Tag Archives: 1919

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Essex, Great War, history, photography, Royal Field Artillery, story, Sussex, unknown, war

Driver Arthur Parsons

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Driver Arthur Parsons

Arthur Walter Parsons was born in Broadwater, West Sussex, in the autumn of 1881. The fourth of nine children, his parents were Richard ad Clara Parsons. Richard was a carter, and by the time of the 1891 census, the family had moved into Worthing, and were living at 64 Montague Street, a stone’s throw from the sea.

Richard died in 1899, and the following spring, Arthur married Emily Eagleton. She was the daughter of a domestic servant, and seems to have been born in Poplar Workhouse, Middlesex. The 1891 census found her as a boarding student at St Agatha’s Home Institute in Great Barlow, Cambridgeshire, but by the time here and Arthur exchanged vows, she too was living in Worthing. Their marriage certificate shows that Emily was three years older than her husband, and that he was working as a carter, and living at 23 Clifton Road when they married.

The next census record, taken in 1901, recorded the Parsons living at 25 St Dunstan’s Road in Tarring. Arthur was a carter, and the couple shared their home with Alice, Emily’s daughter and Arthur’s stepdaughter.

By the time of the next census, Arthur and Emily had moved closed to the town centre, and were living at 96 Station Road. Arthur was still employed as a carter – possibly connected to the railway at the end of his road – and was supporting his wife and their three children – Alice (now called Edith), Arthur and Hilda.

When war broke out, Arthur stepped up to play his part. His service papers have been lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery as a Driver, presumably because of his experience with horses. By 27th June 1915, he found himself in France. It is unclear exactly how or where Driver Parsons served, but his unit had moved to Mesopotamia by the start of 1916.

Arthur survived the war, and returned home to his family, which now included another son, Cecil, who had been born in 1915. It would seem that Driver Parsons’ health had become impacted, however, and he would be discharged from the army in 1919. That autumn, on 16th September, he would breath his last, passing away at the age of 38.

The body of Arthur Walter Parsons was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, a short walk from where his grieving family still lived, in Station Road.

Emily was pregnant when her husband died: son Ronald Walter Parsons was born in December 1919. She would find love again, and married railway porter Arthur Browning in December 1929. The 1930 Register found them living at 81 Tarring Road, Worthing with her daughter Rose and son, Cecil.

The Second World War would bring Emily further tragedy. Ronald, who had never known his father, was serving in the Royal Navy, and attached to the destroyer HMS Grenville. She struck a mine off the Essex coast on 19th January, and he was killed. He was just 20 years of age.

The following year, Emily’s husband Alfred also died, passing away at home at the age of 66. Emily lived another eight years, and died in the spring of 1949, aged 69 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, India, Lance Corporal, Military Provost Staff Corps, photography, Private, Sergeant, South Africa, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Serjeant Frederick Bewley

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Serjeant Frederick Bewley

Frederick John Edwin Bewley was born in Calne, Wiltshire, on 10th May 1882. Noticeably absent from the 1891 and 1901 census records, his parents were Chelsea pensioner John Bewley, and his wife, Annie.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Frederick was drawn to a life in the army. Having already been a volunteer in the local militia, on 20th November 1900, he enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment. His service papers show that, at 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, he weighed 125lbs (56.7kg). He sported brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on his right thigh and calf.

Private Bewley’s contract was for 12 years. During that time, he travelled the world spending three years in South Africa, and more than five in India. He was back in South Africa when his initial term of service came to an end, and he re-enlisted without thinking about it.

In May 1904 Frederick has been promoted to Lance Corporal, a rank he would hold for the next 12 years. During his second term of service, war broke out, but he would only spend short periods of time overseas.

…a member of the regular army, [Frederick] crossed to France with Lord French’s Expeditionary Force in August, 1914, and was wounded in the thigh at the battle of Mons. After a short period at Netley Hospital he went to Flanders in the following November. The awful conditions prevailing in the trenches was responsible for an attack of frost-bite, and tuberculosis following, he was treated at Winsley and Harnwood Sanatoriums…

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 27th December 1919]

From 1th January 1915, Lance Corporal Bewley would remain on home soil. The sharp clarity of near-death experiences, along with a reconnection with home life, led to love blossoming and, on 6th May, he married labourer’s daughter Lilian Fidler. Both were living in Holt, Wiltshire, by this point, and it was in the village’s church that the couple exchanged vows.

Back on home soil, a new opportunity had opened up for Frederick, and he transferred to the Military Provost Staff Corps, a unit set up to police the army. In January 1916, he was promoted to Corporal; just weeks later, Vivian gave birth to their first child, Eric. and he rose to Sergeant eighteen months later.

