Tag Archives: Somerset

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Lancashire, photography, Private, Royal Defence Corps, Second Lieutenant, Somerset, story, war

Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue

Leave a comment
Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue

Algernon Leopold O’Donoghue was born on 4th June 1869 in Plymouth, Devon. The youngest of five children, his parents were Charles and Frances O’Donoghue. Charles had worked for the East India Company and the family travelled a lot while the children were growing up. He was in India when, in the spring of 1872, he passed away.

By the time of the 1881 census, Frances had moved the family to the Walcot area of Bath, Somerset. She was working as an assistant, and employed a servant of her own to help support the four children.

Over the next few years, Algernon’s trail goes cold. In 1900, he married Janette Hay, the daughter of a Justice of the Peace, who had been born in Ceylon. It seems likely that they met overseas: the 1911 census return records that she had been born in Ceylon, while he was a retired forest manager whose job had taken him to Burma (now Myanmar).

The census document found the couple living in a seven-room villa in Combe Down, on the outskirts of Bath. The had had a son by this point, with Algernon Jr making up the family.

Algernon was working for the Bombay Trading Company, and back out in India, when war broke out. He returned home, and stepped up to serve his King and Empire. While his service records have been lost to time, Private O’Donoghue joined the Royal Defence Corps, and quickly rose through the ranks: by the spring of 1917, he was a Second Lieutenant.

It was while serving in the north west of Britain that he fell ill: “[he got] wet while out in heavy rain, pneumonia following, and then double pneumonia.” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 26th May 1917] Second Lieutenant O’Donoghue was admitted to the Whitman Military Hospital in Manchester, but his condition was too severe. He passed away on 22nd May 1917, two weeks before his 48th birthday.

The body of Algernon Leopold O’Donoghue was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid in the family plot in Bath’s panoramic Locksbrook Cemetery, reunited with his mother, Frances, who had died a decade before.

Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, North Somerset Yeomanry, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Yorkshire

Private John Sheppard

Leave a comment
Private John Sheppard

John Henry Sheppard was born in the autumn of 1889, the older of two children to John and Ellen. John Sr was a general labourer from the Weston area of Bath, Somerset, and when he died, Ellen found work as a laundress to bring in some money.

From the census returns of 1891, 1901 and 1911, it seems that John remained living on Church Street, Bath. The earliest record noted him living with his parents and younger brother, Charles. By 1901, his father had died, and Charles was also noticeable in his absence, so it may be that he had also passed away.

The 1911 census adds a little mystery to the Sheppard line. Although signed off by Ellen, she is not listed as being at the house on the day the return was taken. There are three occupants: John, working as a farm labourer; eight year old Nellie, whose relationship is listed as daughter; and Charles Crane, a 73 year old retired gardener.

On 27th September 1913, John married Elsie Holbrow. The daughter of a gardener, she was working as a domestic servant and he was a groom when the couple exchanged vows. They went on to have a son, Albert, who was born in October 1914.

When war came to Europe, John stepped up to play his part. Full details are lost to time, but it is clear that he had enlisted by the autumn of 1916, initially joining the North Somerset Yeomanry, before transferring across to the Somerset Light Infantry. Private Sheppard was attached to the 1st Battalion and soon found himself on the Western Front.

There is little concrete information about his service, but is appears that he was wounded at Arras in the spring of 1917. He was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the 3rd Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, Yorkshire.

Private Sheppard’s wounds were to prove too severe however, and he succumbed to them on 31st May 1917. He was 27 years of age.

John Henry Sheppard’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery. He was reunited with Elsie when she passed away in December 1949: husband and wife together again after more than three decades.

Army Veterinary Corps, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Private, South Africa, story, Surrey, war

Private Harry Edwards

Leave a comment
Private Harry Edwards

Harry Edwards was born early in 1855 in South London. One of eleven children, his parents were John and Sarah Edwards. John was a carpenter, and the family were raised in Bermondsey, first in a small terrace in Chapel Place, then sharing a slightly larger house in Grange Walk.

Much of Harry’s life is lost to time. He married Mary Ellerington on 27th July 1879: she was a tailor’s daughter from Southwark, and the couple set up home at 29 Newington Causeway. The marriage certificate confirmed that Harry was employed as a warehouseman at the time, and their daughter, Amelia, was born the following spring.

A later document suggests that Harry went on to join the army, fighting as part of the South Africa Campaign. Sadly, however, his service records are lost to time, and so it is not possible to confirm when and for how long he served. Certainly, there is no mention of the family in the census returns from 1881 to 1911, so he may well have been overseas.

The next records available for Harry are those relating to his military service during the First World War. He enlisted early in 1915, joining the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. He found himself in France by mid-April, and was awarded the British and Victory Medals and the 1915 Star for his service.

