Selected Biographies

Wiseman, Frederick – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 6.1.1892.[1]  Parents: Walter Wiseman (Horsehair Curler) and Mary Ann [née Browne] (Silk Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Leonard Albert Wiseman [b1884], William Bertie Wiseman [b1886] and Percy Wiseman [b1890]; also, brother-in-law of Victor William Thompson [b1888].  Home: Brook Street, Glemsford, Suffolk (1901), 100 Trentham Street, Southfields, Wandsworth, London (1911) to [1916].  Occupation: Labourer at Electric Lamp Works (1911).  Service Record: Frederick enlisted in 1915 as Pte.12983 with 6^th [Service] Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s [Royal Berkshire] Regiment, posted to France from 25.7.1915 as part of 53^rd Brigade, 18^th [Eastern] Division.  On 1.7.1916 Private Wiseman’s unit was occupying front-line trenches at Carnoy.  At 7:30 am the battalion launched the first wave attack across no man’s land to German held positions at ‘Mine Trench’ and ‘Casino Point’.  Once these objectives had been taken a second wave was launched beyond this line, to ‘Pommiers Trench’ deeper into the enemy rear.  This objective was taken but at heavy cost, leaving over 300 Berkshires dead, wounded, or missing.[2]  Died: Frederick was listed as missing presumed killed in action on 1.7.1916.  This was the first day of the Battle of Albert, the opening phase of the Somme Offensive.  He is commemorated, together with 72,000 others, on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme [pier and face 11d], Thiepval, Somme, France.[3]

Wiseman, Frederick Stanley – Born: Swanley, Kent ion 27.1.1894.[4]  Parents: Frederick Wiseman of Long Melford (Coachman) and Jane [née Howland].  Family Connections: Brother to William Cecil Wiseman [b1890] and George Harold Wiseman [b1899].  Home: Hook Green, Wilmington, Dartford, Kent (1901), 20 Tredegar Road, Wilmington, Dartford (1911 to 1921), 75 Oakfield Park Road, Dartford (1939).  Occupation: Telegraph Boy (1911), Carpenter [1917] to (1939).  Married: Bertha Winifred Bunce in 1923.  Service Record: Frederick was conscripted on 6.2.1917 as Stoker N^o. K40879 with the Royal Navy, receiving his discharge in June 1919.[5]  Died: Hastings, Kent in 1977.

Wiseman, George Harold – Born: Dartford, Kent on 20.11.1899.[6]  Parents: Frederick Wiseman of Long Melford (Coachman) and Jane [née Howland].  Family Connections: Brother to William Cecil Wiseman [b1890] and Frederick Stanley Wiseman [b1894].  Home: Hook Green, Wilmington, Dartford, Kent (1901), 20 Tredegar Rd, Wilmington, Dartford (1911 to 1921), 11 Tile Kiln Lane, Dartford (1939).  Occupation: Setter and Operator [1918], Turner (1921), Leading Hand Capstan Setter (1939).  Married: Ethel Ellen Openshaw 1897-1998 in 1929.  Service Record: George was conscripted on 14.2.1918 as Aircraft Mechanic N^o. F49984 with the Royal Naval Air Service, posted to France and transferring as N^o.249984 to N^o.5 Squadron of the Royal Air Force on 1.4.1918 being placed on the RAF Reserve in March 1919.[7]  Died: Gravesend, Kent in 1990.

Wiseman, Leonard Albert – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 27.10.1884.[8]  Parents: Walter Wiseman (Horsehair Curler) and Mary Ann [née Browne] (Silk Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to William Bertie Wiseman [b1886], Percy Wiseman [b1890] and Frederick Wiseman [b1892]; also, brother-in-law of Victor William Thompson [b1888] and cousin of Thomas Harold Victor Wiseman [b1891].  Home: St Marys Street, Long Melford (1891), Brook Street, Glemsford, Suffolk (1901), 100 Trentham Street, Southfields, Wandsworth London (1911), 5 Manor Place, Amhurst Road, Hackney, London [1917], 10 Penbury Grove, London (1921), 4 Cavendish Road, Horsey, Middlesex [1924], 47 Park Avenue, Wood Green, Middlesex [1938 to 1945], 20 Caversham Avenue, Palmers Green, Middlesex [1960 to 1973].  Occupation: Coconut Mat Labourer (1901), Draper’s Clerk (1911), Office Manager for a Hosiery Manufacturer (1939).  Married: Florence Alice Young in 1912.  Service Record: Leonard was conscripted in September 1916 as Pte.5623 with 1/5^th [City of London] Battalion [London Rifle Brigade], London Regiment, later transferring as Pte.43916 to 18^th [Service] Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps [Arts and Crafts].  Both battalions saw action during the Third Battles of Ypres in 1917.  Leonard Wiseman was wounded while serving as Rfn.303601 with 1^st London Rifle Brigade, being sent to Queen Mary Military Hospital at Whalley in Lancashire for treatment.[9]  Died: Palmers Green, London on 9.4.1973.[10]

Wiseman, Percy – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 28.3.1890.  Parents: Walter Wiseman (Horsehair Curler) and Mary Ann [née Browne] (Silk Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Leonard Albert Wiseman [b1884], William Bertie Wiseman [b1886] and Frederick Wiseman [b1892]; also, brother-in-law of Victor William Thompson [b1888] and cousin of Thomas Harold Victor Wiseman [b1891].  Home: St Marys Street, Long Melford (1891), Brook Street, Glemsford, Suffolk (1901), High Street, Sonning, Berkshire (1921), 2 Corner Cottage, Chapel Lane, Bagshot, Surrey (1939), 70 Hill View Court, Guildford Road, Woking, Surrey [1970].  Occupation: Junior Gardener [1906], Nurseryman for John Waterer & Sons & Crisp Ltd of Wargrave, Berks. [1915], Nursery Foreman for John Waterer & Sons & Crisp Ltd of Twyford, Berkshire (1921), Nursery Manager at Wargrave Plant Farm of Bagshot, Surrey [1925] to (1939).  Percy Wiseman was a prized cultivator of dwarf rhododendrons and was awarded the Waley Medal in 1953 and was made an Associate of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society the following year.  Married: Lilian Mary Greenfield in 1920.  Service Record: Percy was conscripted on 5.10.1915 as Pte.1968 with 2/6^th [Cyclist] Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, being posted to India from 3.2.1916 to 2.12.1918 as part of 66^th Brigade, 16^th Indian Division.  He was issued with a new number in 1917 as Pte.266214, serving on the Northwest Frontier and seeing action during the Mahsud and Waziri Revolts.  Private Wiseman contracted malaria in July 1917 while stationed in Waziristan, returning to England where he was discharged in July 1919.  Death: Surrey North on 21.8.1970.[11]

Wiseman, Thomas Harold Victor – Born: Marylebone, London on 30.12.1891.[12]  Parents: Thomas Wiseman of Long Melford (Draper’s Porter) and Annie [née Lewis].  Family Connections: Cousin of Leonard Albert Wiseman [b1884], William Bertie Wiseman [b1886], Percy Wiseman [b1890] and Frederick Wiseman [b1892].  Home: 303 Shirland Road, Paddington, London (1901), 34 Huxley Street, Queens Park, Paddington, London (1911) to [1915], 9 St Thomas’s Road, Harlesden, Willesden, Middlesex (1921), 59 North Circular Road, Willesden [1950].  Occupation: Motor Tyre Repairer (1911), Pipe Maker [1915], Storekeeper (1921).  Married: Annie Matilda Dunstone in 1917.  Service Record: Thomas was conscripted on 10.12.1915 as Pte.5472 with 4/2^nd Battalion, London Regiment, being issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged on medical grounds on 19.7.1916.[13]  Died: Willesden, Middlesex on 26.4.1950.[14]

Wiseman, William Bertie – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 9.6.1886.[15]  Parents: Walter Wiseman (Horsehair Curler) and Mary Ann [née Browne] (Silk Weaver).  Family Connections: Brother to Leonard Albert Wiseman [b1884], Percy Wiseman [b1890] and Frederick Wiseman [b1892]; also, brother-in-law of Victor William Thompson [b1888] and cousin of Thomas Harold Victor Wiseman [b1891].  Home: St Marys Street, Long Melford (1891), Brook Street, Glemsford, Suffolk (1901), Trentham Street, Southfields, Wandsworth, London (1911 to 1921), 79 Astonville Street, Southfields (1939) to [1969].  Occupation: Coconut Mat Labourer (1901), Labourer at Horsehair Factory (1911), London Taxi Driver [1915 to 1960].  Married: Laura Cook in 1915.  Service Record: William was coscripted on 10.12.1915 as Pte.M2/181092 with 689^th [Mechanical Transport] Company, Army Service Corps, being posted to Salonika from 9.8.1916 as a lorry driver, attached to the Serbian Army.  He contracted malaria in December 1916 and was taken to N^o. 36 General Field Hospital at Vertekop in Serbia for treatment.  By the end of 1918 the British Salonika Army was reformed into the Army of the Black Sea and sent to Georgia in the Caucasus.  The sending of troops to this region, together with expeditions to Murmansk in Northern Russia, the Baltic, Ukraine, and Vladivostok was an attempt by the Entente powers to support White Russian troops against the Bolshevik Red Army and influence, albeit unsuccessfully, the outcome of the Russian Civil War.  William is recorded as serving with the Black Sea Force when he returned to England on three weeks home leave in April 1919.  This was his last overseas posting, serving with 776^th [MT] Company, Army Service Corps at his discharge in October 1919.[16]  Died: Southfields, Wandsworth, London on 20.7.1969.[17]

