Cyril Waite of the Royal Navy

By John D Ellis

Cyril Waite was born at Kingston, on the Island of Jamaica on the 8^th of October 1880. A servant by occupation, he enlisted in the Royal Navy in September 1904 and served until March 1918. On enlistment he was 5 feet 9” tall and described as “a man of colour”.  He also had a distinctive tattoo on his left forearm:

Initially employed as a Domestic (i.e. a servant), he served as an Officer’s Cook from 1907 to 1918. In April 1911 he was serving as an Officer’s Servant 1^st Class on HMS Implacable, docked in Gibraltar. During the First World War he served on HMS Conqueror, HMS Vivid (three times – a shore base at Devonport), HMS Valiant and HMS Melbourne.

He was discharged on a pension in March 1918 suffering from gastritis. His fate remains unknown.^[1]TNA ADM 188/552/362883. findmypast.co.uk 1911 Census for England and Wales. TNA RG14PN34971 RD640 SD2 ED6 SN9999. findmypast.co.uk and livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk