Comments

Hi Simon,

I cannot help you with gravestones for the Tilley family as I live abroad but I do have some information on them as Henry Tilley is my 5 x Great grandfather.  My line comes first through his son William and then William's daughter Harriet.

If you think I may have info that would be of interest to you,  I would be happy to share it with you.

Elizabeth

Not knowing the Washer family I can't comment on the herring.

I've had a dig around in Ancestry and believe that Clyde Evan Washer was born 24/01/1886 in San Diego, California. I don't know when he came to Britain but was here in 1908 when issued a Competency as Second Mate in the Merchant Service at the Port of Cardiff. There are various certificates and Navy Lists 1914-1939 so he mst have signed up here early in the war.  He died in Swansea.

There is another Washer in the Navy records, George Edward, but jis connections are Kent. Born 1886 Gravesend, died 1959 Kent. Census 1911 has him Master of a tug in Brixham. Navy lists 1917, Sub-Lieutenant RNVR, 1919 Lietenant RNVR, 1944 Temporary Commander RNR.

Only two I've found with naval connections, so far.  

The only reference I found so far to an HMS Petrel or Peterel is not to a submarine.

From Wikipedia: HMS Peterel 1899-1919
HMS Peterel was one of two Spiteful-class destroyers [B Class Destroyer] to serve with the Royal Navy. She was built by Palmers, was 215 feet long and the 6,200 H.P. produced by her Reed boilers gave her a top speed of 30 knots. She was armed, as was standard, with a twelve pounder and two torpedo tubes. She served in home waters during the Great War and was sold off after hostilities ended in 1919.

“… name differed from the accepted modern day spelling for Petrel as per the bird as it reprised the name of the original ship to bear the name (in the eighteenth century "Peterel" had been an accepted alternative spelling).”

I found a reference to HMS Peterel in, “Scarborough Seafarers Lost At Sea 1918”. A telegram to Naval Headquarters at Immingham reporting the sinking of two vessels in a convoy, HMS Petrel being one of the escorts; “‘H.M.S. Petrel H.M.S. Bat, H.M.S. Ouse and escort force T.U.26 arrived 0600 convoy correct except…” This placed her in the North Sea in 1918.

There is the possibility that if Captain Washer of HMS Petrel was in the Indian Ocean in 1917 he may not have been aboard the Petrel at that time. It may be that he was not referring to the Destroyer Peterel/Petrel but to a submarine of that name (with the modern spelling) that hasn’t yet appeared on my searches.  I’ll keep looking.

Do you have an approximate date and place for the marriage of Walter FINCH?  I assumeAda WASHER was born in Bridgwater in about 1890 - is that the same one?

According to the GRO Index her sister Catherine Grace WASHER married Charles Wilfrid BLAKE in 1921  (did they both change the order of their names?)  By the way, they are living in Torquay in 1939.  When were they in Weston?    There is an Ada L FINCH born 1890 in Torquay in 1939 as well but I don't know who she is living with.

Do you have a first name for Capt WASHER?

In 1919 a Lieut. Clyde Evan WASHER, R.N.R. was mentioned in Dispatches - probably a red herring!

I've been sent this from a member is case it might be useful. 

Regarding the RAF Burial another member has recommended Wings over New Zealand as a useful site for queries about New Zealand Pilots.  I see that the originator of this query has already used this site.