Kingdon, S C: British Army, Prisoner of War, 1939 -1945 WW2;

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KINGDON – CAMPAIGN MEDALS & MILITARY SERVICE (12th January 2014)

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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 below?

Kingdon, S C: Gunner, #821341 Gunner or #821401, Signaller, 81st (Sphinx) Field Battery, Royal Artillery: WO 100/497; (1933-1939 period);

Notes: (This family has been called both Kingdon & Kingdom in general UK records); This may well be Stanley Charles Kingdom, born in Bideford, Devon on 24.12.1901, the Son of Charley (Charles) Kingdom, a Grocer’s Porter & Driver, b.1875 (Witheridge) & Alice Ellen Baker, who married in 1895 in Bideford, Devon; In the 1911 Census Stanley Charles Kingdon was aged 9 & lived with his parents at #18, Richmond Terrace, Bideford, Devon; I believe that Stanley C Kingdom married Lily Fogwell, b.1900 in Bishops Tawton, Devon, in 1922 in Barnstaple, Devon; I understand that Stanley Charles Kingdom Died in 1972 in Bideford Aged 70; I believe that he was awarded the India Service Medal & the 1933 Mohmand Clasp; (This was issued to all officers and men who were employed in operations against the Upper Mohmands on the North West Frontier of India during 1933, who served on the strength of a unit or formation of the Mohmand Force, and certain personnel of the Peshawar District who served in the area west of the road Abarzai-Shabkadar Fort-Shabkadar-Pir Kala-Michni, between the Swat and Kabul Rivers, inclusive of the above mentioned places, during the period 28.07.1933 & 03.10.1933); (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); Could this be the same man as above?

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: 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, Samuel: #3620, #6474 & #H/47718, Corporal Shoeing Smith, Various Cavalry & Hussars of the Line, plus Sergeant Farrier in the Reserve Cavalry Regiment; (Late 1890’s to 1919, Boer War & WW1);

Notes: There are some uncertainties regarding this 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, a Labourer b.1838 in Swimbridge, Barnstaple, Devon & Sarah Louisa Sparks from Torpoint, Cornwall who married in 1869 in Cornwall; In the 1881 Census Samuel Kingdon lives with his parents in Steeple Close, Swimbridge, Devon, his Father is a Railway Labourer; In the 1891 Census Samuel Kingdon is aged 15 & is a Farm Servant at Herscott 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 serving in Lucknow, India; In 1901 he confirmed that his next of kin was his Father James Kingdon living in Swimbridge, Barnstaple, Devon, which helped me identify him, even though he was serving in South Africa & there is no 1901 Census record; He was promoted to Shoeing Smith Corporal as his service progressed, being posted to 7th Hussars on 19.09.1902, until being transferred to the Reserve on 01,06.1903, 4 years before the end of his true Army Service; UK records have John Kingdom marrying Jane Connal in Farnham in 1903 & Samuel’s Military records state that Samuel Kingdon married Jane Connal on 23.02.1903 in Holy Trinity Church, Aldershot; (Jane Connal was born in Dunbar, Scotland in 1875 I believe); Samuel Kingdon was Discharged from the Army Reserve on 18.10.1908; In the 1911 Census Samuel John Kingdon & wife Jane Pringle Kingdon live at #5, Perowne Street, aldershot, he is recorded as a Blacksmith; His Army records then show that he re-engaged as a Corporal with the 18th (Queen Mary’s Own) 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 did not find a WW1 Medals Card; (I believe Samuel Kingdon’s Father was #3727 James Kingdom/Kingdon of the 11th Regiment of Infantry);

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 Henry: #1703, Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force; - Died in WW1; PrivateSAMUEL HENRY KINGDON #1703, 2nd Reservists, 25th Battalion, Australian Infantry who died 30th August 1915; Remembered with honour on the Chatby Memorial, within the Chatby War Memorial Cemetery which is located within the main Alexandria Cemetery complex just outside Alexandria, 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;