Tag Archives: County Durham

Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, story, Trimmer, war, Yorkshire

Trimmer Thomas Davis

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Trimmer Thomas Davis

The details of Thomas Davis’ early life are a challenge to piece together.

His navy service papers confirm that he was born in Stockton, County Durham, on 25th January 1867, and was the son of John and Ann Davis. The 1881 census found the family living at 66 Argyle Street, Linthorpe, Yorkshire. John was a puddler, working iron in a local foundry, while Thomas, now 15 years of age, was a labourer in the same ironworks.

Thomas falls off the radar for a few years, and it is only his service papers that brings things together again. He enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve in June 1915, joining up as a Trimmer. The document confirms that he was 5ft 6ins (1.77m) tall with blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Over the next eighteen months, Thomas served on four ships, returning to HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – in between voyages. His conduct seems to have been average and, in November 1916, he was jailed for 7 days and docked a day’s pay for an unrecorded misdemeanour.

By that winter, Trimmer Davis’ health was faltering, and he was admitted to the Sailor’s Home in Chatham, Kent, suffering from pneumonia. The condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 1st February 1917, just a week after his 50th birthday.

The body of Thomas Davis was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the naval base he had come to call home.

There is scant information about Thomas’ family. While the 1881 census notes he had a younger brother, Phillip, his service papers give his next-of-kin as cousin William Jones of Wellington Street, Toronto, Canada. (It also notes that communications sent to him were returned unopened.)

Able Seaman, Boatman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, Northumberland, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, Surrey, war

Petty Officer 1st Class Edward Grant

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Petty Officer 1st Class Edward Grant

The early life of Edward Grant is a challenge to piece together. Born on 14th May 1863 in Newington, Surrey, he was the son of Thomas and Eliza Grant. The family do not appear on any census records, and it is only when Edward joined the Royal Navy in 1878 that he appears on any documents.

Edward’s service papers tell the story of a young man focused on his career. Underage when he joined up, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Impregnable, the school ship based in Devonport, for his initial training. He remained on board for over a year, and rose to Boy 1st Class during that time.

Edward’s first full sea-going assignment was on board the screw corvette HMS Ruby. He would be assigned to her for eighteen months, during which time he came of age. Formally inducted into the Royal Navy, he took the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was a little over 5ft (1.53cm) tall, with brown hair, great eyes and a fair complexion.

Ordinary Seaman Grant’s contract was for ten years. During this time, his commitment to the job was clear: serving on a total of right vessels, he was promoted to Able Seaman in December 1882, Leading Seaman in October 1888 and Petty Officer 2nd Class in December 1889.

When his contract came to an end, Edward did not hesitate to re-enlist. He completed another decade of service, spending much of that time as a Boatman for the Coastguard on the Northumbrian coast.

It was while he was serving in Crastor that he met Elizabeth Smailes. She was a grocer’s daughter from nearby Dunstan, and the couple married in Alnwick on 14th February 1893. Edward and Eliabeth would go on to have five children, all girls, between 1896 and 1907.

By the time of the 1901 census, the Grants family were living in the Royal Naval Reserve Barracks in Hartlepool, County Durham. That November Edward was formally stood down to reserve status, having completed 20 years with the Royal Navy.

The 1911 census found Edward and the family living at the Guardians Offices at Hart Road in Hartlepool. A naval pensioner, he was employed as a caretaker for the town’s Board of Guardians, and the accommodation came with the job. Also living with them was Elizabeth’s mother, 83-year-old widow, Jane Smailes.

When war broke out, Edward stepped up to play his part once more. Now 51 years of age, he took on the role of Petty Officer 2nd Class once more: his papers show that he was now 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall and had tattoos of a sailor woman and the words True Love on his left arm.

Petty Officer Grant remained firmly shore based, and was billeted at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. He served for three years, and was promoted to Petty Officer 1st Class in May 1916.

On 9th April 1917, Edward Grant collapsed at his barracks. His passing was quick: he died of an aortic aneurysm and haemorrhage. He was 53 years of age. His body was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, not far from the naval base he had known for so many years.

accident, Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Great War, Hampshire, history, Lance Corporal, photography, Royal Air Force, Scotland, Second Lieutenant, story, United States of America, war

Second Lieutenant Walter Pawson

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Second Lieutenant Walter Pawson

Walter William Stead Pawson was born in South Shields, County Durham, on 7th October 1895. The second of six children, his parents were Albert and Louise Pawson. Albert was a joiner by trade, and his work took the family north for a while. The 1901 census found them living in Glasgow, but by the time Walter’s youngest sibling was born in 1905, they were back in County Durham once more.

Little further information is available about Walter’s early life, but in around 1912, he sought a new life for himself, and emigrated to California. When war broke out, however, he felt the need to serve his home country and enlisted on 5th June 1917. His US draft card show that he was working as a clerk at the Hotel de Luxe in Long Beach, California. He was noted as being tall and slender with blue eyes and light brown hair. The document also confirms two years’ voluntary service in the militia while in Scotland, during which time he reached the rank of Lance Corporal.

The next record for Walter is a second enlistment document, this time on 6th September 1917. Signing up in Toronto, Canada, he was now joining the country’s Royal Flying Corps. Whether he had been turned down for US service, of whether he felt joining the Canadian Expeditionary Force offered him better options is unclear.

Returning to Britain, he took a commission in the Royal Flying Corps, and was attached to the 70th Training Squadron based in Hampshire. His service papers do not give much detail of the man he had become, but do note his height as 6ft (1.83m)

Second Lieutenant Pawson spent the next few months training. On the 6th Mary 1918, he was piloting an Avro 504J biplane, when things went wrong. He was looping the aircraft, when it fell into a spin and he was unable to recover it. The aeroplane crashed to the ground and Walter was killed.

The RAF Casualty Card noted that: “The court having carefully considered the evidence and having viewed the wreckage are of the opinion that the accident… resulting the fatal injuries to the pilot… was due to an error of judgement on the part of the pilot who was under instruction at the time.”

Walter was 22 years of age when he died. An obituary stated that he was a “bright promising youth, and a splendid type of British manhood he us but one of the many precious lives lost through this terrible war.” [Jarrow Express: Friday 24th May 1918]

Walter William Stead Pawson was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church, East Boldre, Hampshire, not far from the airfield he had so recently called home.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Stoker, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Leading Stoker Andrew Blakey

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Leading Stoker Andrew Blakey

Andrew Dryden Blakey was born on 14th October 1873 in Jarrow, County Durham. One of twelve children, his parents were John and Jane Blakey. John was a joiner by trade, and the family were brought up at 71 Hedley Street, South Shields.

When he completed his schooling, Andrew was set on broadening his horizons. On 21st January 1899 he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker. Full details of his time in the navy have been lost to time, but by the time he reached the end of his contract, he had spent thirteen years at sea, and had risen to the rank of Leading Stoker.

On 4th February 1902, Andrew married Eleanor Slater, a labourer’s daughter from South Shields. The have five children, and, while her husband was at sea, she would take rooms with her uncle.

Leading Stoker Blakey was stood down to reserve status on 30th July 1913. His service records at that point show that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, with blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was also noted as having a number of tattoos: clasped hands and a star on his right forearm, and his initials on the left.

When war broke out, Leading Stoker Blakey was called into action once more. After an initial assignment on board the battleship HMS Duncan, his time was split between HMS Pembroke and HMS Wildfire, the Kent shore bases at Chatham and Sheerness respectively.

Andrew’s health was becoming impacted by this point, however, and, in the spring of 1917, he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham with carcinoma of the colon. The condition would ultimately take his life: he died on 4th May 1917, at the age of 43 years old.

