Arthur Peppiatt
He was a general labourer before joining the army in 1909.
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
William Arthur (Arthur) was the son of Francis (Frank) Luther Peppiatt and his wife Mary Ann (aka Minnie) née Carson.
His father Francis was born in Poplar, London, in 1857, the son of George and Emma Peppiatt (née Sheffield m. 1845 reg. Newport Pagnall, Bucks) who had at least nine other children: Emma Eliza (b. 1847), Jane Alice (b. 1849), George Edmund (b. 1851), Clara (b, 1853), Adin (b. 1855), James Arthur (b. 1860 d. 1861), Ada Mary (b. 1861), Grace (b. 1863 and Arthur James (b. 1865).
At the time of the 1881 Census, Francis, a boot clicker, was living with his married brother, George, in Poplar. Francis later emigrated to Canada where he married Minne (b. Toronto) and their eldest son Francis George was born in Toronto in about 1885.
The couple returned to England and their five younger children were born in Barton Regis, Gloucestershire: Adin Ewart (b. 1886), Emma Erin (b. 1888), Winifred Doris (b. 1889), Jessie (b. 1890), who were all baptised at Eaton St Mark, Gloucestershire, in November 1890, and William Arthur (birth registered 1893, AMJ).
At the time of the 1891 Census, two years before Arthur's birth, the family was living on Tudor Road, Barton Regis: Francis, a shoe cutter, his wife Minnie (sic) and their five children, Francis, Adin Ewart, Emma, Winifred and Jessie.
Arthur's father, Francis Luther, died in June 1896 and was buried in Greenbank Cemetery, Eastville, Bristol.
Francis's widow, Minnie, has not yet been traced after 1891, but the 1901 Census shows that five of her children were living with relatives.
Arthur (8) was living with his married aunt Emma Eliza Coombs (née Pettiatt), his father's eldest sister, and her family in Nottingham. Emma's husband, Wiliam Augustus Coombs, was a flour manufacturer (Coombs 'Eureka' Aerated Flour Company Ltd).
Arthur's brother Adin, a clerk in a flour warehouse, and their sister Jessie, were living on Cathcart Terrace, Nottingham, with their father's brother, Adin Peppiatt, a manager of a flour warehouse, his wife Lucretia (née Slim m. 1891 Nottingham) and their three young children.
Arthur's sisters Emma and Winifred were living with their widowed paternal grandmother, Emma Peppiatt, a retired draper, in Linslade, Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire.
It is possible that the eldest of the six siblings, Francis George, returned to Canada after his father's death. Other members of the family later emigrated to Canada.
In 1911 Emma Erin was working as a domestic servant (nurse) in the household of William Mortimer Pechel and his family in Newnham, Winchfield, Hampshire. She later qualified as a midwife and married James R Duncan in 1919 (reg. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire). She was recorded on a 1931 Census of Canada where she died.
Winifred Doris, an elementary school teacher, was still living with her grandmother Emma Peppiatt in Leighton Buzzard in 1911. Emma Peppiatt died in 1913 and Winifred was recorded on the passenger list of SS Metagarma sailing from England to Montreal in May 1920. She was recorded on the 1921 Census of Canada and later married (Devarell) in which surname she was recorded on the 1931 Census of Canada.
Jessie was living with her uncle and aunt, Adin and Lucretia Peppiatt, on Woodborough Road, Nottingham, in 1911. She then emigrated with them and their nine children, departing Liverpool for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 20 April 1912 (SS Tunisian, Allan Line Steamship Co.).
Arthur's army service record (1909-1914) named his next of kin as his brother Ewart, living at Robinson Road, Mapperley, Nottingham, and two other siblings, Frank (address unknown) and Emmy [Emma], address General Hospital (location not decypherable).
Medal index card shows surname as 'Pettiatt'.
Arthur Peppiatt attested at Nottingham on 11 February 1909 aged 17 years 10 months. (Note: registration of birth 1893 AMJ.) He was already serving in the 4th Battalion Sherwood Foresters when on 20 July 1909 he enlisted in the Notts & Derby Army Reserve (Special Reservists) on a 6 year engagement. He was discharged 'in consequence of joining the regular forces' and his total service toward his engagement in the Army Reserve, 11 February 1909 to 19 July 1909, amounted to 159 days.
At the time of the 1911 Census, Arthur was serving in Crownhill Barracks, Devonport, with the 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters.
He served in France from 8 September 1914 and was initially reported missing in action on 20 October 1914 when the battalion held position south-east of Bois Grenier, Ennetieres/Escobecques, France against a German attack. It was subsequently presumed that he had died 'on or since 20 October' but it was not until March 1916 that the War Office confirmed 20 October as his date of death.
Service: Home 20 July 1909-7 September 1914, 5 years 50 days. France 8 September 1914-20 October 1914, 43 days. Total 5 years 9 days.
He qualified for the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Arthur has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium. (Panel 7)
Ploegsteert Memorial: The Memorial stands in Berks Cemetery Extension, 12.5 kms from the town of Ieper (Ypres). The Memorial 'commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave. The memorial serves the area from the line Caestre-Dranoutre-Warneton, in Belgium, to the north, to Haverskerque-Estaires-Fournes, in France, to the south, including the towns of Hazebrouck, Merville, Bailleul and Armentieres, the Forest of Nieppe, and Ploegsteert Wood ... Most of those commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those which took place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were killed in the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere.' (extract. cwgc.org)
Note: Birth registered as William Arthur Peppiatt, mother's surname Carson. Subsequent records give first name as Arthur.
Nottingham Evening Post, 'Casualties', 5 February 1914: ‘Sherwood Foresters. 454 Reported Missing. The casualty lists issued last night contained the names of 454 Sherwood Foresters reported missing under date December 10th … Pte A Peppiatt 11169.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Nottingham Evening Post, 'Roll of Honour', 22 April 1916: ‘Peppiatt. Previously reported missing, now reported killed in action, November 20th, 1914. Pte Arthur Peppiatt. From Sergt. Ewart Peppiatt, RAMC on active service.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Registers of Soldiers' Effects: Arthur's three sisters, Emma, Jessie and Winnie, were his legatees. However, his Army Service Record shows that the plaque and scroll were sent to his brother, Ewart, of Robinson Road, Mapperley.
Ewart Peppiatt, Arthur's brother, served in the RAMC (4989 Private, A/Sergeant) and latterly as Second Lieutenant, King's Royal Rifle Corps. He entered theatre on 15 August 1914 and qualified for the 1914 Star.
Ewart married Elsie Mabel Kemp in 1915. Nottingham Evening Post, 'Marriages', 17 November 1915: ‘Peppiatt-Kemp, on Wednesday 17th inst. By special license, at Harby, Corpl AE Peppiatt to Elsie Mabel Kemp, both of Nottingham.’ (www.britishnewsaperarchive.co.u). They had a son, John Anthony, in September 1919 (Nottingham Evening Post, 13 September 1919). Ewart survived the war and died in 1950; his wife predeceased him but he was survived by their son.
Research Peter Gillings, Rachel Farrand
Photo of Arthur Peppiatt
Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium