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Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Isle of Wight, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Driver Frederick Parsons

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Driver Frederick Parsons

Frederick Charles Harold Parsons was born in 1889, the older of two children to George and Ann Parsons. George was a general labourer from Drayton in Somerset, and this is where he and Ann raised their young family.

Ann’s mother, Elizabeth, was a constant presence in the family’s lives, moving in with them when her own husband, William, died. The 1911 census found a packed family home, with George, Ann, Frederick, Elizabeth, Ann’s widowed brother Joseph and her nephew Robert all living under the same roof.

Frederick – who was known by the nickname Chall – was working as a grocer’s assistant by this point, but when war broke out, he was quick to step up and serve his King and Country. He enlisted on 2nd September 1914, joining the Royal Field Artillery as a Driver. His service records note that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighed 116lbs (52.6kg). He had dark hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion, and had a scar below his left eye.

For the first ten months of Driver Parsons’ service, he remained on home soil. He was finally sent to France in the summer of 1915 and spent nearly two-and-a-half years overseas. Towards the end of that time, he began to have issues with his kidneys, and was posted back to the UK for treatment.

Initially admitted to Milton Hospital in Portsmouth, Chall was then moved to the VAD Hospital in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. He was initially diagnosed as having kidney stones, but was subsequently found to have enlarged kidneys. He was placed on furlough in May 1918, before being medically discharged from service at the end of August.

At this point, Chall’s trail goes cold. He appears to have returned home to Drayton, as it was in nearby Langport that his death was subsequently registered. He died on 11th December 1918, at the age of just 29 years old.

Frederick Charles Parsons was laid to rest in the family plot in St Catherine’s Churchyard, Drayton.

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

Stoker 2nd Class George Bonning

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Stoker 2nd Class George Bonning

George Thomas Bonning – whose forenames seem to have been interchangeable – was born on 9th August 1887 in the Somerset village of Kingsbury Episcopi. His parents were farm workers James and Elizabeth Bonning, and George also entered farm work when he finished school.

In 1909, George marred Olive Harvey, the daughter of another agricultural labourer from the village. The couple set up home together in the village, and went on to have a daughter, Lilian, the following year. It was around the time of their daughter’s birth that George’s mother passed away, happiness and sadness in a short space of time for the young family.

By 1911, George was employed as a carter in a factory, presumably a financial step up from his previous employment on the farm. The money was still not a great deal, however, and Olive was also working, machining gloves at home for the local factory.

War came to Europe, and on 14th December 1916, George enlisted in the Royal Navy, along with four other men from the village, including friend and neighbour Tom Mounter. His service records show that he was 5th 11.5ins (1.82m) tall, with black hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

Stoker 2nd Class Bonning was sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for training, and it was here that he contracted a chill. Tragically, this developed into pneumonia, and he died in the barracks on 20th January 1917. He was 29 years of age, and had been in service for just 37 days.

George Thomas Bonning’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful Kingsbury Episcopi Cemetery.

Olive never remarried after losing her husband. She remained in the village, raising Lilian and finding occasional employment to help pay the bills. She passed away on 26th March 1968, at the age of 79, and was laid to rest with George, husband and wife reunited after more than fifty years.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Training Reserve Battalion, war, Wiltshire

Private Charles Oborne

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Private Charles Oborne

Charles Philip Oborne was born in Mosterton, Dorset, early in 1899. He was the middle of three children to Charles Oborne. Charles Sr had been married before, to a woman called Martha, and the couple had a son, Joseph. Martha died in the mid-1890s and Charles remarried, to a woman called Elizabeth. They went on to have two children, of which Charles Jr – better known as Charley to avoid confusion with his father – was the older.

There is little documentation for the Oborne family. Charles Sr was a farm labourer, and the family moved from Dorset to Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Shepton Mallet in the early 1900s. At the time of the 1911 census, Charley was a student, and there is no direct evidence of what he went on to do when he finished his schooling.

Nor are there many documents relating to his military service. Private Oborne joined the Training Reserve, and was assigned to the 94th Battalion. The troop had formed from the 16th (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, and was based in Chiseldon, to the south of Swindon in Wiltshire. There is nothing to confirm when he enlisted, but given his age, and when he passed, it is likely to have been during the winter of 1916/17.

What is clear is that while Private Oborne was training, he contracted pneumonia, and, on 20th March 1917, he passed away from the condition. He was just 18 years of age.

The body of Charles Philip Oborne – Charley to his friends and family – was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Benedict’s Roman Catholic Churchyard in the village of Downside, a mile to the north of Shepton Mallet, and not far from Stratton-on-the-Fosse, where his family were still living.

