Category: Military
Rank: Leading Torpedo Man 217245
Regiment or Ship: HMS “Laurel”
Service Number(s): 217245
Date of Birth: 1886
Place of Birth: Beckenham, Kent.
Address: 40 Cornwall Road, Bexhill
Photos and newspaper articles
Family Information
1901 Census, living at St. Georges, Beckenham, Kent.
Parents: Albert, b. 1857 Crowhurst, Sussex, Occupation – Cab Driver and Emily, b. 1855 Waterson, Dorset.
Siblings:
Percy, b.1871 Beckenham, Kent.
Jessie, b. 1886 Beckenham, Kent.
Frederick, b. 1889 Beckenham, Kent.
Agnes, b.1891 Beckenham, Kent.
Ernest, b. 1894 Beckenham, Kent – see brother. W0107 Ernest Sellens
Margery, b. 1898 Beckenham, Kent.
1911 Census
Albert, Emily, Jessie, Agnes and Ernest all living at 47 Cornwall Road, Bexhill -on-Sea. Albert and Ernest’s occupation is listed as “ Carrier” and Jessie and Agnes are Domestic Servants.
Albert Edmund Sellens in the 1911 census is listed on board a Navy vessel in the Mediterranean.
First World War Experience
Albert served on HMS “Laurel”. He was in the Battle of Heligoland and was wounded – please see transcripts of newspaper articles from Bexhill Chronicle, 5th September 1914 and Bexhill Observer, 24th October 1914. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.
The Heligoland Naval Engagement Article from the Bexhill Chronicle, 5th September, 1914.
Brave Bexhill Sailor Article from the Bexhill Observer, 24th October, 1914.
Additional Information