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Tuesday, 3 April 2018

WILLIAM HENRY TOLLEY

WILLIAM HENRY TOLLEY


Lance Corporal 20296

1/5th West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales Own)

Killed in action - 3rd April 1918


William Henry Tolley was born in 1891 at East Ham in Essex the son of Samuel and Phoebe Tolley.  His father Samuel was working as a dock labourer at the time but he was a coal miner by trade.  Samuel and Phoebe (nee Crampton) married in 1873 at Dudley in Staffordshire.  The couple moved around the country during their married lives, most likely travelling to wherever work could be found.

Samuel and Phoebe had thirteen children in between the years of 1873 and 1895, William was the eleventh child.  Sadly only eight of the children lived into adulthood; Samuel born 1878, twins Samuel and Wisdom born 1883, Phoebe born 1889 and Phoebe born 1895 all died as infants or toddlers.  

The surviving children were; Richard, Alice, Mary Ann*, John, Matilda, Elizabeth Mercy, William and Albert.  The family moved to live in Barlborough around 1892 just after William was born.  On the 1901 census they were living at California Lane, Barlborough and Samuel was employed as a coal miner once more.  

A new century dawns....

The decade of the 1900's brought with it much change for the Tolley family.  On 15th September 1904 William's brothers Richard and John set sail on the Ionian destined for Quebec, Canada.  They arrived on 21st of September and began their new lives. 

The men no doubt wrote home to their parents and told the Tolley family how wonderful it was living in Canada.  Canada was actively seeking immigrants to work in its country, the boom years of British immigration into the country were 1912 and 1913 when the numbers made up 39% of Canada's total immigrants.  

The lure of the new country must have encouraged William as on 17th June 1910 he to set sail from Liverpool to Quebec.  William was aged 19 years and worked as a coal miner at the time.  He sailed 3rd Class on the Empress of Britain and arrived on 23rd June 1910.

1911 the eve of war....

Samuel and Phoebe were living at 97 Cresswell Road, Clowne by now.  Richard had returned from Canada and Albert was also still living with them.  William and John do not appear on the UK 1911 Census so we can assume that they were settled in Canada.  The girls had left the family home; 

Alice married James Stretton in 1893 they had three children Thomas, Clarence and Constance.  James died sometime between 1901 and 1911 as Alice was living in Leeds as a widow with her three children on the 1911 Census.

Matilda was working as a cook for the Harper family in Idle, West Yorkshire.  The head of the household James Harper was a business owner in the woollen textile trade. 

I have not located (Elizabeth) Mercy on the 1911 census. 

Canada beckons....

Having heard stories from their children it seems the idea of a new life in Canada also appealed to Samuel and Phoebe and so in August 1913 they to set sail for a new beginning.  They sailed with Richard and Albert on the Empress of Ireland and arrived on 14th August 1913.  Richard had already done this exciting journey he would be able to lead the family through the process of immigration.

Once in Canada the Tolley family started a new life in Fernie, British Columbia.  The city is located in the south east of British Columbia and is surrounded by the Canadian Rocky Mountains.  The city was founded in 1898 and grew in 1904 when it was officially declared a city.  The area was home to the Crowsnest Coalfield which would no doubt have been the lure for the Tolley family.  




William however did return to England as on 15th February 1915 he married his sweetheart Mary Ellen Fortune Taylor at St Mary's Church, Laisterdyke, Yorkshire.  William was aged 24 and worked as an engineer, Mary was slightly older at 26 years of age.  Mary was the daughter of grocer Herbert Taylor.  Both gave the address of 34 Campbell Street.  Two witnesses signed the marriage register Margaret Ellen Fortune and "Herb" Fortune.

Celebrations soon followed when on 14th June 1916 a son was born to the young couple.  They named him after his father William Henry Robert Tolley.




William's war....

On 27th January 1916 the Military Service Act was announced, this act deemed that all single men aged between 18 and 41 were automatically conscripted into the Army Reserve from 2nd March 1916, unless they fell into certain categories.  As a recently married man, William was exempt from this act.

A further amendment to the Act was passed on 25th May 1916 which now included married men.  William was now eligible for conscription into general service with the Army.  He would receive a call up notice which would tell him of the date and place he was requested to enlist at.  There would also be general posters around the local area and in the newspapers advising the men of what was expected of them, each man had a duty to make sure he was informed of his obligations.

William signed his papers on 21st June 1916 at Halifax, West Yorkshire.  He was aged 25 years and 219 days and worked as a foreman at the time.  He was placed with the 7th Reserve West Yorkshire Regiment and given his own regimental number of Private 6023.  

It appears that William had a few days to enjoy time with his family after enlisting as his home service commenced three days later on 24th June 1916.  This would have been especially important to William and Mary as their first child had been born only weeks earlier on 14th June 1916*.  

