Gustave Thomas Braithwaite – Royal Army Pay Corps

Lance Serjeant Gustave Thomas Braithwaite – Royal Army Pay Corps

War Commemoration After the Armistice

Following the Armistice of November 1918, the British government continued to recognise the deaths of men and women connected with wartime service. This period of official commemoration lasted until 31^st August 1921, when an Order in Council, issued under the Termination of the Present War (Definition) Act 1918, formally declared the end of the war for administrative and military purposes. Among those whose deaths fell within this extended period was Gustave Thomas Braithwaite.

Birth and Family Background

Gustave Thomas Braithwaite was born in 1878 in Hackney, Middlesex, the son of Robert Braithwaite and Martha Browning, who married in 1874 in Blean, Kent.

1881 Census

The 1881 Census records the family living at 55 Rushmore Road, Hackney, London. Gustave’s father, Robert, aged 37 and born in Kent, worked as an Auctioneer’s Surveyor. His mother Martha, aged 30 and also Kent-born, was at home caring for their two children: Gustave (3) and Pattie (1). A servant, Eleanor Ferry, aged 16, was also part of the household.

1891 Census

By 1891, the Braithwaite family remained at 55 Rushmore Road, but their household had grown. Robert, now 49, was employed as an Estate Agent and Surveyor, and Martha, aged 39, was caring for six children: Gustave T. (13), Pattie (11), Dudley (9), Grace M. (7), Amy (5), all attending school, and the youngest, Dorothy (2). A servant, M. A. E. Cleman, aged 16, also lived with them.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 126 Wallwood Road, Low Leyton, West Ham. Gustave’s father Robert, aged 58, was working as a Managing Clerk to a Land Surveyor, while his mother Martha, aged 49, managed the household. Their children were Gustave T. (23), employed as an Assistant to a Milliner Warehouseman; Pattie (21), assisting her mother; Dudley (19), a Bank Clerk; Grace M. (17), an Assistant Milliner; Amy (15), an Apprentice in the Fancy Trade; and Dorothy (11), still at school.

1911 Census

Gustave later married Ella Palmer, an Irish-born widow whose family had settled in Swansea.
By the 1911 Census, Gustave, aged 34, was living with Ella (38) at 589 Reddings Lane, Sparkhill, Birmingham. He was employed as a Wholesale Drapery Buyer. Their two sons were Dudley Stanford (4) and Edwin Stanford (8 months), both born in Birmingham.

Military Service

During the First World War, Gustave served as a Lance Serjeant with the Royal Army Pay Corps, one of the corps responsible for military pay, administration, records, and personnel services across the British Army.

Death and Burial

Gustave Thomas Braithwaite
Christchurch Cemetery, Newport
credit - findagrave

Lance Serjeant Gustave Thomas Braithwaite died on 18^th May 1921, during the extended official war period. Although the precise cause of his death has not survived in summary records, he was still serving with the Royal Army Pay Corps at the time. The years 1919–1921 saw widespread outbreaks of influenza, respiratory illness, tuberculosis, and other conditions, many worsened by years of wartime hardship. Personnel in administrative units like the Pay Corps often worked in overcrowded offices, temporary accommodation, or barracks where disease spread easily, and many soldiers suffered lingering health problems originating during the war. Because Gustave died while still in service and before the official end-of-war date of 31^st August 1921, his death met the criteria for Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemoration.

He is buried in Christchurch Cemetery, Newport.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records his widow Ella, aged 47, living at 12 Chapel Street, Oystermouth, with their two sons: Dudley (14) and Edwin (10)