J to M
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE (12th January 2014)
J
Kingdon, J: Royal Field Artillery No: 49756 Rank: Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/23/133352, WW1;
Recorded also as: Kingdon, John: Royal Field Artillery No: 49756 Rank: Bombardier 1914-1920 WO
372/11/167972, WW1;
Notes: Medals Card has him as John Kingdon, #49756 RFA as a Bombardier & who served in France from
19.01.1915; He was promoted to Sergeant & I believe was awarded the Military Medal; This is (John) Jack
Kingdon born in late 1891 in Barnstaple, Devon, he was the Son of John E. Kingdon (b.1855), of Barnstaple,
England, a Fisherman, Shipbuilder & Bargeman & Elizabeth ??, also from Barnstaple; (She may have been
previously married as there is a Stepdaughter recorded living with the family in the 1891 Census called
Elizabeth Jane Limebear, b.1875 Barnstaple, who marries Richard Johns in 1899 in Barnstaple & emigrates
to Manitoba, Canada in 1906); In 1901 Jack Kingdon was aged 10 & living with his Parents at #10, Signal
Terrace, Barnstaple, Devon, his Father is a Shipwright & Bargeman; Further research indicates that John
Kingdom aged 21 (born 1890 in Barnstaple) was serving as a Private in the 75 th Battery, Royal Field Artillery
in India in 1911 Census, & I believe this to be the same person; Unfortunately I have yet to find any record of
this soldier’s enlistment date to confirm this This soldier first served in France from 19.01.1915; Medals Card
on file for the award of the 15 Star, Victory & the British War Medals; I believe that he may have been
awarded the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field as well, recorded in the London Gazette Supplement dated
02.08.1918 on page 9243; (49756 Sjt. J. Kingdon, R.F.A. (High Wycombe); (He was the younger Brother of
#174744 Sergeant George Kingdon of the Royal Garrison Artillery); (He was also the Brother of Kingdon,
Bruce: #622376, Private, Canadian Infantry (New Brunswick Regiment) who died in WW1); (He was also the
Brother of Sydney John Kingdon, WW1 Merchant Seaman);
Kingdon, J R: Royal Army Medical Corps, No: 10452, Rank: Captain 1939-1945 WW2;
Notes: There are WW2 records for a Captain (Temporary Major), J R Kingdon of the Royal Army Medical
Corps being Gazetted on page 423 of the London Gazette dated 23.09.1943 for being Mentioned in Despatches
in recognition of gallant & distinguished services in North Africa; Awarded the 1939-45 War Medal & the
1939-45 Star; Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, Jack: London Regiment No: 3980 Rank: Private/Rifleman, 1914-1920 WO 372/11 – Died in
WW1; Rifleman Jack Kingdon
#3980, "C" Coy. 1st/8th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment
(Post Office Rifles)
who died aged 20
on 27 December 1915, Son of the late John and Kitty Kingdon, of 53,
North Street, Okehampton, Devon. Remembered with honour
on the Loos Memorial, in France; Transferred
from the Kingdom list: Kingdom, J: London Regiment No: 3980 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11,
WW1;
Notes: This is Jack Kingdon born 1896 in Okehampton, son of John Kingdon b.1859 Stoke Cannon & Kitty
Yeo, who married in 1879 in Okehampton; In 1901 Jack lived with his parents in Okehampton, his Father was
a Railway Signalman; In 1911 Census Jack lives with his Widowed Mother at #53, North Street, Okehampton,
Devon (a boarding house) & is a Post Office Messenger Boy; In 1914 Jack Kingdom was appointed as a Rural
Postman in Ilfracombe; I believe that his Regimental #3980 indicates that he enlisted between 09.03.1915 &
01.04.1915; From his medals card it appears that Jack Kingdon served in France from 28.10.1915; According
to a Devon Newspaper report in 1916 Jack Kingdon was shot in the heart by a German sniper; Note that in
1923 his Brother, Ernest William Kingdon b.1883 Okehampton applied for his medals, he is Jack’s next of kin
on his WW1 Medals receipt, living #33, Nelson Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 in 1923, he had also served
in WW1; 2x Medals Cards on File, Kingdon, Jack & Kingdom J; Awarded the Victory & British War Medals
& the 15 Star accordingly; (His Brother Herbert John Kingdon, born 15.12.1884 in Okehampton, served as
#347413, a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy); (He was also the Brother of Kingdon, Ernest W: Royal Field
Artillery No: L/5257 Rank: Acting Bombardier 1914-1920 WO 372/11);
Kingdon, Jack: 4th Battalion, Devonshire Militia, Rank: 2nd Lieutenant; 1st Battalion, Devon Regiment, Rank:
2nd Lieutenant & Indian Army 1914-1920 WO 372/11 Rank: Captain & Major, pre-WW1 & WW1; Also
Recorded as: Kingdon, J: 86th Infantry Rank: Captain 1914-1925 WO 372/27, WW1 & post-WW1;
Notes: This is Jack Kingdon born 02.10.1883 in the West Indies, in St. Vincent, the son of Alfred Kingdon, a
Barrister at Law, b.1853 in Kensington, London & Bessie Bruce Aitken from Glasgow, Scotland who married
in 1879 in Leeds; (They are from the Thorverton Branch of the Kingdon family); (His Father Alfred Kingdon
was a Barrister: Inner Temple 1878: Acting Attorney General in St Vincent in 1883; Solicitor General in
British Guiana & Q.C. in that Colony in 1890; Senior Puisne Judge, British Guiana 1898/1900); In 1901
Census Jack Kingdon is a Boarding Scholar at the Agricultural School, at Winchester College, in Kingsgate
Street, Winchester, Southampton; I believe that he later went to Oxford University in mid 1901, I believe that
his parents lived in Sussex having returned from overseas; Jack Kingdon was first commissioned as a 2 nd
Lieutenant on 29.11.1905 in the Militia 4th Battalion, Devonshires & later with the 1st Battalion, Devon
Regiment & then on 13.01.1906 as a British Officer of the Indian Army; He appears to have served in dual
roles – Lieutenant J Kingdon (Indian Army) & Company Officer in Barbera, Somaliland with the Indian
Contingent of the 6th Battalion, King’s African Rifles; Also with the Indian Army 86 th Light Infantry, the 86th
Carnatic Infantry at their HQ at St Thomas’ Mount; (Jack Kingdon was still a Lieutenant in 1912 & by now
can speak Hindustani); He served as a Lieutenant from 29.02.1908 & as a Captain in the Indian Army in the
92nd Punjabis Regiment; (His parents lived in Chagford, Devon in the 1911 Census); His promotion to Captain
was 29.11.1914 whilst serving with the 86th Carnatic Infantry, Indian Army; There is a Ship’s Passenger
Record for a Captain J. Kingdon sailing from England to Bombay on 02.10.1915 on board the ‘Malwa’; At
some stage later in his Army career he was Brigade Major G.S.O, 2nd Grade from 20.09.1918, which was later
relinquished on 31.08.1919 whilst serving with the 86th Carnatic Infantry, Indian Army; This Officer was also
awarded for distinguished service in connection with Military Operations in the Balkans & with the British
Army of the Black Sea & promoted to Brevet Major on 03.06.1919; The London Gazette dated 17.05.1921
records the promotion of (Battalion Major) J. Kingdon, Indian Army to Major on 29.11.1920; The London
Gazette dated 20.02.1925 records that The King had approved the resignation of this Officer’s commission on
01.01.1925; I don’t believe that he married & understand that Major Jack Kingdon died in Kenya of a heart
attack on 15.10.1952; Medals Card for Captain Jack Kingdon on file; No Medals Card on file for Captain J.
Kingdon; He also received the Somaliland Medal & Clasp which was awarded by the Somaliland Camel Corps
HQ on 09.12.1916 & sent to India for issue;
Kingdon, James: Gunner, 9th Field Battery, 4th Brigade, Royal Artillery, (1861 Census record);
Notes: In the 1861 Census there is a record for a Gunner James Kingdon born 1839 in Barnstaple, serving in
Christchurch Barracks, Hampshire with the 9th Field Battery, Royal Artillery; Unfortunately there is
insufficient information to enable positive identification of this soldier, there is however, a James Kingdom
born in Barnstaple in 1839; Needs more research;
Kingdon, James: Royal Engineers No: 105699 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Also served as #WR289539 indicating that he served with a Waterways & Railway Unit; This Soldier
served in Egypt from 30.12.1915; Initially there was no certain identification but further research following
discovery of an entry Reference #212 in the Spring 1919 Absent Voters List for South Molton Division,
Devon, Parish of Bishops Nympton for James Kingdon of Kerscott Cottage, who was serving with the 116th
Railway Company, Royal Engineers as a Sapper #105699; This is James Kingdon born in 1886 in Rose Ash,
Devon the son of William Kingdon, a Farm Labourer b.1863 Bishops Nympton & Charlotte Tucker
Loosemore from Mariansleigh, Devon who Married in 1882 in Barton Regis; James Kingdon lived with his
parents at Stone Lake, Bishops Nympton in 1891 Census; In 1901 Census James Kingdon lived with his
parents at Higher Fyldon in North Molton & is an Agricultural Horse Carter on a Farm; In 1911 Census James
Kingdon is aged 26, a Farm Labourer & living with his parents in Kerscott Cottage, Bishops Nympton, Devon;
Medals Card on file for the award of the 15 Star, the Victory & British War Medals; (He could also be the
Brother of one of the Ernest Kingdons who served in WW1 – See comments on Ernest ‘choices’ in this
paper);
Kingdon, James: Royal Navy, Wills 1796;
Notes: There is a Royal Navy Wills Record for a James Kingdon of Blackawton, Devon, in 1796, serving
onboard ‘HMS Bull Dog’; Admon was granted to Widow Elizabeth Kingdon (was this his Mother or his
Wife?); (I have a possible child who was baptised as James Kingdom in Blackawton on 12.02.1793, son of
James & Elizabeth Kingdom); There is no other information; ‘HMS Bulldog’ was a 16 gun sloop, launched in
1782, served in & won the Battle Honour for St Lucia 1796 in the French Revolutionary War & was later
converted to a Bomb Vessel in 1798; No other information for this sailor or his family;
Kingdon, James: Welsh Regiment No: 2941 & Labour Corps No: 545103, Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO
372/11 – Died in WW1; Private James Kingdon #2941, Welch Regiment, also transferred to #545103 of the
552nd Home Service Employment Company, Labour Corps, who died aged 36 on 26 July 1921; Son of Thomas
and Hannah Kingdon; Husband of Elizabeth Kingdon, of 2, Cadle Cottages, Raven Hill, Fforestfach.
Glamorganshire, Wales; Remembered with honour Fforestfach (Calfaria) Welsh Baptist Chapelyard, which
contains two burials from WW1; He probably died in a Training Accident or from Illness or Disease;
Notes: This is James Kingdon born 2nd Q 1884 in Swansea, son of Thomas Kingdon & Hannah Jones b.1865
in Swansea, who married in Swansea in 1882; In 1901 he is living with his Widowed Mother in Chapel Street,
Swansea, he is a Tram Conductor; In 1911 he is married to Lizzie (Elizabeth) Thomas, b.1887 Swansea), since
1905 and they have 2 living children, an earlier child had died; James is a Plasterer & they live at #2, Cadle
Cottages, Ravenhill, near Swansea, his brother Thomas is a Mason boarding with them; James Kingdon
Married Lizzie Thomas in 4th Q 1905 in Swansea; Private James Kingdon first served in France from
11.12.1915; James Kingdon has a UK Death Record 3rd Q 1921 Swansea 11a.957 Aged 36; Medals Card on
file, for the award of the 15 Star, Victory & British War Medals;
Kingdon, James A: 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, No: 6856 Rank: Private, 3/4th Battalion, Devonshire
Regiment No: 3853, Rank: Private & with ‘D’ Company, 6th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, No: 267027,
Rank: Private, 1914-1920 WO 372/11, pre-WW1 & WW1;
Notes: I believe that this is James Arthur Kingdon born in Exeter in 1883, son of ?? Kingdon b.?? ?? & ??;
(This could be James Arthur Kingdon b.1883 in Dawlish who is living in Black Torrington, Halwell in 1891
Census with parents, James Kingdon b.1838 Swimbridge a Gamekeeper & Elizabeth? b.1850 Buckland
Filleigh – but this needs more research; His Father James may well have served in the 11th Regiment of
Infantry, as #49513 or #3727 who served 21 years in the Army, of which 12 years were in the East Indies; He
served from 15.06.1855 to 01.05.1877); Enlistment dates for this number were between 03.01.1901 &
10.03.1902; Private James Arthur Kingdon was serving in St George’s Barracks in Malta in 1911 Census with
the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment, he is single & aged 28. He obviously served before the WW1; He also
served with the 3/4 Devonshire Regiment with the numbers #3853 & #267027; He also had additional Clasps
and Roses for the 1914 Star which he had to have applied for; The records indicate that he first served in WW1
from 06.11.1914; The issue of the 1914 Star Clasp indicates that he had served under fire of the enemy in
France & Belgium between 05.08.1914 & midnight 22/23.11.1914; Medals Card on file for the award of the
1914 Star & 1914 Clasp & Roses, the Victory & Bristish War Medals; This Record needs a lot more
research by me? Lt Col Flick's book has Private J. A. Kingdon, #267027 serving with ‘D’ Company of the 6th
Battalion the Devonshire Regiment:
Kingdon, James Alexander: #41577, Private, ‘F’ Company, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, New Zealand,
WW1;
Notes: This is James Alexander Kingdon b.1880 in New Zealand, the son of Josiah Stephens Kingdon,
b.1842 in Bodmin, Cornwall, England & Catherine Johnson who Married in 1868 in New Zealand; In 1905 &
1906 James Alexander Kingdon is recorded as a Labourer in Yaldhurst, Courtenay, Wellington, New Zealand;
I believe that James Alexander Kingdon married Elizabeth Kennedy in 1907, I don’t believe that they had any
children; In 1914 he is a Yardman & living with his wife in Raurimu, Waimarino, Bay of Plenty; James