On 1st August 1917, Corporal Bewley was promoted again, taking the rank of Serjeant. By this point, however, his bouts of poor health were coming back to haunt him, and, just six weeks after his promotion, he was medically discharged from the army.

After returning to Holt, Frederick welcomed a second son with Lilian on New Year’s Eve 1918, when Vivian was born. The following winter, his tuberculosis struck again, and this time it was clear the illness would prove fatal. He passed away on 21st December 1919, aged 37 years old.

The body of Frederick John Edwin Bewley was laid to rest in Hold Old Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, story, war, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Corporal Stanley Gosnell

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Lance Corporal Stanley Gosnell

Joseph Roger Stanley Gosnell was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, in the autumn of 1895. He wad the only child to William and Florence Gosnell. William was a draughtsman, who died when his son was just 4 years old.

Florence was left to raise her son on her own and moved back to Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, where her family lived. On 14th April 1903, she remarried, her new husband being head teacher of Holt Congregational School, John Longstaff. The 1911 census found the family living at Eglington Villa, not far from the school.

When war broke out, Joseph was quick to step up and play his part. Now going by Stanley, he enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment on 17th September 1914, and was assigned to the 4th Battalion. His service papers show that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was noted as having normal vision and good physical development.

Private Gosnell seemed to impress his superiors, and, on 12th December 1914, he was promoted Lance Corporal. The following day his unit was dispatched oversees, and he was sent to India. He would go on to spend the next eight months in Pune, but not in the way he might have hoped.

On 27th February 1915, Stanley was admitted to hospital, suffering from pneumonia. He would remain admitted for nearly three months. Sent back to his unit in mid-May, he was taken back into hospital just three weeks later with tuberculosis. This time, he would only be there for three weeks before being sent back to his unit.

Lance Corporal Gosnell was sent back to Britain in August 1915, and he would remain on home soil for the next year. During this time his health deteriorated, to the point that, no 25th August 1916, he was medically discharged from the army.

At this point, Stanley’s trail goes cold, and it is only a later newspaper report that confirms what happened:

Mrs Longstaff, of Eglington Villa, who a short time since was called upon to mourn the loss of her husband, Mr JC Longstaff, was on Wednesday further bereaved by the death of her only son, Mr Stanley Gosnell. Mr Gosnell’s constitution was never of the most robust kind, and though he volunteered for service and proceeded to India with the Territorials, he was unable to withstand the climate and the work entailed, and was invalided home. His death so soon after reaching manhood’s estate is a heavy blow to his mother and the utmost sympathy will go out to her in her irreparable loss.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 10th May 1919]

Details of John’s passing are unclear, but he died just a few months before his stepson. Joseph Roger Stanley Gosnell was just 23 when he died on 7th May 1919. He was laid to rest in Holt Old Cemetery, not far from where his twice-grieving mother lived.

Florence had now been widowed twice, on top of losing her only child. She found some solace in her grief, however, and, in the autumn of 1923, she married for a third time. Her new husband, Joseph Scarisbrick, was a widow thirteen years her senior, and worked as a customs and excise man.

Joseph died in 1938, at the age of 85: Florence had outlived all three of her husbands. She passed away on 4th October 1954, at the age of 88 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, Lance Corporal, photography, story, war, Wiltshire

Lance Corporal Sydney Wheeler

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Lance Corporal Sidney Wheeler

Walter Sydney Wheeler was born in the autumn of 1887 in Crockerton, Wiltshire. The oldest of three children, his parents were Walter and Lore Wheeler. Walter Sr was an agricultural labour, but when his son – who was known by his middle name – finished school, he found work as a stable boy. The 1901 census found the family living at 12 Church Street, Longbridge Deverill.

Sydney married a woman called Mary in 1907. There is little information about her, and the couple did not go on to have any children. By the time of the 1911 census, the couple were living at Priors Cottages, Semley, where Sydney had found farm work.

War came to Europe in 1914, and Sydney stepper up to play his part. Full details of his service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had joined up no later than the summer of 1918. He initially joined the Devonshire Regiment, but later transferred to the 651st Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps. By the end of the conflict he had risen to the rank of Lance Corporal.

Sydney survived the war, and by the start of 1919, he was back in Wiltshire. His health was impacted, however, and that February he was admitted to the VAD Hospital in Trowbridge. While his condition is unknown, it was one to which he would succumb. Lance Corporal Wheeler passed away on 8th February 1919, at the age of 31 years old.

