Tag Archives: diabetes

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, County Antrim, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Lancashire, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private William Cathcart

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Private William Cathcart

William Rea Cathcart was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on 30th January 1887. The middle of five children, his parents were Thomas and Margaret Cathcart.

Little information is available about William’s early life, but he appears to have been a smart young man and, by his mid-20s was employed as a bookkeeper. Part of him sought a better life for himself and he took the decision to emigrate, arriving in Fremantle, Australia on board the SS Otranto on 14th November 1911.

William settled in Perth, but when war broke out, he was keen to step up and serve his King and Empire. He enlisted on 7th May 1915 but, for some reason, he wasn’t accepted for service at that time.

William did not give up, however, and he succeeded in enlisting on 30th May 1917. His service papers confirm that he was 5ft 8.75ins (1.74m) tall and weighed 150lbs (68kg). A Roman Catholic, he was noted as having brown eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.

Assigned to the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, Private Cathcart’s unit set sail from Sydney on the troop ship A7 Medic, on the 1st August 1917. The voyage would take two months, and his unit arrived in Liverpool, Lancashire, at the start of October. It the then marched south to the ANZAC bases near Codford, Wiltshire.

It seems that the journey had exhausted William, and his health began to deteriorate. He was admitted to the camp hospital with diabetes, but moved to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on 22nd November. He was emaciated and barely able to walk, constantly drinking, but eating very little.

Over the next few days, William’s condition worsened. He began getting pains in his arms and legs, was sluggish and restless. The treatment he was provided would ultimately prove too little, too late. Private Cathcart passed away at 1:05am on 25th November 1917: he was 30 years of age.

The body of William Rea Cathcart was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to the graveyard of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the hospital in which he had been treated.

Private William Cathcart
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Cambridgeshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, London, Middlesex, Midshipman, Northamptonshire, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war

Midshipman Gervase de Bless

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Midshipman Gervase de Bless

Gervase Anthony David Herewyt de Bless was born on 20th October 1897 in Westminster, Middlesex. One of two children, he was the surviving son of barrister Alfred de Bless and his wife Maud, born Maud Cary-Elwes. Both were renowned families – Maud’s brother going on to become the Bishop of Northampton. The family do not appear in the 1901 census, but by 1911 Gervase’s parents were living at 156 St James’ Court, with French lady’s maid Henriette Forestier.

Alfred died not long after the census was taken. Gervase, meanwhile, was installed as a boarder at Downside College, Somerset. One of 168 students, he was taught by twelve schoolmasters and a handful of Roman Catholic priests from the local abbey.

An exceptionally clever boy of very active minds and many interests, during his time in the School he distinguished himself in all branches of study, winning the Gregorian Medal in 1912. He passed the Higher Certificate three times, twice gaining distinction in French and twice in Roman History. For three years he played in the Junior Cricket Eleven, which he captained in 1912. From 1908 to 1912 he sang in the choir as a treble, and he took a leading part with much success in “The Gondoliers,” and in “HMS Pinafore.” In 1914 he was Editor of The Raven, and he was on the committee of the Petre Library. In this year also he was awarded the Higher Certificate Latin Prose Prize given by St Gregory’s Society. On leaving Downside he spent two terms at Cambridge under the tuition of Mgr Barnes. Sensitive and somewhat retiring, and with health far from robust, he faced the situation created by the war with splendid courage, and obtained a cadetship in the Royal Navy. A skilful angler, fishing had ever been his favourite recreation, and on this pleasant pastime he wrote some charming verses which were afterwards collected in a little booklet.

[Baliol College War Memorial Book]

Gervase was given the rank of Midshipman in February 1916, and was assigned to the battleship HMS Revenge the following month. Before his posting he had suffered a bout of influenza, and had a relapse within days of boarding. He died from a combination of influenza and diabetes on 23rd March 1916, just two days after joining Revenge. He was just 18 years of age.

…rites of the Church… were administered to him by Dom Jerome Tunnicliffe, of St Mary’s, Liverpool, a monk of Downside.

