Harold Wheeler was born on 22nd May 1898 in Gloucester. One of nine children, his parents were George and Emma Wheeler. George, who worked as a telegraphist and clerk for the Post Office, was from Rugby, but by the time he and his Swansea-born wife has their second child, they had settled down in Gloucestershire.
There is tragically little information on Harold’s life and it is impossible to know what he did between leaving school and enlisting in the army. War broke out in 1914, and, while too young at the time, he had joined up by early 1917.
Private Wheeler was assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. Based in Kent, he was billeted in Maidstone. The only other record available for him is that of his passing. He had been admitted to the Military Hospital in Aylesford, and died, through causes unknown on 24th June 1917. He had just turned 19 years of age.
Harold Wheeler was laid to rest in the graveyard of the nearby St Peter’s & St Paul’s Church in the Kent village where he had passed.
Norman David Roberts was born on 3rd November 1886 in the North Wales town of Llangollen. He was the youngest of three children to weaver John Roberts and his wife, Emma.
When he left school, Norman found work as a clerk on the railways and, by the time of the 1911 census, he had moved over the English border to Chester, and was boarding with an Emma Matheson.
The move to England may have spurred Norman on to other things. At some point after the census, he made the decision to seek a better life overseas. He emigrated to North America and settled in the town of Everett, to the north of Seattle. He continued his trade, however, and recorded himself as doing clerical work in transportation.
War was coming to Europe by this point and, in December 1917, Norman stood up to play his part. He made the crossing to Victoria, in the Canadian state of British Colombia, and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Private Roberts’ service records show that he was 5ft 11ins (1.80m) tall, had blue eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion. He had no distinguishing marks, but was recorded as having 20/20 vision. His religion was also recorded as Baptist/Congregationalist.
Norman was assigned to the 53rd Company of the Canadian Forestry Corps, and arrived back in Britain on 26th January 1918. Based in Shorncliffe, Kent, he was involved in felling and trimming trees and wood for the war effort.
Private Roberts was given a couple of periods of leave – five days in July 1918, and nine days in December that year. The latter leave was granted so that he could marry Claudia Griffiths back home in Wales.
While the Armistice had been declared, by January, Norman was back in Kent helping the post-war effort. Things were to take a turn, however, as he caught a severe cold, and a nagging cough. Unable to shake it, he grew progressively weaker and, over the next six months, lost 20lbs (9kg) in weight.
Admitted to the camp hospital in June 1919, Private Roberts was diagnosed with bronchitis. He was moved to another hospital in Orpington, Kent, where his diagnosis was upgraded to tuberculosis. Invalided back to Canada that August, within a matter of weeks he was medically discharged from service. His discharge papers noted that was weighed just 122lbs (55.3kg) and has a long flat chest with prominent clavicles. Norman’s once fair complexion was now dark (a combination of his work outside and his health).
Now out of the army, Norman made the journey back to North Wales, and settled in Llangollen with Claudia. The couple went on to have a daughter in 1920, but Norman’s health was deteriorating. He passed away at home on 23rd February 1921, at the age of 34 years old.
Norman David Roberts was laid to rest in Fron Cemetery in his home town of Llangollen. His was a family plot, and he was reunited with Claudia when she passed away.
William Samuel King was born in the summer of 1880, and was one of four children to Richard and Elizabeth King. Richard was a railway worker from Totnes, Devon, and this is where the family were born and raised.
When he left school, William found work as a house painter, and this is a job he continued to do through to the outbreak of the Great War. On 8th June 1908 he married Minnie Edmunds: the couple went on to have a son, Leslie, who was born in 1912. William and Minnie had, by this point, moved to Swansea, West Glamorgan, presumably as work was more plentiful here than in their Devon home. His work as a decorator seems to have been recognised, and he was admitted to the National Association Partnership, Swansea South.
On 1st December 1915, William enlisted and his service records show that he was 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall. While it is clear that he spent his time on home soil, his service seems a bit disjointed.
Private King wasn’t formally mobilised until September 1916, when he was assigned to the 2nd/2nd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment. In December he was transferred to the Royal West Kent Regiment before returned to his original battalion in February 1917. A month later, he moved to the Bedfordshire Regiment, before moving to the Middlesex Regiment a few weeks later. This also seems to have been a temporary move as, three weeks later, he was assigned to the 337th Works Company of the Labour Corps (although this was still part of the Middlesex Regiment).
The potential reason behind Private King’s haphazard service seemed to become a little clearer when, in September 1917, he was referred to Fort Pitt Hospital in Rochester, Kent. He was noted as being “very talkative, noisy [and] in a state of mental disease… he has… exalted and grandiose ideas and is difficult to restrain.” His mental health was obviously suffering, and he was discharged from military service in December 1917.
