Tag Archives: Lancashire

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, Lancashire, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Robert Hill

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Stoker 1st Class Robert Hill

Robert Hill was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 24th June 1876. One of seven children, his parents were Thomas and Catherine. Thomas was a dock labourer, and the family lived in a tenement in Upper William Street, to the north of the city centre.

Robert was destined to be drawn to the sea and, on 30th May 1900, he joined the Royal Navy, as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, with blue eyes, fair hair and a fresh complexion.

Stoker Hill was sent to HMS Pembroke for his training, and it was to the Chatham naval base that he would ultimately return between voyages. He enlisted for a period of twelve years and, over that time, would serve on six different vessels. During this time, Robert was promoted, gaining the rank of Stoker 1st Class.

When Robert’s contract came to an end, he was stood down to reserve status. His trail goes cold until May 1914 when, with war looming, he was re-engaged.

At the outbreak of war, Stoker 1st Class Hill was assigned to HMS Coquette, a D-class destroyer serving as a training ship for the navy’s gunnery school at Sheerness, Kent.

Being thrown overboard as the result of a jar caused through a liberty boat bumping into another Service Vessel, Petty Officer Hill, of HMS Coquette, lost his life at Stangate Creek as far back as March 8th, and his body having since been recovered, an inquest was held at the Royal Naval Hospital, Gillingham, on Saturday morning…

Charles Offord, stoker, HMS Coquette, identified the body as that of Robert Hill, a first-class petty officer, of the same ship. The body was quite unrecognisable, and witness was only able to identify it by the clothing and boots, and by two brass Service keys belonging tot he deceased’s ditty box and hat box. Hill was the only man of the ship with two keys. Both boxes had to be forced open, as the keys were missing. The laces found on the deceased witness identified as belonging to Hill, who purchased them ashore when witness was with him on March 8th. They went ashore from the ship to Cornwallis Pier, Sheerness, by the one o’clock boat, and were together after they landed. They returned to the liberty boat at 6:45. They had to call at other ships before reaching the Coquette, and it was while they were approaching TB9 at 8:15pm that the deceased fell overboard. At the time Hill was standing in the boat amidship on the port side, and as a result of the liberty boat striking the side of TB9 the deceased fell overboard, losing his balance in consequence of the jar. Witness was certain it was the jar that threw Hill overboard. Witness called our “Man overboard!” A strong tide was running. Every effort was made to rescue the deceased, but without result. The liberty boat went astern, and TB9 pulled her dinghy to the buoy, but could not see anything of Hill. It was a rough and windy night. Deceased could only swim a little, and he was quite sober. The dinghy went to the buoy because it was thought that the deceased might have got hold of it, but it was subsequently found that he had not done so. The searchlights were put on, and a lifebuoy was thrown to the man.

Walter Joseph Shoesmith, chief stoker, HMS Coquette, corroborated the previous witness as to the identity of the body, and added that Hill was about 39 years of age. Everything possible was done to find the deceased and rescue him, but he was not seen after he had entered the water.

Joseph Kelly, mortuary keeper at the Royal Naval Hospital, deposed that the body was brought to the mortuary from Stangate Creek, where the deceased went down. An evening newspaper, dated March 8th, and two packets of new bootlaces were found on the clothing.

[Chatham, Rochester and Brompton Observer: Saturday 22nd May 1915]

The body of Robert Hill was not found until some ten weeks after he fell overboard. His body was taken to Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, and he was laid to rest in the naval section of the burial ground.

Stoker Hill’s headstone incorrectly attributes his death to the sinking of HMS Bulwark in November 1914. Robert never served on that vessel, and no member of her crew had that name.

While the newspaper report gives Robert’s rank as Petty Officer, his service records record him as a Stoker 1st Class.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, New Zealand, New Zealand Otago Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Frank Morris

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Private Frank Morris

Francis Kemp Morris was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 29th September 1884. The older of two children, his parents were William and Fanny Morris. London-born Fanny, had been married twice before, and Francis – who was better known as Frank – had two half-siblings from each of those marriages.

There is little information about Frank’s early life. On 22nd March 1910, he married Lavinia Edwards. The couple went on to have three children – Albert, Ivy and Mavis – and Lavinia had had a son, William, two years before their wedding.

