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Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, India, injury, Lance Corporal, London, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Surrey, Sussex, unknown, war

Lance Corporal Ernest Hawkins

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Lance Corporal Ernest Hawkins

Ernest Frederick Hawkins was born in Street, Somerset, in 1884. He was the youngest of six children to Charles Hawkins and his wife Elizabeth. Both of Ernest’s parents were shoemakers in the Clark’s Factory in the town, and this was the trade Elizabeth continued in after her husband’s death in 1887.

Ernest’s life has some mysteries about it and there is a sense that he spent time trying to escape from something. In August 1904, he enlisted in the army, joining the Scottish Rifles (also known as the Cameronians). He did this under an assumed name, preferring to be called James Fisher.

“James” gave his next of kin as his parents, listing them as George and Annie in South Acton (even though these were not his actual parents’ names, and that his father had passed away 17 years previously).

His enlistment papers give an interesting insight into the young man. He was listed as 22 years old, 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with brown eyes, black hair and a sallow complexion. His arms were adorned with a number of tattoos, including Buffalo Bill on his upper right arm and a ship surrounded by flags on his upper left.

Private Fisher served for a year on home soil, before being shipped out to India. He returned to the UK in October 1907, and transferred to the Army Reserve.

Ernest returned to Somerset, and it was here that he met Sarah Jane Manning. The couple married in a registry office in Bristol, and went on to have two children, Hubert and Iris.

War broke out, and Private Fisher was remobilised. By August 1914 he was promoted to Lance Corporal, and sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Here he became caught up in a number of the key battles of the conflict.

On 24th July 1916, during the British attacks on High Wood at the Somme, he was wounded in the right arm, and invalided back to England for treatment. Admitted to the War Hospital in Guildford, Surrey, it was confirmed that he had received a gun-shot wound to his right arm, which had resulted in a compound fracture of the humerus, radius and ulna. Sadly for Ernest, the only option was a full amputation of his right arm.

After some time to recover, Ernest was transferred to the Pavilion Military Hospital in Brighton where he was fitted for an artificial limb. He spent three months in the Brighton facility, before being moved to the Queen Mary’s Convalescent Home in Roehampton to recuperate. He was eventually discharged – from the hospital and the army – on 10th March 1917, and returned to his wife and family in Somerset.

There is little further documented information about Ernest. He and Sarah went on to have a further child – Leslie – in 1917. Sadly, where Ernest had been a toddler when his father had died, Leslie was consigned to be a babe-in-arms when Ernest passed away.

Ernest Frederick Hawkins – also known as James Fisher – died in Swindon on 2nd July 1918, at the age of 34. He lies at rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in his adopted home town of Taunton, Somerset.

Ernest’s gravestone also commemorates his brother Frank Hawkins. Frank was nine years older than Ernest, and, like his younger brother, had decided that the military life was for him.

Frank enlisted in the Royal Navy in November 1894 and was assigned a Boy 2nd Class on HMS Impregnable – the training ship based in Chatham, Kent. Over the period of his twelve years’ service, Frank rose through the ranks to Able Seaman. When his term was up, he joined the Royal Fleet Reserve for a further five years.

When war came, Able Seaman Hawkins was immediately called back into action. He was assigned to HMS Goliath, serving off German East Africa and the Dardanelles. On the night of the 12th May 1915, the ship was guarding the water off Gallipoli, when it was struck by three Ottoman torpedoes. The resulting explosions caused the ship to sink quickly, and 570 souls – out of a total complement of 750 crew – were lost.

Able Seaman Hawkins was one of those lost, and was subsequently commemorated on his brother’s gravestone.

Able Seaman, Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, injury, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war

Able Seaman Gerald Brine

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Able Seaman Brine

Gerald Montague Brine war born in October 1897, the youngest of seven children to John and Annie Brine. John was a potter, and, while the children were born in Dorset, the family soon moved to the Somerset village of Binegar.

Gerald’s three older brothers all went to work in a local stone quarry, as an engineer, breaker and foreman respectively. When Gerald left school, he found work with the local blacksmith as a striker. It was while employed there, in 1912, that his mother Annie passed away, aged just 50 years old.

War was on its way however, and where his brothers enlisted in the army, Gerald was bound for the sea. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 3rd November 1915 and, as an Ordinary Seaman, was assigned to HMS Iron Duke. He was aboard the vessel when it became embroiled in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, and was subsequently transferred to HMS Discoverer.

