Help please - RN Reservist death

I have been looking through the burial records for my local Cemetery and have found this record

Benjamin Samuel Forest (age 59) died 19/03/1945 (may also be spelt Forrest)
Petty Officer - RN Reserve

He lived at 15 Lyndhurst Road, Grimsby, at the time of his death.

Normally the record keepers who scribed the burial details included facts like 'retired' or 'discharged', but this record doesnt have anything like that, so may have still been serving when he died. There is no record of him on the CWGC database.

If anybody can find out any other details about him or his service I would appreciate it. It might even be that he is an 'In From The Cold' candidate if we can find something out.

Tony

 

FORREST, BENJAMIN SAMUEL 59
GRO Reference: 1945 M Quarter in GRIMSBY Volume 07A Page 918

As you know death cert would give info

not listed here

Royal Navy casualties, killed and died, March 1945

 

1939 Register for 15 Lyndhurst Ave, Grimsby CB shows two occupants:

HUTCHINS Katherine, born 15 Jul 1875, widow, unpaid domestic duties
FOREST Benjamin S, born 4 Aug 1885, single, ships stoker, Retd C.E. 45.1.76. [the rest in not visable]


The UK Naval Medal and Award Rolls 1793-1972 for the RNVR & WW1 Pension cards do show a Benjamin S FORREST, but he is on the CWGC as below, so can be discounted:
Able Seaman FORREST, BENJAMIN SMITH. Service Number Tyneside Z/6953. Died 04/02/1917. Hawke Bn. R.N. Div. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

 

Well at least we know he rose through the ranks from Stoker to Petty Officer, even at his advanced years.

 

My interpretation of this is that he probably retired from the sea as a stoker in the merchant Navy, but was also at Petty Officer RNVR.

 

Do you have the headstone photo?



The family put his last employment on the headstone/burial records.Even though he was out of service.
He had been discharged and died of illness/accident


Hopefully a forum member can dig out a newspaper cutting

Finally dc required

 

England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
Name: Benjamin S Forrest
Death Age: 59
Birth Date: abt 1886
Registration Date: Jan 1945
[Feb 1945]
[Mar 1945]
Registration Quarter: Jan-Feb-Mar
Registration district: Grimsby
Inferred County: Lincolnshire
Volume: 7a
Page: 918

UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972
Name: Benjamin S Forrest
Medal or Award: Star, Victory Medal, British War Medal
Service Year: 1914-1920
Service Location: Europe
Campaign or Service: World War I
Service Number: T Z/6593
[See attachment below]


A possible but the date of birth isnt quite right but the service number matches the one above
Name Forrest, Benjamin Smith Service Number(s): Z/6593 ... Rank or Rating: ... | The National Archives
Reference: ADM 339/1/12962
Description:
Name Forrest, Benjamin Smith
Service Number(s): Z/6593
Rank or Rating: Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman
Date of Birth: 18 November 1896
Date: 1914-1919
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Closure status: Open Document, Open Description

TD

 

If you need a Benjamin Forest in the Navy then there is a fireman of that man

UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960
Name: Benjamin Forest
Arrival Age: 34
Birth Date: abt 1886
Port of Departure: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Arrival Date: 5 Sep 1920
Port of Arrival: Plymouth, England
Ports of Voyage: Montevideo; Santos; Rio de Janeiro; Pernambuco; Las Palmas; Lisbon; Vigo; Boulogne; Amsterdam
Ship Name: Gelria
Shipping Line: Royal Holland Lloyd Line


TD

 

Rule out Benjamin Smith Forrest - he was discharged dead from the RND in 1917.
Regards
Hugh
*sorry missed #4

 

I too had ruled out Benjamin Smith Forrest, listed on Theipval Memorial in the Somme & was part of Hood battalion, Royal Naval Division.

As he lived in Grimsby, are we maybe looking at one of the many Grimsby Trawlermen, who also served in the RNVR, when their trawlers were impressed into RN Service. I know this happened a lot in WW1, as they did not have dedicated minesweepers at the start, the next best thing being boats with the set up for trawling gear.

 

Unfortunately he doesn't have a headstone.

His middle name is definitely Samuel. His age suggests he was old enough to have served in WW1, but it seems that those who served on the fishing boats, and only served in the fishing fleet, who survived the War, are all but forgotten. There were thousands of local men who served in various guises in both Wars who were fishermen in Civilian life.

 

Unfortunately I dont own a credit or debit card so cannot order a DC online

 

I have ordered pdf DC should take about a week.
will post on here when received

 

Thanks for that. I had a look in the local newspapers of the day in the Library this afternoon and there is no mention whatsoever, not even in the general deaths listings. Looked upto a month after his death.

 

A little extra, perhaps - after WW1, so not the Benjamin SMITH Forrest casualty.
Name: Benjamin S Forrest. Marriage. Event Place: Poole, Dorset, England
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep 1919. Volume: 5A. Page: 815
Spouse Name Kathleen L Squibb (could she have been the widow Katherine Hutchins? yeah, means divorced/separated/ married again then widowed, so unlikely)
Death shows spelling as Forrest, too.....

With a DoB of 4 Aug 1885 given earlier, by TD, this could be his birth registration
Name: Benjamin Forrest. Birth Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep 1885
Registration District: Stourbridge, Worcestershire. Volume: 6C. Page: 173

He should be in 1891 and 1901 census returns, perhaps even 1911 if he hadn't started his career in ships...
If there's no military record in WW1 (Medal Rolls?) then presumably Merchant Navy?

 

I have ordered the death cert so lets see whats that tells us

 

Very generous of you sir - I'm sure Temptage will reimburse you via cash or cheque

TD

 

Apologies for this, but have revisited the 1939 Register entry for Benjamin S. FOREST (post 3) and it seems Retd may not be an abbreviation for retired. The last part of the entry reads:
Occupation: Ships Stoker
See instructions: Retd C.E. 45.1.76. [the rest in not visable]

This instructions column is used elsewhere in the register for a persons other duties relevent to the war, such as ARP warden, Special Constable & if serving in the RNVR, Army reserve etc. It could be possible then that in WW2 he was a wartime only RNVR member.

I Looked for the death of Katherine Hutchins in Grimsby & found a possible:
HUTCHINS Catherine, April-Jun 1945. Grimsby Reg Dist. age 69 (ref 7a 572)
No will/probate found.

This could match with a record on the deceasedonline index:
HUTCHINS Catherine. Lincolnshire died 10.4.1945 buried 13.4.1945.
This index seems to have burials from Scartho Road Cemetery, Grimsby, which was very close to Lyndhurst Ave.

Ancestry links this death to the following person, who is on several trees there:
Catherine BEET
1875/6 born Sleaford, Lincs to Frederick & Sarah BEET
1891 living in Marylebone, London, as live in servant to Joseph WATSON, a stockbroker. [indexed at Kate Beet]
1896 marries at St John's, Chelsea to Henry D'Oyly HUTCHINS, a police constable.
1901 living in Marylebone with Henry, who is now a Police Sergeant
1911 living in Stoke Newington, Henry now an Inspector. No issue of the marriage.
1919 Henry retires from the Metropolitian Police.
1924 Henry dies in Shoreditch, London
Maybe this Catherine quit London after Henry died and moved nearer her family in Lincs.


15 Lyndhurst Ave in 2013.

 

So what do you think it means if not retired

TD

 

In that particular 1939 register book retired is in the occupation box in full. Also this abrev is not on any other entry & the writing is the same as the rest of the register.

It could mean that he is "registered see entry 45.1.76.......". Later non wartime uses of this part of the index use "see entry" in full. As I understand it the register was used not only to know who was around & what skills they had, but also to issue National ID cards & ration books etc, so they may have noted that he was registered elsewhere to avoid duplication of ration books ?

Many abreviations used in the book (esp postwar by the NHS, who updated it till the 70's) were internal office shorthand & abrev within that dept of the ministry & no one now knows their meaning.