The body of Walter Sydney Wheeler was taken to Longbridge Deverill for burial: he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter & St Paul’s Church.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war

Private Albert Rose

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Private Albert Rose

Albert William Rose – who was better known by his middle name – was born in the spring of 1876. One of eight children, his parents were Thomas and Amelia Rose. Thomas was a farm labourer from Sturminster Newton, Dorset, and this is the village in which the Rose family were born and raised.

William followed in his father’s footsteps, and was a farm labourer by the time he turned 14. The 1881, 1891 and 1911 census records all show him living with his parents: in 1901 he was a boarder with the Brown family at The Stables in Bryanstone, Dorset. He was employed as a stable keeper, one of eleven live-in employees at the stud.

Alongside his farm work, William was also an active volunteer in the local militia. When war broke out in the summer of 1914, he was quick to enlist, joining the 3rd Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment. His service papers show that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall and weighed 160lbs (72.6kg). He is recorded as having brown hair and grey eyes.

During the next four months, Private Rose undertook training on home soil. In December 1914, his unit was moved to France, and he would remain on the Western Front through to the Armistice and beyond. His time overseas was not without incident, and his age and health would be against him.

Over the next four years, William would he hospitalised at least a dozen times, for rheumatism, myalgia, a recurring heart condition and, in May 1915, from the effects of a gas attack and subsequent issues with catarrh. In December 1918, he returned to Britain with atherosclerosis, a clogging of the arteries, and was medically discharged from service the following month.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold. It is likely that he returned home, as , when he passed away, his death was registered in Sturminster.

Albert William Rose passed away on 6th June 1919: he was 43 years old. His body was laid to rest in Sturminster Newton Cemetery, not far from his family home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Northamptonshire, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, Sergeant, story, war

Serjeant George Twiselton

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Serjeant George Twiselton

George Twiselton was born in Milton Malsor, Northamptonshire, in the spring of 1878. The third of nine children, he was the second of two sons to Reuben and Eliza Twiselton. Reuben was a general labourer, working for the local railway and brewer, and his son was to follow suit, taking up employment as a drayman.

In 1903, George married Annie Branson. She was a cooper’s daughter from Northampton, and it seems likely that George and his future father-in-law knew each other through their combined work. By the time the young couple married, Annie was working as a domestic servant for the Burnham family, and was living at 50 Middle Street, Bradwell, Buckinghamshire (now part of Milton Keynes).

The 1911 census found George and Annie living in Milton Malsor. They had four children by this point: Edith, Doris, Reuben and Clara. George was still employed as a brewer’s drayman, and this would stand him in good stead when war broke out a few years later.

Details George’s time in the army have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted by 1916, and was assigned to the Royal Army Service Corps. His previous time with horses led him to be attached to the 381st Mechanical Transport Company, and he spent time in France, eventually rising to the rank of Serjeant.

George survived the war, and returned home after the Armistice. However, he contracted influenza early in 1919, and would succumb to the condition on 9th March: he was 40 years of age.

The body of George Twiselton was laid to rest with full military honours in the graveyard of Holy Cross Church, in his home village of Milton Malsor.

Serjeant George Twiselton
(from miltonmalsorhistory.org.uk)

With her husband dead, and six children to raise, Annie had to find the strength to continue. The 1921 census found her living with her four youngest – including her only son, Reuben. She was employed on home duties, while her 13-year-old boy was working as a farm servant.

Reuben’s story is a testament to his father’s determination:

At the outbreak of WW2 Reuben, the only son of George, joined his father’s old RASC regiment and went to France as an ambulance driver with the British Expeditionary Force. Along with many others, he withdrew to the Dunkirk beaches but turned down evacuation back to the UK, choosing instead to stay behind and give assistance to the many wounded. He was later taken prisoner and held a Prisoner of War for 5 years until released by American soldiers in 1945. He died in 1988 aged 81 years.

[Milton Malsor History website]

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Driver, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, Lance Corporal, Northamptonshire, photography, Quartermaster, Royal Army Service Corps, Sergeant, story, war

Company Quartermaster Serjeant Charles Frost

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Company Quartermaster Serjeant Charles Frost

Charles Albert Frost was born in Daventry, Northamptonshire, at during the winter of 1882/3. The third of eight children, his parents were William and Louisa Frost. William was a foreman at a shoe factory in Northampton and, at the time of the 1891 census, the family were living at what looks to be 47 Ardington Road or Abington Road (the return is not clearly legible).

Charles also found work in the shoe trade when he completed his schooling, but his is not a career he wanted to make for himself. Instead he was drawn to the army and, on 26th January 1900, he joined up. The now Driver Frost’s service records show that, at 18 years of age, he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) tall and weighed 127lbs (57.6kg). He had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Assigned to the Army Service Corps, Charles spent the next few years on home soil. Attached to the 17th Company, he would work hard and that dedication would pay off. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in April 1902, and 2nd Corporal just six months later. By January 1903 he had risen to Corporal, extending his term of service the same month.

Interestingly, in March 1904, Charles reverted to the role of Driver at his own request. He would remain at that rank until for the next four years, when he was stood down to reserve status.

The 1911 census found Charles living back home with his parents and siblings. By this point there were six adults and three children living at 74 Hood Street, Northampton, a seven-roomed terraced house on the east of the town centre. Charles had found work as a blouse cutter in a local factory, and with his father and older siblings all involved in factory work in some way.

Life on civvy street seemed not to appeal, however, and in November 1911 Charles was re-engaged with the Army Service Corps. This was initially planned to be for four years, but he would remain in the army for nearly twice that long.

In August 1914, Driver Frost was shipped out to France. and, barring leave, he would remain there for the next three years. In the summer of 1915, he returned home briefly, marrying Daisy Harris at St Edmund’s Church in Hardingstone, Northamptonshire, when he did so. He was soon sent back out to France, however, and remained on the other side of the Channel until April 1917.

Back on home soil, Charles’ career had taken a surprising turn. In January 1915 he was promoted to Acting Corporal, rising to Acting Sergeant just four months later. By November 1916 he had been promoted to Acting Quartermaster Sergeant, a role that was formalised just four months later.

In May 1918, Daisy gave birth to their first – and only – child, a boy they called Eric. Tragically, he passed away just three weeks later, from a combination of pemphigus and asthma: with Charles away, Daisy had to register the death.

Quartermaster Sergeant Frost survived the war, but was admitted to the Mill Road Hospital in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 28th June 1919. He was suffering from a cerebral tumour, but his treatment would prove ineffectual. He died at 3:20am on 4th July 1919: he was 37 years of age.

The body of Charles Albert Frost was taken back to Northamptonshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Edmund’s Church, Hardingstone, alongside Eric: a father and son reunited.

Daisy had not lost her son and husband in just over a year. The 1921 census found her back living with her father and sister, carrying out home duties while they worked.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Essex, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Leading Stoker, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Leading Stoker Percy Curtis

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Leading Stoker Percy Curtis

Percy John Curtis was born on 2nd January 1889, the second of twelve children to Tom and Sabina Curtis. Tom was a general labourer from Todber, Dorset, and this is where the family were born and raised.

Much of Percy’s life is a mystery. He found work at sea when he finished his schooling, and in October 1911 he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 1st Class. His service papers show that he was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

Stoker Curtis was initially assigned to the cruiser HMS Pathfinder, and remained on board until the summer of 1912. After a short sting at HMS Victory – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire – he was given another posting, aboard the battleship HMS King George V. She would become his home for the next four years, during which time Percy was promoted.

In September 1916, the now Leading Stoker Curtis returned to shore and to HMS Victory. He would remain at the base for the rest of his time in the navy.

On 5th November 1918, Percy married Kathleen Francis. She was the daughter of a Co-operative store manager from Dovercourt, Essex. She seems to have stayed with her family while her new husband was working, and a later census records confirms that she had returned (or remained) there after his death.

Percy’s service record gives a intriguing hint as to what happened, to him. By the end of the war he had been assigned to HMS Victory’s accounting branch. His papers simply state that he “Found dead on board 17 March 1919”. No cause of death is confirmed, although another naval document does confirm that it was due to illness, rather than any foul play. He was 30 years of age.

The body of Percy John Curtis was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in Todber Churchyard, alongside his father, who had passed away the year before.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire Regiment, history, Labour Corps, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, South Africa, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Corporal Ernest Ritchens

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Corporal Ernest Ritchens

Ernest Ritchens was born in the summer of 1872 in the Wiltshire village of Semington. The youngest of nine children, he was one of seven boys to Isaac and Sarah Ritchens. Isaac was a farm labourer, and this is a job into which Ernest also followed when he completed his schooling.

Farming was not something Ernest wanted to be in for the long term, however, and, after the death of his parents – Isaac in 1895, and Sarah four years later – he joined the army. Details of his military career have been lost to time, but it seems that he joined the Wiltshire Regiment and, as a Private, spent time in South Africa. By the time he was stood down, he had risen to the rank of Lance Corporal.

Back home and, in the summer of 1907, Ernest married Sarah York, a wheelwright’s daughter from Hilperton near Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The newlyweds would set up home in the village, and go on to have four children. The 1911 census found the young family living on Devizes Road, Ernest back working as a farm labourer.

