Tag Archives: Wiltshire

Commonwealth War Graves, County Wicklow, Great War, history, India, Ireland, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Royal Artillery, Royal Field Artillery, South Africa, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Gunner Robert Dobson

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Gunner Robert Dobson

In the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire, is a headstone dedicated to the memory of Gunner R Dobson of the Royal Field Artillery. The early life of Robert Dobson, however, is a challenge to unpick.

Born in Kilbride, County Wicklow, in 1873, he was the son of John Dobson and, according to his later service papers, he had three brothers: William, John Jr and Richard.

When he finished his schooling, Robert found work as a gamekeeper, but he wanted more adventure, and, on 27th April 1891, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. Given the rank of Gunner, his papers note that he was a little over 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 150lbs (68kg). A Presbyterian, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

Gunner Dobson signed up for a period of seven years, and during this time he travelled the world. From March 1893, he was based in India, but was invalided home for reasons unclear in November 1894. He would remain on home soil for the next three years, and was stood down to reserve status in April 1898.

While back on home soil, love had blossomed and, on the 14th May 1898, Robert married Mary Bull. A labourer’s daughter from Steeple Ashton, the couple wed in the parish church. Robert gave his address as the same village, and, given the proximity of the garrison town of Trowbridge, it is likely a local posting is how the couple met.

On 3rd November 1899, Gunner Dobson was called into duty once more. Attached to the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Field Artillery, his unit headed to South Africa, and he was quickly caught up in the Boer War. He would remain overseas until the spring of 1901, at which point he returned to Britain once more.

After a total of twelve years’ service, Robert was formally stood down from army service on 26th April 1903, returning to Steeple Ashton and Mary. The 1911 census – the only one of the four returns taken during his lifetime on which he appeared – found the couple living in a cottage on Common Hill, to the north of the village centre. Robert, now 38 years old, was working as a farm labourer.

When war broke out in Europe, Robert stepped up to serve his country once more. He initially re-joined his old unit, but seems to have transferred over the Labour Corps, and was attached to the 95th Company. His service records for this period have been lost, so it is unclear when or how he served.

Robert survived the conflict, but would pass away on 28th July 1919. The cause of his passing is unclear, but he was 46 years of age when he died.

The body of Robert Dobson was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Steeple Ashton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Nottinghamshire, photography, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Scotland, Staff Sergeant, story, unknown, war, Wiltshire

Staff Serjeant George Brent

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Staff Serjeant George Brent

George Brent was born in the autumn of 1887 in Bratton, Wiltshire, and was the only child to George and Naomi Brent. Census records humbly record George Sr was a wool carder, although he actually ran Luccombe Mill, the family living in the substantial Luccombe House.

George had been widowed in the 1870s, and was thirty-four years older than his second wife, Naomi. When he died in 1900, she was left to raise her teenaged son. She was not on her own, however, the 1901 census recording her as living on her own means, and with servant Eliza Whately to support her.

Education was important to Naomi, and by the time of the 1911 census, George was working as a draughtsman and designer for an engineering company. War was on the horizon, however, and he would step up to serve his country.

George enlisted in the Army Ordnance Corps, and served in the Balkans from October 1915. Full details of his time in the army have been lost, but he rose through the ranks and, by the summer of 1918, he was a Staff Serjeant.

At some point love blossomed and, George married a woman called Edith. Sadly, her life is destined to remain a mystery: she is noted as being George’s widow on his probate record and his beneficiary in the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects.

Staff Serjeant Brent’s health seems to have suffered after three years in the eastern Mediterranean. He was admitted to the military hospital in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, although his condition is unclear. He passed away on 3rd September 1918, at the age of 30 years old.

The body of George Brent was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Bratton Baptist Chapelyard, not far from Luccombe House.

George left an estate of £978 16s 6d (approx. £58,000 in today’s money) to his widow. Naomi must have taken some comfort in Edith’s presence: the 1921 census found them living in Luccombe House.

The census sheds some light on Edith’s background, noting that she was born in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire. Interestingly, she and Naomi have two visitors: widow Helen Harrower (aged 65) and Helen Georgina Harrower (aged 32). The younger Helen was also born in Grangemouth, and it appears that the visitors were Edith’s mother and sister.

Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Kent, photography, Private, Royal Marines, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Edward Kent

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Private Edward Kent

Edward Kent was born in the Berkshire village of Little Coxwell on 8th December 1887. One of fourteen children, his parents were John and Agness Kent. John was a mason’s labourer, and by the time of the 1901 census, the family had relocated to Fisherton de la Mare in Wiltshire.

Edward found work as a general labourer when he completed his schooling, but when war broke out, he was called upon to serve his country. Conscripted in the spring of 1916, he enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry as a Private. His service papers show that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on the back of his neck.

Private Kent was sent to Deal, Kent, for his training, but by September 1916, he had moved to Portsmouth, Hampshire. Change was afoot, however, and in November Edward was assigned to the 3rd Battalion and sent to the Aegean, where he would remain for the rest of the conflict.

Edward returned to Portsmouth in January 1919, and was admitted to the Haslar Hospital, suffering from pneumonia. The condition would prove fatal, however, and he passed away on 2nd February 1919: he was 31 years of age.

The body of Edward Kent was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Nicholas’ Church, Fisherton de la Mere.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, Machine Gun Corps, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Regiment

Private Jesse Doughty

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Private Jesse Doughty

Jesse Doughty was born in the Wiltshire village of Bapton in the autumn of 1896. One of ten children, his parents were shepherd George Doughty, and his wife, Fanny.

George died in 1902, and Jesse’s mother was left to raise the children. His older brother William took the role of head of the family, however, and, by the time of the 1911 census, the Doughtys were living in a six-roomed cottage, with six wages coming in. Jesse, the second youngest of the siblings, had finished school by this point, and was working as a shepherd boy.

When war broke out, Jesse stepped up to serve his country, although full details of his time in the army have been lost to time. It seems that he initially joined the Machine Gun Corps, but transferred to the Labour Corps of the Wiltshire Regiment.

By the autumn of 1918, Private Doughty was based in Fovant, Hampshire. While there, he fell ill, and was admitted to a military hospital with pneumonia. The condition would prove fatal, and he passed away on 16th December, at the age of 22 years old.

The body of Jesse Doughty was taken back to Wiltshire for burial, and he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Nicholas’ Church, Fisherton de la Mare, a short walk from where his family were still living in Bapton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Francis Moody

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Private Francis Moody

Francis Robert Moody was born on 8th September 1876, in the town of Kihikihi, on New Zealand’s North Island. There is little information about his early life, but his parents were Hampshire-born Francis Moody and his Irish wife, Mary.

When he completed his schooling, Francis Jr found work as a carter. When war broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part, enlisting in the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment on 18th June 1917. His service papers show that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall, and weighed 140lbs (63.5kg). A Roman Catholic by birth, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a medium complexion.

Private Moody’s unit left New Zealand on 13th October 1917, making the two-month voyage to Britain on board the HT Corinthic. Francis disembarked in Liverpool, Lancashire, before being marched into camp in Sling, Wiltshire.

Over the next month, Private Moody received further training, but by this point, and following the lengthy journey, his health was beginning to suffer. He was admitted to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, on 30th January 1918, suffering from bronchitis.

Francis’ health continued to deteriorate, and he developed tuberculosis. The condition would prove fatal, and he passed away on 22nd February 1918, at the age of 41.

Thousands of miles from home, Francis Robert Moody was laid to rest alongside his colleagues in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford.

Private Francis Moody
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, photography, Rifleman, story, war

Rifleman Samuel Thomas

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Rifleman Samuel Thomas

Samuel Thomas was born in Pukehinau, New Zealand, on 17th February 1896. There is little concrete information about his early life, but his parents were Isaac and Annie Thomas, and he was one of at least two children to them.

When he finished his schooling, Samuel found work as a teamster, or wagon driver. When was broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part, and he enlisted on 30th May 1916, joining the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. His service record shows that he was 5ft 10ins (1.77m) tall and weighed 147lbs (66.7kg). He had light brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion; a round scar on the front of his left shin was also recorded.

Deemed fit for service, Rifleman Thomas spent the next four months training. On 25th September 1916, his unit departed from Wellington for the two month voyage to Britain. During the journey, he had fallen ill, and, on disembarking in Devonport, Devon, he was admitted to a hospital with influenza.

When he was well enough, Samuel was moved to hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, eventually joining his unit in a camp at Sling on 15th January 1917. His time there was brief, however, and he was admitted back to the Codford hospital just three weeks later. It would not be until July that he was well enough to be sent to France.

From Étaples, Rifleman Thomas was sent to the front line. Within a matter of weeks, he had been wounded by shrapnel, which had caught his right side and his neck. He was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

Samuel would spend the next three months recuperating, initially in Hornchurch, Essex, then in Codford. During this time, love blossomed and, on 18th November 1917, he married Gertrude Berry, a horse dealer’s daughter from Plaistow, Essex. It is unclear how or when the couple had met: she may have been working at the hospital where he was being treated.

At the end of December 1917, he was back in hospital again, however, suffering from a bout of bronchitis. His condition would worsen, and he passed away on 16th January 1918, from the rupture of an abscess in his throat. He was 21 years of age.

The body of Samuel Thomas was laid to rest in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford, not far from the hospital in which he had passed.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, photography, Private, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Alexander Whitelaw

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Private Alexander Whitelaw

Alexander George Whitelaw was born in 1879 in the town of Ashburton on New Zealand’s South Island. One of ten children, his parents were Scottish immigrants Peter and Agnes Whitelaw.

There is little information about Alexander’s early life: his father died in 1912, with his mother passing just two years later. By the autumn of 1916, he was working as a general labourer, but the world was at war, and he stepped up to play his part.

Alexander enlisted on the 4th October 1916, knocking five years off his date of birth to ensure he was accepted. His papers also show other discrepancies, as he noted both of his parents being having been born in New Zealand. As a Private, he was assigned to the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment, his service papers showing the man he had become. A Presbyterian, he stood 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall, and weighed 154lbs (69.9kg). He had cark hair and a dark complexion. His eyes were blue, but he suffered some colour blindness, confusing reds and blues.

Private Whitelaw’s unit – the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment – left home on the 19th January 1917, and embarked for Europe. His movements from this point on aren’t entirely clear, although by the start of 1918, he had been medically evacuated to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire, suffering from pleurisy. The condition was to get the better of Alexander: he passed away on 10th January 1918, at the age of 38 years old.

Thousands of miles from his family home, the body of Alexander George Whitelaw was instead laid to rest in the extension to St Mary’s Churchyard, Codford.

Commonwealth War Graves, Egypt, Great War, history, illness, New Zealand, New Zealand Maori Battalion, photography, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Arthur Holmes

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Private Arthur Holmes

In the extension to St Mary’s Churchyard in Codford, Wiltshire, is the grave of Private A Holmes of the NZ Maori Battalion. Much of his life has been lost to time, but his military records give some glimpses into his time in the army.

Arthur Holmes was born on 22nd June 1884 in Auckland, New Zealand. His service papers show that he was working as a labourer in the Waihara region of North Island when he joined up, and gave his next-of-kin as his sister Mrs E Dixon (although this was later amended to his half-brother William Marshall-Muir).

By the time he joined the army on the 9th December 1915, he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, and weighed 10st 5lbs (65.8kg). He was described as having had brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion. The medical record also noted that two toenails on his right foot had been ‘chopped off in childhood’.

Private Holmes’ unit set off for Europe in the spring of 1916 and, after a three week pause in Suez, Egypt, he arrived in Étaples, France, on 9th June.

Arthur’s time in the army seems to have been beset by illness, with hospital admissions in June, July and August 1916. He seems to have spent eighteen months in France, and fought at the Somme and Messines Ridge.

At the end of 1917, after another short spell in hospital, Private Holmes was given leave in Britain, but was again admitted to a medical unit, having come down with bronchitis. Initially hospitalised in Surrey, by 19th December he had been moved to the No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital in Codford, Wiltshire. By this point, however, his health had been severely impacted, and he passed away on 28th December 1917, at the age of 33 years old.

The body of Arthur Holmes was laid to rest in the graveyard extension of St Mary’s Church, Codford.