Private Edwards came down with bronchitis in the spring of 1916: he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the Bath War Hospital in Somerset. It seems that Harry’s age was against him: he passed away from the condition on 17th July 1916, at the age of 61 years old.

Harry Edwards’ family may have been unable to afford the cost of bring him back to London for burial. Instead, he was laid to rest in the sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from the hospital in which he had breathed his last.

Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, history, Hussars, illness, Ireland, photography, Private, Somerset, story

Private Reginald Payne

Leave a comment
Private Reginald Payne

Reginald Payne was born on 27th January 1898 in Milverton, Somerset. He was the third of five children – and the oldest son – to Thomas and Mary Payne. Thomas was a dairyman, and both he and Mary were from Devon: the family moved back to the county after Reginald was born, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had settled in the village of Halberton.

Reginald, at this point, was still in school, and there is little information about his life. When war broke out, he volunteered to serve his country, but, with no military records remaining, the only point of reference for him is a newspaper report of his funeral.

Quite a gloom was cast over Halberton when it became known that Pte. Reginald Payne, eldest son of Mr & Mrs T Payne, of Brimery Dairy, had passed away at the Military Hospital, Devonport. Deceased, who enlisted in 1916 in the Hussars, and was attached to the 1st City of London Yeomanry, proceeded to Egypt, and whilst there he underwent two operations for appendicitis. He returned to England after recovering, and was sent to Ireland, where he had a return of the old trouble, and was again operated on four times, and then sent to Devonport, where he passed away.

[Western Times: Friday 6th February 1920]

Reginald Payne was a day over 22 years of age when he passed away. He was taken back to Halberton for burial, and was laid to rest in the peaceful St Andrew’s Churchyard.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Greece, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, Surrey, war

Private Henry Ridler

Leave a comment
Private Henry Ridler

Henry Ridler was born in Henbury, Gloucestershire, in the summer of 1862. He was the middle of three children to Abraham and Harriet Ridler. Abraham was a farm labourer who moved the family for work to the Weston area of Bath, Somerset, not long after Henry’s younger brother, John, was born.

The oldest Ridler sibling, Joseph, worked as a cabinet maker, and by the time of the 1881 census, both Henry and John were apprenticed to him. Henry married Emma Stone on Christmas Eve 1882, and the couple would go on to have seven children.

The 1891 census found Henry and the family living at 5 Comfortable Place in Bath, one of a row of terraced cottages then, but now sandwiched between the River Avon and the busy A4. Henry and Emma had four children by this point – all daughters – and the house was split between them and mother-and-daughter dressmakers Lucy and Lucy Batt.

By the time of the 1901 census, the family were growing up, and had moved literally just around the corner, to 2 Onega Terrace. Set slightly back from the main road, this terraced house had six rooms, and was better suited to the growing family. Henry was still working as a cabinet maker at this point, while his three oldest daughters – Mabel, Lilian and Maude – were all employed, as a corset fanner, a kitchen maid and a nurse girl respectively.

The next census return, taken in 1911, recorded the Ridler family still living in the same house. Henry and Emma had been married for 28 years by this point, and, while 2 Onega Terrace may have had six rooms, they would have become very cramped by this point. Six of the children – aged between 14 and 27 – were still living at home, with everyone in the household but Emma bringing in a wage of sorts.

War was closing in by this point, and, despite his advancing years, Henry was drawn to serve his King and Country. He enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps on 20th October 1915, a date that confirms he volunteered for duty, as conscription wasn’t introduced until the following year. Henry’s service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, with greying hair and blue eyes.

Private Ridler spent two periods of time overseas. In November 1915, his unit was sent to the Eastern Mediterranean, and he served in Salonika, Greece, for seven months. While there, he was hospitalised following an injury to his right knee. He was medically evacuated to Malta, before being posted back home in Britain to convalesce in Woodcote Park Hospital, Epsom, Surrey.

By the summer of 1916, Henry was deemed fit once more, and was sent abroad again, this time to the Western Front. Details of his time there are sketchy, although he seems to have been transferred tot he Labour Corps at some point. It appears that his previous injury flared up again, and he was eventually discharged from the army on medical grounds on 30th July 1918.

At this point, Henry’s trail goes cold. He returned to Bath, but it is unclear whether or not he was able to resume working. The next confirmed documentation for Henry’s life is that of his passing. While the cause is unclear, he breathed his last on 3rd June 1921: he was 58 years of age.

Henry Ridler was laid to rest in Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, a short walk from the family home in Onega Terrace.

Emma remained in the family home for the next 17 years. When she passed away in 1938, she was also laid to rest in Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from her late husband.

Australia, Australian Tunnellers, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, photography, Sapper, Somerset, story, war

Sapper Rupert Whicker

Leave a comment
Sapper Rupert Whicker

Rupert Gilchrist Whicker was born in Derby, Derbyshire, on 6th February 1873, one of eight children to Walter and Susannah Whicker. There is little information about the family’s early life, and it appears than one of both of Rupert’s parents had died by the time he was 14 years of age.

The Whicker siblings seemed to have gone their own ways at this point, emigrating to the United States and Australia, and it was to Ballarat in Victoria, Australia, that Rupert sailed in 1896. His trail goes cold for then nine years, at which point he married the Australian-born Ellen Ward. The couple would go on to have six children, eventually setting up home in Melbourne.

It is only Rupert’s military records – from when he enlisted on 21st September 1917 – that we discover more about what he had been doing. He gave his trade as miner, and the document suggests that he had tried to join up earlier in the war, but had been rejected as being under height: he was just 5ft 1.5in (1.56m) tall. Rupert’s medical also confirmed that he was 107lbs (48.5kg) in weight, and had auburn hair, hazel eyes and a fair complexion. He was noted as having a birth mark on the side of his left foot and two scars on his left cheek, between the eye and the bone.

Sapper Whicker was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the Australian Tunnellers. He left Australia on board the SS Indarra on 26th November 1917, bound for Europe. After leaving Port Said, Egypt, on 9th January 1918, Rupert’s unit landed in the south of France eleven days later. They travelled to Cherbourg by train, and finally landed in Southampton, Hampshire, on 2nd February 1918.

Rupert would remain on British soil until the beginning of April. His unit arrived in Caëstre in the middle of the month, and he then found himself on the Western Front. Sapper Whicker would serve there for the next four months, and it was only because of illness – a bout of gastritis – that he was brought back from the Front Line.

The stomach condition was severe enough to warrant Rupert’s medical evacuation to Britain for treatment, and he was admitted to Bath War Hospital in Somerset. What was initially thought to be an infection turned out to be far more serious. Sapper Whicker was diagnosed as having stomach cancer, and it has quickly taken hold. Sadly, it would prove fatal, and Rupert passed away on 14th September 1918: he was 45 years of age.

Rupert Gilchrist Whicker had died thousands of miles from his home. He was laid to rest in the military section of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from the hospital in which he had breathed his last.

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, injury, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Corporal John Wetzlar

Leave a comment
Corporal John Wetzlar

John Albert Wetzlar was born in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, in the spring of 1895. One of four children, his parents were Ernest and Annie Wetzlar.

Little information about John’s life is available, and most of the detail that can be pieced together comes from his First World War service records. These confirm that he was working as a clerk when he enlisted on 14th July 1915. John’s medical record shows that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.63m) and weighed 8st 5lbs (53kg). He had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Private Wetzlar set sail for Europe on 8th February 1916, arriving with his unit in Alexandria, Egypt, six weeks later and landing in Marseille, France, on 31st March. Attached to the 23rd Battalion of the Australian Infantry, by the end of June, he found himself on the front line.

On 22nd August 1916, John’s unit was caught up in fighting, and he was wounded by shrapnel in his right leg. He was admitted to the 4th Australian Field Ambulance unit, before being transferred to the No 1. Canadian General Hospital in Etaples. His injuries required more care, however, and he was medically evacuated to Britain, and was sent to the 2nd General Hospital in Manchester.

Private Wetzlar spent the next six months recuperating, only re-joining his unit back in France on 10th March 1917. Back on the Western Front, he was promoted to Lance Corporal on 9th June, and to full Corporal four months later.

In January 1918, John was transferred back to Britain. Details are sketchy, but it may be that his experience was used to help train new recruits, as he was billeted at Tidworth Camp in Wiltshire. He remained on British soil until May, when he was sent to the Western Front for a third time.

Corporal Wetzlar’s time in France was to be fated. On 1st September 1918, John was wounded a second time, when he received a gun shot injury to his right leg once more. Medically evacuated back to Britain, he was admitted to Bath War Hospital in Somerset. The injury was severe enough to warrant an operation, and the damaged limb was amputated.

During his recovery, Corporal Wetzlar contracted influenza and pneumonia and, tragically, given what he had been through, these were to prove fatal. John died on 23rd October 1918: he was 22 years of age.

Thousands of miles from the home he had left nearly three years before, John Albert Wetzlar was laid to rest in the military section of Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, alongside other from his homeland.

Australia, Australian Engineers, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, photography, Sapper, Somerset, story, war

Sapper Nuriel Evans

Leave a comment
Sapper Nuriel Evans

Nuriel Ivor Evans was born on 22nd October 1892 in Lefroy, Tasmania, Australia. The older of two children, his parents were Powel and Mary Evans. There is little definitive information about Nuriel’s early life. The first concrete details come from his First World War service records.

Nuriel enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 31st August 1915. He was working as a tailor at the time, bring in money for his wife, Ida, who he had married in May 1913, and their daughter, Mollie, who was born that December.

Sapper Evans’ records confirm he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall and weighed in at 131lbs (59.4kg). He was noted as having brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion, with a scar on his right shin.

Nuriel sailed for Europe on 23rd November, having been attached to the Australian Engineers. His unit left the Egyptian port of Alexandria in March 1916, and arrived in Marseille, France, ten days later. Leave aside, he was to serve on the Western Front for the next two years.

Barring one offence of being absent from parade (on 23rd March 1916, for which he was confined to barracks for a day), Sapper Evans had an unblemished record. On 23rd June that yeah, he was admitted to a field hospital because of a scald to his left foot. The injury was severe enough for him to be medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and he only eventually returned to his unit on 24th February 1917.

Sapper Evans was badly wounded again on 27th April 1918, having received shrapnel wounds to his back, left buttock and right hand. Initially treated on site, he was moved to a hospital in Rouen, before being evacuated to Britain once more. By 1st May, he was in Bath War Hospital, Somerset, for treatment.

Sadly, any medical support was to prove too little. Sapper Evans passed away on 15th May 1918, from an “aneurysm shock following [a] secondary haemorrhage.” He was 25 years of age.

Thousands of miles from home, Nuriel Ivor Evans was laid to rest in the military section of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery.

Sapper Nuriel Evans
(from findagrave,com)
Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Charles Gregory

Leave a comment
Private Charles Gregory

Charles Gregory was born in Buckfastleigh, Devon, early in 1879, the son of John and Mary Gregory. There is next to no information about his early life and, in fact, there is very little documentation for him at all.

Most of the details for Charles come from his First World War service records. These confirm that he was living in Australia, having emigrated there with his parents. His father had died by the time Charles joined up, but Mary was living in Welshpool, to the east of Perth.

Charles was 37 years old when he joined up in March 1916: his records show that he was 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall and weighed 160lbs (72.5kg). He had light brown hair, grey eyes and a dark complexion, possibly from the time he spent outside, working as a groom.

As part of the Australian Imperial Force, Private Gregory sailed from Fremantle on 13th October 1916. He arrived in Plymouth, Devon, exactly two months later, and was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the Australian Infantry. He was sent to France on 8th February 1917 and, over the next few months, transferred between the 14th and 16th Battalions.

On 22nd September, Private Gregory was caught up in a bomb attack and badly injured. After initially receiving treatment to his shattered left ankle and lower ribs, he was medically evacuated to Britain for further medical intervention.

Charles was admitted to the Bath War Hospital in Somerset, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He died from tetanus on 29th October 1917, at the age of 38 years old.

With his family in Australia, the body of Charles Gregory was instead laid to rest in the military section of Bath’s sweeping Locksbrook Cemetery, next to where the war memorial would be constructed.

Private Charles Gregory
(from findagrave.com)
Chief Officer, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, India, Merchant Navy, photography, Scotland, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Chief Officer Percival Boyce

Leave a comment
Chief Officer Percival Boyce

Percival Osmond Bean Boyce was born in Calcutta, India, in January 1887. The oldest of seven children, his parents were Edward and Mary. While details of his early life are not readily available, it would seem that Edward had some military connections. He had been born in Calcutta in 1859, while Mary was Welsh. Most of Percival’s siblings had been born in India, although two – Cecil in 1891, and Dorothy in 1896 – had been born in Somerset.

The 1901 census recorded Percival as boarding at Keyford College in Frome, Somerset. His family do not appear on that census return, nor does he appear on any other census document. He went on to study at Bristol Grammar School, Gloucestershire, making the First XI rugby team.

In May 1915, Percival married Florence Cooper. There is little information available about her, but the couple exchanged vows in Paignton, Devon.

Percival seemed to have taken to a life at sea by this point, and was the Chief Officer of the cargo ship SS Indore. On 25th July 1918, she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-62, off the Irish coast. The Indore was beached, and two of the crew were killed. Chief Officer Boyce managed to get the ship re-floated and safely back to shore. 

At this point, Percival’s trail goes cold again. He survived the war, but died in Scotland on 27th November 1918, the cause of his passing unknown. He was 30 years of age.

In a traditionally Edwardian obituary, it was noted that “great sympathy is felt for Mr JH Cooper, Chairman of Paignton District Council, in the death of his son-in-law, Mr Percival OB Boyce, master mariner, at Glasgow. Both of Mr Cooper’s daughters are now widows, and he lost a son not long since.” [Western Times: Tuesday 3rd December 1918]

Percival Osmond Bean Boyce was laid to rest in Paignton’s sweeping cemetery.

Chief Officer Percival Boyce