Lionel James Fowler Bennett was born on 2nd September 1899, in the village of Cainscross, near Stroud in Gloucestershire. He was the only child of insurance agent Harry Bennett and his wife Louisa, who was a weaver.
By the time of the 1911 census, the young family had moved to the Somerset town of Frome. Louisa’s widowed mother had lived with the family since Lionel’s birth, and had moved to Somerset with her son-in-law. The family had also, by this time, taken in a boarder, presumably to help pay the rent.
With the move, Harry had also changed jobs, and was working as a power loom tuner, honing and fixing the weaving equipment. Lionel went into a similar role when he left school but, by now, war was imminent and, as soon as he was able to, he enlisted for King and Country.
Harry joined up shortly after his eighteenth birthday, serving as a Stoker in the Royal Navy. He was sent to HMS Vivid in Devonport for training in November 1917, but, sadly, this was to be his undoing.
Barracks were notorious breeding grounds for infections and, within weeks, Stoker Bennett had been admitted to the Naval Hospital in Plymouth, suffering from pneumonia. He passed away on 5th January 1918, aged just eighteen years old and having served for just sixty days.
Brought back to his home in Frome, Lionel James Fowler Bennett was laid to rest in the Vallis Road Burial Ground (also known as the Dissenters’ Cemetery).
Hugh Cyril Arthur Brooking was born on 15th September 1870 and was one of six children (although he also had three further half-siblings through his father’s first marriage). His father, Arthur Brooking, was the vicar of the Hertfordshire village of Bovingdon, and it was in the vicarage that he and his wife Marian raised their family (with the help of seven servants).
Hugh led a life befitting of a reverend’s son; he was educated at St Mark’s School in Windsor, Lancing College and Down College, both in Sussex. He continued his studies at the Mining College in London (now part of Imperial College London), and went out to South Africa to further that work.
The local newspaper reporting on his funeral takes up the story:
When the Boer War broke out he joined the Imperial Light Horse, and was engaged in the battles of Elandslaagte, Wagon Hill and others, was in Ladysmith during the siege, and the relief of Mafeking. He was several times mentioned in despatches, and obtained the Queen’s medal and six clasps, and the King’s medal with two clasps. He then joined the South African Constabulary, under General Baden Powell.
He had previously held a commission in the North Somerset Yeomanry, and after leaving it for a short time he re-joined a soon as the [First World War] was declared, and was in France with his regiment when it made its famous stand against the Prussian Guards. All his superior officers were killed or wounded, and he was temporarily in command of the regiment.
He received the ribbon of the 1914 Star of Mons, but did not live to get the star. He served with the regiment 20 years. He was latterly attached to the Labour Corps at West Ham.
Captain Brooking came to Frome with his parents as a boy. In his youth he was a thorough sportsman, well known in the hunting field, genial and kindly, ready with a pleasant word, and courteous to all, he won friendly appreciation from all classes of townsfolk.
He had seen a great deal of fighting, though from exposure and other causes his health suffered, and he was employed on home service.
He was in command of the 371st Labour Company, and second in command of his battalion, when he met with the slight accident which led to his death. He grazed his knuckles, causing bleeding, but of so slight a character that no notice was taken of it. A few hours later he again struck his hand, and fresh paint appears to have affected the wound, and blood poisoning supervened.
Somerset Standard: Friday 7th June 1918
In his personal life, Hugh had met and married Florence Day, a farmer’s daughter seventeen years his junior from Somerset. The wedding was in the autumn of 1912, and they would go on to have two children, Granville and Hugh Jr. The boys would both go on to lead distinguished lives, Granville in the armed forces and Hugh as a ‘King’s Messenger’ in South America.
Following Captain Brooking’s injury, he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Purfleet but the treatment he received there was to do no good. Three months after the accident, on 31st May 1918, he passed away; he was 47 years of age.
Hugh Cyril Arthur Brooking’s body was taken back to Frome; he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church in the town.
Donald Mather Mees was born on 14th July 1900, the only child of Arthur and Mary from Mells, Somerset. Arthur was a grocer and wine merchant, who, by the time of the 1911 census, had set the family up in Warminster.
Given his young age, there is little documented about Donald’s early life; most of the information available comes from the newspaper reports of his passing:
The military funeral which passed through Frome on Wednesday afternoon was a very sad one. It was that of Private Donald Mather Mees, only son of Mr AH Mees, grocer… formerly of Mells…
The deceased was a somewhat delicate lad, and had only joined up a few weeks – less, we believe, that a month – when he was taken ill and succumbed to pneumonia at King George V Hospital at Dublin on 15th inst.
