Harold Francis Ford was born on the 12th November 1896, and was the older of two children to George and Alice. George was a domestic gardener, and the family were raised in Buckland, Somerset.
When Harold completed his schooling, he joined his father in the gardening business. The 1911 census recorded that the family had moved to Axmister, Devon, and were living in Old Park Cottage (although Alice and Harold were actually staying with her brother in Buckland St Mary when the return was taken).
By the time war broke out, Harold had found work as an assistant mechanic. He was keen to play his part, however, and enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers in May 1915. His service papers show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall, with brown eyes and dark brown hair.
Sent to Devonport for training, Harold seemed to impress his superiors. On 4th February 1916, he was made an Acting Lance Corporal, and this rank was formalised just a week later.
In April 1916, Lance Corporal Ford came down with bronchitis, and was hospitalised for two months. During that time he developed a heart condition, and this would prove severe enough for him to be discharged from military service. He was formally stood down on 14th June 1916.
At this point, Harold’s trail goes cold. He appears to have returned home, as this is where he died, on 16th December 1918. He had not long celebrated his 22nd birthday.
The body of Harold Francis Ford was laid to rest in the tranquil setting of St Michael’s Churchyard in Musbury, close to where his family were living. His headstone remembers “Frank”, an affectionate nod to what he was known as to family and friends.
William Bernard Lethbridge was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in the summer of 1886. The seventh of eight children, his parents were Robert and Mary Lethbridge. William’s baptism record gives his father’s profession as gentleman, while the 1891 census return gives him as being an indigo merchant.
The family were living in Bedford by this point, in a large house on Shakespeare Road. The oldest of the children was 13, but the family had two live-in servants, and shared their neighbourhood with army surgeons, wine merchants and barristers.
Robert died in 1897, and at this point, the family’s trail goes frustratingly cold. Mary and three of her daughters pop up in 1911, living in Kensington, Middlesex, but of William there is no sign. It may be that he travelled abroad, either with the army, or for business, but with no documentation to support this, it remains speculation.
Lieutenant Lethbridge’s probate record confirms that, at the time of his passing, he was living in the Devon village of Musbury, but passed away in the village of Murtle, near Aberdeen, Scotland. The CWGC documentation states that he died on 14th May 1920 from a sickness contracted in German East Africa. During the war he was connected to the 61st King George’s Own Pioneers, and this unit of the Indian Expeditionary Force was based in Africa during the conflict.
The body of William Bernard Lethbridge, who was 33 years old, was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil setting of St Michael’s Churchyard, Musbury.
William’s younger brother, Patrick, also served in the First World War. A former medical student, he went on to become a Captain in the King’s Own Scottish Borders.
Captain Lethbridge was killed on 25th September 1915, during the Battle of Loos. Just 27 years of age, he is commemorated on at Dud Corner Cemetery.
Sydney William Beck was born on the 6th April 1885 in Rochester, Kent. The seventh of nine children, his parents were Albert and Mary Beck. Albert was a bargeman, and this was a line of work into which his son would follow.
There is little concrete information about Sydney’s life. He is recorded as having married Janet Ellis on 16th April 1911, this being backed up by his later service records.
When war broke out, Sydney joined the Royal Naval Reserve as a Deck hand. His papers not that he was 5ft 9ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair and a fresh complexion. He is also recorded as having a clasped hands tattoo on his right forearm.
The funeral took place, with naval honours… on Saturday of Chief Deck Hand Sydney Beck, DSM, who passed away in the Royal Naval Hospital on the 12th inst., from pneumonia. The deceased, who was 33 years of age, was formerly a barge captain… He was on the trawler Aisne, which took place in the battle with a German submarine off Iceland. It was for this engagement deceased was given the DSM.
[Chatham, Rochester and Brompton Observer: Saturday 30th November 1918]
Sydney William Beck died on 12th November 1918, a day after the Armistice was signed, and a month after he was gazetted. His body was laid to rest in St Margaret’s Cemetery, Rochester, Kent.
