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Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Marines, Somerset, story, Tyne & Wear, war

Private John Mahaffey

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Private John Mahaffey

In a quiet spot in North Petherton Cemetery, Somerset, is a headstone dedicated to Private J Mahaffey of the Devonshire Regiment. He died on 5th February 1916, but there is little further information available for him.

Private Mahaffey’s service number leads you to one military record, his army pension ledger card. This confirms a little more information: his first name was John, he had two children noted (underage, and therefore eligible for part of his pension) – Elsie and Thomas – and a guardian is also given – Mrs Elizabeth Broom, who lived in Kentisbeare, Devon. The pension card also confirms the cause of John’s death: heart failure due to disease contracted on active service.

An unusual surname made searching contemporary newspapers easier, and a mystery was unveiled:

Private John Mahaffey, a native of Devonport.. was found dead in the Great Western Railway train at Durston on Saturday.

Deceased, who was in the Devon Regiment (86th Battalion Provisional Territorial Force), was 49 years of age, and had served twelve years in the Army. At the outbreak of war he re-enlisted, and latterly had been quartered at Blythe. It appears that he had been on a visit to his children at Devonport, and was upon his return journey when his death occurred. At Taunton he conversed with the guard of the train by while he travelled, and was then apparently in good health.

PS Hill, North Petherton, state that on Saturday, he… saw the body of the deceased… He examined the body, and found a bruise above the left eye and a scar on the nose. He found upon him his regimental pass and the return railway ticket. There was also money in his pockets.

George William Grinnett, a guard on the GWR, said… he was approached by deceased, who asked as to the train service to Newcastle. Witness understood that he had travelled from Exeter… He advised him to… change at Bristol. He then appeared to be all right, and in good health. On arrival at Durston [George] walked the train, and when passing the compartment that deceased entered at Taunton he noticed a man on the floor in the corridor. He went inside and found that the man was dead. He then communicated with three soldiers, who said they had not travelled with deceased. They had merely opened the door, and, seeing a man there, had walked away without telling anybody.

Dr William C Ghent… said her was called to see deceased. He was quite unable to form an opinion as to the cause of death. There was a good deal of blood on the face, and a slight wound on the nose. From a post-mortem examination he found that one of the valves of the heart was incompetent, and in his opinion death was due to heart failure. The blood on the nose might have been caused by a fall. There was no serious injury from the blow which would cause death.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 9th February 1916

John’s previous twelve years in the army may relate to a Royal Marine Light Infantry service document for a John Mahaffoy. Born on 24th May 1864 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he enlisted in Bristol as a Private on 24th April 1888. Primarily based out of Plymouth, he served until the summer of 1900, and was assigned to the Royal Fleet Reserve for a further seven years.

Further complexity is added to John’s story, with a marriage record for 6th April 1896. This confirms his wife’s name as Elizabeth Brown, the couple marrying in Devon. The 1901 census confirms two older children for the couple, Kathleen (mentioned in the newspaper report, who was born in 1897) and Margaret, who came along two years later.

The next census, however, shows a divided family. John was recorded as being one of 1200 patients in the Devon County Lunatic Asylum in Exminster. Elizabeth was living in Portsmouth, with their son, Thomas. She also had a boarder, Bertram Bound, an Able Seaman in the Merchant Navy. Kathleen was a patient in the Sanatorium for Devon and Cornwall Consumptive Patients in South Brent, Devon. Elsie, meanwhile, was recorded as living in Kentisbeare with her grandparents, Edmund and Elizabeth Broom.

This would suggest that John’s wife Elizabeth had died by the time of his death, and that guardianship of his children passed to his mother-in-law when he too passed away.

The last sad element of this tale is that John Mahaffey was not to be reunited with his children. There may have been a financial element, with the Brooms possibly unable to cover the cost of bringing him down to Devon. John was laid to rest in North Petherton Cemetery, a few miles from Durston Station, where his body had been discovered.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Lieutenant, Officer Training Corps, photography, Royal Air Force, Scotland, Somerset, South Africa, story, war, Worcestershire

