THOMAS WILLIAM YATES

THOMAS WILLIAM YATES

Private 200266

1st/4th Battalion Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Thomas William Yates was born in the summer of 1889, the first son of George and Sarah Yates.  George married Sarah Essam on 14th August 1888 at Woodford in Northamptonshire.  George was working as a railway engine fireman at the time, a career which would bring favourable opportunities. 

Within the next year, just before Thomas was born, the newly weds moved to live on Wellington Street in New Whittington.  George had been promoted to a railway engine driver, the family were doing well for themselves.  A few years later in 1894 a second son was born, named Charles Henry and by 1901 the family was complete after baby girl Rhoda Emma was born in 1900.  The Yates family were living at 69 Wellington Street.

"A plus" scholar....

Thomas was lucky and gained an education at the local grammar school.  It is possible that he had been admitted into the school by a free scholarship which was awarded to the children of the elementary schools who were deemed as high achievers.  This education would become the basis for Thomas' later life when he worked as a teacher at both Old Whittington and Whittington Moor schools.

1911 the eve of war....

Thomas now aged 21 years old was recorded as "William" on the actual census return.  The 1911 census was the first census to be completed by the home owner rather than an enumerator, so it's likely that Thomas may well have used his middle name William as his everyday name.  He was recorded as being a student on this census, most likely receiving his further education in teaching.

The whole family had moved home once again and lived at 39 High Street, still in the village of New Whittington.  George was still employed as a train driver for the Midland Railway.  Charles was an apprentice architect and Rhoda aged 11 attended school.

Thomas' war....

Unfortunately the service records for Thomas have not survived but we can piece together some of his war service using other contemporary records such as; medal cards, medal rolls, CWGC records, newspaper reports and war diaries.

Thomas enlisted not long after the outbreak of WW1.  He was a student at the time studying at Culham College in Oxford.  It may be that a recruitment officer visited the college to encourage the men to enlist as he signed his papers at Culham.

Thomas not surprisingly joined up with a local battalion to Culham College, he enlisted with the 1/4th Battalion Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Oxford & Bucks LI).  He is noted as having two different service numbers; 1935 and 200266, the latter being his regimental number on his death.  Thomas served as a Private rank, however many of his fellow students may well have been placed straight into Officer ranks due to their class and education.  

Once he had enlisted he would be sent to training camp where he would be taught how to become an effective soldier; use of a weapon, discipline and physical drills would be a daily ritual.  The 1/4th Battalion Oxford & Bucks were stationed at Whittle near Chelmsford until they were mobilsed for war at the end of March 1915.  The battalion took part in a parade which would be full of fanfare and celebration as the local community saw the brave soldiers off to war.  They then took a train to Folkestone where they boarded the SS Onward.  

Thomas' medal card states that he "entered the theatre of war - France" on 29th March 1915.  This was the day when 2 Officers and 84 other ranks of the 1/4th left the shores of England to arrive in Boulogne, France at 11 pm that night.  Thomas was one of the 84 other ranks to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) with the first group of men from the 1/4th Oxford & Bucks LI.

The 1/4th were part of the 145th Brigade 48th (South Midlands) Division.  They saw service in some of the most bloody battles of WW1 including being present on the Somme during 1916.

The Battle of Albert as it became known was the opening battle of the Somme offensive.  The 1/4th spent the month of June 1916 working on laying cables and moving equipment such as heavy guns and weapons.  At 9.20 am on 1st July the men began their march to Mailley-Mallet, each man carrying "2 grenades, 2 sandbags apiece, while one Platoon A Company, carried picks and shovels".  The roads were crammed full of moving army convoys, the column of troops was often stopped to allow passing ammunition trucks through their path.  The war diary tells that "Many contradictory rumours circulated as to progress of the fighting, but no official news".  Thomas and his comrades would have no idea that this very day would result in such a massive number of casualties for the B.E.F. they suffered over 19,000 fatalities on the 1st July 1916.  Nor would they be aware of how very infamous that day would become or the consequences of such a battle with its stalemate progress.  

The next day orders were received that the Brigade would attack on 3rd July, its target was to take the 1st line German trenches north of the Ancre.  By 11.30 pm however, these orders had been withdrawn and the battalion were returned to billets at Couin & St Ledger.  On 4th they moved into trenches near Hebuterne and relieved the 1/7th Warwickshire Regiment.

