Constable Henry John Jefferies, Coroner's Officer.

 

Jubilee (Police) Medal 1897.

Coronation (Police) Medal 1902.

Coronation (Police) Medal 1911.

P.C. H. Jefferies, R Division (Greenwich), Metropolitan Police.

 

Henry John Jefferies was born in Bromley by Bow on 20^th September 1867 but by the time of the 1871 Census, the Jefferies family consisting of John (29), his wife Esther (27) and their children - Henry (4), Walter (2) and Lucy (3 months) - were living at 5 Victoria Terrace, Halling, near Rochester in Kent. At this time, Halling, known as “Cement City”, was a centre for the lime and cement industry. As a result, houses in the village would often be covered by a fine white layer of chalk and cement dust but, at the same time, local men had plenty of opportunities for employment. This, together with the fact that Esther Jefferies had been born in Halling, were probably the main reasons for the family deciding to settle there and the Census does in fact record John Jefferies as working as a cement labourer.

Ten years later, according to the 1881 Census, the Jefferies family had moved to 18 Poynder Terrace (pictured below). Henry, now aged 13, was working as a general labourer, while his father was employed as an engine driver. Apart from oldest son Henry, there were now seven other children: Walter Ernest (11), Lucy (10), Ellen (8), William Joseph (6), Joseph Edward (4), Elizabeth (2) and Eliza (2 months). All three of Henry’s younger brothers would, like him, go on to serve in the Metropolitan Police. Interestingly, a few doors away from the Jefferies family at 11 Poynder Terrace there lived a 49-year-old bricklayer’s labourer called William Sutton. This man must have had some interesting stories to tell. As a private in the 60^th Foot, William Sutton had won the Victoria Cross at the siege of Delhi during the Indian Mutiny in 1857.

At some point before the 1881 Census, George Pearson, a labourer at a lime works, his wife Kate and their seven children had moved into 4 Victoria Terrace - possibly while the Jefferies were still living at 5 Victoria Terrace. Their oldest daughter Jane Elizabeth Ann was a year older than Henry Jefferies. It is not clear when exactly they got to know each other but on 25^th March 1888 they were married at the church of St John the Baptist in Halling. The following day, Henry Jefferies joined the Metropolitan Police and was issued with Warrant No: 73533. Initially, he joined 4^th Division (Chatham Dockyard) for a couple of weeks and then transferred to R Division (Greenwich) for the rest of his police career.

On the 1891 Census, Henry and Jane Jefferies together with their 7-month-old daughter Grace are living in two rooms at 40 St James Place, Plumstead. Ten years later, the 1901 Census has the family, now consisting of Henry (33), Jane (34) and three children - Grace Jane (10), Ruth Hannah (8) and Jabez Henry (5) - living in six rooms at 1a Dawson Street, Plumstead. Henry’s younger brother John (a machine operator in the rolling mills of the Royal Arsenal), sister Elizabeth (a domestic housemaid) and niece Caroline (a domestic servant) are also included on the Census entry but it is not certain if the three were living there permanently or just visiting.

The 1911 Census lists Henry (43), Jane (44) and their family at the same address. Grace (20) was now working as a draper’s assistant; Ruth (18) was a hairdresser’s apprentice and Jabez (16) was an electrical engineer’s apprentice. There were also two new additions to the family: Joseph George (7) and Esther May (2). On 21^st July 1913, his 18^th birthday, Jabez joined the Royal Navy and served during the First World War on the Destroyers HMS Lucifer and HMS Phoebe and the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Otranto.

Henry Jefferies resigned from the Metropolitan Police on 25^th May 1921. He was 53 years old and had served for a total of 32 years and 334 days. His intended place of residence was given as 1a Dawson Street, Plumstead, where he and his wife had been living for at least 20 years. During most of his time with R Division (Greenwich), Police Constable Henry Jefferies had worked as the Coroner’s Officer and there is no better summary of his career than to quote in full a lengthy article that appeared in The Kentish Independent and Kentish Mail on Friday 27^th May 1921.

CORONER’S OFFICER RETIRES

EIGHT THOUSAND INQUESTS

Police Orders announce the retirement from the force after thirty-three years’ service of Constable Henry Jefferies, who for twenty-nine years has acted as Coroner’s Officer at Woolwich, having served six coroners and deputy coroners. “Jeff” leaves the force with the best wishes of his comrades and everyone else with whom he has come into contact, and his experiences would make a most interesting book of reminiscences.

