Cool Courage And Devotion To Duty.

GV Distinguished Conduct Medal. 1914 Trio.
8669 Pte. T. C. Cawthorne, 1st East Yorkshire Regiment.

Thomas Charles Cawthorne was born on 31st May 1889, the son of Thomas Cawthorne, a dealer of cat's meat, and his wife Sarah. The couple already had a son, George, and a daughter, Sarah, and resided at 35 Cranbrook Street, Bethnal Green. The street is pictured below.

On 14th June 1907, Thomas enlisted in the Militia as a volunteer in the 5th Royal Fusiliers. His Attestation Papers describe him as 18 years old, 5' 11" tall, 148lbs, and with a fair complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. His trade is given as carman. It seems that he quickly decided that the military life would suit him as on 9th October 1907, Thomas enlisted as a regular soldier in the East Yorkshire Regiment. Unfortunately, Thomas Cawthorne's Service Papers for his time in the East Yorks have not survived. However, the few details that are known are particularly interesting.

On the outbreak of war, Thomas was serving with the 1st East Yorkshire Regiment and went to France with the Battalion on 8th September 1914. The Battalion fought on the Western Front for the whole war, taking part in the Battles of the Aisne, Armentieres, the Somme, Arras, and Third Ypres. On 21st March 1918, the Battalion was at Saulcourt and came under heavy shelling during the opening phase of the Kaiser's Battle and it was here that Thomas Cawthorne's bravery earned him the Distinguished Conduct Medal. A total of 134 DCMs were won by the East Yorkshire Regiment in the First World War. The citation reads:

"On 21st March, near Saulcourt, for cool courage and devotion to duty. While the camp was being heavily shelled and later on in the day for eleven hours, he assisted, under heavy shell fire, in evacuating the wounded. On 24th March 1918, and again on 28th March, it was largely due to his fine example and energy that many vehicles and horses among the transport were saved under heavy fire."

 

On 14th June 1918, the 1st East Yorks with a strength of 7 officers and 194 other ranks was travelling by train to the Abbeville area. Around 9.30pm, they passed through the station of Coulommiers, which was the first detraining station of the Battalion on its arrival on active service in France. This fact was of great interest to those who had been with the Battalion in September 1914. The Regimental History notes that only one officer and ten men of the original contingent were still with the Battalion, one of whom was Private Thomas Cawthorne.

Little is known of Thomas' life after the war and after his discharge from the army. In 1925, he married Lily Pattison, a local Bethnal Green girl. The death of a Thomas Charles Cawthorne of 10 Maplin Street, Mile End, London is recorded on 4th May 1975. This could possibly be the same man. He would have been 85 years old and Maplin Street is less than one mile from Cranbrook Street, where Thomas grew up. 

Pte. Vincent Patterson, Lincolnshire Regiment.

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Cape Colony", "Paardeberg" & "Johannesburg".
2355 Pte. V. Patterson, Lincolnshire Regiment.

Vincent Patterson was born in Clarborough, near Retford, Nottinghamshire, around the year 1870. He was the last of four sons born to William and Mary Patterson. In 1889, having completed an apprenticeship with Mr Bradshaw, Vincent was working as a moulder, probably in the Carr Foundry in Albert Road, Retford, where heating and rainwater pipes, fireplaces, stoves and general engineering castings were made.

At Lincoln on 10th June 1889, Vincent Patterson attested for the Lincolnshire Regiment, agreeing to serve for seven years with the Colours and five years in the Reserve. Vincent was already serving in the Militia, as a volunteer in the 3rd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. His Attestation Papers describe him as 18 years 11 months old, just over 5' 4" tall, with a fair complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair. His religion was given as Church of England and his one distinctive mark was the cicatrice of a wound on his left temple.

On 1st July, Vincent was posted to the 1st Battalion and embarked on a period of  home service, but on 12th November he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion for foreign service in India. His first Good Conduct Pay was awarded on 10th June 1891. Following two years in India, the 2nd Lincolns set sail for Singapore and service in the Strait Settlements. Vincent Patterson finally returned to England in March 1895 and his second Good Conduct Pay was awarded in June of the same year. On 9th June, Vincent was transferred to the Army Reserve and returned to civilian life. Less than three weeks later, on 26th June, he married Alice Maud Brown, who was seven years his junior, at St Michael & All Angels church at Woolwich. The couple set up house in Plumstead, London, where Alfred, their first son, was born soon after.

Following the outbreak of the South African War in 1899, Vincent Patterson was recalled for service with the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment, which sailed for the Cape on 4th January 1900, arriving there about three weeks later. Vincent would serve almost two years in South Africa as a regimental drummer, earning his entitlement to the Queen's South Africa Medal pictured here. Vincent's second son, Walter Kimberley, was born on 15th March 1900 during his time abroad, which no doubt influenced the choice of the boy's second name. Vincent was discharged from the army on 26th November 1901, having been found medically unfit for further service. He was now 31 years 4 months old and had served 12 years 170 days. His conduct and character while with the Colours was described as "very good." His intended place of residence was given as 7 Whitworth Place, Plumstead.
By the time of the 1911 Census, the Patterson family had moved back to Retford and were living in a four room dwelling at 33 East Street. Vincent was working as a machine moulder in an iron foundry and three more sons had been born; Henry Edward (born 12th September 1902), Sidney Herbert (born 5th February 1908), and William (born 11th September 1910).

Soon after the outbreak of the Great War, Vincent Patterson attested for one year's service in the Special Reserve. Examined at Retford on 11th September 1914, his Papers describe him as 5' 6" tall, weighing 114lbs and with blue eyes. On 15th September, he was posted to the 8th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment and on 5th May 1915 he was appointed Acting Corporal.

On 2nd November 1915, Vincent reported sick and was admitted to hospital at Killingholme. His condition worsened and on 5th November, he was transferred by ambulance to the Grimsby and District Hospital. Extremely ill on admission, he died two days later, the cause of death being given as acute lobar pneumonia. He was 45 years old. His Papers include a note describing how he was addicted to alcohol and had been discovered under the influence of drink, asleep outside in the open, a night or so before he was taken sick. Vincent is buried in East Retford Cemetery.

In May 1916, Vincent's widow, now living at 22 Abney Street, Sheffield, was awarded a pension of 23 shillings a week for herself and three children. Not having served abroad in the Great War, Vincent Patterson was not eligible for any WW1 campaign medals but his widow would have received a bronze Memorial Plaque and Scroll.

Pte. John Dormann, 15th London Regiment.

British War Medal 1914 - 20.
Victory Medal. 
5059 Pte. J. A. Dormann, 15th London Regiment (Civil Service Rifles).

The birth of John Alexander Dormann was registered in 1887 and his baptism took place at St Peter’s church, Fulham, on 23^rd August 1893. He was the last of four sons born to Julius Joseph and Emma Dormann. Their four children were Julius (born December 1879), Albert Louis (born 1881), Edward (born July 1883) and John Alexander. The family lived in Rosaville Road, Fulham at least until 1888 but at some point after moved a few streets away to a four room dwelling at 84 Sherbrooke Road. The 1891 Census notes that Julius had been born in Switzerland and was working as a waiter.

By the time of the 1901 Census the three older boys were all employed but still living at home; Julius was a solicitor’s clerk, Albert worked as a grocer’s assistant and Edward was employed as a barber’s assistant. John, now aged 14, was presumably still at school.

After leaving school, John Dormann embarked on a career in the Civil Service and various mentions in the London Gazette chart his progress. In May 1906 he was appointed as a second division clerk and the following August he was assigned to the Post Office. In early 1910 he transferred to the Board of Trade.

The 1911 Census records the Dormann family as still living at 84 Sherbrooke Road, Fulham.  Julius, the father, now aged 57 was still working as a waiter. He and Emma had been married for 32 years. All four sons were single, still living at home, and doing the same jobs. At some point after this, the family moved a few doors down the street to 60 Sherbrooke Road.

On 25^th November 1915, John Alexander Dormann enlisted in the 15^th London Regiment for the duration of the war. His surviving Attestation Papers state that he was 28 years 9 months old, 5’ 7” tall, and of fair physical development. His occupation is given as a clerk with the Commercial Intelligence Branch of the Board of Trade. In addition, he signed army form E.624 affirming his willingness to serve outside the United Kingdom. John had had to apply to his employer for official permission to enlist and this was granted on 1^st December, following which he was embodied in the 3/15^th Londons and began his basic training. 

On 13th May 1916, John sailed from Southampton, arriving at the Base Depot at Le Havre the following day. On 15^th June, he joined the 1/15^th Battalion at Angres, north of Arras. Here, a number of selected men were busy rehearsing for a forthcoming trench raid.

On the night of 3rd July, the raiding party, their faces blackened with charcoal and equipped with the usual trench fighting weapons, including Mills bombs, coshes and bayonets, attempted to get into the German trenches. It seems the Germans suspected what was afoot and were able to bring down an artillery barrage, pinning most of the raiders down in their own front line trench. A few of the men managed to get across No Man’s Land but the raid was not a success; one officer was killed and numerous men wounded, including John Alexander Dormann, who suffered shrapnel wounds to his leg.

The Regimental History did not dwell on this incident, simply stating “Early in July the Battalion was ordered to raid the enemy trenches in the Bois en Hache, just north of Souchez, but although 5 officers and 100 other ranks were specially trained for the event, it was a dismal failure, and it has long been a forbidden topic of conversation in Civil Service Rifles circles.”

John was evacuated away from the front line to a Casualty Clearing Station and then on 5^th July 1916 to the 3^rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne. The next day, he was on his way to England, where he would spend 300 days (8^th July 1916 to 3^rd May 1917) at the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital at Whitchurch near Cardiff. In a way, his “Blighty” wound could be seen as an incredible stroke of luck since he missed the later stages of the Somme Battles, in which the 1/15^th Battalion suffered terrible casualties in two costly attacks, first on 15^th September at High Wood and then on 7^th October at the Butte de Warlencourt.

Early in May 1917, John Dormann was granted 10 days’ leave to visit his family in Fulham and then, on 15^th June, he was again sailing from Southampton and heading back to the Western Front. He again passed through the Base Depot at Le Havre and on 12^th July was back with the 1/15^th Battalion. He had just missed another costly attack as the Battalion had had just over 200 casualties, including 56 killed, in the Battle of Messines Ridge in early June.

 

On 28^th November 1917, the Battalion took over part of the Hindenburg Line near Graincourt, and the following day John Dormann suffered a shrapnel wound to the left knee. This wound was not so serious as he rejoined the Battalion in early December only to suffer shrapnel wounds to his arm and back on 22^nd January 1918 while the 1/15^th was engaged in routine trench holding.

John was back with the Battalion when the Kaiser’s Battle opened on 21^st March 1918. The 1/15^th Londons were in support trenches in Lincoln Reserve on Beauchamp Ridge and under shell fire throughout the morning. By night, the forward battalions were ordered to withdraw and the Londons’ support trenches became the new front line. The situation became increasingly confused and the Battalion was ordered to fall back. At some time on 22^nd March 1918, John Dormann was reported as missing. Six months later, he was officially accepted as a POW in Germany.

Once the war was over, John Dormann was quickly repatriated back to the UK, arriving there on 27^th November 1918. He was discharged from the army on 19^th February 1919 and resumed his duties in the Civil Service. The London Gazette of 7^th November 1919 mentions his promotion to Market Officer in the Department of Overseas Trade. In 1922 he married Winifred Rose Cashin. His progress up the Civil Service ladder continued with promotion to Intelligence Officer, Senior Officer and Senior Staff Officer. In the New Year’s Honours List of 1947 he was awarded the MBE.

John Alexander Dormann appears to have retired to Southend, where his death was registered in the first quarter of 1968. He was 80 years old.

Sjt. Rawlins, Scots Greys: A Conman's Victim.

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Relief of Kimberley", "Orange Free State", "Johannesburg" & "Belfast".
4105 Sjt. E. Rawlins, 2nd Dragoons.

Edward Percy Rawlins, the fifth child of Walter and Fanny Rawlins, was born in Pewsey, near Marlborough in Wiltshire, on 21st February 1876. Walter Rawlins was a farmer and cattle dealer and was prosperous enough to be able to send Edward to Newbury Grammar School, where he is listed among the scholars on the 1891 Census. Edward served an apprenticeship with a Mr Biggs of Tunbridge Wells for two years and then on 9th May 1895, at the age of 19 years and 3 months, enlisted in the Royal Scots Greys, agreeing to serve 7 years with the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve. His Attestation Papers describe him as just over 5' 11" tall, and weighing 160lbs with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He had scars on his left elbow and the palm of his left hand. His religion was given as Church of England and his profession as shopman.