On 18th July the battalion received orders for the following day; to attack in between Ovillers and Poziers.  The war diary states that at 1.30 am "attack launched but held up" and at around 3 am "2nd attack ordered, but not practicable, owing to congestion of trench rendering reorganisation impossible".   It was chaos; by 4.15 am the attack had again been called off.  The men returned to billets at Bouzincourt where they rested.

In action on the west of Poziers....

The battle of Poziers Ridge began on 23rd July 1916.  The 1/4th battalion launched their attack at 12.30 am, the first hour seeing some success and some failures when the platoons became disorganised as the planned sequence of attack became mixed up.  The left hand platoons were said to have suffered high casualties due to this situation.  The battalion were relieved on 24th and retired to a "field outside Albert".  They were then moved on to another area and by the end of July were in billets at Agenville.  

On the first day of the Battle of Poziers the 1/4th Battalion Oxford & Bucks LI war diary records the following casualties:

"Other ranks - 

40 killed

5 missing believed killed

3 missing believed wounded

164 wounded

18 missing

TOTAL - 230 men"

Dawn of 1917....

The month of January was a relatively peaceful one for the battalion.  Up until 9th January they were based in camp at Bresle when they moved on to the town of Cerisy-Buleux.  They remained their until the 29th when they moved on again to the town of Hamel.  The month was spent undertaking training and lectures, with some spare time football matches thrown in.  The weather was wet in the early days but became snowy and very cold towards the end of the month.

In February the war diary records that the men "carried out the new French preventative treatment for trench feet".  They were part of a trial carried out whereby the old method of rubbing whale oil was compared to a new French idea.  The new method required the men to wash and thoroughly dry their feet before applying a powder which was made from borated talc and castor oil.  Socks would then be placed over the newly cleaned and protected feet.  The trial concluded that their were no benefits to using the new method and so the British Army stuck with the tried and tested whale oil method.  

For most of February and on into March the battalion took tours of the trenches stationed in "Sophie trench" at Herbecourt and then returned to billets at Marly Camp.  They saw some heavy artillery fire and recorded many men wounded and killed during those two months.  The weather was still bad with snow at times, this caused the trenches to be a terrible state and made relief manoeuvres very slow.

April 1917....

Thomas and his comrades spent an enjoyable Easter Sunday in camp near Villers - Faucon.  The men took mass; the Wesleyan service at 10 am and the Church of England in the evening at 7 pm.  There was also entertainment when "Pte Kennedy gave a concert with assistance from his friend "Ragtime" and others".  The war diary also noted the change in weather "Everyone very glad to see a bit of sun & hoping for spring weather at last".  But as with April weather, the next day was "Very cold and squally weather again".

On 18th April a patrol of men from A Company (Coy) were sent out towards Gillemont Farm where they found the area to be strongly held by the enemy.  Later that day orders were received "for an attack on the farm tonight by D Coy".  The actual plans for this attack were changed several times until the attack was eventually called of for the time being.

19th April 1917....

The morning of 19th April saw A Coy return to view the enemy at Gillemont Farm to gain more detailed information.  They now noted that there were machine guns placed on top of the ridge.  It was then decided once more that D Coy would attack that evening, with C Coy in support and B Coy would commence any consolidation work afterwards.

At 19.30 pm the war diary records "D Coy in position in two lines with 5 paces interval.  When ridge was reached heavy MG fire was opened.  Lines moved on, support platoons having reinforced so as to make one line".  The heavy fire continued, despite the enemy being seen leaving their trenches on the north west of the farm.  The 1/4th battalion continued to advance under the heavy machine gun fire but suffered badly until at 21.30 pm the men were eventually ordered to withdraw when it "became impossible to maintain the advance".  

A Coy were complimented on their efforts in assisting the stretcher bears rescuing the wounded and "all were successfully evacuated".  The war diary for the day of 19th April 1917 records the following numbers of casualties;

"Other ranks -
9 killed
3 missing
48 wounded"

Private 200266 Thomas William Yates was killed in action on 19th April 1917, he was 28 years of age.

Thomas has no known grave, he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.  His memorial ref is; Pier and Face 10A and 10D.

Private Thomas William Yates 200266 was awarded the 15 Star, Victory and British War medals for his service.

Thomas was remembered in the Derbyshire Times dated 5th May 1917 page 8.  The obituary included a photograph of Thomas and read....

