Corporal Ralph Nugent Harvey
| Date of Birth | c. 1891 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 24 |
| Date of Death | 08/09/1915 |
| Service Number | MS/2507 |
| Military Service | Royal Army Service Corps |
| Merton Address | |
| Local Memorial | Streatham Park Cemetery |
Additional Information
Ralph was born in 1891 to Hiram and Meena (nee Smith) Harvey. Early records only show his name as Ralph and he appears to have added the Nugent later.
Hiram and Meena lived in Bradford, Yorkshire, and Ralph and his younger sister Clarice grew up at 27 Stickler Lane, Laisterdyke, Bradford.
At the 1911 census, the family were still at the above address but Clarice is not shown. She would have been about 16 but was apparently staying elsewhere as she went on to marry in 1921. Ralph was now 19 and a Motor Cycle Builder.
Ralph got into trouble and was charged with obtaining money under false pretences. He had charged “the loser” 5s for an advert in The Stage by falsely claiming to be a reporter for that paper. He appears to have been imprisoned for one day in July 1914. The record is difficult to read but it seems that, after he was released, he enlisted almost immediately. His service papers show that he was 5ft 7ins tall with grey eyes and dark brown hair.
He remained in England, working with the Royal Army Service Corps and got involved with Gladys Herd, the wife of a fellow soldier. It appeared that when her husband went to the front, Ralph and Gladys took her baby up to London and stayed in the Queen’s Hotel, Leicester Square from the Saturday until the Tuesday, when they disappeared, leaving the baby behind.
The report in the Daily Mirror states that Ralph had been driving a Daimler, claiming it as his own but it was in fact the car belonging to Lieutenant Charles Wheeler of the Inspection Branch of the Mechanical Transport and Ralph was driving it without permission.
A taxi driver picked the couple up at the Queen’s Hotel and drove first to Stevenage and then to Potter’s Bar before returning to London. They were in Great St Andrews Street, approaching Leicester Square, when there was a bang and then another report. When the cab driver opened the door “the woman slipped into my arms”. Gladys was severely injured but Ralph had shot and killed himself.
After the inquest, the War Office agreed that the family should receive the Scroll and Plaque normally given to soldier’s families. He is buried in Streatham Park Cemetery.