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Air Mechanic, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Air Force, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, Surrey, war

Air Mechanic 3rd Class William Mells

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Air Mechanic 3rd Class William Mells

William John Mells was born in Southwark, Surrey, on 13th November 1873. His parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Mells, although much of his early life is lost to time.

The 1891 census found the 19-year-old William as one of four boarders living with the Skinner family in Peckham, Surrey, where he was working as a shoe maker. By the turn of the century, however, he had changes jobs, and was employed as an advertising contractor, possibly fixing signs to walls across the country.

It was while William was working in Somerset when he met Ethel Pryor. She was the daughter of a caterer, born and bred in Somerset. On 16th August 1903, the couple married at Ethel’s parish church in Bath. They set up home in a small cottage on King Edward Road in the city, and went on to have two children, Edith, who was born in 1904, and John, who was born the following year.

Storm clouds were brewing across Europe at this point, and William was called upon to play his part in the autumn of 1918. He had previously served as part of the Army Service Corps Volunteers, and had reached the rank of Lance Corporal. When his time to actively serve King and Country came, however, he chose the fledgling Royal Air Force and, on 24th October 1918, joined them as an Air Mechanic 3rd Class.

William was sent to Blandford Forum, Dorset, for training. While here, in packed and busy billets, he contracted influenza, which developed into pneumonia. He passed away from the conditions at the camp hospital on 3rd November 1918, ten days short of his 45th birthday, eight days before the end of the conflict and after just ten days’ service.

William John Mells’ body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the city’s St James’ Cemetery, and was joined by his widow, when she passed away in 1955.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone and website gives Air Mechanic Mells’ name as John William, but all other records – including censuses, marriage document and service records – confirm his name as William John Mells.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, King's (Liverpool Regiment), Lance Corporal, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Corporal Jack Brooks

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Lance Corporal Jack Brooks

Jack Brooks was born in the autumn of 1890 and was the second of nine children. His parents, John and Kate Brooks, both came from Bath, where they ran a bakery on Queen Street, in the centre of the city. When he left school, it was natural for Jack to follow in his parents’ trade.

When war arrived on Europe’s shores, Jack stepped up to play his part and, on 7th December 1915, he enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment as a Private. His service records show that he was 25 years and 2 months old, was 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall, and weighed 156lbs (70.8kg). He was also noted to have a scrotal hernia, had flat feet and an upper set of dentures. These were enough for him to be passed for home service only, and he was formally mobilised on 10th February 1916.

Private Brooks seems to have taken a while to settle into army life. He was soon transferred across to the East Lancashire Regiment and, in May 1916, was attached to the 8th Works Coy as a Lance Corporal. In February 1917 he was transferred again, this time to the King’s Liverpool Regiment. On 6th June 1917 he was demoted to Private for ‘neglect of duty’, for not taking proper care of the stores that he was in charge of.

He married a woman called Rosina Elizabeth in 1917: the couple went on to have a son, William, who was born on 22nd November that year.

Jack continued serving after the end of the war and, by the beginning of 1919, was based in Aldershot. It was while here that he fell ill, and was admitted to the town’s Connaught Hospital on 11th February, suffering from influenza and pneumonia. Sadly the combination of illnesses was to prove to much: he succumbed to them, breathing his last on 27th February 1919. He was just 28 years of age, a boy with his mother, Kate, with him when he passed.

The body of Jack Brooks was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the city’s St James’ Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Sergeant, Somerset, story, Surrey, war, Wiltshire

Serjeant John Carthew

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Serjeant John Carthew

John Wallace Carthew was born in Warminster, Wiltshire, in the spring of 1892. The second youngest of seven children – three of whom did not survive childhood – his parents were miller James Carthew and his tailoress wife, Sarah.

John was destined to make a path for himself. By the time of the 1911 census, he was boarding with the Southon family in Aldershot, and working as a chauffeur.

On 22nd March 1914, John married Caroline Hamilton, a parlour maid for Captain Charles Woodroffe and his family in Aldershot. The couple set up home in Queensgate Mews, London, and having had a daughter, Cecilia, who was born that February.

When war came to Europe, John was quick to enlist. He joined up on the 21st December 1914, and was assigned to the Mechanical Transport section of the Royal Army Service Corps. His service records note that he was 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall, with a scar on his right eyebrow.

Private Carthew rose through the ranks, becoming a Corporal in 1916, and a Serjeant in 1918. During this time he acted almost exclusively as chauffeur to General Sir William Robertson. His duties were mainly based on home soil, but he did spend a year in France, while Robertson was Chief of the General Staff there.

As the war came to a close, Serjeant Carthew fell ill. Based in a camp in Aldershot, he contracted influenza, and this developed into pneumonia. This was to take his life, and he passed away at the town’s Connaught Hospital on 25th November 1918. He was just 26 years of age.

