Tag Archives: 1919

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.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Arthur Batten

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Private Arthur Batten

Arthur Henry Reed Batten was born in the spring of 1900, the only child to Henry and Alice. Henry was a gardener, and the young family lived in the Somerset town of Taunton.

There is little documentation about Arthur’s short life. When war broke out, he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. While there is nothing to confirm the date he joined up, it may well have been a reaction to the passing of his mother, who died on 1st September 1914, at the age of 47 years old.

Private Batten’s battalion initially fought on the Western Front during the war, before moving to Italy in November 1917, then back to France the following April. It seems likely that it was during this second stint in France at some point late in 1918 that Arthur was caught up in the fighting.

He received a gunshot wound, and was shipped back to England for treatment. Admitted to the Military Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester, he seems to have suffered for a long time, passing away from his injuries on 12th March 1919, three months after the Armistice was signed. He was just 19 years of age.

Arthur Henry Reed Batten was brought back to Taunton burial, and lies in the family grave in St James’ Cemetery, alongside his mother.

Commonwealth War Graves, Cumbria, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, Nottinghamshire, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Gunner William Howard

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Gunner William Howard

William Arnold Howard was born in Cumbria towards the end of 1887. He was the youngest of two children, the son of gospel minister Edwin Howard and his wife Alethea. Edwin’s role took him across the country; by the time William was four, the family were settled in Worksop, Nottinghamshire; ten years later, they were based in Taunton, Somerset.

William’s older sister became a music teacher, and was presumably inspired by her father’s calling. William, however, took a different route, and, by the time of the 1911 census, was listed as a physical culture expert.

He had, by this time, met and married a woman called Alice, and the couple had two children, Edna and Marjorie. The census found the young couple living in a three-roomed house in the middle of Taunton.

War was on the horizon, and William enlisted as a Gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery. His battalion – the 3rd/4th Siege Reserve Brigade – were those manning with large scale weaponry, although, as part of the reserve, Gunner Howard was based in England for the duration of the conflict.

William was awarded the Victory and British Medals for his service but once the Armistice was declared it seems that he fell ill. He was admitted to the Military Hospital in Taunton with exhaustion following a bout of enteritis, and succumbed to this on 15th January 1919. He was 31 years old.

William Arnold Howard lies at rest in the St James Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire Regiment, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, South Africa, story, war

Private Charles Criddle

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Private Charles Criddle

Charles Pretoria Criddle was born on 18th June 1900, the second of five children to Charles and Mary Criddle. Charles Sr was an army reservist, who worked as a labourer for the local council, and the family lived in Taunton, Somerset.

Sadly, little detail of Charles Jr’s life is documented. The Great War broke out when he was only 14, so was too young to enlist at the beginning of the conflict. However, he did volunteer, albeit later on, and joined the 15th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment at some point in 1918.

Private Criddle’s was one of those lives to be cut tragically short, not by conflict, but by illness. He survived the war, but was subsequently admitted to a military hospital in Brighton, Sussex, where he passed away ‘from disease’ on 7th November 1919. He was just 19 years of age.

Charles Pretoria Criddle lies at rest in the St James Cemetery in his home town of Taunton, Somerset.

Tragedy was to strike again for Charles Criddle Sr. Less than a week after his son had passed, he was called upon to identify the body of his sister, Emma Cable. She had taken her own life after suffering an increasing number of fits over the previous few years.

Emma was a widow, and, since the previous winter, had become increasingly depressed and less physically able, having suffered a debilitating bout of influenza. Early on the morning of Sunday 16th November 1919, she took herself out, dressed in only her nightgown and a pair of boots, and had drowned herself in the River Tone.

At the inquest into her passing, her doctor noted that he had seen her on the previous Thursday “but her condition was not such that he could certify her as insane, but she had been violently hysterical.” [Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 19th November 1919]

The Coroner recorded a verdict that the deceased drowned herself while of unsound mind.

Emma Cable was 52 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Somerset, story, war

Private Herbert Jenkins

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Private Herbert Jenkins

Herbert Jenkins was born in 1891, the youngest of five children to George and Amelia Jenkins. George was a domestic gardener, and the family lived in the Somerset village of Yatton next to the Prince of Orange public house. Amelia helped make ends meet, by working as a seamstress and upholsterer.

Amelia passed away in 1909, and it was around his time that Herbert felt the calling of military service. He enlisted as a Private in the Royal Marines Light Infantry on 17th September 1909.

Sadly, little documentation remains about Private Jenkins’ naval service, although the 1911 census gives his location as the Stonehouse Barracks in Devon.

Herbert’s family life held a series of highs and lows. His father George died in 1915, and he went on to marry Blanche Elvins, a bootmaker’s daughter from Bristol, the following year. Sadly, however, she passed away in December 1918, and Herbert was alone again.

By this time, the Great War was over, although Private Jenkins was still serving. He was assigned to HMS Warspite, which had fought, and been damaged, in the Battle of Jutland. While there is no evidence that Herbert had been on board during the skirmish, this is the last vessel on which he served.

As with his military career, details of Herbert’s passing are lost to time. All that is known is that he died in Bristol on 24th August 1919 and that the cause was ‘disease’. He was just 27 years of age.

Herbert’s next of kin was his sister Jennie; she brought him back to his home town of Yatton to be buried in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church.

Herbert Jenkins
Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal Wheeler, Great War, Gunner, history, Ireland, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Corporal Wheeler George Scott

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Corporal Wheeler George Scott

George William Scott is destined to be one of those names who is sadly lost to time. While there is information relating to him, there is not enough detail to flesh out a concrete history around him.

The facts that we do know about George are that his parents were John and Mary who, at the time that his grave was commemorated, were living in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

George enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery in November 1914. He was assigned to the 5th Battery of the 45th Brigade, and given the rank of Wheeler – one of the positions in a team of horses, pulling the artillery.

During his service, George was awarded the 1914 Star, as well as the Victory and British Medals. He seems to have been in a bit of trouble to begin with, however, as he was reverted down to Gunner because of misconduct. This may only have been temporary, as he ended with the rank of Corporal Wheeler.

And that is it, that is all the concrete information available for George Scott. How he died is a mystery, lost to time.

George William Scott lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in Taunton, Somerset.