Alexander Kingdon enlisted with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, is recorded as having ‘Gone into
Camp’ on 04.01.1917 & finally Embarked from Wellington for Devonport England with ‘F’ Company of the
Canterbury Infantry Regiment on 14.03.1917 on board ‘HMNZT 29 Ruapehu’; By 10.10.1917 I understand
that J.A. Kingdon was reported as being ‘Not a Severe Case’ but there are no details, was he simply sick? On
27.11.1918 there is a Casualty List #1009/2 for this Soldier, advising that he had been wounded; On the
17.07.1919 I understand that J.A. Kingdon was returning from the War to Raurimu, New Zealand on board the
‘HMNZT Briton’ sailing from Tilbury, England to Auckland; In 1919 electoral roll he is again recorded as a
Yardman in Ohura, Waitomo; I seem to lose him then until 1935 & 1938 when James Alexander & Ann
Kingdon, a Yardman, are living in Ongarue, Waimarino, Bay of Plenty; (I have no proof but would query
whether his wife Elizabeth Kingdon died, changed her name or left him in the period prior to 1935 & would
therefore suggest that James Alexander Kingdon remarried an Ann ??, although I have no records); In 1946 I
found James Alexander & Ann Kingdon registered at Park Avenue, Otahuhu, Auckland; In 1949 James
Alexander & Ann Kingdon are registered at #20, Peer Street, Selwyn, with no occupation shown & his spinster
sister Frances Mary Kingdon is registered at the same address; In 1957 James Alexander & Ann Kingdon are
registered as Pensioners at #28, Wilkinson road, SE6, Onehunga, Auckland; James Alexander Kingdon died in
1958 Aged 77, & I believe that his wife Ann Kingdon Died in 1963 Aged 89; (He was the Brother of
Kingdon, Albert John: New Zealand, 1st Division Reservist, 1916 WW1); (He was the Brother of Kingdon,
Charles Ford: New Zealand, 2nd Division Reservist, 1917 WW1); (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Stanley
Craig: #8/3828, 2nd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Army, WW1); (He was the Brother of
Kingdon, George: New Zealand, 1st Division Reservist, 1916 WW1);
Kingdon, James George: Royal Navy, Continuous Service #832 & #40040; ADM 139/9 & ADM 188/5;
(1855-1880 period);
Notes: This Sailor’s Records would indicate that he was James George Kingdon, born 18.03.1837 in
Landport, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire; He was the son of John Kingdon, a Shipwright b.1793 in
Barnstaple, Devon, & Sarah Bevis from Portsea, who Married on 13.05.1815 in St Mary’s Portsea, Hampshire;
In the 1841 & the 1851 Census James Kingdon lives with his parents in Spring Street, Portsea, Portsmouth,
Hampshire; I believe that James George Kingdon Volunteered for the Royal Navy 0n 01.07.1853 & served as
a Boy until the 17.03.1855 when he signed on for a full 10 years service in the Royal Navy; I believe that his
first ship was the ‘HMS Prince Regent’ (launched in 1823); I also believe that James George Kingdon served
in the late stages of the Crimean War on ‘HMS Neptune’ as his name appears on the Medal Roll, the Baltic
Medal being issued to him on 19.08.1857 when he was serving aboard ‘HMS Swallow’; In the 1861 Census
Able Seaman Jas G Kingdon Aged 24 is serving on board ‘HMS Renard’ as Ship’s Book #51 Able Seaman, at
Chefoo; I understand that James George Kingdon Married Elizabeth Elms (b.1836 in Sheffield) in Portsea in
1868; In 1871 Census James G. & Elizabeth Kingdon live at #14, Taylor’s Court in Portsea, he is still a
serving RN Seaman; His 1st wife Elizabeth Kingdom (nee Elms) seems to have died in 1875 in Portsea Aged
39 & James George Remarried to Elizabeth Male, (b.1852 Portsmouth), in Portsea in 1877; In the 1881 Census
James G & Elizabeth Kingdom, now a Royal Naval Pensioner, live in Eagle Cottage, Cottage Lane, Portsea,
however, there is also a Census record for James Kingdon, Aged 44, ‘Not on Board’ ‘HMS Asia’ in
Portsmouth & recorded as an AB Pensioner; In 1891 James & Elizabeth Kingdon live at #32, Alver Road,
Portsea; In 1901 James & Elizabeth Kingdon live at #6, Ethel Road, Portsmouth; In 1911 Census James &
Elizabeth Kingdon live at #6, Ethel Road, Kingston & East Southsea, Portsmouth; I believe that James George
Kingdon Died in 1918 in Portsmouth Aged 81; Awarded the China Medal for service on ‘HMS Renard
(Reynard)’ 1856-1860; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Edward: Royal Navy, Continuous service #28405A;
ADM 139/685); (He is the Father of the following - James John Kingdon, a Coast Guard Petty Officer
#PO/128972 who Died in WW1 aboard HMS India on 08.08.1915 off Norway; - Kingdon, Charles Walter:
Royal Field Artillery No: 47983 Rank: Sergeant 1914-1920 WO 372/11; - Kingdon, Edward Arthur:
#220316 Leading Seaman, Royal Navy who served in WW1; - Kingdon, Harry: #208949 Leading Seaman,
Royal Navy; - Kingdon, William George: Petty Officer 1st Class, #155575, Royal Navy);
Kingdon, James L: Highland Light Infantry, No: 4570, Rank: Private, & King’s Own Yorkshire Light
Infantry (KOYLI), No: 64312, Rank: Private, 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: I believe that with a Regimental number of #4570 that James L Kingdon served in the Territorial
Force of the Highland Light Infantry in 1915 for WW1; This Soldier also served with the King’s Own
Yorkshire Light Infantry as # 64312, probably the 1st or 2nd Battalions in 1916; Medals card on file for the
award of the Victory & British War Medals; Insufficient Information to identify;
Kingdon, James William: Sergeant, Royal Marines, Discharged in the 1870’s;
Notes: There is a record for a James Kingdon, from Barnstaple, serving with the Royal Marines at their
Barracks in East Stonehouse, Plymouth in 1861; There are other records, with little information, that indicate a
Sergeant James Kingdon being Discharge from the Royal Marines in 1870/1871? I believe that this is probably
James William Kingdon, born 1827 in Barnstaple, the son of William James Kingdon (b.1787/91 in
Torrington, Devon) & Mary Baron Baker from Barnstaple who Married in 1822 in Barnstaple; In 1841 James
Kingdon lived with his parents in Barnstaple but I cannot find him in 1851 Census? In 1861 I found a Sergeant
J Kingdon serving at the Royal Marine Barracks, Plymouth Division, in East Stonehouse, Plymouth; James
William Kingdon Married Elizabeth Ann Prout (b.1832 in Modbury) in Plymouth in 1862; In 1871 Census
James & Elizabeth Kingdon are the Innkeepers at the ‘Salutation’ Pub in Castle Street in Barnstaple, Devon; In
1881 Census James & Elizabeth Kingdon live at #10, Green Lane, Barnstaple, he is recorded as a Greenwich
Pensioner; In 1891 Census they live on their own means at #37, Richmond Street, Barnstaple; I believe that
James William Kingdon Died at that address on 21.04.1894, he was aged ??; (He was the Father of Kingdon,
Thomas Baron Baker: #113097, Royal Navy);
Kingdon, James John: Royal Navy, #PO/128972; ADM 188/172; - Died in WW1; Petty Officer (NS, Coast
Guard), died on ‘HMS India’, an armed merchant cruiser on hire from P&O, which was torpedoed and sunk
by the German Submarine U.22 off Bodo, West Fjord, Norway on Sunday 8th August 1915 whilst on her
Northern Patrol duties; Remembered with honour Narvik Old Cemetery; There is also a grave marker in the
Fredrikstad Military Cemetery, 90 km Southeast of Oslo, 12 men from ‘HMS India’ were transferred & buried
there in 1961; (3 are identified, 9 are marked ‘unknown’);
Notes: This is James John Kingdon who was born in Portsea on 20.08.1869, 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; In 1871 he lived with his parents in #14, Taylor’s Court, Portsea,
Portsmouth; In the 1881 Census James John Kingdom was a Scholar at the Greenwich Hospital School,
Greenwich East, Greenwich, London Aged 12, (At the School in the 1880s better physical care and more
nautically directed 'trades' training, made pupils an asset to all branches of the Navy. More than 10,000 boys
from Greenwich joined from 1874 to 1930. Of these, five became admirals); I failed to find James John
Kingdon in 1891 Census but his Official Naval Number would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1884 &
31.12.1884 so I presume that he was already serving in the Royal Navy; James John Kingdon Married
Elizabeth Harriett Rudd, (b.1874 in Burnham Overy, Norfolk) on 28.06.1900 in Docking, Norfolk; In 1901
Census they lived in Green Street, Thornham, Norfolk, James was a Coast Guard Boatman; At the time of his
death his Wife, Elizabeth H. Kingdon (c/o Mrs. Clay, #24, Greenfield Road, Gillingham, Kent) was informed
& notified; His widow, Elizabeth Harriet Kingdon died on 05.01.1940 aged 66 at #57, Woodlands Road,
Gillingham, Kent; Medals Record Roll on File for the award of the 1914-15 Star, the Victory & the British
War Medals; (Brother of Kingdon, Charles Walter: Royal Field Artillery No: 47983 Rank: Sergeant 19141920 WO 372/11, Royal Navy as a boy & then in the Army in WW1); (Brother of Kingdon, Edward Arthur:
#220316 Leading Seaman, Royal Navy who served in WW1); (He is also the Brother of Kingdon, William
George: Petty Officer 1st Class, #155575, Royal Navy); (Brother of Kingdon, Harry: #208949 Leading
Seaman, Royal Navy); (He was the Son of #40040 James George Kingdon, who served in the Royal Navy
from 01.07.1853);
Kingdon, Janet L (Female): Voluntary Aid Detachment 1914-1920 WO 372/23; WW1;
Notes: The Voluntary Aid Detachment worked alongside military nurses during the two World Wars. The
VAD were formed in August 1909 and the role of the Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses and assistants were to
provide nursing and medical assistance during a time of war. These roles saw the VADs work in a variety of
roles, which included nursing assistants, ambulance drivers, chefs, and administration roles. The majority of
VADs worked within Britain and some were posted overseas such as those with the British Expeditionary
Force (BEF) in France during the Great War and in other countries such as Belgium, France, Gallipoli and
Mesopotamia. This could very well be Janet Lucy Kingdon born on 20.10.1891 in Dorchester, Dorset, the
Daughter of Herbert Napier Kingdon, Schoolmaster & Clergyman, b.1850 Bridgerule, Devon & Janet Isabel
Bannatyne from Scotland who married on 01.01.1891 in Dorchester; In 1901 Census Janet L Kingdon lived
with her family at The Briary, Canterbury Road, Garlinge, Kent, where her Father ran a small boarding school
for boys; In 1911 Census Janet Lucy Kingdon is aged 19 & living with her parents at Heathdene, Camberley,
Surrey, her father is a Clergyman; I believe that Janet Lucy Kingdon remained unmarried & Died in 1970 in
Stratton, Cornwall Aged 78; No Medals Card on file? (She is the Sister 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); (Sister of Commander William Napier Kingdon, Royal
Navy); (Sister of Kingdon, John Bannatyne: Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy; ADM 196/145 & ADM
196/56);
Kingdon, Jesse: 1st Battalion,‘The Buffs’ (East Kent Regiment), No: #103; (1881-1890 period);
Notes: This is Jesse Kingdon born in 1860 in South Molton, the son of James Kingdon b.05.05.1823 in
Knowstone & Susanna Smith from Bishops Nympton, who married in South Molton in 1849; In the 1861
Census Jesse Kingdon was 10 months old & lived with his parents in East Street, South Molton, Devon; In the
1871 Census he is living with his parents in Hodges’ Court, East street, South Molton; In the 1881 Census I
believe that he was working as a platelayer labourer, living at #49, Mien Street in Swansea, Glamorgan,
Wales; Jesse Kingdon enlisted in Bristol on 29.11.1881 and joined the 1st Battalion, ‘The Buffs’, East Kent
Regiment at Dover on 03.12.1881, he was 21 years & 6 months old and a Labourer; He obtained his 4th Class
Education Certificate on 04.08.1882; He served for 12 years & was discharged on 28.11.1893, with 7 years &
161 days counting towards his Pension; He had served for 3 years & 62 days in England & Dublin; For 226
days in Malta in 1885; For 1 year & 179 days in Shaib Settlements in the Himalayas from 1885 to 1887; For 2
years & 46 days in India, having landed there on 22.03.1887, and finally for 4 years & 217 days in England in
the Reserve I believe as this period did not count towards his Chelsea Pension; (His military service records
accurately record his elder siblings at the time he enlisted); He appears to have suffered regularly with chronic
rheumatism & as was usual with serving soldiers in those days, Jesse Kingdon had 2 cases of Gonorrhea in
1882 & a severe 92 day dose of Syphilis in 1888, & I believe that he was returned to UK in March 1889; In
April 1889 he was transferred from the troopship ‘HMS Crocodile’ to Gosport Military Hospital with an
infected glands; In the 1891 Census he was visiting or lived with his brother George at #3, William Street in
Fishponds, Stapleton, Gloucestershire and is a General Labourer but was still in the Army Reserve until 1893;
Jesse Kingdon Marries Bessie Fry from Highbridge, Somerset in Barton Regis, Gloucestershire in 4th Q 1891;
Unfortunately Jesse Kingdon died in 1897 in Barton Regis, Gloucestershire & in 1901 his Widow lived in
Bristol, she then remarries to her 2nd husband William Jenkins in 1907 but he dies and finally she marries to
Jesse’s brother George Kingdon in 1916 in Bristol (his first wife had died in 1915);
Kingdon, John: Royal 1st North Devon Yeomanry No: 2418 & Devonshire Regiment, No: 345181, Rank:
Private, 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Also served with the Devonshire Regiment as #345181; This soldier first served in Gallipoli & the
Dardanelles from 23.09.1915; (The Royal North Devon Yeomanry, 1/1st history: August 1914: Formed in
Exeter; Part of the 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade; October 1915: dismounted and moved to Gallipoli.
