Henry Hudd & Charlotte Godwin
Henry Robert Hudd
Born: 1881, Hilperton, Wiltshire
Baptised: unknown
Married: 1901
Died: 20th November 1961, Frome
Cremation: Haycombe, Bath
Charlotte Godwin
Born: 1882, Westwood, Wiltshire
Baptised: unknown
Married: 1901, St Mary's Church Westwood
Died: 1968, Frome
Cremation: Haycombe, Bath
Children
Herbert James (1904) Kathleen (1915)
Philip Godwin (1905) Norah (1917)
Frank Nelson (1907) Robert William (1926)
Edith Violet (1909)
Annie (1913)
Henry also known as Harry on some records was born in 1881 in Hilperton and was the fourth out of eight children. He worked as a seedsman and florist with his father James and other family members for the family business and later in his life went on to work as an agricultural labourer when he left the family home. In 1901 he is recorded as an assistant to his father.
Henry married Charlotte Godwin in 1901. Henry and Charlotte had eight children between 1904 and 1926. Herbert was born in 1904 and Philip was born in 1905 in Avoncliff, Nelson born in 1907 in Rode, Somerset, Edith born in 1909 in Upper Westwood. Annie (or Ethel) was born in 1913, Kathleen in 1915, Norah on the 9th of December 1917 and Robert in 1926. It seems looking at the births of the children, the family had moved away from Trowbridge to live closer to Charlottes family. By the time of the 1911 census the family were living at Rainbow Farm Cottages, Claverton Down, Somerset near Bath city where Henry is working as a Cattle Dealer and Gardener on his own account, which means he was neither employed or an employer but had his own business. At this time in 1911, Charlotte was pregnant with her fifth chid. The child was born in Bath Somerset and was named as Charles William, but he sadly died the same year. Henry and Charlotte spent the rest of their lives living in Woolverton in Somerset in a house called Ivy Cottage.
In 1899 the Government announced that it had decided to raise a mounted infantry force dubbed "The Imperial Yeomanry". In Wiltshire, Colonel W.H. Long applied for the use of the empty Artillery Barracks in Trowbridge, which were soon overflowing, many men being billeted in the town and in the Military Hospital. The day the soldiers got their telegrams calling them to duty, so many men volunteered for service that two Squadrons were formed. These served as the 1st and 2nd Companies of the 1st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry and were in the field for over a year and were under fire almost daily. Despite this it did not lose an officer or man killed in action, and only 3 died from disease. Henry enlisted into the army in Trowbridge at the barracks on Frome Road late in 1899 and was number 11 private. Henry was enlisted into the Boer War. He was enlisted as a private in the Wiltshire Imperial Yeomanry in the 1st Battalion, 1st company on the 28th of February 1900. He was 20 years old at this time. Henry boarded a hired boat called the Cymric, owned by White Star at Liverpool. The boat was bound for Capetown, South Africa and arrived there on the 20th of March 1900. Henry was to serve with the regiment‘s staff and may have had numerous roles whilst serving in South Africa, such as a clerk, a servant a steward or a batman. Henry was neither wounded or taken prisoner during his time in South Africa, but he did contract dysentery whilst travelling to South Africa and was soon hospitalised. Dysentery is spread through poor
Henry Hudd and his military career
The S.S Cymric Henry boarded to South Africa
The Boer War
hygiene and contaminated food. This may suggest that the hygiene levels on the ship he was on was very poor amongst its passengers and its food and water supply. A doctors note in his army records which have him admitted on the 17th of March whilst he was still travelling to South Africa suggest that he was “still unfit for active service”. He was soon sent back to England on the S.S Canada, where he was admitted to a military hospital in Netley in Hampshire on the 5th of June 1900. He was there for ten days being discharged on the 15th of June 1900. He was recorded as serving for the war effort in South Africa for 143 days, he left his service with the yeomanry on the 22nd of July 1900. He received the Queen’s South Africa medal for his service although unluckily he was too ill serve as he probably wished to.
A letter from Henry's medical records explaining his condition at the time of his service in the Boer War
The medical certificate which accompanied Henry on his transfer back to England on the S.S Canada
In 1914 World War 1 began. Henry was enlisted in the General Service Corps at Bath, Somerset where he signed up for 3 years short service on the 31st of August. He was stationed then into many other troops during his service He was sent to Bristol to be stationed into his troop on the 2nd of September 1914. On the 4th of September he was posted to join the 9th Reserves Cavalry at Shorncliffe in Kent which was only formed in the August of that year. The troops were trained to then be stationed into 4 different regiments one of them being the 3rd Hussars which Henry was enlisted into, on the 26th of January 1915.
WORLD WAR 1 and the Easter Rising
While serving in France he contracted a bad case of diahorrea and is treated at St Omer on the 10th of May 1915 and the day after on the 11th of May 1915 he is sent home to be treated at Oakfield, Browbrough, Cheshire. Also on the 11th of May 1915 he was re-enlisted back into the Bristol depot to be posted into the Southern Reserve Cavalry after his recovery in hospital. The sanitary conditions in the trenches were awful. When ever it would rain the trenches would flood, and with no drainage or dry spells for long periods of time the conditions would get worse. Soldiers that were injured or had died would then be eaten by rats which in turn would spread lice and diseases that were highly contagious between the troops. It is most likely that Henry caught one or more of these diseases. Henry must of felt terrible that he was sent home under the same circumstances as his career in the Boer war but his military career was not over yet.
After his recovery he was placed back into the 9th Reserves Cavalry on the 7th of January 1916. Its at this point Henry was back in action for the military as what is called the Easter Rising or Easter Rebellion in Ireland. Staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing an Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in World War I. There is not a precise date that Henry arrived in Ireland in his army records but there is another occasion where he is admitted to hospital in Newbridge, Camp Curragh, County Kildare, which is located outside of Dublin where the main events of the rebellion occurred. He was admitted on the 24th of January 1917 and was discharged on the 29th of January. He was admitted because of a case of bronchitis.
Henry's World War 1 enlistment record front page
Class “Z” Reserves were authorised by an Army Order on the 3rd of December 1918. There were fears that Germany would not accept any terms of a peace treaty, and therefore the British Government decided it would be wise to be able to quickly recall trained men in the eventuality of the resumption of hostilities.
Soldiers who were being demobilised, particularly those who had agreed to serve "for the duration", were at first posted to Class Z. They returned to civilian life but with an obligation to return if called upon. On the 20th of March 1919 Henry was placed in the Z Class Reserves ready to return to war if needed. He didn’t leave empty handed for his service in the army. He was awarded the Victory Medal, the Star Medal and the British War Medal for his efforts. Henry’s oldest brother, Thomas was exempt from going because he was 38 at the time war broke out so was classed as to old but he could have been on the reserves to go. The Z Reserve was abolished on 31 March 1920, which was the end of Henry's military career.
Photo taken of Harry during his time spent in Ireland
Henry's medal record card from the First World War
Example of the Queen's South Africa Medal Henry would of received for his service
There is a lot found out from Henry’s army records about what was happening at home. They tell us that he was married to Charlotte and that they had seven children at the time and we can work out how old the children were at the time he enlisted into the army. He also had three witness’s to his enlistment, they were his father in law Herbert Godwin and his brother and sister, Thomas and Gertrude.
Harry and Charlotte moved to Lower Keyford Farm in the 1940’s. Harry was working as a tenant farmer for the Bird-Brooks family who resided at Keyford House. Lower Keyford Farm and Keyford House are located in Frome, Somerset where Keyford was once a small village outside of Frome. It is now located in Frome where it is now surrounded by newly existing developments. Lower Keyford Farm and other
Examples below of the medals Henry received. From left to right, The British War Medal, The Star Medal and the Victory Medal.
buildings in the area are now grade II listed buildings which means they are protected from being demolished or developed in the future. Whilst living at Keyford, Harry was mainly a dairy farmer. He had his own herd of Guernsey cows. It is from these cows where Harry and Charlotte would find most of their income. Harry obviously would have been producing and selling milk. It is remembered from a couple of descendants that Charlotte would use the milk to make butter, this would have been another source of income for the family. Charles Hudd (son of Nelson and grandson of Harry) remembers Charlotte would take butter upto Keyford House for the old lady who lived there. Presumably this would have been the wife of the owner of Keyford House being the Bird-Brooks family who Harry was working for. As the dairy farm was on the decline and Harry and Charlotte were aging, around 1956 they moved from Keyford to Woolverton to Ivy Cottage. There are many facts about Harry’s life right from his birth and his military career right upto his death, but there are a lot of stories about
Left: Harry stood outside of Keyford Farmhouse Right: Harry and Charlotte at Ivy Cottage in Woolverton
who he was and his personality from people who knew him as well, mainly his descendants. He is always remembered as being a well dressed man who would always be presentable. He was a tall man who always stood up straight. He loved horses, which is probably why he bought his own horse when he went to the Boer War. He was quite a musical man who knew how to play the violin and also had his own organ at his home at Lower Keyford Farm. Harry and Charlottes granddaughter Vivienne remembers that all family events were celebrated at Harry and Charlottes home where music was being played on the organ. When Harry and Charlotte left Lower Keyford Farm, the organ was too big to be moved to Ivy Cottage in Woolverton so it was broken in to pieces which Vivienne remembers left her heart broken. Numerous people remember Harry liked to do a bit of gambling and sometimes participated in some big gambles which we could imagine Charlotte may not of been too happy about. It is recalled by Charles Hudd (Nelsons son, Harry’s grandson) that Harry would go to Bath city to take part in these big bets. One time, Charles remembers that Harry had persuaded Nelson, Harry’s son, to place a large bet on a horse he believed was a sure winner. Nelson placed the bet out of his and his wife Florence’s savings which was meant to of been to buy a house. Naturally the pair of them lost the bet and it is remembered Florence didn’t forgive Nelson for about twelve months.
Henry died on the 20th of November 1961 at the age of 80. Himself and his wife were living in Woolverton at Ivy Cottage in Somerset. His death certificate shows him as being a retired Farm Manager. The cause of death was myocardial degeneration, which suggests he had a heart attack. This cause of death was uncommon up to the nineteenth century because life
expectancies never reached that far before this time. The death certificate also states that he suffered from senility which was also quite uncommon due to life expectancies also. This is now referred to as dementia and seems to become an inherited condition later in the family. The death was registered by Philip Hudd, Henry and Charlottes second son. He was living at 35 Church Lane in Wingfield, which wasn‘t very far from his brother Nelson who lived in the next village at Westwood. Henry’s wife Charlotte followed seven years later in 1968. Henry and Charlotte were both cremated and interred at Haycombe crematorium in Bath. They both never had plaques laid down for them but they were both commemorated in the Book of Remembrance held at Haycombe. Their ashes were both interred in section 1 and section 2 of the cremations area.
Henry and Charlottes entries in the Book of Remembrance at Haycombe
