A. Penn
Service no 44243
Serjeant, Royal Engineers, 74th Field Coy.
Born in Clapham; enlisted in London; lived in Clapham
Killed in action on 19 March 1917, aged 23
CWGC: “Son of John T. D. and Victoria Penn, of 73 Union Rd., Clapham, London.”
Remembered Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, France

De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour 1914-1918

PENN, ARTHUR, Sergt., No 44243, 74th Coy., R.E., 2nd s. of John T. D. Penn, of 73 Union Road, Clapham, London, S.W., Employee at the G.P.O., London, by his wife, Victoria, dau. of Samson Goodland, of Ilton, a Somerset Farmer; b. Clapham, 14 Aug. 1893; educ. Gaskell Street L.C.C. School there, and afterwards entered the employ of Messrs. Shuttleworth & Co., Bermondsey; joined the R.E. in Aug, 1914, after the outbreak of war; served with the Expeditionary Force in France from 10 July 1915, and was killed in action at Arras, 19 March 1917. Buried in Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery there. His Commanding Officer wrote: “I had known your boy ever since he joined the company when it was formed in England, and for the last six months I had seen a great deal of him as he was my office Sergeant. I had grown to like him very much, and respected him for his manly and sterling good qualities. He was, I know, a general favourite with the other sergeants and greatly liked by the men under him. We buried him here in the Military Cemetery, and all the officers off duty and a large number of N.C.Os and men attended his funeral. Your boy has given his life in the great cause for which we are fighting, and you can be proud of him. He died a man’s death, doing his bit for his country.” By his coolness and presence of mind while as Corporal in the bombing-class at Noeux, France, he prevented a very serious accident to 130 men who were present, by throwing a bomb which was burning in his hand clear, and the General Officer Commanding the 44th Infantry Brigade directed that his appreciation of the action of Corpl. A. Penn, R.E., should be conveyed to him, which order was read to him on Parade 12 Sept. 1915; unm.

Information from the censuses

In 1911 Arthur Penn, one of five children of John Thomas Doody Penn, a Post Office sorter, 53 from Chatham, Kent and Victoria Penn, 55, of Ilton, Somerset, was working as a chauffeur. Three children, all born in Clapham, lived at home in 5 rooms at 73 Union Road: Arthur; Daisy Penn, 26; Dora Victoria Penn, 20. A boarder, William Drowley, a single 21-year-old auctioneer’s clerk from Ringwould, Kent, boarded with the family. The family is found at the same address in 1901. In 1891 they lived at No 100 Union Road, and in 1881 they were at 6 Richard Street, Lambeth.

C. F. Parker
Service no. 142427
Private, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), 34th Coy.
Killed in action 21 March 1918, aged 34
Remembered at Arras Memorial, France

Charles Frederick Parker was born on 23 November 1884 at 95 Dunnetts Road, St Pauls, Deptford (later, on various censuses his birthplace is given as Peckham and Deptford). He was one of 10 children born to William James Parker, an engineer originally from Liverpool, and Elizabeth Emma Rutt from Southwark, south London.

William and Elizabeth married on 21 October 1871 at Christ Church, Blackfriars. In common with many families at the time, they moved frequently, probably following work around London.

We can trace their movements from the censuses: In 1881 they lived at 13 Upper Winchester Street in Islington; in 1891 they were at 115 Bridge Street, Greenwich; in 1901 they were at 31 Foreign Street, Camberwell and by 1911, aged 68 and 59, they were in Southend on Sea, living with two of their three surviving children.

On October 15 1905 William and Elizabeth’s son Charles, aged 20, and Daisy Laura Hales, 21, married at Christ Church, Blackfriars (the church where William and Elizabeth had married). Daisy’s address was given on the marriage certificate as 32 Collingwood Street (now Columbo Street)* and Charles was living at 48 Brunswick Street (off Stamford Street). Daisy was born in Highgate, the daughter of a journeyman baker, James Hales.

However, in 1901, according to the census, Daisy was living at 2 Redan Terrace, near Elam Street, on the Camberwell/Brixton borders*. Elam Road is adjacent to Foreign Street, where Charles Frederick Parker was living. It seems likely that this was when and where Charles and Daisy, who were both 16 in 1901, met. The 1901 census gives Charles’ occupation as “repairer of bicycle tyres”.

The picture of the Parker family was taken on 10 September 1916 and shows Charles in his uniform with Daisy and their two children, Elsie and William (Bill). Eighteen months later, Charles was dead.

The 1911 census shows that Charles and Daisy Parker were living in two rooms on the Blackfriars Peabody Estate (Block Q) with their daughter, Elsie Daisy Parker, then aged 2. Charles was working as an assistant stationary engineerman.

When Charles joined up he was employed by the London Hydraulic Company as an engineer. Before electricity became the primary source of power, heavy lifting was carried out using high pressure water piped underground. Probably its most famous application was to lift the bascules of Tower Bridge.

Charles enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery (Service no 2578) in Brixton before transferring to the 34th Company Machine Gun Corp (Infantry) as number 142427.

This faded picture, taken on 4 February 1917, shows Charles recovering from trench foot at The Cardiff Soldiers’ Rest, St Mary Street, Cardiff. Trench foot is caused by continuous immersion in water. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. The water table was often less than one metre below the surface and digging in, to avoid shells and bullets, often meant living in mud. Despite this, British commanding officers, unlike their German counterparts, refused to give up any ground, however unsuitable.

‘Operation Michael’, the momentous German counter-offensive known as the ‘Kaiser’s Battle’ (and sometimes as the Second Battle of the Somme, since to some extent it took place on the same territory), was launched along a 50-mile front at dawn on 21 March 1918, following a massive preliminary bombardment. The Germans broke the British lines in several places and the 34th Machine Gun Corps found itself virtually surrounded.

Charles Frederick Parker died that day. Unfortunately, his grave was among those which the Army Graves Service was unable to trace after the war and he is therefore commemorated on Bay 10 of the Arras Memorial, France.

While away at the Front, Charles sent these beautiful postcards to his family. They are a poignant reminder of the contrast of worlds between the War and home life. While Charles was no doubt faced with unspeakable horrors he found time to send back these sweet and special greetings to his wife and young family.

The families left behind

Charles’s daughter Elsie, who was married in St Andrew’s Church, Landor Road, London SW9, visited Arras with two of her grandchildren.

Many thanks to Ray Coleman for family information and use of material.
All family assets relating to Charles Parker are copyright Ray Coleman. All rights reserved.

* Collingwood Street was next to Christ Church, Blackfriars (behind the railings in the picture on the left), but has now been replaced by Columbo Street. The cottages have been replaced by a pub (the brick building in the engraving) and a sports centre. Elam Street survives but most of the surrounding streets do not, the area having been extensively redeveloped after World War II.

Many thanks to Ray Coleman for family information and use of material.
All family assets relating to Charles Parker are © Ray Coleman. All rights reserved.