Hastings Cemetery

Hastings, East Sussex

John Richard Pearson (1833-1910)

Born on 16th April in Bognor, Sussex to the Reverend John & Frances Pearson, he went on to become a Gentleman Cadet at Addiscombe College, Croydon. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal (Bengal) Artillery in June 1852, becoming a 1st Lieutenant five years later. During the Indian Mutiny 1857-58, he saw service at the Relief of Lucknow, the Rohilcund Campaign, the Battle of Bareilly, Shahjehanpore and Mohumdee, being mentioned in dispatches. He was promoted to 2nd Captain in 1861 and retired on half pay in May 1866, with an appointment as the adjutant of the 1st Monmouthshire Artillery Volunteers. He and his wife later moved from Monmouthshire to Aylesford in Kent, and then on to St. Leonards to live with his in-Laws. He passed away in 1910 from sudden heart failure.
Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Paul Cox

Gilbert Elliot (1826-1865)

Gilbert Elliot was born on 23rd May 1826, as the son of the Earl of Minto, a diplomat, and Whig Politician. His sister would marry Lord John Russel, who became Prime Minister on two separate occasions. In 1843, he was able to purchase a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade at Corfu, purchasing a First Lieutenancy three years later. In 1847 he became an Adjutant and became a Captain in 1852. The following year, he was appointed as Aide-de-Camp to Lieutenant General George Cathcart, the Governor and Commander of the Cape of Good Hope colony. Elliot then saw action in the Kaffir War of 1852-53 and the Battle of Berea. He was sent with the Rifle Brigade to the Crimea, with Cathcart commanding the Fourth Division of the British Expeditionary Army. However, Elliot fell ill, and Cathcart, personally, put him on the waggon carrying the sick to Balaclava; this occurred shortly before the latter’s death at the Battle of Inkerman.

When Elliot recovered, he was made Deputy Assistant in the Adjutant and Quartermaster General’s Department in 1855. He was promoted to Major in 1857, after holding the position as Brevet Rank for some time. After his marriage in 1858 to his wife Katherine Anne Gilbert, daughter of the Archbishop of Chester, he went on to serve in Malta between 1858 and 1861. Following his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 1862, he then served in Ireland between 1864 and 65, which proved to be his last posting outside Great Britain. He had never fully recovered from the illnesses he had previously contracted whilst serving abroad and died at Hastings on 25th May 1865 at the age of 39.
Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Paul Cox

Charles Sheldon Pearce Woodruffe (1839-1906)

Born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire to Lieutenant Commander Charles Daniel Woodruffe, Charles Woodruffe followed his father into the Royal Navy in 1853. He served during the Crimean War, helping to land troops in boats from HMS Agamemnon, being present for the bombardment of Sevastopol and was also at Balaclava. Serving aboard HMS Royal Albert, he took part in the capture of Kiburn and Kertch.

After the end of the Crimean War, he served in the China Seas against pirates, commanding boats from HMS Magicienne and storming the Peiho Forts in June 1859. He was made a Sub-Lieutenant in December 1859 and a full Lieutenant the following year. After serving on several vessels, including HMS Majestic and HMS Antelope, he was promoted to Commander in 1874, the same year that he took up command of the Coastguards station at Great Yarmouth, a post which he held until 1877. 1874 was also the same year he married his wife Mary, with whom he had three children. After serving on HMS Beacon in the Persian Gulf, he returned to run the Coastguards station at Hastings and St. Leonards between 1881 and 1885. He retired in 1887 and, after a long battle will ill health, died at age 67 on 22nd September 1906, at Old Roar House, Silverhill Park, St. Leonards on Sea, where he had lived for 27 years. Beyond his Naval career, he was also a manager for the Silverhill’s Schools, and had also been a waywarden for the Highways Board. Ten Coastguards served as the bearers at his funeral.
Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Paul Cox

Frederick Chamier (1796-1870)

Frederick Chamier was born on 2nd November to Anglo-Indian Official John Chamier and Georgiana Chamier, the daughter of a Vice-Admiral in London. He joined the Navy as a midshipman aboard HMS Salsette in time for Walcheren Campaign. After the campaign, the Salsette travelled to the Mediterranean where on the 11th April 1810 at Smyrna, the young midshipman met Lord Bryon, who took an interest in the young man and inspired in him a love of Homer after a visit to Tenedos. Whilst at Constantinople, Chamier went with Captain Bathurst to many receptions and audiences with Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II. Bathurst took Chamier with him when promoted to his next command, the Fame, and Chamier was later transferred to the Arethusa, where he served in the Mediterranean combatting the slave trade, and then served aboard the Menelaus under Sir Peter Parker.

