Tag Archives: 1919

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, Scotland, Stoker, story, Sussex, war

Stoker 1st Class William Banfield

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Stoker 1st Class William Banfield

William Banfield was born on 7th November 1890, in Henfield, near Horsham, West Sussex. He was the second youngest of seven children to George and Ellen Benfield. George was a carpenter, and this was a trade his two sons – William and his older brother, George – were initially both to follow as well.

William had a longing for the sea, however, and, on 11th June 1909, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 7.5ins (1.71m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Stoker Banfield was based out of HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, but, over the eventual decade of his service, he spent no more than seven months ashore. Instead, he served on a total of nine ships. This included the battleship HMS Exmouth where, during the eighteen months he spent on board, he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class, and also spent 14 days in the brig, for reasons undisclosed.

On 27th September 1915, William was assigned to HMS Princess Royal. He served aboard for nearly three and a half years, patrolling the North Sea, coming under fire during the Battle of Jutland, and providing support during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight.

Towards the end of January, Stoker 1st Class Benfield fell ill, and was admitted to the Edinburgh City Hospital. Suffering from encephalitis, sadly the condition proved too much for his system to bear and he passed away at the hospital on 31st January 1919. He was 28 years of age.

William Banfield was brought back to Sussex for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Henfield.

William’s older brother, George, was also to fall victim to the First World War. He had enlisted in the Royal Navy three years before his younger sibling, and also served as a Stoker 2nd Class (subsequently being promoted to Stoker 1st Class in 1907).

George was also based out of HMS Victory, and, in April 1911, was stood down to the Royal Naval Reserve, having completed an initial five years’ service.

When war broke out, George was called back into service, and was assigned to HMS Good Hope, travelling from English shores to Nova Scotia, before heading to South America and into the Pacific.

Caught up in the Battle of Coronel on 1st November 1914, the Good Hope was sunk by the German cruiser SMS Scharnhost. All souls on board – all 926 of them – were lost; this included Stoker 1st Class George Banfield. He was only 27 years of age.

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

Private Walter Chapman

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Private Walter Chapman

Walter Stanley Chapman was born in the summer of 1897, the younger of two boys to William and Sarah (known as Annie) Chapman. William was a carter on a farm in North Cadbury, near Yeovil, Somerset, and this is where the young family grew up.

When he left school, Walter became apprenticed to a local carpenter, but war was on the horizon. His older brother Frederick was quick to enlist, joining the Royal Marine Light Infantry as a Private. He served on HMS Hood during the Battle of Jutland in the spring of 1916, and was killed during the fighting. He was buried at sea, and was just 23 years old when he died.

The loss of his brother may have spurred Walter into action. He enlisted as well, joining the 1/4th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry as a Private. Details of his service are limited, but his battalion served in Mesopotamia during the conflict, and it is likely that he spent some time in the region.

Private Chapman survived the war, and returned to Somerset on furlough, waiting to be demobbed. Sadly, he passed away during this time, breathing his last on 19th April 1919, at the age of just 21 years old. William and Annie had lost both of their sons because of the conflict.

Walter Stanley Chapman was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church in his home village of North Cadbury. His gravestone also commemorates the passing of his older brother.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Essex, Great War, history, injury, Ireland, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Worcestershire Regiment

Private Alfred Beake

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Private Alfred Beake

Alfred Beake was born in December 1898 and was one of nine children to Alfred and Charlotte Beake. Alfred Sr was a baker from Westonzoyland in Somerset, but it was in Chard that he and Charlotte had set up home and raised their family.

There is little documented about Alfred’s life. He played his part in the First World War, and had joined the Worcestershire Regiment by November 1918. His troop – the 5th (Reserve) Battalion – was a territorial force, and he would have split his time between Harwich, Essex, and Plymouth, Devon.

Private Beake survived the war and, by the spring of 1919 had been moved to Dublin. It was here on 18th May that he met with colleagues Private Simpson and Swindlehurst in the centre of the city. The trio caught a tram to the coastal town of Howth for a day out, where tragedy struck.

