Tag Archives: Boy

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Sussex, war

Leading Seaman Dan Pierson

Leave a comment
Leading Seaman Dan Pierson

Dan Pierson was born in Liss, Hampshire, on 14th February 1884. One of eleven children, he was the third of four sons to Daniel and Annie Pierson. Daniel was an agricultural labourer, but his son wanted a more guaranteed career and, on 21st February 1901, he joined the Royal Navy.

Having only just turned 17, Dan was too young to formally enlist, and so was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He would spend the next year on training ships – HMS Northampton and HMS Calliope – and was also billeted at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Just two months after joining, he was promoted to Boy 1st Class and, when he came of age in February 1902, he was fully enrolled into the navy, and given the rank of Ordinary Seaman.

Dan was assigned to the gunboat HMS Redbreast by this point, and his service records show the young man he had become. He was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He also had two tattoos: one of a woman on his right arm, and another of a swallow on his left.

Ordinary Seaman Pierson’s contract was for twelve years and, over that time, he served on board eight different vessels. His annual reviews commented on his very good character and his superior ability, both of which backed up his progression through the ranks. On 11th June 1903, towards the end of his three years aboard Redbreast, he was promoted to Able Seaman, and on 1st December 1913, just a couple of months before the end of his initial term of service, he rose to Leading Seaman.

By this point, Dan had married. His new wife, Edith, was a railway worker’s daughter from Harting in Sussex. She was working as a housemaid for Reverend John Leake and his wife Helena at the time of their wedding.

When his contract came to an end, Leading Seaman Pierson immediately renewed it. His papers show that he had grown to 5ft 9.5ins (1.77m) in height but that he had been injured in the intervening years: it was noted that the little toe of his right foot was missing, and that he had a scar on his left leg.

By the time war broke out, Leading Stoker Pierson was assigned to the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Bulwark. During the summer of 1914, she was one of the Channel fleet used to protect ships transporting troops across to France. He was on board Bulwark when, on the morning of 26th November 1914, an explosion ripped through the ship while it was moored near Sheerness, Kent, tearing it apart and sinking it. In all 741 souls were lost, Dan amongst them. He was 30 years of age.

Dan Pierson’s body was recovered and identified. He was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from Chatham Dockyard.

Edith’s brother Ernest Pay was also serving in the Royal Navy. Attached to HMS Bulwark as well, Leading Stoker Pay was also killed in the explosion: he was 28 years of age. Tragically for Edith and her parents, Ernest’s body was never recovered. His loss is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial in Hampshire.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Leading Seaman, Lieutenant, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Royal Navy, story, war

Lieutenant Frederick Hill

Leave a comment
Lieutenant Frederick Hill

Frederick Charles Hill was born on 13th June 1882 in the Devon village of Marldon. One of seven children, his parents were William and Elizabeth Hill. William was a carpenter, and the 1891 census found the family living or boarding at the Royal Oak Inn.

When he finished his schooling, Frederick found work as a gardener. However, he sought a bigger and better life and, on 21st April 1897, he joined the Royal Navy. His service record suggests that he lied about his age to do so, giving his year of birth as 1881,

Frederick was below the age to formally enlist in the navy, and was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He was sent to HMS Impregnable, the training base in Devonport, Devon, spending the next eighteen months there. Promoted to Boy 1st Class in February 1898, he was given his first posting, on board HMS Agincourt, later that year.

In the autumn of 1898, Frederick was assigned to the cruiser HMS Leander. The following summer, and based on the date of birth he had previously provided, he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy. His service records show that he was 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall, with red hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. Hs was also noted as having a scar on his forehead.

The now Ordinary Seaman Hill remained on board HMS Leander for more than two years. He proved a worthwhile member of crew, and was promoted to Able Seaman in May 1900. He left Leander in January 1901, and was billeted at HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Plymouth, Devon, which would become his base when not at sea.

