S to Z
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE (12th January 2014)
S
Kingdon, S C: British Army, Prisoner of War, 1939 -1945 WW2;
Notes: There is a record of a British Army Prisoner of War, S C Kingdon, held in Stalag VIII-D in Cieszyn,
Poland, during WW2, (now Cesky, Czech Republic); I have no other information on this soldier; Insufficient
information to identify; Could this be the same man as below?
Kingdon, S C: Gunner, #821341 Gunner or #821401, Signaller, 81st (Sphinx) Field Battery, Royal Artillery:
WO 100/497; (1933-1939 period);
Notes: (This family has been called both Kingdon & Kingdom in general UK records); This may well be
Stanley Charles Kingdom, born in Bideford, Devon on 24.12.1901, the Son of Charley (Charles) Kingdom, a
Grocer’s Porter & Driver, b.1875 (Witheridge) & Alice Ellen Baker, who married in 1895 in Bideford, Devon;
In the 1911 Census Stanley Charles Kingdon was aged 9 & lived with his parents at #18, Richmond Terrace,
Bideford, Devon; I believe that Stanley C Kingdom married Lily Fogwell, b.1900 in Bishops Tawton, Devon,
in 1922 in Barnstaple, Devon; I understand that Stanley Charles Kingdom Died in 1972 in Bideford Aged 70; I
believe that he was awarded the India Service Medal & the 1933 Mohmand Clasp; (This was issued to all
officers and men who were employed in operations against the Upper Mohmands on the North West Frontier
of India during 1933, who served on the strength of a unit or formation of the Mohmand Force, and certain
personnel of the Peshawar District who served in the area west of the road Abarzai-Shabkadar FortShabkadar-Pir Kala-Michni, between the Swat and Kabul Rivers, inclusive of the above mentioned places,
during the period 28.07.1933 & 03.10.1933); (May well be the Brother of Reginald Kingdom, #34089
Private, Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, & #39500 5th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, who
Died in WW1 in 1918 on the Somme; WO 372/11); Could this be the same man as above?
Kingdon, Samuel: Military Adventurer, Officer of the Devon Yeoman Cavalry & later Hussar Regiment of
Guards in the Prussian Army; (1820-1830’s period);
Notes: This is Samuel Kingdon born in 1809 in Thorverton, Devon, the second son of “Iron Sam” Samuel
Kingdon b.1779 Mayor of Exeter & Sarah Eyre; Young Samuel Kingdon led a somewhat roaming life, he was
an officer of the Yeomanry Cavalry who escorted Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria) from Teignmouth to
Exeter before there were trains; Following this he later joined the Prussian Army & held a Commission in the
Hussar Regiment of the Guards, travelling with the King of Prussia when he visited England to attend the
baptism of the Prince of Wales in 1830 as a Sponsor; After time he grew tired of Military life & emigrated to
Victoria, Australia & acted as Sheriff & Gold Commissioner. He had previously trained as a Lawyer & in 1857
he settled at Nelson to practice law. He was a member of the Nelson Provincial Council & also held a
Captain’s commission in the New Zealand Militia. At some time he suffered an accident that crippled him &
forced him to withdraw from active life. In February 1850 Samuel Kingdon Married Julia Anna Budd from
Landkey, North Devon (the only daughter of the Deputy Lieutenant of Devon), and they started a family of 9
children, the 1st born in Paris & the 2nd born aboard ship ‘Diana’ off St. Pauls. 2 more daughters were born in
Victoria, Australia & all other children born in New Zealand; Samuel Kingdon Died in New Zealand aged 75
in 1885; (I believe that Samuel’s Father “Iron Sam” Kingdon was Captain of a Company of Artillery among
the Exeter volunteers in 1803 when Napoleon Bonaparte was threatening to invade England);
Kingdon, Samuel: Book 1670, Exeter Militia 1803, Devon;
Notes: In 1803 there are records for the Devon Exeter Militia which indicate that a Samuel Kingdon, an
Ironmonger, aged 24 & single was ‘willing to serve as a volunteer’ in the Militia; I believe that this is Samuel
Kingdon (“Iron Sam”) who was eventually Captain of a Company of Artillery among the Exeter volunteers in
1803 when Bonaparte was threatening to invade England; This is Samuel Kingdon born on 28.04.1779 in
Exeter & baptised in the Bow/Mint/George’s Meeting House on 25.01.1807, the son of Samuel Kingdon &
Jane Kent; This is “Iron Sam” & full details of his life are recorded in the Kingdon Book – ‘A Second Look’
dated 1974 & subsequently do not need to be repeated here;
Kingdon, Samuel: #3620, #6474 & #H/47718, Corporal Shoeing Smith, Various Cavalry & Hussars of the
Line, plus Sergeant Farrier in the Reserve Cavalry Regiment; (Late 1890’s to 1919, Boer War & WW1);
Notes: There are some uncertainties regarding this grandparents, which needs more detailed research, but for
the purpose of this document I will record the following: This is probably Samuel George Kingdon b. 1875 in
Swimbridge, the son of James Kingdon, a Labourer b.1838 in Swimbridge, Barnstaple, Devon & Sarah Louisa
Sparks from Torpoint, Cornwall who married in 1869 in Cornwall; In the 1881 Census Samuel Kingdon lives
with his parents in Steeple Close, Swimbridge, Devon, his Father is a Railway Labourer; In the 1891 Census
Samuel Kingdon is aged 15 & is a Farm Servant at Herscott Farmhouse in Swimbridge, near Barnstaple,
Devon; Samuel Kingdon Aged 19 years & 9 months Attested for a Short Service period with the Corps of
Hussars of the Line on 16.10.1895 in Devonport; He recorded that he had been an Apprentice Blacksmith in
Lynton for 3 years, that he was still serving with the Militia in the Devon Artillery & that he was born in
Swimbridge, near Barnstaple, Devon; Other Army Regimental Numbers that appear in his records are
#H/47718, obviously Hussars Regiment, & #6274; It appears that he was sent to Aldershot with the 3rd King’s
Own Hussars & served with them until extending his service to 12 years with the colours on 23.01.1900 whilst
serving in Lucknow, India; In 1901 he confirmed that his next of kin was his Father James Kingdon living in
Swimbridge, Barnstaple, Devon, which helped me identify him, even though he was serving in South Africa &
there is no 1901 Census record; He was promoted to Shoeing Smith Corporal as his service progressed, being
posted to 7th Hussars on 19.09.1902, until being transferred to the Reserve on 01,06.1903, 4 years before the
end of his true Army Service; UK records have John Kingdom marrying Jane Connal in Farnham in 1903 &
Samuel’s Military records state that Samuel Kingdon married Jane Connal on 23.02.1903 in Holy Trinity
Church, Aldershot; (Jane Connal was born in Dunbar, Scotland in 1875 I believe); Samuel Kingdon was
Discharged from the Army Reserve on 18.10.1908; In the 1911 Census Samuel John Kingdon & wife Jane
Pringle Kingdon live at #5, Perowne Street, aldershot, he is recorded as a Blacksmith; His Army records then
show that he re-engaged as a Corporal with the 18th (Queen Mary’s Own) Hussars on 12.10.1911; He was
posted to the Northern Cavalry Depot on 05.11.1914, the 11th Reserve Regiment on 01.10.1915, the Reserve
Cavalry Regiment on 27.05.1916 as an Acting Sergeant & again extended his service from 02.11.1916, he was
posted to the 5th Reserve Cavalry Regiment on 11.02.1917; His first 12 year Service Record says that he served
at Home from 16.10.1895 to 13.11.1898; Served in India from 13.11.1898 to 22.12.1901; Served in South
Africa from 23.12.1901 to 22.10.1902; Again served at Home from 24.10.1902 until 31.05.1903 & then he was
on the Reserve from 01.06.1903 until 15.10.1907; It appears that he was finally Discharged in York on
21.01.1919 giving a residence address in Aldershot, having served a total of 23 years & 81 days, 16 years of
which counted towards his pension, (Chelsea #8065/F); I believe that Samuel George Kingdon Died in 1945 in
Aldershot Aged 70; He earned the Queen’s South Africa Medal, The King’s South Africa Medal, the South
Africa Medal 1899-1902 (02) with the Orange Free State Clasp & the Transvaal clasp; I did not find a WW1
Medals Card; (I believe Samuel Kingdon’s Father was #3727 James Kingdom/Kingdon of the 11th Regiment
of Infantry);
Kingdon, Samuel: Rating, Continuous Service #22684A, Royal Navy; ADM 139/627; (1860’s period);
Notes: There is also a record for this Naval Rating, Samuel Kingdon, born 19.04.1839 Plymouth, Application
to Whitehall on 17.01.1865, no age on entry 7 no dates served given – original page #268? ADM 139/627
records Samuel Kingdon, born 19.04.1839 in Plymouth, a date of volunteering of 26.07.1862 & an official
naval number of #22684A; This number indicates issue between 1859 & 1867 & the suffix ‘A’ would indicate
that he was probably serving prior to 1859; This is probably Samuel Samson Kingdon born 1839 in
Plymouth; He was the son of Richard Kingdon, a Sawyer b.1792 in Maker, Devon, & Dorothy (Dorothea)
Congdon(?) from Calstock, Cornwall who Married ca.1827, probably in Plymouth; In the 1841 Census Samuel
Kingdon lived with his parents in Catherine Street, Plymouth St. Andrew, Devon; In the 1851 Census Samuel
Kingdon was an 11 year old scholar at home with his parents at #24, Gasking Street, Plymouth Charles the
Martyr; I presume that Samuel Kingdon was serving in the Royal Navy in 1861 as I did not find him in that
Census? I believe that Samuel Kingdon Married Susanna (Grace) Gloyn, b.1839 in Stoke Damerel, in Stoke
Damerel in 1862; In the 1871 Census there is a Samuel & Susanna Kingdon, a Storekeeper, living at #13,
Jubilee Street, Charles, Plymouth, Devon; I believe that his wife Susanna Grace Kingdon Died in Plymouth in
1873 Aged 33; From this date I totally lost all members of this family including their daughter, Susanna
Amelia Kingdon b.1865 in Plymouth; (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Edmund Joseph: Caulker, Royal
Navy, Continuous Service #7723B & #40313; ADM 139/878 & ADM 188/5); Needs further research;
Kingdon, Samuel Henry: #1703, Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force; - Died in WW1;
Private SAMUEL HENRY KINGDON #1703, 2nd Reservists, 25th Battalion, Australian Infantry who died
30th August 1915; Remembered with honour on the Chatby Memorial, within the Chatby War Memorial
Cemetery which is located within the main Alexandria Cemetery complex just outside Alexandria, Egypt;
Notes: There are more records for this soldier in the Australian Military Files; There is a Death Record in the
Queensland, Australia Death Index at #004795 on page 548 for Samuel Henry Drew, which I believe is the
same person; There are very many conflicting records for this soldier, both as Samuel Henry Drew, S. H.
Livingstone & Samuel Henry Kingdon, having served with the Australian Imperial Force in WW1 during 1914
& 1915;
Drew, Samuel Henry: #143, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Australian Army - Died in WW1 on 30.08.1915;
Notes: This soldier’s record is a rather convoluted story, which I have detailed briefly here; any serious
researcher of his family should investigate all WW1 Australian Records;
Summary: It appears that Samuel Henry Drew #143, enlisted on 21.08.1914 in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment
& was returned to Australia on 01.03.1915 & discharged for disciplinary reasons in Melbourne;
He then subsequently re-enlisted in Toowoomba, Queensland under the name of Samuel Henry Kingdon
#1703, on 03.08.1915 in the 25th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcements & died of illness on 30.08.1915 whilst troop
shipping from Australia to Egypt; The records indicate that he was admitted into Isolation hospital on board
the troopship ‘Shropshire’ suffering from gonorrhea & finally contracted double pneumonia from which he
died; In the 1914 enlistment he gave his name as Samuel Henry Drew, aged 30 years & 6 months, born in
Plymouth, Devon, England & declared that he was a Labourer & that his next of kin was his Mother, Lucy
Janet Drew of #1, Amerley Road, South Brisbane; In the 1915 re-enlistment he gave his name as Samuel
Henry Kingdon, aged 36 years & 6 months, born in Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, England & declared that he
was a Fireman, an ex Watchmaker’s apprentice in Plymouth for 5 years, & that he had served previously in the
2nd Devonshire Regiment & the 3rd Australian Contingent in the Boer War; he gave his Brother, Arthur James
Kingdon of Annerley Road, East Tooroomba, Queensland as his next of kin; He is recorded as having a bullet
wound scar on his forehead & some shrapnel scars on both shins at that time; The records indicate that this
soldier embarked from Sydney on 20.08.1915 on board the ‘HMAT Shropshire’ with the 2nd Reinforcements,
25th Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade; Numerous pension & gratuity claims from his Mother & from his
Wife, Olive Amelia Drew (nee Daniels) are recorded in his extensive file records as well as a National
Newspaper Search article used to locate his family & relatives in 1916; I understand that Samuel Henry Drew
was born in Oakhampton, Devon in 1879 & sailed to Australia with his Father Henry Drew (b.1845) & his
Mother Janet Drew (b.1846), on the ‘Duke of Buccleuch’ from Plymouth to Townsville on 20.06.1884;
Samuel Henry Drew Married Olive Daniels in Queensland on 19.12.1901 (Reg #001895, page #7045),
produced at least 4 children, but may very well have deserted her earlier & lived with a woman called Minnie
Livingstone in Coorparoo as man & wife & that there were also children of this union; He may have been
issued the South African War Ribbon; His War Medals appear to have been forfeited but the Memorial Plaque
was issued to his legal wife, Olive Drew (nee Daniels) & the Memorial Scroll to his de facto wife, Minnie
Drew (nee Livingstone) in 1922; More information on record;
Kingdon, Samuel: Corporal, #1080, Army Service Corps – Land Transport Corps, ‘G’ Division; WO 100/34
– Crimean War 1854-1856;
Notes: Samuel Kingdon served in the Crimean War in the Land Transport Corps of the Army Service Corps,
probably as a 1st Class Driver, this unit being formed in 1855 & renamed The Military Train in 1856; The
records show that #1080 Corporal Samuel Kingdon was discharged from the Army; He was awarded the
Crimean 1854-1855 War Medal & was entitled to receive a Clasp for having served at Sebastopol, Camp
before Sebastopol, on 17.10.1853; However, there is a record which indicates that because of his Discharge the
Medal was never effectively issued; I have insufficient information available to identify this soldier;
Kingdon, Samuel Richard: Class ‘C’, 2nd Division Reservist, New Zealand, 1917, WW1;
Notes: I do not believe that this man actually served in WW1, but he is recorded as a Reservist with 2 Children
in the 1917 registration in Masterton, Wellington, New Zealand; At that time he was a Sanitary Inspector &
living at #215, Queen Street, Masterton; This is Samuel Richard Kingdon born in 1879 in New Zealand, he is
the son of Samuel Kingdon, a Plumber, & Elizabeth ?? who Married in ??; In 1905 & 1906 Samuel Richard
Kingdon is a Plumber living in Queen Street, Masterton; Samuel Richard Kingdon Married Ethel Armitage in
1908 in Masterton, Wellington & in 1911 they live in Beattie Street, Fielding, Oroua, Manawatu-Wanganui, he
is a Plumbing Inspector; In 1914 Samuel Richard & Ethel Kingdon live in Kimbolton Road, Fielding, Oroua,
Manawatu-Wanganui, & he is working as a Borough Inspector; Following his enlistment in the New Zealand
Army Reserve & in 1919 this family are living at #215, Queen Street, Masterton, he is a recorded as a Sanitary
Inspector; In 1928 they live in #97, Western Springs Road with is widowed Mother in Grey Lynn, Auckland;
In 1935 & 1938 Samuel Richard & Ethel Kingdon live at #297, Great North Road, W2, Grey Lynn, Auckland,
Samuel is now recorded as a plumber with his son; I believe that Ellen Kingdon Died in 1949 Aged 67 & that
Samuel Richard Kingdon died in 1951 Aged 71;
Kingdon, Sidney J: Royal Field Artillery No: 132909 Rank: Gunner 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: The Regimental number #132909 would indicate joining No. 7 (Territorial force) Artillery Training
School in early March 1916; This Soldier also served with the Royal Garrison Artillery as #212685 which is
quite a late number for WW1; Medals Card on file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals;
Additional Notes: The Spring 1919 Absent Voters List for South Molton Division, Devon – Parish of George
Nympton, has a Reference #4868 to a Kingdon, Sidney who is absent from the village & serving as Gunner
#944554 with the 66 M.T. Company, Royal Field Artillery in 1919; Is this the same soldier? There are other
soldiers’ records with similar numbers who were renumbered with 944xxx before the end of 1916 & they all
appear to have joined 538th Howitzer Battery, which I assume was in the 283rd Brigade Royal Field Artillery
(4th London Brigade) & broken up in November 1916; Some of these men subsequently went to C/332, then
D/210; I also understand that 66 M.T. Coy, would also indicate Army Service Corps service at some point? (I
note that there is also a Kingdom, Sidney J: Royal Army Medical Corps No: 457514 Rank: Private 19141920 WO 372/11 but I have not linked the three); Insufficient information to identify accurately;
Further Notes: Following more research in South Molton in Devon I believe that we located Sidney John
Kingdon’s son & he confirms that his Father, Sydney (known as ‘Blind Sid’), served in France in WW1 in the
‘heavy artillery’ but only lost his sight after the war & not during WW1; Subsequently, I believe that this is
therefore Sydney John Kingdon, born 10.03.1896 & baptised on 05.04.1896 in George Nympton, Devon; He
was the son of Thomas Wotton Kingdon, an Agricultural Labourer, b.30.03.1856 in Kings Nympton, Devon &
Elizabeth Kingdon Setherton b.1855 in Romansleigh, who Married on 31.03.1880 in South Molton, Devon; In
the 1901 Census Sidney J Kingdon lived with his parents in the village of George Nympton; In the 1911
Census Sidney Kingdon was aged 15 & working as a Cow Boy on a farm in South Molton; Following his
WW1 service, Sidney John Kingdon Married Catherine (Kate) Annie Andrews, b.1902 George Nympton, on
27.09.1922 in George Nympton, Devon; Sidney John Kingdon Died on 14.06.1977 & was buried in George
Nympton on 18.06.1977, Aged 81;
Kingdon, Sidney: Merchant Seaman during WW1; BT 351/1/177262;
Notes: This is probably Sidney Percival Kingdon born in 1899 in Clifton, Bristol, his Merchant Seaman’s
WW1 Medals Record have 1899; If I am correct then this Sidney Percival Kingdon is the son of David
Kingdon, a Slaughterman/Butcher b.1870 in Clifton, Bristol & Blanche Beavis from Bristol who Married in
1890 in Bristol & initially lived & worked as a Butcher in Elgin Street in Birkenhead, Cheshire; In the 1901
Census Sidney Kingdon is aged 2 years & living with his parents in Dowry Square, Bristol; In the 1911 Census
Sidney Kingdon is now aged 11 & living with his Parents at #6, Ambrose Road, Clifton, Bristol, his Father is a
Butcher; Sidney Kingdon may well have served for some years as a Merchant Seaman, probably as a Steward,
sailing between England & New York; On 26.04.1918 Sidney Kingdon sailed from Cardiff, Wales to New
York onboard the ‘Northumberland’; On 10.09.1921 & again on the 27.10.1921 Sidney (Sid) Kingdon
(Kingdom) sailed from London & Newcastle onboard the ‘SS Vellavia’; On 13.12.1926 Sidney Kingdon sailed
from Al Basrah, Iraq to New York on the ‘SS Glensloy’; Sidney P Kingdon Married Bessie Evelyn Tucker in
Bristol in 1934; I understand that Sidney Percival Kingdon died on 02.10.1953 in Bristol, Gloucestershire aged
54; I did not research further; Awarded the WW1 Mercantile Marine & the British War Medal; (Probably the
Brother of Merchant Seaman David Kingdon, WW1 BT 351/1/177261); Not researched further;
Kingdon, Sidney Walter: #8147, Manchester Regiment; Boer War & WW1;
Notes: This Regimental Number would indicate enlistment in the Regular Army Battalions of the Manchester
Regiment between 25.02.1902 & 22.01.1903; This is Sidney Walter Kingdon born 1884? in Roath, Cardiff in
his Army Records, but I believe that he may have lied about his age when he enlisted because I have him born
on 07.05.1887 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of William Kingdon, a Painter, b.14.06.1840 in Taunton & Mary Ann
Rose b.14.06.1854 from Bristol, Gloucestershire, who probably Married in 1870 in St Saviours, Southwark,
London I believe; I cannot locate a sailing or passenger record for his parents but they did emigrate to Canada
ca.1874; (His parents lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1881 as Sidney’s elder siblings were mostly born in
Canada); In 1891 Wales Census Sidney Kingdon aged 3 lives with his parents at #4, Crofts Street, Roath,
Cardiff, Wales, they are also at the same address in the 1901 Census where Sidney is aged 13 years; Sidney
Walter Kingdon Enlisted on 17.11.1902 in Aldershot, he was a Messenger by trade & aged 18 years & 6
months, which may not be true (see his birth date details above); I believe that he initially served with the 2nd
Battalion at Home from 17.11.1902 to 06.02.1903, he was then posted to the 3rd Battalion in South Africa on
06.02.1903 where he served until 09.10.1905; Whilst in South Africa he was in hospital for a month with
Scarletina; He was returned to home duty & Transferred to the Army Reserve on 16.11.1905 where he served
until being mobilised for WW1 Service (whilst living in Canada) from the Army Reserve on 30.09.1914 but
was discharged on the same date as being no longer physically fit for War Service under King’s Regulations,
Para 392 (xvi); For the records his service time was counted from his initial served time plus his Army Reserve
time & equalled a total of 11 years & 318 days; I understand that Sidney Walter Kingdon & his parents
emigrated back to Canada in December 1905 on board the ‘SS Virginian’; More research confirms that S W
Kingdon Aged 21 sailed from England to Quebec, bound for Peterborough, on board the ‘SS Tunisian’ in
November 1905; Further research indicates that Sidney Walter Kingdon sailed to the UK from Canada in July
1906 on board the ‘SS Tunisian’; His Father William Kingdon sailed to UK from Montreal on 27.08.1906 on
the ‘SS Dominion’; Then I found Sidney & his Father William travelled back to Saint John, New Brunswick
on the ‘SS Empress of Britain’ in December 1906, both painters & both marked as Returning Canadians; I
have no idea why Sidney Walter & his Father William Kingdon should both travel separately to England in
1906 & then return to Canada together in December but wonder if it was for work or perhaps a family
bereavement; In 1911 Sidney Kingdon lived with his parents back in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; Sidney
Walter Kingdon then Married Nellie Capewell, born ca.1889 in Staffordshire, England, in Peterborough,
Ontario, Canada on 03.07.1911, (I note that Sidney’s estimated birth year was 1885 on his marriage records &
that he is a painter too, like his Father); Nellie Capewell’s family emigrated to Canada in 1906; I believe that
Sidney Walter Kingdon died in Sutton West, Ontario, Canada on 21.06.1965 Aged 78; Further Notes: Some
people on Ancestry.com have Public Trees with this guy as Sidney J Kingdon, but this is not correct & they
have his whole family mixed up; (There is probably a Brother named Gordon William Kingdon, born in
1875 in Toronto, Canada & who seems to have served at some time in UK because there is a Chelsea
Pensioner of that name & with the correct birth place on records, who I am also following up); (He was the
Brother of Kingdon, Ernest: Royal Irish Fusiliers No: 13731 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (I also
now believe that his Father was probably Kingdon, William: Private, #3063, 2nd European Light Infantry,
East India Company Army); This Family needs a little more research although I am in touch with a
descendant since August 2012 & will request clearer details;
Kingdon, Stanley: The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment, No: S/8241, Rank: Private & Royal
Engineers No: 122479 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11 – Died in WW1; Sapper Stanley Kingdon
#122479, Royal Engineers, is recorded as being Drowned at Sea on 26.05.1917;
Notes: A further look at CWGC Records shows Stanley Kingdon - Son of Mr. H. I. and Mrs. F. Kingdon, of
"Luzern", Surrey Rd., Branksome, Bournemouth; This record also states that Sapper Stanley Kingdon was
aged 22 when he died & was serving with the Royal Engineers Inland Water Transport Section; - Died in
WW1; Sapper STANLEY KINGDON, #122479, Inland Water Transport, Royal Engineers who died age 22
on 26 May 1917; Remembered with honour at the Basra Memorial on the main quay of the Naval Dockyard at
Maqul, Basra, Iraq, his name is engraved on Panels 5 & 61; (As most of this memorial has been destroyed &
due to the current political climate, Rolls of Honour are also held at the CWGC Commission’s Head Office in
Maidenhead, commemorating by name all the Commonwealth casualties who died in Iraq during the two
World Wars);
Notes: A second look at Army Records reveal that Stanley Kingdon, born in Barnstaple & Aged 20 enlisted
in Bournemouth on 13.02.1915, declared as working for the Post Office & that he had previously served in the
Army, being originally allotted #S/8241 in The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) in Perth, Scotland;
His regimental number ‘S’ prefix indicates that he enlisted for war time service only; It appears that he was
Discharged under King’s Regulations Para 392 (??) on 09.03.1915 & not being likely to become a proficient
soldier, having served only 25 days; His eyesight is recorded as being below standard; In these records his
father is shown as ‘Harry’ John Kingdon living at #4, Hanover Road, Springbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset;
Notes: I believe that Stanley Kingdon enlisted in Bournemouth (records say), lived in Cardiff & first served in
France 25.11.1915; Stanley Kingdon was born in 4th Q 1895 in Barnstaple, Devon, the son of Henry John
Hutchings Kingdon, a French Polisher, b.1864 in Barnstaple & Florence Copp from Barnstaple, who were
Married in Barnstaple in 1885; In the 1901 Census Stanley Kingdon is aged 5 & lives with his parents at #21,
Pulchras Street in Barnstaple, Devon; I failed to find this man in the 1911 Census records but his mother is
recorded as an Antuque Dealer living at #26, Litchdon Street in Barnstaple, Devon, & his father is away from
home, a Cabinet Maker Dealer, at Clarence House, Bicknoller in Somerset; Medals Card on file for award of
the 1915 Star, Victory & British War Medals; (There is a Brother Leslie Kingdon who emigrated to Canada &
served with a number of different Units as #260483);
Kingdon, Stanley Craig: #8/3828, Corporal, 2nd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment, ‘D’ Company, 9th
Reinforcements, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, WW1;
Notes: This is probably Stanley Craig Kingdon b.1887 in New Zealand, the son of Josiah Stephens Kingdon,
b.1842 in Bodmin, Cornwall, England & Catherine Johnson who Married in 1868 in New Zealand; However,
the Military Records for this New Zealand WW1 Soldier actually records that his Mother was Mrs. F.M.
