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Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal West Surrey Regiment, story, war

Private Frank Jacobs

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Private Frank Jacobs

Frank Jacobs was born on 17th March 1892, and was one of fifteen children to George and Amelia Jacobs. George was a machine worker from Ashford in Kent, but the family moved around the county, presumably for work, as the years went on. Frank was born in Riverhead, near Sevenoaks, but within a few years, the family had settle in Faversham.

George and Amelia appear to have separated when Frank was in his early teens. There are no death records for George until the 1920s, but Amelia had a son with her maiden name in 1905 and, by the time of the 1911 census, she was married to a George Appleton, and had been for just under a year.

The same census recorded the Appletons living in Faversham with five of Amelia’s children, including Frank, who was employed in a local tannery.

On 25th October 1913, Frank married Ivy Clark, the Faversham-born daughter of a cement works labourer. The couple went on to have two children, Ronald and Eileen, in 1915 and 1916 respectively.

When was broke out, Frank was keen to play his part. He initially enlisted as a Private in the 10th (Service) Battalion of The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), but at some point was transferred across to the Labour Corps. He served throughout the conflict, and was based on home soil for the duration.

Private Jacobs remained on active service through to the summer of 1919. By this point he had returned home to Kent, but the war had taken its toll, and he fell ill. He was admitted to the Military Hospital in Chatham, but died from his illness – possibly one of the lung conditions prevalent at the time – on 30th August 1919. He was 27 years of age.

Frank Jacobs was laid to rest in the Borough Cemetery near his family home in Faversham.

Private Frank Jacobs
(from findagrave.com)

Tragedy was to strike again for the Jacobs family. When the Second World War broke out, Frank and Ivy’s son Ronald enlisted. He joined The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) and, towards the end of the conflict, he was among those fighting in Italy.

Private Ronald Jacobs was killed on 19th April 1945, aged just 30 years old. He was buried in Argenta, Emelia-Romagna.

While Ronald had not left a widow or any children, his mother, Ivy, had now lost her husband and only son to European conflict.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Royal West Surrey Regiment, story, Surrey, war

Private Thomas Wilson

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Private Thomas Wilson

Thomas Charles Wilson was born in the summer of 1897 in South London, His parents were John and Ellen Wilson, and they appear to have passed away when their son was still young. He had a sister – also called Ellen – but there is little more concrete information about Thomas’ early life.

In fact, the bulk of the information available about Thomas comes from the newspaper article reporting on his funeral:

The death occurred at The Mount Hospital [Faversham] of Private Thomas Charles Wilson of the [3rd Battalion of The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment)]. The deceased was a medical case admitted from Fort Pitt Hospital, Chatham, on July 1st. He had not been to the Front; as a matter of fact he only enlisted in April, and was only 19 [sic] years of age.

The deceased, who belonged to Bermondsey, seems to have had very few friends. His nearest relative, a sister, is at present in a hospital.

Faversham News: Saturday 31st July 1915

There is little further detail to add to this life cut short. Private Wilson seems to have been a loner, with no family other than his sister, and the army may have been an opportune escape from his life. He passed away on 18th July 1915, and was just 18 years of age.

Thomas Charles Wilson was buried in the Borough Cemetery of the town in which he passed away, Faversham, Kent. The newspaper report does not mention many mourners, but he would have been proud to have been afforded full military honours as he was laid to rest.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Kent, photography, Rifle Brigade, Rifleman, story, war

Rifleman Frederick Burstow

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Rifleman Frederick Burstow

Frederick William Burstow was born in the summer of 1893, and was one of thirteen children. His parents were plasterer Alfred Burstow and his wife, Lydia. Both came from Sussex, and it was in Bexhill-on-Sea where they raised their family.

There is little documented about Frederick’s early life, but he sought a life outside of Sussex and, in around 1900, he enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, serving in India for a time.

Rifleman Burstow was still serving when, in August 1914, war was declared. His battalion was sent to France that November, and he ended up serving two terms on the Western Front.

In the summer of 1915, Frederick married Priscilla Epps. She was from Faversham, Kent, and this is where the couple set up home together.

