A kingdon – campaign medals & military service

Notes: There is an 1881 Census Record for a Private Alfred Kingdon, born 1861, from Barnstaple, serving in the Royal Marine Light Infantry onboard the surveying Vessel ‘HMS Magpie’ in Kowloon Dock, Hong Kong; I had originally not found any other Royal Marine information or records, prior to 1881 for this man? However, following further research, I believe this to be Alfred Kingdon born 1860 in Bratton Fleming, Devon; He was the son of John Kingdon, an Agricultural Labourer b.1816 in Bratton Fleming & Grace Bale, b.1818 in Parracombe, who Married in 1837 in Barnstaple; In the 1861 Census Alfred Kingdon lives with his parents in Bratton Fleming village in Devon; In 1871 Alfred Kingdon lives with his parents at Churn Hill, Bratton Fleming, Devon; In the 1881 Census Alfred Kingdon is serving with the RMLI in Hong Kong; I believe that Alfred Kingdon Married a Sarah Ann Rawlings, born 16.10.1861 in Stogumber, Somerset, sometime in 1886 but I have not yet found the records? There appears to be a daughter, Florence Kingdon, born in Ayr in Scotland in 1887 so it would seem that Alfred Kingdon served in that area around that time? In the 1891 Census there is a Sarah A Kingdon b.1862 in Stogumber, Somerset & her children living at #10, Admiralty Street, in East Stonehouse, she is Married so I assume that her husband (Alfred) is away with the Royal Marines; In 1901 Census Alfred & Sarah Ann Kingdon living at #23, Hotham Place, Stoke Damerel, he is a Storekeeper for the local District Council; In the 1911 Census Alfred Kingdon & his Wife Sarah Ann live at #23, Hotham Place, Stoke Damerel, Devonport & he is recorded as a Naval Pensioner & an Insurance Agent; Sarah Ann Kingdon Died on 01.05.1918 in Devonport & Probate was dated 12.06.1918 leaving all to her Husband Alfred Kingdon a Naval Pensioner; I believe that Alfred Kingdon may well have Died in Devonport in 1920 Aged 60;

Notes: Also had compulsory service with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment from 1917 as #33877; There is also a Service Record, Attestation page for an Alfred George Kingdon but this is actually for Alfred Gerald Kingdon; This is Alfred Gerald Kingdon born in 1887 in St Mary Church, Torquay, Devon, the son of Alfred A. W. Kingdon b.1861 Bradninch & Emily Aldridge of St Mary Church Road, Torquay; In 1891 Alfred G Kingdon lives with his parents in St Mary Church, his Father is a Domestic Gardener; In 1901 Alfred G Kingdon lives with his parents in St Mary Church & he is a 14 year old Cycle Trader in his Father’s Cycle Repair Shop; In 1911 Census he lives with his Mother Emily, a Nurse Attendant, at #32, Ellacombe Road, Torquay, he is aged 24 & is a Chauffeur & Mechanic; Alfred Gerald Kingdon was a Motor Driver & Mechanic when he enlisted at the age of 28 on 17.04.1915 in Torquay, Devon; He gave his address as #7, Ellacombe Road, Torquay & his Mother as his next of kin; He was sent to France on 27.09.1915; On 24.09.1917 he was posted to the 16^th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment; Most of his 4 years service was spent in France & Alfred Gerald Kingdon was discharged on 03.04.1919; The M2 prefix to his Regimental number indicates that he was an electrician in the Army Service Corps; Alfred Gerald Kingdon died in 4^th Q 1964 in Torquay aged 77; Medals Card on file; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Percy (Percival Henry): Royal Field Artillery No: 28726 Rank: Bombardier);

Notes: There are enlistment papers for Alfred Henry Kingdon dated 26.02.1916 in Russell, Manitoba, Canada for the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force for service in WW1 but there is no indication of his Unit or Regimental Number; I believe that this is Alfred Henry Kingdon born 06.07.1896 in Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada, the son of Henry (Harry) John Kingdon, a Shoemaker, b.01.04.1867 in Wales who emigrated to Canada in 1888 & Minnie ?? b. 02.09.1868 in England who emigrated to Canada in 1890, who were probably Married in Canada in ca.1891/92? In the 1901 Census for Minnedosa Alfred Henry Kingdon is aged 4 & living with his parents; In the 1906 Census he is aged 9 & living with his parents in Marquette, Manitoba (the family are recorded as Kingdom); At the age of 15 years Alfred Kingdon is living with his parents in Minnedosa, Manitoba in the 1911 Census; Alfred Henry Kingdon enlisted for service in WW1 on 26.02.1916 in Russell, Manitoba at the age of 19; He gave his birth date as 06.07.1896 in Minnedosa & his NOK as his Father, Harry John Kingdon living in Russell; He gives his trade as a Drayman; At the age of 20, Alfred Kingdon is recorded as a serving soldier at Camp Hughes but living with his parents in Russell, Manitoba in the 1916 Census; (He is the Brother of #3345970 Private Ernest Arthur Kingdon who served with the Canadian Army in WW1); (He is also the Brother of Albert Kingdon who served with the Canadian Forces); (He is also the Brother of #922649 Sapper William Henry Kingdon of the Canadian Engineers Regiment in WW1); I did not research further;

Notes: Served as #1788 with 5^th London Brigade Royal Field Artillery & was promoted to Corporal Shoeing Smith A. J. Kingdon with the Royal Field Artillery #970024; This is Alfred John Kingdon born 16.01.1894 in Lambeth, baptised 25.02.1894 in Lambeth St Mary Church, son of George Kingdon, (a Painter & later a Greengrocer & Fruiterer) b.1872 in Lambeth & Mary Ann Long b.1872 from Lambeth who married in Lambeth on 15.11.1891; London School Records exist for Alfred Kingdon, aged 3, born 18.01.1894 in Lambeth, Father’s name George, attending Vauxhall Street School from 23.08.1897 to 26.08.1901; At that time the records say that this family lived at #53 Vauxhall Street; In the 1901 Census the family lived in #77, Vauxhall Street, Lambeth, but Alfred is recorded as Arthur?; In 1911 Census this family lives at #10, Dollar Street, Vauxhall, Kennington, Lambeth, London & Alfred is a Law Clerk; Alfred John Kingdon’s papers indicate that he originally enlisted for 4 years service in the United Kingdom in the Territorial Force; He was Embodied on 02.10.1914 in Kennington at the age of 20 years & 9 months; In WW1 he first served in France on 21.03.1915 until 15.03.1918, when went on 2 weeks leave to England & returned to France until 09.01.1919; On 03.09.1915 he was appointed Shoeing Smith with the 47^th (London) Divisional Ammunition Column & then promoted to Corporal Shoeing Smith on 13.10.1915; He may have been wounded in the left hand in January 1918? Alfred J. Kingdon was Disembodied on Demobilisation on 05.02.1919 & his address was then #7, Offley Road, Brixton, London; Alfred John Kingdon Married Alice Mary Ann Duke (b.12.02.1893 in Wandsworth) on 14.12.1915 in St Mark Church, Kennington; I believe that Alfred John Kingdon died in 1973 in Rochford, Essex Aged 79; Medals Card on file; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Robert Leonard: Royal Field Artillery No: 1887 Rank: Driver 1914-1920 WO 372/11); I have not researched this person further;

Notes: Also served as #63325 in Leicestershire Regiment; This is Alfred John Walter Kingdon born 1897 in Kittisford, Somerset, son of John Kingdon b.1870 Bishops Nympton & Mary Anna Didham who married in Somerset in 1892; Alfred John Walter Kingdon lived in Huntsham, Devon with his parents in 1901 & in Gadbridge, Thurlbeere, Taunton, Somerset in 1911; Alfred John Walter Kingdon Enlisted on 05.02.1919 & was Discharged because of Sickness on 13.09.1919 under King’s Regulations Para. 392 (xvi); Alfred John Walter Kingdon married Florrie Reed in Somerset in 1925; He was awarded the Silver War Badge #493128; Medals Card on file: (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Victor P: Royal Army Medical Corps No: 114598 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who also served in WW1);

