Another Devoran man who served and survived WW1, recorded on the Devoran Village Roll of Honour displayed in the Village Hall.
Alfred William Thornton was born 30 September 1872 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Aged 19 in the 1891 census, Alfred W. is listed as a Boarder and Photographic Assistant to Jabez Skingle in Gloucester, St John the Baptist area.
Alfred had already left this post to join the Royal Engineers when his old employer Jabez Skingle of Gloucester, who opened Studio London Fine Art Company in Swindon, found his career came to an abrupt end in 1900 when he was arrested in Bristol on a public indecency charge. Jabez skipped bail and went on the run for years. (Swindon Advertiser book review, 3rd June 2019)
Alfred joined the Royal Engineers in 1894, serving as 28139 Thornton for two six year slots from 1894 until discharged in 1906. During this time he may have served In South Africa (Boer War) as well as Chatham.
In the 1911 Census, after his army service, Alfred William Thornton is noted as Caretaker living at Postal Address School of Mines, Truro. This was not the famous Camborne School of Mines but probably Henderson’s Mining School on 25 River Street, Truro (the old Truro Savings Bank of 1845, now part of the Royal Cornwall Museum).
Alfred married Agnes Annie Sims (born Wantage) c. 1903, whilst still in the Army / Royal Engineers. They had two children, Ellen Mary Thornton (born Truro 1908) and Alfred E Thornton (born Truro, 1906). Alfred E. Thornton won some kind of minor scholarship to Truro College in 1918 ,aged 11 to 12.
In the social world of Devoran, Alfred crops up as a joint organiser for Devoran Sports and Regatta in August 1914:
Preliminary notice The Devoran Annual Regatta and Sports will take place on Saturday 22 August 1914 in Devoran; Reg. Kellow and A. W. Thornton joint honorary secretaries.
The ad was placed in late May 1914. I wonder if that Regatta And Sports actually happened, as Britain declared war against Germany on 4th August 1914 three weeks earlier.
His trade before enlistment was stated as Photographer.
His Pension records / attestation papers and medical form note that the 41 year old Alfred W. as “Considered Fit for the Army Reserve“. His denomination was noted as Wesleyan (Methodist). His next of kin during WW1. his wife Agnes has moved and is listed as living at Belmont Terrace, Devoran.
Alfred W. signed up as a Sapper RE (Royal Engineers) on 15th September 1914 and worked his way up or at several RE units as needed as Corporal to Acting Sergeant by January 1915.
It is difficult to tell with the handwriting but it looks like he served in France from 18 May 1915 and was finally discharged in February 1919.
He served in various RE companies including 287 AT Army Troop Company.
482 Company and 581 Fortress RE may also be mentioned.
He earned the ‘Pip Squeak and Wilfred’ medals 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
After service in WW1 rising to the rank of (Acting) Sergeant in the Royal Engineers, Alfred W Thornton, Agnes and their children Alfred E. and Ellen Mary are living in St Johns Terrace, Devoran. They remain there throughout the 1920s (Electoral Register). Both children are still at school in 1921, aged 15 and 13. Alfred W. is working as a Store Keeper for HM Government at Royal Engineers RE Falmouth.
Little more is heard of Alfred W. in the 1920s and 1930s in the glimpse we get into Devoran social life that makes it into the local papers.
By the 1939 Register, the family are living at 12 Coronation Terrace, Truro. The son Alfred E. is now head of household, an organ builder and tuner. He has married Georgina (b. 1898) and they share the house with father Alfred W, a ‘Retired Clerk’ and mother Agnes who is ‘Independent’.
Alfred W Thornton died aged 84 in late 1956. He is buried in Devoran Churchyard. Plot H-E16
Blog post for Remembrance season, November 2026 by Mark Norris, Devoran War Memorial Project online.
