Henry James Webber was born in Plaistow, Essex, in 1889. One of ten children, his parents were Frederick and Etty Webber. Frederick hailed from Somerset, but worked as a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police. By the time of the 1901 census, he had been promoted to Inspector: the family moved to Somerset when he retired in around 1905, settling in Minehead.
Of Henry, there is little information documented. He does not appear on the 1911 census, and there are no military records to confirm his service in the army. He had certainly enlisted by the summer of 1916, joining the Somerset Light Infantry.
Private Webber was attached to the 7th (Service) Battalion and certainly saw action overseas. His troop was heavily involved in the Battles of the Somme in 1916, and it was here that he was injured. Again, full details are not available, but his wounds were severe enough for him to be medically evacuated to Britain for treatment.
Henry was admitted to the 1st Southern General Hospital in Birmingham, but his injuries proved too severe. He died on 1st November 1916, at the age of 27 years old.
Henry James Webber’s body was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Minehead Cemetery, not far from where his grieving family were living in Cher Street.
Henry Edward Rowell was born on 22nd May 1898 in Southwark, Surrey. One of five siblings, of whom only three survived childhood, his parents were Henry and Jane Rowell. Henry Sr was a bricklayer’s labourer from Southwark, and the family were brought up in a small terraced house on Brandon Street, Walworth.
When he finished his schooling, Henry Jr found work as a turner’s improver but, when war came to Europe, he was called upon to play his part. He enlisted on 29th May 1915, and, as a Private, was attached to the 12th (Service) Battalion (Bermondsey) of the East Surrey Regiment. His service records tell a little of the man he was, confirming that he stood 5ft 3.5ins (1.61m) tall, and suggesting that he gave his age a 19 years old (he was just 16 at the time).
Henry seemed to have made an impression on his superiors as, in early October, he was promoted to Lance Corporal. His early service was based on home soil, primarily in Witney, Surrey.
In December 1915, Henry was temporarily released from military duty for munitions work. Sent to work for the engineering company Peter Hooker Ltd, in Walthamstow, Essex, Lance Corporal Rowell was to remain here for the next four months. On 25th March 1916, however, he was called back to service, as his battalion readied itself to move from its base, by that point in Aldershot, Hampshire, to Northern France.
Lance Corporal Rowell found himself in the thick of things very quickly. From 1st July, the 12th Battalion was caught up in the Battle of the Somme, and he remained entrenched there for the next couple of months.
On 15th September 1916, the British launched an attack on the German front line at Flers-Courcelette, mid-way between Albert and Bapaume. Lance Corporal Rowell was involved in the battle, which lasted until the end of the month, and was cut down on the very first day. He was just 18 years of age.
Henry Edward Rowell was laid to rest in the Bulls Road Cemetery in Flers, Picardie.
Henry Edward Rowell was my paternal grandmother’s first cousin.
William Harold Harcombe was born on 25th September 1897 in Sampford Arundel, Somerset. One of twelve children, his parents were William and Jane Harcombe. William was an agricultural engine driver who, by the time of the 1911 census, had moved the family five miles north west to Ashbrittle.
When war came to Europe, William was one of the first to enlist, joining the Devonshire Regiment in August 1914. He was assigned to the 8th Battalion, and after nine months’ training, he found himself in Northern France.
Private Harcombe’s troop was involved in some of the fiercest skirmishes of the conflict, at Loos in the autumn of 1915, and at the Somme the following year. It was during this battle – probably at Delville or High Wood – that he was injured.
William was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to a military hospital in Mile End, London. His injuries were to prove too severe, however, and he succumbed to them on 31st July 1916: he was just 18 years of age.
The body of William Harold Harcombe was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the tranquil graveyard of St John the Baptist Church in Ashbrittle.
Henry James Tabor was born in 1877, the second of six children to James and Sarah Tabor. Wiltshire-born James was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and the family were raised in Sarah’s home town of Milborne Port, Somerset.
Henry followed in his father’s footsteps when he left school and, by the time of the 1901 census, both were carrying out their trade (along with younger brother, Sidney) from the family home in East Street.
James died in September 1915, at the age of 75, and shortly afterwards, his oldest son stepped up to play his part for King and Country. He enlisted in the spring of 1916, joining the Royal Engineers as a Sapper.
Little information about his military life remains documented, but, according to a later newspaper report, he went to France and fought at both Ypres and the Somme. It was while he was overseas that Sapper Tabor contracted bronchitis, which then developed into tuberculosis. He was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, but passed away on 28th March 1917, having been admitted to the Military Hospital in Southwark. He was 40 years of age.
The body of Henry James Tabor was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the cemetery of his home town, Milborne Port.
The loss of her husband and oldest son in such a short space of time, may have proved too much for Sarah Tabor. She passed away just two months after Henry, and he was reunited with both parents once again.
Charles Edward Hoare Hales was born in Bournemouth, Dorset, in the summer of 1886. The fourth of five children, his parents were Arthur Hales – a Major General in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers – and his wife, Maria.
