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Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Seaman, story, war

Seaman Thomas Ginn

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Seaman Thomas Ginn

Thomas Albert Ginn seems destined to remain one of those people whose lives are lost to time. He was born on 4th February 1895 in Cape Fogo on the island of Fogo in Newfoundland. His father was Walter Scott Ginn, but beyond that, no concrete information remains.

What is clear is that, when was broke out, Thomas joined the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve as a Seaman. Sent to Europe, he found himself based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard, at Chatham, Kent.

He was billeted in the Drill Hall, which had been set up with temporary accommodation during 1917, when the barracks themselves became overcrowded.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out one of its first night-time air raids on England: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit. Seaman Ginn was badly injured and died of his wounds in hospital the following day. He was just 22 years of age.

Thomas Albert Ginn was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Seaman Thomas Gunn
(from westernfrontassociation.com)

Another young man from Fogo, Seaman Albert Cluett, also died during the bombing raid; given the remoteness of the Newfoundland town, it seems very unlikely that he and Thomas did not know each other.

Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Gibraltar, Great War, Hampshire, history, London, photography, Private, Royal Defence Corps, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Private Edmund Bevan

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Private Edmund Bevan

Edmund Thomas Bevan was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, in November 1867, the son of blacksmith George Bevan and his wife, Mary Ann.

Unfortunately, little documentation remains on Edmund’s early life; after his baptism record, the next evidence for him comes in the form of his military service record, twenty years later.

Looking for a life of adventure, Edmund gave up his labouring job and joined the Somerset Light Infantry. His enlistment papers confirm the date – 12th May 1887 – and showed that he stood at 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall and weighed in at 120lbs (54.4kg). The papers also note that he had dark brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He also had a scar above his right eye.

Private Bevan joined up for twelve years’ service. He spent his first four years at bases in Essex and Hampshire, before being sent to Gibraltar in November 1891. He returned home after two years, and spent his remaining time in the army in his home county, Somerset. Noted that he had shown a very good character, he was discharged to the reserve brigade on 11th May 1899 in Taunton.

Sadly – tantalisingly – Edmund’s trail goes cold again at this point. When hostilities were declared in August 1914, it seems likely that he was brought out of reserve, but given his age at this point – he was 46 – he was assigned to the territorial force. As a Private in the 125th Coy of the Royal Defence Corps, he would have had civil protection in the London area, although again, specific details are not known.

The next confirmation of Private Bevan’s life is his gravestone. This confirms that he passed away 19th July 1917, at the age of 49. While no cause of death is evident, his pension record sheds a little more light onto his life in the early years of the twentieth century.

Edmund had married a woman called Martha, and the couple had gone on to have a child. Martha passed away in September 1913 and, according to the pension record, Edmund passed guardianship on to his brother Henry.

Edmund Thomas Bevan was laid to rest in the Milton Road Cemetery in his home town of Weston-super-Mare.

Commonwealth War Graves, Donkeyman, Great War, history, Kent, Merchant Navy, photography, story, unknown, war

Donkeyman John Hart

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Donkeyman John Hart

John Hart is someone whose life is destined to be a mystery. He lies at rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent. His gravestone simply states that he was a Donkeyman for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and that he passed away on 17th May 1917.

Sadly, without a date or location of birth, it is impossible to narrow down any historic records to a specific John Hart.

The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a shipping company that transported goods and travellers around the world. Primary routes included the Americas, although it is impossible to confirm which countries John would have visited. His job as a Donkeyman, however, was to help pilot the vessel.

Unfortunately, there is little more to be determined about John’s life. Given that he is buried in a cemetery close to the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, it is likely that this is a port that he sailed out of or into on a regular basis. Sadly, we are unlikely ever to know.

Boatswain, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, photography, Royal Navy, story, unknown, war

Boatswain Jeremiah Lane

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Boatswain Jeremiah Lane

Jeremiah Lane is one of those names that is sadly to be lost to the annuls of time, as there is just not enough information about him readily available to definitively map out his life.

Buried in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, his gravestone confirms that he was a Boatswain in the Royal Navy and was serving on HMS Marlborough. He died on 12th February 1919.

Jeremiah’s Pension Ledger Card confirms he left a widow, Mrs BM Lane, but gives no other information. The Navy Medal Roll shows he was awarded the British and Victory Medals and the 1914/15 Star for his service. The Navy Lists show that he attained the rank of Boatswain on 25th October 1918.