Promoted to Able Seaman in April 1918, the Discoverer headed back to Chatham a couple of months later. A Somerset newspaper picks up on Gerald’s sad tale from there.

When one of His Majesty’s ships was returning to port, and her crew were looking forward to “leave”, an unfortunate tragedy occurred by which Gerald Montague Brine, a young Able Seaman [and] a native of Binegar, lost his life. It appears that in the course of storing gear, a loaded revolver was removed by mistake to the armourer’s room, instead of to the officer’s cabin, and was placed on a table.

Curiosity led Peter Macfarlane, another able seaman, to handle it, and as he was bringing it to his side from an upward position, he, to use his own words, unconsciously pulled the trigger. It fired, and the bullet entered Brine’s body just under his left shoulder, fracturing his spine and producing paralysis of his lower limbs.

Wells Journal: Friday 12th July 1918

Gerald’s parents had a telegram to say that he was seriously wounded and in the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham. They travelled at once to Chatham and found him very ill, but conscious. They remained with him until he died a week later, on 1st July 1918. He was just 20 years of age.

At the inquest, Macfarlane described Brine as his best chum, and all witnesses agreed that “the best possible relations existed between the members of the crew.” According to the doctor’s evidence at the inquest, Gerald was unable to be saved. The jury reached a verdict of Accidental Death.

Able Seaman was brought home to Binegar, and lies at rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church.

Gerald’s grave also acts as a memorial to two of his older brothers.

Arthur Brine, who had been the stone breaker in the quarry, emigrated to Canada after his mother had died, finding work there as a fireman. The Great War brought him back to European shores, however, and he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, joining the 188th Battalion.

Private Brine arrived in England in October 1916; he transferred to the 28th Canadians, and set off for France the following January. He was caught up in the Battle of Arras and was hit and killed by a piece of shrapnel on 15th April 1917. He was just 29 years old.

Arthur Brine lies at peace in the Ecoivres Cemetery to the north west of Arras in Northern France.

Herbert Brine had been the foreman at the stone quarry He married Sarah Lucy James shortly before his mother’s death in 1912; the couple went on to have two children, Arthur and Kenneth.

Herbert was mobilised in July 1917, initially joining the 3rd Reserve Battalion. He was drafted, as an Able Seaman, to the Hood Battalion, Royal Naval Division (RND) in November 1917, before re-joining his RND Battalion at Flesquières, near Cambrai, two months later.

In early March 1918, the Germans started bombardments in preparation for a major offensive. For ten days from 12th March, the Flesquières salient was drenched with nearly a quarter of a million (mostly mustard) gas shells, There were over 2,000 resultant casualties in the RND. After this preparatory shelling, the Germans attacked in enormous numbers.

By the end of the day, the situation was precarious and the Division was forced to retreat in steps, through Bertincourt, Ytres and the Metz lines, through the old Somme battlefields.

Able Seaman Brine was first reported missing on 24th March, but was only accepted as having been killed in action on that date nine months later.  As such, Herbert is commemorated by name on the Arras Memorial; his name also resides on Gerald’s gravestone back home in Binegar.

The Great War took its toll on the Brine family. Three of the four brothers died during those tumultuous years, leaving only John’s oldest son, Wallace, to carry on the family name. John himself died in 1942, aged 84, and lies with his wife and youngest boy in the small Binegar churchyard.

Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Sergeant, South Africa, story, unknown, war

Serjeant Frederick Wickens

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Serjeant Frederick Wickens

Frederick Albert John Wickens was born in Newbury, Berkshire, in the summer of 1889. The oldest of four children to Alfred and Emily Wickens, his father was a brewer’s labourer.

The military life proved more of a draw to Frederick, however. While his full records no longer exist, by the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded as being a Sapper with the 2nd Field Troop of the Royal Engineers. He was based at Potchefstroom, around 75 miles (120km) south east of Johannesburg in South Africa, and his trade was listed as a tailor.

Sadly, it is at this point that Frederick’s trail goes tepid, if not cold.

From a personal perspective, he married a woman called Rose, who was a year younger then him. Her details are scarce, and there is nothing to confirm when or where they married (other than the 1911 census, when Frederick was listed as ‘single’).

The couple must have had some connection to Gillingham, as this is where they lived; given the proximity of the Royal Engineers Barracks in neighbouring Chatham.

Sapper Wickens’ military service continued into the Great War. He was awarded the medaille militaire by Belgium, and achieved the rank of Serjeant during his career. Unfortunately, there are no details of the actions around either the award or his promotion.

