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| From the Cambrian News and
Merionethshire Standard, 13th July 1917 |
Today however, I am focusing on the remarkable story of one family living in 17, Mill Street, who had four of its men serve in the war. Using an array of records and archived material, I have been able to piece together the story of this remarkable family.
Before the Great War
Our story begins in late 1874, when Emma Smith marries Samuel Bluck. Though the couple were living in Aberystwyth at this time, they were both born in Shropshire and it is therefore possible they met in their hometown before relocating to Aberystwyth. It seems they were a rather ordinary couple; they both operated as innkeepers, with censuses indicating they first ran the Prince of Wales Inn, and then later the Cross Foxes. They had six children together: Frances Louisa (1876), Samuel Dick (1880), Harry (1883), Samuel (1885) and Anne (1888). Tragically, their first son, Samuel Dick, died in early 1885, aged four. The high infant mortality rate associated with the Victorian era meant that losing a child was unfortunately not uncommon. It is likely that Emma was widowed in 1893, though the death record of her husband does contain some small discrepancies. It seems Emma never remarried; instead, she single-handedly raised her five children and ran a thriving community pub in Aberystwyth – a feat which indicates her strong will. The children did, of course, assist with the inn as they grew up, with both Samuel and Harry Bluck registered as barmen in the 1911 census. Even when they were just toddlers, Samuel and Harry were registered as innkeepers in their baptism records!
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| The Mill Inn, George Street (formerly the Cross Foxes) |
From Aberstwyth to Australia
Emma’s eldest surviving son, Harry Bluck, led an extraordinary life. His school records state he was born in Borth (July 1883) and that he was able to speak English and Welsh. It is interesting to observe that whilst the three older children (Samuel, Harry and Emma) were all bilingual, the youngest daughter, Anne, and four grandchildren were not. This is possibly a reflection of the decline of the Welsh language, as education became increasingly anglicized.
It seems that Harry chose to emigrate to Australia in 1913. His emigration papers state he embarked on this long journey on 12th September 1913, abroad the ‘Otranto’, when he was 29. There is some ambiguity here, as there are records confirming Harry married a ‘Margaret Jones’ in 1908, a marital status which is confirmed by the 1911 census. Harry Bluck and his wife, Margaret, had a daughter (Catherine Gwenllian), who was born and died in the summer of 1908. It appears they separated shortly after this, with the 1911 census showing Harry living at his family home in Mill Street, and Margaret living with her brother in Great Darkgate Street.
On 27th February 1916, Bluck enlisted as a corporal in the 4th Field Artillery Brigade in the Australian Imperial Force. By 1922, Harry had remarried, and was living with his new wife, Alice, in Perth, Western Australia.
Samuel Bluck (102692)
Up until 1911, Samuel appears to have helped his mother run the Cross Foxes, before later becoming a railway clerk. Bluck enlisted in the army in December 1915 and was first posted out to France in June of 1916. He is listed as a Private/Gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery and was posted out to France several times throughout 1916 and 1917. On 28 October 1916, Bluck is recorded as having sprained his ankle in the field and was invalided back to England to recuperate. This is where his fortune ends however. According to his Active Service Casualty Form, Samuel was posted to France on 13th June 1917, and was tragically killed in action on 25th June 1917, by a shell splinter. He is buried in Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery, Belgium.
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| Photo from West Wales War Memorial Project |
Samuel’s death is recorded in the Cambrian News, an article which gives us a small insight into the emotional devastation that war wrought. According to this report, Emma Bluck received a letter from her son, Samuel, on the morning of Monday 2nd July, detailing that he was well and safe. That very same afternoon, a letter was received from the Major of his regiment, informing her of Sam’s death. In this, he is described as a hero; apparently, ‘Some men were wounded by shell fire and he rushed off with other men to their rescue’, during which he was fatally hit by a shell splinter. It is difficult to imagine the sheer pain that Emma must have felt through that day.
To feel such relief and joy at hearing from her son the very same morning of the day she receives news of his death is more tragic than we can comprehend. Though we cannot find the death record for Emma Bluck, it is possible that she died shortly after receiving news of her son’s death, for on his Army Service Records, she has been crossed out as his Next of Kin, and the details of his sister, Emma, have been inserted above. In a letter dated April 19th, 1921, Emma Humphreys names herself as Next of Kin, in order to receive his memorial plaque.
Edward George Humphreys
Samuel’s nephew, Edward George, was born in Aberystwyth on 14th January 1897, and in the 1911 Census, is listed as a hotel proprietor – perhaps helping to run the family business. Though he was only seventeen at the time, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery on 4th April 1914, before war had even broken out. No doubt, the abrasive rise of nationalism, militarism and imperialism meant one could have clearly seen war brewing in the heart of Europe. On his enlistment papers, Edward George has his trade as an apprentice hairdresser to a ‘Mr H Cadwallader’ of Great Darkgate Street. At some point during the war, Edward George was transferred into the RAF, now being recorded under the service number 168359. He survived the war remarkably unscathed (though he did receive 3 days of field punishment in 1918 for not complying with an order) and continued to serve in the territorial forces after it was over. By the time he was discharged on 31st March 1920, he had served for 5 years and 330 days!
John Llewellyn Humphreys
We can see from an article in the Welsh Gazette and West Wales Advertiser, that Emma Humphreys’ second son, John Llewellyn was born on 25th July 1900. It seems he served both during the war, and afterwards, perhaps following in the military footsteps of his older brother. In January 1919, he lists his trade as a horse keeper. Intriguingly, John Llewellyn names his mother as a ‘Jane Elizabeth’ in his Army Service Records, living at the same address as his uncle, Harry Bluck. Though we know with all credible evidence that his actual birth mother was Emma Humphreys, it might be that Emma Humphreys had died shortly after the war ended, and John Llewellyn switched to using his wife as next of kin instead. There are no records to confirm this however, so sadly it is a question that will remain unanswered. Between November 1919 and January 1923, it seems that John Llewellyn was posted to India. He was discharged on 9th February 1923 as a Corporal, with a ‘very good’ character remark on his records.
Blog by Alice Sargent, Project Assistant
Sources:
The Cambrian News
Welsh Gazette and West Wales Advertiser
West Wales War Memorials Project https://www.wwwmp.co.uk/
Find My Past https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
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