Tag Archives: Colour Sergeant

Colour Sergeant, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, Lance Corporal, London, Middlesex, photography, Royal Marines, Sergeant, story, war

Colour Sergeant Charles Miles

Leave a comment
Colour Sergeant Charles Miles

The early life of Charles Miles, whose body lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, is a challenge to unpick, and the starting point is the last document relating to him.

His military Pension Ledger confirms that he died on 13th May 1918, from empyema, a bacterial infection affecting the lungs. The document cites his next-of-kin as Miss Hilda Miles, of 15 St John’s Road in Gillingham. She is noted as being the guardian of two children – Ada, born in 1905, and George, born the following year – because their mother, Charles’ wife, had passed away on 30th May 1912.

An online search for Ada and George gives an entry in the 1911 census. This finds them as the youngest two of six children to Charles and Elizabeth Miles. The document also gives a clue about their future guardian, Hilda: she is their older sister.

The Miles family were living at 45 Commercial Street in Whitechapel, East London. Charles, at 39, was recorded as a Royal Marines Pensioner and schoolkeeper. His wife, Elizabeth, was assisting with this role, and the couple had two other surviving children, Charles Jr and Walter.

While it is still difficult to piece together Charles’ childhood, his Royal Marine service records do shed a little light onto it. Born in Hampstead on 23rd November 1871, he was working as an ironmonger’s assistant when he enlisted. He joined up on 23rd August 1889, the document showing that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He also had a tattoo on his right forearm.

Private Miles had joined up in London but, as with most Royal Marine recruits, he was sent to the base in Walmer, Kent, for his initial training. In the spring of 1890 he moved to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and this would become his regular port for the remainder of his service.

Charles’ service proved to be a committed one. Over the next decade he would serve on five ships, and would rise through the ranks. In October 1894 he was promoted to Lance Corporal, making full Corporal less than a year later. On 1st January 1899 he was promoted to Sergeant, and by the start of 1908, he held the rank of Colour Sergeant. Formally stood down to reserve status on 22nd November 1910, he was noted as having a very good character.

Away from the service, there is no record for Charles and Elizabeth’s marriage. She had been born in Sheerness, Kent, and was a year younger than her husband. It is likely that they were married by 1897, as this is when their oldest child was born. The 1901 census recorded them living on Manor Street in Gillingham, but, once Charles had been stood down, the school keeper’s position in the East End came up.

When war broke out, Charles was called upon to play his part once more. He returned to Chatham, leaving his younger children in Hilda’s care. By September 1914 he had moved to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and he would remain there for the next eighteen months. His shore base and naval experience suggest that, at 43 years of age, his was more of a training or mentoring role, although there is nothing in his records to confirm this.

In February 1916, Colour Sergeant Miles returned once more to Chatham, and the naval base there would be his home for the next few years. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in the spring of 1918, and passed away from the infection on 13th May 1918. He was 46 years old.

Charles Miles was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

After their father’s death, the Miles siblings found their own way in life.

By the time of the 1921 census, Ada, now 16 years old, was working as a domestic servant for Henry Chapman, a ship’s surveyor, and his family. They were living at 73 Milton Street in Fleetwood, a short stroll from the Lancashire coast.

Hilda, into whose care Charles had given his youngest children, was now 22 years of age. She had married William Swift, a pattern maker for the Admiralty, in the summer of 1918. They would not have any children, and the 1921 census found the couple living at 15 Milner Road, Gillingham. She too was just a short walk from the shoreline, but was also within walking distance from the cemetery in which her father had been buried.

Colour Sergeant, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Egypt, Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, India, injury, Lance Corporal, Malta, photography, Private, Royal Defence Corps, Sergeant, Somerset, South Africa, Sri Lanka, story, war

Serjeant Major Frederick Pearce

Leave a comment
Serjeant Major Frederick Pearce

Frederick Charles Pearce was born in the spring of 1873 in the Gloucestershire town of Thornbury. The youngest of six children, his parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Pearce. Thomas was an agricultural labourer and, when he finished school, Frederick found work as a ‘rural messenger’.

This was only a step towards the career that Frederick sought, however, and on 12th July 1892, he enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment a a Private. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 128lbs (58kg). He was noted as having a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.

Private Pearce spent twelve years in the army, serving in Malta, Egypt, India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He had two stints in South Africa, including the 1899-1900 campaign, during which he was wounded in his chest in the battle at Farquhar’s Farm.

By the time he was discharged on 11th July 1904, he had risen through the ranks to Sergeant, his service records noting that his conduct had been “very good” (in capitals and underlined).

Thomas had died in 1896, and Frederick’s widowed brother William moved back in with his mother to help support her. Frederick also returned to Gloucestershire and, on 30th March 1905, he married Mary Rugman in the parish church in Olveston. The couple may have been childhood sweethearts, as the Pearces and Rugmans were Thornbury neighbours.

The marriage certificate noted Frederick as a groom, and it is likely that he was able to turn his hand to any role after his army career. The couple had a son Leslie, who was born in 1909, and, with the new responsibility of fatherhood, Frederick sought a more permanent career.

The 1911 census found the family living in Somerset, where Frederick was employed as a gardener at the Kingswood Reformatory School. This was a boarding school on an estate to the north of Bath, set in 57 acres of grounds, and again it seems likely that his military career stood him in good stead for such a prestigious role.

