The early life of James Payne is a challenge to piece together. The first document that can be properly attributed to him is his marriage certificate from 27th May 1901.
This confirms that he was 21 years old, and working as a labourer. His father’s details are noticeable by their absence. The document also gives his wife’s name, Kate Bessie Warr, and information about her father – labourer Sydney Warr. James was also working as a labour at this point, and the two of them were living in Pulham, Dorset.
By the time of the 1911 census, the newlyweds had moved to the village of Yetminster. James was working as domestic gardener, and the couple had two children – Cyril and Louis. James’ place of birth is given just as Somerset, further clouding his past.
When war came to Europe, James stepped up to play his part. Full details of his time in the army are lost to time, but documents suggest that he had enlisted by October 1917 at the latest. Private Payne joined the Bedfordshire Regiment, and was attached to the 1st Battalion. His unit service on the Western Front throughout the conflict, although there is no evidence that James spent any times overseas himself.
Piecing the sparse number of documents together suggest that in March 1918, James was admitted to the 3rd Western General Hospital in Cardiff, Glamorganshire. He was suffering from nephritis and pneumonia, but it is unclear whether he was serving in Wales at the time, or was taken there for treatment. Either way, his condition was to prove too severe. Private Payne passed away on 20th March 1918: he was 38 years old.
James Payne’s body was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in his adopted home of Yetminster.
Albert John Richomme was born on 13th June 1885 and was one of eight children to Charles and Marie Richomme. Both were from France, but had moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands before Albert’s oldest sibling, Charles, was born. The couple farmed land near Grouville, the children helping out as they became old enough.
On 28th September 1904, Albert married Linda Rouland at St Thomas’ Roman Catholic Church. The couple set up home in Trinity, and went on to have six children. The 1911 census recorded Albert as being a jobbing gardener, with the family living in the four-roomed Sunny Side Cottage.
When war came to Europe, Albert stepped up to play his part. Initially enlisting in the Royal Jersey Militia, his unit was absorbed into the 7th (Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles. By the end of 1915, he found himself in France.
Full details of Private Richomme’s service are lost to time, but is seems that he was caught up in a gas attack and, after being medically evacuated to Britain to recuperate, he was transferred to the Labour Corps.
At this point, Private Richomme’s trail goes cold. He survived the war and returned home, but passed away from pneumonia on 14th May 1920, just short of his 35th birthday.
Albert John Richomme was laid to rest in the peaceful grounds of La Croix Cemetery in Grouville.
While meeting the appropriate criteria for his burial site to be granted a Commonwealth War Grave, Albert is not recognised by the Commission.
Thomas Henry Morris was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, on 7th September 1898. The oldest of five children, his parents were Christopher and Jemima Morris. Initially a viceman for a carriage works, by the time of the 1911 census, Christopher had moved the family to the Weston area of Bath, where he was employed as an engineer’s fitter for a printing firm.
When Thomas – who was better knows as Harry – finished his schooling, he found work at a printer’s – Messrs. Goodalls in Westgate Buildings, Bath. In the summer of 1915, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Signaller.
He was then appointed to HMS Valiant, and was serving in this ship at the Battle of Jutland. As a result he was the victim of shell-shock, and totally unfitted for further active service. By this time he had passed his exams and had qualified as a telegraphist. After recovering he was put on the staff of the Admiral commanding the Orkney Island base, but nominally attached to HMS Cyclops…
[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 1st March 1919]
It was while Ordinary Telegraphist Morris was serving on board Cyclops, he fell ill, contracting a combination of influenza and pneumonia. He was transferred to the Hospital Ship Agadir, but succumbed to the conditions on 21st February 1919. He was just 20 years of age.
Thomas Henry – Harry – Morris, was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery.
Ordinary Telegraphist Harry Morris (from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Much of George Fenn’s life is destined to be lost to time. Born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, in the summer of 1878, details of his parents are unknown. His was a common name in the late Victorian period, and census returns from the time identify at least two men born in the area around the same time.
The first document that can be directly connected to George is the 1911 census. This recorded him living at 13 Tankards Close in Clifton, where he was working as a dock labourer. His is noted as having been married to Minnie since 1902. The couple had one child, a son called William who was six years old.