Lieutenant Harold Redler

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Lieutenant Harold Redler

News has been received at Bathpool, Taunton, that Lieutenant HB Redler, MC (RAF), was killed while flying at Turnberry, near Ayr. Lieutenant Redler, who was 21 years of age, was the eldest son of Mr and Mrs DB Redler, of Moorreesbury [sic], South Africa, and formerly of Bathpool, Taunton, and he sailed from South Africa with a schoolfellow at the end of 1915, at the age of 18, in order to join the Royal Flying Corps. On arrival in England they found no vacancies, and entered the Artists’ Rifles OTC, from which they joined the RFC. After obtaining his commission, Lieut. Redler spent a few months in France last year, and was then sent to Ayr as a fighting instructor. In March of this year he was sent to France for a six weeks’ course, during which he won the Military Cross, and it is believed that his record will show a total of nearly twenty enemy machines brought down.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 3rd July 1918

Harold Bolton Redler was born in Worcester, Worcestershire, on 27th January 1897. The oldest of five children, his parents were Daniel and Annie. Daniel was a flour miller from Devon, and the family had moved to Worcester the year before Harold was born.

In 1903, the Redlers emigrated to South Africa. Initially settling in King William’s Town (now Qonce), they moved to Moorreesburg after the birth of Harold’s youngest sibling, Norman, in 1906.

Harold was educated at the Bishops Diocesan College in Rondebosch, Cape Town, and it was from here that he and his friend decided to step up and serve their King and Empire. Sadly, his service records have been consigned to history, and only the newspaper report remains to piece together his time in service.

Lieutenant Redler’s awarding of the Military Cross, however, is documented:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He encountered four enemy two-seater machines and attacking the lowest drove it to the ground with its engine damaged. Later he attacked one of five enemy two-seater machines and drove it down out of control. He has destroyed in all three enemy machines and driven three others down out of control. He continually attacked enemy troops and transport from a low altitude during operations and showed splendid qualities of courage and determination throughout.

London Gazette: 22nd June 1918

On the morning of 21st June 1918, Lieutenant Redler was flying a de Havilland DH9 aircraft, accompanied by Captain Ian Henderson. The plane was fitted with a Lewis gun, which the pair were testing. At 10am, the aircraft crashed, and both were killed. No immediate cause was identified, and their RAF cards record an open verdict. Harold was just 21 years of age.

With his parents and siblings in South Africa, Harold Bolton Redler’s body was taken to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest with his paternal grandparents in the peaceful St Augustine’s Churchyard in West Monkton.

Lieutenant Harold Redler
Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, Monmouthshire, photography, Pioneer, Private, Royal Engineers, Somerset, South Wales Borderers, story, war

Pioneer Herbert Dyer

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Pioneer Herbert Dyer

Charles Herbert Dyer was born in the Somerset village of West Monkton in the spring of 1890. One of eight children, his parents were farm labourer Charles Dyer and his wife Mary.

By the time of the 1911 census, Charles Jr had set out on his own, settling in Briton Ferry, near Port Talbot, Glamorganshire. He found work as a gardener and, from this point on, he went by his middle name, Herbert.

Over the next few years, Herbert continued his employment in Wales, although he did make a move to Newport, Monmouthshire. When war came to Britain, Herbert stepped up to serve King and Country, enlisting in the South Wales Borderers on 10th January 1916. Less than two weeks later, he married Ethel May Andrews, in All Saints’ Church, Newport.

Private Dyer was formally mobilised on 2nd March 1916. His service records show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall and weighed 141lbs (64kg). Details of his service are a little scrambled, but it appears that Herbert was initially assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, and remained on home soil throughout the conflict.

Herbert was based in Bottesford, Leicestershire, in December 1916, where he was put on report and docked 14 days’ pay for being absent from his post, and refusing to obey a superior’s order. Six months later, he had moved camp, and was confined to barracks for two weeks, and docked two days’ pay for being absent without leave for a day and ten hours.

By the summer of 1918, Herbert had transferred across to the Royal Engineers where, with the rank of Pioneer, he was assigned to the 15th Anti-Aircraft Company. Full details of his time in his new regiment have been lost, but he was certainly based in Essex as the war came to a close.

Pioneer Dyer’s health was, however, beginning to suffer by this point. He had a bout of influenza, which developed into pneumonia. He was admitted to the Warley Military Hospital in Brentwood, on 10th November 1918, but, by this point, his body had seemingly had enough. He passed away at 11:20am on 13th November 1918, at the age of 28 years old.

The body of Herbert Dyer was brought back to Somerset for burial. Ethel had moved in with her in-laws in West Monkton by this point, and was a couple of months’ pregnant. Herbert was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Augustine’s Church. His son – who Ethel named Herbert – was born on 6th June 1919, never to know his father.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Private William Lye

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Private William Lye

William Harry Lye was born in Ilchester, Somerset, in the spring of 1875. The middle of five children, his parents were agricultural labourer Charles Lye and his wife, Sarah. Over the years, Charles found additional work as a groom and, by the time of the 1901 census, this is what William turned his hand to as well.

On 8th April 1901, William married Elsie Drayton, who was from Bishops Lydeard, to the west of Taunton. Elsie was the daughter of a labourer, and the couple married in St Mary’s Church her home village. The couple set up home in nearby Kingston St Mary, and went on to have two children, Herbert, who was born in 1902, and Reginald, who came along six years later.

When war came to Europe, William was called on to play his part. His service records are lost to time, but from what remains it is possible to confirm that he enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps. His peacetime experience with horses made him an ideal candidate for the Remount division, and he was assigned to the 75th Squadron.

Private Lye survived the war, and by early 1919, was placed on furlough to await being demobbed. His trail goes cold at this point, and the last record for him is that of his passing, through causes unknown, on 24th May 1919. He was 43 years of age.

William Harry Lye was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church, in Kingston St Mary, not far from where Elsie and the children still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Harold Hill

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Private Harold Hill

In a quiet corner of St John’s Churchyard, Staplegrove, is a commemorative headstone to three soldiers of the Somerset Light Infantry. The bottom two, share the same surname, and are, in fact, father and son: Francis and Harold Hill.

Harold James Hill was born 23rd November 1896 in Milverton, Somerset. He was the only child to former army man turned storekeeper, Francis Hill and his wife, Florence.

When he finished his schooling, Harold found work as an office boy. By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved six miles east of Milverton, to the village of Staplegrove. Francis was employed as a house painter, Florence had taken in work as a glove maker, and the Hills also had a boarder, Reginald Cave, who was a nursery foreman.

Storm clouds were brewing by this point and, when war broke out, Harold was keen to play his part, possibly because he wanted to emulate his father’s army life. He enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry and was assigned to the 2nd/5th Battalion. Private Hill’s medical records show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). By coincidence, these are almost exactly the same measurements as those of his father, when he joined the army 28 years before.)

After three months’ training, Harold’s battalion was sent overseas, and he arrived in India on 12th December 1914. Within a matter of months, his health began to suffer and, between May 1915 and February 1916, Private Hill was admitted to hospital on six separate occasions, all but one for intestinal problems.

In the end, Harold was taken back to Britain for treatment: he arrived on home soil at the end of March 1916, and within three months had been medically discharged from the army.

At this point, Harold’s trail goes cold, although he did return to Somerset. His illness continued, however, and he passed away from his stomach condition on 23rd October 1916. He was just 19 years of age.

Harold James Hill was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John’s Church, Staplegrove. His grave is lost to time, but it can be assumed that he was buried close to his father, who had died just nine months before. Father and son are commemorated on a special memorial, close to the entrance of the church.

One can only imagine the heartache for Florence Hill, having lost her husband and her only child within a year. Details of her late husband’s life can be found here.

Few details remain of her life, although she is recorded on the 1939 England and Wales Register boarding with an Eda Cummings in Greenway Avenue, Taunton. She was noted as a widow, and employed to do household duties.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Francis Hill

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Private Francis Hill

Francis Robert Hill was born in the spring of 1868, the middle of seven children to William and Mary Hill. William was a shoemaker from Wiveliscombe, Somerset, and this is where he and Mary raised their family.

When Francis finished his schooling, he found work as a baker. However, he wanted bigger and better things and, in June 1886, he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry. Private Hill would have cut a striking figure: at eighteen years old, he was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall and weighed 136lbs (62.6kg). He had light brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Francis did not spend any time overseas, instead working in the regiment’s depot in Alverstoke, near Gosport, Hampshire. He spent seven years in the military, and was stood down on 16th June 1893.

By the end of 1895, Francis was back in Somerset as, on Boxing Day that year, he married Florence Ida Giles, a shoemaker’s daughter. The couple were both living in Milverton at the time, and Francis’ profession was noted as storekeeper. On 23rd November 1896, the couple had a son, Harold, and the family were living on Fore Street, the village’s main road.