Notes: This is Alfred James Kingdon born 26.09.1881 in Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales, the son of Richard Kingdon b.1854 in Bratton Fleming, Devon & Mary Rees from Swansea who married in 1876; (Alfred James Kingdon is the Grandson of John Kingdon b.1817 Bratton Fleming & Grace Bale b.1815 in Parracombe); In 1891 Census Alfred James Kingdon lives with his family in Swansea, his Father is a Police Constable; In 1901 Alfred James Kingdon is already a Blacksmith & living with his parents in Melrose Cottage, Catherine Street, Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales; His records show a wife, Mary Ann Kingdon (nee Clavering, born 24.11.1881 in Southwark), & they were married on 22.06.1907 in Greenwich, & living at #124, Maple Road, Penge, London; In 1911 Census Alfred James & Mary Ann Kingdon lived at #13, Western Street, Swansea & working as a Shoeing Smith; They have 4 children, Richard Alfred Austin Kingdon born 14.11.1908 in Elham; William John Kingdon born 10.10.1910 in Swansea & Sydney Henry born 03.01.1913 in Penge; & George D. Kingdon born 1918 in Lambeth; Alfred James Kingdon was aged 33 years when he enlisted on 12.08.1914, he was already married & a Farrier to trade, he also noted that he had previously served in the ASC & had been discharged, but I have not found any records of this service, however, he may well have been serving in Woolwich Barracks in 1907 at the time of his marriage?; He re-joined the Army Service Corps in Woolwich on 14.08.1914; His Army Service was all spent in the Home Station from 12.08.1914 to 05.07.1916, a period of 1 year & 429 days; He was discharged as being no longer physically fit for service on 15.07.1916, being sick, under King’s Regulations, Para 392 (xvi); He was awarded a small Chelsea Hospital life pension in 1916; The TS prefix to his number indicates Army Service Corps, Transport Specials (trade); I believe that Alfred James Kingdon died in the 1^st Q 1923 in Lambeth Aged 41; Also awarded the Silver War Badge #107225; Medals Card on file; (I believe that he was the Brother of #4480 Richard John Kingdon who served 18 years with the 1^st Battalion, the Welsh Regiment & re-enlisted in 1914 for WW1); (Another Brother – William Henry Kingdon b.1878 in Swansea served with a Militia Unit at some time & may have been in receipt of a Chelsea Pension);

Notes: Whilst researching the sale of this Officer’s WW1 Medals on an internet site, I found an Alfred William Kingdon born in 1889 in Maidstone, Kent who’s profile matches; He was the son of James Durant Kingdon, the Vicar of Loose in Kent, b.26.12.1830 in London, Middlesex & Eleanor Katharine Stead from Ovingdean, Sussex who Married in 1867 in Lewes, Sussex; (Alfred’s Grandfather was William Kingdon a London Surgeon); In the 1891 Census Alfred W Kingdon lives with his parents at the Loose Vicarage in Kent; In 1901 Census Alfred W Kingdon is living with his Widowed Mother at West Bank House, Sutton Valence, Kent; In 1911 Census Alfred William Kingdon was an Assistant School Master at Elstree Lodge, St. Hilary’s School, Hastings Road, Bexhill, Sussex; Alfred William Kingdon served with the Royal Garrison Artillery in Palestine from 31.07.1917; The London Gazette has notice on 25.10.1918 that 2^nd Lieutenant A. W. Kingdon had been promoted to Lieutenant on 05.09.1918; I believe that he received his Medals from the Army on 02.03.1922 & lived in Sandrock Hall, near Hastings in Sussex at the time; I understand that following WW1 Service, Alfred William Kingdon returned to being a School Master; Alfred W Kingdon Died in 1961 in Finsbury, London Aged 72; Medals Card on file; His medals were for sale on E Bay in 2010;

