Tag Archives: 1919

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, injury, Lincolnshire Regiment, photography, Private, Royal Lancashire Regiment, Somerset, story, Surrey, war

Private Arthur Rousell

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Private Arthur Rousell

Arthur Edward Rousell was born in the summer of 1898, one of five children to Henry and Lucy Rousell. Henry was a police constable in Worle, near Weston-super-Mare, and this is where he initially raised his family. By the time of the 1911 census – when Arthur was a schoolboy of 12 years old – the family had moved to the village of Huish Episcopi, on the outskirts of Langport.

Details of Arthur’s military career are sketchy. Initially enlisting with the Royal Lancashire Regiment, he was soon transferred over to the 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. He certainly saw action abroad, and was caught up on the Western Front.

Private Rousell was injured on 27th May 1918, this the first day of the Battle of Aisne. His battalion was certainly involved in the battle, but whether this was where he was injured, and what his injuries actually were, cannot be confirmed.

Evacuated back to England for treatment, Private Rousell was admitted to the South African Hospital in Richmond. Whether he was there for a long time, is not recorded, but he was certainly there in nine months after he was wounded.

It seems that his injuries left him susceptible; his pension record confirms that he died of sickness, and it seems likely that this was one of the lung conditions – pneumonia, influenza – that was prevalent following the cessation of hostilities.

Private Arthur Edward Rousell died on 22nd February 1919, at the age of 20 years old. His body was brought back to Huish Episcopi, and he lies at rest in the family grave in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church.

UPDATE : 19th April 2022

An article on Arthur’s passing sheds more light onto his life:

We regret to record the death of Pte. AE Rousell, of the 1st Lancs. Regt., eldest son of PC and Mrs HJ Rousell of Newtown, which occurred at Richmond Hospital on Saturday morning. Deceased, who was 20 years of age, had been seriously ill a week with influenza, death being due to septic pneumonia, which followed.

The late Pte. Rousell, was a member of the staff of “The Langport and Somerton Herald” where he served his apprenticeship, when war broke out, and joined up early in 1917, his regiment being the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. After a period of training he proceeded to the front and took part in several engagements. He was gassed, and in the winter of that year was invalided home with trench feet. On recovery he was transferred to the Lancs. Regt., and again proceeded to the front.

On May 27th last he was severely wounded in the right leg by shrapnel, the bones being badly splintered. He was sent to a military hospital in this country and had been in hospital ever since. He had made a fairly good recovery and his parents were expecting him home shortly, when on Thursday last week a wire was received, informing them of his serious illness. Mrs Rousell at once proceeded to Richmond and was able to see her son before he passed away.

Deep sympathy is extended to the relations in their sad bereavement.

Langport & Somerton Herald: Saturday 1st March 1919
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, Hampshire, history, Labour Corps, photography, Royal Field Artillery, story, Sussex, unknown, war

Gunner Alfred Taylor

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Broadwater Cemetery

Alfred R Taylor was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 1886, and was one of six children to James and Agnes Taylor. James was a jobbing gardener, who had been born near Chichester in West Sussex.

Agnes had been born in Tarring, near Worthing, and strong connections to her home town seemed to remain. In the 1891 census, Alfred was boarding with his aunt – Agnes’ sister – in Worthing and, ten years later, both of his parents and all of his siblings were also living there.

By 1911, Alfred was working as a nursery gardener – given his father’s work, this is not surprising, and, at the time, the coastal slopes of the South Downs were filled with orchards, farms and nursery greenhouses.

Tantalisingly, there is not a lot more documentation relating to Alfred’s life. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner. He joined up in October 1915 and was sent to the Balkans and, as a result of his service, was awarded the Victory and British Medals and the 1915 Star.

Back home on leave, Gunner Taylor married Ellen Mary Sayers at the start of 1918. She was a plumber’s daughter from Worthing, and this was where she and Alfred married.

When the Armistice was declared, Alfred was transferred to the Labour Corps, as part of the Army Reserve force. He passed away on 23rd April 1919, and, while there are no details of his death, it is likely that he fell victim to one of the lung conditions impacting the returning troops at the time. He was just 33 years of age when he died.

Alfred R Taylor was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in Worthing, not far from where his widow lived.

