Tag Archives: illness

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, London, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Gunner Henry Morris

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Gunner Henry Morris

The early life of Henry Morris is difficult to pin down although later records suggest that his parents were William and Elizabeth from Bath, Somerset. A baptism record from December 1882 shows Henry Morris, with a mother called Elizabeth, but no father is noted, so there is no way to confirm any connection.

The first concrete information for Henry is the 1911 census: this records Henry Morris living with his wife, Eliza, their son, Henry Jr, and Eliza’s mother, Emma Derrick. He was working as a poulterer, employed by a fishmonger’s, with Eliza also working as a fish hawker. Henry and Eliza – who had married in 1905 – would go on to have a second child, Emma, who was born in November 1911.

When war broke out, Henry stepped up to serve his King and Country. Full service records are lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted by the spring of 1916, joining the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner. Documents suggest two different units in which he served: the 26th Division Ammunition Column and the 5th (Reserve) Brigade.

By the autumn of 1916, Henry was suffering from nephritis. He was admitted to the military hospital on Endell Street, London, but his condition was to prove fatal. He passed away on 24th November 1916: he was 32 years of age. With a few discrepancies, a newspaper article gave a little more information about his life:

Henry Morris, RFA, 67 Avon Street, died this morning… He was invalided home from Salonika, and arrived in London nine weeks ago, He was married, and leaves a widow and two children… For eleven years Driver Brooks worked for Mr Broadhurst, fishmonger, York Buildings, Bath, and joined the army sixteen months ago.

[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 25th November 1916]

Henry Morris was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery.

Gunner Henry Morris
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, injury, Kent, killed in action, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Suffolk, war

Ordinary Seaman John Diaper

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Ordinary Seaman John Diaper

John Dolby Diaper was born in Stowupland, Suffolk, on 1st June 1898. He was the second youngest of ten children to George and Martha, and the older of two sons. George was a cattleman turned gardener, and it seems that John went into farm work when he completed his schooling.

When war broke out, John was called upon to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 6th June 1917, joining as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Ordinary Seaman Diaper was sent to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, for his training. The summer of 1917 was a particularly busy for the base, and temporary accommodation was set up in the Drill Hall; this is where John was billeted.

On the night of 3rd September 1917, Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line as a wave of German aircraft bombed the town. The Drill Hall received a direct hit, and Ordinary Seaman Diaper was badly injured. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in the town, and would remain there for some time.

John’s injuries were severe and, although his treatment was ongoing, the impact on his overall health was detrimental. Ultimately, the air raid weakened his system, and his heart gave out. He died on 18th April 1918, more than seven months after the bombing: he was 19 years of age.

John Dolby Diaper was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, alongside those who had given their lives on 3rd September.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Kent, Leading Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Petty Officer John Baker

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Petty Officer John Baker

John Patrick Baker was born on 20th March 1883, the only child to Henry and Mary Baker. Henry was naval pensioner-turned-labourer from Belfast, Ireland, while Mary was born in Queenstown, Ireland. By the time of the John’s birth, however, they had moved to Kent, settling in the village of Cheriton.

John is noticeable by his absence in the coming years. The 1901 census return found his parents living in the same home, but the only other resident was boarder Jesse Fuller.

The 1911 census, however, helps explain this disappearance. The document records John as being one of more than 500 crew on board the cruiser HMS Highflyer. He was notes as being a Leading Seaman and, on the day that the census was taken, the ship was in the Laccadive Sea, off the coast of western India, to the south of Goa.

John is also noted as being married, and it seems that he wed a woman called Adela the previous year. Her entry in the 1911 census noted she was living in a room at 206 Risboro Lane in Cheriton, Kent. The house was also occupied by the Leach family – William, Hannah and daughter Margaret – and a Christina Hawkes, who was also married. Whether they were all related is unclear, but Adela, at 30 years of age, was working as a domestic servant to pay her way.

Adela and John would go on to have two children: John Jr was born on 31st July 1911 – just four months after the census. His younger brother Ernest was born on 21st May 1914, four months before the outbreak of war.

There is little further information available on the Baker Family. John progressed in his naval career, and had risen to the rank of Petty Officer by the end of 1915. That winter he became unwell, although the condition is not readily documented. He was posted at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, by this point, and he may well have been admitted to the nearby Naval Hospital.

His illness was to prove fatal, however, and Petty Officer Baker passed away on 13th January 1916. He was 32 years of age.

John Patrick Baker was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic section of the Woodland Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the base he had known so well.

Artificer, Commonwealth War Graves, County Tyrone, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Kent, Northern Ireland, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Engine Room Artificer James Donnelly

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Engine Room Artificer James Donnelly

James Donnelly’s life is a challenging one to pin down. Based on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission information, he was born in 1888 in Cappagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and was the son of Owen and Mary Donnelly. Unfortunately, there are no baptism or census records to expand on his family background.