Edward seems to have made slow but steady progress with his army career, being appointed Lance Corporal on 9th March 1897, granted his first Good Conduct Pay on 9th May the same year and being promoted to Corporal on 19th October 1898. In November 1899, he went with the Regiment to South Africa where he would serve for one and a half years, earning entitlement to the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps. He was appointed Lance Sergeant on 17th December 1900 and promoted to Sergeant on 3rd April 1901.

Edward returned to England on 25th April 1901. A further period of home service ensued during which he married Lilly Rose Wasley at St Stephen's Church, Wandsworth, on 14th September 1903. Finally, on 7th August 1905, Edward was transferred to the Army Reserve.
Following his discharge from the army, Edward and his wife moved to Hawthorn Farm, Blythburgh, near Southwold in Suffolk, where he worked as a farmer. On 9th November 1918, Edward, now aged 42, joined the Royal Air Force as a Private, Second Class, but would only serve for six days as the Great War finally came to an end and his services were no longer required. In the 1920s, trading on his experience in the Scots Greys, he successfully ran the Southwold Riding Academy and soon became a well known member of Southwold society.

The story now jumps to the summer of 1933, when a certain Major Leonard T. Crane arrived in Southwold and checked in to the fashionable Marlborough Hotel. Good looking, urbane and with a winning smile and a military bearing, Major Crane soon made a favourable impression on the local gentry with whom he cultivated connections. The Major had an interesting story to tell. He claimed that he had been the co-litigant, together with George V, in a legal action against the National Provincial Bank for the sum of £850 million. The involvement of the monarchy had made the case politically sensitive and, as a result, it was held in camera before Lord Sankey, the Lord High Chancellor of England. Crane's successful pleading of his own case had resulted in the case being won but due to a bureaucratic mistake the £10 million coming to him had been paid into the Chancery Court. Now, Crane went on to explain, releasing his funds from Chancery would require a costly legal process, which he could not at present afford. However, anyone who wished to contribute to the legal costs would be recompensed many times over once the money was released.

Not only was Crane a most persuasive speaker but he had a wealth of official looking documents to back up his story and, at a time of serious economic depression, his story was readily accepted by people who perhaps should have known better. Around 30 of Southwold's residents, including Edward Rawlins, who invested £650 in the enterprise, were taken in by this incredible tale. It was only when Crane came into contact with the Rev. R. N. Pike, Southwold's vicar and a man with some knowledge of the law, that suspicions were aroused. Realising the game was up, Crane fled to London and disappeared. He was eventually tracked down by the "Sunday Graphic" newspaper and the truth finally emerged. Major Leonard T. Crane was a complete fiction. His real name was David Percy Caplice, a timber salesman and bricklayer. The whole sorry saga reached its conclusion in October 1934 when Caplice was found guilty of obtaining money by forgery and false pretences at Suffolk Assizes in Ipswich and sentenced to four years hard labour. His victims were left to bear their losses as stoically as possible. A detailed account of this elaborate hoax can be read here: The Wenhaston Millions.

The whole affair seems to have hit Edward Rawlins hard. He went into a slow decline and died two years later on 14th June 1936, at the age of 60. His estate was valued at £14080 5s 6d, a not inconsiderable sum in those days, and proof perhaps that he wasn't completely financially ruined by the lure of the "Wenhaston Millions."

With HMS Thunderer At Jutland.

1914 - 15 Trio.
George V Royal Fleet Reserve Long Service & Good Conduct Medal.
186812 F. D. Wood, Yeoman of Signals, Royal Navy.

