Charles Allen died a hundred years ago today at the Battle of the Somme.
He was true old soldier having been a reservist at the start of the war and going to France in the spring of 1915.
He was quite badly wounded in the late summer of 1915 so much so it was thought he would not be fit for further service and spent time recuperating in the Channel Islands with the 4th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment.
It was during this time that in May 1916 he married Mary Ellen Thomas at St Werburgh’s and the couple made their home at Back Lane (now Back View) Kingsley.
Charles had a tough life, we have not been able to find who his father was and as a young boy, the family was in the Workhouse in Cheadle.
Despite that he was described as an intelligent and interesting man who on returning to the village had descriptive stories to tell of his experiences in the war.
He was as many of the men who served, a member at the Reading Room in Kingsley which is now better known as the Village Hall.
It is rather apt that a few days before the centenary of his death that a photograph has been uncovered in the Staffordshire Weekly Sentinel and is reproduced here for the first time.
Following last month’s visit to the Somme battlefield and taking part in the Centenary commemorations of the battle those would follow the project will know we visited the graves of a number of men from the parish.
However, there were two men who were buried in the wider area whom we could not visit.
However, two weeks later one of the project team was able to visit those two graves on his way to holiday in central France.
The graves of Edward Edwards Bradshaw and George Ramsell were visited on the early morning of 14th July at the Bucquoy Road Cemetery just outside Arras and the Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension south-east of Amiens.
As a result there now remain just seven graves or memorials that have not been visited – one in this country for George Harris Smith and five in France and Belgium for Colin Capwell, Thomas Barker, Robert Myles Heywood, Roland ‘Jim’ Beech and George Meakin. A seventh man Thomas Salt is commemorated on the Helles Memorial in Gallipoli.
A visit was also made to the Lochnager Crater where on 1st July 1916 a massive mine was denoted below the German lines.
EE-Bradshaw
Edward Edwards Bradshaw's Grave near Arass
G-Ramsell
George Ramsell's grave near to Amiens at the Hangard Communal Cemetary extension
Cemetery-G-Ramsell
Hangard Community Cemetery Extension
Lochnager
Lochnager crater looking across the fileds in the direction of the Thiepval Memorial
Here is a report of the project teams visit to the Somme last week. At the end is a slideshow of photos.
Thiepval 1st july 2016
As previously mentioned two members of the project team, Martyn Hordern and Ken Unwin travelled to northern France recently to be at the Thiepval Memorial to commemorate the centenary of the battle of the Somme Friday 1st July.
The first day of the battle saw British and Commonwealth dead number 19240 with almost 40,000 casualties – the worst day ever in the history of the British army.
Prior to the events of the 1st July, an opportunity was taken on the journey down to visit the Le Touret Memorial near to Bethune where Cecil Rogers who died in October 1914 is commemorated along with around 10,000 others who have no known graves.
At any site where there is a memorial to those without a known grave, there is always the following inscription ‘but to whom the fortunes of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death’
Vimy Ridge Canadian Memorial
From there they paid a visit to the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge where over 10,000 Canadian dead are commemorated – it is a truly impressive memorial.
Friday 1st July saw another early start and the hours drive to Thiepval where security was very tight and several checkpoints had to be negotiated before those attending were bused onto the site.
Thiepval, the hamlet that gives its name to the Memorial was in effect cut off from the rest of the world as around 10,000 guests attended the most moving of ceremonies. Actors, Charles Dance and Joely Richardson were excellent narrators as stories of the battle and individuals were read out including two by a granddaughter and a son.
The crowds at Thiepval
A short but noticeable shower did not dampen the proceedings which saw community singing of Abide with Me, the National Anthem and the Marseillaise. Following the Act of Remembrance, wreaths were laid at a stone cross sighted on the line of the German trenches by Prince Charles, David Cameron, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, President Hollande, and the Irish Taoiseach plus other dignitaries. As this was done thousands of Poppies and the French flower of remembrance, the Corn Flower, were dropped from the top of the memorial.
The Guard of Honour were the Welsh Guards in their Bearskins and the Kings Troop Royal Artillery were present firing a salute from guns used in the First World War.
Following the departure of the dignitaries, guests were allowed to place their own wreaths.
Wreaths laid on behalf of the Parish
The project team laid two wreaths at the altar – one from the local British Legion branch for the four men from Kingsley Parish who lost their lives in the battle – Charles Allen, Isaac Hammond, Arthur Keene and George Price Bevans and have no known grave. All are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
A second wreath was then laid on behalf of the Parish Council and community of Kingsley commemorating all those who served and died from the Parish and also those who survived and no doubt brought back both physical and mental scars from their service.
