The Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment

Lance Corporal F Lovell


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Lance Corporal Frederick LOVELL, G/1915, 8th  Battalion,  Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment, killed in action, Flanders, France, death presumed on or after, 26th September 1915, age 45.

Born St Ives, Cambridgeshire, son of Robert and Emma Lovell, of London.


9th September 1900, Parish Church, St Jude, Peckham, Frederick Lovell, age 20, bachelor, labourer, 25 King Arthur Street, father, Arthur Robert Lovell, painter, married *Eliza Caroline Seaman, age 17, spinster, 25 King Arthur Street, father, William Seaman, stone repairer.

1901 Census - 2 Russell Road, Camberwell - Frederick Lovell, head, age 21, married, wine packer, born St Ives, Cambridgeshire; *Eliza Lovell, wife, age 17, born Camberwell, London; Frederick Lovell, son, age 4 months, born Camberwell, London. *died 1905 December, Camberwell Registration District, age 23.

1911 Census - 4 Old James Street, Nunhead, SE - William Seaman, head, age 46, married, printers labourers, lithographic printing, worker, born Stepney, London; Sarah Seaman, wife, age 46, married 28 years, 2 children one still alive, born Bermondsey, London; Elizabeth Pitman, daughter, age 20, married 1 year, no children, born Peckham, London; Albert Pitman, son in law, age 24, married, warehouseman, builders merchants, worker, born Peckham, London; Frederick Lovel, grandson, age 10, school,  born Peckham, London; William Lovel, grandson, age 7, born Peckham, London; Carryline Lovel, grandaughter, age 6, born Peckham, London.


15th May 1909, St Lukes Church, Bromley, married Sushannah Hawes Hardstone, spinster.

Children - Florence Hardstone, (illegitimate) born 23rd September 1904, Bromley, Kent; Patricia Lovell, born 17th March 1910, Bromley, Kent; Annie Lovell, born 22nd/23rd July 1911, Bromley, Kent; Emma Lovell, born 26th December 1912, Bromley, Kent.

1911 Census - 60 Homesdale Road, Bromley Common, Kent - Fred Lovell, head, age 31, married, general labourer, worker, born St Ives, Cambridgeshire; Susannah Lovell, wife, age 29, married 2 years, 1 child, born Down, Kent; Patricia Lovell, daughter, age 1, born Bromley, Kent; Florrie Hardstone, step daughter, age 6, born Bromley, Kent.


Enlisted Bromley, Kent, age 34 years & 10 months, height 5ft 5 inches, weight 139lbs?, fresh complexion, grey eyes, brown hair.  Resided 52 Recreation Road,  Bromley, Kent. Formerly labourer.

Home 8th September 1914 to 29th August 1915; BEF 30th August 1915 to 26th September 1915.

8th September 1914, enlisted & posted Depot, Royal West Kent Regiment; 12th September 1914, posted 8th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment; 21st December 1914, appointed unpaid Lance Corporal; 15th February 1915, absent from 9.30pm until 5.30pm 16th February 1915, severely reprimanded, forfeits 3 days pay; 17th March 1915, Worthing, in Billet suffering from severe strain of left ankle, occurred whilst he was in performance of military duty, bayonet fighting; 14th May 1915, appointed paid Lance Corporal; 23rd May 1915, absent from 12.00 midnight until 9.30pm 24th May 1915, reprimanded, forfeits 1 days pay; 26th September 1915, posted missing.

12th June 1916, pension of 22/6 a week awarded to wife and four children.

10th July 1919, Statement of Relatives - Widow - Susannah Hawes Buxton (formerly Lovell), 31, Recreation Road, Bromley, Kent; Children - Patricia Lovell, 17th March 1910, 31, Recreation Road, Bromley, Kent; Annie Lovell, 23rd July 1911, 31, Recreation Road, Bromley, Kent; Emma Lovell, 26th December 1912, 31, Recreation Road, Bromley, Kent; Father, Robert Lovell, don't know address, have not seen for 4 years; Mother, Emma Lovell, don't know address, have not seen for 4 years; Brothers - don't know, have not seen for 4 years; Sisters - don't know, have not seen for 4 years; Grandparents don't know; Uncles/Aunts, don't know; Nephews/Nieces, don't know.

Commemorated at Loos Memorial, Panel 95 to 97, France / Bromley War Memorial.

NOTE: On enlistment Soldier did not disclose previous marriage or children from it. According to Mrs Sarah Seaman, (Grandmother), 56 Philip Road, Peckham Rye, SE. there were three children from the marriage of her daughter Eliza Caroline Seaman to Frederick Lovell, who she is now looking after. So they received no support during the time of his enlistment. Mrs Sarah Seaman, claimed pension support for the children after his death.


6th March 2023 -Information provided by Sylvia Fox -

I had entered Frederick Lovell's name into a search engine and your personal webpage lead me to his entry. 

There I discovered some additional information  from his service record, which indicated that his second family had lost touch with Frederick's parents and other relations. 

Frederick had a sister, Beatrice Lovell, and she was my grandmother, who married one George Harris. There is an anecdote passed down from her that Frederick went to visit her before he went off to fight  , " stepped over the garden wall and said he was off to war, and knew he would not be coming back". That was the last she saw of him.

I am unsure how much other information you would want to put on your webpage but I have discovered some anomalies in various official records concerning Frederick. 

His birth certificate indicates he was born on 22nd November 1879 to Emma Legget. His full name is given as Fred Lovell, but with no father. Birthplace was King Street, Over, Cambridgeshire. Emma married Arthur Robert Lovell on 4/4/1880 in Over. AR Lovell then living in Troytown, Peckham. Family at same address in 1881 Census.

My grandmother Beatrice Annie Lovell was born later that year at 161, Rye Lane, Peckham.

Leaving aside Fredericks first marriage at 21 yrs in 1901, his second takes place when he was 28 in 1909. He enlists in 1914 at the age of 34 but the Commonwealth War Graves records his death at the age of 45 which is wrong. I need to have this amended but their initial response was to insist that this was consistent with their records. I noticed you must have obtained his full service record from the entry on the webpage and this is one of the documents the CWGS would need to amend.

I did obtain a copy of  Frederick's death Certificate, but annoyingly, this arrived with a presumed date of death on 26th September 1917! At least they got his age correct- at 35!


This page was last updated on 12-Mar-2023.

Copyright © 2008 Janet & Richard Mason