The body of Andrew Dryden Blakey was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the Chatham Dockyard, he had for so long called home.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Dorset, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class William Fawkes

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Stoker 1st Class William Fawkes

William Fawkes was born on 31st July 1883 in South Shields, Country Durham. One of seven children, his parents were called William and Ann. William Sr was a steam crane operator in the local docks, and the 1891 census found the family living with Ann’s widowed husband Ralph in an apartment on Bedford Street.

Ralph died not long after the census was taken, and it seems that William and Ann took over the tenancy. The 1901 return found the family living at 8 Bedford Street, this noted as being a private home. William Jr had finished school and was employed as a labourer to a blacksmith; three of his sibling were also gainfully employed, the family managing to scratch together enough of a living to pay the rent.

By the start of 1903, William Jr was starting to get itchy feet, and sought out a career on the ocean wave. On 5th January he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, with bark hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion. He was also noted as having his initials – WH – tattooed on the back of his right hand.

Stoker Fawkes completed his training in October 1903, and was sent to the battleship HMS Sans Pareil as his first posting. He only remained on board for a couple of months, before a move to another battleship, HMS Resolution. In June 1904, he was transferred again, to HMS Swiftsure, a third battleship that he would call home for the next three years.

During his time on board Swiftsure, William was promoted, gaining the rank of Stoker 1st Class for his work. Over the next decade, he served on a further seven ships, returning to his base in Kent between voyages.

In the spring of 1904, William married Mary Hornby. The daughter of a publican, she had continued to support her mother and siblings after his death in 1897. With William at sea, the 1911 census found her living in a one-roomed apartment on Commercial Road in South Shields, together with her mother, Euphemia, and her son, James. He was born a couple of years before she married William and bore her maiden name: it is unclear whether James was her husband’s son.

By the summer of 1914, war had been declared, and Stoker 1st Class Fawkes had been assigned to another battleship, HMS Formidable. She was part of the Channel Fleet, her role to patrol the seas of the southern coast of Britain.

Early on the morning of 1st January 1915, while off the Dorset coast, she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-24. Other ships in her convoy came to her aid, but it would prove fruitless. After a couple of hours she sank. 120 members of the crew were saved, but more than 540 officer and crew – including Stoker 1st Class Fawkes – were lost. He was 31 years of age.

William Fawkes’ body was one of those recovered and identified. It seems that Mary was unable to cover the cost of a funeral. Her husband was, instead, laid to rest in a communal grave in Lyme Regis Cemetery, in the hills above the Dorset town where he had been brought ashore.

Army Veterinary Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, Midlothian, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Scotland, Sergeant, Somerset, story, unknown, Wales, war

Serjeant Robert Dodds

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Serjeant Robert Dodds

Robert Frederic Dodds was born in 1874 in Darlington, Country Durham. The third of nine children, his parents were Robert and Elizabeth Dodds. Robert Sr was a carter and furniture remover and, when he finished his schooling, Robert Jr joined his father in his work.

Robert Sr died in 1898, at the age of 61. Whether this was a catalyst for his son to move on is unclear, but by the following year, Robert Jr was working as a labourer in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. On 16th September 1899, he married Elizabeth Counsell, a fisherman’s daughter from the town.

It seems that Robert was keen to build a life for his new wife: the next census, taken in 1901, found the couple living in Cardiff, Glamorgan, where he was employed as a stone mason. The Dodds remained in Wales for the next decade, having three children – Lily, William and Rosie – there. By the spring of 1911, however, they were back in Somerset, living in a three-roomed cottage in Castle Street. Elizabeth had had a fourth child just a month before the census, with a second son, Bertie, adding to the family.

When war came to Britain, Robert stepped up to play his part. He initially joined the Royal Army Veterinary Corps as a Private, and found himself in France on 6th March 1915. Elizabeth, meanwhile, remained at home in Somerset, seeking support from her family. With four children to look after, her workload was to increase again when, just a week after Robert arrived on the Western Front, she gave birth to their fifth child, the patriotically named Frederick Gordon Kitchener Dodds.

