Wakefield Express 24th August 1918

Wakefield Express – 24th August 1918

More extracts from the pages of the Wakefield Express during the Great War.

Pvte. Fred Hopwood, K.O.Y.L.I., Moorland Place, Flockton, has been admitted to hosptal suffering from shell wounds and shell shock. He is nineteen years of age, and before enlisting he worked at Messrs. Stringer and Son’s colliery at Emley Moor.

Private Norman Fenton, Queen’s Westminster Rifle’s, son of Mr. and Mrs. W Fenton, Leeds Road, Tingley, has been gassed, and sent to Gosforth near Newcastle-on-Tyne. Pte. Fenton is barely twenty years of age, was educated at the Morley secondary School, and just previous to enlistment had obtained a clerkship at one of the local banks.

Private A Smith, Highland Light Infantry, son of Mrs. Batty, Carlton Street, Lawfield Lane, Wakefield was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital, Rouen on July 31st, suffering from a fractured arm, the result of gun-shot. He enlisted when sixteen years of age, and had been in the army three years.

Private Percy Taylor, Black Watch of Methley, is reported to have been killed in action. He was twenty years of age, and son of Mr and Mrs W G Taylor, of 7 Middle Row, Methley Junction. He enlisted on May 1st 1917 having previously been employed at the Junction Haigh Moor Pit of Messrs. Hy. Briggs and Son, and Co. Ltd. He was wounded in the right hand on August 2nd last year, but was soon able to return to the Front.

Gunner Wilfred Speight of the R.F.A., whose parents live at Reyner’s Yard, Horbury, is now at Springburn Hospital, Glasgow. While on active service in France he accidentally fell over some wire in a shallow trench, and the weight of his body falling on his right arm fractured the bones at the elbow joint. He pluckily stayed on duty, with his arm fractured for two days, and then had to report sick, not being able to carry on longer. He was sent to the rear to a Casualty Clearing Station, and then to a hospital, and was next sent over to hospital in this country. Before enlisting he was employed in the offices of Messrs. Chas. Roberts and Co. Horbury Junction.

Cadet Sydney Hudson, K.O.Y.L.I., son of Mr and Mrs Hudson, Queen Street, Normanton, was killed in action on July 20th, and he leaves a widow and one child. He went to France with the 1st 4th K.O.Y.L.I., and was gassed in the first enemy gas attack. He came home on leave in April, twelve months afterwards, and was wounded in July after returning. He came home to England for his commission and passed his first examination, but in his second he was turned down. He returned to France three weeks after Easter for three months further instruction, but, unfortunately was killed before he was able to gain his commission. He was 23 years of age, and before the war he worked at St. John’s Colliery, Newland.

The above notice for Sydney would have been sad news for his family and friends but, a boon for family historians.

What do we now know about Sydney?  We know his parents address.  We know he was married and had a small child.  We know his regiment, part of his service history and his date of death. We also know by his rank that he was in line for a commission, this is confirmed his death notice. We also know how old he was and where he was employed before he joined the army.  Information that could have taken longer to find and confirm.

Koyli CWGC headstone emblem

A visit to the CWGC website has a Serjeant S Hudson dying on the 20th of July with a service number of 242739, serving in the 5th Btn., KOYLI and resting in Chambrecy British Cemetery  along with over 400 other casualties.  The cemetery is on the outskirts of Riems on the road to Chateau Thierry.

The Registers of Soldiers’ Effects has a Sidney (change of spelling) confirming the CWGC’s information of service number and date of death.  This series of records also includes the amount of money due to his family – his wife, Florence who was sent the sum of £26.  There is a marriage of a Sydney Hudson to Florence Bennett in the Bramley registration district who went on to have a child in the Pontefract area in the summer of 1917 – could this be the couple?

Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914 – 1919 is a fantastic collection of information.  These records were a few year ago only available in a cd format, quite an expensive cd, I might add. This information, now one of the many sources available from Ancestry, gives name, rank regiment, service number, place of birth and enlistment along with date of death and type of casualty. So, Sidney was born in Normanton and enlisted there.  Information that tallies with the birth of a child to him and Florence in the Pontefract area.

The Medal Card for Sydney tells that he enlisted as a Private and entered France in April of 1915 and later attained the rank of Serjeant.  He was eligible for the 1915 Star, along with the British and Victory Medals – Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

 Florence had a young child to support after Sydney was killed in action. Did she re-marry?  There is an entry on Freebmd for a Florence Hudson marrying a James F Hampshire in the summer of 1927 – was this her? Or is the entry for Florence Hudson and George E Pawson who marrying in the Pontefract region in the winter of 1930 the right entry?  Or, did Florence not marry again…………….Do you know?