It was while on his second term in France that Rifleman Burstow became ill. He had contracted enteric fever – also known as typhoid – and, at the beginning of 1916, he was sent home to recuperate. While here, Priscilla gave birth to a child, Alice.

Sadly, however, Frederick’s condition was to get the better of him: he passed away at home on 16th March 1916, at the age of just 24 years old.

Frederick William Burstow was laid to rest in the Borough Cemetery in his adopted home town of Faversham.

Rifleman Frederick Burstow
(from ancestry.co.uk)

Frederick was not the only Burstow family member to die during the war. His older brother, Arthur Edward James Burstow, fought on the Western Front with the 2nd Battalion of the London Regiment.

Private Burstow was caught up in the fighting in Arras in the spring of 1918, and was killed in action on 13th April. He was 38 years of age, and left behind a widow and six children.

Arthur Edward James Burstow is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Belgium.

Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Defence Corps, Royal West Kent Regiment, story, war

Private Hubert Fox

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Private Hubert Fox

Hubert Edward Fox was born in the spring of 1865, the youngest of five children to Alfred and Eliza Fox. Alfred was a baker, from Faversham, and it was in the town that he and Eliza raised their young family.

When he finished school, Hubert found work as a carter and labourer. He served in the King’s Royal Rifles for eight years, spending two of those stationed in Egypt.

In 1894 John married Elizabeth Rebecca Harris in their home town. The couple set up home in the Abbey Road, to the north of the town, and went on to have six children between 1896 and 1909.

When war broke out, Hubert enlisted to play his part once more. He joined up in 1915, and was assigned to the Royal Defence Corps. Private Fox was on guard duty at the Uplees Munitions Factory on 2 April 1916, when a series of explosions ripped through the base. The loss of life was horrific – more than 100 men and boys were killed – and Hubert was fortunate enough to escape serious injury.

In May 1918, Private Fox was invalided out of the army on medical grounds. He was sent to a hospital in Reading, Berkshire, returning to Kent after around six weeks. He was treated in the town’s nursing home, but never fully recovered from his illness: he passed away on 22nd August 1918, at the age of 53 years of age.

Hubert Edward Fox was laid to rest in the Borough Cemetery of his home town, Faversham, not far from the family home in Abbey Road.

At the time of Hubert’s funeral, his eldest son, also called Hubert, was reported as missing in action.

Hubert Jr had enlisted in the 10th Battalion of the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) in August 1915, embarking for France the following May. After two years, Private Fox Jr moved to Italy with his division, but returned to the Western Front just a few months later.

In April 1918, Hubert was reported missing in action; he was later confirmed to be a Prisoner of War, and was eventually released and repatriated home in December 1918.

Hubert found work as a labourer and night watchman; the 1939 Register records him living in his Abbey Road home with his mother. He died the summer of 1968, at the age of 71 years old.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Kent, killed in action, photography, Royal Navy, Stoker, story, United States of America, war

Stoker 1st Class John Coxhedge

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Stoker 1st Class John Coxhedge

John Coxhedge was born on 28th October 1889 in Faversham, Kent. It seems that he and his siblings were brought up by an aunt and uncle, Mr and Mrs John Hodge, although why this was the case is lost to time. John attended Davington School, to the north of the town, and, for four years, was a chorister at his local church.

When a youth, [John] went to America and worked in some steel works, but after a year or so he returned home, and for a while prior to joining the Navy he was working at the Cotton Powder Works.

Faversham News: Saturday 27th April 1918

John married a woman called Louisa, and they went on to have five children. He enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class on 21st August 1916. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, had fair hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.

After his initial training at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, Stoker Coxhedge was assigned to the boom defence vessel HMS Wallington. He served on board for nine months, gaining a promotion to Stoker 1st Class, before returning to HMS Pembroke.

While back in Chatham, in the summer of 1917, he would have been involved in the German Air Raid on the Dockyard. Unlike dozens of his colleagues, however, he seems to have escaped unscathed.