His parents had been notified of his illness and were preparing to visit him when their journey was interrupted by the news of his death.
Somerset Standard: Friday 23rd August 1918
Private Donald Mather Mees, of the Wiltshire Regiment, had died on 15th August 1918, at the age of 18. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in the village of his birth, Mells.
Angus MacIntyre was born on the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides on 9th October 1894. One of eleven children, his parents were fisherman Malcolm McIntyre and his wife Flora.
Sadly, there is little information on Angus’ early life and military service. He was still living in the Scottish Islands by the time of the 1911 census, and enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve when war broke out.
In April 1918, Angus was acting as a Deck Hand on Motor Launch 282 in the North Sea, supporting the “Zeebrugge Raid”, an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port by scuppering obsolete vessels in the canal entrance.
Full details are not clear, but it would seem that the vessel Deck Hand MacIntyre was serving on was ferrying men between some of the ships that were being scuppered. When it was trying to manoeuvre it’s way out of the Zeebrugge Canal, it came under heavy machine gun fire, and a number of people on board were shot.
The motor launch managed to get clear of the fighting and returned to England. Unfortunately, Angus was one of the victims of the German gunfire. He was just 23 years of age.
The boat sailed back to the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. Angus MacIntyre was laid to rest in the nearby Woodlands Cemetery.
Documentation on the early life of Cornelius Edward O’Brien is pretty scarce, so it is impossible to build a picture of him before the First World War. He was born in the late 1890s in Whitechapel, East London and was working as a carman when he received his enlistment papers.
Cornelius joined the Royal Navy as a stoker on 27th November 1915 and was sent to HMS Vivid II, the shore-based establishment in Devonport that served as the Stokers and Engine Room Artificers School. He trained there for a couple of months before being assigned to HMS Drake, where he spent most of 1916.
Returning to Devonport, Stoker O’Brien spent a further year on board HMS Vivid II, gaining the rank of Stoker 1st Class. By the end of 1917, however, he was back at sea, having been sent to HMS Vixen, a naval destroyer that served in the Thames Estuary, performing anti-submarine patrols and counter mining operations there.
In mid-November 1918, with the war officially over, Cornelius was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, suffering from influenza, pneumonia and pleurisy. Sadly these were to prove too much of a challenge for him and he passed away on 21st November 1918.
Cornelius Edward O’Brien was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, not far from the Naval Dockyard in Chatham.
Clarence Endicott Tucker was born in the summer of 1895 and was the oldest of eight children (six of whom survived) to Samuel and Emma Tucker. Samuel was a sign writer from Axminster in Devon, although he had lived in Nottingham in the early 1890s, where he had met and married Emma, and this was where Clarence was subsequently born.
Within a couple of years, the family had moved to Yeovil, Somerset, where Clarence’s siblings were born and the family were raised. The 1911 census recorded the family as living in a house in the centre of town, the household comprising of Samuel, Emma, their six children and Samuel’s sister. Clarence, having left school, was working as a junior clerk for a cheese and butter merchant.
When war broke out, it was clear that Clarence was keen to play his part. He enlisted in September 1914 and joined the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. It must has seemed an overwhelming experience as, within a month he was on board a ship headed for India.
Private Tucker spent more than two years serving with the 5th Battalion, before contracting tuberculosis. After six weeks in hospital, he was evacuated to Egypt and then back to England again. He was admitted to the Southern General Hospital in Bristol, where an assessment identified that he was no longer medically fit enough to serve in the army. He was discharged on 2nd April 1917, having served for three and a half years.
At this point Clarence’s trail goes cold. He died on 18th February 1918, at the age of 22 years old. There is no confirmation of the cause of his death, although it seems likely to have been related to the problems he had with his lungs.
Clarence Endicott Tucker lies at rest in the cemetery in the Somerset town he called home, Yeovil.
Charles Samways was born in Yeovil, Somerset, in the summer of 1893, the oldest of three children to leather dresser George Samways and his wife Martha.
Sadly, little documentation on Charles’ life remains. The 1911 census lists him as living in a small house to the north of Yeovil town centre with his mother and younger brother – his sister Nellie having passed away in 1903 when she was just a toddler. Martha was working as a dressmaker, Charles as a glove cutter, but George does not appear on the document.
War was approaching, and Charles was keen to do his bit. While full details are not available for his military service, it is evident that he enlisted as a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry, and that he did so at some point before the summer of 1918. He joined the 12th (West Somerset Yeomanry) Battalion, which was initially based in the Middle East. The battalion arrived in France in May 1918, and soon became embroiled on the Western Front, including at the Second Battle of the Somme.
