Francis Robert Moody was born on 8th September 1876, in the town of Kihikihi, on New Zealand’s North Island. There is little information about his early life, but his parents were Hampshire-born Francis Moody and his Irish wife, Mary.
When he completed his schooling, Francis Jr found work as a carter. When war broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part, enlisting in the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment on 18th June 1917. His service papers show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall, and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). A Roman Catholic by birth, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion.
Private Moody’s unit left New Zealand on 13th October 1917, making the two-month voyage to Britain on board the HT Corinthic. Francis disembarked in Liverpool, Lancashire, before being marched into camp in Sling, Wiltshire.
Over the next month, Private Moody received further training, but by this point, and following the lengthy journey, his health was beginning to suffer. He was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, on 30th January 1918, suffering from bronchitis.
Francis’ health continued to deteriorate, and he developed tuberculosis. The condition would prove fatal, and he passed away on 22nd February 1918, at the age of 41.
Thousands of miles from home, Francis Robert Moody was laid to rest alongside his colleagues in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford.
Francis Lignori Alley was born in Hikutaia, on New Zealand’s North Island, on 18th February 1896. There is little information about his early life, but it is clear that he was one of six children to John and Elizabeth Alley.
By the time he had completed his schooling, the Alley family had moved to the port town of Gisborne. Francis found work as a warehouseman in for Macky Logan Caldwell Ltd. When war broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part.
On 11th January 1916, Francis enlisted in the New Zealand Otago Regiment. His service records show that he was 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall, and weighed just 90lbs (40.8kg). A practicing Roman Catholic, he had brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion. His papers also noted an operation scar in his groin.
Private Alley’s unit left New Zealand in the spring of 1916. After a month’s stop in Suez, they arrived in Southampton, Hampshire, on 7th August, and were marched to their camp in Sling, Wiltshire. Within a matter of days, however, Francis found himself on the Western Front, and would remain there for the next month.
On 9th June 1917, during the Battle of Messines, Francis was wounded. Initially treated on site, he was medically evacuated to Rouen, then Britain for treatment to gun shot wounds to his face and eye. He spent the next few months being treated and recuperating, hit service papers stating that he re-joined his unit in Étaples on 8th August. That autumn, he was given leave, but while back in Britain, he fell ill, and was admitted to the venereal section of the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire.
Private Alley was discharged on 7th November 1917, and remained at the camp in Codford. On Boxing Day, he was admitted back to hospital again, suffering from septicaemia: the condition was to prove fatal, and he passed away on 2nd February 1918. He was just 21 years old.
The body of Francis Lignori Alley was laid to rest in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the camp he had been based at.
Samuel Thomas was born in Pukehinau, New Zealand, on 17th February 1896. There is little concrete information about his early life, but his parents were Isaac and Annie Thomas, and he was one of at least two children to them.
When he finished his schooling, Samuel found work as a teamster, or wagon driver. When was broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part, and he enlisted on 30th May 1916, joining the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. His service record shows that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall and weighed 147lbs (66.7kg). He had light brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion; a round scar on the front of his left shin was also recorded.
Deemed fit for service, Rifleman Thomas spent the next four months training. On 25th September 1916, his unit departed from Wellington for the two month voyage to Britain. During the journey, he had fallen ill, and, on disembarking in Devonport, Devon, he was admitted to a hospital with influenza.
When he was well enough, Samuel was moved to hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, eventually joining his unit in a camp at Sling on 15th January 1917. His time there was brief, however, and he was admitted back to the Codford hospital just three weeks later. It would not be until July that he was well enough to be sent to France.
From Étaples, Rifleman Thomas was sent to the front line. Within a matter of weeks, he had been wounded by shrapnel, which had caught his right side and his neck. He was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.
Samuel would spend the next three months recuperating, initially in Hornchurch, Essex, then in Codford. During this time, love blossomed and, on 18th November 1917, he married Gertrude Berry, a horse dealer’s daughter from Plaistow, Essex. It is unclear how or when the couple had met: she may have been working at the hospital where he was being treated.
At the end of December 1917, he was back in hospital again, however, suffering from a bout of bronchitis. His condition would worsen, and he passed away on 16th January 1918, from the rupture of an abscess in his throat. He was 21 years of age.
The body of Samuel Thomas was laid to rest in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the hospital in which he had passed.
Alexander George Whitelaw was born in 1879 in the town of Ashburton on New Zealand’s South Island. One of ten children, his parents were Scottish immigrants Peter and Agnes Whitelaw.
There is little information about Alexander’s early life: his father died in 1912, with his mother passing just two years later. By the autumn of 1916, he was working as a general labourer, but the world was at war, and he stepped up to play his part.
Alexander enlisted on the 4th October 1916, knocking five years off his date of birth to ensure he was accepted. His papers also show other discrepancies, as he noted both of his parents being having been born in New Zealand. As a Private, he was assigned to the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, his service papers showing the man he had become. A Presbyterian, he stood 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall, and weighed 154lbs (69.9kg). He had cark hair and a dark complexion. His eyes were blue, but he suffered some colour blindness, confusing reds and blues.
Private Whitelaw’s unit – the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment – left home on the 19th January 1917, and embarked for Europe. His movements from this point on aren’t entirely clear, although by the start of 1918, he had been medically evacuated to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, suffering from pleurisy. The condition was to get the better of Alexander: he passed away on 10th January 1918, at the age of 38 years old.
Thousands of miles from his family home, the body of Alexander George Whitelaw was instead laid to rest in the extension to St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford.
Albert Victor Rogers was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on 2nd June 1897. The middle of three children, he was the older son to Edward and Elizabeth Rogers. A Liverpudlian, Edward worked as a carter for a flour mill, and the family lived in Lower Westwood, to the west of Trowbridge itself.
By 1911, the Rogers family had relocated to the centre of Trowbridge, and were living in a small cottage at 3 Church Street. Edward was now employed as a mason’s labourer, while Albert’s sister, Amy, had taken a job as a wool and worsted piecer for a local cloth mill. Albert, just thirteen years of age, was likely in his last year at school.
Albert’s military records are limited. They note that, as a Private, he was attached to Wiltshire Regiment Depot, and the he died in a military hospital on 8th November 1918. He was just 21 years of age. Details of his passing and funeral do not appear in any local contemporary newspapers, so it is unclear how he passed.
The body of Albert Victor Rogers was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Trowbridge Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.
By the time of the 1921 census Edward had also died. The document recorded Elizabeth living in a cottage at 85 Mortimer Street, Trowbridge, and that she was employed as a waste picker for Salter & Co, a wool manufacturer.
The four-roomed property was a busy place, which Elizabeth shared with her surviving son, Leslie, brother Arthur Hobbs, and niece Gladys Rogers. Amy had also died by this point, and so Elizabeth had opened her home to her three grandchildren Leonard, Doris and Victor.
[My thanks go to Rob Clarke for his invaluable information about Albert’s life and family.]
William Carrow D. Pomeroy was born at the start of 1892 in Worthing, West Sussex. One of six children, his mother was Sarah Pomeroy. She had been born in the Clifton area of Bristol, Gloucestershire, but by the time William was born, she had moved to Worthing.
According to the 1901 census, Sarah was a widow, and was running a lodging house at 3 Warwick Road. The next census return found the family living at the same address, where Sarah’s lodging house was now noted as being apartments.
William had completed his schooling by this point, and had found work as a cycle mechanic. His dedication and skill eventually took him to London, where, by the outbreak of war, he was employed as a mechanic with the London Fire Brigade in Southwark, Surrey.
The First World War brought new opportunities, and, on 14th January 1916, William enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps. Details of his military service are sketchy, but it is clear that he was an Air Mechanic 1st Class, and was based at in Reading, Berkshire.