When war broke out, George was quick to enlist. Full details of his service are lost, but he had certainly joined the Bedfordshire Regiment by the end of 1914. Attached to the 7th (Service) Battalion, by the start of the following year, his unit had moved to Salisbury Plain in anticipation of being sent to the Western Front.
George seems to have made his mark in the army, and he was soon promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal. In the spring of 1915, he contracted pneumonia, however, and was admitted to the military hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, close to where his unit was based.
Sadly, the condition was to prove Lance Corporal Fenn’s undoing: he passed away on 1st June 1915, at the age of 36 years of age.
George Fenn was laid to rest in the peaceful churchyard of St Mary’s, Codford, not far from where he had passed away.
George’s entry on the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects and his Pension Ledger card shed a little more light on the family he had left behind. The first divides his belongings between his widow, Minnie, and the guardian of his child, Mrs Sarah Clarke. George’s pension ledger gives Sarah’s address as 14 Tankard’s Close, Bristol, and confirms that he was, in fact, separated from Minnie when he passed.
James McEwan was born towards the end of 1879 in Bury Lancashire. He was the older of two children to James and Mary McEwan. James Sr was a foundry worker, who died in the 1890s, leaving his widow to raise their two sons.
By the time of the 1901 census, all three members of the household were earning money: Mary was employed as a cotton card room hand in a mill; James was a wringing machine fitter, while his younger brother, Peter, was a printer’s apprentice.
The next census, in 1911, found James still living at home with his mother. He was now employed as a labourer in the local railway goods yard, and his maternal aunt, Annie, was living with them, working as a rover in the local mill.
When war broke out, James stepped up to serve his country. Full details are lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Lancashire Fusiliers, and was attached to the 4th/5th Battalion. This was a service and training unit, and Private McEwan did not spend any time overseas.
In the winter of 1915, James was based on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. While billeted there, he contracted bronchial pneumonia, and was admitted to a camp hospital. Sadly the condition was to prove too much for his body to bear, and he succumbed to it on 26th December 1915. He was 36 years of age.
It seems that Mary was unable to afford to bring her sone back to Lancashire. He was laid to rest in the peaceful St Mary’s Churchyard, in Codford, Wiltshire, not far from where he had breathed his last.
Details of Cecil Whitehead’s early life as lost to time. Born in 1882, he was the son of Henry and Annie Whitehead, from Openshaw in Manchester. There are no census returns for the family, so it is not possible to discover any more of their background.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission confirm that Cecil wed a woman called Annie Ellis. His pension ledger notes four children: John, Cecil, Annie and Catherine, who died in 1917.
When war broke out, Cecil stepped up to serve his King and Country. He enlisted in the Manchester Regiment, and was assigned to the 3rd/8th Battalion. This was a reserve unit, based on home soil, and there is no evidence that Cecil spent any time overseas.
Cecil rose to the rank of Serjeant, by the winter of 1915, Cecil was billeted near Codford in Wiltshire. It was while he was here that he fell ill, contracting pneumonia. The condition was to prove too much for his body to bear, and he passed away on 13th February 1916, at the age of 33 years old.
Annie appear to have been unable to fund bringing her husband back to Manchester for burial. Instead Cecil Whitehead was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Codford.
Hugh Cowan Lorimer was born on 27th November 1886 in Totnes, Devon. The oldest of four children, his parents were Scots-born draper Robert and his Devonian wife, Susan.
This was a family business, with Robert’s father – also called Robert – running the drapery at 59 Fore Street since the 1871 census. By 1891, Hugh’s father had taken over, and the family remained there until at least the time of the 1911 census return.
Hugh, by this point, had also taken on the mantle of draper. With the Lorimer business firmly set up in Totnes, he moved to Paignton, and opened a shop on the central Victoria Street. By 1911 he was listed as being the main employer, with his sister Muriel at his side, and a live-in servant, Bella Loram, helping to manage the household.
In the spring of 1914, Hugh married Gwendoline Pridham. Little information about her is available, but she had been born in Newton Abbot, and was a year younger than her new husband.
