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accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Royal Devon Yeomanry, story, war

Private Percy Coplestone

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Private Percy Coplestone

Percy Reginald Coplestone was born in Torquay, Devon, on 17th August 1890. The oldest of four children, his parents were bakers William and Louisa Coplestone. The family moved to Kinkerswell in 1895, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had moved to Paignton.

The Copplestones had set up business in Church Street and Louisa’s widowed mother, Louisa Smallbone, had moved in with them. Percy, now 20 years of age, was helping in the business, while his younger sister, Gladys, was employed as a draper’s assistant.

When war came to Europe, Percy was called upon to play his part. Details of his service are tantalisingly scarce, but they suggest that he had enlisted no earlier than April 1915. He joined the Royal Devon Yeomanry, and was assigned to the 3rd/1st Battalion, although his time in the military was to be brief.

The funeral took place Friday of Pte. Percy Coplestone, eldest sone of Mr and Mrs Coplestone, Church-street, Paignton, who joined 1st Devon Yeomanry, sustained an injury while undergoing gymnastic training, was operated upon on Monday, and died in the evening.

[Western Times: Tuesday 23rd November 1915]

Percy Reginald Copplestone died on 15th November 1915: he was 25 years of age. He was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, a short walk from where his family still lived.

While researching Percy’s life, I came across a couple of articles relating to a legal action taken against his father, William, by Edward Elkington, for damaged caused in a car accident. Edward was suing for £15 damaged, while William counter-sued for £65.

The case was initially heard in November 1915 – sadly, a week after Percy’s passing – before being adjourned until the following January. In amongst a number of witness statements, a local newspaper reported William’s evidence:

William Joseph Coplestone… baker and confectioner, said he left the Gerston [Hotel] between 11.5 and 11.10 in his single motor, with Mr Tolcher and Mr Hicks. It was a rather heavy car for his size, very reliable and very slow. They went on second speed, about six or seven miles an hour, and at the corner of Hyde-road witness [William] sounded the hooter, nothing then being visible. Taking a wide turn following the Torquay lines leading to Torquay, witness got on the left side, the proper side. He saw the lights of a car approaching, also a tram-car, the car being 140 yards away and 50 yards ahead of the tram. The car was approaching on the wrong side, and there was practically an end-on collision. Witness expected every moment the other car would have gone over to its proper side. Witness had driven about 100 feet when the collision took place and his car was stationery at the time. Witness and his friends were thrown out. The car cost him about £80 and the estimate of repairs was £63 5s. Mr Elkington said, “It is a bad job.” Witness replies, “It is your fault absolutely; you are on the wrong side of the road.” Plaintiff said, “You were crossing the road fast,” and witness replied that he was bound to cross the road. Elkington remarked, £I did my best to avoid the accident. Immediately I saw you I applied my brakes, but the roads were greasy, and the wheels would not grip.” PC Clarke was not there when the collision took place. Later he suggested to the constable that measurements should be taken, and went back to look after Mr Hicks. Before he got back they had moved his car. Coplestone said he had often driven two people in the car. When his son left for the Dardanelles, witness drove his wife and son to Southampton in comfort.

[Western Times: Tuesday 25th January 1916]

The case was adjourned once again, to 11th February. Frustratingly, there seems not to have been any follow-up newspaper report, so there is no confirmation of the outcome of William’s case.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, India, killed in action, Machine Gun Corps, Mesopotamia, photography, Private, story, war

Private James Ellery

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Private James Ellery

James Ellery was born in the autumn of 1889, and was the middle of seven children. His parents – Frederick and Mary – were born in Dorset, and the family were raised in the hamlet of Lillington. Frederick was a farm labourer, but James found his way into building work when he finished his schooling.

When war came to Europe, James stepped up to play his part. Full details of his military service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment and was attached to the 1st/4th Battalion.

Private Ellery’s unit served in India and Mesopotamia during the conflict, but it is unclear whether James saw any action overseas. Certainly by early 1919 he was back in Britain, as he was hospitalised in Sherborne following a bout of influenza. This developed into pneumonia, and he was admitted to the town’s Yeatman Hospital.

James’ immune system had become weakened during the conflict, and the pneumonia turned septic. It proved to be fatal, and James passed away on 1st March 1919. He was 29 years of age.

James Ellery’s body was taken back to Lillington for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Martin’s Church.

James was not the first of the Ellery siblings to die during the Great War. His eldest brother, Frederick, had enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the Machine Gun Corps Cavalry. He was killed in action on 21st August 1918, leaving behind a widow and three children. He was 36 years of age and is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois British Memorial in Haucourt. France.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Reginald Lane

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Private Reginald Lane

Reginald William Lane was born in the autumn of 1886, the eighth of ten children to Joseph and Sarah. Joseph was an agricultural labourer and he and his wife raised their family in their home village of Thornford in Dorset.

When he finished his schooling, he found work as a gardener’s boy. He went on to make a career out of this and was employed as a gardener when he married Evelyn Sharp on 15th April 1914. The couple exchanged vows in St Swithun’s Church, Hinton Parva, Dorset, the marriage certificate noting that the groom’s father was now employed as a woodsman.

War came to Europe later that year, and Reginald enlisted to serve the King and Empire. Little information is available about his military career: he joined the Dorsetshire Regiment, but there is no confirmation that he spent any time overseas. Private Lane transferred over to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment, his new unit serving on home soil. Based in Kent, Reginald was part of the Thames & Medway Garrison.

Joseph died at the end of August 1915, and was laid to rest in the St Mary Magdalene Churchyard. Just weeks later, Reginald’s younger brother, Gilbert, a Private in the 3rd Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, was killed during the Battle of Loos. He was commemorated on the Loos Memorial in Dud Corner Cemetery in France.

Private Reginald William Lane survived the war, but only by eleven days. While based in Kent, he contracted influenza and pneumonia. He died on 22nd November 1918, aged 32 years. His body was brought back to Dorset, and was laid to rest alongside his father.

There is no further information available for Evelyn.

Reginald’s mother, Sarah, however, only lived for another couple of months. She passed away on 25th February 1919, at the age of 69 years old. She was reunited with her husband and son in St Mary Magdalene Churchyard, the family headstone commemorating Private Gilbert Lane as well.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Ernest Brister

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Private Ernest Brister

The early life of Ernest Brister is a challenge to piece together. His baptism record – at St Mary Magdalene Church in Thornford, Dorset – suggests that he was born in the summer of 1891, but gives only the name of his mother, Rosina Brister.

The 1901 census identifies the 9-year-old Ernest as a visitor to the house of Eliza Brister, a 65-year-old widow working as a laundress. There are several other Bristers in the village – including Eliza’s own to children – but Rosina is nowhere to be seen.

The next census, taken in 1911, sheds a little more light on the situation. Ernest is still living with Eliza, but he is now recorded as being her grandson. Aged 75, she was still taking in laundry, but Ernest was employed as a mason.

In the autumn of 1913, Ernest married Beatrice Chalker. She was a shepherd’s daughter from Dewlish in Dorset. The couple wed in Dorchester and went on to have two children, Doris and Edwin.

When war broke out, Ernest stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment, and found himself in France by the summer of 1915.

There is little information about Ernest’s time in the army, but later in the war, he seems to have transferred over to the Wiltshire Regiment. Attached to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, his new unit served on home soil and, based in Kent, was part of the Thames & Medway Garrison.

Private Brister was based in Maidstone in the autumn of 1918, when he contracted influenza and pneumonia. He was admitted to the military hospital in Aylesford, but the conditions were to prove to severe. He passed away on 24th November 1918, aged 27 years old.

Ernest Brister’s body was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary Magdalene Church. His grandmother, Eliza, passed away just a month later, at the age of 82. She was laid to rest close to her beloved grandson.

The 1910s were harsh for Ernest’s widow, Beatrice. Her youngest son was born in March 1915, her mother dying a couple of months later. She lost her brother, Edwin, to the war – he was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, when he was killed on 28th August 1916. He was just 19 years of age. Two years later, she was widowed when Ernest passed away.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, photography, Private, story, unknown, war

Private Mark Lane

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Private Mark Lane

Mark Lane was born in the summer of 1900 in Thornford, Dorset. One of ten children, his parents were estate drainer Albert Lane and his wife, Sarah. Sadly. there is little concrete information about Mark’s life.

