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Stoker 1st Class Alfred Purton

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Stoker 1st Class Alfred Purton

Alfred Purton was born on 10th November 1897, one of fourteen children to Daniel and Rosetta Purton. Daniel was a dock labourer from Bromley-by-Bow, East London, and this is where the family were raised.

When he left school, Alfred found work as a stoker at the local gasworks, but in 1916, he was called up to do his duty for King and Country. Given his family background and his own employment, it is little surprise that he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class.

Alfred’s service records show that he stood 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, had auburn hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion, although he was noted to have moles on his legs and arms. His first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and he spent a couple of months training there.

In October 1916, Stoker Purton was assigned to the cruiser HMS Dartmouth, which helped patrol the South Atlantic. During his nine months on board, his work was recognised and he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class.

In July 1917, Alfred returned to HMS Pembroke. The Dockyard was particularly busy that summer, and a large number of extra servicemen meant that he was billeted in temporary accommodation in Chatham Drill Hall.

On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force bombarded the town, and scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall; Stoker 1st Class Purton was among those killed instantly. He was just 19 years old.

Alfred Purton was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham. Tragically, the Navy Death Records state that he was Buried as unidentified in one of the following graves: 516, 522, 642, 735, 935, 937 or 948.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, Middlesex, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war, Yorkshire

Stoker 2nd Class Alfred Watts

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Stoker 2nd Class Alfred Watts

Alfred Watts was born on 16th April 1897 in Marylebone, Middlesex. His mother was called Polly, but there is little further information about his early life.

When he left school, he became a seaman, although in what capacity is not entirely evident. What can be confirmed is that, on 24th November 1915, with war raging across Europe, he decided to make this his full career, and enlisted as a Stoker 2nd Class in the Royal Navy.

Alfred’s military records show that he stood 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, had brown eyes, dark brown hair and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a birthmark on his right breast.

Alfred’s first posting was at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. He spend four months training here, before being assigned to HMS Wallington, a depot shop that served in the Humber Estuary.

On 6th September 1916, in the column marked Discharged is one word: Run. It seems that, for whatever reason, he deserted his post, and having been rounded up nearly three weeks later, he was taken back to Chatham under police guard. He was imprisoned, and only returned to his duties on 30th October.

Stoker Watts was given another posting, on board the battleship HMS Dominion, but again absconded in June 1917, and was detained for a further three weeks, this time at HMS Victory, the dockyard in Portsmouth.

Within a month, Alfred was transferred back to Chatham. HMS Pembroke was a busy place that summer and temporary accommodation was put in place. Chatham Drill Hall was brought into service for this purpose, and Alfred found himself billeted there.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night air raid: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit. Stoker 2nd Class Watts was among those badly injured. He was taken to hospital, but died of his wounds two days later. He was just 20 years of age.

Alfred Watts was laid to rest, alongside the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, killed in action, London, photography, Royal Navy, Staffordshire, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Sydney Jackson

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Stoker 1st Class Sydney Jackson

Sydney Jackson was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, on 1st May 1886. One of three children to William and Emma Jackson, he also had three older half-siblings through William’s previous marriage. William was a vice manufacturer, and this is something Sydney helped his father with when he finished school.

He had bigger plans, however, and, on 11th December 1905, Sydney enlisted in the Royal Navy. His service records show that he stood 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, had hazel eyes, dark brown hair and a fresh complexion. Sydney joined up for a period of 5 years, and was given the role of Stoker 2nd Class.

During his initial term of service, he served on seven different ships, rising to the rank of Stoker 1st Class in the process. Between each voyage he returned to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, and this was to become his land base.

Stoker Jackson’s career was not to be blemish flee, though. In the autumn of 1906, he spent two periods of time in the brig – the first for seven days, the second for two weeks. There is nothing to confirm what infraction he had committed, but given that the two imprisonments were within weeks of each other, it seems likely that something external was going on with him at the time.

When Sydney’s initial term of service came to a close, he was placed on reserve. There is not a great deal of information available about this part of his life, although the 1911 census records him as boarding in the Bruce House Registered Lodging House in Central London; he is listed as being a stoker.

