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Guardsman Arthur Noad

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Guardsman Arthur Noad

Arthur Noad was born in Wiltshire in January 1888, the younger of two children to butcher Joseph Noad and his wife, Cecilia.

On Friday one of the largest attended funerals for years past took place at [Rode]. It was that of Mr Joseph Noad, youngest son of Mr John Noad, butcher, of Lower Street.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 21th April 1888]

The now widowed Cecilia was left in a precarious position, with two young children to raise. But a solution was at hand:

MESSRS. HARDING & SONS are instructed by the Executors of the Will of the late Mr Joseph Noad, to SELL by AUCTION.. the whole of the Valuable LIVE & DEAD STOCK, Comprising:

HORNED CATTLE: 3 useful Dairy Cows and Heifers in-calf; 4 weanling Heifer Calves; 2 fat Calves

SHEEP: 7 Ewes and 7 fat Lambs

HORSES: Powerful Grey Gelding, 8-years-old; Grey Mare, 7-yrs.-old, in foal; promising Black Filly, rising-yrs.-old…

PIGS: 10 capital Stores

IMPLEMENTS & MACHINES, &c: Spring wagon, nearly new; 2 spring traps, nearly new; spring cart… 3 sets trap and 1 set thrill harness, saddle and bridle, covered sheep rack… hurdles… chaff machine… turnip cutter, meal bins, hog tubs, iron and wood pig troughs, cake breaker, oat bruiser, horse rake, 6 large meat hampers and other effects…

Quantity of Maize, Potatoes, Barley Straw; stack of prime Pasture Hay, with liberty of removal.

[Trowbridge Chronicle: Saturday 21st April 1888]

Cecilia sold up and moved on and, by the time of the 1891 census, she and the boys were on Lower Street, Southwick, near Trowbridge, next door to her late husband’s sister and family, and her former mother-in-law.

She was unable to support herself indefinitely on the proceeds of the auction, however, and, in the summer of 1899, she married again, to commercial piano tuner Samuel Haskell. The next census return, taken in 1901, found the family still living next to Arthur’s aunt and grandmother: just thirteen years of age, his occupation was listed as a monitor at school (although this was subsequently crossed out).

Arthur would set out to carve his own path in life. By the time of his early 20s, he had left home, and taken on work as a grocer’s assistant in Hungerford, Berkshire. His accommodation was the gasworks on Charnham Street, as he was boarding with the manager and his family.

When war broke out, Arthur was quick to step up, joining the Coldstream Guards on 22nd December 1914. Sadly, there is little information about his time in the army, but it is clear that he was lucky to survive the conflict.

Arthur’s older brother, Henry, had joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and rose to the rank of Able Seaman. When the war began, there were too many sailors for ships, and so he was re-assigned to the Nelson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division. Henry found himself on the Western Front, and was caught up at Arras and Ypres. He was killed on 31st December 1917, during the action of the Welsh Ridge, and was buried at Flesquières Hill British Cemetery, near Cambrai.

Guardsman Noad married Amelia May in the spring of April 1916: the daughter of a woodsman from Longparish, Hampshire, sadly there is little additional information about her. The couple did go on to have a child together, daughter Kathleen, who was born on 4th April 1918.

There is little further information about Arthur’s life. He survived the conflict and, when peace returned to Europe, he relocated to Worthing, West Sussex. There is little confirmation as to why this move happened: the 1939 Register records Amelia and Kathleen living on Meadow Crescent to the east of the town, but it isn’t clear who went there first.

The last documents for Arthur Noad relate to his passing. He died on 18th December 1920 at the age of 33 years old. He was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, to the north of Worthing.

Amelia had lost her husband, but Cecilia had now lost both of her sons, and had outlived two husbands, Samuel having passed away nine years earlier. The 1921 census found her still living on Lower Street, Southwick. She lived until the age of 87, and passed away in Lothingland, Suffolk.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, India, Lance Corporal, Military Provost Staff Corps, photography, Private, Sergeant, South Africa, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Serjeant Frederick Bewley

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Serjeant Frederick Bewley

Frederick John Edwin Bewley was born in Calne, Wiltshire, on 10th May 1882. Noticeably absent from the 1891 and 1901 census records, his parents were Chelsea pensioner John Bewley, and his wife, Annie.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Frederick was drawn to a life in the army. Having already been a volunteer in the local militia, on 20th November 1900, he enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment. His service papers show that, at 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, he weighed 125lbs (56.7kg). He sported brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on his right thigh and calf.

