Tag Archives: family

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Garrison Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Corporal Albert Wall

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Corporal Albert Wall

Albert Wall was born in the spring of 1890, one of eight children to James Wall and his wife Louise. James was a mason’s labourer from Taunton, Somerset, and brought his family up in his home town.

Details of Albert’s life are tantalisingly absent. It appears that he had a sense of adventure, and joined the Royal Garrison Artillery when his age allowed. By 1911, he was stationed at Port Royal in Jamaica, and was listed as a Gunner.

Gunner Wall’s involvement with the Royal Garrison Artillery extended into the Great War. He was sent to Egypt in April 1915, and, as part of his service, gained the Victory and British Medals and the 1915 Star. Albert seems to have been luck in that he saw out the war fairly unscathed, and was promoted to the rank of Corporal.

In the winter of 1918, Albert married Beatrice Salter. The war over, he was subsequently discharged from active service in April 1919.

Life on civvy street was not destined to be a long one, however, as, on 18th November 1919, he passed away from kidney disease. He was just 29 years of age.

Albert Wall was laid to rest in the St James Cemetery in his home town of Taunton.

As a sad footnote to this story, on 5th March 1920, Beatrice gave birth to a little boy, who she called Gordon. Albert was never to see his son.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Leading Stoker, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, Stoker, story, war

Leading Stoker Cecil Scribbens

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Leading Stoker Cecil Scribbens

Cecil Walter Thomas Scribbens was born on 27th June 1885 in Taunton, Somerset. He was one of five children to George and Ann Scribbens. Sadly, George passed away when Cecil was a toddler, leaving his widow to raise her young family alone.

Ann initially found work as a laundress, and her eldest daughter, Alice, began working at the local silk mill when she left school. This brought in a little money, but with five children to feed and clothe, it must have been a struggle.

In 1894, Ann found love again, and married George Sully, a scull labourer, on Christmas Day 1894. The couple went on to have a child together, a son they called Arthur, and the new family set up home in Taunton.

When he left school, Cecil found work as a labourer, but he had a sense of adventure and a life on the ocean was calling him. In July 1903 he joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class and, after his initial training in Plymouth he was assigned to HMS Russell.

Stoker Scribbens’ term of service was twelve years and, during that time, he served aboard five vessels, and was promoted to Leading Stoker. War had broken out when his initial contract ended, so it was extended until the end of the hostilities.

After five years aboard HMS Cornwall and eighteen months on HMS Cleopatra, Leading Stoker Scribbens was assigned to HMS Concord, which would turn out to be his last vessel, in December 1916. He stayed with this ship for nearly three years until falling ill in June 1919.

Brought back to England, he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Taunton with pneumonia. Leading Stoker Scribbens died from this lung disease on 24th June 1919, at the age of 34 years old.

Cecil Walter Thomas Scribbens was laid to rest in the St James’ Cemetery in his home town.

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

Private Henry Cawley

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Private Henry Cawley

Henry Cawley was born in September 1871, one of eight children to John and Ann Cawley. John worked as a blacksmith in the village of Corfe, near Taunton, Somerset, but when Henry left school, he found work as a butcher’s assistant in Bristol.

Henry disappears from the radar for a while. John died in 1884, but the next information available for his son comes in the form of his war medals. This confirms that he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry in the summer of 1915, and that he was assigned to the depots as a Private. He was awarded the Victory and British Medals, as well as the 1915 Star, but then fell ill early in 1916.

Private Cawley was medically evacuated back to England, and was admitted to a sanatorium in Taunton. Sadly, whatever illness he contracted, he succumbed to, and he passed away on 21st February 1916, at the age of 45 years old.

Henry Cawley was laid to rest in St James’ Cemetery in Taunton.

Henry’s war pension was given to his mother, Ann. After her husband’s death, she continued to live in Corfe and, based on the available information, lived into her 80s.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorsetshire Regiment, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, history, injury, London, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Ernest Sedgbeer

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Private Ernest Sedgbeer

Ernest John Sedgbeer was born in Taunton in the summer of 1891, the second of seven children to Henry and Alice Sedgbeer. Henry worked in a foundry, and his son joined him as a labourer.

By the time of the 1911 census, most of the nine members of the family disappear from the records – it is likely that these were lost – but both father and son are to be found living in South Wales – Henry working as a furnace stoker in the Rhondda, Ernest as a labourer below ground in Llanwonno, near Pontypridd.

Ernest seems to have had an opportunity to find other employment, and started work for Great Western Railways in February 1914. War was imminent, however, and a little over a year later, he had enlisted.

Ernest first joined the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry as a Private, but transferred over to the Dorsetshire Regiment. He was certainly involved in fighting on the Western Front, although full details of his military service are not documented.

