Tag Archives: 1918

Commonwealth War Graves, Cyprus, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, Malta, photography, Poland, Private, story, war

Private Arthur Srodzinski

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Private Arthur Srodzinski

Arthur Reginald Srodzinski was born in Paignton, Devon, in October 1890. His great grandfather Stanislaus was born in Poland and emigrated to Devon in the early 1840s. He was an upholsterer, and this is a trade that his son Samuel, and his grandson – Arthur’s father – Henry also followed. Henry and his wife, Sarah, had five children, of which Arthur was the middle one; by the time of the 1901 census, Henry has moved the family to Newton Abbot.

Arthur wanted bigger and better things than upholstering, and sought out a career in the army. In March 1909, he enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment as a Private. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.69m) tall, and weighed in at 131lbs (59kg). He has hazel eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.

Private Srodzinski enlisted for a period of twelve years (seven on active duty), and after his initial training, he was sent overseas. Over the next few years, he was posted to Malta, Cyprus and Egypt but, when was came to Europe, he returned to England, before heading to the Western Front.

Arthur’s time in France was not to be a long one – at the end of December 1914, he was medically evacuated to England, suffering from a heart condition. This was to turn out to be a serious issue, and he was formally discharged from the army on medical grounds just four months later.

Back in Devon, Arthur found work as a butcher and, in the autumn of 1917, he married local carpenter’s daughter Carrie Larkworthy; the couple set up home in Newton Abbot.

In March 1918, Arthur was attending a meeting of discharged soldiers at the Commercial Hotel in Newton Abbot, when he collapsed. Medical treatment was sought, but it proved too late; he had died of a heart attack. Arthur was just 28 years of age.

Arthur Reginald Srodzinski was laid to rest in Newton Abbot Cemetery. Three months later, Carrie gave birth to their one and only child, who she named Reginald.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Charles Sparey

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Private Charles Sparey

Walter Charles Sparey was born on 3rd Aril 1890 in the Somerset town of Frome. He was a twin, and was one of a total of seven children to Walter and Susan Sparey. Walter Sr was a plasterer and tiler and the family lived on Culver Hill, to the south of the town centre, and next to the Girls’ Asylum Institute.

When he left school, Walter Jr – who was known as Charles, to avoid confusion with his father – found work as a grocer’s porter, while his twin, Henry, was employed as a labourer for the local brewery.

Europe was on the brink of war and, while full details of Charles’ military service are not available, some aspects are clear. He enlisted within weeks of war breaking out, joining the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. By July 1915, he found himself on the Western Front in France.

Private Carey was caught up in the fighting and, on 3rd April 1916, received gun shot wounds in the back and shoulder. He seems to have recovered, but was dogged by lung and heart afflictions afterwards, and did not return to active duty. He was eventually discharged from military service on 15th August 1917.

Charles returned home, but the effects of his injuries eventually proved too much. He passed away on 1st March 1918, aged just 28 years old, and was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Frome.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, injury, Ireland, Lance Corporal, Lance Serjeant, photography, Private, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Corporal Cyril Allen

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Corporal Cyril Allen

Cyril Starr Allen was born on 15th June 1891 in the village of Baughurst, near Tadley in Hampshire. He was the second youngest of five children to Charles and Martha Allen. Charles was a rate collector, and the family moved around the county during Cyril’s early years.

By the time Cyril left school, Charles had become an assistant bursar in Wootton, near Basingstoke. Cyril, meanwhile, had found similar administrative employment and was working as a clerk for a local land agent.

At the start of 1911, Cyril enlisted in the British Army. He joined the 4th Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private and was soon based on Salisbury Plain. His service records confirm that he was 19 years and 7 months old, and stood at 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall. Private Allen served for his initial term of four years, before being remobilised.

In November 1915, Cyril married Mabel Young. She was a printer’s daughter from Wiltshire, and the couple married in Salisbury, before settling down in Frome, Somerset. They went on to have a child, a daughter they called Kathleen.

Remobilised in the autumn of 1915 Private Allen received a series of promotions – to Lance Corporal, Corporal, Lance Sergeant and Sergeant, and, by June 1917, he found himself at the Front.

On 22nd April 1918, Cyril was injured, sustaining gunshot wounds to his shoulder and left arm. He was invalided back to England for treatment, and was hospitalised in the north of the country. He was then transferred to the Royal Welch Fusiliers with the rank of Corporal and sent to Ireland to continue his recovery and work light duties.

While in Ireland, Corporal Allen contracted influenza and was admitted to the Buttevant Hospital in County Cork. Sadly, in his weakened state, it was something he was to succumb to, and he passed away, with Mabel at his bedside, on 15th November 1918. He was just 27 years of age.

Cyril Starr Allen’s body was brought back to England; he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in Frome, Somerset.

