A kingdon – campaign medals & military service

Notes: This is Herbert John Kingdon born 15.12.1884 in Okehampton, Devon, the son of John Kingdon b.1859 in Stoke Canon & Kitty Yeo b.1854 in Inwardleigh, who married in 1879 in Okehampton; In 1891 Census Herbert John Kingdon lives with his parents in the Station Cottages, Okehampton, his Father is a Railway Signalman; In 1901 Census Herbert John Kingdon may have been in the Royal Navy but I could not find him in the Census, however, a check of his Official Naval Number would indicate that he enlisted between 01.01.1904 & 31.12.1904 so this needs more 1901 research; (His parents still lived in Station Cottages in Okehampton & he is not recorded there); In the 1911 Census he is living with his Widowed Mother in North Street, Okehampton, he is aged 26 & is a Leading Cook’s Mate in the Royal Navy; He does become a Chief Ship’s Cook later, serving on ‘HMS Glorious’; A Devon Newspaper article regarding the death of his Brother Jack Kingdon in France in 1916 records that Herbert Kingdon is a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy; This Chief Petty Officer (Cook) remained in the Royal Navy at least until the 1920’s; I believe that he Married Marjery Miriam Guard from Yarnscombe in 1923 in South Molton, Devon; In February 1957 Herbert Kingdon sailed on the SS Iberia from Australia, via the Cape to UK, arriving on 03.03.1957; He was aged 72 at that time & travelled with Miriam Kingdon, his wife, who was born 31.05.1891, they are both recorded as being Retired; The address given on their return to UK is c/o Mrs. Marks, #34, Pembroke Crescent, Hove, Sussex; I also understand that Herbert John Kingdon died in 1973 in Abingdon, Berkshire Aged 89; Awarded the 1914-15 Star, Victory & British War Medals; He was issued the Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct Medal on 26.07.1927; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Jack: London Regiment No: 3980 Rank: Private / SEE ALSO: Kingdom, J: London Regiment No: 3980 Rank: Private, who Died in France on 27.12.1915); (He was also the Brother of Kingdon, Ernest W: Royal Field Artillery No: L/5257 Rank: Acting Bombardier 1914-1920 WO 372/11);

Notes: (Much of this Officer’s Records in the London Gazette Notices appears to refer to him as Hubert William Kingdon); This is Herbert William Kingdon born on 20.01.1888 in Hackney, London, & he was the son of William Frederick Kingdon b.1844 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire & Catherine Ann Gibbons from Manchester, who married on 08.01.1884 in Barton Upon Irwell, Lancashire; In 1891 Census William H Kingdon lived with his parents at #118, mead Road, Stoke Newington, London, his Father was a Book Seller; I failed to find this person in the 1901 & the 1911 Census; I presume that this young man enlisted for WW1 service in 1915; 2^nd Lieutenant (temporary Lieutenant 12.08.1915) Hubert W Kingdon was promoted to Temporary Captain in the Hampshire Regiment on 14.11.1915 but this was later corrected to 12.08.1915; This Officer later served with the (Royal Flying Corps) Royal Air Force as a Captain, see AIR 76/277 records; Served in Gallipoli & the Dardanelles from 29.07.1915 whilst with the Army; He was promoted from 2^nd Lieutenant (temporary Captain) Hampshire Regiment, Territorial Force, & to Flying Officer with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) on 07.12.1916 where he had been Seconded to; His Secondment from the Hampshire Regiment to the Royal Flying Corps was dated 10.12.1916 when he was a 2^nd Lieutenant (temporary Captain); On 05.10.1917 his Secondment to the RFC was Gazetted & his promotion to Captain confirmed; On 20.01.1918 Captain H W Kingdon was promoted from a Flying Officer to a Flight Commander; Further research revealed that Captain Hubert (probably a mis-spelling in the Flight Magazine of 21.11.1918) William Kingdon, of the 8^th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment & the RAF, was Married to the Widow of Captain Lunt of the 5^th Royal Warwickshire Regiment on 12.11.1918 at Keston Parish Church in Kent – her name was Annie Isabelle Gretchen Lunt; Address for his medals claim was c/o T. Cook & Son, 15, The Bund, Shanghai, China on 29.11.1922 & he also claimed his dead brother’s medals from this address; (I presume that he worked for Thomas Cook & Sons since at least 1921?); Medals Card on file;

