Tag Archives: Gloucestershire

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, story, war

Gunner Henry Brewer

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Gunner Henry Brewer

Henry William Brewer was born the spring of 1869 in Bitton, Gloucestershire. His is a common name for the area, and so it is not easy to unpick details of his early life.

On 5th May 1895, Henry married Ann Williams, a carter’s daughter from Keynsham, Somerset. The couple wed in St Thomas’ Church in Widcome, near Bath, and their marriage certificate gives Henry’s trade as a labourer, and his father as Louis Brewer.

The young couple up home in Kingswood, near Bristol, and went on to have three children, Henry, Lucy and Ethel. The 1901 census recorded Henry’s trade as a coal miner and hewer, but noted that he was also a Gunner in the Royal Artillery.

Sadly, Henry’s military records are lost to time, but if he was employed in the army, this would account for the lack of documents relating to his early life. It may be that he had completed his initial term of service by the time he and Ann married, or that he was a volunteer with the Royal Artillery at the time of the census.

Whatever his connection with the army, when war broke out he was called into service. He joined the 30th Company of the Royal Garrison Artillery, and was based in Weymouth, Dorset, as part of Britain’s South Coast defences.

Without military documents, it’s challenging to identify Gunner Brewer’s trail during the war. Sadly, the next documents relate to his passing. He was admitted to a military hospital in Weymouth, suffering from the kidney condition nephritis. This was ultimately to kill him, and he passed away on 28th February 1917, at the age of 48 years old.

Henty William Brewer’s body was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Bitton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, injury, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Private Albert Harvey

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Private Albert Harvey

Albert James Harvey was born on 23rd May 1894 in the Gloucestershire village of Warmley. One of eleven children, his parents were James and Alice Harvey. James was a bootmaker, and most of Albert’s siblings followed him into shoemaking, but Albert bucked the trend, and found work with a baker when he left school.

He wanted bigger and better things, however, and so, on 26th April 1911, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His service records record that Private Harvey was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with blue eyes, auburn hair and a fresh complexion. It also suggests that he added a year to his age, to ensure that he was accepted for duty.

After initially enlisting in Deal, Kent, Albert was sent to Plymouth, Devon, where he served for most of 1912. On 18th November that year, he was assigned to the dreadnought battleship HMS Conqueror, on which he was to serve for the nearly five years.

It was during his time on board Conqueror that Albert married Ethel Brewer. The daughter of a pressman, the couple exchanged vows at St Barnabas Church in their shared home village, Warmley.

Private Harvey remained serving throughout the war and, in April 1918, he was involved in the Zeebrugge Raid. This was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port by sinking obsolete ships in the canal entrance. During the operation, more than 200 men were killed and over 300 – including Albert – were wounded.

Private Harvey was medically evacuated to England for treatment, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He passed away in a hospital in Plymouth on 28th June 1918. He was just 24 years old.

Albert James Harvey was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Barnabas’ Church, where he has been both baptised and married.

Able Seaman, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, story, war

Able Seaman Frederick Carter

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Able Seaman Frederick Carter

Frederick Carter was born in the autumn of 1896 in the village of Wick, Gloucestershire, midway between Bristol and Bath. He was one of nine children to farm labourer John and his wife, Charlotte.

Sadly, there is little concrete documentation on Frederick’s life. When he left school, he found work in the local shoe trade, as his older siblings had done before him.

At some point he enlisted in the Royal Naval Voluntary Reserve, although, again, exact details on this are scarce. This particular branch of the Royal Navy was there for people with no specific sailing or sea-faring experience behind him, although Frederick must have been dedicated to his duty as he had risen to the rank of Able Seaman.

What is clear is that he survived the war, but was invalided out of service, having contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. He returned to Warmley, Gloucestershire, where his parents were now living. Sadly, this was to be his last home, as well, as he passed away from the condition on 28th August 1919, at the age of just 22 years old.

Frederick Carter was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Barnabas Church, in Warmley, Gloucestershire.

Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, Gunner, history, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, story, unknown, war

Gunner George Curtis

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Gunner George Curtis

George Henry Curtis was born in Oldland, near Bristol, in around 1887. His parents were George and Frances (Fanny) Curtis, and he was one of their four children.

There is little direct information about George’s life: his was a common name in the Gloucestershire area, and so it is difficult to identify if some documents are related to him nor not.

The first piece of concrete evidence for him is his marriage certificate. He wed Elizabeth May Henly on 7th November 1914. She was the daughter of an engineer, while George gave his trade as a tobacco operator (possibly making cigars and cigarettes). The wedding took place at St Anne’s Church in Oldland, local to bother bride and groom.

