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Commonwealth War Graves, County Cork, Dorset, Dublin, Fleet Surgeon, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Ireland, Kent, photography, story, war

Fleet Surgeon Edward Ward

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Fleet Surgeon Edward Ward

Edward Copley Ward was born in Charleville, County Cork, Ireland, on 2nd November 1862. The middle of three children, his parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Ward. Thomas died in 1868, and there is scant information about Edward’s life until he reached his early 20s.

It is clear that he had a focus on education, and a leaning towards the medical side of things. By December 1883, he had qualified as a Master Surgeon at the Royal University of Ireland, and was licenced in midwifery through the King & Queen’s College of Physicians.

Edward was not one to rest on his laurels, however, and he soon tasked himself to a naval career. On 21st August 1900 he was recorded on the Navy Lists as being a Fleet Surgeon, although there is little specific information about this service at this time.

MARRIAGES: WARD-CROWE

October 28, by special licence, at Kill Church… Staff-Surgeon Edward C Ward, RN, to Eleanor, daughter of the late Michael F Crowe, JP, of Melfield, Blackrock, County Dublin.

[Northern Whig: Saturday 1st November 1902]

Edward and Eleanor’s trail goes cold again at this point, and it is not until the 1911 census that we are able to pick them up again. By this point, Eleanor, now 45 years old, is living with four of her sisters, Kate, Charlotte, Isabella and Susanna in a house in Monkstown, Dublin. The family are supported by a domestic servant, Mary Collins.

Edward, meanwhile, was serving on board the battleship HMS Jupiter, which was moored in Weymouth Bay, Dorset. There were 548 crew members on board, and the now Fleet Surgeon Ward was one of seventeen commissioned officers, serving under Rear Admiral Arthur Limpus.

Over the next three years, Edward would serve on six further ships, but, by the time war was declared in the summer of 1914, he found himself shore-based. From December of that year, he served at HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. His role: to oversee the treatment of incoming wounded troops, and their preparation for onward transport to whichever hospital they would end up.

Fleet Surgeon War would spend the next three years fulfilling this task, but, by the summer of 1917, it would be Edward himself who needed support. Admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, he was suffering from tubercular disease of the kidney, and it would be this condition to which he would succumb. He passed away on 7th August 1917, at the age of 54 years old.

The body of Edward Copley Ward was laid to rest with a simple headstone in Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard he had come to know as home.

Interestingly, when Edward’s estate went to probate, he left his estate – worth £1257 7s 11d (approximately £111,500 in today’s money) to Geoffrey Holt Stillwell, with no mention of Eleanor. Geoffrey was a member of a banking family from the south of England, who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 4th Hampshire Regiment.

Fleet Surgeon Edward Ward
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Deck Hand, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Royal Naval Reserve, Scotland, story, war

Deck Hand John McDonald

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Deck Hand John McDonald

Born in Laxay (Lacasaigh) on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, John Murdo McDonald was the son of Donald and Maggie McDonald. He can be readily identified on the 1901 census, which suggests that he was born in January of that year. The family do not appear on the 1911 census, and John’s trail quickly goes cold.

When war broke out, it would seem that John stepped up to play his part. He joined the Royal Naval Reserve – suggesting that he had some seafaring experience, but his service papers have been lost to time. There are at least four John Murdo McDonalds born around 1901, who all served in the Royal Naval Reserve. None of their service numbers match that of John’s, however.

By the summer of 1917, Deck Hand McDonald was serving on board the motor drifter Ocean’s Gift. The boat, little more than a trawler requisitioned by the Royal Navy, was used as a patrol ship around the Thames Estuary.

That July, John was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, Kent. He was suffering from tuberculosis, and this would ultimately take his life. He died on 2nd July 1917, aged just 17 years old.

The Isle of Lewis was an unimaginable distance from Kent, and so the body of John Murdo McDonald was not returned to his family. Instead, he was laid to rest in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, not far from the dockyard in Chatham, that had briefly been his home.

