Arthur Fletcher Ada

18/06/1883 — 23/04/1918
A brief biography

Ancestors


Rebecca Ada — 1770±
Thomas Ada ±1734 —
William Ada 1767 — 1837
William Ada 1807 — 1883
John Fletcher Ada 1840 — 1917
Arthur Fletcher Ada 1883 — 1918
Click on any name to see their biography
   

Mentioned in

.

1918 Memorial Service for Arthur Ada
1918 Obituary of Arthur Ada
2002 Letter from Gillian Ada to Tim Rich ...

Arthur Fletcher Ada


Son of John Fletcher Ada and Martha East. .

Born in 1883, the forty-sixth year of the reign of Queen Victoria, and died aged thirty-four in the eighth year of the reign of King George V

A pillar of the community


Arthur Ada, the youngest of John and Martha Ada's five children, grew up in Maidenhead.
He was educated at Maidenhead Modern School. As a young man he succeeded to the Ada family Drapery business and worked at it in conjunction with his brother-in-law (Mr Leach) as partner.
His prowess as a swimmer was well known all around this district, for he carried off many prizes in the swimming carnivals in the old days.
In religious circles he was prominent as financial secretary to the Baptist Church in Marlow Road, and further as the organist there for about 12 years.
In the Great War he took a big share in forming the Volunteer Training Corps in Maidenhead, of which he became an active member.

The Zeebrugge Raid

The Zeebrugge Raid was a legend in the First World War, the first time that Our Boys had hit back at the Germans in Belgium and given them a bloody nose.
History has since been rewritten and we now know it was a complete failure, but fortunately our family did not know that at the time.
The authorities were at least realistic enough to recognise it was a suicide mission, to sail ships over to the port of Zeebrugge and scuttle them at the port entrance to stop the German submarines from using the base. It could be done, but the British would be under heavy fire and would have to manoever the ships with pinpoint accuracy to block the entrance to the harbour.
In the event two of the three ships half-blocked the entrance, however the Germans were back in operation after a few days.
The British suffered 583 casualties and the Germans lost 24 men.


A stray shell


Arthur Ada was, like everyone on this mission, a volunteer. Only unmarried men could take part, and this in the fourth year of WW1 when so many had already been killed.
He had joined up in September 1916, undertaken many missions in the Mediterranean, and was now a stoker on the destroyer HMS Phoebe, one of three destroyers on this mission.
During the mission the destroyer North Star accidently lost the cover of the smoke screen and was hit. HMS Phoebe went to rescue the crew from the sinking ship, and most of the crew were rescued, but during the rescue Phoebe was exposed and under heavy fire and this is when Arthur Ada lost his life, while tending to the wounded on deck.

The Funeral

Arthur's mother asked for his body to be returned to Maidenhead for burial. There was a memorial address on the Sunday in the Baptist Church in Marlow Road where he had been the organist. The funeral took place the next afternoon, and was a public tribute to the quiet esteem in which the deceased was held by all classes. Most of the tradesmen's shops had black boards, and blinds were generally drawn.
Opposite the Baptist Church, the V.A.D. Red Cross flag was drooping at half mast. A squad of the Maidenhead Volunteers, under Lieut. Voules, formed the guard of honour.
The coffin, which was covered with the Union Jack and many lovely wreaths, was carried on the shoulders of half-a-dozen local bluejackets under chief petty officer A. Emberley, viz., petty officer, 1st class, Riches; leading seaman Carter (wounded from East Africa); leading stoker Maybury; and an air mechanic Royal Naval Air Arm, and an A.B. Both the latter were on leave and volunteered to act as bearers. The undertakers were Messrs Partlo Bros., friends of the deceased.

On the rostrum were the Pastor (Rev. T. Wreford Way) and Rev. T.F.Lewis, of the Congregational Church; and among the crowded congregation were the Mayor (Mr C.W.Cox, J.P., C.C.), who also attended at the graveside, and Ald. Truscott, J.P., and Councillor O.T. Chamberlain, J.P. The chief mourners were: Mrs Ada (mother), Mr John E. Ada (brother), Mr F.W.Leach and Mrs Leach (brother-in-law and sister), Mr Richardson (uncle), Miss Ada (sister), Mr S. East (uncle), Mrs Sutton (cousin), Mr W. V. Bloomfield and Mr A.G Bloomfield.


A lasting loss


Perhaps no-one suffered the loss more than his fiancée, Jessie Caroline Bloomfield, whose parents attended the funeral.
She was a music teacher, never married, and passed away in Devon at the age of 84 in 1987

FEEL FREE TO CONTRIBUTE

If you know anything about Arthur Fletcher Ada or anyone else in the Ada family please let us know. If you are already registered, please Log In , otherwise add your contribution here:


Your contribution will be sent to the curators of the Ada Collection for review


Latest Updates

Julia Sophia Grossmann

Augusto Sandino's mother
While in Managua, Julia befriended Margarita Calderón, an indigenous servant with the Sandino family and mother of Augusto Calderón Sandino. Both families' children were friends, which is why Augusto...

268 relatives found

Julia Sophia Bingham is the latest relative on the Ada website - thanks to Tim Richardson for this contribution.
To find any relative, check out the Names page.

Bob Ada

Bob Ada is the latest Ada to join - welcome!