At the outbreak of WW1, my 2xgreat grandparents had had 19 children, born between 1874 and 1902. By 1914, seven of their eight sons were still alive, and five joined the army. Two were awarded the Military Medal, and one was killed in action. I have found many records about their service online, but there are still some details missing. Here’s what I know so far.

The two eldest sons, my great grandfather James Aaron Stocking (b1876), and William Henry Stocking, (b1880), were perhaps too old to serve, and were married men with families; at least, I have not found any service records for them. The youngest, Alexander Edward (b1902) was too young to sign up at the beginning of the conflict, although he appears to have joined the regular army as the final months of the war played out.

James Thomas Stocking and Alice Mary (Wales) (my 2xgreat grandparents) and the rest of the family must have had an anxious time waiting at home for news of the boys at war, and that is born out to some extent by a copy of a letter written by one of the boys to his sister from behind enemy lines.

The five sons who served

John Arthur Stocking (4th Signals Royal Engineers)

John – also known in the family as Jack – was born in 1882, and married Hannah Lewis in 1905, when he was described as working for the National Telephone Company According to his entry in the 1911 census, he worked as a Telephone Jointer. Not surprisingly then, he joined the 4^th Signals Royal Engineers as a Sapper (Reg nos.528431 and 3494). The National Army Museum has a wireless transmitter from the time in its collection. He is mentioned in a letter written by his brother Aaron Archibald Stocking to their sister ‘Kit’ in 1916 (see his story elsewhere and below). Jack is listed at the family home at 16 Beechfield Road, Catford, on the Absent Voters list of 1918:

I haven’t found anything further out about his war service, but he survived and was entitled to the Victory and British War Medals. At the time of the 1921 census, he and his wife Hannah, and his youngest sister Violet, are living at 16 Beechfield Road. He is described as a Cable Jointer for the GPO. By the outbreak of the Second World War, he appears on the 1939 Register with his brother James Aaron Stocking, still at 16 Beechfield Road, and is the piano-playing ‘Uncle John’ remembered by my Dad as a small boy. The London Gazette of 6 April 1943 (FindMyPast) lists him as part of the Home Civil Service, working as ‘Skilled Workman, Class I, London Telecommunications Region’. He died on 15 May 1957 at The Hospital, Buckingham, although his home address in his probate record (FindMyPast) is shown as 16 Beechfield Road. Probate was granted to his two married nieces. For more on his life, have a look at his dedicated story.

Aaron Archibald Stocking (22nd Battalion London Regiment) MM

Aaron was born in 1883, so was 32 years old in 1915 when he first served with the First 22^nd battalion of the London Regiment in France (Reg. no 680377 / 1571). In civilian life, he was a Gas Fitter. He married Emma Ann Flack on 6 September 1915, presumably while on leave; his occupation on the marriage certificate is ‘soldier’. He rose to the rank of Sergeant but was killed in action at Bourlon Wood, near Cambrai (Battle of the Somme) on 1 December 1917. The Battalion’s war diary at Ancestry for that night records constant shelling and machine gun fire and the deaths of ‘six other ranks’ (presumably including Sergeant Stocking) as well as 22 wounded. They were nearly out of rations, but another battalion was able to give them much of theirs, as they had suffered even greater casualties.

Aaron was awarded the Military Medal, although until recently I had not been able to find details of the reasons why. In a letter to his sister ‘Kit’ dated 7 January 1916, shared by another branch of the family, he describes his actions:

I have been recommended for work done in the field. It was this way – the huns blew up a mine in our line and shelled us terribly and broke all our wires and I had to go out under heavy shell fire to repair them and as fast as I repaired them, so they were broke, so I had to run out a new wire from our Headquarters to our front line station and when I got connected up it broke in about five places so I had to go out and run another wire and it was the worst time I have ever had – there was dead and dying alround me – it was simply awful but still our boys gave it to them hot.

For a full transcript, see the rest of his story.

His widow, Emma Ann, gave birth to their only son, Stanley Aaron Archibald Stocking three months later, on 3 March 1918. By the 1921 census, she and three year old Stanley are living with her sister- and brother-in-law Lavinia and Frederick James Monk (see below).

Aaron is commemorated on the war memorials in Bermondsey (pictured) and Louverval, Cambrai

Archibald David Stocking (4th London Howitzer Brigade, Royal Field Artillery)

‘Archie’ or ‘Arch’ was born in 1894 and was a heating engineer. He first joined the Territorial Army and then, on 17 September 1914, signed up with the 4th London RA & RFA (Reg. no 1042). His war service records at Ancestry (£) show a total service until 28 May 1915 as 254 days, his character as ‘very good’ and reason for discharge “Middle Ear inflammation suppurative. Not due to active service nor military service”. It seems that Archie only served in the UK during this period. The name and address of his next of kin reads: (Father) James Stocking, 18 Beechfield Road, Catford SE.

One of his descendants tells a story that, after being discharged unfit, Archie was ‘white feathered’ on a bus, ie given a symbol of cowardice, which spurred him on to rejoin.

By 30 April 1917 he had rejoined the army and was posted overseas, to France, serving as a Gunner and Driver with the 4 London Howitzer Brigade. He married Jane Louisa Isabella Crofts in Lewisham on 9 August 1917, shortly after he went overseas. His service records at Ancestry include a note from his commanding officer dated 23 August 1917, saying that he was due back from leave on 15 August (presumably after the wedding), but had not yet returned. It seems that he had contracted influenza and was admitted to Lewisham hospital. He was AWOL again that November, and was fined and forfeited three days pay.

