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KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE (10th June 2013)
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Kingdon, Samuel: Rating, Continuous Service #22684A, Royal Navy; ADM 139/627; (1860’s period);
Notes: There is also a record for this Naval Rating, Samuel Kingdon, born 19.04.1839 Plymouth, Application to Whitehall on 17.01.1865, no age on entry 7 no dates served given – original page #268? ADM 139/627 records Samuel Kingdon, born 19.04.1839 in Plymouth, a date of volunteering of 26.07.1862 & an official naval number of #22684A; This number indicates issue between 1859 & 1867 & the suffix ‘A’ would indicate that he was probably serving prior to 1859; This is probably Samuel Samson Kingdon born 1839 in Plymouth; He was the son of Richard Kingdon, a Sawyer b.1792 in Maker, Devon, & Dorothy (Dorothea) Congdon(?) from Calstock, Cornwall who Married ca.1827, probably in Plymouth; In the 1841 Census Samuel Kingdon lived with his parents in Catherine Street, Plymouth St. Andrew, Devon; In the 1851 Census Samuel Kingdon was an 11 year old scholar at home with his parents at #24, Gasking Street, Plymouth Charles the Martyr; I presume that Samuel Kingdon was serving in the Royal Navy in 1861 as I did not find him in that Census? I believe that Samuel Kingdon Married Susanna (Grace) Gloyn, b.1839 in Stoke Damerel, in Stoke Damerel in 1862; In the 1871 Census there is a Samuel & Susanna Kingdon, a Storekeeper, living at #13, Jubilee Street, Charles, Plymouth, Devon; I believe that his wife Susanna Grace Kingdon Died in Plymouth in 1873 Aged 33; From this date I totally lost all members of this family including their daughter, Susanna Amelia Kingdon b.1865 in Plymouth; (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Edmund Joseph: Caulker, Royal Navy, Continuous Service #7723B & #40313; ADM 139/878 & ADM 188/5); Needs further research;
Kingdon, Samuel: #3620 & #H/47718, Various Cavalry Regiments & Hussars of the Line; (Late 1890’s to 1911, Boer War & possibly WW1);
Notes: There are some uncertainties regarding his parents & grandparents, which needs more detailed research, but for the purpose of this document I will record the following: This is probably Samuel George Kingdon b. 1875 in Swimbridge, the son of James Kingdon b.1838 Swimbridge & Sarah Louisa Sparks from Cornwall who married in 1869 in Cornwall; In the 1881 Census Samuel Kingdon lives with his parents in Steeple close, Swimbridge, his Father is a Railway Labourer; In 1891 Samuel Kingdon is aged 15 & is a Farm Servant at Henscott Farmhouse in Swimbridge, near Barnstaple, Devon; Samuel Kingdon Aged 19 years & 9 months Attested for a Short Service period with the Corps of Hussars of the Line on 16.10.1895 in Devonport; He recorded that he had been an Apprentice Blacksmith in Lynton for 3 years, that he was still serving with the Militia in the Devon Artillery & that he was born in Swimbridge, near Barnstaple, Devon; Other Army Regimental Numbers that appear in his records are H/47718, obviously Hussars Regiment, & #6274; It appears that he was sent to Aldershot with the 3rd King’s Own Hussars & served with them until extending his service to 12 years with the colours on 23.01.1900 whilst in Lucknow; In 1901 he confirmed that his next of kin was his Father James Kingdon living in Swimbridge; He was promoted to Shoeing Smith Corporal as his service progressed until being transferred to the Reserve on 01,06.1903, 4 years before the end of his Army Service; UK records have John Kingdom Married Jane Connal in Farnham in 1903 but Samuel’s Military records state that Samuel Kingdon Married Jane Connal on 23.02.1903 in Holy Trinity Church, Aldershot; Son William John Kingdon born 28.02.1904 in Aldershot & Son Frederick George Kingdon born 15.06.1905 Aldershot; Samuel Kingdon was Discharged from the Army Reserve on 18.10.1908; His records then show that he Re-engaged as a Corporal with the 8th Hussars on 12.10.1911; He was posted to the Northern Cavalry Depot on 05.11.1914, the 11th Reserve Regiment on 01.10.1915, the Reserve Cavalry Regiment on 27.05.1916 as an Acting Sergeant & again extended his service from 02.11.1916, he