The 1901 census shows another change in work for Francis, who was now noted as being a house painter. This was a career that seemed to stick with him, as he was still employed in the role by the time of the next census, in 1911. The Hills had moved to Staplegrove, on the outskirts of Taunton, by this point. Florence had taken in work as a glove maker, Harold, now 14 years old, was employed as an office boy, and the family had a boarder, Reginald Cave, who was a nursery foreman.

At this point Francis’ trail goes tantalisingly cold. When war broke out, he enlisted once more, this time joining the Somerset Light Infantry. The only other confirmed document gives a tragic hint as to his death, at the age of 48. His entry in the Pension Ledger reads simply “18.2.16: Accidentally killed by passing train while on military duty.” There are no other records to back this up, and no contemporary newspapers report on his passing.

However it happened, Francis Robert Hill’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John’s Church, Staplegrove. His grave is lost to time, but he is commemorated on a special memorial, close to the entrance of the church.

Tragedy was to strike a second time for Francis’ widow, Florence, when, in October 1916, Harold was also to pass away. Read his story here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Officer Training Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Arthur Turner

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Private Arthur Turner

It is with great regret that we announce the death of Mr Arthur Jeffreys Turner, which took place on Tuesday last. The deceased was the only surviving son of Mr AW Turner, or Fitzroy.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 8th August 1917

Arthur Jeffreys Turner was born in Staplegrove, near Taunton, in 1897. There is little concrete information about his life, although the newspaper report of his funeral acts as a starting point.

Arthur – who, the report suggests, was known as Jeff – was the son of Arthur William Turner. The son of a gentleman, Arthur Sr was a coffee planter, who disappears from the UK Census returns from 1881 and 1891. On 4th August 1894, he married Carsina Florence Marie le Gay, the Paris-born daughter of Gustave Ferdinand le Gay, an officer in the French Army. Arthur was 40 years old, and gave his address as the Travellers’ Club in Piccadilly, London, while Carsina, who was just 21 years of age, lived in Richmond.

Of Carsina, there appears to be no further record. The 1901 census found Arthur Sr based back in his Piccadilly Club, and gives his marital status as married. Ten years later, Arthur Sr is recorded as living in Fitzroy House, to the north west of Taunton. He is still noted as married, and a retired coffee planter, and that he had two children, of whom only one survived. Arthur Sr’s only companions in the 14-roomed manor house, however, were two servants, Bessie Hill and Eva Caddy.

The same census recorded Arthur Jr boarding at a prep school in Berrow, Somerset. Naish House been purpose-built just seven years before, when the school moved down the coast from Clevedon. Arthur was one of 39 boarders, who were supported by a dozen staff.

Within three years of the census being taken, Britain was at war. Arthur Jr was 17 at this point, and was sent to Cambridge, where he enlisted in the Officers’ Training Corps (OTC). No details of his military career exist, but at some point he made the move to the Somerset Light Infantry. He was given the rank of Private, somewhat unusually, given his time in Cambridge. This would suggest either that he didn’t complete his OTC training, that he did not pass it, or that he chose to work his way up through the ranks, rather than accepting a paid commission.

At this point, Private Turner’s trail goes cold. There are no records to expand on his military career and the newspaper report spends more time focused on the inscriptions on the floral tributes at his funeral, than on his short life.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission documentation confirms that Arthur had died “of heart failure 31st July 1917. Age 20.” No other context is available, to whether heart failure was the primary cause, or it was brought on by another illness or injury can only be guessed at.

The body of Arthur Jefferys Turner was laid to rest in the graveyard of St John’s Church in Staplegrove, once a separate village, now a suburb of north west Taunton. He was buried in the family plot, alongside his paternal grandparents, Charles and Charlotte Turner.

Private Arthur Turner
(from findagrave.com)

Arthur Turner Sr lived on for a further six years after his son’s death. He died on 9th April 1923, and was also laid to rest in the family plot in St John’s Churchyard, Staplegrove. The newspaper report on his funeral gives similarly little away about his life:

The funeral took place at Staplegrove, Taunton, on Tuesday, of Mr Arthur William Turner, of Fitzroy, Norton Fitzwarren, who died… in his 79th year.

…the chief mourners were Lieut.-Com. Kenderdine and Mrs Kenderdine (son-in-law and daughter)…

The late Turner was a keen follower for many years of the Culmstock Otter Hounds, and the oldest member of the Somerset Country Club.

