T E Grindon

Thomas Edward Grindon

Born c 1889 Penzance  Killed in Action 26 October 1917

Pte 30893 8th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment

Thomas was the eldest son of William and Mary Grindon.  William was born in Bristol around 1831.  He travelled a great deal, at one time describing himself as a "Clerk to a West India Merchant".  Generally he gave his occupation as a variant of "living on own means".  He remained single until quite late in life, taking a wife 30 years his junior and settling with her in Newquay.  Thomas was born around 8 years into his parents marriage, his brother William following a year later.  A daughter, Mary Elizabeth, had been born in 1885 but died a year later. William Senior died in 1893 at the age of 63, leaving is wife £3,896.  

Thomas enlisted in the Army on 15 September 1914 at Westminster, joining the Royal Fusiliers as Private 417.  His attestation appears to give his occupation as a Rubber and Sulphur Dealer.  Thomas was 5' 6 1/2" tall and weighed 140 lb.  His complexion was considered medium, his eyes brown and his hair dark.  Thomas' career with the Royal Fusiliers lasted 147 days, at which point he was discharged under King's Regulation Paragraph 392 (iii) cc.  This regulation applied to recruits with between three and six months' service who were considered unfit for further military service.

Following his stint with the Royal Fusiliers Thomas returned to Newquay.  He married Dora Eastlake in 1916 and around this time bought a house, Corisande, overlooking the River Gannel.  (He would have been a neighbour to Duncan O'Callaghan at Minto House).  Corisande is a unique house, being inspired by a Gothic castle.  It had been built by an Austrian who allegedly quit the house in 1914 due to anti-German feeling.  Unfortunately, buying Corisande proved disastrous for Thomas.  He paid £1,000 for the property with the intention of converting in to a hotel.  He spent a further £900 refurbishing the property but was apparently overcharged by a builder for the construction of the tennis courts.  Shortly afterwards Thomas joined the Devonshires, either through choice or conscription, his previous discharge seemingly overlooked.

The 8th Devonshires were attached to 20th Brigade in 7th Division.  On 26 October 1917 the Battalion was part of the final phase of the Third Battle of Ypres, or Passchendaele.  I have been unable to find an account of the 8th Devonshires' role in the battle.  It would appear that the Devonshires lost a great many men that day.  Thomas is buried in the Hooge Crater Cemetery.

Just weeks before Thomas' death Dora had given birth to a son, John Evelyn Grindon. Dora was now a penniless widow, forced to sell Corisande at a loss.  (The new owner achieved Thomas' plan of turning it into a hotel.)  Dora did not remarry and lived until 1954.

John Grindon, Dora and Thomas' son, became a pilot in the RAF.  He had a distinguished career, earning the DSO and went on to command the King's, and later Queen's, flight.  He died in 2002 - his obituary can be found here.

The Corisande Manor hit the local headlines in the last few years due to a redevelopment scheme; many local residents were vehemently opposed to the scheme, which appears to gone away for the moment.  There is more information about the Corisande here, which is where I found the information about Thomas' ownership of the property.

  

T R Kernick

Thomas Reginald Kernick

Born 1891 in Newquay  Killed in Action 8 March 1916 near Basra

Pte 2372 5th (Prince of Wales') Battalion (Territorials)

Thomas was the son of Frederick Kernick and Constance Hocking.  Frederick was originally a seaman, being master of his own vessel by the age of 22.  By his forties he and his family lived in Berry Road, Newquay and he gave his occupation as "Ship Owner".  By 1911 he was a "Collector of Taxes".  Frederick and Constance had four sons, Frederick (known as John), Richard (known as Arthur), Thomas (known as Reginald) and Alfred.  There were also two daughters, Grace and Mary, although Mary may have died at a young age.  

None of the Kernick boys followed their father to sea.  Three of them, John, Reginald and Alfred, became bank clerks.  John worked at Lloyds Bank in Truro and Alfred was working in Dorset.  It is possible that Reginald was working in Devon - he was not recorded at home in 1911 and he joined the Devonshire Regiment, based in Exeter.

According to the records, Reginald's battalion wasn't posted to Mesopotamia, which is where he died.  The second line 5th Battalion did land in Egypt in September 1915, and disbanded there in July 1916.  However, 1/4 and 1/6 Battalions were certainly in Mesopotamia, so perhaps Reginald was attached to one of these.  

The war in Mesopotamia was ostensibly about securing oil supplies for the Royal Navy and British operations in the region were originally small scale.  However, emboldened by early success the British pushed forward toward Basra and then Baghdad, but soon became overstretched as they needed to protect increasingly long lines of communication.  By the end of 1915 the British had been forced to retreat to Kut-al-Amara where they were besieged until surrendering in April 1916.

Between January and April 1916 there were a series of attempts to relieve the siege of Kut.  The Battle of Dujaila Redoubt was fought from 7-9 March 1916, and it is possible that this is where Reginald fell on 8 March.  I have found two other members of 6th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment who fell that day; Captain Dunn-Pattison and Pte Thomas Knight.  Like Reginald they are commemorated on the Basra Memorial.

Incidentally, a VC was awarded that day to Pte George Stringer of the Manchester Regiment who single-handedly kept the enemy at bay until his Battalion were able to withdraw in good order. 

Reginald's brothers John and Alfred joined up in 1915, John being attached to the Royal Garrison Artillery whilst Alfred served with the Royal Field Artillery.  Both were posted to Salonika and survived the war.  I cannot find any record of Richard Arthur Kernick's war record, though he lived on until 1974.  Alfred died in 1978.

The Kernick's old home on Berry Road is no longer there; it was redeveloped and is now operated by a Housing Association