Fanny died in February 1915, at the age of 63. Tragically, Lavinia would also pass away in December 1916: she was just 26 years of age. Frank now had children to raise. He was employed as an engineer, but was called upon to serve his King the following summer.

Assigned to the New Zealand Otago Regiment, Private Morris’ service papers note that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, and weighed 148kbs (67.1kg). He was recorded as having dark hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. He had a scar in the middle of his back, and tattoos on both of his forearms and his left knee. Deemed fit for service, Frank was sent to Trentham, near Wellington for training.

On 21st November 1917, Frank’s unit left New Zealand for the ten week voyage to Britain. Arriving in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 8th January 1918, he was marched in to Sling Camp, Wiltshire, the same day, in preparation for his unit’s move to France.

Private Morris, however, would not spend any time fighting the enemy. On 12th April 1918, he was admitted to a military hospital in Tidworth, Wiltshire, suffering with hypertrophy of the tonsils. The following day he was moved to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital near Codford with gonorrhoea. Over the coming days he contracted bronchitis, and this would be the condition that ultimately claimed his life. Frank died on 20th April 1918, at the age of 33 years old.

Thousands of miles from home, Francis – Frank – Kemp Morris was laid to rest in the graveyard extension to St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the hospital in which he had spent the last few weeks of his life.

Frank’s next of kin was noted as a friend, E Biddle, while his war pension was given to Henry Holbrook of St Mary’s Industrial School, Auckland, the guardian of the now orphaned children.

Private Frank Morris
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, New Zealand, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, photography, Rifleman, story, war, Wiltshire

Rifleman John Charleston

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Rifleman John Charleston

The early life of John Charleston is a challenge to unpick. Later documents confirm his parents as being John and Clare Charleston from Cardiff, Glamorganshire, although there are no baptism or census records to provide additional detail.

Much of the information about John’s life comes from his New Zealand Expeditionary Force service papers. These confirm that he was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 1st April 1887. The document suggests that he had spent nine years in the Royal Navy, and that, at the point he enlisted, on 19th September 1916, he was working for the shipping company Shaw, Savill & Albion.

By this point, John was living in Wellington, New Zealand, and had been there for at least a decade. He had married Mary Agnes Sykes in the city on 6th February 1906, and they had four children: Clarence, Phyllis, Arthur and Kenneth.

John joined the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, and was passed as medically fit: his medical noted he was 5ft 2.5ins (1.59m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes, and a fresh complexion.

Rifleman Charleston spent the next three months training at barracks in Trentham. This time was not without incident, however, and he spent two separate period in hospital – for a growth on his tongue in October 1916, and appendicitis a month later. By the middle of January, however, his unit boarded HMNZT 75 bound for Britain.

The journey back to the UK took ten weeks, and it would not be until 28th March 1917 that Rifleman Charleston marched into Sling Camp in Wiltshire. He would remain there for two months as preparations were made to go to France. During this time, John went AWOL for three days. On his return he was confined to barracks for a week, and docked that three days’ pay.

Rifleman Charleston’s unit arrived in France on 26th May 1917. John, however, would not see much, if any, fighting. Within a couple of days he was admitted to hospital with syphilis, a condition which would keep recurring over the coming months. John was sent back to Britain, spending four separate periods of time receiving treatment over the next eight months.

John’s last admission was in the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, on 23rd January 1918. This time, his condition would prove to be too severe. Rifleman Charleston passed away from syphilitic meningitis on 15th March 1918: he was a fortnight short of his 41st birthday.

The body of John Charleston was laid to rest in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from where he had breathed his last.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, Kent, killed in action, Lancashire, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class James Richards

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Stoker 1st Class James Richards

James Richards was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 4th September 1891. The second of nine children, his parents were John and Christina Richards. John was a carter for the local railway and, according to the 1901 census, the family had rooms at 41 Paget Street, to the north of the city centre.

James sought a more permanent career for himself, and enlisted in the Royal Navy. Sadly, his service record has been lost, but the 1911 census return found him listed as one of the 786 crew of the battleship HMS Inflexible. Captained by Charles Napier, at the time of the census, she was moored off Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland.

By the summer of 1917, Stoker 1st Class Richards found himself at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. The base was busy and overcrowded at that point in the war: the battleship HMS Vanguard had been sunk, and its replacement crew were barracked in Chatham, waiting for new assignments. Add to this an outbreak of spotted fever, and temporary accommodation was set up to help space out the billets and slow its transmission. It was in this accommodation – set up in Pembroke’s Drill Hall, that James found himself sleeping.

On the night of the 3rd September 1917, the German air force carried out a daring raid on the North Kent coast. Chatham came under fire, and two bomb scored direct hits on the Drill Hall. Dozens of sleeping men were killed, while countless others, including Stoker 1st Class Richards, were injured.

James was taken to the Royal Naval Hospital in the town, but his wounds would prove too severe. He passed away on 4th September 1917, his 26th birthday.

The body of James Richards was taken back to Liverpool for burial. Strict Roman Catholics, John and Christina laid their son’s body to rest in the city’s Ford Cemetery.

[Note: the photo above is of the memorial to the Chatham Air Raid victims, close to the mass grave for those whose bodies were not identified, in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent.]

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Egypt, Great War, Gurkha Rifles, history, India, Lancashire, Lieutenant, photography, story, unknown, war

Lieutenant Walter Thompson

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Lieutenant Walter Thompson

In the picturesque cemetery of St Mary’s Church, Mortehoe, Devon, is a headstone commemorating Walter Stuart Thompson. The stone notes that he died on the 16th April 1920, and that he was in his 29th year. He is recorded as being the youngest son of the late Reverend Walter Thompson from West Didsbury, Lancashire. His mother is also noted as being buried with him.

A baptism record for Christ Church, Didsbury, confirms that Walter was christened on 22nd November 1891, and gives his parents’ names as Walter and Mary Elizabeth Thompson. The family do not appear in any census records but, given that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records note that Walter was a Lieutenant in the 2nd King Edward’s Own Gurkha Rifles, it is possible that they emigrated in the years following his birth.

During the First World War, Lieutenant Thompson’s regiment fought on the Western Front, in Egypt and in India. As his service records no longer exist, it is unclear when or how Walter served, but it is clear that he survived the conflict, and returned to Britain at the end of the war.

What the connection was to Devon is again unclear, although it seems possible that Walter was sent there for health reasons. His passing does not appear in any contemporary newspapers, so is unlikely to have been anything out of the ordinary.

The life of Walter Stuart Thompson, therefore, is destined to remain a mystery, buried with him in the tranquil cemetery on the north Devon coast.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Francis Moody

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Private Francis Moody

Francis Robert Moody was born on 8th September 1876, in the town of Kihikihi, on New Zealand’s North Island. There is little information about his early life, but his parents were Hampshire-born Francis Moody and his Irish wife, Mary.

When he completed his schooling, Francis Jr found work as a carter. When war broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part, enlisting in the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment on 18th June 1917. His service papers show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall, and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). A Roman Catholic by birth, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion.

Private Moody’s unit left New Zealand on 13th October 1917, making the two-month voyage to Britain on board the HT Corinthic. Francis disembarked in Liverpool, Lancashire, before being marched into camp in Sling, Wiltshire.

Over the next month, Private Moody received further training, but by this point, and following the lengthy journey, his health was beginning to suffer. He was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, on 30th January 1918, suffering from bronchitis.

Francis’ health continued to deteriorate, and he developed tuberculosis. The condition would prove fatal, and he passed away on 22nd February 1918, at the age of 41.

Thousands of miles from home, Francis Robert Moody was laid to rest alongside his colleagues in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford.

Private Francis Moody
(from findagrave.com)
Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, Lancashire, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Tyne & Wear, war

Able Seaman Percy Cronshaw

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Able Seaman Percy Cronshaw

Percy Cronshaw was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, on 10th January 1885. The second of five children, he was the oldest son to Thomas and Alice Cronshaw. Thomas was a loom overseer in a local mill, and when Percy completed his schooling, he found work as a calico weaver. Alice had died by the time of the 1901 census, and the family has moved to a cottage on Loxham Street in Bolton.

