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14 August 1915 : Pte Samuel Quinn
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Father George, mother Sarah Jane. At the 1901 Census it would appear that father, mother, Samuel and his 66 year old grandfather were resident in the Chorlton Union Workhouse. At the time of his enlistment 13 years later the family were living at 12 Anne Street, Fulledge, Burnley. (Above. Maps from OpenStreet Map 2023) After enlisting into hi…
7 November 1914 : Sdt Claudius Descotes
/on-this-day/7-november-1914-sdt-claudius-descotes/
Joseph Claudius was living at 33, Quai du Bassin, Roanne, Loire at the time of his enlistment. Due to embark on his compulsory military service in the October 1914 intake, he was called into service early and was enlisted into the army on 3rd August 1914. Within a couple of months, he had been promoted to Soldat 1er Cl. He found himself servin…
18 November 1917 : Pvt Harry George Myers
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Harry Myers was a foster child who was raised on a farm at Uniontown, Perry County, Indiana. Harry enlisted into the US regular Army in 1916 and was trained at Columbus Barracks, Ohio before seeing action on the Mexican Border. he was sent overseas with the American Expeditionary Force in June 1917. He was killed in action in the Sommervil…
6 January 1915: Gerald 'Robin' Seckham
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Robin's parents were Gerald Seckham (barrister at law) and Rebecca Mary (known as 'Minnie') (née Adair). At the 1901 census Gerald junior was eight and he had a sister Nora, age five. They lived at the Lodge in Whittington, Shortlands, Kent. At some point he become known as 'Robin' - clearly as a way to differentiate between father and son. …
16 February 1915: Flight Lieut. Edward Gordon Riggall
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His father was Frederick Rigall JP, Mayor of Grimsby. He was educated Humberstone Foundation School, Old Clee 1904-1912. He was captain of his school and passed the senior Cambridge Examination with honours and with matriculation exemption. Apprenticed Aeronautical Engineer and Aeroplane Manufacturer during which time he gained is Royal Aero …
Sir John Edward Fowler – the Last Repatriation from The Western Front in 1915?
/world-war-i-articles/sir-john-edward-fowler-the-last-repatriation-from-the-western-front-in-1915/
By April 1915 the exhumation of bodies from the Western Front and their repatriation was banned. Historian Richard van Emden identifies the last ‘official’ case of repatriation of a fallen British soldier to be that of Lieutenant William Gladstone, the grandson of former Prime Minister William Gladstone. This took place in April 1915, nine da…
The Grimson family and the First World War
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As with many spheres of life, the arts suffered many losses as a result of the First World War as exemplified by the Grimson family. Samuel Dean Grimson, described as a Professor of Music in the 1881 Census, and his wife, Maria Bonarius, brought up a musical family in London. All seven children (an eighth child died in infancy) became musicians an…
Captain Thorold A. Stewart-Jones at Aubers Ridge 9 May 1915
/world-war-i-articles/captain-thorold-a-stewart-jones-at-aubers-ridge-9-may-1915/
Son of Edward and Emily Pauline Stewart-Jones. (Born 10 July 1873 in Liverpool) A barrister of the Inner Temple, Thorold moved to Lewes in 1908 when his mother had bought Southover Grange. At the 1911 Census, the widowed matriarch Mrs Emily-Pauline Stewart-Jones lived at Southover Grange with son’s family, her daughter-in-law Mrs Eva-Joan Stew…
The Great War Memorials to the Bowlby Brothers
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Captain Geoffrey Bowlby of the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) was killed leading his squadron in a charge across 1,000 yards of open country north of Bellewarde Farm, during the 2nd Battle of Ypres, on the afternoon of 13 May, 1915. His commanding officer wrote: "I cannot tell you what a loss he is to the Regiment; he was as gallant as he could be…
The Curious Case of Thomas Brown who served as Thomas Smith and the Dewsbury Roll of Honour and War Memorial
In 2014 a group by the name of Dewsbury Sacrifices was formed with the primary intention of researching the 1053 names in the Dewsbury Roll of Honour and the War Memorial in Crow Nest Park. As these were inaugurated in 1923/24 it meant verifying all the names and endeavouring to find newspaper articles from the war years and later so that photogr…
The Gotha Air Raid on London – 13 June 1917
/world-war-i-articles/the-gotha-air-raid-on-london-13-june-1917/
German air raids on Britain during the First World War began in early 1915 when Zeppelins were used to bomb coastal targets in Eastern England. The use of Gotha bombers began in May 1917 - these aircraft were capable of long distance flights and were used to make daylight raids on South East England. On 13 June 1917, German Gotha aircraft carried…
Vivian Hicking - a Grimsby Chum in India, drowned 3 June 1919
/world-war-i-articles/vivian-hicking-a-grimsby-chum-in-india-drowned-3-june-1919/
After the armistice, many men would have been returning to their homes after receiving their discharge from the army, however men were still required not only for the occupation of part of Germany, but also for the continuing garrison duties in the far-flung corners of the Empire. It was in India in June 1919 that tragedy was to strike, causing the…
'Gilbert the Filbert' during the Great War RIP 20 August 1916
/world-war-i-articles/gilbert-the-filbert-during-the-great-war-rip-20-august-1916/
Captain Basil Hallam Radford, No 1 Army Kite Ballon Section, Royal Flying Corps was born on 3 April 1888 and lived on Cromwell Road, South Kensington. He was at the public school Charterhouse from 1903 to 1907. Basil Radford became an actor and went on stage as 'Basil Hallam'. He became a star of the Music Halls and was known in particular for his …
The Restoration of a ‘Lost’ War Memorial – Woodborough Road Baptist Church, Nottingham
The Woodborough Road Baptist church in Nottingham was an imposing late Victorian building, designed by the eminent architect, Watson Fothergill, and opened in February 1895. Sadly, the church closed in the 1970s and the Great War memorial tablets to the men who served and those who died, were removed from the premises before its sale. The UK invent…
Cecil Patrick Healy: the only Australian Olympic Gold medalist to die in war KIA 29 August 1918.
