St.John the Baptist Church in the Somerset village of Pawlett. Final resting place of a New Zealander serving with the Royal Navy.

The whitewashed walls of St. John the Baptist Church in the Somerset village of Pawlett must often catch the eye of travelers on the A38 north of Bridgwater.  It nestles on the south facing slope of Pawlett Hill just on the fringe of the village.  I happened to be driving by on May 4th, the day of this year’s Local Elections, having passed countless times before, I decided to stop and take a closer look at the church.

I parked on the road near the village shop and walked to the village hall, being a polling station it had a steady trickle of visitors, and on down to the Church.  As I entered the churchyard I noticed the Commonwealth War Graves Commission plaque on the gate - always a prompt for me to look around for the distinctive CWGC headstones.

Just to north of the church tower I came across the grave of Ordinary Seaman P.T.Wass RN. (N. Z. Division).  H.M.S. OSWALDIAN.  The date on the headstone was 4th August 1940.  I was intrigued!  Most people of my generation know of the contribution and sacrifice made by New Zealanders in the service of this country during World War 2.  Had the grave been that of an airman one would not have been surprised, in August 1940 the Battle of Britain was well under way and 126 aircrew from New Zealand flew with Fighter Command during the battle, but how did a 19 year old seaman from New Zealand come to be at rest in a Somerset churchyard overlooking the River Parrett, and what type of vessel was H.M.S. OSWALDIAN?

The grave of New Zealander Peter Thomas Wass, Ordinary Seaman, RN (N.Z.Division) in the churchyard of  St. John the Baptist village church Pawlett in Somerset.

Peter Thomas Wass, son of Thomas Wass and Ellen Rose Wass of Herne Bay, Auckland, joined the R.N.V.R. before the outbreak of war and when war was declared he immediately requested service overseas.  He was a member of the New Zealand Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve draft of 14 officers and 122 men which left New Zealand in early May 1940. 

H.M.S. OSWALDIAN was a trawler of 261grt (gross register tonnage) built in Hull in 1917.  She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use as a minesweeper and was based at Milford Haven.  On August 4th 1940 she struck a mine off the Breaksea Lightship near the Welsh port of Barry in the Bristol Channel; only seven of the nineteen crew were rescued. 

Ordinary Seaman Peter Wass and fellow New Zealander Able Seaman Douglas Mills were both serving aboard the minesweeper, but sadly neither of them survived.  I assume the body of Peter Wass came ashore somewhere along the banks of the River Parrett which would account for him being buried in Pawlett.

The view from Pawlett Hill looking across the River Parrett toward the Quantock Hills.

Douglas Ross Mills was aged 20, the son of Harry James Mills and Lydia Myra Mills of Remuera, Auckland, and had joined the R.N.V.R. over a year before the outbreak of war and came to England with the same draft as Peter Wass.  Douglas Mills is remembered on the New Zealand Naval Memorial in Devonport, Auckland, so I presume his body was never found.

As I strolled around the churchyard it struck me that the villagers of Pawlett were enjoying the privilege of casting their vote only a few yards away from the grave of a young New Zealander who, like many, came from the far side of the world to serve in the defence of democracy.  Peter Wass was one of those who never went home.  The poppies laid by his headstone demonstrate that he is not forgotten. 

The Church of St. John the Baptist in the Somerset village of Pawlett.

Pawlett’s humble little whitewashed Church of St. John the Baptist is mentioned by Pevsner, in his The Buildings of England - South and West Somerset (Penguin Books, 1958), he highlights the Norman south doorway: “No columns, but the inner responds have flat patterns.  The arch has an inner moulding of lozenges, a second of zigzag at right angles to the wall, and an outer of beak-heads or biting beasts, a great rarity in Somerset.”

Update May 14th 2020.

Fiona Goldsmith PCC Secretary for St. John the Baptist Church has contacted me with more information about Peter Wass, his fate and family.  She has kindly allowed me to use her research material for this update.

As I suspected Peter’s body came ashore on the banks of the River Parrett 10 days after the sinking of OSWALDIAN.  A young girl came across the body and, seeking help, eventually found a local farmer who carried the body in his horse and cart to St. John the Baptist Church.

It took some time for the authorities to identify the body as Peter had been decapitated in the explosion; he was obviously killed instantly and was thus spared any suffering.  Eventually he was identified by a name tag on his jumper.

In 1949 Peter Wass’ mother Ellen came to England and, while staying in Pawlett with members of the church, visited her youngest son’s grave.  She was never made aware of the condition of Peter’s body when it was found on the banks of the Parrett and so, hopefully, could always remember him as the fine young man pictured below.

Ordinary Seaman Peter Thomas Wass R.N.(N.Z. Division). Killed in Action on 4th August 1940 in the Bristol Channel. Age 19.