There are naval records for a Jeremiah Lane; these show that he was born in Queenstown, Cork, in 1879, and that he joined the Royal Navy in 1898. He had reached the rank of Petty Officer before leaving the service in 1912. The may be the same sailor, but there is nothing to directly link the two.

Sadly, then, the life of this serviceman, who gave his life for peace, is destined to be lost forever.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, Labour Corps, photography, Quartermaster, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Quartermaster Serjeant Percy Macey

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Quartermaster Serjeant Percy Macey

Percy George Macey was born in Frome, Somerset, in the autumn of 1889. He was the oldest of six children and the only son to Arthur and Susan Macey. Arthur was a general labourer and domestic gardener from Wiltshire, whose family had moved to Somerset in the 1870s.

When he left school, Percy found work at a local foundry, and, by the time of the 1911 census, was listed as a brass fitter. By this point he had met Winifred Rowe, a labourer’s daughter from Wiltshire, who had found work as a servant to a Frome butcher. The couple married at the start of 1913, and went on to have a son – who they called Arthur, after Percy’s recently deceased father – later that year.

War was coming, and Percy joined the Somerset Light Infantry. Full details of his military service are not available, although at some point during the conflict he was promoted to Serjeant and transferred to the Labour Corps under the Devonshire Regiment. He was awarded the Victory and British Medals, but does not appear to have seen any service overseas.

By the end of the war, Percy had risen to the rank of Quartermaster Serjeant. The end of his life is, however, shrouded in a bit of mystery. He passed away on 15th March 1921 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; although no cause for his death is evident, it seems likely to have been from an illness of some sort, as there are no contemporary newspaper reports to suggest anything out of the ordinary. He was just 31 years old.

Percy George Macey was brought back to Frome; he was laid to rest in the Dissenters’ Cemetery in Vallis Road.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Sussex Regiment, story, Surrey, Sussex, unknown, war

Private Charles Hide

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Private Charles Hide

Charles Arthur Hide was born on 14th July 1897 and was the son of Ellen Edith Hide. The 1901 census found Charles living with his mother and her parents in the West Sussex village of Clapham. When Ellen’s father James died in 1909, local hurdle maker Alfred Daniels took her, Charles and her mother in as lodgers. Ellen subsequently married Alfred in 1916.

Charles, by this time, had left school and found employment with the railways. He started work on 22nd April 1913, earning 14s per week (around £55 a week in today’s money) as a porter at the station in Hove.

When war broke out, however, Charles felt the need to do his duty. He resigned from his job on 13th November 1914, and enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment as a Private. Charles was not alone in this: the employment records for Hove Station show that a number of other porters also handed in their notice around the same time.

Assigned to the 11th (Service) Battalion (also known as the 1st South Downs), Private Hide was initially based near Bexhill. His troop was then moved on, first to Maidstone in Kent, then to Aldershot, Hampshire. Whilst the battalion as a whole were shipped to France in 1916, there is no evidence that Charles went with them, and it seems that he may have served his time on home soil. Wherever he was based, he was awarded the Victory and British Medals for his time in the army.

At this point, details of Private Hide’s life become sketchy. He is only mentioned in one further document – the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects – which confirms that he passed away at a military hospital in Epsom, Surrey, on 26th March 1917, although no cause is given. He was just 19 years of age.

Charles Arthur Hide’s body was brought back to Sussex for burial. He lies at rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary the Virgin Church in his home village of Clapham.

Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Private, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Royal Navy, story, unknown, war

Ordinary Seaman William Stanley

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Ordinary Seaman William Stanley

William Alfred Stanley is one of those names that seems destined to be lost to the annuls of time. Little documentation exists for his early life, but what there is gives some hints at a determined young man.

William was born in London to an Annie Stanley, who lived in the Kentish Town area of the city. At some point, he emigrated to Canada as, according to his wartime enlistment papers, he joined up in Ontario.

William enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 5th November 1915, and was initially assigned to the 44th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. His troop embarked for England in July 1916, and, on his arrival he was transferred to the 98th Battalion.

It was at this point that things too an unusual turn. With a few months, Private Stanley was again transferred, this time to the 19th Battalion, and then again to the 4th Reserve Battalion from where he was discharged from the Canadian Infantry in February 1917 for being underage.

At this point, William seems to have been undeterred.

The next record for him – in fact the memorial to him – is his headstone. This confirms that he had enlisted in the Royal Naval Canadian Voluntary Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman. He was based at HMS Pembroke, the shore establishment at Chatham Dockyard, but there is no other information for him.

Ordinary Seaman Stanley died on 28th December 1917, at the age of 21. (His previous military discharge might suggest that he was, in fact, younger than this, but that is conjecture on my part.) There is no record of a cause of death and nothing in contemporary newspapers to suggest anything out of the ordinary.

William Alfred Stanley was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the Naval Dockyard where he had been based.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Private William Sweet

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Private William Sweet

William Frank Sweet was born towards the end of 1897 and was the youngest of seven children. His father, Richard, was a groom and, together with his wife, Mary, he raised the family in the Somerset town of Yeovil.

When William left school, he found work as an errand boy for a tailor; by the time of the 1911 census, Richard was working as a coachman for a hotel, and the family were living in a house on the north side of the town.

There is very little other documentation on young William’s life. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was assigned to the 5th Battalion, who were based in Taunton.

Further information on Private Sweet is scarce; given when he died, it is likely that he enlisted as part of the first wave of voluntary recruiting. It is also likely that, when he was training at the Tidworth Barracks on Salisbury Plain, he came down with some illness, and it was this to which he succumbed.

William Frank Sweet died on 4th October 1914, at the age of just 17 years old. His body was brought back to Yeovil, and he was buried in the town’s cemetery on 10th October, the day after his Battalion set sail across the English Channel to join the onslaught.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Private, Royal Marines, Somerset, story, war

Private Cecil Sims

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Private Cecil Sims

Cecil Frank Sims was born in the village of Manston, Dorset, towards the end of 1897. The youngest of six children, his parents were Henry and Ann Sims. Henry was a dairyman and, after his death in 1909, his wife continued in this line of the work.

Cecil was just 16 years old when war was declared, but he was keen to do his bit for King and Country as soon as he could. In May 1917, he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Marine Light Infantry in Portsmouth.

Sadly, information on Private Sims dries up at this point. His service records no longer exist, and the only document that remains is his pension record. This confirms that he died on 11th February 1919 from ‘disease’, but there is no further information to be had. He was just 21 years of age.

Cecil Frank Sims was laid to rest in Yeovil Cemetery.

There is one other element that adds to Cecil’s family story. When researching the local newspapers for any reports on his funeral, an advert was posted just a few days before he passed:

Farmer’s son wanted: Willing to help on farm. Lodgings found close. Good place for willing chap, age 16 or 17 years preferred. SIMS, Poplars Farm, Yeovil Marsh.

Western Gazette: Friday 7th February 1919

It would seem that, if he was at home, Cecil’s health was weakening, and so extra support to manage the farm was being sought.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, unknown, war

Private Frederick Jury

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Private Frederick Jury

Frederick Jury was born in 1882, the oldest of four children to William and Lucy. William was a farm labourer from Minehead, Somerset, and this is where the young couple raised their family.

When he left school, Frederick found work as a labourer for a stonemason, but he had his sights on a higher calling. In March 1903, he enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry and, after two years’ service, he was assigned to the Army Reserve.

By the time of the 1911 census, Lucy has been widowed; she was working as a charwoman in Minehead and living in a small cottage with her youngest daughter – Frederick’s youngest sister – Alice. Sadly, there is no record to confirm where Frederick was at this time.

When war broke out, Private Jury was called back into service. He was dispatched to France on 19th September 1914, and served there with his regiment for eight months before returning to England in May 1915 and transferring across to the Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps.

Private Jury’s time in the army seems to have been a troubled one. He was pulled up at least six times between 1903 and 1905, for being absent from parade, and for smoking in the stables. He was subsequently censured for failing to attend training during both 1910 and 1911, and the list went on into his time on active duty. He was punished for overstaying his pass in July, October and November 1915, for having a rusty rifle on inspection in August 1915 and for quitting his guard duty in January 1916. On each of these latter occasions, he was brought back by the Military Police and fined.

Frederick’s service records also confirm that he was treated in hospital for gonorrhoea in January 1905, something that may well have been par for the course for young soldiers at the time.

The continuous lapses in duty, however, may have proved too much for his regiment, and Frederick was discharge from military service on 8th March 1916.

At this point, Frederick Jury’s trail goes cold. The only further information available is that he died on 13th January 1919, at the age of 38 years old. He was laid to rest at Yeovil Cemetery in his home county of Somerset.