Withdrew back to Egypt on 30 December 1915; In February 1916: Brigade was absorbed into 2nd Dismounted
Brigade; 4 January 1917: merged with 1/1st North Devon Yeomanry to form the 16th (Royal 1st Devon and
North Devon Yeomanry) Battalion, the Devonshire Regiment and came under orders of 229 th Brigade in 74th
(Yeomanry) Division; Moved to France, landing at Marseilles on 7th May 1918); Medals Card on file for the
award of the 15 Star, Victory & British War Medals; Insufficient Information to identify further;
Kingdon, John: Ship’s Pay Book #SB 1584, Landsman, Royal Navy; Napoleonic Wars;
Notes: ADM 36/15837, with a date range of 01.07.1805 to 31.12.1805, (Trafalgar Ancestors), has records for a
John Kingdon, Aged 22 years (born ca.1782), from Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland, who served onboard
‘HMS Leviathan’ until 25.02.1804 with the rank of “Landsman”; The record also states that he did not fight at
the Battle of Trafalgar but adds that he had previoulsy served on ‘HMS Wolverine’, late Commerce Tender;
Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, John: Private, 2nd Devonshire Regiment, Boer War;
Notes: Devon Heritage Site has a reference to DEVON'S 2nd BOER WAR ROLL OF HONOUR 1899 – 1902 KINGDON, J - (Son of John Kingdon 1852 & Mary Ann Lock - Bishops Nympton); Private John Kingdon of
the 2nd Battalion, the Devonshire Regiment; Son of John and Mary Ann Kingdon. Born in Bishops Nympton
in 1880. Wrote a letter about the Battle of Colenso in the Boer War, the last big battle of the war, which was
published in a newspaper; The Battle of Colenso was fought on the 15.12.1899; I believe this soldier to be
John Kingdon born 1882 in Bishops Nympton, Devon; He is the son of John Kingdon, an Agricultural
Labourer, b.1852 in Romansleigh, Devon & Mary Ann Lock from Bishops Nympton who Married in 1873; In
1891 Census John lived with his parents at Knowles Down, Bishops Nympton; In 1901 John Kingdon is a
Farm Labourer living with his parents at Poole Cottage, Bishops Nympton; I did not find him in the 1911
Census; I believe that he is a Police Sergeant in Bishops Nympton in 1928? I found no Medal Rolls for him;
((He is the brother of Charles Kingdon who served in WW1 as #28483 in the Grenadier Guards); (He is also a
brother of William Kingdom who also served in WW1 as #19131 Devonshires & #P13292 Military Foot
Police); (He is also the brother of Bertram Kingdon who served in WW1 #4/122407 Army Service Corps &
#41026 Gloucestershires & #5881 Leinster Regiment);
Kingdon, John: No exact Military Records found but Recorded as serving with the Militia between 1880 &
1915;
Notes: I believe that this is probably John Kingdon born in 1877 in Wincanton, Somerset as this matches the
basic information contained in the Militia List; He is the son of William Kingdon, a Mason b.1853 in
Goodleigh, Devon & Louisa Jane Bond from Wincanton, Somerset, who married in Wincanton in 1876; In the
1881 Census John Kingdon, Aged 4, lived with his parents in West Hill, Wincanton, Somerset; In the 1891
Census John Kingdon, Aged 14 & already working as a General Labourer, lived with his parents at #76, Bove
Town in Glastonbury, Somerset; Unfortunately I lost this man after 1881? (He is the Brother of Kingdon,
Frederick Percy: Dorsetshire Regiment No: 10616 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11; See also Kingdom,
Frederick P: Royal Army Medical Corps No: 126610 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (He is the
Brother of Henry William Kingdon who served with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force, initially
with ‘D’ Company #440914 & later with the 76th Depot Battery #1250407); (He was also the Brother of
Kingdon, Arthur Finlay: #91818 Royal Flying Corps & Royal Air Force, AIR 79/834/91818 - WW1); I have
not researched this soldier any further;
Kingdon, John: No Military Records found but Recorded as a Chelsea Pensioner in 1851 Census;
Notes: Extensive research would indicate that this is John Kingdon baptised 10.02.1805 in Fremington,
Devon; If I am correct then this is the son of Richard Kingdon, b.1779 Fremington & Mary Holland, who
Married on 17.04.1803 in Fremington, Devon; I cannot find any Census Records for John Kingdon until the
1851 Census for Bishops Tawton Village where John & Patience Kingdon are recorded; John Kingdon is
shown as being a Chelsea Pensioner & there is a Record for a John Kingdom from 1837 Barnstaple in the
Chelsea Pensioner’s list; In 1851 Census there is also a Son in Law named Thos’ Down living with them;
Further searches reveal that John Kingdon had Married a Widow named Patience Down in the 3 rd Q of 1845 in
Barnstaple & that she was previously married to a William Down on 04.04.1824 in Bishops Tawton, her
Maiden name being Patience Shapland or Shopland; Patience Shapland was baptised in Bishops Tawton on
31.07.1794; (In the 1841 Census Patience Down & her son Thomas Down were living 7 working as a Nurse
for an elderly Elizabeth Grey in Bishops Tawton Village); In 1861 Census John & Patience Kingdon still lived
in Bishops Tawton Village but John Kingdon Died in the 2nd Q 1865; In 1871 Census Patience Kingdon is a
Widow living in Landkey Town, Devon; Patience Kingdon Died in the 1st Q 1874 in Barnstaple, Devon; I
have no other information;
Kingdon, John: 1st Devon Militia, Lieutenant; 1812 to 1837;
Notes: The ‘Historical Records of the 1st Devon Militia (4th Battalion the Devonshire Regiment), by Colonel H
Walrond’ indicates that John Kingdon served with them from 1812 until his death in 1837, but little else is
known about him; In 1812 the Regiment was kept constantly on the move & John Kingdon was made an
Ensign from 05.05.1812; He was then promoted to Lieutenant from 05.12.1814, however, this was the year
that the Militia was disembodied; In the year 1837 the Regiment was stationed in Exeter but there is no
mention of Lieutenat John Kingdon’s Death; Insufficient information to identify further;
Kingdon, John: #27941 Royal Engineers, WO97-3237-051, WW1;
Notes: This is probably John S. Kingdon born 1872 in Kingswear, Dartmouth; His Father was George
Kingdon a Millwright of Dart View, West Dartmouth, Devon, born 1831 & baptised in Broadclyst on
27.03.1831 & Sarah from Broadclyst; In 1881 John lived with his parents at #1, Agra Cottages, Kingswear; In
1891 the family lived in Dart View in Brixham, Devon, both John & his Father are Engineers; John Kingdon
was a Fitter in Civilian life & he enlisted in Newcastle Upon Tyne on 13.01.1894 into the Royal Engineers as
#27941; He seems to have suffered with Bronchitis for 40 days of his service & spent much of this time in
hospital; Sapper John Kingdon was eventually Discharged on 13.04.1894 at Chatham – his records are marked
“Fitter Indifferent”? He had only served for 91 Days & was discharged in consequence of his not being
qualified as a Fitter for the Corps of Royal Engineers & probably also for his bronchitis; I did not originally
research any further;
Kingdon, John Sampson: Trimmer, Mercantile Marine - Died in WW1;
Further research has revealed that this is also John Sampson Kingdom who is Remembered on the Tower
Hill War Memorial in London for his Death during WW1, at the age of 40, when he was serving in the
Mercantile Marine as a Trimmer & was on board the ‘RMS Hesperian’ when she was sunk by the German
Submarine U20 on 04.09.1915;
There is some proof that he may have been employed by the Canadian Merchant Service at that time as there
are Canadian Great War Project records for Trimmer John Kingdom’s Death also; The CWGC Certificate
indicates that he was the son of the late George & Sarah Kingdon & Husband of Emilie Kingdon (nee Perry),
of #38, Cranmer street, Stanley Road, Liverpool, Lancashire, England; This record also has his birth place as
Dartmouth in Devon; I failed to find John Kingdon in the 1901 Census, perhaps he was at sea; In the 1911
Census I found John Sampson Kingdon, (b.1870 in Torquay) & Wife Annie Kingdon, (b.1870 in Liverpool),
boarding & working as a Dock Labourer at #27, Borland Street, Bootle, Liverpool, Lancashire; I believe that
they Married on 22.01.1908 in St Nicholas Church, Liverpool & that her name at that time was Annie Bethel
& not Emilie Perry (her wedding banns record her Father as Richard Perry); Follow up research indicates that
she was a 43 year old Widow at the time of her marriage & John Sampson Kingdon was a 40 year old
Engineer; Awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal & the Victory Medal;
Further Research:
I came across another reference to this Merchant Seaman at BT 377/7/128529 record, which indicates that
John Sampson Kingdon was born on 07.06.1871 in Dartmouth, Devon & had a Merchant Marine Number of
U1464; Royal Naval Reserve ADM 171/122 records have John S. Kingdon, Stoker, #1464/U being awarded
the British War Medal; I have still not found a suitable birth record & did not research further;
Kingdon, John: No Military Records found but Recorded as serving with the Militia between 1806 & 1915;
Notes: I believe that this is probably John Kingdon born in 1877 in Exeter as this closely matches the basic
date of birth information of ‘1878 in Exeter’ contained in the Militia List; If I am correct then this is the son of
Francis Kingdon, a Painter b.1838 in Exeter & Eliza Taverner b.1837 in Moretonhampstead, Devon, who
Married in 1859 in Exeter; This John Kingdon comes from a large family & lived with his parents in Arthur’s
Buildings in Exeter St Paul in 1881 Census; In 1891 Census John Kingdon is aged 14 & working as a Port
Errand Boy & living with his parents in #2, Chapples Court, Exeter; In 1901 Census John Kingdon still lives
with his parents in St Mary’s Place, Exeter, he is aged 24 & is also working as a Painter; I believe that John
Kingdon then married a Widow called Emma Holcombe (nee Whitefield), originally b.1876 from South
Molton, in 1905 in Exeter & lived in #77, South Wonford Terrace in Heavitree, Devon with his wife & 2 Step
Children in 1911, (he is recorded here as John Kingdom); (I note that Emma’s dead husband, Frederick
Holcombe, was also a House Painter in Exeter); I did not research further;
Kingdon, John: No Royal Navy Records found but Recorded as having made a Will in 1702;
Notes: The Kingdon Family Book (1932) has reference to a John Kingdon of the Royal Navy having made a
Mariner’s will in 1702; A letter of Administration (admon.) was granted to Huldah Knight, (no identification),
& a ship “Merchant” is noted; I believe that this was referring to the “Muscovia Merchant”, a Storeship, a
Hired Vessel, which was acquired by the British Royal Navy on 28.05.1702, she carried a Crew of 45 men, 24
guns & was 94 feet keel length; I understand that this vessel was Captured & Out of Service on 10.04.1703;
Insufficient information to enable identification;
Kingdon, John: Private #2933, 6th Battalion The Welsh Regiment, WW1;
Notes: The 6th Battalion Welsh Regiment was a Territorial force which recruited men for 4 years’ Service in
the United Kingdom; John Kingdon was Attested & Embodied on 13.01.1915 in Neath, he gave his address
as #9, New Henry Street, Neath, Glamorgan but on checking I find this to be a house owned by the Bevan
Family although there are 3 young Kingdon men lodging there at the time; I later discovered that his Mother
may be Jane Bevan born in1859 in Neath & that Private John Kingdon records her as his “Mother” & next of
kin in the records; At the time of his enlistment he gives his age as 23 years & 3 months, making him born in
1892, but this could also be aged 25 making him born in 1890; Birth records for a John Kingdon in Neath seem
to support this argument; John Kingdon was Posted to the Welsh Regiment on 16.01.1915; However, he was
found to be Medically Unfit for further Military Service after 157 days service on 18.06.1915 & was
discharged; On his Discharge Papers he was serving with the 2/6th (Glamorgan) Battalion of the Welsh
Regiment & suffering from feeble muscular development & a systolic heart murmur; His records also show
that later on 19.01.1918 he was again assessed & awarded a Pension Gratuity of 15 pounds for having a 30%
degree of Disablement; This is probably John Kingdon born 1890 in Neath, the possible son of David
Kingdon b.1858 in Neath, a tin worker, & Jane Davies b.1861 in Neath who married in 1880 in Neath; (This
family lived at #4, Bowen Street, in Neath in 1901 Census); I believe that John’s Father David Kingdon Died
in Neath in 1904 aged 45 & that John’s Mother Jane was remarried to a Albert Bevan, a Sawyer from
Herefordshire & lived in New Henry Street in 1911 Census, (but in the record Jane has been crossed out to
read Margaret)? (Albert Bevan’s 1st wife was called Margaret Ann & she had died in Neath in 1903); David &
Jane Kingdon’s other 3 sons certainly were lodging there in 1911, David Kingdon b.1888 Neath, Edwin
Kingdon b.1889 Aberdare & Oliver Kingdon b.1894 Neath; Follow up research shows that Albert Bevan aged
41 was serving a prison sentence in Carmarthen Prison in 1901 Census; Follow up research indicates that
Widow Jane Kingdon did marry Albert Bevan in 3rd Q 1905 in Neath; The issue of their being married for 27
years with 8 children & Jane being called Margaret, as marked on the 1911 Census, is yet to be resolved, but
these people weren’t too trustworthy & Albert’s 1st wife was called Margaret so maybe it is just a slip of the
memory when making out the census record; My other problem is that I cannot find a John Kingdon living
with David & Jane Kingdon in Neath in 1891 or 1901 Census despite John Kingdon stating that his Mother
was Jane Bevan on the Army Records? Why would he call her as his Mother if she wasn’t? Was this John
Kingdon also a little feeble minded as well as being feeble in stature? I would suggest that his Father was
David Kingdon; (Brother of #14508 David Kingdom, South Wales Borderers who enlisted for WW1 Service
but was also rejected & discharged); (He is also the Brother of Kingdon, Edwin: Private #78084, Royal Field
Artillery & # 12650); Note: He may well be mixed up with my records on Kingdon, John: Leicestershire
Regiment No: 10192 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11 or is a Cousin of his – needs more research;
Kingdon, John: Wiltshire Regiment No: 35369 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Also served with the Worcestershire Regiment as #42230, probably on compulsory transfer; Medals
Card on file for the award of the Victory & British War Medals; Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, John: Private, 43rd Regiment, The Monmouth Light Infantry & the Australian Enrolled Pensioner
Force, (1850’s);
Notes: I have no other information on this soldier other than the fact that he sailed to Australia as a Pensioner
Guard on the ‘Scindian’, which is widely considered to be the first convict ship to transport convicts to
Western Australia; I understand that a free passage to a new land, 6 months employment & a grant of land
would have been an attractive choice for this retired soldier; Private John Kingdon & his wife & 5 children all
sailed from Portsmouth, England on 04.03.1850 & docked at Freemantle on 01.06.1850; There were 75 male
convicts & 163 pensioner guards on board; John Kingdon, aka Kingdom, was aged 41 years at the time &
therefore was born in 1809/1810 in UK; I believe that he had to have served with the 43rd Regiment The
Monmouth Light Infantry; He enlisted for Western Australia in England in 1849; I understand that he died on
02.10.1851 Aged 42 years & is buried in St George’s Cemetery Perth; I have not researched this soldier any
further;
Kingdon, John: Private, #11642, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Plymouth Division; ADM 159/150; (pre &
WW1 service);
Notes: ADM records have a John Kingdon born 29.06.1884, no birthplace, but I cannot find any suitable
candidates in any ancestry records? The records state that he joined the RMLI, Plymouth Division on
17.07.1902, served in WW1 & was Discharged to Pension; At the time of his medal issue, this Soldier was
serving at the Royal Marine Barracks in Plymouth; Awarded the 1914-15 Star, Victory & British War Medals;
Needs more research;
Kingdon, John: Welsh Regiment No: 26214 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
See also below: Kingdon, John: Machine Gun Corps No: 102248 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11
Notes: Medals Card on file; Insufficient Information to identify further;
Kingdon, John: Machine Gun Corps No: 102248 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
May also be recorded as, see above: Kingdon, John: Welsh Regiment No: 26214 Rank: Private 1914-1920
WO 372/11
Notes: This young man also served in the 3rd Welsh Regiment, which I believe was
raised in August 1914 in Cardiff. A depot/training unit, it remained in UK throughout the war. Moved to Barry
in August 1914, thence to Kinmel Park (June 1916) and in May 1917 to Redcar where it remained as part of
Tees Garrison; There is a confusing Attestation Record on file which is dated 08.12.1915 in Cardiff & then
dated a second time for his enlistment approval as 13.03.1917? However, this is probably John (Jack)
Kingdon born in Somerset ca.1887 I believe; His address is given either as #29 Planet Street; #27, Alfred
Street or #16, Bruce Street, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales; At enlistment he gives his age as 28 years & 7 months,
unmarried & is a Retail Coal Seller; His Next of Kin is his Father, Richard Kingdon of #36, Andrews Road,
Llandaff North, Glamorgan; I have found a John Kingdon born 1887 in Luccombe, Somerset, who is a
Boarder & a Coal Carter living at #91, Alfred Street, Roath, Cardiff in 1911 Census, the owner is a Widow
Mary Ann ‘Polly’ Frampton (nee Down) who is his Maternal Aunt; If I am correct then he is the son of
Richard Kingdon b.1865 in Luccombe, Somerset & Sarah Down from Luccombe also who married on 1885 in
Somerset; In 1891 Census the family lived in Canton, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales & John Kingdon is aged 4
years; In 1901 Census John is aged 14, a Grocer’s Assistant & living with his parents in Canton; In 1918 in
Cardiff John Kingdon married Minnie James; 2x Medals Card on file; (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Richard
Thomas: Cheshire Regiment No: 53786 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who also served in WW1);
Kingdon, John: No Royal Navy Records found but Recorded as a Lieutenant in 1850;
Notes: The Pigot’s UK County & City Directory for Plymouth, Devon for the year of 1850 indicates that a
Lieutenant John Kingdon, Royal Navy, lived at #20, Prospect Street but I failed to find any other records or
reference; Insufficient information to enable identification;
Kingdon, John: Royal Navy No: 283670 Rank: Stoker; ADM 188/454/170; (Late 1890’s period);
Notes: The ADM Records have a #283670, Stoker, John Kingdon, born 23.08.1877 in Exeter, Devon; This
Official Navy number would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1896 & 31.12.1896; I have double checked all
Kingdon births for Exeter district in 1877 & can only find one John Kingdon born in March? This John
Kingdon can be traced through all 1881 to 1911 Census records & there is no indication of him ever being
involved with the Royal Navy, subsequently I have discarded him as a candidate? Not identified, needs more
research?
