George Mead was born on 18th September 1900 in the Wiltshire village of Semley. The youngest of eleven children, his parents were police sergeant George Mead and his wife, Rebecca.
The 1911 census recorded the Mead family as having moved to Chapmanslade, near Westbury. George Sr and Rebecca were set up in a five-room cottage, Forest View, with George Jr and two of his older sisters – Edith and Margaret – also living there.
Rebecca passed away when her youngest was just sixteen years of age and, on 12th March 1917, George Jr’s older brother Charlie, a Private in the Worcestershire Regiment, was killed in action while fighting in France. It seems that his younger sibling was keen to prove his mettle before peace was declared and, on the day after his eighteenth birthday, he gave up his job as a carter and enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Stoker 2nd Class Mead’s service records show that he was 5ft 10.5ins (1.79m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was sent off to HMS Vivid – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon – for his training.
Tragically, George Jr’s time in the navy was to be short. He contracted pneumonia and as admitted to the naval hospital in Plymouth. The illness was to prove too severe, and he passed away on 7th October 1918: he was eighteen years of age, and had been in the Royal Navy for just 18 days.
The body of George Mead Jr was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the extension to St Mary’s Church, Corsley, not far from where his grieving father still lived.
Henry Thomas Stratford was born in Southampton, Hampshire, in the autumn of 1870. The youngest of three children, his parents were John and Maria Stratford. When Henry’s father died in 1876, Maria re-married, and went on to have a further child with her new husband, James Simmons.
Maria’s husbands worked away, and likely served on ships: John was absent from the 1871 census, while James was missing from the 1881 return.
By the 1901 census, Maria had been widowed a second time. She was living at 29 Dock Street with her three youngest children – Henry, his older brother John, and his younger half-brother William. By this point, John was employed as a waterman on a barge, while Henry had also taken to the water, and was employed as a seaman.
Maria passed away in 1904, and there is little further information about Henry’s earlier life. His later army records suggest that he served in the Royal Navy for 14 years, although there are no records for his service at that time.
At some point, presumably after his time in the navy had expired, Henry emigrated to Australia. Again, details are scarce, but he was definitely there by the spring of 1917, having settled in Brisbane, and taken up work as a sailmaker.
When war broke out in Europe, Henry stepped up to serve his country, enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force on 3rd Mary 1917. His records confirm that he was 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall, and weighed in a 152lbs (69kg). With light brown hair and blue eyes, he had a fair complexion and tattoos on both of his forearms.
Assigned to the 31st Battalion of the Australian Infantry, Private Stratford set sail from Sydney on 14th June 1917. After a ten week voyage, he was marched in to Hurdcott Camp near Fovant, Wiltshire, and would remain in the ANZAC base for his training.
On 23rd February, Henry was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, having fallen from a train. He remained in hospital for the next week, but his head injuries would ultimately prove fatal.
An inquest was held at the New Zealand Military Hospital on Wednesday concerning the death of Henry Thomas Stratford…
Mr FAP Sylvester (coroner) conducted the inquiry, and the evidence went to show that on the night of February 23rd last the deceased man met with an accident by trying to leave a train while it was in motion, before reaching Codford GWR Station. He was picked up in an unconscious state and conveyed to the Military Hospital where he died on Monday.
Corporal John Brooks, ASC Cyclist Section, of Codford, stated that he proceeded from Warminster on the 9:45pm train to Codford on February 23rd. He was in the company of Gunner E Ford, RFA, of Boyton, and they were in the came corridor carriage as the deceased man. After leaving Warminster deceased walked down the corridor, and some time later witness found that deceased had opened the carriage door and was sitting with his feet hanging outside, apparently trying to alight from the train. Just after passing Upton Lovel [sic] crossing, he suddenly disappeared, and witness just saw him fall off the footboard. Deceased never spoke or shouted, and when the train pulled up at Codford, witness reported the matter to the military police and stationmaster, and accompanied them to the spot where deceased was found lying face downwards, his head against the main line rail. First aid was rendered and he was moved to the military hospital.
Private Claude E Thompson, Australian military police, stated that deceased had a road pass, but he had no right to travel by train. He had probably endeavoured to leave the train before it reached Codford to evade the military police.
The jury returned a verdict that deceased came to his death by trying to alight from the train and that he accidentally fell and sustained a compound fracture of the skull.
[Warminster & Westbury Journal – Friday 08 March 1918]
Henry Thomas Stratford was 47 years of age when he passed away. His body was laid to rest in the ANZAC extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, Wiltshire, close to the hospital in which he had breathed his last.
