First World War Royal Naval Long Service Medal Group – Chief Petty Officer Frederick White Aylwin Sparkes, Royal Navy
1914-15 Star – J. 40629. F. W. A. SPARKES. BOY. , 1. R.N.
British War Medal – J. 40629. F. W. A. SPARKES. A.B. R.N.
Victory Medal – J. 40629. F. W. A. SPARKES. A.B. R.N.
Royal Navy Long Service & Good Conduct Medal – J. 40629. F. W. A. SPARKES. P.O. H.M.S. CORNWALL
Mounted for display.
Frederick White Aylwin Sparkes was born on 31st August 1899 at Petersfield, Hampshire, the son of Thomas Sparkes and Lucy Annie Edwards. His father died in 1900 when Frederick was still an infant, and he was raised in Petersfield by his widowed mother. By the time of the 1911 Census he was residing locally with his family.
He entered the Royal Navy as a Boy in 1915 and then on 31st August 1917 he started his regular service, commencing a twelve-year engagement on his eighteenth birthday. His civilian occupation was recorded as errand boy. On entry he was described as 5 feet 5½ inches in height, with fair hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.
Following training at H.M.S. Victory and Impregnable, he was advanced through the ratings to Able Seaman. His service during the closing stages of the First World War and throughout the inter-war period included postings to Carnarvon, Victory II, Excellent, Queen Elizabeth, Yarmouth, Cornwall, Suffolk, Effingham and Ramillies, in addition to further service at Portsmouth establishments. His character and efficiency assessments were consistently recorded as Very Good.
On 18th December 1931, he was awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, reflecting over a decade of exemplary service.
He married Vera Gertrude Miles in 1919 at Eastbourne, Sussex, and by 1921 was residing at 15 Brooks Road, Petersfield, recorded in the census as a Royal Navy seaman and head of household. The couple had at least two sons, including Frederick Vincent Sparkes and Charles Thomas Sparkes.
Sparkes was shore pensioned on 30th August 1939, immediately prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. He was later recalled for service and promoted Temporary Leading Seaman on 8th November 1940, again serving at Victory and associated establishments during the war years.
His family suffered significant wartime losses. His brother, Thomas Charles Sparkes, was killed in action on 12th October 1918 on the Western Front during the final weeks of the Great War. A generation later, his son, Sergeant Frederick Vincent Sparkes of the Irish Guards, was killed in Tunisia on 1st May 1943 during the North African campaign.
Frederick White Aylwin Sparkes survived both conflicts and remained in Hampshire for the remainder of his life. He died on 17th October 1983 at Horndean, Hampshire, aged 84.
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AJMS Medals