His time on reserve did not last for long, however, and in October 1912 he was recalled. Over the next five years, Stoker Jackson served on a further four ships. In the spring of 1917 he returned to HMS Pembroke; the base was a busy place that summer, and temporary accommodation was set up at the Dockyard’s Drill Hall. This is where Sydney found himself billeted.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night air raid: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit; Stoker 1st Class Jackson was among those killed instantly. He was 31 years old.

Sydney Jackson was laid to rest, along the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Northumberland, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Thomas Haville

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Stoker 1st Class Thomas Haville

Thomas Giles Lansley Haville was born on 16th June 1897, and was one of seven children. There is little concrete information about his early life, but his parents were Devon-born Francis Haville and his Newcastle-born wife, Jane.

Francis was an army man, who had moved his family from Aldershot to Scotland and Northumberland, finally settling in Newcastle shortly before Thomas’ birth. Francis died in 1908, when Thomas was just 11 years old, and it seems likely that Jane passed away around the same time.

Thomas himself had not been a well child – the 1901 census gives him as an inpatient at the Northumberland District Royal Infirmary, although it is not clear what condition he was suffering from.

When he left school, Thomas followed a trade common amongst young men of his age in the North East, that of a pit worker. He wanted bigger and better things, however, and, on 9th May 1916, eighteen months into the First World War, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class.

His service records suggest that he volunteered, as he gave his year of birth as two years earlier than it actually was, in order to be accepted as being of legal age. The enlistment papers also confirm that Thomas was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, had a fresh complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Stoker Haville’s first posting was HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham in Kent, a base to which he would return a couple of times. After his initial training, he was assigned to HMS Blonde, a cruiser-cum-mine layer, based out of Scapa Flow. In March 1917, he moved on to the battleship HMS Vanguard, which was also based in the North Sea.

The Vanguard was destroyed on 9th July 1917 when a number of magazines exploded on board – 843 of the 845 crew were killed. Thomas had had a lucky escape; just two weeks earlier he had been transferred back to Chatham. During his time on board, however, he had been promoted to Stoker 1st Class.

HMS Pembroke was a busy place that summer. The replacement crew for the Vanguard that would now not be needed were based there, and temporary accommodation was needed quickly. Chatham Drill Hall was brought into service, and Thomas found himself billeted there.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night air raid: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit; Stoker 1st Class Haville was among those killed instantly. He was just 20 years of age.

Thomas Giles Lansley Haville was laid to rest, alongside the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, London, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, Uncategorized, war

Stoker 1st Class William Wakeford

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Stoker 1st Class William Wakeford

William Edward Wakeford was born on 18th April 1885, the oldest of seven children to William and Theresa. William Sr had been born in East London and was a labourer for the engineering company Vickers. Theresa came from south of the Thames, in Greenwich, and it was in South East London that the Wakefords raised their family.

When he left school, William Jr found work as an assistant to a corn dealer. He was set on a better life and career, however, and, on 1st June 1906, at the age of 20, he enlisted in the Royal Navy with the rank of Stoker 2nd Class.

William learnt on the job; he was initially assigned to HMS Acheron and, during his initial five-year term of service, he served on five further vessels, rising to the rank of Stoker 1st Class as a result of his hard work. In between his voyages, however, he was based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham, Kent.

When his contract came to an end in May 1911, Stoker Wakeford was assigned to the Royal Naval Reserve. With war looming, however, this did not turn out to be for long and, when hostilities begun in 1914, he was called back into action. He was assigned to the battleship HMS Cornwallis, and spent more than two years on board. During this time, the ship saw action in the Eastern Mediterranean, primarily the Dardanelles Campaign, and the fighting around Gallipoli.

By the start of 1917, Stoker Wakeford was back on dry land, and based at HMS Pembroke. For a variety of reasons, that was a particularly busy year at the dockyard, and temporary additional accommodation was set up at the Chatham Drill Hall nearby; this is where William found himself billeted.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night air raid: Chatham was heavily bombed and the Drill Hall received a direct hit; Stoker 1st Class Wakeford was among those killed instantly. He was 32 years of age.

William Edward Wakeford was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

William’s younger brother Cecil also fought in the Great War. Serving as a Private in the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, he saw fighting on the Western Front. Caught up in the Battle of St Quentin in March 1918, he was killed as the regiment were cut off by German advances. He was just 22 years old. He was laid to rest in France, and is commemorated at the Pozières Memorial.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, Suffolk, war

Stoker 1st Class Albert Goddard

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Stoker 1st Class Albert Goddard

Albert Alfred Goddard was born on 7th April 1891, and was the oldest of seven children. His parents were Suffolk born and bred Alfred and Ellen Goddard, and it was in the village of Saxtead where Alfred – and then Albert and his brothers – worked as farm labourers.

War was coming to Europe and, when the call came, Albert took his place amongst the many. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on 24th May 1916, joining as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records confirm that the stood 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Stoker Goddard was initially sent to HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – for his training. After six months, he transferred to HMS Victory – the Portsmouth Naval Base – where he spent nearly a year, and gained promotion to Stoker 1st Class.

In August 1917, he was again assigned to HMS Pembroke. Chatham’s Dockyard was particularly busy that summer, and Albert was billeted in temporary accommodation in the base’s Drill Hall.

On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force scored a direct hit on the barracks and Drill Hall; Stoker 1st Class Goddard was killed instantly. He was just 26 years old.

The local newspaper reported that “the recent air raid at Chatham has brought grief to our locality. Mr and Mrs Alfred Goddard, of Saxtead, were officially notified that their sailor son was among those who were killed; they journeyed to London on Wednesday, and were present a their son’s funeral on the following day.” [Framlingham Weekly News: Saturday 8th September 1917]

Albert Alfred Goddard was laid to rest, alongside the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, London, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Sidney Macey

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Stoker 1st Class Sidney Macey

Sidney Albert Macey was born in Clapham, South London on 16th March 1898. The fourth of seven children, his parents were William and Beatrice Macey. William worked as a groom and coachman for a dairy, but, intriguingly, he and Beatrice appear to have been living as a common-law couple, rather than being formally married.

Beatrice was born in Wiltshire, and had married George Hodges; they had a son, also called George, before she was widowed in 1891. The 1901 census lists mother and son as William’s visitors, but, by this time, he and Beatrice had gone on to have five children of their own, Sidney included.

When he left school, Sidney found work as a telegraph messenger, but by this point, war was on the horizon. His older brothers went off to war – the oldest, William, died in France in August 1916 – and Sidney seemed keen not to be left out of the action.

On 30th June 1916, he enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class. His service records show that he stood 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, had brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was initially dispatched to HMS Pembroke – the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent – for training, before being assigned to the cruiser HMS Dartmouth, that October.

Stoker Macey spent nine months on board Dartmouth, and gained a promotion to Stoker 1st Class in the process. In July 1917, his assignment complete, he returned to Chatham. HMS Pembroke was particularly busy that summer, and he was billeted in temporary accommodation in the town’s Drill Hall.

On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force scored a direct hit on the barracks and Drill Hall; Stoker 1st Class Macey was killed instantly. He was just 19 years old.

Sidney Albert Macey was laid to rest, along with the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham. He was the second of two brothers lost to the conflict.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, killed in action, London, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class Frederick Hartnall

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Stoker 1st Class Frederick Hartnall

Frederick George Hartnall was born in St John’s Wood, London, on 28th March 1892. He was the youngest of three children to Harry and Elizabeth Hartnall, although, tragically, his two older brothers had both passed away within their first year.

Harry worked as a compositor – type setting for a local printer – and this is a trade into which Frederick followed his father, when he left school. After his mother passed away in 1907, he realised that he wanted bigger and better things. On 19th April 1910, having just turned 18, he enlisted in the Royal Navy.

Frederick’s service records show that he stood 5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was sent to HMS Victory – the naval base in Portsmouth – for his training as a Stoker 2nd Class, and his naval career began.

Over the next four years, Frederick served on six different ships, rising to the rank of Stoker 1st Class in the process. In between his ocean trips, however, his time was spent at on-shore bases, both in Portsmouth and Chatham – the Royal Naval Dockyard known as HMS Pembroke.

