Sampford Brett, Somerset
WW1 1914-1918
SERJEANT George Bartraham (1868-1916)
George Bartraham (Jnr) was born in 1868 at Sampford Brett. He was the son of George Bartraham of Sampford Brett (1837-1916) and Sarah Taylor Milton of Old Cleeve (1840-1917) who had been married in 1861. His known siblings were: 1. Albert Edward Bartraham (b.1865) 2. Rhoda Bartraham (b.1872) 3. James Bartraham (b.1874) His Father was a railway worker and, latterly a farm labourer. George (Jnr) initially followed in his father's footsteps as a farm worker before becoming apprenticed to Charles Taylor of Sampford Brett as a Tailor. On the 11th of June 1888 he enlisted as Sapper 67085 in the Royal Engineers, signing up for 7 years service and an additional 5 years on the reservist list. His enlistment papers say that he was 5ft 5.5ins tall, black hair, dark eyes and a fair complexion. He was also noted as having a scar on his left foot. The 1891 census revealed him as being based at Fort Blockhorse in Alverstoke, Hampshire. In 1894, at Portsmouth, he married Mary Lavinia Frances Bowden of Plymouth (1873-1935), the daughter of John Bowden (1850-1922) of Plymouth and Mary Elizabeth Bowden nee Francis (1849-1926) of Plymouth. George and Mary had two children and, following in the family tradition, named them George and Albert: 1. George Bartraham (1897-1916) 2. Albert Edward Bartraham (1900-1937) Sapper George Bartraham was promoted to Lance Corporal in 1899 and opted to remain in the Royal Engineers. By 1901 had been moved to barracks in Pembroke Docks, Wales, whilst Mary and the two children remained in Portsmouth, living with her parents in Unicorn Street, close to the town's naval base. In October 1902, George was given an overseas posting to Ceylon (today renamed Sri Lanka) where he remained for the next three years. Whilst away he took full advantage of the Army's training programmes, both military and non-military. He gained a qualification in signalling, achieved his certificate as a ‘Master Tailor', became skilled in submarine mining, and was promoted to full Corporal in 1903. George returned to Britain in January 1906, and was based at Aldershot, Hampshire. It was here, on the 28th December 1908, that an altercation led to him being convicted of assault. He was charged with "unlawfully and maliciously wounding one Albert Edward Bartraham by stabbing him with a pair of scissors, at Aldershot… and counts for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault". Albert was George's older brother and although the reason for the assault is unknown, George was convicted and sentenced to six months' hard labour. |
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Corporal Bartraham returned to his base on the 6th June 1909. He was discharged a few days later having completed 21 years' service in the Royal Engineers. The census record of 1911 appeared to show a family divided by either work or circumstance. Mary and the children remained firmly ensconced in Portsmouth with her parents, while George was living in Aldershot and employed as a tailor. His employer was shown as being H.M. Government, so it seems highly likely that he retained a connection with the army, perhaps as a civilian involved with the tailoring of officer's uniforms.
With the commencement of the First World War in 1914 George was recalled to his Regiment. As an experienced NCO he was appointed to the rank of Serjeant, attached to the 136th Fortress Company of the Royal Engineers. Fortress Companies were usually made-up of older men recruited and deployed on coastal defence around the UK, many specifically for searchlight duties. However, this was not the case for George, and in June 1915 his unit was posted to Egypt where they were involved in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire. In early 1916 he was repatriated to England due to ill health and was found to be suffering from nephritis (an inflammation of the kidneys). He was admitted to hospital in South London but died from the condition on the 14th January 1916, at the age of 47. His body was returned to his home village of Sampford Brett and he was buried in the churchyard at St George's. 1916 was a particularly tragic time for the Bartraham family; with three generations of George Bartraham's passing away within a period of nine months. His father died shortly after ‘Serjeant George' and is also buried in St George's churchyard. Whilst his son; George William Bartraham, died on the 23rd September 1916 whilst serving in the Army during the Mesopotamian Campaign in Iraq. Only a year later his mother, Sarah, was also to pass away, aged 77. She was also buried at St George's. As for his widow, Mary, she remained living at Portsmouth and would later be remarried, to William George Thomas Copus (1875-1953). She died in 1935. |
PRIVATE Edward Arthur Burnell (1890-1918)
He was born in 1890 at Sampford Brett, Somerset.
In WW1 he served as Private 26416 in the 2nd/7th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment). The battalion had been used as a home defence force but was eventually deployed to the Western Front in January 1917 and fought at Arras and Cambrai. Edward was killed in action on the 13th of April 1918, aged 28 years. He was buried at the Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No.1, Doullens, Departement de la Somme, Picardie, France. Plot VI. B. 18. |
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PRIVATE Herbert Charles Date (1893-1917)
He was born at Sampford Brett, Somerset, in July 1893 and was the son of John Date (b.1859 at Williton) and Sarah Jane Date (b.1857 at Bridgwater)
His siblings were: Alick James Date (b.1881), Alexander Date (b.1882), Rosa Date (b.1883), Phoebe Date (b.1884), Laura Date (b.1885), Arthur John Date (1886-1962), Beatrice Susan Date (b.1887), and Walter Date (b.1889). He married Daisy Annie Milton of Sampford Brett and they had a son; William Charles Milton Date. In WW1 he was residing at Minehead and travelled to Williton, where he enlisted as Gunner 141415 in the Royal Field Artillery. He was later transferred to become Private 24484 in the 2nd/4th Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He was killed in action during the attack on Pond Farm, Langemark, Belgium, during the battle of Passchendaele on the 22nd of August 1917. Herbert was aged 24 years, and was buried at the Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium. Plot VIII. E. 1. |
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SECOND LIEUTENANT Archibald "Archie" Harding Hosegood (1896-1917)
He was born at Aller Farm, Sampford Brett, Somerset, in 1896 and was the son of Thomas Hosegood (1853-1922) and Sarah Emma Hosegood nee Webber (1854-1940) of Inglebar, Tower Hill, Williton, Somerset.
His siblings were: Andrew Webber Hosegood (1880-1926), Tom Henry Hosegood (1880–1949), Bernard Hosegood (1883-1944), Ralph George Hosegood (1885-1941), Leonard Hosegood (b.1887), Frank Hosegood (1889-1971), and Muriel Hosegood (1891-1978). In WW1 Archie first served as Private 2408 in the Royal Fusiliers, before gaining a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 86th Company of the Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). He was killed in action at Cambrai, France, on the 26th of November 1917, aged 21 years, and was buried at the Villers-Plouich Communal Cemetery, Nord, France, Plot A. 23. The personal inscription on his head stone reads: "In Loving Memory of Archie, Youngest Son of T, and S.E. Hosegood". He is also commemorated on the Stained glass war memorial window at Williton's Methodist Church. His brother; Leonard Hosegood, served as Private 4967 in the Australian Imperial Force, having enlisted at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. |
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PRIVATE Herbert Perry (1887-1915)
He was born in 1887 at Sampford Brett, Somerset, and was the 7th son of Henry Perry (1849-1919) and Mary Perry (1852-1912). His father was Sampford Brett's Parish Clerk and also the Sexton of St Georges Church.
In WW1 Herbert served as Private 3/8267 in B Company, 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. He was severely wounded at Ypres, Belgium, on the 13th of June 1915 and repatriated to the Leicester Royal Infirmary in England, where he died on the 1st of August 1915, aged 28 years. He was buried at St Georges Churchyard, Sampford Brett. One of Herbert's brothers was William Perry (1878-1916). He served in WW1 as a Lance Corporal in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, and was killed in action in France in 1916. |
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LANCE CORPORAL William Perry (1878-1916)
He was born in 1878 at Sampford Brett, Somerset, and was the 5th son of Henry Perry (1849-1919) and Mary Perry (1852-1912). His father was Sampford Brett's Parish Clerk and also the Sexton of St Georges Church. William was the husband of Rose Perry, of Winkton, Christchurch, Hampshire (now in Dorset following county boundary changes).
At the commencement of WW1 he enlisted into the Army, becoming Private 3/6208 (later promoted to Lance Corporal) in the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. The Battalion was one of the first to be sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, landing at Le Havre on the 15th of August 1914 and immediately being deployed to the Western Front, where they would remain for almost the entirety of the war. On the 3rd of September 1916 he was engaged with the enemy at The Battle of Guillemont – a village in Northern France. Earlier raids on the German stronghold at Guillemont had been repeatedly attempted during July (and failed). With its maze of underground tunnels, dugouts and concrete emplacements, it was a veritable fortress and an unquestionably tough nut to crack. None-the-less the battle commenced at 12 noon under the protection of a creeping barrage of 25 yards per minute. William was killed in action against the German 2nd Army during the second day of the battle on the 4th of September, but the fighting continued until the 6th of September, resulting in a British victory. Unsurprisingly, his body was never recovered. The area had been heavily shelled by both sides over the four days and, at its end, the whole vicinity resembled a wasteland, without any recognisable buildings or trees. |
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37-year-old William is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in France (Pier and Face 6 B). It is dedicated to the 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme between 1915 and 1918, and have no known grave.
His name also appears on the Sampford Brett war memorial, and he is memorialised on his parent's and brother's grave in St George's Churchyard at Sampford Brett. One of William's brothers was Herbert Perry (1887-1915). He served in WW1 as a Private in the Devonshire Regiment, and 'died of wounds' in 1915. |