Arthur Ernest Catchpole was born in the spring of 1874 in the Suffolk village of Aldringham. The seventh of eight children, and the youngest of two boys, his parents were Joseph and Sarah Catchpole.
Joseph was employed as a gas fitter and, by the time of the 1881 census, had moved the family to Croydon, Surrey, presumably for work. The document recorded the family as living at 8 Cecil Terrace, a small cottage to the north-west of the town centre.
It seems that Arthur sought a way out as early as he could. The next census he appears on is from 1901, and this gives his profession as a Private in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Intriguingly, there is a record for a solder from Suffolk by his name, who was imprisoned in Dumfries in 1891. There are no other documents relating to the offence, but, as Arthur is absent from that year’s census, a link seems possible.
The 1901 census recorded Arthur – who was now known by his middle name – as living in the village of Speldhurst, between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, in Kent. It also confirms that he was married, he and local woman Ellen Hoadley having exchanged vows in the summer of 1896. The would go on to have ten children between 1896 and 1916, all of them boys.
By the time of the next census return, the Catchpole family had moved back to Surrey, and were living in a small cottage at 12 Paxton Place, West Norwood. Ernest was now working as a domestic gardener, with Ellen left to raise their then seven sons.
When war came to Europe in the summer of 1914, it is likely that Ernest stepped up to play his part. Full details of his time in the army have been lost to time, but he was medically discharged from service on 10th February 1916. Arthur (his military documents reverting to his first name) had contracted tuberculosis, and was suffering from chronic myocarditis, and, as a result, was deemed unfit to remain a soldier.
At this point, Arthur’s trail goes cold. It seems likely that he returned home, with a later document noting the family’s residence as 4A Durban Road, a ground-floor flat in a Victorian terrace house.
It seems likely that Arthur’s health caught up with him. He passed away on 10th April 1918: he was 44 years of age. His widow posted a note in the local newspaper: “In loving memory of Ernest Arthur Catchpole, late of KRR, the beloved husband of Ellen Catchpole, who fell asleep on 10th April, 1918.” [Norwood Press and Dulwich Advertiser: Saturday 20th April 1918]
The body of Arthur Ernest Catchpole was laid to rest in the sweeping Streatham Park Cemetery, a short distance from his grieving family.
In the sprawling Streatham Park Cemetery, Surrey, is a headstone dedicated to Lieutenant WR Fairbairn of the East Surrey Regiment, who died on 12th January 1917, at the age of 56.
There is frustratingly little information available about Lieutenant Fairbairn. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records confirm his widow as Mrs F Fairbairn, of 35 Egerton Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, but this was a boarding house and the couple were not resident there at the time of the 1911 census.
Without a confirmed first name, or place of birth, it isn’t possible to track down baptism or parental records, and Lieutenant Fairbairn’s name does not appear in contemporary newspaper reports.
As a commissioned officer, standard military records do not exist, and with no service number available, his time with the East Surrey Regiment is a mystery.
One document gives a tiny insight into Lieutenant Fairbairn’s life: the Hospital Registers for 1914-1919 confirms that he was admitted to the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital on Millbank, Westminster, on 12th December 1916. While the document doesn’t confirm his first name, it does show that he had been in the army for some 41 years, which might explain his absence from any census records. Now attached to the 21st Training Reserve, he was suffering from chronic bronchitis and nephritis.
Lieutenant Fairbairn was discharged from hospital on 6th January 1917, and for the next six days his trail goes cold. Whether he was sent to Streatham to recuperate, or whether he was based there with his wife is unclear.
Either way, Lieutenant WR Fairbairn passed away on 12th January 1917, ad the age of 56 years old. He was buried in Streatham Park Cemetery, taking the details of much of his life with him.
