We are publishing the following information about Old Russellian, Sidney John Spiller, by kind permission of Richard Taylor, Secretary of the Naval Historical Collectors and Research Association.
Sidney John Spiller (1900-1973)
Awarded: British War Medal 1914-19
Victory Medal 1914-18
Old Russellians’ Medal 1915 (Cased with accompanying booklet)
___________________________________________________________________________ 1881
The census lists the Spiller family at Gorran Haven Coast Guard station, Cornwall
William Spiller
Head
48
Coast guard
b St Germans, Cnwall
A.M Spiller
Wife
45
b Hessenford, Cnwall
*William J Spiller
Son
9
Scholar
b Studland, Dorset
Ernest J Spiller
Son
8
Scholar
b Swanage, Dorset
Harry B Spiller
Son
5
b Swanage
Ada J Landry
Niece
4
b Devonport
* To become Sidney J Spiller’s father
28 February 1900
Sidney John Spiller is born in the Wandsworth registration district (GRO ref: March qtr, 1d 784)
1901
Census lists the following at 15 Cleveland Gardens, Barnes:
William J Spiller
Head
29
Buyer to genl export merchant
b Studland
Lily E Spiller
Wife
30
b Bridlington William
J Spiller
Son
2
b Barnes
Sidney J Spiller
Son
1
b Putney
14 August 1909
Sidney is admitted to the Warehousemen, Clerks & Drapers School at Purley, now the Royal Russell School
The school is a charitable institution for orphans of those involved in the drapery trade. Its admission registers show that in 1909 Sidney’s widowed mother lived at 27 Radipole Road, Fulham. Four children aged 9, 8, 5 and 4 were unprovided for apart from a small life assurance
Sureties were provided by John Houghton, a photographer, of 89 Wakeman Road, Kensal Rise, and Ralph Oswald Patterson, a manufacturing agent, of 29 Pendle Road, Streatham. The nominator was E Whitaway & Co, of 14 New Union Steet, EC
14 January 1911
Sidney’s younger brother, Robert Oswald Spiller, is admitted to the same school. Their mother now lives at 6 St Mawes Road, Fulham
Sureties in this case are provided by Percy Smith, a furnisher, and John Ashley, manager for a coal firm. Nominator is shown as N Bolus & Co Ltd
Four children are said to be living, with one (Sidney) already at the school. There are all “looked after by the kindness of friends”
13 July 1915
Sidney leaves school and is presented with his medal and inscribed booklet
1 January 1918
Joins the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman under the official number LZ 8255, the ‘L’ showing he is a member of the London Division
Occupation given as clerk and he is described as being 5ft 8.5ins tall with brown hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion. He has a mole on his left cheek
His first posting is to Victory VI, the RNVR training establishment at Crystal Palace
3 June 1918
Posted to Vivid III, part of the naval base at Devonport
4 July 1918
Sidney is rated as a signaller
18 January 1919
Demobilised
Although his service sheet shows all his appointments were to shore bases, he earned both the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, the latter award indicating he had been on active service. He had therefore been to sea in a war zone
He was later paid a war gratuity
24 June 1919
Robert Oswald Spiller leaves school
1973
Sidney’s death is registered in the Surrey Mid E district in the June quarter (GRO ref: 5g 257). This district includes Epsom
Phone books had given his address as 912 Chadacre Road, Stoneleigh, Epsom
16 October 2007
Spiller’s Old Russellians’ Medal is bought from dealers Miusion on eBay. They state they have recently sold Spiller’s WW1 medals, together with his dog tag, birth, marriage and death certificates. There was also a paper from Somerset House to the naval authorities confirming his birth date
Principal sources:
Service record (National Archives)
First World War RNVR medal roll (National Archives)
1881 and 1901 censuses
Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy, by Lt-Cdr B Warlow
Royal Russell School admissions books
GRO death index (via ancestry.co.uk)
Phone books 1960s-70s (via ancestry.co.uk)
FreeBMD website
B I B L E . D E D I C A T I O N
The Old Russellians received this enquiry earlier in the year regarding Gladys Bowles:
I am writing to enquire if you have any record of my mother’s career as a pupil of Russell Hill School between 1910 and 1915. She entered the school as a boarder at the age of seven, when her father had died and with some support from the linen drapers charities. Her name was Gladys Lilian Bowles. Possibly your records do not extend that far back but I would be most grateful to hear from you,
Yrs,
David Ryall
We were able to find the following information about Gladys in the old school registers:
Gladys Lillian Martha
21 Wilton Road, Pimlico SW
Sureties: Edward Price and Henry Roft Barnes (Draper)
Nominator: G Randell Higgins
Admitted by Purchase Rule 10 pending election 14 Jan 1911
Circumstances - father permanently incapacitated, only child, supported by mother's earnings
Entered 14 Jan 1911
Left 18 Dec 1917
David has since written to us with this image of his mother’s leaving Bible inscription which may be of interest to some Old Russellians. The Bible was presented to Gladys by the Board of Management at Russell Hill in 1917. Maybe some of you have a similar inscription in a bible or other book. If so, we would be interested in seeing it.
Print