When war broke out, Ernest was again called upon to play his part . He was given the rank of Corporal, and attached to the Wiltshire Regiment (although other records he was assigned to the Hampshire Regiment). He did not appear to have spent any time overseas and, was soon transferred over to the 160th Company of the Labour Corps.

DEATHS

RITCHENS – On February 1st, at No. 1, Australian Hospital, Sutton Veny, Corporal Ernest Ritchens, of the Labour Corps, and formally of the Wilts Regiment, resident of Hilperton…

[Wiltshire News: Friday 7th February 1919]

Ernest Ritchens was 46 years of age when he passed away in 1919. While the cause us not reported, it is likely to have been an illness of some sort. His body was taken back to Hilperton, and he was laid to rest in the village cemetery.

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, France, Great War, history, illness, Jersey, Lieutenant, Major, Middlesex, photography, story, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, war

Major Alexander Leslie

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Major Alexander Leslie

Alexander Augustus Maurice Leslie was born in France in 1852. One of five children, his parents were Government Secretary of State Francis Leslie and his French wife, Josephine.

Alexander’s mother died when he was 8 years old, by which point the family had moved back to Britain. Francis had set up home in Ealing, Middlesex, and they were living at 15 Castlebar Road, a Victorian villa.

When he completed his schooling, Alexander sought out a military life. The 1881 census recorded him as a Lieutenant in the Suffolk Regiment, living in St Helier, Jersey. He had married the year before, to Louisa Cumming, a surgeon’s daughter from Devon. They had a son, Maurice, by this point, and a daughter, Ida, was born the following year.

Lieutenant Leslie’s service records are sparse, but a later newspaper report fills in some of the gaps: “Leslie’s military experience, which extended… over a period of about 25 years, included participation in the Egyptian campaign in 1884, and service on the West Coast of Africa, in Jamaica, and in India.” [Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 30th April 1919]

During her husband’s time overseas, Louisa raised the children back home in Devon. She passed away in 1901, but which point, Alexander had retired with the rank of Captain. That year’s census found him living with Maurice and Ida at 14 Spencer Hill in Wimbledon, Surrey, a large detached villa. Maurice, now 20 years of age, was working as an accountant’s clerk, and the family had a live-in servant called Rose.

The next census record, from 1911, recorded Alexander living in rooms at 46 Leinster Gardens, Paddington. A substantial Georgian property, his landlady was Eveline Giradet, whose other residents included a barrister and a banker. Alexander’s occupation was now noted as Retired Major in the British Army.

From this point, Alexander’s trail grows cold. It is likely that he was called upon to play a part in the global conflict that broke out in 1914, though exactly when and how he did so is unclear. Records suggest he was admitted to Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital on Millbank, Middlesex on 28th September 1916, suffering from syphilis. He only remained there for a couple of days, and his increasing age and health may have led to his retirement from duty.

For the past four years Major Alexander Maurice Leslie, who was for a period of a quarter of a century connected with the Royal Sussex Regiment, had been a resident of Worthing, and a brief intimation was given in the last issue… that he had died suddenly.

The circumstances were duly investigated by… the Deputy Coroner for West Sussex, on Wednesday afternoon, the inquiry taking place at the Central Fire Station, in High-street.

Evidence of identification was given by Colonel Francis Seymour Leslie… late of the Royal Engineers, who stated that the deceased, who was his brother, had lived at Worthing for the past four years, more or less all the time, though he had no permanent address…

Mrs Ethel William, a widow, at whose house… Major Leslie had lodged, stated that he had complained of indigestion and ate light food. On Monday evening he had his supper at half-past seven o’clock, going upstairs about half an hour later. About nine o’clock witness went to his room and found him lying in bed in great agony, and he exclaimed: “Oh, my poor heart!” Witness gave him some hot water to drink and sent for a doctor.

Dr Bernard Lees stated that he was sent for, but he found Major Leslie was dead when he got to the house. He had since made a post-mortem examination, which showed that the stomach and intestines were much distended, and there were signs of chronic gastric catarrh. The heart was fatty, but the valves were healthy. Death was due to syncope, the result of acute indigestion and the fatty condition of the heart.

A verdict of “Death from natural causes” was recorded.

[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 30th April 1919]

[It should be noted that Alexander had been attached to the Suffolk Regiment throughout his military career. The error in the newspaper report is likely because of the Sussex town he had moved to in the mid-1910s.]

Alexander Augustus Maurice Leslie was 67 years of age when he passed away on 21st April 1919. His body was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, to the north of the town he had called his home for more than four years.