Prior to leaving the site guests were treated to a packed lunch and had an opportunity to walk around the site which includes a fascinating museum full of artifacts recovered from the battlefield over the years.
Once back at their car Martyn and Ken then proceeded to visit several graves and memorials to those from the parish who died in the area. These visits gave a better understanding of the war in terms of how static the lines were with burials in 1915 being in the same vicinity as burials in 1918, plus the fact that many of our men served in a fairly close area around Arras.
It is highly likely that the visits made to these men were the first since their deaths. At each one a Poppy Cross was placed with the words ‘Not Forgotten – Kingsley’ written on each one.
Visits were made to James Henry Wildgoose, James Poyer, William Aubrey Bowers, Thomas Clowes and Thomas Henry Barker (who has family links to Kingsley and was in the same cemetery in Arras which also had over 30,000 names of men with no known grave including Thomas Barker)
The visit to Arras Cemetery whilst somber and reflective also had a lighter side as there was a pop concert going on in the park next door and two middle-aged men carrying a British Legion poppy wreath at 9.30pm must have seemed somewhat out of place.
The days visits were concluded by placing a Poppy cross at the grave of Ernest Upton and also the man killed with him who was buried alongside him. Ernest’s letters home have been transcribed and featured on the website previously and are a microcosm of the war he fought in.
The following day saw further visits prior to heading home. They visited the grave of William Brindley who was killed on 2nd November 1918 in an offensive that saw the war poet Wilfred Owen, an officer in an adjoining regiment also involved.
Wilfred Owen’s Forresters House
Wilfred Owen died two days later and a visit was made to the Foresters House where he wrote his last letter home and is now a memorial to him and his poems.
They then visited the grave of John William Salt who died of influenza a week after the end of the war, that of George Fallows who died as a prisoner of war and is buried in a German Cemetery and the memorial to Moses Holland who aged just 18 was the youngest man to die from the parish. His name was on the beautiful Vis-En-Artois memorial along with another 10,000 men with no known grave.
The last visit was to the grave of George Wheawall who is buried in another extremely well maintained and beautiful cemetery. He died in 1917 and his wife in 1918 in the influenza pandemic.
Both Martyn and Ken are extremely proud to have represented the community of the parish of Kingsley at an event that saw worldwide coverage but more so to have visited the graves and memorials to men who gave their lives in the hope that the world would be a better place.
They have been remembered and will continue to be.
The project team took over 400 photographs during their visit – here is a selection of those that were taken. The slideshow will advance automatically or you can click to move it on – hover over the image for details.
Friday 1st July 2016 is the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme.
This post is timed to become active at 7.30am a hundred years to the minute when officers whistles were being blown to signal the men to leave the trenches and advance towards the German lines.
6 men with direct links to the Parish lost their lives during the battle which raged until 18th November 1916.
On the anniversary of the battle, two volunteers from the project team are attending the events at the Thiepval Memorial in France to commemorate the six men as well as visiting the graves of a number of other men from the parish buried in the area.
They will place a wreath at the memorial and wooden poppy crosses at the graves they visit.
On that first day, some 19240 men lost their lives and another 38,000 were wounded. It was the worst day in history for the British army.
Over the course of the battle, there were some 420,000 Commonwealth casualties including over 95,000 dead.
French and German casualties took the total to well over 1,000,000.
Five of the men who died are featured on the Parishes two memorials and their stories are to be found on this site.
All bar Thomas Clowes have no known grave and are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
William Aubrey Bowers
The sixth man did not live in the Parish but had business interests in it and was one of the first Trustees of the Reading Room in 1913 (now the Village Hall) along with the Reverend Mayne and Rowland John Beech from Shawe Hall.
He was William Aubrey Bowers and was born in 1887 at Barlaston Hall to Eli and Alice Bowers. The family home was later at Caverswall Castle. He studied at Winchester College from 1900 to 1906. Soon after leaving the school he was elected as a member of the Staffordshire County Council.
His father who died in 1911 was a patron and founder of Caverswall Cricket Club and William took over from him and also played for the first team. In 1913 William married Vera Latham in Kensington, London where he had studied after college as well as at Oxford University where he gained a Masters in the Arts. They had a single child Penelope Vera born in 1915 and died in 1952.