His records show that he was awarded the Victory and British Medals and the 1915 Star. Private Sedgbeer was wounded in July 1916 and medically evacuated back to England, where he was admitted to King’s Hospital in Lambeth. Sadly, he was to die of his injuries on 7th July 1916, aged just 25 years old.

Ernest John Sedgbeer lies at rest in the St James’ Cemetery in his home town of Taunton, Somerset.

The local newspaper reported on Private Sedgbeer’s funeral, although it seems to have attributed it to the wrong brother.

The death took place… on Friday last, of Private Charles Sedgebeer of the Dorset Regiment, who was severely wounded in the recent heavy fighting on the Western Front. Deceased was the second son of Mr and Mrs Henry Sedgebeer… and was employed on the railway before the war. His father and three brothers are on active service in France, and one brother in the Navy. The eldest brother has won the DCM.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 19th July 1916

Ernest was indeed the second son of the family, but Charles was the oldest, and survived the war.

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Ernest John Sedgbeer
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Arthur Batten

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Private Arthur Batten

Arthur Henry Reed Batten was born in the spring of 1900, the only child to Henry and Alice. Henry was a gardener, and the young family lived in the Somerset town of Taunton.

There is little documentation about Arthur’s short life. When war broke out, he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. While there is nothing to confirm the date he joined up, it may well have been a reaction to the passing of his mother, who died on 1st September 1914, at the age of 47 years old.

Private Batten’s battalion initially fought on the Western Front during the war, before moving to Italy in November 1917, then back to France the following April. It seems likely that it was during this second stint in France at some point late in 1918 that Arthur was caught up in the fighting.

He received a gunshot wound, and was shipped back to England for treatment. Admitted to the Military Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester, he seems to have suffered for a long time, passing away from his injuries on 12th March 1919, three months after the Armistice was signed. He was just 19 years of age.

Arthur Henry Reed Batten was brought back to Taunton burial, and lies in the family grave in St James’ Cemetery, alongside his mother.

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

Lance Corporal Joscelin Currey

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Lance Corporal Joscelin Currey

Joscelin William Currey was born in the summer of 1897, one of six children to Job Arthur Currey and his wife, Eliza Jane. Job was a shoesmith, and brought his young family up in his home town of Taunton, Somerset.

When Joscelin left school, he worked as an errand boy, before becoming an apprentice with local foundry of Messrs. Rudman, Lancey and Co. But with war on the horizon, things were about to change.

Along with his older brothers, Joscelin enlisted in the army, joining the 3/5th Reserve Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry in August 1914. Initially based on Salisbury Plain, he was soon transferred to Bath, and attained the position of Lance Corporal.

It was in Bath that he fell ill, and was admitted to hospital with cerebrospinal meningitis. Sadly, Joscelin was to succumb to this condition, and he passed away on 28th June 1915. He was just 18 years of age.

Joscelin William Currey was laid to rest in the St James Cemetery of his home town of Taunton.

Joceslin Currey
(from britishnewspaperarchives.com)

The newspaper report of Lance Corporal Currey’s funeral confirmed that one of his brothers was a prisoner of war in Germany, while another was in the Royal Field Artillery. Joscelin was the only one of the three to die during the conflict.

Joscelin’s name is spelt variously as Jocelyn and Joslin across the documents relating to him, and his surname is also spelt Curry. For the purposes of this post, I have chosen to use the spelling cited on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, Gunner, history, injury, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Royal Horse Artillery, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Gunner Walter Coleman

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Gunner Walter Coleman

Walter Coleman was born in the spring of 1887, one of seven children to James and Emily Coleman. James was a hairdresser and the family lives in the Somerset town of Taunton.

Walter didn’t follow his father’s trade; instead, after a spell working at a collar factory when he left school, he was soon employed as a groom.

On Christmas Day 1910, he married Kate Norris, and the couple set up in a two-up, two-down in the middle of the town.

War was on the horizon, however, and when it broke out, Walter signed up straight away. He joined the 72nd Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery as a Driver and trained at the Bulford Camp on Salisbury Plain. It was while he was here on 10th April 1915 that he had an accident and fell off his horse. Sadly, Driver Coleman fractured his skull and died of his injuries that day. He was just 28 years old.

Walter Coleman lies at rest in the St James’ Cemetery in his home town of Taunton.

Walter Coleman (from findagrave.com)

Walter’s older brother Henry James Coleman also served in the Great War. Posted to France as part of the Labour Corps, he died of wounds on 12th April 1918. He was 33 years old, and left behind a widow and four children. He is buried at the Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery in France.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire Regiment, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, South Africa, story, war

Private Charles Criddle

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Private Charles Criddle

Charles Pretoria Criddle was born on 18th June 1900, the second of five children to Charles and Mary Criddle. Charles Sr was an army reservist, who worked as a labourer for the local council, and the family lived in Taunton, Somerset.

