Harold Vincent Brooks was born in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, in the spring of 1898. One of ten children, his parents were William and Mary Brooks.
Little information is available about Harold’s early life, but when he completed his schooling, he found work as a labourer. When war broke out, he was initially turned down for military service because of poor eyesight, but as the conflict rolled on, he tried to enlist again and was accepted into the Australian Imperial Force.
Private Brooks’ service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) tall, and weighed 136lbs (61.7kg). A Roman Catholic, he had brown hair, hazel eyes and a medium complexion.
Assigned to the 47th Battalion of the Australian Infantry, Harold left his home country from Brisbane on the 27th October 1916. The ship his unit was sailing on – the Marathon – took just over ten weeks to reach Britain, eventually docking in Devonport, Devon. From there Private Brooks was marched to the ANZAC camp in Codford, Wiltshire.
Harold’s time in Britain was not to be a lengthy one. He contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to the nearby Sutton Veny Military Hospital on 24th January. Private Brooks’ condition worsened, and he passed away on 5th February 1917. He was just 19 years of age.
Thousands of miles from home, the body of Harold Vincent Brooks was buried in the newly extended St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford.
Alfred Henry Parkinson was born in Reedy Creek, South Australia, on 20th October 1880. One of nine children, his parents were William and Isabella Parkinson.
There is little concrete information about Alfred’s early life, but when he finished his schooling he found work in the mines. When war broke out, however, he stepped up to play his part, joining the Australian Imperial Force on 2nd November 1916.
Private Parkinson’s service records show that he was 5ft 9ins (1.65m) tall, and weighed in at 10st 4lbs (65.3kg). He was noted as having brown hair brown eyes and a fair complexion. After a month’s training, he left Australia on board the SS Berrima, bound for Europe.
Alfred’s unit – the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – arrived in Devonport, Devon, on 16th February 1917. Within a matter of days he arrived at the ANZAC camp at Sutton Veny, Wiltshire.
Illness amongst the Australian troops was rife by the time they arrived in Britain, and Private Parkinson was not to be immune. He was admitted to the Military Hospital connected to the camp on 20th March, suffering from bronchial pneumonia. The condition worsened, and he died just six days later. Alfred was 36 years of age.
Thousands of miles from home, the body of Alfred Henry Parkinson was laid to rest in the newly extended graveyard of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far form the base in which he had breathed his last.
Osborne Robinson was born in the autumn of 1891. The middle of three children, he was the only son to Edward and Edith Robinson. Edward was a merchant of foreign products from West Hartlepool, County Durham, and this is where the family were raised.
Edward died in 1905, and this provided a marked change for the Robinsons. Edith moved the family to Richmond, Yorkshire, which is where her widowed mother still lived. The 1911 census recorded a divided family. Osborne’s older sister, Mary, was employed as a housekeeper for a widowed farmer in Thornton Watless, south of Richmond. His younger sister, Elsie, was living with her maternal grandmother and aunt in Richmond.
Edith and Osborne, meanwhile, were living at Swale Farm, Ellerton Abbey, to the west of Richmond. Edith recorded herself as living on private means, while her son was employed as a grazing farmer, presumably connected to the farm they were living on.
Osborne wanted to expand his horizons and, at the beginning of 1914, took the decision to seek a new life overseas. On 30th January, he boarded the SS Norman, bound for Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Within a matter of months, war had broken out, and Osborne felt he needed to play his part for King and Empire.
On 25th July 1915, while working near Cootamundra, New South Wales, Osborne enlisted, joining the Australian Imperial Force as a Private. His service papers show that at 23 years of age, he was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). He had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a dark complexion, presumably from working outside.
Private Robinson left Australia on 5th October 1915, travelling on board HMAT A32 Themistocles for his journey to Europe. His unit – the 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion – spent time in Egypt, before moving on to Marseilles, France, in April 1916. By the autumn Osborne was on the Western Front, and, on 3rd September, during the Battle of Pozières, he was wounded in his left hand.
