William John Duddridge 1865-1915

William was born on the 8^th of April 1865 in Somerset Bridge, to Stephen and Louisa Duddridge. Stephen was a brick and tile maker, working at the Crossfield Brickyard owned by Colthurst Symons. William and his older brother were both at school in 1871, but there was little alternative employment in the immediate area, and by the time he was 15, William was working as a labourer in the brickyard, together with his father and older brother.

William obviously wanted to spread his wings, and by the time he was 20, he was in Taunton and signing on to join the Royal Marines. The Royal Marines are soldiers who are part of the Royal Navy, trained to fight on land and on sea, and their motto is - Per mare Per terram ‘by sea by land’. Recruiting sergeants went around the country, visiting towns and putting up posters. They promised travel and adventure, free food and accommodation while on board ship, together with a regular wage. This was a tempting offer to young men struggling to get regular work on low pay.

Royal Marine Service Record 25 August 1885 – 23 August 1897

William enlisted in Taunton on the 24^th of August 1885. He joined the Royal Marine Artillery – the ‘blue marines’, and became a gunner. The RMA were experts in gunnery and explosives, while the RM Light Infantry (the red marines) were sharp shooters, guards on ship, formed boarding parties and infantry on land if needed. In practice, at sea the two roles overlapped, and the two services were merged in 1923.

In the days before the R.A.F., the Royal Navy were the first armed forces to arrive at any trouble spots, and the Royal Marines would be the first to be sent ashore. They would also have to be prepared to fight on the ship in the event of being boarded by a hostile force, or to board an enemy vessel.

Training for the Royal Marines stressed a very high degree of physical fitness and discipline. The trainees would learn how to use hand weapons, such as a rifle, bayonet and knife. Combat techniques included hand to hand fighting, forming squares to repel a cavalry charge, manhandling field guns ashore as well as sharp shooting, and for the RMA, firing the ship’s big guns. They would also learn enough seamanship to equip them for a life when they may be many months at sea. This training would have continued through William’s career with the Royal Marines.

William’s postings were all part of the ‘Channel Fleet’ which patrolled and defended the waters around Britain’s coast. His service (1885 – 1897) was during a period of relative peace in between the Sudan Campaign (1884-1885) and the Boer War (1899-1902), but the Royal Navy was in constant readiness to travel to anywhere they were needed. William had periods when he was based in barracks, but would still have been training and undertaking various duties around the port and on short trips.

The shore based time was interspersed with longer spells at sea. William’s first posting on HMS Black Prince only lasted a month, but in that time the ship took part in the Jubilee Fleet Review at Portsmouth on the 23^rd of July 1887.

After this he had a two year posting on HMS Monarch, which was the first sea going turret ship[i] and the first British warship with 12 inch guns. At this time it was the fastest battleship around, but was hard to handle under sail.  This was still a time of transition from sail to steam.

After a land-based year, William had a month on board HMS Hecate, then transferred to HMS Iron Duke for another two years. HMS Iron Duke was a 10 gun twin screw battleship, by this time on reserve and was serving as a guard ship for Portsmouth Harbour. However, these reserve ships and crew had to be ready to depart at short notice.

Another seven months based on shore was followed by two short postings, a year on HMS Rodney, which carried four 13.5 inch guns as well as smaller ones. HMS Rodney was replaced in the Channel Fleet in 1894 by HMS Repulse. HMS Repulse had a central battery, which had the main guns placed on a rail mounted cradle in the centre of the ship to give a wider arc of fire. This was in transition from fixed artillery to turret guns.

Six months onshore was followed by another two year posting on HMS Royal Sovereign, which was the flag ship of the Channel Fleet. Having the Admiral Sir Reginald F.H. Henderson on board would mean that the crew and the ship had to be maintained to the highest standards. During William’s first year on board, the vessel took part in the annual manoeuvres in the Irish Sea and off the SW coast of England, as part of fleet A. During these sea exercises, ships were assigned to one of two ‘fleets’ and would then conduct various manoeuvres around each other, practising combat situations.

HMS Royal Sovereign’s crew were all paid off in June 1897 as she was then re assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. Her crew were moved to HMS Mars which took over in the Channel Fleet, but on the 23^rd of August 1897 William had completed the time he had signed on for, and he was able to leave the Royal Marines and go home. 

Back home to Somerset Bridge

William’s gunnery experience did not help him get a different job, and by 1901 he was back living with his parents and five younger siblings in a small cottage close to the brickyard. William found work as a general labourer and for the next fifteen years he continued to live with his parents and work with his father in the brickyard.

The start of WWI saw a big change for William. Although he was 49 when the war broke out, he was single and decided to volunteer for the Somerset Light Infantry, Number 3 Supply Company, 2/5^th Battalion, his regimental number was 20436. As a former marine and used to heavy work, William obviously felt that he was still fit and strong, and could make a useful contribution.

At the time of his death, William was attached to the 40^th Company Royal Garrison Artillery. He died of an aortic aneurism and heart failure on the 16^th of December 1915, in the Military Hospital, Western Heights, Dover. William was 50 years old. As this was a death on active service, William has an official war grave in St James’s Cemetery, Dover, Kent, and is also memorialised on his parents’ headstone in Wembdon Road Cemetery.

The Bristol Times and Mirror reported his death and funeral on the 23^rd of December 1915.

‘The death has occurred at a military hospital of Pte. W. Duddridge of the 3/5^th Somerset L.I., and attached to the Royal Garrison Artillery. The deceased, who was 50 years of age, was a son of Mr and Mrs S. Duddridge, of Somerset Bridge, near Bridgwater. He had served for twelve years as a gunner in the Royal Marines. The parents have received many letters of sympathy, including one from Captain Basil A. Wood, officer commanding the company. The funeral took place at Dover, the deceased being afforded full military honours. The Buffs regimental band played en route to the cemetery, and the firing party of twelve was supplied from the R.G.A., while 250 men of the East Surrey Regiment followed the body. The R.G.A. at Dover undertook the arrangements, and the wreath sent by this company bore the words: “in memory of a good comrade”. The father and three brothers of the deceased attended the funeral.’

Clare Spicer and Jill Trethewey 15/03/2025

References

https://www.royalmarineshistory.com

https://naval-encyclopedia.com/industrial-era/royal-navy-1870.php

www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk

Royal Museum of Greenwich

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[i] Turret ship – the first ships to have their guns mounted in a revolving turret, rather than ‘broadside’ along the ship’s sides.