Military records are equally sparse. James enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Engine Room Artificer 4th Class. He was assigned to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent; given how early in the conflict, and his position at the lower end of the ERA rankings, is it likely that he was posted there for training.

James’ time in the military was to be brief. He was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, suffering from cerebrospinal meningitis. The condition was to prove severe: he succumbed to it on 19th May 1915, at the age of 27 years old.

Finances may have prevented the Donnelly family from bringing their boy back home. Instead, James was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the naval base at which he had served.

Engine Room Artificer James Donnelly
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Harold Randall

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Private Harold Randall

Harold Stanley Randall was born in Taunton, Somerset, in the autumn of 1898. One of twins, his parents were Joseph and Elizabeth Randall. Joseph was a carpenter, and when Elizabeth died in 1900, he was left with nine children to raise on his own. This led to Harold being raised Joseph’s brother and sister-in-law, George and Caroline, and he is noted as living with them in Bath, Somerset, in the 1901 and 1911 censuses.

There is little direct evidence of Harold’s life: at the time of the 1911 census he was still at school, so it is not clear what employment he took up once his education came to an end. When war broke out, he played his part, and had enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment by the summer of 1918.

Private Randall was attached to the 17th Battalion, a territorial force based in Essex. By the end of the war, Harold was billeted in St Osyth, and it was here that he fell ill. Details of his condition are lost to time, but his health was impacted enough for him to be admitted to the general hospital in Colchester.

Harold Stanley Randall’s illness was to get the better of him. He passed away on 7th December 1918, aged just 20 years old. His body was brought back to Somerset for burial, and he was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery. His next of kin was noted as his aunt Caroline, who had raised him from a toddler.

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

Private Victor Blatchford

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Private Victor Blatchford

Victor William Haydon Blatchford was born in Bath, Somerset, on the 20th November 1897. The younger of two children, his parents were William and Kate Blatchford.

William was a draper, and the family lived in the bustling city centre, above the shop he and Kate ran. By the time of the 1911 census, the family were registered as living in 12 rooms at 52 & 53 Southgate Street. As well as the Blatchfords, four other people made up the household: draper’s assistants Edith Letts and Nellie Harris, milliner Florence Carke, and general domestic servant Ellen Heskins.

War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and Victor was called upon to play his part. Full details of his military service have been lost to time, but a later newspaper report suggest he had enlisted early in 1916. William had died in October 1914, but it is unclear whether his son’s decision to enlist was related to his father’s passing.

Private Blatchford joined the Royal Army Service Corps, and was attached to the Mechanical Transport Depot in Norwood, Surrey. While information about his time in the regiment is no longer available, the same newspaper report hints at time spent overseas:

Private Victor WH Blatchford, ASC, MT, only son of Mrs William Blatchford, Okehampton Lodge, Kipling Avenue, died on May 20th, at Manor War Hospital, Epsom, from pneumonia, contracted in East Africa, after two years and three months’ active service. The funeral will be at Locksbrook Cemetery, and it is asked that no flowers be sent.

[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 25th May 1918]

Victor William Haydon Blatchford died on 20th May 1918: he was just 20 years of age. He was laid to rest in Locksbrook Cemetery, Bath, alongside his father. When Kate passed away in 1941, she was also interred in the family plot.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Lancashire, photography, Private, Royal Defence Corps, Second Lieutenant, Somerset, story, war

Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue

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Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue

Algernon Leopold O’Donoghue was born on 4th June 1869 in Plymouth, Devon. The youngest of five children, his parents were Charles and Frances O’Donoghue. Charles had worked for the East India Company and the family travelled a lot while the children were growing up. He was in India when, in the spring of 1872, he passed away.

By the time of the 1881 census, Frances had moved the family to the Walcot area of Bath, Somerset. She was working as an assistant, and employed a servant of her own to help support the four children.

Over the next few years, Algernon’s trail goes cold. In 1900, he married Janette Hay, the daughter of a Justice of the Peace, who had been born in Ceylon. It seems likely that they met overseas: the 1911 census return records that she had been born in Ceylon, while he was a retired forest manager whose job had taken him to Burma (now Myanmar).

The census document found the couple living in a seven-room villa in Combe Down, on the outskirts of Bath. The had had a son by this point, with Algernon Jr making up the family.

Algernon was working for the Bombay Trading Company, and back out in India, when war broke out. He returned home, and stepped up to serve his King and Empire. While his service records have been lost to time, Private O’Donoghue joined the Royal Defence Corps, and quickly rose through the ranks: by the spring of 1917, he was a Second Lieutenant.

It was while serving in the north west of Britain that he fell ill: “[he got] wet while out in heavy rain, pneumonia following, and then double pneumonia.” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 26th May 1917] Second Lieutenant O’Donoghue was admitted to the Whitman Military Hospital in Manchester, but his condition was too severe. He passed away on 22nd May 1917, two weeks before his 48th birthday.

The body of Algernon Leopold O’Donoghue was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid in the family plot in Bath’s panoramic Locksbrook Cemetery, reunited with his mother, Frances, who had died a decade before.

Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, North Somerset Yeomanry, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Yorkshire

Private John Sheppard

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Private John Sheppard

John Henry Sheppard was born in the autumn of 1889, the older of two children to John and Ellen. John Sr was a general labourer from the Weston area of Bath, Somerset, and when he died, Ellen found work as a laundress to bring in some money.

From the census returns of 1891, 1901 and 1911, it seems that John remained living on Church Street, Bath. The earliest record noted him living with his parents and younger brother, Charles. By 1901, his father had died, and Charles was also noticeable in his absence, so it may be that he had also passed away.

The 1911 census adds a little mystery to the Sheppard line. Although signed off by Ellen, she is not listed as being at the house on the day the return was taken. There are three occupants: John, working as a farm labourer; eight year old Nellie, whose relationship is listed as daughter; and Charles Crane, a 73 year old retired gardener.

On 27th September 1913, John married Elsie Holbrow. The daughter of a gardener, she was working as a domestic servant and he was a groom when the couple exchanged vows. They went on to have a son, Albert, who was born in October 1914.

When war came to Europe, John stepped up to play his part. Full details are lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted by the autumn of 1916, initially joining the North Somerset Yeomanry, before transferring across to the Somerset Light Infantry. Private Sheppard was attached to the 1st Battalion and soon found himself on the Western Front.

There is little concrete information about his service, but is appears that he was wounded at Arras in the spring of 1917. He was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the 3rd Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, Yorkshire.

Private Sheppard’s wounds were to prove too severe however, and he succumbed to them on 31st May 1917. He was 27 years of age.

John Henry Sheppard’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery. He was reunited with Elsie when she passed away in December 1949: husband and wife together again after more than three decades.

Army Veterinary Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Private, South Africa, story, Surrey, war

Private Harry Edwards

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Private Harry Edwards

Harry Edwards was born early in 1855 in South London. One of eleven children, his parents were John and Sarah Edwards. John was a carpenter, and the family were raised in Bermondsey, first in a small terrace in Chapel Place, then sharing a slightly larger house in Grange Walk.

Much of Harry’s life is lost to time. He married Mary Ellerington on 27th July 1879: she was a tailor’s daughter from Southwark, and the couple set up home at 29 Newington Causeway. The marriage certificate confirmed that Harry was employed as a warehouseman at the time, and their daughter, Amelia, was born the following spring.

A later document suggests that Harry went on to join the army, fighting as part of the South Africa Campaign. Sadly, however, his service records are lost to time, and so it is not possible to confirm when and for how long he served. Certainly, there is no mention of the family in the census returns from 1881 to 1911, so he may well have been overseas.

The next records available for Harry are those relating to his military service during the First World War. He enlisted early in 1915, joining the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. He found himself in France by mid-April, and was awarded the British and Victory Medals and the 1915 Star for his service.

Private Edwards came down with bronchitis in the spring of 1916: he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the Bath War Hospital in Somerset. It seems that Harry’s age was against him: he passed away from the condition on 17th July 1916, at the age of 61 years old.

Harry Edwards’ family may have been unable to afford the cost of bring him back to London for burial. Instead, he was laid to rest in the sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from the hospital in which he had breathed his last.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Second Lieutenant, story, Tyne & Wear, war, Worcestershire Regiment

Second Lieutenant Clement Edwards

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Second Lieutenant Clement Edwards

Clement Edward Arthur Edwards was born in the summer of 1898, and was the oldest of six children to Clement and Caroline Edwards. Clement Sr was a colonel in the army, and had been born in Dublin, Ireland. His wife hailed from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, but it is clear that the family travelled as it grew, as each of the Edwards children were born in a different location. Clement Jr was born in Devon, while Caroline had given birth to his younger siblings in locations as distant as Sussex, Hampshire and the West Indies.

By the time of the 1911 census, Clement Sr had retired from duty. The family had settled back in Devon, and were living in the 12-roomed North Grange in the village of North Lew. Clement and Caroline employed five staff, including a cook, a nurse, a housemaid, a kitchen/parlour maid and a stable boy.

It seemed inevitable that Clement Jr would have followed his father into the army. Sadly his service records are lost to time, but a later newspaper report gives an insight into this time in the army:

Colonel and Mrs Edwards of Townsend House, Halberton, have the sympathy of all their friends and neighbours in the loss they have sustained by the death of their eldest son, 2nd-Lieut. Clement Edwards Alexander Edwards, of the Worcestershire Regiment, from pneumonia, following influenza, at the Northern General Hospital, Newcastle-on-Tyne [sic]. Edwards was formerly at Blundell’s School. He joined up at the earliest possible opportunity, obtaining a commission in his father’s regiment. He was a great favourite with all who knew him.

[Tiverton Gazette: Tuesday 10th December 1918]

Clement Edward Alexander Edwards died on 5th December 1918: he was just 20 years of age. His body was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in Halberton.