Stockwell War Memorial

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St Andrew's War Memorial

Thomas Protheroe

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T. Protheroe
Service no. 39017
Private, East Lancashire Regiment, 2nd/5th Battalion, formerly 233832, Royal Field Artillery
Born in Lambeth; enlisted in Lambeth; lived in Stockwell
Died on 26 March 1918, aged 38
CWGC: “Husband of F. M. Protheroe, of 108, Grantham Rd., Clapham Road, London.”
Remembered at Etaples Military Cemetery, France and St Andrew’s Church, Landor Road, London SW9

In 1911, Thomas Protheroe, 29, the son of Thomas James Protheroe and Ruth Carrington, newly married to Florence Maud Todd, 28, lived at 40 Honeybrook Road, Clapham Park, where they had four rooms. Thomas worked as a process engraver in the newspaper industry. They had no children. Both were from Newington, southeast London. Florence later moved to 108 Grantham Road, Stockwell. Thomas was born on 12 April 1881 and attended Harper Street School in Southwark. He was the eldest of six children. 

Thomas Albert Pilgrim

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T. A. Pilgrim
Service no. 8761
Company Quartermaster Serjeant, Cheshire Regiment, 86th Bty.
Born in Battersea; enlisted in London
Died of pneumonia on 19 May 1918, aged 35
CWGC: “Son of Mrs. S. Silk (formerly Pilgrim), of 3, Stockwell Grove, Stockwell, London, and the late H. Pilgrim. Served in the South African Campaign. Alternative Commemoration – buried in Hartlepool North Cemetery.”
Remembered at Hartlepool (Stranton) Cemetery

British Army WW Service Records 1914-1920

Thomas Albert Pilgrim’s Army career lasted 17 years – he signed up just shy of his 18th birthday. During this time he learned about Army discipline, rose through the ranks to be Company Quartermaster Serjeant, grew nearly 4 inches and acquired medals and multiple tattoos, not to mention a wife. But he died, despite the best efforts of the medical staff, of severe pneumonia in West Hartlepool. The King and Queen wrote of their sorrow at his passing to his widow.

In November 1901 Pilgrim, a general labourer, enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment. He was 17 years and 10 months, 5 feet 5¼ inches tall, blue-eyed with brown hair; he had a scar next to his left eye and tattoos on his left arm. At camp in Chichester, he was almost immediately in trouble: irregular conduct (seven days confined to barracks); absent from parade (three days); quitting coal fatigue without permission (three days); not complying with an order (five days), and at Jamestown, Ireland, making an improper reply.

More trouble followed. While serving in South Africa he made an improper reply to an N.C.O. for which he was confined to barracks for 14 days. Back in England, at Shorncliffe camp, he was absent from reveille. And it was there, on 4 April 1903 that Pilgrim left the regiment, having been “Discharged by Purchase.”. It was an expensive decision. The £18 he paid out equates to £7,500 in today’s money.

In November 1907, aged 24, he was back at the recruitment office, enlisting in the Cheshire Regiment. By now he had grown to 5 feet 9 inches, and was a solid 11½ stone, with a 38½-inch chest. He had also acquired an impressive set of tattoos: a flower head on his left arm, a female figure, a head, flags and flowers on his left forearm; a hand with two cards and a crescent on the back of his left hand; a snake, palm tree and “an Indian” on his right forearm; a heart on his left knee.

There were only two black marks against him in this period. On 10 March 1909 he bought a pair of boots from a private soldier “contrary to regulations,” for which he was severely reprimanded; on 27 November he was found drunk and disorderly in Belfast for which he was reprimanded again. However, he had evidently calmed down somewhat. Possibly his marriage in 1908 to a 29-year-old widow, Maud Kate Nurse, at Lambeth Register Office had an influence. He was now responsible for a wife and young stepchild. In this period, Pilgrim acquired some qualifications. In 1908 he gained a 3rd class certificate of education, rising to 2nd class in 1910. He qualified as an assistant instructor in signalling in 1911.

Life was changing for Pilgrim. He started to gain promotions, making Serjeant in 1913, and on 9 July 1914, shortly after he had suffered a bout of bronchopneumonia that had put him in hospital in Londonderry, he signed up for extended service. His military character was now judged to be excellent, his superior officers describing him as “very hard working and efficient,” “reliable,” and “trustworthy.”

Soon he was off to France, but he served only three months there (between August and November 1914). Most of the war was served on the Home front. He was appointed acting Company Serjeant in June 1915 and promoted six weeks later. All the signs were that Pilgrim would have survived the war had he not been brought down by a very severe case of pneumonia while at West Hartlepool.

The doctor treating Pilgrim at the No. 8 Durham V.A.D. (Voluntary Aid Detachment) Hospital, where he was admitted on 14 May 1918, described him as “practically moribund” (meaning approaching death). They fed him carefully with fluids him every half hour, administered strychnine (this was used as a stimulant if the patient collapsed suddenly) and surrounded him with hot water bottles. But there was no antibiotic treatment and he succumbed five days later. He was 35 and had served over 10 years.

Pilgrim’s widow Maud Kate received a pension of 24 shillings and twopence for herself and her child. She received a message from the Army Council: “The Army Council having heard with regret of the death of your husband, No. 8761, C.Q.M.S. Thomas Albert Pilgrim, Cheshire Regiment, of which you have already been informed. I am instructed to send you herewith the enclosed message of Sympathy in your bereavement from the King and Queen.” Unfortunately, Pilgrim’s file does not include a copy of the letter itself.

Although Pilgrim does not appear on the 1911 census for Lambeth or Wandsworth, his mother, Susannah Silk, 56, and sister, Daisy May Pilgrim, 22, are found at 3 Stockwell Grove, where they had two rooms. In 1901, before he signed up with the Royal Sussex Regiment, the 17-year-old Pilgrim was living with his mother, stepfather Tom Silk (a 39-year-old scaffolder from Battersea) and three siblings at the same address.

Information from the censuses

Although Thomas Albert Pilgrim from Clapham does not appear on the 1911 census for Lambeth or Wandsworth, his mother, Susannah Silk, 56, and sister, Daisy May Pilgrim, 22, are found at 3 Stockwell Grove, where they had two rooms. In 1901, before he signed up with the Royal Sussex Regiment, the 17-year-old Pilgrim was living with his mother, stepfather Tom Silk (a 39-year-old scaffolder from Battersea) and siblings at 3 Stockwell Grove.
Henry Pilgrim, 21, a carman, born in Battersea
Bertie Pilgrim, 16, a shop assistant born in Battersea
Diasy M. Pilgrim, 12, born in Battersea

Benjamin Charles Peploe

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B. C. Peploe
Service no. 453135
Rifleman, London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles), 1st/11th Battalion, formerly 6329, 9th London Regiment
Born in Stockwell; enlisted in London; lived in Stockwell
Killed in action on 2 November 1917, aged 25
CWGC: “Husband of Josephine Elsie Peploe, of 30 Lingham Street, Stockwell, London.”
Remembered at Gaza War Memorial, Israel and St Andrew’s Church, Landor Road, London SW9

Information from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

At the end of March 1917, Gaza was attacked and surrounded by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the First Battle of Gaza, but the attack was broken off when Turkish reinforcements appeared. The Second Battle of Gaza, 17-19 April, left the Turks in possession and the Third Battle of Gaza, begun on 27 October, ended with the capture of the ruined and deserted city on 7 November.

Information from censuses

Stockwell-born Benjamin Charles Peploe, 19 in 1911, lived at 70 Lingham Street, Stockwell, where his family had four rooms. His widowed mother, Mildred Elizabeth Peploe, 54, was a greengrocer from Euston, north London. He had four siblings, two of whom lived at home: Violet Daisy Peploe, 16, who is described as “assisting in the business”; Milly Rebecca Savill, 30, a restaurant manageress born in Clapham. The household included Milly’s husband, George Alfred Savill, 31, a meat carver born in Stockwell.

The family at lived at 70 Lingham Street for at least 20 years (they are there on the 1901 and 1891 censuses).  In 1881 the family were at 14 The Polygon, Clapham. The census gives Benjamin’s father Charles Peploe’s occupation as fishmonger and states that he was born in Bermondsey.

Henry William Penn

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H. W. Penn
Service no. 22577
Private, King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), 8th Battalion
Killed in action on 16 June 1917, aged 34
Born in Clapham; enlisted at Lambeth
CWGC: “Son of William and Lucy Penn, of 74 Hargwyne Street, Stockwell, London.”
Remembered at Arras Memorial, France, and St Andrew’s Church, Landor Road, London SW9

British Army WWI Service Records 1914-1920

Henry Penn enlisted in the Suffolk Regiment on 11 November 1915, and was later transferred to the Lancasters. Not much survives in his service file, but gives us an indication of how he looked (he was 5 feet tall and had a 34-inch chest, which he could expand by 2½ inches, and had a squint in his left eye).

