Tag Archives: Wiltshire Regiment

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, photography, Private, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Private Ernest Jones

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Private Ernest Jones

Ernest Albert Jones was born in the spring of 1878. The sixth of seven children, he wad the youngest son to Thomas and Maria Jones. Thomas was an agricultural labourer, and the family lived in a cottage on The Rank in the Wiltshire village of Holt.

Ernest found work as a gardener’s assistant when he completed his schooling, but, by the time of the 1911 census, he was employed as a leather dresser for a local fellmonger. According to the document, he was the only one of the Jones children to still be living at home, bringing in money to support his parents.

Maria died in the spring of 1911, and it is likely that Ernest remained at home to support his father. When war broke out, he stepped up to serve his country and, although his service papers have been lost to time, the documents that have survived suggest he joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. His time there was not lengthy, however, and he soon transferred to the Wiltshire Regiment.

It is unclear where or how Private Jones served. He was attached to the 6th (Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry) Battalion, who served on the Western Front from 1915 onwards, but nothing in Ernest’s remaining records suggest he spent any time overseas.

Ernest survived the war, and returned to the family home. He passed away on 27th June 1920, through causes unknown, at the age of 42.

The body of Ernest Albert Jones was laid to rest in Hold Old Cemetery, not far from the home in which his family had lived for more than four decades.

Thomas passed away nearly two years after his son, at the age of 87 years old. By this point, his granddaughter, Nellie, had moved in to look after him: it was she who Ernest had nominated as his next of kin.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, Uncategorized, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Joseph Barnes

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Private Joseph Barnes

Joseph Arthur Barnes was born in the spring of 1887, and was the youngest of four children to George and Hannah Barnes. George was a farm labourer from Longbridge Deverill, Wiltshire, and this is where he and Hannah – or Anna – raised their family.

When he completed his schooling, Joseph found work as a horseman on the farm, alongside his older brother, George. On 30th July 1913, he married Minnie Ring, a furniture maker’s daughter from the village. The couple exchanged vows in the parish church.

War was on the horizon, and a little over a year after their marriage, Joseph stepped up to play his part. He joined the Wiltshire Regiment and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion. Private Barnes was sent to Dorset for training, but his time in the army would not be a lengthy one.

Joseph contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to hospital in Weymouth. The condition would provide to severe, however, and he passed away on 9th April 1915: he was 27 years of age.

The body of Joseph Arthur Barnes was taken back to Wiltshire for burial: he was laid to rest in the tranquil surrounds of St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Longbridge Deverill.

Joseph’s brother George also served in the First World War. Assigned to the 1st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment, he served on the Western Front. Private Barnes was killed in action on 5th August 1917, at the age of 33. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, photography, Rifle Brigade, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Corporal Alfred Newman

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Lance Corporal Alfred Newman

Alfred James Newman was born in around 1874 in Westbury, Wiltshire. One of six children, his parents were coke burner and agricultural labourer James Newman and his wife, Virtue.

Alfred followed his father into farm work, and would remain living with his parents until they were in their seventies. The 1911 census found the family living in Westbury Leigh, to the south of Westbury itself, James and Virtue as pensioners and Alfred as a general farm labourer. Also living with them was adopted child James Ellery, although it isn’t clear who had adopted him, and whether he had any other familial connection to them to the Newmans.

When war broke out, Alfred stepped up to play his part. Full details of his military service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he joined the Wiltshire Regiment, and was attached to the 4th Battalion. He was then transferred to the 22nd (Wessex and Welsh) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. It is unclear whether he spent time overseas, but, by the spring of 1916, he had been promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.

On Tuesday last week, Mr James Newman… received a telegram from the military authorities stating that his son, Lance-Corporal Alfred James Newman had died the same day in the 2nd Southern General Hospital at Bristol… He, having obtained leave, went to Bristol to pay a visit to some friends and evidently caught a chill. His death took place on Tuesday morning. He was conveyed to his home on Friday, and the funeral took place on Saturday afternoon.

[Wiltshire News: Friday 14th April 1916]

Alfred’s Pension Ledger Index Card suggests that, rather than a chill, he had, in fact, died following the rupture of an aortic aneurysm. He passed away on 4th April 1916, and was 47 years of age.

The body of Alfred James Newman was laid to rest in the peaceful setting of the Provident Baptist Chapelyard in Penknap, to the south west of Westbury.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire Regiment, history, Labour Corps, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, South Africa, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Corporal Ernest Ritchens

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Corporal Ernest Ritchens

Ernest Ritchens was born in the summer of 1872 in the Wiltshire village of Semington. The youngest of nine children, he was one of seven boys to Isaac and Sarah Ritchens. Isaac was a farm labourer, and this is a job into which Ernest also followed when he completed his schooling.