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

Gunner William Foxworthy

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Gunner William Foxworthy

William George Foxworthy was born in Dartmouth, Devon early in 1880. The middle of five children, his parents were William and Mary Foxworthy. William Sr (whose full name was William George Foxworthy, and who was known by his middle name) was a house painter, but when he finished his schooling, William Jr found work as a boat builder.

The 1901 census found the family living in a small house on Crowther’s Hill, to the Dartmouth town centre. The cottage would have been cramped, but there were five wages coming in from George, William and William’s siblings.

William does not appear on the 1911 census, and it seems that he took the step from building boats to sailing on them. When war broke out, he was quick to step up and play his part, enlisting in Exeter on the 22nd October 1914. While he had previously been a volunteer in the Devonshire Regiment, William was assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery.

Gunner Foxworthy’s service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, and weighed 121lbs (54.9kg). He was noted as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. Deemed fit for military service, he was packed off to a base in Sheerness, Kent.

William spent the next year on the north Kent coast, before being reassigned. By 1st November 1915 he was on the Front Line, and remained in France until the following June.

In the spring of 1916, Gunner Foxworthy fell ill. He contracted tuberculosis, and this was to dog him for the rest of his life. The contagious nature of the condition meant that he was no longer fit for military service, and he was medically discharged on 11th July 1916.

The death occurred on Tuesday of last week at Roseville Street, of Mr William George Foxworthy, second son of Mr and Mrs Foxworthy, after a long and painful illness. In 1914 deceased joined the [Royal Garrison Artillery] as a gunner, and saw much fighting around Ypres in the winter of 1915-16, during which time he contracted the disease which has now terminated fatally. This is the second son Mr and Mrs Foxworthy have lost in the war, their youngest boy having been killed some two months ago. Great sympathy has been shown the parents in their second bereavement.

[Dartmouth & South Hams Chronicle:  Friday 20th December 1918]

William George Foxworthy was 38 years of age when he died on 10th December 1918. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Clement’s Church in his home town, Dartmouth.

William’s younger brother, Louis Henry Foxworthy, was a Corporal in the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He served on the Western Front as well and, in September 1918, he was caught up in the fighting in St Riquier, near Abbeville. Corporal Foxworthy was killed in action on 8th October 1918: he was 31 years of age.

Louis’ body was not recovered, and he is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois British Memorial in Harcourt, France.

Berkshire, Bombardier, Clwyd, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, Gunner, history, illness, India, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Field Artillery, Royal Garrison Artillery, story, Wales, war

Bombardier Frank Sloman

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Bombardier Frank Sloman

Frank Sloman was born in the autumn of 1887, and was the youngest of five children to Frank and Emma. Frank Sr was a mason from Jersey, in the Channel Islands, but it was in Tiverton, Devon, that he and Emma made their home and raised their family. The 1891 census found the family living on Castle Street, but by 1901 they had moved down the road to St Peter’s Street.

Frank Jr found work as a painter when he finished his schooling, but he sought adventure and a career. He was already a volunteer for the Devonshire Regiment, and, on 7th May 1904, he officially enlisted as a paid member of the troop. Private Sloman’s records show that he was 5th 10.5ins (1.79m) tall, and weighed 129lbs (58.5kg). He was noted as having brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.

Private Sloman spent two years on home soil. He quickly extended his contract, and this led to more opportunities. By December 1906 his unit was in India, and he would go on to spend five and a half years there.

In December 1907, Frank transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery. He initially held the rank of Gunner, before being promoted to Bombardier in January 1912, and Corporal just three months later. In October, Frank returned to Britain, and was stood down to reserve status. He returned to Tiverton, and found work as a porter at the local station.

War was on the horizon, however, and when conflict broke out, Frank was called upon to play his part once more. Initially taking up the rank of Corporal in the Royal Field Artillery, he reverted to the role of Gunner at his own request. By this point, his unit was in France, and he would remain there for the next eight months.

