Tag Archives: Private

Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Essex, Great War, Greece, history, illness, injury, Lance Corporal, Middlesex, New Zealand, New Zealand Otago Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private James McLeod

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Private James McLeod

James McLeod was born on 15th April 1893 in Dunedin, New Zealand. There is little further information about his early life, although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission give his father’s name as Samuel, and his service records note his next-of-kin as his brother, George McLeod.

James was employed by A&T Watt as a French polisher. However, he gave that up on 25th January 1915, when he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. His service records show that he was 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall, and weighed 166lbs (75.3kg). He was recorded a having fair hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Private McLeod was assigned to the New Zealand Otago Regiment, and undertook his initial training on home soil. He evidently showed some promise as, on 1st May, he was promoted to Lance Corporal. Six weeks later his unit was heading for Europe, and by the summer James was in Egypt.

On 20th August 1915, Private McLeod was admitted to the New Zealand and Australian Convalescent Hospital in Mena with a gun shot wound to his finger. He remained there for three weeks, returning to his unit in time for them to leave for the Dardanelles on 7th November 1915.

What happened to James over the next couple of months is uncertain. Certainly he was on the Greek island of Moudros by 18th November and in the Dardanelles on 7th December 1915. Just 20 days later he was back in Alexandria, and he would remain there for the next few months. There is, however, nothing in his medical record to suggest that his return to Egypt was on health reasons.

On 6th April 1916, Private McLeod was on the move again, this time to France. He was wounded again on 14th July 1916, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Details of this injury are not clear, but he was admitted to the 2nd London General Hospital in Chelsea, Middlesex. After a month recuperating, James was released from hospital and sent to camp in Hornchurch, Essex. At this point he was also demoted to Private, although, again, the reason is unclear: it may have been a personal choice, or the reversion may have been connected to his injuries.

In September 1916, Private McLeod was transferred to the ANZAC Camp on the outskirts of Codford, Wiltshire. That winter he contracted pleurisy, and he was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand Hospital, which was connected to the camp, on Christmas Day. His condition worsened, and James passed away from pneumonia on 28th December 1916. He was just 23 years of age.

Thousands of miles from home, James McLeod was laid to rest alongside his fellow soldiers in the extension to the graveyard of St Mary’s Church, Codford.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, Lance Corporal, London, Middlesex, photography, Private, story, Surrey, war

Corporal Alexander Sturrock

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Corporal Alexander Sturrock

Alexander Albert Sturrock was born in the autumn of 1877. The second of two children, he was the only son of Alexander and Elizabeth Sturrock. Alexander Sr was a plasterer from Scotland, while his wife had been born in Bristol. It was in the Pimlico area of Middlesex, however, that the couple would raise their two children: Alexander and his older sister Eleanor.

The 1891 census found the family living at 253 Wellington Buildings, on Ebury Bridge Road. According to the next census, however, they had taken rooms at 52 Warriner Gardens, south of the Thames in Battersea.

By 1901, the Sturrocks had moved north again, and were living at 7 Fulham Place in Paddington. One of three families in the house, Alexander Sr and Elizabeth shared the rooms with their son and Eleanor’s son, Leslie. Alexander Sr was still working as a plasterer, while his son was now employed as a clerk.

Alexander Jr married Edith Concanen in 1910. A widow, she had a son, Douglas, and the three of them lived in her family home on Camden Road, Sutton, Surrey. Alexander was working as a commercial accountant, and at some point in the next five years, the family moved to Paignton, Devon.

When war came to Europe, Alexander stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in Exeter on 17th November 1915, and joined the Devonshire Regiment. His service records note that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall and weighed 185lbs (83.9kg). He was also recorded as having Edith’s name tattooed on his left forearm.

Private Sturrock was mobilised the following June, and was attached the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in August 1916, and transferred to the 8th (Service) Battalion. Shipped to France in December, he would spend the next eighteen months overseas.

Alexander had ongoing issues with his health, however, and was hospitalised at least three times with diarrhoea. In July 1918, he was transferred to the Labour Corps, and reassigned to home soil. Promoted to Corporal by this point, he was attached to the 114th unit, although it is unclear where he served.

Corporal Sturrock’s health continued to dog him. The Armistice signed, he was medically discharged with nephritis on 14th June 1919, and returned home. Sadly, his reunion with Edith was not to be a lengthy one. Alexander passed away on 25th July 1919: he was 41 years of age.

Alexander Albert Sturrock was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, overlooking the town he had most recently called home.

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

Private Bernard King

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Private Bernard King

Bernard Gale King was born in the spring of 1881, the seventh of eleven children to Charles and Charity King. Charles was a bookseller from Huntingdonshire, but he and Charity had moved to Wolborough, Devon by the time Bernard was born.

The 1901 census found that the family had moved again and Charles had set up shop in the Tormoham area of Torquay. By this point Bernard and his older sister, Florrie, were helping their father with the business, which was located at 99 Union Street .

On 5th March 1904, Bernard married Lilian Potter at the Wesleyan Chapel in Brixham. Sadly, there is little information available for her, but she was a year older than her husband, and had been born in Exeter. The couple set up home on Rock Road, Torquay, and had three children: Frederick, William and Gladys.

By the time of the 1911 census, Bernard had moved away from selling books, and had become a photographer. Storm clouds were brewing over Europe, however, and things were to change.

When war broke out, Bernard stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 11th December 1915, and joined the Devonshire Regiment. His service records show that the family had moved along the coast, and were living at 22 Winner Street in Paignton.

Private King was notes as being 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall and weighing 119lbs (54kg). He had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion. Initially assigned to the 4th Battalion, by October 1916, he had transferred to a home service unit, and remained on home soil during his time in the army.

In the spring of 1917, Bernard contracted tuberculosis. The contagious nature of the illness meant that he was deemed no longer fit for any service, and he was medically discharged on 7th April 1917.

At this point Bernard’s trail goes cold. He seemed to have returned home, but would ultimately succumb to the lung condition he had contracted in the army. He passed away on 21st October 1918: he was 37 years of age.

Bernard Gale King was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, overlooking the town in which his grieving family still lived.

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

Private Jeremiah O’Brien

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Private Jeremiah O’Brien

Jeremiah Joseph O’Brien was born in Paignton, Devon, in 1888. The fifth of seven children, his parents were James and Susan O’Brien. James was a general labourer, and his son followed suit when he completed his schooling.

The is little more information available about Jeremiah’s early life, and it is only in the papers for his military service that we pick him up again. These confirm that he was working as a labourer when he volunteered for the Devonshire Regiment on 20th January 1915.

The documents confirm that Jeremiah was living at 4 Well Street, Paignton, when he joined up, and that he was just over 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall. Assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, he remained on home soil, his unit being used to defend Plymouth, Devon.

Private O’Brien’s time in the army was not to be a lengthy one. He came down with haemoptysis, a condition he had initially suffered from in childhood. He was declared unfit for military service, and was discharged from the army on 4th March 1916.

Jeremiah appears to have returned home at this point and succumbed to the lung condition on 6th May 1916. He was 29 years of age.

Jeremiah Joseph O’Brien was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, overlooking his home town and the sea.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, Lancashire, photography, Private, story, unknown, war

Private Michael O’Hara

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Private Michael O’Hara

In Paignton Cemetery, Devon, is a headstone dedicated to Private Michael O’Hara of the East Lancashire Regiment. There is little concrete information available about Michael, and a lot of what exists is contradictory.

The British Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects states Private O’Hara was attached to the regiment’s 7th Battalion, and confirms that his next-of-kin was his sister, Margaret Barrus.

An entry in the 1881 census suggests that Michael and Margaret’s parents may have been William and Mary O’Hara. The family were living in rooms a 5 Shed Street in Habergham Eaves, Lancashire, and 14-year-old Michael, who had been born in Bacup, was working as a mule spinner in a local cotton mill.

At this point the Michael’s story becomes vague again, and subsequent census returns throw up too many inconsistencies to corroborate a definite path for his life.

When war came to Europe, Michael stepped up to play his part. Again, full service details have been lost, but it is evident that he was sent to France on 17th July 1915. By the following spring Private O’Hara was back on British soil again, and had been admitted to the American Women’s Hospital at Oldway House in Paignton, Devon. The reason he was there is unclear, but it was to prove fatal: Michael passed away on 13th May 1916. Based on the 1881 census, he would have been around 49 years of age.

The body of Michael O’Hara was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, much of his life story buried there with him.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, India, photography, Private, Sergeant, South Africa, story, unknown, war

Serjeant Samuel Dymond

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Serjeant Samuel Dymond

Samuel John Dymond was born in Broadhempston, Devon, in 1878. The son of Samuel and Jane Dymond, his childhood appears to have been disjointed: the 1881 census found him living with his uncle and aunt, while a decade later he was under his grandmother’s roof.

This background may have driven him to a more stable life and, on 22nd May 1896, he enlisted in the army. Joining the Devonshire Regiment, his service records show that he was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall and weighed 126lbs (57.2kg). He had fair hair, grey eyes, a fresh complexion and two scars on his right kneecap.

Private Dymond spent the first couple of years on home soil. In February 1898, however, he journeyed overseas, serving in the East Indies and South Africa, for which he was awarded the South Africa Medal, with a clasp for the defence of Ladysmith. By January 1902, Samuel was on the move again, and he spent the next two years in India.

At the beginning of 1904, Samuel returned to Britain. He remained on home soil until his contract came to an end on 21st May 1912.

Away from the army life, love beckoned. Samuel married Alice Reynolds on 9th October 1904 in the parish church at Marldon, Devon. The couple went on to have three children: Dorothy, Annie and Albert.

By the time of the 1911 census, Samuel was working as a labourer, and the family were living at Vine Cottage on Church Street, Paignton, Devon.

When war broke out, Samuel was called into service once more but, frustratingly, it is at this point that his trail goes cold. Returning to the Devonshire Regiment, he was certainly in France by 11th December 1914. Later on in the war he transferred across to the regimental depot, but whether this was on home soil of overseas is unclear.

The next record for Samuel is that of his passing. He died in a military hospital in Devonport on 13th January 1920, the British Record of Soldiers’ Effects only at that point confirming that he had reached the rank of Serjeant. He was 42 years of age.

Samuel John Diamond was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, overlooking the town that had become his home.

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

Private Thomas Legg

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Private Thomas Legg

Thomas John Gladstone Legg was born in Dunster, Somerset, on 30th July 1898. The fourth of six children, his parents were John and Louisa Legg. John was a baker, and the family lived on West Street in the village.

By 1911, the Leggs had moved south, settling in Winsford, on the outskirts of Exmoor. Thomas was still in school, but his two older brothers were helping their father with the bakery business, and they had taken in a boarder – road worker John Jeffrey – to help bring in a bit of additional income.

When war broke out, Thomas stepped up to play his part. There is little information available about his military service, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment by the spring of 1918.

Private Legg was assigned to the 15th Battalion, although he soon transferred to the 474th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps.

The profound sympathy of parishioners goes out to Mr and Mrs J Legg… who have sustained a double bereavement. On October 22nd their daughter, Miss Ivy Marion Legg, aged 23, succumbed to pneumonia. Their son, Pte J Legg, came home from training to attend his sister’s funeral, and he was attacked by pneumonia and died in a few days. Amid general tokens of respect and sympathy, the interments were made in Highbray Churchyard. Both father and mother have been seriously ill, but are now recovering. There are still several critical cases of complications following influenza in the parish.

[North Devon Journal: Thursday 14th November 1918]

Thomas passed away on 2nd November 1918: he was 20 years of age. He was laid to rest alongside his sister in All Saints’ Churchyard, High Bray.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Labour Corps, Pembrokeshire, photography, Private, South Wales Borderers, story, unknown, Wales, war

Private Willie Howells

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Private Willie Howells

In the peaceful Congregational Chapelyard of Berea, St Davids, Pembrokeshire, is a headstone dedicated to Willie Howells, grandson of Benjamin and Mary. The inscription – in Welsh – confirms that he died on 26th November 1918, at the age of 23.