Kingdon of Yaldhurst, Christchurch; This has caused some confusion as I can find no birth records that
support this statement? The only F.M. Kingdon I can find is Frances Mary Kingdon, b.1876, daughter of
Josiah Stephens Kingdon & Catherine Johnson? She is the Spinster sister of Stanley Craig Kingdon b.1887 &
his brothers? This could mean that there is either a mix up in the Military Records or that there is another
Stanley Craig Kingdon who is perhaps the illegitimate son of Frances Mary Kingdon but, again, I can find no
birth or other records? In 1911 Stanley Craig Kingdon lives at #526, South Road, Hornby, Riccarton,
Canterbury & is working as a Carter; In 1914 Stanley Craig Kingdon still lives in South Road, Riccarton, but
is also recorded as being a Prison Warder working at HM Prison in Invercargill, Southland, this prison was
only established in 1910 & operated as a borstal until 1981; On the 11.01.1915 S.C. Kingdon of Invercargill &
other recruits of the 8th (Southland) Regiment passed through Christchurch on their way to Trentham to fill
Southland’s quota to the 3rd Reinforcements for WW1 Service; The Military Records for Stanley Craig
Kingdon, Corporal, #8/3828, clearly indicates that he was a Labourer at enlistment & confirms his mother as
Mrs. F.M. Kingdon of Yaldhurst, Christchurch; These records also state that he Embarked on 08.01.1916 at
Wellington with the 9th Reinforcements, Otago Infantry Battalion, ‘D’ Company, New Zealand Expeditionary
Force; He was on board the ‘HMNZT Maunganui’ which sailed from Wellington to the Suez in Egypt, S.C.
Kingdon was #21 on the Nominal Roll & recorded on Page #28 of the Roll; On the 16.08.1917 there is a
Wounded Report #648/10 for #8/3828 Private Kingdon S.C. of the 9th Reinforcements which was also reported
in the local press on 30.08.1917 stating that he was not reported as a severe case; In 1919 Stanley Craig
Kingdon is again recorded as a Prison Warder at Invercargill Prison; However, there is also a record for a
Stanley Craig Kingdon being a Carter & living at #526, South Road, Hornby? I understand that Stanley Craig
Kingdon Married Florence Ella Clements in 1919; There are also electoral registrations for Stanley Craig &
Florence Ella Kingdon, a Labourer, living at #53, Mortlake Street, Islington, Kaiapoi, Canterbury in 1928,
1935, 1946, & 1949; In 1954 & 1959 Stanley Craig lives at the same Mortlake Street address & is now retired;
I believe that they had no children; Florence Ella Kingdon died in 1951 Aged 64 & Stanley Craig Kingdon
died in 1965 Aged 78; (He was the Brother of Kingdon, George: New Zealand, 1st Division Reservist, 1916
WW1); (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Albert John: New Zealand, 1st Division Reservist, 1916 WW1);
(He was the Brother of Kingdon, James Alexander: #41577, ‘F’ Company, Canterbury Infantry Regiment,
New Zealand Army, WW1); (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Charles Ford: New Zealand, 2nd Division
Reservist, 1917 WW1); Or was he in fact a Nephew of all of the Kingdon men mentioned here? This man
needs a lot more research;
Kingdon, Stanley William George: #M35851, Shipwright, Royal Navy; ADM 188/1089, WW1;
Notes: This is Stanley William George Kingdon born 31.03.1903 in St Germans, Cornwall; In the 1911
Census there is a Stanley W. Kingdon, a scholar aged 8, visiting with the Hoyle family living in Wilcove, Near
Torpoint, Cornwall, (I have yet to make a family link); When his WW1 medals were issued I believe that this
sailor was serving on “HMS Vivid”; This Sailor was a 2nd Class Shipwright who made a career out of the Navy
& was still serving on board ‘HMS Guardian’ on 30.06.1936; Stanley W.G. Kingdon Married Rosemary M.
Jenkin in St Germans, Cornwall in 1929; I believe that Stanley William G. Kingdon Died in 1987 in Exeter,
Devon Aged 83; Awarded the British War Medal only, serving on ‘HMS Vivid’ at the time; Issued with his
Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct Medal on 30.06.1936; Insufficient information to identify
further, need more research;
Kingdon, Stanley Phillip #258749, Signalman, 45th Division Signals, Royal Corps of Signals, - Died in
WW2, on 05.11.1940 at the age of 18 & is Remembered with Honour in the Exeter Higher Cemetery in
Heavitree, Exeter in Devon;
Notes: This is Stanley Phillip Kingdon born in 1922 in Exeter, Devon; He was the son of Sidney John
Kingdon, a Plumber & Gas Fitter, b.1875 in Exeter, Devon & Edith Maude Guscott, b.1884 Exeter, who
Married in Exeter in 1904 & lived at #10, Jubilee Street in St Leonard’s, Exeter, Devon in 1911; Awarded the
1939-45 Star & the 1939-45 War Medals;
Kingdon, Stuart: Army Ordnance Corps No: 034292 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: I believe that this is Stuart Kingdon born in 1887 in Bradninch, Tiverton, Devon, the son of George
Kingdon, a Railway Worker, b.1864 Stoke Cannon & Caroline Wood from Bradninch who married in 1884 in
Tiverton; (Stuart’s Mother died in 1900 Aged 37); In 1891 Census Stuart lived with his parents in Fore Street,
Bradninch & in 1901 Census with his widowed Father in Millway Road, Bradninch & was working as a Cutter
Boy in a Paper Mill; In 1911 Census Stuart Kingdon is aged 23 & is boarding at West End, Bradninch, Devon,
working as a Breaker Man in a Paper Making Factory; I understand that Stuart Kingdon Married Minnie Sarah
Sweet from Collumpton in Tiverton in 1911; I believe that Stuart Kingdon Died in Exeter in 1968 Aged 80;
Medals Card on file for award of the British War & Victory Medals; (I did not research this Soldier
further);
Kingdon, Sydney C: Devonshire Regiment Territorial Force, No: 1420 Rank: Private, & No: 240218,
Devonshire Regiment, Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Enlistment dates for the Territorial Force #1420 number were between 29.07.1885 & 03.02.1886; As he
was awarded the TFM (Territorial Force Medal), this would indicate that he had volunteered for service
overseas on or before 30.09.1914, and served overseas as per the other requirements of this award; From his
records it appears that he enlisted in the regular army on 13.05.1912 & that he did serve overseas at some point
in his service; His regular number of #240218 would have been issued as a result of the renumbering of the
Territorial Force infantry in 1917; This is Sidney Clarence Kingdon born on 02.04.1895 in Tavistock, Devon,
the son of Edward Andrews Kingdon, an Iron Moulder, b.1867 in Tavistock & Elizabeth Jane Lucas b.1870 in
St Ives, Cornwall who married in 1889 in Tavistock; In 1901 Census Sydney lives with his parents at #5,
Madge Hill, Tavistock; In 1911 Census Sidney Kingdon is aged 16 & is a Golf Caddie living with his parents
at #62, West Bridge Cottages, Tavistock, Devon; Acting Lance Corporal Sydney Clarence Kingdon was
Discharged in Exeter on 03.03.1919 under King’s Regulations Para 392 (xvi) due to wounds that he had
received during his service; Address given on his MIC card is #62, West Bridge Cottages, Tavistock, Devon; I
understand that Sydney Clarence Kingdon Married Winifred Emma Ada Vanstone, b.1896, from Sampford
Spinney, Devon on 01.08.1921 in Tavistock; I believe that Sydney C Kingdon dies in Caerphilly, East
Glamorgan, Wales in 1963 Aged 68; (His 1st wife may well have died in 1934 in Cardiff aged 37); Awarded
the Silver War Badge #B213635; Medals Card on file for the award of the Territorial Force War Medal & the
Victory Medal; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, William: Devonshire Regiment No: 5215 Rank: Private 19141920 WO 372/11);
Kingdon, Sydney Charles Kent: Royal Engineers No: 71616 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Also Recorded as: Kingdon, S C K: Indian Army Reserve of Officers Rank: Lieutenant 1914-1925 WO
372/27, WW1 period;
Notes: This Soldier served as a Sapper from 20.06.1916 with the Royal Engineers; He served also with BH
Cable Section, Royal Engineers & the Indian Army Reserve of Officers; On 15.10.1918 The King approved
the admission of 2nd Lieutenant Sydney Charles Kent Kingdon into the Infantry Division of the Indian Army
Reserve of Officers; The WO 338 records at Kew have reference to Sidney Charles Kingdon, IA (presume
Indian Army), #289757; This officer served in India, Poona District & was placed on the Officers List on
14.10.1918 & recommended for the Indian Defence Medal on 29.12.1919; S.C.K. Kingdon was promoted
from 2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant with the Indian Army Reserve of Officers on 15.10.1919; It is possible that
this Officer’s personal files are kept at Kew, ref. WO 339/139798; I believe that this is Sydney Charles Kent
Kingdon born 02.05.1897 in Exeter, the son of Henry Kingdon, a House Painter b.1863 Exeter & Selina ??
b.1865 from Topsham who Married in ?? ca.1888; In 1901 he lived with his parents in Exeter; & in 1911
Census the family lived at #14, Jubilee Street, Exeter St Leonards; I believe that Sidney C K Kingdon Married
Olive L Cowley (b.1896) in Exeter in 1920 & that he resigned his commission on retirement but retained the
rank of Lieutenant on 01.05.1922; Sydney Charles K Kingdon Died in 1976 in Taunton Aged 79; Medals Card
on file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals on the Poona, India list of Officers entitlement;
Medals issued 12.09.1922, address was Lambrook Farm, Taunton, Somerset; (I have no further
information);
Kingdon, Sydney John: Merchant Seaman; BT/351/1/607 WW1;
Notes: There is a Medals Record Card for a Sidney John Kingdon shown in the WW1 Board of Trade
Merchant Seaman’s Medals; I believe that this is Sydney John Kingdon born 1882 in Barnstaple Devon; He
was the son of John E. Kingdon (b.1855), of Barnstaple, England, a Fisherman, Shipbuilder & Bargeman &
Elizabeth Limebeer from Barnstaple who married in ?? (she may have been previously married as there is a
stepdaughter in 1891 Census); (Many members of this family emigrated to Manitoba in Canada ca.1906); In
1891 Sydney J. Kingdon was aged 8, a scholar, but recorded as living as an In Patient in the North Devon
Infirmary in Barnstaple, Devon; There is no indication of his illness; In the 1901 Census Sydney Kingdon was
aged 19 & living with his parents in #10, Signal Terrace, Barnstaple, Devon, his Father is a Shipwright &
Bargeman, Sydney is a Bargeman working on his own account; In 1902 there are Ship’s Records for the
“Wheatear”, #48880 out of Poole in Dorset, which has reference to Sydney J. Kingdon (b.1881 Barnstaple)
being a member of the Crew of the ‘Wheatear’ having joined 05.01.1902 in Newport as an Able Seaman but
having left this ship on 15.02.1902 in Bristol; The record shows that his previous ship in 1901 was the
“Acacia” out of Barnstaple; I understand that Sydney John Kingdon moved to Swansea in Wales as he appears
to have Married a Mary Emily Sullivan, b.1889 Swansea, in Swansea in 1908; In the 1911 Census Sydney
John & Emily Kingdon live at #81, Colbourne Terrace, Swansea, Glamorgan, wales, he is a General Labourer;
I have no other records except that Sidney J Kingdon probably Died in 1947 in Wolverhampton at the age of
64; Further research required to find his WW1 Merchant Seaman Records; (He was the Brother of
Kingdon, John (Jack): Royal Field Artillery No: 49756 Rank: Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/23); (He was
also the Brother of Kingdon, Bruce: #622376, Private, Canadian Infantry (New Brunswick Regiment); who
died aged 27 on 25th October 1916 in the Area of the Somme); He was also the Brother of #174744 Sergeant
George Kingdon of the Royal Garrison Artillery);
T
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE
Kingdon, T: #F12661 Royal Navy, Royal Naval Air Service: ADM 188/585, WW1;
Kingdon, T: #212661 Royal Air Force Mustering, WW1:
Notes: Royal Navy records have a Thomas Kingdon, #F12661; Research indicates that the prefix ‘F’ suggests
service with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS); This record gives his date of birth as 21.03.1880 in Bristol;
I then researched further & found a T. Kingdon having served as #212661 in the list for Mustering of the
Royal Air Force with an enlistment date of 01.03.1916, this numbering also indicates transfer or enlistment
from the RNAS; Subsequently I have assumed that this is the same person & a later set of records has him as
Thos. Kingdom, #F12661 Air Mechanic 1; There are also records at the Air Ministry for Personnel & Airmen's
Records, for Thomas Kingdon in the Collection: Records created or inherited by the Air Ministry, the Royal
Air Force, and related bodies in the date range: 01 January 1918 - 31 December 1928, under the Reference:
AIR 79/1912/212661 & a second set of records under AIR 79/2609/299398; This is probably Thomas
Kingdon born 21.03.1880 in Bristol, the son of George Kingdon, a Paper Hanger, b.1846 in Bristol &
Elizabeth Ravenhill from Wilmington, Gloucester who Married in 1866 in Bristol; In 1881 Census Thomas
Kingdon lives with his parents at #1, Old Coach Yard, Bristol St Paul; In 1891 Census Thomas Kingdon is a
Scholar living with his Ravenhill family Grandparents in Woolaston Grange, Woolaston, Gloucestershire; In
1901 Census Thomas Kingdon was aged 21 & is a Groom boarding at #6, Montpellier Road/Passage, South
Hamlet, Gloucester, Gloucestershire; Thomas Kingdon Married Lucy Jane Noble from Berkeley,
Gloucestershire in 1910 in Thornbury, Gloucestershire; In 1911 Census they live at #148, Finborough Road,
West Brompton, London & Thomas is a Domestic Chauffeur; I believe that Thomas Kingdon died in St
Austel, Cornwall in 1980 Aged 100 years; ADM 171/107 records award of the British War Medal to Thos.