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

Private Albert Rogers

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Private Albert Rogers

Albert Victor Rogers was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on 2nd June 1897. The middle of three children, he was the older son to Edward and Elizabeth Rogers. A Liverpudlian, Edward worked as a carter for a flour mill, and the family lived in Lower Westwood, to the west of Trowbridge itself.

By 1911, the Rogers family had relocated to the centre of Trowbridge, and were living in a small cottage at 3 Church Street. Edward was now employed as a mason’s labourer, while Albert’s sister, Amy, had taken a job as a wool and worsted piecer for a local cloth mill. Albert, just thirteen years of age, was likely in his last year at school.

Albert’s military records are limited. They note that, as a Private, he was attached to Wiltshire Regiment Depot, and the he died in a military hospital on 8th November 1918. He was just 21 years of age. Details of his passing and funeral do not appear in any local contemporary newspapers, so it is unclear how he passed.

The body of Albert Victor Rogers was laid to rest in the sweeping grounds of Trowbridge Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

By the time of the 1921 census Edward had also died. The document recorded Elizabeth living in a cottage at 85 Mortimer Street, Trowbridge, and that she was employed as a waste picker for Salter & Co, a wool manufacturer.

The four-roomed property was a busy place, which Elizabeth shared with her surviving son, Leslie, brother Arthur Hobbs, and niece Gladys Rogers. Amy had also died by this point, and so Elizabeth had opened her home to her three grandchildren Leonard, Doris and Victor.

[My thanks go to Rob Clarke for his invaluable information about Albert’s life and family.]

Australia, Australian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, illness, photography, Private, story, Sussex, war, Wiltshire

Private Charles Compton

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Private Charles Compton

Charles George Compton was born in the Broadwater area of Worthing, West Sussex in 1882. One of five children, his parents were Charles and Eliza Compton. Charles Sr was a shoe maker, but when he finished his schooling, his son found work as a bricklayer.

There is little detailed information about Charles’ early life, but in 1901 he married a woman called Lilian. They went on to have three children, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had set up home at 47 Newland Road, Worthing.

Charles sought to make a better life for his family, and, on 31st January 1913, he boarded the SS Osterley, bound for Australia. He set up home at 1 Orange Lane, in Norwood, a suburb of Adelaide, and, at some point soon afterwards, Lilian and the children joined him.

War was declared in the summer of 1914, and the Empire was called on to play its part. On 28th March 1917, Charles enlisted, becoming a Private in the Australian Infantry. His service papers show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 154lbs (69.9kg). He was noted as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a medium complexion. He had two tattoos: one on his left forearm and another on his left hand.

After a few months’ training, Private Compton’s unit boarded the HMAT A30 from Adelaide, to make the journey back to Britain. His unit – the 10th Training Battalion – disembarked in Plymouth on 25th August 1917, and made its way to Larkhill Camp on the edge of Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.

Over the next few months, Private Compton undertook further training, and would be transferred to the 43rd Battalion of the Australian Infantry. On 30th May 1918 he was admitted to Hurdcott Hospital, near Fovant, Wiltshire, suffering from influenza. The condition would eventually prove fatal: Charles passed away on 2nd July, at the age of 36 years old.

There was another Military funeral locally on Saturday.

The deceased soldier in this case was Private Charles George Compton, and the place of interment was the Cemetery at Broadwater. Private Compton, a member of an old Worthing family… was a member of the Australian Force…

The deceased worked for the Corporation before leaving Worthing for Australia, where his wife and two children are now living.

[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 10th July 1918]

Charles George Compton was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, not far from where his family were still living.

Private Charles Compton
(from findagrave.com)

Lilian was now thousands of miles from home and family. Grieving the loss of her husband, the communication from the Army on his passing would provide her with some comfort:

Thanking you for all your kindness in sending my husband things on to me. You don’t know how greatefull I feel when I received letters saying how kind the nurses all were to him through his illness. All I wishes I could have been their, but it was not to be. I now close thanking you all.

[Letter to battalion: 14th January 1919]

Lilian would move to Lincoln Street, Adelaide: her new home she would name Worthing after her home town.