Biography:
Henry Precious
1880 –1936
Henry Precious
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Unmarked grave Henry Heath Precious (1880-1936)
Henry had an extraordinary life of deceit, crime and serial enlistment in military units, attracting descriptions such as “incorrigible and worthless” and “He’s about the greatest fraud, I think, who ever wore his Majesty’s uniform”.
His career, both military and criminal, seems impossible now, but this was an age before computerised records when it was possible to reinvent oneself multiple times - until the deception finally caught up with you.
Henry was born in 1880 in Portsea, Hampshire, the oldest child of Henry Athol Precious and Mary Catherine (Kate) (née Heath). His father was an electrical engineer.
On 1 February 1891, aged just 10, Henry was put into the Portsea Workhouse by his father and discharged 27 April. Yet at that time his parents and younger brother and three sisters were living at Herbert Terrace, Portsea and his father was in employment. His youngest sister was born 22 March. It would seem likely that his mother could not cope with late-stage pregnancy, then a new baby plus three other children under eight, with Henry in the house. His parents had relatives in the town and it seems significant that they did not take young Henry in – perhaps, even at such a young age, Henry was troublesome.
Two more siblings were born and then, after January 1894 and before April 1896, the family, including Henry, moved to Malta where his father was employed in the Royal dockyards and another brother was born.
Henry signed up to join the Lincolnshire Regiment on 25 April, 1896 at the fort of Lower St Elmo, Malta. He was just fifteen years and six months old. He was 5 foot 4 inches tall, was passed fit and had the Army rank of “Boy”. On his records it notes that his father was an electrician in H.M. Dockyards, Malta. (Henry snr. was to remain on Malta until 1916).
Henry was discharged, in Malta, on 29 January 1897 for reasons unknown, and promptly, on 27 February 1897, enlisted in the Liverpool Regiment. He gave his age as 18 years and 4 months (untrue) and had grown to 5 foot 5¾ inches. He maintained that he had previously been employed as a labourer. He was discharged 14 March 1897, again for unknown reasons, and immediately re-enlisted under an assumed name as his records show: “Irreg[ular?] enlisted as W5092 Pte. Robert Day Manchester Regt. 16 March 1897.”
Under that name Henry served in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and was present at the Siege of Ladysmith (2 November 1899-28 February 1900) where he deserted. Later, when he was finally arrested and court martialled, he created a story about this event and his subsequent actions that was largely untrue.
By 1902 Henry had, somehow, got himself back in England where, under his own name, he enlisted in Liverpool on 24 July in the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Garrison Artillery). By then he was 23 years and 9 months, had grown to 5 foot 8 inches and had acquired “Three large scars to shoulders.” He was posted as a Gunner but went absent without leave 3 January 1904. He narrowly escaped a court martial and returned to duty a week later.
Then his records show that he was in prison awaiting trial 27 April 1904. He was imprisoned 3 May and returned to duty 21 May. He was discharged from the Army 18 June 1904. The original note on his records reads “Incorrigible and worthless”. That has been crossed out (leaving the original comment quite clear!) and “Misconduct” substituted.
In October 1904 his mother died at home in Malta, “The beloved wife of Mr Henry Precious of H.M.’s Dockyard.” From the funeral notice it was clear that the family was well-regarded on the island. (www.militaryimages.net/media/mary-catherine-precious-nee-heath.115998/)
Henry was finally arrested for desertion in October 1904, having become destitute after his last discharge. He gave himself up to the Abaravon police in Wales under the name of Robert Day. What reliance can be placed on the story he then told is unclear, but he certainly was not admitting to his real name, nor to having been back in England from 1902.
According to the Weekly Dispatch of 2 October 1904, under the heading “A Coward’s Adventures” his account was that he deserted just before the relief of Ladysmith. Eventually “hunger compelled him to give himself up to the Boers” and he then fought with them against the British Army. He maintained that he deserted again, escaped to the coast and got on board a French steamer bound for Marseilles, made his way to Liverpool and ended up in Swansea, almost destitute.
Henry was court martialled and sentenced to ten years’ penal servitude. He claimed later that he was pardoned and released, but this may have been yet another of his fabrications. Certainly there is no trace of him in the records under either name until 28 August 1913 when he signed up as a fireman on a ship whose name is unfortunately illegible in the record. He was discharged 5 September and his character, surprisingly for Henry, was “Very Good” although, given that he was only on board for a matter of days, he can have had little opportunity for wrong-doing.
On 6 July 1915 Henry married widow Ethel Kathleen Penny (née Armitage) in Luton. Ethel had two young children from her first marriage.
Despite his record, Henry did serve during the First World War and enlisted 23 November 1915. However, the records are confusing and he appears to have served in the Royal Field Artillery and the Army Service Corps before joining the Royal Flying Corps.
Ethel gave birth to a son, Henry J Precious, in Luton in the first half of 1916. No other information about the child has been traced.
Henry was soon in trouble again.
The Police Gazette of 13 June 1916 reported: “Remanded at Luton… charged as Henry Heath Precious with stealing money GEORGE ROBERT DAY… aged 37, ht. 5ft 8¾ in., c[complexion] sallow, h[air] dk.brown, e[eyes] brown. A soldier, native of Portsmouth. Pre[vious] con[victed] of military offences at ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, GIBRALTAR and in SOUTH AFRICA.”
The full story, with lurid details about Henry’s past, was published in The Luton Reporter of June 19th. “He’s about the greatest fraud, I think, who ever wore his Majesty’s uniform” was the opinion of the Chief Constable.
Henry was by then in the Royal Flying Corps and had recently been reduced to the ranks. He conned £3 (over £200 in 2024) out of the wife of a comrade in the RFC by saying her husband had asked him to collect it for him. He was wearing his uniform, plus stripes he was no longer entitled to and South African medal ribbons, which was enough to convince her he was genuine. When his comrade discovered the theft he was arrested and tried to protest that it was “the one great mistake of my life” and that he would have paid the money back.
During the trial it emerged that he had served in the Boer War and had committed at least five offences, culminating in desertion from Ladysmith. He was arrested for that in 1904, court martialled and sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. He protested that it was “hard lines” to hold that against him “as he had been pardoned”. Despite his commanding officer saying that his character was indifferent, Henry maintained that for at least two years it had been good and he had spent four and a half months in Ireland drilling recruits to the best of his ability. His problem was, he said, that “money came too easily to him” and if he was sent to prison then his wife would suffer as she would lose her separation allowance and “God knows how she and the children would get on.” When he was questioned closely he admitted that he had been reduced to the ranks from Corporal the previous Monday for a military offence. “This last month I have gone to the dogs altogether.” He was sentenced to three months in prison with hard labour.
The record card for the Silver War Medal states that Henry, under his real name, was a Gunner, enlisted 23 November 1915 and was discharged because of sickness 18 June 1919, which is clearly inaccurate.
In 1918 and 1919 the Absent Voters’ register for Luton gives his address as 16, Warwick Road and states that he was Gunner 225510 in the Royal Field Artillery, and he does have an Army pension card for that address.
After the war Henry was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory medal. However the National Archives record notes “This record was originally deleted by the authorities from the Medal Rolls. It is included here as it contains information not readily available elsewhere.”
In December 1920 Henry, still at 16, Warwick Road, was in trouble yet again. The Luton News for 23 December, under the heading “Military Passive Resister”, reported that Henry had been arrested for being absent from Bulford [an Army camp on Salisbury Plain] since 20th December. It appears that Ethel had approached Inspector Hunt and as a result he arrested Henry. Henry gave the “explanation” that he had re-enlisted as a single man, then confessed to being married, was told that a separation allowance would be granted, but it was not and “he could not be expected to remain at soldiering under such conditions.” He was remanded in custody.
In 1921 he was back in the Army and stationed with 1155 M T Company, Royal Army Service Corps, Victoria Barracks, Cork, Ireland. He was a Private and a motor driver. That year was a bloody one in Ireland and in May the island had been partitioned. The British Army had large numbers of soldiers stationed there and perhaps that was how Henry, despite his quite dreadful record, was back in the services.
By 1922 Henry was home at 16, Warwick Road, Luton with Ethel.
There is no mention in the records until May 1930 when the Surrey Mirror reported that Henry, who was of no fixed abode, was bound over by the Reigate magistrates for stealing shovels and picks from a shop in Mertsham. The police stated that Henry had several military convictions and one civil one. The bench showed leniency because it was some time since his last offence, and he had co-operated with the police and told them where to find the stolen tools.
In 1932 Ethel and her children Marion and Leslie George Penny, were living at 16, Warwick Road, but Henry was not recorded. Given that he was of no fixed abode two years previously it seems the couple had split up.
On 29 October 1932 a Henry Precious (no middle name given) married Annie Dealey in Berkhamsted and in late 1933 a Henry H Precious married Doris Tingay in Fulham. It has not been possible to establish whether either or both of those men were Henry Heath Precious.
Henry died in April 1936, in Hempstead House, Hemel Hempstead, aged 54. No Berkhamsted address is given for him in the burials register. How he came to be buried in Berkhamsted remains a mystery, like much of his turbulent life.