"A promising career in the educational world

has been prematurely ended by the death

of Pte. T.W Yates son of Mr and Mrs G Yates,

Handley Road, New Whittington.

Aged 28 years Pte. Yates was educated at Chesterfield

Grammar School, and afterwards was a teacher

at Old Whittington and Whittington Moor.

On the outbreak of war he was studying at Culham College,

but immediately enlisted in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry.

He went to France just over two years ago and had

been twice wounded, viz., in the head and face"

Thomas was also remembered on the Chesterfield Grammar School's Roll of Honour.

Life went on....

George and Sarah Yates I have not been able to pin point an exact death for either of Thomas' parents, due their being several possibilities the death certificates would need to be purchased.

Charles Yates continued to live in the family home of 39 High Street.  He married Keturah Bridgett in 1921 and had a son named Charles D in 1923.  Charles snr worked as an architect and surveyor.  In 1939 both father and son were doing their bit for the war effort on the home front; Charles snr was an air raid warden and his son was an auxiliary fireman both in the local town of Chesterfield.

Charles snr died in 1967 aged 73 years of age.  

Rhoda Yates married William Fuller a clerk at St Bartholomew's Church in Old Whittington on 1st October 1923.  Her brother Charles was present at the happy event and signed the marriage register as a witness.  

Rhoda and William had three children; Kathleen, Geoffrey and Barbara and lived at 29 Netherthorpe Road in Staveley in 1939.  William had worked his way up the career ladder and was chief clerk at the colliery.  Rhoda died in 1978 aged 78.

*****

If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on Thomas William Yates 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 special thanks to Wendy Pockson for her help 
regarding Thomas' Grammar School Roll of Honour 
and for use of the photograph.

*****

Ref and further reading  -

Census

Parish registers

Medal rolls
Medal cards

Soldiers who died in the Great war

Register of soldiers effects
War diaries www.ancestry.co.uk

Newspaper articles - 
Derbyshire Times - 5th May 1917 page 8

CWGC  http://www.cwgc.org

War diaries - 1/4th Battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry WO 95 / 2764/1

Also available is the transcript of the war diary to read freely http://www.weymouthsands.co.uk/diary/

1/4th Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Rollof honour - http://oxfordandbucks.co.uk/Roll_of_Honour.htm

Culham College http://www.culhamcollege.co.uk/

Battle of Poziers Ridge http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/pozieres.htm

French preventative treatment for trench foot https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=LgcrBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA198&lpg=PA198&dq=1917+French+treatment+for+trench+foot&source=bl&ots=_QBNDAmaAr&sig=O063tdMTkYmXEsG4pIVuulS1K5I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwqpv6iNDaAhUjKMAKHYY-D5kQ6AEIbzAI#v=onepage&q=1917%20French%20treatment%20for%20trench%20foot&f=false

DENNIS REDFERN STUART

DENNIS REDFERN STUART

Private 20246

10th Battalion Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

Missing presumed dead - 25th September 1916

Dennis was the son of Jane and Joseph Stuart.  Born at Barrow Hill in early 1886 Dennis was baptised on 25th February at Staveley Parish Church.

Jane, Dennis' mother had married Joseph on 17th July 1876 at North Wingfield.  Jane's maiden name was Cutts and she was born in Hasland around 1845.  She had a son before she married Joseph; Charles Sneath Bennett was born in 1871.  It looks likely that Jane had married his father that same year, a man named James Bennett.  However, this would need to be confirmed with the marriage and birth certificates.

And so by 1881 the Stuart family were settled and living at 11 Furnace Hill, Staveley.  Joseph was employed as a pipe moulder.  Charles was aged 9 years old and the couple had two daughters; Florence 4 and Lizzie 2 years of age.  

Another son was born in 1884 named Joseph Harry after his father, but then sadly in the winter of 1885/86 young Lizzie died aged just 7 years old.  Dennis was born around the time that Lizzie died, it must have been a terrible time for Jane and Joseph and the Stuart family.

1891 brought even more heartache for the family, when the head of the household Joseph died aged 39 years old.  Leaving Jane to bring up her four children alone.  Whether they moved before or after Joseph's death is not known, but on the 1891 census Jane and three of her children were living at Meadow Cottage in Barrow Hill.  Charles was aged 19 years old and luckily was able to work to bring some money into the household, he was an apprentice iron moulder.  The Stuart family shared the house with another family, they occupied three of the rooms and the Needham family took the other two rooms.  

Florence was not at home on the 1891 census, she was visiting Herbert and Zylpha Fox in Oldham.  Zylpha was from Brimington in Chesterfield.

Ten years on in 1901 Dennis was aged 15 years and old was working his apprenticeship as an iron moulder. He lived at 105 Barrow Hill with his mother Jane, Charles, Florence and Joseph and a little 4 year old boy named Hubert.  Hubert was the son of Florence, born on 16th March 1897.  

Wedding bells....

The Stuart family had reason to celebrate in the first decade of the 20th Century; Florence, Joseph and Dennis all tied the knot and married their sweethearts.

Florence married George Cresswell in 1903, George was working as a railway guard.  He lived at Barrow Hill but was born in Stoke Orchard in Gloucestershire.

Joseph married Mary Ellen Brookes at St Annes Church in Sale, Cheshire.  They married on 1905.

Dennis married Sarah Barnes on 27th August 1906 at Staveley Parish Church.  

Sadly it was not all happiness as Dennis's mother Jane died in 1908 aged 63 years old.  

1911 the eve of war....

Dennis and Sarah were living at 105 Wellington Street, New Whittington.  Dennis had changed his occupation leaving the dirty noisy environment as an iron moulder, he was now employed as a hairdresser.

Florence and George were living at 105 Barrow Hill, George was still working as a goods guard for Midland Railways.  The couple had four children of their own; Gladys 7, Harry 6, Mabel 5 and Nellie 3 years of age. Florence's son Hubert and her bother Charles were both living with the Cresswell family, they were both employed at the iron foundry.

Joseph had sadly lost his young wife, Mary Ellen died in 1908 aged 30 years old.  In 1911 Joseph was lodging with William Riley and his family at 78 West Street, Eckington.  Joseph had also changed his career and like his brother Dennis he was employed as a hairdresser.

Dennis' war....

The service records for Dennis do not exist, but we know that he joined the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.  

He was attached to the 10th Battalion and took the soldier rank and number; Private 20246.  The 10th were a part of the 64th Brigade, 21st Division.  They landed, along with the 9th Battalion KOYLI in France in September 1915.

The battalion took part in some of the most well known battles of the Great War; including the infamous Battle of the Somme.  The men made their way to the village of Buire on 26th June, in preparation for the coming attack.  They had already worked hard in transporting gas cylinders and equipment to the trenches in the days prior to this.

On 30th June both the 9th and 10th battalions took up their assembly positions, side by side they would go into battle.  Not all of the battalion would be in action, some men were ordered to stay behind to wait for the call for reinforcements, they were stationed at Bus Wood.  Whether Dennis was present is not known.

On 22nd September 1916 the 10th battalion moved into the trenches at Bernafay Wood, where they remained preparing for the attack on Goudecourt which began on 25th September.  The day of the attack came and the men were fed and watered well, they had their full provisions of equipment including SOS rockets, ammunition, orders of attack and signal flares.  They moved out of the trenches at12.35.  The acting 2nd in Command Major C A Millward wrote "the noise was awful, but it made one feel proud to see what our munition workers and Great Britain had been able to accomplish"......."all reports were good at first".

It soon became apparent that confusion had occurred, it appears that the flares used by the Germans were very similar to those used by the B.E.F.  These flares had misled our aircraft and the result was that the men had not got as far as originally thought.  The trenches were also mixed with men from various regiments, due to the location errors.

Many of the men were killed and wounded during this action, "the communication trenches were much blocked with wounded".  After a while a message was received stating that the B.E.F had not got as far as the German's front line trenches, as they thought they had taken them, this was not the case.  The front wires were all still intact, the German's were directly in front of the wounded and weary B.E.F.  They were however, still ordered to continue their attack and move forward.

The situation paused whilst the men reformed and gathered their equipment.  They were still preparing when from out of nowhere they noticed "thick white smoke travelling along in front of it - a "tank".  Twenty minutes later and they saw "streams of German's coming across no mans land to surrender".  The German Captain "a coarse looking brute" explained how he and his men had been cut off and when they saw the tank coming up behind they had no other option but to surrender.  The memo by Major Millward stated that 362 men were counted.

Would Dennis have been alive to see this great spectacle? Would he have witnessed the use of the early "tank"? The whole concept behind the use of such a machine was under a trial and error strategy.  We can only begin to imagine how shocking such a beast moving across the earth would appear to the men who were used to trench warfare.

Dennis was reported missing in action, presumed dead on 25th September 1916.  He has no known grave but is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, France.  Ref pier and face 11C & 12A.

Private 20246, Dennis Redfern Stuart was awarded the Victory and British Medals for his service.

Life went on....

Sarah Stuart the wife of Dennis may have married a George Whitehead in 1920.  If this is correct then she possibly died in 1931 aged 45 years old.  (Further checking needs to be carried out to confirm this, possible marriage certificate required).

Charles Sneath Bennett never married.  He lived with his sister Florence and her family at 105 Barrow Hill. He died on 11th August 1935 and his administration of £118 15s went to his sister Florence Cresswell.

Florence remained living in the area.  She was recorded as living at 105 Barrow Hill on the 1939 Register, with two lodgers who were both employed by LMS Railways.  Her husband George Cresswell was living at 30 Lime Avenue, Stavely.  He is living with his step son (Florence's son) Hubert and Mary Jane Stuart and their daughter's Doris and Marjorie.  Florence died in 1945 aged 68 years old.

Joseph found happiness again and married Phyllis Brier in 1917.  He was serving with the 21st Battalion Prince of Wales Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) at the time.  He was promoted up to Lance Sergeant 21/72.  

Unfortunately Joseph's service record hasn't survived and there is no date of entry into theatre of war on his medal card, so it is not known when he actually enlisted.  He was not awarded the 15 Star however, indicating he most likely enlisted after that date.  He did serve right up to the very end of the Great War but was wounded and died of his wounds on 22nd September 1918.  

Joseph is buried at Ligny-St Flochel British Cemetery, Averdoingt, France.  He has a headstone with the sign of the cross and the chosen words of his widow Phyllis read;

"TOO DEARLY LOVED TO BE FORGOTTEN"

Joseph was mentioned in despatches for his service.   His notice can be found in the London Gazette, 24th December 1918, supplement 31083, page 15127.

The CWGC records that Phyllis was living at 136 Lister Lane, Halifax at the time of Joseph's death.  She would receive his medals the Victory and British Medal and later the Oak Leaf emblem which was to signify that Joseph had been mentioned in dispatches.  

To read more about Joseph Harry Stuart please click here where you can read his story.  What became of Phyllis after the war is not known. If anyone can add to her story please feel free to comment below or drop me an email.

Hubert Stuart the son of Florence, nephew of Dennis also served during WW1.  He enlisted at Staveley town on 9th March 1915, aged just 19 years old.  Hubert lived at 24 Barrow Hill and worked as a miner prior to the war.  Hubert served as a driver with the Royal Field Artillery L/11260.  He arrived in France on 8th January 1916 and remained there until 17th September 1918.  

He was eventually allowed and I am sure, well over due a furlough; from 18th September until 1st October 1918.  He had a very special time whilst he was home on leave, he married his sweetheart Mary Jane Stratton at Staveley Parish Church. The couple married on 25th September 1918.

Hubert arrived back in France on 2nd October 1918 and continued serving until 21st December 1918 when he was finally released to duties as a coal miner.  He returned home on the H.S Princess Victoria on 27th December 1918, home to his new wife Mary Jane.  

Hubert would have witnessed many horrors during his time with the RFA.  He would live with these memories for the rest of his life.  He was in France to witness that great day on 11th November 1918 when the Armistice was finally agreed and the hope of peace for all nations would be more than a glimmer of hope.  

After Hubert's return to Barrow Hill he had reason to celebrate at the birth of his first daughter Doris on 8th April 1920, another daughter followed many years later on 8th July 1933.  Hubert and Mary Jane lived at 40 Lime Avenue, Staveley and he died in 1976.

*****

If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on Dennis Redfern Stuart 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.

*****

Ref and further reading  -

Census

Parish registers
Medal rolls
Soldiers who died in the Great war

Register of soldiers effects
Service record - www.ancestry.co.uk

Newspaper articles - 

CWGC  http://www.cwgc.org

War diaries - Piece WO- 95/2162/2

Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/kings-own-yorkshire-light-infantry/

Tank information https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks_in_World_War_I

Barrow Hill at War website - including information on Joseph Harry Stuart https://barrowhillandhollingwood.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/stuart-joseph-harry-life1.pdf

GEORGE HENRY MEARS

GEORGE HENRY MEARS

Private 9192

9th Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment

Killed in action - 26th September 1916

George was the first born child of Elizabeth and Henry Mears.  Born in Staveley sometime around early 1885, he was one of five children, a relatively small family for the times.  He was named after his maternal grandfather George and his own father Henry.

