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

Private Howard Rees

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Private Howard Rees

Howard Stephen Rees was born in the spring of 1895 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. He was the second of six children – and the older of two sons – to Stephen and Annie. Stephen was an engine driver, and the 1901 census found the family living in a small terraced house at 18 Gloucester Road, a show walk from the town’s railway station.

By the time of the next census, the family had moved to a larger house, and were living at 15 Innox Road, to the north of the town centre. Stephen was still employed as an engine driver, while there were too further wages coming into the household. Howard’s older sister, Catherine, was working as a rug weaver, while he himself was employed as a page boy, a bell hop for one of the hotels in the town.

By the time war broke out, Howard had moved from page boy to cellarman. The pull to serve his country was strong, though, and he gave up his job to enlist in the army on 7th September 1914, just a month after the start of the conflict.

Private Rees was assigned to the Wiltshire Regiment. His service papers show that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall and weighed 120lbs (54.4kg). He was noted as having brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion. Howard’s medical examination was to conclude that he was not fit for army service, due to a ‘very poor physique and.. an impediment of speech’. He was recorded as being quite unfit for a soldier. His time in the army was to last just 20 days.

Howard was not deterred by this setback, however, and it seems that he tried to enlist again at some point, and this time succeeded. Full details have been lost, but from the documents that remain, he had joined the 2nd Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment by the spring of 1917.

The funeral took place on Monday a the cemetery of Private Howard Stephen Rees, Wilts Regiment, aged 22 years, who passed way after a painful illness lasting five months, at the Bath War Hospital on Wednesday September 26th from wounds received in action in France on April 23rd.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 6th October 1917]

Howard Stephen Rees received his injuries during the Arras Offensive of 1917, his eagerness to be included in the war having led to his death. His body was taken back to Wiltshire, and was laid to rest in Trowbridge Cemetery.

Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, Military Police Corps, Oxfordshire, photography, story, Uncategorized, war, Wiltshire

Lance Corporal Edward Hollis

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Lance Corporal Edward Hollis

Edward Joseph Hollis was born in the village of Cogges, Oxfordshire, in the spring of 1876. The youngest of four children, his parents were Joseph and Rebecca Hollis. Joseph was a blacksmith, who died shortly before Edward’s birth, leaving a son who would never know his father.

Rebecca had children to raise, and did so while continuing her job as a gloveress. The 1881 census found the family living on Oxford Road, with her widowed father, cowman James, also residing at the house.

Edward remained living with his mother through to the 1901 census, records suggesting that they stayed living in the same property. By this point, Rebecca had give up her work making gloves, and was listed as a charwoman. Her son, however, had found employment as a gardener’s assistant.

Rebecca died in 1902, at the age of 60 years old. Soon after, her son moved to Wiltshire, having found work as a labourer in Trowbridge. On 20th January 1907, he married local woman Rose Banks in the parish church. A cloth worker, she was nine years her new husband’s junior. The couple set up home at 9 Court Street, to the south of the town centre, and went on to have three children, daughters Elsie, Margaret and Bessie.

War broke out in the summer of 1914, and Edward stepped up to play his part. There is little information about his time in the military, but it is clear that he had enlisted by the summer of 1918. He saw the war out as a Lance Corporal in the Military Police Corps, and was based at Chiseldon Camp, near Swindon, Wiltshire.

While there, Edward’s health was becoming impacted. He was admitted to the camp hospital with a combination of influenza and bronchial pneumonia, but his heart gave out. He died on 6th November 1918, at the age of 42 years old.

The body of Edward Joseph Hollis was taken back to Trowbridge for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.

Like her mother-in-law before her, Rebecca was now a widow, with young children to raise. She took the risk of emigrating, and moved the family to Ontario, Canada. Here she met farmer James Morgan, and the couple married on 5th July 1920. She died in 1918, also aged 42.

Her and Edward’s legacy were their children. All three married and had families in Canada.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Mesopotamia, Middlesex, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private William Cockerton

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Private William Cockerton

William John Cockerton was born in the autumn of 1896 in Holloway, Middlesex. The older of two children, his parents were baker John Cockerton and his wife, Elizabeth.

The 1901 census found the family living at 28 Highbury Station Road. The house is long since gone, but the Cockerton’s neighbours included a horse keeper, porter and a police constable.