Serjeant Wickens passed away on 27th February 1921; he died in Chatham, although the cause was not recorded. He was 31 years old.

Frederick Albert John Wickens lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent.

Frederick’s younger brother Thomas, also served in the Great War. He enlisted in the Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire) Regiment, and was involved in the battles on the Western Front. Sadly he was killed in the fighting on 24th May 1916, at the age of 19 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Kent, London, photography, Royal Marines, story, war

Corporal Albert Shrubsall

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Corporal Albert Shrubsall

Albert Arthur Shrubsall was born in Deptford, South London, in April 1896. He was the youngest of three children – all boys – to ironmonger George Shrubsall and his wife Jessie.

While his brothers continued to live at home after they had left school and got jobs, Albert found live-in work as a pageboy, or servant, for Wilfred Lineham, who was a professor of engineering for a London college. It was while he was working here that his mother, Jessie, passed away. She died in 1913, aged just 43.

Details of Albert’s military service are a bit scant. He enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, although I have been unable to confirm when he joined up. He was assigned to the Chatham Division, and was based at the Naval Dockyard in Kent, ultimately being promoted to Corporal.

Albert married Gertrude Spoore – affectionately known a ‘Ginty’ – in Deptford in October 1917. Sadly, the marriage was to las less than six months, as, on 9th April 1918, Albert passed away, having contracted pneumonia and septicaemia. He was just 22 years old.

Albert lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in his adopted home town of Gillingham in Kent.

Albert’s two brothers George and Alfred were also involved in the First World War.

George, had gone on to become a tailor’s assistant when he left school. He married Emily Hawkes in 1911, and the couple went on to have a son, also called George, the following year.

When war broke out, he enlisted in the Machine Gun Corps, and served on the Western Front. Sadly, he was caught up in the fighting, and was killed in action on 22nd August 1917. He was buried at the Tyne Cot Memorial in Flanders.

When he left school, Alfred went on to become a butcher’s assistant. War came along, and he enlisted straight away.

Enrolling in the Royal Field Artillery, Gunner Shrubsall was assigned to the 95th Brigade. Sadly, he had recorded less than six months’ service, as he passed away on 8th January 1915, aged just 21 years old. His brigade did not go to France until the following year, so, while no cause of death is recorded, it is likely that he died from a communicable disease like influenza or pneumonia.

Alfred is buried in the family grave in Deptford, South London.

Within a period of just three years, George had lost all three of his sons to the Great War. Given the previous death of his wife, you can only imagine the heartbreak he was going through.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Lance Corporal, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, story, war

Corporal Richard Langley

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Corporal Richard Langley

Richard Frederick Langley was born in January 1897 in Chatham, Kent. He was one of seven children to Albert Langley, who was a bricklayer, and his wife, Elizabeth.

Richard enlisted almost as soon as he was able to. His papers, dated 18th October 1914, show that he was 17 years and 10 months old, as was working as an apprentice boilermaker. He was assigned to the Royal Engineers.

Sapper Langley’s war service was spent in England. Initially based in Kent, he was promoted to Acting Lance Corporal in October 1915. Transferring to the Royal Engineers Anti Aircraft Battalion in July 1916, Richard was again promoted to Corporal.

Corporal Langley was injured while serving for the Royal Engineers AA; he was admitted to the General Hospital in Tunbridge Wells, and has a hernia operated on. After two months recovering in hospital, he re-joined his battalion.

Richard was transferred again in January 1918, this time being assigned to the London Electrical Engineers. It was here that he saw out the remainder of the war.

It was while he was serving in Sheerness that Richard contracted influenza. Hospitalised on the island on 28th November 1918, he sadly did not recover. Corporal Langley passed away from pneumonia on 5th December 1918. He was just 21 years of age.

Richard Frederick Langley lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in his home town of Gillingham, Kent.

Richard’s older brother Albert was also involved in war service and was a skilled labourer at Chatham Dockyard. In February 1916, he boarded the SS Maloja, a steamship bound for Bombay with over 400 passengers and crew on board.

At around 10:30am on Sunday 27th February, the ship was sailing through the Straits of Dover when it struck a mine. The vessel sank within 24 minutes. Over 150 people died in the explosion, from drowning or from hypothermia.

Sadly, Albert’s body was not recovered. He was just 21 years old. He is commemorated on the Naval Memorial in Chatham, Kent.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Rifle Brigade, Rifleman, Somerset, story, war

Rifleman Walter Crook

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Rifleman Walter Crook

Walter George Crook was born in 1900, one of thirteen children to William – a gardener – and Elizabeth Crook from Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

When he left school, Walter worked as a printer for the town’s newspaper and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was living with his family in a six-roomed house in the middle of the town.

Walter moved on from the Shepton Mallet Journal, and found employment at the Hare and Hounds Hotel in the town. War was coming, however, and he enlisted in the 22nd (Wessex and Welsh) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.

Rifleman Crook was stationed with his battalion in Salonica, Greece, and it was while he was here that he suffered a cerebral tumour. He was invalided home, and treated in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley, Hampshire. Sadly, he lost his fight, passing away on 30th October 1916, aged just 27 years old.

Walter George Crook lies at rest in the cemetery of his home town of Shepton Mallet.

Walter’s brother Gordon is also buried in Shepton Mallet Cemetery – read his story here.

A third brother, Bertie, was also gave his life in the Great War. The local newspaper had given a touching report on his death in April 1916.

Bertie Crook left school at the age of 13, and went into service with Mrs Dickinson at Whitstone, as a stable lad. He was there a year and then, on account of Mrs Dickinson giving up horses and leaving the town, they recommended him to Lord Derby’s stables at Newmarket, under the Hon. G Lambton. Small as he was, Bertie Crook undertook the railway journey alone, with a label in his buttonhole. He served five years apprenticeship, which expired at the beginning of October [1915]. He then tried to join the Royal Field Artillery, but not being tall enough he joined a West country regiment on the 20th October, and left Tidworth Barracks for France in the early part of January. He was in his 21st year, having been born on the 29th July. 1895.

The Hon. George Lambton writes “I was terribly shocked and grieved to hear of the death of your boy… Mrs Lambton and I send our deepest sympathy… I always liked your boy so much when he was in my stable; and I felt sure that with his quiet and courageous character he would make a good soldier. I shall have a plate put up in the stable in memento of his glorious death.”

Shepton Mallet Journal: Friday 21st April 1916

Lance Corporal Bertram Stanley Crook is buried at the 13th London Graveyard in Lavantie, France.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, Hampshire Regiment, history, photography, Private, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Private Gordon Crook

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Private Gordon Crook

Gordon Spencer Crook was born in 1900, one of thirteen children to William and Elizabeth Crook from Somerset. William, like his father, was a gardener, and the family lived in Lower Lane, a small lane sandwiched between the railway and a stream in the centre of Shepton Mallet.

The military records for Gordon, who seems also to have gone by the name of George, are a challenge to piece together. His older brothers Walter and Bertram both died as a result of the fighting, both in 1916, and it seems likely that Gordon was keen to do his bit as soon as he could, to honour their memories.

He enlisted in the Hampshire Regiment, whose battalions served both in France and on the home front. There is conflicting information about his service, but Private Crook appears to have fought at the front, gaining the Victory and British Medals.

Again, with his passing, there is little information surrounding Gordon, or George. A brief notification in the Shepton Mallet Journal stated that “On March 31, at Royal Victoria Hospital Netley, Gordon Spencer, the dearly loved son of W and E Crook, aged 21 years.”

Gordon Spencer Crook lies at rest in the cemetery of his home town, Shepton Mallet.

Gordon’s brother Walter is also buried in Shepton Mallet Cemetery – read his story here.

A third brother, Bertie, was also gave his life in the Great War. The local newspaper had given a touching report on his death in April 1916.

Bertie Crook left school at the age of 13, and went into service with Mrs Dickinson at Whitstone, as a stable lad. He was there a year and then, on account of Mrs Dickinson giving up horses and leaving the town, they recommended him to Lord Derby’s stables at Newmarket, under the Hon. G Lambton. Small as he was, Bertie Crook undertook the railway journey alone, with a label in his buttonhole. He served five years apprenticeship, which expired at the beginning of October [1915]. He then tried to join the Royal Field Artillery, but not being tall enough he joined a West country regiment on the 20th October, and left Tidworth Barracks for France in the early part of January. He was in his 21st year, having been born on the 29th July. 1895.

The Hon. George Lambton writes “I was terribly shocked and grieved to hear of the death of your boy… Mrs Lambton and I send our deepest sympathy… I always liked your boy so much when he was in my stable; and I felt sure that with his quiet and courageous character he would make a good soldier. I shall have a plate put up in the stable in memento of his glorious death.”

Shepton Mallet Journal: Friday 21st April 1916

Lance Corporal Bertram Stanley Crook is buried at the 13th London Graveyard in Lavantie, France.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Engineers, Somerset, story, war

Driver Sidney Hoskins

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Driver Sidney Hoskins

Sidney Victor Hoskins was born in February 1892, one of eleven children to Sidney and Elizabeth Hoskins from Shepton Mallet in Somerset. Sidney Sr worked as a quarryman and labourer in local factories.

Sidney was keen to make a life for himself, enlisting in the army in 1909. He served two years as a driver for the Royal Engineers, before being put on the reserve list. By the time of the 1911 census, he was listed as a packer on the railway. In November of that year, Sidney married Ada Lambert, also of Shepton Mallet.

While working on the line in April 1913, Sidney had an accident, suffering a fractured skull. He wasn’t able to carry out any hard labour form that point.

War broke out and Sidney was remobilised; just a month after Ada gave birth to their one and only child, a daughter they named Ada.

New baby notwithstanding, Driver Hoskins was shipped to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force. After two months he was sent down the line after suffering a fit, and was subsequently treated for pleurisy in Nantes. In November 1914, he returned to England and was ultimately discharged on medical grounds in February 1915.

During his time in France, he had also developed tuberculosis, and eventually spent three months in a sanitorium in Taunton, Somerset, to recover.

The condition continued to haunt Sidney, however, and he succumbed to the illness on 5th November 1917. He was 25 years of age.

Sidney Victor Hoskins lies at rest in the cemetery of his home town of Shepton Mallet.

Sidney’s younger brother, William Napier Hoskins, was also involved in the Great War. He had enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was based in India. Injured in fighting in the Persian Gulf, he was invalided back to India to recover. He was well enough to return to the fray, and was shipped to Mesopotamia, where he was injured again. He died of his wounds in Kut-al Amarah, Iraq, in 1915, aged just 20 years old.

The boys’ older brother Charles had also died in 1895, aged just six years old. While Sidney Sr and Elizabeth had had a family of eight girls, they were to outlive all three of their sons.

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

Private Albert Coward

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Private Albert Coward

Albert Reginald Robert Coward was born on 26th August 1900, the middle of three children – all boys – for James and Florence Coward. James was a labourer and drayman for the railways, and the family lived in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

Little remains of Albert’s military service records. His older brother Arthur was a Corporal in the Somerset Light Infantry. He died in France in April 1918, which may have been a contributing factor to his sibling’s decision to do his duty.

Albert enlisted in the 53rd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment and, given his age, I would presume that this was as soon as he was able to – sometime in 1918.

Whether Private Albert Coward saw any military action is not known. He is listed as having passed away at a military hospital on 29th September 1918, although, as I have been unable to find a cause of death, it is likely to have been an illness, rather than an injury. Albert was aged just 18 years old.

Albert Reginald Robert Coward lies at rest in the cemetery of his home town.

Albert Reginald Robert Coward
(courtesy of findagrave.com)

Corporal Arthur William James Coward is commemorated on the Arras memorial in France. He was 23 years old when he died.

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

Private Charles Curtis

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Private Charles Curtis

Charles Curtis was born in Wells, Somerset, in January 1894, one of fifteen children to Charles and Mary Jane Curtis. Charles Sr worked as a gardener in the Wells area, and, after leaving school, Charles Jr started work as a mill hand for the local paper mill (this would have been either St Cuthbert’s Mill in Wells, or the Wookey Hole Mill in the nearby village).

Charles enlisted in October 1915, joining the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was posted to France a month later and, while specifics of his military service are not readily apparent, Private Curtis was awarded the Victory Medal, the British Medal and the 1915 Star.

Charles was admitted to hospital on 1st November 1917 with an inflamed cervical gland (reported as Trench Fever), for which he underwent an operation. He remained hospitalised at Whalley Range for more than two months, and was passed for active service, having apparently recovered.

Private Curtis was suddenly taken ill again on 1st July, and his family telegrammed. His mother and one of his sisters boarded a train for the hospital – again in Whalley – but they had not gone far when word came that he succumbed to rheumatic fever. He was 24 years old.

Charles Curtis Jr lies at rest in the graveyard of St Matthew’s Church in the village of Wookey, Somerset.

A newspaper report of his funeral confirms that Charles was one of five brothers who had entered military service during the Great War. Amazingly, given that seven of the brothers ended up serving, Charles was the only one to die as a result of the war.