Arthur’s career stood the family in good stead: the 1891 census records the Hales living in a house in Crystal Palace Park, South London, with five servants supporting their – and their two visitors’ – every need. Arthur also believed in education for this two sons: Charles was dispatched to Hartwood House School in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire.
Arthur died in 1904 and at this point the Hales family disappears – there is no record for Maria or her five children in any of the 1911 census returns.
When war came to Europe, Charles and his older brother Arthur, stepped up to play their part. Both joined the Wiltshire Regiment, both being attached to the 1st Battalion. Sadly, neither of the brothers’ service records remain, so it is difficult to piece together their military careers.
Arthur achieved the rank of Captain, gained a Military Cross for his dedication and service. He was caught up in the Battle of Albert – one of the phases of the fighting at The Somme – in 1916. He was initially reported killed in action, then, to the elation of Maria, this was changed to missing. Tragically, he was subsequently confirmed as dead, having passed away on 6th July 1916, aged 34 years of age. He is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial in Northern France.
A further tragedy was to strike the Hales family the following year, when Charles, who had risen to the rank of Second Lieutenant, also passed away.
The internment took place in Bathwick Cemetery on Monday, of Mr Chas. Edward Hoare Hales, 2nd-Lieutenant Wiltshire Regiment, who died on Thursday, after a long illness contracted on active service. He was the last surviving son of the late Major-General A Hales, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Commandant of the Straits Settlements, and of Mrs Hales… The young officer, whose body was brought from Buxton, was buried in the same grave where rest the remains of his father, who died in April 1904.
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 1st December 1917
Details of Charles’ illness, from which he passed on 22nd November 1917, are unclear. He was 31 years old when he died. He left his estate – which amounted to £6524 18s 1d (the equivalent of £579,000 in today’s money) to his youngest sister, Sophia.
Maria Hales passed away in 1924, at the age of 74. She was buried in the family ploy, reunited with husband and younger son once more.
Second Lieutenant Charles Hales (from findagrave.com)
Frederick John Avards was born in Lamberhurst, Kent, in the summer of 1891. The oldest of three children, his parents were Frederick and Lucy Avards. Frederick Sr was a licenced publican and went on to run the Beckingford Arms in Tovil, near Maidstone.
Frederick Jr helped his father with the business, but when war came to Europe, he stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 1st January 1915, joining the 7th (Service) Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps.
Rifleman Avards was sent to France on 19th May 1915 and very quickly found himself in the thick of things. Based on the Western Front, his regiment was involved in a number of skirmishes during the Battle of the Somme.
Last week [Rifleman Avards’] parents received a telegram stating that he was lying at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, dangerously wounded. They at once proceeded to Netley but only to find that he had passed away.. Meanwhile his lieutenant, knowing he had been hit and thinking he had been killed on the battlefield, had written a feeling letter to the parents, saying his gallantly he had done his duty and that he had died a true rifleman’s death in the hour of victory, and worthily upheld the name of his regiment.
Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph: Saturday 9th September 1916
Rifleman John Avards had passed away from his injuries on 3rd August 1916: he was just 24 years of age. His body was brought back to Kent for burial and he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter & St Paul’s Church in Aylesford, Kent, not far from the Lower Bell public house, which his parents were then running.
Rifleman Frederick Avards (from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
While buried in the churchyard, the location of Frederick’s grave is not known. Instead, he is commemorated on a joint headstone in the First World War section of the graveyard.
Albert Edward Rumbelow was born in 1879 in Wycombe Marsh, Buckinghamshire. One of eleven children, his parents were Suffolk-born paper maker Philip Rumbelow and his wife, Jane.
Little information is available about Albert’s early life, although by the time of the 1901 census, he is recorded as being a Private in the Rifle Brigade. The family had moved to the village of Little Chart in Kent by this point, where his father was still continuing in the manufacture of paper.
Private Rumbelow’s military service is evidenced in later documents. He served with the 1st Battalion from 1895 to 1907, was awarded the South Africa medals for 1901 and 1902: he was also granted the clasp for his involvement in the defence of Ladysmith. He appears to have been wounded at this point, and was invalided out of full military service and placed on reserve.
In 1904, Albert was back in England, and living in London. That year he married Ellen Sillis, a cordwainer’s daughter from Norfolk. The couple set up home in Fulham, and went on to have five children: Abert Jr, Iris, Florence, Doris and Hilda.
By the time of the 1911 census, Albert was working at the local Public Hall, as a labourer, hall attendant and cleaner. The family were living at 9 Crabtree Lane in Fulham, sharing the property with the Fitzgerald family.
War was closing in on Europe by this point, and, once again, Albert stepped up to plat his part. He enlisted within days of conflict being declared, and within weeks had been given the rank of Corporal. His service records note that he was 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall, weighed 156lbs (70.8kg), had brown hair and blue eyes. He was also recorded as having a tattoo of crossed rifles and a crown on his right forearm, and scared on his left calf, knee and eyebrow.
By the spring of 1915, Albert had been promoted again, to the rank of Serjeant. He was sent to France on 19th May, having been assigned to the 7th (Service) Battalion. Serjeant Rumbelow was involved at the Somme and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal “for conspicuous gallantry” on 3rd June 1916. “He exposed himself to machine-gun and rifle fire when going across the open to rescue a wounded man. Later he went under fire to fetch a stretcher.”
Serjeant Rumbelow appears to have been injured in the skirmish, and was invalided to the UK later that month. When he recovered he was posted again, this time to the 18th (London) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.
The following February he made the transfer across to the Labour Corps, and by March 1917, Serjeant Rumbelow was back in France. In August he was promoted to Company Sergeant Major, but was invalided back to England with bronchitis in February 1918.
When he recovered Albert was assigned to the 364th Area Employment Coy. in Kent, and seems to have voluntarily taken a drop in rank – back to Serjeant – in doing so. His health was dogging him by this point and in the late summer of 1918, he was admitted to Preston Hall Military Hospital in Aylesford, suffering from VDH, or heart disease.
Sadly, the strain of his military service was to be his undoing. He passed away from the heart condition on 21st September 1918, at the age of 39 years of age.
Albert Edward Rumbelow was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peter & St Paul’s Church in Aylesford, not far from the hospital where he had breathed his last.
Now widowed, Ellen was left with the unenviable task of raising five young children on her own. She married again, to Private William Lake, on 8th June 1919, and the family moved to Essex. She lived until the age of 79, and was laid to rest in Sutton Road Cemetery in Southend.
George Garrett was born in early 1895 in Abbotskerswell, Devon. He was the oldest of five children to George and Annie Garrett. George Sr was a labourer and the family seemed to travel with his work: his and Annie’s younger children were born in Aldershot, Plymouth and London.
When he left school, George Jr found work as an errand boy – the family were back in Devon by this point. War was on the horizon, however, and he would feel compelled to play his part. Full details of his service are not available, but it is known that he enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment, and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion.
Private Garrett arrived in France in December 1915, and was soon entrenched on the Western Front. Hi battalion was caught up in the Battle of the Somme and George was badly injured, having received a gunshot wound to his spine.
Medically evacuated to Britain, his wounds proved too severe for him to return to duty, and he was discharged from the army on 28th December 1916. It is not clear whether he returned home, but it seems likely that he remained in hospital in Exeter. He would never recover from his injuries. He passed away at the hospital on 18th April 1917, at the age of 22 years old.
George Garrett was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in Ipplepen, Devon, where his family were, at that point, living.
Owen Jonah Owen was born in 1880, the oldest of eleven children to Jonah and Elizabeth Owen. Jonah was a quarryman at one of the slate mines around Llanberis, Gwynedd, and this is where the family were raised.
Owen followed his father into the slate quarries and, on 26th September 1903, he married Ann Jones, the daughter of another quarry worker. The couple went on to have four children: Richard, Jonah, Delia and Gwyneth.
He was well known and respected in the village, had a passion for singing and “had conducted singing festivals held by the Congregationalists of the district.” [Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald: Friday 24th November 1916]
War was closing in on Europe, and Owen was keen to play his part. Sadly his service records have been lost over time, but it is clear that he had enlisted in the army by May 1916. Private Owen joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and was assigned to the 14th Battalion.
Part of the 38th Division, the battalion was to be caught up in some of the fiercest and most desperate fighting of the First World War. In July 1916, Owen would have been entrenched at The Somme and, after the first few horrific days, his battalion was one of those involved in the fighting at Mametz Wood.
Private Owen was badly wounded during the battle and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Admitted to a military hospital in Birmingham, he was to remain there for a number of months until, on 12th November 1916, his body finally succumbed to his injuries. He was 36 years of age.
Owen Jonah Owen was brought back to his home village for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peris Church in Llanberis.
Frederick George Partridge was born on 26th May 1890 in Kingsteignton, Devon. He was one of ten children to clay cutter George Partridge and his wife, Anna. George passed away in 1903, but Frederick left school, and also found work as a cutter, helping to pay his way at home.
When was came to Europe, Frederick was keen to play his part. He enlisted on 18th November 1915, and was assigned to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps as a Rifleman. His service records show that he stood 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighed 145lbs (66kg). He was of good physical development, but had slightly flat feet.
After his initial training, Rifleman Partridge was sent to France, arriving in April 1916. His regiment soon found itself on the front line and, that summer, was firmly ensconced at the Somme. Sadly, Frederick was not to escape injury – he received a gun shot wound to his left thigh on 2nd September.
The wound was serious enough for him to be medically evacuated back to England for treatment. He was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley, near Southampton, but died of his injuries on 12th September 1916. He was just 26 years of age.
Frederick George Partridge was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church in Kingsteignton.
Death and Service 