25836 DRIVER STEPHEN STOCKS

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, P.E., MinstRE
(1999, revised March 2023)

Figure 1. The Crest of the Corps of Royal Engineers.
(Image courtesy of S. Gase).

The following information regarding the life of Driver Stocks has been taken primarily from his service papers, WO97/6004, on file in the Public Record Office, London. Where other sources are used, they are cited in the endnotes. In addition to the service papers, family trees were found for Stephen Stocks during the 2022 review of records on Ancestry.com. These family trees, as well as census documents now available, have added to Stocks’ story.

According to his service papers, Stephen Stocks indicated that he had been born in the Parish of St. Giles, near the town of Reading, in the County of Berkshire in November of 1873. Conflicting information was uncovered in several family trees, which indicated that he had been born in 1869 in Selston, Nottinghamshire. The 1871 and 1881 Census of England both show that he was born in Selston. Why he indicated on his Short Service Attestation document that he had been born in Berkshire will remain a mystery. Given the evidence available it must be assumed that he either lied or was confused about his birthplace when he enlisted.

As a young boy Stephen worked as a groom. When he turned 18 years of age, Stephen joined the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, which had its headquarters at Reading. He was still serving with that militia battalion when he decided to enlist in the Regular Army. Prior to joining the Royal Engineers, Stephen was not married, he had no criminal record, and he had no prior service in the Regular Forces. He was residing with his parents at the time of his enlistment.

Based on information included in his service papers, Stephen’s parents were Jeremiah and Rebecca Stocks (née Whittaker). The family trees found on Ancestry.com during the 2022 review also indicate that these were his parents. Jeremiah and Rebecca had nine children: four boys and five girls. Based on information provided in the family tree of Jeremiah Stocks, it appears that one of the sons, William Stocks (1860-) died when he was four or five years old, and the couple had another son in 1865 who they also named William.[1]

At the time of Stephen’s enlistment in the Army in 1892, his parents were residing at 20 Bridge Place in Worksop, in the County of Nottinghamshire.When Stephen enlisted, his eldest brother, Edward, was residing in Ducknall, Nottinghamshire and his brother William was stationed with the 7th Hussars in Madras, India. According to Stephen’s service papers, his three sisters, Alice Fanny, Jane Georgina, and Elizabeth Sarah were all living with their parents in Worksop at the time; however, the 1891 Census of England shows only Eliza living at home with her father and mother.

The 1891 census indicates that the address at 20 Bridge Place was the Granby Inn and that Jeremiah Stocks was a Pub Innkeeper.

Stephen Stocks was 18 years and 3 months old when he was recruited by Sergeant Dunn of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment for service in the Royal Engineers. He was given a physical examination at Reading on 24 February 1892 and was declared fit for military service.[2] During this examination, Stocks was described as being 5 feet 4¼ inches tall and weighing 129 pounds. His minimum and maximum chest measurements were 34½ inches and 37 inches, respectively. Stocks had a fair complexion, blue eyes, and fair hair. His distinctive marks included a scar over his left eye. His Description on Enlistment also indicated that he was a member of the Church of England.

Stephen Stocks enlisted in the Royal Engineers at Reading on 26 February 1892. His was a Short Service enlistment as a Driver for a period of 3 years with the Colours and 9 years in the Army Reserve. Since he was only 5 feet 4¼ inches tall, Stephen Stocks just barely met the minimum height requirement for enlistment in the Royal Engineers. Even with a height of 5 feet 4¼ inches he would only be qualified to be a Boatman or a Driver. His civilian trade as a groom would have been useful for his duties as a Driver; hence, he just barely found his way into the Corps of Royal Engineers.

His Oath of Attestation was certified at Reading by Colonel H. Barrett, Commanding, 49th Regimental District.[3] Stocks’ Certificate of Primary Military Examination was also completed on this date by the Recruiting Officer of the 49th Regimental District and he was considered fit for service in the Royal Engineers. Colonel Barrett then completed the Certificate of Approving Field Officer and Stocks’ enlistment was given final approval.

Although his service papers are not specific on this detail, Stephen Stocks was probably sent to the depot of the field engineers at Aldershot where drivers were trained. Upon successful completion of his training in 1893 he became 25836 Driver Stephen Stocks, Royal Engineers.

Driver Stocks was posted to “A” Pontoon Troop, Royal Engineer at Aldershot under Captain James Laird Irvine, R.E.[4] As he neared the completion of his three years of active service, Driver Stocks decided to extend his service to complete 7 years with the Colours. This he did on 17 January 1895 while serving under the command of Major Arthur Herbert Kenney, R.E.[5]

In 1897 Driver Stocks was posted to the 37th Field Company, Royal Engineers under the command of Captain George Montague Harper, R.E.[6]^,^[7] Harper ultimately became Lieutenant-General Sir George Montague Harper, KCB, DSO, a senior officer during the Great War of 1914-1918. He held important staff positions at the War Office before the war and at British Expeditionary Force Headquarters in France in 1914.

Figure 2. Lieutenant-General George Montague Harper.
(Image from the author’s Collection)

Stocks continued his service with this company until 25 February 1899 when his period of enlistment expired. Driver Stocks received deferred pay in the amount of 18 Pounds and 10 Shillings on this day and was transferred to the First Class Army Reserve. On the following day he was picked up on the Army Reserve rolls.

Stephen Stocks would remain a civilian for less than 8 months. With the likelihood of war with the Boers in South Africa increasing, Driver Stocks was recalled to Army Service under Special Army Order of 7 October 1899. He reported to the 12th Field Company, Royal Engineers with the 3rd Infantry Division at Aldershot on 9 October 1899. The 3^rd Division and the 12^th Field Company were preparing for deployment to South Africa when Stocks arrived at Aldershot.

Stocks’ company, under the command of Major Graham Thomson, R.E., embarked for South Africa on 7 November 1899 and landed at East London on 3 December. The company proceeded at once to Sir William Forbes Gatacre’s[8] headquarters at Putterskraal between Queenstown and Sterkstrom where the general was preparing to drive the Boers out of Stormberg. The greater part of the 12th Field Company was detailed to take part in the operation and went by train to Molteno on the afternoon of 6 December. It was planned that the British force was to make a night march from Molteno and surprise the Boers at Stormberg. Owing to various causes, the attack failed, and General Gatacre’s force retired to Sterkstrom where the 12th Field Company did good work in constructing defences around the town and at advanced positions in front of it.[9]

On 10 February 1900 a detachment of the 12th Field Company was organized under Company Sergeant Major Field for service as a mounted troop. This troop did excellent work for the division, acting on the right flank of the British force at Sterkstrom. Unfortunately, there are no indications in Stocks’ military papers to indicate that he was part of this mounted troop.[10]

By May of 1900, the 12th Field Company was assigned to the 11th Infantry Division and was operating in the Orange Free State. The 11th Infantry Division was to take part in Lord Robert’s invasion of the Transvaal as part of the main column advancing along the railway line from Bloemfontein to the Vaal River at Vereenigen.[11] The advance from Bloemfontein commenced on 3 May 1900. During the advance, the 12th Field Company marched with its division and did much work improving roads and assisting in the repair of the railway line. Lord Roberts marched into Kroonstadt with the 11th Division on 12 May 1900. The Boers, in their retreat from Bloemfontein, had done an enormous amount of damage to the railway and had destroyed four large and many smaller bridges. The 12th Field Company, along with the 26th Field Company, “C” Pontoon Troop, and the Railway Pioneer Regiment, all assisted in making the railway fit again for use. This was accomplished by constructing deviation lines across the different rivers when it would have taken too long to repair the original bridges. Following the completion of this work the company took part in the capture of Johannesburg on 29 May 1900 and then moved into Pretoria, which the British Army had taken possession of on 5 June 1900.[12]

Figure 3. Bridge Destroyed by Boers in South Africa.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Figure 4. Bridge Destroyed by the Boers in South Africa.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The Boers retreated from Pretoria along the railway leading east from the capital and took up positions on some hills near Pienaarpoort Station, about 14 miles distant. Lord Roberts sent a force of about 14,000 men to attack them. Driver Stocks and the men of the 12th Field Company were with this force. The British attacked the Boers at Diamond Hill, the key feature of the position, and captured it. The Boers retired, leaving Pretoria safe from further threat.[13]

The 12th Field Company next took part in the advance from Pretoria into the eastern Transvaal. Belfast was occupied on 12 August 1900 and the company was employed in constructing defenses around the town. As the advance continued, the 11th Division, with the 12th Field Company attached to it, reached Komati Poorton 24 of September. The company was immediately put to work putting the railway in order and getting the rolling stock into working condition. The first troop train was able to run on 28 September and the last of the main British force left Komati Poort on 10 October. Driver Stocks and the 12th Field Company remained at Komati Poort to prepare cantonments for the garrison.[14] The company moved to Barberton on 2 September 1901.

Figure 5. Bridge Over the Modder River Constructed by the Royal Engineers.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Figure 6. Memorial to a New South Wales Engineer Officer Killed at Diamond Hill.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Figure 7. Driver Stocks Travels Through South Africa during the War.
(Map from WATSON. C.M.)

Driver Stocks departed South Africa for England on 9 December 1900 and was posted to the Royal Engineer Field Park at Aldershot. His old unit, the 12th Field Company, did not return until after 1903. On 17 July 1901, while stationed at Barberton, South Africa with his company, Major Thomson prepared the Queen’s South Africa medal roll for the company.