Corporal Cyril Allen (from ancestry.co.uk)

After the loss of her husband, Mabel went on to live her life. In 1923, she married James Burr, a draughtsman from Frome; they went on to have a child – a brother for Kathleen – called James.

Cyril’s two brothers, Winthrop and Charles, also fought in the First World War.

(from ancestry.co.uk)

Winthrop had emigrated to North America in 1911, but returned to Europe as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force when war broke out.

Lance Corporal Charles Allen served with the 15th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. He fought on the Western Front and was killed near Kemmel Hill in Belgium on 4th September 1918. He was just 21 years old. Charles is commemorated at the Tyne Cot Memorial in Zonnebeke, Belgium.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Frederick Crook

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Private Frederick Crook

Frederick Charles Crook was born in Frome, Somerset, in 1896 and was one of eleven children. His parents were Frank and Bessie Crook, and the family were raised in a house to the south of the town centre. Frank was a plasterer but sadly details of his son’s life are quite sketchy, so it’s not evident if this was a trade he followed his father into.

In the spring of 1912, Frederick married Wiltshire-born domestic servant Hannah Gerrish, a farm labourer’s daughter. The couple wed in Bradford on Avon, and went on to have a daughter, Margaret, who was born in 1913.

Storm clouds were gathering over Europe, and, in November 1914, Frederick volunteered to play his part. He joined the Somerset Light Infantry, and was assigned to the 1st Battalion as a Private.

While it’s not possible to identify exactly where he served, Frederick would certainly have seen action on the Western Front: his battalion fought with the 4th Division at Ypres, The Somme and at Arras in the various phases of the conflict.

The ongoing conflict must have had an impact on Private Crook: he was medically discharged from military service with neurasthenia – a nervous breakdown – just weeks before the Armistice was signed. He returned to Frome, but it must have been too much: he passed away on 10th December 1918, at the age of just 22 years old.

Frederick Charles Crook was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, in his home town, Frome.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, war

Private Edward Pike

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Private Edward Pike

Edward Arthur James Pike was born in Frome, Somerset, in 1888, one of six children to Giles and Annie Pike. Giles was a carter and labourer, and this is something that Edward – who was known by his second name, Arthur – followed his father into.

Arthur later found employment with the local Cooperative Society, and his carting experience led him to work for a Mr Bynoth of Badcox, whose Somerset business later became a well-known local taxi and bus company. On 17th April 1911, Arthur married Ellen Emma Sheppard, a labourer’s daughter from nearby Longbridge Deverill.

War was coming to Europe, and Arthur enlisted when his time came in the autumn of 1917. He joined the Army Service Corps, and was assigned to the 12th Mechanical Transport Company on Salisbury Plain.

While serving, Private Pike quickly contracted rheumatic fever. He was admitted to the Fargo Military Hospital in Larkhill, but succumbed to the condition after three months on 28th March 1918. He was 30 years old.

Brought back to Frome, Edward Arthur James Pike was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Somerset Light Infantry, story, Sussex, war

Private Albert Gale

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Private Albert Gale

Albert Gale was born in the Devon village of Chudleigh Knighton in October 1883, one of five children to John and Elizabeth Gale. It seems that Elizabeth may have died when Albert was young, as, by the time of the 1901 census, John was married to a Sarah Gale, and the family were living in the village of Hennock.

John was a clay cutter, and this was a trade into which Albert followed his father. Again, as time moves on, things change; the 1911 census found Albert boarding with his sister Sophy and her husband, fellow cutter Thomas Willcocks, back in Chudleigh Knighton.

War was coming to Europe and, in April 1916, Albert enlisted, joining the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. He would have cut a commanding figure; his enlistment papers show that he stood at 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall.

Albert served on home soil. While attached to the Somerset Light Infantry, he was assigned to the 661st Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps, working in Kent and Sussex.

During this time, he received hospital treatment on four separate occasions: in August 1916, he was admitted with cellulitis of the arm; in December 1916 and January 1917, he was treated on two separate occasions for scabies. In November 1918, however, he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, as he was suffering from influenza. Sadly, this last condition was to worsen and, on 21st November 1918, Private Gale died, having subsequently contracted pneumonia. He was 35 years old.

Albert Gale’s body was brought back to Devon for burial. His brother-in-law Thomas had died the previous summer; his story can be found here. Albert was laid to rest in the grave next to his sister’s husband in the churchyard of St Paul’s in Chudleigh Knighton.

With Thomas dead, Sophy had been left a widow. Understandably bitter at what the war had taken from her, when she was asked if she wanted a memorial for her brother, she returned the form with the following statement: “I don’t require the plaque and scroll in memory of my dear brother; a piece of paper won’t keep me.”

Buckinghamshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, photography, Private, story, unknown, war

Private John Clarke

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Private John Clarke

John Clarke was born in Devon on 28th June 1881, the son of Edward and Mary Ann Clarke. Sadly, little documented information remains on his life, but from what does exist, a semblance of his life can be pieced together.