During twenty-nine years he has made the preliminary enquiries relating to the deaths of 8,000 persons, and he has a rich store of anecdotes and facts regarding many of the most curious. One of his earliest enquiries related to the death by drowning of the mate of a barge lying off Woolwich. It was stated by relatives that the deceased was wearing a silver watch and chain. Six hours after receiving information the body was found by two watermen on the north foreshore of the river. Jefferies attended with two undertakers, who left the vehicle containing the shell on the south side while they went to view the body. Jefferies noticed that there was no watch and chain, and remarked upon the fact to the undertakers. Leaving the two watermen near-by, he went with the undertakers to get the shell. When they returned the watch and chain were adjusted on the clothes of the deceased. The watermen declared that it had never been missing!

In April, 1898, Jefferies had to deal with the body of Harriet Howard, who was murdered by John William Sands at 19, Kidd Street, Woolwich. Sands was subsequently ordered to be detained during his Majesty’s pleasure.

The behaviour of a jury in a case of the murder in the same month was unique. Robert Ando was shot in the right eye by John Turner, a seaman, whom Ando and others were about to rob. The witnesses at the inquest - four men and a woman - were strongly suspected of being the confederates of the deceased. The foreman of the jury informed Turner, who was under arrest, that they had decided to let him off, and added that he would have done the public a service if he had shot most of the witnesses. After a remonstrance from the coroner, a verdict of “manslaughter” was returned, but Turner was subsequently acquitted at the trial.

A curious case was the mysterious death of Henry Tozer, veterinary surgeon, of High Street, Plumstead, and his wife, Ellen Tozer, found dead at their house. No cause of death could be discovered.

Jefferies also recounts the story of a body found on the foreshore of the Thames. An inquest was held, and the burial took place. Some time after a man arrived with a photograph, and as a result of enquiry the body was exhumed. The man, a doctor, and Jefferies, all agreed that it was the man in the photograph whom the visitor stated was Ernest Spence, and a statutory declaration was made to that effect. Three weeks later the Commissioner of Police informed the coroner that a letter had been received from South Africa from Ernest Spence stating that he was alive and well.

The lyddite explosion at the Arsenal in 1903, when 16 deaths occurred, and many were injured, the fatal fire at Park Road, Plumstead, at Easter, 1905, and the “pines tragedy” in 1908, when Arthur John Robinson murdered his sweetheart, Edith Cranfield, were some of the more important cases in which Jefferies has been concerned during his career.

THE CORONER’S TRIBUTE

The coroner, addressing Constable Jefferies at the Woolwich Court, on Tuesday, said: I understand that you are about to retire from the discharge of your duties as coroner’s officer for this district, after having acted in that capacity for something like 29 years; your total service in the police force extending over such a long period as 33 years. In bidding farewell to you officially, I should like to say a few words in appreciation of you and your work from my point of view. You are retiring after a long and honourable career in the police force and as coroner’s officer, and you have served with distinction under no less than six coroners, to all of whom you have given consistent satisfaction. With regard to myself, I desire to say that you have always given me the most complete satisfaction, and you have presented your cases to the court in a manner which proved you have the routine of coroners’ courts at your finger ends. You have been of the greatest assistance to me, and I have had ample evidence that you have shown the greatest kindness and consideration in your treatment of the bereaved persons who have passed through your hands, and who must have keenly appreciated your tactful and sympathetic attitude. In conclusion, I again thank you very much for your help, and I wish that you may be long preserved to enjoy your retirement and pension.

Constable Jefferies thanked the coroner for his kind remarks. His work had been a life interest to him, his heart and soul were in it, and it was a great pleasure for him to know that he had won the confidence of and had given satisfaction to the coroners under whom he had served. His duties had their pathetic side, and he had always done what he could to help the relatives of the deceased persons. In saying farewell he desired to thank the medical profession and the representatives of the press for the help they had invariably afforded him.

 

On 19^th June 1921, millions of people across England and Wales filled in their Census return. Henry Jefferies, aged 53 years and 9 months, described himself as coroner’s officer (retired). Also included on his return were his two youngest children - Joseph George (16) and Esther May (12) - and a 29-year-old dressmaker, Henrietta Toyer, who was a boarder with the family. Henry’s wife, Jane, was an in-patient at the Infirmary on Plumstead High Street when the Census was taken.

