Military Chat

Parents Emily (nee Witheridge) and Henry Albert White (known as Albert).
This was my mother's brother who was in the R.N. and known as Bertie. According to my grandmother, Bertie died aged just 22, from Anthrax, at South Queensferry R.N. Hospital after using naval supplies shaving brush. Bertie was buried in a lead coffin and was interned in the family grave at Ford Park Cemetery, Plymouth.
I would welcome any further information.

His entry on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site
http://www.cwgc.org/

WHITE, A J G

Rank: Leading Stoker
Service No: K/27485
Date of Death: 23/11/1919
Regiment/Service: Royal Navy H.M.S. "Sandhurst."
Grave Reference: General H. 31. 81.
Cemetery:PLYMOUTH (FORD PARK) CEMETERY

Added - a photo of his grave is here
http://twgpp.org/information.php?id=3768798
If you are unable to visit, you can request a 'clean' copy for a donation of £3.50

You could order a copy of his DC to see what the cause of death was. It will cost £9.25 inc P&O. Order from http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

GRO WAR DEATHS NAVY ALL RANKS INDICES (1914 to 1921)
First Name ALBERT J G
Last Name WHITE
Year Range 1919
Rank Leading Stoker
Ship Or Unit SANDHURST
Volume RN.
Page 4183
Record Source GRO War Death Navy All Ranks Indices (1914 to 1921)
Record collection Deaths & burials
Category Births, Marriages & Deaths
Collections from Great Britain
Record set British nationals armed forces deaths 1796-2005

The preview says that place of death was 'at sea' :-S

It would be interesting to see if the burial register mentions anything about a lead lined coffin. The cemetery is now run by a Trust - they may be able to tell you if they hold the register, or if not were it is.
If they hold it, there is a charge for a look up

http://www.ford-park-cemetery.org/service.html
http://www.ford-park-cemetery.org/GraveSearchSide1.pdf
http://www.ford-park-cemetery.org/contact.html

There is a record at the National Archives for him:


Reference: ADM 188/921/27485
Description:
Name White, Albert John George
Official Number: K27485
Place of Birth: Plymouth, Devon
Date of Birth: 05 June 1897
Date: [1915]
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department Vol No. K27-1
Legal status: Public Record

There is a file that can be downloaded for £3.30. The preview image is deliberately distorted and blanked out in places,

"Please note, images are low-resolution and have been intentionally distorted. To download a high-resolution, complete record..."

but I'm sure I could make out Anthr R H South Q.....y on the image. The image is only one page as far as I can see.

There seems to be some physical details listed, height, hair & eye colour, complexion, and the rest is probably postings.

I'm not sure if the links below will work for very long...

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D6985861

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D6985861#imageViewerLink

Thank you everyone who responded. I should have mentioned that the cemetery was renamed as Ford Park Cemetery. I am aware of its position. I note from the official records 'he died from disease', and although the War Graves Commission were involved when he died, no-one seemed to have accepted responsibility for the contaminated naval supplies issued. The reason the 'lead coffin' was used was because Anthrax 'spores' need to be contained. I wrote to the War Graves Commission several years ago to ask why they did not contribute a small service token to the upkeep maintenance of his grave. They do maintain other War graves.

Think you'll find the navy was not at fault and he died of disease 1 year after the end of the war and not from a war injury or disease caught because of the hostilities so no war grave commission help.

The shaving brush was made of animal hair and that contained the anthrax. As someone who comes from a town well known for leather curing and products I understand about the loss of life from anthrax. Many leather workers died of it.

It still kills today in places like Africa.

In 1919 there was no way anyone would have known if the brush had anthrax spores on it. It was just 1 of the risks of anyone using an animal hair brush. Anthrax killed people when they bought and put on leather gloves for instance.

Animals such as horses, goats, sheep and cows were the carriers of the spores. Chances are the brush was horse hair. Cruel as it may seem it was a fact of life then. Sorry but I don't think you'll get any help from anyone.

Thank you PatinCyprus. Your comments are very informative. Having wondered about this for so many years,. I can probably 'put this to rest' now.
I like your profile photo. A lovely family photo. :-)

Glad my comments have helped.

It is a lovely picture, granddad was just in his 40s when he went to war. He lived until 1953 so I do have memories of him. The only 1 in the photo I didn't know was the youngest girl, Dolly, the toddler. Dolly died of heart problems just into her 20s.

To show how long the anthrax spores lasted I have found this link so you can see what happened in WW2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruinard_Island

You have remembered your uncle, that's what's important. :-)

Thank you. I used the link. (It was dreadful what humans were capable of experimenting with all those years ago, and even more so now the stories we hear through the media of what Middle East/ and or/other dictators/rebels, etc. are capable of doing to fellow humans).

Both my maternal grandparents (my Uncle Bertie's parents) also died in 1953. My paternal grandparents had 17 children! So my younger days were filled with family memories!
:-)