Stockwell War Memorial

Friends of Stockwell War Memorial & Gardens

France

George Thomas Mullett

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G. T. Mullett
Service no. 8760
Serjeant, Dorsetshire Regiment, 1st Battalion
Born at Pimlico; enlisted at Dorchester, Dorset; lived in Clapham
Killed in action on 21 May 1918, aged about 28
Remembered at Arras Memorial, France

Brother of Arthur Joseph Mullett

British Army WWI Service Records 1914-1920

George Thomas Mullett signed up with the Dorsetshire Regiment in Dorchester on 15 November 1909, ending his civilian role of barman. Perhaps he didn’t completely leave his old life behind. In 1911 he was severely reprimanded for allowing a man to smoke cigarettes on parade.

Evidently, Mullett learned from his mistake – there are no other misdemeanours on his conduct record. Rather, the files detail his steady rise through the ranks. He was promoted to Corporal in October 1913 and to Serjeant in September the following year.

Mullett married Lucy Emma Cane at St Michael’s Church, Stockwell on 16 April 1916. Emma had a six-year-old son – Lewis George Cane, whom Mullett lists as “illegitimate.”

On 1 July 1916, his brother Frederick James was killed. George Thomas survived until five months before the Armistice. A note in the file says that he was wounded on 31 May 1918. Two weeks later this was amended to “wounded and missing” and then again in late August to “to be regarded for official purposes as having died.”

Mullett was 5 feet 7⅞ inches, weighed a little under 10 stone and had a 36-inch chest. He had hazel eyes and brown hair. There was a a scar on his right cheek.

Arthur Joseph Mullett

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A. J. Mullett
Service no. 130014
Pioneer, Royal Engineers, 3rd Battalion Special Brigade; formerly 35044, London Regiment
Born in Lambeth; enlisted at Holborn; lived in Lambeth
Died of wounds on 1 July 1916, aged about 21
Remembered at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord, France

Brother of George Thomas Mullett

Information from the censuses

In 1911 Arthur Joseph Mullett, then a 14-year-old schoolboy, lived at 12 Ely Place, Stockwell with his parents, a brother and a sister. The family had lived at that address since at least 1901. His parents were from Dorset: Henry Mullett, 51, was a horsekeeper for a brewery (a job he was doing at the time of the 1901 census), born in North Matravers; Harriett Mullett, 52, was from Swanage. Emily Mullett, 26, was an ironer for a laundry, born in Lambeth; William Mullett, 23, was a welder for a bus company, also born in Lambeth; Arthur Mullett was born in Battersea. The family occupied 4 rooms. Elizabeth Mullett (in 1901 a laundry machine hand) and George Mullett (in 1901 working as a printer’s boy in the lithography department) had left home.

Information from Terry Reeves

Around March 1916 Arthur would have been transferred from the London Regiment to the Royal Engineers Special Brigade, who were responsible for much of Britain’s offensive chemical warfare effort on the Western Front. Arthur would have been sent initially to Helfaut, some 4 miles south of St Omer, where the Special Brigade had established their expeditionary force Depot. He would have been billeted in one of the surrounding villages as the 3rd Battalion formed up. The unit was a cylinder company responsible for dispensing gas from heavy cylinders which had to be carried into the front line, often with assistance from the infantry, and installed in the front line trenches.

On the night of 30 June/1 July 1916, Arthur’s K Company detachment was tasked to release cylinders containing “White Star” gas, so-called because of the white star emblem on the cylinder.  They were filled with a 50/50 mix of phosgene and chlorine. The former had a low vapour pressure and needed a propellant, which was provided by the chlorine which had a higher vapour pressure. The release of this gas was part of a minor operation in support of 2nd Australian Brigade at Ploegsteert in Belgium. The battalion war diary noted the following:

“106116 Cpl R. G. Williams, 1282286 Pioneer A Lewis and 130014 Pioneer AJ Mullett were working in an emplacement, their Tower Respirators were fixed efficiently. A shell burst in front of our parapet and blew a cloud of gas back so that some entered the bay occupied by these men. They all felt a slight irritation and reported to their section commander, who ordered them to go to at once to the dressing station. The two pioneers remained, but later Cpl Williams said that he felt quite well and returned to his work. He was sent back to the hospital at once. All three were dead by the following morning.”

Cpl Williams and Pioneer Lewis are recorded as dying on 30 June and Pioneer Mullet dying on 1 July at No. 8 Casualty Clearing Station. 

The report continued:

“The Tower Respirator which each man was wearing throughout the attack is proof against White Star gas. 

“It is surmised that respirators must have been temporarily displaced by a shell which is known to have wrecked the emplacement.”

From a technical point of view, phosgene had a delayed-action effect, of anything up 48 hours. Any exertion could bring about tiredness and collapse during that time which fits with the casualties described above. 

All three men are buried in Baileull Communal Cemetery. Cpl Williams and Pioneer Lewis side by side and Arthur Mullett just a few graves away in the same row.

Frederick James Moulder

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© South London Press
© South London Press

F. J. Moulder
Service no. 512364
Private, London Regiment (London Scottish), “C” Coy. 1st/14th Battalion
Killed in action at age 21 on 23 August 1918
Son of Frederick and Elizabeth Moulder, of 35 Cottage Grove, Stockwell, London.
Remembered at Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux, France

South London Press, 4 October 1918
CLAPHAM LONDON SCOT KILLED.
Brave Runner Falls While Dispatch Carrying
Pte. F. T. Moulder, London Scottish, killed in action while carrying dispatches under heavy shellfire, was a native of Clapham, formerly residing at 35, Cottage-grove, Bedford-rd. He joined the London Scottish in the early days of the war and did excellent work as a company and battalion runner since the days of the terrible Somme push of 1916.

A comrade, Pte, E. A. McKearon, himself wounded and an inmate of the 1st London General Hospital, Camberwell, says of him: “He was well known throughout the battalion and had earned the esteem and respect of all who knew him.”

James Morris

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J. Morris
Service no. 148649
Corporal, Royal Garrison Artillery, 110th Heavy Bty., formerly 2391, Middlesex Regiment
Died of wounds 2 August 1917
Born in Stockwell; enlisted in London; lived in Brixton
Remembered at Loos Memorial, France

Sidney Morgan

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S. Morgan
Service no. S/15651
Rifleman, Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion
Born in Highgate; enlisted in Newbury, Berkshire; lived in Stockwell
Killed in action on 11 November 1916
Remembered at Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Somme, France

Jarlath Vincent Mooney

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J. V. Mooney
Service no. H/14352
Private, 8th (King’s Royal Irish) Hussars
Born in Southend, Essex; enlisted in London; lived in London
Killed in action on 27 March 1917 at age 23
CWGC: “Only son of Jarlath Augustine Mooney, of 32 King’s Avenue, Clapham Park, London, a clerk.”
Remembered at Villers-Faucon Communal Cemetery Extension, France

Information from the 1911 census

The 1911 census shows Jarlath Vincent Mooney as living at 105 Franciscan Road, Tooting, where his family had 3 rooms. Jarlath’s mother Christiana Mooney, 39, was born in Shoreditch, east London. His sister, Kathleen Frances Mooney, 19, was a shorthand clerk typist for a manufacturer of gears, and was born in Dover, Kent. Jarlath was born in Southend. He was employed as a clerk in “mercantile offices”.

The family, including Jarlath’s father, Jarlath A. Mooney, are on the 1901 census at 2, Princess Buildings, Plymouth . His father was a 35-year-old travelling debt collector and a native of Ireland.