Tag Archives: conflict

The Truce and a Footballer

100 years ago the noise, chaos, confusion and panic of life in the trenches of Northern France fell silent, it was Christmas Day! No orders came from on high to stop the fighting for one day, yet peace and calm was the order of the day. The sound of carols rose from the trenches and gradually men from either side risked their lives to enter ‘no man’s land’ – no shots were fired as they left the safety of the trenches – it was Christmas and all was calm and they played footbal.

Some say the events of that day were fiction, while other deny that and have evidence to prove that the truce and the match took place. Recently, there was a programme on television that produced the actual football – somehow being brought back home.

It seems appropriate with the football match taking place 100 years ago that I chat about a young man, a footballer who gave his life in the Great War,

By the title of the page you know who I am focusing on today – Walter Tull. Walter Daniel John Tull was born on April 28 1888, the son of Daniel Tull a carpenter from Barbados and Alice Elizabeth Palmer, who he married in the spring of 1880. When Walter and his siblings were young Alice died and in the winter of 1896 Daniel married her cousin Clara Alice Susannah Palmer but by the time Walter was 9 years old both his parents had died and he was living in a Methodist orphanage in Bethnal Green.

Clara, remarried in 1899 to a William Charles Beer, in the Dover Registration District and the 1901 census the couple are living in Coldred, Kent, with Elsie Tull and Miriam Tull aged 10 and 3 recorded as step-children. The family next door are the Palmers. In the census of 1911 has the couple living in Kearnsey(?) also in the household is Miriam Victoria Alice Tull, step daughter, aged 13 and a William Thomas Palmer a boarder aged 64.

His brother was eventually adopted, while Walter remained and played football for the orphanage football team. By 1908 he was playing for Clapham F C and within months had won winners’ medals in various leagues. The Football Star in 1909 called him ‘the catch of the season’. The following year, 1909 he signed as a professional player with Tottenham Hotspur – it was while playing with Tottenham that he experienced racism from the spectators, one correspondent commented ‘a section of the spectators made a cowardly attack on him in language lower than Billingsgate’ he continued ‘Let me tell those Bristol hooligans that Tull is so clean in mind and method as to be a model for all white men to play football whether they be amateur or professional. In point of ability, it not actual achievement, Tull was the best forward on the field’.

In the latter part of 1911 he moved to Northampton Town where he played half-back and scored 9 goals in 110 appearances. When in 1914, the war started, Walter was the first player to sign up and join the 17th (1st Football) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment and by late 1915 he was in France. It was not long before the military took advantage of Walter’s leadership qualities and he was promoted to sergeant. Walter took part in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 but in the winter of the same year he returned to England due to illness – sources differ with trench fever and/or shell shock’ being the cause.

2nd Lieut.,Walter Tull

On his recovery Walter was not returned to the front, as many others were, he was sent to the officer training school at Gailes, Scotland. Even though regulations were against a man of walters birth becoming an officer, he did receive his commission in May of 1917, thus Walter became the first black combat officer in the British Army. He was posted to the Italian front, being mentioned in dispatches for his gallantry and coolness under fire.

By early 1918 Walter was now serving on the Western Front. On March 25th he was ordered to lead his men on at attack on German trenches at Favreuil, where shortly after entering No Mans Lane he was hit by an enemy bullet. He was a highly regarded officer and some of his men made an attempt to bring him back to the British lines. One of the rescuing soldiers told that Walter was killed immediately with a bullet through his head. And so it was that Walter who had been the first in many fields ended his life on 25 March 1918 aged 29.

Walter Tull had been recommended for the Military Cross, The award was never granted and various campaigns have been hoping that someday 2nd Lieutenant Walter Tull’s family will receive his Military Cross.

Back to Walter, as his body was never found and he is remembered on the Arras Memorial, bay 7.

It may not be the Military Cross, but the Royal Mint announced earlier in 2014 that Walter will be remembered one of a set of £5 coins commemorating the centenary of World War One.

Sources :-

http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWtull.htm

http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/bios/walter_tull.html

www.ancestry.co.uk

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Blog is back!

Due to technical problems – basically the blog decided it did not like being updated and said ‘NO, I’m not going to work’, which was a little annoying but after a break of not knowing which way to go I had decided to do a version 2 where the old blog would still able to be viewed, enabling you to still see what I got up to in the past, but you would also be able to read about what I’ve been up to, what has interested me and what I am up to now!

So……………..when asking my son yesterday, to link the new blog to my website. After trying to explain what I wanted him to do and why, I was told not to be daft, why should I have 2 blogs when I already had one, even though it refused point blank to update and come back to life. After a few minutes of copying, pasting and button pressing, my blog like the phoenix rose from the ashes back to life! Who’s a clever boy then?

I am back! A lot has happened in the world in the past 12 months – we have had the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, seen the Tower of London basque in a blanket of poppies remembering every soldier from the Commonwealth who gave his life for King and Country. We have seen the world remember the outbreak of the Great War and many military projects have been granted funding. The funding is not a bad thing, nor is the remembering but there have been many groups and individuals, who for many years have remembered, started and completed projects on their own without any form of help both physical and financial. I know of a couple of local projects that a group of people have been wanting to undertake, only to be told that ‘we now have funding for that’ – lets wait and see. A few years ago I contacted an establishment with the view to adding to a project I had done years ago. I was told ‘oh! thank you for the offer but we are doing that ‘in-house” – that ‘in-house’ project is still to be started!

Anyway, what have I done in the past year, well, the book I told you all about, Lizzie Riach with Family and Friends, in one of my previous blogs has been published by myself and is on sale – I’m on my second print run. I fondly remember

Lizzie Riach with Family and Friends charity cookbook

the day I went to the prints to collect my proof copy, I’d been welcomed as I had been on my previous visits. Then I was handed a proof copy, my book. I must admit I was overcome with emotion – glad that it was nearly all over, sad that some very important people would never see it but happy and proud of what I had achieved, and very grateful that a wonderful young lady had given her time to work her magic, making the book so totally different to how a self funding charity cookbook should look – it is amazing.

The book is for sale from yours truly and the profit from each book – £2 goes to Macmillan Cancer Support – now how good is that, you get the book full of wonderfully donated recipes and a charity gets your donation, everybody wins!

2014, dosn’t seem to have been a bad year but with events planned for 2015, that should be an even better year,

Faces behind the headstones

Last year I found a leaflet asking for relatives of those WW1 soldiers who rest in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetary to come forward with any information or documents they may have and as I have original documents relating to my great uncle, there was only one thing to do and that was make contact – well you would, wouldn’t you, it is only being polite after all!

I made contact and as I have a little ‘bolt hole’ quite close to Poperinghe I made several visits to my contact who at the time worked out of Toc H and had many cups of tea there, if I may say, the best cups of tea in Belgium. So, with my documents copied and information regarding my great uncle passed on I awaited the day I could visit. I was invited to the opening in the autumn of 2012 but a few days holiday was not available………..so I waited.

The summer of 2013 in August was very hot and on one of the cooler afternoons I crossed the border to my uncle’s ‘little piece of England in a foreign land’. The visitor centre is situated on a parcel of land at the side of the cemetery. I did see the work in progress last year but then it was hard to imagine the building and ideas used. The people at Toc H had told me of the ideas they wished to use and it sounded wonderful.

My first stop was, you guessed, the centre and after parking my car took the short walk to the single story centre. Inside there is a plain red wall with two rows of speakers – for the tall and the short, each tells of the happenings from the area in a soldiers words and is available in four languages. At the rear of this wall is the main archive area, all in white with red accents. This could be symbolic of death and blood or red for the poppies. My aunt a nurse would never have white and red flowers together in the same vase. The room has a central work station with banks of computers listing all the men and one woman (Nellie Spindler) who rest within the boundary of the cemetery, and is easy to search.

I searched for my uncle, as I expected the CWGC information was there but also my pictures but I was disappointed not to find the original documents I had taken in were not available – never mind, may be at a later date or they may save them for a display, must keep visiting.

The displays on the wall are ‘clean looking’ and very informative. There are photographs or the original wooden crosses, maps and aerial photographs, Director of Graves photographs, casualty records, letters requesting monies for extra working on their relatives headstones (my family paid the extra charge). You will have seen this if you have visited a WW1 headstone – the wording at the bottom i.e. Much loved son, Dearly loved husband and father. One wall has a plan showing the happenings on the Ypres Salient and a series of red spikes show when the most deaths occurred. To say the Salient was on for quite a long time the spikes occur in a small time span.

When I visit any CWGC cemetery I am either overwhelmed by the number of headstones of men, young and old who gave their lives, for example a visit to Lijsenntheok or Tyne Cot brings this home very well, but there are also small off the beaten track cemeteries with sometimes only a dozen or so men. Moving as this can be you don’t know who the men or women were, do you? What did they look like, what colour eyes or hair did they have, how did they comb their heir, did they have a parting? Were they clean shaven? For some of the men this now can be answered thanks to a red box like structure in the centre. Pictures of the men and the one woman are placed within what

looks like a pencilled rectangle – one space for each headstone. I am pleased to say that my great uncle, Herbert Siddle, Pte., 242874, 1/4^th K.O.Y.L.I who died of a bullet wound in his neck, is positioned on the photo wall very close to Nurse Nellie Spindler, also from Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, as it was during their time.

In amongst these pictures is a screen displaying information regarding a soldier who died on the date of your visit. The date of my visit – 16 August a young man named James Ernest Gordon was remembered. But what I

did like was that with the press of a button, you could print out information about him for example, his parents names, that he had siblings and that a fiancee never shared a special moment at the alter becoming his wife. That he served in the Balkans and according to his second Lieutenant and was gassed helping a wounded comrade. He was overcome by the effects of the gas but did make it to No 10 CCS, the British evacuation hospital in Lijssenthoek at 9:45 and breathed his last some thirty minutes later.

After going around the centre if you care to take a walk to the cemetery you will notice that the old car park out side the main gates (if you have been before) has gone and now a path takes you towards these gates. The path is protected from the road with what at first glance look like rusty metal pylons, but on closer inspection you can see that every one is dated – one for each day of the events

that took place. The end of the war is depicted by a gap and the rusty metal continues from 24 January 1919 until 18 June 1921 in staggered dates i.e. 1 August 1915, 1 August 1918, 31 October 1920 and finally, 18 June 1921, bringing home that quite a lot of things were still going on in the area well after the war. From here, you enter the familiar ground of a CWGC cemetery, rows of soldiers lined up in death as they were in life.

Was it worth a visit? Yes!

Would I go again? Yes!, of course, as the displays could change and I may get to see the original documentation kept by his mother at the bottom of a blanket box, along with the local newspaper, his picture on the front page as KIA and the insertion by his parents and family later in the paper saying how saddened they were at his loss.

Lijssenthoek Visitor Centre click here

And finally, my reward for a nice afternoon out – only one eaten at a time – promise!!

A Fusilier’s Postcard

A friend of ours/mine is a songwriter and musician, basing many of his songs around his Northumberland origins. A few years ago I blogged about a mining disaster that was the basis of a wonderful and moving song and a song dedicated to my husband called ‘The Old Chateau’.

Anyway, the moving lyrics have once again spurred me into putting fingers to keyboard, but this time based on a postcard written by a fusilier to ‘his Maggie’. I have no idea who the writer was or who ‘his Maggie ‘ was but I have found a Northumberland Fusilier who I shall blog about!

Frederick Noel Coates – who was he, just picked out at random from Army Service Records, basically as I thought his name would be easy to follow.

Frederick was born in 1895, in Whitley Bay, Northumberland, the son of John Robson Coates and Edith Annie, his wife of 19 years.

On Sunday 2^nd April 1911 the family were living at 39 Victoria Avenue, Whitley Bay. John was classed as an Accountant, while Edith was given no occupation, but it did give information that she had born 6 children – the eldest being Edith Vera aged 18 and the youngest was Gwendoline aged 7 months. Frederick Noel was the eldest boy aged 16 and employed as a Commercial Clerk. The family were looked after by 2 teenage servants.

Ten years previous in 1901, John was an accountant working for the Water Gas Company with his family living at 37 Victoria Avenue.

A few short years after the census Frederick Noel Coates on 10 September 1914 signed his Short Service Attestation Papers in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Our young man gave his age as 19 years and 259 days and employed as a Wireless Telegraphy Student and was now officially a Private in the 16^th Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers. The only other entry on ‘Statement of Service was dated 18 September 1915, but will mention that later.

His military history sheet is bare apart from the information regarding his next of kin – John Robson (surname missing , probably as we know the name of the family) 8 South Parade, Whitley Bay. One thing that was not missing was his description – a wonderful find for any family member who has no photograph to view. Frederick was, as we know, 19 years and 259 days old. He was 5” 7 1/2 “ tall and weighed 121lbs. He had a girth of 35” with an expansion range of 4”. His complexion was fresh, he had blue eyes and fair hair and gave no religious preference and he was declared fit for duty.

You may be wondering why I wanted to come back to Fredrerick’s Statement of Service, well on the 18September 1915 he was Discharged, but for a very good reason – he was Gazetted a Commission and became Temp. Second Lieutenant.

Frederick changed Battalions and was now in the 22^nd. These Battalions were made up of ‘Pals Battalions’ and took part in many battles including 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme – the 22^nd Bn., lost over 530 men on that day.

The Northumberland Fusiliers were often known as the ‘fighting fifth’ as until 1881 the regiment was the Fifth Foot, but during The Great War the Northumberland Fusiliers raised no fewer that 51 battalions making it the second largest after the London Regiment.

The 22^nd was formed in Newcastle on 5 November 1914 by Newcastle’s Lord Mayor and landed in France in January of 1916.

John and Annie Coates lost their eldest son on 4 April 1917 aged 23. He is remembered at FAUBOURG D’AMIENS CEMETERY, ARRAS with over 2640 other known men and 10 who are Known only unto Their God.

Frederick is mentioned in Whitley Seaside Chronicle of the Great War

As to who was the Maggie, dearly mentioned on the postcard that could well be another story, but I do hope that her soldier did return home.

You can listen to A Fusilier’s Postcard here

You may also like to listen to Where Footsteps Used Fall also with a WW1 theme

Sources –

Ancestry

Find My Past

The Eton Rifles

It was Eton College that gave me the WW1 bug and one friend in particular imparts me with newspaper cuttings and snippets. One such newspaper cutting was given to me a few days ago and again has an Eton College link. It is a known fact that many of the young men from Eton College and other Public Schools left school in the spring and summer and by the autumn and winter had joined the the ranks of ‘the fallen’. One in five young men from these schools did not return. Information from a new book tells that King Edward School, Lytham was the hardest hit public school with a third of ex-pupils who went to war being killed. The National Archives has a graph detailing six public schools, the numbers serving, numbers killed and a percentage. Eton College had 5650 young men serving with over 1100 being killed. While Sedbergh had 1250 serving with losses of 251. Eton in this graph seemed to come off the worst. But saying that Eton seemed to fair very well when it came to The Old Etonians being awarded the Victoria Cross followed close by Harrow. Anyway, back to my newspaper article that features Eton’s first viii rowing team for 1913. Namely, Lindsay Campbell ; Charles Rowlatt ; Sigurd MacCulloch ; Ronald Backus ; Augustus Dilberoglue ; Richard Buckley ; Ian Napier ; Stephen Fairbairn ; Edmond Elliott. Only three of the first viii team for 1913 died in The Great War, firstly –

Augustus Dilberoglue – he was born on 13th January 1894, he was the son of Planton and Julia Dilberoglue who around the time of their sons death were living at The Lodge, 19 Southfields Road, Eastbourne. The family had previously been living in Cairo as Planton had been a Judge of the Native Court of Appeal. He was educated at Summerfields, Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he was when war broke out. He obtained a commission and later attended Sandhurst. 1915 saw him being gazetted to the 3rd King’s Own Hussars. Augustus served with his regiment in Shorncliffe, Ireland, with the BEF in France and Flanders and was KIA on 1 April 1918 nr Domart. He rests in Hourges Orchard Cemetery Domart-Sur-La-Luce CWGC cemetery. His Commanding Officer wrote that he had a very high opinion of him, he was a fine young man and would be a great loss. A fellow officer said he was of the finest character and a good friend. He went on to say that he did not think he had ever met a more morally fearless character and that his squadron and troop fellow officers all loved him. While at Eton he had been captain of his house and in his last year captain of boars. He rowed bow in the vii in 1912 and no 5 in the vii in 1913. During that year he also won the School Pulling with G W Withington. In 1914 he rowed no 7 in the Christ Church boat First Torpids. He was a member of the Cavalry Club, the Vikings Club and of the Leander Club. Planton and Julia lost another of their sons – Richard Nicholas Dilberoglue who was also educated at Southfield and Eton and Sandhurst and joined the Coldstream Guards. He was KIA when a shell exploded at his feet and he rests in Ginchy. He also had wonderful tributes paid to him. Richard’s medal card, like his brother’s give their parents address in Eastbourne, but Richards gives a previous address of Buckingham Gate SW1. Richard and Augustus also had another brother serving in the Welsh Guards, Pandeli Dilberoglue who survived The Great War and lived until 1952.

Sigurd MacCulloch (MacCullock) – Sigurd Harold MacCulloch was the son of John J and Matilda J MacCullochserved as a 2/Lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders and died of wounds near Albert in 20 December 1915 aged 21. He rests in Mailly-Maillet Communal Cemetery Extension. An address on his medal card tells that the family lived at 8 Caurtfield Gardens, SW7. The London Gazette for 4 March 1915 states that “The undermentioned Second Lieutenants to be Lieutenants” Sigurd H Macculloch’s entry had a note in brackets ‘(since died of wounds received in action)’. Sources:-De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour Ancestry CWGC Christ Church, Oxford.

Esmond Elliot – Was born on 25 September 1895, to Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, Earl of Minto and his wife Mary Caroline Grey. Esmond like the other young men in this entry he attended Eton College and was coxwain in the Eton College eight in 1911,12,13. During the Coronatian year he was Page of Honour when the new King and Queen went to Holyrood. He served in the Scots’ Guards with a rank of Lieutenant and acted as A.D,C, to the Major General commanding the Guards Division in France. He Died of Wounds on 6 Aug 1917. A note on his Medal Card dated 7 February 1922 has his mother, The Rt. Hon. Mary, Countess of Minto, of 48 Chelsea Park Gardens, SW3, applying for her dead sons medals.on year, he was Page of Honour when the King and Queen were at Holyrood.

Sources:-
Ancestry.co.uk
The London Gazette
The Sunday Times

War Resistance in the West Riding of Yorkshire

One of my distant cousins and her family were involved during WW1 in conspiracy after conspiracy, conscientiousness objectors and more……….but that is a different story.

Last week I attended a local family history talk by Cyril Pearce about pockets of resistance within the West Riding – wonderful as I have an interest in WW1 and in ‘conchies’.

Always one for learning some new snippet or piece of information, nobody knows everything, even though some think they do, I listened with interest. Although, most of the talk was based around the Huddersfield areas, the information fitted in with other places in different counties.

My information has been gathered from around the Derby area, based on my family, but this opened my eyes to the people who were involved and how they were accepted and treated within their communities. One of my questions at the end of the talk, based on a copy of an Attestation Paper was ‘did all concientious objectors have an army service number’, to my surprise the answer was yes, as they were called up and therefore were allocated a number. Many refused to sign and had to follow the consequences of this by either doing non-combatant work i.e. being in a reserved profession, by being in an ambulance corps., or doing aid work of sorts. The Friends Ambulance Corps is one of these groups (Quakers). But, saying that, many still refused to do any work that would help the nation at this time, even being in a reserved occupation was too much, and they would have been sent to varioius prisons including Wakefield and Dartmoor.

For the first two years of the war over 3,000,000 volunteered (up to 1916 there had been no conscription) but due to such heavy losses it was decided to bring in conscription. At first it was only single men had the call, then as time went on and 1918 came, married men and men up to 50 were also included. So, after the passing of various Military Service Acts the No-Conscription Fellowship mounted a campaign against the punishment of objectors and in total about 16,000 men refused to fight. A large number of these men were pacifists who believed that killing another human being was wrong, either for religious or conscientious reasons. The No-Conscription Fellowship had support from many public figures of the time including : Bertrand Russell, Arthur McManus, Alfred Mason to name a few.

The areas of objectors in the West Riding seemed to be mainly from the woollen areas which seemed to be mainly non-conformist, the mining areas, mainly the traditional church seemed to be lightly affected. You would think that the mining areas would have the same feelings as there were many Socialist and Labour groups involved with the organisation of objector groups.

Over 120 Huddersfield men appeared before a tribunal for their beliefs, one conscientious objector was Arthur Gardiner. He was a gifted talker and when attending the tribunal likened himself to German workers who he felt he had more in common with than the men in Westminster – he lost his appeal, was sent to France, leaving the station to waving supporters. One would think that a C.O. would not blend well back into a community after so many families had lost fathers, brothers and sons, but no, Arthur went on to become Mayor of Huddersfield.

What did I learn from Cyril’s talk, well that the C.O’s had various degrees of how much or how little they would do, or how much they would disrupt the every day goings on ‘at home’. I knew there were many National groups who were organising anti-war feelings, but I did not realise how many small, local groups including Friends Meetings and Sunday Schools were involved. Also, I knew there were the ambulance and first aid non combatants but I found out that many went to France to dig trenches, give aid and hand out tea.

Cosens, H S F, KIA

I first came across the person above while photographing memorials in St Mary Abbotts church in Kensington. I homed in on the war memorial outside after spending a wonderful time in Wholefoods – what a fantastic place and their cheese room is to die for!!

Cosens, H S F, who is he?

Harold Stanley Frederick Cosens, born 2 December 1889, the son of Frederick George Cosens and Fanny Louisa Ambrose who had married in Kensington in the spring of 1877.