Frederick Daniel Wood was born on 20th August 1880 in Torquay, Devon. He appears on the 1891 Census as a 10 year old schoolboy, the son of Ann and Alfred, a commissioned boatman and coastguard. At this time the Wood family were living in one of the Coastguard Cottages at Dawlish. Frederick joined the Royal Navy on 11th January 1896 as a Boy 2nd Class. His service record describes him as just over 5 feet tall, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion. After a period of basic training at HMS Ganges, a shore establishment for the training of boys, and then at HMS Boscawen, Frederick first went to sea on the battleship HMS Collingwood in 1897. At this time, HMS Collingwood was coastguard ship at Bantry. Later service was on a number of ships, including HMS Wild Swan, HMS Imperieuse and HMS Benbow. While on the latter, Frederick was advanced to Leading Signalman.
Frederick was recorded on the 1911 Census as one of the 209 sailors serving on HMS Medea, a third class cruiser, in Malta harbour.

On 15th June 1912, Frederick joined the crew of the newly commissioned HMS Thunderer (pictured above in a painting by Frederick W. Bumford). He was soon rated Yeoman of Signals and would stay with this ship for the duration of the Great War, including service at the Battle of Jutland. You can read about HMS Thunderer here .

 

Frederick Wood left HMS Thunderer on 13th September 1919 and joined the Royal Fleet Reserve on 20th August 1920. His Royal Fleet Reserve LSGC Medal was issued on 15th March 1928.

Sergeant Sperring Of The Scots Greys.

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Cape Colony", "Orange Free State", "Johannesburg", "Diamond Hill" & "Belfast".
King's South Africa Medal with clasps "South Africa 1901" & "South Africa 1902".
3843 Serjt. W. Sperring, 2nd Dragoons.

William Jones Sperring, a 20-year-old labourer from Somerset, attested for the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) at Aldershot on 14th August 1893. His Attestation Papers describe him as almost 6' 3" in height with brown hair, hazel eyes and a sallow complexion. His religion was given as Church of England. William's first six years in the army were all home service during which he received his 1st Good Conduct pay (14/8/93), appointment as Lance Corporal (27/1/98), promotion to Corporal (1/4/99), and appointment as Lance Sergeant (8/11/99).

Following the outbreak of war with the Boers, William Sperring served with the Regiment in South Africa from February 1900. The clasps on his Queen's South Africa Medal are evidence that he saw action in the fighting to capture Johannesburg in May and the Battles of Diamond Hill in June and Belfast in August. By the end of the year, the Regiment had lost 7 officers (4 died, 3 wounded) and 78 NCOs and men (35 died, 43 wounded). The majority of deaths were due to disease rather than enemy action.

On 18th April 1901, William Sperring was severely wounded in the abdomen when the Greys engaged the enemy at Weltevreden. According to "The History of the Second Dragoons 'Royal Scots Greys'" by Edward Almack

18th. - The regiment marched from Reit Vlei. Enemy were located by left flank guard about 7.30a.m. in strong position, and who opened with guns and rifle fire. B Squadron under Major R. H. Adams took a commanding position, on which enemy retired.

The Greys bivouacked at Weltevreden and the next day marched to Roodeval, under sniper fire the whole day. William Sperring was promoted to Sergeant on 25th September 1901 and at some point in December, probably because of the seriousness of his wound, he was sent back to England where he would stay until October 1902. On 23rd September of that year, he re-engaged to complete 21 years with the colours. Following this, he returned to South Africa to rejoin the Regiment, thus earning entitlement to the King's South Africa Medal. During this time William became ill with enteric fever and spent 116 days in hospitals at Wynberg and Simonstown. He remained in South Africa till June 1904 and had thus served a total of three and a half years there.
Back in England, William married Minnie Smart in the parish church at Kingsthorpe on Christmas Eve 1905. The couple had twin girls, Jessie Elizabeth and Gwendoline Rose, who were born on 20th June 1907, but sadly the latter appears to have died in infancy. A year later on 10th November 1908, a son, William John James, was born.
On the outbreak of the First World War, Sergeant William Sperring was posted to the 5th Reserve Cavalry Regiment on 16th August 1914. He saw home service with the 1st Dragoons until being finally discharged from the army at York on 13th August 1915 due to his age. He had served for a total of 22 years and his conduct was described as "exemplary". His only award for his service in the First World War was a Silver War Badge for "Services Rendered".
In later life, William Sperring and his wife Minnie ran the "The Sheaf & Sickle" public house in Long Lawford, near Rugby. William died some time in 1934 when he was aged about 60.