When war came to Europe, Frederick felt the pull of his military career once more. While his age did not compel it, on 20th November 1914, he re-enlisted in the Gloucester Regiment. He was enlisted with his previous rank, but within a year has been promoted to Acting Colour Sergeant.

In the spring of 1916, the Royal Defence Corps was formed, and, given his experience and age, Frederick was transferred across to the new regiment. Colour Sergeant Pearce was based in London and, over the next eighteen months served in four troops: 109, 149 and 150 Protection Companies and the 10th City of London Volunteers’ Regiment.

Frederick’s age and the demands of his role were beginning to take their toll by this point, and by the end of 1917, he had developed nephritis, or inflamed kidneys. The condition was severe enough to warrant his discharge from service, and the now Sergeant Major Pearce’s military career came to an end on 17th January 1918.

Frederick returned home to Bath, to the bosom of his family. He and Mary three children by this point, Violet and Freddie being two younger siblings to Leslie. Tragically for the Pearces, however, the family life was not to to last for long: Frederick’s condition was to get the better of him just three months later. He passed away on 18th April 1918, at the age of 44 years old.

Frederick Charles Pearce was laid to rest in St James’ Cemetery in Bath; a man of duty resting at last.

Tragedy was to strike again for poor Mary, when just six months later her youngest child, Freddie, also passed away. Details of his death are vague, but he was buried with his father, the two Fredericks reunited too soon.

Border Regiment, Colour Sergeant, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, Middlesex Regiment, photography, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war

Colour Sergeant John Paulin

Leave a comment
Colour Sergeant John Paulin

John Duncan Paulin was born in January 1885 in Liverpool, the youngest of two children. His parents – John Robert (known by his middle name) and Jane Paulin – were born in Scotland, but seemed to have moved to the Lancashire port by the late 1870s.

When he left school, John – who became known as Jack – found work as a clerk, but a life of adventure – and a more reliable career – beckoned. On 14th August 1904, he enlisted in the Border Regiment as a Private for a period of seven years. During that time, he served in barracks across the country – from Carlisle to Plymouth – and, by the time he was put on reserve in 1911, he had reached the rank of Corporal.

When war was declared, those servicemen on reserve were called back into action, and Jack found himself reposted with an increased rank of Sergeant. Over the next few years, he remained based in England and seemed to take on more of a training role, transferring to the Middlesex Regiment and, by the end of 1917, attaining the rank of Colour Sergeant.

At some point Jack met Ethel May Smith, who lived in Frome, Somerset. She was the same age as Jack, and was the daughter of the foreman of one of the cloth manufacturers in the town – she also went on to work in the factory. The couple married in St John’s Church in the town on 1st June 1916, but did not go on to have any children.

Colour Sergeant Paulin’s military career was free of any medical issues or hospital admissions until February 1919. He had not been demobbed by this point, even though the war was over. However, as with many other servicemen at the time, Jack fell ill with influenza, and was admitted to Grove Military Hospital (now St George’s Hospital) in Tooting, South London. Pneumonia set in, and Jack passed away on 12th February 1919, at the age of 34 years old.

Jack Duncan Paulin’s body was brought back to Somerset, and he was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church, Frome. Ethel lived on until 1978; she was laid to rest with her husband.

Colour Sergeant, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Colour Sergeant Henry Baber

1 Comment
Sergeant Henry Baber

Henry Matthew Baber was born in the spring of 1859, the second of six children to Henry and Jane Baber. Henry Sr was a cordwainer – or shoemaker – and the family lived in Bristol. Or, at least, most of them did. The 1871 and 1881 censuses show Henry Sr and Jane happily living with their children, but Henry Jr is noticeable in his absence.

In August 1887, Henry married Sarah Jane Hardwidge in the village of Paulton, near Bath. His younger brother Alfred and two of his sisters, Annie and Ellen, all bear witness to the wedding, at which Henry gives his profession as coachman.

The newlyweds settle down in Weston-super-Mare, and go on to have two children, Henry and Kathleen. Sadly, the couple’s happiness was to be cut short, when, in 1891, Kathleen passed away, followed just two years later by Sarah, at the age of just 32 years old.

With a young boy to bring up, Henry sought a new companion and, just over a year after Sarah’s death, he married Alma Quantick, who was fourteen years Henry’s junior. Together, they went on to have six children and, by the time of the 1901 census, the family were living in the Somerset village of Yatton. Henry, by this time, was working as an insurance agent for Prudential, a profession that was to last him through to the start of the First World War.

From the early 1890s, Henry had enlisted in the local Yeomanry. While only a reserve force, he had a short spell in Egypt, fighting at Tel-el-Kibir in 1882. Harry worked his way up through the ranks, eventually attaining the role of Colour Sergeant. He was brought out of reserve status on 4th August 1914, at the age of 55, and was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry.

There is little else to confirm his military career during the Great War; he was discharged in November 1914, but there is nothing to confirm whether he had seen active service during those four months or not.

Colour Sergeant Baber’s passing is also shrouded in mystery. He died on 12th April 1915, but the cause of his death is lost to time. He was 56 years old when he died.

Henry Matthew Baber lies at rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Yatton, Somerset.

Henry and Alma’s eldest son William Albert Baber is also interred in the family grave and, within eighteen months, Alma had lost both her husband and her eldest son. William was 19 years old when war broke out, and his story can be found here.