Gervase Anthony David Herewyt de Bless was born on 20th October 1897 in Westminster, Middlesex. One of two children, he was the surviving son of barrister Alfred de Bless and his wife Maud, born Maud Cary-Elwes. Both were renowned families – Maud’s brother going on to become the Bishop of Northampton. The family do not appear in the 1901 census, but by 1911 Gervase’s parents were living at 156 St James’ Court, with French lady’s maid Henriette Forestier.
Alfred died not long after the census was taken. Gervase, meanwhile, was installed as a boarder at Downside College, Somerset. One of 168 students, he was taught by twelve schoolmasters and a handful of Roman Catholic priests from the local abbey.
An exceptionally clever boy of very active minds and many interests, during his time in the School he distinguished himself in all branches of study, winning the Gregorian Medal in 1912. He passed the Higher Certificate three times, twice gaining distinction in French and twice in Roman History. For three years he played in the Junior Cricket Eleven, which he captained in 1912. From 1908 to 1912 he sang in the choir as a treble, and he took a leading part with much success in “The Gondoliers,” and in “HMS Pinafore.” In 1914 he was Editor of The Raven, and he was on the committee of the Petre Library. In this year also he was awarded the Higher Certificate Latin Prose Prize given by St Gregory’s Society. On leaving Downside he spent two terms at Cambridge under the tuition of Mgr Barnes. Sensitive and somewhat retiring, and with health far from robust, he faced the situation created by the war with splendid courage, and obtained a cadetship in the Royal Navy. A skilful angler, fishing had ever been his favourite recreation, and on this pleasant pastime he wrote some charming verses which were afterwards collected in a little booklet.
[Baliol College War Memorial Book]
Gervase was given the rank of Midshipman in February 1916, and was assigned to the battleship HMS Revenge the following month. Before his posting he had suffered a bout of influenza, and had a relapse within days of boarding. He died from a combination of influenza and diabetes on 23rd March 1916, just two days after joining Revenge. He was just 18 years of age.
…rites of the Church… were administered to him by Dom Jerome Tunnicliffe, of St Mary’s, Liverpool, a monk of Downside.
[Baliol College War Memorial Book]
The body of Gervase Anthony David Herewyt de Bless was taken to Northamptonshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the ground of St Andrew’s Church, Great Billing, the last resting place of the Cary-Elwes family and de Bless families.
The early life of Herbert Frederick Barber is a challenge to unpick. His navy service papers confirm that he was born on 12th December 1877 in Great Billing, Northamptonshire. His is not an uncommon name for the area, and Herbert Barbers appear on a number of census records. His parents are likely to have been shoe maker Frederick Barber and his wife, Jane.
In the summer of 1898, Herbert married Agnes Wood. He had found work as a bricklayer’s labourer by this point, and had set up home in Weston Favell, to the east of Northampton town centre. Agnes was a farm labourer’s daughter from nearby Great Billing: the couple went on to have six children – of whom four survived infancy.
The 1911 census found the Barber family – Herbert, Agnes and children Edith, Lilian, Fred and James – living in a five-roomed house in Weston Favell. Herbert was still labouring, but gave his employer as the navy.
When war broke out, Herbert stepped up to serve his country. He enlisted on 22nd September 1915, and his service records give his occupation as a gas stoker (although this was crossed out and replaced with “feller’s mate”). He was recorded as being 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall, with grey hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.
Herbert took on the role of Stoker 1st Class, and was sent to HMS Victory – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire – for his training. He remained there for six months – including ten days in the cells for an unrecorded offence – before being sent down the coast to Dartmouth in Devon.
Stoker Barber remained on-shore for his naval career. By July 1917 he had returned to Portsmouth, and this is where he would stay for the next fourteen months. In the summer of 1918 he fell ill, and was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Haslar with pneumonia. The condition would prove his undoing: he passed away on 7th September, at the age of 40 years old.
Barber, Pte. [sic] HF, husband of Mrs Barber of Weston Favell, and son of Mr and Mrs F Barber, Great Billing, died of pneumonia on September 7, after four days’ illness at RN Hospital, Haslar.
[Northampton Mercury – Friday 20 September 1918]
The body of Herbert Frederick Barber was taken back to Northamptonshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the Great Billing Roman Catholic Cemetery.
Agnes was left to raise her children alone. The 1939 England and Wales Register found her living at 10 High Street, Weston Favell, next door to her son Fred and his family. Working as a small shop keeper, she also had two boarders to bring in some additional money.
Agnes lived on until the age of 98: she died on 27th February 1975.
Herbert Lee was born in the Herefordshire village of Dilwyn on 16th August 1896. The sixth of eight children, he was one of five sons to Charles and Frances Lee. Charles was a waggoner on a local farm and, when he finished his schooling, his son found work as a farm hand there.