The 1901 census records the couple living at Rhos y Gorse with four of their eleven children and two of their grandchildren, including William. There is no documentation to confirm which of their children was his parent.

Tragically, Willie’s military records are also lost to time. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission give his name as Private BW Howells. They suggest that his first regiment was the South Wales Borderers, and that he transferred to the Northern Command Labour Centre of the Labour Corps. His service numbers for both units draw a blank, however.

The life of Willie Howells is destined to remain a mystery, one of the many whose stories were buried with them.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Private, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Wiltshire

Private William Hasley

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Private William Hasley

William George Hasley was born on 14th June 1897. He was the oldest of three children to William and Sarah Hasley. William Sr, a former soldier, worked as a commissionaire, and the family lived at 11 Coach & Horses Yard, St James, Westminster.

Things had changed by 1900, and William Sr was employed as an engineer’s labourer. The family had moved to Dorset, setting up home in the village of Bourton, and their daughter, Susan, was born there at the turn of the century. Susan Sr came from just up the road in Zeals, Wiltshire, and it is likely that she was staying there when her youngest child, Sidney, was born in 1902.

By the time of the 1911 census, the family of five were living at Beach Cottage, Bourton. William Sr was drawing his army pension, but still employed at the engineering foundry; his eldest son, while still at school, was also listed as a news boy, possibly selling the periodicals to villagers.

War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and William Jr was quick to step up and play his part. Giving up his job as an engineer’s fitter, enlisted on 1st September 1914, and joined the Somerset Light Infantry. His service records show that he stood 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall, and weighed 124lbs (56.3kg). Private Hasley was noted as having brown hair, brown eyes and a sallow complexion. He also had a scar on the tip of the middle finger of his left hand.

Assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Private Hasley’s unit moved to Devonport, Devon, at the start of 1915. It was here that he contracted tuberculosis, which would ultimately lead to his medical discharge from the army in July. He served just 308 days.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold. It is likely that he returned to Bourton, although he had regular check-ups by the army inspection board. He was deemed totally incapacitated by the illness on 3rd January 1917.

William George Hasley’s lung condition would seal his fate. He passed away on 23rd March 1917: he was just 19 years of age. He was laid to rest in Bourton Cemetery.

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

Private Samuel Harris

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Private Samuel Harris

Samuel John Harris was born in the spring of 1895, and was the oldest of three children to Samuel and Annie Harris. Samuel Sr was a cabinet maker from South Molton, Devon, and this was the village in which he and Annie raised their family.

The 1901 census found the Harrises taking rooms at 24 North Street, a house they shared with two other families. Move forward, and they were living four doors down the road at No. 28, a smaller cottage, but one they had to themselves.

Samuel Jr, at this point, was sixteen years old, but had completed his schooling and was working as a hotel waiter. His younger brother, Albert, had also started work, and was employed as an apprentice coach builder. Samuel Sr, meanwhile, was continuing with his cabinet making.

When war broke out, Samuel Jr was one of the first to enlist. While full details of his time in the army have been lost, it is clear that he joined the Devonshire Regiment, and he was initially attached to the 1st/6th Battalion.

Pte. SJ Harris proceeded to India and Mesopotamia with the Territorials. The hardships of campaigning and the trying climate in Mesopotamia proved too much for his constitution.

[Western Times: Friday 9th November 1917]

Samuel returned to Britain, and was admitted to the military hospital in Sutton Veny, Wiltshire. He passed away on 29th October 1917, from a combination of tuberculosis and a cyst in his back. He was 22 years of age.

Despite the apparent weakness in his constitution, the Western Times reported on his youth in South Molton:

The young man was very popular among his comrades in arms, and at Sutton Veny a general favourite. Prior to th war he was a familiar figure at football matches, having played for various teams at [South Molton] and in the district.

[Western Times: Friday 9th November 1917]

The body of Samuel John Harris was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the South Molton Cemetery, just a sort walk from his grieving family’s home.