On 6th May 1915, Frank returned to Britain, and was attached to 2B Reserve Brigade. He was based at the training facility in Bettisfield Park in Clwyd, and would spend the next eighteen months there. In June 1916, he was once again promoted to the rank of Bombardier.

Love was on the cards, and, on 17th June 1916, Frank married Frances Hadlow. There is little information available for her, but the couple exchanged vows at the Register Office in Windsor, Berkshire.

By the autumn of 1916, Frank’s health was becoming an issue. He contracted phthisis, or tuberculosis, and was sent to the the south coast for recuperation. His condition would ultimately render him unfit for continued military service, and Bombardier Sloman was discharged from the army on 17th December 1916.

His papers show that he had grown to 6ft 2.5ins (1.89m) in height, and, while physically unfit, he was a steady, sober and reliable man. He and Frances had taken rooms at 7 Hawley Street, Margate, Kent, but it seems that the couple soon moved back to Devon. Their new home was a small cottage at 3 Westbrook Place in Tiverton.

At this point, Frank’s trail goes cold. It is unclear whether he took up work again – or was able to do so – but his lung condition was ultimately to get the better of him. He passed away on 3rd June 1918, at the age of 30 years old.

Frank Sloman was laid to rest in Tiverton Cemetery, on the outskirts of the town in which he had grown up.

Commonwealth War Graves, Cumbria, Driver, Great War, history, illness, photography, Royal Field Artillery, story, war, Wiltshire

Driver George Messenger

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Driver George Messenger

The death of Driver G Messenger, aged 20, of the 18th Divisional Ammunition Column, stationed at Heytesbury, took place at the Red Cross Military Hospital on Friday, the 11th inst. Messenger was a native of Lower Braithwaite, Carlisle, and was admitted to the hospital in the middle of May suffering from consumption. Deceased joined upon the commencement of the war.

[Salisbury and Winchester Journal: Saturday 19th June 1915]

George Messenger was born in 1895 and was the third of seven children. His parents, George and Sarah, were farmers, and the family grew up in Mealsgate, on the edge of the Lake District. Sarah died in 1901, and by the time of the 1911 census, George Jr and his siblings were helping their father on the farm.

When war broke out, George Jr was quick to enlist. Details of his military service are sparse, but what does remain confirms that he had enlisted no later than December 1914, which backs up the details in his obituary.

Driver Messenger joined the Royal Field Artillery, but it seems unlikely that he spent any time overseas. He seems to have been sent to a camp on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, for training and this is where he became ill. Contracting tuberculosis, probably from the cramped environment of the army barracks, George was admitted to the Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital in the town of Mere. He passed away from the lung condition on 11th June 1915: he was just 20 years of age.

Rather than being taken back to Cumbria, George Messenger was instead laid to rest in Mere Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, injury, Machine Gun Corps, photography, Private, story, war

Private John Lethaby

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Private John Lethaby

The news of the death of ex-Gunner JC Lethaby, who passed away early on Monday morning last. was received… with deep regret. On the outbreak of war he was only 16 years old, but when the call came for volunteers, he put his age to 19 and enlisted. He proved his worth on the battlefields of Flanders and after being wounded, was gassed, his work as a first class machine gunner calling him into much danger. He recovered from his injuries to some extent, but after demobilisation, his health broke down and he gradually sank. His pain and suffering during the past months were borne with much patience. Last week he earnestly begged to be removed to his home… and he was brought by motor car.. on Sunday afternoon, but he passed away the next morning. He leaves a wife and child to mourn their loss, and sympathy is expressed with them as also with his mother, father, brothers and sisters… Always of a cheerful disposition deceased had a host of friends, especially among the young men of the parish. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and was entitled to the 1915-1915 Bronze Star.

[Tiverton Gazette (Mid-Devon Gazette): Tuesday 15th June 1920]

Despite the John Charles Lethaby’s obituary, there is little additional information about his early life. He does not appear on the 1901 or 1911 census returns, and there is no obvious sign of a birth or marriage certificate.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives his wife’s name as Clara, and a later military record suggests that she moved to Hitchin, Hertfordshire, after her husband’s death. The 1921 census noted that she was living with her parents, Arthur and Eliza King, and had her daughter, Ada, with her.