Kingdon, John: London Regiment No: 7530 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Also served as #1667 with the 18th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (London Irish
Rifles) enlistment period between 01.03.1914 & 10.08.1914 & #7530, enlistment between 15.08.1916 &
21.12.1916, & #633727 with the 20th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Blackheath &
Woolwich); This is John Herbert Kingdon born 1892 in Lambeth, the son of John James Kingdon, a Carman,
b.1868 in Westminster, London & Eliza Black also from Westminster who married on 17.07.1892 in Lambeth
St John the Evangelist; In 1901 John H Kingdon aged 8 years lived with his parents in Westminster, London;
In 1911 Census John Kingdon still lives with his parents but now at #45, Glasshouse Street, Kennington,
Lambeth, London; John Kingdon aged 22 years & 1 month was Attested & Embodied on 05.08.1914 in
London & was appointed to serve with the London Royal Irish Rifles as a Rifleman; At enlistment he gave his
trade as that of Clerk in the Army & Navy Stores; He was transferred to the Reserve Battalion, (a Territorial
Force Unit) on 23.12.1914 & to the Provisional Battalion on 19.06.1915, finally being Transferred & shipped
to France in July of 1916 to join 2oth London Regiment; During his service in France he suffered from
Pleurisy & Asthma in 1916 & 1917 & departed Boulogne for England on 07.04.1917 & attached to Depot
Supply Unit & then to the 20th Reserve on 10.06.1917; He was Discharged from the Territorial Force (London)
on 31.07.1917 under King’s Regulations Para 392 (xvi) for Sickness after some 2 years & 262 days service;
His SWB records state that he had served overseas at some point in his service; I understand that he received a
small disability pension from 1917; His address was given as #50, Glasshouse Road, Vauxhall, London SE2; I
believe that John Herbert Kingdon Married Helen Florence Mason (born 21.06.1895 & baptised 14.07.1895
Lambeth) on 31.05.1917 in Kennington St Mark, he was a Private in the 20 th London Regiment at the time; I
understand that John H Kingdon Died in Lambeth on 08.11.1924 Aged 32, his Probate is dated 09.12.1924 &
he was living at #42, Carroun Road, Clapham, Surrey at the time of his death, he died in St Thomas’s Hospital
Surrey; Awarded the Silver War Badge #222145; Medals Card on file;
Kingdon, John: Royal Navy, Rank: Stoker; ADM 171/17; 1853 Kaffir Wars;
Notes: The ADM 171/17 Records have reference to a Jno Kingdon serving onboard ‘HMS Styx’ & being
awarded medals for conflicts between 1850 & 1853, the Kaffir Wars; Awarded the India Medal, Pegu Clasp
for service on ‘HMS Styx’, the medal being sent to ‘HMS Hogue’ on 17.11.1856 where he was probably
serving; Insufficient information to identify, but may be the same person as below;
Kingdon, John: Royal Navy, Rank: Carpenter’s Crew; ADM 171/18; 1853 Kaffir/ Caffre Wars;
Notes: The ADM 171/18 Records have reference to a Jno Kingdon serving onboard ‘HMS Styx’ during the
Caffre War, which commenced on the 24.12.1850 & ended on 06.02.1853; Awarded the South African War
Medal which was sent to him on 09.05.1856; Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, John: Skipper of Brixham Trawler ‘Premier’ during WW1;
Notes: John Kingdon was one of 2 Skippers who sailed on board the Brixham Trawler/Smack “Premier”, a
Ketch, #BM129, Reg #114256, which was launched in Brixham in 1904; On 27.11.1917 the “Premier” was
captured by the German Submarine U-67, skippered by Hans Nieland, about 16 miles SE of Start Point in the
English Channel & was sunk by gunfire; There were no casualties; The German Submarind U-67 surrendered
on 20.11.1918 & was Broken Up at Fareham in 1921; Not identified, needs more research;
Kingdon, John: Royal Scots Fusiliers No: 8503 Rank: Private1914-1920 WO 372/11, South Africa & WW1;
Kingdon, John: Private, #Q50587 & #Q123713 & #143274, Australian Army; WW2;
Notes: Served with the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers in France from 30.09.1915; The Regimental number #8503
would indicate enlistment between 29.01.1904 & 10.01.1905; Private John Kingdon Enlisted on 10.01.1905
but I have no records indicating this date other than the Silver War Badge; Follow up research found Private
John Kingdon, serving with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in South Africa in 1911; At the Age of 31 years he
appears to have been discharged & put on the Silver War Badge list; This is probably John ‘Jack’ Kingdon
born in Tongham, near Frensham, Surrey on 24.05.1887, the son of Henry Kingdom, a Police Constable &
later a Brewer’s Drayman, b.1865 in Wibley, Surrey & Fanny Smith from Frensham who married in 1889 in
Farnham; (John is the Grandson of Robert Kingdon b.1835 in Chulmleigh & Mary Jane from Swansea); In the
1891 Census Jack Kingdon is aged 4 & living with his parents at #1, Selby Cottages, Chertsey, Surrey, his
Father was a Police Constable at that time; In the 1901 Census Jack Kingdon is aged 13 & living with his
parents in Great Earl Street, St Giles in the Fields & St George Bloomsbury, Holborn, London, his Father is
now a Brewer’s Drayman; In the 1911 Census Private John Kingdon is aged 24 & serving as a Private &
Groom with the 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers in Roberts Heights, Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa; I
understand that he emigrated to Australia after his South Africa service & pre WW1 on 05.06.1913 at the age
of 25 on board the ‘SS Miltiades’, where he became an ‘Imperial Army Reservist’ living in Brisbane,
Queensland; I then found a Miscellaneous File under ‘Imperial Force’ in the Australian Government Records
for #8503 Private Kingdon J., Royal Scottish Fusiliers which shows him as an Imperial Reservist, embarking
at Melbourne on board H.M.A.T. A15 ‘Star of England’ on 13.04.1915; This record states that he is single &
that his Next of Kin is his Mother Mrs. F. Kingdon, #22, Great Earl Street, Longacre, London WC England, &
that he was mobilised for WW1 Service on 25.02,1915; I believe that he then served again with the Royal
Scots Fusliers from 30.09.1915 in WW1 in France; This Soldier was eventually discharged from the Royal
Scots Fusiliers, under King’s Regulations Para 392 (xvi) Army Order Para 2Bi on 15.04.1916, being no longer
medically fit for service; Having been medically discharged from the Army, John Kingdon Married Marjorie
May Ringwood on 15.04.1916 in St Giles in the Fields, London; In October 1921, John & Marjorie Kingdon,
& a son Arthur Harold, emigrated to Australia on board the ‘SS Euripides’ & lived in Brisbane, Queensland;
During WW2 John Kingdon was Mobilised in Australia on 04.10.1940 at the #1 Garrison Battalion for service
in Queensland, his Army number was #Q50587, but I believe that he was Discharged on 29.10.1940; His wife
was recorded as Marjorie May Kingdon, Ridge Street, Greenslopes, Brisbane; On 06.01.1942, John Kingdon
re-enlisted in the Australian Army for War Service in Brisbane with the 4 th Battalion VDC as #Q123713, but
was Discharged with severe Arthritis in his right shoulder on 13.04.1942; Not being capable of giving up, I
then believe that John Kingdon again tried to re-enlist in the Australian Army at Area 9X Recruiting Depot in
Brisbane, Queensland on 07.09.1942 with the 32nd Garrison Battalion & was given the number #Q143274; He
was Approved for Service but again Discharged as being Medically Unfit on 10.04.1943; ; Awarded WW1
Silver War Badge #419749; WW1 Medals Card on file for 1915 Star, British War & Victory Medals, but these
were returned under King’s Regulations 992 in 1923 due to this soldier having been discharged; Served in
Australia in WW2 but no medals records found; (He was the Son of Kingdon, H: Private #1901, 11th Hussars,
Light Camel Regiment, Egypt & Sudan, (1884 period); (He is the Brother of Kingdon, Henry: Army Service
Corps No: M2/034115 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (He is the Brother of Kingdom, Edgar: Royal
Garrison Artillery No: 73969 Rank: Gunner 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who also served in WW1); (He was the
Father of Allan Harry Kingdon, Private, #QX31010 (Arthur Harold Kingdon) who went AWOL in 1942,
Fraudulently enlisted as #Q151628 & #QX59786 in 1944, who was Court Martialed in 1945 imprisoned for 15
months & finally discharged in 1946);
Kingdon, John: Royal Navy, Lieutenant & Commander; Served at Trafalgar; ADM 107/32 & ADM 36/13296
(Ship: Shannon, Muster, from 01.02.1796 to 31.12.1796), & ADM 196/5/42 & /44;
Notes: This is John Kingdon baptised 08.05.1776 in Crediton and the son of Peter Kingdon b.1725 Coldridge
& Sarah Reedwood of Burchen Park, Middle Hollacombe, Crediton, (his Father died when John was aged 3)
who married in St Petrock, Exeter on 15.05.1775; At the age of 20 John Kingdon was probably a Pressed Man
& forced into the Royal Navy as part of the Northam quota system; He joined ‘HMS Shannon’ at Sandwich on
09.03.1796 & served first as an Able Seaman & later as a Leading Mate in the North Sea, Newfoundland &
Downs Station; There is also a reference to John Kingdon, Sub Lieutenant in 1797, having served in the
Napoleonic Wars of 1793 to 1815, contained in the Services Reunited Web Site lists; In September 1798 he
joined ‘HMS Chapman’ at Plymouth as a volunteer; In 1801 he transferred to ‘HMS Rosario’ & then as a Sub
Lieutenant in ‘HMS Hibernia’ until in October 1805 he was serving on ‘HMS Pickle’ in Nelson’s fleet off
Trafalgar; ‘HMS Pickle’ took no part in the battle but was sent back to England to carry the news of the
victory & Nelson’s death back to Falmouth; After Trafalgar Sub Lieutenant John Kingdon served with ‘HMS
Intelligent’ & then ‘HMS Inveterate’ but this vessel was wrecked near St Valery-en-Caux in 1807 & John
Kingdon was taken prisoner by the French & imprisoned for the next 7 years, although he was not forgotten in
England as he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1812; A short time before Trafalgar John Kingdon had married
Emilia ?? & produced 2 daughters, Emilia in 1806 & Caroline in 1807; After his release by the French in 1814
there were 2 more daughters born, Stephena Charlotte in 1816 & Deborah Clarissa in 1817, but John Kingdon
never went to sea again; John Kingdon was retired on promotion to Commander in 1855 at the age of 79 until
his death in St Helier, Jersey in 1862; In 1851 Census John Kingdon was a Retired Naval Lieutenant on Half
Pay living at #4, John’s Road, #2, York Place, St Helier; In 1861 he lives with his widowed daughter Caroline
Howard at #23, Gloucester Street, St Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands;
I believe that Commander John Kingdon’s Will, dated 1856 is referenced as MISC Jersey HT – D/Y Judicial
Greffe D/Y/A/31/ Commander; R.N.; [Testament] in Probate & Will Lists for Devon?
Follow up notes: Additional records found which give his Pay Book number as #SLVO 33471; This record
confirms that he fought at Trafalgar; Reconfirms his parent’s names as Peter & Sarah; Confirms that at the age
of 29 he served on ‘HMS Pickle’ as a Sub Lieutenant & was Discharged from hospital on 18.10.1797 as
‘unserviceable’; The record states that he was Baptised on 08.05.1776 in Crediton, Devon; He appears to have
passed his Lieutenancy examination on 06.03.1805; ADM 196/5/42 & 44 is dated 27.09.1801 & has his rank
as Commander; Awarded the Trafalgar Naval General Service Medal in 1847; Appears as John Kingdom on
the Trafalgar Roll 21.10.1805;
Additional Notes: The ADM 27/3/481 for Naval Pay Allotments to Next of Kin has reference to a John
Kingdon, Pay Book #SB 359, a Master’s Mate, serving onboard ‘HMS Chapman’ making an Allotment to his
Wife, Emelia in 1801; There is also a further remark: Discharged 28.09.1801 to ‘HMS Rosario’;
Kingdon, John: Private Soldier in the Cornwall Militia, (1881 period);
Notes: This is probably John H Kingdon born 1862 in Withiel, Cornwall; He was the son of Henry Kingdon,
a Police Officer, b.22.09.1833 in Blisland, Cornwall & Mary Louisa Kestell from Withiel who married in 1859
in Bodmin; In 1871 Census John Kingdon lives with his parents in Forrabury, Cornwall; In 1881 Census John
Kingdon is aged 19, a Carpenter & serving as a Private in the Militia, at the 35 th Brigade Depot, Thomas
Chivers, Bodmin, Cornwall; I have not researched this man any further;
Kingdon, John: #WX15700, Private, 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, Australian Army, 2nd AIF (Australian
Imperial Force) & CMF (Citizen Military Force) – Died of Illness in WW2 whilst a POW of the Japanese
on the Burma Railway; Private John Kingdon, 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, Australian Army who died on
13th October 1943 in Siam (Thailand); Remembered with honour on the Australian War Memorial in
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand;
Notes: This is John Kingdon, born a twin brother of Roger Kingdon on 07.04.1916 in Perth, Western
Australia; He was the son of Roger Audley Kingdon, a miner, born in 1889 in Nelson, New Zealand who
emigrated to Australia at an early age, & who Married Alice Maude Peffers in Australia in 1915; In 1925 this
family were Farming in Australia; In 1931, his father, Roger Audley Kingdon, was the Postmaster, living in
Holyoake, Forrest, Western Australia; John Kingdon enlisted in Perth, Western Australia for WW2 Service; At
the time of his death in 1943, John Kingdon’s parents were living in Mandurah, Western Australia; (He was
the son of Kingdon, Roger Audley: #2698, Private, 28th Battalion, 6th Reinforcements, Australian Imperial
Force, WW1);
Kingdon, John: Leicestershire Regiment No: 10192 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Also served with the 1/124 Royal Fusiliers, known as the City of London
Regiment, as #6489 Private, that has an enlistment date of between 27.03.1916 & 23.05.1916; His medal card
says that he re-enlisted on 15.04.1919 with the Leicester Regiment #10192; He had also originally served with
the Royal Defence Corps as a Private #76582 from 11.08.1914 until Demobilisation on 15.04.1919 to Class Z
Reserve; Private John Kingdon first went to France on 20.07.1915 & also served in France in 1919; At reenlistment on 14.06.1919 he was given the #G/132193 & as he was aged 28 years & 120 days, a Butcher by
trade, living at #32, Britton Ferry Road, Neath, Glamorgan he was duly appointed to Garrison Duty; He had
served until 1920 with promotions but reverted to Private for misconduct on 02.10.1920 when he was
apparently discharged on 20.10.1920 ,but I believe that he again extended his service into the 1 st Welsh Field
Battalion RE & #2203198 on 02.11.1920 but this number may well have been changed to #6451529 at some
later stage; In 1919 this Soldier was hospitalised with Gonorrhea for 4 days & again for 81 days from
17.11.1919 to 06.02.1920; This is John (Jack) Kingdom born in Neath Glamorgan in 1890; (For my own
records this is a Grandson of Thomas Kingdon of High Bray & Sarah Davies from Wales); His Mother Mrs.