Initially treated at the 17th Casualty Clearing Station, Private Robinson was stoon transferred to the 1st Southern General Hospital in Birmingham. His injury took close to six weeks to heal, and he returned to an ANZAC base in Wareham, Dorset, towards the end of October.
Osborne spent a good few months on home soil, eventually re-joining his unit in France on 18th October 1917. Over the next year, he served on the Western Front, with two periods of leave – a week in Paris in March 1918 and a fortnight in the UK the following October. The Armistice declared, Private Robinson’s unit returned to its base near Warminster, Wiltshire, in January 1919.
Osborne had fallen ill with influenza by this point and his condition was to worsen to pneumonia. He died at a private address in Warminster on 8th February 1919: he was 28 years of age.
The body of Osborne Robinson was laid to rest in St John’s Churchyard, Warminster. It is unclear why Edith chose not to bring her son home, but the 1921 census recorded her, Mary and Elsie (neither of whom were married) living in the village of Reeth, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. All three were noted as being employed with home duties.
Peter Moran was born in Kilmeena, County Mayo, Ireland, on 29th January 1876. Details of his early life are hard to track down, but when he finished his schooling, he wound work as a fisherman.
By 19th August 1891, Peter sought to make a more permanent career of the sea. He signed up to the Royal Navy, and was sent to HMS Impregnable, the shore base in Devonport, Devon, for his training. Being just 15 years of age, he was too young to formally enlist, and was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class.
Over the next few years, Peter learnt the tools of his trade. On 2nd July 1892 he was promoted to Boy 1st Class, and the following February he was given his first sea-faring assignment, on board the battleship HMS Neptune. By March 1893 Boy Moran found himself serving on board HMS Daphne, a screw sloop which would become his home for the next three years.
During his time aboard Daphne, Peter came of age, and was given the rank of Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, with light hair, grey-blue eyes and a fresh complexion. Within eighteen months he had proved his mettle, and was promoted to Able Seaman.
Over the next decade, Peter would serve on eight vessels. By the time the term of his contract came to an end in September 1903, he had been promoted twice – to Leading Seaman, then to Petty Officer 2nd Class.
Peter renewed his contract, but seems to have chosen a new career path. On 2nd October 1903 he moved to HM Coastguard and, as a Boatman, was assigned to Pendeen Cove, Cornwall.
Love blossomed for Peter, and he married a woman called Caroline in the next few years. There is little further information about her, but the couple would go on to have three children – Mary in 1908, Florence in 1911 and Thomas in 1913.
Boatman Moran would spend twelve years with the coastguard, moving to St Ives, Cornwall, in September 1908, and Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, in March 1914. By this point he had been promoted to Leading Boatman, and was set on a new life in Wales. Sadly, the new life was not to be: on 2nd June 1915 he passed away from pneumonia. He was 39 years of age.
The body of Peter Moran was laid to rest in Fishguard Cemetery: a life at sea, and forging homes in three countries at an end.
George Wilson Townsend was born in St Pancras, Middlesex on 13th September 1885. The youngest of three children – although his older brother Joseph had died before George was born – his parents were piano maker Samuel Townsend and his wife, Eliza.
When he finished his schooling, George found work as a clerk for a shipping company. In the summer of 1909 he married Ellen Gibbins: the couple went on to have two children, daughters Kathleen (born in 1910) and Elsie (born in 1912).
The 1911 census found the family in a small cottage at 43 Leighton Road, Kentish Town. George was still working as a shipping clerk, while Ellen was look after baby Kathleen.
When war broke out, George was called upon to play his part. He enlisted on 12th May 1917, and joined the Royal Flying Corps as an Air Mechanic 3rd Class. His service records show that he stood 5ft 9.75ins (1.77m) tall.
When the Royal Air Force was formed in April 1918, George was immediately transferred across. Reclassified as a Clerk 3rd Class, he was quickly promoted to Clerk 1st Class, the skills he had learn in civilian life coming to the fore. Attached to 85 Squadron, then 62 Training Squadron, which was based in Gosport, Hampshire.