 

 

In fulfilment of the coroner’s wishes, Henry John Jefferies enjoyed his retirement and pension for the next 18 years. He died on 26^th September 1938, six days after his 71^st birthday. The 1939 Register shows that Jane Jefferies and her son Jabez, now retired from the Navy and working as an inspector of naval ordnance, were still living at 1a Dawson Street, Plumstead.

Orlando Fieldhouse, East Yorkshire Regiment.

 

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Cape Colony", "Transvaal" & "Wittebergen".
3709 Pte. O. Fieldhouse, East Yorkshire Regiment.

Orlando Fieldhouse, the fourth child of shoemaker William Fieldhouse and his wife Mary, was born in North Bierley near Bradford on 26^th May 1872 and baptised in Holy Trinity Church, Wibsey, Low Moor, on 21^st July of the same year. The Fieldhouse family, consisting of William (36), his wife Mary (38) and their seven children, Ada (17), Richard (13), Martha (11), Orlando (8), Joanna (7), Dan (5) and baby Frank (1 month) are recorded on the 1881 Census as living at Odsal, North Bierley, Bradford. According to the 1891 Census, the family were living at 9 Pearson Road, Odsal, and two more children, Albert (7) and Charlie (5), had been born. Orlando, now aged 18, was working as a weaving overlooker, “a skilled supervisor in textile mills, responsible for overseeing a section of power looms, ensuring they ran smoothly, fixing minor issues, checking fabric quality, and managing the workers (operatives) who fed the machines.”

However, working in a textile mill does not seem to have been wholly to Orlando’s liking and on 21^st May 1892 he enlisted into the army at the East Yorkshire Regiment’s Depot in Beverley, agreeing to serve 7 years with the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve. He already had experience of serving in the 2^nd Volunteer Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment. His Attestation Papers describe him as being just over 5’ 3” tall, 123lbs in weight with brown eyes, a fresh complexion and tattoos of an anchor and the name “Sarah” on his forearms. His religion is stated as Church of England.

Given the service number 3709, Orlando initially served with the 2^nd Battalion before transferring to the 1^st Battalion on 14^th March 1893 for a two-year period of foreign service in Egypt. He received his 1^st Good Conduct Pay on 21^st May 1894 and was appointed Lance Corporal on 10^th July of the same year. He returned to England in April 1895 and on 12^th December was transferred back to the 2^nd Battalion. He continued to make progress in his army career, obtaining his 3^rd Class Certificate of Education in April 1896, being promoted Corporal on 12^th May 1896 and being awarded his 2^nd Class Certificate of Education in December. Unfortunately, in the following year, things did not go so well. On 16^th March 1897, Orlando was arrested and awaiting trial for an unspecified misdemeanour. He was tried, reduced to Private, and returned to duty eight days later. Happily, things seem to have improved after this as he was again awarded Good Conduct Pay on 24^th September 1897 and there were no further problems till he was transferred to the Army Reserve on 20^th May 1899.

However, Orlando did not have much time to enjoy civilian life as, following the outbreak of war with the Boers, he was recalled to the army just 7 months later. He served in South Africa with the 2^nd Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment from 14^th March 1900 till 26^th August 1902, thus earning the Queen’s South Africa Medal featured here and also a King’s South Africa Medal with clasps “South Africa 1901” and “South Africa 1902”. For almost all of their time in South Africa, the East Yorkshires operated in the north-east of the Orange River Colony. The only noteworthy action the Battalion took part in was at Biddulphsberg on 29^th May 1900 although they were not heavily engaged, the brunt of the fighting being borne by the 2^nd Grenadier Guards, but they had plenty of skirmishing and harassing work after this.

Returning to England, Orlando was discharged from the army and seems to have returned to his job as a weaving overlooker. The 1911 Census records him, now aged 38, as again living with his parents and three brothers at 1120 Truncliffe, Odsal, Bradford. Sadly, both Orlando’s parents died early in 1914, his father’s funeral taking place on 5^th February and his mother’s just 9 days later, both being buried at Holy Trinity Church, Wibsey, Low Moor, where Orlando had been baptised.