The Western Chronicle reported that “Private C Samways… [was] in hospital at Warrington, Lancashire, suffering from wounds in the head and hands. He was struck by a piece of shell when going ‘over the top’, and the fact that he was wearing a steel helmet undoubtedly saved his life.” [Western Chronicle: Friday 13th September 1918] It went on to state that he was “progressing favourably.“
Within weeks, Charles was recovering at home, although this was sadly not to last. He passed away from ‘disease’ on 6th November 1918, aged just 25 years old.
Charles Samways was laid to rest in Yeovil Cemetery, finally at peace.
The specific cause of Charles’ death is not documented. However, given that his father George also died at home around the same time, it seems likely to have been one of the many lung conditions – influenza, tuberculosis, pneumonia – that became prevalent as the war came to a close.
Frederick James Norris was born in the spring of 1890, one of eight children to Henry and Sarah Norris. Henry was a brewer’s drayman and groom, Sarah a milliner, and together they raised their family in the Somerset town of Yeovil.
When he left school, Frederick found work as a carman and carter, following in his father’s footsteps. Henry had died in 1907, followed by his two older brothers, Alfred in 1911 and Frank in 1912. Frederick, by this time, had met Emily Katherine White, and the couple married in Yeovil Parish Church on 23rd May 1909. They went on to have a daughter, Gwendoline, the following year.
War was fast approaching and, in December 1915, Frederick enlisted, joining the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner. After a few months’ training, he was sent to Columbo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where he served for just over a year. During his time there, he had contracted tuberculosis, a condition that ultimately resulted in his return to the UK.
Gunner Norris arrived back in England in August 1917, where he was again admitted to hospital with the respiratory condition. He was ultimately discharged from the army on medical grounds in August of that year.
After leaving the army, Frederick was admitted to a sanitorium, but at this point his trail goes cold. He died on 3rd May 1918, at the age of 28. While the cause of death is not stated, it seems likely to have been as a result of his already debilitated health.
Frederick James Norris was laid to rest in the cemetery in his home town of Yeovil.
John Scrace was born on 31st July 1892 in Chatham, Kent, the oldest of five children to John and Adelaide Scrace. John Sr was a relieving officer for the Medway Board of Guardians, a role which involved “taking charge of poor or insane persons not otherwise cared for” [census1891.com]. Adelaide worked in a similar role, as an infant protection visitor.
It is fair to say, therefore, that John Jr had a very supportive childhood. He attended King’s School in Rochester, where he obtained a scholarship to Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
When war broke out, John was keen to do his part. Initially joining The Buffs (the East Kent Regiment), he transferred across to the newly-formed Royal Air Force in June 1918. By this point he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant, and, as part of his new RAF role, was based at Driffield in Yorkshire.
On 24th August 1918, the aircraft John was flying at the base, spun into the ground, and John was killed instantly. A subsequent inquest identified that “the cause of the accident was due to the fact that, for reasons unknown, part of the top of the left-hand plane of the machine crumpled up in the air and thereby [caused] the pilot to lose control of his machine.” [rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk] Lieutenant Scrace was just 26 years of age.
John Scrace was buried in Christ Church Churchyard in Luton, Kent; he is commemorated in Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham.
Percival William Peacock was born in early 1888, the son of Thomas and Louisa Peacock. Little information survives about Percival’s early life, other than that he was one of two children, and that, like his parents, he had been born in Gillingham, Kent. Thomas was a sexton and gravedigger, but Percival found work as a hairdresser.
The 1911 census shows him as head of the household in a cottage in the village of Stone, near Dartford; he was living there with his cousin James and his family.
On 21st April 1913, now living in Kensal Green, North London, Percival married Clara Milton, a labourer’s daughter from just a few doors up.
War was now imminent, but again there is limited information about Percival’s involvement. He did enlist, joining the Labour Corps as a Private, but this seems to have been later in the war. He appears to have served on home soil, although there is nothing to confirm this either way.
The next concrete evidence for Percival is the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects. This confirms that he passed away on 5th December 1918 at the Paddington Military Hospital in London. No cause of death is provided, and the beneficiary given is his father, Thomas. Private Peacock was just 30 years old.
Percival William Peacock was laid to rest in the Grange Road Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent. Hs is commemorated in the nearby Woodlands Cemetery.
Tragedy was not far from the Peacocks’ life. Clara’s mother, Bessie, had passed away just a couple of weeks before Percival. Clara herself died on 5th March 1919, three months after her husband.
Death and Service 