By the time of the 1911 census, William had left London, and was living with his paternal uncle and aunt, Fred and Amy, in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Fred was an ironmonger, and his nephew had taken an apprenticeship with him. The census notes two visitors to the property – 22 Clarendon Villas – William’s mother and sister, Elizabeth and Dolly.

In his spare time, William started volunteering with the local militia. When war broke out, he was quick to enlist, formally joining the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private. Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, by December 1914, he found himself in India. A later newspaper report detailed how his military service unfolded:

..after a period of garrison duty in India, he volunteered for duty with the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, and took part in some of the biggest engagements against the Turks, being eventually wounded, captured and reported dead. For some two years he was held in captivity, during which he ensured great hardships that seriously undermined his health.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 26th April 1919]

William was reported missing in February 1917, with an understandably grief-stricken John and Elizabeth later being informed that he had been severely wounded in the chest, succumbing to his injuries half-an-hour later. His name was placed on the roll of honour at Trowbridge, but in July 1917, William’s parents received a card from Turkey in his handwriting, explaining that he was a prisoner of war.

Private Cockerton was released on 16th November 1918, and returned to Britain.

Early in March, he went to Harrow-on-the-Hill for a holiday, staying with his uncle. Here he was taken ill with malarial fever and pneumonia, which resulted in his death.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 26th April 1919]

William John Cockerton was just 22 years of age when he passed away on 20th April 1919. His body was taken back to Wiltshire for burial, and he was laid to rest in Trowbridge Cemetery. He lies at rest in the family plot, alongside his father, who had passed away in the autumn of 1916.

Private William Cockerton
(from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Engineman, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, story, Suffolk, war

Engineman Charles Clarke

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Engineman Charles Clarke

Charles Alfred Clarke was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk on 1st June 1888. The middle of eleven children, his parents were William and Jane Clarke. William was a fisherman, and, according to the 1901 census, the family lived at Coopers Cottages, on Hemplands, close to the town centre, and not far from the seafront.

Given his father’s trade, and the fact that his older brothers also followed suit, it is no surprise that Charles found work as a fisherman. The 1911 census recorded him as one of eight crew on board the John & Sarah, a 36t steam boat, that had moored in Penzance, Cornwall. Charles was noted as being an engineman and fish packer.

Away from the sea, Charles had found love. Clara Fletcher was two years his junior, and was the daughter of publican Samuel, who ran the Mechanic’s Arms on Lowestoft’s Crown Street. The couple exchanged vows in the summer of 1916, the wedding being registered in Mutford, to the south east of their home town.

By this point, and with war raging across Europe, Charles had been called into military duty. Attached to the Royal Naval Reserve from May 1915, he was attached to the torpedo gunboat HMS Halcyon, which acted as a depot ship off the Suffolk coast. His service papers note that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

Engineman Clarke remained with Halcyon until the summer of 1917, when he was transferred to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. The base was a particularly busy place at that point in the war and temporary accommodation was set up. Engineman Clarke found himself billeted at The Drill Hall, away from the main barracks.

On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line, as the German Air Force launched a bombing raid. Two bombs landed squarely on the Drill Hall, shattering its glass roof, and Engineman Clarke was amongst the dozens killed. He was 29 years of age.

The body of Charles Alfred Clarke was taken back to Suffolk for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery on Normanston Drive.

[Note: the photo above is of the memorial to the Chatham Air Raid victims, close to the mass grave for those whose bodies were not identified, in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.]

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, story, war, Wiltshire

Boy 2nd Class William Bray

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Boy 2nd Class William Bray

William Clements Bray was born on 14th October 1900. One of six children, his parents were Frederick and Annie. Frederick was a Private in the Wiltshire Regiment, and was based out of Trowbridge, Wiltshire. His work took him away from home a lot, however, and so Annie was left to raise the children on her own.

By the time of the 1911 census Frederick had left the army, and had instead found work as a canal labourer for the Great Western Railway. The family of eight were living in a four-roomed cottage at 22 Prospect Place, to the north of the town centre. William was still at school, but two of his siblings – brother Frederick Jr, and sister Florence – were both employed and bringing a wage into the houshold.

War broke out in the summer of 1914, and it seems that William was keen to play his part. He enlisted on the 12th April 1918, joining the Royal Navy. As he was under age, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Powerful, a training ship based in Portsmouth, Hampshire. His service papers note that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a large scar across his chest.

Boy Bray’s time in the navy was to be tragically short. After just a few weeks he was admitted to hospital in Plymouth, Devon, with scarlet fever, and developed emphysema. He passed away on 25th November “after a long and painful illness” [Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 14th December 1918] He was just 18 years of age.