The families business links were wide and varied and included the Berryhill Brick works who also owned the Kingsley Brick Works, Park Hall Colliery located between Kingsley Moor and Cheadle, Hazlewall Colliery at Kingsley Moor and Foxfield Colliery. In addition, the family owned a Lime Burning business at Froghall along with a Cheadle man called Primrose Thorley (whose own son died later in WW1) the business was called Bowers and Thorley. The family also owned property in the Parish.
One for the project team’s volunteers Martyn Hordern has a direct line to the Bowers family as his great and great, great grandfathers worked for Bowers and Thorley. Indeed his great grandfather purchased his house (on Shawe Park Road) in 1913 from William Aubry Bowers and in addition was willed a sum of money each year from Eli Bowers will having worked for him for many years.
To see a picture of one of Bowers and Thorley’s boats (the tiller man is Francis Hordern great grand father of Martyn) click this link to the Staffs Past Track site which has some great photos of the area.
On 2nd April 1915, William Aubrey Bowers applied for a commission with the 3/5th Batallion of the North Staffordshire Regiment. Following his enlistment, the Cheadle and Tean Times and the Cheadle Herald reported in May 1915 that William Bowers, officers and 120 men from the Batallion spoke at the Market in Cheadle. William addressed those gathered and asked that men volunteer for the battalion and to put the country first.
Following his death, the Cheadle Herald reported he had been a Musketry Officer involved in the training of marksmen and general shooting.
In May 1916 William transferred to 1/5th North Staffords and on 1st July Batallion were at the Battle Somme and in the line of attack for that morning at a place called Gommecourt. Unusually perhaps we have a first-hand account of how William Aubrey Bowers lost his life. Thomas Higgins was a private in the Batallion and kept a diary which has been produced as a book called Tommy at Gommecourt.
As the soldiers were moving up the communication trenches prior to the attack Thomas Higgins describes them as running with the blood of those who had gone before them and he had to step over the bodies of the fallen. He was carrying a roll of barbed wire and it kept getting snagged as he made his way.
William Aubrey Bowers offered to help carry part of his load and as he did so a shell burst overhead mortally wounding Lieutenant Bowers who fell to the bottom of the trench. Private Higgins says in his diary that William Bowers was dead but we know he was taken from the trench to the 20th Casualty Clearing Station where he died the following day. William Aubrey Bowers was 29 years old. His estate at probate was valued in excess of £8,000,000 based on current values and maybe a lot more.
Park Hall Colliery Memorial
Following the end of the war in October 1919 a memorial in the form of a monolith was unveiled at the Park Hall Colliery in honour of all the men from the colliery who served in the war and the four who died (one was Kenneth Lovatt). Present was his daughter aged just 4 years albeit his wife was unwell and unable to attend.
Another present was George Chandler who joined up with James Poyser from Kingsley who died in 1916 and both served in the Leicestershire Regiment. Following the closure of the colliery, the monolith made of Cornish Granite was moved to its current location at Foxfield Colliery.
The original minute book of the Reading Romm still exists and William Aubrey Bowers features as being present at meetings. The entry where it records him as a Trustee is struck out in pencil followed by the words ‘died in war’
This article is taken from the History of War Website and on the eve of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme makes interesting reading – how did already busy medics treat almost 60,000 casualties on that first day.
The Battle of Somme is – rightly or wrongly – a byword for military folly, a baptism of blood for the earnest volunteers of Kitchener’s New Army that saw entire villages and workplaces wiped out by shell, shot and chlorine gas.
Wounded: Conflict, Casualties and Care, which opens 28 June and runs until January 2018 at the Science Museum in London, explores the huge impact of wounding in World War I. We spoke to Lead Curator Stewart Emmens about the role of the Somme in the evolution of battlefield medicine, the horrific litany of wounds suffered, and how they were treated.
The first day of the Somme caused an immense 57,000 casualties. What was the immediate impact of that for the men and women administering to them in those vital first hours?
This was the highest number of casualties that British Forces have ever suffered in a single day. The devastating potential of industrialised weaponry was reaching progressively new levels during the First World War, and the physical impacts could be catastrophic. Although medical personnel had experienced nearly two years of fighting, their capabilities were constantly hampered by the scale of casualties they had to deal with and the conditions they were working in.
