Selected Biographies

Wellum, Bernard Ernest – Born: Woolwich, Kent on 14.4.1897.[1]  Parents: Walter John Wellum of Long Melford (Insurance Agent) [see below for his military record] and Ellen [née Stirzaker].  Family Connections: Half-brother to Sydney Walter Wellum [b1911], nephew of Frederick William Wellum [b1878] and Cuthbert Downs Wellum [b1881]; also, cousin of Frederick Cuthbert Wellum [b1910].  Home: Willow Terrace, Roade, Hardingstone, Northamptonshire (1901), visiting his mother, a servant for Anne Hope Forster at 25 Dora Road, Wimbledon, Surrey (1911).  Occupation: Telegraph Boy (1911).  Married: Marie Louise Courtenay in 1920.  Service Record: Bernard enlisted in 1915 as Pte.12059 with the Royal Army Medical Corps, being posted to France from 28.8.1915 where he may have served as a stretcher-bearer.  He was issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged in July 1919 due to sickness.[2]  Died: Private Wellum died on 11.7.1921 while working for the Imperial War Graves Commission in France and is buried in Albert Community Cemetery Extension (grave ref: S.1A], Albert, Somme, France.[3]

Wellum, Charles – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1834.  Parents: Parents: William Wellum (Agricultural Labourer) and Charlotte [née Ducesett].  Family Connections: Brother to William Walter Wellum [b1823] and Joseph Alfred Wellum [b1827].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1841 to 1851), 2 Wiffins Yard, Cross Street, Sudbury, Suffolk (1881), Cross Street, Sudbury (1891).  Occupation: Factory Hand (1851), Bricklayer’s Labourer (1881).  Married: Emma Brown [aka Amos] in 1882.  Criminal Record: Following his wife’s death in 1891 he may have turned to drink for solace, his resulting behaviour bringing him before the Sudbury Petty Sessions on numerous of occasions.  By May 1899 when he received a sentence of a month’s hard labour for being found drunk and disorderly having been convicted on similar charges sixteen times before.  In August he was sentenced to another month’s hard labour for shouting obscenities from a donkey cart he was driving in Ballingdon Street.  In March 1900 he was charged with ‘sleeping out without having any visible means of subsistence’ in Byfords Yard near his old home in Cross Street.  Offered a place in the local workhouse, which he declined with the comment that ‘Liberty was sweet’ and was given fourteen days hard labour as an alternative.[4]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1901.

Wellum, Charles Harold – Born: West Ham, Essex on 26.10.1885.[5]  Parents: John Ebenezer Wellum of Long Melford (Commercial Traveller) and Eleanor Louisa [née Stanton].  Family Connections: Brother to Frank Ernest Wellum [b1887].  Home: 4 Latimer Road, Winton, Christchurch, Hampshire (1901), 25 Talbot Road, Bournemouth (1921), 132 Leigh Road, Westbury, Wiltshire (1939).  Occupation: Boot Seller’s Apprentice (1901), Boot Salesman (1921), Boot Shop Manager (1939).  Service Record: Harold was conscripted as Pte.356363 with 1/6^th [Duke of Connaught’s Own] Battalion, Hampshire Regiment.  This unit was posted to Basra from September 1917 as part of 52^nd Indian Infantry Brigade, 17^th Indian Division, seeing action in October 1918 at Fat-ha Gorge and the Battle of Sharqat.[6]  Died: Warminster, Wiltshire in 1974.

Wellum, Cuthbert Downs – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 6.6.1881.[7]  Parents: William John Wellum (Master Boot Maker) and Harriett [née Downs].  Family Connections: Father to Frederick Cuthbert Wellum [b1910], and brother Walter John Wellum [b1874] and Frederick William Wellum [b1878]; also, uncle of Bernard Ernest Wellum [b1897] and Sydney Walter Wellum [b1911].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1891), 41 Fifth Avenue, Aston, Birmingham, Warwickshire (1901 and 1911), 128 Flaxley Road, Stechford, Birmingham (1939) to [1969].  Occupation: Gunsmith (1901), Railway Bonus Checker (1911), Railway Goods Checker (1939).  Married: Charlotte Eleanor Farr in 1908.  Service Record: Cuthbert enlisted in 1900 as Pte.5658 with 3^rd [Reserve] Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, being discharged in 1901.  It is not known if he saw service during the First World War as no definitive record has been found.[8]  Died: Birmingham, Warwickshire on 15.2.1969.[9]

Wellum, Emma – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 15.12.1864.[10]  Parents: Burgess Wellum and Hannah [née Sargent], (both working at the Horsehair Factory).  Family Connections: Mother to Walter Charles Wellum [b1886]; also, niece of William Walter Wellum [b1823], Joseph Alfred Wellum [b1827] and Charles Wellum [b1834], and aunt of Frederick Wellum [b1891].  Home: Dixeys Yard, Hall Street, Long Melford (1871), Hall Street, Long Melford (1881), St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1891).  Occupation: Horsehair Weaver (1881).  Court Record: In November 1886 Emma made an application for child maintenance from Clement Theobald at the Melford Petty Sessions.  Theobald, a 55-year-old builder living in the village, was accused of fathering a child out of wedlock with the 21-year-old complainant. Despite the testimony of the defendant’s wife seeking to cast aspersions on Emma’s moral character the court ordered that Theobald should pay maintenance of 2s 6d a week until the child was thirteen.[11]  Thirty-four years earlier Clement Theobald had been before the court on identical charges when in 1852 Emma Ottley sought maintenance for her daughter.  Died: Emma was admitted as a patient to the Suffolk County Asylum at Woodbridge in 1897 where she died on 31.7.1914.[12]

Wellum, Frank Ernest – Born: West Ham, Essex on 1.5.1887.[13]  Parents: John Ebenezer Wellum of Long Melford (Commercial Traveller) and Eleanor Louisa [née Stanton].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles Harold Wellum [b1885]. Home: 10 Bryanstone Road, Bournemouth, Hampshire (1911), The Briars, Roslin Road, Bournemouth [1917], Berwyn, Rutland Road, Winton, Bournemouth [1920], 40 Firs Glen Road, Bournemouth (1939) to [1964].  Occupation: Elementary School Teacher (1911), Assistant Schoolmaster (1939).  Married: Queenie Peters in 1917.  Service Record: A Lieutenant in Hampshire Regiment, Frank was posted to France on 2.5.1916, issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged 31.2.1917.[14]  During the Second World War Wellum acted as the Air Raid Precaution Warden for his school.  Died: Bournemouth, Hampshire on 19.3.1964.[15]

Wellum, Frederick – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 10.6.1891.[16]  Parents: Alfred Edward Wellum (Coconut Mat Weaver) and Kate [née Norman].  Family Connections: Nephew of Emma Wellum [b1864] and cousin of Walter Charles Wellum [b1886].  Home: St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1901 and 1911), 16 Station Road, Long Melford [1916] to [1950].  Occupation: Cabinet Maker (1911) to [1916], Carpenter [1919] to (1939).  Married: Ethel Ruth Clark in 1912.  Service Record: Frederick was conscripted on 27.10.1916 as Pte.181176 of 341^st [Home Service] Works Company, Labour Corps.  He contracted influenza on 4.11.1918 and was discharged from the Army in February 1919.[17]  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 5.5.1950.[18]

Wellum, Frederick Cuthbert – Born: Aston, Warwickshire on 20.10.1910.[19]  Parents: Cuthbert Downs Wellum of Long Melford (Railway Goods Checker) [see above for military details] and Charlotte Eleanor [née Farr].  Family Connections: Nephew of Walter John Wellum [b1874] and Frederick William Wellum [b1878]; also, cousin of Bernard Ernest Wellum [b1897] and Sydney Walter Wellum [b1911].  Home: 41 Fifth Avenue, Aston, Birmingham, Warwickshire (1911 to 1921), 62 Ventnor Avenue, Birmingham (1939).  Occupation: Insurance Clerk (1939).  Married: May Caroline Thomson in 1938.  Service Record: Frederick enrolled as an Auxiliary Firemen in Birmingham during the Second World War.  Died: Meriden, Warwickshire in 1976.

