First World War

The First World War is a turning point in Combe Island’s history: it ended the Holcombe family’s pre-war summers there, killed two of the family’s sons, and left the island’s future to a reluctant heir whose remaining resources would later be placed in a charitable trust.

The war breaks the family’s routine

Before the war, the Holcombe family went to Combe Island every summer. Gerald Holcombe had restored its cottages and, in 1912, built a house and additional accommodation for staff, making the island a family holiday home. The war abruptly changed that pattern. The two elder sons were killed, one in France and the other at Gallipoli.

Loss and inheritance

The surviving son, Henry Holcombe, was consumptive and considered unfit for military service. After his brothers’ deaths, he was oppressed by a sense of general unworthiness and had little desire to inherit. The family’s losses thus shaped not only its private history but also the succession: Henry became the remaining heir without wanting the role.

The island’s later purpose

The family’s money had come from investments rather than land, and by the late 1920s those investments had largely dried up. In 1930, Henry established a charitable trust with what remained, found wealthy supporters, and handed over Combe Island and the family property. The trust was intended to provide rest and seclusion for people bearing high responsibility. In this way, the First World War’s deaths and the diminished fortunes that followed form part of the history behind the island’s change from a family retreat into a place of restorative solitude.