Within a few weeks of following his youngest brother Fred to the grave, Sergt. Alexander Hurst has himself passed away, after a shirt but severe illness, in his 55th year. Born at the Grammar School, Cavendish, on Michaelmas Day, 1862 (being the day on which his father, the late Mr Robert Hurst, commenced his duties as headmaster there) he early closely associated himself with the social life of the village. A keen sportsman, he achieved considerable success on the cricket field, being a stead batsman, and a bowler with plenty of “spin.” He also devoted much time and study to campanology, an ort of which he was a skilful exponent, and composed several peals. On leaving Cavendish in 1884, he was the recipient of a handsome testimonial from the parishioners in recognition of the good work he had done in the village… At Long Melford he was for many hears a member of the Volunteer force, in which he attained the rank of Sergt. He was an excellent rifle shot, and on several occasions he the satisfaction of figuring in the prize list at Bisley. On the football field he was a particularly neat half-back, and was a member of the winning County Senior Cup team in the season 1887-88. As a musician Sergt. Hurst showed considerable ability, being gifted with a critical ear, and possessing a baritone voice of sympathetic timbre. For many years he officiated as organist at Bulmer Parish Church. For the past twelve years or so Sergt. Hurst had resided in London, where he was in the employ of Sir Herbert Marshall & Rose as expert piano tuner. Shortly after the outbreak of war, notwithstanding his 50 odd years, he offered himself for service and joined the County of London Battalion with the rank of Sergeant. He devoted himself to his military duties with utmost zeal, and it seems more than probable that his anxiety to serve his country to the best of his ability hastened his end.
[Suffolk and Essex Free Press: Wednesday 7th March 1917]
Alexander Burnett Hurst was the middle of seven children – all boys – to Robert and Margaret Hurst. By the time of the 1881 census, he was teaching at Cavendish Grammar School, Suffolk, which was a small educational establishment with a dozen boarding students.
The next census followed the family’s move to Long Melford, and by this time Alexander was working as a pianoforte tuner, while his older brother Bernard was employed as an organist.
On 30th October 1899, Alexander married Maude Thurston. The daughter of a chemist from Ipswich, Suffolk, the couple married in her local parish church, St Lawrence’s. The couple’s wedding certificate recorded the groom as an organ builder.
By 1901, the newlyweds had set up home in Long Melford, taking a cottage two doors up from the historic Bull Hotel, and next door to Bernard and his family. Alexander was now working as a music teacher, although it seems likely that he had his fingers in many melodic pies by this point.
Alexander and Maude would go on to have three children – daughters Geraldine and Evelyn, and son Kenneth. The 1911 census suggests that the family had moved south by 1907, as this is where young Kenneth was born. The document recorded them in rooms at 134 Kennington Park Road, sharing the building with teachers, actresses and music hall artists.
Little information remained about Alexander’s military service. While the newspaper report suggests he was assigned to the London Regiment, other documents confirm he was a member of the Royal Defence Corps. The unit was specifically set up for older service personnel and, attached to No. 1 Protection Company, Serjeant Hurst was based in London.
Alexander Burnett Hurst died from pneumonia on 26th February 1917: he was 54 years of age. He was laid to rest in Streatham Park Cemetery, a short distance from where his widow and family were living.
Maude remained living on Kennington Park Road. By the time of the 1921 census she shared her home with her two daughters – the eldest of whom was working as a clerk and typist for the Shell Motor Oil Company – and her widowed mother, Mary Thurston.
Cyril William Renton was born in Brixton, Surrey, on 27th November 1872. The older of two children, hie parents were Edward and Emily Renton. Edward was an engraver and artist and, when Emily died shortly after Cyril’s younger brother was born, he married again, to Harriett Predier: the couple went on to have two children, Cyril’s half-brother and half-sister.
By the time of the 1891 census, Edward had moved the family to Hampstead, Middlesex. Setting up home in the illustrious South Hill, their home – a Georgian semi-detached villa backing onto Hampstead Heath – served as a fine setting for the now art dealer head of the household.
