William John Hamilton was born in Urney, County Tyrone, in 1870. One of ten children, his parents of John and Bella. Little further information is available about his early life, but on 29th September 1895, William married Sarah McLaughlin.
The couple set up home in Ballycolman Lane, Strabane, and had at least six children. William worked as a shop porter, while Sarah kept house for the family.
By the time of the 1911 census, William was working as a general labourer. War was brewing over the continent by this point, however, and when hostilities were declared, he stepped up to play his part.
Full details of William’s service are lost to time. What documents remain, however, confirm that he enlisted no earlier than June 1917, and that he joined the Royal Engineers as a Pioneer. He was attached to an Inland Water Transport unit and sent to Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, for training.
Pioneer Hamilton’s Pension Ledger Card provides a tantalising insight into his passing. On 25th December 1917, he died from “suffocation from submersion accidentally drowned while on active service.” There is no other documentation to expand on what happened, and no contemporary newspaper report on his passing. William was 47 years of age.
It would appear that Sarah was unable to afford the cost of bringing her late husband’s body back to Ireland for burial. Instead, William John Hamilton was laid to rest in Amesbury Cemetery, close to where he had passed away.
Thomas Collins was born in the Blackfriars area of Glasgow on 12th March 1877. His was a common name, and it is a challenge to find identify much about his early life. He did, however, have a brother called Andrew, and, when he finished his schooling, he found work as a carpenter and joiner.
Thomas sought new opportunities and, on 21st January 1899, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Working as a Carpenter’s Crew, he was initially assigned to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Barracks in Devonport, Devon. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1,65m) tall, with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a dark complexion.
Devonport was to become Thomas’ base, but, over the twelve years of his initial navy contract, he went on to serve on eight separate vessels. He records suggest that he was good at what he did, and his moved up through the ranks as a result. However, he seemed to have another side to him, which occasionally revealed itself.
Thomas was promoted to Leading Carpenter’s Crew on 19th December 1901, but what had been noted as a very good character seemed to take a downturn at this point. He was committed to cells for two weeks in January/February 1903, while serving on HMS Highflyer, with an incident leading to his demotion to Carpenter’s Crew once more. This also appears to match with a drop in his character: noted as Very Good in his reviews of 1899 to 1901, he slipped to Good in 1902 and fair in 1903 and 1904.
His imprisonment seems to have been the shake up Thomas needed. From here on in, his character was consistently recorded as Very Good and, by August 1909, he had regained the rank of Leading Carpenter’s Crew. There was, however, a serious blip in this good behaviour, noted in his service records:
This man was tried for the manslaughter of Richard Ernest Bell, blacksmith, on [illegible date], who died from injuries received in a fight with Collins on HMS Cambridge. Verdict of Jury at Assizes: “Not guilty”. Judge in summing up stated that he considered Collins was technically guilty of manslaughter.
Thomas had been on the mess deck of HMS Cambridge on 26th August 1905, when he became embroiled in a fight with Petty Officer Bell. Medical evidence showed that Bell died as a result of a blow behind his ear, the punch delivered by Leading Carpenter’s Crew Collins. While it seems likely that he unintentionally caused the Petty Officer’s death, he was cleared by the jury, and remained assigned to HMS Cambridge until November 1905.
Thomas’ initial term of service came to an end on 20th January 1911, and he had no hesitation in re-enlisting. On board HMS St George at the time, his new contract brought with it the rank of Shipwright 2nd Class. Over the next five years, he served on four more ships, and rose a rank to Shipwright 1st Class.
On 8th January 1916, Thomas married Flora Peacock. Little information is available about here, although the wedding took place in Harwich, Essex. Thomas was serving on board the cruiser HMS Conquest by this point, and was based out of the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.
On Tuesday evening, March 28th, a cutter belonging to HMS Conquest, which was taking forty liberty men off to the ship, was caught in a blizzard and nothing was seen or heard of her again till the morning, when she was found cast up on shore many miles away. All hands were drowned.
The cutter was being towed out by a steam-launch. The hawser broke and the boat drifted away ad capsized.
Westerham Herald: Saturday 8th April 1916
Shipwright 1st Class Thomas Collins was one of those lost from the cutter. He had not long turned 39 years of age. He was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.