On 3rd October 1917, Stoker Coxhedge was given another assignment, this time at HMS Attentive, the Dover Patrol. In April 1918, the patrol was involved in some raids on Ostend and Zeebrugge. The local newspaper again picked up John’s story:

No operation in the present war, distinguished though it has been all along by the indomitable heroism of the sons of Britain, has so thrilled the Empire as that of last week – an exploit, which, as has been remarked, recalls some of the undying deeds of the days of Drake and Nelson.

Stoker Coxhedge… was one of the crew of a vessel detailed for covering duty. This vessel got on a sandbank and could not get off, and so in the brilliant light of star shells, which made the night as bright as day, it became a target for the enemy’s guns and a heavy fire was concentrated upon it. It was during this fire that Stoker Coxhedge was badly wounded. Later he, with others of the ship’s complement, was transferred to another vessel, and his death took place in hospital ashore.

Faversham News: Saturday 4th May 1918

John Coxhedge had died of his injuries on 23rd April 1918. He was 28 years of age. He was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery, not far from where his widow and family lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, history, Kent, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, story, unknown, war

Gunner George Boorman

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Gunner George Boorman

George Boorman was born in Lenham, Kent, in the spring of 1886, one of thirteen children to farm labourer George Boorman and his wife, Sarah. There is little further information about his early life, other than that he went into labouring when he finished school.

And agricultural life was not enough for George, however, and, on 15th January 1907, he enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery. His records show that he was 5ft 9.5ins (1.77m) tall and weighed 134lbs (60.8kg). George had hazel eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.

Full details of Gunner Boorman’s military service are not available, but the 1911 census records him as being attached to the 64th Company, based in Aden.

Further information about George’s life is difficult to piece together. His father died in 1913, and the next evidence of Gunner Boorman is that of his passing, on 18th March 1917. The cause of his death is lost to time, but he was 31 years of age.

George Boorman was laid to rest in the Borough Cemetery in Faversham, Kent.

Tragedy struck Sarah Boorman on more than one occasion. Four of George’s brothers died before they turned eighteen, while only six of her thirteen children outlived their mother.

Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, Kent, Lancashire, photography, Private, story, war

Private Joseph O’Hara

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Private Joseph O’Hara

Joseph O’Hara was born in Manchester on 30th May 1882, the son of John and Kate O’Hara. There is little information available about his early life, although it is clear that at some point the family emigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto.

When war broke out, Joseph enlisted, joining the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. By 1916 Private O’Hara was not only back in Europe, but fighting on the Western Front. Details are scarce, but a contemporary newspaper sheds a little light on what happened to him next.

A contingent of 132 wounded men was detrained at Faversham last Friday morning. Forty-four of the number were taken to The Mount, seventy-one to Lees Court, and seventeen to Glovers (Sittingbourne).

With one exception the cases were all “sitting up” cases and were in a separate train by themselves. This train, however, was preceded by a train of “cot” cases which was going through to Chatham, but owing to the serious condition of one of the men – Joseph O’Hara, of the Canadian Expeditionary Force – the train was stopped at Faversham for his removal to the Mount Hospital. O’Hara had been badly wounded in both legs and he died at the Mount a few hours after his arrival there.

Faversham News: Saturday 23rd September 1916

Private Joseph O’Hara was 34 years of age when he passed away. He was laid to rest in the Faversham Borough Cemetery.

Private Joseph O’Hara
(from findagrave.com)
Air Mechanic, Commonwealth War Graves, Cornwall, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Air Force, story, war

Private George Knight

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Private George Knight

George Albert Knight was born in Dover, Kent, on 27th September 1888, the second of seven children to Thomas and Frances Knight. Thomas was a railway porter from Hampshire, and the family lived in a small terraced house a few minutes’ walk from his workplace, Dover Priory Station.

By the turn of the century, the family had moved to Faversham: Thomas was working a signalman, and two of George’s brothers also worked for the railway – one as a clerk, the other as a number taker. George, meanwhile, was working as a butcher.

In the summer of 1916, George married Alice Smith, who was working as a domestic servant for an government inspector in Willesborough, Kent. George was still working as a butcher at this point, and continued to do so up until the spring of 1918, when he was eventually called up.