Sadly, little detail of Charles Jr’s life is documented. The Great War broke out when he was only 14, so was too young to enlist at the beginning of the conflict. However, he did volunteer, albeit later on, and joined the 15th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment at some point in 1918.

Private Criddle’s was one of those lives to be cut tragically short, not by conflict, but by illness. He survived the war, but was subsequently admitted to a military hospital in Brighton, Sussex, where he passed away ‘from disease’ on 7th November 1919. He was just 19 years of age.

Charles Pretoria Criddle lies at rest in the St James Cemetery in his home town of Taunton, Somerset.

Tragedy was to strike again for Charles Criddle Sr. Less than a week after his son had passed, he was called upon to identify the body of his sister, Emma Cable. She had taken her own life after suffering an increasing number of fits over the previous few years.

Emma was a widow, and, since the previous winter, had become increasingly depressed and less physically able, having suffered a debilitating bout of influenza. Early on the morning of Sunday 16th November 1919, she took herself out, dressed in only her nightgown and a pair of boots, and had drowned herself in the River Tone.

At the inquest into her passing, her doctor noted that he had seen her on the previous Thursday “but her condition was not such that he could certify her as insane, but she had been violently hysterical.” [Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 19th November 1919]

The Coroner recorded a verdict that the deceased drowned herself while of unsound mind.

Emma Cable was 52 years old.

Colour Sergeant, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Colour Sergeant Henry Baber

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Sergeant Henry Baber

Henry Matthew Baber was born in the spring of 1859, the second of six children to Henry and Jane Baber. Henry Sr was a cordwainer – or shoemaker – and the family lived in Bristol. Or, at least, most of them did. The 1871 and 1881 censuses show Henry Sr and Jane happily living with their children, but Henry Jr is noticeable in his absence.

In August 1887, Henry married Sarah Jane Hardwidge in the village of Paulton, near Bath. His younger brother Alfred and two of his sisters, Annie and Ellen, all bear witness to the wedding, at which Henry gives his profession as coachman.

The newlyweds settle down in Weston-super-Mare, and go on to have two children, Henry and Kathleen. Sadly, the couple’s happiness was to be cut short, when, in 1891, Kathleen passed away, followed just two years later by Sarah, at the age of just 32 years old.

With a young boy to bring up, Henry sought a new companion and, just over a year after Sarah’s death, he married Alma Quantick, who was fourteen years Henry’s junior. Together, they went on to have six children and, by the time of the 1901 census, the family were living in the Somerset village of Yatton. Henry, by this time, was working as an insurance agent for Prudential, a profession that was to last him through to the start of the First World War.

From the early 1890s, Henry had enlisted in the local Yeomanry. While only a reserve force, he had a short spell in Egypt, fighting at Tel-el-Kibir in 1882. Harry worked his way up through the ranks, eventually attaining the role of Colour Sergeant. He was brought out of reserve status on 4th August 1914, at the age of 55, and was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry.

There is little else to confirm his military career during the Great War; he was discharged in November 1914, but there is nothing to confirm whether he had seen active service during those four months or not.

Colour Sergeant Baber’s passing is also shrouded in mystery. He died on 12th April 1915, but the cause of his death is lost to time. He was 56 years old when he died.

Henry Matthew Baber lies at rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Yatton, Somerset.

Henry and Alma’s eldest son William Albert Baber is also interred in the family grave and, within eighteen months, Alma had lost both her husband and her eldest son. William was 19 years old when war broke out, and his story can be found here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, London Regiment, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private William Baber

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Private William Baber

William Herbert Baber was born in May 1895, the oldest of six children to Henry and Alma Baber. By the time of William’s birth, Henry was an insurance agent for the Prudential insurance company and brought his family up in the Somerset village of Yatton. William’s father had been widowed early on, and so, in addition to his five younger siblings, he also had an older half-brother, also called Henry.

By the time of the 1911 census, William was working as a clerk in a coal office, and the family were living in a five room house not far from the village centre.

Little remains documented about William’s military service. He enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, but transferred to the 24th Battalion of the London Regiment. He was involved in the Battle of High Wood – part of the Somme offensive – and was wounded during the skirmish.

Evacuated back to home soil, Private Baber was treated in one of the military hospitals in Cardiff. Sadly, he was to succumb to his wounds, and passed away on 16th October 1916. He was just 21 years old.

William Herbert Baber lies at rest in the family grave in the churchyard of St Mary’s in Yatton.

William’s father Henry was also called up for war duty. You can read more about his story here.