Tag Archives: Army Cyclist Corps

Army Cyclist Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, West Midlands

Private Arthur Dudley

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Private Arthur Dudley

Arthur Samuel Dudley was born in the spring of 1895, and was the second of six children to Arthur and Alberta Dudley. Arthur Sr was an fitter for an engineering works in Birmingham, and it was in the Kings Norton area of the West Midlands where he and Alberta raised their family.

When he finished his schooling, Arthur found work as a grocer’s assistant, but factory work offered better financial prospects, and by the time war was declared in 1914, he was working as a tube drawer for the company that employed his father.

The conflict brought further opportunity for a career and an adventure, and this was not something Arthur was able to let pass by. He enlisted on 3rd September 1914, but intriguingly did so in Bodmin, Cornwall, some 200 miles to the south of his home, and there seems to be no direct connection between the Dudleys and this part of the country.

Arthur joined the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and was assigned to the 6th (Service) Battalion. His medical report – which was completed back in Birmingham towards the end of September – showed that he was 5ft 6.75ins (1.69m) tall and weighed 120lbs (54.4kg). He had brown hair, green eyes and a fair complexion.

On 18th January 1915, Private Dudley transferred to the Army Cyclist Corps, and was attached to the 19th Divisional Cyclist Company. Based in Somerset, he soon found himself barracked near Burnham-on-Sea. It was here, just two weeks later, that Arthur became ill. On 30th January 1915 he was sent to the Volunteer Aid Detachment Hospital in the town, in a diabetic coma, and passed away same evening. He was just 19 years of age.

Unable to afford the cost of bringing their son’s body back to the West Midlands, Arthur Sr and Alberta instead made their way to Somerset for the funeral. Arthur Samuel Dudley was laid to rest in the peaceful Burnham Cemetery, not far from where he had breathed his last.

About 700 of his comrades followed the coffin… Mrs Duncan Tucker and Mrs T Holt, representing the staff of the Red Cross Hospital, were also present.

Shepton Mallet Journal: Friday 5th February 1915
Army Cyclist Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, photography, Private, story, Sussex, war

Corporal Henry Forrest

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Corporal Henry Forrest

Henry Charles Forrest was born in Bromley, Kent, in the summer of 1893. The youngest of eight children to William and Wilhelmina Forrest, Henry’s father was a police sergeant, who retired not long after his youngest son’s birth, moving his family to Worthing in West Sussex.

Henry was obviously a bright lad; the 1911 census records him as a student teacher. The only one of William and Wilhelmina’s children still living at home, he was, by this point, still just 17 years old. His career continued over the next few years, and he taught at the Ham Road Schools in Worthing.

In the spring of 1916, Henry married Constance Robertson. The young couple had a lot in common and seemed like a perfect match. Constance was the daughter of a retired police constable, and was also a student teacher.

War, by this time, had come to Europe. Full details of Henry’s military service are not available, but it seems that he initially joined the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Private Forrest was promoted to the rank of Corporal, and subsequently transferred to the Army Cycling Corps, serving in France.

As the war moved on, Corporal Forrest was released to resume his teaching back in Worthing but, in the autumn of 1918, he contracted influenza and pneumonia. The conditions got the better of him, and he passed away on 5th December 1918, at the age of just 25 years old.

Henry Charles Forrest was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in Worthing; sadly, it seems that Constance was unable to attend – she was represented at the ceremony by her mother.

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

Private James Godden

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Private James Godden

James Godden was born in the autumn of 1879. The youngest of six children to Charles and Mary Ann Godden, the family lived in Bridgwater, Somerset. Charles was a labourer and, while his older brothers followed in a similar vein, by the time of the 1901 census, aged 21, was listed as a hairdresser.

James married Hester Addicott in 1906, and the couple had three children – Ruby, Leslie and Freda. Hairdressing may not have been that well paid; according the to 1911 census, the young family had four boarders, ranging from 17 to 60 in age.

War was on its way, and James enlisted at the end of 1914. Initially joining the Somerset Light Infantry, he was soon transferred to the Army Cyclist Corps. Sadly, full details of his military service are not readily available, but it seems likely that he was part of the company’s First Line, who saw service overseas.

Private Godden served three years before being medically discharged from the army. His discharge records give a startling insight into his health.

Originated at Chiseldon Camp: April 12th 1917.

He is in a condition of violent excitement, talks without ceasing and suffers from insomnia. Refuses solid food, but will take a little milk. Not result of, but aggravated by, strain of ordinary military service.

Permanent total incapacity. Treatment in an asylum required.

Cause of discharge: Medically Unfit – Acute Mania

James Godden: WW1 Pension Records

James was admitted to the Somerset & Bath Asylum in the village of Codford, near Taunton. For good or bad, his time there was brief. Within a couple of weeks, he contracted bronchitis. Sadly, James was to succumb to this, and passed away on 29th April 1917. He was 27 years of age.

An additional twist in the tail came from the local newspaper report on his passing:

Somerset Athlete Killed

The death is reported of a former well-known athlete in the person of Mr James Godden, who before joining the Army carried on business as a hairdresser at Bridgwater. The deceased, who was 37 years of age, enlisted in December 1914, and was subsequently transferred to a cycle corps. He death occurred at a Somerset institution after a short illness. The deceased was well known throughout the West of England as a crack cyclist, and competed at big athletic meetings at Exeter, Plymouth, Bath and Bristol, in addition to local sports. He had won altogether over 400 prizes. He leaves a widow and three children.

Wells Journal: Friday 4th May 1917

James Godden lies at rest in the Wembden Road Cemetery in his home town of Bridgwater, Somerset.

James Godden, celebrated on an Ogden’s Cigarettes card
(with thanks to John Boyland)