J V Teague

John Vivian Godden Teague

24 July 1896 at Perranporth, Cornwall  Killed in Action  3 September 1916

2nd Lt Army Service Corps, attd 1st Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry

John Teague was the middle son of Joseph Teague and Edith Monica Godden.  His brothers were Douglas Godden Teague (b 1891) and Penn Vivian Godden Teague (b 1900). Both of John's grandfathers, William Teague and William Godden, were mine agents.  Whether this was a coincidence or whether it contributed to his parents' marriage, I do not know.  

Joseph and Edith married in Hanover Square, London, on 8 February 1888.  Joseph was already a prosperous young man.  On the 1881 Census he is living as head of his own household with several servants. His occupation was given as bank clerk.  By 1891 the couple were living at Pentrig, a substantial property in its own grounds at Perranporth.  As well as being a bank clerk Joseph was a volunteer in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.  He was appointed a captain in 1900 and an honorary major in 1903.  In 1909 he received a long service medal and the following year he resigned his commission but was granted permission to retain his rank and to wear his uniform.

The Teagues moved to Newquay sometime after 1901.  At the time of the 1911 Census John and Penn were in Newquay, whilst their parents were in Bedford with Douglas.  The Census shows that Joseph had retired by this time.  

On the outbreak of war Joseph rejoined his regiment.  He was made a temporary captain in the 4th Battalion on 12 September 1914, being made up to major on 18 March 1915.  I have not found any mention of Major Teague during the war in the regiment's records.

I am unable to find any record of when John joined the army (although he began his war in the Devonshire Yeomanry), or when he transferred to the DCLI from the ASC.  What is certain is that John had been attached to 1st Battalion (part of 95th Brigade in 5th Division) by the end of August 1916, in time for the Battle of Guillemont, during the Battle of the Somme.  The village of Guillemont was by now a pile of rubble on which a board had been placed helpfully stating "This is Guillemont". 

The 1st DCLI moved to march up to the front line trenches during the night of 2 September.  By around 4am the following morning they were in position in Bodmin (front assemby trench) and Cornwall (rear assembly trench) Trenches.  The operation was due to begin at noon with the battalion going over the top in four waves.  All ranks were apparently "full of confidence and in high spirits" according to the battalion diary.

At noon the artillery opened up with an intense barrage along the German front line.  Due to the effectiveness of the artillery the first and second waves of DCLI were able to rapidly take their first objective, the enemy trenches facing the Brigade.  The third wave were able to reach their objective and the fourth wave moved into position.  

During the advance the Cornwalls were met with heavy resistance but moved forward steadily.  However, many men fell, including four young platoon commanders, one of whom was 20 year old John Teague, falling at the head of his men.  

Major Teague returned from the war and died in 1923.  Sadly, after such an affluent life, he left his widow less than £50.  The Teague's eldest son, Douglas, an electrical engineer, had died aged 28 in 1920.  Edith died in the 1940s, survived by her son Penn, who lived until 1973.

John is buried in Newquay Cemetery and commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

P G F Collins

Percival George Fenwick Collins

Born 1892 at St Columb  Killed in Action 18 August 1916 Flers-Courcelette

Lieutenant (Temp) 6th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry

Percival was the younger son of Thurstan Collins and Ellen Fenwick - see the post about his older brother Gerald.

Percival was at Rugby School in 1911.  Meanwhile, his parents and sisters were living at their new house "Gluvian" in Newquay's Edgcumbe Gardens.  The Cornish architect Silvanus Trevail is credited with designing the house for Mr Collins, but more recent research suggests that it was in fact one of his partners who was responsible.

Sadly Percival's military records do not survive, but his medal index card indicates that he was in the Coldstream Guards before joining the DCLI.  6th Battalion moved to France on 22nd May 1915 with 43rd Brigade, part of 14th (Light) Division.  The Division were at the Action of Hooge, near Ypres, when the Germans used a flamethrower for the first time during the early hours of 30 July 1915.  The British were forced to fall back from the front line, but regrouped and started to rush men up to hold the ground.  The 6th Battalion DCLI were one such battalion, ordered to secure one section of the front near Zouave Wood.  According to the account of Lieutenant Blagrave,

"They lined Zouave Wood and held it.  They were grand, and nothing could move them."


Although Percival survived this battle more than 50 of his comrades did not.  In all, 14th Division lost 2,500 men.  Lieutenant Blagrave fell on 12 August 1915 trying to rescue men trapped by enemy shelling in the cathedral at Ypres.  After the war around 40 bodies were found in a cellar under the Cloth Hall at Ypres, members of B Company, 6th Battalion DCLI.

The 14th Division was to play a part in one of the early battles of the Somme, that of Delville Wood in July 1916.  General Haig ordered that Trones Wood be cleared of Germans so as to protect the British forces' right flank.  The battle for Trones Wood began on 14 July and by the following afternoon the 14th (Light) Division and 18th (Eastern) Division had taken the Wood.

On 15 September 14th Division were again in action at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, the third main phase of the Battle of the Somme .  This battle is notable as the first in which tanks were used (49 were deployed, although not all made it into action).  14th Division were still holding part of Delville Wood and their objective was to clear out the last pocket of German resistance, which they achieved.  The following day the Division was unable to make further progress, let down by inadequate artillery support. The offensive began again on 17 September and continued until 23 September, during which time Percival lost his life, in an offensive which failed to gain its chief aim of pushing a hole through the German lines.

Percival is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial as well as Newquay War Memorial and a plaque in St Michael's Church (with his brother, Gerald).

Update 18 July 2011

In an edition of the Cornish Guardian on 1 September 1916 there is an article about the Collins brothers.  This mentions that Percival attended St John's College, Oxford after leaving Rugby School.  When war broke out he was intending to join the Indian Civil Service, but joined up instead.  He was a good lawn tennis player,  
being a member of his College team.

W F Currah

William Francis Currah

Born at 10 April 1888 Yardley, Worcestershire  Killed in Action 11 April 1916 near Ypres

Cpl 10516 7th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Enlisted at Bodmin

William was the son of John Currah and Sarah King.  In 1881 John and Sarah were living near Yardley where John worked as a farm bailiff.

(Update:  the couple lived on the "Bickenhill Road to Gilbertstone".  It may be coincidence, but Gilbertstone House was at that time owned by Cornishman Richard Tangye (later Sir Richard).  Tangye was the son of a farmer from Illogan, but later became the owner of an engineering company and a philanthropist - he also introduced the Saturday half-day holiday, soon adopted by all engineering works.)

The couple had one child at the time, Emily.  John gave his birthplace as St Austell, whilst Sarah was born in Stratford on Avon.  It seems likely that Sarah's age was given inaccurately - she claimed to be 30 years old, against her husband's 43 years.  From later Census returns it seems that 10 years was added to her age.  

By 1891 John would appear to have died (although I cannot find a record) and Sarah had remarried Alfred Causer, a house painter.  He had not only taken Sarah on, but her children - Emily, Maud, Alice and 2 year old William. For some reason her eldest son, 9 year old John Henry Currah, is recorded at the Temperance Orphanage in Sunbury, Middlesex.  Ten years later, William was working for his step-father as a brush boy.  He also had three half-brothers, Clarence, Bromley and Roy.  William stayed with his family in Yardley certainly until 1911, when he is recorded on the Census.  

Why William came to Newquay is a mystery; there were certainly Currahs in Newquay (and still are).  It may be that he came to work with a cousin.  Although John Currah gave his birthplace as St Austell, there was a Thomas Currah living in Newquay, a couple of years younger than John, who was born in St Eval - perhaps his brother.   It may be that "St Eval" was mistaken for "St Austell" by the Census Enumerator.

What is certain is that William joined the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1915.  He was a part of the 7th Battalion, later joined by the celebrated Harry Patch.  William's Battalion were under the command of 61st Brigade, part of 20th (Light) Division.  This Division were bedevilled in their early training by a lack of officers, NCOs, and equipment.  However, by the summer of 1915 they were fully equipped and landed at Bolougne in July.  By the spring of 1916 the Battalion were in the Ypres Salient, and it was here, probably during the Action of the St Eloi Craters, that William was killed.  

St Eloi was to the south of Ypres and had been heavily mined by both sides since 1915.  The Germans had a slightly advantageous position, holding the higher ground from which they could observe British positions.  In late March 1916 it was decided to launch an offensive against the Germans.  I have not been able to find an account of the DCLI's part in the action, but I know that William was not the only one of his battalion to be killed that day - Pte John Lawrence of Tintagel was killed and like William he too is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. (A list of Tintagel men killed in WW1 can be found here.)

William's mother, Sarah, had an anxious war.  Her eldest son, John Currah, had joined the army in 1903.  His career in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers had not been overly glorious - he had been on charges for being drunk, returning to barracks late without his uniform and had been treated for venereal disease.  However, on the outbreak of war he returned to his regiment, only to be wounded and taken prisoner in late 1914.  He spent time in Switzerland, being repatriated in September 1917.  He was suffering from paralysis and died at his mother's home, aged 37, on 6 November 1917 following a haemorrhage.  Two of Sarah's younger sons, Clarence and Bromley, also served in the war, and one of them (possibly Clarence) was also taken prisoner.  