Once attested William would be taught the art of warfare, how to march, use weapons and would partake in physical fitness activities.  On 9th December he was ready to see active service and he set sail from Folkstone landing in Boulogne that same day.  On Christmas Eve of 1916 William was posted to the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment.  His regimental number was also changed to Private 202916.  His wife and six month old son would be spending Christmas Eve without him.




Active service....

The 1/5th West Yorkshire Regiment was part of the 146th Brigade, 49th West Riding Division.  They had landed in Boulogne to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) in April 1915 and taken part in some major battles of the war so far, including; the Battle of Albert (Somme), Bazentine Ridge, Poziers and Flers-Courcette.  

William joined up with the battalion at the village of Bouquemaison which is located in the Somme area.  The war diary gives the following account of Christmas Day 1916, the day which William most likely joined the battalion;

"Christmas Day.  H.Q and party of A Coy bathed in the Bde Baths a(t) Bouquemaison.  The men had Christmas Dinner at midday.  Officers dinner at H.Q at 8pm.  No work on training was done.  Reinforcement of 68 O R joined the Battn, the majority being from the 3/7th and 3/8th West Yorks Regt".

The following days were spent with further training in musketry, Lewis Gun fire, bomber training and bayonet fighting.  Working parties were sent out wood cutting and other general duties.  

William probably took his first taste of life in the trenches on 6th January 1917 when the battalion relieved the 19th Manchester Regiment in trenches at Bailleulmont.  The enemy fire was relatively quiet but work was hard for the men as they were put to pumping out the water from the trenches, general repairs and erecting some head cover for the men to shelter under.  The weather was bad, heavy rain was filling up the trench system and rendering their jobs impossible.  On 9th January the battalion received its first fatality since William had joined, when enemy gun fire killed a man of A Coy returning from a working party.  On 11th January they were relieved by the 1/6th West Yorkshire Regiment and took up their billets back in the village of Bailleulmont.

Life for William and his comrades would continue in this way for the months through till May 1917, taking tours of the trenches, working parties, training and rest in the billets.  In May of 1917 however the training became more intensive, they were given four days training which included a "tactical scheme and full attack practice".  The men were being prepared for an upcoming attack to be carried out jointly by the British and the French forces.

Secret plans....

The 49th West Riding Division were part of the force which were to launch an attack on the Belgium coast.  The intention was to regain hold of the stretch of Belgium coastline which was in the enemy's hands.  The plan was named "Operation Hush" and was to take place in July or August 1917.

William's battalion moved to Estaires and then on to Oost Dunkirke by mid July in anticipation and continued their specialist training.  However the attack was eventually cancelled due to the lack of advance from Ypres.  The enemy gained information regarding the planned invasion and set about a massive attack on the British to offset Operation Hush.



The battle of Poelcapelle....

Part of the Third Battle of Ypres; In October 1917 the 1/5th battalion found themselves in the middle of a terrible run of wet weather, the rains came down so heavily the ground was like a quagmire.  The men were close to Wieltje and ordered to take up assembly positions on 9th October.  Due to the weather they would have trudged through miles of mud and were worn out before they had even reached the assembly point.  The attack commenced on the Passchendaele Ridge at 5.20 am and saw most of the allies advances eventually being pushed back to their starting points.  Only the villages of Veldhoek and Poelcapelle made any advancement, by 6.40 am the battalion had taken its first objective.  They managed to hold on to their positions until the night of the 10th when they were relieved and fell back to the Reserve Line at Wieltje.  

The B.E.F recorded around 12,000 troops wounded, missing and killed on the days of 9th and 10th October 1917.  For the battalion these numbers were also high;


"Officers - 4 killed, 8 wounded, 2 missing
Other ranks - 48 killed, 182 wounded, 44 missing"

On 17th October the men paraded for the II Anzac Company Commander and he complemented them "on their gallant attack on Passchendaele Ridge".  

Promotion....

William received recognition for his service and experience when on 12th December 1917 he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.  This was an unpaid role until 20th when he was awarded the salary to reward his higher rank.

1918....

The early months of 1918 were spent in and out of front line trenches, providing working parties and undertaking training at several brigade camps around the Ypres area.  At the end of March they were in the line at Glenclose Wood Tunnel and were relived on 30th by the 1st Battalion Kings Shropshire Light Infantry.  The men marched to the Scottish Wood Camp the next day attending a Church parade service in the Y.M.C.A hut at nearby Forester Camp.  The battalion were joined by reinforcements of 68 other ranks and were inspected by the Commanding Officer.

The rest was brief and at 6pm on 1st April the men marched to relieve the 1/5th Yorks & Lancaster Regiment in the line near Birr Cross Roads.  Relief was completed by 11.15 pm with no casualties sustained.  The 2nd April was described as a fairly quiet day until the enemy "put over in all about 50 gas shells".  A patrol of six ordinary ranks were sent out into "no-mans land" and reported hearing the enemy talking in their occupied front line trenches.  

The following day the 3rd April saw much more heavy artillery fire into the reserve trenches.  B Company were stationed at Jargow Tunnel and "were heavily shelled about 7.30 am and one of the entrances to the tunnel was blown in".  The war diary records the following list of casualties for 3rd April 1918;


"Casualties killed 4 OR (shell), wounded 1 OR accidental"

Lance Corporal William Henry Tolley was reported as killed in action in the activity on that day.  



William was buried at the Menin Road South Military Cemetery in Belgium, grave ref; III.D.9

Williams grave shows the sign of the cross and the loving inscription was also added by his wife Mary and family;

"GOD BE WITH YOU TILL WE MEET AGAIN"


Lance Corporal William Henry Tolley 202916 was awarded the Victory and British Medals for his service.

William was remembered in the Derbyshire Times, 4th May 1918 page 4.  The obituary included a photograph of Henry and read....

"A former resident of New Whittington
Lance. Corpl. William Henry Tolley (27)
West Yorkshire Regt., has been killed in action.

He was the third son of the late Mr S Tolley,
and of Mrs Tolley, Fernie, British Columbia, late
of New Whittington and Clowne.

His wife and two children live at Leeds"


Life went on....

Mary Tolley was living alone at 21A Back Lane, Bradford in 1939.  She never remarried but held the memory of her beloved William and what could have been if only the war had not reared its ugly head.  

She was awarded a weekly pension of 20s 5p for her and one child which commenced on 21st October 1918.  The newspaper article informing of William's death states that there were two children to the marriage.  I have only found the one son, if any one knows differently please let me know.

Mary died in 1970 aged 82 years of age.

William Henry Robert Tolley would never remember meeting his brave father.  He no doubt had a photograph or a keepsake which would keep the memory of William alive forever.  

William married Edith Hemingway in 1939.  I believe they had a son and daughter in 1940 and 1947 respectively.  William died in Ryedale in 1973 he was 77 years old.  

Samuel & Phoebe Tolley were still living in Canada during WW1.  Samuel died not long after he had emigrated, never knowing that his son William would lose his life to the war.  Samuel died on 30th March 1915 aged 73 years.  He was buried at St Margaret's Cemetery at Fernie, British Columbia.  

Phoebe died on 11th November 1920 aged 68 years old.  She too was buried at St Margaret's Cemetery in Fernie.

Richard Tolley also lived his life in Canada.  He died on 6th December 1939 at Kamloops, British Columbia.  

Alice Stretton was to remain a widow.  She lived in Leeds in 1939 and died there a year later.  

John Tolley was living in Fernie, British Columbia in 1921.  He worked as a coal miner and had ten children; Albert, Dorothy, Annie, Alice, Raymond, Harold, Sampson, John, Mildred and Phoebe.

John remained in Fernie until he died on 25th May 1950.  His wife Annie died there a few years earlier in 1947.

Matilda and (Elizabeth) Mercy Tolley boarded the ship named the Victorian at Liverpool destined for Canada.  The two sister's travelled to live with their family members in Fernie.  They arrived on 7th July 1920, just months before their mother Phoebe died.  Matilda worked as a cook and Mercy as a tailoress.

Matilda died aged just 43 years old on 14th January 1930, she was buried with her parents in St Margaret's Cemetery.

Mercy married Robert Gash on 28th December 1926 at Victoria, British Columbia.  The couple a daughter named Joan a few years later.  Mercy died aged 69 years old on 9th July 1956.

Albert Tolley also remained in Fernie, British Columbia.  He died aged 65 years old on 2nd November 1959 and was buried along with his parents and sister Matilda at St Margaret's Cemetery, Fernie.

* Mary Ann Tolley - possible child.  The 1911 census states Samuel and Phoebe Tolley had 13 children - 8 living and 5 dead.  I have only been able to fully document 12 of these children at this time.


*****

Another local man named Frank Fareham also lost his life on the same day as William whilst serving with the 1/5th West Yorkshire Regiment.  His story can be found via the link here.

*****

If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on William Henry Tolley or his family please do either leave comments via the pen icon below or drop me an email.

I hope that I have not given details of living persons, if so please advise and I will remove immediately.

Please note all information has been taken from online indexes and sources.  Due to the sheer numbers of people to be researched I am unable to purchase vital event certificates to confirm my research.

*****

With kind thanks to the Derbyshire Times Newspaper
for permission to use the photograph of 
William Henry Tolley in this blog.

*****


Ref and further reading  -

Census
Parish registers
Service records - www.ancestry.co.uk 
Medal rolls
Soldiers who died in the Great war
Register of soldiers effects
Newspaper articles - 
Derbyshire Times obituary - 4th May 1918 page 4

CWGC  http://www.cwgc.org

War diaries -


Recruitment WW1

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