The newspaper report suggests that John was born in 1898, which would have made him 22 when he died on 7th June 1920. His headstone gives his age as 25, which would fit in with the obituary commenting that he had added three years to his age in order to enlist. He appears to have joined the 3rd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, before transferring across to the Machine Gun Corps.

John Charles Lethaby was discharged from army on medical grounds on 19th April 1919. He died of pulmonary tuberculosis just over a year later, and was laid to rest in All Saints’ Churchyard, North Molton, Devon.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war

Private Bernard King

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Private Bernard King

Bernard Gale King was born in the spring of 1881, the seventh of eleven children to Charles and Charity King. Charles was a bookseller from Huntingdonshire, but he and Charity had moved to Wolborough, Devon by the time Bernard was born.

The 1901 census found that the family had moved again and Charles had set up shop in the Tormoham area of Torquay. By this point Bernard and his older sister, Florrie, were helping their father with the business, which was located at 99 Union Street .

On 5th March 1904, Bernard married Lilian Potter at the Wesleyan Chapel in Brixham. Sadly, there is little information available for her, but she was a year older than her husband, and had been born in Exeter. The couple set up home on Rock Road, Torquay, and had three children: Frederick, William and Gladys.

By the time of the 1911 census, Bernard had moved away from selling books, and had become a photographer. Storm clouds were brewing over Europe, however, and things were to change.

When war broke out, Bernard stepped up to play his part. He enlisted on 11th December 1915, and joined the Devonshire Regiment. His service records show that the family had moved along the coast, and were living at 22 Winner Street in Paignton.

Private King was notes as being 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall and weighing 119lbs (54kg). He had dark brown hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion. Initially assigned to the 4th Battalion, by October 1916, he had transferred to a home service unit, and remained on home soil during his time in the army.

In the spring of 1917, Bernard contracted tuberculosis. The contagious nature of the illness meant that he was deemed no longer fit for any service, and he was medically discharged on 7th April 1917.

At this point Bernard’s trail goes cold. He seemed to have returned home, but would ultimately succumb to the lung condition he had contracted in the army. He passed away on 21st October 1918: he was 37 years of age.

Bernard Gale King was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, overlooking the town in which his grieving family still lived.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Private, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Wiltshire

Private William Hasley

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Private William Hasley

William George Hasley was born on 14th June 1897. He was the oldest of three children to William and Sarah Hasley. William Sr, a former soldier, worked as a commissionaire, and the family lived at 11 Coach & Horses Yard, St James, Westminster.

Things had changed by 1900, and William Sr was employed as an engineer’s labourer. The family had moved to Dorset, setting up home in the village of Bourton, and their daughter, Susan, was born there at the turn of the century. Susan Sr came from just up the road in Zeals, Wiltshire, and it is likely that she was staying there when her youngest child, Sidney, was born in 1902.

By the time of the 1911 census, the family of five were living at Beach Cottage, Bourton. William Sr was drawing his army pension, but still employed at the engineering foundry; his eldest son, while still at school, was also listed as a news boy, possibly selling the periodicals to villagers.

War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and William Jr was quick to step up and play his part. Giving up his job as an engineer’s fitter, enlisted on 1st September 1914, and joined the Somerset Light Infantry. His service records show that he stood 5ft 8.5ins (1.74m) tall, and weighed 124lbs (56.3kg). Private Hasley was noted as having brown hair, brown eyes and a sallow complexion. He also had a scar on the tip of the middle finger of his left hand.

Assigned to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Private Hasley’s unit moved to Devonport, Devon, at the start of 1915. It was here that he contracted tuberculosis, which would ultimately lead to his medical discharge from the army in July. He served just 308 days.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold. It is likely that he returned to Bourton, although he had regular check-ups by the army inspection board. He was deemed totally incapacitated by the illness on 3rd January 1917.

William George Hasley’s lung condition would seal his fate. He passed away on 23rd March 1917: he was just 19 years of age. He was laid to rest in Bourton Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Devonshire Regiment, Great War, history, illness, India, Mesopotamia, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Samuel Harris

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Private Samuel Harris

Samuel John Harris was born in the spring of 1895, and was the oldest of three children to Samuel and Annie Harris. Samuel Sr was a cabinet maker from South Molton, Devon, and this was the village in which he and Annie raised their family.

The 1901 census found the Harrises taking rooms at 24 North Street, a house they shared with two other families. Move forward, and they were living four doors down the road at No. 28, a smaller cottage, but one they had to themselves.

Samuel Jr, at this point, was sixteen years old, but had completed his schooling and was working as a hotel waiter. His younger brother, Albert, had also started work, and was employed as an apprentice coach builder. Samuel Sr, meanwhile, was continuing with his cabinet making.

When war broke out, Samuel Jr was one of the first to enlist. While full details of his time in the army have been lost, it is clear that he joined the Devonshire Regiment, and he was initially attached to the 1st/6th Battalion.

Pte. SJ Harris proceeded to India and Mesopotamia with the Territorials. The hardships of campaigning and the trying climate in Mesopotamia proved too much for his constitution.

[Western Times: Friday 9th November 1917]

Samuel returned to Britain, and was admitted to the military hospital in Sutton Veny, Wiltshire. He passed away on 29th October 1917, from a combination of tuberculosis and a cyst in his back. He was 22 years of age.

Despite the apparent weakness in his constitution, the Western Times reported on his youth in South Molton:

The young man was very popular among his comrades in arms, and at Sutton Veny a general favourite. Prior to th war he was a familiar figure at football matches, having played for various teams at [South Molton] and in the district.

[Western Times: Friday 9th November 1917]

The body of Samuel John Harris was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the South Molton Cemetery, just a sort walk from his grieving family’s home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, injury, Labour Corps, London Regiment, photography, Private, story, war

Private George Whiteway

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Private George Whiteway

George William John Whiteway was born in Paignton, Devon, on 4th February 1893. The youngest of three children, and the only son, his parents were William and Sarah Whiteway.

William was a journeyman painter, and from at least when his son was born, the family lived in a small terraced house, 9 Tower Road, on the outskirts of the town centre.

By the time of the 1911 census, George had completed his schooling, and was working as an apprentice painter. It is unclear whether this was under his father’s tutelage, as he gave his employment as verger and caretaker of the local parish church.

When war broke out, George stepped up to play his part. He enlisted in Torquay on 1st December 1915, and his service records note that he was of good physical development, stood 5ft 6.25ins (1.68m), and weighed 126lbs (57.2kg). He was also recorded as having light brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion.

Initially assigned to the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, Private Whiteway was transferred to the London Regiment and attached to the 3rd/21st Battalion. By the summer of 1916 George had transferred to the 1st/21st (County of London) Battalion, also known as the First Surrey Rifles. On 15th June his unit was sent to France, and he soon found himself in fighting on the Somme.

Private Whiteway’s time in France was to be a brief one. Caught up in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, he was wounded in the back and neck, and, after initial treatment on site, he was medically evacuated to Britain.

It is unclear where George was first admitted, but by February 1917, he was being tended to in the Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital in his home town, Paignton. He remained there for a couple of month, before being released back to duty.

Private Whiteway’s time fighting was over. He was transferred to the 619th Home Service Employment Company of the Labour Corps, and would spend the next year in and around Winchester, Hampshire. It is evident, however, that George’s health had been impacted. By March 1918 he was in hospital again, this time close to his army base. Suffering from a combination of peritonitis and tuberculosis, the contagious nature of the latter condition would lead to his dismissal from military service, and he was formally stood down on 29th April 1918.

At this point, George’s trail goes cold. It seems likely that he returned home, as his death was recorded in Totnes, Devon. He breathed his last on 25th August 1918: he was 25 years of age.

George William John Whiteway was laid to rest in Paignton Cemetery, a short walk from his family home.