Tag Archives: 1918

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, photography, Royal Air Force, Royal Engineers, Second Lieutenant, story, war, Wiltshire

Second Lieutenant Francis Willis

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Second Lieutenant Francis Willis

Francis John Henry Willis – who was known as Frank – was born in the summer of 1893 in Totnes, Devon. The youngest of three children, his parents were William Willis – a solicitor’s clerk turned accountant – and Susannah, who was the headmistress of a boarding school.

Education played a strong role in Frank’s upbringing, and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded as being an student of architecture and surveying. (Interestingly, in the same census his older brother, William, was noted as having an infirmity, that of his being “delicate from birth.”)

When he completed his studies, Frank found employment in Newton Abbot, where he worked as an architect for Rowell, Son and Locke. War was coming to Europe, however, and in November 1915, he enlisted in the Royal Engineers.

Frank rose through the ranks, and was given a commission in the Royal Air Force when it was formed in April 1918. Based on Salisbury Plain, the now Second Lieutenant Willis became known as an expert shot, making numerous flights without incident.

On the 20th September 1918, however, that was to change. Taking off on a routine flight, the Avro 504K that he was flying stalled and spun into ground, catching fire. Second Lieutenant Willis was killed instantly. He was just 25 years of age.

Brought back to Devon for burial, Frank John Henry Willis was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Totnes.

Bedfordshire Regiment, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Labour Corps, Middlesex Regiment, Monmouthshire Regiment, photography, Private, Royal West Kent Regiment, story, war

Private William King

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Private William King

William Samuel King was born in the summer of 1880, and was one of four children to Richard and Elizabeth King. Richard was a railway worker from Totnes, Devon, and this is where the family were born and raised.

When he left school, William found work as a house painter, and this is a job he continued to do through to the outbreak of the Great War. On 8th June 1908 he married Minnie Edmunds: the couple went on to have a son, Leslie, who was born in 1912. William and Minnie had, by this point, moved to Swansea, West Glamorgan, presumably as work was more plentiful here than in their Devon home. His work as a decorator seems to have been recognised, and he was admitted to the National Association Partnership, Swansea South.

On 1st December 1915, William enlisted and his service records show that he was 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall. While it is clear that he spent his time on home soil, his service seems a bit disjointed.

Private King wasn’t formally mobilised until September 1916, when he was assigned to the 2nd/2nd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment. In December he was transferred to the Royal West Kent Regiment before returned to his original battalion in February 1917. A month later, he moved to the Bedfordshire Regiment, before moving to the Middlesex Regiment a few weeks later. This also seems to have been a temporary move as, three weeks later, he was assigned to the 337th Works Company of the Labour Corps (although this was still part of the Middlesex Regiment).

The potential reason behind Private King’s haphazard service seemed to become a little clearer when, in September 1917, he was referred to Fort Pitt Hospital in Rochester, Kent. He was noted as being “very talkative, noisy [and] in a state of mental disease… he has… exalted and grandiose ideas and is difficult to restrain.” His mental health was obviously suffering, and he was discharged from military service in December 1917.

William returned home, although it was not to be for long. He passed away on 13th April 1918, at the age of 37 years old. While no cause of death is evident, it seems likely to have been connected to his ‘mania’, which had been exacerbated by his army service.

William Samuel King was laid to rest in Totnes Cemetery, not far from his parental home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, injury, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private Albert Harvey

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Private Albert Harvey

Albert James Harvey was born on 23rd May 1894 in the Gloucestershire village of Warmley. One of eleven children, his parents were James and Alice Harvey. James was a bootmaker, and most of Albert’s siblings followed him into shoemaking, but Albert bucked the trend, and found work with a baker when he left school.

He wanted bigger and better things, however, and so, on 26th April 1911, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His service records record that Private Harvey was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with blue eyes, auburn hair and a fresh complexion. It also suggests that he added a year to his age, to ensure that he was accepted for duty.

After initially enlisting in Deal, Kent, Albert was sent to Plymouth, Devon, where he served for most of 1912. On 18th November that year, he was assigned to the dreadnought battleship HMS Conqueror, on which he was to serve for the nearly five years.

It was during his time on board Conqueror that Albert married Ethel Brewer. The daughter of a pressman, the couple exchanged vows at St Barnabas Church in their shared home village, Warmley.

Private Harvey remained serving throughout the war and, in April 1918, he was involved in the Zeebrugge Raid. This was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port by sinking obsolete ships in the canal entrance. During the operation, more than 200 men were killed and over 300 – including Albert – were wounded.

Private Harvey was medically evacuated to England for treatment, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He passed away in a hospital in Plymouth on 28th June 1918. He was just 24 years old.

Albert James Harvey was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Barnabas’ Church, where he has been both baptised and married.

Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, story, war

Private Alec Willmott

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Private Alec Willmott

Alec William Willmott was born in 1886 and was one of six children to Henry and Ellen Willmott. Henry was a farm labourer from Oldland in Gloucestershire, and this is where the family were raised.

When he left school, Alec found work making shoes and boots at a local factory – this was work most of the Willmott children went into. On 24th April 1916, he married Elsie Frost in the local church. The couple set up home in Keynsham, and went on to have a son, Cecil, who was born in August 1917.

Alec played his part during the war. Full service details are not available, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps by the spring of 1918. There is no confirmation of whether Private Willmott served at home or overseas, but, by October 1918, he had been admitted to the 2nd London General Hospital in Chelsea, suffering from a combination of influenza and pneumonia.

Sadly, these conditions put a strong pressure on his heart: Private Willmott passed away from cardiac failure on 2nd November 1918, at the age of just 32 years old.

Alec William Willmott was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Anne’s Church in his home village, Oldland.

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Navy, story, war

Private Frank Mayo

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Private Frank Mayo

Francis James Stephen Mayo was born on 24th November 1894 in Oldland, a small Gloucestershire village near Bristol. One of eight children, his parents were collier Samuel Mayo and his wife, Diana.

Frank, as he was known, sought a life of adventure from the start. In July 1911, not content with life as a farm labourer, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had light hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Sent to the training ship HMS Impregnable, Boy 2nd Class Mayo’s time there was short. When Samuel found out what his son had done, he paid £10 (the equivalent of around £1250 in today’s money) for his discharge.

Frank went back to farm work, but, with storm clouds brewing on European shores, his time was to come again. On 8th September 1914, just a month after war was declared, he enlisted. His service records show that he had gained an inch (2.5cm) in height since his attempt to join the Royal Navy.

Again, Frank’s attempt to escape what he presumably felt to be a humdrum life were thwarted. His service records confirm that he was discharged on medical grounds because he was deemed not likely to become an efficient sailor.

On Christmas Day 1915, Frank married Martha Sweet, the daughter of a chimney sweep. The couple settled down in Keynsham, not far from either of their families, and had a son, Henry. Frank, by this time, seemed to have given in to the inevitable, and looking for a regular wage, began working at one of the local collieries.

Frank still had a dream to fulfil, though, and with no end to the war in sight, he again enlisted, joining the Training Reserve in June 1917. His records show that he had gained another inch in height, and has a number of tattoos on his right forearm. His records this time show that he had a slight heart problem, and was also suffering from a touch of rheumatism.

Private Mayo was assigned to the 440th Company of the Labour Corps, and seemed, at last, to be fulfilling the role he had wanted to be doing for the last six years. As time went on, however, his health seems to have been failing him and, in the summer of 1918, he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. He passed away from the condition on 30th August 1918, while at camp, aged just 23 years of age.

Brought back to Gloucestershire for burial, Francis James Stephen Mayo – or Frank – was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Anne’s Church in his home village of Oldland.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Devon Yeomanry, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Leonard Luscombe

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Private Leonard Luscombe

Leonard Luscombe was born in the spring of 1894 in the Devon village of Ipplepen. He was the fourth of five children to William and Bertha Luscombe, bakers and grocers in the village.

When he left school, Leonard found work as a clerk in a bank, but it is clear he was after bigger and better things. On 27th August 1912 he enlisted in the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry as a Private. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had good vision and was of good physical development.

Private Luscombe was sent to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire for his training, but then returned to Devon at a base near Bovey Tracey, where he remained when war broke out in 1914. That autumn, he contracted tuberculosis, and it was to prove severe enough for him to be medically discharged from the army in February 1915.

Leonard returned to his life in Ipplepen, but his lung complaint was to dog him for the next few years. He finally succumbed to the condition on 26th October 1918, at the age of just 24 years old.

Leonard Luscombe, whose “cheerful hopefulness and intelligence gained him much popular sympathy” [Western Times: Saturday 2nd November 1918], was laid to rest in the family grave in St Andrew’s Churchyard in his home village.

Commonwealth War Graves, Denbighshire, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, story, Wales, war

Sapper James Tod

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Sapper James Tod

James Tod was born in the spring of 1891 in Chirk, Denbighshire, and was one of nine children. His parents were builder John Tod, who was from Scotland, and Margaret Tod, who had been born in Llangollen.

John passed away when James was in his teens and, when he left school, James found work as a joiner to help support his mother financially.

When war came to Europe, James was called upon to play his part. Full details of his military service are not available, but he had enlisted by the beginning of 1917. James joined the Royal Engineers as a Sapper, and was assigned to the London Electrical Engineers.

It is unclear whether Sapper Tod served overseas, but he certainly would have been based in the London area, carrying out repair works as needed. The London Electrical Engineers were also pioneers in the use of searchlights to spot enemy aircraft and Zeppelins raiding the capital. A detachment was also sent to France to position and man searchlights on the Western Front, although, again, it is not clear whether James was one of those involved.

It is clear that James was back in Wales at the start of 1917, however, as, on 18th January, he married his sweetheart, Emily Mary Edwards, at the parish church in his home town. Emily was the daughter of a gamekeeper from nearby Pontfadog, but it was in Chirk that the coupler were to make their home.

Sapper Tod was soon back on duty, however, and the next evidence available for him is that of his admission to the Grove Military Hospital in Tooting, South London. He had contracted a combination of influenza and pneumonia, and these lung conditions were sadly to get the better of him: he passed away on Armistice Day, the 11th November 1918. He was just 27 years of age.

James Tod was brought back to Wales for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in the town.

It seems that James had been in some debt when he passed, as some of his war pension was held over to cover those costs.

Tragically, Emily was five months pregnant when James died. She gave birth to a son, who she named after his father, on 9th March 1919.

Emily never remarried, and, by the time of the 1939 Register for England and Wales, was recorded as the Lodgekeeper for Deer Park Lodge, which was attached to Chirk Castle. She passed away on 19th December 1973, at the age of 84 years old. She was laid to rest with her late husband, a couple reunited at last after more than five decades.

James Jr lived a long life, passing away in the spring of 1999, in his eightieth year.

Air Mechanic, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Middlesex, photography, Royal Air Force, story, Sussex, war

Air Mechanic 1st Class Harold Weston

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Air Mechanic 1st Class Harold Weston

Harold Stanley Weston’s early life is destined to remain a mystery. He was born, according to his Royal Air Force service records, in Southgate, Middlesex in 1887 and, before war broke our, was working as a waiter before enlisting.

On 3rd August 1915, he married a woman called Gertrude in Hastings, Eat Sussex, and it appears that this is where the couple set up home. Harold has initially enlisted in the army, but transferred across to the Royal Flying Corps on 28th October 1915. Air Mechanic 2nd Class Weston’s service records show that he stood just 5ft 2.5ins (1.59m) tall.

Over the next three years, Harold rose through the ranks to Air Mechanic 1st Class, and served in France for nine months during 1916. He then returned to England, and was based at an airfield near Detling, Kent. When the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service merged in April 1918, he transferred across to the newly-formed Royal Air Force, and was attached to 27 Squadron.

In November that year, Harold was admitted to the Military Hospital in Maidstone, also in Kent, having contracted influenza and pneumonia. Sadly, the lung conditions were to get the better of him, and he passed away on 1st November 1918, at the age of just 31 years old.

Air Mechanic 1st Class Harold Stanley Weston’s body was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Martin’s Church in Detling, not far from the base at which he served. Gertrude posted her thanks to “all [their] friends for their kindness and sympathy shown to her in her sad bereavement, more especially Captain Saunders, RAF, Major Chapman, KCC [Kent County Council?], Sergeant Fowle, KCC, and Sergeant Weller, RAMC [Royal Army Medical Corps]” [Maidstone Telegraph: Saturday 9th November 1918]

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, Lieutenant, London Regiment, Middlesex, photography, Royal Air Force, story, war

Lieutenant Noel Perris

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Lieutenant Noel Perris

Noel Felix Perris was born early in 1894 in Chiswick, London and was the oldest of three children to George and Mary Perris. George was from Liverpool, and he and Yorkshire-born Mary made the move to south in the late 1880s.

Noel went on to study science at school, but when war broke out, he clearly felt a duty to play his part. George used his writing skills to become a war correspondent with the French army, while his son joined the 2nd London Regiment.

Quickly promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, Noel served in France and Egypt. In 1916, he was badly injured at Hébuterne, to the south of Arras, and returned to England to recuperate. When he had recovered, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, subsequently gaining his wings in the newly-formed Royal Air Force.

Lieutenant Perris was based in Kent as part of 143 Squadron. On the morning of 20th July 1918, he took off from Detling Airfield as part of a normal patrol flight. His aircraft – a single-seater RAF SE5a – collided with another plane, piloted by Lieutenant Thomas Wright, and both crashed to the ground in flames. Both piloted were killed on impact.

An inquest found that the cause of the pilots demise was accidental death. Lieutenant Perris was just 24 years old.

Thomas Wright’s body was taken home to Fleetwood, Lancashire, for burial. Noel Felix Perris was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Martin’s Church in Detling, not far from the base.

Lieutenant Noel Perris
(from findagrave.com)

The epitaph on Noel’s headstone comes from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale.

He was a verray parfit gentil knight

A modern day translation might be “He was a true, perfect knight of noble character.”

Air Mechanic, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, London, Middlesex, photography, Royal Air Force, story, Sussex, war, wireless operator

Air Mechanic 1st Class Albert Young

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Air Mechanic 1st Class Albert Young

Albert Franklin Young was born on 15th August 1899 in Marylebone, London. He was the older of two children – and the only son – to Kathleen (Kate) Young, and her photographer husband, Albert Antonio Young.

Albert Sr seemed to have made a successful of his photography business: Albert Jr attended St Hugh’s School in Chislehurst, Kent, before moving on to Margate College, also in Kent, and Watford Grammar School.

From leaving school, Albert Jr joined the Royal Flying Corps as a wireless operator on 28th September 1915. He was just sixteen years old, but within eight months he was serving with the British Expeditionary Force in France. He was involved in operations at the Somme and continued his flight training.

In November 1915, Albert was promoted to Air Mechanic 1st Class, and remained on the Western Front. On 28th March 1918, a German air raid hit No. 2 Air Depot, where Albert was working: he was badly wounded, and brought back to England for medical treatment.

Admitted to London Hospital in Chelsea, Air Mechanic Young was operated on a number of times, but was to finally succumb to his wounds on 9th June 1918. He was just 18 years of age.

As highlighted in de Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, one colleague noted “I can assure you he was very greatly esteemed for his fine qualities by all with whom he came into contact, and the news of his death was received by all of us with most profound sorrow. He was a splendid boy.” Another said that the “great courage and coolness he always displayed at most critical moments were on many occasions an incentive to me. He was truly a gallant lad.”

Brought to West Sussex, where his parents were now living, Albert Franklin Young was laid to rest in Cuckfield Cemetery: “The scene… was very solemn and pathetic, yes beautiful and effective, and as all moved forward to the grave, and viewed the fair expanse of the Sussex Weald, the sweet melody of the Choir [was] ringing in our ears.” [Mid Sussex Tomes: Tuesday 18th June 1918]