When war was declared in 1914, Stoker Hartnall was on board the cruiser HMS Dido. The reality of his life may well have hit home; on two separate occasions during this particular assignment, he was confined to the brig. Sadly his misdemeanours are lost to time now, but they must have been significant: his first confinement lasted a week, while his second was for 42 days, and ended with his transfer to HMS Pembroke.

For most of the rest of his service, Stoker Hartnall was shore-based. By the summer of 1917, he was back at HMS Pembroke. The base was particularly busy that summer, and he was billeted in temporary accommodation in the town’s Drill Hall.

On the 3rd September 1917, the first night air raid carried out by the German Air Force scored a direct hit on the barracks and Drill Hall; Stoker Hartnall was among those killed instantly. He was just 25 years old.

Frederick George Hartnall was laid to rest, alongside the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Scotland, Stoker, story, war

Stoker 1st Class John McGregor

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Stoker 1st Class John McGregor

John McGregor was born Aberdeen in 1898, the son of James McGregor. Little specific information is available about John’s early life, but it is clear that James remarried at some point, Jane McGregor becoming John’s stepmother. The family moved south to Airdrie, living on one of the main thoroughfares, South Bridge Street.

At some point after the outbreak of war, John joined up, taking on the role of Stoker 2nd Class in the Royal Navy. During his time in the service, he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class. By 1917, he was assigned to the HMS Prince George, a battleship that patrolled the English Channel, and acted as support for the Dardanelles campaign in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In the summer of 1917, Stoker McGregor was transferred to HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. That point in the war was particularly busy for the base, and temporary accommodation was set up in the Drill Hall; this is where John found himself billeted.

By this point in the war, the German Air Force had suffered huge losses during the daylight bombing raids it had been undertaking. It was imperative for them to minimise these losses, and so a new tactic – night time raids – was employed.

The first trial of this approach was on the night of 3rd September 1917, and Chatham suddenly found itself in the firing line, startlingly unready and fundamentally unprotected. One of the German bombers landed a direct hit on the Drill Hall, and Stoker McGregor was amongst those to be instantly killed. He was just 19 years old.

Ninety-eight servicemen perished during the Chatham Air Raid that night. They were buried in a mass funeral at the Woodlands Cemetery in nearby Gillingham. This, too, is where John McGregor was laid to rest.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, Lancashire, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, war, Yorkshire

Stoker 1st Class William Smith

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Stoker 1st Class William Smith

William Hardwick Smith was born in Slingsby, Yorkshire, on 12th April 1887, the oldest of four children to John and Sarah Smith. John was a house painter, but William had his sights set a seafaring career.

By the summer of 1909, he had enlisted in the Royal Navy. He gave his previous profession as seaman, and his place of birth as Manchester, but there is no documentation to confirm either his previous role, or to challenge his Yorkshire birth.

Joining the navy as a Stoker 2nd Class, his service records give his height as 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) and show that he had auburn hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. William had a number of tattoos as well, including a ship and anchor, clasped hands and heart, a woman’s head and bird and the words “True Love” and “W Smith” on his right forearm.

During his initial five years’ service, Stoker Smith served on six different vessels, attaining the rank of Stoker 1st Class in the process. His career was not entirely without problems, however, and his records show that he was detained for 28 days for being AWOL in 1911, and imprisoned again for a further twelve days two years later.

As his term of service came to an end, the storm clouds of war were knocking on England’s shores, and William volunteered for a further seven years. During this time, he was primarily based at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham, Kent, although he was also assigned to the depot ship HMS Dido. Again, his time on board saw him spend two further periods in the brig, although his exact misdemeanours are lost to time.

Back at HMS Pembroke in the summer of 1917, William found himself in an overly packed base. He was billeted in the Chatham Drill Hall, which was being used as temporary accommodation.

On the 3rd September 1917, the German Air Force carried out its first night-time air raid. They scored a direct hit on the Drill Hall; Stoker 1st Class Smith was amongst those killed instantly. He was 30 years old.

William Hardwick Smith was laid to rest, alongside the other victims of the Chatham Air Raid, in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham.