First published 24 October 2020
Today I have been reading a book, Pat Jalland's Death in War and Peace,
for my next PhD literature review. At 10 pages a day, reading and note
taking, it will take another week to complete the section on the First
World War and its aftermath. However today I highlighted a point about
'In Memoriam' notices as a form of remembrance.
Of course I was aware of these little notices, you can still find them in local papers (and I assume newspapers of note such as The Times) on
a weekly basis. However they also appeared annually to commemorate
soldiers who had been killed, died of wounds or were missing, from the
early years of the Great War and give information on the family who
posted them as well as the usual names, dates and a sentimental verse or
quotation. So if a soldier in your family was killed in, say, May 1915
(as 68 men on the Barnsley Roll of Honour were) then I would suggest you
look in the newpapers in around about the date he was killed in May in
1916, 1917 and so on.
The Barnsley Chronicle
for August 1914 to March 1919 was indexed during the recent Centenary
period, for the names of men and women who lost their lives in
connection with the war, by the volunteers of the Barnsley War Memorials
Project (BWMP). Thanks to the generosity of Barnsley Archives and the
Chronicle management themselves, the volunteers were able to work from
home using digital copies of the paper, one month at a time. We
undertook not to use the images of the newspapers in any publications
without permission of the Archives, but we could use transcriptions of
the articles and notices freely. This was to encourage readers to visit
the Archives for themselves. If you see an image of an article in one of
my blog posts it pre-dates this work and that undertaking and is an
article that I paid for myself, it being of interest for the OH's family
tree. The articles about the war memorials on the BWMP site were an
exception as they were of special relevance to the project and
permission was given to use these. The project was also given permission
to use low resolution images of the photographs of the men on the
BWMP's sister sites, Lives of the First World War, and the Roll of
Honour website.
For
more information on obtaining copies of photographs and images of
articles about servicemen from the First World War please contact Barnsley Archives.
Moving on ...
Having been reminded of these notices I had a look for an example to use for this post.
Albert
Wood, who died of his wounds on 15 May 1915, is remembered on the
Mapplewell and Staincross war memorial. He is first mentioned in the
Barnsley Chronicle on
12 June 1915, a number of times in the following months and each year
thereafter in May (he may have continued to be mentioned after 1918 but I
haven't got access to that information - there's a project for an
interested relative!)
On 12 June 1915 Albert is mentioned twice on page 8 of the newspaper. The pieces give slightly different details.
Roll of Honour
[names]
WOOD - Killed in action, Sapper Albert Wood, 1st Barnsley Batt., late of Mapplewell. (p.8)
[names]
Patriotic Pars (a regular section that gave snippets of news rather than longer pieces)
The
following men are the casualties amongst the Staincross men who are
serving their King and country: - [names] May 14. Albert Wood (R.E.),
wounded at Ypres. [names] (p.8)
It
looks as if the two articles were not cross checked - one reports
Albert wounded and the other notes his death - killed in action.
On
7 August 1915 Albert again has two mentions in the newspaper. The first
is a detailed report based on a letter received by his wife, the second
is another mention in the newspaper Roll of Honour.
Private A. Wood.
Mrs.
A. Wood, of Wentworth Road, Mapplewell, has received the sad tidings
from the Front that her husband, Private A. Wood, R.E., has died of
wounds received in action. From a comrade of the deceased, J. C. Rowe,
R.E., Mrs Wood has received the following letter: - "Dear Mrs. Wood, - I
am very sorry to have to tell you that your husband was badly wounded
on May 13th and a few days later he died in hospital in spite of all
that could be done for him. I hope you will be strong in this hour of
trouble as you know that we are all trying to do our duty and trust in
God to protect those whom we leave behind. It is nearly as hard for us
to lose such a good comrade whose only thought was for others, and I
sure that his many sacrifices will leave behind an impresson on our
minds which will never fade. These few words cannot express what we feel
in our hearts. Your husband died doing his duty nobly and it should be a
grand example to his children to know their father died as he had
lived, a brave man." (p.1)
Roll of Honour
[names]
WOOD. - Died of wounds received in action, Private A. Wood, Royal Engineers, late of Wentworth Road, Mapplewell.
[names] (p.8)
On 11 September 1915 Albert is mentioned twice on the final page of the Barnsley Chronicle.
Patriotic Pars
In
next week's issue we shall produce a photo of Sapper A. Wood, of the
Royal Engineers. He was one of the batch of soldiers taken from the
Barnsley First Battalion when at Newhall Camp, and was killed in action
in France. He leaves a widow and six children who reside at Upper Carr
Green, Mapplewell. (p.8)
Roll of Honour
[names]
WOOD.
- Killed in action in France, Sapper Albert Wood, 13th Service Barnsley
Battalion (Y. and L.), late of Upper Carr Green, Mapplewell. (p.8)
The
following week, on 18 September 1915, Albert's photo appears on the
front page of the paper along with those of two other men. A short
paragraph reprises his story. The photo shows an older man with a bushy
moustache. His cap badge is that of the Royal Engineers, rather than the
York & Lancaster Regiment which he first joined.
The Toll of the War - Three More Local Men Who Have Fallen
[two paragraphs about brothers Matthew and Arthur Weldrick]
Sapper
A. Wood, whose photo we reproduce, was one of the 1st Barnsley
Battalion drafted to the Front to join the Royal Engineers, and he was
killed in action. His home was at Upper Carr Green, Mapplewell. (p.1)
That is the end of Albert's mentions in 1915, but then in the following years his family remember him in May each year.
On 13 May 1916 in the Barnsley Chronicle
the 'In Memoriam' column contains two adjoined notices on p.8
concerning Albert, one from his family and the other, I assume, from
work colleagues.
WOOD.
- In loving memory of Sapper 86682 Albert Wood (better known as
Bakewell), of Bradford, late of Mapplewell, who fell in action on May
15th, 1915.
One year today has passed away
Since my dear husband in battle fell;
For freedom's side he nobly died -
How we miss him none can tell.
The shock was great, the blow severe,
We little thought his end so near;
'Tis only those who have lost can tell
The pain at not saying - "Farewell."
From his wife and children.
_______________________
Although thy hands we cannot clasp,
Thy face we cannot see,
Yet let this little token show
We still remember thee.
From Walker's & Pickup, Bradford, late of Mapplewell.
The following year, on 19 May 1917, again in the Barnsley Chronicle, one 'In Memoriam' notice appeared on p.8, from his family.
WOOD. - In loving memory of Sapper A. Wood, R.E., died of wounds on May 15th, 1915.
But the hardest part is yet to come,
When the warriors all return;
And I miss amongst the cheery crowd,
The face of my dear one.
We think we see his smiling face as he bade us all good-bye,
And left his dear ones for ever, in a foreign land to die;
But we have one consolation, he bravely did his best.
Somewhere in France, our dear one sleeps, a hero laid to rest.
From sorrowing wife and family.
The final piece that I have found for Albert is from 11 May 1918, from the Barnsley Chronicle,
this time on p.4 because the newspaper had reduced its size from eight
to four pages due to paper shortages. I noted that the 'In Memoriam'
notices now filled one and a half columns at the back of the newspaper,
presumably with the accumulated losses of the years.
WOOD. - In loving memory of Sapper A. Wood, Royal Engineers, who died of wounds May 15th, 1915.
Just when his hopes were brightest,
Just when his thoughts were best,
He was called away from this world of sorrow
To that home of eternal rest.
From his loving wife and children.
53, Calcutta Street, West Bowling, Bradford.
These
short pieces contain multiple mentions of the kinds of consolation in
common use during the First World War - in his letter his friend J. C.
Rowe mentions duty to protect people 'we leave behind' and their trust
in God that this will be achieved. He comments that Albert made many
sacrifices and that he would never be forgotten by his comrades. He says
that Albert 'died nobly' and would be a 'grand example' to his six
children.
The
'In Memoriam' notices contain verses which may have been picked from a
book at the newspaper office, or may have been written by his family, we
don't know (although if the same verse had appeared before that might
give us some clue).
There
are so many words of remembrance, sorrow and consolation in these
notices it would take me several blog posts to pick them all out. Here
are just a few: Albert 'nobly died' in battle, the family had to endure
the unique pain of not being able to be with him on his death bed (which
had been a common feature before the war), the shock of a sudden and
unexpected death of a healthy man in his prime (Albert Wood was 37 years
old), 'when his hopes were brightest'. In 1917 his wife refers to
Albert as a hero, who had bravely done 'his best' and now he was at
rest. In the final notice (that I have) his wife notes that Albert had
passed on to a 'home of eternal rest', a reference to the afterlife, and
the comfort given by the Christian religion.
There
is a lot of other information in this collection of notices - we have
been told that Albert initially joined the York & Lancaster Regiment
and was in the First Barnsley Battalion. Later known as the Barnsley
Pals, the 13th and 14th Battalions of the regiment were raised by the
town of Barnsley in 1914 and 1915. With Albert being in the 1st
battalion and his service number then being 699 (from Soldiers Died in
the Great War on Ancestry) we can state with some assurance that he
joined up very quickly after the recruitment began in the autumn of
1914. I do wonder what a married man with six children was thinking of
to enlist - maybe he was carried away by enthusiasm, maybe he joined up
with a group of men that he worked with.
Albert
responded to an appeal for experienced men to join the Royal Engineers
whilst he was still in training in Barnsley (at Newhall Camp near
Silkstone). Jon Cooksey, in his book
Barnsley Pals, gives the
date of these transfers as February 1915, when 'some 50 men of the First
Barnsley Battalion were seconded to join the new tunnelling units'.
Indeed Albert's
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) entry
notes that he was in the 171st Tunnelling Coy., Royal Engineers, at the
time of his death. Albert's R.E. service number, 86682, is just a few
dozen after that of Sapper John Davies, number 86654, whose story is
related in detail in Jon Cooksey's book. He tells us that the men were
engaged in tunnelling under Hill 60 near Ypres, which tallies with the
mention of Albert's wounding at Ypres in one of the earliest notices. On
5 May 1915 the 171st Tunnelling Company suffered casualties from gas,
including John Davies, and his story is not taken up again until 17th
May - thus missing the date on which Albert Wood was wounded. I assume a
search of the war diaries for the period would mention what happened to
the company at that time - I might look into that another day.
We
know from Albert's CWGC entry that he was buried in the Bailleul
Communal Cemetery Extension in France. According to Google Maps this is
about 22 km (about 13 miles) from the site of Hill 60. So either Albert
was away from the tunnelling operation when he was wounded or he was
taken quite a distance to a hospital. His entry in the Army Registers of
Soldiers' Effects (on Ancestry) notes that he died in 8 Casualty
Clearing Station (CCS), which the CWGC pages helpfully confirm was in
Bailleul at the time. A CCS was not the kind of place where a man was
expected to stay for a long time, it was a step on the way to a Base
Hospital. This suggests that Albert's wounds were serious enough for him
to die before he was moved on, as indeed his friend suggested in his
letter.
A low resolution photograph of Albert's gravestone can be found on
The War Graves Photographic Project.
The additional documents on the CWGC page show that a number of men
were buried at Bailleul on 14, 15 and 16 May 1915, but on the page
containing Albert's entry he is the only one from the 171/Co. R.E. This
might suggest that his wounding was not part of a large attack where
many others of his company were killed. A quick search of the CWGC data
shows that six men from the 171st Tunnelling Company were killed in May
1915, and two were buried in Bailleul, Albert who died on 15 May and a
Sapper J. Thornhill who died on 18 May. Neither have family details
included in their entries and sadly I can also see that Albert's family
did not take advantage of the opportunity to add a personal citation to
his gravestone. Two of the other men who died in May 1915 are remembered
on the Menin Gate at Ypres - this tells us that they have no known
grave, so their bodies may not have been found, or their graves may have
been destroyed later in the war as the battle raged back and forth.
John Davies, mentioned above, is also remembered on the Menin Gate. He
was killed on 20 June 1915 in an explosion underground according to Jon
Cooksey. It is likely that his body was never found - despite the letter
from his colleague printed in the
Barnsley Chronicle and reproduced in
Barnsley Pals,
which mentions that John was 'buried in a beautiful spot with
cornflowers growing around his grave'. This is an example of the way in
which the friends of men who had been killed attempted to soften the
harsh reality for the families at home.
Personal
and family information about Albert are included in the articles
published in the newspapers. We know he was from Bradford originally,
he was married with six children and that the family home at the time of
his death was at Upper Carr Green, Mapplewell, near Barnsley, although
Wentworth Road in Mapplewell is mentioned in one of the 1915 Roll of
Honour entries. But by 1918 his wife and family had moved to 53,
Calcutta Street, West Bowling, Bradford. An extremely intriguing detail
is contained in the 'In Memoriam' notice on 13 May 1916 - it says that
Albert Wood was better known as Bakewell! That is the same piece that
mentions Walker's & Pickup, Bradford, late of Mapplewell. Both these
little pieces of information warrant further investigation.
I
am a member of the Western Front Association and have access to their
Pension Card collection. I can see that Albert's wife was called Mary
(which isn't mentioned in any of the newspaper reports) and that her
middle name was Cawthorne, plus the names and birth dates of all their
six children. Their first, Lily, was born in 1904 and the last,
Florence, in 1914. Mary was awarded 26 shillings and 6 pence a week
pension in November 1915 and this was increased by a children's
allowance for five children under 16 years of age in July 1920 to a
grand total of £3 8 shillings and 2 pence. Lily would have turned 16 by
this point and was no longer counted as a child. Using the Soldiers'
Effects records I can see that Mary had also received some back pay in
1915, £3 and 2 shillings, and a war gratuity of £3 in 1919.
The
Pension Cards mention Mary's birthday as either 17 September 1881 or
1882 and armed with that, her middle name and the names of their
children I was able to find the family in the 1911 census return. That
document helpfully sorted out my puzzle with the family's address - in
1911 Albert stated that they lived on Wentworth Road, Upper Carr Green,
Staincross, although that appears to have been offically in Mapplewell.
Albert was born in Bradford and was 32 years old in 1911, Mary was born
in Wakefield and was 28 years old. At that point they had four children
and had been married for seven years. Albert was employed as a Coal
Miner (Hewer) - something not mentioned in the newspapers - so maybe
Walker's & Pickup were a coal owning company? All the children were
born in Barnsley.
Having
discovered that Mary, Albert's widow, appeared to have no personal
connection to Bradford, I am puzzled as to why she was living there by
the time of her final (that I know of) 'In Memoriam' notice in May 1918.
There may be other 'In Memoriam' notices in the Bradford newspapers ...
I will have to look to see if they are available online.
Looking
into all of that will have to wait for another day as it is time for me
to go and attend to our tea before Strictly Come Dancing this evening.
Thank
you for reading. I hope you find some of my musings useful in your own
family and First World War research. I do find that writing things like
this down help me remember them and work them out.
