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
by Suzey | Jun 26, 2013 | Uncategorised
Ovington Court.
On the 31st January 2008 I received an email saying:
My name is Jonathan Oberholster. I am a freelance sub-editor for Independent Newspapers and I live in South Beach, Durban.
My hobby is scuba diving and I am researching a local shipwreck lying offshore near my flat. The ship’s name is the Ovington Court and searching the net is how I came across your Cyril Crawford page.
In his Durban notes Cyril refers to South Beach and Ovington Court.
Looking at the date on which he left England (November 15 1940) and the date he arrived in Egypt (January 1 1941), I noticed something interesting – the Ovington Court ran aground on November 26 1940, only eleven days after he left England.
I guess he must have arrived in Durban just about when or shortly after it ran aground. It was a Durban landmark for many years before disintegrating to the extent that the wreck is now underwater 99% of the time. Only during spring low does a piece of it still stick out above the surface.
I thought you might be interested and decided to e-mail you. There is a pretty good site with all the details of what happened to the Ovington Court
http://www.fad.co.za/Resources/ovi/ovington.htm
After many emails going back and forth with photos attached of postcards, Grandad and general information about him and the family, my Grandad finally ended up in the
Independent on Saturday on 16th February 2008. A copy of the article was sent to me by Jonathan showing me exactly what went into the paper. I am very pleased that some chance comments on Grandad’s postcard has created news nearly 70 years later.
On the 19th September 2011 another email came from Jonathan with an article attached dated 17th September 2011. This time we have Grandad appearing in the same paper but with a headline stating that this was the best of 2008.
As I never knew what the Ovington Court was this has really touched my heart and I am longing to visit Durban and hopefully see the wreck of the ship myself one day.
Please take time to read the articles which you will find below.
by James | Jan 3, 2013 | Uncategorised
In our last post we mentioned that after quite some time we have finally managed to get some information on line for each of the men named on the Morton War memorial. This left us with a little gap in our time and bitten by the research bug we started to look for another project to start. Low and behold it came our way by chance on new year’s eve when a conversation turned to the nearby village of Dowsby.
by James | Dec 24, 2012 | Uncategorised
Well a three year quest to document the names on the Morton War Memorial is over. By over, we mean that all the soldiers now have their own pages on our web site.
The research that we have done so far gives each soldier, his family history and a potted military history. This information should be enough to allow relatives, the people of Morton, interested parties and my generation in general to understand the conditions, hardships and final sacrifice these men chose to make.
In places some of the research is limited due to lack of current records but this research will be ongoing and we are looking forward to other records, such as those now purchased by the Western Front Association to become available in the future.
The last name to be added to the website is that of James Wright, this is a work that has come full circle for us as James Wright was the first soldier we did basic research on in February 2010. He was also the first of the Morton men to be named in the Remembrance Sunday service at Morton church in November 2010. He also has family ties with our extended family, as with so many of those Morton men that come from the old families from the village.
To view the research please visit www.jamieandsue.co.uk/?page_id=241 to view the men of the Morton War Memorial.
We have been fortunate enough to visit the graves and memorials of all but one of these men and our photographs can be viewed on the following www.flickr.com/photos/suzey68/ to Sue’s Flickr site.
I suppose I had better find something else to be my main focus of Great War research, suggestions on a postcard please. 🙂
Jamie
by James | Dec 24, 2012 | Uncategorised
The following conundrum has been haunting us for many years and even though we had another go at solving this tonight, we are still no closer to a solution.
My family stories have always suggested that my Great Grandmother Martha Lawrance (Nee Mould) had two brothers that fought in The Great War. We always assumed that by fought they also meant died as we have never been able to trace them since this time.
The name Mould has been variously transcribed as Mould, Mold and Moulds a fact that has confused the story somewhat as both Mould and Moulds families (no relation as far as we know) both lived in Peterborough around the early 1900’s. We also have Martha’s Uncle James Mould and wife Ruth living in Peterborough at the same time as her parents John Thomas Mould and wife Martha.
Something that ties in with the story of the soldier brother’s of Martha, is the list of names on the Peterborough War Memorial. The following extract from their website www.pboro-memorial.com shows what is believed to our missing brothers, Jesse and Samuel William amongst other Mould and Moulds:-
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MOULD, GEORGE WILLIAM,
153, Huntley Grove, 12985, Private, 6th Northamptonshire Regiment.
Killed in action 31.7.18 on the Somme, France. Buried in Heath Cemetery,
Harbonnieres, Grave VIII.B.19. near Bray-sur-Somme. 1914-15 Star.
|
|
MOULD, GEORGE (JESSE),
5, Russell Street, 18147, Private, 2nd Kings Own Scottish Borderers.
Killed in action 3.9.16 at Falfemont Farm, France. Commemorated on
Thiepval Memorial, Panels 4a/4d.
|
|
MOULD, SAMUEL WILLIAM,
5, Russell Street, 31812, Private, 5th London Regiment. Killed in
action 8.11.18. Buried in Cambrai East Military Cemetery, Grave II.B.14.
|
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MOULDS, HORACE,
26, Duke Street, 12851, Private, 1st Northamptonshire Regiment. Killed
in action 23.7.16 on the Somme, France. Buried in Thiepval Cemetery,
Grave I.J.01.
|
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MOULDS, JOHN WILLIAM,
26, Duke Street, 321314, Private, Army Service Corps. Died of sickness
4.11.18 in Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolwich. Buried in Peterborough
(Broadway) Cemetery, Grave 7.3.2374.
|
The last documented evidence we have of the brothers is on the 1911 census where they are both listed as prisoners in Lincoln Prison. Samuel William aged 30 a labourer in an Iron Works born in Langtoft and Jesse aged 26 a rope maker born in Helpstone, both single men.
In order to determine if we had the correct people, we had to look to see if there were any other Moulds with the same names. There is only one Samuel William Mould to be found in Peterborough but we have two people named Jesse Mould. The first born about 1882 was the son of James and Ruth Mould and born in Peterborough, the second born 1884 was the son of John Thomas and Martha Mould hence the brother of my Gt Grandmother Martha. John Thomas and James Mould were in fact cousins both being born of two brothers from Helpringham, Lincolnshire whose father originally came from langtoft.
Upon closer inspection the older Jesse Mould can be found on a passenger list heading for Canada, arriving on the 30th April 1906. Jesse’s Uncle Charles Mould was already living in Toronto Canada before this date and we can only assume that this is where Jesse headed for.
A Jesse Mould came back to the UK in 1947 as a first class passenger on the Cunard White Star ship Aquitania with wife Mary and daughter Joan, arriving in Southampton and listing their onward address as 23 Windmill Street Peterborough. We cannot find a return journey but there is also a death record for Jesse Mould in Toronto Canada.
Anyway this just about proves that any Jesse Mould we find in England from 1906 onwards is most likely to be our Jesse, Martha’s brother.
OK, so on with the mystery of the Peterborough War Memorial, lets start with Jesse.
Jesse Mould can be found on an attestation record, enlisting at Litchfield into the North Staffordshire Regiment on 12th August 1914. What is most interesting is that Jesse attested that he had previously served for 3 years and 326/365 in the Northamptonshire Regiment. If we work back the dates then we can see that around September 1911 he must have joined the army for the first time, possibly straight after coming out of prison.
The only thing on the paperwork that does not work out correctly is that the date of birth written in the margin was 2nd July 1886 and indeed on another page his age is shown as 28 years and 41 days. In reality we have found his birth registration in the september quarter 1884 and so something is not right with the listed year.
By 22nd October 1914 Jesse was discharged from the Army and his paperwork is marked with the comment “Not likely to become an efficient soldier”. This would then question why he had previously been a soldier for nearly 4 years and more so why he left the army.
This leaves us with another problem, who is George (Jesse) Mould and why is he on the Peterborough Memorial.
The Peterborough Memorial records gives us the following:-
MOULD, GEORGE (JESSE), 5, Russell Street, 18147, Private, 2nd Kings Own Scottish Borderers. Killed in action 3.9.16 at Falfemont Farm, France. Commemorated on Thiepval Memorial, Panels 4a/4d.
The address of Russell Street ties in with the right area of Peterborough as this is around the corner from Bright Street, a previous home of both the Mould and Lawrance families, but we only have the memorial listing with this address.
There is no Jesse Mould listed on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission registers but we do find George Mould with the right regimental number and regiment to tie in with the Peterborough Memorial information;
MOULD, GEORGE
Initials: G
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment: King’s Own Scottish Borderers
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Date of Death: 03/09/1916
Service No: 18147
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: Pier and Face 4 A and 4 D.
Taken from Commonwealth war graves commission
The above information also ties in with the Medals Roll of the Great War in that;
Medal card of Mould, George
Corps: King’s Own Scottish Borderers
Regiment No: 18147
Rank: Private
The next official record we can look at is the Soldiers Died In The Great War, entry for George Mould;
Name: George Mould
Birth Place: Helpastone, Lincoln
Residence: Pontefract, Yorks
Death Date: 3 Sep 1914
Enlistment Location: Peterbourg, Yorks
Rank: Private
Regiment: King’s Own Scottish Borderers
Battalion: 2nd Battalion.
Number: 18147
Type of Casualty: Killed in action
Theatre of War: Aldershot
As you can see this final record has one or two facts that would indicate that this could be our Jesse but quite a few that don’t work especially the one about the death in 1914 when this should be 1916.
Samuel William Mould does not appear to have any attestation record available via normal sources. It could be that any record was destroyed in the blitz, what is known as the burnt records.
Unfortunately that only leaves us with three source records for Samuel William Mould.
The first record we have seen above is the listing for the Peterborough War memorial that would indicate that Samuel William was living at the same address as Jesse.
The listing would indicate that Samuel William Mould was a Private in the 5th London Regiment and killed in
action 8.11.18.
So if this is taken at face value then Samuel William and George (Jesse) should be brothers. Unfortunately the only listing for a Samuel William Mould on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site is as follows:-
MOULD,
SAMUEL WILLIAM; Lance Corporal 318122 08/11/1918 28 London Regiment
(London Rifle Brigade) United Kingdom II. B. 14. CAMBRAI EAST MILITARY
CEMETERY
If we look at extra information from the CWGC then the following statements throws an even darker shadow on the validity of the information from the Peterborough Memorial.
MOULD, SAMUEL WILLIAM
Initials: S W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lance Corporal
Regiment: London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade)
Unit Text: 5th Bn.
Age: 28
Date of Death: 08/11/1918
Service No: 318122
Additional information: Son of William H. Mould; husband of Louisa Mould, of 14, Wade St., Poplar, London.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: II. B. 14.
Cemetery: CAMBRAI EAST MILITARY CEMETERY
The Medals Roll tells a similar Story with Samuel William Mould of the 5th London regiment, the 21st London Regiment etc., with several regimental numbers ending up with the last entry as 318122.
I thought that Samuel William would have been easier to prove than Jesse and all was going well until the bombshell of a father and wife’s name has appeared on the CWGC site. A quick check tonight on Ancestry.co.uk cannot throw up a Samuel William being born to a William H Mould in London and so this is another line that will need to be investigated in order to prove or disprove the family history of Samuel William Mould of the London Regiment.
Well as you can see, there appears to have been some transcription errors plus some jumping to conclusions over the years and in reality very little in the way of concrete, documented, proof that the Peterborough War Memorial is correct.
I would like to say that in all probability the family story stand and that My two Gt Gt Uncles were both killed in the Great War, but are they really the ones listed on the Peterborough Memorial.
I guess we will probably be discussing this point for many years to come, who knows we may have to wait until the release of the 1921 census to really discover our missing relatives.
Jamie
by Suzey | Dec 23, 2012 | Uncategorised
Messages from the front reveal a yearning for home and family – Local – Bourne Local
This is an interesting local article by Rex Needle I found whilst browsing the Bourne Local website searching for an article about the Rippingale war memorial. Not what I was looking for but then again I am used to going off at a tangent when doing research.
The letters home article interested me as the first letter was written by Samuel Tipler of Bourne. The name Tipler is one that attached to my extended family tree many years ago through another family name. At the time we did not look too closely at them but I remembered that we added a couple of generations. Samuel unfortunately did not appear in my extended tree but some very quick research shows that he was born in Windsor and that his father, also Samuel was born in Bourne. It would appear that the family moved back to Bourne when Samuel junior was aged 5. The 1911 census shows Samuel working on a farm in Tongue End only a few years before entering service during the Great War.
The second letter was written by Percy Lunn, not a name that I have had to look into before but one that I remember being a local surname from my youth.
My interest in the Rippingale article was aroused because after researching the men named and thinking he had finished his work, the author was then alerted to the fact that there are other men with links to Rippingale that do not appear on the memorial.
One such name was John Thomas Taylor, a person we had only researched a few weeks ago. This John Taylor was born in Rippingale and then moved via Morton to Edenham before getting killed in the Great War. We have previously researched John Thomas Taylor in an effort to disprove that he could have been the John Taylor was who is listed on the Morton War Memorial.
Now all that remains is to find out where John Thomas taylor is remembered if it is neither Morton or Rippingale. Perhaps a trip to Edenham Church will reveal the answer.
I still need to find the article from the Bourne Local about the Rippingale memorial if it was online but at least I now have a paper copy to study.
Jamie
by Suzey | Dec 3, 2012 | Uncategorised
Two more Morton soldiers identified and written up.
John and Joseph taylor have taken some investigation in order to prove who they were.
The issues have been that Joseph Taylor, the eldest son of Joseph Parker Taylor was possibly registered 2 years after he was born thus only registered at the time of the marriage of his parents.
Joseph’s mother had died before the 1911 census and on the census return all of the siblings of Joseph Jnr have incorrect ages listed. In order to prove the age of Joseph it was necessary to find him on the 1911 census. When this was found his age was listed correctly as 18.
John Taylor was likewise an issue to prove. Again the age was mis represented on census returns by his father. This meant that there were two possible John Taylor’s that were born at similar times both registered in the Bourne district.
The only way to prove that the John Taylor that was listed on the Morton memorial was John Taylor brother of Joseph was to find what happened to the other John Taylor.
The second John Taylor was found to have been born at Rippingale and eventually found his way to Edenham via Morton. In reality this John was John Thomas Taylor but this alone was not enough proof of the true identity.
Searching the Ancestry.co.uk databases we could not find out what happened to John Thomas Taylor. There appeared to be no marriage or death records for this John Taylor and so it was not possible to separate him from the other John Taylor.
Eventually we managed to find what happened to John Thomas Taylor and found him on the CWGC database as killed in WW1. Luckily the database entry lists his family as living in Scottlethorpe (Edenham). This ties him to the Rippingale family and therefore eliminates him as being the John Taylor on the Morton War Memorial.
That leaves us with John Taylor the brother of Joseph Taylor as, we believe, the correct John Taylor on the Morton war Memorial.
The unfortunate side to this investigation is that we now believe that Joseph Parker Taylor, after loosing his wife and having to bring up his family alone, was then faced with losing two sons in the war.
Joseph Taylor John Taylor
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