He was promoted to Lieutenant on 6th July 1815 and continued to serve in the Mediterranean, the Home station and the West Indies. His final act in service was commanding the brig Britomart in bringing her from the West Indies back to England, and was soon after paid off. He was placed on the Navy’s retired list in 1833, and was formally promoted Captain on 1st April 1856. Settling into retired life after 1827, he divided his time between Belgravia and Paris, publishing his autobiography, the Life of a Sailor, in 1831 as a serial in The Metropolitan Magazine. He had invested heavily in the latter magazine, but the venture failed at the end of that year. However, whilst in Paris recovering from this failure, he met his future wife Bessie Soane. When her Guardian refused them permission to marry, they eloped and married at Gretna Green. Chamier went on to write several nautical novels, including The Unfortunate Man (1835), Ben Brace, the Last of Nelson's Agamemnons (1836), The Arethusa (1837), Jack Adams, the Mutineer (1838), The Spitfire (1840), Tom Bowling (1841), a trilogy Count Konigsmark (1845) and Jack Malcolm's Log (1846). He also wrote several travel books and continued William James's Naval History, as well as investing in several different companies, including the railways.

He eventually passed away in 1870 after a lingering disease after living at Warrior Square, St. Leonards-on-sea.
Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Paul Barlow

Thomas Lambert Hinton (1808-1908)

Born in late April/early May to William and Elizabeth Hinton at Daglingworth, Gloucestershire. His father was lay rector of South Cerny parish and his brother was a magistrate, but Thomas went an studied at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, becoming a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1833. He also studied and qualified in Paris.He served in India during the cholera outbreak of 1829-30 and saw action at the battle of Ghazni in 1839 during the first Anglo-Afghan war. He applied to become an assistant surgeon in the East India Company in December 1841 and was appointed Assistant Surgeon to the 1st Bengal Fusiliers in January 1842. He resigned in October 1845 and became Surgeon to Reading dispensary. Whilst travelling aboard the Liverpool in 1846, he was shipwrecked off Cape Finisterre, Spain. Being a good swimmer, he was instrumental in rescuing a child that was thrown to him, although many lives were lost. In the wreck, he lost all his papers, including his professional diploma. He married his wife Anne in 1857, with whom he had four children. The family moved to St. Leonards in 1875, where they stayed until Thomas’ death on 14th June 1908.
Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Simone Reid

Herman Thiele (1858-1888)

Herman was born on Bermuda, the son of Charles Thiele, a German immigrant to the island. He was sent to study medicine at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, where his brother was also enrolled. Herman graduated in 1884, and after spending a short additional time in Aberdeen, he enlisted with the Army Medical School at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, graduating on 30th January 1886 with the rank of Captain. He married Louisa Dixon in August that year in Chatham and, shortly afterwards, they sailed for India, arriving in the Spring of 1887. Their son Basil was born on 13th June 1887 in Peshawar. Herman died in 7th July 1888, although it was reported as 7th August on his memorial. He died of an illness which he had contracted on his way back from a short leave of absence in Thundiani. He was buried with full military honours. Louisa sailed back to Britain with their son, but sadly Basil died at the age of five, and it was Louisa’s wish to be buried with him when she passed in 1931. Herman was also commemorated on their headstone in Hove.

Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Hillary Chalis

William Hull Caine (1836-1906)

William was born on Christmas Eve in India as the second son of Captain William Caine of the 41st Regiment of Foot and his wife Mary. He spent some of his childhood in Hong Kong when his father’s regiment was posted there, but travelled to England in late 1845 and the family settled near Rochester. The elder William returned to Hong Kong for service, eventually becoming Acting Governor before his retirement in 1859. At the age of 15, William applied to become a cadet in the East India Company Army. He entered the EIC Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1855, and rose to become Lieutenant in 1858, serving in the Indian Mutiny. When the British Army assumed direct military control of the EIC armies, William, then 25, transferred to the Royal Artillery. He became a Captain Lieutenant in 1865, was promoted to Captain in 1871 and then to Major in July 1872. In 1877 he was not only promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, but also married 18-years-old Agnes Shakespear Meade, daughter of General Sir Richard John Meade. William achieved the brevet rank of Colonel in 1881, became Major-General in 1889 and in July 1892 became a Lieutenant General before his retirement that October. He and his wife lived in London until bis death.

Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Hillary Chalis

George Townsend Scott (c1842/44-1888)

George was the youngest son of General Sir Hopton Stratford Scott and his wife, Mary. His exact date of birth is uncertain, but he appears to have been born in Ireland, as was the rest of his seven siblings. George joined the Army in 1862, two years after his father’s death, purchasing a commission as an Ensign in the 9th Regiment, where his eldest brother, also named Hopton, was a Lieutenant Colonel. It is unclear in which Battalion of the 9th Regiment George served, so it is not easy to trace his movements, but he purchased a Lieutenancy in the 52nd (Oxford) Regiment of Foot in October 1865. George retired from the Army in 1867, marrying his wife Charlotte the same year. Charlotte stood to inherit a sizeable sum of money, which may have spurred George’s retirement. They moved to Wales, near Welshpool, shortly afterwards but left by 1875. George died at St. Leonards at the age of 37 in 1888.

Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Hillary Chalis