Langport & Somerton Herald: Saturday 16th April 1932
Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, Hampshire, history, India, injury, Malta, photography, Private, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Walter Fry

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Private Walter Fry

The youngest of three children to William and Annie, Walter Harold Fry was born in the summer of 1897 in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. William’s job as a railway guard and porter meant the family moved around the area and, by the time of the 1901 census, they had settled in Twerton, to the west of Bath.

Little information is available about Walter’s early life and, indeed, documents from that time seem to record him as both Walter Harold and Harold Walter. When war came to Europe, He was keen to serve his country, presumably because his older brother, William Jr, was already serving overseas in the Somerset Light Infantry.

Walter enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment, and, as a Private, was assigned to the 4th (City of Bristol) Battalion. His initial training took place in Wiltshire and Essex, but by March 1915, the battalion had been sent to the Western Front.

Private Fry’s service records no longer exist, by his headstone, in the family plot, suggests that he was injured in France in March 1916. He was medically evacuated back to Britain, although, again, details are sketchy, and admitted to a military hospital in Aldershot, Hampshire.

At this point, Walter’s trail goes cold. The next record for him is that of his passing, while still admitted to the hospital, on 31st December 1916. He was just 19 years of age.

The body of Walter Harold Fry was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s Twerton cemetery, a short walk from the family home.

Walter’s brother William had enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry by 1911. That year’s census recorded him as being billeted at St Andrew’s Barracks in Malta, but by the time war broke out, his troop, the 2nd Battalion, was based in Quetta, India.

He remained based in this far outpost for the duration of the conflict and, while his service records are no longer available, he seemed to have been dedicated to his job as, by October 1918, he had risen to the rank of Sergeant.

William was based in Rawalpindi by that point, and it was here that he died, through causes unknown, on 31st October 1918. He was 26 years of age.

Buried in Rawalpindi Military Cemetery, Sergeant William Fry is also commemorated on the family grave in Twerton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Lance Corporal Reginald Dench

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Lance Corporal Reginald Dench

Reginald Percy Dench was born in the spring of 1884 in Twerton, Somerset. He was one of seven children to Henry and Jane – known as Lily – Dench. Henry was a shoe maker turned cloth dyer, but Reginald found work as a stone mason when he finished his schooling.

War came to Europe in 1914, and Reginald stepped up to play his part. His full service details are no longer available, but from what remains it is clear that he had enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry by the summer of 1916. He was attached to the 5th Battalion, which spent of the conflict in India and Egypt, but there is nothing to confirm that Private Dench served overseas.

Reginald earned a promotion during his military career, and, by the end of 1916 was a Lance Corporal. By this point, however, he had fallen ill, contracting pleurisy. He was, by this point, back in Somerset, and it is likely that he was admitted to the Bath War Hospital. The condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 22nd January 1917. He was 32 years of age.

Reginald Percy Dench was laid to rest in Twerton Cemetery, a short walk from the family home in Mill Lane, and close to his two brothers, Edmund and Edward, who had died some twenty years before, while still children.

Tragedy was to strike again for the Dench family when, just six weeks after Reginald’s passing, Henry also died. He was laid in the same cemetery, not far from his sons. When Lily passed away in 1924, she was also buried in Twerton Cemetery, reunited with her family once more.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Private Frederick Stone

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Private Frederick Stone

A lot of the life of Frederick Stone is destined to remain shrouded in mystery. His grave lies in the St Michael’s Cemetery, Bath, Somerset. The headstone confirms that he was a Private in the (Royal) Army Service Corps when he passed away on 22nd May 1916, at the age of 35.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission give a little more information – he was the husband of Millie Stone, who lived at 9 Mount Road, Englishcombe. Private Stone was attached to the 623rd Mechanical Transport Company.

The 1911 census records a Fred and Millie Stone living at 22 Paragon, Bath, a twelve room Georgian terraced house near the centre of the city. Fred is listed as a gas maker for an ice factory, while Millie, who was eight years older than her husband, is noted as being a boarding house keeper. They couple were recorded as having been married for two years, and they had a seven month old daughter, Emily.

There is no marriage record for the couple, nor a baptism record for Emily, so it is not possible to glean any further information. There are four Bath-born Fred/Frederick Stones in the 1901 census, so again confirming which relates to the Private lying in the city’s cemetery is a challenge.

Private Frederick Stone’s death is not reported in the contemporary newspapers and so seems not to have been out of the ordinary. He was laid to rest in St Michael’s Cemetery, at peace.