Category: First World War

7th December 1915

William Hands Perkins was born in 1892 in Weston-sub-Edge, Gloucestershire, and was baptised there on 27th November 1892, the sixth child of George Frederick Perkins (a labourer) and his wife, Rose (née Court). William was killed in action at the age of 23 on 7th December 1915 serving as a Private in the 6th Battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

At first sight, it’s not clear why he’s commemorated locally at Hockley Heath and Umberslade. Soldiers Died in the Great War gives his birthplace and residence as Weston-sub-Edge, although he enlisted in Birmingham. His parents appear to have remained in Weston all their lives, as did his youngest brother, Allen Nelson Perkins, whose burial, aged 71,  is recorded in the parish registers there in 1971. William himself is recorded on the 1901 census in Weston but isn’t there with his parents in 1911 and we haven’t been able to track him down elsewhere.

However, researching William’s siblings sheds some light on the local connection. Although in Gloucestershire, Weston-sub-Edge is only about 26 miles from Hockley Heath and, as is often the case with migration, it looks as if one family member moved first, to be then followed by others.

Continue reading “7th December 1915” →

0

2nd December 1915

There is a discrepancy in records as regards the age of Squadron Sergeant Major William Bloomer, who died on 2nd December 1915 whilst serving with the 3rd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists his age at death as 42, suggesting a birth year of 1873. However, an announcement in the newspaper gives his age as 40, which fits with census returns, and gives a suggested birth year of 1875:

Information has been received in Birmingham that Squadron-sergeant-major William Bloomer, of the 3rd Canadian Mounted Royal Rifles, has been killed in action in France. He was the second son of Mr and Mrs Giles T. Bloomer, of Dorridge, and was forty years of age.
Birmingham Daily Mail, 11th December 1915
However, Canadian records give his date of birth as 11th December 1879. All records agree that he was born in Halesowen, and that his father was Giles Thomas Bloomer.

Continue reading “2nd December 1915” →

0

1st December 1915

22-year-old Private Alfred Powers died at Mudros, a small port and deep-water harbour on the Mediterranean island of Lemnos, Greece, which was being used by the British as a marshalling point for operations in Gallipoli. He was serving with the 7th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment and was a nursery gardener before enlisting. We don’t know when he joined the Army, but he first entered a Theatre of War on 11th September 1915, less than three months before he died.

Continue reading “1st December 1915” →

0

7th November 1915

On 7th November 1915, 24-year-old Private John Henry Woolley from Castle Bromwich was killed in action in France, serving with the 11th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was born in 1891, the eighth of the eleven known children of parents, George James Woolley, farm labourer, and his wife, Kate (formerly Batchelor), who had married at St Peter & St Paul’s, Aston in 1878.

Continue reading “7th November 1915” →

0

24th October 1915

Private Thomas Henry Parkes, from Solihull and Hockley Heath, died of wounds on 24th October 1915 at Gallipoli, serving with the 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment). He was the youngest of the seven surviving children (out of 12 born) of parents William Parkes, a bricklayer, and his wife Rhoda (née Hayes) who had married at St Alphege Church, Solihull on 27th July 1874.

Continue reading “24th October 1915” →

0

18th October 1915

27-year-old Private Joseph Court died on 18th October 1915, aged 27, whilst serving with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards. He was born in Haseley, Warwickshire, on 11th February 1889, and baptised at Haseley on 17th March 1889. His parents were Joseph, recorded as a soldier, and Caroline, both of whom were born in Shrewley, Warwickshire, as was their eldest child, Catherine (born 1887).

Continue reading “18th October 1915” →

0

14th October 1915

Donkeyman Wilfred Gowing of merchant ship SS Combe, died when the ship was lost en route from Liverpool to Archangel, Russia. Wilfred was born in Cranworth, Norfolk on 16th September 1891 and was the fifth of the seven children of parents Horace, a gamekeeper, and Mary Ann (née Wilkins) who had married at Mary’s home parish of Temple Balsall in 1883.

Continue reading “14th October 1915” →

0

13th October 1915

Four local men lost their lives on 13th October 1915. They have no known grave and are commemorated on the Loos Memorial:

  • Second Lieutenant Ostcliffe Harold Beaufort, North Staffordshire Regiment
  • Private Donald Ewen, London Regiment (London Scottish)
  • Private Joseph Frederick Harding, Gloucestershire Regiment
  • Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Harley Raymond Russell, Gloucestershire Regiment
Continue reading “13th October 1915” →
1

10th October 1915

19-year-old John Alfred Cross was one of four brothers who had been inmates in Marston Green Cottage Homes and went on to serve in the First World War. He joined the Rifle Brigade on 2nd September 1914, being posted to France on 22nd August 1915 after spending two weeks in a military hospital in Purfleet with an abscess on his tongue. He received a gunshot wound to the chest on 5th October 1915, dying of wounds at the Australian Hospital, Wimereux, France on 11th October 1915 according to his service record. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Register of Soldiers’ Effects both give his date of death as the 10th October. His brother Harry was also killed in the war, whilst brothers Francis James and Thomas William were apparently war casualties but survived.

John and Harry are both commemorated locally on a war memorial plaque that was hung outside the chapel on the site, which later became Chelmsley Hospital.

Continue reading “10th October 1915” →

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