Robert remained in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps for the next four years, rising to the rank of Serjeant. Details of his time in the service are unclear, but he survived the war and, on 11th July 1919, he transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps.

Little further information is available about Robert’s life. By the winter of 1919/1920, he was based in Midlothian, Scotland. He was admitted to the 2nd Scottish General Hospital, Edinburgh, although his condition is unclear. Whatever it was, it was to be fatal: he passed away on 6th January 1920, at the age of 45 years old.

Robert Frederic Dodds’ body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Highbridge Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Yorkshire

Private Arthur Turner

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Private Arthur Turner

Arthur Turner was born in East Brent, Somerset, in the spring of 1892. The younger of two children to Thomas and Lucinda Turner, his older sister had passed away while Lucinda was pregnant with him. Thomas was a vicar for the Church of England, and baptised both children, although the records suggest that he did not lead his daughter’s funeral service.

In 1900, the Turners had moved on to a new parish, setting up home in the rectory in Chelwood, to the south of Bristol. They settled in well, and Thomas remained vicar of St Leonard’s Church there until the summer of 1914, when he passed away after a short illness, at the age of 64.

Conflict had not long darkened Europe by this point, and Arthur felt compelled to play his part. Full details of his military service are not available, but records suggest that he had enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment by March 1915.

Assigned to the 12th (Service) Battalion, Private Turner was sent north for training. Billeted in a camp in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, Arthur would have moved south to Salisbury Plain with his troop, had he not fallen ill. He was admitted to a hospital in Darlington, in neighbouring County Durham, suffering from typhoid. The condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 9th September 1915. He was just 23 years of age.

Arthur Turner was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in St Leonard’s Churchyard, Chelwood, alongside his father, Thomas.

Whatever her late husband’s calling, Lucinda’s own faith must have been strong. Having lost her eldest child young, she then stood witness to the burials of her husband and son within eighteen months.

The 1921 census recorded Lucinda living with her sister, Charlotte, in Bromley, Kent. Eighteen years later, the 1939 Register found her back in Somerset, where she was living in Clutton, providing support and companionship to Letty Collinson, a retired kindergarten mistress.

Lucinda passed away in March 1942, at the age of 88 years old. She was brought back to Chelwood, and buried alongside her husband and son, the family reunited at last.

Carmarthenshire, Chaplain, Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Royal Army Chaplain's Department, Shropshire, Somerset, story, war, Yorkshire

Reverend Charles Jefferys

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Reverend Charles Jefferys

Charles Thomas Claude Jefferys was born on 23rd August 1880 in the small Carmarthenshire town of Laugharne. One of five children, his parents were naturalist Charles Jefferys and his wife Adeline.

Charles’ Jr’s life was to be one of education, and his father’s standing allowed for the best. He studied at Ellesmere College, Shropshire, then attended Durham University and Durham Theological College. By the 1901 census he was passing that education on to others: he was listed as a schoolmaster at Stow Wood College in Hampshire.

By 1908 Charles had returned to Wales, and was living in Monmouth. On 2nd January he married Eva Pride, an estate agent’s daughter from Tetbury, Gloucestershire. The marriage certificate confirms that, by this point, Charles was a clerk in holy orders, on his way to his true calling.

The 1911 census showed what a transient life the church could lead to: Charles and Eva were listed as living in a house in Oswaldkirk, North Yorshire. Their two young children, George and Charles, born in 1909 and 1910 respectively, were living with Eva’s sister, back in Tetbury.

When war came to Europe, Reverend Jefferys must have felt compelled to play his part. He joined the Army Chaplains’ Department, and by May 1916, he found himself in France. His role – providing pastoral care to the troops – would have led him to some of the darkest places of the Front Line. He remained there for the next couple of years, only returning to the family home – now in Chelsea, London – towards the end of the conflict.

Reverend Jefferys had contracted pneumonia, and he had returned from the continent to recuperate. Sadly, the condition was to prove too much, and he succumbed to it on 20th November 1918, at the age of 38.