Kingdom #F.12661, Air Mechanic 1st Class; Needs more research as the AIR 79 records may refer to two
people;
Kingdon, T: #6913181, Corporal, 2nd Battalion The Rifle Brigade (95th Rifles): WO 100/508; Palestine 1939;
Notes: The WO 100/508 Records have a Medals award for #6913181 Corporal T. Kingdon for service in
Palestine, under Army Orde #247 of 1939; This soldier served with the 2 nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (95th
Rifles) which served in Palestine from 19.04.1936 to 03.09.1939 to quell the Arab Revolt there; In November
1939 the 2nd Battalion was part of the 14th Infantry Brigade, 8th Infantry Division, stationed in Nablus,
Palestine; In 1940 it served with the 7th Motor Brigade in the North African Campaign in WW2; I have no
other information on this soldier; He was awarded the General Service Medal (1918 GSM) & the Palestine
Clasp; Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, Thomas: Army Service Corps No: M2/035242 Rank: WO Class 2, 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Originally served with the 1st Mounted Division of the Army Service Corps (Territorial) on 24.09.1914
& joining on 16.12.1914 as #93 having signed on for 4 years service at the age of 24; This is Thomas
Kingdon born 21.01.1890 in Cardiff, the son of Isaac Kingdon b.1861 in Garndeffactk, Monmouthshire &
Sarah Davies from Blackwood, Monmouthshire who married on 14.05.1883 in Pontypridd; 1891 Thomas
Kingdon lived with his parents at #26, Tenant Street, Canton, Cardiff; In 1901 Census Thomas Kingdon lived
with his parents at #70, Stockland Street, St Mary’s Cardiff; In 1911 Census Thomas Kingdon was Aged 21 &
a Colliery Surface Labourer living with his parents in Rosehill Terrace, Swansea; Private Thomas Kingdon reenlisted into the Regular Army & was attested for Short Service for the Duration of the War on 20.02.1915 &
joined for service in Bury St Edmunds; Address given as #36, Rosehill Terrace, Swansea, he was aged 25
years & was a Chauffeur by trade; On 27.06.1915 Thomas Kingdon Married Annie (Nancy) Morgan, a
Widow, in Brunswick Wesleyan Chapel, Swansea & his wife lived at #50, Lycock Road, Skelty in Swansea,
(his Stepdaughter was Wenham Louisa Morgan born 21.03.1901 at East Battersea, his own child was born on
29.09.1915 I think)? I believe that he spent most of his service in UK until 19.06.1918, but he was sent to
France on 07.06.1916 & on 22.10.1916 was slightly injured in the shoulder whilst loading ammunition;
Eventually, serving with the 260th Company (MT) he was promoted to Company Sergeant Major at the age of
29 & on 23.02.1919 was serving in Baghdad since 29.08.1918 & prior to his return to UK & his Discharge on
12.08.1919; I believe that Thomas Kingdon Died in 1943 in Swansea; Medals Card on file for award of the
Victory Medal only, (in the name of Slanus Kingdon); (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Ralph: Royal Garrison
Artillery No: 124087 Rank: Gunner 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who also served in WW1);
Kingdon, Thomas: Lieutenant, 25th Regiment Light Dragoons – Died near Madras, India on 25.04.1817
Aged 26; (Another record has his Death as 1827, which I believe to be incorrect);
Notes: The London based Gentleman’s Magazine records this soldiers death on 25.04.1817 near Madras, India,
stating that he was from Exeter, Devon; (This information is on page 561 of Volume 122 dated December
1817); This is probably Thomas Kingdon born 30.08.1790 & baptised in the Bow/Mint/George’s Meeting
House Chapel on 02.01.1791 in Exeter, the son of Samuel Kingdon & Jane Kent, who married on 17.10.1768
in Exeter St Petrock, Devon; (The Kingdon Book ‘A Second Look’ published in 1974 has detailed reference to
this family); On 26.09.1812 the War Office reported that Cornet Thomas Kingdon of the 25 th Regiment Light
Dragoons was promoted to Lieutenant by purchase, vis Lt. Campbell who had been promoted; This Officer
was probably serving with the renamed (25th) 22nd Regiment of Light Dragoons around Bangalore and Madras
& involved in the Anglo Indian conflicts at the time of his death; (He is probably the Brother of Kingdon,
William: Book 1670, Exeter, Devon Militia for 1803); (See Chart IXb Thorverton Branch, Kingdon Family
Book dated 1932);
Kingdon, Thomas: #1410 Troop Sergeant Major of the 9th Lancers; W097 Records; Sikh Wars & India 18501868 period;
Notes: Thomas Kingdon enlisted in the Army at the age of 18 years on 04.03.1844 in London, Middlesex; He
attested for the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers declaring that he was a Grocer by trade; This is Thomas Kingdon
born 1825 in Barnstaple, Devon, the son of William Kingdon b.1791 in Torrington & Mary Baker or Baron
from Barnstaple who married pre 1823; In 1841 he lived with his parents in Barnstaple & was a Grocer’s
Apprentice; In 1851 he was serving in the Army in the East Indies, probably Bengal, India; In 1861 it appears
that Troop Sergeant Major Thomas Kingdon was serving with the Divisional staff Barracks Chaplains
Department in South Camp Aldershot, his future 1st wife was a Nurse in Aldershot in 1861; Further research
now reveals that #1410 Private Thomas Kingdon was serving in India in the Sikh Wars & fought in the Sutlej
Campaign at the Battle for Sabraon on 10.02.1846; As a Sergeant, Thomas Kingdon fought in the Indian
Mutiny at the battles for Delhi, Relief of Lucknow & Lucknow in 1857-1858; Thomas Kingdon married Susan
Sharland (his 1st wife, 10 years his junior) in 1862 in Exeter but she will die on 25.10.1898 in Exeter; On
27.03.1868 Troop Sergeant Major Thomas Kingdon requested a free discharge after having served 14 years &
6 months in Bengal, East Indies & 24 years in the Army, this was awarded with a pension; He received good
Conduct Badges, Long Service Medal, Punjab Medal with Clasp for Chillianwallah & the Indian Mutiny
Medal and Clasps for Delhi, the Defence of Lucknow & the Relief of Lucknow; Some of his Army time was
spent with the North Devon Yeomanry; He was discharged finally on 14.04.1868; Upon discharge he gave his
expected trade as Grocer & intended to live at #49, High Street, Barnstaple Devon; In 1871 Census Thomas is
a Sergeant Chelsea Pensioner living in Barnstaple with his wife Susan; In1881 & 1891 Censuses Thomas &
Susan Kingdon live in Well Street, Great Torrington, Devon, he is a Pensioner; At the age of 74 he is living in
Northgate Cottage, Barnstaple with his 2nd wife, Elizabeth ?? Aged 50 from Ilfracombe; His widow Elizabeth
lived at #117 Boutport Street, Barnstaple in the 1911 Census; Thomas Kingdon died in 1911 at the age of 85 in
Barnstaple; Awarded the Sutlej Medal for Sabraon in the 1st Sikh War in India; Awarded the Indian Mutiny
Medal with Clasps for Delhi, Relief of Lucknow & Lucknow;
Kingdon, Thomas: No Specific Details; (WW1 Absent voters List);
Notes: In the Spring 1919 Absent Voters List for Devon, South Molton District, Parish of Bishops Nympton
there is reference #214 for Kingdon Thomas – East Port Cottage, Wellington GWR Station, Somerset? This is
a little confusing but I believe that this may well be Thomas Kingdon born 1891 in Bishops Nympton; If I am
correct then he is the son of William Kingdon, a Farm Labourer, b.1863 Bishops Nympton & Charlotte Tucker
Loosemore from Mariansleigh who Married in 1882 in Barton Regis; In 1891 Census Thomas would be aged 3
months & lived with his parents in Bishops Nympton at Stone Lake; In 1901 Census the family are living at
Higher Fyldon in North Molton, Devon; I have not researched further at this time? There are no military
records on file? (He may be the Brother of Kingdon, James: Royal Engineers No: 105699 Rank: Sapper
1914-1920 WO 372/11);
Kingdon, Thomas: Private, #15107, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Plymouth Division; ADM 159/156, WW1;
Notes: The ADM records have a Thomas Kingdon born on 08.03.1892, no birthplace, but I can find no
matching Kingdons born in 1892 who might fit this profile? The RMLI records have Thomas Kingdon
Enlisting in the Plymouth Division on 22.09.1910; At the time of the WW1 Medals issue ADM 171/169
records that he was serving with ‘HMS Resolution’; Awarded the 1914-15 Star, Victory & British War
Medals; Insufficient information to identify for certain;
Kingdon, Thos (Thomas): No Specific Details but probably a Private, Scots Fusilier Guards; (1841 Census
records);
Notes: In the 1841 Census Records for the St John’s Wood Barracks, Finchley Road East in Marylebone,
London there is a record for Thos Kingdon Aged 25 (b.1816), not born in Middlesex County, who is serving
as a ‘Soldier’; There is no mention of any Regiment in these records; (In the 1851 & 1861 Censuses these
barracks housed the Scots Fusiliers Guards, foreunners of the Scots Guards); I could not identify this man
further;
Kingdon, Thomas: Private, #2267/S, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Portsmouth Division; ADM 159/207,
WW1;
Notes: The ADM/159 records have this soldier as Thomas Kingdom, all other records for Thomas Kingdon
born 25.12.1892, no birthplace, Enlisting in the RMLI, Portsmouth Division for ‘Short Service’ on 19.01.1916;
This Royal Marine Private was Demobilised on 24.02.1919; I can find no matching Thomas Kingdon or
Kingdom birth that would fit this profile? Awarded the Victory & British war Medals; Needs more research;
Kingdon, Thomas: Rifle Brigade No: S1075 Rank: Corporal 1914-1920 WO 372/11, (1891 service, Boer War
to WW1 period);
Notes: The prefix S/ on his Regimental Number denotes WW1 Service; Also served previously as #9082 1st
Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own): This is Thomas Henry Kingdon born in Bristol St Pauls in
1868, the son of William Kingdon b.1840 in Bristol St James, a Shipwright & Elizabeth Morgan(?) from
Newport in Monmouth who may have married in Bristol in 1858?; In 1871 Thomas Henry Kingdon lived with
his parents in Horfield, Gloucestershire; In 1881 Census Thomas Henry Kingdon is a 13 year old Scholar
living with his parents in Clifton, Bristol; I cannot find him in the 1891 Census & I believe that he was already
in the Army then; It would appear from his records that his very first Army Service Engagement expired on
01.11.1899 & that he was transferred to the 1st Class Army Reserve on 13.02.1900; Thomas Henry Kingdon
Married Blanche Mary Vear in Bristol on 11.04.1898, she was born in Bedminster in 1878; (Their children
were Nellie May Kingdon born 09.10.1898 in Clifton, Bristol; Thomas Charles Henry Kingdon born
25.06.1900 in Clifton, who I believe emigrates to Ontario & is recorded in Canada as a Defaulter, having
never registered there for WW1 Military Service, he was apprehended on 31.07.1918; He states he was born in
Cardiff, Wales on 25.06.1900, is a Farmer & his next of kin is Miss Nellie Kingdon of #36, Ambre Vale, East
Clifton, Bristol, England; He then is put into the Canadian Army, 2nd Depot Battalion EOR as #3327602);
Another son William Ernest Kingdon born 20.05.1903 in Bristol who I believe serves in the Royal Navy); In
1901 Blanche Kingdon & daughter Nellie & son Thomas live in Ambrose Road, Clifton, Bristol; Thomas
Henry then served as #9082 in the Rifle Brigade from 16.02.1900 to 05.06.1900 at the Rifle Brigade Depot in
Gosport, England; Served in South Africa from 06.06.1900 to 09.08.1902 & had been promoted to Sergeant in
1901 until he was ‘Tried for drunkenness whilst on Active Service’ & reduced back to the rank of Corporal;
He served back in England from 10.08.1902 until 15.02.1904; A total service of 4 years & was Discharged &
Transferred to the Special Reserve on 15.02.1904 upon the termination of his engagement; On his reenlistment papers he states that he isn’t married (widower is crossed out, so perhaps his wife had died?) when
he re-enlists at the age of 40, (in Cardiff), coming from the Reserve on 05.09.1914 to serve in WW1; He joined
in Winchester, going to France on 22.07.1915; He gives his next of kin as David Kingdon, #45, Ambre vale
East, Clifton, Bristol, his younger brother; These re-enlistment records also state that he had previously served
for 14 years with the Rifle Brigade; Between 1914 & 1916 he was promoted to Corporal & was finally
discharged from the Army on 18.10.1916 as being physically unfit & suffering from old age, Rheumatism &
an enlarged heart; He was given the Chelsea Pensioner #75737E; There is a record in his file which is dated
14.03.1917 which may have been another medical board regarding his pension, but his address is given as #75,
Glovers Road, Small Heath, Birmingham? However, further research indicates that he Died of Heart Failure
after discharge on 14.03.1917 in Birmingham Aged 48; Awarded the Silver War Badge #34181; WW1 Medals
Card on file; This career Soldier also received Medals for the South Africa Campaign 1900 – 1901 & South
Africa Medals Clasps for Cape Colony & Transvaal; (Father of Kingdon, Thomas Charles: Canadian
Expeditionary Force No: #3327602, Rank: Private); Father of William Ernest Kingdon, #SS10518 Royal
Navy);
Kingdon, Thomas Baron Baker: #113097, Royal Navy; ADM 188/141; (1880’s)
Notes: This is Thomas Baron Baker Kingdon born 22.09.1864 in Plymouth, Devon (registration records
have 4th Q 1865 Plymouth), the son of James William Kingdon b.1827 in Barnstaple & Elizabeth Ann Prout
b.1832 in Modbury who married in 1862 in Plymouth, Devon; (I believe that his Father, James William
Kingdon was serving as a Sergeant in the Royal Marines at that time, who was later discharged in Plymouth
ca.1870 & afterwards lived in Barnstaple; Another clue is that Thomas Baron Baker Kingdon’s Paternal
Grandparents were William James Kingdon & Mary Baron Baker who married in 1822 in Barnstaple); In 1871
Census Thomas Kingdon is aged 5 & living with his parents in the ‘Salutation’ Public House in Castle Street,
Barnstaple, Devon, his Father was the Innkeeper; Thomas Baron Baker Kingdon’s Official Naval Number
would indicate enlistment; between 01.01,1880 & 31.12.1880; In 1881 Thomas B. B. Kingdom is a 2nd Class
Boy serving in the Royal Navy aboard the Training Ship ‘HMS Impregnable’ stationed in Hamoaze,
Devonport; After this I lost this person? (I believe that he is the son of Sergeant James William Kingdon,
Royal Marines, who was serving in Plymouth in 1861 & probably discharged in 1870); Needs more research;
Kingdon, Thomas Charles: 2nd Depot Battalion, Eastern Ontario Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force
No: #3327602, Rank: Private, WW1;
Notes: This is Thomas Charles Henry Kingdon born 25.06.1900 in Clifton, Bristol, England, the son of
Thomas Henry Kingdon, a British Soldier, b.1868 in Bristol & Blanche Mary Vear from Bedminster,
Gloucestershire, who married in Bristol on 11.04.1898; His Father served in the South African Boer War & in
WW1 & was a bit of a drunkard who was discharged from the British Army as unfit in 1916 & died of heart
failure in 1917; His sister was Nellie May Kingdon born 09.10.1898 in Clifton, Bristol; His brother was
William Ernest Kingdon born 20.05.1903 in Bristol; Thomas Charles Henry Kingdon probably was forcibly
emigrated to Ontario in January of 1913 as a “Home Child” aboard the ‘SS Hesperian’; His Father had
obviously abandoned his family, but where was his Mother? Did his mother die or abandon her children? I
checked the 1911 UK Census & found a female Kingdon lodging at #37, Ambre Vale East in Clifton; In early
1918 Thomas Kingdon was apprehended in Ottawa, Ontario as a Non-Registered Military Service Defaulter;
On 01.03.1918 he is examined & states that he was born in Cardiff, Wales on 25.06.1900, is a Farmer & that
his next of kin is Miss Nellie Kingdon of #36, Ambre Vale, East Clifton, Bristol, England; (Did he lie about
his origins? As his Father passed away in 1917 I suspect that he believed that he was born in Cardiff); On
05.07.1918 he is recruited into the Canadian Army, 2nd Depot Battalion, E.O.R. as #3327602 & sent overseas
to England & then France; On 30.05.1919 Private Thomas Charles Kingdon returns to Canada onboard the
‘RMS Empress of Russia’, arriving in Vancouver, presumably for discharge; On 30.12.1924 in Ottawa,
Thomas Charles Henry Kingdon Married Helen Margaret Morrison, born 22.06.1902 in Wyman, Quebec;
Thomas states his residence as Detroit on his marriage registration dated 30.12.1924; Thomas continues to
state that his Father was from Cardiff & that he was born in Cardiff, Wales; The family must have returned to
Detroit after the marriage, as we find them living in Detroit, Michigan in the 1930 US census where Thomas is
employed as an electrician in an auto plant. (They have 5 children; John Thomas Kingdon born in 1929 in
Michigan, USA; Richard C Kingdon born 03.12.1932 in Shawville, Quebec; Blanche Ann Kingdon born in
1936; David Herbert Kingdon born in 1939; & Robert Hayes Kingdon born in 1940); Strangely, Thomas
Charles Kingdon attempts to re-enter the USA at the Rochester border crossing on 05.12.1945 to join the US
Army? He is aged 45 & declared his correct birth date of 25.06.1900 but this time in Bristol, England; He
gives his last Canada address as Shawville & his wife’s name as Helen Kingdon; He confirmed that he had
previously lived in Detroit from May 1921 to 1930; (On the border card there is reference to January 1911 ‘SS
Hesperian’ which may be when he first emigrated to Canada, but I now believe that this should read 1913?
Thomas Charles Kingdon was referred to the B.S.I. for further investigation, but failed to appear – the border
immigration noted that “This man has an Honorable Release from the Canadian Air Force (Medical Category
APBP) 21.11.1945; He has a wife & 5 children in Canada. He is referred to B.S.I. at Niagara Falls NY L.P.C.
because he has no visa, he has no money & says that he would look for a job if rejected by the US Army”;
After this date I have not followed him any further; I believe that Thomas Charles Henry Kingdon Died on
28.03.1974 in Montreal Aged 73; (His Father was Kingdon, Thomas Henry: Rifle Brigade No: S1075 Rank:
Corporal 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who also served as #9082 in the Rifle Brigade); (He is the Brother of
William Ernest Kingdon, #SS10518 Royal Navy);
Kingdon, Thomas James: #7919A, 2nd Class Boy, Royal Navy; ADM 188/1; (1860’s period);
Notes: There is a Royal Navy record for #7919A Thos. Jas. Kingdon, serving as a Boy 2 nd Class on the shore
based ‘HMS Fisguard’, having signed up for 10 years service on 08.04.1862 in the ADM 188 records, which
indicates enlistment between 01.01.1853 & 31.12.1874, however the prefix ‘A’ would indicate enlistment after
1859 & before 1867; There is very little other information but I believe that ‘HMS Fisguard’ was a Training
Ship in Woolwich Harbour around this time; I can find no Thomas James Kingdon births that would fit this
profile; Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, Thomas Medland: #29419, ‘E’ Company, 1st Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 12th
Reinforcements, WW1;
Notes: This is Thomas Medland Kingdon born 1859 in New Zealand, the son of Paul Kingdon, a Lawyer
b.21.08.1824 in Devon of the Kingdon/Thorverton line, & Rachel Ellen Parker who married in 1857 in
Islington, England & soon after moved to Wellington, New Zealand; In 1890 Thomas Medland Kingdon was
recorded as a Settler living in Karori, Wellington; Thomas Medland Kingdon Married Emma Eleanor
Reimenschnieder in New Zealand ca.1894, (she was the daughter of a German Missionary who had been in
New Zealand since 1843); In 1896 Thomas Medland & Emma Eleanor Kingdon are recorded as a Settler, in
Mangaone, Pahiatua; In 1900, 1905 & 1906, they are in Mangaone, Pahiatua, Manawatu-Wuanganui; In the
1911 & 1914 Electoral Rolls they are Farming in Levin, Otaki, Wellington; Thomas Medland Kingdon was
recruited for WW1 Service on 21.06.1916 with #3 Group, Paeroa, at the Auckland City Recruiting Station, he
was a Farmer & records that his wife’s address was c/o Mrs. J.R. Oakley of Gisborne; He embarked from
Wellington in New Zealand for Plymouth in England on board the ‘HMNZT Tofua’ on 11.10.1916; He served
with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade in Europe & returned home in October 1918; In 1919 Thomas Medland
Kingdon is recorded at the Grosvenor Hotel in Fielding, Oroua as a Sheep Farmer; In 1928 & 1935 he is a
Farmer in Hobsonville, Auckland; Thomas Medland Kingdon died on 01.08.1935 Aged 76, his UK Probate &
Will were not processed until 1947 by the New Zealand High Commission; (He was the Father of Paul Kent
Kingdon & this family are well documented in the Kingdon Book ‘A Second Look’ dated 1974); (He is the
brother of Guy Havelock Kingdon, New Zealand Army Reservist, WW1); (He was the Father of #13556
Sapper Paul Kent Kingdon, New Zealand Field Engineers);
Kingdon, Thomas Sidney: Private, #174320, 86th Machine Gun Battalion, Canadian Overseas Expeditionary
Force, WW1;
Notes: There is some confusion with this record, as there appear to be two Enlistments/Attestations for the
same person? There is a Thomas Sidney Kingdon, born 13.09.1878 in Barnstaple, Devon, England, living at
#202 Jamison, East Hamilton, Ontario, a Married Fitter who had served previously with the A.S.C. for 3
months, who Attested for WW1 service on 23.08.1915 in Hamilton, Ontario; He gave his wife’s details as
Helena B. Kingdon & was aged 36 years & 3 months at the time; The second record is for a Thomas Sydney
Kingdom (but he signs as Kingdon), born 13.11.1879 in Barnstaple, Devon, England, living at #17, West
Avenue, North Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, a Married Chauffeur who had served for 6 months previously with
A.M.S, who Attested for WW1 Service on 11.02.1915 in Toronto; He gave his wife’s details as Helena
Beatrice Kingdom & was also aged 36 years & 3 months at the time? I believe that these records are for the
same person as there are too many exactly similar details; It is possible that he enlisted in two different places
in 1915 as he was perhaps tired of waiting to be called up from the February attempt or because he had
changed addresses? I would suggest that this is Thomas Sidney Kingdon born 13.09.1878 in Barnstaple,
Devon (there are no records for any matching Kingdon in November 1879 as noted on the 2 nd attestation
papers); He is the son of George Kingdon a Ship’s Carpenter, b.1833 in Barnstaple & Matilda Loosemore
b.1834 Barnstaple who Married in 1855 in Barnstaple; In1881 Census Tomas Kingdon is aged 2 years & lives
with his parents in Lemons Houses in Pilton, Barnstaple; In 1891 Thomas Sidney Kingdon is aged 13 years &
is with his married sister Edith Matilda Gould & her husband as boarders in Swansea, Wales; I believe that
Thomas Sidney Kingdon Marries Helena Beatrice Trezise (a widow or a divorcee with children), nee Phillips
b.1868 Bristol, in Barnstaple in 1899; The Kingdon family then emigrate to Canada on separate vessels in
1910 – Thomas on the ‘SS Tunisia’ 15.05.1910 & Helen Beatrice & their 2 children on the ‘SS Laurentic’; In
the 1911 Canada Census, Thomas Sidney & Helena Kingdon live in Hamilton, Ontario; I understand that
Private #174320 Thomas Kingdon sailed from Liverpool, England on the Canadian forces 5th Sailing of 1918
for Medically Unfit Soldiers, returning to Canada for Discharge; Thomas Sidney Kingdon died in Hamilton,
Ontario on 11.12.1925 of Septic Pneumonia; This Soldier needs more research;
Kingdon, Thomas Wesley; #53209 Private, ‘D’ Company, Otago Infantry Regiment, New Zealand
Expeditionary Force, WW1;
Notes: This is Thomas Wesley Kingdon born 30.07.1896 in Gore, Southland, commonly known as Wes
Kingdon; He was the son of Arthur Henry Kingdon, a Farmer b.1863 & Elizabeth Falconer, who Married in
1894; Prior to WW1 Service Thomas Wesley lived with his parents in Gore & was involved in Farming; This
soldier enlisted in in the Otago Infantry in 1917 & embarked for Devonport in England from Wellington, New
Zealand on 12.06.1917 on board the ‘HMNZT 87 Tahiti’, with the 1st Draft of the 27th Reinforcements, New
Zealand Expeditionary Force; He served in France where he was wounded on 09.10.1918 & subsequently
invalided back to England for treatment; He remained in an English Hospital until being transferred back to
New Zealand with #231 Draft onboard the Hospital Ship ‘Maheno’ in 1919, arriving home on 20.04.1919; He
then began his recovery at the local hospital in Gore, Southlands before returning to Farming; From then until
1938 he was recorded as being a Farmer in Gore, Mataura before marrying a Mary Simpson ?? in ??; In1946 &
1949 they were still Farming in Gore but residing at #3, Howard Street; In 1957, 1963 & 1969 they were still
at the same address but Thomas Wesley Kingdon was a Storeman; By the year 1972 & 1978 he had Retired
but they continued to live at #3, Howard Street, Gore, Wallace, Southlands; In 1981 Thomas Wesley & Mary
Simpson Kingdon lived at #30, Main Street, Gore; I did not research further;
Kingdon, Tom; #3259 Royal Marine Artillery, Short Service, (#RMA/3259/S); ADM 159/101; (Late WW1
period);
Notes: In the Spring 1919 Absent Voters List for Devon, South Molton District, Parish of Morchard Bishop
there is reference #5558 to a Kingdon, Tom – Rudge Rewe (No service details given); Following research this
is obviously Tom Kingdon born 1st Q 1899 Crediton 5b.364 (Morchard Bishop); He was the son of Charles
Kingdon, a Farmer b.1864 Colebrooke, Devon & Alice Sarah Fish, from Brompton Ralph in Somerset, who
married in 1891 in Islington, London; In the 1901 & the 1911 Censuses he lived with his Parents at Rudge
Rewe Farm, Morchard Bishop, Devon; Tom Kingdon enlisted in the Royal Marine Artillery, Short Service, on
14.06.1918; Tom Kingdon Married Dorothy Annie Ellicott, b.1890 St Mary Church, Devon, in Crediton in
1925, Children Marjorie Ethel b.1926 Morchard Bishop & John Sylvanus b.1927 Morchard Bishop; After
emigrating to Canada on the ‘SS Aurania’ on 26.05.1928, Tom Kingdon lives at #368, Edmonton Street,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; (Tom’s Wife Dorothy Annie Kingdon & Children, as immigrants, plus Tom’s
Mother, Alice Sarah Kingdon now a Widow, travel to Canada on the ‘SS Aurania’ on the 18.05.1929,); (This
man is part of the Coldridge Kingdon family line, see the Kingdon Book 1932); I can find no Medals card for
this man & presume that he joined the War very late on & did not serve overseas, however later research of
ADM 171/169 indicates award of the British War Medal; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Charles S (Charles
Sylvanus Kingdon): Royal Garrison Artillery No: 65306 Rank: Corporal 1914-1920 WO 372/11);
Kingdon Tom: Royal Marines; ADM 157/658/974, (Attested in 1882);
Kingdon, Tom: Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert’s), No: 20664 Rank: Private
Kingdon, Tom: Royal Defence Corps, No: 7970 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is Tom Kingdon born 1863 Dulverton, Somerset, son of Jacob Kingdon b.1836 Kings Brompton,
Somerset & Maria Quick from Dulverton; In 1871 & 1881 Tom Kingdon lived with his parents in Dulverton,
Somerset; The ADM 157 Records indicate that this Tom Kingdom, born 1863 in Somerset, was Attested in
1882 for Service with the Royal Marines when he reached the age of 19; He was however Discharged in 1883
as paid 10 Pounds; Tom Kingdon Married Louisa Gardener from Corsham, Wiltshire on 28.06.1888 in
Chippenham, Wiltshire; In 1891 they lived in Ystradyfodwg, Glamorgan, Wales next door to widowed
Grandfather Jacob Kingdon; In 1901 they lived back in Dulverton, Somerset, Tom was a Mason’s Labourer in
the Summer & a Tree Feller in the Winter; In the 1911 Census Tom & Louisa Kingdon live in Mill Green,
Dulverton, Tom is a Mason working for a Builder; Tom Kingdon enlisted in the 4th Support Company, 5th
(Reserve) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry on 01.02.1915, aged 52 years & 10 months; On 29.04.1916 he
was transferred to the 300th Company, Royal Defence Corps, served entirely in England & was discharged on
19.09.1918, having suffered a rupture/hernia in service as a Storeman at Tidworth, Wiltshire, he was issued a
truss, released from the Army for Tree Felling Duties after his injury; In total he served for 3 Years & 231
Days; He was awarded a Pension/Gratuity for his injury; Private Tom Kingdon was Discharged under King’s
Regulations Para 392 (xvi) for Sickness at the age of 55 years & it is recorded that he never served overseas;
Awarded the Silver War Badge #B12952; Records Card on file, no medals issued; (He was the Father of,
Luther John Kingdon Private #25466 Wiltshire Regiment & #M/410958, RASC who also served in WW1);
V
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE
Kingdon, Victor P: Royal Army Medical Corps No: 114598 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is Victor Percy Kingdon born 24.05.1900 in Huntsham, Devon & baptised there on 01.07.1900,
the son of John Kingdon, a Domestic Gardener b.1870 Bishops Nympton & Mary Anna Didham, b.1862
Colyton, Devon, who married in Somerset in 1892; (BDM records has Victor Percy Kingdom); In 1901 Victor
Percy Kingdon lived with his parents in Rectory Lodge, Huntsham, Devon, his Father is a Gardener; In the
1911 Census Victor Percy is aged 10 & lived with his parents at Godbridge, Thurlbeere, Taunton, Somerset,
his Father is a Farm Labourer; There is no indication of when Victor Percy Kingdon enlisted in the Army for
WW1 Service; Victor Percy Kingdon Married Hilda Littlejohns in Taunton in 1926, (probably b.07.12.1901 in
Taunton, Somerset); I believe that Victor Percy Kingdon Died in May 1985 in Yeovil, Somerset Aged 85;
Medals Card on file; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Alfred John Walter: Leicestershire Regiment No:
235220 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11who also served in WW1);
Further Information: There are further records for a Victor Percy Kingdon which do not logically link with
this person, however, I have recorded them here as they may be relevant; I also researched every birth record
for a 5 year period in Devon looking for any other Victor Percy Kingdon or Kingdom, but to no avail: Could
this RAMC Soldier also have served with the RN Reserve? It seems strange to me also that Victor Percy &
Hilda Kingdon did not have any children until 1935 despite having been married in 1926? Was he serving
away with the Merchant Navy?