Orlando Fieldhouse does not appear to have served in the First World War. His entry on the 1921 Census includes him with the household of Arthur Jackson, his brother-in-law, at 1116 Manchester Road and names his employer as Briggs Pollitt & Co of Upper Castle Street, Bradford. Towards the end of his life, Orlando lived at 861 Manchester Road, Bradford. He died in St Luke’s Hospital at the age of 58 on 10^th March 1931 and was buried four days later. His worldly goods, amounting to £235 16s 10d, were left to his younger brother Albert.

 

The Last Survivor of the K.13 Disaster.

British War Medal 1914 - 1920.
J.44055 J. Swift. Tel. R.N.

Joseph Swift, the son of George and Fannie Swift, was born on 15th March 1899 at Dalziel, Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The nine members of the family - George (42), Fannie (36), John (20), Hannah (18), Elizabeth (16), Mary Ann (14), George Ernest (7), Charlotte (4) and Joseph (2) -  are recorded on the 1901 Census as living at 76 Brandon Street, Motherwell. George Swift was listed on the 1891 Census as a widower and living at 14 Warson Street, Hamilton, Dalziel, with five of his children.  George Ernest, Charlotte and Joseph were the children of his second marriage to Fannie.

In April 1904, the parents and their seven younger children took a 2nd class cabin on the S.S. Laurentian,  which was embarking on a voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and New York. The family were contracted to land at the former port with their final destination being New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

At some point, Joseph must have returned to the United Kingdom because in September 1915 he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class. His Service Record describes him as having black hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. His occupation is given as a clerk. His initial service was at H.M.S. Ganges, a shore base and boys' training establishment. Then, in July 1916, he joined H.M.S. Maidstone, which had led the 8th Submarine Flotilla to its war station at Harwich in the 1914 mobilisation and remained the principal depot ship for the offensive submarine force at Harwich for the duration of the war. In September 1916, Joseph, now rated as a Boy Telegraphist, transferred to H.M.S. Dolphin, another submarine depot ship.

On 29th January 1917, at Gareloch in the west of Scotland, Submarine K13, which had been built by the Fairfield Company at their Govan shipyard, was ready to undergo her final sea trials before being formally taken into the Royal Navy. This fatal day was to see Britain's worst submarine disaster with 32 men losing their lives and a 57 hour struggle to rescue the survivors.

Submarine K13 would normally have had a complement of 6 officers and 55 ratings but on this day, there were 80 men on board. These included 53 Royal Navy men, the youngest of whom was 17-year-old Boy Telegraphist Joseph Swift. The others were 14 employees from the Fairfield engine and shipyard depots, 5 Admiralty officials, 5 sub-contractors, a River Clyde pilot and Commander Francis Herbert Goodhart DSO and Engineering Officer Lieutenant Leslie Rideal, both of whom were from the crew of Submarine K14 and were aboard as observers.

As the submarine's sea trials began and the vessel slipped beneath the waters of the Gareloch, water began flooding into the engine room. This was due to the engine room ventilators not being fully closed. Lieutenant Commander Godfrey Herbert gave orders to close the watertight doors and blow the ballast tanks in an attempt to return to the surface but the vessel continued to sink, coming to rest on the bed of the Gareloch. The rear section was completely flooded and over 30 men were drowned there. Anyone who wants to read the details of this tragedy and how the 44 men who managed to survive the next 57 hours were finally rescued can find a full account here and here.

After this nightmarish experience, Joseph Swift could be forgiven had he never wanted to see the inside of another submarine but in March 1917, he was back with H.M.S. Maidstone and later served in Submarine E41. This was another "unlucky" vessel and in August 1916 had been involved in a collision and subsequent sinking in which 16 crew members had died. Joseph stayed with E41 until 1919 and was invalided from the service the following year, having been issued with a Silver War Badge.

Submarine K13 was raised on 15th March 1917, refurbished and taken into the service as Submarine K22. Never again would the Admiralty give a submarine the "unlucky" number 13.

In later life, Joseph Swift never forgot his shipmates who had died in Submarine K13 and the local Motherwell paper often reported on his annual pilgrimage to the Gareloch on the anniversary of the tragedy. By the mid 1970s, only two survivors were still alive and on 11th February 1977, the Motherwell Times reported that: Ill health prevented Mr Joseph Swift, Anderson Street, from journeying to a cemetery on the banks of the River Clyde at Gareloch last week to pay silent tribute to the memory of 32 men who were drowned 60 years ago as the result of a submarine disaster.

The following year, on 14th July 1978, the Motherwell Times reported as follows:

Submarine Survivor Dies

The last survivor of the ill-fated submarine K-13, which sank in 50 feet of water in 1917, has died. Motherwell man, Joe Swift, who was a boy telegraphist aboard the vessel, died on Thursday morning, aged 78.

Until recently, Mr Swift, who lived in McClurg Court, had undertaken a yearly pilgrimage to Gareloch, to visit the graves of his colleagues. Mr Swift was a member of Motherwell United Services Club and was a civil servant for 47 years. He served in Motherwell Tax Office.

 

Frederick Pyne MM, Royal Garrison Artillery.

GV Military Medal. 1914-15 Trio.
35986 Gnr. F. J. Pyne, Royal Garrison Artillery.

Frederick John Pyne was born in Stoke Damerel, an inner suburb of Plymouth, Devon, on 30th September 1892. He was the son of John Pyne, an instructor in the Royal Navy Reserve, and his wife Catherine. The six members of the family, John (39), Catherine (32), Margaret Catherine (10), Frederick John (8), Arthur Patrick (4) and John Daniel (1) are listed on the 1901 Census as living at 2 Fairview, Hamworthy, Dorset.

Although his two younger brothers would eventually follow in their father's footsteps and join the Royal Navy, Frederick Pyne chose the army, attesting for the Royal Artillery at Dorchester on 18th August 1911. He was 18 years 9 months old and had been working as a shop assistant.

 

Following the outbreak of the First World War, Gunner Frederick Pyne served on the Western Front with the Royal Garrison Artillery from 15th September 1915. His Service Records have not survived so details of the next three years are lacking but he must have been an efficient soldier. He was named in Sir Douglas Haig's Despatch of 9th April 1917 as "deserving of special mention", this appearing in the London Gazette of 18th May 1917. A later Gazette entry on 11th February 1919 recorded his award of the Military Medal for "bravery in the field" while serving with the 35th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery.

On 20th August 1918, Frederick married Elizabeth Ann Todd and the 1921 Census records him as living with his in-laws' family at 50 Osborne Avenue, South Shields and working as a labourer in the Middle Docks. On the 4th October 1923, the couple's son, Norman Pyne, was born. The 1939 Register lists the Pyne family as living at 18 Pine Avenue, Cleadon, South Shields and notes that Frederick was an electric crane driver in the dry docks and a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service, which suggests that he may also have been awarded the WW2 Defence Medal.

Of Frederick's two brothers who had joined the Royal Navy, Chief Petty Officer Arthur Patrick Pyne was killed in action at the age of 43 when his ship, H.M.S. Foylebank, was attacked and sunk by Junkers JU87 "Stuka" dive bombers on 4th July 1940 while Chief Petty Officer Telegraphist John Daniel Pyne died in 1945.

When Frederick John Pyne eventually retired, an interesting article appeared in a local paper.

After 40 years of "driving" the Middle Dock and Engineering Co's 30-ton travelling crane, Mr. Frederick John Pyne of Pine Avenue, Cleadon, has retired. "It has been an interesting life, being able to see all the river traffic and meeting all the sea-going folk," he told me. He was born in Bournemouth (sic), but after all this time he could certainly qualify to be a South Shields man by adoption.

One of his most vivid memories is a piece of quick thinking during the summer of 1956. His crane was working on the steamer Cochrane with the whaler Southern Harvester alongside. The 30-ton jib began to "run away." After switching off the electricity, Mr. Pyne threw a thick floor mat into the gear wheels. The wheels chewed up 14 inches of it, but eventually the jib stopped falling and the danger of a nasty and costly accident was avoided. Later it was found that the brake band had broken.

Excitement is nothing new to Fred Pyne. He was a regular soldier when the 1914 war broke out. For three and a half years he served as a signaller with the Royal Artillery in France and Belgium. He was commended five times for gallantry, won the Military Medal and was mentioned in despatches.

To mark his retirement and to show their appreciation, his workmates have presented him with a silver watch.

Frederick Pyne died in 1971, his death being registered at South Shields in the third quarter of that year.

A Marksman & Mess Waiter in the 2nd Lincolns.

Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps "Cape Colony", "Paardeberg" & "Johannesburg".
2179 Pte. H. Penson, Lincolnshire Regiment.

Henry Penson, the fourth child of agricultural labourer Cornelius Penson and his wife Ann, was born in the hamlet of Mavis Enderby near Spilsby in Lincolnshire in 1868. The couple had married at the Register Office in Spilsby, on 26th September 1864 and already had three daughters. According to the 1871 Census, Cornelius and Ann (both aged 29) were living in Mavis Enderby and now had five children: Mary (8), Eliza (6), Milly (4), Henry (2) and Francis or Fanny (11 months). By the time of the 1881 Census, the family had moved to nearby Raithby, the older girls were working as domestic servants in different households and five children were still living at home: Henry (12), Frances (11), Emma (9), Betsy (6) and William (3). Charles, the couple's 9th child, would be born in 1883.

Some time later, Henry Penson found employment as a groom with Charles Faulkner of Burgh. At Louth on 18th December 1884, he attested for service in the Militia with the 3rd Lincolns. His Attestation Papers describe him as 17 years old, just over 5' 4" tall, with a fresh complexion, light blue eyes and brown hair. His religion is stated as Church of England.

Henry must have found service in the Militia to his liking as four years later, on 23rd May 1888 at Louth, he attested for regular service with the Lincolnshire Regiment, agreeing to serve for at least seven years in the army followed by five years in the 1st Class Army Reserve. Two days later, he joined the Regiment at the Depot in Lincoln. According to his Attestation Papers, he was now 20 years 9 months old, just over 5' 8" tall, weighed 112lbs and had a cicatrix of a wound on the inner part of his left ankle. Henry spent 40 days at the Depot and then joined the 1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, from 2nd July to 19th November 1888. On 20th November, he joined the 2nd Battalion and embarked on the troopship Euphrates for the voyage to India.

Henry would serve in India for the next four years. On 23rd May 1890, he received his first Good Conduct Pay. In 1892, the 2nd Battalion was stationed in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and the results of the annual musketry course held on 2nd August named B Company as "the best shooting company in the battalion." 17 members of the Company were categorized as marksmen, including Henry Penson.

At the end of October 1892, the 2nd Battalion moved to the Straits Settlements. Henry Penson was granted his second Good Conduct Pay on 23rd May 1894 and in March 1895, he was on his way back to England. On 23rd May 1895, having completed seven years of service, Henry was transferred to the Army Reserve. He was now 27 years 9 months old and his papers describe him as "steady, sober & thoroughly trustworthy", his conduct had been "exemplary" and he had been employed as a "mess waiter in officers' mess for 18 months".

On 9th April 1898, Henry married Elizabeth Lees, a woman from the parish of Stand, Whitefield, on the outskirts of Manchester. The birth of their first daughter Doris was registered in the first quarter of 1899. Following the outbreak of the South African War, Henry Penson was recalled for army service under Special Army Order of 16th December 1899. He rejoined the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment and on 4th January 1900 sailed on the troopship Goorkha arriving at Cape Colony on 25th January. Henry's second daughter Beatrice Alice was born on 16th August 1900 while he was still in South Africa. Being abroad on active service, Henry does not appear on the 1901 Census but his wife and two children are recorded as living in Whitefield. For his service in the Boer War, Henry was awarded the medal and clasps pictured here. He was finally discharged from the army on 22nd May 1901.

By the time of the 1911 Census, Henry and Elizabeth had been married for 12 years and were residing at 9 Higher Lane, Besses o' the Barn, a suburb of Bury. Henry was working as an asylum attendant at the Prestwich County Asylum while Elizabeth was employed as a cotton weaver. Interestingly, Henry's younger brother Charles was an attendant at the same asylum. In addition to their two children, Elizabeth's widowed mother Ann and younger sister Isabella were also listed on the family's Census entry.

Henry Penson does not appear to have served in the First World War but his brother Charles served in France and Flanders with the 1st Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment from 13th August 1914. He was reported as wounded and missing on 19th September 1914, possibly as a prisoner of war, and regarded as having died on 1st November 1914. He was 31 years old and is commemorated on the Menin Gate.

Henry Penson appears on the 1921 Census together with his wife and younger daughter Beatrice Alice. Now aged 52 years 10 months, he was still living at the same address and still employed at the Prestwich County Asylum. He died at the age of 54, his death being registered at Bury in the third quarter of 1923. His widow and younger daughter are recorded on the 1939 Register as residing at 9 Norfolk Avenue, Whitefield.

A Broken Engagement and a Tragic Suicide.

 

Royal Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

PO 12825 Pte. Ferdinand Schepens, R.M.L.I.

Ferdinand Schepens, the third child of Constant and Adelaide Schepens, was born on 13th May 1885 at Carrington, near Nottingham. His parents had previously lived in Battersea, London, where they worked as cigar makers and where their first two children had been born. The 1891 Census records the family consisting of Constant (43 years, born in Antwerp, Belgium), Adelaide (36 years), Coletta Mayo (10 years), William Leopold (9 years) and Ferdinand (5 years) as living at Radford, near Nottingham. By the time of the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 10 Midland Cottages, Bridgford, just south of Nottingham, and two more children, Alma (6 years) and Florence (1 year) had been born.

Ferdinand Schepens enlisted with the Royal Marine Light Infantry on 9th January 1903 at Nottingham. His Service Record describes him as almost 5' 6" tall with a fresh complexion, brown hair and grey eyes. His religion is recorded as Church of England and his trade as confectioner. Over the next seven years, he served with the Portsmouth Division and on a number of different ships, including HMS Fire Queen, HMS Foresight, HMS Egmont, HMS Implacable and HMS Renown. When the next Census was taken on Sunday 2nd April 1911, Ferdinand was on board HMS Duke of Edinburgh, a First Class Armoured Cruiser at Gibraltar. From 1911 to 1913, he saw further service with HMS Cormorant and HMS Bulwark.

In October 1913, Ferdinand joined the crew of HMS Amethyst, a Third Class Protected Cruiser, and he was still with this ship when he received news that his father had died early in 1914 and when the ship later took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28th August 1914. From July 1916 till the end of the war, he served with the Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship HMS Barham. In 1918, he was awarded the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal pictured here.

In August 1920, Ferdinand was still with HMS Barham and it was now that his life came to a sad and tragic end. The story was written up in the Nottingham Evening Post on 21st August 1920 as follows:

Nottm. Marine's Suicide.

Cuts His Throat Aboard H.M.S. Barham.

Tragedy of Disappointed Love.

A tragic occurrence on H.M.S. Barham, at present in H.M. Dockyard at Portsmouth, was investigated at the Town Hall yesterday afternoon by the Borough Coroner. Deceased was Ferdinand Schepens, 35, a private in the R.M.L.I., and the evidence pointed to the fact that he took his own life, probably in consequence of disappointment in a love affair.

On the 4th inst. he proceeded on 14 days' leave to his home in Nottingham and, from the evidence of his brother, William Leopold Schepens, of Loughborough, it appears that, contrary to his usual bright and cheerful nature, deceased seemed quiet and melancholy during his holiday. Also he took more to drink than usual, and his general demeanour caused anxiety to his mother and other members of the family. Deceased had been engaged to a young lady living in Castlegate, Nottingham, but the engagement was broken off, and the woman, it seemed, was about to be married to someone else. Deceased knew this and undoubtedly he had a great regard for her.

Deceased returned to his ship on the 18th inst., and Gunner J. G. Spinner, R.M.A., stated that on the morning of that day he saw deceased in the flats where the marines' lockers are on the Barham. Later deceased went aft, and hearing a thud, witness proceeded to the spot and found deceased lying on the deck with his throat cut, and a razor lying near his feet.

Private G. J. S. Rickwood, who, with Privates A. Dixon and Henry J. Brinkman, was called to the spot, reported the matter to the sick bay, and Surgeon-Commander Durston attended.

The doctor stated that life was just passing away when he saw deceased. There was a severe wound across the throat, the jugular vein and windpipe having been severed. Evidently deceased must have made two cuts, and it was a most determined act.

"Suicide whilst of unsound mind" was the verdict. Mr. G. M. Johnson (Messrs. Hobbs and Brutton) attended on behalf of the Admiralty.

Ferdinand Schepens is remembered with honour in Nottingham Southern Cemetery, commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In addition to the Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, he is also entitled to a 1914-15 Star Trio but the whereabouts of these medals are not known.