by James | Dec 31, 2014 | Biography
William’s military records cannot be found but the medal roll would indicate that there was a William Sisson Hyde originally in the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby regiment), although the record is incomplete.
When a soldier was wounded and moved to a hospital back home, they could be attached to a different regiment when recovered and sent back into active service which could explain why most records show that William was in the 5th Battalion Lincolnshire regiment.
The army list for August 1918 shows that William was awarded the rank of 2nd Lieutenant on 28th May 1918 and was serving in the 5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment.
The next time we find William he is mentioned in the diary for the 8th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment shows that on the 19th October 1918 they received reinforcements, including 2nd Lieutenant W S Hyde.
For the rest of October and November the Battalion was involved in front line trenches north east of Caudry. Whilst in action on the 4th November William was wounded.
2nd Lieutenant William Sissons Hyde died of wounds on the 7th November and is remembered with honour at Caudry British cemetery.
Battalion Diary – 8th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment
(Transcriptions to follow)
by James | Sep 14, 2014 | Remembrance
Our second remembrance today is for John Henry Cannell who was killed on this day 100 years ago on the 14th September 1914.
John Cannell was born in Norfolk and after earlier military service returned to civilian life although remained an Army Reservist. He was called back to his regiment, The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry at the outbreak of the war.
John had been working as a chauffeur for Alderman Dean of Dowsby Hall when he was recalled for service.
He was killed in action trying to stop the invading enemy forces from reaching Paris, an action which helped to hold then at the Marne river thus starting the trench warfare phase of the war.
Grantham Journal :
Our Dowsby correspondant writes :- Ours is the sorrowful duty this week to chronicle the death of one of our most esteemed and loyal inhabitants. We refer to Private J H Cannell, who was killed in action at the front on the 14th September; the exact place is at present unknown. He belonged to the Duke of Cornwall’s Light infantry, his number was 7583. The notification of his decease was only received here on Friday evening week, when it came from headquarters, and when the news became known it caused quite a gloom to be spread, not only in this village, but in all who knew him, for he possessed a most amiable disposition, and had a kind word for everyone.
Steady, upright and fearless in dealing with mankind, he will be much missed by all his acquaintances. He was among the foremost to leave this district in the early stages of the present war, and now his name is numbered with other heroes in the roll of honour who have sacrificed all for their country and the freedom of Europe. Who could wish for a better epitaph?
It is hard for us to realize that we have lost him, but it is not for us to murmur, we shall remember him as a patriotic Britisher, and one who set an example which ought to shame all able-bodied single young men, for he was willing at the call of duty to leave his wife and child, a happy home, and all who loved him dearly, to find his rest in a grave of honour within a foreign land. A fine type of soldier he was, always ready to fulfill his duties faithfully, and when he received the “call to advance” to a far more glorious life, we fell he sure he did not falter. His age was 31 years, and he leaves a young widow and a daughter just over a year old to mourn their loss, and all hearts will extend them their sympathy in the hour of their deep sorrow. The poignancy of it all is that in a few months his time would have expired in the Army, for he joined twelve years ago. He had been in the employ of Alderman A.W. Dean J.P., of Dowsby Hall, as chauffeur, and his services in that capacity were valued, his parents reside at Careby, near Stamford. He was an attendant at our Parish Church and on Sunday, at both services the Rev. Gordon MacMorran, Rector, made feeling references to the deceased. In the morning, he preached from the text, St. Luke xii, 34, “For where your treasure is there will your heart be also,” and at evensong he delivered a most eloquent sermon from St. John xi, part of the 28th verse, “The master is come, and calleth for thee.”
There was scarcely a dry eye in the congregation. Special hymns were sung, and the services throughout were of the most impressive and reverent character.
John Cannell is remembered on the Dowsby Memorial and on the memorial at Le Ferte-Sous-Jouarre, France.
by James | Aug 24, 2014 | Remembrance, Uncategorised
In our preparations for the recent Morton Exhibition for the 100th anniversary of WW1 we compiled a book for each soldier that died from the 5 surrounding parishes.
The interesting thing about the Wyer Family is that so many cousins fought and died.
Sandall
and Wyer Cousins who served in the Great War
Loosing a child or a Grandchild in today’s world is devastating and so
we can only imagine the grief that local brothers felt when they lost 7
Children between them in the Great War.
The newspaper cuttings tell us that villages are proud that their sons
have enlisted, but secretly we can assume that parents and relatives are
fearful for their loved ones, some of whom are still quite young.
Brothers William Wyer, Thomas Wyer, George Sandall and Edward Sandall
waved off their offspring not knowing when they would see them again.
Of the 9 cousins that enlisted from Kirkby Underwood, Hacconby and
Rippingale, only 2 would return and one of them quite badly injured.
