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accident, Cadet, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Glamorganshire, Gloucestershire, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, Royal Artillery, Sergeant, Somerset, South Africa, South Wales Borderers, story, Wales, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment, Yorkshire

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.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private William Pollard

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Private William Pollard

William Pollard was born at the end of 1887, the youngest of seven children to John and Alice Pollard. Agricultural labourer John hailed from Hinton Charterhouse in Somerset, while his wife was from Southampton, Hampshire. The family were living in the village of Buckler’s Hard when William was born, but moved back to Somerset when he was just a toddler.

As with most of his siblings, William followed in his father’s footsteps when he completed his schooling. By the time of the 1911 census, only he and his older brother Thomas we still living in the family home: the two siblings were working as carters, while their father, now 61 years of age, was a general labourer.

Alice died in the summer of 1911, and would net get to see her youngest boy wed. On 11th April 1914, William married Augusta Loveless, a carpenter’s daughter from Bath. The couple were living in 2 Rossini Cottages, on Hedgemead Road, to the north of the city centre, and would go on to have two children, William Jr and Geoffrey.

When war was declared, William was called upon to play his part. He enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry on 30th November 1915, but soon transferred over to the 5th (Service) Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment. Attached to the 673th Labour Company, while his unit served at Gallipoli and in France, there is no evidence that Private Pollard spent any time overseas.

William’s brother Thomas had also been called up. He joined the Somerset Light Infantry, and, as a Private, was attached to the 1st Battalion. His unit fought at the Somme, and Thomas was badly injured. He died of his wounds, and was laid to rest in the Puchevillers British Cemetery. He was 31 years of age.

In fact, William seems to have been dogged by ill health. Full service records have been lost to time, but he was medically discharged from the army on 12th September 1917.

John had died that February, at the age of 68 years old, and was laid to rest next to his wife in St John the Baptist Church, Hinton Charterhouse.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold. He returned to Bath, and spent at least some time in the city’s War Pensions Hospital. His condition warranted an operation, but he died of heart failure following the procedure on 12th December 1920. He was 33 years of age.

William Pollard was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Lance Corporal, London, Middlesex, Middlesex Regiment, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Lance Corporal Ernest Pond

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Lance Corporal Ernest Pond

Ernest Charles Pond was born in the autumn of 1889 in Bath, Somerset, and was the younger of two children. His father, Charles, who worked as a wheelchairman, died in 1904, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise the Ernest and his older sister, Daisy, on her own.

The 1911 census shows the determination the Pond family had in the wake of Charles’ death. Eliza had opened up a tea room in River Street Place, and was living above the business with Daisy and two servants. Daisy, meanwhile, was employed as a school teacher, something she had been doing for at least ten years. Ernest had left Bath, and headed for London: he had taken a room in a house in Tufnell Park, and was working as a furniture designer.

When war came to Europe, Ernest was called upon to play his part. Sadly, full details of his service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted by the summer of 1918. He joined the Middlesex Regiment, and was assigned to the 6th (Reserve) Battalion. His unit formed part of the Thames and Medway Garrison, and there is no evidence that Ernest spent any time overseas.

By the autumn of 1918, Ernest had risen to the rank of Lance Corporal. With the war coming to an end, he fell ill, however, and was admitted to a military hospital in Chatham, Kent. Details of his illness are unclear, but it was severe enough that he succumbed to it: he passed away on 2nd November 1918, at the age of 28 years old.

The body of Ernest Charles Pond was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from where his father was buried.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorset Yeomanry, Great War, history, illness, killed in action, photography, Private, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Private William Biddlecombe

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Private William Biddlecombe

William Charles Biddlecombe was born in the spring of 1896, and was the third of nine children to Robert and Eliza. Both of his parents came from Hampshire, but their older children – William included – were born and raised in Poole, Dorset. Robert was a police constable there, but moved to the village of Longburton, near Sherborne, in around 1910.

According to the 1911 census, William was two of the household of eight to be employed, having found work as a gardener when he finished his schooling. Storm clouds were brewing across Europe, however, and he would be called upon to play his part.

