Dawlish World War One Project

Thomas Frederick Jarman joined the Royal Navy on 16 January 1883 when he was 14, but gave his date of birth as 12 October 1866 and this is shown on his Naval record.

He signed on for 10 years on 12 October 1884, at the assumed age of 18. He joined H.M.S.CAMBRIDGE in 1888 and completed a gunnery course before transferring to the Coastguard Service in March 1894 in Harwich. He had grown into a 6'0” tall Boatman (Coastguard), leading in time through several promotions to Chief Coastguard and Chief Petty Officer (Coastguard).

He served on Kent and East Coast stations before moving to Scotland in February 1909 where he gained promotion to Chief Boatman and then Petty Officer (Coastguard). He left the Scottish station in December 1913, moving to Bournemouth until the outbreak of war when he was recalled to the Royal Navy as a Chief Petty Officer (Coastguard).
He was placed on the books of H.M.S.VIVID (R.N. Barracks, Devonport) until being invalided out of the service on 7th April 1915, after 32 years continuous service from the age of 14 to a few weeks prior to his death. He was retired on medical grounds at the time of his death in Dawlish on 22 June 1915.

Thomas Jarman was the second son of Charles Abraham Ware Jarman (1844-1933) and Agnes Ann Honour (1848-1910) and was born in Holcombe on 4 April 1868 (confirmed by Birth Certificate). He was baptised St Gregory's Church, Dawlish on 5 July 1868.

In 1871 they lived at Holcombe Village Cottage with three children, Robert (1865- ), Thomas , and Agnes Mary (1870- ).

Agnes Ann Jarman died in the July-Sept quarter of 1910.

By 1911, Charles A W Jarman was a widower, aged 67, and is shown as a market gardener, living with his daughter at Holcombe Post Office with Reginald Charles Bright, grandson.

It was while Thomas was based in Harwich that he married Sarah Ann Dorrofield on 17 February, 1896.

Thomas' Coastguard record shows him to have been based at Birchington, Kent from March 1896 – April 1899. While there Thomas and Sarah had daughters, Agnes (1897- ) and Gladys Jessie Jarman (1898-1977), was born on 18 March 1898. A further daughter, Ethel Honour Jarman (1903-1984) was born in Sheppey district in 1903.
He served on Kent and East Coast stations before moving to Scotland in February 1909 where he gained promotion to Chief Boatman and then Petty Officer (Coastguard). He left the Scottish station in December 1913, moving to Bournemouth until the outbreak of war when he was recalled to the Royal Navy as a Chief Petty Officer (Coastguard).
He was placed on the books of H.M.S.VIVID (R.N. Barracks, Devonport) until being invalided out of the service on 7th April 1915, after 32 years continuous service from the age of 14 to a few weeks prior to his death. He was retired on medical grounds at the time of his death in Dawlish on 22 June 1915. It is perhaps for this reason that he is not commemorated on the war memorials in Holcombe or Dawlish, but the Dawlish WW1 project decided to remember him as being a serviceman who died very soon after release.