Tag Archives: family

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, London, photography, Private, Quartermaster, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Sergeant, Sergeant Major, Staff Sergeant, story, Sussex, war

Serjeant Major Percy Hawkins

Leave a comment
Staff Serjeant Major Percy Hawkins

Percy Harry Hawkins was born in Waltham Green, London, in 1886. One of five children, all boys, his parents were Frederick and Elizabeth Hawkins. Frederick initially worked as a brewer’s collector – collecting rent from tenant pub managers on behalf of the brewery – before working as a tobacconist.

In July 1908, Percy married Gladys Parnell. Sadly, tragedy was to strike and, over the next couple of years both Elizabeth and Frederick passed away in 1909 and 1910 respectively.

By the time of the following year’s census, Percy and Gladys were boarding with a dispensing doctor (or GP), and his wife. Percy listed his occupation as a ‘traveller’, was probably employed as some kind of salesman.

Tragedy was to strike Percy again. Months after the couple had their first child in July 1911, Gladys also passed away, leaving him as a widower and single parent at just 26 years old.

From his later military documentation, it seems that Percy married again in August 1915, this time to a woman called Mildred, and, by September 1919, he had gone on to have three children in total; one boy and two girls.

When war broke out, Percy was quick to enlist. He joined up in Birmingham on 10th August 1914, and gave his profession as a commercial traveller. His records show that he was 28 years and 120 days old, stood 5ft 6ins (1.69m) tall and weighed 131lbs (59.5kg).

After initially joining the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Private Hawkins was transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps, and was assigned to one of the supply companies.

Over the four years of the war, Percy served on home soil, and was promoted a number of times, rising from Private to Lance Corporal, Staff Sergeant to Quartermaster Staff Sergeant. In September 1917, he was again promoted, this time to Staff Sergeant Major, a position he held for the remainder of the conflict, and on into 1919, when he volunteered for an extra year’s service, rather than being demobbed.

In February 1920, Staff Serjeant Major Hawkins fell ill; he was admitted to the military hospital that had been set up in Brighton Pavilion, Sussex. The diagnosis was heart failure, and, sadly, it was to this that he was to succumb. He passed away on 20th February 1920, aged just 34 years old.

Percy’s family was, by this time, living down the coast in Worthing; his body was brought there for burial and he lies at rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in the town.

Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Sergeant, Singapore, story, Sussex, war

Serjeant George Carpenter

Leave a comment
Serjeant George Carpenter

George Palmer Carpenter was born in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1881, one of fourteen children to James and Elizabeth Carpenter. James ran the Steyne Hotel on the seafront, and sent his boys off to the Lucton Boarding School in Henfield for their education.

A regimented life seems to have suited George. When he left school, he enlisted in army, joining the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. The 1901 census found him billeted at the Elphinstone Barracks in Portsmouth.

Sadly, there is little further documentation on the life of Sapper Carpenter. He served through to and during the Great War, attaining the rank of Serjeant. He was sent to France in May 1915, though there is little to confirm his role there, or how long he stayed.

Serjeant Carpenter was subsequently attached to G Depot Company of the Royal Engineers, which received men returned from Expeditionary Force and also men enlisted for Tunnelling Companies, Special Companies and other specialist units. By this time – presumably later on in the conflict – he was based back in England, at the regiment’s barracks in Chatham, Kent.

When the war came to a close, George continued with his army career. With conflict in Europe coming end, he was shipped to Singapore in 1917, where he served through to 1920. A Sussex newspaper picked up his story from there:

Much sympathy will be extended to Mrs Carpenter and her family, of the Steyne Hotel, consequent upon the death of Sergeant George Carpenter, of the Royal Engineers, another of our Worthing boys whose life has been laid down in his country’s service. He arrived home in a bad state of health on the 25th of February last from Singapore, where he had been on duty for three years. Suffering from gastric influenza, it was found necessary that he should undergo an operation, which was carried out at midnight on Saturday. But he sank from weakness, and died at half-past eight on Sunday morning. This is the second son of whom Mrs Carpenter has been bereaved within a year, and there is pathos in the words addressed to us by her: “I have again the sorrowful task of sending the news of the death of one of my sons this morning.

Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 24th March 1920

George Palmer Carpenter was 39 years old. He was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery of his home town, Worthing, in West Sussex.

The other brother referred to in the report was George’s younger brother Norman.

He had emigrated to Canada in 1906, but returned to Europe as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force when war broke out. Wounded in battle in May 1917, he returned to the UK for treatment and recuperation, and remained on home soil for the rest of the war.

In the spring of 1919, he was admitted to hospital with pleurisy and anaemia, and seems that he never fully recovered, succumbing to the conditions in August of that year. He was just 32 years old.

Chief Yeoman of the Signals, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, story, Sussex, war

Chief Yeoman of Signals Thomas Funnell

Leave a comment
Chief Yeoman of Signals Thomas Funnell

Thomas Richard Funnell was born on 7th May 1883 and was the second of five children. His father John was a cab driver, his mother Jane a laundress, and the family lived in Worthing, West Sussex. The small terraced house was close to both the central station and the one serving West Worthing, which would have given John plenty of opportunity for customers.

Thomas had a definite sense of adventure and helping his dad after he finished school was never going to be enough. He enlisted in the Royal Navy and, after an initial six months at the rank of Boy, he came of age, and began his training as a signalman.

Over the twelve years of his service, Thomas served on thirteen vessels, including the shore-based training ships. He rose through the signal ranks, eventually becoming Yeoman of Signals.

He ended his engagement in May 1913 although, with war on the horizon, this was extended to the completion of hostilities. His naval service continued through the war, and he rose to the rank of Chief Yeoman of Signals in August 1915, while aboard HMS Dido.

Away from his life at sea, Thomas met and married Frances McGregor, the daughter of a coastguard from Hampshire. They went on to have two children: Gurtrude was born in 1915, Nora in 1921. While her husband was at sea, Frances set up home in Portsmouth, where she raised the family.

When the war came to a close, Thomas was moved to shore-based vessels where, presumably, he used his years of experience to help train and develop others. In September 1920, he was assigned to HMS Greenwich. Sadly, his time there was short, on 20th January 1921, Thomas collapsed. Admitted to the Haslar Hospital in Portsmouth with a cerebral abscess he passed away. He was 37 years of age.

Rather than being buried close to his widow and family, Thomas’ body was brought back to his home town of Worthing for burial. He lies at ret in the Broadwater Cemetery to the north of the town centre.

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, story, Suffolk, Sussex, war

Boy 2nd Class George Sandell

Leave a comment
Boy George Sandell

George William Sandell was born on 13th August 1902, the oldest of five children to William and Mary Sandell. While George was born in Chichester, William raised the family in Worthing; he was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and came from a local building family.

When George left school, he found work as a porter on the railways. Too young to be directly involved in the 1914-1918 conflict, he was definitely for adventure, and, on 5th February 1919, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.

Assigned the rank of Boy – because of his age – he was sent to HMS Ganges II, a training establishment in Suffolk. His decision to enlist was set to be young George’s undoing; within weeks he had contracted pneumonia, and he passed away on 10th March 1919. Tragically, he was just 16 years old.

William and Mary brought their boy back to Worthing; he was buried in the Broadwater Cemetery there, within walking distance of their home.

For me, a huge coincidence to this story is that I lived in the house George was brought up in. He was raised at 27 Southfield Road, in Worthing, up until he was sent for training in 1919. I lived at the same address for a number of years in the early 2000s.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Machine Gun Corps, photography, Private, story, Sussex, unknown, war

Private Charles Duke

Leave a comment
Private Charles Duke

Charles Edward Duke was born in early 1880, the oldest of three children to George and Charlotte Duke. George was a market gardener, but for all of Charles’ childhood censuses – 1881, 1891 and 1901 – his father is absent. Instead, Charlotte is listed as the head of the household, married and working as a launderess. Given that the censuses were all taken in the spring, it is possible that her husband was working away each time the document was recorded, although this is supposition. In every census, though, it is interesting to note that she had taken in lodgers to help pay the bills.

The family lived in Worthing, West Sussex, in a small house near the centre of town. When he left school, Charles found work as an errand boy for a local stationer, before finding more gainful employment as a gardener in one of the multitude of nurseries surrounding the coastal town.

In 1901, Charles married Lucy Barnes, a carter’s daughter from the town; the young couple set up home in Broadwater, to the north of Worthing town centre, and went on to have four children; Alice, Henry, Dorothy and Margaret.

When war arrived on European shores, Charles played his part. Sadly his military records are all but non-existent, but from what remains it’s possible to piece together something of his military life.