He signed up to be retained in the Army of Occupation, serving in Italy, Alexandria and Port Said, being attached to the Military Police from 1919. He was demobilised on 28 April 1920. Shortly before then (19 April) he wrote requesting his ‘character’ as:

I am waiting to start work on the L.C.C. trams … yours obediently, Gr Stocking AD, 947563 (Late) 4 London (How[itzer]) Bde RFA

Ancestry.com. UK, British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.

At the time of the 1921 census, he and Louisa are living 86 Crystal Palace Road, East Dulwich. His application to join the London County Council Tramways was obviously successful, as he is shown as a Tramway Conductor. The couple had three children between 1921 and 1924 (their eldest daughter is recorded on the 1921 census as ‘under one month’ old). At the outbreak of the Second World War, Archie is listed in the 1939 Register as a Builder’s Carpenter. He died in 1961. A letter sent in the 1980s to my father from someone researching his son Ron’s family tree prompted the discovery of the 19 children born to James Thomas and Alice Mary Stocking. See more in his dedicated story.

Alfred Edmund Ilott Stocking (ASC, Bedford Regt, Norfolk Regt, 15 Btn. Essex Regt) MM

Alfred was born in 1898 and was presumably named after his much older sister Harriet’s fiancé, Alfred Edmond Ilott Bishop. He was 12 and still at school at the time of the 1911 census. His WW1 service record (Reg. no 48226) shows he was just 17 years old when he signed up in 1916, joining the Army Service Corps. After training, he was transferred to the Bedford Regiment, then the Norfolk Regiment, and finished service with the Essex Regiment. He was wounded in action on 2 September 1918 with a ‘shrapnel wound face’ and was treated in hospitals in Rouen, Trouville and Calais. He reached the rank of lance corporal and was awarded the Military Medal on 15 Dec 1919, two years after his older brother Aaron’s award – and death.

He was demobilised a few days later. At the time of the 1921 census, he is living at 16 Beechfield Road with his sister Catherine and her husband Charles Hall. He is described as a house decorator, working for W Stocks & Sons in Peckham.

In 1923, he married Ada Delcie Styles in Lewisham, and they had two children, Anthony and Brian Stocking who, until the 1980s, were in touch with my Uncle Ken by letter. In the 1939 Register, Alfred is shown living in Lewisham and working as a Builder’s Carpenter. He died in High Wycombe in 1978. See more in his dedicated story.

Alexander Edward Stocking (Royal Tank Corps, Royal Armoured Corps)

I thought that my 2xgreat grandparents’ youngest son would have been too young to serve in the First World War. Born in 1902, he was only 12 when the conflict broke out. He appears to have been keen to follow his brothers and brothers-in-law into the services. From records on FindMyPast, it seems that he joined the Royal Tank Corps on 2 July 1919, giving his age as 18 years and 8 months. In July 1925, his service was extended ‘to complete twelve years with the colours’. His service number was 7870242. On the 1921 census, he is enumerated as a Corporal in the Royal Tank Corps at the 1st Battalion Tank Depot, Bovington Camp, Wareham, Dorset.

His service record shows that he married Florence Carlow in Lewisham, London on 9 February 1924. The banns were called in her home church in Dorset in January. They had a daughter, Joyce, in Wareham, Dorset, in 1925. By the time of the 1939 Register, at the outbreak of the Second World War, the family has moved to Kingston-upon-Hull; Florence and daughter Joyce are listed at 18 Brooklands Road, Hull, but Alexander must still have been serving in the forces, as he is not mentioned, or found elsewhere on the Register at FindMyPast.

The Hull Daily Mail of 8 August 1940 (British Newspaper Archive, FindMyPast) reports that Regimental Sergeant Major A.E. Stocking, formerly reported missing, had now been reported as a Prisoner of War. The short article notes that he is now 37, and joined the Royal Tank Corps at the age of 16 (he had lied about his true age on his attestation papers), serving with that corps until being transferred to the Yeomanry a few months earlier.

FindMyPast also has military records for Prisoners of War, including Regimental Sergeant Major A E Stocking, Royal Armoured Corps, Service number 7870242, at Stalag Hohenfels, Germany. British Casualty Lists for 1940, however, show the same man on a document headed ‘Previously reported prisoner of war in German hands (Germany), now not Prisoner of War’; he is shown as previously serving in France, with the First East Riding Yeomanry, a sub-unit of the Royal Armoured Corps.

It seems that they lived in Lewisham, at 37 Kilmorie Road, for many years. Ancestry has electoral roll records for Alexander, Florence and Joyce, all at the same address, from 1947-1964 (although Joyce has left home by the time of this last entry). Alexander died on Boxing Day 1971, at the same address. He was 69 years old. Find out more about his civilian life in his dedicated story.

Other family who served

As if having four sons away at war 1914-1918 wasn’t enough, James and Alice’s son-in-law, Frederick James Monk, husband of their daughter Lavinia, also served in the First World War. He was born in 1881, and joined up in 1917, aged 36. He served as a Groom with the Army Service Corps, part of the ‘Remount’ effort conducting horses to and from the war zones. By August 1918 he states his general health is ‘bad’:

He complains of rheumatism in arms and legs and states that he was treated at Lewisham Military hospital and Brook War Hospital Woolwich. After demobilisation, in the 1921 census, he and Lavinia are living at 14 Beechfield Road, Catford, alongside many of her Stocking family. He is working as a Card Cutter for Baddeley Brothers, Stationers, of Moor Lane, London E6. He was also recorded as a Card Cutter before the war. They have five sons aged 2-11, and share the house with various brothers- and sisters-in-law and their children. In the 1939 Register, he is working as a Warehouseman. Read more of their story.

Given the extended Stocking family, other relatives may also have served; more research to do.