As on the battlefield today, blood loss was the most immediate danger to life, so dealing with it – be it violent haemorrhage or slow oozing – was a huge challenge. Rapid intervention was vital in the most serious cases and this was never easy at the best of times in trench warfare, let alone on the first day of the Somme. Many men died because nobody could treat them in time. Where they could help, medical personnel employed some well established techniques; manual pressure to stem the flow, attaching tourniquets to bleeding limbs or ligatures to tie off damaged blood vessels.
But less dramatic blood loss could also be fatal. ‘Wound shock’ was a condition characterised by falling blood pressure and the shutting down of vital functions. Initially something of a mystery, as it could strike those with only minor wounds, it was a major killer on the Western Front. While blood transfusion begins to prove its value towards the end of the war, it’s not being used on any real scale in July 1916. It was also realised that other factors apart from blood loss had an influence on the development of wound shock as experience on the front line showed that warmth, liquids and comfort could improve the chances of survival – but these were not easy to provide in the circumstances.
In the slightly longer term, infections posed a serious threat to every soldier wounded on the Somme as they were essentially fighting on heavily manured farmland. Bacterially contaminated soil, ballistics and other debris could be blasted deep inside the body. Wounds became gangrenous within hours, and many men survived blood loss and shock only to succumb to infection.
Field surgical pannier set, complete, British, 1905 pattern in use 1914-1916. c. Science Museum, SSPL
What were Casualty Clearing Stations like and what level of care were they capable of providing?
Early on in the war Casualty Clearing Stations (CCSs) lived up to their name. They were intended essentially as transit points, not heavily staffed, where casualties would be assessed and sorted then then sent on to hospitals nearer the coast or even straight onto a hospital ship. Once the static nature of trench warfare was established and the value of earlier medical treatment, nearer to the frontline, CCSs expanded and became semi-permanent facilities – positioned near enough to the front line to be easily accessible, but out of range of most of the German artillery.
Wherever possible they were established in buildings; convents, schools, factories and existing hospitals, often expanding into huts and tents to provide more accommodation. As the war progressed they became centres of specialist medical care, furnished with the latest technology including x-ray equipment for locating metal shell fragments, blood transfusion equipment, and a suite of operating theatres. We have many examples of this specialised and now rare equipment in theWounded exhibition.
The surgeons at a CCS had several core objectives. One was to patch up the lightly wounded for return to the front. Another was to stabilise then forward those with moderate injuries to hospitals further down the line. They also performed life-saving surgery on the most seriously wounded. At a CCS, the wounded were likely to encounter female carers for the first time, as trained nurses were assigned to the units from October 1914. Some nursing tasks could be mundane and repetitive; others required technical skill and carried great responsibility. Nurses administered pain relief, re-dressed wounds and assisted in the operating theatre. At busy times, some also carried out surgical procedures.
British stretcher-bearers near Boesinghe, Belgium, 1917. c. Science Museum, SSPL
The link between CWG sites and the locations of Casualty Clearing Stations is particularly sobering. What happened to the men who died in the CCSs – or who arrived dead – and how was their death processed?
As CCSs became established and grew into much larger sites, with operating theatres, various diagnostic facilities and hundreds of beds they inevitably became places where many thousands would succumb to their wounds. When wounded soldiers arrived at CCSs, many were beyond help. Initially, hopeless cases were often transferred to die in so-called ‘moribund wards’, where their passing was eased as much as possible – when time allowed. Towards the end of the war, doctors recognised that salvation for some could lie with blood transfusion, and although the method was fraught with difficulties, as the war continued viable methods began to emerge. By 1918, those entering a growing number of so-called ‘resuscitation wards’ had at least a chance of surviving. One of the earliest blood transfusion devices is on display in ourWounded exhibition.
From September 1914, a British Red Cross unit began to collect information about British fatalities and the haphazard location of graves. Graves Registration Units soon became incorporated into the army and were responsible for recording the burial of the dead and the cemetery sites, partially in response to public concern about the recovery, identification and proper burial of their loved ones. However, with such huge numbers of casualties, many deaths were still recorded as missing or fell through the administration process.
Set of 50 artificial glass eyes, all shapes and sizes, by E. Muller, Liverpool, English. c. Science Museum, SSPL
What were the major innovations in trauma care at the time of the Somme, and how did the experiences of the Somme inform or inspire changes in trauma care?
It’s difficult to link specific changes – or indeed clear fundamental shifts in care – to the experience of the Somme, but the events of 1916 do feed into the improving and expanding medical services. While continuing to be overwhelmed at times throughout the remainder of the war they are implementing best practice and proven strategies based on what has been experienced as they deal with the daily flows of casualties.