Thomas’ headstone incorrectly gives his surname as Collings.
Granville Horrocks was born in Heywood, Lancashire in around 1872. His early life is difficult to piece together, but by the time of the 1901 census, he was living with his widowed mother, Jane Horrocks, and his wife of a year, Mary.
The family were living in Rock Street, Oldham, where Granville was working as a labourer in an ironworks. Mary was also working, and was employed as a cotton reeler in one of the local mills.
Granville and Mary went on to have five children – Mary, Lilian, Ellen, Wilfred and Jessie. The 1911 census records the family living in two rooms in Bloom Street, Oldham. Granville was employed as an iron turner in the local factory, while Mary remained at home to look after the house and the family.
Conflict broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, and Granville opted to serve his King and his Country. Sadly, full details of his service are lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Manchester Regiment by the autumn of 1915. Private Horrocks was assigned to the 10th Battalion, which saw active service at Gallipoli, and it is likely that Granville spent time in that part of the Mediterranean.
Private Horrocks’ army pension ledger provides details of his passing. The date was 5th April 1916, and the cause given was “suicide by drowning whilst of unsound mind due to disease contracted on [active service].” Little additional information is available about the incident and, surprisingly, there is nothing reported in contemporary newspapers.
Granville was based near Wylye, Wiltshire, when he took his life. He was around 44 years old at the time. Finances must have limited Mary’s options regarding his burial: rather than being taken back to Oldham, he was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in the village where he passed.
The short life of Thomas Besley is a challenge to unpick. He was born in Bampton, Devon, early in 1896, one of ten children to farm labourer Steven Besley and his wife, Fanny.
Steven’s work took the family around the region, and the 1901 census found the Besleys living on Cordings Farm in Wiveliscombe, Somerset. The document records Thomas as being 5 years of age, sharing the accommodation with his parents and six of his siblings.
The 1911 census records Thomas working as a live-in labourer at Manor Farm in Huish Champflower, a village just three miles outside of Wiveliscombe.
Meanwhile, his family are still recorded as living in Wiveliscombe itself, Steven and Fanny residing with four of their children. Now, however, another Thomas is listed with them: seven years old, he is the only child of their oldest son, William and his late wife, Elizabeth. She had died in 1904, around the same time as young Thomas’ birth, and it would appear that Steven and Fanny adopted their grandson (he is listed on the census as their ‘son’). William went on to marry again, but his new wife, a widow called Hannah, had seven children from her first marriage. The couple would go on to have a son of their own, but it was a crowded house, and so Thomas lived permanently with his grandparents.
The older Thomas Besley signed up almost as soon as war was declared in 1914. While his service records are sparse, he joined the 3rd/5th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry.
What can be determined from the records is that Private Besley drowned. His death certificate – which mistakenly records his surname as Beasley – confirms that Thomas’ body was found in the River Tone in Taunton on 16th February 1915, and the cause of death noted as ‘found drowned’.
While research for Besley draws a number of blanks about the circumstances of his death, the misspelled surname featured in a contemporary newspaper report:
On Tuesday afternoon, around four o’clock, MJ Chapman… while passing the Locks at Firepool, Priory, Taunton, observed what appeared to be the body of a man floating in the swirl caused by the overflow of the Locks into the pool. The police were immediately informed… and proceeded to the spot with the ambulance and recovered the body of a man, dressed in khaki uniform. The body had evidently been in the water for a considerable time and was much decomposed. The deceased was subsequently identified as Thomas Beasley, son of Mr Stephen Beasley, of Langley Marsh, Wiveliscombe. He was a private in the 5th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, and was 40 years of age. He had been in ill-health for a considerable period, and latterly had been depressed. He disappeared on January 16th, and despite all enquiries his whereabouts remained a mystery until Tuesday…
[At the inquest] Stephen Beasley, a farm labourer… gave evidence of [Thomas’] identification. He said that his son had lately been ill. Three months ago he was taken from Salisbury Plain to Bristol Hospital, where he remained for about a month. After his discharge from Hospital he went home, where he remained about a fortnight, and for the last two months he had been quartered at Taunton. In this time witness had seen his son twice, but he could not say that he had been well since he came out of Hospital. He was low-spirited, but never told witness that anything troubled him.