When Cyril completed his schooling, he found work as a stockbroker. On 22nd December 1894, he married Mary Nettleton at St Paul’s Church in Kentish Town. Mary was the daughter of a solicitor’s clerk, and Cyril’s new father-in-law seems to have helped his career.
The 1901 census found the young couple living at 33 Tivoli Road in Hornsey, Middlesex. Their eldest child, Lionel, had been born four years before, and Mary’s father and brother were also living with them. Cyril was now recorded as being an articled clerk for a firm of solicitors.
Second son Esmonde was born in 1897, and Cyril’s career continued its upward journey. By 1911 the Rentons had moved to 46 Glasslyn Road in Crouch End, and had taken on two servants to support the family. Cyril was now a full-blown solicitor and counted an estate agent’s clerk, a cement company secretary, a master stevedore and a human hair merchant amongst his neighbours.
[He] practised as a solicitor as the Police Court. For several years he represented the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He was at one time the vice-president of the Highgate Thirty Club, and in 1914-15 became the president.
[Hornsey & Finsbury Park Journal: Friday 3rd August 1917]
While obviously good at his job, Cyril wanted more:
At a time when he seemed very likely to make a big name for himself in the various courts he attended, he decided to dispose of his practice and to study for the bar. In the Michaelmas law examination of 1913 he successfully passed in all the subjects and the “final,” and was thereupon duly “called.” He was getting on extremely well in the higher branch of his profession when war broke out…
[Hampstead & Highgate Express: Saturday 28th July 1917]
Cyril felt a call to serve his country, and so stepped up to enlist.
[He] joined the Inns of Court OTC, and went into training. When he obtained his commission je joined a battalion of the London Regiment, and, having been through a course at Hythe, he became a musketry instructor and was engaged in that capacity for many months. At last the authorities yielded to his repeated applications to be sent on active service, and he went to France. There he had six months’ fighting, and only returned after he had been wounded.
[Hampstead & Highgate Express: Saturday 28th July 1917]
Attached to the 20th (Country of London) Battalion (Blackheath and Woolwich), Lieutenant Renton’s older son, Lionel, was also fighting, and was attached to the 16th Service Battalion – also known as the Public Schools Battalion – of the Middlesex Regiment.
It is unclear whether Cyril returned to the fray, and by the spring of 1917, having recovered from injuries, he fell ill. His health seems to have been impacted by his injuries, and he passed away from his condition on 19th July: he was 44 years of age.
The body of Cyril William Renton was taken to Streatham, Surrey, for burial: the reasons are unclear, but it is likely that this is where his mother and father (who had died in 1904) had been buried. Private Lionel Renton was recuperating from injuries, and was able to attend the funeral with Mary and Esmonde.
Robert James Eustace was born in the summer of 1887 in the Oxfordshire village of Shirburn. The oldest of three children, he was the only son to James and Elizabeth (or Eliza) Eustace. James was a shepherd, and by the time of the 1901 census, he had taken up work on a farm near Slough, Berkshire. The document found the family living at 4 Wellington Place, on Grove Road, to the north of the town.
Eliza died in the years after that census was taken, and by the time of the next one, recorded in 1911, James and Robert had moved to 2 Pioneer Place in nearby Cippenham. Robert was employed as a carman, but it is clear that he sought more and he took the risk of emigrating for a better life.
Robert – who now took to calling himself James – moved to Gull Lake, Saskatchwean, where he took up work as a farmer. It is unclear when he left Britain, but when war broke out, he was called upon to come back.
James enlisted in Moosejaw on the 30th November 1915. His service papers show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.64m) tall, and had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion.
After initial training, Private Eustace’s unit – the 28th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry – left for Europe. Departing from Halifax on the 15th August 1916, James arrived in Liverpool nine days later. Further training took place, and he arrived in France on 5th December.
Private Eustace fought in some of the key battles of that part of the conflict, including at Ancre Heights, and Arras. But it was at Hill 60 that James came unstuck, and he was badly wounded in the buttock and leg.