George's parents Henry Mears and Elizabeth Ann Horner married on 3rd November 1884 at Staveley.  Henry was originally from Apethorpe in Northamptonshire, he was boarding with the Moorcroft family on Handley Road in 1881.  Henry was employed by the Midland Railway as a guard.  Elizabeth was born in Staveley, the daughter of George and Mary Horner.  Her family lived in the coal miner's residence, Hartington Cottages, George was a coal miner deputy.

The family soon grew; Arthur Alec was born in 1886, Sarah Ellen in 1890, Elsie in 1894 and Reginald in 1897.  Sadly baby Reginald died as an infant baby, he was buried at Whittington on 11th September 1897.

The 1901 census records George as living at 58 South Street, New Whittington.  He was aged 16 years old and employed along with his brother Arthur as a labourer at the furnaces.  His father was noted as married, but Elizabeth his wife is not living with the family on this night. The two daughters; Sarah and Elsie were also in the household. 

George's father Henry died in the summer of 1908.  

George joins the army....

Aged 19 years and 1 month George enlisted to serve for King & Country.  He signed up to serve 3 years with the Colours and would remain in the Army Reserves for 9 years after.  

He was serving with the local Notts & Derbys Regiment (The Sherwood Foresters); Private 9192.  His service began in February 1904 and would offer George more excitement than his job back in New Whittington where he worked as a pipe moulder.  

The service records describe George as 5ft 4 1/4" in height and weighing 125lbs.  He had a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.  

1911 the eve of war....

George does not appear on the 1911 census, his service records are unclear as to whether he extended his army service to this date.

His siblings had all moved on with their own lives to; Arthur married Maria Starkey in 1910, they were living with her parents John and Mary at Melbourne Villas, Albert Avenue in 1911. Arthur worked as an iron pipe maker. On 22nd April 1913 the couple had a baby son, named William Robert.

Sarah married Albert Brent also in 1910.  Albert was from the neighbouring village of Barrow Hill.  A son was born in 1911 named William Edward.

Elsie was 17 years old and worked as a servant for a widowed Irish coal miner named Michael Kelly.  They lived at 8 Bamford Street, New Whittington.  In 1914 she married Joseph Whitehouse, a local boy he was living at 64 South Street in 1911.  Not long after, the couple had their first child; a daughter named Edna was born on 18th March 1915.

Wedding bells also rang for George when on 9th October 1911 he married Emma Short.  Emma was the daughter of Jepson Short.  She was born in New Whittington around 1888.  The witnesses to the weding were Arthur James Mitchell and his sister Edith Mitchell, only three years later tragically Arthur was to become the first man of the village to lose his life to the Great War, he is also named on St Barnabas Church War Memorial.  

Emma had spent some time in London; aged 16 years old, she was living at 74 Acre Lane, Lambeth and was undertaking training in domestic service. By 1911 she was back home in New Whittington, working at the Royal Hotel.  

Emma and George were soon to find themselves parents; on 3rd March 1912 a son was born, named after his father George Henry Mears. George jnr was baptised on 4th April 1912.  A second son named Thomas Arthur was born on 24th March 1915.

George's war....

Service record
www.ancestry.co.uk

As part of George's terms he had agreed to remain in the Army Reserve for 9 years after his earlier service had ended.  And so he would find himself receiving his call up as soon as the war had been declared.  He was called to mobilise at Derby on 5th August 1914.  

As a time served soldier, George was mobilised to Sheffield on the very day that war was declared, he was posted to the 2^nd Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment, keeping his rank and number, Private 9192.

On 8^th September 1914 George and his comrades set sail to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) in France; the country in high spirits of a quick victory, he would be back by Christmas…. or so they believed.  He would leave his young son George aged 2 and his wife who would be around three months pregnant at the time.

The 2^nd Battalion were part of the 18th Brigade, 6th Division who landed at St Nazaire, France and were thrust straight into the battlefront being present at the Aisne Heights offensive on 20^th September 1914.  Not long after in October they relieved the 2nd Battalion Durham Light Infantry at Ennetiere, the location of the Battle of Armentieres.  The battalion were forced back by the enemy, but soon found themselves surrounded, many men were forced to surrender; the war diary notes “Casualties 710 NCOs and men missing”.

