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

Able Seaman John Griffin

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Able Seaman John Griffin

John Griffin was born on 26th November 1885, one of six children to John and Mary Griffin. John Sr was a shoemaker from Limerick, Ireland, but it was in neighbouring County Clare, in the coastal town of Kilrush, that he and Mary raised their family.

John Jr’s siblings found labouring work when they left school, but he was after bigger and better things. In July 1901 he enlisted in the Royal Navy, set for a life at sea. As he was only fifteen years old at this point, he was not formally enrolled in service, but given the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He was initially posted to the training ship HMS Black Prince, which was based in Queenstown – now Cobh – County Cork.

Boy Griffin spent nine months on board the Black Prince, rising to the rank of Boy 1st Class in the process. In May 1902 he was given his first posting, aboard the battleship HMS Minotaur. After six months he transferred to the frigate HMS Agincourt, before moving again – to HMS Russell – on 18th February 1903.

It was while John was assigned to this battleship that he came of age. On his eighteenth birthday, he was formally enlisted into the Royal Navy for a period of 12 years’ service. He was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman and his records give an indication of the man he had become. They note that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

In April 1904, Ordinary Seaman Griffin was transferred to the battleship HMS Queen. He spent two years on board, gaining a further promotion – to Able Seaman – in September 1905.

Over the next nine years, John served on seven further vessels and, when not at sea, was based primarily at HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Plymouth/Devonport, Devon. In July 1914, with Europe on the brink of war, he was given another transfer, to the battleship HMS Bulwark. Boarding in Portsmouth, Hampshire, the ship sailed to the North Kent coast, off Sheerness.

Able Seaman Griffin was on board Bulwark when, on the morning of 26th November 1914, an explosion ripped through the ship, tearing it apart and sinking it. In all 741 souls were lost, John among them. He should have been celebrating his 29th birthday.

The majority of those who died in the explosion aboard HMS Bulwark were buried in a mass grave in Woodland Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent. John’s body, however, was not recovered until 24th January 1915, some two months after the explosion.

The sixteenth inquest on the victims of the Bulwark disaster was held at Chatham Naval Hospital on Monday. A body clothed in the dress of a patty officer was identified as that of Thomas Henry Treacher, who was a gun-layer. Two stokers were identified by marks on their clothing as Daniel Johnson, of Blackfields, Co. Kerry. and Edward Henry Buckingham of Nunhead, London, and an able seaman’s body proved to be that of John Griffin, of Kilrush, Co. Clare. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death in each case. Twenty-five bodies have now been recovered.

Westerham Herald: Saturday 30th January 1915

John Griffin was laid to rest in a marked grave in Woodlands Cemetery, not far from his fellow servicemen.

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

Leading Signalman Albert Pomeroy

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Leading Signalman Albert Pomeroy

Albert Pomeroy was born on 22nd May 1882 in Totnes, Devon. The tenth of thirteen children, his parents were William and Susanna Pomeroy. William was a labourer at a cider store, and his son found work as a page when he left school. However, it is clear that he lusted after a life of adventure.

On 2nd September 1897, Albert enlisted in the Royal Navy. Aged just 15 years old, he was initially given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Impregnable, a training ship based in Devonport. He remained on board for just over a year, rising to Boy 1st Class in the process.

Boy Pomeroy moved to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Plymouth, in December 1898, and remained there until he was given his first formal sea-faring post nine months later. The cruiser HMS Terrible was to be his home from September 1899 until the spring of 1902.

On 22nd May 1900, during his time on board Terrible, Albert came of age, and he was formally enrolled into the Royal Navy. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 3in (1.60m) tall, had dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

Albert was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman, but seems to have been well thought of as, just over a year later he was promoted to Able Seaman. Over the next eleven years, he served on a further ten ships, returning to HMS Vivid between voyages. On 21st May 1912, having completed the twelve years of his naval contract, Able Seaman Pomeroy was formally stood down to reserve status.

Albert’s trail goes cold for a few years. His father had passed away in 1910, so it seems likely that Albert returned home to Totnes to support his mother.

His time on reserve was not to be long, however, and, in August 1914, he was called back into duty. He received a promotion – to Leading Signalman – and assigned to the troop ship HMS Tamar. He moved to another troop ship – HMS Hardinge – in March 1915, but returned to Devonport a couple of months later.

In September, Leading Seaman Pomeroy was back in Totnes, possibly on leave, but had fallen ill. He contracted meningitis, and this was to prove fatal. Albert passed away at his mother’s home on 2nd September 1915, at the age of 33 years old.

Albert… was one of six brothers serving King and country, while another brother, who died some years ago, was in the 20th Hussars, and his late father was a naval pensioner. Albert Pomeroy saw service with Sit Percy Scott in South Africa, went to Pekin [sic] with the Naval Brigade, was engaged in operations in Somaliland, and until a few weeks ago was on active service with the British fleet.

Western Times: Tuesday 7th September 1915

Albert Pomeroy was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Totnes, Devon.

Susanna went on to live into her eighties. Remaining in Totnes, when she passed away, on 27th December 1933, at the age of 88, she was reunited with her son in Totnes Cemetery.

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

Able Seaman David Coleman

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Able Seaman David Coleman

David Coleman was born in the spring of 1880, one of nine children to Jeremiah and Mary Coleman. Jeremiah was a farmer from County Cork, Ireland, and it was in his home village of Killbrittain that the family were raised.

When David left school, he found work as a labourer and mechanic and, in the spring of 1896, he left Ireland for England in search of a bigger and better life for himself.

Things may not have gone quite to plan, however, and, on 17th March 1897, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. He was too young to enrol for full service at this point, however, and so he took on the rank of Boy 2nd Class. He was initially assigned to the training ship HMS Northampton and quickly made Boy 1st Class.

Over the next year, David served on two vessels – HMS Calliope and HMS Doris. When he turned eighteen, he was officially enrolled in the Royal Navy, and given the rank of Ordinary Seaman.

David remained on HMS Doris for nearly four years, and seemed to impress his superiors. By the end of his time on board, he had been promoted again, reaching the rank of Able Seaman.

Over the next nine years, Able Seaman Coleman served on ten different ships, each time returning to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport. In March 1910, with his contract complete, he was stood down to reserve status.

The same year, he married Florence Tompkins, who had been born in Newton Abbot, Devon. The couple set up home in Totnes and went on to have three children. David found work as an electrician for the local electric light works.

War was coming to Europe by this point and, in August 1914, Able Seaman Coleman was called back to duty. He served for two years on board the battleship HMS Caesar and, having previously been assigned to HMS Defiance, returned there again. In May 1916, he was assigned to HMS Vernon, one of the shore-based establishments in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

It was while he was in Portsmouth that he fell ill, and was admitted to the town’s Haslar Hospital. Details of his condition are unclear, but he was to succumb to it, passing away on 2nd July 1917, at the age of 37 years old.

David Coleman was brought back to Devon for burial: he was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery, not far from the family home.

Tragedy was to strike the Coleman family again when, early in 1918, both of David and Florence’s younger children – David, aged 5, and Mary, age 2 – passed away. Causes of death are again unclear, but it seems likely to have been one of the lung conditions that would ravage Europe as the war entered its final stage.

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Navy, story, war

Private Frank Mayo

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Private Frank Mayo

Francis James Stephen Mayo was born on 24th November 1894 in Oldland, a small Gloucestershire village near Bristol. One of eight children, his parents were collier Samuel Mayo and his wife, Diana.

Frank, as he was known, sought a life of adventure from the start. In July 1911, not content with life as a farm labourer, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had light hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Sent to the training ship HMS Impregnable, Boy 2nd Class Mayo’s time there was short. When Samuel found out what his son had done, he paid £10 (the equivalent of around £1250 in today’s money) for his discharge.

Frank went back to farm work, but, with storm clouds brewing on European shores, his time was to come again. On 8th September 1914, just a month after war was declared, he enlisted. His service records show that he had gained an inch (2.5cm) in height since his attempt to join the Royal Navy.

Again, Frank’s attempt to escape what he presumably felt to be a humdrum life were thwarted. His service records confirm that he was discharged on medical grounds because he was deemed not likely to become an efficient sailor.

On Christmas Day 1915, Frank married Martha Sweet, the daughter of a chimney sweep. The couple settled down in Keynsham, not far from either of their families, and had a son, Henry. Frank, by this time, seemed to have given in to the inevitable, and looking for a regular wage, began working at one of the local collieries.

Frank still had a dream to fulfil, though, and with no end to the war in sight, he again enlisted, joining the Training Reserve in June 1917. His records show that he had gained another inch in height, and has a number of tattoos on his right forearm. His records this time show that he had a slight heart problem, and was also suffering from a touch of rheumatism.

Private Mayo was assigned to the 440th Company of the Labour Corps, and seemed, at last, to be fulfilling the role he had wanted to be doing for the last six years. As time went on, however, his health seems to have been failing him and, in the summer of 1918, he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. He passed away from the condition on 30th August 1918, while at camp, aged just 23 years of age.

Brought back to Gloucestershire for burial, Francis James Stephen Mayo – or Frank – was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Anne’s Church in his home village of Oldland.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, London, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman George Reardon

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Able Seaman George Reardon

George Herbert Reardon was born on 29th March 1890 in St Pancras, Middlesex. The second of four children, his parents were tailor Thomas Reardon and his dressmaker wife, Mabel.

When he left school, George worked as an errand boy, presumably for his parents’ business. However, he wanted bigger and better things and, on 6th April 1906, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.

Initially underage, George was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to the training ship HMS Impregnable. After nearly a year there, he was promoted to Boy 1st Class and, on 5th March 1907, was given his first sea-going assignment. Over the following nine months, Boy 2nd Class Reardon served on five ships, the last being the battleship HMS Venerable.

It was while he was assigned to this ship that George came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy, on a twelve year contract. His service records show that he stood 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted to have two moles, one on his right upper arm and another on the third finger of his left hand.

The now Ordinary Seaman Reardon remained on HMS Venerable until 1st February 1909, when he was transferred to another battleship, HMS Implacable. He was to spend the next eighteen months on board, and, while there, was promoted again, to Able Seaman.

In September 1910, George came on shore, and was assigned to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham, Kent. This was to be his base for the next few years, and he would return there in between voyages.

Over the next four years, he served on four more vessels – HMS St George, Vindictive, Forte and Ganges. Able Seaman Reardon’s last trip, however, was to be on HMS Arethusa, which he boarded on 11th August 1914, just a week after war had been declared.

The Arethusa was a light cruiser built at HMS Pembroke, and was the lead vessel of the Harwich Force, whose aim was to patrol the North Sea. On 28 August 1914, a fortnight after leaving port, she fought at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and was seriously damaged by two German cruisers, SMS Frauenlob and Stettin.

Eleven souls were lost in the incident, Able Seaman Reardon among them. He was just 24 years of age.

The extent of the damage to HMS Arethusa meant she had to be towed back to England. Once on dry land, George Herbert Reardon was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.

Able Seaman, accident, Boatswain, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Kent, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, suicide, war

Boatswain James Kirby

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Boatswain James Kirby

James Kirby’s life is one of intrigue and speculation. Born in Laytown, Ireland on 30th August 1867, the earliest documents relating to him are his Royal Naval Service Records.

He enlisted on 1st March 1883, while just fifteen years old, and was assigned the rank of Boy 2nd Class. Over the next couple of years, he served on two ships – HMS Lion and HMS Briton – and was promoted to Boy 1st Class.

On 30th August 1885, James came of age, and was formally enrolled in the Royal Navy. He enlisted for ten years’ service, and his records show that he stood 5ft 3ins (1.60m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a tattoo of an anchor on the back of his left hand.

Over the next ten years, Ordinary Seaman Kirby served on nine different vessels, and was obviously committed to his work. He rose through the ranks, making Able Seaman in January 1886, Leading Seaman (1889), Petty Officer (also 1889) and Chief Petty Officer (1895).

When his initial contract ended, he voluntarily continued with the Royal Navy, although his service record ends on 14th June 1896, at the point that he was promoted to Acting Boatswain.

A second service record picks up James’ details from 5th December 1902. Still serving as a Boatswain, he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Lancaster. His health, by this point, was beginning to suffer, and, it seems, his life was beginning to unravel.

In August 1904, he was injured in an accident involving a “hook rope” and “slightly amoral judgement”. Over the next couple of years his behaviour became increasingly erratic.

In December 1910, he was admitted to Shotley Hospital near Durham, suffering from acute mania and gonorrhoea, and was not be be fit for duty for a few weeks.

Just before Christmas that year, Boatswain Kirby was again admitted to hospital, this time in Chatham, Kent, remaining there for a number of months. He was deemed unfit for further service in March 1911, and was medically discharged with neurasthenia.

However, when war broke three years later, James volunteered his services once more, and was again employed by the Royal Navy. Tragically, this was a decision that would prove to be fatal.

The extraordinary death of a naval boatswain names James Kirby, aged 47, was the subject of an inquest at the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham… Deceased, whose home was at Dublin, had retired, but had volunteered for service and was anxious to go to sea. On Friday evening [28th August 1914] he was watching a game of billiards in the warrant officers’ mess at the Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, and appeared perfectly rational and sober. Suddenly he was observed to disappear through an open window beneath which he had been sitting. He went down, as one witness stated “with a smile on his face,” and called out “Good-bye.” A crash of glass below indicated that he struck the dining room window as he fell.

Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph: Saturday 5th September 1914

The article gave further information about the injury James sustained previously: “It transpired that deceased fell out of a window at the Hospital eight years ago through walking in his sleep. He was then suffering from neurasthenia and had delusions.“

The inquest concluded that Boatswain James Kirby had committed suicide during temporary insanity. He was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard at which he was based.

James Kirby’s grave is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on behalf of the Royal Navy Admiralty. However, as the naval authorities did not confirm Boatswain Kirby was a war casualty – possibly because of the nature of his death – he was never formally commemorated with a Commonwealth War Grave. However, I have included his story as it remains as pertinent as those of his contemporaries.

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Kent, photography, Royal Navy, Signalman, story, war

Signalman Albert Chevalier

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Signalman Albert Chevalier

Albert Patrick Michael Chevalier was born in India on 16th June 1893. There is little definitive information about his early life, although his mother was called Georgina, and the family may have moved back to England when Albert was just a child.

When he left school, Albert found work as an errand boy in an office. But he wanted bigger and better things and, on 4th May 1909, aged just fifteen years old, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Because of his age, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and for the first eighteen months, he was assigned to training bases – HMS Ganges and HMS Impregnable.

After only a few months, Albert was promoted to Boy 1st Class and, after a month at HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was given his first sea-going appointment on board the cruiser HMS Minerva.

Albert spent eighteen months on Minerva, during which time he came of age. He seems to have had an understanding of basic technology, as he was given the rank of Ordinary Signalman. After some more time in Chatham, Albert went to sea again, this time on board another cruiser, HMS Cressy. At the start of 1913 he was promoted again, and given the rank of full Signalman.

Signalman Chevalier went on to serve on a number of different vessels, primarily the battleship HMS Swiftsure, where he served for nearly three years, plying the waters between Britain and India. By the spring of 1916 he was back in Chatham, however, and it was here that things took a turn for the worse.

Albert was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in the town, suffering from pleurisy. Sadly, the condition was to get the better of him and he passed away the hospital on 28th September 1916, at the age of just 23 years of age.

Albert Patrick Michael Chevalier’s body was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard from which he had made so many of his voyages.

Albert’s mother Georgina had not settled in England for long. The army pension record gives her as Albert’s beneficiary, but notes her address as Victoria Street, Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.

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

Petty Officer Albert Smith

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Petty Officer Albert Smith

Albert Septamus Smith was born in Maidstone, Kent, on 12th January 1881. The oldest of three children to George and Frances Ditcher, he may has been born before the couple married, and seems to have retained his mother’s maiden name throughout his life.

When he left school, Albert sought a life at sea, joining the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 12th January 1898, when he was just fifteen. Albert’s naval career was a long and varied one which began on board HMS Impregnable, a training ship. After a month’s training, he was assigned to HMS Lion, where he spent more than a year, gaining a promotion to Boy 1st Class in the process.

In October 1897, Albert transferred to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. In the four months that he spent on shore, he turned seventeen and, as a result, came of legal age to formally be enlisted in the navy. Ordinary Seaman Smith signed up for a period of twelve years, and his service records showed that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. He was also noted to have a scar on his right wrist, and a tattoo of a flower and bracelet on the same wrist.

Ordinary Seaman Smith was dedicated to his career. Over the next twelve years he served on board nine different vessels, and rose through the ranks, gaining promotion to Able Seaman (in May 1899), Leading Seaman (January 1903), and Petty Officer 2nd Class (September 1903). He returned to the rank of Leading Seaman, doing so in August 1906, but this seems to have been a deliberate choice, as his service record appears unblemished.

In 1910, Albert’s initial period of service came to an end and he chose not to renew his contract. He had married Ellen Miles on 6th October 1900, and, with four young children, it appears that family had become more important to him. Returning to Maidstone, he found work on the railways, joining the South East and Chatham company as a platelayer. The family home was in Bearsted, a village to the east of Maidstone, now part of its suburbs, and they shared is with Ellen’s sister, Dorothy.

Life was going well for the Smith family, but war was coming to Europe and, with his previous naval experience, Albert was to be called upon again. He was called out of reserve on 2nd August 1914 and, after an initial couple of weeks at HMS Pembroke, Leading Seaman Smith was soon back at sea.

After a couple of years on board the seaplane tenders HMS Engadine and Campania, Albert was promoted to Petty Officer again, and assigned to HMS Sandhurst, a fleet repair ship based at Scapa Flow. He was on board when an explosion in the boiler room killed seventeen seamen on 27th February 1917, although he was not hurt.

It was while Petty Officer Smith was on board HMS Sandhurst that he contracted tuberculosis. He returned to Chatham Dockyard, but the condition was severe enough for him to be medically discharged from active service in February 1918.

Albert returned to civilian life again, and his trail goes cold for a couple of years. His lung complaint continued to haunt him, however, and he passed away from tuberculosis on 4th March 1921. He was 40 years of age.

Albert Septamus Smith was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Cross Church in Bearsted, not far from his family home.

Petty Officer Albert Smith
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Somerset, story, war

Boy Sidney Buttle

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Boy Sidney Buttle

Sidney Alfred Buttle was born on 7th November 1900, one of eight children to Walter and Alice Buttle. Walter was a brickyard labourer from the Somerset hamlet of Churchstanton, but it was in nearby Wellington that he and weaver Alice raised their young family.

Sidney was just 13 years old when war broke out, but he was a young man who appeared keen to play his part. On 31st July 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve, a regiment that suggests that, even at his young age, he had some experience of working with boats.

His service records show that Sidney was just 5ft 2.5ins (1.59m) tall, had a fresh complexion with hazel eyes. Given the rank of Boy, he was initially posted to Falmouth, Cornwall, where he spent nine months training. After this, he spent a further six months on short postings as a deck hand, before being sent to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Boy Buttle was, by this point, suffering from neurasthenia, a nerve disorder, and it was this condition that led to his eventual discharge from naval service in December 1918.

Sidney returned home, but seems to have been weakened by the condition. He passed away at home on 3rd August 1919, at the tender age of just eighteen years of age. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

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