Albert Sydney Farrell was born in Mayfield, East Sussex, in the summer of 1899. One of four children his parents were gardener and coachman Arthur Farrell and his wife, Sarah Ann. Arthur had been born in Findon, a village to the north of Worthing, and is was to this town that he returned with his family. By the time of the 1911 census, when Albert was listed as a schoolboy, they were living in a small cottage within spitting distance of the sea.
Because of his youth, there is little further documentation on Albert’s early life. The war was coming, however, and he wanted to do his part. Dates cannot be confirmed, but he enlisted later in the conflict, at east before June 1918.
Private Farrell joined the Suffolk Regiment, and was assigned to the 1st (Reserve) Garrison Battalion. He would have carried out guard, escort and other similar duties from where he was based on the Isle of Grain in Kent.
Towards the end of the conflict, Albert fell ill; he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Sheerness, but sadly passed away on 3rd December 1918. He was just 19 years of age.
Albert Sydney Farrell was brought back to Worthing; he lies buried in the Broadwater Cemetery to the north of the town.
Henry Samuel Rowe was born in Shoreditch, London, on 18th August 1873. He was one of three children to Henry and Amelia Rowe. Henry Sr was a stonemason, who died in 1876, when Henry was only three years old.
Amelia moved her and her children to the Sussex Downs, and married again in 1883. Her new husband was John Herrington, and the couple went on to have three further children, Henry’s half-siblings. John was a farm labourer, and his stepson followed in his footsteps when he left school.
Henry soon sought other accomplishments, however, and, in October 1895, he joined the King’s Royal Rifles. During his twelve years’ service, he travelled the world, from Mauritius, to India, South Africa to Sri Lanka. He returned home in December 1903 serving on home soil until the end of his contract in 1907.
On 23rd April 1905, he married a widow, Amelia Routledge, in Brighton. There is no confirmation of the couple going on to have children.
Once demobbed, Henry found employment with the railways, and, by the time of the 1911 census, was working as a signalman. The document records him as boarding in a house in the village of Rudgwick, near Horsham; Amelia, meanwhile, was lodging with a family in South East London.
War was on the horizon, and, in August 1914, Henry volunteered. His time with the King’s Royal Rifles, stood him in good stead; after initially enlisting as a Private in the Royal Sussex Regiment, he was quickly promoted to Corporal and, by November 1914, had transferred to the Royal Engineers and attained the role of Sergeant.
Henry had spent just over a year in France, when he was shot in the right arm on 18th July 1916. Medically evacuated to England, he spent three months recuperating, before heading back into the fray in October the same year.
Henry served another eighteen months on the Front Line, before being admitted to hospital. His medical admission records show that he was suffering from “tremulous speech, confused… conversation, transitory admissions [sic?] of a grandiose type, outbursts of excitement, says he is a man of importance, childish, facile, simpleminded…” His condition was recorded as General Paralysis of the Insane (GPI), more commonly known these days as shellshock, and he was medically discharged from the Army on 4th September 1918.
Sadly, at this point Sergeant Rowe’s trail goes cold. He seems to have been hospitalised following his discharge, but the documents give conflicting suggestions about where he was admitted. Amelia was still living in South London, one record suggests Henry was in the Welsh Metropolitan Hospital in Whitchurch, near Cardiff. But, as he was buried in Worthing, West Sussex, it seems unlikely that he remained in Wales.
The cause of Henry’s passing is not evident either. There is no confirmation that GPI was to blame, but nothing to suggest it was not either. Whatever the cause, Sergeant Rowe died on 14th November 1918, three days after the conflict to which he had given so much had been brought to a close. He was 49 years old.
Henry Samuel Rowe lies at rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in Worthing, West Sussex.
Bertie Charles Bridger was born in the summer of 1876, one of nine children to William and Anne. William was a carman for the railway, and the family lived close to the central station in Worthing.
