Stockwell War Memorial

Friends of Stockwell War Memorial & Gardens

age 17

Frederick Thomas George Pulsford

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Frederick Thomas George Pulsford
Frederick Thomas George Pulsford

F. T. G. Pulsford
Service no. 2338
Rifleman, London Regiment (The Rangers), 1st/12th Battalion
Died aged 17 on 21 April 1915
CWGC: “Son of Frederick Luke Pulsford and Blanche Bertha Pulsford, of 10, Tradescant Rd., Lambeth, London.”
Remembered at Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Ypres, Belgium

De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour 1914-1918

PULSFORD, FREDERICK THOMAS GEORGE, Rifleman, No. 2338, 12 Battn. (The Rangers) The London Regt. (T.F.), only s. of Frederick Luke Pulsford, of 10, Tradescant Road, South Lambeth Road, S.W., by his wife Blanche Bertha, dau. of George Hawke; b. London, 26 June, 1897; educ. Westminster City School; volunteered and joined the Rangers after the outbreak of war, 8 Sept., 1914; went to France, 9 March, 1915. Buried at the back of the trenches there. 2nd Lieut. H. H. Bentley wrote: “On 21 April your son and his friend Elvin were in a dug-out at Zonnebeke tending to the pressing wants of a comrade who was dreadfully wounded. As they busied themselves with him, a German shrapnel fell into the dug-out and burst. The violence of the explosion and the deadly hail of shrapnel bullets annihilated all the occupants of the dug-out, and The Rangers lost two fine soldiers in the painless heroic deaths of your son and his friend Elvin. It gives me great pain to have to break this sad yet heroic news to you, because he was always a great friend of mine and one who always did the utmost of his duty.”

Information from the censuses

In 1911 Frederick Pulsford, 13, was living with his parents, Frederick Luke Pulsford, 40, a designer and heraldic engraver born in Brixton, and his wife Blanche B. Pulsford, 38, from Saltash, Cornwall at 10 Tradescant Road, South Lambeth where the family occupied five rooms. He an his sister, May I. Pulsford, 10, were born in Lambeth. Mary A. Pulsford (nee Blonner), 82, mother of Frederick senior, was from Leominster, Herefordshire, lived with the family. The family had lived at this address since at least 1901. The 1891 census shows the widowed Mary A. Pulsford as a “corndealer”; her son Thomas Pulsford, 23, is a carpenter; Frederick Pulsford, 24, is apprenticed to a heraldry engraver; Lewis J. Pulsford is a corndealer like his mother, and living in the house with his wife, Minnie J. Pulsford, 24, and son Jack Pulsford, 3. The family then lived at 62 Whitcomb Street, St Anne Soho, London. Mary’s deceased husband was a builder, born in Dulverton, Somerset.

Richard Charman

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R. Charman
Service no. L/21002
Driver, Royal Field Artillery, “B” Bty. 156th Bde.
Died of wounds age 17 on 23 July 1916
Enlisted at Camberwell, lived in Brixton
Son of Henry and Mary Charman, of Brixton, London.
Remembered at Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-L’Abbé, Somme, France and on the war shrine at St Michael’s Church, Stockwell Park Road, London 0DA.

Information from the South London Press

The South London Press reported Charman’s death on 25 August 1916:
Killed in action was the young son – he was only 17 – of Mr. and Mrs. Charman, Ingleborough Street, Brixton. He was one of six brothers serving with the colours, all descendants of a fighting race. In a letter to his mother, his company officer says: ‘Your son died nobly, doing his duty and as his section commander I can testify to the fine young soldier whom we mourn. He was, for his age, quite exceptional in his work, and beyond praise in the fearless way in which he carried out his dangerous and arduous duties. In him we have lost one who is irreplaceable and who, by his cheerfulness and courage endeared himself to us all.’

Information from the 1911 census

In 1911 Richard (or Dick) Charman’s family lived in 4 rooms at 13 Ingleborough Street, London SW9 (between Robsart Street and Lorn Road). Henry Charman, 56, a general labourer, was born in “Lambeth Parish” (St Mary’s Parish, north Lambeth). Mary Charman, 54, was born in Clapham. They had had 15 children, of whom 12 were still living in 1911. Those listed on the census for this address were
Henry Charman, 31, a carrier’s carman, born in Clapham
John Charman, 28, a painter’s labourer, born in Brixton
William Charman, 21, a painter’s labourer, born in Brixton
Daisy Charman, 13, born in Brixton
Lilly Charman 13, born in Brixton
Dick Charman, 11, born in Brixton

Theodore Grace Barnes

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T. G. Barnes
Apprentice, Mercantile Marine, S.S. Belgian Prince (Newcastle)
Died age 17 on 31 July 1917
Son of Ernest Henry and Alice Barnes, of 44 Kay Rd., Stockwell, London.
Remembered at Tower Hill Memorial, London EC3 and Stockwell War Memorial, London SW9

SS Belgian Prince

MaritimeQuest has an account of the shocking fate of the crew of the SS Belgian Prince, a cargo ship built in 1901, which was attacked by a U-boat on 31 July 1917. The crew were ordered to stand on the top of the submarine, which then dived, drowning all but three.

The following is an article published in the Melbourne Argus (Australia), on Tuesday 7 August 1917:

“COLD-BLOODED MURDER”!

S.S. Belgian Prince Crime.

The British Admiralty confirms the story told by the few survivors of the British steamer Belgian Prince of the hideous cruelty of the submarine crew that destroyed their vessel.

The Belgian Prince was torpedoed on July 31, and the crew abandoned her in two boats, which the Germans smashed with axes. They deprived the crew of their lifebelts and left the men on the deck of the submarine, taking the captain below. Then the submarine was submerged without warning while 43 men were standing on the deck. All were drowned except three, who had secretly retained their lifebelts. They were picked up later, having been in the water for 11 hours.

The Admiralty’s account concludes: ‘”The men’s affidavits support the story of the details of this atrocious outrage. It was a cold-blooded murder equalling, if not transcending, the worst crimes that our enemies have committed against humanity.”

Information from the 1911 census

In 1911 Theodore Grace Barnes was 11 and living with his family in three rooms at 44 Kay Road, Stockwell, London SW9. His father, Ernest Henry Barnes, 50, was a compositor, born in St Peter Park, compositor. Alice Barnes, 46, was from Camberwell. They had five children, all born in Stockwell:
Thomas Barnes, 15, a boot clicker
Frederick Barnes, 14, an electrical engineer
Theodore Barnes, 11
William Barnes, 9,
Alice Barnes, 5