Tag Archives: Ordinary Seaman

Able Seaman, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, killed in action, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Suffolk, war

Able Seaman Frederick Upson

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Able Seaman Frederick Upson

Frederick Frank Upson was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 4th June 1897 and was one of eight children to Frederick and Mary Upson. Frederick Sr was an agricultural labourer and horseman, and when he left school, his soon took on a shepherding role on the same farm.

With the war raging, and the port of Ipswich not far from home, Frederick Jr seemed destined for a life at sea. In June 1915, having turned 18 years old, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he stood 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall, had brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Frederick’s first posting was at HMS Vivid, the training base at Devonport, Devon. He spent a couple of months there, before being given his first ocean-going assignment on board the scout cruiser HMS Blonde. Ordinary Seaman Upson was on board for just over a year, and was promoted to Able Seamen during his time there.

In January 1917, he returned to shore, and was transferred to HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. The base was particularly busy that year, and temporary accommodation was set up in the Drill Hall; Frederick found himself billeted there for the summer.

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. Able Seaman Upson was badly injured and died of his wounds in hospital the following day. He was just 20 years of age.

Frederick Frank Upson was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Surrey, Sussex, war

Ordinary Seaman Victor Duckett

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Ordinary Seaman Victor Duckett

Victor Rous Duckett was born in Margate, Kent, on 2nd September 1887, the youngest of seven children to publican and stonemason Charles Duckett and his wife, Emily. Tragically, both of Victor’s parents died when he was young: Charles passed away on 31st October 1891, while managing the Clifton Arms public house; Emily passed away just four months later.

Victor’s brothers Charles and William took over the running of the pub, and, understandably, took on the responsibility for the family. The 1901 census records that he was one of eight boys boarding at a ‘private school’ in a house in Stanley Road, within walking distance of the Clifton Arms. The school was managed by James and Mary Hawkins and had one master, Alexander Smith.

When he left school, Victor found work as a compositor, setting type for a local printer. In the meantime, while his brothers were still running the pub, his three sisters had set up a ladies’ outfitters in Broadstairs, where they employed an assistant, Amy Leggett. Victor and Amy became close and the couple married in Sussex – where Amy was from – in the spring of 1911. They set up home in Croydon, and went on to have twin daughters, Caroline and Dorothy, the following year.

War was on the horizon, and Victor was called up on 27th February 1917. He enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman, and was sent to HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment in Chatham, Kent. His service records show that he stood at 5ft 10.5ins (1.79m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes, and a fresh complexion.

HMS Pembroke was extraordinarily busy when Ordinary Seaman Duckett arrived there. Temporary accommodation at Chatham Drill Hall had been set up, and Victor found himself billeted there for the summer.

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. Ordinary Seaman Duckett was badly injured and died of his wounds in hospital the following day. He had celebrated his thirtieth birthday just two days before.

Victor Rous Duckett was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Ordinary Seaman
Victor Duckett
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Able Seaman, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Royal Navy, Scotland, story, war

Able Seaman Robert Peters

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Robert Peters was born on 27th May 1893 in Dundee. Little information remains documented about his early life, but he was one of at least four children to John and Agnes Peters, and had two sisters, one called Mary, and an older brother. The family lived in towards the west of the city centre, in the now-spartan Annfield Road.

The bulk of the information about Robert comes from one document – his Royal Navy Service Records. He enlisted as an Ordinary Seaman on 4th April 1912, but, because of his work as an iron turner, he seems to have been put on reserve until hostilities broke out two years later.

While on reserve, he received the training that all reservists would have done, which meant that, when he was formally called into action in June 1916, he did so at the rank of Able Seaman. Robert’s service records also show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had dark hair and brown eyes.

Able Seaman Peters first posting was at HMS Victory – the Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth. After a couple of months’ additional training, he was assigned to HMS Wallington, a depot ship based on the Humber Estuary.

After a year on board, Robert transferred to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. The base was a busy place that summer, and temporary accommodation was set up at the Dockyard’s Drill Hall. This is where Robert found himself billeted.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night air raid: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit; Able Seaman Peters was among those killed instantly. He was just 24 years of age.

Robert Peters was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham. His parents had passed away before the war, and so his sister Mary was confirmed as his next of kin.

Able Seaman Robert Peters (from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Ordinary Seaman Charles Goodsell

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Ordinary Seaman Charles Goodsell

Charles Henry Goodsell – known as Harry – was born on 15th February 1897, the oldest of six children. His parents were Henry and Fanny Goodsell, who had been born in Sussex, but had moved to London in the late 1890s, presumably for work.

Henry was a compositor, setting type for printers, but his son’s first job after leaving school was as a van guard for the local Co-op. By the outbreak of the war, he had begun working in the store himself, but the hostilities soon put a stop to that.

In 1916, the call came, and, on 6th March, Harry joined the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. He was initially sent to HMS Pembroke – the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – where he completed his initial training. By May 1916, however, he was given his first posting, on board the battleship HMS Swiftsure, protecting the Atlantic convoys.