Innovations in medical treatment during the war were not always the result of new techniques or technologies – often it was the rediscovery and wide scale application of ideas and equipment that helped to save lives.
Early in the war, around 80 per cent of British soldiers with fractured femurs (thighbones) were dying. During the slow evacuations over bumpy terrain, their unstable broken bones caused further, often fatal, bleeding. In such conditions, standard-issue splints or improvised supports such as rifles were of limited value. The re-discovery and wide scale application of a Victorian medical device – the Thomas splint – dramatically reduced both death rates and the degree of long-term disability.
Another example is the way in which infected wounds were treated. Belgian surgeon Antoine Depage led the successful call for the return of débridement – an 18th-century practice of thoroughly cutting away all of the damaged and infected tissue. It remains a crucial tool of infection control in trauma medicine.
Protective mask, leather and chain mail, worn by tank crews, probably British, 1917-1918. c. Science Museum, SSPL
The prevalence of shrapnel – and the existence of the ‘splatter mask’ is testament to the unique horror set aside for facial scarring. How was this treated?
Over four years, thousands of men received serious facial wounds, and these devastating injuries prompted major advances in specialist fields of reconstructive surgery. In Britain, progress was driven by New Zealand surgeon Harold Gillies. Having treated over 2,000 cases from the Somme, he lobbied for the establishment of a specialist hospital for facial injuries, and in 1917 the Queen’s Hospital in Sidcup, Kent was opened. Rebuilding a damaged face could take many years, and patients at Sidcup might undergo multiple procedures and operations, with each stage of treatment painstakingly recorded in case notes. Some did not survive the ordeal.
Gillies quickly appreciated that 3D imaging could transform the work of the plastic surgeon. A team of sculptors was brought to Sidcup to make plaster casts of the men’s faces. With a solid record of the damage, ears, noses and chins might then be added – often in Plasticine – to show how a soldier’s face could look after surgery. Among Gillies’ key advances was a skin-grafting method called the ‘tubed pedicle’ technique. Here a flap of skin was separated, but not detached, from a healthy part of the soldier’s body and then attached to the injured area. There it was rolled into a tube and sewn into place to allow new tissue to form.
We will be displaying a number of Henry Tonks’ pastels in the exhibition which are on loan from the Royal College of Surgeons. Tonks drew portraits of the patients before and after surgery, in addition to producing diagrams of the operations in order to record the various stages of reconstruction. The combination of Tonks’ medical and artistic training enabled him to depict the physicality of the flesh, and to help Gillies achieve an aesthetically pleasing result.
Leg amputees practise with crutches, c.1916, c. Science Museum, SSPL
Similarly, loss of limb is now part of traumatic public memory of World War I. What sort of prosthetics were available to the wounded of the Somme, and how did these improve over the rest of the war?
British military amputees had been entitled to a free artificial limb since Napoleonic times, but within months of the beginning of WW1 existing systems of provision were overwhelmed. Only in 1915 did things really begin to be dealt with through the establishment of Queen Mary’s hospital in Roehampton, which rapidly expanded throughout the war and became the focus of limb manufacture and fitting as well as a centre of rehab and training for amputees.
Throughout the war, the majority of amputees were leg amputees. With the British limb-making industry failing to keep up with escalating demands, American manufacturers were shipped over in 1915 to set up workshops at Roehampton. As a range of manufacturers battled to meet requirements, amputees could find themselves with limbs made to varying standards. Most ‘first issue’ legs were wooden and many based on the design once popularised by the Marquess of Anglesey, who had lost his leg a century before at the Battle of Waterloo.
The Somme added significantly to the growing backlog of amputees that had to be fitted and processed. During the war waiting lists ran into four figures. While there was certainly innovation both in limb design and re-training for work the men who wore them during the war, the experience for amputees could be varied and it was only in the post war period that the situation was properly dealt with.
In their efforts to compete for lucrative government contracts in the post-war period, limb-making companies experimented with new designs and new materials. One of the fundamental shifts for amputees came with the move from wood to metal limbs. Having been issued with wooden limbs during the wartime rush, amputees clamoured for the lighter metal designs that were issued throughout the 1920s. For a range of reasons, many amputees did not wear prostheses – sometimes through choice. Limbless men on crutches or in wheelchairs remained familiar sights around the country for years.
Artificial arms by Carne Artificial Limb Co., c.1915, c. Science Museum, SSPL
Of all the physical injuries associated with World War I, few are as grimly iconic as poison gas. As there was no precedent in the history of the British Army, how was this treated?
Many veterans remembered being more afraid of gas than of any other weapon, although it killed ‘relatively’ few men. It did wound in huge numbers, taking men away from the front and flooding the hospitals. Even for those only lightly exposed to gas, up to 60 days’ recovery might be needed before they were fit again. The treatment available to those wounded by gas was limited, at times experimental and often applied in combinations. Gases such as chlorine and phosgene essentially drowned victims as it irritated the lungs and they filled with fluid. Some doctors believed that bleeding (venesection) could help drain these toxins from the body, as could salt-water emetics, which induced vomiting. The most effective treatment for such casualties was to artificially increase the oxygen concentration of the blood, and we will be displaying an interesting example of an oxygen apparatus modified to treat four people at once.
With the arrival of mustard gas in July 1917, the medical services faced a horrifying new challenge. This gas caused severe burning of the skin, eyes and internal organs. Heavier than air, it eventually settled to further contaminate clothing, food and water. In an attempt to dissolve or neutralise the mustard liquid, various chemicals were tried, including bleach ointment, petrol and kerosene. Soap would then be used to wash off the residues. Paraffin ointment was carried in field medical kits to treat more conventional burns, but it could also be applied to the skin of mustard gas burn victims. Afterwards, salt baths were prescribed as the blisters began to heal.
Oxygen therapy apparatus invented by John Scott Haldane, c.1916-18, c. Science Museum, SSPL
The psychological effects of battlefield trauma are all now recognised – though perhaps not as widely as we’d like – and are remembered as part of the memory of World War I. At the time of the Battle of the Somme, what understanding of the psychological effects of combat existed?
Early in the war doctors had begun to see a new phenomenon. Large numbers of men, apparently unharmed, displayed bewildering symptoms that might include paralysis, anxiety, dizziness, muteness, deafness, terrifying dreams, vomiting, extreme fatigue, chest pains and tremors. It was initially believed that these were physical reactions from being in close proximity to an exploding shell, hence the catch-all term ‘shell shock’ – though this term was not coined until 1917.
Shell shock numbers began to rocket as the Battle of the Somme progressed. The numbers involved greatly concerned military authorities who worried that it was in effect an almost ‘contagious’ form of hysteria which could affect entire units at a time – and there remained both a lack of clear understanding about why it was happening as well as very inconsistent approaches to treatment regime. In December 1916, losses to shell shock (mainly on the Somme) created a manpower crisis. Rather than send men way down the line and very often back home, forward psychiatric units for the rapid treatment of shell shock were established. They were called ‘Not Yet Diagnosed Nervous (NYDN) in part to avoid medical terminology.
Most shell shock cases would eventually be acknowledged as emotional collapses from the stress and horror of this war. Sometimes, however, such men were accused of shirking or cowardice. Many of the 306 British and Commonwealth servicemen executed during the war are now believed to have been shell-shocked.
Bottle of “Ner-Vigor”, with instructions, in original carton, by the Anglo-American Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., 1915-1925, c. Science Museum, SSPL
Given how prominent forces charities are in modern Britain, it’s incredible to discover that Blind Veterans and Combat Stress who worked with the Science Museum on Wounded: Conflict Casualties and Care have their roots in World War I. What role did these organisations – and organisations like them – play in the lives of wounded servicemen?
Charity was central to caring for the wounded during the First World War, and over the four years thousands of charities were established. These provided everything from basic comforts to specialised support for disabled servicemen – although many would be disbanded shortly after the war ended. Through the Ministry of Pensions, the government funded a network of hospitals and outpatient clinics for wounded veterans, working closely with the British Legion charity, but other smaller charities got involved too.
The Ex Servicemen’s Welfare Society (ESWS), now known as Combat Stress, was established in 1919. Much of its efforts were focused on veterans with shell shock who were denied pensions, sent to lunatic asylums or unable to find work. It eventually established special homes where men could rest, socialise and learn new skills. The ESWS recognised that men with mental health wounds struggled to compete for jobs. So in 1927 it established its own company, Thermega, and purchased the patent rights for the first electric blanket produced in the British Empire. The blankets were sold for profit – an example of ex-servicemen manufacturing a product that was commercially successful on the open market.