Charles Thomas Claude Jefferys was taken to Somerset for burial – there were close family connections in the Bath area. He was laid to rest in the family plot, alongside his paternal grandmother in the city’s St James’ Cemetery.

Further tragedy was to strike in June 1925 when Eva also passed away. Details of her death are unclear, but this left George and Charles as orphans in their early teens.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Stoker, story, war

Stoker George Bell

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Stoker George Bell

George Joseph Bell was born on 9th October 1890 in South Shields, County Durham. He was one of four children – all boys – to George and Eleanor Bell. George Sr was from Chatham in Kent and worked as a boilermaker for a shipbuilder.

Both of George Jr’s parents died when he and his siblings were in their teens. Times were definitely harsh for them: George’s older brother Robert was a coal teemer – unloading the carts at the Tyneside docks. His younger brother, Matthew, was a pit pony driver for the Bolden Colliery. George himself was a pressed glass manufacturer.

The 1911 census recorded Robert, George and Matthew boarding with the Easter family; renting a room in a three-bedroomed house on Commercial Road, South Shields, within spitting distance of the docks and river.

George was, by this point, courting a young lady a few doors down from him. Harriet Shield was the daughter of one of the dock labourers; the couple married at St Hilda’s Parish Church on 30th November 1912.

War was coming to Europe, and on 18th December 1914, George enlisted to play his part. His service records show that he stood 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having tattoos of a heart and his initials on his left forearm.

George joined the Royal Naval Reserve – this suggests that he had previously had some sea-going experience, although there is no specific evidence of this. He was given the role of Stoker, and was sent to HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – for training.

Stoker Bell’s first posting – and where he spent to most of 1915 – was on board the seaplane tender HMS Engadine. He returned to Chatham that November, before being assigned to the minesweeper HMS Gentian two months later.

After five months patrolling the North Sea, Stoker Bell returned to HMS Pembroke in June 1917. The Dockyard was a busy place that summer, and temporary accommodation was needed quickly. Chatham Drill Hall was brought into service, and George found himself billeted there.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night air raid: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit; Stoker Bell was among those killed instantly. He was just 27 years of age.

George Joseph Bell was laid to rest alongside the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, County Durham, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, Uncategorized, war, Yorkshire

Stoker 1st Class Joseph Beha

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Stoker 1st Class Joseph Beha

Joseph Beha was born on 16th June 1891, in the Yorkshire town of Whitby. He was the middle of five children to Joseph and Alice Beha, and had a half-sister, through his mother’s previous relationship.

Joseph Sr was a labourer in the local shipyard, and the family had moved to Hartlepool by the time his son had reached 10 years old. The sea had a definite draw for Joseph Jr, and by his twentieth birthday he had enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class.

The service records show Joseph Jr stood 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, had brown eyes, dark hair and a fresh complexion. His land base was HMS Pembroke, the alternative name for the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham, Kent, and it was here that he received his initial six months’ training.

Stoker Beha’s first sea posting was HMS Falmouth, a light cruiser, on board which he served for more than eighteen months, gaining a promotion to Stoker 1st Class in the process. Over the next few years, he was posted to two further ships and, by the time the First World War broke out, was serving on the armoured cruiser HMS Lancaster.

While his record suggests he was of generally good character, Joseph’s time was totally without blemish. He served time in the cells on three separate occasions – for five days in 1913, fourteen days in 1915 and ten days in 1917 – although no evidence of his misdemeanours remains.

The summer of 1917, found Stoker Beha back on dry land in Chatham. HMS Pembroke was a particularly busy place at that point in the war and temporary accommodation was set up. Joseph found himself billeted at The Drill Hall, away from the main barracks.

On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line, as the German Air Force launched a bombing raid. One of the bombs landed squarely on the Drill Hall, and Stoker Beha was killed instantly. He was just 26 years old.

Ninety-eight servicemen perished during the Chatham Air Raid that night. They were buried in a mass funeral at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. This, too, is where Joseph Beha was laid to rest.