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| A soldier of World War One |
I was shocked at how many Gidley recruits were only 5'3" or under. I knew the authorities themselves were taken aback by the poor condition of possible recruits, many of whom had to be rejected. Not all of the records made a note of the height of the recruit, and it certainly wasn't an exhaustive search, but in just a brief afternoon's searching I counted 10 Gidley men who were 5'3" or under. It was quite rare to be over 5'5" and I only noted one six footer - Gunner Samuel Gidley, formerly a woolcomber from Buckfastleigh, who served in India and Afghanistan in the 1870s.
For those who are interested in the reasons for this poor physique, I found the following website very interesting: Short poppies.
William Gidley of Tywardreath in Cornwall, aged 18, was rejected as unfit from the start, on account of flat feet and defective vision. He had to leave the Royal Artillery after 2 days in 1891.
Thomas Gidley of Peckham, South London, was discharged in 1879 after four year's service in the 13th Hussars that included over 2 years in India. He was suffering from anaemia after being treated for gastritis in Lucknow.
William Gidley of East Stonehouse in Devon was "very much marked with smallpox" on enlistment in 1867.
John Gidley of Ardwick in Manchester, a railway porter, was missing the end of his middle finger of the right hand and had "poor physical development"when he attested in 1915. His eyesight was also found to be defective, but here the Army came up trumps and provided him with glasses.
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| Typical RFC uniform |
Stanley Charles Gidley, who served in the RFC, later renamed the RAF, seems to have been gassed no fewer than three times in 1918- on 22 May, 24 May and 27 May, but wasn't transferred to the RAF Reserve until December 1919.
Henry Gidley of Greenwich already had false teeth at the age of 19 when he joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1901.
Horace Gidley from Clyst St George was found unfit for further service in 1891 after five years service in the Coldstream Guards. He had rheumatism in his hands and knee and was still only 23, according to his service record.
The body of Reginald Gidley, a career Royal Navy stoker, from Drewsteignton, was found floating in the harbour at Kobe, Japan, in May 1934, over 2 weeks after he was last seen. The Japanese police recovered the body and the authorities attributed his death to an accident. Incidentally, he is commemorated in the churchyard at Drewsteignton.
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| Sailors of World War One |
I also looked at the UK Courts Martial registers. I don't propose to name any of the 8 men listed, and I haven't even worked out who they were, nor will I attach the records to their family tree. If they served in the First World War I should imagine that was enough to send many men off the straight and narrow. Their offences were pretty minor. I was pleased to see that the Gidley accused of stealing a comrade's money and striking a corporal was found not guilty. Violence to a Sergeant and insubordinate language resulted in one year's detention and stoppages for another Gidley. Desertion and going AWOL, or loss of equipment, led to reduction to the ranks or perhaps 6-8 months of detention and stoppages, which was occasionally remitted by half, were other offences. It wasn't always clear what the offence was - S40 was listed on one man's record and googling didn't help (he was found not guilty anyway).
These brief accounts are by no means a full account of the military service of the Gidleys. Many more served and many were left permanently incapacitated after their service. This was not always noted on their record, even if it survived. Some, like my grandfather who was lame after a badly set broken leg, were rejected immediately by a Medical Board before even getting as far as a military depot.