Caroline was living in Bath, Somerset by this point, and this is where the body of her husband was brought for burial. John Wallace Carthew was laid to rest in St James’ Cemetery, in the family plot where his father, who had died in 1911, was also buried.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 2nd Class George Bonning

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Stoker 2nd Class George Bonning

George Thomas Bonning – whose forenames seem to have been interchangeable – was born on 9th August 1887 in the Somerset village of Kingsbury Episcopi. His parents were farm workers James and Elizabeth Bonning, and George also entered farm work when he finished school.

In 1909, George marred Olive Harvey, the daughter of another agricultural labourer from the village. The couple set up home together in the village, and went on to have a daughter, Lilian, the following year. It was around the time of their daughter’s birth that George’s mother passed away, happiness and sadness in a short space of time for the young family.

By 1911, George was employed as a carter in a factory, presumably a financial step up from his previous employment on the farm. The money was still not a great deal, however, and Olive was also working, machining gloves at home for the local factory.

War came to Europe, and on 14th December 1916, George enlisted in the Royal Navy, along with four other men from the village, including friend and neighbour Tom Mounter. His service records show that he was 5th 11.5ins (1.82m) tall, with black hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

Stoker 2nd Class Bonning was sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for training, and it was here that he contracted a chill. Tragically, this developed into pneumonia, and he died in the barracks on 20th January 1917. He was 29 years of age, and had been in service for just 37 days.

George Thomas Bonning’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful Kingsbury Episcopi Cemetery.

Olive never remarried after losing her husband. She remained in the village, raising Lilian and finding occasional employment to help pay the bills. She passed away on 26th March 1968, at the age of 79, and was laid to rest with George, husband and wife reunited after more than fifty years.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, Training Reserve Battalion, war, Wiltshire

Private Charles Oborne

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Private Charles Oborne

Charles Philip Oborne was born in Mosterton, Dorset, early in 1899. He was the middle of three children to Charles Oborne. Charles Sr had been married before, to a woman called Martha, and the couple had a son, Joseph. Martha died in the mid-1890s and Charles remarried, to a woman called Elizabeth. They went on to have two children, of which Charles Jr – better known as Charley to avoid confusion with his father – was the older.

There is little documentation for the Oborne family. Charles Sr was a farm labourer, and the family moved from Dorset to Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Shepton Mallet in the early 1900s. At the time of the 1911 census, Charley was a student, and there is no direct evidence of what he went on to do when he finished his schooling.

Nor are there many documents relating to his military service. Private Oborne joined the Training Reserve, and was assigned to the 94th Battalion. The troop had formed from the 16th (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, and was based in Chiseldon, to the south of Swindon in Wiltshire. There is nothing to confirm when he enlisted, but given his age, and when he passed, it is likely to have been during the winter of 1916/17.

What is clear is that while Private Oborne was training, he contracted pneumonia, and, on 20th March 1917, he passed away from the condition. He was just 18 years of age.

The body of Charles Philip Oborne – Charley to his friends and family – was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Benedict’s Roman Catholic Churchyard in the village of Downside, a mile to the north of Shepton Mallet, and not far from Stratton-on-the-Fosse, where his family were still living.

Charles was not alone in succumbing to pneumonia at Chiseldon Camp that spring. Two Somerset soldiers from battalions based there, Private Everett Ferriday, and Private Ivan Day, passed away in the same hospital just days after Charles.

You can read their stories by following the links above.

Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Navy, Somerset, story, war

Boy 2nd Class Henry Butcher

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Boy 2nd Class Henry Butcher

Henry George Butcher was born on 29th September 1900, the middle of five children to Henry and Sarah Butcher. Henry Sr was a labourer in a nursery and the family were born and raised in his and Sarah’s home village of Merriott, Somerset.

Henry Jr followed his father into agricultural labouring when he finished school. When war was declared, he was too young to enlist and, seeing his older friends head off to glory, he must have been desperate to play a part before it was all over.

Henry’s chance finally came when, on 2nd September 1918, he joined the Royal Navy. His service records show that he was 5ft 2.5in (1.59m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. As he was under-age when he enlisted, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent off to HMS Powerful, a training ship in Devonport.

Naval and army barracks were crowded places, and brought together boys and men from all over the country in a way that had never happened before. The cramped nature of the billets meant that disease would run rampant once it took hold, and it could prove fatal. In the last week of September 1918, seventeen boys from HMS Powerful died from a combination of influenza and pneumonia and, on Friday 27th, Boy 2nd Class Butcher was to join that list. He was two days from his eighteenth birthday, and had been in the Royal Navy for just 25 days.

Henry George Butcher’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of All Saints’ Church in his home village of Merriott.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Dorset, Dorset Yeomanry, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Garrison Artillery, Shoeing Smith, Somerset, story, war, West Midlands, Wiltshire

Gunner William Merritt

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Gunner William Merritt

William Merritt was born in the summer of 1895 in Chippenham, Wiltshire. He was the youngest of three children to John and Elizabeth Merritt. John was a blacksmith, and he moved the family to Milborne Port, Somerset, when William was just a boy.

