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7 August 1915 : L/Cpl Harold Owen

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His parents were William (then 59) and Rebecca (40). He was christened that September. The parents and older siblings worked in silk weaving. Both his father and mother died in April 1891 when Harold was 3 1/2. Having much older siblings it would appear they raised him. Twenty years later, age 23, Howard was living with his sisters Sarah Ann (38)…

7 June 1917 : L Cpl Fred Latham MM

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At the 1901 Census, 2 year old Fred was living at Knowles Farm, Roby Mill along with his 32 year old father Frederick, his 67 year old uncle Abraham, a 25 year old cousin Sarah Cliff (a housemaid) and his 72 year old grandmother Alice. His mother Ellen had died in November 1900. His father remarried in 1904 and Fred gained a brother and two sist…

The Great War and March Casualities from Lewes, East Sussex

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During the early years of the war, March on the Western Front was a time of preparation for the spring offensives both sides knew would come as soon as the ground had dried out sufficiently to make a successful advance a real possibility. As a result there was only one Lewes casualty in March 1915 and two in 1916. March 1917 brought seven fatalitie…

7 July 1916 : Pte. William Edward Foster

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At the 1891 Census William, only 1, appears to have been living at his grandmother's house with his mother and older sister Elizabeth. By the 1901 Census, his sister had married and the 10 year old William was living wither her and his brother in law at 23 Ribblesdale Street, Burnley. At the 1911 Census, William was living with his sister and…

From the Suvla Plain to Victory: William Ralph Peel

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On the 16 November 1918, Lt Col William Ralph Peel and the men in his 10/Manchester Regiment were lined up smartly in the main square of a sprawling village on the outskirts of Maubeuge. Its population, only days earlier, had finally been relieved from a German occupation that had begun over four years previously in August 1914. The purpose of th…

Brothers in Arms: Three Died and Three Survived the First World War

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The First World War resulted in terrible suffering for many families, but the Willis family was among those that paid the highest of prices: six brothers went to war, but only three came home. Of the surviving siblings, one had lost a leg and the other two also left with recurring health problems. The Willis family had travelled from Nottingham to…