Samuel Poulter was born in early Summer 1876 at Bennett’s End, near Leverstock Green and baptised with his twin brother Thomas, shortly afterwards in Holy Trinity Church in the village on Sunday, 9th July. His parents were William Poulter and Caroline Seabrook who had five children together. Samuel’s siblings were, Frederick, Robert and Albert, all older, his twin brother Thomas, and then his younger sisters, Alice, Emily and Sarah. His father Samuel worked as a “Brickmaker” at the nearby brick works and his mother was one of the many “Straw Plaiters” working around the Hemel area in the late 1800’s. When Samuel left school, he followed his older brothers onto the land and worked as an “Agricultural Labourer”.

By the time of the 1901 Census, Samuel had found work with John Dickinson & Co. Ltd in Apsley Mills, where he worked as a “Millhand” in the Export Paper Packing Department. It was in Apsley Mills that he met his future wife, Florrie (Florence) Lea, a native of Apsley End who worked in the Envelope Department as a “Packer”. The two became sweethearts and in 1904 they married at St. Mary’s Church in Apsley End and settled in their new home together, at 4 Manor Terrace known as “Manor Villas”, Orchard Street, Apsley End.

A year after their marriage the first of their two children was born in February 1905, a girl whom they named Doris Caroline. She was followed three years later in April 1908 by their son Robert James. By 1911, Samuel had progressed at Dickinsons and he was recorded on the census return as “Foreman of Export Packing in Paper Mill”, the job he was still doing on the outbreak of war in August 1914. Samuel did not enlist immediately, and it is not known if he volunteered under the Group (Derby) Scheme in late 1915 or was called up following the passing of the Military Services Act in 1916.

The Derby Scheme was introduced to address the growing need for volunteers and each eligible man aged between eighteen and forty-one, who was not in a "starred" (essential) occupation, had to make a public declaration of his willingness to attest for service. They could choose to enlist immediately, defer their call up on the promise of service or refuse to enlist at all. The Military Services Act in January 1916 effectively introduced conscription into the services, but initially only for single men aged between eighteen and forty-one. However, in May of the same year it was extended to include married men. Men called up for military service or their employers could appeal to a civilian Military Service Tribunal in their town or district on the grounds of work of national importance, business or domestic hardship, medical unfitness, or conscientious objection. By the end of June 1916, 748,587 men had appealed.

It seems most likely that Samuel was called up under the Military Services Act after it had been extended in May 1916, as his employer appealed on his behalf for exemption on the basis of his medical classification. When he had gone to enlist, Samuel underwent an army medical examination and was classified “C2” which stated he was “Able to walk 5 miles, see and hear sufficiently for ordinary purposes” and “…able to stand service in garrisons at home”. This was in effect a medical rejection for service overseas but, whilst he would not go to fight, he would be eligible to serve on home defence duties. His employer however, was keen to retain his services, and without Samuel’s knowledge appealed on his behalf and that of 162 other men who had similarly been rejected for overseas service. A lengthy and detailed report appeared in the Hemel Hempstead Gazette on November 4th, 1916, the outcome of which was a “conditional exemption” for eighty-four of the men including Samuel. The condition applied was that each of the men should either join the local Volunteer Force or the Special Police and Samuel chose the former. No doubt this outcome came as a great relief for him and he continued with his work at Dickinsons and served in No. 4 (Hemel Hempstead) Company 2nd (West Herts) Battalion, Hertfordshire Volunteer Regiment for the next two years.

On the 24th June 1918, the Hertfordshire County Territorial Association met to execute instructions to mobilise six percent of the county’s Volunteer Force and enrol it for full-time service in a Special Services Company for at least two months. The Company was formed as No. 8 (Hertfordshire) Volunteer Special Service Company on the 29th June and was made up from volunteers who had been passed fit in a previous Army medical examination. Samuel was one of the men who volunteered at the age of forty-two, and he was posted to Maldon in Essex, attached to the 2/7 Devonshire Regiment, where he underwent rigorous training before taking up home coastal defence duties.

Reports state that Samuel was “…highly delighted at the prospect of rendering service…” and had been “…happy and contented with his experience of military life…”, but only three weeks after arriving at Asheldham Camp in Essex, he was found dead having committed suicide. It is not known what caused Samuel to take his own life, given his happy demeanour, and following an inquest the cause of his death was recorded rather bleakly as, “Suicide owing to temporary insanity. Haemorrhage from a cut throat.”

One possible reason may have been a fear of being sent overseas to fight despite his previous C2 classification. In April 1918 the Government had further extended the Military Services Act to include all men up to the age of fifty (fifty-six if the need arose). There were instances of drafts of men, previously exempted from overseas service, being sent to fight in the last few months of the war. Whatever the reason, Samuel tragically died on Tuesday, 23rd July, 1918 when the balance of his mind was disturbed. Due to his short service, less than six months, he did not qualify for a War Gratuity payment but following his death, his wife Florrie was initially awarded a widow’s pension of fifteen shillings. However, she was subsequently declared “ineligible” for this payment and the pension, despite numerous appeals was disallowed. 

It seems that the nature of Samuel’s self-inflicted death and the fact that suicide was at the time a criminal offence was, rather callously, not considered a valid reason for the award of financial support for his wife and children. Florrie went back to work in Dickinsons until she retired in 1940 and she and her son Robert, lived on Orchard Street in Apsley until her death at St. Paul’s Hospital in February 1960 at the age of eighty.

Samuel was commemorated on the John Dickinson & Co., Ltd., War Memorial and on the War Memorial Plaque in St. Mary’s Church, Apsley End where he and Florrie had married and worshipped.

He is Remembered with Honour in the Apsley End (St Mary) Churchyard, United Kingdom, North Part.

He was 42 years old when he died.

Samuel was ineligible for the British War Medal or the Allied Victory Medal as his home-based service did not meet the necessary criteria for award.