When war broke out, Herbert was quick to step up and play his part. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 14th October 1914, taking on the role of Stoker 2nd Class. His service papers show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Lee was sent to the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – also known as HMS Pembroke – for his training. Over the next five years, he seems to have been mainly shore-based, transferring between units in Chatham and at HMS Victory, the navy dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire. In August 1915, he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class, and his records note a very good character with a superior ability.
Herbert survived the war and, by the start of 1919, he was back in Chatham. He had fallen ill by this point, and, having contracted the highly contagious tuberculosis, he was medically discharged from navy service on 19th March 1919.
Herbert Lee battled his condition bravely, but would ultimately succumb to it. He passed away on 8th October 1920, at the age of 24 years old. He was laid to rest in the tranquil surrounds of St Mary’s Churchyard in his home village of Dilwyn.
Harold William Vernon was born on 23rd March 1896. The older of two children, his parents were John and Julia Smith. Harold’s early life is a bit of a mystery: the 1901 census found him living with mother, who was running their newsagent and tobacconist on Wilberforce Road, in their home town of Leicester, Leicestershire. John is absent from the census, and Julia died in 1908. On the following census return, taken in 1911, all of the remaining members of the Vernon family are noticeable only by their absence.
In January 1913, Harold joined the Royal Navy. He had been working as a turner by this point, but a life on the oceans seemed too good an adventure to pass up. Und the age to formally enlist, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval Dockyard, for his training.
Boy Vernon must have shown promise, because he was promoted to Boy 1st Class just four months after enlisting. He was assigned to the battleship HMS Prince of Wales in May 1913, and transferred to HMS Bulwark, another battleship, that autumn. In March 1914, Harold came of age, and was formally inducted into the Royal Navy. His service papers show that he was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, with light brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also recorded as having a scar on the middle of his right arm, a large mole above his navel and two further moles on either side of his neck.
When war broke out, Bulwark was assigned to the Channel Fleet, whose task was to protect Britain’s southern shores. On 26th November 1914, she was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness, and was being reloaded with ammunition. Deep in the ship’s stores, a number of the charges overheated and detonated, causing a chain reaction in the bowels of the battleship. The resulting explosion ripped through the battleship, and more than 740 crew were killed. Ordinary Seaman Vernon amongst them: he was just 18 years of age.
A mass funeral was held in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard in Chatham. Harold William Vernon was laid to rest in a marked grave, a burial not afforded to the those unfortunate individuals whose bodies had not been identified.
Albert John Freeman was born on 11th November 1895 in the Sussex town of Chichester. The twelfth of thirteen children, his parents were bricklayer Richard Freeman and his wife, Fanny.
When Albert finished his schooling, he found work as a barber’s assistant, but, having seen his older brother William make a career at sea, he decided to follow suit. He joined the Royal Navy on 27th January 1913, and, being underage, he was taken on with the rank of Boy 2nd Class.
Albert was sent to HMS Vivid, the navy dockyard in Devonport, Devon, for his training. He was obviously a quick study, and was promoted to Boy 1st Class just four months later. With the rise in rank came a posting, on board the battleship HMS Prince of Wales. He remained aboard for just five months, before being reassigned to another battleship, HMS Bulwark.
Boy Freeman would spend the next year assigned to Bulwark and, during this time, he came of age. Now formally inducted into the Royal Navy, his service papers show that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, with brown hair, grey eyes and a sallow complexion. He was also noted as having a small burn scar on the back of his neck.
The now Ordinary Seaman Freeman’s naval career was beginning to take off, although his reviews were not so promising, noting a very good character and a satisfactory ability. Despite this, Albert gained a further promotion, to Able Seaman, on 15th October 1914.
Bulwark was a part of the Channel Fleet, whose task was to protect Britain’s southern shores. On 26th November 1914, she was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness, while she was being reloaded with ammunition. Some of the explosives overheated, causing a chain reaction in the stores. The resulting explosion ripped through the battleship, and more than 740 crew were killed. Able Seaman Freeman’s was one of those bodies to be recovered: he was just 19 years of age.
Those who were killed in the explosion were laid to rest during a mass funeral in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent. As his body had been identified, Albert John Freeman was laid to rest in a marked grave.
Able Seaman Albert Freeman (from ancestry.co.uk)
Albert’s brother, William, also made a career for himself, rising to the rank of Able Seaman a year before his sibling. During the First World War he was assigned to the cruiser HMS Hampshire, and was killed when an explosion caused her to sink off the Orkney Islands on 5th June 1916.
William John Walters was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on 9th July 1898. The fifth of nine children, his parents were Charles and Sarah Walters. Charles was a licensed boatman, and, for William’s short life, the family lived on Grange Street, Portsea.
