Herman Theodore Wells (1895 - 1916)

Born 10 Jan 1895 in West Dean, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 2 Apr 1916 at age 21 in No. 2 General Hospital, Le Havre, France.

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Biography

Herman was born on 10 January 1895^[1] at West Dean, Hampshire. He is the sixth child and fourth son of Edward Wells and Anna Glossop who married in 1876. His birth was registered - mistakenly spelling Herman as Hermann - at Alderbury Wiltshire in the first quarter of 1895. His father was the Rector of West Dean at the time. West Dean sat on the border of Hampshire and Wiltshire.

He was baptised and christened Herman Theodore Wells on 20 January 1895 (record confirms birth date as 10 January 1895) at West Dean. His father carried out the ceremony.

At the 1901 census the family continues at West Dean, West Tytherly, Hampshire. Details recorded - father Edward Wells (47, clergyman - Church of England), mother Anna M Wells (49), sister Annie I Wells (single, 23, born Hastings, Sussex), brother Wifred W Wells (19, medical student), sister Ursula H Wells (10, born Dean rectory, Hampshire), and Herman T Wells (6, born Dean rectory, Hampshire). There are four servants listed on this occasion - cook, housemaid x 2, and nurse.

He was educated at Marlborough College from September 1908 to March 1912 in B3 House. He was a Foundation Scholar which was an academic scholarship available to the sons of clergy.^[2]

Herman, aged 15, has not been traced in the 1911 census, but he would have been at Marlborough College school.

Herman matriculated ...... to Exeter College, Oxford on 14th October 1913 to read for a Pass degree, a general degree taken by many undergraduates at the time ...... He had only taken his “Mods” ...... before he enlisted .......^[3]

Herman Theodore Wells ...... was gazetted second-lieutenant in the Army Service Corps in October, 1915.^[4]

On 1 March 1916 Herman first entered France, "theatre of war".^[5]

The following comes from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Second Lieutenant Herman Theodore WELLS. Mechanical Transport, Royal Army Service Corps. Died of pneumonia 2nd April, 1916. Aged 21. Son of the Rev Edward and Anna Maria Wells, of Dean Rectory, Salisbury. Undergraduate of Exeter College, Oxford.^[6] His grave is at Ste Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, France.^[7]

The National Probate Calendar records: Herman Theodore Wells of Dean Rectory, Salisbury, second lieutenant, A.S.C. died 2 April 1916 at No. 2 General Hospital, Havre, France. Probate to Ursula Hilda Mary Wells (1890-1943), spinster.

The Wells family gave a stained glass window to the parish church of West Dean in memory of their son. The window is on the south side of the church and depicts St Peter and St John reaching the tomb, with an Angel standing by the same in memory of Herman Theodore Wells. There is also a brass plaque in his memory.

Sources

1. ↑ Full date of birth from Baptism Register
2. ↑ West Dean War Memorial - https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/a4dd371f-5ad5-4fa3-8907-ef9e81c40dc6/downloads/West%20Dean%20War%20Memorial%20Book%20v3%20LO_RES.pdf
3. ↑ West Dean War Memorial - https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/a4dd371f-5ad5-4fa3-8907-ef9e81c40dc6/downloads/West%20Dean%20War%20Memorial%20Book%20v3%20LO_RES.pdf
4. ↑ Latest Casualties - Died - Oxford Chronicle - Friday 7 April 1916
5. ↑ UK, British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 for Herman Theodore Wells (Ancestry.com)
6. ↑ Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Author: Peter Singlehurst; Series Title: British Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1918; Archive Name: London, United Kingdom (Ancestry.com)
7. ↑ Find a Grave - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56320037/herman-theodore-wells

• Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916 for Herman Theodore Wells, West Dean, 1886-1916

• England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 for Hermann Theodore Wells, 1895, Q1-Jan-Feb-Mar

• 1901 England Census for Herman T Wells, Hampshire, West Tytherley, District 3

• England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Herman Theodore Wells, 1916

• UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947 for Herman Theodore Wells, 1914-1921, France, Ste Marie Cemetery, Le Havre Bleville Communal Cemetery Sanvic, Communal Cemetery France

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Gilly Wood for creating Wells-5540 on 26 Sep 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Gilly and others.