Tag Archives: WW1

WW1 Trench Maps

Have you ever tried to place the whereabouts of a family member who served during The Great War?

We have the medal cards, sometimes the service records and pension records, not forgetting the CWGC who can give a clue to an approximate area of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but how a library in Scotland have scanned over 130 Trench Maps from that period in time, covering France and Belgium.

The changing Front Line, with communication trenches as well as enemy positions. Also highlighted are observation posts, guns emplacements, machine gun positions, mines and wire entanglements. Some maps include the names of soldiers that gave the trenches their unique names plus landmarks.

It has been estimated that there were more than 34 million British maps of the Western Front printed during the war years.

These maps are a wonderful resource, adding that little bit of extra information to your soldiers war record.

The National Library of Scotland, who has digitised the maps also includes on their map image link:- maps of Scotland, County maps, Town plans and views, series maps plus more.

Sources

The Daily Mail

National Library of Scotland

Pte., Gault, John Scott

John Gault Scott, was born in Drainie, the son of James and Maggie Gault. At the time of the 1901 census the family of James and Maggie was living at 8 Argyle Street, Lossiemouth. The family consisted of 8 children, the eldest being 17 and the youngest was just one – John Scott was the third youngest aged 5. James earned his living as a fisherman.

John served in the Seafoforth Highlanders as pte.,1849, 6th Btn,after enlisting in Elgin. The 6th Batt. served as the 51st Highland Division and was a Territorial Force division. The divisions insignia was a H D in a red circle – giving the batt. the nickname of Harpers Duds after Major General Harper, or Highway Decorators. The division served in the Battles of The Somme, Arras and Cambrai.

John Scott Gault D of W on 6 June 1916 aged 20 years. John was eligible for the 1915 Star, the Victory and British Medals and served in France.

8 Argyle Street,

At the time of James and Maggie, giving information about their son they were still living at 8 Argyle Street, Lossiemouth, Morayshire.

John and other young men from Lossiemouth can be found on the Lossiemouth War Memorial

http://wakefieldfhs.org.uk/genealogyjunction/Morayshire/Lossiemouth%20War%20Mem.htm The transcription is a work in progress so if you know any histories of these men who gave their life for King and Country, please let me know.

Sources:-

http://wakefieldfhs.org.uk/genealogyjunction/Morayshire/Lossiemouth%20War%20Mem.htm

Ancestry

Soldiers who died in the Great War

CWGC.org

Henshaw, Pte., Stephen

I’ve not written anything for a while, so while I’ve been away from work for a few days I thought I would put fingers to keyboard and do a few snippets, as you have already will have seen.

Normally I see interesting things and make a note to write later, this time, decided to write something from some of the information passed on by friends – I have some wonderful friends who keep cuttings for me to use as a starting point for my meanderings. This time seems to be a reverse of the norm. Whilst looking through a book I’ve had for ages and is one of many I take away with me, I found the name of a young man and was quite moved by what happened many years after his death.

Stephen was the son of Ephraim and Sarah Ann Henshaw of Quinton, being born in 1887. In 1901 he was 14 years old and employed as a brick maker. His 52 year old father was navvy on the reservoir, while his 18 year old sister was a rivet sorter.

In the census of 1911 Stephen had been married to Sarah for under 1 year, but the enumerator had struck through the written explanation and recorded just a ‘1’ in the relevant box. Stephen worked as a stoker on a stationery engine at a local brickmakers. The young couple lived at 51 Stonehouse Lane, California, Northfield, Worcestershire.

Stephen enlisted in Birmingham, serving as Pte 204232 in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (The Ox & Bucks). He was wounded during the Battle of Langemarck on 16^th August 1917 and lay wounded in the fields for 6 days. After being found he was taken to Casualty Clearing Station 61 (CCS 61) Dozinghem near Proven, but sadly died of wounds on 23 August 1917 aged 30 and rests in Dozinghem Military Cemetery.

The book I had been looking at was by Major and Mrs Holt and in the pages I found the idea for this snippet and that Stephen’s granddaughter had been researching her grandfathers war . It was during a visit to the area and finding local historians that lead to finding the approximate area where Stephen lay for six days and nights. The area back in WW1 was known as Springfield Farm.

As many people who go on pilgrimages to WW1/2 sites will have seen, a laminated information sheet was left attached to one of the farms fence posts – a semi-permanent potted history of a family man whose life was taken away – a notice that passers by may see, stop and take a few moments to read about Stephen.

Well, someone did stop and read the laminated information about Stephen’s last days – the owners of Springfield Farm (now renamed). So, when Stephen’s granddaughter returned a few years later she was shocked to find that from the information left attached to the farm fence, a memorial had been erected at the farmers’ own expense.

For further information

http://www.inmemories.com/Cemeteries/dozinghem.htm

http://www.wo1.be/en/persons/henshaw-stephen

Images CWGC.org and http://echoesofwar.blogspot.co.uk/

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

Who Are You?

A few years ago I sorted through all the family photographs and put them in family folders. There were lots of people I knew – aunt and uncles, family members, family friends and lots of people who were totally unknown to me. Some of the photographs, mainly from my mum’s time in the war had a short sentiment followed by a single name, others bore no wording. Why should mum right on the reverse who they were – she knew them!

My dad also had photographs, not so many, but they also had either a few words or nothing.

In a moment of frustration of trying to find out who these people were Who Are You? was born.

Taken by C. Wilkinson

The pictures were scanned and then put into an online photo album with as much information about the picture as I could find on the reverse or deduce from the image. I was loaned pictures, begged pictures, scanned them all and indexed them – cross referencing them if I knew they were from one place but the photograph was taken elsewhere.

All in all there are pictures of unknown and known people from the British Isles, Canada, America, Ukrkaine, Africa and a section of WW1 & 2.

Just to give you an idea as to some of the pictures – there is a family photograph in the Morley section of a couple and a small child written on the reverse is ‘ Aunt Mary ‘ but, who was Aunt Mary ? Is she the lady or is she the child ? Other images from the Morley section include members of the Donkersley Worrel, Kershaw families – most of the Morley photographs were handed to me as one group, so therefore I have kept them together and linked to other sections, but a photograph of a young man taken by Chas. A. Saylon, photographer, S. E. cor. Sixth & Penn Sts, Reading, PA. ( or South East corner of Sixth & Penn Streets). Who is this young man ? Was he visiting family or did he live in Pennsylvania ?

This section of my site Wakefield Family History Sharing has not been available for a while, but is now available and shortly with have the addition of extra pages with a connection to Victorian and Edwardian photographers.

Wakefield Family History Sharing

Who Are You?

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

Gen Blog – Official Blog of Wakefield Family History Sharing

www.wakefieldfhs.org.uk/blog

Tag Archives: WW1

WW1 Trench Maps

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Pte., Gault, John Scott

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Henshaw, Pte., Stephen

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The Truce and a Footballer

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The Blog is back!

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Faces behind the headstones

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A Fusilier’s Postcard

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The Eton Rifles

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Cosens, H S F, KIA

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