Kingdon, Victor Percy: Merchant Seaman, Navy, #DA20499; BT 377/7/68220, WW1;
Notes: Birth given as 01.01.1900 Near Bampton in Devon; Service (??) Date range 01.01.1908 – 31.12.1955;
Kingdon, Victor Percy: Merchant Seaman, Navy, #SBD634; BT 377/7/100793, WW1;
Notes: No other information but a Date range of 01.01.1908 – 31.12.1955;
Kingdon, Victor Percy: Royal Naval Reserve, Deck Boy, #634/SBD, WW1;
Notes: No other information; ADM 171/122 records the issue of WW1 Medals, Victory & British War
Medals;
No resolution found;
Kingdon, Victor W: Gloucestershire Regiment No: 4352 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: #4352 Gloucester Regiment denotes enlistment between 24.01.1894 & 13.08.1895; This Soldier also
served as an Air Mechanic, Class III Rigger with #103 Squadron Royal Air force HQ, Ground Staff in France
in 1918; Further research revealed that he was #405280 Kingdon V. W. who enlisted in the Muster of the
Royal Air force on Transfer from the Army on 01.06.1915 as his Royal Air Force number block suggests;
Following on, I now believe that this is actually William Victor Kingdon born 1894 in Barton Regis,
Gloucestershire as we can find no records for a Victor W Kingdon other than his Military one. I understand
that he was generally known as Victor Kingdon; He was the son of William J. Kingdon, a Cabinet Maker
b.1871 in St James, Bristol & Louisa Nicholson from Bedminster who Married in 1892 in Barton Regis,
Gloucestershire; In 1901 William (B) Kingdon aged 7 lived with his parents in #17, Unity Street, Bristol & at
the same address in the 1911 Census where William is now a 17 year old Cabinet Maker (Furniture) just like
his Father; William Victor Kingdon died in 1926 in Bristol Aged 32; Medals Card on file for the British War
& Victory Medals; I did not research any further;
W
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE
Kingdon, W: #3158, Private, 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, Boer War;
Notes: The 1st Battalion South Staffords served in South Africa from 1900 & were mostly involved in minor
skirmishes with the Boers, returning to England in 1904; There are Medal Rolls for Private W. Kingdon for
service in South Africa in the Boer War; One is dated 30.06.1903 & the other dated 14.09.1903 in Harrismith
O.R.C; Medals awarded were: King’s South Africa; Queen’s South Africa; Clasps South Africa 1901 & 1902;
Clasps Transvaal; Insufficient information to identify this soldier;
Kingdom, W: Royal Marines 2nd Battalion. RN Division, Marine Light Infantry, #PO/1887(S), Rank: Private;
- Died of Sickness in WW1; Private W Kingdom, PO/1887(S), Royal Marines Battalion Royal Naval
Division, Royal Marine Light Infantry who died age 22 on 18th September 1918; Son of Eva and Cornelius
Hocker (Stepfather), Native of Liskeard, Cornwall; Remembered with honour Mont Huon Military Cemetery,
Le Treport in France; (Le Treport was an important hospital centre); Transferred from the Kingdom List;
Notes: This soldier appears to have died from illness and not from enemy action, this cemetery was also used
for soldiers who died at one of the nearby General Hospitals in Le Treport; His Ancestry WW1 Death record
says that he died from disease and that his grave is unknown or not recorded, his Mother is recorded as Eva
Hocker, #2, Pound Street, Liskeard, Cornwall; Another Record states that he died of Dysentery in the 16 th
General Hospital in Le Treport, death was due to privation & exposure while on active service! (This record
also has this information: 2nd RM Bn. Draft for BEF 19/5/17, Invalided to UK (undated, sick); 2nd RM Bn.
Draft for BEF 3/4/18-18/9/18 DD.; And the following: Notes: CWGC = W. Kingdom, RM Bn.; ADM/159 =
William John Yendell Kingdon; Papers misfiled in back of ADM/157/2734 (W-Y 1918), signature reads
"Kingdon"; GRO & ADM/242 = William J.Y. Kingdon, 2nd RM Bn.; Mother, Eva Hocker, 2 Pound St.,
Liskeard, Cornwall);
This is actually William John Yendall Kingdon born in Launceston, Cornwall on 15.11.1896; He is the son
of Thomas Kingdon, a Blacksmith born 1867 in Polbathick, Cornwall, & Eva Jane Carne, b.05.10.1867 in
Doddycross, Menheniot, Cornwall, who Married in Liskeard, Cornwall on 24.12.1889; In the 1901 Willie
Kingdon lives with his Mother Eva J. Kingdon in Menheniot in Cornwall in 1901 Census; (I am assuming that
his Father was away from home)? In the 1911 Census William Kingdon is aged 14 & living with his Mother
Eva Kingdon in Higher Lux Street, Liskeard, Cornwall, & working as a Bakehouse Boy in a Bakery; (I am
assuming that his Father was away from home)? (William Kingdon’s Father must have died or abandoned the
family, post 1911 & pre 1917, as his Mother remarried in 1917 in Liskeard, Cornwall to Cornelius Hocker, a
widower & granite polisher, & lived in Cornwall, I understand that she died on 15.02.1931 in Cornwall); A
further search of Royal Marine Records confirms that this should be William John Yendell Kingdon, #1887
who enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry: Portsmouth division – Short Service, on 12th February 1917;
This record gives his Birth Date as 22nd August 1896 – ADM 159/206 reference; I originally found no Medals
Card on record but having searched further, ADM 171/169 records that he was awarded the Victory & British
War Medals; (He was the younger brother of Claude Carne Kingdon, #178198 in the Machine Gun Corps);
Kingdon, W A: Soldiers Christian Association 1914-1920 WO 372/23; WW1 period;
Notes: This is the Military Auxiliary of the YMCA; This is Winifred Adams Kingdon whose name appears
on the Absent Voters List for #21, Yew Tree Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Warwickshire for 1918 & again
in 1919; Her credentials are indicated as A.I.B.D. which probably stands for Australian Infantry Base Depot
which was situated in Rouelles, near Le Havre, France; She is recorded as being an absent voter with a
Elizabeth Frances Kingdon of the same address; Winifred Adams Kingdon obviously came from a wealthy
family as in the 1911 Census she is aged 36 & living with her Widowed Mother & 3 other spinster sisters, all
on ‘Private Means’, at The Croft, St Annes Road, Eastbourne, Sussex; (This family originates from the Cory
Kingdon, Holsworthy, Devon line); Winifred Adams Kingdon was born in Spondon, Derbyshire in 1874, she
is the daughter of Godfrey Kingdon, a Clergyman b.1838 in Poughill, Cornwall & Frances Adams, b.1833 in
Nottingham, 1863 in Radford, Nottinghamshire; In the 1881 Census Winifred A Kingdon is aged 6 & lives
with her parents, who were absent on the census date, at the St Mary’s Church Vicarage, Spondon, Derbyshire;
In the 1891 Census her Father was the Vicar of Taunton St James in Somerset & Winifred A Kingdon lived
with her parents at Salisbury House, Taunton St Mary Magdalene Within, Somerset; In the 1901 Census she is
living with her parents at Witherley Rectory in Leicestershire; In 1935 & in 1939 Winifred Adams Kingdon
lived with her spinster sisters at #13, Yew Tree Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Warwickshire; Winifred
Adams Kingdon Died a Spinster Aged 75 on 01.03.1950 at Penlee, Landscore Road, Teignmouth, Devon;
There is no MIC Card but this name appears in the UK Medals & Awards Archives for WW1, WO
372/23/23532; (She was the Sister of Kingdon, Elizabeth Frances: Soldiers Christian Association 1914 1920, WO 372/23);
Kingdon, W J: #4420, Private, 1st Battalion Prince Albert’s Somerset Light Infantry, India 1890’s; WO
100/86;
Notes: I have a Medals roll record for the issue of the 1895 India Medal & Clasps dated 16.09.1898 in
Kuldanna for the 1st Battalion, The Prince Albert’s Somerset Light Infantry, for a Private W. J. Kingdon
#4420, however, the W has been crossed out but unfortunately the replacement letter is not clear? This Soldier
probably enlisted between 18.03.1895 & 09.06.1896 according to his Regimental number of #4420; Prince
Albert’s Somerset Light Infantry served in India from 1893 to 1908 & then in England from 1908 to 1914;
Awarded the 1885 India Medal & the 1897-1898 Punjab Clasp for service with the Punjab Command;
Insufficient information to identify further;
Further Notes: It is possible that this Soldier may very well be John Kingdon, a Private in the 1st Battalion,
Prince Albert’s Somerset Light Infantry, who at the age of 24, (born 1776), Died & was Buried in Murree
Gallies on 28.05.1900 in Bengal, (see British Library India Office Ref. N/1/283 f.129);
Kingdon, W J: #5613994, Acting Sergeant, Palestine Force Signals; WO 100/502; Palestine 1936-1939;
Notes: There is a Medals Roll Issue for Acting Sergeant, W J Kingdon having served in Palestine with the
Palestine Force Signals Regiment, which was issed in Jerusalem on 06.03.1940; I have no other information on
this soldier; Awarded the General Service Medal & Palestine Clasp; Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, W L: Army Service Corps No: MS/4249 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Transferred to Kingdom List: Kingdom, William L: Army Service Corps No: MS/4249 Rank: Private 19141920 WO372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is William Llewellyn Kingdom born 4th Q 1892 Oakford/Tiverton; 2x Medals Cards on file for
the award of the 1914 Star, The British War & Victory Medals; (Brother of Kingdom, Percy A: King's Royal
Rifle Corps No: R/32668 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11; & also a Royal Air Force Officer WW1; AIR
76/277/105); (Brother of Kingdom, Horace D: Devonshire Regiment No: 30429 Rank: Private 1914-1920
WO 372/11, who Died in WW1 on 06.05.1917); (All 3 Brothers are recorded on the Bampton, Devon
Memorial Roll);
Kingdon, W. M: #2939, Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force; - Died in WW1 on 26.09.1917
CWGC records - Private W M Kingdon #2939, 51st Battalion, 7th Reinforcement, Australian Infantry,
Australian Imperial Force who died on 26th September 1917; Remembered with honour Oostaverne Wood
Cemetery in Heuvelland, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium;
Notes: There are more records for this soldier in the Australian Military Files; This is #2939 Private William
Matthew Kingdom who was the subject of the Australian Red Cross Society Wounded & Missing Enquiry
Bureau for the 1914-18 War; There are numerous enquiry correspondences which would indicate that ‘Billy’
Kingdon was wounded in the leg at Polygon Wood in September 1917 & whilst being carried on a stretcher
from the front line was killed by a shell & that he was buried where he fell between Polygon Wood &
Zonnebeke;
Detailed Military Records have this man as William Matthew Kingdom born 1896 in Carlton, Victoria,
Australia; This soldier enlisted on 13.06.1916, aged 21 years & 2 months & joined for duty on 11.07.1916 in
Perth, Australia; He gave his next of kin as his Father, Richard Kingdon & Agnes Clara Byrnes of Woodbridge
Terrace, Midland Junction, Western Australia, stating that he had served earlier with the Citizen Force, 88th
Infantry Unit at home in Perth as #2087 & that his occupation was a Packer; The unit he was assigned to
embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia on board HMAT A8 ‘Argylshire’ on 09.11.1916, arriving in
Devonport, Plymouth, England on 10.01.1917, with the 7th Reinforcements, 51st Infantry Battalion; William
Matthew Kingdom then proceeded to France from Folkestone on 10.04.1917, he was taken on unit strength on
01.05.1917 & was Killed in Action on 26.09.1917; This soldier’s family were awarded a pension of 40
Australian Shillings per fortnight as compensation for the loss of their son; William Matthew Kingdon’s body
was exhumed from his original battle burial location in 1928 & interred in Oosttaverne Wood Military
Cemetery in Belgium, his grave reference is VIII.D.17; Medals awarded, 1914-15 Star, British War & Victory
Medals sent to his Father in 1922; (He was the Brother of Richard Vincent Kingdon, #16357, Australian
Army Service Corps);
Kingdon, Wallace David: Lieutenant, Royal Naval Reserve & Sea Cadet Corps; (1960’s);
Notes: The Royal Naval Reserve Lists have reference to Wallace David Kingdon as a Temporary Sub
Lieutenant & later a Lieutenant, for Duty with the (SCC) Sea Cadet Corps in 1961, 1962, 1968 & 1970; His
Lieutenant seniority is dated from 16.02.1963; There are no other naval records; This is Wallace David
Kingdon who was born in Lewisham in 1924, however, he may well have been the illegitmiate son of a girl
called Nanktelow, this name is shown in the records, plus there is the same 1924 birth reference in Lewisham
for a Wallace David Nanktelow also; Wallace David Kingdon Married Florence Amy Smith in 1946 in
Lewisham; They lived at #66, Geraint Road, Lewisham in 1946; They lived at #8, Scarlet Road, Lewisham in
1952 & they lived at #94, Capstone Road, Lewisham in 1963; I did not research further;
Kingdon, Walter: Sergeant, Royal Horse Artillery, India; (1880-1890’s period);
Notes: This is Walter Kingdon born in 1852 in West Monkton, Somerset, he is the son of John Kingdon
b.1827, a Railway Labourer, in North Petherton, Somerset & Sarah Rice? from Cheriton Fitzpaine who
married in 1850 in Taunton; In 1861 Walter Kingdon is aged 9 years & lives with his parents at Heathfield
Leach Cottages in West Monkton; I seem to have lost this man until I discovered a Marriage record for Bengal,
India in 1881; Subsequently, it would appear that Walter Kingdon joined the Royal Horse Artillery pre 1881 &
was posted to India; Walter Kingdon Married Sarah A. Gardiner from Canterbury, Kent in 1881 in Bengal,
India, volume 175, folio 138 in the Bengal Marriage Index; His wife may well have been a Widow as her name
is recorded as Bull nee Gardiner in the records; Further research of WO 69/72/215 supports this marriage data
with a record indicating Walter Kingdon of ‘C’ Brigade, Royal horse Artillery, Married Sarah Ann Bull on
16.02.1881 at Peshawar, Archdeaconry of Lahore, India; In 1891 Census this family were living in the District
Grand Depot Barracks in Woolwich Arsenal; This soldier probably had a Chelsea Pension awarded before he
died; I believe that Walter Kingdon Died in Lambeth in 1896 Aged 44; His widow then lived in #23, Tenison
Street, Lambeth as a Charwoman in 1901 Census; In 1911 She lived with 2 of her sons & a daughter at #27,
New Street, Kennington, London & was a Cleaner at the House of Commons (the records indicate that she had
had 8 children but only 3 of them were still living at that time although this may well not be totally correct
because I believe that she had another son Walter George Kingdon born 1890 in Woolwich who was serving in
the Army since 1907); (Sergeant Walter Kingdon was the Father of Kingdon, Walter G: Royal Field
Artillery No: 47379 Rank: Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/11 See also Kingdom, W G: Royal Field Artillery
No: 47379 Rank: Driver 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (Also the Father of #464504 Private Harry Kingdon, ‘C’
Company, Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force, #439435a & 439435b);
Kingdon, Walter F: London Regiment No: 555062 Rank: Rifleman 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: I would suggest that this is very likely Walter Harold Kingdon born 29.12.1897 in Forest Hill,
Lewisham, London; I believe that the 16th Battalion was generally made up of Lewisham men & there does not
appear to be any other suitable Kingdon or Kingdom candidate born in that period with the name Walter F
Kingdon? He was the son of George Kingdon, a Butcher b.1861 Silverton & Emily Harriett Norris from Forest
Hill, London, who married on 14.06.1886 in Silverton, Devon; In the 1901 Census Harold Walter Kingdon
lives with his parents at #25, Dalmain Road, Lewisham, London, he is aged 3; In the 1911 Census Walter
Kingdon is aged 13 & is a Schoolboy, living with his parents at #40, Dalmain Road in Lewisham; The Medals
MIC Records card has Walter F. Kingdon serving with the 16th (County of London) Battalion, The London
Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles), his number denotes that he enlisted between 04.12.1916 &
01.01.1917; This was a Territorial Force; Further research records that he Enlisted on 07.06.1916 & served
overseas at some point in his service, therefore his Regimental Number would have been issued when
renumbering occurred in 1917, but I have no idea whether he served with the 1/16 th or the 2/16th? The 1/16th
Battalion served in the Somme in 1916, in Arras in 1917 & again in the Somme in 1918; The 2/16 th Battalion
served in Ireland & Salonika in 1916 & then in Egypt from July 1917; This unit left Egypt for France in June
1918; I believe that Rifleman Walter F Kingdon probably served with the 1/16 th Battalion; There is also the
issue of a Silver War Badge 3476969 being issued for this soldier, indicated that he was Discharged on
22.04.1919 under King’s Regulations Para 392 (xvi) for Sickness at the age of 20; I believe that Walter Harold
Kingdon Married Edith Maud Batchelor, (b.20.09.1899 Greenwich) on 19.04.1924 in St Pauls, Greenwich,
Kent; I understand that Walter Harold Kingdon died in Bath in Somerset in 1986 Aged 88; Awarded the Silver
War Badge #476969; No Medals issued but Card on file; May be the Brother of Kingdon, Frederick George:
- Died in WW1- #22491, 16th Waikato Coy. 1st Battalion, Auckland Regiment, New Zealand Expeditionary
Force; Needs more research to be certain of identity;
Kingdon, Walter: Somerset Light Infantry No: 11358 Rank: Private & Labur Corps No: 246703 Rank:
Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is Prince Albert’s Somerset Light Infantry since 1912 & this soldier probably enlisted in early
1915 & probably served in the 1st Battalion; Walter Kingdon also served with the Labour Corps as #246703;
Served in France from 02.05.1915; Transferred to Class Z Reserve on 27.03.1919; Medals Card on file for the
award of the 1915 Star, the British War & Victory Medals; (Insufficient information to identify properly);
Kingdon, Walter G: Royal Field Artillery No: 47379 Rank: Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Transferred from the Kingdom List: Kingdom, W G: Royal Field Artillery No: 47379 Rank: Driver 19141920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is Walter George Kingdon born in 4th Q 1890 in Woolwich, Greater London, Kent, son of Walter
Kingdon b.1852 in West Monkton, Somerset & Sarah A. Gardiner from Canterbury, Kent; They Married in
1881 in Bengal, India, volume 175 folio 138 – she must have been a Widow because her name is recorded as
Bull nee Gardiner in the Bengal Marriage Index; In his records he gives his next of kin as his Widowed Mother
Sarah Kingdon #23, Tennison Street, Lambeth, Brothers Francis Henry & John Albert Kingdon, who he lived
with in 1901 Census; His Father was Sergeant Walter Kingdon of the Royal Horse Artillery serving at the
District Grand Depot Barracks in Woolwich Arsenal in 1891 with his family also, including Walter George
Kingdon aged 6 months; A recently provided London Schools Record reveals that Walter Kingdon was born
on 18.09.1890 & attended St John & All Saints School in Lambeth on 07.01.1895 aged 4 years; His address is
recorded as #23, Tennison Street, Lambeth; Walter Kingdon left this school on 20.12.1897 when he was
transferred to the Boys School; His Father died in 1896 in Lambeth; (His Mother & Brother John Albert were
Cleaners in the House of Commons in 1911 Census); Driver W.G. Kingdom, served with 29th Brigade Royal
Field Artillery, probably enlisted for WW1 on 23.08.1914; Sergeant Walter G Kingdon, served with the
Royal Field Artillery; there are two Medals Card Records on file;
Service Records & Pension Records for Walter George Kingdon – had already been serving with 7th
Battalion Rifle Brigade Militia at time of enlistment, he was 18 years old and a Porter by trade; He enlisted
into the Army on 04.07.1907 in London, he is recorded as having a number of tattoos; He contracted
Gonorrhea in 1910 & spent 89 days in hospital; His first transfer to the Reserve was from 181st Battery Royal
Field Artillery on the expiration of his period of Army Service on 03.07.1913 having served for 6 years; His
conduct was very good & he was accustomed to the care of horses; He is noted as having been a Carter
previously; He gave his intended address as #27, New Street, Kennington, London; In one record sheet there is
reference to a W.G. Kingdon #45379 & not #47379? At some stage he suffered from Trench Nephritis on his
face & loins in 1915 & spent 81 days in hospital in Bagthorpe, Nottingham; I believe that he re-signed between
12.09.1913 & 03.07.1914 for further Reserve/War service; He was promoted to Sergeant in 1917; He appears
to have been demobilised on 24.02.1919 having served a total of 11 Years & 235 Days; I believe that Walter
George Kingdon died in Elham, Kent in 1936 Aged 45; (His Father served with the Royal Horse Artillery in
the 1890’s, Sergeant Walter Kingdon b.1852 in West Monkton, Somerset); (Also the Brother of #464504
Private Harry Kingdon, ‘C’ Company, Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force, #439435a & 439435b);
Kingdon, Walter Henry: #K22413, Stoker 1st Class, Royal Navy; ADM 188/911, WW1 to 1936 Service;
Notes: Royal Navy Records have Walter Henry Kingdon, #K22413, born 25.01.1896 in Bexley Heath, Kent,
serving in WW1; At the end of the War he was probably serving on ‘HMS Gibraltar’ which was a Destroyer
Depot Ship at that time I believe; This is probably Walter Henry Kingdon, who was actually born on
25.01.1899 in Bexley Heath, the son of Benjamin George Kingdon, a Laundry Owner b.1857 in West
Monkton, Taunton, Somerset (died in 1901), & Elizabeth Turner from Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, who
Married in late 1884 in Taunton, Somerset; In 1901 Census Walter H Kingdon lives with his parents in Lion
Road, Bexley Heath, Kent; In 1911 Census Walter Henry Kingdon Aged 12 living with his Widowed Mother
Elizabeth Kingdon, a Laundress, in #61, Lion Road, Bexley Heath, Kent; This Sailor’s official number would
indicate enlistment between 01.01.1914 & 31.12.1914 & the prefix ‘K’ would confirm that he was a Stoker; I
believe that Walter H Kingdon Married Ether Ivy Bowers (b.11.12.1904) in Yeovil, Somerset in 1924; This
Stoker made a career out of the Royal Navy & was still serving on board the Submarine Depot Ship ‘HMS
Titania’ in the 1930’s & was issued with his Long Service Medal at Pembroke in April 1936; I understand that
Walter Henry Kingdon may have died in Yeovil, Somerset in 1958 Aged 59; Awarded the 1914-15 Star,
Victory Medal & British War Medal; ADM records indicate that he received his Royal Navy Long Service &
Good Conduct Medal in 1936; (He is probably the Brother of Kingdom, F: Royal Horse Artillery No: 54710
Rank: Driver 1914-1920 WO 372/11 – see also Kingdon, Frederick G T: Royal Horse Artillery No: 54710
Rank: Driver 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (He is probably also the Brother of Ernest John Kingdon #220465
Royal Navy); I did not research any further;
Kingdon, Wilfred: Royal Army Medical Corps Rank: Lieutenant 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: In the Supplement to the London Gazette dated 21.05.1917, page
4927 the record states that Wilfred Kingdon, M.B. was promoted to the rank of temporary Lieutenant on
01.05.1917 with the Army Medical Services; This Officer served in France from 15.04.1918; Promoted to
Captain; This could be Wilfred Robert Kingdon born in 1872 in Colyton, Devon, the son of Frederick
William Washington Kingdon, a Gentleman & Paper Maker b.1834 in Colyton & Amelia Ann Maunder from
Exeter who Married in 1858 in Exeter; In 1881 Census Wilfred Rob Kingdon lived with his parents in London
road, Colyton, Devon, & in 1891 Census at Wescotts, South Square, Colyton when Wilfred is 19 years old & a
Student of Medicine; Wilfred Robert Kingdon earned his M.B. at Edinburgh on 28.05.1895 & his Bac. Surg.