Elizabeth Ann Kingdon was recorded as his Next of Kin when he enlisted; This is the son of Thomas Kingdom
b. 27.11.1856 in Neath, Port Talbot & Elizabeth Ann Owens from Neath who married in 1877 in Neath; In
1891 & 1901 Census John Kingdon is living with his parents in Colliery Row, Neath; I finally managed to
locate him in 1911 Census, living with his parents & working as a Butcher in a Slaughterhouse at Manthant
Cottage, Eastland Road, Neath; I also understand that our subject soldier John Kingdon married a Christiana
Channon in Neath in 1928, (Christiana was born Evans & she was previously married to Ernest Channon in
1915 in Neath – her 1st husband had died in 1920 in Neath); I also understand that John Kingdon died in Neath
in1953 Aged 63 & that his wife Christiana Kingdon Died in Neath in 1961 Aged 64; Medals Card on file;
Note: He may well be mixed up with my records on Kingdon, John: Private #2933, 6th Battalion The Welsh
Regiment or is a Cousin of his – needs more research; He is the Brother of Private David Kingdon of the
Royal Horse Artillery who served pre WW1;
Kingdon, John: #82600, Stoker, Royal Navy; ADM 188/76/189; (1870-1880 period);
Notes: ADM 188 records have John Kingdon born in New Passage, Devon 23.09.1853 having served with the
Royal Navy; (New Passage is a short street generally called New Passage Hill in Stoke Damerel); I believe that
this sailor is John Joseph Kingdon born in 1852 in Stoke Damerel & that he was the son of George Frederick
Kingdon, a Naval Dockyard Stoker & Naval Pensioner b.1830 in Devonport, & Jane Giles, b.1831 in
Walkhampton in Devon, who Married in 1851 in Stoke Damerel; In the 1861 Census John Kingdon was living
with his parents in Johns Street, Stoke Damerel; This sailor’s official Naval number of #82600 would indicate
enlistment between 01.01.1873 & 31.12.1873; In the 1871 Census John Kingdon aged 18 is recorded as a First
Class Boy serving on ‘HMS Carron’ in Devonport Dockyard (I believe that this was a Naval Tug; Young John
Kingdon’s Father, George Kingdon was serving on a similar Devonport Dockyard Tug called ‘Trusty’ in the
same 1871 Census); I understand that John Kingdon Married Ann Maria Deacon, b.1852 in Wilcove, Antony,
Cornwall, in 1877 in Wilcove, Cornwall; In the 1881 Census Ann Maria Kingdon is living with her parents at
#9, Wilcove, Antony in Cornwall, she is recorded as being a Stoker’s Wife; In the 1881 Census I believe that
Stoker John Kingdon is serving onboard ‘HMS Iron Duke’ stationed in Hong Kong Harbour; In the 1891
Census John J & Ann M Kingdon live at #13, Morice Street, Stoke Damerel, Devonport, John is a Royal Navy
Pensioner; John Kingdon appears to have Died on 04.10.1891 in Stoke Damerel at the age of 38 & was buried
with his sister in a grave in the Stoke Damerel Burial Ground, Milehouse, Plymouth (his sister was ‘Bessie’
Elizabeth Susannah Bickford, nee Kingdon who dies 17.08.1892); In the 1901 Census his Widow Ann Maria
Kingdon is living as her Father’s Housekeeper in Wilcove, Antony, Cornwall; In the 1911 Census Maria
Kingdon still lives with her aged Father William Deacon (89) in Wilcove, Cornwall; I believe that Ann M
Kingdon died in 1918 in Wilcove, Cornwall aged 65; (He was the Son of Kingdon, George: Royal Naval
Dockyard Stoker, Paddle Tugs in Devonport); (He was the Uncle of Kingdom, W E: Royal Engineers No:
514302 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/24, See also: Kingdon, William E: Royal Engineers Regiment No:
T1005 Rank: Sapper 1914-20 WO 372/11); (He was the Brother of #81288, Able Seaman, Joseph John
Kingdon, Royal Navy); (He was the Father of Kingdon, William John: #183694, Seaman, Royal Navy;
Kingdon, John A: Royal Field Artillery No: L/35284 Rank: Gunner, 1914-1920 WO 372/11/167980, WW1;
Notes: Served in France from 27.11.1915; The L/ prefix in his Regimental number marks him as a WW1
enlistment; Medals Card on file; (Insufficient Information to safely identify this soldier);
Kingdon, John Alfred: King’s Shropshire Light Infantry No: #4031317 Rank: Private, Died in WW2;
Notes: John Alfred Kingdon who Died during WW2 on 24.06.1946, Aged 35, he is Remembered with
Honour in the Llanwynno (St. Gwynno) Churchyard in Glamorganshire, Wales; This is John Afred Kingdon
was born in 1910 in Potypridd, Glamorganshire, Wales, the son of Joh Percy Kingdon, a Gas Stoker b.1882 in
Dulverton, Somerset, & Bessie Jemima Salmon who Married in 1902 in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales; In
the 1911 Census John Alfred Kingdon lived with his parents at #5, New Street, Ferndale, Glamorganshire,
Wales; I understand that John A Kingdon Married Myfanwy Williams in Newport Market, Glamorganshire,
Wales in 1936; At the time of his death, his wife was living in Pontygwaith, Merthyr Valley, South
Glamorgan, Wales; Awarded the 1939-45 Star & the 1939-45 War Medals;
Kingdon, John Andrew Ford: #60947, Private, ‘C’ Company, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 30th
Reinforcements, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, WW1;
Notes: This is John Andrew Ford Kingdon who was born in 1885 in New Zealand & aged between 20 & 46
years in September 1916; He was the son of John Stevens Kingdon, a Carter, & Margaret O’Brien who lived at
#40, York Street, Opawa, Christchurch, New Zealand in 1911; At that time John Andrew Ford Kingdon lived
with his parents & was working as a Picture Framer; This family lives at the same address in 1914; In
September 1916 John Andrew Ford Kingdon enlisted in the 1st Division Reserve at #9 (Christchurch)
Recruiting District for possible WW1 service; He is still working as a Picture Framer in Opawa; I believe that
this Reservist was called up for Embarkation to Europe in 1917, giving his mother Mrs. M. Kingdon as his
Next of Kin; The Nominal Roll for ‘C’ Company, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, records his trade as a Joiner
& his address as #40, York Street, Opawa, Christchurch; John Andrew Ford Kingdon sailed from Wellington,
New Zealand for Liverpool, England & then Europe as part of the 30th Reinforcements group on board the
‘HMNZT Corinthic’ on 13.10.1917 so they would have been in time for the battles of Passchendaele towards
the end of the year; On the 07.05.1918 there was a Wounded Soldier Report, #849/10, for Private J.A.F.
Kingdon, probably due to the fighting around La Signy Farm area during the 1918 German Offensive; I have
yet to find any other military records for This soldier; However, in 1919 there is a Supplementary Electoral
Roll for Christchurch East showing John Andrew Ford Kingdon living at #40, York Street & working as a
Picture Framer; He then appears to continue to live at this same address for many years; By 1935 there is an
electoral record for John Andrew Ford & Mary Kingdon at that address, I presume that this was his wife? He
continues to live at #40 York Street as a Picture Framer in 1946 & 1949 but there was no indication of a Mary
Kingdon in either of these records; I understand that John Andrew Ford Kingdon died in 1952 Aged 68; I
researched no further;
Kingdon, John Bannatyne: Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy; ADM 196/145 & ADM 196/56, WW1;
Notes: This is John Bannatyne Kingdon born 09.11.1893 in Dorchester, Dorset; He is the son of Herbert
Napier Kingdon, a Schoolmaster & Clergyman, b.1850 Bridgerule, Devon & Janet Isobel Bannatyne from
Scotland who married on 01.01.1891 in Dorchester; In the 1901 Census this family lived at The Briary,
Canterbury Road, Garlinge, Kent, where John’s Father ran a small boarding school for boys; On 15.09.1906
John Bannatyne Kingdon joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet; In the 1911 Census John Bannatyne Kingdon is
aged 17, is a Naval Cadet & was living with his parents at Heathdene, Camberley, Surrey, his Father is a
Clergyman; John B. Kingdon was made a Midshipman on 15.05.1911; In August 1912 he is a Midshipman
serving onboard the Battle Cruiser ‘HMS Inflexible’ & also still serving on her in the Mediterranean in
October 1913; He became an Acting Sub Lieutenant since 14.01.1914 & in April 1914 was serving onboard
the Battleship ‘HMS Conqueror’; In November 1914 he is serving onboard the Torpedo Boat Destroyer ‘HMS
Angler’; In April 1915 Sub Lieutenant John B. Kingdon is serving onboard the Torpedo Boat Destroyer ‘HMS
Bulldog’; John B. Kingdon was promoted to Lieutenant on 05.09.1916 & was serving onboard another torpedo
Boat Destroyer ‘HMS Rapid’ in October 1916; He is serving onboard ‘HMS Osiris’ in August 1917;
Lieutenant John B. Kingdon is serving onboard the Torpedo Boat Destroyer ‘HMS Nymphe’ in January 1919;
Lieutenant J.B. Kingdon Royal Navy, was Gazetted on 02.06.1920; Lieutenant J.B. Kingdon Royal Navy was
promoted to Lieutenant Commander by the Admiralty on 15.05.1924, however, I understand that he Retired
with a Gratuity in 1924 also; In 1936 John Bannatyne Kingdon is living at #49, Oxford Gardens, Kensington,
London; I believe that John Bannatyne Kingdon Died in 1985 in Worthing, West Sussex, Aged 91; 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 Commander William Napier Kingdon, Royal
Navy); (Brother of Kingdon, Janet L (Female): Voluntary Aid Detachment 1914-1920 WO 372/23); I did
not research further;
Kingdon, John Ernest: 1st Class Boy, #J85582, Royal Navy; ADM 188/818; (Late WW1);
Notes: This official Naval Number indicates enlistment between 01.01.1918 & 31.12.1918 & the prefix ‘J’ that
he was a Seaman; This is John Ernest (Ernie) Kingdon born 14.07.1902 in Westminster, London, he was the
son of Frederick Kingdon, a Costermonger (street fruit seller) born in Westminster, London in 1868 & Jane
Belleini, b.1865 in Lambeth, who Married in 29.01.1894 in Walworth all Saints, Newington, Southwark,
London, & John Ernest Kingdon was baptised on 24.08.1902 in St George’s Battersea; His parents lived at
#62, Tufton Street, St John the Evangelist, Westminster, London at that time; (In the 1901 Census this family is
incorrectly recorded as ‘Hingdor’ but live at #62, Tufton Street, & the Father is recorded as a Fruiterer); In
the 1911 Ernie (John Ernest) Kingdon was living with his parents at #18, Howard Road, Brighton, Sussex, his
Father was a General Dealer; John Ernest Kingdon must have joined the Royal Navy as a Boy in 1918 & was
serving onboard ‘HMS Malaya’ at the end of WW1; I understand that John E Kingdon Married Jenny M Pryke
in Brighton, Sussex in 1934; I believe that John Ernest Kingdon Died in 1978 in Brighton Aged 75; Awarded
the British War Medal; (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Frederick: 1st Class Boy, #J8541, Royal Navy;
Kingdon, John F: Royal Army Medical Corps No: 434077 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Also served as #2070 with Warwickshire Yeomanry as an Acting Sergeant; Served in Egypt from
22.04.1915; Reduced to Private in the RAMC by F.Y.C.M on 19.09.1919; This is John Francis Kingdon born
on 21.09.1893 in Blackheath, Kent, the son of Zachary Harris Kingdon, a Civil Service Electrical Engineer,
b.1856 in Exeter & Florence Kate Brindley from Sheffield, Yorkshire who married on 24.07.1890 in
Greenwich, Kent; In 1901 John Francis Kingdon lived with his parents at #6, Belmont Hill in Lee, Lewisham,
London; John Francis Kingdon went to the City of London School & studied as an Engineer’s Chemist &
Metallurgist; In the 1911 Census John Francis Kingdon is found aged 18, boarding at #18, Wellington Road,
Smethwick, Worcestershire & working for a Tool Manufacturer as a Metallurgist Chemist ; Private John
Francis Kingdon had Enlisted on 30.01.1914, had served overseas during his service both in Egypt & the Sinai
Peninsular & was Disembodied from the Royal Army Medical Corps (Territorial Force) at Woking on
15.08.1919 under King’s Regulations Para 392 (xvi) at the age of 25 years & 6 months; I understand that John
Francis Kingdon Married Mary Foster Nicol (born 02.10.1900 in Taunton) in Cuckfield, Sussex in 1923,
(Mary’s Father was quite wealthy & from Liverpool, her Mother from the USA); I believe that John Francis
Kingdon tried emigration to South Africa and may have ended up as an orange grower in the Transvaal,
returning to England in March 1923, presumably to get married, but he is recorded as having Died in Surrey,
England in December 1972 & his wife Died in Canterbury, Kent in 1976; Awarded the Silver War Badge
#B343085; Medals Card on file; (He is the brother of Kingdon, Roger: Royal Engineers Rank: Lieutenant
1914-1920 WO 372/11); (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 also the Brother of Kingdon, William Stephen: Served in the
Royal Air force in WW1, AIR 76/277); (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, John George: Able Seaman, #J1615, Royal Navy; ADM 188/650, WW1;
Notes: This Sailors Official Naval Service Number would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1908 &
31.12.1908 & the prefix ‘J’ was issued to identify that he was a Seaman; John George Kingdon was born on
03.08.1892 in Torpoint, Cornwall according to the Navy records, however this could be a records issue as the
only John George Kingdon born in that period was one registered in Stoke Damerel, Devon in the 3rd Q 1891;
a Death record for this John George Kingdon in 1976 in Plymouth at the age of 85 confirms his birth date as
03.08.1891; In the 1901 Census there is a George Kingdon, Aged 9 & born in Cornwall living with his Mother
& Grandfather in Antony, Cornwall, his Mother is named as Maria Kingdon, a Widow, aged 47 (b.1854 in
Cornwall), a Housekeeper & they live with her Father, William Deacon, a Mason, in Wilcove; (I believe that
her real maiden name may have been Mary or Maria Jane Deacon); I have failed to locate or identify his
Father’s name or his parents? In the 1911 Census for the Royal Navy, Jno Geo Kingdon was aged 18 &
serving as an Ordinary Seaman on board the Cruiser ‘HMS Monmouth’ stationed with the China Squadron &
located in Colombo, Ceylon on the night of the Census, he is recorded as being born in Anthony, Cornwall; I
understand that Able Seaman John G. Kingdon was still in the Navy & serving with ‘HMS Indus’, probably
the training establishment in Devonport at the time of his medals issue; Awarded the 1914-15 Star, the Victory
& the British War Medals; This needs more research;
Kingdon, John H: Assistant Cook, Mercantile Marine Reserve; WW1; ADM 171/131;
Notes: ADM 171/131 has records for the issue of WW1 medals to John H Kingdon, an Assistant cook,
serving with the Mercantile Marine Reserve onboard ‘HMS Crescent; Awarded the British War Medal;
Insufficient information to identify;
Kingdon, John Henry: Private, #4679, 6th Dragoon Guards & 3rd Bn Dragoon Guards; (1880’s & Boer War);
Notes: This is probably John Henry Kingdon born in 1867 in St John’s, Bristol, the son of John Henry
