J55075 Seaman James William Gaston, HMS Canada

James William Gaston was born at Newick on 15th May 1898.  At the time the 1901 census was taken he was living with his family at Stair Bridge Lane, Bolney, Sussex.  The household comprised John Gaston (head, aged 39, born in Newick, a stockman on a farm), his wife Ann Gaston (aged 36, born in Chailey) and five children: Albert Henry Gaston (aged 15, working as a farm labourer), John George Gaston (aged ten), Annie Naomi Gaston (aged eight), Lizzie Gaston (aged five) and James (aged two). 

The census return taken ten years earlier shows the family recorded on the census return for Newick and living on Fletching Common.  John Gaston is recorded as a farm labourer. 

James joined the Royal Navy at Portsmouth on 27th June 1916 for the duration of hositilities.  He was five feet six and a quarter inches tall, had black hair, black eyes and a fresh complexion and bore a scar on the front of his chest.  He gave his occupation as farm labourer.  He was given the rating of ordinary seaman, the service number J55075 and posted to the shore-based HMS Victory.  He remained there until 25th August when he was posted to HMS Canada, remaining with this ship until he was demobbed on 25th April 1919.  On 5th July 1918 he had been promoted to able seaman. 

Throughout his service with the Royal Navy, James’ character was rated as very good and his ability as satisfactory.  Chailey Parish Magazine had first noted him in November 1916 serving aboard HMS Canada. 

The photo that appears on this page was one that James sent to his old headmaster, John Oldaker, of Newick school.  He had been a pupil there (1906-1908), as had his brother Albert Henry Gaston, and both boys had sent photos of themselves serving their King and Country.

PS/3455 Pte Harry Cecil Mainwood, 24th Middlesex Regiment

 

Harry Mainwood (1882-1949) does not strictly belong on this Chailey site but his brother Frank is included and as I have information and a photo of Harry, I am going to exercise more poetic licence and add him to the Chailey roll-call.

 

Harry and Frank were two of John Oldaker's pupils  at Newick School and he recorded information about both of them (below), and also asked them to send in photos.

 

 

Harry was a pupil at the school between 1889 and 1896 and he enlisted on the 23rd June 1916. He joined the 24th Middlesex Regiment and was given the number PS/3455.  The 24th Battalion was a reserve battalion but as is clear from the medal roll, Harry served overseas with the 17th, 1st, 13th and 1/8th Battalions (in that order).

 

John Oldaker's roll notes that Harry went to France in November 1916 and was back in England by the end of the following month. No service record survives for him (and there is no entitlement to a silver war badge noted either) but a single fragment with his name on it does appear in a service record in WO 363 noting "debility" (below).

 

 

My thanks to Simon Stevens for the photo and notebook entry. Extract from WO 363 is Crown Copyright, The National Archives.

9866 Pte John Sidney Martin, 3rd Bn CEF

Chailey Parish Magazine notes in October 1914 that John Martin is serving his King and Country. This information is then repeated up to and including September 1915.

According to his surviving attestation papers, John Sidney Martin was born in Newick on 19th April 1894. It seems likely though, that he was actually born in 1895 as his birth was registered at Lewes district in the June quarter of that year. He appears on the 1901 census living at Church Road with his parents and seven siblings. The household comprised, William John Martin (head, aged 47; a self employed builder), his wife Adela Martin (aged 42) and their eight children. In age order they are: William Henry Martin (an 18 year old carpenter), Florence Kate Martin (aged 15), Mabel Grace Martin (aged 13), Edith Cicely Martin (aged 11), Alfred Geoffrey Martin (aged ten), John (aged five), Daisy Evaline Martin (aged four) and Horace Raymond Martin (aged two).

John and Horace certainly went to school in Newick (and it’s reasonable to assume that the other children, all born in Newick, did as well). Years later, when the two boys joined the army, they sent photos of themselves to their old headmaster, John Oldaker, and it is his notes that fill in  more information on John Martin. He wrote:

John Sidney Martin (1903-1909) Enlisted before the war, 10th Royal Grenadier Signalling Corps, 3d Battn, 1st Canadian Contingent. Went to France Feb 1915. Taken prisoner near Ypres, April 1915. Confined in Germany until the end of the war.

In actual fact, John's attestation papers record that he joined up at Valcartier, Canada on the 22nd September 1914 and that he was living in Toronto and working as a silversmith when he did so.

My thanks to Simon Stevens for supplying the information on John Martin from John Oldaker's album and also the photograph of John Martin, reproduced on this page.

John Oldaker's boys

Once in while, completely out of the blue, I am privileged to receive significant additional information concerning the men on the Chailey 1914-1918 site. The photograph I have posted here, certainly falls into this category.

Pictured here are John Oldaker, headmaster of Newick School, and the school cricket team. The photograph was taken in 1909. William Jared Brooks (Will Brooks) is seated second from left and it is his granddaughter who has sent me the photograph.

The photograph on its own is quite a find, but thankfully Will Brooks also wrote the names on the reverse. So, from the back row, reading from left to right: Charlie Hodges, Fred Smith, John Oldaker, Edgar Richards, Unknown. Seated: ? Martin, Will Brooks, Percy Elphick, Jim Reynolds, Sydney Smith, Alf Fuller.

George Brooks, known as Proey, is the boy in the front row.

The boy recorded as "Unknown" is probably the headmaster's son, John Oldaker, and I think that the boy seated to Will Brooks's right is probably Horace Raymond Martin. If it's not him, it would be his brother, John Sidney Martin. Click on the links to see photos of both the brothers in their army uniform during WW1.

Sydney Smith was killed at Gallipoli on 19th August 1915 and Fred Smith was killed at Loos on 26th September the same year. SD/1637 Private Charlie Hodges of the 12th Royal Sussex Regiment was killed at the Boars Head on 30th June 1916.

My sincere thanks to Sally Tinkler for sending me this photograph and additional information about her grandfather, and also to Simon Stevens for his inputs regarding John Oldaker and the boys who later died in the service of their King and Country.

George Page

I've updated George Page's biography on the Chailey website. As mentioned the other day, I've been sent a number of photographs and biographical details of men who went to Newick School. George falls into that category and so I'm happy to be able to add further information about him.

What I didn't know was that he died in 1919 whilst serving in India. Strangely though, his name does not appear on either the Chailey or the Newick war memorials, even though technically he is a war casualty. (He appears on the Commonwealth War Graves' site for instance).

I'll be updating more biographies and adding further portrait photographs over the coming days.