TOPIC:

In All Saints' Church, Wraxall, Somerset. Trooper Caines died at Tyntesfield, the home of the Gibbs family Long Ashton workhouse. Could he have been Lieutenant Gibbs' servant in South Africa? It could explain why he accompanied the invalided officer back to England. An Edwin Caines (born at Charlton Horethorne) was a servant in the household of Henry Martin Gibbs, J.P., in Lancaster Gate, London.
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Trooper Caines was buried in the churchyard at Charlton Horethorne, South Somerset
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....When Lieut. George A. Gibbs returned invalided in the Canada from South Africa he was accompanied by Trooper Henry Thomas Caines, of the North Somerset Yeomanry, who became very ill on the first night he landed in England. He became so much worse on reaching Tyntesfield that Dr. Fuller was called in. He stated that Trooper Caines was suffering from enteric fever. A trained nurse was at once sent for, and everything possible was done, but all to no purpose, unfortunately, as he died on Saturday evening. The home of the deceased, who was 29 years of age, is near Sherborne. An order for a parade of the local troop of Yeomanry, to which he belonged, has been countermanded.
The Bath Chronicle, Thursday 30th August 1900

Edit: Church dedication corrected, my thanks to Smethwick for this.

Hi Berenice
Looking at Private Caines attestation papers, he was a groom by trade. Perhaps he tended Lieutenant Gibb's horse?

Not sure if the family tended to him whilst suffering from enteric fever though


Ps......I wonder if Edwin was Henry's Father or Brother? ....Certainly connected to the Gibbs family through Edwin perhaps?

Cheers, Dave. Groom sounds right.

The report I found says a doctor and nurse were called in, then that he died. Doesn't mention that he was removed to the workhouse to die. Very sad ending. At least someone made sure his body was returned to his home village for burial.

I had a request on Find A Grave for a photo of his headstone or grave, but someone had a look in late 2020, and told me that the old graves are in a bad state and his couldn't be found.

Edwin Caines, the butler, was the brother of Henry Thomas Caines. Their father, also Henry, died in 1898 and was a lowly agricultural worker. So the two boys did well - and I would imagine Edwin, the elder, was instrumental in Henry junior getting a job at the "big house" as a groom.

Workhouses were also infirmaries. I would have thought, quite sensibly, there was concern about spreading the disease to one and all in the "big house" and the nearby infirmary was considered a better option with the Gibbs family, who made their fortune out of guano, paying for the trained nurse and Dr Fuller's fees.

Private Caines paperwork enclosed.
His army pay was divided and left to his brother's Edwin & William and sister's Maud & Bessie. The workhouse where he was taken had a isolation hospital and the Gibbs family were benefactors. In 1860 a chapel was funded and built on the workhouse site by the Gibbs family.


Attestation Papers




Medal Roll

Personal Effects

Dave - an excellent set of finds - last night I missed the isolation hospital on the workhouse map because I was excited, thanks to Canada, about just having found my 208th Smethwickian.

I presume you found his service records on Ancestry - normally I find ABW Service Records on FMyP but have noticed IY Service Records are on Ancestry only and include those of the fallen.

Tyntesfield House is now NT and I wonder what family papers are now in their possession which could add to this upstairs-downstairs story?