In regard to sight loss, throughout the war thousands of soldiers returned to Britain with total or partial sight loss. This was the result of gas, bullets and explosives, venereal disease and other traumas. Medical personnel could treat the physical wounds of the eyes, if the eyes were still present, but they could not offer long-term rehabilitation. Newspaper magnate Arthur Pearson stepped forward with a solution. Having lost his own sight to disease, Pearson was determined that every sight-loss veteran be offered the necessary tools to live an independent life. To achieve this, and to help raise national awareness for those who had lost their sight, he established St Dunstan’s Lodge in Regent’s Park, London, where new life skills could be learnt including typewriting, reading braille, basket weaving, physiotherapy and farming.
History of War’s Somme centenary special is out now
British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association (BLESMA) is another current veterans organisations that emerged from WW1. They’re a good example of ‘self-help’ – established mainly through the actions of the veterans themselves who were beginning to feel forgotten during the 1920s. Unfortunately, the post-war years were a time of disillusionment, as many amputees could not find regular work. Like hundreds of thousands of others wounded in the First World War, many amputees were also living in chronic pain – a situation which went of foe decades in some cases. Feeling neglected, they decided to help themselves. By the early 1930s, a network of local groups had coalesced nationally as BLESMA.
Despite being landlocked our research shows that quite a few men from the Parish served with the senior service that is the Royal Navy, and a few of those were serving before the outbreak of the war.
One such man was William Johnson who was born in 1883 at Whiston before moving to Froghall by the 1901 census. By that time both his parents had passed away and he and his brother George were living with a family named Carr.
In 1905 William left his job at Boltons Copper Works and signed up for 12 years with the Royal Navy. Over the coming years he saw service on several ships and no doubt travelled the world.
In June 1915 he was posted to HMS Superb on which he served for the next twelve months of the war.
The Battle of Jutland involving the Grand Fleet of the British Navy and the German High Seas fleet took place between 31st May and 1st of June 1916 and involved over 200 warships from both countries.
The debate on who won has raged ever since but at the end of the battle the British had lost some 14 ships and over 6000 men had lost their lives. German loss of life was over 2000 men and some 11 ships.
Some major British warships practically blew up killing almost all on board them due to unsafe handling of munitions in an effort to speed up the rate of gunfire.
One ship at Jutland was HMS Superb and it is believed that William was present on the ship for the battle. Superb’s role in the battle was as part of the Fourth Battle Squadron where she was involved in returning fire on the German ships causing damage to two, the second of which was seen retreating heavily on fire.
At the end of June 1916 William moved ships and continued to serve in the Navy until 1919 when he was demobbed after 14 years service.
We would love to hear from any relatives of Williams or his brother George who also served in the North Staffordshire Regiment.
The project team is delighted to announce that an interpretation panel has been installed at the War Memorial as part of the Heritage Lottery funded project.
The panel details the ancient history of Kingsley and the industrial heritage of the parish through to the war memorial and the project. It is hoped that the panel will leave residents and visitors better informed about the area and with a link to the project website publicise the work we have been doing over the last two and a half years.
Work around the memorial is now almost complete with just a new barrel planter to be installed and poppies grown from the seed of Flanders poppies planted around the site both of which it is hoped will be completed this summer.
We are extremely grateful to Shelley Signs from Shrewsbury who manufactured the sign and were a great help especially Rachel Shelly.
Please do visit the memorial which is settling down after last years work and is now looking better than ever.
The project continues to work very hard in the background researching the list of survivors. An unexpected discovery towards the end of April unearthed more names.
Newspaper reports throughout the years of the war carried news of the annual Vestry minutes from St Werburghs in which there was mention of Roll of Honour that by 1918 numbered around 150 men from the parish as having served in the armed forces.
Clearly a list was kept to know how many had served but whether that was created into a formal document was previously unknown.
However, part of the Roll was discovered recently in a New Look store carrier bag in the vestry at the church.
The two A3 sized wooden picture frames were found to contain a list of men who had died in the war and one with those who had served from those whose surname started with A through to Millward.
The frames were covered in dust and cobwebs suggesting they had been stored away from the church before being returned at some point.
The list of those who served numbered 80 men and around 20 had been previously unknown to the project team. The names are in three columns written in the Reverend Mayne’s handwriting and there are some that are illegible as the ink has faded.
Quite where the other list is at this time is not known to the team. It will start with the name Millward as there were four from the parish that we know served. The thought at this time is that the list is in the possession of someone whose relative appears on the list.
The project team would dearly love to retrieve this list to complete the archive that is now a hundred years old. The plan is in cooperation with the church to renovate the frames and have them displayed for the public to view for years to come.