By the autumn of 1918, George had returned home, although the circumstances for this are unclear. He may have been on leave or recuperating from an illness. Certainly he passed away from pneumonia while at home on 5th October. He had not long turned 33 years of age.
George Wilson Townsend was laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.
Ernest James Dean was born in the autumn of 1898 in St Pancras, Middlesex. The older of two children, he was the only son to Ernest and Caroline Dean. Ernest Sr was a bootmaker, and the family lived at 51 Lismore Road.
Ernest Jr found work as a clerk when he completed his schooling. However, when war broke out, he was keen to play his part. He enlisted on 6th February 1917, joining the Royal Flying Corps as an Air Mechanic 3rd Class. His service record shows that he was 5ft 6ins (1.67m) tall, and he must have proven to be a keen student: within four months he had been promoted to Air Mechanic 2nd Class and was being trained as a wireless operator.
When the Royal Air Force was formed on 1st April 1918, Ernest’s transfer was automatic. It is unclear exactly where Air Mechanic Dean served, but he seems to have been based in Kent by that autumn.
In October, Ernest was admitted to the Lees Court Hospital in Faversham, Kent, having come down with pneumonia. The condition, sadly, was to prove fatal: he passed away on 29th October 1918, at the age of just 20 years old.
The body of Ernest James Dean was taken back to Middlesex for burial, and he was laid to rest in the majestic grounds of Highgate Cemetery.
Albert John Bentley was born in St Pancras, Middlesex, in the spring of 1885. The second of six children, his parents were John and Eleanor (also known as Elizabeth) Bentley. John was a piano maker, and the family lived at 27 Hampshire Street in St Pancras.
When his father died in 1910, Albert had already started to follow in his footsteps. The following year’s census recorded him living with his mother and three younger siblings. Employed as an organ builder, his was one of three wages being brought into the household.
Albert stepped up to play his part when war broke out. Full details of his military service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the London Regiment, and was assigned to the 1st/19th (County of London) Battalion (St Pancras).
It is unclear whether or not Private Bentley spent any time overseas. By the summer of 1918, however, he had fallen ill, and was admitted to a military hospital in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex. He succumbed to a combination of influenza and pneumonia on 28th June 1918: he was 33 years of age.
The body of Albert John Bentley was taken back to Middlesex for burial. He was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Highgate Cemetery.
Richard Oscar Ford was born in Williamstown, Australia, in July 1891. The oldest of four children – and the only son – his parents were Anthony and Mary Ford. Anthony was a soldier, but Richard chose a different route and took work as a labourer when he completed his schooling.
There is little information available about Richard’s early life, but when war broke out, he stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 9th November 1914.
By this point he was working as a bushman, and his service papers reveal something of the man he had become. Standing 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, he weighed 140lbs (63.5kg), Private Ford had auburn hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.
Assigned to the Light Horse Regiment, Richard left Australia for Europe on in March 1915. His unit arrived on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 15th July, and he would remain there for the next five months.
In December 1915, Richard came down with a bout of influenza, and was medically evacuated to the island of Mudros, then on to Alexandria, Egypt. In January 1916, he was admitted to hospital again, this time suffering from gonorrhoea and, after treatment, he re-joined his unit on 2nd February.
Private Ford’s unit spent that spring training in Egypt, but on 29th May, they set sail for the Western Front. Within a week they had disembarked in the French port of Marseilles and headed north to Etaples.
The next couple of years would prove a little disjointed. Richard switched units in August 1916, and given the rank of Gunner, but within two months his role had changed to Driver. His service records suggest that he managed to avoid injury during the fighting he was involved in, but that did not mean that he avoided hospital completely.
In January 1917 Driver Ford was admitted to the 51st General Hospital with a heart murmur, returning to his unit on 16th March. He had a second spell in hospital in February 1918, having come down with laryngitis.
In July 1918, having spent some time at the 4th Army Corporal School, Richard was reassigned to the 3rd Australian Field Artillery. This move seemed to have been the focus he needed. Initially promoted to Bombardier, within a month he rose to Lance Corporal, and by December 1918 he was a full Sergeant.
After the Armistice was signed, Richard was given three weeks’ leave, which he spent in Britain. By January 1919, however, his health was becoming an issue again, and he was admitted to the military hospital in Fovant, Wiltshire, suffering from influenza. The condition worsened, and Sergeant Ford passed away from bronchopneumonia on 4th February 1919. He was 27 years of age.
Richard Oscar Ford was laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery, Middlesex. While there seems to be no direct connection between the location and the man, his father, Anthony, had been born in Hackney, so it can be assumed that there was a family link to the area.
William McMullan was born in Okaihau, on New Zealand’s North Island, on 10th May 1896. One of three children, his parents were James and Rose McMullan.
There is little concrete information about William’s early life. By the beginning of 1916, he was working as a bushman and volunteering for the local militia. The First World War provided an opportunity to put his skills to use, and he enlisted in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade on 15th January 1916.
Rifleman McMullan’s service records show that, at 19 years and 8 months of age, he was 6ft (1.83m) tall and weighed 12st 6lbs (79kg). A Roman Catholic, he had brown hair, blue-grey eyes and a medium-dark complexion.
William left New Zealand in May 1916, bound for Britain. The journey took ten weeks and, after disembarking in Devonport, Devon, his unit marched to Sling Camp, near Bulford, Wiltshire, arriving there on 29th July. Just a few weeks later, however, Rifleman McMullan was on the move again, and he found himself on the Western Front towards the end of September.
On 16th November 1916, while fighting at the Somme, Rifleman McMullan received a gunshot wound to his thigh. A blighty wound, it saw him medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and he was admitted to the No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. A few weeks later, he was moved to Codford, Wiltshire, for recuperation at the No. 3 NZ General Hospital.
William would spend the next few weeks in Wiltshire, but after initially being discharged from hospital, he was re-admitted on 25th January 1917. He had contracted broncho-pneumonia, and this would be the condition to which he would succumb. Private McMullan passed away on 13th February, at the age of just 20 years old.
Thousands of miles away from home, William McMullan was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, close to the camp he had most recently called home.
Job Jefferies was born on 12th October 1889 in the city of Timaru, on New Zealand’s South Island. The sixth of ten children, his parents were William and Ada Jefferies.
There is little information available about Job’s early life, but by the time war broke out, he had moved to Kongahu, at the northern tip of South Island. He was working as a labourer, and was employed by the Public Works Department.
Job was quick to step up and serve his country. He enlisted in the New Zealand Infantry on 12th February 1915, and was assigned to the Canterbury Regiment. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 10.75ins (1.79m) tall, and weighed 170lbs (77.1kg).
Private Jefferies left New Zealand in the summer of 1915, and his service record makes for grim reading.
On 9th August 1915, Job’s unit arrived in the Dardanelles, and he was firmly entrenched in the fighting at Gallipoli. Wounded on 5th September, he was initially treated at a casualty clearing station, before being medically evacuated first to Malta, then to Britain. He was admitted to the No. 2 Western General Hospital in Manchester, Lancashire, and would spend the next seven months there.
On 12th May 1916, Private Jefferies was on the move, leaving his base in Hornchurch, Essex, for the Western Front. He re-joined his unit on 7th July, but just nine days later was wounded at the Somme. Medically evacuated to Britain again, he spent the next couple of months being moved between hospitals. Discharged back to base in Hornchurch, Essex at the end of September, he would spend the next four months recuperating once more.
By February 1917, it would seem that Private Jefferies had been moved to Sling Camp near Bulford, Wiltshire. While there, he fell ill, and was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in nearby Codford. He was suffering from pneumonia, and this time his body could take no more. Job passed away on 7th February 1917: he was 27 years of age.
Job Jefferies was laid to rest alongside his fellow soldiers in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford.
Death and Service 