Subject: Herbert Theodore Ghent and Eliza Strutton

Herbert Ghent b. 1889 Camberwell, London and Eliza Strutton b. 1893 Bermondsey, London, were married on the 9th February 1913 at St James Church Bermondsey. http://www.stjamesbermondsey.org.uk/index2.html

Herbert was not Roman Catholic, having been baptised at St Judes, Peckham.

He served in France during WW I as a Driver with the Royal Field Artillery. Herbert's military record shows that he had a flower tattoo on his right forearm, and on his left forearm was "I love Eliza Strutton" . He was just 5ft 5inches tall and had a chest expansion of 35 1/2 inches, not a large chap, but as his occupations were a docker and a blacksmith (metalworker) he would have been as tough as old boots.

One gets the feeling he wan't cut out for the military, getting 7 days in the lockup for "hesitating to obey an order, insolence to an NCO "  and another instance "quitting the ranks without urgent necessity".

Herbert served a fair few days in detention and forfeited the odd days pay from the number of times he went awol. It was lucky for him his wife didn't have to live on a soldier's pension because it appears they deducted the days detention from the length of service. However, having served in France he happily made his way safely back home and was demobbed in 1919. Sadley, Eliza had died on the 24th October 1918 and Herbert later went on to marry Ada Braben in 1924.