Florence Beasley… sister of deceased, said she last saw her brother about a month ago in Taunton. He seemed very strange and low and would not speak unless spoken to first. He seemed to be troubled, and would not shake hands with her when she left him. He seemed to be always ‘studying.’ There was no suicidal tendency in the family…
Captain Burridge stated that deceased was sent to hospital from the Plain about September. About the middle of October he had a wire from Bristol Infirmary informing him that he was dangerously ill and dying. However, he got over that, and he was discharged on October 28th. He was sent for 22 days’ furlough to his home and returned to duty on November 22nd. Ever since that time he had not been in the best of health, but nothing had been noticed of his mental condition. He believed at one time there was a talk of his being discharged as medically unfit. He disappeared on January 16th.
The Coroner asked [how] long deceased had been in the service, and witness answered that he joined on June 1st, 1913. His complaint when removed to Bristol Hospital was double pneumonia.
On the suggestion of the Coroner, the jury returned an open verdict.
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 24th February 1915
In addition to the Besley/Beasley surname, the report features a couple more discrepancies. Thomas’ father’s name is given as Stephen, when it was Steven. The deceased is also recorded as being 40 years old when he died, when he was actually half that age.
Thomas Besley was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in Wiveliscombe. It gives his age as 17 years old and the date of his death as 16th February 1917.
Leonard Henry Gulliford was born on 26th January 1895 in the village of Cothelstone, near Bishops Lydeard, Somerset. One of eleven children, he was the son of farm labourer William Gulliford and his wife, Jane.
When he completed his schooling, Leonard also found employment on the farm. However, it seemed he wanted bigger and better things and, on 7th April 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, with fair hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Gulliford spent the first six months of his naval career at HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon. This was to be the base to which he would return in between voyages. His records show unusual activity for his time, as he was assigned to just one ship – the battle cruiser HMS New Zealand – during his six years’ service. Leonard spent five years on board, from September 1913 to February 1919, with just one month based back in Devonport during this time.
Leonard rose through the ranks over the years, receiving a promotion to Stoker 1st Class in April 1914, Acting Leading Stoker in July 1918 and Leading Stoker in July 1919, by which point he was, once again, based at HMS Vivid.
In November 1919, Leonard was attached to the sloop HMS Silvio, based in the River Tamar. A party of the crew, Leading Stoker Gulliford included, left the ship without leave, taking a boat to shore.
The bodies of the seven men who were missing from two warships in the Tamar Estuary were recovered this morning, and a mystery has thus been cleared up.
The men left two ships, HMS Swindon and HMS Silvio, on Sunday evening, and it is believed visited Saltash, a riverside town. Later an upturned boat and two naval caps were found…
The bodies were found close together on the mudflats in shallow water in Tamar Creek, on the eastern side of the River Tavy, near the Tavy railway bridge.
Daily News (London): Friday 5th December 1919
A subsequent inquest into the sailors’ deaths determined that, after their time in Saltash, they took their boat, which, at just 13.5ft (4.1m) long, proved too small for seven man, back to their ships. The wind and choppy waters proved too much, and the boat capsized, throwing all of them into the water to their doom. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
The body of 25-year-old Leonard Henry Gulliford was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Bishops Lydeard.
George Williams was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, in 1895. One of ten children, his parents were George and Sarah. When George Sr died in 1908, his widow was left to raise the family herself. By the time of the 1911 census, all of the children were still living at home, and four of them, including George Jr, who was working as a labourer, were bringing in a wage.
When conflict broke out, George stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry before the end of 1914 and, as a Private, was assigned to the 8th Battalion.
Little information is available about George’s military life and, indeed, the only other details available for him are that of his passing, based on reports available in a contemporary newspaper.
About half-past eight on Thursday [3rd June 1915] the body of a soldier was found in the river at Bath… The corpse was in a somewhat advanced state of decomposition, its condition suggesting it may have been in the river about three weeks. The man had on his full regimentals, with top coat.
Papers found in the pocket indicate that the deceased is Private George Williams, of the 8th Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, now encamped at Sutton Veny, Wilts. This regiment was quartered in Bath during the winter, and left the city some weeks ago.
There are.. no marks of violence on the body.