I haven't been able to find a photograph of William, but have found a post on the Great War Forum mentioning John and including his photograph.  Many thanks to Kevan Darby.  You can find the original thread here.

Posted 09 January 2010 - 04:03 PM

Another from a Birmingham newspaper

The interment with Military Honours has taken place at Yardley Cemetery of Pte John Henry Currall, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, a repatriated prisoner of war. Pte Currah who was an old soldier, was wounded and captured at the begining of the war, and was afterwards sent to Switzerland, and came back to England later.
He was thirty six years of age and the stepson of Mr Causser of 36 Church Road, South Yardley. A brother is a Prisoner of war in Germany, another Cprl W F Currah was killed at Ypres in April 1916.

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Update 16 July 2011

I have found some further information from the Cornish Guardian dated 25 May 1915

Cpl  W F Currah joined up at Newquay (conflicting information!) in August 1914, one of the first men to do so.  He had worked for three years as a painter (which ties in with his step-father's job) for Mr W Trebilcock.  He was killed the day after he celebrated his 28th birthday.  There is a photograph of William, I hope to be able to take a copy when I visit the Cornish Studies Library.

Samuel Burt

Samuel Burt

Born in 1894 at Cubert, Cornwall  Died 17 April 1918 in or around the Lys Valley

Pte 240821 1/5 Btn Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry

Samuel was the eighth of nine children born to his parents Samuel Burt and Ellen Jane Rippon.  He had three brothers, John, Edward and Frederick, but I can find no record of their having served in the war; this doesn't mean that they didn't - the majority of World War 1 records were burnt in the Blitz.  Had Samuel not been killed I would have no record of him either.  Samuel also had five sisters; Margaretta, Elizabeth Jane (who may have died before 1901), Ethel and Mabel.  The family were brought up in Cubert, in the hamlet of Tresean.

Samuel Burt Snr had a hard life.  By the age of twelve he was already labouring at a mine.  He also worked as an agricultural labourer, an iron miner and a quarryman.  He spent his early years living in his grandfather's house with his grandparents, their unmarried daughters and his sister.  It is possible that he and his sister were illegitimate.  In 1880 Samuel married Ellen Jane Rippon, a Perranzabuloe woman slightly his senior.  They made their home in the area Samuel grew up.

Samuel Burt Jnr joined the 1/5 Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, like many other young men from the area.  The Battalion was converted to a Pioneer Battalion in April 1916 and was attached to 61st (2nd Midland) Division.  They left England for Le Havre, landing on 22 May 1916.

Unfortunately Samuel's Division's first action, at Fromelles, was disastrous.  The attack at Fromelles was part of the larger offensive to the south on the Somme.  The Division did not succeed in making any impression on the enemy, gained no ground nor drew enemy reserves away from the fighting on the Somme.  They did however sustained heavy casualties. The Division, with its reputation severely tarnished, was used for the remainder of the year in holding trench lines. 

During 1917 Samuel might have been involved with his Division's operations at Ancre and Cambrai as well as the Battle of Langemarck, which was a part of the larger 3rd Battle of Ypres.  In March 1918 the Division was faced with a massive offensive from the German army.  The Division was in a forward position and faced three enemy Divisions.  Many men were lost during the fighting on 21/22 March, but Samuel lived to fight again, this time in the Battle of the Lys.

I believe that Samuel must have been killed either during the Battle of Estaires or Hazebrouck, both of which were phases of the larger Battle of Lys.  Samuel's body was not recovered but he is commemorated at the Loos Memorial on Panel 68.

There are still Burts in and around Newquay today although I don't know if they are directly related to Samuel.  I have established that his eldest sister, Margaretta, did not marry and died in 1944.

Albert Spencer Bolwell

Albert Spencer Bolwell

Born 1892 at Swainswick, Bath.  Died of wounds on 30th March 1918 on the Western Front.

Enlisted at Newquay

No. 240862 Lance Corporal in 1/5 Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry

At first glance, Albert doesn't appear to be a Cornishman, having been born in Somerset.  However, his mother, Emma Jane Gerry, was born in Newquay in 1857 to Thomas and Catherine Gerry.  Thomas was a Crantock born quarry worker and he brought his family up at St Columb Minor.

Emma married Arthur Bolwell, a cabinet maker from Swainswick, and moved to Somerset.  By 1897 Emma was a widow and had lost two of her young children.  At some time before 1911 Albert moved to Newquay and it was here that he enlisted in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.  His battalion were sent to the Western Front in 1916 and remained there for the duration of the war.  Sadly, Albert did not return, dying of wounds in 1918.  Albert is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial.

I believe that Albert's mother, Emma, lived until 1942.  Whether Albert has any living relatives, I do not know.