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

Private Alfred Darch

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Private Alfred Darch

Alfred James Darch was born early in 1884, the second of seven children to James and Emily Darch. James was a postman and labourer from Somerset, but the family were brought up in Devon village of Clayhidon.

By the time of the 1901 census, the family had moved over the border to Wellington. Alfred had completed his schooling, and was working as a showmaker’s assistant. He committed himself to the role, and by 1911 was a shoemaker in his own right. By this point he was one of two of the Darch children to still be living with his parents: the family were settled at 22 Eight Acres Lane in Wellington.

When war broke out, Alfred stepped up to play his part. On 19th October 1916 he enlisted, joining the Army Medical Corps. His service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall. They also suggested that his right leg was slightly shorter than his left, following an old dislocation. Private Darch had also had an operation for appendicitis five years previously.

Alfred was sent to Codford, Wiltshire, where the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital was located. His time there was to be tragically short, however. On 17th November he was admitted himself, suffering with some breathing complications. The medical report noted that he was “vaccinated a fortnight ago. Bad, sore, inflamed arm. Reported sick eight days later with general malaise, slightly sore throat, slight headache – some cough. He had one anti-typhoid inoculation 2 or 3 days before vaccination… Has had no [previous] chest trouble… Face flushed. Temp 104.8. Pulse 100. Tongue white in centre, red at sides. Breath extremely foul. Voice hoarse. Breathing quiet. Not distressed.”

Over the nest week, Private Darch’s health deteriorated. Pleurisy was suggested, but when he passed away, at 5:45am on 24th November 1916, the diagnosis was pneumonia. He was 32 years of age.

Alfred James Darch was laid to rest in the extension to St Marys Church, Codford, not far from the base to which he had been sent just weeks before.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, photography, Rifleman, story, war, Wiltshire

Rifleman Edward Foster

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Rifleman Edward Foster

The early life of Edward Foster is destined to remain lost in the mists of time. Born in Sydenham, Christchurch, New Zealand on 16th May 1883, the only family connection available is Arthur Norman, a half-brother.

By 1916, Edward was working as a labourer and living in the British Empire Hotel in Gisborne. At this point, however, war was raging across the world, and New Zealanders were being called upon to serve their King.

Edward stepped up to play his part, and his service records confirm the man he had become. At 32 years of age, he stood 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighed 11st 4lbs (71.7kg). He had light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion and, interestingly, his medical report notes that, while he was fit to serve, he was of very deficient intelligence. Edward’s papers also report that in around 1906 he had spent two months in a Wanganui prison.

Assigned to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, Rifleman Foster’s unit set sail from Wellington on 19th August 1916. Their ship, the SS Aparima, would arrive in Devonport, Devon towards the end of October. Edward spent nearly three weeks of the of the voyage in the ship’s hospital, suffering from influenza.

When the brigade arrived in Britain, they were marched to camp in Sling, near Bulford, Wiltshire. Rifleman Foster’s health was still causing issues, however, and, on 10th November 1916, he was transferred to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital, near the Codford ANZAC base. He was suffering from bronchial pneumonia, and this was to take his life. He died on 14th November 1916, at the age of 33 years old.

Edward Foster was laid to rest in the new extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford. Thousands of miles from home, he was surrounded by tens of his army colleagues.

Australia, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, photography, Private, Rifleman, story, war, Wiltshire

Rifleman John Delaney

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Rifleman John Delaney

Little information is available on the early life of Rifleman John Delaney. Born in Launceston, Ausrtalia, on 31st January 1888, by the summer of 1916 he was working as a shepherd in the New Zealand settlement of Whatatutu.

It was here that he enlisted in the country’s Expeditionary Force, and was assigned to the Rifle Brigade. His service records note that, at 28 years of age, he was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighed 143lbs (64.9kg). The record confirms that he had fair hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion. He had tattoos on both forearms, and a scar on his left foot. The service docmentation also gives his next-of-kin as his friend, Mr G Garrett of Springbank, near Canterbury, on New Zealand’s South Island.

John’s unit boarded the TSS Maunganui in Wellington on 15th November 1916, embarking on the ten week voyage to Britain. Arriving in Devonport on 29th January 1917, Rifleman Delaney arrived at the ANZAC camp in Codford, Wiltshire, a few days later.

The journey had taken its toll on a lot of the newly arrived troops. John was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on the outskirts of the camp with pneumonia on 10th February. His condition was to prove too severe, however, and he passed away just seven days later. He was 29 years of age.

