G/9021 Sgt John Derrick, 8th Bn, RWK Regt

G/9021 Seregant John Derrick of the 8th Battalion, Queen's Own, Royal West Kent Regiment, was killed in action on the 30th October 1915. He was born in Camberwell, was living in Hertford and enlisted at Hertford in July 1915. He arrived in France on the 11th October 1915. John was 22 years old, the son - according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - of John and Evelyn Amelia Derrick of 63 Alderney Street, South Belgravia, London. He is buried in Elzenwalle Brasserie Cemetery at Ypres.

John Derrick's badly damaged service records survives in the WO 363 series at The National Archives and from this we also see that he was married at the time of his death, and that his widow - also Evelyn Amelia Derrick (nee Massingham) received a pension of 15 shillings a week for herself and one child with effect from the 15th May 1916. It is also noted that his effects were to be returned to her. Did the Commonwealth War Graves Commission record his wife's name as his mother's name?

We know that John and Evelyn married in Essex in the December quarter of 1914, that marriage recorded in the Orsett district, and that Evelyn had a son - Frederick J Derrick - whose birth was recorded at Orsett in the June quarter of 1915. I know nothing else about John however, and have been unable to identify him on the 1901 or 1911 census.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC, WO 363)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

L/9003 Pte Albert Caulder, 2nd Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

According to Soldiers Died in The Great War, L/9003 Private Albert Caulder of the 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), died in India on the 16th August 1914. He was born at Kingston-On-Thames and enlisted at Maidstone. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his date of death as the 17th August, noting that he was buried in Dalhousie Military Cemetery. Dalhousie is a hill station in Himalchal Pradesh. He is commemorated on the Kirkee 1914-1918 Memorial in Pune (formerly Poona).

There is a small, three line entry in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour which states, "... son of Giles Caulder of East Ham, London E; served with the Expeditionary Force. Died at Dalhousie 16th Aug 1914."

Pages from Albert's service record survive in the WO 363 series at the National Archives.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC, WO 363)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

G/5724 Pte James Gadd, 6th Bn Royal West Kent Regt

G/5724 Private James Gadd of the 6th Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment, was killed in action on the 3rd July 1916. He was born in Waltham Green, London, was living in Fulham and enlisted at Hounslow.

James's service record does not survive, but his medal index card indicates that he arrived overseas on the 23rd June 1915. He was thus entitled to the 1914-15 Star - which is impressed to G/5724 Pte J Gadd - and the British War and Victory Medals - which are impressed to GS/5724 Pte J Gadd. The G/ prefix stands for General and the GS/ prefix for General Service. James's number indicates that he originally joined the battalion In February 1915.

James Gadd is buried in Serre Road Cemetery No 2; one of 7,124 men buried there, 4,944 of whom are known only unto God.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Lt Erle Britt Trotter, 3rd Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

Even after the First World war ended, men who had served during the war were still dying in uniform, or dying of their wounds. Lieutenant Erle Britt Trotter of the 3rd Battalion,Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), died on the 28th May 1919.

Erle's medal index card shows that he first served with the 1st Home Counties Field Ambulance. His number indicates that he joined at the end of November or the beginning of December 1912. He arrived in France on the 17th December 1914 as a sergeant and with the number 2100. When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917 he was given a new number: 493093.

Erle was awarded the Distinguished Conducted Medal whilst serving as sergeant with the RAMC and this was gazetted on the 26th January 1917. His citation reads:

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He displayed great courage and determination when in charge of a number of stretcher bearer squads. On several occasions he personally attended the wounded under very heavy fire."

Sergeant Trotter was commissioned in the Royal West Kent Regiment on the 24th November 1917 and would win the Military Cross whilst serving with the regiment; a brave man who died at home in Gillingham (cause of death unknown) in 1919. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that he was 26 years old and also held the "Medaille Militaire (France). [He was the] son of Alice Harris (formerly Trotter) and the late William Richard Trotter of 225 Canterbury Street, Gillingham."

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
London Gazette

G/8807 L/Cpl William Charles Wrack, 8th Bn, RWK

G/8807 Lance-Corporal William Charles Wrack of the 8th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regt, was killed in action on the 16th April 1917. He was born in Peckham, south east London, but was living at Stoke Poges (Buckinghamshire) and enlisted at High Wycombe around July 1915. He hads no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

L/10382 Pte Timothy Peskett, 1st Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

L/10382 Private Timothy Peskett of the 1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment, died of wounds on the 24th March 1915. His entry in De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour reads:

PESKETT, TIMOTHY, Private No. 10382 1st Battn, Royal West Kent Regiment, s[on] of George Peskett of 12 Queen Street, East Greenwich, S.E. Served with the Expeditionary Force in France; died of wounds 24th March 1915.

Pages from Timothy Peskett's service record also survive and the following information is taken from this.

Timothy enlisted with the Royal West Kent Regiment's Special Reserve at Woolwich on the 14th January 1914. He declared his age as 17 years and 126 days and gave his trade as "labourer in cable works" and his place of birth as Cork. He was given the number 8946.

Timothy's time with the 3rd Royal West Kent Regiment was short-lived however and on the 15th June 1914 he decided that life in the army suited him and signed on at Maidstone as a career soldier with the regular battalions. He was now 17 years and 272 days old.

Timothy's next of kin was recorded as his father - George Cornelius - and mother - Hannah Peskett. An older brother - George Patrick - and two younger brothers - Michael Frederick and Patrick William - are also recorded. In fact, Timothy had other siblings as well. Frederick and William Peskett would have been about ten years and seven years old in 1914. Two sisters, Eileen and Theresa - would have been about three years and one year old respectively. After his death, Timothy's mother would give birth to two more children: a girl, Mary, in 1916 and a son who she would name Timothy, in about 1918.

At the time of his enlistment in the special reserve, Timothy was described as five feet, three and a half inches tall, weighing 98 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair. His religion is recorded as "Church of England".

Having attested with the regular army, Timothy remained at the Royal West Kent Regimental depot until the 8th July 1914 when he was posted to the 1st Battalion. He was posted to the 3rd Battalion on the 19th August 1914 - presumably because he was still under eighteen years old - and remained with the battalion until the 6th December that year. He was posted to the 1st Battalion the same day and sailed for France on the 7th.

Timothy Peskett died of wounds at the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station in Belgium and on the 2nd May 1919, Hannah Peskett wrote to the military authorities asking where her son was buried. She received a reply on the 9th May informing her that he was buried in Poperinghe Old Military Cemetery.

Hannah Peskett lost two other sons in the years to follow. Nineteen year old Michael Peskett, a rifleman with the King's Royal Rifle Corps, was killed in action on the 28th August 1918. He is buried in Sucrerie Cemetery at Ablain-St Nazaire. Twenty-seven year old George Patrick Peskett, who had won the Military Medal, and who had served with the Royal West Kent Regiment since 1911, died in England on the 13th March 1919. He is buried in Greenwich Cemetery. Michael and Timothy Peskett are both commemorated in Ireland's World War 1 Casualty Roll (above).

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC, De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, Ireland Roll of Honour)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

G/23860 Pte John Thoms Jury, 1st Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

Two hundred and eighty one officers and men of the British Army died on this day in 1917, and Private John Jury of the 1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment was one of these casualties. He died of wounds on the 12th February 1917.

John Jury was 24 years old and the son of Walter and Jane Jury, of 91, Cannon Heath, Wateringbury, Maidstone. He was born in West Malling, Kent and was living there when he enlisted. His number appears to date to around November 1916 which in turn suggests that he would not have had a great deal of training before being sent overseas.

John Jury died in hospital and is buried in the Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

G/9311 Pte Walter Alfred Cheeseman, 3rd Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

G/9311 Private Walter Alfred Cheeseman of the 3rd Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment, died in England before he had a chance to fight overseas. His number indicates that he joined the Royal West Kents in late August or early September 1915, and he died on the 5th February 1916, probably as a result of sickness.

Walter was the son of Walter and Elizabeth Cheeseman of Sevenoaks in Kent, and he is buried in the churchyard of St Peter's and St Paul's church in Shoreham. He was probably around twenty years old at the time of his death, as he appears on the 1901 census as a four-year-old child living with his parents at London Road, Farningham, Kent.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, WO363)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

G/24255 L/Cpl William Abrey, 10th Bn, Royal West Kent

G/24255 Lance-Corporal William Abrey of the 10th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment, died of wounds on the 19th January 1917. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, he was the eldest son of the late Mr and Mrs William Abrey of High Street, Ingatestone, Essex; and the husband of Agnes M Abrey of 80, Russell Street, Peterborough, Northants. He was 23 years old when he died.

William appears on the 1901 census as a five year old living with his parents and two sisters (one older, one younger) in Ingatestone High Street. His father's trade is noted as "Horseman in Brickfield".

William probably joined the Royal West Kent Regiment in the autumn of 1916 and therefore had probably not been overseas very long before he was fatally wounded. He is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, 1901 census)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in The Great War

202923 Pte Benjamin Daintry Hillsdon, 6th Bn, Royal West Kent Regt

202923 Benjamin Daintry Hillsden of the 6th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regt, died of wounds in England on the 16th October 1918.

Soldiers Died in The Great War spells his surname Hillsden but I think this is incorrect. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, his medal index card and the register of births record the spelling as Hillsdon.

Benjamin's number belongs to the series issued to the 4th (Territorial Force) Battalion and whilst I can't exactly pin down the date that he joined the Royal West Kent Regiment, it looks as though this was the latter part of the war. He certainly wasn't overseas until 1916 at the earliest.

Benjamin was born in Whitmore, Staffordshire in late 1888 or early 1889 and was living in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, when he enlisted, He joined up at Bedford. He was the son of Ben and Eliza Hillsden and had at least six siblings. On the 1891 and 1901 census returns, Ben Hillsdon senior is recorded as a coachman and he was obviously earning well enough in 1891 to afford a 14 year old servant girl - Flora Nelson - who was also staying with the family.

Private Hillsdon is buried in King's Walden (St Mary) Churchyard in Hertfordshire and is almost certainly mentioned on the local war memorial, although I don't know this for sure.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, 1891 and 1901 census returns)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

G/12744 Pte John Huxstep, 1st Bn, Royal West Kent Regiment

G/12744 Pte John Huxstep of the 1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment, was killed in action on the 2nd September 1916. Nineteen pages of his service record survive as a burnt document in the WO 363 series at the National Archives, and the following information comes from this.

John attested under the Derby Scheme on the 11th December 1915. He was 33 years and 10 months old and was living at 2 Perrius Cottages, Wouldham, Kent. He gave his trade as "Labourer". He was unmarried and his mother, Sarah Huxstep, is recorded on his papers as his next of kin and living at the same address. In time she would acknowledge receipt of her son's medals and memorial plaque at Perrins Cottages.

John was called up at Maidstone on 23rd April 1916 and issued with the number G/12744. He was posted to the 9th (Service) Battalion the following day and on 22nd June 1916, less than two months after he had been called up, he was shouldering a pack in France. He was immediately posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment and two days later sent to the No 5 Infantry Base Depot in France. On the 9th July 1916 was posted to the 22nd Manchester Regiment and it was whilst he was with this battalion that he was killed in action.

It is interesting that his service records indicates that John Huxstep was "posted" to the Manchester Regiment and yet his medal index card and the information on Soldiers Died in The Great War and The Commonwealth War Graves Commission indicate his regiment as the Royal West Kent, and his number as a Royal West Kent Regiment number. This being the case, and despite what the service record says, it seems more likely that he had been attached to the RWK Regiment rather than actually being transferred.

John Huxstep has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in France. His brother George Arthur Huxstep was also killed in action during the First World War. He died on 7th January 1917 and is buried in Bethune Town Cemetery. Both men are commemorated on memorial plaques located in the Lych Gate of the parish church of All Saints in Wouldham, near Rochester in Kent. Two other brothers and a sister were certainly still living in 1919.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC, WO 363 Service Record)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Photographs of the Lych Gate at All Saints Church, and details of Wouldham's fallen appear on the Kent Fallen website. I've taken the image on this post from that site.