When Bertie left school, he followed in his father’s trade and, by the time of the 1901 census, was working as a groom and carman alongside his father and older brother, Arthur.
Bertie came to the notice of the local court when, in February 1900 he was called up to the Petty Sessions. He was fined for ‘cruelly ill-treating a horse by working it into an unfit state’ [Sussex Agricultural Express: Friday 9th February 1900], and ordered to pay a total of 18 shillings.
In the spring of 1904, Bertie married Ethel Gray, a carpenter’s daughter from Essex, who had found employment as a parlour maid for a Worthing solicitor. The couple would go on to have two children, Bertie Jr, who as born in 1905, and Leonard, born seven years later.
By the time of the 1911 census, the young Bridger family were living near the main railway station in a two-up, two-down property, where Bertie Sr was still plying his trade as a carman at the station.
War was coming, however, and in the summer of 1915, Bertie enlisted in the Royal Defence Corps. He was assigned as a Private to the 452nd Protection Company and, while his exact duties remain unclear, it is likely that he would have been involved with horses at some level, given his experience.
Private Bridger’s service appears to have mainly been spent on home soil, although, towards the end of the conflict he was sent to Ireland. It was while he was there, that he came down with influenza, which then turned into pneumonia. He was admitted to the Military Hospital in Curragh, but he died of the conditions on 14th November 1918, three days after the Armistice was signed. He was 42 years old.
The body of Bertie Charles Bridger was brought back to Sussex, and he was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery to the north of Worthing. The local newspaper commented that:
Previous to his enlistment the deceased soldier was an outside porter at the Railway Station for nearly thirty years, and the sympathy of a wide circle of friends will be extended to his widow and two children.
Henry Gordon Greenfield was born in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1890. The fourth of nine children, his parents were Edmund and Caroline. Edmund was a carter from the town, who raised his family in a small terraced house near the station.
By the early 1900s, Edmund had changed profession, becoming a plasterer, and this was employment that his son followed him into. This seems to have been more lucrative for the family, and they moved to a larger property to the north of the town.
In August 1911, Henry married Edith Tombs. Edith was a gardener’s daughter from London, who had moved to Worthing for work. When the couple married, she was employed as a domestic servant for a solicitor and his wife. The young couple would go on to have three sons.
When war broke out, Henry was quick to enlist. He initially joined the Royal Sussex Regiment, serving his time as part of the 10th Battalion. This was a reserve company, that was based on home soil. When hostilities came to an end, Henry was transferred to the Labour Corps, and was billeted in Belfast.
Little further information about Henry’s service can be confirmed; he was admitted to the Military Hospital in Belfast with pneumonia, but sadly died of the condition on 27th February 1919. He was just 28 years old.
Brought back to Worthing, Henry Gordon Greenfield lies at rest in the Broadwater Cemetery there, not far from his parents and widow.
Henry’s younger brother Frederick also served during the Great War. Joining the Royal West Kent Regiment as a horse driver, he fought on the Western Front. He was killed on 17th August 1917, and is buried at the Duisans Cemetery in northern France. He was just 21 years of age.
Fred Vincent was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, in 1889, one of seven children to Charles and Elizabeth Vincent. Charles was a dairyman, and, over the years, the whole family helped out in the business. This seemed a transitory business – over the years, the family moved around Dorset and, by the time of the 1911 census, were living in Wiltshire.
Frustratingly, after that document, Fred’s trail goes quiet. He married a woman called Dorothy, and at some point the couple moved to Worthing, West Sussex, although there are no records to confirm dates for either of these.
When war broke out, Fred enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment. Documents are again lacking, so it is impossible to tell which battalion he served in, or whether he was based at home or abroad. Private Vincent did subsequently transfer to the Labour Corps, although again, dates and the location of his service are not available.
Sadly, Fred has disappeared into the mists of time. He and Dorothy were living in Worthing when he passed away on 9th March 1919, at the age of 30 years old. There is nothing in contemporary newspapers to suggest that his passing was anything out of the ordinary.
Fred Vincent lies at rest in the Broadwater Cemetery of his adopted home town of Worthing.
Henry Charles Forrest was born in Bromley, Kent, in the summer of 1893. The youngest of eight children to William and Wilhelmina Forrest, Henry’s father was a police sergeant, who retired not long after his youngest son’s birth, moving his family to Worthing in West Sussex.
Henry was obviously a bright lad; the 1911 census records him as a student teacher. The only one of William and Wilhelmina’s children still living at home, he was, by this point, still just 17 years old. His career continued over the next few years, and he taught at the Ham Road Schools in Worthing.
In the spring of 1916, Henry married Constance Robertson. The young couple had a lot in common and seemed like a perfect match. Constance was the daughter of a retired police constable, and was also a student teacher.
War, by this time, had come to Europe. Full details of Henry’s military service are not available, but it seems that he initially joined the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Private Forrest was promoted to the rank of Corporal, and subsequently transferred to the Army Cycling Corps, serving in France.
As the war moved on, Corporal Forrest was released to resume his teaching back in Worthing but, in the autumn of 1918, he contracted influenza and pneumonia. The conditions got the better of him, and he passed away on 5th December 1918, at the age of just 25 years old.
Henry Charles Forrest was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in Worthing; sadly, it seems that Constance was unable to attend – she was represented at the ceremony by her mother.
Arthur William George Westby was born in the spring of 1895, the only child to Arthur Henry Westby and his wife, Emma. Arthur Sr was a Corporal in the Scots Guards, but, beyond the fact that his son was born in Clapham, South London, there is little further information about Arthur Jr’s early life.
His father’s military career must have taken him across the country – the 1901 census lists Emma and Arthur Jr living in Bolton, Lancashire, even though there seem to be no connections with the county for them.
The records for Arthur Jr go quiet until 1920. At this point, documents hint at his military service during the Great War.
The death notices in the Sussex newspapers confirm his passing:
On November 19th 1920, at The Cedars, 13 Browning Road, Worthing, Arthur WG Westby (late MT, RASC), beloved husband of Ethel Westby, and only son of Ex-RQM Sergeant and Mrs Westby, 34 Wenban Road, Worthing. Patiently suffered to the end, result of Active Service.
Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 24th November 1920
There is no further information available about Ethel, and no marriage records to confirm a date for their wedding.
From a military perspective, Arthur enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps, and was attached to the Motor Transport division. Again, there is nothing to evidence when he enlisted or for how long he served. It seems that Private Westby was injured in the line of duty, and was medically discharged in April 1918. The injury appears to have been life-changing, and it affected him until the end of his life.
Arthur William George Westby passed away in Worthing on 19th November 1920, aged just 25 years old. The specific cause of his death is unknown. He was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in the town, close to his parents and widow.
Frederick Ernest Potter Willmer was born in Worthing in 1878 and was the oldest of five children to Eliza Emma Willmer. She married Charles William Sparks Green in December 1880, and the couple went on to have four children – Frederick’s half-siblings.
Frederick falls off the radar for a number of years, only reappearing in 1898 when, on 26th October, he married Gertrude Boote. The couple would go on to have two children, Maude and Leslie.
By 1901, the young family were living near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, where Frederick was working as a coachman and groom. Sussex was calling, however, and, by the time of the census ten years later, the family had returned to Worthing. Frederick was now working as a gardener, and the family were living in two rooms in a house near the centre of the town.
With war calling, Frederick signed up to do his bit. His full service records no longer exist, but it is clear that he joined the Royal Sussex Regiment, and, as a Private, was assigned to the 72nd Provisional Battalion.
It seems that Private Willmer was part of the territorial force, serving instead on home soil, rather than overseas. The next record available for him – his pension record – confirms that he died on 12th December 1915 as a result of a cerebral haemorrhage following an illness. He was just 37 years old.
Brought home to Worthing, Frederick Ernest Potter Willmer was laid to rest in the Broadwater Cemetery in the town.
John George Blake was born early in 1878, and was the oldest of seven children. His father, Job, was a general labourer, and, with Eliza, John’s mother, brought the young family up in the West Sussex town of Worthing.
Job died in 1898, ages just 36 years old; Eliza found work as a housekeeper, while John was employed as a carter for the railway. By the 1901 census, the family were living in a terraced house near the centre of town, Eliza living there with her three sons, two daughters, son-in-law and granddaughter.
In October 1904, John married Alice Attwater, a labourer’s daughter from mid-Sussex. The couple moved into a house close to the station and went on to have four children; John Jr, Ernest, Bertha and Dorothy. John was by now working as a porter for the railway, a role he continued through to the outbreak of war.
John enlisted in November 1914; he joined the Royal Sussex Regiment, working as a member of the depot staff. Private Blake was shipped overseas, arriving in France in March 1916.
Almost exactly a year after landing in France, John was injured in the line of duty. The medical report confirmed that a “scald on the left arm and neck [had] occurred while on duty on March 1st 1917, in France. He was preparing hot soup for his company in the front line at midnight. He was not to blame. Injury caused by enemy shelling the company kitchen“.
Private Blake was shipped back to England for treatment, and admitted to Netley Hospital near Southampton. While there, he contracted phthisis (tuberculosis), which left his totally incapacitated. He was medically discharged from military service in August 1917.
Further details of John’s life are scarce. He returned home to his family, although whether he took up his job again is unknown. He passed away on 22nd June 1919 at the age of 41. The cause of his death is unknown, although it seems likely to have been related to the tuberculosis.
John George Blake lies at rest in the Broadwater Cemetery of his home town, Worthing.
Raymond Champ was born on 30th March 1880, one of eight children to coachman William Champ and his wife Eliza. While Raymond was born in the West Sussex village of Cowfold, within a year, the family had moved to Worthing, settling in the Broadwater area of the town.
The 1901 census gives more of an insight into Champ family life. William by now is listed as unable to work and gives his infirmity as paralysed. There are no newspaper records evident to highlight an accident of any sort, so the cause of his paralysis, and his inability to work, are destined to remain a mystery. The document does show, however, that the other members of the family stepped up to fill in the shortfall of money; Eliza was working as a laundress, Raymond was a bricklayer’s labourer, and his younger brother Francis (or Frank) was employed as a milk boy.
Fast forward ten years, and the next census give further information. It confirms that William was paralysed when he was 45 years old (in around 1894/1895). Raymond, now aged 30, was still working as a bricklayer, Frank was an iron founder, and the youngest brother, George, was a baker.
Raymond was a keen footballer, and went on to captain the Silverdale Football Club. By the time war broke out, he had found work at Wenban Smith, a renowned timber supplier in the town. The call to arms came, however, and, in September 1914, he enlisted.
Private Champ joined the Royal Sussex Regiment, and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion. Shipped overseas in February 1915, he served on the Western Front, but his time there was not to be a lengthy one. A local newspaper report picked up Raymond’s story:
The wretched conditions which our Troops had to contend with during February and March proved too much for his constitution, and having the misfortune to contract bronchitis, he was invalided home in April, being taken to one of the Military Hospitals in Manchester.
His recovery was regarded as hopeless from the first, but the careful nursing and attention which he received there brought about a temporary improvement, and he was eventually discharged in order that he might return to his home, where his death occurred on Sunday week.
The funeral on Thursday afternoon was of a very impressive character, and despite a heavy deluge of rain, there was a large number of sympathising friends at the Cemetery to pay the last tribute of respect.
Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 14th July 1915
Private Raymond Champ passed away on 4th July 1915 and just 35 years old. His body was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, Worthing, not far from where his family were living.
Death and Service 