Frederick was a Sherry Shipper born in Streatham in 1855, his wife was born in Marylebone in the same year.

In the census of 1891 the family were living at 8 Airlie Gardens, Kensington – just off Campden Hill Road. Harold was the youngest of three children. The family employed three staff, one of which was a nurse.

Ten years later in 1901, Frederick and Fanny still had three children but the number of staff had increased to four.

A further ten years on only one of the children is at home – 24 year old Winifred but now back to three servants.

Harold by the census of 1911 was a Second Lieutenant serving in the East Yorkshire Regiment and was one of 330 men and 80 women at Aldershot Barracks. We now know he was a career soldier. But his early had been at St Paul’s School and later Sandhurst Military College.

Harold was Killed In Action at Rue du Bois, Armentierre, on 27 October 1914, according to a number of sources,but the memorial in St Mary Abbots gives the date of 28 October 1914.

The medal card for Harold gives quite a lot of information. Firstly, his regiment and rank was confirmed. His date of death is given as 27 October. Other information is taken from Routine Orders, Staff Book, Disembarkation Returns and medals awarded. In March of 1918 F L G Coens, Esq., applies for the 1914 star in respect of his late son. Mr Cosens requested the medals address given 7 Observatory Gardens, Campden Hill. There are a number of notes on the card and one says ‘medals to’ 15 Vicarage Gardens, Kensington. One other adress is for F G Cosens, Esq., Beech Bough, Bacton, North Walsham, Norfolk. Harold parents must have moved to Norfolk as he is remembered on the village war memorial.

His Commanding Officer, Major M Boyle wrote of Harold “He was my subaltern and I never want a better, always cheery and ready for any work that came in his way, and to take on any hard job, even when out of his turn, as so often happened when I wanted a man I could trust to do any difficult or jumpy piece of work. I could not want for a nicer, more cheery and hard working officer to soldier with……. The exact circumstances are these. He had led his men to retake some trenches from the Germans and had carried out his work successfully, and was actually in the trench, doing a kindly act to one of the enemy, who wanted to surrender, when a sniper shot him from another direction. It is extremely painful to write thus, as it was sheer bad luck! My company are very cut up indeed. He died a gallant gentleman.”

Harold rests in Ration Farm Military Cemetery, La Chapelle-D’Armentieres

Sources:

Ancestry ; Masonic Great War Project ; Freebmd ; CWGC

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery – Who is resting in peace

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery nr Poperinge has a very special place in my heart, not only does my great uncle rest there but Nellie Spindler from my home town also calls Lijssenthoek ‘home’. But recently while doing a bit of research I came across another man whose final resting place is also Lijssenthoek – Conrad Hugh Dinwiddy.

I think his name sounded similar to a place we used to stay on our way up to Lhangbryde when I was a child, so what do you do, or should I say ‘I do’ but find out a little about him………you know the thing, who were his parents, where did he live and what did he do before joining the forces and who survived him. Here goes….

While waiting for a website to open I thought I’d try Wikipedia – lots of info there, not always correct but is somewhere to start and to my surprise there was not an established page for Conrad, there is an opening if any one wishes to start a page for him.

Here we go ! Conrad was born early in 1881 to Thomas Dinwiddy and his wife Eliza Charlotte nee Rooke (b. 1845 Marylebone). In the census shortly after Conrad’s birth Thomas was aged 37 and was working as an Architect and Surveyor (b 1844 Bristol). The family lived at 12 Croom’s Hill, Greenwich (now the London Fan Museum)– the road was home to other professionals and retired servicemen incl. William Rivers Retd., RN; Gay Shute, Surgeon; Thomas Creed(?), General Practioner MRCSE St Andrews Uni.; others include Stationers, Annuitants.

Thomas Dinwiddy is noted for having designed the main administration block (Grove Park Workhouse) of what was Grove Park Hospital. The plans were approved in 1897 and the foundation stone put in place 2 years later. The plans were presented at the Paris International Exhibition in 1900 and won a Diploma of Merit. One of the local roads is named after Thomas. In the early 1990’s the site was sold for housing development but Thomas’s administration block and a some of the original workhouse buildings survived. The site had not been listed by the local authorities. One of the buildings designed by Thomas did manage to get a listed status – Laurie Grove Baths including : swimming baths, slipper baths and launderies were designed in the mid 1890’s commissioned by the Vestry Board of St Paul’s Deptford under the Public Baths and Wash-houses Act of 1846. The building is of Jacobean style and still has many of its original features. A few other buildings by Thomas were Greenwich Board of Works Offices and Roans Girl’s College, Greenwich.