Frederick Stanley Wyer would spend the rest of the war wearing his
Silver Badge showing that he had fought, done his bit but was now disabled and
unfit for war due to wounds he received.
He lost one brother (John Thomas Wyer) and six cousins in the fighting during
the “War to End All Wars”
Robert Wilson Wyer Died
on the Somme 3rd July 1916
William Wyer Died on the Somme 14th
July 1916
Edmund Wyer Died on the Ypres Salient 4th
October 1917
Harry Sandall Died
near Arras 14th May 1917
John William Sandall Died
near Arras 22nd March 1918
Walter Sandall Died near Beiruit 24th October 1918
John Thomas Wyer Died
near Ploegsteert 13th April 1918
by James | Aug 24, 2014 | Remembrance
Today we remember Sgt Arthur Bates of the 1st Battalion Lincolnshire regiment. A regular soldier before the Great War, he had seen action in South Africa and more recently in India before returning home and placed in depot reserve at Lincoln.
Rejoining his battalion when war was declared on the 4th August, Arthur and the 1st Battalion were mobilised to France and on the 24th August were involved in a rearguard action during the allied retreat.
Sgt Arthur Bates was killed in action whilst a brave few men of the Lincolnshire regiment held an orchard in Fromelles in front of the advancing German Army.
Arthur was the first Morton man to be killed in the Great War and as well as his grave in the communal cemetery in Fromelles, is remembered on both the Morton and Bourne war memorials.
by James | Jun 29, 2014 | Uncategorised
During our researches and whilst trying to create a book for each one of our local soldiers, we came across a bit of a brick wall;
According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Richard Christian was in the Durham Light Infantry when he died on the 18th November 1918.
” Private R Christian, 61814, Durham Light Infantry who died on 22 November 1918 Age 34
Son of Elizabeth Christian, of Kirkby Underwood, Lincs and the late Robert Christian; husband of the late Kate Christian”
Richard Christian is buried in Billingborough churchyard, but his date of death and regiment should have meant that he was still in Europe and not yet demobbed.
We tried to find out which battalion of the DLI he was in to see if there were any clues there… no his military records did not survive the blitz. So once again no answers.
Finding out that his wife died on the same date gave us the idea that he was at home when they both died but at the same time and what about baby Kate who was born and died in the same quarter of 1918. That’s unusual until you think of the Spanish Flu which was rife in Britain during this period, maybe that answers the question of why they died at the same time but no proof yet.
Our next clue came from the Kirkby Underwood war memorial;
“In thankfulness to God giver of peace and victory
and to the honoured memory of
Pte Bertie Evlyn Rudkin, Lincolnshire Regt
Pte Ernest Henry Rudkin, Royal Berkshire Regt
Pte John Thomas Wyer, Kings Own Royal Lancashire Regt
Pte Richard Christian, Labour Corps
of this parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-1919″
Now we have a discrepancy CWGC states Durham Light Infantry and the memorial states Labour Corps. A bit of further digging finds that he was transferred to the 409th company of the Labour Corps from the DLI. OK mystery solved but then why has the CWGC got it wrong?
Google came up with the Long Long Trail website which had the following to offer with regards to the Labour Corps;
“Formed in January 1917, the Corps grew to some 389,900 men (more than 10% of the total size of the Army) by the Armistice. Of this total, around 175,000 were working in the United Kingdom and the rest in the theatres of war. The Corps was manned by officers and other ranks who had been medically rated below the “A1″ condition needed for front line service. Many were returned wounded. Labour Corps units were often deployed for work within range of the enemy guns, sometimes for lengthy periods. In April 1917, a number of infantry battalions were transferred to the Corps. The Labour Corps absorbed the 28 ASC Labour Companies between February and June 1917. Labour Corps Area Employment Companies were formed in 1917 for salvage work, absorbing the Divisional Salvage Companies. In the crises of March and April 1918 on the Western Front, Labour Corps units were used as emergency infantry. The Corps always suffered from its treatment as something of a second class organisation: for example, the men who died are commemorated under their original regiment, with Labour Corps being secondary. Researching men of the Corps is made extra difficult by this, as is the fact that few records remain of the daily activities and locations of Corps units.”
So the Labour Corps is hard to trace, well that sound like a challenge for the future.
Another search finds that the 409th Labour Corps was the Kesteven and Lindsay company and was based in Lincoln and run through the Northern Command.
So now we have placed Richard Christian back in Lincolnshire, possibly after an illness or injury had him unfit for front line duty, transferred out of the Durham Light Infantry and assigned a new regimental number, 19310, in the 409th company Labour Corps.
How hard can that be to sort out without any official records?
Death certificates for Richard and Kate plus baby Kate now on order, so we can at least find out what sad outcome befell that young family.
More about Richard’s family can be found on our website
http://www.jamieandsue.co.uk/?page_id=815
Recent Comments