Private Knight enlisted in March 1918, joining the Royal Naval Air Service shortly before it merged with the Royal Flying Corps to become the fledgling Royal Air Force. He was based in Cornwall, and his role included mechanic work.

On the evening of 21st September 1918, George collapsed and, despite being rushed to hospital in Truro, he passed away the following morning. It appears that he had not been unwell before, and his death came as a shock. He was just short of his 30th birthday.

George Albert Knight was brought back to Kent for burial. He was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery, not far from where his widow and family were living.

Commonwealth War Graves, East Kent Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Royal West Kent Regiment, story, war

Private Thomas Townsend

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Private Thomas Townsend

Thomas Townsend was born in Maidstone, Kent, in around 1864. Details of his early life are sketchy, but his mother was Mary Townsend, and he had an older brother, Henry.

Thomas worked as a labourer, mainly in brickyards, and, at the turn of the century, was living in to the north of Maidstone. The 1901 census records him as sharing his home with his wife, Lydia Townsend, her son, George Andrews, and a visitor, seven-year-old John Lassam.

The next census, in 1911, Thomas and Lydia are both shown as living in the same house, although it notes they had been married for eight years. John Lassam is still living at the property, by now as a boarder, while he was also working as a labourer.

Conflict was closing in on Europe and, despite being 50 when war was declared, Thomas was keen to play his part. He initially enlisted in the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment, but soon transferred across to The Buffs (East Kent Regiment). Full details of his service as unclear, but it seems he was assigned to the National Reserve Guard at Faversham, Kent.

Private Townsend’s role was guard duty, possibly at the munitions factory in the town. While carrying out this role in the autumn of 1915, he caught a chill, which then became pneumonia. He was admitted to the Faversham Military Hospital, but the lung condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away on 28th November 1915. He was 51 years of age.

Thomas Townsend was laid to rest in Faversham Borough Cemetery, not far from where he carried out his military role.

Commonwealth War Graves, East Kent Regiment, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, story, war

Private Edward Hopson

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Private Edward Hopson

The life of Edward Hopson looks likely to remain a mystery, and what can be pieced together is done from a few fragmented documents. His gravestone sits in the Faversham Borough Cemetery in Kent.

A local newspaper, contemporary to his passing in January 1915, acts at the starting point:

Edward Hopson, a Maidstone [Kent] man, belonging to the National Reserve Guard doing duty at the Explosives Works at Faversham, died suddenly while proceeding on duty on Tuesday night.

Evidence of identification was given by Joseph Cornelius, a Lance Corporal in the Guard, who stated that so far as was known, the deceased’s only relative was a half-brother. The deceased gave his age as 49 when he enlisted, but witness believed his correct age was 61. He was apparently in good health when passed for duty on Tuesday at the works of the Explosives Loading Company at Uplees.

Charles John Link, engaged on patrol duty at the works, stated that about 10:30 on Tuesday night he was accompanying deceased to the point where he was to do guard duty. On the way deceased complained that he could not see, and shortly afterwards, as they came to a style, he exclaimed “Oh! dear,” and then, dropping his rifle, he fell into the witness’s arms and expired.

South Eastern Gazette: Tuesday 26th January 1915

The cause of death was given to be heart disease, and, at the inquest, a verdict of “Death from Natural Causes” was given.

The report suggests that Edward was born either in around 1866 or 1854. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission give his parents as Jack and Annie Hopson, but there are no surviving census records from the 1800s that would corroborate this.

The 1911 census records an Edward Hopson, aged 57 and from Maidstone, Kent, residing in the Maidstone Union Workhouse. He is listed as a former farm labourer, and his marital stated us given as widowed.

If this is the Edward Hopson commemorated in Faversham Cemetery, it seems likely that he used the outbreak of war – and the opportunity to enlist – as his escape route from the workhouse.

He joined The Buffs (The East Kent Regiment), and was assigned, as a Private, to the 4th Battalion. This particular troop was dispatched to India in October 1914, and it seems likely that Private Hopson was reassigned to the National Reserves Guard, and posted to Faversham.

This is all conjecture, of course, but, either way, Private Hopson died of a heart attack on the night of the 19th January 1915, aged approximately 61 years old.