Like Father Like Lumm Part 1
Sergeant John William Lumm Essex Regiment, Machine Gun Corps & Special Constabulary
John William Lumm
The Man John William Lumm was born during the first quarter of 1879 in Purleigh, Maldon, Essex, son of John George, a Jobbing Bricklayer and Eliza Ada. He was one of three children Henry E born in 1880 and Ada born 1890 and by the time of the 1891 census, John aged 11 was listed as a scholar and living with his parents and siblings at 136 Princes Road, Avon Villa in Epping. Five years later, John had now moved to 11 Prospect Road working as a Labourer and on 2nd December 1905, aged 17 years and 11 months attested at Waltham Abbey into the 4th Battalion Essex Regiment for a period of six years with service number 6076. John was described as 5’. 5 3/8” tall and weighing 107lbs. His chest measurement was 32” with a maximum expansion of 33”. He had a fresh complexion and brown eyes, his religion was given as Church of England. He served in the Essex Regiment until 24th April 1999 when he purchased himself out? Although he is shown on the 1901 census as still serving at Colchester Garrison as a Corporal, remaining in the Essex Regiment, subsequently being promoted to Sergeant. By 1911 John had left the Army and was living with his mother and step father Henry Vickers, Eliza having re-married, following the death of John senior. He was working as a doorman and on 6th August 1911 aged 32 married Mary Eliza Gilbey in West Ham. They had twin children Herbert John and a sister, although sadly Herbert’s sister died whilst still very young. Following the outbreak of World War I, John was re-called into E Company, 13th Battalion of the Essex Regiment as a Sergeant and by March 1916 was at the Eagle Hotel in Leeds, having transferred to the Machine Gun Corps working as a Leather Stitcher. His new service number was 28659 and he later saw service in France being awarded the 1914-18 Bitish War and Victory Medals. Mary also served during the war working as a Munitionette. Following the War John joined the special Constabulary where he served for at least nine years during the 1920s and was awarded the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. He also seems to have worked on the railways and as a Draper’s Handyman.
John passed away on 22nd June 1954 aged 75 and was living at 36 Chingford Lane, Wodford Green, at the time. He died of coronary thrombosis and his wife Mary was present at his death. Mary herself sadly began suffering from dementia and moved in with her son Herbert and his wife Nel at their address 14 Beechwood Drive, Woodford Green, whre he cared for her until her death six years later on 11th November 1960, appropriately perhaps - Armistice Day.
The Story Another interesting story that began fairly normally. The family groups of medals awarded to John William and his Son Herbert John Lumm, were - |
seen on E-Bay in November 2012. Herbert's were the ones that caused interest, as it is unusual to see World War II awards with an Elizabeth II Efficiency Medal, rather than the more common George VI. It was noticed that Herbert’s Father’s medals were being auctioned separately, both sets with paperwork and photographs. There was also a third lot of mainly paperwork without medals relating to a Charles Childe. As it feels so wrong to split up family history, and in view of the unusual Efficiency Medal, the Lumm groups were bid on and acquired. It was quickly established that the seller, was in fact the Granddaughter of Herbert and Great-Granddaughter of John. As such and following an exchange of e mails, further photographs, biographical detail and ephemera were provided, including a pocket watch used by John whilst working on the railways. During the course of the e-mail exchanges, it was revealed that the Charles Childe lot had also been one of the seller’s Great Grandfathers on her mother’s side; and it became clear that the entire three lots should have been kept together. An e-mail was therefore sent to the winner of the Childe lot, explaining the situation and asking if he would be willing to part with it. Thankfully the winner was very cooperative and understood the importance of retaining historical family groups, and agreed to part with everything for the price he had originally paid for them. Because of the amount of paperwork with the medals, the cooperation of their Granddaughter and Ancestry.uk, it has been possible to piece together brief biographies of all three men, John being of especial interest as his original attestation paperwork from the late 1800s was discovered on Find my past.com. There is of course potential for further expansion of the biographies and the family may well uncover more useful information in time. Another example of the importance of a. Keeping family groups together. b. Asking the vendor if there is anything else relating to the recipient.
Munitionettes
Early in the war, the United Kingdom's munitions industry found itself having difficulty producing the amount of weapons and ammunition needed by the country's armed forces. In response to this crisis, known as the Shell Crisis of 1915, the British government passed the Munitions of War Act in 1915 to increase government oversight and regulation of the industry. The newly created Ministry of Munitions regulated wages, hours and employment conditions in munitions factories. It also forced the factories to admit more women as employees, because so many of the nation's men were engaged in fighting in the war and male labour was in short supply. Consequently, between 1914 and the end of World War I, the number of women working in Britain's munitions industry increased from 212,000 to 950,000. By June 1917, roughly 80% of the weaponry and ammunition used by the British army during World War I was being made by munitionettes. Notably, women in the industry were paid on average less that half of what the men were paid and worked with hazardous chemicals on a daily basis without proper gear to protect them. Many women worked with trinitrotoluene (TNT), and prolonged exposure to the sulfur turned the women's skin a yellow colour. The women whose skin was turned yellow were popularly called canary girls. Prolonged exposure to the chemicals also created serious health risks for the munitionettes. Exposure over a long period of time to chemicals such as TNT can cause severe harm to the immune system. People exposed to TNT can experience liver failure, anemia, and spleen enlargement; TNT can even affect women’s fertility. Another ever-present hazard of the munitionettes' work was the risk of explosion. On several occasions the explosives the women were working with ignited, injuring or killing the workers. Explosions at British munitions factories during World War I included the 1917 Silvertown explosion, in which 73 people were killed and over 400 injured, and a 1918 explosion at the National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell, which killed over 130 workers.
Early in the war, the United Kingdom's munitions industry found itself having difficulty producing the amount of weapons and ammunition needed by the country's armed forces. In response to this crisis, known as the Shell Crisis of 1915, the British government passed the Munitions of War Act in 1915 to increase government oversight and regulation of the industry. The newly created Ministry of Munitions regulated wages, hours and employment conditions in munitions factories. It also forced the factories to admit more women as employees, because so many of the nation's men were engaged in fighting in the war and male labour was in short supply. Consequently, between 1914 and the end of World War I, the number of women working in Britain's munitions industry increased from 212,000 to 950,000. By June 1917, roughly 80% of the weaponry and ammunition used by the British army during World War I was being made by munitionettes. Notably, women in the industry were paid on average less that half of what the men were paid and worked with hazardous chemicals on a daily basis without proper gear to protect them. Many women worked with trinitrotoluene (TNT), and prolonged exposure to the sulfur turned the women's skin a yellow colour. The women whose skin was turned yellow were popularly called canary girls. Prolonged exposure to the chemicals also created serious health risks for the munitionettes. Exposure over a long period of time to chemicals such as TNT can cause severe harm to the immune system. People exposed to TNT can experience liver failure, anemia, and spleen enlargement; TNT can even affect women’s fertility. Another ever-present hazard of the munitionettes' work was the risk of explosion. On several occasions the explosives the women were working with ignited, injuring or killing the workers. Explosions at British munitions factories during World War I included the 1917 Silvertown explosion, in which 73 people were killed and over 400 injured, and a 1918 explosion at the National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell, which killed over 130 workers.
Medal Details:
- British War Medal 1914-19: 28659 A.SJT. J.LUMM. M.G.C.
- Victory Medal: 28659 A.SJT. J.LUMM. M.G.C.
- Special Constabulary Medal: JOHN. W. LUMM.
This page last updated 1 Mar 17