was posted to the 5th Reserve Cavalry Regiment on 11.02.1917; His first 12 year Service Record says that he served at Home from 16.10.1895 to 13.11.1898; Served in India from 13.11.1898 to 22.12.1901; Served in South Africa from 23.12.1901 to 22.10.1902; Again served at Home from 24.10.1902 until 31.05.1903 & then he was on the Reserve from 01.06.1903 until 15.10.1907; It appears that he was finally Discharged in York on 21.01.1919 giving a residence address in Aldershot, having served a total of 23 years & 81 days, 16 years of which counted towards his pension, (Chelsea #8065/F); I believe that Samuel George Kingdon Died in 1945 in Aldershot Aged 70; He earned the Queen’s South Africa Medal, The King’s South Africa Medal, the South Africa Medal 1899-1902 (02) with the Orange Free State Clasp & the Transvaal clasp; (I believe Samuel Kingdon’s Father was #3727 James Kingdom/Kingdon (b.1838 Swimbridge) of the 11th Regiment of Infantry);
Kingdon, Samuel: Military Adventurer, Officer of the Devon Yeoman Cavalry & later Hussar Regiment of Guards in the Prussian Army; (1820-1830’s period);
Notes: This is Samuel Kingdon born in 1809 in Thorverton, Devon, the second son of “Iron Sam” Samuel Kingdon b.1779 Mayor of Exeter & Sarah Eyre; Young Samuel Kingdon led a somewhat roaming life, he was an officer of the Yeomanry Cavalry who escorted Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria) from Teignmouth to Exeter before there were trains; Following this he later joined the Prussian Army & held a Commission in the Hussar Regiment of the Guards, travelling with the King of Prussia when he visited England to attend the baptism of the Prince of Wales in 1830 as a Sponsor; After time he grew tired of Military life & emigrated to Victoria, Australia & acted as Sheriff & Gold Commissioner. He had previously trained as a Lawyer & in 1857 he settled at Nelson to practice law. He was a member of the Nelson Provincial Council & also held a Captain’s commission in the New Zealand Militia. At some time he suffered an accident that crippled him & forced him to withdraw from active life. In February 1850 Samuel Kingdon Married Julia Anna Budd from Landkey, North Devon (the only daughter of the Deputy Lieutenant of Devon), and they started a family of 9 children, the 1st born in Paris & the 2nd born aboard ship ‘Diana’ off St. Pauls. 2 more daughters were born in Victoria, Australia & all other children born in New Zealand; Samuel Kingdon Died in New Zealand aged 75 in 1885; (I believe that Samuel’s Father “Iron Sam” Kingdon was Captain of a Company of Artillery among the Exeter volunteers in 1803 when Napoleon Bonaparte was threatening to invade England);
Kingdon, Samuel: Corporal, #1080, Army Service Corps – Land Transport Company – Crimean War 1854;
Notes: Samuel Kingdon served in the Crimean War in the Land Transport Company, but I have insufficient information available to identify this soldier; He was awarded the Crimean 1854 – 1855 War Medal & was entitle to receive a Clasp for having also served at Sebastopol, Camp before Sebastopol 17.10.1853; However, there is a record which indicates that because of his Discharge the Medal was never effectively issued;
See also: Kingdom, Samuel: Private, #3494, 90th Regiment of Light Infantry, Crimean War; WO 100/32; - Died at Sebastopol in the Crimea;
Notes: There are records from the Crimean War for the 90th Regiment of Light Infantry, (‘The Cameronians’ or The Scottish Rifles or The 90th Perthshire Light Infantry Regiment for this soldier Private Samuel Kingdom, #3494 who Died on the 10.12.1854 probably during the during the Siege of Sebastopol either from Enemy Fire or from Disease; His Crimean Medal & Clasps became ineffective due to his death; Insufficient information to identify further;
Kingdon, Samuel: Book 1670, Exeter Militia 1803, Devon;
Notes: In 1803 there are records for the Devon Exeter Militia which indicate that a Samuel Kingdon, an Ironmonger, aged 24 & single was ‘willing to serve as a volunteer’ in the Militia; I believe that this is Samuel Kingdon (“Iron Sam”) who was eventually Captain of a Company of Artillery among the Exeter volunteers in 1803 when Bonaparte was threatening to invade England; This is Samuel Kingdon born on 28.04.1779 in Exeter & baptised in the Bow/Mint/George’s Meeting House on 25.01.1807, the son of Samuel Kingdon & Jane Kent; This is “Iron Sam” & full details of his life are recorded in the Kingdon Book – ‘A Second Look’ dated 1974 & subsequently do not need to be repeated here;
