Details of John George Spry’s life remain tantalisingly out of reach. He was born in around 1874 in the Devon village of Woolfardisworthy, and was one of eight children to John and Ann Spry. John Sr was a general labourer who died in 1891. By this point the family were living at 14 Honestone Lane, Bideford, and John Jr was working as a stone mason.
John married Emily Langford. She was a blacksmith’s daughter from Taunton, Somerset, but the couple set up home in nearby Wellington, before moving to Twerton, Bath. The went on to have three children: Ivy, Ruby and Frederick. Interestingly, Ivy seems to have been taken in by Emily’s mother, Emma, while Ruby and Frederick remained with their parents.
The 1911 census found Emily, Ruby and Frederick living with John’s mother in Bideford. Ivy was in Wellington with Emma, but John is missing from the records.
When war broke out, John joined up. He enlisted in the Royal Engineers, and was assigned the rank of Sapper. Dates for his service – and where that service was carried out – are lost to time, but by the autumn of 1918, John was based in barracks in Fovant, Wiltshire.
By this time, Sapper Spry had fallen ill. Suffering from influenza and bronchial pneumonia, he was to succumb to the lung diseases, as so many other returning servicemen did. John passed away on 28th November 1918, aged 45 years of age.
John George Spry was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Wellington Cemetery, not far from where his widow had relocated.
What became of the Spry family after John’s death is unclear. Emily cannot be tracked down in the 1921 census, nor can her middle child, Ruby.
Ivy was boarding at 55 Harrow Road, Paddington, Middlesex, where she was working as a Lieutenant in the Salvation Army. Frederick, meanwhile, had found work as a steersman on a steamroller, and, according to the census, was living with his maternal uncle, Charles, in Bideford.
The 1939 Register picks up Emily once more, living in a small end-of-terrace cottage on the outskirts of Wellington. Now 70 years of age, she was noted as being incapacitated, no doubt being tended to by Ruby, who was also living there, employed as a puttee machinist.
Thomas Salter – better known as Tom – was born on 5th June 1877, in the Devon village of Uffculme. He was the only child to John and Selina Salter. John was seventeen years older than his wife and, by the time his son was born, was 57 years old. Selina had been married before and widowed, and had had five children of her own.
When he left school, Tom found work as a butcher’s assistant at the Uffculme’s Commercial Hotel (now the Ostler Inn on Commercial Road). Food was not destined to be his career, however. By the time of the 1901 census, he had moved from Devon to Gloucestershire, and found employment as a labourer in the engine works at Knowle, Bristol.
His landlady was an Elizabeth Bobbett, who had been born in Trull, near Taunton, and this connection may have pre-destined what was to come. In the spring of 1908, Tom married Florence Taylor, a labourer’s daughter from Wellington, Somerset, five miles (8km) from his landlady’s home village.
Tom and Florence settled in Wellington, close to the centre of the town. They had four children – Harold (born in 1909), Evelyn (1912), Irene (1914) and Edna (1916). Tom found work as a packer at the Fox Bros. woollen mill in nearby Tonedale.
War was coming to Europe by this point and, in January 1917, Tom enlisted. Private Salter joined the 11th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry: this was a territorial troop, and Tom found himself based in Yeovil.
There is little concrete information about Private Salter’s military life. All that can be confirmed is that within a couple of months of joining up, he had been admitted to hospital, suffering from bronchial pneumonia. Sadly, he was not to recover from the lung condition: he passed away on 10th May 1917, at the age of 37 years old.
Tom Salter was brought back to Wellington for burial. He was laid to rest in the town’s cemetery.
William Robert John Edwards was born on 10th July 1899, one of fourteen children to engine fitter William Edwards and his wife Bertha. Both of William Jr’s parents had been born in Devon, but, by the time of his birth, they had moved to the Somerset town of Wellington.
William followed in his father’s footsteps when he left school, but with war raging across Europe, he was keen to play his part as soon as he was able to do so. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 7th September 1917, his engineering background making him perfect for a member of the Armourer’s Crew.
William’s service record show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He was initially sent to HMS Vivid – the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport – for training, and was given a posting on board HMS Gorgon, a coastal defence ship on 1st May 1918.
Tragically, this first assignment was to be Armourer’s Crew Edwards’ last. Within a matter of weeks, he was taken back to HMS Vivid, suffering from tubercular meningitis. Back at base, the condition proved too much for the young man: he passed away on 30th May 1918, days shy of his 19th birthday.
Brought back to Somerset for burial, William Robert John Edwards was laid to rest in the cemetery of his home town, Wellington.
Alexander Johnstone de Vere was born on 10th August 1889 in Murree, India (now Pakistan). He was one of five children to Norfolk-born Alexander Johnstone (also known as John Ralph de Vere), and his wife Dorothea who had been born in Sangor, India. Alexander Sr was a Sergeant Major in the 12th Lancers, and the family returned to England not long after his son was born, settling first in Aldershot, then in Sandhurst.
Alexander’s youngest sibling, George, was born in Cairo, Egypt, so the family was on the move again. Sadly, Alexander Sr died in a nursing home in the city just two years later and, after returning to England, Dorothea passed away in a Holborn infirmary just two years later.
Documents for the de Vere children – Ellen, Alexander, Dorothea, William and George – are few and far between. The 1911 census places Dorothea boarding with a family in Kingston-upon-Thames, where she was employed as a dress maker. The same document records William as a Bandsman in the 1st Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, based at Chanpatia, in Northern India. George, meanwhile, was a schoolboy at the Duke of York’s Royal Military School on the outskirts of Dover. Of the two eldest siblings, however, there is no record.
In the autumn of 1912, Alexander married Emily Louise Collins. Born in Norfolk in 1884, she was working as a servant in a house in Surrey when she and Alexander met. The couple married in Faversham, Kent, and settle down there, their daughter, Dora, being born in the town in January 1915.
Given his family’s military background, it is not unsurprising that Alexander enlisted in the army almost as soon as war was declared. He may have already seen military service, as he enlisted in the 11th Hussars as a Lance Corporal. By 15th August 1914, Alexander was in France.
Lance Corporal de Vere was quickly caught up in the fighting. He saw action at Mons and Nery in 1914, and at Ypres the following year. By this point, he had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant Trumpeter, reflecting the musical connection he shared with his younger brother, William.
Alexander remained in France until January 1916, when he was invalided home. He was admitted to Dorchester County Hospital in Dorset, suffering from a cerebral abscess. Despite treatment, he succumbed to the condition, passing away on 17th March 1916, at the age of just 26 years old.
Alexander Johnstone de Vere was brought back to Kent for burial. He was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery.
Ambrose Frank Hopkins was born in the autumn of 1886, in the Kent village of Ospringe. He was one of four children to shopkeeper-turned-farmer William Hopkins and his wife Julia.
When he finished school, Ambrose found employment in a brickyard in nearby Faversham. In August 1901, however, things took a turn for the worse for the Hopkins family.
Mr WJ Harris, Coroner, had a painful task on Monday evening, when he held an inquest on the body of William Hopkins, a farmer, who was found hanging in the cellar of his house that morning, having ended his life in consequence, it would appear, of business troubles.
Julie Hopkins, wife of the deceased, stated that her husband was 59 years of age… He went to bed on Sunday evening apparently in his usual health and at four o’clock that morning to light the fire which he usually did. Deceased had lately been troubled by business worries.
Blanche Sophia Hopkins, deceased’s daughter, stated that on going down the cellar about seven o’clock that morning (Monday) she saw her father hanging from a beam in the ceiling. She was too much frightened either to touch him or to notice if he was dead, but run up and sent to PC Ward and a doctor. The constable saw deceased just as she found him.
Faversham News: Saturday 31st August 1901.
The tragedy rocked the family and, within eighteen months, Julia too had died. By the summer of 1903, Blanche had auctioned off her once family home for the sum of £270, in order to support her and Ambrose, who was nine years her junior.
In 1906, Ambrose married Florence Harris, a widow thirteen years his senior, who had three children. The couple settled down in Faversham, and went on to have three children themselves – Elsie, Harold and William.
By now Ambrose was working as a labourer in Harty Ferry, just the other side of the Swale River on the Isle of Sheppey. But again, things were going to change as, in May 1916, he was called up for military service.
Private Hopkins was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the The Buffs (East Kent Regiment). He was sent to Dover for training, before returning to home on leave in advance of further action.
An inquest was held at the Guildhall, Faversham, on Tuesday by the County Coroner… touching the death of Ambrose Frank Hopkins, aged 29… a Private in the 3rd Buffs, stationed at Dover, who hung himself on Sunday last.
Florence Amy Hopkins, the widow, stated that deceased has been… called to the colours three weeks that day. He had leave on Friday last until Sunday night. When he returned he seemed in very good health, but he told her he could not get on in the Army as he could not do his drill, etc.
He was a very quiet man of sober habits. They got on well together except for occasional tiffs. On the Sunday he said what a good breakfast and dinner she had got. All Sunday morning he was cleaning his buttons. He sat talking till after 3pm and then went out the back.
She went out for about twenty minutes, and when she returned she could not find him. Thinking he had gone to bed she went upstairs, but he was not there. Just about five she looked down the cellar stairs, thinking he might be at work there, and saw him hanging by a rope.
On the Saturday night she found the following note on the living room table in her husband’s handwriting. “Good night, my dear Flo, the last night here. My dear little wife, think of me and be good to the children.” She went upstairs, woke him up, and asked him what he had done it for, and he said it was only a joke. There had not been any words between them.
His one trouble was about going back. She told him to make the best of it, and that it would all be the better for him. He replied “Flo, I cannot and I never shall.” They owed a little, but nothing to worry about.
He complained of the food very much, and said that all he had on Thursday night was a piece of bread as hard as a brick. He had fallen away very much since he had been in the Army.
Alfred Willett, a munition worker.. stated that he was called by [Julia] about 5:30pm on Sunday and found deceased in the cellar hanging by a rope fastened to the rafters. The knees were about six inches from the ground, and the feet were touching the ground. Witness cut him down, but he was quite dead. His tunic and cap were off.
Lieutenant Hillier Hughes, of The Buffs, said that deceased had a clean conduct sheet, and he was quite up to average at drill. The food at dinner consisted of meat, two vegetables and pudding. An officer always went round to enquire if there were any complaints. The bread was fresh every day.
The Coroner, in summing up, said that apparently the deceased was not well balanced, and no doubt felt that he was not doing as well as he ought to.
The jury returned a verdict of “Suicide whilst temporarily insane.”
Faversham Time and Mercury and North East Kent Journal: Saturday 24th June 1916.
In very similar circumstances to his father, Private Ambrose Frank Hopkins had died on 18th June 1916. He was just 29 years of age. He was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery, finally finding some peace.
Sadly, much of John Harris’ life is lost to time. Born in Liverpool in around 1896, he was one of at least eight children, but, with a name as common as his, there is little to identify who his parents were.
What information remains available, comes from contemporary newspaper reports of his funeral:
Acting Bombardier Harris, of the 13th Battery, 2/3rd West Lancashire, died from double pneumonia at The Mount Hospital [in Faversham, Kent] last Saturday. He was 20 years of age, belonged to Liverpool, and had been in the Brigade about ten months. Deceased had been ill for about a fortnight. Several of the men at The Mount attended the funeral, and one of the nurses there accompanied the deceased’s sister.
Faversham News: Saturday 25th March 1916
From this it is possible to determine that John enlisted in the 2nd/3rd West Lancashire Artillery of the Royal Field Artillery in May 1915. His was a territorial force that was, by the spring of 1916, based in Kent.
It would seem that Acting Bombardier Harris’ parents had passed on by the time that he died at The Mount. His siblings – brothers Alfred and Edward, sisters Edith, Clara, Louise, Alice, Kate and Elizabeth – were all based in Lancashire.
John Harris, therefore, was buried in the town where he passed away, and was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery.
Herbert Woodley Lyon was born in Lincoln early in 1897, one of five children to Walter and Emma Lyon. Walter was a cashier for an engineering company, and the family grew up in some comfort, employing a housekeeper, sick nurse and servant by the time of the 1911 census.
When he finished school, Herbert found work as a draper’s assistant, but with war closing in things were to change. Initially joining the Lincolnshire Regiment, by February 1918, he had transferred across to the Royal Flying Corps, moving to the Royal Air Force when it was founded that April.
Corporal Lyon was based with 112 Squadron at RAF Throwley, just to the south of Faversham, Kent. Details of his service are scarce, but it seems that he trained and qualified as a fitter, helping with the maintenance of the aircraft. His service records show that he stood 5ft (1.52m) tall.
Herbert’s time in the Royal Air Force was limited. His records show that he died of natural causes on 1st November 1918. He was just 21 years of age.
Corporal Herbert Woodley Lyon’s family had relocated to Wells in Somerset by this point. He was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery, not far from the airfield at which he had been based.
Christian Belsey was born on 12th February 1884 in the village of Preston, Kent. He was one of fourteen children to Joseph and Jane Belsey. Joseph was a farm labourer, and Christian followed suit on leaving school.
He wanted bigger and better things, however, and after his older brother Charles had sought out a life in the Royal Navy, he followed suit. Christian enlisted on 28th June 1904; his service records show that he was 6ft (1.83m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker 2nd Class Belsey was based out of HMS Pembroke, the Royal aval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and this is where he returned to in between voyages. His first posting was on board the destroyer HMS Acheron, on board which he spent six months.
Over the twelve years of his initial service he was assigned to six different ships, rising through the ranks to Stoker 1st Class (in 1906), Leading Stoker (1911) and Stoker Petty Officer (1912).
When war broke out in August 1914, Christian was back in Chatham; he was soon assigned to HMS Laertes, a destroyer based out of Harwich, which patrolled the North Sea. She was involved in the attempt to head off the German attack on Yarmouth and Lowestoft in April 1916, during which, two of Christian’s colleagues, Stoker Ernest Clarke and Stoker Petty Officer Stephen Pritchard, were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for their bravery under fire.
After three years on board Laertes, Christian was transferred to HMS Redgauntlet. He served on board for eighteen months until, in October 1918, he fell ill.
Admitted to a hospital in Samford, near Ipswich, Suffolk, Stoker Petty Officer Belsey was suffering from pneumonia. Sadly, the lung condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 25th October 1918, at the age of 34 years old,
Christian Belsey was brought back to Kent for burial. He was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery.
William John Owen was born in the spring of 1900, and was one of thirteen children to Henry and Emma Owen. Henry was an oyster dredger turned coal porter from Faversham in Kent, and this is where the family were born and raised.
There is little concrete information about William’s life, but it is clear that, by April 1918, he had joined the Royal Garrison Artillery, and was assigned to the 2/1st Kent Heavy Battery. Signaller Owen was sent to Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire for training.
The only further information is that William was admitted to the Fargo Military Hospital on Salisbury Plain, suffering from pneumonia. Sadly the lung condition was to get the better of him: he passed away on 11nd October 1918, aged just 18 years old.
William John Owen was brought back to Kent for burial. He was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery, just a few minutes’ walk from his family home.
Bert Bennett Adley was born in the spring of 1895, the youngest of eleven children to George and Alma Adley. George was a brickmaker’s labourer from Canterbury, Kent, but it was in nearby Faversham that he and Alma raised their family.
Bert – who was affectionately known as Bertie – found work with a local baker when he left school, and this stood him in good stead when war broke out. He was called up in June 1915, and joined the Army Service Corps as a Private. His service records give little personal information, but they do give his height as 5ft 5ins (1.65m) and his weight as 9st 2lbs (58kg).
Private Adley’s military life was to be tragically short. Based in Aldershot, Hampshire, it is likely that the sudden mixing of recruits from across the country was key in his contracting pneumonia. He was admitted to hospital on 26th June, and died two weeks later, on 11th July 1915. He was just 20 years of age, and had been in the Army Service Corps for just 28 days.
Bert Bennett Adley’s body was brought back to Kent for burial. He was laid to rest in his home town, in the Faversham Borough Cemetery.
Death and Service 