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Ship’s Cook Walter Griffin

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Ship’s Cook Walter Griffin

Walter Griffin was born on 15th December 1886 in Woolwich, Kent. Details of his early life are lost to time, but, by the time of the 1901 census, he was working as a cooper’s mate at a cement factory in Higham, Kent.

Walter sought bigger and better things for himself, and, on 19th June 1907, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as Cook’s Mate 2nd Class. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

Walter was initially sent just down the coast to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. He remained there for nine months, and was promoted to Cook’s Mate 1st Class for his service.

In January 1908, he was given his first posting, on board HMS Wildfire, and, over the next nine years, he served on a further four ships, returning to Chatham in between postings. Walter was obviously dedicated to the work he was doing: in January 1910 he was promoted to Leading Cook’s Mate, and by 1917, he was promoted again, to the ran of Ship’s Cook.

This promotion coincided with a transfer to what would be his last assignment, on board HMS Racoon. This Beagle-class destroyer patrolled the waters between Scotland and Northern Ireland, and he spent the winter of 1917/18 on board.

On 9th January 1918, there were storm conditions off the Irish coast: high seas and blizzard limited limited vision. At 2am, the Racoon struck rocks, and foundered: in the treacherous conditions, all hands were lost. Shio’s Cook Griffin was 31 years of age.

Walter Griffin’s body washed ashore near the village of Ballintoy, Country Antrim, the following day. He was laid to rest in the parish church, next to two other crew members, Ordinary Seaman Frank Green and Stoker 2nd Class Frederick Sarell.

Commonwealth War Graves, Cook's Mate, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, story, Surrey, war

Cook’s Mate Arthur Humphrey

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Cook’s Mate Arthur Humphrey

Arthur John Humphrey was born on 22nd December 1880 in the Surrey village of Horne. One of seven children, his parents were agricultural labourer Thomas Humphrey and his wife Eliza.

When he left school, Arthur also found labouring work. By 1899 he had moved to the town of Redhill, where he met tailor’s daughter Kate Wilson. The couple married in St Matthew’s Church that year, and went on to have six children.

With a family to look after, Arthur found additional work to help bring money in, and he became a carter for a local bakery. This seems to have spurred him on, and by the time war broke out, he had become more hands on with the baking side of things.

The hostilities brought new opportunities, and the chance of more permanent, better played employment became available. On 25th May 1916, Arthur enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Cook’s Mate. His service records show that he stood at 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

Cook’s Mate Humphrey’s service was wholly at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. While he would have been billeted in the barracks themselves, by the summer of 1917, the dockyard was becoming a very crowded place. The Drill Hall was brought in as additional accommodation and, that summer, this is where Arthur was moved to temporarily.

The German Air Force was suffering significant losses during the daylight raids it was carrying out. In an attempt to stem the flow of casualties, they decided to trial night time raids and, on 3rd September 1917, Chatham found itself in the midst of a bombing raid. The Drill Hall that Cook’s Mate Humphrey was sleeping in received a direct hit, and he was killed. He was just 36 years old.

The 98 servicemen who perished during the Chatham Air Raid that night were buried in a mass funeral at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. This, too, is where Arthur Humphrey was laid to rest.