There are some further details about Ellen Taylor. She and Alfred did not have any children, and she never married again. She passed away in the spring of 1968 in her home town, at the age of 88 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, story, war

Lance Corporal Reginald Foot

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Lance Corporal Reginald Foot

Reginald Robert Foot was born at the beginning of 1888 in Shaftesbury, Dorset, the oldest of three children to Robert and Annie Foot. Robert was a tailor from the town, who brought up his young family in the comfort of well-known surroundings.

When he left school, Reginald found work as a carpenter and joiner. He was a keen, if over-eager, sportsman, and played for Shaftesbury FC. In May 1906, he was reported for ‘cheeky’ behaviour towards the referee in one match.

In the lead up to the Great War, he also spent some of his his spare time in the Territorial Army and, when war broke out, he was keen to continue doing his bit. He joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers as a Private in December 1915 and, by the time he was shipped out to France in January 1917, he had been promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.

After a year on the Western Front, Reginald returned to the United Kingdom and, once the Armistice had been declared, his unit was shipped to Ireland. He fell ill while he was out there, and, in January 1919 was admitted to a military hospital in Ireland.

Sadly, the lung conditions he had contracted – influenza and pneumonia – were to get the better of him, and he passed away on 7th February 1919. Lance Corporal Foot was 31 years old.

The body of Reginald Robert Foot was brought back to Dorset; he lies at rest in the Holy Trinity Churchyard in the town of his birth, Shaftesbury.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, India, Lance Serjeant, London, Major, photography, Private, Quartermaster, Royal Air Force, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Major Stanley Payne

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Major Stanley Payne

Stanley James Payne was born towards the end of 1882, one of eleven children to Stephen and Elizabeth Payne. Stephen was a leather salesman from Essex, who had moved his family to Weston-super-Mare in Somerset in around 1880.

Stanley seems to have been drawn in to a military life from an early age. In January 1900, he enlisted as a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry, and the 1901 census listed him as living at the Raglan Barracks in Devonport, near Plymouth.

Military service took Private Payne to India, where he served for six years. His success and ambition were clear; in 1906 he was promoted to first to Corporal and then to Sergeant. By 1911 – and now back in England – as a Lance Sergeant, Stanley was working as a military clerk at the Royal Horse Artillery Barracks in Dorchester, although he was still attached to the Somerset Light Infantry.

Stanley’s ambition and sense of adventure continued; by July 1912 he had made the transfer over to the newly-formed Royal Flying Corps, as a Sergeant.

It was while he was based in Dorchester that he met Winifred Bell. She was the daughter of a local council worker, and the couple married in the town in September 1912. Stanley and Winifred went on to have a daughter, Doris, who was born in July 1914.

War had arrived in Europe, and on 7th October, the now Warrant Officer Payne was shipped to France. During his nine months on the Western Front, he was mentioned in despatches and received the Croix de Guerre for his gallantry. The local newspaper also reported that he:

…had also the honour of being presented to the King on the occasion of His Majesty’s last visit to the front, and at a home station had also been presented to Queen Mary.

Western Daily Press: Saturday 8th March 1919

Returning to England on 1st June 1915, he was again promoted to Lieutenant and Quartermaster, although here his military records dry up. By this time, he had been in the armed forces for more than fifteen years, but his military records seem to confirm this as the last day of his service.

The next record for Stanley confirms his passing. Admitted to the Central Air Force Hospital in Hampstead with a combination of influenza and pneumonia, he died on 3rd March 1919. He was just 36 years of age.

Brought back to Weston-super-Mare, where his now widowed father was still living, Stanley James Payne was laid to rest in the Milton Cemetery in his home town.

Stanley’s gravestone gives his rank as Major. While there is no documented evidence of any additional promotions after June 1915, the rank is the equivalent of Quartermaster in the Army Reserve. It seems likely, therefore, that the end date of his military service marked the start of his time in the reserves.

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

Private Montague Palmer

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Private Montague Palmer

Montague Ashley Palmer was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, in 1886, one of five children to Alfred and Martha. Montague’s father was a postman in the town for 25 years, retiring through ill health in February 1898. Sadly, Alfred’s retirement was not to last long, and he passed away that July aged 48, when his son was just 12 years old.

When he left school, Montague found work as a bus conductor and was now the oldest of Martha’s children to still be living at home. He was obviously an ambitious and inventive young man; by the time of the 1911 census, he had started work for the Ordnance Survey, and had moved to Didcot in Berkshire where he was boarding with Frances Battison, a suiter and greengrocer.