In June 1916 he was wounded in the face and right arm. About a year later, he was killed in action. His effects were sent to his mother, Lucy Penn: photograph, a small bag, four identity discs, a notebook, a letter case, letters, safety razor and blades, a pipe and tobacco pouch, a silver cigarette case, a metal mirror, a regimental book cover, buttons, a farthing, a card and two cap badges.

Information from the censuses

Henry (or Harry) William Penn lived at 74 Hargwyne Street with his parents, William Kenward Penn, 62, a boiler stoker born in Clapham, and Lucy Mary Penn (née Harris), 57, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The family had three rooms. There were two other siblings. In 1901 the family lived at 121 Hargwyne Street.

George Robert McDowall

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G. R. McDowall
Service no, 59064
Serjeant, Royal Engineers, 69th Field Coy
Born in Lambeth; enlisted in London; lived in Stockwell
Killed in action on 10 May 1916, aged about 43
CWGC: “Brother of Mr H. McDowall, of 33 Nealdon Street, Stockwell, London.”
Remembered at Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, British Extension, France

On 4 October 1900 George Robert McDowall, 27, the son of a labourer, married Emma Cecil Giffin, 21, at St. Andrew’s Church. He was a serving serjeant with the 2nd Dragoons.  In 1911 Emma is found living at 33 Nealdon Street, Stockwell, with her three children Flora May, 6 (born in Norwich), Robert Andrew, 4 (born in Glasgow), and George Leslie, 1 (born in Lambeth).

Trevor Moore writes:

G. R. McDowall was my great grandfather on my mother’s side. The story of his death and the effects on his young family is tragic, yet I’m sure not uncommon to his generation.

GRM was killed on the front at Grenay, a mining village close to Lens. He left a wife, Emma, and five children: Flora, Robert, Dora, George Leslie (my grandfather) and Roy. Very soon after GRM’s death, Emma also died at the very young age of 37, leaving the children orphans. My grandfather and his younger brother were sent to a local orphanage as a result.

Photos by kind permission of © Trevor Moore.

Frederick Marlow

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F. Marlow
Service no. 2999
Private, London Regiment, 1st/13th Kensington Battalion
Born in Lambeth; enlisted in Kensington; lived in Brixton
Killed in action on 9 May 1915, aged about 20
CWGC: “Son of Mrs C. Marlow, of 15, Stansfield Road, Stockwell Road, Stockwell, London.”
Remembered at Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium, at Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1 and at St Andrew’s Church, Landor Road, London SW9

Memorial showing Frederick Marlow's name (middle of middle column
The original memorial showing Frederick Marlow’s name (middle of third column

Information from BERR.gov.uk
(Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)

Before Frederick Marlow enlisted in the army, he was an abstractor in the Board of Trade – Labour Department (Central Office). He appears on a Board of Trade staff listed dated April 1913 as one of 47 Abstractors (New Class) in the Labour Exchanges and Unemployment Insurance Branch. The date of his appointment was 29 May 1912 (from when his pension accrued) and his salary was £45. He is remembered on the new war memorial plaque, unveiled in BERR’s headquarters at 1 Victoria Street, London SW1, on 11 November 2002, a replacement for a Roll of Honour to staff of the Board of Trade who fell in the First World War. (The original has been missing for many years.) Marlow is also commemorated on the Memorial to the Staff of the Ministry of Labour, now hanging in Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1.

British Army WWI Service Records 1914-1920
Frederick Marlow’s brother George also served in the Army (London Regiment, 15th Battalion). He described himself as a clerk at the Admiralty. The records show that he stood over 6 feet tall. He was discharged in late September 1918 as no longer physically fit for War Service (he suffered a gunshot wound to the left wrist).

Information from the censuses

In 1911 Frederick Marlow was a 16-year-old “boy clerk” working for the civil service. He lived at 15 Stansfield Road, Stockwell, with his parents, John Marlow, 53, a joiner from Twickenham, and mother Catherine Marlow, 51, from Gypsy Hill. The occupied 6 rooms. The couple had had 6 children, with 5 surviving:
Catherine Marlow, 21, a dressmaker, born in Kennington
William Marlow, 20, an accountant clerk for the civil service, born in Battersea
Henry Marlow, 18, like his brother Frederick a boy clerk for the civil service, born in Battersea
Frederick Marlow, 16, born in Brixton
George Marlow, 14, a boy messenger for the civil service, born in Brixton
The family is found at the same address 10 years previously.
George Marlow, 4, born in Brixton