M
J Cox is Montague Jesse Cox who appears on the 1901 census as the seven year
old son of farmer Jesse Cox of Teagues Farm, North Common, Chailey. The household comprised Jesse (aged 41), his
wife Elizabeth Cox (aged 42) and four children: Elizabeth Martha Cox (aged 13),
Mabel Cox (aged 11), Lucy Jane Cox (aged eight) and Montague. All the children and Jesse, were Chailey
born. Elizabeth Cox had been born in
Wivelsfield.
Commemorating and remembering the lives of the men and women of Chailey, Sussex during the Great War 1914-1918 and remembering too the sick and wounded soldiers nursed by Sussex 54 VAD. This is their story.
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Montague Jesse Cox
In
January 1918 Chailey Parish Magazine notes that M J Cox is serving with the
Church Army as an NCO. This information
is then repeated monthly up to and including the final published roll call in
July 1919.
Monday, October 27, 2014
62615 Pte Frederick Stevenson, Labour Corps
Frederick Stevenson, a resident of Chailey, enlisted at
Frederick
Stevenson died of sickness on April
12th 1918 .
Chailey Parish Magazine reported that his death had taken place one day
earlier and in France
but he actually died in England
and is buried in the now redundant church yard of St Mary’s Church, North Chailey . His
Labour Corps number was 62615, although his headstone (above) gives his Royal Fusiliers details.
1689 Trooper Alfred Stringer, Reserve Household Bn
Alfred Stringer first appears in Chailey’s parish magazine in a special list of attested men in April 1916. He is noted as medically unfit but this does not appear to have deterred the military authorities from conscripting him into His Majesty’s forces.
According
to the three surviving pages of his service record held in the WO 364 pension
series at the National Archives in Kew, Alfred was “deemed to have been
enlisted” on 16th November 1916. He was
then nearly 34 years old and living at 2 Coppards Bridge, Chailey. His trade is given as gardener.
Alongside
the question, “Have you any preference for any particular branch of the
service, if so, which?” are scrawled the letters, R E (Royal Engineers). Alfred
though, was assigned to the Reserve Household Battalion and given the number
1689.
Alfred
was five feet seven and a half inches tall and was a married man. He had married Margaret Mackintosh in
Bedfordshire on 19th October 1909 and the couple had two children: Doris Annie
Stringer (born at Ilkeston, Derbyshire on 9th August 1910) and Eva Maud
Stringer (born at West Hoathly, Sussex
on Christmas Day 1913).
In
January 1917 Chailey Parish Magazine notes that Alfred is attached to the 2nd
Lifeguards as a trooper and on May 18th 1917, The East Sussex News reported
that “Trooper A Stringer, whose home is at Coppard’s Bridge [Chailey], is in
hospital with a wound in the shoulder, received in action.” Chailey Parish Magazine duly reported the
fact that he had been wounded the following month and this information was then
repeated monthly up to and including May 1918.”
Alfred enlisted on the 2nd March 1916 and his
service record notes that he was in England until 23rd February 1917 and
thereafter overseas. He received a
severe gunshot wound to his shoulder on 3rd May 1917 and was discharged from
the army on 29th January 1918 as no longer physically fit for war service. He was 35 years old at the time of his discharge in 1918.
Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry.
Edwin Waghorn
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in April 1916 issue that Edwin Waghorn has attested. This is the only reference to this man and it
has not been possible to date to provide a link between him and Chailey.
Charles Ventham
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in its March and April 1916 issues that Charles Ventham
has attested. These are the only two
references to this man in this publication and it has not been possible to date
to provide a link between this man and Chailey.
J33944 Boy 1st Class William James Turner, Royal Navy
William James Turner was born in France on 3rd September 1898 . He joined the Royal Navy on 18th January 1915 and was recorded as being five feet, one inch tall with light brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He gave his occupation as “motor boy”. He was given the rating of boy 2nd Class, the service number J33944 and joined the training ship HMS Impregnable where he remained until 12th May. The following day he was upgraded to the rating of boy 1st class and transferred to HMS Britannia. He remained with HMS Britannia for a little over a month, returning to HMS Victory I on 7th June. One month later he was invalided out of the navy with organic heart disease.
HMS Britannia was a battleship of the King Edward VII class but by t he time William Turner joined it she had suffered serious damage after running aground at Inchkeith. It is conceivable that during its refit, the ship was also used as a training establishment as it was certainly more modern than HMS Impregnable. A photo reproduced on www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk also shows “Young sailors receiving instructions in seamanship on HMS Britannia. HMS Britannia was later sunk by a German U-Boat off cape Trafalgar and sustained a number of casualties due to toxic fumes.
Chailey Parish Magazine first notes him in March 1915 as serving his King and Country and in October 1915 correctly reported that he has been serving at HMS Victory I before being invalided on 7th July 1916 . The parish magazine also reports (from August 1916) that he served aboard HMS Glory and was not invalided and discharged until November 1916 (at least, that is when that information was published). However, I can find no reference to HMS Glory in his surviving service papers and am assuming that this information in the parish magazine is incorrect.
During his short time with the navy, William Turner’s character was noted as very good and his character as satisfactory.
HMS Impregnable was an old 121 gun ship from 1860, initially named HMS Howe. The ship was renamed HMS Bulwark and then, in 1886, was renamed again to HMS Impregnable, a training ship under the command of Captain D. H. Bosanquet.
HMS Britannia was a battleship of the King Edward VII class but by t he time William Turner joined it she had suffered serious damage after running aground at Inchkeith. It is conceivable that during its refit, the ship was also used as a training establishment as it was certainly more modern than HMS Impregnable. A photo reproduced on www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk also shows “Young sailors receiving instructions in seamanship on HMS Britannia. HMS Britannia was later sunk by a German U-Boat off cape Trafalgar and sustained a number of casualties due to toxic fumes.
Gunner T Turner, RGA
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in December 1916, Turner, Gunner T, RGA. In January 1918 it adds Turner, Gunner T, AAA and this information is then repeated
monthly up to and including the final published roll call in July 1919.
T
Turner is probably Thomas Turner who was born in Chailey around 1892. He appears on the 1901 census as an eight
year old living at McQueen’s Cottage, Chailey with his family. The household comprised Thomas Turner (head,
married, aged 41, working as a gardener), his wife Jane Turner (aged 39) and
their three children: Harriet Turner (aged 12), Thomas, and George Turner (aged
three).
George
died of wounds in August 1916. Nothing
else is known of Thomas other than that he survived the war.
SE/3722 Pte George Trigwell, RAVC
Chailey Parish Magazine notes in March 1915 that George Trigwell is serving his King and Country. In October it reports, Trigwell, Pte G, RAMC, France but by February 1916 notes that he is serving with the Army Veterinary Corps in
George
Trigwell’s name appears for the last time in the parish magazine in March 1917
where he is noted simply as Trigwell, Pte
G, AVC.
George's medal index card notes that he arrived overseas in France on the 23rd January 1915 and that his regimental number was SE/3722. The card also gives a reference for the silver war badge, although I have been unable to locate George on this roll. The roll for the 1914-15 Star notes that he was discharged on 21st January 1919.
I
have been unable to establish a Chailey connection for this man. He is possibly the same George Trigwell who
appears on the 1901 census as a 13 year old living in Lewes with his parents
and nine brothers and sisters but further research is necessary to confirm
this.
Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry.
Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry.
Timothy Towner
I know very
little about this man. He is
noted by Chailey Parish Magazine once only and that is in November 1914 where
it is stated that he is serving his King and Country.
He
is probably the same Timothy Towner who was born at Barcombe , Sussex
in 1878 and appears on the 1881 census living at Barcombe with his family. The household comprised: William Towner
(head, aged 41, working as an agricultural labourer), his wife Sarah (aged 42),
Timothy (aged three) and Kate Towner (aged eight months). Sarah had been married before to George
Heasman. They were married in 1857 but
in 1872 George had died. Sarah then
re-married William Towner in 1877.
Included on the 1881 census are the three children from her first
marriage: Edward Heasman (aged 19, an agricultural labourer), Ellen Heasman
(aged 17, a general servant) and Ruth Heasman (a ten year old scholar).
William
Towner died in June 1882 and the 1891 census shows a very much reduced
household. Sarah Towner (widow, aged 51,
working as a charwoman) is recorded as the head of the household and with her
are her daughter Ellen Heasman (recorded as 24 years old but actually aged 27
and working as a servant), Timothy (aged 13, working as a stable boy) and Kate
(a ten year old scholar).
By
the time the 1901 census was taken, Timothy had moved away from Sussex and is
recorded as a 23 year old police constable, one of many, resident at District
Section House in the district of St John, St Margaret and Westminster in London .
Timothy
is possibly related to Edgar Lancelot and Henry William Towner who also served their King
and Country during the First World War.
Harry Wood, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
Harry
Wood was born in Chailey in 1893, his birth registered at Lewes in the
September quarter of that year. He
appears on the 1901 census with his three brothers: Edward Wood (aged 15),
George Wood (aged 14) and Charles Joseph Wood (aged 11). His parents were Edward Wood (aged 45 on the
1901 census but 30 on the one taken ten years earlier) and Mary Wood (aged 29
in 1891). Mary does not appear at the
family home address, (a farm in Chailey – unclear on the census), but Edward
Wood is still noted as being married rather than a widower.
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in October 1914 that Harry Wood is serving his King and
Country and, twelve months later, notes that he is a private soldier with the 2nd
King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in England . The following month it reports that he is now
a lance-corporal and serving with the 1st KOYLI in France . By the following April it reports that he is
in Salonika .
Harry
Wood appears to have served throughout the war, his name appearing for the last
time in the magazine’s final roll call published in July 1919.
In
October 1914 the 1st KOYLI was en route from Singapore and did not arrive at Southampton until 9th November. On 16th January 1915 the battalion landed at Havre as part of
the 83rd Brigade in 28th Division. It
sailed from Marseilles
for Salonika on 26th October 1915 , arriving there on 7th December 1915 . On
20th June1918 it left the 28th Division for France and was
attached to the 151st Brigade in the 50th Division from 16th July 1918 .
Harry's brothers Charles and George also served their King and Country during
the First World War. Like Harry, Charles
Wood also served with The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and was killed in
action whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion in October 1914. It seems likely that both Harry and Charles
were regular soldiers before the outbreak of war (although the KOYLI number
listed above would not appear to be that of a pre-war regular soldier) and
their brother George was also a career serviceman having joined the Royal Navy
in 1904.
Gunner Richard Wood, Royal Garrison Artillery
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in March 1915 that Richard Wood is serving his King and
Country. In October 1915 it notes, Wood, Gnr R, RGA, France and then in
December 1917, Wood, Bomb[ardier] R, RGA. This information is then repeated up to and
including the final published roll call in July 1919.
The
1901 census of England
and Wales
reveals a three year old Richard Wood at North Common. He and his nine year old brother Frank, are
noted as the grandsons of 77 year old Joseph Hatfield. The household comprised Joseph (noted as an
agricultural labourer, despite his age), his 66 year old wife Susannah; a son,
James Hatfield (aged 31 and working as a market gardener), a daughter, Lily M
Hatfield (aged 18) and the two grandsons.
Whether this Richard Wood is the same man mentioned in Chailey’s Parish
Magazine 13 years later is unclear.
SE/4483 Corporal Frederick Albert Jon Wood, Army Veterinary Corps
Frederick Albert Jon Wood is commemorated on the war memorial on Chailey Green but is not recorded on either the Commonwealth War Graves’ Commission’s (CWGC) Debt of Honour register or Soldiers Died in the Great War. This suggests that he died of wounds or a war service incurred sickness after
Chailey Parish Magazine first notes
in March 1915 that Frederick Wood is serving his King and Country. In October 1915 it notes, Wood, Pte F, AVC, Dardanelles
and in December 1917 that his rank is now that of corporal. This information is then repeated up to and
including the final published roll call in July 1919. There is no mention of him in the parish
magazine’s roll of honour.
Fortunately, Frederick ’s
medal index card at The National Archives in Kew
fills in further details. He is recorded as SE/4483 Corpl Fredk Albert J Wood
of the RAVC (the Army Veterinary Corps became the Royal Army Veterinary Corps
on 27th November
1918 ). He enlisted on 1st March 1915
and appears to have arrived in Gallipoli just thirteen days later on 14th
March. He was discharged as no longer
physically fit for war service on 7th June 1919 and was entitled to a silver war
badge as well as the 1914-15 Star and British War and Victory Medals.
Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry.
WR/178250 L/Cpl William Albert Cottington, 2/2nd London Field Coy, RE
William Albert Cottington was born at
Ten years later, William’s relationship to the head of the household is
still recorded as “boarder” but by now he is living at No 2 Roeheath Cottage,
Chailey village. The head of the
household is noted as 45 year old James Langridge and William (aged ten) shares
the house with James and his 42 year old wife Ellen, their 22 year old son
Herbert and an 84 year old boarder – John Diplock.
On 3rd
February 1912 William married Rosena Alice Evans at the Congregational
Church, Uckfield and on 8th
January 1914 a daughter, Ethel Cottington, was born.
William was embodied on 23rd March 1915 at 10 Victoria Park Square,
London as a sapper with the 2nd London Field Company, Royal Engineers (TF) in
(what was then) the 1st London Division. He was given the number 1974 (later changed
to 548331 when the Territorial were re-numbered in 1917). He gave his address as New Road , Buxted , Sussex and enlisted for the
duration of the war. He stated that he had previously served with the Sussex
Garrison Artillery (TF) until it been disbanded. He was described as 24 years old, five feet,
six inches tall and of good physical development.
On 31st August 1915
he was appointed (unpaid) acting lance-corporal and this was upgraded to (paid)
acting lance-corporal on 6th
November 1915 . On 11th December 1915
He was promoted to acting 2nd corporal and this was duly noted in
Chailey’s parish magazine in February 1916 which reported: Cottington, 2nd Corpl W A 2/2nd London Field Co, RE, England.
On 11th March 1916
he joined the RE Base Records for duty and the following month was re-mustered
as a clerk and granted proficient (1/-) rate of Engineer pay. Although there is no visible note in his
(badly burnt) records of when he went abroad, Chailey Parish Magazine notes in
July 1916 that he is in France . On 1st November 1916 he was raised to “Skilled” (1/4) rate of
Engineer pay and on 1st July appointed paid acting corporal (19th
Section GHQ, 1st Div).
He was admitted to hospital on 20th August 1917 (the cause of the admission is
unclear on his records) but it appears not to have been serious and as far as I
can ascertain he remained overseas. He
was however granted leave bewteen 16th and 30th January 1918 . At a medical board at Rouen on 22nd
March 1918 he was graded as B2 and the following day his war pay was raised to (
or maybe “by”) 3d a day.
On 1st October 1918
he was appointed sergeant and given four days’ leave to Paris the same day. Shortly after his return he attended a
further medical board at Rouen
where he was upgraded to B1. He was
granted leave to the UK
between 3rd and 17th
January 1919 and was finally
despatched to the UK
for release on 21st
April 1919 . He appears to
have been disembodied on 1st
May 1919 .
He is probably related to Alfred Cottington and Harry Cottington but I
have not yet been able to establish a link between these men.
Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry.
Harry Cottington, 7th Royal West Kent Regt
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in March 1916 that Harry Cottington has attested. In October 1916 it records Private H
Cottington (presumably the same man), serving with the 22nd Training
Reserve in England . The following month it notes that he is with
the 26th Royal Fusiliers in France .
In
January 1917 it notes that he is serving with the 7th Royal West
Kent Regiment and in January 1918 that he is attached to APM (an abbreviation I
am not familiar with). This information
is then repeated monthly up to and including the final published roll call in
July 1919.
I
have been unable to find either a convincing census return for this man or a
medal index card at The National Archives.
He
is probably related to Alfred Cottington and William Albert Cottington but I
have not yet been able to establish a link between these men.
Alfred Cottington
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in October 1914 that Alfred Cottington is serving his
King and Country. This information
appears for the final time in March 1915.
I know nothing
more about this man. He may be the 42-year-old Alfred Cottington recorded on the 1911 census as living in Uckfield and he
may also be related to Harry Cottington and William Albert Cottington. At this point in time though, I
have not yet been able to establish a link between these men.
P-5378 L/Cpl William Cottingham, Military Foot Police
In April 1917 Chailey Parish Magazine notes Cottingham, L-Corpl W, Mil Foot Police and this entry is then repeated monthly up to and including the final published roll call in July 1919. The National Archives lists him as P-5378 Lance Corporal W Cottingham, Military Foot Police.
All
of the Cottingham brothers, (with the exception of George who was medically
unfit), served during the First World War.
Frederick
was killed in 1916 on the opening day of the battle of the Somme . The brothers were also distantly related to
Thomas Cottingham.
Medal index card courtesy of Ancestry.
J24158 AB Thomas Charles Cottingham, HM Submarines
Thomas
Cottingham was born on 29th
January 1897 at Chailey. At
the time the 1901 census was taken he was living at South Common, Chailey. The head of the household is recorded as
Frank Yeomans, a 37 year old brickyard labourer, and his wife Jane Yeomans (nee
Johnson), aged 50. Thomas Cottingham is
recorded as the four year old grandson of the head of the household. No other family members are noted.
Thomas’
father (Charles Johnson Cottingham) and his mother Elizabeth Cottingham (nee Dumbrell)
were also living in south Chailey and Charles was working as a bricklayer. Thomas was effectively the step-grandson of
Frank Yeomans. For his grandmother, Jane
Yeomans this was her third marriage.
Her
first husband was John Cottingham who she married in 1869. At the time of that marriage she already had
a son Thomas – probably by John Cottingham - and Thomas assumed the Cottingham surname at
some point after 1881. He appears on
census returns under a variety of names: James Charles Johnson (1871), John C
Johnson (1881), Charles Cottingham (1891) and Charles J Cottingham (1901). When he married Elizabeth Dumbrell in 1899,
his name was registered as Charles Johnson Cottingham.
John
Cottingham died in 1881 (Jane is recorded as a widow on the census return for
that year). She then married George
Cottington in 1885 but he died
later that same year (the marriage was recorded at Lewes in the March quarter
of 1885 and his death, at the age of 35, was recorded at Lewes in the December
quarter). She then married Frank Yeomans
in 1892. Coincidentally, when in 1871
she was the 25 year old wife of John Cottingham, her future husband, seven year
old Frank Yeomans, was living next door but one.
Thomas
Cottingham joined the Royal Navy on 15th April 1913 .
His occupation was noted as “under game-keeper”, his height as five feet
four inches, hair brown, eyes brown, complexion fresh. The only distinguishing mark worthy of note
was a mole on his back.
Thomas
Cottingham was immediately posted to HMS
Ganges, a boys’ training ship, where he remained until 12th November that
year. His initial rating was boy, 2nd class,
upgraded to boy, 1st class on 12th November.
Between 13th
November 1913 and 14th
March 1914 , Thomas Cottingham served aboard HMS Hawke and then, after two weeks ashore at Portsmouth , transferred to HMS Monarch on 7th April 1914 . On 29th April 1915 , his eighteenth birthday, he was
automatically promoted to the rating of Ordinary Seaman and signed on for
twelve years. His height, at eighteen, was
noted as five feet seven inches and his hair as dark brown.
Thomas
served aboard HMS Monarch until 25th July 1917 when he
joined HMS Dolphin, a submarine base and school. One week later he was transferred to HMS Thames and then, on the 1st October 1917 , to HMS Maidstone. For the remainder of the war, Thomas spent
time at HMS Dolphin, HMS Victory (Portsmouth ) and finally HMS Amazon.
His
service record extends to 30th
November 1928 and it is noted that his record was transferred which
presumably means that he continued to serve beyond that period. On 23rd July 1925 it had been noted that he was “to complete
[time in order to obtain a pension]” and this would have taken him up until 29th April 1935 .
Throughout
his time with the Royal Navy (up until 1928 at least), Cottingham’s character
is noted as Very Good and his ability, latterly, as Superior .
He had been promoted to able seaman on 1st December 1915 and then to leading seaman
on 1st April 1922 .
In
addition he qualified as a seaman gunner on 28th March 1916 , re-qualifying on 10th October 1916 ,
17th July 1923
and 22nd July
1927 . He also qualified as a
diver on 5th June
1917 , re-qualifying on 1st May 1919 .
Chailey
Parish Magazine first mentions Thomas Cottingham in October 1914, noting that
he is serving his King and Country. In
October 1915 it notes that he is serving on HMS
Monarch, in December 1917 aboard HMS
Thames and in January 1918 aboard HMS
Maidstone. In June 1918 and
thereafter up until the final entry in July 1919 it records him serving aboard
HM Submarines.
Thomas
Cottingham is distantly related to James, William, George, Frederick and Alfred
Cottingham. John Cottingham (Thomas’
grandmother’s first husband), was the elder brother of their father (William
Cottingham).
63717 WO Cl II James Louis Cottingham, Labour Corps
Chailey
Parish Magazine notes in December 1916: Cottingham, Co Sergt Major J, 37th RF,
and this information is then repeated monthly up until the final published roll
call in July 1919.
J
Cottingham is probably James Louis Cottingham who was one of four Chailey
brothers who served during the First World War.
He was the eldest child of William and Esther Cottingham of South Common
Chailey and was born at Chailey in late 1884 or early 1885, his birth recorded
at Lewes in the March quarter of that year.
The
1901 census returns show him living at Chailey with his family. The household comprised William Cottingham,
head of the household, aged 53 and working as a tile maker, his 46 year old
wife Esther Cottingham and their five children: James, aged 16, a brickyard
labourer, William Cottingham, aged 13, a brickyard labourer, his twin brother
George Cottingham, aged 13, working as a carter boy on farm, Frederick [Samuel]
Cottingham, aged nine, and finally Alfred Cottingham aged six. The 1891 census also shows a daughter, Edith
Cottingham aged five in 1891 but I could find no record of her on the census
taken ten years later.
The
37th Royal Fusiliers was a labour battalion formed at Falmer , Sussex
on June 6th 1916 . It went to France the following month as part of
the Fourth Army. In April 1917 it became
the 107th and 108th Labour Companies of The Labour Corps. The National Archives gives two designations
for this man: 38338 Warrant Officer Class 2 James L Cottingham, Royal Fusiliers
and (when the 37th Royal Fusiliers was re-designated), 63717 Warrant Officer Class 2 James L
Cottingham, Labour Corps.
Harold Cooke
Chailey Parish Magazine has only two entries for Harold Cooke. He appears in the January and March 1916
lists of specially attested men where he is noted as medically unfit. He is possibly related to the Cooke family which owned and farmed Bower
Farm in Chailey.
Pte T Clayden, 25th Middlesex Regt
Chailey Parish Magazine notes in December 1916 that Private T Clayden is serving with the 25th Middlesex Regiment (a reserve battalion) and this information is repeated monthly thereafter up to and including the final published roll call in July 1919. This battalion remained in England throughout the war.
There is a 28-year-old Thomas Clayden noted on the 1911 census who was working as a servant for Colonel Frewen at his house, Brickwall, in Northiam, Sussex (above; the house is now Frewen College). Whether this is the same man who would appear on the Reverend Jellicoe's roll call for Chailey a few years later is currently a matter for conjecture.
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