William (b 1841 in
Leeds) and Kate (b 1847 in Pimlico, Middlesex) Armitage had five sons and one
daughter. Henry Robert Armitage was their eldest child, born on 21 June 1870 in
Dover. He was named Robert Henry Armitage at birth, but all the records of him
as an adult give his name as Henry Robert Armitage. William served as a soldier
between 1861 and 1883. The places of birth of his children show where he was
posted at the time. The 1881 census shows William (aged 40) and Kate (33)
Armitage living in Artillery Barracks, Colchester St Giles, Essex with their
children Robert Henry (aged 9, born Dover). Thomas William (7, born Ireland),
Robert Melton (6, born Woolwich) and Ellen (2, born Colchester). It seems that
William’s family moved with him when he was posted to a new location and that
Henry grew up in army accommodation.
It is perhaps not
surprising that Henry also became a soldier, as did at least two of his
brothers. The Ancestry website has his army record. Henry joined the Royal
Artillery as a boy soldier on 21st October 1886 when he was aged 16
years and 3 months. He was promoted to Gunner on 21 June 1888 (his eighteenth
birthday) and to Bombardier in September 1889. He served in the UK until 1890
when he was posted to India. In November 1891 was convicted of drunkenness and
reduced in rank to Gunner. He was promoted back to Bombardier in 1893. He was
posted to Aden in 1894 and to Gibraltar in 1895. Soon after his arrival there
he was tried for another offence and reduced in rank to Gunner. He returned to
the UK in 1897 where he was discharged on 5 December 1898, having served 12
years.
On 2nd
February 1899 Henry re-enlisted in the Royal Artillery signing on for 7 years
with the Colours followed by 5 years in the Army Reserve. His age was given as
28 years 6 months, height 5 feet 10 ¼ inches, weight 167 lbs. He was not married,
had blue eyes and black hair. Henry was sent to South Africa in December 1899, where the Boer War was in
progress. He was promoted to Bombardier in April 1900 and was posted to China
as part of the China Expeditionary Force in July 1900.
The China Expeditionary
Force was sent to deal with the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. China then was
militarily weak and various Western countries saw it as a country ripe for
exploitation. The Boxers were anti-western Chinese. They murdered Christians
and destroyed Western property. The Chinese government sided with the Boxers
and declared war on the Western Allies on 21st June 1900. A siege of Westerners
in Peking started 20th June 1900 and continued until 14th
August when an American / British / Russian / Japanese force of 20,000 men
arrived. The rebellion was defeated and a peace protocol signed 7th
September 1901.
Henry was promoted
to Corporal in September 1900 and posted to India in August 1901, where he
remained for the next 6 years. He was promoted to Sergeant in August 1901. In
July 1903 he agreed to extend his service to 12 years with the colours. In
February 1904 he was tried by court martial for being absent without leave. He
was found guilty and his rank reduced to Corporal. He committed the same
offence in October 1904 and was again court martialled, this time his rank
being reduced to Bombardier. Henry was posted back to the UK in 1907 and was
discharged (at his own request) from the Royal Garrison Artillery on 4th
May 1908 aged 37. His character was described as very good and his intended
place of residence was North Lodge, Kensington Gardens (his father’s address).
Henry’s total army service to this point was 21 years 139 days.
On 8 November
1910, Henry (aged 40) married Edith Ann Waite (aged 28) at Kensington Register
Office. Edith was a widow whose maiden name was Cook and who had married Alfred
John Waite (a store keeper) in 1901. They had a daughter, Edith Elsie Rosetta
Waite that year. Alfred died in 1908. Henry and Edith had 5 children, all born
in Kensington. They were William Henry (b1911), George Charles (b1912), Ellen
Kate (b1914) and twins Joan Kathleen and Betty Ellen (b1918). Both the twins
died in January 1919, possibly of influenza – an epidemic killed many people at
this time.
The 1911 census
shows Henry (aged 40, an army pensioner gatekeeper) living at 117 Portobello
Road. Also in the household were Henry’s wife Edith (30), his step daughter
Edith Waite (9) and son William (not yet 1).
Henry enlisted
again on 2nd September 1914 soon after the outbreak of the First
World War. By this time he was 44, rather old for a fighting soldier. All his
service during the war was in UK Artillery Depots. He was immediately promoted
to the rank of Corporal in 1914 and promoted to Sergeant in 1915. Henry was
discharged 21 February 1919 as no longer fit for war service due to emphysema
and chest catarrh. His character was stated as very good and he was awarded a
pension of 34½d a day (ie £52 9s per year, equivalent to about £8,000 now,
estimated in relation to average wages) with increases when he reached the ages
of 55 and 65.
After the war,
Henry and Edith lived in Peel St, Kensington. Electoral registers show their
address as 59 Peel Street from 1918 to 1923 and 63 Peel St from 1924 to 1930.
The 1921 census shows Henry (aged 51), William (10), George (8) and Ellen (6) at 59 Peel Street. Henry was a general clerk in the War Office, Whitehall. Edith is not shown on the census return with her husband.
The family moved to 38 St James Square, Shepherds Bush in 1931. The 1934 Electoral
Register shows Henry and Edith living at 38 St James Square with their children
William and George. They were still there in 1939 but the road had been renamed
St James Gardens. The registered voters at the address were Henry, Edith,
George and Ellen Armitage (who would have been too young to be listed in 1934).
Henry died on 15
January 1946 aged 75 at 38 St James Gardens. His occupation on the death
certificate is given as retired Commercial Clerk. The cause of death was
cardiac failure. Henry’s wife Edith was present.
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