Frederick’s contract was for twelve years, and during that time he would serve on four vessels. His dedication to the navy was evident by his promotions – he made Leading Seaman in October 1904, Petty Officer 2nd Class in October 1906, and Petty Officer 1st Class in March 1911. When his term of service ended, he immediately re-enlisted, and, at his annual reviews, was regularly noted for his very good character and superior ability. His career kept going from strength to strength, and, in 1914, he was promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

He was sent to Antwerp in September [1914] with the Royal Naval Division, and in 1916 went to the Dardanelles, there gaining his commission for bravery. After the evacuation he was sent to France and won the MC in the Ancre drive in 1916. In February 1918 he was sent for six months’ rest to England. Lieut. Hill volunteered to go to France again in November the same year, and contracted heart disease, from which he died. He returned to England early in June [1919], and, being on sick leave, went to Paignton Hospital, where his death occurred.

[Brixham Western Guardian: Thursday 7th August 1919]

Frederick Charles Hill was 37 years of age when he died on 2nd August 1919. His body was laid to rest in the family plot in St John the Baptist’s Church, Marldon.

Frederick’s headstone records his rank as Lieutenant Commander. However, Commonwealth War Grave Commission documents suggest his rank was Lieutenant.

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

Able Seaman William Watts

Leave a comment
Able Seaman William Watts

William Watts was born on 24th October 1872 in the Devon village of Stockfleming. Details of his early life are unclear, but his later marriage record gives his father’s name as Richard.

The first confirmation of William’s life was his military service records. He left his job as a farmer’s lad and joined the Royal Navy on 3rd January 1888 and, being just 15 years old at the time, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class.

William was sent to HMS Impregnable, the navy’s training base in Devonport, Devon, for his initial induction. He remained there for the next eighteen months, and was promoted Boy 1st Class during that time. In October 1889, he was given his first posting, on board the sloop HMS Pylades. She would be his home for more than three years, during which time he came of age.

Now formally inducted into the Royal Navy, William was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service papers show that he was 5ft 1ins (1.55m) tall, with dark hair, hazel eyes and a fair complexion.

Over the twelve years of his initial contract Ordinary Seaman Watts made a career for himself. By the end of that time, he had served on five further ships, returning to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, in between voyages. He was proving his mettle as well, and was promoted to Able Seaman on 1st November 1893.

When, in March 1901, his contract came up for renewal, William immediately re-enlisted. His service record shows that he had grown to 5ft 4ins (1.65m) tall, and now sported a tattoo of a star on his left wrist. He spent another thirteen years in the Royal Navy, but transferred to the Coastguard, serving in Weymouth in Dorset, and Brixham and Dartmouth in Devon.

On 15th September 1903, William married Olief Lawrence. The daughter of a labourer from Fontwell Magna, Dorset, the couple married in her local parish church. They would settle in Brixham, and have one son, William, who was born in October 1907.

When war broke out, William was called up on to play his part. Pensioned off just two months previously, he now returned to sea, joining the battleship HMS Goliath as an Able Seaman. His health was failing him by this point, however, and on 18th December 1914, he was invalided out of naval service.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold. It is clear that he and Olief moved to Marldon, to the west of Paignton, and he took up the role of landlord of the Ship Inn (now Ye Olde Smokey House). His health still seemed to be impacted, however, and it would eventually get the better of him. He died on 16th June 1917, at the age of 44 years of age.

The body of William Watts was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church in Marldon, the village which he had come to call home.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Leading Seaman Joseph Hopkins

Leave a comment
Leading Seaman Joseph Hopkins

Joseph Hopkins was born in Ramsgate, Kent, on 27th May 1867. The third of seven children, his parents were commissioned sailor George Hopkins and his wife, Agnes.

Given his father’s job, Joseph seemed destined for a life at sea himself and, on 30th November 1882, he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. Over the next couple of years, he learnt the tools of his trade, starting on the training ships HMS St Vincent and HMS Hector. During this time, he was promoted to Boy 1st Class.

On 1st January 1885, Joseph was assigned to the ironclad ship HMS Repulse. He remained on board for six months, during which time he came of age. Now an Ordinary Seaman, his service papers show that he was just 5ft 1in (1.55m) tall, with black hair, grey eyes and a pale complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on the left of his forehead.

Ordinary Seaman Hopkins’ contract was for ten years and over that decade he sailed the world, serving on eight ships. Less than a year after formally enlisting, he was promoted to Able Seaman, but his time in the navy was not without its problems.

Able Seaman Hopkins spent four separate periods of time – totalling 49 days – in the brig between 1886 and 1895. Details of his most of his offences have been lost to time. Given the last instance was an expired shore leave which also landed him with a find of £3 10s (around £580 today), it seems likely that he was a repeat offender.

When Able Seaman Hopkins’ contract expired, he immediately re-enlisted. He served for another ten year and, apart from one further bout in the cells in 1898, his record was incident free. In the summer of 1905, after more than two decades in the Royal Navy, he was formally stood down to reserve status.

Joseph’s trail goes cold for a while and it is only in the 1911 census that we pick him up again. At this point he was living with his younger brother in Kilburn, Middlesex, where he was employed as a warehouseman.

When war broke out, Joseph was called upon to play his part once more. He took up the rank of Able Seaman once again, but remained shore-based, serving at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. He would spend the next three years at the dockyard, rising to Leading Seaman in March 1917.

By this point, however, Joseph’s health was beginning to decline. In December 1917 he was admitted to Chatham’s Royal Naval Hospital following a cerebral haemorrhage, but the condition would prove fatal. He passed away on 15th December, at the age of 50 years old.

The body of Joseph Hopkins was taken to Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, and he was laid to rest, not far from the base he had called home for so long.

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

Able Seaman Frederick Couling

Leave a comment
Able Seaman Frederick Couling

Frederick Henry Couling was born in Lambeth, Surrey, on 15th October 1878. The oldest of five children, his parents were Frederick and Martha Couling. Frederick was a harness maker, and when he died in 1889, Martha was left to raise the family on her own. The 1891 census found she was living with her parents and Frederick’s sister Louisa, while he had moved in with his maternal aunt, Esther and her husband, fishmonger Frederick Dorey.

With his father dead and his schooling completed, Frederick was keen to find a better life for himself and, on 11th January 1894, he joined the Royal Navy. Just fifteen years of age at this point, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Impregnable, the teaching ship in Devonport, Devon, for his training. By the end of the year he had been promoted to Boy 1st Class, and in the summer of 1895 he transferred to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

In September 1895, Frederick was assigned to the screw sloop ship HMS Icarus. She would remain his home for the next two years, and during this time he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy. His service records from the time confirm that he was 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

Ordinary Seaman Couling’s naval career didn’t get off to the best of starts. On 5th November – just three weeks after formally enlisting, he broke the terms of his leave and was sent to the brig for 42 days. He seems to have learnt his lesson from this point on, however, and the rest of his service was blemish-free.

Over the next eight years, Frederick would serve on eight ships, returning to HMS Pembroke in between assignments. In November 1899 he was promoted to Able Seaman, the rank he would hold for the rest of his naval career.

On 11th August 1905, Frederick was stood down to reserve status and returned to shore. The 1911 census found him living in rooms at 27 Fortescue Road, Colliers Wood, Surrey. Employed as a window cleaner, the document suggests he is married by this point. A later record gives his wife as Edith Annie Reeve, the daughter of a labourer from Kent.

When war broke out, Frederick was called upon to serve his country once more. Taking the rank of Able Seaman once more, he returned to HMS Pembroke. Over the next couple of years he remained on shore and, from the summer of 1915, was attached to HMS Vernon, a base in Portsmouth, Hampshire,

While there, Frederick became unwell. He returned to Chatham, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in the town. He was suffering from chronic mastoid disease – an inner ear infection – and this would ultimately take his life. He passed away on 4th July 1917, at the age of 38 years old.

The body of Frederick Henry Couling was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base he had called home for so long.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Suffolk, Surrey, war, Warwickshire

Leading Seaman Henry Hudson

Leave a comment
Leading Seaman Henry Hudson

Henry John Gerrard Hudson was born in Whitechapel, Middlesex, on 11th November 1873. The fourth of seven children – and one of five boys – his parents were John and Emma Hudson. John was a paper stainer, and the family were raised in rooms at 62 Fern Street, Tower Hamlets.

Money was seemingly tight, and Henry sought an escape. On 5th January 1889 he enlisted in the Royal Navy, and was sent to the Devon school ship, HMS Impregnable, for his training. As he was below the age to full enrol, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class.

Over the next couple of years, Henry learnt the tools of his trade. He spent a year training at HMS Ganges, the shore establishment near Ipswich, Suffolk, and rose to the rank of Boy 1st Class. On 20th November 1890, he was given his first sea-faring assignment, aboard HMS Ruby, and she would remain his home for the next eighteen months.

During his time with Ruby, Henry came of age. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall with light brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion. He was also noted as having a number of abscess scars under his left arm.

The now Ordinary Seaman Hudson definitely showed signs of promise as, after just three months, he was promoted to Able Seaman, a rank he would hold for the next five years. During that time, he served on four further ships, including the torpedo boat depot ship HMS Vulcan.

On 1st June 1897, Henry was promoted to Leading Seaman, although he reverted to his previous role just nine months later, at his own request. In October 1898 he transferred to HMS Caesar and, presumably with further support, he was promoted to Leading Seaman again in August 1899.

By May 1902, Henry’s initial term of service came to an end, and he was stood down to reserve status.

In January 1907 Henry married Alice Martin. She was a carpenter’s daughter, and the couple were living on Grosvenor Terrace in Newington, Middlesex, when the exchanged vows. They would go on to have three children.

The 1911 census found the Hudsons living in Weymouth, Dorset. Henry, by this point, was working as a motor boat driver, and the family had a small cottage on South View Road, not far from the town centre. The document shows how they had travelled to where Henry’s work took them: their first child, Nancy, had been born in Walworth, Surrey, in 1908, while her sister, Gladys, was born in nearby Camberwell the following year.

The next couple of years provided a big upheaval for the Hudsons and, by the spring of 1914 the family had moved to Rugby, Warwickshire. There seems to be no family connection to the area on either Henry or Alice’s side. It can only be assumed, therefore, that an opportunity of work arose.

In June 1914, Alice gave birth to the couple’s third son, John. Just two months later, war was declared, and Henry was called back into service. Taking up his previous role, Leading Seaman was to spend the next few years on land. Initially sent to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire. From there he moved to a base in Gorleston, Norfolk, and would remain there until the autumn of 1916.

Leading Seaman Hudson spent six month at HMS President in London, before moving to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, also known as HMS Pembroke. By this point – the spring of 1917 – his health was suffering and, that May, he was admitted to the town’s Royal Naval Hospital, suffering from tuberculosis.

The condition was to prove too severe for Henry: he passed away from a combination of the lung condition and a gastric ulcer on 20th May 1917. Henry was 43 years of age.

Alice was still living in Warwickshire at this point. Her husband, Henry John Gerrard Hudson, was therefore laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, killed in action, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war, Wiltshire

Able Seaman John Butler

Leave a comment
Able Seaman John Butler

John Stuart Butler was born on 8th May 1896 in Warminster, Wiltshire. The middle of three children, he was one of three boys to John and Harriet Butler. John Sr was a coachman, and the family lived at 3 St John’s Terrace on the eastern side of the town.

When John Jr – who was known as Jack to avoid any confusion with his father – finished his schooling, he found work as an office boy. He sought a life of adventure, however, and looked to the Royal Navy.

Jack enlisted on 3rd June 1912 and, being underage, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. Initially sent to HMS Impregnable, the training base in Devonport, Devon, within three months he had been promoted to Boy 1st Class.

Over the next year-and-a-half, Jack served on three separate ships. After leaving Impregnable, he was assigned to armoured cruiser HMS Royal Arthur. From there he moved to the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand and the battleship HMS Dreadnought. In between assignments Boy Butler’s returned to what became his shore base, HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

While assigned to Dreadnought, Jack came of age. He was formally enlisted in the Royal Navy, his service papers confirming that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall, with brown hair, grey-blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on his right side.

In May 1915, Jack was promoted again, this time to Able Seaman. His annual reviews noted his character was very good, but that his ability was satisfactory. He would remain on HMS Dreadnought for nearly three years, before being reassigned to HMS Mohawk, a destroyer that was attached to the Dover Patrol, protecting the English Channel against German incursions, in July 1916.

On the night of the 26th October 1916 a number of enemy torpedo boats carried out a raid into the Channel. When one of the German vessels sank HMS Flirt, Mohawk was one of six ships sent to retaliate. As she left Dover harbour, she was hit by a barrage of shells. Her steering jammed, but she remained floating. The German torpedo boats escaped, but four of the Mohawk’s crew – including Able Seaman Butler – were killed. He was just 20 years of age.

The body of John Stuart “Jack” Butler was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John’s Church, on the same road as where his grieving parents were still living.

Able Seaman, Boatman, Boy, Coastguard, Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, County Mayo, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Leading Boatman, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, Pembrokeshire, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, Wales, war

Leading Boatman Peter Moran

Leave a comment
Leading Boatman Peter Moran

Peter Moran was born in Kilmeena, County Mayo, Ireland, on 29th January 1876. Details of his early life are hard to track down, but when he finished his schooling, he wound work as a fisherman.

By 19th August 1891, Peter sought to make a more permanent career of the sea. He signed up to the Royal Navy, and was sent to HMS Impregnable, the shore base in Devonport, Devon, for his training. Being just 15 years of age, he was too young to formally enlist, and was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class.

Over the next few years, Peter learnt the tools of his trade. On 2nd July 1892 he was promoted to Boy 1st Class, and the following February he was given his first sea-faring assignment, on board the battleship HMS Neptune. By March 1893 Boy Moran found himself serving on board HMS Daphne, a screw sloop which would become his home for the next three years.

During his time aboard Daphne, Peter came of age, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with light hair, grey-blue eyes and a fresh complexion. Within eighteen months he had proved his mettle, and was promoted to Able Seaman.

Over the next decade, Peter would serve on eight vessels. By the time the term of his contract came to an end in September 1903, he had been promoted twice – to Leading Seaman, then to Petty Officer 2nd Class.

Peter renewed his contract, but seems to have chosen a new career path. On 2nd October 1903 he moved to HM Coastguard and, as a Boatman, was assigned to Pendeen Cove, Cornwall.

Love blossomed for Peter, and he married a woman called Caroline in the next few years. There is little further information about her, but the couple would go on to have three children – Mary in 1908, Florence in 1911 and Thomas in 1913.

Boatman Moran would spend twelve years with the coastguard, moving to St Ives, Cornwall, in September 1908, and Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, in March 1914. By this point he had been promoted to Leading Boatman, and was set on a new life in Wales. Sadly, the new life was not to be: on 2nd June 1915 he passed away from pneumonia. He was 39 years of age.

The body of Peter Moran was laid to rest in Fishguard Cemetery: a life at sea, and forging homes in three countries at an end.

Boy, Chief Yeoman of the Signals, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Isle of Wight, Kent, Leading Signalman, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, Signalman, story, Surrey, Tyne & Wear, war, Yeoman of Signals

Chief Yeoman of Signals Charles Welling

Leave a comment
Chief Yeoman of Signals Charles Welling

Charles James Welling was born on 23rd October 1860, and was the oldest of three children to Charles and Ann Welling. The Wellings were a military family, Charles Sr employed as a Serjeant Instructor of Musquetry in the Parkhurst Barracks on the Isle of Wight when his son was born.

Ann had been born in South Africa while her Irish parents were based out there. She and Charles Sr married in Farnham, Surrey, presumably where the families were based by that point.

Charles Jr’s mother died in 1863, just a month after giving birth to his youngest sibling. His father married again, to Sarah Ash, and by 1871, the Wellings were living in barracks at the School of Musketry in Hythe, Kent.

Being his father’s son, Charles Jr was set to make his own mark on the world and, on 21st January 1876, he joined the Royal Navy. Too young to formally enlist, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent off to HMS Impregnable, the shore base in Devonport, Devon, for his training.

Over the next eighteen months, Boy Welling learnt his trade, spending time at HMS Ganges – another shore base near Ipswich, Suffolk – and the sloop HMS Penguin. It was here that Charles came of age in 1878, and he officially joined the Royal Navy with the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service papers show that he was just 4ft 10.5ins (1.49m) tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Ordinary Seaman Welling career was to take a turn in 1880, when he began training as a signaller. His initial contract with the navy was for ten years, and, by the time that came to an end in May 1889, he had served on eight ships in all, rising through the ranks from Signalman 3rd Class, to Signalman 2nd Class in August 1881 and Qualified Signalman seven years later.

When Charles’ term of service came to an end, he immediately renewed it, and with the new contract came a promotion to Leading Signalman. The next decade saw him travel the world, returning to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, in between voyages. His commitment to the role paid off: in March 1894 he was promoted to 2nd Class Yeoman of Signals. Just eight months later he took the rank of Yeoman of Signals.

It was around this time that Charles married the love of his life, Harriet Carlaw. Born in London, the couple exchanged vows in St Pancras, Middlesex, on 13th January 1894 and had a son, also called Charles, the following year.

Charles’ naval career continued its upward trajectory, and on 1st March 1898, he was awarded the rank of Chief Yeoman of Signals. By this point HMS Pembroke had become his permanent base and, at the end of his contract in 1899, he was stood down to reserve status.

The 1901 census shows what may have been a downward step for the Wellings: it recorded the family living in rooms at 136 Bayham Street, Camden, Middlesex, where Charles was working as a messenger.

Opportunities come in the most unexpected of places, however, and the following census found them living at Pier House, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, where Charles was employed as a lighthouse keeper.

By this point, Charles had been invalided out of the navy for medical reasons. The writing on his service papers is unclear, and his dismissal seems to have been as a result of disease of gestes, possibly the neurological disorder dystonia.

When war broke out in 1914, however, anyone with experience was called upon to play their part. Given his age at the time, it seems likely that Charles volunteered for service, reporting to HMS Pembroke on 2nd August 1914. He was given his old rank of Chief Yeoman of Signals, and remained at the naval base for the next two years.

Charles’ health was definitely suffering by this point, and he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, in September 1916. Suffering from the heart condition endocarditis, this would take his life. He passed away on 16th September, at the age of 55 years old.

With Harriet still living in Sunderland, Charles’ body was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base he had called home for so long.

Charles and Harriet’s son had also stepped up to play his part when war broke out. Enlisting in the Royal Engineers, Pioneer Welling soon found himself in the Middle East. While serving in Palestine, he contracted malaria, and passed away from the condition on 16th October 1918. Charles was just 23 years of age, and was laid to rest in Haifa War Cemetery.

It is tragic to note that Harriet had lost her husband and her son within two years.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, photography, story, Surrey, war

Able Seaman Harry Vince

Leave a comment
Able Seaman Harry Vince

Harry Cooper Vince was born in Battersea, Surrey, on 14th January 1896. The 1901 census noted he was the son of Elizabeth Vince, a cook for barrister and solicitor Robert Purvis. The next census found Harry, Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s husband Harry, as one of four families to have taken rooms at 47 Bessborough Place, Pimlico.

Harry sought a life of adventure and, on 21st March 1912, he gave up his work as a kitchen boy to enlist in the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. He was dispatched to the training ship HMS Impregnable.

On 6th September 1912, having been promoted to Boy 1st Class, Harry was assigned to the battleship HMS Vanguard. Over the next couple of years he learnt his trade, and would come to be based out of HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – in between voyages.

Harry came of age on 14th January 1914, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records note that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also recorded as having small moles on his right buttock,

By the late spring of 1916, Harry had been assigned to the submarine depot ship HMS Bonaventure. He would remain on board for two years, during which time he was promoted to Able Seaman.

The next four months would go by in a bit of a blur for Able Seaman Vince. During this time he moved between three ships – the submarine depot ships HMS Dolphin and HMS Maidstone. The last of the three was HMS Lucia, originally the British-built steamship Spreewald, captured from the German Navy in 1914.

In September 1916, Harry was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, suffering intestinal obstructions. These would prove too severe, and he succumbed to peritonitis on 13th October 1916. He was 20 years of age.

The body of Harry Cooper Vince was laid to rest in the military section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the naval base he had called home.

Interestingly, Harry’s service records not an irregularity in his name: “Registered at Somerset House in the name of Ball. Boy kept in ignorance of the fact for obvious reasons.” It would seem that Elizabeth may not have been married at the time her son was born. It also throws some potential doubt as to who his father was.