[Baliol College War Memorial Book]

The body of Gervase Anthony David Herewyt de Bless was taken to Northamptonshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the ground of St Andrew’s Church, Great Billing, the last resting place of the Cary-Elwes family and de Bless families.

Midshipman Gervase de Bless
(from findagrave.com)
Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, Scotland, story, war

Leading Seaman Arthur Read

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Leading Seaman Arthur Read

Arthur William Read was born on 5th February 1886 in Lyndhurst, Hampshire. The fourth of nine children, he was one of five sons to James and Mary Read. James a builder’s labourer-turned-yardman, although his son wasn’t to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Instead, Arthur rook on work as a baker’s boy, but this was not enough for him. He sought a career at sea and, on 10th April 1901, he took a job in the Royal Navy. Given the rank of Boy 2nd Class because of his age, he was sent to HMS St Vincent, the shore-based training establishment in Devonport, Devon. Over the next eighteen months he learnt the tools of his trade, and was promoted to Boy 1st Class after just ten months.

On 5th February 1904, Arthur turned 18, and came of age. Now able to formally enlist in the Royal Navy, he took that opportunity, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service papers show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

At this point, Ordinary Seaman Read was serving on board the battleship HMS Irresistible. She would be his home for two years and, just a couple of weeks before changing vessels, he was promoted to Able Seaman.

Arthur would serve up to and during the First World War. He was assigned to a total of seven ships after the Irresistible, returning to what would become his home port, HMS Victory in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in between voyages. His character was regularly noted as being very good, while his ability was repeatedly found to be superior. By 1st October 1915, with war raging across Europe, he was promoted again, to the rank of Leading Seaman.

Away from his seafaring, Arthur had found love. In the last quarter of 1909 he married Alice Philpott. Sadly, details about her have been lost to time, but the couple would go on to have two children – Ivy and Gladys.

When war came to Europe, Arthur’s younger brother Harry stepped up to serve. He enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment, and was assigned to the 12th Battalion. Private Read was caught up in fighting on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 25th April 1916. He is buried in Bronfay Farm Military Cemetery, in Bray-sur-Somme, Picardie.

Leading Seaman Read, meanwhile, was continuing his naval career. From November 1916 he was assigned to the light cruiser HMS Birkenhead. Used to patrol the North Sea, she had come away from the Battle of Jutland unscathed.

As the war entered its closing months, Arthur’s health was becoming impacted. Suffering from diabetes, he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Edinburgh in summer of 1918. The condition was to better him, however, and he passed away on 10th August: he was 31 years of age.

The body of Arthur William Read was taken back to Hampshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Lyndhurst Cemetery.

After her husband’s death, Alice was left to raise two children under 5 years old. Unable to do this without support, on 8th July 1920, she married Jack White. A Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, it is unclear whether his path had ever crosser her late husband’s. The following year’s census found her and her two daughters living in a house on Clarence Road in Lyndhurst: her husband was away at sea.

Leading Seaman Arthur Read
(from ancestry.co.uk)

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, India, Indian Medical Service, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, photography, story, war, Worcestershire

Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Stevens

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Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Stevens

Cecil Robert Stevens was born in Arrah, India, on 14th March 1867. One of six children, his parents were Charles and Mary Stevens. Charles was a civil servant who had been born in the South Sea Islands, while Mary has been born in Bengal.

The family appear to have moved to the United Kingdom by the late 1870s. Census records for them are a bit sparse, but the 1881 document found Mary living in Honiton, Devon, with four of Cecil’s siblings and three servants. Cecil, meanwhile, was a boarding student at Malvern College, Worcestershire.

By 1891, Cecil had moved to St Columb in Cornwall. He was boarding at a hotel on Fore Street, and was employed as a general medical practitioner.

Charles was later rewarded for his service to the Empire, and received a knighthood. The 1901 census found him residing in Harcourt Terrace, Kensington, Middlesex, while his wife, now Dame Mary Stevens, was visiting a friend from India in Devon. Sir Charles died at home in 1909, following a bout of influenza.