There was found on the body a pass dated 14th May, giving him three days’ leave. The leave expired at 11:55pm on May 17th. The permit allowed him to proceed to Birmingham. There was also found on the deceased a telegram addressed to 22 Green Street, West Bromwich, which said “Leave extended.”
The supposition is that Williams returned as far as Bath, on his way back to camp, by Midland Railway, and when in the city by some means or other fell into the river.
Curiously enough, the Bath police had been advised of the absence without leave from camp at Sutton Veny of a soldier of the same name. But in this case the man belonged to the 10th Devons. They had received no notification regarding Private Williams of the 8th Cornwalls.
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 5th June 1915
The telegram mentioned in the report is likely one sent to George’s family, who was living at 22 Queen Street (possibly an error on the newspaper’s part).
George was just 20 years old when he died: the army report gave the date of his death as 2nd June 1915, although it seems likely that he had passed some weeks before.
Sarah and the family were possibly unable to afford to have George’s body taken back to Staffordshire for burial. Instead, he was laid to rest in the Twerton Cemetery in Bath, with Sarah and two of his brothers, Leonard and William, in attendance. Another member of his battalion, “deceased’s chum” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 5th June 1915] Private Fred Cotton, was also at the funeral, and sent his own wreath – from “his old pal Fred” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 5th June 1915].
William Ephraim Stitch was born in Biddisham, Somerset, on 6th August 1879. The oldest of seven children, his parents were James and Mary Stitch. James was a farmer, and this was a trade into which William followed.
The 1901 census found William boarding with a farmer in nearby Badgworth. His employer was George Burrow, who had a live-in housekeeper, Ellen Norris. Ten years later, William was boarding with another family in the village – Benjamin and Bertha Wall and their two children – and, at 32 years old, he was still employed as a farm labourer.
When war came to Europe, William stepped up to play his part for King and Country. He enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps on 3rd December 1915, and was assigned to the 530th Horse Transport Company. His service records note that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall and weighed 126lbs (57.2kg).
Driver Stitch was based in Northumberland, and remained on home soil throughout his time in the army. He returned to Somerset a couple of times, most noticeably in September 1917, when he married Bertha Wall, who he had been boarding with according to the 1911 census. There is no evidence of the passing of Bertha’s husband, Benjamin, but William’s service records note that he classed Bertha’s two children as his own.
Driver Stitch went back to Somerset on leave over Christmas 1917, arriving back in Blyth, Northumberland, on 28th December. He was billeted at Link View Villa in the town, and looked after the horses stabled there.
William was last seen in the Orderly Room that evening, by a Corporal John Kearton, his senior officer who was based in the same digs. He disappeared, and, despite a lengthy search, it was only on 1st February 1918 that his body was found in the brickyard pond, close to where the horses were stabled.
At the subsequent inquest, the doctor who carried out the postmortem confirmed that there was no sign of violence. Corporal Kearton suggested that, as William was getting water from the pond, he might have slipped into the water accidentally. With no evidence of any deliberate intention to end his life, the jury returned a verdict of drowning, but that there was no evidence to show how Driver Stitch had gotten into the water. William was recorded as having died on 28th December 1918, at the age of 39 years of age.
The body of William Ephraim Stitch was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Congar’s Church in Badgworth.
Phillip George Clemett was born on 5th December 1891, one of eight children to Albert and Mary Jane Clemett. Albert was a carpenter from Devon, Mary Jane came from Somerset, but by the time Phillip was born, the family had moved to Fulham in Middlesex.
The 1911 census records the family as having moved back to Somerset. Mary Jane had been born in the village of Huntspill, and it was here that the Clemetts returned. Albert was now working as a farmer, so it is possible that they had moved to work on the family farm.
Labouring was not a job to satisfy Phillip, though, and he sought a career on the high seas. On 3rd February 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Clemett’s was initially sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Plymouth, Devon. Here he received a few months’ training, before being given his first posting, on board the battleship HMS Indefatigable. He remained on board for the next fifteen months, gaining a promotion to Stoker 1st Class in the process.