Kingdon, S C: Gunner, #821341 or #821401, Royal Field Artillery – 1933 to 1939 – WO 100/497;
Notes: This soldier served with the 81st Battery Royal Artillery, his original papers were No. NB/1666 dated 22.06.1937? (I have no further information available to identify this man);
Further Note: This may well be Stanley Charles Kingdom, born in Bideford, Devon in 1902, the Son of Charley (Charles) Kingdom b.1875 (Witheridge) & Alice Ellen Baker, who married in 1895 in Bideford, Devon; (The family lived in Bideford, Devon, Father was a Grocer’s Partner in 1901 & a Waggoner in 1911); In the 1911 Census Stanley Charles Kingdon was aged 9 & lived with his parents at #18, Richmond Terrace, Bideford, Devon; I believe that he was awarded the India Service Medal & the 1933 Clasp; (May well be the Brother of Reginald Kingdom, #34089 Private, Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, & #39500 5th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, who Died in WW1 in 1918 on the Somme; WO 372/11);
Kingdon, S C: British Army, Prisoner of War, 1939 -1945 WW2;
Notes: There is a record of a British Army Prisoner of War, S C Kingdon, held in Stalag VIII-D in Cieszyn, Poland, during WW2, (now Cesky, Czech Republic); I have no other information on this soldier; Insufficient information to identify; Could this be the same man as above?
Kingdon, Samuel Henry: #1703, Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force; - Died in WW1; CWGC records, Private SAMUEL HENRY KINGDON #1703, 2nd Reservists, 25th Battalion, Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force who died on 30th August 1915; Remembered with honour Chatby Memorial just outside Alexandria, Egypt & in Al Iskandariyah Cemetery, Egypt;
Notes: There are more records for this soldier in the Australian Military Files; There is a Death Record in the Queensland, Australia Death Index at #004795 on page 548 for Samuel Henry Drew, which I believe is the same person; There are very many conflicting records for this soldier, both as Samuel Henry Drew, S. H. Livingstone & Samuel Henry Kingdon, having served with the Australian Imperial Force in WW1 during 1914 & 1915;
Drew, Samuel Henry: #143, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Australian Army - Died in WW1 on 30.08.1915;
Notes: This soldier’s record is a rather convoluted story, which I have detailed briefly here; any serious researcher of his family should investigate all WW1 Australian Records;
Summary: It appears that Samuel Henry Drew #143, enlisted on 21.08.1914 in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment & was returned to Australia on 01.03.1915 & discharged for disciplinary reasons in Melbourne;
He then subsequently re-enlisted in Toowoomba, Queensland under the name of Samuel Henry Kingdon #1703, on 03.08.1915 in the 25th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcements & died of illness on 30.08.1915 whilst troop shipping from Australia to Egypt; The records indicate that he was admitted into Isolation hospital on board the troopship ‘Shropshire’ suffering from gonorrhea & finally contracted double pneumonia from which he died;
In the 1914 enlistment he gave his name as Samuel Henry Drew, aged 30 years & 6 months, born in Plymouth, Devon, England & declared that he was a Labourer & that his next of kin was his Mother, Lucy Janet Drew of #1, Amerley Road, South Brisbane;
In the 1915 re-enlistment he gave his name as Samuel Henry Kingdon, aged 36 years & 6 months, born in Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, England & declared that he was a Fireman, an ex Watchmaker’s apprentice in Plymouth for 5 years, & that he had served previously in the 2nd Devonshire Regiment & the 3rd Australian Contingent in the Boer War; he gave his Brother, Arthur James Kingdon of Annerley Road, East Tooroomba, Queensland as his next of kin; He is recorded as having a bullet wound scar on his forehead & some shrapnel scars on both shins at that time; The records indicate that this soldier embarked from Sydney on 20.08.1915 on board the ‘HMAT Shropshire’ with the 2nd Reinforcements, 25th Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade;
