Charles William Debney was born in the spring of 1887, one of eight children to George Debney and his wife Susannah. George was a cooper for a cement works, who had brought his family from Norfolk to Kent in the mid-1890s, presumably for employment.
When Charles left school, he found work as a bricklayer; war was on the horizon, though, and when the call came, he signed up quickly.
While full details of Charles’ service are not available, it is evident that he had joined the Northamptonshire Regiment by November 1914. He was assigned to the 5th Service Battalion as a Private. Formed in Northampton, the battalion moved to Kent in the early months of the war, before moving to the Western Front at the end of May 1915.
Sadly, there is limited additional information available on Private Debney. He passed away on 29th May 1915, but there is no confirmation of the cause of his death. He was just 28 years of age.
Charles William Debney was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, in his home town of Gillingham, Kent.
William Francis Morgan was born on 22nd January 1884 in Bengal, India. The youngest of three children, he was the son of James Morgan and his wife Mary. Both came from Ireland, marrying in 1876. They moved to London, before James was posted to India as part of his role in the Royal Horse Artillery.
Sadly James died when William was just a toddler; this prompted Mary to move the family back to England. She married again in 1887, to Edward Curling, who was a carpenter in the Royal Artillery, and the family settled on the Isle of Grain in Kent, living in the fort where Edward worked.
Surrounded by those in military service and with an army heritage himself, is it no surprise that William felt drawn to the life. In September 1898 he enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery. Though not yet fifteen years old, he stood 5ft 11ins (1.69m) tall and weighed in at 101lbs (46kg). He had a fresh complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair and four distinctive marks were noted – three scars on his head and one on his right knee.
Trumpeter Morgan certainly got to see a lot of the world during his time in the army. After a period on home soil, he was sent to Egypt on Christmas Eve 1901, staying there for just over a year. He moved on to India, returning to England five years later, by which time he had achieved the rank of Gunner.
War was imminent, and in September 1914 he was sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Barring a short period at home, Gunner Morgan remained on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, finally returning to the UK in January 1919.
William’s time in the army was one of two halves. He had several bouts of illness during his service, coming down with phimosis in 1901, scarlet fever and gonorrhoea in 1902, a fractured clavicle in 1903, pneumonia in 1904, rheumatism in 1906, ague in 1908, pleurisy in 1909, and had to return from France to England for an operation to remove a carbuncle between his shoulder blades in the summer of 1915.
Gunner Morgan was also pulled up for his conduct a few times too. He was punished for neglect of duty in August 1908, disobeyed orders in May 1909, was pulled up for being improperly dressed while in Portsmouth’s Highbury Arms Pub in November 1909 and went AWOL for ten hours on 31st July 1913.
There were positives to William’s service too, however. He was awarded the British and Victory Medals as well as the 1914 Star during the First World War. He was mentioned in dispatches and received the Military Medal in 1917 an the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal two years later.
Sadly, though, after Gunner Morgan’s positive and lengthy military service, his time out of the army was to be brief. Returning to England on 13th January 1919, he contracted influenza and pneumonia and succumbed to the lung conditions within weeks. He passed away on 27th February 1919, at the age of just 35 years of age.
William Francis Morgan was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, just minutes’ walk from where his mother now lived.
Thomas Jones (known as Tom) was born in Wednesbury on 7th September 1882 and was the middle of seven children. His father, also called Thomas, was a grocer and, with his mother Mary, they raised their family first in the Staffordshire town and then in Blackpool, Lancashire.
When he left school Tom helped his dad in the shop, primarily dealing with meat. His mind was on greater adventures, however, and in November 1898, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Due to his age, he was initially given the rank of Boy, but was officially signed up as an Ordinary Seaman on the day after his 18th birthday.
Over the time of his initial twelve years’ service, Tom rose through the ranks, from Able Seaman to Leading Seaman and Petty Officer. In May 1912, however, he was ‘disrated’ back to Able Seaman, but there is no evidence to confirm why this was done. By this time, he had served on nine ships, as well as having time in shore-based establishments, and had completed his twelve years as a mariner.
Meanwhile, in the autumn of 1904, Tom had married Hannah Kennedy, a dockyard labourer’s daughter from Gillingham, Kent. The couple went on to have four children and set up home in the centre of the town, not far from the Naval Dockyard where Tom was sometimes based.
With war in Europe on the horizon, Tom immediately volunteered to continue his duty when he term of service came to an end. Working hard, he soon regained the rank of Leading Seaman and, by April 1915, was back up to Petty Officer once more.
During the remainder of his time in the Royal Navy, Petty Officer Jones served on a further seven vessels. In October 1920, after more than two decades’ service, he was invalided out, having contracted tuberculosis, rendering him unfit to continue.
At this point Tom’s trail goes cold. It seems likely that his lung condition got the better of him; he passed away on 20th June 1921, at the age of 38 years old.
Petty Officer Tom Jones was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent.
Petty Officer Tom Jones (courtesy of ancestry.co.uk)
Walter Hudson Clark was born in 1883, the youngest of eight children to Thomas and Isabella Clark from Gillingham, Kent. Thomas was a miller who, with his wife, who was affectionately known as Sibella, raised their family in the centre of town.
When he left school, Walter found work as an apprentice to a painter and decorator. After Sibella died in 1903, he and two of his sisters remained living at home and, by the time of the 1911 census, he was supporting his father by working as a cooper in the nearby Naval Dockyard in Chatham.
Thomas passed away in December 1915, and this may have been the spur to guide his son into enlisting. Little documentation about Walter’s military service remains available although he joined the 480th Field Company of the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. He was in receipt of the Victory and British Medals, but there is nothing to confirm that he served abroad, so it seems likely that he was part of the territorial force.
Sadly this is where Sapper Clark’s trail goes cold. He survived the war, but died on 20th February 1920, at the age of 37 years old. There is no cause of death available either, but Walter was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in his home town of Gillingham, Kent.
Archibald Hubert Callon – also known as Archie – was born on 2nd January 1890 in Pembroke Dock, South Wales. One of eight children, his parents were shipwright Michael Callon and his wife, Mary. Soon after Archie was born, Michael moved the family to Gillingham, Kent, presumably as work at the nearby Naval Dockyard was plentiful.
The sea was clearly in his blood as, in 1905, Archie joined the Royal Navy, initially as a Boy Artificer, before taking on full employment there once he reached the age of 18. The 1911 census found him working as an Engine Room Artificer 4th Class, one of a crew of 57 aboard the torpedo destroyer HMS Swale, moored in Grimsby.
Archie slowly rose through the ranks and, by 1913, had become Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class, while serving on HMS Clio. He remained on this vessel through to April 1916, before returning to HMS Pembroke, the shore-based naval establishment in Chatham, Kent.
Sadly, Archie’s time back home was short. The next record for him is stark; it is noted that on 10th July 1916, he committed suicide, during temporary insanity. I have been unable to uncover anything further about his passing. He was just 26 years old.
Archibald Hubert Callon was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from where his family lived.
George Palmer Carpenter was born in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1881, one of fourteen children to James and Elizabeth Carpenter. James ran the Steyne Hotel on the seafront, and sent his boys off to the Lucton Boarding School in Henfield for their education.
A regimented life seems to have suited George. When he left school, he enlisted in army, joining the Royal Engineers as a Sapper. The 1901 census found him billeted at the Elphinstone Barracks in Portsmouth.
Sadly, there is little further documentation on the life of Sapper Carpenter. He served through to and during the Great War, attaining the rank of Serjeant. He was sent to France in May 1915, though there is little to confirm his role there, or how long he stayed.
Serjeant Carpenter was subsequently attached to G Depot Company of the Royal Engineers, which received men returned from Expeditionary Force and also men enlisted for Tunnelling Companies, Special Companies and other specialist units. By this time – presumably later on in the conflict – he was based back in England, at the regiment’s barracks in Chatham, Kent.
When the war came to a close, George continued with his army career. With conflict in Europe coming end, he was shipped to Singapore in 1917, where he served through to 1920. A Sussex newspaper picked up his story from there:
Much sympathy will be extended to Mrs Carpenter and her family, of the Steyne Hotel, consequent upon the death of Sergeant George Carpenter, of the Royal Engineers, another of our Worthing boys whose life has been laid down in his country’s service. He arrived home in a bad state of health on the 25th of February last from Singapore, where he had been on duty for three years. Suffering from gastric influenza, it was found necessary that he should undergo an operation, which was carried out at midnight on Saturday. But he sank from weakness, and died at half-past eight on Sunday morning. This is the second son of whom Mrs Carpenter has been bereaved within a year, and there is pathos in the words addressed to us by her: “I have again the sorrowful task of sending the news of the death of one of my sons this morning.
Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 24th March 1920
George Palmer Carpenter was 39 years old. He was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery of his home town, Worthing, in West Sussex.
The other brother referred to in the report was George’s younger brother Norman.
He had emigrated to Canada in 1906, but returned to Europe as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force when war broke out. Wounded in battle in May 1917, he returned to the UK for treatment and recuperation, and remained on home soil for the rest of the war.
In the spring of 1919, he was admitted to hospital with pleurisy and anaemia, and seems that he never fully recovered, succumbing to the conditions in August of that year. He was just 32 years old.
Albert Sydney Farrell was born in Mayfield, East Sussex, in the summer of 1899. One of four children his parents were gardener and coachman Arthur Farrell and his wife, Sarah Ann. Arthur had been born in Findon, a village to the north of Worthing, and is was to this town that he returned with his family. By the time of the 1911 census, when Albert was listed as a schoolboy, they were living in a small cottage within spitting distance of the sea.
Because of his youth, there is little further documentation on Albert’s early life. The war was coming, however, and he wanted to do his part. Dates cannot be confirmed, but he enlisted later in the conflict, at east before June 1918.
Private Farrell joined the Suffolk Regiment, and was assigned to the 1st (Reserve) Garrison Battalion. He would have carried out guard, escort and other similar duties from where he was based on the Isle of Grain in Kent.
Towards the end of the conflict, Albert fell ill; he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Sheerness, but sadly passed away on 3rd December 1918. He was just 19 years of age.
Albert Sydney Farrell was brought back to Worthing; he lies buried in the Broadwater Cemetery to the north of the town.
Albert Andrew Heasman was born in 1890 or 1891, and, like his date of birth, much of his life remains a mystery. He was one of five children to William and Kate Heasman, who brought their family up in the West Sussex town of Worthing.
Documentation on Albert is scarce. He does not appear on census records until 1911, by which time he is working as a mate on a fishing boat, based out of Ramsgate, Kent.
Naval records are also patchy; he certainly enlisted during the war, and, by 1918 had joined the Royal Naval Reserve. He was assigned to HMS President III, a training ship based at the Royal India Dock in London.
The only other concrete information available on Leading Seaman Heasman is that he passed away from pneumonia on 21st October 1918. He was just 28 years old. His pension record confirms that his sister, Ethel, was listed as a dependent.
Albert Andrew Heasman’s body was brought back to Worthing, where he lies buried in the Broadwater Cemetery, to the north of the town.
Sidney Ford was born in Kent in 1896, the son of Stephen John Ford and his second wife, Elizabeth Ann (née Underdown). The couple had four children – Frederick, Sidney, Ethel and Alice – although it seems that Elizabeth brought them up almost singlehandedly. Sidney’s military records gives his father’s name, although simply notes that he was an imbecile, in the stark way that only Edwardian officials could.
Sadly, little of Sidney’s early life remains documented. By the time war broke out, he was working as a farm labourer in Yalding, close to where he was born. He enlisted at the end of October 1914, joining the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), and was assigned to the 8th (Service) Battalion as a Private.
Joining up in Maidstone, by the end of the year, Private Ford’s battalion was soon billeted in Worthing, West Sussex. Tragically, his service was destined to be a short one, and he passed away after only a month in the town.
The first death from the Red Cross Hospital, Cecil’s, at West Worthing, had to be recorded. Since it has been opened there have been a large number of cases, and many of them have been of a serious nature, but happily all except the one under notice have made progress, thanks to the skill of the Medical Officers and Nursing Staff of the institution.
The deceased in this instance was a Private of the Eighth Battalion of the West Kent Regiment, now stationed locally. His name was Sidney Ford, and he was twenty-five years of age. He died on Friday, and at the funeral, which took place on Monday, full Military honours were accorded him.
Colonel Vansittart (who commands the Eighth Battalion) and Major Bock-Hollinshead attended, as also did other members of the Staff of the Hospital. A large number of the public were also at the Cemetery to witness the last rites, the progress of so long and so imposing a procession through the streets attracting considerable attention.
Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 20th January 1915
Private Ford has died on 15th January 1915, and was actually just 20 years of age, not 25, as had been reported. The Worthing Gazette does not give no mention to Sidney’s family, so it can only be assumed that they were unable to make the journey from Kent to the funeral. I have been unable to uncover details of the cause of his death, but, given that there is no mention of the cause in the newspaper, it is likely to have been following an illness than anything more sensational or unusual.
Sidney Ford lies at rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in Worthing, one of the first in the town to have passed because of the Great War.
Sidney’s older brother, Frederick, was also involved in the Great War. While there is little specific information about his service, it is evident that he was a Private in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment).
Unlike his younger brother, Frederick did see military action, but list his life on the Western Front on 4th November 1915, ten months after Sidney had passed in Worthing.
Frederick lies at rest in the Royal Irish Rifles Graveyard in Laventie, in Northern France.
Charles Edward Nesbit Clarke was born in December 1884, the son of Ralph Clarke. Sadly, there is little documentation to flesh out his early life. He had at least one sibling, a sister called Nellie, and was born in London, possibly in Hampstead.
Charles seemed to have been mechanically minded; when he left school, he found work with a motor vehicle fitter, before going on to get employment as an electrical engineer.
He met a woman called Elizabeth Bertha Gould, and the couple married in Islington in November 1908. Four years later, the couple had a child, Edward. The boy’s baptism record shows that the family were living in the St John’s Road Workhouse in Islington, so things seemed to have been really tough for them. (There are no other workhouse records available, so it may be that it was a temporary residence, while Edward was born, but this cannot be confirmed either way.)
The Great War broke out, and Charles enlisted straight away. He had found employment as aforeman fitter by this point, and joined the Army Service Corps, in the Motor Transport Division. He was sent to France a week later, as part of the British Expeditionary Force, and served there for seven months.
When he returned to England, having gained the 1914 Star and the British and Victory Medals for his service, he was assigned to the military camp at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.
Five months later, a local newspaper picked up the sorry story of what happened next.
At Weston-super-Mare Hospital… Dr S Craddock held an inquest on the body of Staff Sergeant Major Charles Clark [sic], Army Service Corps, who was admitted to that institution suffering from a mortal and self-inflicted wound received at the Burnham military camp on Sunday morning.
Captain Budibent deposed that at the time the deceased was detained in camp as the result of having been absent from duty for four days without leave. On hearing of his return, witness (who liked the man and recognised his great value, having served with him in France) went to the tent to see him. Deceased was very upset, and in reply to a question said “I can’t account for staying away; I must have been mad.” Witness tried to cheer him up, reminding him that is was not “a hanging matter”, to which Clark replied “No, sir, I wish it was.” When they were in France together Clark confided to witness that a girl who once lived with him desired him to marry her on his returning from the Front, but he stated that he could not do so, as he loved another girl. As he was depressed, witness advised him on returning home to see the girl who considered she had a claim upon him, and, if it were a matter of money, to settle it, and then marry the other girl. On later returning to the Front from England, deceased said his troubles were over, that he had married the other girl, and that he could now do his work with a good heart. Witness, however, believed other troubles had arisen.
Sergeant Belt, ASC, said he had slept in the same tent with the deceased. Clark had a good night, but next morning became very depressed over the fact that half the Company were leaving the came for another destination, and would be losing close friends. He remarked “The last hour has been the worst in my life.” Later, when outside the tent, witness heard a rifle shot and, rushing in, found Clark lying in bed with a rifle wound in his chest. Deceased admitted that he had fired the rifle himself. Death occurred in Weston Hospital, whither he was removed the same night. The medical evidence revealed terrible internal injuries, the bullet having practically severed deceased’s liver.
The jury returned a verdict that Clark committed suicide while temporarily insane.
Taunton Courier & Western Advertiser: Wednesday 18th August 1915
The report, particularly Captain Budibent’s comments, raises some questions. By the time of the First World War, Charles was married to Bertha. There is no record of him having married anyone else, so where the girl he loved, and the other who loved him came into it, it is impossible to say.
Sergeant Major Clarke had taken his own life at the age of just 31 years old. Bertha and their son were living in Chatham, Kent, at the time, and it seems likely that the cost of moving him closer to home may have ruled that out.
Charles Edward Nesbit Clarke’s body was buried instead in the Milton Cemetery in Weston-super-Mare.
