171821 Bombardier Mervyn Albert Glover
9th Royal West Kent Regiment / Royal Garrison Artillery
Victory Medal
Also entitled to the British War Medal
FAMILY
Mervyn Albert Glover was born in Windlesham, Surrey, at the end of 1897. His father, Albert, was a farmer. On the 1901 census 3 year old Mervyn is living at Crowhurst House, Billet Lane, Ash, Near Wrotham, Kent. His parents Albert (34) and Edith (27) are living with another couple, Arthur (25) and Kate (28) Bradley. Arthur is a printer/publisher. Most of their neighbours are farmers and farm labourers with a corn miller, a blacksmith and a nurse thrown in for good measure!
By the 1911 census, aged 13, he was attending school along with his younger brother, Arnold (8). The two boys were living with their (possibly great) uncle Henry (77) who was a “small farmer” and aunt, Elizabeth (72). They hadn’t moved far, and are noted as living at Billet Farm, Ash. Their parents are absent from the census, their whereabouts remain a mystery.
Nineteen year-old Mervyn volunteered to join the colours on 3rd August 1915. He was 5ft 5in tall, and weighed in at 112 lbs. He gave his occupation as “mechanic,” and was still living in Ash at the time he attested into the Royal West Kent Regiment. He was posted to the 9th (Reserve) Battalion which was based in Chatham, Kent, and later relocated to Colchester, Essex (with a brief spell in Canterbury).
On 8th July 1916, Mervyn was promoted to Lance Corporal, then towards the end of 1916, when the 9th West Kents was being disbanded and absorbed into other battalions, he was re-assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery. The rank structure is subtly different there, so his rank became Lance Bombadier.
Service Documents
As with a great many soldiers of the Great War, Mervyn’s service records are damaged and only partially legible. During the night of 7/8th September 1940, there was a heavy German air raid on London and the repository was hit by incendiary bombs, destroying the greater part of the 1,400 tons of War Office records which were held there in the subsequent fire. Approximately two thirds of service records were completely destroyed and those which survived were partly charred or water damaged when the fire was extinguished.
After training as a signaller, which was quite a specialised role, he arrived in France on 25th June 1917. He was a signaller with 10th Siege Battery, who were equipped with 9.2in howitzers. The job of an artillery signaller was often extremely dangerous. They would spot the fall of artillery, and use lamps, flags and heliographs to communicate with the gunners to coordinate effective bombardments. They would frequently operate on or near the front line, sometimes exposed to sniper fire and enemy counter-artillery.
It is not know exactly where he was, or which battles he may have been involved with. What is known is that he was promoted to Bombadier (Corporal) in December 1917, and finally returned to England in May 1918. In July 1918 the records show he was absent from a 7pm parade, and was “severely reprimanded” and had his pay docked as a result. Mervyn was finally discharged on 3rd May 1919 in Crystal Palace, South London.
Mervyn lived into his 70s, never moving far from his roots. He died on 5th January 1971 and was cremated in the Borough of Greenwich. The probate record shows that his last address was “The Caravan, Joyce Green Farm, Dartford, Kent.” He left £914.