At this point, details of Montague’s life become a little hazier. At some point, he married a woman called Matilda, who either came from, or would go on to live in, Helston, Cornwall.

With war on the horizon, Montague enlisted – documented dates for this, again, are missing. He joined the 12th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, which initially served in Egypt, before transferring to France in May 1918.

Where and for how long Private Palmer served is not clear, although he was definitely caught up in the fighting, and injured, towards the end of the war. Details of his wounds are not clear, but they were enough for him to be repatriated to England, and he was admitted to the Royal Hospital in Salford.

Private Palmer’s injuries appear to have been too severe for him to survive; he passed away in hospital on 5th January 1919. He was just 32 years old.

Montague Ashley Palmer’s body was brought back to Somerset, and he was laid to rest in the Milton Cemetery in Weston-super-Mare.

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

Private Reginald Morriss

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Private Reginald Morriss

Reginald Benjamin James Morriss was born in the spring of 1886 and was the youngest of twelve children. His father, Thomas, was a bootmaker from Leeds, who had moved to Somerset and married Mary Ann Pennell. The couple brought their family up in her home town of Weston-super-Mare.

Thomas died in 1901, when Reginald was just 14 years old. Mary Ann, by this point, still had a lot of her family with her, including Reginald, three of his sisters, his brother-in-law and four nieces.

Reginald was about to leave school, and found work as a French polisher in Bristol, eventually moving in with his employer as a lodger. This may not have suited him, however, as, by the time he enlisted, he gave his trade as baker and confectioner, and he was living back with his mother in Weston-super-Mare.

Private Morriss was 30 when he joined up in 1916, and stood 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall. He joined the Army Service Corps as a baker, and was initially based in Aldershot. He was moved to Kent in September 1918, having been assigned to the 351st Horse Transport Company. The war was drawing to an end, but a new threat was on the horizon.

The following February, Private Morriss was admitted to St John’s Hospital in Hastings, suffering from influenza and pneumonia. Sadly, he was to succumb to the lung conditions, and he passed away on 3rd March 1919. He was just 32 years old.

Reginald Benjamin James Morriss’ body was brought back to Weston-super-Mare, and he was laid to rest in the Milton Cemetery in his home town.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, history, Kent, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, Somerset, story, suicide, war

Gunner Albert Lloyd

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Gunner Albert Lloyd

Albert Edward Prankard Lloyd was born in Somerset on 25th September 1893, in the Somerset village of Kewstoke (now a suburb of Weston-super-Mare). He was one of eight children to Jabez and Charity Lloyd. Jabez was initially a mason, but later went on to find work as a miner in South Wales. Charity worked as a laundress to help bring in extra money.

When Albert left school, he found employment as a labourer, remaining at home with Charity, with Jabez working away, and three of his sisters working as housemaids or laundresses. By 1911, however, he had moved to Wales with his father to work as a miner; steady employment that brought in a little more money because of the risks involved.

War, however, was on the horizon, and Albert enlisted before hostilities broke out. Joining up on 12th January 1914, his military records show him as standing 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall and weighing in at 166lbs (75.3kg). He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery and, over the next five years, served three tours of duty in France, totalling just over three years on the Western Front.

Gunner Lloyd’s military service was not without incident, however. In November 1914 he was admitted to hospital for a week, suffering from shock. In April 1917, a shell exploded close to him and he was again found to be suffering from shock. His records note that, following the injury, he had had suicidal thoughts, and wished he was dead.

Just a month later, back on the battlefield, Albert received a gunshot wound to his right thigh. Nine months later, he was admitted to the Hermitage General Hospital in Higham, Kent for three weeks. (The ailment is a mystery, with just the term SCT Toe to identify it.)

When the Armistice came, Gunner Lloyd remained in France, finally returning home on 13th January 1919 ready to be demobbed. While not clear in his records, it seems that the initial ‘shock’ he had suffered from in 1914 had continued throughout the war.

One of the last comments on Albert’s service records is stark. “Found dead on Great Western Railway near Weston-super-Mare. 25.01.19“. Frustratingly, there is no other documentary evidence to expand on this curt phrase, no contemporary newspapers seem to have reported on the event, and nothing more than a scribbled police report was provided for the inquest (again, of which nothing remains).

It seems that the effects of five years of conflict proved too much for Gunner Lloyd; he committed suicide at the age of just 25 years old.

