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Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Victor Sperring

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Private Victor Sperring

Victor William Sperring was born in the spring of 1897, in Lympsham, Somerset. One of nine children, his parents were James and Catherine Sperring. James was a farmer, 22 years older than his wife and, when he died in 1904, she was left to bring up the family alone. She remarried, to dairy farmer Frederick Butler, continuing the farming life.

Frederick died in 1914, and with her older children now in their 20s, Catherine’s sons took up the reins to keep the farm going. War was on the horizon now, and tragedy was never going to be far from the Sperring household.

Of the five brothers, at least two – Victor and his older brother, Hubert – stepped up to serve their King and Country. Hubert joined the Gloucestershire Regiment, rising to the rank of Lance Corporal in the 1st/6th Battalion. He was caught up at the Battle of the Somme, and was recorded as missing, presumed killed, on 21st July 1916. He was just 23 years of age, and is one of the tens of thousands of names commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in Northern France.

Victor also joined the Gloucestershire Regiment, but his story is less clear. Certainly by 1918 he was attached to one of the regiment’s depots, possibly on home soil. He was admitted to the 2nd Southern General Hospital in the autumn of 1918, and this is where he passed away on 16th November. He was just 21 years of age.

Victor William Sperring was brought back to Lympsham for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in St Christopher’s Churchyard.

It seems likely that illness is what took Victor’s life. Just a month later, his sister, Annie, also passed away: she was interred next to her brother.

Catherine’s grief must have been indescribable, having lost a husband and three children in a matter of years. She continued on, however, and, by the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register, she was living with her son Roland, supporting him with his farm. She died in October 1941, at the age of 77: she was buried with her family in St Christopher’s.

Additional, Commonwealth War Graves, East Surrey Regiment, Essex, Great War, Hampshire, history, killed in action, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, story, Surrey, war

Lance Corporal Henry Rowell

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Henry Edward Rowell was born on 22nd May 1898 in Southwark, Surrey. One of five siblings, of whom only three survived childhood, his parents were Henry and Jane Rowell. Henry Sr was a bricklayer’s labourer from Southwark, and the family were brought up in a small terraced house on Brandon Street, Walworth.

When he finished his schooling, Henry Jr found work as a turner’s improver but, when war came to Europe, he was called upon to play his part. He enlisted on 29th May 1915, and, as a Private, was attached to the 12th (Service) Battalion (Bermondsey) of the East Surrey Regiment. His service records tell a little of the man he was, confirming that he stood 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and suggesting that he gave his age a 19 years old (he was just 16 at the time).

Henry seemed to have made an impression on his superiors as, in early October, he was promoted to Lance Corporal. His early service was based on home soil, primarily in Witney, Surrey.

In December 1915, Henry was temporarily released from military duty for munitions work. Sent to work for the engineering company Peter Hooker Ltd, in Walthamstow, Essex, Lance Corporal Rowell was to remain here for the next four months. On 25th March 1916, however, he was called back to service, as his battalion readied itself to move from its base, by that point in Aldershot, Hampshire, to Northern France.

Lance Corporal Rowell found himself in the thick of things very quickly. From 1st July, the 12th Battalion was caught up in the Battle of the Somme, and he remained entrenched there for the next couple of months.

On 15th September 1916, the British launched an attack on the German front line at Flers-Courcelette, mid-way between Albert and Bapaume. Lance Corporal Rowell was involved in the battle, which lasted until the end of the month, and was cut down on the very first day. He was just 18 years of age.

Henry Edward Rowell was laid to rest in the Bulls Road Cemetery in Flers, Picardie.

Henry Edward Rowell was my paternal grandmother’s first cousin.

Commonwealth War Graves, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Maurice Lock

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Private Maurice Lock

Maurice Lock was born in Nailsea, Somerset, the seventh child to William and Rebecca Lock. Dates of birth vary according to documents available: census records suggest he was born around 1884, although his military records put his year of birth as 1877.

Maurice had a total of eleven siblings, with names including Merrick, Britannia and Cinderella. His father was a licensed hawker and this was something of a family trade.

The 1891 census recorded the family living at The Heath in Nailsea, although, unusually, it was noted that “this family now residing in a house occupy a travelling van in summer.” By the time of the next census return, the family business was continuing, with eight members, Maurice included, recorded as being peddlers, hawkers and horse dealers.

On 23rd January 1909, Maurice married Emily Hughes. There is little information available about her, but the couple continued Maurice’s parents’ travelling lifestyle, and went on to have four children: Albert, Mary, Gladys and Agnes.

Maurice was called upon to do his duty when war came to Britain. He enlisted on 4th September 1916 and was initially assigned to the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. Private Lock’s service record shows that he was 39 years and 10 months old when he joined up, and that he stood 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall. He was working as a basket maker and farm labourer when he received the call to enlist.

Private Lock spent a couple of months on home soil, before his troop – the 12th (Labour) Battalion – were sent to France. He remained overseas for some sixteen months, before three separate bouts of trench fever within a month saw his return to Britain’s shores.

Maurice was transferred to the Labour Corps at this point and, once he had recovered, it was to be presumed that his previous farm work would be called upon once more. However, his age and the conditions on the Western Front conspired against him, and he developed rheumatism, which led to his discharge from the army. His medical records at this point noted that “he walks very lame with the aid of a stick. His left leg is especially [bad]. He has pains in his back, legs and shoulders. These pains are aggravated by pressure and weather changes.”

Maurice returned home, but his time back in Somerset was to be brief. His health deteriorated, and he passed away at home on 29th June 1918: he was in his late 30s or early 40s when he died.

Maurice Lock was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of Christ Church in his home town of Nailsea.

Commonwealth War Graves, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Training Reserve Battalion, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Private Joseph Staddon

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Private Joseph Staddon

Joseph Frederick Staddon was born at the start of 1899, the oldest of seven children to John and Mary Ann Staddon. John was a farmer from Luccombe in Somerset, and it was in this small village that the family were born and raised.

There is little documentation to expand on Joseph’s life. He enlisted in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry when he turned 18, and was initially attached to the 95th Training Reserve Battalion.

Private Staddon was barracked in Chiseldon, Wiltshire, but his time in service was not to be a lengthy one. Admitted to a military hospital near the camp, he passed away from what was probably an illness on 6th May 1917. He was just eighteen years of age.

Joseph Frederick Staddon’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery extension to St Mary’s Church, Luccombe.

Tragedy was to strike again when, ten months after his son’s passing, John also died. Mary was left picking up the pieces, while supporting her six remaining children, the youngest of whom, Dorothy, was not even two years old.

The family survived, Mary running the farm with her oldest boy, Edward. She passed away on 4th August 1937, at the age of 63 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, story, unknown, war, West Somerset Yeomanry

Private Albert Daymond

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Private Albert Daymond

Albert Daymond was born on 7th June 1893, in Porlock, Somerset. The youngest of seven children, his parents were Devon-born Albert and Maria, who was also born in Porlock. Albert Sr was a wall mason, and, by the time of the 1901 census, his work had moved the family to the sleepy village of Luccombe.

When he finished his schooling at the village’s Church of England School on 20th December 1908, Albert found employment in a bakery. This was the employment he would continue in until, in the summer of 1914, war broke out across Europe.

Albert enlisted on 9th October 1914, joining the West Somerset Yeomanry as a Private. Little information about his military service is available, although the Commonwealth War Grave Commission records note that he was known by the surnames of Daymond and Daiman.

Tragically, Private Daymond’s time in the army was not to be a long one. He passed away while in a camp in Minehead, Somerset, on 10th December 1914. The cause of his passing is not known, but he was just 21 years of age.

Albert Daymond was brought back to Luccombe for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s St Mary’s Churchyard.

Albert’s older brother, Alfred, also served in the First World War. Read his story here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Private Alfred Daymond

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Private Alfred Daymond

Alfred Daymond was born on 9th July 1891, in Porlock, Somerset. The second youngest of seven children, his parents were wall mason Albert Daymond and his wife, Maria. By the time of the 1901 census, Albert’s work had moved the family to the sleepy village of Luccombe.

When Alfred finished his schooling, he followed his father into wall building. This was the career he was still following when, in 1914, war broke out.

Alfred was quick to play his part for King and Country. He enlisted on 4th November 1914, joining the Somerset Light Infantry. Private Daymond’s service records show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, with good vision and a fair physical development.

Initially serving as part of a territorial force, Alfred remained on home soil until September 1916. At this point he was transferred over to the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, and became attached to the 7th (Service) Battalion. Details of his time in the army are sketchy, but his troop certainly fought at the Somme in 1916, and at Ypres the following year.

In May 1917, Alfred returned to British shores. His health appears to have been suffering, although it is not clear from what ailment. On 8th February 1918, Private Daymond was discharged from army service as being no longer physically fit.

Alfred’s trail goes cold at this point. It is likely that he returned home to Luccombe, and this is where he passed away, on 11th November 1918, Armistice Day. He was 27 years of age.

Alfred Daymond was laid to rest in the family plot of St Mary’s Church, Luccombe. He was interred alongside his younger brother, Albert.

Alfred’s younger brother, Albert, also enlisted for war service. Read his story here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Training Reserve Battalion, war, Wiltshire

Private Arthur Thorne

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Private Arthur Thorne

Arthur Reginald Vellacott Thorne was born at the start of 1899 in Bridgwater, Somerset. One of six children, his parents were Sidney and Bessie Thorne. Sidney was a butcher and, by the time of the 1901 census, the family had moved to Chichester, West Sussex, where he had found employment in a sausage factory.

The Thornes’ time on the south coast was not to last long: they had moved to Timberscombe, back in Somerset, by the time Sidney and Bessie’s youngest child, daughter Ivy, was born in March 1908. Tragically their happiness was not to last for long: Sidney passed away in October that year, aged just 35 years old.

With six children under the age of 12 to raise, times would have proved tough for Bessie. Her oldest child – Arthur’s older brother, Sidney – went to live with his paternal uncle’s family in Taunton, and began learning the butchering trade. Bessie took on the role of caretaker at Timberscombe School where her five younger children were being taught.

Being a butcher was not Sidney’s chosen career path. When he turned 17, in March 1914, he enlisted in the Coldstream Guards, lying about his age to do so. Six months later he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and attached to the 3rd Battalion. With war having been declared in Europe, he soon found himself on the Front Line, fighting in the First Battle of Ypres.

Over the next couple of years, Lance Corporal Thorne remained on the Western Front. He was killed in fighting on 15th September 1916: he was just 19 years of age. Sidney’s body was never identified: he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in Picardie.

Arthur’s trail had gone cold at this point, but when he turned 18 years old, his brother having passed just months before, he too was called up. Assigned as a Private in the 35th Training Reserve Battalion, he was sent to Bovington Army Camp in Dorset for his induction. While there, in the cramped conditions of the military barracks, he fell ill. He was admitted to the Salisbury and District Isolation Hospital, which treated infectious diseases, and this was to be where he passed away. Private Thorne was just 18 years of age, and Bessie had lost her two oldest boys.

While Sidney’s remains were never recovered, Arthur Reginald Vellacott Thorne was brought back to Somerset to be laid to rest. He was buried in the peaceful graveyard of St Petrock’s Church in Timberscombe, not far from his father.

Bessie was to our live four of her children. Her youngest two sons, Edwin and Cecil, were to die too young. Cecil passed away in Timberscombe in May 1922, when he was just 16. Edwin died in November 1929, at the age of 26 years old.

Bessie lived on until 1958, passing away in Minehead when she was 84 years of age.

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

Private Frank Gunney

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Private Frank Gunney

Frank Gunney was born in Brushford, Somerset, in the spring of 1890. The youngest of four children, with two sisters and a brother, his parents were William and Mary. William was a groom-turned-gardener, but when Frank left school, he found other employment: by the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded as being a tailor.

Frank’s older brother, James, followed his father’s trade, becoming a groom when he finished his schooling. His work took him to South Wales, where he met and married Emma Lewis. The couple went on to have two children: Hilda and Kenneth. When war came to Europe, James enlisted, joining the Royal Army Service Corps as a Private.

Frank followed his brother into the army, enlisting in the Somerset Light Infantry on 11th December 1915. This must have proved a tragic time for his mother, Mary, as, just ten days later, William died “after a long and painful illness.” [Western Times: Friday 24th December 1915]

Frank’s service records give little away about the man he had become, but do note that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall. He was re-assigned to the 1st/21st Battalion of the London Regiment, and was sent to France in June 1916.

Private Gunney’s service papers suggest that he was injured on 9th September 1916, having received a gun shot wound to the head. He appears to have been treated on site, and there seems to be no notable break in his time on the front line.

James was killed in action on 7th April 1917: he was 33 years of age, and was laid to rest in the Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery in Saulty. Mary had lost a husband and a son within eighteen months, and James had left a widow and two children.

In March 1917, Private Frank Gunney had transferred to the Labour Corps, and aside from a six-month period on home soil, would remain in France until September 1919. He then returned to Britain, and was demobbed a month later.

Frank returned to Somerset, but his trail then goes cold. Two documents give an idea as to what happened next, however. The first is a newspaper report about his burial:

The funeral took place in All Saints’ Churchyard, Dulverton… of Mr F Gunney, only don of Mrs Gunney… who died on Tuesday last. Deceased served three years in France, and has been in failing health practically ever since demobilisation, although the end came rather suddenly.