When war broke out, George stepped up to play his part and enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner. He did not see action overseas, but was awarded both the Victory and British Medals for his service.

Gunner Curtis’ adult life is hard to piece together. All that can be confirmed is that he passed away on 9th July 1921, at the age of 32 years old.

George Henry Curtis was laid to rest in the graveyard of the church in which he had been christened and married, St Anne’s in his home village, Oldland.

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

Private Alec Willmott

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Private Alec Willmott

Alec William Willmott was born in 1886 and was one of six children to Henry and Ellen Willmott. Henry was a farm labourer from Oldland in Gloucestershire, and this is where the family were raised.

When he left school, Alec found work making shoes and boots at a local factory – this was work most of the Willmott children went into. On 24th April 1916, he married Elsie Frost in the local church. The couple set up home in Keynsham, and went on to have a son, Cecil, who was born in August 1917.

Alec played his part during the war. Full service details are not available, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps by the spring of 1918. There is no confirmation of whether Private Willmott served at home or overseas, but, by October 1918, he had been admitted to the 2nd London General Hospital in Chelsea, suffering from a combination of influenza and pneumonia.

Sadly, these conditions put a strong pressure on his heart: Private Willmott passed away from cardiac failure on 2nd November 1918, at the age of just 32 years old.

Alec William Willmott was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Anne’s Church in his home village, Oldland.

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Navy, story, war

Private Frank Mayo

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Private Frank Mayo

Francis James Stephen Mayo was born on 24th November 1894 in Oldland, a small Gloucestershire village near Bristol. One of eight children, his parents were collier Samuel Mayo and his wife, Diana.

Frank, as he was known, sought a life of adventure from the start. In July 1911, not content with life as a farm labourer, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had light hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Sent to the training ship HMS Impregnable, Boy 2nd Class Mayo’s time there was short. When Samuel found out what his son had done, he paid £10 (the equivalent of around £1250 in today’s money) for his discharge.

Frank went back to farm work, but, with storm clouds brewing on European shores, his time was to come again. On 8th September 1914, just a month after war was declared, he enlisted. His service records show that he had gained an inch (2.5cm) in height since his attempt to join the Royal Navy.

Again, Frank’s attempt to escape what he presumably felt to be a humdrum life were thwarted. His service records confirm that he was discharged on medical grounds because he was deemed not likely to become an efficient sailor.

On Christmas Day 1915, Frank married Martha Sweet, the daughter of a chimney sweep. The couple settled down in Keynsham, not far from either of their families, and had a son, Henry. Frank, by this time, seemed to have given in to the inevitable, and looking for a regular wage, began working at one of the local collieries.

Frank still had a dream to fulfil, though, and with no end to the war in sight, he again enlisted, joining the Training Reserve in June 1917. His records show that he had gained another inch in height, and has a number of tattoos on his right forearm. His records this time show that he had a slight heart problem, and was also suffering from a touch of rheumatism.

Private Mayo was assigned to the 440th Company of the Labour Corps, and seemed, at last, to be fulfilling the role he had wanted to be doing for the last six years. As time went on, however, his health seems to have been failing him and, in the summer of 1918, he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. He passed away from the condition on 30th August 1918, while at camp, aged just 23 years of age.

Brought back to Gloucestershire for burial, Francis James Stephen Mayo – or Frank – was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Anne’s Church in his home village of Oldland.

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

Private Thomas Salter

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Private Thomas Salter

Thomas Salter – better known as Tom – was born on 5th June 1877, in the Devon village of Uffculme. He was the only child to John and Selina Salter. John was seventeen years older than his wife and, by the time his son was born, was 57 years old. Selina had been married before and widowed, and had had five children of her own.

When he left school, Tom found work as a butcher’s assistant at the Uffculme’s Commercial Hotel (now the Ostler Inn on Commercial Road). Food was not destined to be his career, however. By the time of the 1901 census, he had moved from Devon to Gloucestershire, and found employment as a labourer in the engine works at Knowle, Bristol.

His landlady was an Elizabeth Bobbett, who had been born in Trull, near Taunton, and this connection may have pre-destined what was to come. In the spring of 1908, Tom married Florence Taylor, a labourer’s daughter from Wellington, Somerset, five miles (8km) from his landlady’s home village.

Tom and Florence settled in Wellington, close to the centre of the town. They had four children – Harold (born in 1909), Evelyn (1912), Irene (1914) and Edna (1916). Tom found work as a packer at the Fox Bros. woollen mill in nearby Tonedale.