Initially treated on site, Private Eustace was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Admitted to the Lord Derby War Hospital in Warrington, Cheshire, on 26th August 1917, his wounds required surgery. James was also recorded as having an abscess in the psoas muscle in his lower back. During the operation, this was drained and cleaned. His service papers included a diagram of the operation from his surgeon.
James remained in hospital for a month, and during that time, he developed toxaemia. The combination of his injury, the abscess and the blood poisoning would ultimately prove fatal: Private Eustace passed away on 28th September 1917. He was 30 years of age.
The body of Robert James Eustace was taken back south for burial. James, shill a shepherd, was now living at Dorney Court Farm, not far from Slough, and it was in the village’s burial ground that he laid his son to rest.
Courtenay Traice Lindsay was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on the 11th December 1874. The second of four children, he was the only son to Thomas and Ruth Lindsay. Thomas was an art teacher and examiner and, by the time of the 1881 census, he had moved the family to Rugby, Warwickshire, setting them up in the Temple Art Museum on Barby Road.
Education was important to Thomas, and it was obvious that his son’s passion was art. “He entered [Rugby] School in 1888 and left in 1892. He was afterwards Drawing Master at Seafield Park Engineering College, Hampshire, Trad Designer for textiles and pottery, and Examiner under the Board of Education in Geometrical Drawing.” [Memorials of Rugbeians Who Fell In The Great War, Volume VII]
On 10th January 1903, Courtenay married Charlotte Wetenhall. The daughter of a man of means, she was born in Stanwick, Northamptonshire, and the couple exchanged vows in her local parish church.
Courtenay’s mother died in 1905 and by the time of the 1911 census, he and Charlotte were living at 143 Beaufort Street, Chelsea, Middlesex. A five-storey Georgian building, they had let our rooms to aspiring artist Marion Forbes. Courtenay was an artist and designer himself, and he and Charlotte had an eight-month-old son, Courtenay Jr.
When war broker out, Courtenay stepped up to play his part. He gained a commission in the Army Service Corps, but did not see any service overseas. “He… was engaged on Road Transport, in the Northern Command. Hard work in the Transport Service undermined his constitution, and he died of heart failure, following on septic poisoning, on April 28th, 1916. Age 41.” [Memorials of Rugbeians Who Fell In The Great War, Volume VII]
Courtenay Traice Lindsay died at Burnham Abbey, near Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire. Interestingly, while Charlotte and their son were living four miles north in Burnham Beeches, he was laid to rest in Dorney Burial Ground, a short walk to the south of the hospital.
Lieutenant Courtenay Lindsay (from Memorials of Rugbeians Who Fell In The Great War, Volume VII)
Ernest Bennett was born in Calne, Wiltshire, early in 1887, and was the only child to Henry and Elizabeth. Henry was a general labourer and carter for a local mill, but when he son completed his schooling, he took work as a mason’s labourer.
Alongside his paid work, Ernest also volunteered with the local militia, as a Private in the 4th Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment. He also fell in love and, on the 6th December 1913, he married Emily Hitchens. The couple set up home in Trowbridge, and went on to have two children: Phyllis and Nelson.
When war broke out, Ernest’s time in the army proved invaluable. He was mobilised on the 1st September 1914, and assigned to the 3rd Battalion of his former regiment. Private Bennett’s medical report shows that he was 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). He had fair hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.
Details of Private Bennett’s time in the army are sparse, but it is clear that he was sent to France by the end of November. He wasn’t overseas for long, however, and was back in Britain by the first week of February 1915. The reason for Ernest’s return is unclear, but it is likely to have related to his health: on the 2nd September 1915, he was medically discharged from the army.
At this point, Ernest’s trail goes cold. He appeared to have gone back home as, on Christmas Day 1916, this is where he passed away. He was 29 years of age.
The body of Ernest Bennett was laid to rest in Trowbridge Cemetery: the exact location has been lost to time, but he is commemorated with a CWGC headstone close to some other war graves.