Private Duke enlisted in the Machine Gun Corps, and was assigned to the 16th Company. While it is impossible to place him in any specific location, his company was certainly involved in the Battle of the Somme.

Charles survived the war; the next evidence available for him notes that he died on 31st October 1919 in a hospital in Brighton, although o cause is given for his death. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission give his age as 41, although it seems likely he was a couple of years younger than this, based on when his birth was registered.

Charles Edward Duke was buried in the Broadwater Cemetery, a short walk from where his widow and children were living.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Sussex Regiment, story, Sussex, unknown, war

Private William Holden

Leave a comment
Private William Holden

Sometimes research into the names of the fallen runs into obstacles. There are graves I have researched that have brought up very little information, either because the soldier concerned is too young to have a lot of documentation about them, or because information on them has subsequently been lost.

On other occasions, it is the sheer wealth of documentation that proves to be the stumbling block. Such is the case with William Frederick Holden, buried in the Broadwater Cemetery in Worthing, West Sussex.

The grave itself gives some information: he was a Private in the Royal Sussex Regiment, with a service number of 8298970, and died on 16th February 1921, at the age of 26. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission archives give some further information: his father was Frederick Charles Holden, and his stepmother was Elena.

The Find A Grave website adds a little further information – he was born in Sidlesham, near Chichester in West Sussex. The site suggests, however, that he was born in 1897, which would suggest he was 23 or 24 when he died.

Researching on Ancestry throws up a wealth of other information, which begins to make it more of a challenge to identify the correct details. Both William and Frederick were common names in the late Victorian era, and Holden was a familiar Sussex name, and had many spelling variations.

Searching for William’s service number on sites like Fold3 does not provide any results, so that does not provide an opportunity to narrow down the information. Nor is there any record of his passing or burial in contemporary newspapers.

To add to the confusion, when I dug a little deeper, it seems that William’s birth name was, in fact, Frederick William Holden, and he was known by his middle name to avoid confusion with his father. His mother was Fanny Warrington (née Walker), and he seems to have had one sister, Annie. Fanny seems to have passed away in 1903, and Frederick Sr went on to marry Louisa.

So, like a patchwork, vague details of William’s life are pieced together. But huge gaps still remain. Private Holden was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, which fought at Gallipoli and served in Egypt and France before the war was done. However, there is no evidence that William fought abroad.

Sadly, William’s passing is lost to time as well. We know when he died, but there is nothing to confirm a cause of death. Given when it was, it seems likely to have been as a result of one of the invasive lung conditions that ravaged Europe after the First World War. But he could just as easily have succumbed to the ongoing effects of wounds received during fighting. Given the lack of supporting documentation, we are unlikely ever to know.

William Frederick Holden lies at rest in Worthing’s Broadwater Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Reserve Cavalry Regiment, story, Sussex, war

Private John Saunders

Leave a comment
Private John Saunders

John Henry Saunders was born at the end of 1899, in the West Sussex village of East Preston. One of five children, his parents were agricultural labourer John and his wife Louisa. John Sr sadly passed away in 1904, when his son was just 4 years old.

Louisa went on to marry again in 1909, to a man named Charman. While no marriage records remain, it seems that he might have been a widower. The 1911 census finds Louisa living in Worthing with her four surviving children (her eldest, Lilian, having passed away earlier in the year), a stepson of 16 and new babe-in-arms.

With the outbreak of war in 1914, John looked to do his part. Sadly, his military records are not available, but what is clear is that he joined the Cavalry Regiment at some point after September 1917. He was assigned to the 3rd Reserve Regiment, which trained men for the Dragoon Guards, and Northamptonshire, Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry units.

Sadly, Private Saunders’ time in the armed forces was limited. He was admitted to the Military Isolation Hospital in Aldershot and, while it is not clear what the admission was for, it seems likely that he was moved from the main hospital because of a contagious condition like tuberculosis or pneumonia.

John Henry Saunders’ time in hospital was brief. He passed away on 16th March 1918, aged just 18 years of age. His body was brought back to Worthing, and he was buried in the Broadwater Cemetery to the north of the town.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Sussex Regiment, Royal West Kent Regiment, story, Sussex, war

Private Henry Greenfield

Leave a comment
Private Henry Greenfield

Henry Gordon Greenfield was born in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1890. The fourth of nine children, his parents were Edmund and Caroline. Edmund was a carter from the town, who raised his family in a small terraced house near the station.

By the early 1900s, Edmund had changed profession, becoming a plasterer, and this was employment that his son followed him into. This seems to have been more lucrative for the family, and they moved to a larger property to the north of the town.

In August 1911, Henry married Edith Tombs. Edith was a gardener’s daughter from London, who had moved to Worthing for work. When the couple married, she was employed as a domestic servant for a solicitor and his wife. The young couple would go on to have three sons.

When war broke out, Henry was quick to enlist. He initially joined the Royal Sussex Regiment, serving his time as part of the 10th Battalion. This was a reserve company, that was based on home soil. When hostilities came to an end, Henry was transferred to the Labour Corps, and was billeted in Belfast.

Little further information about Henry’s service can be confirmed; he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Belfast with pneumonia, but sadly died of the condition on 27th February 1919. He was just 28 years old.

Brought back to Worthing, Henry Gordon Greenfield lies at rest in the Broadwater Cemetery there, not far from his parents and widow.

Henry’s younger brother Frederick also served during the Great War. Joining the Royal West Kent Regiment as a horse driver, he fought on the Western Front. He was killed on 17th August 1917, and is buried at the Duisans Cemetery in northern France. He was just 21 years of age.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, Sherwood Foresters, story, Sussex, war

Lance Corporal Henry Greenfield

Leave a comment
Lance Corporal Henry Greenfield

Henry James Greenfield was born in Brighton, Sussex, in July 1878, one of at least seven children to William and Anne Greenfield. Henry’s parents were from Worthing, who seem to have worked their way along the coast to Brighton by the mid-1870s, when his older brother George was born.

William was a bootmaker and, by the early 1880s, had brought his family back to Worthing, where they remained settled.

At this point, it is harder to pinpoint Henry’s life, as documentation becomes scarce and, with Greenfield being a common name in Sussex at the time, it is challenging to confirm that anything written relates to this specific Henry James Greenfield.

There is a 1901 census with a Henry James Greenfield from Brighton on it: this lists him as an Able Seaman aboard HMS Ramillies moored in Valetta, Malta. However, given that the Henry buried in Worthing served with the army, rather than the navy, it seems unlikely to be the same person (although not impossible).

The next document that can by specifically linked to the grave is Lance Corporal Greenfield’s entry on the Army Register of Soldier’s Effects. In addition to giving his rank, this expands on his service during the Great War.

He joined the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) at some point before July 1918, and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion. While there is no confirmation of where he fought, his battalion served on the Western Front for the duration of the conflict.

Henry survived the war, but was admitted to a hospital in Leith, near Edinburgh, where he passed away from ‘sickness’ on 31st December 1918. He was 36 years old.

The document stated that his effects were distributed to his six siblings; this suggests that William and Anne had both passed away by this point, and also indicates that Henry himself had not married.

Henry James Greenfield’s body was brought back to Worthing; he is buried at the Broadwater Cemetery to the north of the town.

Commonwealth War Graves, Deck Hand, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Navy, story, Sussex, war

Deck Hand Charles Bashford

Leave a comment
Deck Hand Charles Bashford

Charles Bashford was born on 10th August 1890, one of fifteen children to James and Mary Ann Bashford. James was a fisherman, and the family lived in Field Row, a narrow lane in the centre of Worthing, West Sussex.

The seaside town was a centre of fishing activity, so it is no surprise that most of James and Mary Ann’s children went into it in some way, and Charles was no exception. The 1911 census list him as the youngest of four siblings still living at home, and three of those gave their trade as fisherman, as well as James. Charles’ older brother William was the only sibling not to, and he was working as a printer.

War was coming to Europe, and, given his seafaring experience, it is no surprise that Charles sought to enlist in the Royal Navy. He joined up on 12th August 1916 and, after six weeks’ training, was assigned to the Royal Navy Reserve (Trawler Section). During his service he would have been involved in minesweeping and anti-submarine activities, using his own boat – or his family’s one – to do so.

Little further information is available for Deck Hand Bashford. He survived the war, but passed away on 11th August 1919 at the Royal Haslar Hospital, where he had been admitted, suffering from pneumonia. He was 28 years old.

Charles Bashford was brought back to his home town of Worthing; he was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery there.