When war came to Europe later that year, Hugh was called upon to play his part: “He joined the Army in June, 1915, and received a commission in the 1/5th [Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry] with whom he served in France for 15 months prior to March 30th, where he was severely wounded, with the result that he had to undergo several operations, and only recently rejoined his Regiment.” [Western Times: Monday 2nd December 1918]
Lieutenant Lorimer was not fully out of harm’s way, however. As the summer moved to autumn, he fell ill, contracting influenza, which became double pneumonia. Admitted to hospital in Eastbourne, East Sussex, he succumbed to the condition on 27th November 1918: his 32nd birthday.
Hugh Cowan Lorimer was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in Paignton’s sweeping cemetery, on the outskirts of the town he had made his home.
Gwendoline was pregnant when she was widowed: the couple’s child, Joyce, was born on 29th June 1919, never to know her father.
Hugh’s younger brother Kenneth was also caught up in the Great War. He had emigrated to Canada at some point after the 1911 census, but volunteered for army duty in 1915.
Lieutenant Lorimer was attached to the 4th Battalion of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps, and was entrenched on the Western Front. “He was in command of a section that was in a tank taking part in an attack north west of Le Quesnel. The tank was put out of action by enemy shell fire, and Lieutenant Lorimer was wounded by a splinter from a shell. He was removed from the tank and received First Aid but died shortly afterwards.” [Canadian War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty)]
Kenneth Lorimer died on 8th August 1918, days short of his 30th birthday. He was laid to rest in Beaucourt British Cemetery in Picardie.
Herbert Gordon Maurice Fleming was born in Stockton, Wiltshire, on 24th March 1888. An only child, his parents were carpenter and wheelwright George Fleming and his wife, Annie.
Little further information is available about Herbert’s early life. On 25th June 1910 he married Ethel Young, a shepherd’s daughter from Wiltshire: they would go on to have four children, Herbert Jr, Ivy, George and Harold.
Herbert’s marriage certificate noted that he was employed as an engine driver. In his spare time, he also volunteered for the Wiltshire Regiment. When war broke out in the summer of 1914, he was called upon to play his part, and was formally mobilised in July 1916.
Sapper Fleming joined the Royal Engineers. His service records show that, at 28 years of age, he stood 5ft 7.5ins (1.71m) tall, and weighed 159lbs (72kg). He was of good physical development, although his medical report noted that some dental attention was required, and he had a pendulous mole on his back.
After his initial training, Herbert was sent to France. He was to remain part of the British Expeditionary Force for the next three years. While details of his service are scarce, his commitment to the army was clear: he was promoted to Lance Corporal in December 1918; full Corporal in June 1919; and Serjeant just three months later.
In October 1919, Herbert arrived back in Britain and the following month he was formally demobbed. He returned to his family, who were now living in Bath, Somerset. Back on civvy street, Herbert took up work as a motor waggon driver in the city, but his post-army life was to be short-lived.
The enquiry into the death on Saturday of Herbert John Maurice Fleming… was held at Bath Guildhall… Medical evidence proved that the cause of death was heart failure, due to an unexpected attack of pneumonia.
The widow said her husband did not complain of illness until Friday evening, when he returned from a journey to Reading. He then said he ached all over, and would go to bed at once. On Saturday evening he said he felt better, and sent her to the chemist for a tonic. He told her not to send for a doctor, as he expected to be quite well on Monday. On Sunday he still appeared fairly well, and was quite cheerful: but in the afternoon he complained of sickness, and the end came very suddenly.
[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 27th March 1920]
Herbert John Morris Fleming was just three days short of his 32nd birthday when he died. He was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery.
The spelling of Herbert’s second middle name is variously noted as Maurice and Morris. For consistency, I have used the spelling noted on his birth certificate.
Walter Brett was born in Batheaston, Somerset, on 12th July 1896. The fourth of seven children, he was the second son of George and Louisa Brett. George was a groom and coachman from Norfolk, and his work took the family around the country. Louisa had been born in Staffordshire, their oldest child, daughter Florence, had been born in South Wales. By 1893, the family had settled in Somerset, but the next census, taken in 1901, found them in Branksome, Dorset.