At the end of July 1915 George received a mosquito bite to his right hand, he was transferred back to England on 5th August for medical care at Bagthorpe Hospital (now Nottingham City Hospital).  This hospital was reasonably local for George, being situated on Hucknall Road in Nottingham.  George soon recovered from his illness and was deemed fit to return to the battlefront.

It was at this time that George was relocated to the 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.  On 14th November 1915 he was sent to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force; the Gallipoli Campaign.  The battalion had landed at Suvla Bay in August 1915, they were subject to heavy fighting and many soldiers succumbed to illness.  In December 1915 the battalion were forced to retreat to the island of Imbros before moving on to Egypt, where in February 1916 they took over part of the defence of Suez Canal.

The Somme, 1916....

Service record
www.ancestry.co.uk

According to his service records George and his comrades once again set off for France, they began the journey on 26th June and arrived on 4th July 1916.  They were being called upon after the tragic day, the 1st July, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.  The 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters were much needed reinforcements for the British.

August 1916 a month into the Somme attack, many thousands of soldiers wounded, missing and killed in action.  The 9th Sherwood's had relieved the 9th Rifle Brigade in the trenches near to Arras on 28th July. The month was relatively quiet, regular enemy aircraft flying overhead, occasional gas attack alerts, enemy fire and time spent as working parties, fixing wire and making good the trenches.  The men were relieved on 18th August and returned to Headquarters at Berneville.

The battalion then spent 10 days at Gouy-En-Artios where they received several days worth of training, which the war diary records as having included numerous lectures.  On to Astree Wamin and more training and then on 3rd September the battalion arrived at Acheux where they received lectures on Battalion Attack.  It would appear that the allies were taking no chances and wanted their men to be fully educated and ready to produce an effective attack on the enemy.  A small rest bite from combat, but no time for relaxation.

School time over....

George's combat education was at an end, it was time to put the new skills into practise; on 6th September the battalion relieved the 13th Cheshire Regiment in the trenches just south of Thiepval.  They remained in the trenches under some very heavy enemy fire.  On 12th September just before they were to be relieved the battalion war diary tells "Enemy send over large number of tear shells which exploded in our trenches.  It was suspected that poisonous gas shells were mixed up with these.  Gas helmets were worn and no casualties occurred".  At 6am the men fell into the reserve trenches when they were relieved by the 6th Lincolnshire Regiment. 

Over the coming days the men were moved in and out of trenches. There was great artillery fire by the British, which were a success and enemy prisoners were taken.  The Germans then retaliated bombarding the 9th Battalions occupied trench, "Constance Trench.....was heavily shelled by enemy with whizz-bangs".  

On 22nd September the men were relieved once more and returned to Mailley Mallet where they rested and undertook a parade, with new clothing issued.  On 24th September the men rehearsed the forthcoming attack on Thiepval.  Orders were given that the men should be ready to move at short notice, George and his friends would be aware that the coming attack was to be the culmination of the weeks of training and rehearsals.  

26th September 1916....

The men found themselves once more stationed in Constance Trench, ready for the coming attack on Thiepval.  They were reported as all being in position by 3.30am on the morning of 26th September.  They were then given "M & V rations* and tea was sent up during the morning" .

Once fed, the men were moved into position ready for "the whistle signal at ZERO 12.35pm".  During the attack the battalion received many casualties, however it also took many prisoners and large scale items of equipment were also claimed from the enemy.  The battalion were part of the 33rd Brigade of the 11th Division which successfully captured Zollern and Hessian Trenches, despite heavy machine gun fire at times. It is said to have suffered 600 casualties. 

The battle carried on into 27th September, on 28th the battalion spent time in consolidating Joseph Trench, they were shelled throughout their work.

The heroic fighting by all of the 11th Division was noted in a memo sent from General Sir H Gough, Commanding Reserve Army.  It reads;

"My best congratulations to you and your division on 

their gallant fighting today and throughout the

successful operations in which you have been engaged 

since the capture of the WONDER WORK.

You have all done splendid work"

George was presumed dead on the date of 26th September when he partook in the "splendid work" along with his comrades in arms of the 11th Division.  The action became known as The Battle of Thiepval Ridge.

Private George Henry Mears, 9192 was laid to rest at the Regina Trench Cemetery, Grandcourt; grave ref Vii H 7.  His grave is marked simply with the sign of the cross, no other inscriptions were added by George's family.

Medal card - Private 9192
*See notes below re different Battalion & death date

Private 9192 George Henry Mears was awarded the Victory, British and 14 Star Medals for his service.  

*His medal card appears to show George Mears, Private 9192 as being attached to the 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters.  Looking at his service records and other documentation, all information for WW1 confirms George served with the 2nd and 9th Battalion. The date of death is recorded as 20th September 1916 not 26th, again all other paperwork states 26th September 1916.

Walter Furness another New Whittington man also served with the 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.  He to was presumed missing in action on the same date, 26th September 1916.  His story can be read here.

Arthur James Mitchell the witness at George and Emma Mears wedding was also killed and remembered on the St Barnabas Memorial.  His story can be read here.

Life went on....

What became of George's mother Elizabeth Mears is unknown at this time.  

Emma and her two sons George jnr and Thomas Arthur Mears were awarded a pension of 22s 11p per week commencing on 23rd April 1917.  She lived at this time at 21 Station Lane, New Whittington.  

Emma remarried in early 1918, her husband was Samuel Toseland another New Whittington lad.  The couple went on to have four children; Elsie, James, Samuel and Doris.  More sadness was unfortunately to come into Emma's life when she lost her two sons as young children; James under 1 year and Samuel aged just 4 years old.  Samuel died in 1956, Emma in 1960.

George Henry jnr married Mary Levers in 1935.  On the 1939 Register the newly weds were living at 35 Brearley Street, New Whittington.  George worked as a labourer at the steel works.  George died on 30th November 1981, his address at the time was 27 Wellington Street, New Whittington.  Mary his wife died in 1989.

Thomas Arthur Mears married Alice Hawkins in 1938.  The couple lived at 13 Beetwell Street in Chesterfield town centre.  Thomas worked as a bus conductor.  They had a daughter named Jean.  Thomas died in 1990, Alice in 1993.

George's siblings....

Arthur and Maria had another child, a daughter named Lillian born on 9th June 1915.  The family were living at 2 Albert Avenue on the 1939 Register and Arthur had been promoted to foreman at the iron foundry.

Arthur died on 6th May 1961 at Walton Hospital.  He was aged 74 years old and had moved away from New Whittington, his address was 38 Windermere Road in Newbold.  Maria had died in 1955. Their daughter Lillian Mary died a spinster aged 78 years old in 1993.

Sarah and Albert Brent had more children; Violet in 1912, Henry in 1913, John in 1915 and George in 1920. Albert served during WW1, which would explain the break in children born during those years.  The couple lived at Cotterill Lane in Brimington.  

William Edward Brent, Sarah's son was a Sergeant Instructor in the Royal Artillery.  He had joined the services before WW2 but sadly died at home aged 32 years of age on 3rd April 1943.  His obituary was written in the Derbyshire Times newspaper on 9th April 1943 page 6.  It told how he was a "fine athlete and gymnast" "while in the Army he reached the semi-final of the Light Heavyweight Army Boxing Tournament". He had served in India for six years and was married to Mary Brent.  William was buried at Brimington Cemetery.

Elsie and Joseph Whitehouse had two more children; Winifred in 1917 and Joseph in 1920.  The couple stayed in the village of New Whittington, in 1939 they were living at 98 South Street with their eldest daughter Edna.  Joseph was working as a coal miner.  Elise was written as "Edith E" on the 1939 Register.  There are several possible deaths for (Edith) Elsie Whitehouse, which would need verification with the death certificate, Joseph died in 1969.  

*M & V rations are Meat and Vegetable rations.  See the link to read more about the food and rations during WW1.

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If you may be connected to this family or have any further information on George Henry Mears 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.

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Ref and further reading  -

Census

Parish registers
Medal rolls
Soldiers who died in the Great war

Register of soldiers effects
Service record - www.ancestry.co.uk

                               

CWGC  http://www.cwgc.org

War diaries - Piece WO 1813 / 1-4

9th Battalion Sherwood Forester Regiment http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/sherwood-foresters-nottinghamshire-derbyshire-regiment/

Imbros Island http://www.army.mod.uk/firstworldwarresources/gallipoli-1915/general-headquarters-imbros-1915