Private Bewley’s contract was for 12 years. During that time, he travelled the world spending three years in South Africa, and more than five in India. He was back in South Africa when his initial term of service came to an end, and he re-enlisted without thinking about it.

In May 1904 Frederick has been promoted to Lance Corporal, a rank he would hold for the next 12 years. During his second term of service, war broke out, but he would only spend short periods of time overseas.

…a member of the regular army, [Frederick] crossed to France with Lord French’s Expeditionary Force in August, 1914, and was wounded in the thigh at the battle of Mons. After a short period at Netley Hospital he went to Flanders in the following November. The awful conditions prevailing in the trenches was responsible for an attack of frost-bite, and tuberculosis following, he was treated at Winsley and Harnwood Sanatoriums…

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 27th December 1919]

From 1th January 1915, Lance Corporal Bewley would remain on home soil. The sharp clarity of near-death experiences, along with a reconnection with home life, led to love blossoming and, on 6th May, he married labourer’s daughter Lilian Fidler. Both were living in Holt, Wiltshire, by this point, and it was in the village’s church that the couple exchanged vows.

Back on home soil, a new opportunity had opened up for Frederick, and he transferred to the Military Provost Staff Corps, a unit set up to police the army. In January 1916, he was promoted to Corporal; just weeks later, Vivian gave birth to their first child, Eric. and he rose to Sergeant eighteen months later.

On 1st August 1917, Corporal Bewley was promoted again, taking the rank of Serjeant. By this point, however, his bouts of poor health were coming back to haunt him, and, just six weeks after his promotion, he was medically discharged from the army.

After returning to Holt, Frederick welcomed a second son with Lilian on New Year’s Eve 1918, when Vivian was born. The following winter, his tuberculosis struck again, and this time it was clear the illness would prove fatal. He passed away on 21st December 1919, aged 37 years old.

The body of Frederick John Edwin Bewley was laid to rest in Hold Old Cemetery.

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

Private Henry Davis

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Private Henry Davis

Henry John Davis was born in the village of Broughton Gifford, Wiltshire, in December 1899. The middle of nine children, his parents were John and Annie Davis. John was a cowman, and he worked for the Chalfield estate, not far from the village.

After the 1911 census, Henry’s life is a challenge to piece together. When war broke out, he was too young to serve his country, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment at some point. As a Private, he was assigned to the 52nd (Graduated) Battalion, and was based in Norfolk during the second half of the conflict.

By the spring of 1918 Private Davis’ unit was in France, although there is no evidence that Henry was there himself. All that can be confirmed is that he was medically discharged from the army on 26th March 1920, as he was suffering from adenitis, a swelling of the lymph nodes in the abdomen.

Henry John Davis passed away on 4th April 1921, at the age of 21 years old. He seems to have died at home, although the exact cause of his passing is not known. He was laid to rest in Holt Old Cemetery, not far from where his family were living.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Lance Corporal, photography, Private, story, war, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Lance Corporal Stanley Gosnell

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Lance Corporal Stanley Gosnell

Joseph Roger Stanley Gosnell was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, in the autumn of 1895. He wad the only child to William and Florence Gosnell. William was a draughtsman, who died when his son was just 4 years old.

Florence was left to raise her son on her own and moved back to Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, where her family lived. On 14th April 1903, she remarried, her new husband being head teacher of Holt Congregational School, John Longstaff. The 1911 census found the family living at Eglington Villa, not far from the school.

When war broke out, Joseph was quick to step up and play his part. Now going by Stanley, he enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment on 17th September 1914, and was assigned to the 4th Battalion. His service papers show that he was 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was noted as having normal vision and good physical development.

Private Gosnell seemed to impress his superiors, and, on 12th December 1914, he was promoted Lance Corporal. The following day his unit was dispatched oversees, and he was sent to India. He would go on to spend the next eight months in Pune, but not in the way he might have hoped.