The list shows how remembering those from the parish who served extended even to those years just after the war. One name on the list that we were previously unaware of was Jonathan Billings.
Research shows he left Kingsley as a teenager to seek work and in 1911 was living on the south coast and working as a chauffeur. Before the war started he emigrated to Canada and in 1916 joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force and served in France as a driver. On his way to France and on his way home he came to England perhaps for the only times after he left.
Despite the length of time after he left the parish he was still remembered, something that is at the heart of the project.
Another discovery was the name of a female on the Roll of Honour. Her name was Mabel Keene and she came from the Green in Kingsley. She served as an auxiliary in France from 1918 when woman replaced cooks and the like to ensure men were available for front line duties. Initial research indicates that she never married and died in the 1950’s in Penzance. We would love to speak to anyone who is related to Mabel.
The two frames we currently have are pictured and if anyone has any information as to the location of the missing frame they can contact Martyn Hordern either via the website or on 01538 750657.
Horace was born on 15th October 1890 at Froghall to Thomas and Elizabeth Anne Birch. In 1901 at the census Horace, his sister Blanche and Elizabeth were at an address in Nottingham as visitors.
In 1911 Horace’s parents and his brother Henry were living in Kingsley Holt (no street address) with Thomas’s occupation given as a Licensed Lay Preacher. There are no records we can find to show where Horace was nor any definitive emigration record to show him leaving the country. There are some H Birch’s entering New Zealand in the 1900’s but there is insufficient detail to say for sure. However what we can say is that on 11th June 1915 Horace enlisted in the New Zealand Army with the Otago Infantry.
His record has some detail and we know he was a fruit farmer and during his service rose to Company Sergeant Major. His next of kin was his mother Mrs Birch from Kingsley Holt which later changed to Little Hayes Woodhead, Cheadle.
We first found out about Horace from the Cheadle and Tean Times in October 1916 when it referred to him joining up and serving at Gallipoli and later in France where he had been wounded.
He remained a British Citizen and in 1918 is shown as a military or naval voter and resident with his mother in Kingsley Holt. It is highly likely that whilst recovering from his wounds or on leave he visited his mother and provided his details for the voters list. Thomas Birch died in 1918 and Elizabeth in 1922.
Following the end of the war he returned to New Zealand where he died in 1933. Interestingly he returned to Britain at least once as in 1924 a H W Birch aged 35 entered New Zealand from Southampton. He gave his occupation as an Orchard Manager born in Britain. He was with a J Birch who was a farmer. Further research shows that a H Birch aged 35 arrived in the UK on 24th June 1924 with the address he was to stay at whilst here given as Kingsley. He appeared to be travelling alone.
A website dedicated to the regiment during WW1 can be found HERE
Continuing our current theme of highlighting those men who served and survived here is the story of William Ernest Pawson. While there is a suspicion he made himself younger when he enlisted in 1914 he had a colourful and widely travelled life one that saw him settling in Kingsley Holt.
We have yet to trace any relatives and would love to hear from anyone related to William or who knew him.
At the turn of the century Kingsley Holt was far smaller than it is now and as a consequence, we have seen few men from the village serving in the armed forces. One man who lived in Kingsley Holt is William Ernest Pawson. He was traced as he is on the 1918 Voters List as a Naval Military voter which indicates he was in the armed forces. From this small
He was traced as he is on the 1918 Voters List as a Naval / Military voter which indicates he was in the armed forces. From this small detail we have uncovered a man who joined the army in his teens and served in South Africa in the second Boar War abnd then served again in World War One.
In the Boar War he served with the 14th Hussars and was awarded the Queens South Africa Medal with clasps for service in several of the states. He met and married his wife in South Africa and more than likely left the army and remained in South Africa until after 1911 (as he is not on the census for that year in the UK) Prior to WW1 he returned to England and despite being born in London came to Kingsley Holt.
He signed up once more in August 1914 giving his occupation as a Motor Mechanic and Driver. It seems at some point he served an apprenticeship in Edinburgh. On joining up he was living in Stoke on Trent and its likely he was living at Kingsley Holt. He joined the Army Service Corp Motorised Transport section and at the end of the war as a Tank driver. He saw action in France in 1914 being awarded the 1914 Star. He was demobbed in 1919. We don’t know what happened to him after that although a William E Pawson died in 1945 and his death was registered at Newcastle Staffs.
Charles Allen died a hundred years ago today at the Battle of the Somme.