Cecil, meanwhile, had been making his own way in the world. A qualified surgeon, he married Katharine Duff, a nurse from Aberdeen. They went on to have two children, son Cecil Jr and daughter Mignonette.

On 29th July 1893, Cecil joined the Indian Medical Service as a Lieutenant. Three years later, he was promoted to Captain, and in July 1905, he rose to the rank of Major. His commitment to duty is evident: he spent many years overseas, separated from his wife and young family, and in January 1913, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Cecil’s time in the Indian Medical Service was not without danger. In 1895, he was involved in the Relief of Chitral, for which he received a medal and clasp. He was caught up in the Tirah Campaign of 1897/98, and received a further two clasps for his role.

Lieutenant Colonel Stevens’ role during the First World War is lost in the mists of time. Given his role in the Indian Medical Service, it is likely that he served overseas, but he returned to Britain after the war, coming by way of Egypt.

By the autumn of 1919, he was back in Devon, at the family home on Elmsleigh Park Road in Paignton. His health was failing at this point, having come down with diabetes while in North Africa. him. Cecil passed away on 18th November 1919: he was 52 years of age.

Cecil Robert Stevens was laid to rest in the sprawling grounds of Paignton Cemetery.

Lieutenant Colonel Stevens’ will left £4123 13s 10d (around £180,000 today) to his sister-in-law, Alice Duff.

Katharine outlived her husband by only eight years. She passed away on 22nd December 1927 at the Field Officers’ Quarters in Gibraltar: she was 61 years of age.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, photography, story, war

Driver John McClymont

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Driver John McClymont

John McClymont was born in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia, in 1865. Full details of his early life are lost to time, but later documents confirm that his mother was called Sophia.

Most of the information relating to John’s life comes from his army service records. These confirm that he enlisted on 13th September 1915, and that he was assigned to the 8th/20th unit of the 5th Australian Infantry Brigade. He was noted as being a labourer when he joined up, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. The record confirms that he stood 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, and weighed 169lbs (76.7kg).

Private McClymont arrived in Egypt in February 1916, and transferred to the 2nd Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force. He was initially based at Tel-el-Kebir camp, close to Cairo. From here on in, he seems to have been beset with poor health, and had numerous hospital admissions for heart ailments and haemorrhoids.

By April 1916, John’s unit had arrived in France, and his commitment to the job was not to go unrewarded. On 13th July 1916, he was appointed to the role of Acting Sergeant, and just three months later, he was reassigned to the 1st Australian Infantry Brigade Headquarters, where he was mustered as a Driver.

He was still battling health issues, however, and, in 18th August 1917, he was admitted to a hospital in Boulogne with heart disease. Within a month, Driver McClymont had been medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and he was taken to Bath War Hospital in Somerset. It was here that he was diagnosed with diabetes, and, having slipped into a diabetic coma, it was here that he passed away, on 9th October 1917. He was 42 years of age.

With all of his family on the other side of the world, John McClymont was laid to rest in the military section of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery.

Army Cyclist Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, West Midlands

Private Arthur Dudley

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Private Arthur Dudley

Arthur Samuel Dudley was born in the spring of 1895, and was the second of six children to Arthur and Alberta Dudley. Arthur Sr was an fitter for an engineering works in Birmingham, and it was in the Kings Norton area of the West Midlands where he and Alberta raised their family.

When he finished his schooling, Arthur found work as a grocer’s assistant, but factory work offered better financial prospects, and by the time war was declared in 1914, he was working as a tube drawer for the company that employed his father.

The conflict brought further opportunity for a career and an adventure, and this was not something Arthur was able to let pass by. He enlisted on 3rd September 1914, but intriguingly did so in Bodmin, Cornwall, some 200 miles to the south of his home, and there seems to be no direct connection between the Dudleys and this part of the country.

Arthur joined the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and was assigned to the 6th (Service) Battalion. His medical report – which was completed back in Birmingham towards the end of September – showed that he was 5ft 6.75ins (1.69m) tall and weighed 120lbs (54.4kg). He had brown hair, green eyes and a fair complexion.

On 18th January 1915, Private Dudley transferred to the Army Cyclist Corps, and was attached to the 19th Divisional Cyclist Company. Based in Somerset, he soon found himself barracked near Burnham-on-Sea. It was here, just two weeks later, that Arthur became ill. On 30th January 1915 he was sent to the Volunteer Aid Detachment Hospital in the town, in a diabetic coma, and passed away same evening. He was just 19 years of age.

Unable to afford the cost of bringing their son’s body back to the West Midlands, Arthur Sr and Alberta instead made their way to Somerset for the funeral. Arthur Samuel Dudley was laid to rest in the peaceful Burnham Cemetery, not far from where he had breathed his last.

About 700 of his comrades followed the coffin… Mrs Duncan Tucker and Mrs T Holt, representing the staff of the Red Cross Hospital, were also present.

Shepton Mallet Journal: Friday 5th February 1915
Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Wales, war, Welch Regiment

Private George Stevens

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Private George Stevens

George Henry Stevens was born in Winscombe, Somerset, in the spring of 1869. The oldest of four children, his parents were blacksmith Joseph (or John) Stevens and his wife, Eliza.

When he finished his schooling, George found work as a collier. In 1893, he married a woman called Maria, and went on to have three children: Edward, Mary and Charlie. By 1900 the family had moved to South Wales for his work. They settled in Llanwonno, Glamorganshire, and went on to have three more children: John, Cyril and George Jr.

By 1911, George and Maria had been married for eighteen years. George was working as a repairer for the colliery, while Edward had followed his father into the mines.

When war came to Europe’s shores, George stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Welch Regiment, and was assigned to the 1st/5th Battalion. While his full service records no longer exist, his troop served in Gallipoli during 1915, so it is possible that he spent times overseas.

By January 1916, however, Private Stevens was back in Britain, and had become unwell. Again, little specific information remains, but he passed away on 30th January 1916, having fallen into a diabetic coma. He was 47 years of age.

George Henry Stevens was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in Cleeve, where Maria had moved back to with the family when her husband went to war.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dragoon Guards, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, Surrey, Tank Corps, war

Private Maurice Chapman

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Private Maurice Chapman

Maurice Chapman was born in the summer of 1883 in Newington, Surrey (now in the London borough of Southwark. The younger of two children, his parents were Charles and Jessie Chapman. Charles was a horse collar maker and, by the time Jessie passed away in 1899, Maurice was following in his father’s footsteps.

Maurice sought a bigger career, however, and, on 6th April 1899, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and that he weighed 118lbs (53.5kg). In the section relating to any distinguishing marks, it was noted that his eyebrows met, he had a scar on his forehead and two tattoos, one on each forearm.

Maurice’s military career was not to be a lengthy one. He was recorded as being absent without leave on 18th May, and docked 6 days’ pay. Admitted to a hospital in Woolwich on 26th May, he spent a week there, suffering from scabies. On 27th July, Maurice was formally discharged from the army, when it was discovered that he had lied about his age: on his enlistment papers, he stated he was 18 years 7 months old (he was, in fact, just sixteen.

Returning to the family home, Maurice took up his father’s trade once more. Charles remarried in 1905, to a woman called Rosa. The 1911 census found the two living in two rooms in a house in Kennington Lane, but of his children, there is no sign. Maurice does not appear on any of the 1911 census records. It is also not possible to track down his older sister Charlotte either, there are a number of Charlotte Chapmans in the that year’s records, and it is also unclear whether she had married by this point.

Maurice only reappears on 1st March 1916, when he stepped up to serve his King and his Country. Initially signing up for the Labour Corps, he wasn’t formally mobilised for eighteen months. Maurice gave his profession as a barman, but also noted that he had served for two years in the 2nd Battalion of the Dragoon Guards, before being discharged in 1904, although there is no other record to corroborate this.

Private Chapman’s service records provide some, but not a lot of, information. There is no record of him spending time overseas, but he spent ten months with the Labour Corps, before transferring to the Tank Corps on 30th August 1918. Over the next year-and-a-half, he moved between a couple of the regiment’s depots and their reserve unit, and remained on active service long after the Armistice was signed.

Maurice remained on active service with the Tank Corps until November 1920, when he was medically discharged. He had been unwell for a while by this point, and a combination of diabetes and a perineal fistula meant that he was no longer physically fit enough to serve.

It is likely that Maurice was in the War Hospital in Bath, Somerset, when he was discharged, as this is where he passed away, on 22nd December 1920. He was 37 years of age.

Maurice Chapman did not travel far to his final resting place. He was buried in the grounds of the Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath, Somerset.

Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Lieutenant, Midshipman, photography, Royal Navy, Second Lieutenant, Somerset, story, war

Lieutenant Alexander Spurway

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Lieutenant Alexander Spurway

Alexander Popham Spurway was born on 8th April 1891 in Newbury, Berkshire. He was the second of six children to Edward and Gertrude Spurway. Edward was a clergyman, and the family moved to Heathfield in Somerset when Alexander was a small boy. Education was key to Edward and, the 1901 census records show Alexander as being a boarder at the Portmore School in Weymouth, Dorset.

Reverend Spurway set the family up well in Heathfield: by the time of the next census in 1911, the family were living in the village rectory, with five members of staff.

Alexander, meanwhile, had taken a different route, entering the Royal Naval College at Osborne on the Isle of Wight in January 1904. He was a keen sportsman and, while there, he represented the college at both cricket and football.

In September 1908, he passed out from the college as a Midshipman, and served on HMS Canopus in the Mediterranean. His career continued, and he was made Sub-Lieutenant in December 1911, and Lieutenant two years later.

Reverend Spurway died at home in February 1914 and, by the time war broke out, Lieutenant Spurway was assigned to HMS Achilles. He remained on board the cruiser for the next two years and it was during this time that he developed diabetes: something that was to prove an ongoing issue for him.

Returning home in the autumn of 1915, the condition was to prove too much, and he passed away on 29th November 1915, at the age of 24 years old.

Alexander Popham Spurway was laid to rest in the graveyard of his late father’s church, St John the Baptist in Heathfield.

Lieutenant Spurway (from findagrave.com)

Sadly, Alexander was not the only member of the Spurway family to lose their life as a result of the war.

Richard Popham Spurway, Alexander’s older brother, was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was attached to the Hampshire Regiment, when it was moved to Gallipoli in 1915. He was killed on 13th August 1915, and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial at Canakkale, Turkey.

Alexander’s younger brother, George Vyvyan Spurway, joined the Royal Fusiliers, before transferring to the Machine Gun Corps. He had arrived in France in September 1916, and was killed while fighting on the Western Front on 28th March 1918. He was laid to rest at Arras and is commemorated on the memorial there.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Serjeant Bertie Moody

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Serjeant Bertie Moody

Bertie Richard Moody was born in Warminster, Wiltshire in April 1885, one of ten children to Joshua and Mary Moody. Joshua was a navy pensioner, who was twenty years older than his wife, and they raised their family in a small house to the west of the town centre.

When he left school, Bertie found work labouring for a man with a traction engine, but, after his parents died – Mary in 1901 and Joshua two years later – he had more need of a trade. The army offered him a life of adventure, and so he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment. Full details of his military career are lost to time, but by the 1911 census, Private Moody was based in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

War in Europe was looming, and Bertie’s regiment was called back home. By December 1914, however, he was on the front line in France, and, over the next couple of years, earned the Victory and British Medals, the 1915 Star and a promotion to Serjeant for his service.

As time wore on, it was evident that illness was playing a bigger part in Serjeant Moody’s life. He was suffering from diabetes, and the condition led to him being medically discharged from the army in October 1916. Bertie moved to Frome, Somerset, and found work as a labourer.

He still wanted to play his part, and after making something of a recovery, he tried to enlist again, this time in the Royal Air Force. They rejected Bertie because of his condition too, however, so his time in active service came to an end.

At this point, Bertie’s trail goes cold. He died in Frome on 13th December 1918, at the age of 33, and was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in the town.