Stories from the Station: William Puddicombe, Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve

William Puddicombe (NRNR)

Date of Birth: 14 May 1889

Place of Birth: Cook’s Harbour, Newfoundland

Date of Death: 25 January 1917

Burial Place: Beaumont-Hamel Cemetery, Somes, France

NRNR ID: 2136X

Enlistment Date: August 10th, 1916

Served at HM Wireless Station: August 10th, 1916 to November 14th, 1916 

Position: Telegraphist

Appearance (as described in Service Record). 

Height:  5’ 7”

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Grey 

Complexion: Fresh

Early Life 

William Puddicombe was born on May 14th 1889, in Cook’s Harbour in the Great Northern Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador. He was the third child of Frederick Puddicombe and Ann Macy. His parents were married in Cape Norman on October 24th 1878. William had two older siblings: Sarah Puddicombe (1880 to 1956) and Edmund John Puddicombe (1882 to 1910). In 1889, William’s mother died in Cook’s Harbour. His father passed away several years thereafter in 1913, prior to the start of the First World War.

Naval Life

William enlisted in the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve on August 10th 1916. He trained on the H.M.S. Briton under the supervision of Lieutenant Commander Anthony MacDermott for 28 days.

William Puddicombe Service Record

Image courtesy of the Rooms Provincial Archives 

GN 182.3:2150x

After his training, William served as a telegraphist for the H.M. Wireless Station. Some of his colleagues at the station were people such as Ernest Murley, Nicholas Avery and Warrant Telegraphist Henry William Candey. While working at the H.M. Wireless Station, William would have spent most of his time working in the Transmission and Receiving Rooms in the operations building. William served at the station until November 16th 1916.

⅛ Scale Drawing of the H.M. Wireless Operating Building

the Transmission Room and the Receiving Room located on the bottom drawing to the right and highlighted in red. 

Photo Courtesy of Admiralty House Communications Museum

Following his service in Newfoundland, William was transferred to Devonport where he was stationed at H.M.S. Vivid for more intensive training. After his time in Devonport, he was sent to the. Laurentic where he served as a telegraphist from December 11th 1916 until January 1917.

Death

S.S Laurentic 

Photo Acessed at titanic-whitestarships.com

The S.S Laurentic was a steam ship owned by the White Star Line. During the war she was used as an armed merchant cruiser, sailing between Great Britain and North America. William worked on this ship until January 25th 1917. It was on this day that she left Northern Ireland bound for North America, boarded with gold to help pay for the war effort. Within an hour of leaving Lough Swilly, off the coast of Donegal, the S.S. Laurentic struck two mines, one on her port side, and the other under her engine room. This left the boat completely disable meaning they had no means of communications with other boats within range of where she was sinking.

Lough Swilly, Northern Ireland 

Image courtesy of Google Maps.

Evening Telegram January 31st, 1917

Image Courtesy of Memorial Digital Archive Initiative

The crew of the wrecked S.S. Laurentic abandoned the ship only to be rescued many hours later by local fishermen. According to the Evening Telegraph, by the time the men were rescued many of the lifeboats had started taking on water. In total, 12 officers and 109 men survived the shipwreck. In contrast, 321 crew members perished due to the harsh elements of the North Atlantic.

Newfoundland, Canada, Briths, Marriages and Deaths 1850 to 1949 for William Puddicombe 

Image courtesy of Anscestry.ca

William died at sea on January 25th, 1917. He is memorialized on the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial which remembers Newfoundland and Labrador’s fallen soldiers who have no final resting place. The memorial is located at the Beaumont-Hamel Cemetery in Somme, France.

Plaque on the Beaumont-Hamel Memorial for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

Image Accessed at Veterans Affairs Canada

Family Tree 

1. Parents 

1. Frederick Puddicombe (b.~ 1847 to d~. 1913)

2. Ann Macy (b.~1861 to d~. 1889)

2. Siblings

1. Sarah Puddicombe (b~. 1880 to d~. 1956)

2. Edmund John Puddicombe (b~. 1882 to d~. 1910)

References 

1.“Casualty Details | CWGC.” Accessed July 15, 2021. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/722771/WILLIAM%20PUDDICOMBE/.

2. “White Star Line Ships and the U-Boats.” Accessed July 15, 2021. https://www.titanic-whitestarships.com/WSL-Uboat.html.

3.Parsons, W.David, and Ean Parsons. The Best Small-Boat Seamen in the Navy : Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve 1900-1922. 1st ed. Newfoundland and Labrador: DRC, 2009.

4. Service Record: William Puddicombe, Provincial Archives of Newfoundland, and Labrador, GN 182. 13, Reel 3

5.Service Record: William Puddicombe, Provincial Archives of Newfoundland, and Labrador, GN 182. 13, Reel 1

6. The Fisherman’s Evening Advocate “ The Glorious Records of the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.” Digital Archives Initiative,Memorial University of Newfoundland, Accessed July 15 2021. 

7. Newfoundland, Canada, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1850-1949 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.

8. Canada, Veterans Affairs. “William Puddicombe - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada,” February 20, 2019.https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/ canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/722771?William%20Puddicombe.

9. Newfoundland and Labrador in the First World War. “Royal Naval Reserve:” Accessed August 20, 2021. https://www.heritage.nf.ca/first-world-war/gallery/royal-naval-reserve/index.php.

10. Newfoundland and Labrador in the First World War. “Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve:” Accessed August 20, 2021.https://www.He ritage.nf.ca/ first-world-war/articles/newfoundland-royal -naval-reserve-en.php