Young William found work as a shop boy when he finished school, but he was drawn to the sea like his father and, on 22nd November 1913, he joined the Royal Navy. Too young to full enlist, he was given the rank of Boy 2nd Class and sent to HMS Impregnable, the navy’s school ship in Devonport, Devon.
Boy Walters’ service records show that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. He was also noted as having tattoos on both of his forearms.
By the summer of 1914, William has been promoted to Boy 1st Class. He returned to Hampshire, and was based at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth. This was just a staging post, however, as, on 26th August, he was assigned to the pre-dreadnaught battleship HMS Bulwark.
Part of the Channel Fleet, Bulwark was tasked with patrolling and defending Britain’s southern coast. On 26th November 1914, Bulwark was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness, and was being stocked with shells and ammunition. That morning, some poorly stowed cordite charges overheated, detonating the shells stored nearby. The resulting explosion ripped through the battleship, and more than 740 crew were killed. The body of Boy 1st Class Walters was among those to be recovered: he was 16 years of age.
Those who were killed in the explosion were laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent. As his body had been identified, William John Walters was laid to rest in a marked grave.
William’s headstone gives his name as IWJ Walters. There are no records to suggest that his forenames were anything other than William John, however.
William’s mother Sarah died around the same time as him. It is unclear whether she passed knowing her son had lost his life or not.
Percy John Curtis was born on 2nd January 1889, the second of twelve children to Tom and Sabina Curtis. Tom was a general labourer from Todber, Dorset, and this is where the family were born and raised.
Much of Percy’s life is a mystery. He found work at sea when he finished his schooling, and in October 1911 he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 1st Class. His service papers show that he was 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.
Stoker Curtis was initially assigned to the cruiser HMS Pathfinder, and remained on board until the summer of 1912. After a short sting at HMS Victory – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire – he was given another posting, aboard the battleship HMS King George V. She would become his home for the next four years, during which time Percy was promoted.
In September 1916, the now Leading Stoker Curtis returned to shore and to HMS Victory. He would remain at the base for the rest of his time in the navy.
On 5th November 1918, Percy married Kathleen Francis. She was the daughter of a Co-operative store manager from Dovercourt, Essex. She seems to have stayed with her family while her new husband was working, and a later census records confirms that she had returned (or remained) there after his death.
Percy’s service record gives a intriguing hint as to what happened, to him. By the end of the war he had been assigned to HMS Victory’s accounting branch. His papers simply state that he “Found dead on board 17 March 1919”. No cause of death is confirmed, although another naval document does confirm that it was due to illness, rather than any foul play. He was 30 years of age.
The body of Percy John Curtis was taken back to Dorset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in Todber Churchyard, alongside his father, who had passed away the year before.
Albert Dobson was born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, on 7th April 1896. One of seven children, his parents were John and Annie Dobson. John was a bricklayer, and, when he completed his schooling, Albert was apprenticed to him. The 1911 census found the family living in a small terraced house at 55 St John’s Walk, on the outskirts of the town.
Bricklaying was not what Albert wanted from a career and, on 19th July 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. Below the age to formally enlist, he was taken on with the rank of Boy 2nd Class, and sent to HMS Vivid – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport, Devon, for his training.
Over the next nine months, Albert learnt the tools of his trade. Promoted to Boy 1st Class in October 1913, he spent time on board the battleship HMS Irresistible, before moving to HMS Pembroke, Chatham Dockyard in Kent. While he was there, he came of age, and was fully inducted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman. Albert’s service papers show the man he had become: he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
In April 1914, Ordinary Seaman Dobson was assigned to the new cruiser HMS Lowestoft. She would become his home for the next two years, and, while his annual reviews were average (character varying from good to very good and ability from moderate to satisfactory), he did gain a promotion to Able Seaman on 26th April 1915.
A singular fatality to a naval seaman names Albert Dobson, age 30 [sic], a native of Bridlington, was investigated at the Royal Naval Hospital, Chatham, on Monday. On October 20th, Dobson was one of a working party engaged on a battleship in the Dockyard, when, owing to the breaking of a plank, he and three men fell a distance of about eight feet. The knee of one of the men caught him in the stomach, with the result that he sustained a rupture of the spleen. In hospital he developed pneumonia, and died. A verdict of “Accidental Death” was returned.
[Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph: Saturday 2nd December 1916]
Able Seaman Dobson’s service papers confirm that the incident occurred as the men were transferring a torpedo from HMS Illustrious. He was just 20 years of age when he died on 23rd November 1916.
The body of Albert Dobson was taken to Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, close to the dockyard he had come to know as home. He was laid to rest in the graveyard’s naval section.
Death and Service 