Full service details have been lost to time, but it is clear that William had joined the Dorset Yeomanry (Queen’s Own) by the summer of 1915. He was attached to the 3rd/1st Battalion. The unit was based on home soil and there is no evidence that Private Biddlecombe saw any action overseas.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold and, in fact, the next record for him is that of his passing: “The funeral took place on Wednesday amid every token of respect and esteem of Trooper W Biddlecombe, of B Squadron (3/1st Dorset QO Yeomanry, son of PC and Mrs Biddlecombe of Westhill Police-station.” [Western Gazette – Friday 18 February 1916]

William Charles Biddlecombe died on 15th February 1916: he was 20 years of age. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St James the Great Church in Longburton, close to where his grieving family lived.

William’s was not the only passing that his grieving mother would have to attend to. On 18th December, Robert was on duty, which had taken him into Sherborne. He was suddenly taken ill, and rushed to the town’s Yeatman Hospital, but died the same day. He was laid to rest close to his son in Longburton.

William’s younger brother, Robert, also served during the First World War. As a Private, he was attached to the 8th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, and spent time fighting in Northern France. He was caught up and was killed in the Second Battle of Cambrai. He died on 9th October 1918, and was laid to rest in Naves Communal Cemetery Extension.

The pain for Eliza at having lost her husband and two of her sons in such a short space of time is unimaginable. However, she still had children to support, and so had to keep on going. The 1921 census recorded her as living in Weymouth with her youngest boy, Bertram. She was carrying out home duties, and it is unclear how she was making ends meet. She would remain in Weymouth for the rest of her life, passing away in the autumn of 1937, aged 71.

Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, story, war

Private Charles Edwards

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Private Charles Edwards

Charles Henry Edwards was born in Padstow, Cornwall, in around 1888. One of three children, his parents were Charles and Elizabeth Edwards. Charles Sr was a farm labourer, and his son, who was one of four children, followed suit when he finished his schooling.

Charles Sr passed away in 1903: the next census record found Charles and two of his sisters living with Elizabeth. She was claiming parish relief, while her daughters were doing occasional char work to bring in a little more money.

Charles married a woman called Florence Dunn in the summer of 1911: little information is available for her, other than she was born in Devon, to Joseph and Maria. The couple set up home in Leadwell Street, Padstow, and went on to have four children: Lilian, Charles, Elsie and Alfred.

When war came to Europe, Charles stepped up to play his part. He enlisted 11th December 1915, by which point, he had found work as a cowman. He joined the Devonshire Regiment as a Private and spend the next fourteen months on home soil, moving across to the 5th Labour Company in February 1917.

At this point, Private Edwards was sent to France, and he spent most of that year overseas. He returned to Britain on 8th November, having contracted bronchitis while serving at Etaples. When he had recovered, Charles returned to duties, and was attached to the 650th Labour Coy.

Alfred, Charles and Florence’s youngest child, was born on 1st April 1918, but seemed to be a sickly boy. He passed away on 27th September, aged just six months, from a combination of influenza and bronchitis. Tragically, Charles was also unwell at this point, and he passed away just four days later from pneumonia. He was just 30 years of age.

Charles Henry Edwards was laid to rest in Padstow Cemetery. The report of his funeral does not mention Alfred, but it seems likely that father and son were buried together.

Florence lived on until 1964. She passed away in Bodmin, at the age of 78, and was laid to rest with her husband, reunited after more than four decades.

Australia, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, killed in action, Lincolnshire, photography, Pioneer, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, Sussex, war

Sapper Arthur Naile

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Sapper Arthur Naile

Arthur Edward Naile was born in the summer of 1888, the youngest of ten children to James and Mary Naile. Both of his parents were born in Bath, Somerset, and this is where they raised their growing family.

The Nailes lived in the Camden area of the city, consecutive census returns showing different addresses, as the children grew and then left home. In 1891, they lived at 11 Malvern Buildings, a small terraced house on a steep hill. Ten years later, they had moved to 3 George’s Road, to another terraced cottage close to their old home. By 1911, only Arthur was still living at home, which was now the four-roomed terrace at 51 Brooklyn Road, in the more built up Larkhall area no the northern outskirts of the city.

During all of this time, James had worked as a printer’s compositor. By 1911 he was 64 years of age, and was employed by a newspaper in the area. Arthur, meanwhile, was working as a grocer’s assistant.

On 9th August 1914, he married soldier’s daughter Bessie Brine. She was working as a dressmaker, and lodging with Charles and Eleanor Richman, in a small cottage in Dover Place. Their marriage certificate shows that Arthur was living three doors down, so it is likely she caught his eye not long after he moved in. They went on to have a son, Leslie, in November 1916.

War was raging across Europe by this point, and Arthur had stepped up to serve his country. He joined the Royal Engineers as a Sapper, but there is little concrete information about his time in the army. He was awarded the Silver War Badge, which was given to men medically discharged from military service during the conflict, which would suggest that he was badly wounded at some point. He died in a hospital in Hastings, East Sussex, an annexe of which was dedicated to personnel who had been blinded during the war.

Sapper Arthur Edward Naile passed away from a combination of influenza and diabetes on 31st October 1918: he was 30 years of age. His body was taken back to Somerset for burial, and he lies at rest in a peaceful corner of Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery.

After Arthur’s death, Bessie was left to bring up their young son. In the autumn of 1923, she married again, to John Forman, and not long afterwards the three of them emigrated to Australia, in search of a better life. They settled in Bunbury, Western Australia, and went on to have two children, Ron and Nan.

When war broke out again, Leslie was old enough to step up, and joined the Royal Australian Air Force. By 1943, he found himself as a Flight Sergeant in Waltham, Lincolnshire. He had joined 100 Squadron of Bomber Command and, on the night of 25th June 1943, was piloting a Lancaster over the Netherlands. His plane was hit and destroyed, killing all those on board. Father and son both lost to war, Flight Sergeant Naile was just 26 years of age when he passed. He was buried in Westbeemster, and commemorated on memorials in Runnymede, Surrey, and Canberra, Australia.

Bessie lived on until her early 70s. She died on 8th December 1960, and is buried in the family plot in Bunbury Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, North Somerset Yeomanry, photography, Private, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Private Charles Morris

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Private Charles Morris

Charles William Morris was born in the summer of 1887, the third of four children – and the only son – to James and Emily Morris. James was a house painter: both he and Emily came from Bath, Somerset, and this is where the Morris family were born and raised.

When he completed his schooling, Charles found work as a clerk: by the time of the 1911 census, he was employed by the Urban Sanitary Authority. Only two of the children were still living at home by this point, and so James and Emily had taken in a boarder, 25-year-old motor engineer Zackarias MacPherson Jackson, to bring a little more money in.

When war was declared, Charles quickly stepped up to play his part. A later newspaper report provides an insight into his service:

The death occurred on Saturday midnight, at 11, Margaret’s Buildings, Hedgmead, of Mr Charles W Morris, at the age of 33. Previous to joining the forces in 1914, he was a member of the Coleford (Somerset) Cricket Club. Joining the North Somerset Yeomanry as a trooper, he went to France, afterwards being transferred to the 5th Dorsets (Cyclist Corps). Eventually he was taken prisoner and was in Germany for two years suffering great hardships. On his return to his native city he joined the St Stephen’s Rugby FC. He was a member of the Walcot Liberal Club, and at the time of his death was employed by his brother-in-law (Mr Z McJackson [sic], motor engineer). Another brother-in-law us Mr W Hollick, headmaster of Coleford schools, and formerly an assistant master at Holy Trinity School, Bath.

The funeral took place at Locksbrook Cemetery on Thursday. The deceased was extremely well known in the neighbourhood in which he resided, and quite a large number of friends attended the cemetery to pay their last respects.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 4th June 1921

Zackarias had married Charles’ younger sister, Gladys, in 1915, the one time lodger having literally become a member of the family.

Charles William Morris died on 28th May 1921, through causes unknown. He was laid to rest in a peaceful corner of the sprawling Bath cemetery.