View this burial in the cemetery
Unmarked grave Henry Heath Precious (1880-1936)
Henry had an extraordinary life of deceit, crime and serial enlistment in military units, attracting descriptions such as “incorrigible and worthless” and “He’s about the greatest fraud, I think, who ever wore his Majesty’s uniform”.
His career, both military and criminal, seems impossible now, but this was an age before computerised records when it was possible to reinvent oneself multiple times – until the deception finally caught up with you.
Henry was born in 1880 in Portsea, Hampshire, the oldest child of Henry Athol Precious and Mary Catherine (Kate) (née Heath). His father was an electrical engineer.
On 1 February 1891, aged just 10, Henry was put into the Portsea Workhouse by his father and discharged 27 April. Yet at that time his parents and younger brother and three sisters were living at Herbert Terrace, Portsea and his father was in employment. His youngest sister was born 22 March. It would seem likely that his mother could not cope with late-stage pregnancy, then a new baby plus three other children under eight, with Henry in the house. His parents had relatives in the town and it seems significant that they did not take young Henry in – perhaps, even at such a young age, Henry was troublesome.
Two more siblings were born and then, after January 1894 and before April 1896, the family, including Henry, moved to Malta where his father was employed in the Royal dockyards and another brother was born.
Henry signed up to join the Lincolnshire Regiment on 25 April, 1896 at the fort of Lower St Elmo, Malta. He was just fifteen years and six months old. He was 5 foot 4 inches tall, was passed fit and had the Army rank of “Boy”. On his records it notes that his father was an electrician in H.M. Dockyards, Malta. (Henry snr. was to remain on Malta until 1916).
Henry was discharged, in Malta, on 29 January 1897 for reasons unknown, and promptly, on 27 February 1897, enlisted in the Liverpool Regiment. He gave his age as 18 years and 4 months (untrue) and had grown to 5 foot 5¾ inches. He maintained that he had previously been employed as a labourer. He was discharged 14 March 1897, again for unknown reasons, and immediately re-enlisted under an assumed name as his records show: “Irreg[ular?] enlisted as W5092 Pte. Robert Day Manchester Regt. 16 March 1897.”
Under that name Henry served in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and was present at the Siege of Ladysmith (2 November 1899-28 February 1900) where he deserted. Later, when he was finally arrested and court martialled, he created a story about this event and his subsequent actions that was largely untrue.
By 1902 Henry had, somehow, got himself back in England where, under his own name, he enlisted in Liverpool on 24 July in the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Garrison Artillery). By then he was 23 years and 9 months, had grown to 5 foot 8 inches and had acquired “Three large scars to shoulders.” He was posted as a Gunner but went absent without leave 3 January 1904. He narrowly escaped a court martial and returned to duty a week later.
Then his records show that he was in prison awaiting trial 27 April 1904. He was imprisoned 3 May and returned to duty 21 May. He was discharged from the Army 18 June 1904. The original note on his records reads “Incorrigible and worthless”. That has been crossed out (leaving the original comment quite clear!) and “Misconduct” substituted.
In October 1904 his mother died at home in Malta, “The beloved wife of Mr Henry Precious of H.M.’s Dockyard.” From the funeral notice it was clear that the family was well-regarded on the island. (www.militaryimages.net/media/mary-catherine-precious-nee-heath.115998/)
Henry was finally arrested for desertion in October 1904, having become destitute after his last discharge. He gave himself up to the Abaravon police in Wales under the name of Robert Day. What reliance can be placed on the story he then told is unclear, but he certainly was not admitting to his real name, nor to having been back in England from 1902.
According to the Weekly Dispatch of 2 October 1904, under the heading “A Coward’s Adventures” his account was that he deserted just before the relief of Ladysmith. Eventually “hunger compelled him to give himself up to the Boers” and he then fought with them against the British Army. He maintained that he deserted again, escaped to the coast and got on board a French steamer bound for Marseilles, made his way to Liverpool and ended up in Swansea, almost destitute.
Henry was court martialled and sentenced to ten years’ penal servitude. He claimed later that he was pardoned and released, but this may have been yet another of his fabrications. Certainly there is no trace of him in the records under either name until 28 August 1913 when he signed up as a fireman on a ship whose name is unfortunately illegible in the record. He was discharged 5 September and his character, surprisingly for Henry, was “Very Good” although, given that he was only on board for a matter of days, he can have had little opportunity for wrong-doing.
On 6 July 1915 Henry married widow Ethel Kathleen Penny (née Armitage) in Luton. Ethel had two young children from her first marriage.
Despite his record, Henry did serve during the First World War and enlisted 23 November 1915. However, the records are confusing and he appears to have served in the Royal Field Artillery and the Army Service Corps before joining the Royal Flying Corps.
Ethel gave birth to a son, Henry J Precious, in Luton in the first half of 1916. No other information about the child has been traced.
Henry was soon in trouble again.
The Police Gazette of 13 June 1916 reported: “Remanded at Luton… charged as Henry Heath Precious with stealing money GEORGE ROBERT DAY… aged 37, ht. 5ft 8¾ in., c[complexion] sallow, h[air] dk.brown, e[eyes] brown. A soldier, native of Portsmouth. Pre[vious] con[victed] of military offences at ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, GIBRALTAR and in SOUTH AFRICA.”
The full story, with lurid details about Henry’s past, was published in The Luton Reporter of June 19th. “He’s about the greatest fraud, I think, who ever wore his Majesty’s uniform” was the opinion of the Chief Constable.
Henry was by then in the Royal Flying Corps and had recently been reduced to the ranks. He conned £3 (over £200 in 2024) out of the wife of a comrade in the RFC by saying her husband had asked him to collect it for him. He was wearing his uniform, plus stripes he was no longer entitled to and South African medal ribbons, which was enough to convince her he was genuine. When his comrade discovered the theft he was arrested and tried to protest that it was “the one great mistake of my life” and that he would have paid the money back.
During the trial it emerged that he had served in the Boer War and had committed at least five offences, culminating in desertion from Ladysmith. He was arrested for that in 1904, court martialled and sentenced to ten years’ penal servitude. He protested that it was “hard lines” to hold that against him “as he had been pardoned”. Despite his commanding officer saying that his character was indifferent, Henry maintained that for at least two years it had been good and he had spent four and a half months in Ireland drilling recruits to the best of his ability. His problem was, he said, that “money came too easily to him” and if he was sent to prison then his wife would suffer as she would lose her separation allowance and “God knows how she and the children would get on.” When he was questioned closely he admitted that he had been reduced to the ranks from Corporal the previous Monday for a military offence. “This last month I have gone to the dogs altogether.” He was sentenced to three months in prison with hard labour.
The record card for the Silver War Medal states that Henry, under his real name, was a Gunner, enlisted 23 November 1915 and was discharged because of sickness 18 June 1919, which is clearly inaccurate.
In 1918 and 1919 the Absent Voters’ register for Luton gives his address as 16, Warwick Road and states that he was Gunner 225510 in the Royal Field Artillery, and he does have an Army pension card for that address.
After the war Henry was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory medal. However the National Archives record notes “This record was originally deleted by the authorities from the Medal Rolls. It is included here as it contains information not readily available elsewhere.”
In December 1920 Henry, still at 16, Warwick Road, was in trouble yet again. The Luton News for 23 December, under the heading “Military Passive Resister”, reported that Henry had been arrested for being absent from Bulford [an Army camp on Salisbury Plain] since 20th December. It appears that Ethel had approached Inspector Hunt and as a result he arrested Henry. Henry gave the “explanation” that he had re-enlisted as a single man, then confessed to being married, was told that a separation allowance would be granted, but it was not and “he could not be expected to remain at soldiering under such conditions.” He was remanded in custody.
In 1921 he was back in the Army and stationed with 1155 M T Company, Royal Army Service Corps, Victoria Barracks, Cork, Ireland. He was a Private and a motor driver. That year was a bloody one in Ireland and in May the island had been partitioned. The British Army had large numbers of soldiers stationed there and perhaps that was how Henry, despite his quite dreadful record, was back in the services.
By 1922 Henry was home at 16, Warwick Road, Luton with Ethel.
There is no mention in the records until May 1930 when the Surrey Mirror reported that Henry, who was of no fixed abode, was bound over by the Reigate magistrates for stealing shovels and picks from a shop in Mertsham. The police stated that Henry had several military convictions and one civil one. The bench showed leniency because it was some time since his last offence, and he had co-operated with the police and told them where to find the stolen tools.
In 1932 Ethel and her children Marion and Leslie George Penny, were living at 16, Warwick Road, but Henry was not recorded. Given that he was of no fixed abode two years previously it seems the couple had split up.
On 29 October 1932 a Henry Precious (no middle name given) married Annie Dealey in Berkhamsted and in late 1933 a Henry H Precious married Doris Tingay in Fulham. It has not been possible to establish whether either or both of those men were Henry Heath Precious.
Henry died in April 1936, in Hempstead House, Hemel Hempstead, aged 54. No Berkhamsted address is given for him in the burials register. How he came to be buried in Berkhamsted remains a mystery, like much of his turbulent life.
Relatives
No relatives have been linked to Henry Precious