Wellum, Frederick William – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 13.12.1877.[20]  Parents: William John Wellum (Master Boot Maker) and Harriett [née Downs].  Family Connections: Brother to Walter John Wellum [b1874] and Cuthbert Downs Wellum [b1881]; also, uncle of Bernard Ernest Wellum [b1897], Sydney Walter Wellum [b1911] and Frederick Cuthbert Wellum [b1910].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1881 and 1891), recorded as William Wellum lodging at Henley Street, Alcester, Warwickshire (1901), Butter Street, Alcester (1911), Seggs Lane, Brooklyn, Alcester (1939) to [1966].  Occupation: Tailor’s Apprentice (1891), Breeches Maker (1901), Tailor (1911 to 1939).  Married: Clara Annie Skinner in 1902.  Service Record: Frederick was conscripted on 9.6.1916 as a Pte.31701 with the Royal Flying Corps, posted to France from 2.10.1916 to 3.3.1919 and employed as a Sailmaker and Fabric Worker, repairing battle-damaged aircraft.  On 1.4.1918 he was transferred as Corporal N^o. 31701 to the Royal Air Force, receiving his discharge in April 1920.[21]  Died: Alcester, Warwickshire on 20.5.1966.[22]

Wellum, Joseph Alfred – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1827.  Parents: Parents: William Wellum (Agricultural Labourer) and Charlotte [née Ducesett].  Family Connections: Brother to William Walter Wellum [b1823] and Charles Wellum [b1834].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1841), Inmate of HM Prison, Chatham, Kent (1871), Inmate of HM Prison, Portland, Dorset (1881), Workhouse, Walnut Tree Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk (1911).  Occupation: Plasterer [1876], Bricklayer’s Labourer (1881 to 1911).  Criminal Record: In July 1866 at the Ipswich Quarter Sessions, Joseph Wellum was convicted of Larceny together with his partner in crime James Lawrence, both men receiving a three-month sentence with hard labour.  The local paper reported on the heinous nature of the crime namely the stealing of a bag containing bread, cheese, meat and beer, the breakfast of a farm labourer which had been left under the hedge of a field the man was working.  Within a matter of days after his release he was back again behind bars, this time for stealing some pears, resulting in a spell behind bars in Springfield Prison.  Again, only days after his release he stole a pair of lady’s shoes which he gave to a local baker for bread and a few herrings; another two months hard labour was handed down.  In the summer of 1868, he was arrested for stealing a shirt valued at one shilling from a washing line, held in Sudbury Town Gaol pending his trial at the Quarter Sessions, where he given stinging sentence of seven years penal servitude.  He is still a guest of Her Majesty at Chatham Prison at the time of the 1871 Census.  By 1875 Joseph’s life was becoming ever more chaotic.  At the Sudbury Petty Sessions in September 1876, described as a tramp, he was convicted of stealing a pair of boots from outside Bugg and Co’s shoe shop on Market Hill, the stolen items later being found in the possession of a fellow tramp named Gaskin who had bought the boots from Wellum earlier that day.  Despite a guilty plea and the pettiness of the crime he was handed a term of seven years penal servitude, five previous convictions having been taken into consideration.  On the next Census five years later, he is incarcerated on the Isle of Portland in Dorset.  Poverty appears to have driven the man to petty thievery, and as a pauper he would spend time in the Union Workhouse in Sudbury in 1911.[23]  Service Record: At his trial for theft in 1868 Joseph stated to the court that he had lately been a soldier.  Although no definitive record exists, he appears to have enlisted around 1851 as Gunner/Driver with 8^th Company, 11^th Battalion, Royal Artillery.  If this assumption is correct, then ten years later he was stationed on the islands of Malta and Corfu as Gnr.157 with 6^th Brigade.[24]  Died: Union Workhouse, Sudbury, Suffolk in 1913.[25]

Wellum, Percy Horace – Born: Walthamstow, Essex in 1892.  Parents: Samuel Augustus Wellum of Long Melford (Off Licence Manager) and Sarah [née Oliver].  Home: 1 Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, Essex (1901), Royal Hunt Villa, Fern Park Road, Ascot, Berkshire [1915], 1 Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow [1932], The Bungalow, Ufford Bridge, Northamptonshire [1951].  Occupation: Wine Merchant [1932].  Married: Edith Jane Freeman in 1918.  Service Record: Enlisting on 10.9.1914 as N^o. Z/293 with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Percy was quickly promoted to Petty Officer.  He was transferred to 3^rd [Benbow] Battalion, then to 6^th [Howe] Battalion both units under the command of 63^rd Royal Naval Division.  He was appointed a Sub-Lieutenant on 11.5.1915 and posted first to Gallipoli then to France.  Promoted to Acting Lieutenant on 20.2.1917 he was appointed Town Major of Ecoiyres, Pas de Calais on 23 4.1917.  He transferred to the Royal Air Force in 1918 to train as a Pilot, being granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant on 1.4.1918.[26]  In 1932 he obtained a civilian pilot’s licence,[27] during the Second World War serving as a Voluntary Flight Officer with the Defence Cadet Corps.[28]  Died: Peterborough, Northamptonshire on 3.12.1951.[29]

Wellum, Sydney Walter – Born: Hove, Sussex in 1911.  Parents: Walter John Wellum of Long Melford (Insurance Agent) [see below for his military record] and Ellen Maud [née Buckfield].  Family Connections: Half-brother of Bernard Ernest Wellum [b1897], nephew of Frederick William Wellum [b1878] and Cuthbert Downs Wellum [b1881]; also, cousin of Frederick Cuthbert Wellum [b1910].  Home: 8 Gordon Road, Portslade-by-Sea, Shoreham, Sussex (1911), 11 Buckingham Place, Landport, Portsmouth, Hampshire (1921).  Occupation: Musician [1927].  Married: Kathleen Parsey in 1946.  Service Record: Sydney enlisted in 1927 as Pte.316195 with the Royal Tank Corps, discharged on compassionate grounds one year later.[30]  Died: London on 17.1.1998.[31]

Wellum, Walter Charles – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 7.9.1886.[32]  Parents: Emma Wellum and Clement Theobald [see Emma’s entry for details of the court case].  Family Connections: Half-brother to Clement Theobald [b1872] and cousin of Frederick Wellum [b1891].  Home: St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1891 and 1901), Military Barracks in Egypt (1911).  Occupation: Coconut Mat Maker (1901), Soldier [1906 to 1918].  Service Record: Up to 1906 Walter was a volunteer with 3^rd [Militia] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.  In 1906 he attested as Pte.7261 with 1^st Battalion, Suffolks, serving in Malta and Egypt up to 1913.  He transferred to 2^nd Suffolks and was posted to France as part of 14^th Brigade, 5^th Division, seeing action at the Battle of Mons on 23.8.1914 and at the Battle of Le Cateau three days later.  This fiercely fought rearguard action saw the near destruction of Wellum’s unit, with only 111 out of nearly 1,000 men answering roll call the following day.  Together with hundreds of his comrades, Walter was taken into captivity, spending the rest of the war in a prison camp at Döberitz in Germany, being repatriated on 14.12.1918.  At least five other Melford men from 2^nd Suffolks were killed or captured that day: Percy George Lawrence [b1895], David Manning [b1885], Alfred Martin [b1890], Harry Pettitt [b1877] and Stanley Arthur Wordley [b1894].  Their stories are to be found elsewhere in this Roll.[33]  Died: Sudbury, Suffolk in 1922.

Wellum, Walter John – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1874.  Parents: William John Wellum (Master Boot Maker) and Harriett Mary [née Downs].  Family Connections: Father to Bernard Ernest Wellum [b1897] and Sydney Walter Wellum [b1911]; also, brother of Frederick William Wellum [b1877] and Cuthbert Downs Wellum [b1881], and uncle of Frederick Cuthbert Wellum [b1910].  Home: Hall Strret, Long Melford (1881 to 1891), Willow Terrace, Roade, Hardingstone, Northamptonshire (1901), 8 Gordon Road, Portslade-by-Sea, Shoreham, Sussex (1911), 16 Greenwood Road, Croydon, Surrey [1920], 38 Princes Street, Tonbridge Wells, Kent (1921), Zantevoode, Clanfield, Hampshire [1925], The Nook, Park Lane, Cowplain, Catherington, Hants [1926], 22 St Edwards Road, Alverstoke, Hants [1927], Birkin House, Inworth, Essex [1928 to 1929], 10 Greenhill Avenue, Caterham, Surrey [1937].  Occupation: Grocer’s Apprentice (1891), Insurance Agent (1901), Gardener (1911).  Married: Ellen Stirzaker [d1897] in 1895, Emma Naylor in 1897 and Ellen Maud Buckfield in 1911.  Service Record: Walter enlisted with the Army Service Corps before the outbreak of the First World War, rising to the rank of Warrant Officer by 1915, granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1916, posted to France in January 1917 and promoted to Lieutenant by the end of hostilities. He left the army in 1920.[34]  Died: South-East Surrey 1939.

Wellum, William Walter – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1823.  Parents: William Wellum (Agricultural Labourer) and Charlotte [née Ducesett].  Family Connections: Brother to Joseph Alfred Wellum [b1827] and Charles Wellum [b1834].  Home: Hall Street, Long Melford (1841).  Occupation: Professional Soldier [1842 to 1862].  Service Record: William enlisted in 1842 as a Pte.3249 with 94^th Regiment of Foot, promoted to Sergeant, transferring in 1854 to 43^rd Regiment of Light Infantry, promoted to Colour Sergeant in 1861 and serving in India for twenty until his discharge in 1862.[35]

Notes – [1] Date of birth from Admission Register 17.1.1901, Roade School, Roade, Northamptonshire. [2] Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War, Silver War Badge [WO 329] record [ref: B295492], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372]. [3] General Register Office: Consular Deaths Vol.15, No. 135 and Commonwealth War Graves Commission record.  [4] ‘Liberty is Sweet’ The South-West Suffolk Echo 13.5.1899 and 31.3.1900.  [5] 1939 Register.  [6] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329/1274] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [7] 1939 Register.  [8] Chelsea Hospital British Army Service Record [WO 97] up to 1901.  [9] Date of death from London Gazette, 13.5.1969, Issue 44847, p.5084.  [10] Baptism Register of 1.12.1867 for Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [11] Bury Free Press 27.11.1886.  [12] Commissioners in Lunacy, 1845–1913. Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, Series MH 94; Piece: 33.  [13] 1939 Register.  [14] London Gazette 9.2.1915, Silver War Badge [WO 329/3247], Service Record [WO 339/32882], Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: OAF 262496] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372]. [15] National Probate Calendar.  [16] Baptism Register 30.7.1891, St Catherines Mission Church, Long Melford. [17] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363]. [18] National Probate Calendar.  [19] 1939 Register.  [20] 1939 Register.  [21] RAF Muster Roll and Air Member for Personnel and predecessors: Airman’s Records [AIR 79/314]. [22] National Probate Calendar.  [23] Home Office: Criminal Registers, England and Wales, 1805-1892 [HO 27/145], The Suffolk Chronicle 28.9.1867 and 11.4.1868, The Essex Standard 3.12.1867 and 15.9.1876, Bury Free Press 14.7.1866, 1.2.1868, 21.10.1876, Suffolk and Essex Free Press 6.2.1868, 20.8.1868, ‘An Incorrigible Thief’ 29.10.1868.  [24] Commissary General of Musters Office and successors: Artillery Muster Books and Pay Lists [WO 10/2057 and 10/2533].  [25] Image courtesy of England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935 [ref: PCOM 2/99].  [26] Royal Naval Division: Records of Service [ADM 339/0464 and ADM 339/0031], Royal Navy Lists 1916 and 1919; see also the London Gazette 17.12.1918.  [27] Royal Aero Club Aviator’s Certificate No.10536.  [28] 1939 Register.  [29] National Probate Calendar.  [30] Royal Tank Corps Enlistment Records, 1919-1934.  [31] National Probate Calendar.  [32] Baptism Register 17.3.1887, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [33] For details of 2^nd Suffolk’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/1424/1] and Lieutenant-Colonel C.C.R. Murphy, The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927 [London: Hutchinson and Co, 1928], pp.21-27 and 31-36.  See also his PoW Record International Committee of the Red Cross [file ref: PA96], Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [34] On 21.3.1915 he is recorded as a Warrant Officer at the baptism of his daughter May per Baptism Register of Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford [Bury Record Office ref: FL509/4/18], London Gazette 14.11.1916, Supplement to the London Gazette 21.2.1917 and Index to the London Gazette for 1920.  Service Record [WO 339/77321], Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: OA142518], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329/2278 and 329/77321], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372/21/81166].  [35] Chelsea Pensioner. Service Record [WO 97/1524].