On 30 April 1902, Driver Stocks was again transferred to the Army Reserve by authority of Orders 109-Engrs-2968., A.G.6., dated 27 March 1902. He was paid a gratuity of 3 Pounds upon his transfer. On the following day he was picked up on the rolls of the First Class Army Reserve by Major Frederick Vaughan Jeffreys, R.E.,[15] Officer Commanding the Royal Engineer Field Depot at Aldershot. In July of 1902, Driver Stocks was paid his 5 Pound South African War Gratuity. He was discharged on 25 February 1904. At the termination of his first period of limited engagement, his service was reckoned as follows:

Stocks was never promoted during his time in the Army and he did not qualify for any Certificates of Education. He was awarded two Good Conduct Badges while serving with the Colours and was paid an extra penny (1.d.) per day for each award. The first Good Conduct Badge was awarded on 23 July 1895, after 3 years and 5 months of service. The second badge was awarded on 26 February 1898, after he had served a total of 6 years.[16] It should be noted that Stocks did not receive his first Good Conduct Badge after two years. He was one year and five months late in receiving it. Although his service papers show no record of a disciplinary problem, one must assume that there was one that caused the delay of the award. He did receive the second badge at exactly 6 years of service; hence, it may also be assumed that his conduct was without problems after the award of the first badge.

Driver Stocks was awarded a 5-clasp medal for his service in the Boer War. He is listed on the 12^th Company, Royal Engineers Queen’s South Africa medal roll as eligible for the medal with the clasps [JOHANNESBURG] [DIAMOND HILL] [BELFAST] [CAPE COLONY] [ORANGE FREE STATE].[17] The roll was prepared at Barberton on 17 July 1901 by Major Graham Thomson, R.E.

Figure 8. The Queen’s South Africa Medal of 25836 Driver Stephen Stocks, R.E.
(Image from the author’s collection)

Stephen Stocks had been transferred to the Army Reserve on 25 February 1904. More than ten years passed from that date to the start of the Great War in August of 1914. Stock would have been 41 years old when the Great War started. It was unlikely that he still had a commitment to serve because of his reservist obligation; however, patriotic zeal could have caused him to volunteer to serve in a limited capacity or in a unit that was able to employ a 41-year old veteran. Medal Index Cards were searched for a Stephen Stocks who might have served during the Great War. Three men were found:

· 15490 Private Stephen Stocks, Lincolnshire Regiment, who was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal.

· 89752 Gunner Stephen Stocks, Royal Field Artillery, who was awarded the 1914 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal, and

· 77810 & 199277 Driver Stephen Stocks, Royal Garrison Artillery and Royal Engineers, who was awarded only the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

77810 was his number in the Royal Garrison Artillery and 199277 was his number in the Royal Engineers.

The first man can be eliminated because he was an infantryman and the second man can be eliminated because he was a Gunner in the R.A. Furthermore, each man was deployed to a theater of the conflict early in the war and probably would have been in the Regular Army or in one of the first line Territorial Force units. Stephen Stocks, at age 41, would not have been in such a unit. The last man listed was a Driver. Stephen Stocks was a Driver when he served in South Africa during the Boer War. Secondly, the man initially was posted as a Driver to the Royal Garrison Artillery. The R.G.A. was armed with heavy, large caliber guns and howitzers that were positioned some way behind the front line. Because of his age, this is the type of unit that Driver Stephen Stocks could have served with, not a front line unit, but one positioned well behind the front line. However, it appears that the Army recognized that Stocks had originally served with the Royal Engineers, so it was decided to transfer him to that Corps. The Medal Index Card for this Driver Stocks is shown below.

It should be noted that the Medal Index Card does not show a “Theatre of War first served in” of a “Date of entry therein.” It is difficult, therefore, to determine how Driver Stocks was entitled to these two medals. In any case, while there is some evidence to conclude that the Driver Stephen Stocks whose medal is in the author’s collection did serve in the Great War, it must be emphasized that this is an assumption based solely on the evidence presented above.

Figure 9. The Great War Medal Index Card of 77810 (199277) Driver Stephen Stocks, R.G.A. and R.E.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Stephen Stocks was not married during his time in the Army nor is there any indication on any of the family trees found on Ancestry.com that Stocks was married.

Jeremiah Stocks (1828-1894). Stephen’s father was born in South Normanton, Derbyshire in about 1828. From about the age of 23 to the age of 43 he worked as a coal miner. In 1871 he became a Publican, in 1881 he was a Beerhouse Keeper and in 1891 he was an Innkeeper. In 1856 Jeremiah married Rebecca Whittaker (1836-1900) of Nottinghamshire. For most of their lives they lived in South Normanton and in 1881 they were living at the Miner’s Arms on Pit Lane in Hucknall-under-Huthwaite in Nottinghamshire.[19] In 1891 Jeremiah and Rebecca lived in the Granby Inn, 20 Bridge Place, in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Jeremiah died in Worksop in March of 1894 at the age of 66.

Rebecca Stocks, née Whittaker (1836-1900). Stephen’s mother was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire[20] about 1836. She resided in Sutton-in-Ashfield until she married Jeremiah Stocks. In 1881 she resided with her husband at the Miner’s Arms on Pit Lane in Hucknall-under-Huthwaite and assisted Jeremiah as Beerhouse keeper. She later lived with him at The Granby Inn. Rebecca died in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in December 1900 at the age of 64.

Edward Whittaker Stocks was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire in June 1855. As their first born, Edward was given his mother’s family name as his middle name. He was a coal miner by trade. Edward married Eliza Emma Heathcote in St. Mary Magdalene’s Church in Sutton-in-Ashfield on 30 May 1882. They had a daughter, Jane Rebecca E. M. A. W. Stocks born in June of 1894 at Hucknall-under-Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. Edward died in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire on 19 September 1916.

Alice Stocks was born in South Normanton, Derbyshire in September of 1857. Alice married John James Alvey (1851-1919) at St. Werburgh’s Church in Blackwell, Derbyshire on 24 June 1878. They had a daughter, Edith Alvey (1882-?). Alice died in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in September of 1935.

William Stocks was born South Normanton, Derbyshire about 1860. He was the first child named William born to Jeremiah and Rebecca Stocks. He appeared to have lived a short while and died before 1865, although his date of death is unknown.

The second son named William in the Stocks family also was born in South Normanton, Derbyshire on 7 April 1861. He was named after his deceased brother, as it appears that the Stocks wanted a son named William in the family. William apparently never married. His date of death is not known.

Jane Stocks was born in South Normanton, Derbyshire about 1867. Jane apparently never married. Her date of death is not known.

Georgina Stocks was born in Selston, Nottinghamshire about 1871. Georgina apparently never married. Her date of death is not known.

Eliza Stocks was born in Nottinghamshire about 1874. Eliza apparently never married. Her date of death is not known.

Sarah Ann Stocks was born in Blackwell, Derbyshire about 1876. Sarah Ann never married. Her date of death is not known.

The accuracy and completeness of the information presented above on Stephen Stocks’ siblings may be questionable. It was derived from the family trees found on Ancestry.com, family trees that appear to be incomplete in many instances.

Queen’s South Africa Medal Roll, 12^th Company, Royal Engineers, Barberton, South Africa, 17 July 1901.

[1] Jeremiah Stocks family tree.

[2] See Age and Physical Requirements for Soldiers in the British Army (Victorian Period).

[3] The 49th Regimental District at Reading was the Headquarters of Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment).

[4] James Laird Irvine. Lieutenant, 16 June 1877; Captain, 1 April 1888; Major, 11 March 1896. War Service: Egypt, 1882; South Africa, 1899-1901.

[5] Arthur Herbert Kenney, C.M.G. Lieutenant, 29 April 1873; Captain, 8 January 1885; Major, 23 November 1992; Lieutenant Colonel, 6 May 1900. War Service: Afghanistan, 1878-80; Sudan, 1884-5; South Africa, 1899-1900.

[6] George Montague Harper. Lieutenant, 5 July 1884; Captain, 1 October 1892.

[7] See http://www.reubique.com/harper.htm.

[8] Lieutenant-General, KCB, DSO (3 December 1843 – 18 January 1906).

[9] WATSON, C.M., pp. 90-91.

[11] Ibid., pp. 113-114.

[12] Ibid., pp. 115-116.

[13] Ibid., pp. 119-120.

[14] Ibid., p. 123.

[15] Frederick Vaughan Jeffreys. Lieutenant, 6 April 1879; Captain, 1 April 1889; Major, 23 October 1897. War Service: China, 1900-1901.

[16] See Good Conduct Pay and Long Service and Good Conduct Chevrons (Badges) and Their Periods of Qualification.

[17] This medal is in the author’s collection.

[18] Jeremiah Stocks family tree.

[19] Huthwaite is a village in Nottinghamshire, England, located to the west of Mansfield, close to the Derbyshire boundary. It is in the Huthwaite and Brierley ward of Ashfield District Council. Before 1907 the village was known as Hucknall-under-Huthwaite and also Dirty Hucknall.

[20] Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, two miles from the Derbyshire border and 12 miles north of Nottingham.

Country	From	To	Years	Days
Home	26 Feb 1892	7 Nov 1899	7	255
South Africa	8 Nov 1899	8 Dec 1900	1	31
Home	9 Dec 1900	25 Feb 1904	3	79
Total Service	26 Feb 1892	25 Feb 1904	12	0