When Walter finished his schooling, he found work as an errand boy for a hairdresser. By now the Bretts had moved back to Somerset, where George – and his widowed father, John – were working as coachmen for a Mr Page. There were seven in the household – George, Louisa, Walter and three of his siblings, and George Sr – and the family were living at 1 Nelson Terrace, on Walcot Street, Bath, in a six-roomed cottage.
Walter sought bigger and better things for himself. His older brother, Frederick, had left home, and was working as a grocer’s assistant in Brislington – now a suburb of Bristol – and he too wanted a career. On 23rd January 1912, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. As he was only 15 year of age, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and was sent to HMS Impregnable, a training ship based in Devonport, Devon, for his induction.
Obviously showing signs of ability and commitment to the role, Walter was promoted to Boy 1st Class just seven months later. His first assignment was on board the battleship HMS Cornwallis, and he spent the remainder of 1912 serving with her.
After a brief period back in Devonport – this time at HMS Vivid – and six weeks aboard HMS Lancaster, Boy 1st Class Brett was assigned to the ship that would become his home for the next three years. HMS Lion was a battlecruiser, and she was to serve as the flagship of her class of ships during the First World War.
Walter came of age while serving on Lion, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman on his eighteenth birthday. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a mole on his stomach.
Walter was promoted to Able Seaman in the summer of 1915, and remained on board HMS Lion until the end of April the following year. His ship had been involved in a number of skirmishes by this point, including the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the defence of the raid on Scarborough and the Battle of Dogger Bank. In June 1916, she would be caught up in the Battle of Jutland, but Able Seaman Brett was back on terra firma by this point, and was billeted in Devonport.
On 1st August 1916, Walter was given a new posting, when he was assigned to the dreadnought battleship HMS Ajax. Acting as support to the Norwegian convoys in the North Sea, he was to remain on board until the closing weeks of the war.
Walter’s brother Frederick, meanwhile, was also caught up in the conflict. He had enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment, and was assigned to the 12th Battalion. By the spring of 1917, his unit was based in Arras, and was Private Brett was heavily involved. Following an attack on 8th May, he was declared missing, presumed dead. He was 24 years of age, and is commemorated on the Arras memorial.
Back at sea, in October 1918, Able Seaman Walter Brett became unwell, contracting a combination of influenza and pneumonia. He was transferred to the Hospital Ship Garth Castle, but the conditions were to get the better of him. He passed away on 27th October, at the age of 22 years old.
Walter Brett was brought back to Somerset for burial. His parents had lost both of their sons, but were able to lay their youngest to rest in Locksbrook Cemetery, Bath.
Albert Symes was born in Dorset on 6th March 1887. Details of his early life are a challenge to piece together, as his was not an uncommon name in the county – the 1891 census has at least two potential matches, and the 1901 record at least three.
The first concrete information for Albert is that of his military service. Having been working as a general labourer, he enlisted on the 22nd September 1906, joining the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having the letters BS (presumably for Bert Symes) tattooed on his right forearm.
The service document gives his place of birth as Yeovil, Dorset, although the town is actually in Somerset. The next census, taken in 1911, suggests he was born in the village of Bradford Abbas, three miles south east and over the Dorset border.
Stoker 2nd Class Symes was first sent to the training ship HMS Nelson. Based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, this is where Albert spent three months, before being assigned to the cruiser HMS Eclipse. Over the next nine years, Albert served on eight ships, returning to a land base – HMS Victory in Portsmouth – in between voyages.
Albert’s commitment to the job is evident – his character was continually noted as being Very Good, while his ability was Superior as each of his annual reviews. In May 1907 he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class; five years later he made Acting Leading Stoker, with a full promotion to the rank in June 1913; on 1st June 1915, while serving on board HMS Hampshire, Albert was promoted again, to Stoker Petty Officer.
Things would change rapidly for Albert, however. Within a matter of weeks, he had contracted pneumonia. He was transferred to the hospital ship Garth Castle, but the condition was to prove too severe. Stoker Petty Officer Symes passed away from the condition on 3rd October 1915: he was 28 years of age.
Albert Symes’ body was brought back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in the village of Bradford Abbas.
Death and Service 