Tag Archives: Sussex

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, Second Lieutenant, Sergeant Major, Somerset, Somerset Yeomanry, South Africa, story, Sussex, war

Second Lieutenant Alfred Newington

2 Comments
Lieutenant Alfred Newington

Alfred John Newington was born in 1878. The oldest of four children to Alfred and Minna Newington, Alfred Sr was a hosier, and the family lived in Brighton, Sussex.

Alfred Sr passed away in 1899, and by this time, his eldest son had followed his trade, becoming a gentleman’s outfitter. By the time of the 1911 census, he was the only one of the siblings still living at home, and was supporting Minna financially and in the family business along the coast in Worthing.

As with his early life, details of Alfred’s military service are a little scarce. However, a newspaper report of his passing gives more detail.

DEATH OF LIEUTENANT NEWINGTON

We learn with regret that Lieutenant Alfred J Newington died at Nordrath [sic], Blagdon, Somerset, on Friday. He was the eldest son of the late Mr Alfred Newington and of Mrs Newington, of Somerset Villa, Richmond Road.

The death of Mr Newington Sr took place after an illness of a long duration, in July 1899, after he had been in business her for about sixteen years. He came hither from Brighton, and established himself as an outfitter at the corner of Warwick Street at the premises now occupied by Messrs. Kinch Brothers.

During his residence here, Mr AJ Newington, who assisted his father in the business, had an exciting experience in the summer of 1896. He and Mr Frederick Barnwell and a friend names Wadham went towards Lancing on a fishing expedition and the boat was capsized, and Mr Barnwell was drowned, whilst Mr Newington and Mr Wadham were in the water for an hour and a half, eventually reaching the shore in an exhausted condition.

In February 1897, Mr Newington went to South Africa, and when War broke out he became a trooper in the South Africa Light Horse. He was subsequently awarded the silver medal with six bars, bearing the names of Belmont, Laing’s Nek, the Relief of Ladysmith, Orange Free State, Tugela Heights and Cape Colony.

When he came back to England, Mr Newington returned to the business and was a member of the Somerset Yeomanry, in which he advanced to the rank of Sergeant Major. His health failed about eight years ago, and he undertook a trip to the Baltic.

During the present War, he joined the Army Service Corps, and was attached to the Indian Cavalry Division in France, and it is only within a comparatively brief period that he was on leave at Worthing. His relatives will receive the sympathy of a wide circle of friends in the loss they have now sustained.

Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 9th May 1917

Second Lieutenant Newington had actually been admitted to the Nordrach Sanatorium near Blagdon in Somerset. This was a hospital that specialised in the treatment of tuberculosis, so it is safe to assume that this is the condition that affected him. He passed away on 4th May 1917, at the age of 39 years old.

Alfred John Newington wasn’t taken back to Worthing for burial. Instead, he lies at rest in the quiet churchyard of St Bartholomew’s in the village of Ubley, near Blagdon, in Somerset.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Somerset, story, Sussex, war

Gunner Clifford Tucker

Leave a comment
Gunner Clifford Tucker

Clifford Charles Tucker was born in 1896, one of five children to John and Ellen Tucker. John was a shoemaker in the Somerset village of Othery, while Clifford became a farm labourer when he left school.

There is little documented of Clifford’s life, and what I have been able to identify about his military career has come from a newspaper article.

Much regret is felt in Othery at the new of the death of Clifford Tucker, one of the young fellows who volunteered for the service of their King and Country. Deceased, who was only 18 years of age… enlisted in the Royal Artillery about six weeks ago and was stationed at Brighton.

He was taken ill with pneumonia and died, his father arriving in time to see him before he breathed his last.

Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser: Wednesday 17th March 1915.

Gunner Tucker passed away on 28th February 1915, aged just 18 years old.

He lies at rest in the cemetery of his home village of Othery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, story, Sussex, war

Corporal Edwin Herbert

Leave a comment
Corporal Edwin Herbert

Edwin Herbert was born in 1864, the third of three children to Moses and Melina Herbert of Hove in East Sussex. Moses worked in the cement industry as a labourer, a job that had taken him from his home in Kent to Sussex, and which, by the 1871 census, would return him to his home county.

Edwin married Amelia Charlotte Titus in 1885 and the couple’s first child – a daughter, Nelly – was born a year later.

By the 1891 census, Edwin was also labouring in the North Kent cement industry, something he continued to do for at least the next twenty years, as confirmed in the following two censuses.

The Herberts’ second child, Amelia, was born in 1901, the year after Edwin’s mother passed away. The family were, by then, living in Cuxton, just to the south of Rochester. The cement industry was one of the large employers in the Medway valley, and it is not surprising that the family lived in and around that area for so long.

In 1910, Edwin’s father also died, at the age of 69. After the death of Melina, Moses had moved in with his daughter – Edwin’s older sister – in Rochester, and the family were also still labouring in the cement and brickmaking industry.

Edwin’s military records are sketchy. Piecing the evidence together, he enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps.

It is likely that he did so on a voluntary basis. The cement industry was not protected by exemption. Kitchener’s initial conscription in March 1916 excluded married men. When this was extended in May 1916, there was still a maximum age limit of 41 (Edwin was 52 year old by this point).

By whichever means he had enlisted, Edwin served as a Corporal (there is nothing to confirm whether he was promoted from Private, or if he went straight into service at that rank). He was discharged on 30th July 1918, and it is likely that this was on a medical basis.

Corporal Herbert’s pension documents record that he passed away on 30th October 1918, as a result of carcinoma of the liver and exhaustion. He was 54 years old.

Edwin Herbert lies at peace in the quiet churchyard of St Helen’s in Cliffe, Kent.

The majority of the the Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones in the UK are made from Portland stone, although, in face, over 50 different natural stones have been used.

Corporal Cornell’s headstone is one of two in St Helen’s Churchyard that have been fashioned from dark grey slate.

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, injury, Kent, photography, Royal Army Service Corps, story, Sussex, war

Driver Walter Colchin

Leave a comment
Driver Walter Colchin

Walter George Colchin was born in 1884 in Borden, Kent. His parents, Herbert and Frances, moved the family – three sons, including Walter, and a daughter – to the village of Iwade, where they ran the Woolpack Inn.

There isn’t a great deal of information about Walter’s life. He married Bertha Sparks from the neighbouring village of Milton in 1916.

Walter joined the war effort at some point after that – I have been unable to find an exact date – and enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps, before transferring to the Agricultural Company Labour Corps.

Private Colchin was on active service in Steyning, West Sussex, when the war came to a close. On 23rd December 1918, he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and died. He was 34 years old.

Walter Colchin is buried in the graveyard of All Saints Church in his home village of Iwade.