When war broke out, his eldest brother, Gilbert, served in the 5th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment, rising to the rank of Serjeant. Having fought at, and survived, Gallipoli. his unit moved to France in July 1916. Involved in the Battle of the Somme, Gilbert was killed and was laid to rest at Bulls Road Cemetery in France.

His oldest brother dead, Mark seems to have wanted to serve his country and do Gilbert’s memory proud. He did not turn 18 until the summer of 1918, and he seems to have used this as an opportunity to enlist. He also enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment and, as part of the 4th (Reserve) Battalion was sent off to do his training.

Unfortunately, details of what happened to Private Lane are lost in the mists of time. He was admitted to a military hospital in the autumn of 1918, and died there on 22nd Octover. He was just 18 years of age.

The body of Mark Lane was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary Magdalene Church in his home village of Thornford.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Jersey, Lancashire, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, unknown, war

Private Alexander Cain

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Private Alexander Cain

Alexander Bertram Cain was born on 31st July 1885 in Ormskirk, Lancashire. He was the ninth of eleven children to concert promoter Robert Cain and his wife, Sarah.

By 1901, Robert and Sarah had moved the family to Jersey, setting up home in St Saviour’s. Robert was noted as living off his own means, but Alexander, who would have been 15 by this point, is noticeable by his absence and, in fact, does not appear on that year’s census return.

Robert died in 1909, and on 26th January 1911, Alexander married a woman called Hilda Bedford. They settled down in St Helier, and went on to have two children, daughters Yvonne and Elizabeth. The census taken three months after the couple’s wedding recorded Alexander as living on his own means, so money appeared not to be an issue for the young family.

When war came to Europe, Alexander was called upon to play his part. On 12th March 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia, and was attached to the regiment’s Garrison Battalion, stationed on the island. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, and that he had a scar on his left cheek. The document also suggests that he had spent time in the Gloucestershire Regiment, but no further information about this is available.

Private Cain spent the next two years in the army. Towards the end of this time, however, his health appears to have been impacted, to the point that, on 6th May 1919, he was medically discharged from the Royal Jersey Militia.

Whatever his condition, it was to prove fatal. Alexander passed away at home on 31st May 1919: he was 33 years of age.

Alexander Bertram Cain was laid to rest in the family plot in La Croix Cemetery in Grouville, Jersey, Hilda left widowed and with two children – Elizabeth just four months old – to raise.

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Serjeant Fred Maynard

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Serjeant Fred Maynard

Details of Fred Maynard’s early life are a challenge to piece together. His First World War service records give his age as 44 years old when he enlisted in September 1914, and confirm his place of birth as Melksham, Wiltshire.

A newspaper report of his funeral gives the name of three brothers – Charles, Frank and Arthur – while only one census return, from 1881, provides a potential match for the family. This suggests Fred’s parents were iron fitter Alfred Maynard and his wife, Deborah, and gives the family’s address as Waterworks Road in Trowbridge.

Fred joined the army in the autumn of 1888. Initially assigned to the Gloucestershire Regiment, he had transferred to the Wiltshire Regiment by the following spring. Private Maynard showed a commitment to duty: in December 1890 he was promoted to Lance Corporal, rising to Corporal in the summer of 1893.

Fred was stood down to reserve status after his seven years’ active duty, but was recalled to the army in December 1899, when war broke out in South Africa. Promoted to Serjeant, he was sent to fight in the Boer War, and was mentioned in dispatches on 2nd April 1901 for special and meritorious service in South Africa. He was stood back down to reserve status in October 1901.

On 21st November 1895, Fred had married Louisa Card. The couple set up home in Trowbridge, but soon moved to London. They went on to have six children: Ernest, Nora and Leslie, who were all born in the London; and Arthur, Martha and Stuart, who were born in Cardiff, the family having moved to Wales by 1910.

The army was not finished with Fred, however, and, within weeks of war breaking out in the summer of 1914, he was called back into service. Given the rank of Serjeant again, he was attached to the South Wales Borderers. Fred was 44 years of age by this point, his service records confirming that he stood 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, weighed 164lbs (74.4kg) and had brown hair and hazel eyes.

Attached to one of the regiment’s depots, it seems unlikely that Fred saw service overseas this time around. He was discharged from the army on 1st September 1916 and this seems to have been on medical grounds. Later documents suggest that Serjeant Maynard had been diagnosed with carcinoma of the pylorus, or stomach cancer.

Fred returned to Cardiff, but his time back home was to be short. He was admitted to the Lansdown Road Military Hospital, and passed away on 23rd November 1916. He was 46 years of age.

It seems that Fred’s brother’s had some sway in his funeral. Instead of being laid to rest in Cardiff, where Louisa and the children were living, he was, instead, buried in the Locksbrook Cemetery, Bath, Somerset. His sibling Charles, who was a sergeant in Bath City Police, lived in the city, as did another brother, Frank.

Fred’s headstone also commemorates his and Louisa’s son, Leslie. He had joined the army in the 1920s and, in the summer of 1943, was in Yorkshire, undergoing officer training.

The death of an officer cadet through the accidental discharge of a rifle whose bolt had jammed was described at an inquest…

Captain WH Price said he was in charge of an exercise on the moors which involved the used of small arms and the firing of live ammunition. A squad of cadets lay on the ground in front of a trench firing over a range. All finished firing except Cadet Frank Holroyd, who said his bolt had hammed while firing a second round. [Price] told him to release the bolt by knocking the cocking piece up and back.

This attempt failed, and he told Holroyd to get back into the trench, turn the rifle magazine upwards, place the butt on the side of the trench, and kick the bolt down with his foot. While Holroyd was doing this he noticed Maynard standing in the trench about 4ft away from Holroyd and on his right-hand side.

Captain Price said he saw the rifle was pointing down the range when Holroyd kicked the butt. The cartridge suddenly exploded and Maynard dropped into the trench, shot in the head, and was dead when they reached him.

[Bradford Observer: Saturday 19th June 1943]

Officer Cadet Leslie Maynard was 36 years of age when he was killed. His body was taken back to Somerset for burial: he was laid to rest in the same grave as Fred, father and son reunited after 27 years.

Louisa remained somewhat elusive as time wore on. Fred’s military records confirm that she had moved from Cardiff to the Isle of Wight by 1922. By the time of her son’s death, she was living in Sidcup, Kent.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, Leicestershire, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Gunner William Woodward

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Gunner William Woodward

William Percy Walker Woodward was born on 18th November 1879, and was the third of six children to James and Mary Woodward. James was a manufacturer of sanitaryware and had been born in Derbyshire, but it was in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire that he and Mary raised their family.

James passed away in the spring of 1886, leaving Mary to raise the family on her own. His obituary in the local media underlined the business that he had built up: “Mr Woodward succeeded his father and eldest brother to the fire brick business, established by the late Mr John Hunt of Swadlincote, of 1790.In 1856 Mr Woodward added to the above trade that of glazed sewerage pipe and terra cotta earthenware, and in 1873 that of general sanitary appliances, and by industry, perseverance, and foresight developed the same into one of the largest manufactories of the kind in the Midland counties, and became well known throughout the greater part of the kingdom as a leading manufacturer of these goods. He was a large employer of labour, kind and considerate, always manifesting great interest in the welfare of his employees.” [Hinckley News – Saturday 15 May 1886]

Mary was left to raise six children, but, thanks to the business, did not do so without support. The 1891 census found the family living at High Fields in Ashby, with a cook, housemaid, children’s maid and a coachman and his family living next door. William and his siblings were all taught at home by their governess.

By the time of the next census, William seemed to have taken on the running of his late father’s business, along with two of his brothers, James and Harold. Things were to change for the Woodward family, however, as they began to go their separate ways.

The 1911 censes shows a divide: James was living on his own means in Snarestone, Leicestershire, with his young family and household retinue. Harold, meanwhile, had emigrated to Canada with another sibling, younger brother Ernest, where they had both set up as farmers.

Mary had also moved, setting up home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. She lived on Clarence Road South with William and her daughter, Lilian. The house – Glencathara – was twelve-roomed property, and they had a live0in cook, Emily Young, supporting them. Notably, William’s employment was listed as ‘none, on account of health’, so the move to the coast may have been brought about for medical reasons.

When war came to Europe in summer of 1914, William stepped up to play his part. His service records have been lost, but he had enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery no earlier than the autumn of 1915. He was attached to the 18th Reserve Battery, and came to be based in Topsham Barracks in Exeter.

Little is known of Gunner Woodward’s time in the army, but it was to be brief. He passed away, through causes unknown, on 13th April 1916, at the age of 36.

It is unclear where Mary was living at this point. The body of William Percy Walker Woodward was taken to Dorset for burial, and he was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Hippolyte’s Church, in Ryme Intrinseca. Interestingly, the parish records note that William was ‘a personal friend of [the] rector’.

Bedfordshire Regiment, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Lance Corporal George Fenn

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Lance Corporal George Fenn

Much of George Fenn’s life is destined to be lost to time. Born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, in the summer of 1878, details of his parents are unknown. His was a common name in the late Victorian period, and census returns from the time identify at least two men born in the area around the same time.

The first document that can be directly connected to George is the 1911 census. This recorded him living at 13 Tankards Close in Clifton, where he was working as a dock labourer. His is noted as having been married to Minnie since 1902. The couple had one child, a son called William who was six years old.

When war broke out, George was quick to enlist. Full details of his service are lost, but he had certainly joined the Bedfordshire Regiment by the end of 1914. Attached to the 7th (Service) Battalion, by the start of the following year, his unit had moved to Salisbury Plain in anticipation of being sent to the Western Front.

George seems to have made his mark in the army, and he was soon promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal. In the spring of 1915, he contracted pneumonia, however, and was admitted to the military hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, close to where his unit was based.

Sadly, the condition was to prove Lance Corporal Fenn’s undoing: he passed away on 1st June 1915, at the age of 36 years of age.

George Fenn was laid to rest in the peaceful churchyard of St Mary’s, Codford, not far from where he had passed away.

George’s entry on the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects and his Pension Ledger card shed a little more light on the family he had left behind. The first divides his belongings between his widow, Minnie, and the guardian of his child, Mrs Sarah Clarke. George’s pension ledger gives Sarah’s address as 14 Tankard’s Close, Bristol, and confirms that he was, in fact, separated from Minnie when he passed.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Jersey, photography, Private, Royal Jersey Militia, story, war

Private Philip Langlois

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Private Philip Langlois

Philip John Langlois was born 21st September 1886 in St Lawrence, Jersey. One of fourteen children, he was the eldest son to carpenter Philip Langlois and his wife, Mary.

When he finished his schooling, Philip Jr was apprenticed to his father, but, by the time of the 1911 census, the Langlois family had taken on Mayfield Farm. Most of the family we included in running it.

When war came to Europe, Philip left his father’s farm and stepped up to play his part. Sadly, full details of his service are lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Royal Jersey Militia. Attached to the 1st, or West, Battalion, he served his time on the island.

The funeral took place yesterday afternoon with full military honours of Pte. Philip Langlois, of D (St Lawrence) Co… The deceased, who was 28 years of age, was very popular with his comrades, and was on duty a fortnight ago. Though suffering with a slight cold, he then seemed otherwise to be in good health. A few days ago, however, he was engaged ploughing, when he was taken ill, and returning to his father’s residence… was obliged to take to his bed. Unfortunately he never rallied, but passed away on Tuesday last.

It is very many years since a military funeral took place at St Lawrence, and this coupled with the sad circumstances surrounding the death was responsible for the large number of sympathetic spectators who lined the roads and assembled at St Lawrence Churchyard, where the internment took place.

[Jersey Evening Post: Saturday 6th February 1915]

Philip John Langlois had passed away on 2nd February 1915. His family headstone notes the other members of his family who are buried with him.

Philip’s younger brother, George, enlisted in the Hampshire Regiment, and was attached to the 1st Battalion as a Private. He was caught up in the Third Battle of Ypres and killed on 4th October 1917. George was 21 years of age, and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

Sadness was to strike again on 21st December 1917, when Philip’s sister, Elsie, passed away: she was 28 years old. Another sister, Florence, passed away on 3rd March 1918, aged 29. Both were laid to rest with their brother.

Philip’s parents were also interred in the family grave: Philip Sr when he died in 1936 at the age of 76; and Mary when she passed away in 1955 aged 92.