Tag Archives: Private

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

Private Charles Tombs

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Private Charles Tombs

Charles Tombs was born on 26th November 1875 in Sefton, New Zealand. The seventh of eight children, his parents were Job and Elizabeth Tombs.

There is little information available about Charles’ early life. He found work as a chainman, working as a labourer in a sawmill.

On 11th December 1899, Charles married Eliza Pound, the daughter of immigrants from Somerset. The couple settled in Wairau, and went on to have six children: John, Charles, Arthur, William, Ronald and Alice.

(The Tombs and Pounds seemed to have been closely connected: Charles’ younger brother John, went on to marry Eliza’s younger sister, Elizabeth.)

Sadly, Eliza died in 1910, leaving Charles to raise four children (John and Alice having died when just babes-in-arms), alone. A later document gives Charles’ next-of-kin as Mrs R Register, who was, in fact, his younger sister, Mary (who had married Robert Register in 1907).

War was coming, and Charles would be called upon to serve his long-distant King and Empire. On 26th July 1916, he stepped up, and enlisted in the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment. His service records show that, at 40 years of age, he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, and weighed 119lbs (54kg). He had brown hair, blue eyes and a dark complexion.

Private Tombs’ unit departed from New Zealand on 15th November 1916, making the journey to Britain on the RMS Tahiti. The journey took nearly three months, and Charles arrived in Devonport, Devon, on 29th January 1917.

The ANZAC camp near Codford, Wiltshire, was to be Private Tombs ultimate destination, and he arrived there a couple of days after landing in Britain. After a lengthy journey, his health had been impacted, as had many of the men he had travelled with.

Suffering from bronchitis, Charles was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital on the outskirts of the camp. The condition was to prove his undoing, and he passed away on 17th February 1917. He was 41 years of age.

Charles Tombs was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, Wiltshire.

Private Charles Tombs
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, Surrey, war

Private Harry Holder

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Private Harry Holder

Harry Alfred Holder was born in the summer of 1899, and was the older of two children – both boys – to Harry and Kate. Harry Sr had been widowed a couple of years before, and the extended family included four half-siblings for his new family.

The family had rooms at 16 Warner Street in Southwark, Surrey. By the time of the 1911 census, gad fitter Harry Sr had been widowed a second time, and he and three of his sons were sharing the house with William and Hannah Gayzer and widower Edward Maude.

Harry Jr would have been 15 years old when war broke out, and so too young to serve. He would eventually enlist, however, and had joined the Royal Marine Light Infantry by the spring of 1918. The only documentation relating to his service is his entry on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Register: Took part in the operations against Zeebrugge on board HMS “Iris II” on 23rd April, 1918.

One of two Mersey ferries to take part in the Zeebrugge raid – the other being called Daffodil – Iris attempted to come alongside the port’s mole, or breakwater, to offload the troops she had on board. An initial attempt to boor failed, and when she came alongside again, a shell burst through the deck where nearly 60 marines were preparing to land. Forty-nine were killed and the rest, including Private Holder, were badly injured.

Iris managed to make her way back to Chatham, Kent, where the Royal Navy had a major dockyard. Most of the survivors were moved to a Royal Naval Hospital in London, but Harry’s injuries were to prove too severe: He succumbed to them on 10th May 1918: he was just 19 years of age.

The body of Harry Alfred Holder was laid to rest in the Naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the port in which he had come ashore.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Egypt, Great War, history, India, injury, photography, story, war, Wiltshire

Private James Burge

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Private James Burge

James Thomas Burge was born in Plymouth, Devon, in the summer of 1887. The oldest of five children, his parents were sawyer James Burge and his wife, Alice. James Sr moved the family to where the work took him: by the time of the 1901 census, the Burges had lived in and around the Plymouth area, including Devonport and Stonehouse. They settled in Ashburton, Devon, and the document found them living on Mill Lane.

When James Jr finished his schooling, he found work as a mill hand. By 1911, he had moved to Buckfastleigh, and was living with the Crook family on Silver Street. Henry Crook was a mason’s labourer, while he and his wife Bessie had three children, Hilda, Ada and Ruby. Living with them when the census was taken, were Bessie’s widowed brother Samuel, his daughter, Bessie, and three boarders, including James.

There are two intriguing things about this census document. The first is that of James’ employment. While he was recorded as being a mill hand, it is evident from his service records that he had enlisted in the 5th (Prince of Wales’) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment by this point. He had completed training on Salisbury Plain in August 1910, and would undertake further instruction in the summer of 1911, but in between times, he remained on reserve status, and would have needed to earn money.

The second point of interest is that his service records noted that, by the time he was formally mobilised in August 1914, he was married to a woman called Hilda, who lived on Silver Street in Buckfastleigh. While there are no documents available to fully confirm this, it seems likely that this Hilda was Hilda Crook, the daughter of the family James was boarding with in 1911.

Once embodied, Private Burge’s time in the army took him around the world. By October 1914, his unit had been sent to India, and he would remain there for the next eighteen months. After a two-month stint on home soil, he returned to India, before his unit moved to Egypt in March 1917.

On 7th November 1917, while advancing on the enemy forces in Gaza James was struck in his right leg by a fragment of shell. He was wounded near the top of his fibula and, after initially being treated in the field hospital, he was evacuated to Alexandria, Egypt, for treatment. He was operated on, but from that point on had difficulty walking.

Private Burge was transferred to the 4th Reserve Depot, but his injury prevented him from undertaking many of the duties required of him. He was recommended for permanent transfer to England. Ultimately, however, his wound proved too severe, and he was formally discharged from military service on 25th February 1919.

At this point, James’ trail goes cold. He returned to Buckfastleigh, but would not be back on civvy street for long. He passed away on 22nd May 1919, at the age of 31 years old.

James Thomas Burge was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church, in the Devon town he had made his home.

Canada, Canadian Army Service Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, story, war

Private Arthur Shute

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Private Arthur Shute

Arthur Henry Shute was born on 13th February 1893 in Buckfastleigh, Devon. The younger of two children, he was the only son to Henry and Elizabeth Shute. Henry was a baker, and this trade soon took the family to Cirencester, Gloucestershire, where they had set up home by the time of the 1901 census.

Cirencester certainly suited the Shute family, and they remained at 107 Dyer Street for at least ten years. Arthur was set on learning the business, and the 1911 census found him as one of four apprentices to George Cox, a flour confectioner based in Hastings, Sussex.

New things were on the horizon, however, and Henry was evidently set on a better life for his family. On 10th May 1912, the family boarded the SS Victorian, destined for a fresh start in Canada. The Shutes eventually set up home at 118, 4 Avenue West in Calgary, Henry becoming a chef, and Arthur a baker.

Within a few years, the world was at war, and Arthur would step up to play his part. He enlisted on 13th September 1915, and wold be assigned to the Canadian Army Service Corps. His service records show that he was 6ft 0.5ins (1.84m) tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. The document also highlighted three years’ voluntary service with the 5th Gloucestershire Regiment.

Private Shute’s unit arrived back in Britain on 6th November 1915. Sent to a base in Shorncliffe, Kent, Arthur was transferred to the 3rd Field Bakery, taking up a role suited to his skills. In March 1916, his unit was sent to France, and he remained there for the next five months.

Arthur’s time in the army seems to have been beset by illness. He was admitted to hospital on 12th August 1916, having come down with influenza, and he was medically evacuated to Britain to recuperate. Arthur would not be discharged for another six weeks, and only returned to the base in Shorncliffe on 3rd October.

From this point on, Private Shute remained on British soil, and he would remain in Shorncliffe for the remainder of the conflict and beyond the Armistice. In January 1919, he was admitted to the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital in Eastbourne, again suffering from influenza, but this time the condition would prove to be fatal. He passed away on 5th February 1919, a week short of his 26th birthday.

With his immediate family living thousands of miles away in Canada, Arthur Henry Shute’s body was taken back to the town of his birth for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in Buckfastleigh.

accident, Artificer, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, photography, Royal Navy, Scotland, story, war

Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Gerald Bowerman

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Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Gerald Bowerman

A distressing fatality, involving the death of a member of the crew of HM destroyer “Rifleman”, and injury to two others, occurred at the harbour where his ship was on Saturday night. A party of four – one civilian and three Navy men – were on a motor cycle and side-car on their way to Provost Matthews’ Quay, from which the sailors were to join their ship. The cyclist, who was controlling the machine in the darkness of the night, failed to observe that the bridge at the dock gates was open to allow a vessel to pass out to sea. The motor cycle collided with the obstruction, with the result that the machine and side-car swerves round, and plunged headlong into the well from which the bridge swings.

The result of the accident was that Gerald Bowerman (25), engine-room artificer, fractured his skull, while his two ship-mates, Charles Morrice, chief engine-room artificer, and James Fulthorpe, engine-room artificer, were somewhat severely injured. Deceased belonged to Buckfastleigh, his residence being the Mechanics’ Arms.

[Western Times: Friday 25th September 1914]

Gerald Bowerman was born in Buckfastleigh, Devon, on 30th October 1888. The youngest of four children, his parents were James and Augusta Bowerman. James was a jack-of-all-trades, with the 1891 census noting that he worked as a grocer, coal dealer and cab proprietor, with his wife assisting in the business.

James seemed to seek out new opportunities, and, by the time of the next census, taken in 1901, the family had moved to Exeter, and were running the Red Cow Inn at the foot of St David’s Hill.

Gerald’s older brother, Harold, joined the navy in 1906, and his sibling was not to be outdone. By 1910, James and Augusta had moved back to Buckfastleigh, and were running the Mechanic’s Arms. Gerald, however, was drawn to the sea and gave up his employment as a fitter and turner to enlisted in the Royal Navy on 14th September 1910. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Bowerman was first sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, for his training. He joined the battleship HMS Bellerophon in February 1911, and she would be his home for the next two years.

After another short spell in Devonport, Gerald transferred to HMS Caesar, then to the depot ship HMS Blake, to which he was assigned on 30th August 1913. The following month he was promoted to Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class, and would remain on board Blake through to the outbreak of war the following year.

Engine Room Artificer Bowerman’s ship was based in Aberdeen when the motorcycle accident occurred. He was just 25 years of age when he died, on 20th September 1914.

Gerald Bowerman’s body was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Holy Trinity Church in his home town of Buckfastleigh.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Scotland, story, war, Worcestershire Regiment

Private Garfield Peardon

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Private Garfield Peardon

Garfield Ambrose Peardon was born on 24th February 1899, the older of two children to William and Margaret. Both farm labourer William, who had been widowed in 1885, and his second wife, Margaret were from Devon. The 1891 census found the extended family – Garfield and his parents and his older half-brother, William Jr., living in Market Street, Buckfastleigh.

Ten years later, and the family had moved just up the road to Market Street. Both of Garfield’s parents were working for the local woollen mill, William as a horseman and Margaret as a serge weaver. Garfield and his younger brother, Eric, were too young to work, and were both still at school.

Garfield stepped up to play his part for King and Country, although details of his service are a bit of a mystery. He had certainly enlisted by the start of 1918, presumably as soon as he came of age. He joined the Worcestershire Regiment, and was attached to the 3rd Battalion.

Private Peardon served in France, and was likely involved in the Battles of the Somme and Lys in the spring of 1918. His pension ledger records note that, on 27th May, he was recorded as ‘missing’: this was the day of a massive German gas and artillery bombardment and, in the confusion that followed, it appears that Garfield was identified as a potential casualty.

At this point, Private Peardon’s trail goes cold. The next available document is his entry on the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects: this confirms that he passed away on 28th January 1919 in the 2nd Scottish General Hospital in Edinburgh. This would suggest that Garfield was wounded in the attack, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. He was a month short of his 20th birthday when he died.

The body of Garfield Ambrose Peardon was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, Buckfastleigh.

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 Wellington Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Gordon McDonald

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Private Gordon McDonald

Gordon McDonald was born on 28th January 1893 in Pongaroa, New Zealand. The youngest of six children, and the only son, his parents were Scottish-born farmers John and Helen – or Ellen – McDonald.

Little information is available about Gordon’s early life. When he completed his schooling, he went into agricultural work, and this was his employment when, on 27th June 1916, he answered the call to play a part in a conflict on the other side of the globe.

Gordon’s service papers show that he would have been an imposing figure of a man. He was 6ft 3ins (1.91m) tall, and weighed 160lbs (72.6kg). A Presbyterian, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion. He was also noted as having two scars, one on the outside of his right forearm, the other on his left thumb.

Assigned to the New Zealand Wellington Regiment, Private McDonald’s unit left the country of his birth on 16th October 1916. The SS Willochra would take two-and-a-half months to reach Britain, arriving in Devonport, Devon, on 29th December. From there Gordon and his unit were sent to Codford, Wiltshire, where their ANZAC base was set up.

Private McDonald’s time in Britain was to be tragically brief. At this point in the war, disease was rife in the Codford billets, and he was not to be immune to its effects. On 13th February 1917, he was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital, attached to the camp, with tubercular meningitis. The condition would prove too severe, and he passed away on 5th March 1917. He was 24 years of age.

Gordon McDonald was laid to rest in the ANZAC graveyard extension to St Mary’s Church in Codford, close to the camp where he had breathed his last.

Private Gordon McDonald
(from findagrave.com)
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)