The body of William Clements Bray was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Trowbridge Cemetery, not far from where his parents were living.

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

Stoker 2nd Class Thomas Fisher

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Stoker 2nd Class Thomas Fisher

Thomas Fisher was born in Lyminge, Kent, on 7th October 1876. One of eleven children, his parents were agricultural labourer William Fisher and his wife, Frances.

William moved the family to where the work was. The 1881 census found them living away from the coast to Crundale, Kent; they had moved to Rough Common near Canterbury by 1891.

Thomas followed in his father’s footsteps, and by the time of the 1901 census, he was the oldest of three of the Fisher siblings to still be living at home. Frances died in 1910, and William moved in with his son Albert’s family in Rough Common. Albert was employed as a stoker with the Royal Navy, so presumably this gave his wife, Daisy, and their children, Albert Jr and Esther, some support.

Thomas, meanwhile, was boarding with his sister, Harriet, and her children, also in Rough Common. Again, this was probably to provide her with some financial support while her husband Charles, who was a Stoker Petty Officer in the navy, was also away at sea.

When war broke out, Thomas was called upon to play his part. He enlisted on 22nd March 1916, joining the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Thomas was sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training, but his time there was not to be lengthy. By the end of April, he had been admitted to the naval hospital in the town, suffering from pneumonia. The condition would prove his undoing: he passed away on 4th May 1916, at the age of 39 years old. He had been in the Royal Navy for just six weeks.

The body of Thomas Fisher was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base at which he had spent his naval career.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Royal Navy, Ship's Steward, story, unknown, war

Ship’s Steward Joseph Williams

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Ship’s Steward Joseph Williams

In the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, is the grave of Ship’s Steward J Williams, of HMT (or Hired Military Transport) Slav, who died on 4th June 1916, at the age of 53 years old.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission confirms that his first name was Joseph, but their documents do not confirm a place of birth or any relative’s names.

No crew records remain for the Slav, and she was not scrapped until after the war. There are no articles or obituaries in contemporary newspapers for Joseph’s funeral.

The life and times of Ship’s Steward Joseph Williams are therefore destined to remain a mystery, taken with him to the grave in that Kent cemetery.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, Middlesex, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Petty Officer 1st Class Frederick Russell

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Petty Officer 1st Class Frederick Russell

Frederick Russell was born in Woolwich, Kent, on 8th August 1868, and was the younger of two children to Elizabeth Russell. Of Frederick’s father there is no trace, and it is likely that he passed away soon after his son’s birth. Only Elizabeth’s name appear on her son’s baptism record, the ceremony carried out at St Nicholas’ Church, Plumstead, Kent, on 1st August 1869.

The 1871 census found Elizabeth and her children – Caroline and Frederick – living in rooms at 1 Armstrong Place, Plumstead. She was employed as a hat trimmer, and the document confirms that she had been born in Matlock, Derbyshire.

Money must have incredibly tight, and by the 1881 census, Frederick was one of 115 students at the South Metropolitan Schools Branch in Herne Bay, Kent. The former Pier Hotel on the seafront, this had been set up as a convalescent home for pauper children from the Woolwich area.

The next record for Frederick shows the start what would become a thirty year naval career. He enlisted as a Boy 2nd Class on 10th January 1884, and was assigned to the Royal Navy’s school ship, HMS Impregnable. She would remain his home for the next eighteen months, and he was promoted to Boy 1st Class during his time on board.

In August 1885, Boy Russell was given his first sea-going assignment, on the battleship HMS Ajax. The following spring, he transferred to the corvette HMS Comus, and she would become his home for the next six years. During this time, he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His papers show that he was 5ft 1in (1.55m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. They also note an abscess scar under his jaw and a dog bite on his right arm.

Frederick was a determined young man, and his commitment to the navy paid off. Over the ten years of his contract, he would serve on three ships after Comus, and was promoted three times – to Able Seaman in April 1888, Leading Seaman in 1894 and Petty Officer 2nd Class on 1st January 1895.

In August 1896, Frederick’s contract with the navy came to an end, but he immediately re-enlisted. Over the next decade he added a further six vessels to the list of those he had served on, and had been promoted again, to Petty Officer 1st Class, taking the rank in August 1897. As time wore on, more and more of his service was spent on shore, and he spent the last two years of his second contract based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

Petty Officer Russell’s contract came to an end in August 1906 and his trail goes cold for a few years. An entry on the 1911 census suggests that he may have found work as a servant in the St Aloysius School on Hornsey Lane, Upper Holloway, Middlesex.

Frederick had also met someone by this point, and on 7th January 1911, he was due to marry Elizabeth Stone at Holy Trinity Church on Haverstock Hill. The nuptials did not take place, however, the vicar noting that the entry was cancelled, ‘the parties not having presented themselves at the time appointed.’ The couple were still very much together, however, and went on to have four children: Frederick, Gladys, Ernest and George.

When war broke out, Frederick was called back into service in his previous role of Petty Officer 1st Class. Over the course of two years, he spent six months on board the battleship HMS Duncan. The rest of the time he served at his former base HMS Pembroke, and is seems likely that this was so that he was closer to his family.

By the summer of 1916, Frederick’s health was starting to fail. He contracted pneumonia, and the condition would get the better of him. He passed away on 29th July 1916, a few days short of his 48th birthday.

The body of Frederick Russell was laid to rest in the military section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base he had called home for a lot of his navy career.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Norfolk, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 2nd Class William Berwick

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Stoker 2nd Class William Berwick

William George Berwick was born in Norwich, Norfolk, on 12th July 1896. He was the oldest of two children – his younger sibling, sister Agnes, was born thirteen years after him – to William and Lucy Berwick.

The family lived at 29 Fishergate, close to the River Wensum. The 1901 census recorded William Sr working as a brush maker, while Lucy was a silk weaver. Fast forward a decade, and while they were living in the same house, William Sr was a licenced victualler, with his son assisting him in the business.

War broke out in 1914, and William Jr would eventually be called upon to serve his country. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 11th January 1917, giving up his then job as a boot and shoe operator to work as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service papers show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. His was recorded as having an appendix scar.

Stoker Berwick was sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. After six months he was giving his first posting, HMS Wallington, the shore base on the Humber estuary. Just a few weeks later, he was sent back to Pembroke, in anticipation of his first sea-going assignment.

The dockyard was a particularly busy place in the summer of 1917, and temporary accommodation was set up. William found himself billeted at Chatham Drill Hall, away from the main barracks.

On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line, as the German Air Force launched a bombing raid. One of the bombs landed squarely on the Drill Hall, and Stoker 2ns Class Berwick was killed. He was just 21 years old.

The body of William George Berwick was taken back to Norfolk for burial. He was laid to rest in Norwich Cemetery, not far from where his parents and sister still lived.

[Note: the photo above is of the memorial to the Chatham Air Raid victims, close to the mass grave for those whose bodies were not identified, in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.]

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Middlesex, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Frederick Benmore

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Stoker 1st Class Frederick Benmore

Frederick George Benmore was born in Blackwall, Middlesex, on 5th November 1895. The middle of nine children, his parents were William and Emily Benmore. William was a barge builder, and the family grew up around the docklands, first taking rooms as 212 Leven Road, Bromley-by-Bow, then at 5 Oak Road, Canning Town.

By the time of the 1911 census, Frederick was working as a labourer, picking iron to earn his keep. His was one of three wages coming into the household: his older brother William was a dock labourer, boiling pitch, while William was employed as a sawyer, building barges.

When war broke out, London’s docks were a key focal point. Keen to play his part, keen to earn a regular pay packet, Frederick stepped up, and enlisted. He joined the Royal Navy on 29th July 1915, as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service papers show that he was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He had a number of tattoos on both forearms.

Stoker Benmore’s base would be HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. He was quickly put to work, and was assigned to the depot ship HMS Tyne. She would remain his home until the end of May 1917, by which point he had been promoted to Stoker 1st Class. His annual reviews note a very good character, and a satisfactory ability.

By the summer of 1917, Frederick was back at HMS Pembroke. It was a particularly busy place at that point in the war and temporary barracks had been set up. Stoker Benmore found himself billeted at The Drill Hall, waiting for his next posting.

On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line, as the German Air Force launched a bombing raid. One of the bombs landed squarely on the Drill Hall, and Stoker 1st Class Benmore was among the dozens to be killed. He was 21 years of age.

The body of Frederick George Benmore was taken back to London for burial. He was laid to rest in the East London Cemetery, Plaistow.

[Note: the photo above is of the memorial to the Chatham Air Raid victims, close to the mass grave for those whose bodies were not identified, in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.]