Ten years later, 1891, Conrad was hard to find on the census but eventually by just putting his year of birth +/- 2 and Greenwich as his place of birth he is found. He is at a school with some of his brothers in Walmer, Kent.

Another ten years on in 1901 the family are at The Manor House (?), Croom’s Hill – Eliza with her children, Conrad by now is classed as a student, and four servants but no Thomas. Thomas was in fact staying at the Adelphi Hotel, Ranelagh Place, Liverpool with people from all walks of life incl. George Herbert Lindsay of Edinburgh a Distiller; Daniel Shurmann a Merchant born in Russia. That solved that problem, so now forward a few years.

On 27 September 1909, Conrad’s elder brother Malcolm, Capt., Royal West Kent Regt., who had served in Singapore, married married Miss Laura de Satge, dau. of the late Mr Ocar de Satge, late member of the Upper House of Queensland. The wedding took place in Folkstone and Conrad was the Best Man with various cousins from both sides being bridesmaids. Guests included Lords and Knights of the realm and serving regimental Officers

The 1911 census finds that Conrad is now a newly married man. He had married Winifred O Pochin in the Autumn of the previous year. Conrad worked as a Surveyor employing a number of people and they lived at 76 Warwick Gardens, Kensington, a nine roomed house, with a number of servants and was a member of the RICS, which held a portrait of him.

Conrad served in the military and various entries in The London Gazette have him serving in various ranks incl. Temp Captain. But it is The Medal Rolls Index Cards that tell a better story.

Conrad initially served in the RFA as 157860. Later serving in the RGA as a 2/Lt., and now has no service number as Officers were not issued with a number at this time. He is later in the 13/Siege Bty, RGA as an A/Major, then Major, with a medal entitlement of The Victory Medal and The British Medal.

Conrad was the inventor of the ‘Dinwiddy’ Range-finder for detecting enemy aircraft – this was adopted by the War Office. He was also a Councillor for the Borough of Kensington and a known mountaineer.

C H was one of five children and had three brothers in the services.

Conrad Died of Wounds received on 27 September 1917 aged 35, leaving Winifred and a young son, Hugh P Dinwiddy born in 1912.

Conrads brothers – Major Malcolm J Dinwiddy, as we have already said he married in 1909. He served in the Royal West Kents and applied for his service medals in June of 1920. He died on 19 November 1925 aged 46 and had at least one child. Probate was granted to Laura Emily Dinwiddy, widow or Fairview, Osborne Road, South Farnborough.

Donald Dinwiddy, married Ella May Jones in 1909. He died on 19 February 1937. Probate was granted to Ella Mary Dinwiddy of Red Cottage, 54a Parliament St, London

Harry L Dinwiddy. Harry Lurwyche Dunwiddy married Ethel Maud MacArthur in 1903 and by 1911 they were living at 13 Pond Road, Blackheath with their son Thomas Lurwyche and a number of servants – Harry working as a solicitor. He was living at Little Paddock, White Beam Way, Tadworth when he died on 21 April 1950. Probate was granted to Thomas Lutwyche Dinwiddy, solicitor on 8 June of that year.

Conrad also had a sister – Dora, she married Stanton Freeland Card, a Royal Navy Instructor, in 1902 and by 1911 they were living with their three children and a few servants at Parkhurst, Westcombe Park Road, London. Stanton of 24 Crown Lane Gardens, Streatham died at Putney General Hospital on 6 October 1940 with probate granted in Llandudno on 2 July to Westminster Bank Ltd. Dora of Lawrence Road, Hove died on 24 March 1945 with Probate being granted in Llandudno on 20 December of the same year to Harry Lutwyche Dinwiddy, Solicitor.

Sources :

Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Issue 29 Mar 1909, page 5

Ancestry.com.

Freebmd

The Fan Museum

Heritage-explorer.co.uk

Archiseek

Lost Hospitals of London

Flight Global

Wakefield voices from the Crimea

Crimera War Musings – Wakefield Voices from the Crimea. Anthony Dawson will be at Westgate Chapel on Wednesday 27 June with a 7:30pm start.

The talk based on letters from young men give an insight into navy and army lives at the battles of Alma and Inkerman and the fall of Sebastopol.

The Crimean War was the first war to be photographed – Roger Fenton a pioneering photographer ventured far to photograph this event in world history. His reports were widely published, as were his photographs, but many seem staged and orchestrated.

