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Australia, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, photography, Private, Rifleman, story, war, Wiltshire

Rifleman John Delaney

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Rifleman John Delaney

Little information is available on the early life of Rifleman John Delaney. Born in Launceston, Ausrtalia, on 31st January 1888, by the summer of 1916 he was working as a shepherd in the New Zealand settlement of Whatatutu.

It was here that he enlisted in the country’s Expeditionary Force, and was assigned to the Rifle Brigade. His service records note that, at 28 years of age, he was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighed 143lbs (64.9kg). The record confirms that he had fair hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion. He had tattoos on both forearms, and a scar on his left foot. The service docmentation also gives his next-of-kin as his friend, Mr G Garrett of Springbank, near Canterbury, on New Zealand’s South Island.

John’s unit boarded the TSS Maunganui in Wellington on 15th November 1916, embarking on the ten week voyage to Britain. Arriving in Devonport on 29th January 1917, Rifleman Delaney arrived at the ANZAC camp in Codford, Wiltshire, a few days later.

The journey had taken its toll on a lot of the newly arrived troops. John was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on the outskirts of the camp with pneumonia on 10th February. His condition was to prove too severe, however, and he passed away just seven days later. He was 29 years of age.

John Delaney was laid to rest in the specially extended graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Codford.

Across the available documentation, John’s rank is given as both Private and Rifleman. I have used the latter rank, as this is what is provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Rifleman John Delaney
(from findagrave.com)
Able Seaman, Boy, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, injury, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, war

Able Seaman Arthur Crisp

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Able Seaman Arthur Crisp

Arthur Edward Crisp was born in 16th March 1899 in the Norfolk village of South Creake. The youngest of six children, his parents were blacksmith Henry Crisp and his wife, Sarah.

When war broke out across Europe, young Arthur had already had some experience of seamanship, and was keen to play his part. He joined the Royal Navy on 7th April 1915 and, given his age, he was assigned the rank of Boy 2nd Class. Initially sent to HMS Powerful, he was trained there for three months, rising to the rank of Boy 1st Class.

On 26th July 1915, Arthur was assigned to the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand, and would remain on board for the next two years. During this time, he came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. His service records show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

His stint on New Zealand also exposed him to naval warfare, as she was heavily involved in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Ordinary Seaman Crisp came through, however, and remained part of the battlecruiser’s crew for a further year.

After a short time on shore, where he was based at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Arthur’s next posting was on board HMS Wallington. A former trawler, she had been converted to a boom defence vessel, she protected the dockyard in Grimsby. In November 1917, while based in the Lincolnshire town, Arthur was promoted again, rising to Able Seaman.

The following March, Arthur moved again, and was assigned to HMS Attentive, the shore base for the Dover Patrol. He would not remain there for long, however, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent. He passed away on 17th March 1918, from an intriguing combination of gunshot wounds to his chest and pneumonia. He had turned 19 years old the day before.

The body of Arthur Edward Crisp was taken to nearby Gillingham for burial. He was laid to rest in the military section of the town’s Woodlands Cemetery.

Able Seaman Arthur Crisp
(from findagrave.com)
Australia, Australian Army Nursing Service, Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, London, Matron, Nurse, photography, sister, story, war, Wiltshire

Matron Jean Walker

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Matron Jean Miles-Walker

Jean Nellie Miles Walker was born in Hamilton, Tasmania, on 16th November 1878. Her parents were Arthur and Louisa Walker, and her surname moves from Walker to Miles-Walker, depending on the document. There is little information about Jean’s early life, but by 1906 she had taken up nursing.

When war broke out, Jean was quick to step up and help those who were fighting. Initially enlisting on 27th September 1914, she was assigned to a hospital ship a year later, arriving in Ismailia, Egypt, in January 1916.

Now a Sister in the Australian Army Nursing Service, Jean’s records shot the woman she had become. At 36 years of age, she was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, and weighed 128lbs (58kg). She had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Over the next couple of years, Sister Walker moved to where she was needed. By September 1916 she was attached to the No. 15 General Hospital in Alexandria, by the end of the year saw her in the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in London. Jean’s service records note that she was mentioned in despatches on 1st October 1916, but there is no clarification about why she was recognised.

Jean was promoted to Matron in the summer of 1917, and over the next year, she spent time at hospitals in both Britain and France. By the autumn of 1918, she had moved to the No. 1 Australian General Hospital in Sutton Veny, Wiltshire. It was while based here that she fell ill, contracting a fatal combination of influenza and pneumonia.

Sister Walker passed away in the Sisters’ Quarters on 30th October 1918. She was just a couple of weeks short of her 40th birthday.

Jean Nellie Miles Walker was laid to rest in the grounds of St John’s Church, Sutton Veny, close to the hospital in which she had served.

Matron Jean Walker
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private William Allen

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Private William Allen

William Allen was born on 24th June 1888, and was the third of ten children to Joseph and Leah. The family lived in Oxford, on New Zealand’s South Island, and when Leah passed away in 1900, Joseph married again, and William soon had four half-siblings.

When he finished his schooling, William found employment as a labourer. At the outbreak of war, William was called to play his part, and he enlisted on 26th July 1916. His service documents note that he was small of stature, just 5ft 2ins (1.57m) tall, and weighing 120lbs (54.4kg). A Baptist, he had dark hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Private Allen was assigned to the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment. His unit departed from Wellington for the ten week journey to Britain, the SS Tahiti finally docking in Devonport, Devon, on 29th January 1917. From here the battalion marched to Codford, Wiltshire, where the developing ANZAC base was located.

Tragically for William, this would be the last stage of his journey. After weeks at sea, in cramped conditions, the incoming troops found they were battling a different enemy from the one they had expected. Many fell ill, and this included Private Allen. He was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital, which was connected to the base, with pneumonia on 19th February 1917. Treatment proved too little, too late, however, and he passed away just four days later, on 23rd February. He was just 28 years of age.

William Allen was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford, not far from where he had breathed his last.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Walter Watson

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Private Walter Watson

Walter Robert Watson was born in Wai-Iti, to the south of Nelson, New Zealand, on 12th November 1889. The third of four children, his parents were Edward and Eliza Watson.

When he finished his schooling, Walter found farming work, and this is what he was doing when, in the spring of 1916, he married Beatrice Godbaz. By this point war was raging across Europe, and it seems likely that the couple exchanged vows ahead of his departure for the conflict.

Walter joined up on 26th July 1916, and, as a Private, was assigned to the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment. His service records show that he was 6ft (1.83m) tall and 161lbs (73kg) in weight. A Methodist by religion, he had fair hair, blue-grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Private Watson’s unit departed for Britain on 15th November 1916. Leaving from Wellington on board the SS Tahiti, the journey would take nearly three months. The Canterbury Regiment arrived in Devonport, Devon, on 29th January 1917, and from there the unit moved to their camp on the outskirts of Codford, in Wiltshire.

Walter was feeling every mile of the journey by this point. He contracted lobar pneumonia, and was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on the outskirts of the camp. The condition was to prove fatal: Private Watson passed away on 20th March 1917, at the age of just 27 years old.

Walter Robert Watson was laid to rest in the ANZAC graveyard extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford.

Private Walter Watson
(from findagrave.com)

Walter’s younger brother, Herbert, had taken a different path in life. Also a farmer, he had volunteered in the 12th Nelson Regiment. When war broke out, he was one of the first to enlist, joining the Canterbury Mounted Rifles on 15th August 1914.

By December that year, his unit had left New Zealand and arrived in Egypt. On the subsequent journey to Britain, Herbert became unwell, and he was admitted to the General Hospital in Gibraltar with dysentery. The condition would prove his undoing, and Trooper Herbert Watson passed away on 30th August 1915, at the age of just 24 years old.

Herbert Percy Watson was buried in Gibraltar’s North Front Cemetery.

Trooper Herbert Watson
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Otago Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Frederick Browning

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Private Frederick Browning

Frederick Henry Browning was born on 19th March 1884, and was the third of five children to John and Elizabeth Browning. Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, there is little information about his early life, but as he grew up, he found work as a blacksmith.

When war broke out in Europe, Frederick was working for JS Collins at the Mountain Hotel in Queenstown. By this point he had also spent three years in military service, working for the Ambulance Brigade in Nelson, at the northern tip of South Island.

Frederick stepped up to play his part, enlisting on 22nd August 1916. His service documents show that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, and weighed 153lbs (69.4kg). A Methodist, he had black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Attached to the New Zealand Otago Regiment, Private Browning was sent to Trentham, on the North Island, for training. An asthmatic, he spent two weeks in hospital with the condition in October 1916. On 30th December 1916 his unit departed for Europe on board the SS Athenic, a White Star Line ship conscripted for troop use at the start of the war.

Frederick’s asthma returned on the journey, and he spent a further week of the journey in his sick bed. The Athenic docked in Devonport, Devon, on 3rd March 1917, and Private Browning was sent straight to the town’s military hospital, his lung condition once again affecting him.

It would not be until 14th March that Frederick eventually re-joined his unit, who were based in a camp just outside the Wiltshire village of Codford. His health was really struggling, however, and he came down with a bout of pneumonia. On 24th March he was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital near the camp, but the condition was to get the better of his weakened body. Private Browning passed away on 31st March 1917, at the age of 33 years old.

The body of Frederick Henry Browning was laid to rest in the ANZAC graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the base he had so briefly called home.

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

Private Herbert Kingdon

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Private Herbert Kingdon

Born in the spring of 1872, Herbert James Kingdon was the ninth of ten children to George and Elizabeth. George was an agricultural labourer from the Devon village of George Nympton, it was here that the family was born and raised.

George died in 1900, at the age of 72, from this point on, Elizabeth also disappears from the records. In the spring of 1900, Herbert, now also a farm labourer, married Elizabeth – or Bessie – Speed. She was a farmworker’s daughter from South Molton, just two miles to the north. The couple set up home close to where Herbert had been living, and would go on to have five children by the time war was declared: Frederick, Florence, Frank, Annie and Herbert Jr.

George Nympton was a small village, and most of Herbert’s siblings remained close. The 1911 census found Herbert and Bessie living in the village, next door to Bessie’s parents who appear to have moved closer to support their daughter’s family. Three of their four children now old enough to attend the local school, while Herbert was still doing farm work, alongside his father-in-law, George Speed, and his brother-in-law, Fred.

When war broke out, Herbert stepped up to play his part. His full service records are no longer available, but the documents that do still exist suggest that he had enlisted by the start of 1917. Joining the Devonshire Regiment, he was assigned to the No. 4 Agricultural Company, and remained on home soil. By this point, Bessie had had a sixth child, Edward, and it is likely that she needed all the help she could get. With her husband remaining close by, and with her parents still living next door, she seems to have been supported.

By the summer of 1917, Private Kingdon had become unwell, and was suffering from a combination of pneumonia and pleurisy. Convalescing at home, the conditions were to get the better of him: he passed away on 27th June 1917, at the age of 45 years old.

Herbert James Kingdon was laid to rest in the graveyard of St George’s Church, George Nympton, in sight of his former home.

Bessie was pregnant when her husband passed: she gave birth on 13th January 1918, to a baby girl, Mary.

Bessie would only outlive her husband by five years. The last record for her is the 1921 census, when she was living in the family home with five of her children, and her parents, now in their mid-60s, living next door.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, Mesopotamia, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, story, war

Gunner Charles Baker

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Gunner Charles Baker

Charles Baker was born on New Year’s Day 1884, the youngest of six children to Henry and Mary Baker. Henry, was 64 when his son was born, and 21 years his wife’s senior, was a fisherman from Dartmouth, Devon. By the 1870s, however, the family had settled in Paignton, and this is where Charles had been born and raised.

The 1901 census found Henry, Mary, Charles and the oldest Baker daughter, Emma, living at 25 Roundham Cottages, to the south of Paignton town centre. He would have known the Putt family at No. 22, being of a similar age to Arthur Putt, another future soldier. Charles’ father Henry, now 81, was living off his own means, while Charles had completed his schooling, and was employed as a house painter.

