple married on Christmas Day at St Peter’s Church in Hoxton Square.
Within a year, war had engulfed Europe and, on 1st June 1915, Owen enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records show that he had swapped his names round, and was going by Henry Owen Jones. He was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, had light brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker 2nd Class Jones was initially sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training, but, within a couple of months, was assigned to the monitor vessel HMS Lord Clive. He served on board for just over a year, gaining a promotion to Stoker 1st Class in the process.
After six months back in Chatham, Henry was given his second posting, on board another monitor ship, HMS General Wolfe. After just three months, however, he found himself back on shore at HMS Pembroke.
The Dockyard was particularly busy that summer, and the large number of extra servicemen meant that Henry was billeted in temporary accommodation in Chatham Drill Hall.
On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force bombarded the town, and scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall; Stoker 1st Class Jones was among those killed instantly. He was just 28 years of age.
Henry Owen Jones was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham. Tragically he was buried as ‘unidentified’: the records state that he lies “in one of the following graves: 516, 522, 735, 935, 937, 948, 642.”
Death and Service 