Over the next couple of years, Phillip served on a couple more vessels, but on 11th February 1917 he was assigned to the submarine HMS C16. Stoker Clemetts was on board for a couple of months, as she was patrolling off the Essex coast. On 16th April 1917, the C16 was accidentally rammed by the destroyer HMS Melampus. She sank to the bottom and a couple of attempts were made for the crew to escape, but they became trapped and all perished, including Stoker 1st Class Clemetts. He was 25 years of age.
Contemporary newspaper reports give little detail about the accident – stating simply that Phillip ‘perished at sea’ [Western Daily Press – Tuesday 01 May 1917] His service documents are equally cagy about the incident, confirming jus that he ‘lost his life on duty.’ The records, however, show that on each of his five annual reviews, his character was noted as ‘very good’, while his ability was ‘superior’.
When the submarine was salvaged, Phillip George Clemett’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Peter’s Church in Huntspill.
Sidney Goddard was born on 2nd January 1889 in the village of Oldland Common, near Bristol. The youngest of three children, his parents were Albert and Frances Goddard. Albert was a shoemaker, but by the time of the 1911 census, he and Frances had set up home in Saltford, between Bristol and Bath, where he was recorded as being a bootmaker and innkeeper at the village’s Jolly Sailor.
Sidney, by this time, had gone his own way. On 17th January 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records note that he had been working as a collier when he joined up, so it seemed that coal ran through him. The same records note that Sidney had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also recorded as being was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, and having a number of tattoos: a true lovers’ knot on his left wrist, several dots on his left arm. He had three dots on his right arm, a scar on his back and another on the inside of his left shin.
Stoker Goddard was initially sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for training. After a couple of months he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Amphitrite. It is evident that Sidney showed promise, because he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class on 22nd April, just three months after he enlisted. He returned to Devonport in May, but this was only to change assignments: he boarded HMS Blake, another cruiser, a few days later.
Over the next eight years, Stoker 1st Class Goddard served on five further vessels, returning to HMS Vivid in between assignments. On 1st July 1915, he was assigned to the newly commissioned minesweeper HMS Larkspur. In November that year, she came into Merklands Wharf in Glasgow.
[Sidney] met his death while assisting in docking his ship at Glasgow on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 3rd. By some mischance he was thrown into the dock, and in falling his head struck either on the boat’s side or on the dock. It is believed that he was rendered unconscious by the blow, as otherwise, being a good swimmer, he would have been able to keep afloat till help came.
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 13th November 1915
Stoker 1st Class Sidney Goddard was just 26 years of age when he died. His body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church, Saltford, within walking distance from the Jolly Sailor, where his parents still lived.
Sidney has the dubious honour of being the only member of HMS Larkspur’s crew to die during the First World War. His two older brothers also served in the conflict, Maurice in the Royal Marines and William, who was a Leading Seaman on board HMS Spitfire when he was killed during the Battle of Jutland.
Stoker 1st Class Sidney Goddard (from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Francis Benjamin John Doel was born in Glastonbury, Somerset, on 26th August 1897. The oldest of five children, his parents were Frederick and Alice Doel. Frederick was a mason’s labourer and, by the time of the 1911 census, the family had set up home in the village of Berkley, on the outskirts of Frome. Intriguingly, the census clearly gives Francis’ middle name as Crossman, although no other record confirms this.
When war broke out, Francis had left school, and was employed as a labourer in a brass foundry. By the start of 1916, however, he stepped up to serve his King and Country, and enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records give his height as 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) and note that he had brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.
Francis was assigned the role of Stoker 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Vivid – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport – for training. Within a matter of weeks, he was given his first posting, on board the cruiser HMS Dublin, although he only remained there for a month.
After having returned to HMS Vivid for a few weeks, Francis was assigned to another cruiser, HMS Essex. He appears to have been good at his job, and in November 1916 was promoted to Stoker 1st Class.
Stoker Doel returned to HMS Vivid in May 1917, preparing for his Leading Stoker exams. They were not to be, however, as on 24th June, he died, having ‘accidentally drowned’. No further information is available on his death, and the newspaper report of his funeral only notes that he “…met his death on Sunday week. His body was landed from his vessel, and was brought home for burial…” [Somerset Standard: Friday 6th July 1917]. He was just 19 years of age.
Francis Benjamin John Doel was brought back to Berkley for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s church cemetery.
Death and Service 