In 1897 at University of Durham; I believe that Wilfred Robert Kingdon, now a Bachelor of Medicine,
Married Florence Elizabeth Matilda Meadows from Hammersmith on 12.08.1899 in St Gabriel’s Church,
Willesden, Middlesex; In 1901 Wilfred R & Florence E Kingdon were Boarders at #14, Maitland Street Villas
in Kentish Town, St Pancras, London, Wilfred was a Physician; I understand from the Divorce proceedings
that Wilfred Robert Kingdon violently assaulted his new wife as early as April 1900, threatening to murder her
& assaulting her further through 1902 & up until 1904 when he abandoned her; A Divorce Petition was filed
18.07.1905, Divorce Hearing for Wilfred Robert Kingdon’s alleged Adultery & Cruelty was 08.09.1905,
Decree Nisi was 19.12.1905 & the Final Decree was issued on 09.07.1906; His ex wife then filed for
Maintenance in 1906 but there were no children; In 1911 Census there is a Doctor Wilfred Kingdon living with
his Cook at #160, Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, London but the record says that he is unmarried, I take this
to indicate that he was Divorced? The London Gazette Supplement dated 04.01.1921 has Temporary Captain
Wilfred Kingdon, M.B. of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Army Medical Services, relinquishing his
Commission on 08.12.1920 but retaining the rank of Captain; I understand that Wilfred Kingdon Married Elsie
Boucher Elgar in 1925 in Kensington; She was born 02.01.1883 in Lambeth & baptised in Stockwell Green on
26.01.1883; In 1938 Captain Wilfred Kingdon lives at #22, Trebovir Road, London SW5; Wilfred Kingdon
appears to have Died on 24.03.1942 in Berkshire at the age of 68, he was living at Wayside, Mossy Vale,
Maidenhead, Berkshire at that time; His wife, Elsie Boucher Kingdon Died on 16.06.1962 at the Homeopathic
Hospital, Great Ormond Street, Holborn, London, she was living at #71, Warwick Road, Kensington, London
at the time & Aged 81; Medals Card on file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals, (Medals
applied for on 27.01.1922 & sent out on 16.02.1922 to addresses (Crossed out - #48, Penywern Road, Earls
Court, London SW5) & c/o Holt Residence, #3, Whitehall Place, London SW1);
Kingdon, Wilfred G: Machine Gun Corps No: 117646 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: I believe that this is Wilfred George Kingdon born in 1890 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 the 1891 Census Wilfred G Kingdon lives with his parents at #44, Treharris Street,
Roath in Cardiff; In 1901 Wilfred G Kingdon lives with his parents in #52, Keppoch Street, Roath, Cardiff; In
1911 Wilfred George Kingdon is aged 20 & is an Upholsterer for a Furniture Dealer, 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; I think that Wilfred George
Kingdon Married Elsie Elizabeth A Sendell, b.16.03.1892 Bridgewater, Somerset, in 1913 in Cardiff; I believe
that Wilfred George Kingdon Died in Cardiff in 1967 Aged 76, his wife died in Cardiff Aged 88 in 1980;
Medals Card on file for award of the British War & Victory Medals; (I believe that he was probably the
Brother of Sgt. “Archie” Archibald Kingdon of the Electric Light Company, 2/4th Devonshire, Royal
Engineers);
Kingdon, William: No Military Records found but recorded in the Chelsea Pensioner lists;
Notes: The Chelsea Pensioners List has reference to a William Kingdon born 1873 in Wolverhampton,
Staffordshire, however, the only male Kingdon born in that period in Wolverhampton is William Kingdon
born in 1st Q 1871, but he may well have been named William Alexander Kingdon; This is the son of George
Kingdon, a Japanner b.1846 in Norfolk, & Emily Brant from Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, who Married in
1870 in Wolverhampton; In the 1871 Census William is aged 1 month & living with his parents in Alma
Street, Wolverhampton; In 1881 Census William Kingdom aged 10 is boarding with a William & Eliza Howell
(a Japanner by trade) at #6, Shepherd Street, Wolverhampton; In the 1891 Census William Kingdon is a
Groom, working in Wolverhampton; I believe that William Alexander Kingdon Married Frances Maud
Wilkinson, b.1879, in Wolverhampton in 1899; In the 1901 Census I failed to find William Kingdon but his
wife, Frances (Fanny), was visiting with her remarried Mother (Mary Wooley) in Wright Street,
Wolverhampton; In the 1911 Census I found William & Frances Kingdon, now working as a Carter for a
Railway Company & living at #31, Albion Street, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire; I understand that William A.
Kingdon died in Wolverhampton in 1926 Aged 52;
Kingdon, William: Corporal #127185, 302nd Company, Labour Corps, (WW1 Home);
Notes: This Soldier also served with the Royal West Surreys #G/19190 & the Depot Company Royal Fusiliers
#G/53428; The G/ prefix indicates a WW1 General Service Enlistment & was also found on various Home
Counties’ Regiments’ Service Battalions in WW1; His records indicate that he Enlisted on 10.12.1915 in
Walthamstow, London & was placed on the Reserve; He was medically examined at Stratford on 31.05.1916
at the age of 36 years & is an Insurance Clerk living at #6, ?? Park Road, Walthamstow; This is William
Kingdon born 1880 in St Luke’s Parish, Islington in London, the son of William Kingdon b.1836 in North
Molton & Eliza ?? from Hoxton, London who married in ?? in ??; In 1901 Census William Kingdon is aged
21, a Clerk & is living with his parents in Islington; William Kingdon’s records show that on 11.12.1917, after
2 years & 2 days service, he was considered No Longer Physically Fit for War Service & that he was
Discharged under King’s Regulations Para 392 (xvi); I believe that this was due to his having Defective Vision
as he was in Edmonton Hospital in October 1917 & I also believe that he may well have been given a pension;
His records give his next of kin as Alice Kingdon (Wife) living at #6, ?? Park Road, Walthamstow; Further
research indicates that William Kingdon Married Alice Maud Kimpton, from Cawsand, Devon/Cornwall,
daughter of a Police Constable, in St Mark’s Church, Islington on 18.06.1902; In 1911 Census William &
Alice Kingdon & their family, plus his Widowed Mother Eliza Kingdon all live at #27, Cottenham Road,
Walthamstow (Note: Both filled out Census Records for the same address); William & Alice Kingdon have 4
daughters by 1913 – Alice b.18.11.1903 Islington, Ivy b.11.02.1906, Maud b.06.11.1910 & Violet
b.11.01.1913; There is no Medals card on file as he served in England only; Needs more research for
William pre 1901;
Kingdon, William: Militia Service; (Early 1905);
Notes: The Militia Service Records for 1806 to 1905 has a William Kingdon born in 1889 in Plymouth on the
list; I believe that this is probably William James R. Kingdom, born in 1888 in Plymouth, the son of William
Henry Kingdom, a Licensed Boat Proprietor b.1863 Plymouth, & Alice Mary A. Gazzard b.1866 in Plymouth
who Married in 1888 in Plymouth; In 1891 & 1901 Census William J. R. Kingdom lived with his parents at
#11, Hoe Gate Road, St Andrews, Plymouth, Devon; In the 1911 Census William Kingdom was Aged 23 &
living with his parents at #22, Pier Street, Plymouth & was recorded as being a Yachtsman; William J.R.
Kingdom Married Beatrice M. Facey in 1916 in Plymouth; (Son of Kingdon, William: #2204, Private, Royal
Marine Light Infantry, Plymouth Division; ADM 159/64); (Brother of Kingdom, Wilfrid Harold; #M25257,
Royal Navy, Shipwright Class 2; ADM 188/1068); (Brother of Albert Edward Victor Kingdom, #22079DA,
Royal Navy Reserve); This family may need further investigation & research;
Kingdon, William: Private, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Serving in 1871;
Notes: This is William Kingdon born ca.1836 in Barnstaple, Devon, according to the 1871 Census but this
could just be a reference to the area in which he was born as Barnstaple was the local registration centre; The
1871 Census for Royal Navy Vessels, has records for ‘HMS Cadmus’, at sea with a Private William Kingdon,
serving in the RMLI onboard; William Kingdon is recorded as being Married & Aged 35 years, there is no
other information; Insufficient information to enable proper identification;
Follow Up Notes: There is a Marriage Record in The Asplin Military History Resources taken from the
Plymouth Division Royal Marine Marriage Register (ADM 184/52) which records a Marriage for Private
William Kingdon of the 75th Company to a Charlotte Chubb on the 22.12.1867; The only record I can find that
matches this data is a Marriage for William Kingdon & Charlotte Chubb in 4 th Q 1867 Stoke Damerel 5b.639;
It is possible that Charlotte Kingdon (nee Chubb) was born in 1841 in Plympton St Mary, Devon but there is
no way of knowing for sure; I failed to find any other information to support this theory?
Further Research:
The ADM 157/240/293 Folios 293-301 has reference to a William Kingdom, born in Devon, having been
Attested for service in the Royal Marines at Plymouth in 1860 at the age of 24 (born 1836); This record also
indicates that this Marine was discharged in 1874 as an Invalid; Despite this new information I still failed to
locate this person in any other census than 1871; I would suggest that this William Kingdon/Kingdom is the
same Royal Marine?
Kingdon, William: #8420, 1st Battery, 6th Field Artillery Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, WW1;
Notes: There are more records for this soldier in the Australian Military files; This is William Kingdon born
on 20.11.1893 in Naracoorte, South Australia, the son of Thomas Augustus Kingdon & Jane (Jennie) Fowler
of Port Lincoln, South Australia; William Kingdon enlisted on 01.10.1915 in Adelaide at the age of 22 years,
he was a Fireman by trade; he embarked from Australia on 22.11.1915 onboard the ‘HMAT Persic’ from
Melbourne, as a Driver with the 18th Battery, 6th Field Artillery Brigade; He served in the Middle East in Telel-Kebir in 1916, Transferred to 21st Battery in Ismalia on 09.03.1916 & Embarked for France on 17.03.1916;
On 27.01.1917 he was transferred to France & Wounded in Action with a shrapnel wound to the neck & a
wound to his foot on 05.10.1917; He was again Wounded in Action by a Gun Shot Wound, again in his foot on
22.07.1918, remained at duty but did spend some time in hospital in Ypres; William Kingdon was Returned to
Australia on 27.04.1919 & Discharged on 01.08.1919; I believe that William Kingdon Married Olga Barry in
Port Lincoln on 03.09.1921; Awarded 1914-15 Star, British War Medal & The Victory Medal; Could be
researched further;
Kingdon, William: The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) No: TF/241338 Rank: Private 1914-1920
WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Regimental number prefix TF/ denotes Territorial Force & the number block would indicate service
with the 5th Battalion following the renumbering system in January 1917 & that he remained in England for the
duration of the War; Private William Kingdon’s name appears on the Roll for soldiers who served with the
Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment); Medals Card on file for the award of the British War & Victory
Medals; (Insufficient information to identify any further);
Kingdon, William: Book 1670, Exeter, Devon Militia for 1803;
Notes: The Devon: Exeter Militia List for 1803 has reference to a William Kingdon, Surgeon, who served
earlier in the Militia but in 1803 was ‘Deleted – Discharged’; No other information;
Kingdon, William: Private, #3063, 2nd European Light Infantry, East India Company Army; (1859-1863
period);
Notes: There are Bombay Soldiers Records on file from 1858-1860 which refer to #3063 Private William
Kingdon serving with the 2nd Battalion of the European Light Infantry in the East India Company’s Army in
Bombay; Records indicate that he entered the service in 1859, was a Painter by trade from Taunton in
Somerset & enlisted in Cardiff; He was attested on 26.07.1859 & enlisted for a 10 year term; He arrived in
Bombay on board the ship “Speedy” on 19.08.1859; I believe that William Kingdon was invalided &
embarked for England on 26.01.1863; File references are L/MIL/12/115;
Further Notes: Following contact in August 2012 with a possible descendant of this family, I would now
suggest that this is William Kingdon, a Painter, born in Taunton, Somerset, England on 14.06.1840, (records
at St Mary’s Church); I was given a copy of his Birth Certificate which confirms this information; He was born
at an address in Taunton High Street & was the son of Richard Kingdon, b.1811, a Carver & Gilder & Maria
Fry from Somerset, b.1816, who Married pre 1833 in Somerset; (Research would indicate that William’s
Father Richard Kingdon probably died in Lambeth, Surrey around 1865 & that his mother Maria remarried to a
Richard Gowen, a 51 year old Widowed Bricklayer in 1867 in Battersea; Please refer to the information above
for the period 1840 to 1863; We have now located records for this William Kingdon in the 1841 Census living
with his parents in Mary Street, St Mary Magdalene Parish, Taunton Hundred, Somerset; Unfortunately we
have not yet found this family in the 1851 Census records; However, in the 1861 Census William’s Parents
were living at #3, Bulls Head Court, Newington, Lambeth, Surrey, (William had already enlisted in 1859); I
believe that William Kingdon Married Mary Ann Rose, who was probably b.14.06.1854 in Bristol,
Gloucestershire, on 06.10.1870 in St Saviours, Southwark, London, England; I failed to locate this family in
1871 Censuses; In 1881 Census William & Mary Ann Kingdon lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada’ I could not
find the Passenger List details for either a ca.1874 trip to Canada, or a ca.1881/2 return to UK trip, but they
certainly resided in Canada between 1876 & 1881 as they have children born in Ontario; They also have a son
born in Battersea, London in 1882; The remainder of their children were born in Cardiff, Wales; In 1891
Census William & Mary Ann Kingdon had returned to UK & were living at #4, Crofts Street, Roath, Cardiff,
Wales, & they were also at this same address in the 1901 Census; I understand that William Kingdon then took
his whole family back to Canada in December 1905 on board the ‘SS Virginian’, some of his children
following later in 1906 & some remaining in Wales & England; William Kingdon then sailed back to England
alone from Montreal on 27.08.1906 on the ‘SS Dominion’; Then I found William Kingdon traveling back to
Saint John, New Brunswick on the ‘SS Empress of Britain’ in December 1906 with his son Sidney Walter
Kingdon, both were working as painters & both marked as Returning Canadians; I have no idea why Sidney
Walter & his Father William Kingdon should both travel separately to England in 1906 & then return to
Canada together in December but wonder if it was for work or perhaps a family bereavement; In 1911 Canada
Census William & Mary Ann Kingdon live in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; I understand that William
Kingdon Died on 11.08.1934 & is buried in Prospect Cemetery, his wife Mary Ann Kingdon (nee Rose) Died
21.12.1927 & is also buried in Prospect Cemetery; (He was the Father of Kingdon, Sidney Walter: #8147,
Manchester Regiment); (He was the Father of Kingdon, Ernest: Royal Irish Fusiliers No: 13731 Rank:
Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (He was also the Father of Gordon William Kingdon, born in 1875 in
Toronto, Canada & who seems to have served at some time in UK because there is a Chelsea Pensioner of that
name & with the correct birth place on records, who I am also following up); This Family may still need a
little more research although a descendant contact has been very helpful in updating this record;
Kingdon (or Kingdom), William: Chelsea Pensioner, (No other details); (1841-1851 period);
Notes: In 1841 Census there are records for a William Kingdon aged 64 (born 1777), an Army Pensioner, &
wife Catherine ?? aged 55 (born 1786 in Ireland), alongwith a daughter Margaret Kingdon aged 22 (born 1819
in Middlesex), living at Woods Building Gardens in St Luke’s, Chelsea, South District; I have since found a
Death record for a Catherine Kingdon in Chelsea in 1851 & have assumed this is the wife of William Kingdon;
In the 1851 Census for the Woods Building in St Jude, Chelsea, there is a record for a William Kingdom aged
79 (born 1772 in Devonshire) as a Chelsea Pensioner; In my Chelsea Pensioner’s List of records there are 3
possible William Kingdom soldiers from Devon who could be the same person; I found no other records;
Kingdon, William: Royal Navy, Master At Arms, #200821; ADM 188/348/321; (Pre war & WW1 service
period);
Notes: The ADM 188 records have reference to William Kingdon, born 27.10.1881 in Eastbourne, Sussex,
serving as #200821; This official Royal Navy number would indicate enlistment in 1898 as a Seaman; This is
William Kingdon born in 1881 in Eastbourne, Sussex, the son of William Hamlin Kingdon, a Carpenter
b.1850 in South Molton, Devon & Emily Elizabeth Mears from Shinfield, Berkshire, who Married in 1876 in
Strand, London; His Father died in mid 1881 & in the 1891 Census William Kingdon was aged 9 & lived with
his widowed Mother, she was a Laundress, at #437 Sea Side Road, Eastbourne, Sussex; I failed to locate
William Kingdon in the 1901 Census but believe that he was already serving in the Royal Navy; In 1905 in
Portsmouth William Kingdon married an Irish girl from Cork, named Winifred Doris Constance Middleton,
probably born in 1884; The ADM 171/62 record has #200821 Ships Carpenter, W. Kingdon serving in the
Persian Gulf between 1909 & 1914 on board ‘HMS Odin’; In the 1911 Census William Kingdon is a Ships
Corporal serving at ‘Fort Blockhouse’ in Alverstoke, Hampshire, & is recorded as being Married; (This is the
same station that Alfred Moule Martin was serving at in 1911); In the 1911 Census Winifred Kingdon & 3
children are recorded incorrectly as ‘Ringdon’, living at #48, Fifth Street, Buckland, Portsmouth; (2 children
were born 1906 & 1908 in Selsey bill, Sussex & a third b.1911 in Portsmouth, Hampshire; Selsey bill is a
headland on the Sussex/Hampshire border, 2 kids were registered in Westhampnett, Sussex which covered
that area);
I believe that William Kingdon & Winifred Doris C Middleton were either separated or divorced between
1911 & 1914; William Kingdon was serving onboard ‘HMS Glory in 30.11.1915 as his Persian Gulf Medal
clasp was forwarded to him there;
Winifred Doris C Middleton then appears to have run off to Australia & married a Royal Navy Boatswain,
Alfred Moule Martin in Paddington, New South Wales, Australia in 1914; This British Sailor, previously
served in the London Depot from 01.06.1913 until 26.06.1913 & was on loan to the Australian Navy for
WW1, serving with them in Sydney from 27.06.1913 until 29.08.1917, before returning to England to serve
out of the London Depot; Alfred Moule Martin was born in 1884 in Southwark, London & lived with his
parents in Camberwell in 1891 Census; In the 1901 Census Alfred Moule Martin was a 17 year old 1 st Class
Boy serving on board the shore based Gunnery Ship ‘HMS Cambridge’ in Devonport; In 1911 Alfred Martin
is serving at ‘HMS Excellent’ Gunnery School on Whale Island, Portsmouth as a Seaman, Petty Officer & is
recorded as being Single; (This is the same station that William Kingdon was serving at in 1911); However, I
can find no records for Winifred Doris Constance Kingdon travelling or sailing to Australia, but I have found a
returning English passenger on board the ‘SS Berrima’ sailing from Australia to England for Mrs. Winifred
Martin Aged 31 (b.1889?) & a 2 year old daughter Stella Margaret Martin in February 1920, which may be
her; I believe that Alfred M Martin Died in Devon in 1943 Aged 59, & that Winifred D C Martin Died in Kent
in 1963 Aged 82; Alfred Moule Martin was awarded the WW1 Star, Victory & British War Medals & also
paid a Bonus for having served in WW1 with Australian Forces;
I believe that William Kingdon lived at #80, Broadway, Sandown in the Isle of Wight & Married his 2nd Wife,
Ethel Kate Gilchrist in 1925 on the Isle of Wight, she was b.1896 in Newport, Isle of Wight; William Kingdon
Died on 18.09.1939 at the County Mental Hospital, Whitecroft, Newcroft on the Isle of Wight Aged 58; His
wife Ethel Kate Kingdon Died aged 62 in Sandown, IOW in 1959; William Kingdon was awarded the WW1
Star, Victory & British War Medals; He was also awarded the Naval General Service Medal & Persian Gulf
clasp for service 1909-1914;
Kingdon, William: Book 1670, Exeter, Devon Militia for 1803;
Notes: The Devon: Exeter Militia List for 1803 has reference to a William Kingdon, Ironmonger, who served
in the Militia; The record indicates that he was aged 21 years & was s single man, ‘ Willing to Serve as a
Volunteer’; This would appear to be William Kingdon born 25.03.1782 & baptised on 02.04.1782 in
Bow/Mint/George’s Meeting House, the son of “Iron Sam’ Kingdon & Jane Kent; (The Kingdon Book ‘A
Second Look’ published in 1974 has detailed reference to this family); (He is probably the Brother of
Kingdon, Thomas: Lieutenant, 25th Regiment Light Dragoons – Died near Madras, India on 25.04.1817
Aged 26);
Kingdon, William: Private, Royal Marine; (1891 Census records);
Notes: There is an 1891 Census Record for the Royal Marines Barracks, East Stonehouse, Devon, which has
William Kingdon, born 1864 in Exeter, serving asa Private soldier in the Royal Marines; Despite in depth
searches, I have failed to identify this man; Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, William: Royal Navy, Warrant Officer, Carpenter, #411 & #415; ADM 196/29 & ADM 196/75;
(1823-1854 period);
Notes: There are numerous records for this Sailor, which indicate that he held the rank of Carpenter & was
aged 21 years old when he first entered the Service. William Kingdon served from 24.05.1823 to 31.12.1854;
His date of birth is not shown in the records but the ADM 196/75 listing has his rank as Carpenter, Serving
from 25.11.1840 & ADM 196/29 records his rank as Carpenter 1st Class serving since 01.01.1855; There is a
Medal roll for the 1834 -1853 South Africa Medal which records Carpenter William Kingdon serving on HMS
Castor during the Kaffir Wars, probably in Simons Bay during 1850 to 1853; This is probably William
Kingdon born in 1802 or 1803 in Stoke Damerel, the son of Peter Kingdon, b.1765 in St Neot, Cornwall &
Mary Williams from Stoke Damerel, who Married in 1791; William Kingdon Married Elizabeth Pengelley
b.1809 in Devonport, in Stoke Damerel on 02.06.1830; I find William Kingdon in the 1841 Census with his
wife & family, serving with the Royal Navy at that time & living in Temple Street, Portsea Town, Portsmouth,
Hampshire; In the 1851 Census William is recorded as being a Warrant Officer at Sea (serving on HMS
Castor) & his wife & family live at #12, Ross Street, Stoke Damerel; In 1861 Census William & his wife &
family live at #4 Market Street in Stoke Damerel, William is still a Carpenter in the Royal Navy; In 1871
William Kingdon is aged 67 & a Pensioned Warrant Officer Royal Navy, living in Herbert Place, Stoke
Damerel; In 1881 William & Elizabeth Kingdon live at #18, Ross Street, Stoke Damerel; William Kingdon
dies in Stoke Damerel in 1888 Aged 84 & his Wife Elizabeth the following year in 1889 at the age of 80;
Awarded the South Africa Medal for 1850 -1853;
Further Notes: Having continued with my Kingdon & Kingdom families’ military service researches I have
concluded that the following record also refers to this same Royal Navy Sailor; (This Naval Carpenter may
have been awarded a Superannuated Carpenter’s Pension of 25 pounds per year on 28.12.1884);
Kingdom, William: Royal Navy, Carpenter’s Crew, 1793-1840;
Notes: I originally had very little information on this Royal Navy man but he was serving onboard ‘HMS Asia’
at the Battle of Navarino in the Ionian Sea on 20.10.1827, as a Carpenter’s Crew; Unfortunately there was no
other information against his name? I now believe that this is William Kingdon b.1802/03 in Stoke Damerel,
Devon, who served as Warrant Officer, Carpenter, #411 & #415 Royal Navy; I understand that he also served
as ships #3 Carpenter Crew with ‘HMS Monarch’ in the Baltic & that his medals were issued to him via ‘HMS
Royal William’ on 18.03.1857; He was awarded the Naval General Service Medal for service on HMS Asia,
Navarino U/1257; Awarded the Baltic Medal; (He was the Father of Kingdon, Edwin Peter Pengelley: Royal
Navy Volunteer #27890A & Royal Navy #63488; & Grandfather of Kingdom, Albert Edwin: Royal Garrison
Artillery No: 213501 Rank: Gunner who served in WW1 in the Army);
Kingden, William: Mariner, Royal Navy; 1790 era;
Notes: This could be a William Kingdon also? This Mariner was born in 1772 or thereabouts & was serving
on ‘HMS Perseverance’ in 1793; There is a Bishop of Winchester’s Marriage Licence record for William
Kingden, aged 21 & Sarah Fry of Alverstoke, Hampshire, also aged 21, being married at Portsea on
02.07.1793 in Hampshire; I can find no other records;
Kingdon, William: Private, Royal Marine, 15th Company, Royal Marine Brigade; 1850 to 1880 in China;
Notes: The ADM 171/30 Records have a Medal Clasp issue for the Capture of Canton in 1857 in the First
Chinese Opium War for Private Wm. Kingdon of the 15th Company, Royal Marine Brigade; There is no other
information other than a note that his medals were delivered to him in China in 1883, (probably in Hong Kong)
where he was possibly still serving as a Marine? Awarded the China War Medal & Canton Clasp; Insufficient
information to identify;
Kingdon, William: #2204, Private, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Plymouth Division; ADM 159/64; (1880’s
period);
Notes: This is probably William Kingdom born in 1861 in Plymouth, the son of William Henry Kingdom, a
Master Boatman & Boat Proprietor, b.1827 in Plymouth, & Emma Menhinnich from Cornwall who Married in
1853 in Plymouth; (There is however, some discrepancies in my records for this man – he may have been born
as William Henry Kingdom or William John Kingdom; The Royal Marine Records have his date of birth as
09.09.1861 but there are no Kingdom or Kingdon children born in the Plymouth area during that period?