Percy wanted a better life for himself and, on 12th February 1902, he joined in the Royal Navy. Too young to fully enlist, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Northampton for his training. Over the next year he learnt the tools of his trade, rising to Boy 1st Class after just three months.

By the time of Percy’s eighteenth birthday, he had had three further postings: the shore bases HMS Calliope in Gateshead and HMS Victory in Portsmouth; and the cruiser HMS Good Hope. It was with her that he came of age, and was in a position to formally enlist in the Royal Navy.

The now Ordinary Seaman Cronshaw’s papers show the man he had become. He was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, with auburn hair, black eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having moles on the right side of his face and neck, and two tattoos: his initials on his right forearm, and an anchor on his left.

Percy remained aboard HMS Good Hope until the spring of 1905. By this point, he had been promoted, taking the rank of Able Seaman. With his promotion came more training, and he spent the next year split between HMS Victory and HMS Excellent, another shore base in Portsmouth. His annual reviews noted a very good character and an ability to match.

Over the next seven years, Able Seaman Cronshaw would go on to serve on two further ships – HMS Venus and HMS Superb. In between voyages he returned to Portsmouth, with HMS Excellent becoming his home port. This land base offered some continuity, and the unexpected bonus of romance. On 28th January 1912, Percy married Frances Stubbington, a shoemaker’s daughter from the city: the couple would go on to have a child, Violet, who was born later that year.

By this point, Percy had been given a new posting, on board the battleship HMS Bulwark. When war was declared, she became a part of the Channel Fleet, tasked with patrolling and defending Britain’s southern coast.

On 26th November 1914, Bulwark was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness, and was being stocked with shells and ammunition. That morning, some poorly stowed charges overheated, detonating the shells stored nearby. The resulting explosion ripped through the battleship, and more than 740 crew were killed. Able Seaman Cronshaw was among those to be recovered: he was 29 years of age.

Percy Cronshaw’s body as laid to rest alongside his colleagues in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent. As his body had been identified, he was able to be buried in a marked grave.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, County Antrim, Great War, history, illness, Ireland, Lancashire, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private William Cathcart

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Private William Cathcart

William Rea Cathcart was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on 30th January 1887. The middle of five children, his parents were Thomas and Margaret Cathcart.

Little information is available about William’s early life, but he appears to have been a smart young man and, by his mid-20s was employed as a bookkeeper. Part of him sought a better life for himself and he took the decision to emigrate, arriving in Fremantle, Australia on board the SS Otranto on 14th November 1911.

William settled in Perth, but when war broke out, he was keen to step up and serve his King and Empire. He enlisted on 7th May 1915 but, for some reason, he wasn’t accepted for service at that time.

William did not give up, however, and he succeeded in enlisting on 30th May 1917. His service papers confirm that he was 5ft 8.75ins (1.74m) tall and weighed 150lbs (68kg). A Roman Catholic, he was noted as having brown eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.

Assigned to the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, Private Cathcart’s unit set sail from Sydney on the troop ship A7 Medic, on the 1st August 1917. The voyage would take two months, and his unit arrived in Liverpool, Lancashire, at the start of October. It the then marched south to the ANZAC bases near Codford, Wiltshire.

It seems that the journey had exhausted William, and his health began to deteriorate. He was admitted to the camp hospital with diabetes, but moved to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on 22nd November. He was emaciated and barely able to walk, constantly drinking, but eating very little.

Over the next few days, William’s condition worsened. He began getting pains in his arms and legs, was sluggish and restless. The treatment he was provided would ultimately prove too little, too late. Private Cathcart passed away at 1:05am on 25th November 1917: he was 30 years of age.

The body of William Rea Cathcart was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to the graveyard of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the hospital in which he had been treated.

Private William Cathcart
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Australia, Australian Infantry, Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, Nova Scotia, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Oscar Cameron

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Private Oscar Cameron

Born in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, in around 1876, the early life of Oscar Cameron is a challenge to piece together. He was one of four children to ship’s carpenter Christopher Cameron and his wife Alice.

Oscar appears to have followed his father in a sea-faring life, and his later army service records confirm that, by 1917, he was a ship’s officer. When the call came to serve the Empire, he took a discharge from his ship in Australia, and joined up.

Enlisting on 20th February 1917, Oscar’s service records show that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall, and weighed 128lbs (50.1kg). He had fair hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion, with a tattoo on his right forearm and a vaccination scar on his left upper arm. His age was given as 36 years and 6 months, although he was, in fact 41 by this point.

Assigned to the 59th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, Private Cameron’s unit left from Sydney on board the HMAT A16. The two-month voyage was not uneventful: Oscar spent three days in hospital with an undeclared ailment, and also forfeited two days’ pay for being absent without leave for 34hrs during the ship’s layover in Cape Town, South Africa.

The 59th Battalion disembarked in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 16th September 1917. From there it made the journey to the ANZAC camps in Wiltshire, and this is where Oscar would have continued his training.

At the start of 1918, Private Cameron’s health was suffering again. He was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, suffering from nephritis. Ultimately, the condition was to prove fatal: Oscar passed away at 4:45pm on 24th January 1918, aged 40.

Thousands of miles from home, it wasn’t possible for the remains of Oscar Cameron to be taken back to Canada. Instead, he was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, not far from the base where he had received treatment.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Driver, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, Lance Corporal, Northamptonshire, photography, Quartermaster, Royal Army Service Corps, Sergeant, story, war

Company Quartermaster Serjeant Charles Frost

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Company Quartermaster Serjeant Charles Frost

Charles Albert Frost was born in Daventry, Northamptonshire, at during the winter of 1882/3. The third of eight children, his parents were William and Louisa Frost. William was a foreman at a shoe factory in Northampton and, at the time of the 1891 census, the family were living at what looks to be 47 Ardington Road or Abington Road (the return is not clearly legible).

Charles also found work in the shoe trade when he completed his schooling, but his is not a career he wanted to make for himself. Instead he was drawn to the army and, on 26th January 1900, he joined up. The now Driver Frost’s service records show that, at 18 years of age, he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) tall and weighed 127lbs (57.6kg). He had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Assigned to the Army Service Corps, Charles spent the next few years on home soil. Attached to the 17th Company, he would work hard and that dedication would pay off. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in April 1902, and 2nd Corporal just six months later. By January 1903 he had risen to Corporal, extending his term of service the same month.

Interestingly, in March 1904, Charles reverted to the role of Driver at his own request. He would remain at that rank until for the next four years, when he was stood down to reserve status.

The 1911 census found Charles living back home with his parents and siblings. By this point there were six adults and three children living at 74 Hood Street, Northampton, a seven-roomed terraced house on the east of the town centre. Charles had found work as a blouse cutter in a local factory, and with his father and older siblings all involved in factory work in some way.

Life on civvy street seemed not to appeal, however, and in November 1911 Charles was re-engaged with the Army Service Corps. This was initially planned to be for four years, but he would remain in the army for nearly twice that long.

In August 1914, Driver Frost was shipped out to France. and, barring leave, he would remain there for the next three years. In the summer of 1915, he returned home briefly, marrying Daisy Harris at St Edmund’s Church in Hardingstone, Northamptonshire, when he did so. He was soon sent back out to France, however, and remained on the other side of the Channel until April 1917.

Back on home soil, Charles’ career had taken a surprising turn. In January 1915 he was promoted to Acting Corporal, rising to Acting Sergeant just four months later. By November 1916 he had been promoted to Acting Quartermaster Sergeant, a role that was formalised just four months later.

In May 1918, Daisy gave birth to their first – and only – child, a boy they called Eric. Tragically, he passed away just three weeks later, from a combination of pemphigus and asthma: with Charles away, Daisy had to register the death.

Quartermaster Sergeant Frost survived the war, but was admitted to the Mill Road Hospital in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 28th June 1919. He was suffering from a cerebral tumour, but his treatment would prove ineffectual. He died at 3:20am on 4th July 1919: he was 37 years of age.

The body of Charles Albert Frost was taken back to Northamptonshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Edmund’s Church, Hardingstone, alongside Eric: a father and son reunited.

Daisy had not lost her son and husband in just over a year. The 1921 census found her back living with her father and sister, carrying out home duties while they worked.