On 27th February 1915, Stanley was admitted to hospital, suffering from pneumonia. He would remain admitted for nearly three months. Sent back to his unit in mid-May, he was taken back into hospital just three weeks later with tuberculosis. This time, he would only be there for three weeks before being sent back to his unit.

Lance Corporal Gosnell was sent back to Britain in August 1915, and he would remain on home soil for the next year. During this time his health deteriorated, to the point that, no 25th August 1916, he was medically discharged from the army.

At this point, Stanley’s trail goes cold, and it is only a later newspaper report that confirms what happened:

Mrs Longstaff, of Eglington Villa, who a short time since was called upon to mourn the loss of her husband, Mr JC Longstaff, was on Wednesday further bereaved by the death of her only son, Mr Stanley Gosnell. Mr Gosnell’s constitution was never of the most robust kind, and though he volunteered for service and proceeded to India with the Territorials, he was unable to withstand the climate and the work entailed, and was invalided home. His death so soon after reaching manhood’s estate is a heavy blow to his mother and the utmost sympathy will go out to her in her irreparable loss.

[Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser: Saturday 10th May 1919]

Details of John’s passing are unclear, but he died just a few months before his stepson. Joseph Roger Stanley Gosnell was just 23 when he died on 7th May 1919. He was laid to rest in Holt Old Cemetery, not far from where his twice-grieving mother lived.

Florence had now been widowed twice, on top of losing her only child. She found some solace in her grief, however, and, in the autumn of 1923, she married for a third time. Her new husband, Joseph Scarisbrick, was a widow thirteen years her senior, and worked as a customs and excise man.

Joseph died in 1938, at the age of 85: Florence had outlived all three of her husbands. She passed away on 4th October 1954, at the age of 88 years old.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, killed in action, Middlesex, photography, Royal Air Force, Royal Fusiliers, Second Lieutenant, story, war, Wiltshire

Second Lieutenant Cecil Buckland

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Second Lieutenant Cecil Buckland

Cecil John Buckland was born on 5th July 1895 in Holloway, Middlesex. The third of four children, his parents were bicycle salesman Arthur Buckland, and his wife, Mary. The 1901 census found the family in rooms at a terraced cottage at 8 Burrard Road, Hampstead.

By 1911, things had changed for the family. They had moved to 73 Finchley Road, which was a ten-roomed property. Arthur was now recorded as being a commercial traveller for a motor company, and they employed a domestic servant, Mary Jones, to help support the family. Cecil had followed in his father’s footsteps and was an apprentice salesman for the same motor company. His older brothers, Arthur Jr an Harold, were also working as salesmen in the same business.

When war broke out, Cecil was called upon to play his part. Full service details have been lost to time, but it seems that he initially joined the Royal Fusiliers, and was attached to the 5th Battalion. It isn’t clear where or when he served, but by the spring of 1918 – just weeks after its formation – he gained a commission in the Royal Air Force.

Second Lieutenant Buckland was stationed at 44 Training Depot Station at Holt Airfield in Wiltshire, and it was here that he learnt the ropes using a Bristol F.2b Fighter. On the 19th August 1918, Cecil took off on a practice flight. Shortly after take-off, he attempted to turn the aircraft and got into a spin as too low height to recover. The aeroplane crashed to the ground, and he was killed instantly: he was just 23 years of age.

The body of Cecil John Buckland was laid to rest in Holt Old Cemetery, not far from the airfield at which he had been based.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, photography, Sergeant, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Serjeant William Loder

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Serjeant William Loder

William James Nelson Loder was born in the summer of 1893 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The oldest of seven children, his parents were Harry and Rosina. Harry was an engineer at a wool mill, and his son obviously followed in his father’s practical footsteps: the 1911 census found him employed as a coach builder’s apprentice.

The document found the Loder family living at 1 Canal Road, a five-roomed cottage on the outskirts of town. Alongside Harry and his son, William’s younger sister, Ethel was also working as an apprentice dress maker.

Away from work, it seems that William also joined the local militia, with a later document showing that he enlisted in the Wiltshire Regiment on 4th February 1909. When war broke out, he was called upon to play his part. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, and was sent to India in September 1914. While his service papers have been lost to time, it is clear that he rose to the rank of Serjeant, but by the start of 1917, he was back in Britain.