Wiseman, William Cyril – Born: Swanley, Kent on 28.2.1890.  Parents: Frederick Wiseman of Long Melford (Coachman) and Jane [née Howland].  Family Connections: Brother to Frederick Stanley Wiseman [b1894] and George Harold Wiseman [b1899].  Home: Hook Green, Wilmington, Kent (1901), lodging with Samuel Davies at 1 Catherine Villas, Ham, Surrey (1911), 26 Havelock Road, Dartford [1969].  Occupation: Gardener (1911).  Married: Lilian Binks in 1927.  Service Record: William was conscripted on 17.11.1915 as Ordinary Seaman N^o. Z/4239 with the Royal Navy, attached to 4^th [Collingwood] Battalion.  On 16.12.1916 he transferred to 6^th [Howe] Battalion and was posted to France as part of 188^th Brigade, 63^rd [Royal Naval] Division in the valley of the river Ancre.  During a large-scale assault on German positions defending the village of Miraumont on 17.2.1917, William received a bullet wound to his left forearm, invaliding him to England for treatment.  He was discharged in February 1919.[18]  Died: Dartford, Kent on 31.8.1969.

Related Biographies

Alexander, Henry Cecil – Born: Ipswich, Suffolk on 20.7.1899.[19]  Parents: Henry Chamberlain Alexander (Clothier) and Harriet Clara Alice [née Hodgson].  Home: 16 Cromwell Street, Ipswich (1911) to [1918], 21 Moorfield Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk (1939).  Occupation: Master Gents Outfitter (1939).  Married: Doris Elizabeth Wiseman in 1925.  Service Record: Henry enlisted on 1.8.1917 and was granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant with the Royal Flying Corps from August 1917 training as a pilot, and after April 1918 as No.21311 with the Royal Air Force, receiving his discharge in April 1919.[20]  Died: Ipswich, Suffolk on 25.3.1994.

Thompson, Victor William – Born: Cavendish, Suffolk on 6.12.1888.[21]  Parents: Richard Thompson (Maltster) and Thirza [née Bearman].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of Leonard Albert Wiseman [b1884], William Bertie Wiseman [b1886], Percy Wiseman [b1890] and Frederick Wiseman [b1892] all of Long Melford.  Home: Peacock Road, Cavendish, Suffolk (1891), Poole Street, Cavendish (1901), High Street, West Mersea, Essex (1911) 36 Sandringham Road, Willesden Green, London. (1921 to 1939).  Occupation: Carpenter and Joiner (1911 to 1939).  Married: Minnie Ethel Wiseman of Long Melford in 1914.  Service Record: Victor enlisted on 12.1.1914 as Pte.510052 with the Royal Army Medical Corps being posted to various Field Ambulance units in Salonika from December 1916 until his discharge in 1919.[22]  Died: Willesden, Middlesex in 1957.

Notes – [1] Baptism Register 10.3.1892, St Catherines Mission Church, Long Melford. [2] For details of the action see 6^th Royal Berkshire’s War Diary [WO 95/2037/1], and for a broader view of the Battle of Albert see Chris M^cCarthy, The Somme: The Day-by-Day Account [London: Brockhampton Press, 1998], pp.16-33.  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [3] Commonwealth War Graves Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [ref: 497962].  [4] 1939 Register.  [5] Royal Navy Registers of Seaman’s Services [ADM 188/948].  [6] 1939 Register.  [7] RN Record [ADM 188/641], Royal Air Force Airman’s Records [AIR 79/2254], and Royal Navy Medal and Award Rolls [ADM 171]119].  [8] Baptism Register 4.1.1885 Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [9] Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372]. [10] My thanks to Nicola Godwin of Sudbury, for bringing this and other Wiseman records to my attention, and for allowing me access to photographs from her family archive.  Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [11] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 22.5.1890, St Catherines Mission Church, Long Melford.  For Percy’s professional biography see https://waterersnursery.co.uk.  For details of 2/6^th Royal Sussex’s movements on the Northwest Frontier see War Diary [WO 95/5414].  See also his 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].  I am extremely grateful to Nicola Godwin of Sudbury for sending me Percy’s biography and photograph.  Date of death from the RHS Journal, 1971 cited by Nicola Godwin.  [12] Baptism Register 7.2.1892 St Marys Church, Bryanston Square, Westminster.  [13] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372], and [WO 329] Silver War Badge [ref: 212767].  [14] National Probate Calendar.  [15] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 5.9.1886, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  The 1939 Register for Wandsworth and the Death Index however records his month of birth as July.  [16] For details of 689^th Company’s movements during the Salonika Campaign see War Diary [WO 95/4814].  See also his 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]. [17] My thanks to Nicola Godwin of Sudbury for sharing the information on her great uncle.  [18] Royal Navy Record [ADM 339/481] and Royal Navy Medal and Award Rolls [ADM 171]/129].  [19] Date of birth taken from his RAF Record.  [20] Royal Air Force, Airmen’s service records 1912-1939 & RAF Officer Service Records, 1918-1919.  [21] 1939 Register.  [22] Soldiers’ Documents and Pension Claims, First World War [WO 364], [WO 329] Silver War Badge ref:469347], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].