War was coming to Europe by this point and, in January 1917, Tom enlisted. Private Salter joined the 11th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry: this was a territorial troop, and Tom found himself based in Yeovil.

There is little concrete information about Private Salter’s military life. All that can be confirmed is that within a couple of months of joining up, he had been admitted to hospital, suffering from bronchial pneumonia. Sadly, he was not to recover from the lung condition: he passed away on 10th May 1917, at the age of 37 years old.

Tom Salter was brought back to Wellington for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Gloucestershire, Great War, Gunner, history, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war

Gunner Arthur Young

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Gunner Arthur Young

Arthur William Young was born on 11th July 1900, in the Gloucestershire village of Charfield. His parents, James and Eliza, were both born in the area, and this is where they raised their nine children.

James worked as a bone turner and sawyer, working the material for things like buttons. This was a family trade, and something that Arthur followed his father and older siblings into when he finished school.

By this point, storm clouds were brewing over Europe. Arthur was too young to enlist when war first broke out, but when his older brother Francis died in Northern France in December 1917, this seemed to have driven him to play his part as well.

Arthur enlisted in the Royal Marine Artillery on 1st July 1918, a couple of weeks before his eighteenth birthday. Assigned the rank of Private, his records show that he was 5ft 9ins (1.65m) tall, had blue eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. It was also noted that he had a scar on his right wrist and another on his forehead.

After nine months’ service, Arthur was promoted to Gunner and, by the autumn of 1919, he was assigned to the dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth.

On 1st December 1920, while moored in Portland Harbour, Dorset, a concert was held on HMS Warspite. Gunner Young attended, but on the trip back to his own ship, the boat he was on collided with another, and he and three others were knocked overboard and drowned. He was just 20 years of age.

Arthur William Young was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the Congregational Chapelyard in his home village of Charfield.

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

Private Albert Cornock

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Private Albert Cornock

Albert Edward Cornock was born in 1878, and was one of eight children. His parents, John and Hannah Cornock, were both born in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, ant this is where the family were brought up.

John was a labourer, and this was the trade than Albert also fell into. On 2nd August 1903, he married local woman Bessie Carter. The couple settled in their home town and went on to have eight children.

War came to Europe in 1914, and Albert was amongst those to enlist early on. He joined the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in Bristol on 13th November. Albert’s service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall and weighed 119lbs (54kg). He had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and black hair.

Private Cornock’s initial training was split between Cheltenham and Salisbury Plain, but he was eventually sent out to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force in August 1915. He spent nearly eighteen months overseas, but, towards the end of the following year, he contracted tuberculosis, and was sent back to England for treatment.

Albert’s lung condition was to ultimately lead to his discharge from the army on medical grounds. His last day of service was 8th February 1917.

At this point, Albert’s trail goes cold. He returned home to Gloucestershire, and lived on another couple of years. He passed away at home on 9th April 1919, aged 40 years old: while the cause of his passing is not clear, it seems likely to have been as a result of the illness that saw him discharged from the army.

Albert Edward Cornock was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary the Virgin Church in his home town of Wotton-under-Edge. He lies not far from his cousin, Ernest Cornock, another victim of the First World War, who was buried just a week later.

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

Private Leslie Vines

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Private Leslie Vines

Leslie Vines was born on 16th September 1898, and was one of seventeen children to John and Emma. John was an elastic web maker or braider from Stroud, Gloucestershire, and it was in nearby Wotton-under-Edge that he and Emma raised their growing family.

Braiding and weaving ran in the family: the 1911 census recorded six of the Vines’ children who were over school age were employed in the local mill. When he finished school, Leslie also found work there.

When war came to Europe, Leslie was eager to play his part. He enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment on 18th June 1915, just a month after his older brother, Wilfred, had joined up. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall: Keen as he was to follow his older brothers into glory, he gave his age as 19 (two years older than he actually was) in order to be accepted for duty.

Private Vines’ eagerness, however, was to be thwarted. On 29th June, less than two weeks after joining up, he was discharged from service. Details are scant, but this seems to have been on the basis that, following his medical examination, he was considered to be unfit for duty.

At this point, Leslie’s trail goes cold and the next available record is that for his death on Armistice Day, 11th November 1918. He was just 20 years of age. While the cause of his passing is not readily available, it was not reported on in any of the contemporary newspapers, so is likely to have been of natural causes.

Leslie Vines was laid to rest alongside his brother, Private Wilfred Vines, in the graveyard of St Mary the Virgin Church in his home town, Wotton-under-Edge.