Tag Archives: Chatham Air Raid

Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Seaman, story, war

Seaman Nathaniel Gooby

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Seaman Nathaniel Gooby

Nathaniel Gooby was born on 28th October 1897, the only son of William Gooby and his third wife, Margaret. Both of William’s previous wives – Tryphena and Amelia – had died before their time, but Nathaniel had six half-siblings, up to forty years older than him.

William was a carpenter, who had been born in England, but had moved to Newfoundland when he was young, and this is where he lived and raised his families.

Sadly, very little documentation remains to evidence Nathaniel’s life. He enlisted as a Seaman in the Royal Naval Reserve, potentially after war was declared (he would have been 16 years old at the outbreak of the conflict). By the summer of 1917 he was based at HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

That summer was a busy time for the Dockyard, and temporary accommodation had been set up for the influx of military personnel based there. Seaman Gooby was billeted at Chatham Drill Hall and was sleeping there when the first night air raid was carried out by the German Air Force on 3rd September 1917. The Drill Hall received a direct hit, killing 98 servicemen – Nathaniel included. He was just 19 years of age.

Nathaniel Gooby was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, London, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, Surrey, war

Stoker 1st Class Alfred Finlay

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Stoker 1st Class Alfred Finlay

Alfred James Finlay was born in Croydon, Surrey on 7th September 1893. His mother was Emily Finlay, although there is little more information to confirm details of his early life.

He was working as a shop porter when he was drawn to a life at sea and, on 9th April 1912 he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. Alfred’s enlistment papers confirm that he was 5ft 5ins (1.66m) tall, had brown hair and brown eyes. While he had a fair complexion, he was also noted to have a scar above his left eye, another on his left thigh, and had a tattoo of a pierced heart on his left arm.

After his initial six months’ training at HMS Pembroke – the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Lancaster, where he spent a couple of months. He had another few weeks at HMS Pembroke, before being sent to another cruiser, HMS Chatham.

Alfred spent more than three years on Chatham, and was promoted to Stoker 1st Class during his time aboard. Returning once again to Kent, his service from here on in seems to have been mainly shore-based: HMS Pembroke in Chatham; HMS Vivid in Devonport; HMS Victory in Portsmouth.

Stoker Finlay returned to HMS Pembroke in the summer of 1917. It was a busy period for the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, and a lot of the servicemen there – Alfred included – were billeted to temporary accommodation at the nearby Drill Hall. It was here that he was sleeping on the 3rd September, when the German Air Force undertook their first night raid over England. One of the bombers scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall, and Alfred was killed. He was just 24 years old.

Alfred James Finlay was laid to rest, along with the dozens of other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham.

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

Ordinary Seaman Henry Bird

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Ordinary Seaman Henry Bird

Henry David Bird was born on 11th April 1898 in Hoxton, East London. He was the third of eleven children to carter and carman Henry Bird and his wife Florence.

When he left school, Henry Jr found employment as a munitions worker, but shortly before his nineteenth birthday, he was drawn to a more active role. On 8th January 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His enlistment papers show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with brown eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. They also noted that he had a scar on his right index finger.

Henry’s first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. After a couple of months’ training, he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Concord. He served on board for for a few weeks, before returning to Chatham in May.

The summer of 1917 was a busy time for HMS Pembroke; Ordinary Seaman Bird was one of those billeted in the Drill Hall, sleeping there, rather than in the overcrowded barracks in the dockyard itself. It was here that he was sleeping on the 3rd September, when the German Air Force undertook their first night bombing raid. One of the planes scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall, and Henry was killed instantly. He was just 19 years of age.

Henry David Bird was buried in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham, along with the dozens of other servicemen killed in the Chatham Air Raid.

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

Able Seaman Gregory Wootton

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Able Seaman Gregory Wootton

Gregory Ernest Wootton was born on 28th October 1898, the only child of Henry and Isabella Wootton. The family lived in East London, and the year of Gregory’s birth was a challenging one. His parents married that year, and Henry also passed away, leaving Isabella to raise her son on her own.

She was made of stern stuff, however, and moved back in with her father, Joseph, while finding employment as a florist, working with artificial flowers. By 1909, Isabella had remarried, wedding policeman Harry Mee, and moving to South London, where the couple had a child of their own, Gregory’s half-brother, Leonard.

War was edging close to Europe, although Gregory was underage when hostilities broke out. By late 1916, however, this was no longer the case, and he was drawn to the Royal Navy. On 6th November, he gave up his job as a case maker, and enlisted as an Ordinary Seaman. His sign-up papers show that he stood 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

Ordinary Seaman Wootton’s first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. After a couple of months, he was moved north, to HMS Ganges, which was a similar training base in Suffolk. While here, he was promoted to Able Seaman.

In June 1917, Gregory was on the move again, returning to Chatham. While here, at a particularly crowded time for the dockyard, he was billeted at the nearby Drill Hall. On the night of the 3rd September, while resting, the first German night raid dropped bombs on Chatham, directly hitting the Drill Hall. Able Seaman Wootton was killed instantly. He was just 18 years of age.

Gregory Ernest Wootton was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. He was buried with the other 97 victims of the Chatham Air Raid.