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Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, London, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Somerset, story, Surrey, war

Ordinary Seaman Walter Pearce

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Ordinary Seaman Walter Pearce

Walter John Pearce was born on 15th June 1900 in Clapton, East London. One of ten children, his parents were James and Lily Pearce. Both were from Somerset, but cowman James went where the work was and they soon moved back to the South West, where he and Lily were from.

When he finished school, Walter found work as an errand boy for a grocer, but war was coming to Europe and, while he was too young when the conflict began, it was clear that he wanted to play his part as soon as he was able.

Walter enlisted in June 1918, joining the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, and had brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. Ordinary Seaman Pearce was sent to HMS Crystal Palace in South London for training, arriving there on 17th June 1918.

Tragically, Walter’s service was to be short. Being billeted in close proximity to other men and boys from across the country, meant that disease was readily transmitted, and Walter contracted pneumonia. Admitted to the nearby Norwood Cottage Hospital, the lung condition was to prove fatal: Ordinary Seaman Pearce died on 19th July 1918. He was just 18 years of age, and had been in active service for just 33 days.

Walter John Pearce was brought back to Somerset – where his parents were now living – for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Mudford.

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

Gunner Frederick Milverton

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Gunner Frederick Milverton

Frederick Walter John Milverton was born on 26th June 1888 in the Somerset village of Rimpton. One of seven children, his parents were farm workers George and Mary Milverton.

When he left school, it was natural for Frederick to follow in his father’s footsteps. The 1901 census recorded him as working as a farm lad in Leigh, Dorset, while in 1911 he was back at the family home, where he was formally employed as a rabbit trapper.

George passed away in 1913 and, with war fast approaching, Frederick remained at home, to help support his mother. But he eventually received his enlistment notice and, on 28th February 1916, he joined the Royal Marine Artillery.

Private Milverton’s service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. After five months’ initial training, Frederick was awarded the rank of Gunner 2nd Class, and assigned to the cruiser HMS Euryalus.

For the next couple of years Gunner Milverton remained on board Euryalus, serving in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India and Hong Kong. He transferred to HMS Lavatera in March 1918, and saw out the remainder of the war on board.

In January 1919 Gunner Milverton returned to home soil, and was assigned to the Royal Marine Artillery Headquarters in Eastney, Hampshire. It was here, however, that he fell ill, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Haslar Hospital with bronchial pneumonia. Tragically the condition was to get the better of him: Frederick passed away on 6th February 1919, at the age of 30 years old.

Frederick Walter John Milverton’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in his home village of Rimpton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Kent, North Somerset Yeomanry, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Corporal de Courcy Raymond

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Corporal de Courcy Raymond

de Courcy William Raymond was born in the summer of 1883 in the Somerset village of West Camel. He was one of six children to carpenter George Raymond and his wife, Anne. de Courcy – whose name may have had family connections – followed his father into carpentry and, by the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to nearby South Barrow, where George had been born.

When war came to Europe, de Courcy was keen to play his part. Sadly, full details of his military service no longer survive, but what can be determined is that he had enlisted by March 1915, joining the North Somerset Yeomanry.

Private Raymond was assigned to the 2nd/1st Battalion, which was a second-line troop, and remained on home soil, moving from Somerset to Wiltshire to Kent by the autumn of 1915. He was evidently good at his job as he was soon promoted to the rank of Corporal for his efforts.

It was while he was based in Kent that de Courcy fell ill. He contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to a military hospital in Canterbury. Sadly, the condition was to prove too much, and he passed away from the condition on 9th October 1915. He was 32 years of age.

The body of de Courcy William Raymond was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the graveyard of St Peter’s Church in South Barrow.

Commonwealth War Graves, East Kent Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Royal West Kent Regiment, story, war

Private Charles Grigsby

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Private Charles Grigsby

Charles Grigsby was born in Boughton Monchelsea, a village to the south of Maidstone, Kent, in the summer of 1878. His parents were farm labourer William Grigsby and his wife, Elizabeth, and he was one of four children. Charles’ mother passed away when he was just three years old, and William married again – to another Elizabeth. They had six children – half-siblings to Charles.

Charles falls off the radar for a few years – his First World War service records suggest that he had enlisted with the East Kent Regiment, and so may have been serving abroad at the time of the 1891 and 1901 censuses.

In 1904 he was back in Kent, however, where he married Henrietta Harpum. The daughter of a soldier, Henrietta had been born in Shoeburyness, Essex, but the family had moved to Frindsbury, Kent, not long afterwards.

The 1911 census found the Grigsbys living in the village of Eccles, near Aylesford. Charles was working as a blacksmith’s striker at the local cement works, and they had their Henrietta’s nephew, George, living with them at the time the record was taken.

When war was declared, Charles stepped up again to play his part. He enlisted on 24th August 1914, and was assigned to the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). Private Grigsby’s service records confirm that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall, and weighed 129lbs (58.5kg). He had brown hair, blue eyes and tattoos on both arms.

Tragically, Henrietta died not long after her husband joined up, although the exact date and cause of her passing is lost to time. Assigned to the 6th (Service) Battalion, Charles was, by this time, based in Hythe, on the Kent coast.

Private Grigsby’s time back in the army was to be a short one, however. He was admitted to Shorncliffe Military Hospital in January 1915, suffering from bronchial pneumonia, and is was this lung condition that was to take his life just weeks later. He passed away on 22nd February 1915, at the age of 35 years old.

Charles Grigsby was brought back to Aylesford by his siblings. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter & St Paul’s Churchyard. It is likely that he was buried alongside Henrietta, although the exact location of his grave is not longer known. Instead, he is commemorated on a joint headstone in the First World War section of the graveyard.

Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Kent, London, photography, Private, story, Wales, war

Private Frederick Johnson

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Private Frederick Johnson

Frederick Leonard Johnson was born in the spring of 1898, in Wandsworth, South London. His parents are recorded as Frederick and Catherine Johnson, although no other information about his early life remains.

On 16th February 1918, Frederick married Winifred Peters. She was a dock labourer’s daughter from Aberavon in Glamorganshire, and the couple wed at the parish church in the town. The marriage certificate confirms that Frederick was living in Port Talbot and working as a carpenter. It also notes that his father had died by this point.

It seems likely that the young couple married because Winifred was pregnant. The couple had a son, who they called Frederick, on 1st August 1918.

Frederick had enlisted in the army by this point. While his service records no longer exist, he joined up at some point towards the end of the war – no earlier than May 1918 – and was assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. This was a territorial force, and Private Johnson would have been based in Kent as part of the Thames and Medway Garrison.

Little else is known about Frederick’s service. The only other thing that can be confirmed is that he was admitted to the Preston Hall Military Hospital in Aylesford, Kent, in the autumn of 1918, suffering from a combination of influenza and pneumonia. Sadly, the lung conditions were to get the better of him and he passed away on 27th November 1918, at the age of just 20 years old.

Frederick Leonard Johnson was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Aylesford, not far from the hospital in which he had passed. It is unclear whether he ever met his son.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Lance Serjeant, Middlesex, photography, Private, Sergeant, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Serjeant John Whiddett

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Lance Serjeant John Whiddett

John Whiddett was born in Hammersmith, Middlesex, in 1892, and was one of thirteen children to Alfred and Mary Ann Whiddett. Alfred was a house painter while Mary Ann worked as a charwoman to bring in some additional money for the growing family.

John worked as a porter when he left school, but when war came to Europe, he stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment in the summer of 1915, and was assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion.

While Private Whiddett served in France, he returned to Britain, and promoted to Corporal and then Lance Serjeant. His battalion eventually formed part of the Thames & Medway Garrison. Frederick found himself in Kent by the autumn of 1917 and served out the remainder of the war there.

At some point during the autumn of 1918, Lance Serjeant Whiddett fell ill. He was admitted to the Preston Hall Military Hospital in Aylesford, suffering from a combination of influenza and pneumonia. Sadly he was not to survive these lung conditions, and he succumbed to them on 22nd November 1918. He was just 26 years of age.

Finances may have restricted John’s family’s ability to bring his body back to Middlesex. Instead, he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Aylesford, Kent.

Channel Islands, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Jersey, Kent, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire Regiment

Private John Poignand

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Private John Poignand

John Francis Poignand was born in St Brelade, Jersey in 1885. The oldest of four children, his parents were farmers Jean and Louisa Poignand. John followed his parents into farming and moved to nearby St Lawrence.

It was here that he met and married farmer’s daughter Lydia Helleur. The couple set up home in St Lawrence, and went on to have two children, John and Clarence.

War was closing in on Jersey’s shores and, when the call came, it seems that John was keen to play his part. Sadly, full details of his military service have been lost to time, but what remains confirms that he had enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment by the spring of 1918.

Private Poignand was assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, a territorial force that remained on the British mainland. He was to be based in Kent, his troop forming part of the Thames and Medway Garrison.

The only other records of John’s service are that of his passing: he had been admitted to the Preston Hall Military Hospital, suffering from a combination of influenza and pneumonia, and these are what were to take his life. Private Poignand died on 26th November 1918, at the age of 33 years old.

John Francis Poignand was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Aylesford, not far from where he had died.

Lydia went on to marry a man called Robinson. Her trail goes cold, but her and John’s younger son, Clarence, does appear in later records.

Flight Sergeant Poignand served with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, and was based at Seletar in Singapore. He was taken as a Prisoner of War by the Japanese on 11th March 1942, but there is no other record for him. His PoW record confirms that he was married and living in Romford, Essex, at the time of his capture.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Renfrewshire, Royal Army Service Corps, Scotland, story, war

Private William Johnstone

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Private William Johnstone

In the First World War section of St Peter and St Paul’s Churchyard in Aylesford, Kent, is a headstone dedicated to T4/174339 Private W Johnstone of the Royal Army Service Corps. Little other immediate information is apparent, and there are no military records available based on his service number.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website confirms that Private Johnstone transferred across to the 697th Agricultural Coy of the Labour Corps. He was given another service number – 440640 – and this allows access to a few more strands of his life.

Private Johnstone’s first name was William, and he had a dependent, Mrs CM Gunn, who lived at Moss Fall in Linwood, Paisley. The records, however, add a little more confusion to the story – Mrs Gunn is recorded as U/Wife and a guardian is also noted: Mrs Catherine McDree.

The waters are muddied further by the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects. While this confirms that William had enlisted by the spring of 1918, it also highlights that his effects and war gratuity were not actually claimed.

With no date of birth for William, it is impossible to narrow down any further details of his early life: there are too many combinations of William and Catherine in the Paisley area to be able to identify them with any confidence.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that Private William Johnstone died from a combination of influenza and pneumonia on 5th November 1918, at the Preston Hall Military Hospital in Aylesford, Kent. He was buried in the nearby churchyard.

Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, injury, Lieutenant, photography, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, story, war, Yorkshire

Lieutenant Arthur Wellacott

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Lieutenant Arthur Wellacott

Arthur Cecil Baber Wellacott was born the summer of 1897, in the village of Bradworthy, North Devon. Ond of seven children, his parents were William and Ada Wellacott. William was the parish vicar and with his status came additional support for the family.

The 1901 census saw the vicarage employ three members of staff, and William was hosting two students as well as his and Ada’s own children. Ten years later, with Arthur and his younger brother William, boarding at a school in Bude, Cornwall, the Wellacott retinue remained in place.

On leaving boarding school, Arthur studied at Kelly College in Tavistock and, at around the same time his father took up a new post in Totnes. When Arthur left the college, he joined the 7th (Cyclist) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He was subsequently given a commission in th 3rd Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and was based in Londonderry.

At Easter 1916, Lieutenant Wellacott took part in quelling the rebellion in Dublin, and was subsequently sent to France. In the battle for Contalmaison his platoon was gassed and buried, and Arthur was badly injured. Suffering from shell shock, the experience had a lasting impact on him “and from that time his health had given cause for anxiety…” [Western Morning News: Tuesday 18th February 1919]

Lieutenant Wellacott returned to England and he was billeted near Leeds. During the winter of 1918/1919, he contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to the Drax Hospital. Sadly, the condition was to prove too much for his already damaged lungs and he died on 16th February 1919. He was just 21 years of age.

Arthur Cecil Baber Wellacott was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Totnes, Devon.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, Lieutenant, London, Middlesex, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, Royal Navy, story, Tank Corps, war

Lieutenant Hugh Punchard

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Lieutenant Hugh Punchard

Hugh Punchard was born in February 1895, the oldest of three children to William and Jane Punchard. William was a civil engineer from London, and Hugh was born in Surbiton.

The 1901 census recorded the family living in the 14-room house, Pope’s Garden, in Twickenham. Along with the family, there were four members of staff – a governess, housemaid, cook and a nurse. By the time of the next census, sixteen-year-old Hugh was away at school, boarding with more than 400 others at Haileybury College in Hertfordshire.

War was coming to Europe by this point, and Hugh was keen to play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 20th October 1914 and, while he was only there for a short period, his records shed some light onto the man he had become. He enlisted as a mechanic, and was noted as being 6ft 4ins (1.93m) tall, with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Hugh remained in the Royal Navy for only a month, and, while full details of his service are no longer available, it would seem that it was at this point that he transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery. He appears to have performed his duties well, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant. He also made another transfer, when he was attached to the Tank Corps.

Lieutenant Punchard was based in Dorset by the last year of the war, and it was while he was serving there that he became unwell. He contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to Wareham Military Hospital. Sadly, the condition was to take his life, and he passed away on 31st October 1918, at the age of just 23 years old.

Hugh Punchard’s paternal grandparents lived in Devon, and, as William had passed away two years earlier, the decision was to lay him to rest in Totnes Cemetery.

Hugh’s will left his estate to his mother, Jane. When he passed, she became the beneficiary of his effects, totally some £3,600 7s 6d (around £250,000 in today’s money).

Jane stayed living in Twickenham: when she passed away on 29th July 1937, she was brought to Devon for burial, and was laid to rest with her son.

A number of documents relating to Hugh give his name as R Hugh Punchard. Sadly, I have not been able to unearth details of what his official first name might have been.