J. W. Gilbert
Service no. K/42535
Stoker Second Class, Royal Navy, H.M.S. “Cornwall”
Died age 19 on 10 January 1918
CWGC: “Son of W. Gilbert, of 139 Hartington Road, South Lambeth, London.”
Remembered at Plymouth Naval Memorial
Information from the Royal Navy website
The fourth HMS Cornwall (1902-1920) was a 9000 ton armoured cruiser launched at Pembroke in 1902. On the outbreak of war in 1914 she was despatched to West Africa to intercept German merchant shipping. She proceeded to the Falklands and on 8 December 1914 engaged German light cruisers, sinking theLeipzig. Returning to West Africa until June 1915 she was sent to support the Gallipoli campaign. The following October she went back to the East Indies and China Stations to protect Allied shipping from surface raiders. Returning to the UK in 1917 she was refitted and escorted convoys between Canada and the UK. She paid off early in 1919.
Information from the 1911 census
In 1911 James William Gilbert, then aged 12, lived at 74 Thorparch Road, Stockwell. His father, William Gilbert, 52, was a railway guard from Frampton, Dorset. His mother, Annie Gilbert, 48, was born in London. They had had 7 children, 6 of them surviving in 1911. Five lived at home:
Ellen Lucy Gilbert, 17, was a machinist
Lilian Frances Gilbert, 14, was a domestic servant
James William Gilbert, 12
Florence Louisa Gilbert, 10
Alice May Gilbert, 7
All the children were born in London.