Kingdon, a Bootmaker b.1841 St James, Bristol & Sarah Sophia Greenham from Bristol who married in 1866
in Bristol; In 1871 Census John Hy Kingdon lives with his parents at #3, Pomphrey Court in the Castle
Precincts, Bristol; In 1881 Census this family lives at #4, Tower Lane, Bristol; John Henry Kingdon must have
enlisted in the Army some time between 1885 & 1901 because in 1891 Private John Kingdon Aged 24 & born
in Bristol, Somerset is serving with the 6th Dragoons in the Cavalry Barracks in Preston Brighton, Sussex; The
6th Dragoons had been in South Africa from January 1881 until November 1890 & then returned to Brighton;
(The following Soldier was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal for service in the Boer War- #4679
Private Kingdom J.H. 3rd Dragoon Guards – this may not be the same man as this medal is only awarded for
men who served in South Africa between 11.10.1899 & 3.05.1902); I have a Chelsea Pensioner record for
John Henry Kingdon b.1868 Bristol on file & have assumed this is the same person; I believe that John Henry
Kingdon Married Annie Louisa Jenkins, born 1874, in Bristol (Keynsham) in 1900 & then moved to Canton,
Cardiff in Wales to work as a Police Constable; In 1901 Census they live at #52, Penypeel Road in Canton,
Cardiff; By 1911 John Henry Kingdon had died in 1904 Aged 37 in Cardiff & his Widow & 3 children lived at
the same address in Cardiff, she is working as a lavatory attendant; Awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal
& Clasps for Orange Free State, 1902 South Africa & Natal; (These may well have been forfeited later?);
Follow Up Research indicates that this is the same person below:
Kingdon, J. H: #4348 Private 12th (Prince of Wales’s Royal) Lancers – Boer War Deserter;
Notes: There are Records for Private J H Kingdon (or J H Kingdom) having served in the 12th Royal Lancers
in South Africa as he is recorded on a Supplementary Medal Roll for that Regiment dated 25 th May 1903 in
Umballa, South Africa; He appears to have been eligible for the Cape Colony Clasp & the South Africa Clasp
1902 but unfortunately these medals were forfeited as he had Deserted in South Africa; No applications were
made for the issue of the Queen’s South Africa Medal for this soldier although these clasps are associated with
that medal; There is also a record for a Trooper J. H. Kingdom, service number unknown, who served in the
Boer War with the Imperial Light Horse during 1899-1902 but I can find no other details
I believe that this is the same soldier but it needs more research;
Kingdon, John K: Royal Engineers No: 530107 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: Also served as #264 Royal Engineers (Territorial Force); I believe that this is John Knight Kingdon
born 1881 St Pancras, the son of John Kingdon b.1835 South Molton, Devon & 2 nd Wife Matilda ‘Tilly’
Knight Count from Nottinghamshire who married in Newark in November 1875, (John Kingdon’s 1 st wife
Elizabeth Case died in 1875); In 1891 & 1901 Censuses John K Kingdon is aged 9 & 19 years respectively &
lived with his parents at #32 Hastings Street, St Pancras, he is a Carpenter in 1901; I believe that John Knight
Kingdon Marries in St Pancras in 1906 to Annie Ellen Dimes, b.1882 Saint Pancras, London; In 1911 Census
John Kingdon is a Married Carpenter & Builder living/working at #9, Cromwell Hill, Maldon in Essex; I
believe that his wife is living in Little Waltham, Chelmsford in 1911; I understand that John K Kingdon Died
in 1949 in Chelmsford, Essex Aged 67; Medals Card on file; (Brother of Kingdon, Charles Oliver: #6878,
Corporal, Royal Army Pay Corps); (Also Brother of Dr. Frank Kingdon who emigrated to USA & was
Advisor to President Roosevelt);
Kingdon, John Phillips: British Red Cross Soc. & Order of Saint John of Jerusalem prior to becoming 2nd
Lieutenant, Bedfordshire Regiment, & eventually Captain on the General List, 1914-1920, WW1;
Notes: This Officer served with the 1st Battalion the Bedfordshire Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant & on the
General List as a Captain; The WO 338 records have reference to Lt. John Phillipps Kingdon, Depot/16,
#122998, & marked as a demobilised officer; This Officer served in France from 15.09.1916; He was
promoted from an Officer Training Corps Cadet to temporary 2nd Lieutenant with the Bedfordshire Regiment
on 10.01.1916; His name appears frequently in the Bedfordshire Regiment’s War Diary from the battlefront in
1917; J P Kingdon was promoted from temporary 2nd Lieutenant to temporary Lieutenant on 10.07.1917 with
the Bedfordshire Regiment; On 05.08.1918 Temporary Lieutenant J.P. Kingdon, Bedfordshire Regiment was
transferred to the General List & promoted to Acting Captain whilst employed as Assistant Instructor of a
School of Instruction; This is John Phillips Kingdon born on 21.04.1881 in Brighton, (baptised 17.09.1881
Ovingdean, Sussex); (My Kingdon family tree for the Thorverton Kingdon line Chart XIV); He was the son of
the Reverend James Durant Kingdon, Vicar of Loose, (b.1830) & Eleanor Katherine Stead from Ovingdean
who married in Ovingdean on 30.07.1867; In the 1891 Census John P Kingdon lived with his parents in the
Vicarage, Loose, Kent; In the 1901 Census he is (incorrectly recorded as Thomas P), living with his widowed
Mother at West Bank House, Sutton Valence, Kent; John P Kingdon went to Cantab for his BA in 1903 &
afterwards was an Assistant School Master for 19 years; I believe that in the 1911 Census he was (again
incorrectly recorded, this time as James), living as an Assistant Master in a Preparatory School, at St. Aubyns,
Rottingdean, Kent; John Phillips Kingdon Married Olive Gardner from London in Kensington in 1923; He also
was Head Master of a School for Boys at ‘The Golden Parsonage’ Hemel Hempstead, Herts; Medals Card on
file for the award of the British War & Victory Medals; An application for his medals, with Emblems was
made on 26.10.1921 & the medals sent on 01.12.1921, address was Corne House, Rottingdean, Sussex;
Kingdon, John Samuel: #7827, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Chatham Division; ADM 159/48; (Late 1890’s
period);
Notes: Records for the Royal Marine Light Infantry have John Samuel Kingdon born 06.06.1871, (no
birthplace given), on their cards, with an Enlistment date of 24.04.1894; I have searched for matching ancestry
records but there is nothing certain? Needs research;
Kingdon, John Sidney: #280767, Stoker, Royal Navy; ADM 188/448; (Mid to late 1890’s period);
Notes: The ADM 188/448 Record has a Birth Date of 29.03.1877 in Hackney for this Sailor, but following a
very detailed search of Kingdon & Kingdom family birth records for the period 1872 to 1879, I believe that I
can safely say that there were no male Kingdons born in the area of Hackney, Tower Hamlets or Bethnal
Green, Middlesex which would fit this information; This may well be John Sidney Kingdon born 1873 in
Bethnal Green, London, Middlesex, a twin brother to Harry Bale Kingdon who later died in ca.1880, (his
parents gave birth to another son named Harry Bale Kingdon in 1882 in Hackney); I believe that John Sidney
Kingdon was the son of Harry Bail Kingdon, a Tailor b.1839, & Alice Amelia Stafford (nee Crossland) b.1844
in Clerkenwell, who Married in Hackney, London in 1872 & she appears to have used her maiden name of
Alice Amelia Crossland in the records; (His Mother was previously married to James Thomas Stafford who
died in 1872); In 1881 Census John S. Bale (assumed to be Kingdon) lived with his Mother Alice Bale (should
read Kingdon) at #8, Great Hampton Street, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, but & I have failed to find his
Father Harry Bail Kingdon in that Census; (His Father Harry Bail Kingdon may have died in London ca.1886);
His Widowed Mother lived at #14, Durrington Road, Hackney, London, in the 1891 Census but I failed to find
any John Sidney Kingdon in 1891; His official Naval Service Number of #280767 would indicate that he was a
Stoker & that he enlisted between 01.01.1895 & 31.12.1895; However, I still cannot find this man after 1881?
Additional Notes: This may be the same man?
Kingdon, John Sidney: No Military Records found but Recorded as a Chelsea Pensioner;
The Chelsea Pensioners List includes a John Sidney Kingdon born in 1875 London Middlesex; This may well
be John Sidney Kingdon born 1873 in Bethnal Green, London, Middlesex;
I failed to locate this person after 1881? (He was probably the Brother of Kingdon, Harry Bail: #11093,
Private, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Chatham Division; ADM 159/54; (& the brother of Private Edward
(Arnold Bail) Kingdon, #8679, Chatham Division, Royal Marine Light Infantry; ADM 159/49);
Kingdon, John Sottridge: Home Guard Service, 1940 to 1945; WO 409/27/98/485; WW2;
Notes: Too young to have served in WW1, this is John Sottridge Kingdon b.14.08.1900 Hartlepool, Durham,
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; John
S. Kingdon was 7 months old & lived with his parents above the National Provincial Bank in Hartlepool in
1901 & in Norton Lodge, Norton, Stockton on Tees in the 1911 Census; I believe that John Sottridge Kingdon
Died in Darlington, Durham, Aged 93 in November 1993; (He was the younger Brother of Kingdon, William
L: Honourable Artillery Company No: 6825 1914-1920 WO 372/11) who served in WW1);
Kingdon, John Stewart: #23/473, Rifleman, ‘B’ Company, 1st New Zealand Rifle Brigade, New Zealand
Expeditionary Force, WW1;
Notes: This is John (Jack) Stuart Kingdon born in 1892 in Nelson, New Zealand, the son of Roger William
Wellesley Kingdon, a Solicitor, & Annie Evelyn Curtis, living in Fielding, Oroua, New Zealand; (His original
family are from the Thorverton & Exeter, Devon, Kingdon line); His Father Died in 1903 Aged 42; In 1914
Electoral Roll, John Stuart Kingdon is recorded as a Farmer, in Kimbolton Road, Fielding, Oroua; This Soldier
enlisted in New Zealand in 1914 & is recorded on the Alphabetical Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force
with an address Care of Mrs. A. Dermer, Fielding & his next of kin is shown as his Mother Mrs. R.W.W.
Kingdon, Cheltenham, Fielding; I believe that this soldier Embarked from New Zealand on 09.10.1915 &
served in Egypt & then France; (On the 27.01.1916 the newspaper ‘The Colonist’ had reported that his
brother Sergeant Basil Kingdon had been visiting Nelson on final leave before being shipped to France & that
he was the last of the 3 Kingdon Brothers to go to the Front; Both of his brothers were serving in Egypt in
January 1916, one of which was this ‘Jack’ Kingdon); #23/473 Rifleman Kingdon J.S., 1st New Zealand Rifle
Brigade, was reported as having been Wounded in Action on 14.10.1916, Casualty List #430/19; In 1919
Electoral Roll, John Stuart Kingdon is recorded as a Farmer, in Kimbolton Road, Fielding, Oroua; In the 1928
Electoral Roll his Mother Annie Evelyn Kingdon, his Brother Basil & his wife Emily Susette Kingdon & John
Stuart Kingdon, were Farming at Ohaeawai in Bay of Islands, Northland; By 1935 I understand that John
Stuart Kingdon was Farming at Walton, Rotarua; There are numerous later Electoral Rolls which could be
researched further; I understand that John Stuart Kingdon Died in 1960 Aged 67; (He was the Brother of
Kingdon, Roger Audley: #2698, Private, 28th Battalion, 6th Reinforcements, Australian Imperial Force,
WW1); (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Basil: New Zealand Rifle Brigade No: 24/1915 Rank: Sergeant
1914-1920 WO 372/24); Could be researched further;
Kingdon, John Victor: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, #147999, Rank: Flying Officer, 1939-1945 –
Died in WW2; Flying Officer John Victor Kingdon, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve died on 10th
November 1944; Remembered with honour on the Ottawa Memorial in Ontario, Canada;
Notes: This is John Victor Kingdon born in 1915 in Pontypridd, South Glamorgan, Wales, he was the son of
Samuel John Kingdon b.1876 in Ystrad, Rhonda, Glamorgan & Agnes Goulding, b.1880 Abercan, glamorgan,
who Married in Pontypridd, Wales in 1900; During a Night Navigation Mission whilst training in Canada in
flying a B-24J Liberator, their plane crashed into a mountain near Flora Lake on Vancouver Island & the entire
crew were killed; There is a grave marker at the crash site; At the time of his death John Victor Kingdon’s
address was #37, Tyntyla road, Ystrad, Rhonda, Glamorganshire, Wales;
Kingdon, John W: Royal Garrison Artillery No: 165664 Rank: Gunner 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is John William Kingdon born in Tavistock in 1886; I believe that he was a 33 year old married
Gardener living at Keepers Cottage, Adderley, Market Drayton, Shropshire when he was called up on
16.06.1917 in Shrewsbury & he was probably in the Reserve & being re-called for service in WW1 as his
enlistment date was deemed to be 24.06.1916; There is correspondence on his file regarding his final release
status & why he had to return from Ireland at the time of his call up (he was working there as a Gardener), but
I believe that this was eventually resolved; His wife was Alice Kingdon (nee Hall) & I believe that they were
married in 1911 in Pershore, Worcestershire, (there appears to have been 3 living children, Olive Kingdon
b.1912 in Eton, Buckinghamshire, Arthur Kingdon & Ernest Kingdon born 09.03.1918 in Market Drayton;
There may have been an earlier daughter Elizabeth born in 1911 Eton, Bucks. Who may have died); I believe
that John William was wounded with a Gun Shot Wound to his left hand whilst serving in France around
21.09.1918 but his records are very damaged & difficult to read; He appears to have served until 08.02.1920
when he was transferred to the Class Z Reserve; John W Kingdon may have worked at Buckshaw Lodge,
Sherbourne, Dorset after leaving the Army as this is the address for his medals to be issued; Medals Card on
file; This person needs more research;
Kingdon, John Wesley: New Zealand, 1st Division Reservist, 1916, WW1;
Notes: I do not believe that this man actually served in WW1, but he is recorded as a Reservist in the 1st
Division Roll of #14 (Southland) Recruiting District in 1916, his address is recorded as being a Farmer at
Kingsdale Farm, Gore, Southland, New Zealand; This is John Wesley Kingdon born in 1876 in New Zealand,
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 1911, 1914, 1919 John Wesley Kingdon is a Farmer at Croydon Siding, Wakatipu, Otago;
In 1928 he is recorded as a Farmer at Kingsdale, Croydon; In 1935, a Farmer in Croydon, Wallace, Southland;
In 1938 John Wesley Kingdon is registered as a Farmer in Croydon siding, Mataura; I lost him from here?
However, there is a John Wesley Kingdom recorded as dying in 1945 Aged 68; (He is the Brother of Kingdon,
William Fletcher: New Zealand, 2nd Division Reservist, 1917, WW1); More research required;
Kingdon, John William: New Zealand, 1st Division Reservist, 1916, WW1;
Notes: I do not believe that this man actually served in WW1, but he is recorded as a Reservist in the 1st
Division in 1916, recruited in #5 Recruitment Centre in Wellington, stating that he was living in Buick Street,
Petone, Hutt, Wellington as a Picture Framer; This is John William Kingdon but I have yet to properly
identify him or find a birth date for him? From the Electoral Rolls & Records I would suggest that he was
probably the son of Walter Kingdon, a Fell Monger b.ca.1850 & Anne ?? as he lives at the same address as
them on a number of occasions; In 1896 John William Kingdon lives in Victoria Street, Petone, Wellington,
working as a Labourer; In 1905 & 1906 he lives in Buick Street, Petone & is recorded as being a Wool
Classer; In 1911 & 1914 Rolls he is at #17, Buick Street, Petone, first as a Wool Classer & secondly as a
Picture Framer; In 1916 John William Kingdon is recruited for WW1 New Zealand Army 1 st Division
Reserves at #5, Wellington Recruiting District; I failed to find any military records for this man so assume that
he did not serve in WW1? In 1919 he is back at the address in Buick Street, Petone, Hutt, Wellington working
as a Picture Framer; In 1935 he is once again a Wool Classer living at #58a, Sydney Street, Petone; In 1938
John William Kingdon is at #30, Birdwood Street, Lower Hutt, Wellington as a Wool Classer; I do not believe
that he ever married & that he died in 1940 Aged 70; Needs more research;
Kingdon, John William: #V65309, Private, Australian Imperial Force, WW1;
Notes: There are more records for this soldier in the Australian Military files; This is John William Kingdon
born 1896 in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, the son of Joseph William Kingdon of East Caulfield,
Melbourne; John William Kingdon, a Labourer, enlisted at the age of 21 years on 09.05.1917 in Prahran,
Victoria & joined the 9/59 Battalion of the Australian Imperial force on 11.07.1917; For being found to be
under the age of 18 his Attestation was Cancelled on 01.08.1917 by the Commanding Officer of Troops,
Broadmeadows Camp; There is also a second Attestation for a John William Kingdon, a Chemist, aged 18,
enlisting in September 1916 as #6393, a Private in the 20th Reinforcements, 5th Battalion; According to the
records this soldier embarked for Europe from Melbourne on 11.09.1916 on board the ‘HMAT Euripides’ with
the 20th Reinforcements of the 5th Infantry Battalion, he disembarked on 20.10.1916 but was returned to
Australia on 26.12.1916 for being under age; I believe that he had also tried to enlist under the name of Eric
Balkan (alias John William Kingdon), #6393 or #6392, claiming birth in North Carlton, Victoria in 1894 &
giving his next of kin as an Aunt living in #108, Newry Street, North Carlton; According to the records this
soldier embarked for Europe from Melbourne on 11.09.1916 on board the ‘HMAT Euripides’ with the
Reinforcements of the 5th Infantry Battalion; As a young soldier this man appears to have been constantly in
trouble throughout 1916; He had been shipped off to the War but was returned to Australia under escort on
09.03.1917 for being under age; On 04.08.1916 his Father Joseph William Kingdon of #290, Ross Street, Port
Melbourne, wrote directly to the Minister of Defence explaining that his son had enlisted under an assumed
name as he was under 21 years old & had been refused parental consent to enlist, but that he was now willing
to allow his son to join the army; There are however, more documents that would indicate that this soldier
should really be John Joseph Kingdon & that he had previously served with the Australian Imperial force as
36393 John William Kingdon with 20/5th Bn. & as #66577 John William Stanlake who had escaped in
Durban but had been arrested & returned to Australia on 26.11.1918; I believe that Private John William
Kingdon, #71792, serving with ‘A’ Company, 3rd District Guard, Domain Camp, Australian Imperial Force
was Court Martialed on 26.06.1918; In order to try & clarify this soldier’s records a Précis of Service of
#6393/66577 Private J.W. Kingdon 5th Battalion, alias E. Balkan, alias J.W. Stanlake 21st G.S.R was issued
for Forfeiture of Medals Board on 27.02.1922; This states – 11.09.1916 Embarked; 26.12.1916 Embarked at
Plymouth for Return to Australia as Under Age; 10.03.1917 Discharged; At this stage he refused to sign any
papers, stating that he was only 16 years old; 02.04.1918 Re-enlisted; 22.10.1918 Re-embarked; 19.11.1918
Broke Ship in Durban; 26.11.1918 Re-embarked for Return to Australia; 06.01.1919 Discharged; Both
enlistments are fraudulent; He received a War Gratuity for the 2 nd embarkation only & all medals were
forfeited;
On the Australian War Memorial internet site, www.awm.gov.au, there is a photograph showing troops prior to
boarding ‘HMAT Euripides (A14)’. Identified (front row, centre, holding a kitbag) is #6392 Private John
William Kingdon. Pte. Kingdon enlisted using an alias (Eric Balkan) on 24 June 1916. In August 1916
Kingdon's mother wrote to the Minister of Defence and asked that her son's records be changed to show his
real name. He embarked on 11 September 1916 as J W Kingdon but was under age (16) and was returned to
Australia on 26 December 1916. He later re-enlisted as #66577 Pte. John William Stanlake and embarked on
‘HMAT Boonah (A36)’ at Adelaide on 22 October 1918. Medals were forfeited; This Soldier could still be
researched further;
Kingdon, Joseph: English Naval Mariner ca.1798;
Notes: There is a reference in the Kingdon Family Book (1932) indicating that a Seaman’s Will was prepared
for Joseph Kingdon in 1798; A letter of Administration (admon.) was granted to a Widow Ann Kingdon but
there is no clue as to her relationship with this mariner, was she his Wife or his Mother? The ships mentioned
are the” Attack”, the “L’Eclaire” & the “Terror Bomb”, however I can find no information on any of these
vessels except that the Sloop “L’Eclaire” may have been a French Privateer at one point & may have been
captured & in Sheerness for repairs in 1793; Not identified;
Kingdon, Joseph Arnold: #Z-13364, Ordinary Seaman, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve; WW1 War Fleet
Division, Tyneside; ADM/337/83/958;
Notes: This is Joseph Arnold Kingdon, born 25.08.1888 in Horton, Yorkshire (Bradford), he was often
recorded as Arnold Kingdon; He was the son of James Moore Kingdon, a Clothing Manufacturer Cashier &
Bookeeper born in Great Horton, Yorks on 30.04.1864 & Elizabeth Jaggaer Pulman b.1865 in Great Horton,
who married in Bradford in 1886; In the 1891 Census Joseph A Kingdon lives with his parents in West Lane,
Embray, Bradford, Yorkshire West Riding; Unfortunately his Father Died on 08.10.1894 aged 30 years & in
the 1901 Census Arnold Kingdon is now aged 12 & living with his Widowed Mother, a Confectioner, at #6, St
Margaret’s Road, Bradford, with his Pulman Grandparents; In the 1911 Census Arnold Kingdon, now aged 22
years, is working as a Municipal Clerk for Bradford Corporation & living with his Widowed Mother & his
Widowed Grandmother Pulman at #286, Great Horton Road, Bradford, Yorkshire; Joseph Arnold Kingdon
Married Ethel Maud Yates in 1914 in Leicester; (She was a Nurse in Bradford in the 1911 Census); I believe
that Joseph Arnold Kingdon Died on 09.06.1935 whilst living at #50, The Avenue, Clayton, Bradford, he was
aged 46; Awarded the British War Medal, ADM 171/127;
Kingdon, Joseph John: Able Seaman, #81288, Royal Navy; ADM 188/74/88; (1873-1891 period);
Notes: ADM 188 records have Joseph John Kingdon having served with the Royal Navy a #81288 & born in
Devonport on 28.01.1858; This Sailor’s Official Naval Number would indicate enlistment between 01.01.1873
& 31.12.1873; I believe this man to be Joseph John/William Kingdon born in Stoke Damerel in 1858; He
was the son of George Frederick Kingdon, a Naval Dockyard Stoker & Naval Pensioner b.1830 in Devonport,
& Jane Giles, b.1831 in Walkhampton in Devon, who Married in 1851 in Stoke Damerel; In the 1861 Census
Joseph Kingdon was living with his parents in Johns Street, Stoke Damerel; In the 1871 Census Joseph
Kingdon is aged 13 & living with his Mother in Wilcove, Antony, Cornwall; Joseph John Kingdon enlisted in
the royal Navy in 1873; In the 1881 Census Joseph J Kingdon is a single serving Able Seaman onboard the 1 st
Class Ironclad ‘HMS Agincourt’ of the Channel Squadron, situated in Gibraltar; In 1882 this Sailor served
with ‘HMS Agincourt’ in the Egyptian Campaign, both at Alexandria & Tel-El-Kebir between 16.07.1882 &
14.09.1882, his Ship’s Number was 5.799; The medals for this campaign were sent to him on 11.05.1883 at
‘HMS Agincourt’ where he was still serving; I understand that Joseph John Kingdon Married Elizabeth Jane
Bickford, b.1861 in Plymouth, in Stoke Damerel in 1883; In the 1891 Census Elizabeth Kingdon is living
alone with 2 young children at #48, Duke Street, Stoke Damerel, Devon, her husband is recorded as being
away at sea; I failed to locate Joseph J Kingdon in the 1891 Royal Navy Census; In the 1901 Census Joseph &
Elizabeth Kingdon live at #48, Duke Street, Stoke Damerel, Devonport, Joseph is a General Government
Labourer; In the 1911 Census Joseph & Elizabeth Kingdon still lived at #48,Duke Street, Devonport, Devon,
he is a Government Labourer; I believe that Elizabeth Jane Kingdon Died in 1931 in Devonport, Aged 77 &
that Joseph John Kingdon died in Cornwall in 1935 Aged 78; Awarded the Egyptian Medal & Alexandria
11.07.1882 & Tel El Kebir Clasps; (He was the Son of Kingdon, George: Royal Naval Dockyard Stoker,
Paddle Tugs in Devonport); (He was the Father of Kingdom, W E: Royal Engineers No: 514302 Rank:
Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/24, See Also: Kingdon, William E: Royal Engineers Regiment No: T1005 Rank:
Sapper 1914-20 WO 372/11); (He was the Brother of Kingdon, John: #82600, Stoker, Royal Navy; ADM
188/76/189);
K
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE
Kingdon, ??: Captain, Regiment unknown, served in Madras, India ca. 1817;
Notes: There are records in the ‘Families in British India Society Database’ that show a Captain Kingdon
Departing from Madras for England on 23.03.1817 aboard the Ship ‘Lucy Maria’; I have no other
information;
Kingdon, K.H.: Assistant Physicist, The Admiralty; (1919)
Notes: There are records for the Department of The Director of Experiments And Research at the Admiralty in
Whitehall for the year 1919, which refer to a K.H. Kingdon, Esq., M.A. working as an Assistant Physicist
under the direction of Professor J.C. McLennn in the Mining Section of the Department of the Director of
Torpedoes & Mining, however, I failed to find any other records for this person; Insufficient information to
enable identification;
Kingdon, K J: British Army, Prisoner of War, 1939 -1945 WW2;
Notes: There is a record of a British Army Prisoner of War, K J Kingdon, held in Stalag VIII-D Bystrice,
Czech Republic, during WW2; I have no other information on this soldier; Insufficient information to
identify;
Kingdon, Karen F: #W130396S, Wren, Steward 1st Class, Women’s Royal Naval Service; (1975);
Notes: There is an ‘In Service’ death record for a young Wren serving with the WRNS at ‘HMS Vernon’,
(shore base), dated Sunday 30.11.1975, she was aged 19 years; I believe that this is probably Karen
Francesca Kingdon, born 20.09.1956 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, (Mother’s maiden name
Russell), who’s death was registered in the 1st Q 1976 in torbay, Devon; Insufficient information to identify
further;
Kingdon, Kenneth Roy: Private, #3036436, 1st Depot Battalion, 1st Central Ontario Regiment; Canada,
WW1;
Notes: I believe that this is Kenneth Roy Kingdon born 08.09.1897 in Lampton Hills, Ontario, Canada, the
son of James Kingdon, a Farmer, born 01.08.1860 in Ontario & Annie Agnes Mason or Moran b.03.10.1862
Ontario who Married in Peel, Ontario on 11.03.1885; In 1901 Census Kenneth Kingdon lives with his parents
in Etobicoke, York, Ontario, Canada; On 06.05.1918 in Toronto, Kenneth Roy Kingdon, a Farmer aged 20
years & 7 months was drafted for WW1 service into the 1st Depot Battalion, 1st Central Ontario Depot
Regiment which in reality was a unit based in Canada feeding soldiers into the system; In 1919 Private K.R.