However, I have concluded that this is probably the correct person as follows; In 1871 Census William
Kingdon is Aged 10 years & lives with his parents at #8, Hoe Gate Place, Plymouth St Andrews; In the 1881
Census William Kingdon is aged 19 & lives with his parents still at the same address in Plymouth, he is a
Waterman like his Father, (his Father’s wife in this census is recorded as Charlotte A Kingdon from Falmouth
in Cornwall & his parents ages do not compute with earlier records? Further research indicates that his Mother
Emma Kingdom died in 1876 aged 50 & that his Father William Henry Kingdom Married again in 1878 in
Stoke Damerel, Devon, to a Charlotte Ann Doney, however, her maiden name was Charlotte Ann White & she
had been previously Married to Thomas Doney, a Warder in Plymouth Charles & I believe that he had died in
1875 in Plymouth too); According to the Royal Marine records, William Kingdon Enlisted in the Plymouth
Division of the RMLI on 09.08.1881; William Henry Kingdom Married Alice Mary Ann Gazzard, b.1866
Plymouth, in Plymouth in 1888 & in the 1891 Census they lived at #11, Hoe Gate Place in Plymouth; William
Henry Kingdom is now a licensed boat owner; In 1901 William & Alice Kingdom still live at #11, Hoe Gate
Place, Plymouth; In 1911 William & Alice Kingdom live at #22, Pier street, Plymouth; (He was the Father of
Kingdom, Wilfrid Harold; #M25257, Royal Navy, Shipwright Class 2; ADM 188/1068); (Father of Albert
Edward Victor Kingdom, #22079DA, Royal Navy Reserve); (His other son William James R. Kingdom
probably served with the Militia in Plymouth); This family may need further investigation & research;
Kingdon, William: 4th & 15th Batttalions, Devonshire Regiment No: 4655, Rank: Private; 4th Reserve
Battalion & 2nd Battalion, The Wiltshire Regiment No: 203121 & 203059, Rank: Private; 448th Agricultural
Company, Labour Corps No: 662682, Rank: Private, & finally transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps,
No: 136461, Rank: Private; 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is William ‘Willie’ Kingdon born & baptised South Molton 05.03.1881, the son of Thomas
Kingdon b.1847 South Molton & Anne Heriford from Meshaw who Married on 29.04.1873 in South Molton;
In the 1881 Census William Kingdon is aged 1 month & living with his parents at #89, East street, South
Molton, Devon; Willie Kingdon continued to live in East Street, South Molton at #82 with his parents in 1891
& 1901; Willie was a Coach Builder & Journeyman Wheelwright; He married Emily Adelaide Thorne on
22.12.1902 in South Molton & lived at #22, North Street, South Molton in 1911 Census; William Kingdon
enlisted on a Short Service basis for the duration of the War on 09.12.1915 aged 35 years & 9 months but may
not have been called up until 15.06.1916 as he was placed on the Army Reserve list before being posted to the
4th Battalion & then the 15th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment; He served at Home from 15.06.1916 until
25.06.1917 & was then sent to France until 11.10.1917, transferred to the 4th Reserve Battalion, Wiltshire
Regiment & then posted to the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, serving with them in France before returning
home on 18.12.1917; He also appears to have been attested with them as #203059; He suffered with some mild
disability, (general weakness & weight loss) as he was hospitalised from 12.10.1917 to 07.12.1917 & was
eventually transferred to the RAMC on 08.02.1918 but there is some confusion with his military & pension
records here? He was transferred to the Labour Corps on 09.10.1918 with the 448th Agricultural Company; He
is recorded on the 1919 Absent Voters List for South Molton at reference 4666 but there are no service details
given; I believe that he was demobilised on 19.04.1919; Willie Kingdon Died 08.01.1964 in South Molton;
Medals Card on file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Fred:
Devonshire Regiment No: 23938 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11);
Kingdon, William: Private, #9532 West Riding Regiment; (1908-1909);
Notes: This is William Kingdon born 1888 in Enfield, London, Middlesex, the son of Alfred Kingdon b.?? in
?? & ?? from ?? who Married in ?? in ??; William Kingdon (Kingdom) was aged 19 years & 8 months when he
first Attested for the 3rd West Riding Regiment Special Reserve in Bradford on 19.09.1908 for 6 years service,
he was recorded as #9206; He served with the Special Reserve for a total of 93 days until 20.12.1908; William
Kingdon then Enlisted in the Regular Army for a Short Service career, 7 years with the Colours & 5 years
Reserve, with the West Riding Regiment/Corps on 20th December 1908 in Halifax; He was aged 19 years & 11
months old, a Groom by trade, having worked for a Horse Trader in Leeds for 3 years, & declared that he was
already serving in the Reserve in 3rd Battalion, West Riding Regiment; His next of kin was his Father Alfred
Kingdon of #3, Warwick Place, Leeds, Yorkshire & his brother, Ernest Kingdon who was serving on HMS
Victory’ at the time; In January 1909, whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, he went Absent in Tidworth & was
placed in detention prior to his District Court Martial on 21.01.1909; He was sent to detention for 14 days on
27.01.1909 & returned to duty on 10.02.1909, however he had tried to cut his throat on 02.02.1909 whilst in
detention; By the 1st of April 1909 he was found to be medically unfit for further service due to ‘Delusional
Insanity’ & subsequently Discharged after only a further 102 days service; At discharge he gave an address in
St Albans, Middlesex but this is unreadable on his file; I believe that he tried to cut his throat on 02.02.1909
although the wound was rather superficial & that a Court of Inquiry was held on 25.02.1909 at Victoria
Barracks, Portsmouth; (He was the Brother of Ernest Kingdon who served on ‘HMS Victory’ in 1908/09?);
For some reason I cannot locate any of this man’s family? Needs more research?
Kingdon, William: Devonshire Regiment Territorial Force No: 5215 Rank: Private, & 6th Battalion
Devonshire Regiment, No: 268191 Rank: Private, 1914-1920 WO 372/11,WW1;
Notes: Enlistment dates for a soldier with this Territorial Force regimental number #5215 were between
05.01.1896 & 04.01.1899; As he was awarded the TFM (Territorial Force Medal), this would indicate that he
had volunteered for service overseas on or before 30.09.1914, and served overseas as per the other
requirements of this award; His regular army number #268191 with the Devonshire Regiment would have
been issued as a result of the renumbering of the Territorial Force infantry in 1917; Further research of Colonel
Flick’s Diary for the 6th Battalion the Devonshire Regiment reveals that this soldier served with ‘A’ Company;
Further research of the Absent Voters List for 1919 reveals that this is probably William D. Kingdon, a
Private with the 1st/6th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment who were serving in Mesopotamia & did not
return home until August 1919; The address given in 1919 was #62, Westbridge Cottages, Tavistock, Devon,
which has helped identify him; This is William Daniel K. Kingdon born in 1893 in Tavistock, Devon, the son
of Edward Andrews Kingdon, an Iron Moulder, b.1867 in Tavistock & Elizabeth Jane Lucas b.1870 in St Ives,
Cornwall who married in 1889 in Tavistock; In the 1901 Census William is aged 8 & lives with his parents at
#5, Madge Hill, Tavistock; In the 1911 Census William Kingdon is aged 18 & is a Domestic Gardener living
with his parents at #62, West Bridge Cottages, Tavistock, Devon; I believe that William D Kingdon Married
Henrietta Woolway in Tavistock in 1921; Medals Card on file for the award of the Territorial Force War
Medal #1421, the Victory & British War Medals; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Sydney C: Devonshire
Regiment No: 1420 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11); I did not research further;
Kingdon, William Charles: Merchant Shipping & Mercantile Medals for WW1; BT 351/1/77264;
Notes: This is recorded as William Charles Kingdon born in 1894 in Cardiff, Glamorgan Wales; I have failed
to find any other records other than his birth in 1894 in Cardiff? Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, William Edward: Royal Army Medical Corps Rank: Captain 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This Medical Officer served in France from 09.02.1917; William Edward Kingdon was educated at
Trent College and University College Hospital, qualifying with the Conjoint Diploma in 1913 and graduating
in 1915; His name also appears on the WW1 Roll for University of London; After graduating in 1915 he took
up a House Appointment at Sheffield & then served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during WW1; William
Edward Kingdon MB, BS, was promoted to Lieutenant on 05.05.1915 with the North Midland Mounted
Brigade Field Ambulance of the Army Medical Services; This officer was again promoted to Captain on the
15.11.1915 with the same unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps; Throughout his life he was a careful Doctor,
Clinician & Surgeon in UK & also whilst working in Jerusalem & Egypt on medical mission works; This is
William Edward Kingdon born on 27.01.1888 in Sheffield, the son of William Edward Kingdon, a
Tobacconist, b.1861 in Worcester & Annie Lock from West Buckland in Devon, who married in Barnstaple in
1st Q 1886, later of Bemerton, Buxton, Derby; In the 1891 Census William E Kingdon lived with his parents at
#187 Granville Road, Sheffield Park, Sheffield, Yorkshire; The family lived in Sheffield in the 1901 Census at
#81, Fitzwalter Road, but William Kingdon aged 13 was a Pupil at Trent College, Long Eaton, Derbyshire
alongwith another of his brothers (John Kingdon); In the 1911 Census William Edward Kingdon is aged 23, an
inmate medical student at the University College Hospital, Gower Street, St Pancras, London WC; William E
Kingdon Married Anne Purdon in Erpingham, Norfolk in 1916; Captain W.E. Kingdon MB, BS, of the
RAMC, resigned his commission on 08.04.1921 but retained the rank of Captain; He then became a school
medical officer in Yorkshire, but eventually undertook medical mission work as surgeon to the English
Mission Hospital at Jerusalem, afterwards for the Egypt General Mission. On return he went into general
practice at Leominster, with some surgery in the hospital there, for over 20 years. Retiring from this, he did
general practice locum work over several years, living first at Minehead in Somerset and finally in a Norfolk
village in the area of a rural practice in which he had done a number of locums. (The British Medical Journal,
02.04.1977 – “A careful clinician and surgeon, unfailingly cheerful and kindly in manner and with a great
sense of humour, he endeared himself to his colleagues and patients. Special interests were soccer in his
younger days, when he played for United Hospitals, and in latter years railways and ornithology. An
outstanding memory of him was his profound evangelical Christian faith”.); His wife died in 1963 & William
Edward Kingdon Died on 06.02.1977 in Norfolk Aged 89; Medals Card on file for the award of the British
War & Victory Medals; His Medals were issued on 09.02.1923, & sent to the address “Floriston” Bridge Road,
Torquay, Devon; (Brother of Captain Arthur Francis Kingdon, 6th Bn., York and Lancaster Regiment, who
died on 09 October 1917 on the Somme); (Brother of Kingdon, George Herbert: Nottinghamshire and
Derbyshire Regiment, Captain 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who also served in WW1);
Kingdon, William E: Royal Engineers Regiment No: T1005 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Transferred from Kingdom List: Kingdom, W E: Royal Engineers No: 514302 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO
372/24, WW1;
Notes: The number prefix T/ denotes Territorial Force; This man also served as #514302 with 616 th Company
(Electric Light Company), Devon Fortress, in Gibraltar; This is William Edgar Kingdon born on 13.02.1893
in Devonport, the son of Joseph John/William Kingdon, an ex Royal Navy Able Seaman & later a Government
Labourer in Devonport, b.1858 Devonport & Elizabeth Jane Bickford from Millbrook, Cornwall who married
in 1883 in Stoke Damerel, (however there was initially some confusion here as marriage records have Joseph
John & not Joseph William or Joseph John/William Kingdon?); In the 1901 Census William Kingdon is aged 8
& living with his parents at #48, Duke Street, Devonport; In the 1911 Census William Kingdon is aged 18,
working as an Apprentice Blacksmith & still living with his parents at #48, Duke Street, Devonport; William
Edgar Kingdon enlisted in Plymouth Aged 17 years & 10 months on 21.12.1910 & was subsequently assigned
to the Devon (Fortress) Royal Engineers Territorial Force (No’s 1, 2 # Works Companies, No’s 4 & 5 Electric
Light Companies), for 4 years; On 04.07.1911 in Plymouth Sapper W E Kingdon, #1005 agreed to join the
Special Service Section of the Territorial Force for Service in the South Western Coast Defences; On
09.09.1915 he was serving in Gibraltar where the records indicate that Sapper W Kingdon #1005 re-engaged
for the period of the 1st World War & was paid his Bounty under Army Order 209 on 30.10.1916; He had
previously served in Plymouth from 04.08.1914 until 09.04.1915 & then served the rest of his Army time in
Gibraltar; William Edgar Kingdon was promoted to Lance Corporal in November 1916 with 1/4 th Company;
William Kingdon suffered from Cow Pox (Vaccinia) in Gibraltar in April 1918; On 29.11.1918 in Gibraltar he
Reverted to the Rank of Sapper at his own request; On 07.01.1919 in Gibraltar, Sapper William Kingdon was
medically examined for Discharge & found to be A1 fit & returned to the UK on 21.02.1919; I believe that
William Edgar Kingdon Married Lilian Johnson in Plymouth in early 1920; On 29.05.1920 William Edgar
Kingdon & his wife Lilian sailed from Southampton on the ‘SS Scandinavian’ to Quebec, Canada at the age of
27 (he was a Fitter Engineer) to seek work & settle down in Canada & having decided to emigrate to Chatham,
Ontario, Canada after demobilisation; His elder Brother Frederick Joseph J. Kingdon already lived in Ontario
at #230, Nelson Street, having emigrated from UK in 1905; In 1922 William Kingdon was living at #188,
Forest Street, Chatham, Ontario, Canada; I believe that William Edgar & wife Lilian Kingdon, now a
Merchant, returned to Plymouth, England on 14.01.1931 on board the ‘SS Ausonia’ & that William Edgar
Kingdon eventually died in 1975 in Liskeard, Cornwall Aged 82; He received the Territorial Force War Medal
on 16.10.1922 for service with the Devon Fortress Regiment; WW1 Medals Card on file; (He was the son of
#81288, Able Seaman, Joseph John Kingdon, Royal Navy); (He was the Grandson of Kingdon, George
Frederick: Royal Naval Dockyard Stoker, Paddle Tugs in Devonport); (He was the Nephew of Kingdon,
John: #82600, Stoker, Royal Navy; ADM 188/76/189);
Kingdon, William Ernest: #SS10518, Short Service, Royal Navy; ADM 188/1104/515; Late WW1 to pre
WW2;
Notes: This Sailor’s official naval number would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1918 & 31.12.1918, the
prefix ‘SS’ indicates a Short service enlistment of 5 to 7 years; The ADM gives his birth date as 20.05.1903 in
Bristol, Gloucestershire; This is William Ernest Kingdon born 20.05.1903 in Clifton, Bristol, England, the
son of Thomas Henry Kingdon, a British Soldier, b.1868 in Bristol & Blanche Mary Vear from Bedminster,
Gloucestershire, who married in Bristol on 11.04.1898; His Father served in the South African Boer War & in
WW1 & was a bit of a drunkard who was discharged from the British Army as unfit in 1916 & died of heart
failure in 1917; ; His sister was Nellie May Kingdon born 09.10.1898 in Clifton, Bristol; His Brother was
Thomas Charles Henry Kingdon born 25.06.1900 in Clifton, Bristol, who was probably forcibly emigrated to
Ontario in January of 1913 as a “Home Child” aboard the ‘SS Hesperian’; His Father had obviously
abandoned his family, but where was his Mother? Did his mother die or abandon her children? I checked the
1911 UK Census & found a female Kingdon lodging at #37, Ambre Vale East in Clifton, Bristol, which could
be her; In the 1911 Census there is a record for a William Kingdom, aged 7 (b.1904 Bristol) as a School boy
under a Foster Mother at a Bristol Board of Guardians, Poor Law Service School & Children’s Home at #6,
Beechwood Bank, Charlton road, Fishponds, Bristol, Gloucestershire; The ADM 171/160 & ADM 171/162
records indicate that William Ernest Kingdon served for a much longer period than the initial short service
enlistment with the Royal Navy & I believe that he served in the Devonport Division & claimed his Long
Service Medal on 10.07.1942 under his Official Naval Number of #20735; He was issued the Royal Fleet
Reserve Long Service & Good Conduct Medal; (His Father was Kingdon, Thomas Henry: Rifle Brigade No:
S1075 Rank: Corporal 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who also served as #9082 in the Rifle Brigade); (He is the
Brother of Kingdon, Thomas Charles: 2nd Depot Battalion, Eastern Ontario Regiment, Canadian
Expeditionary Force No: #3327602, Rank: Private); I did not research further;
Kingdon, William Every: #M23060, Royal Navy; ADM 188/1064, WW1;;
Notes: This Sailor’s Official Naval Number would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1916 & 31.12.1916 &
the ‘M’ prefix would suggest that he was an Artificer or an Artisan; In the ADM records this is William Every
Kingdon born 23.12.1901 in Mile End, London (registered 1902 in Mile End Old Town); I failed to find him
in the 1911 Census; (I do have a possible death for a William E. Kingdon Aged 21 in Portsmouth, Hampshire
in 1923, but this needs further research); Insufficient information to initially identify;
Follow up Notes: I now believe that William Every Kingdon is probably related to, (likely a Grandson of),
George Pengelley Kingdon, a Tailor born in Stoke Damerel, Devon in 1842, who Married Ellen Every from
Hastings, Sussex in 1864 & lived in East Stonehouse in 1871 & then in Portsea, Landport, Hampshire in 1881
& 1891 until his death in 1895 at the age of 53; This still needs further investigation?
Kingdon, William Fletcher: New Zealand, 2nd Division Reservist, 1917, WW1;
Notes: I do not believe that this man actually served in WW1, but he is recorded as a Reservist in the 2nd
Division Roll in 1917 & is designated as Class D, a Reservist who has 3 children; His address is given as a
Farmer in Gore, Southland, New Zealand; This is William Fletcher Kingdon born in Kirwee, Selwyn,
Canterbury, New Zealand in 1871, the son of Nehemiah Stephens Kingdon & Mary Grose Webber who
Married in Bodmin, Cornwall in 1862 & who sailed from London, England on 30.09.1865 to New Zealand
arriving in Lyttelton on 01.01.1866 on board the ‘Mermaid’; In 1896 William Fletcher Kingdon is recorded as
a Farm Assistant in Gore, Mataura, Southland; I believe that William Fletcher Kingdon Married Jean
McKenzie in 1896; From 1900 to 1919 William Fletcher & Jane Kingdon are recorded in Gore, he is a Farm
Assistant; His wife Jean Kingdon was not recorded after the 1919 Electoral Roll for Gore yet I cannot find any
death records for her? In 1928 only William Fletcher Kingdon is registered in the electoral lists, he is a Farmer
in Gore; In 1935 & 1938 he is recorded as a Farmer in Waimumu, Mataura, & in 1946 a Farmer in Mandeville,
Wallace, Southland; From 1949, 1954 & 1957 William Fletcher Kingdon is recorded as being Retired, living
in Mandeville, Wallace; William Fletcher Kingdon Died in 1958 Aged 87; (See his family ancestry in the
‘Kingdon Book – A Second Look’, published in 1974); (He was the Brother of John Wesley Kingdon, 1st
Division, Reservist, New Zealand, 1916, WW1);
Kingdon, William Fortescue: Royal Air Force, AIR 79/2653/305488; WW1;
Notes: The National Archives at Kew (AIR 79) have Airman’s Records for William Fortescue Kingdon in the
date range 01.01.1918 to 31.12.1928; I believe that this is William Fortescue Kingdon, born in Marylebone,
London in 1873, the son of Paul Augustine Kingdon, a Barrister, b.10.03.1820 in Bridgerule, Devon (Son of
Thomas Hocking Kingdon, Vicar of Bridgerule) & Elizabeth Fortescue Foulkes (daughter of the Vicar of
Shebbear, Devon) who married in 1854; In the 1881 & 1891 Censuses William F Kingdon is living with his
parents at #29, Marlborough Hill, Marylebone, London; In the 1901 Census William F Kingdon is aged 27 &
working as a professional Organist/Musician & living with his parents at #29, Marlborough Hill, Marylebone;
In the 1908 Voters Register, William Fortescue Kingdon is recorded as lodging in his Father’s house in 1
room, 2nd floor front jointly, at #29, Marlborough Hill, Marylebone, Westminster, London; In the 1911 Census
William Fortescue Kingdon is aged 37, still single, an Organist & living with his widowed father at the
Marlborough Hill, Marylebone, house; I do not believe that this man ever married; His RAF records need
further research as he probably worked at the Air Ministry during WW1? William Fortescue Kingdon Died on
27.02.1958 whilst living at # 6, Pennsylvania Park, Exeter, Devon; (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Henry
Foulkes: Hon. Major in Queen Victoria’s Rifles, pre WW1);
Kingdon, William G H: Royal Engineers No: 107851 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Medals Card on file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals. These medals appear to have
been reissued on 09.06.1950; Insufficient information to identify correctly;
Kingdon, William George: Petty Officer 1st Class, #155575, Royal Navy; ADM 188/226; (1890 to WW1);
Notes: This is William George Kingdon born 1874 in Portsea, Portsmouth, the son of James George
Kingdon, a Royal Navy Seaman, b.1837 in Portsmouth & his 1st Wife Elizabeth Elms b.1852 from Portsmouth
who married in 1868 in Portsmouth; I believe that his Mother Died in 1875 in Portsea Aged 39 & his Father
Married Elizabeth Male, b.1852 Portsmouth, in Portsea in 1877; In 1881 Census William Kingdon lives with
his parents at Eagle Cottage, Cottage Lane, in Portsea, Hampshire; This Petty Officer’s Official Naval number
would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1890 & 31.12.1890; In 1891 Willm. G. Kingdon is a Royal Navy
Crew member aged 17 on board the Boy’s Training Ship ‘HMS St Vincent’ in Portsmouth Harbour; In 1901
Census William Geo. Kingdom is a Petty Officer 1st Class serving on board the Battleship ‘HMS Ramillies’
stationed in Valetta Grand Harbour, Malta; In 1905 William George Kingdon Married Jane Moul,
b.28.11.1885 (registered 1st Q 1886) in Portsmouth, in Portsmouth; William Kingdon was eventually promoted
to Chief Petty Officer, & in the 1911 Census was still serving in the Royal Navy & he living with his wife &
young family at #9, Wimpole Street, Landport, Portsmouth; Naval & Marine Personnel Medal records for 2nd
Commissions, indicate also that Petty Officer W.G. Kingdon #155575 served onboard ‘HMS Philomel’ in
Somaliland between 1908 & 1910; In 1912 I believe that he was serving on ‘HMS Sentinel’ in Portsmouth; I
understand that William G. Kingdon may have died in Surrey in 1963 Aged 89; I believe that he had brothers
all serving in the Royal Navy, James John, Harry & Edward Arthur Kingdon & another brother serving in the
Army, Charles Walter Kingdon, all born in Portsea; WO 171/107 Medals Record Roll on File for award of the
Victory & British War Medals; Awarded the Africa General Service Medal with the Somaliland Clasp on
16.05.1912, WO 171/56; Awarded the Naval General Service Medal with Clasp for the Persian Gulf 19091914, WO 171/62, which was issued to him on 29.10.1915 whilst he was serving onboard ‘HMS Victory’; (He
is the Brother of James John Kingdon, a Coast Guard Petty Officer #PO/128972 who Died in WW1 aboard
‘HMS India’ on 08.08.1915 off Norway); (He was also the Brother of Kingdon, Edward Arthur: #220316
Leading Seaman, Royal Navy who served in WW1); (He was also the Brother of Kingdon, Charles Walter:
Royal Field Artillery No: 47983 Rank: Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/11, who served in the Royal Navy as a
boy & then in the Army in WW1); (He is also the Brother of Kingdon, Harry: #208949 Leading Seaman,
Royal Navy); (He was the Son of #40040 James George Kingdon, Royal Navy);
Kingdon, William H: Hampshire Regiment No: 28802 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Medals Card on file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals; (Insufficient information to
identify accurately);
Kingdon, William George: Royal Sussex Regiment, Rank: 2nd Lieutenant, & Royal Flying Corps No: 66431
Rank: Air Mechanic 3rd Class & 2nd Lieutenant, 1914-20 WO372/11 & AIR 79/612/66431, WW1;
Notes: I have a William George Kingdon on a list of Royal Air Force Officers showing a date of 06.01.1899
(which is probably his birth date?) in the UK files AIR 76/277/107; The MIC card for this man shows that he
was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant & also served with The Royal Sussex Regiment as #66431; The WO 338
records at Kew have reference to 2Lt. William George Kingdon, RFC, att/35 1034, (#213006) & is marked
that he was a demobilised officer; The WO 374/39798 records have reference to Lieutenant W G Kingdon; On
23.03.1918 Temporary 2nd Lieutenant W.G. Kingdon (Royal Air Force) was noted to be a temporary 2 nd
Lieutenant with the Royal Sussex Regiment; The London Gazette Supplement dated 16.04.1919 records under
the Royal Sussex Regiment that Temporary 2nd Lieutenant W G Kingdon (RAF) is to be Temporary 2nd
Lieutenant from 23.03.1918; The London Gazette Supplement dated 18.10.1920 also has an entry for
temporary 2nd Lieutenant W.G. Kingdon of the Royal Sussex Regiment, relinquishing his commission on
completion of service, 26.01.1919 but retains the rank of 2nd Lieutenant; This is William George Kingdon
born 06.01.1899 in Harrow, Middlesex, baptised on 19.02.1899 in Greenhill Parish, the son of Frank Kingdon,
a Butcher b.1873 in Silverton, Devon & Ellen Stock from Farnham, Surrey, who Married in 1898 in Farnham;
In 1901 Census William George Kingdon lives with his parents in Harrow on the Hill; In the 1911 Census this
family are incorrectly recorded as Kingston & not Kingdon, William George Kingdon is aged 12 & living with
his parents at #29, West Street, Harrow, Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex; I believe that he was still single in
1928 & living with his parents in Crown Street, Harrow, Middlesex; Records indicate that William George
Kingdon Died on 01.09.1970 in St Albans Aged 71; Medals Card on file, & I believe that he was awarded the
British War & Victory Medals; Medals applied for on 07.04.1923 & issued on 21.04.1923 to address, #1,
Crown Street, Harrow, Middlesex;
Kingdon, William H: Army Service Corps No: SS/6080 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: The prefix SS/ in the Regimental number denotes Supply Special (Butcher, Baker, Clerk, etc.); Also
served with the Royal Engineers as #WR/267615 (prefix denotes Waterways & Railways) & again recorded
with the Royal Engineers as #250381; Served in France from 10.01.1915; Medals Card on file for the award of
the 1915 Star, The British War & Victory Medals; (Insufficient information to identify accurately);
Kingdon, William H: ‘C’ Company, 1/6th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment No: 2705 & #266045 Rank:
Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Enlistment for this #2705 regimental number indicates a Territorial Force number which was
renumbered to #266054 in 1917; Colonel Flick’s 6th Battalion the Devonshire Regiment records have Private
W. H Kingdon, #266045 serving with ‘C’ Company, posted to Salonika on 09.12.1918, the unit heis brother
was already serving with; [The Spring 1919 Absent Voters List for South Molton, Devon Division, Parish of
Queens Nympton has reference to a George Kingdon of Cheyney, no service details were given, but I now
know that they were Brothers]; This is William Henry Kingdon born in 1888 (there are some queries on this
date) in George Nympton, Devon; He was the son of William Kingdon, an Agricultural Labourer,
b.30.03.1863 in Kings Nympton & Elizabeth Jane Webber from Chulmleigh who Married in 1884 in South
Molton, Devon; In the 1891 Census William H Kingdon lives with his parents in George Nympton Village; In
the 1901 Census William H Kingdon is a Cattle Boy aged 14, working on the Sampson Farm in Kings
Nympton, Devon, his parents live in one of the farm cottages; In the 1911 Census William Henry Kingdon
lives with his parents at Cheyney Cottage in Queens Nympton, Devon, he is a 23 year old Farm Labourer;
William Henry Kingdon volunteered for overseas service on 14.09.1914 aged 26 at a pay rate of sixpence a
day & sixpence family allowance; He was recorded as being a Farmer & at that time he was single & living in
Queens Nympton, he gave his date of birth as 22.01.1886? He appears to have been taken on Devonshire
Regimental strength on 14.09.1916; He served with ‘C’ Company of 1st/6th Battalion Devonshires, & recorded
on the rolls, from 01.05.1917; He served in India as his records have him embarking on leave on 30.04.1918 &
disembarking on 25.07.1918; He was Drafted to Salonika at some point & finally struck off strength on
09.12.1918; William Henry Kingdon Married Mary Jane Bosson from North Molton, Devon in 1920; I believe
that William Henry Kingdon Died aged 73 years on 24.12.1960, & his wife died 14.05.1966 aged 76, both are
buried in Mariansleigh, Devon; Medals Card on file for award of the British War & Victory Medals; Also
awarded the Territorial Force War Medal for service with the Devons Teritorial Force prior to 1914; (He is the
Brother of Kingdon, George: ‘C’ Company, 1/6th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment No: 1424 Rank: Private
1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1; Also Recorded as: Kingdon, G: Devonshire Regiment No: 265174 Rank:
Private 1914-1920 WO 372/24, WW1);
Kingdon, William H D: Royal Engineers No: 278909 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes; I believe that this is William Henry Daniel Kingdon, born in 1877 in Tavistock, Devon, the son of
Daniel Kingdon, a Shoemaker & Cordwainer born in Tavistock in 1832 & Frances (Fanny) Rich, who married
in Tavistock, Devon in 1862; In the 1881 & 1891 Censuses William Kingdon lived with his parents at #20,
Barley Market Street, Tavistock; In the 1901 Census William H Kingdon is a 22 year old Printer Compositor
living with his widowed Mother at #8, Pym Street, Tavistock, Devon; William Henry D Kingdon Married
Ellen Setter, born 1878 in Whitchurch, Devon, in Tiverton, Devon in 1904; In the 1911 Census William Henry
Daniel & Ellen Kingdon lived at #2, Dolvin Road, Tavistock; There are no military records, other than his
MIC, that I can find; William Henry Kingdon of #20, Dolvin Road, Tavistock Died on 16.09.1959 at # 10,
Mount Tavy Road, Tavistock Aged 82; His wife died on 28.11.1960 in Tavistock Aged 81: Medals Card on
file for the issue of the British War Medal only;
Kingdon, William Henry: #5495, #50818, #T/54683, #185478, 6th Sherwood Foresters, Durham Light
Infantry & Labour Corps, WW1;
Notes: This is William Henry Kingdon born 15.12.1880 in Brixton, Lambeth, Surrey, the Son of John
Kingdon, a Carpenter b.1851 in South Molton & his 1st wife Elizabeth Piller from Drewsteignton, Devon; In
1891 Census William Kingdon lives with his parents at #123 Mayall Road, Lambeth, his Father is a Carpenter;
In 1901 Census William Henry Kingdon is now 20 years old & also a Carpenter, living with his Father & Step
Mother, (Mary Cecilia Coomber from Hastings, who married his Father in 1894 in Lambeth), in Mayall Road,
Lambeth; In 1911 Census William Henry Kingdon is aged 30 & a Carpenter living with his Father & Step
Mother at #72 Mayall Road, Herne Hill; This Soldier’s Army Records have many references to numerous units
he was posted to throughout his service; William Henry Kingdon was aged 36 years & 7 Months when he
enlisted on 03.07.1916 in Camberwell for service as #5498 &/or #54683 In the Reserve Unit 6 th Sherwood
Foresters Territorial Battalion of the Nottingham & Derbyshire Regiment, he was single & living with his
Father in Herne Hill; I believe that he was transferred from the Reserves on 23.11.1916; (His Step Mother died
19.08.1918, aged 49, whilst living in Rattray Road, Lambeth where it appears William Henry Kingdon
continued to live after his discharge from the Army); William Henry also served as #185478 with the 356 th
(HS) Works Company of the Labour Corps in 1917; He also served as #6253 with the 37th Works Company,
Durham Light Infantry; Obviously his Carpenter & Joiner skills kept him on the move throughout his service; I
believe that he was discharged on 03.02.1919; There is no Medals card on file; (He is the Brother of Abraham
John Kingdon also enlisted in the Royal Marines, Kingdon, Abraham John: Register Number: #11852;
Division: Royal Marine Light Infantry: Portsmouth Division); (Brother of Kingdon, George Charles:
Register Number: #11322; Division: Royal Marine Light Infantry: Portsmouth Division); I have not
researched any further information;
Kingdon, William Henry: #922649 Sapper, 200th Battalion, Canadian Engineers Regimental Battalion,
WW1;
Notes: There are enlistment papers for William Henry Kingdon in Camp Hughes, Manitoba, Canada dated
08.07.1916; I believe that this is William Henry (Harry) Kingdon born 05.07.1898 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 William Henry Kingdon is recorded as Henry Kingdon
aged 2 & living with his parents in Minnedosa, Manitoba; In the 1906 Census William Kingdom is aged 7 &
living with his parents in Marquette, Manitoba; At the age of 11 years William Kingdon is living with his
parents in Minnedosa; In 1916 Census William Kingdon is recorded as being aged 18, with no occupation,
living with his parents in Russell, Manitoba; William Henry Kingdon was aged 18 years when he enlisted in
Camp Hughes on 08.07.1916; He was drafted into the 200th Battalion, Canadian Engineers Regiment, Overseas
Expeditionary Force; He gave his birth date as 05.07.1898 in Minnedosa & his Father Harry Kingdon as his
NOK living in Clanwilliam, Manitoba; He also gave his own address & occupation as a Butcher living in
Russell, Manitoba; There are records for #922649, Sapper W.H. Kingdon returning to Canada on the ‘SS
Olympic’ in late 1919 for transfer to the Canadian Engineer Railway Battalion (CERB) which gives his
residence address as Clanwilliam & his Mother as his NOK; (Researchers should note & read up on the
problems returning Canadian Soldiers faced when trying to find work in Manitoba & the resulting riots); (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
Alfred Henry Kingdon who served with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in WW1); I did not
research further;
Kingdon, William Henry: Service with the Militia at some point in time, between ca.1890 & 1915;
Notes: There is a Militia Service Record List for 1806-1915, which includes a William Henry Kingdon born
1878 in Swansea, Glamorganshire; This is probably William Henry Kingdon b.1879 in Swansea,
Glamorganshire, Wales, the son of Richard Kingdon b.1854 in Bratton Fleming, Devon & Mary Rees from
Swansea who married in 1876 in Swansea, Wales; (William Henry Kingdon is the Grandson of John Kingdon
b.1817 Bratton Fleming & Grace Bale b.1815 in Parracombe); In 1881 Census Wm. Henry Kingdon is aged 1
year & living with his parents at #8, Park Terrace, Swansea, his Father is a Police Constable; In 1891 Census
William Henry Kingdon lives with his family in St Thomas, Swansea, his Father is a Police Constable; In 1901
Census I did not find this William Henry Kingdon; In the 1911 Census, William H. Kingdon is aged 31, still
Single & living with his Retired ex Police Sergeant Pensioners parents in Ystodwen Villas, Llandebie,
Carmarthenshire, South Wales, he is a Prudential Assurance Agent; He may well have been in receipt of a
Chelsea Pension as a William Kingdon b.1878 in Swansea is listed there; (His Father’s Death Probate in 1926
indicates that William Henry Kingdon was working as a Colliery Store Clerk); (He is the Brother of Kingdon,
Alfred James: Army Service Corps No: TS/742 Acting Farrier Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (I believe
that he was also the Brother of #4480 Richard John Kingdon who served 18 years with the 1st Battalion, the
Welsh Regiment & re-enlisted in 1914 for WW1);
Kingdon, William J: #4023001, Private, Canadian Expeditionary Force: Canada Records 439451a, WW1;
Notes: There records for a William J Kingdon Called up under the Canadian Military Service Act of 1917 in
Ottawa, Ontario on 28.11.1917, category B2, Temporary in #3 Signal Training Depot, & signed by the Officer
Commanding 1st Depot Battalion, E.O. Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force; There are no other WW1
Military Records for this soldier that I can find; I believe that this is William James Kingdon, UK Birth
Record 1st Q 1894 St George, Hanover Square, London; The enlistment record has William J. Kingdon Aged
22 years & 10 months, Born 09.12.1893 in Pimlico, London England; His address is recorded as living at
#214, Main St, Ottawa, East Ontario, his trade is noted as a Fireman, & his Nok given as his Mother, Elizabeth
Kingdon, address unknown; He Lived at #214, Main St, Ottawa, East Ontario & had previously served in the
Active Militia but had been discharged a/c Medically Unfit; Further research reveals that in the 1901 UK
Census, Wm Jas Kingdon born 1897/8 Pimlico is a Visitor with a Clayton Family, William & Sarah &
Daughter May, a Bricklayer from Welshpool, Montgomeryshire; William James Kingdon aged 7 at that time
may have been an orphan or a foster child or Nurse Child? This family live at #1, Myrtle Road, Walthamstow,
Essex; In previous census records they also have Nurse Children living with them. I also found the following
immigration record for a passenger sailing from Liverpool UK to Halifax, Nova Scotia on ‘SS Mongolian’ on
25.03.1911 – arriving Halifax 08.04.1911 – William Kingdon Aged 17, has no trade but intends to Farm in
Ontario; In the 1911 Canadian Census there is a W. James Kingdon born December 1893 in England, working
as a Domestic in Osgoode, Russell, Ontario; I did not research any further;
Kingdon, William John: #K4383, Royal Navy; ADM 188/875, (1909 to WW1 service);
Notes: This is William John Kingdon born 13.11.1890 in Farnborough, Hampshire; He was the son of
William Kingdon, a Gardener b.1862 in Wibley, Surrey, & Lucy Wattridge from Southampton who Married in
1890 in Farnham, Hampshire; In 1891 William Jno Kingdon lived with his parents at Bifrons Lodge,
Sycamore Road, Farnborough; In 1901 William John Kingdon lived with his parents at #22, Richmond Place,
Alverstoke, Hampshire, his Father was a Market Gardener at that time; William John Kingdon joined the
Royal Navy between 01.01.1909 & 31.12.1909 as his official navy number would indicate & was serving as a
Stoker, #K4383, on board ‘HMS Jupiter’ (Gunnery Training Battleship) at Weymouth Bay, Portland, Dorset in
1911; According to the Royal Navy’s WW1 Records Stoker Petty Officer W. J. Kingdon served in the Great
War; On the ADM 171/107 Medal Roll he was serving on ‘HMS King George V’ at the end of WW1; there is
a UK incoming passenger record for Naval Ratings ex Malta arriving on board the vessel Moreton Bay, at
Southampton on 13.12.1930, Chief Stoker William J Kingdon of the Royal Naval Barracks in Portsmouth is on
this list Aged 40; Subsequently I would assume that William John Kingdon served for many years with the
Royal Navy, probably more than 20 years; His Long Service Medal was issued on 24.10.1924 & sent to him
on the Aircraft Carrier ‘HMS Hermes’; I believe that William John Kingdon died in Surrey in 1977 Aged 86;
Awarded the 1914-15 Star, The British War Medal & the Victory Medal; Also awarded the Royal Navy Long
Service & Good Conduct Medal; I did not research further;
Kingdon, William J: Army Service Corps No: M2/019498 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Prefix M2/ on his Regimental number denotes that he was an Electrician in Mechanical Transport,
(references from Army Service Numbers website & The Long Long Trail website); William J Kingdon served
in France from 28.11.1914 with the Royal Army Service Corps; This Soldier was on the Class Z Reserve after
the War but no dates are given on his MIC card; Medals Card on file for the award of the 15 Star, The British
War & Victory Medals; (Insufficient information to identify accurately);
Kingdon, William John: #183694, Seaman, Royal Navy; ADM 188/308/94, (1895 period);
Notes: The ADM records have this Sailor born 09.10.1878 in Antony, Cornwall; His Official Navy Number
#183694 would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1895 & 31.12.1895 & that he was a Seaman; Unfortunately
there are no other records; I believe that this is William John Kingdon b.1878 in Wilcove, Antony, Cornwall,
& that he was the son of John Joseph Kingdon, a Royal Navy Stoker, b.23.09.1853 in New Passage, Stoke
Damerel, Devon & Ann Maria Deacon, b.1852 in Wilcove, Antony, Cornwall, & who Married in 1877 in
Cornwall; In the 1881 Census William Kingdon is Aged 2 & living with his Mother & her parents at #9,
Wilcove, Antony in Cornwall, she is recorded as being a Stoker’s Wife, & I believe that young William’s
Father was serving onboard ‘HMS Iron Duke’ in Hong Kong; In the 1891 Census William J Kingdon lives
