In Freetown (King Tom) Cemetery, West Africa is the Commonwealth War Grave of SS/116072 Stoker 1st Class Christopher Jobson serving on H.M.S. Africa with the Royal Navy who died 16/09/1918.

He was the son of Thomas and Dorothy Jobson, of 42, Doctor Terrace, Bedlington, Northumberland.

Derek Johnstone has provided the following:

Christopher Jobson was the son of Thomas William and Dorothy Ann Jobson (nee Brown) and was born at Newcastle in 1890 according to military records. (1901 and 1911 Census records show Bedlington as his place of birth).

In 1901 his family, which included siblings William and Dorothy, lived at Catholic Row, Bedlington and were living in Doctor Terrace in the same town in 1911. Christopher was working in the coal mines as a pony putter.

Christopher joined the Navy in October 1914 and served on the H.M.S. Africa. Records show he was single, 5 feet 6 inches tall and had brown hair. Christopher contracted influenza and died from pneumonia aged 27 years. His parents were still living at 42, Doctor Terrace, Bedlington after his death.

Colin Boyd has added the following:
H.M.S. Africa was anchored in Freetown Harbour, Sierra Leone for the whole month of September 1918 and during this time 51 of the crew (including Christopher) died from influenza. On September 16th 1918, when Christopher died, 8 of his shipmates also died. The crew of the ship were decimated and at its peak, on September 9th 1918, 476 hands were on the sick list.

This just goes to prove that the confines of a ship were a microcosm of the epidemic that was raging at the time.

Christopher Jobson is remembered at Bedlington on B15.01, B15.03, B15.06, B15.11, B15.20 and B15.26 page 48 and  in our List of Ships’ Crews.