William returned home, although it was not to be for long. He passed away on 13th April 1918, at the age of 37 years old. While no cause of death is evident, it seems likely to have been connected to his ‘mania’, which had been exacerbated by his army service.
William Samuel King was laid to rest in Totnes Cemetery, not far from his parental home.
Albert James Harvey was born on 23rd May 1894 in the Gloucestershire village of Warmley. One of eleven children, his parents were James and Alice Harvey. James was a bootmaker, and most of Albert’s siblings followed him into shoemaking, but Albert bucked the trend, and found work with a baker when he left school.
He wanted bigger and better things, however, and so, on 26th April 1911, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. His service records record that Private Harvey was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with blue eyes, auburn hair and a fresh complexion. It also suggests that he added a year to his age, to ensure that he was accepted for duty.
After initially enlisting in Deal, Kent, Albert was sent to Plymouth, Devon, where he served for most of 1912. On 18th November that year, he was assigned to the dreadnought battleship HMS Conqueror, on which he was to serve for the nearly five years.
It was during his time on board Conqueror that Albert married Ethel Brewer. The daughter of a pressman, the couple exchanged vows at St Barnabas Church in their shared home village, Warmley.
Private Harvey remained serving throughout the war and, in April 1918, he was involved in the Zeebrugge Raid. This was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port by sinking obsolete ships in the canal entrance. During the operation, more than 200 men were killed and over 300 – including Albert – were wounded.
Private Harvey was medically evacuated to England for treatment, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He passed away in a hospital in Plymouth on 28th June 1918. He was just 24 years old.
Albert James Harvey was brought back to Gloucestershire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Barnabas’ Church, where he has been both baptised and married.
Rendle Anthony Pike was born on 9th May 1895 in Newfoundland. He was one of nine children to Lewis and Mary Pike, but there is little additional information about his early life.
Lewis was a fisherman, and it seems likely that Rendle would have had experience of seafaring when he was growing up. When war broke out, therefore, it made sense that he enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve.
Again, full details of his service was unavailable, but Seaman Pike joined up within the first year of the war and, by the summer of 1915, he was based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.
Tragically, Rendle’s time in the navy was to be a short one. The next record available for him is that of his passing. According to his service documents, he died ‘of disease‘ on 29th August 1915. He was just 20 years of age.
Rendle Anthony Pike was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.
John Connolly was born on 7th April 1887 in Liverpool, Lancashire. There is little information available about his early life, although his parents were Thomas and Marianne Connolly. A Roman Catholic, he was baptised at St James Church and went on to marry a woman called Bridget, although details for the wedding are lost to time.
John must have had a level of proficiency when it came to ships and sea-faring as, when war had broke out, he was call up for service with the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR). He enlisted as a Stoker on 1st October 1915, using the surname Campbell. His records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, had blue eyes and a fair complexion.
Stoker Campbell was based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. His time in service, however, does not seem to have been a happy one. In fact, within a few months of being conscripted, John had absconded and made his way back to Liverpool.
John was caught and was being brought back to Kent under escort, when the unimaginable happened.
John Connolly, a stoker of the RNR, attached to the Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, was found dead on the railway near Warren House Crossing, between Sole Street and Cuxton, on Wednesday, with terrible injuries to his head.
Connolly, who is known also as Campbell, had been arrested as a deserter at Liverpool, and was returning to Chatham under escort on Tuesday… The train was very full, and deceased, with his escort, stood in the corridor, where several soldiers were also standing.
Some time after the train had left Herne Hill the escort, Leading Stoker John Edward Craig, left his prisoner to proceed to the lavatory, and when he returned one of the soldiers shouted “Jack, your prisoner had gone out the window.” The train was stopped, but the guard suggested that Craig had better proceed to Rochester instead of searching for the deceased, as the night was very dark. At Rochester Bridge the matter was reported to the military authorities, and a search along the line, then ordered, resulted in the discovery of the body of deceased…
A Lance Corporal of the 2/5th King’s Liverpool Regiment, one of the soldiers in the corridor, gave evidence at the inquest… He said he was standing close by deceased, but did not see him go out of the window, which was open at the time.
It was stated that is was usual in the Navy for one man only to act as escort, as all expenses connected with desertions had to be paid by the prisoners.
The jury found the death resulted from injuries received by deceased in a fall from the train, but that there was not sufficient evidence to prove whether the fall was intentional or otherwise.
South Eastern Gazette: Tuesday 8th February 1916
Whether John had intended to throw himself from the train will never be known. All that can be confirmed is that he died of his injuries on 1st February 1916, aged just 28 years old.
John Connolly was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based. His epitaph mentioned both of the names he chose to go by, and the inscription: “Beloved husband of Brigid, her one and only love. Re-united RIP. Jesus mercy Mary help.“
Alexander Maguire was born on 28th March 1880 in Glenarm, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Little is known about his early life, apart from his parents’ names – James and Ellen.
Glenarm is a coastal village, and it is likely that Alexander would have had experience of seafaring from an early age. This seems to have spurred him into building a career and, on 16th December 1903, he enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve as a Stoker.
With war getting closer, Stoker Maguire was called into formal service, and was assigned to the steamer SS Rathlin Head. He sailed the Atlantic in March 1914, and disembarked an New Orleans. It seems, however, that he missed his passage back home, although at this point, his whereabouts become a bit hazy.
Alexander was back in Britain by 13th January 1915, as his service papers record him in Liverpool. He then travelled to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. This looks to have been his last move, however, as he passed away just two days later. The cause of death is simply recorded as ‘disease’: he was 34 years of age.
Alexander Maguire was laid to rest in the Roman Catholic section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard to which he had been assigned.
George Herbert Reardon was born on 29th March 1890 in St Pancras, Middlesex. The second of four children, his parents were tailor Thomas Reardon and his dressmaker wife, Mabel.
When he left school, George worked as an errand boy, presumably for his parents’ business. However, he wanted bigger and better things and, on 6th April 1906, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Initially underage, George was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to the training ship HMS Impregnable. After nearly a year there, he was promoted to Boy 1st Class and, on 5th March 1907, was given his first sea-going assignment. Over the following nine months, Boy 2nd Class Reardon served on five ships, the last being the battleship HMS Venerable.
It was while he was assigned to this ship that George came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy, on a twelve year contract. His service records show that he stood 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted to have two moles, one on his right upper arm and another on the third finger of his left hand.
The now Ordinary Seaman Reardon remained on HMS Venerable until 1st February 1909, when he was transferred to another battleship, HMS Implacable. He was to spend the next eighteen months on board, and, while there, was promoted again, to Able Seaman.
In September 1910, George came on shore, and was assigned to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham, Kent. This was to be his base for the next few years, and he would return there in between voyages.
Over the next four years, he served on four more vessels – HMS St George, Vindictive, Forte and Ganges. Able Seaman Reardon’s last trip, however, was to be on HMS Arethusa, which he boarded on 11th August 1914, just a week after war had been declared.
The Arethusa was a light cruiser built at HMS Pembroke, and was the lead vessel of the Harwich Force, whose aim was to patrol the North Sea. On 28 August 1914, a fortnight after leaving port, she fought at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and was seriously damaged by two German cruisers, SMS Frauenlob and Stettin.
Eleven souls were lost in the incident, Able Seaman Reardon among them. He was just 24 years of age.
The extent of the damage to HMS Arethusa meant she had to be towed back to England. Once on dry land, George Herbert Reardon was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard at which he had been based.
Peter Higgins was born in Thornaby, North Yorkshire, on 23rd January 1887. His parents were William and Catherine (Kate) Higgins, but of them there is very little information.
What seems likely that Peter would have had some experience with boats as, on 26th May 1909, he enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve. His service records show that he was 5ft 7ins (1.70m) tall and was described as having blue eyes and a pale complexion. He was also noted as having a scar over his left eye and another on his left thigh.
When war broke out, Peter was officially called for duty and, over the next couple of years, he served as a Stoker on the battleship HMS St Vincent. The ship patrolled the North Sea, and would later be involved in the Battle of Jutland.
Stoker Higgins, however, was back on dry land by that point, having been assigned to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. Peter had fallen ill with a gastric ulcer, and tragically, this was to prove fatal. He passed away on 16th February 1916, at the age of just 29 years old.
Peter Higgins was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard that was to prove his last posting.
Little concrete documentation remains about the life of William Henry Jackson. He was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, on 6th February 1872, although it is not possible to identify who his parents were.
He married a woman called Edith in 1903, and the couple settled in her home town of Beeston, Nottinghamshire. By the time of the 1911 census, he was recorded working as an electrician’s labourer at the local telephone works, while Edith, who was five years his senior, earned extra money as a blouse finisher.
Information about William’s wartime efforts are also limited. He enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, and was assigned to the Chatham Division. He was given the rank of Private and based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Kent town.
The only other information available for Private Jackson is that he died on 16th September 1916, having contracted a combination of pneumonia and tuberculosis. He was 44 years of age.
William Henry Jackson was laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the dockyard in which he had served. His headstone gives the initial H, rather than W, although no documents suggest he went by any name other than William.
Death and Service 