William Charles Rayment was born at Mount Duneed in Victoria, Australia on 22nd January 1892, the fifth of seven children of 29-year-old James Rayment and his wife Harriett Frances Rayment née Ratten. His early life was not very easy, his mother having died when he was just five years old, but after leaving school he managed to get an apprenticeship [Click to continue…]

John Harold Drake was born in Dover in 1880, the second son of Charles Edward Drake and Mary Ann (formerly Godden), who were married 2 Feb 1878 at Dover Holy Trinity. His father, Charles Edward, was a Royal Navy Lieutenant at marriage and achieved the rank of Staff Commander. His grandparents were John Thomas Drake and Elizabeth (formerly Elizabeth [Click to continue…]

Ivan Douglas Scott Orbell, to give him his full name, was born in New Zealand on the 18th July 1889. He was the 9th and youngest child of Henry Orbell and his wife Margaret. Henry was born in Suffolk and emigrated to New Zealand in 1849 with his parents  when he was 18. The family were quite well to do by the 1890s and young Ivan was sent to school [Click to continue…]

Henry Robert Rayment (who came to be known by friends and family alike as "Bob") was born on 7th October 1892 at Bermondsey in London, the fifth son of Joseph Thomas Rayment, a foreman letter press compositor, and his wife Chrissie Ellen Rayment née Hayward. When he was about four years old his family moved from London to Ulverston, a small town [Click to continue…]