Western Times: Tuesday 22nd March 1921

His army Pension Ledger Card, confirms that he had been discharged from the army because of a ‘septic wound to his left thumb’, which was due to his military service. It appears that this had festered over the ensuing years: Frank Gunney passed away on 15th March 1921, aged 30 years of age.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, Somerset, story, war

Private Bertie Parsons

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Private Bertie Parsons

Bertie James Parsons was born in the summer of 1889, and was the fourth of six children to James and Elizabeth Parsons. James was a quarryman and slate-maker from Somerset, and he and Elizabeth raised their family in the parish of Ashbrittle.

While his older siblings found farm work in this peaceful part of the county, Bertie found employment as a baker’s assistant. This meant a move away from Somerset, and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was apprenticed to a bakery in the Crediton area of Devon.

The following year proved a tragic one for the Parsons family. Bertie’s younger brother, Richard, had found work as a hall boy for an estate in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire. This was to prove a springboard for him, and he landed work for one of the new class of liners ploughing the waters of the Atlantic. Employed as a 2nd Class Steward, he was employed on the RMS Titanic and, like most of the ship’s 900 crew, he perished on that fateful night of 15th April 1912.

Among the large number of souls who perished with the Titanic recently we regret to report that among that number was a young man named Richard Parsons, aged 18, a native of Ashbrittle, and whose relatives still live in the neighbourhood, his father, James Parsons, being an invalid.

The deceased, who a couple of years ago embarked on a seafaring life, was on board the Olympic when it collided with the Hawke, and he left his home about a month ago, and journeyed to Belfast to assist in getting the Titanic ready for her maiden voyage.

He was particularly pleased at being appointed to a post on the largest ship in the world.

Deceased, who was a bright lad and much respected in the village, occupied the position of lift steward on his previous boat, and on the Titanic was a steward in a second-class dining saloon.

He was unable to swim.

Somerset County Gazette: Saturday 27th April 1912
Steward 2nd Class Richard Parsons

Back in Devon, Bertie was still working as a baker. When war came to Europe, however, he stepped up to play his part. While full service details are not available, it is clear that he enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps as a Private. He was attached to the 2nd/1st Wessex Field Ambulance, who were sent to France in January 1916.

Private Parsons saw action – or helped treat the results of it – at some of the key battles on the Western Front: the Somme, Ypres, Cambrai, Givenchy and Festubert. In the autumn of 1917, Bertie returned home to marry Florence Riddaway, a milliner from Bow, Devon, who he had courted while working in nearby Crediton. The couple went on to have a son, Douglas, who was born on 26th May 1918.

It is unclear how long Bertie remained in the army after the Armistice was signed. By the summer of 1920, he was back on British shores, and had fallen ill. He was admitted to hospital in Bath with acute staphlococcic infection and a cerebral embolism. He died in hospital on 13th August 1920, at the age of 31 years old.

The body of Bertie James Parsons was taken back to Ashbrittle for burial. He was laid to rest in the village’s St John the Baptist Churchyard.

Tragedy was to remain close by for the Parson family. Florence was a couple of months pregnant when Bertie died. Bertie Jr was born on 26th March 1921, but both mother and son died during childbirth. They were laid to rest near her family in Devon.

Douglas, just two years old, was now an orphan. There is little information about his life in the aftermath of his parents’ passing, but by the time of the 1939 Register, he was working as a motor mechanic in Wellington, Somerset. He lived on until 1993, passing away in Taunton Deane, at the age of 74.

Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Wales, war, Welch Regiment

Private George Stevens

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Private George Stevens

George Henry Stevens was born in Winscombe, Somerset, in the spring of 1869. The oldest of four children, his parents were blacksmith Joseph (or John) Stevens and his wife, Eliza.

When he finished his schooling, George found work as a collier. In 1893, he married a woman called Maria, and went on to have three children: Edward, Mary and Charlie. By 1900 the family had moved to South Wales for his work. They settled in Llanwonno, Glamorganshire, and went on to have three more children: John, Cyril and George Jr.

By 1911, George and Maria had been married for eighteen years. George was working as a repairer for the colliery, while Edward had followed his father into the mines.

When war came to Europe’s shores, George stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Welch Regiment, and was assigned to the 1st/5th Battalion. While his full service records no longer exist, his troop served in Gallipoli during 1915, so it is possible that he spent times overseas.

By January 1916, however, Private Stevens was back in Britain, and had become unwell. Again, little specific information remains, but he passed away on 30th January 1916, having fallen into a diabetic coma. He was 47 years of age.

George Henry Stevens was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in Cleeve, where Maria had moved back to with the family when her husband went to war.