William found work as a shoesmith when he left school, but was one of the first to enlist when war broke out in 1914. He had his medical examination on 17th November, which confirmed that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had good vision and was of good physical development.

Initially assigned to the Dorset Yeomanry, Private Merritt’s trade soon found him taking on the role of Shoeing Smith for the battalion. He was obviously good at what he did, because by May 1915, he had been promoted to the rank of Corporal Shoeing Smith.

William had not enlisted in the army to make and mend shoes, however, and, in March 1916, he transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery, back with the rank of Gunner. Rather than being sent to the Western Front, however, he found himself billeted at a camp in the West Midlands.

Little further information about Gunner Merritt’s service is available for the next couple of years. The next record for him comes on 5th November 1918, confirming his admission to the Birmingham War Hospital, as he was suffering from influenza and pneumonia. Sadly, his admittance to hospital was to prove too late: he passed away from heart failure the following day. Gunner Merritt was just 23 years of age.

William Merritt’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of the town in which he had plied his trade before the war, Milborne Port.

William’s sparse personal effects were also returned to his parents. The records note that these included: “pair [of] boots, 6 postcards, razor, comb, toothbrush, shaving soap and brush, letter, pair of socks, bell.”

Another bureaucratic error is highlighted in a letter sent from the hospital in which William passed to his regiment’s records office notes that “I have to inform you that the body was forwarded to his Wife for burial…” William was unmarried, and his body was actually returned to his mother, Elizabeth.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Ernest Bailey

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Private Ernest Bailey

Ernest Stanley Bailey was born in the autumn of 1900 in the quiet Somerset village of Barton St David. The oldest of three children, his parents were stonemason William Bailey and his wife, Fanny.

Ernest was only 14 years old when war broke out, but his time to serve his King and Country came in the summer of 1918. He enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment and was assigned to the 53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion.

Private Bailey was sent to the Rollestone Camp, near Shrewton in Wiltshire for training. With the war in its closing months, army barracks were still places rife with disease, and Ernest was not to be immune from this. He contracted influenza, which then became pneumonia, and was admitted to the camp hospital. Sadly, the conditions were to prove too much for his young body to bear, and he passed away on 6th November 1918. He was just 18 years of age.

Ernest Stanley Bailey was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St David’s Church in his home village, Barton St David.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, Royal Defence Corps, Somerset, story, war

Private Arthur Gentle

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Private Arthur Gentle

Arthur William Gentle was born in 1867 in Whitelackington, Somerset. The son of Maria Gillard, his father is not noted, although he was accepted as one of the family when Maria married Richard Gentle in 1873. The couple went on to have eleven children of their own, giving Arthur a large family of siblings.

Richard was an agricultural labourer, and this was a trade into which Arthur followed. On 23rd October 1897, Arthur married Mary Marsh, a labourer’s daughter from South Petherton. The couple tied the knot in her local church, the illiterate Arthur marking his intent with a cross.

The couple set up home just off Silver Street in South Petherton, and went on to have ten children of their own. The 1911 census recorded Arthur still employed as an agricultural labourer, his oldest son following suit, and Mary – who was also known as Polly – raising the family.

War came to Europe, and, despite his age, Arthur felt a need to play a part. While full service records are no longer available, what remains confirms that he had enlisted by the summer of 1916, and had joined the 300th Protection Company of the Royal Defence Corps.

Sadly, Private Gentle’s military career was to end in the same way as so many of his army colleagues. He contracted pneumonia during the winter of 1916, and passed away at home on 21st February 1917. He was 49 years of age.

Arthur William Gentle was laid to rest in the cemetery of his adopted home town, South Petherton.

Arthur’s brother Frank Gentle also fought in the Great War. Assigned to the 1st Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, he was caught up in the fighting in the Somme, and was killed on 14th July 1916. He was just 26 years of age.

Private Frank Gentle is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in Northern France.

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

Private George Allen

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Private George Allen

George William Allen was born in the spring of 1887, in the hamlet of Over Stratton, near South Petherton, Somerset. One of eight children, his parents were farm labourer William Allen and his wife, Martha. When he left school, George also found agricultural work and, by the time of the 1911 census, was the only one of his siblings still living with his parents.

On 12th October 1912, George married Ellen Mary Osborne, a labourer’s daughter from Norton-sub-Hamdon, and it was in her parish church – St Mary’s – that the young couple tied the knot. The couple went on to have a daughter – Dorothy – who was born the following year.

War came to Europe in 1914, and George stepped up to play his part. conscripted towards the end of 1916, he joined the 4th (Reserve) Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. Full details of his service are no longer available, but Private Allen appears to have contracted bronchial pneumonia not long after he was called up.

Sadly, the lung condition was to prove unassailable, and Private Allen passed away on 24th February 1917. He was just 30 years of age.

George William Allen was brought back home for burial. He was laid to rest in South Petherton Cemetery, not far from the hamlet of Yeabridge, where his widow and daughter were now living.