Farming was not something Ernest wanted to be in for the long term, however, and, after the death of his parents – Isaac in 1895, and Sarah four years later – he joined the army. Details of his military career have been lost to time, but it seems that he joined the Wiltshire Regiment and, as a Private, spent time in South Africa. By the time he was stood down, he had risen to the rank of Lance Corporal.

Back home and, in the summer of 1907, Ernest married Sarah York, a wheelwright’s daughter from Hilperton near Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The newlyweds would set up home in the village, and go on to have four children. The 1911 census found the young family living on Devizes Road, Ernest back working as a farm labourer.

When war broke out, Ernest was again called upon to play his part . He was given the rank of Corporal, and attached to the Wiltshire Regiment (although other records he was assigned to the Hampshire Regiment). He did not appear to have spent any time overseas and, was soon transferred over to the 160th Company of the Labour Corps.

DEATHS

RITCHENS – On February 1st, at No. 1, Australian Hospital, Sutton Veny, Corporal Ernest Ritchens, of the Labour Corps, and formally of the Wilts Regiment, resident of Hilperton…

[Wiltshire News: Friday 7th February 1919]

Ernest Ritchens was 46 years of age when he passed away in 1919. While the cause us not reported, it is likely to have been an illness of some sort. His body was taken back to Hilperton, and he was laid to rest in the village cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private William Mead

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Private William Mead

William Henry Mead was born in Frome, Somerset, in the spring of 1886. The second of six children, his parents were mason Henry Mead and his wife, Eliza. Henry’s work took him across the area: the 1891 census found the family living at 5 Tower Hill in Dilton Marsh, Wiltshire, while by 1901 they had moved to Upton Scudamore, closer to Warminster.

By this point, William was working as a farm labourer, but he then disappears from the records. His entry on the Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects when he died shows that he left a significantly higher amount of money than would normally be expected for someone who had simply enlisted for the duration of the war. It is possible, therefore, that his absence from the 1911 census is due to him being out of the country whilst with the army.

The document confirms that William served with the 2nd Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment. The unit saw action as Ypres, the Somme, Passchendaele and Messines, but, without his service records, it is impossible to know how or where Private Mead fought. He survived the war, however, and by the start of 1919, he was billeted in Tidworth, on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

Private Mead’s health was suffering by this point, and he was admitted to the camp’s hospital. He died, through causes unknown, on 27th April 1919: he was 33 years of age.

The body of William Henry Mead was taken back to Warminster, where his grieving family were now living. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of the town’s Christ Church.

Private William Mead
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Gunner, history, photography, Private, Royal Horse Artillery, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Gunner Ernest Prince

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Gunner Ernest Prince

Ernest Harold Prince was born in the spring of 1891 in Warminster, Wiltshire. The eighth of eleven children, he was one of five boys to William and Mary Prince. William was a quarry worker, and the family lived at 33 Brook Street to the south of the town.

Ernest followed his father into quarry labouring. William was working in Abercarn, Monmouthshire, at the time of the 1901 census, and had returned to Wiltshire by 1911. Ernest, on the other hand, had sought work in Wales himself by this point, and is recorded as boarding with the Courtney family at 39 Rhyswg Road. The document notes that he was employed as a labourer below ground in a local colliery.

When war broke out, Ernest stepped up to play his part. Full details of his service have been lost to time, and it is unclear whether he was still working in the colliery, and therefore exempt from joining up initially because of his reserved occupation. What is certain, however, is that he had enlisted by the spring of 1918, and, as a Gunner, had joined the Royal Horse Artillery A Battery.

The next record for Gunner Prince relates to his passing. He is recorded as having died of disease on 29th October 1918. His death was recorded in Warminster, so it is safe to assume that he had been at home, or at least in his home town, when he passed. He was 27 years of age.

The body of Ernest Harold Prince was laid to rest in the graveyard of Christ Church in Warminster.

Ernest’s younger brother, Walter, also fought in the First World War. A Private in the 2nd Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment, he had served on the Western Front during 1915.

Private Prince fought at Loos and was killed on 26th September 1915. He is commemorated on Panel 102 of the Loos Memorial.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Harry Carr

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Private Harry Carr

Harry James Carr was born on 17th October 1893 in Warminster, Wiltshire. The youngest of four children, his parents were Joseph and Annie Carr. Joseph was a plasterer and tiles, and also a sexton for the local church: the 1901 and 1911 census returns found the family living at 22 Church Street, towards the west of the town centre.

When Harry completed his schooling, he found work as a plasterer alongside his father. War was coming, and he stepped up to play his part. Full service records have been lost to time, but he would have enlisted no later than the summer of 1916, joining the 1st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment. Private Carr’s unit became entrenched on the Western Front, fighting at the Somme during that year.

Harry was wounded during the Battle of Ancre Heights. The details of his injuries are unclear, but they were bad enough for him to be medically evacuated for treatment. Admitted to the Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, he would remain there for the next four months. Ultimately, his wounds were too severe: Private Carr passed away on 17th February 1917, aged just 23 years old.

The funeral took place at the Minster on Thursday of Pte. Harry James… The deceased was the youngest son of Mr and Mrs J Carr, the respected sexton and sextoness for many years at the Minster Church.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 24th February 1917]

Harry James Carr was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Denys’ Church, in his home town of Warminster.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorsetshire Regiment, Egypt, Gloucestershire, Great War, history, illness, Lance Corporal, Mesopotamia, photography, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Corporal Herbert Sims

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Lance Corporal Herbert Sims

Herbert Rowland Sims was born in Warminster, Wiltshire, on 27th May 1895. One of nine children, he was the youngest son to Edward and Mary Sims. Edward was a railway signalman, and the family lived on Imber Road, to the north east of the town centre.

When Herbert finished his schooling, he found employment as a tailor’s apprentice. When war broke out, however, he was keen to play his part. His service records no longer exist, but a later newspaper report fills in some of the details.

The death took place on Wednesday in last week at the Tewkesbury Red Cross hospital of Lance-Cpl. Herbert Rowland Sims… [He] went to India on the outbreak of war with the Wilts Regiment, and subsequently volunteered for service in Mesopotamia, being transferred to the Dorsets. He contracted typhoid, and after being in hospital in Egypt he was invalided home. He was about to receive his discharge, but was again laid low by an attack of pneumonia which, after the illness contracted in Mesopotamia, proved fatal.

A memorial service was held in Tewkesbury Abbey on Saturday, the body being escorted by wounded comrades from the hospital. From the Abbey the coffin was taken to the railway station to be sent to Warminster, and on Monday the internment took place in the Minster churchyard with military honours.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 26th October 1918]

Herbert Rowland Sims was just 23 years of age when he died on 16th October 1918. He was laid to rest in St Denys’ Churchyard in his home town of Warminster.

Lance Corporal Herbert Sims
(from ancestry.co.uk)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Labour Corps, photography, Private, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private George Francis

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Private George Francis

George Edward Francis was born at the end of 1871 in the Wiltshire village of Alvediston. The youngest of six children, his parents were Eli and Mary Francis. Eli was an agricultural labourer, and this was the line of work that George would also follow.

Eli died in 1885, and Mary moved in her daughter Elizabeth’s family, and the 1891 census noted that George and his older brother Samuel were also living there. George, now 19 years of age, was employed as a farm labourer.

On 11th July 1906, George married Alice Shirley. A year older than her new husband their wedding certificate notes that she was also born in Alvediston, but that her father wasn’t known. The couple settled in a house in Tollard Royal, a few miles south of their home village.

George stepped up to serve his country when war was declared. Full details of his time in the army are unclear, but he had definitely enlisted by the summer of 1918. He was initially assigned to the Wiltshire Regiment, but was later transferred to the 651st Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps.

The only other record for Private Francis’ time in the army, is a document relating to his passing. This confirms that he died on 28th December 1918 in camp at Norton Bavant, to the east of Warminster, Wiltshire: he was 47 years of age.

It seems likely that Alice was unable to cover the cost of bringing her husband’s body back to Tollard Royal for burial. Instead, George Edward Francis was laid to rest in the graveyard of All Saints’ Church in Norton Bavant.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kent, photography, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war, Wiltshire

Serjeant Edward Davies

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Serjeant Edward Davies

Edward Victor Davies was born in the Weston area of Bath, Somerset, in the summer of 1897. The second of four children, and the only boy, his parents were Walter and Emily Davies.

Walter was a park keeper who died when Edward was just 9 years old. By the time of the 1911 census, Emily was working as a caretaker for a solicitor’s office, while her sone was a boarding student at the Duke of York’s School in Guston, Kent. This army school had more than 500 students, with a staff of 100 to train them. It is unclear whether Edward went voluntarily, or whether he was sent there by his mother’s employers because he was fatherless.

War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and Edward stepped up to play his part. Unfortunately, his service records have been lost to time, so it is unclear whether he went straight into the army after finishing his education. However, given that he held the rank of Serjeant by the end of the conflict, it seems likely that his military career began before the start of the First World War.

Edward – who was better known as Ted – joined the Wiltshire Regiment, and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion. His unit spent time on the Western Front, but there is no evidence whether or not he served overseas. He survived the war, but subsequently fell ill, as so many servicemen did:

DAVIES – March 28th, Sergeant Edward Victor (Ted) Davies, 2nd Wiltshire Regiment, at the Royal Military Hospital, of pneumonia, following influenza, aged 22 years.

[Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette – Saturday 03 April 1920]

Edward Victor Davies was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Bath’s Locksbrook Cemetery, not far from where he had grown up.