Edward and Mary Ann lived in the village of Ashcombe in their later years, although it seems that John had been born closer to Exeter. At some point before October 1915, he married local woman Rhoda; they did not go on to have any children.

When the First World War broke out, John was working as a farm labourer. He signed up, joining the 7th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. His enlistment papers confirm that he had already been volunteering for the 8th Battalion of the same regiment. They also note that he stood 5ft 6ins (1.68cm) tall, weighed 140lbs (63.5kg) and, intriguingly, that he was of poor physical development.

Private Clarke’s time in the army was not destined to be a lengthy one. In January 1916, he was admitted to the Canadian Red Cross Hospital in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, suffering with neuralgia. A couple of months later, he was admitted again, this time with influenza.

Shortly afterwards John’s military service came to an end. He was dismissed as medically unfit due to a gastric ulcer; his final day in the army was 30th March 1916, and he had served for 175 days.

At this point, Private Clarke’s trail once again goes cold. He passed away on 3rd December 1918 – more than eighteen months after leaving the Devonshire Regiment – although there is no documentation to confirm the cause of his passing. He was 37 years of age.

John Clarke was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Nectan’s church in Ashcombe, Devon.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman Hubert Banks

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Able Seaman Hubert Banks

Hubert Philip Banks was born on 13th September 1896 in Tottenham, London and was one of eight children to Wilfrid and Mary Banks. Wilfrid was a gas engineer, but when he left school, Hubert found work as a clerk. By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to Edmonton.

Hubert had a sense of adventure, and wanted a career that reflected that. On 23rd September 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy; as he was underage at this point, he was given the role of Boy. Within a year he turned 18 and was formally given the rank of Ordinary Seaman.

After initial training at HMS Pembroke – the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was assigned to HMS Cornwallis, a dreadnought class vessel that served in the Mediterranean. Hubert spent two years on Cornwallis, during which time he was promoted to Able Seaman.

Over the next few years, Hubert served on three more vessels – HMS Quernmore, HMS Agamemnon and HMS Europa. In between times, he was based back in Chatham before moving back to HMS Pembroke on a more permanent basis in July 1918.

It was while he was back in Kent that Hubert fell ill. He was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Chatham with pneumonia, and was to succumb to the lung condition on 30th October 1918. He was just 22 years of age.

Hubert Philip Banks was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the naval base he called home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Kent, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class James Duffy

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Stoker 1st Class James Duffy

James Albert Duffy was born on 21st May 1888 in the town of Monaghan, Ireland. The son of Francis and Elizabeth Duffy, he was one of ten children. Francis was a policeman, but James took up plastering when he left school; by the time of the 1911 census, the family had left Monaghan and moved to Belfast.

War was coming, and James received his call up in March 1916. He joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class; his service record shows that he stood 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and had fair hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

After two months’ training at HMS Pembroke in Chatham, Kent, Stoker Duffy was assigned to HMS Chatham, a cruiser that served in the Mediterranean. He spent eighteen months on board, and was promoted to Stoker 1st Class for his service.

At the end of 1917, James returned to Chatham Dockyard. While there, he fell ill, and was admitted to the Naval Hospital in the town. Sadly, while in hospital he passed away, having suffered a cerebral abscess. He died on 29th January 1918, aged just 29 years old.

James Albert Duffy was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Petty Officer 1st Class George Fawcett

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Petty Officer 1st Class George Fawcett

George Fawcett was born on 3rd February 1873, one of ten children to John and Maria (or Mary). John was a stonemason who raised his family in Essex, and it was in Stratford that George and most of his siblings were born.

When George left school, he was drawn to a life of adventure. He joined the Royal Navy on 5th May 1888, and was first assigned the role of Boy, as he was under age. He was formally enlisted on 3rd February 1891 – his 18th birthday. He had, by this point, been serving on HMS Hotspur for nine months, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His hard work must have held him in good stead, because he was promoted to Able Seamen just two months later.

Over the course of his initial twelve years’ service, Able Seaman Fawcett served on eight different ships, and continued to rise through the ranks. He mad made Leading Seaman by 1894 and Petty Officer 2nd Class five years later. By the time his first term of service had ended, he had been promoted again, this time to Petty Officer 1st Class.

George voluntarily renewed his service in 1903, and over the next few years, he served on a number of other vessels. His shore base was always HMS Pembroke, though, and his time at sea was interspersed with periods at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham.

Petty Officer Fawcett had been in the Royal Navy for 23 years by the time war was declared. He was still at sea in August 1914, but was transferred to a permanent shore role at the beginning of the following year. He spent three years fulfilling his duties at HMS Pembroke, but fell ill in the spring of 1918.

He was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Chatham with liver disease, and this was a condition he was not to recover from. Petty Officer Fawcett passed away on 12th April 1918, at the age of 45.

George Fawcett’s body was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the naval base at which he was based.