BERNARD MILLINGTON
Lance Corporal 241421
1/6th Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment
Killed in action - 10th March 1917
Bernard was born in the neighbouring village of Eckington in 1895, the son of Thomas and Emma Millington. His father Thomas was from Brierley in Staffordshire, he had come to live in Eckington with his parents when he was a young boy. Thomas met local girl Emma Shaw and the couple married on 26th April 1886.
Thomas and Emma had their first child a baby daughter born in the winter of 1887. They named her Mary Lizzie. Sadly Mary died in the March of 1889, she was just 2 years of age. She was buried at Ridgeway on 30th March 1889. In 1894 another daughter was born named Edith, she also died in infancy.
Next came the couples first son; Bernard was born in the spring of 1895. He was baptised at Ridgeway on 16th April 1896. Bernard's parents must have been thankful to have a healthy little baby boy, no doubt especially loved after the premature deaths of his two elder sisters.
More sadness followed for the Millington family; another baby daughter named Edith Emily was baptised on 31st October 1897 but once again the little girl died. Edith was buried two months later on 30th December 1897. A second son was born on 9th July 1900; George Kirk Millington was thankfully another male survivor for the Millington family.
The 1901 census shows Bernard and his family living at 138 Devonshire Terrace at Staveley. His father Thomas was a coal miner hewer as were many of the local men at the time. A few years later in the early summer of 1905 another female child was born; named Ivy she was baptised on 11th June 1905. Once again this little life was taken at an early age when she died the year later in 1906.
Around the same time of baby Ivy's death another terrible blow hit the family when Bernard's mother Emma also died aged just 41 years of age. Thomas was made a widower and was sole parent to two young boys; Bernard and George.
1911 the eve of WW1....
Bernard was now 16 years of age, he worked as did many local lads of that age, as a pony driver below ground in the coal mines. His father was still working the coal mines and young George aged 10 still attended school. The family had moved, they now lived in the village of New Whittington at 5 High Street.
Bernard's war....
Unfortunately Bernard's service records have not survived, but using information from CWGC, medal rolls and cards, war diaries and newspaper articles we can gain an insight into the service Bernard saw during WW1.
He was said to have enlisted at Chesterfield in May 1915, attached to the Sherwood Foresters he would have joined alongside many other local men. Documents give two service numbers for Bernard; Private 4267 and Private 241421 (the later was the number at his death).
Bernard served with the 1/6th Sherwood Foresters, the battalion had seen some fierce fighting prior to him enlisting. They were present at the Battle of Loos and were urgently in need of reinforcements.
Bernard would receive training in basic war survival techniques prior to him embarking overseas to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) on 10th November 1915.
1916....
On 1st January 1916 Bernard and his comrades were at Isbergues near Marseilles in France. The war diary notes "observed as a holiday throughout the brigade". On 14th January they were camped at Boreli Camp and 97% of the battalion received their vaccinations.
The 1/6th Battalion were at Mont St Eloy when on 16th March 1916, 143 men were drafted as reinforcements. One of these men was local New Whittington man Harry Straw. On 31st March a further 122 other ranks arrived, the battalions Lewis guns had arrived a few days earlier.
On 16th April the battalion received orders to explode two mines that night; Birkin and Grange. This order was carried out and the mines were successfully exploded during the night of 16th into 17th April. Two men were killed and 3 wounded in this exercise.
May 1916 saw the beginning of preparations for the Somme offensive. On 2nd May Bernard and his battalion were given practise in carrying out a smoke attack. On 6th May they marched to billets at Ivergny and then on to Humbercamps the following day. For the week commencing 10th May until 18th May the battalion were set to work digging communication trenches at Foncquevillers.
On 19th May 1916 Bernard and his comrades would relieve the 6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment in the trenches, where the battalion remained until 27th May when they were relieved by the 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.
June 1916 saw the battalion spending time in and out of the trenches, marching and digging. The end of June was particularly wet and the was diary on the 24th June notes "every man wet through & covered with mud from digging". On 30th June they were at Fonquevillers "preparatory to attack on German trenches".
The Battle of the Somme....
Bernard and his comrades were part of the 139th Brigade. On the 1st July 1916 they "attacked on a front from N.E corner of Gommecourt Wood". The war diary tells that the plan was to attack the German trenches under partial cover of smoke, but owing to the heavy rain that had preceded the event the "very muddy state of our own trenches, part of 4th wave greater part of 5th & 7th (....) carrying companies could not get away before smoke lifted, and all attempts to advance by these and 6th A & B Coys were met by heavy artillery and machine gun barrage. The attack therefore failed with heavy losses to assaulting Battns, but the main object was achieved of containing enemy forces near Gommecourt."
The men were relieved that evening by the 8th Sherwood Foresters. The diary gives the total casualties as 170 men.
The following days were spent marching from village to village, drafts of reinforcements joined the brigade. On the 8th and 9th July the battalion were carrying gas accessories to the trenches. On the night of the 11th July into the morning of the 12th July the battalion relieved the 5th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment in the trenches at Bailleulmont. The dairy then misses three days until 15th when it states that some of the companies were relieved.
August of 1916 came with relative calm, on 4th August the battalion were based at Bailleulval. They spent the day partaking in some light relief and friendly rivalry when they held "Inter company competitions in Bayonet fighting and Gas helmet drill. Winners, bayonet fighting, "A" Coys. Gas helmet drill, Bombers". The second half of 1916 continued in a more calm manner; in September and October the 1/6th were in and out of the trenches in the Bellacourt area. In November the men set of marching through the French villages to reach Sus St Ledger and Soustre where they remained throughout the month of December.
1917 a muddy start....
The area around the Somme had suffered tremendously after its continued bombardment during the summer of 1916. The land was battered and very difficult to work on; shell holes, water logged trenches, mud, snow and a very wet winter would cause the battalion great hardship. Soldiers and horses were found sunken in the muddy ground, boots and equipment were swallowed up by the earth. The January of 1917 saw a brief reprieve when a hard frost made the ground solid, however the land was flat and offered little in the way of shelter to avoid German snipers.
Man power was short, experienced soldiers were even more scarce; on 7th January the war diary records "Draft of 180 OR's (160 partly trained) joined battalion and sent to Bde Training Department". Only 20 of the 180 men were trained soldiers, how much further training would the 160 men receive prior to being flung into warfare I wonder?
During the months of February and on into March Bernard and his battalion would move in and out of the trenches and spend time marching on foot across the war worn area of the Ancre Valley. On 4th and 5th March the 1/6th battalion split; A and C Coys went to Foncquevillers and B and D Coys to Gommecourt. The next day they relieved the 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in the trenches at Foncquevillers; B and C Coys in front line, A Coys in support and D Coys in reserve.
At 11pm on 8th March the men attacked Kite Copse and Burg. They successfully took Kite Copse and B Coy were guarding their new position but Burg remained in enemy hands. By 5.40am on 9th March "Kite Copse evacuated by us without loss. Identification of 91st R.I.R obtained". The 91st R.I.R were a German reserve infantry regiment also known as the Oldenburg Regiment.
The battalion were relieved in the trenches by the 8th Sherwood Foresters at 10.10pm on 10th March. The war diary reads;
Lance Corporal 241412 Bernard Millington is officially recorded as being killed in action on 10th March 1917.
The 1/6th Sherwood Foresters were part of the British 5th Army who between 11th January 1917 and 13th March 1917 managed to force the German Army back a total of 8 miles over a 15 miles front, during their operations in the Ancre Valley in early 1917. Private Bernard Millington was part of this heroic stand.
Private 241421 Bernard Millington is buried at Foncquevillers Military Cemetery in France, grave reference iii D 7. His grave is marked with a CWGC stone and shows the sign of the cross, no personal inscription was chosen by his family.
Bernard was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and 15 Star for his service.
Bernard's death was reported in the Derbyshire Times dated 31st March 1917 page 7. It included a photo of a very smart Bernard in his civilian clothes, with shirt and tie. The obituary reads as follows;
Life went on....
Thomas Millington may have died in 1935 aged 72 years of age.
George Kirk Millington Bernard's only surviving sibling married Ella Woodward on 2nd August 1920 at St Bartholomew's Church. He was aged 20 and worked as a coal miner, Ella was aged 18 years the daughter of John Robinson Woodward. Her sister Sarah was one of the witnesses to the happy event.
George and Ella lived at 13 Spital Lane in 1939, he continued to work as a coal miner below ground. As far as I can see the couple never had any children.
George died in 1978 aged 77 years, Ella lived on until 1997 when she died at the grand age on 95 years old.
More sadness followed for the Millington family; another baby daughter named Edith Emily was baptised on 31st October 1897 but once again the little girl died. Edith was buried two months later on 30th December 1897. A second son was born on 9th July 1900; George Kirk Millington was thankfully another male survivor for the Millington family.
The 1901 census shows Bernard and his family living at 138 Devonshire Terrace at Staveley. His father Thomas was a coal miner hewer as were many of the local men at the time. A few years later in the early summer of 1905 another female child was born; named Ivy she was baptised on 11th June 1905. Once again this little life was taken at an early age when she died the year later in 1906.
Around the same time of baby Ivy's death another terrible blow hit the family when Bernard's mother Emma also died aged just 41 years of age. Thomas was made a widower and was sole parent to two young boys; Bernard and George.
1911 the eve of WW1....
Bernard was now 16 years of age, he worked as did many local lads of that age, as a pony driver below ground in the coal mines. His father was still working the coal mines and young George aged 10 still attended school. The family had moved, they now lived in the village of New Whittington at 5 High Street.
Bernard's war....
Unfortunately Bernard's service records have not survived, but using information from CWGC, medal rolls and cards, war diaries and newspaper articles we can gain an insight into the service Bernard saw during WW1.
He was said to have enlisted at Chesterfield in May 1915, attached to the Sherwood Foresters he would have joined alongside many other local men. Documents give two service numbers for Bernard; Private 4267 and Private 241421 (the later was the number at his death).
Bernard served with the 1/6th Sherwood Foresters, the battalion had seen some fierce fighting prior to him enlisting. They were present at the Battle of Loos and were urgently in need of reinforcements.
Bernard would receive training in basic war survival techniques prior to him embarking overseas to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) on 10th November 1915.
1916....
On 1st January 1916 Bernard and his comrades were at Isbergues near Marseilles in France. The war diary notes "observed as a holiday throughout the brigade". On 14th January they were camped at Boreli Camp and 97% of the battalion received their vaccinations.
The 1/6th Battalion were at Mont St Eloy when on 16th March 1916, 143 men were drafted as reinforcements. One of these men was local New Whittington man Harry Straw. On 31st March a further 122 other ranks arrived, the battalions Lewis guns had arrived a few days earlier.
On 16th April the battalion received orders to explode two mines that night; Birkin and Grange. This order was carried out and the mines were successfully exploded during the night of 16th into 17th April. Two men were killed and 3 wounded in this exercise.
May 1916 saw the beginning of preparations for the Somme offensive. On 2nd May Bernard and his battalion were given practise in carrying out a smoke attack. On 6th May they marched to billets at Ivergny and then on to Humbercamps the following day. For the week commencing 10th May until 18th May the battalion were set to work digging communication trenches at Foncquevillers.
On 19th May 1916 Bernard and his comrades would relieve the 6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment in the trenches, where the battalion remained until 27th May when they were relieved by the 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.
June 1916 saw the battalion spending time in and out of the trenches, marching and digging. The end of June was particularly wet and the was diary on the 24th June notes "every man wet through & covered with mud from digging". On 30th June they were at Fonquevillers "preparatory to attack on German trenches".
The Battle of the Somme....
Bernard and his comrades were part of the 139th Brigade. On the 1st July 1916 they "attacked on a front from N.E corner of Gommecourt Wood". The war diary tells that the plan was to attack the German trenches under partial cover of smoke, but owing to the heavy rain that had preceded the event the "very muddy state of our own trenches, part of 4th wave greater part of 5th & 7th (....) carrying companies could not get away before smoke lifted, and all attempts to advance by these and 6th A & B Coys were met by heavy artillery and machine gun barrage. The attack therefore failed with heavy losses to assaulting Battns, but the main object was achieved of containing enemy forces near Gommecourt."
The men were relieved that evening by the 8th Sherwood Foresters. The diary gives the total casualties as 170 men.
The following days were spent marching from village to village, drafts of reinforcements joined the brigade. On the 8th and 9th July the battalion were carrying gas accessories to the trenches. On the night of the 11th July into the morning of the 12th July the battalion relieved the 5th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment in the trenches at Bailleulmont. The dairy then misses three days until 15th when it states that some of the companies were relieved.
August of 1916 came with relative calm, on 4th August the battalion were based at Bailleulval. They spent the day partaking in some light relief and friendly rivalry when they held "Inter company competitions in Bayonet fighting and Gas helmet drill. Winners, bayonet fighting, "A" Coys. Gas helmet drill, Bombers". The second half of 1916 continued in a more calm manner; in September and October the 1/6th were in and out of the trenches in the Bellacourt area. In November the men set of marching through the French villages to reach Sus St Ledger and Soustre where they remained throughout the month of December.
1917 a muddy start....
The area around the Somme had suffered tremendously after its continued bombardment during the summer of 1916. The land was battered and very difficult to work on; shell holes, water logged trenches, mud, snow and a very wet winter would cause the battalion great hardship. Soldiers and horses were found sunken in the muddy ground, boots and equipment were swallowed up by the earth. The January of 1917 saw a brief reprieve when a hard frost made the ground solid, however the land was flat and offered little in the way of shelter to avoid German snipers.
Man power was short, experienced soldiers were even more scarce; on 7th January the war diary records "Draft of 180 OR's (160 partly trained) joined battalion and sent to Bde Training Department". Only 20 of the 180 men were trained soldiers, how much further training would the 160 men receive prior to being flung into warfare I wonder?
During the months of February and on into March Bernard and his battalion would move in and out of the trenches and spend time marching on foot across the war worn area of the Ancre Valley. On 4th and 5th March the 1/6th battalion split; A and C Coys went to Foncquevillers and B and D Coys to Gommecourt. The next day they relieved the 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in the trenches at Foncquevillers; B and C Coys in front line, A Coys in support and D Coys in reserve.
At 11pm on 8th March the men attacked Kite Copse and Burg. They successfully took Kite Copse and B Coy were guarding their new position but Burg remained in enemy hands. By 5.40am on 9th March "Kite Copse evacuated by us without loss. Identification of 91st R.I.R obtained". The 91st R.I.R were a German reserve infantry regiment also known as the Oldenburg Regiment.
The battalion were relieved in the trenches by the 8th Sherwood Foresters at 10.10pm on 10th March. The war diary reads;
"Casualties;
8 other ranks killed
2 other ranks missing
38 other ranks wounded"
The 1/6th Sherwood Foresters were part of the British 5th Army who between 11th January 1917 and 13th March 1917 managed to force the German Army back a total of 8 miles over a 15 miles front, during their operations in the Ancre Valley in early 1917. Private Bernard Millington was part of this heroic stand.
Private 241421 Bernard Millington is buried at Foncquevillers Military Cemetery in France, grave reference iii D 7. His grave is marked with a CWGC stone and shows the sign of the cross, no personal inscription was chosen by his family.
Bernard was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and 15 Star for his service.
Bernard's death was reported in the Derbyshire Times dated 31st March 1917 page 7. It included a photo of a very smart Bernard in his civilian clothes, with shirt and tie. The obituary reads as follows;
"WHITTINGTON CORPORAL KILLED
New Whittington has been singulary free
from war casualties of late, but there now
comes along the news of the death of
Lance Corporal Bernard Millington,
who resided with this parents in High Street.
The sad news was conveyed to his parents
in a letter from the Chaplain - Rev W.G Uthwutt -
who states he was killed on the 10th inst.,
and was buried by him in the British Cemetery
of the place, the name of which would be given in due course.
He adds that his Commanding Officer spoke in high terms
of his bravery and devotion to duty, and that he would
be much missed by the men of his Section and Platoon.
Deceased was 22 years of age and joined the Sherwood's
in May, 1915. He went to France in November. He
had shared in many of the engagements which had taken
place. He formerly worked at the Staveley Co's Ireland Colliery.
Thomas Millington may have died in 1935 aged 72 years of age.
George Kirk Millington Bernard's only surviving sibling married Ella Woodward on 2nd August 1920 at St Bartholomew's Church. He was aged 20 and worked as a coal miner, Ella was aged 18 years the daughter of John Robinson Woodward. Her sister Sarah was one of the witnesses to the happy event.
George and Ella lived at 13 Spital Lane in 1939, he continued to work as a coal miner below ground. As far as I can see the couple never had any children.
George died in 1978 aged 77 years, Ella lived on until 1997 when she died at the grand age on 95 years old.
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Bernard was one of many local men who also served with the 1st/6th Battalion; fellow comrades also named on the St Barnabas Memorial are;
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If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on Bernard Millington or his family please do either leave comments via the pen icon below or drop me an email.
If you are descendant of the Millington family and would like to add your own family "story" then please do feel free to contact me.
If you are descendant of the Millington family and would like to add your own family "story" then please do feel free to contact me.
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.
*****
Ref and further reading -
Census
Parish registers
Medal rolls
Soldiers who died in the Great war
Soldiers who died in the Great war
Register of soldiers effects
Newspaper articles - Derbyshire Times 31st March 1917 page 4
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org
1/6th Battalion Sherwood Foresters - http://www.1914-1918.net/notts.htm
1/6th Battalion Sherwood Foresters - https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/319/sherwood-foresters-nottinghamshire-and-derbyshire-regiment
Ancre Valley January - March 1917 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_on_the_Ancre,_January%E2%80%93March_1917
CWGC http://www.cwgc.org
War diaries - Piece 2694/1; 1/6th Sherwood Forester Regiment Feb 1915 to June 1919.
1/6th Battalion Sherwood Foresters - http://www.1914-1918.net/notts.htm
Ancre Valley January - March 1917 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_on_the_Ancre,_January%E2%80%93March_1917
