Albert James Lodge

Story:
Albert James Lodge was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 28th May 1894, the son of Charles Lodge and Sarah Ann Lodge (née Hunt).  He lived his early life at 28 Salisbury Street, Shaftesbury.   He enlisted on the 2nd August 1917 and joined the Royal Navy attached to the Royal Naval Air Service as an Air Mechanic Class 1 (Service No. F34975).  He served at Felixstowe, Suffolk, until 31st March 1918 when he was transferred to the Royal Air Force with the same rank (Service No. 234795). He served with the 234th Squadron on the Scilly Isles until his discharge on 22nd March 1919.  He was awarded the British War Medal.  He married Rose Emily Hopkins in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in 1919 and they went on to have two children.  The 1921 Census shows he had moved to 25 Brook Road, Filton, Bristol, where he worked as a Cabinet maker for the Bristol Aircraft Company. By the time of the 1939 Register he was living at 12 Pauls Dean Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, described as a Carpenter and Joiner.  He had moved back to 12 Old Boundary Road, Cann, Shaftesbury, Dorset, by the time of his death in the Westminster Memorial Hospital, Shaftesbury, on 21st March 1954.