Kingdon was recorded as being transferred from Kinmel Park to Toronto for Dispersal to the Royal Canadian
Dragoons, Canadian Reserve Cavalry Regiment; On both occasions his Mother Annie Kingdon was his NOK;
I believe that Kenneth Roy Kingdon Married Lorna May Howett (b.1907 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England) on
12.03.1926 in Etobicoke, Ontario & that they had at least 3 children; I understand that Kenneth Roy Kingdon
died in 1977 aged 80; I have not researched further;
L
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE
Kingdon, L W: 27th Reinforcements, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, WW1;
Notes: The Auckland Weekly Newspaper reports on the 15.03.1917, that this soldier was part of the 27 th DraftWaikato Men contingent for service in WW1 with the New Zealand Army; Unfortunately I failed to find any
other references to L W Kingdon in New Zealand;
Kingdon, Leslie: #260483; Canadian Migrant, #12 OASC Service Company, #12, Artillery Depot Canadian
Field Artillery, 1st Battalion, Saskatchewan Regiment, WW1;
Notes: This is Leslie Kingdon born 22.07.1893 in Barnstaple, Devon, England, 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 1901 Leslie Kingdon lives with his parents in Barnstaple; I have not found
this family in 1911 UK Census yet? In 1913 Leslie Kingdon is aged 20 years & emigrated to Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada on board the ‘SS Ascania’ to work in farming; By 1915 he was already a Canadian Citizen
& had visited England as he returned to Canada on board the ‘SS Scandinavian’ in 1915; In the 1916 Canadian
Census Leslie Kingdon is a Farm Labourer living in Saskatchewan; On 08.03.1917 Leslie Kingdon was
medically examined at Saskatchewan for WW1 service in the Canadian Army, he was a Miner by trade at that
time; He was called up on 09.05.1918 & finally Discharged in July 1919; (He is the Brother of Kingdon,
Stanley: Royal Engineers No: 122479 Rank: Sapper 1914-1920 WO 372/11 who Died in WW1 Drowned at
Sea on 26.05.1917 in Iraq); (I have not researched this Soldier further);
Kyngdon, Leslie Herbert: Brigadier-General, Australian Army, the Sudan, Boer War & WW1;
Notes: This is Leslie Herbert Kingdon born 1860 in Exeter, Devon, England; (His family are from the
Holsworthy Kingdon line – see the Kingdon book A Second Look published in 1974); His Grandparents &
subsequently his parents adopted the old fashioned spelling of the name Kyngdon after emigration to New
Zealand & Australia; He was the son of Boughton Kingdon b.1819 in Bodmin, Cornwall & Elizabeth Maria
Cobb from Margate, Kent who Married in 1848 in Kent, (Boughton Kingdon was a Physician in Exeter, Devon
& Croydon, Surrey before Emigrating to Sydney, Australia in 1878, his parents & other siblings had already
emigrated to New Zealand in 1850); In 1861 Leslie H Kingdon was living with his parents in Exeter St
Sidwell, Devon, he was aged 9 months; In 1871 Leslie H Kingdon lived with his parents in Topsham Road,
Heavitree, Devon; This family emigrated to Sydney, Australia in 1878 I believe; Leslie Herbert Kyngdon
became a regular soldier (rare in colonial Australia, which began with the NSW Volunteer Forces (Artillery) in
1878); He fought in the Sudan Campaign in 1885 with the New South Wales, Australian Infantry Battalion and
later in the Boer War with the British Royal Artillery; In 1896 he was a Captain, & a Colonel from 1914; By
1919 Leslie Herbert Kyngdon had risen to the honorary rank of Brigadier-General after conspicuous service on
the home front during WW1 as Commandant of Western Australia and Chief Inspector of Coastal Defences;
At the time of his death on 13 April 1923, Kyngdon was the last surviving Australian officer who had served at
Sudan in 1885; Could be researched further;
Kingdon, Leonard: Worcestershire Regiment Rank: Second Lieutenant 1914-1920 WO 372/11, & Royal
Flying Corps, AIR 76/277/104 – Died in WW1; Second Lieutenant (Pilot) Leonard Kingdon, 12th Squadron,
Royal Flying Corps & the Worcestershire Regiment who died on 12th January 1916; Remembered with honour
Tournai Communal Cemetery, Allied Extension, Hainaut in Belgium, Memorial Reference: V.A 13;
Notes: This is Leonard Kingdon, born 13.04.1890 in London, the son of William Frederick Kingdon, a Book
Seller b.1844 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire & Catherine Ann Gibbons from Manchester, Lancashire; In
1891 Leonard lived with his parents at #118, Mead Road in Stoke Newington, London; In 1901 Leonard
Kingdon aged 13 was a pupil at Pierremond College in St Peter Intra, Kent; In the 1911 Census Leonard
Kingdon appears to have been a School Master, Boarding at Yarlet Hall, Stone in Staffordshire; Leonard
Kingdon obtained his flying licence on 04.08.1915 at the Military Flying School in Farnborough, he was
already a 2nd Lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment at the time & was Seconded to the Royal Flying
Corps on 25.09.1915 & his appointment was Gazetted on 11.10.1915; The WO 338 records at Kew have
reference to 2Lt. Leonard Kingdon, 3/5 R.F.C.29, #29197, ‘Dead’; This Officer first went to France in
November 1915; 2nd Lieutenant Leonard Kingdon was shot down by German Flying Ace Hauptmann Oswald
Boelcke in Belgium at Luingne; See the Internet for a lot more information on this Officer;
2nd Lieutenant Leonard Kingdon
Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke
Lieut. Leonard Kingdon was born in London on the 13th April 1890, son of William Frederick Kingdon (a
bookseller) and Catherine Ann (nee Gibbons). His father William had remarried in 1884 after his first wife
Maria (nee Maynard) had died in 1880. As a child Leonard was brought up in Stoke Newington, London. The
family later moved to Beckenham, Kent and as a teenager Leonard was educated at the Pierremond College,
Broadstairs, Kent; He later studied at London University and on 12.11.1913 joined the Special Reserve, 3rd
Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers on probation as a 2nd Lieutenant, (London Gazette 11.11.1913), but later
received a full Commission in the Worcestershire Regiment. Leonard was only 25 years old when he died; The
local Belgian community held a funeral for him on the 16th January 1916; His UK Will & Probate leave his
effects to Frank Maynard Kingdon, Schoolmaster; Medals Card on file for the award of the 1915 Star, The
British War & Victory Medals; His brother H.W. Kingdon Esquire, c/o Messrs.’ Thos. Cook & Son, Shanghai
made the request for his medals; (He was the Brother of Herbert William Kingdon: Hampshire Regiment
Rank: Captain, who also Served in the RAF in WW1);
Kingdon, Louis Francis Edward: #36141, Australian Navy; Post WW2 period;
Notes: The Australian records have details for Louis Francis Edward Kingdon, born 03.01.1929 in Hong
Kong, having served with the Australian Navy; This is the son of Cecil James Kingdon, a British Crown Agent
employee & Warder in Hong Kong & later Australia, who was born 27.01.1900 in Islington, London, & Una
Maud Falla, who Married in Hong Kong ca.1926; There are passenger trip records for Louis F E Kingdon
between Hong Kong & UK in 1934 & 1939; The Australian Military Records indicate that Louis Francis
Edward Kingdon enlisted in Sydney on 06.05.1948 for a period of 12 years; He was a Merchant Seaman at that
time giving his Mother’s address in Brixton, Lambeth, London, England as his Next of Kin; I believe that he
was transferred to the British Royal Navy on 11.06.1949 & served on board ‘HMS Belfast’ & ‘HMS Jamaica’;
I believe that Louis F E Kingdon Married Phyllis J Wink in Ipswich, Suffolk, England in 1954, where they
remained until at least 1965 as far as I can make out? However, Louis F & Phyllis Kingdon were living with
his parents at #44, Strathleven road, Brixton, Lambeth in 1957; (He is the son of Kingdon, Cecil James:
#1703 Gunner, Royal Garrison Artillery; WW1; Who is also Kingdon, Cecil James: #15621 Gunner, 2nd
Class, Royal Marine Artillery; ADM 159/91; WW1); Needs more research;
Kingdon, Luther J: Wiltshire Regiment, No: 25466 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Also Recorded as: Kingdon, John Luther: Royal Army Service Corps No: M/410958 Rank: Private 19141920 WO 372/11, WW1;
Notes: This is Luther John Kingdon who was born on 18.07.1889 in Corsham, Wiltshire; The son of Tom
Kingdon, a Mason b.1863 in Dulverton & Louisa Gardener from Corsham, Wiltshire who were married in
1888 in Chippenham, Wiltshire & living in Chapel Street, Dulverton on Somerset in 1916; In 1891 Census the
family lived in Ystradyfodwg, Glamorgan, Wales next door to widowed Grandfather Jacob Kingdon; In 1901
Census Luther John Kingdon Aged 11 lives with his parents in Dulverton, Somerset; In the 1911 Census
Luther Kingdon is a 21 year old Carpenter living with his parents in Mill Green, Dulverton, Somerset; John
Luther Kingdon Enlisted on 08.02.1916 in Basingstoke at the age of 26 years & 7 months, he was a Joiner &
gave his father’s name, Tom Kingdon as his next of kin & his address as Chapel Street, Dulverton, Somerset;
His original Attestation has him serving with the Wiltshire Regiment as #25466 & also # 22887 with Somerset
Light Infantry but this has been crossed out on his record; His military record indicates that he served at Home
from 08.02.1916 until 08.11.1916, he was then sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force until
07.08.1917 when he was sent back to England; He had received a Gun Shot wound to his left cheek & head on
31.07.1917 giving him a 30% disability; He also suffered from Pleurisy in 1918; He was finally Discharged on
25.02.1919 from the Royal Army Service Corps in Woolwich due to the wounds that he received; Awarded a
30% disability Pernsion for 12 months from 17.03.1919 but he was continually re-assessed for further
Pensions awards through 1922; Luther John Kingdon Marries Amy Callaway from Dulverton in 1927 in
Dulverton, Somerset; Luther John Kingdon Dies in 3rd Q 1951 in Exmoor Aged 62; Did they have a daughter
Beryl L Kingdon born 1931 in Dulverton, who later married a Geoffrey John Scoins in Exmoor in 1954;
Awarded the Silver War Badge #B287925 as John Luther Kingdon; Medals Card x2 on file; (He was the Son
of 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);
M
KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE
Kingdon, Mark: #1817 of the 36th Regiment of Foot; W097 Records; (Mid 1870’s period);
Notes: Mark Kingdon enlisted in the Army on 01.03.1874 & served in England until 15.06.1874, however, he
may well have attested in 1871? I believe that he was then posted to the East Indies; Private Mark Kingdon
was considered to be unfit for further Military Service at a Regimental Board held on 23.06.1876 in Netley,
England after having served in the East Indies for a period of 2 years & 33 days & with the Regiment for 2
years & 301 days; It would appear that he had been suffering from a general debility as a result of tropical
climate service since September 1873; In 1874 he was recorded as being in a very weak & nervous state with
heart palpitations & was subsequently declared unfit for further service, (he may well have had a drink
problem too); Mark Kingdon was a Carpenter by trade & was born in the Parish of Tiverton & on discharge
intended to live in Exeter, Devon; I believe that this is Mark Kingdon born in 1839 in Rackenford, the son of
George Kingdon, a Carpenter b.1809 Bishops Nympton & Elizabeth Loosemore from Rackenford who
married in 1833; Mark lived with his parents in Rackenford, Devon in 1841; In 1851 he was an 11 year old
servant for a Butcher in Tiverton; In 1861 he was a Carpenter working in Plymtree, Devon; I cannot find Mark
Kingdon in 1871 records? Mark appears again in the 1881 Census living as a Carpenter in the Tiverton Union
Workhouse; I cannot find him in 1891 but in 1901 Census he is a Journeyman Carpenter working in
Cullompton; Mark Kingdon died in Tiverton in 1910 Aged 71, I do not believe that he ever married;
Kingdon, Mark: No Military Records but noted on the Chelsea Pensioners List;
Notes: The list for Chelsea Pensioners has reference to a Mark Kingdon born 1847
in Exeter, Devon; I believe that this is actually Oliver Mark Kingdon born 1846 in Exeter, the son of
Abraham Kingdon, a Carpenter b.1807 Exeter & Elizabeth Melden, who Married pre 1835 in Exeter; In 1851
Census Oliver M Kingdon is aged 5 & living with his parents in Barrett’s Court, Magdalen Street in Exeter
Holy Trinity, Devon; In 1861 Census Oliver M Kingdon is an Errand boy, living with his parents in St
Leonards, Exeter; In 1871 Census Mark Kingdon is now aged 25 & working as a Painter, living with his
parents at #2, Lock Beare Cottages, Holloway Street, Exeter St Sidwell; I believe that Oliver Mark Kingdon
Married Jessy Stark Jarman (b.1852 Exeter) in 1873 in Exeter, Devon; In 1881 & the 1891 Censuses, Oliver
M. & Jessy S. Kingdon live at #5, Lansdown Terrace, Exeter Holy Trinity & is working as a House & Home
Decorator; I understand that Oliver Mark Kingdon Died aged 51 years in Exeter in 1899; His Widow Jessy S.
Kingdon lived alone as a Coffee House owner, Fried Fish & Tobacco Dealer at #100, Black Boy Road, Exeter
in 1901; In 1911 she worked as a Cook/Servant for a Scottish Barrister at Bentham, Kingsbridge, Exeter; I
understand that Jessy S. Kingdon (nee Jarman) remarried to a Thomas Sobey in 1915 in Exeter; I did not find
any Military Records for this man?
Kingdon, Mark Leslie: #23346 & #6747, DUBB Depot Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, WW1;
Notes: There are more records for this soldier in the Australian military Files; This is Mark Leslie Kingdon
born 16.08.1891 in Yeovil, Somerset, England; He is the son of William Henry Kingdon, a Railway Clerk,
b.1862 in Barnstaple, Devon & Annie Tilley b.29.02.1860 in Dorchester, Dorset who married in 1889 in
Dorchester; In the 1901 Census Mark L. Kingdon is aged 9 years & living with his widowed Father (his
Mother died in 1894) in #21, Colmer Road, Yeovil, Somerset, England; In 1906 Mark Leslie Kingdon worked
for the Great Western Railway in Lawrence Hill Station as a Clerk; In the 1911 Census Mark Leslie Kingdon
is a Railway Clerk with the Great Western Railway & visiting with his Uncle Thomas Charles Kingdon, a
School Headmaster at Rackenford School in Creacombe, Morchard Bishop, Devon; Mark Leslie Kingdon
probably served with the British Territorial Army, 6th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment for 3 years
prior to emigrating to Australia; I believe that Mark Leslie Kingdon resigned from the Great Western Railway
Company & was paid up to 31.03.1911; I also believe that Mark Kingdon sailed to Australia at the age of 19
on the Ship ‘Wakool’, arriving in Sydney on 20.06.1911, (this was around the same time that his brother Frank
Kingdon emigrated to Canada); Mark Leslie Kingdon enlisted in the Australian Army in Cootamundra, New
South Wales on 17.04.1916, claiming to be employed as a Journalist & giving his Father, William Henry
Kingdon, #23, Elton Road, Bishopston, Bristol, England as his next of kin; He served initially with ‘D’
Company, 1st Battalion, Cootamundra Depot & then with ‘A’ Company, 4th Battalion, Liverpool, ‘B’ Company
the 4th Battalion Cootamundra & the DBBO Depot Battalion; By this time he was promoted to Acting Sergeant
specifically for the journey to Europe & on 08.11.1916 he was sent to England on board the ‘SS Port
Nicholson’ sailing from Sydney, arriving Devonport, England on 10.01.1917, with the 22nd Reinforcements, 4th
Infantry Battalion; After some further military training at Dorrington & reverting to the rank of Corporal he
was then sent to France on 10.04.1917, where he appears to have been wounded by gun shots to the legs &
arms on 06.05.1917, initially being treated in Rouen, France & declared seriously ill he was again reverted to
the rank of Private & then treated in Edgebaston, England from August 1917 through July 1918; He was
returned to Australia for Discharge on 21.07.1918 on board the H.M.A.T. ‘Boonah’ & finally discharged on
21.09.1918; Mark Leslie Kingdon Died on 24.05.1972 in New South Wales, Australia aged 80 & is buried in a
Cemetery outside Riverina; Awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal & the Victory Medal; (He was the
Brother of Kingdon, Frank Neville: #928576 Private, 153rd (Wellington) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary
Force);
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