Albert Edward Prankard Lloyd lies at peace at last in the Milton Cemetery in his home town of Weston-super-Mare.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, Labour Corps, photography, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Corporal Ralph Edwards

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Corporal Ralph Edwards

Ralph Henry Edwards was born in December 1883, the oldest of six children to Charles and Emma. Charles was a house painter from Somerset, and raised his family in the coastal town of Weston-super-Mare.

When he left school, Ralph followed in his father’s footsteps, taking over the business when Charles passed away in 1909. By the time of the census two years later, Ralph was living with his mother Emma, his two younger brothers and Emma’s brother Harry. Harry was also a house painter, while Ralph’s siblings were working a grocer’s assistants. The family were living in a five-room, semi-detached house within walking distance of the town centre.

War was on the horizon, and Ralph was keen to do his part. Full details of his service are no longer available, but what is certain is that he enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment and was assigned to the 8th (Service) Battalion. Initially formed in Bristol, the battalion spent the first year of the war on home soil, before being sent to France in July 1915.

By the middle of the war, Ralph had been promoted to the rank of Corporal. He transferred over to the Labour Corps and was attached to the 106th Prisoner of War Company. Initially, German POWs had been shipped to England, but by 1916 those with useful skills were retained in France and drafted into the Forestry Companies, Army Service Corps and Royal Engineers. Corporal Edwards’ role would have been to oversee such men. (Whether this was in France or back in England is unclear.)

At this point, Ralph’s trail goes cold. He served out the war, passing away back at home on 11th March 1919, although the cause of his death has been lost to time. He was 35 years of age.

Ralph Henry Edwards lies at rest in the Milton Cemetery in his home town of Weston-super-Mare.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Garrison Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Corporal Albert Wall

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Corporal Albert Wall

Albert Wall was born in the spring of 1890, one of eight children to James Wall and his wife Louise. James was a mason’s labourer from Taunton, Somerset, and brought his family up in his home town.

Details of Albert’s life are tantalisingly absent. It appears that he had a sense of adventure, and joined the Royal Garrison Artillery when his age allowed. By 1911, he was stationed at Port Royal in Jamaica, and was listed as a Gunner.

Gunner Wall’s involvement with the Royal Garrison Artillery extended into the Great War. He was sent to Egypt in April 1915, and, as part of his service, gained the Victory and British Medals and the 1915 Star. Albert seems to have been luck in that he saw out the war fairly unscathed, and was promoted to the rank of Corporal.

In the winter of 1918, Albert married Beatrice Salter. The war over, he was subsequently discharged from active service in April 1919.

Life on civvy street was not destined to be a long one, however, as, on 18th November 1919, he passed away from kidney disease. He was just 29 years of age.

Albert Wall was laid to rest in the St James Cemetery in his home town of Taunton.

As a sad footnote to this story, on 5th March 1920, Beatrice gave birth to a little boy, who she called Gordon. Albert was never to see his son.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Leading Stoker, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, Stoker, story, war

Leading Stoker Cecil Scribbens

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Leading Stoker Cecil Scribbens

Cecil Walter Thomas Scribbens was born on 27th June 1885 in Taunton, Somerset. He was one of five children to George and Ann Scribbens. Sadly, George passed away when Cecil was a toddler, leaving his widow to raise her young family alone.

Ann initially found work as a laundress, and her eldest daughter, Alice, began working at the local silk mill when she left school. This brought in a little money, but with five children to feed and clothe, it must have been a struggle.

In 1894, Ann found love again, and married George Sully, a scull labourer, on Christmas Day 1894. The couple went on to have a child together, a son they called Arthur, and the new family set up home in Taunton.

When he left school, Cecil found work as a labourer, but he had a sense of adventure and a life on the ocean was calling him. In July 1903 he joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class and, after his initial training in Plymouth he was assigned to HMS Russell.

Stoker Scribbens’ term of service was twelve years and, during that time, he served aboard five vessels, and was promoted to Leading Stoker. War had broken out when his initial contract ended, so it was extended until the end of the hostilities.

After five years aboard HMS Cornwall and eighteen months on HMS Cleopatra, Leading Stoker Scribbens was assigned to HMS Concord, which would turn out to be his last vessel, in December 1916. He stayed with this ship for nearly three years until falling ill in June 1919.

Brought back to England, he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Taunton with pneumonia. Leading Stoker Scribbens died from this lung disease on 24th June 1919, at the age of 34 years old.

Cecil Walter Thomas Scribbens was laid to rest in the St James’ Cemetery in his home town.