On 27th January 1917, William married Angelin Gliddon. She was a coachman’s daughter from Holt, Wiltshire, and was working as a draper’s assistant when she and her husband exchanged vows.

William’s health was failing by this point and, on 21st May 1917, he was formally discharged from the army on medical grounds. His trail goes cold as this point, and it is only three years later that documents confirm his passing. He died on 24th April 1920 at the age of 26 years old.

The body of William James Nelson Loder was laid to rest in Holt Old Cemetery, not far from where his grieving wife still lived.

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 remain suggest he joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He wasn’t with them for long, however, as he 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.

Bombardier, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lanarkshire, photography, Royal Garrison Artillery, Royal Horse Artillery, Scotland, Sergeant, story, war, Wiltshire

Serjeant Thomas Harrison

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Serjeant Thomas Harrison

The life of Thomas Harrison, buried in Holt Old Cemetery, Wiltshire, is a challenge to unpick. No service papers remain, but the Commonwealth War Graves Commission note that he was married to Annie Harrison, who lived in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.

The couple do not appear together in the 1911 census, so it is likely that they exchanged vows after this date. There is a Thomas Harrison recorded in the return: he was an Acting Bombardier in the Royal Horse Artillery, billeted in the barracks in Trowbridge. It is likely that he is the gentleman buried in Holt Cemetery, but it cannot be confirmed either way.

Acting Bombardier Harrison was born in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, in around 1889, but his name is not uncommon, so it is not possible to identify his parents or early life.

Thomas served during the First World War, rising to the rank of Serjeant in the Anti-Aircraft Depot of the Royal Garrison Artillery. He and Annie had two children: Vera, who was born in 1912, and Ivy, who was four years younger.

When the Armistice was declared, Serjeant Harrison returned home, but, in the spring of 1920, he suffered a bout of gastritis. The condition was to prove fatal, and he passed away on 31st March 1920. He was 31 years of age.

The body of Thomas Harrison was laid to rest in Holt Old Cemetery, not far from where Annie and the girls lived.

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.

accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal West Surrey Regiment, story, Surrey, Training Reserve Battalion, war, Wiltshire

Private William Fisher

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Private William Fisher

William Victor Fisher was born in Battersea, Surrey, at the beginning of 1899. The youngest of nine children, his parents were William and Julia Fisher. William Sr was a blacksmith and farrier, and, when William was born, the family were living in rooms at 9 Gladstone Street.

Julia died in 1902, and William Sr was left to raise the children on his own. This he seemed to have done well, and by the time of the 1911 census, he was still living in the same house, with five of his children. William Jr’s eldest brother, Mark, was assisting their father in the business.

When war broke out, William Jr was still at school. However, he was keen to play his part and enlisted on 29th August 1915, lying abut his age to do so. As happened at the time, the recruiting officer took the age he stated – 19 years, 255 days – as being correct. He was assigned as a Private in the Royal West Surrey Regiment, and remained in Battersea for training.

Private Fisher’s time in the army was to be a brief one, but it was not without incident. He was confined to barracks for three days on 12th October, when he lost a pair of boots. Just a month later, he was reprimanded again for being absent without leave for nearly six hours on 17th November: he was again confined to barracks, this time for four days.

William’s lie was to catch up with him, and, on 27th November 1915, he was discharged for giving an incorrect age on his recruitment papers.

Two years later, William stepped up to play his part once more. This may have been a result of the death his older brother – Francis. A Private in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, he was killed in action on the Western Front on 28th February 1917: he was just 20 years of age.

Details of William’s second stint in the army have been lost to time, but it is clear that he was initially assigned to the 46th Training Reserve Battalion. Private Fisher then transferred to the 626th Home Service Employment Company of the Labour Corps, and was billeted in Wiltshire.

Tragically, Private Fisher’s time in the army was also to be brief. His entry in the British Register of Soldiers’ Effects show that he died on 12th July 1817, and, intriguingly, that the cause was asphyxiation. His death certificate confirms that this was asphyxia from inspiration of vomited matter, and that he died at No. 12 Camp in Longbridge Deverill: he was just 18 years of age.

The body of William Victor Fisher was laid to rest in the tranquil grounds of St Peter & St Paul’s Church, not far from where he had passed away.