Cecil Patrick Healy - the only Australian Olympic Gold medalist to die in war – was a prominent figure in the swimming world in Australia and beyond, for more than 15 years. An early proponent of the new crawl stroke and the side breathing technique, he contributed articles to the press about swimming and surf-bathing. Above: Cecil Healy picture…
The Baralong Incident 29 January 1917
/world-war-i-articles/the-baralong-incident-29-january-1917/
The Baralong was a 'three island' tramp steamer built in 1901 by Armstrong & Whitworth. She was requisitioned by the Navy in 1914 intended as a supply ship but in early 1915 was identified as a potential decoy ship. Modification works to equip her for this role, including the installation of three concealed twelve pounder guns, were carried out…
The R38 disaster 24 August 1921
/world-war-i-articles/the-r38-disaster-24-august-1921/
At the start of the war, in contrast to Germany, the British had limited experience of airships. Under the Royal Naval Air Service there were only a handful of airships in service but with increasing U-Boat activity and the resultant impact on shipping, the Navy began to further develop its use of airships to counter the U-Boat threat. The R.38 c…
A Century Old 'Thank you' : Frederick Clark KIA 21 March 1918
/world-war-i-articles/a-century-old-thank-you-frederick-clark-kia-21-march-1918/
The events of World War I have burned themselves into the national consciousness - especially during the past four years, when every battle, every incident, every death has had its 100th anniversary. With the centenary of the end of the war in sight, many are the stories that have been told and are waiting to be told. This is just one. My father […
A short and unequal engagement: HMS Strongbow and HMS Mary Rose
/world-war-i-articles/a-short-and-unequal-engagement-hms-strongbow-and-hms-mary-rose/
HMS Mary Rose and HMS Strongbow (two M-class destroyers) were routinely deployed on convoy duties for merchant vessels carrying coal between Scotland and Norway in 1917. The job was usually fairly mundane – described as ‘mail runs’ by one of the survivors ... but the events of 17 October 1917 would change all that. HMS Mary Rose was the seventh su…
The story of Mike Mountain Horse of the Blood Reserve Canada
/world-war-i-articles/the-story-of-mike-mountain-horse-of-the-blood-reserve-canada/
Mike 'Miistatisomitai' Mountain Horse was born in 1988, the son of Mountain Horse and Sikski. His mother Sikski belonged to the Holy Women’s Society (Motokix) and his father to the powerful Horn Society. Mike went to school as a boarder at St Paul’s and then to a military academy. By 1914 he was serving as a cadet instructor with the 23rd…
27 December 1914: Lieutenant Robert Williamson
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Only son of Dr. George Williamson and Constance (née Gunn) of 256, Union Street, Aberdeen. Robert went to school at Glenalmond College and was gazetted 2nd. Lieut. 3rd (City of Aberdeen) Battery, 1st Highland Brigade, RFA (TF) June 1911 and promoted Lieutenant June 1913. After being attached for a year to a Regular Battery of Field Artille…
Lewesians in the Great War by Graham Mayhew
/world-war-i-book-reviews/lewesians-in-the-great-war-by-graham-mayhew/
First and foremost, I should state that I have a personal interest in this book. 'Lewesians in the Great War', written by fellow Lewes Town Councillor and former Mayor Dr. Graham Mayhew. The project was brought to the attention of the Lewes Town Council Grants Committee meeting, and I argued in favour of supporting the project well in the hopes of …