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Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, Greece, history, illness, photography, Rifle Brigade, Rifleman, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Rifleman Walter Knight

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Rifleman Walter Knight

Walter George Knight was born on 27th December 1887 and was the older of two children to George and Mary. George was a gardener from London, Mary had been born in Devon, but it was in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset that they settled down to raise their family.

On 11th October 1910, Walter married Rosa Burford at St Saviour’s Church. While listed as a spinster, Rosa had two children by this point – Phyllis and Lionel. A later document records Walter as their stepfather, but their full parentage is unclear.

The marriage certificate notes Walter’s trade as a musician, but the following year’s census shows a more reputable trade, as he had taken to working as an insurance agent. He and Rosa had set up home in Cranleigh Road, Bridgwater, by this point, in a small terraced house they shared with the two children and Rosa’s widowed father, William.

By the summer of 1914, war was brewing over European shores, and Walter was quick to step up and support his country. He enlisted in the army on 14th October, joining the Somerset Light Infantry. He spent a year with the regiment, before transferring to the 22nd Wessex & Welsh Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.

By January 1916, Rifleman Knight found himself sailing for the Eastern Mediterranean, spending the next year in Egypt and Salonika. It was while he was overseas, in the spring of 1917, that he became ill and, having contracted tuberculosis, he returned to the UK.

Walter’s condition meant he was no longer fit for the army: he was formally discharged from the Rifle Brigade on 16th April 1917, having served for two-and-a-half years. He was admitted to the Cheddon Road Sanatorium in Taunton, the aim being to help manage his condition.

Rosa and the children had moved from Bridgwater by this point, settling in a small house in Ravensworth Terrace, Burnham-on-Sea. It is likely that Walter came here to visit the family during good spells in his health. The lung condition was to get the better of him eventually, however, and he passed away on 2nd March 1918, at the age of 30 years old.

Walter George Knight was laid to rest in the peaceful Burnham Cemetery, a short walk from where his grieving family lived.

Rifleman Walter Knight
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, London, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, war

Sapper Oliver Banwell

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Sapper Oliver Banwell

Oliver Banwell was born in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, in 1882. One of nine children, his parents were mason William Banwell and his wife Jane. When he completed his schooling, Oliver followed his father into manual work and, by the time of the 1901 census, he was employed as a bricklayer.

In 1910, Oliver married Mary Ann Burrows, a carter’s daughter from Axbridge: the couple settled down in lodgings on Oxford Street, near the centre of Burnham-on-Sea, and went on to have three children: Stanley, Primrose and Violet.

When war came to Europe, Oliver stepped up to serve his King and Country. He gave up his new employment as a groom and enlisted on 13th September 1915, joining the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. His service records give some idea of the man he had become. He was 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall, weighing 141lbs (64kg), and was noted to be of good physical development, although he had slight varicose veins in both legs.

Sapper Banwell found himself in France by the end of April 1916. He spent six months overseas, before being posted back to Britain. Initially attached to the 82nd Training Reserve Battalion at the Royal Engineers Barracks in Chatham, Kent, by July 1917, he had moved again, to the 39th Fortress Company, in Sheerness.

In July 1918, Oliver was back in France again, where he was to remain until after the Armistice. By this point his health was beginning to fail and, on his return to Britain in December 1918, a medical examination deemed him no longer fit for army service. He was formally discharged from the Royal Engineers on 30th January 1919, suffering from cancer of the rectum.

Oliver returned to Burnham-on-Sea, and spent the next ten months with his family. His battle with cancer finally proved too much: he passed away on 4th December 1919, at the age of 37 years old.

Oliver Banwell was laid to rest in the family plot in Burnham Cemetery. Mary Ann was buried alongside him when she passed away in 1965, husband and wife reunited after 46 years.

Sapper Oliver Banwell
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, injury, photography, Private, Regimental Serjeant Major, Scotland, Sergeant Major, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Regimental Serjeant Major John Wimble

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Regimental Serjeant Major John Wimble

John Henry Wimble was born in the autumn of 1870, in Bathampton, Somerset. One of seven children, his parents were William and Charlotte Wimble. Charlotte had been married before, but her husband, John Eastment, had died in 1862, leaving her with three children to raise. She remarried in 1864, and William helped support the growing household.

John sought an escape to adventure and, when he finished his schooling, he enlisted in the army. Full service records are not available, but by the time of the 1891 census, he was noted as being a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was living in barracks in Farnborough, Hampshire.

In the autumn of 1891, John married Eliza Hammond. She had been born in Calne, Wiltshire, and, at the time of their wedding, which took place in Bath, she was working as a parlour maid. The couple would go on to have two children, Percy and Victor.

John completed his army service and, according to the 1911 census, the family had settled in Cheddon Fitzpaine, to the north of Taunton. He was noted as being an army pensioner and that he was working as a warehouseman in the government stores. By the time war broke out, the family had moved to Burnham-on-Sea, where John had taken up the role of caretaker at the local Institute.

The war has cost another gallant local soldier, in the person of Sergt.-Major Wimble, of the Somersets, his life. This brave man re-joined the Army when war broke out on condition he could go to the Front. He was wounded, and died in a hospital at Edinburgh. The War Office had the remains sent to Burnham on Tuesday, where they were placed in St Andrew’s Church, and a large attendance of the public and the [Volunteer Training Corps] attended the funeral on Wednesday.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 17th November 1915

John had been assigned to the 6th (Service) Battalion on re-enlisting, and was quickly sent to the front. Caught up in the Action of Hooge and the Second Attack on Bellewaarde, he was medically evacuated to Britain in the autumn of 1915, and passed away on 4th November, at the age of 45.

Here, though, accounts differ slightly. While the newspaper report suggests that he died of his wounds, the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects gives the cause of death as gastritis.

After the funeral at St Andrew’s Church, John Henry Wimble’s body was laid to rest in Burnham Cemetery.

Regimental Serjeant Major John Wimble
(from findgrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Essex, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, Nottinghamshire, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Suffolk, war, West Somerset Yeomanry

Private Richard Gale

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Private Richard Gale

Richard William Gale was born in the autumn of 1897 in the Devon village of Sidbury. The third of six children, he was the son of George and Emma Gale. George was a bricklayer and labourer, and the family had moved to Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, by the time Richard was ten, as this is where he had found work.

When Richard finished his schooling, he found employment as an errand boy for a school outfitters. By the time oft he 1911 census, there were four wages coming into the Gale household. Besides Richard and his father, his older brother, Frederick was working as a grocer’s apprentice, and his sister, Laura, was a dressmaker.

War was declared in the summer of 1914, and Richard was called upon to play his part. His service records no longer exist, so it is not possible to fully track his time in the army. However, he initially joined the 2nd/1st Battalion of the West Somerset Yeomanry and was sent for training in East Anglia.

As some point, Private Gale transferred to the Labour Corps, and became attached to the 949th Employment Company. Based in the London area, Richard’s duties are unclear, and his troop would have taken on any of a wide range of roles, from cooking and store work, to salvage, traffic control and telephone operating. Whether his previous work at the outfitters came into play is unclear, although Employment Companies were also involved in tailoring, shoemaking and laundry work.

Private Gale survived the conflict, and seems to have been based in the the Nottingham area after the Armistice. By March 1919, he had become unwell and, having contracted pleurisy, he was admitted to the Berridge Road Military Hospital. The condition took its toll on Richard, sadly, and he passed away on 19th March 1919. He was just 21 years of age.

Richard William Gale’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of Burnham-on-Sea, a short walk from where his family lived.

Private Richard Gale
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Deck Hand, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Somerset, story, war

Deck Hand James Gore

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Deck Hand James Gore

James Gore was born on 13th May 1876 in Steart, a community on the Somerset coast near Bridgwater. An only child, his parents were Robert Brewer and Elizabeth Gore, but parental duties were shared with Robert’s family, and Elizabeth went on to marry Thomas Dibble when James was just 4 years old.

Robert was a fisherman, as was his father, and this was a life into which James would also follow. By 1891 he was working with his paternal grandfather, John Brewer, and within ten years he was running his own boat.

On 12th December 1901, James married Emily Chilcott at the parish church in Stogursey, Somerset. She was the daughter of Richard, Chilcott, a labourer employed on the expanding road network for the area. The couple initially set up home in Steart, but had moved to Burnham-on-Sea by the time of the 1911 census. They would go on to have four children – Harold, Reginald, Margaret and Olive – between 1905 and 1916.

When war broke out, James was 38 years old. He wasn’t called up immediately, but by the closing months of the conflict, the needs of the Royal Navy were strong enough for him to be conscripted. He joined up on 21st August 1918 and, having built a career as a fisherman, he was assigned to the Royal Naval Reserve. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, with a fresh complexion and blue eyes.

Deck Hand Gore was sent to HMS Victory, the Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, for his initial training. Here, billeted in cramped barracks, perfect breeding grounds for germs and disease, he quickly became ill. Having contracted pneumonia, James was admitted to the Haslar Hospital in Gosport. The condition was to take his life: he passed away on 10th September 1916, less than three weeks after enlisting. He was 40 years of age.

James Gore’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful cemetery in Burnham-on-Sea, not far from where Emily and the children were still living.

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

Boy 2nd Class Alan Martin

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Boy 2nd Class Alan Martin

Alan Harold Martin was born on 24th May 1899 in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. The oldest of six children, his parents were bricklayer Clifford Martin and his wife, Augusta. The 1911 census found the family living at 64 Abingdon Street in the town, a terraced house not far from the seafront.

When war broke out, Alan was not long out of school. He had found work as a painter’s mate, but with adventure waiting for him, he had an obvious need not to miss out. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 28th August 1915 and, as he was too young to be formally inducted into the service, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class.

Alan was sent to HMS Impregnable, shore-based establishment in Devonport, Devon, for his training. His service records show that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Tragically, Boy Martin’s time in the Royal Navy was not to be a long one. Billeted in tightly-packed barracks, with new recruits from across the country, he quickly fell ill. Contracting pneumonia, he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth. The condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 16th December 1915, at the age of just 16 years old.

Alan Harold Martin’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Burnham-on-Sea Cemetery, a short walk from where his grieving family lived.

Boy 2nd Class Alan Martin
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private Wallace Parsons

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Private Wallace Parsons

Wallace Waterman Parsons was born in the autumn of 1893 and was one of thirteen children. His parents were both Somerset-born, David and Mary Parsons, and it was in a small terraced house in Bampton Street, Minehead, that the family were raised.

David was a chimney sweep and by the time of the 1911 census, eight of the then household of nine people were earning a wage. Six of the Parsons children – ranging in age from 15 to 33 – were living with their parents, working variously as a chair caner, a labourer and a French polisher. Wallace, 17 years old by this point, was employed as a stone worker, presumably alongside his older brother, David, who was a mason.

When war came to European shores, at least two of the Parsons brothers enlisted. While full service records no longer exist, it is clear that Wallace joined the Somerset Light Infantry, and was attached to the 8th (Service) Battalion.

Private Parsons arrived in France on 11th October 1915, and may have been involved in the closing days of the Battle of Loos. Over the next year, he would have been caught up in the fighting at the Somme, but by the autumn of 1916, he had fallen ill and returned to Britain.

Whatever condition Wallace had contracted led to his discharge from the army: his final day in service was 19th December 1916. He was awarded a Silver Star for his service: this confirmed his honourable discharge, and he wore it to show that he had served his country and was not, in effect, a coward for walking the streets of his home town, while other sons, brothers and fathers were fighting for their country.

At this point, Wallace’s trail goes cold. It is likely that he returned home, but his health continued to dog him. He passed away from anaemia on 17th July 1920, at the age of 26 years old.

Wallace Waterman Parsons was laid to rest in the sweeping vista of Minehead Cemetery.

Wallace’s older brother Hubert also served in the Somerset Light Infantry. Attached to the 1st/5th Battalion, he fought in the Middle East and rose to the rank of Corporal. Hubert fell ill with enteritis, dying from the condition on 13th April 1916. He was laid to rest 3,500 miles (5632km) from home, in the Kut War Cemetery, Iraq.

Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Essex Regiment, Great War, Hertfordshire, history, illness, Lieutenant, Mauritius, Oxfordshire, photography, Second Lieutenant, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Lieutenant Arthur Devas

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Lieutenant Arthur Devas

Arthur Edward Devas was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, on 29th July 1877. One of ten children, his parents were Reverend Arthur Devas and Louisa. Arthur Sr was chaplain at the County House of Correction, the prison a short walk away from the family home, over the Kennet and Avon Canal. The 1881 census showed the Devas’ were living to the south of the town centre, and were supported by three servants.

Arthur standing as a vicar’s son earned him an education. He was sent to the prestigious Haileybury College in Hertfordshire. When his father died in 1901, he felt a pull to see more of the world, and joined the army. Enlisting in the Essex Regiment in September 1902, he was taken on as a Second Lieutenant.

Promoted to the rank of full Lieutenant in January 1906, the next census, in 1911, recorded Arthur at the Warley Barracks in Billericay. When war broke out in August 1914, he was based in Mauritius: he remained there for the next five months, before his battalion – the 1st – were brought back to England.

Setting up camp in Banbury, Oxfordshire, the aim was to train the battalion in readiness for an assault in Gallipoli. For Lieutenant Devas, however, this was not to be. He had fallen ill on the journey back to Blighty and, having contracted typhoid, he was admitted to the 3rd Southern General Hospital in Oxford. He died at the hospital on 15th February 1915, at the age of 37 years old.

Louisa and some of her children had moved to Minehead, Somerset, after her husband’s death, and this is where Arthur Edward Devas’ body was brought for burial. He was laid to rest in the extensive Minehead Cemetery, to be reunited with his mother when she passed away some eighteen years later.

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Lancashire, Lieutenant, London, photography, Royal Army Medical Corps, Somerset, story, Surrey, war, Wiltshire

Captain James Pettinger

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Captain James Pettinger

The death of Capt. James Wilson Pettinger has taken place in a military hospital at Aldershot. Captain Pettinger came to Kingsbridge [Devon] in 1903, entering into partnership with Dr D de Courcy Harston… He made a wide circle of friends, and was appreciated for his professional skill. Previously to coming to Kingsbridge, he was house surgeon at St George’s Hospital, London. In July 1915, Dr Pettinger volunteered for service in the Royal Army Medical Corps, being appointed Lieutenant to the Plymouth Military Hospital. He quickly gained promotion to captain, and was appointed to a hospital ship, and served in the Mediterranean for several months. He contracted blood poisoning in the arm, and was sent to Netley Hospital [Hampshire]. On recovery he was placed in charge of an infections hospital for several months at Salisbury. He was later ordered to France, and being taken ill was transferred to an Aldershot hospital, where he died from pneumonia. He leaves a widow and one son. Dr Pettinger was 43 years of age.

Western Times: Tuesday 16th October 1917

James Wilson Pettinger was born in the spring of 1874 in Moss Side, Lancashire. The youngest of four children, his parents were doctor and surgeon George Pettinger and his wife, Sarah.

James may have been a sickly child: the 1901 census recorded him as being a patient in community hospital in North Meols, near Southport, Lancashire. The oldest of only three patients, the facility was overseen by caretaker John Carr and his matron wife, Susan.

Having gone on to study at Cambridge University, James was carving a career for himself. By the time of the next census he was living in Shaftesbury, Dorset, he was recorded as being a medical practitioner, living on his own in a house near the centre of town.

As the Western Times was to report, James moved to Devon in 1903. On 8th January, he married Clara Risdon, a nursing sister seven years his senior. She came from the Somerset village of Old Cleeve, and the couple married in her local parish church. The couple set up home in Ewart House in Kingsbridge, and went on to have a son, Geoffrey, who was born that November.

James’ career continues to flourish. The 1910 medical directory noted that he was the Honourable Medical Officer for Kingsbridge & District Cottage Hospital, and noted that he had previously worked as an Honourable Physician, Honourable Surgeon, Ophthalmologist, Aural, Obstetric and Dental Assistant and Assistant Surgical Registrar at St George’s Hospital in London.

Little information relating to James’ time in the armed forces is available, and so it falls to his obituary in the Western Times to fill in the gaps. It would seem that Clara and Geoffrey moved to Minehead, Somerset, while James was serving overseas. The town was not far from where she had been born, and family connections may have helped with her husband’s absence.

When James Wilson Pettinger died, on 6th October 1917, his body was brought to Minehead for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s sweeping cemetery, and was joined there by Clara when she passed away in 1945: a husband and wife reunited.

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

Private Arthur Tudball

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Private Arthur Tudball

Arthur Moyle Tudball was born in the spring of 1893 in Minehead, Somerset. One of seven children, his parents were William Tudball and his Cornish wife, Mary.

When he completed his schooling, Arthur found work as a hairdresser. By the time of the 1911 census, there were seven in the Tudball household: William, Mary, four of their children, including Arthur, and their nephew, four-year-old William, who had been born in Ontario, Canada. There were four wages coming in: William, who was working as a general labourer, Arthur’s hairdressing salary. His older brother was a carpenter, and two sisters were employed as dressmakers.

Details of Arthur’s time in the army are sketchy at best. He certainly enlisted when war broke out, joining the Somerset Light Infantry. His Medal Roll Index Card seems to suggest that he didn’t serve overseas, despite both battalions he served with – the 1st/5th and 2nd/5th – fighting in India.

Private Tudball survived the war, returning to Somerset at the end of the conflict. The next record for him is that of his passing. His death, from disease, was recorded in the Taunton district, which would suggest that he was either still based at the army barracks in the town, or has been hospitalised there. He died on 24th February 1920, at the age of 26 years old.

Arthur Moyle Tudball was buried in Minehead Cemetery, not far from where his grieving family lived. His modest headstone was donated by his army colleagues.