After nearly a year at sea, Ordinary Seaman Goodsell found himself back at HMS Pembroke. The Dockyard was particularly busy that summer, and the large number of extra servicemen meant that Harry was billeted in temporary accommodation in Chatham Drill Hall.

On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force bombarded the town, and scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall; Ordinary Seaman Goodsell was among those killed instantly. He was just 20 years old.

Charles Henry “Harry” Goodsell was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Charles Henry Goodsell (Harry) 1897 - 1917
Ordinary Seaman Charles Goodsell
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Ordinary Seaman Robert Smith

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Ordinary Seaman Robert Smith

Robert Frederick Sydney Smith was born on 24th July 1889 in Peckham, London. One of seven children, his parents were Robert Smith – a tailor and draper – and his wife Ada.

Little more information is available on Robert Jr’s early life. He married Alice Brookman, a leatherworker’s daughter, on 3rd September 1911, and was, by this time, working as a bank clerk. The couple went on to have three children: Sidney, Eileen and Ronald.

War was on the horizon and, at Robert was soon called up. His service records are dated 31st January 1917, and note that he stood 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion.

Robert was employed as an Ordinary Seaman, and was initially posted to HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. After a few weeks, he was posted to HMS Crescent, a cruiser that served in the North Sea.

After six months at sea, Ordinary Seaman Smith landed back in Kent. HMS Pembroke was a busy place at that point in the war, and additional accommodation was desperately needed. Robert found himself billeted at Chatham Drill Hall, away from the main barracks.

At this point in the war, the German Air Force had been suffering huge losses during the daylight bombing raids it had been undertaking. It was imperative for them to minimise these losses, and so a new tactic – night time raids – was employed.

The first trial of this approach was on the night of 3rd September 1917, and Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line, startlingly unready and fundamentally unprotected. One of the German bombs landed a direct hit on the Drill Hall, and Ordinary Seaman Smith was killed. He was just 28 years old.

Ninety-eight servicemen perished during the Chatham Air Raid that night. They were buried in a mass funeral at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. This, too, is where Robert Frederick Sydney Smith was laid to rest.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Suffolk, war

Leading Seaman Archibald Langridge

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Leading Seaman Archibald Langridge

Archibald Edward Langridge was born on 9th November 1892, one of six children – and the only son – to Edward and Jane Langridge. Edward was a labourer from Sevenoaks, who raised his young family in the town. Archibald had ideas of bigger adventures, however.

In August 1908, he joined the Royal Navy. Still underage – he was only 15 years old – he was granted the rank of Boy 2nd Class and was sent off to HMS Ganges – the naval base in Suffolk – for training.

Within a year, Archibald had been promoted to Boy 1st Class, and was soon assigned to his first ship, HMS Berwick, an armoured cruiser. After three months on board, he was assigned to HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and it was here that he returned to in between voyages.

His next sea assignment was the battleship HMS London, which he joined on 8th February 1910, and where he spent two years. During this time Archibald turned 18, and was formally enlisted in the Royal Navy, attaining the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall had light hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. They also show that he had a scar below his right eye and another on the back of his head. He also had a number of tattoos – a woman’s head, good luck and horseshoe on his right forearm and a cross and star on his left.

Ordinary Seaman Langridge’s naval career continued and, by the time hostilities broke out in 1914, he had served on two more ships – HMS Antrim and HMS Boadicea – and had been promoted to Able Seaman.

When war was declared, Archibald was serving on Boadicea, a ship on board which he spent a total of three years. He was again promoted during this time, reaching the rank of Leading Seaman.

By the spring of 1916, he was back serving in Chatham. Archibald had met Gladys Godfrey, who came from his home town, and the couple married in Sevenoaks in May. They went on to have a son, George, who was born in March the following year.

Leading Seaman Langridge was now permanently based at HMS Pembroke, and spent spent nearly eighteen months at the dockyard. HMS Pembroke was a busy place in the summer of 1917, and its barracks reached capacity. Chatham Drill Hall was used as temporary accommodation, and this is where Archibald found himself billeted.

By this point in the war, the German Air Force was trying to minimise the losses it suffered during daytime raids, and was, instead, trialling night flights; on 3rd September 1917, Chatham found itself in their flight path. The Drill Hall received a direct hit, and Leading Seaman Langridge was killed, along with close to 100 others. He was just 24 years old.

The victims of the Chatham Air Raid were laid to rest in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, walking distance from the Drill Hall where Archibald Edward Langridge and his colleagues had died.

There is a sad epilogue to this tale. Four months after Archibald’s death, Gladys gave birth to their second child, Charles. He would never know his father.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Ordinary Seaman Henry Bird

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Ordinary Seaman Henry Bird

Henry David Bird was born on 11th April 1898 in Hoxton, East London. He was the third of eleven children to carter and carman Henry Bird and his wife Florence.

When he left school, Henry Jr found employment as a munitions worker, but shortly before his nineteenth birthday, he was drawn to a more active role. On 8th January 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His enlistment papers show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with brown eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. They also noted that he had a scar on his right index finger.

Henry’s first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. After a couple of months’ training, he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Concord. He served on board for for a few weeks, before returning to Chatham in May.

The summer of 1917 was a busy time for HMS Pembroke; Ordinary Seaman Bird was one of those billeted in the Drill Hall, sleeping there, rather than in the overcrowded barracks in the dockyard itself. It was here that he was sleeping on the 3rd September, when the German Air Force undertook their first night bombing raid. One of the planes scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall, and Henry was killed instantly. He was just 19 years of age.

Henry David Bird was buried in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham, along with the dozens of other servicemen killed in the Chatham Air Raid.

Able Seaman, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Suffolk, war

Able Seaman Gregory Wootton

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Able Seaman Gregory Wootton

Gregory Ernest Wootton was born on 28th October 1898, the only child of Henry and Isabella Wootton. The family lived in East London, and the year of Gregory’s birth was a challenging one. His parents married that year, and Henry also passed away, leaving Isabella to raise her son on her own.

She was made of stern stuff, however, and moved back in with her father, Joseph, while finding employment as a florist, working with artificial flowers. By 1909, Isabella had remarried, wedding policeman Harry Mee, and moving to South London, where the couple had a child of their own, Gregory’s half-brother, Leonard.

War was edging close to Europe, although Gregory was underage when hostilities broke out. By late 1916, however, this was no longer the case, and he was drawn to the Royal Navy. On 6th November, he gave up his job as a case maker, and enlisted as an Ordinary Seaman. His sign-up papers show that he stood 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

Ordinary Seaman Wootton’s first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the shore-based establishment at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. After a couple of months, he was moved north, to HMS Ganges, which was a similar training base in Suffolk. While here, he was promoted to Able Seaman.

In June 1917, Gregory was on the move again, returning to Chatham. While here, at a particularly crowded time for the dockyard, he was billeted at the nearby Drill Hall. On the night of the 3rd September, while resting, the first German night raid dropped bombs on Chatham, directly hitting the Drill Hall. Able Seaman Wootton was killed instantly. He was just 18 years of age.

Gregory Ernest Wootton was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. He was buried with the other 97 victims of the Chatham Air Raid.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman Hubert Banks

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Able Seaman Hubert Banks

Hubert Philip Banks was born on 13th September 1896 in Tottenham, London and was one of eight children to Wilfrid and Mary Banks. Wilfrid was a gas engineer, but when he left school, Hubert found work as a clerk. By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to Edmonton.

Hubert had a sense of adventure, and wanted a career that reflected that. On 23rd September 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy; as he was underage at this point, he was given the role of Boy. Within a year he turned 18 and was formally given the rank of Ordinary Seaman.

After initial training at HMS Pembroke – the shore-based establishment at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – he was assigned to HMS Cornwallis, a dreadnought class vessel that served in the Mediterranean. Hubert spent two years on Cornwallis, during which time he was promoted to Able Seaman.

Over the next few years, Hubert served on three more vessels – HMS Quernmore, HMS Agamemnon and HMS Europa. In between times, he was based back in Chatham before moving back to HMS Pembroke on a more permanent basis in July 1918.

It was while he was back in Kent that Hubert fell ill. He was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Chatham with pneumonia, and was to succumb to the lung condition on 30th October 1918. He was just 22 years of age.

Hubert Philip Banks was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the naval base he called home.

Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Leading Seaman, Ordinary Seaman, Petty Officer, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Petty Officer 1st Class George Fawcett

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Petty Officer 1st Class George Fawcett

George Fawcett was born on 3rd February 1873, one of ten children to John and Maria (or Mary). John was a stonemason who raised his family in Essex, and it was in Stratford that George and most of his siblings were born.

When George left school, he was drawn to a life of adventure. He joined the Royal Navy on 5th May 1888, and was first assigned the role of Boy, as he was under age. He was formally enlisted on 3rd February 1891 – his 18th birthday. He had, by this point, been serving on HMS Hotspur for nine months, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His hard work must have held him in good stead, because he was promoted to Able Seamen just two months later.

Over the course of his initial twelve years’ service, Able Seaman Fawcett served on eight different ships, and continued to rise through the ranks. He mad made Leading Seaman by 1894 and Petty Officer 2nd Class five years later. By the time his first term of service had ended, he had been promoted again, this time to Petty Officer 1st Class.

George voluntarily renewed his service in 1903, and over the next few years, he served on a number of other vessels. His shore base was always HMS Pembroke, though, and his time at sea was interspersed with periods at the Naval Dockyard in Chatham.

Petty Officer Fawcett had been in the Royal Navy for 23 years by the time war was declared. He was still at sea in August 1914, but was transferred to a permanent shore role at the beginning of the following year. He spent three years fulfilling his duties at HMS Pembroke, but fell ill in the spring of 1918.

He was admitted to the Naval Hospital in Chatham with liver disease, and this was a condition he was not to recover from. Petty Officer Fawcett passed away on 12th April 1918, at the age of 45.

George Fawcett’s body was laid to rest in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, not far from the naval base at which he was based.