In the spring of 1905, Charles married Helen Davey. Born in Hayle, Cornwall and six years her husband’s senior, there is little information about the new Mrs Baker, other than her father’s name, Thomas. The 1911 census found the couple living in a 5-roomed house on Norton Terrace, Paignton. At this point Charles was still employed as a house painter.

When war came to Europe, Charles stepped up to serve his King and country. Initially enlisting on 11th December 1915, he was not formally mobilised until the following September, when he was assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner. His service records show hat he was 5ft 8ins (1,73m) tall and weighed 159lbs (72.1kg).

As part of the 257th Siege Battery, Gunner Baker was sent to Mesopotamia on 10th March 1917. He would remain in the Middle East for the next couple of years, returning home in March 1919. Charles returned to Devon, and was placed on furlough, awaiting to be demobbed.

Within a matter of weeks, however, Charles had fallen ill, contracting pneumonia. The condition was to prove his undoing, and he passed away on 7th May 1919. He was 35 years of age.

Charles Baker was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, overlooking his home town.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private James McGrath

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Private James McGrath

James Charles Patrick McGrath was born in June 1895 in the town of Marlborough, Queensland, Australia. He was the only child of Patrick and Margaret McGrath.

Little information is available about James’ early life. His father died in 1912, and he found work as a station hand when he completed his schooling.

When war broke out in Europe, James stepped up to play his part. Seeking adventure, and a reliable wage, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1916.

Private McGrath’s service records suggest he must have cut quite a figure, being 5ft 11.5ins (1.81m) tall, and weighing 172lbs (78kg). A Roman Catholic, he had hazel eyes, fair hair and a fair complexion.

James’ unit – the 15th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – departed Australia on 25th November 1916. Leaving from Sydney, his ship, the Beltana, took just under two months to reach its destination, Devonport, Devon. From here, Private McGrath’s battalion made the 130 mile (210km) journey to their base on the outskirts of the Wiltshire village of Codford.

James arrived in Codford on 30th January 1917, but soon fell ill. He was admitted to the camp hospital with influenza on 17th February, but his condition worsened. He passed away from pneumonia on 2nd March 1917: he was just 21 years of age.

Thousands of miles from home, James Charles Patrick McGrath was laid to rest in the cemetery extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford.

Private James McGrath
(from findagrave.com)
Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Percy Connelly

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Private Percy Connelly

Percy Francis Connelly was born in October 1892 in Goulbourn, New South Wales, Australia. One of nine children – eight boys and one girl – his parents were Francis and Emily.

There is little information available about Percy’s early life. When he completed his schooling, he found work as a labourer and this is what he was doing when war was declared.

Percy stepped up to serve his King in November 1916, joining the Australian Imperial Force. His service records show that he was 5ft 8ins (1.72m) tall and weighed 147lbs (66.7kg). A Roman Catholic, he was also noted as having brown eyes, cark brown hair and a dark complexion.

Private Connelly’s unit – the 49th Battalion of the Australian Infantry – departed from Sydney on 22nd December 1916. His ship – the Demosthenes – took ten weeks to reach Britain. During this time, Percy was admitted to the ship’s isolation hospital, as he was suffering with venereal disease.

Percy’s unit arrived in Plymouth, Devon, on 5th March 1917. They were sent to their base near Codford in Wiltshire, for further training and preparation for a move to the continent. Private Connelly, however, would not be going with them. Just a week after arriving at the camp he was admitted to hospital, having contracted bronchial pneumonia.

The lung condition was to prove Percy’s undoing. He took his last breath on 19th March 1917: he was 24 years of age.

Percy Francis Connelly was laid to rest in the ANZAC section of St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford.

Percy’s younger brother, Francis, was also caught up in the First World War. Attached to the 42nd Battalion of the Australian Infantry, he had arrived in Britain more than a year before his older sibling.

Sent to France in November 1916, Francis was wounded just a couple of months later. He was medically repatriated to Britain for treatment, and eventually re-joined his unit in September 1917. He would spend most of the next year on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 29th September 1918. He was just 23 years of age.