Air Mechanic Pomeroy was transferred over to the Royal Air Force on its creation on 1st April 1918. Within weeks, however, he had been admitted to Reading War Hospital, suffering from pneumonia. The condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 18th July, at the age of 26 years old.
The funeral of First-Class Air Mechanic E [sic] Pomeroy, who died at Reading last week, from complications following an attack of influenza, took place at Broadwater Cemetery on Monday afternoon, with full Military honours.
The deceased, who was twenty-five years of age, was the son of the late Mr Pomeroy, well-known locally as a former Inspector of Weights and Measures.
[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 24th July 1918]
William’s headstone gives his name as CDW Pomeroy. All other records, including the registration of his birth, give his name as William Carrow D Pomeroy. There is no record of what the D stood for.
Charles George Compton was born in the Broadwater area of Worthing, West Sussex in 1882. One of five children, his parents were Charles and Eliza Compton. Charles Sr was a shoe maker, but when he finished his schooling, his son found work as a bricklayer.
There is little detailed information about Charles’ early life, but in 1901 he married a woman called Lilian. They went on to have three children, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had set up home at 47 Newland Road, Worthing.
Charles sought to make a better life for his family, and, on 31st January 1913, he boarded the SS Osterley, bound for Australia. He set up home at 1 Orange Lane, in Norwood, a suburb of Adelaide, and, at some point soon afterwards, Lilian and the children joined him.
War was declared in the summer of 1914, and the Empire was called on to play its part. On 28th March 1917, Charles enlisted, becoming a Private in the Australian Infantry. His service papers show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 154lbs (69.9kg). He was noted as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a medium complexion. He had two tattoos: one on his left forearm and another on his left hand.
After a few months’ training, Private Compton’s unit boarded the HMAT A30 from Adelaide, to make the journey back to Britain. His unit – the 10th Training Battalion – disembarked in Plymouth on 25th August 1917, and made its way to Larkhill Camp on the edge of Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
Over the next few months, Private Compton undertook further training, and would be transferred to the 43rd Battalion of the Australian Infantry. On 30th May 1918 he was admitted to Hurdcott Hospital, near Fovant, Wiltshire, suffering from influenza. The condition would eventually prove fatal: Charles passed away on 2nd July, at the age of 36 years old.
There was another Military funeral locally on Saturday.
The deceased soldier in this case was Private Charles George Compton, and the place of interment was the Cemetery at Broadwater. Private Compton, a member of an old Worthing family… was a member of the Australian Force…
The deceased worked for the Corporation before leaving Worthing for Australia, where his wife and two children are now living.
[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 10th July 1918]
Charles George Compton was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, not far from where his family were still living.
Private Charles Compton (from findagrave.com)
Lilian was now thousands of miles from home and family. Grieving the loss of her husband, the communication from the Army on his passing would provide her with some comfort:
Thanking you for all your kindness in sending my husband things on to me. You don’t know how greatefull I feel when I received letters saying how kind the nurses all were to him through his illness. All I wishes I could have been their, but it was not to be. I now close thanking you all.
[Letter to battalion: 14th January 1919]
Lilian would move to Lincoln Street, Adelaide: her new home she would name Worthing after her home town.
Charles Edward Barlow was born on 3rd January 1886, and was the second of eight children to John and Agnes. John was a Serjeant Major in the Royal Fusiliers, and his work meant the family moved a lot. Charles and his older brother were born in Dublin, Ireland, while Agnes gave birth to his younger siblings in Essex, Ireland, Hampshire and London.
John died in the late 1890s, and the 1901 census found Agnes and four of the children – including Charles – living at 18 Ethel Road, a small terraced cottage in the centre of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Agnes was listed as a shirt maker, while Charles was apprenticed to a boiler maker.
The apprenticeship obviously stood Charles in good stead, and he later found employment as the local dockyard, HMS Victory. The 1911 census recorded mother and son living at 124 Ernest Road, in the Buckland area of Portsmouth. Slightly further from where Charles was working, this was, however, a larger property.
A new opportunity presented itself in the spring of 1912, when Charles formally enrolled in the Royal Navy. His engineering background served him well, and he took the rank of Engine Room Artificer 4th Class. Initial training was provided at Portsmouth Dockyard, and he then moved to the neighbouring bases HMS Fisgard that autumn, and HMS Dryad in February 1913.
After a two month posting on board the torpedo gunboat HMS Harrier, Charles would return to shore in the summer of 1914. On 1st January 1915, however, he was assigned to the depot ship HMS Dido, and she would remain his home for nearly four years. During this time, he was promoted to Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class.
In the autumn of 1918, with the war in its final weeks, Charles fell ill. He was disembarked and admitted to the War Hospital in Bath, suffering from pneumonia. The condition would prove his undoing, and he passed away on 17th November: he was 32 years of age.
The body of Charles Edward Barlow was taken to Bradford on Avon for burial, possibly due to a familial connection in the area, and he was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.
Edward Joseph Hollis was born in the village of Cogges, Oxfordshire, in the spring of 1876. The youngest of four children, his parents were Joseph and Rebecca Hollis. Joseph was a blacksmith, who died shortly before Edward’s birth, leaving a son who would never know his father.
Rebecca had children to raise, and did so while continuing her job as a gloveress. The 1881 census found the family living on Oxford Road, with her widowed father, cowman James, also residing at the house.
Edward remained living with his mother through to the 1901 census, records suggesting that they stayed living in the same property. By this point, Rebecca had give up her work making gloves, and was listed as a charwoman. Her son, however, had found employment as a gardener’s assistant.
Rebecca died in 1902, at the age of 60 years old. Soon after, her son moved to Wiltshire, having found work as a labourer in Trowbridge. On 20th January 1907, he married local woman Rose Banks in the parish church. A cloth worker, she was nine years her new husband’s junior. The couple set up home at 9 Court Street, to the south of the town centre, and went on to have three children, daughters Elsie, Margaret and Bessie.
War broke out in the summer of 1914, and Edward stepped up to play his part. There is little information about his time in the military, but it is clear that he had enlisted by the summer of 1918. He saw the war out as a Lance Corporal in the Military Police Corps, and was based at Chiseldon Camp, near Swindon, Wiltshire.
While there, Edward’s health was becoming impacted. He was admitted to the camp hospital with a combination of influenza and bronchial pneumonia, but his heart gave out. He died on 6th November 1918, at the age of 42 years old.
The body of Edward Joseph Hollis was taken back to Trowbridge for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.
Like her mother-in-law before her, Rebecca was now a widow, with young children to raise. She took the risk of emigrating, and moved the family to Ontario, Canada. Here she met farmer James Morgan, and the couple married on 5th July 1920. She died in 1918, also aged 42.
Her and Edward’s legacy were their children. All three married and had families in Canada.
William Clements Bray was born on 14th October 1900. One of six children, his parents were Frederick and Annie. Frederick was a Private in the Wiltshire Regiment, and was based out of Trowbridge, Wiltshire. His work took him away from home a lot, however, and so Annie was left to raise the children on her own.
By the time of the 1911 census Frederick had left the army, and had instead found work as a canal labourer for the Great Western Railway. The family of eight were living in a four-roomed cottage at 22 Prospect Place, to the north of the town centre. William was still at school, but two of his siblings – brother Frederick Jr, and sister Florence – were both employed and bringing a wage into the household.
War broke out in the summer of 1914, and it seems that William was keen to play his part. He enlisted on the 12th April 1918, joining the Royal Navy. As he was under age, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Powerful, a training ship based in Portsmouth, Hampshire. His service papers note that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a large scar across his chest.
Boy Bray’s time in the navy was to be tragically short. After just a few weeks he was admitted to hospital in Plymouth, Devon, with scarlet fever, and developed emphysema. He passed away on 25th November “after a long and painful illness” [Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 14th December 1918] He was just 18 years of age.
The body of William Clements Bray was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Trowbridge Cemetery, not far from where his parents were living.
Death and Service 