Now letters from the soldiers, that’s real! Life as it was happening.

Entrance is FREE.

Andrew Moynihan, Wakefield’s V.C.

If you mention the name Andrew Moynihan to anyone, do you think they will know of him? Was he a criminal? Was he a business man? What is his connection to Wakefield? Well, who was he?

As Ancestry have included a database of Victoria Cross Recipients on their vast website – wonderful I thought as it could help me with additional information when transcribing war memorials for my website. So, to see who is there – a search with no criteria completed except the place, Wakefield. To my surprise only one entry, Andrew Moynihan – lets go looking for him. From his Ancestry entry I know he was born in Wakefield, in Saw Yard to be exact, in January of 1830 but could not find a baptism for him, He could possibly have been a Catholic so would more than likely still be held by the church, not to worry. A search of FamilySearch soon came up with the goods – 14 March 1830 in St Austins Catholic Church, Wakefield with parents Malechy Monaghen and Ann. So on to the census of 1851 with his name, year of birth +/- 5 and his town of birth, Wakefield – again no joy. Various search information was included and excluded, ending up with Andrew and Wakefield but still no entry for him.

One not to be beaten I googled him and came up with a site for Manchester people which did shed a little bit of light on him – the family moved to Dunkinfield when Andrew was a young child. My search now went to the other side of the Pennines. His early life seems to be a little mysterious but some sources say he worked in a couple of local mills and worshipped at a local Methodist Church.

At 17 years old he enlisted in the 90^th Regiment of Perthshire Volunteers, who at the time were stationed in Ashton. Aged 23, on the 31 December 1853, and with his name now being spelt Moyniham, he married Ellen Parkin in Ashton Parish Church. With the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, Andrew and many others were sent to fight the Russians. The following year he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

His citation in the London Gazette for 24^th February 1857 states : Ensign Andrew Moynihan (note change of spelling), 8^th Regiment, late of the 90^th Regiment. When Serjeant, 90^th Light Infantry, at the assault of the Redan, 8^th September 1855, he personally encountered and killed five Russians. Rescued from near the Redan a wounded officer, under heavy fire.

The initial attack on the Redan Fortress at Sebastapol failed but Andrew’s actions made further attacks possible. Despite heavy Russian fire and being driven back numerous times Andrew re-entered a building to rescue an officer but was wounded and taken prisoner. The British were repeatedly pushed back to their trenches but further attacks enabled him to escape and save a wounded soldier despite his own injuries – Various reports say that he had 12 wounds by the end of the day.

A hero’s welcome greeted him on his return home to Dunkinfield and various presentations were made to him but in 1857 he received from Queen Victoria his Victoria Cross.

Andrew later served in Ireland, the Indian Mutiny, Gibraltar and Malta and it was in Malta in 1867 that he died of Typhoid Fever at his home in Floriana, and rests in La Braxia Cemetery (Section S, Grave 182). He is also mentioned in memorium on the headstone of his daughter, Ada, in Lawnswood Cemetery, Leeds.

Although, Andrew did not stay in Wakefield for very long at least we can say he was born within our city boundary.

Footnote – Wikipedia has an entry for Berkeley George Andrew Moynihan, who is listed as the son of Andrew. He moved with his mother to Leeds, where he was educated and later educated at the Blue Coat School, London and later at the Royal Naval School. He returned to Leeds to study medicine and joined the Leeds General Infirmary as a house surgeon, reaching the height of consulting surgeon in 1927. During WW1 he was on the Army Advisory Board and by the end of the war held the rank of major general. He also served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons. He was knighted in 1912 and created Baronet of Carr Manor in 1922. In 1929 he wa raised to the peerage as Baron Moynihan of Leeds.

Sources :-

Ancestry

Civilian and Military heroes of Manchester

FamilySearch

Wikipedia

La Braxia Cemetery

Blue Plaque tribute to Andrew Moynihan

Gen Blog – Official Blog of Wakefield Family History Sharing

www.wakefieldfhs.org.uk/blog

Tag Archives: conflict

The Truce and a Footballer

Like this:

The Blog is back!

Like this:

Faces behind the headstones

Like this:

A Fusilier’s Postcard

Like this:

The Eton Rifles

Like this:

War Resistance in the West Riding of Yorkshire

Like this:

Cosens, H S F, KIA

Like this:

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery – Who is resting in peace

Like this:

Wakefield voices from the Crimea

Like this:

Andrew Moynihan, Wakefield’s V.C.

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: