Arthur James Whitehouse

 Corporal Arthur James Whitehouse

By 1920, the First World War had ended, but the effects of the conflict were still deeply felt. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission continued to commemorate those who died as a result of the war, setting a final cut-off date of 31^st August 1921. This date was defined in Army Order 356 of 1921, signed on 10^th August, which legally marked the termination of the war.

Arthur James Whitehouse
St. Paul's Church, Sketty
credit - findagrave

Among those still being buried and remembered was Corporal Arthur James Whitehouse, of the Royal Field Artillery. He died on 25^th April 1920, aged 26, and was laid to rest at St. Paul’s, Sketty. Arthur was the son of James and Agnes Whitehouse, of 3 Windsor Street, Swansea.

Early Life

James Whitehouse and Agnes Masters
marriage certificate
Parish Church, North Curry, Somerset

Arthur’s parents, James Whitehouse and Agnes Masters, married in April 1893 at the parish church in North Curry, Somerset. James was employed as a chemist.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the couple were living at 185 Wheatland Lane, Cheshire. Arthur was six years old, born in Wrexham, while his younger brother Stanley, aged three, was born in Bath, Somerset.

1911 Census

By the next census in 1911, Arthur’s father James had died, and the family were separated.

Arthur, then 16, was living with his uncle and aunt, Alfred and Jennie Gertrude Masters, at Heathlands, Dillwyn Road, Sketty. Alfred was a grocer’s manager, and Arthur was employed as a clerk.

1911 Census

Meanwhile, his mother Agnes was working as a lady’s companion in Ilfracombe, Devon. Stanley’s whereabouts in 1911 are unclear.

Military Service

Both Arthur and Stanley went on to serve in the Royal Field Artillery during the war. Arthur rose to the rank of Corporal.

Marriage

Arthur James Whitehouse and Lena Dorothy Jenkins
marriage certificate
St. Gabriel's Church

On 4^th June 1919, Arthur married Lena Dorothy Jenkins at St. Gabriel’s Church, Swansea. The marriage certificate, unusually, does not record their ages, with a note added by the vicar instead.

Sadly, less than a year after his marriage, Arthur died in April 1920, aged just 26.

Family After the War

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records that Agnes, Arthur’s mother, was living with her surviving son Stanley at 3 Windsor Street, Swansea.

1921 Census

Arthur’s widow, Dorothy Lena Whitehouse, was recorded that year living at 26 King Edward’s Road, Swansea.

Legacy

Though the war had officially ended, the death of Corporal Arthur James Whitehouse reminds us how its toll continued long after the armistice. He lies at St. Paul’s, Sketty, among other soldiers whose stories connect Swansea to the wider history of the Great War.