Notes: This Officer who also served in WW1, initially with the Hampshire Regiment & in 1916 with the newly formed Royal flying Corps & the Royal Air Force, appears to have also re-enlisted for service in WW2; In this event he took the rank of Major & served with the Royal Army Pay Corps; Unfortunately Hubert William Kingdon Died at the Age of 58 on 16.10.1946 whilst serving as a Major with the Royal Army Pay Corps following WW2; He is buried in Grave #74, block 2 of Kidderminster Cemetery in Worcestershire; The CWGC Records state that he was the son of William Frederick & Catherine Ann Kingdon; He was the husband of Ann Isabel Gretchen Kingdon of Kidderminster; At the time of his death his address was #33, Batham Avenue, Kidderminster & Probate was by the Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China, I believe that he had lived in Shanghai, China, working for T. Cook & Sons as a Banker, returning to UK with his wife Annie, via the USA &/or Canada on board the ‘SS Empress of Australia’ on 21.04.1924; There is also a Sailing & Transit Record for Hubert Kingdon & Ann Kingdon, (birth place of Manchester is incorrect) for Quebec, Canada dated 26.10.1929 on board the ‘SS Duchess of Atholl’ confirming that they were in transit to China; Hubert William Kingdon’s UK Passport was issued in London on 24.11.1926, #162491; His sister’s address in 1929 is given as his next of kin at Mrs. Winifred Croisdale, Soberton, Droxford, Hampshire Awarded the 1939-45 Star & War Medals; (He was the Brother of Second Lieutenant Leonard Kingdon, 12^th Squadron, Royal Flying Corps & the Worcestershire Regiment who died on 12^th January 1916 in WW1);

Notes: This Officer served in France from 30.09.1915; His Medals were applied for on 25.02.1923 & sent to him on 22.09.1923; Addresses given were #125, Sinclair Road, Kensington, London W.14 & Stoneycroft, Camberley, Surrey; His medals card indicates that he may have been ‘Mentioned for Bravery’ during his service as the card is endorsed “Emblems”; The London Gazette Supplement dated 10.05.1917 records Temporary Captain H.T. Kingdon, from a Service Battalion, to be a temporary Captain (Attached) to the East Lancashire Regiment on 23.02.1917, with seniority from 30.05.1915; He appears to have been promoted from Temporary Captain to Acting Major whilst serving as 2^nd in command of the 9th Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment on 25.10.1918; This rank was relinquished on 09.03.1919 when he ceased being the 2^nd in Command; Captain Herbert Theodore Kingdon of the East Lancashire Regiment completed his service on 12.03.1919; This is probably Herbert Theodore Kingdon born on 24.07.1895 in Dorchester, Dorset, the son of Herbert Napier Kingdon, Schoolmaster, b.1850 Bridgerule, Devon & Janet Isabel Bannatyne from Scotland who married on 01.01.1891 in Dorchester; In 1901 Census this family lived at The Briary, Canterbury Road, Garlinge, Kent, where Herbert’s Father ran a small boarding school for boys; In the 1911 Census Herbert Theodore Kingdon is aged 15 & a School Boarder at Clifton College, #28, College Road, Clifton Bristol in Gloucestershire, England; I believe that following the War & later in life he was involved as a Mining Engineer & Mine Manager for many years in Kalgoorlie, Australia; Herbert Theodore Kingdon Died 06.07.1975 in Exeter Aged 80; Shadow Card on file & Medals Card on file; (Brother of Commander William Napier Kingdon, Royal Navy); (Brother of John Bannatyne Kingdon, Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy); (Brother of Kingdon, Janet L (Female): Voluntary Aid Detachment 1914-1920 WO 372/23);

Notes: I believe that this is Hubert Kingdon born 01.10.1892 in Oystermouth, Glamorgan, Wales, the son of John Gaylord Kingdon, a Tailor & Draper, b.1842 in Swansea & (his 1^st wife Sarah Maria Jones b.1843 from Mumbles died in Glamorgan in 1877), John G Kingdon remarried in1878 to his 2^nd wife Ann Eliza Gillard from Tiverton, Hubert’s Mother; In 1901 Census Hubert lived with his parents in #3, Woodland Villas, Oystermouth, Glamorgan, Wales; In 1911 Census Hubert lives with his parents at the same address in Oystermouth & is a Baker; Hubert Kingdon emigrated to Canada, arriving in Quebec in 1912 aged 20, aiming to settle in Montreal; He sailed from England on the ‘SS Royal George’; Upon enlistment in Canada on the 02.07.1915 in Montreal, Hubert Kingdon was aged 22 years & 10 months & was a Baker; Hubert Kingdon served overseas with the 60^th Battalion CEF, returning to Canada from Witley, Surrey, England to Quebec, for discharge from the Army onboard the ‘SS Baltic’ in 1919; This soldier served with the 4^th Canadian Mounted Rifles as a Trooper from 06.07.1915 to 01.01.1916 & as a Private from 01.01.1916 to 27.08.1919;; (I believe that he is the Brother of Kingdon, Benjamin: Liverpool Regiment No: 56170 Acting Colour Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who served in England in WW1); (I believe that he is also the Brother of Octavius Gillard Kingdon who also emigrated to Canada but in 1913 & served in WW1 as #109436 in the Canadian Expeditionary Force); (He was also the Brother of Royal Navy Apprentice Hedley Vicars Kingdon); I have not researched this soldier further;

Notes: In 1696 there is a Record for a Seaman’s Will for Hugh Kingdon, in which he left all of his estate to his friend Francis Richards; The record has him serving aboard ‘HMS Boyne’ which was an 80 gun 3^rd rate ship of the line, Royal Navy, launched at Deptford Dockyard on 21.05.1692; I believe that she was broken up in 1763; I have no other information on this sailor or his family background;

Notes: Also served as #5670 5^th Battalion “The Queen’s” Royal West Surrey Regiment who I believe were a Territorial Force Battalion; This Soldier also served as #21454 in the Army Pay Corps; This is Hugh Emerson Kingdon who was born in Kensington in London on 19.09.1897 (baptised in Earls Court on 20.07.1897), the son of Frederick William Washington Kingdon, a Barrister b.1861 in Colyton, Devon & Gertrude Walker from Bayswater who married in St Marylebone on 02.07.1895; In 1901 Census Hugh Kingdon lives with his parents in Kensington Mansions in Kensington, London; (In 1911 Census Hugh Emerson Kingdon is a Student living with his parents at #30, Craven Hill Gardens, Paddington South, Paddington, London; Hugh E Kingdon was examined for enlistment on 06.04.1916 in Hammersmith aged 19 years & was a Law Student; He was however originally enlisted on 29.02.1916 with the 5^th Battalion ‘The Queen’s’ on Reserve & then transferred to the 11^th Scots Fusiliers on 19.04.1917; He was a Signaller & I believe served in France in 1918; He was eventually transferred to the Army Pay Corps on 26.07.1918 & promoted to Corporal on 26.07.1919 where he was employed as the Base Cashier in Amiens, France; His records show a Next of Kin as his Father Mr. F.W. Kingdon of #1, Masons Court, Bayswater, London; At discharge he gave his permanent address as #9, Moscow Court, Bayswater, London W2; Hugh Emerson Kingdon Married Laura May Masey from London in 1928 in Kensington; Researching the shipping passenger lists it would appear that Hugh Kingdon did a lot of travelling throughout his life as he was also a Barrister at Law; I believe that Hugh Emerson Kingdon died in 1976 in Kensington Aged 78; Medals Card on file;

Notes: Also served with Devonshire Regiment as # 345901; This is Hyla Frederick Kingdon born 28.07.1894 in Knowstone, son of Frank Kingdon b.1866 Knowstone & Sarah Washer from Exeter who married in 1893 in South Molton; In 1901 Census Hyla lived with his parents at the Holy Trinity Vicarage in Barnstaple where his Father was the Gardener; In1911 Census the family lived in Cemetery Lodge, Bear St Road in Barnstaple, Hyla was his Father’s Assistant as Caretaker of the Cemetery; Hyla Frederick Kingdon Married Ethel C. Richards in Barnstaple in 1920; Hyla Frederick Kingdon Died in 1980 Aged 86; Medals Card on file; (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Henry Francis: Able Seaman, #R/483, Royal Navy; ADM 339/1/21166);

Notes: This is Irwin Wendon Kingdon born in 1895 in New Zealand, 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 to New Zealand, arriving in Cambridge West in 1880 & 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 Irwin’s elder brothers, Samuel Wendon Kingdon, died by drowning in a river at a Wesleyan Picnic in 1883 at the age of 11 years); Irwin Wendon Kingdon lived with his parents in Shakespeare Street, Cambridge up until 1911; Irwin Wendon Kingdon, now working as a Labourer, Married Eva Hilda May Garmonaway in 1916 in Cambridge, New Zealand; Irwin Wendon Kingdon enlisted for WW1 Service with the Auckland Infantry Regiment & Embarked on 26.04.1917 from Wellington with the 25^th Reinforcements of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, sailing for Plymouth in England on board ‘HMNZT 83 Tofua’; There are no other military records for this soldier other than those held in the Wellington Records Office which I have not researched; His Father died around 1919 & from then on Irwin Wendon & Eva Hilda May Kingdon lived in Shakespeare Street with his widowed mother Elizabeth Jane Kingdon; Irwin Kingdon was a Labourer; They continued to live in Shakespeare Street, Cambridge West up until 1949; I believe that Irwin Wendon Kingdon died in 1953 Aged 58; (He was the Brother of Percy James Kingdon, 2^nd Division New Zealand Reservist, WW1): (He was the Brother of Dick Kingdon, 2^nd Division New Zealand Reservist, WW1): (He was the Brother of Archibald Henry Kingdon, 2^nd Division New Zealand Reservist, WW1): This family could be researched further;

Notes: In 1775 there is a Record for a Seaman’s Will for Isaac Kingdon, son of Samuel Kingdon, of St Leonard’s, Shoreditch; The record has Isaac Kingdon serving aboard ‘HMS Northumberland’ – I presume that this refers to the ‘HMS Northumberland’ which was launched in 1750, Commissioned in 1753, Renamed ‘HMS Leviathan’ in 1777 & used as a Storeship until finally foundering on 27.02.1780 whilst sailing from Jamaica to Britain; I have no other information on this sailor or his family;

Notes: I believe that this is Ivor Henry Kingdon born in 1892 in Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, the son of Thomas Kingdon, originally a Baker, b.1844 in Bampton, Devon & Frances (Fanny) Akhurst from Faversham in Kent who died; Ivor’s Father remarried his 2^nd wife Mary Ann ?? from Crumlin, Monmouthshire, Wales & lived at #6, Radlaver Street, Canton, Cardiff in 1901 Census, his Father is a Dock Labourer now; In 1911 Ivor Kingdon lives with his parents at the same address as previously, he is a Warehouseman & his Father is an Oil Dealer; I believe that Ivor H Kingdon Died in 1956 in Cardiff Aged 64; Medals Card on file; I did not follow this Soldier any further;

Notes: Medals Card has him as John Kingdon, #49756 RFA as a Bombardier & who served in France from 19.01.1915; He was promoted to Sergeant & I believe was awarded the Military Medal; This is (John) Jack Kingdon born in 1891 in Barnstaple, Devon, he was the Son of John E. Kingdon (b.1855), of Barnstaple, England, a Fisherman, Shipbuilder & Bargeman & Elizabeth ??, also from Barnstaple; (She may have been previously married as there is a Stepdaughter recorded living with the family in the 1891 Census called Elizabeth Jane Limebear, b.1875 Barnstaple, who marries Richard Johns in 1899 in Barnstaple & emigrates to Manitoba, Canada in 1906); In 1901 Jack Kingdon was aged 10 & living with his Parents at #10, Signal Terrace, Barnstaple, Devon, his Father is a Shipwright & Bargeman; Further research indicates that John Kingdom aged 21 (born 1890 in Barnstaple) was serving as a Private in the 75^th Battery, Royal Field Artillery in India in 1911 Census, & I believe this to be the same person; Unfortunately I have yet to find any record of this soldier’s enlistment date to confirm this; Medals Card on file; I believe that he may have been awarded the Military Medal as well; (He was the Younger Brother of #174744 Sergeant George Kingdon of the Royal Garrison Artillery); (He was also the Brother of Kingdon, Bruce: #622376, Private, Canadian Infantry (New Brunswick Regiment) who died in WW1); (He was also the Brother of Sydney John Kingdon, WW1 Merchant Seaman);

Notes: This is Jack Kingdon born 02.10.1883 in the West Indies, in St. Vincent, the son of Alfred Kingdon, a Barrister at Law, b.1853 in Kensington, London & Bessie Bruce Aitken from Glasgow, Scotland who married in 1879 in Leeds; (They are from the Thorverton Branch of the Kingdon family); (His Father Alfred Kingdon was a Barrister: Inner Temple 1878: Acting Attorney General in St Vincent in 1883; Solicitor General in British Guiana & Q.C. in that colony in 1890; Senior Puisne Judge, British Guiana 1898/1900); In 1901 Census Jack Kingdon is a Boarding Scholar at the Agricultural School, at Winchester College, in Kingsgate Street, Winchester, Southampton; I believe that he later went to Oxford University in mid 1901, I believe that his parents lived in Sussex having returned from overseas; Jack Kingdon was first commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 4^th Battalion, Devon Regiment & then on 29.11.1905 as a British Officer of the Indian Army; (Jack Kingdon was still a Lieutenant in 1912); He served as a Lieutenant from 29.02.1908 & as a Captain in the Indian Army in the 92^nd Punjabis Regiment; (His parents lived in Chagford, Devon in the 1911 Census); His promotion to Captain was 29.11.1914 whilst serving with the 86^th Carnatic Infantry, Indian Army; There is a Ship’s Passenger Record for a Captain J. Kingdon sailing from England to Bombay on 02.10.1915 on board the ‘Malwa’; At some stage later in his Army career he was Brigade Major G.S.O, 2^nd Grade from 20.09.1918, which was later relinquished on 31.08.1919 whilst serving with the 86^th Carnatic Infantry, Indian Army; This Officer was also awarded for distinguished service in connection with Military Operations in the Balkans & with the British Army of the Black Sea & promoted to Brevet Major on 03.06.1919; The London Gazette dated 17.05.1921 records the promotion of (Battalion Major) J. Kingdon, Indian Army to Major on 29.11.1920; The London Gazette dated 20.02.1925 records that The King had approved the resignation of this Officer’s commission on 01.01.1925; I don’t believe that he married & understand that Major Jack Kingdon died in Kenya of a heart attack on 15.10.1952; Medals Card for Captain Jack Kingdon on file; No Medals Card on file for Captain J. Kingdon; He also received the Somaliland Medal & Clasp which was awarded by the Somaliland Camel Corps HQ on 09.12.1916 & sent to India for issue;

Transferred from the Kingdom list: Kingdom, J: London Regiment No: 3980 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;

Notes: This is Jack Kingdon born 1896 in Okehampton, son of John Kingdon b.1859 Stoke Cannon & Kitty Yeo, who married in 1879 in Okehampton; In 1901 Jack lived with his parents in Okehampton, his Father was a Railway Signalman; In 1911 Census Jack lives with his Widowed Mother at #53, North Street, Okehampton, Devon (a boarding house) & is a Post Office Messenger Boy; In 1914 Jack Kingdom was appointed as a Rural Postman in Ilfracombe; I believe that his Regimental #3980 indicates that he enlisted between 09.03.1915 & 01.04.1915; From his medals card it appears that Jack Kingdon served in France from 28.10.1915; According to a Devon Newspaper report in 1916 Jack Kingdon was shot in the heart by a German sniper; Note that in 1923 Ernest William Kingdon b.1883 Okehampton applied for his medals, he is Jack’s next of kin on his WW1 Medals receipt, living #33, Nelson Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 in 1923, he had also served in WW1; 2x Medals Cards on File; (His Brother Herbert John Kingdon, born 15.12.1884 in Okehampton, served as #347413, a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy); (He was also the Brother of Kingdon, Ernest W: Royal Field Artillery No: L/5257 Rank: Acting Bombardier 1914-1920 WO 372/11);
Kingdon, James: Gunner, 9^th Field Battery, 4^th Brigade, Royal Artillery, (1861 Census record);

Notes: In the 1861 Census there is a record for a Gunner James Kingdon born 1839 in Barnstaple, serving in Christchurch Barracks, Hampshire with the 9^th Field Battery, Royal Artillery; Unfortunately there is insufficient information to enable positive identification of this soldier, there is however, a James Kingdom born in Barnstaple in 1839; Needs more research;