Notes: This young man appears to have served in WW2 in the Australian Military Force but under 2 different names, a crime for which he was eventually Court martialed & Imprisoned for in 1945; There are records on the Australian files for Allan Henry/Harry Kingdon & Arthur Harold Kingdon; Further research would indicate that this is in fact Allen (Harry) Henry Kingdon, born 25.04.1925 in Brisbane, Queensland Australia; He was the son of John Kingdon, a WW1 & WW2 soldier born 24.05.1887 in Tongham, Surrey, England (his military records are expanded in this Kingdon List), & Marjorie May Ringwood who Married in St Giles in the Fields, London england on 15.04.1916 & emigrated to Australia in October 1921, living in Brisbane; Allen Harry Kingdon used his Brother’s name & some false details to enlist, hence the use of Arthur Harold Kingdon in his records; I have recorded the following from the Australian Military Records for WW2; There is a Medical Exam Record for this soldier dated 12.08.1942 in Annerley & a Mobilisation Attestation Form for Allan Harry Kingdon born 24.04.1924 in Brisbane, in which he gave his Brother Arthur Harold Kingdon as his Next of Kin; In this record he served in Queensland, had some discipline problems & was sick with acute appendicitis in October 1943; Allan Harry Kingdon was taken on strength with the 55^th/53^rd Australian Infantry Battalion in Queensland on 07.01.1944 & his number was changed to #Q151628 (later altered to #QX59786); At that time he declared himself as a natural born Australian from Cannon hill, Queensland, born 24.04.1924; He gave his Father John Kingdon as his next of kin, living at Beverley Hill, Annerley, Queensland; In July 1944 he served on Thursday Island; On 22.09.1944 he was posted Absent Without Leave & an Arrest warrant was issued; On 28.10.1945 he was apprehended, detained & charged with Fraudulent Enlistment having confessed that whilst serving as #QX31010 Arthur Harold Kingdon, he absented himself without leave on 03.06.1942 & whilst absent had fraudulently enlisted on 12.08.1942 as Allan Harry Kingdon, #Q151628, subsequently #QX59786 on 17.01.1944; For the records the Army Authority decided to close his records for #QX31010, Private Arthur Harold Kingdon; He was finally convicted at a Court Martial on 07.12.1945 in Brisbane, founf Guilty & sentenced to 15 months Detention; His Discharge was authorised on 17.12.1945 &his Discharge Papers #352246, indicated his Service had commenced on 24.08.1942 & that he served from 24.08.1942 to 17.12.1945, however this was later altered following Court Martial proceedings in 1945 with forfeiture of pay; He was eventually released & discharged on 16.05.1946 I understand that Allan Henry (Harry) Kingdon died in Queensland on 28.05.1979; More Australian research might help;

Notes: This is Ambrose John Kingdon born in 1^st Q 1881 (11.02.1881) in Barnstaple, Devon, the son of James Kingdon b.1849 West Buckland & Mary Whitefield from Swimbridge who married in South Molton in 1874; In 1881 & 1891 Census Ambrose Kingdon lives with his parents in Barnstaple; In 1901 he is a Painter & Decorator living with his parents in Devonport; Ambrose John Kingdon Married Winifred Veale (b.1884 Kingsbridge, Devon) on 26.03.1911 in Plymouth, Devon; They have 1 daughter Gwendoline (b.17.04.1912 in Plymouth but who dies aged 23 in Plymouth in 1935) & 1 son Christopher Ambrose C Kingdon (b.08.01.1915 in Plymouth, who dies aged 85 in Plymouth in 2000); In the 1911 Census for Plymouth Ambrose is recorded as Bruce & Winifred Kingdon, a House Painter, living at #17, Prince Maurice Road, Mutley, Plymouth; Ambrose Kingdon enlisted in Plymouth on 11.05.1916 aged 35; Served at Home from 16.06.1916 to 23.11.1917; Served in France from 24.04.1917 to 16.05.1917 & returned to UK 17.05.1917; Sapper Ambrose Kingdon was discharged under King’s Regulations Para 302 (xvi) on 08.02.1918 at Chatham with the Silver War Badge aged 36 years & 8 months & noted as having Tuberculosis & being no longer physically fit for War Service, he was serving at the RE Training Camp in Newark & also in Chatham & Tavistock Square, London; The Military Medical Board attributed the TB to Ambrose having suffered with Pleurisy in 1916 from exposure during training; Ambrose Kingdon Died on 01.10.1918 of Tuberculosis of the Lungs & Intestines, Aged 37; His address was recorded as #64, Belgrade Road, Plymouth; He was obviously a Chelsea Pensioner #231179H with 100% incapacity for a short time prior to his death; He was Awarded the Silver War Badge #325973 in WW1; Medals Card on file;

Notes: Served with the Royal Army Service Corps the T4/ prefix to his Regimental number indicates service with Horse Transport Units; This is Andrew Henry Kingdon born in 1879 in Backwell, Somerset, the son of John Kingdon, a Railway Station Master, b.1846 in Selworthy, Somerset & Caroline Sherwood from Farnborough, Hampshire, who married in 1878 in Taunton, Somerset; In 1881 & the 1891 Censuses the family lived in the Railway Cottages, Backwell, Somerset; In 1901 Andrew Henry Kingdon lives with his parents in Moorside, Backwell, Somerset, he is aged 21 & a Tobacco Factory Hand Worker; In 1911 Census he is unmarried & still lives with his parents at Broad Moor, Backwell, Somerset; Andrew Henry Kingdon was a Special Reservist who enlisted on 11.12.1915 aged 36 years & joined the Army Service Corps MT Siege Battery #75; This Soldier served at Home from 04.11.1916 to 03.12.1916 & was then sent to France on 04.12.1916, returning Home on 11.01.1918 for treatment in the Royal Herbert Hospital in Woolwich for a fractured radius; By 04.01.1918 he was found to be suffering with Acute Arthritis brought on by a fracture of the radius at his waist whilst on Active Service giving him a 20% disability; Subsequently he was Discharged on 04.04.1919; A Medical Board on 19.02.1920 awarded him a Pension; Medals Card on file; (He is the Brother of Gunner Fred Sherwood Kingdon: Royal Garrison Artillery No: 162987 who also served in WW1).

Notes: I believe that this is “Archie” Archibald Kingdon born in 1893 in Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, the son of George Henry Kingdon, a French Polisher, b.1867 in Cardiff & Sarah Ann Connett from Cardiff who married in Cardiff in late 1889; In 1901 Archibald Kingdon lives with his parents in #52, Keppoch Street, Roath, Cardiff; In 1911 Archibald Kingdon is aged 18 & is a Plumber, living with his parents at #52, Keppoch Street, Roath, Cardiff, his Father is still a French Polisher working for a Pianoforte Dealer; I understand that this family had a lifelong connection with the Roath Road Church; At some stage in his service he was in Gosport as a 2^nd Corporal with the Electric Light Company, Royal Engineers; (He was probably the Brother of #117646 Private Wilfred G Kingdon of the Machine Gun Corps, who served in WW1); I did not research this soldier any further due to possible confusion with another Archibald Kingdon born in Cardiff in 1892;

Notes: This is Archibald Henry Kingdon born in 1879 in Cornwall, England, the son of James Kingdon, b.1844 in Advent, Cornwall, England & Elizabeth Jane Wendon, b.1848 in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, who had married in Cornwall, England in 1868 & sailed with young Archibald H Kingdon & the rest of their family on 09.09.1879 from England to New Zealand on board the ‘Famenoth’, arriving in Cambridge West in 1880, where he established a Blacksmith’s business on the corner of Shakespeare & Cook Streets; (His Grandparents, Jonathan Kingdon & Mary Orchard Hill had arrived in New Zealand from Cornwall, England in 1872 on the ‘Celestial Queen’); (I understand that one of Archibald’s brothers, Samuel Wendon Kingdon, died by drowning in a river at a Wesleyan Picnic in 1883 at the age of 12 years); Archibald Henry Kingdon Married Nora Agnes Ryan in 1903 & he is working as a Sawmill Hand living in Mangapehi in 1905 & 1906; In 1911 Archibald Henry Kingdon is living with his wife & working as a Tablet Porter in Manurewa; & in 1911 they are recorded living in Victoria Road, Cambridge; In 1914 Archibald Henry & Nora Agnes Kingdon are living in Connell Street, Waihi, he is now a Railway Guard; In August, September, October of 1917 Archibald Henry Kingdon registered for WW1 Service with the 2^nd Division, New Zealand Expeditionary Force & was classified in ‘Class C’, having 2 children; There are no other military records for this soldier but I do not believe that he actually served in WW1; In 1919 they live at #4, Marewa Road, Greenlane, Parnell, Archibald Henry Kingdon is working for New Zealand Railways; His Father died around 1919; In 1928 & 1935 Archie Kingdon is a Signalman for the railways & they live in Haydn Avenue, Epsom, Manukau; I believe that Archibald Henry Kingdon died in 1969 Aged 90; I understand that his wife, Nora Agnes Kingdon Died in 1959 Aged 77 & is buried in Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand; (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Irwin Wendon: Private, #48650, ‘A’ Company, Auckland Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, WW1): (He was the Brother of Dick Kingdon, 2^nd Division New Zealand Reservist, WW1): (He was the Brother of Percy James Kingdon, 2^nd Division New Zealand Reservist, WW1): This family could be researched further;

Notes: This Scheme started in 1909 but Membership of the VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachments) grew quickly on the outbreak of WW1 in 1914. The British Red Cross and the Order of St John of Jerusalem, a body which was also empowered to raise detachments under the War Office Voluntary Aid Scheme, combined to form the Joint War Committee (JWC) to administer their wartime relief work with the greatest possible efficiency and economy, under the protection of the red cross emblem and name; Arthur Kingdon was Awarded the Victory Medal & the British Medal for his services during WW1; Medals Card on file; There is insufficient information to identify this person further;

Notes: This soldier, Arthur Kingdon also served as #06739 Hampshire Regiment & probably also with the Royal Irish Fusiliers as #25324; Served in the Asiatic Theatre from 11.12.1915, indicating service in East Africa, Nyasaland & Northern Rhodesia; Initially there was insufficient information to identify this person, however, following further research of the Spring 1919 Absent voters list for Devon there is a ‘Reference 213’ for Arthur Kingdon of Middlewick in the Parish of Bishops Nympton, South Molton; He was recorded as serving as #G/25324 with the 1^st (G.B.) Royal Irish Fusiliers; The prefix ‘G’ to his regimental number would also indicate service with the 1^st Garrison Battalion, & his number indicates enlistment with the Royal Irish Fusiliers after January 1914; This is also probably Arthur Kingdon born 14.10.1889 in East Anstey, the son of Thomas Kingdon b.1853 Bishops Nympton & Elizabeth Baker of Twitchen who Married on 11.06.1878 in Bishops Nympton, Devon; In the 1891 Census young Arthur, aged 2, was with his parents living Kingscombe Cottage, West Anstey, Devon; In the 1901 Census Arthur Kingdon aged 12 lived with his parents in Higher Week, Bishops Nympton; In the 1911 Census Arthur Kingdon is aged 22, a Farm Labourer & Rabbit Trapper, living with his parents in Middle Week, Bishops Nympton, Devon; I believe that Arthur Kingdon Married Beatrice Sanders from Dolton, Devon in 1922 in South Molton, Devon, (however, she may well have been named Hilda Eliza B. Sanders on her birth records)?; I also understand that Arthur Kingdon died in Exeter in 1986 Aged 97; Medals Card on file; (Brother of Kingdon, William Thomas; Lance Corporal #3785, Devonshire Regiment);