Numerous pension & gratuity claims from his Mother & from his Wife, Olive Amelia Drew (nee Daniels) are recorded in his extensive file records as well as a National Newspaper Search article used to locate his family & relatives in 1916;
I understand that Samuel Henry Drew was born in Oakhampton, Devon in 1879 & sailed to Australia with his Father Henry Drew (b.1845) & his Mother Janet Drew (b.1846), on the ‘Duke of Buccleuch’ from Plymouth to Townsville on 20.06.1884; Samuel Henry Drew Married Olive Daniels in Queensland on 19.12.1901 (Reg #001895, page #7045), produced at least 4 children, but may very well have deserted her earlier & lived with a woman called Minnie Livingstone in Coorparoo as man & wife & that there were also children of this union; He may have been issued the South African War Ribbon; His War Medals appear to have been forfeited but the Memorial Plaque was issued to his legal wife, Olive Drew (nee Daniels) & the Memorial Scroll to his de facto wife, Minnie Drew (nee Livingstone) in 1922; More information on record;
Kingdon, Samuel Richard: Class ‘C’, 2nd Division Reservist, New Zealand, 1917, WW1;
Notes: I do not believe that this man actually served in WW1, but he is recorded as a Reservist with 2 Children in the 1917 registration in Masterton, Wellington, New Zealand; At that time he was a Sanitary Inspector & living at #215, Queen Street, Masterton; This is Samuel Richard Kingdon born in 1879 in New Zealand, he is the son of Samuel Kingdon, a Plumber, & Elizabeth ?? who Married in ??; In 1905 & 1906 Samuel Richard Kingdon is a Plumber living in Queen Street, Masterton; Samuel Richard Kingdon Married Ethel Armitage in 1908 in Masterton, Wellington & in 1911 they live in Beattie Street, Fielding, Oroua, Manawatu-Wanganui, he is a Plumbing Inspector; In 1914 Samuel Richard & Ethel Kingdon live in Kimbolton Road, Fielding, Oroua, Manawatu-Wanganui, & he is working as a Borough Inspector; Following his enlistment in the New Zealand Army Reserve & in 1919 this family are living at #215, Queen Street, Masterton, he is a recorded as a Sanitary Inspector; In 1928 they live in #97, Western Springs Road with is widowed Mother in Grey Lynn, Auckland; In 1935 & 1938 Samuel Richard & Ethel Kingdon live at #297, Great North Road, W2, Grey Lynn, Auckland, Samuel is now recorded as a plumber with his son; I believe that Ellen Kingdon Died in 1949 Aged 67 & that Samuel Richard Kingdon died in 1951 Aged 71;
Kingdon, Sidney Walter: #8147, Manchester Regiment; Boer War & WW1;
Notes: This Regimental Number would indicate enlistment in the Regular Army Battalions of the Manchester Regiment between 25.02.1902 & 22.01.1903; This is Sidney Walter Kingdon born 1884? in Roath, Cardiff in his Army Records, but I believe that he may have lied about his age when he enlisted because I have him born on 07.05.1887 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of William Kingdon, a Painter, b.14.06.1840 in Taunton & Mary Ann Rose b.14.06.1854 from Bristol, Gloucestershire, who probably Married in 1870 in St Saviours, Southwark, London I believe; I cannot locate a sailing or passenger record for his parents but they did emigrate to Canada ca.1874; (His parents lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1881 as Sidney’s elder siblings were mostly born in Canada); In 1891 Wales Census Sidney Kingdon aged 3 lives with his parents at #4, Crofts Street, Roath, Cardiff, Wales, they are also at the same address in the 1901 Census where Sidney is aged 13 years; Sidney Walter Kingdon Enlisted on 17.11.1902 in Aldershot, he was a Messenger by trade & aged 18 years & 6 months, which may not be true (see his birth date details above); I believe that he initially served with the 2nd Battalion at Home from 17.11.1902 to 06.02.1903, he was then posted to the 3rd Battalion in South Africa on 06.02.1903 where he served until 09.10.1905; Whilst in South Africa he was in hospital for a month with Scarletina; He was returned to home duty & Transferred to the Army Reserve on 16.11.1905 where he served until being mobilised for WW1 Service (whilst living in Canada) from the Army Reserve on 30.09.1914 but was discharged on the same date as being no longer physically fit for War Service under King’s Regulations, Para 392 (xvi); For the records his service time was counted from his initial served time plus his Army Reserve time & equalled a total of 11 years & 318 days; I understand that Sidney Walter Kingdon & his parents emigrated back to Canada in December 1905 on board the ‘SS Virginian’; More research confirms that S W Kingdon Aged 21 sailed from England to Quebec, bound for Peterborough, on board the ‘SS Tunisian’ in November 1905; Further research indicates that Sidney Walter Kingdon sailed to the UK from Canada in July 1906 on board the ‘SS Tunisian’; His Father William Kingdon sailed to UK from Montreal on 27.08.1906 on the ‘SS Dominion’; Then I found Sidney & his Father William travelled back to Saint John, New Brunswick on the ‘SS Empress of Britain’ in December 1906, both painters & both marked as Returning Canadians; I have no idea why Sidney Walter & his Father William Kingdon should both travel separately to England in 1906 & then return to Canada together in December but wonder if it was for work or perhaps a family bereavement; In 1911 Sidney Kingdon lived with his parents back in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; Sidney Walter Kingdon then Married Nellie Capewell, born ca.1889 in Staffordshire, England, in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada on 03.07.1911, (I note that Sidney’s estimated birth year was 1885 on his marriage records & that he is a painter too, like his Father); Nellie Capewell’s family emigrated to Canada in 1906; I believe that Sidney Walter Kingdon died in Sutton West, Ontario, Canada on 21.06.1965 Aged 78; Further Notes: Some people on Ancestry.com have Public Trees with this guy as Sidney J Kingdon, but this is not correct & they have his whole family mixed up; (There is probably a Brother named Gordon William Kingdon, born in 1875 in Toronto, Canada & who seems to have served at some time in UK because there is a Chelsea Pensioner of that name & with the correct birth place on records, who I am also following up); (He was the Brother of Kingdon, Ernest: Royal Irish Fusiliers No: 13731 Rank: Private 1914-1920 WO 372/11); (I also now believe that his Father was probably Kingdon, William: Private, #3063, 2nd European Light Infantry, East India Company Army); This Family needs a little more research although I am in touch with a descendant since August 2012 & will request clearer details;
Kingdon, Sidney: Merchant Seaman during WW1; BT 351/1/177262;
Notes: This is probably Sidney Percival Kingdon born in 1899 in Clifton, Bristol, his Merchant Seaman’s WW1 Medals Record have 1899; If I am correct then this Sidney Percival Kingdon is the son of David Kingdon, a Slaughterman/Butcher b.1870 in Clifton, Bristol & Blanche Beavis from Bristol who Married in 1890 in Bristol & initially lived & worked as a Butcher in Elgin Street in Birkenhead, Cheshire; In the 1901 Census Sidney Kingdon is aged 2 years & living with his parents in Dowry Square, Bristol; In the 1911 Census Sidney Kingdon is now aged 11 & living with his Parents at #6, Ambrose Road, Clifton, Bristol, his Father is a Butcher; Sidney Kingdon may well have served for some years as a Merchant Seaman, probably as a Steward, sailing between England & New York; On 26.04.1918 Sidney Kingdon sailed from Cardiff, Wales to New York onboard the ‘Northumberland’; On 10.09.1921 & again on the 27.10.1921 Sidney (Sid) Kingdon (Kingdom) sailed from London & Newcastle onboard the ‘SS Vellavia’; On 13.12.1926 Sidney Kingdon sailed from Al Basrah, Iraq to New York on the ‘SS Glensloy’; Sidney P Kingdon Married Bessie Evelyn Tucker in Bristol in 1934; I understand that Sidney Percival Kingdon died on 02.10.1953 in Bristol, Gloucestershire aged 54; I did not research further; Awarded the WW1 Mercantile Marine & the British War Medal; (Probably the Brother of Merchant Seaman David Kingdon, WW1 BT 351/1/177261); Not researched further;