Lance/Corporal John Albany Tester
| Date of Birth | 12/12/1884 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 33 |
| Date of Death | 14/12/1916 |
| Service Number | CH/13021 |
| Military Service | Royal Marines Light Infantry |
| Merton Address | 337 Church Road Merton |
| Local Memorial | Mitcham War Memorial |
Additional Information
John Albany was the son of George and Elizabeth Tester The 1891 Census reveals that his 46 year old father George was a news vender while his mother was only 39 years old living at 126 Pelham Road in Battersea. The couple had a total of 7 children by that time. John was the 6th child and just 6 years old in 1891
The 1901 Census reveals the Tester families were still living at 126 Pelham road in Battersea. The eldest 2 children were no longer living with their parents, by then John was 15 years old, his occupation was not recorded His older sister Emily was just 20 years old.
20 year old Emily married 24 year old Henry Walter Watling, a factory hand at the Holy Trinity Church in Wimbledon. The couple went on to live at 337 Church Road in Merton.
John Albany enlisted in the Royal Marines Light Infantry and was killed in action while serving aboard the SS Westminster on a voyage from Torre Annunziata to Aden in ballast. The steamer was sunk by the German submarine UB-43 (Hans von Mellenthin), 196 miles E by S of Malta. 15 persons were lost including the Master in the Mediterranean on 14th December 1916. His body was never recovered.
His sister Emily Watkins was listed as next of kin according to Admiralty records. Emily had married Henry Walter Watling, a 24 year old factory hand at the parish church of the Holy Trinity in Wimbledon on 6th April 1901. The family lived at 337 Church Road in Merton.
After the First World War, an appropriate way had to be found of commemorating those members of the Royal Navy who had no known grave, the majority of deaths having occurred at sea where no permanent memorial could be provided.