Charles was not alone in succumbing to pneumonia at Chiseldon Camp that spring. Two Somerset soldiers from battalions based there, Private Everett Ferriday, and Private Ivan Day, passed away in the same hospital just days after Charles.

You can read their stories by following the links above.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, Suffolk, war

Able Seaman Jesse Baber

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Able Seaman Jesse Baber

Jesse Baber was born on 28th February 1889 and was the youngest of thirteen children to John and Jane Baber. John was a farm labourer from Westcombe in Somerset, and it was in this village that he and Jane raised their family.

Jesse chose not to follow his father and siblings into farm work and instead, on 6th October 1906, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. As he was underage for full service at the time, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class and sent to HMS Ganges, a training establishment on the outskirts of Ipswich, Suffolk. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall at the time of joining. He was also noted as having dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion, with a mole on his right cheek being highlighted as a distinguishing mark.

Boy Baber spent six months at HMS Ganges, and was promoted to Boy 1st Class for his commitment. He was then transferred to HMS London, a dreadnaught battleship for a further six months. During his time on board, Jesse came of age, and was formally enrolled in the Royal Navy with the rank of Ordinary Seaman.

Over the next eight years, Jesse served on eleven different vessels, sailing between his British base of HMS Vivid in Devonport and the East Indies. His service seems to have generally been very good – he was promoted to Able Seaman in February 1909 – although he did spend five days in the brig in July 1912 for reasons unrecorded.

When war broke out, the ships that Able Seaman Baber served on patrolled the waters of the Mediterranean. In the summer of 1916, while on board HMS Dartmouth, he contracted malaria. Jesse was admitted to a hospital in Malta, where he remained for six weeks, and was then sent on leave home to recover.

He arrived at Castle Cary [in Somerset] on the evening of the 23rd August, on a visit to his sister, in a very serious condition, being practically in a state of collapse. Medical attention was immediately obtained, but his condition was hopeless, and he lay in an unconscious condition until Friday September 1st, when he expired, death being due to meningitis, following malaria.

[Shepton Mallet Journal: Friday 15th September 1916]

Jesse Baber was 27 years old when he passed away. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Batcombe, not far from where his mother, who was now 74 years old, was living.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Officer's Steward, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, Tyne & Wear, war

Officer’s Steward 3rd Class Harry Macklin

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Officer’s Steward 3rd Class Harry Macklin

Harry Ernest Macklin was born in the Frome area of Somerset in the autumn of 1893. The oldest of four children, his parents were Henry and Elizabeth Macklin. Henry Sr was a groom who travelled with work, and by the time of the 1901 census, the family were living in East Adderbury, Oxfordshire, which is where the third of the four siblings, Evelyn, was born.

Harry Jr seems to have been known as Ernest, probably to avoid confusion with his father. When he left school, he found work as a page. The family had moved again by 1902, to Witham Friary, to the south east of Frome. Harry Sr was now working as a farm labourer, while Minnie, his and Elizabeth’s second child, was employed as a house maid. The two younger children – Evelyn and George – were both at school, while Elizabeth’s widowed father, also called George, was visiting his daughter and their family.

Ernest changed jobs, becoming a gardener – possibly a euphemistic way of saying he had followed his father into agricultural labouring – but when war was declared he found the need to play his part. On 15th February 1915 he joined the Royal Navy as an Officer’s Steward 3rd Class, possibly drawing on his experience as a page.

For some reason, Ernest’s service records give his date of birth as 18th October 1894: they also confirm he was 5th 7.5ins (1.71m) tall, had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. They also note that he had a scar on his left thigh.

Officer’s Steward 3rd Class Macklin’s first posting was HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire. This is where he received his training and, on 10th August 1915, he was given his first posting, on board the Chilean-built HMS Canada.

The ship sailed to Scapa Flow, following the North Sea Coast. When it reached Newcastle-upon-Tyne, however, Ernest was disembarked, and admitted to the Armstrong College Hospital, suffering from an ear infection. Tragically his condition turned septic, and he died of blood poisoning on 23rd September 1915, having served just 43 days at sea. Officer’s Steward 3rd Class Macklin was just 22 years of age.

Harry Ernest Macklin’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Witham Friary. “He was a promising young fellow, liked by all who knew him, and he was a member of the Witham Church Choir from boyhood.” [Somerset Standard : Friday 1st October 1915]

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorsetshire Regiment, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Henry Wheeler

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Private Henry Wheeler

Henry William Edward Wheeler was born in early 1890, the fifth of thirteen children – and the oldest son – to Henry and Anne Wheeler. Henry Sr was a labourer from Witham Friary in Somerset, and this is where the family were born and raised.

When he left school, young Henry – who became known as Harry to avoid confusion with his father – found work as a postman. When war broke out, however, he enlisted as a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry. Full details of his military service are unclear, but his marriage certificate confirms that he was a soldier by the spring of 1915.

Harry’s wedding was to a woman called Mabel Hulbert, who was working as a domestic servant in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. It was in the village’s church that the couple exchanged vows, and within a matter of weeks, Private Wheeler was sent to France.

Harry’s troop – the 1st Battalion – was involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the war, and it is likely that he was involved at The Somme in July 1916. At some point, though, he moved across to the 5th (Service) Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment, who had moved to France, having been fighting at Gallipoli. The specifics of Private Wheeler’s time in the army are, however, destined to be lost to time.

Private Wheeler’s trail can be picked up again after the end of the war, presumably when he had returned to Britain prior to being demobbed. Sadly, however, he was admitted to a military hospital in Wilton, Wiltshire, suffering from ‘disease’. He passed away on 8th February 1919, at the age of 29 years old.

The body of Henry William Edward Wheeler was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in his home village of Witham Friary.

Henry’s younger brother, John, also served in the First World War. He enlisted in the 8th (Service) Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, and arrived in France on 4th October 1915, just a couple of months after his older brother.

John was killed in fighting on 11th October 1917 – possibly as part of the opening salvos of the Battle of Passchendaele – and was just 20 years old. He was laid to rest in the Outtersteene Communal Cemetery in northern France.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, injury, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, Somerset, story, war

Gunner William King

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Gunner William King

William Henry George King was born in the summer of 1898 and was the only child of Henry and Martha King. Henry was a grocer in the Somerset village of Witham Friary, and this is where William was born and raised.

When he left school, William found work as a draper’s assistant in Wells, but when he turned 18, with war raging across Europe, he gave that up to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery in August 1916, and was assigned as a Gunner in the 99th Siege Battery. His service records show that he was 6ft (1.83m) tall and weighed in at 140lbs (63.5kg).

Gunner King received his initial training in Plymouth, but was eventually shipped to France, arriving there in August 1917. He was caught up in a German gas attack at the end of June 1918, and was invalided back to Britain for treatment on 2nd July. He was admitted to the War Hospital in Bradford, but died of a combination of his injuries and the resulting bronchitis on 6th July 1918. He was just 20 years of age.

The body of William Henry George King was brought back to Somerset for burial He was laid to rest in the family plot in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in his home village of Witham Friary.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, story, war

Leading Stoker Victor Jordan

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Leading Stoker Victor Jordan

Victor Jordan was born on 20th November 1893 in Beeston Regis on the north Norfolk coast. The second of four children, his parents were school teachers Albert and Melletta Jordan.

By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved from one coast to another, setting up home in Bognor Regis, Sussex. Albert had given up teaching, and had become an insurance agent for Prudential. Victor had left school and found work as a wheelwright, while his older sister, Emily, had taken up where her father had left off, teaching in an elementary school, The family of six was expanded by the inclusion of Albert’s mother, Emily, who had moved in with them.

By 1914, war was on the horizon, and Victor sought out a career beyond wheel work. On 21st May he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.78m) tall, had light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Stoker Jordan was initially sent to HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, for training. After an initial six-month period, he was assigned to the battleship HMS Indomitable, on board which he was to serve for the next four years.

During his time on board, Victor proved to be a disciplined and determined worker. He was promoted to Stoker 1st Class in July 1915, and reached the rank of Leading Stoker in the summer of 1918. HMS Indomitable was involved in some of the key naval battles of the First World War – including Dogger Bank and Jutland – and Victor would have been on the forefront of maintaining the vessel’s power.

By October 1918, Leading Stoker Jordan was back on dry land, and was based once again in Portsmouth. As the war came to a close, however, he became unwell, and was admitted to Haslar Naval Hospital in nearby Gosport, suffering from acute tonsillitis.

Tragically, the condition was to get the better of him: Leading Stoker Jordan died of heart failure on 8th December 1918, having not long turned 25 years old.

Victor Jordan’s family were, by now, living in the Somerset hamlet of Brewham, and this is where his body was brought for burial: he was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St John the Baptist’s Church.

Leading Stoker Victor Jordan
(from findagrave.com)

Scandal was set to rock the grieving family. Albert, who was now teaching again, was charged with indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl three times over the winter of 1918/19. He denied the accusation and a jury found him not guilty after only a few minutes’ deliberation.

Albert and Melletta seem to have found it impossible to remain in the quiet corner of Somerset, and moved to Essex. The couple took up new teaching posts, Albert eventually becoming the headmaster of Doddinghurst Church of England School, near Brentwood, while his wife worked as a school mistress for one of the classes.

Melletta died in February 1931, and at this point, Albert came back to Somerset to live with his daughter and her family in Cheddar. He was 75 years old when he passed away at Emily’s family home – called Melletta after her mother – and was laid to rest in St Andrew’s Churchyard, Cheddar.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, Kent, Oxfordshire, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Gunner Fred Meatyard

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Gunner Fred Meatyard

Fred Radford Meatyard was born in Penselwood, Somerset, in September 1882. The son of Henry and Ellen Meatyard, they seem to have been distant in his life. Fred was raised by his paternal grandparents, Henry and Caroline, in nearby Wincanton.

Fred was an intelligent young man. The 1901 census found him boarding with printer and stationer Walter Eaglestone and his family, on Erith High Street, in Kent. He was working as a compositor himself, pulling the type together for his boss to print. This appeared to be a springboard for him, and he soon moved to Oxford finding similar work there.

In 1907 Fred briefly returned to Penselwood, where he married Lily Extence in the parish church. The marriage certificate showed that Fred was living in William Street, Oxford, and was still employed as a compositor, working for the local newspaper, the Oxford Chronicle. His father, Henry, is listed as deceased, and as having been employed as an engineer. Lily was the same age as her new husband, and was the daughter of labourer Francis Extence.

The couple moved back to Oxford, and went on to have three children: Linda (born in 1908), Joan (born 1913) and Frances (born in 1915). The 1911 census record found them living in an end of terrace house in Boulter Street, the River Cherwell flowing past the bottom of their cul-de-sac. Theirs was a five-room house, and they had a boarder, Mancunian William Murphy, who was employed as a vocalist and guitarist.

When war came to Europe, Fred stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 30th August 1916, but was not formally mobilised into the Royal Field Artillery until the following January. Gunner Meatyard’s service records show that he was a wiry man, 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, and weighing 126lbs (57.2kg).

In June 1917, Fred was transferred across to the Royal Garrison Artillery, and was sent to France. Aside from a couple of periods of leave, he remained overseas until the end of the war, and was attached to a couple of the regiment’s Siege Batteries.

When hostilities ceased, Gunner Meatyard finally returned to Britain in the summer of 1919. Based on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, while waiting to be demobbed, he fell ill, and was admitted to the Fovant Military Hospital. He was suffering from acute appendicitis, and the condition came on so quickly, that any treatment did not come soon enough. Fred passed away at the hospital on 16th October 1919, at the age of 37 years of age.

Fred Radford Meatyard was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Michael’s Church in Penselwood. The newspaper for which he had worked for so long noted that “he was buried with full military honours… Deceased was on the printing staff of the ‘Oxford Chronicle’ for some years… He was a member of the St John’s Ambulance Brigade. Some time ago he returned from the Rhine, having previously fought in France. Much sympathy is felt with the widow and three children, two of whom, it will be remembered, took a prominent part as dancers in the pagent.” [Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette: Friday 24th October 1919]

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

Private Frederick Coward

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Private Frederick Coward

Frederick John Coward was born in the Somerset village of Cucklington, in September 1900. The youngest of eight children, his parents were farm labourer Frank Coward and his wife, Agnes.

It is likely that Frederick followed in his father’s footsteps when he left school, labouring on a farm. He was only thirteen when war broke out in the summer of 1914, and over the next few years, he probably watched with envy as his older peers – and older brothers – went off to serve their King and Country.

While full details are no longer available, Frederick probably enlisted as soon as he turned eighteen. He joined the Devonshire Regiment as a Private and was attached to the 53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion. He was sent off to Wiltshire and billeted at the Rollestone Camp, to the north of Stonehenge.

Army and naval barracks were crowded places, and brought together boys and men from all over the country in a way that had never happened before. The cramped nature of the billets meant that disease would run rampant and, once it took hold, it could prove fatal. Sadly, young Frederick was not to be immune from this: he was admitted to the camp hospital, and passed away from ‘disease’ on 6th October 1918. He was just 18 years of age.

The body of Frederick John Coward was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the picturesque graveyard of St Lawrence’s Church in his home village of Cucklington.

The loss of her youngest boy seems to have proved too much for Agnes to bear. She died the following spring, at the age of 55 years old.