with his parents at #13, Morice Street, Stoke Damerel, Devonport, his Father is a Royal Navy Pensioner;
William John Kingdon’s Father Died on 04.10.1891 in Stoke Damerel Aged 38; I understand from the records
that William John Kingdon enlisted into the Royal Navy in 1895; I failed to find him in the 1901 Census
Records & have presumed that he was probably serving in the Royal Navy at that time; Towards the end of
1901, William John Kingdon Married Louisa Clara Hoyle, (b.1881 Wilcove, Cornwall), in Devonport, Devon;
Their children, of which there are 2, were born in Wilcove, Cornwall so I assume that they returned there from
Devon between late 1901 & early 1903? In the 1911 Census William & Louisa Kingdon are living in Wilcove,
Antony, Cornwall with William’s Widower Grandfather William Deacon & his Widowed Mother Maria
Kingdon, William is a Farm Labourer; (Noted that their eldest child Stanley William G Kingdon (b.31.03.1903
Wilcove) is visiting with a Hoyle family Uncle in Torpoint, Cornwall, & is recorded as an 8 year old Scholar);
(He is the Son of Kingdon, John: #82600, Stoker, Royal Navy; ADM 188/76/189); I researched no further;
Kingdon, William John: #K48002, Stoker 2nd Class, Royal Navy; ADM 188/963/2, WW1;
Notes: This Sailor’s Official Royal Navy number would indicate that he enlisted between 01.01.1917 &
31.12.1917 & the prefix ‘K’, that he was a Stoker; The ADM Records have his date of birth as 25.07.1899 in
Plympton, Devon, so I believe that this is William John Kingdon born in Hemerdon, near Plympton St Mary,
Devon in 1899; He was the son of John James Kingdon, a Clay Worker, b.1870 in Shaugh Prior, Devon, &
Alice Louisa Bawden, b.1875 in Cornwood, Devon, who Married in 1898 in Plympton St Mary, Devon; In the
1901 Census William J Kingdon lives with his parents at Hanger Farm, Plympton St Mary; In the 1911 Census
William Kingdon is aged 11 & living with his parents in Hemerdon, Near Plympton, Devon; I believe that he
joined the Royal Navy during WW1 in 1917; I understand that he probably served for some time as he did not
Marry Emma Eveline Kelley, b.1901 Cornwood, Plympton, Devon, until 1934 in Plympton; I don’t believe
that they had any children? I understand that his wife Emma E Kingdon died in the Plymouth area in 1958
Aged 57; William John Kingdon may have remarried in 1961 in Plympton but this is not confirmed; He did
however, live until his death in 1990 in the Portsmouth area Aged 90; Awarded the British War & the Victory
Medals for his WW1 Service;
Kingdon, William L: Honourable Artillery Company No: 6825 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This Regimental Number indicates enlistment between 05.01.1916 & 17.02.1916; This is William
Loosemore Kingdon b.08.02.1892 Bishops Nympton, son of Bank Manager William Sottridge Kingdon,
b.05.05.1860 in South Molton, Devon & Emily Jane Willcocks Loosemore, from Charles in Devon, who
Married on 21.03.1891 in Bishops Nympton, Devon; William L Kingdon lived with parents above the National
Provincial Bank in Hartlepool in 1901 & in Norton Lodge, Norton, Stockton on Tees in the 1911 Census;
William L Kingdon enlisted on 8th December 1915 Aged 23 years & 6 months, he was a Bank Clerk; Served in
England until going to France on 18.11.1916; This soldier was a Lance Sergeant in the Honorable Artillery
Company during the War & served with the 3rd Line A & B Batteries & then the 1st Battalion; On 03.03.1918
he was sent back to England for commissioning as a Cadet with #19 Officer Cadet Battalion, Gazetted for
Commission to 2nd Lieutenant on 03.02.1919 with the Special Reserve of Officers; The WO 338 records at
Kew have reference to William Loosemore Kingdon, #285032 having a Territorial Force Commission; He was
discharged on 03.02.1919 under Para 392 (xixs) King’s Regulations for the benefit of the Public service for the
purpose of being appointed to a permanent commission in the Special Reserve of Officers; The London
Gazette Supplement dated 27.07.1921 records that 2nd Lieutenant W.L. Kingdon of the Honourable Artillery
Company Resigned his Commission on 28.07.1921 but retained his rank; In 1927 he is living at #74, Johnson
Road, Balsall Heath, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, Warwickshire; William Loosemore Kingdon Married Florence
Mary Peppin from Dover in 1930 in Bootle; William Loosemore Kingdon died in Tavistock in 1986 Aged 94;
Medals Card on file but no specific medals noted; (He was the elder Brother of Kingdon, John Sottridge:
WW2 Home Guard Service, 1940 to 1945);
Kingdon, William Napier: Commander, Royal Navy; ADM 196/145 & ADM 196/55, (1905 to WW1 &
WW2 period);
Notes: This is William Napier Kingdon born 17.09.1892 in Dorchester, Dorset, the son of Herbert Napier
Kingdon, a 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 William’s Father ran a small boarding school for boys; I believe that he joined the Royal Navy on
15.09.1905; Midshipman William Napier Kingdon Passed Out from his Naval training on 15.05.1910; In 1911
Census Midshipman William N. Kingdon is Aged 18 & serving onboard ‘HMS Lord Nelson’ positioned at sea
at that time; In August 1912 he is a Midshipman serving onboard ‘HMS Achilles’; By October 1912 he is an
Acting Sub Lieutenant & promoted to Sub Lieutenant on 30.09.1913; Between April - November 1914 he is
serving on ‘HMS Roxburgh’; In April 1915 he is Sub Lieutenant onboard the Torpedo Gunboat ‘HMS Leda’;
He was promoted to Lieutenant on 15.07.1915; From October 1916 to August 1917, Lieutenant W.N. Kingdon
served onboard the Battleship ‘HMS Temeraire’; In January 1919 he is ‘Lieutenant in Command’ of ‘HMS
Holderness’; In July 1920 he is serving onboard ‘HMS Tring’, (Tender to ‘HMS Harebell); From October
1921 to January 1923 Lieutenant William N. Kingdon is serving onboard the Sloop, ‘HMS Crocus’; I believe
that William N. Kingdon Married Lillie Gwen Fletcher in 1923 in Elham, Kent; I understand that he was
promoted to Lieutenant Commander & served onboard the Minesweeper ‘HMS Sherborne’ between 1924 &
1926; In July 1927 Lieutenant Commander W.N. Kingdon was serving in the 5th Cruiser Squadron in China on
‘HMS Despatch’; In February 1929 he was in Command of the Minesweeper ‘HMS Tiverton’; From July 1931
to January 1933, Lieutenant Commander W.N. Kingdon was serving onboard the Turret Drill Ship, ‘HMS
Terror, Monitor’, (also the Tender to ‘HMS Excellent’), in Plymouth; In October 1935 he was serving with
the Reserve Fleet in Portsmouth onboard ‘HMS Coventry’; I understand that he was promoted to Commander
in 1936 & then William Napier Kingdon Retired from the Royal Navy on 14.09.1936; At some stage he was
permanently resident in Hong Kong & employed as Officer Instructor, probably from before 06.01.1938; From
January 1938 to August 1939 he maintained this post with the Hong Kong Naval Volunteer force
headquartered on ‘HMS Cornflower’; He returned to the UK on 26.12.1939 on the ‘SS Aeneas’, traveling 1st
Class, & was recorded as a 47 year old Naval Officer, giving his UK address as “Alstree” Halberton, Tiverton,
Devon; During WW2 I understand that he continued to serve in the RNVR in ‘HMS Lucifer’ with the Hong
Kong Division, & also in 1945 he was still a Retired Commander in the Miscellaneous Services Section of
‘HMS Drake’ serving with the Commander in Chief, Plymouth; William Napier Kingdon Died in 1979 in
Tavistock, Devon Aged 87; Awarded the 1914-15 Star, Victory & British War Medals; (He is the Brother of
Kingdon, Herbert Theodore: East Lancashire Regiment Rank: Captain 1914-1920 WO 372/11, also recorded
as: Kingdon, H T: East Lancashire Regiment Rank: Temporary Captain WO 372/24); (Brother of John
Bannatyne Kingdon, Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy); (Brother of Kingdon, Janet L (Female):
Voluntary Aid Detachment 1914-1920 WO 372/23);
Kingdon, William Samuel Goodwin: 2nd Northamptonshire Regiment No: 22887 Rank: Private, & in the
Leicestershire Regiment, Rank: 2nd Lieutenant, 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Served in France from 01.06.1916; This soldier then served with the 11th Battalion, Leicestershire
Regiment & was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 30.10.1917; He was still serving in 1918; The WO 338 records
at Kew have reference to 2Lt. William Samuel G Kingdon, #189327 & is marked as being a demobilised
officer; This is William Samuel Goodwin Kingdon born 4th Q 1894 in Shardlow, Derbyshire, son of Alfred
William Kingdon, a Railway Station Master, b.1869 in Simonsbath, Exmoor & Selina Goodwin from Little
Eaton, Derbyshire who married in 1894 in Shardlow; In 1901 this family lived in the Station House, Great
Glenn, Leicestershire; (William’s Mother died in Market Harborough in 1906 & his Father remarried to
Jemima (Minnie) Watkins, b.1882 in Augh, Pembrokeshire, in 1906); In 1911 Census & in 1914 Army
records, William’s Father was Station Master at Kibworth; After discharge from the Army following WW1,
William S G Kingdon Married Nancy Stroud (b.1898 in Basford, interesting fact that her Father was a General
Dealer (Shop) & 3 of her siblings were born in Moscow, Russia), in 1927 in Basford, Nottinghamshire;
William S. G. Kingdon died in 1942 in Basford, Nottinghamshire Aged 47, his Wife Nancy died in 1968 Aged
69 in Nottingham; Medals Card on file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals, which were applied
for on 23.11.1921 & sent out on 28.12.1921, Address: #4, Clinton Street, Beeston, Notts;
Kingdon, William Stephen: Served in the Royal Air Force in WW1, AIR 76/277 & AIR 79/1667/184461;
Notes: This is William Stephen Kingdon born 15.02.1900 in Blackheath, Lewisham, the son of Zachary
Harris Kingdon, a Civil Service Electrical Engineer b.1857 in Exeter & Florence Kate Brindley from Sheffield,
Yorkshire who married on 24.07.1890 in Greenwich; In 1901 William S Kingdon lived with his parents at #6,
Belmont Hill in Lee, Lewisham, London; In the 1911 Census William Stephen Kingdon is aged 11, still at
school & living with his parents at #5, Grimstone Villas, Plymouth; I believe that William Stephen Kingdon
Married Winifred Mary Bealey in 1925 in Exeter; William Stephen Kingdon had also become an Engineer by
the time of his Father’s death in 1935 in Exeter; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, John Francis: Royal Army
Medical Corps No: 434077 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who served in WW1); (He is also the
Brother of Kingdon, Roger: Royal Engineers Rank: Lieutenant 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who served in WW1);
(He is also the Brother of George Bodley Kingdon who served in the Royal Navy & the Royal Air Force from
1929 to 1940); (He is the Brother of Zachary Edward Kingdon, Captain, OTC, Infantry Unit, who became
District Commissioner in Tanganyika); (This family originates from the Thorverton Branch of Kingdons);
Kingdon, William T: Essex Regiment No: 253060 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This soldier’s Essex Regiment number of #253060 could well indicate service with the 5th (Territorial
Force) Battalion, The Essex Regiment, when the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917 (eg. #251905
originally joined on 21.09.1916)? William T Kingdon also served with the Hertfordshire Regiment, part of
the Bedfordshire Regiment, with the number #269426, all units formed by this regiment were of the Territorial
Force & this number was allocated to the 1st Battalion The Hertfordshire Regiment in the 1917 Territorial
Force re-numbering system; This soldier also served with the Royal Engineers as #359251 & the Waterways &
Railways Section of the Royal Engineers as #WR/284592; After some further research has revealed his WW1
Short Service Records under the wrong name (King), I therefore now believe that this is William Thomas
Kingdon, born 1878 in Stratton, Cornwall; He was the son of Thomas Kingdon, a Miner & a Police Constable
& later an Insurance Agent who was baptised in Linkinhorne, Cornwall on 15.03.1845, & his 2nd wife , (1st
wife died 1874), Eliza Hicks b.1850 in Linkinhorne who Married in Linkinhorne, Cornwall on 30.12.1875, he
was recorded as a Policeman; In the 1881 Census William T Kingdon is living with his parents in North Hill,
Cornwall, his father is recorded as an Insurance Agent; In the 1891 Census Wm. T. Kingdon lives with his
parents in Barn Street Liskeard, Cornwall, his Father is a Storekeeper; In the 1901 Census William T Kingdon
is a Storeman & living with his parents in Pond Bridge Hill, Liskeard, his Father is a Coal Storekeeper;
William Thomas Kingdon Married Lily May Stanton, born in 1875 in St Cleer, Cornwall, in Liskeard on
04.11.1907; William Thos Kingdon enlisted from the Army Reserve for WW1 Short Service on 22.09.1916, he
was living at #24, Trevecca, Liskard at the time & was a Store Keeper; I understand that he was originally
attested on 11.12.1915 & sent to the Army Reserve on 12.12.1915; He appears to have been mobilised on
22.09.1916 from the Army Reserve & served with the Hertfordshire Regiment, the Essex Regiment, the Royal
Engineers Foreway Company & the Royal Engineers Waterways & Railways until being discharged to the
Reserve on the 15.02.1919; I believe that he did serve in France at some time; Medals Card on file for the
Victory & British War Medals; I researched no further;
Kingdon, William Thomas; Lance Corporal #3785, Devonshire Regiment; (Early 1900’s Period);
Notes: According to a Kingdon family bible this is William Thomas Kingdon born 22.04.1880 in Twitchen,
Devon, the son of Thomas Kingdon b.1853 Bishops Nympton, Devon & Elizabeth Baker from Twitchen who
Married on 11.06.1878 in Bishops Nympton; In 1881 William Thomas lives with his parents in Twitchen,
Devon; In 1891 Census he lives with his parents at Kingscombe Cottage, West Anstey, Devon; I have not
found him in the 1901 Census so assume that he was serving with the Devonshire Regiment? The Family Bible
has William Thomas Kingdon serving as #3785 with the 9th Service Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment; He
has recorded that he was at Bulford Camp, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire with 378, 9 th Devon Regiment in 1901;
However, I find this difficult to understand as the 9th Battalion Devonshires were not formed until 15.09.1914?
His regimental number & unit were therefore probably Territorial Force? On the last page of his Bible he has
recorded that he was a Lance Corporal serving in Jersey in the Channel Islands; William Thomas Kingdon
Married Bessie Gibbs from Halberton in Meshaw in 1906; In 1911 Census William Thomas Kingdon is a
Horseman on a Farm in Witheridge, Devon, living at Bradford Moor Cottages; I believe that William Thomas
Kingdon Died on 13.02.1962 in Exminster Hospital Aged 81; There is no Medals card for this soldier so I
presume that he did not serve in WW1; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Arthur: Dorsetshire Regiment No:
14190 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11);
Kyngdon, William Frederick Robert: Lt Colonel, Commanding Officer, ‘D’ Company, Tank Corps, WW1;
Notes: This is William Frederick Robert Kyngdon born in 1881 in St Leonards, New South Wales,
Australia, the son of Frederick Henry Kyngdon b.1852 Exeter & his 1st wife Amy J. Berry, who Married in
1879 in New South Wales, Australia; In 1911 Census he was Boarding as a young Lieutenant in the Royal
Garrison Artillery at #93, Jermyn Street, St James Square, London; William F. R. Kyngdon was a long time
serving Commanding officer of ’D’ Battalion, The Tank Corps during WW1 but he had also served as a 27
year old Lieutenant attached to the Gold Coast Regiment & as a Major with the Royal Garrison Artillery; He
first served in France on 21.08.1914; William Frederick Robert Kyngdon Married Gertrude Wemyss Anderson
in 1928 in Dorking, Surrey; William Frederick Robert Kyngdon died on 26.10.1961 in Pitlochry, Perthshire,
Scotland; Medals Card on File for award of 1915 Star, for service as a Lieutennt in the Royal Garrison
Artillery; Awarded the British War & Victory Medals for service with the as a Lieutenant Colonel with the
Tank Corps; I believe that he was also awarded the DSO & that he was Mentioned in Despatches; (There are 2
addresses on his MIC, The Drill Hall, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales, & the Junior United Services
Club, Charles Street, London SW.1); (He was a Grandson of Surgeon Dr. Boughton Kyngdon of Bodmin,
Cornwall); Needs in depth further research;
Further Notes: Whilst researching other names I matched these 2 records, which I now believe to be the same
person;
Kingdon, W F R: Lieutenant British Army (Royal Garrison Artillery); (1901 to 1912 period);
Notes: The UK Passenger Arrivals Records indicate a Lieutenant W F R Kingdon arriving in Liverpool on
23.07.1902 on board the ‘SS Karnia’ sailing from Sierra Leone; I also found a Lieutenant W F R Kingdon
sailing from England to Sierra Leone 25.06.1906, on board the ‘Accra’ alongwith 58 Other Ranks, but some of
this information has been crossed out? The same pattern is recorded on a Lieutenant W F R Kyngdon sailing
from London to Sierra Leone on 07.08.1907 on board the ‘SS Falaba’; There is however, another ship’s
passenger record for a Lieutenant W F R Kingdon sailing onboard the ‘Elmina’ from Liverpool to Sierra
Leone on 14.08.1912; I understand that William Frederick Robert Kyngdon Married Gertrude Anderson; I
have also located this soldier in the London Gazette dated 06.04.1901, promoted to be 2nd Lieutenant with the
Glamorgan Artillery (Western Division) in the Militia, Royal Garrison Artillery on 04.04.1901 & would
suggest that he may well be the same Lieutenant Colonel W F R Kingdon who was the ‘D’ Battalion
commander of the Tank Regiment in 1917 in WW1? I also found refernce to his Military Service in WO 338 at
Kew where there is some indication that he also served with the Machine Gun Corps at some time; Family
Line is the Holsworthy Kingdon Branch – New Zealand & Australia, see ‘Kingdon Book - A second Look
1974’ who adopted the surname Kyngdon spelling ca.1851 upon arrival in New Zealand; Needs in depth
further research;
Z
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE
Kingdon, Zachary: Book 1670, Exeter, Devon Militia for 1803;
Notes: The Devon: Exeter Militia List for 1803 has reference to a Zachary Kingdon, Lacemaker who served in
the Militia; This is probably Zachariah Kingdon who Died in 1829, Exeter St David, his Probate identifies
him as a ‘late lace & fringe maker’;
Kingdon, Zachary Edward: Captain, Officers Training Corps, General List, Oxford University Contingent,
Infantry Unit, Senior Division; 1926 to 1932 period;
Notes: This is Zachary Edward (Teddy) Kingdon, born in 1902 in Billericay, Essex, a son of Zachary Harris
Kingdon, a Civil Engineer, b.1856 in Exeter & Florence Kate Brindley from Sheffield, Yorkshire who married
on 24.07.1890 in Greenwich, Kent; In 1911 Census Zachary Edward Kingdon was aged 8 & living with his
parents at #5, Grimstone Villas, Plymouth, his Father was working as an Electrical Engineer with the
Admiralty & was a Civil Servant at Devonport Dockyard in 1925; The London Gazette of 30.07.1926 recorded
that Lieutenant Z E Kingdon, of the Officers Training Corps, from Royal Grammar School (Lancaster)
Contingent was to be a 2nd Lieutenant at Cheltenham College Contingent, Junior Division with precedence as
in the T.A. 15th July 1926; The London Gazette of 11.01.1929 recorded that 2nd Liuetenant Z E Kingdon of the
OTC, Cheltenham College Contingent, Junior Division was promoted to Lieutenant on 28.11,1928; The
London Gazette of 08.11.1929 recorded that Lieutenant Z E Kingdon of Cheltenham college Contingent was
to be Lieutenant of Oxford University Contingent, (Infantry Unit) Senior Division on 18.10.1929; The London
Gazette of 06.06.1930 recorded Lieutenant Z E Kingdon was promoted to Captain on 24.05.1930; The London
Gazette of 03.05.1932 recorded that Captain Z E Kingdon had resigned his commission on 04.05.1932; By this
time I understand that Zachary Edward (Teddy) Kingdon was already posted to Tanganyika & had begun his
career from Cadet to District Commissioner & Colonial Administrator in the African Service; I understand that
He Married a Dorothy ?? & lived on Ruanda Valley Farm, Mbeye, Tanzania; ; (He is the Brother of Kingdon,
John Francis: Royal Army Medical Corps No: 434077 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who served in
WW1); (He is also the Brother of Kingdon, Roger: Royal Engineers Rank: Lieutenant 1914-1920 WO 372/11
who served in WW1); (He is also the Brother of Kingdon, William Stephen: Served in the Royal Air force in
WW1, AIR 76/277); (He is also the Brother of George Bodley Kingdon who served in the Royal Navy & the
Royal Air Force from 1929 to 1940); (This family originates from the Thorverton, Devon line of Kingdons);
Needs more research;
Kingdon, Zealey William: #14659, Private, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Chatham Division; ADM 159/60,
WW1;
Notes: This is Zealey William Kingdon born 27.01.1887 in Shoreditch, Baptised on 02.03.1887 in Hoxton, St
John the Baptist, Hackney; He is the son of James Kingdon, a Tailor b.1846 in North Molton, Devon & Sophia
Lightfoot from Peckham who Married in Clerkenwell on 15.10.1876; In the 1891 Census Zealey Kingdon is
living with his parents at #38, Bevenden Street, Shoreditch & he is also still there in 1901 but working as an
Errand Boy in the Port; Zealey William Kingdon enlisted in the Royal Marines on 14.06.1904 at the age of 17,
later serving in WW1; In the 1911 Census there is a Private William Kingdon, aged 26, serving in the Royal
Marine Light Infantry in the Royal Marine Barracks in Chatham, Kent; This Soldier’s WW1 Medals were
forwarded to him whilst serving on ‘HMS Ajax’; He was Discharged to a Pension; In 1922 & 1933 Zealey
William Kingdon is recorded on the Electoral Rolls for Hoxton with his Mother Sophia, Brother George &
sister Sarah Ann at #38, Bevenden Street in Hoxton; In 1939 Zealey William Kingdon is recorded as living in
#76, Aske House, Shoreditch with his Brother George Howardson James Kingdon & Sister Sarah Ann
Kingdon; In 1957 Zealey William Kingdon lives at #48, Aske House, Academy Buildings in Ashford Street,
with his Brother George & his sister Sarah, none of them seem to have married; I believe that Zealey William
Kingdon Died in Shoreditch in 1957 Aged 70; Awarded 1914-15 Star, Victory & British War Medals; ADM
171/147 records the issue of his Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct Medal on 14.02.1936 & ADM
171/160 records issue of the Royal Fleet Reserve Long Service Medal on 03.02.1936; (Brother of Kingdon,
George: London Regiment No: 800308 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11);
Notes: The foregoing information has been collected from records that are freely available on the Internet but
the author does not guarantee that the expansion & identification of these records is accurate, but suggests
that it should be used as a tool for further more detailed research of individual cases; It is intended as an
additional aid tool, helping ancestry researchers to identify individuals named Kingdon or Kingdom who are
recorded as having served in the Military Forces at any time or period in history;
Peter Holden, roeschlinp@gmail.com