The Dublin Evening Telegraph reported on what happened next:

Private Sydney Simpson, Royal Engineers, stated… when they got to Howth, they walked along the Cliff Walk for about a mile, when they saw some seagulls down the cliff. [Beake and Swindlehurst] went out of witness’s sight for a while, when he heard a shout from Swindlehurst for help. On hurrying back, he saw Swindlehurst looking towards the sea, and he said the deceased had slipped down. The cliff was so steep that, although they tried to get down, they could not do so. Witness sent for help. None of the party had taken any drink.

Private Swindlehurst… said that he and deceased climbed down the grassy slope to get some seagulls’ eggs, but that the deceased suddenly slipped down. There was no horseplay going on at the time when the accident took place.

Captain Wynne, Royal Army Medical Corps, who made a post mortem examination, described the terrible injuries which the deceased had sustained. Death must have been instantaneous.

Dublin Evening Telegraph: Wednesday 21st May 1919

Private Beake had suffered a fractured skull from the fall. He was just 20 years of age.

Alfred Beake’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in Chard Cemetery.

Alfred’s oldest brother, Walter George Beake, had also served in the First World War.

Private Beake fought with the 7th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, and was involved in some of the key skirmishes of the Somme. But it was at Ypres that he was buried alive during an attack, and the resulting shell shock left him totally incapacitated.

Walter was discharged from the army on medical grounds in September 1916. He returned home to try and piece his life together again. He never married, and passed away in December 1978, at the age of 87 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Fusiliers, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Private Frederick Harris

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Private Frederick Harris

Frederick Jacob Harris was born in Wadeford, near Chard in Somerset, on 28th August 1887. The fourth of eleven children, his parents were William and Grace Harris. William was an agricultural labourer and carter, but the busy lace and weaving industry in the area is what provided Frederick and his siblings with work when they finished school.

It may have been through his work in the factory that Frederick met Alice Dowell: she was the daughter of a lace hand from Chard. The couple married on 20th October 1906, and settled in a house near the centre of the town. They went on to have four children, two boys and two girls.

War was closing in on Europe by this point, although there is little specific information about Frederick’s service. He initially joined the Somerset Light Infantry, although he soon made the move to the Royal Fusiliers. He received the Victory and British Medals, as did everyone else who served in the Great War, but there is no confirmation of whether he saw action overseas or not.

However and wherever Private Harris served, he survived the conflict, and was demobbed on 25th May 1919. His discharge record suggests that, at the point of being released from duty, he had no injuries or disabilities, and nothing that could be attributed to his time in the army.

Frederick appears to have returned to Chard, and spent the next six months adjusting to civilian life. However, something changed, as, on 10th December 1919, he passed away at home. No cause of death is evident, and nothing in the contemporary local media suggests that he died of anything other than natural causes. Whatever led to his passing, he was taken early, as he was only 32 years of age.

Frederick Jacob Harris was laid to rest in Chard Cemetery.

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

Private Edgar Boyland

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Private Edgar Boyland

Edgar Albert Boyland (known as Albert) was born in the summer of 1894, the third of eight children to John and Sarah Boyland. John was a farm labourer from Chaffcombe in Somerset, but it was in nearby Chard that the family were born and raised.

Albert followed in his father’s footsteps and, when he finished school, he found work on a local farm. The 1911 census recorded him boarding with the Boait family in Winsham, to the south-east of Chard. He was living there along with another boarder, a baker called Fred Baker, and his influence seems to have paid off, as, by the time war was declared in 1914, baking was the trade that he had taken up.

With the conflict declared, Albert was called upon to play his part. In April 1915, he enlisted in the Army Service Corps. His records show that he stood 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall and he gave his trade as baker. This was the trade that served him well, as it is the one for which he was employed.

Private Boyland was sent to France within a few weeks of enlisting. In November 1915, he was sent to Salonika, Greece, and spent the next couple of years in the Eastern Mediterranean providing food for the troops.

In December 1917, Albert returned to England where, within a couple of months, he was medically discharged from active duty. Sadly, there is nothing documented to confirm the condition that led to him leaving the army, but it seems likely to have been an illness of some description.

At this point, Albert’s trail goes cold. He passed away on 19th February 1919; again the cause of his death is lost to time. He was just 24 years of age.

Edgar Albert Boyland was laid to rest in Chard Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

Private Arthur Boyland

Two rows back from Private Albert Boyland’s headstone is another Commonwealth War Grave, dedicated to another Boyland. This is from the Second World War, and identifies the resting place of Albert’s cousin.

Arthur James Boyland was born on 21st October 1908, one of nine children to Arthur’s uncle and aunt, Joseph and Julia Boyland. Joseph worked at an iron foundry, but it seems that Arthur was destined for other things. While a lot of his life is lost to time, by the time of the 1939 Register, he was working as a dental mechanic in Chard.

Arthur had married Bessie Hopkins in 1936; the couple went on to have three children.

When the Second World War was declared, Arthur had a role to play; he enlisted as a Private in the Royal Army Dental Corps. Sadly, details of his service are not available; he survived the war, however, and returned to Chard afterwards.

Arthur James Boyland passed away at home on 14th December 1947, at just 39 years of age. He was laid to rest in Chard Cemetery.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, Gunner, history, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Gunner Arthur Young

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Gunner Arthur Young

Arthur William Young was born on 11th July 1900, in the Gloucestershire village of Charfield. His parents, James and Eliza, were both born in the area, and this is where they raised their nine children.

James worked as a bone turner and sawyer, working the material for things like buttons. This was a family trade, and something that Arthur followed his father and older siblings into when he finished school.

By this point, storm clouds were brewing over Europe. Arthur was too young to enlist when war first broke out, but when his older brother Francis died in Northern France in December 1917, this seemed to have driven him to play his part as well.

Arthur enlisted in the Royal Marine Artillery on 1st July 1918, a couple of weeks before his eighteenth birthday. Assigned the rank of Private, his records show that he was 5ft 9ins (1.65m) tall, had blue eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. It was also noted that he had a scar on his right wrist and another on his forehead.

After nine months’ service, Arthur was promoted to Gunner and, by the autumn of 1919, he was assigned to the dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth.

On 1st December 1920, while moored in Portland Harbour, Dorset, a concert was held on HMS Warspite. Gunner Young attended, but on the trip back to his own ship, the boat he was on collided with another, and he and three others were knocked overboard and drowned. He was just 20 years of age.

Arthur William Young was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the Congregational Chapelyard in his home village of Charfield.

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

Able Seaman Ernest Cornock

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Able Seaman Ernest Cornock

Ernest Charles Cornock was born on 16th June 1896, in the Gloucestershire town of Wotton-under-Edge. His parents were carter Charles Cornock and his wife, Millicent, both born and bred in the town, and he was one of eight children.

When he left school, Ernest found work as a rubber winder in the local mill. However, he wanted bigger and better things and so, on 8th April 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records show that he stood just 5ft 3ins (1.60m) tall, had brown hair grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on his right cheek.

As Ernest was under age when he joined up, he was initially given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He was sent to HMS Vivid, the Naval Dockyard in Devonport and, after four months’ training, during which he was promoted to Boy 1st Class, he was given his first posting on board the battleship HMS Queen.

After five months on board, Boy Cornock was given another assignment, and was transferred to HMS Lion. While on board, a number of things happened: the First World War broke out, and the battle cruiser fought at Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank; Ernest came of age, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman on his 18th birthday; with ongoing good conduct, in September 1915, he was then given a promotion to Able Seaman.

After a short spell back in Devonport, Ernest served on a further five ships, taking him through to the end of the war. By the start of 1919, however, Able Seaman Cornock’s health was beginning to suffer. Having contracted tuberculosis, he was medically discharged from service on 19th February, and was admitted to a sanatorium back in Gloucestershire. Sadly the condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 14th April 1919, at the age of just 22 years old.

Ernest Charles Cornock was brought back to Wotton-under-Edge for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary the Virgin Church in the town, not far from his second cousin, Albert Cornock, who had been buried just the week before.

As an aside to Ernest’s tale, the newspaper that reported on his funeral also noted that his grandmother, Ruth Cornock, had not long received a message from the King, congratulating her on the fact that nine of her sons had served in the conflict

Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Albert Cornock

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Private Albert Cornock

Albert Edward Cornock was born in 1878, and was one of eight children. His parents, John and Hannah Cornock, were both born in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, ant this is where the family were brought up.

John was a labourer, and this was the trade than Albert also fell into. On 2nd August 1903, he married local woman Bessie Carter. The couple settled in their home town and went on to have eight children.

War came to Europe in 1914, and Albert was amongst those to enlist early on. He joined the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in Bristol on 13th November. Albert’s service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall and weighed 119lbs (54kg). He had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and black hair.

Private Cornock’s initial training was split between Cheltenham and Salisbury Plain, but he was eventually sent out to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force in August 1915. He spent nearly eighteen months overseas, but, towards the end of the following year, he contracted tuberculosis, and was sent back to England for treatment.

Albert’s lung condition was to ultimately lead to his discharge from the army on medical grounds. His last day of service was 8th February 1917.

At this point, Albert’s trail goes cold. He returned home to Gloucestershire, and lived on another couple of years. He passed away at home on 9th April 1919, aged 40 years old: while the cause of his passing is not clear, it seems likely to have been as a result of the illness that saw him discharged from the army.

Albert Edward Cornock was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary the Virgin Church in his home town of Wotton-under-Edge. He lies not far from his cousin, Ernest Cornock, another victim of the First World War, who was buried just a week later.

accident, Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Lieutenant, London, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, photography, Royal Air Force, Second Lieutenant, story, war

Captain William Rowell

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Captain William Rowell

William Cecil Rowell was born on 29th November 1892 in Wolborough, Newton Abbot, Devon. He was the youngest of three children to architectural surveyor Spencer Rowell and his wife, Annie.

The 1911 census recorded that William had left the family home to study to be a civil servant, and was boarding with a family in Fulham, London. His studies complete, he was driven by a need to serve his country and, on 22nd January 1913, aged just 20 years old, he enlisted in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.

Full details of his service are not available, but it is clear that he was committed to his purpose. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant soon after enlisting, rose to full Lieutenant in November 1914, and Captain a year later. It’s not possible to pinpoint where he served, he was wounded twice and, after his second recovery, he made a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps (later moving to the new Royal Air Force when it was founded in 1918).

Captain Rowell was based at Bekesbourne Airfield in Kent. He qualified as a pilot with 50 Squadron in October 1918, but was injured when, on the 12th November, his Sopwith Camel collided with the hanger. William was admitted to the Military Hospital in nearby Canterbury, but the injuries to his leg proved too severe for it to be saved, and he underwent an amputation in January 1919.

Tragically, while the initial prognosis was good, within a few weeks sepsis set in; Captain Rowell passed away on 22nd May 1919, aged just 26 years old.

William Cecil Rowell’s body was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Wolborough.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Driver, Great War, history, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, story, unknown, war

Driver W Steer

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Driver W Steer

The life of WH Steer is destined to remain lost to time. Details of his first names and date of birth are not obtainable and, other than the fact that his father was called Thomas, there is no other information about his family.

He had enlisted as a Driver in the Army Service Corps by August 1918, but there is no record as to where he served or for how long he did so. All that can be confirmed is that he was based in Warwick after the conflict ended, and this is where died, of causes unknown, on 10th February 1919.

WH Steer was brought to Devon for burial – presumably this is where Thomas and the rest of his family lived – and he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Wolborough, near Newton Abbot.