John Delaney was laid to rest in the specially extended graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Codford.

Across the available documentation, John’s rank is given as both Private and Rifleman. I have used the latter rank, as this is what is provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Rifleman John Delaney
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Charles Tombs

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Private Charles Tombs

Charles Tombs was born on 26th November 1875 in Sefton, New Zealand. The seventh of eight children, his parents were Job and Elizabeth Tombs.

There is little information available about Charles’ early life. He found work as a chainman, working as a labourer in a sawmill.

On 11th December 1899, Charles married Eliza Pound, the daughter of immigrants from Somerset. The couple settled in Wairau, and went on to have six children: John, Charles, Arthur, William, Ronald and Alice.

(The Tombs and Pounds seemed to have been closely connected: Charles’ younger brother John, went on to marry Eliza’s younger sister, Elizabeth.)

Sadly, Eliza died in 1910, leaving Charles to raise four children (John and Alice having died when just babes-in-arms), alone. A later document gives Charles’ next-of-kin as Mrs R Register, who was, in fact, his younger sister, Mary (who had married Robert Register in 1907).

War was coming, and Charles would be called upon to serve his long-distant King and Empire. On 26th July 1916, he stepped up, and enlisted in the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment. His service records show that, at 40 years of age, he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, and weighed 119lbs (54kg). He had brown hair, blue eyes and a dark complexion.

Private Tombs’ unit departed from New Zealand on 15th November 1916, making the journey to Britain on the RMS Tahiti. The journey took nearly three months, and Charles arrived in Devonport, Devon, on 29th January 1917.

The ANZAC camp near Codford, Wiltshire, was to be Private Tombs ultimate destination, and he arrived there a couple of days after landing in Britain. After a lengthy journey, his health had been impacted, as had many of the men he had travelled with.

Suffering from bronchitis, Charles was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on the outskirts of the camp. The condition was to prove his undoing, and he passed away on 17th February 1917. He was 41 years of age.

Charles Tombs was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, Wiltshire.

Private Charles Tombs
(from findagrave.com)
Chief Stoker, Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Stoker, Malta, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Chief Stoker William Beadle

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Chief Stoker William Beadle

William Henry Beadle was born in Heybridge, Essex, on 23rd April 1870. The youngest of three children his parents were William and Sophia Beadle. William Sr was a waterman-turned-labourer, and the young family lived with Sophia’s parents.

When Sophia died in 1875, her widow and their children remained with his in-laws. William Sr died in 1887, and by the time of the 1891 census, his son was living with his now widowed grandmother. The document notes that she was a pauper, but he was a moulder in the local iron works.

William sought bigger and better things and, on 13th August 1891, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that, as 21 years of age, he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

Stoker Beadle was initially sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. He would spend the next six months split between there and HMS Wildfire, a shore establishment downriver at Sheerness.

In 1892, William spent six months on board the troop ship HMS Tyne. He returned to Chatham in July of that year, and was promoted to Stoker 1st Class. Over the course of the next eleven years, he would go on to serve on four ships, each time returning to his base port, HMS Pembroke.

William’s service record is pretty much mark free. He was confined to cells for seven days in October 1895, although his offence s unclear. In April 1896 he was promoted to Leading Stoker 2nd Class, and made Leading Stoker 1st Class three years later. In December 1902, while on board the cruiser HMS Diana, William was promoted again, to Acting Chief Stoker, and the following August, his initial contract of service came to an end.

By this point William was a married man. He married Clara Walford in Rochford, Essex, and, while the couple did not go on to have children, there is little additional information about her.

William re-enlisted as soon as his initial twelve-year contract came to an end. In December 1903 he was promoted to Chief Stoker, and he remained at this rank until he war formally retired on 16th August 1913. He had spent more than two decades in the Royal Navy ,and travelled the world: the 1911 census recorded him as one of the crew of HMS Lancaster, moored in Malta.

Chief Stoker Beadle’s time away from the Royal Navy was not to be lengthy and, when war broke out less than a year later, he was called upon once more. He spent nine months back at HMS Pembroke, before being assigned to the new cruiser HMS Calliope. She would be William’s home for the nearly three years, and it was not until March 1918 that he came back to shore.

William’s return to Chatham seemed to coincide with a downturn in his health. He was admitted to the town’s Royal Naval Hospital with nephritis, and this is what would take his life. He died on 8th March 1918: he was 47 years of age.

William Henry Beadle was laid to rest in the military section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the naval base he had called home for so long.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, injury, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman Arthur Crisp

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Able Seaman Arthur Crisp

Arthur Edward Crisp was born in 16th March 1899 in the Norfolk village of South Creake. The youngest of six children, his parents were blacksmith Henry Crisp and his wife, Sarah.

When war broke out across Europe, young Arthur had already had some experience of seamanship, and was keen to play his part. He joined the Royal Navy on 7th April 1915 and, given his age, he was assigned the rank of Boy 2nd Class. Initially sent to HMS Powerful, he was trained there for three months, rising to the rank of Boy 1st Class.

On 26th July 1915, Arthur was assigned to the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand, and would remain on board for the next two years. During this time, he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

His stint on New Zealand also exposed him to naval warfare, as she was heavily involved in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Ordinary Seaman Crisp came through, however, and remained part of the battlecruiser’s crew for a further year.

After a short time on shore, where he was based at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Arthur’s next posting was on board HMS Wallington. A former trawler, she had been converted to a boom defence vessel, she protected the dockyard in Grimsby. In November 1917, while based in the Lincolnshire town, Arthur was promoted again, rising to Able Seaman.

The following March, Arthur moved again, and was assigned to HMS Attentive, the shore base for the Dover Patrol. He would not remain there for long, however, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent. He passed away on 17th March 1918, from an intriguing combination of gunshot wounds to his chest and pneumonia. He had turned 19 years old the day before.

The body of Arthur Edward Crisp was taken to nearby Gillingham for burial. He was laid to rest in the military section of the town’s Woodlands Cemetery.

Able Seaman Arthur Crisp
(from findagrave.com)
Australia, Australian Army Nursing Service, Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, London, Matron, Nurse, photography, sister, story, war, Wiltshire

Matron Jean Walker

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Matron Jean Miles-Walker

Jean Nellie Miles Walker was born in Hamilton, Tasmania, on 16th November 1878. Her parents were Arthur and Louisa Walker, and her surname moves from Walker to Miles-Walker, depending on the document. There is little information about Jean’s early life, but by 1906 she had taken up nursing.

When war broke out, Jean was quick to step up and help those who were fighting. Initially enlisting on 27th September 1914, she was assigned to a hospital ship a year later, arriving in Ismailia, Egypt, in January 1916.

Now a Sister in the Australian Army Nursing Service, Jean’s records shot the woman she had become. At 36 years of age, she was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, and weighed 128lbs (58kg). She had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Over the next couple of years, Sister Walker moved to where she was needed. By September 1916 she was attached to the No. 15 General Hospital in Alexandria, by the end of the year saw her in the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in London. Jean’s service records note that she was mentioned in despatches on 1st October 1916, but there is no clarification about why she was recognised.

Jean was promoted to Matron in the summer of 1917, and over the next year, she spent time at hospitals in both Britain and France. By the autumn of 1918, she had moved to the No. 1 Australian General Hospital in Sutton Veny, Wiltshire. It was while based here that she fell ill, contracting a fatal combination of influenza and pneumonia.

Sister Walker passed away in the Sisters’ Quarters on 30th October 1918. She was just a couple of weeks short of her 40th birthday.

Jean Nellie Miles Walker was laid to rest in the grounds of St John’s Church, Sutton Veny, close to the hospital in which she had served.

Matron Jean Walker
(from findagrave.com)
Australia, Australian Army Nursing Service, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Nurse, photography, sister, Staff Nurse, story, war

Sister Fanny Tyson

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Sister Fanny Tyson

Fanny Isobel Catherine Tyson was born in Balranald, New South Wales, Australia, in 1890, and was the fourth of ten children to John and Teresa Tyson.

There is little information about Fanny’s early life, but when she finished her schooling, she went into the medical profession, and, by October 1911 she was working as a nurse at Bendijo Public Hospital. She became a staff sister and, when war broke out, she stepped up to support the troops being sent to Europe.

On 20th May 1915, Fanny enrolled in the Australian Army Nursing Service and by the following spring, she was on her way across the world. Arriving in France on 6th April 1916, she soon made her way to Rouen. For the next fourteen months Staff Nurse Tyson was attached to the No. 1 Australian General Hospital, but in the summer of 1917, she transferred to the No. 10 Stationary Hospital in Saint-Omer.

Fanny was committed to her job, which would have been traumatic at the best of times. She moved to Dieppe in February 1918, and in the closing weeks of the war, she transferred to Britain, working at the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Southall, Middlesex. On 1st October 1918 she was promoted to the rank of Sister.

Fanny would remain in Britain through the Armistice and beyond. On 20th April 1919, she was admitted to the No. 1 Australian General Hospital in Sutton Veny. Her service records do not confirm what had taken her to Wiltshire, but it seems likely that she was either accompanying wounded soldiers being transferred to Southall, or was training or supporting nurses there.

Sister Tyson had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. She passed away that evening, as the age of 28 years old.

Fanny Isobel Catherine Tyson was laid to rest in the grounds of St John’s Church, Sutton Veny. She was buried alongside the soldiers her unit had made comfortable in their last days.

Sister Fanny Tyson
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 2nd Class Herbert Andrews

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Stoker 2nd Class Herbert Andrews

Herbert Andrews was born on 9th December 1890 in the Devon village of Buckfastleigh. One of nine children, his parents were William and Elizabeth Andrews. William worked at a local woollen factory, and the family initially lived on Silver Street in the village before moving to Market Street by the turn of the century.

Herbert does not appear on the 1911 census, and at this point William and Elizabeth, both in their 60s, were living on their own. Interestingly, the census inadvertently reveals neither may have been able to write: the return was completed by James Dyer, who lived at 5 Plymouth Road in the village.

The next document available for Herbert relates to his military service. When war broke out, he seems to have quickly stepped up to play his part, giving up his job as a gardener to enlist in the Royal Navy on 7th January 1915. His records confirm that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall, with black hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having an operation scar for appendicitis.

Stoker 2nd Class Andrews was initially sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for training. This did not seem to go smoothly, and on 9th May he was detained for 21 days for disobeying orders and being insolent.

On 6th June, Herbert was assigned to the battleship HMS Marlborough. Again, however, this posting did not last for long, and mental health issues may have come to the surface. By 1st July 1915, Stoker Andrews was back ashore in the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth, Devon. Within a matter of weeks, he was medically discharged from the navy, and was “discharged to Exminster Asylum on 1.9.15 as a dangerous lunatic.”

At this point, Herbert’s trail goes cold. He passed away on 21st August 1916, at the age of 25 years old. It seems likely that he was still admitted to the mental institution when he died, as his death was registered in Exeter.

Herbert Andrew’s body was taken back to Buckfastleigh for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of the town’s Holy Trinity Churchyard, alongside his brother, Henry, who had died fifteen years before.

Canada, Canadian Army Service Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, story, war

Private Arthur Shute

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Private Arthur Shute

Arthur Henry Shute was born on 13th February 1893 in Buckfastleigh, Devon. The younger of two children, he was the only son to Henry and Elizabeth Shute. Henry was a baker, and this trade soon took the family to Cirencester, Gloucestershire, where they had set up home by the time of the 1901 census.

Cirencester certainly suited the Shute family, and they remained at 107 Dyer Street for at least ten years. Arthur was set on learning the business, and the 1911 census found him as one of four apprentices to George Cox, a flour confectioner based in Hastings, Sussex.

New things were on the horizon, however, and Henry was evidently set on a better life for his family. On 10th May 1912, the family boarded the SS Victorian, destined for a fresh start in Canada. The Shutes eventually set up home at 118, 4 Avenue West in Calgary, Henry becoming a chef, and Arthur a baker.

Within a few years, the world was at war, and Arthur would step up to play his part. He enlisted on 13th September 1915, and wold be assigned to the Canadian Army Service Corps. His service records show that he was 6ft 0.5ins (1.84m) tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. The document also highlighted three years’ voluntary service with the 5th Gloucestershire Regiment.

Private Shute’s unit arrived back in Britain on 6th November 1915. Sent to a base in Shorncliffe, Kent, Arthur was transferred to the 3rd Field Bakery, taking up a role suited to his skills. In March 1916, his unit was sent to France, and he remained there for the next five months.

Arthur’s time in the army seems to have been beset by illness. He was admitted to hospital on 12th August 1916, having come down with influenza, and he was medically evacuated to Britain to recuperate. Arthur would not be discharged for another six weeks, and only returned to the base in Shorncliffe on 3rd October.

From this point on, Private Shute remained on British soil, and he would remain in Shorncliffe for the remainder of the conflict and beyond the Armistice. In January 1919, he was admitted to the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital in Eastbourne, again suffering from influenza, but this time the condition would prove to be fatal. He passed away on 5th February 1919, a week short of his 26th birthday.

With his immediate family living thousands of miles away in Canada, Arthur Henry Shute’s body was taken back to the town of his birth for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in Buckfastleigh.